(via Periodic Videos) Discussing the likes of Dmitri Mendeleev, William Odling, Alexandre-Emile Béguyer de Chancourtois, John Newlands, Julius Lothar Meyer, and Gustavus Hinrichs.
Emile, or On Education (French: Émile, ou De l’éducation) is a treatise on the nature of education and on the nature of man written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who considered it to be the "best and most important" of all his writings. [1]
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Britannica Editors. "Émile". Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Apr. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Emile-or-On-Education. Accessed 22 April 2026.
Dowling, Wyatt James. “Science, “Robinson Crusoe”, and Judgment: A Commentary on Book III of Rousseau’s “Emile”.” Order No. 3301787, Boston College, 2007. Goodman, Bridenthal, Renate, Susan Mosher Stuard, and Merry E. Wiesner. “Dena, “Women and the Enlightenment.”Chapter 9 Women and the Enlightenment.”
Overview of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Emile, or On Education, its educational program, key themes of nature and freedom, and its historical impact.
Emile will speak the purest French I know, but he will speak it more distinctly and with a better articulation than myself.
We are obliged to exercise judgment, to make selections. Some of it must be taken, some left untouched. This is what we have done in the present edition. We have not, indeed, the presumption to correct Rousseau, or to substitute an expurgated "Emile" for the authentic "Emile."
Originally published in 1762, Emile, or On Education, outlined a process of education that would prevent man from being corrupted by society and instead nurture his natural virtues and goodness.