laying the book aside, I determined to take from it all I could, and to
burn the rest; and continuing this with zeal without interrupting
Emilius, I finished the 'Contrat Social'.

The dictionary of music now remained. This was mechanical, and might be
taken up at any time; the object of it was entirely pecuniary. I
reserved to myself the liberty of laying it aside, or of finishing it at
my ease, according as my other resources collected should render this
necessary or superfluous. With respect to the 'Morale Sensitive',
of which I had made nothing more than a sketch, I entirely gave it up.

As my last project, if I found I could not entirely do without copying,
was that of removing from Paris, where the affluence of my visitors
rendered my housekeeping expensive, and deprived me of the time I should
have turned to advantage to provide for it; to prevent in my retirement
the state of lassitude into which an author is said to fall when he has
laid down his pen, I reserved to myself an occupation which might fill up
the void in my solitude without tempting me to print anything more.
I know not for what reason they had long tormented me to write the
memoirs of my life. Although these were not until that time interesting
as to the facts, I felt they might become so by the candor with which I
was capable of giving them, and I determined to make of these the only
work of the kind, by an unexampled veracity, that, for once at least, the
world might see a man such as he internally was. I had always laughed at
the false ingenuousness of Montaigne, who, feigning to confess his
faults, takes great care not to give himself any, except such as are
amiable; whilst I, who have ever thought, and still think myself,
considering everything, the best of men, felt there is no human being,
however pure he maybe, who does not internally conceal some odious vice.
I knew I was described to the public very different from what I really