 True political theory [le droit politique] is yet to appear, and it is to be presumed that it never will. Grotius, the master of all the savants in this subject, is but a child; and, what is worse, a dishonest child [enfant de mauvaise foi]. When I hear Grotius praised to the skies and Hobbes covered with execration I see how far sensible men read or understand these two authors. The truth is that their principles are exactly the same: they only differ in their expression. They also differ in their method. Hobbes relies on sophisms, and Grotius on the poets; all the rest is the same. (Rousseau 1762: Bk 4 [1915: vol. II, 147])