Dialogues: Rousseau, Judge of Jean Jacques

Rousseau, Judge of Jean-Jacques (French: Rousseau juge de Jean-Jacques) is a book written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Rousseau's objective in writing this book was to respond to what he believed were slanderous and defamatory attacks on his reputation by his enemies. He began writing it in 1772, and completed it in 1776. The book is in the form of three dialogues between two characters, a Frenchman and Rousseau, who argue about the merits and demerits of a third character--an author called Jean-Jacques. It has been described as Rousseau's most unreadable work; in the book's foreword, he concedes that the book might be repetitious and disorderly, but begs the reader's indulgence on the ground that he needs to defend his reputation from slander while he is still alive.