Rousseau, Switzerland, and Alpine Beauty

Although Rousseau has been called "the discoverer of Alpine beauty" and studied the plant life of Switzerland, including that within the foothills of the Alps, Johann Jakob Scheuchzer (1672-1733) studied and wrote about the natural sciences of the Alps before Rousseau was even born. Scheuchzer's Ouresiphoites Helviticus, sive, Itinera Alpina Tria, an account of his journeys made between 1702 and 1704, may have inspired Rousseau to investigate and further champion the beauty of the Alps. Scheuchzer's work, with its magnificently rendered illustrations, was published in London in 1708 and dedicated to the Royal Society. Then-president of the Society Sir Isaac Newton's imprimatur appears on the title page.

One book on the Alpine region known to have been in Rousseau's library was Enumeratio Methodica Stirpium Helvetiae Indigenarum by Albrecht von Haller (1708-1777), published in 1742. In 1728, Haller made an alpine journey from Basel to Bern and began the botanical collection that was to form the basis for his work on Swiss flora. His botanical investigations motivated him to create a complete, encyclopedic science of the plants he had documented. Like many of his contemporaries, Haller addressed himself to the problem of a comprehensive botanical nomenclature. Although he did not work closely with Linnaeus, Haller had discussions with him about the problem of a natural system for botanical classification. Haller ultimately rejected Linnaeus' sexual system of classification and had some success in his search for a different taxonomy, particularly with his work on the cryptograms published in Enumeratio, recognized by Linnaeus himself.

Scheuchzer	Frontispiece Part 1	Title Part 1	Plate 4 Part 1
	Frontispiece Part 2		Plate 10 Part 2
Haller	Volume 1 Title	Volume 1 Plate 6
	Volume 2 Title	Volume 2 Plate 29

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