| Authorship Notes |
The first section of this relatively brief discourse (compared to most entries of the prize contest) is a 'plan of education', based on Locke and Rousseau. The author emphasizes the variety within human nature and condition, and recommends travelling - using a wealth of historical examples - only to some.
Travelling can be beneficial if performed with prudence, but is not absolutely necessary nor does it make one superior who travelled to others. An opposition between the "Esprit des lois" of Montesquieu, based on travels, and the "Loix civiles dans leur ordre naturel" of Jean Domat, who never left France, highlights that both careers and both works are useful - but to different purposes. |
