Rousseau once said: "Liberty is a succulent morsel, but difficult to digest." What does the quote mean? Who is Rousseau? And, above all, what is the French Revolution and what does it have to do with succulent morsels? Rousseau states that freedom is indeed something that everyone desires, but for those who achieve it, it is something that is difficult to manage, and without proper moderation, freedom can be more of an obstacle than an asset. The relationship between Rousseau and the French Revolution, however, may require further research years before the revolution. Before the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century, France was considered one of the most advanced and opulent countries in Europe. It was at the center of the Age of Enlightenment, a period of time from 1600 to 1800 that is regarded today as one of the most significant intellectual movements in history as it encourages a new outlook on life. The era produced hundreds of important thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Locke, Thomas Paine, and Adam Smith. The Enlightenment was the fuel that ignited the worldwide desire to reshape and reconsider how countries were governed. Limited monarchies, direct democracies, limited democracies, and absolute monarchies, among others, were many forms of government contested by these thinkers. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, one of many key Enlightenment thinkers, believed in direct democracy, a system in which a country is governed by many and where no one person has a significant amount of power. This idea that citizens should be given independence and a say would later energize the French and lead to what is now k...... middle of paper ...... took away the rights that women had won during the French Revolution, such as the right to sell one's property, and freedom of speech and the press were limited rather than expanded. On December 2, 1804, Napoleon strolled along Notre Dame Cathedral where he crowned himself emperor, and France had once again returned to a monarchical system. Rousseau was right when he said that freedom is a succulent morsel, but difficult to digest. Years after his death, France left its monarchy to fight for freedom, only to return years later as a monarchy after finding freedom too hard to stomach. The United States of America has been fortunate to find the perfect balance between freedom and moderation, although other countries in the past, such as France, have not been so lucky in finding this succulent morsel..