Robinson Crusoe on his island, deprived of the help of his fellow-men, without the means of carrying on the various arts, yet finding food, preserving his life, and procuring a certain amount of comfort; this is the thing to interest people of all ages, and it can be made attractive to children in all sorts of ways.  We shall thus make a reality of that desert island which formerly served as an illustration.  The condition, I confess, is not that of a social being, nor is it in all probability Emile’s own condition, but he should use it as a standard of comparison for all other conditions.  The surest way to raise him above prejudice and to base his judgments on the true relations of things, is to put him in the place of a solitary man, and to judge all things as they would be judged by such a man in relation to their own utility.

This novel, stripped of irrelevant matter, begins with Robinson’s shipwreck on his island, and ends with the coming of the ship which bears him from it, and it will furnish Emile with material, both for work and play, during the whole period we are considering.  His head should be full of it, he should always be busy with his castle, his goats, his plantations.  Let him learn in detail, not from books but from things, all that is necessary in such a case.  Let him think he is Robinson himself; let him see himself clad in skins, wearing a tall cap, a great cutlass, all the grotesque get-up of Robinson Crusoe, even to the umbrella which he will scarcely need.  He should anxiously consider what steps to take; will this or that be wanting.  He should examine his hero’s conduct; has he omitted nothing; is there nothing he could have done better?  He should carefully note his mistakes, so as not to fall into them himself in similar circumstances, for you may be sure he will plan out just such a settlement for himself.  This is the genuine castle in the air of this happy age, when the child knows no other happiness but food and freedom.

What a motive will this infatuation supply in the hands of a skilful teacher who has aroused it for the purpose of using it.  The child who wants to build a storehouse on his desert island will be more eager to learn than the master to teach.  He will want to know all sorts of useful things and nothing else; you will need the curb as well as the spur.  Make haste, therefore, to establish him on his island while this is all he needs to make him happy; for the day is at hand, when, if he must still live on his island, he will not be content to live alone, when even the companionship of Man Friday, who is almost disregarded now, will not long suffice.

The exercise of the natural arts, which may be carried on by one man alone, leads on to the industrial arts which call for the cooperation of many hands.  The former may be carried on by hermits, by savages, but the others can only arise in a society, and they make society necessary.  So long as only bodily needs are recognised man is self-sufficing; with superfluity comes the need for division and distribution of labour, for though one man working alone can earn a man’s living, one hundred men working together can earn the living of two hundred.  As soon as some men are idle, others must work to make up for their idleness.