Editing Jean-Jacques Rousseau (section)

===Early adulthood===
[[File:FrancoiseLouiseWarens.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Françoise-Louise de Warens]]

When Rousseau reached 20, de Warens took him as her lover, while intimate also with the steward of her house. The sexual aspect of their relationship (a ''[[ménage à trois]]'') confused Rousseau and made him uncomfortable, but he always considered de Warens the greatest love of his life. A rather profligate spender, she had a large library and loved to entertain and listen to music. She and her circle, comprising educated members of the Catholic clergy, introduced Rousseau to the world of letters and ideas. Rousseau had been an indifferent student, but during his 20s, which were marked by long bouts of [[hypochondria]], he applied himself in earnest to the study of philosophy, mathematics, and music. At 25, he came into a small inheritance from his mother and used a portion of it to repay de Warens for her financial support of him. At 27, he took a job as a tutor in [[Lyon]].

In 1742, Rousseau moved to Paris to present the [[Académie des Sciences]] with a new system of [[numbered musical notation]] he believed would make his fortune. His system, intended to be compatible with [[typography]], is based on a single line, displaying numbers representing [[interval (music)|intervals]] between notes and dots and commas indicating rhythmic values. Believing the system was impractical, the Academy rejected it, though they praised his mastery of the subject, and urged him to try again. He befriended [[Denis Diderot]] that year, connecting over the discussion of literary endeavors.{{sfn|Rousseau|1987|ps=, Book VII}}

[[File:Palazzo Surian Bellotto (Venice).jpg|thumb|Palazzo belonging to Tommaso Querini at 968 Cannaregio [[Venice]] that served as the French Embassy during Rousseau's period as Secretary to the Ambassador]]
From 1743 to 1744, Rousseau had an honorable but ill-paying post as a secretary to the Comte de Montaigue, the French ambassador to [[Venice]]. This awoke in him a lifelong love for Italian music, particularly opera:
{{blockquote| I had brought with me from Paris the prejudice of that city against Italian music; but I had also received from nature a sensibility and niceness of distinction which prejudice cannot withstand. I soon contracted that passion for Italian music with which it inspires all those who are capable of feeling its excellence. In listening to [[barcarole]]s, I found I had not yet known what singing was... |''Confessions''{{sfn|Rousseau|1903|p=291}}|source=}}

Rousseau's employer routinely received his stipend as much as a year late and paid his staff irregularly.{{Sfn | Damrosch | 2005 | p=168 | ps=: the count was "a virtual parody of a parasitic aristocrat, incredibly stupid, irascible, and swollen with self importance". He spoke no Italian, a language in which Rousseau was fluent. Although Rousseau did most of the work of the embassy, he was treated like a valet.}} After 11 months, Rousseau quit, taking from the experience a profound distrust of government bureaucracy.