Full Idea
Imagination, which wreaks so much havoc among us, does not speak to savage hearts; each man peacefully awaits the impetus of nature, gives himself over to it without choice, and with more pleasure than frenzy; then all desire is snuffed out.
Gist of Idea
Savage men quietly pursue desires, without the havoc of modern frenzied imagination
Source
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Discourse on the Origin of Inequality [1754], Part I)
Book Reference
Rousseau,Jean-Jacques: 'The Basic Political Writings', ed/tr. Cress,Donald A. [Hackett 1987], p.56
A Reaction
Interesting to identify imagination as a source of trouble. The idea that the savage lacks imagination seems implausible. Better to say that modern imagination has been poisoned by competition.