@prefix vivo: . @prefix edm: . @prefix ns0: . @prefix dcterms: . @prefix skos: . vivo:departmentOrSchool "Arts, Faculty of"@en, "French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies, Department of"@en ; edm:dataProvider "DSpace"@en ; ns0:degreeCampus "UBCV"@en ; dcterms:creator "Almstrom, Marjorie Elsie"@en ; dcterms:issued "2011-07-27T20:13:51Z"@en, "1968"@en ; vivo:relatedDegree "Master of Arts - MA"@en ; ns0:degreeGrantor "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:description """Almost two centuries have passed since the publication began, in 1777, of the Memoires secrets de Bachaumont. This journal, regarded by many as the mirror of its age, was the outgrowth of a unique and highly successful experiment in group journalism undertaken by the cultured and aristocratic members of an almost-forgotten salon, the paroisse of Madame Doublet. Despite its acknowledged value to students of the Ancien Regime, few studies have been made of this lengthy and complex work. This thesis examines a limited aspect of the Memoires secrets: the literary criticism found in the first five of the thirty-six volumes together with that in the corresponding supplements for the years 1762-1771. The decade thus reviewed ends with the death of Bachaumont, a leading paroissien who first conceived the idea of recording for posterity items chosen from Madame Doublet's registers and from whose manuscript these early volumes of the Memoires are derived. The first two chapters are devoted to a consideration of the background of the journal, situating it within the nouvelliste tradition and dwelling at some length upon the paroisse that gave it birth. The chapters that follow investigate the treatment afforded by the Memoires to Voltaire, Rousseau and Diderot, outline the developments in the theatre during the decade in question and offer a general account of the poetry and miscellaneous prose writings reviewed in the journal together with an inquiry into trends and contemporary attitudes. They provide, then, a general picture of the literary activity of this period as reflected in the Memoires secrets rather than a complete analysis of the many items in these volumes of interest to the student of French literature. The most striking feature of the journal is its wealth of content, evidence of the intellectual ferment of the 1760*s and of the journalistic zeal of the paroissiens. In general, the critical comments are brief, succinct and often elegantly phrased. The reviews of the more controversial writings must frequently be read in the light of their underlying irony, the careful wording being presumably a deliberate attempt to confuse the censorship authorities. The opinions expressed appear to be the result of group discussion, although the extent to which these volumes of the Memoires reflect the personal views of Bachaumont or his successor Mairobert remains uncertain. Ideologically, the tenor of the journal appears to be parlementaire and strongly pro-philosophe. As for literature, the Memoires reveal an awareness of current trends and an acceptance of innovations tempered, however, with a certain conservatism of outlook. Among the writers, Voltaire, understandably, emerges as the dominant figure of the decade. The limited scope of this investigation precludes any firm assessment of the Memoires as a whole. Certainly the abundance and diversity of their contents invite further study. A more adequate index would appear to be a prior necessity for continued investigation of this journal whose pages not only record the advance of the "republique des lettres" but also have preserved for us the picture of a vanished society."""@en ; edm:aggregatedCHO "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/36357?expand=metadata"@en ; skos:note "A DECADE GF LITERARY CRITICISM IN THE MEMOIRES SECRETS OF BACHAUMONT (1762-1771) by MARJORIE ELSIE ALMSTROM B.A., U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia, 1937 B.Ed., U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia, 1943 A T h e s i s Submitted i n P a r t i a l F u l f i l m e n t o f The Requirements f o r the Degree o f MASTER OF ARTS i n the Department o f FRENCH We accept t h i s t h e s i s as conforming t o the r e q u i r e d standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA September, 1968 In p r e s e n t i n g t h i s t h e s i s i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t o f t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r an a d v a n c e d d e g r e e a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a , I a g r e e t h a t t h e L i b r a r y s h a l l m a k e i t f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e f o r r e f e r e n c e a n d s t u d y . I f u r t h e r a g r e e t h a t p e r m i s s i o n f o r e x t e n s i v e c o p y i n g o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r s c h o l a r l y p u r p o s e s may be g r a n t e d by t h e H e a d o f my D e p a r t m e n t o r by h i s r e p r e s e n -t a t i v e s . I t i s u n d e r s t o o d t h a t c o p y i n g o r p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r f i n a n c i a l g a i n s h a l l n o t be a l l o w e d w i t h o u t my w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n . M a r j o r i e E. Almstrom D e p a r t m e n t n f French T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a V a n c o u v e r 8, C a n a d a D a t e September 6, 1968 ABSTRACT Almost two c e n t u r i e s have passed s i n c e t h e p u b l i c a t i o n began, i n 1777» o f the Memoires s e c r e t s de Bachaumont. T h i s j o u r n a l , regarded by many as the m i r r o r o f i t s age, was the outgrowth of a unique and h i g h l y s u c c e s s f u l experiment i n group j o u r n a l i s m undertaken by the c u l t u r e d and a r i s t o c r a t i c members of an a l m o s t - f o r g o t t e n s a l o n , the p a r o i s s e of Madame Doublet. D e s p i t e i t s acknowledged v a l u e t o students o f the A n c i e n Regime, few s t u d i e s have been made of t h i s lengthy and complex work. T h i s t h e s i s examines a l i m i t e d aspect o f t h e Memoires s e c r e t s : the l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m found i n t h e f i r s t f i v e o f t h e t h i r t y - s i x volumes to g e t h e r w i t h t h a t i n the c o r r e s p o n d i n g supplements f o r the y e a r s 1762-1771. The decade thus reviewed ends w i t h the death of Bachaumont, a l e a d i n g p a r o i s s i e n who f i r s t conceived t h e i d e a of r e c o r d i n g f o r p o s t e r i t y items chosen from Madame Doublet's r e g i s t e r s and from whose manu-s c r i p t these e a r l y volumes of t h e Memoires are d e r i v e d . The f i r s t two chapters are devoted to a c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f the background o f the j o u r n a l , s i t u a t i n g i t w i t h i n the n o u v e l l i s t e t r a d i t i o n and d w e l l i n g a t some l e n g t h upon the p a r o i s s e t h a t gave i t b i r t h . The chapters t h a t f o l l o w i n v e s -t i g a t e the treatment a f f o r d e d by the Memoires to V o l t a i r e , Rousseau and D i d e r o t , o u t l i n e the developments i n the t h e a t r e d u r i n g the decade i n q u e s t i o n and o f f e r a g e n e r a l account o f t h e p o e t r y and m i s c e l l a n e o u s prose w r i t i n g s reviewed i n the i i j o u r n a l t o g e t h e r w i t h an i n q u i r y i n t o t r e n d s and contemporary a t t i t u d e s . They p r o v i d e , then, a general p i c t u r e o f the l i t e r a r y a c t i v i t y o f t h i s p e r i o d as r e f l e c t e d i n the Memoires s e c r e t s r a t h e r than a complete a n a l y s i s of the many items i n t h e s e volumes o f i n t e r e s t t o the student of French l i t e r a t u r e . The most s t r i k i n g f e a t u r e o f the j o u r n a l i s i t s wealth o f content, evidence o f the i n t e l l e c t u a l ferment of the 1760*s and of the j o u r n a l i s t i c z e a l of the p a r o i s s i e n s . In g e n e r a l , t h e c r i t i c a l comments ar e b r i e f , s u c c i n c t and o f t e n e l e g a n t l y phrased. The reviews o f t h e more c o n t r o v e r s i a l w r i t i n g s must f r e q u e n t l y be read i n the l i g h t o f t h e i r u n d e r l y i n g i r o n y , the c a r e f u l wording b e i n g presumably a d e l i b e r a t e attempt to confuse the c e n s o r s h i p a u t h o r i t i e s . The o p i n i o n s expressed appear to be the r e s u l t of group d i s c u s s i o n , although the extent to which these volumes of the Memoires r e f l e c t the p e r s o n a l views o f Bachaumont o r h i s s u c c e s s o r M a i r o b e r t r e -mains u n c e r t a i n . I d e o l o g i c a l l y , the tenor o f t h e j o u r n a l appears to be p a r l e m e n t a i r e and s t r o n g l y p r o - p h i l o s o p h e . As f o r l i t e r a t u r e , t h e Memoires r e v e a l an awareness o f c u r r e n t t r e n d s and an acceptance of i n n o v a t i o n s tempered, however, wit h a c e r t a i n c onservatism o f o u t l o o k . Among the w r i t e r s , V o l t a i r e , understandably, emerges as the dominant f i g u r e of t h e decade. The l i m i t e d scope of t h i s i n v e s t i g a t i o n p r e c l u d e s any f i r m assessment o f the Memoires as a whole. C e r t a i n l y the abundance and d i v e r s i t y of t h e i r c o ntents invite-:; f u r t h e r study. A more adequate index would appear to be a p r i o r n e c e s s i t y f o r continued i n v e s t i g a t i o n of t h i s j o u r n a l whose pages not o n l y r e c o r d the advance o f the \" r e p u b l i q u e des l e t t r e s \" but a l s o have preserved f o r us the p i c t u r e o f a vanished s o c i e t y . TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER I The Memoires s e c r e t s : T h e i r General Background . . . . . . 7 CHAPTER I I The Memoires s e c r e t s : Bachaumont and the p a r o i s s i e n s . . . . 21 CHAPTER I I I The Memoires s e c r e t s and V o l t a i r e . 38 CHAPTER IV The Memoires s e c r e t s : Rousseau and D i d e r o t . . . . . . 56 CHAPTER V A Decade o f Theatre i n the Memoires s e c r e t s 73 CHAPTER VI A Decade o f Poetry and Prose i n the Memoires s e c r e t s . . . . . 91 CHAPTER VII C o n c l u s i o n 104 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY I l l INTRODUCTION Almost two c e n t u r i e s have passed s i n c e the p u b l i c a t i o n began, i n 1777* o f the Memoires s e c r e t s commonly a s s o c i a t e d w i t h the name o f Bachaumont, a j o u r n a l regarded by many as t h e m i r r o r o f i t s age and a u s e f u l handbook f o r students o f the An c i e n Regime. D e s p i t e i t s admitted value as a source o f f a c -t u a l i n f o r m a t i o n , i t has a t times been d i s m i s s e d as t e d i o u s , c o l o u r l e s s , o r — w i t h La H a r p e — a s an \"amas d ' a b s u r d i t e s . \" We i n t he second h a l f o f the t w e n t i e t h century are, however, probably much c l o s e r than e a r l i e r c r i t i c s t o t h e s p i r i t o f p r e - R e v o l u t i o n a r y France, and consequently the time may be opportune f o r a r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f the Memoires s e c r e t s . The s u b j e c t i s one which must, o f course, be approach-ed with c a u t i o n . The r i c h n e s s and apparent d i s o r d e r o f the m a t e r i a l c o n t a i n e d i n the Memoires, w h i l e s u g g e s t i n g many p o s s i b l e areas o f i n v e s t i g a t i o n , a l s o render any a n a l y s i s o f t h i s j o u r n a l extremely d i f f i c u l t . The p r e f a c e t o the Memoires i n d i c a t e s t h a t Bachaumont regarded l i t e r a t u r e as r e f l e c t i n g the mood o f h i s a g e — a n age memorable f o r \" 1 \" i n v a s i o n de l a p h i l o s o p h i e dans l a Republique des L e t t r e s en France\" and f o r n l a r e v o l u t i o n q u * e l l e a op^ree dans l e s e s p r i t s . \" T h i s view, i t seemed t o me, pr o v i d e d an argument f o r l i m i t i n g my i n q u i r y t o a survey o f the l i t e r a t u r e d i s c u s s e d i n the volumes f o r the ye a r s 1762-1771. T h i s p e r i o d , ending with t h e death o f Bachaumont, the f i r s t e d i t o r , l i n k s 2 the Memoires to t h e i r o r i g i n a l source, the handwritten news sheets emanating from Madame Doublet's s a l o n , and p r o v i d e s n e a r l y a decade o f l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m f o r our e v a l u a t i o n . As the f i r s t step i n such an i n v e s t i g a t i o n I undertook to c a t a l o g u e a l l l i t e r a r y items i n these e a r l y volumes, u s i n g f o r t h i s purpose the f i r s t e d i t i o n , p u b l i s h e d i n London by Adamson i n 1777i U n f o r t u n a t e l y , no c r i t i c a l e d i t i o n e x i s t s . ^ S e v e r a l a b r i d g e d e d i t i o n s have appeared over the y e a r s , and I have been a b l e t o c o n s u l t two o f t h e s e . The f i r s t , by Bar-r i e r e , i n c l u d e d i n a volume o f memoirs dated 1867» c o n t a i n s i n essence very l i t t l e , b e i n g no more than an abridgement t h a t e l i m i n a t e s a l l t h a t the e d i t o r f e l t t o be u n i n t e r e s t i n g or l i c e n t i o u s . The second, by van Bever, dated 1912, appears to be the most r e c e n t attempt to e d i t the Memoires. A compila-t i o n o f the c h i e f e n t r i e s c o n c e r n i n g l i t e r a t u r e and the t h e a t r e f o r the y e a r s 1762-1771* i t c o n t a i n s a u s e f u l p r e f a c e , some explanatory notes, and an appendix w i t h i n t e r e s t i n g m a t e r i a l from the A r s e n a l and o t h e r P a r i s i a n a r c h i v e s . A subsequent volume, th e Memoires de M a i r o b e r t . was announced as i n p r e p a r -a t i o n , but I have not been a b l e t o l o c a t e t h i s work. My r e a d i n g f o r t h i s survey has c e n t e r e d about s e v e r a l a r e a s . I have attempted to become f a m i l i a r w i t h the necessary h i s t o r i c a l background and w i t h d e t a i l s c o n c e r n i n g the s p e c i f i c \"*\"One a p p a r e n t l y begun by J . Ravenal i n 1830 ended at volume f o u r of the Memoires. See Tourneux, M. \"Bachaumont\", l a Grande E n c v c l o p e d i e . IV, 1076. 3 authors and items t o be d i s c u s s e d . A s e a r c h f o r b i o g r a p h i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n about Bachaumont and the o t h e r members o f Madame Doublet's c i r c l e l e d me t o i n q u i r e i n t o the h i s t o r y o f the e a r l y manuscript p r e s s and t o i n v e s t i g a t e contemporary a l l u -s i o n s to the n o u v e l l e s on which the Memoires s e c r e t s are based, as w e l l as l a t e r a p p r a i s a l s o f the Memoires themselves. I n g e n e r a l , I have found t h a t the most u s e f u l works to c o n s u l t , o t h e r than e n c y c l o p e d i a s , were p u b l i s h e d i n the l a s t h a l f o f the n i n e t e e n t h and i n the e a r l y t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y . An a r t i c l e by the Goncourt b r o t h e r s , 2 dated 1856, p r o v i d e s us with the e a r l i e s t and most b a s i c biography o f Bachaumont. I have found H a t i n ' s r e f e r e n c e s i n h i s h i s t o r i c a l r e s e a r c h on the e i g h t e e n t h -century p r e s s (1859, 1866) very h e l p f u l , as w e l l as c e r t a i n r e f e r e n c e s i n the correspondence o f the Marquis d ' E g u i l l e s (1866-67). Bay l e and H e r b l a y ' s i n f o r m a t i v e a r t i c l e s on the Memoires (1905) and Funck-Brentano 1s very complete and w e l l -annotated account (1909) o f the r o l e o f the Memoires i n the growth o f the modern p r e s s have a l s o been u s e f u l . L i t t l e was p u b l i s h e d on the Memoires from 1910 to 1940 and i n the more rece n t works (1940-65) r e f e r e n c e s to Bachaumont are g e n e r a l l y b r i e f . To my knowledge, no s p e c i a l study devoted e x c l u s i v e l y t o t h i s j o u r n a l has been undertaken. Few attempts at a s y s t e m a t i c e v a l u a t i o n of c r i t i c a l o p i n i o n r e c o r d e d i n the Memoires have been made. The e a r l i e s t , z F u l l i n f o r m a t i o n f o r t h i s and f o r o t h e r r e f e r e n c e s w i l l be found i n the B i b l i o g r a p h y s e c t i o n , pp. I l l - 115. 4 and by f a r the most p e r t i n e n t to t h i s survey, may be found i n A u b e r t i n * s work o f 1873. Preaudeau i n 1909 gave some a d d i -t i o n a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n to the v a r i e t y o f content and d i v e r s i t y o f p o i n t s o f view, but apart from p a s s i n g r e f e r e n c e s such as t h a t by Gooch (1956) c h a r a c t e r i z i n g the Memoires as a \" c o l o u r -l e s s chronicle\"** and T o p a z i o f s f a v o u r a b l e a p p r a i s a l (1963) o f Bachaumont as an a r t c r i t i c , ^ l i t t l e i n t h i s area seems t o have been attempted s i n c e . One common misconception e s p e c i -a l l y worthy o f note i s the apparent tendency o f many e i g h t e e n t h -century s c h o l a r s to regard Bachaumont as p e r s o n a l l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the e n t i r e Memoires s e c r e t s . I have encountered s p e c i a l problems i n t h e area of f a c t u a l background s i n c e important gaps occur i n the a v a i l a b l e i n f o r m a t i o n about Bachaumont and Madame Doublet. There are a l s o many d i s c r e p a n c i e s i n accounts o f the composition o f her s a l o n and o f t h e dates assi g n e d t o the e x i s t i n g manuscript n o u v e l l e s . A d d i t i o n a l d i f f i c u l t i e s r e s u l t from the f a c t t h a t t h e r e g i s t e r s upon which the Memoires were based have been l o s t , as has Bachaumont fs manuscript, and circumstances p r e -c l u d e d d i r e c t c o n s u l t a t i o n o f t h e o r i g i n a l m a t e r i a l t h a t i s p r e s e r v e d i n t h e P a r i s i a n a r c h i v e s . The Memoires swarm w i t h ^Gooch, C. P. L o u i s XV. The Monarchy i n D e c l i n e , London, 1956, pp. 263 - 264. ^Topazio, V i r g i l W. \" A r t C r i t i c i s m i n the E n l i g h t e n -ment\", S t u d i e s on V o l t a i r e and t h e E i g h t e e n t h Century, (ed. Besterman), V o l . XXVII, pp. 1647 - 1648. 5 contemporary a l l u s i o n s , and I have undoubtedly overlooked or misunderstood some references. I did f i n d an index of names (1866) to be quite useful, although i t too contains omissions and some inaccuracies. The lack of a subject index proved a d e f i n i t e handicap to detailed study of the Memoires. When one r e f l e c t s upon the ori g i n s of the Memoires and upon t h e i r varied content and views, c e r t a i n obvious ques-tions come to mind. Foremost among these i s the question r a i s e d — b u t not d e f i n i t e l y answered—by e a r l i e r writers con-cerning the source of the opinions expressed i n these early volumes. Since the exact authorship of t h i s portion of the Memoires i s somewhat i n doubt, t h i s problem remains c e n t r a l . The p a r t i c u l a r bias or general i d e o l o g i c a l tendency of the opinions expressed seems, however, l e s s d i f f i c u l t to es t a b l i s h . F i n a l l y , the true intent of some of the entries seems at times puzzling and one may occasionally suppose that a number of the c r i t i c a l comments are s k i l f u l l y worded to confuse the censor-ship authorities or to delight the eighteenth-century reader with subtle irony. A word about method: My survey w i l l f i r s t of a l l include a study of the background of the Me^moires secrets, attempting as f a r as possible to eliminate discrepancies and to expand somewhat on the usual accounts given of the paroisse. From such a survey I hope that a more comprehensive p o r t r a i t w i l l emerge of those contributors who compiled the o r i g i n a l nouvelles. F i n a l l y , I hope to provide an accurate i f somewhat 6 b r i e f account o f the l i t e r a r y m a t e r i a l and c r i t i c i s m found i n t he f i r s t f i v e volumes o f the Memoires. I n e v i t a b l y , such a study w i l l be incomplete, owing t o l i m i t a t i o n s o f time and r e s e a r c h materials.-* I hope never-t h e l e s s t h a t t h i s modest i n v e s t i g a t i o n w i l l p r o v i d e some i n -s i g h t i n t o the general l i t e r a r y content o f the Memoires s e c r e t s f o r t h e decade reviewed, as w e l l as a panorama o f contemporary-o p i n i o n c o n t a i n e d t h e r e i n and an assessment of t h e va l u e o f t h i s j o u r n a l t o the student o f French l i t e r a t u r e . H o p e f u l l y , i t may even i n d i c a t e some a d d i t i o n a l avenues f o r f u t u r e r e -sea r c h i n t o t h i s \" j o u r n a l abondant et n o u r r i . \" 5 T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia possesses two s e t s o f the Memoires s e c r e t s , f i r s t e d i t i o n , as w e l l as a copy o f the 1866 index and the B a r r i e r e abridgement. I n t e r - l i b r a r y l o a n made a v a i l a b l e much o t h e r m a t e r i a l . I c o u l d not, however, o b t a i n t h e 1830 Ravenal e d i t i o n , nor c o u l d I examine any o f the manuscripts i n the P a r i s i a n a r c h i v e s , such as Bachaumont's p o r t e f e u i l l e ( A r s e n a l ) . Madame Doublet*s e a r l y correspondence ( B i b l i o t h e q u e n a t i o n a l e ) and M a i r o b e r t ' s d o s s i e r ( A r s e n a l ) . CHAPTER I THE MEMOIRES SECRETS: THEIR GENERAL BACKGROUND The Memoires s e c r e t s are more than the p r i v a t e \" j o u r n a l d , u n o b s e r v a t e u r \" , as t h e i r s u b t i t l e would seem to imply. Rather, they r e p r e s e n t the outgrowth o f a l o n g j o u r n a l i s t i c development, t h a t o f the e a r l y c l a n d e s t i n e manuscript press.\"'\" The n o u v e l l e s a l a main from which the Memoires s e c r e t s are i n p a r t d e r i v e d d i f f e r i n o r i g i n , however, from t h e i r many c o u n t e r p a r t s . They emanated, not from a commercial e n t e r p r i s e , nor from the eager e f f o r t s o f an i n d i v i d u a l n o u v e l l i s t e de main, but from the i n t i m a t e g a t h e r i n g s o f an e l i t e and h i g h l y i n t e l l e c t u a l c i r c l e which assumed somewhat the nature of a c a b i n e t . Brentano t r a c e s the h i s t o r y o f these cabxnets, d e f i n i n g them i n l a r B r u y e r e ' s words as a \"rendez-vous a P a r i s de quelques honnetes gens pour l a c o n v e r s a t i o n \" and i n d i c a t i n g t h a t g a t h e r i n g s o f t h i s type were common i n the seventeenth and e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r i e s . T h i s p a r t i c u l a r c a b i n e t r e v o l v e d around the now almost f o r g o t t e n \" v i r t u o s e \" , ^ Madame Doublet, at whose s a l o n many famous l i t e r a r y and academic f i g u r e s l A comprehensive treatment i s found i n the e x c e l l e n t work by F. Funck-Brentano e n t i t l e d F i g a r o et ses d e v a n c i e r s . P a r i s , 1909. 2 I b i d . . pp. 264 - 265. ^The term i s t h a t o f the Memoires. V, 310: \"C»etait une v i r t u o s e dont Madame G e o f f r i n n'est qu'une f a i b l e c o p i e . \" assembled d a i l y t o d i s c u s s events and prepare news b u l l e t i n s which were welcomed f o r t h e i r accuracy and i n t e r e s t . Born Marie-Anne Legendre i n 1677* she was the t h i r d o f f i v e c h i l d r e n o f F r a n c o i s Legendre, a wealthy farmer-g e n e r a l , and h i s w i f e , Marguerite Leroux, of much humbler o r i g i n . Charming, c u l t i v a t e d and well-dowered, she married i n 1698 L o u i s Doublet de B r e u i l l e p o n t , ^ member o f a younger branch o f the Doublet de Persan f a m i l y and t r e a s u r e r t o t h e Duke o f Orleans. E v i d e n t l y of a warm and a f f e c t i o n a t e natur she maintained a c l o s e a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h her f a m i l y which con s i s t e d o f one b r o t h e r , F r a n c o i s Legendre, t h r e e y e a r s her j u n i o r , and t h r e e s i s t e r s , — o n e m a r r ied t o Antoine C r o z a t , the banker, one t o Durey de V i e n c o u r t , \" p r e s i d e n t au grand c o n s e i l \" , and the t h i r d t o an obscure c o n s e i l l e r d T e t a t . M. de S o u s c a r r i e r e . These connections were l a t e r t o form the nuc l e u s around which her j o u r n a l i s t i c a c t i v i t i e s developed. Indeed, a correspondence between Madame Doublet and her s i s -t e r , Madame de S o u s c a r r i e r e , r e v e a l s the f i r s t s i g n o f her n o u v e l l i s t e tendencies.-* a y l e , P., and J . Herblay, \"Journalisme c l a n d e s t i n au I 8 e s i e c l e \" , N o u v e l l e revue. 1905, pp. 214 - 215. These pages g i v e b i o g r a p h i c a l d e t a i l s about Madame Doublet, and g e n e a l o g i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n , quoted from the Mercure de France o f 1714, about her husband. Very l i t t l e more i s known o f him. ^From i n f o r m a t i o n i n the p r e f a c e by A. van Bever to h i s e d i t i o n o f the Memoires s e c r e t s de Bachaumont. P a r i s , 1912, p. 8. In 1716, a c c o r d i n g t o a r e c o r d of t h e l e a s e * Monsieur and Madame Doublet de B r e u i l l e p o n t took up r e s i d e n c e i n an apartment i n P a r i s a d j o i n i n g t h e convent of the F i l l e s -J a c o b i n e s de Saint-Thomas. She seems a l r e a d y , through her charm and a r t i s t i c t a l e n t s , to have been welcomed i n t o the s o c i e t y of Coypel, \"societe\" d e l i c i e u s e ou 1 * e s p r i t sans c a u s t i c i t e ' , l e s t a l e n t s sans j a l o u s i e , l e s connaissances sans p r e t e n t i o n s et l a g a i e t e sans inde'cence semblaient se d i s p u t e r l e d r o i t d T e n d i v e r s i f i e r l e s amusements.\"^ Here she had met such noteworthy f i g u r e s as Caylus, F r e r e t , M i r -baud, Foncemagne, H e l v e t i u s , Marivaux, and many others, j o i n i n g i n t h e i r g a t h e r i n g s and i n t h e i r famous \"soupers 7 des quinze l i v r e s . \" Here a l s o was Bachaumont, a f a m i l y f r i e n d , who shared her i n t e r e s t i n a r t and who seems, a c c o r d i n g t o B a y l e and Herblay, t o have acted as host when she i n t u r n e n t e r t a i n e d at B r e u i l l e p o n t . These same authors r e f e r t o \"une chanson d * a l o r s , t o u t e b r u i s s a n t e de l a v i e qu'on menait a B r e u i l l e p o n t , q u i eVoque l e charme de c e t t e femme tendre, l ' a t t r a i t de sa grace, l a v i v a c i t e de son coeur.\"^ Indeed, she seems to have been endowed with a g i f t f o r making and r e t a i n i n g a wide c i r c l e o f f r i e n d s . ^\"Eloge de M. C o y p e l , \" i n B i b l i o g r a p h i e des romans, f e v r i e r , 1779J quoted i n Bayle and Herblay, p_p_. c i t . , p. 215. ?Bayle and Herblay, l o c . c i t . 8 I b i d . . p. 217. 10 I n 1722 her husband d i e d , l e a v i n g her a t t h e age o f f o r t y - f i v e with two c h i l d r e n : a son, L o u i s - A n t o i n e - F r a n c o i s , i n t he s e r v i c e o f E l i z a b e t h o f Orleans, the dowager queen o f Spain, and a married daughter, Madame Bombarde de B e a u l i e u . Towards 1730, Bachaumont came to l i v e at l e s F i l l e s S a i n t -Thomas, ha v i n g resumed h i s r o l e o f host f o r her s o c i a l gather-i n g s . These, no doubt attended by many of her former c i r c l e , g r a d u a l l y assumed the nature o f a c a b i n e t , with a f i x e d membership, r e g u l a r meetings, and a s e t purpose. Probably r e f l e c t i n g t he i n t e r e s t then p r e v a l e n t i n s e c r e t s o c i e t i e s , the group took the name o f l a p a r o i s s e . perhaps i n mocking r e f e r e n c e to t h e nearby convent. L i m i t e d t o twenty-nine p a r o i s s i e n s . i t was d i r e c t e d by l a s a i n t e t r i n i t e * . composed o f Madame Doublet, Bachaumont, and Madame fs j o v i a l b r o t h e r , t h e Abbe Legendre. The members, drawn ap-p a r e n t l y i n p a r t from those who had frequented Coypel's g a t h e r i n g s , ^ from f a m i l y c o n n e c t i o n s o f the h o s t e s s , and from f r i e n d s of o t h e r p a r o i s s i e n s . seem t o have formed a f e l l o w s h i p both i n t e l l e c t u a l and joyous, one t h a t continued f o r some f o r t y y e a r s . Moreover, the presence o f so many eminent and i n f l u e n t i a l f i g u r e s assured the group of a g r e a t e r degree of freedom o f e x p r e s s i o n than t h a t experienced by the u s u a l n o u v e l l i s t e s o f the p e r i o d . 9 F o r example, Mirabaud, Foncemagne, and p o s s i b l y Marivaux. Our Chapter 3 w i l l d i s c u s s the p a r o i s s e i n d e t a i l . 11 T h e i r a c t i v i t i e s f o l l o w e d a c e r t a i n r i t u a l . D a i l y , a t a f i x e d hour, they assembled around a marble t a b l e i n Madame Doublet's s a l l e de compagnie, each i n h i s assigned p l a c e , a c h a i r u p h o l s t e r e d i n crimson v e l v e t , beneath a por-t r a i t o f h i m s e l f . Nearby were two great r e g i s t e r s , one f o r r e c o r d i n g news known to be t r u e , the oth e r f o r matters r e -q u i r i n g v e r i f i c a t i o n . As each member gave h i s c o n t r i b u t i o n , i t was d i s c u s s e d and entered i n the a p p r o p r i a t e book. To complete t h e i r i n f o r m a t i o n , t h e members r e l i e d on co r r e s p o n -dents i n o t h e r French c i t i e s and abroad, as w e l l as on some of the approved n o u v e l l i s t e s i n the p r o v i n c e s . F o l l o w i n g c o m p i l a t i o n o f the news the s e s s i o n s c l o s e d w i t h a sumptuous meal prepared under the guidance o f Bachaumont. V a l e t s then c o p i e d and d i s t r i b u t e d weekly handwritten g a z e t i n s based on the r e g i s t e r s but wit h v a r y i n g e m p h a s e s — l i t e r a r y , s o c i a l o r p o l i t i c a l — d e p e n d i n g upon the i n t e r e s t s o f the r e c i p i e n t s.\"\"\"\"^ Such a r e p u t a t i o n f o r accuracy, as w e l l as piquancy, was gained by thes e n o u v e l l e s t h a t people are quoted as asking, on h e a r i n g an item o f news, \"Does i t come from Madame D o u b l e t ' s ? \" ^ The exact date o f f o r m a t i o n o f the p a r o i s s e and o f i t s 1 2 f i r s t j o u r n a l i s t i c e f f o r t s i s not c l e a r . The e a r l i e s t r e -maining examples of the news b u l l e t i n s appear to be the l e t t e r s 1 0 F u n c k - B r e n t a n o , F. op_. ext., pp. 262 - 264. \"^Memoires s e c r e t s . V, 311. •'•^Apparent d i s c r e p a n c i e s are noted i n the dates g i v e n f o r t h e e a r l y extant c o p i e s o f Madame Doublet's n o u v e l l e s a from Madame Doublet to her s i s t e r , Madame de S o u s c a r r i e r e , a t B r e u i l l e p o n t . A mixture o f f a m i l y news, t h e a t r e reviews and P a r i s g o s s i p , they are somewhat s i m i l a r i n content but much i n f e r i o r i n s t y l e t o the l a t e r Memoires s e c r e t s . From Bachaumont's correspondence one l e a r n s t h a t as e a r l y as 1740 he was c i r c u l a t i n g the prospectus f o r a r e g u l a r p u b l i c a t i o n o f m a t e r i a l s e l e c t e d from the r e g i s t e r s . There seems t o be doubt as to whether t h i s p r o j e c t was c a r r i e d o u t , ^ D u t i t s e r v e s t o i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e n o u v e l l e s were a r e g u l a r f e a t u r e o f Madame Doublet's s a l o n by t h a t date, and t h a t Bachaumont was aware o f the h i s t o r i c s i g n i f i c a n c e o f much o f the m a t e r i i n the r e g i s t e r s , an awareness t h a t l a t e r motivated the Memoires s e c r e t s . D u r i n g t h e l i f e o f the p a r o i s s e i t s news b u l l e t i n s achieved great p o p u l a r i t y . The j o u r n a l i s t i c scene i n the l a main. For example, Brentano, op_. c i t . , pp. 267 - 268, r e f e r s t o the MSS. 13701-13712 i n t h e B i b l i o t h e a u e n a t i o n a l e f o r the y e a r s 1745-1752. A u b e r t i n , C. E s p r i t p u b l i c au I 8 e s i e c l e . P a r i s , 1889» p. 381, g i v e s the same r e f e r e n c e . How-ever, C o t t i n , P., Un protege de Bachaumont. P a r i s , 1887 > p. x v i , r e f e r s to c o p i e s i n the B i b l i o t h e q u e n a t i o n a l e f o r 1733 1739, and i n the A r s e n a l f o r 1739 and 1740. H a t i n , E., B i b l i o g r a p h i e de l a p r e s s e p e r i o d i q u e f r a n c a i s e . P a r i s , 1866 p. 67> r e f e r s to \" c i n q volumes de c e t t e g a z e t t e manuscrite . . . a l l a n t de 1738 a 1745.\" Both th e D i c t i o n n a i r e de b i o g r a p h i e and the Grande E n c v c l o p e d i e r e f e r t o t h e MSS. mentioned above, g i v i n g no dates, but s u g g e s t i n g t h a t c o p i e s o f the r e g i s t e r had been i n c i r c u l a t i o n s i n c e 1738. l^Funck-Brentano, cop. c i t . , pp. 268 - 269* sees the p r o s p e c t u s as announcing \"une s e r i e de g a z e t i n s sous l e nom de Correspondance de Bachaumont.\" Van Bever seems to agree. H a t i n and A u b e r t i n imply t h a t t h e p r o j e c t went no f u r t h e r . 13 f i r s t h a l f o f the e i g h t e e n t h century was dominated by t h r e e l i c e n s e d p u b l i c a t i o n s * the Gazette de France, a weekly s t a t e -ment of the government's p o l i t i c a l views, t h e monthly Mercure de France and t h e J o u r n a l des savants. Learned and d u l l , l i m i t e d i n scope, they f a i l e d t o meet th e needs o f a p u b l i c a v i d f o r news o f everyday matters, nor c o u l d they a l l o w f o r the growing s p i r i t o f c o n t r o v e r s y . The a l t e r n a t i v e l a y i n t h e mediocre g o s s i p - s h e e t s o f the commercial n o u v e l l i s t e s , w e l l c h a r a c t e r i z e d as \"des gens du monde sans argent ou des gens de l e t t r e s sans e s p r i t \" , ^ p u b l i c a t i o n s o f t e n s e v e r e l y r e p r e s s e d because o f t h e i r l i b e l l o u s c h a r a c t e r . I n t o t h i s vacuum came the n o u v e l l e s o f Madame Doublet's p a r o i s s e . So g r e a t became the demand f o r them t h a t as many as e i g h t o r n i n e \"branches\" have been t r a c e d , d i r e c t e d u s u a l l y by v a l e t s w i t h access to the r e g i s t e r s . Less s e l e c t i v e , s e l l i n g cheaply, t h e s e b u l l e t i n s were e a g e r l y read by people of a l l c l a s s e s and covered France and much o f Europe wi t h a v e r i t a b l e \" cas-cade de n o u v e l l e s \" t h a t reached f a r beyond the o r i g i n a l sub-s c r i b e r s , who were f r i e n d s o f t h e p a r o i s s i e n s . One wonders i f the l a t t e r , i n the i n t i m a c y o f t h e i r s e s s i o n s , r e a l i z e d the extent o f t h e i r i n f l u e n c e . 14de Preaudeau, L o u i s . \"Bachaumont, pere des echos de P a r i s , \" Revue hebdomadaire. 22 f e v . , 1908, p. 542. iSone o f t h e c h i e f \"branches\" was t h a t o f Madame d' A r g e n t a l , h e r s e l f a p a r o i s s i e n n e . whose v a l e t G i l l e t was a l s o d i r e c t i n g another \"branch.\" Funck-Brentano, op., c i t . . pp. 272 - 288, g i v e s a f u l l account o f t h e s e . C o n f l i c t w i t h t h e a u t h o r i t i e s , ° though l o n g delayed, was i n e v i t a b l e . The f i r s t shadow t o touch t h e group, even i n d i r e c t l y , was the a r r e s t and b r i e f e x i l e i n 1741 o f the Abbe Prevost, denounced by a n o u v e l l i s t e f o r h i s p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n another c l a n d e s t i n e journal.U Untouched by t h e harsh r e -p r e s s i v e measures r e - i n t r o d u c e d i n 1742 and 1745 t o cou n t e r a c t t h e growing a u d a c i t y o f the manuscript p r e s s , the p a r o i s s e c o n t i n u e d i t s b u l l e t i n s . One o f i t s members, the Abbe de Ch a u v e l i n , was sentenced i n 1753 to imprisonment f o r h i s v i o -l e n t a n t i - J e s u i t campaigns. I n t h a t same year Madame Doublet was h e r s e l f warned by Be r r y e r , t h e l i e u t e n a n t o f p o l i c e , con-c e r n i n g the a c t i v i t i e s o f her p a r o i s s i e n s . Saved, however, from d r a s t i c measures by t h e i r i n f l u e n t i a l c o n n e c t i o n s , the group, though outwardly submissive, continued the n o u v e l l e s as b e f o r e . In 1762 two i n d i s c r e e t r e f e r e n c e s t o m i l i t a r y matters, a r e s u l t o f c a r e l e s s n e s s o r ov e r c o n f i d e n c e , caused C h o i s e u l , m i n i s t e r o f war and Madame Doublet's grand-nephew by marriage, the embarrassment o f h a v i n g to d i s c i p l i n e h i s \" t r e s chere t a n t e . \" Threatened w i t h banishment t o a convent, I b i d . , pp. 271 - 272, 275 - 276; a l s o Bayle and Herblay, op_. c i t . , pp. 233 - 235, 395 - 405. ^ B a y l e and Herblay, op., ext., p. 222 l i s t him among t h e p a r o i s s i e n s as does Boyer d ' E g u i l l e s i n a l e t t e r t o be found i n \"Correspondance i n e d i t e du Marquis d ' E g u i l l e s , \" Revue r e t r o s p e c t i v e , v o l . 3, 1885, p. 165. The a r t i c l e \"Pre-v o s t d»Exiles,\" i n t h e Bi o g r a p h i e U n i v e r s e l l e , XXXIV, 339, g i v e s a more complete account o f t h i s i n c i d e n t . 15 she must have been watched c a r e f u l l y , as her name occurs 18 f r e q u e n t l y on p o l i c e l i s t s from 1762 to 1765. The p a r o i s s e was, by t h i s time, drawing t o i t s c l o s e . Many were w e l l advanced i n y e a r s ; Madame Doublet was h e r s e l f approaching the age o f n i n e t y . Weary perhaps o f the s t r u g g l e , the remaining a c t i v e p a r o i s s i e n s seem, i n 1767y to have a p p l i e d f o r p o l i c e i n s p e c t i o n o f t h e i r b u l l e t i n s , hoping thereby a t l a s t t o l e g a l i z e t h e i r p u b l i c a t i o n . Correspondence c o n c e r n i n g t h i s matter has been p r e s e r v e d and i n d i c a t e s t h a t , a f t e r some h e s i t a t i o n , t h e a p p l i c a t i o n was r e f u s e d , the a u t h o r i t i e s b e i n g of t he o p i n i o n that a sudden approval o f these n o u v e l l e s a f t e r so many y e a r s would be a d e l i c a t e and p o t e n t i a l l y dangerous a f f a i r . The p a r o i s s i e n s were l e f t , then, t o continue as be-f o r e , except t h a t d ' A r g e n t a l , one of the group, was made r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the contents of the b u l l e t i n s . S i n c e he enjoyed d i p l o m a t i c immunity as s e c r e t a r y to the Duke o f Parma, 1Q t h i s was merely a token g e s t u r e . 7 Old age now r a p i d l y overtook the p a r o i s s e . A l l were, 20 as Voisenon remarked, \"en t r a i n de raourir.\" In 1768 the Abbe Legendre d i e d , f o l l o w e d t h r e e y e a r s l a t e r by Bachau-mont. Madame Doublet, then aged n i n e t y - t h r e e and f a i l i n g i n •^Funck-Brentano, op_. c i t . . pp. 275 - 276. 1 9 B a y l e and Herblay, op., c i t . . pp. 404 - 405. The correspondence, from m a t e r i a l i n the A r s e n a l , i s quoted at some l e n g t h . 2 0 I b i d . , p. 403. An i n t e r e s t i n g account o f the d e c l i n -i n g y e a r s o f the p a r o i s s e (1760-1771) f o l l o w s on pp. 403 - 408. 16 mind, asked f o r her o l d f r i e n d and, on b e i n g t o l d t h a t he had l e f t on a journey, became so upset at h i s f a i l u r e t o b i d her f a r e w e l l t h a t she f e l l i l l and d i e d s h o r t l y t h e r e a f t e r , s c o l d -i n g the p r i e s t , whom she had d e s i r e d t o embrace, f o r d i s a r r a n g -2 1 i n g her rouge. With her death, the p a r o i s s e ceased to e x i s t . Of Madame Doublet, whose s a l o n n u r t u r e d t h i s unique venture i n group j o u r n a l i s m , l i t t l e more i s known. Contempor-ary accounts are few: Grimm speaks of her advanced y e a r s and 2 2 o f her l o n g - s t a n d i n g a n t i p a t h y to r e l i g i o n ; her o b i t u a r y i n the Memoires s e c r e t s seems a c o l d l y worded \" p h i l o s o p h i c \" t r i -bute, mentioning her j o u r n a l i s t i c a c t i v i t i e s and t o u c h i n g i r o n i c a l l y upon her apparent f i n a l l a p s e i n t o f a i t h . ^ The most i n t i m a t e glimpse o f her as a warm human p e r s o n a l i t y o ccurs i n the Correspondance o f the y o u t h f u l Boyer d ' E g u i l l e s , the youngest p a r o i s s i e n , who f r e q u e n t l y speaks o f her most a f f e c t i o n a t e l y , o f t e n as h i s \"chere maman.\" The l o n g e x i s -tence o f her s a l o n seems a l s o a t r i b u t e to her c a p a c i t y f o r making and m a i n t a i n i n g c l o s e f r i e n d s h i p s . Perhaps a r e -r e a d i n g o f her e a r l y correspondence might i n l i g h t o f our modern p s y c h o l o g i c a l a n a l y s i s g i v e some f r e s h i n s i g h t i n t o the c h a r a c t e r o f t h i s a l m o s t - f o r g o t t e n s a l o n n i e r e . 2 ^ d e Goncourt, E. and J . , P o r t r a i t s i n t i m e s du l 8 e s i e c l e , P a r i s , 1856, I, 87 - 88. 2 2Grimm, F. M., D i d e r o t , e t c . Correspondance l i t -t e r a i r e . ed. Tourneux, P a r i s , 1879, IX, 317 - 318. 2^Memoires s e c r e t s . V, 310 - 312. 17 I t becomes obvious when we c o n s i d e r the Memoires s e c r e t s i n d e t a i l t h a t the f i r s t f i v e volumes are the most c l o s e l y l i n k e d to the p a r o i s s e . They c o n t a i n , i n p r i n t e d form, s e l e c t i o n s from the r e g i s t e r s f o r 1762-1771, e d i t e d by Bachaumont, whose manuscript passed a f t e r h i s death to h i s s e c r e t a r y M a i r o b e r t . The l a t t e r i n t u r n undertook to arrange the m a t e r i a l f o r p u b l i c a t i o n , gave the work i t s r a t h e r l o n g t i t l e , 2 4 and wrote the p r e f a c e , s e t t i n g f o r t h the purpose o f the Memoires. These f i r s t volumes, p u b l i s h e d i n London i n 1777, are l a r g e l y n o n - p o l i t i c a l , s t r e s s i n g c h i e f l y the c u l t u r -a l and l i t e r a r y t r e n d s of the p e r i o d . M a i r o b e r t continued h i s f r i e n d ' s p r o j e c t u n t i l 1779, adding t o the Memoires e x c e r p t s from a s e r i e s o f n o u v e l l e s a l a main which he h i m s e l f was i s s u -i n g . A f t e r h i s s u i c i d e i n 1779, the t a s k o f p u b l i s h i n g the Memoires s e c r e t s was taken up by Moufle d * A n g e r v i l l e , a lawyer and former p a r o i s s i e n who added volumes 15 t o 36. Not content w i t h merely c o n t i n u i n g the n o u v e l l e s . he i n s e r t e d items from 2^Memoires s e c r e t s pour s e r v i r a l ' h i s t o i r e de l a r e p u b l i q u e des l e t t r e s en France, depuis 1762 .iusqu''a nos i o u r s : ou J o u r n a l d'un o b s ervateur . contenant l e s a n a l yses des p i e c e s de theatre q u i ont paru durant c e t i n t e r v a l l e ; l e s r e l a t i o n s des assemblies l i t t e r a i r e s ; l e s n o t i c e s des l i v r e s nouveaux, c l a n d e s t i n s , prohibe's; l e s p i e c e s f u g i t i v e s , r a r e s ou manuscrites, en prose ou en vers; l e s v a u d e v i l l e s sur l a cour; l e s anecdotes et bons mots; l e s eloges des savants, des a r t i c l e s , des hommes de l e t t r e s morts, e t c . e t c . e t c . par f e u M. de Bachaumont (a Londres, chez John Adamson, 1777). \"Les quafcorze premiers volumes f u r e n t imprimes de 1777 a 1779, l e s tomes 15-17 en 1781; l e s tomes 18-36 f u r e n t imprimes de 1782 a 1789.\" (Brentano, op_. c i t . . p. 289 n.) 18 the manuscripts of Bachaumont and Mairobert, so that the l a s t twenty volumes cover only eight years. They also contain items of p o l i t i c a l i n t e r e s t that were generally omitted from the e a r l i e r volumes. P r o l i x and wordy, Moufle d'Angerville seems to have been motivated by a desire to publish i n quan-t i t y , f o r the Memoires from the beginning were eagerly sought af t e r and sold well. With the approach of the Revolution, however, i n t e r e s t flagged and the Memoires secrets end i n 1787. The uneven quality of the serie s may of course be easi l y explained by the fac t that the Memoires had three d i f -ferent editors i n a l l . The f i r s t f i v e volumes, based most d i r e c t l y upon Bachaumont* s manuscript, are considered the best written, but as we have already noted, i t i s d i f f i c u l t to determine the precise extent to which the s t y l e and opin-ions r e f l e c t Bachaumont himself, or again how much i s due to the paroisse which formulated the o r i g i n a l nouvelles or to Mairobert*s e d i t i n g of Bachaumont's manuscript. Aubertin, who has compared these volumes of the Memoires secrets with some of the corresponding nouvelles which have been preserved, states that \" l a forme e\"tait a lux; l e fond appartenait l a 25 paroisse.\" Brentano, some years l a t e r , i n comparing the Memoires with various o r i g i n a l s o u r c e s , ^ i s more cautious: 25Aubertin, C. op., ext., pp. 382 - 383. 2^Funck-Brentano, op_. ext., pp. 291 - 295 refers to the documents i n the archives of the B a s t i l l e , i n the B i b l i o -theque de l a Mazarine, and i n the l i b r a r y of the c i t y of Paris. 19 Les Memoires s e c r e t s , q u i c o n s t i t u e n t , pour l'e'tude de l ' A n c i e n Re'gime, une source des p l u s importantes et des p l u s v i v a n t e s , emanent done des r e g i s t r e s de l a P a r o i s s e . l i s en donnent l'echo pour une peViode de neuf anne*es (1762-1771), . . . sans p a r l e r i c i de l a c o n t i n u a t i o n par Ma i r o b e r t , p u i s d ' A n g e r v i l l e . . . e'cho amoindri et a f f a i b l i , c a r n i Mairobert n i Moufle d ' A n g e r v i l l e n'ont r e p r o d u i t exactement l e t e x t e de Madame D o u b l e t . 2 ' He concludes t h a t the Memoires s e c r e t s are \"une deformation de l f o r i g i n a l , i l s ne sont pas l a r e p r o d u c t i o n du manuscrit /% 28 lui-meme.\"^ Tourneux, i n h i s a r t i c l e on Bachaumont i n the Grande EncyclopecLie. s t a t e s t h a t \"son nom r e s t e a t t a c h e a une p u b l i c a t i o n dont i l a pu f o u r n i r l ' i d ^ e premiere, mais.qui, p o s t e r i e u r e a sa mort, ne renferme vraisemblablement r i e n de sa main . . . \" Van Bever, i n the p r e f a c e to h i s 1912 e d i t i o n o f volumes 1-5 of the Memoires, p r e s e n t s them as \"un e x t r a i t du manuscrit de Bachaumont,\" but i s r e l u c t a n t t o s p e c u l a t e upon the source o f the views presented, o r upon t h e v a r i o u s p o s s i b l e e f f e c t s o f M a i r o b e r t ' s e d i t i n g o f Bachaumont 1s manuscript. S i n c e d e f i n i t e c o n c l u s i o n s i n t h i s r e s p e c t are l a c k i n g , a survey o f l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m i n the Memoires must i n v o l v e The most complete, a s e r i e s o f n o u v e l l e s c o p i e d from Madame Doublet's r e g i s t e r s and from t h e l i b r a r y o f the Duke o f Penth i e v r e , are more p o l i t i c a l than l i t e r a r y and cover t h e ye a r s 1762-1779. 2 7 l b i d . , p. 290. I t seems, however, t h a t the e d i t o r s c o u l d h a r d l y have based t h e i r m a t e r i a l a f t e r 1771—apart from the e x c e r p t s added by Moufle d ' A n g e r v i l l e — o n \" l e t e x t e de Madame Doublet,\" s i n c e the r e g i s t e r s o f the p a r o i s s e must have c l o s e d at t h a t date. 2 8 I b i d . . p. 291. p r i o r c o n s i d e r a t i o n of the s a l o n t h a t gave them b i r t h . More i n f o r m a t i o n c o n c e r n i n g the p a r o i s s e may enable the reader to d e t e c t i n t h i s c h r o n i c l e echoes of these a r i s t o c r a t i c n o u v e l l i s t e s who f o r so many y e a r s c a r r i e d out t h i s suc-c e s s f u l experiment i n group j o u r n a l i s m . CHAPTER I I THE MEMOIRES SECRETS: BACHAUMONT AND THE PAROISSIENS Any attempt t o r e c o n s t r u c t the atmosphere and outlook o f Madame Doublet's c a b i n e t must f i r s t o f a l l review the dominating f i g u r e o f L o u i s P e t i t de Bachaumont. The Goncourt b r o t h e r s have g i v e n what i s ap p a r e n t l y the e a r l i e s t and most complete b i o g r a p h i c a l account,'*' based l a r g e l y upon an u n f i n -i s h e d autobiography contained i n Bachaumont's p o r t e f e u i l l e and r e p r i n t e d i n f u l l i n the Appendix to Van Bever's 1912 e d i t i o n o f the Memoires s e c r e t s . From the s e sources one l e a r n s t h a t he was born i n P a r i s , June 2, 1690. H i s f a t h e r , C h a r l e s - A n t o i n e P e t i t de Bachaumont, d i e d d u r i n g the c h i l d ' s i n f a n c y , l e a v i n g gambling debts and a young widow, aged eighteen, who was persuaded t o l e a v e the boy i n the care o f h i s e l d e r l y p a t e r n a l grandfather, p h y s i c i a n t o the Dauphin. Bachaumont, a handsome c h i l d , grew up as the s p o i l e d d a r l i n g of the c o u r t , with the p a l a c e c o r -r i d o r s as h i s playground, the Dauphin and the P r i n c e s s o f C o n t i as h i s godparents, and Le Notre, h i s gr a n d f a t h e r ' s f r i e n d , as h i s a d v i s o r and guide i n matters o f a r t . Unfor-t u n a t e l y , t h e r e i s a gap i n our i n f o r m a t i o n about h i s subse-quent f o r m a t i v e y e a r s . H i s youth was, ap p a r e n t l y , spent p a r t l y a t V e r s a i l l e s , p a r t l y at h i s g r a n d f a t h e r ' s chateau, Ide Goncourt, E. and J . , op. ext., 51 - 88. 22 but l i t t l e i s known of him from h i s adolescence u n t i l about 1730, when he became a key figure i n Madame Doublet's paroisse. Some additional information may be gathered from h i s correspondence. In a l e t t e r quoted by Edmond and Jules de Goncourt Bachaumont dwells i n some d e t a i l on h i s love f o r art, on his early t r a i n i n g therein \"sous l e s meilleurs maltres de ces temps-la en tout genre,\" and on h i s association with other connoisseurs of art such as Coypel, Crozat and members of t h e i r c i r c l e . He suggests that a serious i l l n e s s (small-pox) and poor eyesight had prevented h i s pursuing painting as a career, and adds: \" J ' a i assez f o r t de bien, et j e n'ai voulu prendre n i charges, n i emplois; j ' a i voulu rester l i b r e , et j e n'ai aujourd'hui de regret que de n'Stre pas un bon peintre.\" He l i v e d , then, the l i f e of a wealthy, cultured d i l e t t a n t e , a connoisseur of the arts and an epicurean, h i s motto o t i o . musis et amoribus. His -intimates c a l l e d him \" l e cher paresseux,\" yet he speaks of himself as f u l l y occupied: \"II m'est bien dur de m'arracher aux occupations qui ont rempli tout mon temps jusqu'a present et auxquelles l e plus 3 p a r f a i t l o i s i r pouvait a peine s u f f i r e . 2 I b i d . , 84-85. 3lbid.. p. 77. Quoted from a l e t t e r dated 1743, i n which Bachaumont r e p l i e s to an unknown lady, refusing the post of \"premier president\" to which he has been appointed and asking f o r permission to s e l l i t . 23 These occupations seem to have been connected with two roles: that of \"un edile de Paris,\" and that of master of ceremonies of Madame Doublet's cabinet. Concerning the f i r s t , i t i s known that Bachaumont was devoted to Paris, to i t s beautification and to the preservation of i t s historic aspects. For example, he purchased for 1,500 livres the Colonne Medicis to preserve i t for posterity,** and Grimm— who i s not generally kind to Bachaumont—mentions approvingly the l a t t e r 1 s concern for the Louvre.-* He also seems to have acted as consultant to many artists of the day, being renowned for his sound judgements and excellent taste. In 1751 he published an Essai sur l a peinture. l a sculpture et l'archi-tecture^ and, later, accounts of the Salons of 1767 and 1769, these last appearing in the form of letters in the Memoires secrets.^ According to one modern authority, Bachaumont \"has recently been judged to be, \"avant Diderot,—le grand critique o d'art du debut du dix-huitieme s i e c l e 1 \" . Apart from two or **An account of this purchase, for which the city later reimbursed him, i s found i n the a r t i c l e \"Bachaumont\" by M. Prevost, Dictionnaire de biographie universelle. Paris, 1948, IV, 1050. See also the Memoires secrets. I, 299 - 300. 5Grimm, op_. c i t . . I l l , 12. ^Characterized by Grimm in Ibid.. II, 94 as \"commun et superficiel.\" ^Memoires secrets. XIII, 5 - 6 4 . ^Wildenstein, G. \"Gouter une oeuvre d'art en connois-seur ( s i c ) \" , in Gazette des beaux arts, a v r i l , 1961, p. 1. Quoted by V i r g i l W. Topazio, op., ext., p. 1647. Topazio adds: 24 t h r e e items o f l e s s s i g n i f i c a n c e , ^ no oth e r work of Bachaumont remains, except the Memoires s e c r e t s which bear h i s name and f o r which he f u r n i s h e d a t l e a s t t h e i n i t i a l i n s p i r a t i o n . Grimm, who i n s i n u a t e s t h a t Madame Doublet and Bachau-mont had been l o v e r s , speaks o f him as s e n i l e i n h i s d e c l i n i n g y e a r s , as h a v i n g been r i c h , l a z y , i d l e , i r r e l i g i o u s , \"n*ayant d'autres a f f a i r e s au monde que l e s o i n de ses p l a i s i r s , de l a bonne chere, et de l a s e n s u a l i t e * . \" ^ T h i s i m p l i e d s e l f i s h n e s s i s somewhat c o n t r a d i c t e d by the r e f e r e n c e s o f young Boyer d ' E g u i l l e s t o Bachaumont fs g e n e r o s i t y and by the re c o r d s i n Bachaumont*s correspondence o f h i s attempts t o o b t a i n a s s i s -t ance f o r h i s young f r i e n d i n h i s m i s f o r t u n e s . The p r e f a c e to the Memoires s e c r e t s , w r i t t e n by M a i r o b e r t , a l s o bears testimony t o Bachaumont Ts sense o f s e r i o u s purpose and coun-t e r a c t s Grimm ,s a c c u s a t i o n s o f f r i v o l i t y . The t h i r d member o f \" l a s a i n t e t r i n i t e \" \" t h a t d i r e c t e d the p a r o i s s e was the Abbe\" F r a n c o i s Legendre, Madame Doublet*s b r o t h e r , t o whom r e f e r e n c e has a l r e a d y been made. Remembered c h i e f l y as a \"joyeux v i v a n t , buveur i n f a t i g a b l e , \" he i n t r o -duced t o the s e s s i o n s at l e s F i l l e s Saint-Thomas h i s i n t i m a t e \"His c r i t i c i s m was c o n s i s t e n t l y sound and e n l i g h t e n e d , and d e t a i l e d enough t o make h i s comments c r i t i c a l l y meaningful without b e i n g e x c e s s i v e l y d e s c r i p t i v e and p e r s o n a l . He was, to our mind, the best c r i t i c b e f o r e D i d e r o t . . . \" ^Memoires sur l e Louvre ( c . 1750)j Memoire sur l a v i e de M. l * a b b ^ Gedovn. Pre v o s t , M., op_. c i t . . IV, 1052. •^Grimm, op_. c i t . . IX, 318. 25 f r i e n d , the poet Piron, the affectionate and witty c r i t i c of the j o v i a l Abbe's apparently atrocious l i t e r a r y e f f o r t s . H Neglectful though the l a t t e r may have been of hi s e c c l e s i a s t i -c a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s , he remained devoted to good cheer and fellowship and continued a close associate of the paroisse 1 2 u n t i l h i s death i n 1768. A l i s t of the remaining members of the paroisse i s d i f f i c u l t to compile with complete c e r t a i n t y . One source, however, gives some d e f i n i t e information: This i s the cor-respondence, already noted, of Boyer d'E^guilles,^ who, i n his l e t t e r s to Madame Doublet and Bachaumont, greets many of the paroissiens by name. From other correspondence and mem-o i r s of the time a few more names can be gleaned, and i n t e r n a l references i n the Memoires secrets r e i n f o r c e t h i s information. Unfortunately, i t i s not always clear whether some of the persons mentioned were actually paroissiens or merely casual v i s i t o r s to the salon. Accordingly, though most l i s t s have a -LJ-Bayle and Herblay, op., ext., p. 220 quote a l e t t e r of Piron i n which he lik e n s the Abbe fs writings to the labours of Hercules except that \" c e l u i - c i de\"truisait l e s monstres et vous en produisez sans relache. Je l e s comparerais mSme a l'hydre, s ' i l s avaient pied ou tete . . . 1 2 l b i d . . pp. 219 - 220. See also Paul Cottin's i n t r o -duction to hi s Un Protege de Bachaumont: l a correspondance ine d i t e du Marquis d , E g u i l l e s . Paris, 1887, pp. xx-xxi. Cottin notes that the Abbe Legendre \"avait des connaissances, surtout en alchimie.\" •^Written i n 1745 at the time of a secret diplomatic expedition from France to Scotland headed by d'Eguilles. 26 c e r t a i n b a s i c s i m i l a r i t y , many names occur only i n i s o l a t e d i n s t a n c e s . To the names o f the members, most r e f e r e n c e s a l s o add b r i e f i d e n t i f y i n g comments. I n t e r e s t i n g though these are, they a r e g e n e r a l l y i n s u f f i c i e n t t o enable a c l e a r assessment o f the p e r s o n a l views o f the p a r o i s s i e n s . I have attempted t o expand on those u s u a l l y g i v e n but a much more d e t a i l e d i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f the p o l i t i c a l i n t e r e s t s and l i t e r a r y and a r t i s t i c c o nnections o f Madame Doublet's c i r c l e would be r e -q u i r e d to produce a s u b s t a n t i a l l y a c c u r a t e e v a l u a t i o n o f the Memoires s e c r e t s . T y p i c a l of the g r e e t i n g s contained i n the a f f e c t i o n a t e l e t t e r s sent by young d ' ^ g u i l l e s i n S c o t l a n d t o h i s f r i e n d s at l e s F i l l e s Saint-Thomas i s the f o l l o w i n g : \" M i l l e tendres compliments au cher P r e s i d e n t , a Madame Duret ^jL.e. Durey de V i e n c o u r t ] , a son mari; & l'Abbe\" Legendre , a Messieurs de Mairan, F a l c o n e t , Matha, e t c . et p u i s un a r t i c l e p a r t i c u l i e r pour l e s t r o i s braves d'Argentaux.\"\"'\"'* The \"cher p r e s i d e n t \" was Durey de M e i n i e r e s , who p r e s i d e d over the s e s s i o n s of the p a r o i s s e and who, i n p u b l i c l i f e , h e l d the o f f i c e o f \" p r e s i d e n t a l a deuxieme chambre des Enquetes du Parlement de P a r i s . \" T h i s d i s t i n g u i s h e d magistrate\"*\"-* was h e l d i n h i g h esteem by the 14\"Correspondance i n e d i t e du marquis d ' E g u i l l e s , \" Revue r e t r o s p e c t i v e , v o l . 3, 1885, p. 152. ^ N a n c y M i t f o r d , i n her Madame de Pompadour. London, 1954, pp. 213 - 217, d e s c r i b e s an i n t e r v i e w between the P r e s i -dent de M e i n i e r e s and Madame de Pompadour which r e v e a l s him as \"one o f the c l e v e r e s t and most i n t r a n s i g e a n t o f the P a r l i a -mentarians .\" 27 the o t h e r members of the p a r o i s s e . which he had probably entered through the marriage o f h i s b r o t h e r , Durey de V i e n -c o u r t , t o Madame Doublet's s i s t e r . A review o f the l i f e and works of Mairan (1768-1771), mentioned next i n d ' E g u i l l e s * g r e e t i n g , impresses the reader w i t h h i s v e r s a t i l i t y . A wealthy man, he began as a student o f a n c i e n t languages, from which he passed to mathematics and p h y s i c s . I n 1718 he was admitted t o membership i n t h e Academy of S c i e n c e s , p u b l i s h i n g numerous papers on astronomy, p h y s i c s , geometry and n a t u r a l h i s t o r y . I n 1740, he r e p l a c e d F o n t e n e l l e as secretary.- but r e t u r n e d t h r e e y e a r s l a t e r to devote the r e s t o f h i s l o n g l i f e t o s c i e n t i f i c i n v e s t i g a t i o n . He was a l s o a p p a r e n t l y a s k i l l e d m u s ician and had a good a p p r e c i a t i o n of a r t and s c u l p t u r e . Of a k i n d l y and g e n t l e d i s p o s i t i o n , he was l o n g a t t a c h e d to the p a r o i s s e and h i s death i s recorded i n the Memoires s e c r e t s . ^ C a m i l l e F a l c o n e t (1671-1762) was a l s o eminent i n s e v e r a l f i e l d s . From Lyons, where h i s medical o f f i c e had been a c e n t r e o f i n t e l l e c t u a l g a t h e r i n g s , he moved t o P a r i s , becoming a c o u r t p h y s i c i a n and \" i n s p e c t e u r de l a n a i s s a n c e des 17 Enfants de France.\" He was admitted t o membership i n the Academy o f I n s c r i p t i o n s ^ and became famous f o r h i s e x t e n s i v e l i b r a r y . Many o f h i s books, bequeathed to the B i b l i o t h e q u e 'Memoires s e c r e t s . V, 260. Bayle and Herblay, op_. ext., 223 - 224. 28 du R o i , have become p a r t o f t h e c o l l e c t i o n of the B i b l i o t h e q u e n a t i o n a l e . - ^ The next p a r o i s s i e n mentioned, Matha, i s a p p a r e n t l y not widely known.19 However, \" l e s t r o i s braves d*Argentaux\" t o whom the Marquis sends a s p e c i a l g r e e t i n g are o f wide i n t e r e s t t o students of the p a r o i s s e . C h a r l e s - A u g u s t i n de F e r r i o l , comte d T A r g e n t a l , was f o r f o r t y y e a r s (1721-1768) a member o f the Parlement o f P a r i s , a c l o s e f r i e n d of C h o i s e u l , jand r e p r e s e n t a t i v e i n France o f the Duke of Parma. He i s perhaps b e s t remembered f o r h i s l i f e l o n g f r i e n d s h i p with V o l -t a i r e , whose correspondence r e v e a l s the utmost c o n f i d e n c e i n 20 d t A r g e n t a l , s t a s t e and c r i t i c a l judgement. Although he 21 p u b l i s h e d l i t t l e h i m s e l f , he was noted f o r h i s p r o t e c t i o n o f w r i t e r s o f t a l e n t and, a c c o r d i n g to l a Harpe, f o r \"un goftt •^Here a l s o one can f i n d a p o r t r a i t o f F a l c o n e t sketched by Madame Doublet and engraved by C a y l u s . C o t t i n , op. c i t . . p. x x i i n. ^ C o t t i n ( i b i d . , p. x x i v ) says o n l y t h a t Matha was \"de l a f a m i l l e de l f e v € q u e d * A i r e . \" No r e f e r e n c e i s made to him i n Michaud*s Biographie u n i v e r s e l l e . 2^A few examples from V o l t a i r e f s correspondence w i l l i l l u s t r a t e t h i s p o i n t . In 1739, he w r i t e s t o d f A r g e n t a l con-c e r n i n g Zulime; \"Je t r a v a i l l e , mais guidez-moi\" (Correspon-dence. V I I I , 290, No. 1738); the same year he suspends an a t t a c k on D e s f o n t a i n e s : \" J f a i suspendu mes procedures, puisque vous me l T a v e z ordonne . . .\" ( i b i d . , 347, No. 1778). Years l a t e r , i n 1760-61 h i s correspondence with L e k a i n i n d i -c a t e s the same r e l i a n c e on d * A r g e n t a l ; f o r example: I b i d . . X L I I I , 176, No. 8503; XLIV, 88, No. 8589; XLV, 2 3 , No. 8912. 21 He i s c r e d i t e d w i t h c o l l a b o r a t i o n i n w r i t i n g s g e n e r a l l y a t t r i b u t e d t o h i s aunt, Madame de T e n c i n . n a t u r e l l e m e n t j u s t e et un e s p r i t o r a l , n o u r r i de l a p o l i t e s s e de ce beau s i d c l e de L o u i s XIV, dont i l a v a i t vu l a f i n . . . He was a l s o noted f o r h i s happy marriage t o Mademoiselle Jeanne Bosc de Boucher, an i n t i m a t e f r i e n d o f Madame Doublet, d e s c r i b e d by Bayle and Herblay as a \" p e r s o n n a l i t e r a r e p a r 1 ' e s p r i t et l e coeur, nature f i n e , prompte et s e d u i s a n t e . \" 2 3 Endowed w i t h c o n s i d e r a b l e b u s i n e s s acumen as w e l l as j o u r n a l -i s t i c z e a l , she was a c t i v e i n the d i s t r i b u t i o n o f the nou-v e l l e s a l a main based on Madame Doublet's r e g i s t e r s . Pont de Vey l e , d ' Argental's o l d e r b r o t h e r , i n t e n d a n t des c l a s s e s de l a marine, was a l s o a man o f l e t t e r s , a f r i e n d o f Madame du Def-fand and an a c t i v e p a r o i s s i e n . D'Argental o u t l i v e d both h i s w i f e and b r o t h e r as w e l l as many other p a r o i s s i e n s . d y i n g i n January 1788, t e n y e a r s l a t e r than h i s good f r i e n d V o l t a i r e . Another l e t t e r o f d ' f i g u i l l e s r e f e r s t o other \"trop heureuses gens q u i . . . une f o i s l e j o u r , pouves a l l e r a l a P a r o i s s e de ma chere maman . . . \" 24 Among t h e s e are \"tous l e s Voisenons.\" The r e f e r e n c e here i s undoubtedly to Madame Doublet's granddaughter and her husband, the Comte de Voisenon, l i e u t e n a n t - g e n e r a l i n the r o y a l army. A wealthy and h i g h l y esteemed man, he found h i s wife a great t r i a l 2 2Q_uoted by Lazare, G. i n the a r t i c l e \" A r g e n t a l , \" D i c t i o n n a i r e de b i o g r a p h i e f r a n c a i s e , P a r i s , IV (1948), 563. 3 2 ^ B a y l e and Herblay, op., ex t . , p. 225. 24\"Correspondance ine'dite du Marquis d ' E g u i l l e s , \" Revue r e t r o s p e c t i v e , v o l . 4, 1886, 124. 30 because o f \"ses g a l a n t e r i e s , son e s p r i t et ses c a p r i c e s , \" the l a t t e r i n c l u d i n g a tendency t o meddle i n medical a f f a i r s . 2 - * However, much b e t t e r known and f r e q u e n t l y mentioned i n the Memoires s e c r e t s i s h i s b r o t h e r , the n o t o r i o u s Abbe de V o i s e -non, Madame Doublet's godson ( 1 7 0 8 - 1 7 7 5 ) , who seems to have been both t h e \"enfant t e r r i b l e \" o f the p a r o i s s e and her great f a v o u r i t e . W o r l d l y and d i s s i p a t e d , he was granted, at h i s own request, a p u r e l y nominal po s t i n the church, and was thereby f r e e t o i n d u l g e h i s w i t and t a s t e f o r p l e a s u r e and f r i v o l i t y . Voisenon had many i n f l u e n t i a l f r i e n d s , among them V o l t a i r e , Madame de C h a t e l e t , C h o i s e u l , and Madame de Pompa-dour. D e s p i t e h i s r a t h e r s l i g h t l i t e r a r y p r o d u c t i o n , c o n s i s -t i n g o f a number o f p l a y s and o f some contes l i b e r t i n s , he was admitted t o t h e Academie F r a n c a i s e i n 1 7 6 2 . 2^ H i s r e l a -t i o n s h i p w i t h t h e a c t r e s s Madame F a v a r t , whose husband's p l a y s Voisenon was suspected o f w r i t i n g , i s recorded i n F a v a r t * s Memoires et correspondance.2 7 These \" f a c d t i e s i n d e c e n t e s \" were a l s o , a p p a r e n t l y , recorded at Voisenon*s request i n 2 5 A n account o f her mock i n s t a l l a t i o n as p r e s i d e n t o f t h e P a r i s C o l l e g e o f Medicine i s given i n t h e B i o g r a p h i e u n i v e r s e l l e (Michaud) XLIV, 4 8 . 2 ^ H i s admission, a c c o r d i n g t o Bayle and Herblay (op. ext . , p. 399) was a d i r e c t r e s u l t o f e f f o r t s o f t h e p a r o i s s e i n h i s fa v o u r . I t i s worth n o t i n g , however, t h a t P i r o n , a l t h o u g h a p a r o i s s i e n . was u n s u c c e s s f u l i n h i s b i d f o r mem-b e r s h i p . L o u i s XV r e f u s e d t o r a t i f y the e l e c t i o n . 2 7\"Voisenon,\" B i o g r a p h i e u n i v e r s e l l e (Michaud), XLIV, 4 2 - 4 9 . 31 Madame Doublet's n o u v e l l e s and were food f o r g o s s i p over a l o n g p e r i o d . H i s charm, g e n e r o s i t y , and encouragement o f new w r i t e r s seem to have won him g e n e r a l a f f e c t i o n y d e s p i t e h i s obvious weaknesses. Of what oth e r names may one be c e r t a i n ? D ' E g u i l l e s g r e e t s as p a r o i s s i e n s the Abbe* Xaupi and the better-known Abbe\" Pr6vost, author o f Manon Lescaut. S e v e r a l r e f e r e n c e s t o \" l a j o l i e t§te\" seem to d e s i g n a t e t h e Abb6 de C h a u v e l i n , a g r o t e s q u e l y ugly man, known e s p e c i a l l y f o r h i s f i e r c e a t -t a c k s upon the J e s u i t s , i n which the members o f Madame Doublet's c i r c l e r e j o i c e d . A m i l i t a n t J a n s e n i s t , he was a l s o i n t e r e s t e d i n the a r t s and t h e a t r e , e s p e c i a l l y V o l t a i r e ' s t r a g e d i e s . Pr6audeau c h a r a c t e r i z e s him as \"parfaitement l i b e r t i n et p e u t - e t r e a t h e e . \" 2 8 In marked c o n t r a s t to the f r i v o l o u s Voisenon and the „ a g g r e s s i v e C h a u v e l i n , one f i n d s among the p a r o i s s i e n s s e v e r a l men h i g h l y esteemed f o r t h e i r e r u d i t i o n and t h e i r u p r i g h t n e s s of c h a r a c t e r . These are Foncemagne (1694-1779), modest and devout, famous as an h i s t o r i a n and f o r h i s l o n g c o n t r o v e r s y w i t h V o l t a i r e over the Testament p o l i t i q u e of R i c h e l i e u ; h i s f r i e n d S a i n t e - P a l a y e 2 9 (1697-1781), noted f o r h i s r e s e a r c h 28preaudeau, op., ext., p. 537. 2 9 w i t h S a i n t e - P a l a y e , as a shadow, appeared always h i s twin b r o t h e r La Curne, whose devoted c a r e made S a i n t e -Palaye' s monumental r e s e a r c h p o s s i b l e . See, f o r example, t h e a r t i c l e \" S a i n t e - P a l a y e \" i n B i o g r a p h i e u n i v e r s e l l e , XXXVII, 295. 32 i n t o the h i s t o r y , language and l i t e r a t u r e o f the Middle Ages, and J e a n - B a p t i s t e de Mirabaud (1675-1760), the t r a n s l a t o r o f Tasso's Jerusalem D e l i v e r e d . A l l t h r e e were eminent academi-c i a n s and a l l l i v e d t o be w e l l over e i g h t y , a c t i v e and a l e r t u n t i l t he end. Both S a i n t e - P a l a y e and Mirabaud had connec-t i o n s w i t h the f a m i l y of t h e Duke o f Orleans, as d i d Madame Doublet's husband. We have a l r e a d y noted Foncemagne's presence a t e a r l i e r g a t h e r i n g s o f the Coypel c i r c l e . Other p a r o i s s i e n s mentioned, by the Marquis d ' E g u i l l e s have been i d e n t i f i e d , but some remain merely names. \"Les Montesquiou\" whom he g r e e t s are, no doubt, the other grand-daughter o f Madame Doublet and her husband, P i e r r e de Montesquiou, who h e l d an appointment i n t h e army. C o t t i n , i n h i s i n t r o d u c t i o n to the Marquis* c o r r e s p o n d e n c e ^ suggests t h a t the names Ba'ile and N i c o l a i r e f e r t o \" N i c o l a s B a i l i e , c o n s e i l l e r du r o i en son grand c o n s e i l , \" and Guillaume N i c o l a i , a compatriot o f the young Marquis. He g i v e s no ex-p l a n a t i o n f o r the names of de Montlaur, P e t r o c i n i , l e Coudray, B a c h e l i e r , de L e i t r e , de N e s t i e r , de M i r a b e l l e and de V a l o r i , and t h i s present survey has not attempted any r e s e a r c h i n t o t h i s a r e a . The l i s t , however, i s by no means complete. I t seems c e r t a i n t h a t the Abb6 de B e r n i s (1715-1794)> who had a l o n g and d i s t i n g u i s h e d c a r e e r as poet, academician, m i n i s t e r o f 30cottin, op. c i t . , pp. x x i i - x x i v . 33 f o r e i g n a f f a i r s under L o u i s XV, ambassador and c a r d i n a l , 31 attended the g a t h e r i n g s o f Madame Doublet's p a r o i s s e . We have a l r e a d y noted the presence of P i r o n , f r i e n d o f her b r o t h e r , famous f o r h i s gay p a r o d i e s and epigrams, f o r h i s Metromanie. and f o r h i s i n t e n s e h a t r e d o f V o l t a i r e . A l e t t e r to the l i e u t e n a n t o f p o l i c e from de Mouhy, quoted by Brentano, and dated 1762, g i v e s us the a d d i t i o n a l names o f two d o c t o r s , Devaure and F i r m i n , and mentions a l s o t h r e e l a d i e s , Mesdames Rondet de V i l l e n e u v e , de Besenval and du Boccage. J Of these, t h e b e s t known i s Madame du Boccage (1710-1802), the poetess, greeted w i t h such enthusiasm by her contemporaries i n France and abroad as forma Venus, a r t e Minerva, but remembered today c h i e f l y f o r her l e t t e r s . Member o f s e v e r a l l i t e r a r y s o c i e t i e s , f r i e n d o f F o n t e n e l l e and Mairan, acclaimed by V o l t a i r e , she must have been a charming a d d i t i o n t o the p a r o i s s e . Concern-i n g the other l a d i e s we have l e s s information.33 3^-Mitford, Nancy, op., c i t . , g i v e s much v a l u a b l e i n f o r m a t i o n about t h e l i f e and c h a r a c t e r of de B e r n i s , known by V o l t a i r e as \"Babet l a Bouquetiere.\" See e s p e c i -a l l y pp. 47 - 48, 195 - 200, 236 - 239, 254. 32 Funck-Brentano, op_. c i t . , p. 274. 33it seems pr o b a b l e that Madame de Besenval i s the l a d y mentioned i n a note accompanying Rousseau's Confes-s i o n s . P l e i a d e ed., I , 1381, as \" l a comtesse C a t h e r i n e B i e l i n s k a , parents du r o i S t a n i s l a u s , \" who had married Baron J e a n - V i c t o r de Besenval d u r i n g h i s s o j o u r n i n Poland as French envoy to t h a t country. I have not been a b l e t o f i n d any i n f o r m a t i o n about Madame Rondet de V i l l e n e u v e . 34 These, then, a r e the persons whose p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n Madame Doublet's p a r o i s s e seems reasonably c e r t a i n . Y et, i n attempts t o r e c o n s t r u c t the membership, s c h o l a r s have i n c l u d e d many o t h e r f i g u r e s of the day. Pre\"audeau, f o r example, l i s t s a l o n g with some of those a l r e a d y c i t e d t he names o f Carmon-t e l l e , t he younger de Troy, the Count de Caylus and the Abbe' Crozat, as w e l l as Monsieur du Boccage and the Baron de Besenval. Van Bever's study o f 1912, app a r e n t l y the most r e c e n t , g i v e s a c a r e f u l l i s t o f twenty-nine p a r o i s s i e n s . but i n c l u d e s t h e r e i n Coypel, Rigaud, L a r g i l l i e r e , H e l v e t i u s and Marivaux. These may w e l l have been f r i e n d s of Madame Doublet, but were not n e c e s s a r i l y members of her p a r o i s s e . C o t t i n ^ i n c l u d e s the Marquis d'Argens and even Voltaire. B a y l e and Herblay35 a d d to t h e i r l i s t such u n l i k e l y members as the C h e v a l i e r de l a M o r l i e r e and the p o l i c e - s p y de Mouhy.^ No review o f the p a r o i s s e i s complete without s p e c i a l 37 r e f e r e n c e t o Mai r o b e r t , who continued the n o u v e l l e s a l a main. S a i d by the goss i p o f the day to be the son of Madame Doublet and Bachaumont, Ma i r o b e r t appears t o have become a freq u e n t 34cottin, op_. e x t . , p. x x i i i . ^ ^Bayle and Herblay, op., ext., p. 224. ^ B r e n t a n o , op_. ext., p. 273, seems q u i t e c o r r e c t i n p o i n t i n g out the i m p o s s i b i l i t y o f de Mouhy's ever h a v i n g been \"un d i s c i p l e a s s i d u de l a p a r o i s s e . \" ^ C o n s i d e r a t i o n o r\" the l a t e r c o n t r i b u t i o n s o f M a i r o b e r t T s successor, Moufle d f A n g e r v i l l e , l i e s w e l l beyond the scope o f the pre s e n t study. 35 v i s i t o r t o the p a r o i s s e from an e a r l y age. P r e c i s e dates are l a c k i n g , however, and h i s e a r l y c a r e e r seems r a t h e r shadowy. In 1749, aged twenty-two, he was imprisoned i n t h e B a s t i l l e f o r r e c i t i n g s e d i t i o u s v e r s e s . At t h a t time, he i s recorded as \" e p r i s de l i t t e V a t u r e et d Tindependance, t r e s frondeur, attaquant l e s m i n i s t r e s , Madame de Pompadour, l e r o i lui-meme; i l e s t f i e r de nouer l e s r e l a t i o n s avec l e s e c r i v a i n s en renom; 18 i l c o l p o r t e l e u r s oeuvres . . .\", and the same source quotes a p o l i c e r e p o r t which sums him up as \"un des garcons q u i a i e n t l a p l u s mauvaise langue de P a r i s . \" He h e l d v a r i o u s p o s t s , working f o r a time i n the A r c h i v e s de l a Marine, and was no doubt a welcome source of i n f o r m a t i o n f o r Madame Doublet's b u l l e t i n s . J u s t when t h i s \" d i m i n u t i f de Beaumarchais\"^ 9 became Bachaumont fs s e c r e t a r y i s not c l e a r , but a l e t t e r o f V o l t a i r e dated 1754 mentions \"un nomme Merobert q u i t r o t t e pour Monsieur de Bachaumont\"*^ and Brentano quotes a note to the p o l i c e which i n d i c a t e s t h a t M a i r o b e r t was working a t Madame Doublet's n o u v e l l e s i n 1766.*\"'\" The extent o f h i s i n f l u e n c e on the e a r l y Memoires s e c r e t s bears c o n s i d e r i n g . ° Brentano, op_. c i t . . p. 282. 39 Moufle d ' A n g e r v i l l e i n h i s V i e Prive'e de L o u i s XV says t h a t M a i r o b e r t \" v i f et souple, i n t r i g a n t et h a r d i , p a r l e u r c a u s t i q u e , o r a c l e des f o y e r s de l a comidie, c o u r t i s a n des l i e u t e n a n t s de p o l i c e , h a b i l e a changer de masque et a se f a u f i l e r chez l e s grands, nous f i g u r e assez b i e n un d i m i n u t i f de Beaumarchais.\" Funck-Brentano, op., ext., p. 284. 4 0 V o l t a i r e , Correspondence. XXIV, 105, No. 5052. ^^-Funck-Brentano, op., e x t . , p. 281. 36 What c o n c l u s i o n s can be r e a d i l y drawn from even a c u r s o r y survey o f the p a r o i s s e ? With Grimm, one can marvel at t h e l o n g e v i t y enjoyed by most members: \" t o u t ont a t t e i n t l e terme l e p l u s recule' de l a v i e humaine . . .\"42 But t h e r e , perhaps, the u n i f o r m i t y o f t h e i r l i v e s ends and one i s almost overwhelmed by a sense of t h e i r d i v e r s i t y . Around Madame Doublet's t a b l e t h e r e met d a i l y some t h i r t y people, w i t h v a r i e d i n t e r e s t s — p o l i t i c a l , a r t i s t i c , r e l i g i o u s , and l i t e r -a r y . H o l d i n g each o t h e r i n t o l e r a n t and a f f e c t i o n a t e esteem, d e s p i t e a t times t h e i r c o n f l i c t i n g p o i n t s o f view, they suc-ceeded i n t r a n s f o r m i n g t h e i r l i v e l y i n t e r e s t i n a f f a i r s o f t h e i r day i n t o an amazingly s u c c e s s f u l j o u r n a l i s t i c e n t e r p r i s e . F i n a l l y , b e f o r e p a s s i n g t o a c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f the l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m found i n the f i r s t f i v e volumes of the Memoires s e c r e t s , one should remember t h a t , although t h i s work i s the l e g a c y o f the p a r o i s s e . i t r e p r e s e n t s a d e r i v a t i v e e d i t i n g of Bachaumont's own e d i t i n g of Madame Doublet's r e g i s -t e r s and t h a t echoes o f the o r i g i n a l p a r o i s s e may w e l l have become r a t h e r confused and f a i n t . Furthermore, the p e r i o d covered, 1762-1771, r e p r e s e n t s the p a r o i s s e i n i t s d e c l i n i n g y e a r s when, saddened by the deaths o f t h e i r f r i e n d s , the mem-bers may have become l e s s m i l i t a n t than b e f o r e . In t h i s p e r i o d a l s o , p o l i c e s u p e r v i s i o n o f the group was more s t r i c t , and comments may have been c a r e f u l l y worded to confuse the Grimm, op. c i t . , IX, 317. censor. Nevertheless^these volumes, so eagerly sought at the time of t h e i r publication, remain an i n t e r e s t i n g and valuable record of contemporary opinion and constitute f o r the modern reader \"un des plus pr6cieux miroirs de l a societe du dix-huitieme siecle.\"'*^ 4 , 5Hatin, E. Bibliographie de l a presse pe>iodique f rancaise. p. 67. CHAPTER I I I THE MEMOIRES SECRETS AND VOLTAIRE The dominant f i g u r e i n the l i t e r a r y scene reviewed i n the e a r l y volumes of the Memoires s e c r e t s i s c e r t a i n l y V o l t a i r e . The f i r s t two e n t r i e s i n the j o u r n a l concern him and, d u r i n g the ensuing decade (1762-1771), some two hundred and f i f t y items r e c o r d the i n t e r e s t of the p a r o i s s e i n h i s many a c t i v i t i e s . In p a r t , the numerous r e f e r e n c e s r e f l e c t the g e n e r a l c u r i o s i t y t h a t he aroused; i n p a r t , they are evidence of h i s p r o l i f i c pen. However, t h e r e are more d e f i n i t e bonds l i n k i n g the p a r o i s s e and the p h i l o s o p h e de Ferney. The most obvious l i n k between the great w r i t e r and Madame D o u b l e t T s s a l o n was t h e f r i e n d s h i p , a l r e a d y noted, t h a t e x i s t e d between V o l t a i r e and d ' A r g e n t a l , h i s \"ange g a r d i e n . \" V o l t a i r e ' s attendance a t p a r o i s s e g a t h e r i n g s i s not recorded but he may w e l l have been an o c c a s i o n a l v i s i t o r . I n any case, h i s awareness o f the e x i s t e n c e of the p a r o i s s e and o f the p u b l i c i t y v a l u e of the r e g i s t e r s i s shown i n h i s correspondence. In a l e t t e r t o Madame S o l a r , dated 1742, he speaks o f having sent an item to \"Monsieur l e p r e s i d e n t de M e i n i e r e pour en o r n e r l e grand l i v r e de Madame Doublet,\"'*' and i n 1750, r e f e r r i n g t o some verses imputed to him, he V o l t a i r e , Correspondence. X I I , 104 - 105, No. 2479. 39 wrote t o d ' A r g e n t a l : \" P r o t e s t e z done, j e vous en p r i e , dans l e grand l i v r e de Madame Doublet, c o n t r e l e s Impertlnents q u i 2 m ' a t t r x b u e r a i e n t ces impertinences . . . \" V o l t a i r e seems t o have known Bachaumont, and makes s e v e r a l r e f e r e n c e s t o him. The Besterman Correspondence even i n c l u d e s a l e t t e r t o our p a r o i s s i e n t h a n k i n g him f o r a p e r s o n a l favour and r e f e r r i n g t o Bachaumont*s young prote'ge, Boyer d f E g u i l l e s . 3 Indeed, V o l t a i r e numbered s e v e r a l other p a r o i s s i e n s among h i s f r i e n d s , ' and c e r t a i n l y the Memoires g i v e abundant proof t h a t the p a r o i s s e was w e l l informed with r e g a r d t o events a t Ferney. V o l t a i r e i n t h i s p e r i o d was s t i l l a c t i v e i n most areas o f l i t e r a t u r e although h i s e f f o r t s were by no means evenly d i s t r i b u t e d among a l l the v a r i o u s genres. S i n c e the time o f h i s g r e a t e s t p r o d u c t i v i t y i n h i s t o r i c a l w r i t i n g was p a s t , we f i n d c o r r e s p o n d i n g l y l i t t l e c r i t i c i s m i n the Memoires devoted to t h i s area, the e n t r i e s b e i n g c o n f i n e d mainly t o the ye a r s 1 7 6 3 , 1 7 6 8 , and 1 7 6 9 . When the second volume o f h i s H i s t o i r e de P i e r r e l e Grand appeared i n 1763 the Memoires. although they a re p l e a s e d t o note \"des £tincelles de ge n i e \" a t 2 I b i d . . XVIII, 1 6 6 , No. 3 6 5 3 . 3 I b i d . . XV, 2 0 9 , No. 3 1 9 6 . ^We have a l r e a d y mentioned Voisenon and Madame du Boccage, but h i s correspondence r e v e a l s c o n n e c t i o n s w i t h o t h e r p a r o i s s i e n s . For example, he seems t o have known Madame de Besenval ( I b i d . . I , 304 - 3 0 5 ) ; he c o n s u l t e d Mairan about p h y s i c s , c a l l i n g him the \"philosophe aimable\" ( i b i d . . V I I , 363), and a t one time c o n s i d e r e d l e a s i n g S a i n t e ~ P a l a y e f s house ( I b i d . . XXXIII, 244; XXXIV, 2 5 ) . i n t e r v a l s , f i n d the work \"extremement croque'. \"-> R e a c t i n g to h i s 8-volume Nouvelle H i s t o i r e gene>ale. they p r a i s e h i s u s u a l b r i l l i a n t s t y l e , but f i n d t h a t i t l a c k s \" l a profondeur, et s u r t o u t 1*exactitude sur l a q u e l l e e s t f o n d l e l a ve>acite, premiere q u a l i t y d'un h i s t o r i e n . \" L a t e r i n the same year, r e f e r r i n g t o h i s H i s t o i r e u n i v e r s e l l e . they again accuse V o l t a i r e o f s u p e r f i c i a l i t y : \" I I veut t o u t embrasser, n ' a p p r o f o n d i t r i e n , et t r a i t e tous l e s eVdnements de l a maniere l a p l u s vague, l a moins circonstancie'e, et souvent n l a p l u s e'ronne'e.\" P a s s i n g comment o n l y i s given to the S i e c l e de L o u i s XV. which appeared i n 1768, the Memoires merely r e c o r d i n g the adverse r e a c t i o n o f t h e Parlement. a l -though they had hoped f o r a f a v o u r a b l e r e c e p t i o n o f t h i s work. The f o l l o w i n g year, 1769, V o l t a i r e - produced h i s H i s t o i r e du Parlement de P a r i s . The wisdom o f such a p r o d u c t i o n i s questioned as l i k e l y t o antagonize the Parlement. thereby i n v i t i n g punishment, e s p e c i a l l y o f the c o l p o r t e u r s . L a t e r , i n a b r i e f survey, the second volume i s judged to be o f f the t o p i c but g e n e r a l p r a i s e i s g i v e n to V o l t a i r e ' s s k i l f u l use o f simple prose: \" I I est a p o r t e e du grand nombre des l e c -t e u r s et s e r a p l u s connu que s ' i l 6 t a i t profond, savant, 3Memoires s e c r e t s , I , 241. S p e l l i n g has been s t a n d a r d i z e d i n a l l q u o t a t i o n s from the Memoires and o t h e r contemporary t e x t s . 6 I b i d . . I, 243. 7lbid., I, 284. exact et austere.\"° The f i n a l r e f e r e n c e i m p l i e s t h a t t h e work i s f a r from o b j e c t i v e , s i n c e t h e Parlement i s a r r a n g i n g f o r p u b l i c a t i o n o f c e r t a i n f a c t s t h a t V o l t a i r e has \"omis expres.\" V o l t a i r e T s m e r i t s as a l i t e r a r y c r i t i c a re reviewed by the Memoires c h i e f l y on the o c c a s i o n o f h i s e d i t i o n of the works of C o r n e i l l e , which appeared i n 1764. The commentary i s g e n e r a l l y unfavourable and accuses V o l t a i r e of p e t t i n e s s c o n c e r n i n g minor p o i n t s o f grammar, o f b e i n g r e p e t i t i o u s , and o f showing p r e f e r e n c e f o r Racine over C o r n e i l l e . A n d so the Memoires conclude: \"En un mot, r i e n d*approfondi, p o i n t de vues g e n ^ r a l e s , et n u l l e analyse r e f l e c h i e d'aucune de ces t r a g e d i e s . On sent f a c i l e m e n t que ce t r a v a i l l e n t et cofiteux ne s y m p a t h i s a i t pas avec 1 1 i m a g i n a t i o n fougeuse de Monsieur de V o l t a i r e . \" ^ C r i t i c a l e x p r e s s i o n s o f o p i n i o n c o n c e r n i n g V o l t a i r e as a p l a y w r i g h t , though g e n e r a l l y e q u a l l y c o n c i s e , a r e some-what more numerous. The second e n t r y i n the Memoires concerns, f o r example, V o l t a i r e f s Zulime. At f i r s t , f u l l comment i s w i t h h e l d u n t i l the p l a y has completed i t s run o f n i n e p e r f o r -mances. Then f o l l o w s a d e t a i l e d c r i t i c i s m o f i t s i l l o g i c a l p l o t and u n l i k e l y p s y c h o l o g i c a l s t r u c t u r e . Only the s t u b -bornness o f the author i n b e l i e v i n g i n the worth o f t h i s °Ibid.. IV, 329. 9 I b i d . . I I , 43, 50. 42 \"monstrueux drame,\" d e s p i t e i t s f a i l u r e twenty-three y e a r s e a r l i e r , c o u l d have encouraged, we are t o l d , such an u n f o r -t u n a t e p r o d u c t i o n . We are even favoured with a c o u p l e t t o summarize the g e n e r a l sentiment: Du temps q u i d i t r u i t t o u t , V o l t a i r e e s t l a v i c t i m e ; Souvenez-vous de l u i , mais o u b l i e z Zulime.iO C e r t a i n l y , one cannot accuse the Memoires o f e x p r e s s i n g f a v o u r i t i s m f o r a f r i e n d . At about the same date, a new \"come'die p h i l o s o p h i q u e en v e r s , \" l * E c u e i l du Sage, evokes th e c u t t i n g remark t h a t \"Monsieur de V o l t a i r e , pour c o n s o l e r ses envieux, apres a v o i r echoue dans l e t r a g i q u e , a v o u l u sans doute echouer a u s s i dans l e comique.\" The b r i e f summary t h a t f o l l o w s i s l a r g e l y u n f a v o u r a b l e but whatever i s praiseworthy i s a l s o noted, the c r i t i c a l judgements b e i n g phrased i n a manner t y p i c a l of the e a r l i e r volumes of the Memoires: \"Les deux premiers a c t e s sont une f a r c e , une parade digne des boulevards; l e t r o i s i e m e se monte sur l e haut ton, l e quatrieme l e s o u t i e n t , et l e cinquieme est des p l u s d e t e s t a b l e s . I I y a p o u r t a n t quelques scenes q u i d e c e l e n t l e grand m a l t r e , et c ' e s t en c e l a que ce Drame e s t s u p e r i e u r a l a derriere t r a g e d i e de l ' a u t e u r . \" ^ A d e t a i l e d review o f t h i s same p l a y i s promised but not i n c l u d e d IMd., I, 44. 1 : L I b i d . , I, 24 - 25. i n the o r i g i n a l Memoires. I t appears, however, i n the supplements, where a lengthy item i s i n s e r t e d , g i v i n g many more d e t a i l s o f t h i s \" t i s s u t o u t a f a i t romanesque,\" but a g a i n p r a i s i n g V o l t a i r e ' s s k i l l i n making h i s c h a r a c t e r s speak \"avec une o n c t i o n q u i ne va qu'a l u i ; i l n'est p o i n t de p r e d i c a t e u r a u s s i i n s i n u a n t , a u s s i penetrant . . .n-1-* H i s r emaining p l a y s are b r i e f l y reviewed. V o l t a i r e ' s Olvmpie i s d i s m i s s e d as a \" t r a g e d i e t r e s mediocre d'un grand a p p a r e i l de s p e c t a c l e . \" \" ^ The more c o n t r o v e r s i a l S a u l , then c i r c u l a t i n g (1763) i n manuscript form, provokes s e v e r a l com-ments which we w i l l d i s c u s s l a t e r i n t h i s chapter i n the more gen e r a l context of r e a c t i o n s to V o l t a i r e ' s a n t i - r e l i g i o u s w r i t i n g s . A r e v i s e d Mariamne meets w i t h two b r i e f r e f e r e n c e s o n l y . ^ Two y e a r s l a t e r , a s u c c e s s f u l r e v i v a l o f V o l t a i r e ' s e a r l i e r tragedy, A d e l a i d e du G u e s c l i n , i s a t t r i b u t e d to the change i n p u b l i c t a s t e s , now r e c e p t i v e to i n n o v a t i o n s such as the famous coup de c a n o n . ^ Another h i s t o r i c a l tragedy, l e T r i u m v i r a t . dated 1766, i n s p i r e s very f a v o u r a b l e comment: \"L'ordonnance de c e t t e t r a g e d i e e s t imposante, l e s t y l e en e s t f o r t et soutenu, l a v e r s i f i c a t i o n b e l l e et majestueuse. On y t r o u v e beaucoup de v e r s heureux et f a c i l e s . En un mot, 1 2 I b i d . , XVI, 140 - 144. 1 3 I b i d . , I, 246 - 247. 1 4 i b i d . , I, 302, 303. 1 5 l b i d . . I I , 255. on l a juge de M. de V o l t a i r e . \" x 6 Less w e l l r e c e i v e d are Pandore, which V o l t a i r e , \" t o u j o u r s j a l o u x de b r i l l e r dans tous l e s genres,\" had had s e t t o m u s i c x ^ and C h a r i o t . a \"drame tragi-comique en t r o i s a c t e s et en v e r s v \" Of the l a t t e r , the Memoires comment t h a t \"quoique sa touche cbmique n f a i t jamais ete' m e r v e i l l e u s e , e l l e e s t du p l u s mauvais gout dans c e t ouvrage t r e s f r o i d , t r e s t r i s t e , et dont aucun c a r a c t e r e n f e s t developpe qu faux noms des a c t e u r s . \" x o A bourge o i s p a s t o r a l , l e s Scythes, which V o l t a i r e had sent t o C a r d i n a l de B e r n i s , r e c e i v e s a g e n e r a l l y unfavourable review, although some \"morceaux de l a p l u s grande f o r c e \" a re found t h e r e i n . E s p e c i a l l y d e p l o r a b l e i s the d e d i c a t i o n t o C h o i s e u l and P r a s l i n made, we are t o l d , i n a tone \" l e p l u s bas et p l e i n d * a d u l a t i o n l a p l u s outre\"e.\" x9 V o l t a i r e f s tendency t o i n d u l g e i n such s e r v i l e f l a t t e r y i s p o i n t e d out on s e v e r a l o c c a s i o n s as one of h i s l e s s d e s i r a b l e a t t r i b u t e s . P e r f o r -mances o f h i s e s t a b l i s h e d p l a y s , Tancrede. Semiramis and Brutus. draw no added comment, and the l a s t entry o f t h i s n a t u r e i s an account o f the embarrassment o f the Come'diens who, h a v i n g r e f u s e d l e D e p o s i t a i r e as \"bassement in t r i g u e ' e \" >: J - ^ i b i d . . I l l , 139. An a d d i t i o n a l note c o n c e r n i n g t h i s p l a y w i l l be found i n my Chapter 5. J - ^ i b i d . . I l l , 152, 166. l 8 I b i d . . I l l , 283 - 284. J - ^ l b i d . . I l l , 189 - 190. 45 and \"platement e c r i t e , \" d i s c o v e r e d the author to be V o l t a i r e . F o r t u n a t e l y , h i s f r i e n d s withdrew i t from the a c t o r s b e f o r e 20 they c o u l d perform i t out o f a sense o f o b l i g a t i o n . The Memoires do not c o n t a i n e x t e n s i v e c r i t i c i s m o f V o l t a i r e ' s p l a y s f o r the p e r i o d , nor do they d i s c u s s at l e n g t h h i s p o e t r y . S c a t t e r e d throughout the volumes one f i n d s some examples of h i s \"vers g a l a n t s , \" and a number o f h i s w i t t y epigrams are presented w i t h r e l i s h , e s p e c i a l l y those d i r e c t e d 21 a g a i n s t Pompignan and F r d r o n . There are r e f e r e n c e s to v a r i -ous d i d a c t i c works i n v e r s e form: a \" f a b l e en v e r s , \" a \"conte en v e r s , \" and an \"epxtre en v e r s , \" t h e l a t t e r b e i n g an a t t a c k on a t h e i s m — j u d g e d t o be somewhat i l l o g i c a l — b u t V o l t a i r e i s admitted to be \"accoutume a pr§cher l e pour et l e c o n t r e . \" 2 2 A l l t hese p i e c e s are c r i t i c i z e d , However, f o r t h e i r content r a t h e r than f o r t h e i r l a c k of p o e t i c q u a l i t i e s . The o n l y d i r e c t r e f e r e n c e s to V o l t a i r e as a poet a r e two t h a t occur i n the supplements. One concerns an ode t o S t . Genevieve, composed by V o l t a i r e i n h i s youth and p u b l i s h e d i n 1764 by F r e r o n , no doubt out o f s p i t e . I t i s admitted t o be very 2 0 I b i d . . V, 78 - 79. 21 As f o r example, the f o l l o w i n g : \"Un j o u r l o i n du s a c r e v a l l o n Un serpent mordit Jean F r e r o n . Savez-vous ce q u * i l a r r i v a ? Ce f u t l e serpent q u i c r e v a . \" ( i b i d . , I, 182) See a l s o I b i d . , I, 320, 349. 22 I b i d . , IV, 143, 151, 248. poor and the Memoires add, \" I I en f a u t c o n c l u r e q u T i l a v a i t peu de d i s p o s i t i o n pour l a poe\"sie l y r i q u e et s a c r e e . \" ° The second concerns a p i n d a r i c ode t o the Empress o f R u s s i a , dated 1768, i n which V o l t a i r e , a p p a r e n t l y d e s i r i n g to out-do Pinda r , r e c e i v e s t h i s d i r e c t comment: \"Ce grand homme, dans d i f -f e r ents genres, a t o u j o u r s echoue dans c e l u i - c i , et i l v o u d r a i t e f f a c e r du temple de memoire l e s noms des grand 24. m a i t r e s de l ' o d e . \" Thus f a r the g e n e r a l tenor o f most o f the a l l u s i o n s t o V o l t a i r e ' s w r i t i n g s r e v e a l s a d e c i d e d l y n e g a t i v e a t t i t u d e on the p a r t o f the c o n t r i b u t o r s t o t h e Memoires. H i s h i s -t o r i c a l works, w h i l e commended f o r s i m p l i c i t y o f s t y l e and c l a r i t y o f ex p r e s s i o n , are accused o f b e i n g a t the same time s u p e r f i c i a l , sketchy and warped. H i s e d i t i o n o f C o r n e i l l e i s u n favourably reviewed. F i n a l l y , h i s dramatic works p r o -duced d u r i n g the decade i n qu e s t i o n r e c e i v e o n l y scant p r a i s e ; except f o r l e T r i u m v i r a t . they a re seen as i l l o g i c a l i n p l o t and weak i n c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n . One gathers t h a t V o l t a i r e i s c o n s i d e r e d t o have exhausted h i s best e f f o r t s and he i s seen as f o o l i s h l y t r y i n g to e x c e l i n a l l a r e a s . H i s l i g h t and s p a r k l i n g verse i s o b v i o u s l y admired as an e x c e l l e n t v e h i c l e f o r h i s sharp w i t , but i n general i t i s conceded t h a t p o e t r y i s not h i s s t r o n g p o i n t . 2 3 I b i d . . XVI, 240. 2 4 i b i d . , XIX, 4. 47 What e x p e c i a l l y emerges from a study o f the o p i n i o n s on V o l t a i r e expressed i n the Memoires s e c r e t s f o r t h i s decade i s a p i c t u r e o f the immense v i t a l i t y o f h i s mind, o f the a l -most f e v e r i s h output of h i s pen, and evidence o f the eagerness w i t h which a l l h i s a c t i v i t i e s were f o l l o w e d . D e t a i l s o f h i s p e r s o n a l l i f e a r e f r e q u e n t l y r e p o r t e d : h i s h e a l t h , his..-, whereabouts, h i s q u a r r e l s , h i s communions. I n a d d i t i o n t o the w r i t i n g s a l r e a d y noted, an almost b e w i l d e r i n g v a r i e t y o f pamphlets, l e t t e r s , contes, e p i s t l e s , brochures, as w e l l as l a r g e r works such as h i s D i c t i o n n a i r e p h i l o s o p h i q u e are c a t a -logued as p o i n t i n g t o h i s t i r e l e s s e f f o r t s t o combat \"infamous s u p e r s t i t i o n . \" S i n c e more than h a l f the V o l t a i r i a n e n t r i e s are devoted t o t h i s l a s t aspect of h i s work, no complete study w i l l be p o s s i b l e i n our b r i e f survey. A sampling o f t y p i c a l comments may, however, enable us t o draw some g e n e r a l c o n c l u -s i o n s about the o p i n i o n s expressed. The Memoires appear t o take t h e view t h a t one cannot s e p a r a t e V o l t a i r e from h i s w r i t i n g s , e s p e c i a l l y i n the area o f h i s d i d a c t i c works. They a r e t h e r e f o r e q u i c k t o judge h i s p e r s o n a l as w e l l as h i s l i t e r a r y q u a l i t i e s nor do they h e s i -t a t e t o express both a d m i r a t i o n and severe c r i t i c i s m i n t h i s r e g a r d . C e r t a i n o f h i s p e r s o n a l t r a i t s , evidenced i n h i s w r i t i n g s and h i s a c t i o n s , r e c e i v e a c c l a i m . C h i e f o f these i s h i s humanity, r e v e a l e d i n v a r i o u s works such as the Sermon du Rabin-Akib, an a t t a c k on the l a s t auto-da-fe i n Lisbon, and i n h i s a c t i v i t i e s on h e h a l f o f v i c t i m s of r e l i g i o u s 48 i n t o l e r a n c e . The Memoires r e c o r d w i t h approval h i s e f f o r t s i n a i d of such persons: h i s o f f e r s of f i n a n c i a l a i d and h i s l e t t e r s on t h e i r b e h a l f , w r i t t e n \"avec c e t t e o n c t i o n , ce pathe\"tique q u i c o u l e n t s i n a t u r e l l e m e n t de l a plume de ce grand e c r i v a i n l o r s q u . l i l pr§che l'humanite et defend l e s d r o i t s de 1'innocence opprime'e. \"2-* The f i n a l r e h a b i l i t a t i o n o f the S i r v e n f a m i l y i s a t t r i b u t e d \"aux s o i n s et aux reclama-t i o n s de M. de V o l t a i r e , \" with the added note t h a t i t w i l l assure \"de p l u s en p l u s a ce poete p h i l o s o p h i q u e une p l a c e parmi l e s b i e n f a i t e u r s de l'humanite'.\" Likewise, d e s p i t e t h e adverse c r i t i c i s m o f h i s C o r n e i l l e , the Memoires r e a d i l y admit h i s g e n e r o s i t y towards M i l e C o r n e i l l e , f o r whom the proceeds are d e s t i n e d . They a l s o r e c o r d o t h e r l i t t l e a c t s o f kindness, and express a p p r e c i a t i o n o f h i s h o s p i t a l i t y f o r men of l e t t e r s at F e r n e y — h o s p i t a l i t y which was at times abused. 2'' Apart from such t r i b u t e s t o h i s p e r s o n a l q u a l i t i e s , the Memoires f a v o u r a b l y a p p r a i s e h i s techniques and s t y l e . V o l t a i r e ' s t a l e n t f o r c l a r i t y and s i m p l i c i t y o f e x p r e s s i o n i s noted e s p e c i a l l y as a powerful a i d t o p o p u l a r i z a t i o n o f h i s thought. The Memoires r e c o r d a l s o the p u b l i c ' s p r e -d i l e c t i o n f o r h i s \" l e t t r e s c o u r t e s et 16geres\" and they p r a i s e 2 5 I b i d . . I l l , 212. 2 6 I b i d . . V, 33. 2 ? I b i d . . I I , 271; IV, 3. \" l a l e g e r e t e , l a bonne p l a i s a n t e r i e , l e sentiment pur et p e n e t r a n t \" c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f much o f h i s work. One senses the enjoyment o f the p a r o i s s i e n s as they witness h i s p r a c -t i c a l j o k e s and h i s frequent disavowals of works t h a t a r e o b v i o u s l y h i s : \"On ne peut t r o p r i r e des mouvements que se donne sans cesse M. de V o l t a i r e pour j o u e r l e p u b l i c et l e persifler.\"^° They r e l i s h h i s w i t t y a s s a u l t s upon an oppo-nent: \" I I v o l t i g e autour de l u i , i l l e h a r c e l e legerement, i l l e couvre de ses sarcasmes, et l e l a i s s e en c e t Stat ex-pose a l a r i s e e p u b l i q u e . \" 2 9 Concerning V o l t a i r e ' s contes perhaps no b e t t e r b r i e f a p p r a i s a l c o u l d be found than t h a t i n the Memoires: \"On y trouve t o u j o u r s cette touche d e l i c a t e , q u i n ' a p p a r t i e n t qu'a l u i : q u o i q u ' i l s ne s o i e n t pas egalement bons, i l s se f o n t l i r e avec p l a i s i r . \" 3 ^ D e s p i t e such h i g h r e g a r d f o r V o l t a i r e ' s humanitarian q u a l i t i e s and such obvious a d m i r a t i o n f o r h i s w i t and c l a r i t y , t h e Memoires f r e q u e n t l y c r i t i c i z e h i s shortcomings, both l i t e r a r y and p e r s o n a l . We are t o l d t h a t h i s w i t and sarcasm, w h i l e enjoyable, tend o f t e n t o be c a r r i e d t o excess, even i n t h e C a l a s and S i r v e n a f f a i r s where \" l ' a u t e u r c o n t i n u e a se s e r v i r de l ' i r o n i e et a t r a i t e r en p l a i s a n t a n t , des m a t i e r e s q u i p a r a i s s e n t m e r i t e r un t o n p l u s s e r i e u x . \" On numerous 2 8 l b i d . , I I , 250. 3 0 I b i d . . I I , 4 8 . 2 9 l b i d . . IV, 128 . 3 1 I b i d . . I l l , 91. o c c a s i o n s V o l t a i r e i s accused o f t r e a t i n g s e r i o u s t o p i c s w i t h \" m i l l e p l a i s a n t e r i e s , dont i l ne peut s ' a b s t e n i r , et q u i donnent un a i r de f a r c e a ses ouvrages l e s p l u s serieux.\"32 T h i s same passage goes on to p o i n t out h i s frequent i n c o n s i s -t e n c i e s and c o n t r a d i c t i o n s . In t h e supplement f o r 1767, we l e a r n t h a t , \"sous p r e t e x t e de t o l e r a n c e , i l frappe t o u t e s l e s r e l i g i o n s de l a maniere l a p l u s i n t o l e ' r a n t e , \" 3 3 and i n an entry f o r 1770 a s i m i l a r comment notes t h a t \" l ' a p S t r e de l T h u m a n i t e o u b l i e son r3 l e et preche l a guerre, l e carnage et l a d e s t r u c t i o n avec une vehemence b i e n opposee a t o u t ce q u ' i l a e c r i t depuis quelque temps, mais ce ne s e r a mal-heureusement pas l a d e r n i e r e de ses c o n t r a d i c t i o n s . \" 3 4 An e a r l i e r note on V o l t a i r e * s Honn§tet£s l i t t e r a i r e s suggests t h a t h i s i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s a l s o extend to h i s c h o i c e o f words, s i n c e \" i l donne lui-meme l e modele des g r o s s i e r e t e s q u * i l reproche aux autres?;' the note goes on to c h a r a c t e r i z e him as \"un champion q u i d*abord e n t r e en l i c e en r i a n t , s T e c h a u f f e e n s u i t e , eprouve e n f i n l e s memes f u r e u r s c o n v u l s i v e s de son a d v e r s a i r e . \" 3 ^ The Memoires d e p l o r e not onl y h i s frequent c o n t r a -d i c t i o n s but a l s o h i s v i r u l e n t a t t a c k s upon a l l who d i f f e r 32ibid.. IV, 248. 33ibid., XVIII, 336. 34ibid.. XIX, 222. 35ibid.. I l l , 244. w i t h him i n any way. Obviously no admirers o f those who opposed the p h i l o s o p h e s . the Memoires f o l l o w a p p r o v i n g l y the b i t t e r exchanges between V o l t a i r e and F r e r o n . They do not, however, approve of V o l t a i r e ' s a t t a c k s on Rousseau, 3^ and they see i n h i s Questions sur 1'Encvclopedie a r e p e r t o i r e o f i n s u l t s , adding t h a t the number o f h i s enemies grows d a i l y \"par l a r a i s o n que t o u t homme q u i prend l a l i b e r t e de c r i -t i q u e r ses ouvrages est a 1 ' i n s t a n t repute infame, abominable exe c r a b l e , e t c . \" 3 ? Other p e r s o n a l f a i l i n g s are a l s o emphasized: A com-ment dated 1771 r e i t e r a t e s an e a r l i e r c r i t i c i s m and adds the charge o f s e r v i l i t y . 3 8 A brochure sent to the C z a r i n a o f R u s s i a i s termed \"digne de l ' A p d t r e de l a tole*rance,\" but t h e review adds an a t t a c k on V o l t a i r e ' s e x c e s s i v e use of sarcasm and h i s tendency to be too p r o d i g a l with \"eloges qu'on pourraxt s u s p e c t e r de f l a t t e r i e . n ° 7 The charge i s repeated on o t h e r o c c a s i o n s and we may s a f e l y assume t h a t the p a r o i s s i e n s c o n s i d e r e d such c r i t i c i s m o f V o l t a i r e ' s c h a r a c t e r to be o f c e n t r a l importance. Nor do the Memoires f a i l t o remark upon the great p h i l o s o p h e ' s l o v e o f money: \" L ' a v a r i c e e s t encore l a p a s s i o n f a v o r i t e des gens de L e t t r e s et sans en chercher des exemples b i e n l o i n , personne n'ignore 3 6 I b i d . , I l l , 2 0 1 . 3 7 I b i d . . V, 316 - 317. 3 8 I b i d . . V, 265 - 2 6 6 . 3 9 I b i d . . XIX, 6 . avec q u e l l e ardeur M. de V o l t a i r e , en courant l a g l o i r e , a p o u r s u i v i l a fortune.\"4® I r a s c i b l e , p e t t y , i n c o n s i s t e n t , v a i n , s e r v i c e , ava-r i c i o u s — a l l t hese t h i n g s he may be, but the Memoires are most harsh i n t h e i r c r i t i c i s m o f another f a i l i n g , t h a t o f h i s r e p e t i t i o u s n e s s . V o l t a i r e , we are f r e q u e n t l y t o l d , has \"moins que jamais des ide'es neuves\"j h i s L e t t r e s s u r l e s m i r a c l e s \"ne f o n t que remacher l a meine chose, et M. de V o l -t a i r e lui-m8me ne f a i t que r e p e t e r ce q u ' i l a d e j a d i t — e t ce que t a n t d'autres a v a i e n t d i t avant l u i . \" 4 i A l l such comments may be w e l l summed up i n one dated 1767: \"Malgre' l e s p r e t e n t i o n s de M. de V o l t a i r e a r i r e et a f a i r e r i r e , l e s gens sense's ne v o i e n t p l u s en l u i qu fun malade attaque d'une a f f e c t i o n m6lancolique, d'une manie t r i s t e q u i l e r a p p e l l e t o u j o u r s aux memes i d e e s , s u i v a n t l a d e f i n i t i o n qu'on donne en medicine de c e t e t a t vaporeux: D e l i r i u m c i r c a unum et idem ob.iectum. \" 4 2 Admiring him as the \" a p o s t l e o f t o l e r a n c e , \" the Memoires seem t o f e a r t h a t V o l t a i r e ' s grow-i n g i n t e n s i t y and r i g i d i t y w i l l d e f e a t h i s own purposes. Obviously, d i f f i c u l t y o f i n t e r p r e t a t i o n surrounds some o f the comments, especially those d e a l i n g w i t h V o l t a i r e ' s 4 0 I b i d . . VI, 45. 4 1 I b i d . , I I , 253. See a l s o I b i d . , I I , 62; IV, 247 -248; V, 319; XIX, 106. 4 2 I b i d . . I l l , 236. a n t i - r e l i g i o u s works. Can, f o r example, the remarks on Saul be taken s e r i o u s l y ? \"Ce n T e s t pas une p i e c e o r d i n a i r e , c T e s t une h o r r e u r dans l e gout de l a P u c e l l e mais beaucoup p l u s impie, p l u s abominable. On n T e n peut entendre l a l e c t u r e sans f r e m i r : c T e s t un t i s s u d timpie'tes r a r e s , d f h o r r e u r s a f a i r e d r e s s e r l e s cheveux. , C e t t e tr a g e c l i e e s t t o u j o u r s t r e s recherchee et t r e s peu repandue . . .\"43 S u r e l y such a review would be an e x c e l l e n t recommendation, i t s tone o f shocked h o r r o r appeasing the censor w h i l e i n t r i g u i n g the p u b l i c . A l a t e r comment on the same p l a y , now p r i n t e d , m a i n t a i n s a c a r e -f u l apparent i m p a r t i a l i t y , remarking o n l y t h a t some f i n d i t \" d e t e s t a b l e et dans l e fond et dans l a forme; i l s en re p r o u -vent l e s t y l e emphatique et simple t o u r a t o u r ; l e s a u t r e s l e regardent comme un chef-d'oeuvre d T i m p i e t e , mais comme un ouvrage p i t t o r e s q u e et p h i l o s o p h i q u e . \" ^ Judgments o f t h i s type o ccur f r e q u e n t l y and tend t o p u z z l e the reader, f o r they appear to be c o n t r a r y t o the g e n e r a l l y l a t i t u d i n a r i a n s p i r i t o f the j o u r n a l . F u r t h e r examples are numerous. In 1764 a f t e r p r o d u c i n g a l i s t o f a n t i - r e l i g i o u s works by v a r i o u s authors, the e d i t o r s comment: \"On ne peut regarder que comme t r e s r e d o u t a b l e un r e c u e i l d f a u t o r i t e \" s et de raisonnements a u s s i f o r t s c o n t r e l a r e l i g i o n . \" 4 ^ A work a t t r i b u t e d t o 43ibid., I , 1 9 1 . 44ibid.. I , 2 9 6 . 45ibid.. I I , 1 2 6 . V o l t a i r e , e n t i t l e d Doutes sur l a r e l i g i o n , an a n a l y s i s o f a t r e a t i s e by Spinoza, i s d e s c r i b e d as: \"une d i s c u s s i o n assez seche, mais dangereuse, de 1 1 a u t h e n t i c i t y des l i v r e s de l ' E c r i t u r e S a i n t e , \" with the added note t h a t \" c ' e s t t o u j o u r s un p r o j e t abominable que d ' a v o i r mis a p o r t e e du commun des l e c t e u r s . . . l'e'norme d i s s e r t a t i o n de c e t athee, dont l e p o i s o n se t r o u v a i t noye\" dans un f a t r a s de v e r b i a g e s . . .\"4° The key i s perhaps found i n the Memoires themselves when, speaking of V o l t a i r e ' s d e n i a l s o f h i s own works, they add, \"Rien de p l u s p l a i s a n t — e t de p l u s propre a en imposer a ceux q u i ne c o n n a i s s e n t pas l e dessous des c a r t e s . \" 4 7 Only i n the l i g h t of t h e i r u n d e r l y i n g i r o n y can we f u l l y a p p r e c i a t e such remarks or the f o l l o w i n g , p e r t a i n i n g to V o l t a i r e ' s commentary on the l i f e o f S t . Paul, and h i s D i s s e r t a t i o n sur S t . P i e r r e , both s a i d t o be \" n o u r r i s d'une e r u d i t i o n profonde et soutenue, d'une l o g i q u e c o n t r e l a q u e l l e i l e s t d i f f i c i l e de r e s i s t e r , ^ 4.8 sans l a grace s p e c i a l e d'une f o i v i v e et aveugle.\"^ Such f a i t h we are t o l d , was o n l y f o r \" l e s e s p r i t s l e s p l u s f r i -v o l e s . \" 4 9 B l i n d acceptance o f any f a i t h i s not a c h a r a c t e r -i s t i c o f e n l i g h t e n e d minds. 46ibid.. I l l , 287. 4 7 l b i d . , I I I , 132. 4 8 I b i d . . V, 192. 49ibid.. V, 195 - 196. When we weigh the t o t a l e f f e c t o f the o p i n i o n s con-c e r n i n g V o l t a i r e t h a t are encountered i n the Memoires we are somewhat s u r p r i s e d to f i n d t h a t so much of t h e c r i t i c i s m appears t o be h o s t i l e . Yet, u n d e r l y i n g t h i s apparent h a r s h -ness the reader d e t e c t s a sense o f admiration and a f f e c t i o n -a t e regard f o r h i s very worthwhile c o n t r i b u t i o n s . \"De fades a d u l a t e u r s , des e'crivains mercenaires ne cessent d 1 e l ever des t r o p h i e s a l a g l o i r e de M. de V o l t a i r e , comme s i ses propres ouvrages n ' i t a i e n t pas un monument s u p e r i e u r a tous ceux qu'on p o u r r a i t l u i c o n s a c r e r . \" ^ Of such a d u l a t i o n the Memoires s e c r e t s w i l l have no p a r t ; f r i e n d s h i p does not b l i n d t h e p a r o i s s i e n s t o the weaknesses o f \"ce grand homme.\" Des-p i t e the b r e v i t y o f the comments, the p i c t u r e o f V o l t a i r e t h a t emerges from the j o u r n a l seems i n gene r a l an ac c u r a t e one even today. Perhaps a l s o i t i s V o l t a i r e ' s i n f l u e n c e t h a t the Memoires s e c r e t s themselves r e f l e c t . \"Je v o i s avec p l a i s i r , \" they r e p o r t the P a t r i a r c h e as s a y i n g i n September 1767, \" q u ' i l se forme dans 1'Europe une Republique immense d ' e s p r i t s c u l t i v e s . . . »5 X i n a j o u r n a l designed to r e c o r d the h i s t o r y of t h i s Republique des L e t t r e s ^ 2 V o l t a i r e worth-i l y o c c u p i e s a dominant p l a c e . 5°Ibid., I l l , 50. 5 1 I b i d . , I l l , 261 5 2 P i e r r e Gaxotte i n Le S i e c l e de L o u i s XV. P a r i s , 1933, (ed. L i v r e de poche). pp. 243 - 245 g i v e s an account o f the Republique des l e t t r e s and V o l t a i r e i s again quoted: \"Courage! F a i t e s un corps, messieurs . . . Ameutez-vous, et vous s e r e z l e s m a l t r e s . Je vous p a r l e en r e p u b l i c a i n , mais a u s s i i l s ' a g i t de l a r e p u b l i q u e des l e t t r e s ! \" CHAPTER IV THE MEMOIRES SECRETS; ROUSSEAU AND DIDEROT The value of the Memoires secrets l i e s not only i n i t s factual content but also i n the i n s i g h t i t affords into contemporary opinion. In the case of V o l t a i r e , we have already noted the f a i r l y sophisticated range of ap-p r a i s a l contained i n i t s pages. With regard to Rousseau and Diderot, however, the entries reveal i n varying degrees l e s s awareness of the true stature of these two great writers. The f i r s t two volumes of the Memoires give Rousseau, then at the peak of his r e l a t i v e l y b r i e f l i t e r a r y career, even more p u b l i c i t y than they grant to his great r i v a l V o l -t a i r e . Rousseau's Nouvelle H61o'ise had already scored an immediate and outstanding success,*\" to which, unfortunately, no detailed reference i s made i n the Memoires. On May 22, 1762, the chronicle records the appearance of Emile, followed a month l a t e r by l e Contrat s o c i a l ; from then u n t i l the end of the year some t h i r t y entries i n close succession record the fortunes of these two works and t h e i r author. Frequent comment continues u n t i l 1765. Thereafter, i n t e r e s t centers ^\"C'est a beaucoup pres, s i l'on en excepte V o l t a i r e , l e plus grand succes de l i b r a i r i e du s i e c l e . Seul Candide pourrait f o u r n i r des c h i f f r e s Equivalents.\" (70 editions, 1761-1800.) Mornet, D. Rousseau. Paris, 1950, p. 88. c h i e f l y about Rousseau's t r i b u l a t i o n s and wanderings, and items c o n c e r n i n g him g r a d u a l l y become fewer. No c l o s e l i n k seems t o connect Rousseau and Madame Doublet's p a r o i s s e . as i n the case o f V o l t a i r e and d'Argental That Rousseau was, however, acquainted with some o f the p a r o i s s i e n s i s i n d i c a t e d i n h i s C o n f e s s i o n s . f o r he r e p o r t s h a v i n g met the Abbe de B e r n i s at the home o f Madame D u p i n 2 and a l s o r e c o r d s the f r i e n d l y i n t e r e s t shown him by Madame de Besenval and her daughter: \"Des l o r s j ' o s a i compter que Mme l a baronne de Beuzenval et Mme l a marquise de B r o g l i e prenant i n t e r S t a moi ne me l a i s s e r a i e n t pas longtemps sans r e s s o u r c e s , et j e ne me trompai pas . . .\"° He seems a l s o t o have known the Abbe Prevost, whose n o v e l s he g r e a t l y ad-m i r e d . 4 C h o i s e u l , too, had shown him kindness, although h i s w i f e , Madame Doublet's grand-niece, had found \" l e sauvage c i t o y e n de Geneve\" too u n c u l t u r e d f o r her tastes.** She c o u l d 2Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Oeuvres completes. P l e i a d e ed., I (1959), 289 - 290. 3 I b i d . . I , 291. 4 C l a i r e - E l i a n e Engel, i n her work e n t i t l e d l e V e r i -t a b l e Abbe P r e v o s t . Monaco, 1957, p. 107 notes: \"Prevost e s t depuis longtemps en r a p p o r t s avec son grand emule et d i s c i p l e Jean-Jacques Rousseau e t, par m i r a c l e , i l s ne se b r o u i l l e n t pas.\" ^Rousseau, op_. ext., p. 1544 c o n t a i n s an i n t e r e s t i n g note about Mme Doublet's grand-niece: \"Sainte-Beuve ( L u n d i s , XIV, 225) c i t e ce mot de l a duchessede C h o i s e u l : 'Je me s u i s t o u j o u r s mefiee de ce Rousseau, avec ses systemes s i n g u l i e r e s son accoutrement e x t r a o r d i n a i r e et sa c h a i r e d'Eloquence p o r t e d sur l e s t o i t s des maisons: i l m'a t o u j o u r s paru un charlatan.»\" 58 a p p a r e n t l y , admire p h i l o s o p h e s o n l y when they were o f her own c l a s s . The p a r o i s s i e n s q u i t e o b v i o u s l y shared the p r e v a i l i n g i n t e r e s t i n Rousseau and h i s works and we note t h a t the Mdmoires s e c r e t s a l l o t to Emile what we would term e x c e l l e n t news-coverage: p r e l i m i n a r y announcements, c r i t i c i s m s o f con-t e n t and s t y l e , r e p o r t s of p u b l i c r e a c t i o n , d e t a i l s o f en-s u i n g c o n t r o v e r s i e s and items o f p e r s o n a l i n t e r e s t about the author. Such thorough treatment o f t h i s important work en-a b l e s us to a r r i v e at a f a i r l y p r e c i s e a p p r e c i a t i o n of the p a r o i s s i e n s * view of Rousseau. Approval of Rousseau's s t y l e i s i m p l i c i t i n the very f i r s t announcement of Emile ou de 1'education, which i s des-c r i b e d as an a t t r a c t i v e and w e l l - p r i n t e d book t h a t i s c u r -r e n t l y a r o u s i n g much c u r i o s i t y . Reference at the same time i s made to t h e author's \" a r t s i d u i s a n t . \" ^ A few days l a t e r a p r e l i m i n a r y c r i t i c a l comment terms t h i s work \" s i n g u l i e r , comme t o u t ce q u i s o r t de l a plume de ce p h i l o s o p h e \" and, n o t i n g i t s b o l d a t t a c k s a g a i n s t r e l i g i o n and government, pr o p h e s i e s t h a t \"ce l i v r e , a coup sur, f e r a de p e i n e a l ' a u t e u r . \" The e n t r y concludes w i t h a remark t y p i c a l o f the Memoires: \"Nous y r e v i e n d r o n s , quand nous l ' a u r o n s mieux dige're. 1 , 7 Four days ^Memoires s e c r e t s . I, 92. The entry i s dated May 22, 1762. 7 I b i d . , I , 94 - 95. 59 l a t e r , the j o u r n a l records t h a t \" l e l i v r e d e Rousseau occa-slonne du scandale de p l u s en p l u s . Le g l a i v e et l ' e n c e n s o i r se r e u n i s s e n t c o n t r e l ' a u t e u r , et ses amis l u i ont temoigne\" g q u ' i l y a v a i t a c r a i n d r e pour l u i . \" In r a p i d s u c c e s s i o n we l e a r n o f the b u r n i n g o f the book i n P a r i s and Geneva and the f l i g h t of the author, \"decrete de p r i s e de c o r p s . \" 9 From the s e p r e l i m i n a r y d e t a i l s , the Memoires t u r n to the promised review of the content and s t y l e o f t h i s c o n t r o -v e r s i a l work. In i t , they c l a i m t o g i v e \"un r e s u l t a t des jugements sur ce l i v r e , q u i ne sont p o i n t a u s s i d i v e r s qu'on p o u r r a i t l e presumer a l'e'gard d'un ouvrage a u s s i s i n g u l i e r . \" Three o b j e c t i o n s are given to the m a t e r i a l presented by Rous-seau. F i r s t , i f the p r e c e p t s i n t h i s work are, by the auth-o r ' s admission, \"d|une e x e c u t i o n i m p o s s i b l e , \" what i s the p r a c t i c a l value of such a work, \"l o r s q u ' o n s a i t q u ' i l ne s e r v i r a de r i e n ? \" Secondly, the author draws h e a v i l y upon othe r sources, e s p e c i a l l y Locke, whom he has p r o f e s s e d t o s c o r n . F i n a l l y , \" l ' a u t e u r ne f a i t dans t o u t son l i v r e que d e t r u i r e l ' o b j e t pour l e q u e l i l e c r i t \" s i n c e , i n s t e a d o f t r a i n i n g a c h i l d i n h i s d u t i e s to God and man, \"on a n e a n t i t t o u t e r e l i g i o n , on d e t r u i t t o u t e s o c i e t e . \" As a r e s u l t , a c h i l d r a i s e d by Rousseau's system, although presumably °Ibid.. I, 95. 9 I b i d . , I, 100. The j o u r n a l a l s o r e c o r d s the ban imposed on Sauvigny's Mort de S o c r a t e at the Come^die f r a n c a i s e \"a cause de l ' a f f a i r e Jean-Jacques.\" ( i b i d . , I , 103 - 104*.) v i r t u o u s and t a l e n t e d , \" f i n i t par e t r e un misanthrope degoute de tous l e s e t a t s , q u i n'en r e m p l i t aucun, et va p l a n t e r des choux a l a campagne e t f a i r e des e n fants a sa femme.\"^-0 F o l l o w i n g t h i s c o n s e r v a t i v e r e a c t i o n to Rousseau's t h e o r i e s of p r o g r e s s i v e education, the review proceeds to a n a l y s e the c o n t e n t s o f each volume o f Emile s e p a r a t e l y , most a t t e n t i o n b e i n g g i v e n t o the f i r s t and f o u r t h volumes. In the former, Rousseau's views on i n f a n t r e a r i n g a r e touched upon, h i s i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s noted, and t h e substance summed up as \"peu de chose, s i l ' o n s'en t e n a i t aux simples maximes u s u e l l e s q u ' i l y de\"bite.\" The appeal of t h i s volume i s seen as l y i n g not i n i t s content, but i n i t s s t y l e : \"C'est done par un t a l e n t r a r e q u ' i l a l e s e c r e t d'enchainer son l e c t e u r et de 1 * empe*cher de v o i r l e v i d e de ce l i v r e . Son eloquence male, r a p i d e et b r u l a n t e , p o r t e de 1'interest dans l e s p l u s grandes m i n u t i e s . \" Volume f o u r , c o n t a i n i n g \"une d i s s e r t a t i o n sur l a maniere d'iduquer l e s f i l l e s \" f i n d s more favour, as b e i n g both more r e a s o n a b l e — \" u n chef-d'oeuvre d'autant p l u s s e d u i s a n t q u ' i l ne p a r a i t p o i n t hors de l a n a t u r e \" — a n d at the same time more e m o t i o n a l l y t o u c h i n g : \"on e s t a t t e n d r i jusqu'aux larmes dans ce morceau de d e t a i l s l e s p l u s i n t e r e s -s a n t s . \" Again, the Memoires p r e d i c t t r o u b l e with the auth-l O l b i d . , I , 105 - 106. o r i t i e s , f o r they note t h a t Emile c o n t a i n s \"des a s s e r t i o n s t r e s dangereuses c e n t r e l e s p u i s s a n c e s . \" x x In g e n e r a l , the o p i n i o n s expressed i n t h i s review are t y p i c a l o f those elsewhere i n the Memoires c o n c e r n i n g Rousseau. L i k e the great contemporary r e a d i n g p u b l i c , the p a r o i s s i e n s d e t e c t e d i n h i s works new and f a s c i n a t i n g t r e n d s which they d i d not always f u l l y understand. Many of the s p e c i f i c t h e o r i e s i n Emile pass unnoticed, or at l e a s t r e c e i v e l i t t l e comment, and modern re a d e r s , aware o f p a s t developments i n education, may s m i l e to l e a r n t h a t \"ce l i v r e , p l e i n de b e l l e s s p e c u l a t i o n s , ne sera d'aucun usage dans l a p r a t i q u e . \" I t s appeal i s t h a t o f a c u r i o s i t y , a v i s i o n a r y ' s dream: \"On l e l i t , et on l e l i r a sans doute avec avidite', p a r ce que l'homme aime mieux l e s i n g u l i e r que 1 * u t i l e . \" I n a d d i t i o n , they f e e l t h a t the author possesses to a supreme degree \" l a p a r t i e du sentiment,\" adding, \"Eh! Que ne pardonne-t-on pas a q u i s a i t emouvoir?\" The C o n t r a t s o c i a l , which appeared a few weeks l a t e r , i s l e s s c a r e f u l l y analysed, although the Memoires prese n t s u f f i c i e n t d e t a i l s to arouse the i n t e r e s t o f t h e i r r e a d e r s . The f i r s t announcement i n d i c a t e s the d i f f i c u l t y o f o b t a i n i n g c o p i e s . x 3 S h o r t l y t h e r e a f t e r , a b r i e f o u t l i n e o f the main l x I b i d . , I , 106 - 108 1 2 I b i d . . I, 108 - 109. 1 3 l b i d . . I, 115. \"Le C o n t r a t s o c i a l se repand peu & peu. On en f a i t v e n i r par l a p o s t e de H o l l a n d e . On e c r i t seulement l e s noms de ceux a q u i sont adresses l e s exemplaires. 62 theme of the work appears, preceded by a c a r e f u l l y worded statement, i n i t s e l f a subtle recommendation to enlightened minds: nLe Contrat s o c i a l se repand insensiblement. I I est t r e s important qu Tun p a r e i l ouvrage ne fermente pas dans l e s tStes f a c i l e s a s f e x a l t e r : i l en r e s u l t e r a i t de tres grands disordres. Heureusement que 1 Tauteur s'est enveloppe* dans une obscurite' s c i e n t i f i q u e qui l e rend impe'ne'trable au commun des lecteurs. Au reste, i l ne f a i t que developper des maximes que tout l e monde a gravees sur son coeur; i l d i t des choses ordinaires d fune facon s i abstraite qu fon l e s c r o i t mer-v e i l l e u s e s . \" ^ 4 Both the Contrat s o c i a l and Emile provoked a storm of controversy. The Memoires record some of the accusations l e v e l l e d at Rousseau and h i s attempts to refute them.\"^ One item i n t h i s b a t t l e i s \"une l e t t r e s i n g u l i e r e d'un auteur toujours s i n g u l i e r : intitule'e Lettre de Jean-Jacques Rousseau a Christophe de Beaumont. Cet auteur y discute l e mandement de M. 1 1Archeveque, et defend son Emile avec sa force et sa 16 chaleur o r d i n a i r e . \" In reference to t h i s l e t t e r , obviously 1 4 I b i d . , I, 133. l^One can detect a growing note of approval i n the Memoires as Rousseau continues to attack his c r i t i c s . From \"Jean-Jacques Rousseau,\" as he i s c a l l e d early i n 1762, he becomes \" l e moderne Diogene\" ( I , 240; 244 - 245; 276 - 277), •aUmmortel Rousseau\" ( I , 305 - 306), and \" l e c i l e b r e p r o s c r i t \" ( I I , 5 6 ) . 16ibid.. I, 237. 63 s t u d i e d w i t h c a r e by the p a r o i s s e . the Memoires l a t e r add: \"Nous venons de l a l i r e : meme s i m p l i c i t e , meme f o r c e de l o g i q i i e , meme energie dans l e s t y l e que dans ses a u t r e s o u v rages. x? Weaknesses i n attempts to d i s c r e d i t Rousseau are w e l l p u b l i c i z e d . With amused d e l i g h t the j o u r n a l announces the f i r s t volume o f the verbose Abbe\" Yvon's Rebonse a l a l e t t r e de J . J . Rousseau a C h r i s t o p h e de Beaumont. Archeygque de P a r i s which c o n t a i n s a le n g t h y p r e f a c e and the f i r s t o f f i f -teen l e t t e r s proposed: \" C ' e s t - a - d i r e que, pour r e f u t e r une brochure t r e s mince, ce champion volumineux se d i s p o s e a donner au p u b l i c une s u i t e de t r o i s ou quatre volumes in-12. Quant au s t y l e , personne n'osera l e mettre en p a r a l l e l e avec 1-8 l a plume brftlante de Rousseau.\" In another i n s t a n c e t he p a r o i s s i e n s g i v e i r o n i c p r a i s e t o the censor Marin who, \"dans une sage p r o d u c t i o n , a vo u l u f a i r e quelques e f f o r t s pour repousser l e s dangereux sophismes du p h i l o s o p h e de Geneve.\" S i n c e h i s success was t h a t of \" l e pot de t e r r e c o n t r e l e pot de f e r , \" the Memoires ask, \"Pourquoi done v o u l o i r € t r e ' I b i d . , 241. T h i s p r a i s e f o r Rousseau's l o g i c d i d not, however, prevent t h e i r commenting, a t a s t i l l l a t e r date, on the i n c o n s i s t e n c y o f Rousseau's r e l i g i o u s views as expressed i n t h i s l e t t e r . ( i b i d . , 250 - 251.) T h i s i n c o n -s i s t e n c y was noted by V o l t a i r e , who ap p a r e n t l y was d e l i g h t e d and f e l t t h a t Rousseau c o u l d again be counted among the p h i l o s o p h e s . \"He swears he i s a C h r i s t i a n , and makes our hol y r e l i g i o n as r i d i c u l o u s as co u l d be imagined.\" ( T o r r e y , N. L. S p i r i t o f V o l t a i r e . New York, 1938, p. 112.) ^Memoires s e c r e t s . I , 250 - 251. b r i s e ? \" x 9 Another c o n t r o v e r s y f o l l o w e d the appearance o f the L e t t r e s e c r i t e s de l a campagne, an attempt by M. Tr o n c h i n , p r o c u r o r - g e n e r a l at Geneva, t o j u s t i f y the a c t i o n s of the a u t h o r i t i e s t h e r e a g a i n s t Rousseau. T h i s work provoked i n r e p l y Rousseau's L e t t r e s e'crites de l a montaane, recorded f i r s t i n the Memoires f o r January 1, 1765. 2® Gnce again both content and s t y l e are evaluated, the whole work summarized as: \"Toujours meme ener g i e de s t y l e , meme vigueur de s e n t i -ments, meme paradoxes.\" In a d d i t i o n to reviews o f Rousseau's c h i e f works, a l r e a d y i n d i c a t e d , s c a t t e r e d r e f e r e n c e s are found to some o f h i s other w r i t i n g s . The f i r s t volume o f the Memoires speaks o f \"un roman nouveau, i n t i t u l e Edouard.\" news of which has reached the p a r o i s s e . but of which no more i s s a i d . 2 2 Of Rousseau as a poet, only one comment i s found, dated 1763> co n c e r n i n g the r e p r i n t i n g o f l ' A l l e e de S i l v i e : \"Ce n'est pas assurement l e m e i l l e u r de ses ouvrages: on sent b i e n que l a g a l a n t e r i e n'est pas son f a i t ; on y tro u v e cependant une facon de penser l i b r e q u i f a i t p l a i s i r et q u i donne un c a r a c t e r e o r i g i n a l a c e t t e p r o d u c t i o n , t o u t e mediocre q u ' e l l e 19 I b i d . . I , 312 - 313 2 0 I b i d . . I I , 150 - 151. 2 1 I b i d . , I I , 153. See a l s o p. 156. 2 2 I b i d . . I , 94. \"Ce sont l e s aventures d'un A n g l a i s q u i joue un r o l e dans l e roman de J u l i e . \" 2 7 s o i t . \" ° As f o r h i s music, one r e f e r e n c e notes the unsuc-c e s s f u l p r o d u c t i o n i n 1765 o f a l i t t l e \"motet a v o i x s e u l e \" t h a t f a i l e d t o r e v e a l t h e t a l e n t o f Rousseau*s Devin du v i l l a g e ; 2 4 another notes a r e h e a r s a l o f Neuf muses, \"d*ou on a c o n c l u que c e t opera n * e t a i t pas j o u a b l e . \" 2 ^ of more importance i s h i s D i c t i o n n a i r e de musique ( 1 7 6 7 ) , which the Memoires i n a c o n c i s e and r a t h e r severe review see as incom-p l e t e , somewhat i n a c c u r a t e , and not too w e l l o r g a n i z e d . D e s p i t e t h e s e shortcomings, however, t h e c h r o n i c l e r notes the amazing depth of knowledge r e v e a l e d i n some areas: \"On ne c o n c o i t pas comment un homme q u i a autant s e n t i , autant p e n s i , peut a v o i r a c q u i s a ce d e g r i l a t h e o r i e d Tun a r t , a u s s i a r i d e et degoQtant dans ses p r i n c i p e s , qu*agreable dans ses e f f e t s . \" One f i n a l r e v i e w 2 7 i s o f i n t e r e s t , as i t concerns a work which i n some ways p r e f i g u r e s modern l i t e r a r y experiments, 2 3 I b i d . . XVI, 199 - 2 0 0 . T h i s poem, composed i n 1 7 4 7 , was f i r s t p u b l i s h e d i n the Mercure de France o f Septem-ber, 1 7 5 0 . See Rousseau Ts Oeuvres completes. P l i i a d e ed., I I , 1 8 9 8 . The poem i t s e l f can be found on pages 1146 - 1149 of the same work. 2 4 I b i d . . XVI, 2 6 7 . 2 5 i b i d . . I l l , 3 3 2 . 2 6 I b i d . . I l l , 310 - 3 1 1 . 27 'Rumours o f Rousseau*s C o n f e s s i o n s , a n t i c i p a t e d w i t h m i s g i v i n g s i n some q u a r t e r s , had e v i d e n t l y reached the p a r o i s s e . The only r e f e r e n c e i s , however, the n o t a t i o n t h a t \" i l p a r a x t faux que ce grand homme f a s s e imprimer a pr e s e n t ses memoires . . . \" I b i d . , IV, 62 - 6 3 . 66 T h i s was Rousseau*s Pygmalion, \"ouvrage d'un genre unique, en un ac t e , en une scene, et n'ayant qu'un a c t e u r . \" W r i t t e n \"en prose, sans musique v o c a l e \" but wit h o r c h e s t r a l accompani-ment , i t was a g r e a t success both a t Lyons where i t was f i r s t performed and l a t e r a t P a r i s . The Memoires o u t l i n e the p l o t and have warm p r a i s e f o r \" l a prose b r i l l a n t e , t e l l e que l e s e n d r o i t s l e s p l u s v i f s d ' H e l o i s e . \" They add: \" I I y regne autant de sentiment que de p h i l o s o p h i c eloquente q u i anime, 28 q u i r e c h a u f f e , q u i embrasse t o u t e l a nature . . . \" A O The \"sauvage c i t o y e n de Geneve\" seems, i n s h o r t , t o have c a p t i -vated the h e a r t s o f t h e i n t e l l e c t u a l p a r o i s s i e n s . Of the roughly one hundred and t w e n t y - f i v e e n t r i e s c o n c e r n i n g Rousseau i n the f i r s t f i v e volumes of the Memoires. only h a l f d e a l w i t h h i s w r i t i n g s . The r e s t a re news j o t t i n g s , r e p o r t s o f rumours or s p e c u l a t i o n about the man h i m s e l f — h i s q u a r r e l s and wanderings, h i s h e a l t h , h i s s u f f e r i n g s , h i s per-s o n a l q u a l i t i e s , h i s occupations, h i s income. H i s r e l a t i o n s w i t h V o l t a i r e are touched upon i n s e v e r a l items, one a r e f e r -ence t o a c a r i c a t u r e \"ou tous deux sont tournes en r i d i c u l e , \" 2 and another a r e f e r e n c e t o Rousseau's c o n t r i b u t i o n of two l o u i s towards the c o s t o f a s t a t u e b e i n g e r e c t e d t o V o l t a i r e : \" a c t e de g e n e r o s i t e b i e n huimliant pour ce d e r n i e r ; facon b i e n n o b l e de se venger de l a s o r t i e i n d i c e n t e et c r u e l l e que ^ \" I b i d . . V, 243 2 9 I b i d . . I , 144 - 244. - 145. 67 1' a u t r e a f a i t e c e n t r e ce grand homme . . . et de s'e'lever i n f i n i m e n t au-dessus de l u i aupres de tous ceux q u i c o n n a i s -10 sent l a v r a i e grandeur.\" The Memoires do not s t r o n g l y take s i d e s i n the c o n t r o v e r s y between Rousseau and h i s former f r i e n d s of the p h i l o s o p h e p a r t y but they d e p l o r e what they 11 see as V o l t a i r e ' s p e t t i n e s s 0 and t h e i r sympathy i s wxth Rousseau, an a d m i t t e d l y d i f f i c u l t man to get a l o n g with, but p e r s e c u t e d f o r h i s b e l i e f s . The e n t r i e s about Rousseau, w h i l e fewer i n number than those c o n c e r n i n g V o l t a i r e , are o f t e n l o n g e r and more d e t a i l e d , a f a c t which serves perhaps as an a c c u r a t e measure o f the r e l a t i v e i n t e r e s t aroused by Jean-Jacques. In gen-e r a l , t h e comments ar e c l e a r and s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d , although at times the same c a r e f u l ambiguity of wording a l r e a d y noted i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h much of V o l t a i r e ' s work a l s o o c c u r s . The a d j e c t i v e most o f t e n a p p l i e d to both Rousseau and h i s work i s \" s i n g u l i e r ' V j i both the author and h i s i d e a s a r e seen as r e q u i r i n g d i s c u s s i o n and lengthy c o n s i d e r a t i o n . O c c a s i o n a l l y r e s i s t a n t to or unimpressed by h i s t h e o r i e s , always a l e r t t o h i s i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s , the Memoires n e v e r t h e l e s s admire h i s 3°Ibid.. V, 168. 3 1 I b i d . , I I I , 201. R e f e r r i n g to V o l t a i r e ' s poem La Guerre de GeneVe. \"une s a t i r e h o r r i b l e c o n t r e J.J.R,\" the e n t r y concludes: \"L'humanite s e u l e reclame c o n t r e c e t abominable ouvrage.\" 68 boldness of e x p r e s s i o n and a p p r e c i a t e h i s sweeping sentiment and f o r c e f u l prose, s e n s i n g t h e r e i n a new t r e n d . *• * * As f o r D i d e r o t , the other great w r i t e r under c o n s i -d e r a t i o n , i n t h i s dhapter, l i t t l e i n f o r m a t i o n i s g i v e n about e i t h e r the man or h i s work and a c a r e f u l s e a r c h r e v e a l s o n l y 11 some twenty items f o r t h i s e n t i r e decade. The p i c t u r e of him t h a t emerges from the Memoires i s , t h e r e f o r e , sketchy and r a t h e r d i s a p p o i n t i n g to the t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y reader. Some i n f o r m a t i o n o f i n t e r e s t i s g i v e n : we read, f o r example, of h i s f r i e n d s h i p w i t h the Empress o f R u s s i a , o f her i n v i t a -t i o n t o him to v i s i t her c o u r t and o f her purchase o f h i s 12 l i b r a r y . The j o u r n a l a l s o r e c o r d s P a o l i ' s request t h a t Rousseau and D i d e r o t draw up a code of laws f o r C o r s i c a . T h i s request, viewed as l o g i c a l i n the case o f the author o f the C o n t r a t s o c i a l . i s questioned i n D i d e r o t ' s case: \"On ne v o i t pas en quoi i l a pu m e r i t e r une d i s t i n c t i o n a u s s i f l a t -t e u s e . \" 3 3 i n a d d i t i o n , the Memoires c o n t a i n a b r i e f r e f e r -ence t o D i d e r o t ' s f r i e n d s h i p w i t h D a m i l a v i l l e 3 4 and a l e t t e r 3 x H i s c o n n e c t i o n with the p a r o i s s e does not seem to have been c l o s e . V o l t a i r e ' s correspondence i n d i c a t e s t h a t d ' A r g e n t a l must have known D i d e r o t q u i t e w e l l , as he i s asked t o r e c e i v e from D i d e r o t c e r t a i n papers and a r t i c l e s b e l o n g i n g t o V o l t a i r e . (Correspondence. XXIII, 110, 118, 145, 149.) 3 2Memoires s e c r e t s . I, 150; I I , 195; I I I , 130 - 131. These items, as w e l l as t h a t i n I I , 233 - 234 a l s o imply p r a i s e o f the \" b i e n f a i s a n c e \" of t h i s e n l i g h t e n e d monarch. 3 3 I b i d . . I I , 132 - 133. 3 4 I b i d . . IV, 215. 69 i n which V o l t a i r e remarks upon the poor treatment D i d e r o t has experienced at the hands of Rousseau. 3-* Although these items are of i n t e r e s t , they do l i t t l e to r e v e a l D i d e r o t as the major l i t e r a r y f i g u r e he i s judged to be today. I n t h i s r e s p e c t , however, i n f o r m a t i o n i s a l s o sparse. The Memoires r e f e r t o D i d e r o t ' s d i s l i k e of G o l d o n i , r e s u l t i n g from F r i r o n ' s s u g g e s t i o n s of p l a g i a r i s m . H i s important r o l e as d i r e c t o r of the E n c y c l o p e d i c i s b a r e l y touched upon i n these e a r l y volumes, the Memoires n o t i n g o n l y h i s i n t e r v e n t i o n i n a b o o k s e l l e r s ' d i s p u t e which has a t t r a c t e d t o him \" 1 * i n d i g n a t i o n generale des gens de l e t t r e s \" 37 and \" l e r i d i c u l e u n i v e r s e l . \" Even h i s c o n t r i b u t i o n s as a p h i l o s o p h e appear t o pass l a r g e l y unremarked, except f o r one e n t h u s i a s t i c r e f e r e n c e to an E s s a i sur l e s pre\\juges ou de 1 ' i n f l u e n c e des o p i n i o n s sur l e s moeurs et sur l e bonheur des hommes par M. D. D.~ The i n i t i a l s would i n d i c a t e t h a t the essay was (mistakenly) a t t r i b u t e d t o D i d e r o t . In any case, i t i s termed \" l a m e i l l e u r e preuve qu'on p u i s s e f o u r n i r des progres de l a r a i s o n humaine depuis quelques anne'es.\" 3 8 3 5 I b i d . . I l l , 176. 3 6 I b i d . . I, 191; I I , 108 - 109; I I , 185. 3 7 I b i d . , V, 365, 376 - 377. 3 8 I b i d . . V, 21 - 23. The i n i t i a l s may, o f course, be a t y p o g r a p h i c a l e r r o r from which the f i r s t e d i t i o n of the Memoires s e c r e t s i s by no means f r e e . B a r b i e r , i n h i s D i c t i o n -n a i r e des ouvrages anonvmes. P a r i s , 1872, I I , 262 - 263 g i v e s the i n i t i a l s M. D. M., n o t i n g : \" l e s i n i t i a l e s p l a c i e s sur l e f r o n t i s p i c e ont f a i t a t t r i b u e r c e t ouvrage \"a Dumarsais . . .\" In r e a l i t y , says B a r b i e r , the essay was by d'Holbach. Only h i s drames r e c e i v e any d e t a i l e d c o n s i d e r a t i o n and even here the author seems to be l a r g e l y overlooked, a t t e n t i o n b e i n g f o c u s s e d upon the p l o t and the t r e n d t o s e n t i m e n t a l i t y and pathos d e v e l o p i n g i n t h i s \"age of reason.\" In the case o f l e Pere de f a m i l l e t h e reviews are i n t e r e s t i n g f o r t h e i r p o r t r a y a l of i t s overwhelming e f f e c t s upon audiences o f the day. Everyone wept, we are t o l d ; \"on comptait autant de mouchoirs que de s p e c t a t e u r s , \" 3 9 and at one performance i n December 1769, a woman was so overcome \"au moment ou l e jeune homme defend l'epe'e a l a main sa ma i t r e s s e qu'on veut e n l e v e r , \" that she was s e i z e d w i t h con-v u l s i o n s and had to be a s s i s t e d from t h e t h e a t r e . I t s emo-t i o n a l appeal i s i n d i c a t e d by \" l a f u r e u r avec l a q u e l l e l e p a r t e r r e , l o r s q u ' o n e st venu annoncer l a r e p r i s e d'Hamlet . . . s ' e s t recrie': 'Point d'Hamlet I l e Pere de f a m i l l e ! : et c e l a a p l u s i e u r s f o i s . \" 4 ^ A d i f f e r e n t r e c e p t i o n , however, attended the p e r f o r -mance i n September, 1771, o f l e F i l s n a t u r e l . \"ce drame imprime i l y a v i n g t ans, et q u i f i t beaucoup de b r u i t a sa na i s s a n c e p ar sa s i n g u l a r i t e , p a r l e s p r e t e n t i o n s de son auteur, et par 1 ' e c l a t avec l e q u e l ses p a r t i s a n s l e pronent.\" The q u e s t i o n o f p l a g i a r i s m i s r a i s e d again, and the near-3 9Memoires s e c r e t s . I l l , 333 - 334. 4 0 l b i d . , V, 36 - 3 7 . The Hamlet was an a d a p t a t i o n by J . F. Ducis o f Shakespeare's p l a y . See Lancaster, O P . ext., pp. 571, 615. f a i l u r e of t h i s performance, \"d'une f r o i d e u r i n s o u t e n a b l e , \" i s recorded as a h u m i l i a t i n g experience f o r D i d e r o t , a t t r i -b u t a b l e p o s s i b l y to h i s c u r r e n t u n p o p u l a r i t y i n the book-s e l l e r s ' a f f a i r a l r e a d y mentioned.4'*\" These volumes o f the Memoires g i v e no d i r e c t c r i t i c i s m o f the drame as a l i t e r a r y genre other than n o t i n g i t s p o p u l a r a p p e a l 4 2 and r e c o r d i n g an i n s t a n c e i n which an author acknowledges h i s debt to the \" s e n s i b i l i t e \" he has found i n D i d e r o t ' s p l a y s . 4 3 The l i m i t e d view of D i d e r o t a f f o r d e d i n the Memoires s e c r e t s , i s . of course a r e f l e c t i o n of the l i m i t e d knowledge o f h i s work then a v a i l a b l e , s i n c e h i s major l i t e r a r y produc-t i o n s were t o appear posthumously. To h i s contemporaries i n g e n e r a l he was o n l y the hard-working d i r e c t o r of the Encv-clope'die and the author of s e v e r a l drames bo u r g e o i s . To the p a r o i s s i e n s he was a l s o of i n t e r e s t as a member o f the p h i l o s o p h e company. A p p r e c i a t i o n o f h i s q u a l i t i e s as an a r t c r i t i c , as a dramatic t h e o r e t i c i a n and as a n o v e l i s t i s not recorded i n these volumes. A study of Rousseau and D i d e r o t as p o r t r a y e d i n the Memoires s e c r e t s i l l u s t r a t e s both the l i m i t a t i o n s and values of such a j o u r n a l i s t i c r e c o r d . Contemporary judgements are 41lbid., V, 384. S ee a l s o the e a r l i e r r e f e r e n c e i n f o o t n o t e 37. g e n e r a l , as w i l l be shown i n my Chapter V,,;. the p a r o i s s i e n s appear to disapprove o f the drame. 4 3Memoires s e c r e t s . I l l , 118. o f n e c e s s i t y incomplete: t h e Memoires do not f o r e s e e t h e p o t e n t i a l l y widespread f u t u r e i n f l u e n c e o f Rousseau's w r i t -i n g s , any more than they r e v e a l a f u l l a p p r e c i a t i o n o f D i d e r o t ' s t r u e greatness. They p r o v i d e , n e v e r t h e l e s s , v a l u a b l e f a c t u a l i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t r e i n f o r c e s o r supplements knowledge a v a i l a b l e from other sources c o n c e r n i n g p u b l i c o p i n i o n o f the day and the problems encountered by these two great men who addressed t h e i r w r i t i n g s as much to p o s t e r i t y as t o t h e i r own contemporaries. CHAPTER V A DECADE OF THEATRE IN THE MEMOIRES SECRETS The wealth o f m a t e r i a l r e c o r d e d i n the Mimoires s e c r e t s enables the reader to t r a c e not only t h e a c t i v i t i e s o f i n d i v i d u a l authors but a l s o t h e e v o l u t i o n of o p i n i o n r e -g a r d i n g v a r i o u s l i t e r a r y genres. Of these, the t h e a t r e r e -c e i v e s the most e x t e n s i v e treatment and e n t r i e s c o n c e r n i n g i t can be found on almost every page. Such p r o f u s i o n i s i n d i c a t i v e o f the ferment then o c c u r r i n g i n t h i s area as t h e t h e a t r e , caught up i n the s p i r i t o f the age, continued t o move away from i t s t r a d i t i o n a l forms and p r e o c c u p a t i o n s . Members o f Madame Doublet's c i r c l e o b v i o u s l y shared the i n t e r e s t i n the t h e a t r e common to c u l t u r e d s o c i e t y of t h e time and d i s c u s s i o n of c u r r e n t p l a y s must have been a prominent f e a t u r e o f the gatherings a t l e s F i l l e s S a i n t -Thomas . Furthermore, a number o f the p a r o i s s i e n s had them-s e l v e s l o n g been a s s o c i a t e d with t h e t h e a t r e . No doubt i t i s t o them t h a t we owe much of the s e r i o u s comment i n the Memoires as w e l l as the s p i c i e r items of backstage g o s s i p that e n l i v e n the c h r o n i c l e and g i v e credence t o the r e p u t a -t i o n f o r piquancy claimed f o r Madame Doublet's n o u v e l l e s . Of the group, the Abb6 de Voisenon was probably a t t h e time the most a c t i v e p a r t i c i p a n t i n t h e a t r i c a l a f f a i r s . He had achieved a c e r t a i n r e p u t a t i o n both as the author o f a number of l i g h t comedies and as the acknowledged l o v e r o f Madame F a v a r t , the a c t r e s s . Rumour a l s o suggested t h a t he was the unacknowledged author of many of her husband's p l a y s — a view s t r o n g l y supported i n the Memoires s e c r e t s . 2 P i r o n , too, beloved of the p a r o i s s e f o r h i s w i t t y epigrams, was an experienced p l a y w r i g h t who i n h i s younger days had gained fame w i t h h i s comedy Me'tromanie (1738) and had shown o r i g i n a l i t y and t a l e n t i n the f i e l d o f tragedy. Pont de V e y l e a l s o had a p p a r e n t l y ventured i n t o the f i e l d o f drama as author of a l i t t l e one-act p l a y , l e Fat p u n i . performed f i r s t i n 1738 and s e v e r a l times t h e r e a f t e r . 4 As f o r the b e a u t i f u l and c u l t u r e d Madame du Boccage, her c l a s s i c a l tragedy l e s Amazones (1749), though c o l d l y r e c e i v e d , won her the d i s t i n c t i o n of b e i n g the o n l y feminine p l a y w r i g h t t o have a p l a y performed at the Come'die-Francaise d u r i n g the l a s t the l a s t t w e n t y - f i v e y e a r s of L o u i s X V s r e i g n . $ We have -I - L G a i f f e , F. i n l e Drame en France au 18 s i e c l e . P a r i s , 1907, p. 23 r e f e r s t o Voisenon as \"un des singes de Marivaux.\" The Memoires s e c r e t s . I I , 277 note \"1'opinion t r e s fondee que F a v a r t f a i t l e s c a r c a s s e s des p i e c e s et que l'abbe de Voisenon h a b i l l e l a poupe*e.\" The a r t i c l e \" V o i s e -non\" i n Michaud's B i o g r a p h i e u n i v e r s e l l e . XLIV, 45 d e a l s more f u l l y w i t h Voisenon's r e l a t i o n s with F a v a r t . \"•Lancaster, H. C. i n h i s French Tragedy i n the Time o f L o u i s XV. B a l t i m o r e , 1950, pp. 152 - 162 d i s c u s s e s P i r o n ' s C a l l i s t h e n e (1730), Gustave (1733) and Fernand Cortez (1744). 4 I b i d . . pp. 241, 265. 5 I b i d . . pp. 294 - 297. a l r e a d y noted the presence o f Marivaux i n Madame Doublet's e a r l i e r g a t h e r i n g s , as w e l l as t h e importance o f d'Argental as f r i e n d , c r i t i c and dramatic agent o f V o l t a i r e . Through connections such as these the p a r o i s s e un-doubtedly gained i t s i n t i m a t e knowledge o f the world of the t h e a t r e , i n c l u d i n g a wealth o f f a c t u a l i n f o r m a t i o n and many items o f t r i v i a l g o s s i p which, rec o r d e d i n the Memoires. t e s t i f y to the unchanging weaknesses o f human na t u r e . To i l l u s t r a t e t h e wide v a r i e t y o f m a t e r i a l recorded, one has on l y to r e f e r to some of the more o u t s t a n d i n g items. For example, the c h r o n i c l e announces the merger o f the Qpera-Comique and the Comedie I t a l i e n n e . ^ adding t h a t \"on augure 7 mal de c e t t e j o n c t i o n . \" I t reviews i n some d e t a i l the s t a t e o o f each o f the t h r e e t h e a t r e s i n 1762 and g i v e s p a r t i c u l a r s c o n c e r n i n g the d e s t r u c t i o n by f i r e o f the Opera i n A p r i l , 1 7 6 3 , 9 t h e problems o f r e b u i l d i n g \" ^ and the move of the Comedie-Francaise t o the s a l l e des T u i l e r i e s f o l l o w i n g t h e i n s t a l l a t i o n of the Opera i n i t s new permanent l o c a t i o n . \"^ ^Memoires s e c r e t s . I , 2 1 , 2 8 . 7 I b i d . . I , 4 0 . 8 F o r the Comedie I t a l i e n n e see I b i d . . I , 5 5 . The Comedie F r a n c a i s e i s reviewed i n I , 3 1 , 3 5 , 38 and the Opera i n I . 17 - 19. 9 I b i d . . I , 221 - 2 2 4 . 1 0 I b i d . . I, 2 2 7 , 235 - 2 3 6 , 249 - 2 5 0 ; I I , 1 1 , 12 - 1 3 , 2 0 , 59; V, 68 - 7 0 . 1 : L I b i d . . V, 121 - 1 2 2 . The high-handed conduct of the comediens draws comment,^ as does the unexpected success of the I t a l i e n s . ^ 3 a success attributed to the f r i v o l o u s tastes of the general p u b l i c . Many s p e c i f i c plays and performances are mentioned, including those given p r i v a t e l y or at court as well as those appearing at the regular theatres, some being merely touched upon while others receive more extensive treatment.^\" 4 A perusal of the Memoires also impresses the modern reader with the d i f f i c u l -t i e s under which playwrights and actors worked, notably those due to the pervading domination of the four Gentlemen of the Chamber and the necessity of submitting to the censors* i n t e r -vention. From such extensive coverage emerges a confused but l i v i n g p o r t r a i t of the Parisian theatre of the day. A detailed examination of a l l the many dramatic authors and plays reviewed i n the Memoires i s beyond the scope of the present survey. This was, however, a decade of continued evolution i n t r a d i t i o n a l tragedy and comedy dur-ing which writers experimented with both s t y l e and content i n 1 2 I b i d . . I, 96, 124; I I I , 326. 1 3 I b i d . . I, 215; I I , 55, 208. 1 4 T h e supplements added by Moufle d'Angerville con-t a i n an abundance of material on the theatre taken presumably d i r e c t l y from the paroisse r e g i s t e r s . This material seems to have been either summarized or omitted altogether by Bachau-mont i n preparing h i s manuscript f o r the Memoires. Although the supplements, published some f i f t e e n years a f t e r the events they record, must have made d u l l reading, they provide information that might otherwise have been l o s t . 77 an attempt t o r e p l a c e outworn formulas and express c u r r e n t views. A5 we s h a l l , t h e r e f o r e , attempt t o ex p l o r e some o f these t r e n d s and d i s c o v e r , as f a r as p o s s i b l e , the a t t i t u d e of the p a r o i s s i e n s towards them. In tragedy, the i n n o v a t i o n s begun by V o l t a i r e con-t i n u e d , and seem to have become g e n e r a l l y w e l l accepted. For example, e x o t i c c h a r a c t e r s and s e t t i n g s n e c e s s i t a t i n g the use of e l a b o r a t e scenery evoke l i t t l e d i r e c t comment i n the Memoires. The r o l e o f t h e \"sauvage\" i n l e Blanc's Manco Capac. premier Inca du Perou (1763) i s seen as a p o t e n t i a l l y f i n e v e h i c l e f o r Rousseau's t h e o r i e s , the p l a y b e i n g con-demned not f o r i t s e x o t i c elements but f o r i t s weaknesses o f s t r u c t u r e and c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n . S i m i l a r l y , i n Sauvigny's H i r z a ou l e s I l l i n o i s (1766), the r e f e r e n c e s t o Niagara and Labrador, the o u t l a n d i s h names o f the c h a r a c t e r s and the 17 l a v i s h s e t t i n g pass unremarked and the p l a y r e c e i v e s b r i e f and r a t h e r c o o l p r a i s e i n the Memoires. The a t t i t u d e o f the c h r o n i c l e r s t o such use o f e x o t i c elements i s c l e a r l y x ^ F o r the i n f l u e n c e o f the drame on the t r a d i t i o n a l forms, see G a i f f e , F. op_. ext., pp. 182 - 185. x^Memoires s e c r e t s . I , 254 - 256. T h i s p l a y , given a l e n g t h y review, i s termed \" d e t e s t a b l e , \" \"une p i e c e des p l u s mal f a i t e s . \" • ^ L a n c a s t e r , H. C , op_. e x t . , pp. 545 - 546, d i s c u s s e s t h e e x o t i c elements of t h i s p l a y , q u o t i n g the l o n g d e s c r i p t i o n o f the s e t t i n g g i v e n by Sauvigny at the b e g i n n i n g o f Act I . l 8Memoires s e c r e t s . I l l , 220 - 221, 228. 78 r e v e a l e d i n a phrase r e f e r r i n g t o Lemierre's Guillaume T e l l (1766) where, f o l l o w i n g a b r i e f d e s c r i p t i o n o f the scenery and costumes, they note t h a t \"tous ces a c c e s s o i r e s e s s e n t i e l s n'ont pas empeche de t r o u v e r c e t t e t r a g e d i e p i t o y a b l e . \" i 9 The i n n o v a t i o n s o f the f i r s t h a l f of the century have become normal and accepted f e a t u r e s of t h e tragedy o f the 1760*8. Even those authors who attempted p l a y s c l o s e r t o the c l a s s i c a l s t y l e , w i t h c h a r a c t e r s drawn from a n t i q u i t y , f e l t the need to add f e a t u r e s unknown to R a c i n i a n tragedy. One such p l a y w r i g h t was Dormont de B e l l o y , who i n Z e l m i r e (1762) r e l i e d h e a v i l y upon C O U P S de theattre and e l a b o r a t e s p e c t a c l e to compensate f o r h i s l a c k o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l i n s i g h t . The Memoires r e c o r d the success o f t h i s p l a y , remarking t h a t \" c ' e s t un s u j e t de pure i n v e n t i o n , p l e i n d ' a b s u r d i t e s et d TeVenements i n c r o y a b l e s , mais l e s s i t u a t i o n s sont s i 20 secluisantes que l a r a i s o n se l a i s s e f a c i l e m e n t subjuguer.\" A subsequent note remarks again upon i t s sheer a b s u r d i t y and 21 poor v e r s i f i c a t i o n . Yet i t s p o p u l a r i t y continued, evidence o f contemporary t a s t e s . Another p l a y w i t h a t r a d i t i o n a l 1 9 I b i d . . I l l , 135. 2 0 I b i d . . I, 85. See a l s o pp. 86 - 87, 95. 21 \" \" I b i d . , I, 100. Lancaster, H. C. op_. e x t . , pp. 472 -478 reviews Z e l m i r e . n o t i n g t h a t \" i t shows decided c l e v e r n e s s i n i t s appeal to an audience t h a t had been s u r f e i t e d w i t h l o g i c and d e p r i v e d of excitement and s p e c t a c l e . I t i s , except f o r i t s s t y l e and formal u n i t y and i t s happy ending, a f o r e r u n n e r of t r a g e d i e s by Alexandre Dumas and V i c t o r Hugo.\" c l a s s i c a l theme was S a u v i g n y T s Mort de Soc r a t e ( 1 7 6 2 ) . Whether o r not the author intended the p l a y as a j u s t i f i c a -t i o n o f Rousseau and an a t t a c k on P a l i s s o t , the i m p l i c a t i o n s were t h e r e and the Memoires r e c o r d the d e l a y s t h a t ensued as the author was f o r c e d t o d e l e t e some passages and r e w r i t e 22 o t h e r s . The u n d e r l y i n g b i a s was, of course, approved by the p a r o i s s i e n s ; \"M. de Sauvigny nous a l u l a t i r a d e c o n t r e P a l i s s o t q u i d e v a i t &tre inse'ree dans l e S o c r a t e . Ce morceau c o n t r e l e moderne Aristophane e s t nerveux et p e i n t a m e r v e i l l e ce s c e l e r a t . I I e s t fScheux que l a p o l i c e a i t couvert de son * 21 egide ce v i i personnage.\" The Memoires r e g a r d the f i n a l v e r s i o n , however, as l a c k i n g i n warmth. Without emotional appeal o r i n t e l l e c t u a l piquancy, i t remained merely \"un succes m e d i o c r e . \" 2 4 V o l t a i r e had alre a d y i n t r o d u c e d i n t o tragedy charac-t e r s w i t h well-known French names and a l l u s i o n s to French heroes, 2-* but i t remained f o r de B e l l o y i n 1765 to w r i t e a p l a y drawn from n a t i o n a l h i s t o r y with a s t r o n g p a t r i o t i c t i n g e . The Memoires s e c r e t s r e c o r d the phenomenal success of t h i s p l a y , l e Siege de C a l a i s ( 1 7 6 4 ) , r e v e a l i n g awareness of i t s n a t i o n a l i s t i c appeal which, they f e e l , has b l i n d e d z zMemoires s e c r e t s . I , 103 - 1 0 4 , 1 8 7 , 2 1 3 , 3 0 9 . 2 3 l b i d . , I , 3 0 9 . 2 4 I b i d . , I , 3 3 2 . 2 5 z a i r e ( 1 7 3 3 ) ; Adelaidedu G u e s c l i n ( 1 7 3 4 , 1 7 6 5 ) . 26 the p u b l i c t o i t s many o t h e r weaknesses. Along w i t h t h i s i n c r e a s e o f p a t r i o t i c i n t e r e s t , a n awakening c u r i o s i t y about o t h e r n a t i o n s l e d to growth of h i s t o r i c a l tragedy i n g e n e r a l . E n g l i s h h i s t o r y i n s p i r e d l a Harpe's e a r l y success, l e Comte de Warwick (1763), p r a i s e d by t h e c h r o n i c l e r o f the Memoires 27 both f o r i t s content and f o r i t s simple, c l e a r s t y l e . La Harpe's l a t e r tragedy, Gustave Wasa (1766) d e p i c t e d events from Swedish h i s t o r y ; L e m i e r r e T s Guillaume T e l l . a l r e a d y men-t i o n e d , was based on a Swiss legend. Lemierre a l s o ventured i n t o what was c o n s i d e r e d t o be almost contemporary h i s t o r y w i t h h i s c o n t r o v e r s i a l B a r n e v e l t . which t r e a t s o f events s u r r o u n d i n g the execution i n 1619 o f a Dutch statesman. W r i t t e n i n 1766, i t was not performed u n t i l 1790 as i t s themes o f p a t r i o t i s m and v i r t u e and d i s c u s s i o n s o f peace and r e l i g i o n 29 were not a c c e p t a b l e to the French a u t h o r i t i e s u n t i l then. Such t e n d e n c i e s to d i d a c t i c i s m , a l o n g w i t h the grow-i n g emphasis on emotional appeal and the o c c a s i o n a l c a u t i o u s i n t r o d u c t i o n o f n o n - a r i s t o c r a t i c heroes, prepared the way ^Memoires s e c r e t s . I I , 171 - 172. See a l s o pp. 172 -173 and 176. For the 1769 r e v i v a l o f the p l a y see I b i d . . XIX, 55 - 56, 57, 58, 60 - 61, 75, 83 - 84. 2 7 I b i d . . I , 324 - 325. 28 A O L a Harpe was attempting t o improve on P i r o n * s Gustave. For a review, see Lancaster, H. C. op_. c i t . . 563 -565. The Memoires s e c r e t s . I l l , 5 - 6 , r e c o r d the f a i l u r e o f i t s one performance. 20 ^ L a n c a s t e r , H. C. op. c i t . . 447 - 452. The p l a y i s mentioned i n the Memoires s e c r e t s . I I , 314, 323. f o r the t r a g e d i e bourgeoise. a form very c l o s e to the drame. Such a p l a y was S a u r i n T s B e v e r l e i . and the accounts i n the Memoires are worthy of some a t t e n t i o n , f o r they seem to i n d i c a t e t h a t the p a r o i s s i e n s viewed p l a y s of t h i s type with somewhat mixed f e e l i n g s . Announcing the forthcoming performance o f S a u r i n f s p l a y , an a d a p t a t i o n of Moore's Game-ster, 3\"'\" the Me\"moires add: \"Ce genre, a coup sur, n ' a u r a i t pas r e u s s i j a d i s ; mais l e F r a n c a i s commence a reg a r d e r avec i n t r e p i d i t e l e s scenes a t r o c e s , et s i son Sine n f a pas p l u s d'energie q u f a u t r e f o i s , son o e i l en supporte au moins davantage dans l f a c t i o n t h 6 a * t r a l e . \" J The w r i t e r s must, however, have f a l l e n under the emotional s p e l l of the p e r -formance, f o r the next entry notes t h a t \"ce drame . . . a eu un t r e s grand succes, et i l l e m e > i t e . \" J O A g e n e r a l l y f a v o u r a b l e review f o l l o w s , although the a c t i o n i s f e l t at times to be e x c e s s i v e l y v i o l e n t . A few days l a t e r the j o u r n a l p u b l i s h e d two poems c o n c e r n i n g t h i s p l a y , both anonymous and i n s e r t e d without comment. The f i r s t and l o n g e s t , i n t e r e s t i n g as an e x p r e s s i o n o f c o n s e r v a t i v e o p i n i o n , 3^The hero o f l e Siege de C a l a i s i s the mayor o f C a l a i s not the K i n g o f England, and Lemierre*s T e l l i s a Swiss peasant. L a n c a s t e r , H. C. op_. e x t . , p. 618. 3^A sentimental and m o r a l i s t i c m i d d l e - c l a s s tragedy f i r s t performed i n London i n 1753. \" D i d e r o t en a v a i t e s q u i s s e uhe t r a d u c t i o n assez l i b r e et 1*avait c o n f i n e \"a S a u r i n pour l a composition de B e v e r l e y . \" G a i f f e , F. op. ext., p. 53. 3 2Memoires s e c r e t s . IV, 25. 3 3 I b i d . . IV, 30. 82 c r i t i c i z e s BeVerlei as a \"drame tant6*t bas, tantot exalte,\" a \" t i s s u mal construit et de tout point b i z a r r e \" while also condemning the p r e v a i l i n g anglomania which influenced Saurin to attempt such an \"affreuse h o r r e u r . \" 3 4 The second poem i s a l i t t l e vers galant p r a i s i n g Madame Saurin as the model for the devoted virtuous spouse portrayed i n the play. 3 5 On the one hand, the paroissiens seem to deplore the threatened passing of Racinian tragedy; yet they too seem to y i e l d to the appeal of pathos and s e n s i b i l i t y . In the Memoires one can trace a corresponding reaction to the evolution i n comedy which was i n the process of devel-oping great d i v e r s i t y of s t y l e and content, being p a r t i c u l a r l y influenced by the drame. 3° The t r a d i t i o n a l comedy of Moliere evidently no longer appealed to the popular taste. 37 3 4 I b i d . , IV, 34 - 35. 3-5The paroissiens may have known her, for Saurin himself was a secretary to the Duke of Orleans and on f r i e n d l y terms with V o l t a i r e and Helvetius. Lancaster, H. C. op_. ext., P. 313. 3 6 G a i f f e , F. op. ext., p. 183 observes: \"A c8te du drame proprement d i t f l e u r i s s e n t l e s comedies serieuses, moitie\" souriantes, moitie' touchantes, admettant l e s emotions douces et l e r i r e tempere, s i voisines du-genre de Diderot que l a l i m i t e est souvent malaisee a e\"tablir.\" 3^The Memoires contain very few references to perfor-mances of Moliere's comedies. One entry ( I I , 89) remarks; upon the p r e v a i l i n g \"scrupuleuse exactitude sur l e s bien-seances\" as detrimental to the enjoyment of Moliere. Another (IV, 226) notes that \"les dispositions actuelles des specta-teurs a s'attendrir et pleurer a nos pieces comiques\" may cause the f i n a n c i a l f a i l u r e of an excellent production of l e Bourgeois Gentilhomme. 83 Marivaux, who d i e d i n 1763, had w r i t t e n no new p l a y s f o r /j o many y e a r s and h i s \" e s p r i t f i n et maniere,\" p r a i s e d by the p a r o i s s i e n s , had had no s u c c e s s f u l i m i t a t o r s . Tears and m o r a l i z i n g were i n vogue, r a t h e r than f r a n k l a u g h t e r or s u b t l e p s y c h o l o g y . 3 9 W r i t e r s , f e e l i n g f r e e to experiment i n t h i s genre, produced an even g r e a t e r range i n comedy than i n tragedy; c e r t a i n s i m i l a r i t i e s i n development can, however, be d e t e c t e d . The p a t r i o t i c i n t e r e s t o f de B e l l o y ' s tragedy l e Si£ge de C a l a i s found i t s c o u n t e r p a r t i n two comedies w r i t t e n by F a v a r t f o r the peace c e l e b r a t i o n s o f 1763. The f i r s t o f these, 1*Anglais a Bordeaux, won immediate e n t h u s i a s t i c a c c l a i m ; the Memoires a t t r i b u t e i t s success, d e r i v e d from i t s d e l i c a c y and s p a r k l i n g w i t , t o Voisenon, who i s a l s o r e p o r t e d as h a v i n g r e w r i t t e n the second comedy, l e s Fetes de l a p a i x , thereby s a v i n g i t from u t t e r f a i l u r e . 4 ^ A p a t r i -o t i c theme, however, d i d not a u t o m a t i c a l l y ensure acceptance o f a p l a y and we can t r a c e i n the Memoires the i n t e r e s t i n g s t o r y o f C o l l e t s l a P a r t i e de chasse de H e n r i IV which was 3 8Memoires s e c r e t s . I, 193 - 194. 3 9 T h e Me*moires, I I , 25 - 26 quote from a review o f Le P h i l o s o p h e sans l e s a v o i r i n the J o u r n a l E n c y c l o p i d i q u e f o r March 15, 1766: \"A l a t r o i s i e m e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n l e p u b l i c . . . se r e s s o u v i n t que l a comedie n ' e t a i t p l u s un t a b l e a u des r i d i c u l e s , q u f e l l e 6ta±t t o u j o u r s bonne des q u ' i l y p l e u r a i t , et i l a p p l a u d i t en p l e u r a n t . \" 40ibid., I, 208 - 209, 210, 213 - 214, 270, 267 -268, 269 - 270. 84 l o n g w i t h h e l d from the s t a t e t h e a t r e s as u n f l a t t e r i n g to r o y a l t y . 4 x A wide range o f other themes became p o p u l a r . Many l i t t l e comedies, o f t e n mingled with a r i e t t e s , had a s e r i o u s or a t l e a s t a m o r a l i z i n g t o n e . 4 2 A l l i e d to t h i s , we f i n d the tendency to d i d a c t i c i s m a l r e a d y noted i n the tragedy of the p e r i o d , a tendency which l e d a t times to some r a t h e r c u r i o u s r e s u l t s which the Memoires are quick to r e p o r t . For example, l e s Moissonneurs by F a v a r t i s f e l t t o be q u i t e i n -congruous f o r two reasons: f i r s t , i t p r e s e n t s the B i b l i c a l s t o r y o f Ruth, Boaz and Naomi as a 3-act comedy w i t h a r i e t t e s f t 3 secondly, t h i s \"drame chantant\" c o n t a i n s a l s o \"des morceaux p h i l o s o p h i q u e s sur 1 ' a g r i c u l t u r e , t r o p e m b e l l i s , d'un e s p r i t e t r a n g e r a l a chose.\" I n f l u e n c e d by the growing t a s t e f o r a l l u s i o n s t o nature, o r by the p h i l o s o p h y of Rousseau, the 4 x I b i d . . I , 167 notes t h a t \"on n'ose pas mettre un de nos r o i s s i r e c e n t sur l a scene.\" See a l s o I b i d . . I I , 330; I I I , 43, 57, 61, 188; IV, 358 - 359. The r e f e r e n c e s a l s o i l l u s t r a t e t h e v a l u a b l e r o l e o f t h e p r i v a t e t h e a t r e s i n p e r m i t t i n g p r o d u c t i o n s of the more \"experimental\" p l a y s such as t h i s . I t was f i n a l l y performed at the Come'die- F r a n c a i s e i n 1774, and i n the y e a r s 1781-1790 was exceeded onl y i n p o p u l a r i t y by l e Mariage de F i g a r o ( G a i f f e , F. op. e x t . , pp. 189 - 190). 42 G a i f f e , F. op_. ext., pp. 456 - 457 informs us t h a t l e s Contes moraux de Marmontel e*taient l e grand g r e n i e r ou l e s auteurs dramatiques venaient s ' a p p r o v i s i o n n e r . \" The Memoires r e f e r to a number o f p l a y s d e r i v e d from Marmontel's stories: Annette et Lubin. I, 45, \"une b a g a t e l l e t r e s j o l i e \" ; l a Bergere des Al p e s , I , 213; and Heureusement. I , 164. 43 The p l a y was performed by the I t a l i e n s . January 27, 1768. audience a p p a r e n t l y r e c e i v e d the p l a y with t r a n s p o r t s o f enthusiasm d e s p i t e i t s i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s . 4 4 Another c u r i o u s development was the b l e n d i n g o f elements of s e n s i b i l i t e ' and pathos d e r i v e d from the drame with a r i e t t e s from the OpeVa-comique. A comedy o f t h i s type, Tom Jones (1765) by P o i n s i n e t , r e c e i v e s l e n g t h y study i n the Memoires where i t i s judged t o be \"absolument r a t e \" and to j c o n t a i n such an \"amas de mauvaises choses\" t h a t even the music o f P h i l i d o r cannot redeem i t . 4 - * The w r i t e r s of the Memoires do not appear to approve of another tendency, t h a t o f i n t r o d u c i n g , even i n t o comedy, heroes drawn from the world o f commerce. Marin's p l a y J u l i e ou l e triomphe de l ' a m i t i e . based on an event i n the l i f e o f the f i n a n c i e r Samuel Bernard, i s b r i e f l y summarized and c u r t l y d i s m i s s e d as \"joue'e pour l a premiere et d e r n i e r e f o i s . \" 4 6 Another come'die seVieuse. t h i s time s e t t i n g f o r t h the v i r t u e s o f a negociant. was l e B i e n f a i t rendu ou l e marchand by the Marquis de Dampierre. T h i s p l a y , very c l o s e i n s t y l e t o the drame. was a p p a r e n t l y \"un demi-succes.\" I t f i n d s l i t t l e p r a i s e , however, i n the Me*moires. whose w r i t e r s c o n s i d e r i t \"une s a t i r e amere et l o u r d e de l a n o b l e s s e , \" \"mal e c r i t e , avec durete*,\" i t s b e t t e r speeches t i n g e d w i t h \"une amertume basse et i g n o b l e . \" 4 7 4 4 M e m o i r e s s e c r e t s . I l l , 339 - 3 4 0 , 3 5 2 . 4 5 I b i d . . I I , 177 - 1 7 8 . 4 6 I b i d . . I, 57 - 5 8 . 4 7 i b i d . . 228 - 2 2 9 . 86 A l s o c l o s e t o the drame was C o l l y ' s Dupuis et Des-r o n a i s . s a i d by G a i f f e i n h i s study l e Drame fin France au d i x - h u i t i e m e s i e c l e t o be \"un raodele de come'die s e r i e u s e beaucoup p l u s r e u s s i et meme p l u s conforme, sur c e r t a i n s p o i n t s , au theories de D i d e r o t que l e s p i e c e s de D i d e r o t lui-meme.\"48 The Memoires, w h i l e n o t i n g a tendency on the p a r t o f the p l a y e r s to o v e r - a c t , remark upon the success of the performance: \"Ce drame, t o u t simple, t o u t peu i n t r i g u e q u ' i l s o i t , a f a i t t r e s grand p l a i s i r par l e s d e t a i l s et par une p e i n t u r e de nos moeurs t r e s a f f l i g e a n t e mais t r e s v r a i e . \" 4 9 D e s p i t e t h e i r approval of t h i s p a r t i c u l a r p l a y , the p a r o i s s i e n s are not g e n e r a l l y sympathetic i n t h e i r treatment o f those p r o d u c t i o n s t h a t we now r e c o g n i z e as models o f the drame. The Memoires use t h i s term l o o s e l y and i t i s c l e a r t h a t c r i t i c s were o n l y j u s t becoming aware o f the emergence o f t h i s new genre. As we have seen, the j o u r n a l reviews D i d e r o t ' s Pere de f a m i l l e and notes i t s i n f l u e n c e but makes no r e f e r e n c e to D i d e r o t ' s r o l e as the o r i g i n a t o r and t h e o r e -t i c i a n o f t h e drame. As f o r Beaumarchais' Eugenie, to which the term was f i r s t o f f i c i a l l y a p p l i e d , the Memoires note merely t h a t \"ce drame t a n t prone a ete donne auj o u r d ' h u i et n'a pas eu l e succes dont l ' a u t e u r se f l a t t a i t . \" - ^ The p l a y 48Qaiffe, F. op_. c i t . , p. 164. He o u t l i n e s t h i s \"charmante p i e c e \" more f u l l y on pages 336 - 337. 4 9Memoires s e c r e t s . I , 182 - 183. 5°Ibid.. I l l , 159. 87 was regarded as a f a i l u r e and Beaumarchais was l a b e l l e d a \"parvenu,\" \"un homme f o r t repandu sans a v o i r aucune c o n s i d e r a -t i o n . Much more i s s a i d o f h i s l i f e than o f h i s p l a y s ; the j o u r n a l , a f t e r announcing h i s marriage to the widow o f \"un nomme Lev£que,\" adds t h a t M. Caron de Beaumarchais i s \"p l u s renomme encore pour ses i n t r i g u e s que pour ses t a l e n t s l i t t e r a i r e s . \" - * 2 A review o f h i s l a t e r p l a y , Deux Amis ou l e b i e n f a i t rendu, dated January, 1770, seems, however, t o i n -d i c a t e some s l i g h t m o d i f i c a t i o n o f o p i n i o n . While condemning the theme of a double bankruptcy as \"defectueux en lui-meme,\" adding t h a t \"ce s u j e t a encore p l u s r e v o l t e par l a maniere dont i l a ete p r e s e n t e , \" the c h r o n i c l e r admits t h a t \"on y a pou r t a n t t r o uve des scenes heureuses et p r o d u i s a n t l e p l u s t e n d r e i n t l r e t . \" ^ 3 D i s a p p r o v a l o f the u p s t a r t Beaumarchais does not completely obscure a p p r e c i a t i o n o f h i s l i t e r a r y s k i l l . As f o r Sedaine, who, i n h i s Philosophe sans l e s a v o i r , \"donne a tous l e s e c r i v a i n s de p r o f e s s i o n . . . un modele de ce que d e v r a i t e t r e l e drame e t , malgre l e s r a i l l e r i e s des beaux e s p r i t s , f a i t un chef-d'oeuvre sans l e s a v o i r , \" - * 4 the Memoires are ex c e e d i n g l y harsh. D e s c r i b i n g him as \"ce macon devenu p o e t e — m a i s p l u s h a b i l e encore a t r a c e r l e p l a n d'un 5 1 I b i d . , I l l , 140 - 141, 159. 5 2 I b i d . . IV, 14. 5 3 I b i d . . V, 55, 61. 54Gaiffe, op_. c i t . , p. 185. e d i f i c e que c e l u i d fun drame—, »»55 they g i v e scant p r a i s e to h i s Phil o s o p h e . T h i s \"espece d*episode b o u r g e o i s \" i s s a i d t o be badly c o n s t r u c t e d , though redeemed somewhat by h a v i n g \"des c a r a c t e r e s assez soutenus, et beaucoup de n a t u r e l dans l e d i a l o g u e \" and by p r e s e n t i n g \"des images n a l v e s de ce q u i se passe dans l T i n t e r i e u r des f a m i l i e s . \" - ^ I t s unexpected success c o n t i n u e d , ^ however, and the Memoires remark a f t e r the twenty-eighth and f i n a l performance t h a t \"ce b i z a r r e r O succes s e r a i t etonnant dans un a u t r e s i e c l e que c e l u i - c i . \" - ' Four y e a r s l a t e r , i n 1769* they s t i l l d e p l o r e the popul a r t a s t e f o r Sedaine*s dram.es: \"On j o u a i t l e Deserteur, p i e c e n o u v e l l e , t o u j o u r s mauvaise quoique f o r t courue . . .\"59 The j o u r n a l , as we might expect, r e f l e c t s t o some degree the b i a s o f i t s w r i t e r s , n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g t h e i r c l a i m to i m p a r t i a l i t y s t a t e d i n the i n t r o d u c t i o n . ^ ^ In a sense we must be g r a t e f u l t h a t a c e r t a i n human q u a l i t y c o l o u r s the ^Memoires s e c r e t s . IV, 67. 5 6 I b i d . . I I , 293 - 295. See a l s o pp. 271 - 272. 5 7 I b i d . . I I , 321. 5 8 I b i d . . I I , 331. 5 9 I b i d . . IV, 266 - 267. 6°\"Quant aux n o t i c e s des e c r i t s nouveaux, des p i e c e s de theStre, des assemblies l i t t e r a i r e s , e l l e s sont encore d i s t i n g u e e s par une p r e c i s i o n unique et s u r t o u t p ar une i m p a r t i a l i t e qu fon a t t e n d r a i t en v a i n d Tun c r i t i q u e a f f i c h e pour t e l . . . \" See the avertissement, I b i d . , I , pp. v, v i . reviews and breathes l i f e i n t o l o n g - p a s t events. That the p a r o i s s i e n s were not immune from e r r o r s o f judgement i s shown by t h e i r treatment o f l e s T r i u m v i r s . Supposing the p l a y to be by Chabanon, they heap s c o r n upon i t , o n l y t o g i v e i t h i g h p r a i s e l a t e r when they f i n d i t t o be by V o l t a i r e . ^ They do not approve of the Comedie-Italienne. Commenting upon the m e d i o c r i t y o f t h e o f f e r i n g s at t h i s t h e a t r e , they remark t h a t i t has become \"l'e'goQt des a u t r e s ; i l n T e s t p o i n t d'absurdite' q u i ne p u i s s e y e*tre admise.\"^ 2 They r e j o i c e when attendance t h e r e i s poor, hoping that \"ce debut p o u r r a i t b i e n e t r e l T e p o q u e de l a de'cadence que tous l e s amateurs du v r a i b i e n l u i presagent et l u i s o u h a i t e n t . \" ^ 3 D e s p i t e the f a c t t h a t they f i n d some a c t o r s s a t i s f a c t o r y ^ 4 and regard R i c c o b o n i as an a s s e t , -* the Memoires r e c o r d w i t h obvious s a t i s f a c t i o n an o c c a s i o n when, \"par un r e t o u r du bon gout ou de l a mode,\" the p r o f i t s at t h e Comedie-Francaise are a t l a s t f a r i n excess o f those o f l e s I t a l i e n s . ^ ^ L a n c a s t e r , H. C. op_. ex t . , p. 360 p o i n t s out t h e i r e r r o r . One may compare these opposing views i n the Memoires s e c r e t s . I I , 75 - 76 and I I I , 139. u\"'Memoires s e c r e t s . I , 282. 6 3 I b i d . , I , 76 - 77. 64ibid.. I , 55 - 56, 306. 6 5 I b i d . . I , 141. 6 6 I b i d . . IV, 242. In general, the Memoires reveal a tendency to conser-vatism, tempered by an acceptance of cer t a i n innovations. The factual information bequeathed by the journal has been of very r e a l assistance to students of the t h e a t r e . ^ Though many of the reviews are b r i e f , they supplement information given i n other sources such as Grimm, and the anecdotes and gossip add to our appreciation of the person-a l i t i e s involved. We may indeed be grateful to the paroisse f o r t h i s comprehensive record of the eighteenth-century theatre. ^For example, Lancaster (op_. c i t . . p. 535) acknow-ledges h i s debt to the Memoires for information concerning Chabanon's l o s t play Eponine. CHAPTER VI A DECADE OF POETRY AND PROSE IN THE MEMOIRES SECRETS In a d d i t i o n t o t h e i r reviews o f major works o f the p e r i o d , the Memoires s e c r e t s p r o v i d e us with a m u l t i t u d e o f l e s s e r items t h a t appear at f i r s t s i g h t t o defy simple c l a s s i f i c a t i o n . T h i s m i s c e l l a n e o u s m a t e r i a l o f f e r s never-t h e l e s s much t h a t i s s i g n i f i c a n t f o r our study. In these r e f e r e n c e s t o l o n g - f o r g o t t e n works we can d e t e c t t r e n d s i n c e r t a i n l i t e r a r y genres and sense as w e l l the e v o l u t i o n of t h a t c u r i o u s blend of p o l i s h e d w i t and i n t e l l e c t u a l unrest t h a t t y p i f i e d the age. Perhaps of even more importance s t i l l i s the i n s i g h t t h a t these e n t r i e s a f f o r d i n t o t h e d a i l y p r e -occupations o f Madame Doublet*s p a r o i s s i e n s and the \" b i a s \" o f t h e i r j o u r n a l . In view o f the e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r y p r e d i l e c t i o n f o r prose, a s u r p r i s i n g number o f items r e l a t e to announcements o r reviews o f p o e t r y . T h i s genre. w h i l e f a r from dead, seems i n many r e s p e c t s t o have been d e c i d e d l y stagnant, as accounts o f the p u b l i c s e s s i o n s o f the Academie r o v a l e des i n s c r i p t i o n s et b e l l e s l e t t r e s show o n l y too c l e a r l y . x The s u b j e c t s d i s -cussed and the p o e t r y reviewed a t these s e s s i o n s i n d i c a t e a f a i r l y l i f e l e s s but almost t o t a l p r e o c c u p a t i o n w i t h t r a d i t i o n a l x T h e s e t w i c e - y e a r l y s e s s i o n s a r e r e p o r t e d i n some d e t a i l . See, f o r example, the Memoires s e c r e t s . I, 224 - 225 and I I , 5 5 - 5 6 . 92 Greek o r Roman themes. In l i n e with t h i s concern we f i n d i n the Memoires numerous reviews of t r a n s l a t i o n s or adapta-t i o n s of c l a s s i c a l p o etry, the o d e — s e r i o u s or o t h e r w i s e — b e i n g a f a v o u r i t e form. Some departure from t h i s almost t o t a l a b s o r p t i o n with t r a d i t i o n a l themes can, however, be d e t e c t e d i n the i n t e r e s t shown i n t r a n s l a t i o n s o f p o e t r y from o t h e r European c o u n t r i e s . S e v e r a l e n t r i e s d e a l w i t h r e n d e r -i n g s of German poems and the j o u r n a l notes t h a t \"depuis quelques annees l e s Allemands marchent a grands pas dans l a c a r r i e r e de l a b e l l e poe'sie,\" producing, a p p a r e n t l y , \"des ouvrages dignes de nos m e i l l e u r s p o e t e s . \" 4 Other e n t r i e s r e f e r b r i e f l y t o t r a n s l a t i o n s o f P e t r a r c h ^ and o f E n g l i s h 6 7 p o e t i c works such as Ossian and Thomson's The Seasons.' The Memoires show great i n t e r e s t i n p o e t r y of a d i d a c t i c or s a t i r i c nature and i n 1765 c i t e a p p r o v i n g l y , f o r example, \"deux poernes heroiques . . . q u i ramenent l a p o e s i e By 1770, however, a t r e n d t o more e x o t i c s u b j e c t s seems to have s e t i n . I b i d . , V, 285 - 288. 3 F o r de R o c h e f o r t ' s t r a n s l a t i o n s o f Homer see I b i d . . I , 163; I I , 140, 151 - 152; I I I , 39 - 40. The Abbe'de L i s l e ' s r e n d e r i n g of the Georgics i s reviewed i n I b i d . , I, 164. 4 I b i d . . I I , 69. 5 I b i d . . I I , 192 - 193. 6 I b i d . . I I , 231. ? I b i d . . IV, 239 - 240. S t . Lambert's a d a p t a t i o n l e s S a i s o n s , a p a s t o r a l , though i t i n d i c a t e s a r e v i v a l o f i n t e r e s t i n nature p o e t r y , i s found d u l l and d i s a p p o i n t i n g by the p a r o i s s i e n s . a son ancienne i n s t i t u t i o n , de chanter l a v e r t u , d 1 e x c i t e r » 8 l e z e l e p a t r i o t i q u e . \" The most e s s e n t i a l mark o f p o e t r y , i t seems, i s i t s \" p h i l o s o p h i c \" — d e s c r i b e d as \" n e c e s s a i r e , mime aux p o e t e s . \" 9 Even the Poe s i e s s a c r e e s by V o l t a i r e 1 s enemy, L e f r a n c de Pompignan, are h i g h l y p r a i s e d as ou t s t a n d -i n g i n t h i s r e s p e c t : \"Cet auteur, t a n t m y s t i f i e , t a n t bafoue par M. de V o l t a i r e , a cependant un m e r i t e s p e c i f i q u e : i l y a dans ses odes des strophes dignes de Rousseau; ses d i s c o u r s t i r e s des l i v r e s s a p i e n t i a u x sont p l e i n s d'une p h i l o s o p h i c sublime, e n r i c h i e d f i i n e p o e s i e vive, nerveuse et p i t t o r e s q u e . \" ^ As f o r s a t i r i c p o e t r y , the j o u r n a l abounds i n l i g h t v e r s e s and epigrams o f the type used so e f f e c t i v e l y by V o l t a i r e and P i r o n . We a l s o f i n d longer and more m a l i c i o u s compositions such as the s e r i e s o f no e l s f e a t u r e d i n the opening volumes. ^ In a l l t h i s t h e r e i s l i t t l e t o suggest t h a t t h e p a r o i s s i e n s ever thought o f poetry as a c r e a t i v e o u t l e t f o r s t r o n g emo-t i o n a l f e e l i n g . Rather, the c r i t i c a l comments i n the Memoires seem t o i n d i c a t e t h a t i t was val u e d c h i e f l y as a v e h i c l e f o r noble p u b l i c sentiments expressed i n l o f t y form o r f o r the exchange o f w i t i n endless l i t e r a r y o r p e r s o n a l vendettas. 8 I b i d . . I I , 2 4 5 . 9 I b i d . . I I , 98 - 9 9 . 1 0 I b i d . . I, 2 9 7 . 1 : L I b i d . , I , 354 - 3 5 9 ; I I , 4 , 9 - 1 0 , 13, 16 - 1 8 , 21 - 2 5 , 37 - 3 8 . I f i t c o u l d a l s o r i s e to h e i g h t s o f p h i l o s o p h i c so much the b e t t e r . D e c i d e d l y more v a r i e d i n scope and u s u a l l y s u p e r i o r i n q u a l i t y are the prose w r i t i n g s of t h i s p e r i o d . The j o u r -n a l i n f a c t reviews a f a s c i n a t i n g v a r i e t y o f books and pam-p h l e t s which, t r e a t i n g the widest imaginable range o f t o p i c s , i l l u s t r a t e the p r e v a i l i n g s p i r i t o f i n q u i r y i n t o a l l a s p e c t s o f human a c t i v i t y . For example, the Memoires note i n March, 1766, t h a t a book on h a i r d r e s s i n g has been p u b l i s h e d , appar-12 e n t l y o f q u i t e a s c i e n t i f i c n a t u r e . A few weeks l a t e r , they r e c o r d the appearance of \"une a b s u r d i t e \" i n the form of a p u b l i s h e d work a t t a c k i n g t h e p r a c t i c e of b l e e d i n g . i 3 In J u l y , 1769, we f i n d a review o f l e Pornographe. a h i s t o r y o f p r o s t i t u t i o n t o g e t h e r with a proposed p l a n f o r i t s regu-l a t i o n , p r o v i n g , says the c h r o n i c l e r , \"a quel p o i n t d fe'gare-ment 1 ' e s p r i t p h i l o s o p h i q u e pretendu nous a c o n d u i t l o r s q u ' o n v o i t un auteur grave, e r u d i t , sage, honnete et profond, t r a i t e r une m a t i e r e sur l a q u e l l e i l a u r a i t eu honte dans un a u t r e temps de p o r t e r meme ses regards.\"*\"^ I n a d d i t i o n t o n o t a t i o n s c o n c e r n i n g c u r i o s i t i e s o f t h i s s o r t , we a l s o f i n d reviews of many p u b l i c a t i o n s r e l a t i n g to the s c i e n t i f i c , 1 2 I b i d . . I l l , 11. ^ i b i d . . I l l , 54. 1 4 i b i d . . IV, 318 - 319. 95 m i l i t a r y and economic i s s u e s o f the day,A-* as w e l l as h i s t o r i c a l t r e a t i s e s o f v a r i o u s t y p e s . E i g h t e e n t h century cosmopolitanism i s w e l l i l l u s t r a t e d i n the accounts o f books o f t r a v e l x ^ as w e l l as i n the reviews o f t r a n s l a t i o n s o f 17 f o r e i g n prose works. ' S t r a n g e l y enough, i n a l l t h i s p r o f u s i o n the novel passes almost unremarked and comparatively few examples are c i t e d by the p a r o i s s e d u r i n g the decade 1762-1771, i n d i c a t i n g no doubt the u s u a l r e s p e c t a b l e l a c k o f i n t e r e s t i n t h i s genre. French a d a p t a t i o n s o f E n g l i s h n o v e l s are noted, however, and i n general the Memoires review such works f a v o u r a b l y , e s p e c i -19 a l l y i f the s t y l e i s found t o be t a s t e f u l and e l e g a n t . x5The l a t t e r , we may add, appear t o be p a r t i c u l a r l y d i s t a s t e f u l t o the p a r o i s s i e n s ( i b i d . , I I , 225). x ^ I b i d . . I I , 109 110 reviews the accounts o f t r a v e l s i n England, H o l l a n d and I t a l y found i n l e s Oeuvres de Madame du Boccage (1764). Although she was a p a r o i s s i e n e . the Memoires d i s m i s s the work as \" r i e n de neuf, n i du c6te h i s t o r i q u e n i du c6te\" p h i l o s o p h i q u e . C*est ce q u i s , a p p e l l e e c r i r e pour e c r i r e . \" A t r a v e l book by B a i l l y de F l e u r y i s , on t h e other hand, h i g h l y p r a i s e d f o r i t s e r u d i t i o n and i n t e r e s t ( I b i d . . I I , 259). x ? F o r an i n t e r e s t i n g and p e r c e p t i v e comment on German l i t e r a t u r e e x e m p l i f i e d i n L e s s i n g ' s F a b l e s see I b i d . , I I , 144 - 145. x 8 I n the p r e v i o u s year (1761) D i d e r o t had p u b l i s h e d h i s Eloge de Richardson and Rousseau h i s Nouvelle H e l o i s e which a l s o r e f l e c t s t he i n f l u e n c e o f Richardson. x 9Among such n o v e l s i n the E n g l i s h s t y l e a re the Memoires en forme de l e t t r e s . de deux .ieunes personnes de q u a l i t e ^ (1765) by the Marquise de Champfery (Memoires s e c r e t s . I I , 158), Amelie (1762) by Mme R i c c o b o n i ( i b i d . . I , 63) and L e t t r e s de J u l i e de M a n d e v i l l e (1764) by M. Bouchant ( I b i d . . 96 A l s o w e l l r e c e i v e d are the s e n t i m e n t a l , m o r a l i z i n g n o v e l s then xn vogue, such as Mme B e n o i t ' s E l i s a b e t h , of which the 20 c h r o n x c l e s t a t e s merely: \" I I a f f e c t e l e coeur.\" As f o r the s h o r t e r , more s o p h i s t i c a t e d and a r t i f i c i a l conte, t h e Mimoires f i n d none to equal those o f V o l t a i r e , whose s u p e r i -o r i t y i n t h i s genre has a l r e a d y been mentioned. 2^ Le B r e t ' s Contes moraux et dramatiques are f e l t to be d e c i d e d l y medi-o c r e 4 * and Semperavi's l ' O p t i q u e ou l e C h i n o i s a Memphis cannot be compared t o Z a d i g or C a n d i d e . 2 3 One n o v e l d i d , however, r e c e i v e more a t t e n t i o n from t h e p a r o i s s e than a l l the o t h e r s combined, a f a c t which d i r -e c t s our a t t e n t i o n t o c e r t a i n s p e c i f i c i n t e r e s t s of the group. T h i s n o v e l i s Marmontel's famous B e l i s a i r e . i n which the j o u r -n a l f i n d s at f i r s t l i t t l e t o p r a i s e , c r i t i c i z i n g i t upon i t s appearance i n mid-February 1767 as \"une d i s s e r t a t i o n t r e s f r o i d e , t r e s longue, t r e s r e b a t t u e sur des o b j e t s de morale et de p o l i t i q u e . \" 2 4 On such a note the e n t r i e s concerning t h i s I I , 75). Concerning a novel t r a n s l a t e d from the E n g l i s h by Abb6 PreVost the j o u r n a l adds: \" I I a pourtant une grande vogue pour l e s aventures e x t r a o r d i n a i r e s et compliquees dont i l e s t r e m p l i j c ' e s t l e l i v r e du j o u r . \" ( i b i d . , I, 83.) 2 0 I b i d . . I I , 308. 2-*-See supra Chapter IV. 2 2Memoires s e c r e t s . I I , 218. 23ibid., I , 334. 2 4 I b i d . . I l l , 165. 97 work might have ended, had i t not contained a plea^for tolerance which offended the au t h o r i t i e s . A week l a t e r i t s p r i v i l e g e was withdrawn and a long and heated controversy ensued. The chronicle leaves us no doubt as to the views of the paroisse i n t h i s a f f a i r . Sympathetic to the author and to the p r i n c i p l e involved, they p u b l i c i z e at length the 2 5 attacks on t h i s work and also draw attention to the support i t i s rec e i v i n g from the enlightened monarchs of northern Europe \"qui font l e plus grand eloge du l i v r e et t r a i t e n t l e s sages maitres comme des cuistres.\" 2*' The chroniclers even enter the b a t t l e themselves. From a warning on February 21, 1768, that \" l e plus me'chant l i v r e p r o s c r i t en devient plus recherche, 1 , 2 7 they pass on March 6 to the p r i n t i n g i n t h e i r journal of a Vers au B e l i s a i r e that strongly attacks the 28 Sorbonne theologians. A year l a t e r , when the ban imposed on the book was upheld, the Memoires i r o n i c a l l y recorded the f i n a l statement of the churchmen who i n fact disposed of t h i s work i n support of tolerance i n the most intolerant terms, 25see Ibid.. I l l , 167 - 168, 169, 174 - 175, 181 - 182, 205, 249, 305 - 306, 312 - 314, 323 - 324, 342 - 343, 344 - 345. 2 6 I b i d . . I l l , 314 - 315. 2 7 I b i d . . I l l , 168. 2 8 I b i d . . I l l , 177 - 178. The concluding l i n e s i n d i -cate i t s general tone: \"Que ce blasphemateur s o i t puni par l e feu; N , a - t - i l pas du savoir q u * i l causait du scandale Quand, malgre l a Sorbonne, i l f a i s a i t aimer Dieu.\" 98 condemning i t as \"contenant des p r o p o s i t i o n s f a u s s e s , c a p t i e u s e s , t e m e r a i r e s , scandaleuses, impies, e r r o n n i e s , r e s p i r a n t l ' h e r e s i e et h e ' r e t i q u e s . 1 , 2 9 T h i s s t r o n g r e a c t i o n t o the s u p p r e s s i o n o f B e l i s a i r e s e r v e s t o r e i n f o r c e the i m p r e s s i o n we have a l r e a d y gained o f the p r o - p h i l o s o p h e sympathies o f the p a r o i s s i e n s . In t h i s r e s p e c t , o f course, they show themselves t o be very much p a r t o f a movement that dates back to the e a r l i e r y e a r s of the cen t u r y . I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g to note, however, t h a t Bachaumont, l o n g a c t i v e i n t h e f i e l d o f j o u r n a l i s m , waited u n t i l 1762 to be g i n h i s manuscript devoted t o r e c o r d i n g the steady advance o f the age o f reason. In t h a t y e a r the f o r c e s of the en-lightenment, symbolized l a r g e l y i n the r a d i c a l w r i t i n g s o f the day, were f e l t t o have s c o r e d a s i g n a l v i c t o r y over the J e s u i t s . E a r l y i n the f i r s t volume we read the n o t a t i o n : \" E n f i n l e d e r n i e r coup e s t p o r t i a u jourd'hui a l a compagnie de J e s u s . La S o c i e t e est d i s s o u t e . . . C e t t e epoque, on l e repete, e s t d Tune grande importance dans l a l i t t e ' r a t u r e . \" 3 ^ The p a r o i s s e . we must remember, had more than a detached i n t e l l e c t u a l i n t e r e s t i n t h i s a f f a i r , s i n c e one o f i t s members, the Abbe de C h a u v e l i n , had s t r u c k the f i n a l blow t h a t brought down \" c e t t e s t a t u e aux p i e d s d , a r g i l e . \" 3 ^ 2 9 I b i d . . I l l , 344 - 345. 3°Ibid.. I, 123. The e n t r y i s dated August 8, 1762. 3^-Bayle and Herblay, op., c i t . . pp. 399 - 400 r e l a t e s how the Abbe de Chauv e l i n , w i t h the help o f a l e t t e r found 99 As we might expect, a l a r g e p r o p o r t i o n o f the e n t r i e s f o r the y e a r s 1762-1764 are o b v i o u s l y a n t i - J e s u i t propaganda, r a n g i n g from the u s u a l l e t t e r s , pamphlets and books to lam-poons and s a t i r e s , blended with triumphant r e p o r t s o f c u r t a i l -ment o f t h e O r d e r f s a c t i v i t i e s . Seldom are the J e s u i t s i n any way defended. Rather, the p a r o i s s e appears to d e l i g h t i n p u b l i s h i n g w i t t i c i s m s that d i s c r e d i t t h e S o c i e t y and i n r e v e a l i n g the weaknesses i n i t s attempts at r e b u t t a l . 3 2 Mingled w i t h t h i s j u b i l a t i o n at the overthrow o f the J e s u i t s one d i s c e r n s , however, a c e r t a i n note o f r e g r e t a t the d e c l i n e i n q u a l i t y of the J o u r n a l de Trevoux; \" I I n T e s t p l u s n i a u s s i b i e n i c r i t , n i a u s s i savamment d i s c u t e . . . On r e g r e t t e r a longtemps ce j o u r n a l q u i degenere e t q u i degenerera de p l u s en p l u s . \" 3 3 D e s p i t e i t s c o n t r a r y views the p a r o i s s e thus seems to have a p p r e c i a t e d at l e a s t the e r u d i t i o n and w i t o f t h i s J e s u i t j o u r n a l and o f i t s e d i t o r , Pere B e r t h i e r . a c c i d e n t a l l y by F a l c o n e t and w i t h the approval o f the P r e s i -dent de M e i n i e r e s , l e d the a t t a c k i n the Parlement o f P a r i s t h a t r e s u l t e d i n the overthrow o f the o r d e r . Hence the c o u p l e t , quoted i n the Memoires s e c r e t s . I, 124• \"Que f r a g i l e e s t ton s o r t , s o c i e t e p e r v e r s e ! Un b o i t e u x t f a fondee, un bossu t e r e n v e r s e . \" ( C h a u v e l i n was g r o t e s q u e l y deformed). The j o u r n a l a l s o p r a i s e s C h a u v e l i n as \"ce r e d o u t a b l e i c u e i l c o n t r e l e q u e l sont venus se b r i s e r l * o r g u e i l , l ' a s t u c e et l a p o l i t i q u e des J e s u i t e s . \" ( i b i d . . I, 64.) 3 2 F o r example Memoires s e c r e t s , I, 82, 90, 116, 122 - 123, 126, 135. 3 3 I b i d . , I , 119. See a l s o I b i d . . I, 233, I I , 73. 100 L o g i c a l l y a l l i e d t o t h i s a n t i - J e s u i t b i a s we f i n d a c o r r e s p o n d i n g sympathy i n the Memoires f o r the p a r l e m e n t s . 3 w e l l i l l u s t r a t e d by the f o l l o w i n g r a t h e r immoderately e n t h u s i a s t i c note dated September 1, 1763: La l i t t e r a t u r e essuye des modes, a i n s i que t o u t l e r e s t e : depuis quelque temps l e s genies se sont tendus v e r s l a f i n a n c e e t l a p o l i t i q u e ; l e s c a l a m i t i s de l f£tat ont f a i t n a xtre des i c r i t s vigoureux, presque dignes des beaux j o u r s des r e p u b l i q u e s d fAthenes et de Rome . . . On s a i t b i e n que nous voulons p a r l e r des b e l l e s remon-s t r a n c e s que nos d i v e r s parlements ne cessent de f a i r e en ce temps orageux: c e l l e s de Bordeaux ne sont p o i n t i n f i r i e u r e s a c e l l e s de P a r i s et de Rouen, e l l e s e n c h S r i s s e n t meme, et n'approchent cependant p o i n t encore a ce qu fon assure de c e l l e s de Grenoble.35 Such keen i n t e r e s t i n the a c t i v i t i e s and p u b l i c a t i o n s of the parlements no doubt a l s o r e f l e c t s the d i r e c t i n f l u e n c e of \" l e cher p r e s i d e n t \" o f the p a r o i s s e . Durey de M e i n i e r e s . Even more abundant than the a n t i - J e s u i t w r i t i n g s r e c o r d e d i n t h e Memoires i s the mass o f m a t e r i a l t h a t p r o -ceeded from the r e l i g i o u s c o n t r o v e r s i e s of the period.3° 3 4 A s t h i s study i s l i t e r a r y r a t h e r than p o l i t i c a l i n scope, I s h a l l not attempt r e f e r e n c e to passages t h a t d e a l w i t h such matters as the s t r u g g l e between the K i n g and the parlements and the c o n t r o v e r s i e s over the f u n c t i o n s o f the l a t t e r . Such a s p e c t s would m e r i t separate i n v e s t i g a t i o n . 3^Memoires s e c r e t s . I , 300 - 301. See a l s o I b i d . . I , 364 where the c h r o n i c l e r p r a i s e s the Remonstrances de Grenoble as \"un chef d'oeuvre de l i b e r t e \" i n which \" l e s C i c e r o n , l e s Demonsthene . . . se t r o u v e r o n t . r e v i v r e . \" 3^In t h i s area, o f course, V o l t a i r e was pre-eminent. \"Les s e u l s e c r i t s de V o l t a i r e i g a l e n t en nombre l e r e s t e des p u b l i c a t i o n s a n t i - r e l i g i e u s e s de ce temps-la.\" ( A u b e r t i n , 101 I n g e n e r a l , the a n t i - r e l i g i o u s works win approval and are judged t o be symptoms o f the advance o f reason which, i t i s f e l t , w i l l e v e n t u a l l y p r e v a i l over such \"extravagances humaines\" as C h r i s t i a n i t y . 3 7 F r e q u e n t l y the p r a i s e i s o f t h a t i n v e r t e d type a l r e a d y noted i n connection w i t h V o l t a i r e ' s a n t i - r e l i g i o u s w r i t i n g s i n which condemnation o b v i o u s l y s e r v e s both t o dec e i v e the censors and recommend the work t o en-l i g h t e n e d m i n d s . 3 8 The exact p o s i t i o n o f t h e p a r o i s s e as regards r e l i g i o n i s not, however, completely c l e a r . Grimm d e s c r i b e s the group as t o t a l l y i r r e l i g i o u s ; o f Madame Doublet's s a l o n he remarks: \"On y e t a i t j a n s e n i s t e , ou du moins t r e s p a r l e m e n t a i r e , mais on n'y i t a i t pas cnre'tien; jamais croyant n i d i v o t n f y f u t admis, s i ce n'est p e u t - e t r e M. de Foncemagne. 1 , 3 9 Yet t h i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n may be too s t r o n g . I t should be remembered t h a t , w h i l e the Memoires review w i t h apparent a p p r o v a l so many a n t i - r e l i g i o u s p u b l i c a t i o n s and are q u i c k t o note the weaknesses i n the c o u n t e r - a t t a c k s by the churchmen, 4** they op. ext., p. 393.) For examples o f other w r i t e r s reviewed i n t h i s f i e l d , see the Memoires s e c r e t s . I , 21, 52; I I , 272 - 273, IV, 124 - 126, 131 - 132. 3 7 T h e c e n t r a l i d e a o f V o l t a i r e ' s V i e de J i s u s . I b i d . , V, 208 - 211. 3 8 I b i d . . I I , 272; I I I , 51 - 52. 3 9Grimm, op_. ext., IX, 317. We may a l s o add the name o f Boyer d ' E g u i l l e s , whom C o t t i n , i n h i s work Un Frote'ge de Bachaumont. p. x x v i i , terms \"profonderaent r e l i g i e u x . \" 4°Memoires s e c r e t s . V, 184 - 186, 246 - 249. 102 seem also to have f l e e t i n g moments of sympathy for a work such as M e d i t a t i o n s chre*tiennes. described as \" l e f r u i t des r e t r a i t e s de l'auteur,\" i n which they priase \" l e ton de douceur, de candeur, de raison et de charite.\"41 Aubertin, i n h i s E s p r i t public au dix-huitieme sie'cle claims to f i n d i n t h i s journal only \" l e s f a i b l e s traces d'une resistance timide, etouffee dans l a clameur publique et tu6e aussit8t par l e r i d i c u l e . \" 4 2 Perhaps a closer study of the Memoires. one not l i m i t e d to t h e i r l i t e r a r y aspects, would help to c l a r i f y t h i s issue. Certainly, unless one accepts the many pious and shocked protestations at t h e i r face value, there seems to be l i t t l e evidence i n the journals to sug-gest that the paroissiens had any strong r e l i g i o u s sympa-t h i e s . 4 3 In r e f l e c t i n g upon the d i v e r s i t y of material con-tained i n these \"memoires d*Argus, 1 , 4 4 we cannot f a i l to be impressed by the i n t e l l e c t u a l alertness of the paroissiens. despite t h e i r advanced years. In t h e i r sympathy fo r the 4-*-Memoires secrets, I I , 73 - 74. 4 2Aubertin, op_. c i t . . p. 395. 43perhaps even the name paroissiens was chosen with a c e r t a i n i r o n i c intent? 4 4 d e Goncourt, E. and J., oj>. c i t . . pp. 72 - 73. It i s perhaps unnecessary to point out that Argus was a prince who according to legend, possessed one hundred eyes, f i f t y of which remained always open. 103 cause of the enlightenment, 4^ they show themselves to be among the progressive s p i r i t s of t h e i r day. Yet they are also very much part of t h e i r a r i s t o c r a t i c milieu, disturbed by the r i s e of commercialism—especially i n the realm of l i t e r a t u r e 4 ^ — a n d distressed at what they f e e l to be a grow-in g tendency i n journalism to pander to the f r i v o l o u s tastes of the general p u b l i c . 4 7 Interested i n new trends, aware of current problems, they are none the l e s s l o y a l to the a r i s -t o c r a t i c standards of elegance, wit and refinement, which— l i k e so much of the material they reviewed—were destined shortly to disappear. 45Here again we should not, I feel,be misled by apparent attacks on the philosophes, such as the entry dated September 22, 1768 which begins: \"II s*est e l e v i depuis quelques annees en France une secte de philosophes audacieux qui semble avoir eu l e systeme refle'chi de porter une clarte? f a t a l e dans l e s e s p r i t s , d'ebranler toute cre*ance, de ren-verser l a r e l i g i o n et de l a saper jusque dans ses fondements . . .\" 'Memoires secrets. IV, 124 - 126. 4^L'Ecole l i t t e r a i r e t i r i e des meilleurs ecrivains. i s , f o r example, said to be a f a i l u r e because \" l e sordide intere't qui f a i t a g i r toutes nos plumes l i t t e ' r a i r e s \" has motivated the production of an i n f e r i o r work. Ibid.. I I , 32. 4 7 I b i d . , I I , 292 - 293. \"On peut juger de l a f u t i l i t i de notre gout et de notre paresse par l a l i s t e des almanachs nouveaux . . . \" CHAPTER VII CONCLUSION An a n a l y s i s o f the m a t e r i a l i n the Memoires s e c r e t s , even w i t h i n the l i m i t e d scope o f t h i s present i n v e s t i g a t i o n , has proved to be an undertaking o f some complexity. Only by a s e l e c t i v e approach c o u l d the p r o f u s i o n of d e t a i l s t h a t crowd the pages o f t h i s \"volumineux r e c u e i l \" ^ \" be brought w i t h i n the narrow compass o f a b r i e f r e p o r t . A c c o r d i n g l y , t h i s survey has tended t o be f a i r l y general i n nature, con-f i n e d , o f n e c e s s i t y , t o a study o f the p r i n c i p a l authors and genres. In a d d i t i o n , I have t r i e d t o c a t c h a glimpse o f the v a r i o u s l i t e r a r y t r e n d s , t o note contemporary r e a c t i o n a n d — as f a r as p o s s i b l e — t o assess the i d e o l o g i c a l b i a s o f the j o u r n a l . Obviously, t h i s i n v e s t i g a t i o n i s i n no way an ex-h a u s t i v e study o f the l i t e r a r y m a t e r i a l i n the Memoires even f o r the decade i n qu e s t i o n , nor i s i t a complete catalogue o f authors and works o f the p e r i o d . ^ B a r r i e r e , i n the p r e f a c e t o h i s E x t r a i t des memoires de Bachaumont. P a r i s , 1867> p. 212 remarks—perhaps not a l t o g e t h e r j u s t l y — t h a t \" i l n»y a p o i n t de l e c t e u r , f u t - i l i n f a t i g a b l e , dont ce volumineux r e c u e i l ne r e b u t S t l a p a t i e n c e . \" Perhaps i t was t h i s c o n f u s i o n o f d e t a i l s t h a t caused Mme du Deffand, speaking o f the Memoires. to remark t h a t she had made \"une s o t t e emplette.\" ( L e t t r e s de l a marquise du Deffand a Horace Walpole (1766-1780), Mrs. P. Toynbee ed., London, 1912, I I I , 368, 373.) But then, might not the r e - r e a d i n g o f s e v e r a l y e a r s 1 back i s s u e s o f Time produce a s i m i l a r r e a c t i o n ? 105 C e r t a i n l y , the most s t r i k i n g f e a t u r e o f the Melnoires s e c r e t s i s t h e i r r i c h n e s s of content, a f e a t u r e so w e l l des-c r i b e d more than a century ago by the Goncourt b r o t h e r s , who saw i n Madame Doublet*s s a l o n \" l e rendez-vous des echos, l e c a b i n e t n o i r 6\\x l * o n d e c a c h e t a i t l e s n o u v e l l e s , \" adding: \"Pele-mSle y tombait l e d i x - h u i t i e m e s i e c l e heure a heure, bons mots et s o t t i s e s , q u e r e l l e s , p r o c e s , s i f f l e t s , bravos, morts et na i s s a n c e s , l i v r e s et grands hommes, un j e ne s a i s quoi sans o r d r e , une moisson a p l e i n e b r a s s i e de p a r o l e s et de choses . . . \" I n keeping with the s t a t e d purpose o f the j o u r n a l , the g r e a t e r p a r t o f the e n t r i e s concern the world of l e t t e r s and i t i s wit h some r e g r e t t h a t I have had t o l e a v e o t h e r areas unexplored. W i t h i n the c o n f i n e s o f the l i t e r a r y m a t e r i a l , however, the same abundance and v a r i e t y e x i s t s , testimony t o the i n t e l l e c t u a l a c t i v i t y o f the day and to the j o u r n a l i s t i c f e r v o u r o f the p a r o i s s i e n s . In a d d i t i o n t o t h e i r wealth o f content, these e a r l y volumes o f the Memoires s e c r e t s a re c h a r a c t e r i z e d by a s t y l e t h a t i s c o n c i s e , c l e a r and at times almost epigrammatic i n q u a l i t y . Consequently, l e n g t h y c r i t i c a l reviews are the exception r a t h e r than the r u l e ; i n g e n e r a l , we f i n d a neat summary of what are seen t o be the s a l i e n t p o i n t s o f a work. The sbyle o f these e a r l y volumes c o n s t i t u t e s , one f e e l s , t he most d i r e c t evidence we have of the i n f l u e n c e o f Bachaumont. 2 d e Goncourt, E. and J . op_. e x t . , pp. 72 - 73. 1 0 6 To quote A u b e r t i n : \"Tout y p o r t e l a marque d T u n observateur I n s t r u i t et d'un homme de bonne compagnie. La s o l i d i t e ' du sens, l a j u s t e s s e de 1 ' e x p r e s s i o n donnent du p r i x aux moindres fragments.\" 3 A f t e r January 1 , 1 7 7 0 , the p o i n t at which Bachaumont fs manuscript a p p a r e n t l y ended, 4 the e n t r i e s appear to be r a t h e r l e s s e l e g a n t l y phrased. The extent t o which th e s t y l e and content o f items a f t e r t h a t date (as w e l l as t h e general tone o f the j o u r n a l ) r e v e a l the i n f l u e n c e of h i s s u c c e s s o r M a i r o b e r t i s , however, a matter f o r f u r t h e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n . One o f the c h i e f problems posed by the Memoires s e c r e t s i s the q u e s t i o n of t h e i r a u t h o r s h i p . We have a l r e a d y mentioned the e r r o r o f some modern s c h o l a r s who c o n s i d e r Bachaumont as p e r s o n a l l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the e n t i r e j o u r n a l . Such a view i s o b v i o u s l y i n c o r r e c t . We may no doubt s a f e l y assume t h a t he f u r n i s h e d the b a s i c i n s p i r a t i o n f o r the s e r i e s and was c h i e f l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the s e l e c t i o n and e d i t i n g o f m a t e r i a l from t h e r e g i s t e r s , at l e a s t f o r t h e y e a r s 1 7 6 2 - 1 7 7 0 . Apart from t h i s , we must, I t h i n k , a g r e e with C o t t i n t h a t \" l e s 3 A u b e r t i n , C. op_. ext., p. 3 8 5 . A comparison o f s i m i l a r e n t r i e s o c c u r r i n g i n both the j o u r n a l and the supple-ments i n d i c a t e s very c l e a r l y the s u p e r i o r s t y l i s t i c q u a l i t i e s o f t h e former. One can compare, f o r example, the c o n c i s e review o f l ' E c u e i l du sage ( 1 7 6 2 ) found i n the Memoires s e c r e t s . I , 24 - 25 with the l e n g t h y account p r o b a b l y d e r i v e d d i r e c t l y from the r e g i s t e r s and p u b l i s h e d i n t h e supplements, I b i d . * XVI, 1 4 0 - 1 4 4 . 4 S e e the Avertissement. I b i d . , I , v i . 107 v e r i t a b l e s auteurs de ce p r e c i e u x r e p e r t o i r e f u r e n t l e s p a r o i s s i e n s . I have consequently been c a r e f u l t o a v o i d u s i n g the name o f Bachaumont i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h any o f the c r i t i c a l o p i n i o n s expressed and I remain f a i r l y c e r t a i n t h a t t h e b i a s o f the j o u r n a l i s most p r o b a b l y the b i a s o f the p a r o i s s e w i t h which* of course* Bachaumont was no doubt l a r g e l y i n sympathy. As f a r as one can gather from a study o f t h e p u r e l y l i t e r a r y items* Grimm appears t o have been a c c u r a t e i n h i s assessment of the p a r o i s s e as \" j a n s e n i s t e , ou du moins t r e s p a r i e m e n t a i r e . \" That the members were J a n s e n i s t ( i n the p o l i t i c a l r a t h e r than the r e l i g i o u s sense) i s e v i d e n t from t h e i r a n t i - J e s u i t l e a n i n g s ; that they admiredthe parlements can be seen even i n the l i t e r a r y reviews. Grimm was* however, of the o p i n i o n t h a t the h a b i t u e s o f Madame D o u b l e t 1 s s a l o n were d e c i d e d l y i r r e l i g i o u s and, indeed, seems t o s t r e s s t h i s p o i n t . 7 Perhaps i t would be more a c c u r a t e to regard ^ C o t t i n , Correspondance i n e c l i t e du marquis d ' E g u i l l e s , p. x v i i i . The same author c r e d i t s Durey de M e i n i e r e s w i t h a p e r s o n a l c o n t r i b u t i o n to the Memoires; \"Les a r t i c l e s des Memoires r e l a t i f s a l a m a g i s t r a t u r e peuvent e t r e regardes comme son oeuvre.\" ( i b i d . , p. xx.) V e r i f i c a t i o n o f t h i s statement i s , however, beyond the scope o f t h i s i n v e s t i g a t i o n . 6 A p o s s i b l e e x c e p t i o n to the theory of group author-s h i p l i e s i n the e n t r i e s c o n c e r n i n g p a i n t i n g and s c u l p t u r e . In view o f Bachaumont fs pre-eminence i n the f i e l d o f a r t , the c r i t i c a l comments i n t h i s area would seem i n a l l l i k e l i h o o d t o be h i s p e r s o n a l c o n t r i b u t i o n . 7Grimm, op_. ext., IX, 317 - 318. See the passage a l r e a d y r e f e r r e d t o i n my Chapter 6. 108 them as merely i n d i f f e r e n t i n t h i s r e s p e c t , i n c l i n e d t o c o n s i d e r r e l i g i o n as g e n e r a l l y i n c o m p a t i b l e w i t h reason. C e r t a i n l y i t seems d o u b t f u l t h a t they were, as a group, m i l i t a n t a t h e i s t s . In the a t t i t u d e o f the p a r o i s s i e n s to the p h i l o s o p h e ' s cause both A u b e r t i n and the Goncourt b r o t h e r s note t h i s same s p i r i t o f detachment, the former commenting upon th e \" s p i r i -t u e l l e p a r e s s e \" 8 of the p a r o i s s i e n s and the l a t t e r i n s i s t i n g t h a t they were \" n i p h i l o s o p h e s , n i j a n s e n i s t e s ; . . . i l s e t a i e n t des i n d i f f e r e n t s . \" 9 Yet i f the Memoires were w r i t t e n as a r e c o r d of the progress o f the enlightenment, as i t s i n t r o d u c t i o n would i m p l y , x ^ one must n e v e r t h e l e s s remember the source o f the items t h e r e i n . I t seems u n l i k e l y t h a t t h e p a r o i s s i e n s c o u l d have been unaware o f the power of the p r e s s and o f the p u b l i c i t y value of the n o u v e l l e s t h a t emanated from l e s F i l l e s Saint-Thomas. Rather, the many e n t r i e s i n the j o u r n a l devoted to the p r o g r e s s o f the enlightenment and t h e warmth o f a p p r o v a l i m p l i e d i n t h e c a r e f u l l y worded comments r e f l e c t t h e involvement o f the group i n the p h i l o s o p h e cause and seem to i n d i c a t e t h a t t h i s band o f a r i s t o c r a t i c j o u r n a l -i s t s was q u i t e c o n s c i o u s l y promulgating the gospel of the age of reason. 8 A u b e r t i n , op_. ext., pp. 377 - 378. 9de Goncourt, E. and J . , op., ext., pp. 86 - 8 7 . -^Memoires s e c r e t s . I, i i i - v i . 109 As f o r l i t e r a t u r e , the j o u r n a l r e v e a l s on the whole an awareness o f c u r r e n t t r e n d s and an acceptance o f c e r t a i n i n n o v a t i o n s , although i t o c c a s i o n a l l y m a n i f e s t s a c e r t a i n n o s t a l g i a f o r v a n i s h i n g standards and d e p l o r e s what i t sees as a g e n e r a l d e c l i n e i n good t a s t e . A completely o b j e c t i v e a t t i t u d e i s seldom a t t a i n e d but most of the c r i t i c a l reviews t r y t o temper harsh c r i t i c i s m with words of p r a i s e whenever p o s s i b l e . The c o n c l u s i o n s t h a t can be drawn about t h e Memoires s e c r e t s from an i n v e s t i g a t i o n l i m i t e d t o one area and one decade must, o f n e c e s s i t y , be c o n s i d e r e d as p u r e l y t e n t a t i v e . Other avenues remain to be e x p l o r e d before any f i r m a p p r a i s a l o f the j o u r n a l can be reached. Among these, one might sug-gest a study o f the r e l a t i o n s h i p s o f the p a r o i s s i e n s w i t h the l i t e r a r y , r e l i g i o u s and p o l i t i c a l f i g u r e s of t h e day; a com-p a r i s o n o f the Memoires wi t h o t h e r j o u r n a l s o f the p e r i o d ; a study of the content o f the l a t e r volumes; a f u r t h e r attempt t o gauge the i n f l u e n c e o f M a i r o b e r t . For a l l such i n v e s t i g a t i o n s a more adequate i n d e x X i appears t o be a p r i o r n e c e s s i t y . Though undoubtedly a complex undertaking, a 1 : LThe p r e s e n t index, c o n s i s t i n g of a t a b l e o f names appe a r i n g i n the Memoires. has many l i m i t a t i o n s . Some names are omitted ( f o r example, t h a t o f Mme du Boccage) and e n t r i e s a r e overlooked i f t h e author i s r e f e r r e d t o i n d i r e c t l y r a t h e r than by name. Dates a l s o are at times i n a c c u r a t e , although t h e s e e r r o r s may be t y p o g r a p h i c a l . Above a l l , a s u b j e c t index i s e s s e n t i a l i f the m a t e r i a l i n the Memoires i s to become more r e a d i l y a c c e s s i b l e to the student. 110 d e t a i l e d index would be an i n v a l u a b l e t o o l f o r f u r t h e r study of t h i s f a s c i n a t i n g c h r o n i c l e . I would l i k e t o end my study by e x p r e s s i n g the hope t h a t t h i s l i m i t e d i n v e s t i g a t i o n has p r o v i d e d a general view of the j o u r n a l and i t s c r e a t o r s , as w e l l as some i n -s i g h t i n t o the l i t e r a r y a c t i v i t y o f the decade. The Memoires are, o b v i o u s l y , r i c h i n m a t e r i a l of i n t e r e s t to the student o f French l i t e r a t u r e . A d d i t i o n a l rewards, however, await t h e reader who c a r e f u l l y peruses t h e i r crowded pages. To him w i l l be granted t h e p r i v i l e g e o f g l i m p s i n g a vanished s o c i e t y through the eyes o f Madame Doublet\"s c u l t u r e d asso-c i a t e s , from whose d a i l y meetings developed \" c e t t e source i n t a r i s s a b l e , c e t t e chronique v i v a n t e : l e s Memoires s e c r e t s pour s e r v i r a 1 \" h i s t o i r e de l a r e p u b l i q u e des l e t t r e s en F r a n c e . \" 1 2 12de Goncourt, E. and J . op_. ext., 53. A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Amat, Roman d*. \" B e r n i s , \" D i c t i o n n a i r e de b i o g r a p h i e f r a n c a i s e , P a r i s , VI (1954), 123 - 126. . \"Doublet,\" D i c t i o n n a i r e de b i o g r a p h i e f r a n c a i s e . P a r i s , 1966, F a s c . l x i i i , 6 4 6 . 3 A u b e r t i n , C h a r l e s . \"Memoires de Bachaumont,\" E s p r i t p u b l i c au l 8 e s i e c l e . P a r i s , 1873, pp. 374 - 399. Bachaumont, L o u i s P e t i t de. Memoires s e c r e t s pour s e r v i r a l ' h i s t o i r e de l a r e p u b l i q u e des l e t t r e s en France depuis 1762 .jusqu'a nos .jours, ou .journal d*un o b s e r v a t e u r l L o n d o n , I-V (1777); XVI (1781); XVIII (1782); XIX (1783). B a r b i e r , Antoine Alexandre. D i c t i o n n a i r e des ouvrages anonvmes. P a r i s , 1872-79. B a r b i e r , Edmond Jean F r a n c o i s . Chronique de l a r i g e n c e et de l a regne de L o u i s XV. P a r i s , 1857. Barroux, Robert. \"Bachaumont,\" D i c t i o n n a i r e des l e t t r e s f r a n c a i s e s . XVIIIe s i e c l e . Fayard ed., P a r i s , 1950, pp. 125 - 126. Bayle, P. and J . Herblay. \"Journalisme au l 8 e s i e c l e , \" N o u v e l l e revue (Nov. - Dec. 1905), 213 - 236, 394 - 413. B e l i n , Jean-Paul. Commerce des l i v r e s p r o h i b e s a P a r i s de 1750 a 1789. New York, n.d., ( o r i g . P a r i s , 1913). . Le Mouvement p h i l o s o p h i q u e de 1748 a 1789; e\"tude sur l a d i f f u s i o n des i d e e s p h i l o s o p h e s a P a r i s . New York, 1962, ( o r i g . P a r i s , 1913). B e r t a u t , J u l e s . La V i e l i t t e r a i r e en France au l 8 e s i e c l e . P a r i s , 1954. \"Mme du Boccage.\" B i o g r a p h i e u n i v e r s e l l e (Michaud), P a r i s , n.d., IV, 484 - 485. JBoyer d ' E g u i l l e s , A.J.B. e d j . \"Un protege de Bachaumont; correspondance i n e d i t e du marquis d ' E g u i l l e s , \" Revue r e t r o s p e c t i v e . I l l (1885), 95 - 168, 217 - 240; IV (1886), 121 - 144, 217 - 240; V (1887), 73 - 96. B r u l i , Andre*. La V i e au l 8 e s i e c l e : l e s gens de l e t t r e s . P a r i s , 1928. 112 Clogenson, P i e r r e . \"Le D e r n i e r P o r t r a i t de V o l t a i r e , \" Revue du l 8 e s i e c l e . I (1913), 318. Cobban, A l f r e d . A H i s t o r y o f Modern France. I . Penguin ed., 1965. C o t t i n , P a u l . 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P a r i s , n.d., IV, 1075 - 1076. \"Voisenon.\" B i o g r a p h i e u n i v e r s e l l e (Michaud), P a r i s , n.d XLIV, 4 2 - 4 9 . V o l t a i r e , F r a n c o i s - M a r i e Arouet de. Correspondence, Besterman ed. Geneva, 1953-64. "@en ; edm:hasType "Thesis/Dissertation"@en ; edm:isShownAt "10.14288/1.0104438"@en ; dcterms:language "eng"@en ; ns0:degreeDiscipline "French"@en ; edm:provider "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en ; dcterms:publisher "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:rights "For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use."@en ; ns0:scholarLevel "Graduate"@en ; dcterms:title "Decade of literary criticism in the Memoires secrets of Bachaumont (1762-1771)"@en ; dcterms:type "Text"@en ; ns0:identifierURI "http://hdl.handle.net/2429/36357"@en .