"
This apology gave me real pleasure. I pretended to believe the
sincerity of him who addressed me, altho' he had not convinced
me of his innocence; and I wrote the following reply to M. de
Voltaire, which a silly pride dictates to me to communicate to
you, in conjunction with the letter of the philosopher:
"MONSIEUR:--Even were you culpable from too much friendship
towards those you cherish, I would pardon you as a recompense for
the letter you address to me. This ought the more to charm me, as
it gives me the certainty that you had been unworthily calumniated.
Could you have said, under the veil of secrecy, things disagreeable
to a great king, for whom, in common with all France, you profess
sincere love? It is impossible. Could you, with gaiety of heart,
wound a female who never did you harm, and who admires your
splendid genius? In fact, could those you call your friends have
stooped so low as not to have feared to compromise you, by making
you play a part unworthy of your elevated reputation? All these
suppositions were unreasonable: I could not for a moment admit them,
and your two letters have entirely justified you. I can now give
myself up without regret to my enthusiasm for you and your works.
It would have been too cruel for me to have learnt with certainty
that he whom I regarded as the first writer of the age had become
my detractor without motive, without provocation.
Pages:
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217