Part 34 (1/2)

I ought not perhaps to o circuave it, well sealed up, to Du Voisin, a minister in the pays de Vaud and chaplain at the Hotel de Hollande, who sometimes came to see me, and took upon himself to send the packet to Rey, hom he was connected The manuscript, written in a s, and did not fill his pocket Yet, in passing the barriere, the packet fell, I know not by what means, into the hands of the Commis, who opened and examined it, and afterwards returned it to him, when he had reclaiave hieniously wrotea word of criticis to hier of Christianity as soon as the work should appear He resealed the packet and sent it to Rey Such is the substance of his narrative in the letter in which he gave an account of the affair, and is all I ever knew of the matter

Besides these two books andas opportunity offered, I had other works of less importance ready to make their appearance, and which I proposed to publish either separately or in eneral collection, should I ever undertake it The principal of these works, most of which are still in manuscript in the hands of De Peyrou, was an essay on the origin of Languages, which I had read to M de Malesherbes and the Chevalier de Lorenzy, who spoke favorably of it I expected all the productions together would produce ht to ten thousand livres (three to four hundred pounds), which I intended to sink in annuities for n, as I have already ether in thethe public about me, orhborhood all the good in my power, and to write at leisure the memoirs which I intended

Such was my intention, and the execution of it was facilitated by an act of generosity in Rey, upon which I cannot be silent This bookseller, of whos were told , the only one hom I have always had reason to be satisfied It is true, we frequently disagreed as to the execution of my works He was heedless and I was choleric; but in h I never reat exactness and probity He is also the only person of his profession who frankly confessed to ely by my means; and he frequently, when he offered me a part of his fortune, toldthe ratitude iive overnante, upon whom he settled an annuity of three hundred livres (twelve pounds), expressing in the deed that it was an acknowledges I had procured him

This he did between himself and me, without ostentation, pretension, or noise, and had not I spoken of it to anybody, not a single person would ever have known anything of the matter I was so pleased with this action that I became attached to Rey, and conceived for him a real friendshi+p Sometime afterwards he desired I would become Godfather to one of his children; I consented, and a part ofdeprived of the hter useful to her and her parents Why aenerosity of this bookseller, so little so of the noisy eagerness of hest rank, who pompously fill the world with accounts of the services they say they wished to render ood effects of which I never felt? Is it their fault orratitude? Intelligent reader weigh and deterreat resource to Theresa and considerable alleviation tofroe, any more than from the presents that wereWhen I kept her ave her a faithful account of it, without ever applying any part of the deposit to our common expenses, not even when she was richer than myself ”What is mine is ours,” said I to her; ”and what is thine is thine” I never departed from this maxi by her hands that which I refused to take with ed of my heart by their own, and knew but little of ly eat with her the bread she should have earned, but not that she should have had given her For a proof of this I appeal to herself, both now and hereafter, when, according to the course of nature, she shall have survived me Unfortunately, she understands but little of econoant, not froence No creature is perfect here below, and since the excellent qualities must be accoh her defects are more prejudicial to us both The efforts I havein advance whichresource, are not to be conceived; but my cares were always ineffectual

Neither of these wo allI acquired was dissipated as fast as it careat simplicity of Theresa's dress, the pension from Rey has never been sufficient to buy her clothes, and I have every year been under the necessity of adding so to it for that purpose We are neither of us born to be rich, and this I certainly do not reckon ast our misfortunes

The 'Social Contract' was soon printed This was not the case with 'Eo into the retirement I meditated duchesne, from time to time, sent me specimens of impression to choose fro he sent th, ere fully determined on the size and letter, and several sheets were already printed off, on soan the whole again; and at the end of six months ere in less forwardness than on the first day During all these experi in France as well as in Holland, and that two editions of it were preparing at the saerto do with the edition in France, I was always against it; but since, at length, this was preparing in spite of all opposition, and was to serve as a model to the other, it was necessary I should cast ht not be mutilated It was, besides, printed so istrate, that it was he who, in so; he likerote to me frequently, and once came to see me and converse on the subject upon an occasion of which I a to speak

Whilst duchesne crept like a snail, Neaulme, whoularly sent hiht there was some trick in the manoeuvre of duchesne, that is, of Guy who acted for hireement to be departed from, he wrote me letter after letter full of complaints, and it was less possible for me to remove the subject of them than that of those I myself had to make His friend Guerin, who at that ti to reatest reserve He knew and he did not know that it was printing in France, and that thehis concern for my embarrass in what this consisted; he incessantly equivocated, and seemed to speak for no other purpose than to hear what I had to say I thought hed at his mystery and circumspection as at a habit he had contracted with istrates whose offices heconforly persuaded that I had not only the consent and protection of the istrate, but that the book ratulated hed at my pusillanimous friends who seemed uneasy on my account Duclos was one of these, and I confess ht have alarmed me, had I had less in the utility of the work and in the probity of those by whom it was patronized He came from the house of M Baille to see me whilst 'E it; I read to him the 'Profession of Faith of the Savoyard Vicar', to which he listened attentively and, as it seemed to me with pleasure

When I had finished he said: ”What! citizen, this is a part of a work now printing in Paris?”--”Yes,” answered I, and it ought to be printed at the Louvre by order of the king”--I confess it,” replied he; ”but pray do nothi me

I knew Duclos was intimate with M de Malesherbes, and I could not conceive hoas possible he should think so differently from him upon the same subject

I had lived at Mont had there one day of good health Although the air is excellent, the water is bad, and this may possibly be one of the causes which contributed to increase my habitual complaints Towards the end of the autumn of 1767, I fell quite ill, and passed the whole winter in suffering almented by a thousand inquietudes, rendered these terrible For some tis withoutto what these directly tended I received anonymous letters of an extraordinary nature, and others, that were signed, much of the same import I received one from a counsellor of the parliament of Paris, who, dissatisfied with the present constitution of things, and foreseeing nothing but disagreeable events, consulted me upon the choice of an asylum at Geneva or in Switzerland, to retire to with his faht me from M de -----, 'president a mortier' of the parliament of -----, who proposed to me to draw up for this Parliament, which was then at variance with the court,to furnish me with all the documents and materials necessary for that purpose

When I suffer I am subject to ill humor This was the case when I received these letters, andthat was asked ofmarks of the effect they had had upon my mind I do not however reproach ht be so many snares laid by my enemies, and as required of me was contrary to the principles fro it within my power to refuse with politeness I did it with rudeness, and in this consists my error

[I knew, for instance, the President de ----- to be connected with the Encyclopedists and the Holbachiens]

The two letters of which I have just spoken will be found ast my papers The letter froreed with hi constitution of France threatened an approaching destruction

The disasters of an unsuccessful war, all of which proceeded froovernment; the incredible confusion in the finances; the perpetual drawings upon the treasury by the administration, which was then divided between two or threebut discord, and who, to counteract the operations of each other, let the kingdoo to ruin; the discontent of the people, and of every other rank of subjects; the obstinacy of a woment, if she indeed possessed any, to her inclinations, kept fro the duties of the occurred in justifying the foresight of the counsellor, that of the public, and my own This, made me several times consider whether or not I dom before it was torn by the dissensions by which it seenificance, and the peacefulness of ht that in the state of solitude in which I was determined to live, no public commotion could reach s, M de Luxe should accept commissions which tended to injure hiovernor

I could have wished he had prepared hireat machine had fallen in pieces, which seemed much to be apprehended; and still appears to overnle hand, the French asp

Whilstof 'Eth suspended without n to answer my letter of inquiry, and I could obtain no infor forward M de Malesherbes being then in the country A misfortune never makes me uneasy provided I knohat it consists; but it is my nature to be afraid of darkness, I treives me inquietude, it is too opposite to my natural disposition, in which there is an openness bordering on iht of the most hideous monster would, I aht I were to see a figure in a white sheet I should be afraid of it My i silence, was now e phanto to discover the i of my last and best production, as I had the publication of itto an extreined that I perceived in the suspension the suppression of the work Yet, being unable to discover either the cause or manner of it, I remained in the most cruel state of suspense

I wrote letter after letter to Guy, to M de Malesherbes and to Mada answers, at least when I expected them, my head became so affected that I was not far from a delirium

I unfortunately heard that Father Griffet, a Jesuit, had spoken of 'Eination instantly unveiled to ress of it as clearly as if it had been revealed to ured to myself that the Jesuits, furious on account of the contees, were in possession of my work; that it was they who had delayed the publication; that, infordissolution, of which I myself had no manner of doubt, they wished to delay the appearance of the work until after that event, with an intention to curtail and mutilate it, and in favor of their own views, to attribute to me sentiments not my own

The number of facts and circumstances which occurred to ave it an appearance of truth supported by evidence and de I knew Guerin to be entirely in the interest of the Jesuits I attributed to them all the friendly advances he had made me; I was persuaded he had, by their entreaties, pressed iven them the first sheets of my work; that they had afterwards foundof it by duchesne, and perhaps to get possession of the manuscript to make such alterations in it as they should think proper, that after uised in their ownthe wheedling of Father Berthier, that the Jesuits did not like me, not only as an Encyclopedist, but because all my principles were more in opposition to their ues, since atheistical and devout fanaticis each other by their common enmity to toleration, may become united; a proof of which is seen in China, and in the cabal againstaway all power over the conscience, deprives those who assureat friend to the Jesuits, and I had my fears less the son, intimidated by the father, should find hi the work he had protected I besides iined that I perceived this to be the case in the chicanery eainst me relative to the first two volumes, in which alterations were required for reasons of which I could not feel the force; whilst the other two volus of such a nature as, had the censor objected to theht exceptionable in the others, would have required their being entirely written over again I also understood, and M de Malesherbes hied with the inspection of this edition, was another partisan of the Jesuits I saw nothing but Jesuits, without considering that, upon the point of being suppressed, and wholly taken up inwhich interested thes relative to a work in which they were not in question I a this did not occur to ht of it, and M de Malesherbes took care to ant suspicions But by another of those absurdities of a e of the secret of great affairs, hich he is totally unacquainted I never could bring er, and I considered the rumor of their suppression as an artful manoeuvre of their own to deceive their adversaries Their past successes, which had been uninterrupted, gave rieved at the overthrow of the parliament

I knew M de Choiseul had prosecuted his studies under the Jesuits, that Madam de Poue with favorites and eous to their order against their common enemies The court seemed to remain neuter, and persuaded as I was that should the society receive a severe check it would not coovernround of their confidence and the o in the ruthey, in their state of security, had time to watch over all their interests, I had had not the least doubt of their shortly crushi+ng Jansenism, the parliament and the Encyclopedists, with every other association which should not submit to their yoke; and that if they ever suffered my work to appear, this would not happen until it should be so transformed as to favor their pretensions, and thus make use of my name the better to deceive th decline; and such was the horror hich my mind was filled, at the idea of dishonor to my memory in the work ant ideas did not occasion a speedy end to my existence I never was so much afraid of death as at this time, and had I died with the apprehensions I then had upon h I perceived no obstacle to the execution of the blackest and ainst the memory of ain s a testimony in my favor, and one which, sooner or later, will triumph over the calumnies of itation of ed it, used such endeavors to restore oodness of heart Madaood work, and several times went to duchesne to knohat state the edition was At length the iress of it beca for what reason it had been suspended M de Malesherbes took the trouble to come to Montmorency to calm my mind; in this he succeeded, and the full confidence I had in his uprightness having overcoave efficacy to the endeavors he uish and delirium, it was natural he should think I was to be pitied; and he really commiserated my situation The expressions, incessantly repeated, of the philosophical cabal by which he was surrounded, occurred to his e, they, as I have already re When they saw I persevered, they charged e to retract, and insisted that my life was there a burden to me; in short, that I was very wretched M de Malesherbes believed this really to be the case, and wrote to me upon the subject This error in a ave me some pain, and I wrote to him four letters successively, in which I stated the real motives of my conduct, and made him fully acquainted with my taste, inclination and character, and with the most interior sentiments of my heart These letters, written hastily, al pen from paper, and which I neither copied, corrected, nor even read, are perhaps the only things I ever wrote with facility, which, in the

I sighed, as I feltin the midst of honest men an opinion of iven in my four letters, I endeavored, in some measure, to substitute them to the rief to M de Malesherbes, who showed them in Paris, and are, besides, a kind of suive in detail, and, on this account, ed of thest ivedissolution, wasa man of letters for a friend, to whoht take a proper choice of such as orthy of publication

After my journey to Geneva, I conceived a friendshi+p for Moulton; this young man pleased me, and I could have wished him to receive my last breath I expressed to him this desire, and am of opinion he would readily have complied with it, had not his affairs prevented hi Deprived of this consolation, I still wished to give hi him the 'Profession of Faith of the Savoyard Vicar' before it was published He was pleased with the work, but did not in his answer seem so fully to expect from it the effect of which I had but little doubt He wished to receive froiven to anybody else I sent him the funeral oration of the late Duke of Orleans; this I had written for the Abbe Darty, who had not pronounced it, because, contrary to his expectation, another person was appointed to perfor been again taken in hand, was continued and coularity, that after the curtailings so much insisted upon in the first two volumes, the last tere passed over without an objection, and their contents did not delay the publication for a moment I had, however, some uneasiness which Ibeen afraid of the Jesuits, I begun to fear the Jansenists and philosophers An eneood of parties concerned in theossips had quitted their old abode and taken up their residence by the side ofsaid in mine, and upon the terrace, was distinctly heard; and froarden it would have been easy to scale the loall by which it was separated from my alcove This was become my study; my table was covered with proofsheets of E these sheets as they were sent totience and the confidence I had in M Mathas, in whose garden I was shut up, frequentlyI several tiiven htseveral times made the same remark, I became more careful, and locked the door The lock was a bad one, and the key turned in it no more than half round As I becareater confusion than they hen I left everything open At length Ias becoain found it upon the table I never suspected either M Mathas or his nephew M du Moulin, knowing myself to be beloved by both, and ossips began to dih they were Jansenists, I knew them to have some connection with D' Aleed in the saave uard I removed my papers from the alcove to my cha learned they had shown in several houses the first voluh to lend theh they continued until hbors I never, after my first suspicions, had the least communication with them The 'Social Contract' appeared a month or two before 'Emilius' Rey, whom I had desired never secretly to introduce into France any of istrate for leave to send this book by Rouen, to which place he sent his package by sea He received no answer, and his bales, after re at Rouen several months, were returned to him, but not until an attempt had been made to confiscate thereat clamor Several persons, whose curiosity the work had excited, sent to A much noticed Maulion, who had heard of this, and had, I believe, seen the work, spoke to me on the subject with an air of mystery which surprised me, and would likewise haveconforrand maxim, kept my mind calm I moreover had no doubt but M de Choiseul, already well disposed towards ium of his administration, which my esteem for hiainst the malevolence of Madam de Pompadour