第 37 节
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车水马龙01 更新:2021-03-11 18:31 字数:9321
uired for the white…haired old gentleman who was in the habit of sitting at the head of the table。 〃That was my husband;〃 replied Mme。 Geoffrin; 〃he is dead。〃
But if her marriage was not an ideal one; it does not appear that it was unhappy。 Perhaps her bourgeois birth and associations saved her youth from the domestic complications which were so far the rule in the great world as to have; in a measure; its sanction。 At all events her life was apparently free from the shadows that rested upon many of her contemporaries。
〃Her character was a singular one;〃 writes Marmontel; who lived for ten years in her house; 〃and difficult to understand or paint; because it was all in half…tints and shades; very decided nevertheless; but without the striking traits by which one's nature distinguishes and defines itself。 She was kind; but had little sensibility; charitable; without any of the charms of benevolence; eager to aid the unhappy; but without seeing them; for fear of being moved; a sure; faithful; even officious friend; but timid and anxious in serving others; lest she should compromise her credit or her repose。 She was simple in her taste; her dress; and her furniture; but choice in her simplicity; having the refinements and delicacies of luxury; but nothing of its ostentation nor its vanity; modest in her air; carriage; and manners; but with a touch of pride; and even a little vainglory。 Nothing flattered her more than her intercourse with the great。 At their houses she rarely saw them; indeed she was not at her ease there;but she knew how to attract them to her own by a coquetry subtly flattering; and in the easy; natural; half…respectful and half…familiar air with which she received them; I thought I saw remarkable address。〃
In a woman of less tact and penetration; this curious vein of hidden vanity would have led to pretension。 But Mme。 Geoffrin was preeminently gifted with that fine social sense which is apt to be only the fruit of generations of culture。 With her it was innate genius。 She was mistress of the amiable art of suppressing herself; and her vanity assumed the form of a gracious modesty。 〃I remain humble; but with dignity;〃 she writes to a friend; 〃that is; in depreciating myself I do not suffer others to depreciate me。〃 She had the instinct of the artist who knows how to offset the lack of brilliant gifts by the perfection of details; the modesty that disarms criticism; and a rare facility in the art of pleasing。
There was an air of refinement and simple elegance in her personality that commanded respect。 Tall and dignified; with her silvery hair concealed by her coif; she combined a noble presence with great kindliness of manner。 She usually wore somber colors and fine laces; for which she had great fondness。 Her youth was long past when she came before the world; and that sense of fitness which always distinguished her led her to accept her age seriously and to put on its hues。 The 〃dead…leaf mantle〃 of Mme。 de Maintenon was worn less severely perhaps; but it was worn without affectation。 Diderot gives us a pleasant glimpse of her at Grandval; where they were dining with Baron d'Holbach。 〃Mme。 Geoffrin was admirable;〃 he wrote to Mlle。 Volland。 〃I remark always the noble and quiet taste with which this woman dresses。 She wore today a simple stuff of austere color; with large sleeves; the smoothest and finest linen; and the most elegant simplicity throughout。〃
In her equanimity and her love of repose she was a worthy disciple of Fontenelle。 She carefully avoided all violent passions and all controversies。 To her lawyer; who was conducting a suit that worried her; she said; 〃Wind up my case。 Do they want my money? I have some; and what can I do with money better than to buy tranquillity with it?〃 This aversion to annoyance often reached the proportions of a very amiable selfishness。 〃She has the habit of detesting those who are unhappy;〃 said the witty Abbe Galiani; 〃for she does not wish to be so; even by the sight of the unhappiness of others。 She has an impressionable heart; she is old; she is well; she wishes to preserve her health and her tranquillity。 As soon as she learns that I am happy she will love me to folly。〃
But her generosity was exceptional。 〃Donner et pardonner〃 was her device。 Many anecdotes are related of her charitable temper。 She had ordered two marble vases of Bouchardon。 One was broken before reaching her。 Learning that the man who broke it would lose his place if it were known; and that he had a family of four children; she immediately sent word to the atelier that the sculptor was not to be told of the loss; adding a gift of twelve francs to console the culprit for his fright。 She often surprised her impecunious friends with the present of some bit of furniture she thought they needed; or an annuity delicately bestowed。 〃I have assigned to you fifteen thousand francs;〃 she said one day to the Abbe Morellet; 〃do not speak of it and do not thank me。〃 〃Economy is the source of independence and liberty〃 was one of her mottoes; and she denied herself the luxuries of life that she might have more to spend in charities。 But she never permitted any one to compromise her; and often withheld her approbation where she was free with her purse。 To do all the good possible and to respect all the convenances were her cardinal principles。 Marmontel was sent to the Bastille under circumstances that were rather creditable than otherwise; but it was a false note; and she was never quite the same to him afterwards。 She wept at her own injustice; schemed for his election to the Academy; and scolded him for his lack of diplomacy; but the little cloud was there。 When the Sorbonne censured his Belisarius her friendship could no longer bear the strain; and; though still received at her dinners; he ceased to live in her house。
Her dominant passion seems to have been love of consideration; if a calm and serene; but steadily persistent; purpose can be called a passion。 No trained diplomatist ever understood better the world with which he had to deal; or managed more adroitly to avoid small antagonisms。 It was her maxim not to create jealousy by praising people; nor irritation by defending them。 If she wished to say a kind word; she dwelt upon good qualities that were not contested。 She prided herself upon ruling her life by reason。 Sainte…Beuve calls her the Fontenelle of women; but it was Fontenelle tempered with a heart。
This 〃foster…mother of philosophers〃 evidently wished to make sure of her own safety; however matters might turn out in the next world。 She had a devotional vein; went to mass privately; had a seat at the Church of the Capucins; and an apartment for retreat in a convent。 During her last illness the Marquise de la Ferte…Imbault; who did not love her mother's freethinking friends; excluded them; and sent for a confessor。 Mme。 Geoffrin submitted amiably; and said; smiling; 〃My daughter is like Godfrey of Bouillon; she wishes to defend my tomb against the infidels。〃
Into the composition of her salon she brought the talent of an artist。 We have a glimpse of her in 1748 through a letter from Montesquieu。 She was then about fifty; and had gathered about her a more or less distinguished company; which was enlarged after the death of Mme。 de Tencin; in the following year。 She gave dinners twice a weekone on Monday for artists; among whom were Vanloo; Vernet; and Boucher; and one on Wednesday for men of letters。 As she believed that women were apt to distract the conversation; only one was usually invited to dine with them。 Mlle。 de Lespinasse; the intellectual peer and friend of these men; sat opposite her; and aided in conducting the conversation into agreeable channels。 The talent of Mme。 Geoffrin seems to have consisted in telling a story well; in a profound knowledge of people; ready tact; and the happy art of putting every one at ease。 She did not like heated discussions nor a too pronounced expression of opinion。 〃She was willing that the philosophers should remodel the world;〃 says one of her critics; 〃on condition that the kingdom of Diderot should come without disorder or confusion。〃 But though she liked and admired this very free and eloquent Diderot; he was too bold and outspoken to have a place at her table。 Helvetius; too; fell into disfavor after the censure which his atheistic DE L'esprit brought upon him; and Baron d'Holbach was too apt to overstep the limits at which the hostess interfered with her inevitable 〃Voila qui est bien。〃 Indeed; she assumed the privilege of her years to scold her guests if they interfered with the general harmony or forgot any of the amenities。 But her scoldings were very graciously received as a slight penalty for her favor; and more or less a measure of her friendship。 She graded her courtesies with fine discrimination; and her friends found the reflection of their success or failure in her manner of receiving them。 Her keen; practical mind pierced every illusion with merciless precision。 She defined a popular abbe who posed for a bel esprit; as a 〃fool rubbed all over with wit。〃 Rulhiere had read in her salon a work on Russia; which she feared might compromise him; and she offered him