第 38 节
作者:车水马龙01      更新:2021-03-11 18:31      字数:9322
  had read in her salon a work on Russia; which she feared might compromise him; and she offered him a large sum of money to throw it into the fire。  The author was indignant at such a reflection upon his courage and honor; and grew warmly eloquent upon the subject。  She listened until he had finished; then said quietly; 〃How much more do you want; M。 Rulhiere?〃
  The serene poise of a character without enthusiasms and without illusions is very well illustrated by a letter to Mme。 Necker。  After playfully charging her with being always infatuated; never cool and reserved; she continues:
  〃Do you know; my pretty one; that your exaggerated praises confound me; instead of pleasing and flattering me?  I am always afraid that your giddiness will evaporate。  You will then judge me to be so different from your preconceived opinion that you will punish me for your own mistake; and allow me no merit at all。  I have my virtues and my good qualities; but I have also many faults。  Of these I am perfectly well aware; and every day I try to correct them。
  〃My dear friend; I beg of you to lessen your excessive admiration。  I assure you that you humiliate me; and that is certainly not your intention。  The angels think very little about me; and I do not trouble myself about them。  Their praise or their blame is indifferent to me; for I shall not come in their way; but what I do desire is that you should love me; and that you should take me as you find me。〃
  Again she assumes her position of mentor and writes: 〃How is it possible not to answer the kind and charming letter I have received from you? But still I reply only to tell you that it made me a little angry。  I see that it is impossible to change anything in your uneasy; restless; and at the same time weak character。〃
  Horace Walpole; who met her during his first visit to Paris; and before his intimacy with Mme。 du Deffand had colored his opinions; has left a valuable pen…portrait of Mme。 Geoffrin。  In a letter to Gray; in 1766; he writes:
  〃Mme。 Geoffrin; of whom you have heard much; is an extraordinary woman; with more common sense than I almost ever met with; great quickness in discovering characters; penetrating and going to the bottom of them; and a pencil that never fails in a likeness; seldom a favorable one。  She exacts and preserves; spite of her birth and their nonsensical prejudices about nobility; great court and attention。  This she acquires by a thousand little arts and offices of friendship; and by a freedom and severity which seem to be her sole end for drawing a concourse to her。  She has little taste and less knowledge; but protects artisans and authors; and courts a few people to have the credit of serving her dependents。  In short; she is an epitome of empire; subsisting by rewards and punishments。〃
  Later; when he was less disinterested; perhaps; he writes to another friend: 〃Mme。 du Deffand hates the philosophers; so you must give them up to her。  She and Mme。 Geoffrin are no friends; so if you go thither; don't tell her of itIndeed you would be sick of that house whither all the pretended beaux esprits and false savants go; and where they are very impertinent and dogmatic。〃
  The real power of this woman may be difficult to define; but a glance at her society reveals; at least partly; its secret。  Nowhere has the glamour of a great name more influence than at Paris。  A few celebrities form a nucleus of sufficient attraction to draw all the world; if they are selected with taste and discrimination。  After the death of Fontenelle; d'Alembert; always witty; vivacious; and original; in spite of the serious and exact nature of his scientific studies; was perhaps the leading spirit of this salon。  Among its constant habitues were Helvetius; who put his selfishness into his books; reserving for his friends the most amiable and generous of tempers; Marivaux; the novelist and dramatist; whose vanity rivaled his genius; but who represented only the literary spirit; and did not hesitate to ridicule his companions the philosophers; the caustic but brilliant and accomplished Abbe Morellet; who had 〃his heart in his head and his head in his heart;〃 the severe and cheerful Mairan; mathematician; astronomer; physician; musical amateur; and member of two academies; whose versatile gifts and courtly manners gave him as cordial a welcome in the exclusive salon at the Temple as among his philosophical friends; the gay young Marmontel; who has left so clear and simple a picture of this famous circle and its gentle hostess; Grimm; who combined the SAVANT and the courtier; Saint…Lambert; the delicate and scholarly poet; Thomas; grave and thoughtful; shining by his character and intellect; but forgetting the graces which were at that time so essential to brilliant success; the eloquent Abbe Raynal; and the Chevalier de Chastellux; so genial; so sympathetic; and so animated。  To these we may add Galiani; the smallest; the wittiest; and the most delightful of abbes; whose piercing insight and Machiavellian subtlety lent a piquant charm to the stories with which for hours he used to enliven this choice company; Caraccioli; gay; simple; ingenuous; full of Neapolitan humor; rich in knowledge and observation; luminous with intelligence and sparkling with wit; and the Comte de Crentz; the learned and versatile Swedish minister; to whom nature had 〃granted the gift of expressing and painting in touches of fire all that had struck his imagination or vividly seized his soul。〃  Hume; Gibbon; Walpole; indeed every foreigner of distinction who visited Paris; lent to this salon the eclat of their fame; the charm of their wit; or the prestige of their rank。  It was such men as these who gave it so rare a fascination and so lasting a fame。
  A strong vein of philosophy was inevitable; though in this circle of diplomats and litterateurs there were many counter…currents of opinion。  It was her consummate skill in blending these diverse but powerful elements; and holding them within harmonious limits; that made the reputation of the autocratic hostess。  The friend of savants and philosophers; she had neither read nor studied books; but she had studied life to good purpose。  Though superficial herself; she had the delicate art of putting every one in the most advantageous light by a few simple questions or words。  It was one of her maxims that 〃the way not to get tired of people is to talk to them of themselves; at the same time; it is the best way to prevent them from getting tired of you。〃  Perhaps Mme。 Necker was thinking of her when she compared certain women in conversation to 〃light layers of cotton wool in a box packed with porcelain; we do not pay much attention to them; but if they were taken away everything would be broken。〃
  Mme。 Geoffrin was always at home in the evening; and there were simple little suppers to which a few women were invited。  The fare was usually little more than 〃a chicken; some spinach; and omelet。〃  Among the most frequent guests were the charming; witty; and spirituelle Comtesse d'Egmont; daughter of the Duc de Richelieu; who added to the vivacious and elegant manners of her father an indefinable grace of her own; and a vein of sentiment that was doubtless deepened by her sad little romance; the Marquise de Duras; more dignified and discreet; and the beautiful Comtesse de Brionne; 〃a Venus who resembled Minerva。〃  These women; with others who came there; were intellectual complements of the men; some of them gay and not without serious faults; but adding beauty; rank; elegance; and the delicate tone of esprit which made this circle so famous that it was thought worth while to have its sayings and doings chronicled at Berlin and St。 Petersburg。  Perhaps its influence was the more insidious and far reaching because of its polished moderation。  The 〃let us be agreeable〃 of Mme。 Geoffrin was a potent talisman。
  Among the guests at one time was Stanislas Poniatowski; afterwards King of Poland。  Hearing that he was about to be imprisoned by his creditors; Mme。 Geoffrin came forward and paid his debts。  〃When I make a statue of friendship; I shall give it your features;〃 he said to her; 〃this divinity is the mother of charity。〃  On his elevation to the throne he wrote to her; 〃Maman; your son is king。  Come and see him。〃  This led to her famous journey when nearly seventy years of age。  It was a series of triumphs at which no one was more surprised than herself; and they were all due; she modestly says; 〃to a few mediocre dinners and some petits soupers。〃  One can readily pardon her for feeling flattered; when the emperor alights from his carriage on the public promenade at Vienna and pays her some pretty compliments; 〃just as if he had been at one of our little Wednesday suppers。〃  There is a charm in the simple naivete with which she tells her friends how cordially Maria Theresa receives her at Schonbrunn; and she does not forget to add that the empress said she had the most beautiful complexion in the world。  She repeats quite naturally; and with a slight touch of vanity perhaps; the fine speeches made to her by the 〃adorable Prince Galitzin〃 and Prince Kaunitz; 〃the first minister in Europe;〃 both of whom entertained her。  But she would have been more than a woman to have m