There was no political or religious temerity which was not brought forward and discussed pro and con. . . . Frequently some one of the company would begin to speak and state his theory in full， without interruption. At other times it would be a combat of one against one， of which the rest remained silent spectators. Here Iheard Roux and Darcet expose their theory of the earth， Marmontel the admirable principles he collected together in his 'Elements de La Littérature，' Raynal， telling us in livres， sous and deniers， the commerce of the Spaniards with Vera-Crux and of the English with their colonies." Diderot improvises on the arts and on moral and metaphysical subjects， with that incomparable fervor and wealth of expression， that flood of logic and of illustration， those happy hits of style and that mimetic power which belonged to him alone， and of which but two or three of his works preserve even the feeblest image.
In their midst Galiani， secretary of the Neapolitan Embassy， a clever dwarf； a genius， "a sort of Plato or Machiavelli with the spirit and action of a harlequin，" inexhaustible in stories， an admirable buffoon， and an accomplished skeptic， "having no faith in anything， on anything or about anything，"[6] not even in the new philosophy， braves the atheists of the drawing-room， beats down their dithyrambs with puns， and， with his perruque in his hand， sitting cross-legged on the chair on which he is perched， proves to them in a comic apologia that they raisonnent (reason) or résonnent (resound or echo) if not as cruches (blockheads) at least as cloches (bells)；" in any event almost as poorly as theologians. One of those present says， "It was the most diverting thing possible and worth the best of plays."How can the nobles， who pass their lives in talking， refrain from the society of people who talk so well？ They might as well expect their wives， who frequent the theater every night， and who perform at home， not to attract famous actors and singers to their receptions， Jelyotte， Sainval， Préville， and young Molé who， quite ill and needing restoratives， "receives in one day more than 2，000 bottles of wine of different sorts from the ladies of the court，" Mlle. Clairon， who， consigned to prison in Fort l'Eveque， attracts to it "an immense crowd of carriages，" presiding over the most select company in the best apartment of the prison[7]. With life thus regarded， a philosopher with his ideas is as necessary in a drawing room as a chandelier with its lights. He forms a part of the new system of luxury. He is an article of export. Sovereigns， amidst their splendor， and at the height of their success， invite them to their courts to enjoy for once in their life the pleasure of perfect and free discourse. When Voltaire arrives in Prussia Frederic II. is willing to kiss his hand， fawning on him as on a mistress， and， at a later period， after such mutual fondling， he cannot dispense with carrying on conversations with him by letter. Catherine II. sends for Diderot， and， for two or three hours every day， she plays with him the great game of the intellect. Gustavus III.， in France， is intimate with Marmontel， and considers a visit from Rousseau as the highest honor[8]. It is said with truth of Voltaire that "he holds the four kings in his hand，" those of Prussia， Sweden， Denmark and Russia， without mentioning lower cards， the princes， princesses， grand dukes and markgraves. The principal r？le in this society evidently belongs to authors； their ways and doings form the subject of gossip； people never weary of paying them homage. Here， writes Hume to Robertson，[9] "I feed on ambrosia， drink nothing but nectar， breathe incense only and walk on flowers. Every man I meet， and especially every woman， would consider themselves as failing in the most indispensable duty if they did not favor me with a lengthy and ingenious discourse on my celebrity." Presented at court， the future Louis XVI， aged ten years， the future Louis XVIII， aged eight years， and the future Charles X， aged four years， each recites a compliment to him on his works. I need not narrate the return of Voltaire， his triumphant entry， [10] the Academy in a body coming to welcome him， his carriage stopped by the crowd， the thronged streets， the windows， steps and balconies filled with admirers， an intoxicated audience in the theater incessantly applauding， outside an entire population carrying him off with huzzahs， in the drawing-rooms a continual concourse equal to that of the king， grand seigniors pressed against the door with outstretched ears to catch a word， and great ladies standing on tiptoe to observe the slightest gesture. "To form any conception of what I experienced，" says one of those present， "one should breathe the atmosphere of enthusiasm I lived in. I spoke with him." This expression at that time converted any new-comer into an important character. He had， in fact， seen the wonderful orchestra-leader who， for more than fifty years， conducted the tumultuous concert of serious or court-vêtues ideas， and who， always on the stage， always chief， the recognized leader of universal conversation， supplied the motives， gave the pitch， marked the measure， stamped the inspiration， and drew the first note on the violin.
III. FRENCH INDOLENCE.
Further effects of indolence. - The skeptical， licentious and seditious spirit. - Previous resentment and fresh discontent at the established order of things. - Sympathy for the theories against it.
- How far accepted.
Listen to the shouts that greet him： Hurrah for the author of the Henriade！ the defender of Calas， the author of La Pucelle！ Nobody of the present day would utter the first， nor especially the last hurrah.
This indicates the tendency of the century； not only were writers called upon for ideas， but again for antagonistic ideas. To render an aristocracy inactive is to render it rebellious； people are more willing to submit to rules they have themselves helped to enforce.