Life, Letters, and Epicurean Philosophy of Ninon de L'Enclos The Celebrated Beauty of the Seventeenth Century   By: Ninon de Lenclos (1620-1705)

AND

EPICUREAN PHILOSOPHY

OF

NINON

DE L'ENCLOS

The Celebrated Beauty of the Seventeenth Century

ROBINSON OVERTON

1903

CONTENTS

LIFE OF NINON DE L'ENCLOS

CHAPTER I

Ninon de l'Enclos as a Standard

CHAPTER II

Considered as a Parallel

CHAPTER III

Youth of Ninon de l'Enclos

CHAPTER IV

The Morals of the Period

CHAPTER V

Ninon and Count de Coligny

CHAPTER VI

The "Birds" of the Tournelles

CHAPTER VII

Effect of Her Mother's Death

CHAPTER VIII

Her Increasing Popularity

CHAPTER IX

Ninon's Friendships

CHAPTER X

Some of Ninon's Lovers

CHAPTER XI

Ninon's Lovers (Continued)

CHAPTER XII

The Villarceaux Affair

CHAPTER XIII

The Marquis de Sévigné

CHAPTER XIV

A Family Tragedy

CHAPTER XV

Ninon's Bohemian Environments

CHAPTER XVI

A Remarkable Old Age

LETTERS TO THE MARQUIS DE SÉVIGNÉ

INTRODUCTION TO LETTERS I A Hazardous Undertaking II Why Love Is Dangerous III Why Love Grows Cold IV The Spice of Love V Love and Temper VI Certain Maxims Concerning Love VII Women Expect a Quid Pro Quo from Men VIII The Necessity for Love and Its Primitive Cause IX Love Is a Natural Inclination X The Sensation of Love Forms a Large Part of a Woman's Nature XI The Distinction Between Love and Friendship XII A Man in Love Is an Amusing Spectacle XIII Vanity Is a Fertile Soil for Love XIV Worth and Merit Are Not Considered in Love XV The Hidden Motives of Love XVI How to Be Victorious in Love XVII Women Understand the Difference Between Real Love and Flirtation XVIII When a Woman Is Loved She Need Not Be Told of It XIX Why a Lover's Vows Are Untrustworthy XX The Half way House to Love XXI The Comedy of Contrariness XXII Vanity and Self Esteem Obstacles to Love XXIII Two Irreconcilable Passions in Woman XXIV An Abuse of Credulity Is Intolerable XXV Why Virtue Is So Often Overcome XXVI Love Demands Freedom of Action XXVII The Heart Needs Constant Employment XXVIII Mere Beauty Is Often of Trifling Importance XXIX The Misfortune of Too Sudden an Avowal XXX When Resistance is Only a Pretence XXXI The Opinion and Advice of Monsieur de la Sablière XXXII The Advantages of a Knowledge of the Heart XXXIII A Heart Once Wounded No Longer Plays with Love XXXIV Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder XXXV The Heart Should Be Played Upon Like the Keys of a Piano XXXVI Mistaken Impressions Common to All Women XXXVII The Allurements of Stage Women XXXVIII Varieties of Resistance Are Essential XXXIX The True Value of Compliments Among Women XL Oratory and Fine Phrases Do Not Breed Love XLI Discretion Is Sometimes the Better Part of Valor XLII Surface Indications in Women Are Not Always Guides XLIII Women Demand Respect XLIV Why Love Grows Weak Marshal de Saint Evremond's Opinion XLV What Favors Men Consider Faults XLVI Why Inconstancy Is Not Injustice XLVII Cause of Quarrels Among Rivals XLVIII Friendship Must Be Firm XLIX Constancy Is a Virtue Among Narrow Minded L Some Women Are Very Cunning LI The Parts Men and Women Play LII Love Is a Traitor with Sharp Claws LIII Old Age Not a Preventive Against Attack LIV A Shrewd But Not an Unusual Scheme LV A Happy Ending

CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN LORD SAINT EVREMOND AND NINON DE L'ENCLOS

I Lovers and Gamblers Have Something in Common II It Is Sweet to Remember Those We Have Loved III Wrinkles Are a Mark of Wisdom IV Near Hopes Are Worth as Much as Those Far Off V On the Death of De Charleval VI The Weariness of Monotony VII After the Death of La Duchesse de Mazarin VIII Love Banishes Old Age IX Stomachs Demand More Attention Than Minds X Why Does Love Diminish After Marriage? XI Few People Resist Age XII Age Has Some Consolations XIII Some Good Taste Still Exists in France XIV Superiority of the Pleasures of the Stomach XV Let the Heart Speak Its Own Language XVI The Memory of Youth XVII I Should Have Hanged Myself XVIII Life Is Joyous When It Is Without Sorrow Letter to the Modern Leontium

NINON DE L'ENCLOS

LIFE AND LETTERS

INTRODUCTION