87 - LESPINASSE, Julie de (1732–1776).

LESPINASSE, Julie de (1732–1776). Los Angeles, August 25, [1772], to the Marquis de CONDORCET in Ribemont, Picardy; 3 pages, small quarto, addressed (small tear caused by a broken seal, with one word missing). Note: A beautiful letter to Condorcet, written in a very melancholy tone following the departure of the Marquis de Mora, with news of the literary and philosophical lives of her friends Helvétius and d’Alembert. “Continue and maintain this good disposition and this excellent intention; if you could regain some rest and calm, consider yourself happy; […] enjoy, my good Condorcet, an inestimable advantage: that of possessing a great talent that must occupy your life; friendship will fill your soul, which is as sensitive as it is honest; and shun everything that might give rise to or rekindle a feeling that almost always makes victims of truly virtuous people. My health is still dreadful, and I no longer hope it will improve; so I shall count it among the misfortunes I always feel but never speak of; I am touched—deeply touched—by the signs of your concern; they will help console me and sustain my courage, for I confess to you that it takes a great deal to live, and it would take even more to die. We have unfortunate ties, but they are dear to us and cause us to devote ourselves to suffering; yet, in the end, everything comes to an end—this thought is comforting, and perhaps I am closer to it than I dare to hope.” She speaks of the health of Mr. d’Ussé, who is nearing the end of his life. “I would very much like you to read Mr. HELVETIUS’s poem *On Happiness*, or rather the publisher’s preface; it is an excellent work, of exquisite taste, with a skillful and piquant boldness and a charming sensitivity; twenty times my eyes were filled with tears. The poem is formless; it is a work of wit, but it is a challenge—it is not reading verse, it is hard work”... Then she mentions D’ALEMBERT, who “read today at the Academy a sort of preface to the history of the Academy; it struck me as very good”; SAURIN will read an epistle, and WATELET his translation of Tasso. She will not attend this session: “I feel no taste for anything that is meant to please only the intellect. Monsieur de Mora has left; this leaves a great void for me”... She adds that Turgot “has been in great distress since your departure. It is beyond my strength to concern myself with what means nothing to me at all.”