Life, Letters, and Epicurean Philosophy of Ninon de LEnclos, the Celebrated Beauty of the Seventee

Life, Letters, and Epicurean
Philosophy

of Ninon de L'Enclos, the Celebrated Beauty of the Seventeenth
Century, by Robinson [and] Overton, ed. and translation.
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Title: Life, Letters, and Epicurean Philosophy of Ninon de L'Enclos,
the Celebrated Beauty of the Seventeenth Century
Author: Robinson [and] Overton, ed. and translation.
Release Date: January 10, 2004 [EBook #10665]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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L'ENCLOS ***

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LIFE, LETTERS
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
The inner life of the most remarkable woman that ever lived is here
presented to American readers for the first time. Ninon, or
Mademoiselle de l'Enclos, as she was known, was the most beautiful
woman of the seventeenth century. For seventy years she held
undisputed sway