This is not a Story

by Denis Diderot

—Moving on, if there are evil women and good men, there are also good women and evil men. And this supplement is no more a story[2] than the preceding.

—I am sure.

—M. d´Hérouville…

—The one still living? The Lieutenant General of the King´s army? The one that married that charming creature named Lolotte[3]?

—The same.

—A gallant man, lover of sciences.

—And of scholars. For a long time he was working on a general history of war in every century and every nation.

—A staggering project.

—To complete it he called for the help of some young gentlemen of distinguished merit, like M. de Montucla[5], the author of the History of Mathematics.

—Good lord! He had many men of that caliber?