Faisant voir bien souvent des défauts dont on jase.
"Je quitte mon éclat quand je suis sans témoins,
Et je me puis vanter enfin d'être la chose
Qui contente le plus et qui coûte le moins."
[I am both stupid and bright, honest and dishonest; less sincere at court than in a simple hovel; with a pleasant air, I make the boldest tremble, the strong let me pass, the wise stop me.
There is no joy to anyone without me; I embellish at times, at times I distort; I disdain and I applaud; to share me, one must not be stupid.
The smaller my throne, the greater my beauty; I enlarge it, however, on both sides, often showing defects which are made sport of.
I leave my brilliancy when I am without witness, and I can boast of being the thing which contents the most and costs the least.—A smile.]
Critics often reproach Mlle. de Scudéry for having portrayed herself—as Sapho—in a flattering light in her novel Cyrus; but it must be remembered that at that time this was a common custom, women of the highest quality indulging in such pastimes, there even being a prominent salon where verbal portraiture was the sole occupation. No one has written more or better on the condition of woman, for she, above all, had the experience upon which to base her writings. The idea of woman's education and aim, which was generally entertained by the intelligent and modest women of the seventeenth century, is well expressed by Mlle. de Scudéry in the following: