armontel, the brilliancy or
learning of Grimm, d'Alembert, Thomas, Suard, Buffon, the Abbe Raynal,
and other wits of the day; when they discussed the affairs of the
Academy and decided the fate of candidates; when they listened to the
recitations of Mlle. Clairon, and the works of many authors known and
unknown. It is interesting to recall that "Paul and Virginia" was
first read here. But there was apt to be a shade of stiffness, and the
conversation had sometimes too strong a flavor of pedantry. "No one
knows better or feels more sensibly than you, my dear and very
amiable friend," wrote Mme. Geoffrin, "the charm of friendship and its
sweetness; no one makes others experience them more fully. But you will
never attain that facility, that ease, and that liberty which give to
society its perfect enjoyment." The Abbe Morellet complained of the
austerity that always held the conversation within certain limits, and
the gay little Abbe Galiani found fault with Mme. Necker's coldness and
reserve, though he addresses her as his "Divinity" after his return to
Naples, and his racy letters give us vivid and amusing pictures of these
Fridays, which in his memory are wholly charming.

In spite of her firm religious convictions, Mme. Necker cordially
welcomed the most extreme of the philosophers. "I have atheistic
friends," she said. "Why not? They are unfortunate friends." But her
admiration for their talents by no means extended to their opinions, and
she did not permit the discussion of religious questions. It was at one
of her own dinners that she started the subscription for a statue of
Voltaire, for whom she entertained the warmest friendship. One may note
here, as elsewhere, a fine mental poise, a justness of spirit, and a
discrimination that was superior to natural prejudices. Sometimes her
frank simplicity was misunderstood. "There is a Mme. Necker here, a
pretty woman and a bel esprit, who is infatuated with me; she persecutes
me to have me at her house," wrote Diderot to Mlle. Volland, with
an evident incapacity to comprehend the innocent appreciation of a
pure-hearted woman. When he knew her better, he expressed his regret
that he had not known her sooner. "You would certainly have inspired me
with a taste for purity and for delicacy," he says, "which would have
passed from my soul into my works." He refers to her again as "a
woman who possesses all that the purity of an angelic soul adds to an
exquisite taste."

Among