s to ravish her of the only merit she possesses? I would like,
therefore (my expression is not elevated, but it interprets my
thought), I would like that in a woman, beauty could be a sign of
other advantages.

Let us agree, Marquis, that in love, the mind is made more use of than
the heart. A liaison of the heart is a drama in which the acts are the
shortest and the between acts the longest; with what then, would you
fill the interludes if not with accomplishments? Possession puts every
woman on the same level, and exposes all of them equally to
infidelity. The elegant and the beautiful, when they are nothing else,
have not, in that respect, any advantage over her who is plain; the
mind, in that case making all the difference. That alone can bestow
upon the same person the variety necessary to prevent satiety.
Moreover, it is only accomplishments that can fill the vacuum of a
passion that has been satisfied, and we can always have them in any
situation we may imagine, either to postpone defeat and render it more
flattering, or to assure us of our conquests. Lovers themselves profit
by them. How many things they cherish although they set their faces
against them? Wherefore, let the Countess, while cultivating her
decided talent for the clavecin, understand her interests and yours.

I have read over my letter, my dear Marquis, and I tremble lest you
find it a trifle serious. You see what happens when one is in bad
company. I supped last night with M. de la Rochefoucauld, and I never
see him that he does not spoil me in this fashion, at least for three
or four days.

XXIX

The Misfortune of Too Sudden an Avowal

I think as you do, Marquis, the Countess punishes you too severely for
having surprised an avowal of her love. Is it your fault if her secret
escaped? She has gone too far to retreat. A woman can experience a
return to reason, but to go so far as to refuse to see you for three
days; give out that she has gone into the country for a month; return
your tender letters without opening them, is, in my opinion, a
veritable caprice of virtue. After all, however, do not despair
whatever may happen. If she were really indifferent she would be less
severe.

Do not make any mistake about this: There are occasions when a woman
is less out of humor with you than with herself. She feels with
vexation that her weakness is ready to betray her at any moment. She
punishes you for it, and she punishes herself by bein