BUFFON. 1 47 



this purpose lie employed a fashionable hair-cutter, who 

 operated upon him twice and sometimes three times a 

 day. To his dress he was particularly attentive, and 

 took great pleasure in appearing on Sundays before the 

 peasantry of Montbard in gold-laced clothes. He en- 

 couraged his attendants to relate to him every gossiping 

 story which they heard. His vanity betrayed itself on 

 a variety of occasions in relation to his literary perform- 

 ances, which were often the subjects of his discourse and 

 even of his commendation. When he was recommending 

 the perusal of the best works in every department of 

 taste and science, he would sometimes add with singular 

 presumption and self-confidence, " Capital works are 

 scarce ; I know but five great geniuses, Newton, Bacon, 

 Leibnitz, Montesquieu, and myself." 



He was in the habit of reciting to those who 

 visited him, whole pages of his compositions, for he 

 seemed to have them almost all by heart. Notwith- 

 standing, however, his vanity, he listened to objections, 

 entered into a discussion of them, and surrendered 

 his own opinion to that of others when his judg- 

 ment was convinced. He expressed himself with 

 rapture concerning the pleasures accruing from study, 

 and he declared his preference of the writings to 

 the conversations of learned men, which almosl 

 always disappointed him, and therefore he voluntarily 

 secluded himself from society with such, and in 

 company was fond of trifling and was not at all 

 times gentlemanly in his conversation. He main- 

 tained an extensive correspondence with several 

 persons of rank and eminence. But his vanity was 



