(93) 



she had altained lier fifteenth spring. She was 

 the joy of her old father and of her virtuous mo- 

 ther ; ihey bolh placed on her their hopes , less 

 for her exterior form , than for her gênerons sen- 

 timents. However they well knew that beautv is 

 ail moralizing , and that in this quality lies its 

 strongest allurement , the reason of its true em- 

 pire on ail hearts. It has not always been thus. 

 The gods , vénérable Evander , who would per- 

 petuate our race , destined to perfect itself , gave 

 to man in the beginning a gross sensé , sufficient 

 to accomplish this design of the divine providence. 

 Yes , we must boldly own , that before the birth 

 of the civil world , before Ihe reign of laws , our 

 ancestors dispersed by chance on the surface of 

 the yet uncullivated globe , were necessarily re- 

 duced to nearly the vile condition of the brute. 

 A misérable condition in which they could not 

 long remain. The moment is then arrived to ini- 

 tiale the human race into the sentiment of beauty , 

 of pudicily , admirable initiation to which Eury- 

 dice will soon contribute. Eurydice will indeed 

 be for barbarous Pelagia the pure prophetess of 

 a chaste and religious love. It cannot be imagi- 

 ned what future prodigies were already painted on 

 the ingenuous brow of the yotmg girl : her dreams 

 revealed to her other lands and other skies. Brought 

 up , as it were , on the knees of her mother , 

 ail the enchantment of poetry were latent in her 

 bosom. Her cradle had been placed among 

 flowers , and her ear as yet had heard none 



8 



