VI
Soon after the publication
of the “Persian Letters” Montesquieu went to the capital to enjoy his reputation.
There he found society more agreeable in Paris than in Versailles, because
in the small world of the latter intrigue was the rule, whereas in the
former people amused themselves. He became a member of the informal
Club de l’Entre-sol, which met on Saturdays in the house of President Hénault.
Bolingbroke was the founder of this club, and its most distinguished member.
Among those who frequented it were the Abbé de Saint-Pierre, D’Argenson,
“secretary to the Republic of Plato,” and Ramsai. Probably the principal
benefit which Montesquieu derived from his attendance at the Entre-sol
was his introduction to Lord Chesterfield; but he continued a member until
Cardinal Fleury interdicted the club in 1730, on account of the active
part it began to take in politics.
With the aid of Mademoiselle
de Clermont, Louis XIV.’s unspeakable tenth muse, Montesquieu was elected
to the Academy in 1725; but his election was invalidated on account of
his non-residence in Paris. He then returned to Bordeaux, sold his
presidentship, acquired the necessary qualification, and, not without a
questionable intrigue, was elected in 1728 to the chair rendered vacant
by the death of De Sacy, a forgotten translator.
In the spring of the same
year Montesquieu set out on his travels with a nephew of the Duke of Berwick,
whose affairs called him to Vienna. It was during this journey that
he applied for nomination to some diplomatic post. In urging his
claim he pointed out that he was not duller than other men; that, being
of independent means, honour was the only reward he sought; that he was
accustomed to society, and had toiled (beaucoup travaillé)
to make himself capable. The powers that then were, however, elected
to dispense with his services.
Montesquieu was much disappointed
with his reception at the hands of the great. On his first entrance
into society he had been announced as a man of genius, and had been looked
on favourably by people in place; but when the success of the “Persian
Letters” proved that he actually had ability, and brought him the esteem
of the public, people in place began to be shy of him. It was no
consolation for him to tell himself that officialdom, secretly wounded
by the reputation of a celebrated man, takes vengeance by humiliating him,
and that he who can endure to hear another praised must merit much praise
himself.1 He was
deeply disappointed. In his youth he had written, “Cicero, of all
the ancients, is he whom I should most wish to be like.” A public
career was denied him and he suffered, having set his heart on it; but
he was more of an ancient Roman than Cicero, if that was his ambition;
and it is surely better to be famous as the author of “L’Esprit des Lois,”
than to be infamous as one of Louis XV.’s ministers.
In Italy he found Lord Chesterfield.
The two men had already tested each other in the Entre-sol, and they were
now glad to travel together. Journeying to Venice, they met Law,
the creator of credit, who, having preserved his taste for speculation
and a fine diamond, passed his time in staking the latter at the gaming-table.
Montesquieu had dealt severely with him in the “Persian Letters,” but that
did not prevent Law from receiving him pleasantly; nor did the ruined financier’s
complaisance prevent Montesquieu from applying the lash again in “L’Esprit
des Lois.”
From Venice they went to
Rome. Montesquieu frequented the salon of Cardinal Polignac, the
French ambassador; and the city, both ancient and modern, had its due effect.
Before leaving it, he paid a visit to the Pope, Benedict XIII., who said
to him, “My dear president, I wish you to carry away some souvenir of my
friendship. To you and yours I grant permission to eat meat every
day for the term of your natural lives.” Montesquieu thanked the
Pope and withdrew. Next day they brought him the dispensation with
a note of charges. “The Pope,” said Montesquieu, returning the papers,
“is an honest man; I will not doubt his word; and I hope God has no reason
to doubt it either.” An answer becoming a shrewd economic Gascon.
After visiting Naples, Pisa,
Florence, Turin, and the Rhine country, they arrived at the Hague, where
Chesterfield was English ambassador. From the Hague they sailed to
England, reaching London in November, 1729.
1 “Pensées.”