The young Duke, penetrated with love and esteem for Ninon, passed at her side every moment he could steal away from the profound studies and occupations required by his rank and position.  Although he afterward became the Prince de Conde, the Lion of his time, and the bulwark of France, he never ceased expressing for her the liveliest gratitude and friendship.  Whenever he met her equipage in the streets of Paris, he never failed to descend from his own and go to pay her the most affectionate compliments.

The Prince de Marsillac, afterward the Duke de la Rochefoucauld, less philosophical then than later in life, and who prided himself on his acquaintance with all the vices and follies of youth, could not long withhold his admiration for the solid and estimable qualities he perceived in Ninon, whom he often saw in the company of the Duke d’Enghein.  The result of his admiration was that he formed a tender attachment which lasted as long as he lived.  It was Ninon who continued the good work begun by Madame de La Fayette, who confessed that her social relations with la Rochefoucauld had been the means of embellishing her mind, and that in compensation for this great service she had reformed his heart.  Whatever share Madame de La Fayette may have had in reforming the heart of this great man, it is certain that Ninon de l’Enclos had much to do with reforming his morals and elevating his mind up to the point it is evident he reached, to judge from his “Maxims,” in which the human heart is bared as with a scalpel in the most skilfully devised epigrams that never cease to hold the interest of every reader.

Chapelle, the most celebrated voluptuary in Paris, did everything in his power to overcome Ninon’s repugnance, but without success.  There was nothing lacking in his mental attainments, for he was a poet of very high order, inimitable in his style; moreover, he was presentable in his person.  Yet he could not make the slightest impression on Ninon’s heart.  He openly declared his love, and, receiving constant rebuffs, resolved to have revenge and overcome her resistance by punishing her.  This he attempted to do in a very singular manner without regard to consistency.

All Paris knew his verses in which he did not conceal his ardent love for Ninon, and in which were expressed the highest admiration for her estimable qualities and the depth of her philosophy.  He now proceeded to take back everything good he had said about her and made fun of her love, her friendship, and her attainments.  He ridiculed her in every possible manner, even charging up against her beauty, her age.  A verse or so will enable the reader to understand his methods: 

“Il ne faut pas qu’on s’etonne,
Si souvent elle raisonne
De la sublime vertu
Dont Platon fut revetu: 
Car a bien compter son age,
Elle peut avoir vecu
Avec ce grand personnage.”

Or, substantially in the English language: