To be seen are certain ferocious animals, male and female, scattered over the country, dark, livid, and all scorched by the sun, affixed to the soil which they rummage and throw up with indomitable pertinacity; they have a sort of articulate voice, and, when they rise to their feet, they show a human face; they are, in fact, men.  At night they withdraw to the caves, where they live on black bread, water, and roots.  They spare other men the trouble of sowing, tilling, and reaping for their livelihood, and deserve, therefore, not to go in want of the very bread they have sown.”  Few people at the court, and in La Bruyere’s day, would have thought about the sufferings of the country folks, and conceived the idea of contrasting them with the sketch of a court-ninny.  “Gold glitters,” say you, “upon the clothes of Philemon; it glitters as well as the tradesman’s.  He is dressed in the finest stuffs; are they a whit the less so when displayed in the shops and by the piece?  Nay; but the embroidery and the ornaments add magnificence thereto; then I give the workman credit for his work.  If you ask him the time, he pulls out a watch which is a masterpiece; his sword-guard is an onyx; he has on his finger a large diamond which he flashes into all eyes, and which is perfection; he lacks none of those curious trifles which are worn about one as much for show as for use; and he does not stint himself either of all sorts of adornment befitting a young man who has married an old millionnaire.  You really pique my curiosity:  I positively must see such precious articles as those.  Send me that coat and those jewels of Philemon’s; you can keep the person.  Thou’rt wrong, Philemon, if, with that splendid carriage, and that large number of rascals behind thee, and those six animals to draw thee, thou thiukest thou art thought more of.  We take off all those appendages which are extraneous to thee to get at thyself, who art but a ninny.”

More earnest and less bitter than La Rochefoucauld, and as brilliant and as firm as Cardinal de Retz, La Bruyere was a more sincere believer than either.  “I feel that there is a God, and I do not feel that there is none; that is enough for me; the reasoning of the world is useless to me.  I conclude that God exists.  Are men good enough, faithful enough, equitable enough to deserve all our confidence, and not make us wish at least for the existence of God, to whom we may appeal from their judgments and have recourse when we are persecuted or betrayed?” A very strong reason and of potent logic, naturally imprinted upon an upright spirit and a sensible mind, irresistibly convinced, both of them, that justice alone can govern the world.