La Roche, her valet de chambre, had sent me the papers, and Icould think of nobody but herself to whom this fragment could be ofconsequence; but what concern could the other give her, any morethan the rest of the letters missing, with which, even with evilintentions, nothing to my prejudice could be done, unless they werefalsified? As for the marechal, with whose real friendship for me, andinvariable integrity, I was perfectly acquainted, I never couldsuspect him for a moment.The most reasonable supposition, afterlong tormenting my mind in endeavoring to discover the author of thetheft, that which imputed it to D'Alembert, who, having thrust himselfinto the company of Madam de Luxembourg, might have found means toturn over these papers, and take from amongst them such manuscriptsand letters as he might have thought proper, either for the purpose ofendeavoring to embroil me with the writer of them, or to appropriatethose he should find useful to his own private purposes.I imaginedthat, deceived by the title of Morale Sensitive, he might havesupposed it to be the plan of a real treatise upon materialism, withwhich he would have armed himself against me in a manner easy to beimagined.Certain that he would soon be undeceived by reading thesketch, and determined to quit all literary pursuits, theselarcenies gave me but little concern.They besides were not thefirst the same hand had committed* upon me without having complainedof these pilferings.In a very little time I thought no more of thetrick that had been played me than if nothing had happened, andbegan to collect the materials I had left for the purpose ofundertaking my projected confessions.
* I had found in his Elemens de Musique (Elements of Music)several things taken from what I had written for the Encyclopedie, andwhich were given to him several years before the publication of hiselements.I know not what he may have had to do with a book entitledDictionaire des Beaux Arts (Dictionary of the Fine Arts), but Ifound in it articles transcribed word for word from mine, and thislong before the same articles were printed in the Encyclopedie.
I had long thought the company of ministers, or at least thecitizens and burgesses of Geneva, would remonstrate against theinfraction of the edict in the decree made against me.Everythingremained quiet, at least to all exterior appearance; for discontentwas general, and ready, on the first opportunity, openly to manifestitself.My friends, or persons calling themselves such, wrote letterafter letter exhorting me to come and put myself at their head,assuring me of public separation from the council.The fear of thedisturbance and troubles which might be caused by my presence,prevented me from acquiescing with their desires, and, faithful to theoath I had formerly made, never to take the least part in any civildissension in my country, I chose rather to let the offense remainas it was, and banish myself forever from the country, than toreturn to it by means which were violent and dangerous.It is true,I expected the burgesses would make legal remonstrances against aninfraction in which their interests were deeply concerned; but no suchsteps were taken.They who conducted the body of citizens soughtless the real redress of grievances than an opportunity to renderthemselves necessary.They caballed but were silent, and suffered meto be bespattered by the gossips and hypocrites set on to render meodious in the eyes of the populace, and pass upon them theirboistering for a zeal in favor of religion.
After having, during a whole year, vainly expected that some onewould remonstrate against an illegal proceeding, and seeing myselfabandoned by my fellow-citizens, I determined to renounce myungrateful country in which I never had lived, from which I had notreceived either inheritance or services, and by which, in return forthe honor I had endeavored to do it, I saw myself so unworthilytreated by unanimous consent, since they, who should have spoken,had remained silent.I therefore wrote to the first syndic for thatyear, to Mr.Favre, if I remember right, a letter in which Isolemnly gave up my freedom of the city of Geneva, carefully observingin it, however, that decency and moderation, from which I have neverdeparted in the acts of haughtiness which, in my misfortunes, thecruelty of my enemies have frequently forced from me.
This step opened the eyes of the citizens, who feeling they hadneglected their own interests by abandoning my defense, took my partwhen it was too late.They had wrongs of their own which they joinedto mine, and made these the subject of several well-reasonedrepresentations, which they strengthened and extended, as therefusal of the council, supported by the ministry of France, made themmore clearly perceive the project formed to impose on them a yoke.
These altercations produced several pamphlets which were indecisive,until that appeared entitled Lettres ecrites de la Campagne,* a workwritten in favor of the council, with infinite art, and by which theremonstrating party, reduced to silence, was crushed for a time.
This production, a lasting monument of the rare talents of its author,came from the Attorney-General Tronchin, a man of wit and anenlightened understanding, well versed in the laws and government ofthe republic.Siluit terra.
* Letters written from the Country.
The remonstrators, recovered from their first overthrow, undertookto give an answer, and in time produced one which brought them offtolerably well.But they all looked to me, as the only personcapable of combating a like adversary with hope of success.Iconfess I was of their opinion, and excited by my formerfellow-citizens, who thought it was my duty to aid them with my pen,as I had been the cause of their embarrassment, I undertook torefute the Lettres ecrites de la Campagne, and parodied the title ofthem by that of Lettres ecrites de la Montagne,* which I gave to mine.
