ey respected his, and merely pitied
him for not being able to determine to be simple and natural."[26]

Although this characterization by Marmontel may be true, too much must not
be attributed to self-conceit, for Marivaux was rather timid and
suspicious of himself at heart than self-conceited, and this very lack of
confidence, this desire to please and to be thought well of, which caused
him, at times, to emphasize before his friends his own worth, is a key to
his nature, without which it would be difficult to understand him. This
timidity of his explains his fear of being duped by the _ingenue_ of
Limoges, as well as his mistrust of the man who made rough draughts of his
letters, instead of writing them off-hand. That Marivaux was over-
sensitive we must agree, for, although the testimony of his contemporaries
may be somewhat biased by jealousy, it is too overwhelmingly unanimous to
be gainsaid.[27]

We cannot conclude, however, despite the testimony of Grimm, whose caustic
tongue was none too chary of his friends, that intercourse with Marivaux
was "epineux et insupportable," for, were it so, he never would have been
so cordially welcomed into society as he was, for which, according to the
abbe de La Porte, he possessed all the qualities required, "an exact
honesty, a noble disinterestedness,... a pleasing candour, a charitable
soul, a modesty without affectation and without pretense, an extremely
sensitive courtesy, and the most scrupulous attention to avoid whatever
might offend or displease."[28]

A brilliant conversationalist, Marivaux excelled in the quality, no less
rare, of being a good listener, and never gave way to "that distraction
which always wounds when it does not provoke laughter."[29]

The following incident[30] will serve to illustrate the extreme
sensitiveness of Marivaux. He had confided to Mme. Geoffrin a certain
grievance against Marmontel. She, in turn, spoke to the latter of the
fancied slight, although she assured him that, even in his complaints,
Marivaux spoke only well of him, a small matter, but one that proves the
nobility of our author's nature. When the occasion presented itself,
Marmontel asked for an explanation of his grievance, and, with some
difficulty, elicited the following reply: "Have you forgotten that at the
house of Mme. du Bocage, one evening, being seated near Mme. de
Villaumont, you both kept looking at me and laughing, while whispering
together? Assuredly you were la