d of
idleness are not necessarily idle, nor do all lazy men lack industry.
There are various motives that force them to labor, often mere pride, and
more often still, necessity. Marivaux was a great worker, as his works in
ten large volumes (as edited by Duviquet) prove, but they do not in the
least disprove his statement that he was not fond of work, and it is
undoubtedly true that, had it not been for the spur of necessity, he would
not have written "tant de neants plus ou moins spirituels," and the world
would have been deprived of his best writings, for the poorest work that
he produced was done while he was rich.

The loss of his fortune was a cruel blow, for it deprived him of the means
of gratifying his fondness for dress and good living[41], and, worst of
all, it debarred him largely from indulging his passion for charity. His
generosity and fellow-feeling for others were so great that he really
suffered at sight of their misfortunes, if he was unable to alleviate
them. "Quoi! voir les besoins d'un honnete homme, et n'etre point en etat
de les soulager, n'est-ce pas les avoir soi-meme? Je serai donc pauvre
avec les indigents, ruine avec ceux qui seront ruines, et je manquerai de
tout ce qui leur manquera," he exclaims in the thirteenth _feuille_ of the
_Spectateur_, and it was this spirit of generosity that led him to deprive
himself often of the necessities of life for the sake of giving to others,
and even, at times, to give unwisely.

The following anecdote, related by both Lesbros de la Versane[42] and
d'Alembert[43], goes to show how far his love of giving sometimes led him.
One day he was accosted by a beggar, who seemed to him so young and strong
that he was indignant, and, with a desire to shame him, asked him why he
did not work. "Helas! monsieur, si vous saviez combien je suis paresseux!"
was the unexpected answer of the youth. Marivaux, who hated all deceit,
was so struck by the naive frankness of the reply that he gave him money
to continue his idle way of life.

Another incident has come down to us from the same Sources[44]. A young
actress, lacking in beauty and talent, had entered upon a career which
Marivaux saw meant failure, and, to preserve her from the inevitable end,
he persuaded her to enter a convent and provided the necessary funds,
although at the price of great self-sacrifice.

Meanwhile Marivaux had married, at the age of thirty-three, a Mlle.
Martin, "d'une bonne famille de Sens,"[