ed from the repertory, not to be taken up again
until Marivaux was an academician, and as such, in the minds of many, of
course worthy of applause.

Marivaux had the good judgment to abandon a style of composition for which
he was in no way fitted, and, on May 3, 1722, returned to the Theatre-
Italien with _la Surprise de l'Amour_, a comedy in three acts, and a
decided success. His predilection for the Theatre-Italien was such that he
gave to it twenty of his plays, while only ten were brought out at the
Theatre-Francais. "Of the six plays of our author which were to remain in
the repertory, only one, _le Legs_, was first played at the Comedie-
Francaise; the five others, _la Surprise de l'Amour_, _le Jeu de l'Amour
et du Hasard_, _l'Ecole des Meres_, _les Fausses Confidences_,
_l'Epreuve_, appeared for the first time at the Theatre-Italien."[66]

L'abbe de La Porte declares, moreover, that, had it not been for his
support, through lack of spectators the actors would have been obliged to
give up their theatre.[67]

Why was this preference of Marivaux for the Theatre-Italien? In the first
place, because he found the Italian actors better fitted to interpret him
with that "brillante et abondante volubilite" of the Italian nature, which
his plays seem to require, masterpieces, as they are, of dialogue and
conversational style. Moreover, the Italians were performing in a foreign
language and in a country in which they had a reputation yet to gain, and,
consequently, were willing to accept suggestions from the author. At the
Theatre-Francais, on the contrary, both actors and audience were under the
ban of certain traditions, which hindered the one from performing with the
requisite natural grace and the other from accepting without criticism
that which at the Theatre-Italien they might have received with
enthusiasm.[68]

The prestige enjoyed by the members of the Comedie-Francaise was not
calculated to make them readily accept advice, and Marivaux was often
heard lamenting over their intractability. The beauty of his plays depends
upon the artless grace with which they are rendered. "Il faut ... que les
acteurs ne paraissent jamais sentir la valeur de ce qu'ils disent, et
qu'en meme temps les spectateurs la sentent et la demelent a travers
l'espece de nuage dont l'auteur a du envelopper leurs discours."[69] Such
were the recommendations of Marivaux, but all to no purpose. "J'ai eu beau
le repeter aux comediens, la fureur