Besides this, a subject for conversation.--Philosophic
conversation in the 18th century.--Its superiority and its
charm.--The influence it exercises.

It is quite the reverse in France. "I arrived there in 1774,"[4202]
says an English gentleman, "having just left the house of my father, who
never came home from Parliament until three o'clock in the morning, and
who was busy the whole morning correcting the proofs of his speech for
the newspapers, and who, after hastily kissing us, with an absorbed
air, went out to a political dinner. . . . In France I found men of
the highest rank enjoying perfect leisure. They had interviews with the
ministers but only to exchange compliments; in other respects they knew
as little about the public affairs of France as they did about those
of Japan; and less of local affairs than of general affairs, having no
knowledge of their peasantry other than that derived from the accounts
of their stewards. If one of them, bearing the title of governor,
visited a province, it was, as we have seen, for outward parade; whilst
the intendant carried on the administration, he exhibited himself with
grace and magnificence by giving receptions and dinners. To receive, to
give dinners, to entertain guests agreeably is the sole occupation of a
grand seignior; hence it is that religion and government only serve him
as subjects of conversation. The conversation, moreover, occurs between
him and his equals, and a man may say what he pleases in good company.
Moreover the social system turns on its own axis, like the sun, from
time immemorial, through its own energy, and shall it be deranged by
what is said in the drawing-room? In any event he does not control
its motion and he is not responsible. Accordingly there is no uneasy
undercurrent, no morose preoccupation in his mind. Carelessly and boldly
he follows in the track of his philosophers; detached from affairs he
can give himself up to ideas, just as a young man of family, on leaving
college, lays hold of some principle, deduces its consequences,
and forms a system for himself without concerning himself about its
application[4203].

Nothing is more enjoyable than this speculative inspiration. The mind
soars among the summits as if it had wings; it embraces vast horizons
in a glance, taking in all of human life, the economy of the world,
the origin of the universe, of religions and of societies. Where,
accordingly, would conversation be if p