t Chateau-Thierry, his native place, where the Duchesse
de Bouillon, niece of Mazarin, young, gay, pleasure-loving, bestowed
on him a kind protection. His tedious paraphrase of _Psyche_, and
the poem _Quinquina_, in which he celebrates the recovery from illness
of the Duchess, were performances of duty and gratitude rather than
of native impulse; but the tendencies of her salon, restrained neither
by the proprieties of the classical doctrine in literature nor those
of religious strictness, may have encouraged him to the production
of his _Contes_.

In Paris, from 1661 to 1664 joyous meetings took place in Boileau's
rooms in the Rue du Colombier of a distinguished group, which included
Moliere, Chapelle, Racine, and La Fontaine. La Fontaine, the
_bonhomme_, who escaped from the toil of conversation which did not
interest him in shy or indolent taciturnity, could be a charming
talker with companions of his choice. Probably to Boileau's urgency
is due the first original publication of La Fontaine, a little volume
of _Nouvelles en Vers_ (1664-1665), containing the _Joconde_, a tale
from Ariosto, and a comic story versified from Boccaccio. Almost
immediately there followed a collection of ten _Contes_, with the
author's name upon the title-page, and at various later dates were
published added tales, until five parts completed the series. The
success was great, but great also was the scandal, for the _bonhomme_,
drawing from Boccaccio, the Heptameron, the Cent Nouvelles nouvelles,
Rabelais, Petronius, Athenaeus, and other sources, had exhibited no
more regard for decency than that which bestows the graces of
lightness, brightness, wit, and gaiety upon indecency. His unabashed
apology was that the artistic laws of the _conte_ obliged him to
decline the laws of modesty; and among those who applauded his tales
were the Duchess de Bouillon and Mme. de Sevigne. It is indeed
impossible not to applaud their skill in rapid and easy narrative,
and the grace, freedom, and spontaneity of the verse.

The first six books of the _Fables_ appeared in 1668; the next five
in two parts, in 1678 and 1679; the twelfth and last book in 1694.
When the _Psyche_ was published, soon after the first group of the
_Fables_, the prose and verse were placed in a graceful setting, which
tells of the converse of the author with his friends Boileau, Racine,
and Moliere (or possibly Chapelle) in the midst of the unfinished
gardens of Versailles, where the a