he, "hide
nothing from me; if you cannot tell me whether I shall marry Virginia,
tell me at least if she loves me still, surrounded as she is by noblemen
who speak to the king, and who go to see her."

_The Old Man._--Oh, my dear friend! I am sure, for many reasons, that
she loves you; but above all, because she is virtuous. At these words he
threw himself on my neck in a transport of joy.

_Paul._--But do you think that the women of Europe are false, as they
are represented in the comedies and books which you have lent me?

_The Old Man._--Women are false in those countries where men are
tyrants. Violence always engenders a disposition to deceive.

_Paul._--In what way can men tyrannize over women?

_The Old Man._--In giving them in marriage without consulting their
inclinations;--in uniting a young girl to an old man, or a woman of
sensibility to a frigid and indifferent husband.

_Paul._--Why not join together those who are suited to each other,--the
young to the young, and lovers to those they love?

_The Old Man._--Because few young men in France have property enough
to support them when they are married, and cannot acquire it till the
greater part of their life is passed. While young, they seduce the wives
of others, and when they are old, they cannot secure the affections of
their own. At first, they themselves are deceivers: and afterwards, they
are deceived in their turn. This is one of the reactions of that eternal
justice, by which the world is governed; an excess on one side is sure
to be balanced by one on the other. Thus, the greater part of Europeans
pass their lives in this twofold irregularity, which increases
everywhere in the same proportion that wealth is accumulated in the
hands of a few individuals. Society is like a garden, where shrubs
cannot grow if they are overshadowed by lofty trees; but there is this
wide difference between them,--that the beauty of a garden may result
from the admixture of a small number of forest trees, while the
prosperity of a state depends on the multitude and equality of its
citizens, and not on a small number of very rich men.

_Paul._--But where is the necessity of being rich in order to marry?

_The Old Man._--In order to pass through life in abundance, without
being obliged to work.

_Paul._--But why not work? I am sure I work hard enough.

_The Old Man._--In Europe, working with your hands is considered a
degradation; it is compared to the labour perf