cessity of cultivating his mind,
in order to raise it to a level with the thinking part of the world,
from which he had hitherto been so separated; and for that purpose he
chose the most modern books, and applied himself to them with all the
ardor with which he was accustomed to pursue every object to which he
devoted himself. But the unskilful hand that directed his choice always
prompted him to select such as were little calculated to improve either
his heart or his reason; besides that, he was influenced by a propensity
which rendered everything irresistible which was incomprehensible. He
had neither attention nor memory for anything that was not of that
character, and both his reason and his heart remained untouched, while
he was filling the vacuities of his brain with confused ideas. The
dazzling style of some writers captivated his imagination, while the
subtlety of others ensnared his reason. Together, they easily took
possession of a mind which became the prey of whatever was obtruded upon
it with a certain degree of dogmatism. A course of reading, which had
been continued with ardor for more than a year, had scarcely enriched
him with one benevolent idea, but had filled his head with doubts,
which, as a natural consequence with such a character, had almost found
an unfortunate road to his heart. In a word, he had entered this
labyrinth as a credulous enthusiast, had left it as a sceptic, and at
length became a perfect free-thinker.

"Among the circles into which he had been introduced there was a private
society called the Bucentauro, which, under the mask of a noble and
rational liberality of sentiment, encouraged the most unbridled
licentiousness of manners and opinion. As it enumerated many of the
clergy among its members, and could even boast of some cardinals at its
head, the prince was the more easily induced to join it. He thought
that certain dangerous truths, which reason discovers, could be nowhere
better preserved than in the hands of such persons, whose rank compelled
them to moderation, and who had the advantage of hearing and examining
the other side of the question. The prince did not recollect that
licentiousness of sentiment and manners takes so much the stronger hold
among persons of this rank, inasmuch as they for that reason feel one
curb less; and this was the case with the Bucentauro, most of whose
members, through an execrable philosophy, and manners worthy of such a
guide, were not only