An honorable celebrity has been universally accorded to Madame
de Sévigné. For nearly two centuries her “Letters” have been the
admiration of all lovers of elegant literature. The natural grace, the
“_curiosa felicitas_” of these epistles have rendered them remarkable
as to style, and the artist-like pictures of manners, the lively
accounts of cotemporaneous incidents give them very great value as aids
to the study of history. Then they are trustworthy documents; every
word, every circumstance is read with particular satisfaction, because
the character and position of the writer assure us of her perfect
intent to communicate truth.
Madame de Sévigné lived in what the French consider their Augustan
Age. Great men in arts, in arms, in literature gave glory to the most
splendid monarch that ever sat on the throne of France. At the same
time the position of women was both active and brilliant. The social
existence of the women of the higher classes was one that gave scope
to talent and opportunity to energy. In those days the great dame was
occupied with the administration of her property and the exaltation of
her family. Far from being absorbed in a narrow routine of personality,
she considered the sacrifice of private feelings to family greatness a
positive duty, and the sacrifice of family greatness to the king--that
is, the state--a still more imperative obligation.
As our views of moral responsibility extend, the intellectual horizon
enlarges. The woman who was accustomed to dwell upon considerations
beyond mere fireside comforts or fashionable display, who went from
the individual to the family, and from the family to the state, must
of necessity have enlarged her understanding in proportion to the
elevation and extent of her views. It is only by a just development of
the intellectual faculties that the heart can be properly regulated,
and nowhere is this truth more strikingly illustrated than in the life
of Madame de Sévigné.
Her passionate love for her daughter was always made to yield to the
dictates of a wise prudence and just propriety. Though born with
excessive sensibility, great vivacity, amiable instincts, and warm
imagination, that is to say, with the qualities and feelings most
likely to lead their possessor astray or into indiscretions, yet this
youthful widow managed her estate and her children with admirable
wisdom, and so regulated her own conduct as to be above the slightest
censure in a court of relaxed morals and of many temptations. This
was accomplished because her brilliant qualities rested on the solid
basis of serious and valuable acquirements, a practical knowledge of
business, and a trusting and sincere piety.
To make the example of this excellent woman more widely and familiarly
known in America is the main object of this volume. As a model in
private life, her conduct and character deserve to be studied. Her
“Letters” are referred to by the best authorities, as the most charming
specimens of epistolary art extant, yet no edition has ever been issued
in this country. Nor would one be profitable, because the complete work
is too large. Still it is desirable to have access to this treasury
of beautiful sentiments and entertaining sketches; and we have here
selected such portions of her correspondence as will make her virtues
known and give those lessons of practical goodness her life so happily
illustrated.
In order to do this we have arranged the correspondence on a new plan.
Hitherto the “Letters” have been thrown together according to date, and
the reader was compelled to change from one correspondent to another,
even on the same page, often finding similar details in several
consecutive epistles. In this volume each person addressed has his or
her own department--thus the Letters to Madame de Grignan, the soul of
the correspondence, form one unbroken series. Much care has been taken
to keep the fine and often sparkling threads of narrative inwoven in
the Letters continuous, and errors in the only English translation
we have seen (published in London, in 1811) have been corrected by
comparing it with the best French editions of the “Letters.”[2] And now
we will endeavor to sketch the life of this lovely and lovable woman,
though the events are in no wise remarkable, and the truest portrait of
her character and genius must be sought in her letters.
[2] The explanatory notes, which afford useful particulars
concerning personages and events mentioned in the Letters, are
partly from the French, and partly by the English translator and
the present Editor.