He removed
her suspicions of his sanity by explaining his metamorphosis in a
philosophical fashion:
"You know, my dear Ninon, there are certain tastes and pleasures which
find their justification in a certain philosophy when they bear all
the marks of moral innocence. Nothing can be said against them but
their singularity. There are no amusements less dangerous than those
which do not resemble those generally indulged in by the multitude."
Ninon was pleased with the amiable companion of her old friend. Her
figure, her mental attainments, and her talents enchanted her, and
Desyvetaux, who appeared in a ridiculous light when she first saw him
in his masquerade, now seemed to her to be on the road to happiness.
She made no attempt to persuade him to return to his former mode of
life, which she could not avoid at this moment, however, as
considering more agreeable than the new one he had adopted. But what
could she offer in the way of superior seductive pleasures to a pair
who had tasted pure and natural enjoyments? The vain amusements and
allurements of the world have no sympathy with anything but
dissipation, in which, the mind, yielding to the fleeting seductions
of art, leaves the heart empty as soon as the illusion disappears.
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