The strong antipathy felt by Marivaux for Voltaire forced him at times, in the presence of friends, to give vent to his feelings in words quite as spiteful as those of his enemy: "M. de Voltaire est le premier homme du monde pour ecrire ce que les autres ont pense.... M. de Voltaire est la perfection des idees communes.... Ce coquin-la a un vice de plus que les autres; il a quelquefois des vertus." But his retorts never went so far as publication, and when, in 1735, the _Lettres philosophiques_ of Voltaire were condemned to be burned by Parliament, and Marivaux was urged by a publishing house, offering a good round sum, to make the most of Voltaire's discomfiture and write a refutation of the same, he refused, with his characteristic nobility of soul, to advance his own interests at the expense of those of his enemy. As much cannot be said of the latter, who, in letters written at this time, shows a cowardly fear of Marivaux's acceptance of the offer. Voltaire was not the only rival to show hostility. Destouches, in the _Envieux, ou la Critique du Philosophe marie_ (XII), Le Sage, in _Gil Blas_ (Book VII, chapter XIII), as well as Crebillon _fils_, in the work already mentioned, were among the number. Marivaux's admission to the French Academy had long been a matter of grave doubt to his friends, for he was too honest for intrigue and too proud to sue for favours, and there was much opposition on the part of many members, who declared that their purposes were at war, as they had assumed the task of composing the language, while he seemed to aim at its decomposition; but Mme. de Tencin had set her mind upon making of him an academician, and spared no pains to accomplish her purpose. The influence of this brilliant, scheming, unprincipled, and headstrong woman, aided by Bouhier, president of the parliament of Dijon, and likewise a warm supporter of Marivaux, gained the day, and she had the pleasure of seeing her old friend, upon his fifty-fifth birthday, February 4, 1743, received within the ranks of the forty Immortals. Voltaire, although a dangerous competitor, was not received until three years later; Piron, Le Sage, and Crebillon _fils_, never.