One of the fables of the first book is addressed to the Duke de la Rochefoucauld, and was the consequence of a friendship between La Fontaine and the author of the celebrated "Maxims." Connected with the duke was Madame La Fayette, one of the most learned and ingenious women of her age, who consequently became the admirer and friend of the fabulist. To her he wrote verses abundantly, as he did to all who made him the object of their kind regard. Indeed, notwithstanding his avowed indolence, or rather passion for quiet and sleep, his pen was very productive. In 1669, he published "Psyché," a romance in prose and verse, which he dedicated to the Duchess de Bouillon, in gratitude for many kindnesses. The prose is said to be better than the verse; but this can hardly be true in respect to the following lines, in which the poet under the apt name of Polyphile, in a hymn addressed to Pleasure, undoubtedly sketches himself:-- Volupté, Volupté, qui fus jadis maîtresse Du plus bel esprit de la Grèce, Ne me dédaigne pas; viens-t'en loger chez moi: Tu n'y seras pas sans emploi: J'aime le jeu, l'amour, les livres, la musique, La ville et la campagne, enfin tout; il n'est rien Qui ne me soit souverain bien, Jusqu'au sombre plaisir d'un coeur mélancolique. Viens donc.... The characteristic grace and playfulness of this seem to defy translation. To the mere English reader, the sense may be roughly given thus:-- Delight, Delight, who didst as mistress hold The finest wit of Grecian mould, Disdain not me; but come, And make my house thy home. Thou shalt not be without employ: In play, love, music, books, I joy, In town and country; and, indeed, there's nought, E'en to the luxury of sober thought,-- The sombre, melancholy mood,-- But brings to me the sovereign good. Come, then, &c. The same Polyphile, in recounting his adventures on a visit to the infernal regions, tells us that he saw, in the hands of the cruel Eumenides, ------Les auteurs de maint hymen forcé L'amant chiche, et la dame au coeur intéressé; La troupe des censeurs, peuple à l'Amour rebelle; Ceux enfin dont les vers ont noirci quelque belle. ------Artificers of many a loveless match, And lovers who but sought the pence to catch; The crew censorious, rebels against Love; And those whose verses soiled the fair above.