They were jeered at by the vulgar, fined, imprisoned, or banished by Ministers and Magistrates.

All that was good, noble, and generous in the nation withered in the uncongenial atmosphere.

The language of Pascal and of Corneille became the medium of corrupting the minds of millions.

The events of the day were some actress who had discovered a new way to outrage decency, or some new play which deified a prostitute or an adulteress.

Paris became the world's fair, to which flocked the vain, the idle, and the debauched from all corners of the globe.