Letters to Eugenia

The secretive character of those however into whose hands the manuscript at first fell; the singular and yet actual pleasure that is caused generally enough in the minds of all men by the exclusive possession of any object whatever that kind of torpor servitude and terror in which the tyrannical power of the priests then held all minds--even those who by the superiority of their talents ought naturally to be the least disposed to bend under the odious yoke of the clergy--all these circumstances united contributed so much to stifle in its birth if I may so express myself this important manuscript that for a long time it was supposed to be lost; so much did those who possessed it keep it carefully concealed, and so constantly did they refuse to allow a copy to be taken.