Letter to the Countess of T. on a Second French Theater in Paris

(23)
B iv

censors, etc.: he must avoid displeasing the Ministers in office, the Ambassadors, and the Princes who are our allies. Politics and the circumstances of things sometimes require caution, to say nothing of disguises. For example, Monsieur, unfortunate events, the poor success of affairs, failed negotiations, lost battles; all of this is unrecognizable in the official reports given to the public. I was a witness to this during my campaign in Westphalia in 1761, where I had the honor of serving in the First Company of Musketeers. I witnessed several affairs: upon returning to Paris, I read all the back issues of the newspapers: what was my surprise, or better yet, my indignation! Oh Truth! Oh Virtue, which should be so dear to man, alas! You were not there: nevertheless, newspapers are, so to speak, the materials of history. What is one to do? One must tell the truth, and to dare to tell it, a historian risks losing his liberty, the finest attribute of man. Oh, the sorrow! What? Not to have the satisfaction of making the truth known to one's contemporaries! It must be hidden even from one's descendants!M. de la Dixmerie said: one often mixed fable with history.