Libertins, and all those of the company of the bel esprit, did not stare. My dears! They would not dream of fixing anything, high or low in the universe, with gawping owl-eyes. Instead, they watched human beings slyly, from under half-closed lids, seeing them as they were – beginning with themselves. Those sleepy eyes perceived more about life than Descartes with his ‘clear and distinct ideas’, or Pascal with his spiritual ecstasies.
