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I faw the CelePu'ns. The library is an upper gallery, very pleafant, and plentifullyfurn'fhed with books. This is a very fine convent; with the nobleft Dortoire , hav-ing open galleries round : alfo, very large gardens, with alleys and fhady groves; anddivers kitchen-gardens, well cultivated. Alfo a vineyard of white-wine grapes, wellkept ; which is the only thing of that kind within the walls of Paris .
Here I alfo faw the clofet or cell of P. Hochereau ; w ho had a very choice collec-tion of original paintings, of very many of the bcft matters: amongtt the reft, Itook notice of the originals of Rambrant, excellent pieces. St. Peter and the cock:the nativity of our Saviour: and, the maflacre of the innocents. His colouring isnot to be imitated: his invention great and natural, and the defign mod correft.
I was to vifit Pere Mallebranche of the fathers of the oratory : they live very neatlytogether in a kind of community, but under no rule : he w'as very handfomely lodged,in a room well furniflied : he is a very tall, lean man, of a ready wit and cheerfulconverfation.
After an hour’s difcourfe, he carried me into the public library of the houfe : a fairgallery well lighted, and well furniflied with books; with an apartment at the upperend for manufcripts, where were many Greek and Hebrew . Amongtt the reft, thelibrary-keeper fhewed us the Samaritan Pentateuch, of which Morin made ufe. Itfeemed to me to be much later than that of Sir John Cotton’s library with us, becaufeit was of a much fmaller letter, and more broken in the writing, which was all I amcapable to judge by.
They were bufy in reforming the difpofition of the library; and making a good cata-logue, according to the method of the late archbifliop of Rheims ; and which I likedwell of, they had drawn out fome hundreds of books, and expofed them in the middleof the library, upon a long table, for fale, as being duplicates ; and from the faleof them to furnilh themfelves with what they wanted.
The books which were written by proteltants, I obferved, they were locked up inwire cafes, not to be come at without particular leave.
The freedom and nature of this order puts me in mind of what I heard of a certainrich and learned man, Monfieur Pinet, of the law; who put himfelf at length intoreligion, as they fay, amongtt the fathers ; but firft perfuaded his cook to do fo too;for he was refolved not to quit his good foups, and luch diflies as he liked, whateverbecame of his penance and retirement. This compliment the elegant and learnedMonfieur Peletier, in Monfieur Colbert’s place, Comptroller General of the Financesmade his guefts at his country-houfe near Choify, having voluntarily quitted all hisemployments at court: he faid, he referved his cook, though he retrenched the reft:of his retinue ; they might therefore expeft a flender philofopher’s dinner, though welldreft.
It is wonderful to confider how moft of the reft of the orders abufe themfelves forGod ’s fake, as they call it. Hunger and ill diet not only deftroys a man’s health, butmaugreall his devotion, put him out of humour, and makes him repine and envy thereft of mankind: and well if it do not make him alfo curfe in his heart his maker ^Job is not every man’s roll to aft. The original and rife of natural philofophy andphyfic was to invent a more wholefome and better food, than the beafts have, and toeat bread and flefli inftead of herbs and corn ; to drink wine inftead of water; thofeand a thoufand other things were the bleflings of phyfick, and ftill the good manage-ment of thefe things, both in health and ficknefs, are under the directions of the phy-ficians. Now for a fort of melancholy and wilful men, to renounce thefe comforts,
and