Note 336 — Chapter II · MORAL INFLUENCE
George Herbert Ely translation
[Ninon was the celebrated courtesan who, without any great beauty, retained her ascendancy over men through a long life (1616-1706). She was well-born, wealthy and witty, and capricious in the bestowal of her favours. She is the original of Clarisse in Mlle de Scudéry’s interminable romance Clélie. Herself a writer and a lover of literature, she left Voltaire 2000 francs to buy books.]