Note 355 — Chapter III · INTELLECTUAL INFLUENCE

The question has often been asked whether the Heptameron is a work of imagination, or whether it should be taken seriously. After the labours of MM. de Montaiglon, Franck, and Gaston Pâris, to speak only of the principal authorities, there can be no longer any doubt. Margaret, like Castiglione, certifies in a general way the veracity of her stories. She worked at this collection for several years, beginning probably in 1545, and with so much care that in 1549, when she died, she left it incomplete. The Heptameron then is not a juvenile work, but the testament of her court life and her philosophic career, and an autobiography, since several anecdotes relate to her, her brother, and her intimate friends. Moreover, among the large number of manuscripts she left in her portfolios, Boistuau (another strange character, to judge by his works!) chose this one to publish under the title of History of Fortunate Lovers, with some touching up, and a few excisions he thought it well to make in certain risky passages. This precaution gave offence, and Margaret’s own daughter took care to get a new and authentic edition published, two years later.