a In the original, roman, French for “novel.”
b Wives of high-ranking members of the royal bureaucracy (présídents) were referred to as présidentes, as is, in this work, the Présidente de Tourvel. There is an important distinction in rank implicit in the title: Tourvel is ennobled by profession while Valmont and Merteuil are noble by birth.
c I must also state that I have suppressed or altered all the names of persons which occur in these letters; and if, among those I have substituted for them, any is to be found which belongs to a real person, this arises solely from error on my part, and no conclusion is to be drawn therefrom [Laclos’s note]. All the footnotes labeled “Laclos’s note” are part of Laclos’s editorial apparatus and appear in the original.
f Since the sentiments (feelings) expressed in the letters are all either false or deceptive, they only arouse our curiosity. Curiosity is inferior to feeling or sympathy for the author, and this allows us to see his errors. Thus the very errors the author commits keep him from achieving his goal, which is to stir our feelings.
i Cécile’s friend Sophie Carnay is at the convent school run by the Ursuline nuns, a teaching order, where both were students.
j A pupil at the same convent [Laclos’s note].
k In grand style (Italian).
l Hatmakers; by extension, seamstresses.
m The portress [doorkeeper] of the convent [Laclos’s note].
o The words roué [a man devoted to a life of sensual pleasure] and rouerie, which are now happily falling into disuse in good society, were much in vogue at the time when these Letters were written [Laclos’s note].
p Wife of the Intendant, or Quartermaster General, a high official in charge of supply.
q To understand this passage, it must be mentioned that the Comte de Gercourt had deserted the Marquise de Merteuil for the Intendante de ---, who had sacrificed for him the Vicomte de Valmont, and it was then that the Marquise and the Vicomte formed an attachment. As this adventure is long anterior to the events which are in question in these Letters, it seemed right to suppress all that correspondence [Laclos’s note].
r That of spousal infidelity.
s Beginning (French); that is, if his wife were not a virgin on their wedding night.
u Weak-seeming; in need of aid.
w La Fontaine [Laclos’s note].
5
x Card game with two sets of partners.
z Triangular scarves fastened to cover low necklines.
aa Took in monetary contributions from parishioners at mass.
ad In the original French, espèce, meaning “a nullity.”
af Dishabille, casual costume (French).
ah One sees here the deplorable taste for puns, which was becoming the fashion, and which has since made so much progress [Laclos’s note].
7
ai Not to abuse the Reader’s patience, many of the letters in this correspondence, from day to day, have been suppressed; only those have been given which have been found necessary for the elucidation of events. For the same reason all the replies of Sophie Carnay and many letters of the other actors in these adventures have been omitted [Laclos’s note].
an The error, into which Madame de Volanges falls, shows us that, like other criminals, Valmont did not betray his accomplices [Laclos’s note].
aq Payment, compensation.
ar Small, usually suburban house; love nest (French).
at An ingenious but very gallant romance by Monsieur de Crébillon fils [translator’s note].
aw This is the same gentleman who is mentioned in the letters of Madame de Merteuil [Laclos’s note].
ax Card game, usually for two players.
az Literally, a hunter (French); here, personal servant.
ba The letter in which this soírée [evening gathering] is spoken of has not been found. There seems reason to believe it is that suggested in the note of Madame de Merteuil, and also mentioned in the preceding letter of Cécile Volanges [Laclos’s note].
bf Literally, the untying (French); in a drama or narrative, the final outcome, where plot entanglements are clarified.
bh Madame de Tourvel then does not dare to say that it was by her order! [Laclos’s note].
bi Trying not to talk about it.
bj Formal speech or poem of praise.
bk Literally, head-to-head (French); all alone.
bm Clever tricks like any woman.
br Clever or witty women (French).
bu Offering box in a church.
bw Up to date; well-informed.
bz We continue to omit the letters of Cécile Volanges and of the Chevalier Danceny, these being of little interest and containing no incidents [Laclos’s note].
ca See Letter the Thirty-Fifth [Laclos’s note].
cc Miniature portraits were often concealed in lockets.
cd Evil (in the ironic sense: Valmont calls the truths told about him “evil”).
ce Piron,
Métromanie [Laclos’s note].
15
cf She is naked, which is logical because of the summer heat, but also immoral.
ch Those who have not had occasion sometimes to feel the value of a word, an expression, consecrated by love will find no meaning in this sentence [Laclos’s note].
ci Former; of another time.
ck Mayor’s; Valmont uses a term derived from a Dutch word.
cl Out of combat; a casualty.
co Willingness to please.
cq That is, a simple anonymous seal; nothing to indicate this is a love letter.
cv This letter has not been recovered [Laclos’s note].
cw The reader must have guessed already, by the conduct of Madame de Merteuil, how little respect she had for religion. This passage would have been suppressed, only it was thought that, while showing results, one ought not to neglect to make the causes known [Laclos’s note].
cy Illusions; chimeras were female monsters of Greek mythology.
da We believe it was Rousseau in
Émile: but the quotation is not exact, and the application which Valmont makes of it entirely false; and then, had Madame de Tourvel read
Émile? [Laclos’s note].
4
db Miss; feel nostalgia for.
dc The original French, bois, also means “horns,” which appear on the head of a man whose wife is unfaithful.
de We have suppressed the letter of Cécile Volanges to the Marquise, as it contained merely the same facts as the preceding letter, but with less detail. That to the Chevalier Danceny has not been recovered: the reason of this will appear in letter the sixty-third, from Madame de Merteuil to the Vicomte [Laclos’s note].
df Gresset:
Le Mechant [Laclos’s note].
6
di M. Danceny does not confess the truth. He had already given his confidence to M. de Valmont before this event. See letter the fifty-seventh [Laclos’s note].
dl This expression refers to a passage in a poem by M. de Voltaire [Laclos’s note].
7
ds Rehash; in this context, a rekindling of an old relationship.
dt Deceives with flattery.
du Racine:
Brítannicus [Laclos’s note].
8
dv Large armoire or cupboard.
dz Mademoiselle de Volanges having shortly afterward changed her confidant, as will appear in the subsequent letters, this collection will include no more of those which she continued to write to her friend at the convent: they would teach the Reader nothing that he did not know [Laclos’s note].
ea High-ranking military officer; commander of a garrison.
ec This letter has not been recovered [Laclos’s note].
ef Costume ball celebrated before Lent.
eg That is, they had lovers in name only.
ei That is, all of the husbands were rarely present.
ej The lovers the three already had.
ek the moment when the lover would visit.
el He pretended to be angry in order to make her angry, and succeeded.
em That is, they challenged Prévan to a duel.
en Physical proof and verbal statement.
ev We are unaware whether this line, “These unthroned tyrants that are now my slaves,” as well as that which occurs above, “Her arms are open still; her heart is shut,” are quotations from little-known works, or part of the prose of Madame de Merteuil. What would lead us to believe the latter is the number of faults of this nature which are found in all the letters of this correspondence. Those of the Chevalier Danceny form the only exception: perhaps, as he sometimes occupied himself with poetry, his more practiced ear rendered it easier for him to avoid this fault [Laclos’s note].
ew Profess to have feelings.
fb It will appear, in letter the hundred and fifty-second, not what M. de Valmont’s secret was, but more or less of what nature it was; and the Reader will see that we have not been able to enlighten him further on the subject [Laclos’s note].
fd And here I was so impatient.
ff Since we can’t have this key.
fg Roster of official competitors.
fh See letter the seventy-fourth [Laclos’s note].
fj Times during the week when she received visitors.
fk A word to the wise is sufficient! (French).
fn First encounter (French).
fp See letter the seventieth [Laclos’s note].
fr Small gate close to or part of a larger one.
ft Private sitting room or dressing room.
fu Some persons may not, perhaps, be aware that a medley (macédoine) is a succession of sundry different games of chance, among which each player has a right to choose when it is his turn to deal. It is one of the inventions of the century [Laclos’s note].
fv Personal male servant.
fw The commanding officer of the regiment to which Prévan belonged [Laclos’s note].
fz Wait too long without reminding her of you.
gc Danceny is ignorant of what this means was; he merely repeats Valmont’s expression [Laclos’s note].
gd Rights that cannot be taken away.
gi Makes through calculation or premeditation rather than true feelings.
gl Voltaire:
Nanine [Laclos’s note].
3
gn Supply or stock (of deceit).
gp A village halfway between Paris and the château of Madame de Rosemonde [Laclos’s note].
gw Ability for your role in life.
gx Since you did me a favor in undertaking it.
hb The aforementioned village, halfway on the road [Laclos’s note].
hc Christian thoughts (French).
hd Church run by the Cistercian monks, an austere monastic order.
hf Pity; be sympathetic toward.
hg La Nouvelle Héloïse [Laclos’s note].
hh La Nouvelle Héloïse [Laclos’s note].
hi Literally, between acts (French), a theatrical term; here, interludes in lovemaking.
hj That is, the arts of lovemaking.
hl “L’amour y pourvoira.” Regnard:
Les Folies amoureuses [Laclos’s note].
6
hn This letter has not been recovered [Laclos’s note].
hp Bragged about seducing.
hq From the comedy,
“On ne s’avise jamais de tout!” [Laclos’s note].
7
hu See letter the hundred and ninth [Laclos’s note].
hw That is, well-trained but not stellar at lovemaking.
ie Letters the hundred and twentieth and hundred and twenty-second [Laclos’s note].
in “Plus je vis d‘étrangers, plus j’aimai ma patrie.” Du Belloi’s tragedy of
Le Siège de Calais [Laclos’s note].
3
io Past legal decisions or opinions.
ip Settlement out of court.
is Costs incurred in a judgment brought against the plaintiff for not being able to establish a case—that is, Belleroche has no case against Merteuil.
iv Ball given early in the season.
iw Letters the forty-sixth and forty-seventh [Laclos’s note].
ja From the scoundrel to the slut.
jd An official newsletter.
jf Marmontel: Conte moral d’Alcibiade [Laclos’s note]. See part IV, endnote 4.
jg Attempts to reason with her.
jl It is because we have discovered nothing in the subsequent correspondence which can solve this doubt that we have decided to suppress M. de Valmont’s letter [Laclos’s note].
jm Mock them with sarcasm.
jn Now that you have torn it from me.
jp Sacrament in which a priest anoints a dying individual and prays for his or her salvation.
jr Legal seals to keep any property from being removed.
js EitherRosemonde or her husband had willed all their property to Valmont, so his death eliminates that decision.
jt Customs; she refers to dueling.
ju This casket contained all the letters relating to her adventure with M. de Valmont [Laclos’s note].
jx Letters the eighty-first and eighty-fifth of this collection [Laclos’s note].
jy It is from this correspondence, from that handed over in the same way on the death of Madame de Tourvel, and from the letters alike confided to Madame de Rosemonde by Madame de Volanges, that the present collection has been formed, the originals of which remain in the hands of Madame de Rosemonde’s heirs [Laclos’s note].
ka Under her obligations as the head of an order of nuns.
kb Candidates for entry into a religious order.
kc Calling; in this case, her desire to be a nun.
kd This letter was left unanswered [Laclos’s note].
ke Violent case of smallpox in which the sores join together.
kf Private reasons and considerations, which we shall ever make it a duty to respect, force us to halt here.