7
CURIOSITY IS A VIRTUE
FERRAND, FRANCE – FEBRUARY 1717
Curiosity is a powerful force which leads to knowledge, and, consequently, to wisdom.
Francis de Brangelton to Batiste de Brangelton – 1688
Marguerite's latest letter was comprised of the usual complaints about Antoine - he traveled as far as he could contrive, and she suspected that he did so on purpose. “I asked my prodigal son - thrice - when he was planning to recall that he had a home? I received the obligatory brief sentences of assurance that he thought about me often, but he neglected to mention if he intended to allow me to embrace him any time this century,” Marguerite wrote. “If you happen to encounter my beloved son, will you please truss him and deliver him to Lyon?” The second part of the letter was less acerbic, al
