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JEAN FRANÇOIS MILLET race of men of genius with whom, as we shall presently see, his relationship is very close.

Millet himself has informed us clearly of his profound affinity with certain masters of the past. Nothing can be more interesting if we wish to know him than to read his written judgments of the paintings in the galleries of the Louvre.

We have seen already that, when he first stayed in Paris, the Louvre was the only thing which made him able to endure life in a city odious to him. There he found his only friends.

In the Louvre itself, however, his friendships were extremely exclusive. He scornfully repelled the advances of the enticing masters who belonged to the eighteenth century. He treats Boucher almost as severely as Diderot did. Like Diderot he would be ready to call aloud to him: "Leave the Salon! Leave the Salon!" He despises the "pornographic" 143