‘The Story of Prince Ariamène’

‘The Story of Prince Ariamène’ appears in Scudéry’s 1692 Moral Dialogues [Entretiens de morale], where it is read together by a group of friends, who then discuss it. Drawing on a variety of sources, particularly Plutarch and Diogenes Laertius, ‘The Story of Prince Ariamène’ is a historical fiction set in ancient Persia during the reign of Darius the Great, centred on the succession of his two sons, Ariamène and Xerxes. Democritus is a guest at Darius’s court. In this story, the women of the court ask Democritus many questions about his atomist philosophy; Scudéry establishes atomism as at once dangerous and libertine for its espousal of chance in creation (echoing ‘On Uncertainty’) and makes Democritus a model philosopher, in that he also knows how to talk to women and non-philosophers. One of the women of the court, Amestris, asks Democritus to write her a treatise on butterflies, which is presented alongside poems about butterflies, by a different courtier, that prompt a short poetic exchange. Despite his popularity, Democritus is eventually encouraged to leave the court as Darius is afraid his ideas might prove too dangerous.