Les Bains de Bade: Petit Roman d'aventures Galantes et morales

In this lively epistolary sketch, a seasoned Florentine cleric writes to a wealthy friend, recounting a brief, sun‑lit interlude spent at the famed waters of Baden after the turmoil of the Council of Constance. The letter opens with a playful warning: the narrator’s reputation for daring wit precedes him, and his observations here aim to charm rather than condemn.

The baths themselves are painted as a bustling chorus of lovers, courtiers, and carefree youths, all drawn together by a shared hunger for sensation and delight. Separated by latticed walls, patrons exchange whispered compliments, toss silver coins, and crown the frolicking maidens who glide through the water in sheer linens. Through witty, almost satirical commentary, the narrator hints at a larger moral undercurrent, suggesting that nature’s own lessons in love may rival any theological treatise—yet he leaves the deeper consequences for a later, quieter contemplation.