ON October 1, 1776 Noverre made a point about liberty in his ballet-pantomime Apelles et Campaspe, ou La Générosité d’Alexandre (Paris, Academie Royale de Musique). The plot is about the ancient Greek painter Apelles, who becomes infatuated with Campaspe, one of the favourite mistresses of Alexander the Great, while painting her portrait. Campaspe sits for Apelles, who pictures her variously as the belligerent Pallas, the bucolic Flore, and the enamored Diane who falls in love with Endymion – until he finally decides to paint Campaspe as Venus, the mother of love. Apelles then rushes to the canvas and attempts to paint but he is too aroused to hold his brushes. At one point, the intimacy between the painter and the sitter builds up. Apelles dismisses his attendants, walks towards Campaspe, and lets her know that he loves her. His behaviors touch Campaspe, who promptly falls in love with him, even at the risk of offending Alexander the Great. Here comes Noverre's point: “She prefers liberty to grandeur and … the gift of Apelles's hand will be more valuable to her than Alexander the Great's throne.”

Thus Noverre illustrated the process through which Campaspe seeks out liberty for herself in light of Apelles's action. Cahusac explained this impact in the article “Enthusiasm” of the Encyclopédie (1755). Enthusiasm is a kind of fury (fureur) possessed by a man of genius. During an exquisite performance, superb actors could affect the audience and be affected by their reactions. This reciprocal interaction between actors and their audience was initiated by what Cahusac called “enthusiasm,” as mentioned in Chapter Three. “It is enthusiasm that makes one feel; it augments by degrees. It passes from the soul of the actors to that of the spectators, and note that as the spectators are aroused, the performance of the actors becomes more animated.” Cahusac's idea of enthusiasm explains the love felt by Apelles and Campaspe: a sentiment is deliberately suppressed by Apelles, revealed nonetheless by his basic reflexes, noticed by a keenly observant Campaspe, and felt by her. But Cahusac did not explain why motion is linked to the idea of freedom.