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SELECTIONS FROM SAINT-SIMON
SELECTIONS FROM SAINT-SIMON
EDITED BY ARTHUR TILLEY, M.A. FELLOW AND LECTURER OF KING’S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE CAMBRIDGE AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS 1920 It is not every lover of French literature who has the leisure or the courage to read the whole of Saint-Simon’s Mémoires , the text of which fills eighteen and a half volumes of the edition of MM. Chéruel and Ad. Régnier fils . Nor is it all of equal interest. I thought, therefore, that a selection might prove acceptable to the busy or faint-hearted reader, and perhaps even whet
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PREFACE
PREFACE
What wonder if the Roi-Soleil, surrounded by so many adoring satellites, came almost to believe in his own divinity? In this worship of the King Saint-Simon was very far from taking part, but on the other hand he entered with zest into all the futilities of precedence and etiquette which formed the most serious business of the Court. The right to wear one’s hat, or, in the case of a woman, to be seated in the royal presence (called le droit du tabouret ), the right to be kissed by royalty, the r
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WORKS OF SAINT-SIMON
WORKS OF SAINT-SIMON
Mémoires , ed. A. Chéruel, 20 vols. 1856-1858; ed. A. Chéruel and Ad. Régnier fils , 22 vols. 1873-1881; ed. A. de Boislisle, 1879-1919, vols. I.-XXX. —vol. XXIX. consists of an index to all the preceding volumes ( Grands Écrivains de la France ). Écrits inédits , ed. P. Faugère, 8 vols. 1880-1893. A selection from the Mémoires has been made by C. de Lanneau under the title of Scènes et portraits , 2 vols. 1876; 1914. There is another, under the title of La Cour de Louis XIV , in the Collection
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL STUDIES
BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL STUDIES
A. Chéruel, Saint-Simon considéré comme historien de Louis XIV , 1865; Notice sur la vie et les mémoires du Duc de Saint-Simon , 1876. Sainte-Beuve, Causeries du Lundi , III (slight) and XV; Nouveaux Lundis , X. Taine, Essais de critique et d’histoire . G. Boissier, Saint-Simon , 1892 ( Les grands écrivains français ). É. Faguet, Dix-septième siècle . A. Le Breton, La “Comédie Humaine” de Saint-Simon , 1914. C. W. Collins, Saint-Simon , Edinburgh, 1880. E. Cannan, The Duke of Saint-Simon , Oxfor
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I LOUIS XIV[14]
I LOUIS XIV[14]
Saint-Simon ’s account of Mme de Maintenon ( XII. cc. vi-viii) is strongly coloured by prejudice, but this hardly at all affects that part of it which relates to her daily life and habits. To arrive at a fair estimate we should study her in her correspondence, of which there is an excellent selection by A. Geffroy, Mme de Maintenon d’après sa correspondance , 2 vols. 1887. See especially II. 43-52 for her entretien with Mme Glapion in 1705, in which she gives a detailed account of her daily roun
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II MADAME DE MAINTENON[73]
II MADAME DE MAINTENON[73]
A Fontainebleau, elle avoit une maison à la ville, où elle alloit souvent pour y faire les mêmes choses qu’à Saint-Cyr. A Marly, elle s’étoit fait accommoder un petit appartement qui avoit une fenêtre dans la chapelle. Elle en faisoit souvent le même usage que de Saint-Cyr; mais cela s’appeloit le Repos, et ce Repos étoit inaccessible, sans exception que de Mme la duchesse de Bourgogne. A Marly, à Trianon, à Fontainebleau, le Roi alloit chez elle les matins des jours qu’il n’y avoit point de con
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III THE DAILY LIFE OF LOUIS XIV[106]
III THE DAILY LIFE OF LOUIS XIV[106]
Après avoir exposé avec la vérité et la fidélité la plus exacte tout ce qui est venu à ma connoissance par moi-même, ou par ceux qui ont vu ou manié les choses et les affaires pendant les vingt-deux dernières années [107] de Louis XIV, et l’avoir montré tel qu’il a été, sans aucune passion, quoique je me sois permis les raisonnements résultant naturellement des choses, il ne me reste plus qu’à exposer l’écorce extérieure de la vie de ce monarque, depuis que j’ai continuellement habité à sa cour.
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IV MADAME AND MME DE MAINTENON[128]
IV MADAME AND MME DE MAINTENON[128]
Le samedi 11 juin, la cour retourna à Versailles, où en arrivant le Roi alla voir Madame, M. et Mme de Chartres, chacun dans leur appartement; elle, fort en peine de la situation où elle se trouvoit avec le Roi, dans une occasion où il y alloit du tout pour elle, et avoit engagé la duchesse de Ventadour de voir Mme de Maintenon. Elle le fit: Mme de Maintenon ne s’expliqua qu’en général, et dit seulement qu’elle iroit chez Madame au sortir de son dîner, et voulut que Mme de Ventadour [129] se tro
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V THE REVIEW AT COMPIÈGNE[133]
V THE REVIEW AT COMPIÈGNE[133]
Le jeudi 28 août, la cour partit pour Compiègne; le Roi passa à Saint-Cloud, coucha à Chantilly, y demeura un jour, et arriva le samedi à Compiègne. Le quartier général étoit au village de Condun, où le maréchal de Boufflers [143] avoit des maisons outre ses tentes. Le Roi y mena Mgr le duc de Bourgogne et Mme la duchesse de Bourgogne, etc., qui y firent une collation magnifique, et qui y virent les ordonnances dont j’ai parlé ci-dessus avec tant de surprise, qu’au retour à Compiègne, le Roi dit
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VI THE DEATH OF MONSEIGNEUR[153]
VI THE DEATH OF MONSEIGNEUR[153]
Achille de Harlay (1639-1712), a great-nephew of the celebrated magistrate of the same name who was Chancellor to Henri III, was appointed First President of the Paris Parlement in 1689. Saint-Simon was violently prejudiced against him on account of the partiality which he believed him to have shewn to the Duc de Luxembourg in his case against his fellow ducs et pairs (see Introduction). He returns to the charge in vol. V. with an even more furious attack, and a report of some of his malicious s
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1. ACHILLE DE HARLAY
1. ACHILLE DE HARLAY
Harlay étoit fils d’un autre procureur général du Parlement et d’une Bellièvre, duquel le grand-père fut ce fameux Achille d’Harlay, premier président du Parlement après ce célèbre Christophle de Thou, son beau-père, lequel étoit père de ce fameux historien. Issu de ces grands magistrats, Harlay en eut toute la gravité, qu’il outra en cynique, en affecta le désintéressement et la modestie, qu’il déshonora l’une par sa conduite, l’autre par un orgueil raffiné, mais extrême, et qui, malgré lui, sa
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3. LE NOSTRE
3. LE NOSTRE
André le Nostre (1613-1700) attracted the notice of Louis XIV by his great work at Vaux-le-Vicomte, the princely residence of Fouquet. Among the famous gardens designed by him were Versailles, the Tuileries, Trianon, the terrace of Saint-Germain, Saint-Cloud, and Chantilly. Dr Martin Lister visited him in 1698 and found him "quick and lively [195] ." Le Nostre mourut presque en même temps, après avoir vécu quatre-vingt-huit ans dans une santé parfaite, sa tête et toute la justesse et le bon goût
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4. VENDÔME
4. VENDÔME
Louis-Joseph , Duc de Vendôme (1654-1712), was the grandson of César, Duc de Vendôme, the son of Henri IV and Gabrielle d’Estrées. Having distinguished himself at Steinkirk and in Piedmont, he was given the command of the army of Catalonia (1695) and the capture of Barcelona by his troops was an important factor in bringing about the peace of Ryswick (1697). In the war of the Spanish Succession he was less successful, but on being sent as general to Spain in 1710 he restored the fallen fortunes
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5. VAUBAN
5. VAUBAN
Sébastien Le Prestre , Seigneur de Vauban (1633-1707), was rewarded in 1703 with a marshal’s bâton for his great services as a military engineer. He was equally skilled in the art of fortifying towns and in that of besieging them. Vauban s’appeloit le Prestre, petit gentilhomme de Bourgogne tout au plus, mais peut-être le plus honnête homme et le plus vertueux de son siècle, et avec la plus grande réputation du plus savant homme dans l’art des sièges et de la fortification, le plus simple, le pl
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6. D’ANTIN
6. D’ANTIN
Louis-Antoine de Pardaillan de Gondrin , Marquis and afterwards Duc d’ Antin (1665-1736), was the son of M. and Mme de Montespan. He was the type of a perfect courtier, but it was not till 1707, after paying court assiduously for twenty-five years, that he succeeded in winning the favour of Louis XIV who conferred on him the governorship of Orleans. “Me voilà dégelé!” On the death of J.-H. Mansard he became Superintendent of the royal buildings. See XII. 239, and Sainte-Beuve, Caus. du Lundi , V
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7. LE PRINCE DE CONTI
7. LE PRINCE DE CONTI
François-Louis de Bourbon (1664-1709), younger son of Armand, Prince de Conti, and nephew of the great Condé, inherited his father’s title on the death of his elder brother in 1685. He fought with distinction at Fleurus, Steinkirk, and Neerwinden. In 1697 he was elected King of Poland, but, being unable to maintain himself against his rival the Elector of Saxony, he renounced his claim and returned to France. Louis XIV, who was jealous of his brilliance and capacity, regarded him with disfavour,
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8. LE DUC ET LA DUCHESSE DE BOURGOGNE
8. LE DUC ET LA DUCHESSE DE BOURGOGNE
Marie-Adelaïde of Savoy, grand-daughter of Monsieur and Henrietta of England, came to France in 1696 shortly before her eleventh birthday, and was married to the Duc de Bourgogne a year later. She died of measles on February 12, 1712. There is a good bust of her by Coysevox at Versailles. Jamais princesse arrivée si jeune ne vint si bien instruite, et ne sut mieux profiter des instructions qu’elle avoit reçues. Son habile père qui connoissoit à fond notre cour, la lui avoit peinte, et lui avoit
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9. CARDINAL D’ESTRÉES
9. CARDINAL D’ESTRÉES
César , Cardinal d’ Estrées (1627-1717), was the third son of François-Annibal Maréchal-Duc d’Estrées, a distinguished soldier and diplomatist, who died in 1670 at the age of ninety-seven, and nephew of the celebrated Gabrielle d’Estrées. His brother, Jean, who lived to be eighty-three, and his nephew, Victor-Marie, who died at seventy-seven, were both Marshals of France. The Cardinal, though he never published a line, was elected to the Académie française at the age of twenty-eight. Le cardinal
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10. BEAUVILLIER
10. BEAUVILLIER
Paul , Duc de Beauvillier (1648-1714), who filled the offices of Governor of the Duc de Bourgogne, Chef du conseil des finances, and Minister of State, was regarded by Saint-Simon with deep and reverent affection. He and the Duc de Chevreuse had married daughters of Colbert, and the close friendship of the two brothers-in-law and their families is frequently referred to in Saint-Simon’s memoirs. The well-known intimacy between both Dukes and Fénelon is charmingly expressed in the latter’s corres
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11. FÉNELON
11. FÉNELON
François de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon was born in his ancestral château of Périgord in 1651. He was appointed tutor to the Duc de Bourgogne in 1689 and Archbishop of Cambrai in 1695. In the following year his championship of Mme Guyon and the doctrine of Quietism brought him into disgrace with Louis XIV, and his residence at Cambrai became virtually an exile. He administered his see with the dignity of a grand seigneur , the capacity of a man of affairs, and the piety of a true Christian. His
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12. VILLEROY
12. VILLEROY
François de Neufville , Maréchal-Duc de Villeroy (1644-1730), was great-grandson of Nicolas de Neufville, Seigneur de Villeroy, minister to Henry III and Henry IV, grandson of the first Marquis de Villeroy, and son of the Maréchal-Duc de Villeroy, governor of Louis XIV. He was brought up with the king, who in consequence always regarded him with favour. “Prince Charming” in society, he served with distinction in the earlier wars of the reign. But as a Commander-in-chief he was a failure, and his
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13. LE DUC D’ORLÉANS
13. LE DUC D’ORLÉANS
Philippe, Duc d’Orléans (1674-1723), Regent of France after the death of Louis XIV, was the only son of Monsieur, the brother of Louis XIV, by his second wife, Charlotte Elizabeth, daughter of the Elector Palatine. Till his father’s death in 1701 he was called the Duc de Chartres. M. le duc d’Orléans étoit de taille médiocre au plus, fort plein, sans être gros, l’air et le port aisé et fort noble, le visage large, agréable, fort haut en couleur, le poil noir et la perruque de même. Quoique il eû
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VIII THE ABBÉ DUBOIS AND THE SEE OF CAMBRAI[260]
VIII THE ABBÉ DUBOIS AND THE SEE OF CAMBRAI[260]
Ce propos, vivement prononcé et encore plus librement et plus énergiquement étendu, fut écouté d’un bout à l’autre. Je fus surpris qu’il me dit que j’avois raison, que je lui ouvrais les yeux, plus encore qu’il m’embrassa, me dit que je lui parlois en véritable ami, et qu’il me donnoit sa parole et me la tiendrait de n’y point aller. Nous nous séparâmes là-dessus, moi le confirmant encore, lui promettant de nouveau que j’irois, et lui me remerciant de cet effort. Il n’eut nulle impatience, nulle
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1. The Councils.
1. The Councils.
In the reign of Louis XIV there were four chief councils, the Conseil d’État known unofficially as the Conseil d’en haut , the Conseil des dépêches , the Conseil des finances , and the Conseil des parties . Of these the Conseil d’État was by far the most important. It consisted of not less than four and not more than five members, nominated by the King at his pleasure without any formality. They were chosen from the Secretaries of State, the Controller-General and the Chef du Conseil des finance
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2. The Secretaries of State.
2. The Secretaries of State.
The four Secretaries of State divided between them the administration of the Provinces. In addition each had his special department. These were four—Foreign Affairs, War, the King’s Household and the Navy, and the Protestants ( La Religion prétendue réformée ), of which the last became less and less important....
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APPENDIX B From Vauban’s Projet d’une dîme royale.
APPENDIX B From Vauban’s Projet d’une dîme royale.
Par toutes les recherches que j’ai pu faire, depuis plusieurs années que je m’y applique, j’ai fort bien remarqué que dans ces derniers temps, près de la dixième partie du peuple est réduite à la mendicité, et mendie effectivement; que des neuf autres parties, il y en a cinq qui ne sont pas en état de faire l’aumône à celle-là, parce qu’eux-mêmes sont réduits, à très-peu de chose près, à cette malheureuse condition; que des quatre autres parties qui restent, les trois sont fort malaisées, et emb
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