632 
Imperial library, I reqvefted the perufal 
of them from the Conlervators; on read- 
ing, I became imprelfed with the defire of 
communicating their contents to the pub- 
lic, and IT now fa athfully tranfmit them 
without permitting myfelf to carreét the 
_ Mighte& errors, or fill up any of the- 
chafnis. 
#6 J will not bere allow my felf to make 
any refic&ion, either relative to Louis 
XIV. or his Memoirs. -I think that it 
bereaves the writings of celebrated men 
of much of their charms, by giving a pa- 
raphrafe under pretext of an explanation. 
At would be no fimall degree of temerity. 
on the part of a man of ‘Tetters, however 
fkilful he might be confidered, to canfti- 
tute himfelf either the judge or the advo- 
cate of Louis-XiV. Monteiquieu, Boling- 
broke, and Voltaire, do not at all agree ia 
the portrait which they have fketched of 
that monarch; but on this occafion they 
have only made ule of theirrights as hif- 
torians. An editor, on the contrary, at 
leaft fuch 1s my opinicn,-ought not to 
preface a book which he prefents to the 
public with an account of his own opi- 
nions. I have accordingly been deter- 
mined, alike by an idea of my own infuf- 
ficiency, as well as by fentiments of pro- 
pricty and refpeét, to avoid this error.” 
Having thus detailed the particulars 
contained in the preface, we fhafl now give 
a brief analyfis of the work. itlelf, doi 
lowing the order adopted in the two vo- 
lumes, or rather two parts, into which it 
has been divided. 
I. Fracments. A. D. 1661. 
The King, in his Memoirs addreffed to 
his fon, begins by obferving that befcre 
he undertook the management of public 
affairs, he determined carefully to feleét 
the proper inftraments, and employ {uch 
as -were moft capable of aififting him 
in his Jabours.  ** I was refolved,” faid 
he, ‘not tohave a prime minifter, orto 
allow any other to perform the functions 
of a monarch, while I myfelf merely re- 
taived the tithe. On the contrary, I 
wifhed to divide the tafk of executing my 
orders among feveral per! fons, that I 
might re-unite e all the authority in myfelf 
alone. Itwas on this account that I re- 
folved to felect men of €ifferent pro- 
feffions and different talents, according to 
the diverfity of bufinefs which uiually oc- 
curred in the adminiftration. ef ftate-af- 
fairs; and I diftributed among them my 
time and my confidence, in proportion to 
the knowledge which I poffefled of their 
Virtue, or the importance ef the depart- 
ment which I committed to their care. 
-parliament at thirty-five. 
Retrofpedt of Febich Literature. —Mifcellanis ee 
‘¢ From that moment I eftablifhed it 8 
a rule to labour twice'a day, in ex pediting 
the ordinary buifinefs ; leaving Jufficient 
time, however, to apply myfelf to any 
thing cf an extraordinary nature that 
might occaficnal ly intervene. Thole 
whom T mof frequentiy recurred to ia 
matters of religion, were my confeffor*, 
the Archbifhop of Tholovte+ » and ‘i. 
Bifhops of Rennest and | Rodez§. 
‘When I had:any affairs relative to 
the adminiftration of juice to regulate, I 
communicated them to the chancellor. 
For the ordinary difpatches concerning the 
interior of the kingdom, and for the pe- 
titions (which I then received in great 
numbers, on account of the diforder into 
which every thing had been thrown), I 
gave to the fecretaries of ftate two days 
in the week. 
«¢ But thofe who at that time could 
ferve me beft, in refpedt to the moft im- 
portant interefts of the nation, 2s well as 
fecret affairs, which required more time 
than ail the reft put together, were Le- 
tellier, Fougtet, and Lionne. 
As for Letellier|], befides that Cardinal 
Mazarin had often informed me that he 
was © a manof great difcretion, I myfelf 
was aware of his abilities; and I alf 
knew that the office of fecretary, wh‘ca 
he had exercifed during the fpace of more 
than twenty years, had enabled him to 
obtain an extenfive knowledge in ftate-af- 
fairs, This fame Cardinal Mazarin had 
alfo mentioned Lionneg] in en advantages 
ous manner, and I mylelf knew that none 
of my fubjects had beenemployed fo often 
in foreign negociations:. 
MS AS tor “Fouguet**, it may appear 
* Father Annet, a jefuit, born at Rodez, 
in 1590, nominated confeffor to the king in 
1654. He retained that office until dic: 
+ Peter de Marca, 
t Lamothe Haduancourt. 
§ Hardouin de Péréfixe: 
Majefty’s preceptor. 
{| Michael Letellier, fon of a counfellor 
he had been his 
of the court of Aides, born at Parisin 1603. © 
He continued as minifter until’ 1666, when 
he ceded that office to his fon, the Marquis 
de Louvois, who had the reverfion cf it. 
€ Hugues, Marquis de Lionne, of an ane 
cient houfe in the province of-Dauphiny, re- 
tained the department of foreign affairs, — 
1670, 
** Nicholas Fotquet, Marquis de Bel- 
leifle, fon of a counfeller of ftate, was born 
in 16153; he became mafter of requetts at 
twenty-five, and attorney- ~general to the 
The place of fue 
perintendant of the finances was conferred on 
him, in 1653. fnzulag 
ingula 
° 
me 
t 
fi 
ie 
