It must be borne in mind that Louis XIV. had an intuitive perception of genius and talent, which he was proud to reward and anxious to appropriate.  Although his own education had been neglected, he had a severe taste and a disgust of all vulgarity, so that his manners were decorous and dignified in the midst of demoralizing pleasures.  Proud, both from adulation and native disposition, he yet was polite and affable.  He never passed a woman without lifting his hat, and he uniformly rose when a lady entered into his presence.  But, with all his politeness, he never unbent, even in the society of his most intimate friends, so jealous was he of his dignity and power.  Unscrupulous in his public transactions, and immoral in his private relations with women, he had a great respect for the ordinances of religion, and was punctilious in the outward observances of the Catholic Church.  The age itself was religious; and so was he, in a technical and pharisaical piety and petty ritualistic duties.  He was a bigot and a persecutor, which fact endeared him to the Jesuits, by whom, in matters of conscience, he was ruled, so that he became their tool even while he thought he controlled everything.  He was as jealous of his power as he was of his dignity, and he learned to govern himself as well as his subjects.  He would himself submit to the most rigid formalities in order to exact a rigorous discipline and secure unconditional obedience from others.  No one ever dared openly to thwart his will or oppose his wishes, although he could be led through his passions and his vanity:  he was imperious in his commands, and exacting in the services he demanded from all who surrounded his person.  He had perfect health, a strong physique, great aptitude for business, and great regularity in his habits.  It was difficult to deceive him, for he understood human nature, and thus was able to select men of merit and talent for all high offices in State and Church.

In one sense Louis XIV. seems to have been even patriotic, since he identified his own glory with that of the nation, having learned something from Richelieu, whose policy he followed.  Hence he was supported by the people, if he was not loved, because he was ambitious of making France the most powerful nation in Christendom.  The love of glory ever has been one of the characteristics of the French nation, and this passion the king impersonated, which made him dear to the nation, as Napoleon was before he became intoxicated by power; and hence Louis had the power of rallying his subjects in great misfortunes.  They forgave extravagance in palace-building, from admiration of magnificence.  They were proud of a despot who called out the praises of the world.  They saw in his parks, his gardens, his marble halls, his tapestries, his pictures, and his statues a glory which belonged to France as well as to him.  They marched joyfully in his armies, whatever their sacrifices, for he was only leading them to glory,—­an