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LA ROCHEFOUCAULD

Memoirs

Francois, Duc de la Rochefoucauld, was born in Paris on September 15, 1613.  Sprung from one of the noblest families of France, handsome, winning, and brave to recklessness, he intrigued and fought against Richelieu and Mazarin, and was one of the leaders in the civil war of La Fronde.  But though marked by birth and talent for a high position in the state, he failed in nearly everything he undertook, owing to his extraordinary indolence of mind, and in the prime of his life he became a rather embittered spectator of a world in which he was not able to make his way.  The “Memoirs,” with their studied tone of historical coldness, present a striking contrast to the brilliant vivacity of the “Maxims.”  This, in all probability, is due to the fact that while the latter were frequently added to and edited during their author’s lifetime, no such fate befell the “Memoirs,” of which the first edition, published without La Rochefoucauld’s authority, appeared in 1662.  Barely a third of them could be attributed to their reputed author, the work being compiled mainly from various commonplace books.  In spite of La Rochefoucauld’s protests, the pirated “Memoirs” continued to be printed, and it was not until very many years after his death, in 1817, that an authentic edition made its appearance.  The “Memoirs” are of great literary value, yielding in interest to no memoirs of the time.  La Rochefoucauld died in Paris on March 17, 1680.

Court Intrigues

King Louis XIII. was of feeble constitution, further impaired by over-exertion in hunting.  His temperament was severe and solitary; he wished to be governed, but was sometimes impatient of government.  His mind took note only of details, and his knowledge of war was fit rather for a subordinate officer than for a king.  Cardinal Richelieu, who owed all his elevation to the queen-mother, Marie de Medicis, was ruler of the state.  His vast and penetrating mind formed projects as bold as he was personally timid.  His policy was to establish the king’s authority and his own, by the ruin of the Huguenots and of the great houses of the kingdom, and then to attack the house of Austria, a power most redoubtable to France.  He stuck at nothing, either to advance his satellites or to destroy his enemies.  The passion which he had long cherished for the queen had changed to dislike, and she had an aversion for Richelieu.  The king was embittered against her by jealousy and by the sterility of their marriage.  The queen was an amiable woman, without falsity of any kind, and with many virtues; her intimate friend was Madame de Chevreuse, who was of her own age and of kindred sentiments.