Louis XIV The Life of the Great King
He was king as soon as he turned five, and he reigned until he reached the age of seventy seven.
He was admired and well liked.
He pushed back the frontiers of France.
He was without mercy with those who opposed him.
The French people crowded in front of Versailles, just to see the king’s masterpiece, forgetting those who saw it with irony.
Those “people” could measure up the interest the Sun King took to his kingdom. And if he went to war, it is only because he wanted to defend “the justice and the honour of the French people”.
Near the end of his life, while fighting a very painful disease alongside his doctors, Louis XIV will gather all his courtiers in his bedroom and with a resolute but weaken voice will say:
“Sirs, it is about time for me go; but the State will always remain.”
For Louis XIV, nothing was better for France than the strength of the State.
Until his death, on Sunday, 1st of September 1715, the king accepted this mission with courage, persuaded that it was God’s will.
Max Gallo
de l’Académie française
