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Thus it was, that in France, as well as in England, toleration was preceded by scepticism; and thus it was, that out of this scepticism there arose the humane and enlightened measures of Henry IV. The great prince, by whom these things were effected, unhappily fell a victim to that fanatical spirit which he had done much to curb but the circumstances which occurred after his death, showed how great an impetus had been given to the age.

On the murder of Henry IV., in 1610, the government fell into the hands of the queen, who administered it during the minority of her son, Louis XIII. And it is a remarkable evidence of the direction which the mind was now taking, that she, though a weak and bigoted woman," refrained from those persecutions which, only one generation before, had been considered a necessary proof of religious sincerity. That, indeed, must have been a movement of no common energy, which could force toleration, early in the seventeenth century, upon a princess of the house of Medici, an ignorant and superstitious Catholic, who had been educated in the midst of her priests, and had been accustomed to look for their applause as the highest object of earthly ambition.

Yet this was what actually occurred. The queen continued the ministers of Henry IV., and announced that in every thing she would follow his example.63 Her first public act was, a declaration, that the Edict of Nantes should be inviolably preserved; for, she says, "experience has taught our predecessors, that violence, so far from inducing men to return to the Catholic church, prevents them from doing so."64 Indeed, so anxious was she Sismondi, vol. xxii. p. 116; Duplessis Mornay, vol. i. p. 389; Sully, Economies, vol. vii. pp. 105, 432, 442.

61 When Ravaillac was examined, he said, "qu'il y avait été excité par l'intérêt de la religion, et par une impulsion irrésistible." Bazin, Hist. de Louis XIII, vol. i. p. 38. This work contains the fullest account I have met with of Ravaillac; of whom there is, moreover, a description in Les Historiettes de Tallemant des Réaux, vol. i. p. 85, Paris, 1840, a very curious book.

62 Le Vassor (Hist. de Louis XIII, vol. i. p. 279) calls her "superstitieuse au dernier point;" and, in vol. v. p. 481, "femme crédule et superstitieuse." See also vol. iii. p. 250, vol. vi. p. 628; and Grégoire, Hist. des Confesseurs, p. 65.

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"Elle annonça qu'elle vouloit suivre en tout l'exemple du feu roi. . . . Le ministère de Henri IV, que la reine continuoit." Sismondi,Hist. des Français, vol. xxii. pp. 206, 210; and see two letters from her, in Duplessis Mornay, Mém. et Corresp. vol. xi. p. 282, vol. xii. p. 428. Sully had feared that the death of Henry IV. would cause a change of policy: "que l'on s'alloit jetter dans des desseins tous contraires aux règles, ordres et maximes du feu roy." Economies Royales, vol. viii. p. 401.

64 See the declaration in Bazin, Hist. de Louis XIII, vol. i. pp. 74, 75; and notices of it in Mém. de Richelieu, vol. i. p. 58; Capefigue's Richelieu, vol. i. p. 27; Benoist, Hist. de l' Edit de Nantes, vol. ii. p. 7; Le Vassor, Hist. de Louis XIII, vol. i. p. 58. But none of these writers, nor Sismondi (vol. xxii. p. 221), appear to be aware that the issuing of this declaration was determined on, in council, as early as the 17th of May; that is, only three days after the death of Henry IV. This is mentioned by Pontchartrain, who was then one of the ministers. See Mém. de Pont

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upon this point, that when Louis, in 1614, attained his nominal majority, the first act of his government was another confirmation of the Edict of Nantes.65 And, in 1615, she caused the king, who still remained under her tutelage, to issue a declaration, by which all preceding measures in favour of the Protestants were publicly confirmed. In the same spirit, she, in 1611, wished to raise to the presidency of parliament the celebrated De Thou; and it was only by making a formal announcement of his heresy, that the pope succeeded in frustrating what he considered an impious design."

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The turn which things were now taking, caused no little alarm to the friends of the hierarchy. The most zealous churchmen loudly censured the policy of the queen; and a great histoian has observed, that when, during the reign of Louis XIII., such alarm was caused in Europe by the active encroachments of the ecclesiastical power, France was the first country that ventured to oppose them. The nuncio openly complained to the queen of her conduct in favouring heretics; and he anxiously desired that those Protestant works should be suppressed, by which the consciences of true believers were greatly scandalized. But these, and similar representations, were no longer listened to with the respect they would formerly have received; and the affairs of the country continued to be administered with those purely temporal views, on which the measures of Henry IV. had been avowedly based."1

Such was now the policy of the government of France; a government which not many years before, had considered it the great

chartrain, edit. Petitot, 1822, vol. i. p. 409; a book little known, but well worthy of being read.

65 Bazin, Hist. de Louis XIII, vol. i. p. 262; Benoist, Hist. de l'Edit de Nantes, vol. ii. p. 140; Mém. de Fontenay Mareuil, vol. i. p. 257; Le Vassor, vol. i. p. 604. 66 Laissant néanmoins l'administration du royaume à la reine sa mère." Mem. de Bassompierre, vol. ii. p. 52. Compare Sully, Economies, vol. ix. p. 177. She possessed complete authority over the king till 1617. See Mémoires de Montglat, vol. i. p. 24: "avoit été tenu fort bas par la reine sa mère." See also Le Vassor, Hist. de Louis XIII, vol. ii. pp. 640, 677, 716, 764.

67 Bazin, Hist. de Louis XIII, vol. i. pp. 381, 382.

6 In 1611, "le pape le rejeta formellement comme hérétique." Bazin, vol. i. p. 174. This is glossed over by Pontchartrain (Mémoires, vol. i. p. 450); but the statement of M. Bazin is confirmed in the preface to De Thou, Histoire Universelle, vol. i. p. xvi.

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Der erste Einhalt den die kirchliche Restauration erfuhr, geschah in Frankriech." Ranke, die Römischen Päpste, vol. iii. p. 160.

70 This desire was expressed several times, but in vain: "Gern hätten die Nuntien Werke wie von Thou und Richer verboten, aber es wahr ihnen nicht möglich." Ranke, die Päpste, vol. iii. p. 181, Anhang. Compare Mém. de Richelieu, vol. ii. p. 68; Mém. de Pontchartrain, vol. i. p. 428.

This decline of the ecclesiastical power is noticed by many writers of the time; but it is sufficient to refer to the very curious remonstrance of the French clergy, in 1605, in De Thou, Hist. Univ. vol. xiv. pp. 446, 447.

duty of a sovereign to punish heretics and extirpate heresy. That this continued improvement was merely the result of the general intellectual development, is evident, not only from its success, but also from the character of the queen-regent and the king. No one who has read the contemporary memoirs, can deny that Mary de Medici and Louis XIII. were as superstitious as any of their predecessors, and it is, therefore, evident, that this disregard of theological prejudices was due, not to their own personal merits, but to the advancing knowledge of the country, and to the pressure of an age which, in the rapidity of its progress, hurried along those who believed themselves to be its rulers.

But these considerations, weighty as they are, will only slightly diminish the merit of that remarkable man, who now appeared on the stage of public affairs. During the last eighteen years of the reign of Louis XIII., France was entirely governed by Richelieu, 72 one of that extremely small class of statesmen to whom it is given to impress their own character on the destiny of their country. This great ruler has, in his knowledge of the political art, probably never been surpassed, except by that prodigy of genius who, in our time, troubled the fortunes of Europe. But, in one important point of view, Richelieu was superior to Napoleon. The life of Napoleon was a constant effort to oppress the liberties of mankind; and his unrivalled capacity exhausted its resources in struggling against the tendencies of a great age. Richelieu, too, was a despot; but his despotism took a nobler turn. He displayed, what Napoleon never possessed, a just appreciation of the spirit of his own time. In one great point, indeed, he failed. His attempts to destroy the power of the French nobility were altogether futile ;73 for, owing to a long course of events, the authority of that insolent class was so deeply rooted in the popular mind, that the labours of another century were required to efface its ancient influence. But, though Richelieu could not diminish the social and moral weight of the French nobles, he curtailed their political privileges; and he chastised

72 As M. Monteil says (Hist. des Français des divers Etats, vol. vii. p. 114), "Richelieu tint le sceptre; Louis XIII porta la couronne." And Campion (Mémoires, p. 37) calls him "plutôt le maitre que le ministre ;" and adds, pp. 218, 219, that he "avoit gouverné dix-huit ans la France avec un pouvoir absolu et une gloire sans pareille." Compare Mem du Cardinal de Retz, vol. i. p. 63.

73 The common opinion, put forth in Alison's Hist. of Europe, vol. i. pp. 101104, and in many other books, is, that Richelieu did destroy their influence; but this error arises from confusing political influence with social influence. What is termed the political power of a class, is merely the symptom and manifestation of its real power; and it is no use to attack the first, unless you can also weaken the second. The real power of the nobles was social, and that neither Richelieu nor Louis XIV. could impair; and it remained intact until the middle of the eighteenth century, when the intellect of France rebelled against it, overthrew it, and finally effected the French Revolution.

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their crimes with a severity which, for a time at least, repressed their former license. So little, however, can even the ablest statesman effect, unless he is seconded by the general temper of the age in which he lives, that these checks, rude as they were, produced no permanent result. After his death, the French nobles, as we shall presently see, quickly rallied; and, in the wars of the Fronde, debased that great struggle into a mere contest of rival families. Nor was it until the close of the eighteenth century, that France was finally relieved from the overweening influence of that powerful class, whose selfishness had long retarded the progress of civilization, by retaining the people in a thraldom, from the remote effects of which they have not yet fully recovered.

Although in this respect Richelieu failed in achieving his designs, he in other matters met with signal success. This was owing to the fact, that his large and comprehensive views harmonized with that sceptical tendency, of which I have just given some account. For this remarkable man, though he was a bishop and a cardinal, never for a moment allowed the claims of his profession to make him forego the superior claims of his country. He knew, what is too often forgotten, that the governor of a people should measure affairs solely by a political standard, and should pay no regard to the pretensions of any sect, or the propagation of any opinions, except in reference to the present and practical welfare of men. The consequence was, that, during his administration, there was seen the marvellous spectacle of supreme authority wielded by a priest, who took no pains to increase the power of the spiritual classes. Indeed, so far from this, he often treated them with what was then considered unexampled rigour. The royal confessors, on account of the importance of their functions, had always been regarded with a certain veneration; they were supposed to be men of unspotted piety; they had hitherto possessed immense influence, and even the most powerful statesmen had thought it advisable to show them the deference due to their exalted position.75 Richelieu,

74 Richelieu appears to have formed the design of humbling the nobles, at least as early as 1624. See a characteristic passage in his Mémoires, vol. ii. p. 340. In Swinburne's Courts of Europe, vol. ii. pp. 63-65, there is a curious traditional anecdote, which, though probably false, shows, at all events, the fear and hatred with which the French nobles regarded the memory of Richelieu more than a century after his death.

75 On their influence, see Grégoire, Histoire des Confesseurs; and compare the remarks of Mr. Grote, a great writer, whose mind is always ready with historical analogies. Grote's Hist. of Greece, vol. vi. p. 393, 2d edit. 1851. Many of the French kings had a strong natural affection for monks; but the most singular instance I have found of this sort of love is mentioned by no less a man than De Thou, respecting Henry III. De Thou (Hist. Univ. vol. x. pp. 666, 667) says of that prince: "Soit tempérament, soit éducation, la présence d'un moine faisait toujours plaisir à Henri ;

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however, was too familiar with the arts of his profession, to feel much respect for these keepers of the consciences of kings. Caussin, the confessor of Louis XIII., had, it seems, followed the example of his predecessors, and endeavoured to instil his own views of policy into the mind of the royal penitent. But Richelieu, so soon as he heard of this, dismissed him from office, and sent him into exile; for, he contemptuously says, "the little father Caussin" should not interfere in matters of government, since he is one of those "who have always been brought up in the innocence of a religious life."" Caussin was succeeded by the celebrated Sirmond; but Richelieu would not allow the new confessor to begin his duties, until he had solemnly promised never to interfere in state affairs.78

On another occasion of much more importance, Richelieu displayed a similar spirit. The French clergy were then possessed of enormous wealth; and as they enjoyed the privilege of taxing themselves, they were careful not to make what they considered unnecessary contributions towards defraying the expenses of the state. They had cheerfully advanced money to carry on war against the Protestants, because they believed it to be their duty to assist in the extirpation of heresy. But they saw no reason why their revenues should be wasted in effecting mere temporal benefits; they considered themselves as the guardians of funds set apart for spiritual purposes, and they thought it impious et je lui ai moi-même souvent entendu dire, que leur vue produisoit le même effet sur son âme, que le chatouillement le plus délicat sur le corps."

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One of his suggestions was, "sur les dangers que couroit le catholicisme en Allemagne, par ses liaisons avec les puissances protestantes." Grégoire, Hist. des Confesseurs, p. 342. The fullest account of Caussin is in Le Vassor, Hist. de Louis XIII, vol. ix. pp. 287-299; to which, however, Grégoire never refers. As I shall have frequent occasion to quote Le Vassor, I may observe, that he is far more accurate than is generally supposed, and that he has been very unfairly treated by the majority of French writers, among whom he is unpopular, on account of his constant attacks on Louis XIV. Sismondi (Hist. des Français, vol. xxii. pp. 188, 189) speaks highly of his Hist. of Louis XIII.; and so far as my own reading extends, I can confirm his favourable opinion.

* "Le petit père Caussin." Mem. de Richelieu, vol. x. p. 206; and at p. 217, he is classed among the "personnes qui avoient toujours été nourries dans l'innocence d'une vie religieuse:" see also p. 215, on his "simplicité et ignorance." Respecting Richelieu's treatment of Caussin, see Mem. de Montglat, vol. i. pp. 173175; Lettres de Patin, vol. i. p. 49; Des Réaux, Historiettes, vol. ii. p. 182.

is Sismondi, Hist. des Français, vol. xxiii. p. 332; Tallemant des Réaux, Historiettes, vol iii. p. 78 note. Le Vassor (Hist. de Louis XIII, vol. x. part ii. p. 761) says, that Sirmond “se soutint à la cour sous le ministère de Richelieu, parce qu'il ne se méloit point des affaires d'état." According to the same writer (vol. viii. p. 156), Richelieu thought at one time of depriving the Jesuits of their post of confessor to the king.

Lavallée, Hist. des Français, vol. iii. p. 87; Le Vassor, Hist. de Louis XIII, vol. iv. p. 208; Bazin, Hist. de Louis XIII, vol. ii. p. 144; Benoist, Hist. de l'Edit de Nantes, vol. ii. pp. 337, 338. Benoist says: "Le clergé de France, ignorant et corrompu, croyoit tout son devoir compris dans l'extirpation des hérétiques; et même il offroit de grandes sommes, à condition qu'on les employât à cette guerre."

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