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 SULLY, MAXIMILIEN DE BÉTHUNE,  (1560–1641), French statesman, was born at the château of Rosny near Mantes, on the 13th of December 1560, of a noble family of Flemish descent. His father, François de Béthune, baron de Rosny, (1532–1575), was the son of Jean de Béthune, to whom in 1529 his wife Anne de Melun brought as part of her dowry a seigneurie at Rosny-sur-Seine, which later (1601) was made a marquisate. Brought up in the Reformed faith, Maximilien was presented to Henry of Navarre in 1571 and was thenceforth attached to the future king of France. The young baron de Rosny was taken to Paris by his patron and was studying at the college of Bourgogne at the time of the massacre of St Bartholomew’s Day, from which he escaped by discreetly carrying a book of hours under his arm. He then studied mathematics and history at the court of Henry of Navarre, and on the outbreak of civil war in 1575 he enlisted in the Protestant army. In 1576 he accompanied the duke of Anjou on an expedition into the Netherlands in order to regain the former Rosny estates, but being unsuccessful he attached himself for a time to the prince of Orange. Later rejoining Henry of Navarre in Guienne, he displayed bravery in the field and particular ability as an engineer. In 1583 he was Henry’s special agent in Paris. In 1584 he married Anne de Courtenay, a wealthy heiress, who died, however, in 1589. On the renewal of civil war Rosny again joined Henry of Navarre, and at the battle of Ivry (1590) was seriously wounded. He counselled Henry IV.’s conversion to Roman Catholicism, but steadfastly refused himself to become a Roman Catholic. As soon as Henry’s power was established, the faithful and trusted Rosny received his reward in the shape of numerous estates and dignities. On the death of D’O, the superintendent of finances, in 1594, the king had appointed a finance commission of nine members, to which he added Rosny in 1596. The latter at once made a tour of inspection through the generalities, and introduced some order into the country’s affairs. He was probably made sole superintendent of finances in 1598, although this title does not appear in official documents until the close of 1601. He authorized the free exportation of grain and wine, reduced legal interest from 8 to 6%, established a special court for the trial of cases of peculation, forbade provincial governors to raise money on their own authority, and otherwise removed many abuses of tax-collecting, abolished several offices, and by his honest, rigorous conduct of the country’s finances was able to save between 1600 and 1610 an average of a million livres a year. His achievements were by no means solely financial. In 1599 he was appointed grand commissioner of highways and public works, superintendent of fortifications and grand master of artillery; in 1602 governor of Mantes and of Jargeau, captain-general of the queen’s gens d’armes and governor of the Bastille; in 1604 governor of Poitou; and in 1606 duke and peer of Sully, ranking next to princes of the blood. He declined the office of constable because he would not become a Roman Catholic. Sully encouraged agriculture, urged the free circulation of produce, promoted stock-raising, forbade the destruction of the forests, drained swamps, built roads and bridges, planned a vast system of canals and actually began the canal of Briare. He strengthened the French military establishment; under his direction Évrard began the construction of a great line of defences on the frontiers. Sully opposed the king’s colonial policy as inconsistent with the French genius, and likewise showed little favour to industrial pursuits, although on the urgent solicitation of the king he established a few silk factories. He fought in company with Henry IV. in Savoy (1600–1601) and negotiated the treaty of peace in 1602; in 1603 he represented Henry at the court of James I. of England; and throughout the reign he helped the king to put down insurrections of the nobles, whether Roman Catholic or Protestant. It was Sully, too, who arranged the marriage between Henry IV. and Marie de Médicis.

The political rôle of Sully practically ended with the assassination of Henry IV. on the 14th of May 1610. Although a member of the council of regency, his colleagues were not disposed to brook his domineering leadership, and after a stormy

debate he resigned as superintendent of finances on the 26th of January 1611, and retired to private life. The queen-mother gave him 300,000 livres for his services and confirmed him in possession of his estates. He attended the estates-general in 1614, and on the whole was in sympathy with the policy and government of Richelieu. He disavowed the plots at La Rochelle, in 1621, but in the following year was arrested at Moulins, though soon released. The baton of marshal of France was conferred on him on the 18th of September 1634. The last years of his life were spent chiefly at Villebon, Rosny and Sully. He died at Villebon, on the 22nd of December 1641. By his first wife Sully had one son, Maximilien, marquis de Rosny (1587–1634), who led a life of dissipation and debauchery. By his second wife, Rachel de Cochefilet, widow of the lord of Châteaupers, whom he married in 1592 and who turned Protestant to please him, he had nine children, of whom six died young, and one daughter married in 1605 Henri de Rohan.

Sully was not popular. He was hated by most Roman Catholics because he was a Protestant, by most Protestants because he was faithful to the king, and by all because he was a favourite, and selfish, obstinate and rude. He amassed a large personal fortune, and his jealousy of all other ministers and favourites was extravagant. Nevertheless he was an excellent man of business, inexorable in punishing malversation and dishonesty on the part of others, and opposed to the ruinous court expenditure which was the bane of almost all European monarchies in his day. He was gifted with executive ability, with confidence and resolution, with fondness for work, and above all with deep devotion to his master. He was implicitly trusted by Henry IV. and proved himself the most able assistant of the king in dispelling the chaos into which the religious and civil wars had plunged France. To Sully, next to Henry IV., belongs the credit for the happy transformation in France between 1598 and 1610 by which agriculture and commerce were benefited and foreign peace and internal order were maintained.

SULLY, THOMAS (1783–1872), American artist, was born at Horncastle, England, on the 8th of June 1783. His parents, who were actors, took him to America when he was nine years old, settling at Charleston, South Carolina, and he was first instructed in art by a French miniature painter. Afterwards he was a