Page:Outlines of European History.djvu/793

 France jLude}' Louis .XIV 683 and wise, his subjects should thank the Lord ; if he proved foolish, cruel, or perverse, they must accept their evil ruler as a punishment which God had sent them for their sins. But in no case might they limit his power or rise against him.^ Louis XIV had two great advantages over James L In the Different first place, the English nation has always shown itself far more the English reluctant than France to place absolute power in the hands of its nafjons^"^'^ rulers. By its Parliament, its courts, and its various declarations toward absolute of the nation's rights, it had built up traditions which made it monaichy impossible for the Stuarts to establish their claim to be absolute rulers. In France, on the other hand, there was no Great Charter or Bill of Rights ; the Estates General did not hold the purse strings, and the king was permitted to raise money without asking their permission or previously redressing the grievances which they chose to point out. They were therefore only sum- moned at irregular intervals. When Louis XIV took charge of the government, forty-seven years had passed without a meet- ing of the Estates General, and a century and a quarter was still to elapse before another call to the representatives of the nation was issued in 1789. Moreover, the French people placed far more reliance upon a powerful king than the English, perhaps because they were not protected by the sea from their neighbors, as England was. On every side France had enemies ready to take advantage of any weakness or hesitation which might arise from dissension between a parliament and the king. So the French felt it best, on the whole, to leave all in the king's hands, even if they suffered at times from his tyranny. Louis had another great advantage over James. He was a Personal handsome man, of elegant and courtly mien and the most ex- jstics of quisite -perfection of manner ; even when playing billiards he is said to have retained an air of world mastery. The first of 1 Louis XIV does not appear to have himself used the famous expression " /am the State,^^ usually attributed to him, but it exactly corresponds to his idea of the relation of the king and the State.