Page:Outlines of European History.djvu/794

 684 Outlines of European History The strenu- ous life of a despotic rule-r the Stuarts, on the contrary, was a very awkward man, whose slouching gait, intolerable manners, and pedantic conversation were utterly at variance with his lofty pretensions. Louis added, moreover, to his graceful exterior a sound judgment and quick apprehension. He said neither too much nor too little. He was, for a king, a hard worker and spent several hours a day attending to the business of government. It requires, in fact, a great deal of energy and application to be a real despot. In order thoroughly to understand and to solve Fig. 235. Facade of the Palace of Versailles the problems which constantly face the ruler of a great state, a monarch must, like Frederick the Great or Napoleon, rise early and toil late. Louis XIV was greatly aided by the able min- isters who sat in his council, but he always retained for himself the place of first minister. He would never have consented to be dominated by an adviser, as his father had been by Richelieu. " The profession of the king," he declared, " is great, noble, and delightful if one but feels equal to performing the duties which it involves," — and he never harbored a doubt that he himself was born for the business.