François of Rochefoucauld

Beginning in the life and military career

As of its birth, it carried the title of prince de Marcillac as a heir to the duke of Rochefoulcauld. Like all the elder ones of the House of Rochefoucauld, it carried the first name of François. That had been worth with François I {{er}} its first name, its godfather being François of Rochefoucauld. Its studies were neglected a little since it joined the army whereas it is sixteen years old and almost immediately starts to be made a name in the public life. It had been married nominally during a year with Andrée de Vivonne, who seems to have been an affectionate wife, before a scandal touches it, which Rochefoucauld probably did not deserve. During a few years, Marcillac continued to take part in the annual military campaigns, where it showed a great courage, but without obtaining credit for its military capacities. Then it passed in the entourage of Marie de Rohan, the first of the three famous women who influenced successively her life.

By the means of Marie de Rohan, it became attached to the queen, Anne of Austria, and in one of its quarrels with Richelieu and her husband a plan seems to be formed whereby Marcillac was to take it along to Brussels under a disguise. These cabals against Richelieu, however, did not have any serious result (it was put during eight days at the Bastille and had to be withdrawn on the field of his father). In 1642, after the death of Richelieu, the occasion seems to be favorable for the vague ambition which animated half of the nobility of France. Marcillac became one of the important characters and took an active share in the reconciliation between the queen and Condé in a league against Gaston, duke of Orleans. But the rising dimension of Mazarin made him obstacle and the link which it had about 1645 with the beautiful duchess Anne de Longueville made irrevocably of it a Frondeur . It had an outstanding place in the head office of Paris, fought hopelessly in engagements and was severely wounded with the Siège of Mardyck.

In the second Sling, Marcillac followed fortunes of Cop. With died of his/her father, in 1650, intervened a characteristic incident. The nobility of province meets in the funeral and the new duke of Rochefoucauld tried to persuade them to follow it in an attempt on the garrison of Saumur, without success. Then it was a series of actions during the Sling during which it was brave and generally unlucky person. Its curve of misfortunes reaches a top in the Bataille of the suburb St Antoine (1652) where it is wounded with the head: it was thought that it would lose the eyes there. It needed one year to recover and found in the town of Verteuil with like only results for twenty years of engagements a damaged health, a chipped fortune and conflicts with all those which had capacity in the State. There remained a few years in withdrawal and were likely to avoid the prison. It turned over to the Court only after the death of Mazarin.

Participation in the living rooms

A little front, Rochefoucauld belonged to the living room of Madeleine de Sablé, member of the coterie of Rambouillet and the founder of a kind of successor. He had passed in loneliness the writing of his memories whereas employment with the living room was for the manufacture of its Sentences and Maximes . In 1662, however, more disorders than of reputation because of the publication of its memories surreptitiously by the Elzevier S. Beaucoup of his/her friends were deeply wounded and he hastened to deny the authenticity flatly of it. Three years later it published without its name the still famous Maximes , which established it of a blow among more the great men of letters. About at the same time started its friendship with Marie-madeleine of Fayette, which lasted until the end of its life. The outlines which we have of him come especially from the letters of Marie de Sévigné and, although they show his anguish suffering from the drop, are generally pleasant. It had a circle of friends devoted in the living rooms and to the court (Simon Arnauld de Pomponne…) ; he was recognized like a moralist and a writer of the highest value and he could have entered to the French Academy on request; his/her son, prince de Marcillac, to which it had given a little before his death his titles and honors profited from a position higher than the court.

Like the majority of its contemporaries, he saw the policy like a set of failures. Tireless denunciation of all appearances of virtue, the Maximes announce the end of the hero cornélien who will continue with Nietzsche and Cioran.

The final edition with the seven hundred Maxims appeared only in 1817.

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