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strong purpose of justice, or of the social welfare of men, he had a straightforward active mind, ever full of a desire for order and progress; and he effected many things in promotion of what we should call the general civilization of the kingdom. He had the streets of Paris paved; he extended and heightened the walls; he constructed aqueducts, hospitals, churches, marketplaces; he occupied himself earnestly with improving the material condition of his subjects. Nor did he neglect their moral development. The University of Paris owed to him its chief privileges, and received even excessive protection. To him, also, we are indebted for the institution of the royal archives. It had before his time been the usual custom of the kings to carry their archives-acts, titles, &c. of the crown-with them wherever they went. In 1194, in a Norman ambuscade near Vendôme, Philip lost a number of important securities which he was in the habit of then carrying with him. He at once resolved to discontinue the practice, and founded an establishment in which, for the future, all government documents were deposited. To these facts, I might add many others of the same description; but time presses. Let me, therefore, at once state the general fact, in which all the rest result. Of the Capetian kings, Philip Augustus was the first who communicated to French royalty that character of intelligent and active good-will towards the amelioration of the social state, and the progress of national civilization, which for so long a period constituted its strength and popularity. All our history evidences this fact, which received its final and most glorious development in the reign of Louis XIV, It is traceable back to Philip Augustus. Before his time, royalty had been neither strong enough nor high minded enough to exercise such an influence in favour of the civilization of the country; he gave it that direction, and enabled it to advance therein.

The effects of this new character of royal power upon nen's minds were speedily manifested. Open the monuments of that period, the Vie de Philippe Auguste, by Rigord, that of Guillaume le Breton, the poem La Philippide, by the same author, the minor poem of Nicholas de Bray on the sieges of Rochelle and Avignon by Louis VIII., and you will at once see royalty becoming national, occupying the thought of the people. You will meet with an enthusiasm, often ridi

culous in form, and prodigiously exaggerated, but genuine at bottom, the ebullition of a sincere gratitude for the influence exercised by that royalty, and for the progress which it enabled society to make. I will quote but two passages, but these will leave no doubt in your mind on this subject. The first, which I borrow from Guillaume le Breton, describes the public rejoicings after the battle of Bovines. Many a battle had before this been fought by kings of France, many a great victory achieved; but none of them had been as this was, a national event, none had in this manner excited the entire population:

"Who can imagine, or narrate, or trace with the pen upon parchment or tablets, the joyful plaudits, the hymns of triumph, the innumerable dances of the people, the soft chants of the priests, the harmonious sounds of the warlike instruments in the churches, the solemn ornamenting of the churches both within and without, the streets, the houses, the roads from all the castles and towns festooned with curtains and tapestries of silk, covered with flowers, herbs, and green boughs; the inhabitants of every condition, of each sex and every age, hastening from all parts to see so great a triumph; the peasants and reapers interrupting their labours, suspending at their necks their sickles, their mattocks, and their nets, (for it was then the time of the harvest,) and hastening in crowds to see in irons this Ferrand, whose arms they had but lately feared. . . The whole road was like this until they arrived at Paris. The inhabitants of Paris, and especially the multitude of the scholars, the clergy, and the people, going before the king, singing hymns and canticles, testified by their gestures the joy which animated their minds; and it did not suffice for them to give themselves up to mirth during the day, they continued their pleasure during the night, and even for seven consecutive nights, amidst numerous torches, so that the night appeared as brilliant as the day; the scholars, especially, ceased not to make sumptuous feasts, continually singing and dancing."

Now, see how Nicholas de Bray describes the entrance of Louis VIII. into Paris, and the reception which the town gave him after his consecration at Reims:

Gaillaume le Breton, Vie de Philipe-Auguste, in my Collection, t xi. p. 361. See also his Philippide, twelfth canto.

"Then shone before the eyes of the prince the venerable town, in which were exposed the riches amassed in former times by the provident solicitude of his ancestors. The splendour of the precious stones rivalled that of the orb of Phoebus; the light marvelled at being outshone by a new light; the sun thought that another sun illuminated the earth, and complained to see his accustomed splendour eclipsed. In the squares, cross-roads, and in the streets, one saw nothing but clothes all glittering with gold, and on all sides shone silk stuffs. Men laden with years, young people impatient at heart, men to whom age had imparted greater gravity, could not wait for their purple robes; men and women-servants scattered themselves through the town, happy to bear on their shoulders such rich weights, and thinking they owed no service duty to any one, while they amused themselves with seeing all the splendid costumes around them. Those who had not ornaments with which to clothe themselves on fêtes so solemn, paid for the loan of habits. In all the squares, and in every street, all gave themselves up, in emulation of one another, to each kind of public amusement. The rich did not banish the poor from the hall of their festivities; everybody spread themselves in all places, and eat and drank in common. The temples were ornamented with garlands, the altars surrounded with precious stones: all aromatics united in the perfume of the incense which arose in clouds. In the streets and large cross-ways, joyous youths, and young timid girls formed bodies of dancers; singers appeared, making men marvel with their joyous songs; mimics ran about, drawing from the viol sounds full of sweetness; instruments reechoed on all sides; here the cithern, the timbrel, the psaltery, guitars, making an agreeable symphony; all gave ther voices, and sang friendly songs for the king. Then also were suspended processes, labours, and the studies of logiciar.s. Aristotle speaks no longer; Plato presents no more problems, no longer seeks enigmas to resolve: the public rejoicings have caused all kinds of work to cease. The road by which the king advanced is agreeably strewn with flowers. He at last joyously enters his palace, and places himself in his royal seat, surrounded by his great men.'

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These fragments, more than many facts, paint truly what royalty was at this epoch, what influence it exercised over minds, and how, in the common opinion, its power was connected with the improvement of public activity, the progress of civilization. This is one of the great results of the reign of Philip Augustus. Before him, under Louis le Gros, and Louis le Jeune, the general principles, the moral ideas upon which royalty rests, had gained vigour; but the fact did answer to the right; the royal power was very limited in its compass, and very weak in its action.

Philip Augustus conquered, gave it a large territory, and the strength to rule it; and, by that natural law which wills that ideas metamorphose themselves into facts, and facts into ideas, the material progress of royalty, the result of the moral ascendancy which it already possessed, gave to that ascendancy more extension and energy. What use did Saint Louis make of it? What became of royalty in his hands? This will be the subject of the next lecture.

FOURTEENTH LECTURE.

Royalty under the reign of Saint Louis-Influence of his personal character -His conduct with regard to the territorial extent of the kingdom-His acquisitions-His conduct towards the feudal society-His respect for the rights of the seigneurs-True character of his labours against feudalism -Extension of the judicial power of the king-Progress of legislation and of parliament-Extension of the legislative power of the king-Progress of the independence of royalty in ecclesiastical affairs-Administration of Louis within his domains-Summary

WE have seen royalty again spring up under Louis le Gros, the kingdom form itself under Philip Augustus. What did Louis with royalty and the kingdom? This is the question with which we shall now occupy ourselves.

Saint Louis began by doubting the legitimacy of what his predecessors had done. In order to understand properly the political history of his reign, it is necessary first to know the man. Rarely has the personal disposition of one man exercised so great an influence over the general course of things.

Saint Louis was above all a conscientious man, a man who before acting weighed the question to himself of the moral good or evil, the question as to whether what he was about to do was good or evil in itself, independently of all utility, of all consequences. Such men are rarely seen and still more rarely remain upon the throne. Truly speaking, there are hardly more than two examples in history; one in antiquity, the other in modern times: Marcus Aurelius and Saint Louis. These are, perhaps, the only two princes, who, on every occasion, have formed the first rule of their conduct from their moral creeds-Marcus Aurelius, a stoic, Saint Louis, a Christian.

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