Tuesday, July 14, 2015

A Defense of Louis XVI

Tiny-Librarian quotes Louis XVI's attorney:
Louis ascended the throne at the age of twenty, and at the age of twenty he gave to the throne the example of character. He brought to the throne no wicked weaknesses, no corrupting passions. He was economical, just, severe. He showed himself always the constant friend of the people. The people wanted the abolition of servitude. He began by abolishing it on his own lands. The people asked for reforms in the criminal law… he carried out these reforms. The people wanted liberty: he gave it to them. The people themselves came before him in his sacrifices. Nevertheless, it is in the name of these very people that one today demands… Citizens, I cannot finish… I stop myself before History. think how it will judge your judgment, and that the judgment of him will be judged by the centuries.
~Raymond de Sèze, one of the lawyers who defended Louis XVI, at the end of his defence of the King.
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1 comment:

lara77 said...

I never read that quote; it gave me goosebumps. An innocent King who loved his people is butchered by the mob seeking blood. The Bonaparte who murdered thousands rests like a god under the dome of Les Invalides. THAT is France. No wonder my mother's family emigrated from France to the United Sates!