Marc Serge Rivière, "The Age of Louis XIV" Marc Serge Rivière THE AGE OF LOUIS XIV: VOLTAIRE'S COMING OF AGE AS A PHILOSOPHER-HISTORIAN In 1994, scholars from all over the world met at congresses in Paris, Oxford, Melbourne and other centres of learning to celebrate the tercentenary of Voltaire's birth. Although there is some doubt as to the exact date of his birth, we know that he was baptized in November 1694. It is accordingly fitting now to reflect on Voltaire's achievements as a historian, for he regarded himself first as a dramatist, next as a historian and last as an essayist and a Conteur, even if he is fondly remembered nowadays as the author of Candide. Voltaire's documentation for his historical works was impressive. In this.respect, The Age of Louis XIV (1751) has as sound a basis as could be expected in its day, and its author has been deemed to be the father of modern "scientific" history. 1 What emerges from a study of the sources utilised for The Age of Louis XIV is that, although Voltaire scorned erudite working habits, in so far as he excluded documents such as extracts of treatises and gave few references, he clearly took his duty as a historian with a degree of seriousness equalled amongst his French contemporaries only by Montesquieu. He was fully aware that his com- petence in historiography would be judged first and foremost on the reliability of his evidence and on the degree of accuracy which he would achieve. Although The Age of Louis XIV did not occupy him exclusively, he sought for about twenty years or so (1732-1751), to add to the data and material which he had begun to gather as early as the late 1720s. He made effective use of his travels in Europe to interview numerous eyewitnesses and throughout the project his approach to the problem of historical documentation remained pos- itive and systematic. The care with which he researched his subject has won the admiration of many critics over the years; to quote Gustave Lanson, who always managed to hit the nail right on the head: 'SIt is superfluous to state that Voltaire's method is no longer adequate today. But it marks a vital step in the transition from traditionalist history to scientific history" [my translation] •2 From a study of sources employed for The Age of Louis XIV, one may conclude that what constitutes Voltaire's originality is his highly individualistic selection, organisation and presentation of the material which he borrowed for various specific purposes. From a mass of material he sought to extract what would best serve his aims, whether these be historical, literary, propagandist or philo- sophical. He responded to each case by choosing what would give greatest weight to his arguments, omitting what would weaken them. As with other lit- erary genres, history for Voltaire became a basis for discussing a range of topics IiN.Ec 78 Volume 22, number 1, May 1995 dear to his heart. He did not bring to light a vast amount of new information, but made historical facts more meaningful and more accessible to his readers. In this respect, the "philosophic" spirit has clearly left its mark on his history of Louis XIV's reign. Indeed, as E.H. Can has observed in What is History?, inter- pretation is the most vital aspect of historiography: "My first answer to the question 'What is history?' is that it is a continuous process of interaction between the historian and his facts, an unending dialogue between the present and the past." 3 This paper aims to assess briefly Voltaire's main philosophic intentions in The Age of Louis XIV and survey the highly personal interpreta- tions which the philosopher-historian offers his readers. Whilst Thee Age of Louis XIV provides entertainment in its thrilling narrative, where Voltaire displays the full mastery of his vivid and terse style, and in the witty anecdotes of the raconteur, it is endowed with far more philosophical qual- ities than his first attempt at history-writing, the History of Charles XH (1731). Voltaire himself declared that history should make man think; to Elie Bertrand he wrote on June 7, 1756 concerning the Essay on manners, of which The Age of Louis XIV formed an integral part: "I never intended to display my wit in that work but to provide readers who have a lively mind with opportunities to think" [my translation]. 4 And to Charles Duclos, who had replaced him as Royal Historiographer, he offered encouragement in April 1745, stressing that the historian had to be a philosopher as well as a chronicler of events: "Take heart! Only philosophers should undertake to write history" (my translation D3102). When David Hume's History of England was published, Voltaire praised its impartiality and its philosophical contents and concluded: "The reading public has never been more aware of the fact that philosophers alone ought to write history."5 Philosophic history will be taken here in three different, though related, senses: firstly, Voltaire the pragmatist viewed history as a record of man's follies and achievements, from which moral lessons could be drawn for the benefit of con- temporary readers and posterity; in this way history becomes didactic, though not always overtly so, and teaches by examples. Secondly, Voltaire endeav- oured to explain events by means of various theories of causation, as well as a rigid and static conception of human nature. In Voltaire Historian, Brumfitt has provided an excellent definition of this type of "philosophic history": "Philosophic' history [ ... ] is not merely liberal or anti-clerical propaganda, but is an attempt to understand and interpret human societies and customs in terms of Enlightenment beliefs about the nature of man and the universe." 6 Lastly, one must bear in mind that to Voltaire history becomes, like other genres, a means of propaganda, a way of enlightening others, of attacking his bugbears and of spreading further those humanitarian principles which he held dear, in brief of working for the philosophic cause. Voltaire's commitment 79. Marc Serge Rivière, "The Aze of Louis XIV" to the crusade against sectarianism, religious dogmatism and social injustices is persistent in the The Age of Louis XIV but is held in check by the desire to be as impartial as possible. VoltOire's practice therefore does not always match that ideal of the philosopher-historian's method he saw exemplified by David Hume. Concerning the latter he declared: "The philosopher does not belong to any country nor to any faction [ ... ] Mr Hume in his history appears to be neither a parliamentarian, nor a royalist, nor an Anglican, nor a Presbyterian; one finds in him only an equitable man." 7 (i) Moral history Throughout his career as a historian, Voltaire adhered to the precept enunci- ated by Bolingbroke in The Letters on the study and use of hi story, that history was "philosophy teaching by examples." 8 His first historical work, the History of Charles XII, belonged undoubtedly to the humanist tradition, not just because of its vivid narrative and literary approach, but also because of its didacticism. In the Discourse on the History of Charles XII, which accompanied the first edition of the History (1731), Voltaire proclaimed the usefulness of his work for the edi- fication of future princes: "We flattered ourselves that it might be of some little use to princes, should it ever happen to fall into their hands. No king, surely, can be so incorrigible as, when he reads the History of Charles XII, not to be cured of the vain ambition of making conquests." 9 Despite his courage, per- sonal qualities and military genius, Charles XII of Sweden came to a sticky end. In his narrative, Voltaire followed the rise and fall of this tragic hero who had but one major flaw, the classical Hamartia, an inexhaustible ambition to be the new Alexander. Charles's example, adds Voltaire, should deter future princes from military ambition that overrides itself. In Voltaire's scheme of things, history has many traits in common with tragedy; it should stir the tragic emo- tions of pity and fear, and it should be endowed with a moral fabric compa- rable to Cornelian and Racinian tragedies combined. It is significant that after the death of Charles XII from a stray bullet, Megret, one of his generals, exclaims: "Come, gentlemen, the farce is ended, let us go to supper." 10 Voltaire then adopts an overtly moral tone to sum up Charles Xli's career and personal qualities: "Thus fell Charles XII, King of Sweden, at the age of thirty-six years and a half, after having experienced all the grandeur of prosperity, and all the hardships of adversity, without being either softened by the one, or the least disturbed by the other [ ... ] From the history of his life, however, succeeding kings may learn that a quiet and happy government is infinitely preferable to so much glory."ll Voltaire makes it clear in the historical tract that he prefers Peter the Great, the legislator, to Charles XII, the warrior, and in a letter to Schulenbourg of 20 August 1740, he confessed that he deemed superior to both a humane prince who would work for the welfare of his people and choose Volume 22, number 1, May 1995 peace to war: "In brief, a philosopher on the throne; that's my hero," adding that such a prince existed in Prussia, namely Frederick the Great. How disap- pointed he was when his hero invaded Silesia in the 1 750s! This pragmatic and utilitarian attitude to history persists in The Age of Louis XIV but one notices a shift of emphasis from an attempt to morally edify rulers to a desire to instruct a larger section of humanity.