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Siecle De Louis XIV

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Voltaire revolutionized the art of writing history books. This book is one of the showpieces of his work in this area. It sparkles with Voltairian wit, humor and wisdom. Some excerpts:

"The war had produced on each side nothing but losses and regrets. . . . Nations rarely have any interest in the wars waged by their sovereigns. . . . The victorious people never profit by the dismemberment of the vanquished; they pay for everything. They suffer in their armies' prosperity as in their adversity. And peace is as necessary to them following the greatest victory, as it is when the enemy has taken their frontiers."

This work remains one of the original sourcebooks on Louis XIV's era for scholars to this day. Voltaire was in his teens when the Sun King died. He lived close to the court at Paris, where his father was attorney to many important figures. Voltaire personally interviewed many inside players of the period in exhaustive detail. A period which was a turning point in the birth pangs of the "Modern Age" as we know it today.

Many English-readers are familiar with Voltaire only as a political satirist, and remain unaware of his enormous output of scholarly works, particularly in history. This is the ideal book to acquaint oneself with the infinite wealth of Voltaire there is out there to read.