François de Callières
Encyclopedia
François de Callières, sieur de Rochelay et de Gigny (Thorigny-sur-Vire, Lower Normandy, 14 May 1645 — Paris
, 5 March 1717) was a member of the Académie française
, a diplomat
and writer, a special envoy of Louis XIV
who was one of three French plenipotentiaries who signed the Peace of Ryswick in 1697; his De la manière de négocier avec les souverains, 1716 ("On the manner of negotiating with sovereigns", translated as The Practice of Diplomacy), based on his experiences in negotiating the Treaty and having its origins in a letter to the Regent, Philippe, duc d'Orléans
, to whom the work was dedicated, became a textbook for eighteenth-century diplomacy: Thomas Jefferson
had a copy in his library at Monticello
. Of this book John Kenneth Galbraith
declared "One wonders why anything more needed to be said on the subject."
The companion volume, on the other hand, De la science du monde et des connaissances utiles à la conduite de la vie is less known, though it was quickly translated into English and was admired by Jefferson and Harold Nicolson
.
He was the son of Jacques de Callières, governor of Cherbourg and the author of La Fortune des gens de qualité et des gentilshommes particuliers, enseignant l'art de vivre à la cour suivant les maximes de la politique et de la morale ("The Fortune of people of quality and private gentlemen, teaching the art of living at court according to the maxims of politics and morality")
His first commission, at the age of twenty-two, was on behalf of Henri, duc de Longueville
, who sent him to Poland in order to press for the election of a Longueville, the comte de Saint-Pol, as King of Poland. The unlucky count was drowned in a crossing of the Rhine, and the commission came to nothing. Callières served discreetly in several European negotiations in the following years: Carlo Emmanuele II, Duke of Savoy
employed him in attempting an alliance with France that was cut short by the Duke's death in 1675, but as the Savoyard envoy to Bavaria, Callières was involved in early stages of the negotiations that would eventually bring a Bavarian princess to the court of Louis as bride of the Grand Dauphin.
In Paris he produced several books, including in 1688 a sensible and even-handed contribution in the Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns
, Histoire poetique de la guerre nouvellement declarée entre les anciens et les modernes ("Poetic history of the war recently declared between the ancients and the moderns"); it included a poem on the subject by Charles Perrault
. On 23 December 1689 he was elected to the Académie française
; his reception piece was a panegyric on Louis XIV. Three galante works followed, a volume of the latest courtly expressions and the right moves, one reporting bons mots and witty anecdotes of railery and one on the bon usage of the French spoken at Court, contrasted with middle-class expressions, for people of quality to avoid.
In 1694, when the misfortunes of war and a bad harvest in France had brought Louis round to negotiating with the League of Augsburg, Callières' Polish connections in Amsterdam alerted him that the United Provinces were ready for peace. Callières in turn alerted Colbert de Croissy, who sent him in great secrecy to Flanders with Louis de Verjus
accompanying Nicolas Auguste de Harlay-Bonneuil, charged with making contact with the representatives of William III
. At the end of negotiations he signed the Peace of Ryswick for France in 1697, the high point of his diplomacy. His success brought him an appointment as one of the private secretaries of the king. In his memoirs, Saint-Simon
gives a good character of Callières, a gentleman with the courage to tell the truth to the King.
His great work begins with the maxim
Today the opening of his second chapter has stronger resonances than ever, two centuries after it was published:
At his death, still unmarried, he left a house in the rue Saint-Augustin filled with French, Italian and Dutch paintings, a large and well-chosen library, and the bulk of his estate to the poor of Paris.
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, 5 March 1717) was a member of the Académie française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
, a diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
and writer, a special envoy of Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
who was one of three French plenipotentiaries who signed the Peace of Ryswick in 1697; his De la manière de négocier avec les souverains, 1716 ("On the manner of negotiating with sovereigns", translated as The Practice of Diplomacy), based on his experiences in negotiating the Treaty and having its origins in a letter to the Regent, Philippe, duc d'Orléans
Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
Philippe d'Orléans was a member of the royal family of France and served as Regent of the Kingdom from 1715 to 1723. Born at his father's palace at Saint-Cloud, he was known from birth under the title of Duke of Chartres...
, to whom the work was dedicated, became a textbook for eighteenth-century diplomacy: Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
had a copy in his library at Monticello
Monticello
Monticello is a National Historic Landmark just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia; it is...
. Of this book John Kenneth Galbraith
John Kenneth Galbraith
John Kenneth "Ken" Galbraith , OC was a Canadian-American economist. He was a Keynesian and an institutionalist, a leading proponent of 20th-century American liberalism...
declared "One wonders why anything more needed to be said on the subject."
The companion volume, on the other hand, De la science du monde et des connaissances utiles à la conduite de la vie is less known, though it was quickly translated into English and was admired by Jefferson and Harold Nicolson
Harold Nicolson
Sir Harold George Nicolson KCVO CMG was an English diplomat, author, diarist and politician. He was the husband of writer Vita Sackville-West, their unusual relationship being described in their son's book, Portrait of a Marriage.-Early life:Nicolson was born in Tehran, Persia, the younger son of...
.
He was the son of Jacques de Callières, governor of Cherbourg and the author of La Fortune des gens de qualité et des gentilshommes particuliers, enseignant l'art de vivre à la cour suivant les maximes de la politique et de la morale ("The Fortune of people of quality and private gentlemen, teaching the art of living at court according to the maxims of politics and morality")
His first commission, at the age of twenty-two, was on behalf of Henri, duc de Longueville
Henri II d'Orléans, duc de Longueville
Henri II d'Orléans, duc de Longueville or Henri de Valois-Longueville , a legitimated prince of France and peer of France, was a major figure in the civil war of France, the Fronde, and served as governor of Picardy, then of Normandy.Longueville headed the French delegation in the talks that led...
, who sent him to Poland in order to press for the election of a Longueville, the comte de Saint-Pol, as King of Poland. The unlucky count was drowned in a crossing of the Rhine, and the commission came to nothing. Callières served discreetly in several European negotiations in the following years: Carlo Emmanuele II, Duke of Savoy
Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy
Charles Emmanuel II was the Duke of Savoy from 1638 to 1675 and under regency of his mother Christine Marie of France until 1663. He was also Marquis of Saluzzo, Count of Aosta, Geneva, Moriana and Nice, as well as claimant king of Cyprus and Jerusalem...
employed him in attempting an alliance with France that was cut short by the Duke's death in 1675, but as the Savoyard envoy to Bavaria, Callières was involved in early stages of the negotiations that would eventually bring a Bavarian princess to the court of Louis as bride of the Grand Dauphin.
In Paris he produced several books, including in 1688 a sensible and even-handed contribution in the Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns
Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns
The quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns was a literary and artistic debate that heated up in the early 1690s and shook the Académie française.-Description:...
, Histoire poetique de la guerre nouvellement declarée entre les anciens et les modernes ("Poetic history of the war recently declared between the ancients and the moderns"); it included a poem on the subject by Charles Perrault
Charles Perrault
Charles Perrault was a French author who laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from pre-existing folk tales. The best known include Le Petit Chaperon rouge , Cendrillon , Le Chat Botté and La Barbe bleue...
. On 23 December 1689 he was elected to the Académie française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
; his reception piece was a panegyric on Louis XIV. Three galante works followed, a volume of the latest courtly expressions and the right moves, one reporting bons mots and witty anecdotes of railery and one on the bon usage of the French spoken at Court, contrasted with middle-class expressions, for people of quality to avoid.
In 1694, when the misfortunes of war and a bad harvest in France had brought Louis round to negotiating with the League of Augsburg, Callières' Polish connections in Amsterdam alerted him that the United Provinces were ready for peace. Callières in turn alerted Colbert de Croissy, who sent him in great secrecy to Flanders with Louis de Verjus
Louis de Verjus
Louis Verjus, count of Crécy was a French politician and diplomat.-Life:A Conseiller d’État and brother of the notable Jesuit and procurer for missions to the Levant Antoine Verjus , he was elected to the Académie française in 1679...
accompanying Nicolas Auguste de Harlay-Bonneuil, charged with making contact with the representatives of William III
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
. At the end of negotiations he signed the Peace of Ryswick for France in 1697, the high point of his diplomacy. His success brought him an appointment as one of the private secretaries of the king. In his memoirs, Saint-Simon
Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon
Louis de Rouvroy commonly known as Saint-Simon was a French soldier, diplomatist and writer of memoirs, was born in Paris...
gives a good character of Callières, a gentleman with the courage to tell the truth to the King.
His great work begins with the maxim
- "Every Christian Prince should have for a principal maxim not to employ arms to maintain and make proof of his rights, but after having tried and exhausted the route of Reason and of persuasion, and it is in his interest to join thereto as well those of benevolence, which is the surest of all ways to affirm and augment his power; but he must make use of good workers who know how to put good deeds in practice to gain him the hearts and minds of men, and it is in that principally in which consists the science of negotiation."
Today the opening of his second chapter has stronger resonances than ever, two centuries after it was published:
- "One must consider that all the States of which Europe is composed, have among them necessary liaisons and commerce, with the result that one may look upon them as members of the same Republic, and that there may scarcely arrive a significant change in some of its members that is not capable of disturbing the tranquility of all the others".
At his death, still unmarried, he left a house in the rue Saint-Augustin filled with French, Italian and Dutch paintings, a large and well-chosen library, and the bulk of his estate to the poor of Paris.