I Am Louis XIV

It was a palanquin decorated with roses and ribbons, enough for the ladies of half a palace to dress themselves up.

And unlike Colbert's small sedan, this sedan is of ancient Roman style, that is to say, people are not sitting in it, but half-lying. Not only is it large in size, but its gilded base is full of exquisite details. The wavy pattern, the ends of the armrests are ivory, carved into an outstretched swan head, the seat cushions and backrests are filled with silk plush, and there are also pillows decorated with tassels.

The two servants carrying the sedan were not only dressed far better than the average provincial nobles, but their appearance and figure were also the same, even if they were placed in the king's army (later scholars learned that they were indeed officers, The willingness to do such a lowly thing is purely out of love).

The person who is qualified to sit on such a sedan chair is, as people imagine, a beautiful and energetic woman. She gently shook the ostrich feather fan with one hand, and held a boy's waist with the other hand to prevent him from being too naughty and falling off the sedan. She was not affected by people's exclamations and praises, and only saw value when she saw it. Only those who get her response will smile slightly, or stretch out a feather fan to lightly tap the other person's shoulder, or extend her hand to give the other person a quick kiss.

"Oh my god," Torricelli is an Italian after all, "could this be Aphrodite and Eros (the ancient Greek goddess of love and beauty and her son)!"

"For some people, it is true." Spinoza said, and then swallowed the second sentence. For others, she was the three-headed dog under Hades, but this matter did not matter to him. Slowly say to your two companions: "She is the Marchioness of Montespan."

After saying this, the other two people suddenly realized, "But doesn't it mean that this lady also has her own room in the Palace of Versailles, and is second only to the queen?" Did she go out for something and then come back today?

"How is it possible? Today is a big day for her and her children." Spinoza said: "She may have brought that little prince to Versailles before, but you have to know that before the king admits it, The queen, the crown princess, the royal wife, no matter who is pregnant or has a child, they are all fake and do not exist. Even if he is right in front of you, you cannot talk to him or even look at him, otherwise it will be considered as overstepping."

"Wait, why does the king have to admit this kind of thing?" Torricelli asked in surprise.

Compared with Torricelli, who had been in Florence, Huygens also lived in France for a period of time: "I don't know why, but it's not been a year or two since there were such rules in the French court," he said: " A friend of mine said that not only must we turn a blind eye to pregnant women or children, but even the pregnant woman herself, if the king does not announce her pregnancy, will still have to appear at the banquet in the palace, dance, drink, and spend the night gambling and playing games. , you must also wear a corset and make-up, and you must not be unkempt and unkempt to bring shame to the royal family.”

"Uh...that means this lady also has to..."

"No, Louis XIV was quite tolerant of his royal wife," Huygens said: "He let her go to Fontainebleau."

This does not count as being in the court, but the problem is that after the birth of the little prince in Fontainebleau, the king went to war not long after. This period of time was torture for Madame Montespan. He is proud of the king's child, but until the king acknowledges it, no one will look at this child. He has no name and cannot enter the Louvre or Versailles. Even the Duchess of Montpensier dare not bring him In front of the Queen Mother, she could only comfort her by saying that the child would be recognized as soon as the king comes back.

But when the Duke of Colonna and the Duke of Halepur were born, it was said that the king was waiting in the outside room. The Duke of Halepur even received the title of duke and a large territory as soon as he was born.

There is a reason why Madame Montespan became more and more crazy towards the later stage when she was putting down the riots in Paris.

It was precisely because she had been suppressed for so long that as soon as she got the king's recognition, she couldn't wait to show her son to the whole Versailles. She had a room in Versailles, and she wanted to take Auguste back to Fontaine first. Bailu, and then back to Versailles from Fontainebleau.

The sedan chair always moved very slowly on the steps. Fortunately, it was approaching September and the sun was no longer so strong. Mrs. Montespan adjusted her wide-brimmed hat, then pulled her son and put the hat on him. Today she The child with her will be the most shining star in Versailles. What she once lost must be regained with all her strength.

Spinoza looked at the sedan and shook his head. In fact, even he, who had only been in Paris for a few days, could tell that this lady was different from the two previous royal ladies, the Duchess of Colonna and Brussels. The duchess is a completely different kind of person, and the king's attitude towards them is also different. Maybe Madame Montespan is happy to enjoy the power, gorgeous clothes and jewelry, and the adulation and attention of everyone that the two previous ladies did not have, but the more she is like this , the king used her more and more without scruples.

Spinoza said in his heart, people say that the Sun King Louis XIV is a tolerant and kind man, but let him say that this His Majesty is like a businessman who is very willing to spend every penny. What he pays always costs thousands of times more. repaid.

So, Louis XIV redeemed them from Cosimo III, Huygens was an outstanding mathematician and physicist, and Torricelli could be said to be the heir of Galileo's successor, what can he do to serve His Majesty? What about the place? As the former Elector of Brandenburg requested, he can give lectures at his university, but not on religion - his ideas about religion will never be accepted by any current religion. .

——————

"Concerning Baruch," Louis XIV admitted to Bontan, "it was a capricious act of mine."

"It's strange." Bangtang gave his master a cup of black tea and some honey prunes: "You were not very willful when you were four years old, but you became more willful when you were forty."

"I didn't have the power to be willful when I was four years old." Louis said bluntly: "I even had to continue to wear skirts until I became the king. Now that I have the power, can't I still be willful once in a while?"

"But if you do this, the Roman Church will definitely feel a headache."

"Sometimes their reaction is really fast." Louis said, "But I will solve the matter properly and tell them not to worry."

"This is the first time I have received a bribe from Rome," said Bontan. "This makes me even more curious. Your Majesty, this Mr. Spinoza was originally unknown."

"He can communicate with Descartes, so he shouldn't be an unknown person." Louis pinched a piece of honey prunes and said: "The reason why his reputation has not spread is because he was expelled from the original Judean Church. , that is to say, he is a Judahite, but the Judahite society will no longer accept him. He cannot become a professor or scholar. The young people of Judah will not listen to his courses, and there will be no Judah businessmen to support him. Therefore, He can only rely on the most basic manual work to support himself.

You also know that the people at the bottom are not without intelligence and bravery. Just to survive, they have exhausted all their strength. Of course, it is impossible to climb up. In The Hague, except for Huygens, who does not care about class or belief, Apart from his friends, Spinoza could not enter any salon door. Of course, his ideas and ideas could only be unknown to people like jewels locked in a box. "

"You make me wonder," said Bontang, "what exactly is he thinking?"

"He is the enemy of all religions." Louis dropped such a terrible sentence in an understatement. Only Bontang could continue to hold the silver pot steadily and refill a cup of hot tea for him: "His purpose, speaking of it, It’s also very simple, Bontang, he admits that there is a God in this world.”

"That's very good, Your Majesty," Bontang said.

"But he doesn't admit that this God is human." Louis stared at the ripples in the silver cup that have not yet dissipated: "He doesn't admit that he doesn't admit that this God can think like humans, with human desires and human feelings. , will abide by human moral concepts and codes of conduct - he even believes that God has no body, he is everywhere, but he cannot be felt, heard or seen by anyone, and he does not have any subordinates or creations, and there are no angels , there is no devil, no hell or heaven, he is just an idea in the dark, the first and the last, and he will not change his deeds because of human actions, whether he is doing evil or doing good."

Even Bontang, after hearing these words, couldn't help but stand there in shock for a while, and then he slowly said: "Martin Luther just took a small step, but this gentleman wanted to fly. "

"Well, so he is the enemy of all churches and believers." Louis said, so the Judean church dared to expel him, but the Roman church did not dare to publicly try him, because his ideas were like a strong poison. Diluted in the sea, it can poison everyone - Martin Luther just wanted to cut off the red branches and dead leaves of the church, and he almost became a sacrifice of the church. If it weren't for the battle between religious power and royal power that had already reached a fever pitch. At this stage, Martin Luther's reforms were exactly what the princes and kings needed, and he was protected by many princes. He could not die peacefully.

As for Spinoza, if his interpretation of God is believed by others, then the foundations of the three existing churches will collapse overnight to the point where they cannot be rebuilt - don't look at the three churches (Protestantism is included in Christianity for the time being) they called each other pagans, and several religious wars broke out, which lasted for nearly a thousand years, but their origins were in the same place, in Jerusalem, and God had different words in their scriptures. name, but ultimately, its torso is not that different from its limbs.

What Spinoza is doing now is to dig out their roots, let the branches and leaves wither, let the fruits fall, and make countless people who make a living from it, and even seize power and wealth, have empty hands overnight and fall from the most glorious throne. Falling into the dirtiest mire.

"How do you want to persuade Spinoza?" Bontan asked.

"What would you do if I said I couldn't?"

"I will only follow the orders of one person, and that is you." Bontang is not a pious person, otherwise he would have left Louis long ago - no matter in what way, as Louis said, he is his Friends and relatives, "But I think he will cause you a lot of trouble." Even if the church cannot publicly try Spinoza, it will definitely find ways to silence him forever.

Louis raised his hand, and Bontang leaned down knowingly. His Majesty the King whispered a few words in his ear, which made the loyal palace steward laugh: "You are so bad." Bontang said.

"I don't know if I can convince Spinoza with this, but I can give it a try." Louis said, picking up another prune. The skin of the prune was sweet, but the inside was still very sour. He wrinkled with enjoyment. He raised his mouth and eyebrows and said, "Bring some more umeboshi." The thick-flavored umeboshi goes really well with the taste of black tea.

"Almost," Bontang glanced at the plate: "The dinner will start in three hours."

"All right."

"Then, Your Majesty, may I ask another question?"

"Please say."

"You have repeatedly said that you are willful because Mr. Spinoza will not bring any benefits, but will cause some troubles, right?"

"Yes."

"But you don't want to see him die because you have the same idea as him, right?"

"Yes, Bontang."

"Then you are not a pure atheist."

"I used to be," Louis said, "but since I became Louis XIV, I don't think so anymore."

Bontang bowed and stopped talking.

Louis did not lie to him. He was indeed an atheist until he became Louis XIV, but his ideas were invisibly consistent with Spinoza's. If there is such an omnipotent god, no matter what he uses, Names appear in human history, so isn't it to humans what humans are to ants? Will a person care whether the ants worship him or not? Will he wear the grass and leaves collected by the ants and eat the fruits offered by the ants? Will he command the ants to form a church to proclaim his greatness?

Even if that god is kind enough, he will only sprinkle a few more sugar grains.

He won't, and neither will God.

——————

Before the dinner, Baruch Spinoza got the opportunity to meet the king, which made Madame Montespan not very happy. She thought she could occupy all the king's time before the dinner, but she was not old enough to make the king change. As far as his thoughts were concerned, everything went on as normal, except that when he walked into the small room where he was to be seen, Spinoza, who was still calm even when facing the king, was a little dizzy.

This is the highest point of the French power pyramid.

Spinoza only recognized a few people who had accompanied the king to Florence, and one person who was superior to everyone else in every aspect. Although Spinoza had not seen him, he could guess This person to whom everyone must bow is none other than King Philippe, the Duke of Orleans, the king's most trusted brother, and a general. He wears a crimson shoulder sash and wears a forest green background with silver thread. An embroidered jacket and creamy yellow tight trousers, such contrasting and bright colors, may not be easily adopted by noble ladies, but in this Duke, people can say that the person and the clothes complement each other.

He had some similarities with Louis XIV, and some not so much - mainly the softly contoured eyes and lips, probably inherited from their mother, the only thing about Habsburg that wasn't too offensive. In part, like most French men, he is beardless and looks very young and energetic.

Speaking of beards, Spinoza may be the only one here who has a beard. Both the Jews and scholars who admire ancient Greece like to have a big beard. Coupled with the torture of life and the church, his temples turned gray early on. , and his beard is as mottled as quail feathers. In fact, he is not a few years older than the Duke of Orleans, but he looks like he is from two generations.

The Duke of Orleans should not be said to be staying in the antechamber. He walked straight in, said a few words to a few people he liked, and then went to the audience hall. Spinoza was keenly aware of the other person's gaze. They glanced at him, but almost everyone here had to look at him, because from his dress to his appearance, he was different from the people they usually saw.

The number of people in the antechamber was decreasing one after another. Spinoza should undoubtedly be the last one, but the best thing about Louis XIV was not to give people unnecessary hopes. Bontan was the rough estimate. Time and number of people - he knows the king and knows how long he will spend on whom. He looked at the clock and felt that it was almost time, so he walked out and asked the people in the antechamber if they wanted tea. This sentence Let the king's personal attendants say it, telling them tactfully that the king does not have time to accept their audience today, and they will have to come another day.

When people left one after another, Spinoza was finally summoned by the king.

During the reign of Louis XIII, the dinner still started at ten o'clock in the evening and ended at two or three o'clock in the morning (generally the king would go to bed before twelve o'clock), but we all know that dinner is too filling and eating too late is bad for the body. It was disadvantageous, but this was the tradition of this era, so after Louis XIV completed the Palace of Versailles, he changed the dinner time to eight o'clock and ended before twelve o'clock in the evening.

If those who had the honor to meet the king had witnessed Spinoza being led into the audience room, they would have shed tears of jealousy because the king actually left the scholar up to an hour and only had a few minutes with them. The time of the interview was completely different.

It was not the first time that Spinoza saw Louis XIV. He bowed to his majesty - and was surprised to find that there were only him, the king and one of his attendants in the room, namely Monsieur Bontan, who was said to be the man whom people were accused of. The first person you should meet upon entering the Palace of Versailles.