Duc de Saint-Simon, Memoirs
Distinguishing Fact from Opinion
There are many accounts of life at Versailles during the reign of King
Louis XIV. Some accounts praise the king and his palace; others
ridicule Versailles. Many of these accounts were opinionated, often
reflecting the author’s standing with the king. The following account
was written by the Duc de Saint-Simon after the Sun King’s death. It
is filled with opinions but also reveals facts about Versailles. Study
the excerpt in order to distinguish fact from opinion. Then answer
the questions that follow.
Louis XIV was a prince in whom we cannot deny much that was good, even great, while
we recognize still more that was petty and bad…
… His buildings, who can count them? And who does not deplore with pride,
capriciousness, and bad taste they exhibit? He abandoned the beautiful Saint-Germain, and never
did anything for the adornment and convenience of Paris, except (from pure necessity) the Pont
Royal, so that Paris, with her incomparable sites, it inferior to many cities in various parts of
Europe…
Saint-Germain, a spot unique for its
collection of delightful views and the immense
extent of level forests that adjoins it, … he
abandoned for Versailles, the gloomiest and
most thankless of places; without view, without
woods, without water, without soil, for all is
either sand or bog, consequently with an air that
cannot be pure.
He delighted in tyrannizing over nature, in subduing it by force of art and money, He
raised buildings one after another on that spot without any general design, the fine and the
villainous were huddled together, the vast and the cramped … The gardens, the magnificence of
which amazes, while the slightest use of them is repulsive, are in the worst taste. One can only
reach shade by crossing a vast torrid zone, at the end of which there is nothing to do but go up or
down a hill, which is very short and ends in the gardens … This Versailles of Louis XIV, this
masterpiece so ruinously dear and in such bad taste, where the mere changes of fountains and
groves have buried more money than could ever appear, he never finished …
Source: Duc de Saint-Simon, Memoirs, trans. Desmond Flowers
Identify three facts from the account written by Saint-Simon.
World History Collaboration Team
1.5 Assessment
Identify three opinions given by the Duc de Saint-Simon.
From these opinions given by Saint-Simon, what can you infer about his relationship with the Sun King?
Give specific details.
World History Collaboration Team
1.5 Assessment