What did Richelieu mean by his "six lines" quote?
Upvote:12
because of what a horrible person it makes you look like when you come out and actually say it
Well, you managed to do it with less than 2 lines (although perhaps not for the most honest of men).
Regardless of the authenticity of the quote, I can see two interpretations:
- I am so skilled in twisting words that I can make even the most innocent phrase look like treason
- Language is so ambiguous and prone to misinterpretation that it is possible to twist even the most innocent words to a reason for hanging
Personally I've never thought of the first interpretation until I saw the question; I always considered the quote a warning about the consequences of saying something in public (esp. if it's written or otherwise persisted). While it is possible to argue that he is proud of his skill, I see it mostly as an exaggeration: it wouldn't be the same if he said "suspended from class", would it?
Upvote:13
The attribution may well be apocryphal.
In the Wikipedia entry on Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu, the phrase is attributed to Richelieu himself, either in Mémoires or in Testament politique. However, I have been unable to find it in either of these texts (admittedly, just did a quick search).
In the Bulletin du bibliophile, Volume 6 (1843), page 12, the phrase is attributed to Voltaire, not Richelieu.
In Débats du procès instruit par la Haute-cour de justice, contre Drouet, Baboeuf et autres, Volume 2, Éd. Baudouin, Paris (179?) , page 44, it is now attributed to Laubardemont - but with some hesitation.
So, at least by the time of the French Revolution it is clear there was some confusion as to the original author and context.
Upvote:15
The idea originated with the memorialist Françoise Bertaut de Motteville who only entered the French court after Richelieu had died, so she was reporting rumors she heard from people who knew Richelieu personally.
In her memoirs published in 1723, she wrote the following in volume one:
Laffemas avoit promis au Ministre qu'il le tourmenteroit si bien qu'il en tireroit a-peu-pres ce qu'il en desiroit savoir, & que sur peu de mal il trouveroit les moyens de lai faire son proces selon les manieres meme du cardinal, qui, a ce que j'ai oui conter a ses amis, avoit accoutume de dire qu'avec deux lignes de l'ecriture d'un homme on pouvoit faire le proces au plus innocent, parce qu'on pouvoit sur cette matiere ajuster si bien les affaires, que facilement on y pouvoit faire trouver ce qu'on voudroit.
which means:
Laffemas promised the Minister that he would harrass him so much that he would extract pretty much everything he wanted to know, and that it would be little trouble as he would find the means to prosecute him according to the methods of the cardinal himself, who, as I have heard his friends tell, was in the habit of saying that with two lines of a man's handwriting, an accusation could be made against the most innocent, because the business can be interpreted in such a way, that one can easily find what one wishes.
The "six lines" paraphrase is an invention of "quotation book" editors who came later.
More post
- 📝 What "class" of soldiers were these soft targets?
- 📝 What were the criteria for class ranking at West Point prior to the Civil War?
- 📝 Japan is a nation of twelve year olds: Why?
- 📝 Did Imperial Japan persecute Slavic people, as European fascists did?
- 📝 Is the Persian name or title Khosrow related to the name Caesar?
- 📝 Why and how did Macedon support Carthage in the Punic wars?
- 📝 Is there a WW2 European bomb damage atlas?
- 📝 Can someone help explain this floor plan of a mid 20th century apartment?
- 📝 What was the general attitude of people in states without anti-miscegenation laws toward interracial marriage?
- 📝 If the Iraq War was because of their oil, has the US achieved their war aims
- 📝 When did Australia declare war on Germany in WWII
- 📝 Missing link in the German tank development?
- 📝 Was the Abolition of Slavery in the United States perceived and advertised as an effort to improve race relations or as an improvement to labour laws?
- 📝 Did relic sellers have a specific name or term for their profession?
- 📝 In 18th century America, how did people board ships to travel long distance?
- 📝 Did any Native Americans adopt a script from Europe (before being assimilated)?
- 📝 Were cities that enacted lockdowns during the 1918 flu pandemic successful in preventing any infections?
- 📝 How did Poland avoid partition in the 17th century, but not the 18th century?
- 📝 The US and Soviet Soldiers story related to Normandy
- 📝 What does Tuchman mean by transition to a "money economy" in the Middle Ages?
- 📝 When did wheel-mounted water-carrying fire-fighting machines first appear in Japan?
- 📝 Why couldn't Heraclius and Yazdegerd coordinate?
- 📝 What paramilitary group was Nikola Jorgić in?
- 📝 How does history as a scholarly discipline or disciplinary practice justify its existence as a social practice?
- 📝 Why did Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng receive different punishments for their role in the Xi'an Incident?
- 📝 Is there any evidence the Mongols expanded into northeast Asia?
- 📝 Was there a Cold War era Russian safe haven city for politicians and scientists?
- 📝 Did non-Indians go into Indian Territory (now Oklahoma)?
- 📝 For whom would this priest write a long geographical report on his parish?
- 📝 Is there any way to link John Marshall to Andrew Johnson's impeachment?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What did Richelieu mean by his "six lines" quote?
- 📝 What did Mirsky mean by this quote (Russian Revolution 1905)?
- 📝 Did Adolf Hitler ever address the fact that his own appearance was almost an exact opposite of what he considered the ideal Aryan appearance?
- 📝 Did Rothschild say this famous quote? If yes, what did he mean by it?
- 📝 What is the context for Napoleon's quote "[the Austrians] did not know the value of five minutes"?
- 📝 in what form did William the Conqueror write the date of his own coronation?
- 📝 What did Zhang Zuolin say after his train blew up?
- 📝 What did Hitler mean with the following statement about Franco?
- 📝 What did Buddhism vs. Hinduism mean politically?
- 📝 In what language did Caractacus deliver his speech to the emperor Claudius?
- 📝 What did it mean to be a Grecian in late-18th Century British schools?
- 📝 What did Yuri Gagarin do while waiting for his ride?
- 📝 What date did Henry Morgan capture his most famous flagship, the "Satisfaction"?
- 📝 What did Ben Franklin mean when he said "The sun of liberty is set; you must light up the candle of industry & economy"?
- 📝 What did Nikolas Mystikos call his countrymen in official correspondence?
- 📝 What specifically did Caesar believe he would be charged with had he disbanded his army?
- 📝 What level of public support did Adolf Hitler have in his final year of power?
- 📝 What "silly places" (according to Muggeridge) did Nikita Khrushchev go to during his visit in the United Kingdom?
- 📝 What did the word 'unconstitutional' mean to Americans prior to the Revolution?
- 📝 What kind of cloth did Genghis Khan use in his armor?
- 📝 How did the helmsman know what he was sailing towards with a big mast in his face?
- 📝 What did it mean to be a "Jacobite" at the turn of the 20th Century?
- 📝 What did "opening day" mean in the 18th century?
- 📝 What did Pol Pot expect to gain from his raid against Ba Chuc Vietnam in April 1978?
- 📝 What did MLK, Jr. mean by "Mayor Loeb is in dire need of a doctor"?
- 📝 What did "Dr." after a person's or a business's name mean around the turn of the 20th century in the USA?
- 📝 What did the word "leisure" mean in late 18th Century usage?
- 📝 Aryanization in Nazi Germany. What did it mean in reality?
- 📝 What did the British Empire mean by "Free Trade" in reference to the colonies?
- 📝 What did the Russian ambassador to Japan do during his trip to London?