Note 467 — BOOK X[399]
Alexander Teixeira de Mattos translation
Cf. Comtesse de la Fayette: Mémoires de la cour de France pour les années 1688 et 1689; the opening pages:
"France was in a condition of perfect tranquillity; no arms were known other than the implements necessary for removing the earth and building. The troops were employed for these purposes, not only with the intention of the Ancient Romans, which was only to take them out of a state of idleness as injurious to themselves as excessive work would be. But the object was also to make the River Eure flow against its will, to make the fountains of Versailles play continuously. They employed the troops on this prodigious plan, so as to advance the King's pleasures by a few years, and they did so at less expense and in less time than they had dared hope.
"The quantity of sickness always caused by earth-work rendered the troops in camp at Maintenon, where the chief part of the work lay, incapable of performing any service. But this drawback did not seem worthy of any attention in the midst of the tranquillity which we were enjoying."—T.