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Updated: June 6, 2025
The new-made countess's mother-in-law apparently never had much respect for her son's choice as she forever referred to her as "the little gold ingot." "The ingot" served to construct the palace, however, though at the death of its builder, soon after, it came into the proprietorship of La Pompadour, who spent the sum of six hundred and fifty thousand livres in aggrandizing it.
When I was at Nantes, the Cardinal of Rouen told me that the Italians did not know how to conduct a war: I retorted that the French did not understand statecraft, or they would not have allowed the Church to gain so much power in Italy. Experience showed that I was right; for the French wrought their own ruin by aggrandizing the Papacy and introducing Spain into the realm of Naples.
He had no fondness or taste for luxury or pleasure, or for aggrandizing himself in the eyes of others by pomp and parade. It is true that, as was stated in a former chapter, he was charged in early life with a tendency to some kinds of wrong indulgence; but these charges, obscure and doubtful as they were, pertained only to the earliest periods of his career, before the time of his seclusion.
He had courage equal to his genius, or indeed superior, seeing he had to struggle with the prejudices of his cotemporaries, and the repulses of several princes to whom he had tendered his services. Genoa, which was his native country, treated his schemes as visionary, and by that means lost the only opportunity that could have offered of aggrandizing her power.
Kalontil, Governor to the Prince, the presumptive Heir of the Crown, was banished from Court, for Reasons which were never thought fit to be made publick. Some imputed it to his endangering his Pupil, by having brought him to his sick Father, without any such order, and without Attendance. Others charge him with a Project for aggrandizing himself upon the King's Death.
In that most lofty pride which induced him to say that, in his administration he wished to imitate the elemency of God , he endeavored to consult for the interests of all, both the evil and the unthankful. His fame was to consist, not in revenging himself upon his enemies, but in aggrandizing France.
Sir William Wyndham concluded an excellent speech, that spoke him the unrivalled orator, the uncorrupted Briton, and the unshaken patriot, in words to this effect: "Let us suppose a man abandoned to all notions of virtue and honour, of no great family, and but a mean fortune, raised to be chief minister of state, by the concurrence of many whimsical events; afraid or unwilling to trust any but creatures of his own making; lost to all sense of shame and reputation; ignorant of his country's true interest; pursuing no aim but that of aggrandizing himself and his favourites; in foreign affairs trusting none but those who, from the nature of their education, cannot possibly be qualified for the service of their country, or give weight and credit to their negotiations.
This formidable enemy of Austria, and of the Roman Catholic church, not content with the principality which, with the assistance of the Turks, he had wrested from his legitimate prince, Gabriel Bathori, gladly seized this opportunity of aggrandizing himself at the expense of Austria, which had hesitated to acknowledge him as sovereign of Transylvania.
Your father, you must needs think will flame out upon your refusal to comply: your uncles are so thoroughly convinced of the consistency of the measure with their favourite views of aggrandizing the family, that they are as much determined as your father: your aunt Hervey and your uncle Hervey are of the same party.
Do they not tax each other as violators of property as faithlessly aggrandizing themselves at the expence of their neighbour; in fact, do we not see them endeavouring to surprise, anxious to over-reach, ready to injure each other, without being arrested by the menaces of their creeds, or at all yielding to the calls of humanity?
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