The following passage is from a letter written to Louis XIV by a tutor to the king's children, Fenelon. Fenelon wrote the letter without signing it. (a) Why do you think he sent it this way? (b) How do you think
the king responded? Explain.
"For nearly thirty years, your principal Ministers have destroyed and reversed all ancient customs of the state
in order to raise your authority to its highest pitch. They no longer speak of the state and its constitution; they
only speak of the King and his royal pleasure. They have pushed your revenues and your expenses to
unprecedented heights. They have raised you up to the sky in order, they say, to outshine the grandeur of all
your predecessors; that iyo say, in order to impoverish the whole of France for the introduction of monstrous
luxuries of court.. Medewhile, your people die of hunger. The cultivation of the soil is almost stagnant, and
no longer offers employment to working men. All commerce is destroyed."
Archbishop Francois de Fenelon Letters