Louis XIV, painted by Charles Le Brun
While inspecting a battalion of his guard in the company of the ambassador of Great Britain—a country with a tradition of warring against France in numerous conflicts—Louis XIV commented:
— “These are the bravest soldiers in my kingdom. There is not one who is not covered with scars.”
— “But Sire, what do you say about the soldiers who caused these scars?” replied the ambassador pointedly.
A French grenadier who had overheard the exchange, interjected:
— “They perished to a man!”
Louis XIV at the Taking of Besançon Painted by Adam Frans van der Meulen
Adolfo Padovan, Il Libro degli Aneddoti (Milan: Bottega di Poesia, 1924), p. 97.
Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 104
