King Frederick II of Prussia (1712-86) and Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis of Argens (1703-1771), inspecting the construction of Sanssouci in Potsdam. Painting by Johann Christoph Frisch
The president d’Éguilles and the Marquis d’Argens were brothers and scoffed at the practice of religion. However, they had a third brother who was very pious. One day as they mocked their brother’s “simplicity,” the Marquis noted wryly:
“—We ridicule our brother, but if one day I need to trust someone with a large sum of money, I would never leave it with you.”
Edmond Guérard, Dictionnaire encyclopédique d’anécdotes (Paris: Firmin Didot, 1872), vol. 1:319. (Nobility.org translation.)
Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 266
