e was nothing like it. . . . Never did
he pass the most insignificant woman without taking off his hat to her;
and I mean chambermaids whom he knew to be such. . . Never did he chance
to say anything disobliging to anybody. . . . Never before company
anything mistimed or venturesome, but even to the smallest gesture, his
walk, his bearing, his features, all were proper, respectful, noble,
grand, majestic, and thoroughly natural."

Such is the model, and, nearly or remotely, it is imitated up to the end
of the ancient regime. If it undergoes any change, it is only to become
more sociable. In the eighteenth century, except on great ceremonial
occasions, it is seen descending step by step from its pedestal. It
no longer imposes "that stillness around it which lets one hear a fly
walk." "Sire," said the Marshal de Richelieu, who had seen three reigns,
addressing Louis XVI, "under Louis XIV no one dared utter a word; under
Louis XV people whispered; under your Majesty they talk aloud." If
authority is a loser, society is the gainer; etiquette, insensibly
relaxed, allows the introduction of ease and cheerfulness. Henceforth
the great, less concerned in overawing than in pleasing, cast off
stateliness like an uncomfortable and ridiculous garment, "seeking
respect less than applause. It no longer suffices to be affable; one
has to appear amiable at any cost with one's inferiors as with one's
equals."[2206] The French princes, says again a contemporary lady, "are
dying with fear of being deficient in favors."[2207] Even around the
throne "the style is free and playful." The grave and disciplined court
of Louis XIV became at the end of the century, under the smiles of the
youthful queen, the most seductive and gayest of drawing-rooms. Through
this universal relaxation, a worldly existence gets to be perfect.
"He who has not lived before 1789," says Talleyrand at a later period,
"knows nothing of the charm of living." It was too great; no other way
of living was appreciated; it engrossed man wholly. When society becomes
so attractive, people live for it alone.

II. Social Life Has Priority.

Subordination of it to other interests and duties.
--Indifference to public affairs.--They are merely a subject
of jest.--Neglect of private affairs.--Disorder in the
household and abuse of money.

There is neither leisure nor taste for other matters, even for things
which are of most concern to man, such as publi