Contents
-BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD
S.A. Bent, comp. Familiar Short Sayings of Great Men. 1887.
Cardinal Dubois
[Guillaume Dubois, a French ecclesiastic and statesman of scandalous life and character; born in Limousin, 1656; preceptor to the Duke de Chartres, afterwards the Regent Orleans, whose favor he gained by pandering to his vices; became councillor of state, and showed great astuteness in political matters; minister of foreign affairs; archbishop of Cambrai, and cardinal, 1721; prime minister the next year; died 1725.]
To become a great man, it is necessary to be a great rascal (Pour devenir grand homme, il faut être grand scélérat).
It was worthy to have been the maxim of his life.After being kicked five times by the regent, once each for the rogue, the pimp, the priest, the minister, the archbishop, Dubois coolly remarked, “I pardon you, because I await the sixth as cardinal.”
