Francis Earl of, descended of an illustrious family, next in dignity to that of the sovereigns, was chamberlain to King Charles VIII. and Louis XII. His character at court was admired as obliging, generous, upright, and sincere. In 1494 he stood godfather to Francis I., who, when he came to the throne, continued to pay great respect to that spiritual relation. He made him his chamberlain in ordinary, and erected, in 1515, the barony of Rochefoucault into an earldom; and, in his writ of erection, observes, that he did this in memory of the great, honourable, highly useful, and commendable services which the said Francis had done to his predecessors, to the crown of France, and to himself. The earl of Rochefoucault died in 1517, leaving behind him an illustrious memory, and a character universally respected. Since his time all the eldest sons of that family have taken the name of Francis.

Francis duke de Lu, prince of Marillac, governor of Poitou, was born in 1603.—He was the son of Francis, the first duke of Rochefoucault, and was distinguished equally by his courage and his wit. These shining qualities endeared him to all the nobility at court, who were ambitious of decorating themselves at once with the laurels of Mars and of Apollo. He wrote two excellent works; the one a book of Maxims, which M. de Voltaire says has contributed more than anything else to form the taste of the French nation; and the other, Memoirs of the Regency of Queen Anne of Austria. It was partly at the instigation of the beautiful duchess de Longueville, to whom he had been long attached, that the duke de Rochefoucault engaged in the civil wars, in which he signalized himself particularly at the battle of St Antoine. Beholding one day a portrait of this lady, he wrote underneath it these two lines from the tragedy of Alcyone:

"Pour meriter son cœur, pour plaire à ses beaux yeux, J'ai fait la guerre aux rois, je l'aurais fait aux dieux."

Which may be thus rendered in English:

"To gain her heart, and please her sparkling eyes, I've war'd with kings, and would have brav'd the skies."

It is reported, that after his rupture with Madame Longueville, he parodied the above verses thus:

"Pour ce cœur inconstant, qu'enfin je connais mieux, Je fais la guerre aux rois, j'en ai perdu les yeux."

After the civil wars were ended, he thought of nothing but enjoying the calm pleasures of friendship and literature. His house became the rendezvous of every person of genius in Paris and Versailles. Racine, Boileau, Savigny, and La Fayette, found in his conversation charms which they sought for in vain elsewhere. He was not, however, with all his elegance and genius, a member of the French Academy. The necessity of making a public speech on the day of his reception was the only cause that he did not claim admittance. This nobleman, with all the courage he had displayed upon various critical occasions, and with his superiority of birth and understanding over the common run of men, did not think himself capable of facing an audience, to utter only four lines in public, without being out of countenance. He died at Paris in 1683, aged 68, leaving behind him a character which has been variously drawn by those who during his life were proud of his friendship. That he was well acquainted with human nature is certain; and his merit in that respect was fully admitted by Swift, who was himself not easily imposed upon by the artificial disguises of the hypocrite.