“Before Parliament in September 1651, a 13 year old LOUIS XIV, having come of age, said to his mother who was passing him the royal power, “Madame, I thank you for the care it pleased you to take with my education and the administration of my kingdom. I pray that you continue to give me your sound advice, and I desire that, after me, you be the head of my Council.”

LOUIS XIV (1638-1715)
Louis the Great or the Sun-King, King of France and of Navarre

“I have sometimes noticed this lived experience of an adolescent who is the beneficiary of a renowned name, and who, unfortunately because of that, is insolent and pretentious. Returning in a car to his family’s estate after an outing, seated next to his chauffeur, he gets out of the car, and immediately insults the driver loudly for stopping too harshly. Unfortunately for him, his father is waiting for him and hears him. This great Christian man has a sense of respect and a sense of the sacred. He calls the boy and driver over to him, and then, without any other formality, he makes his son kneel before the servant, saying to him, “The first form of valor is respecting those who serve you… Ask his pardon.” Kings (when they are true kings!) greet the chambermaids first, such as in the story of Louis XIV. Not very surprising… A great part of prestige is made up of the simple and sincere respect we give to others.”

R.P. de CHIVRÉ (1902-1984)
Dominican