SULLY. si) 'W. I\ 1AX IM ILIEN DE BkTIIUNE, Duke, de ( 1560-16.41) . The great Minister of Henry IV. of France. He was born at Rosny, near Mantes, the second son of Francois, Baron de Rosny. He belonged to a Protestant family and was educated with the young Henry at the Court of Navarre. This was the beginning of a friendship and a loyal service that continued until 'Henry's death. He escaped the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew, accompanied Henry in his flight from the French Court (1576), shared in the campaigns against the Catholic League, distinguishing himself especially at Contras (1587), and became Henry's wisest and most trusted adviser. He urged Henry's acceptance of Catholicism to save the crown. The misgov ernment of the preceding years and the an archy of the wars of religion had almost ruined France. and Sully, made Minister of Finance in 1597, and chief intendant in 1599, set himself thoroughly to reform the administration. He made a tour through the chief provin cial districts, armed with absolute authority, personally examined the accounts, dismissed or suspended delinquents, and largely replenished the treasury with the ill-gotten wealth which he compelled them to disgorge. Little by little he brought the affairs of the country into an orderly state. From 1597 to 1609 he trebled the in come of the State. His indefatigable activity was not confined to the department of finance; he practically was in supreme charge of the vari ous other branches of the administration, pro moted agriculture, encouraged export trade, and constructed roads, bridges, and causeways. He
was made grand master of artillery in 1601, and in 1606 was created Duke de Sully. Sully was not popular. His single-minded service of the King made him disliked by the people for his supposed severity. The Catholics hated him for his religion; the Protestants for his invariable refusals to sacrifice the smallest jot of his mas ter's or the country's interest for their sake. At Henry's death he was forced to resign his offices and lived in comparative retirement. Sully wrote M'inoircs des sages ct royales economies d'6tat, domcstigucs, politiques ct militaires, de Henri to Grand, a wearisome and disorderly collection of writings in the form of a narrative addressed to himself by his secretaries. It is through these volumes that we are made ac quainted with the 'great design' of Henry for the federation of Europe, a design the genuine ness of which has been the subject of much con troversy. The edition in Michaud and Poujoulat, Nouvelle collection des ne.euoires pour servir a l'histoire de France, is from the original. Consult Lavisse, Sully (Paris, 1880).