Politics Drawn from the Very Words of Holy Scripture
Politique tirée des propres paroles de l'Écriture sainte (English Politics Drawn from the Very Words of Holy Scripture) is a work of political theory composed by Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet as part of his duties as tutor for Louis XIV's heir apparent, Louis, le Grand Dauphin. It is one of the purest expressions of the branch of political absolutism which political scientists have labeled the Divine Right of Kings. On 30 September 1670, Bossuet was named tutor to Louis XIV's only son, the 9-year old Louis. Bossuet was responsible for the youth's religious, philosophical, and political upbringing for the next eleven years. In this role, Bossuet produced a number of works designed to instruct the (presumed) future King of France on his role. These works included: the Traité de la connaissance de Dieu et de soi-même (1677), a religious work; the Discours sur l'histoire universelle (1679, published 1682), a historical survey designed to furnish his pupil with useful lessons drawn from the past; and the first six books of Politique tirée de l'Ecriture Sainte (1679, published 1709), a book dedicated entirely to the source and proper exercise of political power. In 1679, Bossuet set aside the book, leaving it unfinished, though not before describing the work in a long letter addressed to Pope Innocent XI. His tutorship came to an end in 1679–80, leaving the work unfinished. Twenty years later, in 1700, he resumed work on the Politique. At the time of his death, in Spring 1704, he had completed Books VII through X of the work. After his death, his nephew, the Abbé de Bossuet, completed the work, inserting a fragment from St. Augustine's City of God. Political and theological disputes resulted in some changes to the work, but it was finally published in 1709. Unlike most of his contemporaries, in this work, Bossuet has only minimal recourse to classical sources. Rather, the work is drawn almost entirely from the Bible (including the Deuterocanonical Books which are recognized as scripture by the Roman Catholic Church), especially the books of the Old Testament.