Older Voltaire: What is this thing called shame you talk about?
And yes, his son being his namesake (and inheritor of the duchy of Orleans) is why historians usually call Philippe the first by his (and every King's oldest brother) title of "Monsieur", and Philippe the second gets referred to as "the Regent". He shows up a lot in the early part of Horowitz book, btw. (He was regent during the childhood and youth of Louis XV., which was, of course, also Voltaire's youth.) While according to Orieux and wiki he did not have sex with his daughter, he did have sex with a great many other people in a great many ways (though as opposed to Dad, he didn't have male favourites); in general, he's described as smart, liberal for a Bourbon, artistically gifted (he composed operas, painted and acted in plays by Moliere and Racine), and a great reader. (His personal library forms the basis for the National Library of France (much as Jefferson's library became the basis for the library of Congress), which he founded and opened to the public (i.e. not just to students and scholars - this was the first truly public library). Unfortunately, he was also an iccorrigble spendthrift, and so contributed his share to moving France long towards the French Revolution.
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Re: The STD thread
Date: 2020-07-24 02:53 pm (UTC)And yes, his son being his namesake (and inheritor of the duchy of Orleans) is why historians usually call Philippe the first by his (and every King's oldest brother) title of "Monsieur", and Philippe the second gets referred to as "the Regent". He shows up a lot in the early part of Horowitz book, btw. (He was regent during the childhood and youth of Louis XV., which was, of course, also Voltaire's youth.) While according to Orieux and wiki he did not have sex with his daughter, he did have sex with a great many other people in a great many ways (though as opposed to Dad, he didn't have male favourites); in general, he's described as smart, liberal for a Bourbon, artistically gifted (he composed operas, painted and acted in plays by Moliere and Racine), and a great reader. (His personal library forms the basis for the National Library of France (much as Jefferson's library became the basis for the library of Congress), which he founded and opened to the public (i.e. not just to students and scholars - this was the first truly public library). Unfortunately, he was also an iccorrigble spendthrift, and so contributed his share to moving France long towards the French Revolution.