Veils of secrecy

This morning, having been puzzled the night before by the BBC version of the reign of Louis XIV at Versailles, I was moved to take a look at a short history of the Bourbon dynasty by one J. H. Shennan, picked up from Epsom Library, also the author of what appears to be the standard work on the Parlement of Paris.

I was struck by the observation, attributed in reference 1 to reference 2 to Cardinal de Retz, to the effect that you should not tear aside the veil which shielded the mystery of state, thereby exposing the kingdom to anarchy. This at a time when the young king, having emerged from his minority, was trying to assert his authority.

An observation which I think remains relevant today. We might all have to worship at the altar of openness and transparency, but I think there is still plenty of room for mystery. All kinds of relationships are apt to break down if one drags their inner workings out into the open. Honesty is not always the best policy. Sometimes, for example, preserving face is a better one.

PS: being the proud owner of some at least of the good Cardinal's extensive memoirs, maybe I shall try to track the observation down to the horse's mouth.

PPS: I failed to put my hand on any memoirs, their possibly having fallen victim to one of the periodic culls. But I could put my hand on reference 3, where I think I have turned up the passage in question, page 89, illustrated above. Perhaps it is so well known that I need not have bothered with horses' mouths and could simply have turned to a book of quotations - supposing that is, that I have such a thing, which I do not think is the case.

Reference 1: The Bourbons: the history of a dynasty - J. H. Shennan - 2007.

Reference 2: The Parlement of Paris - J. H. Shennan - 1968.

Reference 3: Cardinal de Retz: the anatomy of a conspirator - J. H. M. Salmon - 1969.