in the galleys; he had no ear, it is said, for
the cry of the suppliant. There was indeed a more human side to his
character, as is shown in his letters, full of wise advice and
affectionate care, to his children, his brothers, his cousins even. Yet
to all outside he was "the man of marble." Madame de Sevigne called him
"the North." To diplomacy he never pretended; persuasion and deceit were
not the weapons he employed; all his work was carried out by the iron
hand of authority. He was a great statesman in that he conceived a
magnificent yet practicable scheme for making France first among
nations, and in that he possessed a matchless faculty for work, neither
shrinking from the vastest undertakings nor scorning the most trivial
details.

Numerous _vies_ and _eloges_ of Colbert have been published; but the
most thorough student of his life and administration was Pierre
Clement, member of the Institute, who in 1846 published his _Vie de
Colbert_, and in 1861 the first of the 9 vols. of the _Lettres,
instructions, et memoires de Colbert_. The historical introductions
prefixed to each of these volumes have been published by Mme. Clement
under the title of the _Histoire de Colbert et de son administration_
(3rd ed., 1892). The best short account of Colbert as a statesman is
that in Lavisse, _Histoire de France_ (1905), which gives a thorough
study of the administration. Among Colbert's papers are _Memoires sur
les affaires de finance de France_ (written about 1663), a fragment
entitled _Particularites secretes de la vie du Roy_, and other
accounts of the earlier part of the reign of Louis XIV. (J. T. S.)

FOOTNOTE:

[1] See especially a _Memoire_ presented to the king in 1666,
published in the _Lettres, &c., de Colbert_, vol. ii.

COLBERT DE CROISSY, CHARLES, MARQUIS (1625-1696), French diplomatist,
like his elder brother Jean Baptiste Colbert, began his career in the
office of the minister of war Le Tellier. In 1656 he bought a
counsellorship at the parlement of Metz, and in 1658 was appointed
intendant of Alsace and president of the newly-created sovereign council
of Alsace. In this position he had to re-organize the territory recently
annexed to France. The steady support of his brother at court gained for
him several diplomatic missions--to Germany and Italy (1659-1661). In
1662 he became marquis de Croissy and _president a mortier_ of the
parlement of Metz. After various