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368 General History of Europe ceremony of Versailles, probably cost the nation about a hundred million dollars, in spite of the fact that thousands of peasants and soldiers were forced to turn to and work without pay. The furnishings and decorations were as rich and costly as the palace was splendid. For over a century this magnificent "chateau" at Versailles continued to be the home of the French kings and the seat of their government. 631. Life at Louis XIV's Court. This splendor and luxury helped to attract the nobility, who no longer lived on their estates in well-fortified castles, planning how they might escape the royal control. They now dwelt in the effulgence of the king's countenance. They saw him to bed at night, and in stately pro- cession they greeted him in the morning. It was deemed a high honor to hand him his shirt as he was being dressed or, at dinner, to provide him with a fresh napkin. Only by living close to the king could the courtiers hope to gain favors, pensions, and highly paid positions for themselves and their friends. 632. Art and Literature in the Reign of Louis XIV. It was, however, as a patron of art and literature that Louis XIV gained much of his celebrity. Moliere, who was at once a playwright and an actor, delighted the court with comedies in which he deli- cately satirized the foibles of his time. Men of letters were gen- erously aided by the king with pensions. A magazine, which still exists, was founded for the promotion of science ; an astronomical observatory was built at Paris ; and the Royal Library, which possessed only about sixteen thousand volumes, began to grow into that great collection of two and a half million volumes by far the largest in existence which today attracts scholars to Paris from all parts of the world. III. Louis XIV's WARLIKE ENTERPRISES 633. Louis XIV's Warlike Enterprises. Unfortunately for France, the king's ambitions were by no means exclusively peace- ful. Indeed he regarded his wars as his chief glory. He em- ployed a carefully reorganized army and the skill of his generals