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Last Will of Louis XVI 1792
It follows the English
translation of the French transcript
of the Last Will of King
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Louis XVI as published in the
work Historical Epochs of
the French Revolution by H. Goudemetz, 1796, made available by Project Gutenberg.
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Louis XVI signed his Last Will on December 25, 1792, and was
executed on January 21, 1793.
THE LAST WILL OF LOUIS XVI
IN the name of the most holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
this day, the 25th of December, 1792, I, Louis XVI. by name, King of
France, having been four months shut up with my family in the Tower
of the Temple, at Paris, by those who were my subjects, and deprived
of all communication whatever, even, since the 11th of this month,
with my family; being moreover involved in a trial, of which it is
impossible to foresee the issue, on account of the passions of men,
and for which there is no pretence nor motive in any existing law,
having none but God for witness to my thoughts, and to whom I can
address myself, I here declare, in his presence, my last will and
sentiments.
I leave my soul to GOD my creator; I beseech him to receive it in
his mercy; not to judge it according to its merits, but to those of
our Lord Jesus Christ, who offered himself as a sacrifice to GOD his
Father for us men, unworthy of it as we are, and I more than any.
I die in the faith of our holy mother the catholic, apostolic, and
Roman Church, which derives her powers in an uninterrupted
succession from St. Peter, to whom Jesus Christ had entrusted them;
I firmly believe and acknowledge all that is contained in the
apostles' creed, the commandments of God, and of the church; the
sacraments and mysteries, such the Catholic Church teaches, and has
always taught them; I never pretended, to be a judge of the
different modes of explaining the dogmas which divide the church of
Jesus Christ; but I have always trusted, and shall always trust, if
God grants me life, to the decisions that the ecclesiastical
superiors, together with the holy catholic church, give and shall
give, according to the discipline of the church since Jesus Christ.
I pity with all my heart our brethren who may be in error, but I do
not pretend to judge them; nor do I love them the less in Jesus
Christ, according to what christian charity teaches us, and I pray
God to forgive me all my sins: I have scrupulously sought to know
them, to detest them, and to humble myself in his presence. Not
being permitted to make use of the ministry of a catholic priest, I
pray God to receive the confession which I have made to him of them;
and above all, my sincere repentance for having put my name (though
against my will) to acts that may be contrary to the discipline and
faith of the catholic church, to which I have always been sincerely
and faithfully united. I pray God to accept my firm resolution, if
he grants me life, to make use as soon as possible of the ministry
of a catholic priest, that I may accuse myself of all my sins, and
receive the sacrament of penance. I beseech all those whom I may
have inadvertently offended, (for I do not remember to have
knowingly given offence to any person) and those to whom I may have
given bad examples, or caused scandal, to forgive the injuries they
think I may have done them.
I implore all charitable persons to join their prayers to mine, to
obtain from God the pardon of my sins; I, with all my heart, forgive
those who are become my enemies, although I have not given them any
reason to be so; and I beseech God to forgive them, as well as those
who, through a false or mistaken zeal, have brought many misfortunes
on me.
I recommend to God, my wife and children; my sisters, my aunts, my
brothers, and all those who are attached to me, either by the ties
of blood, or in any other way whatever. I particularly beseech God
to cast a merciful eye on my wife, my children, and my sister, who
have long suffered with me, to support them by his grace, if they
should happen to lose me, and as long as they remain in this
perishable world.
I recommend my children to my wife; I never doubted her maternal
tenderness for them. I above all recommend to her to make them good
christians, and honest people; to make them consider the grandeurs
of this world (if they be condemned to possess them) only as
dangerous and perishable possessions, and to direct their attention
to Eternity, the only solid and durable glory. I beg of my sister to
continue her tenderness to my children, and to be a mother to them,
if they should have the misfortune of losing her who is such.
I intreat my wife to forgive me all the afflictions she suffers for
my sake, and the sorrows I may have given her in the course of our
union; as she may be certain that I have no fault to find with her,
even where she may think she has cause to reproach herself.
I earnestly recommend to my children, after what they owe to God,
(which is the first of all duties) to live always in harmony with
one another, to be submissive and obedient to their mother, and
grateful to her for all the care and trouble she takes for them out
of regard to my memory. I desire them to consider my sister as their
second mother.
I recommend to my Son, if he has the misfortune to become King, to
remember that he owes himself entirely to his fellow citizens; that
he must forget all hatred and resentment, and particularly all that
relates to the misfortunes and afflictions that I endure; that he
can only make the people happy by reigning according to the laws,
but at the same time, that a King cannot make himself respected, and
do all the good he wishes, without having the necessary authority;
and that otherwise, being restrained in his operations, and not
inspiring respect, he is rather hurtful than useful.
I recommend to my son to take as much care of all those persons who
were attached to me, as the circumstances he may be in will allow
him; to recollect that it is a sacred debt which I have contracted
towards the children or the relations of those who have died for me,
and those who suffer for my sake. I know that there are several
persons among those who ought to have been attached to me, who have
not acted towards me as they ought, and have even been ungrateful
towards me; but I forgive them, (often in time of trouble and
confusion, men are not masters of themselves) and I beg my son, if
he finds the opportunity, to think only of their misfortunes.
I wish I could here give a testimony of my gratitude to those who
have shown a true and disinterested affection for me. If, on the one
hand, I have been sensibly affected with the ingratitude and
disloyalty of those, to whom I had shewn at all times only kindness
to them, their relations, or friends; on the other hand, I have had
the consolation to receive proofs of disinterested affection and
regard from several others. I beg them to accept my best thanks.
In the present state of things, I should fear to expose them if I
spoke more explicitly; but I particularly recommend to my son to
embrace every opportunity of discovering them.
Nevertheless, I think I should wrong the national feeling, if I were
not openly to recommend to my son Messieurs De Chamilly and Hue,
whose sincere affection for me induced them to shut themselves up
with me in this melancholy abode, and who ran the risque (sic) of
being the unfortunate victims of their attachment. I also recommend
Cleri, with whose attentions I have had all reasons to be satisfied
ever since he has been with me. As he is the person who has remained
with me to the last, I request Messieurs de la Commune to give him
my clothes, my books, and the other trifles which have been
deposited at the Council of the Commune.
I also very willingly forgive those who guarded me, for their ill
treatment, and the constraint which they thought necessary to keep
me under. I have found some feeling and compassionate minds; may
they enjoy in their hearts the pleasure that their turn of thinking
must afford them.
I request Messieurs De Malsherbes, Tronchet, and De Seze, to receive
my best thanks, and assurances of my gratitude for all the care and
attention they have shown me.
I conclude with declaring before GOD, being ready to appear before
him, that I cannot reproach myself with any of those crimes that
have been laid to my charge.
Made and copied in the Tower of the Temple, the 25th of December,
1792.
(Signed) LOUIS.
And undersigned BEAUDRAIS, Municipal Officer.
See also
Governments of France
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