絕對王權下貴族的書寫與出版──拉侯什傅科公爵的《道德箴言錄》與巴黎菁英讀者

Writings and Publications of the French Nobility under the Absolute Monarchy: La Rochefoucauld's Maximes morales and his Readers' Responses

在法國17 世紀尚文著述的佩劍貴族中，曾經參與投石黨運動、對抗王權的拉侯什傅科公爵（François VI de la Rochefoucauld, duc et pair de France, 1613-1680），是文學史上經典之作《道德箴言錄》（Maximes morales）的作者。本文嘗試重建拉氏的政治經驗，和其書寫與出版實踐之間的連結關係，指出絕對王權對於貴族用以界定與鞏固同盟關係與恩庇扈從體系之倫理道德的破壞，為拉氏省視個人政治經驗的核心關懷。本文同時透過分析讀者對於《道德箴言錄》的迴響與挪用，檢視17 世紀下半葉貴族社群與王權不斷調整的互動與對話關係，並勾勒《道德箴言錄》自17 世紀首次出版到18 世紀百年之間意義變遷的閱讀史圖像。

Among the French nobles of the Sword who engaged in literary writings, the Duke of La Rochefoucauld, former member of the Fronde against the monarchy, was the author of the literary classic, Maximes morales. This article intends to build the connection which existed between the political experiences of La Rochefoucauld and his practices in writing and publication. Duke criticized that the Absolute Monarchy destroyed the ethics which the nobility had used to define and strengthen the relationship of alliance as well as of patron-client. By analyzing the responses and appropriations of the readers of Maximes morales, especially the Parisian elite, this article depicts not only the interaction and dialogue established between the aristocratic community and the monarchy under the rule of Louis XIV, but also a history of reading in which the meaning of Maximes morales shifted from its first publication in the seventeen-century to the eighteenth-century.