Le premier de tous les empires est celui qu'on a sur ses désirs." - Meaning and context.">
The first of all empires is that which one has over one's desires.
• Book IV, Article II, 3rd proposition, p. 576
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Le premier de tous les empires est celui qu'on a sur ses désirs.

— Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Le premier de tous les empires est celui qu'on a sur ses désirs." in the context of "The first of all empires is that which one has over one's desires.
• Book IV, Article II, 3rd proposition, p. 576" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet" (Quotes, Politics Drawn from the Very Words of Holy Scripture (1709): Politique tirée des propres paroles de l'Écriture sainte (1709), in Œuvres complétes de Bossuet, Vol. XXIII, ed. F. Lachat (Paris: Louis Vivès, 1864)) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet

About Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet

Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (September 27, 1627 – April 12, 1704) was a French bishop, theologian, and court preacher. Bossuet was one of the first to advocate the theory of political absolutism; he made the argument that government was divine and that kings received their power from God.