WHEN he had wound up this sermon, agreed upon beforehand with his
darling Madame d’Etampes, I bent one leg upon the ground, and kissed his
coat above the knee. Then I began my speech as follows: “Sacred Majesty,
I admit that all that you have said is true. Only, in reply, I protest
that my heart has ever been, by day and night, with all my vital forces,
bent on serving you and executing your commands. If it appears to your
Majesty that my actions contradict these words, let your Majesty be sure
that Benvenuto was not at fault, but rather possibly my evil fate or
adverse fortune, which has made me unworthy to serve the most admirable
prince who ever blessed this earth. Therefore I crave your pardon. I was
under the impression, however, that your Majesty had given me silver for
one statue only; having no more at my disposal, I could not execute
others; so, with the surplus which remained for use, I made this vase,
to show your Majesty the grand style of the ancients. Perhaps you never
had seen anything of the sort before. As for the salt-cellar, I thought,
if my memory does not betray me, that your Majesty on one occasion
ordered me to make it of your own accord. The conversation falling upon
something of the kind which had been brought for your inspection, I
showed you a model made by me in Italy; you, following the impulse of
your own mind only, had a thousand golden ducats told out for me to
execute the piece withal, thanking me in addition for my hint; and what
is more, I seem to remember that you commended me highly when it was
completed. As regards the door, it was my impression that, after we had
chanced to speak about it at some time or other, your Majesty gave
orders to your chief secretary, M. Villerois, from whom the order passed
to M. de Marmagne and M. de la Fa, to this effect, that all these
gentlemen should keep me going at the work, and see that I obtained the
necessary funds. Without such commission I should certainly not have
been able to advance so great an undertaking on my own resources. As for
the bronze heads, the pedestal of Jupiter and other such-like things, I
will begin by saying that I cast those heads upon my own account, in
order to become acquainted with French clays, of which, as a foreigner,
I had no previous knowledge whatsoever. Unless I had made the
experiment, I could not have set about casting those large works. Now,
touching the pedestals, I have to say that I made them because I judged
them necessary to the statues. Consequently, in all that I have done, I
meant to act for the best, and at no point to swerve from your Majesty’s
expressed wishes. It is indeed true that I set that huge Colossus up to
satisfy my own desire, paying for it from my own purse, even to the
point which it has reached, because I thought that, you being the great
King you are, and I the trifling artist that I am, it was my duty to
erect for your glory and my own a statue, the like of which the ancients
never saw. Now, at the last, having been taught that God is not inclined
to make me worthy of so glorious a service, I beseech your Majesty,
instead of the noble recompense you had in mind to give me for my
labours, bestow upon me only one small trifle of your favour, and
therewith the leave to quit your kingdom. At this instant, if you
condescend to my request, I shall return to Italy, always thanking God
and your Majesty for the happy hours which I have passed in serving you.”