It is legal because I wish it.

Hear the thunderous proclamation of Louis XIV, the Sun King of France, who declared: “It is legal because I wish it.” These words shine with the arrogance of absolute power, yet they also burn with a warning for all generations. They are not merely a statement of authority, but a revelation of the philosophy of kingship in an age when monarchs stood as gods upon the earth. Louis XIV believed himself the living embodiment of the state, the supreme lawgiver whose will alone could define the boundaries of justice and right.

The meaning of this saying is rooted in the doctrine of absolutism, the belief that sovereignty rests not in laws or councils, but in the person of the king himself. In uttering these words, Louis XIV revealed his conviction that his desires were not bound by parliaments, courts, or customs. For him, to wish was to command, and to command was to make law. This vision of power turned the natural order upside down: instead of law restraining rulers, rulers created law out of their own desires. It is here we see both the grandeur and the danger of unchecked authority.

History gives us the vivid example of Louis XIV’s reign itself. He ruled France for more than seventy years, building the magnificent Palace of Versailles as a symbol of his glory and bending nobles to his will. His wars and decrees reshaped Europe, yet his extravagance drained the treasury and placed unbearable burdens on the common people. What he proclaimed as legal by his wish often served his glory but ignored the cries of the hungry. And when his heirs could no longer maintain the weight of this absolute system, the fire of revolution consumed France, sweeping away the monarchy that had claimed divine power. Thus the arrogance of one king sowed the seeds of a nation’s upheaval.

The ancients, too, knew the peril of rulers who claimed law as their personal will. The Greek tyrants of old, who governed without restraint, often fell to the fury of their own people. The Roman emperors, such as Caligula and Nero, who treated their desires as the only measure of law, plunged their empire into corruption and terror. Yet wise philosophers like Aristotle and Cicero declared that true law must rest on reason and justice, not on the fleeting passions of one man. In their wisdom, they anticipated the very collapse that Louis XIV’s boastful words foreshadowed.

And yet, we must not read Louis XIV’s words only as folly. They also reveal the eternal temptation that power exerts upon the human heart. Every ruler, every leader, every person entrusted with authority may feel the pull of these words: “It is legal because I wish it.” The danger lies not only in monarchies, but in governments, corporations, and even households, wherever will seeks to replace justice. Louis XIV stands as a mirror to the pride that dwells in all human ambition.

The lesson for us is profound: law must never be the tool of personal will. It must be rooted in truth, fairness, and the protection of all people, not in the whims of the mighty. When authority forgets this, it becomes tyranny, whether cloaked in royal robes or hidden behind modern institutions. To preserve freedom, we must build systems where no one person’s wish alone can decide the fate of the many.

Therefore, take practical action in your own life: respect laws that are just, but question those that serve only the powerful. Support leaders who submit their will to higher principles, and resist those who claim that their desire is sufficient to make right. Teach children that true greatness lies not in bending others to one’s will, but in serving justice faithfully, even when it restrains one’s own desires.

So remember the words of the Sun King: “It is legal because I wish it.” Let them not inspire imitation, but vigilance. For they are both the boast of power and the epitaph of its downfall. A nation that allows the will of one to stand above the law courts disaster; but a people who anchor law in justice, truth, and the common good shall endure, their freedom shining brighter than the palaces of kings.