In the opening pages of his 1994 book Diplomacy, Henry Kissinger recounts a famous, possibly apocryphal quote from Pope Urban VIII upon hearing of the death of Cardinal Richelieu, chief minister to Louis XIII and mastermind of French foreign policy during the 30 Years' War.
"If there is a God, the Cardinal de Richelieu will have much to answer for. If not… well, he had a successful life," said the pope, according to Kissinger's telling.
