standing on the shoulders of giants illustrates this principle: by learning from the works of the great men of the past, it's possible to surpass them. Boileau has on his side the greatest French writers of his time, including Racine, Jean de La Fontaine, François Fénelon and Jean de La Bruyère. The Moderns (Modernes), represented by Perrault, maintain that, since the France of King Louis XIV surpasses all other states in history by its political and religious perfection, accomplished and matchless, it follows that the works created by 17th century authors to the glory of King and Church are necessarily superior to anything produced in the past centuries. Therefore they fight for a new literature adapted to the modern era, complacent towards the Court of France, respectful of 17th century decorum, zealous for Catholic religion, renouncing the freedom of old classical authors and always seeking to celebrate the French monarchy and the Catholic Church. Perrault has on his side the Académie, the devout party, the literary salons and a host of fashionable poets—who, in the present-day, are almost completely forgotten. The gradual takeover of the literary community by political powers during the 17th century—which included the creation of the Académie by Cardinal Richelieu (with Richelieu acting as supreme judge of all things literary), governmental censorship, the banning of controversial books (which sometimes also carried legal penalties against their authors), and the giving of pensions to authors who flattered the government—greatly favored Perrault, who had risen to prominence through the power and patronage of minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert, and bolstered his Modern party's views on artistic creation. From 1637 to 1694, the proponents of a literature adapted to modern times raged against the "Ancients". In 1637, Corneille's Le Cid was attacked in the salons and condemned by the Académie; accused of anti-patriotism and affronting decorum and morality. The "Moderns" mobilized again in a 1663 attack against Molière's L'École des femmes, as well as in 1667 against Racine's Andromaque, and then in 1677 against Racine's Phèdre; all were called irreligious and outrageous to French customs and society. In 1674, Desmarets de Saint-Sorlin made a public call on his friend Perrault to "defend France" against "that heretical troop who prefers ancient works to our own." In response to this call, Perrault and his brother Claude tried to charge Boileau with the crimes of blasphemy and lèse-majesté on the grounds that he preferred the works