He declared himself ready to abjure his old faith.

Bitter reproaches on the one side and rejoicings on the other greeted this decision.

It was not heroic.

But many even among the Protestants acknowledged it to be an act of supreme political wisdom.
Peace was restored, and the Edict of Nantes, which quickly followed, proved to his old friends, the Huguenots, that they were not forgotten.
The Protestants, with disabilities removed, shared equal privileges with the Catholics throughout the kingdom, and the first victory for religious liberty was splendidly won.
An era of unexampled prosperity dawned.

Never had the kingdom been so wisely and beneficently governed.