Winter was not really suitable for hunting, but the Mongols had a custom of hunting in winter. Marco Polo recorded the process of their hunts: they released falcons to assist with scouting.
Legend had it that Genghis Khan once fell from his horse during a winter hunt and died of illness not long afterward. Then the Mongol Empire fell apart.
Having acquired new, fine horses, the Imperial Guard were excited and eager to try them out at the hunting grounds in the Forest of Compiègne.
Napoleon agreed, but he did not follow them into the forest. Instead, he stayed in the palace to deal with government affairs.
He really was "old." Though he was only in his thirties, wild animals had far shorter lifespans than domesticated ones, and his stomach ailment had flared up again during this tour.
Louis XV had been a frail, sickly child from the start. No one had expected him to become king, so both his tutors and priests had been exceedingly kind and indulgent toward him. He hated court etiquette and preferred dogs, horses, and hunting.
He might not have been able to provide France with a capable king, but if he had not encountered Frederick II of Prussia, perhaps France would have enjoyed a relatively peaceful period during his reign. Louis XIV had indeed accomplished many great deeds, but he had also left behind considerable debt.
The Vatican had a maxim: all friendship is in accord with hope.
The "friendship" and "hope" in that saying were closer to Epicureanism than to what Aristotle and Cicero had meant.
For instance, if you were drowning in debt and needed a friend to help repay it, then as long as he helped you settle those debts, that was the greatest happiness.
So long as friendship maintained a