 Shapiro (2021) explores a remark Elisabeth makes in her letter to Descartes of 4 December 1649 on the apparent incompatibility of governing and philosophizing (AT 5:452), and argues that Elisabeth recognizes that rulers, and not simply their subjects, inevitably have their own passions, which must be regulated according to the demands of their office. These practical demands, and in particular the time constraints of their decision-making, can leave a ruler with a very different affective profile from that of the philosopher.