Molé's moderating counsels failed to prevent the outbreak of the first Fronde, but he negotiated the peace of Rueil in 1651, and averted a conflict between the partisans of Condé and of the Cardinal de Retz within the precincts of the Palais de Justice. He refused honours and rewards for himself or his family, but became keeper of the seals, in which capacity he was compelled to follow the court, and he therefore retired from the presidency of the parlement. The "Mémoires" of Molé were edited for the Société de l'histoire de France (4 vols., 1855) by Aimé Champollion-Figeac, and his life was written by Baron AGP de Barante in "Le Parlement et la Fronde" (1859). See also the memoirs of Omer Talon and of De Retz.