第43章 LETTER 6(6)

III.In Spain and the Empire Spain figured little in Europe till the latter part of the fifteenth century;till Castile and Arragon were united by the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella;till the total expulsion of the Moors,and till the discovery of the West Indies.After this,not only Spain took a new form,and grew into immense power;but,the heir of Ferdinand and Isabella being heir likewise of the houses of Burgundy and Austria,such an extent of dominion accrued to him by all these successions,and such an addition of rank and authority by his election to the empire,as no prince had been master of in Europe from the days of Charles the Great.It is proper to observe here how the policy of the Germans altered in the choice of an emperor;because the effects of this alteration have been great.When Rodolphus of Hapsburg was chose in the year one thousand two hundred and seventy,or about that time,the poverty and the low estate of this prince,who had been marshal of the court to a king of Bohemia,was an inducement to elect him.The disorderly and lawless state of the empire made the princes of it in those days unwilling to have a more powerful head.But a contrary maxim took place at this era.Charles the Fifth and Francis the First,the two most powerful princes of Europe,were the sole candidates;for the elector of Saxony,who is said to have declined,was rather unable to stand in competition with them:and Charles was chosen by the unanimous suffrages of the electoral college,if I mistake not.Another Charles,Charles the Fourth,who was made emperor illegally enough on the deposition of Louis of Bavaria,and about one hundred and fifty years before,seems to me to have contributed doubly to establish this maxim;by the wise constitutions that he procured to pass,that united the empire in a more orderly form and better system of government;and by alienating the imperial revenues to such a degree,that they were no longer sufficient to support an emperor who had not great revenues of his own.The same maxim and other circumstances have concurred to keep the empire in this family ever since,as it had been often before;and this family having large dominions in the empire,and larger pretensions,as well as dominions,out of it,the other states of Europe,France,Spain and England particularly,have been more concerned since this period in the affairs of Germany,than they were before it:and by consequence the history of Germany,from the beginning of the sixteenth century,is of importance,and a necessary part of that knowledge which your lordship desires to acquire.

The Dutch commonwealth was not formed till near a century later.But as soon as it was formed,nay even whilst it was forming,these provinces,that were lost to observation among the many that composed the dominions of Burgundy and Austria,became so considerable a part of the political system of Europe,that their history must be studied by every man who would inform himself of this system.

Soon after this state had taken being,others of a more ancient original began to mingle in those disputes and wars,those councils,negotiations,and treaties,that are to be the principal objects of your lordship's application in the study of history.That of the northern crowns deserves your attention little,before the last century.Till the election of Frederic the First to the crown of Denmark,and till that wonderful revolution which the first Gustavus brought about in Sweden,it is nothing more than a confused rhapsody of events,in which the great kingdoms and states of Europe neither had any concern,nor took any part.From the time I have mentioned,the northern crowns have turned their counsels and their arms often southwards,and Sweden particularly,with prodigious effect.

To what purpose should I trouble your lordship with the mention of histories of other nations?They are either such as have no relation to the knowledge you would acquire,like that of the Poles,the Muscovites,or the Turks;or they are such as,having an occasional or a secondary relation to it,fall of course into your scheme;like the history of Italy for instance,which is sometimes a part of that of France,sometimes of that of Spain,and sometimes of that of Germany.The thread of history that you are to keep,is that of the nations who are and must always be concerned in the same scenes of action with your own.These are the principal nations of the west.Things that have no immediate relation to your own country,or to them,are either too remote,or too minute,to employ much of your time:and their history and your own is,for all your purposes,the whole history of Europe.