第46章 LETTER 7(1)

A Sketch of the State of History of Europe,From the Pyranean Treaty in One Thousand Six Hundred and Fifty-Nine,to the Year One Thousand Six Hundred and Eighty-Eight The first observation I shall make on this third period of modern history is,that as the ambition of Charles the Fifth,who united the whole formidable power of Austria in himself,and the restless temper,the cruelty and bigotry of Philip the Second,were principally objects of the attention and solicitude of the councils of Europe,in the first of these periods;and as the ambition of Ferdinand the Second,and the Third,who aimed at nothing less than extirpating the protestant interest,and under that pretence subduing the liberties of Germany,were objects of the same kind in the second:so an opposition to the growing power of France,or to speak more properly,to the exorbitant ambition of the house of Bourbon,has been the principal affair of Europe,during the greatest part of the present period.The design of aspiring to universal monarchy was imputed to Charles the Fifth,as soon as he began to give proofs of his ambition and capacity.The same design was imputed to Louis the Fourteenth,as soon as he began to feel his own strength,and the weakness of his neighbors.Neither of these princes as induced,I believe,by the flattery of his courtiers;or the apprehension of his adversaries,to entertain so chimerical a design as this would have been,even in that false sense wherein the word universal is so often understood:and I mistake very much if either of them was of a character,or in circumstances,to undertake it.Both of them had strong desires to raise their families higher,and to extend their dominions farther;but neither of them had that bold and adventurous ambition which makes a conqueror and a hero.These apprehensions,however,were given wisely,and taken usefully.They cannot be given nor taken too soon when such powers as these arise;because when such powers as these are besieged as it were early,by the common policy and watchfulness of their neighbors.each of them may in his turn of strength sally forth,and gain a little ground;but none of them will be able to push their conquest far;and much less to consummate the entire projects of their ambition.Besides the occasional opposition that was given to Charles the Fifth by our Henry the Eighth,according to the different moods of humor he was in;by the popes,according to the several turns of their private interest;and by the princes of Germany,according to the occasions or pretences that religion or civil liberty furnished;he had from his first setting out a rival and an enemy in Francis the First,who did not maintain his cause "in forma pauperis,"if I may use such an expression:as we have seen the house of Austria sue,in our days,for dominion at the gate of every palace in Europe.Francis the First was the principal in his own quarrels,paid his own armies,fought his own battles;and though his valor alone did not hinder Charles the Fifth from subduing all Europe,as Bayle,a better philologer than politician,somewhere asserts,but a multitude of other circumstances easily to be traced in history;yet he contributed by his victories,and even by his defeats,to waste the strength and cheek the course of that growing power.Louis the Fourteenth had no rival of this kind in the house of Austria,nor indeed any enemy of this importance to combat,till the prince of Orange became King of Great Britain:and he had great advantages in many other respects,which it is necessary to consider in order to make a true judgment on the affairs of Europe from the year one thousand six hundred and sixty.You will discover the first of these advantages,and such as were productive of all the rest,in the conduct of Richelieu and of Mazarin.Richelieu formed the great design,and laid the foundations:Mazarin pursued the design,and raised the superstructure.If I do not deceive myself extremely,there are few passages in history that deserve your lordship's attention more than the conduct that the first and greatest of these ministers held,in laying the foundations I speak of you will observe how he helped to embroil affairs on every side,and to keep the house of Austria at bay as it were;how he entered into the quarrels of Italy against Spain,into that concerning the Valteline,and that concerning the succession of Mantua;without engaging so deep as to divert him from another great object of his policy,subduing Rochelle and disarming the Huguenots.You will observe holy he turned himself after this was done,to stop the progress of Ferdinand in Germany.While Spain fomented discontents at the court and disorders in the kingdom of France,by all possible means,even by taking engagements with the Duke of Rohan;and for supporting the protestants;Richelieu abetted the same interest in Germany against Ferdinand;and in the Low Countries against Spain.The emperor was become almost the master in Germany.Christian the Fourth,King of Denmark,had been at the head of a league,wherein the United Provinces,Sweden,and Lower Saxony entered,to oppose his progress:but Christian had been defeated by Tilly and Valstein,and obliged to conclude a treaty at Lubec,where Ferdinand gave him the law.It was then that Gustavus Adolphus,with whom Richelieu made an alliance,entered into this war,and soon turned the fortune of it.