Vb JURLSPRUD' ■■"^LOMAGY. .YLLA3US POLITICAL HISTORY, 0LUM3IAN UNIVERSITY. B99-1900, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. Chap. Copyright No... 8helf_..ld/-.fe2. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THE COLUMBIAN UNIVERSITY, WASHINGTON, D. C. SCHOOL OF COMPARATIVE JURISPRUDENCE AND DIPLOMACY, 1 899- 1 900. SYLLABUS OF THE OUTLINES OF POLITICAL HISTORY BY BENAIAH L. WHITMAN, D. D., LL. D. WASHINGTON, D. C. JUDD & DETWKILRR, PRINTERS. 1900. 68227 21223 ■ . '.:> T Library of Congress Two Copies Received JUL 171900 Copyn'ght antry SECOND COPY. Deliver«d to ORDER DIVISION, AUG 20 1900 Copyriglit, 1900, By The Columbian University. Wa.shinffton, D. C. PREFACE. The usual apology for making a book is that for the purpose in hand something is needed different in some wa\^ from anything already available. No other apology is offered for this Syllabus. It has taken shape in the performance of a special task under special conditions. Its existence has been vindicated by accomplishment of the work required of it. Perhaps no other vindication is necessary. TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. The First Great Nations. The Beginnings of History — Left by the Way — Egypt — The Great Rulers and Their Works — Chaldea — As- syria — Media — Babylonia — Persia — Geographical Grouping — General Character of Civilization — Intel- lectual Development — Art — Industry and Commerce — Religion — Morals — Political Spirit — Legacy of East to West. CHAPTER II. Greece* The Land — The People — Formative Period — Sparta — Athens — Macedon — The Greek Spirit — Intellectual Life — Art — Faith — Politics. CHAPTER III. Rome. K Italy — The Latin Stock — Amalgamation — Consolida- tion — Kingdom — Republic — The Same — Empire — Culture — Religion — Law — Political Organization. CHAPTER IV. The Barbarian Inundation. The Forest Children — Work and Play — The First Attack — The Struggle — Victory — The Old Order Changeth — Giving Place to New — Reflux. CHAPTER V. The "Western Empire Restored. The Frank — Merovingian Rule — Carolingian Sncces- sion — Prankish Alliance with Papacy — Charlemagne — Administration — Religion and Learning — Partition and Weakness — The Empire Re-founded — Emperor and Pope — Gregory Hildebrand — Conflict and Compro- mise — Frederick Barbarossa — The Contest Culmi- nates — Later History of Empire. (V) vi TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI. The Feudal System and Centralized Government. The Middle Ages — Feudalism a Peculiar Social System — Also Legal — And Indirectly Political as Well — -Origin — Extent — Good and Evil — The Central Government Gathers Strength — Aids — The Central Government Prevails — In France : General — In France : Particular — In Spain — In England — The vSanie. CHAPTER VII. The Renaissance. The New Spirit — Occasions and Causes — Voices from the Dark — Prophets of the New Day — The Center of the New Order — The Renaissance Italian — The Re- naissance European — Literature — Art — Architecture — Sculpture — Painting — Science and Discovery — Politics — Profit and Loss. CHAPTER VIII. The Reformation. Serious Ouestions Inevitable — Answer Not Eas}- — Con- tributions Thereto — The Issue — Luther — Other Factors — Extent of the Movement — The Darker Side — Coun- ter-Reformation — Political Footing — The Reformation Recognized — General Results. CHAPTER IX. The Thirty Years' War. A Half Century of Discord — Discord Deepens into Hos- tility— Geographical Distribution of Religion — Catholic and Protestant Claims — Verging upon Conflict — Bohe- mian Revolution — Judgment upon Bohemia and Fred- erick — Danish Intervention — Impolicy of Ferdinand — Swedish Intervention — French Intervention — Peace of Westphalia — Reaping the Whirlwind — To the Victors the Spoils. 'rABLK OF CONTENI'S. Vll CHAPTER X. Modern France. The Intervening Century — Two Ministers of Royalty — Age of Louis xiv — The Storm Gathers — The Storm Breaks — Constitutional Monarchy — Republic — Con- tinued — Empire — In Statu Quo — Net Gain — A Half Century of Experiment — France Today. CHAPTER XI. Russia* Geography and Ethnography — The Kingdom of Rurik — A New Line — Peter the Great — The Age of the Ama- zon — The First Alexander and the First Nicholas — The Last Half Century — Political Institutions — Social and Religious Background — Resume — What of the Future ? CHAPTER XII. The German Empire. Germany Before Westphalia — The Austrian Hegemony — Beginnings of Prussia — Growth — The Great Elector — The Great King — Days Good and Evil — Prussia a French Province — Rehabilitation — German Lines Re- drawn — Glimpses of Better Things — The Vision Grows Clearer — A New Center of Gravity — The Change Vin- dicated — North German Confederation — The Remain- ing Question Settled — A Race Become a Nation. CHAPTER XIII. England Since Thirteen Hundred. The Last Three Plantagenets — The House of Lancaster — The House of York — The Wars of the Roses — The Tudor Spirit — Henry, Father and Son — The English Reformation — Elizabeth — The Stuart Programme — The Programme in Force — Check — Restoration — The Divine Right of the People — The Hanoverian Kings — George the Third — Needed Reforms — Victoria Regina — The Making of the Nation — Greater Britain — The Brit- ish Empire. Vlll TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIV. The United States, Political Coutinuity — The Colonial Period — Stirrings of National Spirit — Government by Debating Society — Learning by Doing — Reorganization — The Constitn- tion and its Makers — First Years of the Repnblic — The Democratic Succession — Jefferson to Monroe — Adams to Tyler — Polk to Buchanan — Slavery a National In- stitution — Protest and Appeal to Past — Civil War — Reconstruction — A Quarter Century of Republicanism — Leading by Turns — Colonial Expansion. CHAPTER L The First Great Nations. SEC. I. THK BKGINNINGS OF HISTORY. Death for a nation, as for an individual, is likely to be followed by burial. Burial not seldom is followed by oblivion. In such case it is only when the grave is opened that the world discovers what its earlier life has wrought, and how. Within the memory of men now living, history began with the story of Greece. The Empires of the Nile, the Euphrates, lay buried with their records. Sphinx and pyramid and obelisk and mound told where the records lay, but the world had forgotten what these signs meant. Pickaxe ^ and shovel opened out a way for the old life. History has seen her domain enlarged by two score centuries, Greece no longer stands for the old world. Beside the world of pyramid"- and ruined palace, Greece seems a nation of 3^esterday. Those older nations are dead, but we know why they died and in part how they lived. Mummy and winged lion and brick and stone kept their secret well,^ but the new generation has learned ^ the secret, and for the opening chapter of history we must go to Egypt and Chaldea. What lies beyond we can only guess. Older graves yet may be opened, showing where to look for a still older life, tlioagh this is not probable.'' Meanwhile we shall do well to bear in mind that pre- (0 2 THE FIRST GREAT NATlONvS. historic does not mean non-existent. It means simply that records are wanting, so that we do not know. ' The newness of the work of restoring the past is indicated by the fact that Winckelmann, the father of archaeology, Uved within a century and a half of the present, 17 17-1768. Cham- poUion died in 1832, Botta in 1870, I^ayard in 1894. 2 Enormous pyramids of Dynasties III and IV presuppose similar but smaller structures before. Origin of pyramid prob- ably lay in tumulus or mound of dead. 'The obstacles in the way of exploration have always been great, in the nature of the case. In Egypt and Western Asia additional and wholly unnecessary difficulty has been provided by attitude of government. ♦Champollion's achievement was to decipher hieroglyph, thereby laying foundation of Egyptian archaeology. Compari- son of name of Ptolemy on Rosetta stone with name of Cleo- patra on Philensian obelisk opened the way. ^ Past civilizations are known only by their records. Absence of record prodad/y means unimportant development. SEC. 2. I^EFT BY THE WAY. No item of knowledge is unimportant. Not all knowledge, however, is important with reference to a given end. Concern with political power excludes many an inquiry of surpassing interest. For every power that emerges sufficiently to command attention there are a dozen of which the world takes little note. It was so in the past. The foothills bear an important relation to the mountain, no doubt, but it is the moun- tain that counts. A volcanic peak may be verj^ high, but if it is wholly isolated we do not turn aside to it when our task is to follow the outline of the range. Hence we study only a few of the nations we now know to have existed long ago.. China' has always stood by itself. India '^ for our purpose is not much better. So for other reasons with Phrygia, Parthia,^ Bactria, and THE FIRST GRKAT NATIONS. 3 the multitude of nations about the Western coast.* Even Judea^ and Phoenicia^ are no exceptions, important as their work was. All these and the like we must pass by. We have to follow the line of political movement. '^ Six nations stand for this in the Old East. The light breaks first in Egypt. Chaldea goes well back. Then follow in order Assyria, the conqueror of Chaldea, Media and Babylonia parting Assyria between them, Persia mastering and absorbing both. ^ Weber's quaint conceit of China as tarrying in the vestibule of civiHzation suggests a very important fact. Isolation and stag- nation of China have passed into proverlj. A fair illustration of isolation is furnished by Chinese invention, e. g\, printing, so closely guarded that West had to invent all over again. Perrot & Chipiez : Hist. Art in An. Egypt, Int. XLIX, have suggestive comment : "Our intellects are quite equal to imagining what the world would have been like had that Empire been abso- lutely destroyed centuries ago, with all its art, literature, and material wealth. Rightly or wrongly, we should not expect such a catastrophe to have had any great effect upon civiliza- tion ; we should have been the poorer by a few beautiful plates and vases, and should have had to go without tea, and that would have been the vSum of our loss," ^ Not that there had not been much intercourse between India and the West. Assyrian, Persian, and Greek in turn carried conquest into valley of Indus. Trade caravans came and went. Spices, metals, precious woods, jewels— treasure of many kinds was furnished by India to rest of world. In this, however, India was simply furnishing raw material for Egyptian, Assyrian, and Phoenician industries. The Hindu literature is rich. The Hindu mind was acute. How could it be otherwise with the Hindu an Aryan? But Aryan presently sank into life of Turanian, and only in recent centuries has new Aryan impulse re-awakened India. 2 Parthiacame afterward to be for a time (250 B. C.-214 A. D.) a great empire. It had little lasting effect, however, and gave way to the later Persian Empire. * Syria from its position a battle-ground. Whether to Egypt, 4 THE FIRST GREAT NATIONS. the Babylonian Group, or the Western world, it was bound to be a dependency. ^The Jew by his religion — i. Judaism; 2. Christianit}' — has exercised such marked influence upon the world that we are in danger of overestimating importance of the Jewish State. Jewish political life offers little to commend it, either for strength or for beauty. As a trader, the Jew has never been a negligi- ble, factor. ^ What the Jew did by his religion the Phoenician did by his skill in the arts, navigation, trade, and by his development of the alphal)et. For centuries the Phoenicians were the recog- nized merchants, navigators, and explorers. Politically, how- ever, Phoenicia was more important in its colonies than in the mother country. One has only to recall Carthage to understand this, liut Carthage came afterward, in the Roman period. ^ History, of course, finds main interests in states marked by progress, development. SEC. 3. EGYPT. Egyptian civilization was the oldest in the world. It was so old that we are unable to say with complete as- surance when it began. All the old nations were fond of believing themselves sprung from the gods. There is a mythical period in Egyptian chronology. Passing this we find the name and work of Menes.^ Before Menes there had been two Egypts,'' Upper and Lower. Menes united them, earning the double crown. From Menes date twenty-six dynasties, ending with the con- quest of the country by the Persian Cambyses 525 B. C. Enormous difficulties confront every attempt to reduce Egyptian chronology to working order. ^ The sequence of events is settled. Dates and details are everywhere unclear. Egyptian civilization seems to have been developed by a people who came from the North;* quite possibly the same people that made the beginnings of Chaldea. THE FIRST GREAT NATIONS. 5 They settled^ in the lower valley of the Nile and worked upstream. Very early the country was divided into nomes/ each with its own capital, governor, and rela- tively complete government. Of course, all bowed to the king. Many of Egypt's troubles arose from feuds between nomes, and several dynasties thereby suffered enforced change. The dynasties fall conveniently into four tables: I. The Memphite^ Kingdom. Dynasties I-X. II. First Theban Kingdom. Dynasties XI-XII. III. The Hyksos. Dynasties XIII-XVII. IV. Second Theban Kingdom. Dynasties XVIII- XXVI. ^ Menes. The great diversity of opinion as to date of Menes suggests the danger of speaking too positively as to early details in history of Egypt. Dates are assigned Menes as follows : Marritto, 5004 B. C Lenormant, 5004 B. C. Brugscli Bey, 4400 B. C Lepsius, 3892 B. C. Bunsen, 3059 B. C. Poole, 2717 B. C. Wilkinson, 2691 B. C. ^ The two Egypts doubtless only remnants of many princi- palities little by little consolidated. ^ Diversity due to : 1. Absence of chronological idea in Egyptian. Suffi- ciently near fact to reckon from reigning sovereign. 2. Sovereigns now known to have been contemporaneous listed as if they were consecutive. This Manetho's great fault. 3. Even Manetho's account damaged in transmission. * Egyptian was Cushite. ^ Lower Nile settled first. Oldest monuments are there. Marks of comparative newness as one goes upstream. ^ Nomes recognized as earl}^ as IVth dynasty. There were at least 42 in all, 22 in Upper Egypt, 20 in Lower. The nomes bore O THE FIRST GRKAT NATIONS. such names as the Nome of the Hare, the Gazelle, the Haunch, the Harpoon, the Bull. ^ So-called Memphite period saw political center displaced as early as Vlth dynasty by tendency toward Thebes, where rule was established beyond question at end of Dynasty X. SEC. 4. THE GREAT RULERS AND THEIR WORKS. About Menes we know little except that he founded the Egyptian State. Perhaps that is glory enough. After Menes, for many years we have only names. With Senoferu of the Hid dynasty we get definite in- formation. Stones carved in his day give the king's titles of honor and tell how this king, by conquest ' of tribes about Mt. Sinai, won the right to be called ' ' Vanquisher of a foreign people. ' ' The pyramid near Meidoum is supposed to beSenoferu's tomb '. But the great pyramid-builders^ belonged to the IVth dynasty. The three chief were Khufu, Khafra, and Menkaura. Under this dynasty the older history of Egypt reached its greatest glor}^ The political organization was com- plete. Art was greatly advanced. The science of living was, so to speak, established. Dynasties V-X fell in troublous times. We hear of rebellion and civil war. The Arabian territory won by the " Vanquisher of a foreign people" was lost. The boundaries in Africa were slightly contracted.* Memphis waned while Thebes grew to headship. Dynasties XI-XII were Theban. Their sway was brief but brilliant. Egypt was again united and glorious. Great public works were accomplished. The Moeris dates here.^ Art and architecture were encouraged . The Labyrinth '^ and the grotto tombs of Beni-Hassan were built. Industrial arts were practiced. Commerce throve. Dynasties XIII-XVII rest in shadow. This is the period of the the: first grp:at nations. 7 Hyksos/ Dynasty XVIII saw independence again won and national power, culture, and wealth raised to highest point they ever reached in Egypt. Civil admin- istration was strong. Military organization was per- fected, and the warrior became the mighty man of the empire. The Hyksos invasion was avenged upon Asia.*^ The boundaries of Egypt were greatl}^ enlarged. Thothmes III was the greatest ruler of his time. His son and successor pressed Asia still further, capturing Nineveh. The line forcibl}^ changed with Dynasty XIX, but violence was legitimated b}" success and by intermarriage with the deposed line. This dynasty is memorable by the name of Seti I and, more yet, by that of Rameses II, the greatest figure in Egyptian history, both as warrior and as builder. Again the shadow falls. Dynasties XX-XXVI sat upon shifting thrones. The usurpation of the high priest of Thebes, who fails in Egypt, but establishes a kingdom in Ethiopia ; feuds of nomarchs, with resulting anarchy ; an Ass3Tian or Babylonian dj^nasty ; Ethiopian dominion ; Greek in- fluence; war, disorder, weakness, dependence, glimpses of the old order, then again chaos ; — so the programme is filled until Camb3'ses leads his Persians down and Eg3''pt becomes a province of the Great King, who pres- ently must yield all to Greece and Rome. ^The Eg3'ptians called the Ara])iaii country "the land of emptiness." They, however, found good store of mineral, metal, and precious stone in southern part of peninsula. ■■^The pyramid was a royal tomh. The building began at ac- cession of sovereign .-ind continued throughout reign — the longer the reign, the bigger the tomb. Khufu's is good illustration and example. Inside spongy limestone, ready at hand. Next covering better stone from quarries in range of Mokattam. Outside stone from Suan (Greek Syene), where the " red moun- tain " still stands. This stone is granite sprinkled with black 8 THE FIRSI" GiRKAl' NATIONS. and red, and hard as iron, taking beautiful polish. According to Herodotus, it took ten years to quarry the stone for Khufu's pyramid, and twice ten more to complete the building. More than 70 pyramids once rose on margin of desert. Greater num- ber now destroyed— an irreparable loss. ^Dimensions of pyramids, in round figures: 1. Kliufu, 450 feet in height, 746 feet base. 2. Kliafra, 447 feet in height, 690 feet base. 3. Menkaura, 203 feet in height, 352 feet base. * Nubia was lost. » Moeris was great public work, an artificial lake, to contiol the water supply. ^Labyrinth was tomb. Consisted of building 1,150 feet by 850 feet, surrounding three sides of a court-yard, whose fourth side was occupied by pyramid, and said to contain 3,000 cham- bers. ^ Hyksos were from Asia, and that is about all we know. It was during their control of Egypt that Hebrew sojourn took place. Quite possibly kinship had something to do with favor- able reception of Hebrew. ^War waged on Asia undoubtedly included element of re- venge. The Egyptians speak in connection with their invasion of " washing their hearts." SEC. 5. CHALDEA. Chaldean civilization was built upon the ' ' made ' ' land of the lower Euphrates.^ A Cushite people laid the foundations. The first date we really know^ in Chaldean history is 2295 B. C. Cities of Ur, Nipour, Sippara, Babylon grew up along the Euphrates, the movement following the course of the river, as was natural. Political headship moved up the river, too, lodging finally in Babylon. Elamite dominion,'' estab- lished by Chedorlaomer, lasted apparently about two centuries. Deliverance came by hand of Hammurabi, who expelled the Elamites and welded the scattered principalities into a kingdom, with Babylon as the cap- THE FiRvST GREAT NATIONS. 9 ital . Semitic influences grew in strength . An Arabian line of kings indicates that Cushite was giving way to Shemite. The end came about 1500 B. C. Three names are of special note in Chaldean history : i, Nim- rod the founder ;^ 2, Urukh the builder ;^ 3, Chedor- laomer the conqueror/' ^ Note alluvial plain extending beyond site of Babylon. '^ Assurbanipal took Susa, capital of old E)lam, 660 B. C. He records this event as taking place 1635 years after the king of Elani conquered Babylon. ^ Quite possibly Elamite conquest of Chaldea set in motion the hordes farther West. Hyksos invasion of Egypt may be related thus to El am. *Nimrod founded Ur, Erech, Accad, Bab3don, Calneli. ^Urukh's buildings were mainly temples. Angles faced car- dinal points. Dedicated to Sun, Moon, and various divinities. ** For notice of Chedorlaonier see Gen., ch. XIV. SEC. 6. ASSYRIA. The founders of Assyria seem to have gone upstream from Lower Mesopotamia ; how long before failure of Chaldea we do not know. Whether they were forced to go, or simply allowed to go, we do not know. Whether it was a national migration or a filtering through of individuals we do not know. The new kingdom was subject to Chaldea. Presently Assyrian independence was accomplished, and the two kingdoms flourished side by side. Presently the shadow falls. When it lifts again Chaldea is down, Assyria is up.^ From middle of 14th century B. C. record is tolerably clear. It is the old story of outlying territory forever conquered and forever in revolt. Through all, how- ever, Assyrian influence was extended. Even the half century of Babylonian preeminence, 1060-1020 B. C, lO THE FIRST GREAT NATIONS. serves only to accentuate Ass3^rian greatness before and after. Shalmaneser III,' Tiglath-Pileser II, Sargon, Sennacherib, .Esarhaddon, and Assurbanipal are its best representatives. Their prowess made the Assyrian name a name of terror throughout the world. The Assyrian dominion actually extended from India to Egypt. '^ In the 7th centur}^ B. C. the Empire seemed indestructible. But the end was near. Scythian in- undation, Median invasion, Babylonian revolt did the work. The last Ass3'rian monarch resisted while he could, then set fire to his palace, losing at once king- dom, treasure, and life, 625 B. C. ^ Assyrian independence perhaps due to Egypt. Thothnies III struck Asia hard. Chaldea would feel blow most, and may have been compelled thereby to loose hold on northeru possessions. ■^ Shalmaneser III, 782-772 B. C, spent most of reign fighting. Tiglath-Pileser II, 744-726 B. C. was a usurper, but a powerfnl monarch and successful ruler. Sargon, 721-704 B. C., a usurper, easily ranks with two or three greatest names of Assyrian his- tory for achievement both in war and in peace. Sennacherib, 704-6S0 B. C, reigned gloriously, but met death by assassination. Esarhaddon, 680-667 B- C. earned title, " King of Assyria, Baby- lon, Egypt, Meroe, and Ethiopia." Assurbanipal, 667-647 B. C, saw Assyrian power at highest. In addition to triumphs as war- rior and builder, he is renowned as only Assyrian monarch with real taste for learning. The world owes him great honor for his library at Nineveh. ^ Assyrian Empire at largest exercised lordship from India to the vEgean, including the wide sweep southward necessary to include Egypt. SEC. 7. MEDIA. Media is important as a connecting link. She w^as co-heritor of the A.ssyrian domain. Media is important, too, as introducing a new factor into the struggle for power. The Mede was Aryan. Egypt and Chaldea were THE FIRST GREAT NATIONS. II Cusliite. Assyria was Shemite. Now the three great Caucasian families are fairly in the field. The Mede first appears in Assyrian annals about the middle of the 9th century B.C., though there seems to be good reason for accepting a wide expansion earlier. More than pos- sibly Mede and Elamite were one and the same man. Howbeit, Assyria conquered the Medes in the days of the great Sargon.' After three-quarters of a century, under Cyaxares and aided by the Babylonians, they threw off the Assyrian yoke. Cyaxares was a great fighter, but not a great statesman." The Empire he founded lasted less than the lifetime of a man. Two reigns fill the pe- riod — Cyaxares, forty years; Astyages,'^ twenty-seven. Media was shortest-lived of all the great Oriental mon- archies, 625-558 B. C. It fell to Persia, a former de- pendency grown to power and mastery. ^Sarj^on 721-704 B. C ■^ Cyaxares was brave, ambitious, aiul able. The fact that he could head the conquest of Assyria reveals his ability as a war- rior. As a statesman he ranks lower. He could conquer, but he could not organize. •^ Astyages was no abler than his father as a ruler. As a gen- eral he was less able. The element of permanence for the Empire is in nowise promised in the character of either of the only two rulers it had. SEC. 8. BABYLONIA. Babylon has had large place in world's life^ ever since Nimrod laid its fotindations, in the old Chaldean days. Different eras must be kept in mind. By Baby- lonia'"^ we mean the kingdom that jointly with Media inherited' the spoils of Assyria. The beginning of Babylonia was made in the treachery of Nabopolassar. Bound by political and domestic ties* to Media, Baby- J 2 THE FIRST GREAT NATIONS. Ion sent aid to Cyaxares in his wars with Lydia. Peace was established largely through intervention of Baby- lon/ and Western Asia for once had peace. Egypt, however, w^as on the move. The aged Psammeticus died, and his son and successor, Necho, laid hand upon the entire territory between Egypt and the Euphrates. Nabopolassar himself did nothing, but after three years sent his son Nebuchadnezzar to punish Egypt. The attempt was successful. The Egyptians fled in confu- sion, and Nebuchadnezzar would have fought it out in Egypt had he not been recalled by his father's death. Nebuchadnezzar is the great name of Babylonian his- tory. The end came at the hand of Persia, closing an empire of eighty-seven years, 625-538 B. C. ^ Eveu now Bab3'loii impresses the mind as something vast and mysterious. The very greatness of its ruin holds one. ■•^Babylonia is otherwise called the Second Chaldean Mon- archy. •* Media took Mesopotaniian plain down to alluvial line and all that lay east and north of the Tigris. This left to Babylonia the plain southward to the Gulf and westward of the Euphrates to the Sea. * Nebuchadnezzar, son of Nabopolassar, was married to daugh- ter of Cyaxares. = During battle between Medes and Lydians an eclipse of the sun took place. The terrified combatants readily listened to proposals for an armistice, which was soon followed by peace, in securing which Babylonian ruler played important part. •^ Nebuchadnezzar bu ilt the great wall of Babylon, dug canals, constructed the Hanging Gardens, built quays and breakwaters along Persian Gulf, His military exploits were both numerous and important. SEC. 9. PERSIA. Persian dominion dates from fall of Media, 558 B. C. Independence was won by Cyrus,' a prince of the Pasar- THE FIRST GREAT NATIONS. 1 3 gadj£, the noblest of the three ruUng Persian tribes. Persian power rapidly widened. Lydia was conquered. The Greek cities on the coast of Asia Minor submitted. Lycia and Cilicia followed. Then came Babylon, 538 B. C. When Cyrus died, 529 B. C, the Persian Em- pire was the greatest the world had seen.' His son. Cambyses,' succeeded to the throne. Under him the Empire was increased by conquest of Egypt, 525 B. C. Darius,' son of Hystaspes, his successor, had to re- conquer the empire from an impostor, who gave him- self out as the brother of Cambyses, whom Cambyses had really put to death before going to Egypt . Victory won through superhuman struggle brought peace. Darius used his opportunity in internal improvements. For administration h^ divided the empire into satra- pies.^ Within the satrapy local institutions were scru- pulously preserved. Taxation was regularized. Roads were built. Posts were established. Commerce was encouraged. Uniform gold and silver coinage was in- troduced. Seven years were spent in the gigantic task of organization." Then the fire of battle flamed up anew in Darius. All that was to be reached in Asia was already at his feet. Europe should be made part of the Persian Empire. So began the campaign against the Scythians and later against Greece, which brought the civihzation of East and West face to face. The meeting meant conflict, but with the Persian Empire at his back Darius could not foresee Marathon and Plataea and Salamis, still less Issus and Arbela. 1 Cyrus had been reared at the Median court. ^Embraced Persia, Susiana, Babylonia, Assyria, Arabia, Egypt, Ionia, Media, Armenia, Parthia, Bactria, with many less important holdings. 3Camb3^ses was brave and energetic, but passionate and cruel. ^Darius had as helpers the recognized heads of the seven 14 THE FIRST GREAT NATIONS. great Persian families existing at the time or powerful enough naturally to assume leadership. ^Satrapies were governmental subdivisions of the Empire, each under a satrap or civil ruler, a commandant or military ruler, the two supposed to watch each other, and a secretary supposed to watch them both. The satrapial government was despotic, the only check being the pleasure of tlie King. "Darius, though less great than Cyrus as a general, was greater even than he as an administrator. The greatness of Persia was chiefly due to his many-sided genius. SEC. lO. GEOGRAPHICAL GROUPING. River valley and highland played significant parts in the formation of the first great nations. Civilization developed first on the plain, where life was easy. The delta was the physical foundation of Egypt. The allu- vial plain of the Euphrates was the home of Chaldean achievement. The Indus, the Ganges, and the Yang- tse-Kiang would tell the same story for the primitive civilizations of India and China. In Egypt and the Babylonian group the trend, was upward, following the valley. New impulse and mastery came from the high ground. The descent of the Shepherds upon Eg3^pt, the conquest of the Babylonian group by Elam- ite, Mede, and Persian are examples. A great nursery of nations lay toward the center of Asia. There nations were born and gathered strength until pressure of num- bers or awakening life forced them out. That they should according to their ability take possession of the fields of civilization was perhaps only natural. "Doubt- less the world is better off for the mountain coming to the plain. A fatal tendency toward stagnation shows everywhere on the low ground. As long as there are hardier men within reach, the low ground must respond to their quickening or give way before them. The THE FIRST GREAT NATIONS. 1 5 Mede beat the Assyrian because he was simpler and braver and harder. The Persian beat the Mede be- cause he was the simpler and braver and harder. Do- minion passed from East to West because the West was better fitted than the East, both to fight and to rule. The fact cannot be without meaning that the centers of empire have tended toward the higher latitudes. SEC. II. GENERAL CHARACTER OF CIVILIZATION. Civilization is a comprehensive word. It covers eco- nomic, social, intellectual, moral, and political ground. Its two dominant notes are progress and development. It is no eas}^ task to characterize the civilization of the East. The principal marks, however, cannot be mis- taken: 1. It was a work in which, save in China,' onl}' the Caucasian family took part. 2. In that work all three"^ groups of that family par- ticipated. 3. Family relationship was indicated by usages held in common, evidently not independent inventions. 4. It was marked by perpetual movement and con- quest.'^ 5. It enjo3'ed a high degree of material comfort. 6. It exhibited enormous social disproportion. 7. Its intellectual and esthetic life was highly devel- oped wnthin limited sphere. 8. It moved within the moral limits imposed by a religion elevated by belief in supreme Deity but de- based by polytheism and gross idolatry. 9. It made the king the master, who was counted good when his hand was heav^^ 10. It lacked all sense of the value of the individual, hence knew nothing of real libert}' . 1 6 THE FIRvST GREAT NATlONvS. 1 China Mongolian. ■^Hamite, Shemite, Aryan. 3 Recall war projects of Senofed, Thotlimes III, Ranieses II, Chedorlaomer, Shalmaneser III, Tiglath-Pileser IT, Sargon— indeed almost all the great names in Oriental history have their tale of military achievement. SEC. 12. INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT. We greatly mistake when we think Hghtly of the intellectual life of the first great nations. In Egypt as early as the Vlth dynasty there was a court librarian, the Governor of the House of Books. The Book of the Dead ^ indicates the high development of religious literature. Secular documents prove Egyptian attain- ments in history and geography by no means despic- able. The oldest specimens of romance writing are furnished by Egypt. Geometry and astronomy were cultivated. The pyramids set to the points of the com- pass, the divisions of the year into months and days '' like our own, and a score of arts like glass-making, enameling, encaustic painting, pottery, are a standing argument against our thinking meanly of the men of the Nile. The record of the Babylonian group is scarcely less favorable. Brick is not as durable as stone, so that doubtless many Mesopotamian documents have been lost. Still we have much. I^ayard found the library "^ of King Assurbanipal in Nineveh complete but for tablets broken by collapse of building. Math- ematical sciences had progressed far. Astronomy was so advanced in Chaldean priesthood* that even eclipses could be foretold. Farther East, India worked out algebra and the decimal notation, and among the useful arts steel-making. Still farther East, China invented printing, gunpowder, and the compass, showing an in- tellectual activity and creativeness long since wanting. TPIR FIRST GREAT NATIONS. 17 ' Book of Dead is both history and ritual. Describes passage of soul to jud^tnent. Many parts are incredibly stupid, but now and again one finds teaching startlingly Christian in spirit and expression. 2 Day and night 12 hours each ; noon and midnight at sixth hour respectively. ^ Ivibrary consisted of tablets impressed while clay was soft, and then baked. Many characters are so minute as to need magnif^dng glass. * "The ancient Mesopotamian astronomers were far in ad- vance of the Egyptian ; they had accomplished all that was possible without the aid of optical instruments. They had suc- ceeded in ascertaining the moon's daily motion, and they chiefly measured their time by her course, foretelling her eclipses by the period of 22 lunations, with which they were acquainted. The earliest known date of a recorded calculation, March to, 721 B. C, is due to them, and their calculations vary from ours only by a few minutes. They were less successful in calculating the more difficult eclipses of the sun. Indeed, they seem not to have ventured to predict them, but contented themselves with observing and registering them. They invented the dial, and were the first to divide the day into 24 hours, the hour into 60 minutes, the minute into 60 seconds. Their great periods of time were traced on this system." lyenormant. SEC. 13. ART. In the East Art has always been chiefly the handmaid of religion or of adoration of royalty. Painting and sculpture were subordinate to architecture. Material and mechanical construction were mastered as seldom since. Five thousand years have not availed to dim the color or weaken the pillar of Egypt. The domi- nant note of Egyptian art was massiveness, immensity, eternity. "The pyramid of Cheops is of all human monuments the oldest, the simplest, and the greatest," says Ampere, and the pyramid of Cheops speaks for all Egypt. The Mesopotamian region had no such build- 3 1 8 THE FIRST GREAT NATlONvS. ing wealth as Egypt, and they tried to make up by use of precious metals. Brick faced with stone, wood' overlaid with silver and gold — with these the men of Mesopotamia wrought, rearing enormous palaces and temples. One marked characteristic on both Euphrates and Tigris is elevation of buildings. Structures were set on mounds or platforms.' For adornment sculpture was used everywhere. Painting was used somewhat, especially encaustic painting in Babylon. Sculpture was Assyria's especial excellence. Representation of human figure was faulty through lack of knowledge.^ In reproduction of inanimate and animal forms Assyrian sculpture was not surpassed even by best product of Greek art. Persian art was composite, showing influ- ence of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Greece. In general, the art of the first great nations was marked by : 1. Exaggerated striving after fidelity. So only can be explained the extra leg of lion or bull. 2. Lack of perspective. 3. Conventionality. 1. In profile eye as in full face. 2. Eimbs in profile while figure may face front. 3. In Egypt left foot in advance. 4. Size for dignity or power, massiveness for duration. 5. Union of brute and human, e. ^., Sphinx, eagle-headed man, man-faced lion or bull. 4. Failure outside of Egypt to recognize individuality. 5. Inferiority outside of Egypt in treatment of hu- man in comparison with animal forms. ' To frailty of pillars we largely owe Assyrian retnains. The pillars broke, letting down the roof, so shutting up collection from incessant pillaging. THE FIRST GREAT NATIONS. I9 - The elevation of Babylonian structures seems to have served at once the purposes of ambition, defense, and observation of the heavens. ^ Handling of human figure in Babylonian group to the last heavy. Diflference between Babylonian and E^gyptian art in this due to a difference in dress. The human form was familiar to the Egyptian artist. Not so in Mesopotamia. SEC. 14. INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE. Agriculture' was of course developed, as needs must be the case with settled life everywhere. Irrigation"^ was largely practiced. Handcraft of many kinds was car- ried on. Champollion enumerates for Egypt, wood and stone working, sculpture, architecture, carpenter- work, quarrying, the potter's art, currying, leather-dressing, shoemaking, spinning, weaving, glass-blowing, and the arts of the goldsmith, the jeweler, and the blacksmith. In Chaldea and Assyria the people were greatly skilled in many manual arts. Babylonian embroidery was celebrated for centuries. In the manufacture of furni- ture, jewelry, articles of dress, carpets, brick, porcelain, and all enamel ware the Mesopotamian peoples were well advanced. Industry and trade are likely to be found together. In spite of his traditional contempt for the stranger, the Egyptian did not hesitate to trade with him. The great middlemen were the Phoenicians. Egypt sold wheat and cloth. Arabia furnished incense. India furnished spices and precious stones. Nineveh and Babylon were on the high road of the caravans which bore back and forth the products of the Mediterranean countries and the East. Even the British Isles early paid tribute to Eastern commerce. All this, however, hardly means that the first great nations were rich by modern standards. The bulk of 20 THE FIRST GREAT NATIONS. the people were very poor. What there was the King had. The overflow made courtiers rich. Below, the people lived as best they could, fairly coutent if the hand of the master left them life at all. ^ Egypt lias always been a marvel of fertility. Mesopotamia is now a ruined land, withered under the curse of bad govern- ment, but it, too, was once a garden. 2 We are in danger of forgetting the works of irrigation in the past. Public works matched only by the greatest modern un- dertakings were in operation. Recall Lake Moeris and the canals about Babylon. SEC. 15. RELIGION. There is a large element of nature worship ^ in all the religions of the East. But probably everywhere in the last analysis nature is regarded as symbolic. Sun, light, fire, water, the sky, the powers of reproduction — in these the beneficent, creative, and life-giving powers of divinity were .seen, at least, by those who thought much. So, too, night and .storm and cold and death were accounted the work of evil divinities. An echo of a voice speaking of a Supreme Being'^ can be heard in Egypt, in Mesopotamia, and in the highlands of Iran, but it remains an echo, except as it finds unmistakable expression in the Jew. Mainly the faith of the first great nations was polytheistic, descending at times prac- tically to fetichism. Dualism was only a special form of polytheism. The belief in immortality,'^ at least for the good, with rewards and penalties in a future world, is everywhere apparent. ^Nature Worship was universal in the Old World, and is inevitable whenever men allow themselves to give form to Diviiiit}-. ^ '• When we penetrate beneath the surface of gross polytheism it (religion) had acquired from popular superstition, and revert THE FIRST GRKAT NATIONS. 21 to the original and higher conceptions, we shall find the whole based on the idea of the nnity of the Deity. . . . Beneath this supreme and sole God, this great All, in whom all things are lost and absorbed, are ranked in an order of emanation, corresponding to their importance, a whole race of secondary deities — emanations from his very substance— who are merely personifications of his attributes and manifestations. The dif- ferences between the various pagan religions -the same in prin- ciple — is chiefly marked by the differences between these sec- ondary divine personages and their reciprocal nature." Lenor- mant : Ancient Hist, of East. ^ The ancient man believed in the immortality of the soul, and believed that the soul needed the body. Embalming was just the attempt to guarantee continuance to the body for the soul's sake. SEC. l6. MORALS. Ill the Old World religion as such made little demand upon the moral life. Man .should not cheat' the god, but cheating his fellow is another matter. Forms of worship must be vScrupulously observed, but personal purity does not necessarily count. Herein appears most patent weakness of old faith, the severance of faith and life. In addition must be noted certain moral defects grave enough by our standards, i. Absorption of en- tire national life and power in sovereign. Life and death of subject, whether one or a million, counted as nothing. Hence killing labor of public works ' and dis- regard of interests of the people'* in general. 2. Lack of appreciation of individual. World knew practically nothing of this until Greece. 3. Absence of all thought of racial unity. The man of another nation was an enemy. Obligation took account only of members within the group. Merciless slaughter or deportation as sequel of conquest result of this. 4. Moral law the voice of the stronger, and no expression of the moral 22 THE FIRST GRKAT NATIONS. nature could not fail to be mechanical in operation. 5. Excess reaching even to debauchery, partly under guise of religion. ^ Under certain conditions one may, if possible, get the better of the god. Even so the god is under obligation to carry out the contract. The man who gets ahead of the god once, thongh, is likely to fare ill next time. ' The secret of the gigantic public works of the Old World lay in the unlimited supply of material and labor. To this day in Egypt the male population of an entire village is sometimes summoned to do the ruler's bidding, and works without pay or provision for a week, two weeks, a month, until relieved by another impressed force. ^ '* The Oriental will generally kiss the hand that smites him, if it only smite hard enough." SEC. 17. POLITICAL SPIRIT. The Turanian is casteless. Between the ruler, who is everything, and the subject, who is nothing, there can be no middle term. The Aryan brooks no absolute master,^ but recognizes differences of birth and circum- stance, marking those differences by gradations of aris- tocracy. The Semitic stands between Turanian and Aryan. Never sinking to level of despotism natural to Turanian, never reaching the free institutions natural to Aryan, the Semitic develops the patriarchal form of government in small communities, in large communities a kingship with a strong theocratic ^ bias. These traits appear in the first great nations. By the Nile and by the Euphrates and Tigris, Cushite origin is manifest. Assyria was Semitic, but Cushite influence was still mighty there, inherited from Chaldea. In Persia a new spirit appears. The organization was far from the modern conception of limited monarchy. In quite new degree, however, people joined king in rule. As Dun- 'THK KlRvST CRKAT nations. 23 cker says, " Every one, even the meanest Persian, felt that he had a share in the government of Asia." Still this is only a foregleam. In general, everything bears the Oriental cast of political incapacity. The great physical bulk called empire was simply an aggre- gation of conquered peoples — no cohesion, no organiza- tion, no common interest, no sympathy. Assyria is first " kingdom empire." ^ Persia is great example of sa- trapial government.* Even under best organization conceived by Old World, order was maintained only at cost of perpetual reconquest. As yet international ob- ligations are unrecognized except as enforced by the sword ; constitutional government is an impossible con- ception ^ Persia and Russia are both Aryan and both are absohite. Is there Hny explanation of this? '^ Both Jew and Mohammedan are theocratic. ^Assyria was earHest example of State sufficiently engaged in conquest of varied peoples to make this feature prominent. Of course, Egypt had some subject peoples. ^Satrapial government as an attempt at organization accom- plished its purpose by imposing a new rule upon all the old rules which were still maintained. It was more effective in theory than in practice, but was important as movement toward real centralization. SEC. 18. I.KGACY OF EAST TO WEST. One thing needs to be repeated often. The men of the East were men of like needs and passions and efforts with ourselves. We may do better than they, because we know better. But they had no one to tell them what we know. Indeed, we know largely be- cause they have helped us to find out. They stopped far below our level,' but if we were compelled to start where they did, it is not certain that we should have 24 I'HK THIRST GRRAT NATIONS. gone faster or farther than the}- .^ It is easier to im- prove than to invent.^ When we sum up our debt to the past, defective as our knowledge of the past is, we find a Hst neither short nor unimportant. Egypt gave much. Through Greek philosophers * Eg3^pt has spoken to the later world. Handcraft was practiced in every direction and was ready to be passed, though it is doubtful whether as much came from this direction as from Asia. The use of stone in building, and the arch and the Doric column Egypt gave. The East bequeathed much. To name only the most common, the division of time, the w^eek of seven days, the sun- dial, astronomy, coinage, weights and measures, ele- ments of religion, sculpture, philosoph}^ metallurgy, ceramics, smith's work, glass-making, weaving, em- broidery, stone-working, carving, navigation, and; most precious gift of all, the alphabet.^ ^ "All the different members of this great famil}' (Turanian) have had very striking features in common, — the most extraor- dinary being an incapability of reaching the highest culture, of progressing indefinitel}', improving continually. A strange law of their being seems to have condemned them to stop short when they had attained a certain, not very advanced, stage." Ragozin. - Still it was on the basis of Turanian beginnings that Shemite and Aryan have built. We have been enabled to go fast partly because they were able to go at all. ^ Greek art and Greek industry are full of survivals. * Greek philosophy learned much from Egypt. Pythagoras, Thales, Solon, Deniocritus, and Plato were influenced ])y the teachings of Egyptian priests. Apparently the last two actually visited Egypt. ^ Progress toward verbal expression moved through four great stages when the goal was reached by the Phoenician, i. The picture of the thing itself 2. The picture standing for a quality of the thing. 3. A sign for an entire syllable. 4. A sign for each element of articulation. CHAPTER IL Greece. SEC. I. THE I.AND. Every foot of the land of Greece was a guarantee against the bulk, the uniformity, and the inevitable stagnation of the old empires/ Shut in by the Cam- bunian mountains^ on the north, where lay the base of the triangle; washed east and west by the ^gean and the Ionian seas along the sides, sloping southwards to the blunt apex of I^aconia, the internal arrangement of mountain, valley, plain, and shore ' laid geographical foundation for infinite variety of industrial and political development/ Soil and climate were favorable alike to frugality and diligence. On the basis of clearly marked physical divisions were built up distinct political divisions,' aiding local independence, but fatally oppos- ing national unity/ The islands, each a division by itself, exhibited the same tendency. ' " The Euphrates and the Nile from year to year offer the same advantages to the population on their banks and regulate Its occupations in a constant monotony, which makes it possi- ble for centuries to pass over the land without any change tak- ing place in the essential habits of the lives of its inhabitants. Revolutions occur, but no development, and, mummy-like, the civilization of the Egyptian stagnates, enshrouded in the val- ley of the Nile : they count the monotonous beats of the pendu- lum of time, but time contains nothing for them ; they possess 4 (25) 26 GREECE. ■ a chronology, but uo liistor}^ in the full sense of the word. Such a death-hi-life is not permitted by the flowing waves of the ^^gean, which, as soon as commerce and mental activity have been once awakened, unceasingly continues and develops them." Curtius : History of Greece, I, 15. 2 Even in modern warfare the mountain plays a by no means unimportant part. In the old days a mountain barrier was a nation's best defense. Greece was exceptionally well protected. Five lines of easy defense were provided by physical conforma- tion of country : i. Vale of Tempe ; 2, Mount Othrys ; 3, Ther- mopylae ; 4, Cithseron and Parnes ; 5, The Isthmus. ^ Greece is smaller than Portugal. So indented is it, however, that its shoreline is longer than that of the entire Spanish peninsula. No other country in the world exhibits such dis- proportion between land area and coast. * " If we scrutinize the map of Greece a little more closely we are struck with the remarkable indentations of its coast and with the extraordinary variety of its surface ; broken up and moulded by mountains, hills, and plains ; diversified by rivers traversing it in every direction ; marked off into strongly dis- criminated physical divisions, producing every conceivable di- versity of circumstance and influence under which the spirit of man may l>e traiued to play its part on the mortal scene." Felton : Greece, I, 273. "The principal divisions were Thessaly, I^ocris, Bceotia, Phocis, Doris, ^tolia, Acharnania, Attica, Megaris, Achaia, Elis, Argolis, Arcadia, I^aconia, and Messenia. ^To the last particularism was the curse of Greek political life. SEC. 2. THE PEOPLE. Five questions press : i . Who were the people we call Greeks? 2. Whence came they? 3. How did. they regard themselves ? 4. How did they come into their new home ? 5. What culture had they when they came? So far as we know or may safely conjecture, answer may be made as follows : r . A group of the great Aryan family, near of kin to the peoples ^ stretch- GREECE. 27 iiig ill Greek days from Phrygia to Sicily. 2. Ulti- mately from the old Aryan home somewhere in the heart of the double continent of Europe and Asia.^ 3. As Hellenes, sprung from Hellen,^ son of Deucalion. 4. Downward and westward through the mountain passes. They evidently bore many names and met greatly vary- ing fortunes. The Hellenic strain is the one that finally emerged, destined to make Greek history. 5. They were skilled in agriculture and cattle-breeding. They had leather-covered boats. They made cloth from bark and fiber, plaiting; later, weaving. They had store of pottery. Their religion was a nature worship. The basis of Hellenic kinship was in no sense geographical. Blood, religion, language — wherever a man had these he was a Hellene. 1 Phrygians, Trojans, Thracians, Macedonians, lUyrians, Epi- rotes, ItaUans, Messapians, Chaonians, Oenotrians, Sicels, Sica- nians were principal members of list. 2 We shall need not to forget that in successive migrations several groups of the Aryan family moved out, Hindu and Per- sian going far east, Celt, Pelasgian, Teuton, and Slav going west. 3 The Hellenic family tree branches as follows : Hellen Dorus Xuthus ^olus Ion Achaeus Here we have provided with ancestors the four great divisions of the Greek race — the Dorians, the ^Eolians, the lonians, the Achaeans. 28 GREECE. SEC. 3. FORMATIVE PERIOD. Our earliest view of Greece is given by literature. Myth and poem are not history, but from them we gain much reliable information.^ Greece, in the person of Theseus and Hercules and their like, fought beasts and bad weather and famine and savagery. Greece wrought out a settled life with social organization and kings and warlike enterprise. In those oldest days the strong man got what he wanted. All he had to do to prove that he was the son of a god was to act like one. In the days less old, but still very old, the individual learned to put a curb upon his will and to keep step with his fellows. Tribal life was still farther developed. The state ap- peared. Before Chseroneia one never can quite speak of the Greek state as if there had been a state of Greece. Greece was composed of a thousand states. Many were so little important that we do not know even their names. A few were, and still are, known over the whole world. All had much the same history'^ — migration, conquest, settlement, independence, with few exceptions unim- portance, in those few exceptions " brilliance, conflict with neighbors, leagues for worship,* divination,^ and sport," colonization where possible, individualism every- where. ^ " Though up to this point we could not succeed in reaUzing a connected history of the Greek people, yet there exists a series of facts which nothing can overthrow, for they rest on the basis of consentaneous tradition, Hke the maritime dominion of Minos, or on monuments free from any ambiguity of meaning. For as surel}' as the fastnesses of Ilium, of Thebes and Or- chomenus, of Tiryns and Mycenae stand before our eyes to this day, so surely there once existed Dardanian, Minyan, Cadmean, and Argive princes and principaUties, as they are called in the myths." Curtius : Greece, I, 102. GREECE. ^ 29 ^ And much the same political and social limitations. The one common feature is the cleavage between citizen and subject. A powerful aristocracy and an enslaved populace are the two main items of every canvas in the political gallery of Greece. ^ After Athens, Sparta, Thebes, and Corinth, how few names can be added ! * Political life in Greece began with an ideal unity mainly due to religion. This applied to larger sphere than single city. "The level which united neighboring Greek peoples consisted at first only of common worship, more especially of common sacrifices offered at certain shrines. These common religious rites had the effect of bringing the participant States into a cer- tain kind of political relation to one another." Holm : Greece, I, 227. Thus the temple of Poseidon, in the island of Calauria, was center of confederacy embracing Troizene, Hermione,Argos, Sparta, Epidaurus, ^55gina, Orchomenus, and Athens. The Amphictyonic League, first in temple of Demeter near Ther- mopylye, then at temple of Apollo at Delphi, united twelve peoples — Malians, Phthiotian Achoeans, Oetseans, Dalopes, Magnetes, Perrhoebi, Thessalians, Locrians, Dorians, Phocians, Boeotians, lonians. The Amphictyonic Council was a kind of armed board of arbitration for the States of the league, with power to whip in a recalcitrant member. ^Of all the oracles, that of the Pythian Apollo at Delphi was by far the most important. ^The Olympic games, celebrated every four years at Elis. The Pythian games, celebrated near Delphi every four years, falling on the third 3'ear of the Olympiad. The Nemean games, celebrated at Cleonae, in Argolis, every two years. The Isth- mian games, celebrated on the Isthmus of Corinth every two years. The immediate effect of these festivals was the exhibi- tion of the unity of the Greeks and their community of custom and interest, both physical and intellectual. SEC. 4. SPARTA. To the Dorian belongs the glor}^ of first developing political importance in Greece.^ The result appears in Sparta. As usual, myth and legend take the place of 30 GREECE. history in the earhest period. With Lj'curgus we get upon comparatively solid ground. Henceforth the con- stitution of the Spartan State is unmistakable. Three classes of dwellers must be counted — Spartans, Perioeci, and Helots. Very likely all were Dorians of different age in the land. The Helot ^ was a serf, reduced to absolute subjection by conquest, better off than a slave pure and simple only because the State regarded him as belonging to it as well as to his master. The Pericecus stood between Helot and Spartan, quite possibly the representative of tribes that fought the newcomer hard enough to get some kind of terms. The Spartan was the lord of the land. Only eight or nine thousand in number, the Spartans constituted a standing army. The entire conception of the State forbade any citizen to think of himself. He was simply part of the State. Kings the State had, two^ in number, hereditary and useless. A senate it had — thirty old men. A popular assembly it had to vote yes or no on public business. The real rulers of Sparta w^ere the five Ephors, who, appointed by the assembly,* browbeat the senate and treated the kings as underlings.^ As a fighting ma- chine the Spartan State was a great success. The Spartan discovered his military value and insisted upon being led out to conquest. Laconia was mastered. Messenia fell. Argolis gave up the southern third of her territory. Elis acknowledged Spartan headship, as did several Arcadian cities. A Peloponnesian Amphic- tyony was formed, with Sparta, of course, at its head. The sway of Sparta in the Peloponnese was established beyond question. Meanwhile Athens had been winning headship of Attica . Conflict between Sparta and Athens was inevitable. Postponed by the Persian invasion, it GREECE. 31 came in 431 B. C, lasted twenty-seven years, and re- sulted in the complete overthrow of Athens. Sparta was chief city of Greece for a third of a century. Her star went down forever at Leuctra, 371 B. C. ^ Politically there was marked difference between European and Asiatic Greeks. The latter were early distinguished for in- tellectual progress and later attained distinction in commerce and science, but in politics they remained to the last unimpor. tant. Holm, Greece, I, 173, says : "We never find a trace of military force based on a combination of several individuals, nor a single community characterized by real political or mili- tary power. The cities fell one by one into the hands of the Lydians, and then under the power of Persia." On the other hand, among the European Greeks politics furnished the main interest. Sparta developed earliest. ^The Helots were a source of constant anxiety to the Spartan. They were flogged to keep their minds upon their servile con- dition. Any who showed spirit were put out of the way. A peculiar usage was countenanced, according to which, at inter- vals, a body of young Spartans was commissioned to kill as many Helots, especially the more robust and dangerous, as they chose, wherever they might find them. Crypteia was .the name of this assassination. According to Thuc, IV, 80, at one time judicial murder was performed upon no less than 2,000, "And no man knew how any one of them came to his end." ^The Spartans believed that the two kings represented the two sons of Aristodemus who won lyaconia in the partition of the Peloponnese. Quite possibly the invading Dorians united with the Achseans already in possession, having two kings to repre- sent the two nationalities. *By a noisy sort of acclamation. The judges were in rooms apart. They judged the man elected whose nomination was received with loudest shouts. ^ By strange anomaly kings must stand in presence of Ephors. So absolute was rule of Ephorate that a proverb found currenc}^ declaring that vSparta had two kings and five de.spots. 32 Gr:^kc^. SEC. 5. ATHENS. For the later world Athens is Greece. Art, culture, learning, poetr}^, song — for all that enriches and inspires we turn to Athens. Later^ in coming to prominence than Sparta, Athens rose higher and accomplished mightier things. Sparta to the end was an oligarchy. Athens from practical oligarch}^'^ passed through lib- eralized aristocracy to the only kind of democrac}^ the ancient world could understand.^ Great chiefs in this development were Draco, Solon, Clisthenes. The fifth centur}^ before Christ was the period of Athenian glory. The Greek struggle against the barbarian was conducted b}^ Athens. The age of Pericles saw Athens and Greek civilization together at the zenith. Great names make the century memorable.^ Great architecture, great art, great literature, great teaching, great fighting — every line of human endeavor was carried so far that Pericles' boast seems to have been justified when, in his immortal funeral oration, he pronounced Athens a school for Hellas.^ But nothing in Greece was long-lived. Be- fore the 5th century closed Athens had lost not only supremacy, but independence — her walls gone, her ships gone, her best citizens, her treasure, and her possessions gone. Flutterings now and again told that the old life was not wholly extinct, but after Spartan ascendency and Theban ascendency came the fatal day of Ch^roneia, Augusts, 338 B. C, and henceforth under Macedonian headship Athens and Greece fared forth on the way to Rome. ^ By 765 B. C. Sjiarta was mistress of Ivaconia. The consti- tution of Lycurgus probably dates a full century earlier. The first reliable date for Athens is 683 B. C. the institution of an- nual archons. GREECE. 33 '^ Before Draco government was in hands of Eupatrids or Nobler, without check. It will be well to keep in mind the traditional division by ranks : i. Eupatridse, 2. Geoniori, 3. Deniiurgi, and by tribes : i. Geleontes, 2. Hopletes, 3. Arga- deis, 4. ^gicoreis. The Eupatridae had all political power. ^The mass meeting. We look in vain for representative gov- ernment in those old days. * Miltiades, Themistocles, Cimou, Alcibiades, ^Eschylus, Sopho- cles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Herodotus, Thucydides, Phidias, Ictinus, Callicrates, Mnesicles, Polygnotus, Socrates, Zeno, Anaxagoras, Protagoras, Plato. ^ '*In short, I say the whole city is a school for Hellas, and, in my opinion, the same individual would among us prove him- self qualified for the most various kinds of action. That this is not mere vaunting language, but sober truth, the very power of the State, which we have won by such habits, is itself proof. For it is the only country at the present time that, when brought to the test, proves greater than its fame ; the only one that neither gives to the enemy who has attacked us aii}' cause for indignation at ])eing worsted by such opponents, nor to him who is subject to us room for finding fault, as not being ruled by men who are worth}'^ of the empire. We have made every sea and land accessible to our daring, and have ever3^wliere es- tablished records, whether of evil or of good." SEC. 6. MACEDOX. The Macedonian was a Greek barbarian.' In his country monarchy and nobility were still recognized in- stitutions, the only institutions that could be recog- nized. The king for long, however, was only the chief. Presently, in the 7th century B. C, Perdiccas got fame by winning headship of Macedonia. By Philip's time, 359-336 B. C, Macedonia was compact State, the op- posite in size and polity of the typical city State so com- mon farther south. Thus, while internal dissension and mutual jealousy and inveterate isolation were mak- 34 GREPXE. ing the old Greek cities ready to harvest, Macedonia was getting ready to gather them in. Opportunity and incHnation fell together.'^ A Macedonian garrison soon held Corinth and all the Peloponnese except Sparta welcomed Philip.^ Intrigues with Athens and Thebes followed. Opposition was organized. Effort availed nothing because of habit of separateness and changed character of the old States. At Chseroneia, 338 B. C, Philip bore down all resistance and Macedonia was mis- tress of Greece.* Two years later Alexander became king.^ His first task was to stamp out the fires of re- volt in Greece. The fate of Thebes ^ records how faith- fully the work was done. His second was to conquer the Persian Empire. Issus and Arbela made him lord of the East.' His third was to weld Europe, Asia, and Africa into a world empire. Two obstacles blocked the way : i. The Romans, unbeknown to Alexander, were winning dominion in the West, and it is a ques- tion whether the Macedonian Phalanx could have over- borne the Roman Eegion. 2. He died.^ Alexander left no successor.** Part of his work proved permanent,^" but his empire fell to pieces. The mighty fragments were finally built into the Empire of Rome. ^ One has to recall the fact that the Hellenes were only one branch of the Greek family. Other branches were Greek, thongli less advanced. In the Macedonian we have an example of such, a man whose culture has not got beyond the Homeric point of view. The Heroic age lives again in Alexander. The fondness of Alexander for Homer was due to something more than literary taste. He was himself a man of Homeric mould. ■•^Athens was engaged in the Social war, brought on by the exactions of Athenian generals from the allies of Athens. It ended in acknowledgment of the independence of the more important allies. Thebes and Phocis were waging the Sacred war. Philip took advantage of both these conflicts. GREECE. 35 ^ Sparta was not destroyed, but her obstinacy was punished by loss of territory, part of which Philip gave to Argos, part to Arcadia. * Several causes combined to destroy the old Greece: i. Slack- ening of moral fiber. 2. Undue influence of masses. 3. Fatal notion that diplomacy is fair substitute for armies and navies. 4. Failure of military instinct. 5. lyack of competent generalship. 6. Most vital of all, absence of national feeling. ^ The victim of domestic infelicity. Olympias, who had borne Alexander, was greatly disliked by Philip, in large part, doubt- less, because of traits of character that made her intolerable to nearly every one except her son. Philip took a new wife. An uncle of the new wife made it his business to insult a number of persons. One of the number, unable to get satisfaction from the king, slew him. ^Six thousand were killed in ths taking of the city. The survivors were sold into slaver3\ The city was laid in ruins, only the temples and the house of Pindar being spared. It is only fair to say that Alexander afterward thought this fate un- dul}' severe. ^ After Issus, 333 B. C, Darius sought peace, offering Alex- ander, among other inducements, his daughter as wife, and all the country west of the Euphrates. Alexander replied that he saw no reason for being content with half when the whole was already his, and that if he saw fit to marry the Great King's daughter he should do so without reference to the father's con- sent. After Arbela, 331 B. C, he actually made good his boast. *^ June 28, 323 B. C. Excess at table is commonly supposed to have brought on the fever which after eleven days proved fatal. A few days before deputies had arrived to announce the acknowl- edgment of the Greeks that he was a god. Sic transiit gloria mundi. 3 His half-brother was an imbecile. His son by Roxana was as yet unborn. The vast domain was partitioned among his generals. Antigonus made himself master of Asia, and claimed sovereignty of empire. Against him were pitted four other generals. At Ipsus, in Phrygia, 301 B. C, Antigonus was de- feated. Henceforth Seleucus had Asia from Phrygia to India. Ivysimachus had western Asia Minor and Thrace. Ptolemy had Egypt. Cassander had INIacedonia. 36 GREKCK. ^°Asia was made acquainted with Hellenic culture. Cities, not less than seventy in all, founded to secure allegiance of empire, became centers of Greek influence. The East learned that conquest is possible without the frightful cruelties which have characterized most Oriental victory. Commerce was quickened. Industry was aided by distribution of Eastern treasure. A new world was opened to Greece. SKC. 7. THE GRKKK SPIRIT. A thousand threads unite modern culture with that of Greece. We have practically no sympathy with the first great nations. The Greek appeals to us as a friend and brother. The difference between Greece and the East is a matter of spirit. In the older world, develop- ment was fated always to stop short. Men are seen only in the mass, weighed down by nature and rulers and the gods. In Greece a wholly new qtiality appears in an apparent ability to transcend all limits of growth. Nature and rulers and the gods stand off far enough to give play to the individual.^ True, as against the State the individual as yet does not count. As against all else, however, he counts everything. Fotir notes mark the Greek spirit: i. Independence. As early as the Heroic Age the king was surrounded by a council, and the assembly was by no means to be despised. Later most Greek States got along without a king. To this day if a king is accepted at all, it must be an outsider. This looks like a paradox. In fact, it is emergence of old spirit of independence which forbade one Greek to acknowledge another Greek as his superior. Isolation of the old Greek States was due to this. So far was it carried that concerted action was never possible for long together. It wrought ill in the long run, but the Greek would not have been a Greek without it. 2. Inquisi- GRKKCE. 37 tiveiiess.'^ The spirit of independence made the Greek an inquirer. The result appeared in a method and a bod}' of thought which the world has never outo^rown. 3. Proportion. " Nothing in excess " was one of the golden texts of Delphi. No exaggeration, but sanity, balance, everywhere was the aim. 4. Beauty. This conception included the moral as well as the esthetic ideal. The Greek character is bound to be misinter- preted in absence of reference to the unity of the true, the beautiful, the good. Here are the conditions of indefinite expansion. The movement so guaranteed was not by any means always uniform. Progress was not always straight- forward. Lack of uniformity, however, never became disorder, and no field gained was ever wholly lost. 1 In the East man seemed never quite to get the idea that he belonged to himself. Duty lies in obedience to certain pre- scribed rules. Actions do not count except with reference to the formal prescription. The Greek declared himself a free man. Personal responsibility at once followed. Man hence- forth was a moral agent - Egypt and Chaldea had rough-sketched astronomy, pure mathematics, geometry, and mechanics. Greece made them real sciences, as also natural history and hygiene. Where the East had led the way in research it had left results too little systematized to be of use. "The Greeks, masters of the beautiful, were also masters of the true, whether with Pythagoras, Euclid, Archimedes, they laid the foundations of geometry and mechanics ; whether, with Aristotle, they founded natural history ; with Hippocrates, the art of observing and interrogating ; or whether, with Plato, the methods of discussion." Moleschott: The Unity of Science. SEC. 8. INTELLECTUAI. LIFE. It is to Greece that we owe settled, organized intel- lectual life. Philosophy,' history' as distinct from 38 GRKKCK. chronology, science in any large sense had beginning there. lyiterature,' the drama/ oratory^ were there carried to degree of excellence unsurpassed, perhaps unmatched, elsewhere. There also was developed the first rational school system. Intellectual genius, stim- ulated by conditions to the last degree favorable, brought forth after its kind, and the brief but brilliant centuries which are the glory of Greece made the world forever a debtor to the land of Homer and v^schyhis and Phidias and Demosthenes and Herodotus and Pericles. ^ Several schools : i. The Ionic, founded by Thales. 2. The Pythagorean, founded by Pythagoras. 3. The Kleatic, founded by Xenophanes. 4. The Academicians, who owed origin to Plato. 5. The Peripatetics, founded by Aristotle. 6. The Epi- cureans, founded by Epicurus. 7. The Stoics, founded by Zeno. '^Note names of Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon. ^ Three great periods : i. Epic and Lyric, to Persian wars. 2. Attic, to Macedonian ascendancy. 3. Alexandrian, to Roman conquest. Fr. Aug. Wolf estimates that classic Greek litera- ture contained 1,200 works. *^schylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Menander. ^ Lysias, Isocrates, Isaeus, ^schines, Demosthenes. SKC. 9. ART. The intellectual life of Greece was the dawn and promise of our own. To exchange the present for the past in philosophy, literature, and science would be to suffer loss. In art, in certain phases at least, Greece spoke the final word. For their art, as for everything else, the Greeks owed much to the East. The proper division of influence cannot now be made — Egyptologist claiming the major part for Egypt, Assyriologist the major part for the Babylonian group. The fact of in- fluence cannot be denied. But impulse proved inspira- GREECE. 39 tioii, not subjugation. The wooden, smirking, flat- footed images of the Hast soon gave way to men and women of flesh and blood. Akin to the Egyptian in this, the Greek counted it no shame to open Hfe to the sun. His passion for the beautiful led him to appreciation of living forms. His sympathy with present reality turned him from the colossal and the enigmatical so congenial to the East, and in their place he built a world of beauty and order, good for men to dwell in. Wood he used until he learned that there was better material. Then he used cla}^ terra cotta, bronze, and lastly and chiefly, marble. Of the three great lines we can speak least positively of painting,' as we know it only at second or remoter hand. Sculpture" is represented by many ex- amples, though what we have is doubtless but a poor fraction of what once existed. Architecture has left not only buildings, but orders'' of building, which have never been superseded and which will probably never be improved. ^ Polygnotus, Apollodorus, Zeuxis, and Parrhasius have great reputation, but unfortunately only the merest fragments (Mon- ceaux : La Grece avant Alexandre, p. 226) have come down to us. 2 Ageladas, Myron, Polycletus, Phidias, Praxiteles, Scopas. ^ Doric, Ionic, Corinthian. SEC. 10. FAITH. Even after the Christian era opened, the Greek was scrupulously religious' in his own fashion. He was so in the great days of Greece. Never fetichistic, he yet saw divinity everywhere. Nature worship, perhaps, best expresses the fact, looking especially to the sky and its phenomena — thunder, rain, cloud, light ; the 40 GREECE. ocean ; the earth. Intermixture of Semitic cults must also be recognized. But of the list of divinities, never entirely closed, twelve^ stood as the great gods. Each god had his own favorites, his own domicile, his own jealousies. Country, State, tribe, family, individual — each had devotions 'peculiar to itself.'' Communication was kept up with the gods by offerings, sacrifices, and vows on man's part ; by dream, omen, and oracular re- sponse* on the part of the god. In the god the Greek saw a man — himself — only better, or worse, because bigger. The word anthropomorphic is as true to Greek thought as it is to Greek speech. It is little strange therefore that there was large element of calculation in the religion. Still the Greek character did not lack veneration. With all his thought of them as men with unlimited power and license, he regarded the gods as the guardians of justice. He might repeat the scan.dals of Olympus, but he feared the dwellers there. Even death is no escape, for Nemesis guards the door through which men pass to join the dead. Back of the gods stood Destiny, to whom even the mightiest of them must yield. Unlike gods and men. Destiny knows no caprice. The order of the world was in its keeping. There can be therefore no swerving on the part of Destiny. The utmost that either gods or men may hope is that its decrees may for a time be withheld, because of pious devotion and sacrifice. Thus at the threshold of fatalism the Greek recovered part of his moral liberty. The irreconcilable demands of Destiny and personal freedom simply stated the problem of sov- ereignty and free agency as the Greek saw it. ^ Acts xvii is most instructive iUustratiou of Greek character. Paul finds opening to preach gospel to Athenians through their effort to give every god his due. Some good received or evil GREECE. 41 averted cannot be ascribed to any divinity in the recognized list. To make sure therefore of not missing any with resulting offense, they rear an altar to " an unknown god." ■■^Zeus, Here, Poseidon, Apollo, Athene, Aphrodite, Ares, Hephaestus, Histia, Demeter, Artemis, Hermes. A countless host of lesser gods swell the list after these. ^ Union of peoples meant mutual adoption of gods. * For long the most famous oracle was that of Apollo, at Delphi, at the foot of Mt. Parnassus. Less well known were the prophetic oaks at Dodona, in Kpirus, and the cave of Tro- phonios, in Bceotia. SEC. II. POLITICS. The spirit that made Greece great presently became her ruin. Greek independence never outgrew indi- vidualism. The independence was at first great gain. It meant a multitude of practically equal states de- veloped side by side, emulating and stimulating one another. Now one, now another, broke a new path or led the way to larger accomplishment. The alignment was not perfect, but the progress was unmistakable. Later the city state, limited in population and in land, proved unequal to the task of political development. No way out was found until Macedonia, possessed of less culture, but of sounder political instinct, gathered up the remnants of the old order. Under Alexander, Greece for a moment touched the other political pole. Herein, indeed, lies for us much of the significance of Greek politics. Barring only representative govern- ment, which is a distinctly later conception, Greek political organization exhibits every principal phase of government from the city state to the world empire. I. Autonomy. The city state. The normal Greek system. The government of the city state passed 6 42 GREECE. through varied forms, showing (i) Kingship, (2) Tyr- anny, (3) Aristocracy, (4) Democracy. 2. Hegemony J The headship of a powerful city. Athens, Sparta, and Thebes name the best examples. 3. Federation. Leagues like the ^tolian and the Achaean.^ 4. Empire. The Macedonian ascendancy. To this must be added the undying influence of Greek statesmen and law- givers^ and of Greek political philosophers.* ^ Many times the Amphictyonic leagues liad political charac- ter. The directness of control in any case of hegemonN'^ differed according to circumstances. After the Persian war that of Athens amounted almost to absolute dominion. Sometimes, indeed, we hear of the Athenian empire. ^The Achaean league cama within sight of representative government. According to constitution, votes were by cities, whether one or many delegates were present from a city. It must be confessed, however, that the constitution appears not to have been observed to any great extent on this point. The entire conception of representation was foreign to the Greek mind. 'Lycurgus, Draco, Solon, Clisthenes. Rome studied Greek institutions and embodied many Greek ideas in the Twelve Tables and in the Servian Constitution. * Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Politics are to this day text- books on political science. CHAPTER IIL Rome. SKC. I. ITAIvY. Italy is, so to speak, an island, three parts bounded by sea, the fourth part bounded by mountains. Thus geographic unity ^ is assured. The Apennines run the whole length of the peninsula, roughly halving it length- wise. The eastern half is broken pasture land, innumer- able sections separated by mountain spur and ravine, sloping to a flat, portless shore, which abuts on a stormy sea. West are plains, fertile and well watered, stretch- ing to broken coast, with numerous harbors opening upon a quiet sea. The country opens inward on the north and on the west. The Alps are precipitous along their southern wall, while northward they slope com- parativ^ely gradually. This is physical explanation of fact of constant invasion from north. It is easy to come down, almost impossible to go up. Easy opening out- ward is only on west. The country as a whole is physically varied, with corresponding political division. Nearly twelve hun- dred cities have recorded attained or attempted inde- pendence. Here are all the material conditions of Greek isolation over again. Apparently the disposition ^ was not whoU}^ wanting. ^ Italy was admirably fitted to be center of still larger unity, " So dominating is the position of the Italian peninsula and so great its natural advantages that we may say that if Providence 7 (43) 44 ROMK . destined the Mediterranean, with its bordering lands, to become a nniversal empire, an empire that shonld gather into one focns all the rays of antique civilization, Italy alone could be the place of its origin, and to Italy alone could the supremacy belong." Falcke : Greece and Rome, 191. 2 The stern persistence with which Rome fought into subjec- tion all independence in Italy, and later throughout the world, betokens appreciation in the Roman beyond others of his time of the weakness of isolation. Isolation was the order of the day, none the less. Therein lay half the secret of Roman victory. So early the maxim was in force, " Divide and conquer." SEC. 2. THE LATIN STOCK. Four distinct groups are distinguishable in the early population of Italy, i. lapygian. Probably Aryan. Already Hellenized when we first know of them. 2. Greek. Part of great colonial system of Greece. So large were Greek interests in Italian peninsula that part of it was called Magna Grecia.' 3. Etruscan. Who they were and whence they came are still unan- swered questions. It is, perhaps, not too hazardous to assume that the3^also were Aryan. 4. Italians. Clearly Aryan. Divided into two branch-stocks, the I^atin and the Umbrian. Each of these branch-stocks had numer- ous offshoots. Latin races occupied the central and southern parts of peninsula west of Apennines. The Umbrians under various names — Sabine, Samnite, Sa- bellian — held whole eastern part of peninsula. Out of all this, Latin land proper was old Latium, a little district of about seven hundred square miles, on the left bank of the Tiber. Here in Latium was the home of the people from whom sprang the sturdy founders of Rome. ^ Greek cities dotted coast of Italy, vSicily, Spain, and France. Several attained great prominence, notabl}' Agrigentum, Syra- ROPIE. 45 cuse, Croton, vSybaris, Tarentuni. Some of Rome's hardest fighting was occasioned by relations centering in these cities. Pyrrhus invaded Italy to aid Tarentuni. The war with Carthage began in a dispute about Sicilian, /. e., Greek, politics. SKC. 3. AMALGAMATION. The Latins were a composite race. Their great city was composite. Its rise to headship was effected through amalgamation. The Latin land was divided into can- tons. The old social organization into clans gave each village its local government, but above the village com- munity was larger division, the canton. These can- tons, of which there were thirt}* in Latium, formed the famous Latin League, with Alba Longa at its liead. One of these cantons was the Roman. The local center and stronghold of the Roman canton was on the Pala- tine hill. The Roman territory was very limited, but was earl}^ extended to follow the Tiber to its mouth. On a neighboring hill, the Quirinal, was a Sabine city. Roman and Sabine, after measuring strength in con- flict, combined. A third body entered the combina- tion, some say a Latin, some an Etruscan^ tribe. At any rate, the Roman State was composed of three tribes — Ramnes, Titles, Luceres — of which the first was un- mistakably Latin,' the second unmistakably Sabine.'^ A fused race by fusion makes a city.^ This fact is not without significance for Roman histor\'. ^ It seems certain that from Etruria in some way Rome re- ceived the following elements : Division into tribes, curiae, and centuries, the order of battle, the regalia of the magistrate, toga, lictors, display of triumphs, and public games, the sacred char- acter of property, and the State religion. . -The Latins contributed language and agricultural customs. 46 ROME. 3 The vSabines furnished military titles, weapons, and gods. * Of the seven kings, Romulus and Tullius Hostilius were Latin ; Numa and Ancus were Sabine ; the Tarquins and Servius Tullius were Etruscan. SEC. 4. CONvSOIvIDATlON. For twelve hundred 3^ears the one stranger in Rome was peace. ^ The new city state was hemmed in on every side. For enlargement the way had to be fought open.'^ There was no delay in beginning. Conquest of Alba gave Rome hegemony of Latium. Carthaginian, Hellene, Etruscan, and Sabellian were made to feel that the old Latium was no more. In its place stood a new power. The earliest movements of that power disclose what conception it had of the task before it. It estab- lished order within its own limits and compelled Latium to obedience. Then by unsparing toil it began to en- large the boundaries of Latium. now become Rome. Never yielding afoot, never counting strokes, never considering the possibility of failure, it pushed on, mas- tering Italy, mastering Gatil, mastering the West, mastering the East, mastering the world. What it mastered it built into the whole. Over the roads which bound all together a stream of gold flowed to the capital, a stream of order flowed to the provinces. Tribute at- tested submission. Armies and laws and settled life told everywhere of the mighty power at the center. Enlargement was an incident. The land already con- quered is safe only when the land next beyond is con- quered also. The marvel is that such huge possessions could be welded. That she could weld them is Rome's peculiar glory. Consolidation names the program which for twelve centuries she consistently followed. ROME. 47 ^ The Temple of Janus was open in time of war, closed in time of peace. It was closed four times — in reign of Numa ; in 235 B. C. ; by Augustus, 29 B. C. ; by Vespasian, 71 A. D. 2 Effect of this in developing military system worth noticing. SEC. 5. KINGDOM. For two and a half centiiries Rome had a king. The State was composed of. three tribes, thirty curiae, three hundred decuriae.^ The Comitia Curiata was the as- sembly of the people for public business. Two social orders were recognized, the Patrician and the Plebeian."^ Only Patricians had place in the Comitia Curiata . They alone were the populus.'^ The Comitia elected the king. The king chose the Senators. The Servian reform was accomplished by the new constitution of Servius Tul- lius. Under this the whole body of the people was for the first time politicall}- organized. Servius, for mili- tary purposes, arranged the people in classes according to property.* Hence sprang the Comitia Centuriata. While giving preponderance to wealth, it constituted, in form at least,, a national assembly. It largely super- seded the old Comitia Curiata. Its function was four- fold : I. Elect magistrates. 2. Make and repeal laws. 3. Declare w^ar and peace. 4. Guard privileges of Roman citizens. About the kings we know little. Seven have been reported. How far the Roman element was from ab- solutely dominating tlie other elements in the new State is indicated by the fact that of the seven kings only two were distinctively Roman. Romulus founded the city. Titus Tatius was joint king with Romulus. Numa Pompilius developed an ecclesiastical organization. Ancus Martins bridged the Tiber. Tarquinius Priscus represented Etruscan power. Servius Tullius intro- 48 ROME. diiced the Servian constitution. Tarquiniiis Superbus was dethroned because he was a tryant and his son a beast. The kingdom lasted from 753 B. C. to 509 B. C. ' Distinction apparently must be made between pohtical di- vision stated in text and social division which included tribe, curia, gens, faniiha, in good Aryan fashion. 2 In another relation also stood patron and client. Originally client and plebeian were entirely distinct. As contrasted with patron, client represented personal, private, family relation. The plebeian was related not to individual or family, but to State. Naturally client and pleb tended to coalesce. ^Official designation was Populus Romanus Quirites. * The table of arrangement was as follows, reckoning by money as later, instead of by latid, as originally — 100,000 asses ^ ^2,000 : rst class. 80 centuries. Property, 100,000 asses. 2d " 20 " " 75,000 " 3d " 20 " " 50,000 " 4th " 20 " " 25,000 " 5th " 30 " " I i,oao " To be added are : 18 centuries, cavalry. 5 " musicians, workmen, &c. This reform substituted wealth for birth as basis of power. While primarily a military division, the Comitia Centuriata quickly became political. Votes were cast i)y centuries. SEC. 6. REPUBLIC. The banishment of the king was not peculiar to Rome. The whole Graeco-Latin world got rid of royalty at one point or another. The king was succeeded by the noble — the rule of the one giving way to the rule of the few, which in turn was destined often to yield to that of the many. The revolution that dethroned Tar- quin left the State in the hands of the Patricians. The functions of royalty were parcelled out. Public busi- ness went on as before. The Republic lasted five hun- dred years.' Its life fell into marked divisions : R0MI5. 49 I . Conflict between social orders, resulting in political rights outside Patrician ranks. Plebeian wrested from Patrician successively participation in government by the offices of Tribune, ^dile, Military Tribune with consular power, Consul, Dictator, Censor, Pr^tor, and, finally, Pontiffs and Augurs; the recognition of binding power of plebiscitum on whole people ; intermarriage ; codification and publication of law. So political equality was established between the two orders. This struggle, including result, singularly typical of contest for Roman citizenship, waged in turn between Rome-born and out- sider, whether of peninsula or beyond.' Closely in- volved with this was aUied but not identical struggle between rich and poor, which resulted in considerable financial and agrarian legislation, but with little avail. While not confined thereto, this conflict specifically marks first two centuries of Republic. 2. Conquest of Italy. A tedious story af fighting, subjugation, revolt, resubjugation, and destruction or deportation fills first half of Republican period. Throughout, however, Rome, on the whole, made head- way. Then came dissolution of Latin I^eague, Samnite wars, three in number, absorption of Etruria, defeat of Pyrrhus, recognition of Roman supremacy throughout Italy. 1 509-31 B. C. ''Caracalla, 212 A. D., gave franchise to all freemen through- out empire. Perhaps it should be added that citizenship by that time had lost much of its value. SEC. 7. THE SAME. 3. Establishment of Roman power in West. Rome's one dangerous rival was Carthage. This Phoenician 50 Rome:. colony had grown to headship of a virtual empire in northern Africa. It was inevitable that Rome and Carthage should be called upon to determine the ques- tion of supremacy. The record of their meeting is the story of the Punic war. Of this there were three stages: 1. First Punic war, 264-241 B. C. Main result was adding of naval arm to Rome's fighting resources. 2. Second Punic war, 218-201 B. C. Memorable for gigantic exploits of Hamilcarand, more 3'et, Hannibal,' and for unparalleled slaughter of Roman troops.- Lake Trasimenus and Cannae were to the last names of horror to a Roman. More memorable 5^et for exhibition of Roman character.'^ Rome won. Carthage became de- pendent State. African tribes were admitted to alliance with Rome. Spain was added to Roman domain. The supremacy of the sea was assured Rome and, vital fact, the way was opened to reduction of East. 3. Third Punic war, 149-146 B. C. Chiefly important as giving excuse for blotting out Carthage, a task performed with Roman thoroughness.* The great question of Aryan or Semitic dominion for the West was settled by the second encounter. 4. Provincial empire. Procedure in West was con- tinued East. Greece, distracted and jealous as usual, despite noble efforts of ^tolian and Achaean Leagues, was easy prey. lUyria was subdued. Three w^ars broke Macedonia. The battle of Pydna, 168 B. C, marks date of Rome's universal dominion. 5. Internal dissension. The last centur}'^ of the Re- public was a period of bitter civil strife. Nobles and commons were continually at odds. More and more power fell into hands of the nobility, who did not scruple to use it for personal and party ends. The rabble, whose votes were needed, were systematically corrupted. ROME. 51 Slave crowded out free labor. Ranches swallowed up farms and garden plots. A large, worthless, and dan- gerous following was assured the demagogue. A close aristocracy became a family oligarchy. In the First Triumvirate political issues were pooled. Crassus met death in the far Hast. Pompey, defeated at Pharsalus, fled to Egypt, where he, too, met death. Caesar, left alone, reduced the State to order, and by 45 B. C. every- thing was under his control. Rome had a king once more.^ Caesar's death, the following year, threw every- thing into confusion. Again interests were pooled, and the Second Triumvirate was formed. Lepidus was crowded out. Antony and Octavius divided the world between them, Antony taking the East. But the world was not large enough for two masters. At Actium, 31 B. C, it was decided that the one master should be Octavius. So the imperial swav won by Caesar was continued in his nephew and heir, and the Republic had become an Empire. ^ For years together Hannibal carried on the struggle single- handed. His heroism throws a glorious light about the struggle which dazzles one and makes one feel that he deserved victory. That he was a mighty leader cannot be doubted, but he repre- sented an inferior civilization and his victory would have meant distinct loss to the world. ^Not to mention Carthaginian loss. Iviv}^ says that at the battle of Metaurus 56,000 Carthaginians were killed and 5,400 •made prisoners. At Lake Trasimenus the Roman loss was 15,000 killed, 15,000 taken prisoners. At Cannae the awful total of slain was 70,000. ^ When Varro returned from slaughter of Cannae the Senate met him and gravely thanked him for not despairing of the Re- public. * Fifty thousand inhabitants were carried captive and most of them sold into slavery. The city was razed to the ground. The plow was passed over it, so putting legal end to city. Perpetual 52 ROME. barrenness was invoked in a curse that forbade either house or cornfield ever to cover the spot. ^All but the name. Caesar simply combined all important offices in his own person. He was at once dictator, consul, censor, tribune, pontifex maximus, augur. SEC. 8. EMPIRE. Tt is not the thing, but the name, that men fear. For two centuries the Romans beheved themselves the ancient people with the old spirit, because they had the old terms. Disguised imperialism describes the his- tory of those centuries. Diocletian threw off the mask and two centuries of military despotism followed. The thing and the name at last had met. These two periods join in century period of transition. I. Disguised Imperialism, 31 B. C.-180 A. D. Au- gustus, though lord of the world, preserved the old forms. Senate and people and official names remained unchanged. Only Augustus combined the offices in his own person, and used Senate and people as his tools. Augustus must not be blamed for being Emperor. Im- perialism, whether so named or not, was the only gov- ernment possible for the Romans of that day. The beginning was auspicious. It constituted the Augustan age.^ After Augustus Rome endured a succession ,of imperial maniacs for fift}^ years. In the merc}^ of God the Julian line then failed. For lust, cruelty, and stupid folly the record of the last four Caesars -' has never been equaled. Vespasian, Titus, Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, and the two Antonines'^ ruled strongl}^ and j ustly . Under them the empire enjoyed unlimited pros- perity. Concerning period as whole, we may say : i. The forms of the constitution were observed. 2. The boundaries of the empire were enlarged. 3. The brutal ROME. 53 tyranny of the bad emperors was chiefl}^ felt in Rome. 4. The provinces were seat of real life of empire. 2. Transition. The cup of shame was filled to the brim. Mutiny was the normal condition of the army. The crown w^as sold at auction by the praetorian guards. An illiterate barbarian^ was lord of the w^orld. The weakness of the existing order was manifest. Five good emperors ^ regathered the fragments of empire and made possible a new organization. 3. Militar}^ Despotism. The great names of the new era are Diocletian and Constantine. Complete reorgan- ization of the empire was effected. Pressure of enemies led to division of empire into East and West for better defense. Inevitable separation of interest followed. For a moment under Theodosius the empire was again one. Final division followed his death.'' The century left the Western Empire was a period of dissolution. The star of Rome paled before the barbarian and finally set in a sea of blood. ^ The people had games and food in plenty and were content. Peace reigned. I^iterature flourished. Rome was beautified. It was the boast of Augustas that he found the city brick and left it marble. 2 Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero. Infamous women played a large part in government. The utter helhshness of court life beggars description. ^ Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. *Maximin, 235-238 A. D. A Thracian peasant. ^Claudius, Aurelian, Tacitus, Probus, Cams together reigning sixteen years— 268-284 A. D. ^395 A. D. Arcadius took East, Honorius West. SEC. 9. CULTURE. The Greek set the great things of life in this order— the Beautiful, the Noble, the Just, the Useful. The 54 ROMK. Roman simply reversed the order. The Roman spirit was essentially practical. To dig a ditch, to build an aqueduct, to lead an army, to guide the State — such were the tasks of the Roman. His ideal was not the beautiful, but the useful. Tenacious of old ways, he was yet ready to substitute a better when he found it. Reverence for the family as represented in the father ; reverence for the State as represented in the ruler; rever- ence for the gods as represented by sacrifice and statute and temple ; sober, unwearying effort ; sense of order, political insight, an unbending will — these are marks of the Roman character as it comes to us. Such a spirit will work out a practical life. It may not paint ^ a beau- tiful picture, but it will lay a road to last twenty cen- turies. It may not create ^ a literature, but it will build an empire. If it is slow to originate, it is strong to organize. The Roman was the lawyer, the engineer, the systematizer, the road-maker of the Old World. Art, literature, special development he conquered along with the peoples which had them. His culture there- fore was composite. It embraced all that the world had found worth saving. ^ The Roman was a great art-collector, the world's middleman in this, as in so much else. His city, with dominion, became the center of art, science, literature, social life — everything. The goods were there, but they were mainly of foreign design, largely of foreign manufacture. ^Too great praise cannot be spoken of the Roman literature. It is not bulk or beauty or impressiveness that is chiefly want- ing as compared with Greek literature, but originality. Great names adorn the Roman page— Naevius, Plautus, Ennius, Cato, Attius, Ivucilius, Cicero, Varro, Caesar, Sallust, Lucretius, Ca- tullus, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Livy, Seneca, Juvenal, Tacitus, Pliny— and Roman literature is second only to that of Greece in the past. At the same time, it is second by an appreciable distance. The Greek model is everywhere apparent. ROME. 55 SKC. lO. RELIGION. The Roman was brother to the Greek in nature-wor- ship.^ Everywhere he saw the gods. But the service he rendered them was more punctiUous'* and less beau- tiful than that of his brother. Religion was a matter of simple obligation. The Roman honored the gods ac- cording to a fixed ritual, and the gods in return took care of the Roman. Here, as so often, religion and morals were two distinct spheres.^ Reverence for the gods, moreover, was a form of loyalty. When after conquest a foreign god was formally introduced, the good citizen reverenced him, too. Christianity's re- fusal to worship the gods was treason. Presenth^ Chritianity got hold of the Roman heart. In its splendid fibre* it found human means of victory. Official adop- tion of the new faith was only recognition of a change already wrought. Even a new faith could not save the empire already hastening to dissolution. Out of it, however, came a new empire more enduring than the old.' ^ With dying out of prejudice against foreign gods came mul- tiplication of cults in which old Roman worship was lost. The people were perplexed by commingling of new and old. The result was selection of few — Jupiter of the clear sky and the old Italian sun-god in particular — to whom they turned in their dis- tress. Herein is curious return to sun-worship. ''The Roman did not hesitate to quote the law to his god. He was known on occasion even to take advantage of a technicality in his worship. ^In the days of the bad emperors, when Rome was a moral pest-house, Christians of blameless lives were tortured and slaughtered for lack of religion in the Roman sense. *vStoicisni fitted the Roman mood. Christianity's message of the fatiierhood of God and human unity centering in the Incar- nation, took up the stoic doctrine of universal brotherhood and 56 ROMK. filling it with practical content begot impulse toward betterment of all individuals, all classes, all races. Here Greek philosophy, Roman organization, and Christian inspiration unite. ^It would not have been Roman to leave the church its prim- itive polity. Little by little, but without halt, the imperial order was repeated in an ecclesiastical organization, omitting no principal detail, with the Pope crowned as spiritual lord of the world. The Roman State endured twelve centuries. The Roman church has already completed fourteen and a half since Leo the Great. SEC. II. LAW. For three centuries law was a Patrician ^ affair. Then Plebeian insistence won its publication. The result was the Twelve Tables Henceforth law was a public sys- tem. The body of law grew rapidly. Several causes combined to further growth : i. Roman character was legal to the core. 2. Law once known, recognized lack was bound to be remedied, recognized excellence to be enlarged by natural increment. 3. Perpetual edicts of prcetorship won virtually legislative power. This was especially true of praetor peregrinus, who was free to consult laws of all peoples, as well as reason and equity. So large modifications atid additions were introduced. 4. Professional jurisprudence brought, so to speak, scientific development. Great jurists filled the first two and a half centuries of the Empire, whose responses w^ro^ sought and heeded.^ 5. Imperial constitutions not only interpreted existing law, which was all that theory re- quired, but also established considerable body of new law. Codification at some date was a foregone conclu- sion with the order-loving Roman. After the Gregorian and Hermogenian codex, Theodosius II made code in 5th century. Justinian made better code in 6th. Since Justinian there has been no moment when his code has ROME. 57 not potently influenced, both for matter and for form, the legal life of the civilized world, even English and American systems, which owe least to it, not being without debt. ^ Great part of Patrician advantage over Pleb lay in this. As long as he did not know the law the Pleb was helpless. 2 Goodness of much imperial law was due to this. The em- peror might be a bad man personally and a ruler of questional^le caliber, and yet, as mouthpiece of able jurist, impose regulations of lasting good upon empire. SEC. 12. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION. Beside the general forms already noted — kingdom, republic, empire — we should note the following line of development : i. The city state. Rome was long true to ancient conception of city and state as coterminous. When Roman franchise was given outside Rome it was only in Rome that it could be exercised. The limited use of proxies came late. Even under empire the fic- tion of Rome as the State w^as maintained. Augustus preserved the old forms. Tiberius aboHshed the Assem- bly, but transferred its powers to the Senate.^ Succes- sive emperors flattered the Senate with vain show of reverence, and consuls were still elected, though at bid- ding of emperor. Diocletian made form meet fact. Senate and senatorial appointment were no more. Rome had ceased to be the State. With Constantine it ceased to be even the capital. 2. The municipality. A sec- ondary organization, the municipal, was developed even before the Republic ceased. Herein Roman form was followed, curia '^ for Senate, duumvir for consul. Earge measure of local independence was thus enjoyed. In time municipalities were numerous throughout empire. 58 ROME. After Diocletian Rome was simply municipality. The municipium is the more worthy of attention, as it marks the most durable feature of Rome's political life. 3. Centralization. Diocletian and his successors made their own laws, published them by their own ministers, and enforced them with their own troops. The emperor was the government. For administrative purposes he divided the empire into prefectures,'' dioceses,* and provinces. The minutiae of control were performed by a host of officers and underlings who constituted a new and ordinarily worthless nobility. ^ Augustus had already prepared way for weakening Senate. He formed a body for consultation, a committee consisting of consuls, one from each of the classes of the higher magistrates, and fifteen senators. This advisory committee considered meas- ures before they were submitted to Senate. Later a cabinet grew out of this privy council, and practically all judicial and legisla- tive functions were discharged by it. ■^ The curials were the burghers, and they paid dearl}^ for the honor. Above them was a privileged class, who bore no burdens. Responsible for the imperial revenues for the district, unable to withdraw from responsibility, pressed by ever new exactions as the empire went from bad to worse, they were slowly ground out of existence. ^ Gaul, Italy, Illyricum, the East. Rome and Constantinople had special prefects. * Largely bounded by old national lines. CHAPTER IV. The Barbarian Inundation. SEC. I. THE FOREST CHIT.DREN. Roughly speaking, in the last days of Rome the world's life moved on three great circles: i. The Roman Empire belting the Mediterranean . Progressive conquest had turned the Mediterranean into a Roman lake/ 2. So-called allies, forming series of buffer States. Tacitus admirably describes these when he speaks of them as in a condition dubicE libertatis. The series ran all the way from absolute submission to vague acknowl- edgment of Roman suzerainty. ■' 3. The Barbarian wild — limitless, mysterious, awful. Subdivision will aid. This gives : (i) German.'^ Covering in the main great section bounded north by Baltic, east by Vistula and Oder, south by Danube, west by Rhine. (2) Slavo- nian.^ Filled country east and north of Germans. (3) Tartar.^ Stretched away into unknown wastes of Cen- tral Asia. (4) African. Unwarlike and of little influence upon history. Of these three circles it is the outermost that concerns us just now. Of this circle, the German and the Mongol elements are most noteworthy for the dissolution of Rome. ^ The Empire was one pohtically, but in language, custom, spirit it was clearl3^ dual — the eastern half Greek, the western half Latin. Division at death of Theodosius gave Arcadius Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, Thrace, Dacia, Macedonia, Eastern Illyri- 9 (59) 6o THE BARBARIAN INUNDATION. cum. Honorius took Ital3% Spain, both Gauls, Africa, Noricum, Western lUyricum. 2 A host of principalities like Damascus and Pontus paid tribute to nearest proconsul, so conceding authority of Rome. The lordlings of the Caucasus, Albania, Armenia, Palmyra, not a short list, paid when they had to, not alwa3's, however, call- ing it tribute ; when let alone wavered between Parthia and Rome, according to the interests of the hour. ^ We speak oftenest of High German and Low German to de- note southern and northern populations. Much the same dis- tinction is marked by Suevi and non-Suevi. Chief among Suevi were Goths — Eastern and Western ; Alenianni, whose influence is indicated by name, Allemagne, given to country ; Lombards, Lango-bardi, or long beards ; Burgundians ; Vandals, the fierce warriors of Ariovistus in the days of Csesar. Non-Suevi included confederation of Franks, Angles, Saxons, Jutes. * Three principal aggregates — Antes, Wends, and Sclavenes. ^Tartar is a late term, credited to St. Louis of France. The, most conspicuous divisions of Tartar group were three — Mon- gol proper, Finn, Turk. Of the Mongols the Hun was the great devastator of Burope. SBC. 2. WORK AND PLAY. What manner of men were the Barbarians who de- stroyed Rome ? The German character was marked by passion for personal independence,^ modified and held somewhat in check by recognition of clan ties; chivalric regard for womanhood,^ insuring domestic purity; in- temperance in food and drink, redeemed only by spirit of unbounded hospitality ; joy of battle,^ boding little good to a neighbor no longer rearing warriors of his own ; shadowy mysticism, perhaps born of the mystery of the forest ; religion, elevated by comparatively high conception of divinity, but degraded by heathen prac- tices, probably including human sacrifice. The Slavo- nian suffers by comparison with the German. Unclean, ill-housed, ill-fed, indifferent to domestic obligations. the: barbarian inundation. 6i hospitable and veracious in peace, cunning and cruel in war, passive, morally debased, fetichistic,* the old Slav was not a beautiful character. The Hun to the western world was a devil. ^ Misshapen as tested by human standards, they improved upon Nature's ugliness.^ Used from infancy to hardship, they could endure great ex- tremes of heat and cold, were tireless riders and fierce fighters, starved and feasted with stoic equanimity, held the usual Oriental view of woman, made and broke pledges with equal facility, pillaged and destroyed with true Nomad disregard of the morrow, believed and prac- ticed sorcery and magic. Such were German, Slav, and Hun, the barbarian foes of Rome. Only native vigor or the protection of the gods could save an empire against their onset. Rome had neither and was doomed. ^ Here the bond arose, not from reverence for the head of the family, but from the feeling of brotherhood. This assured equality rather than submission. Menzel well suggests that free intercourse between citizens possessed of equal privileges, and bound by the same duties, was the soul of the ancient German communities, and the foundation on which their whole history rests. Each district had its popular assembly, in which the oldest presided, but in which the majority decided. The signifi- cance of this for modern politics is not far to seek. 2 Tacitus, Ger., ch. 8, says : " The3' believe that something of the divine, some prescient power, dwells within them (the women), and they never neglect either their advice or their prophetic answers." ^The brave man looked to immortality in Walhalla, where he would fight all day and at night sit down to the feast of heroes. *The Slav believed in two divinities, the White God and the Black God. The White God was a good being, from whom they had nothing to fear, so they let him alone. The Black God threatened them with harm all the time, so they worshipped him with horrid rites. ^ Even a fabulous origin was assigned him. He was begotten of demons by Scythian witches. The supernatural element in 62 THE BARBARIAN INUNDATION. his aucestry increased the terror he everywhere inspired . What might not the son of a demon and a witch do ! ^The nose of the infant was flattened and its cheeks gashed with some kind of an iron instrument, partly for the effect of the horrible scars, partly to prevent the growth of a beard. Ammianus Marcellinus had no flattering conception of them, for he describes them, XXXI, 2, as '*' brute creatures on two legs, or the rudely fashioned images hewn out of logs of wood, which are sometimes placed on the parapet of a bridge." SEC. 3. THE FIRST ATTACK. This came from a people not yet mentioned — the Gaul. The leader in the migration from the old Aryan Jiome, the Celt was foremost in attack on Rome. Crowded by later comers, the Celt finally occupied ^ what is now northern Italy, France, Belgium, Ger- many west of Rhine, western Switzerland, and the British Isles. Contest with Rome was inevitable. In the first stage the Italian boundary was carried to the Alps."^ A century later ^ the balance of Gaul yielded grudging submission. Caesar fought the matter to a conclusion that could not be mistaken. Henceforth Gaul was not Celtic. I^anguage, literature, customs, institutions, all were Roman.* ^The Celt seems to have done his full share of roving before he got fairly settled. In what Thierry calls his nomad stage he visited various parts of three continents. Rome burnt and Del- phi plundered tell the tale for Europe. Galatia peopled is the record for Asia. Traces by the Nile and at Carthage bear wit- ness to their visit in Africa. 2222 B. C. 3 118 B. C. *The common saying made Gaul more Roman than Rome itself. The transformation was so complete that when the Franks couquered the old land of Gaul they found everywhere Latin influences completely in possession and were themselves Latinized. THK BARBARIAN INUNDATION. 63 SEC, 4. STRUGGLE. The first attack ended well for Rome. It added wide territor}^ and precious strength. For a time it seemed as if it might issue likewise with later effort. In spite of two defeats at the Rhine, whose passage a Roman army disputed, and the slaughter at Toulouse,' Rome annihilated the Teutones at Provence 102 B. C, and the Cimbri at Vercelli loi B. C The wars of Csesar kept the barbarian tide at a distance. Misfortune fell 9 A. D., when the legions of Varus were hewn down by Arminius. Two and a half centuries of doubtful contest followed. Then, 271 A. D., Aurelian allowed the Goths land within the Empire. This was the be- ginning of the end. Probus gave the Franks land in Gaul. Just a century later the West Goths crossed the Danube. This vital movement was made under press- ure. The Hun had appeared. Hun pushed East Goth, who in turn pushed West Goth, who had to move on. Rome followed her old policy of playing in- terest against interest. For fifty years she used Hun and Goth as counter- weights, Goth getting the better of it to the extent of Alaric's sack of Rome, 410 A. D. Then a mighty man arose among the Huns, Attila the scourge of God . He adopted Rome' s policy of counter- weights and played Roman against Goth. Finally, against Rome and her allies he fought the battle of Chalons, 451 A. D. His defeat saved Rome. Before he was ready to renew the attack he died.' His death was followed by division in his host. The battle of Netad,"^ fought between the German and Hunnish sec- tions, broke the power of the Huns, who presently dis- appear. The Vandals took their turn next. The sack of Rome by Genseric,' in 455 A. D., tells how well 64 THE BARBARIAN INUNDATION. they used their opportunity. Quarter of a century of change and shame followed. Three names are of im- portance — Ricimer, a Sueve ; Odoacer, a Pannonian ; Theodoric, an Ostrogoth. For centuries Rome's battles had been fought by barbarian troops against their brethren. It was only fitting that Rome's leadership® should be barbarian. Barbarians made and unmade emperors. In 476 A. D. the last puppet^ was taken down. "One emperor is enough," said Odoacer. Romulus Augustus, out of retirement, said, with greater truth than he realized, ** There is only one emperor." The Roman Senate passed on the message, prudently adding, because the master bade them, that "they felt entirely safe under Odoacer' s excellent rule. ' ' The plan worked well. Odoacer was King of Italy. In 493 B. C. Theodoric slew him and became king. Italy was an Ostrogoth kingdom for half a century. Belisa- rius and Narses exterminated the Ostrogoth. Tem- porarily ^ united again to the Eastern Empire, Italy was overrun 568 A. D. by the Lombards. The Lom- bard kingdom lasted two centuries. Then Italy was gathered under the all-embracing sway of Charlemagne. The struggle may be conveniently divided into six periods, i. The Romanizing of the Gaul, completed by Caesar. 2. Clear Roman superiority over German to 9 A. D. 3. Contest with varying issue to 271 A. D. 4. Settlement of Barbarian within empire to 375 A. D. 5. Barbarian domination to 476 A. D. 6. Barbarian kingdoms in Italy to restoration of empire by Charle- magne. ^ This occurred as result of quarrel between Roman leader, Csepio, and his colleague over division of booty. Caepio fought Gauls alone, and with army of 80,000 was simply blotted out. 2 The Teutones and the Cimbri divided for the passage of the THB BARBARIAN INUNDATION. 65 Alps. This gave the great Marius opportunity to beat them in detail. The turn of the Teutones catne first. They were com- pletely broken, and 100,000 corpses bred pestilence and gave name to the modern Pourrieres, which is simply the campus pulridiis of Marius. The Cimbri got down to Lombard plains and waited for the allies, who did not come. Marius came in- stead. They asked lands. " Give us land," they said, " for us and for our brethren." "Your brethren have all the land they need the other side of the mountain," was the grim reply. They fought. The Cimbri fared as the Teutones had fared the year before, and Rome was saved. ^ Probably stabbed oif her bridal night by Ildico, a l)eautif ul German girl, whom he had compelled to take place among his already numerous wives. The Huns said he died of hemorrhage. The Germans believed that their kinswoman had avenged her shame by the dagger. *This battle, little known and seldom mentioned, quite pos- sibly was as vital to the'world as Chalons. ^The terrible Vandal chief was summoned by Eudoxia, the widow of murdered Emperor Valentinian and wife of murderer Maximus, now Emperor. Valentinian had violated the wife of Maximus, who slew his master and retaliated in kind upon his wife. Forced into unwilling wedlock, Eudoxia called upon Genseric to avenge her wrongs. ^Ricimer was general-in-chief of Roman army. Odoacer be- gan so, but went farther, whining kingship. Theodoric estab- lished kingdom as conqueror. ^ Romulus Augustulus. His youth, beauty, and terror saved his life. Odoacer sent him into elegant retirement, to be used as a tool of his master. ^ Might have been held permanently but for miserable jeal- ousies at Constantinople. Greatness in a general could not be tolerated. So Belisarius and Narses were hampered and finally destroyed because they were able. SEC. 5. VICTORY. What did it all mean ? Did the twelve vultures of Romulus signify twelve centuries? The twelve cen- turies had run out and Roman dominion was no more. 66 the: barbarian inundation. Can we tell why Rome fell ? We can see at least this far : i. The typical Roman spirit was no more. The citizen came to live not for the State, but for himself.^ 2. lyUxury and idleness had become a disease. Irre- ligion, immorality, cruelt}^ lust of blood fostered by gladiatorial shows aggravated the disease.'^ 3. The slave population had become enormous. Free labor in consequence became disgrace. 4. There was no true middle class. The Roman administration needs no other condemnation than this. 5. Frequent change of emperor resulted in weakened allegiance. 6. Division of empire destroyed old center and distracted loyalty. 7. Claims of militar}^ service were no longer recognized. The citizen soldier^ who made dominion possible was only a memory. 8. Consequent reliance upon merce- naries.* Thus the barbarian was taught the art of war. 9. Absence of barrier to barbarian flood. Wave fol- lowed wave. The tide rose and overflowed everything. 10. The simpler, purer, stronger life of the barbarian which gave victory to the better man. The Eastern Empire lasted a thousand years beyond the Western. For the Western the downfall was at once complete.^ ^The rabble at Rome assumed to shape the destinies of th.e world. To it the destiny of the world meant bread and games for them , 2 It is estimated that no State can without exhaustion support more than one-twentieth of its male population in idleness. The proportion at Rome was much greater. The state of morals is suggested by such names as Messalina, Agrippina, Poppjea Sabina. ^ The Comitia Centuriata illustrates exactly this. * Constantine sought to break the power of the army as a po- litical organization. This he accomplished b}^ separating it from civil duty, by stationing troops where national sympathies would little affect them, by lessening the size and multiplying the num- ber of legions, by developing four distinct grades of service : the: barbarian inundation. 67 Palatini, the garrisons of imperial residences ; Comitatenses, the imperial suite ; Castriani and Riparienses guarding the fortresses and frontiers. By this means barbarians were admitted to very heart of empire. ^ The barbarian kingdoms were: I. Suevi, northwestern Spain, 409-585. Fell to Visigoth. 2. Burgundian, southeast Gaul, 413I 534. Fell to Frank. 3. Visigoth, south Gaul and Spain ' 415- 711. Fell to Arab. 4- Vandal, Africa, 429-534. Fell to East- ern Empire. 5. Anglo-Saxon, Britain, 449. 6. Frank, north Gaul, 486. 7. Ostrogoth, Italy, 493-555- Fell to Eastern Em- pire. 8. Lombard, Italy, 568-774. Fell to Charlemagne. SEC. 6. THE OI.D ORDER CHANGETH. The Barbarian visited the Empire with conquest, not annihilation. A city now and then was sacked. Here and there a community was blotted out. But civiliza- tion did not perish. Centuries of contact with culture had done much for the Barbarian. Most important of all, he was no longer a nomad. He had come to stay. Nor was he longer simply a barbarian. Five centuries of schooling had taught him a wondering kind of sym- pathy for the learning of the people he was destined to conquer. Many had become Christians. The old pop- ulation was neither exterminated nor deported. The newcomer settled beside it or in the midst of it . Change of ownership came to the land, of course. State terri- tory passed to barbarian kings. Private land, too, was taken, when needed for new masters. Kach set of con- querors had its own rule ' of confiscation. The Vandal took everything. Ostrogoth took a third, Burgundian two-thirds, Visigoth two-thirds. Frank took what he needed — nothing but public domain north of Loire, private as well as public south of I^oire.""^ Amalgama- tion of peoples was imperfect. Sometimes they com- 68 THE BARBARIAN INUNDATION. mingled, sometimes formed alternate strata, sometimes one or other entirely failed."'' Order was kept after a fashion, partly by Roman, partly by barbarian law.* Fusion came, though slowly. The result was about what might have been foreseen. A victorious people settling upon conquered territory is likely to wield the power while the conquered bear the burdens. Indi- vidual Romans bettered their condition by entering into German relations ; individual Germans were assimi- lated, for better or worse, to Roman conditions. In general, Roman influence chiefly dominated ecclesias- tical, educational, mercantile, and agricultural life, Ger- man influence chiefly military and political life. ^ Vandal, Frank, and Saxon offered no excuse for appropria- tion other than the right of conquest. Goth and Burgundian appealed to jus hospitale, the convenient Roman arrangement by which auxiliaries were quartered upon a district. Herein doubtless they profited by experience, for the Goth at least had served as auxiliary to Rome. ^This was when he drove Visigoth out of section south of Loire. ^ A large proportion of cities were almost exclusively Roman. * Both were administered by the conqueror, often b}'^ aid of Roman officials. For interpretation of much Roman law bar- barian must have learned help. SEC. 7. GIVING PLACE TO NEW. The new order was not Roman, not German, but com- posite. The excellence of Roman law was recognized. It existed ' first side by side with barbarian codes' — Roman code for Roman subject, barbarian code for bar- barian. Presently provisions of the Roman code were incorporated bodily into the barbarian. The Visigoths succeeded in combining the two into a single system.'^ Old institutions were modified. The Roman built his 'rHE BARBARIAN INUNDATION. 69 State upon order, thinking little of freedom. The bar- barian emphasized freedom to the point of making order impossible. The reciprocal influence of these opposites begot a theor}' of government neither absolute nor in- dividual.* The arni}^ was not the professional fighting corps of the Roman, nor was it the mere comitatus'' of the German. The chief, already become king, was settled in hereditar}' office, to Roman taking place of de- funct emperor, to German representing war leader^ kept permanenth' in place because of troubled times. Power of headship grew at cost of assembly of freemen. As took place after Diocletian's organization of empire, an official nobility supplanted old order, person of king, now as then, constituting center. Ownership of land tended from common to individual holding. State and law and administration were on the way from per- sonal to territorial. Language suffered change. The Romance tongues are not Latin. The}^ are not barba- rian. Here, as elsewhere, a new order was under way. ^ The barbarian conceived of law as personal, not territorial. When the Ostrogoth went among the Franks and was brought to trial it must be by Ostrogothic and not Frankish law. In other words, a man carried his law with him. It was only natural, therefore, that while the barbarian conqueror used con- queror's clear right to judge Roman he should judge him by the law of Romans. It was only what he would expect to have done for himself. -Of these there were several, e.g., Leges Barbarorum, as they were called. The most important were Lex Salica, Lex Ripuariofuni, Lex Wisigothorum, Lex Burgundionum, Lex Saxonum, Lex Frisionum. Over against these was Lex Rouiana. 3 Territorial, not personal, indicating that Goth and Roman had settled down into one people. * Key to constitutional government lies in combination of ele- ments thus brouirht toofether. 70 THK BARBARIAN INUNDATION. ^Personal following of noted chief. Armed, fed, and led by chief, they were bound to protect and aid him, never failing, however sore the need might be. Especially significant insti- tution in relation to Feudalism. ^ Offices of king and of military leader might be, very likely were in most cases, kept distinct. Reges ex nobilitate, duces ex virtute suinimt, says Tacitus. SEC. 8. REFLUX. The tide did not set forever south. After a few decades of settling a backward movement was trace- able. Several causes induced this : i. The pressure from behind apparently was not renewed. Later the mysterious impulses which drove forth Hun and Avar from the heart of AvSia would again work. Now all was quiet. 2. In absence of Turanian onset the Slav lay upon his arms. 3. The swirl of Mohammedan con- quest caught up the Vandal kingdom in Africa, leaped the Pillars of Hercules, drowned Spain, and, though beaten back by the iron wall of Franks at Tours, still covered more than half the Visigothic territory. 4. Political instinct was working out tolerable forms of national life. German individualism had found needed corrective in Roman imperialism. Out of these ideas, so antagonistic and j^et so truly complementary, came the possibilities of a new State, giiaranteeing at once liberty and order. This would find expression only through many a struggle. But at whatever cost, it was bound to come. 5. The first question was. Who should show the way ? Destiny said, the Frank. Thus the center of political gravity clearly shifted to the north. The barbarian wave was rolling back freighted with the issues of modern history. CHAPTER V, The Western Empire Restored. SEC. I. THK FRANK. Frank was a confederate^ name. It gets into history 241.'' The Franks were Germans pure and simple. In good German fashion the}^ aUernatel}^ fought and served Rome. For several decades they were virtually the bulwark of the empire. As its allies they withstood, though with doubtful success, the flood of Vandals, Burgundians, and Sueves who at beginning of 5th cen- tury poured over southwestern Europe. They fought the Hun at Chalons in middle of century. Little by little they themselves encroached upon Roman ground. By 486 the}' were permanently established in Gaul. Henceforth for many a day they were to play a central part in history. Several considerations help to explain their strength, i. They held the line of communica- tion between Roman and German. Rome politicall}' was dead. The elements of her culture, so well deserv- ing to be permanent, must perish along with her polit- ical dominion, in absence of life, at once vigorous and sympathetic, to carry it on. The future depended upon the German forest. Between the dwellers there and the decaying civilization of the south stood the Frank — sufficiently Roman to prize order, sufficiently German to be strong and clean and brave. 2. They never cut loose from their base of supplies. Other tribes lost n 170 72 THE WKSTKRN EMPIRE RESTORED, connection with old home. When exhausted they perished. Frank held fast, drawing as needed fresh- ness and vigor for larger tasks, conserving old institu- tions while winning new. 3. They legitimated conquest even in eyes of conquered by wise composition with Roman authority.^ 4. By prudent recognition of ortho- dox Christianity"^ they secured strong, spiritual founda- tion for their rule. Here are marks of natural and political power which come near to spelling the word destiny. The Frank vindicated destiny by rapidly and solidly won victory over all opposition. Within three centuries he was the mightiest ruler in the world. ^ When Prankish history begins the tribes bearing the name were in three groups. By middle of 4th century they were in two divisions, the Salian Frank and the Ripuarian. Salians probably got name from river Yssel, Isala, Sala. Ripuarians almost certainly were named from Ripa, the bank. So the Romans referred to Rhine bank. Ripuarians were just dwellers on the bank, Salians were near coast about lower waters of Rhine, Meuse, and Scheldt. Ripuarians were on Middle Rhine, about Cologne. Many tribes made up confederacy — Sicambri, Chamavi, Bructeri, Chatti, Cherusci — to name a few of the best known. 2 When troops of Aurelian after service on German frontier marched out to Persian war, they sang a barrack-room ballad : Mille Sarmatas, mille Francos, semel et semel occidimus ; Mille, mille, mille, mille, mille, Persas quserimus. The tribes that made the confederacy have been mentioned before. Here we have the corporate name. ^The Franks acknowledged political supremacy of Rome, and by consent of Roman commander occupied much territory. So close were the relations between Roman and German that the Roman Master-General of Gaul was once elected king of the Franks. It was defeat at Soissons, in 486, of his sou Syagrius, "titular king of the Romans, that gave Franks the name as well as the fact of sovereignty over Gaul. *Most of the Germans who were Christians at all were Arian. Roman Gaul was orthodox. The Franks remained pagan until THE WESTERN EMPIRE RESTORED. 73 496. In that year, in battle of Tolbiac against Alemanni, Franks were worsted until Clovis, in despair of aid from his ancestral gods, prayed the god of his Catholic wife, Clotilde, to help him. The tide of battle turned. Obedient to his battle vow, the Frankish king became a Christian. His warriors were as readv to follow him in baptism as in battle. So the Franks entered the church. SEC. 2. MEROVINGIAN RULE. The Frank in Germany had t3^pical German organi- zation, a republic of warriors. Each tribe had its chief or king elected b}- the whole body of freemen. War and migration inevitably increased power of leader. That kingship was not even then strictl}^ hereditary is shown by election of ^gidius, an outsider. Still the tendency was well settled toward succession within the royal house. The kingdom was regarded as king's possession, to be divided at death among heirs. What surprising vitality this conception has shown ! The first Frankish d3^na.sty was that of Merovius. The great king of the line was Clovis,^ 48 1-5 11. By splendid fighting abilit}^ he attracted an ever larger warrior fol- lowing, which he made irresistible b}^ discipline ' and daring. By his prudence ^ and justice he won confidence of both Frank and Gaul. At his death the Franki.sh kingdom embraced nearly all modern France, with a goodh^ strip beyond the Rhine. Clovis left successors to his kingdom, but none to his greatness. The prin- ciple of division* made strong government impossible, except for brief intervals. Merovingian liistor}^ ran through the following periods: i. Establishment of kingdom to death of Clovis, 511. 2. Disunion and con- flict, but with great enlargement of kingdom, to reunion under Eothar I, 558. 3. Redivision, with domestic and civil strife, to second reunion under Lothar II, 613. 74 THE WESTERN EMPIRE RESTORED. 4. A brief period of order to death of Lothar II, 627. 5. Increasing worthlessness of the royal line. 6. The reign of the Major domus. ^ Clovis was son of Childeric by Basina, the runaway Thurin- gian queen. Childeric, for his wildness, had been exiled by Franks. Part of his exile he spent at Thuringian court. When the Franks took him back Basina left her husband, frankly de- claring her passion for Childeric as the wisest, strongest, and handsomest man she knew. -This was all German lacked of beino^ great soldier. Clovis was very strict. No pillaging was allowed in peaceful country. Even carelessness, more yet disobedience, was punished with death. ^Gibbon, Decline and Fall, IV, 448, says of him : " In all his transactions with mankind he calculated the weight of interest, of passion, and of opinion, and his measures were sometimes adapted to the sanguinary manners of the Germans, and some- times moderated by the milder genius of Rome and Christianity. " * Clovis left four sons. They quarreled with one another and fought the common enemy until three were dead, leaving Lotliar I sole king, 558-561. Lothar I left four sons. Six years later the eldest died, and the whole had to be reparceled among the three remaining. So it went until all came together under Ivothar II, 613, who reigned alone until his death, 627. From this time on the term rois faineants describes the line. SEC. 3. CAROLINGIAN SUCCESSION. Transition from Merovingian to Carolingian was mediated by the Major Domas.^ This fnnctionary had charge of royal household. He was the king's fore- man. Finally the foreman ousted his chief. In view of decay '^ of Merovingian dynasty, some one had to look after kingdom. It was perhaps natural that the king's domestic superintendent should be the man. So the Mayor of the Palace became Prime Minister. With war constantly waging, the Prime Minister was bound THE WESTERN EMPIRE REvSTORED. 75 to be a warrior. A line of mighty fighting ministers appeared, who presently in the order of nature were ready for the throne. Four names are of special mo- ment. Pippin von Landen was Dagobert's minister. Pippin von Heristal, his grandson, was minister of eastern part of kingdom, now known as Austrasia. The Major Domus of Neustria, the western section, was so unpopular that Neustrian nobles sunniioned Austrasian minister to help them against their own minister. He came. Pippin von Heristal, beat his rival, ^ and so became Major Domus of entire kingdom. Karl Martell was illegitimate son of Pippin von Heristal. He waged successful war against Frisians and Saxons, ex- acted service for church lands, furthered missionary enterprise, and, victory for whole Western world, forced back Mohammedan invasion by battle of Tours, 732.* Pippin in, le Bref, followed his father, Martell. He ruled as Major Domus until 752. Then it seemed time that regal name should match regal power. ^ Childeric, the last representative of the long-since-vanished Mero- vingian power, was made a monk, and Pippin IH was hailed King of the Franks. ^Apparently this office was originally one of menial service only about person of chief or king. Its importance grew, how- ever, until at beginning of 8th century the Major Domus was most important personage at the Prankish court. '^ The old monkish chronicle, which bears the name of Frede- garius, gives curious account of Basina's prophecy that so it would come to pass. On her bridal night with Childeric, Ba- sina '"said to her new husband, 'Go out quietly and tell thy handmaid what thou seest in the outer court of the palace.' So he arose, and saw the figures of beasts like lions and unicorns and leopards wandering about in the court yard. This he re- ported to his wife, and she said to him, ' My Lord, go out again and tell thy handmaid what thou hast seen.' He went out again and saw figures as of bears and wolves roaming about. And 76 THE WESTERN EMPIRE RESTORED. when he had told her all this she bade him go out once more and tisll her what he saw. The third time he saw figures as of dogs and other small animals quarreling and fighting with each other. Next morning Basina said to Childeric, ' What thou hast seen in a vision is sure, and this is the interpretation of it. A son shall be born to us who will be strong as a lion, and his sons will be strong as a leopard and a unicorn. Their children will be strong and greedy, like bears and wolves. Those whom thou sawest when thou wentest out for the third time will be the last rulers of thy line. They will rule like dogs, and their power will be like that of the lesser beasts. The many other small animals which were quarreling and fighting with each other are the peoples, which, without fear of the rulers, shall war one upon the other.' " ^This victory of Testry, 687, was mastery of Romanic by Ger- manic element of State. * Note should be made of importance of this contest. It was a life-and-death struggle between two races, two religions, two forms of government, two civilizations. ^ Pippin sent to Pope Zachary the question : " With regard to the kings of the Franks, who at that time did not have the royal power, whether this was a good state of things?" Whereupon answer came : " It seems better that he who has the power in the State should he and be called king rather than he who is falsely called the king." SEC. 4. PRANKISH ALLIANCE WITH PAPACY. The conversion of Clovis was a great thing for the orthodox church.^ The Frank might know little of the metaphysical subtleties of a creed, but he could fight. The Frank gave the church a sword against the heathen and against the, to the devout Catholic, worse than heathen, Arian. Thus as early as 500 there was an im- portant relation between the Pope and the Franks. The trend of events made that relation steadil}'^ more impor- tant. The Eastern Htnpire still professedly ruled cen- tral and southern Italy ; "^ still claimed and sometimes THE WESTERN EMPIRE RESTORED. 77 received the allegiance of the popes. But the breach between East and West constantly widened. The East- ern Emperor, legal defender of the papac}^ encouraged rather than dissuaded the spoliation of Rome. The Pope, already a temporal sovereign, though over scant domain, broke with Constantinople during Iconoclastic controversy,^ carrying with him the remnants of impe- rial dominion in Italy. Mutual recrimination only in- creased bitterness. A nearer peril was the Eombard. Hard pressed by him, successive popes sought Frankish aid. Karl Martell spoke fair, but was too busil}^ en- gaged otherwise and too intimately connected with Lombard* to make breach with him for Pope's sake. Pippin III smote the Lombard in name of God and Pope.^ The territory wrested from Lombard^ he gave to Pope, greatl}^ swelling papal domain. In return Pope blessed Pippin, confirming his title as king. Charlemagne renewed donation of Pippin, and a half century later was crowned by the Pope, not king of the Franks, but Roman Emperor. ^ Gibbou calls attention to the fact that when Clovis ascended from the baptismal font he alone in all the world deserved the name of a Catholic king. The other Germans, as we know, were Arians. The emperor Anastasius was half heretic, hold- ing dangerovas errors concerning the incarnation. -But the Exarchate of Ravenna and the Duchies of Spoleto and Beneventum were practically independent. The Tope claimed Rome as gift of Constantine. ^Leo the Isaurian, 718-741, condemned image worship, which was strenuously defended by Pope Gregory II, partly because he believed in it, parily to oppose the emperor. Attempts of emperor to reduce Italy failed, greatly strengthening papal power, both temporal and spiritual. * lyuitprand, the Lombard king, was martial godfather to Karl's son Pippin. ^The Pope's affairs w^ere desperate. His appeal was the 78 THE WESTERN EMPIRE RESTORED. strongest possible. The determining thing was a letter from St. Peter by hand of Pope Stephen : " I, Peter, the Apostle of God, who have accepted you as my sons, warn you to save the city of Rome from the Lombards. Do not endure that it should longer be tormented by its foes, else will your bodies and your souls, too, sometime be tormented in hell fire. Do not permit my people to be scattered abroad, else will the Lord scatter you abroad, as he did once the people Israel. Beyond all the other peoples of the earth the Franks have shown themselves submissive to me, the Apostle Peter, and on that account I have always heard their prayers when they have cried to me in need, and I will continue to give you the victory over A^our enemies if ye now come quickly to the aid of my city Rome ; but if ye disobey my injunction, know ye that in the name of the Holy Trinity I then exclude you from the Kingdom of God and from eternal life, in virtue of the power given me by the Lord Christ." ^ At least part of this legally belonged to eastern emperor, who naturally claimed it from Pippin, but Pippin said, "No; whoever might have held it before, it was now going to the Pope." No Pope after this sought confirmation from eastern emperor. SEC. 5. CHARLEMAGNE. Charlemagne is the French name of an out-and-out German. It makes little difference whether we speak the name in Latin, French, or German. In all lan- guages the man who bore the name was " the great." His most patent right to the title was military.^ In a series of marvelous campaigns he strengthened and ex- tended Frankish dominion, i . He conquered the Lom- bards, winning kingship of ITombards, later superseded by kingship of Italy. 2. He broke the Saxon power in bloody wars. For a third of century Saxon revolt and re-subjugation constituted a regular part of Karl's programme. 3. He ended the half independence of Bavaria. 4. He reduced the Avars, a new Mongolian swarm. 5. He forced back the Moors, recovering the THE WESTERN EMPIRE RESTORED. 79 north of Spain to Christian rule. So enormous terri- tory was won. The problem of unit}' was greatly sim- plified by coronation of Karl as Emperor.' What the King of the Franks could hold together only by the sword which conquered it might become a living organ- ism through the memory of Rome. So to power based on headship of Germanic race and partnership with Pope in Christian sovereignty was added the spell of the Roman name" that never had been broken, though three centuries had passed since the fall of the old empire. ^ He fought out man}' issues only partly settled by his prede- cessors. The records of his expeditions read like a fairy tale. We know of fift3'-three campaigns, nearly all led by him person- ally — eighteen Saxon, three Danish, one Bavarian, four Slav, four Avar, twelve Saracen, five Lombard, two Greek, one Thuringian, one Aquitanian, two Breto^i. ^ 800. Men had never conceded that the Roman empire had ceased to be. Odoacer sent the imperial insignia to Constanti- nople 476. Since then there had been no western emperor. Now the Romans reserve the right to choose an emperor for themselves. The time was well chosen. The throne at Con- stantinople was occupied by Irene, who had deposed and blinded her son, the true ruler. The Roman system had no place in it for a woman emperor. Constantine took the center of empire to the Bosphorus. Karl wdll bring it back to its old place on the Tiber. Even when in the East new emperors were crowned there was no difficulty. It was by no means the first time that there had been several rulers without impairing the unity of the empire. Karl, however, was regarded as successor of Constan- tine VI. 3 This factor was very important, i. Men remembered that the oppression of the old da3's was compensated by at least the semblance of order. 2. Christianity was a great maker of unity. 3. The onslaught of Islam had emphasized the importance of unity among Christian believers. 3. A visible poHtical order was to the thought of the period a necessary counterpart of tlie kingdom of Christ on earth. 12 8o THE WK.STKRN EMPIRE RESTORED. SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION. The merits of Karl's administration were chiefly : I. Order. 2. Energ}^ 3. Personality. The purpose was doubtless alwa3^s better than the performance. More unmanageable material could not well have been found. The most statesmanlike genius could hardly have wrought complete success with it. In comparison with what went before and w^hat came after, the rule of Karl was both strong and good. i. The empire was loosely divided into districts with local organization. Some of these districts were simply old independencies reduced to provinces with national leaders, the dukes. ^ Others were territories large or small, or even single cities, ruled by counts and necessary under-oiflcers. Officials held place at emperor's pleasure, but the offices tended to become hereditary. 2. For immediate over- sight, 7nissi dominici,^ the lord's messengers, went two by two, usually a secular and a clerical, to make per- sonal examination for the emperor of all matters of ad- ministration throughout empire. 3. Exacting an oath of allegiance to himself as emperor, Karl bound every freeman in the empire to his own person. Teutonic traditions did not wholly lapse. As in the old days, once always, often twice, in the year the assembly of freemen was held.^' All this looks well, better, doubt- less, than it worked, but it was a giant's task to win even so much for government. ^ One meets coutiuually dukes and. counts in the okl narra- tives. That is all right until one discovers that they are busied about the same tasks. The dukes did not possess jurisdiciio, and yet they judge. The counts had no great territories like the duchies, ever tending to become independent States, and yet the greatest lay dignitar}^ in the empire was a count. Clear- ness comes only from noting original distinction. The duke was the head of a people, their natural leader, the national chief. THE WESTERN EMPIRE RESTORED. 8 1 who would be king if people were independent. The count was a royal officer, holding appointment directly and solely from king or emperor. The dukedom represented local, or, better, national feeling. The countship represented royal authority. But ere long functions were commingled. Dukes had "rights • of count." Counts came to exercise semi-independent rule. '^ Their business was to oversee as their royal master would if he were present. ^ But it must be admitted that the emperor was practically absolute. SEC. 7. RELIGION AND LEARNING. Karl was a true defender of the faith. Whatever the Pope thought about spiritual headship, Karl regarded himself lord of both Pope and Church. Among great officers of empire were bishops with wide domains. Karl treated them as he did other officials. As con- tributing to order, he developed regular hierarchy — priest, bishop, archbishop, provincial synod— ending in king. He lectured the Pope on doctrine,' the clergy on morals, ' nominated to ecclesiastical vacancies, fur- thered missionary enterprise, ^and, in general, discharged the office of friend and patron of religion. To the cause of learning the great Carolingian was faithful. He says himself: ' ' Desiring that the state of our churches shall more and more improve, and wish- ing by constant care to revive the cultivation of learn- ing, which has almost perished through the indolence of our forefathers, we by our own example encourage all whom we can attract to the study of the liberal arts." Karl was true to his word. Himself a good scholar for his day,* he gathered about him great leaders of thought. Einhard lived at his court. So did Alcuin of York, Paul the Deacon, Peter of Pisa, Angilbert, and Theodulf. He had a court school which he attended 82 THE WESTERN EMPIRE RESTORED. with his children, and he encouraged the establishment of schools in the monastic and ecclesiastical centers- Great literary quickening followed. The result was not inconsiderable, but one fatal defect was evey where apparent. This renaissance, unlike its successor five centuries later, found no native issue. To the last the culture of the age of Charlemagne was Roman — a bor- rowed thing. ^ The Nicsean council of 787 approved the use of images, both for ornament and for devotion. Pope Hadrian endorsed the decision. Karl declared the decision of the council, just ap- proved by Pope, false and pernicious. Concerning the proces- sion of the spirit, whether from the father only or ex patre filioqiie, the Nicene creed teaches the former doctrine. Karl called council at Aachen, 809, which wrote into the western creed the filioque, and Pope endured it. ^ This is the more interesting from fact that Karl's own morals were not exactly sound. He repudiated his first wife because not personally agreeable to him. Three, some say four, wives followed in succession. At last, grown chaste, he did not marry again, but modestly contented himself with four concubines. His family appears to have been quite in S3mipathy with him. His daughters, whom he would not allow to leave him, never married, but nevertheless reared several children at their father's court. 3 He bade the Pope pray earnestly for the success of the ex- peditions he undertook for subjugation of pagans and for estab- lishment of sound doctrine. The Saxon wars at once secured the empire and added to the number of the faithful. *Kitcliin, History of FrancCj I, 119, says that after Alcuin, Karl was accounted the most learned man in his empire. SEC. 8 PARTITION AND WEAKNESS. Many a cloud darkened the last da3^s of Charlemagne. Enemies were at the gate. Darker yet was the shadow of death. Of three sons, only Louis was left.^ A gentle soul, more fit for the cloister than for the court, lyouis THK WESTERN EMPIRE RESTORED. 8- saw his empire crumble. Tendency to fall apart was confirmed by emperor himself, by assignment to sons of^ various kingdoms.^ Jealousy, intrigue, revolt, un- filial passion, broke the father's heart.-' Fratricidal strife followed.* Peace was restored by the famous treaty of Verdun,^ 843. This peace, however, meant virtual dismemberment of the empire. The imperial name diverged more and more from imperial power. Emperor, king, and prince counted his domain a thing to be parceled out, a combination of real and personal ' property subject to testamentary will of ruler. For a moment, under che bulky incapacity of Charles the Fat, the dominions of Charlemagne were again one. But lands and peoples and names of power avail little in absence of a leader, and Charles the Fat was no leader. For a leader the world had a half century still to wait. ' Pippin died 810, Charles 811. Karl had carefully arranged succession by naming Charles as Emperor, Pippin King of Italy, Louis King of Aquitaine. Death of brothers made Louis sole heir. -Herein following intention of his own father. Lothar, Louis, and Charles were the three involved. •* To bishops interceding for rebelHous son Louis the Emperor said, " I pardon him, but let him know that he has killed me," and died. *Of the numerous combinations, that of Louis and Charles against Lothar was most memorable for famous oath of Strass- burg, 842. This oath, as notable for literature as for politics, was pronounced by each leader in the language of the other, Louis takmg It in French, Charles in German. Louis swore: Pro Deo amur, etpro Christian pablo, et nostro commun salvament, d'ist di en avant, in quant Deus savir et podir me dunat, si salvarai eo cist meon fradre Karlo et in adjudha et in caduna cosa si cum om per dreit son fradra salvar dist in o quid il mi altresi fazet ; et ab Ludher nul plaid numquam prindrai, qui meon vol cist meon fradre Karle in damno sit. Charles swore, In Goddes minna indum tes Christianes solches, ind unser bedhero gehalt- 84 THE WESTERN EMPIRE RESTORED. nissi for thesemo dage frammordes, so frani so mir Got gewizei indi madh furgibit so hald in tesan minau bruodher soso man mit rehtu sinan bruder seal, inthiu thaz er mig soso ma duo ; indi mit Ivuhteren inno kleinnin thing ne geganza zhe minan vvillon imo ce scadhen vverhen. "For the love of God and for the Christian people and our common salvation, from this day forward, and as long as God shall grant me knowledge and power, I will support my brother (Karl or Louis), here present, with aid and in everything, as it is right that one should support his brother, whilst he shall do the same for me, and never with Lotliar will I make any pact which, with my will, shall be to the damage of my brother." The two peoples confirmed the oath of the brothers, each people swearing in its own tongue. Franks : Si Lodhuvigs sacrament que son fradre Karlo jurat, conservat, et Karlus meos sendra de suo part non los tanit, si io returnar non lint pois, ne io nenuels cui eo returnar int pois, in nulla adjndha contra Lodhuvig nun lin iver.« Germans : Oba Karl then eid er sineno bruodher Ludhuwige gessuor geleistit, ind Ludnwig min herro then er imo gessuor forbrihchit, ob ina ih nes inwenden ne mag, nah ih, nah thero, noh hein then ih es inwenden mag, vvindhar Karle imo ce fol- lusti ne wirdhit. " If Louis (or Karl) keeps the oath he has sworn to his brother Karl (or Louis), and if Karl (or Louis), ru}^ lord, on his part does not keep it, if I cannot bring him back thereto, neither I nor any other will give him aid against Louis (or Karl). Here is first clear emergence of national French and German life. ^Gave Charles France, Louis Germany, Lothar, with title of emperor, Italy and a strip running between France and Ger- man}^ clear to North sea. Roughl}'^ speaking, here are French, German, and Italian kingdoms recognized. SEC. 9. THE EMPIRE RE-FOUNDED. That leader was Otho the Great. On faihtre of direct line of Charlemagne the German kingdom passed by election to the Saxon-Franconian ^ house, related to the great Charles through female descent. The great THE WESTERN EMPIRE RESTORED. 85 name of the line is Otho I. At first mindful only of his kingdom, Otho quelled the turbulent dukes of Ba- varia, Franconia, and Lorraine, quieted the Slav of the eastern marches, smote and broke the Mongol Magyar, and reduced Italy. ^ Coronation as emperor followed, 962. The empire was in order once more. But the empire of Otho the Great was not that of Karl the Great. It was less extended, less ecclesiastical, less centralized, less Roman. In theory it was a world- state giving body to a world church. In fact, it was the political union of Germany and Italy " under Ger- man sovereignty, in ill-defined alliance with the Chris- tian religion as represented by the papal hierarchy. Succession to headship of empire was determined by two principles: i. The election of the German Diet carried with it the rule of Italy as well as that of Ger- many. 2. But the king so made must not assume im- perial title until crowned by Pope. Serious conse- quences were locked up in these principles, both for state and for church. ^ A touch of romance brightens the record of the struggle by which the anarchy of half a century was ended. The ItaHan kinghng Berengar was disposed to force the widow of his pred- ecessor into marriage with his son. The widow, young and beautiful, had no mind to the union. She appealed to Otho, who espoused her cause and then herself, conquered Berengar and reduced the peninsula to order. ^An unnatural union fraught with disaster for both. Ger- many wasted on foreign wars, in pursuit of a phantom, strength needed for home development. Italy was dominated by a for- eign power which it could neither destroy nor endure. SEC. 10. EMPEROR AND POPE. The theory of headship was beautifully simple. The Pope controls the souls of men, God's representative 86 THE WESTERN EMPIRE RESTORED. for Spiritual rule. The Emperor controls the bodies of men, God's representative for political rule. The rule of each is universal within its sphere, the two together matching the indivisible and universal sovereignt}'- of God. Through both God speaks. Commands to the spiritual life he issues through the Pope, commands to the secular life through the Emperor. Conflict of au- thority is inconceivable,^ for are they not the servants of the same King, equal, and appointed each to sup- port the other ? Three times '^ this theory was realized. For the rest the two vicars of God strove to prove their heavenly appointment by deeds worthy of the devil. '^ Two theories took form, diametrically opposed, and both differing widely from the earlier view. i. The State-Church. This made the empire the great essen- tial, itself built of God and needing the Church only as an organ for its own spiritual work. The Pope is then only the first bishop, 2. The Church-State. This made Church supreme, the empire its servant. Soul works onl}^ through bod}^, but soul is the important thing. By so much as eternal is better than temporal, is authority of the minister of the soul greater than that of the minister of the body. Theories so widel}^ di- vergent could end only in conflict. ^The thought of unity of authority, notwithstanding plurality of co-ordinate powers, was not strange to Roman and Mediaeval times as it is to us. The two consuls had equal authority. Two emperors held swa}', east and west. No one dreamed, however, of divided rule. So with Emperor and Pope. Each had abso- lute power. Collision would be the less likely because of clear distinction between spheres. So men reasoned. 2 Under Charlemagne and Leo III ; Otho III and Gregory V and Sylvester II ; Henry III and papal line from Gregory VI to Victor II, Henr^^'s own appointees. ^Disregard of spiritual claims and personal vice make up bad account of emperors. Simony and moral corruption make up THE WESTERN EMPIRE RESTORED. 87 worse account of popes. John XII was surpassed in wicked- ness onl}' by Alexander VI. Practices not only unpriestly, but to the last degree unchristian, made spiritual high places the abode of demons. Pride, ambition, extortion, invasion of the civil domain marked every stage of papal development. The Kingdom of Heaven was furthered in singularly worldly ways. SEC. II. GREGORY HILDEBRAND. The church protagonist was Gregory VII, Hilde- brand.^ The times were favorable to papal claims. I. Steadily enlarging rights from diocesan to metro- politan, from metropolitan to oecumenical,'^ the chair of St. Peter had become the seat of authority for orthodox Christianity. 2. The forged donation ^ of Constantine for centuries had currency as real conveyance of West to Pope. Emperor gone, Pope was unquestionably most prominent figure in Rome. Through troubled days between fall and restoration of empire, the chief centralizing and preservative* force was the Pope. 3. Charlemagne received crown from Pope, and served as great warrior of church. Otho the Great went to Rome at summons of Pope^ and refounded the empire, in papal partnership. To the German papal investiture can hardly have meant what the papal leaders after- ward claimed it meant. But here were events clear to the eyes of all, and we are at no loss to see how from them grew strong support for the papal theory. 4. Not less important was recent personnel of papacy. The rottenness ^ that had at once disgraced and weakened Christianity at the center no longer existed. With strong hand Otho, and after him Henry III, had wrought betterment. A succession of able prelates fol- lowed. 5. Emperor Henry IV was scarcely more than a boy — sensual, passionate, willful. 6. Church and 13 88 THE WESTERN EMPIRE RESTORED. clergy manifestl}^ needed reform. The great Gregory was the man for the hour. With incredible boldness he declared the abuses intolerable and insisted that they should stop. His demands included three main issues : (i) Return to old church laws requiring celibacy, (2) abolishment of simony, (3) freedom of spiritual office from secular authority. 7. Succession to the papal office was better safeguarded.' ^ Hildebrand was apparently of Teutonic stock. His birth was humble, that of the son of a carpenter. He lived as a monk in his youth, diligently gathering what learning fell in his way. Promoted from post to post, he had unusual connection with person and work of no less than five popes. His own life was blameless. His contention with the empire had regard quite as much to reformation of clergy as to extension of ambitions of church. It was no mere boast w'hen he exclaimed at death, "I have loved righteousness and hated iniquity ; therefore I die in exile." ^ Papal claims grew slowly. Primacy by courtesy was accorded bishop of Rome. Primacy 1)y courtesy passed into primacy by right, presently insisted upon as article of orthodox}-. ^ Church leaders taught for centuries without question that transfer of civil government to Kast by Constantinople was due to emperor's desire to leave Pope untrammeled. Sovereignty of Rome was thus assured Pope. * We must not be blind to this. The barbarian spared Rome more than once, awed by Pope. More than once, too, after Constantinople had supplanted Rome as seat of government, the West was saved anarch}^ because a strong hand held the remnants of order together in Rome. Over against disintegrat- ing tendencies of centuries, between fall and restoration of Western empire — indeed, one might include the middle ages in the count — the one centralizing influence was the Church. It wrought doubl}' : i. It preached unity. 2. Its hierarchy, cen- tering in Pope, gave picture and frame of order. ^John XII, who soon wished he had kept still, for Otho straightway undertook the reform of papal abuses. ^Gibbon has suggestive paragraph on situation. After iron- ical justification of John's simony, gambling, drunkenness, and THE WESTERN EMPIRE RESTORED. 89 invocation of pagan deities, he adds : " But we read with some surprise that the worthy grandson of Marozia lived in public adultery with the matrons of Rome ; that the Lateran palace was turned into a school for prostitution, and that his (John) rapes of virgins and widows had deterred the female pilgrims from visiting the tomb of St. Peter, lest in the devout actrthey should be violated by his successor." ^ Hildebrand had been confirmed by Emperor Henry IV, as his predecessors had been confirmed by emperors. The original theory was that Pope, as bishop of Rome, owed election to people. So it went for centuries. If strong enough, emperors interfered much with popular election of Pope, putting forth candidates as they willed. By decree of Nicholas II, 1059, elec^ tion was given into hands of a college of cardinals, the presby- ters, and deacons of the Roman church, with the bishops of the suburban churches— offshoots of the Roman. Thus papal elec- tors were and are the officials of the Roman church, wherever resident. Confirmation of Pope by emperor was not recognized after Hildebrand. From this position Hildebrand went on to deny need of imperial investiture to any spiritual office. SEC. 12. CONFLICT AND COMPROMISE. The emperor declared the papal claim untenable. Great clerics were functionaries of the empire. Innu- merable holdings of prelates were clearly secular in character. A full third, perhaps half, of Germany was church land. It was impossible to ignore the secular element in this. To renounce all claim upon allegiance ' of these lands meant anarchy for great portions of em- pire ; if not anarch}^, then an independent empire which might easily become dangerous. So far the emperor acted in self-defense. Marriage or celibacy'^ for the clergy might remain an open question. Simony no one defended, though all practiced it.' Investiture was a different matter. The natural solution would seem to have been complete severance of spiritual and temporal interests. Let God and Caesar have each his own. 90 THE WESTERN EMPIRE RESTORED. But men did not so see it in those days. The Pope was temporal sovereign as well as spiritual potentate. The same unfortunate commingling of .sacred and secular ran through the entire hierarch}^ The difference be- tween emperor and Pope seemed irreconcilable. Pope summoned emperor to Rome to be judged for his sins. Emperor convoked synod and deposed Pope.* Then Henry was excommunicated. The German princes upheld the Pope, and at Diet of Tribur, 1076, declared that the emperor must be reconciled to the Pope or lose his throne. The humiliation of Canosa followed.^ Henry got his revenge by sack of Rome and exile of Hildebrand, and then himself fell victim to revolt.^ His son succeeded to his realm and conflict. Empire and papacy were far apart as ever. Neither could claim entire victory. Compromise was affected in Con- cordat of Worms, 1 1 22, b}^ which emperor invested eccle- siastical feudatories with scepter, Pope invested with ring and staff. The kingdom of God and the kingdom of Caesar were not separated, but they were distinguished, which was much. ^ Emperor was regarded as overlord of archbishops and bishops whom he invested with ring and staff — purely spiritual symbols — and as his liege men in regular temporal sense. ^A celibate clergy was urged upon two grounds : i. For bet- ter, because more unreserved, service of church. 2. To prevent hereditary transmission of office and power. ^ Every office had its price. Nor was the shameful practice due only to secular greed. Benedict IX sold the papacy itself to Archpresbyter John, Gregory VI. By his own admission John paid Benedict well, and paid well also for the popular vote which elected him. * Letter conveying decree read : *' We, Henry, by the grace of God king, with all the bishops of our realm, command thee, down, down." ^ There was apparently as much diplomacy as penance at THE WESTERN EMPIRE RESTORED. 91 Canosa. Henry was put to shame, no doubt, and the empire was never the same after Canosa. But the "three days and three nights " of supplication appear to have been instead a few hours each day, under cover, with garb of penitent over cloth- ing. Pope's delay to receive emperor was as truly forced on Hildebrand as on Henry. Case had been referred to German princes, to whose meeting Pope was now moving. The Pope at last so far yielded as to absolve Henry as penitent. He went no further, however, and therein lay Henry's later grievance. Kmperor had done penance to get kingdom back, and kingdom was not given. He had put himself to shame without recom- pense. Presently the fire flamed up anew. « His son, afterward Henry V, stirred by Pope, dethroned him. SEC. 13. FREDERICK BARBAROSSA. Frederick I embodies better than any other single character the empire as against the papacy. Of tremen- dous will, strong personal influence, and great admin- istrative ability, he was filled with passion for imperial dignity in old sense.' The widespread renewal of law studies in his age added fuel to flame. The civil law justified the most extreme pretensions of imperial su- premacy.' Frederick Barbarossa was just the man to carry those pretensions into effect. He compelled order in Germany.^^ In Italy, however, he fared badly. In IvOmbardy had grown up many city republics. These the Pope united and led in opposition to the Kmperor. The battle of Legnano, 11 76, went wholly against Fred- erick. By the treaty of Constance, 1183, the virtual independence of the Lombard cities was recognized, and papal suzerainty over Tuscany reaffirmed. As these were the questions at issue, the outcome must be counted victory for the Pope. 1 When he went to Rome for coronation he refused to hold Pope's stirrup, as required. Only when Pope threatened to with- hold crown did he perform service. 92 THK WKvSTKRN EMPIRE RESTORED. vSoon after in appeal of Pope to Emperor the benefits of the church were spoken of as beneficia, which had no merely spirit- ual meaning in a feudal age. Frederick compelled the pontiff to take back the obnoxious word. ^The absolutist pretensions of the old Roman emperors were transferred to the new Augustus. He was lord of world, foun- tain of law, sole dispenser of right and justice. Quoting Roman principle, the Archbishop of Milan, speaking for assembled mag- nates of Lombardy, said: " Do and ordain whatsoever thou wilt, thy will is law." ^ " Uniting in his person the Saxon and Swabian families, he healed the long feud of Welf and Waiblingen: his prelates were faithful to him even against Rome : no turbulent rebel disturbed the public peace. Germany was proud of a hero who main- tained her dignit}^ so well abroad, and he crowned a glorious life with a happy death, leading the van of Christian chivalry against the Mussulman. Frederick, the greatest of the Cru- saders, is the noblest type of mediaeval character in many of its shadows, in all its lights." SEC. 14. THE CONTEST CULMINATES. Henry VI, Barbarossa's son, strove to win his princes to a plan of consolidation that would have made Ger- man}^, Italy, and Sicily a compact hereditary monarchy. Cut short by death, he bequeathed to his infant son his dominions, his ambitions, and the hardest battle of all for the empire. Causes spiritual and causes political intensified the struggle now become old. Delaying to fulfill a vow to lead a crusade, he was excommunicated. Going, he was excommunicated for not delaying longer. Finishing his work, he returned to be excommunicated for not w^aiting for his recall. His sympathy with the Pope was not increased by these unmerited cursings. The temporal dominions of tlie Pope were increasing by all possible means. The empire under Frederick II completely surrounded those dominions.^ Safety for the Pope's domain hi}^ only in breaking the circle. The THE WESTERN EMPIRE RESTORED. 93 two sets of causes were combined. The old claims and counter-claims were repeated.^ At first Frederick pre- vailed. By treaty of Ugnano with Pope his spiritual disabilities were removed. He enforced the supremacy of the empire upon the . Lombards. He saw his papal antagonist die. But the tide turned. His son, stirred to revolt by the Pope, had to be imprisoned.^ The fact of repeated excommunications told against him. Alli- ance with Saracen, though winning Jerusalem from in- fidel, was counted an unholy thing. Treason met him on every hand, princes high and low counting it no sin to betray him who had defied the vicar of God. He died in sorrow, 1250. With him fell the empire. The papaL theory had prevailed.* Frederick would have been greatly comforted in death could he have read the future. The day was to come when the papacy would cease to be a temporal power, and when it could no longer make or unmake emperors. 1 Henry VI married Constance, heiress of the Norman kings, with whom he received Naples and Sicily. 2 "The pontiff asserted the transference of the empire as a fief and declared that the power of Peter, symbolized by the two keys, was temporal as well as spiritual. The emperor appealed to law, to the indelible rights of Ctesar, and denounced his foe as the anti-Christ of the New Testament, since it was God's second vicar whom he was resisting." 3 Henry, who died 1242, after eight years' confinement. *A comparison between the rights of the papacy today with its claims of the middle ages may be commended as likely to yield fruitful results. SEC. 15. LATER HISTORY OF EMPIRE. The death of Frederick II was followed by the great interregnum.^ Then Rudolph of Hapsburg, too weak to be independent, too orthodox to be unsubmissive, was 94 'I'HK WESTERN EMPIRE RESTORED. made emperor. The empire lasted still five hundred years, but it was henceforth a theor}', not a political power.'' Decadence may be traced through several stages. I . Loss of faith lessened sense of need of uni- versal empire.^ 2. Geographical discovery revealed lands undreamed of earlier, never touched b}^ Roman sway. 3. The Emperor, from being most powerful monarch in Europe, had become simply head of most powerful German State. 4. The Reformation, by di- viding Christendom, smote the old theor}^ at verj^ cen- ter. 5. The principle of nationality, especially as organized in modern State, turned the theory into a political anachronism. An outline of the entire period may prove serviceable. I. Foundation by Charlemagne and rule by Carolingian line, 800-962. 2. Refoundation by Otho the Great and rule by Saxon-Franconian line, 962-1138. 3. Hohen- staufen rule, 1 138-1250. 4. The Great Interregnum, 1250-1273. 5. Hapsburg rule, divided almost equally by Reformation, 1273-1806. ^ Collapse of order followed death of Frederick. Causes al- ready long at work increased power of nobles. The strongest emperor would have had hopeless task, since that which makes imperial power had been given away. Great lords had sover- eignty within their territories. Frederick II had himself greatly furthered this by pragmatic sanctions of 1220 and 1232, though it should be remarked that he thereby simply legalized rights long since recognized by custom. Loosed by death of emperor, disorder ran riot. After two decades the Pope warned electors to elect emperor, or he would himself appoint one. They com- plied, choosing Rudolph, Count of Hapsburg. ^The emperor still stood for spiritual unity, peace, and law. ^ It was ideal of universal church that compelled thought of universal empire. With lessened spiritual fervor, passion for State naturally declined as seeming less necessary. The sup- port of the later empire was spiritual rather than political. CHAPTER VL The Feudal System and Centralized Government. SEC. I. THE MIDDLE AGEvS. By this term we mark the less-known period which stands between the well-known classical era and the well-known modern era. We note: i. Duration. This, roughly speaking/ was a thousand 3'ears, from fall of Rome, 476, to fall of Constantinople, 1453. 2. History. Covers later phases of barbarian kingdoms on Roman soil; rise of Franks to barbarian headship; Carolingian empire; restoration of empire under Otho; spread of Mo- Jiammedanism ; the crusades ; growth of papal power ; struggle of empire and papacy ; development of feu- dalism ; emergence of national spirit, completing work recognized at Verdun. 3. Factors. Clearly discerni- ble are three: (i) Roman, contributing order, sys- tem, law ; (2) Barbarian, contributing vigor, personal strength, life ; (3) Christian, contributing spirituality, unity, brotherhood. 4. Spirit. Contradictory com- pound of : (i) Tradition, binding life to past ; (2) Faith, awakening boundless hope for future; (3) Universality, 14 (95) 96 THE FEUDAL SYSTEM AND political and spiritual, as demand of thought ; (4) In- dividualit3% as necessity of action ; (5) Worship of physical force; (6) Servile submission to spiritual au- thority; (7) Unquestioned orthodoxy ; (8) Unbridled passion; (9) Scholastic activity; (10) Intellectual bar- renness;'^ (11) Ecclesiastical democracy; (12) Spiritual despotism. 5. Institutions: (i) A world state, de- manding obedience of all subjects, lay and clerical, but compelled to acknowledge, first, the independence, then the primacy of the Pope ; (2) A world church, con- quering right to crown and uncrown emperors, but des- tined to find itself shorn of political prerogatives and limited, as is right, to spiritual functions ; (3) Feudal- ism, putting sovereignty in commission at the hands o^ the nobility, only after five centuries slow^ly giving way to central authority. ' Dates must be regarded as approximate only. Other years are named for beginning and end. Thus some reckon from 768, when Karl became king of Franks, some from treaty of Ver- dun, 843. Again some carry period to discovery of America, 1492, to Reformation, 1520, or even to peace of Westphalia, 1648. - The scholastic philosoph}^ was based on authority. Its basis was composed of dogmas which no one thought of questioning. Its whole influence was against what we should call original re- search. A remark of Dyer, in his Modern Europe, is severe, but is worth pondering. " The result of the scholastic system was an intellectual condition approaching to fatuity." Ranke says, Historj' of the Popes : " It cannot be denied that, however ingenious, varied, and profound are the productions of the middle ages, they are founded on a fantastic view of the world, little answering to the realities of things." Still the term Dark Ages, so often applied to this period, should be used with moderation. As Hurgess says : *' On the contrary, they are full of light. In them the great questions of the rela- tionship of individual right to political right, of local govern- CKNTRAIvIZKD GOVKRNMKNT. 97 meiit to central government, and of ecclesiastical government to secular government, were raised and drawn into conscious consideration." SEC. 2. FEUDAI.ISM A PECULIAR SOCIAL SYSTEM. Feudalism was an organization of society based on possession of land with corresponding personal obliga- tions. The king held all land in fief from God. To great men he granted portions at will, on condition that proper returns be made to him. He who held from king was at liberty to relet or sublet his holding. In such case the reciprocal guarantees passed between king and great tenant were repeated between great tenant and under tenant. Theoretically the subletting might go on indefinitely. Practically it never went beyond fifth or sixth degree of division. In early stages of feudalism allodial holdings were common beside feudal.' By degrees allodial were assimilated to feudal by sur- render of estate to be received back as bejiejicia with desired or needed guarantees. So it came about that men said: "No land without a lord." The feudal spirit went further. In times of disorder the weak man seeks the protection of the strong, for there is no public arm to defend him. Reciprocal pledges were given in commendation. 2 This became so common that men said : "No man without a lord." The beneficium was pri- marily a landed relation involving personal obligations. Commendation was a personal relation involving service or payment of money or land. Homage^ was common to both. Presently the personal bond was associated also with beneficiary tenures. The union of these two ties fill out the feudal idea, resulting in gradation of society into classes roughly determined by relation to 98 THE FEUDAL SYSTEM AND land, serf, freedman, knight, arriere-vasssal, immediate vassal, suzerain. ^The sj'stetn was never so perfect as completely to drive out allodial ownership. The tendency, however, was altogether away from sifcli ownership. The feudal idea was greatly against it. '^ Commendation was formally putting one's self under the protection of another. Kmerton cites an example. In this case the vassal is a poor man. " Since it is well known to every one that I have scarcely the wherewithal to 'feed and clothe myself, therefore I desire to beseech your charity that I might commend myself to your guardianship upon the following terms : That as long as I shall be able to serve you, you shall provide me with food and clothing, and that as long as I live I will give you sure and faithful service, and that I shall have no power to withdraw myself from your guardianship all the daj-s of my life, but shall remain under your power and defense. Wherefore it is provided that if one of us shall desire to withdraw from this agreement, he shall pay to the other party shillings." . ^Openly and humbly kneeling, being ungirt, uncovered, and holding up his hands both together between those of the lord, who sat before him, and then professing that " he had become his }nan, from that day forth, of life and limb and earthly honor, ' ' and then he received a kiss from his lord. SEC. 3. ALSO LEGAL. . A patent feature of Feudalism was the immunit}'. This began as exemption from taxes. When the king gave a benefice he gave what had belonged to public treasur}^ and which therefore was untaxed b}^ treasury. Though henceforth a private holding, and so unpro- ductive of direct revenue as heretofore, the benefice still paid no taxes. The custom at first affected only eccle- siastical foundations' become beneficiaries. Immediate extension followed in two directions, i. Immunity was too valuable to be quietly left to ecclesiastical en- CENTRALIZED GOVERNMENT. 99 jo3nnent.'' Before long secular beneficiaries enjoyed it as well. 2. Exemption from land burdens suggested exemption from other burdens. So it came about that conferring a benefice ultimately carried with it practi- cal sovereignty.. The holder had his own courts, his own levies of troops, his own revenue, his own budget, for none of which was he required to make answer to the king, though a form of words was supposed to recognize the central authority. The result was that the principal powers of the State were parceled out, only a vassal's portion or else a shadow, remaining to the king. ' The reason urged was that there should be no disturl^ance of peace and order of sacred place b}- entrance of public ofificial. Charlemagne confirming immunity of Monastery of St. Mar- cellus said : '• To all having charge of our affairs : We command that neither you nor your subordinates, nor your successors, nor any person having judicial powers shall presume to enter into the villages which may at the present time be in possession of that monastery, or which hereafter may have been so bestowed by God-fearing men. Let no public officer enter for the hear- ing of causes, or for exacting fines, or procuring sureties, or obtaining lodging and entertainment, or making any requisi- tions, but in full immunity, even as the favor of former kings has been continued down to the present day, so in the future also shall it, through our authorit}', remain undiminished." '-'The troubled times under the grandsons of Charlemagne offered opportunities speedihT- improved by nobles to exact priv- ileges from the royal powder. SEC. 4. AND INDIRECTLY POLITICAL AS WELL. The political bearing of this is not hard to see. Legal- ized anarchy is a poor basis for a vState. One can no longer speak of a State, but rather of countless inde- l.tfC. lOO THE FKUDAIy SYSTKM AND pendencies within the geographical limits, and loosely held together by the name, of a State. The theory that the king owned the land and granted its use to tenants was more or less persistent,^ but ever\^ where the prac- tice was to regard the fief as property.. Sometimes by the king's consent, oftener without it, powers were as- sumed and exercised and were then justified by law. Great sinners in this regard were the court officers."^ With decay of Carolingian virtue these strengthened their hold on office, making them hereditary and then exalting themselves until they became mightier than the king.'^ In last quarter of loth century France was divided into nearly two hundred principalities,^ with sovereignty exercised by as many overlords.^ Other countries were not so badh^ off, but some were not far behind. Under such conditions it is useless to expect .strong government. ^ Feudal tenures betray the original conception in a thousand ways. Lapse of fief on failure of family line, transmission in male line, relief paid by heir upon entering, forfeiture for gross violation of fealty, all point back to a time when the ownership was recognized as vested in the overlord of all, the king. "■^This was all the easier because of strong rule of early Caro- lingians. People had become accustomed to rule of these offi- cers as representing royal authority. ^ Assumption of power is also chargeable to ducal ambition. Many of the old principalities — Bavaria, Saxony, Franconia, Burgundy, Aquetaine, etc. — resumed practically their old inde- pendence. Ruler claimed rights "by God's grace," the stand- ing formula of sovereignty. * These domains were subdivided into about 70,000 smaller fiefs. ^ These acknowledged no legislative or judicial authority supe- rior to their own within their domain. The capitularies of Charles the Simple about 900, which no one pretended to mind, were the last public legislation for France until the Capetian CRNTRALIZKD GOVERNMENT. lOl line won power. Everywhere independent local cnstoms took the place of public law. vSEC. 5. ORIGIN. Several elements entered into the origin of feudal- ism. I. The Roman ideas of Coloni/ Laeti,^ and Em- phyteusis.' 2. The later Roman practice of buying Bar- barian military service b}- grants of land. 3. The Teu- tonic cojiiitaf us w'lih. its dominant personal element. 4. Sense of value of land bred in Teuton b}^ contact with settled race of Romans. 5. Acquisition by conquest of large territories* henceforth under Teutonic rule. 6. Appropriation to public use of great domain b}^ secular- ization of church estates.^ 7. Difficult}^ in Teuton of realizing value of strong central government. 8. The Middle Age tendenc}^ of privilege or office everywhere to become hereditary. No one of these elements was all. No one of them was without its effect. For the time and the place they made the Feudal vSystem in- evitable.' ^ Partly from competition of Laeti and slaves, partly from crushing burden of imperial taxation, multitudes of small pro- prietors gave what little they had into hands of stronger neigh- bor in return for aid, perhaps an annuity as agreed upon. When, however, the imperial treasury refused to exempt from taxes those who thus put their property out of their possession, the small proprietor, worse oflF than before, threw himself wholly upon his patron, working for him as half slave, thus putting off with his land his rights as a freeman. To such was given name of col on us. 'Laeti were conquered barbarians settled on limits of empire to till the ground, at least sufficiently to make them pay taxes, and to defend the empire. ^A long lease calling for annual payments. Property so held could descend as family inheritance without interruption, but I02 THE FEUDAI. SYSTEM AND in case of desired sale it must be first offered to owner for re- demption. If the owner accepted a purchaser in place of old holder of lease, he expected a special payment for the favor. * Especially in Gaul. There public domain was so large that private property was not disturbed until conquest of Visigoths led Franks across the lyoire. ^Karl Martell faced a hard problem. A good army he must have. The only way he could pay was in land. But he had no land left to distribute. Clovis could do as he liked, and had much land to give away. Because Clovis had done as he liked, Martell could not. Owners of allodial and holders of tributary land he could not disturb. Nothing but church land was left. This he took for his warriors. The dispossessed churchmen piously consigned him to hell, and later persuaded or frightened his son Pippin into restoring part of them. A little later the difficulty was met by church foundations performing vassal service by proxy. This was done by letting estates to fighting nobles. *^Guizot well sa5^s, in his Civilization in Europe: "A good proof that in the tenth century the feudal system was neces- sary, was the only possible social state, is the universality of its establishment. Wherever barbarism ceased, everything took the feudal form. At the first moment, men saw in it only the triumph of chaos ; all unity, all general civilization vanished. . . . It was, nevertheless, the beginning of a new and real society, the feudal, so necessary, so inevitable, so truly the only possible consequence of the anterior state, that all things entered into it and assumed its form." SEC. 6. EXTENT. To the question of extent the answer mii.st be two- fold. I. It embraced all life. Anything might be a fief — to hunt, to fish, to gather w^ood, to forage, to travel a given pathwa}^, official perquisites, special revenues, family privileges,' as w^ell as office and land. 2. Geo- graphicall}^ it covered France, Germany, Italj^ Sicily, northern Spain, England, Scotland, and Palestine.'^ CENTRALIZED GOVERNMENT. 103 The development was by no means uniform in all coun- tries. ( France sliovved most complete form, as al- ready outhned. Even here, however, there w^re. im- portant variations in different parts of kingdom (2) Germany showed three forms, Hofrecht or pri'vate feud a>.sm, the later form of co„utaUs relation; Schutzrecht or the arrangement by which a freeman too poor to ride h^ own horse to war paid great man to represent him ; and Lehnrecht, based on official contract. (3) Itah^ found system hampered by relations with Pope and bv independence of communes.' (4) England was under'- going change in direction of feudalism when the Con- quest brought main features of Norman organization with great .saving exception, fraught with unspeakable ble.s.s.ng for later order, that the king from the first exercised strong, central, public authority. J'T'"" 'T'"," '■"'"°" '°° '^"'='' '° ^"^ '"™'1«I ""'!" claim o se,g„onal nght The most outrageo„,s violation of the houie, he disregard of the sanctity of marriage at its beginning, gave waj with growth of chivalry. None the less, Pin,, VL.l t^iTs^pTritTtr T' °'"^'=" ^^ p°'"""« o"' "- f-' "-t the spirit of this outrage was alive as late as early part of last century, as indicated by the bon mot of Montesquieu : " C'etoit blen ces tro.s nuits la, qu-il falloit choisir ; car pour les autres on n auro.t pas donne beaucoup d'argent." Tl,e story of the Doctor of Beauvais in "A Tale of Two Cities" also bears in- structive testimony on this point. ^^ It will be noticed that this list names countries in which German and Roman influences met or which drew largely from such countries. Thus, illustrating the latter, Scotland got sys- tern from England. Palestine was a Norman kingdom By singular good fortune the communes enjoyed by turns the favor of church, emperor, and feudal chiefs To l)eo-i„ with emperor favored bishops as against counts seeking independ- ence. Then, to check bishops, become too strong, emperor aided 15 104 "^^^ FEUDAL SYvSTEM AND lay vassals. Finally, this proving insufficient, emperor used communes against episcopal sovereignty, while feudallords, dis- covering their importance, also aided communes against bishops. The result was strength which more than once withstood the empire itself. SEC. 7. GOOD AND EVIL. Feudalism was neither wholly good nor wholly evil.' I. It gave a semblance of political life. 2. It main- tained order after a fashion. 3. It co-operated with other causes to better condition of serf. 4. It exalted woman through sentiments exhibited in chivalry.'' 5. It inspired a literature which, though neither extensive nor strong, is yet precious. 6. It interposed a bar to political absolutism. 7. It renewed the ideal of pure, strong, truthful manhood." 8. It prepared, the way for modern justice * through its judgment by peers. 9. It emphasized the ideas of liberty and of private rights. But 10. Its whole tendency was toward political petti- ness, ir. It laid wholly unwarranted stress upon force. 12. It fostered private war. 13. It meant perpetual dis- regard of public obligation. 14. In a word, it was the very opposite of good government. ^ As Hallam suggests, we must be on our guard against judg- ing feudalism too severely. It is with the 9th, not with the 19th, century that we should compare the feudal period. " If the view that I have taken of those dark ages is correct, the state of anarchy, which we usually term feudal, was the natural re- sult of a vast and barbarous empire feebly administered, and the cause rather than the effect of feudal tenures. These, by preserving the mutual relations of the whole, kept alive the feeling of a common country and common duties, and settled, after the lapse of ages, into the free constitution of England, the firm monarcliy of France, and the federal vinion of Ger- many." CENTRALIZED GOVERNMENT. 105 ' Life in feudal times was in many ways favorable to woman. The great man, in spite of his wars, was a good deal at home. Compelled to make the best of family life, he discovered to his surprise that it was realh- very good company that he found there. ^ Grave charges of falsehood, ingratitude, and treachery are made against the ages preceding feudalism. Violation of faith was the one thing feudalism would not endure. Its good work grew into flower and fruit in knighthood, which forbade cruelt}-, baseness, cowardice, ingratitude, untruthfulness, crime of every kind. The knight must be loyal to his lady, must be gentle, brave, courteous, truthfiil, pure, generous, hospitable, faithful to his engagements, ever ready to risk life or limb in the cause of religion or in defense of his fellow-knight. It would be idle to suppose that every professed knight was true to his vows. Everywhere painfully close lines were drawn about aristocratic privilege. This is the serious defect of chivalry. It was gentle blood that appealed to the knight. Toward all below the knight had only contempt. *The feudal courts undoubtedly did better than we suppose. Certainly the limitations of service, and the guarantees of recip- rocal obligation between lord and vassal, written into the law, speak well for the disposition to acknowledge rights. SEC. 8. THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT GATHERS STRENGTH. The fetidal s^-stem gave a governiiieiit neither" cen- tralized nor free. In the nature of things, it must give way. With all its care for the fulfillment of reciprocal pledges, it was a great system of privilege enjoyed by nobles and barons at expense of all classes abov^e and below. It is matter of surpassing interest to watch central power regather force. The beginning was made in France. It was a beginning feeble and unpromising. When Hugh Capet was crowned, 987, while titular king of France,' he had to measure strength with near I06 THE FKUDAI, SYSTEM AND ' two hundred dukes, counts, and lords, many of whom'' were certainl}- not less powerful than he. Theoretically^ he was suzerain of them all. Reall}^ he reigned in the Duchy of France.'^ Good statesmanship, good fighting, and good succession* steadil}^ increased Capetian do- main^ and royal power, the latter profiting always by the former. The Duchy of France was transformed into the Kingdom of France. From being the peer of several princes, the king became greater than any, pres- ently greater than all. After the start was well made, the advantage was so manifestly on the side of strongly administered central government that though the strug- gle might be, as it was, long, the issue was never doubtful. ^ He was elected by the great princes, 2 The Counts of Flanders, Champagne, and Verniandois, and the Dukes of Normandy, Brittany, Bnrgvmdy, and Aqnetaine re- garded themselves and were regarded by others as the new king's equals. ^ A long and narrow strip cut in half by vSeine and running south to Loire, surrounded by other independencies, and, so, ill-defended, but, vital fact, central. *The unbroken line of Capet ruled France until the Revolution. Royalt}' was abolished September 21, 1792. The following Jan- uary Louis XVI was executed. At his trial he was designated Louis Capet. The line, however, had three main divisions : i. The direct succession or Capetian, 987-1328. 2. House of Valois, 1328-1589. 3. House of Bourbon, 1589 to Revolution. ^By end of 13th century France was one of the most compact and powerful kingdoms of Europe. CENTRALIZED GOVERNMENT. I07 SEC. 9. AIDS. Many causes aided mightil}" to further ro^^al power. I. The idea of kingship as embodiment of unit}^ and order had never wholly faded.' 2. The inherent weak- ness of feudalism as a political system."^ 3. General weariness of aristocratic brigandage.'* 4. Gradual in- crease of intelligence with better shaping of political instinct. 5. Slow but persistent reaction against indi- vidualism. 6. The genealogical accident of direct and undisputed succession in Capet family for three and a half centuries. 7. Rise of middle class* to back king in struggle with nobles. 8. The Crusades.^ 9. Change in methods of warfare." ^ While no one would hesitate to violate this idea whenever it barred his personal interest, there were multitudes of cases aris- ing constantly in which the idea would be the determining ele- ment. When Athos counsels Raoul in Le Vicomte de Brage- lonne, to distinguish between substance and shadow, it is the royalty of the king he calls substance, the person of the king shadow. So in many a trying hour the mind must have been steadied against disorder by conception of central power as de- fense of oppressed and weak, however little that conception answered to the facts at a given moment. '■* Essentially the negation of a State until kingship becomes sufficiently powerful to compel allegiance and obedience to suzerain itself. After gathering up all fiefs into his own domain, Louis XIV could say, "I am the State." In a way, that is the perfection of feudalism. But in such case the essential marks of feudalism are wanting, in that all have become immediate vassals of one lord, so that there is no typical hierarchy. ^The stipulated feudal aids were supplemented by many others, the number and value of which depended upon relative strength of lord and vassal, high and low. The killing thing was the uncertainty of irregular ' * aids. ' ' Then the great law of intercourse was for long just lex talionis, with its infinite bitter- Io8 THE FEUDAL SYSTEM AND ness aud bloodshed. In spite of religiosity, which kept the name of God upon the lips of men continually, the real worship was that of Mezentius : Aen. 7:648sq., "My right hand, my God." It was the day of the strong against the weak. The feudal lord is admirably described by Wordsworth in Rob R03' : " The good old rule Suffice th them, the simple plan, That they should take who have the power. And they should keep who can." * Part of Rome's decay lay in disappearance of middle class. The common freeman found no place. The Middle Age ten- dency was toward social cleavage into great or nothing. The cities were center and soul of movement re-creating the common man. On the Lombard plains especially, and then throughout all the north, cities grew up. Though part and parcel of the feudal system, they progressively demanded and secured, some- times by purchase, sometimes by revolt, concessions secured by charter. Thus in greater or less degree they became independent. Presently the cities played a very important part in national life. Leagues like the Lombard or Hanseatic could dictate terms to emperors. In return for constitutional guarantees they aided king as against nobles. Much of the political, legal, and literary leadership of the later Middle Ages came from the citizenship of the communes or free towns. ^ Nobles must have money, for which they mortgaged great estates, or for which they granted new rights, which thereby fell ultimately into hands of king or rich commoners. Many were slain. Many returned to find old domain rightly or wrongly forfeited, or more or less violently wrested to new sovereignty. ^ Burghers and yeomen learned that they, too, could fight. At Courtrai, Crecy, and Poictiers they broke the power of French chivalry. A standing army made the king independent of feudal levies. Fire-arms supplanted lance and battle-axe and made the heavy armor of the knight not only useless but dangerous. cen'Trauzkd Government. 109 SEC. 10. THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT PREVAlLvS. Not everywhere. Germany, as yet incurably indi- vidualistic, must learn the value of unity through cen- turies of sore travail. The general conditions were favorable for the making of a strong German kingdom, answering in compactness to the French. Saxon, Swa- bian, Thuringian, Bavarian, even East Frank, were closely allied racially and by custom. Had the central- izing influence been a little stronger, apparently all would have been well. As it was, the centrifugal force prevailed.^ The result was a loose confederation, ' with internal relations forever changing. Italy, too, was without national life or national government. Perpetual interference' from without and perpetual discord within made settled history impossible. But of France, Spain, and England a different story may be told. 'An accident of birth greatly aided. Whereas in France Hugh Capet furnished direct male descendants for three hundred and forty-one years, in Germany three successive d3aiasties failed for lack of male heirs. Other causes combined with this — aristo- cratic ambition seeking to lessen royal power lest, being strong, it curb them ; ecclesiastical influence, which would make head- ship of vState, like that of church, elective ; indefinable but mighty ideal of imperial title as gift of people, reacting, as was natural, upon conception of kingship. " Even so the effort after union was precious. Over and over the German States combined. Commerce, defense, common interests of a thousand kinds, held them more or less closely to- gether. May there not also have been the broken utterance of political instinct in this? The Hanseatic League, the Confed- eration of the Rhine, the North German Union, were attempts at a common life, a getting ready for the modern empire. ^ Italy was virtually lost to the empire when the Lombard League successfully resisted Frederick Barbarossa. Later em- t to THK FEUDAL SYSTEM AND perors went to Italy sotnetinies in peace, oftener for war, called in by some faction, but the connection of the peninsula with the empire was even less than nominal. The French monarchy, now grown strong, often interfered, as did also later the Spanish. Internalh' the country was torn by struggle incidental to estab- lishment of papal sovereignty in states of church, endless feuds of Guelph and Ghibelline, jealousies and conflicts of great fam- ilies and great cities. Italy, like Germany, must wait until the present century for strong central government. SEC. II. IN FRANCE: GENERAL. From uiiproinising' beginnings France rose steadily to unit}', power. Both were represented by the king. At first the ro3^al prerogative far exceeded the royal authority.'^ But the theory of royal authority was un- mistakably strong. Carolingian rights, memory of the empire, the possession of the crown, at least formal suzeraint3% all supported that theor3^ Something more than theory supported it when Capet put on the crown, 987. He was duke of France, ready to serve himself as king by himself as duke. That happy accident of un- broken descent also had great result. Royalty was thereby enabled to follow the same policy generation after generation. This it did. It united France, sub- stituting the kingdom for the duch}^ It did a fair share of fighting outside. It stood by the church. It made a literature. This took time. Many men labored.'' ^ Lavisse suggests that of three imperial regions recognized at Verdun, France promised least. "There was no unity in the country west of the Scheldt, the Meuse, and the Rhone. Vari- ous principalities, duchies, or counties were here formed, but each of them was divided into secular fiefs and ecclesiastical territories. Over these fiefs and territories the authority of the duke or the count, which was supposed to represent that of the CENTRALIZED GOVERNMENT. m king, was exercised only in case these seigneurs had sufficient power, derived from their own personal estates." - " Destitute of domains and almost starving, the king, in offi- cial documents, asked what means he might find on which to live with some degree of decency. From time to time, amid this chaos, he discussed the theory of his authority. He was a lean and solemn phantom, straying about among living men, who were very rude and energetic." ^ One of the most remarkable things about the Capetian line was the alternation of strength and weakness. Beginning with Philip I, the list down to and including Philip the Fair shows every second man good or bad in order. SEC. 12. IN FRANCE: PARTICULAR. Of Special note were: i. Louis VI, the Fat, iro8- II 37. By hard work added to Nature' s title two others , "the wide-awake " and " the fighter." Task greatly needed, he reduced insubordination of feudal lords, giv- ing form and fact to theory that king is fountain both of justice and order. Aid in this was service of great minister, Suger. 2. Philip Augustus, 1 180-1223. Greatly enlarged and consolidated kingdom, especially by winning English possessions' in France. 3. Louis IX, St. Louis, 1 226-1 270. Thanks to gifted mother,' he withstood feudal reaction threatening throne. He developed a studious, strong, singularly pure, and saga- cious manhood. Sufficiently heroic to win the passion of warriors, sufficiently holy to command the worship of the church, sufficiently wise to make all circum- stances serve his plan, he exalted the royal office, abol- ished trial by combat, established right of appeal from feudal to royal court, and set limits to papal power in France.' 4. Philip the Fair,. 1283-1413. Unwarlike, cruel, rapacious,^ he wrought toward absolute mon- 16 112 THE FEUDAL vSYSTEM AND archy. To this end he (i) successfully resisted the Pope; (2) gave the communes place in the States Gen- eral;^ (3) legislated for entire kingdom; (4) insisted upon the making of money as a ro3'al prerogative; (5) when feudal forces were offered too tardily, engaged mercenaries, preparing way for standing army. 5. Louis XI, 1461-1483. Profited by destruction of aris- tocrac}^ in Hundred Years' War to gather up French dominions into something like old form, though now held together b}^ national spirit. 6. Charles VIII, 1483-1498. Chiefly noted as last of Valois. Dreamed and vainly attempted restoration of Carolingian empire.'' He ruled 1 kingdom evolved out'of a feudal league. So far as France was concerned, feudalism was no more. ^ Quarreled with John of England on account of murdered Arthur. Result was Normandy, Maine, and Anjou added at once to France and several other provinces set toward absorp- tion. ^ Blanche of Castile, who was responsible for the two or three flashes of spirit in the Saint's father, lyouis VIII. Evidently the 3'oung king inherited from his mother rather than from father. Blanche helped him fight his battles, and was deservedl}' honored until her death. ^ Probably without clearly intending it, St. Louis smote both feudalism and the papac3\ The former he did by his constant warfare against legal inequality and injustice in every form, the latter, preparatory to mighty struggle of Philip the Fair, by in- sistence that religion is a help toward salvation, not a political tool. * Cruelty and rapacity combined in overthrow of order of Templars. The struggle with the Pope grew out of question of taxing clergy. ^St. Louis had given them place in his council. Most of his law work was done by men from the communes. Here is public representation. , ^Developed an Italian polic}^ which, however, resulted ill for him and for France. CENTKAUZED GOVERNMENT. 113 SEC. 13. IN SPAIN. The story of Spain up to second half of 15th cen- tury is a tedious recital of political and religious strife. Part of the battle-ground of Rome and Carthage, a Roman province, prey of Sueve, Vandal, and Visigoth, possession of Moslem, it had its full share of trouble. The little Christian kingdom of Asturia expanded into Leon. Besides, Barcelona, Aragon, Castile, and Na- varre rose to importance. Moslem, ^ given alternative he had so often offered Christians, had to choose between conversion and death. Long division followed among the Christian kingdoms. Then absorption began. Bar- celona, under name Catalonia, became part of Aragon, as did later by conquest Navarre. Leon fell to Castile. Ferdinand '^ of Aragon married Isabella of Castile, 1469, before either was on throne.' i\t first merel}^ a personal union, connection of Aragon and Castile was very close,* and became formal and permanent in 1516. The power of the nobles was broken. Constitutional restrictions on royalty were lessened.' After Ferdinand, Hapsburg rule followed for two centuries,'' during which the gov- ernment became an absolute monarchy.' ^After the battle of Tours, 732, which stayed Moslem advance, Spain remained essentially a Moorish State for four centuries, by which time half the peninsula was Christian. Slowly but surely the Moor was pushed southward until 1492, when he lost his last possession, the little kingdom of Granada, and departed forever. ^Apparently, while both were able, Isabella was much abler, and very much more attractive, than Ferdinand. Weber says of them that Isabella was a high-souled woman, open to all that is great and noble, withal warm-hearted and full of sympathy ; 114 '^HE FEUDAL SYSTEM AND whereas Ferdinand was hard and narrow, self-seeking, sus- picious, and ungenerous. ^Isabella became sovereign 1474, Ferdinand 1479- * Though each sovereign reigned independently, the political as well as the family interests of both were the same. The vital problem was the subordination of great nobles and feudal lords, and appropriation to crown of power thus won. ^ These had been both numerous and stringent. In Aragon the Cortes, composed of nobles, clergy, and cities, made laws and levied taxes. In case of difference between king and Cortes the power of umpire was lodged with the Justiciar. For a time it seemed as if public order would be overthrown by selfish- ness of nobles. The General Privilege of Pedro III, 1283, Ara- gon's Magna Charta, wrought well for civil liberty. Scarcely realizing the wisdom of letting well enough alone, Alphonso III, 1287, agreed to Privilege of Union, a charter as infamous as the General Privilege was famous. By it the people were formally authorized to take up arms against their sovereign in case he attempted to infringe their liberties. This obnoxious and dangerous agreement was fought down by Pedro IV, 1336- 1387, and something like self-respecting central power was es- tablished. In Castile the sovereign, by aid of people, curbed the nobility, then weakened the people, so far as government was concerned, so that when Ferdinand, outliving Isabella, came to administer both kingdoms, he found Castile as well prepared as Aragon for increase of power of crown. ♦5 1 5 16- 1 700. During a portion of this time Spain was the fore- most nation in the world. Partl}^ marking, partly causing, de- cline were : I. Loss of territory. 2. Failui'e on sea — ^. ^..de- feat of Invincible Armada. 3. Wretched colonial administra- tion. 4. Dwindling of population. 5. Decay of agriculture. 6. Contempt of industr}'. 7. Absenceof commercial enterprise. 8. Criminal waste of treasure wrung from colonies. 9. Prodigal subsidies to extra-national enterprises. 10, An utterly ruinous S3'stem of taxation. ^Particularly under Charles V and Philip II. CENTRAUZED GOVERNMENT. 115 SEC. 13. IN ENGLAND. England furnished the one happy Middle Age illus- tration of me&n between political anarchy and political absolutism. Feudalism it had, but without the fatal feudal principle. The Conqueror made every land- •holder ' in the kingdom swear fealty to himself. Mon- archy it had, but never dissociated from the public in- terest.' Election to crown was practiced regularly until middle of 13th century, with fair regard for family ties. At that time hereditary succession was estab- lished. There was no privileged class in the conti- nental sense. Every man bore a share of the public burden. The government was feudal in form, but cen- tralized in fact. Contributing to order were following considerations: i. Feudal holdings, while numerous, were comparatively small. 2. All holdings were un- derstood to issue directly from the crown.' The feudal hierarchy here, therefore, was something more than a form. 3. The nobility was assimilated to royal mind by required attendance at great council. 4. There was an English spirit,' as distinct from the Norman, giving greatly prized support to crown. 5. The king legis- lated with advice of council. ^ Many of these were, of course, Normans. Yet it must in fairness be remembered Ihat the Conqueror never treated Eng- land simply as conquered territory. Whether he believed it or not, he made other people believe that he regarded himself the lawful heir of the English crown after Edward the Confessor. On this ground he confiscated to himself and to Normans sev- eral classes of estates. Those of: i. King Harold/ 2. Recog- nized partisans of Harold, living and dead. 3. Laggards in supporting cause of invader, on ground that he was true king, and they therefore guilty of dislo>'^lty. Skillful application of Il6 THE FEUDAL SYSTEM AND the several principles involved gave him all the property he needed for his followers without the odium of out-and-out gen" eral confiscation. ^It added much to royal pomp to have retinue of nobles. Fearing nothing from them, the Norman king kept about him large number, whom he consulted freely. Latftr events turned this habit into law. ^In France the crown had to deal with feudal States, some of which were very old, larger even than the royal domain, and disposed to give onl}' titular precedence to king, and that grudgingly. * Happily in time exhibition of this became unnecessary, as the Norman strain blended with the Anglo-Saxon, producing the true English blood. SEC. 14. THE SAME. To the Normans sovereign was great feudal overlord. To the English he was from beginning veritable king. Administration at first and for long interpreted feudally, at last yielded to English view. Justice became a royal prerogative. Government was systematized. Touch with nation was never lost. Kings needed mone}^ so must meet people, hear their complaints, sometimes even heed them. Practice of summons confined king's coun- cil to great nobles. Occasions arose, however, when whole body of freemen must be consulted. The great crisis^ in John's reign was met by Magna Charta, wrung from reluctant king. National independence was thereby saved, ^ and a firm basis laid for civil lib- ert}'.'' The weakness of Henry III prevented ab.so- lutist reaction after concessions of John. Edward I, might}' warrior and mighty statesman, recognizing that strength of kingdom is in whole body of supporters, not in any class, gave settled form to legislation and au- thority by establishing them upon concurrent action of cp:ntraltzed government. 117 king, nobles, and commons. vSo early, 1295,* was shaped the unique excellence of the English political system — order without absolutism, liberty without an- archy. The balance might incline to one. or another element, but has never been destroyed. ^ John quarreled with Pope, who laid England under interdict. After six years Pope called upon French king to dethrone the impious Englishman. John yielded, becoming the Pope's man. Goaded by ro3-al exactions, by shame of royal weakness, and b}' tyrannous favor to foreigners, the barons swore to endure no longer. '^So great was hatred of John that mau}^ Englishmen wel- comed thought of French interference, even at cost of French dominion later. The barons' solution was better. ^ The one priceless good in this great document was its pro- vision that no freeman should be arrested, imprisoned, outlawed, or dispossessed of land except by the lawful judgment of his peers and by the law of the land. What is gained by reconfir- mation is not wholly clear. Suggestive, however, of regard paid the charter is fact that it has been confirmed l)y act of Parlia- ment no less than thirty-two times. * This date marks practical completion of process which had been working itself clear during several decades. Utjder the Conqueror the royal council consisted of the greater barons ; under Henry II of whole body of tenants-in-chief; sometimes, even under Normans — e.g., 1086 and 11 16— of entire bod}^ of land-owners, whoever their feudal lords might be. The first was the ordinary form ; the second, the extraordinary ; the third, general assembly of the nation, though the nation was assumed to be represented even under forms one and two. In 1213a great step forward was taken. At St. Albans in that year the town- ships of ro3-al demesne were represented each by reeve and four men. At Oxford, same year, a council was held to which were summoned four discreet men from each county to talk with the king on the business of the kingdom. The name parliament was already, since 1175, in use. Representation of commons seems to have been henceforth a settled thing. When Simon de Montfort held his parliament in 1265 in effort toward straight- Il8 THE FKUDAL vSYvSTKM. ening tangled affairs of governmeut, counties or shires, cities and boroughs had place in it, each by two representatives. The earlier parliaments of Edward I had prelates and barons, with " the community of the land thereto summoned. ' ' All previous gain was gathered up in 1295, when ihe great principle of com- mon interest was recognized and invoked. "As the most right- eous law," so run the summons, quoting from Justinian. Code, title 56, law 5, " established by the provident circumspection of the sacred princes, exhorts and ordains that that which touches all shall be approved of by all, it is very evident that common dangers must be met by measures concerted in common." This principle, so self-evident to us, but so difficult to grasp by the men of old, has never since lapsed. CHAPTER VIL The Renaissance. SEC. I. THE NEW SPIRIT. It is suggestive that men speak of the opening of modern history as a new birth. In name and in fact the Renaissance was a rebirth.' Notwithstanding full recognition of all that showed life in the middle ages, that period persistently justifies the appellations dark, dead. The human spirit was dead, asleep, or, at best, was struggling in nightmare. A change came. The human spirit awoke. "^ Reason broke loose from scho- lastic, religion from ecclesiastical, bondage." The world was seen to be beautiful.'* Truth was discovered to be the legitimate quest of every man. Copernican sup- planted Ptolemaic system, making world in one sense smaller, in truer sense incomparabl}- larger. Most im- portant of all, it taught perspective of nature. Corre- sponding adjustment of intellectual and spiritual ideas followed. Herein lies significance of Michelet's dictum that the great achievements of the Renaissance were the discover}' of the world and the discover}' of man. The discovery of the world issued in two forms, one exten- sive, the other intensive. The first led to geographical exploration. The second gave science. The discovery of man also had twofold issue — one humanism, the other 17 ("9) I20 THE RKNAISSANCK. moral revolt and moral reform. The first gave litera- ture, architecture, and art. The other gave the Refor- mation. ^" The word Renaissance has of late years received a more extended significance than that which is implied in our EngHsh equivalent, the Revival of I/earning. We use it to denote the whole transition from the Middle Ages to the Modern World." ' It is just because the Renaissance was a rebirth, an awaken- ing of conscious life, that we find it so hard to gather up its re- sults under few heads. Each will find among those results the elements which appeal to him. The jurist will see law ; the scholar will see humanism ; the artist, art ; the theologian, pa- ganism and the Reformation. In such varied activities did the awakened spirit occupy itself. ^ "The mental condition of the Middle Ages was one of igno- rant prostration before the idols of the church — dogma and. authority and scholasticism." To be added to these elements of bondage is pressure of material need, which bore hard ever}-- wliere during that period. * A great surprise. The teaching of the age made " beaut}' a snare, pleasure a sin, the world a fleeting show, man fallen and lost, death the only certainty, judgment inevitable, hell ever- lasting, heaven hard to win, ignorance acceptable to God, ab- stinence and mortification the only safe rules of life." SEC. 2. OCCASIONS AND CAUSES. These cannot easily be separated. They were many. They were interwoven. Doubtless many had influence which never found record. Some we may confidently name: i. Memory, never wholly lost, of other and better days than had filled recent centuries. 2. Stirring of memory by fresh study of Roman law which, while not suflicient to restore the old order, yet made it a nearer and more living thing. 3. Traditions of the relatively good days of Charlemagne. 4. Arabian THE RENAISSANCK. 121 culture' transplanted, enriched, and developed in Mos- lemized Spain. 5. The impulses generated in the great university centers.'^ 6. Scholasticism, which, though lacking originality, lacked neither assiduity nor com- prehensiveness. 7. Recov-ery, virtually for the modern world the discover}^ of free personality.^ 8. A many- sidedness in individual character.* 9. Renewed acquaint- ance between East and West, with resulting comparison of their two distinct types of culture.^ 11. Dawning conviction of history of world as, after all, one. 12. Im- pulse and direction given new spirit b}^ fall of Eastern Empire.^ ^ No small thing. Moorish civilization in Spain was one of the glories of the mediaeval world. ^ Numerous and important. Bologna, Padua, Naples, Rome ; Paris, Montpellier, Orleans ; Salamanca ; Oxford, Cambridge ; these all by 1300. Soon after arose many of the German galaxy — Prague, 1348; Heidelberg, 1386; Leipsic, 1409; Greifswald, 1454; Freiburg in Breisgau, 1456; Tiibingen, 1477; Wittenberg, 1502 ; Marburg, 1527 ; Strassburg, 1538, to name only the 1)etter known. ^The Italian republics or city states contributed greatly to this. Even under the despots — perhaps one would better say particularly under the despots — individuality was emphasized. The strong arm, the facile speech, the ready wit, might make an 3^ one a great man in those days. * Noticeable in almost every great name of the period — e. g., Albertus Magnus, Bacon, Dante, Michael Angelo. ^ Largely due to Crusades. Trade also aided much. 6. Chiefly important as falling in with tendencies already strongly at work. Search for classical writings had already been prosecuted with intense zeal. Now treasure protected, though unused, at Constantinople were scattered through West. Fewer great scholars than was long believed appear to have gone westward with the manuscripts. 122 THE RENAISSANCE. SEC. 3. VOICES FROM THE DARK. The Renaissance did not come all at once. It arriv^ed, so to speak, by degrees. Here and there, even during the Middle Ages, protest was made against bondage and darkness. Scholastic activity,^ woefully misdirected ^ as much of it might be, was better than stagnation. Even in the monasteries S3'mptoms of revolt against current metaphysics and theology were apparent. Gottschalk dared to open the question of predestination,^ thereby foreshadowing the struggle of reason against authorit}'. Abelard went farther, insisting that faith was nothing if not intelligent.* Worthy successors of Abelard were Albertus Magnus^ and Roger Bacon. ^ The former dared to differ from Aristotle, whose works he edited. The latter went so far as to prove by the philosophers themselves that Aristotle was not infallible,' and to substitute for the study of Aristotle in defective trans- lations'" the wisdom of Scripture, the study of mathe- matics, and the use of experiment. This was the utterance of one born out of due time." ^ The first business of the Schoohiien was to reduce to order the great body of legend and dogma which had, or was supposed to have, the sanction of church authority. Starting with the assumption that everything sanctioned by the church was true, they proceeded to harmonize and justif3\ " With no instru- ment save the logic of Aristotle, with no knowledge of the laws, forces, or agencies of the universe, physical or spiritual, they fell to work upon the stupendous pile of dogmas and legends of the church, with the purpose of reducing all to rational order and system." ^Among the edifying subjects of discourse were many like these : " How many angels could dance at once on the point of a needle?" "Do angels have stomachs?" "Do angels in moving from place to place pass through intervening space? '* THE RENAISSANCE. I 23 " If an ass were placed exactly midway between two stacks of hay, would he ever move ? " ^ Gottschalk made the mistake of venturing to be more or- thodox than Augustine himself. Augustine taught predestina- tion to eternal life. Gottschalk went beyond him by teaching predestination to eternal death as well. His real fault was that he dared think with his own brains instead of with his teacher's *He was in the habit of saying to his pupils : "We should not believe unless we first understand." This was the exact oppo- site of the scholastic temper, whose maxim was: ''I believe in order that I ma}- understand." ^Was close student of plant life and a chemist of note. Be- cause there were some things which he knezv, his contemporaries, after the fashion of the time, insisted that be must be in league with the devil. So little could the age distinguish between knowledge and magic. ^ Enumerates as causes of human ignorance the following four: I. The force of unworthy authority. 2. Traditionary habit. 3. The imperfection of the undisciplined senses. 4. The disposi- tion to conceal our ignorance and to make an ostentatious show of our knowledge. ' While worthy of all praise, Aristotle is yet subject to cor- rection and enlargement. "Tho.se who came after him cor- rected him in some things and added many things to his works, and shall go on adding to the end of the world." **"If I had power over the works of Aristotle, I would have them all burnt, for it is only a loss of time to study in them, and a course of error and a multiplication of ignorance beyond expression. " " The common herd of students, with their heads, have no principle by which they can be excited to any worth}^ employment, and hence they mope and make asses of them- selves over their bad translations and lose their time and trouble and money." ''Roger had a hard time of it. Things clear to him were not understood at all by his generation, or at most by only one or two. " Because these things are beyond your coniprehension," he wrote in self-defense to Pope Nicholas III, "you call them the works of the devil." To Pope Clement he had written, " It is on account of the ignorance of those with whom I have had to deal that I have not been able to accomplish more." 124 'THE RENAISSANCE. Roger was condemned for suspected heresy and for magic, and suffered ten years in prison. To us it is a terrible indictment of the age that on his deathbed he declared, " I repent now that I have given myself so much trouble for the love of science." The dates of these men were : Gottschalk, d. 868 ; Abelard, 1097-1142; Albertus Magnus, 1193-1280; Roger Bacon, 1214- 1294. SEC. 4. PROPHETS OF THE NEW DAY. These were notably three: i. Dante, 1 265-1 321. A strong defender of the empire as against the papacy. Himself a victim of party strife, an exile, poor, home- sick, heart-weary of the intrigues and jealousies and strifes of a divided Italy, ^ Dante calls back his country- men to the ideal of a true imperium, distinct from the church, independent of the church, yet not hostile to it. Such an imperium is that of the State-Church the- ory, the empire a divine institution, the work of the Holy Ghost, using the church for accomplishment of the ends divinely appointed to it as empire. De Monarchia propounds three questions: ( i ) Whether monarchy was necessary for the welfare of the world. (2) Whether the Roman people took to itself by right the office of monarchy or empire. (3) Whether the authority of monarchy comes from God directl}^ or only from some other minister or vicar of God. To these questions Dante makes answer for monarchy, as necessary, divine, md therefore independent. So much for the spirit that dared speak its mind'^ in Italy, foretokening free dis- cussion. On the literary side the Divine Comedy was his great contribution. By it he: (i) Fixed, if he did not create, the Italian language. (2) Gave body to en- tire round of "mediaeval theology, philosophy, science, in this epic of the soul. (3) Gave inspiration of really THE RENAISSANCE. 1 25 great poem, invaluable service to Italy and to world. 2. Petrarch, 1 304-1 374. Something more than ex- ponent of mediaevalism, beyond which even Dante's mighty genius had scarcely carried him. Petrarch went far back for material, far forward for method.^ In him the light broke, because the mind had discov- ered its power and its right to deal in its own way, if not with questions of faith, yet with all other questions.* 3. Boccaccio, 13 13-1375. Born intellectually at tomb of Virgil,^ he equaled Petrarch in passion for classical an- tiquit}^ Though but~an indifferent Greek scholar, '^ he greatly furthered the study of Greek. His great serv- ice was threefold : (i) He shaped Italian prose. (2) He insisted that life should be looked at as it is." (3) He seconded Petrarch's humanistic impulse. ^ Yet to this very disorder we owe much of the individuality that made the Italian Renaissance possible. The free republics, the oligarchies, and the despots all had their work to do. ^ Here is daring political speculation. Dante's letters to princes of Italy, cardinals, republics, emperor were fine specimens of the political pamphlet, expounding the principles of government in discussion of current issues. ^ The first of the humanists. "The essence of humanism," says Symonds, "consisted in a new and vital perception of the dignity of man as a rational being apart from theological de- terminations, and in the further perception that classic literature alone displayed human nature in the plenitude of intellectual and moral freedom." ■* Petrarch's insight meant vastly more for the world than all his poetry. A new spirit was working in the world. To this man was given the power to foresee the development of that spirit, and to teach men what was taking place within them. In true sense he was prophet as interpreter. ^Boccaccio's father made him study law and commerce. When twenty-seven years old he settled at Naples at his father's bid- ding. Passing the tomb of Virgil in the course of a walk one day, his literary impulse was so stirred that he renounced his law and commerce and at once began to study poetry. 126 THK RKNAISSANCE. ^ He tried hard enough to learn Greek well. Pilato, a Byzan- tine pedant, lived in his house for years, trying to teach both him and Petrarch. Pilato seems to have had but scant furnish- ing of intellect. " Petrarch and Boccaccio both described him as a sordid cynic, with a filthy beard and tangled hair, morose in his temper and disgusting in his personal habits, who con- cealed a bovine ignorance beneath a lion's hide of ostentation." Petrarch never learned to read Greek. Boccaccio did as well as was possible without a teacher, and made a Latin translation of both Iliad and Odyssey. ^ So far, good. It does not follow, however, that it should be written out. Boccaccio was the Walt Whitman of his day. He took off the covering, and ugly things were revealed. It is a question whether this is wholly wise. ' ' We are all naked under our clothes," says the cynic. True, and there is always merit in frankness, but it may be doubted whether societ}' is better on the whole for laj'ing bare what nature evidently intended to keep secret. SEC. 5. THE CENTER OF THE NEW ORDER. The Florentine was fond of comparing his city with Athens. In freedom,in variety of institutions, in culture, the comparison does not discredit Florence. She had, as Athens had, an intelligent citizenship, keenly alive to public as well as to private interest, and broad enough to be concerned about life outside their own borders. She had, what Athens had not, respect for industry and important commercial relations.^ She had, in this again like Athens, literary and artistic gifts. Athens had been the capital of Greek culture. Florence was the capital of the Renaissance. Boccacio's experiment with ox- brained Pilato was repeated by others with happier result. Teachers of Greek found their way to Florence."'' Florentine students went to the Grecian East. Manuscripts were sought out.^ Criticism, collation, reproduction went on apace.* Noble art flourished. THE RENAISSANCE. 1 27 If Lord Beaconsfield spoke truth when he said that a great nation is a nation that produces great men, the fame of Florence is secure. She could, after Athens, say of more illustrious names than any other one city in the world, these are mine. Birth or fame or both she gave Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Macchiavelli, Michael Angelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Americus Vespucius, Savonarola, and the Medici. ^ Men of high birth counted it no shame to be traders. At close of 15th century the city had 83 rich and splendid ware- houses of the silk merchants' guild, 33 great banks, 44 gold- smiths' and jewelers' shops. Florentine woolen and silk pro- ducts were famous the world over. 2 At the other pole from Pilato stood Manuel Chr3'soloras. Dispatched by Emperor Palseologus upon a political mission to western Europe, he was attracted to Florence. " This engage- ment secured the future of Gi'eek erudition in Europe." The reputationof being the most accomplished and eloquent Hellenist of his age w^as justified b}'- Chrysoloras. Through him Florence met Homer and Plato and Demosthenes, and thereby received vital impulse. ^ To the humanist and to us it seems an infinite pity that many a manuscript counted priceless afterward had been mutilated by monks who nefther knew nor cared what was passing through their hands. Others lay rotting as too worthless to throw away. Diligent search now rescued the bulk of what had been preserved. *Note the progress of the movement : i. The stage of desire, exemplified in Petrarch jjassionatel}- kissing the Homer he could not read. 2. The stage of imperfect acquaintance seen in Boc- caccio and brainless, pedantic Pilato. 3. The stage of gathered material. Monasteries, cathedral stores, libraries, collections everywhere were ransacked for ever}^ precious scrap of parch- ment. 4. The stage of criticism. Ficino, Poliziano, Erasnms belong here, wdiatever their actual dates. 5. The stage of diffu- sion. Copyists had worked diligently, but at best with scant result. Two new agencies were now called into use : [a) Poet and poetaster reproducing each in his own way, giving the sense of the old author with or without the original form, (d) The printing press. 18 128 THE RENAISSANCE. SEC. 6. THE RENAISSANCE ITAI^IAN. Florence was only the capital, not the whole, of the new kingdom. Spreading from Florence, the flame everywhere kindled both light and heat. Soon all Italy was ablaze.^ In all cities schools and libraries were established. Everywhere study was in fashion. Pisa gave honorable asylum to scholars. Naples made peace with the Medici in return for a book of Titus Livius. Padua built a university. Venice did the same. Milan protected artists and learned men^ Rome saw the Roman university reestablished by the popes, who also organized a new crusade for the discovery of manuscripts. Mantua, Urbino, Ferrara — a score of the smaller centers competed with powerful States for the crown of letters and art. Far-reaching, as time went on, was the attitude of successive popes. Julius II and Leo X claim special mention. Julius was a poli- tician, an ecclesiastic, and a warrior. Notwithstand- ing this, he added to his court a goodly company of men filled with the new spirit.'' Leo X carried temper of Medici from Florence to Rome.'^ He insisted that part of pope's duty was to favor progress of letters. Both Michael Angelo and Raphael worked for him. ^"The descendants of the turbulent barons were changing their fortresses into cabinets of study and forgetting their arms for their books." ^ The day the Laocoon was found in the baths of Titus he had the bells rung in all the churches of Rome. Symonds says that his name rather than that of Leo X should be given to golden age of Rome's letters and art. His figure is one of the strongest and most attractive in the whole line of popes. liotli Michael Angelo and Raphael owed much to him. He began St. Peter's. The importance of culture, especially to the higher classes, he emphasized in the words, " Belles-lettres are silver THK RENAISSANCE. I29 to plebiaiis, gold to nobles, and .diamonds to princes." ^he controversies between strong-willed Julius and strong-willed Angelo make interesting reading. ^ Cultured, liberal, without abiding moral impulse, good style counted more with him than good doctrine. When made pope he remarked to a friend, " Let us enjoy the papacy, since God has given it to us. " His fame is more artistic and literary than pontifical, but this is precisely what the Renaissance sets down as most to his renown. • SEC. 7. THE RENAISSANCE EUROPEAN. The Renaissance was larger even than Italy. French and Spanish ambitions in the peninstila made larger acquaintance with the North inevitable to the Italian. Besides, scholars had themselves carried on missionary work unceasingly. Beyond the Alps, as in Italy, the products of the new spirit were varied,^ taking all the typical forms — literature, painting, sculpture, archi- tecture, invention. The result was good art in France, better in Holland, hard thinking and moral reform in Germany and England. Happily for the world, the Northern Renaissance, though later than the Italian, and in art always inferior to it, was on the humanistic and moral side more practical, more thorough, and more en- during.'^ In important sense we are still in full tide of it. ^ We shall miss the real secret of the Renaissance unless we bear in mind that it meant quickening. The result would de- pend upon the direction given by circumstance to the activities of the quickened spirit. In Italy classical manuscripts and Greek statues led to literature and art. In the North, Hebrew and moral need led to the Reformation. ^ The Italian Renaissance lacked moral support. " It loved the beautiful and that alone. That is by no means enough. Native country, liberty, sentiments, and ideas which lift the head and the heart high" must be cared for, and this Italy ceased to do. The Northern movement had this — and lived. 130 THE RENAISSANCE. SEC. 8. WTERATURE. Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio constituted a literary triumvirate. A second was composed of Boiardo, Ariosto, and Tasso.* Boiardo wrote the Orlando In- amorato, recalling the Carolingian da3^s in the person of Roland. Ariosto continued the theme in Orlando Furioso. Tasso wrote Jerusalem Delivered, recalling the days of the Crusades. So far the Italian literary output after Dante is distinctly disappointing. Neither in bulk nor in strength does it justify the expectation awakened at the beginning. Machiavelli, in giving form to theories of political ethics deservedly execrated by all later ages, recreated Italian prose. Busied with the fact rather than with the form, he wrote straight on, surprising himself and the world by the discovery that so working the author may make language a simple but perfect vehicle of thought. Beyond the x\lps litera- ture found voice. France had, besides Dolet, Bude, and the Estiennes,' Rabelais, Regnier, Ronsard, Mon- taigne, Malherbe, Calvin, and d' Aubigne. The Nether- lands had Erasmus"* and, later, Grotius. Germany had von Hutten, Hans Sachs, Reuchlin, to say nothing of Melancthon and Luther/ England had Chaucer at the beginning, Wycliffe, Malory,^ Colet, More, on the rise of the tide, Spenser, Sidney, Hooker, Shakespeare, in- deed the whole Elizabethan group, to mark the flood. ^Boiardo, 1434-1494 ; Ariosto, 1474-1533 ; Tasso, 1544-1595. ^ Henri, his sons Robert and Charles, and especially Charles' son Henri, known also as Henri II. Good taste, mechanical skill, scholarship, and unfailing industry combined to make the service of these men of untold value to letters. Together they just span the i6th century. 3 1467-1536. 77^^ humanist of the North. Forced against his will into monastic life by dishonest guardians, he found himself THE RENAISSANCE. I3I impelled beyond resistauce toward letters. He secured papal dispensation exempting him from monastic dress and presently from monastic vow. The best scholar and greatest wit of the age, Erasmus was a sort of scholastic cosmopolite, spending time in England, Austria, Switzerland, France, and Italy, as well as in Germany and the Netherlands. His learning, great for any time, for his own time enormous, justified the story told of a table companion whom the chances of travel had thrown with him, finding himself amazed at the thought and speech of his unknown friend, and freeing his mind by the pith}^ words, " Aut Erasmus, aut Diabolus.'' * Both overshadowing work as authors b}^ work hs reformers. None the less their literary' rights are by no means unimportant. ^Note significance of Arthurian cycle. SEC. 9. ART. The fuller — mati}^ wise also for Ital}-, at least' — the truer expression of the Renaissance was not literature, but art. The Renaissance period was as completely dom- inated by the esthetic, as the present is by the scientific, principle. At the beginning of the period what little art existed was in bondage to mediaeval tradition.'^ Breaking away from this, art returned to classic models and to nature. But Renaissance art was something more, something other, than the art of Greece and Rome. A new mode of life, a new cycle of thought, a new phase of feeling sought expression. Herein lies the secret of the fact that while the glor}^ of classical art was sculp- ture, the glory of Renaissance art was painting.^ The later worker was prophet as well as artist. His task united Hellenism and Christianity. ^ " It has been granted only to two nations, the Greeks and the Italians, and to the latter only at the time of the Renais- sance, to invest every phase and variety of intellectual energy with the form of art. " Even the literary products of the Renais- sance were artistic in form, and must be judged from the point of view of art if one would not miss their chief meaning. 132 THK RENAISSANCE. ^Gathered up in so-called Romanesque and Byzantine styles. Symonds calls them the dotage of second childhood, fimibling with the methods and materials of an irrecoverable past. ^The Greek's life and religion were finite and tangible. His god was just a man, mightier and uglier or more beautiful as the case might be. Character had its physical counterpart. Thersites could not be good because he was ugly. Phryne could not be a sinner because she was beautiful. Such concep- tion of personality can be shown in marble. Renaissance art had a harder task. The graces of spiritual life may be devel- oped within unbeautiful bodies. Faith and hope and love ; self- denials, crucifixions, resurrections ; judgment, eternity : marble cannot tell what must needs be told concerning these. So it came that Italy used the brush where Greece used the chisel. SEC. 10. ARCHITECTURE. As usual, architecture first made advance.^ Related much to Renaissauce art as Dante was to Renaissance letters, stood Arnolfo.' The architectural Petrarch was Brunelleschi. Seeking the restoration of Rome in build- ing as well as in letters, Brunelleschi visited the old city, eagerly studying its ruins for guidance in the task of beautifying Florence.^ Nearly' contemporaneous was Alberti.* Greater than either was Bramante.^ The fame of Raphael the architect is passed by that of Ra- phael the painter, but that is due to the superlative excellence of the painting, not to inferiority in the ar- chitecture. Michael Angelo, just stopping short of divinity in the extent and variety of his genius, built St. Peters on Bramante's foundation and the sacristy of San Lorenzo on his own. Here the architect and the sculptor wrought together. The result was a triumph under the hand of Michael Angelo which less gifted men sought to repeat, only to find that the touch of the master alone could save the effect from being either THE RENAISSANCE. 1 33 fantastic or crude. The Italian list closed with Pal- ladio. With decadence in Italy came vigor in France and dawn in Germany and England. In two senses the Renaissance architecture spread. i. The style known as Renaissance " found favor. 2. The spirit of the nations quickened from Italy wrought out with greater or less success the problem each nation had to face for itself.' ^ "Architecture is always the first of the fine arts to emerge from barbarism in the service of rehgion and of civic Hfe." Several reasons appear for this, so far as Italy was concerned. I. There was no established architectural type. lyombard, Gothic, Byzantine, Saracenic, Etruscan traditions were followed in different parts of the peninsula. 2. Building materials dif- fered. Cremona and Pavia had store of brick in their clay fields of the Po. Verona had its quarries of mandorlato. Pisa had Carrara marble. Prato had green serpentine from Monte Ferrato. Florence had the pietra serena from the Apennines. 3. There appears to have been no such fixed rules here as in other departments made innovation dangerous. 4. There is a larger element of the practical, the useful in architecture than in sculpture and painting. Temple and palace meet immediate need of community. Besides, only after Wall and dome are in place can they be adorned with statue and fresco. 2 1232-13 10. Especially remembered in connection with his Palace of the Signiory in Florence. Gave rough outline to chief architectural beauties of Florence. Giotto's campanile, Brunelleschi's cupola, Orcagna's church of Orsammichele, each worked out with consummate genius by their respective creators, are yet all where Arnolfo planned the}^ should be whenever they were built. ^ The finest products of Brunelleschi were basilica San Lo- renzo, Pitti Palace, and dome of cathedral, all in Florence. * Greatly important for inspiration to later workers, who mul- tiplied buildings upon model of his Palazzo Rucellai. * " Though little of his work survives entire and unspoiled, it is clear that he exercised the profoundest influence over both successors and contemporaries. What they chiefly owed to him 134 '^H^ RENAISSANCE. was the proper subordination of beauty in details to the gran- deur of simplicity and to unity of effect." ^ A combination of classical design modified by mediaeval needs. Later conscious effort was made to return to out-and- out Roman models. Vitrnvius, a military engineer of the Au- gustan age, had written a work on architecture chiefly from Greek inspiration. Unfortunately, this was discovered and became normative. With this so-called classical revival the possil)ility of a real Italian architecture faded. ^ This the really important consideration. The inspiration of Inigo Jones and Sir Christopher Wren, whether it come directly or after several centuries, is worth incomparably more than the transference of a completed theory of building. SEC. II. SCULPTURE. In the natural order sculpture follows architecture. Emancipation from tradition came in 13th century with Nicolas and Andrea of Pisa. The great service of Nicolas, who stands first in both chronology and im- portance, was to point the way to the true sources of sculpture — antiquity and nature. Florence yielding priority to Pisa in this soon outdid her neighbor. Ghiberti ' by his bronze doors made himself and the Baptistery of Florence immortal. Donatello^ urged faithful study of model. The great Michael Angelo"' surpas.sed all these, winning right to stand with mightiest of Greeks. ^ 1 378- 145 5. Chief competitors for doors were Querela and Brunelleschi. The subject was Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac. By common consent Ghiberti won prize. When later a second set of doors was to be cast Ghiberti received the commission with injunction this time to surpass himself as before he had surpassed all competitors. These gates Michael Angelo declared worthy of Paradise. In architecture, to which Ghiberti made some pretension, he was distinctly inferior to the Brunelleschi whom in this competition he had beaten. THE RENAISSANCE. 35 " 1383-H66. Stillman says, " He carried the true principles of Greek art to the highest perfection that Italian art has ever seen, in some of its finest qualities even beyond Michael Angelo, though with less imagination and less technical power. His ideal of character in the statues of historical, as well as of mythical, personages unknown to art, stands unequalled in art history ; and although he is influenced by the life around him, in the types and forms of his ideal portraiture, in the spirit of the work and the complete ideality of its development, he is entitled to rank amongst the first sculptors of all time." 3 1475-1564. Most notable are his Moses and Slaves from the proposed mausoleum of Pope Julius II, the colossal David, at Florence, and the statues of the Medicean tomb, also at Florence, especially Night. In these last it is more than probable that the fate of Florence was sculptured. For this we have Angelo's own words. Some one wrote an inscription for the Night, bidding wake the .sleeper if her real exi.stence was doubted. In answer Angelo wrote the exquisite but sorrow-laden lines : " Grateful is sleep, and still more sweet, while woe And shame endure, 'tis to be stone like me ; And highest fortune nor to feel nor see ; Therefore awake me not ; speak low, speak low." SEC. 12. PAINTING. Renaissance painting stands by itself in the history of the world's art. Tuscany, Umbria, and Venice were the creative centers. Cimabne ^ led the new order in an attempt to substitute naturalness for conventionality. Giotto, his pupil, writing the story of the Middle Ages with the brush, united truth, exactness, and grace in measure before him unattained. Masaccio surpassed both. Fra Lippo lyippi shows that art had found its way even into the cloister. The last quarter of the 15th and the first half of the i6th century saw the Renais- sance painting at its best. To the first part of this period belong Mantegna, Perugino, the Bellini, and 19 136 THK RENAISSANCE. Fra Bartolommeo. Within the second fall Leonardo da Vinci, Michael Angelo, Raphael, Correggio, Titian, Andrea del Sarto, Tintoretto, and Veronese. Standing apart, later in the i6th century, are Guido Reni and Carlo Dolchi. Of all these, themselves onl}- the greatest of their age, several are recognized as specially excell- ing: " Leonardo" by execution and character, Michael Angelo^ by originality and knowledge of form, Cor- reggio* by magic of effect, Titian^ by power of color. Raphael ^ combined all these qualities to a degree which has made of him the first of artists, the unique painter. ' ' Beyond the Alps worthy painters were born. France had several of note, like Claude Lorraine, but not worthy to stand with Italy's greatest, or with the greatest elsewhere. The Netherlands had the brothers van Eyck , Rubens, Rembrandt, and van Dyck. Germany had Hans Holbein the Younger and Diirer. Spain had Murillo. ^ A paragraph of dates may serve a good purpose. Cimabue, 1 240-1302 ; Giotto, 1 276-1 336 ; Masaccio, 1402-1428 ; Lippi, 1400- 1469; Mautegiia, 1431^1517; Perugino, 1 446-1 5 23 ; the BelHni, 1421-1516 ; Bartolommeo, 1475-1517 ; da Vinci, 1452-1519 ; Michael Angelo, 1475-1564; Raphael, 1483-1520 ; Correggio, 1494-1534; Titian, 1477-1576; del Sarto, 1487-1531 ; Tintoretto, 1519-1594; Veronese, 1530-1588 ; Reni, 1575-1642; Dolchi, 1616- 1686; Lorraine, 1 600-1 682 ; van Eycks, 1 366-1 440 ; Rubens, 1577-1640 ; Rembrandt, 1 607-1 669 ; van Dyck, 1680-1752; Hol- bein, 1497-1543; Diirer, 1471--1578 ; Murillo, 1617-1682. ^ Great work, the Last Supper. •'The Holy Family, the frescoes of the Pauline cha])el, and, most of all, the Last Judgment. This colossal and multitudin- ous picture, men say, is terrible rather than beautiful. In special sense the artist seems to have put his own rugged self into his work. Not the consolations, but the terrors, of faith are em- phasized. The spirit of the old artist found expression now and again in savage humor. The Pope's intrusion he had to endure. THE RENAISSANCE. 1 37 That of lesser men he would not. Revenge for such intrusion he took on one Biagio, who impertinently and incompetently criticised the Last Judgment. Angelo gave Minos in the fresco the face of Biagio, and so fixed his place in hell. Biagio posted away in hot haste to his master, Pope Paul III, to complain. "Where has he placed you?" asked the Pope. **In hell," answered the aggrieved Biagio. "Too bad," said the Pope; " if it were only in purgatory, I could help you, but in hell I have no jurisdiction." So in hell Biagio had to stay. * Most important works in Parma, the Ascension of the Ma- donna, in the dome of the Cathedral, and the Vision of St. John, in Church of St. John the Evangelist. ^St. Christopher Carrying the Christ Child, Tribute Money, the Entombment. ^School of Athens, Transfiguration, marvelous Madonnas, especially the Sistine. vSEC. 13. SCIENCE AND DISCOVERY. Much that passed for science was unworthy. As- trology, alchemy, thauniaturgy, the black art, demon- olog3% witchcraft, all had place. But this was only the Middle Ages carried over. Tartaglia and Ferrari in Itah^ successfully pursued mathematical studies. Vesalius of Brussels founded anatomy. The French- man Yiete applied algebra to geometry and prepared the way for the mathematical analysis of Newton. Other Frenchmen wrought other worthy work. Co- pernicus perfected his solar system. Boehme, Bacon, Grotius, Hobbes, and Descartes thought and wrote. Tributary to much of this w^ere the use of the telescope, the compass, linen paper, and gunpowder, all brought from the East. More important aid still was printing. While thought w^as thus winning its kingdom the boundaries of the world were enlarging. The half fearful attempts to see wdiat lay beyond the horizon which had marked earlier maritime exploration now 138 THE RENAISSANCE. gave way to bold voyages in quest of the limits of the sea/ Portugal,'' Spain, ^ France, and England were foremost in endeavor. Vasco di Gama opened the way to the East around Africa. Columbus, also seek- ing the East, found America. The Cabots and Cartier were forerunners of the English and French colonists who were to determine the destiny of the continent. ^ It must, however, be confessed that there was large commer- cial reckoning at bottom of most of this. The coast of Africa was outlined in eifort to reach India for purposes of trade. Co- lumbus died in belief that he was on the way to India, The quest of the northwest passage was not entirely inspired by scientific interest. The early voyagers were themselves disap- pointed, and on their return home were met with but scant enthusiasm, in absence of expected cargoes of gold and gems. 2 Hemmed in on the three land sides, Portugal must find out- let, if at all, seaward. * The colonial dominion of Spain was prodigiously great. The pope parceled out the undiscovered balance of the world h>e- tween Spain and Portugal, giving Spain everything beyond a line drawn one hundred leagues west of the Azores. With in- explicable generosit}'^ Spain allowed ihe line to be re-run two hundred and seventy leagues farther west still. Special con- cessions also were made in South American territory. With all this, however, Spain got the lion's share of the New World. SEC. 14. POLITICS. The Renaissance spirit could not remain without po- litical significance. The giving way of feudalism to centralized government has already been traced.^ One cause lay in memory of days when strong hand of em- peror kept order of world. ^ Renewed touch with an- tiquity could not fail mightily to further sovereignty as against mere feudal headship; more yet, as against such chaos as that out of which feudalism grew. Other THE RENAISSANCE. I-,q political consequences also came from Renaissance m Italy. Diffusion of Italian ideas through humanistic and artistic migration and through war broadened that conception to fit conditions of European States. Mach- lavelli s Prince.crystallizing the political theory of Italy became an European classic. The ambassador, devel- oped in Italy, became a functionary of every conrt.^ ' See chapter VI. "otten' The':^,!"'* T"' "^^ '"^^'' '-'^ "— '"'e been for- gotten The old days always seen, good to one who is farenou<,h away rem then.. Besides, to the awakened spirit anThi^e Ilkd the", "r '^"""'"^ "'^ "'J-«- and'anarZu ! hlled the closing days of the Middle Ages The Italians were very forw-ard in matters of political science such":t7„T- '■'' ""r"'""^^ ^^'^ particulrfylnil T„ he uH f n"'v '"'P'°^"'' '^°"' «' '■°"«' «»)Hcly and solemnly sworn to obey. There is a re- deeming element in the suggestion that he himself believed what he tried to make his brother kings believe, that in restor- ing him they would be making war, not upon a people, but upon a faction, '■^January 21, 1793. Part of Louis' troubles were of his own devising. More yet were his inheritance. An incident reported from the life of Louis XV has more than passing application to his grandson. The Marquis de Marigny proposed a magnificent scheme for cleansing and beautifying Paris. '' But where, ' ' said the king, "do you imagine that I should find the money to carry out yovir admirable plans?" "Ah, sire," Marigny replied, "such a thought would never have occurred to your great ancestor, Louis XIV." " I wish it had sometimes done so," said the king; " it would then have occurred less frequently to me." If Louis XIV had only dreamed of the possibility of the loss of a royal head, Louis XVI might have been spared his. ^The Declaration of Pilnitz, promulgating "the cause of kings," was thus answered by " the cause of nations. ' Liberty MODERN FRANCE. 207 was offered in name of France to any people who would put down their despots. * June 2, 17,93-July 27, 1794. ^ A kind of executive. Government by committee is always difficult because of failure to get prompt and unified action. Government by legislature is incomparably worse. Danton saw this and urged the formation of the committee. A special court also was organized to pass upon cases of conspiracy. The Com- mittee of Public Safety and the Revolutionary Tribunal gave the leaders of the Revolution control of every life within the borders of France. SEC. 7, CONTINUED. Then came revulsion of feeling and the Moderates regained control. A new constitution was framed, establishing a legislature of two houses and an execu- tive body of five members, known as the Directory. Meanwhile the armies had been busy winning victories, ably led by Pichegru, Moreau, Jourdain, Hoche. Belgium was recovered. Holland was conquered. The Rhine was made a French river. Tuscany, Prussia, Spain were driven from the field. Then, as if all before had been merely preparatory, France set out to republicanize Europe. For this her mightiest instrument was Napoleon.^ Loving battle, loving suc- cess, perhaps at first loving France,^ he smote Sardinia, reduced Italy, forced Austria to peace, sought to crip- ple England by way of Egypt. Dazzled by success, France approved when Napoleon overthrew the Di- rectory in 1799, and paved the way to his own power by the Consulate. A new constitution legalized the change. But while France endorsed the rule of Na- poleon other countries did not. Austria and England ^ refused to recoo^nize the First Consul. Austria was 208 MODK^N FRANCE. crushed at Marengo and Hohenlinden. England re- lieved Egypt but was glad to make peace. Napoleon was made Consul for Life 1802. Two years free from war were given to the internal affairs of France. Means of communication were perfected, agriculture and industry were stimulated, art and letters were encouraged, and, most important service of all, the Code Napoleon * was formed. By 1804 everything was sufficiently in hand to warrant fitting names to facts, "* and Napoleon was proclaimed Emperor. The Repub- lic had lasted twelve years. ^The incident of Toulon was prophetic of Napoleon's whole career. The Spanish and English were in a way to take the city from the water side. The young officer of artillery coolly sug- gested that there was one point which commanded their posi- tion, and showed them where it was. Cannon were planted there, and the siege was raised. He always saw the point that com- manded the position of the enemy and planted bis cannon there. ^ There is pretty unanimous opinion that after the first he neither loved nor served anything but himself. ^Napoleon may thank England for endless mischief to his plans. She was his one uncompromising foe. She led every coalition against him. She backed with men and money every effort toward his overthrow. No higher compliment could be paid a nation than Napoleon paid England. Hopelessly crushed, it was upon her mercy that he threw himself. * French law was in a sadly disorganized state. liefore the Revolution every considerable district had its own system, the survival of feudal conditions, justifying the half jest of Voltaire that a traveler in France had to change laws about as often as he changed horses. Napoleon did not originate the preparation of a code. The Convention had discussed two outlines, reject- ing both. Immediately on becoming consul, Napoleon opened the question anew. Roman law, customary law, royal ordi- nances, and the laws of the, Revolution were collated. The re- sulting system was published as Code Civil de Fran^ais. Its success was great enough to make Napoleon desirous of asso- MODERN FRANCE. 209 elating his name with it, and it was republished under the title Code Napoleon. The French code has been extravagantly praised and extravagantly blamed. Thanks .partly to French conquest and partly to intrinsic excellence, it has greatly in- fluenced continental Europe, particularly the Latin countries. * Note the singularly close parallel between the Roman and French republics in their passage, first into imperial spirit, then into imperial organization. SEC. 8. EMPIRE. The processof repiiblicanizing Europe at once stopped. Within five years the republics already organized were kingdoms. But the extension of French influence did not stop. These reorganized kingdoms were made de- pendencies of France. Beyond were possibilities of still new dependencies. Toward these Napoleon stretched out his hand. His territorial ambition was seconded by necessity. The powers of Europe dreaded Napoleon's p3werand hated him as a usurper. Sometimes singly, sometimes together, they took up arms against him. Such armies and such fighting the world had never seen. Aided by a score of lieutenants, only less able than himself, he swept the continent. Austria he broke afresh at Austerlitz, 1805. Prussia he goaded into fight and crushed at Jena and Auerstadt, 1806. Russia was beaten into alliance by the overwhelming defeat of Friedland, 1807. Trafalgar, 1805, had taught Napo- leon the impossibility of reaching England directly. Now he smites her from afar by the continental system.^ Because Portugal ventured to disregard his continental policy, the great dictator turned over the kingdom to one of his marshals, and proceeded to gather in the whole peninsula.^ Atistria ventured to raise her head 2IO MODERN FRANCE. and was ground anew between the upper and nether millstones of Eckmiihl and Wagram, 1809. Even the Pope was whipped in,^ completing the triumph of the man who recognized no authority on earth save his own. Then the tide turned.* Matters were not going wholly to Napoleon's liking beyond the P}- renees. The ruinous restrictions of the Continental SyvStem hurt the continent not less than England. France had been drained of men and money. The hope of freedom which made the oppressed in all countries hail Napo- leon as their champion had proved an illusion. The noblesse of functionaries was a doubtful aristocracy at best. England had remained consistently hostile. Now Russia was an enemy. The story to the end is briefly told. It is summed up in Borodino, ° Moscow, Bere- sina, lycipsic,*^ Elba, the Hundred Days, Waterloo, St. Helena. The empire had lasted eleven years. ^ Napoleon ruled or controlled so much of Europe that he felt warranted in treating the whole continent as his kingdom. By the Berlin and Milan decrees he prohibited all intercourse be- tween England and the continent. The effect upon England was serious, but to many European ports it was simply disas- trous. '^ The King of Spain was compelled to abdicate and Napoleon's brother Joseph was set in his place. ^The Pope violated the continental system. Napoleon con- fiscated the estates of the church. The Pope excommunicated him. Napoleon then confiscated the Pope. For four years the spiritual head of Christendom was a prisoner in France. * The affair of the Spanish crown was a mistake for Napoleon, as it awakened national feeling, the one thing dangerous to a despot. The violence to the Pope was not without penalty : "It was worse than a crime ; it was a blunder." It set the Catholic clergy against him, multiplying his enemies just when he was about to need friends. ^Borodino, 1812, a costly victory ; Moscow, a stroke of Prov- MODKRN FRANCE. 211 idence, mediated by Russian loyalty ; Beresina an unresisted slaughter. These names stand for the Russian campaign, which cost France well nigh half a million warriors. ^The Battle of the Nations, 1813. Napoleon conjured up a fresh arni}^ of 300,000, Preliminary successes opened the way for decisive battle of Leipsic. It lasted three days and ended in total defeat for Napoleon. All efforts to stem the tide of movement upon Paris were in vain. Many of Napoleon's offi- cers deserted him, recognizing further struggle as hopeless. Paris surrendered. Napoleon yielded and was imprisoned at Elba. The reward of escape thence was guardianship of St. Helena. SEC. 9. IN STATU QUO. Napoleon's map-making had not been satisfactory to any one but himself. The Congress of Vienna, 1815, undertook to put the lines back in the old places.^ 1 792 was taken as the normal year. This, after twenty- three years of victory, at first sight seems both strange and unjtv^t. But it was neither. The strangeness is suggested, by the haste and urgency with which sub- jugated kingdoms, dukedoms, and what not, sought the old order. Many who had worshiped Napoleon, at his first defeat fell away and cursed him. These men, however, were no ordinary turncoats. For a decade and a half Napoleon had persuaded them to wear their coats wrong-side out, and there was no shame in their getting them right again. The injustice is suggested b}^ apparent indifference to the toil and blood of France. But France had long since forgotten the enthusiasms of the Revolution, and, swelling with prrde and power and lust of dominion, was seeking to impose upon Kurope the rule of as arbitrary a despot as ever swayed scepter. Napoleon built empire upon the hope of neigh- 212 MODKRN I^RANCK. boring peoples. The call to freedom in France was echoed in Italy, in Spain, in Austria, along the Rhine. Napoleon was statesman enough to fill his regiments'' and his purse from the passion that hailed him as a de- liverer. But when tho^^e who sought liberty had given life and treasure, they found that they had spent all, not for freedom but for a chain. The Revolution was a stupendous abortion, and Napoleon was its natural, perhaps its inevitable, product. And Napoleon could not stand because his dominion was against the nature of things. It is not a happy ending : Bourbon Louis XVIII, an absolutist derelict, on the throne ; France smaller than a quarter of a century before, in spite of all her victories and her dead ; the Holy Alliance leagued against progress ; popular government discredited ; ^ lib- erty a by- word, ^ Where exact restorations were impossible equivalents were substituted. In general, the results were as follows : Prussia lost in Poland, but got part of Saxony and good territory in the Rhenish provinces. Austria lost the Netherlands, but got Lom- bardy, Tyrol, Venetia, and the Illyrian and Dalmatian provinces. Russia got Poland. Etigland got Malta, Heligoland, and gen- erous provision of French and Dutch colonies. Sweden got Norway, rent from Denmark. Switzerland got Geneva, Wallis, Neuchatel. Sardinia got Genoa. The Pope got his States back again. Holland and Belgium were joined in ill-assorted union. Bourbons were restored in France, Spain, Sardinia, Tuscany, Modena, Naples. Of course, some results could not be undone. Scores of German principalities had been wiped out. Germany was gathered up into 29 vStates, large and small, with Austria recognized as head. 2 Of the half million fighters who constituted the Grand Army that was to devour Russia the smaller part was French. Nearly every German State was represented by a contingent. Italians, Swiss, Dutch, Poles made up the balance. The Russians still speak of the Grand Army as the " army of twenty nations." MODERN FRANCK. 2 I -^ ' The spirit of the Congress of Vienna was wholly reaction- ary. " Its proceedings were characterized by a disregard of popular rights, of differences of race and religion, and of his- torical tradition worthy of Napoleon in his worst days. Europe was treated as if it were a l)lank map which might be divided into arbitrary districts of so many square miles and so many in- habitants." The next three decades were throughout Europe one long repression of liberal sentiments or of grudging assent to them. SFX. lO. NET GAIN. Was, then, this gigantic struggle bootless? Far otherwise. Precious truths were struck out by it, and France and the whole world are richer by them. 1. Freedom or slavery is in a people's character. Ability to write books is not the first qualification for establishing a constitution.' Doctrinaire statesmanship bore its legitimate fruit in the butcheries of Marat, the madness of Hebert, and the tyranny of Robespierre. 2. Political salvation is a work which each nation must work out for itself. Impulse might be, was, imparted to other peoples by the French. Thanks largely to the French Revolution, other lands are now as free as France. But each has solved its own problem in its own way. 3. Revolutions never go backward. The Bourbons got their throne again, but they held it thenceforth, not as the master but as the servant of the state. ^ The famous maxim of Louis XIV is never re- peated now except to point a moral. Herein, indeed, lies the significance of the French Revolution — its enforcement upon the Old World, as the American Revolution enforced it upon the New, of the funda- mental principle that the secret of political organiza- 30 214 MODERN FRANCE. tion is in the will of the people, and that the will of the people is irresistible.^ ^ Sometimes nothing is so illogical as logic. The traditional French tendency to carry a s3'Stem to the extreme requirement has worked strongly against political sanity in French institu- tions. The largest exception, both to bookishness and ill-success, is furnished by France's present constitution, which was made to meet not a theory, but a condition, and which confessedU' niade no attempt to provide specifically for all contingencies. It therefore contains fewer formulas and more political sense. "^ Revolution destroyed property right of king in people and .developed theory of government based on national consent. ^ Out of the gospel of discontent which the orators of the Revo- lution preached with such power, some doctrines have come over to our time. This of the right of the people in the government has changed the face of the world. And now that the truth has found utterance, we need not wish it otherwise. Rousseau's evangel bore bitter fruit, both in the Revolution itself and in the despotism which came after. But that was because the Revolutionists and Napoleon failed to understand the teaching. The will of the people unbridled made the Revolution. Napo- leon rose to empire on that will. His downfall was wrought by the disappointment of it, rise and fall alike simpl}^ proving its power. However the Revolution missed it, popular government since has shown beyond possibility of mistake that that power is the true support of national life. SEC. II. A HAI,F CENTURY OF EXPERIMENT. Wisdom is not learned in a day. The political growth of France was no more rapid than might be expected. Faith in formulas, reaction toward absolu- tism, book politics, coups d'etat ^ fill a large part of the governmental history of France between 1815 and 1 87 1. I. The restored I^ouis started off well, graci- ously overlooking the fact that monarchy had ever suf- MODERN FRANCE. 21 5 fered interruption.^ Only from his royal goodness could constitutions proceed, but he took care that a constitu- tion should proceed therefrom without delay. Under his rule the countr}^, at rest from war, except for the invasion of Spain in the interests of the Holy Alliance, recovered from the Napoleonic exhaustion. 2. Charles X succeeded to the throne, as stupid now as he had been cowardly in 1789.* His reign was a continuous reaction, ending in absolutist revolution,^ which failed because the people met it with a counter-revolution de- throning Charles. 3. Louis Philippe was a. constitu- tional monarch, who recognized his crown as the gift of the people, and the constitutionally expressed will of the people as the law of the realm. 4. The Second Republic. The " citizen king " was slow to see pos- sibility of improvement in the way of liberalizing the constitution. Growth of liberal ideas made change necessary. The king abdicated rather than face the crisis which France had to meet in common with the rest of Europe in 1848. A provisional government was organized and a new constitution prepared, repub- lican simply because the monarchists, though over- whelmingly in the majority, could not agree among themselves. This period, accidentally republican, lasted until 1852, when Prince Louis Napoleon," having the royal power, was almost unanimously "elected" emperor. 5. The Second Empire. Napoleon III vig- orously pushed internal improvements, took part in the Crimean' War, and fought Austria in behalf of Sardinia. He liberalized the government and carried through a new constitution. His project of French dominion in Mexico was unfortunate. His clash with . Prussia was fatal," both to himself and to France. 2l6 MODKRN FRANCE. » As that of Charles X, 1830, that of Louis Napoleon, 1851, to say nothing of several abortive attempts by adventurers like Boulanger. 2 The restored monarchy named ordinances of 1815 as of the 19th year of Louis XVIII, dating the accession from 1795. when the Dauphin died. 3 Ferdinand of Spain, hard pressed by a liberal revolution, was a prisoner in the palace at Madrid. Ferdinand was a rela- tive of Louis, a Catholic, and an absolutist. If the Holy Alli- ance meant anything at all it meant help for such a contingency. Louis acted promptly. A French army restored Ferdinand, 182.3. * The first to emigrate when trouble threatened royalty and nobility. ^ "Only Lafayette and I have not changed since 1789," was his stupid boast. Time justified the proverb, "A Bourbon for- gets nothing and learns nothing." Charles lived and reigned with his face toward the past. He opposed liberal sentiments liflevery way possible. In 1830 he issued the famous reaction- ary edicts, suspending the liberty of the press and establishing a strict censorship over books ; dismissing the Chamber of Dep- uties just elected ; limiting the franchise ; summoning a new chamber on his own terms, in violation of the charter of Louis XVIII. Three days of fighting in the streets of Paris brought the king to his senses. He offered to withdraw the obnoxious edicts, but it was too late. Even his abdication availed nothing. Instead of taking the nominee of Charles, his little grandson, Due de Bordeaux, the people chose Louis Philippe, head of the Orleans branch of Bourbons. ^ Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, son of the great Napoleon's brother, Louis of Holland, and Hortense Beauharnais, daughter of Josephine by her first marriage. The Prince President was therefore Napoleon's nephew by blood and grandson by mar- riage. ^ Ingloriously ending a reign which began with great promise. Partly ambition, partly necessity for doing something brilliant to dazzle France and make it forget official blunders impelled Napoleon to desire war with Prussia. The pretext was found in questions of Spanish politics, Napoleon insisting that the Prussian king give pledge that no Hohenzollern should ever MODERN FRANCE. 217 be allowed to become King of Spain. Of course, King Williaiu neither would nor could give such pledge. The French gov- ernment, bent on war, professed to see in this a threat to France, and war was declared. It was not a long war. Prussia was ready to the last grain of powder. France was not ready at all. As a scheme for glory the war was a dismal failure for Napoleon. As a stake in politics it ended French influence among the Ger- man States. Prussia dictated terms of peace in Paris, and the German Confederation became the mighty German Empire. SEC. 12. FRANCE TODAY. The battle of Sedan' sealed the fate of Napoleon III and the Second Empire. Three days later France was declared a republic under a provisional government. The new government had no easy task in the defense of France against a victorious army and the restraint of a proud people, distracted rather than humbled by de- feat. When further resistance was hopeless, Paris sur- rendered and negotiations for peace began. The with- drawal of the German troops was followed by a revival of the Revolutionary Commune. Many of the scenes of the Revolution were re-enacted. Presently the gov- ernment gained possession of the capital and order was restored. The Third Republic was then formally or- ganized.^ A third of a century of successful adminis- tration warrants conviction that the government will re- main permanently republican. Under the Third Republic France has prospered. Diligence and economy have added greatly to the mate- rial prosperity of the country. The war debt to Germany was paid off with unprecedented rapidity — a billion dol- lars in less than two years.' Agriculture, manufactures, trade have increased, educational facilities have been 2t8 modern FRANCE. iiiiiltiplied, literature and art have thriven. True, there are clouds on the horizon. Colonial enlargement has cost heavily and the compensating advantages are not easily apparent. The national debt is enormous,* Public and semi-public enterprises have been marred b}^ huge scan- dals '^ involving official character. The population is stationary, if not actually decreasing. The wound of Alsace-Lorraine is still open. The Dreyfus case dis- closes a dangerous militarism. The Gallic temper is revealed in the fact that since 1789 France has had seventeen constitutions ; under the Third Republic no president has serv^ed out his term except Grevy, who, hovvever, was forced out early in his second ; ^ and the average life of a cabinet is about three-quarters of a year.'^ None the less, the Third Republic has proved more stable than any organization before or since-the overthrow of Louis XVI. The national defense has been vastly improved. The Russian entente provides a needed counterpoise to the Dreibitnd. While relatively to other powers France holds no such place as she has held several times hitherto, relatively to herself she is better off than ever before.^ 'September i, 1870. The Emperor and Marshal MacMahon, with 100,000 men, were compelled to surrender. With an attempt at the dramatic, the Emperor wrote the King of Prussia, "Not being able to die at the head of my troops, I can only resign my sword into the hands of Your Majestyc" The fine sentiment was lost, both upon the Germans, whom he had bullied into war and who had squarely beaten him, and upon France, now thirsting for his blood to avenge his betrayal of her. Seven- teen thousand Frenchmen killed or wounded in the battle made the suggestion easy that any one honestly desiring death need not seek far. MacMahon's army had been organized to relieve Bazaine, shut up in Metz. Sedan was thus not less fatal to Bazaine than Mars-la-tour, Vionville, and Gravelotte, where he modp:rn franck. 219 had been smitten by the iron hand of Prussia. His surrender came six weeks later, with the main army of nearly 200,000. 'A parliamentary republic, a distinct political innovation. The legislature consists of two houses. The senate has 300 members, elected by indirect suffrage, the electoral college in each depart- ment being formed by the deputies from that department, the department council, the district councillors, and delegates of municipal councils. The senatorial term is nine years. The Chamber of Deputies has 584 members, elected by direct uni- versal suffrage, one deputy for each district, including the col- onies. The term is four years. The two houses in joint session are the National Assembly. The President of the Republic is elected by the National Assembly, sitting for this one purpose at Versailles, and holds office for seven years. The President g'overns by a responsible ministry, ^National thrift was stimulated by national pride in this en- deavor. Until the debt was paid a German army was to hold French soil. The strength of French credit at home and abroad is shown by the fact that when the government in 1871 opened a subscription for a loan of two and a half billion francs, seven and a half billion were offered. When in 1872 call was made for three and a half billion, forty-three billion were subscribed. *Over six billion dollars, twice that of Great Britain. ^ The worst was that of the Panama Canal scheme. The work and expense were found to be double what was anticipated. Suggestions were made of corruption, as well as criminal mis- calculation. Investigation resulted in the exposure of many of the most prominent men in France — the son of ex-President Grevy ; Rouvier, finance minister ; the De Lesseps, father and son ; directors of the canal company ; ten senators and deputies, five of the ten being ex-ministers; while about a hundred other members of the legislature were implicated. ^'i. Thiers, 1871 ; resigned 1873, though then the Assembly held the President responsible, dismissing him virtually at will. Thiers resigned because his policy was voted down in the Assem- bly. 2. MacMahon, 1873 ; resigned 1879. 3. Grevy, 1879- 1886. 4. Grevy second term, 1886 ; resigned 1887. 5. Carnot, 1887 ; assassinated 1894. 6. Faure, 1894; died 1899. 7. Loubet, 1899 . 220 MODERN FRANCE. ^A wholesome word appears in the preface of a book written in Paris in 1897. "The anthor would be glad if these pages might prove to those who read them that it is not by flying from one excess to another that a great people can achieve freedom and occupy a becoming place in the world." Lebon : Modern France. It is to be hoped that this sentiment will find response in the hearts of many of the author's countrymen. ® Several times of late vigorous expression has been given to the national spirit. As these words come from the press, the government is seriously considering a popular demand that many hundred million francs be expended on war equipment. It is to be hoped that war is not imminent, either with Great Britain as Anglophobists hope, with Germany as many fear, or with any other power. None the less, one cannot be indifferent to these demands as disclosing a conviction of ability to match the glorious days of old. CHAPTER XI. Russia. SEC. I. GEOGRAPHY AND ETHNOGRAPHY. Russia is — Russia: huge, ungainly, unformed, brawny, an immature giant, needing half Europe and three-fifths of Asia for standing room.^ Seamed to- gether rather than severed b}^ the Ural Mountains, its limitless plains stretch away west to Scandinavia and the Baltic ; south, belting Germany and Austria, to the Black and Caspian seas ; east, bearing northward al- ways by Persia, India, and China, to the Pacific. Its northern coast line is that of the Arctic Ocean from Varanger fiord to Bering Strait. Within these bound- aries is a population of 120,000,000. We note : i. Geographical extent. Figures serve little better than names to represent the real size of the empire, running 2,000 miles north and south by over 5,000 miles east and west, giving a grand total of over eight and a half million square miles of territory. 2. Physical con- gruity. This does not mean that all parts are alike, ^ but that all parts are fitted to go together. Widely separated regions do exhibit striking similarity of cli- mate,^ soil,* temperature ; but this is less vital than the fact of self-sufficiency within the empire itself. In Kurope the timber of the north and the wheat of the 31 (221) 222 RUSSIA. south complement each other. Siberia is simply the' prolongation of Europe into Asia. 3. Ethnographical diversity. There are not colors enough to allow a sep- arate one to each element in the table of the Russian family. Out of these elements, however, stand three groups as mainly important — Finn,^ Tartar, Slav. 4. Political unity. But there is no divided allegiance in this. A whisper at St. Petersburg is obeyed with alac- rity at Vladivostock. The discipline of despotism has wrought a perfect work. Whether from fear or from love, a hundred and twent}^ million out of the hundred and twenty million subjects of the empire may be counted on for obedience, for sacrifice, for death, when required by the Czar, who is at once Lord of all the Russias and Great Father to his people. '"Its plains, the hugest on onr planet, stretch on into the heart of the old continent until they reach the mountain masses of Central Asia ; between the Black and Caspian seas they are barred by the gigantic bulwark of the Caucasus, the foot of which lies partly below the level of the sea, while its summits rise near on 3,000 feet above the height of those of Mont Blanc. To the northwest Russia owns the lakes Ladoga and Oniega, the largest of Europe; to the uortheast, in Siberia, that of Baikal, the largest of Asia ; to the south, the Caspian and Aral seas, the largest lakes in the world. Her rivers are in proportion with her plains ; in Asia she has the Obi, the Yenisei, the Lena, the Anioor ; in Europe, the Dnieper, the Don, the Volga, that central artery of the country, a river that, with its sinuous course measuring nearly 2,400 miles, does not altogether belong to Europe. Nine- tenths of the Russian territory are as 3'et almost untenanted." ■■^But great stretches are alike. The heart of the double con- tinent is uniform, barring the Ural range. It is misleading to speak of Russia in Europe as a prolongation of Asia, or of Rus- sia in Asia as a prolongation of Europe. The trouble lies in the geographical impossibility of separating Asia and Europe. Rus- sia is just the great inner expanse of this double continent, fringed about, except on the north, with diversified states. RUSSIA. 223 ' Russia has a continental climate without the modifications of a marine situation, softness and moisture. * The geological structure is marked by horizontalism. The stratification has never been broken up except at the edges. *' Slowly emerged out of the sea, the laud preserves its marine aspect in its immense, slightly undulating plains, which easily carry fancy back to the relatively recent period when across this depression the Baltic blended its waters with those of the Black Sea, and possibly the Caspian with those of the Arctic Ocean, separating Europe from Asia." Lack of variety in agricultural methods is in part thus justified by the existence of immense tracts on which the soil is of identical composition, calling for identical treatment. One of the striking physical features is the series of belts, the forest zone, and the steppe zone. The former extends from the limit of tree life within the Arctic Circle, far below Moscow to its southern limit, an unfixed line, continually changing with the enlargement of the steppe by encroachment upon the forest. The steppe zone is divided among the black mould belt skirting the forest zone, the steppe proper, and the great salt barrens further south, an unfertile deposit of sea now lost. ^Once occupied bulk of territory now Russian. In slow sub- sidence before oncoming Slav, the Finn has left landmarks over surface of great part of empire. SKC. 2. THK KINGDOM OF RURIK. A political characteristic of the Slav is suggested by his habit of seeking organization from without.^ This habit was formed early. The irrepressible Norman had made a name of strength for himself, just as the Slavonian community of Novgorod discovered its in- curable weakness.'^ In response to their petition the traditional three brothers crossed the Baltic. Two of the three new-made kings dying, Rurik was alone at the head of what was to be Russia.^ He vindicated the confidence of those who had made him ruler. Good names among his sticcessors were Oleg, his brother ; 224 RUSSIA. Olga, his daughter-in-law ; * Vladimir, who made the country Christian ^ and therefor got sainthood ; Yaros- laf I, illustrious for wise administration and for Rus- sia's first code of laws. Then the law of gavelkind finished its work ^ and the country was ready for Mon- gol dominion. This was like Mongol dominion every- where — unenlightened, oppressive, bloody. Russia drank the bitter cup to the dregs. Her Grand Princes confessed dependence upon the Golden Horde, ^ both by tribute and by obedience.^ The size and endurance of Russia probably saved western Europe from devastation by the Mongol. While he was wearing himself out in the northern wilderness, lands farther west were gain- ing strength.^ Then waster met waster, and the Mongol, weakened by the Tartar pressing on his rear, possibly also weakened by a civilization he could neither assim- ilate nor understand, went down before the re-awaken- ing of Russian national spirit. To Ivan III fell the lot of leading that spirit. He did more than free the land. He encouraged men to come from cultured Europe to give his uncultured kingdom what they could not give themselves, statesmen, teachers, architects, engineers. More important still, he settled the Russian policy of consolidation. Ivan IV earned his surname, the Ter- rible, by unnumbered cruelties, ^° but, fortunately for his kingdom, was strong as well as cruel. ^^ The mad blow which killed his eldest son was fatal to his family and his line.^^ The blood of Rurik had reigned seven centuries. Its great achievement was the establishment of Russian unity. ^ Added illustrations are the Holstein-Gottorps and the Ro- manoff-Oldenburgs in Russia ; the foreign kings of Poland ; the apparently natural course of Bohemia in election of Elector Frederick V of the Palatinate. RUSSIA. 225 ^"Our country," said the embassy to the Northmen, "is grand and fertile, but under the reign of disorder. Come and govern us and reign over us." * The agreement was that each of the three brothers should rule over a third of the people represented by the embassj^, each to aid all. Rurik took Novgorod as his capital, Sineous went northeast to Bielo Ozero, Truvor south to Truvor, near Smo- lensk. Tne triple kingdom of Russia was composed of the ter- ritories now constituting the provinces of St. Petersburg, Nov- gorod, and Pskov as now organized. *One of the greatest women in history. So worthy was her rule that for five centuries it was the standard by which good rule was measured. Her greatest single service was the intro- duction of Christianit}'^ into Russia. The historian Nestor calls Olga "the morning star of salvation for Russia." ''In good autocratic fashion. Himself converted, he ordered everybody up for baptism, rich and poor, lord and slave. Vladimir superintended the operation. On signal every man, woman, and child waded out into the stream, some up to their necks, some waist deep. The priests read the prayers for bap- tism. Then the multitude were bidden to come out, and they who had stepped into the water barbarians stepped out Chris- tians. ® Rurik confirmed a kind of feudalism. After he became sole ruler he organized his kingdom by provinces, whose governors were practically sovereign. Inheritance was by equal shares among male issue. The result was ceaseless division at cost of central power. There was therefore no one to keep back inva- sion. ^The Mongol empire, after the death of Genghis Khan, broke up into independent hordes. The Golden Horde was one of these groups, with headquarters on the lower Volga. The Khan of the Golden Horde ruled Russia for two centuries. ^The Khan took a barbarian's pleasure in compelling signs of submission. On the slightest complaint vassal Russians were summoned to the capital, or, if it suited his Mongolian majesty, to the heart of Asia, there to wait the master's pleasure, a week or a year, as suited his whim, and then receive warning or chas- tisement. The shame is that many Russsian chiefs gave them- 226 RUSSIA. selves body and soul to the foreigner to insure their own good at cost of their country's. ''No slight service. What might have been the fate of the western world is suggested by the experience of Constantinople and by the fact that the Turks were a constant menace, hang- ing on near Vienna till near the incoming of the 17th century. If Russia had never done another thing, this would have earned large praise — that she held back the Mongol terror while the Occident was getting its growth. '^ For instance, giving nobles to be torn in pieces by dogs, cut- ting down offenders with his own hand, wholesale executions with every accompaniment of horror, mutilations accomplished in bursts of passion. *^ Ragozin suggests that Ivan be pictured b}' a composite of Tiberius, Louis XI, and Richelieu, '* not only with their horri- ble individual instincts and qualities, but also with their very real greatness of political genius, statesmanship, and patriot- ism." So this "wpll-nigh monstrous historical figure" may be figured in his accomplishment of Russia's needed work, national aggrandizement, and royal supremacy, as against a turbulent nobility. ^'^ The eldest son was a man of promise. Feodor was a devotee, but no sovereign, though he was on the throne fourteen years. The infant Dimitri was slain. SKC. 3. A NEW LINK. Four decades of disorder followed the death of Ivan the Terrible. Then the nobles, forced into agreement by peril of national extinction, raised to the throne Michael Romanoff.^ At first reaction seemed inevitable.^ The policy of a half century before had brought enlight- enment from without, but had also brought foreign customs for which Russia was not ready, foreign influ- ence, and political confusion. The first Romanoff was raised to the throne as a protest against all this. A de- scendant of Rurik in the female line, he was yet in new RUSSIA. 227 and special sense Russian, a product of the conservatism of Russia, a representative of old-time wa5's. But all this, happil}^ ended not in reaction, but in steadiness. Internal improvements were carried forward. Com- merce was restored. Relations were undertaken with the European governments, among which hitherto Russia had not been counted.^ Two measures since recognized as part of the settled program for Russia were forwarded : the advance upon Constantinople * and the enlargement of Russian territory on the east to the Pacific/ ^ Michael seems to have been really elected, aud that by a fairly representative national assembly. High ecclesiastical dignitaries, nobles or their delegates, and representatives of the men-at-arms, the merchants, the towns, and the districts com- posed the assembly. The Czar-elect was a 'Prussian Slav in his father's line, a descendant of Rnrik in his mother's. The strain of royal blood counted much in Michael's elevation, no doubt., but far more potent was his relation to the clergy. The clergy, rather than royalty, had of late stood for order. Young Michael's father was Metropolitan, a man of distinguished virtue, appar- ently meriting all the good opinion of the people, which he be- yond question enjoyed. Further mark of confidence the people gave their religious chief by placing the government in his hands during the minority of his son. ■^The nobles insisted upon reducing the royal power to a shadow. Arbitrary power in the czarship had wrought personal ill to many. Now there should be no more of it. Michael found his office surrounded by so many restrictions that it was hard to see how his responsibilities were to be discharged. His oath required him to protect the Greek religion and to govern according to the laws. At the same time it prohibited him from making w^ar or peace at his own will, and from making new laws or altering the old. It was the swing of the pendulum— from absolutism in the monarch to absolutism in the subject. 3 War relations of a serious kind had long been entertained with Sweden , so far greatly to the advantage of the Swede. Now 228 RUSSIA. negotiations were entered into with both England and France, both countries seeking trade routes to the Bast through Russia, France also proposing political alliance. l/ouis XIII was on the throne. To him Michael sent, soliciting aid against Poland and Sweden. Fourteen years afterward, in 1629, a French ambas- sador appeared at Moscow,seeking commercial passage to Persia, with promise of political cooperation in the background. ' ' His Czarian Majesty," said the Frenchman, "is the head of Eastern countries and the orthodox faith ; Louis, King of France, is the head of Southern countries, and the Czar, by contracting a friend- ship and alliance with him, will get the better of his enemies. As the Emperor is allied to the King of Poland, the Czar must be allied to the King of France. These two princes are every- where glorious ; they have no equalseither in strength or power ; their subjects obey them blindly, while the English and the men of Brabant are obedient only when they choose." Trade ad- vantage, too, was urged. "The latter, Brabanters, bu^^ their wares in Spain, and sell them to the Russians at a high price, but the French will furnish them with everything at a reason- able rate." One almost regrets to record that such glowing rhetoric failed to dazzle the Muscovite. * Already, a half century before, Ivan the Terrible seems to have had clear vision of RuSvSia's movement southward, a move- ment indeed in which Ivan himself took no small {)art. In 1547 Ivan also took title Czar. Incidental proof that Czar is variation of Caesar, rather than offspring of Oriental titles of great- ness, is stout avowal of Ivan that " if Constantinople had been the second, Moscow was the third Rome, the living heir of the Eternal City." '" By exploration, conquest, and colonization. Progress east- ward was very rapid. In less than a century, indeed in little more than half a centur}'-, from the day Russian interest entered Siberia, Cossacks were bathing their horses' feet in the Pacific. RUSSIA. 229 SEC. 4. PKTER THE GREAT. Russia's strong man was Peter the Great. He was one of the masterful figures of all time.^ He brought to his country just the service his country needed. Though a century and three-quarters dead, he still reigns.''^ Co-Czar with blind, weak-minded Ivan for seven years under Sophia, Ivan's sister, who ruled the two Czars and Russia, in 1689, when sixteen years old, he made good his claim to the throne.^ The new ruler was at once felt. He restored order, took first step toward making a nav}^ broke down practical independ- ence of nobles, reorganized the army.* With insight marking true greatness, he gathered about himself for- eign men ^ who could teach him and Russia what they needed to know. Most fundamental of all, he reformed the government, facing toward Europe. Relations with the western world were cultivated. To lessen depend- ence upon outside teachers, young Russians were sent abroad to learn the world's ways. Crowning all other effort, Peter himself went abroad. In Holland and in England he worked with his own hands, to win practi- cal knowledge of the trades he wished to introduce among his countrymen. Sweeping changes marked his return to Russia. The strelitzi^ were abolished. Taxation was substituted for old half-feudal dues. The calendar was conformed to that of western Europe.^ Flowing robe and beard were prohibited. Seclusion of women was ended. Opposition Peter met, of course, for the way of reform is never smooth. But despotism makes change easy, and Peter was a despot, doing his work in a despot's way.' Sweden taught him western 32 230 RUSSIA. methods of war,' as Holland and England had taught him western methods of industry. He improved on his instructions, turning the Baltic from a Swedish into a Russian lake. Constant outlook upon Europe he found in St. Petersburg. '° He checked the ambition of Poland. Partly by war, i5^rtly by diplomacy, he won further Caspian provinces from Persia. Better than enlarging, he consolidated and developed his dominions by internal improvements of vast extent and value. By his effort Russia became the mighty power of northern Europe, debarbarized if not yet in truest sense civil- ized.^^ ^ ' * Peter found a small kingdom, he left it an immense empire. He conquered vast provinces from the conqueror of the age, and made them the center of his dominions, and out of their bogs he caused to spring up a sumptuous capital, unrivaled in Europe ; he was recognized as emperor and father of his people — as the mighty conqueror in Europe and Asia— and by the conquest of provinces in both quarters, it left him without a rival. All Eu- rope admired, courted, and respected Peter the Great ; his own nation both loved and feared him." "Take him for all in all, history will scarcely see his like again ; he appeared as a meteor in the world, dazzling in its brightness, fearful in its power, and eccentric in its orbit in his tremendous course through Russia. Peter cultivated her wastes and civilized her people beyond any monarch that had ever appeared amongst them, and so rapid were his movements that he seemed almost ubiquitous to his subjects, who were accustomed to say of him, ' God on high and the Czar not far off.' " ^The bulk of Russia's politics since Peter's day, when ques- tioned, has justified itself by reference to the great emperor's purpose. What Peter willed must be good for Russia. In ap- peal to him argument ceases. ^ Escaping as.sassination planned for him by his affectionate regent half-sister, whom now he disposed of finally by forcing her into a convent. The reign was joint with imbecile Ivan until the latter's death, in 1696. RUSSIA, 231 *The military system consisted of the strelitzi, a kind of im- perial body-guard formed by Ivan the Terrible, a few regiments of soldiers in ordinary sense, and the mob of armed peasants called out by their lords at need. In place of all this, Peter began forming an army led and trained in western fashion. Peter himself set an example by passing through every grade of service from the lowest rank upward. ^Hundreds of skilled workmen, artists, scientific men, mili- tary and naval experts from Kngland and Holland. Russia also profited largely by the exodus of French Huguenots after the Revocation of the Bdict of Nantes, Louis XIV thus uncon- sciously preparing trouble for Napoleon I. ® Partly in punishment for new revolt, partly because through corruption and general worthlessness they had become a stand- ing peril to the crown. ^ By shifting New Year's from September to January. The people regarded the change as impious. " How could New Year's fall in winter? " they asked. " The merest child could not sui)pose the world created in January, as the new calendar indicates, for apples are not ripe then, showing that Eve could not have been tempted except in the fall. Not only so, but God would be most likely to create the world at harvest time, when everything would be ripe for gathering," The Russian calendar follows Julian instead of Gregorian reckoning, and is conse- quently still twelve days slow. ^ With his own hand sheared flowing sleeve and beard of re- luctant courtier, thereby, to horror of old-time Russian, defacing the face of Christ's anointed so as to make him unrecognizable by even his own Master. That hand was too heavy to make protest safe, and Peter's process of debarbarizing Russia went on , ' At Narva 30,000 Russians perished at hand of Charles XII and his awful Swedes, News of the annihilation of his army was carried to Peter, "Very well," was the cool reply, "I know that the Swedes will have the advantage of us for a con- siderable time, but they will teach us, at length, to beat them." '° Peter was fond of saying that St. Petersburg was his window by which he looked out upon Europe, ^^ With scarcely an exception, those who have studied the problem regard Russia's civilization as unhealthy because un- duly forced. Peter took everything that appealed to him on 2-32 RUSSIA. his ceaseless travels and gave it to Russia. German, Dutch, English, French customs were forced upon Muscovite and Tartar irrespective of capacity or need. The present century has witnessed enormous advance, but Russia has not yet devel- oped herself. SEC. 5. THE AGE OF THE AMAZON. The three-quarters of a century following Peter's death was a mad medley of comedy and tragedy. First came Catharine I, a Livonian peasant,^ whom Peter had found at once maid and widow, and whose mastery of Peter had made her empress.^ Her reign of two years was vigorous, but too short to effect much. Peter II reigned three j^ears, a mere lad, and did nothing. Anne reigned eleven 3^ears and did much, especially extend- ing Russian influence into the Crimea. Elizabeth, Peter's own daughter, followed, and for twenty-one years proved herself her father's child — cruel, passion- ate, energetic, successful.^ Peter III did only one good thing in his life for Russia — goad his unscrupulous but able wife into rebellion by his maudlin imbecility, con- firming her on his throne by abdication and death.* Catharine II, 1 762-1796, was not one whit behind the Great Peter in ambition, lust, devotion, masterfulness. She united all elements of the empire — the clergy by her scrupulous piety, the nobles by her magnificence, the army by her splendid courage, the people by her steady oppression. She encouraged immigration,^ wel- comed scholarship,^ safe-guarded moralit}^ by imposing decrees, revised the laws," waged war,^ perfected Rus- sian diplomacy ; all this unhampered by her own un- bounded and unconcealed licentiousness ^ and her impe- riously despotic temper. Great, Wise, Prudent, Mother RUSSIA. 233 of the Country, were names she bore proudly, the last most proudly of all. How well she deserved the title appears from the fact that her reign added nearly half a million square miles to the territory of Russia, several million inhabitants to the population of Russia, greatly increased efficiency of internal administration, and gave immense prestige to the nation. She had vices and virtues, neither few nor small. Unfortunately in judg- ing her we have to distinguish between the woman and the queen. As queen she ranks among the world's great rulers. As woman she must be left to the mercy of Heaven. Paul I, 1796-1801, was ignorant, inex- perienced, and probably more than half crazy.'" Even Russia could not stand him, and he was assassinated. Seventy-six years had passed since the Great Peter died. Sixty-eight of the seventy six had recorded the sway of woman. 1 Peter found her after the storming of MMrienburg. Nearly all the unfortunate populace had perished in the assault. Among the survivors was a young girl of seventeen, married the night of the taking of the town to a young peasant, who seems to have been slain, with others, immediately after the nuptials- The Russian commander, struck by her beauty or her friend- lessness, took pity on her and protected her. Peter was com- pletely captivated by her,and, consultip.g only his own royal will, took her to himself, with or without marriage rites. To Peter's credit it must be addded that Catharine made him an invaluable wife, and he repaid her devotion by public marriage in 1712. nn 1724, seven months before Peter's death, Catharine was crowned in accordance with Peter's decision to leave the scepter in her hands, reposing confidence in her goodness and in the wisdom of her advisers. 3 The march of Russia was the token of her energy and success. As to the rest Abbott says of her, " She was during her whole reign mainly devoted to sensual pleasure, drinkin;,; intoxicating liquors immoderatly, and surrendering herself to the most ex- traordinary licentiousness. Though ever refusing to recognize 234 RUSSIA. the claims of marriage, she was the mother of several children, aud her favorites cannot easily be enumerated. She seemed to have some chronic disease of the humane feelings, which in- duced her to declare that not one of her subjects should during her reign be doomed to death, while at the same time, with the most gentle self-complacency, she could order the tongues of thousands to be torn out by the roots, could cut off the nostrils with red-hot pincers, could lop off ears, lips, and noses, and could twist the arms of victims behind them by dislocating them at the shoulders. There were tens of thousands of prison- ers thus horribly mutilated." * By assassination, almost certainl}^ with connivance, possibly at command, of his wife. '" Imperial proclamation offered free land to settlers from with- out, with transportation at cost of crown, and many privileges for thirty years. The roj^al invitation was largely accepted. Some German princelings were compelled to restrict the move- ment from their lands. France, Poland, and Sweden helped to swell the list. ^The great mathematician, Euler, won from Berlin to St. Petersburg, was a brilliant example. Catharine believed that science and the arts were as necessary to the glor}'^ of a country as military renown. Her splendid faith in medical science she showed by being herself vaccinated for smallpox, while as yet the world was ill-prepared to believe in the safety of inoculation. ^ Catharine's instructions to the assembly of revision em- bodied the following noble sentiments : " Laws should be framed with the sole object of conducting mankind to the greatest happiness. ' The liberty and security of the citizens ought to be the grand and precious object of all laws ; they should all tend to render life, honor, and property as stable and secure as the constitution of the government itself. It is incomparably better to prevent crimes than to punish them." ^Enkindling the ardor of her soldiers b}- appearing herself sometimes at their head. ^Made her passion a matter of state office. Her " favorite," magnificently provided for, was first officer of government. Twelve men in succession held the precarious post of favorite. When wearied of one, the Empress provided for him by some coveted foreign appointment, and he gave waj- to the next. RUSvSIA. 235 ^°Set out to manage the empire as a private estate; capri- ciously altered the military establishment ; on the merest whims promoted or dismissed officers ; treated the ministers of state like so many lackeys ; restored the obsolete barbarism of sub- jects kneeling, though it be in snow or mud, on appearance of Czar, wife, or son ; bewildered the most loyal by number and contradictoriness of decrees ; even when he stumbled upon a worthy project, went so stupidly about his work that harm, not good, was wrought. One ghastly conceit, which showed no lack of wit, but only lack of heart, was among the earliest acts of Paul's reign. Exhuming the skeleton of his murdered father, he exposed it side by side with the remains of his deceased mother, letting them thus lie in state together, the two coffins enswathed with a wreath bearing the inscription, "Divided in life, united in death." SEC. 6. THK FIRST ALEXANDER AND THE FIRST NICHOLAS. The unhappy da3"S of Paul had been quickl}^ num- bered. Better dayvS came with his son and successor, Alexander I, 1801-1825. But it was no time of peace. The revolutionary propaganda of France, mightily set forward by Napoleon's wars, threatened all Europe. Alexander first fought, then enthusiastically backed, Napoleon. Brought to better and steadier mind by acquaintance with Napoleonic ambition, he threw Russia against French aggrandizement. The awful days of 18 1 2 followed. At cost of the princely city of Moscow and several score thousand Russian lives, the Grand Army was broken and beginning made toward awaken- ing Europe from the Napoleonic nightmare. Russia was not wanting when the closing scenes of the great drama were played out. Nor was Russia wanting after- ward, taking liberal share of spoils at the Congress of Vienna,^ and leading European reaction in the Holy 236 RUSSIA. Alliance, Disillusioned by contact with western poli- tics, Alexander grew despotic, and after having been hailed as savior of Russia and liberator of Europe, died hated and dreaded, both at home and abroad. Nicholas I, 182 5- 1855, signalized his accession by crushing a liberalist revolt.^ The reactionary policy in force since 18 15 was continued, and Russia stood in Europe as the bulwark of absolutism.^ Meanwhile momentous internal changes were taking place. The national consciousness awoke, involving important con- sequences : I . Effort was made to Russianize * non- Russian elements in the empire. Largest immediate result of this was incorporation of Poland, in name and in fact, which appears henceforth only as an adminis- trative division. 2. Eastward march was renewed. Persia, completel}^ beaten, jdelded two provinces and large money indemnity. 3. Russian heirship of Eastern Empire was emphasized. Main object was interference in southern politics on ground of headship of Greek Christendom. Nicholas was anxious to administer on the estate of the Turk, ^ if need be even at cost of taking everything for himself, but western Europe could not suffer such disinterestedness, and the Crimean war re- sulted,^ with immense loss to Russia and no gain to any one. ^Napoleon had invoked the national spirit of the Poles by promise of a restored "Poland. Chiefly at cost of Prussia, the Duchy of Warsaw was formed. In the general distribution of spoil at Vienna, the land grabs of 1772, 1793, and 1795 were in- dorsed, and the provinces affected distributed about as originally taken. By a cruel farce, however, the remade Duchy of War- saw was recognized as the Kingdom of Poland, and the crown vested in the Emperor of Russia. So relations stood until the purging of 1831. RUSSIA. 237 ' The going and coming of the Napoleonic era brought Russia iu various ways into contact with western life. The effect could not but be great. Not a few sought change. When Nicholas succeeded his brother, these thought their time had come. They soon learned their mistake. Nicholas turned on them the very cannon which had saluted his coronation. The horror of the punishment meted out to the revolutionists is lightened some- what by. a ludicrous element in the situation. Nicholas had an oJder brother, Constantine, who would have been emperor but for his renunciation of the crown when he turned Catholic. The revolutionists wanted two things, Constantine and a constitu- tion. " Long live Constantine ! " they cried ; " the Constitution forever ! " But the combination was too much for the rank and file.. ** Constantine and the Constitution," they shouted as bidden, and then asked, " But who is this Constitution ? Is she Constantine's wife?" The leaders suffered either death or Siberia. ^ It was Nicholas who in 1849 helped Austria crush the Hun- garian Republic set up under Kossuth. *The real aim is to assimilate all other t3'pes to the Muscovite or Great Russian. This process is the more interesting because of the unconcealed Russian sympathy with Panslavism. The ultimate goal of this is the embodiment in Russia of the smaller Slav states. One aim of Russian politics is to draw these at once within the sphere of Russian influence. The second step nat- urally is a protectorate ; the third, incorporation ; the fourth and following, Muscovisation. 'Whatev^er the pretext, the hope of Russia in any difficulty with Turkey is the prize of Constantinople. Part of the Russian political creed is that possession of that city is the only true good. Until that good comes the Black Sea has no outlet. Apparently there only can an European ice-free port be won, and neither Port Arthur nor any other Asiatic harbor can be a substitute for European waterways. ^ He tried to enlist England in a scheme for doing to Turkey what Catharine II had done to Poland. England was to have Candia and Egypt. Servia and Bulgaria were to be made autono- mous under Russian protection. Constantinople was not to fall to either — until Russia got ready to take it. 33 238 RUSSIA. SEC. 7. THK lyAST HALF CENTURY. Alexander II, 1S55-1881, hastened to make peace with England and France. Bj^ Treaty of Paris, Rus- sia relinquished protectorate of Greek Christianity and agreed to abolish her Black Sea fleet. But time is mightier than treaties. Within twent}^ years Russia was again fighting Turkey on behalf of Greek Chris- tians, and she is today the de facto head of the Greek Church, whether north or south of the Danube. She also has again a formidable fleet on the Black Sea. The former gain she owes to the logic of events.^ The lat- ter represents her profit from the Franco- Prussian war.^ More than for war, whether of faith or conquest, Alex- ander II is remembered for the emancipation of the serf, 1863.'' Landlord rights were bought up and the niir* was given freehold possession of land for its mem- bers, who must, however, pay redemption money for their holdings. After several abortive attempts. Nihil- ists succeeded in blowing the Emperor to pieces with a bomb, 1 88 1. Alexander III, 1881-1894, found the empire impov- erished by his father's unfruitful wars and honey- combed with liberalist treason, especially Nihilism. Turned from constitutional reform ^ by a Nihilistic manifesto forced upon him at the critical and wrong moment, he gave himself diligently to the task of bring- ing back the glorious reactionary days of Nicholas I. A singularly strong parallelism unites these reigns, sep- arated by the reign of the Czar Liberator. i. The Russianization of the empire was taken up afresh. ** Russia for the Russians" .was the Imperial watch- word. Whatever stood in the way^Jewism, Finland- RUSSIA. 239 ism, Germanism, Polandism — must yield. 2. The prin- ciple of autocracy was reaffirmed. Education was restricted. The press was savagely repressed. Censor- ship was made more strict. Freedom of speech was barred. The good old days of Nicholas had indeed come back, when " there was silence in all languages from the Ural to the Pruth . ' ' One voice only was heard , the voice of the Emperor, sic volo, sic jubeo. 3. The absorption of Asia went on, bringing Russia clear up to Afghanistan. On the Black Sea, Batouni, its most im- portant harbor, guaranteed free by the Treaty of Berlin, was quietly turned into a Russian arsenal in accordance with traditional Russian policy, to do the desired thing, apologize, and — hold on. One special service Alexan- der III did the world. Whether because he really hated war or because he feared that war would hinder his policy, he kept the peace of Europe.^ Nicholas II, 1894-, has so far justified hopes of a good reign. True, the Slavophil creed of autocracy,' Greek orthodoxy, and Russian nationality^ has not been changed. Finland may sigh for even the hard days of Alexander III, because worse have befallen her. Pressure upon China, increasing every year, and the recently effected mortgage on Persia point to unremit- ting effort in the East. But the new Czar has shown unmistakable sympathy for liberal ideas, not only by the entente with France and cordial relations with the other powers, but, to the joy of the world, more yet by the organization of the Peace Conference at the Hague. ^ As the big member of the Slav family Russia, with or with- out law, must be counselor and defender of all other members. She could not help this if she would. So far as indications go, she is by no means averse to the responsibility. ^ There was no one to prevent, and Prince Gortschakoff in- 240 RUSSIA. formed the various governments that while his Imperial Master felt infinite regret at breaking an agreement which he had ac- cepted only under compulsion, he yet felt obliged to deviate from the stipulation of the Treaty of Paris so far as to do as he pleased about increasing his Black Sea fleet. 'Serfage had come about by degrees. The free peasantry, finding the burden of supporting the warrior element more and more oppressive, got in the way of changing location frequentU'' to escape taxes. The government then bound them to the soil. This put them virtually into the power of the land-owning nobles. Lands were assigned the serfs for their support, and about half their time was allowed for the tillage of these, the other half going to the proprietor. In many cases mone3^ com- pensation was accepted for this half-time service. On the crown lands money compensation was universal. Emancipation gave the serf his personal liberty and the possession of real property under the provisions of the redemption scheme. As a basis of capitalization, sixteen times the customary money compensation constituted the redemption price. The government undertook to advance the greater part of this to the peasant, to be repaid in forty-nine annual installments. *The village commune, to which every man belonged. The commune owned the land, grazing the pasture in common and assigning the tillage at regular intervals. The houses were in- dividual property, together with the bits of garden adjoining, and were clustered together apart from both tillage and pasture groups. ^It is stated on what seems to be good authority that Alexan- der II had determined to proclaim a constitution ; that, indeed, the proclamation was signed the very day before his assassina- tion. The new Czar had favored the measure, and was disposed to regard the proclamation as part of his father's will. Without waiting, however, to see what the new Czar would do, the Nihilists stupidly formulated demands, with the result that matters took their old course. •Three days after his accession he addressed a circular note, saying: "The foreign policy of the Emperor will be entirely pacific. Russia will remain faithful to her friends. She will unchangeably preserve the sentiments consecrated by tradition, and will at the same time reciprocate the friendliness of all RUSSIA. 241 states by a similar attitude, while maintaining the position to which she is entitled among the powers and assuring the main- tenance of the political equilibrium. In accordance with her interests, Russia will not deviate from her mission, in common with other governments, to protect the general peace based upon respect for right and treaties." ^ In Januar}', 1895, the new Czar, receiving homage and con- gratulations from his subjects all over the empire, declared to the representatives that he should maintain the principle of autocracy as firmly as his father had. ^Everything must bend to that, even the word of the Czar. "The prosperity of the nations rests on right and equity." So spake Nicholas II in his famous Peace Rescript. But this noble sentiment was uttered just after promulgation of ukase depriv- ing Finns of rights guaranteed them by most solemn assurances repeated by four Czars, including Nicholas himself. SEC. 8. POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS. Politically the Gzar is Russia.^ It is not the admin- istrative center alone that is enclosed within the imperial offices at St. Petersburg : legislation, justice, authority for all Russia walk or stand or sit there in the person of the Emperor. Institutions are but the embodiment of his will.'^ Distances and differences count nothing. For the Baltic, the Danube, the Caucasus, the Ural slope, Turkistan, Siberia, Bering Strait, as for the Neva, the word of the Czar is law. This is the startling paradox of Russia — a nation modern in literature, in war, in diplomacy, in government the rigidest kind of autocracy. But ev^en the will of a czar must have organs. They are as follows: i. Four great councils or imperial bureaus, dealing with general problems. ( i ) The Com- mittee of Ministers, a modified cabinet. (2) The Coun- cil of Empire, a consulting committee on legislation. (3) The Ruling Senate, a quasi-judicial body, through which laws are promulgated, and constituting a kind of 242 RUSSIA. supreme court. (4) The Holy Synod, a college of high ecclesiastical functionaries. Membership in these coun- cils depends, like everything else in Russia legally, upon the will of the Czar. 2. Administration is carried on in the large by governments or provincial departments. In a few cases old national lines have been retained, though national names have been obliterated. Of these '* gov- ernments " the European division has sixty, including the Polish ten ; the Asiatic division four, with several territorial organizations in process of perfecting. 3. Local administration admits a popular element — inform. Each "government" has a provincial assembly, and the districts composing the "government" have dis- trict assemblies ; the cantons or volosts have their assem- blies, and the political unit, if the term may be so abused, the mir^ or commune, is a neighborhood corporation. Anything like independence, as measured from above, is promptly annihilated in the various assemblies, in- cluding the municipal organizations of cities and towns, and their function is not free government, but the ac- complishment of the all-pervading will of the Czar. Throughout the entire series the one all-important man is the Czar's man, whether governor general, district lieutenant, judge, policeman, or, indispensable factor, the tax-gatherer. The political system has the defects of its excellencies. Everything proceeds to one hand — obediences, service, money, produce ; and everything from the same hand — protection, justice, improvements, bounties ; but up to date that hand has been more skilled to get than to give. * For a century and three-quarters Russia has been perfecting the administrative system of Peter the Great. Before his time little or no attempt was made to secure uniformity. While exer- cising autocratic power, the successive Grand Princes and Czars RUSSIA. 243 were well content to use institutions as they found them when they won new land, so far as those institutions served the con- quering will at Moscow. The result was a multitude of local regulations and a modicum of general legislation. The great Peter, logical, energetic, strong-handed, could not stand this. The ground partly cleared already, he swept away the cumbrous Old system, and in its place set a bureaucratic machine which he fondly believed to be a reproduction of first-rate western po- litical organization. It was no holiday task Peter undertook, to invest those half orientals with western uniform, and the imme- diate results would have been ludicrous had not Peter's tremen- dous will made the disposition to laugh too serious a matter to be trifled with. So Russia endured and wore western clothes, read western books, listened to western teachers, got beaten into western ways of doing things, toiled, sweat blood, and is now the greatest single factor in western politics. ^ The autocratic monarch, " who has to give an account of his acts to no one on earth, but has a power and authority to rule his states and lands as a Christian sovereign according to his own will and judgment." So spake Peter himself. No one doubts that Peter was true to his own theory. Since Peter that theory has been taught as the main enouncement of Russia's political gospel. The one thing the western student has to guard against is the impression that the consulting councils at St. Petersburg and the assemblies of the different departments mean much the same as the parliaments and congresses of the west. They may apportion upon themselves taxes and road dues, but the first hint of independence meets paternal rebuke, enforced, if need be, by the tingling delight of the birch rod, calling back to the true theory of council and assembly as reg- istering boards for the imperial will. 3 The distinctively national feature. The mir or commune is composed of more or fewer families, as the case may be, and is jointly responsible for the taxes levied on the individuals com- posing it. The land of the commune is owned in common, but is periodically allotted to members. Hovel and garden patch may be, usually are, matters of individual ownership. In the management of purely mir affairs there is seldom any interfer- ence from without. The village assembly, composed of heads of households and presided over by the village elder, has all the power there is— a kind of Russian town meeting. 244 RUSSIA. The fact should not be forgotten that the mir is an agricultural institution. So far Russia has been preeminently an agricult- ural country. With enlarging commercial ambitions, serious questions arise concerning the future of this unitary organiza- tion. SKC. 9. SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND. The one universal social principle is the imperial will. Mad Czar Paul expressed a larger truth than even he realized when he declared social distinction to depend upon relation to royalty.^ This all-pervading principle goes far to modify the rigidness of the social hierarchy.'^ Something more than the shell of facts must therefore be kept in mind. Spirit is more than material fact, and especially in Russia the inner significance must be reck- oned. Certain considerations ma}^ be recorded, speak- ing now only for Russia in Europe, i. There is a social hierarchy which in form is complete. ( i ) Nobil- ity, numbering less than 2 per cent of population. (2) Clergy, numbering two-thirds as many. (3) Urban class — tradesmen, merchants, mechanics, townspeople, rapidly increasing, but probably not even now over 10 or 15 per cent of the population. (4) Rural class, including Cossacks, over 80 per cent of the whole. 2. The whole again falls into two groups, the line of cleavage marked by privilege. (i) The privileged order — nobility, clergy, and choicest of urban class. (2) Non-privileged — less favored urbans and great rural body. 3. Only in most limited sense is there a middle class. 4. The hierarchy resulted from deliber- ate organization, not working exemptions but distribut- ing burdens. 5. Beyond limited recognition of royal blood, the patent of honor is service. The office enno- bles the functionary. 6. Thus noble, cleric, burgher, RUSSIA. 245 peasant are equally the Czar's men, serving him and the state according to their place and means/ Religion holds large place in Russian life. Its com- mon form is that of the Greek Church, whose traditional forms are observed with punctilious devotion. The great bulk of the European population belongs to the established church, the Czar necessarily so. Dissent- ers,* Catholics, and Jews have suffered much, but other non-conformists,^ while subjected to political and social discouragement and forbidden to proselyte, in the main have been let alone, so far as law is concerned. The Czar is administrative head of the church, supervising its affairs by the Holy Synod, his own State Committee on ecclesiastical interests. Dogma he does not touch ; but, like other faithful believers, he accepts what the church itself teaches. The Russian predominance in numbers makes the Czar naturally the protector of the entire body of Greek Christians, as well as titular head of the Russian Church, so that religion may be added to the sources of imperial power. ^ Paul I was asked who was the most important personage in the empire— of course, after the Czar. He rephed, "The man with whom I am speaking and for so long as I am speaking with him." 'The theory is that the Czar's appointment confers nobility. Every new man, therefore, contributes his part toward keeping even aristocracy democratic. ' A marvel of political organization for its time was Peter's Table of Ranks. For the family hierarchy of his predecessors Peter substituted a hierarchy classified by individual service. Those who had served the state before were still bound to serv- ice. Only instead of owing his official grade to honor of birth— i. ^?., the merit of ancestors— each owed his honor to the post he filled—/, e., to his own value to the state. The Table of Ranks recognized fourteen classes and covered Russia's entire official world. Military grades as most noticeable are normative. 34 246 RUSSIA. Civil and ecclesiastical functions are assimilated to military. Of course, officialdom does not embrace the entire population. Below the fourteenth class is still " the people." * Dissenters form .a class by themselves in Russia. They are not heretics, but schismatics. The great schism dates from 1666. Their body is a standing protest against a changed ritual in the Greek Church. They thus claim to be more orthodox than the orthodox themselves. They are believed to number not fewer than 12,000,000, and are among the most promising of the Russian population. ^Gregorians, Lutherans, Calvinists, Anglicans, Mennonites, Separatists, Pietists, Mohammedans from outside, in addition to Catholics and Jews already mentioned, and numerous Russian sects. SEC. 10. ri:sume:. After six centuries of experimentation in war, gov- ernment, and religion, during which she suffered all the horrors of anarchy, foreign bondage, and unsettled faith, Russia under Peter the Great entered the circle of European nations. Compelled by the strong hand of Peter and the scarcely less strong hands of Elizabeth and Catharine, she put on western manners, if not west- ern thought, and fought her way to immense dominion. The present century has remained true to the traditions of the last. Unappeasable hunger for land has added province to province, kingdom to kingdom, empire to empire. The Czar, as father of the people, has not hesitated to make offering of his children; as owner of the soil, has been ever ready to spend its harvest, if thereby the Russia's name and domain might be fur- thered. And the Russian name and the Russian do- main have been furthered : i. The headship of the Slav race has been seciired beyond question. 2. A defensible frontier has been outlined on the west. 3. The numberless principalities have been welded into RUSSIA. 247 unity. 4. Water outlet has been won on the Bahic, in part on the Black Sea, and latterly, with large promise of more, on the Pacific.^ 5. Workino^ from the center, national defense has been secured by ever-enlarging circles of conquest. 6. Notable beginnings have been made toward a worthy internal development.^ The result up to date is the largest continuous empire the world has ever seen, second only to the British in abso- lute extent ; peopled by nearly a hundred and twenty different nationalities aggregating a population of a hundred and twenty millions ; garrisoned by an army of two and a half millions, backed by a reserve composed of practicall}' every able-bodied man in the empire,^ with good store of battleships;* in diplomacy, litera- ture, war, strictly up to date ; in political development, fully two centuries behind the times. ^ So with unceasing effort Peter's will has been done. " It is not land I want," he was accustomed to say ; " it is not land I want, but water." The ocean could not come to Russia, so Russia has gone to the ocean. -The chief reason why improvement is not more apparent lies in sparseness of population. Russia has still to be populated. Up to time of Catharine II the fixed policy was to fill up newly acquired territory southward and eastward by colonization from Great Russia. The boundaries under Catharine were pushed out so rapidly that White Russia could not keep up. Then it was that Catharine advertised for settlers. The inflow was large, but acquisitions were larger still, and to this day great portions of the empire are nearly unsettled. The peace policy of Alex- ander III, continued so far by Nicholas II, has made possible large home expenditure, some of which will bring in hundred- fold returns within the next two decades. ^ Barring the usual professional exceptions — physicians, clergy- men, teachers — all men are responsible for five years of active service, thirteen years of service in the first reserve, and five in the second reserve. * One of the four leading naval powers after England, which, of course, by her navy stands in a class wholly by herself. 248 RUSSIA. SEC. II. WHAT OF THE FUTURE? It is easy to prophesy after the event. So much in Russia's history is still unshaped that forecasts are more than usually hazardous. Moreover, all forecasts hitherto have been overpassed by marvelous achievement. If states were always preserved by the same means that made them, outlining the future would be easy ; but the rule is more honored in the breach than in the observ- ance. The three-fold process of past centuries will doubtless still work, but almost certainly with readjust- ment of emphasis. Consolidation and extension have gone on simultaneously, and have greatly overweighed development. The limits of normal expansion must be nearly reached. Hard as the task of enlargement has been, the task of use will be harder. Russia has built a huge empire. Can Russia make that empire great ? Suggestive of the difficulties in the way may be noted the following : i. Ecclesiastical organization of hostile faiths under an established church system. 2. The fusing of nationalities whose territorial lines may be obliterated, but whose spirit is slow to die.^ 3. The exhaustion of tillage soil by wasteful agricultural methods."^ 4. Poverty, apparently incurable under present conditions, in face of increasing public ex- penditure. There is a limit to the power, even of Russia, to squeeze blood from a stone. 5. Ignorance in the mass, dangerously supplemented by a radical school-proletariat. 6. Intemperance and allied vices, encouraged by governmental monopoly of liquor trade. '^ 7. Abnormal mythopoetic* faculty. 8. Overgrown and corrupt bureaucracy.^ 9. Probable interference with other powers in pursuit of Pan-Slavic aspirations.^ lo. RUSSIA. 249 Inevitable reckoning with liberal ideas.'' Russia's su- preme test is yet to be met. Her power to aggregate peoples and lands is already proved. Can she turn that aggregation into an organism, proving the Slav the Teuton's equal or superior in nation-building? The twentieth century must answer. ^ The crux of the problem Hes here. " Pohsh heart and soul, Russian by the fate of war " is the voice still of the north- west. Poland has not forgotten. Finland has not forgotten. A hundred other conquered states have not forgotten. The pro- cess of Russification is proceeding rapidly, quite to the satisfac- tion of Russia, say the official reports. But the official reports say there are a million dissenters, and men who think they know say there must be at least twelve times a million. There may be more national spirit in the Russified provinces than official records show. Russia still standsgreatly by herself. The censor is still very busy. The stupidities of Mad Paul's prohibition will not be repeated, when he forbade his subjects to read or speak of the revolution of the heavenly bodies, so greatly did he hate the word revolution, especially with French attach- ments. None the less, a government which has to safeguard itself by forbidding its subjects to read what the world is doing is bound to have a hard task in the new century, and is likely to have something more serious than Nihilism on its hands. The British Empire contains not fewer nationalities than Russia and rules more than three times Russia's population, and was never so strong aS it is today, not only by force, but by loyalty. British rule would fare ill in the Russian agglomeration, and up to date Russian rule has probably been the best Russia could have had. There is a question, however, whether the discipline of despotism will avail forever. 2 Adaptation to new conditions is one of the finest tests of political capacity. Russia must needs be something more than an agricultural empire. The peasant now can leave the factory in the farming season to harvest his crop. With industrial competition pressing manufacture, this will be no longer pos- sible. Not only must many industries be developed, but agri- culture itself must be revised. 250 RUSSIA. ' Between a quarter and a third of the imperial revenue is derived from the excise on spirits. *This is much better than saying that misrepresentation is a common fault. A man may misreport a circumstance and not be guilty of common-place lying. He reports the circumstance as he saw it — he simply saw it wrong. In dealing with out- siders, whatever may be his veracity toward his own people, the Russian is very likely to see things wrong. The marvel- ous success of Russian diplomacy may be in part due to the unusual mythopoetic development. ^Beyond question, one explanation for this should be sought in the imposition of a borrowed S3'stem upon a people not ready for it. The Russian Bureaucracy is more German than Rus- sian. It is little strange if its importation has resulted in some ill. ^Particularly Austria and Turkey. ^ Russia has cast her lot with the west. Every year binds her closer to western interests. Even her Oriental gains will be administered from the west, be it from St. Petersburg or from Moscow. Her success must be measured by western standards. Western ideas cannot be permanently excluded. The French peasant was racked into as complete subjection as his Russian brother shows. None the less, autocracy in France had finally to reckon with an awakened people. The new ideas worked all the more powerfull}^ in the peasant mind because there was little else there to work. History is forever repeating itself, though not often in the same land. Liberal ideas need not produce revolution. It is repression that produces revolution. It is not wise to lock the safety-valve. Explosion is liable to follow. Emancipation has come to Ru'^sia. Partial toleration has come also. The order of the day everywhere is toward constitutional government, with freedom of conscience and of thought. No man who loves his fellows will wish to see Russia behind her sister nations in anything that constitutes good government, or will desire the changes which must come to her, as they have come to all nations that aspire to modern leadership, to be at- tended by violence. Political reform has been delayed in Rus- sia. There is good reason to hope that it is now coming, and that it is coming in peace. CHAPTER XII. The German Empire. SEC. I. GERMANY BEFORE WESTPHALIA. The history of Germany is less the history of a nation than of a race. The foundations He back in the centuries when Rome was educating her barbarian neighbors to supplant her in the government of the world. But those early centuries must be passed with a word. The partition of Verdun in 843 gave promise of national organization. The promise was not real- ized, perhaps because there was no national leader, perhaps because the world was not yet shaken free from the dream of universal empire. Instead of na- tional life came the political chaos of feudalism.^ Then, entailing nine centuries of woe to Germany, when the leader arose' dream of universal dominion returned, and German unity was bartered for a phantom. Suc- cessive steps may be noted as follows : i. Preparation. This includes the tutelage of Rome, struggle with the outer ring of barbarism, settlement of relations with West Franks on their way to be Frenchmen. 2. Segre- gation. The Treaty of Verdun did not make, it simply recorded, the results of a process long since in opera- tion. 3. Organization. With Italy the German lands constituted the Holy Roman Empire. The joint organ- • 35 (251) 252 ■ THE GERMAN EMPIRE. ization worked political ill to both countries, as was inevitable, making real national life impossible for either. 4. Disintegration. The bitter contest between Empire and Papacy resulted in disaster, followed by overthrow of Empire. The interregnum, 1254-1273, was a period of total eclipse. 5. Redintegration. Im- perial aggrandizement had been intolerable, so the Em- pire was crushed ; imperial effacement was impossible, so the Empire was restored. Compelled thereto by the pope, the electors chose an emperor, consulting their duty ; consulting also their interest, they took care that the emperor should not be strong. Resulting conflict enlarged the territories of the new imperial line, '^ whose increasing strength in their own dominions shed luster upon the imperial crown. 5. Dissolution. Ecclesiastical breach wrought political change.^ The Thirty Years War, 1618-1648, ended in the practical breaking up of the Empire. ^ And yet it is fair to ask what other organization was possi- ble for the time and place ? Most of our severer judgments of the past are due to a point of view and a standard which repre- sent later and larger development. We abhor fendalism. The modern political spirit would make feudalism impossible. But feudalism was developed before the modern political spirit had been thought of. It is losing sight of this important fact that allows us to wonder as we do at the thousand and one sovereign lordlings of the mediaeval period. But when we ask what substi- tute was possible, conditions being as thej'- were, answer is difficult. For the time and place, feudalism was inevitable. Possible, perhaps the only possible, political training for the age was thereby provided, opening into better things later. ^Otho the Great, 912-973, King of Germany from 936, Holy Roman Emperor from 962, the next really sizable figure after Charlemagne. In him ambition was matched b}- ability. Un- fortunately, instead of seeking to be king of a united and strong Germany, he sought the imperial crown, dcvStined through so THE GERMAN EMPIRE. 253 niauy centuries to make a united and strong Germany impossi- ble. The missing of Otho's great opportunity forms one of the most brilliant but most pathetic chapters of the Holy Roman Empire. ^The Hapsburgs M^ere Swabian, named from old castle of Habichtsburg in Switzerland. Rudolph, forced into promi- netice by election to imperial dignity, took several important territories, Austria, St}-ria, Carniola, from Ottacar of Bohemia, who had worked diligently for the crown himself and who re- fused to acknowledge the new emperor. Oddly enough, the Swiss possessions were lost to the family, while the newly ac- quired lands, notably Austria, became the nucleus of an empire. *The Universal Church and the Universal Empire exactly matched in idea. Until men learned to distinguish between church and state, the two ideas, whatever the practice, must grow and decline together. The Reformation proved as great a subversion of the Empire as of the Papacy. SEC. 2. THE AUSTRIAN HEGEMONY. The one element of unbroken German power after tlie interregnum was Austria. The house of Austria waxed great. As time went on the policy became fixed that the headship of the Empire could be filled only from that house. Presently the Empire became a mere ap- panage of Austria. So it was long before the Treaty of Westphalia. After Westphalia the Empire was Aus- tria. Within the nominal empire was a confederacy, real though lax. Theory remained as before. Only the facts had changed. So men went on talking of the Empire as if Charlemagne or Otho were still living, ap- parently oblivious of the fact that instead of a German State there were now only German states. Organism there was none, only an aggregation.^ Among these states Austria was the largest and by far the strongest. Long enjoyment of the imperial 254 '^H^ GKRMAN EMPIRE. crown in a way added right to power, consecrating her headship of the German body. It was an undefined sort of headship — the honorary presidency of a body which had no effective organization^ and no common life.'' Still Austria held it with tenacious grasp, and for a century and a half there was no one to dispute her claim. The Napoleonic chaos destroyed even the semblance of German order.* After the Congress of Vienna matters took their old course. The German states whose remains could be found were reconsti- tuted, but the entire number was now only thirty-nine^ as against more than three hundred formerly. Yet not quite the old course was taken, for the thirty-nine states were formally united into a Confederation® with equal rights and sovereignty guaranteed to participants, and a General Diet which was actually to meet. The presi- dency was Austria's, as of yore, but under the hand of Metternich,^ the presidency now meant political con- trol, inuring to the profit of Austria. This continued a half century, until Austrian pretensions were given final answer at Sadowa in 1866. ^ One would have to look far and hard to find a more barren period of history than that of Germany during the centur}' and a half from Westphalia to the French Revolution. Here and there a bright spot appears, but the period as a whole was an historical wilderness, pettiness, imitation, selfishness ruling in high places and low. ■^ The Diet got about all the imperial power. So far, however, from being a strong controlling body, in real sense representing a national will, it was composed of representatives of the princes and cities, who took care not to trouble the different states, and wasted time in legislative nothings. Local diets either ceased to exist or became mere machinery in the hands of the princes. The result was marked increase of absolutism. 'The spectacle of several score princelings, each wringing from a submissive peasantry the maintenance of a miniature THE GERMAN EMPIRE. 255 Versailles— brilliant, heartless, wicked— is worse even than the ceaseless wars of Frederick the Great. It is better for men to fight and be slain than to rot. Even if among the inter-neigh- borly bickerings there had been a sense of something worth a fight, it would have gone far to redeem the age. But it was not there. Truckling to foreign influence, imitation of foreign ways, reproduction of foreign vice, with Hans paying all bills not met by foreign pensions, that was the best Germany could do for a hundred years. * Unless appearances go for nothing, Napoleon took delight in heaping insult upon his hapless neighbors. His amazing dis- regard of sovereign rights and national feelings is surpassed only by the still more amazing subservience of sovereigns and nations. ^The reduction an unlooked-for blessing to Germany and. Europe, political regeneration unconsciously furthered thereby. ^ Each of the 39 states was to be independent and autonomous, so far as internal affairs were concerned. Only matters of com- mon interest were subject to cognizance of Bund. The Diet, composed of a representative from each state, met at Frankfort. To the Diet came all matters in dispute among different states, all questions of war and alliance likely to work ill to neighbors. See sec. lo. ^ Who gave a third of a century to able and successful tliwart* ing of the liberal awakening in Europe, the leading exponent of absolutism, and foremost foe of German good lest Germany's gain be Austria's loss. SEC. 3. BEGINNINGS OF PRUSSIA. Prussia is the Slavonic ^ name of a Teutonic '^ king- dom. The strength of the kingdom from the first was Brandenburg.' Elector Frederick III craved royalty. Emperor Rudolph needed help.* Help judiciously ap- plied won permission to a.ssume the crown, but there could be no king of Brandenburg, custom, if not law, forbidding more than one king elector. Among the possessions of the Elector was the Duchy of Prussia. The kingship denied Brandenburg might be allowed 256 THE GERMAN EMPIRE. Prussia. So the Elector of Brandenburg became King of Prussia, Brandenburg furnishing the power, Prussia the crown. Notwithstanding the name, therefore, it is the history of Brandenburg we need to follow. In time conquest will unite the widely separated domains of this king with Slavonic title, and a great state will be built, including old Prussia and much beside, but the kernel will still be Brandenburg. Under the name of North Mark, Albert the Bear got Brandenburg as a fief from Emperor Lothair II in 1 134. Albert conquered his fief, which was ruled bj^ his line, the Ascanian, until its extinction in 13 19. The Mark, having reverted to the Emperor, was then for a half century an appanage of Bavaria. Another half century it was under the hand of the lyUxemburg house, a reprCvSentative of which had succeeded the Bavarian Emperor Lothair. This period is memorable chiefly by fact that in 1356 Brandenburg was made ah ^electorate. Its close brings us to 141 5 and the Hohen- zoUerns.^ ^ Bor-Reussen, B'reusseu, Preussen, Prussia— so the deriva- tion runs. The land itself is part of the great plain stretching from Silesia to the Baltic. The early population was Slavonic and heathen. Concerned about their souls and their lands, the Duke of Poland early in nth century forced them to sub- jection and baptism. Converted, however, they were not until the middle of the 13th century, when that belligerent brother- hood, the Teutonic Knights, went up to preach the gospel, sword in hand. The Northern crusade was entirely successful. Prussia was civilized and christianized, though it must be said that in the process the pagan population was nearl}' extermi- nated. A large influx of German colonists repeopled the coun- try, greatly simplifying the making of it into a Christian state. Separate organization was maintained, mostly under Polish suzerainty, until 1618, when the Duchy of Prussia and the Elec- torate of Brandenburg were united in persons of Johann Sigis- THK GERMAN KMPIRK. ^57 mund and his wife Anne. The matter of the kingship was re- sponsible for the odd resnltthat the wilder territory, an appan- age and outside, finally gave name to the leading German state. 2 Though not by any means so purely so as states further south. Not until Bismarck coined the phrase did men speak of welding empire by blood and iron, but the thing itself was in use in Prussia centuries before. The Slav died hard. Indeed, in large measure he did not die at all, but was assimilated to the Teutonic conqueror. More than possibly the forward role played b}- Prussia in moderii history is due to blending of Teu- tonic and Slavonic elements. ^Tlie old North Mark, a barrier for the empire erected against the heathen Wend, as Austria was once East Mark, barrier against the heathen Hun. Brandenburg is just Brannibor, a town of the old Mark, from which Albert the Bear ousted its Slav conquerors in 1161. From the town gradually the whole Mark took its name. *The air was full of war. Russia, Poland, and Denmark were in arms against Sweden. In southern Europe the war of the Spanish Succession was ready to break out. Brandenburg was in the enviable position of being able to make his own terms. Saying nothing of the bribes, which proved serviceable at sev- eral points, the price of Prussian kingship was as follows : Re- newal of treaty of 1686, guaranteeing aid against Turks ; 8,000 men, with equipment and maintenance, in case Austria went to war against France ; certain garrison forces ; cancelment of im- perial subsidies still due ; support of Hapsburg claims upon imperial crown ; the kingship to work no change in Branden- burg's relation to the Empire. * Named from Svvabian heights of Zollern. SEC. 4. GROWTH. Brandenburg was not greatl}^ forward either in faith or manners, but was of good stock for building a state. Lying on the boundary, it got enough fighting to keep its sinew tough. Some glimpses of government, at once enlightened and strong, it had had even under the Ascanians.^ The Hohenzollerns raised large hopes and 258 THE GERMAN EMPIRE. justified them."^ They reduced the nobles to order and consolidated the somewhat loose possessions of the Mark. Albert Achilles, 147 1-1486, settled the succes- sion by primogeniture, thus putting stop to the perils of division. Joachim I, 1499-1535, opposed the Ref- ormation chiefly on political grounds,^ standing nearly alone in Brandenburg. Joachim II, 1 535-1 571, after mature deliberation, formally introduced Protestantism in 1539. During time of Joachim II. Albert of Brandenburg, a Hohenzollern Grand Master, secular- ized Prussia,^ which, as property of the Teutonic Order, was church land, getting it ready, though a century 5^et enfeoffed to Poland, for final incorporation with Brandenburg. Secularization went on in Brandenburg as elsewhere during the sixteenth century. The con- troversy over Jiilich-Mark-Clive^ in 1609 ultimately gave Brandenburg important Rhine holdings. Prussia came in by marriage,** 16 18, doubling the electorate. Still the Elector could hardly be counted a great prince. The year 1640 saw him with territories considerable enough, but straggling from the Baltic to the Rhine, scarcely two provinces contiguous, their population divided by interest, religion, and speech, their alle- giance limited by varied feudal conditions, and himself obligated to homage toward Poland, Netherlands, and Empire.'' Here is indeed opportunity for a strong hand. . 1 Named from Aschersleben — Ascaria — Ascauia, an ancestral castle. The line, so far as Brandenburg is concerned, was founded by Albert the Bear. This somewhat savage appella- tion referred to the device on his shield, not at all to his man- ners. More truly characteristic was his other by-name, the Beautiful. He seems to have been at once handsome, brave, and strong, a renowned and successful warrior. Unless the chronicles of the 12th century err, Albert exhibited a quality THE GKRMAN EMPIRE. 259 rare indeed in his age, what the modern world would call patriotism. Even while reducing his turbulent domain to order he maintained most honorable relations with the Empire. Fight he did when he had to, but it was more by statesmanlike ad- ministration than by war that he made the Mark a valuable possession. His line ruled the Mark for two centuries, a fair proportion of its members able men, leaving a record of subju- gation, enlargement, division, reunion quite in keeping with the spirit of the time. 2 There is a saying that there never has been a worthless Ho- henzollern. Even family pride could ask no l)etter compliment than this. Certain it is that five centuries of public life have given force to the saying. The family is much more than five centuries old, antedating Charlemagne. But it was in 1415 that Frederick of Nuremberg was made Margrave and Elector of Brandenburg. Three able men in succession gave new impor- tance to the Mark, and the five centuries of Hohenzollern rule have proved five centuries of increasing strength. ' Fearing overturn of civil order if ecclesiastical breach were permitted, identifying religioxis reform with political revolu- tion, protest against papal claims with breaking up of state. *The order had long since proved untrue to themselves. The iron discipline by which they had conquered was relaxed. The knights ceased to be crusaders and became voluptuaries. The people were not slow to see their opportunity in the weak, ness of the ruling. caste. Thwarted in peaceful reform, the people conquered rights from their conquerors. Division thus induced made Polish intervention inevitable. It took a century to work out the problem, but on advice of many Germans, notably Luther and Melancthon, and with consent, if not ap- proval, of Poland, the Grand Master Albert in 1525 proclaimed Prussia a temporal duchy and Protestant, the Polish suzerainty still recognized. ^See ch. IX, sec. 5. ^The secularizing Grand Master was, of course, the first Duke of Prussia. He was succeeded in 1568 by his imbecile son, Albert Frederick. A regency became necessary, and the Elector of Brandenburg was chosen to administer it. Nature and fate worked together for the union "of Brandenburg and Prussia. Joachim Frederick of Brandenburg and John Sigismund, his 36 26o THK GERMAN EMPIRE. sou and successor, both married daughters of imbecile Albert Frederick of Prussia. In 1618 the poor Duke died. John Sigis- mund then was both Blector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia. 'Toward Poland for Prussia, the Netherlands for the Rhine provinces, the Bmpire for the electorate itself. SEC. 5. THE GREAT EI.KCTOR. And the strong hand was not wanting. Perhaps for no other event is the year 1640 so memorable as for the accession of Frederic William ^ as elector of Branden- burg. It was a disheartening patrimony he inherited. For two years the court had been held at Konigsberg, in Prussia, because Brandenburg had been swept bare of subsistence.'^ The temporizing of two decades had guaranteed L*rotestant suspicion and Catholic hostility, so that Brandenburg received even less consideration than other German states during the Thirty Years' War. George William sowed. His son reaped. Hap- pily Frederick William surpassed his father in brains and pluck. He proceeded with dispatch to master his own. Breaking from imperial direction, he made peace with Sweden and declared for strict neutrality.^ He reduced the army to manageable dimensions and to order. He undertook to rule as well as to reign. The immediate result was j ust what he expected — insubor- dination, opposition, violence. George William would have let things take their course or have died. Fred- erick William did neither. The Diets refused needed support. The Elector raised the support without the Diets. The different principalities were out of accord. Their common prince used one against another till all were in harmony with one another and with him. The negotiations preceding the Treaty of Westphalia proved THE GERMAN EMPIRE. 261 Frederick William bold as well as brave. Forgetting Brandenburg's scandalous indifference to Protestant need, he demanded large indemnity for alleged outlay in the good cause.* He got much less than he asked for, but he had giv^en the impression that henceforth Brandenburg must be reckoned with.^ For forty years straight on he deepened that impression. The army, once formed to the hand of its master, was enlarged. The Duch}^ of Prussia was fought free from both Swedish and Polish overlordship. At cost of inefficient parliamentary institutions, he estabrished absolutism, which for the time and place was probably a blessing. His campaigns north and south, fruitless as several of them proved in spite of victory,^ were able, and made Warsaw^ and Fehrbellin^ glorious names in German history. His diplomacy was equal to the best of the age. Vindicating the Protestant honor of Branden- burg, though so tardily, he led the world in real relig- ious enlightenment, putting all recognized confessions on equal footing, showing both courage and piety by official welcome" to outlawed Huguenots of France. The Great Elector's life increased Brandenburg's ter- ritory and population by a full third each. The polit- ical value of his service is simply immeasurable.''' ^ Son of George WilHam, famous or infamous for record in Thirty Years' War. The hue so far runs : Frederick I, Burgrave of Nuremberg, purchaser of Brandenburg from Emperor Sigis- mund, 1415-1440 ; Frederick II, 1440-1470 ; Albert Achilles, 1470-1486 ; John Cicero, 1486-1499 ; Joachim I, 1499-1535 ; Joachim 11, 1535-1571 ; John George, 1571-1598 ; Joachim Fred- erick, 1598-1608 ; John Sigismund, 1608-1619; George William, 1619-1640; Frederick William, the Great Elector, 1640-1688. ' Harried the more savagely because of the Elector's early vacillation. Mansfield, Wallenstein, and the Swedes overrun it in turn. 262 THK GKRMAN EMPIRK. ^By this time old fighting lines had been given up, the war having passed from religious to political phase. * He actually received, with greater or less restriction. Further Pomerania, Magdeburg, Halberstadt, Minden, and Camin, territories whose value was better seen by him than by those who gave them. More he wanted and more he would certainly have received but for the jealousy of the Empire, France, and Sweden. » His own subjects had already learned their lesson. Hetero- geneous, scattered, divided, the numerous pieces of the electo- rate were united by single bond of allegiance to person of Elector. Even this bond was very fragile. In dispute with Empire, Elec- tor had to deal with treasonable correspondence of subjects who did not scruple to call upon Emperor. Brandenburg estates forbade use of Brandenburg troops to defend Rhine provinces. Prussia refused to admit Brandenburg troops within Duchy. The estates he ignored. Malcontents he taught to look to him- self alone. The disorganized lands he bound together by a common interest. The best answer to criticism upon his methods is a review of the conditions and results of his work. ^Because of interference caused by fear of his growino power. Thus after l)attliiig manfull}^ against France and winning the splendid victory of Fehrbellin against Sweden, he was compelled by the Treaty of Nymwegen, 1679, to restore to Sweden all the territory originally assigned her at Westphalia, great part of which the Elector now held by right of conquest. 'In conjunction with Sweden against Poland in 1656. Chief good to Elector was sovereignty of Prussia, now formally con- ceded by Poland. As a matter of fact, Poland had already forfeited suzerainty of Prussia to Sweden, Frederick William doing homage to Charles Gustavus. As price of alliance vSweden canceled claim of suzerainty, so that Prussia was sovereign state. Warsaw confirmed this sovereignty. ^Sweden overrun Brandenburg in 1675 during absence of Elector fighting Louis XIV on Rhine. The Elector suddenly appeared at Fehrbellin while the Swedes w-ere debating how the electoral possessions should be divided, and swept them from the Mark. This battle gave Frederick William his title Great. ^ By Edict of Potsdam, 1685. To indignant protest of Louis the Elector answered with dignity, " We and other evangelical THK GKRMAN KMPIRK. 263 powers cannot answer to the Almighty, if we stand by with folded arms and permit this intended annihilation of the gospel." In PrUvSsia, as in every other asylum, the Huguenots proved themselves an acquisition of unmixed good. '^ " He raised his land from chaos to order, from poverty to prosperity, from weakness to strength. He labored not only for his own land, but for Germany, liberty, and religion. He was great as a diplomat, a soldier, statesman, and sovereign. He was, moreover, an honest, moral private man and a sincere Christian. The title Great was bestowed upon him not only for what he was, but for what he was not. In that dark period of corruption he stands almost alone as an example of wisdom and virtue. He was one of the few really noble characters of his period." SEC. 6. THK GREAT KING. Of the twelve HohenzoUern electors, counting Fred- erick III, who became king, one stands out as the Great. Of the six HohenzoUern kings, counting William I, who became emperor and is likely to hold the .same title in the imperial line, one is called the Great. Between the great elector and the great king stood Frederick III, or I, according as reckoned elector or king, and Fred- erick William I. Frederick w^as well-meaning, but vain and weak, a fourth-rate Louis XV. . Frederick William was neither vain nor weak, but niggardly, sel- fish, coarse, a tyrant toward his family^ and his king- dom, a royal martinet,^ a sleepless drill sergeant. But the mone}^ hoarded by his parsimony was laid up for good use later. The army he made and spared'^ was destined ultimately to pay large dividends. Money and soldiers were war treasure' of Frederick II, the Great. Frederick the Great faced a giant's task. Falsifying all prophecies of the Tobacco Parliament, Mie performed his task like a giant. With or without conviction of 264 THK GERMAN EMPIRE. hereditary rights^ in Austrian territory, he fought Maria Theresa into rehnquishment of Silesia. Astounded by his fighting, Europe accorded him a leading place in continental politics. This place he maintained, though it cost Prussia dear. Sometimes singly, sometimes to- gether, France, Austria, Russia," to sa}^ nothing of Saxony, Sweden, and lesser powers, tried hard to put him down. Thanks to England and his own indomit- able will, he triumphed, writing Rossbach ^ and Leuthen ^ beside Fehrbellin on the Prussian banner. Won at last to alliance wdth the enemies of other days, Frederick, in 1772, took part with Austria and Russia in the robbers' work of the first partition of Poland. This international crime joined Prussia to Brandenburg, bringing gain far beyond addition of territor}^ The latter part of Frederick's reign was free from actual war. Peace was utilized to restore the exhausted kingdom. Despite much oppression, Frederick proved his statesmanship by wise internal administration and self-respecting in- sistence upon Prussian interests everywhere. Signifi- cant anticipation of future, he formed in 1785 a League of German Princes.^" His service may be summarized as follows: i. Enlargement of territory, especially im- portant as uniting separated lands. 2. Conquest of honorable place in w^orld politics. 3. Measurement of strength with Austria, result prophetic of final victory. 4. Greatly needed example of religious toleration.'^ 5. Emphasis of German things.''^ 6. Quickening of German spirit, inspiring alike the heroisms of Fred- erick's ceaseless wars and the marvelous songs of Herder, Goethe, Schiller, and Richter. 7. Fore- glimpse of German unity, still a century away. THE GERMAN EMPIRE. 265 ^ His brutality toward his great son Frederick passes belief. On more than one occasion onl}^ the interference of bystanders saved the king from becoming a murderer. The 3'oung prince's efforts to please his father seem only to have angered him more and more, and the old king darkened his life by every possible means. ■^The royal economies were the more noticeable by contrast with the spendthrift excesses of the reign before. Frederick I tried to be like Louis XIV. Frederick William I despised all show. Actors, artists, litterateurs, every one who could be dis- pensed with, was di.smissed. If a man could not be spared he was kept, but his salary cut down. The queen had one waiting woman. vServants of the royal household were paid about the wages current in citizens' kitchens today. Idling was prohibited. The whole nation was forced into industry. We may speak lightly of this king's penuriousness, but, taking everything to- gether, there was in it more to be praised than to be blamed. ^ One of history's laughing-stocks. The cen.tral feature of the militar}'^ system was the regiment of Potsdam giants. By im- pressment, importation, shanghaiing, purchase, an}' way, ever}' way, the kin^' got big men. State policy was more than once determined by the element of a giant thrown in or promised. That regiment of giants was the best fed, best groomed, best petted body of men in Christendom. But somewhat like care was bestowed upon the whole army. The regiments were thor- oughly drilled, but no consideration would have persuaded the king to expose them to battle. How could he run the risk of damaging men and uniforms which had cost him so dear ! * 9,000,000 thaiers and nearly 100,000 troops. = A coarse joke of his father's. Partly because he hated French elegance, partly because it suited his own tastes, partly because he was a bit crazy, Frederick William summoned friends, ministers, ambassadors to smoke with him in a plain room, stocked with plentiful cold fare and unlimited drinks, making discourse from a three-legged stool, while they sat on bare benches. Ceremony was forbidden, the only requirement being that each should smoke or at least make believe to. The gravest public concerns were discussed at these smokers. Prince Fred- erick attended by express command of his father, who made him continually the butt of his heavy wit. 266 'THE GERMAN EMPIRE. ^ It is a bit difficult to find the legal right of a great deal that Frederick did while king. The key to his action was his con- viction that Prussia could and must be made one of the great powers, and that she must fight her way to her place. ^Elizabeth's death saved him. Peter III admired Frederick and swung Russia to his support. Apparently Elizabeth's death postponed a year would have meant annihilation of Prussia, already prostrate. 81757, near lyiitzen and Ivcipsic. 60,000 French and German troops were moving on to Berlin to go into winter quarters there. Frederick had 22,000. To the surprise of the French, the Prussians did not run awa)^ More to their surprise, the Prussians attacked them. In an hour and a half the French army was a mere rabble, fleeing in wildest panic, leaving nine generals, three hundred and twenty other officers, and seven thousand common .soldiers on the field. The Prussian loss was ninet3'-one killed, two hundred and twenty-four wounded. ^1757, exactly a month after Rossbach. Outnumbered two to one by the Au-strians, Frederick beat them as badly as he had the French at Rossbach. ^° Embracing Prussia, Saxony, Hanover, joined presently by Brunswick, Mainz, Hesse-Cassel, Baden, Mecklenberg, Anhalt, and the Thuringian lands. ^^ "I am resolved," Frederick was wont to say, "that every one of my subjects shall have the right to be saved in his own way." ^2 The German soldier had already proved his ability to stand alongside the best fighters anywhere. Hitherto, however, he had done his best work in the service of other states than his own. Now a leader had come who was leading them to the ac- complishment of German interests. The thing was so unusual that it was not realized all at once. SEC. 7. DAYS GOOD AND EVIL. Frederick's desperate struggle left his title secure, and in spite of the enormous drain of his wars the country at his death could rejoice in a superb army, a well-filled treasury, and good hope for the future of the THE GERMAN EMPIRE. 267 country. Frederick and peace might at length have put Prussia beyond competition, but his successor, Frederick William II, was hardl}^ large enough, with or without peace, to do much. Not only was good missed, but mischief was wrought. Ignoring Fred- erick's distinct pledge, Poland was broken yet again a second and a third time, adding territory which might offset lost Rhenish provinces, but breaking every law except that of force, and entailing generations of trouble upon Prussia.^ Internal administration showed judicial reform and industrial quickening to its credit. Against it''^ were paternalism pushed to extreme of tyranny, ex- travagance, and maudlin piety which did not save the king from being both a dupe and a rake.'* Fortunatel)^ the reign was not long. The end came in 1797, after all that was possible had been accomplished to make sure a day of French reckoning.* Frederick William III, though no giant, was blessed by heroism of im- mortal Queen Louise,^ still Germany's idol, and by wisdom of able ministers. Prussia's night of humilia- tion was long and bitter, but morning broke at last. Hardenberg and Stein and Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and Bliicher and Yorck and Biilow and the sacred memory of Louise and an awakened people wrought together, aiding overthrow of Napoleon and making ready for Bismarck, Moltke, William I, and Empire.'' * Some defense can be made for Prussia's first Polish acquisi- tion. It gave compactness to sadly scattered members. The first partition was bad law, but good politics. The second and third partitions were even less justifiable, lacking even sound political motive. ^ There was nmch against it. Frederick the Great showed un- accountable indifference to the future in leaving his nephew, who he knew was to succeed him, wholly untaught in govern- 37 268 THE GERMAN EMPIRE. meut. Frederick William II was not much of a mau for any position, and possibly his uncle thought best to let matters take their course, trusting Providence. Still part of the new king's most fatal blunders might have been saved Prussia if some one had tutored him for his place. ^ " He was weak, dissolute, and fickle in his character; he introduced the most rigid measures in regard to the press and religious worship, and soon taught the people the difference be- tween a bigoted and narrow-minded and an intelligent and con- scientious king." ^ Mistook, like all the rest of Europe, the real significance of the French Revolution. Prussia's defiance would in time have been forgiven. It was her stupid diplomacy, her hypocritical pretension, most of all her incurable vacillation that, deepen- ing, anger into contempt, made Frenchmen swear that in due time Prussia should drink the cup of shame, dregs and all. ^ Of Mecklenberg-Strelitz. She did more for Prussia by her patience, her unconquerable sweetness, her clear vision, her high-minded devotion than all the energetic but abortive efforts of the king. While he and Stein and Scharnhorst and Harden- berg and the rest were drilling the nation for final effort when the time should come, Konigin Luise was speaking to the na- tional heart words, fondly repeated after she died, in which her own brave soul spoke out its faith, awakening like faith in her subjects and countrymen. Just before she died she wrote her father, "I hope my children will devote their lives to the de- liverance of their country." To the two sons who afterward, in succession, wore the crown, she said, "The Prussian state, the Prussian army, the glory of Prussia have disappeared. Weep in memory of me the downfall of our Fatherland. But weeping is not enough. Act ! Conquer back from France the darkened glory of your great ancestors ! Be men ! Be heroes ! " SEC. 8. PRUvSSIA A FRENCH PROVINCE. In his task of conquering Europe, Napoleon had every European nation save England as his ally. i. At first the liberal element in every country sympa- thized with him ; when it could, supported him.' 2. THE GERMAN EMPIRE. 269 Much conquered territory was organized under mem- bers of the conqueror's own family."^ 3. The Confed- eration of the Rhine, '^ under his protectorship, gave him good part of Germany. 4. The magic of his per- sonality won him royal aid when needed.* 5. Coali- tions^ so easily formed against him were as easily broken. 6. Dread of his vengeance cut the nerve of resistance^ when attempted. 7. International jeal- ousies furnished coveted opportunities for dividing foes, to be crushed in turn. Once and again apparently cooperation would have saved states from overthrow. Cooperation, however, was not effected, and the French eagle flew unchecked, often unopposed. Prussia was reduced with the rest, partly cajoled, partly flailed into subjection. Deserted by Russia, power of resistance broken, distrusted by neighbors alienated by her own unworthy vacillation, for six weary years she lay pros- trate, trampled by foreign armies and perforce sup- porting the unholy ambition that was changing the face of the world. The period 1807-18 13 was Prussia's hour of shame. Yet even in that hour, unseen by Na- poleon and the world, Prussia was undergoing renewal. ^ It was this fact that saved the French revolutiouar}' pro])a- ganda from being an irredeemable blunder. The French gen- erals were instriicted to make proclamation wherever they led their armies that French aid might be counted on for any people desiring to be rid of kings. " Here was direct attack upon estab- lished order, but the revolutionists were sure that France was not alone in its struggle for liberty. What had broken into flame in France was smouldering in many countries. The French crusade was thus made doubly formidable. ^ The revolutionary republic had undertaken to republicanize Europe. The revolutionary empire proceeded to turn the re- publics back into monarchies dependent on France. The King- dom of Italy was taken by Napoleon himself. Holland was 270 THK GERMAN EMPIRE. given to his brother Louis, the Spanish Peninsula to his brother Joseph, Naples to his brother-in-law Murat, Westphalia to his brother Jerome. 3 The battle of Austerlitz, 1805, shattered Austria and produced two striking results. Partly because a sense of dignity forbade Austria longer to claim the imperial crown for her sovereign, now that confessedly she was no longer the leading power of Christendom, partly because Napoleon required it, Emperor Francis II resigned the headship of the Holy Roman Empire, which thus came to an end in 1806. More important result still was formation of Rhine League. Sixteen of the German states, neither waiting for nor expecting the dissolution of the Empire, declared themselves independent of it and formed the Confed- eration of the Rhine, with Napoleon as protector. * As at Nienieu, in 1807, Alexander of Russia was captivated by him. The treaty of Tilsit followed, based upon the newly formed friendship. Fox of England was charmed b}' him no less. ^ Passing the first,' called out by the Revolution in the early stages, we may name as strongest that of 1798, composed of England, Austria, Turke)!-, Russia, Portugal, Naples ; that of 1805, England, Russia, Austria, Sweden ; that of 1813, England, Russia, Prussia, Sweden, Spain. But division of interest, some- times division of sentiment, made the strongest of them weak up to the last. Then, forced into real union by disaster, the nations joined heart and hand and Napoleon's doom was sealed. ^ He had actually beaten them into a habit of fear. SEC. 9. REHABILITATION. Prussia was crushed, not destroyed. Napoleon's gratuitous humiliations,^ plainl}^ intended to break the national spirit, so far from succeeding, goaded the people into undying passion for revenge.'^ Suffering a com- mon fate, Germans began to discover that they were one. In Prussia especially the consciousness of na- tionality awoke. ^ Nassauer Stein and Hanoverian vScharnhorst threw themselves into the task of regen- THE GERMAN EMPIRE. 27 1 erating Prussia. Fichte called upon his countrymen in his memorable Addresses.^ Persuaded that only a transformed Prussia could be a strong Prussia, the king's ministers remade the state. Renewal came at immeasurable cost, but it came. Half-feudal exactions and privileges were abolished. Serfs were freed. Cities long since deprived of rights received their own again. Public burdens were equalized. The army was reorganized. Citizens were inspired with love of country. When Napoleon outlawed the "so-called" Stein, ^ Hardenberg took up the fugitive's work. So quietly and effectively was the work of renewal done that while Napoleon was thinking Prussia's subjection so complete as no longer to need even the master's foot upon her neck, a nation awakened and ready was simply waiting for the signal to accomplish its deliverance. The Wars of Liberation tell how well Prussia did her part when the signal was given. ' Such as segregation of I'russian territory without so much as saying. By your leave ; turning over Hanover to England, while talking with Frederick William about a North German confederation, a Prussian confederation, even of a German em- pire under Prussia ; keenest of all, scurrilous references to the queen. 2 Immediate results were disastrous. Sorely against his better judgment, Frederick William declared war. Napoleon's answer was the double battle of Jena and Auerstadt, 1806, after which he spent a month in Berlin itself, collecting tribute, issuing orders, and publishing the continental system. It is disheart- ening to read that even then the square fronting on the Schloss was regularly crowded with the Berliners of the day, who fran- tically cheered Napoleon whenever he deigned to favor them with a passing glance. ^Andrews' strong words make good reading for every lover of Germany : "The years from 1806 to 181 2 are morally the grand- est in all Prussian history. The efficient organizers of the re- 272 THE GERMAN EMPIRE. vival were Stein and Schnrnhorst, two of the patriotic Germans who had flocked to Prussia from other states. Stein, believing that domestic bondage must be ended before the foreign could be, set out to rebuild socially from the bottom. The serfs were freed, nobles' privileges and many monopolies abolished, self- government restored to cities, the trades removed from guild domination. Public burdens, distributed more justly, were- borne more cheerfully. Scharnhorst reformed the army in like manner, putting into it native Prussians only, to be treated humanely and honorably, with arms and drill simple and effi- cient. His plan of filling and drilling the permitted quota, and then emptying it to give place to more recruits, turned the whole male population into trained soldiers, wherein merit and service, not social position, secured promotion. In these and other ways inspired patriotism came to pervade clergy, univer- sities, schools, and literature, as well as the masses of the people." *In the winter of 1807-1808. " I speak as a German to Ger- mans about German things," said Fichte. Germans bowed in shame when Fichte told them of neglected duty and lost oppor- tunity. Their hearts beat high when he reminded them of their heritage. They rose to new endeavor when he summoned them to self-renewal and the redemption lof the world, ^ Instead of mercenaries, citizens were now called to service- This was part of a marvelous renovation. The other part was Scharnhorst's device of drilling the 40,000 troops permitted by law, and replacing them by levies to be drilled and dismissed in turn. The result was that when Prussia went into the field again she had, instead of forty thousand soldiers, several times that number. Manufacture of cannon and muskets had mean- while been secretly pushed, so that arms as well as men were ready. * " IvC nomme Stein." Napoleon suspected Stein's purpose and outlawed him. Stein fled to Prague and afterward to the extreme north. At Konigsberg he did noble service organizing the Wars of Liberation. He took a forward part at the Congress of Vienna. TUn GERMAN EMPIRE. 273 SEC. 10. GERMAN I.INES REDRAWN. After Westphalia Germany numbered a round three hundred sovereign states. Napoleon prepared a new map of Europe, showing only France and tributaries. When Europe awoke and set about restoring the land- marks, of the three hundred principalities only thirty- nine were recognizable. These were united into a loose confederation.^ with a Diet, a confederate army nomi- nally of three hundred thousand, war and treaty rights over its members, and Austrian headship.''' But, so far from furthering German unity, the Act of Union was an elaborate pledge that unity should be prevented. The union was the work of Metternich, virtual ruler of Austria, a nineteenth-century Machiavelli, Europe's evil genius for thirty-odd years. Metternich sought to make German rivalry to Austria impossible. Hence in the reconstruction he threw his weight against Prus- sia, favoring France rather than her, and opposed a real German union, choosing rather an aggregation, ver}^ looseness of organization favoring Austrian de- signs. So for a time matters were destined to move according to the old order. The day of the people had not yet come.^ ^ *'A confederation of free and independent states." ^ Chief regulations were as follows : (i) All members to have equal and uniform rights. (2) Confederate interests to be controlled by perpetual Diet sitting at Frankfort under presidency of Austria. (3) "All the members of the Confederation promise to unite together against any and every attack, and when a war takes place they pledge themselves not to enter upon any secret com- pact, nor conclude any partial armistice or peace with the enemy." Otherwise right of alliance was reserved to all, sav- 274 ""^HE GERMAN EMPIRE. ing only such as affected other members. Interstate wars were forbidden, all disputes to be referred to the Diet. (4) " In all the states there shall be a constitutional govern- ment." But no guarantee was added as to time or character of constitution. (5) Civil and political rights were declared independent of religious affiliations. (6) Of the Confederate army of 300,000, Austria was respon- sible for 94,000 ; Prussia for 79,000 ; Bavaria, 35,000 ; the smaller states for numbers ranging down from 13,500. 2 To the credit of the people, it must be said that they never thought much of the Confederation. Organization had been effected without any one thinking to ask what would be best for the people. Sovereigns did the work as suited them. The French Revolution had shown the people the land of promise, though storm-swept and for the time unbeautiful. What they wanted was political Canaan without the storm. SEC. II. GLIMPSES OF BETTER THINGS. Yet the old order could not be wholly restored. Three principles ruled the Congress : i. The princi- ple of legitimacy. The Napoleonic disturbance was not to work permanent dispossession. 2. The principle of continuity. No change of government was to be wrought in the restoration. 3. The principle of abso- lutism.^ The drift toward constitutionalism was to be stopped. But nature is stronger even than congresses. Awakened France lost its track in the Revolution, and from a star of hope became a torch of war. But even beneath the heel of Napoleon men dared believe in liberal ideas and an awakened Europe. Even at the Congress princes realized that they must reckon with the people. Alexander gave Poland a constitution ; "^ Frederick William promised Prussia one ; the articles of confederation stipulated that every participant state should have one. Saxe- Weimar actually got one. THE GKRMAN EMPIRE. 275 Nassau had the form but not the fact. The southern group — Bavaria. Wiirtemberg, Baden — got theirs about together, in 1820.^ Outside Saxe- Weimar the consti- tutions came to Httle. Many princes evaded the promise of reform ; some broke it outright. The sum total of liberal gain was very small. Still there was gain, and prophets of the new day rejoiced. Even then there w^ere some who saw that a really free Germany might be a united Germany. ^ This principle got embodiment in the Holy Alliance. Rus- sia, Austria, and Prussia formed a league with the Sermon on the Mount as its fundamental law. "The maintenance of re- ligion, peace, and order in Europe and the reduction to practice in politics of the Maxims of Christ," so read the prospectus. One reads the promise of these sovereigns to be fathers to their people, to rule them with eye single to the welfare of the people, to be brothers to one another in behalf of just government, and is prepared for the official announcement of September 26, 1815, that though there may be bad kings in the world, here are three of the mightiest who will henceforth rule " in exact accord with Christian love, regarding themselves as the plenipotentiaries of Heaven. " Gratitude for a great deliverance will lead men strange lengths. Possibly the heaviest account Gratitude will ever be called upon to settle will be the confession of faith of the Holy Alliance, which was a lie from the first moment of its adoption. Did those who held it believe their own professions ? Perhaps. And yet when Francis of Austria hesitated to sign it lest he could not live up to it, Metternich bade him be of good cheer and sign, assuring him that it was all twaddle an}' way. It worked more or less will to the purpose of the organizers, which was plainly reactionary and absolutist, until 1848, when the people insisted that, alliance or no alliance, they should no longer be ignored. 2 In force up to 1830. Then vSuccessful revolution in France and Belgium stirred Poland to attempt independence. The ris- ing was mercilessly suppressed, the constitution annulled, and Polish organization carefully effaced. ^ Showing effect of contiguity to France. 38 276 the: GERMAN KMPIRK. SKC. 12. THE VISION GROWS CLEARER. Reaction in France unseated Charles X.^ A wave of revolt against absolutism swept Europe in 1830. In some places it cost the people dear, as it did in Poland. Elsewhere, as in England,"'' it wrought mightily and at once for political liberty. To Germany it brought new effort, ending in mingled gain and loss. Several addi- tional constitutions were secured. But how little might be won in the winning of a constitution was shown by Hanover. Her new king, in 1837, swept away the con- stitution in the most approved absolutist fashion.^ The principalities nearest France were greatly quickened, some with, some without, constitutions. Then Metter- nich, ever diligent in the service of the devil, inaugu- rated a work of mutual destruction among the states. Suspicions were created and then nursed into hostility. When all was ready, the rights of the people were boldly denied.* Political liberty and progress were stamped out. Grand Duke Karl-August of Saxe- Weimar and King William of Wiirtemberg, who had been forward in the work of enlightenment, were forced into party of repression. So the vision grew dim. At no time since 18 13 had it been so dark for Germany. But it was only the darkness before dawn. Another popular wave swept Europe in 1848. The arch-enemy of pop- ular government went under. ^ Fresh longing for lib- erty and unit}^ were recorded. A German republic to match the French, newly restored, or, more feasible, revival and revision of the defunct empire, so that Ger- many might have a German political organization, was called for — persistently, plainly. Prussia got a real THK GERMAN KMPIRK. 277 constitution.^ Austria, marvel of marvels, fared like- wise.'' While waiting for something better, it seemed 'well to reform the Diet already existing, by giving it a popular element, so as fairly to represent the states in- stead of the princes, as hitherto. The popular move- ment took shape in the Frankfort Assembly. The Diet made an abortive attempt to do something. The Con- stitutional Assembly made a constitution, but could not work it, chiefly because Austria and Prussia were un- friendly. Within two years the attempted change was abandoned as hopeless. Still, it had not been in vain. Now, as never before was seen: i. The inadequacy of the Confederation. 2. The worthlessness of constitu- tions in absence of political spirit. 3. The unreadi- ness of sovereigns to suffer encroachment upon pre- rogative. 4. The dependence, in last analysis, of ruler upon people. 5. The disheartening selfishness of many states, especially the larger. 6. The possibilities of German unity. 7. The line of its development. ^ Charles X was the high-minded brother of Louis XVI, the first to run when trouble threatened royalty at beginning of the Revolution, starting the unfortunate "emigration." Unfortu- nately for France, he outlived his brother, Louis XVIII, and became king. His beautifully progressive spirit is shown by his boast, " Lafayette and I alone have not changed since 1789.'' He got along all right for six years, only growing a trifle more autocratic and a trifle more stupid ever}' year ; but the Liberalist movement was more than he could understand. He thought to cure the ills of the state by heroic measures, as Louis XIV would have done a century and a half before. In this resolution Charles left two considerations out of account — he was not Loviis XIV, and during that century and a half the world had changed. Three da^^s fighting in the streets of Paris taught even the unlearning and unforgetting Bourbon that political em- phasis had shifted from king to people, and that he must go. 278 THK GERMAN EMPIRE. ^The great reform measures of the early thirties were the fruit. ^ A proceeding the more shameful because of harsh treatment- of protesting patriots. Gottingen suffered most. Seven of her professors— Albrecht, Dahlmann, Ewald, Gervinus, Weber, and the two brothers Grimm — were dismissed. Dahlmann, Ger- vinus, and Jacob Grimm, who had published their protests, were banished. It is only fair to Ernest Augustus to say that he was backed by the Diet iu this action. *The noble sentiments of the Holy Alliance are everywhere apparent in the miserable work. Happily for Germany's future, though not for Metternich's, literature was encouraged with the thought that the popular mind would be thereby occupied in pursuits less dangerous than politics. Elsewhere than in litera- ture, so far as the people were concerned, there was the quiet of the dungon and the grave. ^ Dismissed by the Emperor under popular pressure, Metter- nich found refuge in England. He had found it impossible to "keep things as they were." " Ideas had entered the world," he declared, "which ought never to have entered the world, but, having unfortunately gained admission, made it tlie task of government to resist their influence by all available means." He went down at last, because ideas were too strong for him. ^In 1850. Still in force, modified to meet new conditions. Providesfor hereditary monarchy and a parliament of two houses. The usual guarantees of a modern constitution are included, legal equality, personal liberty, military service, security of property, religious toleration, and, to some extent, freedom of press, of association, and of speech. ^In 1849, a gift of the Emperor, who appeared not ill-dis- posed toward reform. Change was necessary, and the present constitution dates from 1866 to 1867. SEC. 13. A NEW CENTER OF GRAVITY. Among those di.scoveries none was more important than that of Austria's inveterate hostility to German interest.^ Alread}^ in the Frankfort Assembly of '48 it had been voted to exchide Austria from the new con- THE GERMAN EMPIRE. 279 stitution. The vote came to nothing, as Austria re- fused to be excluded. Then dawned on German minds something that had long been evident everywhere out- side of German}^ German political life must be re- gathered. French power was a standing menace to a disunited neighbor. Austria had proved either in- capable or unwilling to lead. Prussia, satisfied at last of Austria's betrayal of Germany, convicted by her conscience of cowardl}^ acquiescence, if not of willing participation,^ in Austria's perfidy, nerved to courage by thought of a fatherland, read}- at last to see Ger- many ^ w^here before she had seen only Prussia — here was the appointed leader of Germany's political regen- eration. By the time WilHam I became king,* Prussia's mission had been recognized, probably by the king him- self, certainly by his great minister, Bismarck.^ Able as either Talleyrand or Metternich had been, and far nobler than either, Bismarck set himself to oppose, then neutralize, Austria's ascendenc}^ in the Confederation, preparatory to casting her out altogether. It was a hazardous undertaking, and to one seeing less clearly or less far than Bismarck it must have appeared utterly sub- versive of German unity. The truth was as Bismarck saw it. Unity could come only by ousting Austria and building the elements that remained about Prussia. The end would justif}^ any cost of force or sacrifice, for it was nothing less than the political regeneration of Germany. ^ Even Bismarck came to the truth slowly. His disHke of democracy may have had much to do with it, but for some reason he long thought well of Austria. Only when he studied at Frankfort the singular suspicion of Prussia which he found everywhere prevalent, and decided that Austria's ill-kept faith was at the bottom of it, did he become an opponent. From that 28o THE GERMAN EMPIRE. time on, however, he was outspoken and consistent, never wavering until Austrian headship of Germany had been made forever impossible. ^Again and again Prussia had been Austria's cat's-paw, Metter- nich putting her forward for the miserable task of repression. "'' Frederick William IV in 1847 tried to quell the gathering tumult by a legislative assembly, composed, ho^<'ever, of noble, not popular, representatives. Complaint he silenced bj^ assur- ance that a constitution was unnecessary, that a bit of paper ought not to stand between God and the country. The tide was stemmed for the moment, but next year it proved too strong to be resisted. By March 18, 1848, all German states but Austria and Prussia had been swept into popular reform. Then Prussia yielded. One notes with regret that it was only in response to revolution that the king gave way ; but he gave way. " From this day," the proclamation closed, " Prussia becomes merged in Germany." *i86i. Frederick III, as King Frederick I after 1701, 1688- 1713 ; Frederick William I, 1713-1740 ; Frederick II, the Great, 1740-1786; Frederick William II, 1788-1797; Frederick Wil- liam III, 1797-1840; Frederick William IV, 1S40-1861 ; William I, Emperor after 1871, 1861-1888 ; Frederick III, 1888-1888 ; William II, 1888-. ^ The greatest single factor in Germany's regeneration. As early as 1862 he put his thought into words. Before the com- mittee on appropriations September 30 he declared that a larger military establishment was necessary, compelled by the very configuration of Prussia, calling for a larger proportionate military organization than any other European nation needed. From this he went on to urge that for future securit}' Prussia must extend her military organization overall German-speaking people. To this end they must place in the king's hands the greatest possible weight of blood and itou. From that day to June 18, 1 87 1, when this Prussian king was proclaimed Emperor of Germany, he never spent an hour, day or night, which did not carry that theory toward accomplishment. "What matter if they hang me," he said to the Crown Prince, who urged the peril of his course, " provided the rope by which they string me up bind this new Germany more firmly to your throne?" THK GERMAN KMPIRK. 28 1 SEC. 14. THE CHANGE VINDICATED. It took five years for the change to be appreciated. Both feared and hated by everybody in Prussia except the king, who loyally supported him/ Bismarck pushed on. The Landtag proving unmanageable' was ignored.'' Constitutionally when it could, arbitrarily when it must, the government prepared for the decisive test. Aid to Russia in the Polish rebellion * secured a friend on the north. Questionable but able diplomacy assured the neutrality of France in case of a struggle with Austria. A secret understanding with Italy provided distraction to Austria on the south. It might as well have been any other of a dozen different questions, but it was the Schleswig-Holstein affair that brought on the struggle. Austria and Prussia joined forces to wrest the duchies from Denmark.^ Then, not so much because he wanted territory "^ as because he wanted a long dispute settled, Bismarck forced an issue with Austria. The Diet, still under the ascendency of Austria, declared Prussia guilty of a breach of Confederate peace and mobilized the Con- federate army June 14, 1866. Prussia at once withdrew from the Confederation, and the day following sum- moned the North German states to form a new confeder- ation under Prussian headship. Saxony, Hesse-Cassel, and Hanover declining, were occupied by Prussian troops! Resistance elsewhere in northern Germany was not possible, even thought of it forestalled by Prussia's decisive action. South Germany, of course, went with Austria, but counted little. With the precision of clock- work, Moltke's fighting machine moved into Bohemia in three divisions, which concentrated at Sadowa July 3. 282 THH GKRMAN EMPIRE. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon Austria had ceased to be a German factor. Thirty thousand Austrians and ten thousand Prussians, wounded or dead on that awful field, made clear at last what Bismarck meant by the regenerating force of blood and iron. Force and sacri- fice had prevailed. ^Though needing at times a good deal of encouragement from Bismarck. For instance, after the blood and iron speech, .Sep- tember 30, 1862, the king, who was on a vacation, started for Berlin as soon as the report reached him, telegraphing his min- ister to meet him on the way. When the two met, the king, badly upset, began talking about revolutions, guillotines, and the like. It took the entire ride to the capital and a world of Bismarck's talk to brace him into courage again. Fortunateh' the royal mind once settled stayed settled. It was only in the formulation of plans that the difficulty lay. ^ The trouble was not downright disloyalty or want of patriot- ism in the parliament, but want of power to do things themselves and lack of confidence in their new leader. Crown and country disagreed because they did not understand one another. The government had a policy which would certainly be thwarted if talked about. The Landtag would not support the government without knowing what its policy was. It was one of the hard situations when neither side can be blamed outright. ^ The government wanted money, must have money. It was a question of army supplies chiefly, but it might as well have been some other element in Bismarck's policy of reconstruction. Government would not reduce demands. Landtag refused to meet them. The Upper House agreed with the king. Here was a situation unprovided for by the constitution. What could be done ? Bismarck said, The way is plain, seeing there is only one way possible. King and House of Peers make two to Land- tag's one. The majority shall control. Prussia, Germany, the world will hold us responsible for proper performance of state duty We will perform our duty without the lower house, see- ing it refuses to do its part. There was a serious side to the problem. The Landtag had already voted by a heavy majority (274 to 45) that ministers should be held responsible with their THE GERMAN EMPIRE. 283 persons and fortunes for unconstitutional expenditures " It is for genms to justify its own projects by their execution " Sue cess saved B.sn.arck. After Sadowa acts of indenu.ity tre passed, B,s„,arck reiterating his regrets at having been obWd th;ro~:t^°"^""''°"' '-'---^ ^^^^^-^^-^ "-^ ~ *Of 1863. Prussia saw too well the result to herself to con ternp ate calmly the possibility of the rebellion becon. Ig a r vo-' lution. Independence of Russian Poland would mean shortly dependence of Prussian Poland or war. Bismarck intin.ated d a:ed";a;"a:"''d°"" '; ^"^'"" ^-™P^*>- ™* P°'-'<^. ^ pro ^nct 7 ■"'dependent Poland, referring now to Rus, ian Lr , ;r ' '""^^"^'^ '" '"""'^^ '" "-^ P"--" -my of briefly. In ,511, century these duchies were united not to be sSlTr^'^'' "°"^' ^='"^^"'S ''-'' ^ «^^ °f Denma k, Hoi! stem of Ger„,any. Peter III of Russia, heir of Holstein, sold it to Denn,ark, wh.ch now held both duchies. The old Da, s 'lynasty gave s.gns of dying. This, con.ing in well with libera moven,entsof ,M, en.boldened the duchfes to hope for i,," fhe dTI:; " "".""' T^'^'^''- ^'"^ '>°P«= was quashed l^ Denma k s'hf "'"''="°°'^ '" "--P°-'e theduchies into Denmark-Schleswtg at ouce, Holstein to follow later Ger- ported tt"'' "T ":"' tl'-atened, and the Confederation sup- ported the revolt wh.ch at once broke out in both duchies Austna and Prussia were d.rected by the Diet to serve process on Denmark wh.ch they did effectively. The duchies were declared free fron> Denmark. Government in them was to be adnnmstered jointly by the two victorious powers 1 hough tins was a by no means despicable factor. The situ- ation was about this: Prussia wanted the duchies. Austria cared nothing for the territory herself, but could not afford to let Germ!,'; h"'" "^ ""^"^ ■"' '"'" "^""°"'^" ''"^»"'°" »«^ "'«' of German hegemony, which might as well be fought out on this question as on any other. 39 284 THK ge:rman empire. SEC. 15. NORTH GERMAN CONFEDERATION. The old Confederation, impossible henceforth, was supplanted by a new. Austria formally recognized the situation and agreed to the reorganization of Germany without her. Schleswig-Holstein, Hanover, Hesse- Cassel, Hesse-Homburg, Nassau, and Frankfort were incorporated into Prussia, incorporation alone properly safeguarding Prussia from Austrian and Danish intrigue, and from dangerous independence at her doors. The other northern states formed a confederation under leadership of Prussia. The south German states, Bavaria, Wiirtemberg, Baden, and Hesse-Darmstadt, formed a group by themselves. The large German population of Austria was denationalized. Omnis Ger- mania hi tres partes divisa est. Here was change, but neither unity nor finalit}^ Of the three divisions the Northern Confederation was strongest and promised most. It had a Diet elected b}^ universal suffrage, and a senate representing the different rulers. Bismarck was Chancellor. The King of Prussia was President. The Bund was closely united by consolidation of mili- tary, telegraph, and postal systems under direction of Berlin, and by making the Customs Union coextensive with political. Significant from this point of view was" admission of South German group to Zollverein, on basis of secret treaties bj^ which the southern states were to join their forces to those of the Confederation in case of war.' Thus the dream of the men of '48'^ came true to the men of '67.'^ ^ Here was the secret of Napoleon's egregious blunder. He recalled the ^reat days of the First Nap.oleon when Southern Germans, in the Confederation of the Rhine, were proud of I THE GERMAN EMPIRE. 285 affiliation with France. Thus he persuaded himself of two errors — one, that he was as big a man as his uncle ; the other, that Germans were the same men they were in 1807 and 1812. Both errors were costly, as the event proved. ^ There is something pathetic about the failure of '48. " Du bist mir nah, und doch so fern " might the patriot of that day have sung to the goddess of political reform. The scheme was out- lined all right, Diet henceforth of two houses — a popular assem- bly and a senate half popular, in that half its members were to be delegates of state legislatures, the other half appointees of state governments. The organization was there, but not the power to use it. The new constitution actually came to noth- ing for the simple reason that those who made it could not set it going. ^How different the situation in '67 ! King Frederick William IV was tendered the imperial crown under the lifeless consti- tution of '48 and refused it, not because he was pusillanimous, as some have said, but because Austria and several other states flatly declared that they would not obey a straw emperor. There is no emperor as yet in '67. All other hopes are realized, how- ever, and the imperial crown is nearly ready. SEC. 16. THE REMAINING OUEvSTION SETTLED. In a sense German movement toward Prussian he- gemony and confederation was a domestic affair. Aus- tria had been beaten into exclusion from Germany, which henceforth was to go its w^ay without her. From that quarter the new Germany had nothing more to fear. But how about the rest of the world, particularly France ? The rapid rise of Prussia was a surprise and disappoint- ment to Napoleon III, whose policy aimed at a weak- ened Austria and a divided Germany. Austria had been weakened, but Germany was not divided. Ger- many was not even as divided as Napoleon thought. North and south were not united, but the Hues of union were already laid, and Napoleon's scheme of a new Con- 286 THE GERMAN EMPIRE. federation of the Rliine to be France's tool had been already wiped from the programme of fate, although Napoleon had not yet learned the fact. This was un- fortunate — for Napoleon. If Prussia had been less strong and the North German Confederation less real and South Germany less loyal ! But tarnished arms and worsted politics urged Napoleon on. When war is desired the occasion is never long wanting, and both France and Prussia desired war, the one for reassured dominion, the other for vindication. A new Spanish succession brought the issue, ^ but it might as easily have been something else.'^ At any rate, in 1870, the war came. It was the story of 1866 over again, with a French application.^ Thus the question of German sufficiency had found answer without as well as within. Both answers were definite, conclusive, final. ^ See chapter x, section 11, 11. 7. Queen Isabella had been driven from Spain in 1868. The Spanish Cortes, desirous of maintaining the throne, but anxious for a new occupant, offered the crown to Prince lycopold Hoheuzollern. The French min- ister at Madrid reported the crown accepted. Immediately France was in a blaze, seeing in the transaction fresh evidence of Prussian influence, and, indeed, a Hohenzollern dynasty on both sides of France, was scarcely more tolerable than the Haps- burg rule at once of Austria and Spain. As a matter of fact, Leopold declined, but France took immediate advantage of the incident to attempt the humiliation of her new rival. ■^ French ambition and unrest were at the bottom of the whole trouble. Napoleon III had not grown in the public eye of late. The opposition, hailing any pretext, made a savage attack upon the government, charging it with want of firmness, putting the Emperor on his mettle. Around the Euiperor was a throng of courtiers and adventurers who regarded the eighteen years of comparative freedom from war as lost years. These, with one accord, called for war. Hatred of Bismarck helped. The fact that Prussia was the natural leader of Protestantism on the con- THE GERMAN EMPIRE. 287 tineiit did not make her growing prominence any more ac- ceptable to the French clerical party, and they strengthened the resolution of the Emperor. Empress Eugenie also was credited with spurring on Napoleon. The misreported and grossly exaggerated interview at Ems set the people aflame for defense of French honor. Taking all together, it is hard to see how Napoleon could have withheld declaration of war except at cost of revolution. ^ Uniting the new Germany against a foreign foe. There can be little doubt that the Prussian government welcomed the test. The great difference between the challenge and the acceptance was that the former was a piece of bravado based on ignorance of the facts ; the latter showed the quiet of perfect readiness, national enthusiasm tempered only by a sense of responsibility wholly creditable to a nation steadied thereby for the accom- plishment of a fateful task. 17. A RACE BECOME A NATION. Germany had stopped one step short of unit}'. That step too was taken. The southern states astonished Napoleon by proving German when the test came. They gave additional proof b}^ complete assimilation ^ with the northern states, forming one Germany instead of two. Verbal revision fitted the constitution to the changed order, the President was given the imperial title, Bund was renamed Empire. Otherwise every- thing went on as before, showing how thoroughly the work of unification had been done." Proclamation of the Empire was made at Versailles January 18, 1871. By the irony of fate, the palace walls within which Ger- many's ruin had. more than once been planned were the first to echo the proclamation of her triumph. So the work of centuries was at last completed It was a great work, long and slow in the doing. Look- ing back, we can see how it might have been done in 288 THE GERMAN EMPIRE. less time and at less cost. But the main fact is that the work has been done. Europe and the world are better for it. The new Empire has gone about its tasks strongly and wisely. A third of a century has recorded progress in every department of social, industrial, and political life. With its magnificent army, its formid- able navy, and its unmatched civil service, it commands respect at home and abroad. 1 Bavaria memorialized her king, I^ouis II, in 1870, nrging union with the North German Confederation. Three months later the other southern states followed Bavaria's example. November 30 King Ivouis proposed to the other southern princes and to the three free cities, that all Germany be united under the headship of the King of Prussia as Bmperor. They as- sented. The North German Diet indorsed the movement. To Louis of Bavaria fell the honor of tendering the imperial dig- nity to King William I, henceforth Emperor of Germany. ^ Here was no miscreation, after the fashion of the Holy Roman Empire, with its divided interests and impossible ideals, but a true state, organized for political ends. For more than a thou- sand years Germany had followed phantoms, stumbling over the realities that lay at her very feet. Europe has seen no better day in centuries than that on which Germany awoke from her dreams to conscious national life. CHAPTER XIIL England Since Thirteen Hundred. SEC. I. THE LAST THREE PLANTAGENETS. Earlier development is outlined in discussion of the central power.' Edward II (1307-1327) inherited from Edward I only his name and his crown. The qualities which made the English Justinian great died with him. England fell on eval da3'S. Worthless favorites ' conspired with a worthless queen '^ to shame England and undo the king. Scottish valor wrote Bannockburn^ upon the page of Scottish glor\% recov- ering all that the great Edward had wTested from them. The king was forced to abdicate in favor of his son.'^ Shortly afterward he was visited by the conveniently sudden death which so often claims dethroned kings." Edward III (1327-1377) in his appeal to the nation to remove an unworthy king had already on his accession recognized the paramount authority of Parliament. Further gain for Parliament" came from king's passion to win France. To get money for his wars he was willing to concede any point. . In spite, therefore, of repeated royal high-handedness,^ the cause of popular government prospered. Strongly supported by his able son,'^ Edward smote France with disaster. Crecy ^^ and Poictiers" are still proud names to Enghshmen. Many a shadow darkened PM ward's last days. The Black Prince died, to the sorrow of Edward and the 40 (289) 290 ENGI.AND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. kingdom. The place in the king's heart so long and so well filled by Philippa fell after her death to the unworth^^^■"^ The proud intellect and the prouder will bowed to the dust, and the long, strong reign ended in grief and gloom. Richard II (i 377-1 399) reigned twenty-two 5^ears, and tasted trouble every year of the twenty-two. A governmental nonentity ^^ until he came of age in 1389, a constitutionalist of varying moods until 1397, he then became an out-and-out absolutist.'* England was not prepared for that, and rallied to the support of the Duke of Lancaster,'^ who returned from banishment to recover his estates ^^ and to claim the crown. Par- liament declared Richard "useless, incompetent, and altogether insufficient and unworthy, ' ' and deposed him. Another conveniently sudden death removed him alto- gether.'" ^See chapter VI, sees. 13, 14. '^ First, Piers Gavestoii, a Gascon, banished twice at instiga- tion of nobles, twice recallerl by king, who could deny him nothing ; finally, beheaded by angered nobles. Then the De- spensers, father and son, ran same course of insolence as Gaves- ton, to find at last the gibbet. ^Isabella of France left king for Lord Mortimer, and took forward part in dethronement of her husband. * 13 14. Edward I on death-bed charged his son to crush Scot- tish revolt, giving dead king's bones place at head of advancing army. The new king abandoned the war and buried his father's bones. Bruce, whose coronation at Scone had roused the old warrior from, a death-bed, pushed Scottish conquest until the craven young English king was obliged to move north to save Stirling. Though leading 100,000 troops, he was utterly defeated at Bannockburn by Bruce with 40,000 Scots. ^ Queen Isabella, her son, and Mortimer conspired in France and invaded England with French following. The king fled, then surrendered ; whereupon Parliament declared his son king in his stead. ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. 291 ^ For the better part of a year he was shifted from castle to castle. Then within the walls of Berkeley, in Bristol, he met death. How, no man knows. Shrieks from the castle told on a certain night that some deed of blood was being accomplished. The next morning the king was dead, with features frightfully distorted. ^Seated by Parliament, Edward III could not consistently check it overmuch. More general than statesman, he was con- tent to let Parliament make laws while he fought. Forty-eight sessions were held and organization was completed. Taxation was recognized as a prerogative of Parliament, as well as specific appropriation and audit of royal accounts. ** More than half justified, like seizing of supplies, by neces- sities of war too pressing to await ordinary legislative move- ment. ^ The Black Prince, a born fighter, winning spurs at Crecy, died 1367, worn out. ^^ 1346. Won by greatly outnumbered English yeomen against French chivalry. One of the two or three actions which proved feudalism a ruined system. *' 1356. Victory again for bowmen under Black Prince, though outnumbered seven to one. ^'' Most noteworthy was Alice Powers, beautifvil but bad. In her train come many parasites. "Bribery, peculation, fraud, every form of corruption, was rife at court." ^^ He was only ten at accession. Twelve years afterward he threw off leading-strings, having meanwhile submitted to di- rection of ministers or relatives. ^* Broke power of parliamentary commission that was carry- ing on the government only to find, greatly to his surprise, that the people were glad to have a real king. Before long he was ruling as arbitrarily in name of Parliament as before Parliament had ruled arbitrarily in his name. Put counties out of law at will, raised loans by force, ev^ compelling victims to sign and seal blank promises, to be filled up at royal pleasure ; levied taxes as he liked, imprisoned without warrant, seized estates without law. ^» Duke of Hereford, son of John of Gaunt, Duke of lyancaster, so grandson of Edward III and cousin of the king. ^^ Confiscated by Richard. " In Pontefract Castle, either by starvation or assassination. 292 ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. SEC. 2. THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER. Henry IV, 1399-14 13. The crown sat uneasily on the head of the new king. Before his murder the deposed Richard had been the object of a formidable rising.^ After death his ghost would not stay laid, walking by turns in Ireland, Scotland, "■^ and England. Wales rose in revolt under Owen Glendower and of- fered successful resistance throughout the entire reign. ^ Scotland profited by the Welsh troubles, but was beaten back,* and suffered the humiliation, proved an immense advantage afterward, of seeing her heir apparent a pris- oner and pupil of England.^ Fourteen years on an un- steady throne wore Henry out, and he died at West- minster Abbey, *'i4i3. Henry V, 1413-1422, a youth of scant promise, was transformed into a high-minded prince, a l^rave war- rior, a wise ruler, a nation's idol, in the person of Henry V.^ His title, unlike his father's, was unquestioned. Hastily ordering the affairs of the kingdom, he threw himself into the French conflict, now complicated by an imbecile king.® Harfieur was quickly followed by Agincourt. Domestic faction '■• distracted France and mightily aided Henry. In 1420 the Treaty of Troyes ^^ gave him Princess Catherine and the succession to the French crown. England was wild with joy, little real- izing the future of the British Isles if continental dominion were assured. f)eath saved both England and I;rance. Henry VI, 1422-1461. Able men were left, but the directing eye and controlling will were gone, and the king was an infant nine months old. Parlia- ment appointed a Council of Regency,, with the king's KNGIyAND SINCK THIRTEEN HUNDRED. 293 Uncle Bedford governor of France, Uncle Gloucester governor of England. Divided counsels among Eng- lishmen, renewed patriotism among Frenchmen, in- spired and led by Joan of Arc, reduced English power in France first to defense, then to despair. The farce of coronation availed nothing. The royal mind, never strong, gave way. Province after province was lost. Even the king's marriage" brought loss of territory. Shame at defeat and loss, oppression under war costs of men and money, dislike of the queen, contempt for the king, general aristocratic vagabondage, •'■^ unceasing selfishness and strife within the royal family ^^ filled England with discontent. The general disorder took form about Richard Duke of York.^^ The king's infirmit}^ made necessary a protect- orate, a need not lessened by the birth of a son in 1453. York sought and gained the protectorate. Margaret, able enough to be both king and queen, gave him battle, but York succeeded in remaining at the head of the government, except during Henry's rare lucid inter- vals. From protector, York aspired to be king. Vic- tory gave him power to dictate conditions, and he elected to succeed Henry, thus barring Henry's son. This Margaret could not endure. Richard fell, leaving his son Edward heir of his quarrel and of his claims. At Towton Field Edward settled the one and established the other, having already been declared king b}^ accla- mation of London. ^ Early in 1400. This doubtless had something to do with Richard's death. '^A Scotch legend told how the deposed king fled to the North country and subsisted long on Scottish bounty, d} ing at last at Stirling, ^Glendower had been educated in England and had served at court of Richard II. On his return, angered by sequestra- 294 KNGI.AND SINCK THIRTEEN HUNDRED. tion of part of his estate by a friend of the king, he took arms and for many years was a thorn in the side of the English king- dom. *At Shrewsbury, 1403. This battle at the same time quelled the Percy uprising. ^The lad was on his way to France, partly to be educated and partly to be safe from schemes of nobles. A storm drove him upon the English coast. He was captured and for nineteen years studied English laws and customs. On his return in 1424 he found his study invaluable, enabling him to go intelligently to task of reshaping social and political life of Scotland. *He died in the Jerusalem Chamber, so in a way fulfilling prophecy cherished through life, that he should die at Jerusalem. '' Probably the very escapades which discouraged his father and alienated the people were due to overflowing life. It was the same restlessness, directed through different channels, that brought him his renown. 8 Charles VI. ^Two parties divided France — the Armagnacs or Orleanists, representing feudal nobility, and the Burgundians, representing chiefly the towns. After civil war had gone on for years the two parties were on point of coalescing under pressure of com- mon danger, when the Duke of Burgundy was treacherously murdered by vindictive adherent of nmrdered Duke of Orleans. The Burgundians, burning for revenge, immediately threw them- selves into Henry's arms. The Dauphin belonged to the Orleans party, a fact which makes his exclusion by the Treaty of Troyes the more explicable. '"Providing: i. Henry was to marry Princess Catherine; 2. Was to be regent during imbecile Charles' life ; 3. On death of Charles was to be king of France. '^ In 1445, with Margaret of Anjou. Instead of bringing dowry, the marriage contract restored Anjou and Maine, the keys of Normandy, to Duke Rene. The English never forgave this injury. '2 After so long camp life, settled conditions must have seemed irksome in any case. In addition we must note disappointing close of struggle, broken fortunes, general dissatisfaction at im- potent king and landless queen, and resulting disorder of king- dom among the elements from which grew civil war, now so few years distant. ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEKN HUNDRED. 295 ^^ Somerset, head of Lancastrian House, had ear of royal pair, but was not greatly trusted by people. '* Heir apparent, king still being without issue, able, and gen- erally welcome to opponents of both Somerset and court. SEC. 3. THE HOUSE OF YORK. Edward IV, 1461-1483. Coronation followed, but not peace. Parliament did its best to restore order by declaring Edward king by hereditary right, ^ the three Lancastrian Henr^^s being usurpers. In addition Henry VI and his queen were proclaimed traitors. Then Edward proceeded to prove that he was not the king England needed.' The Lancastrian forces were still in motion. Scotland was unsettled. Petty rebellions kept breaking out. A strong king would have readily settled all these troubles. Edward, recking little what the state needed, bartered the support of his strongest nobles for thoroughly selfish ends.'^ His impolitic mar- riage* threw the Nevilles, headed by Warwick,^ into op- position. Joining hands*' in 1471, Margaret and War- wick drove Edward from the kingdom. A ready Parliament revised its former judgment and fixed the crown in restored Henry's' line. Six months later Edward was on the throne once more. King Henry suddenly died in the Tower, of ' ' pure displeasure and melancholy." His son had been murdered after the battle of Tewkesbury. Clarence, Edward's brother, Parliament's nominee after Henry's line, was put to death. Edward was free from rivals henceforth. A questionable compromise with Scotland and a disgrace- ful peace with France^ chiefly marked the remaining years of a reign which added nothing memorable to English history. 2g6 ENGLAND vSINCK THIRTEEN HUNDRED. Edward V, 1483. English records show no darker page than that which tells of the broken faith of Richard Gloucester, ending in the death of the little princes in the tower. The lad of twelve, who bore the name of king, w^as a prisoner during the seventy-eight da}' s of his nominal reign. Richard III, 1483-1485. The heart of the people Richard never had. That of the nobility he lost al- most before he was crowned king. The death of the little princes, universally credited to him, awakened universal horror. Henry of Richmond, heir of the Lancastrian House, betrothed to Yorkist princess Elizabeth, was welcomed by the kingdom. Richard met at once defeat and death at his hands on Bosworth Field. ^ Descended from Edward III through Lionel, elder brother of John of Gaunt, through whom his rival held throne. '•^ A far less able man than his father, who fell at Wakefield Green the year before. " He was swift in action when a crisis came, and was cruel in his revenge, but he was lustful and in- dolent when the crisis was passed, and he had no statesmanlike abilities to lay the foundations of a powerful government." ^ Comparable with no king since John for want of sense of responsibility toward people and for littleness of gratitude to- ward helpers. His chief talent was for extortion. No class escaped. Rich and poor were liable to lose all. Pressure fitted need. "The rich were hanged by the purse and the poor by the neck." * With Lady Elizabeth Gray, widowed daughter of a knight named Woodville. Tradition has it that the king, repelled in an attempt on her virtue, was carried by his passion to the length of espousing her. "Too low to be your wife, too high to be your concubine," was her answer to solicitation. Her humility yielded, though her virtue would not, and she became queen, an unpardonable offense to the higher nobles. The transaction was more creditable to the royal heart than to the royal head, especially as it was followed by unstinted distribu- KNGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. 297 tion of honors and estates among the newly made relatives, intensifying ill-will, already too deep. No unimportant element was additional fact that while, unbeknown to him, the king was courting Elizabeth Wood ville, Warwick was negotiating a French match, the resulting embarrassment in no way inceasing warmth of Warwick's support. 5 A Yorkist, strongest supporter of duke and king. By prop- erty and marriage he was related to so large a proportion of both nobles and commons that it was said half England would rise at his word. ^Margaret's son Edward was married to Anne, Warwick's daughter. ^ For five years had been imprisoned in Tower. « Treaty of Pecquiguy, 1475. i. Louis was to pay 75,000 crowns at once and a yearly pension of 50,000. 2. Truces and free trade were assured for seven years. 3. Dauphin should marry Edward's daughter Elizabeth. SEC. 4. THE WARS OF THE ROSES. The Houses of York and Lancaster together reigned eighty-six years, 1399-1485. I'he last thirty years of this double period forms a unit, at once connecting and dividing Plantagenet and Tudor dynasties. From 1455 to 1485 was waged England's Thirty Years' War. The struggle bears name from emblems of two parties.^ I . Causes. ( i ) The Hundred Years' War with France was practically over, England beaten everywhere. (2) Crecy, Poictiers, Agincourt reminded Englishmen that once great victories had been won on French soil. (3) Ignoring fact that English conquest of France had been nearest completion under Lancastrian Henry V, loud murmurs were heard that Lancastrian arms were weak, as witness imbecile Henry VI, whose ministers and generals had been forced everywhere to give way. (4) A multitude of fighting men thrown back upon 41 298 ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. England could not find support in peace/ (5) Amid all the disturbance, men remembered that Henr}^ IV was a usurper'' and gave tongue to longing for the better days of Edward III, so ill represented b}^ the reigning sovereign. (6) There was a line, the Yorkist, wdth better title in blood than the Lancastrian. (7) The king was childless until 1453, b}^ which time the suc- cession had been hotly, if silently, contested between Somerset and York. (8) The king's imbecility fur- nished occasion for taking timely possession of govern- ment. (9) Somerset slain and York's ambition un- masked, struggle was open and avowed between York, claiming from the old line, and Prince Edward, as his father's son. 2. Character, Preeminently, almost exclusively, a baronial war. It was feudal daj^s re- turned. The common people suffered, of course, but onl}^ incidentalh^ Nobles and their retainers did prac- tically all the fighting. 3. Results, (i) Dynastic change from Lancaster to York, with final triumph of Lancaster in Henry Tudor ; triumph happily softened by fusion of contesting lines. (2) Industrial. A coun- try ravaged by war cannot prosper. Hunger, want, pestilence did their work between battles, slaying more men even than the battles. In many cases those left were weakened by breaking down of moral restraints. (3) Social. Feudalism renewed and then destroyed itself. The great families were nearly all cut off by death or attainder, estates escheating to crown. Only twenty-nine barons were summoned to first Parliament of Henry VII. (4) Constitutional. The barons had been England's bulwark against prerogative. Their annihilation boded little good for the future. Royal des- potism during the next century was built upon aristo- cratic ruin now accomplished. ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. 299 ^ Ramsay insists that " Wars of the Roses" is a misnomer.' "During the civil war there was but one rose, the white rose of York. There was no Lancastrian rose ; the red rose of the House of Tudor first appeared on Bosworth Field." '^ Fighting hal)its could not be thrown off in a day. Besides, estates had been ruined in preparation for a war of glory which turned into a war of disaster, with no opportunity for repairing broken fortunes. 3 In that he was descended through younger son while stock of older was still living. To Henry's credit, however, must be set action of Parliament, whose word made him king, whoever or whatever he was before. SEC. 5. THE TUDOR SPIRIT. The Tudor dynasty was doubly fortunate, i. It had an opportunity. The blood-letting of thirty years, while draining England of much she would have been the better for keeping, freed her finally from feudalistic disturbance.' So greatly had the nation suffered from noble oppression that it was ready to endure worse op- pression from the king, provided he wotild safeguard it from return of old order. -^ Tudor monarchs could do without protest ^ things which even the mighty Ed- ward could not have done without revolt. 2. It was represented by sovereigns equal to the opportunity. Personally strong, one after the other they promptly suppressed all show of resistance in the remnants of nobility, but studied to conciliate and direct the popu- lar will. A new order of great houses * strengthened the throne. Each Ttidor had part in carrying on the mission of the house toward England. Henry VII se- cured the throne and laid up treasure for its further establishment. Henry VIII called the nation to eccle- siastical independence. Edward VI organized the new religious life. Mary I consolidated the nation and set- 300 ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. tied its faith, though not as she had willed.^ Elizabeth called out new national feeling, her reign standing as one of the great landmarks of English history. Tudor rule was mainly absolutism veiled under constitutional forms," strong because exercised by able sovereigns, who knew how to keep clear way to the heart of the people. ^ Warwick was virtually the last of the great feudal lords of England, With all his admirable qualities, and he had many — "grandeur, generosity, eloquence, courage, businesslike activ- ity, accessibility" — it must be remembered that he was the representative of feudal tradition and chief of tlie feudal party. Sooner or later the feudal idea had to go, everywhere. In England it went through the Wars of the Roses. , 2 With all his faults, and he had many — lust, cruelty, exac- tion, absolutism —Edward IV represented the party of progress, the party of the town, of commerce. It was a principle, not a man, that conquered. One master is better than many. ^ Witness the extortions of Henry VII, the one-man legisla- tion, of Henry VIII, the high-handedness of Elizabeth. * Raised chiefly upon ruin of niona.steries. The Tudor nobil- ity, so far from menacing the throne as the old order might have done, was a source of strength, being the creation of the reigning house, besides being pledged to maintenance of new order by personal interest. Jurisdiction of Pope renewed, they would doubtless have lost their newl}^ acquired lands. ^ Manifest purpose to turn England over to Rome again, en- forced by marriage of queen with most powerful Catholic sov- ereign in world, alarmed Enc^lishmen, Catholics almost as much as Protestants, and fixed the convictions of many hitherto un- decided. *The wildest flights of Henry VIII were legally authorized. About 1539 Parliament enacted that royal proclamations should have force of regular laws. The Czar of Russia, the Shah of Persia, or the Sultan of Turkey has no greater stretch of author- ity than that. Of course, the secret lay in subservie*icy of Par- liament, ready to legalize any course the sov^ereign proposed. ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. "^OI SEC. 6. HENRY, FATHER AND SON. Henr}^ VII, 1 485-1 509, had multifold claim to crown : I. Conquest at Bosworth Field. 2. The papal bull. 3. Marriage right through Elizabeth of York. 4. His own Lancastrian descent. 5. Election by Parliament. Still, he had won his way as head of a faction, and factional opposition could hardl}^ be expected to die with his coronation. For fifteen years he was busied with insurrection.^ From 1500 on he had peace, giving play at once to the best and worst elements in his character. The Star Chamber '^ became a name of curs- ing afterward, but under Henry VII it stood for un- bought justice.^ The people had, what they had not had for three-quarters of a century and what they most needed, firm government. The Law of Treasons* in- telligently defined loyalt}^ English commercial enter- prise was encouraged. On the other hand, Henry is the one English king stigmatized as avaricious.^ The extortions of Empson and Dudley^ and the imposition of a second English marriage upon Spanish princess Catherine," to save her dowry, speak most plainly for the darker side of the reign. Henry VIII, 1509-1547. Handsome, liberal, gifted, popular, the j^oung king mounted a throne buttressed by the prayers and sympathies of a united people. Vigor at home and abroad, directed mainly by the great Wolsey,^ gave notice that England was on her way to claim a forward part in the world's politics. Imperial ^ and ecclesiastical '° politics for a time gave precedence to foreign interests. Then questions in double sense domestic called attention homeward. The bright eyes of Anne Boleyn disturbed what Henry 302 ENGI.AND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. called his conscience. Heart-broken Catherine was disowned. ^^ Out of the divorce controversy grew still larger problems, issuing in breach with Rome. Then for twenty years what time the king could spare from matrimonial experiments''^ he devoted to reforming the faith of the nation, beheading recalcitrant Catholic and Protestant with equal zeal for truth /'^ hewing his way to headship of a National Church, seating Pope Henry in place of Pope Clement, suppressing the monasteries, cir- culating the Bible. Not wholly engrossed in religious pursuits, he won honor in unimportant wars with France, Scotland, and Ireland.'* No sovereign has affected En- glish history more deeply than Henry VIII. This was due partly to the lot that made him a factor in the Refor- mation movement, partly to unquestioned ability as man and as king, partly to success in satisfying the heart of the nation, which repaid his eminent service by legiti- mizing his most arbitrary deeds. ^ Minor risings in Yorkshire under Lord Lovel and in Worces- tershire under the Staffords ; Lambert Sininel, personating im- prisoned Earl of Warwick, proclaimed Edward VI in Ireland, i486; Perkin Warbeck, personating the younger of the princes of the Tower, 1492-1499 ; Cornish revolt against taxation to repel Scottish invasion in interest of Warbeck, 1496. All were put down. Lovel escaped to France, the elder Stafford was hanged, Simnel became scullion in king's kitchen, Warbeck was hanged, the Cornishmen were quieted and their leaders executed. ^ So called from hangings of room in which the tribunal sat. ^ Ordinary courts had become grossly subject to influence. Conviction of a powerful criminal was almost impossible. To correct this miscarriage of justice, Henry utilized the judicia character of the Council to form a court too august to be over- awed. Apparently this court was constituted out of the Council and two special appointees. * Adherence to a de facto sovereign does not constitute treason ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. 303 toward a de jure. " No person attending upon the king and sovereign lord of this iRiid /or f/te time being, and doing him true and faithful service, shall be convicted of high treason b}^ act of Parliament or other process of law, nor suffer any for- feiture or punishment." ^Bore hard on pockets of people, but saved them war taxes as the king loved money too much to risk spending it fighting. The unfortunate side was failure to see that, important as is a well-filled exchequer, more important still is good will of sub- jects, and that good will Henry's greed and stinginess forfeited, n^awyers whom Henry made finance ministers. They were especially successful in reviving forgotten laws touching fines and like matters in the interest of the king. Morton's fork also impaled many. Morton— privy councillor, cardinal, chancellor, Archbishop of Canterbury — had unanswerable argument for all cases. To the rich he urged that, having so nmeh to spend, they must be glad to aid king ; to the poor, that living so inexpen- sively they must have saved much to share with king. ^ Daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella. Yovmg Arthur lived less than six months after the marriage. The natural course would have been return of Catherine to Spain. Henry, how- ever, could not bring himself to give up money, and Ferdinand wanted England's aid against France. Both ends were reached by remarriage of Catherine to Prince Henry. ^ Won royal favor by ability and easy manners. Though an ecclesiastic, he was fitted, after fashion of time, for state min- ister and did not scruple to participate in court revels. Henry made him Archbishop of York and Chancellor of England. 9 Francis I of France and Charles V of Spain were rivals for Holy Roman crown. Henry's support was considered impor- tant^ and he was vigorously courted by each contestant, and favored each in turn— first Charles, who won contest ; then, after disastrous failure of Francis at Pavia, 15.25, Francis. It must be confessed, however, that Henry's support counted little in long run. ^0 Wolsey aspired to papacy. Charles' promise of aid to this ambition really determined Henry's— that is, Wolsey's— alli- ance with Charles in 1520. ^^A damnable piece of business, however viewed. Either Henry's protest against the marriage at outset was mere trick 304 ENGLAND SINCK THIRTEEN HUNDRED. to enable him to back out with show of faith if he wanted to, or he should not have consummated the marriage. He did consummate the marriage and had five children by Catherine. "A beastly record: Catherine for twenty-odd years; Anne Roleyn, three years ; Jane Seymour, one year ; Anne of Cleves, half a year ; Catherine Howard, a 3'ear and a half ; Catherine Parr, four years. ^^ Henry stood midway between the two confessions. For believing in Rome he executed Catholics ; for refusing Rome's doctrine he executed Protestants. His confession of faith was summed up in the Bloody Statute, 1539, six articles: i. The real presence. 2. Communion in one kind. 3. Clerical celi- bacy. 4. Perpetuity of vows of chastit}-. 5. Private masses. 6. Auricular confession.' A word against article one meant the stake. A first offense against the other five was visited with imprisonment and confiscation, a second with hanging. '* Getting title King of Ireland acknowledged by Irish Par- liament in place of Lord of Ireland, grant of Pope Adrian IV to Henry II. Having broken with Rome, Henry VIII preferred a title independent of Rome's. SEC. 7. THE ENGIvIvSH REFORMATION. Italian Renaissance and German Reformation were complementar}^ elements of one spiritual movement. Intellectual and esthetic revival called for moral re- newal. By the time the movement reached England, the clearest-eyed saw that the elements belong together. The .soul, as supreme, needs a responsive body as its partner for the present world, its servant for the world to come. Learning and religion are, therefore, matter of serious concern. The two interests wrought con- jointly in England : Erasmus, Colet, More, standing for the Humanists; Cromwell, Cranmer, Latimer, with many score beside, for the Reformers. At first not a Protestant, but a national church, was designed, with reform of morals as needed. Only as breach with Rome KNGI.AND SINCK THIRTEEN HUNDRED. 305 widened was significance of first step realized. Tyn- dale's^ Bible, though proscribed, had been much read in England, and events on the continent had not taken place unnoticed. Political motives^ induced in gov- ernment kindly feeling toward reform party. Cover- dale's Bible ^ was issued with royal assent. Reinforced by refugees* from Germany, and swept on by tide of public feeling, the reform party verged toward Protest- antism. The new king was well disposed toward Protestantism and his chief adviser was avowedly Prot- estant. The ritual was performed in the vernacular, communion was substituted for the mass, the thirty- nine articles^ were formulated. Much of this progress was more rapid than the popular mind was prepared to follow. When, therefore, a zealously Catholic sovereign followed, Catholic reaction was easy.** The Spanish marriage^ alarmed Englishmen. Religious persecution confirmed their alarm. *^ The tide set again, now more strongly than ever, toward the new order. The new queen led strongly, influenced more by policy^ than by conviction. Within a twelve month England was en- rolled among Protestant states. ^ A young Oxford scholar who published an English New Tes- tament in 1526, and selected portions of the Old Testament in 1530. He was burned at Flanders, 1536. 2 The Reformation in England was primarily political. The headship of the church was too important an office to be neg- lected when once its transfer had been conceived as possible. The divorce case simply opened a way which, once entered, was followed until ecclesiastical independence was accomplished. ^A complete translation based on Tyndale's, published in 1536, the year of T3'ndale's death. By order of the king a copy was chained to a pillar or desk in every parish within the kingdom, so as to be accessible to all. * Intolerance quickly developed among Continental Protest- ants even while they were protesting against intolerance of Rome . 42 3o6 ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. Calvinists and Lutherans fled from each other, and both from Catholics, to find as^^lum in England. These newcomers did not leave their faith in crossing the channel. The result was a vigorous Protestant propaganda. ^The national confession of faith, published in forty-two arti- cles under Edward VI, revised and reduced to thirt^'-nine under Elizabeth, so appearing to this da3\ ^ Partly because as yet the national mind was not settled in revolt from Rome, partly because in Tudor times the will of the sovereign prevailed. Parliament finally agreed to acknowl- edge spiritual overlordship of Pope, on condition that secular- ized estates should not be disturbed. This was an important matter, seeing that about forty thousand families were con- cerned. ^ With Philip II of Spain, who thought much of the English crown, little of its wearer. Quer}- became common, whether England was to become a province of Spain ? ^Something short of 300 were burned, while many times that number suffered in less degree. As comparison is bound to be made between the Marian execution of Protestants and the Elizabethian execution of Catholics, it may be well to suggest a somewhat vital point in which they differed. Burrows in hi^ commentaries says: " It is scarcely necessary to warn reason- able people that the comparison between Elizabeth's execution of Jesuits for high treason and these Marian martyrs, regarding it as a mere question of number and balance, is perfectl}^ un- tenable. These were the victims of the Inquisition ; those were deliberate invaders, in concert with the country's enemies, who when caught might have been set free if they would have repu- diated the ' Deposing Power of the Pope.' They were conspira- tors, gallant men, indeed, but traitors." ^Elizabeth, always a clear-eyed Tudor, knew that reconcilia- tion with Rome was impossible, and that religious union of Catholic and Protestant was equally impossible. The nation could not go back to days of Henry VIII. Surest support for throne clearly was Protestant. So Elizabeth favored Protest- antism. At the same time she prevented extreme measures against Catholics. National unity was her aim, and to attain that she must be queen of both Catholic and Potestant. Her moderate but firm policy saved revolution, and, as it proved later, saved England. ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. 307 SEC. 8. ELIZABETH. Among other concessions to Henr}^ VIII, Parliament authorized his settlement of the succession. This was surprising. More surprising still was the fact that Henry's will was actually carried out, Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth reigning in turn. Edward, 1 547-1 553, was a gentle, studious boy, mainl}^ memorable b}^ aid to reformation. Mar}^ I, 1553- 1558, lived and died unhappy, a discredited daughter,^ an unloved wife,^ a thwarted devotee,^ an unsuccessful queen.* Elizabeth, 1 558-1 603, bears one of the great names among English sovereigns. Discreetly moderate in religion, strong- willed as ever her father was, but tactful to boot,^ cau- tious, steady, she held both Catholic and Protestant loyal until both discovered that, in addition to being Christians, they were Englishmen." Then putting her- self at the head of the nation, she could bid defiance to all danger from without." The English spirit broke into blossom and bore precious fruit. English discovery plowed unknown seas in quest of hidden lands ; ^ En- glish valor, backed by wind and wave, annihilated the Armada, winning the sovereignty of the sea ; English commerce freighted all waters ; English literatufe wrote an imperishable record by the pens of Hooker, Spenser, Bacon, and Shakespeare. ^ Of course Heury had disowned her with her mother, though afterward he inchided her in the succession after his sou. -PhiHp apparently wedded Mary as a matter of state, not of affection, although she loved him passionately. Philip came to England and was married July, 1554. The following year he left his wife and, except for a few days in 1557, never saw her again. It was little creditable to Philip that after Mary's death he offered his hand, with or without his heart, to her hated half- sister and successor, Elizabeth. 308 ENGI.AND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. ^The papal legate received England's official submission. Mary, Philip, and Parliament knelt before him, confessing the sin of rebellion and receiving absolution. But the heart of the nation was not in the confession, and Mary's rapture was fated to die by degrees into despair. * She never had the love of her subjects. The loss of Calais, 1558, English since 1347, affected her so deeply that she believed the name of the lost fortress was engraved upon her heart. There is something pathetic about her death — " sad and lonely, won- dering why all she had done, as she believed, on God's behalf, had been followed by failure on every side." ^ It was fairly characteristic of her life when in her last words to the Commons she said, "Though you have had and may have many princes more mighty and wise sitting in this seat, yet you never had or ever shall have any that will be more careful and loving." ^ England henceforth on high road to modern political state- hood. ^ Among her numerous suitors was Ivan IV of Russia, the Terrible. Ivan proposed that each should guarantee the other an asylum in case either was driven from throne. Elizabeth would not marry him and assured him that her throne was all right. * These were the days of Hawkins, Frobisher, Drake, Raleigh. SEC. 9. THE STUART PROGRAMME. The Tudors had been absolutists under form of law. The Stuarts inherited the Tudor passion for personal rule without the Tudor gift of persuading the national will.^ The Tudors had been content with the fact of power. The Stuarts insisted upon keeping power in sight and talking about it.'"^ The Stuarts, moreover, outdid the Tudors in their conception of absolutism. To the latter it probably meant only complete sover- eignty, having special reference to independence from outside interference, much as old-time emperors had ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. 309 signed themselves, " By the grace of God," to signify that they held the crown from the Almighty, not from the Pope. To the former an absolute king meant a king above and beyond law.'^ The royal will as source of law for the state, as measure of doctrine for the church,* such was the programme proposed by the first Stuart in 161 3 and unweariedly maintained until the last real Stuart was banished, in 1688, a programme foredoomed to failure because ill-conceived, ill-timed, and wholly unsuited to Englishmen of the 17th or any later century.^ ^The imperiousiiess even of Henry VIII and EHzabeth knew how to give way gracefully when the popular temper gave signs of being too strong to be defied. Not a single Stuart had the gift of yielding gracefully to the inevitable. The result was that whereas Henry or Elizabeth usually gained the coveted end from a people madecomplaisatit by ro^^al concession, every Stuart in turn gave way under compulsion, only to get less than was first offered. ■^ The epithet "unfortunate " attaches to the House. But the bulk of Stuart disaster was self-imposed. The family were never happy in Scotland. The traits which made them a per- petual storm center in the North made them worse rather than better fitted for an English atmosphere. Trial taught them nothing, and they were no wiser after one had lost his throne, another his head. ^ " As it is atheism and blasphemy to dispute what God can do," declared James I in the Star Chamber, "so it is presump- tion and a high contempt in a subject to dispute what a king can do, or to say that a king cannot do this or that." * " Do I mak the judges? Do I mak the bishops? Then, God's wauns ! I mak what likes me, law and gospel." Such were James' words when the scope of the royal prerogative came clear to him. Once seen, the vision never faded. = No Stuart family understood England. Personal rule had been endured for a centur}', partly because unquestioned royal authority gave the only guarantee of strong government in the 3IO ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. crisis through which the nation was passing ; partly because, with infinite tact, successive sovereigns kept the popular will trained in the direction of the throne. Assured Protestantism, intellectual enlightenment, and general quickening of national life combined to invoke the spirit of the nation on the coming of a new dynasty. The situation was all the less promising for absolutism from the fact that the new dynasty came in the person of James I. Fate apparently had some grudge against him or it would never have put into tlie kingly office a man so grotesquely devoid of kingly qualities — big-headed, slobbering in speech because of abnormal size of tongue, rickety, unsteady of leg, ungraceful of gait, a constitutional coward. Wide read- ing, ready wit, and overweening conceit hardly restore the bal- ance. James had his mind made up as to prerogative before he crossed the border, but he was confirmed in his theory by the adulation of English courtiers, who got on their knees to speak to him, and pleased his ear by calling him Solomon and the Anointed of Heaven. vSEC. lO. THE PROGRAMME IN FORCE. James I, 1603-1625, was fortunate in coming to the throne without a rival. ^ Instead, however, of estab- lishing as good a title to the heart of the people as he had to the crown, he succeeded throughout his reign in ranging great part of the nation against him. I. From conviction or from misconception of entire religious trend, he threw his weight with the estab- lished church and intolerance, increasing stringency of laws against Catholics '^ and excluding Puritans from hope of favor. ^ 2. Strenuously maintaining the prin- ciple of absolute monarchy, he turned over the govern- ment to favorites, few of them worthy. 3. Substituting royal condemnation for legal judgment, he hurried a culprit to the gallows without trial. 4. Ignoring Par- liament, he gave proclamations the force of law, levy- ing taxes and imposing tariffs. 5. Backed by servile ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. 31! courts/ he declared privileges of Commons existent by grace, not by right/ 6. The fiasco of the Spanish marriage project,' with resultant war, humiliated Eng- lishmen, shame lessened only by balancing deliverance from peril of Spanish queen in future. 7. ShambUng course in Thirty Years' War' alienated many who con- demned king's shabby treatment of son-in-law- and virtual betrayal of Protestantism. 8. Renewal of old abuses'* and multiplication of monopolies^" braced Par- liament to reclaim right of impeachment," sweep away monopoly, vindicate authority of Lower House over its members, and defend liberty of debate.'' So far the programme has brought no strength to the crown and neither glory nor peace to the people. Charles I, 1625-1649, began his reign under guid- ance of Buckingham, no better counsellor now than in past years. War with France '"' was added to that with Spain. Buckingham's death in 1628'* freed the king from a minister hated by the nation, but exposed him to the odium of incapacity which that minister had loyally attracted to himself. Charles found Parliament intractable and made a record by ruling eleven years, 1 629- 1 640, without one. Went worth, soon Earl of Strafford, was royal manager of state. Archbishop Laud of Church. For a time matters went well. Numerous illegalities ''" provided revenue. Episcopacy was forced upon Scotland. Then two significant events occurred: John Hampden went to law about ship money and re- bellion broke out in Scotland. '^ His hand forced by necessity, Charles summoned Parliament. Demand for money was met by demand for reform. Not re- form, but money, was what the king wanted ; so Parlia- ment was dismissed. This was in April, 1640. In November Parliament '' was in session again, Charles 312 ENGLAND vSINCR THIRTEEN HUNDRED. in straits by the Scottish revoU. No time was lost be- fore beginning the serious business of reforming the government.'^ Strafford went first. Four 3^ears later Laud was to go, five years later still the king himself. ^ Only direct representative of Henry VII. Descent was through Margaret, Henry's eldest daughter, whose son was James V of Scotland, father of ill-starred Mary Queen of Scots, mother of James VI. '^ Who trusted to his mother's faith. ^ A king reared on Presbyterianism would be likely to think well of Puritanism. Puritans had not then heard the king's words, "A Scottish presbytery agreeth as well with a monarchy as God with the devil." " No bishop, no king." * In the famous Bate case, 1606, in which king levied dues, Bxchequer decided that king was within right, and needed not authority of Parliament. Coke stood for judicial independence and was deposed, 1616 ; judges henceforth mere heralds of royal will. * His theory was that "the All-powerful had placed kings above law ; that consequently a prince can make statutes and punish without the intervention of a Parliament, and that he is not bound to strict observance of the laws of the state." "I will govern according to the common weal, but not according to the common weal," he declared, dissolving Parliament ; himself, of course, to be judge of the common weal. * Attracted by dowry and by hope of increased influence in continental politics, he sought Spanish princess for Prince Charles. Such conditions were imposed that father and son withdrew from project discomfited. ^ James wanted to win peace for Europe by diplomacy when everybody else was fighting for it. His reward was contempt of all parties. ^Elector Frederick V of the Palatinate. ^ Favoritism, waste of revenue, revival of absolute feudal priv- ileges, subversion of courts, illegal imposts, insane emphasis of divine right. ^"Most monopolies had been abolished early in reign, only later to creep back in ever larger number. James, seeing strength of storm, canceled them without waiting to have them outlawed. KNGlvAND SINCK THIRTEEN HUNDRRD. 313 "Parliament did not mince matters, beginning with Lord Chancellor Bacon. ^2 Though James with his own hand tore from Journal the page recording protest against interference, the protest marked gain never afterward lost. ^3 Buckingham quarreled with Richelieu, who ordered him out of the kingdom. Important incident in quarrel of ministers was siege of La Rochelle. ^* Assassinated on point of sailing against Rochelle. ^''Star Chamber, High Commission Court, and Council of York gave all needed machinery. Various taxes were levied, most notable in result ship money, courts still finding for the crown. ^^Nineteen-twentieths of the nation signed a national cove- nant, pledging defiance of Catholicism and defence of Scotland's laws, freedom, and king, the last a strange oath, seeing that it was from the king that they feared all. '^The Long Parliament," 1640-1659. ^« Already line of cleavage between Cavalier and Roundliead could be traced, though as yet the struggle is between -Parlia- ment as a whole and king. In just a year lines will be redrawn. SEC. II. CHECK. Such parliamentary temper is not good for royalty. The situation was not improved by fresh evidence of Charles' faithlessness.' Outbreak in Ireland forced matters to issue.' The Grand Remonstrance^ was car- ried through Parliament. Seeing now whither they were hastening, parties crystallized for and against the king. In general, nobility, gentry, and clergy, the universities, supporters of episcopacy, and Catholics were with the king ; towns, small freeholders, and non- conformists with Parliament, which henceforth is con- stituted by the House of Commons. At first the war dragged.* In 1643 Parliament joined the Scotch in the Solemn League and Covenant,^ in spite of large and growing influence of Independents.*' Charles intrigued 43 314 ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. with all parties/ and, true to record, did his best to de- ceive all. Then, seeing safety only in drastic measures, Cromwell turned upon the Scotch, brought them to terms, ^destroyed the remnants of royal resistance, fitted Parliament to will of army,'' and brought Charles to the scaffold. The only efficient power left was Cromwell's army and Cromwell. Under title of Protector, Crom- well ruled England for nine years as England has seldom been ruled. Ironsides taught Europe the art of war anew. The navy under Blake swept the seas. Englishmen were proud again for the first time since the days of Elizabeth. At home, government with strong hand repaired the ruin of civil war. But two things numbered the days of the Commonwealth : Cromwell was politically in advance of his age,'*' and long before his work was done death claimed him. His son ^' was no match for the times, and after five months gladly laid aside the staff of office. The army still ruled England, and declared for royalty. This was what the nation longed for, and the dead Charles' son was welcomed to England and the throne. ^ Suspicion was already keen. It was beHeved that, so far from visiting Scotland to enforce acts abolishing episcopac}', the king really went to get an anny to coerce Parliament. There was evidence that he negotiated with Irish Catholic lords, who wanted to rule Ireland and who in return for this would furnish an army for England. What is certain is that he invaded the House of Commons to arrest offending mem- bers. 2 While Charles was in Scotland the Irish lords rose on their own account. The rebellion must be put down. Could the king be trusted with an army ? Parliament doubted it. •^A statement of Parliament's case, indicting the king of un- limited list of errors and wrongs. There was now a party for the king and one against. The Grand Remonstrance passed Commons by narrow majority of eleven. ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. 315 * 1642 saw Charles set up the roj^al staudard at Nottingham, August 22. Edgehill followed, October 23, au indecisive strug- gle. At Turnham Green, November 13, the Loudon train bands barred Charles' march to the capital, which he was fated to enter again only as a prisoner. ^Binding English to reform Church of England in line of Presbyterianism, though a measure of liberty was provided for by addition, on England's part, of words, " and according to the word of God." Money was furnished Scotland, and Scotland undertook to furnish an army. * Separatists, now grown numerous, called Independents from insistence that every congregation is an independent ecclesi- astical authority for its own affairs. 'Glamorgan treated with Irish in name of king. Charles threw himself upon Scotch, who were anxious to support him, stipulating only the establishment of Presbyterianism. Par- liamentary Presbyterians were open to proposals of Scottish brethren. Only the Independents and the army were consist- ently hostile to king. Charles' state of mind may best be gath- ered from his own words to the queen : "All my endeavors must be the delaying of my answer till there be considerable parties visibly formed." ^After routing Scotch army at Preston, Cromwell pressed on to Edinburgh and established a government pledged against the king. 3 Parliamentary majority were Presbyterians, who spoke ill of Cromwell, the army, and Independents. Pride's Purge settled all murmurs. Colonel Pride, December 6, 1648, surrounding House with troopers, prevented Presbyterian members from entering. This reduced attendance that day from 250 to 50. The latter, all Independents, formally indorsed Cromwell. ^"Cromwell's idea was worked out by Ireton in "The Heads of the Proposals," a constitutional scheme providing for bien- nial Parliaments, special regulation of official appointments, and complete toleration except to Catholics. The constitution of the Protectorate, "The Instrument of Government," would make a firs^-rate working scheme for a modern republic. ^^ Richard Cromwell, nominated as successor by father on death-bed, a quiet, unwarlike man, more welcome to nation, less welcome to arni}^, because no fighter. 3l6 ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. SEC. 12. RESTORATION. Charles II, 1660-1685. The restoration of the Stuart line meant resumption of the Stuart programme. One thing, and one only, Charles II had learned during his exile — the inconvenience of being a king without a crown, a ruler without a domain. This was worth much to England, for unwillingness to be again sent on his travels impelled Charles to stop short of break- ing with the nation as both father and grandfather had done. Meanwhile England had gone mad with joy at recovery of a king. Moderation would have- been an advantage, as it might have saved the nation the em- barrassment of coming to itself only to find a coil of broken promises about its neck. Charles II had op- portunity to be one of England's really national leaders. Being a Stuart, hecoidd not use his opportunity. The one word to describe his reign is reaction : from severity to shamelessness in morals ; from toleration enforced by the sword to conformity under stringent laws against dissent ; ' from revolt against tyranny to non-resistance ; from attempted independence to attempted absolutism. The disgraceful Treaty of Dover, "^ 1670, sums up the new king's foreign policy. Corporation Act,^ Conven- ticle Act,* Five-mile Act,^ and the roar of Dutch guns in the ear of London ^ reveal the character of adminis- tration at home. Royalty was costing dear, for with all his father's duplicity Charles II was sensual and extravagant. The future grew dark once more. The king was suspected of Catholic leanings. His brother and heir was an avowed Catholic. Wise men foresaw trouble. James II, 1685-1688. And it came. The old arbi- trariness, the old disregard of law,^ in face of an ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. 317 awakened national spirit, worked their own remedy. If the king would not rule by the constitution he should not rule at all. Hope of transmission of crown to Mary of Orange ^ on James' death destroyed by unlooked for birth of son^ to king, leading Englishmen joined in petition to Mary's husband to come to their relief. James finally conceded every point, but it was too late. England had declared the divine right of kings uncon- stitutional. ^ Presbyterianism was disowned as beiug no religion for a gen- tleman. An act of nuiformity required Episcopal ordination and use of Book of Common Prayer. The Covenant was pub- licly burned by hangman. Dissent was severely punished. ■^ Even while talking loudly against Louis XIV, Charles whs secretly in his pay to the extent of a million dollars a j^ear. The terms of Dover were: i. Open profession of Catholicism by Charles. 2. Active alliance with France against Dutch Republic. 3. Support of France in claims upon Spain. 4. Plenty of money from Louis and an army to crush any attempted English revolt. ^Compelling magistrates and corporation officers to take oath that resistance to king is unlawful under any circumstances. *i664. Making crime of attendance upon a conventicle or meeting not in harmony with Church of England punishable in ascending scale, ending in seven years' transportation. ^ 1665. Forbade dissenting minister to come within five miles of a borough, town, or of any place where he would be likely to get a hearing, unless he took oath of non-resistance, and in addition swore never to undertake to alter government either in church or in state. ^ Charles had no heart to spend on the navy money that would give pleasure to his mistresses. The result whs leaky, under- manned, ill-stored ships against Holland's splendid navy. Even these hulks were put out of commission before all issues were determined looking to a peace Charles regarded as already as- sured. The Dutch admiral swept up the Thames, filling London with shame and terror, a city which had never before, has never since, heard the sound of foreign cannon. ^ In defiance of Test Act gave commissions to Catholics, used pardoning power to free Catholics from disabilities, whipped in 3l8 ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. the universities, and in 1687 by his own authority published Declaration of Indulgence. The measure was on the face of it good, but two facts must be carried with it : i. Protestant dis- senters squarely refused it, though it seemed to favor them. 2. Englishmen in general believed that its liberality was only a blind, that when freedom of worship had been secured Catho- lics, among others, it would at once be withdrawn from all others. ^ Daughter of James, but confirmed Protestant. ^Universally believed at the time to be a warming-pan off- spring smuggled into queen's bed. The child become a man vindicated his parents by showing the Stuart temper so com- pletely as to prove himself his father's son. SEC. 13. THE DIVINE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE. The Revolution of 1688 was more than the passing of a scepter from one hand to another. It marked the end of the old political order, the beginning .of a new. I. No claim of divine right will hold, against the un- concealed and uncontested act of Parliament determin- ing the succession in the name of the people. 2. No absolutist assumption can bar the will of the people ex- pressed by Parliament. 3. The ministers of govern- ment are responsible henceforth, not to crown, but to nation. 4. Prerogative gives place to law. 5. The conditions of party government are established. 6. Something like intellectual and spiritual liberty is as- sured. The charters guaranteeing these goods and much beside are the Declaration of Right, ^ the Act of Settlement,' and the Act of Toleration,^ notably the first. So England faced the future. Strong affection for the queen, Mary II, 1688- 1694, and great need of the king, William III, 1 688-1 702, kept the nation fairly united while the new order was getting itself settled. The most prominent interest of the double reign was E^NGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. ^IQ not English, but Continental. Additional weight in struggle witli Louis XIV * was one great element in William's acceptance of the English crown. Year after year his indomitable will kept him in the field, until the Treaty of Ryswick brought honorable peace. But incidental good from the struggle was confirmation of rights of Parliament by use, the king, busied abroad, willingl}^ leaving to it domestic concerns in return for subsidies enabling him to humble France. Both in public and in private life Anne, ^ 1702-17 14, served her country well. As she herself said, her heart was en- tirely English. Though not brilliant, she was sensible, devout, loyal, and well understood the spirit of her people. Her reign was trebl}^ memorable for the Scot- tish Union,*' a hterary outburst^ w^hich couples her age with that of Elizabeth, and for the marvelous victories of Marlborough " in the European struggle. ^ Condemned illegaHties of James II and conferred crown upon WiUiam III and Mary II, administration to rest with king. Succession was fixed through Mary, then through Anne, then through Wilham. ^ Fixed succession after Anne in House of Hanover. Further important provisions were : i. Sovereign must be communicant of Church of Kngland. 2. Foreigners were exchided from Privy Council and Parhament. 3. Pohcy of foreign possessions of sovereign might involve England only at England's will. 4. Judges were fixed in tenure of life or good, conduct. 5. By no formal enactment, but more than by any or all enactments, the supremacy of Parliament was reasserted, the sovereign henceforth primarily only the first official of the state. ^Practically assuring religious liberty to all except " Papists and such as deny the Trinity." *The struggle as much religious as political. Louis was Christendom's leading Catholic king. William was ablest Prot- estant leader. ^ Her own life was blameless, her court was pure, and while no genius, she had the wisdom to support able ministers and generals. 326 ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEE^N HUNDitEt). ^ Since the earliest Border wars men had seen the compacting of the island into one kingdom as a thing desirable and ulti- mately inevitable. Personal union came in 1603 by James I. Political union was accomplished in 1707, on following terms : 1. House of Hanover to succeed to throne of United Kingdom. 2. Scotland to have 16 Peers and 45 Commoners. 3. British ports and colonies to be open to Scottish traders. 4. Public policy to be the same for England and Scotland, but property and private rights to be administered with reference to Scottish tradition. 5. Scottish courts to remain unchanged. 6, Church of Scotland to be maintained. 'Prior, Addison, Pope, Steele, Swift, Cibber, Congreve, Defoe. 8 Notably Blenheim, 1704; Ramilies, 1706; Oudenarde, 1708 ; Malplaquet, 1709. Of Marlborough it was said that "he never besieged a town which he did not take, nor fought a battle in which he did not conquer." He was worthily seconded by Prince Eugene of Savoy. SEC. 14. THE HANOVERIAN KINGS. Again, at the death of Anne, England sent abroad for a king. The Guelph Line or House of Brunswick joint with the Stuarts in the person of Electress EHz- abeth Palatine, daughter of James I. Grandson ^ to Elizabeth was George of Hanover, now an electorate.^ This Elector of Hanover became King of England as George I. On his death, his son succeeded as George II. The reigns belong together in spirit, in character of kings, and in fact of subordination of English to Hanoverian interests, so far as royal . influence could determine. English speech and English character the first George never fairly learned, while the second lived and died less English than German.^ Chief events of the two reigns follow. George I, 171 4- 1727, had reached ripe age of fifty - four when he became king. The first years were filled ENGLAND SINCIC THIRTEEJN HUNDRED. 32 1 with nightmare. James' son had a following in Eng- land, numerous and strong. France had promised him strong support. Scotland blazed up in rebellion. But I^ouis XIV died. The Scotch were defeated. The Pre- tender appeared in the North, but stayed only long enough to prove himself a Stuart. "The Fifteen" was over. The following 5^ears saw a Septennial Act * substituted for the Triennial,^ the dissolution of Con- vocation,' the bursting of the South Sea Bubble,' and the rise of Walpole. George II, 1 727-1 760, was forty-four on his accession. Walpole continued the real ruler of England. His policy was peace at home and abroad, maintained when necessary by silence under insult and by unlimited bribery. War with Spain in 1739 resulted ill, justify- ing Walpole' s dire prophecies.^ Opposition, already strong, was increased by quickening of moral sense of nation under preaching of Methodism, and English- men, ashamed of long subserviency, drove the great Minister from office. The Continental war, 1 741-1745, over accession of Maria Theresa, was memorable for good English service.^ * ' The Forty-five' ' was Stuarts' last effort to regain crown.'" The Seven Years' War, 1 756- 1 763, from a Continental became a Colonial con- flict between France and England, Clive's victory for latter at Plassey '^ and Wolfe's at Quebec '' laying foun- dation of British Empire in India and America. The strong man at home was William Pitt, the Great Com- moner. ^ Through Sophia, who married Elector of Hanover. ^ Since 1692. ^ Heavy, cautious, reserved, both father and son, industrious, punctual, niggardly toward England, prodigal toward Hanover, The elder was a domestic tyrant, keeping his cousin wife a 44 322 ENGI.AND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. prisoner in Hanover for more than 30 years. The younger had sense enough to prize his wife Caroline of Anspach, a woman of virtue and discretion, even though he preferred mistresses for steady company. Science, literature, art hoped little, gained less, from the first two Georges, the latter of whom was more than once heard to growl that he saw no use in " bainting and t)oetry." * Fixing maximum length of Parliament at seven years. ^Passed in 1694, limiting life of Parliament to three years. This called for unduly frequent election, keeping the country in political turmoil. ^ The clergy early ceased to form an estate of the realm in a legislative sense. Until 1664, however, they levied royal aids upon themselves under the name of benevolences. In the year named, without express law, they were merged into the body of the nation, so far as taxation was concerned. They, how- ever, still had large influence as an ecclesiastical organization, notwithstanding the radical religious changes that had come over the kingdom. Convocation continued to meet until 1717, discussing many subjects only indirectly ecclesiastical. The tendency to this grew and resulted in prorogation by the king's ministers. Though regularly summoned, it was as regularly prorogued without doing anything, and not until our own fifties was it allowed to consider even church business. ^A national craze in 1720 over an impossible monopoly of South Sea trade, in return for which the South Sea Company was to pay the national debt, besides a bonus at once of nearly forty million dollars. It was Law's French bubble over again, with a gullible English in place of a gullible French constitu- ency. Of course, the scheme failed, carrying ruin everywhere. ^ It is interesting to note that the war was caused by Spanish claim of right to search British vessels suspected of smuggling on coasts of Spanish America. Joy bells rang when war was declared, for the war was popular. " They may ring their bells now," nmttered Walpole ; "they will be wringing their hands before long." The war was ill-managed and Walpole's words came true. "Especially emphasized by fact that at Dettingen, I743, the king led the troops to victory in person, the last time a British sovereign has been under fire of an enemy. ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. 323 ^°The " Fifteen " was in the interest of James' son, the Pre- tender. The "Forty-five" was led by " Bonnie Prince Charlie," son of the Pretender. At Rome is monument bearing empty titles of three English kings unrecognized b3' England — James III (Pretender), Charles III (Bonnie Prince Charlie), and Henry IX (Cardinal of York, younger son of Pretender). ^^ 1757. Avenged the Black Hole of Calcutta and gave Bengal to England. ^2 1 759. Completing conquest of Canada by impossible achieve- ment of scaling cliffs to which Montcalm trusted for half the de- fense of Quebec. SEC. 15. GEORGE THE THIRD. George III, 1 760-1 820, ascended a glorious throne. Pitt and his coworkers by land and sea had led England to first place in world's politics. The new king came to the throne an Englishman. George I, heart and tongue German, knew little, perhaps cared less, about England, whose direction lie left to his ministers, seldom even attending their meetings. George II followed his father's example, main interest still outside kingdom. George III, born and bred to English ways, schooled incessantly to thought of king as ruler, ^ loving England as predecessors had not, set out to make royal will chief factor in government. Setting little store by parties and recognizing responsibility of ministers only to him- self, he appealed to popular sentiment for overthrow of Whigs. The Whigs went out. Then George found that while the nation was ready to support the king against faction it would not support him against itself. The struggle was long and at times bitter, ending in further establishment of popular rights. Royalty strove earnestly, but its theory was out of date. The events through which the issue was determined were among the most thrilling in history, i. The secret agreement 324 ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. of 1733 between France and Spain against England, renewed in Family Compact, though unforced by British initiative, to unbearable disgust of Pitt,'^ was quickly broken by British guns'* when once the compacting nations declared war. Treaty of Paris, 1763, brought peace. 2. Then the train was laid * for trouble with the American Colonies. Lord North, prime minister and page of royalty, was kept in office to coerce America. Judicial coercion gave way to military force. Lexing- ton, Bunker Hill, Valley Forge, Saratoga, Yorktown were sinister comment on ro3^al obstinacy. At last even the royal mind opened to the logic of facts, and the American Republic was recognized. 3. Meanwhile Cook was winning an Australasian empire for the Mother Country, Hastings, Cornwallis, Wellesley, and their collaborateurs were completing the Indian, thus balancing American loss. 4. Severest strain of all came in French Revolution. Throwing prudence to the winds, the new Republic challenged the world. Revo- lutionar}^ and Napoleonic wars are almost as much a part of English as of French history. British gold, British blood, British generalship, British diplomacy headed every opposition to French ambition, winning ultimate deliverance for Europe and imperishable fame for the Island Kingdom. 5. Consolidation of that king- dom was furthered by the Irish Union, ^ completing political organization of British Isles, The enormous drain of the French wars was met by enormous indus- trial development, and despite increase of national debt^ the reign closed in peace and prosperity. A shadow that had long rested on the royal household settled into complete darkness in 18 10, in blindness and insanity of king. From the beginning of the following year the Prince of Wales administered the government as Regent. KNGI.AND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. 325 ^ " George, be a king ! be a king ! " was his mother's daily ad- monition. His tutor, Bate, was of the same mind. So was the royal pupil, so far as he had a mind. 2 Pitt urged to strike before the blow of the enemy fell. Over- ruled on score of an empty treasury, he resigned. ^ Spain lost Havana and Manila ; both, however, unfortunately returned later, to be a field of Spanish tyrann\' until Dewey and others did the work over again in 1898, France was stripped of her finest holdings in the West Indies. Both Spain and France soon asked for peace, *0n ground that colonial war was waged in colonial interest, government argued that colonial settlement of bills was only fair. Colonial answer was, No. The war was England's war, and England must pay for her own enterprises. Only in pro- portion to colonial rights could colonial obligations be recog- nized. No taxation without representation. Then the quarrel grew in extent and bitterness, subjects of dispute proving larger than was supposed. ^ i8or. Recent rebellion made union a political necessity. Main provisions follow: i. Ireland was to have 32 Peers and 100 Commoners. 2. Full trading privileges. 3. EquitaV)le pro- portional taxation. Pitt wanted complete freedom for religion as well as for trade, involving Catholic ^uancipation, but both the king and the English people were opposed to this, needing still a third of a century of preparation, ^Footing up enormous total of four and a half billion dollars. SEC. 16. NEEDED REFORMS. The reigns of George IV, 1 820-1 830, and William IV, 1 830-1 837, were short and uneventful so far as foreign affairs were concerned. Extension of Indian possessions^ and establishment of Greek independence^ occasioned the only warlike movements of King George; enlistment rights to Spanish government disturbed by Carlists and blockade of Dutch ports in Belgian inter- est,' the only ones of King William, At home three measures made the period memorable, i. The Eman- 326 ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. cipation Bill of 1829 released Catholics from legal dis- abilities, securing them full rights of British subjects.* 2. The Reform Bill of 1832 swept away worst corrup- tions of pocket borough^ politics, recognized municipal development,^ and extended the suffrage." 3. The Ab- olition Act^ of 1833 crowned lifelong effort of Wilber- force, Sharp, Clarkson, and Buxton, backed by moral sense of England, putting end to slavery throughout British dominions. ^ Through first Burmese war, caused by outrages upon British colonies beyond Ganges. ^Against grinding Turkish rule, which for more than three centuries had kept them bond slaves. Russia, France, and England engaged to force from Turkey acknowledgment of Greek independence. The matter was settled in battle of Nava- rino, where Turkish fleet was destroyed. Greece got for king Bavarian Otho and started on the checkered way of her modern history. ^Congress of Vienna tied up Holland and Belgium in a union which in the nature of things could not endure. In 1830 Bel- gium carried through successful revolt, forming independent kingdom. * Thanks to eloquence of Daniel O'Connell and to growing En. glish enlightenment. Already in 1828 the Test and Corporation Acts of Charles II had been repealed. ^Some of which had no voters, though they cast votes in Parliament. Old Sarum, ruined by prosperity of New Sarum or Salisbury, was a green mound without a single dwelling. Gatton was a ruined wall. Fifty -six rotten boroughs were dis- franchised outright, while thirty others had their representation reduced. One hundred forty-three memberships were thus available for redistribution. They were assigned to the more populous counties and thirty-nine cities and towns hitherto un- represented. ^ Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester fairly represented many communities which had risen to importance without Par- liamentary representation, as that had been fixed when they were not entitled to it, and left since unchanged. ENGLA.ND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. 327 ^ In towns, to owners or tenants of houses worth at least ten pounds a year. In the country, to owmers of land worth ten pounds a year or renters paying at least fifty pounds a year. This extension of the suffrage to the middle class met astound- ingly vigorous opposition in House of Lords. Indeed, only fear of being swamped by new liberal Peers brought Lords to terms at last. ^ After forty-six years of agitation. Slaveholders received one hundred million dollars as compensation for their propert}' and five years' apprentice service from their slaves, the time being shortened two years from the seven originall}' determined. In 1838 800,000 slaves went free. SEC. 17. VICTORIA REGINA. Since the opening of the century England succes- sively had obeyed three kings — the first imbecile, the second corrupt, the third old. It was springtime in the nation's heart when a young and beautiful queen was welcomed to the throne. With a vsingle sad ex- ception, w^oman's rule has been a time of national en- thusiasm in England. More than once the men of Victoria's reign have been reminded of this, by achieve- ment matching the great days of Anne and the greater days of Elizabeth. English annals show few reigns comparable with these three. Canadian rebellion^ and Chartist'^ agitation disturbed Victoria's first years. An Afghan war/^ interference in Pachalic revolt * against Turkey, and chastisement of China ^ filled the years from 1839 to 1842. Disruption " in Scotland and the Oxford movement marked 1843. The Punjaub was conquered in 1845. Repeal of Corn Eaws" made 1846 memorable. The first World's Fair was held in 1851. Trouble with Kaffirs at the Cape and a second Burmese war occurred in 1852. The Crimean War^ followed in 1854. In 1856 fresh gain 328 KNGI.AND vSlNCK I'HIRl'EKN HUNDRED. was made in China. 1857 was made a 5^ear of horror by the Indian Mutiny.^ SUghtly uneven neutrality was observed during the Civil War in America/" In 1869 the Irish Church was disestablished." In 1870 the Irish Land Act''* was passed. The middle seventies were enlivened by blustering ^^ in connection with the Russo-Turkish War. The Reform Biir' of 1884 still further extended the suffrage. 1885 was memorable for Gordon and Khartoum. ^^ The later eighties were filled with imperialistic agitation ^^ looking to closer union of different parts of Empire, agitation whose form has changed during the last decade, but which has continued with promising results. Threatened wars have been numerous of late.^^ but not since the days of the Crimea has England actually fought a civil- ized people until this closing year of the century, when long standing disputes with the Orange Free State and the Transvaal are getting settled by the Bismarckian formula of blood and iron. ^ Protest against political jobbery, indifference of home gov- ernment to colonial grievances, and inevitable outcome of racial friction. Soon quelled and two provinces united. ■■^So called from the People's Charter, a campaign document demanding constitutional change in direction of popular gov- ernment. ' Writing a story of brilliant military achievement, treachery, revenge, and final gain. Dost Mohammed was a usurper. To replace ousted chief, English army fought its way to Cabul. Dost Mohammed's son invited English officers to conference and murdered them. The army on its backward march was wiped out. A new English force reconquered the capital and then withdrew. Dost Mohammed got the throne at last, but proved unexpectedly well disposed to British, so all ended well. * Mehemet Ali, of Egypt. ^ Dispute over smuggled opium grew into unwarranted im- prisonment of British subjects, when English action became inevitable. ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. 329 ^ Overturn of ecclesiastical decisions by the civil courts caused a large section to withdraw from the state church and form the Free church. More than 30 per cent, of the population is affil- iated with the Free church, which has grown to half the list of communicants reported by the state church, ^ Duty on foreign breadstuff was long kept ruinously high from mistaken regard for local agricultural interests. The repeal did more than correct excessive dues on corn. It led England out into free trade. ^Russian interference with Turkey awakened protest from France and England. Through a good part of the war Eng- land got the lion's share of work, France the lion's share of glory. The Treaty of Paris closed the war in 1856, Russia promising to keep no fleet in the Black Sea and to leave Sebas- topol dismantled. It is needless to add that both promises have been broken. ^Fought down, as only Englishmen can fight down disaster, adding the names of Lawrence and Havelock and Campbell to the roll of England's heroes. The result was firmer British hold on India. Government was transferred from the East India Company to the crown. ^•'Witness early recognition of Southern Confederacy, the Trent affair, and the career of the Alabama. It is hardly doubt- ful that Euglishmen in general would have welcomed the disso- lution of the Union. ^^ Simple justice to Ireland, since the established and endowed Protestant church had always been the church of the minority. ^•^ Compelled landlord to compensate tenant for improvements made by latter, and limited right of eviction to violation of con- tract. Government aid also was offered tenants wishing to buy land. Unfortunately the act proved less beneficent than was hoped, because of unlooked-for composition between landlord and tenant. ^^ Beaconsfield insisted that agreements of Russia and Turkey must be revised by concert of powers. Great show of spirit was rewarded by reduction of Russia's profit from victory, and con- siderable redistribution of the semi-independent principalities of northern Turkey. ^* Making conditions of suffrage identical in country and borough — i. e., every adult male owning or renting a house of 45 330 ENGLAND SINCE THIRTKKN HUNDRED. ten pounds yearly value is a voter. Further, counties and boroughs are divided into election districts, each entitled to one member. ^^ Part of the Egyptian problem. Gordon went down alone to make peace among howling desert fanatics. Too late his coun- trymen organized for his rescue. Meanwhile the Mahdi storm had been too great for Gordon. The city had fallen when help arrived, and Gordon with it. The real rescue of Gordon was accomplished in 1899 by Kitchener. ^^I^ookiug even as far ultimately as to include representation in the imperial Parliament. ^^ Extreme German tension, Venezuelan Boundary Dispute, Fisheries and other Canadian complications touching the United States, the Fashoda incident, minor brushes with African tribes, the eternal Eastern question with Russia, whether in Turkey, Persia, Afghanistan, or China. SEC. 18. THE MAKING OF THE NATION. Valuable instruction is offered b}^ review of the pro- cess by which was shaped the heart of ' ' the greatest empire that has been." Geographically, we see the Heptarchy reduced to triarchy and then to tmity,^ the best prevailing by war's unflinching test. Then, after four and a half centuries, Wales added, "^ rounds out Angle Land. Four centuries later Scotland^ joins, making Great Britain. Still a century, and Ireland from a conquered province becomes constituent ^ of the United Kingdom. Ethnic composition matches terri- torial. Celt, Pict, Scot, Dane, Angle, Saxon, amalga- mated, waited only a Norman strain to make the com- posite Englishman. Composite Scotchman, composite Irishman, and composite Englishman fuse to form the Britisher.' Boast of tmmixed blood there can hardly be in face of this. But unmixed blood has always been outclassed. Far better politically is a happy ENGLAND SINCK THIRTEEN HUNDRED. 331 mingling of different strains, producing a type superior to any original. It is England's lot to rejoice in the best type the world has seen— possibly save one. 1 Kent, East Saxony, South Saxony, Wessex, Northumbria, East Anglia, Mercia ; reduced to Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex ' Wessex winning in the end. The process of reduction filled 417 years, from 410 to 827. ' 1282, under Edward I, whose infant son born at Caernarvon was first "Prince of Wales." ^ 1707, under Queen Anne. *i8oi, under George III. SEC. 19. GREATER BRITAIN. Nine-tenths of the population of Great Britain is found outside of the United Kingdom, and ninetynine- hundredths of its territory. An entire side of English history since the beginning of Tudor days ' is made up of discovery, colonization, development of new lands. England's colonial policy has been remarkable for sev- eral reasons: i. It has spread a net of English in- fluence over the globe. No habitable foot of the earth is far distant from the Union Jack. 2. It regards the colony as a field, not for exploitation, but for cultivation.' 3. It encourages local independence.' 4. It has every- where meant better rule.* 5. Most remarkable of all, with few noteworthy exceptions,' it is indorsed by the gov- erned. The outburst of colonial loyalty at the Queen's Jubilee in 1897, proved by recent events in South Africa to be no mere matter of words, tells more clearly than written volumes why England stands in the forefront of the nations. ^ Henry VII sent out Sebastian Cabot, who touched at Lab- rador, 1497, and sailed down the eastern coast of North America as far as Florida. English seamen sent by English sovereigns completed the programme. 332 ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. ^The primary thought being commerce. Development of colonial life means an ever-enlarging market. The policy of re- striction, pursued with such disastrous effects toward the Ameri- can colonies, has long since been abandoned. Not to strip colo- nial country bare and not to hinder colonial enterprise, but, on the contrary, to stimulate colonial civilization and thereby mul- tiply wants is the course that pays in the long run. But we greatly mistake when we see in the Englishman a mere gold- hunter or land-grabber or shopkeeper. The colonizing, civiliz- ing, christianizing instinct is in his blood, and there is more than a jest in the English statesman's complacent remark that it is wonderful how the Ten Commandments and British inter- ests go together. ^ Note the Dominion of Canada and the Australian Common- wealths. * Note India, where improved conditions have made multiplied life possible to such an extent that one great task of the govern- ment is to look after those who under old conditions would have perished at birth. Pro-Boer sentiment is modified by deliberate judgment that, whatever the specific issues at bottom of present war, the world would suffer loss if British rule in South Africa were imperiled. ^The woes of Ireland illustrate the exceptions. Pity that justice and sympathy and brotherly kindness on both sides St, George's Channel cannot find means for breaking down the wall of separation, built at such pains and such cost of racial, reli- gious, and political prejudice, which severs Ireland from the empire, in spite of Parliaments and laws and force ! Happily Ireland is but one and has no real counterpart. SEC. 20. THE BRITISH EMPIRE. The United Kingdom and Greater Britain together constitute a world empire. The sun never sets on British dominion. The center of it is, of course, the British Isles. The final authority, whether for the making or the execution of law, is Parliament.^ Under Parliament, in varying degrees of independence, the ENGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. 333 multitudinous constituents of the empire form a series running all the way from the crown colony '^ to federa- tions '^ recognizing only British suzerainty. Another such empire, so large, so scattered,* so free, history has not recorded. Its size is due to English love of adventure, English commercial instinct, English fight- ing weight, English grit. Its diffusion is due to En- glish appropriation of strategic corners wherever found, English pride in mastering tasks once undertaken, English genius for developing a situation. Its free- dom is fruit of Teutonic political genius, best seen in English spirit steadied by development of institutions for self-government, yet true to the fundamental Teu- tonic principle of personal rights. The precious thing is that in working out the problem of free government the Englishman has not wrought for himself alone. Whatever his blindness in earlier dealing with Ameri- can colonies, he has since been visited with great light. The last century has been England's best up to date. Her triumphs have been many. The greatest of all is written in the fact that in becoming an empire she has not become less free. By the Ganges, the Cape, the Nile, the St. Lawrence, the thousand islands of the sea, as by the Thames, British law means order, Brit- ish defense means safety, British organization means personal and political liberty. ^Constituted of three elements of influence — Crown, Lords, and Commons. Succession to the crown is fixed by Act of Set- tlement. Royal assent is concluding act in enactment of law, though no veto has been attempted since Anne stopped a Scotch militia bill in 1707. The royal prerogative covers also making war and peace, pardon, summoning, proroguing, and dissolving Parliament, coinage, conferring nobility. The two houses make laws, vote supplies, furnish the administration — in theory advis- 334 KNGLAND SINCE THIRTEEN HUNDRED. iug, in fact, controlling crown. The Lords are the court of final appeal. Legally they have equal share with Commons in legislation ; practically in case of difference the Upper House has to give way. Legally Commons has the one special power of originating money bills; practically they govern the kingdom. In most important sense Parliament is a popular legislature, chosen by an electorate which just stops short of manhood suf- frage. Final authority for the Bnipire therefore is the English voter. 2 Like India, Gibraltar, Hongkong, St, Helena, controlled en- tirely by home government. ^ Like the Dominion of Canada, itself a great state, under re- sponsible government, over which home government retains rights only so far as concerns appointment of governor-general, commander in chief of military forces, and general veto, saving always, as a matter of course, such functions of sovereignty as making war or treaty with a foreign power, *Here function of an unmatched navy conies clear. British geographical unity is secured by a cordon of battleships stretch- ing round the globe. Such an empire is possible only to the mistress of the sea. Utmost loyalty in colonies could not avail to hold the empire together twenty-four hours if once naval supremac}' were lost. It is a sound instinct that keeps track of operations in foreign ship-yards with a view to keeping always one ahead. The British army is important. The British navy is indispensable. CHAPTER XIV, The United States. SEC. I. POLITICAL CONTINUITY. When does American history begin ? Was its open- ing act the landing of Cohinibus, the coming of Cabot, the founding of Jamestown, the organization of Ply- mouth, the Boston tea party, Lexington, Bunker Hill, the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Paris, or the adoption of the Constitution ? Argument can be made for any and all of them. This indeterminateness suggests that the source lies deeper than any one act. We are the children of our fathers. While special im- portance attaches to attainment of legal majority, a biography which opened with coming of age would be counted singularly incomplete. Youth, childhood, par- entage, heredity — the springs of life lie in those earlier, precedent years. And historj^ is the biography of a nation. Political majority marks a vital point in na- tional development ; but, with a nation as with a man, behavior after coming of age is largely determined by elements fixed during minority, if not in the years before conscious life altogether. In an important sense the most vital chapter of American history was written before an American state had been dreamed of. Amer- ican literature, American law, American social tradi- tion root in English tradition.^ American political life 46 (335) 336 THE UNITED STATKvS. is English political life revised, enlarged, and improved. As Turgot prophesied, the fruit ripened and ceased to cling to the tree. None the less it was the fruit of the tree, which had brought forth after its kind. To understand our own political life, therefore, we must not be unmindful of our English origin."'' In its three homes the English people has beeri true to itself — brave, strong, vSelf-reliant, inventive — whether on the German Lowlands, the British Isles, or the great Continent of the West. Physical, social, spiritual kinship has bound the generations into historical unity. Politically the order of development runs straight from Teutonic free- manship through Magna Charta, Model Parliament, Petition of Right, Habeas Corpus, Declaration of Right, Act of Settlement, Declaration of Independence, to the Constitution.-'' ^Speaking of English feeling of North American colonists, Johnston says: " This feeling was not an easy one to eradicate, for it was based on blood, training, and sj'nipathies of every na- ture. It would not have been easy to distinguish the American from the Knglishman. American portraits of the time show typical English faces. Wherever life was relieved of the priva- tions involved in colonial struggle, the person at once reverted to the type which was then the result of corresponding condi- tions in England. The traditions of American officers were English ; their methods were English; even the attitude they took toward the private soldiers of their armies was that which was characteristic of the English officer of the time. In the South the men who led and formed public opinion had almost all been trained in England and were ingrained with English sympathies and even prejudices. In the North the acute gen- eral intellect had long ago settled upon the ' common rights of Englishmen ' as the bulwark behind which they could best re- sist ati}^ attempt on their liberties." 2 The greatest strain upon our political institutions has come from assumption that what is imderstood and appreciated by THK UNITED STATES. 337 Americans themselves will be understood and appreciated by every one who comes to America. Those institutions are the product of political evolution. Six centuries of training made them possible. Anglo-Saxon qualities are presupposed by them : moderation, self-restraint, love of fair play. They take for granted intelligence, independence, and honest interest in good government. These qualities may or may not be possessed by a man who even without them may be able to handle a coal pick or roast peanuts. The possession of political qualities, however, might fairl}- be insisted upon as prerequisite to the possession of political rights. ^ Especially valuable illustration of this thought constitutes the special excellence of such works as Stevens' Sources of the Constitution. "It is beginning to be realized that the Coiisti- tution of the United States, though possessing elements of novelty, is not after all the new creation that this idea (viz., that the Constitution is wholly new ; note especially the widely misunderstood remark of Gladstone) would imply. It is not, properly speaking, the original composition of one body of men, nor the outcome of one definite epoch ; it is more and better than that. It does not stand in historical isolation, free of antecedents. It rests upon very old principles, principles laboriously worked out by long ages of constitutional struggle. It looks back to the annals of the Colonies and of the mother- land for its sources and its explanation. And it was rendered possible and made what it is by the political development of many generations of men . ' ' SEC. 2. THE COI.ONIAL PERIOD. Basis of American state was line of settlements on Atlantic seaboard, thirteen in all, roughly classed as New England, Middle, and Southern groups. Great variety of organization and interest early developed. We note: I. Social and religious character of population. New England was dominated by Puritan stock; Middle group showed scarcely two origins alike, New York and New Jersey Dutch, Pennsylvania Quaker, Delaware Swedish, 338 THE UNITED STATES. Marj^land English Catholic ; Southern group exhib- ited Episcopalian and aristocratic traits, even Georgia presently assimilating to Virginia type. 2. Industry. New England, in main hard farming land, turned early to such manufacturing as mother country would permit,^ and to trade, very barrenness of soil working good through blessings of compelled thrift. Middle and Southern groups were at first prevailingly agricultural. South remaining so till long after Revolution. 3. Political organization. In New England political unit was town, several combining to form county, looking in turn to larger outline of province, plantation, or com- monwealth. In South unit was really the colony, which preceded instead of following smaller division as in New England, subdivided at need into counties and again into parishes. The Middle group in general was con- glomerate, a combination of Northern and Southern ideas. 4. Relation to English government. One of three possible'^ : (i) Charter. Rhode Island and Con- necticut. (2) Proprietary. Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware. (3) Royal. Massachusetts, New Hamp- shire, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia. All of which is simply to say that up to 1763 the American colonies were part and parcel of English dominion, rapidly expanding both east and west, Colonials fighting^ England's battle and their own in Canada, thought of separation as yet impossible.* ^VeryUmited, as England, though immeasurably advanced beyond her time, had still to learn the precious lesson that geneious dealing is road to successful colonial administration. Both manufactures and commerce were much wider than the law, smuggling nearly universal. Over and above contraband operations was large movement in fish, lumber, iron, fur, tur- THE UNITED STATES. 339 pentiue, tar, indigo, rice, tobacco. Besides, New England built ships, to the great disturbance of British builders. - After the Restoration effort was made to reduce all to the royal class. Andros was king's great man in attempt to retake chartered rights. He succeeded mainly in winning hatred of colonists. ^Success largely due to colonial cooperation. Colonials fought side by side with regulars, with few exceptions holding tlieir own with them, in some instances even outdoing them. Colonies with frontiers exposed to French or Indian attack naturally par- ticipated most largely— notably New England, New York, and Pennsylvania. New England men were the main element in the capture of Port Royal. The great French stronghold, Louisburg, was reduced by New Englanders. Though very unevenly dis- tributed, colonial expenditure in men and money during the Seven Years' War was heavy, increased taxes and debts repre- senting the latter, 30,000 dead soldiers the former. Results fol- lowed unlooked for on either side of the ocean. Many colonials got insight into art of war, and it is significant that large pro- portion of officers of Revolutionary army had training in French and Indian wars. "Even while resisting the royal authority, colonists protested utmost loyalty. Numberless examples might be given. Quite possibly they had an idea that they were fighting the battle of the king, " God bless him ! " against Parliament. An interest- ing problem oi^ens in the question whether the king might not have ruled the colonies by a Congress as theoretically he ruled England by Parliament. Home rule, however, was an idea little familiar then, and Parliament was standing on its right to legis- late for the Empire. SEC. 3. STIRRINGS OF NATIONAL SPIRIT. Yet separation, undesired, undreamed of, was near. That year 1763 led in great issues for England and for ■ America : i . It recorded final French dispossession of Canada.' 2. Relieved of French and Indian pressure, EngUsh colonies were less dependent on England. 3. Colonial self-respect had grown upon record of worthy 340 THK UNITED STATES. achievements in war, not lessened b}^ comparison with record of men in EngHsh uniform. 4. Slow but steady increase had brought population well up toward three- million mark. 5. An inter-colonial consciousness had come into being through minor confederations, "-' and through unofficial association in furtherance of common interests. 6. Serious disagreement between colonies and crown arose over ownership '' of land between Al- leghanies and Mississippi, king claiming it as crown land, colonials insisting that it belonged to them. 7. Change in English political spirit wrought undesignedly for colonial independence. Colonies had been planted by royal authority. Parliament, taking over about everything else, assumed also colonial legislation, thereby unconsciously weakening strongest tie be- tween Colonies and England, obligation to crown. Herein lies secret of colonial resistance of Parliament in king' s name. 8. Exercise of parliamentary juris- diction, backed now by royal obstinacy, imposed much hardship and more loss upon colonial trade, especially New England's.* 9. Withdrawal of oppressive meas- ures proved unavailing, because of reasserted parlia- mentary authority, a question now paramount even to considerations of trade. 10. Protest, embittered by incidents like the Boston Massacre^ and the Boston Tea Party, passed into open conflict, new phase ushered in by Lexington and Concord,^ colonials claiming only rights as British subjects. 11. After three-quarters of a year's fighting the king in the name of the king, royal answer to colonial petition for redress of griev- ances came in shape of proclamation calling for troops to put down ' ' rebellion ' ' in America. 1 2. Reconcilia- tion hopeless, the national spirit, fully awake, found voice in the Declaration of Independence. Only the THE UNITED STATES. 34 1 vindication of victory, and that also was near at hand, was needed to compel revision of the king's speech. The American ' ' rebellion ' ' was to prove the American Revolution. ^ Marking end of French dream of dominion in America. A chain of strongholds from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to the mouth of the Mississippi seemed to mark the interior of the con- tinent irrecoverably French. But during French and Indian wars, America's part of the Seven Years' War, Duquesne, Fron- tenac, Niagara, Crown Point, Ticonderoga, Quebec, Montreal fell one by one into hands of English. By Treaty of Paris, 1763, the American Empire of France was reduced to Miquelon and St. Pierre, two barren little islands near Newfoundland, fit only for curing fish. ^ As early as 1643 one was formed of Massachusetts Bay, Ply- mouth, Connecticut, and New Haven. In 1690 French and In- dian invasion occasioned a congress, to which Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New York sent commissioners. In 1697 Penn proposed a scheme of permanent union. In 1754 the Albany Convention seemed to have solved the problem by Franklin's plan — present Massachusetts, NewHampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland — but when the plan was proposed to the colonial assemblies not one approved, and permanent union was as far off as ever. Still the idea of union was becoming more familiar, and in that idea lay the possibilities of the future. 2 Title to newly discovered lands vested in crown. Colonists contended that this territory stood on different footinj>, as it was hardl}^ unoccupied land, and they had taken forward part in winning it. * There was some new legislation, like the Stamp Act, but the main change was in the matter of enforcement. Prudent offi- cial near-sightedness had allowed large trade movement, bulk of it illegal. The law forbade commercial relations, except the narrowest, with other nations than Great Britain, but the law had been practically forgotten. The home government now called the colonists back to base. Part of process of enforce- ment were the Writs of Assistance, search warrants in blank, which placed every man's domicile at the mercy of the king's minions. 342 . I'HE UNITED STATES. ^ Really a meaningless collision between roj-al garrison and section of populace ranging under mob law. Provoked beyond endurance, the soldiers opened fire, killing five civilians. The occurence was without the remotest political significance, but heated sentiment saw in it royal butchery, and patriotism has transformed the victims into martyrs of liberty. •^ A contingent of British regulars sent to seize military stores collected at Concord for colonial use were met by a small body, perhaps a hundred, colonials at Lexington, who refused to dis- perse until fired upon. The troops then moved on and destroyed the stores, but found the whole countryside aroused and fight- ing ugly on their return, compelling them to run a gauntlet of musketry the entire distance to Boston. The American war of independence was on. SEC. 4. GOVERNMENT BY DEBATING SOCIETY. The national spirit needed an organ. Concerted effort had more than once been attempted, as in earl}'' confed- eration of New England, treaty combinations of various kinds among individual colonies, the Albany Conven- tion.' The Stamp Act, in 1765, was followed by a Co- lonial Congress composed of delegates from nine colo- nies of the thirteen, among whom sentiment of colonial union was unmistakable. Nine years later the First Continental Congress convened. Georgia was not rep- resented, but the Congress was in true sense a national body, America's first. The earliest national utterance was a Declaration of Colonial Right, protesting to the king against Parliament's unconstitutional action. Three things more this Congress did, each one of the three pregnant with disaster for purblind royalty: i. It prepared and circulated a Non-Importation Agree- ment.'^ 2. It formally approved Massachusetts' resist- ance to the odious measures which had singled her out for punishment. 3. It issued the call- for a new Con- THK UNI'TRD STATES. 343 gress six months hence. Events made the Second Con- tinental Congress memorable even before it came to- gether. The first shot at Lexington brought into force the resolution of the First Continental Congress that, in case of coercion of Massachusetts, all America should stand by her. B}^ that resolution, therefore, colonial union had already been an accomplished fact for twenty- one days when the Second Continental Congress met, May lo, 1775. Whether it would or no, that Congress was a national organ. It did not hesitate to give effect to the national will, organizing an army, establishing a currenc5^ petitioning the king — redress of wrongs, not independence,^ still the general thought. By end of 1775 independence was conceived with sufficient clearness to warrant a Commission of Correspondence with friends of the colonies in " Great Britain, Ireland, and elsewhere,'" to be followed, July 4, 1776, by the memorable resolution in which, speaking for the people, Congress declared obligation to mother country at end. Thus the old central authority was abolished. In its place stood the Continental Congress. With danger- ously strict logic, participant states took care that new central government should have no more real power than the old.* It could argue, advise, request, and then the states did as they pleased, — and they usually pleased to do the opposite of what Congress asked. Under such authorit}^ rather in spite of it, the war was carried to successful issue, partly because there were men like Washington, whom even the futilities of Con- gress could not discourage, partly because, as the English statesman declared, there is a special provi- dence watching over children, fools, drunken men, and the United States. 47 344 ^'^^ UNITED STATES. ^ See sec. 3, 11. 2. ■^"We, his Majesty's most loyal subjects, avowing our alle- giance to his Majesty, our affection and regard for our fellow- subjects in Great Britain and elsewhere, affected with the deepest anxiety and most alarming apprehensions at those grievances and distresses with which his Majesty's American subjects are oppressed, find that the present unhappy situation of our affairs is occasioned by a ruinous system of Colony Administration adopted by the British Ministry about the year 1763, evidently calculated for enslaving these Colonies, and, with them, the British Empire. * * * To obtain redress of these griev- ances, we are of opinion that a Non-Importation, Non-Con- sumption, and Non-Exportation Agreement faithfull}!- adhered to will prove the most speedy, effectual, and peaceable meas- ure." The points of agreement, fourteen in number, fairly jus- tify the threefold description in the title, ^Franklin stoutly averred that after wide inquiry in all parts of the country, among all kinds of people, he was persuaded that "no one thought of independence, no one, drunk or sober, suggesting such a thing." As late as March, 1775, John Adams could say of Massachusetts, " That there are any that hunt after independence is the greatest slander on the province." A few months before, Washington had said, " I am well satisfied that" no such thing as independence is desired by any thinking man in all North America ; on the contrary, that it is the ardent wish of the warmest advocates of liberty that peace and tran- quillity on constitutional grounds will be restored." P^ven after Washington had been made commander-in-chief of the Continental army. Congress declared that " the fondest wish of every American soul was an accommodation with the mother country." *"The Congress had no ability whatever to enforce a decree of their own ; they had no revenue and no authority to collect a revenue ; they had none of the materials of war ; they did not own a cannon, nor a pound of powder, nor a tent, nor a musket ; they had no regularly enlisted army, and had even a jealousy of forming an armj^, and depended upon the zeal of volunteers, or of men to be enlisted for less than seven months." THE UNITED STATES. 345 SEC. 5. LEARNING BY DOING. They were awful years, those years of the Revolu- tion. Congressional imbecilities, state jealousies of Con- gress, divided counsels in the states themselves, bicker- ings in the army, short enlistments,^ lack of supplies, lack of money, hardest of all, in many quarters lack of loyalty, made up a budget of woe to break the heart of the bravest. But able and true men were found to fight freedom's battle. For a while everything went wrong. Boston was evacuated. The Canadian expedi- tion failed. New York fell to the British. Philadelphia also fell after the defeat of Brandy wine had broken the American defense. x\merican hopes were again raised, however, by French aid and by splendid victory of Saratoga.'^ The awful winter at Valley Forge '^ was re- warded by possession of Philadelphia. Then, wearied by resistance in Northern and Middle States, British attack was made on South. Charleston fell and great portion of Southern soil was harried by the enemy. The war virtually closed at Yorktown in 1781, Corn- wallis following Burgoyne in surrender. Two years later England grudgingly acknowledged the American states as severeign.* Meanwhile the inadequacy of the central government had every year grown more apparent. Continental bills w^ere not worth using for wrapping paper. ^ State bills were nearly as bad. Specie was scarce. Every one, including the nation itself, was burdened with debt. Vexatious interstate restrictions hampered trade. Boundary lines were unsettled. It was the era of bad feeling. What England had failed to do the states themselves seemed about to undertake, destroy the 346 THE UNITED STATES. national life. The nation had no fundamental law. A constitution proposed to the states by Congress in 1777 was still waiting for ratification. Finall}^ in 1781, the last recalcitrant signed and the Articles of Confed- eration went into effect. The result was a league of states, each with equal voice in Congress, to which were delegated the usual forms of sovereignty, barring the somewhat important items of an executive, a judi- ciary, revenue, and power to enforce decrees. For a time there was great rejoicing that permanent govern- ment had been established. Then the inherent weak- ness of the system began to work itself clear. States defied the nation ^ with impunit}' . Absence of coercive power placed the nation at a disadvantage in dealing with foreign states.' An advisory board is a poor sub- stitute for national government. Then Shays' Rebel- lion ® showed what state insubordination promised for the future when it had borne fruit within the states themselves. From all parts of the Confederation came demand for reorganization in interests of competent government. ^ It seems incredible, but more than once men whose term ex- pired on a given day left the army, though battle was certain on the morrow. The wonder is that real patriots were not driven stark mad. 2 Burgoyne moved down from Canada, thinking to cleave colo- nial defense by way of Hudson. Clinton was to support him from New York, but failed to get up the river in time. The colonials surrounded the British force, which found itself unable to break a way either onward toward Clinton, hastening to his relief, or backward toward Canada. Stand still he could not, for lack of supplies. October 17, 1777, he surrendered with 6,000 men, Clinton and relief now only fifty miles away. The moral effect of the victory was very great, rousing colonial spirit and strengthening negotiations with France. THE UNITED STATES. 347 ■' Redeemed by new sense of duty. Washington saw and re- joiced in the change. "Naked and vStarving as they are," he wrote, "we cannot sufficiently admire the incomparable patience and fidelity of the soldiers." * Recognizing not the Confederation but the states. It took some time to get the idea fairly impressed that the central gov- ernment was exercising the general sovereignty.- This little strange, seeing that the states themselves came to the idea slowly. ^ " Not worth a continental " is more than a figure of speech. It tells a story of suicidal finance. The printing press was set to do the work of the tax-collector, with the inevitable result. To make the situation worse, the only security was the promise of an irresponsible bod}'^, neither feared nor respected. Every new issue of paper lessened the value of all issues. In 1781 a thousand continental. dollars were worth one dollar in coin. One of the jokes of the period was that counterfeiting no longer challenged attention, good and bad bills l)eing about equally worthless. " Rhode Island withdrew her representation and refused to replace it. New Jersey in protest against an injurious New York tariff retaliated by decreeing taxation of a light-house on Sandy Hook, greatly important to New York commerce. Sev- eral States— Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia — in defiance of Articles of Confederation, raised troops on their own account. ^ Constant complaint was made by foreign powers that treaty relations with the central government were violated by indi- vidual states. A well founded and practically universal sus- picion was voiced by England in 1785, when her representative said to American commissioners seeking a treaty, "The apparent determination of the respective states to regulate their own separate interests renders it absolutely necessary towards form- ing a permanent system of commerce, that my court should be informed how far the commissioners can be duly authorized to enter into any engagement with Great Britain which it may not be in the power of any one of the states to render totally useless and inefficient." ^In Massachusetts. Intolerably burdened with debt, the farmers of the western part of the state marched upon Spring- field and Worcester, demanding that the courts cease lending 348 THK UNITED STATES. themselves to the collection of debts. The iusurrection was quickly stopped, but it set men in Massachusetts and elsewhere to thinking of the importance of a sufficient central authority in state and nation. SEC. 6. REORGANIZATION. The principle of popular sovereignty had been ap- plied to successively larger areas — town, county, colony, state; but there stopped. Failure to see the larger ap- plication left the states without a common center, resulting in the constitutional anarch}^ of the Confed- eration. The situation became intolerable. But how to change it for the better was not clear. Political sentiment was divided. At one extreme were mon- archists, proposing to import a prince and go on the good old way of government by royalt3\ At the other were extreme States Righters, advocating a leagtie of thirteen republics. Between stood the bone and muscle and brain of the country, demanding worthy central government, stipulating only that the individual states should be respected. The solution was found in the thought of double citizenship. The townsman has relations of one kind with fellow-townsmen, relations of a different kind with the same townsmen, common members with himself of the county. So in the larger sphere the same citizen lias obligations toward state and toward nation. Let these obligations be defined to avoid crossing of authority, and the old division of interest between state and nation will become a thing of the past. Then the central authority will deal with its citizens directly instead of through the medium of the states.^ So, after sore travail of soul, the framers of the new instrument of government got the Hght. THE UNITED STATEvS. 349 Then for a headless, courtless, penniless, forceless shadow, masquerading as a government, was substi- stuted a real embodiment of sovereignty, with exec- utive, legislative, and judicial organs, supported by adequate powers, fitted to do the nation's work, while safeguarding the interests of individual states by most ample guarantees/ ^ Herein lies importance of Federal judiciary. Hitherto noth- ing but unsecured promise of state lay between central gov- ernment and anarchy. Experience quickly showed how worth- less such promise was when it threatened state interest. By the creation of Federal courts, extending throughout states, espe- cially charged with definition of Federal duty and- Federal au- thority, their decisions supported by Federal power, the central government was brought into working relations with every cit- izen, so far as his life concerned the life of the whole. ^ It was perhaps inevitable that the question should early arise, how much the states intended to surrender in adopting the Constitution. The whole matter was pretty thoroughly debated while adoption was in progress. Naturally the element of state concession was minimized by those who saw peril to the entire movement toward Union in the fears of the more pronounced advocates of the old order. As naturally, those jealous of all invasion of state sovereignty, and they were many, were care- ful to magnify that same element of concession. ^ How closely balanced the two parties were, if unorganized elements shaping to the same end may be called a party, is shown by slowness of decision in several states and by narrowness of final majorities, 31 to 29 in New York, 88 to 80 in Virginia, 187 to 168 in Massa chusetts. Hamilton, Jay, and Madison did yeoman service in behalf of the new order, noble product of which is the Feder- alist. Even when new government went into effect controversy did not cease, pros and cons now consolidated into Federalists and Anti-Federalists. Particular points of attack and defense have of course varied with the years, but to this day the debate continues between liberal and strict constructionist, Federalist, Whig, and Republican naming line of party succession support- ing former sentiment, Anti- Federalist and Democrat represent- ing the latter. 350 The united states. SEC. 7. THE CONSTITUTION AND ITS MAKERS. The League of Friendship^ gave way to " a more perfect union," '^ a national government taking the place of a committee of requisition. The new Consti- tution was a blending of federalist and separatist ideas. The Senate represents state equality and indestructi- bility. The House of Representatives stands for the popular will. The President, answerable to no power during his appointed term, except by impeachment, is legally the elect of a special representative college of states, but by usage long since became the people's man. The Federal judiciary, theoretically independ- ent of political considerations, with rare happy excep- tions is composed of appointees of the party control- ling the Presidency when the appointments were made. The dominant idea throughout was that of a central government strong enough to command respect, with due safeguarding of state sovereignty. To the former were assigned certain duties touching the common weal, with powers adequate to their discharge. To the latter belong, as formerly, all duties and powers not designated as national.^ The men who prepared the Constitution were among the ablest on the continent. Patrick Henry was elected to the Convention, but declined to serve. Jefferson was in France. But an}^ list is a roll of honor when it contains the names of King, Gerr}^ Strong, Sherman, Ellsworth, Hamilton, Franklin, the Morrises, Wilson, Rutledge, the Pinckneys, Randolph, Mason, Madison, Washington. Incredible difficulties were adjusted* by these men, who wrought as men have seldom wrought for their country. No one did all. No one was with- yhp: united states. 351 out influence. Checks and balances were perfected, conserving widel^v different interests.^ When the work was done the record might have been expressed in the words of Washington, who had so often by speech and deed sounded the note of national safety, and who had plead for strength and justice, not mere policy, in the Constitution : " It is too probable that no plan we pro- pose will be adopted. Perhaps another dreadful con- flict is to be sustained. If to please the people we offer what we ourselves disapprove, how^ can we afterwards defend our work ? Let ics raise a standard to ivhich the zvise and honest can repair. The event is in the haiid of Godr ' " The style of this Confederacy shall be, ' The United States of America.' " The said states hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the secur- ity of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other against all force to or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretense whatever." Articles of Confederation, I and III. 2 " We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our poster- ity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." Preamble to Constitution. ^The Federal Government is thus a government of specified powers, everything not named being reserved to states, though the enabling clause. Art. I, Sec. VIII, i8, has been held with in- creasing frequency to authorize a variety of action not specified, but implied. It is interesting to compare the Canadian fed- eration, in which the situation is exactly reversed, the central government standing residuary legatee. In our system every- thing not specifically given is retained by states. In Canadian system everything not specifically withheld to provinces is given to Dominion. 48 352 THE UNITED .STATES. j * Every fresh study of the Constitution brings fact more clearh' to light that the history of our great document is a story of com- promise. Small state protected against great state by Senate, great state given rightful weight by proportional representation, central government vested with recognized function and author- ity, state guaranteed against reduction to mere administra- tive division, slavery both recognized and limited, — so it goes throughout. Administration has necessarily given large place to compromise, from the log rolling which gave state war debts to Federal treasury and the capital to the Potomac, down to latest River and Harbor steal, by which undreamed of improve- tnents are paid for in one section by votes interested in like enterprises in other sections. ^We have been encouraged to regard the Constitution as a stroke of happy inspiration. The men who sweated blood in thinking it into shape would count that idea a bit of grim humor. Over and over the best men were on the verge of despair. The greatest claim of the makers of the Constitution to our reverence lies in their refusal at last to go so far in deference to supposed popular sentiment as to make valueless the structure they had been set to build. Herein, as so often, Washington wrought for the salvation of the country. Servility to mistaken and mis- understood popular clamor seemed on the point of perfecting its work of weakness, when Washington rose in his place and spoke the words with which the .section closes The effect was immediate. The event showed that Washington's high-niind- edness had saved the state. SEC. 8. FIRST YEARS OF THE REPUBLIC. For a decade and a half the one indispensable man in America had been Washington. Reward for scan- tily requited sacrifice now came in the devotion of four million fellow-citizens, who delighted to call him the Father of his Country. Twice in succession he was unanimous choice' of electoral college for hio^hest office in gift of a grateful people. Then, sorely against the will of the people, he retired to private life, only still THE UNITKD STATES. 353 to be the nation's mentor. The presidency of Wash- ington was a fortunate thing for the country. Personal devotion to him was about the strongest unifying force of those formative 3^ears. Unmindful, if not uncon- scious, of possibility of political parties, and seeding only ablest aid available, the President made Jefferson"^ Secretary of State, Hamilton^ Secretary of Treasury, Knox Secretary of War, Randolph Attorney General, Jay Chief Justice. Each of these aids contributed val- uable share toward getting national government into operation, Hamilton most of all in masterly organiza- tion of national finances. His straightforward dealing with debt, foreign and domestic, established the na- tional credit, while his sympathy with a strong central power, backed by marvelous ability, made him worthy to stand beside his great chief as a pillar of state. Rev- enue .was provided by a revenue tax on importations, supplemented four years later by an excise tax on whisky. The United States Bank was chartered in 1791; the mint was opened in 1792; so that a national currency was added to unifying influences already at work. Washington's second term was full of trouble. The French Revolution was in full swing, engaging American sympathy,* even after Citizen Genet's^ defi- ance and collapse. English relations were unsatisfac- tory, remedied little b}^ Jay's treaty.*' The Whisk}^ In- surrection^ was quelled by decisive action, but was a disquieting symptom, none the less. Bitter abuse smote heart of President.^ Though strenuously importuned to serve a third term, he declined, and withdrew to well- earned repose of Mount Vernon, leaving as his political legacy an operative national organization, an unim- peachable record, an official character destined to grow ever greater, and the immortal Farewell Address. 354 I'HE UNITED STATES. John Adams, 1 797-1801, political heir and successor of Washington, had to face French anger at supposed American S3mipathy with England, answered by pas- sionate demand for war with France. So high did war spirit run that Adams and his Federalist following, em- boldened to point of despotism, made and, worse still, enforced Alien^ and Sedition'" Laws. Ominous response was made by Kentucky and Virginia resolutions," but government leaders could not read signs of times. Ar- bitrariness and blindness were rewarded by overthrow at next election. Federalism, as a party name, went out of office in the person of President Adams, with ex- hibition of pett}^ spite unworthy both man and office. 1 Until Xllth Amendment went into force, 1804, electors did not vote for President and Vice-President as such, but for two persons, of whom the one receiving the majority of votes was thereby elected President. Every elector gave one of his votes for Washington. This was true both in 1789 and in 1793. This unanimity is one of Washington's unique distinctions. Once a successor lacked a single vote of unanimity — Monroe, in 1821 — a sturdy New Hampshire elector deliberately throwing his vote to an impossible candidate with the avowed purpose of saving Washington's fame. 2 A loose constructionist and apologist for Shays, whose rebel- lion he regarded as natural and wholesome. "A little rebellion is a good thing and ought not to be too much discouraged. God forbid that we should be twenty years without such a rebellion." His thought was that the tree of liberty could flourish only if watered and enriched by the blood of tyrants and patriots. It is only fair to add that when Jefferson came to power his own good sense and the feeling of responsibility offset these vagaries of political enthusiasm. ^ Loose constructionist, a Federalist of the Federalists. Whether as statesman or public financier, he has no superior among his countrymen. His untimel}' death was a national calamity. THE UNITED STATES. 355 *By the treaty of 1778 the United States engaged to defend the colonial possessions of France — that is, in the West Indies. Hamilton argued that the Revolution abrogated, the treaty. Jefferson argued that the treaty was still binding. But both were strong that proper course for United States was neutrality. The President accordingly issued a proclamation announcing American neutrality as between France and Kngland. Heart of people was with France and great odium attached to Presi- dent's determination to keep country out of European quarrels. Democratic clubs were formed on Jacobin model, and in more than one place orgies of enthusiasm were enacted that would have done credit to Paris itself. 5 So sure did France feel of herself and of the United States that her envoy proceeded to organize war against England on American soil. Privateer after privateer was manned by Amer- ican seamen and sent to prey upon British commerce. Backed by popular sentiment, he demanded official aid. There was no 1 imit to his insolence. The regular session of Congress was some months off. He insisted that a special session be held. The Pres- ident refused to countenance him. He formed the purpose— this is vouched for by Chief Justice Jay and Senator King, of New York — of appealing to the people against the President. Then political sense returned to the American people. Citizen Genet found himself alone in a strange land. At Washington's request he was recalled. Genet partly redeemed himself by showing sense enough to be afraid to return to France. Genet the official was recalled. Genet the man stayed in the United States, settling in New York State, married, and made a record as a good citizen until his death in 1836. ® Simply made best of bad situation. Removed some griev- ances like the continued holding of western forts, but left im- pressment of American seamen still possible, the harassing of American commerce still probable, the limitation of West India trade still certain. Washington's course with Genet touched the sympathies of the people, and they were angry. His course with England touched their pockets, so they were more than angry. But Washingtc n felt as Jay did, that an unsatisfactory settlement was better than none at all, and the event justified him. Within a year trade was so far revived that the worst bitterness over the treaty was forgotten. 356 THE UNITKD STATES. ^The Excise Act of 1791 had never been popular. South- western Pennsylvania made a good deal of whisky and was cor- respondingly unsympathetic toward a whisky tax. Finally they refused outright to pay it. Revenue officers were roughly handled. Washington met the issue promptly, calling out the militia of Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, 15,000 strong. The mere show of force was enough. Two men were convicted of treason, but were pardoned, and the trouble was at an end, **So fierce were the attacks, some of them positively' indecent, that Washington himself declared that such language " could scarcely be applied to a Nero, to a notorious defaulter, or even to a common pickpocket." A writer in the Aurora hailed the retirement of Washington to private life as the beginning of the country's salvation, since "he who had been the source of all the misfortunes of the country was at length brought down to the level of his fellow-citizens, that he could no longer by his name give currency to political iniquity or afford support to suspicious projects, and that the designs he had formed against the very existence of public liberty were now at an end." And the same high-minded sheet declared editorially, "If ever a nation was debauched by a man, the American nation has been debaviched by Washington. Let his conduct, then, be an example to future ages. Let it serve to be a warning that no man may be an idol. Let the history of the Federal Government instruct mankind that the mask of patriotism may be worn to conceal the foulest designs against the liberty of the people." ^Authorized President to order departure, under penalty for disobedience, from United States of any alien whom he regarded dangerous to the public peace. ^° An un-American gag-law forbidding, under penalty of heavy fine and imprisonment, combination against any Government measure, or * ' any false, scandalous, or malicious writing against the Government, Congress, or President of the United States." "Protesting against Alien and Sedition Laws as an infraction of the Constitution, and declaring it the duty of the States under such circumstances to interpose, Virginia published her Reso- lution in 1798. She was seconded by Kentucky, which went farther, declaring the Union a compact between the Federal Government on one part and the states on the other, each party THH UNITED STATES. 35 y to be judge of infraction of the compact mid of the process of redress. The following year both states republished their decla- rations, Kentucky now adding that nullification is the proper remedy for Federal invasion of state rights. But nullification was a more innocent word than it was in 1832, as evidenced by the fact that Kentucky went on to say that, while solemnly pro- testing against the obnoxious laws, she "bowed to the laws of the Union." SFX. 9. THE DEMOCRATIC SUCCESSION. Even within Washington's cabinet two distinct polit- ical theories were formulated, though as yet the corre- sponding parties w^ere unformed. Hamilton and Jef- ferson never agreed, each magnifying what the other minified, the former steadily urging liberal construc- tion of the Constitution in interest of central govern- ment, the latter as steadily urging close construction and limited central power. Until the passing of John Adams, official tendency was all Hamilton's way. Then for sixty years, barring the single month of Whig triumph in the person of William H. Harrison and the single term of Taylor and Fillmore, Jeffersonian ideas ruled through the varying phases of Democracy. But Federalism did not cease with the name. A central government strong enough to do its work is the prime condition of national existence.' The moment Jeffer- son went into the White House he administered his olhce as strenuously as Washington himself could have desired.' Madison denounced as disloyal and uncon- stitutional New England's action under the Constitu- tion in the militia cases' during the war of 1812. Jackson did to nullification* precisely what Lincoln would have done in his place. New issues frequently arose during those sixty years, resulting in perpetual 35^ YHli UNIl'ED S'TAl^ES. regrouping, so that much of the time Democratic continuity was rather a matter of name than of essence. Economic and social development finally gave special significance to the original Democratic political prin- ciple, leading to the life-and-death struggle of the early sixties,^ when servitude and state supremacy and the old Democratic party went out together. ^ Indeed, from this time on the main practical difference be- tween the parties on constitutional questions depended upon possession of office, with corresponding responsibilit}'. Each side did in turn when in power what it hotly opposed when out. •^ Witness the whole Louisiana transaction. The Constitution said nothing about the acquisition of foreign territory ; but, Constitution or no Constitution, Louisiana involved too impor- tant interests to allow question over taking it when opportunity offered. So in flat defiance of all his own constitutional theories Jefferson paid fifteen million dollars for it, contemplating an ex post facto authorizing amendment, which, however, was never adopted, vnimistakable popular approval offering all needed justification. ^ Major part of fighting during war of 1812 was done by mili- tiamen. The war was very unpopular in New England, whose states refused to furnish militia for general war operations. No objection was made to volunteer service, but official encourage- ment there was none. Connecticut declared that it must " yield obedience to the paramount authority of the Constitution and the laws." Massachusetts insisted that there was no invasion, and consequently no constitvitional warrant for sending militia. New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont took similar ground, the last named stating it as its opinion that " the mili- tary strength and resources of this state must be reserved for its own defense and protection exclusivel}-." We must not miss the point in all this: i. It was the militia officially organized that was refused, and this on constitutional grounds. 2. These states were forward in the national defense, Massachusetts alone furnishing as many troops as Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, New England more than all the Southern States put together. Concerning New England, Madison said: THE UNITED vSTATES. 359 "The greater part of the people in that quarter have been brought by their leaders, aided by their priests, under a delusiou scarcely exceeded by that recorded in the period of witchcraft, and the leaders themselves are becoming daily more desperate in the use they make of it." * See sec. 11. 'See sees. 13, 14, 15. SEC. 10. JEFFERSON TO MONROE. Jefferson, 1 801- 1809, came to the presidenc)^ at a fortunate hour. The national government was re- spected, the country was prosperous, his personal in- fluence was unbounded. The purchase of Louisiana in 1803 made the mouth of the Mississippi American and doubled the national area.' Gallatin administered the Treasury with eminent success. The Judiciary suffered at the President's hands, though partial excuse is offered by circumstances of appointment in several cases.' Jefferson's second term was less happy than the first. The checking of Algerine piracy was a serv- ice to the whole world, -^ but later events brought little save trouble. Burr's conspiracy falls here.' French and British counter-blockades first stimulated, then strangled, American sea trade. ^ To punish both bellig- erants, Jefferson tried peaceable coercion by the Em- bargo.^ Its principal effect was to complete the ruin of American commerce begun by Napoleon and the British ministry. After two years Jefferson yielded to universal opposition and substituted Non-Intercourse ' for Embargo, his policy discredited and his earlier successes dimmed by failure.^ Madison, 1 809-1 817, fell heir to Jefferson's diplo- macy. Hoodwinked by Napoleon, the government grew 49 360 THE UNITED STATES. bitter against England. So passed two years. Then demand was made for something more effective than peaceable coercion. Hasty preparations were made for war. Then followed war. Incidents of note were: I. Resnltless invasion of Canada. 2. Perry's brilliant exploits on Lake Erie. 3. Vandal destruction of Wash- ington. 4. Sea duels, mainly favorable to America. 5. Jackson's victory at New Orleans. Peace was restored by Treaty of Ghent, 18 14, in which the osten- vSible causes of the war are not even mentioned, im- pressment and right of search. The Hartford Convention, a second clearing of the Algerine pirate nest, and the Tariff Act qf 18 16 marked the close of this administration, which, despite its troubled course, ended in prosperity. Monroe, 18 17-1825, elected the first time almost unanimously, the second time lacking unanimity by a single vote, led in the Era of Good Feeling. Standing by the blackened ruins of the Capitol to take his oath of office and deliver iiis inaugural, he called the people to larger hope by reference to the unharmed foundations on which workmen were alread}^ rearing a new struct- ure. This was the keynote of his speech during eight years. This was well, for events were in preparation to try the soul of the nation. Among these may be men- tioned: I. The Acquisition of Florida. 2. The Mis- souri Compromise.'' 3. The extension of the National Road, opening the West. 4. The Monroe Doctrine. ^ New Orleans commanded the mouth of the Mississippi. As long as it remained in foreign hands the trade of the great waterway was disastrously hampered. When under pressure of' what seemed necessity the Spanish Treaty of 1786 was negoti- ated, leaving a commercial dam at the mouth of the Mississippi in the shape of regulation of traffic by the Crescent City, Ken- THK UNITED STATES. 36 1 tucky and the adjacent region went wild and violent threats of withdrawal from the Confederation were made. There was thus more than territorial gain in the Purchase. But the territorial gain was immense, more than doubling the national domain, ^ 17 1,931 square miles added as against an original expanse of 827,844 square miles. 2 Special reference is to *' midnight judges." The Democrats claimed that the twenty-four new Federal Courts erected as term of Congress was near end were created to make places for Fed- eralist lieutenants, and that President Adams worked till mid- night his last day in office to get the commissions in shape. ^ The incredible fact stands that the Mohammedan cut-throats of the North African coast, particularly at Tripoli and Algiers, for decades levied blackmail on Christian commerce in the Mediterranean, the Mistress of the Seas paying tribute along with the rest. The United States long followed the line, at one time paying the chief pirate at Tripoli twenty thousand dollars a year, to say nothing of presents and redemption fees, to be let alone. Happily, with increased exactions, a little navy was got into shape under Bainbridge, Decatur, and Preble. Jefferson sent a few ships to Tripoli with America's compliments and we paid no more tribute to piracy. *An ill-digested scheme of conquest and a kingdom in the Southwest, which fell to pieces of its own impracticability. Burr was brought to trial in Virginia, but the trial, like the enterprise, came to nothing. 5 Part of the paper campaign of the Napoleonic war. For a little America carried about all the neutral trade, because the double blockading scheme immediately cut off European par- ticipants. Then America felt the paralysis. France confiscated all vessels that had touched English influence, even to the extent of being searched. England confiscated all vessels bearing for France or a French dependency. This meant prohibition of ocean traffic altogether. ^ Foreign vessels must go as they were. If they chanced to be loaded, well. If not loaded, they must go without cargo. American shipping was forbidden to sail for a foreign port in any condition. ^ United States ports were closed to French and British vessels, but trade with other countries was allowed. 362 THK UNITED STATES. ^ The close of Jefferson's official life was not beautiful. The last three months of his closing term he let the presidential office take care of itself , In December, before his retirement, he said, " I am chiefly an unmeddling listener to what others say." In January he said, " I am now so near retiring that I take no part in affairs beyond the expression of an opinion. Five weeks more will relieve me from a drudgery to which I am no longer equal." These are the words of one both disappointed and weary. Notwithstanding all this, he carried to Monticello a reputation for integrity and wisdom which left him practically a political dictator, A proof that this reputation was deserved is the fact that it has grown with the years. ^ Destined to play a vital part in the great drama of slavery and freedom. Free and slave states were now equal, eleven each. Missouri sought admission with a pro-slavery constitu- tion. South naturally supported, North as naturally opposed. Finally agreement was reached that Missouri should come in as a slave state, but that all Louisiana territory west and north of Missouri should be basis of free states only. "■ And be it fur- ther enacted. That in all that territor}' ceded by France to the United States under the name of Louisiana which lies north of 36° 30'' north latitude, not included within the limits of the state contemplated by this act, slavery and involuntary servi- tude, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes whereof the parties shall have been duly convicted, shall be, and is hereby, forever prohibited." The day the Compromise was adopted men went home in great content, saying, "The qviestion of slavery is forever settled." In twenty-five years this " settled " question divided the nation. Yet fifteen years and it had del- uged the continent in blood. As so often proves the case, finality had not been reached by compromise. SEC. II. ADAMS TO TYLER. John Quiiicy Adam.s, 1 825-1 829. The era of good feeling was followed by a scrub race for the presidency. Adams owed his success neither to popular nor to elec- toral choice. Absence of majorit}^ ' threw election into House, where Clay's following gave Adams the support THK UNITED STATES. 363 needed to pass Jackson's plurality. The combination '^ hurt Clay and Adams, bringing down a torrent of abuse which never slackened. The President had to deal with opposition, part honest, part factious, during entire term, unbending, tactless integrity lessening rather than multiplying friends. Reelection was out of the question, and he left behind a melancholy record of profitless endeavor, the single achievement of four 3^ears recorded in the tariff act of 1828. Jackson, 1829-1837, was a son of the soil. Vigorous, fearless, forceful, he dominated his party as completely as Jefferson in his palmy days, like him a Democrat, but unlike him an embodiment '^ of democracy. Several events make the period memorable: i. The Civil Service was first conceived as party plunder.* 2. The growth of nationality was exemplified by the promptness with which a States' Rights President stamped the life out of nullification/ 3. Bluster, backed by show of force, brought liquidation of claims against France for spolia- tion of commerce. 4. Official hostility killed the Bank, while the system of pet banks encouraged speculation and wild-cat finance, which could end only in disaster. 5. Unwittingly the President himself took the last pre- caution to make disaster inevitable by his specie circular of 1836,*^ though the crash did not come until a year later. 6. Cabinet honor was discounted b)^ studied neglect of President." Here is mixture of good and bad. Administration and man were alike a contradiction. A strict constructionist, he construed the Constitution to suit himself. An apostle of pure government, he orig- inated the national spoils system. An exponent of native honesty, he supported a cabal composed of ex- perts in wire-pulling. A champion of the poor against the tyranny of the Bank, his policy led to financial coj. 364 THE UNITED STATES. lapse of 1837, resultant suffering falling, as usual, mainly on poor. These contradictions must not be for- gotten in estimates of his success. Van Buren, 1837-1841, had been Jackson's manager, rewarded by State portfolio and then vice-presidency, now by presidency itself, as Jackson wished. He suc- ceeded to a legacy of financial panic, ^ and the mOvSt im- portant measure of his administration sprang from the consequent discussion, the subtreasury plan.** Harrison and Tyler, 1 841-1845. Revulsion of feel- ing toward those in power always accompanies disaster. •The Democrats were in power. Anti-Jackson, anti- Deraocratic factions now joined in demand for change. The new coalition, the short-lived Whig party, '° put up an old soldier as their candidate and carried him to the White House on a platform of Whigism, coon skins, and hard cider, through such a campaign as the country never saw before or since. In a month President Tip- pecanoe was dead. As a sop to Southern electorate Tyler, an old-line Virginia States' Rights, anti-Jackson- ian Democrat, had been made Vice-President, and now, through a judgment upon political fatuity, he was the official head of a party which cared nothing for him and for which he cared nothing." His administration, however* saw a Canadian boundary dispute with Eng- land settled by the Ashburton treaty and Texas ad- mitted to the Union. ^Jackson had 99 votes, Adams 84, Crawford 41, Clay 37. In the House 13 states voted for Adams, 7 for Jackson, 4 for Craw- ford. 2 Adams made Clay Secretary of State, and everybody sus- pected a bargain, Q\a.y getting State portfolio for making Adams President. ^ "Jefferson, however, was not one of the people, but a being of a higher order, stooping to identify himself with the people, THE UNITED STATES. 365 who, as they were not yet conscious of their power, were cap- tivated by his condescension." * Of course, power of removal had been exercised by his prede- cessors, but the cases were few and almost always for cause. Jefferson believed in due participation, of office as a matter of right, but was mightily perplexed to know how vacancies were to be provided. " Those by death are few, by resignation none. Can any other method than that of removal be proposed ? " But Jefferson's removals were a mere handful compared with those with which Jackson now swept the Civil Service, making no attempt to disguise the fact that he wanted the places for his friends. ^Objecting to protection in general and to the new tariff in particular, South Carolina brought up the old claim that a state as principal has the right to declare null and void the act of its agent, the central government. On this theory South Carolina " nullified" the tariffs of 1828 and 1832, prohibiting payment of duties under those laws after the first day of February, 18^3 forbidding appeal in the case to Federal courts and stating sev- eral things that would follow attempted coercion. Old Hickory furbished up his most solemn oath and swore " by the Eternal " that Nullification was brother of blood to Disunion, that dis- union by armed force was treason, and that nullification must cease. Preparation was made to enforce the President's procla- mation. South Carolina yielded, and then the Federal Govern- ment modified the specially obnoxious features of the tariff. « Directing that in sale of public lands nothing but specie be accepted in payment. The flood of paper money had been growing steadily larger, while its value grew steadily less. The purpose back of the circular was the supply of the Treasury with hard money. Arbitrary, violent, sudden, this change of policy could not fail of disastrous results. ^Jackson made little real use of his cabinet except as secre- taries and heads of departments, relying for advice mainly upon a body of intimates pointedly described by the newspaper wits of the day as a kitchen cabinet, William B. I^ewis, Amos Ken- dall, Duff Green, and Isaac Hill. « " I leave this great people prosperous and happy," said Jack- son in his farewell address. Within a year the financial situa- tion was so frightful that John Quincy Adams could say. 366 I^HE UNITED vSTATES. *' Without a dollar of national debt, we are in the midst of national bankruptcy." The trouble began in New Orleans. New York followed. Then panic swept the country. ^Instead of a system of pet banks to handle government fimds, an independent treasury was established with branches, known as subtreasuries, at important points, now Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis, New Orleans, San Francisco. ^° Clay was the soul of this organization and its recognized leader, but he never reached the White House by it, though it elected two presidents. The main points of Whig doctrine were: i. Internal improvements by the Federal Government. 2. Protection. 3. The Bank. 4. In part, limitation of slavery to present domain. ^^ After the President's veto of the second Bank Bill, drawn in accordance with his own suggestions, the Whigs publicly re- pudiated him. The}' issued Addresses to the People outlining the programme undertaken by them, but thwarted by the Presi- dent, and declared that "ail political connection between them and John T)4er was at an end from that day forth." SEC. 12. POLK TO BUCHANAN. Polk, 1845-1849. The administration confirmed the principle, already well establi.shed, of rotation in office. The dispute with England over the northwestern boundary was settled by adoption of the line of 49°.' Meanwhile dispute with Mexico over the southwest had strained relations to the breaking point. "^ Texas, having fought herself free from Mexico, was admitted to the Union in 1845. This was a matter between the United States and Texas. A matter which concerned Mexico also was the question of what constituted Texas. ^ Polk ordered troops into disputed territory and declared that Mexico had committed breach of peace when this high-handed settlement was resisted. War could end only one way. Mexico brought to her knees thank- 1 THK UNITED STATES. 3^7 fully accepted fifteen million dollars for what she could not keep, and the United States was increased by ac- quisition second only in extent to Louisiana. The new territory proved a perfect harvest ground of trouble, not lessened by Wilmot Proviso * and discovery of gold in California. Taylor and Fillmore, 1849-1853. Feeling, pro and con, over slavery had growm more intense every year. Organization of Mexican spoils threatened open issue, but Clay still lived, and another of his famous compro- mises, that of 1850,^ postponed the inevitable day. While the compromise was under discussion, the Pres- ident died and the Vice-President took his place and continued his policy. Pierce, 1853-1857. The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 steadily made friends for freedom. More and more political life was shaped by the engrossing interests of slavery. Visions of new slave land w^ere opened by the Gadsden Purchase*^ and by expected filibuster success in Cuba and Central America, the Ostend Manifesto" intended to aid thereto. The Kansas-Nebraska Bill,*" carried by splendid audacity of Douglas, virtually re- pealed the Missouri Compromise, making principle of squatter sovereignty paramount. First fruit was Kan- sas struggle, ending in Free Soil victory. ** More im- portant still was reshaping of party life. The multi- tudinous confusion which made bedlam of the House in December, 1855, within a year gave way to clearly drawn conclusions between Democrats, predominantly Southern and pro-slavery, and a fusion party presently taking name Republican, as pro-freedom as the Free Soiler, as popular in its impulses as the Democrat, pugnacious as the Abolitionist, national as the Whig or 50 368 THK UNITED STATES. his political ancestor, the Federalist. Henceforth Democrat and Republican are to be the great party names. Buchanan, 1 857-1861, was carried to office by avail- ability.^" A panic scarcely less disastrous than that of twenty years before embarrassed his early administra- tion. Agitation bitter and prolonged was awakened by the Dred Scott decision, ^^ recording judicial triumph of slavery. The Lincoln-Douglas debate in the sena- torial campaign of Illinois defined national issues afresh and showed Republicanism its future leader. The mad enthusiasm of John Brown and his execution awakened passion North and South. Unwise things were said and done, exasperation deepening into resentment in both sections. ^ Closing the Oregon Question. 54° 40^ had been claimed by the United States, 42° by England. The question of right turned upon somewhat shadowy claims on both sides, supposed former Russian occupancy north, and supposed former Spanish occu- pancy south weighing largely. The Democratic slogan, ' * Fifty- four Forty or Fight," boded war. Better counsels prevailed, however, and by mutual concession the line was fixed at 49°. The Webster-Ashburton agreement of 1842 and the Oregon set- tlement of 1846 completed the northern boundary from Atlantic to Pacific. ■■^It nmkes a difference even with a righteous people like the Americans whether they are dealing with a strong or a weak opponent. The English trouble was settled by compromise. The Mexican trouble could be settled only b}^ conquest. This was the more ungracious since the United States had readily agreed to a western boundary to the Louisiana territory which excluded Texas. ^In 1821 the Mexican possessions of Spain revolted and set up a federal republic. One member of this organization was the compound state of Coahuila and Texas. There was a ques- tion whether the secession of Texas carried away from Mexico Coahuila also. Mexico said emphatically no. According to THE UNITED STATES. 369 this the limit of Texas was Nueces River. Texas' claim, hith- erto unenforced, set boundary at Rio Grande. Of course, the question had to be settled, for it now concerned, not two states alone, but two nations. President Polk decided that Rio Grande was the line and, without waiting for Mexico to change her mind, occupied the disputed section with Federal troops, push- ing them clear to the river. A Mexican force crossed the river and bloodshed followed. Polk thereupon announced to Con- gress, " Mexico has passed the boundary of the United States and shed American blood upon American soil. War exists, and exists by the act of Mexico herself." This was asvsuming the whole question at issue — poor logic and poorer principle, but it was good politics, and the country followed the President. * Texas came in with slavery. What about other acquisition from Mexico? While Congress was debating a bill appropriat- ing ten million dollars to purchase territory from Mexico, Wil- mot of Pennsylvania offered an amendment August 8, 1846, since called by his name, which, following the Northwest Ordi- nance of 1787, provided ** that as an express and fundamental condition to the acquisition of any territory from the Republic of Mexico by the United States by virtue of au}-^ treat}- which may be negotiated between them, and to the use by the Exec- utive of the moneys herein appropriated, neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in any part of said terri- tory, except for crime, whereof the party shall first be duly con- victed." The amendment failed, but marked an important development of sentiment for and against slavery. ^ The Omnibus Bill, so named because of the number of its provisions. Of these the main were : i. California to be ad- mitted as free state. 2. Texas to be paid for relinquishment of claim to New Mexico. 3. Question of slavery to be let alone in balance of Mexican cession — virtual squatter sovereignty. 4. Slave trade to be abolished in District of Columbia, though slaver}' w^as to be continued there. 5. A fugitive slave law more stringent than preceding, making arrest of runaways a Federal duty. « 1853. "^^^ United States paid |to,ooD,ooo for disputed terri- tory south of Gila River, averting war with Mexico and adding 45,000 square miles to the national domain. ^An incident of the eternal Cuban question. In 1854 the American ministers to England, France, and Spain met at 370 THE UNITED STATES. Ostend in conference. The outcome was a dispatch to the Sec- retary of State urging that Cuba in Spanish hands was a menace to our peace and advising its purchase ; if Spain would not sell, then its appropriation by force. * Divided territor}'^ of Nebraska, calling southern portion Kan- sas, and left question of slavery to the people themselves. Here was Clay's Compromise of 1850 extended beyond Mexican cession. 'Free-soil emigration poured in, particularly from New En- gland, presently oiitnumbering corresponding movement form South, and, most of all, Missouri. ^" Absence from the country as Minister to England saved him from public record on territorial issue, while his part in the Ostend Circular made him dear to the Democracy. ^^ Dred Scott was a Missouri negro, carried by his master in course of official service as army surgeon to Illinois, to the North- west, then back to Missouri. The negro brought suit for liberty on ground that residence in free territory had made him a free man. The lower court decided in favor of the negro. The Supreme Court, speaking by Chief Justice Taney, reversed this decision, declaring the slave not a person in eye of law, 4jut a thing, and therefore without standing in court. Going beyond the question of jurisdiction, the court proceeded to declare the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional in its prohibition of slavery north of 36° 30'', and the slave-holder entitled to carry his slaves whithersoever he listed, like any other movable property. SEC. 13. SI.AVERY A NATIONAL INSTITUTION. Compromise had effected delay, not cure. Tacit agreement to leave some issues to future made Consti- tution possible. Slavery was one of the unsettled issues. The first compromise stipulated that the institution be left wholly untouched for twenty years. ^ The Missouri Compromise run a line along which it might be extended. The Compromise of 1850 opened bulk of Mexican ces- sion, if favored by local sentiment. The Kansas-Ne- THE UNITKD STATES. 37 1 braska Act of 1854 extended same principle to free half of Louisiana Purchase. The test case of 1857 pro- claimed the slave a chattel, not a person. Here are three stages: i. Missouri Compromise declaring certain terri- tory inviolable. 2. Doctrine of squatter sovereignty, leaving question to majorities, even in those territories, 3. Dred Scott decision, giving whole ground to slave- owner,^ with entire Federal power pledged to his sup- port. How such enormous increase of power could come to an institution indefensible in the abstract and repugnant to vast majority of population makes inter- esting problem. Partial solution appears in : i. Agri- culturat bent of South, admitting slave labor. '^ 2. Es- pecially in reference to cotton. 3. Property interest. 4. Habit of domination, not strictly confined to deal- ings with blacks. 5. Political solidarity. 6. Neces- sity for extension as offset to wasteful production. 7. Pride of power. 8. Loyalty to tradition. 9. Opposi- tion to attack upon cherished institution.* 10. Divided interests, divided counsels, and mistaken concessions of opponents.^ At any rate, by judgment of highest judicial tribunal a man might take his property any- where, whether slaves, plate, horses, or dogs, and in the shadow of Faneuil Hall, under the dome of the Cap- itol, and among the cane-brakes of Louisiana feel equally secure, because of the sacred guarantees of the Consti- tution. Rather, fugitive slave laws guarded human chattels more closely than other property. . Thus, at a moment when more persons than ever before in the na- tion were opposed to slavery, the deliverances of the Supreme Court decreed checks upon slavery unconsti- tutional, whether in state or territory, and at the same time made the Federal Government responsible for ex- ecution of slavery's behests. 372 THE UNITED STATES. ^ ** The migration or importation of such persons as an}^ of the states now existing shall think proper to admit shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation not exceeding ten dollars for each person." Con- stitution, Art. I, Sec. IX, i. ^ Slavery established anywhere a slave-owner chose to settle with his " goods." 'The moral sentiment of the North was mightily quickened by unprofitableness of slavery under Northern conditions of in- dustry. It was economically ruinous even to the South in the long run, but that was not at once apparent. Cotton could be handled by slave labor, and it is noticeable that the institution gained great impetus from such inventions as the cotton-gin. King Cotton and the slave fitted each other. * Herein lies secret of much Southern bitterness. Intemper- ate, sometimes unchristian, utterances were indulged in North, reflecting upon both intelligence and morality of South. In- tense feeling took these up, justified, as they certainly were in individual cases, as if they were intended against the entire South, and in turn misinterpreted the heated speech of the abo- litionist as the deliberate judgment of the entire North. ° Nothing is more confusing than the counter-claims of con- cession North and South. The friends of freedom complained that they yielded at every point only to find the encroachments of slavery made more bold thereby. On the other hand, one reads with a shock of surprise in a reputable histor}-, published by a Southern author within five years, that slavedom was the aggrieved, oppressed party throughout, its concessions multi- plied to no purpose, until heroic measures became a necessity of self-defense. SEC. 14. PROTEST AND APPEAL TO PAST. By one of the fine ironies of history slavery found its Nemesis in the very principle by which it sought appro- priation of territory long safe-guarded as free. Squatter sovereignty undid the Missouri Compromise. Squatter sovereignty split the Democratic party.' Meanwhile THK UNITED STATES. 373 anti-slaver}^ reaction had consolidated a score of organ- izations opposing slaver}^ hopelessly apart. Against the new order a divided Democracy was helpless.'- To the Southerner Republican victory meant the doom of slavery,^ A South without slavery the Southerner could not or would not conceive. But there could be a South without the Union. The theory of States' Rights had never been forgotten. To coerce a state was wholly undemocratic, Jackson to the contrary notwithstanding. That contracting states lost right of withdrawal was scarcely believed, not at all talked about, when the Constitution was inaugurated. But the Union of 1861 was not the Union of 1789. A national consciousness had been developed in which there was no place for the idea of parts going and coming at will. To the South withdrawal was no more than final protest against un- remedied wrong, the right, under certain conditions the duty, of any state. To the national spirit withdrawal meant dissolution, only another word for death. The South in 1861 was nearer the point of view of 1789 than the rest of the countr}^ had been within a half centur3^* The problem was double : i . In matter of slavery the South must either assimilate the balance of the country or be assimilated to it.^ 2. In matter of political con- sciousness the South must call back the national spirit or gird itself up to overtake that spirit. In the issue as now joined slavery and States' Rights were fated to rise or fall together. Regarding Lincoln's election as the doom of slavery within the Union, eleven states, led by South Carolina, withdrew*' and formed the Confederate States of America." For the South the days of i78i-'89 had come again. ^ About ever3-thing else that had Northern and Southern ex- tension had alread}^ spUt. The regular Southern Democracy 374 '^HK UNITED vSTAl^ES. stood by the Dred Scott decision. Douglas had committed himself too strongly to squatter sovereignty to withdraw. The result was separate presidential tickets. '•* The situation was peculiar and most interesting. There were four parties in the field: i. The Constitutional Union, declar- ing for "The Constitution, Union, and Enforcement of the Laws," whatever such a platform might mean. 2. The Repub- lican, pledged to exclude slaverj^ from the Territories. 3. The Southern Democratic, pledged to carry slavery into the Terri- tories. 4. The Douglas Democratic, committed to squatter sovereignty. ^Ivife la}' only in possibility of extension. New land was needed, as old land was becoming used up. New states were needed to balance Freedom's gains in Senate. Limitation of slavery to present area meant constantly increasing dispropor- tion of free white strength in nation, with corresponding dis- advantage to South — economically, morally, politically. * '' Constitutions are not mere legal documents ; the}' are the skeleton frame of a living organism ; and in this case the course of events had nationalized the government once deemed con- federate. * * * These are not lawyer's facts ; they are histo- rian's facts. They have no bearing on the legal intent of the Constitution as a document, to be interpreted by the intention of its framers ; but they have everything to do with the Consti- tution as a vehicle of life. The South had not changed her ideas from the first, because she had not changed her condition. She had stood still while the rest of the country had undergone pro- found changes ; and, standing still, she retained the old prin- ciples which had once been universal." Woodrow Wilson : Division and Reunion. ^ Lincoln saw this and forecast the future with wonderful clear- ness. "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot eudure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved ; I do not ex- pect the house to fall ; but I do expect that it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in course of ultimate extinction, or its advocates will push it forward till it shall become alike lawful in all the states, old as well as new, North as well as South." It was written in the THE UNITED STATES. 375 book of fate that Lincoln should himself bear an important part in the determination of the issue. ^ The process of Secession took a little time. South Carolina's Ordinance was passed December 20, i860. Six weeks later Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas were in line. By the middle of 1861 the list was completed b}' addition of Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee. ' " We, the people of the Confederate States, each state acting in its sovereign and independent character, in order to form a permanent federal government, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillit}', and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity — invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God — do ordain and establish this constitution for the Confed- erate States of America." Preamble. The general form of con- stitution is that of the Constitution of the United States, but two fundamental principles not recognized in the national docu- ment are clearly enunciated— States' Rights and Slavery. SEC. 15. CIVIL WAR. Buchanan had argued against the constitutionality of secession, at the same time admitting that there was no constitutional help for it. Lincoln argued against it, and stated his determination to find help for it. Heaven aided him with calmness and firmness, and South Carolina did the rest.' Secession on behalf of a cherished institution might be endured. Firing on the flag w^as quite another thing. Henceforth the Confed- erac}^ represented, not slaver}^ but disloyalty; not States' Rights, but rebellion. The man for the hour was there. Never losing faith, never wavering, never exulting, Lincoln called for men, more men, and more men still. ' Four such years as the world had never seen interpreted the Constitution in the light of three- quarters of a centur}^ of progress, declaring the United States a nation, not an alHance; its motto, Liberty and Union. 51 376 THE UNITED STATES. The South was better prepared than the North for beginning war. Spirit and skill and material were read3\ The North was better prepared than the South for continuing war. But its resources had to be made ready. The first year was mainly spent by both sides in discovering each that the other was in earnest.'' What success there was belonged to the Confederates. By the beginning of 1862 the Union forces were under way. Thenceforward three general lines of operation were followed to the end of the war: i. To gain com- mand of the Mississippi, winning mighty waterway and isolating Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. By middle of 1863 this was accomplished, through capture of New Orleans by Farragut, Island No. 10 by Pope, Donelson, Shiloh, and Vicksburg by Grant. 2. To push from Tennessee, through heart of Confederacy, to Mobile, Savannah, or Charleston, cleaving revolt a second time and destroying communication between East and West.* Great name here is Sherman, who followed Grant's brilliant relief of Chattanooga^ by practically unbroken campaign to end of war, best described as Sherman's March to the Sea, at Savannah, with Atlanta taken on the way. 3. To blockade the coast and destroy the armies, driven back in ever-narrowing circles, about Richmond. This main end accomplished against su- perb generalship of Johnston, Beauregard, Jackson, and, most of all, Lee in long struggle by McDowell, McClellan, Pope, Burnside, Hooker, Meade, and, fi- nally, Grant. Lee surrendered at Appomattox April 9, 1865.^ The war was over." ^ While Congress was debating ways and means of further concession the South proceeded to gather in all military stores within their respective borders. Fortress Monroe, Fort Sumter, Fort Pickens, and the fortifications near Key West alone re- THK UNITED STATES. 377 mained to the Federal Govenimeut. Promised succor to Fort Sumter was made the occasion for opening hostilities. The first shot was fired April 12, 1861. Two days later the fort sur- rendered. It was not much of an engagement, but it had tre- mendous results, for it smote Federal lethargy and awoke the nation. ^In all, 2,942,748 men served in the Union army during the war, the largest number at one time being a round million, in May, 1865. Against these the Confederacy raised between a million and a quarter and a million and a half, high-water mark being reached with 690,000, at the beginning of 1863. Grant's policy, pushed relentlessly, was to wear out the armies of the Confederacy, which he knew could not be replaced. Except in a few instances, like the draft riot in New York, personal loyalty, liberal bounties, and the draft kept the Union armies full. ^ The disillusiouments of that year make a chapter at once painful and pathetic. The call for volunteers, North and South, met enthusiastic response. To most the task was no more se- rious than the yearl}' militia drill, with a sham fight at the end. " Regiments went blithely forth, oftentimes with gay pomp and laughter, as if to holiday parade, little dreaming how awful a struggle was about to begin." The South thought the North did not know, and could not learn, how to fight. ' The North expected to have the matter all settled within a few weeks. A family quarrel is always more intense than one among strangers. Kach side learned, along with the discovery that the other side meant fight, that the family skeleton was of quite unusual size, which, once exposed, engaged the family honor on both sides to fight to the bitter end. * Chattanooga and other Tennessee points commanded the lines of railway that bound eastern and western parts of Con- federacy together. Their control by the Union greatly nar- rowed and hampered Confederate movement. ^Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain, November 23-25, 1863, belong here. ^This virtually ended struggle. Johnston, slowly pushed •northward by Sherman moving from Savannah, surrendered at Raleigh, N. C, April 26. Scattered ineffective groups, still under arms South and West, took nearly a month longer to lay 378 THE UNITED STATES. down arms, but by end of May all had been accomplished and the Union armies were disbanded without delay. ' A summary by years would show the following general re- sults ; 1861. Hostilities opened by attack on Sumter. Union defeat at Bull Run and Wilson's Creek. Union occupation of large doubtful territory, drawing Confederate lines greatly within Confederacy's expected limits. Blockade begun. 1862. Ravage of Merrimac cut short by Monitor in March. In the East, the indecisive Seven Days' Battles, Antietam, a Union victory, and Fredericksburg, a Union defeat. In the West, Donelson, Pittsburg Landing, New Orleans, and Murfreesboro, all Union gain. 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation. Chancellorsville recording disastrous defeat and Gettysburg record- ing inestimable victory for Union in East. Vicks- burg, opening the Mississippi, Chickamauga, Union defeat, redeemed two months later by Union victory at Lookout oMountain and Missionary Ridge. 1864. The Hammering Campaign, Grant, Conmiander-in- Chief, fighting toward Richmond ; Sherman, ably • seconding him, pushing to the sea. Principal names, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, results generally favorable to Union ; Kenesaw Mountain, Mobile, Atlanta, destroying Confederacy's workshop, Nashville, Thomas cut- ting Hood to pieces. Savannah, Sherman's Christ- mas present to nation. Year memorable, also, for destruction of the Alabama and for counter-raids of Early and Sheridan. Confederacy was now reduced to Virginia and the Carolinas. 1865. Capture qi Richmond, collapse of Confederate Gov- ernment, Goldsboro, general surrender. SEC. 16. RECONSTRUCTION. Failure stamped .secession as rebellion, not revolution. The Confederacy lapsed, as a matter of course. What THE UNITED STATES. 379 was the status of its constituents ? Severalanswers were given: i. Rebellion had destroyed statehood, leaving secession domain with no more rights than conquered land. 2. Substitute in i territory for "conquered land." But under i and 2 what was meaning of an "inde- structible Union of indestructible states f " 3. Secession had broken continuity of government, but the states remained, to receive full recognition again as fast as re- turn to obedience and adequate guarantees for the future made reconstitution of government possible. This Lincoln's view,^ inherited by Johnson. 4. Same in form as 3, but differing in two vital particulars: (i) Congress, instead of President, was to decide conditions and fulfillment. (2) Instead of going back to voting list of i860— white citizens exclusively — present loyal male population, black as well as white, were summoned to conventions for framing constitutions, on approval of which Congress might declare reinstatement. This the Congressional programme, so summed up in Recon- struction Act of 1867,' was carried through under mili- tary rule. No prophet's eye was needed to foresee the result — Negro domination,'' carpet-bagging, excessive taxation, criminal waste, debt, worst of all, fresh open- ing of Southern wounds.* It was a bitter, weary pro- cess, needing four years for completion. January 30, 187 1, all the states were once more represented in Con- gress, but half a decade more passed before the reestab- lishment of normal conditions in the states. 1 Reorganization had gone far under this view in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee, the last named readmitted to Union in 1866. 2 Excepting Tennessee, Southern States were organized into five miHtary districts. Generals of the army, named by Presi- dent, were to conduct process of reconstruction. General con- ditions were as follows : i. All male citizens of one year's resi- 380 THE UNITED STATES. deuce were to be enrolled as voters, barring exceptions of disqualification by reason of felony or exclusion under XlVth Amendment. 2, In each state election should be made of dele- gates to a state convention, before-mentioned voters alone being allowed to vote or be voted for. 3. These conventions were to frame constitutions insuring franchise to all classes permitted to vote for delegates to the conventions. 4. Constitutions so made were to be ratified by body of voters. 5. So ratified, constitu- tions were to be submitted to Congress. 6. If approved, the constitutions would entitle states to representation, provided legislatures adopted XlVth Amendment. ^XlVth Amendment, among other provisions, .declared all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to tlie jurisdiction thereof citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they abide, forbade abridgment of voting rights, except for "participation in rebellion or other crime," to male inhabitants twenty-one years of age, and decreed that " no person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President or Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States or under any state, who having previously taken an oath as a Member of Congress or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legis- lature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to sup- port the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid and comfort to the enemies thereof."' The effect of this was to dis- qualify for office every prominent white Southerner and to place the ballot in every black hand. So it came about that from slavery, denounced as "barbarism," the negro was advanced, without a moment's preparation, to the rights and duties of cit- izenship, only to prove by his utter political incapacity that it takes something more than emancipation proclamations and amendments to make statesmen. *As so often, major part of trouble came from misunder- standing. A class, really a race, unpracticed in liberty, without social and industrial balance, and without domestic restraints, had been suddenly called to face conditions wholly new and strange. To the Southerner stringent regulations seemed only the part of prudence. To the Northerner proposed regulation seemed deliberate violation of rights of negro. This is North's vindication for further humiliation of South. THE UNITED STATES. 381 SEC. 17. A QUARTER CENTURY OF REPUBLICANISM. The Civil War was fought and the Union saved under RepubUcan leadership. The great Lincoln was a tower of strength. His untimely death enshrined him in the popular devotion, giving him place with Washington. The story of Lincoln's official life is the story of the war and of the beginning of restoration.^ Johnson was Lincoln's legatee in reconstruction policy, but opinion- ated and tactless. Open clash with Congress resulted in trial, which fell only one vote short of impeachment. A political refugee, out of touch with the party that elected him,'' Johnson was an impossible candidate for the succession. The man who bulked largest in war achievement was Grant, whose election was a foregone conclusion. He served two terms, 1869-1877, the first more successful than the second.^ His administration memorable for : i. Completion of Reconstruction. 2. Joining Atlantic and Pacific by transcontinental rail- way. 3. Beginning of Civil Service reform.* 4. The Alabama award. ° 5. The Centennial Exposition. Hayes, 1 877-1 881, was inducted into office amid the excitement of a disputed election,*' and during his term lacked strong party support. The country, however, enjoyed general prosperity. Principal events were: i. Industrial disturbances of 1877. 2. Financial legisla- tion, including remonetization of silver, resumption of specie payments, and refunding of debt. 3. Various in- ternal improv^ements, most valuable the raising of New Orleans' embargo of mud. ^ Garfield and Arthur, 1881- 1885, saw demand for Civil Service reform renewed and emphasized by deplorable death of former. The most noteworthy feature of the period was development of South. 382 'The: united states. ^ Many a time afterward the country sighed for even an hour of the one man who seemed large enough to understand the entire problem. Among the most treasured words of the great chief, more precious with every passing year, is the utterance of the second Inaugural, uttered before peace came, but when peace could be foreseen, with the hard problems beyond : " With malice toward none ; with charity for all ; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in ; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan — to do all which ma}^ achieve and cherish a lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations." ■-^A Union man, but a Southern Democrat, in sympathy with his compatriots in all but secession. His outspoken opposition to secession gave him favorable standing North and made him Lincoln's Vice-President. Difference of judgment with Re- publican Congress at once awakened suspicion, which Johnson was ill-fitted and little disposed to allay. Suspicion passed into mutual recrimination, the President frank to the point of coarse- ness in denunciation of his opponents. ^ Was not happy in appointments. Grave malfeasance in office was practiced by prominent officials. Grant himself ad- mitted sadly that he had l)een misled by political advisers* Demoralization well describes the character of the second term, the President largely the tool of politicians. ^Already, in 1867, a bill had been proposed looking to re- form of the civil service. The death of the framer prevented the bill from getting results. In 1871 Grant appointed a com- mission composed of able friends of the movement. The poli- ticians, however, did not take kindly to the movement, and in 1874 Congress quashed it by cutting off the necessary appropri- ation. Civil-service reform has seen better days since then. 'Against England giving the United States $15,000,000 dam- ages in the claims growing out of havoc wrought by Confeder. ate destroyer, the crniser Alabama. ^The Hayes-Tilden controversy. Undisputed electoral votes stood 184 for Tilden and Hendricks, 172 for Ha3'es and Wheeler. Disputed votes were: Florida, 4; Louisiana, 8; Oregon, i. An Electoral Commission — five Representatives, five Senators, five Supreme Justices —gave all 13 disputed votes to the Republican nominees, who were accordingly declared elected — 185 to 184 THK UNITED STATKS. 383 The popular vote stood 4,284,757 Democratic, 4,033,950 Repub- lican. ' Detritus carried dowu by Mississippi had blocked mouth of stream to such extent that large vessels passed only with great difficulty. Captain Eads cut the bar, narrowing and deepening the channel, and the current proved strong enough to keep the passage clear. SEC. 18. EEADING BY TURNS. For a decade party strength had been evenly matched. Serious Republican defection ' now assured Democratic return to office. The strong personality of Cleveland filled the years 1885-1889. Social and industrial dis- turbances and regulation of interstate commerce, Chi- nese immigration, elections, and presidential succession make up the record of the term. Harrison, 1 889-1 893, led in Republican triumph once more. The navy was increased. The pension rolls were lengthened. Tariff and coinage revision were instituted. Cleveland and the Democrats followed, 1893-1897. Our country en- tertained the world at the Columbian Exposition-. Hard times followed. I^ong- standing disputes over seal hunt- ing and the Venezuela boundary '"' were settled without bloodshed, though not without friction. The Coxey in- vasion ' was successfully resisted. The Hawaiian ques- tion became painfully prominent.' Money, tariff, and the civil service were under continuous agitation. The close of his second term found Cleveland the official head and the ablest statesman of a party which had practically disowned his leadership. McKinley, 1897-, was elected on a platform of sound money, sound public service, sound personal character, after a campaign un- matched in dramatic features^ since the days of Tippe- canoe. His administration has increasingly justified 52 384 THE UNITED STATES. public expectation. He has met unusually difficult situations with firmness and skill. His course in the entanglement with Spain earned the approval it has re- ceived. He has felt the public touch as no President has since Lincoln. Most vital of all for the future, he has given voice to the national spirit.^ ^ Even the magnetism of Blaine could not stem the tide of tariff reform, civil service, general Mugwump, and anti-corrup- tion sentiment. Scandals as old as Grant's time were raked up, among others, the Credit Mobilier affair. The final stroke was given by a good Republican, whose ill-chosen words of eulogy of the Republican candidate alienated important voting strength in New York on the eve of election — too late to correct the blunder. As it turned out, New York was the determining factor in the contest, Democrats commanding 183, Republicans 182 electoral votes outside that state. In New York the contest was so close that for two days the issue was in doubt. Then the official count showed the state Democratic by a narrow mar- gin. The popular vote as between the two great parties .showed the surprisingly small majority of less than 63,000 for the Dem- ocrats in a-total vote of nearly ten million. ^A fine burst of national enthusiasm met the President's straightforward, perhaps brusque, interrogation of England on the subject. A Commission to determine "the true divisional line between the Republic of Venezuela and British Guiana " was appointed. Happily the diplomatic difficulties were smoothed away, and while the Commissioners were at work an agreement was reached satisfactory to all concerned. ^The hosts of trampdom, industrial malcontent, and general disgruntlement formed an "army " to compel the attention of Congress to the grievances of the poor. The movement looked formidable, for five thousand hungry men easily undertake des- perate projects. Partly from fear, partly from sympathy, partly from a sense of humor, the sections through which the " army " marched gave them food and varied encouragement. Great things were prophesied against their arrival in Washington, but a few policemen easily handled the movement on its arrival and the army melted away. THE UNITED STATES. 385 *The Harrison administration was engaged about the annex- ation of Hawaii when it closed. Cleveland withdrew the treaty already before the Senate and entered into relations with the Hawaiian government which caused great anxiety to the friends of liberty there and here. The outcome, however, was the Re- public of Hawaii recognized by our government as " free, sov- ereign and independent." ^ Due to the tireless and picturesque canvass of the Democratic candidate, William J. Bryan, who represented at once the regu- lar Democrac}^ Free Silver, and Populism. ^The South has received him with as great enthusiasm as the North. His reference to the Confederate dead touched the Southern heart. December 14, 1898, the President proposed at Atlanta that henceforth the National Government care for Confederate cemeteries as it did for Federal. The suggestion was approved warmly at the North. Little but good feeling has come of it as 5'et, but it is of value as showing the oblitera- tion of sectional lines. The Spanish war saw the removal of the last disability oh account of the civil war, and American officers and men fought the battles of the nation with never a question asked as to whence any came. Sections have vanished. It has been Mr. McKinley's happy fortune to be a leader of the new order. SEC 19. COLONIAL EXPANSION. The present administration inherited a Hawaiian and a Cuban question. Both questions have opened upon larger issues than were foreseen. Particularly is this true of the latter. The story of Spanish domitiion and decay lies back of it, as does also Spain's policy of co- lonial exploitation. Our immediate interest goes only to the spring of 1895, when new effort was made to throw off the Spanish yoke. The Cubans failed to win independence and Spain failed to quell the insurrection. Bloodshed, famine, and pestilence were ruining the island. Our government first protested against the con- tinuance of such conditions, and then demanded that 386 THE UNITED STATES. they be stopped. The destruction of the Maine in- creased American interest. April 19, 1898, Cuban inde- pendence was recognized. This meant war with Spain. The war did not last long. Manila and Santiago ^ prac- tically determined the issue. August 12, 1898, the draft of a treaty of peace was signed, afterward com- pleted, Spain renouncing all claim to Cuba, ceding Porto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States. Five weeks before Hawaii had been annexed in accord- ance with its own desire.'^ Thus within four months the United States acquired 125,000 square miles of colonial territory, with a population of 11,000,000, to say nothing of the protectorate of Cuba. The hardest constitutional problems since reconstruction are in- volved in the organization of this territor5^ It is far from clear whether breaking continental boundaries will mean good or ill to the nation, but present dut}' is clear. In the allotment of the world's work the task has been assigned us of making these sections politically habit- able. The principle of development is unmistakable, running straight from the Declaration of Independence to the remotest Filipino, independence in proportion to self-control, liberty under law. 1 Manila, May i, 1898, destroyed Spain's entire Pacific squad- ron without the loss of a man. The victory gave the Americans command of the city of Manila, which, however, was not act- ually occupied until August 18. Santiago, July 3, 1898, destroyed Spain's Atlantic squadron with the loss of a single man. The army meanwhile had not been idle, and within a few days Santiago was surrendered. ■^The battle of Manila changed the entire situation in regard to Hawaii. Experts in naval geography urged its acquisition as a base of operations in the Pacific. Union was consummated July 7, 1898, and Hawaii is now United States territory. BiBtlOGRAPHIKS. The bibliographies to tlie first tliirteen chapters were pre- pared by colleagues as named, a service which has been of the utmost value and which is gratefully acknowledged. Attention is asked to the fact that the bibliographies primarily contem- plate the needs of students in professional courses. Bibliography to Chapter L Prepared by Prof. Edward B. Pot.lard, Ph. D., of The Colum])ian University. KGYPT. Brugsch : History of Egypt under the Pharaohs. 2 vols. 1881. Rawlinson, G, : History of Ancient Egypt. 2 vols. 1881. Kendrick.Johji : Ancient Egypt under the Pharaohs. 2 vols 1883. Maspero, G. : Ancient Egyi)t and Assyria. D. Appleton. 1895. Bilnsen, Ch. C.J : Egypt's Place in Universal History. En- glish translation, 5 vols. Wilkinson, Sir J. G. : Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians. London. 3 vols. 1878. Meyer, Ed. : Geschichte Aegyptens. Petrie : History of Egypt, to end of XVIIIth Dynasty. 2 vols. CHAI^DKA. RawlinsoJi's Great Ancient Monarchies. American reprint. 188 r. Vol. I. Lenormaiit 2iX\d. Chevallier: Ancient History of the East. 2 vols. Schrader: Sammlung von Assyrischeu und Babylonishcen Texten, for many valuable sources. (See further list under Babylonia and Assyria.) 53 {i^l) 388 BIBLIOGRAPHIES. ASSYRIA. 7^?>/^.- Babylonische-Assyrische Geschichte. 2 vols. 1888. Smith, George: Assyrian Discoveries. 1875. Sayce : Ancient Empires of the East. Sayce : Babylonians and Assyrians. Rawlinson , G. : Five Great Ancient Monarchies. Vol. I. Delitzsch and Haiipt : Assyriologische Bibliothek. Leipzig, since 188 1. Maspero, G. : Life in Ancient Egypt and Assyria. Appleton. 1895. Rawlinson's Herodotus. Vol. I. Appendix. Essay IX. Raiulinson'' s Five Great Ancient Monarchies. Vol. 11. Lenorniant : Ancient History of the East. Vol. II. Ragozin : Story of Media, Babylonia, and Persia. (See also list under Persia.) BABYLONIA. Budge : Babylonian Life and History. Loftus : Nineveh and Babylon. Sayce : Babylonians and Ass3-rians. Rawlinson , G. : Great Ancient Monarchies. Vol. II. (See also list under Ass^-ria.) PERSIA. JMalcohn, Sir John : History of Persia. 2 vols. London, 181 6. Dunckel : Geschichte des Alterthunis. English translation. London, 1882. 6 vols. Raiulinson, G.: Five Great Ancient Monarchies. Vol. III. Justi : Geschichte Persiens. Berlin, 1879. Lenormant : Ancient History of the East. Vol. II. Ragozifi : Storj^ of Media, Babylonia, and Persia. Noldeke, Th. : Article Persia, in Encyclopedia Britannica. 9th edition. BIBLIOGRAPHIES. 389 Bibliography to Chapter II, Prepared by Prof. MiTCHELiv Carroll, Ph. D., of The Cohmibian University. I. HISTORY. Thirlwall : History of Greece. 8 vols. 2d edition. 1885. Grote : History of Greece. 12 vols. 1870. Curtius E. : History of Greece (tr. ). 5 vols. 1868-1872. Holm: History of Greece (tr.) 4 vols. 1 886-1894. Abbott: History of Greece. 4 vols, 1892-1900. Lloyd: Age of Pericles. 1875. Graftt : Greece in the Age of Pericles. J893. Wheeler : Alexander the Great and Extension of Greek Rule and Ideas. 1900. Mahaffy : The Greek World under Roman Sway. 1890. II. GEOGRAPHY. Wordsworth : Greek Pictorial, Historical and Descriptive. 1882. Tozer : Lectures on the Geography of Greece. 1874. Mahaffy : Rambles and Studies in Greece. 1881. Smithy W. : Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. 2 vols. 1853-1857. III. IN GENERAL- Pausanias' De.scription of Greece. Translated by J. G Frazer. 6 vols. 1899. G uhl SiWd. Koner : The Life of the Greeks and Romans (tr.). 1877. Greenidge : A Handbook of Greek Constitutional History. 1896. Gardner : New Chapters in Greek History. 1892. 390 BIBLIOGRAPHIES. BibIio§fraphy to Chapter IIL Prepared by Prof. Mitchei.1. Carroi.1., Ph. D., of The Columbian University. I. HISTORY. Niebuhr : History of Rome (tr ). 3 vols. 1859. Monimsen : History of Rome (tr.). 6 vols. 1877-1887. //j;?^ .• History of Rome. 5 vols. 1871-1882. Merivale : Histor}^ of the Romans under the Empire. New^ edition. 8 vols. 1890, Gibbon : Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Good edi- tion in 8 vols. 1854-1855. Capes: The Early Empire. 6th edition. 18S7. How and Leigh : History of Rome to the Death of Caesar. 1898. Bury : The Students' History of the Roman Empire. 1893. II. GEOGRAPHY. Kiepert, H. : Manual of Ancient Geography. 188 r. Kiepert, H. : Atlas Antiquus. ^a'. Chapman : History of Gustavus Adolphus and of the Thirty Years' War up to the King's Death. 1856. E. Charvhiat : Histoire de la guerre de trente ans, 1614-1648. 1878. 2 vols. G. Freytag : Aus deni Jahihundert des grossen Krieges. 1873. P. H. Grimoard : Histoire des conquetesde Gustave-Adolfe en Allemagne en 1630-1632. 1789. 3 vols. C. A. Mebold : Der dreissigjahrige Krieg und die Helden desselben. 1840. 2 vols. F. H. Naylor : Civil and military history of Germany from the lauding of Gustavus to the conclusion of the Treaty of Westphalia. 18 16. 2 vols. F. A. W. Schreiber : Maximilian I, Kurfiirst von Baiern, und der dreissigjahrige Krieg. 1868. /. M. von Soeltl: Religionskrieg in Deutschland. 1842. 3 vols. K. Wittich: Magdeburg, Gustav Adolf, und Tilly. 1874. K. L. von Woltmann: Geschichte des westphalischen Friedens. 1 808-1809, 2 vols. E.Schebek: Losung der Wallensteinfrage. 1881. /. E. von Hurler : Wallenstein's vier letzte Lebensjahre. 1862. O. Klapp : Till}' im dreissigjahrigen Kriege. 1861. 2 vols. Comte de Villermont : Tilly, ou la guerre de trente ans de 1618 a 1642. i860. 2 vols. Menzel : Neuere Geschichte der Deutschen seit der Reforma- tion. 1854-1855. 2 vols. Motley : Life and Death of John of Barneveld ; with a view of the primary causes and movements of the Thirty Years' War. 1874. 2 vols. J. Janssen : Vorbereitung des dreissigjahrigen Krieges. 1886. A . Gindely : History cf the Thirty Years' War. 4 vols. Prague, 1 869- 1 880. Translated by Ten Brook. 402 BIBI.IOGRAPHIES. A. Ghidely : lUustrierte Geschichte des Dreissigjahrigeii Krieges. 3 vols. Leipzig, 1884. S. R. Gardiner: The Thirty Years' War. 1874. C. A. Peschek : Reformation mid Aiitireformation in Bohnien. Fr. Schiller : Geschichte des Dreissigjahrigen Krieges. Leip- zig, 1793. Sir E. Gust : Lives of the Warriors of the Thirty Years' W^ar. G. R. L. Fletcher: Gustavus Adolphus and the Struggle of Protestantism for Existence. R. G. French: Gustavus Adolphus in Germany. J. L. Stevens : History of Gustavus Adolphus. /. Mitchell : Life of Wallenstein ; also Leop. von Ranke (1869), Gindely (1886), TJ/^'^r (1886). /. Bryce : The Holy Roman Empire. Ward: The House of Austria in the Thirty Years' War. BIBLIOGRAPHIES. 403 Bibliography to Chapter X. Prepared by Prof. Hermann Schoenfei^d, Ph. D. of The Columbian University. J. Adams : History of France to the Revolution. 3 vols. G. Daniel: Histoire de France depuis I'etablissement de la nionarchie fran^aise dans les Gaules. '755-1757. i7 vols. J. Gifford : History of France from the Earliest Times. 1789- 1793. 4 vols. Guizot : History of France from the Earliest Ages to the Year 1789. 1872-18S1. 8 vols. G. W. Kitchin : History of France Down to the Year 1453. 1873- //. Martin: Histoire de France jusqu'eu 1789. 1865. 17 vols. //. Martin : Histoire de France depuis 1789 jus qu'a nos jours. 1878-1883. 6 vols. J. Michelet : Histoire de France. 1861-1863. 15 vols. A. Ranken : History of France from the Times of Clovis. 1801-1822. 9 vols. E. A. Schmidt: Geschichte von P'rankreich. 1835-1848. 4 vols. SifuoJide de Sisniondi : Histoire des Fran9ais. 1821-1844. 31 vols. W. Tooke : The Monarchy of France; Its Rise, Progress, and Fall. 1855. J. White : History of France. 1859. Zaz'rt///^.- Histoire des Frangais. 1880. 6 vols. Rambaud : Histoire de la civilization frangaise. Paris, 1887. 3 vols. Lalanne : Dictionaire historique de la France. Paris, 1887. Lacretelle : Histoire de France, pendant les guerres de religion. 1822. 4 vols. L. Ranke : Civil Wars and Monarchy in France in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. 1852. 2 vols. 55 404 BIBLIOGRAPHIHvS. Wrast'all : Memoirs of the Kings of France of the Race of Va- lois. 1777. 2 vols. /. H. Bridges : France nnder Richelieu and Colbert. 1866. Voltaire : Siecle de Louis XIV. 1785. 2 vols. C. D. Yonge : History of France under the Bourbons. 1867. 4 vols. J. F. Barriere : La cour et la ville sans Louis XIV, Louis XV, et Louis XVI. 1830. Carlyle : The French Revolution. 1857. ^ vols. Ta/w^.- The French Revolution. 1878-1881. 2 vols. Thiers: History of the French Revolution. 1838. 5 vols. Capefigue : Europe pendant le consulat et I'empire de Napoleon. 1840. Thiers: History of the Consulate and Empire of France under Napoleon. 186 1-1873. 5 vols. O. Browning : Modern France, 1814-1879. 1880. Gregoif-e : Histoiie de France, periode contemporaine. 1879- 1S83. 4 vols. BIBLIOGRAPHIES. 405 BibIio§:raphy to Chapter XL Prepared by Prof. Hermann SchoenfeIvD, Ph. D., of The Columbian University. Besides the numberless Russian works generally inaccessible here : Eckardt : Modern Russia. Translated from German. London, 1870. Hepworth Dixon : Free Russia. London, 1870, Ralston : Early Russian History. London, 1874. Alfred Rambaud : History of Russia from Earliest Times to 1882. 3 vols. 3d edition. 1885. D. Mackenzie Wallace : Russia. New York, 1877. Lyof N. Tolstoi: What to Do? New York, 1887. Stepniak : Russian Peasantr}^ and Underground Russia. New York and London, 1888. He7iry Morley : Sketches of Russia. Philadelphia, 1890. Emilia Pardo Bazan : Russia: Its Peo^de and Literature. Chicago, 1890. Anatole Le Roy Beaulieu : The Empire of the Tsars and the Russians. Translated by Z. A. Ragozin. New York, 1893. Murray: Russians of Today. London, 1878. H. S. Edwards: Tlie RomanofTs. Alex. Bruckner : Peter der Grosse ; Katharina die Grosse. Waliszewski : Translation from the French. Peter the Great, Katherine the Great. 406 BIBLIOGRAPHIES. Bibliogffaphy to Chapter XII. Prepared by Prof. Hermann Schoenfei^d, Ph. D., of The Columbian University. Tacitus: Germania. Ccssar : Commentaries. E. Gibbon : Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. W. C. Perry: The Franks. J. Bryce : The Holy Roman Empire. 6". Menzies : History of Europe from the Decadence of the Western Empire to the Reformation. /. Sime : History of Germany. Dollinger: History of the Church. U. Balza7ii: The Popes and the Hohenstaufen. F. Raumer: Geschichte der Hohenstaufen. H. Hallam : The Middle Ages. W. von Giesebrecht : Geschichte der Deutschen Kaiserzeit. Joh. Janssen : Deutschlands Au.swartige Lage beim Ausgang des Mittelalters. W. Coxe : History of the House of Austria. C. T. Lewis : History of Germany. .S*. A. Dunham : History of the Germanic Empire. L. von Ranke : Memoirs of the House of Brandenburg. W. Robertson : Histor}^ of the Reign of Charles V. F. Kohlraiisch : Histor}' of Germany. (Obsolete.) W. Menzel : History of Germany. (Obsolete.) Joh. Gust. Droysen : Geschichte der Preussischen Politik (mon- umental j. Herbert Tuttle : History of Prussia to the Accession of Fred- erick the Great. Boston, 1884. Heitir. von Treitschke : Deutsche Geschichte im Neunzehnten jahrhundert. Heinr. von Sybel : Die Begriindung des Deutschen Reiches. G. H. Pertz : Monumenta Germanise Historica. The standard and monumental work of the sources of German History. Gustav Freytag, Felix Dahn, and Jos. Victor Scheffel: The classical novelist historians of the German nation. BIBLIOGRAPHIES. 407 K. W. i^litzsch : Geschichte des Deutscheu Volkes bis zurii Angs- biirger Religionsfrieden. Ludwig Hdusser: Deutsche Geschichte voni Tode Friedrich des Grossen bis zur Grundiing des Deutscheu Bnudes Weizdcker, Reichstagsakteu JVattenbach and Lorenz : Deutsche Ouielleugeschichte. Georg Waitz : Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte. 408 BIBI.IOGRAPHIES. Bibliogffaphy of Chapter XIIL Prepared by Prof. Chari^es C. SwIvSHER, Ph. D., of The Columbian University. For students who have not elected the work in Euglish His- tory in the College courses, Gardiner's Students' Histor}^ of England, if supplemented by some work of the character of Knight's Popular History of England, Ransome's Rise of Con- stitutional Government in England, or Taswell-Langmead's volume upon the Constitution and Bagehot's little monograph upon the present working of the English Constitution, will make a tolerably fair foundation. Gardiner's School Atlas of English History will be found very helpful for such a course of reading. General works practically covering the whole period are Green, I^ingard, and Hume. The Constitutional side is given by Stubbs, Hallani, and May. The Foreign Policy is briefl}- outlined in Spencer Walpole's little volume, and more at length by Burroughs' English For- eign Policy, and Professor vSeelye's Growth of English Foreign Policy, and Expansion of England. The Colonial side in — Egerton : A Short History of British Colonial Policy. Cottofi and Payne: Colonies and Dependencies. Sir Charles Dilke : Problems of Greater Britain. Lyall : Rise of British Dominion in India. Roberts: History of Canada. Parkin: Imperial Federation. Fitz Patrick : The Transvaal from Within, For the Social and Industrial side consult — Rogers : Six Centuries of Work and Wages. Traill: Social England. Ashley: Economic Histor3^ Cunnitigham: Alien Immigrants of England. Ward: Reign of Queen Victoria. Tovnbee : Industrial Revolution. The first chapters of Fronde's, and Macanlay' s Histories of England. BIBIJOGRAPHIES. 409 Numerous memoirs, biographies, monographs, and histories of distinct periods afford opportunity for special reading. A few in the order of their time are mentioned : Slicbbs : Early Plantageuets. Longman : Life and Times of Edward III. Trevelyan : England in the Age of Wycliffe. Gasquet : The Great Pestilence. Gairdner: Houses of York and Lancaster; Life and Reign of Richard III. Bacon : History of Henry VI I. Brewer: Reign of Henry VIII. Seebohni's Oxford Reformers. Cteighton: Cardinal Wolsey ; Age of Elizabeth. Gardiner s History of England, 1603 to 1643. Clarendon: The Great Rebellion. Ranke : England in the vSeventeenth Century. Lord Mahon : England under Queen Anne; A History of Eng- land from 1 7 13 to 1763. Lecky: England in the Eighteenth Century. Martineau: England from 181510 1854. Justin McCarthy : History of Our Own Time. Walpole : History of England from 181 5. 4IO BIBLIOGRAPHIES. Bibliography to Chapter XIV» Beginning. For bird's-eye view of whole field, use of smaller manuals, numerous and excellent, will be found serviceable. Same end may be reached, though not so well, through appro- priate portions of general outlines like those of Ploetz, Weber, Fisher. Enlargement. Second step is indicated by such works as Epochs of American Histor}^ — Thwaites : The Colonies ; Hart : Makingof Nation ; Wilson: Division and Reunion. American History vSeries, — Fisher : Colonial Era ; Sloane : French War and Revolution ; Walker : Making of Nation ; Burgess : The Middle Period. learned : History for Ready Reference, Art., United States. Then follow larger histories, e. g.^ Palfrey, Hildreth, Bryant and Gay, Von Hoist, McMaster, Schouler. Special periods. Each of the general histories treats these in order with varying fullness. In addition may be noted, Doyle : English Colonies in North America. Parkman's Series, France and England in North America. F'iske's Series : Dis- covery of America ; Beginnings of New England ; American Revolution ; Critical Period. Winsor : Narrative and Critical History. Bancroft : History of United States, History of Consti- tution. Curtis : Constitutional History. Cooley : Constitutional Law, Constitutional Limitations. Stor}^: Commentaries. Greene: Historical View American Revolution. Adams: History of the United States, 1801-1817. American Statesmen Series, Ameri- can Commonwealth Series. Articles in Lalor. Rhodes : His- tory of the United States from Compromise, 1850. Wilson : Rise and Fall of Slave Power. Greeley : American Conflict. Draper : History of the Civil War. Stephens : Constitutional View of War Between the States. Davis : Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government. Swinton : Twelve Decisive Battles of War. Comte de Paris : Civil War in America. Nicolay and Hay : Life of Lincoln. Biographies of prominent men not included in series named. Maps. Many works named have good maps. Further aid will be found in the encyclopedias, various school geographies, MacCoun : Historical Geography of United States, Labbertou : Historical Atlas. BIBLIOGRAPHIES. ^H Special helps. For work still to be done material is at hand in files of annuals-Appleton, Poor, Rowell. Publications of Departments. Elliott : Debates on Adoption of Federal Consti- tution. Federalist. Force: Collection Tracts and Papers; Amer- ican Archives. Benton : Abridgment Debates of Congress Niles: National Register, 1811-1847. Scott: War of Rebellion- great collection official records, Federal and Confederate. Pres- ton : Documents. Macdonald : Documents. Old South and American History Leaflets. Hart : American History by Con- temporaries. Remarkable collection Jesuit Relations. Works most of them published and easily available, of national leaders,' from Wnshington to present. Guide books. Easily accessible are Winsor : Handbook Amer- lean Revolution. Hart and Channing : Guide to Study Amer- ican History. Most generally used of all, Adams : Manual of Historical Literature. IP