MASTER NEGA TIVE NO. 92-80706 MICROFILMED 1992 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES/NEW YORK as part of the . „ "Foundations of Western Civilization Preservation Project Funded by the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES Reproductions may not be made without permission from Columbia University Library COPYRIGHT STATEMENT The copyright law of the United States - Title 17, United States Code - concerns the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material... niversity Library reserves the right to refuse to accept a copy order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of the copyright law. AUTHOR: [FRIEDRICH II, DER GROSSE, KING OF TITLE: MEMOIRS OF THE HOUSE OF ... PLACE: EDINBURGH DA TE : 1759 Master Negative # ^2-^0706-5 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT BIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARGET Original Material as Filmed - Existing Bibliographic Record cFt-iedrich II, dor GroGs^ kinrr ^-p n • . ,^ ; rooo., kmr of Prussia-, 171?- J-'Ob. MeraoirG of the Hon<^^ o-p n i , (C.ij,.j o) ""^ nrandonburc. By the present kinr of Prn-OT.-, r. . . , Robertsons, 1759. ^» 246 p. 17 era. ij943 l\i t i ^»^914 (;FriGdrioh II, dor Gro:-.e, kinr of pv,,,..,-. v. 1786. :l •lenoirs of the house of Brandenburg: fro... earlient accounts, to tlie death of Fred or 1 01^1!! kin^ of PruGoia. To v;hi-h :ire aaciod, four dis sor»- taUonu: I. On manner:;, ougIoms, inductrv, a^a i.'^p r-ro-roco of the humn i!ndor£tand-;.nr in i!- ^v^f and r^ciencea; 11. On the antic-nL and rnodc-r''~ov- ornuient of Erandenburr;; LII. On superntitior^V-d religion; IV. On the rearzons for the enact-v- -rd repealinc of .Ur.vn. Md a preliminary dioconrno. (Continued en next card) Restrictions on Use: TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA FILM SlZE:_QJi^l IMAGE PLACEMENT: lA @) IB IIB DATE FILMED:__l)lV7i52r^ REDUCTION RATlO:_//X- INITIALS__c::2^ HLMEDBY: RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS, INC WOODBRIDGE, CT c Association for information and Image IManagement 1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite 1100 Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 301/587-8202 Centimeter 1 2 3 iiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiili iUI 4 iLiiuiiiiiiiii mm 7 8 iiliiiiliiiiliiiiiMiiiin 10 n 12 luiliiiiliiii mil 13 14 15 mm l|ll|ll|ll|ll|ll|ll|ll|ll|lllljll^^^ I I Inches T IT 1 Ml Ml 1.0 I.I 1.25 I I II I T jff la ■ 56 tS& m lUbu 3.2 36 4.0 1.4 2.5 2.2 2.0 1.8 1.6 1 MRNUPqCTURED TO RUM STRNDflRDS BY APPLIED IMAGE, INC. - TXXt t>^^ Columbia ^Hnibergttp in ttje Citp of iSeto l^orb LIBRARY s MEMOIRS OF THE Houfe of Brandenburg : From the earlieft acconiits, to the death of r&EDERicK I. King of Prussia. To which are added, FOUR DISSERTATIONS. I. On Manners, Cuftoms, Induftry, and the "•B?a"„denVut"' "' '"°'''° ^°'^''""^"' ^^ III. On Superftition and Religion. IV On the Reafons for the enacfling and re. pealing of Laws. ^ ^^ - And a Preliminary Discourse. ^\ % the prefent K I N G of Prussia; E B 1 N BU RG Hi fnntcd ty E. and J. ROBERTSONS; f Cr W. G R A V in the from of the cafl * wing of the Exchange. MDCGLIX. I. ii A lb gj TO THE PRINCE ROYAL O F PRUSSIA^ \} !.» » •• I Dear Brother, HAVING lately employed fome leifure hours in drawing up an abridgment of the hiftory of the houfe of Brandenburg, I thought proper to addrefs this work to you, who are one day to be the ornament of this hiftory ; to you who are next heir to the crowA, and to whom I have confecrated all my toils and perils. It is true you were acquainted with, the aflions of your anceftors, before I under- took to commit them to writing : therefore the pains I have taken in making this extract, can be of no other ufe to you than to recal them to your memory. I have treated the fubje6t with, freedom and impartiality, fo as to exhibit the princes of your houfe in their real colours. The fame pen which has drawn the civil and mili- tary virtues of the great Ele(flor, has glanced at the foibles of the firfl king of Pruflia, and thofe pafTions which in the order of Providence con- a 2 tributed a } \\ r iv ] tributed afterwards to raife this houfe to its pre- fent pitch of grandeur. I have divefled my- felf of all manner of prejudice, and confidercd princes and relations only as other men. Far from being biafled by the weight of power, or from idolizing my anceftors, I have freely con- demned their vices, becaufe vice fliould find no patronage on the throne : I have commended virtue in thofe whom it adorned ; but guarded againfl the enthufiafm which it naturally in- fpires ; to the end that nothing but truth, ia her plain and native drefs, fhould reign through- out this hiftory. If mortals may be allowed to dive into the fecrets of futurity, and after aa invefligation of principles to reafon on the con- fequences, I may venture to predidl, from the knowledge I' have of your charafter, a* lafllng profperity to this empire. It is not the fugge- i\ion of a blind and pafTionate aife(Slion, nor the bafe language of flattery, which both of us c- qually deteft, but it is truth itfelf that obliges me to tell you, with an inward fatisfadlion, that you have rendered yourfelf worthy of the rank to which your birth has called you, and of the title of Defender of your country, by bravely venturing your life in her caufe. If you did not think it beneath you to pafs through the different degrees of military fubordination, - it is becaufe you judged^ that to be worthy of command, you ought firft to learn to obey ; it 16 becaufe your moderation forbade you to plume yourfelf with that empty glory which vulgar princes are apt to afTume upon the experience gi veteran captaias. Your chief and conftant aua- 4 1i t * ] aim is the good of your country : hence you have filenced every pafTion, and fet every view of private interefl afide, whenever it was your duty to appear in her defence. It was from this fame principle that Boufflers offered himfelf to the king of France in the campaign of 1709, and ferved under Villarsj who received him with the following compliment ; *' Such a collegue. Sir, as you, I fhall always '* confider as my mafler." It is not only on that coolnefs and prefence of mind which no perils can difcompofe, nor on that bravery and prudent refolution which you have always ex- erted in decifive moments, and by which the troops have often diitinguifhed you as one of the chief inflruments of their viftory ; it is not, I fay, on thefe virtues only that I ground my hopes, and thofe of the public: the braveft kings have often made their fubjedts unhappy ; witnefs the military ardour of Francis I. and Charles XII. and fo many other princes, who have been upon the brink of ruin themfelves, or ruined their country, by excefs of ambition. Permit me to tell you, it is the gentlenefs and humanity of your difpofition ; it is the fincere, the unfeigned tears which you fhed, when a fudden accident had like to have ended my days ; that I look upon as the fure marks of your vir- tue, and as pledges of the happinefs of thofe whom heaven has deflined to be one day under your government. A heart fufceptible of friend- fhip is fuperior to bafe ambition ; for your part, you know no other rule of conduft than juflice, and have no other defire than that of preferving ^! I % I t)referving the efleem of wife and virtuous men. Thus thought the Antoninus's, the Titus's the Trajans, thofe bd\ of princes, who have been juftly called the delight of human kind. How happy am I, Dear Brother, to behold my nearefl and mofl beloved relation pofTe/Ted of (o many virtues .' Heaven has given me a foul fen- flble to the impreilions of merit, and a heart capable of gratitude; ties which, joined to thofe of nature, will bind me for ever to you. With thefe fentiments you have been long indeed acquainted ; but I am glad I have the opportu- nity of repeating them to you at the head of this work, and, as it were, in the prefence of the whole univerfe. I am with friend/hip and e- Iteem, Dear Brother, Your faithful brother i knd fcrvant, FREDERIC. THE Preliminary Difcourla HISTORY is looked upon as the fchool of princes : it exhibits to their memory the reigns of thofe fovereigns who were fathers of their country, and of thofe tyrants who laid it wafte: it points out the caufes of die increafe and decline of empires : 'it difplays fuch a multitude of charaflers, that fome of them cannot help bearing a refemblance of thofe of the princes in our days ; and while it decides the reputation of the dead, it pronounces a bcit fentence on the living. Thus the cenfure which hiflory ptiTes on thofe wicked men who are no more, is a moral lelTon to the prefent generation, by which they are given to underftand what kind of judgment pofterity will form of their condudt. Though the ftudy of hiftory is, of all others, the mod proper for princes, yet it is not lefs ufeful to private pcrfons: it is the chain of the feveral events of paft ages, tranfmitted down to our days. Here the civilian, the politician, and the foldier, learn the con- nexion of things prefent with the paft : here they find encomiums beftowed on thofe who faithfully ferved their country ; and univerfal odium entailed on the names of fuch as abufed the confidence of B their /4 ,j I If I t; . ^ ( 2 ) their fellow-citizens : here, in fine, they are maJe ■wife by the experience of others. ' To contra(5l the Cplicre of onr ideas to the fpot we Jive on, or to confine our knowledge to our private duties, is grovelling in the moft ftupid ignorance. But to penetrate into the remote recefles of antiquity; to comprehend the whole univcrfe within the extent of the mind ; is really triumphing over ignorance and error, is co-exifling with all ages, and becom- ing, indeed, a citizen of all places and countries. As general hiftories prevent our being perplexed or confounded in regard to that great multiplicity of events, which have happened in all countries ; as they condudt us regularly, from the remoteft anti- quity, down through the fucceffion of times, by fix- ing certain epochas, which ferve as refting-places to! the memory : fo particular hiftories have this advan-| tage, that they enter into a detail of the feveral e-i vents which have occurred in an empire, by confining! themfclves entirely to this fingle branch. General' hiftories prefent us, as it were, with a large pi<5lure,| filled with a variety of figures, fome of which are co-| vered with fuch ftrong fhades as render them too' indiftinft to be difcerned. Particular hiftories pick a^ fingle figure out of this piece ; they reprefent it to' the life ; and, giving it every advantage of light andi colours, they enable the public to view it with that attention which it deferves. ' A man that does not really think he dropt from the clouds, or does not date the origin of the world' from the day of his nativity, ought naturally to be' curious of being acquainted with the tranfaftions' of different ages and countries, if he is indifferent ' with regard to the fate of fo many other nations, thatl have' V ( 3 ) have been the fport of fortune, he will be pleafed, at leaft, with the hiftory of the country he lives in, and with the relation of the events in which his ance- ftors were concerned. If an Engliftiman, for exam- pie, has no knowledge of the hiftory of thofe kings who filled the throne of Perfia ; if his memory is em- barafled with that infinite number of popes who ruled the church, we are ready to excufe him : but we fhall hardly have the fame indulgence for him, if he is a ftranger to the original of parliaments, to the cu- ftoms of his country, and to the different lines of kings who have reigned in England. Pruffia is the only civilized country in Europe whofe hiftory was wanting. I do not rank among the number of hiftorians a Hartknoch, or a Puffen- dorf ; laborious writers indeed, but who compiled only fafts, and whofe works may be looked upon ra- ther as hiftorical didionaries, than real hiftories. Nor do I reckon a Lockelius, who wrote a tedious chro- nicle, where, for the pleafure of finding only a fingle event of importance, we muft be at the trouble of reading a hundred tirefome pages. This fort of writers may be compared to labourers, who carefully, but injudicioufly, collet a quantity of materials,which ly anite ufelefs, till the architeft has given them their proper forir.. 'Tis as impoftible that thofe compile- ments ftiould conftitute a hiftory, as that a printer's types ftiould make a book, unlefs they are diftributed in the order requifite for the compofltion of words and fentences. Young people, who are naturally impatient ; and men of tafte, whofe time is precious ; are very little inclined to attempt the reading of thcfe voluminous works. A perfon who is accuftomcd only to pamph- B 2 ict» / / / (■ I C 4 ) lets and fnch flight pieces, will be Frightened at a fa- lio ; for which reafon the authors above-mentioned have been but litticread, and the hiflory of Branden- burg and Prnflia was hardly known. As early as the reign of Frederick I. they grew fcnfibic of the net cfTity of having an author to digeft this hifiory into a proper form. Teiflier was invi- ted from Holland to undertake this work ; but, in- Itcad of an hifiory, he wrote a panegyric : and he fccms to have been ignorant, tliat truth is as efTential" to hifiory as the foul to the human body. Having, therefore, found this tafk as yet unexecu- ted, I have ventured to undertake it myfelf, with a view not only of writing an ufcful work, butof pre- fenting the public with a hifiory which it wanted. The fa(51s I have taken from the befl authorities I could find. For the remote ages I had recourfe to Csefar and Tacitus ; tmd for later times I confulted Lockelius's chronicle, Pufu*ndorf and Hartknoch ; and efpecially the records and authentic papers of the royal archives, upon which I have chiefly founded my memoirs. Fac^s which arc uncertain, I relate as fuch ; and the gaps are left as I found them. I have made it my rule to be impartial, and to examine the fevcral e- vents with a philofophic indifference, from a convic- tion that an adherence to truth is the principal duty of an hlflorian. If fomc perfons, over nice, flioufd be offended, that I have not placed their anceflors in an advan- tageous light, I have only one word of reply: it is, that my intent was not to write a panegyric, but a hifiory; and that it is very confiflent to efleem their perfonal merit, and yet to blame the faults com- mitted by their forefathers. Bcfidcs, it is certain^ that ( 5 ) no work can have any excellency or real value, that is not written with freedom ; and that we ought lefs to refped frail and mortal men, than truth which is immortal. Some, perhaps, will find fault with this abridg- ment for being too concifc; but it was not my de- fign to write a long, tedious work. Let a profelfor, fcrupuloufly exadl in trifles, condemn me for not mentioning the name of the cloth that Albert the Achilles's coat was made of, or the cut of John the Cicero's band : let a pedant of Ratifbon complain, that I have not tranfcribed any of thofe proceedings, negotiations, conventions, or treaties of peace, which are to be met with in huge volumes : I mind none of thofe gentlemen j and I would have them to know, that I do not write for them. I have not leifure to fpin out a folio ; fcarce am I able to compafs an hi- ftorical abridgment: belides, I am firmly of opinion, that no fubjedt deferves to be committed to writing, that is not worth retaining. For this reafon, I have touched but very flightly upon the obfcure original, and the infignificant admi- niftration, of the firfl princes of this family. 'Tis with hiftories as with jrivers, v/hich are of no confc- quence 'till they begin to be navigable. The hifiory of the houfe of Brandenburg has nothing engaging, 'till the, time of John Sigifmund. The acquifition that prince made of Pruffia, and the fucceflion of Cleves, which fell to him in right of his wife, are e- vents of fuch importance as may merit the reader's attention. From that period, as the matter grew upon me, it enabled me to be proportionably difTu- five. The thirty years war is far more interefling than U 3 the I li I 11 ( 6 ) the difputes between Frederick I. and the Norlmberg- crs, or the caroufels of Albert the Achilles. This war, the marks of which are ftill vifible in the feve- ral provinces of the empire, is one of thofe memo- rable events which every German and Pruflian ought to be well acquainted with. On the one fide, we fee the ambition of the houfe of Auftria, fpreading the terror of her arms, to eftablifli defpotic power in the empire ; and on the other, the generous fpirit of the princes of Germany, contending for their liberty ; while religion ferved as a pretext alike to both parties. We fee, likewife, two great kings in- duced by political views to intermeddle in the affairs of Germany, 'till they reduced the houfe of Auftria to confent, by the treaty of Weftphalia,to the re-efta- bliftiment of that balance, which preferves the equi- librium between the ambition of the emperors, and the liberty of the eledoral college. Events of that great importance, which influence the moft momen- tuous concerns even in our days, deferve to be trea* ted with greater extent and exa(5lnefs ; and, indeed, I have enlarged upon them as much as the nature of this work would permit. ' 1 his edition has been revifed, corre(5led, and im- proved, as much as other occupations of a more fe- rious nature would permit. As the firft edition was made from an incorre(^ copy, I have endeavoured to render this more exadl, as well in confideration of the matter, as out of regard to the public, whom every man that writes ought to refpedl. There has lately appeared a chronological abridg- ment of the hiflory of France, which may be looked upon as the quinteffence of the moft remarkable iran- fadions of that hiftory. The judicious autlior has had C 7 ) had the art of embelliftiing even chronology itfclf : by being well acquainted with that work, a man may be faid to be thoroughly verfed in the hiftory of France. Far am I from being fo vain as to thmk I have fet off this elTay with the fame ornaments ; but I ftiall think my labour requited if it ftiould prove ufeful to our young people, and fave fome time to fuch of my readers as have none to fpare. Though I was fenfible of the difficulties which a German lyes under in writing in a foreign Ian- ouaee, yet I determined to draw up thefe papers in French, becaufe it is the moft poliftied and the moft general language in Europe; and it feems to be in fome meafure afcertained by the excellent writers in the reign of Lewis XIV. After all, it is no more lur- prifing that a German ftiould in our days write in French, than it was in Cicero's time that a Roman ftiould write in Greek. I ftiall fay no more concern- ing this performance, left the preface ftiould^run to fuch a length as to exceed the work itfelf. *Tis the reader's bufincfs to judge, whether I have executed the taflc I undertook, or have loft my time and labour. mem;oir« Kl \ II ^'-'^^SL -' If i! * ,1 J •' #«# i( MEMOIRS OF THE Houfe of Brandenburg, THE houfe of Brandenburg, or rather that of Hohenzollern, is fo antient, that its origi- nal is loft in the darknefs of antiquity. I might indeed, relate the fables or the conjeaures that have been formed on its extraction : but fables ought not to be prefented to the public in this judicious and learned age. It is of little importance that genca- logifts make it defcend from the houfe of Colonna, and that, by a grofs miftake, they confound the fceptre in the arms of the family of Brandenburg with the column which that Italian houfe bears in its e- fcutcheons. In fhort, of little importance is it, that the counts of Hohenzollern arc made to defcend from Witikind, from the Guelphs, or from any other houfe : mankind, I think, are all of a race equally an- tient. After all, the refearches of a genealogift, or the labours of the learned, who inveftigate the etymology of words, are things of fo fmali and trifling a nature, as to be beneath the notice of men of fcnfc. Wc ought f\ / ( 10 ) ought to have remarkable fa(5ls and objc (landing ( 13 ) -ftanding this fuccefs, the margraves enjoyed no reft ; for they were continually at war with the Vandals, and other barbarous nations, with various fuccefs: nor was their power quite fettled, till under Albert the b'ar, the firft of the Anhalt line, which was the third of the margraves. The emperor Conrad HI. raifcd him to the margraviate, and the emperor Fre- derick Barbaroffa to the eleaoral dignity, towards the year 1 100. Premlflaus, prince of the Vandals, v;ho had no ilTue of his own, conceived fo great a liking to Albert the bear^ as to leave him by his v/ill the middle Marck, in the year 1142- This cledor was at that time mafter of the old and middle Marck, of upper Saxony, the conntry of Anhalt, and part of Lufatia. With regard to the princes of the An- halt line, neither hlftory nor records afford us the leaft light concerning their tranfadlions. It is known, that this line became extisa in I 332, by the death of Woldemar H. The then reigning emperor Lewis of Bavaria, looking upon the Marck as a fief devolved to the empire, gave it to his fon Lewis, who was the flrft of the fourth lin^. This eled-or had three diffe- rent wars to maintain ; one w^ith the dukes of Pome- rania, who had invaded the Uckraine Marck ; the fecond with the Poles, who ravaged the county of Sternberg ; and the third againft an Impoftor, who, by perfonating Woldemar, brother to the laft elcftor of the houfe of Anhalt, had formed a party, and made himfelf mafter of fome towns, but was at length de- feated. This pretender was the fon of a miller at Bclitz. Lewis the Roman * fucceeded his brother ; and dvina, like him, without ilFue, was fucceeded by his ^ ° t third ♦ So called bfcaufc he was b^rn at Rome. (' % I ^ : ^JJt. n ( 14 ) third brother Otho. This prince was fo nican-fpiri* ted, that, after the death of the emperor his father> he fold the eledlorate, in i 370, for two hundred thou- fand florins, to the emperor Charles IV. of the houfe of Luxemburg, who did not even pay hfm that fmall fum. Charles IV. gave the Marck to his fon Wence- flaus, who wanted to incorporate it with his kingdom of Bohemia. Sigifmund, the third ele(5}or of the houfe of Lux- emburg, being in want of money, fold the new Marck to the Teutonic Order, in 1402. That order had been poffeffed of this province before, after con- quering it from theeledor John : it had been redeem- ed by Otho the long ; and now it was alienated a- gain by Sigifmund of Luxemburg. The eledor Jo- docus, of the fame family, poifoned his brother Pro- copius. Th's prince reigned twenty four years ; but afpiring after the imperial crown, he fold the whole deflorate to William duke of Mifnia for four hun- dred thoufand florins. This duke had not been in pofreflion of the Marck above a year, when it was re- deemed by the emperor Sigifmund. This extraordinary cuftom, which fo greatly pre- vailed in that age, of buying and felling different ter- ritories, is an evident proof of the barbaroufnefs of thofe dayS; and of the miferable fituation thefe pro- vinces were in, which were fold fb very cheap. The emperor Sigifmund made Frederick VI. who was bur- grave of Nurenberg, governor or margrave of Bran- denburg : and 'tis with this prince we propofe to com- mence our hiftory. \ ( 15 ) FREDERICK I. It was in the year 14 15, that the emperor confer- red the eleaoral dignity, and the office of great cham- berlain of the empire, on Frederick I. and at the fame time made him a prefent of the country of Bran- denburg. This prince received the inveftiture from the hands of his benefaftor, at the diet of Conftance, in I 41 7. He was in poffeflion then of the old and middle Marck ; but the Uckraine Marck having been ufurped by the dukes of Pomcrania, the eledor decla- red war againft them, defeated them at Angermund, and recovered a province, which, from time imme- morial, had been incorporated with the Marck. The new Marck was ftill mortgaged, as we have already obferved, to the Teutonic Order ; but the e- leaor, dcfirous of enlarging his territories, took pof- feflion of Saxony ; which eleaorate was then vacant by the death of the laft elevflor of the Anhalt line. This acquifition did not meet with the emperor's ap- probati-n, who gave the inveftiture of it to the duke of Mifnia ; upon which Frederick I. voluntarily de- lifted from his pretenflons. The eleaor made a teftamentary divifion of his ter- ritories among his children. Hts eldeft fon, furnamed the Alchymift, loft the electorate for having too clofely applied himfelf to the fearch of the philofopher's ftone ; fo he gave him Voigtland ; to his fecond fon Frederick he bequeathed the eleftorate ; the du- chies of Franconia to Albert, furnamed the Achtlles; and the old Marck to his fon Frederick, furnamed the fat ; but, by the death of the latter, this province was reunited to the eledtorate of Branden- W In thofe remote times they ftill adhered to •' that \ 1^1 il ii (i it. » H i i6 ) that principle of natural equity, which feems to re- quire, that a father fhould make an equal partition of his fortune among his children. But it was after- wards found, that the ruin of the great families was owing to this cuftom of eftablifhing a fettlement for the younger brothers. We fhall, however, in the courfe of this hiftory, meet with fome other in- ftances of the like divifions. Frederick died in 1 440. FREDERICK II. furmmed Iron-tooth. Frederick II. was furnamed Iron-tooth, becaufe of his ftrength. He fhould have been called the Mag- tjanimouSy for having refufed two crowns ; that of Bohemia, which was offered him by the pope, who wanted to get George Podiebrad depofed ; and that to which he had been invited by the Poles, which he de- clared he would not accept, unlefs Cafimir, brother to the late king Ladiflaus, refufed it. The magnani- mity of this cleftor gained him the confidence of na- tions ; infomuch that the ftates of Lower Lufatia made a voluntary furreoder of their country to him. Lufatia was a fief of Bohemia. George Podiebrad, un- mindful of the obligations he owed to Frederick II. attacked Lufatia and the Marck. But a treaty was agreed upon between thefe two princes at Guben, in 1462, by which the perpetual fovercignty of Cot- bus, Peits, Sommerfeld, Bobersberg, Storkaw, and BefTekaw, was yielded to the eledor by the crown of Bohemia. The eledor, who had no inclination to make unjuft acquifitions, took care, however, to alTert his lawful rights. Thus he redeemed * the new Marck of the Teutonic Order, to whom, as I have already obfervcd,it had been mortgaged. Upon the • In i-nr, for ico,ooo florjui. C 17 ) the deceafe of Otho III. the lafl duke of Stettin, which happened in 1464, the eledtor declared war a- gainft the duke of VVolgaft. His reafon was, becaufe Lewis of Bavaria, elector of Brandenburg, had made a treaty, in 133^> with the dukes of Pomerania ; whereby it was agreed, that if their line fhould come to be extinft, Pomerania fhould revert to the eledo- rate. This treaty had been ratified by the emperor. The difpute, however, was determined by an agree- ment made in 1464, by which the duke of Wolgaft remained indeed in pofTefTion of the duchy of Stettin, but became feudatory to the eledor, and Pomerania yielded him eventual homage. In the year 14<^9> Frederick II. reunited the county of Wernigcrode to the Marck, as a vacant fief, taking the titles of duke of Pomerania, Mecklenburg, Vandalia, Schwe- rin, and Roflock, of which he had the expeftancy. The fame difinterefted fpirlt, which made him re- fufe two crowns, induced him to abdicate the electo- rate in 1469, in favour of his brother furnamed Albert the Achilles ; for he had no children. This prince, who had always pofFeffed the principles of moderation, did not deviate from them on this oc- cafion; for he refer ved to himfelf only a fmall pen- fion of fix thoufand florins, with which he fpent the remainder of his days in philofophical retirement, and died in the year 147 1, opprelFed with infirmi- ties. A L'B E RT furnamed The Achilles. Albert, furnamed the Achllks and Vlyfes, from his valour, was 57 years old at his brother^s abdication. This prince had performed his chief G ex- /.I / < t8 ) exploits while he was only burgrave of Nurcnberg. As margrave of Bareith and Anfpach, he declared war againd Lewis the Bearded^ duke of Bavaria, and took him prifoner. He gained eight battles againft the Nurenbergers, who had rebelled, and contelled his rights of the burgraviate. He ventured bravely his life in taking a ftandard from a guidon of this city, and fighting fingly againft fixteen men, till his people came up to his afTiftancc. He made himfelf maftcr 6f the town of Greiffenburg, in the fame manner as Alexander of the capital of the Oxydracae, by leaping from the top of the walls into the town, where he de- fended himfelf fmgly againft the inhabitants, 'till his troops forced the gates, and refcued him from dan- ger. The confidence which the emperor Frederick HI. had in him, gained him the direction of almoft the whole empire. He commanded the imperial armies againft Lewis the Rtchy duke of Bavaria, and againft Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, who had laid Ijege to Kuis * ; but concluded a peace by the inter- pofiiion of Albert. He gained the prize at feventeen tournaments, and was never difmounted. Thefe combats fecm to be of French original. Very likely they were introduced into that country by the Moors, who over-run Spain, together with their romantic gallantry. We find in the hiftory of France, that ihcy were revived by one Godfrey de Preuilly, \\\\o lived in the year 1060. And yet Charles the Boldy who lived in 844, gave thefe entertainments at Straft)urg, upon receiving a vifit from his brother Lewis of Germany. This cuftom was received in Eng- land as early as the year 1114, and eftabliftied, in 1194, by king Richard L We are informed by John * The town of Nuis is fituatcd in the decorate of Colo^ju. ^ ( 19 ) John Cantacuzenus, that thefe combats, which canft from Gaul, were celebrated, in i 226, at the marriage of Anne of Savoy with the Greek emperor Andro- nicus Paleologas. Numbers of people loft their lives in thefe combats, when they were carried to extremi- ty. We read in Henry Cnigfton, that there was a tournament at Chalons in 1274, occafioned by an interview between Edward king of England and the duke of Chalons, when feveral Burgundian and Eng- lifh gentlemen were killed upon the fpot. Tourna- ments made their way into Germany as early as the year 1 1 36. It was ufual to fend letters of defiance, in order to bring together the champions of thofc combats. Thefe were nearly the contents ; " That fuch a prince, being weary of an effeminate idlenefs, de- fired the combat, in order to exercife his valour, and to fignalize bis Ikill in arms.** They mentioned likewife the time, the number of combatants, the kind of arms, and the place where the tournament was to be held ; and enjoined the vanquifhed knight to give a golden bracelet to the vi<^ors, and a Clver one to their fhield-bearers. Thefe fatal entertain- ments met with oppofition from the popes; for In- nocent II. in 1 140, and after him, Eugene III. in the council of Lateran, in 1 3 1 3, thundered out their anathemas, excommunicating thofe who ftiould be prefent at thofe combats. But notwithanding ths fuperftition of thofe days, the popes were unable to fupprefs this fatal cuftom ; a cuftom encouraged by a miftaken point of honour, and which the prevailing brutality of manners made ufe of as a ftiew and amufe- ment, agreeable to the barbarity of the age that gave it birth. For, fince thofe excommunications, hiftory makes mention of the tournament of Charles VI. C 2 kin^ 'h / ( 23 ) king of France, at Cambray, in 1 585 ; of that oC Francis I. between Artlres and Guines, in 1520 > and that, in fine, at Paris, in 15 59> where Hen- ry 11. received a wound in the eye from a fplinter of count Montgomery's lance, of which he died in c- leven days. We find therefore, that Albert the JMlleS*s great merit at that time, was his having obtained the prize at feventeen tournaments ; and that, in thofe igno- rant days, they fet as great a vahie upon bodily (trength, as in Homer's time. The fuperior know- ledge of our age efteems only the accomplifhments of the mind, and thofe virtues by which a man raifes himfelf almoft above his frail condition, fub- dues his pafTions, and becomes humane^ generous and benevolent. . Albert the Jc hills i reunited then his territories in Franconia to the elcdorate, by the abdication of his brother in 1470. After he had taken the reins of government, he made a treaty of confraternity, ia i/}73, with the houfcs of Saxony and Hefle, by which the fuccefTion of their dominions was regulated, in cafe any one of their lines fhould come to be ex- tindl. In 147 -, he fettled the fucceflion of his own territories among his children, leaving the elecJ^orate to John called the Cicero ; Bareith to his fecond fon ; and, to the youngeft, Anfpach. Albert at length refigned the eledoratc, in 1476, in favour of John the Cicero, His daughter Barbara, who was mar- ried to Henry duke of Glogaw and CroiTen, tranf- fcrred the latter duchy to the houfe of Brandenburg. By her marriage-contract it was ftipulated, that, in cafe duke Henry happened to die without ifTue, the tle^or fliould have a right of raifing annually fifty thcu- ( ai ) thoufand ducats on the duchy of CrofTen. The cafe happened ; and John the Cicero took polTcflion of the town of GrolTen, and kept this acquifition. The third fon of Albert Jchilfes, Frederick the Fat, margrave of Anfpach, was grandfather to that AU bert-Frederick, who received the duchy of Jagern- dorfF of the king of Bohemia. It will not be amifs to obferve, «i)on this occafion, that this duke George of Anfpach and Jager ndorff made an agreement with the dukes of Oppelen and Ratibor, by which the fur- vivors were to be heirs to thofe who died without iifue. Thefe two dukes had no children, and George inherited the fuccefTion of thefe duchies. After- wards, Ferdiaand, brother to Charles V. and heir to the kingdom to Bohemia, dripped the margrave Geoxge of Oppelen and Ratibor, promiilng him the fum of one hundred and thirty thoufand florinS; as an indemnity, which was never paid. JOHN The Cicero. The natural eloquence of this prince gained him the furnameof Cicero, He reconciled three kings, who laid claim to Silefia ; namely, LadiHaus of Bo- hemia, Cafimir of Poland, and Matthias of Hungary. John Cicero, and the eleftor of Saxony, entered Silefia at the head of fix thoufand horfe, declaring they would oppofc any of thofe kings that would re- fufe to lilten to their arms of accommodation. It is recorded, that, by the force of his eloquence, he me- diated an agreement between thofe princes, by which Silefia and Lufatia were divided between the kings of Bohemia and Hungary. I fhould be glid to meet with other inftances of this prince's eloquence ; for, in C 3 this 1 \\ ' ^ id I / :ii)i t 1 ( 22 ) this cafe, the fix thoufand horfe appear to have bcea the ftrongeft argument. A prince, who is able to dnermine difputes by force of arms, is certainly a great logician ; he is a Hercules, whofe perfualive force lyes in his club. John Cicero went to war with the duke of Sagan, who had formed pretenfions upon the duchy of Crof- fen ; the eleaor defeated him near this city, and took him prifoner. We may form a j udgment of the manners of thofe days from this John duke of Sagan, who had the cruelty to let a brother of his, with whom he had quarrelled, perifh with hunger. John Cicero died in 1499, and left behind him two fons ; the eldcft was Joachim, who fucceeded him in the e- leaorate; tlie fccond Albert, who was afterwards chofen eledor of Mentz, and archbiftiop of Magde- burg. JOACHIM I. furnamed Nestor. This prince had the furname of Neftor given him. In the fame manner as Lewis XIII. that of the JuJ} ; that is, without any reafon we know of. He was only (ixteen years old, when he came to the eledo- rate. The county of Puppin becoming vacant by the death of Wichman count of Lindaw, the eleftor reunited this fief to the iMarck. He died in 1592, leaving two fons behind him, namely, Joachim his fucccffor, and the margrave |ohn, to whom he be- queathed the new MarcK, CrofTen, Sternberg, and $torkaw. ( 23 ) JOACHIM 11. It Teems it was in Joachim II.'s time, that the ridiculous cuftom was laid afide of giving furnames to nrinces That which was bcftowed upon his father had fucceeded fo ill, that it became rather a nick-name than an appellation of renown. The llattery of cour- ^ tiers after exhaufting the comparifons of antiquity, turned itfclf undoubtedly another way : and it is to be believed, that the vanity of princes loft nothing by '^'toS' as we have juft now obferved, fucceeded his father in the eleaorate, and embraced the doftrme of Luther in 1539- The circumftances wnich eave rife to this revolution are not known ; this however is certain, that his courtiers, and the bifliop of Brandenburg, followed his example. A new religion which ftarted up of a fudden, a re- lieion which has divided Europe, changed the nature of pofTeflions, and produced even new fyftems of politics, deferves our attention for a few moments, to confider the progrefs it made, and by what fpnngs it produced fuch fudden revolutions m the greatelt ^Ts' early as the year 14CO, John Hufs began to preach his new doflrine in Bohemia ; which, ftr.aly fpeaking, was that of the Vaudois, and of Wicklifl, x^hofe opinions he had embraced. Hufs was burnt at the council of Conftance •. His pretended mar- tyrdom inflamed the zeal of his difciples ; the Bo- hemians, who were too dull a people to enter into ' the fophiftical difputes of the theologians, embraced • In the year \^\i, undc. Pope John XXIU. \\ I JO A- -•»«T / ' i ■I ,f H( ;t H i \ C 24 ) this new fedl merely from a fpirit of independence and mutiny, which is properly the charaderilUc of this nation. Thefe new converts fliook off the papal yoke, and made ufe of the liberty of their confciences; as a clokc to cover the crime of their revolt. Their party was formidable as long as one Zilka was at their head. This man obtained fome vidories over the troops of Wenceflaus and Ottacarus, kings of Bohemia ; but, after his death, moft of the Huflites ■were driven out of the kingdom ; and we do not find that Hufs's dodrine made any progrefs out of Bohemia. Ignorance was at its higheft pitch in the fourteenth and fifteeenth centuries. The clergy had not even fo much as the furpcrficial learning of pedants ; the dif- folute and licentious life of the monks made all Eu- rope call out for a reformation of fo many abules. The popes abufed their authority to a degree that ■was pad all bearing. Leo X. made a trade of in- dulgences thro' all chriftendom, to colled the fums which he wanted for the building of St Peter's church at Rome. Some pretend, that this pope made a pre- fcnt to his filler Cibo, of the produceofthofe which were to be fold in Saxony. This cafual revenue was leafed out ; and thofe flrange farmers, thro' a- vidity of gain, pitched upon friars, and fuch like men- dicants, to colle( the church of EngLtnd. If we are therefore wiN ling to reduce the caufesofthe reformation tofimplc principles, we (hall find that in Germany it was owing to the love of gain, in England to that of a woman, in France to that of novelty, or perhaps of a fong. We are not to imagine that either John Hufs, Lu- ther, or Calvin, were men of fuperior genius. It is with the chiefs of fedts, as with ambalTadors : men ©f ordinnry abilities fucceed often better in their negotiations, provided they have advantageous con- ditions to offer. The reign of fanatics and refor- mers was in the ages of ignorance. But the hur mai> • molnes ! mo'ines ! U faut vous mar'itr. Sec Moreri's dliftionary, under the article Calvin» ( 27 ) „a„ mind feems to be cloyed at length with difpute» ^nd controverCcs. The theologians and metaphy- Sns are now left to difpute by themfelves .n the fchoo s ; and Gnce in protcftant countries the clergy have no more to lofe/the broachers of new kit. meet with a very indifferent reception. "^ The eleaor Joachim 11. gained then by the com- muronn both kinds. the bithopricks of Brandenburg. HaXg, and Lebufs, which he incorporated wuh %?dt-not enter into the confederacy which the «roteftant princes made at Smalkald in 1533 . ^.f r prefe ved tranquillity in his dominions, wb. le Saxony and the neighbouring provmces were la d IT by the fword. The religious war commenced Tn .546, and ended by the treaties of Pafliw and """Selmperor Charles V. had put hlmfelf at the head of th 'catholic party. The iliuftrious, but un- fortunate John Frederick, ekaor of Saxony, and ST^he Ma<,nanmou., landgrave of "elTe. were fhe Chi fs of the proteftams ; and thefe were defeated bv the emperor^ear Muhlburg in Saxony Th., nrince and cardinal Granville, made ufe of a bafe Sto deceive the landgrave of HelTe Charte V thought himfelf authorized by the equivocal phrafc of a fafe condua, to throw the hndgrave mto prifon, where he palfedagreat part of h.s life The ^ L Joachim, who had guaranteed that fafe cor^ dua was fo greatly provoked at th,s breach of fa.th as to draw hfs fword in a partlon againft the duke of Alva * • but they were parted by the company. The a'aor 'of Saxon'y was depofed, and the eleflo^.^ • The ctr-pcrot'* ambalTador at Bcrlia. <^ ■mmUm^ -» ■mi^^.^f / . I a. \ ( 28 ) conferred by the emperor upon prince Maurice, who was of the Albertine line. However, Joachim did not comply with the emperor's famous cdl6t, which was called the Interim, The emperor had given dire(flIons to the electors of Saxony and Brandenburg to lay fiege to Magdeburg. This city furrendered after a (iege of fourteen months ; but the capitulation was fo favourable to the in- habitants, that the emperor with great reludancy confirmed it. The bifhop of Magdeburg being dead, the canons chofe in his room Frederick, biftop of Havelberg, fecond fon to the eledor Joachim ; and after his deceafe, the eledor had credit enough to make them chufe his third fon Sigifmund, who was a protcftant. It was this elector that built the for- trefs of Spandaw in 1555. The engineer's name was Giromela. They mud indeed have been ftran- gers in this country to all manner of arts, to have recourfe to Italy for the fmallcft trifles. Margrave John, the eledor's brother, had Cuflrin fortified at the fame time. Very likely it was a fafhion then to fortify towns ; if they had had a right notion of the life that may be made of them, there would have been no want of engineers. Joachim II. obtained in 1569, of his brother- in-law Sigifmund Auguftus king of Poland, the right of fucceeding to Albert Frederick of Brandenburg, duke of Pruflia, in cafe the latter died without ifllie ; and bound himfelf by treaty to aflifl Poland with a certain number of troops, whenever it fhould be at- tacked. This prince's reign was mild and peaceable; he was accufed of being liberal to a degree of excefs3 he died in 137 1. JOHN C ^9 ) JOHN GEORGE. John George inherited the fame year the eleaorat. from his father Joachim II. and the New Marck Z his uncle the margrave John. As his reiga was pacific, it comes in here only to conned the Tread of the hiftory. It is to be obferved, thatone of his wives was a princefs of L.gnitz named So- nhh The branch of the margraves of Bareiih and ^ .' , , • „ tn Kp extina divided that fuc- Anfpach happening to be extinct, aiv ceflion between his two younger fons Ghrilhan and Frneft from the former of whom fpr.ngs the ne v ftem of Bareith, from the latter that of Anfpach. This eleflor died in » 59^ • •JOACHIM FREDERICK. toachim Frederick was fifty-two years of agf, ^Vn be came ,o the eleaorate. Durmg h.s father s S he had enjoyed the bifl,opricks of Magdeburg, Havelberg, ar.d Lebufs ; but upon h,s fucceedmg to Havelberg, archbilhoprick of Mag- 1 Wrffvoar o on"; of his fons. naLd Chrifiian Wilfm He bad the adminiftration of Pruffia Y Ihe madnefs of duke Albert Frederick ; and Se thTdth of jagerndorff, which he gave .. one of his fons, named George, to mdemmfyh.m for the biLp° ick of Strafburg. which he had been forced to reCgn. Succcfllons in thofe days were of- ten re-united, and as often divided ; the bad pohcy of thofe princes fruftrating every exert.onof fortune '"Tc^^lrFrederickwas the fir. prince of thej. \lw ( 34 ) which was the third inveftiture that had been granted to the c\c6tora\ family. As Pruflia was reunited by this prince to the houfc of Brandenburg, it will not be amifs to give here a concife account of the original ftate and government of this country, and in what manner it fell to duke Albert, the ele(51or*s father-in-law. The word Pruffia fignifies near the Rujfc ; the Rufle is a branch of the river Niemen, which is now called Memel. Pruffia was originally inhabited by Bohemians, Sarmatians, Ruffians, and Venedi. All thefe people were ftupid idolaters, worfhipping the gods of the forefls, lakes, rivers, and even ferpents and elks. Their rude and favage religion rendered them Grangers to the elegance and magnificence of temples. The eftabliflied worfhip of their principal idols, 'Po- frimpoS, Percunos and Plcolus, was under oak trees, where they were fet up at Ramowa and at Htiligen- beil. Thefe people facrificed the prifoncrs taken from their enemies to their falfe gods. S. Adelbert was the firft who preached Chriftianity to the Pruf- fians towards the year looo, and received the crown of martyrdom. Crifpus relates that three kings of Poland, who were all named Boleflaus, went to war with the Pruffians, in order to convert them : but thefe people, grown flmeland, and Saniland. The war between the Teutonic or- der ( 35 ) der and the Pruffians lafted 53 years. Thofe knights were obliged afterwards to engage in other wars, in order to defend thcmfcives either againft Poland, or againfl the dukes of Pomcrania, who were jealous of their efbblifhment. Then it was that the families of the feveral knights began to fettle in Pruf- fia, from whom, in great part, the prefent nobility are defcended. '; Under the grand-mafler Conrad of Erlichhaufen, and in the year 145B, the cities of Dantzick, Thorn and Elbing, declared to him, that as they were tired of his adminiftration, they had transferred their al- legiance to Cafimir, fon of Jagellon king of Poland. The war which then broke out between the knights and the Poles^ concerning Pruffia, lafled thirteen years ; in which the Poles were vidorious, and prefcribed the law. Pruffia on the hither fide of the Vifluh was annexed to that kingdom, and called Royal Pruffia ; the order kept the further Pruffia, but was obliged to pay homage for it to the conquerors. In 151 o, Albert of Brandenburg was chofen grand mafter of the order. This wa^ the great grandfon of Albert the Achilles y as we have already obferved. The new grand mafter, defirous of vindicating the honour of the order, undertook a new war againfl the Poles, in which he was very fuccefsfui ; for he was created duke of Pruffia by Sigifmund I. king of Poland, who rendered that dignity hereditary to this prince, and to his defcendents. Albert in return was only obliged to do homage to Poland. Albert, now mafter of the further Pruffia, flung off the habit, the crofs, and arms of the Teutonic order. The knights behave on this occaGon as the w^akcft commonly do, protefting againft what was P a not li 1 1 1 :» Ml "3.*, C 36 ) not in their power to hinder. The new duke had a war to maintain in I 563 againft Eric duke of Brunf. wick, and commander of Memel. Eric entered Pruf- lia at the head of twelve thoufand men ; but was ftopt by Albert on the banks of the Viftula. As no- thing remarkable happened in this expedition, and both fides of the river were covered with foldiers, who employed their time In [^athering nuts, it was called the war of the nuts. Albert turned proteftant in I 515, and Pruflia followed his example. His fon Frederick- Albert fucceeded him in 1568. This prince received the inveftiture from king Si'jifmund- Auguftus, to which the envoy of the eledlor Joa- chim II. greatly contributed. It was this Albert-Fre- derick that married Mary-Elconora, daughter of John William, and filler of the laft duke of Cleves. John Sigifmund was fon. in-law, and guardian to this duke of Pruflia, by whofe death, in 1618, he entered into the intire pofleflion o^ this duchy. This ele«5tor had embraced the fed of Calvin in the year 1614, to pleafe the inhabitants of the country of Cleves, who were to become his fubjeds. The emperor Ro- dolph II. died during the adminiftration of this elec- tor ; and the eledoral college chofe Matthias, bro- ther of the deceafed, in his (lead. The eledlor find- ing himfcif broken with old age and infirmities, re- figned the government to his (on George-William, and died not long after. C EO RGE-W ILLIAM. George-William came to the eledlorate in K^ip, and had a moft unfortunate reign. The dominions ©f this weak prince were lava^ed during the whole courfe ( 37 ) courfe of the thirty years war, the traces ©f whlrh are to this very day difcerhible in Germany. All the miferies that can alflid a country fell upon the electorate of Brandenburg, A fovereign incapable of governing ; a miniiter, who was a traitor to his country * ; a war, or rather a general ranfacking and plundering ; an inundation of armies, fome friends, feme foes, but all equally barbarous, deftrudive, and cruel • armies, that toffing to and fro like the waves of the fea, exhaufted thefe provinces by their flux and reflux, never withdrawing till they had laid every thing wafte, and completed the defolation of the country. This fatality, which feemed to perfecute the eledor, extended to all his relations. George-William was married to the daughter of the eledor Palatine Fre- derick IV. and fifter to the unfortunate Frederick V. king of Bohemia, who was defeated at WeilFenberg, ilripped of the Palatinate, and put under the ban of the empire. The emperor Ferdinand II. confifcated the duchy of Jagerndorfl"; becaufe the duke who was uncle to George- William, had efpoufed the caufe of Frederick V. This duchy the emperor gave to the princes of Lichtenftein, who are ftill in poiTcfTion of it. The eledor proiefled as much as he pleafed, but no notice was taken of him. His uncle, the admi- niftrator of Magdeburg, was difpoiTelTed, and put under the ban of the empire, for entering into the league of Lauenburg, afld concluding an alliance with the king of Denmark. At that time the emperor was almoft defpotic. The truce which had been concluded between Spain and Holland in \6z\, for twelve years, was now expired. The feat of war was removed to the D o provinces f The court of Schwartzenberg, ftadtholder of the Marck. .) / hi w ( 38 ) vinces of the difputcd fuccefTion of Clcves. The Spaniards made themfclves maflers of Juliers, which the Dutch held for the ele(5lor ; and Cleves and Lipftadt furrendered to Spinola. The Dutch, indeed, fbme years afterwards, in 1629, drove the Spaniards out of the country of Cleves, and retook fome towns for the eledlor. At length George-William and the duke of Neuburg prevailed on the Spaniards, in 1 630, to evacuate in fome meafure the provinces of the fuccelfion ; the Dutch garifoned the towns belonging to the elcdor, and the Spaniards thofe belonging to the duke. But this convention did not lafl long ; for the war broke out again in thofe provinces, in 1635, with greater fury than ever. I fhall only obferve, that during the whole adminiftration of this elector, the country of Cleves was a prey to the Spaniards and the Dutch, who made themfelves ma- ilers of different polls, took towns by furprife, and gained and loft feveral advantages over each other ; but came to no deciCve engagement. The contributi- ons raifed by the generals, and the pillaging of the foldiers, conftituted at that time the principal part of the military art. Tho' the emperor preteaded to afTume an abfolute fovereignity over the empire, ftill the feveral princes were flrenuous in oppofing his encroachments, with a refolution thst fometimes put a flop to them ; and they entered into confederacies that alarmed the court of Vienna. The ele(5lors of Brandenburg and Saxo- ny interceded with the emperor for their colleague, the eledor Palatine ; and refufed to acknowledge the elc(5lor Maxlmlliin of Bavaria, whom Ferdinand II, had raifed to this dignity, in prejudice to the Pala- tine family, and contrary to the laws of the empire. For, ( 39 ) for according to the Golden Bull, which is con- lidered as a fundamental law, no eledor can be put under the ban of the empire, nor ftript of his dig- nity, without the unanimous confent of the diet m body aifemblcd. However, the good offices of thefe eledors had no efltea. At lenoth the progrefs of the reformation, which dividing ^'Germany, had given birth to two power- ful parties, occalioned a war. The proteftant princes entered into a confederacy at Lauenburg, to main- tain the freeexercife of their religion. Chriftian IV. king of Denmark, the dukes of Rrunfwick, Lunc- burg, HoKlein, Mecklenburg, and Chriftian- Wdliam, adminiftrator of Magdeburg, all joined in this alli- ance. The emperor took umbrage at this, and lent general Tilly, in 1625, into the circle of Lower Sax- ony, at the head of 12,000 men. Tilly fat down before Hall ; and tho' the town furrendered without any refiftance, he gave it up to the foldiers to pil- lage. At the fame time Wallenftein, with another army of i 2,000, marched into the provinces of Halberftadt and Magdeburg. The ftates of Lower Saxony defired to be reconciled to the emperor ; but their propofals did not hinder Wallenftein and Tilly from invading the abovementioned provinces, Chri- ftian-William, adminiftrator of Magdeburg, was depofcd*; the chapter chofe another in his ftead, and nominated Auguftus, the cledlor of Saxony^s fon, coadjutor. In the mean while, the admini- ftrator joined his troops with thofe which the king of Denmark had in Lower Saxony. Chriftian-Wil- liam and Mansfield, who commanded this army, at- tacked VValitein at the bridge of Deft'aw, and were D 4 entire- N* The emperor had defigned this benefice f^^r his fon. /• \ I'l C 40 ) efitirely routed ; after their defeat, they efcaped in- to the marquifate of Brandenburg, which they plun- dered. Tilly routed another body of Danifti troops at Lutter in Lower Saxony. The neighbourhood and fuccefles of the Imperialifts obliged George- Wil- liam to comply with the emperor's defire, and to ac- knowledge the eledor Maximilian of Bavaria. The king of Denmark, who had now repaired his lofles, took the field the year following, in 1626, •with two armies, one commanded by himfelf in per- fon, and the other by the adminiftrator. But he durft not prefcnt himfelf before Tilly, who had ga- rifoned Brandenburg, Ratcnow, Havelberg, and Per- leberg. Mansfeld a/Tcmbled the rtiattered remains of his army, and ventured to march into the country of Brandenburg againfl the confent of the elector. The Imperialifts fent a detachment of 7000 men againft him, who were afterwards joined by 800 of George- William's forces, under the orders of colonel Graght : thefe paired the Werthe, and foon difperfed Manf- feld's fugitive toops. By thefe feeble fuccours, we find that the eledor had hardly any army on foot. The ImperiaHlh, making a proper ufe of their ad- vantages, garifoned all Pomerania, under pretext of fecuring Germany againft any attempt from the Swedes ; but the real motive, perhaps, was becaufe Bogiflaus, the laft duke of Pomerania, had left the fucceflion of his dominions after his death to the e- ledor of Brandenburg, who had already the expedan- cy of them. Walftein laid fiege to the town of Stral- fund, but was obliged to raife it, with the lofs of 1 2000 men. Stralfund entered into an alliance • with ( 41 ) with the king of Sweden, and admitted a garifon of 900 Swedes. - About this very time, the emperor publifhed his famous edia of reftitution, in which he cnjomed the pioteftant princes to reftore to the church the lands they had feized fmce the treaty of PaiTaw. This would have been a terrible blow to tlie pro- teftant princes. The houfe of Brandenburg, in par- ticular, would have loft by it the biftiopricks of Bran- denburg, Havelberg and Lebufs. This was the hg- nal which once more fet the proteftants and catholics together by the ears. Ferdinand il. wanted to fifh in troubled waters, and to appropriate to himielf the archbiihoprick of Magdeburg ; bnt Walftem was o- blicred to rife from before that town after a liege ot twenty-eight weeks. . The eiedor went in perfon to Warfaw, m the year 1626, to receive the inveftiture of Pruflla. A new war broke out at that time in thofe quarters. Sigifmand III. king of Poland, formed pretenGons againft the kingdom of Sweden, at th.it time govern- ed bv Guftavus Adolphus. Guftavus, in order to be beforehund with his enemy, marched into Prufha, took fort Pillaw in the i6i8, and made a conGderabIc progrefs in Livonia and Polifti Prufila. This prince made a truce for fix years with the Poles, which was fignedat Dantzick in 1629, where he was himlelt in perfon ; in this the eledorwas comprehended, and afterwards they extended it to twenty-fix years. The king of Sweden had formed a defign of enter- ing Germany, in order to reap fome advantage from the troubles of that country, which had been fo greatly increafed by the emperor's edid of reftitution. guftayus publiOied a kind of a manifefto, fettmg forth \ \ i ;■ ■ » I 11 ( 4* ) the grievances he had received from the emperor. His fubjcds of complaint were thefe : that the em- peror had afTirted the king of Poland with io,ooo men ; that he had depofed his ally, the duke of Mecklenburg ; and that he had ufed the town of Stralfund very ill, with which he was in alliance. Im- mediately upon this declaration, all the ports of Po- merania were blocked up by the Swedifli fleet. Who- foever conGders thefe reafons, will not find them more folid than thofe which Charles II. king of England, made ufe of in his declaration of war a- gainft the Dutch. One of the principal grievances of the Englifh was, that Mclf. de Witt had a fcanda- lous * pii^ure in their houfes. Mufl: fuch frivo- lous reafons as thefe be given for the devaflation of provinces ; and human blood be thus wantonly fpilt, to fatisfy the fancy and capricious whims of a fingle man ? It was in the year 1630 that all the calamities, •which had hitherto menaced the electorate of Bran- denburg, broke out, and the florms that roared in the neighbourhood ail joined to deftroy this mlfe- able country. WaHlein, who had taken up his quarters in the ele<5tor's territories, raifed moft ex- orbitant contributions on them : Surpriling ! that the Imperial armies fhould thus feverely treat a coun- try, whole prince was clofely united to the elector. It is eafy to judge of the fituation of the eledor George- William at that time, by his anfwer to Fer- dinand II. who invited him to the diet of Ratifbon. He fays : T/?e March is Jo greatly exhaufledy as to be incapable of J applying my ordinary expences, much • This is faid to have been the piure of a fea 6ght, in which ihc Dutch had been vidorious over ihe Englifh. ( 43 ) much Icfs thofe of a journey of that kind. The re- giments of Pappenheim and St Julian were quartered in the middle Marck, which tiiey drained of ^00,000 crowns in fixteen months. The filver mark at that time was nine crowns ; at prefent it is twelve ; io that this fum would now amount to 400,000 crowns. It is faid that Walftein drew from the whole eleao- rate the fum of 2,000,000 of florins, which in our prefent fpecie, would make 1,777,777 crowns. This account appears to me exaggerated, and I believe it would be no miftake to abate two thirds of the fum. In the mean while Ga(tavus Adolphus entered Germany, and made a defcent upon the ille of Ru- gen, from whence he dillodged the Imperialifls by the help of the (trong garlfon which he nad at Stral- fund. At the approach of the Sweaifli army, the emperor gave notice to ihe eie(^tors of Saxony and Brandenburg to furniih provitions and ammunition to his troops, promifmg in return 10 moderate the edift of reftitution in their favour. While the diet was affembled at Rat'.fbon, Guflavus made him felf mafter of Pomerania, threw a Swedifh garifon into Stettin, and chafed Torquato Conti, who command- ed the Imperial troops, from this duchy. This king concluded a treaty with the duke of Pomerania, by which it was ftipulatcd, that if, af- ter his deceafe, the fucceffion of that country fhould be difputed with the eledor of Brandenburg, or if Sweden was not intirely indemnified for the expences of the war, this province fhould be fequeftered into the king's hands. The Imperialifls, driven from Pomerania by the Swedes, retired into the new Marck \ 1, ^s^ \ki . I ii h A! ( 44 ) Marck, and drew up in a body towards Frankfort on the Oder. At the approach of the Swedirti army, the elector raifed fome intrenchments in a hurry before the gates of Berlin, where he planted a few cannon, and o- bliged the burghers to mount guard ; an evident fign that he had no regular troops in the town. The city of Magdeburg joined with the Swedes, and promifed them the pafTage over their bridge on the Elbe. The troops of this city drove the Imperi* alifts out of the country ; but Tilly returned with his army, fubdued the whole country, and blockaded the city. The proteftants held an alTembly at Leipfick in 1631, where they entered into debates concerning their refpeiflive interefts. The electors of Branden- burg and Saxony came to a refolution to (land by the emperor, and to fummon their arrier-ban, in order to oppofe the Swedes. In the mean while Guftavus traverfed the Marck, to aflift the duke of Mecklenburg. This prince, who v^as both the politician and the foldier, made his troops obferve an exa<5t difcipline during their march ; and he endeavoured to bring the proteflants over to his interefts, by declaring folemnly where-ever he came, that he had entered Germany with no o- ther view than to refcue the princes from the yoke which tlie emperor wanted to impofe upon them, and to defend their religious liberties. He entered into an alliance at the fame time with Lewis XIII. king of France, who had the fame intereft as himfelf to reduce the power of the emperor. This treaty was concluded at Berwald. Tilly left a body of troops to continue the bloc- kade ( 45 ) kadc of Magdeburg, and joining the Imperials at Frankfort on the Oder, he traverfed the Marck to at- tack the Swedes, who had over-run the duchy of Mecklenburg ; but the fortune of Guftavus prevailed over that of the Imperial general. The kmg of Swe- den marched from the duchy of Meckletiburg to Schwet, where he palled the Oder, and laid fiege to Frankfort, in which there was an Imperial garifon of 7000 men. He carried the town by ftorm, where he found a numerous train of artillery ; and having afterwards made himfelf mafter of Lanfberg and Crol- fen, he turned (hort all of fudden, and marched his army towards Berlin, in order to relieve Magdeburg, which wasbefieged by Tilly in perfon. As foon as Guftavus arrived at Copenic, he fent a meft'age to the elcftor, defiring him to put the for- trefl'es of Spandaw and Cuftrin into his hands, in or- der to fecure a retreat, in cafe of any misfortune. The eleaor, furprifed at fo extraordinary a demand, was incapable of coming to any refolution. A pro- pofal was therefore made of an interview between thofe two princes. Accordingly they met m a little wood, about a quarter of a miie from Berlin ; where the eleaor found Guftavus-Adolphus guarded by a thoufand foot, and four pieces of cannon. Here the king renewed the fame propofals to the cledor, who not being able to come to an immediate deter- mination in this difficult dilemma, defired half an hour to confult with his minifters, which was agreed to. In the mean while the Swedifti monarch enter- tained himfelf with the princefles and the ladies of the court : but as the eleaor, after all thefe delibe- rations, could come to no conclufion, he invited the king to go with hira to Berlin. Guftavus confented^ ii 11 '^ ^>^ I (! / M C 46 ) and entered the city ulth his thoufand Swedes, two hundred of whom mounted guard at the caflle of Berlin. The reft of the fc Idiers were quartered upon the bnr^jiers The day lollowing, the whole Swe- difh army came and encamped in the neighbourhood of this capital; and the eledor, perceiving himfelfno longer mafter of his own refidence, acquicfced to whatever Cnftavus defired. The Swedifh garifons of tlie fortrefles of the Spandaw and Cuftrin took the oath of fidelity to the elc(5ior ; and the king gave his word, that he would give up thofe fortrefles again to the troops of Brandenburg, as foon as he (hould have no further occafion for them. Things being thus fettled, Guftavus advanced beyond Potzdam ; u- pon whofe approach the Imperialifts, who were in poflTcfTion of Brandenburg and Ratenaw, retired, and joined the army that formed the liege of Magdeburg. The king fent to the eledor of Saxony, to deCre a palTage over the Elbe, at the bridge of Wittenberg ; but it was refufed him, which hindred him from re- lieving Magdeburg. This city, which Tilly and Papenheim had not been able to take by force, was furprifed at length by ftratagem. The Imperialifts entered into a ne- gotiation with the city of Magdeburg, by the inter- pofition of the Hans-towns, and propofcd fome ad- vantageous conditions. During the conferences, they afTeded to leave off firing on the town ; this de- ceived the Magdeburghers, whofe vigilance was re- laxed by this fulfe fecurity. For moft of the burghers, who had been on guard all night upon the ramparts, went off towards morning. Papenheim, who had carried his approaches as far as the counlerfcarp of the ditch, took ©orice of this ncgle^, and made a pro- ( 47 ) proper ufe of it ; he ordered the town to be alTailed in four places at once, and made himfelf mafter of the ramparts, without any great refiftance. The Croats marched along the Elbe, which at that time was very low, and paflTmg the river, attacked the works on the other fide. Upon this alarm, the garifon and burghers drew up in a hurry in the public fquares ^ but Tilly, having made himfelf mafter of the cannon of the ramparts, ordered them to be pointed direaiy againft the ftreets ; and the Imperial troops pouring in at the fame time in great numbers, it was in vain for the inhabitants to make any further refift- ance. Thus this city, which had been one of the moft flouriftiing in Germany, was unfortunately given up to the fury of the foldiers, who ranfacked and plundered it during the fpace of three days. All that the moft unbridled licentioufnefs and vil- lany can invent, when men abandon themfelves to their fury, was committed by thofe foldiers, who had been let loofe to glut their barbarous cruelty. Thefe inhuman plunderers put almoft all the inhabitants to the fword ; only fourteen hundred, who had retired into the cathedral, and to whom Tilly gave quarters, were faved. After the pillage and maftacre were o- ver, they fet the town on fire, and in a few hours the private houfes and public edifices were reduced to a heap of afties and ruins, like thofe of Troy. In the whole town fcarce 1 40 houfes were preferved. It is faid, on this occafion, that no lefs than twelve hundred maidens drowned themfelves in the Elbe, to preferve their chaftlty from the dangers to which the violence of the foldiers might have expofed it. Thefe examples are fine, but uncommon ; and if to us they appear fabulous, it is owing either to the cor-r ruption '-'^ I /! .Vj ( 48 ) niption of our morals, or to the wantof fufEcient au- thority to afcertuln the fad. After the taking of Magdeburg, Guftavus came and encamped a fecond time in the neighbourhood of Berlin. He was provoked at having mifcarried in his defign, and laid the blame upon the eledors of Brandenburg and Saxony. The king ordered his artillery to be planted agalnft the town, and at the fame time demanded a paiTage for his army. George- William fent the eledrefs, and all the prince/Tcs of his court, to the Swedifli camp, to try to pacify this monarch, and came himfelf foon after : he gran- ted, as it may well be imagined, every article the king demanded. Upon the cle<5lor's return, the king ordered him to be faluted by a difcharge of his artillery. But as they forgot to turn them towards the fields, a great number of houfes and roofs were damaged by the cannon balls : this indeed was a civility a little of the Gothic and Herulian order. The day follow- ing the army defiled through the town, and pafTed the Spree. The ele<^or excufed his condu(5l to the emperor, by alledging his incapacity of refilling the violence offered him by a foreign prince. Ferdinand anfwered him dryly, that the Swedifh troops would not fpare the Marcks more than the Imperialifts had done. The ele<51or of Saxony, perceiving the fuccefs of the Swedifh arms, embraced the fide which fortune fa- voured, and fet an example to all the protefhnt princes. The Swedes reftorcd Spandaw and Cuftrin to the ele<51or, and over- run all Lower Saxony. They entered the old Marck, where the king pof^ fefTed himfelf of the camp of Werben, which was vaftly ftropg, by lis fituatigp at the conflux of the Havel ( 49 ) Havel and the Elbe. Tilly, being uneafy about Pa- penheim, who had been obliged to fhut himfelf up in Magdeburg, quitted Thuringia to march to his re- lief, and advanced towards the Swedifh camp. The good genius of this prince, which favoured all his undertakings, fuggeftcd to him a fcheme for furpri- fing a vanguard of three regiments, which the Auflri- an general had detached too far from the main body of the army. Accordingly he furprifed them, cut them in pieces, and returned to his camp at Wer- ben. Tilly, in hopes to wipe off this difgrace, wan- ted to attack the Swedes in their camp ; but the fitu- ation appeared to him fo ftrong, and the difpofitions of the enemy to receive him fo good, that he durfl not venture it. Being obliged to retire for want of provifions, he marched to Hall, with an intention of taking Lcipfick, and of obliging the elector of Sax- ony to renounce his engagements with the Swedes. Guflavus, aware of his defign, quitted his ftrong camp at Werben, pafTed the Elbe at Wittenberg, joined the Saxons at Duben, and fell upon the Im- perialifts, whom he totally defeated in the neighbour- hood of Leipfick. Among the numerous artillery which the king took in that battle, there were feveral pieces marked with the arms of Brandenburg, Saxony, and Brunfwick, which the Imperialifts had appro- priated to themfelves by the right of convcniency. Tilly, after the lofs of fix thoufand men upon the fpot, was obliged to fly, and collefted the remains of his ftiattered army in Thuringia. We fliall not follow the Swedes in the courfe of their vi. heim and Bannier ; and Walftein retired into SilcCa, leaving a ftrong garifon in Frankfort and feme other towns. Oxenftiern having found his advantage in the al- liance which he had concluded at Heilbrun in i 634, with the four circles, propofed another of the fame nature to the circles of Upper and Lower Saxony. It was concluded at Halberftadt ; and the principal con- trading parties were the elecftors of Brandenburg and Saxony. This Swedifti minifter pulled off the mafl^ at the affembly of Frankfort on the Main, where he propofed to the dates, without any kind of difguife, to yield Pomerania to Sweden after the death of the laft duke, as an indemnity for the expences which that crown had been at to fupport the Proteftant intereft in Germany. The elecftor of Brandenburg was highly irritated at this propofal. It was indeed too precipitate ; nor fhould Oxenftiern have made It, till conjundures had been fo favourable as to permit him to oppofe openly the pretcnfions of I George- William, without endangering the interells of Sweden. In the mean while the eledor, with . the affiftance of the Swedifh troops, found himfclf at the head of 2Cooo men, fcarce the lixth part of ( 53 ) of whom belonged to him. The names of the regi- ments of Brandenburg that were in that army, are thefe ; Borfdorff, Wolckmann, Frances Lauenburg, Conrad Borfdorff, and Ehrcnreich Borfdorff. He took Frankfort on the Oder, where the garifon con- fiding of 1000 men were allowed to march out by ca- pitulation ; and the Imperial garifon of Croffen march- ed out with white fticks in their hands. But thefc fmall fucceffes were fufficiently counter-balanced by the news he received, that the archduke Ferdinand and the Cardinal Infant had gained a compleat vidory over the Swedes at Nordlingen. The eledor of Sax- ony could not bear that Oxenftiern fliould have the diredion of the affairs in Germany preferable to him- felf ; and George- William was greatly incenfed at the propofal made by Oxenftiern at the affembly of Frankfort. Thefe pacific difpofitions produced a very fpcedy effed. The emperor, defirous ©f dividing Germany that had been leagued againft him, laid hold of the opportunity with eagernefs, and a peace was con- cluded at Prague the 20th of March in the year 1635. The conditions were, that the eledor of Saxony's fecond fon fhould continue adminiftrator of Magdeburg, and that the four bailiwicks difmembred from that archbiftioprick * (hould be left to Saxony. The eledor of Brandenburg had affurances given him, that his rights to Pomerania fliould be maintained ; and the emperor engaged, not to reclaim the church lands poffeffed by the proteftants, and to confirm the pads of confraternity between the houfes of Branden- burg, Saxony and Heffe. After the conclufion of this peace, the Saxon and E 3 Im- • Qiicrfurt, Joterbock, Bock, and Damme. M \ I ^ I 'H ) r ¥ f\ \ C 54 ) Imperial troops cleared the country of Halberftadt and Magdeburg of the Swedes by whom it was ftill in- fefted ; but the capital held out for the Swedes. The duchy of Mecklenburg, the Old Marck, and Pome- rania, were expofed anew to the calamities of war ; the Swedes made incurfions as far as Oranienburg, and the Saxons and Imperialifls extended themfelves a- long the banks of the Elbe and the Havel. Bannier, whofe attention was fixt upon preferving Pomerania for the crown of Sweden, alTembled his troops at Ratenaw, and marched by Wittenberg to Hall, in order to keep off the war from the frontiers of Pomerania, and ai the fame time to relieve the Swe- dirti garifon that was ftraitned at Magdeburg. The ele(5tor of Saxony marched with all expedition into Mifnia, where he joined the Imperial troops command- ed by Morofmi. The feat of war was confined for a while to the banks of the Sale ; but at length the Saxons obliged Bannier to retire, and the Imperialilh became mafters once more of Magdeburg. Bannier retreated into the country of Lunenburg, and from thence into the Marck. Here he was joined by Wrangel, with a reinforcement of 8000 men ; upon which they furprifed Brandenburg, and carried Rate- naw by ftorm, where there was an Imperial garifon, Thus this poor electorate was a prey to the firft comer, ranfacked, pillaged, and laid wafte alike by foe and friend. All the towns along the Havel were pillaged twice by the Swedes, and once by the Impe- rialifts, in lefs then fix weeks. This devaftation was univerfal ; the country, properly fpeaking, was not ranfacked, but utterly deftroyed. ' Such was the unhappy fate of the Marck, that for- tune fcemed determined to perpeiuate the war, by never ( 55 ) never declaring herfelf entirely in favour of one fide. The Swedes unexpeaedly refumed their fuperiority. Bannier gained a vidlory at Witftock over the Impe- rialifts and Saxons ; the vanquifhed troops never halt- ed till they got to Leipfick ; the Swedes improved their advantages, and again overrun the Marck. Wrangel came before Berlin, where he put a garifon of five companies, and infixed again upon the eleftor s delivering up his fortrelTes. George- William, who >vas at Peitz, made anfwer, that he was entirely at the difcretion of the Swedes ; but as his fortrelles were garifoned by Imperial troops, it was not in his power to do as he pleafed. Wrangel then quartered his army in the New Marck. The emperor Ferdinand II. the tyrant and op- prelTor of Germany, died at length in 1637, and h,s fon Ferdinand III. who was already king of the Ro- mans, fucceeded him, as if this throne had been here- ditary. During thefe troubles died Bogiflaus, duke of Pomerania, whofe family had been poirefled of this duchy 700 years, and in him that family became extina As the Swedes were mafters of Pomerania, and even of the ekaorate itfclf, the eledor was un- able to aiTert his rights ; he was fatisfied with fend- inp a trumpet to the ftates of Pomerania, ordering them to fall upon the Swedes. This extraordinary embalTy had no effe^ ; and I believe it is the only in- ftance in hillory of a trumpet's having been charged with the like commifTion. In the mean while the Imperialifts, under the com- mand of Hatzfeld and Morofini, drove Bannier out of Saxony, purfued him beyond Schwet, and retook Landsberg. At the fame time Klitzing the Sax- on general, cleared the Marck and the" banks ( 5erg, and to demand of them the arrears of fome fubfidies due to him ; but he died there the third of Decem- ber, leaving to his fon Frederick-William a defo- late country, void of all refource either in troops or money. We cannot, without offending the laws of equity, charge George- William with all the misfortunes that happened to him. He was guilty, however, of two very capital midakes. One was his not raifing an army of 20000 men, which he was able to main- tain, and which would have enabled him to fupport his rights to the fucceflion of Cleves, and might have been dill more ufefuUy employed in the defence of his country : the other was his placing fo unlimited a confidence in his minider the count of Schwartzen- berg, who had fold himfelfto the Imperial court, and whofe ambitious views tended even to render himfelf mader of the Marck. The complication of 9dd conjundlures this prince was in left him only the \ I \ \ V 4 i,r C 58 ) the liberty of chufing the lead of two evils. He wat andcr a neceffity of chufing between the Imperialifts and tlie Swedes, which he would prefer as friends or mafters The edia of refticution, the defifins of the Imperial court upon Magdeburg, and liberty of con- foence, ought naturally ,0 have infpired George- Wilham wuh an averfion to Ferdinand II. but by jommg w>th the king of Sweden, whofe intention was to acquire Pomerunia, he became fubfervient to his enemy ,n depriving himfelfofhis juft inheritance. On the one hand he was greatly difpleafed with the emperor s feventy, which induced him to Men to the inCnuating artifices of the Swedes ; and on the o- ther, he was provoked at the Swedilh ufurpations, which made him apply ,0 the court of Vienna for fuc- cour. This tickli/h Cuation was the caufe of his changing fides continually, and joining with the ftrongeft ; and the inconftancy of fortune! which al- ternately favoured the Swedes and Imperialifts, did not give his allies even time to proteft him. FEEDER ICK-WIL L I AM fuimmed TheGkeat. ' Frederick. William was born at Berlin the 6th of February .6:0. He was furnamed the Great, and was really fo He was a prince that may be faid to have been fornied by heaven to redrefs by his vigilance and aaivity.the diforder and confufion into which his territories had been thrown by the indolence of the preceedmg reign ; to be the reftorer and defender of his country ; and the glory and honour of his family fon'thl ?7 r ^ "''"''"= '° '"^^ ""''^'J '" '"^ per- ron the foul of a great king, with the moderate for- tune ( 59 ) tune of an ekaor : and indeed his fpirit was much fuperior to his ftation. Europe in him beheld a prince, whofe aftions difplayed the noble foul, and the fuperior genius ; one while tempered by prudence, another time bearing that charader of enthufiafm, which forces our admiration : a prince, who conltant- ly repaired his loflbs, without foreign fuccours ; who formed all his projefts himfelf, and put them in ex- ecution : who by his wifdom retrieved a defolate country ; by his policy and prudence acquired new territories ; by his valour aflifted his allies, and de- fended his people : a prince, in fine, who was equal- ly great in all his undertakings. Frederick- William was twenty years of age, when he came to the adminiftration. His education was like that of Philoaetes ; he underftood how to con- quer, at an age when the generality of mankind feek only for amufements. He had learnt the military art under Frederick-Henry, prince of Orange; and was prefent at the fieges of fort Schenck and Breda. Count Schwartzenberg, minifter to George-William, who was uneafy to fee, in the charafter of this young prince, the early fparkles of that fire which afterwards made fo bright a flame, kept him at as much diltance as he could from the court, being convinced that his condua would not bear the examination of fo vigilant an infpeaor. The young prince neverthelefs return- ed to his father, in fpite of the minifter, and went with him to PrufTia, where by the deceafe of George- William he took polFcflion of his hereditary dominions. But this fucceflion was in great part in the hands of the Swedes, who had reduced the decorate ol Brandenburg to a frightful defert ; where towns were traced only by rubbifh and ruins, and villages by • heaps V L ^^WHi ,^t»Jf- ( 6o ) heaps of allies, which hindered the grafs from grow- Nor were the duchies of Cleves, and of tlie Marck more happy ; ,he produce of thefe provinces was di-* vjded between the Spaniards and the Dutch who t'i^Tb: io" ''Z ^'"""''y' "y -Cngexorbitfn't c^! tribut.ons, under a pretence of defending them Pruflia, which had been feized by Guftavus-AHnl phus. wa. ftill bleeding „f .he wou'nds nZrtt. rreaenck-V\ilham began his reign : though he was a prince wnhout territories, an eleflor without power ^.ty of paflions, renders mankind almoft incapabt of direflion ; yet he gave marks of the moft S -ate wifdom, and of .very virtue tha cTuW re^ him worthy of command. ^ pent t?M^llL.nr;::. ^2°tof '' «• wafthe ,/a S He S^irdT tl fo ^r^^ commander of Malta, governor of the M r!k Trl Cdent of the council, and great chamberlain ' ^d' If there had been any other more important emnW ments he would have had them all ; for boTh the" :d -r ;; "pX °' ?-^-^^"''- -e cont t«! ™ in one perlon. This count, who had fold him where he died the fame year. Vienna, After the death of Schwartzenberg, the eleftor rent baron Borgfdorff to Spandaw a/d Cuftrin to fet hts feal to the effcfls of the deceafed. The go° vcrnoi;$ ( 6t ) vernors of thofe two fortreffes refufed to obey him, under a pretence that they durft not do it without exprefs orders from the emperor, to whom they had taken the oaths of fidelity. Borgfdorff dilTembling the infolence of this behaviour, lay in wait for Ro- chow, governor of Spandaw, and fecured him, as he imprudently came out of the fortrefs. The elec- tor ordered this rebel to be beheaded ; upon which the governors of his other fortreffes returned to their duty. Frederick-William received in perfon the invefti- ture of Pruflia in 1641 , from the hands of Ladiflaus king of Poland. The eledor engaged to pay an an- nual tribute of 120,000 florins to that crown, and to make neither peace nor truce with her enemies. Baron de Leben received, in his name, in 1642, the inveftiture of the eleaorate, of the emperor Fer- dinand III. but he could not obtain that of the du- chy of Cleves, becaufe this fuccefllon was ftill in litigation. After having difcharged this kind of duties, he turned his thoughts towards eafing his people, being defirous of delivering his territories from that mife- rable fituation into which they had been plunged. By his negotiations he entered into the poflTeflion of his dominions that were withheld from him ; and he con- eluded a truce for twenty years with the Swedes *, who evacuated the greateft part of the Marcks of Bran- denburg. He paid the Swedifli garifons, who were ftill in poflTeflion of fome towns, 140,000 crowns, which amounts to near 200,000 of our prefent mo- ney, and a thoufand buftiels of corn a-year. He con- cluded a treaty in 1644 with the HelFians, who re- Itored • At Stockholm ; Coizc and Lcuchtmcr were his envoys. » ♦ il ^ ( 62 ) ftored to him part of the duchy of Cleves, which had been in their poiTeffion ; and he prevailed upon the Dutch to evacuate fome other towns. The powers of Europe, who now began to feel the weight of a long and ruinous war, gave ear at length to propofals of peace. The cities of Munfter and Ofnabrug were pitched upon as proper places for opening the conferences; and the elector fent his miniiters thither. The great variety of fubjeds that were to be de- bated, the complication of caufes, the multitude of fovercigns who were to be pleafed, the different prc- tenfions upon the fame provinces, religion, pre-emi- nences, the fettling the proper bounds of the Imperial authority, and of the Germanic liberty ; all this per- ple;(ed chaos kept the minifters employed till the year 1647, when they agreed upon the principal ar- tides. It is not at all neceflary to copy here the treaty of Weftphalia, on which a laborious author has wrote a learned and ufeful treatife ; I fliall be fatisfied with giving fuch heads of it as any way relate to the hi- llory of Brandenburg. France having efpoufed the intereds of Sweden, in- fifted upon Pomerania as an indemnity for the ^ ex - pences which Gudavus Adolphus and his fucce/Tors had been at to maintain the war ; but the eledor and the empire refufed to give their confent. Fre- derick-William at length agreed to yield to the Swedes the Hither Pomerania, the ifles of Rugen and Wollm, the cities of Stettin, Gartz, and Golnow. and the three mouths of the Oder ; adding, that if the male defcendents of the electoral line fhould come to be cxtina, Pomerania and the new Marck fhould devolve ( 63 ) devolve to Sweden; and that, in the mean time, both houfes fhould bear the arms of thofe provinces. In return, as an equivalent for the ceffions made by the elector, the bifhopricks of Halberftadt, Minden, and Gamin, were fecularized j and he was immediate- ly put into the poffefTion of them, as alfo of the coun* ties of Hohenftein and Richenftein. He had likewifc the expeftancy given him of the archbifhoprick of Magdeburg, of which Auguftus of Saxony was then adminiftrator. This peace, which is confidered as the bads of all the pofTeflions and rights of the feveral princes of Ger- many, and of which Lewis XIV. became guarantee, was publifhed in the year 1648. Tho' the ele(5lor's interefts had been thus fettled, he was yet obliged to make a new treaty with the Swedes in 1649, for th^regulation of difputed limits, and for the dicharging of lome debts, of which Swe- den paid only a fourth part. But the eledlorate, Po- merania, and the duchy of Cleves, were not entirely evacuated by the Dutch and the Swedes, who were (lill in polFelTion of fome places, till the year 1650. The duke of Neuburg had like to have thrown things into the fame confufion, from which they had been fo lately, and with fo much difficulty, difimba- ralTed, by perfecuting the proteftants of Juliers. Frederick-William took them under his protedion, and fent general Spaar with a body of troops into that duke's teritories: at the fame time making pro- pofals of accommodation to him, by the mediation of the Dutch. During thefe tranfadions, Charles IV. duke of Lorrain, a wandering prince, who was expelled his dominions by the power of France, and led rather the ( I ' I il ( 64 ) the life of a Tartar than of a fovereign, came to the afTiftance of the duke of Neuburg. Upon his ar- rival, the pacific difpofitions of both'parties were very near vanifhing ; but at length they came to an agree- ment. With regard to the order of their poffefTions, they ftuck to the treaty of Weftphalia * ; and as to the article of liberty of confcience, it was agreed to abide by thofe treaties which had been made in fa- vour of the proteftants, from the year 16 1 2 to 16^7. There happened an event at that time in Sweden in 1 654, which, from its extraordinary nature, en- groiTed the attention of all Europe. queen Chriflina abdicated the throne in favour of her coufin Gharles-Guftavus, prince of Deuxponts. This aftion was cenfured by the politicians, efpecial- ly by thofe who judge of human condudt only by principlesofinterefl and ambition. Thofe who pre- tended to the greateft penetration, would have it, that the young queen refigned the regal dignity, merely becaufe of the averfion (he had conceived to Charles- Guftavus, whom fhc was folJicited to marry. The learned were too profufc in their panegyrics upon this princefs, for having facrificed, at fo tender an age, the glittering charms of grandeur to the more folid pleafures of philofophy. But if flie had been really a philofopher, her glory would never have been fuliied by the murder of Monaldefchi, nor by the continual uneafincfs and regret which ftie fhewcd at Rome after her abdication. In the opini- on of the moft judicious, the condud of this prin- cefs could not but appear extraordinary. She meri- ted / 7J;*'^"n^>'°^^''''"'*^^^^^''*^'^' ^"^ Ravensburg fell to the clcaor s ftarc; Juliers, Deroucs, and Raycnncin to the duke. ( ^5 ) ted neither pralfe nor blame for having abdicated the throne. An adion of that nature cannot be called great, but from the importance of the motives that determine it, from the circumftances that attend it, and from the magnanimity with which it is afterwards fupported . Scarce had Charles-Guftavus afcended the throne, when he (hewed his ambition of diftinguifhing him- felf in the military art. The truce which Guftavus- Adolphus had concluded with Poland, was withia fix years of its expiration. His defign was to o- blige John Gafimir, who in 1648 fucceeded Ladi- flaus, to renounce all the pretenfions which the crown of Poland formed on Sweden, and to yield Livonia to him. Frederick- William, who miftrud- cd the Swedes, faw into their defigns ; but in order to amufe Sweden, he mediated a reconciliation be- tween the Swedifli regency of Stade, and the city of Bremen, whofe difputes related to the liberties of this Hans-town. Gharles-Guftavus pretended, that his military pre- parations were defigned againft Ruflia, and fent a meflage to the eledor, defiring him to put into his hands the ports of Pillaw and Memel, in the fame manner as Guftavus-Adolphus infifted upon George- William's delivering up the fortrelTcs of Spandaw and Guftrin. But the fcene was changed ; Frederick- William had too brave and generous a foul to ftoop to fuch a condefcenfion. He boldly rcjeded fo in- folent a propofal ; and made anfwer. That if the king of Sweden really intended to attack the Ruffians, ke would engage to affift him with a body of 8000 men ; pretending, that the progrefs of the RufTian irnns in Poland rendered him apprchenfiv^ left they f fliould )' ( ^6 ) fhould draw near to his own frontiers. This artful and polite evafion gave the Swedes to underhand, that the eledlor wanted neither courage nor fenfe. The republic of Poland having been apprifed by the eledor of the danger that threatned her, entreat- ed him to affift her with his artillery, troops, and good counfels. This entreaty was followed with an embafTy, defiring him to mediate a reconciliation be* tween her and Sweden ; and to this foon fucceeded a- nother, preffing him to furnifh the fubfldies neccflary for the expence of the war, The elcftor, who was well acquainted with the nature of the tumultuous deliberations of this repu- blic, always ready to declare war, without ever pre- paring the means to fupport it, exhaufled by the ra- pine of the great, uncertain in her refolutions, ill obeyed by her troops, and inconftant in her engage- ments, made anfwer, that he would neither take the misfortunes, which they apprehended, upon himfelf, nor facrifice his own interefts for an ungrateful nati- on. In order, therefore, to provide for the fecurity of his dominions, he entered into a defenfive alliance with the Dutch for eight years ; and he courted the friendfhip of Cromwell, that fortunate ufurper, who had gained in his lifetime the title of protedor of his country, which pofterity changed into that of a tyrant. He tried to make an alliance with Lew- is XIV. who, after the treaty of Weftphalia, was be- come the arbiter of Europe. He flattered the im- perious humour of Ferdinand III. in order to engage him in his intereft ; but he received no other anfwer from thole princes,, but compHments and empty fpeeches . It was not long before Charles-Guftavus confirmed the ( 67 ) the eIc(flor*s fufpicions. General Wertenberg tra- verfed the new Marck with a body of Swedifh troops, without permiffion obtained, and drew near the frontiers of Poland. No fooner had Steinbock at- tacked that kingdom, than two Palatinates of the Up- per Poland fubmitted to the Swedes. Frederick- William, perceiving that the whole flrefs of the war would be towards the frontiers , of Pruffia, marched his army thither in perfon, in order to be ready to concert proper meaCires, and to put them immediately in execution. At Marienburg he concluded a defenfive alliance with the flates of Poliih Pruflia. The chief articles were, the agree- ment of a mutual fuccour of 4000 men, promifed by the contracting parties, and the maintenancejaf the Brandenburg garifons at Marienburg, Grodentz, and other towns. The Swedes were not at that time the only enemies of the Poles. The Czar of Mufcovy had penetrated the year before into Lithuania with a numerous army. The pretext of this irruption was a frivolous omif- fion of fome titles, which the Polifli chancery had forgot to give to the Czar. Strange, that a nation, which did not perhaps know even fo much as how to read, fhould go to war with her neighbours for fuch a grammatical trifle as the fubfcription of a letter I Charles-Guftavus, taking an advantage of the per- plexity of his enemies, made in a very fhorttimea confiderable progrefs. He marched his army into Pruflia, notwithftanding the remonftrances of the eleftor ; his troops took up their quarters in Ducal PrufRa, and advanced into the neighbourhood of Ko- nigft)erg. The elciJlor, to whom the Swedes had more than F 2 once i 1^! Il ,^ ( (J8 ) once offered advantageous conditions, was come now to the critical moment, in which he could rot continue his neutrality, without expofing Pruflla to inevitable ruin. He followed therefore the road which the fuccefs of the Swedifli arms pointed out to him, and concluded a treaty with that crown at Konigf- berg in 1656, by which he acknowledged himfelfa valTal of Sweden, and promifcd to yield homage for Ducal Prulfia, on condition that the bifhoprick of Warmia fhould be fecularized in his favour. In orcfer to ftrengthen this new alliance, he concluded another with Lewis XIV. who guarantied to him his poffefFi- ons in Weftphalia, and upon the Rhine. Not long after * he changed his treaty with the Swedes into an offenfive alliance. The king and the cle<51or had an interview in Poland, where they fettled the ope- rations of the campaign, and particularly agreed to retake Warfaw from the Poles, who had driven the Swedes from that city. The ele«5lor marched his troops afterwards through Malfovia, and joined the Swedifh army at the con- fluence of the Viftula and th6 Bock. The allies paflcd the Bock, and at the fame time the Polifh army paf- fed the Viftula at Warfaw ; fo that there was no fur- ther obftacle to hinder them from coming to a(flion. The French minifters, d'Avaujour and de Lom- bres, flattered themfelves with the hopes of recon- ciling the contending parties, by their negotiations. "With this intent they went from one camp to the 0- ther ; but the Poles, confiding in their fuperior num- bers, being 40,000 ftrong, defpifed the others, whofe forces fcarce amounted to 1 6,000 men, and info- lently rejcded every propofal made to thcm^ The * At Marienburg, ( 69 ) The Poles were ftrongly intrenched in their camp, tlieir right extending towards a morafs, and the Vi- ftuia covering their rear towards the left, in a tranf- verfe line ; in which fituation Charles-Guftavus and Frederick- William marched up to them. The king palfed through a fmall wood, with his right to the Viftula ; but the ground was fo narrow, that when his troops were drawn out, he could pre- fent only a (Ingle front, of twelve fquadrons and three battalions, to the enemy. He was obliged therefore to form his men in columns, and the day was fpent in Ikirmifhes and canonading. The in- fantry did not come up till late ; the ele(?tor, who had the command of the left, covered it as well as he could with the wood, which had been juft pa (fed by the right wing ; and the army continued thus under arms all night. The day fof lowing, which was the 29th of July, the ele<5tor took pofleflion of a rifing ground, litu- ated towards his left ; from whence he difcovered a fmooth open plain, proper for extending the troops be- yond this little wood. He ordered his column to file off to the left, ftretching along the plain, and flanked it with fix fquadrons. The Tartars perceiving this mo- tion, attacked the ele<5tor on all fides, but were repulfed; and his whole left wing formed themfelves on the plain. The Tartars made a new attack, which fuccecded as ill as the firfl: ; upon which they retired in confufion. The king finding it impofFible to attack the ene- my's intrenchments on the fide of the Viftula, made a difpofition for a new attack. A motion of the Po- lilh infantry, which feemed to indicate their intent of marching out of their intrenchments, retarded him for fome time j but a few Swedifh cannon, which F 3 were ( 70 ) were levelled agalnft the Polifh intrenchments, did fuch execution, as often as the Poles attempted to march out, that they were obliged to return to their intrenchments in confufion. Charles-Guftavus want- ed only this opportunity to change his order of bat- tle. The Swedes, who were in the right wing, tra- vcrfed the Wood, and came and formed therafelves on the plain, to the left of the Brandenburghers, who were already drawn up there. At the fame time the Polifh army marched out of their intrenchments by their right, and formed a front fupcrior to that of the allies. Their whole ca- valry was to the right, covered by a village lined with infantry, and by a battery placed on an eminence. The king of Sweden advanced beyond them, and took them in flank. Upon which the Poles fet fire to the village, and abandoned it, rallying behind another village, which was covered by a morafs. The king purfued them, and took them once more in flank, which obliged the Poles to fet fire alfo to this village, and to retire as before. In this cri- tical Ctuation, the Polifli cavalry made a general effort, and attacked the allies at the fame time in the rear, in flank, and in front ; but as this was forefeen, and there were troops prepared to receive them, the refer ve difengaged the rear, and the Poles were rcpulfed on all fides with confiderablc Jofs. The night coming on deprived the Swedes this time of a compleat vi^ory ; and they waited for the re- turn of day-light on the field of battle, all under arms. ^ At day-break, wliich was the 30th of July, the king thought fit to make fome new difpofitions. He formed his two lines of infantry, the cavalry was placed in a third, as a referve to tlie right, where the ( 7i ) the eIe(5lorwas himfelf in perfon, with the cuirafllers and dragoons of Brandenburg. As the enemy were flill in poflefTion of a wood o- ver-againft the left, a brigade of artillery was detached thither, fupported by 500 horfe. After a fliort can- nonading, the cavalry drove the enemy from the wood, which was immediately occupied by 200 foot. The eledor then attacked the Poiifli cavalry, who were drawn up on an eminence, drove them into the morafles, and intirely difperfed them. The Polifh infantry finding themfelves abandoned, and having loft their cannon, gave way immediately, without waiting for the enemy, and fled in the utmoft con- fufion. The vanquiflied army repafled the Viftula, and abandoned Warfaw, which furrendered the next day to the conquerors. The Polifli army loft 6000 men in the dlflTerent engagements of thofe three days ; and the allies be- ing haraffed with fafting all that time, were not able to purfue them. John Cafimir had been prefent himfelf at the de- feat of his troops ; the queen likewife, and fome of the principal ladies of the kingdom, beheld it from the bridge of the Viftula ; but they contributed only to incrcafe the fliame and confufion of a total de- feat. After the vidlorious army had refted fome time, they made a march of fix German miles in purfuit of the enemy. But the eledlor having received advice, that a body of Tartarian irregulars had made incurfi- ons into Pruflia, he left a detachment of his troops with the king of Sweden, and returned with the main body of his army to cover his own frontiers. He acquainted the emperor with the news of this victory ; F 4 anJ I »\1 < n ) and this prince, who In his heart was far ftom being pleafed with the eleaor's extraordinary fuccefs, gave him no other anfwer, than '^that he pitied the Poles for having two fuch brave princes to deal with." J'rederick- William, obfcrving the great need which Charles-Gullavus had of his afliaance, made fo good an x^k of it, as to obtain the intire fovereignty of Pruf- Ca by the treaty of Libau ; and Sweden referved to herfelf only the eventual fuccelTion. The emperor, who at that time, in 1657, en- joyed a profound peace, fcemcd defirous of concern- ing himfelf in the troubles of Poland, either with a view of defending that nation, or of promoting his own private advantage. Accordingly he fent Hatz- feldt with 16,000 men to the afliftance of Uiis re- public : and Denmark at the fame time efpoufed her quarrel out of hatred to Sweden. Ferdinand III not fatisfied with a/Ilfling the Poles with his troops en- deavoured alfo by his perfuafions to rid them' of a formidable enemy, foliciting Frederick- William Iq the ftrongeft terms to break with the Swedes. This powerful alliance was to Guftavus a certain omen of the inconftancy of fortune. The elector, thus pre/Ted on all fides, refolved to prevent the laws of necefHty ; and with a good grace he confcnted to what he could not avoid granting to thefupenorforceofa diverfion, which the emperor and the king of Denmark were capable of making in his territories. He figned a peace with the Poles at Velaw; by which this crown acknowledged the fo- vereionty of P.u/na, and yielded to him the baili- wicks of Lawenburg and Butaw, as an indemnifica- tion for the bifhoprick of W armia. The city of El- tJin^ was hkewife mortgaged to him for a fum of money j C 73 ) money ; and the fuccelTion of Pruflla was extended to his coufins the margraves of jrrmconia. Poland and Brandenburg promifcd to afTift each other with 2000 men ; the eledor evacuated all the town 5 of Poland, that had been garifoned by his troops 5 and this im- portant treaty was ratified at Brauniljer^. The eledor, by abandoning the Swedes, broke in fome meafure alfo with Fiance ; he thought it there- fore neceflary to fupply his old alliances with new ones ; and concluded a treaty with the emperor and the king of Denmark. Ferdinand III. enga^/ed to furnifh a body of 6000 men, and Frederick- Wiiiiam a contingent of 3 500, in cafe either of the contra A- ing parties fhould want the other's afliftance. At that time the imperial throne, which was be- come vacant by the death of Ferdinand III. was fil- led by the archduke Leopold, whom his father had caufed to be created king of the Romans, as early as I 6i3, in fpite of the golden bull, and contrary to the opinion of ^^^ princes of the empire. Charles Gnftavus being highly provoked againfl the emperor and the king of Denmark, for defeating the vaft projeds which he had formed againft Sweden, in their very infancy, revenged himfelf upon Zealand, where he made an irruption, and obliged Frederick III. king of Denmark to clap up a peace, which was figned at Rodfchidt. Scarce had this peace been con- cluded, when it was broke through again by the king pf Denmark, who, as foon as he was at liberty, an- nulled a treaty which he had figned through con- ftraint. Frederick III. tho* the aggreflbr, folicited the eleftor to affift him againft Sweden, and his re- queft was granted. Frederick ^^ \ ^'' \l A 7 ( ( 74 ) Frederick- William made the prince of Anhault go- vernor ofhis dominions during his abfencc, and fct out from Beriin at the head of his cavaJry, and three thoufund imperial cuirafliers. He obliged the Swedes, who were qnartered in the duchy of Holitcin, to re- tire beyond the Eider, and threw a garifon of Impe- rialifts and Brandenburghers into Gottorp ; and, af- ter having driven the Swedes from the ille of Aknd, he put his army into winter quarters in Jutland . The year following, in 1659, he opened the cam- paign with the taking of Friderichfoude, and of tlie ifle cf Fionicu ; but he failed in his attempt upon the ifle of Fuhnen, by the difappointment which he met with in difembarking his troops, the tranfport velfels having been difperfcd by eight Swedifh men of war. In order to divide the Swedifh forces, De Souches marched into the Hither Pomerania, with a body of Imperiallfts *, and two thoufand Brandenburghers. This general, and Staremberg, having made them- felves mafters of fome fmall towns, and of the ifle of VVolin, laid fiege to Stettin. Wurtz, who was the governor, made a very brave defence. The news of this expedition was foon brought to Denmark. j\s foon as VVrangel heard it, he flew to the defence of Pomerania, and landing his troops at Stralfund be furprifed i 200 Brndenburohcrs in the ifle of VCc- dom, and threw a reinforcement of 1600 men into Stettin. Wurft did not let his troops ly idle, but made a furious fally, drove the Imperialifts from their ap- proaches, nailed up their cannon, flung their camp into a general confternation, and compelled them to raife the fiege, which had lafted forty.fix days. The • Commanded by general de Dohoa. I \ C 75 5 The ele(5lor, finding the war was drawing towards his own frontiers, drew his troops out of Jutland, and followed VVrangel into Pomerania. He took Warnemunde and Tripfee, defeated in perfon a de- tachment of ;oo horfe in the neighbourhood of Stral- fund, and finilhed the campaign with the taking of Demin. . While the war was thus carried on in Holltem and Pomerania, the Swedes had driven the Poles and Brandenburghers, in 1638, from the great and little Werder, and from tlie town of Marienburg in Pruf- iia. But they were expelled from thence in 1659, by the Imperialifts and the Poles ; and Polentz, with the troops of Brandenburg, made an irruption into Couriand, where he took fome towns. I muft obferve here, for a greater illuftratlon of thefe military details, that moft of tlie towns which were befieged at that time were incapable of making a defence of 24 hours, after the manner of befieging in our times, unlefs there was an army at hand to re- lieve them. . The cuftom of abdicating was bcome epidemical in Europe. Queen Chriftina had fet the example, which was followed by John Cafimir, and Michael Coribut was chofen in his place. Amidrt thefe troubles and confufions in which the Korth had been involved, Charies-Gullavus died in the flower of life, in 1660. The minority of his fon Charles XI. allayed the warlike fire of the Swedes, giving their paflion leifure to cool, and aflbrding them time to embrace more pacific fentiments. The belligerant powers now longed for peace, and feemed defirous only of the means of fecuring it ; their animofitv, together with the caufe of it, was in- tirely \ .^^ I V C 7(^ ) tlrely extind. The feveral princes agreed to open the cohlbrences in the abbay of OJiva, 'm the neigh- bourhood of Dantizg. As ambition was bani/hed from thefc negotiations, they foon came to a liappy concJufion. The treaty of Jiraunfberg was guaran- tied in favour of the eJedor, and the fovereignty of Pruffia was acknowledged. The other powers agreed among themfelves to re-eftabJiHi the order of their feveral pofTeflions, juft as they had been before the vrar. Prulfia, neverthelcfs, fubmitted with di/EcuIty to the treaty of Braunfbcrg; the Ihtes of this duchy pretending that Poland had no right to difpofe of them. Upon this occafion, a gentleman named Rhode, and who was one of the moll turbulent of the malcontents, was put under arreft. Thefefirft mo- tions of revolt were eafily fuppre/Tcd by the cledor, who was accuftomed to furmount the greateil difficul- ties ; and foon after he received in perfon the homage of the PrufTians at Konigfberg. Frederick-William, who was the defender of his fubjecfls in time of war, had a noble ambition of /liew- ing himfelf their father in time of peace. He re- lieved thofc families which had been ruined by the enemy, and built new walls for towns whofe old ones had been dcmohlhcd. Forefls, and favage \>toS}i%, their wonted inhabitants, difappcared to make room' for colonies of hufbandmen, and for the numerous herds, which now grazed in places that had been laid wafle by the fury of the fword. Induftry and rural ceconomy, things fo ufeful, and yet fo defpifed, were encouraged. New villages were daily k^vi to rife, new canals were cut out for the cOnveniency of the inhabitants, and even a bed was opened for an artifi- cial ( N ( 11 ) cial river, which, joining the Spree to the Oder, fa- cilitated the commerce of the different provinces, by enabling them to communicate their feveral commo- dities. Thefe wife arrangements were owing as well to Frederick-William's continued application to ftate- kffairs, as to the goodnefs and humanity of his cha- rafler! This prince was perhaps ftill greater in this refpedl, than by his heroic valour and political abili- ties, which enabled him to take a proper manner and time for the execution of all his projeils. In 1665, the Turks attacked the emperor in Hun- gary, and he fent him a reinforcement of 2000 men, under the command of the duke of Holftein. The Poles had a war of the fame nature to mam- tain againft the Infidels, upon which occafion he af- firted Michael Goribut with a body of men. He received the eventual homage of the city of Magdeburg, and garifoned it with his own troops. He acquired the lordfliip of Rcgenftein, which was a fief of the duchy of Halberftadt, and maintamed his rights, in oppofition to the duke of Brunfwick's pre- tenfions. He reconciled, in 1 (^65, the duke of Lu- nenburg's fons, who were tearing one another to pieces for their paternal inheritance ; he terminated by a treaty the differences which ftill fubfifted between him and the dukes of Neuburg, relating to the fuc- celTion of Cleves ; he entered into a defenfive alliance with Sweden, and concluded a quadruple alliance at the Hague with the king of Denmark, the republic of Holland, and the duke of Brunfwick, to which the emperor acceded. r t. The intent of thefe alliances was to fecure the trlnqaillity of Germany. And yet the great pre- caution taken to render them fo numerous feemed to . aiminifh their value. ^^^" ^.^ o. I -ew"^ Ta^ I •f' 1 » I ( 78 ) Notwithflandlng all thcfe endeavours, Lewis XIV. Murbcd the peace of Europe in 1667, by invading the Spani/h Netherlands. The reafon given by him for this war was his demand of Maria Terefa's for- tune, which had not been paid. Though this pre- text did not fccm to bear the fame weight at Madrid as at Verfaillcs, yet Lewis XIV. thought he pro- ceeded according to rule in invading the Spanifli Ne- therlands, whofe towns at that time were but poorly garifbned. France being attentive to prevent any alliances that miglit be formed for the fupport of the Spanifti intereft, thought proper, in this conjundure, to court the eledor's friendfhip ; and this prince engaged not to concern himfelf in the war, which in ka was quite foreign to h?m. ^ As early as the year 1 670, the defigns which Lew-* js XIV. had formed againft the United Provinces V'cre not fo fccret but fome politicians faw into them. Thofc who are Icaft intercftcd in affairs are often- times the moft clear-fighted. Frederick-William guc/- fed at the French king's intentions, and endeavoured to divert the dorm which threatned the Dutch. Lew- is XIV. inftead of coming into the elector's pacific views, tried to make him a party in the war. For this purpofc he fent the prince of Furllcmberg to Ber- lin, who was afloni/hed to behold a fovereign that preferred the fentiments of friendfhip and gratitude to the bait of intereft, and the fed ucing charms of ambition. Frederick-William concluded a treaty at Billefeldt with the eleflor of Cologne, the bifhop of Munfler and the duke of Ncubur^, for the defence of the u' nited Provinces. Scarce had this engagement been entered ( 79 ) entered upon, when the duke of Neuburg and the cledor of Cologne deferted to the oppofite party. Such was the fitsation of Holland, attacked by France, and haralTed by the eledor of Cologne and the bi(hop of Munfter, that flie was almoft dellltute of hopes of affiftance from the generofity of her allies. The unfortunate have an opportunity of making an infallible experiment of the human heart ; for the de-^ dine of fortwne is generally attended with that of friendfliip. What expeaation then could Holland have to find a prince of fo magnanimous a foul as to attempt to ftop Lewis XIV. in the triumphant courfe of his profperity, and to expofe himfelf, at the fame time, to the calamities which the republic had reafon to apprehend both for herfelf and her deliverers. And yet fuch a deliverer was found in Frederick- Wil- liam, who entered into an alliance with this republic at the very time that Europe expedled to fee her over- whelmed by thofe waters over which (he had fo abfo- Jutely reigned. The eledor engaged to furnlfh her with 20, coo men, half of whom were to be maintained at the ex- pence of the republic, and both parties agreed not to make a feparate peace. The emperor Leopold follow- ed the elector's example, by acceding to this alliance. The invaGon of Lewis XIV. had changed the face of government in Holland. The people, grown de- fperate by the public calamities, laid the blame on the penfioner, and revenged thcmfclves of the miferies that threatned Holland on the brothers de Witt. William prince of Orange was unanimoufly cleded Stadtholder. This prince, who was only nineteen years of age, became the moft implacable enemy that the ambition of Lewis XIV. had to contend with. Scarce I if I' I \ ] \ '^ y I i I ;, ^ ft n ( 80 ) Scarce had the ele(5lor afTembled his army, when he marched towards Halberft^dt, where he expe(fled ta be joined by Montecuculli with ten thoufand Imperi- alifts. He continued his march toward Weftphalia ; but Turenne quitted Holland, took Tome towns in the country of Cleves, and came to meet him at the head of 30,000 French. In the mean time Gronin- genwas evacuated by the bifhop of Munfter, and the fiege of Macflricht was raifed by the French ; which were the firft fruits of his diverfion. Montecuculli had received private orders from the emperor not to acft ofTenfively. The eIe a wretched counterfcarp. The outworks confifted only of two earthen redoubts. In our days this pal- try town could not have ftood a fiege of above eight days. At that time the eJcdor's troops, accuftomed only to field battles, were quite unpraftifed in ficges and deftitute of engineers. Stettin did not capitulate till the 14th of December, The garifon was reduced to 300 men, and the rela- tions of thofe days inform as, that this fiege coft the befiegers 10,000 men. The Lunenburghers return- ed to their own country. The great advantages which the eledor gained over his enemies did not make fo favourable an imprelfion upon the Imperial court as might have been expeded. The emperor wanted to have weak valfals and poor fubjeds in Ger- many, but no great lords or powerful princes. As his politics aimed at arbitrary power, he was fenfible of the importance of keeping the princes of the em- pire in a ftate of mediocrity and impotence, in order to exert the tyranny which the houfe of Auftria in- tended to eftablifh in Germany. The emperor's coun- cil, and among the reft, one Hocherus, had the in- folence to fay, that the court of Vienna was uneafy to fee a new king of the Vandals enlarging his terri- tories on the borders of the Baltic. This prophecy was afterward verified. While ( 93 ) While the ele(flor's campaigns were attended with a continual feries of triumphs, which were the fruits of his prudence, the Dutch concluded a feparate peace with France. Frederick-William reproached thefe republicans with their ingratitude. France propofed to this prince, that he (hould reftore his conquefts to the Swedes, and indemnify them for the expences of the war. Could Lewis XIV. have prefcribed much har- der conditions to a conquered prince ? The eledor indeed rcjeded them ; and as he had higher views, he wanted to preferve by treaties what he had con- quered by arms. But he was even happier in his ne- gotiations than in his vi(5lories The war was therefore continued In Pomeranla. In the beginning of the enfuing campaign in 1678, the Swedes furprifed in the ifle of Rugen two detach- ments of Danes and Brandenburghers, each of 600 men. The king of Denmark moreover loll Chrifti- anftadt, and the ifle of Blechingen. The ele6tor*s fortune, or rather his prudence, not being fubjeft to caprice, was much more conilant. He received a reinforcement of 4000 Lunenburi;hers ; and with the affiftance of fome DaniHi veffels, he made a defcent upon the ifle of Rugen, drove the Swedes from thence, and made himfelf m after of Fehrfchantz. He took afterwards pofleflion of the ifle of Bohrnholm, fat down before Stralfund, and bombarded this town fo briflily that it furrendered in two days. At length he finiftied this glorious cam- paign with the taking of Grypfwalde. Fortune feemed to take a pleafure in furnifliing this prince with every occafion to difplay his great abilities. Scarce had this campaign been ended, when \ r 1 1 * !t / ri f C 94 ) W'hen he had tidings brought him that the enemy had attacked him on another fide, and that general Horn was marched from Livonia at the head of 6coo men to enter PrnfTia. The cleflor received this news without bein ■. 4 \ ( 98 ) GriefTenberg and Wildcnbruch, fhould be yielded td him. In return, he agreed to rcftore to the Swedes all he had conquered from them, and not to afTift the king of Denmark. Upon which France with- drew her troops from his territories, and paid him 50,000 ducates, as an indemnity for the mifchief "which Crcqui had done to his fubjefls. The peace being thus concluded, was ratified and put in execution, without any difficulty intervening on either fide, to prevent an intire evacuation. The king of Denmark, who was now the only champion left in the lifts, foon followed the eledlor's example, and concluded a peace at Fontainbleau •with France and Sweden. With this difference, that the ele(ftor at leaft gained fomething by it, whereas the king of Denmark, by holding out too long, got nothing at all. The peace of St Germain s put an end to Frederick- William's military exploits. His laft years were more pacific, and lefs glorious. And yet he ftill Ihewed himfelf the great and benevolent man, cvea in the moft private paffages of his life. The wifdom, conftancy, penetration, and every other virtue of this prince, were regulated according 10 his different circumftances ; appearing one while more fublime, and another time more tender and obliging ; but always dire(5ted by the principles of juftice, and tending only to the glory of his reign, and the welfare of his fubje(fls. ^ It is owing to a general prejudice, that the great- eft part of mankind idolize the fuccefsful temerity of the ambitious. The glory of military exploits ren- ilers them blind; even to civU virtue* ; in their C 99 ) ^ay of thinking, the Eroftrati are preferable to thi modern Amphions. Frederick- William was equally admirable at the head of his armies, where he appeared as the de- liverer of his fubje(5ls ; and at the head of his coun- cil, where he adniiniftrcd juftice to his people, and to his neighbours ; and raifed his country from a ftate of annihilation, into which it had been plunged by the war. The eledor's virtues were of too extenfive a na- ture, not to be known ; his excellent endowments gained him the confidence of his neighbours. His impartial juftice rendered him a kind of fupreme ar- biter, whofe jurifdi(5tion extended beyond his own frontiers, by which he judged and reconciled kings and fovereign princes. He was chofen for a medi- ator between the king of Denmark, and the city of Hamburg. Chriftian V. received twenty-five thou- fand crowns of this town, which ferved as a fponge to the Danes in their prefent neceffity. This city was hard preffed at that time, and would have been entirely ruined, had it not been for the afliftance and. proteiflion of Frederick-William. The Eaft paid homage to the reputation of this prince, which had reached as far as Afia. And Mu- rad Geray, Cham of the Tartars, courted his friend- (hip. The barbarian ambaiTador appeared in tattered clothes, which fcarce covered his nakednefs. They were obliged to give him other apparel, before he could be admitted to court. The Boudziake's in- terpreter had a wooden nofe, and no ears. This ivas carrying fimplicity,'and the contempt of pomp. •>: ') ( ICO ) to the higheft excefs ; however, Europe was far from growing jealous at this hungry embafTy. While the eledor was courted by the Tartars, he caufed himfelf to be refpe^ed by the Spaniards. This court owed him fome arrears of fublidies, whicli they declined paying him. He fent therefore to the coaft of Guinea nine fmall vefTels, which he had made ufe of in the Baltic ; and this little would-be fqua- dron took a large Spaniih man of war, and carried it into Konigsberg. This prince made two confiderable acquidtions in 1680. Upon the deceafe of the adminiftrator of Mag- deburg, this dnchy was incorporated for ever with the elek. i m \ ( 102 ) ics of JagcrndorfT, Ratibor, Oppelen, Erieg, Wolaw, and Lignitz. Thefc duchies belonged to him in ilrid: juftice by the treaties of confraternity, which had been concluded with the princes who formerly pofieiTed them, and ratified by the kings of Bohemia. He looked upon this as a favourable conjun<5ture to defire the emperor to (atisfy his juft pretenfions, and to grant him at the fame time the inveftiture of Mag- deburg. Leopold, who knew no rights but his own, no pretenfions but thofe of the houfe of Auftria, and no juftice but his own haughtinefs, granted what he could not refufe ; namely, the inveftiture of the duchy t)f Magdeburg. And yet he wanted a contingent of Brandenburg troops, but they were refufed him. The eledor however fcnt fuccours to John Sobitfl^i, who was alfo attacked by the Turks in i 68 5 ; thefe fuccours confifted of 2000 men. Every circumftance of that time feemed to contri- bute to aggrandize the eledor. France was difturbcd by the revocation of the famous edi^l of Nantes ; and fuch a migration enfued, as can hardly be parallelled in hiftory A whole nation, as it were, departed the kingdom, thro' the fpirit of party, and out of hatred to the pope, in order to receive the commu- nion in both kinds in another climate, and to chant Clement Marot's old pfalms in other temples. For fuch powerful motives as ihefe, tv\o hundred thoufund inhabitants went into voluntary banifliment, and a- bandoned their pofTefiions, carrying with them their induftry, and manufadures, to thofe places of refuge "which they eschanged for their own country. Twen- ty thoufand French came and fettled in the territories of the eIe(flor^ who by their numbers repaired in fome meafure the dej^opulatlon which had been cauf- cd \ C 103 ) cd by the Wars. Frederick- William received them with that pity, which mifery excites ; and with the generofity of a fovereign, who rewards thofe artifts, whofe induftry is fo ufeful to his people. This in- duftrious colony multiplied, and made ample returns to their benefador for his hofpitality and protedion. The Marck of Brandenburg became foon capable of drawing from her own ftock thofe commodities, which ihe had been obliged to import from foreign coun- tries. Lewis XIV. was offended at the reception which the elector gave to the refugees. Frederick-William, being apprehenfive that his piety would imbroil him with France, entered into a more intimate conne(5li- on with the emperor, and fent him, in the year 1686, eight thoufand auxiliary troops againft ths Turks, under the command of Schoning. Thefe troops had a great (hare in the taking of Buda, and diftinguiftied themfelves greatly at the general affaulfr of that town, where they were the firft that entered. Kotwithftanding thefe fervices, they were denied winter quarters in Silefia, and were obliged to come back and winter in the Marck. The emperor, how- ever, granted the circle of Swibus to the de^or, as an indemnity. The reception of the French at Berlin, and the fuccours granted to the emperor, at length cxafperat- ed France ; flic broke in fome meafure with the elec- tor, by refufing to continue the payment of the an- nual fubfidy, which had been granted him by the peace of St Germains. Lewis XIV. could not a- void breaking the truce concluded with the emperor ; by maintaining the pretenfions of Charlotte, prin- fcfs Palatine, wife to the duke of Orleans, to fome H 4 Wii- C 104 ) bailiwicks of the Palatinate, which that princefs laid claim to ; and by repairing the fortifications ofHiin- ringen, tho' this was contrary to the treaty of Nime- guen. So enterprifing a neighbour alarmed all Ger- many ; the circles of Suabia, Franconia, and the Lo- wer Rhine, concluded an alliance at Augfburg, to guard againft the continual enterprizes, which were formed by the ambition of Lewis XIV. Notwithftanding fo many fuhjeds of complaint, which the empire had againft France ; yet the em- peror confirmed the truce in 1687, which he had concluded with that crown ; for the apprehenfion of the Turks rendered him prudent and circumfpcifl. >lnd yet we fhall fee in the courfe of this hiftory, how the eledion made by the chapter of Cologne, in favour of the prince of Furftenberg, at that time bifiiop of Strafburg, and prote<5led by France, obli- ged the cledtor at length to break with a neighbour, whofe ambition kept no meafures, and who knew no limits to his power. The elc^or had no fhare in this war, but died be- fore it broke out. He granted his protedion for the fecond time to the city of Hamburg, which was be- fieged by the king of Denmark in perfon with 1 7000 men. Paul Fuchs and Schmeitau, both envoys from the eledor, perfuaded Frederick V. to raife ihc fiege, and to reclbbl.fii matters upon the fame foot- ing as they flood before that expedition. At the fame time, the difference was compromifed, relating t-> the four bailiwicks of the duchy of Magdeburg^, ^hkh were in the pr/R/Hcn of tie duke of WefTein- fels. The elec^cor putchafcd t!:e bailiwick of Bourg for ^ ,000 crowns, and relinquiHrd his pretenfions to ihofe of q^utrfurt^ Vutcrbock, and Damme. The ( «05 ) The North was in danger of being difturbed again by the differences which arofe in 1688, between the king of Denmark and the duke of Gottorp, concern- ing the peace of Rodfchiit, by which Charles Gufta- vus had procured for the duke the intire fovereignty of his territories The Danes, offended at this fo- vereignty, drove this prince from Schlefwick, and declared that they intended to keep poffeffion of this duchy, as well as of Denmark. The emperor Leo- pold wanted to intermeddle in the quarrel ; but the king of Denmark refufed to truft his affairs into any other hands than thofe of the eledor. Conferences were accordingly held at Hamburg and Altena. Fre- derick V. offered to yield fome counties to the duke of Gottorp, the income of which would be equal to the revenues of Schlefwick, excepting the fovereign- ty. The duke refufed thofe offers, and Frederick- William did not live to fee a conclufion of the affair ; for death put an end to his glorious reign. Frederick-William had been a long time troubled with the gout. This diftemper turned into a dropfy ; and as his complaint grew worfe every day, he met death with the greateft undauntednefs and refolution. Two days before he died, he convened his council ; and after having affifted at the debates, and decided affairs with a found judgment, and a perfea free- dom of mind, he addreffed his difcourfe to his mmi- fters, thanking them for the fidelity they had (hewn him, and exhorting them to difcharge their duty in the like manner to his fon. He turned then to the eleaoral prince, and laid before him the feveral duties of a fovereign ; he gave him a Ihort analyfis of the (late in which he left his affairs, exhorted him to af- fift the prince of Orange in the expedition, which he was / ( io6 ) was then meditating againft England ; and, above alJ, recommended to him the iove and prefervation of his people, as a good father would have recom- mended his children. After which he performed fome ads of devotion, and waited calmly for death. He expired the 29th of April 1 688, with the fame tran- quillity of mind, and heroic indifference, which he had condantly difplayed in all his vidlories. He was twice married, the fird time to Henrietta of Orange, mother of Frederick HI. who fucceedcd him ; the fccond time to Dorothy of Holftein, who was mother to the margraves Philip- Albert, and Lewis, and to the princelTes Elizabeth Sophia, and Mary-Amelia. Frederick-William was endowed with all the qua- lifications rcquifite to form a great man, and provi- dence furnifhed him with the proper occafions of dif- playing them. He gave inftances of his prudence, at an cigc in which unruly and fiery youth give ge- nerally only marks of licentioufnefs. He never ex- erted his heroic valour in the purfuit of any bafe dc- iign; but employed it conftantly in defence of his ter- ritories, or in the afFiftance of his allies. He was warm and prudent, qualifications that rendered him a great politician ; he was induftrious and humane, virtues which rendered him a great prince. He was infen- Cble to the dangerous charms of lawlefs love, and had no other weaknefs, but for his wife and wine. His fiery temperament rendered him fubjecfl to tranf- ports of choler; but if he gave way to the firfl mo- tion, he always checked the fecond ; and his gene- rous heart abundantly repaired the miftakes, which his natural impetuofity made him commit. This prince was kind, magnanimous^ charitable, humane, an4 C 107 ) and naturally incrined to virtue ; he was the reflorcr and defender of his country, the founder of its power, the arbiter of the feveral princes his equals, and the honour of his nation. A plain narrative of his life is his greatcft panegyric ; whoever would attempt to embellifti the (lory, would only diminiai its beauty : to touch his laurels would make them wither. Europe had granted the furname of Great to three fovereigns, who reigned almoft at the fame time, namely, Cromwell, Lewis XIV. and Frederick-Wil- liam : To Cromwell, for having facrificcd every civil duty to the defire of reigning ; for having pro- ftituted his talents, which inllead of being ufeful to his country, were fubfervient only to his ambition ; for having concealed his impoftures under the malk of fanaticifm ; for having enflaved his country un- der a pretence of fighting for her liberties ; for be- coming the executioner of his king, whom he facri- ficcd to his fury : to Cromwell, a bold, cunning, and ambitious man, but unjuft, violent, and void of vir- tue ; a man, in fine, who had great qualities, but never a good one. Cromwell therefore did not de- fcrve the furname of Great, which is due only to vir- tue ; and it would be degrading Lewis XIV. and Frederick- William, to compare them to fuch a rival. Thefe two princes were confidered, each in his fphere, as the grcateft men of their age. Sometimes the events of their life refemble each other ; and at other times fome important circumftances deftroy the refem- blance. To compare thofe princes with refpeit to their power, would be comparing Jupiter to Philocletes, or the thunderbolts of Olympus to this hero's arrows. But if, abftraaing from their dignities, we..confidcr tbcm only in regard to their perfonal qualifications, I am 1 I ( 108 ) i am fatisfied, that whofoever will give his judg- ment impartially, will not find the foul and adions of the cleaor inferior to thofe of the monarch. They had both an engaging and agreeable phyfio- gnomy, ftrong features, a Roman nofe, eyes that fhewed the real fentiments of their hearts, an eafy accefs, a noble air, and majeftic gait. Lewis XIV. was fomcwhat taller, more gentle in bis carriage, and more Laconic in his dircourfe, than Frederick- William, who had contraded a llifT carriage in Hol- land, and a more difFufive way of fpcuking in the univerfities. Their birth was equally illuftrious. The Bourbons, indeed, reckoned a greater number of fo- vereigns among their anceftors than the Hohenzol- lerns ; they were alfo kings of a large monarchy, and the others only eledors of a country of a fmall ex- tent, and partly depending on the emperors. Thefe princes in their younger days had almoft the fame fate. The young king, refiding in his own kingdom with his mother Anne of Auftria, and his minifter cardinal Mazarin, purfued by the (lingers and the princes of the blood, beheld, from a diftant eminence, the battle which his rebellious fubjeds fought againft his troops in the fuburbs of S. Antony. The young prince, whofe father had been ftript of his territories by the Swedes, was a kind of fugitive in Holland, where he ferved his military preniicefliip under Frederick Henry prince of Orange, and figna- Jized himfelf at the iiege of fort Schenk and Breda. Lewis XIV. upon coming to ihe regency, reduced his kingdom to obedience by the weight of his royal authority. Frederick William fucceeded his father in a country polTelTed by the enemy, but recovered his inheritance by policy, negotiations; and treaties. Richlieu^ \ \ ( 109 ) Kichlicu, minlftcr to Lewis XIII. was a genius of the firft clafs ; whofe abilities laid the foundations of that grandeur, on which Lewis XIV. had only to raifc the fuperftrudure. Schwartzenberg minifter to George- William was a traitor, whofe mal-adminiftration flung the territories of Brandenburg into that deplo- rable Ctuation, in which Frederick-William found them when he came to the regency. The Frencli monarch is therefore juftly deferving of praife, for having purfued the road to glory, which had been pointed out to him by Richlleu ; but the German hero appears fomething more than human, by creat- ing his territories, as it were, anew, and by owing his grandeur entirely to the adllvity of his genius. ^ Both thefe princes commanded their armies m perfon. Lewis XIV. had under him the moft cele- brated generals in Europe, the Turenne's, the Con- de's and the Luxemburg's ; encouraging abilities of every kind, exciting merit by the emulation of plea- fing him, looking on the diredion of armies during the ^vhole war as beneath him, but not difdaining to make a campaign ; befieging towns, but avoiding battles. He was prefent in perfon at that rapid expedition, in Nvhich prince Conde fubdued Tranche Comte in three weeks. He encouraged his troops by his prefence when they palTed the Rhine at the famous ford of Tolhuys, and drove away the Dutch, who were drawn up on the oppofite bank ; an exploit which the idolatry of his courtiers and the flattery of his poets extolled as miraculous. Frederick- William, without any able general to advife him, fupplied e- very deficiency himfelf; he formed his own projeds, and put them perfonally in execution ; and tho' he thought like a general, yet he knew how to fight I ^1 !^ ( no ) like a foldicr. As a contraft to the pafTage of the Rhine, I fliall mention the battle of Warfaw, which lafted three days, and in which the great eleflor was one of the principal inftruments of the vidory ; a- gainft the conqueft of Tranche Comte, I fhall fet'the taking of Rathenaw, and the battle of Fehrbellin, where our hero at the head of 5000 horfe charged and defeated the Swedifh army; and if this is not enough, I fhall throw into the account the expedi- tion of Pruflia, where his army flew on frozen feas, advanced forty German miles in eight days, and 'where the name alone of this great prince drove the Swedes, in fome meafure, without fighting, intirely out of Pruflia. The adlions of Frederick-William render him ^o much the more worthy of admiration, as they were intirely owing to the genius and courage of a prince, who with few helps undertook the boldcft proje^s, and executed the moft difficult enierprizes ; his ge- nius appeared to be fruitful of expedients, in pro- portion to the increafe of the obflacles he met with. The anions of the French monarch dazzle us' by the magnificence with which they arc difplayed^ by the importance of the obje^s interefling to all Europe, and by the multitude of troops that contri- buted to his glory. Thofe of the German hero furprife us by their boldnefs and rapidity ; they force our admiration by the charader of enthufiafm with which they arc (lamped. Lewis XIV. continued fuccefsful only during the lives of the Colberts, the Louvois's, and fome great generals to whom France gave birth. The fortune of Frederick- William was almoft generally conftant and uniform. It feems therefore, that the grandeur #f < 111 ) of the one was owing to his minifters and generals, and that the heroifm of the other was inherent in his perfon. The king, by his conquefts, added Flanders, Tranche Comte, Alface, and, in fome meafure, Spain to his monarchy, which expofed him to the jealoufy of all Europe. The ele(5tor acquired Pomerania, Mag- deburg, Halberftat, and Minden by treaties, making fo dexterous ufe of the envy which then reigned a- niong his neighbours, as to render them fubfervient to the augmentation of his grandeur. Lewis XIV. was become the arbiter of Europe by his power, to which even the greateft princes fub- mitted. Frederick- William became the oracle of his neighbours by his virtue, which gained him the efteein and confidence of princes. Wliile fome bore with impatience the defpotic yoke which the former im- pofed upon them, others chufed to fubmit their dif- ferences to the jufl and impartial judgments of the latter. In vain did Francis I. endeavour to draw the polite arts into France ; this great work was referved for Lewis XIV. He took them under his protedlion, and immediately the Attic tafte and Roman urbanity were revived at Paris. Urania had a golden coni- pafs in her hands. The bays of Calliope were be- fprinkled with the waters of Padolus, and fumptuous temples were appointed for an afylum to the Mufes. George-William made feveral ufelefs efforts to pre- ferve the tafte of agriculture in his country ; but ths thirty years war, like a furious torrent, laid all the north of Germany wafte. Frederick- William repeo- pled it, and changed the moralTes into meadows, the deferts into villages^ the ruins into cities, and the wilkl I I r If C 112 ) >vild heads of the woods Into numerous flocks, whofe milk and fleeces enriched the inhabitants. The ufe- ftil arts are the eldefl fifters of the poh'te ones, and of courfe mud precede them. Lewis XIV. deferves immortal fame even for this pafTage of his life ; the memory of the eJedor will be dear even to his lateft pofterity, for not having de- fpaircd of his country. The fciences ought to ere6t altars to one, whofe liberal protedion contributed to enlighten the world ; mankind fhould raife altars to the other, whofe humanity repeopled th ? earth. One thro' the inferiority of his flation reaped only corn ; the other's opulence fet him upon gathering flowers. But the king drove the proteftants out of France, and the eledor received them into his dominions. In this refpedl the fuperflitious king is far inferior to the humane and tolerating prince. Policy and hu- manity both combine to give the ele<5lor the intirc preference in this article. With regard to gallantry, polltenefs, gencrofity, vaft deGgns, and magnificence, the French fumptuouf- nefs compared to the German frugality ,carrles it great- ly. Lewis had as much the advantage over Frederick- William, as Lucullus over .4chllles. One granted fubfidles by opprefling his people, the other received them to eafe his. Thus France was exhaufled to fuch a degree, that Samuel Bernard, to fave the honour of the crown, turned bankrupt for her; but no bankruptcy of that kind everftained the honour of the government of Brandenburg. The bank of his dominions maintained its ground, and kept paying notwithflanding the irruption of the Swedes, the plundering of the Auftrians, and the misfortune of the peftilence. Thej ( 113 ) They both concluded treaties, and both brok- them ; one thro' infatiable ambition, and the other thro abfolute necefllty. The ftrongefl rid themfelves of the obligation of their promifc, by their own fre- will ; the wcakeft fail i„ their engagements, thro' compuJiion and force. The monarch was governed towards the end of his reign by his mKtrefs, the hero by his wife. The pride of mnnkind would be too much humbled if the frailty of thofe deml-gods did not convince 'us that they are under the fame condition of mortalitv as ourfelves. ^ They both ended, as they had lived, like great men, meeting death with unfliaken refolutlon Quit- ting pleafures, fortune, glory, and life, with a ftoical indifference; holding the helm of government with a iccady hand to the lad moment ; recommending, at their death, their people with a paternal tendernefs to their fucceifors ; and juftifying by alife full of glo- ry, virtues, and wonders, the furname of Great m- ven them by their coteraporaries, and which has been confirmed to them witlj one common voice bv poiterity. F R E- I/'" •Y / ( "4 ) FREDERICK IIL THE Fiift KING of PRUSSIA. FREDERICK HI v.'as born at Konigf- bcrg in Prjflia, the 2 2d of July 1657, of Louifa-Hcnrictta of Orange, fir(t wife to ihe great elev51or'(^ Mis mother died, and the eledrefs Dorothea made his life very uneafy in his younger days. She contrived to prejudife Frederick- William •againfl: this fon of the firil venter, who was fickly, and deformed, and whofc education had been greatly Iiegle<5tcd. The father's prepolTefTion againit him went fo tar, that he would have been pleafcd to fee the iucceirion devolve to prince Philip his fecond fon. The eleftrefs was fnfpefled in thofe days of having attempted to poifon her ftep-fon ; but as there is no imdoubtcd proof of this faft, and as it is only glanced at by fome writers, it ought not to have a place in hiflory, which being the depofiiory of truth, fhould never fully the memory of the great with the imputa- tion of heinous crimes, without having fuch proofs as amount to full convidion. The facts themfelvcs fufficiently clear the ele<5trefs ; fince it is certain that Frederick III. lived, and marri- cd in the I 679, for his firU wife, Ehzabeth Henrietta, daujjhter \ C >i5 ) daughfer of William VI. landgrave of He/Te, and .bat aft.r her deceaie, in 16S4, he was married again to Sophia Charlotte, daughter of Erneft-Aufiuftus duke of Hanover, and filter of George, who was afterwards king of England. The eleftrefs Dorothea fcemed to aim rather at tha property, than the life of this prince. For it is no- lu.vely affirmed, that the great eleftor was deterniin. ed at her folic.t.uions to make a will, by which he divided all the acquifitions which he had made durina Ills reign, among his children by the fecond venter The .^uilnan party made a proper ufe of this will to prcjndife the elector againit France. The emperor engaged to annul this fettlement, on condition that Frederick III. reitored to him the circle of Swibns ; we (hall fee in the fequel of this hiftory, in what man- ner this convention was executed. The acceffion of Frederick III. ' to the regency in >6iili, IS remarkable for the breaking out of a new war. Lewis XIV. was the caufe of it, who infilled upon fome bailiwicks of the Palatinate, as belongina to the duchefs of Orleans. He complained alfo of the affront done him by the German princes, who had entered into a league againft him at Augfburg; and he declared, that he was obliged in honour ,0 maintain the eleftion made by the canons of Co- logne, m favour of the prince of Furftemberg, which was oppofed by tlic emperor. This declaration of war was backed by armies. The raarlhals de Duras and Montglas took Worms. Philipfburg, and Mentz. The Dauphin beCeged iVIan! heim and Franckendahl in perfon ; and almoft the whole courfe of the Rhine fell, in lefs than one cam- paign, under the French dominion. I 2 The ( n6 ) The cIe(51or, U'ho imputed all the vexation v^hkh Ms flep-mother had given him to France, becauf his confelFor, made him fign with a trembling hand, as he was ready to expire. This will changed the face of all Europe. Lewis XIV. refigned his rights to his grandfon, Philip of Anjou, expecting to remove by the nomi- nation of this prince, who was fo diftant from the crown of France, the difEculties and obftacles which the jealoufy of Europe might raife againft his gran- deur. Philip fet out for Spain, and was acknow- ledged king by all Europe, except the emperor Jo- feph. At the commencement of this war, France was at her higell pitch of grandeur. She had been vifto- rious over all her enemies ; and the peace of Ryf- wick was a late inftanceof her moderation. Lewis XIV. difplayed his fplondor and magnificence through- out the univerfe ; he was every where feared and re- fpe^ed. France was then like a wreftler, prepared for combat, that entered into the lifts where no ad- vcrfary appeared. No military preparation was o- mitted upon this occafion, and the armaments by fea and land were equally numerous. This monarchy, in her greatcft efforts, maintained an army of four hundred thoufand men ; but her great generals were dead, and ^before the merit of Villars was known) France was found to have 800,000 arms without a head. So true it is, that the fate of Ihtes depends very often upon a fingle man. The houfe of Auftria, almoft exhauftei by con- tinual wars, was far from b?ing in fo happy a fituati- on. Her government was in a weak and languifhing condition ; and tho* joined to the Germanic body, yet fhe was incapable of doing any thing without the f ./ i i H C 126 ) the afnriancc of the Dutch and the Englifh. But with iefs fuppJies and troops than France, flie had prince Eugene of Savoy at the head of her armies King AViJliam, who governed England and Hol- land, was in the utmofl degree of furprife upon re- ceiving this news, fo that he acknowledged the duke of Anjou as king of Spain thro' a kind of precipitati- on. But when lie had time to refleft and recover his natural flegm, he declared for the houfe of Aultria, becaufe the EngliQi would have it fo, and his own interelt fecmed to demand it. The north itfelf was plunged at this time into a war, which Charles XII. was carrying on Denmark. Charles's youth had emboldened his neighbours to attack him, but they found a prince in whom were joined the moft impetuous courage and the moft im- placable revenge. Frederick III. who was then at peace, was drawn into the grand alliance againft Lewis XIV. which was animated by king William ; from the expeaation of paving the way to the regal dignity by this fervice, and with a view of maintaining by fubfidies a nume- rous body of troops, and that this foreign money might fupport him with more eafe in his prodigality and magnifience. It is difficult to conceive how great and generous fouls can Ibop fo low as to receive alms from their equals. Vain were the atcmpts of France to drcLW the ele^or off from this alliance ; he was inticed to it by fubfidies, by inclination, and by his expedati- ons. It was in this conjundure, tliat the treaty of co- ronation was negotiated at Vienna, by which the emperor engaged to acknowledge Frederick III. king of ( 127 ) Pruffja, on condition ihat he fhould furnifh a body of 10, coo men to the allies during the whole courfe of the war, that he tliould maintain a company in gari- fon at Philipsburg, that he (hould join with the em- peror in all affairs relating to the empire, that his royal dignity fhould make no alteration with regard to his German territories, that he fhould relinquifli the fubfidy due to him by the houfe of Aullria, and that he fhould promifc to give his vote for the elec- tion of the male children of the emperor Jofeph, *' unlefs there fhould be very weighty and important reafons that would oblige him to chufe an emperor of another family.'* This treaty was figned and ratified. Rome cried out, and Warfaw was filent. The Teutonic order prctefted againfl this afl, and even prefumcd to re- claim PrufTia ; but the king of Engk:nd, who wanted only allies to join with him againfl France, was ready to purchafe them at any price. As he flood in need of the ele<5lor's affillance in the grand alliance, he was one of the firft that acknowledged his new dignity. King Auguftus, who was bufy in fecuring his own crown, fubfcribed to it alfo. The king of Denmark, who only dreaded and envied Sweden, made no difficulty to join with the reil. Charles XII. being engaged in a diiTicult war, did not think it worth while to enter into a difpute about a title which might increafe the number of his enemies ; and the empire, as it was forefeen, was drawn in by the emperor. Thus ended this great affair, which had met with fuch oppofition from the elector's council, from foreign courts, from friends, as well as foes ; an affair which requiring a complication of fuch ex- Uaordinary circui^illances to make it fucceed, had been / ' i, f ( 1^8 ) been treated as a chimera, but of which the public no^7 conceived a far dilferent opinion. When prince Eurene heard the news, he fald that the emperor ought to hang thofe minifters who had given him fo treacherous a counfel. The ceremony of the coronation was performed the year following, which was 1701. The king, vjhom we iliall henceforward call Frederick I. went to PrulTia, and at the ceremony of the confecration it was obferved, that he put the crown himftlf on ! his head. In memory of this event, he created the 1 order of the knights of the black eagle. The public, notwithftanding, could not diyefl: themfelves of the prejudice they had conceived agalnfl: this royalty. The common fenfe of the vulgar wouW have been glad to fee an augmentation of power, as well as of dignity. Even thofe who were above the vulgar thought in the fame manner ; and the elearefs was heard to fay to one of her ladies in waiting. *' that it vexed her to the very heart to go and ad in Pruflia the theatrical queen along with her Efop/' She wrote alfo to Leibnitz, ** Do not imagine that I prefer this pageantry and pomp of crowns, which are here fo much eftccmcd, to the charms of the phi- lofophical entertainments we enjoyed at Charlotten- burg." , At the prcffmg folicltations of this princels, a royal academy of fciences was erefted at Berlin, of which Leibnitz was the founder and chief. Frederick I. was perfuaded that it fuited his dignity to maintain an academy, as a young gentleman is made to believe, that it becomes his quality to keep a pack of hounds. We intend to treat more at large of this academy in its proper place. ^^^^^ ; '. C 129 ) Afttr the coronation, the king indulged his incll- hation for ceremony and magnificence, without any manner of bounds. At his return from Pruilia, he made a magnificent entry into Berlin. During the divcrfion of thefe feafts and folcmnl- tles, news came that Charles XIL the Alexander of the North, who in every refpeft would have refem- bled the king of Macedon, if he had been as fuccefs- ful, had gained a compleat vidory over the Saxons in the neighbourhood of Riga. The king of Den- mark, as we have already obferved, and the Czar, had attacked this young hero, one in Norway, and the other in Livonia. Charles XIL obliged the Danifh monarch in his own capital to conclude a peace ; from thence he paflbd with 8oo,of^ Swedes into Livonia, defeated 80,000 RufTians in the neigh- bourhood of Narva, and beat 30,00c Saxons at the paflTage of the Dwina. The Saxons in their flight drew near the frontiers of Pruflia. Frederick L was fo much the more un- eafy at this, as the greateft part of his troops were in the Imperial armies, and the war was fliifting to- wards his new kingdom. Neverthelefs, Charles XII. out of regard to the intercefllons of the emperor, England, and Holland, agreed to a neutrality for Pruflia. This year 1702 was famous for the triumphs of the king of Sweden ; he difpofed o( Poland like a fo- vereign, his negotiations were orders, and his battles vidlories ; but as glorious as thefe vi(5lories were, ftill they wafted the conquerors, and obliged the young hero very often to recruit his armies. A body of Swedifli troops landed in Pomerania, at which Berlin was alarmed } thefe marched notwithftanding through K the 1 J .1 I : ( 130 ) the electorate, and arrived in Poland the place of their dcftination. Frederick I. raifcd Soco men new troops. In- ftead of employing them for the fecnrity of his own dominions, he fcnt them to the allied army in Flan- ders. He went hlmfelf to the duchy of Clcves, to de- mand the inheritance of William king of England, ■who was fucceeded in the throne by Anne, the fecond daughter of king James. The rights of Frederick I. were founded on the will of Frederick Henry prince of Orange, who had fettled his eftatc, in failure of male iffue, on his daughter, who was married to the great ele(5tor. King William made quite another will in favour of the Frifian prince of Nalfaw, and appointed the States General hin executors. This inheritance confided of the principality of Orange, Moeurs, and feveral Jordfhips and eftates fituated in Holland and Zealand. Frederick I. threatned to withdraw his troops from Flanders, if he did not receive fatisfaflion. This menace convinced the Dutch of the legality of his rights. They contrived, neverthelefs, a provifional agreement, which divided the inheritance into two equal (hares. A large diamond was immediately fent to Frederick I. and he confented to let his troops continue in Flanders. Lewis XIV. put the prince, of Conti in polfefllon of the principality of Orange, a proceeding which fo greatly offended the king, that he increafed his army, and even hired fome troops of Gotha and Wolfenbuttle. Pie declared foon after war againfl: France, becaufe RoufHcrs's army had committed fome excefles in the country of Cleves. Lewis XIV. did not feel in this flcp a new enemy ; while the new king did a great deal for his pailion, but > C 13^ ) but nothing for his intereft. He fliewed his aver/Ion to France upon all occafions, even fo as to obJige duke Antony UJrick of Wolfenbuttle to renounce the engagements he had contra<5ted with Lewis XIV af- ter the duke of Hanover and Zell had difpcrfed the troops which he maintained by the help of French fubfidles. At that time, viz. in 1707, England exerted herlelf greatly in favour of the houfe of Auftria. Her fleets convoyed the arcii-duke Charles, who was af- terwards emperor, to a kingdom, which an Englifh army was to help him to conquer. The enthufiafni of Europe m favour of the houfe of Auftria can hardly be defcribed. In this war for the Spaniili fucceffion, the Pru/Iian troops mamtained the reputation which they had ac- quired under the great eledor. On the Rhine they took Keyferfwerth in Germany ; and at the adion of Ilochftet, where Vilhrs furprifed and beat Stirheim, the pnnce of Anhalt made a fine retreat with 800Q Prufiians under his command. I have been told that as foon as he perceived the confufion and fright of the Auftrians, he formed his troops into a fquare, and traverfed a large plain in very good order, till he came to a wood, which he reached towards night; and all this while the French cavalry never durft at- tack him. The fuccefs of the Pruffian troops on the Rhine^ and their good condud in Suabia, did not fecure Fre- derick I. againfl the apprehenfion he was under from the neighbourhood of the Swedes, whom, at that time, nothng could withftand. The genius of Peter I. and the magnificence of Auguflus, were of no force againfl the fortune of Charles XII. This hero was K ^ , at at the fame time more valiant than trie Czar, and more vigilant than the king of Poland. Peter preferred ftratagem to bravery, Auguftus plcafure to toils, and Charles the love of glory to the poflefTion of the uni- verfe. The Saxons were often furprifed or beaten^ the Ruffians had learnt the art of retreating at their own expence ; for the war at that time was only a continual feries of incurfions, the Swedifh armies being always the afTailants, and always vi«5lorious. But Charles XII. whofe inflexible obftinacy never in the Icaft gave way, could execute no proje(5l, but by main force : he fubdued, as it were, fortune as well as his enemies. The Czar and the king of Poland fupplied this enthuGaftic valour by cabinet intrigues ; they awakened the jealoufy of Europe, and ftirred up the envy of every power againft: the fuccelPes of an am- bitious young prince, who was implacable in his ha- tred, and knew not how to be revenged of the kings his enemies but by dethroning them. Thcfe intrigues did not hinder Frederick I. who had no troops then at hand, from concluding a defen- five alliance with Charles XII. who had a vic inftanccs of my lord Marlborough, were beaten at Cafano, under prince Eugene ; and at Calcinato, where General Reventlau, who commanded them, was furpri fed by the grand prior. Prince Eunene was not invincible, but he always (hewed himfelf the f;reat general in retrieving his loffcs ; and the dligrace of Cafano was foon wiped off by gaining the famous battle of Turin, in which the PrufTians had the greatcfl fliare. Tho' the duke of Orleans propofcd to the French to march out of their intrenchments, yet his advice was not followed. pFeuillade and Alarfin had cxprefs orders from court, as it is poliiivcly aflirmed, not to venture a battle. The defeat of Hochftet feemed to have rendered the council of Lewis XIV. more cautious. The Frencli, who would have had double the ad- vantage of the allies, if they had attacked them out of their intrenchnients, were inferior to them every- where, becaufe the different quarters which they had to defend were of a great extent, and feparated be- fides from each other. The Prufiians, who were in the left wing of the allied army, attacked the right of the French intrench- ment, which extended towards the Dorla. The prince of Anhalt v.'as now on the border of the ditch, and the refinance made by the enemy had flackened the vigour of his attack, when three grenadiers flid^ along the Doria, and came round the French in- K 4 trench- ■It ( 156 ) trcnchment at a place where it was not fecurcd by this river. Immediately the alarm flew thro' the French army, that they were cut off; upon which they de- ferted their ports and fled, and at the fame time the prince of Anhalt fcaled the intrenchment, and gained the battle. Prince Eugene complimented the king upon the behaviour of his troops ; a commen- dation that muft have been fo much the more agree- able to him, as it came from a prince who was (b compleat a judge of military merit. During this war, Frederick I. made fome pacific acquifitions. He purchafed the county of Tecklen- burg in Weftphaiia of the count of Solms Braunfield ; and upon the dcceafe of the duchefs of Nemours, who was in poffeflion of the principality of Neufcha- tel, the council of flate belonging to that principality took the regency into their own hands, and chofe fome of their members judges, to determine the pre- tcnfions formed by the king of Pruffia on the one hand, and by the feveral relations of the houfe of JLoiigueville on the other. Their decifion was in fa- vour of the kin.^ , who was f.ud to have the bell right as heir of the houfe of Orange. Lewis XIV. oppof- ed tiiis ftntcncf, but he had fuch great interelts of hiS ov.n to diicufs as would not permit him to at- tend at diut time to tHefe tritlmg difputes, and the fo- vcreif nty of Neufchatel was fecuicd to the royal fa- mily by tlie treat) of Utrecht. Charles Xli. was now crrived to his highefl pitch ©f profperity. He had dethroned Auguflus king of Poland, and prefrribcd moft fevere conditions of p^ace to 'iun at Alt-Kanftudt in the midc^ie of Saxony. The king wanting this princj to quil Saxony, fent his great manlial Printz to deiire hi^n not to didurb the tran^ ^^ ( 157 ) tranquility of Germany by continuing there with his troops. Charles XU. who was difpofed, of his own ac- cord, to quit the territories of a prince whom he had reduced to defpair, in order to play the fame game with the Czar at Mofcow, took it amifs that Printz fhould make him fuch a propofal, and fneering, allied him, " Whether the Prulfian troops were as good as thole of Brandenburg ?" '' Yes, Sire, replied the envoy, they are the remains of thofe veterans that were at Fehrbellin." As Charles XII. paffed through Silefia, he obliged the emperor to reilore I 25 church- es to the protclbnts of that duchy. The pope com- plained of this conceffion, and did not even fpare his cenfures. Jofeph anfwercd, that if the king of Swe- den had propofed to him to become a Lutheran hira- felf, he did not know what might have happened. Thofe very Swedes, who at that time, viz. in 1 708, were the terror of the north, concurred with the PrufTians and Hanoverians in re-eftablifhing the tranquillity of the city of Hamburg, which had been diilurbed by a popular infurredion. Frederick I. fent 4000 men to fupport the prerogatives of the magiftrates. He had fome difference with the city of Cologne, becaufe the mob had broke into the houfe of the I'ruffianrelident, who kept a proteflant chapel. The king ordered the merchandifes of Cologne to be (lopped, which palfed by We^dy in their way down the Rhine, and threatned to fupprefs the public wor- (liip of the Roman Catholic religion in his dominions, in the fame manner as had been pradifed, when the elector Palatine perfecuted the Protefbnts in the Palatinate. The fear of thefe reprifals reduced the city of Cologne to their duty^ and made them fcnfibie. ( 138 ) fenfjble, that toleration is a virtue, which it is fomc- times dangerous to violate. The court of Frederick I. was fullof intrigues. This prince was like a tempeftuous fea, driving dif- ferent ways according to the different winds ; but in the midfi: of all thefe ftorms» which were raifed by the pafTions of courtiers, D'llgen ftill continued to direft the hehn of government with a fure and fteady hand. The king's favoiirites were men of little or no genius, their intrigues and artifices were of too coarfe a nature to efcape tlie public eye ; even the prince royal could not dilTemble the difpleafurc he conceived at their conduct. Thefe marks of his difaffcdion fct them upon fupporting their cre- dit with a new prop ; for which reafon they perfuad- ed the king to marry, though he v/as very infirm, living only by art, and of fo crafy a conllitution, as to be hardly able to draw the little breath dill left in his body. They chofe a prircefs of Meclenburg Schwerin for him, named Sophia Louifa, whofe age, way of thinking, and inclinations, did not agree with the king's. In facft, he had no f^^tisfaction with her, but in the ceremony of the nuptials ; the remainder of their time was very unfortunate. Frederick I. ftill continued to receive favourable accounts of his troops ; they fignalized themfelvcs as much in Flanders as in Itajy, and behaved moft gal* lantly under the command of the count of Lothum, at the battle of Oudenarde, and at the fiege of Lifle. Fortune was tired at length with protedllng the caprices oi Charles XII. He had enjoyed an unin- terrupted feries of fuccefs for nine years, viz. till 1709 ; but the laft nine years of his life were a con- tinual fcenc of adverfity. He was now returned vic- torious Ai ( 139 ) torlous to Poland with a numerous army, loaded with the treafures and fpoils of the Saxons. Leipfick was the Capua of the Swedes : whether it was, that the plea' , res of Saxony hadfoftened the ferocity of thofe conquerors, or profperity had ren- dered this prince too f refumptuous, and pufhcd him too far; fortune intirdy forfook him. He wanted to difpofe of Ruflia in the lame manner as of Po- land, and to dethrone rhe Czar, as he had done Au- guftus. With this vir v he marched towards the frontiers of Mufcovy, to which there were two dif- ferent roads ; one through Livonia, where he might have received fuccours from Sweden, and by which he might have advanced to the new town, which the Czar was building at fhat time upon the borders of the Baltic, and by that means have utterly cut off the connexion then proj :cted between RufTia and Europe. The other road was tlirough the Uckraine, and led to Mofcow by impradicable deferts. Charles determined upon the laft, either bccaufe he had heard it faid, that the Romans could never be conquered but at Rome, or the diiHculty of the enterprize in- flamed his courage, or that he depended upon Ma- zeppa, prince of the CofTacks, who had promifed to furni(h his army with provifions, and to join him with a confidcrable number of his people. The Czar having received intelligence of this Coffack's intrigues, difpcrfed the few troops which Mazeppa had collec- ted, and made himfelf mafter of the magazines ; fo that when the king of Sweden came before the little town of Pultowa, he found nothing but frightful de- ferts inttead of magazines^ and a fugitive prince, who came to fcek for (hcltcr in his camp, inilead of a pov. erful ally, from whom he expeded fuccours. Charles was no v/ay daunted at this difappoint- ment. ^ ( 140 ) mcnt. He laid ficge to Pultowa, as if he wanted no- thing ; and he, who till now had been invulnerable, was wouuded in the leg, as he was rcconnoitering this ptltry town too near. General Lewenhaupt, who was marching to him with provifions, ammunition, and a reinforcement of thirteen thoufand men, was defeated by the Czar in three different engagements ; and being forced in this ncceflitous conjun<5lure to burn the waggons under his care, he arrived in the king's camp with only three thoufand men, who were quite exhaufted with fatigue. The Czar foon dreAv near to Pultowa, and in this plain was fought that famous battle between the two moft extraordinary men of their age. Charles, who hitherto, like the arbiter of fate, had met with nothing that could withftand his will, did every thing that could be expelled from a prince who was wounded, and carried about in a litter. Peter Alexiowitz, who till now had appeared only as a legiflator, gave proofs on that memorable day of his being poiTelFed of all the qualifications of a great general ; and indeed he out-did himfelf. But every thing proved unlucky to the Swedes ; the wounding of their king, which hindered him in great mcafure from ading ; the mifery and want of his foldiers, which deprived them of ftrength and heart to fight ; the abfcnce of a large detachment of troops, which loll its way the very day of this decifive engagement ; the numbers of their enemies, and the time they had to creft redoubts, and to difpofc their troops to ad- vantage. In ftiort, the Swedes were beaten, and loft, by one decifive and unlucky engagement, the fruits of nine years labour, and of fo many prodigies q[ valour. Charles ( '41 ) Charles was obliged to fly for flielter among the Turks : his implacable animofity againft his enemies followed him to Bender, where he endeavoured in vain, by his intrigues, to ftir up the Porte againft the iMufcovites. Thus he fell the viaim of his inflexibility of mind, which would have been cal- led obftinacy, if he had not been an hero. After this defeat, the Swcdifli army laid down their arms to the Czar on the banks of the Borifthenes, as the Ruf- fian army had done to Charles XII. on the borders of the Baltic, after the battle of Narva. Auguftus finding his antagonift overthrown, thought himfelf difcharged from the engagement which he had contraded at the treaty of Alt-Ranftadt. He had a conference at Berlin with the king of Denmark and Frederick I. after which he entered Poland with an army, and the king of Denmark attacked the Swedes in Scania. Frederick I. whom thofe princes could not draw into the alliance, remained neuter. In Poland the Swedifh party changed fides, and went over to the Saxons. Staniflaus was with the Swedifh army commanded by Craflliw. This general, finding himfelf inclofed by the RuiTians and Saxons, crofTed the New Marck and arrived at Stettin, with- out leave obtained from Frederick I. who was ujieafy to fee thofe marches, and fuch camerous armies in his neighbourhood. The king to^k a journey to Konlgfberg, where he perfuaded the Czar, who came to meet him, te reftore the young duke of Courland, nephew of Fre- derick I. to his dominions, on condition of his marry- ing the niece of Peter Alexiowitz. In the fouth, France made propofals of peace at the Hague ; but the fermentation of minds was ftill toe fl ( 14 i ) too great, and the expcaatiou of both parties too vague and chimerical, to come to an agreement, if men were capable of reafon, would^ tliey carry on Ibch long, fuch obftinate and expenfive wars, to re- turn at lafl to conditions of peace, which feemeJ to them intolerable, only while they were fwayed by their paflions, or favoured with fortune's fmiles ? The allies opened the campaign with the fiege of Tournay, and with the battle of Malplaquct, where the prince royal was himfelf in perfon. The count de Finck had a great (hare in this vidtory ; he ^yas the firft that forced the French intrcnchments with the PrufTian troops ; he formed his men upon the parapet, and from thence he fupported the Imperial cavalry, who were repulfed three times by the French, till more troops came up and joined him, which de- termin' d the fate of the day. In Pomcrania, the Swedes made fome motions in 17 1 O, as if they wanted to march again into Saxony. The king was apprehcnGve, left th- war (hould reach at length his own territories ; and, to pacify the troubles of the north, he took the right way to en- creafcthem, bv propofing an army of neutrality, which was never aiTenrbled. CrafTaw agreed to a fuipenGon of arms. As foon as Charles XII heard of it, he protcfted from the extremity of BefTarabia againft any neutrality whatfocver. This new treaty w is broke, and had the fate of all thofe public ads, which ne- cefTity and weaknefs oblige princes to agree to at one time; and power, encouraged by favourable con- junilures, tempts them to break at another. France renewed the negoriations of peace at Ger- trudenbcrg; and, in the very beginning of the con- ferences, engaged to acknowledge the royalty of Pruf- fia. \ ( M3 ) £a, and tfie fovereignty of Neufchatcl. Neverthe- lefs the peace once more mifcarried, and the Pruflians were employed this campaign under the prince of An- halt at the fiege of Aire and Doway, which they took. The king declared at that time, that he would not reftore the town of Gueldre, where there was a Pruflian garifon, till the Spaniards paid him the fubfidies they owed him. In fad, he was left in polTelfion of it at the general peace. At this time died the duke of Courland, the king's nephew. The Ruffians made themfelvcs mafters once more of Courland, and took EJbing ; but as the king had pretenfions to this t,own, it was garifoned by a PrufTian battalion. The paflage and neighbourhood of fo many armies had brought the plague into Ptuffia ; and the dearth, which now began to be very fenfibly felt, increafed the fury and virulence of that contagious diftemper. The king abandoned thofe people to their unhappy fote ; and, while his revenues and fubfidies were in- capable to fupport the magnificence of his expences, he coolly faw above 200,000 miferable wretches pe- rifh with hunger, whofe lives he might have prefer- ved by a moderate liberality. The prince royal being fliocked at this cruelty, and knowing that the counts of Witgenftein * and Wartemberg were the caufe of it, ufcd every pof- fible endeavour to get them removed. The court is fubjcdled to ftorms, and the prince's fiivour to perils. Witgenftein was fent to Spandaw, and the king wept, when he parted with the great chamber- hin, for v.hom he had a great afFeftion, Wartem- berg • He was dlrcdlor of the finances. C M4 ) berg retired into the Palatinate with a pdnfion of 20,000 crowns. Charles XII. as we have already obfcrved) had refufed the neutrality. The Czar, and the kings of Poland and Denmark, laid hold of this pretext to at- tack him in Pomerania, in 17 I [ . Frederick I. con- ftantly refufed to enter into this alliance, being un- willing to expofc his territories to the incur/ions, ravages, and hazards of war ; and befides, he hoped his neutrality would enable him to reap fomc benefit from the difturbances of his neighbours. The beginning of the operations in Pomerania were not favourable to the allies. The Danes raifed the (lege of Wifmar, and Auguftus thofe of Stralfund and Stettin. While Europe thus laboured with convulfions, and the feveral contending powers were inflamed with hope and ambition, the emperor Jofeph died. The empire chofe the archduke Charles in his place, who at that time was blocked up in Barcelona, after hav- ing been crowned at Madrid, and driven away from thence by the lofs of the battle of Almanza. The death of the emperor Jofeph paved the way for a general peace. The Englifh, who were tired of the great expences they had been at, began to rc- flcd on the original intent of the war. In proporti* on as the clouds of their enthuCafm vanifhed, they perceived that the houfe of Aullria would be power- ful enough, by retaining her hereditary dominions, the kingdom of Naples, the Milanefe, and Flanders. They determined therefore to hold conferences at Utrecht, in order to eftablidi a general peace. The king being defirous of terminating the difTe- rences relating to the fuccefTion of Orange by a de- finitive finitlve treaty, went in perfon to the duchy of Cleves, in order to regulate ihis affair with the prince of Friefland. But this unhappy prince was drowned ia the pafTage of Mordyk, in his way to the Hague. On the other hand, Frederick 1. made another ac- quifition, by the extinftion of the counts of xMans- fcldt. This country was fequeftered between Pruflla and Saxony ; the PruiTun regency was eftablifhed at Mansfeldt, and that of Saxony at Eilleben. Things drew now infenfibly towards a peace. The conferences were held at Utrecht in 17 12; and the counts of DohnhofF, Meternich, and Biberftein repaired thither, as the king's plenipotentiaries. During the conferences, a revolution happened In England, which Europe attributed to marflial Tal- lard, who was then prifoner in that country. Whe- ther it was the effect of the marfiial's policy, or on- ly the work of hazard, my lord Marlborough's party were routed ; and the pacific part of the nation pre- vailed. The duke of Ormond was fent to command the Britifh troops in Flanders, where he feparated from the allies at the beginning of the campaign. Prince l!ugene, tho' weakened by the defertion of the Englifh, continued to ad ofTenfively. The Pruf- fians, under the prince of Anhalt, were employed in the dege of Landrecy. But Villars marched to Denain, where he fell upon my lord Albemarle's camp, and defeated him intircly. before prince Eugene could come up to his afliflance. This vidory reflored Marchienne, Quefnoy, Doway, and Buchain, to the French. The allies followed the example of the Engllfli, and began to think ferioufly of a peace The em- peror was the only prince that would continue the I. v/ar : \ ( i4« ) War * whether the flowncfs of his council had not yet had time to come to a determination, or that this prince thought himfelf llrong enough to withftand Lewis XIV. by himfelf. But his affairs only grew worfe. The king at that time furpri(*ed the Dutch garifon at Moeurs, and by polfeflion maintained his rights to that town. But the pacific difpofitions of the fouth had no influence on the north. The king of Denmark en- tered the duchy of Bremen, and took Stade. The Czar, and the king of Poland, attempted a defcent upon the iflc of Rugen, but were difappointed by the good difpofition made by the Swedes. The allies were not more fuccefsful in the /lege of Stralfund, which they were obliged to raife ; for Steinbock had pained a vicT:ory over the Saxons and Danes at Ga- debufch in the duchy of Mecklenburg; and, upon tlie arrival of a Swedi(h reinforcement of 10,000 men in Pomerania, this whole country was left a prey to the enemy. The Danes were obliged to abandon Roftock, and to refign this city to the king's troops^ as diredor of the circle of Lower Saxony ; but the Swedes drove the Pruffians from thence. The king's neutrality was no way infringed, and he continued to negotiate, in order to difpofe the minds of the con- tending princes to fome reconciliation, and to divert the Itorm that thrcatned his own dominions. In the beginning of the year iji 3> Frederick L died of a flow diforder, which had been a long time bringing him to his end. He did not live to fee the conclufion of the general peace, nor tranquilli- ty re-edablifhcd in his neighbourhood. He was thrice married ; the firfl time to a princcfs of Heffe, by ( M7 ) ty whom he had a daughter, who was married to the hereditary prince of Hefle, now king of Sweden* His fecond wife was Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, mo- ther of Frederick- William, who fucceeded him ; and his third wife, who was a princefs of Mecklenburg^ he repudiated for her mad-nefs. We have fcen the feveral paffages of the life of Frederick I. We are now only to take a curfory view of his charader. His mind was flexible to e- very kind of imprdfion, like a glafs that faithfully reprefents the different objeds fet before it. He was violent by caprice, and mild thro' indolence ; con- founding trifles with grandeur ; fond of the fuper- ficial, but negleaful of the folid ; and more bufy in the purfuit of empty (hew, than of ufeful attainments. He facrificed 30,000 of his fubjefts in the emperor's wars to attain to the regal dignity : and he afpir- ed after this dignity only to indulge his pride, and to juflify his fumptuous diflipations under fpeci- ous appearances. He was indeed magnificent and generous 5 but how bafe the purchafe, by which he acquired the means of indulging his paffions ! He bartered the blood of his people with the Englifli and Dutch for money ; like the Tartars^ who fell their cattle to the butchers of Po- dolia for flaughter. He was upon the point of re^ calling 15000 men from Flanders, when the Dutch lent him a large diamond, as part of the fucceflion of the prince of Orange ; upon which the troops of Brandenburg were permitted to continue with the allies. If we afcend to the origin of thiflgs, in order la have a juft idea of the generofity of a prince, we fliall find, that as he is the firft fervant of the Aatc, he Is accountable to it for the ufe to which he ap- l* 7, plies i I / ! ( 148 ) plies the public money ; that he ought to apprcrpriaw a certain part of it to the fupport of his dignity, and the remainder to reward the fervices and merit of his fubjec^s ; to enrich the ftate by his liberality ; to maintain the equality of conditions ; not to opprefs the poor, in order to fatten the rich ; to relieve the public miferies with generofity ; to afTift the unfortu- nate of every kind and condition; to fliew magni- iicence in whatever relates to the general body of ihc ilate ; and to direct all his expences to the advantage of his people. The expence which Frederick I. was fo fond of, was far from being of this kind ; it was rather the diffipation of a vain and prodigal prince. His court was one of the mofl: magnificent in Europe ; and his cmbaflies were as fplendid as thofe of the Portuguefe. He granted very large penfions to his favourites. His buildings were magnificent, and his entertain- ments grand ; his ftables were filled with horfes, his offices with cooks, and his cellars with wine. He gave a fief of forty thoufand crowns to a huntfman, who helped him to kill a large ftag. He was very near mortgaging the country of Halberftadt to the Dutch, to purchafe the 'Piff, a large diamond, which was fold afterwards to Lewis XV. in the time of the regency. His domeftics were fure of making their fortune, if tljcy could but bear the firfl trans- ports of his paflion. But there was no proportion in his expences : the abfurdity of his extravagance will appear more evident, if we examine clcfely into the (late of his revenues. There we perceive robuft members of a gigantic body, clofe to feeble limbs that are perifhing with want. He fold 20,000 men to maintain 30,000, His court was like to thofe great C 149 ) great rivers, which fwallow up the water of the little rivulets. His favourites were loaded with largeifes, while the inhabitants of Lithuania and Pruflia perifhed with famine and peftilence ; and this generous prince refufed to relieve them. An avaricious prince is to his people, like a phyfician who lets his patient be flifled in his blood ; and an extravagant prince is like one that kills him with too much bleeding. Frederick I. was never conftant in his favours ; whether it was that he repented his bad choice, or whether he had no indulgence for human infirmities. All his favourites, from baron Danckleman down to count Witgenflein, had an unhappy end. The bad education, which he had received in his youth, influen- ced his whole life ; his mind was weak and fuperfliti- ous. He was particularly attached to Calvinifm, to which he would willingly have reduced every other religion ; and in all probability he would have been a perfecutor, if prieits had introduced magnificence and ceremonies into perfecutions. He compofcd a book of common prayer, which for his credit was never printed. If he is deferving of praife, it is for having preferved peace in his dominions during his whole reign, while the territories of his neighbours were ravaged by war ; for being naturally of a bene- volent temper, and for never having violated his con- jugal vow. In (hort, he was great in trifling things, and a trifler in gre^t things ; and it is a difadvantage to him to be placed in hiftory between a father and fon^ v/hofe fuperior abilities eclipfe his merit. 9>^ ^ 3 FOUR C ij» ) FOUR DISSERTATIONS' (I DISSERTATION I. Of inann£rSy cufloms, indujlry, and the progrefs of the human under/landing in the arts and fete nee 5* TO have an adequate knowledge of a ftate, it is not fufficient to be acquainted with its origin, wars, treaties, government, religion, and revenues. Thefe are indeed the principal parts on which the hiftorian difplays the elegance of his flyle. But there are arc others, which, though not fo entertaining as the former, are yet entirely as uf&- ful. Among thefe I reckon whatever relates to the manners of the inhabitants, as the original of new cuftoms, the abolifhing of old ones, the rife of in- duftry, the caufes that firft encouraged it, the rea- fons which accelerated or retarded the progrefs of the human underftanding ; and, above all, what- ever chiefly chara<5terizes the genius of the nation whofe ( 151 ) whofe hiflory we undertake to write. Thefe fubjeds will always be interefting to politicians and phiJofo- phers ; and I may venture to affirm, that this fort of detail is no way unworthy of the majefty of hif- tory. I (hall prefent the reader with a fpecimen of the mod diftinguilhing ftrokcs of the genius of the Branden- burghers in every age. But how great a dlfl'ercnce between thofe ages ? Nations feparated by immenfe feas, and dwelling under oppofitc tropics, do not differ more in their cuftoms, than the Brandenbur- ghers -from thcmfelves, if we compare thofe in the time of Tacitus, to thofe under Henry the Fowler ; thofe under Henry the Fowler, to thofe under John the Cicero ; and, in fine, tl>e latter to the inhabi- tants of the electorate under Frederick I. king of Pruffia. The generality of mankind, who are amufed with an infinite variety of objeds, look upon the magic lanthorn of this world without reflexion. They take no more notice of the corrtinual changes which happen in regard to cuftoms, than in a great city, of the daily ravages committed by death, provided it fpares the fmall circle of their acquaintance. And yet, after a fliort abfence, we find at our return dif- ferent inhabitants and diflTerent cuftoms. How inftrudive and entertaining it Is, to furvey paft ages, and to fee by what analyfis they are con- ne(5led to our times I To take a nation in its rudeft: ftate of (implicity, to follow it in its progrefs, and to trace it down to the time in which it was civilized, is the fame as examining the filk-worm in all its me- tamorphofes, from its being a chryfalis, till it be- comes a butterfly. L 4 But fh V) .1 :) C 152 ) But how mortifying is this fludy ! It is but too certain, that the immutable Jaw of nature obliges mankind to pafs through a great many impertinent trifles, before they can attain to any reafonable or folid acquirement. Thus, if weafccnd to the o- rigin of nations, we fliall find them all equally bar- barous. Some have arrived by flow gradations, and by a great many windings, to a certain degree of perfeiftion. Others have reached it by rapid flights ; but nil have taken difl^erent ways. And even polite' nefs, induftry, and the feveral arts, have imbibed a taflc of the foil, in the difliercnt countries into which they have been tranfplanted, from the indelible charafrer of each nation. This will appear flilJ more evident to thofe who will pleafe to read the different works written at Padna, London, or Paris ; they miy he eafily diftinguiflicd, even when the authors of them tr-iat the fame fubjedts ; if we except only the ablln !c/ parts of geometry. The aexhanflible variety which nature has fown ^ 111 tho^e -eneral and particular characflers, is a proof of he. fcrulity, and at the lame time of her cecono- my. For th .u^ h the innumerable nations, which co\ cr the face of the canli, have each their different gc!nus ; yet it flcms that fome remarkable flrokes, v/hich d-^ ngui^i them from the reft, are unalter- able. Each V. .tion has ks peculiar chara(5ier, which may be moJi.^cd more or lefs by the education they receive, but v.hcfe cfTeatials are never effaced. I might can'y conlirm this opinion, by proofs drawn from natural phiiofophy ; but I fhall not digrefs from my Cvh'rM. It follows therefore, that princes have never ituircly c? anged the manner of thinking pecu- liar to a nation ; that tliey have never been able to force ( 153 ) force nature to produce thofe great men, whofc name alone is capable of rendering ages memorable to po- fterity ; and though the working of the mine is fub- jedl to their regulations, yet their power does not extend to the fruitful veins; thefe open themfelves of a fudden, furnifliing treafures in abundance, and are often loft, when purfued with the greateft avi- dity. VVhofoever has read Tacitus and Cxfar, will eafily diftinguifh the Germans, French, and Englifh, by the colours in which they are painted ; and which have not been effaced in the courfe of eighteen centuries. How then is it poffible, that a fingle reign fhould com- pafs what fo many ages have not been able to attain ? A ftatuary may fhape a piece of ftone into what form he pleafes ; he may make an JEfop or an Antinous of it, but he cannot change the nature of the ftone. Every nation will have fome predominant vices and virtues. If the Romans therefore appear more vir- tuous under the Antoninus's than the Tiberius's, it is becaufe crimes were more feverely puniflied under the former ; vice durft not lift up its unhallowed head, but the vicious were ftill in being. Princes may give a certain varnifti of politenefs to their nati- on ; they may maintain rhe laws in their full vigour, and the fciences in a middling condition ; but they can never alter the nature of things ; they can add only a tranfient (hadow to the prevailing colour of the pi(3ure. Of this we have feen proofs in our days in Ruffia. Peter I . ordered the Mufcovites to cut off their beards, and to believe in the proccfTion of the Holy Ghoft ; he made fome of ibem drefs in the French taftc; and inftituted fchools for the learning of diflfercnt Ian- ti i 1 '. t il C 154 ) languages ; and yet the Ruflians will be ftill, perhaps, for many ages diftinguiflied from the French, the Italians, and other European nations. I really believe, that nothing but the intire devaf- tarion of a country, and the repeopling it with foreign colonies, is capable of producing an intire change in a nation. But we muft obferve, that it is then no Jong' ger the fame nation ; and it would be ftill a queftion, whether the climate and food would not in time af- fimilate the new inhabitants to the old Ones. I thought it neceflary to feparate this fragment, which treats of the Brandenburghers, from the reft of the hiftory, becaufe in the former I was confined to politics and war ; and if the following particulars which relate to cuftoms, indullry and arts, were in- terfperfed in the body of the work, they might have eafily cfcaped the reader ; whereas he will find them here colle(5led under one point of view, where by themfelvcs they form a fmall body of hiftory. In the commencement of this work, I have been guided by Latin writers, as there was none of the country during that period. Lockelius, whom I fliail often have occafion to quote, has been of fervice to me in the dark regencies of the margraves of the four firfl: races ; and the archives have furnifhed me with materials for the moH: remarkable pafTages during the time that the houfe of Hohenzollern has been in pof- feflion of this eledlorate, which brings us down to our days. The First Epoch a. In the long ennmeration which Tacitus makes of the people of Germany, he is miflaken in regard to the ■•w ihc word Ingev^nery which fignifies inhabitants, and that of Germeniery which implies warlike people, whom through ignorance of the language he took for particular nations. The number of thofe warriors, with which this country was filled, gave it the name of Germany. The firft inhabitants of the Marck were Teutons, and after them the Semnons, who, according to the relation of Tacitus, were the noblefl among the Suevi. , In thofe remote days Germany was quite barba- rous ; the natives who were rude and unpolilhed, liv- ed in forefts, where they had little huts for their habi- tations. They married young, and got children faft, for the women were feldom barren. The nation in- creafed daily, and as the children confined themfelves to the culture of their paternal eftates, inftead of clearing new lands, it followed of courfe, that fince thefe fmall inheritances did not, even in the very bcft: years, afford a fufficient maintenance for fo numerous a people, they were obliged to quit their country to find elfewhere a fubfiftence. Hence that great inun- dation of Barbarians, who overrun G^ul, Africa, and even the Roman empire. The Germans were huntfmen through necefTity, and warriors by inclination. Their poverty rendered the inteftine wars which they had among themfelve« very fliort; for they were not influenced by intere(}J Their generals, v/ho afterwards became princes, were called Furjhn, which fignifies leaders. They were famous for the largenefs of their fize, the robuflncfs of their bodies, and for being inured to the moft la- borious exercifes. Their principal virtues were their valour, and the fidelity with which they fulfilled their engage- r! i *(l ! V. y !' l«'. ( 15^ > engagements. Thcfc virtues they celebrated by hymns, which they taught their childrea, in order to tranf- mit them to pofterity. ; ,. . Even the Latin writers are unexceptionable wit- nefTes of the German valour, by acquainting us with the defeat of Varus and fomc of the other chiefs of the Roman armies. If we are apt to commend the courage of a nation, which with equal difcipiine and forces is victorious over another ; how muclj more ought we to admire the bravery of thofc Germans, who having nothing to rely upon but a confidence in their own valour, and an inflexible refolutlon never to yield, triumphed over the Roman difciphne, and over thofe legions, who had but juft complcated the conquefl: of half the known world ! Notwithftanding whatmoft hiftorians fay, it is how- ever true, that the Romans pafTed the Elbe in fpiteof the Suevi. For we have difcovered in the neighbour- hood of Zoflcn, within fix German miles of Berlin, in a fquare camp of four hundred paces, a vafl num- ber of urns, filled with the medals of the emperor Antoninus, and of the emprefs Fauftina, and with dreffrng toys belonging to the Roman ladies. This cannot be a field of battle, for the Suevi would never have buried the fpoils of their enemies under ground, to decorate their funeral. I think we may fafely conjedurc, that this place ferved as a camp to fome 9f the advanced cohorts, which the Romans had fent beyond the Elbe, to apprife them of the motions and approach of the Barbarians. Brandenburg is the moft ancient city of the Marck. The annals of this place, printed in 1595, fix the foundation of it in the year of the world 3588, v/hich is about 416 years before the vulgar xra. Jt is faid to ( 157 ) to have been built by Brennus, who ranfacked Rome, and to have taken its name from its founder. Amidft the obfcurity of thofe days we have been able to come at the names of fome of the kings of che Vandals, as Hoterus and Wenceflaus, who in all probability were more ambitious and troublefome than the reft. We find moreover in the annals of this country, that "NVitikind king of the Saxons, Hermanfred king of Thuringia, and Richimir king of the Franks, entered into an alliance, fubdued the Semnons, and were the firft who inclofed the conquered towns with walls, to keep the country in fubjedlion. The Second Epoch a. Charlemain, at length, took Brandenburg in 781 • and when Henry the Fowler had, in the year 981, intirely fubdued the Saxons who inhabited thofe parts, he eftabliflied margraves, or governors of the fron- tiers. The manners of the people were civilized under the margraves, but the country was very poor. It produced only the bare neceffaries of life, but flood in need of the induftry of its neighbours for feveral conveniences ; and as no other country wanted its affiftance, there was a greater exportation than im- portation of fpccie. This disproportion in the cir- culation, which continually diminifhed the value of money, lowered the price of all forts of commodi- ties. Provifions were fo cheap, that under the ele<5lor John II. of Afcania, a bufhel of wheat was fold for twenty eight farthings, a bufliel of rie for twenty eight deniers, and fix hens were bought in the mar- ket for one grofs. The ri i I I * II ( 158 ) The married men of Berlin pafTed at that time fdr - honcft but jealous hufbands The annals of this country * afford an example, which gives us a lively defcription of the manners of thofe days. During the regency of the eledor Otho of Bavaria, a fecretary of the hi (hop of Magdeburg went to bathe at the pu- blic bath at Berlin ; where happening to meet in the ftreet with a young woman, who was a burgher's wife, he propofed to her in joke to go and bathe with him. The wonun was affronted at this pro- pofal ; upon which a crowd of people got about him ; and the burghers of Berlin, who underftood no rail- lery, dragged the poor fecretary into a public market place, where they beheaded him without any other form of trial, if thcfe people are ftill jealous, at leaft riieir revenge is not fo unmerciful. The country was in a moft mifcrable fituarlon un- der the princes of the four firft races ; and indeed it conld not be otherwife, as it was continually chang- ing mafters. Otho of Bavaria was obliged to fell the* cle(5lorate, in 1373, to the emperor Charles IV. The latter refidcd at Tangermunde, where he kept st fplendid court, and built a large caftle, whofe ruins are to be feen to this day. While Jodocus had the governijientof the country of Brandenburg, the Vau- dois, who were perfecuted in France, took ffielter in Angermunde, which from thence was called the here- tical city. I cannot find the reafon why the Vau- dois ffiould fly for an afylum to the country of Bran- denburg, which was inh-bited by catholics j nor why they were received, tho' dfteffeJ. The princes of the houfe of Luxemburg were the gieatefl oppreffbrs of the people : they mortgaged the elcdorate^ • Lockdlius in ijC^, m mm m ( 159 ) eledoratc, whenever they wanted money, to thofe who were willing to lend them the grcateff fums. And thofe creditors, who looked upon this wretched pro- vince as a mortgage, ufed every art of oppreflion to enrich themfelves, living there at difcretion, as in an enemy's country. The highways were infefted w ith robbers, all civil polity was baniffied,and the proceed- ings of the courts of juftice were fuperfeded. The lords of Q^Liitzau and Neuendorfl', enraged at the o- dious yoke under which their country groaned, de- clared open war againft the petty tyrants who op- prelTed it. During this total confufion and ftate of anarchy, the people were In the utmoftmifery. The nobility were one the while theinftruments, another time the avengers of tyranny ; and the generality of the nation, whofe fpirits were deprefled by the feve- rity of flavery, and by the rigour of a barbarous Go- thic government, grew quite infenfible and para- jytic. The Third Epoch a. The emperor Sigifmund difimbroiledthis chaos In 1 4 14, by conferring the country of Brandenburg and the eledoral dignity on Frederick of Hohenzollern, margrave of Neurenberg, This prince required his new fubjeils to yield homage to him ; but the people, long accuftomed to cruel mafters, with difficulty fub- mitted to this mild and legitimate government. Fre- derick I. reduced the nobility by the terror of a large cannon, with which he beat down the caftles of the rebels. This cannon was a four and twenty poun- der, and was all the artillery he had. The fpirit of fcditlon was not fo quickly fuppref- fed. ti ) ! •.^ If C i6o ) fed. The burghers of Berlin revolted fevera! times againft their magirtrates ; and Frederick II. appeafed thefe commotions with prudence and lenity. This prince was obliged, for want of money, to mortgage the tolls of Schiffelbein and Drambourg to Denis lord of Often for the fum of 1500 florins, to defray his charges to the diet of Nurenberg. In this fituation things continued till the time of John the Cicco. This eleaor made the firft efforts to refcue his people out of that ftate of rufticity and ignorance ; and indeed to be only fenfible of their ignorance was a ^reat matter in thofe days. Tho* this dawn of knowledge was but a very weak twilight, yet it produced the foundation of the univerfity of Frankfort on the Oder in 1495. Conrad Wipina, profelFor of Leipfick, was the r;<5tor of this new uni- verfity, and compiled the ftatutes. A thoufand lb- dents were inrolled the very firft year in the regifters of the univerfity. Lucky it was for the progrefs of the fciences, that Joachim Neftor was as much their prote<5lor as his father. This prince was the Leo X. of Branden- burg ; he was mafter of the mathematics, aftrono- my, and hiftory ; he (poke French, Italian and Latin, with eafe ; he was fond of polite learning, and mu- nificent in encouraging thofe who profefled it. The civilizing of a nation that had been in a ftate of barbaroufnefs for fb many ages, could not be the work of a day ; it muft be a long time before the ibft commerce of fciences can communicate itfelf to a whole nation. The young people indeed applied themfelves to ftudy, but thofe of a more advanced age preferved ftill an attchment to their ancient cuf- toms ( 161 ) toms and to their rufticity. The nobility ftill con- tinued to rob on the highways. Ther« was fuch a general depravation of manners in Germany, that the diet of the empire afTembled at Triers, being wil- ling to pot a ftop to it, forbad people to blafphcme, and to abandon themfelves to that excefs of debau- chery, w^hich debafes human nature, and renders men inferior to brutes. At that time there were vineyards planted in the eledorate ; a barrel of wine was fold for thirty grof- fes, and a bufhel of rie for twenty one farthings. There was a greater circulation of fpecies ; and Joa- chim Neftor eredted fome new buildings, and amon^r others the caftle of Potzdam. Every body drefT-d after the German fafhion, which anfwers very near to the old Spanifti drcfs, except that the men wore large ruffs. The princes, * counts and knights, wore gold chains about their necks ; and none but gentlemen were permitted to have three gold rings in their cra- vat. The women's drefs was like that wore at pre- fent by the fex at Augftjurg, or by the maidens of Straft)urg. They began then to be acquainted with a kind of luxury proportioned to the times ; but as we do not find that there was any improvement made in the i?i- duftry or commerce of the people of Brandenburg, the augmentation and caufe of the riches of thole days are a difficult problem to folve. As early as the year 1560, we find a vaft diffe- rence in the expences of the eledors ; for when Jo- achim II. went to the diet of Frankfort, which was fummoned in 1562, by the emperor Ferdinand, for the ele(5tion of a king of the Romans, he had fixty M eght * Lwck^U^is. \ f ( 162 ) ^ight gentlemen in his retinue, and an equipage of 452 horfes. Gaming was introduced at that time ; this cuftom fliifted from the eourt to the town ; but they were obliged to fupprefs it, becaufe fome bur- ghers had loft above a thoufand crowns at a fitting. We read in our annals, that at the marriage of Joachim II. to Sophia daughter of Sigifmund king of Poland, the eledor lay the firft night of his nuptials armed cap-a-pce with his young wife ; as if the foft engagements of love required fuch formidable pre- parations. There was a mixture of ferocity and mag- nificence in the cuftoms of thofe days. The caufe of this Angularity was the defire the nation had to emerge from its barbaroufnefs ; it fought for the fight road, but miffed it. They were fo ftupid as to confound ceremonies with politenefs, magnificence with dignity, debauchery with pleafure, pedantry with learning, and the clownifli flatnefs of buffoon* with the ingenious fallies of wit. To this time we muft refer the foundation of the univerfity of Konigfberg by Albert duke of Pruffia. The expences of the electors ftill continued to in- creafe. John George made a fuperb interment for his fa- ther ; this is the firfl funeral pomp of any kind of magni- ficence that we meet with in the hiftory of Brandenburg. The predominant paffion of this prince was his fond- nefs of entertainments ; he loved to difplay his gran- deur. He celebrated the birth * of his cldelt fort with entertainments that lafted four days. Thefc diverfions confifted of tournaments, naval combats, fireworks, and running at the ring. The lords who compofed the four troops, were drefTed in velvet richly imbroidered with gold and filver ; but ftill tli« character * i^jckcllas. ( 163 ) «hara6ler of the age was difcernible thro* this magni* ficence. At the head of each troop there was a buf- foon, who founded a horn in a ridiculous manner, and committed a thoufand extravagances, while the court mounted the turret of the caftle to fee the fire-works go ofrf* When Chriftian king of Denmark came through Berlin, the elector received him in a mag- nificent manner ; he went out to meet him, attended with a great number of princes, counts, and lords, and with a guard of 30c horfe. The king made his entry in a black velvet chariot laced with gold, drawn by eight white courfers, with bits and caparifons all of (ilver. They quite tired him with entertainments, all in this tafte. Luxury, perhaps, was carried to excefs ; for Jo- achim ena<5led fumptuary laws. He employed his re- venues in ufeful eftablifhments, and founded Joachim's college, which was afterwards removed to Berlin by the ele<5tor Frederick-William, where ftill continues this fchool, the moft flourifhing, without doubt, and the beft regulated in all the territories of Pruflia. Under the adminiftration of John George, a great many inventions were ftill wanting, that contribute to the conveniency of life. The common cuftom of coaches goes no higher than John Sigifmund ; ia whofe reign mention is made of it, on account of the homage which this prince yielded at Warfaw for the duchy of Pruffia, He had thirty fix coaches, each fix horfes in his train, befides fourfcore led horfes. The embaffador, whom he fent to the diet of the em- pire at the election of the emperor Matthias, had three coaches. Thefc were a kind of ugly travelling ve- M 2 hides t The annalc mention^ that the elcflor put his head out of a dormer-window, and cried out to the inginccr : Jobn^ fitfirtas foonas Ihav€ -whijiled. rt I id I ( 164 ) hides, made of four boards, which were put toge- ther in a very clumfy maimer. Who could have then foretold, that this art would been carried to fo high a degree of perfection in the eighteenth century, as to make coaches that come to 20 COO crowns, and tliat they fhould find pnrchafcrs ? The efforts made by Brandenburg and Germany to civilize thcmfelves, were not quite ufelefs. The number of univcrfities increafed, among which was That of Halle. At the fame time an academy wa-s formed at DefTaw for the improvement of the Ger- man tongue, under the name of the fruitful Jocitty. This might have been of fome fervice ; efpecially as the Cicrman language branched out into an infinite number of dialecfls, wants proper rules to fix its true Ihndard ; befides, we have no claflic writers ; and if we have ftill fome remains of our ancient republican liberty, 'tis only the barren privilege of mangling a rude and almoft barbarous language according to our pleafure and fancy. Thefe excellent tnftitutions, which perhaps would have greatly contributed to the advancement of learn- ing, were hardly fl^etched, when the thirty years war fupcrvcncd, which overturned and dellroyed all Ger- many. The ftatcs of Brandenburg had a fliare in the go- vernment till the reign of George-William, viz. 1 62 I ; they were confulted on all public affairs, and their advice was followed. When the war drew near to the clciftorate, they began to think of its defence. 'Till that time the elector kept only his own guards, and when he wanted to raife troops, the nobility were fummoncd, who were obliged to appear, and Willi their paraiuounts farmed the cavalry 5 the in- faiitry C 165 ) ftntry confifted of their vaffals. Tlie eleilor *, and efpecially his minifter count Schwartzenberg, were inclined to maintain a regular militia. The ftates confented to levy foldiers ; and after the men were picked out, they were ordered to beg about the country for their fubfiftence, till there fliould be occa- fion for their fervice At the fame time an edidt was publiflied, ordering the country people to give a far- thing a piece to this militia if they came to beg, and to beat them foundly if they were not fatisfied. Thus this eleaor, inllead of having difciplin'd troops, had only privileged beggars. The count of Schwartzenberg reduced afterwards the power of thefe dates, tho' they had never abul- ed it. In fliort, in the courfe of this bloody war, the year 1 636 was the mod unfortunate for this elccr torate : the Swedes were at Werben, the Impcrialids at Magdeburg and Rathenaw, Wrangle at Stettin, and Morofini in the New Marck, when thirty fix thoufand Imperialifts marched through the country, pillaging and deftroying every place they came to. Thjs was too much : the country of Brandenburg, exhaufted by the number of troops whom it had maintained, and who had ravaged it for fome yearg, could (land it no longer. Provifions were become extremely dear, an ox was fold for a hundred crowns, a bulli- el of wheat for five, a buftiel of barley for t'nree ; and the fcarcity of fpecie raifed the value of it to fuch a degree, that a ducat was rated at ten crowns. Some gentlemen who had fecured their provifions from the rapacioufnefs of the enemy, wanted to reap an advantage from the circumflances ot this dearth ; but the country people, not having where- withal to purchafe this grain, and grown dcfpcraic M 3 ty *^ba!'Jus's chronicle. I ( 166 ) by the famine, fell upon thofe inhumane mafters, and plundered their granaries. Tlic famine continued with the fame violence, and was followed by the plague, which completed the mifery of the country. The remainder of the unfortunate inhabitants, whon| death and the enemy had ipared, being unable tq withftand fuch a fea of calamities, abandoned their unhappy country, and fled for refuge to the neigh- bouring provinces. The Marck was then one frightful defert, which exhibited a lamentable jfJ5e(5lacle of ruins, conflagrati- ons, and of every fcene of calamity that attends a long and furious war. Hardly was it pofllble, amidfl: fuch a horrid fcene of confufion, and in places intire- ly laid wafte, to difcern the traces of the ancient in- habitants. There would have been an end of Brandenburg for ever, if Frederick- William, who began to reign in 1 640, had not taken fuch immenfe pains to re- trieve it. His prudence and refolution, together ■with time, overcame all thofe obfl:acles ; he conclud- ed a peace, and immediately fet about a new creation. Brandenburg, in fa(51, became a new country, for- jned of a mixture of all nations, whp afterwards in- termarried with thofe few of the ancient inhabi- tants, that had efcaped dcftrudion ; whether it wa$ owing to a plentiful year, or for want of confumpti- ©n, the price of provlfions fell fo low, tfiat a bufliel of wheat was fold for twelve grofl[es. Among the other mifchiefs occafioned by thirty years war, we may reckon the riiin of the little trade than carried on in north of Germany. Formerly we had our fait from Holland and France ; but as the flock could not be fupplied during thofe troubles, it was ( 167 ) was foon cxhaufted. The want of fo ncceffary a commodity obliged people to have recourfe to in- duftry ; and they difcovered falt-pits at Halle, which were fuflicient to fupply not only the wants of Bran- denburg, but likewife of the neighbouring provinces. The firft colony that came to fettle in the ele<5tor- ate were Dutch. Thcfe revived the feveral handy- craft trades, -and formed a projeft for felling timber, with which the country abounded ; for the thirty years had turned almoft all the foil into a foreft. Tha fale of this timber conftituted afterwards one of the principal branches of our commerce. The eledor gave leave to fome JewiHi families to fettle in his do- minions ; the neighbourhood of Poland rendering them very ufeful for vending in that kingdom the re- fufe of our fripery. Kot long after a favourable event enfucd, which confiderably promoted the defigns of the great eledor. Lewis XIV. revoked the edict of Nants in 16B4, upon which occafion at leaft 300,000 French quitted the kingdom. Thofe who had moft money retired to England and Holland ; but the moft induftrious part of them, to the number of twenty thoufand, or jthereabouts, took flielter in the country of Branden- burg. Thefe helped to re-people our defert villages, and brought all forts of raanufadures amongft us, which we wanted . In order to judge of the advantages which the go- vernment received from this colony, it will be necef- ftry to give fome account of the ftatc of our manu- faftures before the thirty years war, and of the per- feaion they arrived to after the revocation of the cdia of Nants. * , r^ c 0«r commerce confided formerly in the lale ot M 4 OVT 'I ( i68 ) our corn, wine, and wool ; there were fome woollen m3nufa(flures, but they were very inconfiderable. At the time of John Cicero there were only 700 manu- fadlurers in the whole country. During the admini- ftration of John Joachim, the duke of Alva exercifed his tyrannical cruelty over the inhabitants of the JLow countries. That wife princefs, Elizabeth queen of England, made a proper ufe of the folly of her neighbours, by invitfng the manufa(5lurers of Gant and Bruges into her dominions. Thefe people manu- fa<5tured the Englifh wool, and obtained a law to pro- hibit the exportation of it. Our manufafturers till that time had made no good cloth, without a mixture of Englifh wool ; and, as foon as this was with- held, the manufadure declined. The dehors of Saxony, Auguftus and Chriflian, fol- lowed queen Elizabeth's example, by inviting the i'lemifli artifh to their country, who put their manu-» fa^ures in a flourifhing condition. The want of foreign wool, the decline of our manufa<5lures, and the rife of thofe of our neighbours, induced the nobility of Brandenburg to fell their wool to flrangers ; which was very near being the utter ruin of our manufac- tures. In order to remedy this evil, John Sigifmund prohibited the importation of foreign cloths into the country j but this prohibition was ridiculous, becaufe the manufactures of Brandenburg were infufficient to furnifh as much cloth as the country wanted, which obliged them to have recourfe to the induflry of their neighbours. Very likely 'more lucky expedients would have been found out, if the thirty years war had not broke out foon after, which overturned all projeds and manufaclures, and even the flate itfelf. At the acccffion of Frederick-William to the re- gency. C 169 ) gencv there was no mannfaaurein this country, ci- ^er of hats, (lockings, ferges, or any kind of wool- len fluffs. We arc indebted to the mdulby oi the French for all thefe manufaftures : they ereded fa- bricks of cloths, ferges, ftuffs, druggets crapes, caps woven (lockings, all forts of hats, and dymg m dif- ferent colours. Some of thofe refugees turned Oiop- keepers, and retailed the fevetal wares that were fabri- cated by their countrymen. Berlin now had gold- fmiths, jewellers, ^vatcbmakers, and carvers. Fhe French, who fettled in the open country, planted to- bacco • and variety of fruits, and excellent pulfe, were feen to grow in a fandy foil, which, by their careful cultivation, was become an admirable kitchen- garden. To encourage fo ufcful a colony, the great eleaor aUowed them a yearly penfion of forty thou- fand crowns, which they enjoy to this day Thus the eledlorate was in a more flourilhing con- dition under the admralftration of Frederick- William than it had been under any of his anceflors. The great improvement of the manufactures increafed the different branches of commerce, ^vhich was afterwards confined chieily to our corn, timber, woollen manu- faaures, and fait. The ufe of pod-houfes, hitherto unknown in Germany, was Introduced by the great cleaor throughout all his dominions, from Emme- rick as far as Memel. The cities, before that time, paid arbitrary taxes, which werefuppreflTed, and an excife wasfubflitutcd in their (lead. The towns began to be civilized, the (Ireets were paved, and lanthorns were fet up at proper diftances to light the inhabi- tants This civil regulation was abfolutcly neccliliry ; for the courtiers were obliged to go in (lilts to Potz- dara, ..^tit^^msmmmfm ( I70 ) Aim, when the court happened to reCde there, be- caufe of the dirt that lay in heaps in the ftreets. Frederick- William was the firft ck£tor that kept a regular body of difciplincd troops in his fervice. The battalions of foot confided of four companies, each of 150 men ; the third part of a battalion were armed with pikes, the reft with niufKcts. The in- fantry wore their regimentals, and had cloaks. The horfe provided themfeJves with arms and horfes. They wore a half armour, fought in fquadrons, and often carried a train of artillery along with them. The great elector, though generous and magnifi- cent in his own perfon, eftablifhed fumptuary laws. The court was numerous and fplendid. At the en- tertainment which he gave at the marriage of his niece, the prlncefs of Courland, there were fifty -fix tables, with forty covers at each repaft. The inde- fatigable adivity of this prince procured every ufeful art to his country ; but he had not time to introduce the polite ones. The continual wars, together with the mixture of new inhabitants, had already made a change in the mtient manners. A great many of the French and Dutch cuftoms were adopted by our people : but the predominant vices were drunkennefs and avarice. The youth were forbidden all unlawful commerce with the fair fex; and fome fmarting remembrances, which are contra(5Ved by dying away with pleafure, were un-* known at that time. The court was fond of points, double meanings, and buffoonrles : the children of the nobility applied themfelves again to ftudy, and the education of youth fell infenfibly into the hands of the French. We are indebted alfo to this nation for a certain freedom in converfation; and for an cauer ( 171 ) „Cer carmse than is commonly met with in the fler- ni3"^' , . , r ^^nA \n the ftatc after the The change wh.ch f»P«;5° <^. "J, f.u •.„ ,he fpe- thlrty years war was u-v-fa . " was ^^^P^^ cie, as well as m every th'^g ^»= ^^rough- ver mark was on ^^^J^^^^^l^'^^l when the ca- out all the empire, '"''jf'^ J'" ekaor to have re- lamity of the times obl.ged »J= ^ f °'f , ,ue ne- T' "of "thTr "^Hr^pSedT thffaL year, ts'^^^ ErJf:nt?;i:;Tor- ed to a confiderabU: lum ^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^. very near e^u'valent to he «h'^ P ^^ lueof this fpece. As the va^c o j ^,if, ^aginary, it -- f°°"":itre' worth from twen- The old crowns of good allay were w ,y.eightto thirty groifo for wh^r^^^^^^^^^^^ ^,„. them bank crowns. In °>^1" ;° . ^'^nference at fes, theeleaors of ^^"^'"^'''^^fj^Z value of Ci^na in .667 ; and they ^'S-'^ ° J^'^.tVne filver fp.cie upon a new footmg, by winch t ^^ .^ark was to be returned to the pubhc m -o-y ^T''"^rrt°.s we ft^'ck florins, and Er«X?;nd t vat of the filver mark con- '"r'tStar r6oorFr:derick I. agreed with the 1 ^"0 r of 1 xony and the duke of Hanover on pro- of Cinna, duj. 5 i n -j-g and pieces ^-nfltX^tVuck^rih alfthe. of eight grolles, iiiouiu dorr/iuions 1. ( --iV-**-'--*"^ ■*''''^^^^„* \l ( 172 ) <3ommions at the proportion of twelve crowns. This is what we caJl the footing of Lcipfick, which ftiil fubMs. The new colonies eflablifhed by the great eleflor, did not indeed arrive to iheir full perfection till the reign of Frederick I. We had then a manufadure of tapcdry cquaJ to that of Bru/TeJs, our Jaces were not inferior to thofe of France, our glaiVcs of New- Ikdt furpaiTed thofe of Venice in whitenefs, and our army was dre/Ted in cloth of our own nianufadures. In the year 1 700 the troops changed their arms ; the life of pikes was aboliOicd, and the infantry had fu- liis given them ; the cavalry kept no other part of their armour than the cuirafs, and they were obliged to wear regimentals. The court was numerous and fplendid ; And there vas a great circulation of fpecie, arifing from fo- RMgn fubfidies. Luxury began now to fhew itfelf in liveries, drefs, tables, equipage, and buildings. The king had two of the mod able archite(51s in Eu- rope in hisfervice; beGdes Schkiter, who was no way inferior to them in merit, and whofe fine carv- ings heightened the beauty of their architc^ure. Bott made the fine gate of Wefel, and gave the defigns of the palace and of the arfenal of Berlin. He built likewifc :he pofl-houfe, at the corner of the great bridge, and the beautiful portico of the cadle of Potz- dnm, whofe merit is well known to the lovers of ar- chitecture. Lofander built the new wing of the pa- lace of Konigfberg, and the mint, which was after- wards pulled down. Schlutcr decorated the arfenal with thofe trophies which are fo greatly admired by ronnoifleurs ; and it was he that caft the equeftrian (latue of the great elc^or, which palTcs for a mafterr piece, ( 173 ) The king embellinied tbe city of Berlin with [he church of the cloyfter, with arches and fome o- cr ed,fices. He adorned aifo the plcafure-houfcs L'f Orangebourg, Potzdam and Charlottenburg, w«h all manner of improvements and decorations. The polite arts, which are generally the fnnts of abundance, began now to flouriflu The academy of painting w^s founded, of which Pefne Mayer.W.dde- ^ an'd Leigeber, were the firft profelTors. Howe- ver we have not had one painter of reputation fron, Ih ir fchool. Bus the moft remarkable event, a,^ hat w ich more nearly relates to the progrefs of th= human underftanding, was the foundation of the roy- aUcademy of fciences in 1 700. The queen Soph.a- CharS contributed chiefly to thU ellablKhment Th princefs had a great genius, w.tb a larg. fliare If learning: fhe did not think it beneath the d.gmty of a queen to fliew her regard for a pHdofopher h nlain that the philofopher I am fpeak.ng of was LeMtz : nd as^hofe whom heaven has favoured ti h a p- ticular dignity of mind are capable of ra.Ung I mfeWe upon alevel with fovereigns, .he entered rltTntim^e acquaintance with Leibnitz, and ^ pofed him as the only perfon capaWe of laying Ac foundation of this new academy. Leibn.tz,who,it 1 may Sowed the expreirion,had move tha" one fou Iwa^. ^vorthy of prefiding in an »"'l«™y'7'".t'eftab hed need he alone might have reprefented. He eftabhl. ed fnnr clalfes one for natural philofophy and phyCc, the l't;he"mathematics,Vthir.fc^^^^^^^^^^^^ and antiquities of ^~J^^f ^^^ ^eb-ed ^mS^or^cS w-^^'^^^ f-f -- ^outu croze, CuiUelmini, H.rtzoker. H^^, % 1 i^' C 174 ) Kirch, Romer, Sturmcr, Varignon, dcs Vignoles, Werenfels and Wolff. After them appeared Meffrs dc Bcaufobre and Lenfant, whofe pens would have done honour to the ages of Auguflus and Lewis XIV". Otho of Guericke flourifhed alfo at Magdeburg : it is to him we are indebted for the invention of the air- pump ; and luckily he has rendered his phiiofophical and fruitful genius hereditary to his defcendants. The univcrCties were in a flourilhing condition at the fame time : Halle and Franckfort were provided with learned profeffors. Thomafius, Gundling, Lude- y/\g, Wolff and Strick, were in the firft rank of fame, and had a vaft number of pupils. Wolff wrote a comment on Leibnitz's ingenious fyftem of the Mo- nadcs, and drowned a few problems which Leibnitz had thrown out as a bait to the metaphyficians in a deluge of words, arguments, corollaries and citati- ons. The profeffor of Halle took an immenfe deal of pains to write a large number of volumes, which inftead of being adapted to the inftrudion of adult people, ferved only as a dialedlic catechifm for chil- dren. The Monades fet the mctaphyGcians and geo- metricians of Germany at variance, and they flill go on difputing on the divifibility of matter. The king founded at the fame time an academy at Berlin for young men of family, on the fame plan as that of Luneville ; but, unhappily for our country, it did not lafl long. This century produced not one good hiftorian. Teffier was employed to write the hiftory of Branden- burg, and inftcad of a hiftory he wrote a panegyric. Puffcndorff wrote the life of Frederick-William ; and tring determined to omit no circumftance at all, he forgot neither his cJcrks of the chancery nor his va- lets ( 175 ) ^- ae cha^bre ^l^^^ T^S^l nerally found fault ^»^»^ J!^^ ™ f,,, ,3 are on- In .his great fcarcty of Fof- " '^^ ^, ^a- b„.g ha one good P^^ J^l^^^uon of fomc of jboiieau s epiiLi'-3. r ^ •^re,s rcprefented half naked, with the left nipple pierced by an arrow, and furrounded by three fi"«'; "^ ^/■"f '' '" thanherfelf: thofe people called her Magda ; that is, maid ; and Angelas affirms, that ftie gave her name to Magdeburg, where (he had her altars . The ruins of her temple were ftdl to be fcen mthis city, before it was facked by Tilly. But what ap- pears moil remarkable in the worflup paid by the Saxons to this deity, were the games wh.ch they celebrated in hono.tr of her. Thefe confided of tournaments givoi by the young people of ne.ghbour- ine villaces. They dcpofited a fum of money in the hands of the judges, for a portion to a young ^voman, who was to be given in marriage to the per- fon who won her at the flting The anna.s of Magdeburg make nKUtion. that thefe games were ftill fubCfting, as the reliques of paganifm, m the years 1270, and 1387. . Lu>tury was introduced into religion upon the in- crcafe of riches Formerly the people thought it improper td place their gods in temples built by hu- man hands, for which reafon they worlhippcd them in facred groves ; but, in proportion as they grew civilized, their gods came to live in towns %. And yet • Annals of MagJtburj. I Linderbrocfc. yet tVe anticnt cuflom was not intlrcly abolifhed ; for we find, that Charlemain forbad the Saxons to vards in 928, like Charlemain, over the inhabitants of the banks of the Elbe and the Oder; and, after a vaft deal of bloodflied, tht)fe people were fubdued and converted. The Chriftians, out of their great zeal, demolidied the pagan idols, infomuch, that there arc fcarcc any remains of them now extant ; the empty niches of thofe idols were filled with faints of every kind, and new errors fucceeded to thofe of antiquity. That age which LeoX. made for ever memorable in Italy, by reviving the polite arts and fciences, \yhich had been a long time buried in ignorance and depravation of tafte ; that age, I fay, was no^ fo favourable ( 199 ) favourable to the nations on this fide of the AJps„ Germany was ftill in the darkeft ignorance, and groaned under a barbarous kind of a government. There was neither morality nor learning ; and hu- man reafon, deprived of the light of philofophy, was buried in its Itupidity. The converters, and the new profelytes, being in the fame fituation in regard to thofe articles, had no reproach to make to each other. * Towards the year 946, the emperor Otho found- ed the biihoprick of Havelberg, and, not long after, that of t Brandenburg. He thought, very likely, to raife, by this means, a kind of dyke againft the inundation of idolatry, to which thofe people were prone ; in the fame manner as princes built citadels, in towns newly conquered, to check the infolence and mutinous difpofitions of the inhabitants. Brandenburg being, at length, converted to Chri- ftianity, fell into the very excefs of falfe zeal : it made itfelf tributary, at the fame time, to the pope, to the emperor, and to the marpravc, its governor. The people foon repented their folly, and regretted thofe idols which were vifible objeds of worfhip, and icfs biirdenfome to them than the yearly tributes which they paid to the pope, whom they never faw. The love of liberty, the force of inveterate preju- dices, and the profpe^ of their own intereft, led them back to their falfe gods. Miftevoyus, king of the Vandals put himfelf at the head of the pagan party, and reftored the antient worfhip, after driving the margrave Thierry out of Brandenburg. It was by force of arms that Chriftianity was re eftabliftied for the third time in this country. Then it was that 04' the 1 * t * Tn the eighth century. I Henry Mcibomius. Angelas, f 569. ( 400 ) the catholic religion appeared in full triumph, with- out any manner of conftraint, and was followed by a long train of fcandalous exceflcs. The biihops were ignorant, cruel, and ambitious; and, indeed of preaching peace by their example, they delighted in war ; for they bore arms in perfon againlt the mar- graves, and their other neighbours, plundering and ravaging the country, committing the greatcft of vio- lences, aaing even the part of incendiaries, and ar- rogating to themfclves i^notwithftanding a life thus fullied with crimes) an abfolute power over the con- fciences of the people. So common were thofe diforders, that hiftory a- boundo with examples of them ; but I (hall relate only two '*'. In 1278, Gunter, archbifhop of Bran- denburg, waged war againft the eledor Otho, fur- named Sagittarius, took him prifoner, and obliged him to pay the fum of 7000 filver marks for his ran- fom. In 1 39 1, the archbifliop Albert, who went always armcd,fcized on the perfon of the lord of Bre- dow, who was g vernor-gcncral of the Marck, took the town of Raihenaw, and made Incurfions along the Havel, with a firebrand in one hand, and a fword in the other, fprcading terror and defolation where- ever he approached. The grofs ignorance into which thofe people were fonk in the 1 3th century, was a foil in which fuper- flition muft neceflarily thrive. In fadl, there was no want of miracles, nor of any other kind of tricks capable of eftablifliing the authority of the priefts. Lockelius very gravely relates, that prince Otho having been excom.municated by Luitpold, archbi- fiiop of Brandenburg, on fome frivolous account, he * LfcktIIus, ( 2.01 ) he laughed at the ecclefiaftic cenfures ; but that he was greatly furprifcd when he found that his dogs, though almoft Itarved with hunger, would eat no viaualsthat came from his table; which brought him to his right way of thinking. Thefe dogs were, doubtlefs, very good catholics ; but unluckily the breed is loft. M that time the miraculous images of the virgin Marv, and of the other faints, as well as their nu- merous reliques, had a very extraordinary virtue ^ . Among the reft the blood of Belitz was vaftly m VOPue. The ftory i. this. A woman of that town, who kept a public houfc, ftole a confccraicd hoft, and buried it under a barrel in her cellar, hoping, by this means, to have better cuftom for her beer. But being touched with remorfe (for publicans have a very tender confcience) (he owned her crime m pu- blic to the curate, who came in procefTion, with all his pontiGcal train, to dig up the hoft. In thrult- ing the (liovel into the ground, they faw fome blood gufh out, and every body immediately cried out, A miracle. The impoftuie was too palpable ; tor it was known, that this was fome of the blood of an ox, which had been fpilt there by the woman of the houfe. Thefe miracles made a great imprelTion upon the minds of the people ; but this would not fatif- fy the clergy f. The court of Rome being ever more attentive to extend her dominion under the colour of religion, neglefted no method that could be conducive to that end. In the 1 3th century moft of the relioious orders were founded. The pope cftabliflicd as many as he could of them in Germany, find particularly in the country of Brandeaburg, un- • Annals of Branienburg. f In 1270. V ( 202 ) def the pretence of fixing, by this means, the minds of the people in the profefTion of Chriftianity. The hypochondriac, the lazy, and all thofe who had in- curred Ihame or difgrace in the world, retired into thofe facred afylams, where they robbed the ftate of its fubjeas, by banilhing ihemfelves from fociety, and by renouncing the benediction which God gave to our firft parents. Thus they became a burden to the public, living only upon alms, or making unlaw- ful acquifitions. And though thefe inftitutions were contrary to the laws of fociety and good policy, yet the pope eftiblifhed them over all Europe : and thus, without oppofition, he railed a powerful army of priefts, at the expence of t!ie feveral princes, and kept large garifons in countries over which he had no fovereignty. But in thofe days the people were brutifh, the princes weak, and the priefts rode in triumph. "When Chriftianity was well eftabliflied, it pro- duced fanatics of every kind *. The country of Brandenburg was affli(51ed with the plague in 1351 ; and this was fufficient to make fuperftition fly into its higheft extravagance. To appeafc the divino wrath, fome Jews were baptized by force, and others were burnt ; public proceiTions were ordained ; vows were made to miraculous images ; and the imagina- tion, grown warm by lb many foolifli and whimfical inventions, produced the order of the flagellants. Thefe were melancholy Chriftians, who fcourged themfelves with rods of wire in public procefllons. But the pope himfelf was fliocked at thefe horrid macerations, and condemned the order, together with its abulcs. The ( i03 ) The public devotions took afterwards a milder turn. Pope John XXII. eftablifhec^ oiHces of indul- rencies in the country of Brandenburg ; the Auftin friars traded in this commodity, and fent the money they raifed by it to Rome. Miracles were, at length, grown fo common *, that, by the teftimony of fome authors, a fhower of red and white crolTes is faid to have fallen upon the people that paiTed along the flreets in the year 1 500. Some of thofe crof- fes were found in loaves of bread, which was looked upon as the forerunner of a general cala- mity. . r I r At this very time, when the priefts impoled lo grofly on the credulity of mankind ; when they made life of religion only as a means to enrich themfelves ; when the clergy, in general, led the mod fcandalous lives ; a fimple friar undertook to reform fo many abufes'. By his example he reOored mankind to the life of their reafon, which they had been deprived of for fo many ages ; and the human underftanding, encouraged by the recovery of its liberty, fpread its inquiries on every (ide. ARTICLE f LockcUus, annals of Brandenburg. • Cramer, Baronius, Lockclius, C 204 5 ARTICLE III. Of religion under ths refsr- mat ion, I fhall not confider the reformation as a divine or a hiftorian ; the tenets of this religion, and the events which it gave rife to. are fo well known, that there is no need to repeat them. So great, and fo extraordinary a revolution, which changed almoft the whole fyllem of Europe, dcfervcs to be examined in a philoQ)phical light. The catholic religion, which had been raifed on the ruins of that of tlie Jews, and of the Pagans, had now fubfifted during the fpace of fifteen centu- ries : fhe had been humble and mild under perfecuti- ons ; but, grown fierce after h?r eftablifhmcnt, flic •was for perfecuting in her turn. Ail Ghriftcndom was fubject to the pope, who was reckoned infalli- ble, by which means his power was more extended than that of the moll: abfolute monarch. A pitiful friar imdertook to oppofe a power fo well cflabliflicd, and, of a fudden, one haif of Europe fnook ofT the papal yoke. As the feveral caufe?» which produced this great revolution, had fubGflcd long before it happened, they prepared the minds of the people for fo impor- tant an event. T!ie Chri(lian religion was degene- rated to fucli a degree, that the very charadcrs of its inftitution were no longer difcernible. Nothing could excel the original fanitity of its dodrine; but it v/as foon perverted by the natural bias of mankind to corruption. Thus the pureft fources of good ( i05 ) •good became the caufe of all manner of mifcliief. ^rhis religion, which preached humility, charity, and patience, was eftablilhed by fire and fword. The priefls, who ought to have been examples of pover- ty and fanaity, led the moll fcand^lous lives : they acquired immenfc riches, which puffed them up with pride ; and fome of them were become powerful princes. The pope, who originally was fubjeft to the emperors, alFumed to himfclf the power of ma- king and depofing them; he thundered out his excommunications, laid whole kingdoms under m- terdiv^s, and carried things to fo enormous an ex- cefs, that the world was obliged to cry out for a reformation. Religion changed, togcilier with the manners of the people ; every age it loft fomething of its natu- ral fimplicity; and, by too much paint, its features were no longer diftinguifliable. All that was fuper- added to it was the invention of men ; and, like them, was doomed to perifh. At the council of * Niece, the divinity % of the Son was declared e- qual to that of the Father; and, by joining the ho- ly Ghoft to thofc two pei-fons, they made the Trinity. Priefts were forbidden to marry, by the canons of the council of Toledo \ ; but they did not comply with this inftitution till the i 3th century. Purgato- ry was invented in the 6th century ; and the council of Trent made it an article of faith. The worfliip of images was eftabliftied by the fecond council of Niece, ♦ In th«r year 321. . . ^11.. 1 Orlgen and St JuOin were not of this opinion. The latter fays, in his dialogue, p. 3 16. that thr Soa is n«t near {o great as ihe Father. \ Held in the year /t**. v\ 1 ^ ■* r- C 206 ) Kicc f , and tranfubfLantiation by the council of Trent * *. The fchoolmcn maintained the infalli- bility of the pope, fince the quarrel between the bifhops of Rome and Conftantinople. Some melan- choly men founded religious orders, and confined to idle fpeculation a life, which (liould be fpent in afti- on for the good of focicty. Convents were multi- plied without number, and a great number of man- kind were buried and fequeftrated from fociety. In fine, all manner of tricks were invented to impofe upon the credulity of the vulgar ; and forged mi- racles were become almofi a common thing. And yet religion was not to expe<5t a reformation by changes arifing from fpeculative conCderations. Among thofe who think, the generality turn all their fagacity and penetration on the fide of interefl and ambition ; there are very few that combine abftratfl ideas, and much lefs who refle(5l deeply on thofe im- portant matters ; and the common people, the mod refpe(5tablc, moll numerous, and moil: unfortunate part of fociety, follow the impreflions which they receive from their leaders. This was not the cafe in refpe(fl to the tyrannical power which the clergy exercifed over the confcien- ces of the people ; the priefts ilripped them of their liberty and property. This (lavery, which every day grew heavier, had already occafioned great complaints. The moft dull^ as well as the moll ingenious, if they have but fen- fibility, feel an injury done them All aim alike at their own welfare, and if they fuffer for a while, their patience will be tired out at lad. Thus the opprcflion^ % HcM In 781. - •• 164;. ( 2Z7 ) %ppreflion, under which fo marly nations groaned, would have Inevitably produced a reformation, even if the Roman clergy themfclves, torn by inteftine di- vifions, had not given the fignal of liberty, by fet- ting up the ftandard of revolt againfr the pope. The Vaudois, the Wicklefites, and the Iluflltes, had al- ready attempted to ftlr ; but Luther and Calvin, who had equal boldncfs v;Ith the former, and were born under more favourable conjunctures, gave, at length, the fmilhing flroke to this great work. The Auftin friars were in polTefTion of the trade of indulgencies ; but the pope gave the commifHon) this time, to the Dominicans, which occafioned a furious quarrel between the two orders. The Auftin friars exclaimed againit the pope ; and Luther, who v/as of their order, attacked, with great vigour, the abufcs of the church. He boldly tore off part of the veil of fuperlHtion, and became the head of a fe(fl ; and, as his do<^rine dripped the biflaops of their benefices, and the monaderies of their riches, princes followed this new reformer in crouds. Religion then adumed a new form, and drew near to its antient fimplicity. This is not a place to ex- amine, whether it would not have been better to have left more pomp and external diew, as it has a great- er effed upon the people, who are druck only by fenfible obje(fls. It feems that a worfhlp, intirely fpiritual, and fo naked as that of the protedants, is not dcfigncd for dull heavy men,who are incapable of rifing by thought to the admiration of the fublimeft truths. The reformation was of fcrvlce to the world, and cfpCcially to the progrefs of the human underdand- mg. The protedants being obliged to refle(fl upon matter? .\ t i. k\ rAt- '/\\ C 208 ) matters of faith, divefted thcmfelves fcddenly of thfr cent, and, at length, it was intirely abolifhed for a time. The two orders of which the Roman republic was compofed, were continually forming ambitious projects, to increafe their refpe(5tive power ; and from hence arofe continual diftrufts and jealoufies. Some fa<5tious citizens made it their bufinefs to flat- ter the people, by pufhing their pretenfions to a pitch of extravagance ; and fomc young fenators, men of ftrong pafTions, and of no lefs pride, contributed frequently to render the refolutions of the fenate too fevere. The Agrarian law, relating to thedivifion of lands, was a fource of frequent animofities. This difpute was firft darted in the year 267 of the foundation of Rome. The fenate found means, fometimes, to itifle thefe diiTenfions, by employing the people in mili- tary operations ; but they were always revived, and continued till the year 300. Rome, at length, grew fenfible of the necefTity of having recourfe to laws that might fatisfy both par- ties. With this view they fent Pofthumius Albus, Antonius ManHus, and Sulpicius Camerinus, to A- thens, in order to make a compilement of Solon's laws. Thefe ambafTadors, who, at their return, were chofen among the decemvirs, digefted thefe laws, which the fenate approved by a decree, and the peo- ple by a plebifcitum. They were engraved on ten copper tables, and the year following two more were added to them. This conftituted the body of laws, f* C 223 ) To well known by the name of that of the twelve ta- bles. Thefe laws limited the power of fathers over their children ; they inflic'ted punifhments on guardians who defrauded their wards ; and they allowed people to leave their eflates by will to whom they pleafed. But the triumvirs ordained afterwards, that the te- ilators (hould be obliged to leave a fourth part of their fortune to their next heirs ; and this is the o- rigin of what wc call the Legitim, or the (hare that a child has by law in his parent's eflate*. Children, born ten months after the death of their father, were declared legitimate; and the emperor Adrian extended this privilege to eleven months. Divorce, a thing as yet unknown to the Romans, had not the force of law till it was eftabliHied by the twelve tables. Punifhments were alfo inflicted againfl injurious anions, words, and writings. Even the intention of committing parricide was punifhed with death. The citizens were impowered to kill a thief, if he had been taken with arms about him, or if he had broke into their houfeby night. Falfe witnefles were fcntenced to be tumbled down from the Tarpeian rock. In criminal caufes, the plaintiff was allowed two days to draw up his accu- fation, of which he gave notice ; and the defendant had three days to make his anfwer, and prepare for a defence \, If it appeared, upon trial, that the plaintiff had falfly accufed the defendant, he was condemned to the fame puniftiment as would have beea ♦ There were only two forts of heirs ab Intejluto ; the chil- dren and the relations by the male ftx. f The defendant appeared in a fup(>liant poflure before tbf magiflrate, with his relations and clients* K^ I n' 1 1 ( 224 ) been Infliacd on the defendant, if the latter had been found guilty of the charge. This is the fublhnce of the laws of the twelve tables • laws of fo excellent a nature, that Tacitus favs all cood inftitutions ended with them. What- ever was mo(t perfca in the Egyptian and Greek hiws centered in thefe. They were fo eqaituble as not to rcftrain the liberty of the citizens but m fuch cafes as the abufc of it might be prejudicial to the tranquillity of families, and to the fecunty of the republic. The authority of the fenate, wh'ch was continu- ally clafliing with the privileges of the people, the immoderate ambition of the Patricians, the pretenfi- ons of the Plebeians, which were perpetually mcrcal- i together with many other caufes, wh.ch may be feen in hiftory, raifed new dillurbances, and flung the republic into violent convulGons. The Graccht and the Saturnini publilhed fome feditious laws ; and during the troubles of the civil wars, a vail number of decrees were ifTued out, which were occufionally enforced, according to the different fuccefs of the perrons by whom they were enafled. Sylla abol.lhed theantient laws, and eftablilhed new ones, which were repealed by Lepidus. The corruption of man- ners increafing with thefe domeftic dilTenfions, gave rife to an infinite number of new inftitut.ons Pom- pev was appointed to reduce them ; and he pubhlhcd fome himfelf, which died with him. During five and mnty years of civil wars, all law and juftice were at a (land : and things continued in this confuf.on till the rei?n of Auguftus, who, in his Cxth confu late rc-etlablinicd theanticnt laws, andabohfhed all thofe which were made during the inteftine commotions ot the republic, - < 215 ) At length the emperor Juftinian removed the con- fuCon which the multiplicity of laws had occafioned in the (ludy of jurlfprudence, by ordering his chan- cellor Trcbonian, to compofe a compleat body of laws. Accordingly he reduced the whole into three volumes, which are dill remaining ; namely, the d'l* geft, which contains the opinions of the mod cele- brated civilians ; the code, which includes the con- ftitutlons of the emperors ; and the inftitutes, which arc an abridgment of the Roman laws. The excellency of thefe laws was fo greatly ad- mired, that, after the extin(5lion of the Roman em- pire, they were adopted by mod civilized nations, ■who made them the ground- work of their jurifpru- dence. The Romans had introduced their laws into the feveral countries which were obliged to fubmit to their victorious arms. They were received by Gaul, when Julius Caefar fubdued that country, and made it a province of the empire. In the fifth century, after the difmembering of the Roman monarchy, the northern nations over-run a great part of Europe. Thefe barbarians intro- duced their own laws and cuftoms among their con- quered enemies. Gaul was then invaded by the Vifigoths, the Burgundians, and the Franks. Clevis thought he (hewed an indulgence to his new fubjeas, by leaving them at liberty to chufc cither the laws of the conqueror, or of the conquer- ed. Hepublifhed the Salic law; and feveral others v/ere made by his fuccefTors. Gundebald, king of Burgundy, publiftied a decree, by which he permits the ufe of fingle combats. Formerly the nobility had a right to judge as fo- verclgns, and without appeal. (^ In J •^•■•ii \ 1* \ C i2<5 ) tn the reign of Lewis thfof, the fupremc and renal iuriRiiaion was eftablilhed in France. VVc f^nd that Charles IX. had a dcfign to reform the law and to abridge the proceedings, which app ars bvlhe ordinance of Moulins: and it is very ex- traordinary that fo wife a dcfign (liould have been forn ed in the midft of domeftic troubles. Hut as the prcfident Hainault fays, the chancellor de rHo- piul was always watchful for the welfare of his Country. At length Lewis XIV. ordered al the laws, from Clovis down to his time, to be reduced into a body, which took from him the name of Code Louis. The Britons, who, as well as the Gauls, were fubdued by the Romans, received alfo the laws of their conquerors. Thefe people, before that time, were governed by Druids, whofc maxims had the force of laws. The fathers of families had the power of life and ^ death over their wives and children. All communi- cation with (Grangers was forbidden : they put prifo- ners of war to death, and facrificed them to the cods. . The Romans maintained their power and their laws among thcfe iflnndcrs, till the reign of Hono- rius, who reftored them to their liberty, in the year 410, by a folemn a<5l. The Britons were afterwards attacked by the rias *, the allies of the Scotch ; being but poorly aflirted by the Romans, and always beaten by the enemy, they applied for aid to the Saxons. Thefe people' who were only auxiliaries at firlt to the Bri- ' ^ tons. Ici.biir The ria3, a people who came from the country of Mcck- ( 227 , ) tons, became their maders ; and, after a war of 150 years, they fubclued the whole ifland. The Anglo-Saxons introduced their laws into Britain, the fame as formerly obtained in Germany. They divided England into leven kini^;doms, which had each its feparate government. All of them had general aireniblles [, compolld of nobles, the mid- ling people, and the order of the peafants.. 1 his form of government, which had a mixture of mo- narchy, ariiiocracy, and democracy, has continued to oi.T time ; for the authority is ftill divided be- tween the king, the houfe of lords, and the houfe of commons. ,. n , j r Alfred the great gave England the hrft body ol laws. Though thefe laws were mild, yet this prince was inexorable to magiftrates convi^ed of corrupti- on It is mentioned in hiftory, that, in one fingle year, he ordered four and forty judges to be hang- ed who had been guihy of betraying their truft. ^By the laws of Alfred the great, every Englilh- man accufed of a crime, ought to be tried by his peers ; and the nation iVill preferves this privilege. England alTumed anew form by theconqucft which * William duke of Kormandy made of that country. Th's prince eftablilhed new courts of judicature, a- mong which that of the exchequer ftill fubfifts ; and the^c fcveral courts followed the king's perfon. He feparatcd the eccleGaftic from the civil jurifdiaion, and caufed his laws to be publilhed in the Norman language ; the fevereft among them was the prohibiti- on of hunting, upon pain of mutilation, .md even of death. ^ q 2 After " 4. Thcfe atTcmblles were cal'cd Wittenagemot, or the council ■ of the wife, and their government t>ok the name ot hcptc^!Cn> ♦ Crowned ^At London in 106$. I ,! fi^ ill ( 2aS ) After William the conqueror, the kings his fuc- ceflbrs granted feveral charters. Henry I. furnamed Beauclerc, gave the nobility leave to fucceed to inheritances, without paying any acknowledgment to the fovereign ; he likewife per- mitted them to marry without the princess confent. We find al fo, that king Stephen granted a charter, by which he declared, that he held his power of the people and the clergy ; he confirmed the privileges of the church, and repealed the fevere laws of Wil- liam the conqueror. King John, furnamed Lackland, granted his fub- jefts the charter called magna charta, which con- fifis of 72 articles. This famous charter regulates the manner of hold- ing fiefs ; as alfo, the (liare allowed to widows, who are forbidden to marry again in a hurry, and to give fecurity not to enter into a fecond marriage at all without leave of the lord Paramount. It eftabli- ihes courts of juftice in fixed places. It forbids the levying of taxes, without the confent of the com- mons, unlefs it be to ranfom the king, to make his fon a knight, or to endow his daughter: it ordains, that no body (hall be imprifoncd, or deprived either of life or eftate, without being judged by his peers, and according to the laws of the kingdom. The king, moreover, engages neither to fell nor to refufe juftice to any man. The laws of VV^eftminflcr, publifhed by Edward I. were only a revival of the magna charta, except- ing that they prohibited the acquifition of lands in mortmain, and that they baniftied the Jews from the kingdom. Though England has a great many good laws, yet ( 229 ) yet there is no country perhaps in Europe, where tliey are fo badly executed. Rapin Thoyras makes a very good remark, that it is owing to a defcift in the government, that the regal power is continually clafliing with that of the parliament ; that their time is employed in watching each other, either to main- tain or to enlarge their authority ; that this jealoufy between the king and the reprefentatives of the na- tion takes off their attention from the due admini- flration of juftice ; and that this reftlefs and tumul- tuous government is continually altering its laws by new Z&.S of parliament, according to the exigency of different conjunctures and events ; from whence it follows, that there is no kingdom whatfoever that has fo great a need of ^ reformation in the law as England. We have oply a few words to add concerning Germany. We received the Roman laws at the time yjt fubmitted to the arms of that nation ; and the reafon of our having ftill preferved them is, becaufe when the emperors abandoned Italy, they transfer- red the feat of the empire to our country. And yet there is not one circle, nor even one principality, of ever fo fmall an extent, but has its particular ca- Aoms, which, by length of time, have acquired the force of laws. After having explained the manner in which laws were eft^bliftied in molt civilized countries, we fliall pbfervc, that where-ever laws were introduced by the confent of the people, it was neceffity that caufed them to be received ; and that in conquered countries, the laws of the vidtor became thofe of the vanquifli- cd ; but in both alike they have been confiderably incrcafcd in procefs of time. If we are aftonidied 0,3 ^^ t - ( ^3^ ') at fird finUt, that nation? (hould be fuVjeft to To many ditTcrent laws, ^.'c fhall recover j-rom our fur. prife, when we obfcrve, that the eii.ntial part ot hws is every where the fame ; I mean ihofe, whi. h inflia punilhments on crimes, for the prefervation of Society. . . . , We obferve likewiie, upon examining into tne condua of the wifcft Icgldators, that laws ought to be adrpted to the kind of government, and to the temper andconftitutions of the nation for which they are defigned ; that the end propofed by the belt ic- giflaiors is the public happinefs ; and that, m gene- ral, thofe laws which are moft agreeable to natural equity, fomc few exceptions made, are the bell. Lycurgus, finding he had to deal with an ambiti- ous people, gave them a kind of laws that were more proper to make foldiers of them than peaceable ci- tizens ; and his banifliing gold from his republic, ^vas becaufe of all vices avarice is the moll oppofitc to military glory. , , • . Solon faid, that he did not give the Athenians the moft perfea laws, but the beft they were capable of rrce.ving. He confidcred not only the temper and difpofition of the people, but likewife the fiiuation of Athens which was near the fea ; for which reafon he punilhcd idlenefs, nnJ cncour^iged induftry ; nor did he prohibit gold and filver, becaufe he was fen- fible, that his republic could never attain to any pitch of grandeur and power, but by the profpenty of its commerce The laws muft abfolutcly be adapted to the tem- per and difpofition of the people, or there can be no hopes of their continuing long in force. As ihe Romans were inclined to a democracy, whatever tended ( 23r ) tended to alter that form of government was ex- tremely cdious to them. Hence fo many commoti- ons for the paffmg of the Agrarian law ; the people flattering themfelves, that, by a divifion ( f lands, thev Hiould cftablifii a kind of equality in the cltates of \hc cit zens : hence fo many tumults for the abo- lition of debts; becaufe the creditors, who were all Patricians, treated their debtors, the Plebeians, with inhumanity, ^ow nothing renders the inequality of conditions fo odious, as the tyranny which the rich exercife over the poor with impunity. AVe find all forts of laws in all countries ; name- Iv thofe relating to politics, and to the adminillr-a- tiJn of government ; thofe which regard mora.s, and inflia punifhments on criminals; and, Jaltly, civil laws, which regulate inheritances, guardianOiips, the intereft of money, and private contracts. The lepiftitors of monarchies are generally the fovereigns themfelves. If their laws are mild and juft, they will eafily maintain their ground, and the public xvill find its advantage in them : if they are fevere and tyrannical, they will foon be abolifhed ; becaule they muft be fupported by violence, and the tyrant is fingle againft a whole nation, who are impatient to fupprefs them. In feveral republics, where private perfons were the leniftators, their laws fucceeded, only when they were able to eftabliHi a juft equilibrium between the power of the government and the liberty of the a- ^'''iris only in regard to laws which regulate the morals of the people, that legiflators agree in ge- neral, upon the fame principle, excepting that they are more fevere againft fomc crimes than others : 0,4 ^"^ IF "''fHiJtf ;• i. I i i ( ^3^ ) anJ this, without doubt, becaufe they knew the vices to which the nation had the ftrongeli bias. As laws are a kind of barrier againft the inroads of vice, they muft certainly have recourfe to the ter-f ror of punithments to command refpeifl. Yet it is not lefs certain that legiflators, who have (hewn a diflike to the multiplying of penal laws, are to be commended as much at leaft for their humanity, as others for their rigour. The greateft difference is in civil laws : thofc by •whom they were ellabliftied, found certain ufages in- troduced before their time, which they did not think proper to abolifh, for fear of oppoGng the prejudices of the nation ; they (hewed therefore a regard to the cuftom, by which they were looked upon as inno- cent ; and though thefe ufages were not ftridiy equi- table, yet they adopted them, purely out of regard tq their antiquity. Whofoever has been at the trouble of making a clofe inquiry into the nature of laws, muft have found a great many, without doubt, which, at firft: light, feem contrary to natural equity, and yet are Otherwife. I fliall give only this fingle inftance of the right of primogeniture. Nothing appears more juft, than to make an equal divifion of the paternal eftate among all the children ; and yet experience (hews, that even the largeft inheritances, fub-divlded into feveral (hares, will reduce, in time, the mod opulent families to indigence. This is the reafon that parents have chofen rather to difinherit their younger fops, than to make fuch a fettlement as muft inevitably occaGon the decline, if not the extinftion of their families. And, by the fame reafon, thofe laws Y.'hich fcem opprcffive and feverc to fome individuals, are \ ( 233 ) a/e vet to be commended, when they arc conducive to the welfare of a whole community : for a wi(e le- giflator v;ill always prefer the intereft of the whole to that of a part. The laws which require the greatcft circumfpedli- on and prudence on the part of the legifiature, are undoubtedly thofe relating to debitors. If they arc favourable to the creditors, the fituation of the de- bitors becomes too hard, and an unlucky accident may ruin them for ever : on the other hand, if they fhould favour the debitors, public credit is hurt, by weakening the fecurity of contrads. But a juft medium, which at the fame time fup- ports the validity of contrads, and does not opprefs the infolvent debitor, is, in my opinion, fo difficult a thing, as never to be expedted, even from the >vifeft legillators. We (hall not enlarge further upon this article ; the nature pf this elTay does not permit us to enter into a more minute detail ; let us, therefore, con- fine ourfelves to general rePexions. A perfed body of laws would be one of the no- bleft produdions of the human mind : fuch a work would require an unity of defign, and fo great an exa<5tnefs and proportion of rules, that a ftaie di- refted by thofe laws (hould be like a watch, whofe wheels are all made for the fame end : it would re- quire a profound knowledge of the human heart, and of the temper and conftitution of the people : it would require moderation in the infli(5ting of punifh- ments, fo as to preferve the people's morals, and yet be neither too mild nor too fevere : it would require afingular perfpicuity and diftinftnefs in word- ing the decrees, fo as never to afford the leaft room • for i ) I J 'J^ >l !i il I ( 234 ) for chlcnncry ; and the decrees thcmfclves fiiould he an abilraa of the belt regulations of the Civil law, ingeniouily and fimply applied to the cuftoms of the nation : in fine, it would rcqu re fagacity to provide againrt every cafe that may happen, and judgment to combine even the minuted circumftances. But per- leaion is not to be expeded from the frail condition of humanity. , r • r 1 -r The people would have reafon to be fatisfied, it legiHators were always a^uated towards them in the ' fame manner as thofe fathers of families who made the firft laws, were towards their children ; they lo- ved their children, and every rule they prefcnbed to them had no other view than the happinefs ^ their families. , A few wife laws make a nation happy; but a mul- tiplicity of them embarafs the adminiilration of ju- ftfce As a fliillful phyfician does not overload his patient with medicines, fo a wife legiflator does not burden the public with fuperfluous laws. Medicines, ^vhen too numerous, obftrua one another, and have not their due effeft ; fo too many I^ws become a la- byrinth, in which the lawyers and juftice itfelf arc "" Laws were multlpKcd among the Romans, by the frequency of revolutions: every ambitious perfon, xvhom fortune favoured, fet up for a legiflator. This confufion continued, as we have already obfervcd till the time of Auguflus, who repealed all thole uniuft decrees, and revived the old laws. In France, the multiplicity of laws was owmg to the conquefl which the franks made of that country, where they introduced their laws. Lewis XI had a defign of reuniting all thefe different mftitutions ( 235 ) and of eflabllfliing, as he faid himfelf, only one law, and one meafure, throughout his dominions. There are many laws to which men are attached, only becaufe they are generally flaves to cuftom : though better regulations might be fuhlHtuted in their Itead, yet it would be dangerous, perhaps, to attempt to mcddij wiib tliem. The confufion which fuch a reformation would occaGon in the adminiilration of juftice, would be producftive of more mifchief, per- haps, than the new laws could do good. And yet this does not hinder but there may be cafes, wherein a reformation Ihall appear abfolutcly ncccflary ; for example, wlicn tliere are laws con- trary to the public good, and to natural equity ; when they are couched in vague and obfcure terms; and, laftly, when they imply a contradi^ion either ir* the meaning or in the words. Let us endeavour to illuilrate this matter by afev/ examples The laws of Ofiris, in regard to thieves and robbers, will fcrve as an inftance in the firft cafe. By thefe it was ordained, that whoever enter- ed himfelf of their gang, fhould give in his name to their chief, and promife to deliver him all the booty he fliould purloin. Thofe who had been robbed ap- plied to the chief of the gang, who returned them to the right owner, on condition of his paying a fourth part of their value. The legiflator imagined, that, by this expedient, they fliould put every citizen ia the way of recovering what had been ftolen from him, by paying a moderate fum to redeem it; where- as this was the way to make all the Kgyptians thieves. Doubtlcfs this was far from being the intent of Ofiris in the enacting of this law ; unlefs it may be faid, that he connived at theft; as an evil which it was imfciTibl^ :V ' -» « < i) ( 226 ) impolTible to prevent intirely ; in the fame manner as at Amfterdam they tolerate the Spiel houfes, and at Rome the public (lews. And yet, if iiich a law as that of Odris fliould unfortunately happen to be eflablifhed in any parti* cular country, a regard to morals, as well as 10 the public fecurity, requires the abolition of it. The French are the very reverfe of the Egypti- ans ; the latter were too mild, the former were too fevere. The rigour of the French laws is extreme- ly terrible ; the leaft petty larceny is punifhed with deaih. And the rcafon they give for it is, that by hanging pickpockets they deftroy the kcd of robbers and alTaflins. But natural equity requires there fhould be foms proportion between the punifhment and the crime. Robberies attended with murder deferve to be punifli* ed with death ; but thofe which are committed with- put offering violence, may be attended with circum- flances that fometimes are capable of exciting com- panion towards the criminal. Infinite is the diftance between the fituation of the rich and that of the poor : the one rolls in mo- ney, and riots in fuperfluity ; the other is forfakea by fortune, and deflitute even of neceflaries. Sup- pofe a poor fellow deals, through want, a few gui- neas, a gold watch, or fome fuch thing, from a per- fon to whom fuch a lofs is but a mere trifle ; is this a fufficient reafon to condemn the wretch to death ? does not humanity call upon us to foften the feve-p rityof the puniThment ? It feems, indeed, that this law was made by the rich : and have not tlie poor a right to fay, ** Is there no compaffion for our mife- ^' rable Ctviatlon ? If you were charitable, you woulcj ^ *' be 4< • 1^' ( 237 ) ^^ be humane ; if you relieved us in our diflrefsy *' we fhould not rob : we ask you, whether it bt ** fair, that all the plcafures of life fhould fill to *^ your fhare, and nothing but mifery to ours?'' In PfufTia we have taken a middle way between the remifnefs of the Egyptians, and the fc verity of the French. We do not punifh a fimple theft witH death, but only confine the delinquent for a certain time. Perhaps it would be ftill better to introduce the law of retaliation, which was obferved amongft the Jews, whereby the thief was obliged to reilore double the value of what he had flolen, or to yield himfelf the flave of theperfon be had robbed. Thus, by contenting ourfelvcs with inflicting only flight pu- nifliments for flight faults, we referve capital punifli- mcnts for banditti, murderers, and afTaflins, fo as to proportion the punifhment always to the crime. There is no law fo fhocking to humanity as that of Sparta and Rome, which conferred the power of life and death to fathers over their children. In Greece, if a father happened to be fo poor as to be unable to provide for his family, he was allowed to kill every new born infant that he could not main- tain. Both in Sparta and Rome, if a child was born with any notable deformity, this was fuflicient to impower the father to deprive him of life. We are pcrfedly fenflble of the barbarity of thofe laws, be- caufe they are not ours ; but let us inquire, for a while, whether fome of ours are not equally unjufl. Is not there fomething very hard in the manner in which we punifli thofe who caufe abortions ? God forbid I fliould attempt to excufe the horrid adion of thofe cruel Medeas, who, deaf to the cries of na- ture, deflioy the unborn Infant, by refufmg to give it lime |- ii (,l ) . ! / / 'I i ' 1 " ( 238 ) time to come to light ! But let ti.e teader lay afiJe all iTejudices ariCg from cullom, and be plcafed to cVe attention to the re.lcxions I am going to offer. Do not the hws brand with infamy a woinan who is brought to bed out of lawful wedlock? Suppofe a o-,rl of a tender difpolition, is deceived by the fal- lacious promifcs of a debauchee, the confequence of her credulity is, th ,t (he muft take her choice, either ,0 lofe her reputation, or the unhappy fru.t which fte has conceived. Are not the laws to b ame for reducing her to this terrible dilemma >. and does not ,he feverity of tl-.e judges deprive the "^'^ of'^^" fubicc-ts at once ? of the child, who has perifhed by abortion, r-.d cf the mother, who mifiht have re- paired this fault by a legitimate propagat_on .1 o this it will be anfwercd, that there arc foimdling hofpitals ; and 1 own, that thefe fave the lives of a multitude of baftard children : but would it not be better to ftrlke at the very root of the evil, and to preferve fo many poor creatures, who coine to a mi- ferable end, by abolifl.ing the note of infamy wh.ch attends dcfultory and unguarded embraces . Butnoihing is more cruel than the praft.ce of put- ting criminals to the torture : the Romans ufed it loainft their Oaves, whom they confidered as a kmd of domeftic cattle ; but it was not allowed agamft a ""Tk"" torture is ufed in Germany againft, malcfaflors, after their conviction, to oblige them to confcls their crime I" France it is ufed to prove the faft, or to d^^o^er the accomplices. In Knglf " ^'^Vbv Z- merly the ordeal, or purgation by fire and by wa- . The o.a,.i Vy Sre w». h^. oHipn, „,e pcvfon ^'^ nmcccofhot ronbct'vecn his hands t tie was *' -f -, Ve hurt! he ■... =cr.i.tcd ; i!-o*«*.!c, h« w»» punA.i .s g-lty. w C 239 ) ler f ; 3t prefent they have a kind of torture Jefs fe* vere, indeed, than the ordinary one, but which a- mounts pretty near to the fame thing. I hope I need make no apology for condcmninp^ the ufe of t!ie torture ; for preluming to take the part ot" humanity againil a pradice {o Ihamctul to Chriltians and to ail civilized nations ; and, if I may venture to add, a practice as uleiefs as crutl. Qiiintilian, the molt learned, and moll eloquent of riietoricians, treating of the torture, fays, it is a thing that depends on conftitution. A villain, of a robult habit of body, will <1q.wj the {xQi ; when an innocent perfon, of a weak conltitution, fhall own it. Suppofe a man is accufed of a crime, and there are fufpicious circumftances agalnil: him; the judge is dubious, and wants to come at the truth j the poor wretch is then put to the torture. li' he is innocent, is it not barbarity to make him fufTcr mar- tyrdom \ If the violence of the pain obliges him to dcpofe againft himfeif, is it not the molt (hocking inhumanity to rack and condemn to death a virtuous citizen, agjinft whom there are only fufpicious cir- cumftances ? It would be much better to pardon twenty who are guilty, than wrongfully to condemn one innocent perfon. If laws ought to be made for the good of the people; hcv/ is it poffible to bear uith fuch as thefe, which lay the judges under a ncccffity of committing, in method and form, actions that are fiiocking, in the highell degree, to human nature ? It is now eight 5'ears dncc the prn(5lice of tortur- ing" criminals has been abcli.^ed in Pruflla. We are furc I The orJeal by water was, hy tying the perHjn accufcJ, and Ihrowirg Lira into the waUr; if he Jid not fink, he \v;*s acmiit- teU, / ro n (It ! nil ( »40 ) fure not to confout»d the innocent with the guilty? and yet jullice is as well adminiftred as formerly. Let us now examine into thefe vague laws and te* dions proceedings which have need of a reformation. There was a law in England that prohibited bi- ramv : «pon this a man was charged with being married to five wives ; but as the law was not clear and diftlna in regard to the cafe, and as they inter- pret it literally, the man was acquitted. To render this law clear, it (hould be worded thus = that who- ever is married to more wives than one ftiall be pu- niflicd, 6r.. The want of diftlnflnefs in the word- ingoflaws, and the literal interpretation of them in En-land +, has occafioned the mod ridiculous abufes. Clear laws prevent chicanery and cavilling, for thev are to be underftood according to the meaning of the letter; when they are indiftinfl or obfcure we are obliged to have recourfe to the intention of The legiflator ; and, inftead of judging of fafts, our time is taken up in defining them. . . „ , The chicanery of lawyers is kept up chiefly by fncceflions and contrafls ; for which reafon the laws Sating to thefe articles have need of the greateft rerfpicuity. If we are fo nice with regard to words Fn writing trifling pieces for amufement ; how much more fcrupulous ought we to be in weighing the mms of the law, by which the lives and property of the people are to be decided ? There are two rocks which judges ought to avoid fplitting upon, corruption and error ; their confc.^ * Maralt A rrtr, flit ^..-othfr's i-ofc. and was taken up and piottcutM tor IT S ^ J , , member ; and l;:e^r:;l;:^oK-^^e anew aa, accUring, th. t!:c nofc Ihould be looked upon as a member. ( ^4r ) ence fliould fcciirc them againfl the firil, and th- legiflature a^a'uui the Jecon.l. This is principally ef- fected by the perfpicuity of the laws, whlcli leaves no roon. for cuviiling ; and, in the next place, by the hniplicity or the pleadings. The council may be ordered to confine thcmiclvcs to a plain narration of the fact, fupported by fome proofs, and tcrmina- tmg in an epilo^^ue, or a (liort recapitulation. No- thing bears fuch a fu'ay with it as tl]e art of mana- ging the pallions in the mouth of an eloquent orator: he feizej>, as it were, on the mind of the jjdgc ; he fecures him in his intercd; he excites his palTions • and he impclls him, in fine, like a torrent : thus the juftice of the caiife is facrificed to the bewitching charms of eloquence Lycurous and Solon prohibi- ted this kind of oratory; and if we meet w th fome inilances of it in Demofthcncs's Philippics, and in the orations pro Corona, by him and Efchincs, we are to obfervc, that they were not pronounced before the court of Areopagus, but before t!ie people ; that the Phihppics are of the deliberative kind ; and that thofc pro Cotoua are rather of the demonllrativc than of the judicial kind. The Romans were not fo fcrupulous as the Greeks in regard to the.r judicial pickings. There is rot one of Cicero's pleas but is worked up with all the art of moving the paffions. I am ferry to fiy it of this great orator ; but we find in his oration p-9 Clticnth, that he had pleaded before for the oppofite party : and though Cluentius's caufe does not feeni abfolutely good, yet it was carri.^d by the impoang art of the orator. Cicero's ma{ler-piecc is, without doubf, the peroration pro Fnitcio ; it gained his client the caufe, though he appears guilty. What R aa M> I* 'i H ( 242 ) an abufe of eloquence, thus to evade the very bcfl uf laws by its iliulive charms ! PruH'u has followed this example of Greece, by binifliing the dangerous fubtllties of eloquence from iier courts of judicature : and for this (he is indebted to the wifdom of the high ciiancellor, whofe probity, learning, and indefatigable adivity, would have been an honour to the Greek and Roman republics, even at the time when they were moll fruitful in great men. There is (liil another article remaining, which ought to be included under the obfcurity of laws; thi^ is the tedious practice of the courts, or the number of delays which the parties at law muft go through before the fuit is determined. Whether they are injured by the iniquity of the laws, or whe- ther their rights are confounded, or whether the length of the proceedings fwallows up the very pro- pcrTy for whicii they are contclling, and deprives them of the advantages due to them, it all amounts to the fame ; one may be a greater evil tiian the o- thcr ; but all abufes want a reformation. Whatever len-thcns the courfe of proceedings, gives a confide- rable advanta,;e to the rich-over the poor ; they find means to fpin out the caufe from time to time, till they ruin their adverfary, and arc left to run the race by themfeives. Law fuits formerly Inded in our country above an hundred years- Even when the caufe had been de- cided by five courts, the party who was caft might appeal/in open contempt of juftlce, to the univerfi- titis, and the Civilians altered the fentence as they thought proper. Thus the party at law muft have bccn°vcry unlucky indeed, if in five different courts. and ( 243 ) rtnd I know not how many univerfitics, he couIJ meet with no body whofe heart was open to venality and corruption. This method of proceeding is now a- boliflied; caufes are determined finaily m the third jnftance ; and judges are allowed only the fpace of a year to decide the moft intricat;" caufes. We fliall conclude with a few remarks concerning thofe laws which imply a contradiction cither in tiie words or in the fenfe. Wlien the laws of a country are not reduced into one body, they muft needs contradid: one another very frequently. A"? they are the work of different jegillators, who have not all proceeded on the fame plan, they muft want tliat unity which is fo elfential- ly requifite in all matters of importance. Quintilian treats this fubjc(5t in his inftitutes ; and wc find, in Cicero's orations, that he frequently oppofcs one law againft another. The fame may be obferved in the hiiiory of France, in regard to the cdids, which are fometimcs in favour of, and fome- times againft the Huguenots. The neceffity of di* gefling thcfc ord nances is fo much the more indif- penfible, as nothing is more contrary to the majeily of laws (which are always fuppofcd to be cfiablilhedf \vith deliberation and prudence) than to find them openly contradictory to each other. The law againft duels is juft and equitable, as our very rcafon tells us ; and yet it has not anfwercd the end which princes cxpcdcd. Prejudices of a more antient date than this law, have hindered it from ta- king effedt ; and the public, who are generally car- ried away by falfc notions, feem to have entered into a tacit agreement not to obey it. A miftakcn point of honour^ but generally received; bids defiance fo K 2, ths ■^ M m ^'( / il.r i!v\ ( 244 ) the power of fovcreigns ; and, indeed, they cannot put this law in full force without being guilty of a kind of cruelty. Every man, who has had the mif- fortLine of being infuited by an inconlidcrate fool, paffes for a coward all over the world, if he does not revenge the affront, by the death of the perfon who offered it. If the injury is done ro a man of family, he is looked upon as unworthy of the noble titles he bears, unlefs he demand fatisfaflion ; and if he be- longs to the army, and does not take this method of deeding the difference, he is obliged to quit the fcr- vice with ignominy ; nor will he afterwards find em- ployment in any court in Europe. \\ hat method then muft a private perfon take, if he happens to be engaged in (o thorny an affair ? mull he incur infamy and difgracc by obeying the law ? or fhall he not rather run the rifque of his life and fortune to fave his reputation ? The difficulty that now remains is, to find out an expedient for faving the honour of private perfons, and of preferving, at the fame time, the law in its full vigour. The authority of the greatefl princes has been in- cffedual againft this barbarous cullom. Lewis XIV. Frederick I and Frederick- William, putlifhed very fevere edicts againft duels, but all to no purpofe ; only that duels afterwards changed their name, and Avere called rencounters ; and fcveral noblemen, who were killed on thefc occafions, were faid to have died fuddenly. If all the princes in Europe do not appoint a con- grefs, and unanimoufly agree to brand with infamy thofe who, in contempt of their laws, attempt to cut one another's throat in thefc finglc combats ; if, Ifay, V' i i^ ( ^45 ) I fay, they do not enter into an agreement, not to afford any kind of afylum to this kind of murderers, and to inflid fevere punifhments on fuch as fliall in- fult their equals either by word, deed, or writing, there will never be an end of duels. Let me not be charged with having copied the yifionary notions of the Abbe de St Pierre. 1 fee no impoffibillty in this, that private pcrfons fhould fub- mit their quarrels to the decifion of judges, no more than in fubmitting the difputes they may have rela- ting to property. And why fliould not princes af- femblc a congrefs for the general good of mankind, after having held fo many fruitlefs ones for matters of leffer importance > To return to the point ; I may venture to maintain that this is the only effeftua! way of abolifhing, throughout Europe, that ill-judg- ed notion of honour, which has cofl: the lives of fo many brave men, whofe country might have expedl- cd the moft eminent fervices from their abilities. Such is the abflraft of the reflexions that have oc- curred to me upon laws. I have confined myfelf to the outlines, without drawing a full plan ; and yet I am afraid I have faid too much. The laft remark I have to make is, that thofe na- tions who have but jufl begun to fliake off their bar- baroufnefs, feem to require a greater feverity of laws - but nations that have been long civilized, and whofe manners are gentle and mild, have need of humane legiflators. To imagine that men are all devils, and to fall upon them with mveterate rancour, is the vifionary notion of a four mifanthrope : to fuppofe that they are all angels, and to leave them intirely to their own gui- dance, IS the dream of a filly monk : to be perfua- > ) ( H^ ) ded that they are neither all good, nor all bad ; to reward virtuous anions even beyond their merit ; to punifh vicious ones below their defert ; is (hewing indulgence to their infirmities, and humanity to them all ; and; in fine, is aifling like a reafonable man. ,1 I N S. !■ i: »t»*i'^»* »»»|Ni,,i»«4,„,^ COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES This book is due on the date indicated below, or at the expiration of a definite period after the date of borrowing, as provided by the library rules or by special arrangement with the Librarian in charge. DATE BORROWED DATE DUE M ^ DATE BORROWED C28(l149) lOOM DATE DUE 1 I'- i ( \ i \ I 'V i ^ o "■)#%- w NON- CIRCULATI NG ''/ rv3 ,') ' mi