b o o k “ de gloire et de mifére ne l’eut-il pas fans doute portée, s’il
. VIL , “ eut fourni la carrière que la nature accorde à la plupart
“ des hommes, mais que le ciel dans fa pitié refufe d’ordi-
“ naire aux conquerans. Quelques revers, et la vue d’une
“ fin prochaine, avoient donc éclairé Charles Guftave
“ fur la vanité de tous fes ambitieux deiTems : en recom-
“ mandant a íes fucceflêurs de faire promptement la paix, il
“ donnoit une grande leçon à fes pareils ; et c’eft là fans doute
“ le trait de fon hiftoire le plus precieux aux yeux de la rai-
“ fon et de l’humanité
Iîis fon and fucceifor Charles / XI. . whofe fepulchre
is contiguous to that o f his father, has been reprobated
by many foreign hiftorians as an odious tyrant; but
his charaéter, if infpeéted without prejudice, fo far from de-
ferving that imputation, will in many inftances merit our re-
fpeél and efteem. An unfavourable idea o f . his defpotick.
principles has been formed from his refumption o f many
crown lands, which reduced feveral families to poverty ; and
from-his mode o f liquidating the publick debts, by railing
the nominal worth o f the coin without increafing its real,
value. Although it cannot be denied that fome o f thefe
meafures were oppreffive and violent ; yet when we confider
* Mall-et Hiftoire d eDannemarc, vo l. I I I . “ ednefs would he not have ca rried her, if
p . 432. “ A t his de a th h e was only f ix “ h e had atta ined th a t period; o f life which
“ and th ir ty ye ars o f ag e , and the lait years “ nature g en e rally g rants to the greateil
“ o f his life w ere as ag ita ted as th e p rec ed in g “ p a rt o f mankind, b u t w h ich heaven, in
“ pa rt had been tran quil. W h en we con - “ its compaffion, mbit commonly refufes to
“ template a ll the aérions w h ich this prince “ conquerors. A je v e r fe 'o f fortun e, and
“ performed du r in g th e ih ort period o f his “ th e approach o f death, fiad fu lly expofed
“ exiftence; his talents fo r wa r, his aérivitÿ, “ to him th e 'v a n it y o f his ambitious de-
“ his bbundlefs ambition, th e relpeéfc and figns. In recommend ing an immediate
“ ter ro r which he imprefled eq u a lly upon “ pea ce to his fuccefl’o r , he afforded a molt
“ his fubje&s and Tris enemies, w e mnft “ ilr ik in g leflbn to oth e r fovereigns ; and
“ confider his death as an e v en t th a t could “ this perhaps is the moil exemplary parti-
“ not b u t affeét the intereft o f th e g re a te il “ cu la r o f his hiilory in the cohfideration
‘ p a rt c i E u rope ; and with refpe¿l>to Swe- “ o f reafon and h um an ity .”
u den, to w h a t a d egree o f g lo r y and w retch -
the
the exhaufted ftate o f the finances derived from the bound-
lefs profufion o f Chriftina * ; theruinous warsof Charles Guf-
tavus, and the diforders o f a long minority;, we cannot but
affent to the opinion o f the moft unprejudiced Swedes, that,
though the reform introduced by Charles was in fome inftances
prejudicial to individuals, yet upon the whole it was
falutary to the country; and that nothing lefs than the moft
violent meafures could have extricated his fpbjedts from the
deplorable and exhaufted ftate to which they were reduced. t
In one point o f view Charles merited and gained the love
and efteem o f his people: notwithftanding his natural ardour
for military glory, he invariably perfifted in pacifick meafures
t ; and while he preferved his own country from the
horrors o f war, he mediated the peace o f Europe. To
CharlesXI. may be afcribed, what Boileau falfely attributed to
Louis XIV. that he was his own minifter £; and what could
not have been faid o f the French monarch, without flattery,
was worthy o f being fo. Charles was chafte, temperate,
ceconomical, vigilant, and active; a patron of letters; fevere*
yet not implacable ; prone to anger, but eafily foftened.
* T h e princ ipal nobles, du rin g the mi- -
nority o f C h a r le s X I . to o k advantage o f a
weak government to ap propriate the few
ceown-lantis w h ich C h r iilin a had not alienated.
T “ His peaceable co n d u it may.perhaps
^..more ju lt ly fee afcribed >to the ilate o f h is
affairs, than his .own natu re , which more-
'powerfully■ inclines him to th e fatig&e o f
** a camp, than the eafe o f a c o u r t ; and
t. ||ljjg b ette r w ith a martia l familiarity ,
J ’than the Ihews o f g ran d eu r , and the fo -
lemnities o f ila te .” iBifhop R o b in lo irs -
Account o f Sweden. '
ffptVS maic% V > ” <fays.Roh.wifon, “ moil
diligent infpeblion .into all the affairs o f
•Vol. IL x
-*• his k in gd om , befides th a t it makes a ll h h
“ miniIters more circumlpedt, h a th gained
“ him a g re a t flo ck o f exp e r ien ce . T h e
“ fmaMeft matters are not b elow his notice ;
“ and n o th in g o f an y moment-.is conc lu ded
“ before he h a th been c o n fu lte d : this is th e
“ employment o f all his ritp e y fe a fe e a n y '
“ hour o f the d a y pa llin g from five in the
morning, when he con'ilantiy fife s, in
“ w h ich bufinefs o f one natu re o r o th er is
“ not before him,”- .
| Et-qui leiilj-fans m in iilre, a P exemple
des dieiix,
Soutiens tou t p a rT o i -m em e , & voi*
tout, p a r le s .y e u x .
Bo ile au, D iico u r s au R o i.
f M
C H A P ,
pfi *