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soon declared.]
A
MODERN HISTORY,
FROM THE
TIME OF LUTHER
TO THE
FALL OF NAPOLEON.
FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES.
BY
JOHN LORD, A.M.,
LECTURER ON HISTORY.
PHILADELPHIA:
CHARLES DESILVER;
CLAXTON, REMSEN & HAFFELFINGER;
J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.
NEW YORK: D. APPLETON & Co.
BOSTON: NICHOLS & HALL.
CINCINNATI: ROBERT CLARKE & Co; WILSON, HINKLE & Co.
SAN FRANCISCO: A. L. BANCROFT & Co.
_Chicago_: S. C. GRIGGS & Co.--_Charleston, S. C._: J. M. Greer &
Son; Edward Perry & Son.--_Raleigh, N. C._: Williams &
Lambeth.--_Baltimore, Md._: Cushings & Bailey; W. J. C Dulaney &
Co.--_New Orleans, La._: Stevens & Seymour.--_Savannah, Ga._: J. M.
Cooper & Co.--_Macon, Ga._: J. M. Boardman.--_Augusta, Ga._: Thos.
Richards & Son.--_Richmond, Va._: Woodhouse & Parham.
1874.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1849, by
JOHN LORD,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District
of Massachusetts.
PREFACE.
In preparing this History, I make no claim to original and profound
investigations; but the arrangement, the style, and the sentiments,
are my own. I have simply attempted to condense the great and varied
subjects which are presented, so as to furnish a connected narrative
of what is most vital in the history of the last three hundred years,
avoiding both minute details and elaborate disquisitions. It has been
my aim to write a book, which should be neither a chronological table
nor a philosophical treatise, but a work adapted to the wants of young
people in the various stages of education, and which, it is hoped,
will also prove interesting to those of maturer age; who have not the
leisure to read extensive works, and yet who wish to understand the
connection of great events since the Protestant Reformation. Those
characters, institutions, reforms, and agitations, which have had the
greatest influence in advancing society, only have been described, and
these not to the extent which will satisfy the learned or the curious.
Dates and names, battles and sieges, have not been disregarded; but
more attention has been given to those ideas and to those men by whose
influence and agency great changes have taken place. In a work so
limited, and yet so varied, marginal references to original
authorities have not been deemed necessary; but a list of standard and
accessible authors is furnished, at the close of each chapter, which
the young student, seeking more minute information, can easily
consult. A continuation of this History to the present time might seem
desirable; but it would be difficult to condense the complicated
events of the last thirty years into less than another volume. Instead
of an unsatisfactory compend, especially of subjects concerning which
there are great differences of opinion, and considerable warmth of
feeling, useful tables of important events are furnished in the
Appendix. I have only to add, that if I have succeeded in remedying,
in some measure, the defects of those dry compendiums, which are used
for want of living histories; if I have combined what is instructive
with what is entertaining; and especially if I shall impress the
common mind, even to a feeble degree, with those great moral truths
which history ought to teach, I shall feel that my agreeable labor is
not without its reward.
J. L.
BOSTON, _October, 1849_.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
STATE OF EUROPEAN SOCIETY IN THE FIFTEENTH AND SIXTEENTH CENTURIES.
(pp. 1-9.)
Revival of the Arts -- Influence of Feudalism -- Effects of
Scholasticism -- Ecclesiastical Corruptions -- Papal Infallibility --
The sale of Indulgences -- The Corruptions of the Church -- Necessity
for Reform.
CHAPTER II.
MARTIN LUTHER AND HIS ASSOCIATES.
(pp. 10-29.)
The Early Life of Luther -- Luther's Early Religious Struggles -- The
Ninety-Five Propositions -- Erasmus -- Melancthon -- Leo X. -- The
Leipsic Disputation -- Principles of the Leipsic Disputation -- The
Rights of Private Judgment -- Luther's Elements of Greatness --
Excommunication of Luther -- The Diet of Worms -- Imprisonment at
Wartburg -- Carlstadt -- Thomas Münzer Ulric -- Zwingle -- Controversy
between Luther and Zwingle -- Diet of Augsburg -- League of Smalcalde
-- Death and Character of Luther.
CHAPTER III.
THE EMPEROR CHARLES V.
(pp. 30-44.)
Charles V. -- Spain and France in the Fifteenth Century -- Wars
between Charles and Francis. -- Diet of Spires -- Hostilities between
Charles and Francis -- African War -- Council of Trent -- Treachery of
Maurice -- Captivity of the Landgrave of Hesse -- Heroism of Maurice
-- Misfortunes of Charles -- Treaty of Passau -- Character of Charles.
CHAPTER IV.
HENRY VIII.
(pp. 45-59.)
Rise of Absolute Monarchy -- Henry VIII. -- Rise of Cardinal Wolsey --
Magnificence of Henry VIII. -- Anne Boleyn -- Queen Catharine --
Disgrace and Death of Wolsey -- More -- Cranmer -- Cromwell -- Quarrel
with the Pope -- Suppression of Monasteries -- Execution of Anne
Boleyn -- Anne of Cleves -- Catharine Howard -- Last Days of Henry --
Death of Henry.
CHAPTER V.
EDWARD VI. AND MARY.
(pp. 60-68.)
War with Scotland -- Rebellions and Discontents -- Rivalry of the
great Nobles -- Religious Reforms -- Execution of Northumberland --
Marriage of the Queen -- Religious Persecution -- Character of Mary --
Accession of Elizabeth.
CHAPTER VI.
ELIZABETH.
(pp. 69-81.)
Mary, Queen of Scots -- John Knox -- Marriage of Mary -- Darnley --
Bothwell -- Civil War in Scotland -- Captivity of Queen Mary --
Execution of Mary -- Military Preparations of Philip II. -- Spanish
Armada -- Irish Rebellion -- The Earl of Essex -- Character of
Elizabeth -- Improvements made in the Reign of Elizabeth --
Reflections.
CHAPTER VII.
FRANCIS II., CHARLES IX., HENRY III., AND HENRY IV.
(pp. 82-90.)
Catharine de Medicis -- Civil War in France -- Massacre of St.
Bartholomew -- Henry III. -- Henry IV. -- Edict of Nantes --
Improvements during the Reign of Henry IV. -- Peace Scheme of
Henry IV. -- Death of Henry IV. -- France at the Death of Henry IV.
CHAPTER VIII.
PHILIP II. AND THE AUSTRIAN PRINCES OF SPAIN.
(pp. 91-96.)
Bigotry of Philip II. -- Revolt of the Netherlands -- Revolt of the
Moriscoes -- Causes of the Decline of the Spanish Monarchy -- The
Increase of Gold and Silver -- Decline of the Spanish Monarchy.
CHAPTER IX.
THE JESUITS, AND THE PAPAL POWER IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.
(pp. 97-107.)
The Roman Power in the Seventeenth Century -- Rise of the Jesuits --
Rapid Spread of the Jesuits -- Extraordinary Virtues of the older
Jesuits -- The Constitution of the Jesuits -- Degeneracy of the
Jesuits -- Evils in the Jesuit System -- The Popes in the Seventeenth
Century -- Nepotism of the Popes -- Rome in the Seventeenth Century.
CHAPTER X.
THIRTY YEARS' WAR.
(pp. 108-119.)
Political Troubles after the Death of Luther -- Diet of Augsburg --
Commencement of the Thirty Years' War -- The Emperor Frederic -- Count
Wallenstein -- Character of Wallenstein -- Gustavus Adolphus -- Loss
of Magdeburg -- Wallenstein reinstated in Power -- Death of Gustavus
Adolphus -- Assassination of Wallenstein -- Treaty of Westphalia.
CHAPTER XI.
ADMINISTRATIONS OF CARDINALS RICHELIEU AND MAZARIN.
(pp. 120-132.)
Regency of Mary de Medicis -- Rise of Cardinal de Richelieu --
Suppression of the Huguenots -- The Depression of the great Nobles --
Power of Richelieu -- Character of Richelieu -- Effects of Richelieu's
Policy -- Richelieu's Policy -- Cardinal de Retz -- Prince of Condé --
Power of Mazarin -- Death of Mazarin.
CHAPTER XII.
THE REIGNS OF JAMES I. AND CHARLES.
(pp. 133-180.)
Accession of James I. -- The Genius of the Reign of James --
Conspiracy of Sir Walter Raleigh -- Gunpowder Plot -- Persecution of
the Catholics -- Robert Carr, Earl of Somerset -- Greatness and Fall
of Somerset -- Duke of Buckingham -- Lord Bacon -- Trial and Execution
of Raleigh -- Encroachments of James -- Quarrel between James and
Parliament -- Death of James -- The Struggle of Classes -- Rise of
Popular Power -- Quarrel between the King and the Commons -- The
Counsellors of Charles -- Death of Buckingham -- Petition of Right --
Earl of Strafford -- John Hampden -- Insurrection in Scotland -- Long
Parliament -- Rebellion of Ireland -- Flight of the King from London
-- Rise of the Puritans -- Original Difficulties and Differences --
Persecution during the Reign of Elizabeth -- Archbishops Grindal and
Whitgift -- Persecution under James -- Puritans in Exile -- Troubles
in Scotland -- Peculiarities of Puritanism in England -- Conflicts
among the Puritans -- Character of the Puritans -- John Hampden --
Oliver Cromwell -- The King at Oxford -- Cromwell after the Battle of
Marston Moor -- Enthusiasm of the Independents -- Battle of Naseby --
Success of the Parliamentary Army -- Seizure of the King -- Triumph of
the Independents -- Cromwell invades Scotland -- Seizure of the King a
second Time -- Trial of the King.
CHAPTER XIII.
PROTECTORATE OF OLIVER CROMWELL.
(pp. 181-191.)
Storming of Drogheda and Wexford -- Battle of Worcester -- Policy of
Cromwell -- The Rump Parliament -- Dispersion of the Parliament
Cromwell assumes the Protectorship -- The Dutch War -- Cromwell rules
without a Parliament -- The Protectorate -- Regal Government restored.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE REIGN OF CHARLES II.
(pp. 192-210.)
The Restoration -- Great Public Rejoicings -- Reaction to
Revolutionary Principles -- Excellencies in Charles's Government --
Failure of the Puritan Experiment -- Repeal of the Triennial Bill --
Secret Alliance with Louis XIV. -- Venality and Sycophancy of
Parliament -- Restrictions on the Press -- Habeas Corpus Act -- Titus
Oates -- Oates's Revelations -- Penal Laws against Catholics --
Persecution of Dissenters -- Execution of Russell and Sydney --
Manners and Customs of England -- Milton -- Dryden -- Condition of the
People of England.
CHAPTER XV.
THE REIGN OF JAMES II.
(pp. 211-233.)
Accession of James II. -- Monmouth lands in England -- Battle of
Sedgemoor -- Death of Monmouth -- Brutality of Jeffreys -- Persecution
of the Dissenters -- George Fox -- Persecution of the Quakers --
Despotic Power of James -- Favor extended to Catholics -- High
Commission Court -- Quarrel with the Universities -- Magdalen College
-- Prosecution of the Seven Bishops -- Tyranny and infatuation of
James -- Organized Opposition -- William, Prince of Orange -- Critical
condition of James -- Invasion of England by William -- Flight of the
King -- Consummation of the Revolution -- Declaration of Rights.
CHAPTER XVI.
LOUIS XIV.
(pp. 234-251.)
The Power and Resources of Louis -- His Habits and Pleasures -- His
Military Ambition -- William, Prince of Orange -- Second Invasion of
Holland -- Dutch War -- Madame de Montespan -- Madame de Maintenon --
League of Augsburg -- Opposing Armies and Generals -- War of the
Spanish Succession -- Duke of Marlborough -- Battle of Blenheim --
Exertions and Necessities of Louis -- Treaty of Utrecht -- Last Days
of Louis -- His Character.
CHAPTER XVII.
WILLIAM AND MARY.
(pp. 252-270.)
Irish Rebellion -- King James in Ireland -- Freedom of the Press --
Act of Settlement -- Death of William III. -- Character of William --
Sir Isaac Newton and John Locke -- Anne -- The Duke of Marlborough --
Character of Marlborough -- Whigs and Tories -- Dr. Henry Sacheverell
-- Union of Scotland and England -- Duke of Hamilton -- Wits of Queen
Anne's Reign -- Swift -- Pope -- Bolingbroke -- Gay -- Prior --
Writers of the Age of Queen Anne.
CHAPTER XVIII.
PETER THE GREAT, AND RUSSIA.
(pp. 271-289.)
Early History of Russia -- The Tartar Conquest -- Accession of Peter
the Great -- Peter's Reforms -- His War with Charles XII. --
Charles XII. -- Building of St. Petersburg -- New War with Sweden --
War with the Turks -- Peter makes a second Tour -- Elevation of
Catharine -- Early History of Sweden -- Introduction of Christianity
-- Gustavus Vasa -- Early Days of Charles XII -- Charles's Heroism --
His Misfortunes -- His Return to Sweden -- His Death.
CHAPTER XIX.
GEORGE I., AND THE ADMINISTRATION OF SIR ROBERT WALPOLE.
(pp. 290-309.)
Accession of George I. -- Sir Robert Walpole -- The Pretender --
Invasion of Scotland -- The South Sea Bubble -- The South Sea Company
-- Opposition of Walpole -- Mania for Speculation -- Bursting of the
South Sea Bubble -- Enlightened policy of Walpole -- East India
Company -- Resignation of Townshend -- Unpopularity of Walpole --
Decline of his power -- John Wesley -- Early life of Wesley --
Whitefield -- Institution of Wesley -- Itinerancy -- Great influence
and power of Wesley.
CHAPTER XX.
THE COLONIZATION OF AMERICA AND THE EAST INDIES.
(pp. 310-341.)
Commercial Enterprise -- Spanish Conquests and Settlements --
Portuguese Discoveries -- Portuguese Settlements -- Early English
Enterprise -- Sir Walter Raleigh -- London Company incorporated --
Hardships of the Virginia Colony -- New Charter of the London Company
-- Rapid Colonization -- Indian Warfare -- Governor Harvey --
Arbitrary Policy of Charles II. -- Settlement of New England --
Arrival of the Mayflower -- Settlement of New Hampshire --
Constitution of the Colony -- Doctrines of the Puritans -- Pequod War
-- Union of the New England Colonies -- William Penn -- Settlement of
New York -- Conquest of New Netherlands -- Discovery of the St.
Lawrence -- Jesuit Missionaries -- Prosperity of the English Colonies
-- French Encroachments -- European Settlements in the East -- French
Settlements in India -- La Bourdonnais and Dupleix -- Clive's
Victories -- Conquest of India.
CHAPTER XXI.
THE REIGN OF GEORGE II.
(pp. 342-359.)
The Pelhams -- The Pretender Charles Edward Stuart -- Surrender of
Edinburgh -- Success of the Pretender -- The Retreat of the Pretender
-- Battle of Culloden -- Latter Days of the Pretender -- Maria Theresa
-- Capture of Louisburg -- Great Colonial Contest -- Character of the
Duke of Newcastle -- Unpopularity of the Pelhams -- Rise of William
Pitt -- Brilliant Military Successes -- Military Successes in America
-- Victories of Clive in India -- Resignation of Pitt -- Peace of
Paris.
CHAPTER XXII.
LOUIS XV.
(pp. 360-379.)
Regency of the Duke of Orleans -- John Law -- Mississippi Company --
Popular Delusion -- Fatal Effects of the Delusion -- Administration of
Cardinal Fleury -- Cornelius Jansen -- St. Cyran -- Arnauld -- Le
Maitre -- The Labors of the Port Royalists -- Principles of Jansenism
-- Functions of the Parliament -- The Bull Unigenitus -- Madame de
Pompadour -- The Jesuits -- Exposure of the Jesuits -- Their Expulsion
from France -- Suppression in Spain -- Pope Clement XIV. -- Death of
Ganganelli -- Death of Louis XV.
CHAPTER XXIII.
FREDERIC THE GREAT.
(pp. 380-390.)
Frederic William -- Accession of Frederic the Great -- The Seven
Years' War -- Battle of Rossbach -- Battle of Leuthen -- Fall of
Dresden -- Reverses of Frederic -- Continued Disasters -- Exhaustion
of Prussia by the War -- Death of Frederic -- Character of Frederic.
CHAPTER XXIV.
MARIA THERESA AND CATHARINE II.
(pp. 391-401.)
The Germanic Constitution -- The Hungarian War -- The Emperor Joseph
-- Accession of Maria Theresa -- She institutes Reforms -- Successors
of Peter the Great -- Murder of Peter III. -- Assassination, of Ivan
-- Death of Catharine -- Her Character.
CHAPTER XXV.
CALAMITIES OF POLAND.
(pp. 402-408.)
The Crown of Poland made elective -- Election of Henry, Duke of Anjou
-- Sobieski assists the Emperor Leopold -- The Liberum Veto -- The
Fall of Poland.
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE DECLINE OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE.
(pp. 409-415.)
Saracenic Empire -- Rise of the Turks -- Turkish Conquerors --
Progress of the Turks -- Decline of Turkish Power -- Turkish
Institutions -- Turkish Character.
CHAPTER XXVII.
REIGN OF GEORGE III. TO ADMINISTRATION OF WILLIAM PITT.
(pp. 416-431.)
Military Successes in America -- Prosecution of Wilkes -- Churchill --
Grafton's Administration -- Popularity of Wilkes -- Taxation of the
Colonies -- Indignation of the Colonies -- Functions of the Parliament
-- The Stamp Act -- Lord Chatham -- Administration of Lord North --
Irish Discontents -- Protestant Association -- Lord George Gordon's
Riots -- Parliamentary Reforms.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
(pp. 432-449.)
Causes of the Revolution -- Riots and Disturbances -- Duty on Tea --
Port of Boston closed -- Meeting of Congress -- Speech of Burke --
Battle of Bunker Hill -- Death of Montgomery -- Declaration of
American Independence -- Commissioners sent to France -- Capture of
Burgoyne -- Moral Effects of Burgoyne's Capture -- Arrival of La
Fayette -- Evacuation of Philadelphia -- The Treason of Arnold --
Surrender of Lord Cornwallis -- Resignation of Lord North.
CHAPTER XXIX.
ADMINISTRATION OF WILLIAM PITT.
(pp. 450-470.)
William Pitt -- Early Life of Pitt -- Policy of Pitt -- Difficulties
with Ireland -- The United Irishmen -- Union of England and Ireland --
Condition of Ireland -- Parliamentary Reform -- Warren Hastings -- War
with Hyder Ali -- Robbery of the Princesses of Oude -- Prosecution of
Hastings -- Edmund Burke -- Charles James Fox -- Richard Brinsley
Sheridan -- Bill for the Regulation of India -- War with Tippoo Saib
-- Conquest of India -- Consequences of the Conquest -- War with
France -- Policy of Pitt.
CHAPTER XXX.
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.
(pp. 471-495.)
Causes of the French Revolution -- Helvetius -- Voltaire -- Rousseau
-- Diderot -- General Influence of the Philosophers -- Sufferings of
the People -- Degradation of the People -- Derangement of Finances --
Maurepas -- Turgot -- Malesherbes -- Necker -- Calonne -- States
General -- The Tiers État -- Commotions -- Rule of the People --
National Federation -- Flight of the King -- The Girondists and the
Jacobins -- The National Convention -- Marat -- Danton -- Robespierre
-- General War -- Reign of Terror -- Death of Robespierre -- New
Constitution -- The Directory.
CHAPTER XXXI.
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.
(pp. 496-526.)
Character of Bonaparte -- Early Days of Bonaparte -- Early Services to
the Republic -- The Italian Campaign -- Battle of Cape St. Vincent --
Conquest of Venice by Bonaparte -- Invasion of Egypt -- Siege of
Acre -- Reverses of the French -- Bonaparte First Consul -- Immense
Military Preparations -- The Reforms of Bonaparte -- The Code Napoléon
-- Bonaparte becomes Emperor of the French -- Meditated Invasion of
England -- Battle of Austerlitz -- Battle of Jena -- Bonaparte
aggrandizes France -- Aggrandizement of Bonaparte's Family -- The
Peninsular War -- Invasion of Russia -- Battle of Smolensko -- Retreat
of the French -- Battles of Lutzen and Bautzen -- Battle of Leipsic --
The Allied Powers invade France -- Peace of Paris -- Bonaparte escapes
from Elba -- Battle of Waterloo -- Reflections on Napoleon's Fall.
CHAPTER XXXII.
EUROPE ON THE FALL OF NAPOLEON.
(pp. 527-532.)
Remarkable Men of Genius -- Condition of Germany -- Condition of other
Powers -- The United States of America.
APPENDIX.
Chronological Table, from the Fall of Napoleon, 533
Prime Ministers of England, from the Accession of
Henry VIII., 538
Table of the Monarchy of Europe, during the Sixteenth,
Seventeenth, and Eighteenth Centuries, 541
Genealogical Table of the Royal Family of England, 543
Genealogical Table of the Bourbons, 544
MODERN HISTORY.
CHAPTER I.
STATE OF EUROPEAN SOCIETY IN THE FIFTEENTH AND SIXTEENTH CENTURIES.
The period at which this History commences,--the beginning of the
sixteenth century,--when compared with the ages which had preceded it,
since the fall of the Roman empire, was one of unprecedented
brilliancy and activity. It was a period very fruitful in great men
and great events, and, though stormy and turbulent, was favorable to
experiments and reforms. The nations of Europe seem to have been
suddenly aroused from a state of torpor and rest, and to have put
forth new energies in every department of life. The material and the
political, the moral and the social condition of society was subject
to powerful agitations, and passed through important changes.
Great _discoveries and inventions_ had been made. The use of movable
types, first ascribed to a German, of Mentz, by the name of Gutenberg,
in 1441, and to Peter Schoeffer, in 1444, changed the whole system of
book-making, and vastly increased the circulation of the Scriptures,
the Greek and Latin classics, and all other valuable works, which, by
the industry of the monkish copyist, had been preserved from the
ravages of time and barbarism. Gunpowder, whose explosive power had
been perceived by Roger Bacon as early as 1280, though it was not used
on the field of battle until 1346, had completely changed the art of
war and had greatly contributed to undermine the feudal system. The
polarity of the magnet, also discovered in the middle ages, and not
practically applied to the mariner's compass until 1403, had led to
the greatest event of the fifteenth century--the discovery of America
by Christopher Columbus, in 1492. The impulse given to commerce by
this and other discoveries of unknown continents and oceans, by the
Portuguese, the Spaniards, the Dutch, the English, and the French,
cannot be here enlarged on. America revealed to the astonished
European her riches in gold and silver; and Indian spices, and silks,
and drugs, were imported, through new channels, into all the countries
inhabited by the Teutonic races. Mercantile wealth, with all its
refinements, acquired new importance in the eyes of the nations. The
world opened towards the east and the west. The horizon of knowledge
extended. Popular delusions were dispelled. Liberality of mind was
acquired. The material prosperity of the western nations was
increased. Tastes became more refined, and social intercourse more
cheerful.
[Sidenote: Revival of the Arts.]
Art, in all its departments, was every where revived at this epoch.
Houses became more comfortable, and churches more splendid. The
utensils of husbandry and of cookery were improved. Linen and woollen
manufactures supplanted the coarser fabrics of the dark ages. Music
became more elaborate, and the present system of notation was adopted.
The genius of the sculptor again gave life and beauty to a marble
block, and painting was carried to greater perfection than by the
ancient Greeks and Romans. Florence, Venice, Milan, and Rome became
seats of various schools of this beautiful art, of which Michael
Angelo, Correggio, the Carracci, and Raphael were the most celebrated
masters, all of whom were distinguished for peculiar excellences,
never since surpassed, or even equalled. The Flemish artists were
scarcely behind the Italian; and Rubens, of Antwerp, may well rank
with Correggio and Titian. To Raphael, however, the world has, as yet,
furnished no parallel.
[Sidenote: Influence of Feudalism.]
_The political and social structure_ of society changed. The crusades,
long before, had given a shock to the political importance of the
feudal aristocracy, and reviving commerce and art had shaken the
system to its foundations. The Flemish weavers had arisen, and a
mercantile class had clamored for new privileges. In the struggle of
classes, and in the misfortunes of nobles, monarchs had perceived the
advantages they might gain, and fortunate circumstances enabled them
to raise absolute thrones, and restore a central power, always so
necessary to the cause of civilization. Feudalism had answered many
useful ends in the dark ages. It had secured a reciprocity of duties
between a lord and his vassal; it had restored loyalty, truth, and
fidelity among semi-barbarians; it had favored the cultivation of the
soil; it had raised up a hardy rural population; it had promoted
chivalry, and had introduced into Europe the modern gentleman; it had
ennobled friendship, and spread the graces of urbanity and gentleness
among rough and turbulent warriors. But it had, also, like all human
institutions, become corrupt, and failed to answer the ends for which
it was instituted. It had become an oppressive social despotism; it
had widened the distinction between the noble and ignoble classes; it
had produced selfishness and arrogance among the nobles, and a mean
and cringing sycophancy among the people; it had perpetuated
privileges, among the aristocracy, exceedingly unjust, and ruinous to
the general welfare of society. It therefore fell before the advancing
spirit of the age, and monarchies and republics were erected on its
ruins. The people, as well as monarchs, had learned the secret of
their power. They learned that, by combining their power, they could
successfully resist their enemies. The principle of association was
learned. Combinations of masses took place. Free cities were
multiplied. A population of artificers, and small merchants, and free
farmers arose. They discussed their privileges, and asserted their
independence. Political liberty was born, and its invaluable blessings
were conceived, if they were not realized.
[Sidenote: Effects of Scholasticism.]
_And the intellectual state_ of Europe received an impulse as marked
and beneficent as the physical and social. The scholastic philosophy,
with its dry and technical logic, its abstruse formulas, and its
subtle refinements, ceased to satisfy the wants of the human mind, now
craving light and absolute knowledge in all departments of science and
philosophy. Like feudalism, it had once been useful; but like that
institution, it had also become corrupted, and an object of sarcasm
and mockery. It had trained the European mind for the discoveries of
the sixteenth century; it had raised up an inquisitive spirit, and had
led to profound reflections on the existence of God, on his attributes
and will, on the nature of the soul, on the faculties of the mind and
on the practical duties of life. But this philosophy became pedantic
and cold; covered, as with a funereal shade, the higher pursuits of
life; and diverted attention from what was practical and useful. That
earnest spirit, which raised up Luther and Bacon, demanded, of the
great masters of thought, something which the people could understand,
and something which would do them good.
In poetry, the insipid and immoral songs of the Provençal bards gave
place to the immortal productions of the great creators of the
European languages. Dante led the way in Italy, and gave to the world
the "Divine Comedy"--a masterpiece of human genius, which raised him
to the rank of Homer and Virgil. Petrarch followed in his steps, and,
if not as profound or original as Dante, yet is unequalled as an
"enthusiastic songster of ideal love." He also gave a great impulse to
civilization by his labors in collecting and collating manuscripts.
Boccaccio also lent his aid in the revival of literature, and wrote a
series of witty, though objectionable stories, from which the English
Chaucer borrowed the notion of his "Canterbury Tales." Chaucer is the
father of English poetry, and kindled a love of literature among his
isolated countrymen; and was one of the few men who, in the evening of
his days, looked upon the world without austerity, and expressed
himself with all the vivacity of youthful feeling.
[Sidenote: Ecclesiastical Corruptions.]
Such were some of the leading events and circumstances which gave a
new life to European society, and created a desire for better days.
All of these causes of improvement acted and reacted on each other in
various ways, and prepared the way to new and great developments of
action and passion. These new energies were, however, unfortunately
checked by a combination of evils which had arisen in the dark ages,
and which required to be subverted before any great progress could be
reasonably expected. These evils were most remarkable in the church
itself and almost extinguished the light which Christ and his apostles
had kindled. The church looked with an evil eye on many of the
greatest improvements and agitations of the age, and attempted to
suppress the spirit of insurrection which had arisen against the
abuses and follies of past ages. Great ideas were ridiculed, and
daring spirits were crushed. There were many good men in the church
who saw and who lamented prevailing corruptions, but their voice was
overwhelmed by the clamors of interested partisans, or silenced by the
authority of the popes. The character of the popes themselves was not
what was expected of the heads of the visible church, or what was
frequently exhibited in those ignorant and superstitious times, when
the papacy fulfilled, in the opinion of many enlightened Protestants,
a benevolent mission. None had the disinterestedness of Gregory I., or
the talents of Gregory VII. There had been a time when the great
central spiritual monarchy of Rome had been exercised for the peace
and tranquillity of Europe, when it was uniformly opposed to slavery
and war, and when it was a mild and paternal government, which
protected innocence and weakness, while it punished injustice and
crime. The time was, when popes had been elevated for their piety and
learning, and when they lived as saints and died as martyrs. But that
time had passed. The Roman church did not keep up with the spirit or
the wants of the age, and moreover did not reform itself from vices
which had been overlooked in ages of ignorance and superstition. In
the fifteenth century, many great abuses scandalized a body of men who
should have been the lights of the world; and the sacred pontiffs
themselves set examples of unusual depravity. Julius II. marched at
the head of armies. Alexander VI. secured his election by bribery, and
reigned by extortion. He poisoned his own cardinals, and bestowed on
his son Cæsar Borgia--an incarnated demon--the highest dignities and
rewards. It was common for the popes to sell the highest offices in
the church for money, to place boys on episcopal thrones, to absolve
the most heinous and scandalous crimes for gold, to encourage the
massacre of heretics, and to disgrace themselves by infamous vices.
And a general laxity of morals existed among all orders of the clergy.
They were ignorant, debauched, and ambitious. The monks were
exceedingly numerous; had ceased to be men of prayer and
contemplation, as in the days of Benedict and Bernard; and might be
seen frequenting places of demoralizing excitement, devoted to
pleasure, and enriched by inglorious gains.
But the evils which the church encouraged were more dangerous than the
vices of its members. These evils were inherent in the papal system,
and were hard to be subverted. There were corruptions of doctrine, and
corruptions in the government and customs of the church.
[Sidenote: Papal Infallibility.]
There generally prevailed, throughout Christendom, the belief in papal
infallibility, which notion subverted the doctrines of the Bible, and
placed its truths, at least, on a level with the authority of the
schoolmen. It favored the various usurpations of the popes, and
strengthened the bonds of spiritual despotism.
The popes also claimed a control over secular princes, as well as the
supremacy of the church. Hildebrand was content with riveting the
chains of universal spiritual authority, the evil and absurdity of
which cannot well be exaggerated; but his more ambitious successors
sought to reduce the kings of the earth to perfect vassalage, and,
when in danger of having their monstrous usurpations torn from them,
were ready to fill the world with discord and war.
But the worldly popes of the fifteenth century also aspired to be
temporal princes. They established the most elegant court in Europe;
they supported large armies; they sought to restore the splendor of
imperial Rome; they became ambitious of founding great families; they
enriched their nephews and relations at the sacrifice of the best
interests of their church; they affected great state and dignity; they
built gorgeous palaces; they ornamented their capital with pictures
and statues.
The territories of Rome were, however, small. The lawful revenues of
the popes were insufficient to gratify their extravagance and pomp.
But money, nevertheless, they must have. In order to raise it, they
resorted to extortion and corruption. They imposed taxes on
Christendom, direct and indirect. These were felt as an intolerable
burden; but such was the superstition of the times, that they were
successfully raised. But even these were insufficient to gratify papal
avarice and rapacity. They then resorted, in their necessities, to the
meanest acts, imposed on the simplicity of their subjects, and finally
adopted the most infamous custom which ever disgraced the world.
[Sidenote: The Sale of Indulgences.]
They pardoned sins for money--granted sales of indulgences for crime.
A regular scale for absolution was graded. A proclamation was made
every fifty, and finally every twenty-five years, of a year of
jubilee, when plenary remission of all sin was promised to those who
should make a pilgrimage to Rome. And so great was the influx of
strangers, and consequently of wealth, to Rome, that, on one occasion,
it was collected into piles by rakes. It is computed that two hundred
thousand deluded persons visited the city in a single month. But the
vast sums they brought to Rome, and the still greater sums which were
obtained by the sale of indulgences, and by various taxations, were
all squandered in ornamenting the city, and in supporting a luxurious
court, profligate cardinals, and superfluous ministers of a corrupted
religion. Then was erected the splendid church of St. Peter, more
after the style of Grecian temples, than after the model of the Gothic
cathedrals of York and Cologne. Glorious was that monument of reviving
art; wonderful was its lofty dome; but the vast sums required to build
it opened the eyes of Christendom to the extravagance and presumption
of the popes; and this splendid trophy of their glory also became the
emblem of their broken power. Their palaces and temples made an
imposing show, but detracted from their real strength, which consisted
in the affections of their spiritual subjects. Their outward grandeur,
like the mechanical agencies which kings employ, was but a poor
substitute for the invisible power of love,--in all ages, and among
all people, "that cheap defence" which supports thrones and kingdoms.
[Sidenote: The Corruptions of the Church.]
Another great evil was, the prevalence of an idolatrous spirit. In the
churches and chapels, and even in private families, were innumerable
images of saints, pictures of the Virgin, relics, crucifixes, &c.,
designed at first to kindle a spirit of devotion among the rude and
uneducated, but gradually becoming objects of real adoration.
Intercessions were supposed to be made by the Virgin Mary, and by
favorite saints, more efficacious with Deity than the penitence and
prayers of the erring and sinful themselves. The influence of this
veneration for martyrs and saints was degrading to the mind, and
became a very lucrative source of profit to the priests, who peddled
the bones and relics of saints as they did indulgences, and who
invented innumerable lies to attest the genuineness and antiquity of
the objects they sold, all of which were parts of the great system of
fraud and avarice which the church permitted.
Again; the public worship of God was in a language the people could
not understand, but rendered impressive by the gorgeous dresses of the
priests, and the magnificence of the altar, and the images and vessels
of silver and gold, reflecting their splendor, by the light of wax
candles, on the sombre pillars, roofs, and windows of the Gothic
church, and the effect heightened by exciting music, and other appeals
to the taste or imagination, rather than to the reason and the heart.
The sermons of the clergy were frivolous, and ill adapted to the
spiritual wants of the people. "Men went to the Vatican," says the
learned and philosophical Ranke, "not to pray, but to contemplate the
Belvidere Apollo. They disgraced the most solemn festivals by open
profanations. The clergy, in their services, sought the means of
exciting laughter. One would mock the cuckoo, and another recite
indecent stories about St. Peter." Luther, when he visited Italy, was
extremely shocked at the infidel spirit which prevailed among the
clergy, who were hostile to the circulation of the Scriptures, and who
encouraged persecutions and inquisitions. This was the age when the
dreadful tribunal of the Inquisition flourished, although its chief
enormities were perpetrated in Spain and Portugal. It never had an
existence in England, and but little influence in France and Germany.
But if the Church did not resort, in all countries, to that dread
tribunal which subjected youth, beauty, and innocence to the
inquisitorial vengeance of narrow-minded Dominican monks, still she
was hostile to free inquiry, and to all efforts made to emancipate the
reason of men.
The spirit of religious persecution, which inflamed the Roman Church
to punish all dissenters from the doctrine and abuses she promulgated,
can never be questioned. The Waldenses and Albigenses had suffered, in
darker times, almost incredible hardships and miseries--had been
almost annihilated by the dreadful crusade which was carried on
against them, so that two hundred thousand had perished for supposed
heresy. But reference is not now made to this wholesale massacre, but
to those instances of individual persecution which showed the extreme
jealousy and hatred of Rome of all new opinions. John Huss and Jerome
of Prague were publicly burned for attempting to reform the church,
and even Savonarola, who did not deny the authority of the popes, was
condemned to the flames for denouncing the vices of his age, rather
than the evils of the church.
[Sidenote: Necessity for Reform.]
These multiplied evils, which checked the spirit of improvement,
called loudly for reform. Councils were assembled for the purpose; but
councils supported, rather than diminished, the evils of which even
princes complained. The reform was not destined to come from
dignitaries in the church or state; not from bishops, nor
philosophers, nor kings, but from an obscure teacher of divinity in a
German university, whom the genius of a reviving and awakened age had
summoned into the field of revolutionary warfare. It was reserved for
Martin Luther to commence the first successful rebellion against the
despotism of Rome, and to give the greatest impulse to freedom of
thought, and a general spirit of reform, which ten centuries had seen.
The most prominent event in modern times is unquestionably the
Protestant Reformation, and it was by far the most momentous in its
results. It gave rise, directly or indirectly, to the great wars of
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, as well as to those rival
sects which agitated the theological world. It is connected with the
enterprises of great monarchs, with the struggle of the Huguenots and
Puritans, with the diffusion of knowledge, and with the progress of
civil and religious liberty in Europe. An event, therefore, of such
interest and magnitude, may well be adopted as a starting point in
modern history, and will, accordingly, be the first subject of
especial notice. History is ever most impressive and philosophical
when great changes and revolutions are traced to the agency of great
spiritual ideas. Moreover, modern history is so complicated, that it
is difficult to unravel it except by tracing the agency of great
causes, rather than by detailing the fortunes of kings and nobles.