The Thirty Years War — Volume 03

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The Project Gutenberg EBook The Thirty Years War, by Schiller, Book III.Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the copyright laws for your country before downloadingor redistributing this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook.This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do notchange or edit the header without written permission.Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of thisfile. Included is important information about your specific rights and restrictions in how the file may be used. You can alsofind out about how to make a donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved.**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts****EBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971*******These EBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers*****Title: The Thirty Years War, Book III.Author: Frederich SchillerRelease Date: Oct, 2004 [EBook #6772] [Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first postedon January 14, 2003]Edition: 10Language: English*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 30 YEARS WAR, BY SCHILLER, BOOK III. ***This eBook was produced by David Widger, widger@cecomet.netTHE WORKSOFFREDERICK SCHILLERTranslated from the GermanIllustratedHISTORY OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR IN GERMANY.BOOK III.The glorious battle of Leipzig effected a ...

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Publié le	08 décembre 2010
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Title: The Thirty Years War, Book III.

Author: Frederich Schiller

Release Date: Oct, 2004 [EBook #6772] [Yes, we
are more than one year ahead of schedule] [This
file was first posted on January 14, 2003]

Edition: 10

Language: English

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG
EBOOK 30 YEARS WAR, BY SCHILLER, BOOK
III. ***

This eBook was produced by David Widger,
widger@cecomet.net

THE WORKS

FREDERICK SCHILLER

Translated from the German

Illustrated

HISTORY OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR IN
GERMANY.

BOOK III.

The glorious battle of Leipzig effected a great
change in the conduct of Gustavus Adolphus, as
well as in the opinion which both friends and foes
entertained of him. Successfully had he confronted
the greatest general of the age, and had matched
the strength of his tactics and the courage of his
Swedes against the elite of the imperial army, the
most experienced troops in Europe. From this
moment he felt a firm confidence in his own
powers—self-confidence has always been the

parent of great actions. In all his subsequent
operations more boldness and decision are
observable; greater determination, even amidst the
most unfavourable circumstances, a more lofty
tone towards his adversaries, a more dignified
bearing towards his allies, and even in his
clemency, something of the forbearance of a
conqueror. His natural courage was farther
heightened by the pious ardour of his imagination.
He saw in his own cause that of heaven, and in the
defeat of Tilly beheld the decisive interference of
Providence against his enemies, and in himself the
instrument of divine vengeance. Leaving his crown
and his country far behind, he advanced on the
wings of victory into the heart of Germany, which
for centuries had seen no foreign conqueror within
its bosom. The warlike spirit of its inhabitants, the
vigilance of its numerous princes, the artful
confederation of its states, the number of its strong
castles, its many and broad rivers, had long
restrained the ambition of its neighbours; and
frequently as its extensive frontier had been
attacked, its interior had been free from hostile
invasion. The Empire had hitherto enjoyed the
equivocal privilege of being its own enemy, though
invincible from without. Even now, it was merely
the disunion of its members, and the intolerance of
religious zeal, that paved the way for the Swedish
invader. The bond of union between the states,
which alone had rendered the Empire invincible,
was now dissolved; and Gustavus derived from
Germany itself the power by which he subdued it.
With as much courage as prudence, he availed
himself of all that the favourable moment afforded;

and equally at home in the cabinet and the field, he
tore asunder the web of the artful policy, with as
much ease, as he shattered walls with the thunder
of his cannon. Uninterruptedly he pursued his
conquests from one end of Germany to the other,
without breaking the line of posts which
commanded a secure retreat at any moment; and
whether on the banks of the Rhine, or at the mouth
of the Lech, alike maintaining his communication
with his hereditary dominions.

The consternation of the Emperor and the League
at Tilly's defeat at Leipzig, was scarcely greater
than the surprise and embarrassment of the allies
of the King of Sweden at his unexpected success.
It was beyond both their expectations and their
wishes. Annihilated in a moment was that
formidable army which, while it checked his
progress and set bounds to his ambition, rendered
him in some measure dependent on themselves.
He now stood in the heart of Germany, alone,
without a rival or without an adversary who was a
match for him. Nothing could stop his progress, or
check his pretensions, if the intoxication of success
should tempt him to abuse his victory. If formerly
they had dreaded the Emperor's irresistible power,
there was no less cause now to fear every thing for
the Empire, from the violence of a foreign
conqueror, and for the Catholic Church, from the
religious zeal of a Protestant king. The distrust and
jealousy of some of the combined powers, which a
stronger fear of the Emperor had for a time
repressed, now revived; and scarcely had
Gustavus Adolphus merited, by his courage and

success, their confidence, when they began
covertly to circumvent all his plans. Through a
continual struggle with the arts of enemies, and the
distrust of his own allies, must his victories
henceforth be won; yet resolution, penetration, and
prudence made their way through all impediments.
But while his success excited the jealousy of his
more powerful allies, France and Saxony, it gave
courage to the weaker, and emboldened them
openly to declare their sentiments and join his
party. Those who could neither vie with Gustavus
Adolphus in importance, nor suffer from his
ambition, expected the more from the magnanimity
of their powerful ally, who enriched them with the
spoils of their enemies, and protected them against
the oppression of their stronger neighbours. His
strength covered their weakness, and,
inconsiderable in themselves, they acquired weight
and influence from their union with the Swedish
hero. This was the case with most of the free
cities, and particularly with the weaker Protestant
states. It was these that introduced the king into
the heart of Germany; these covered his rear,
supplied his troops with necessaries, received
them into their fortresses, while they exposed their
own lives in his battles. His prudent regard to their
national pride, his popular deportment, some
brilliant acts of justice, and his respect for the laws,
were so many ties by which he bound the German
Protestants to his cause; while the crying atrocities
of the Imperialists, the Spaniards, and the troops
of Lorraine, powerfully contributed to set his own
conduct and that of his army in a favourable light.

If Gustavus Adolphus owed his success chiefly to
his own genius, at the same time, it must be
owned, he was greatly favoured by fortune and by
circumstances. Two great advantages gave him a
decided superiority over the enemy. While he
removed the scene of war into the lands of the
League, drew their youth as recruits, enriched
himself with booty, and used the revenues of their
fugitive princes as his own, he at once took from
the enemy the means of effectual resistance, and
maintained an expensive war with little cost to
himself. And, moreover, while his opponents, the
princes of the League, divided among themselves,
and governed by different and often conflicting
interests, acted without unanimity, and therefore
without energy; while their generals were deficient
in authority, their troops in obedience, the
operations of their scattered armies without
concert; while the general was separated from the
lawgiver and the statesman; these several
functions were united in Gustavus Adolphus, the
only source from which authority flowed, the sole
object to which the eye of the warrior turned; the
soul of his party, the inventor as well as the
executor of his plans. In him, therefore, the
Protestants had a centre of unity and harmony,
which was altogether wanting to their opponents.
No wonder, then, if favoured by such advantages,
at the head of such an army, with such a genius to
direct it, and guided by such political prudence,
Gustavus Adolphus was irresistible.

oWtihtehr ,t hhee strwaovredr isne do nGe ehramnadn, ya ansd am ceorcnyq uine rtohre, a

lawgiver, and a judge, in as short a time almost as
the tourist of pleasure. The keys of towns and
fortresses were delivered to him, as if to the native
sovereign. No fortress was inaccessible; no river
checked his victorious career. He conquered by the
very terror of his name. The Swedish standards
were planted along the whole stream of the Maine:
the Lower Palatinate was free, the troops of Spain
and Lorraine had fled across the Rhine and the
Moselle. The Swedes and Hessians poured like a
torrent into the territories of Mentz, of Wurtzburg,
and Bamberg, and three fugitive bishops, at a
distance from their sees, suffered dearly for their