I found the discussion of Gustavus Adolphus and his daughter Christina to be fascinating and thought I'd share some of it.
The Durant's describe Gustavus Adolphus -
"The most romantic figure in Swedish history was now sixteen. His mother was a German, daughter of Duke Adolphus of Holstein-Gottorp. Father and mother gave him a rigorous education in the Swedish and German languages and the Protestent doctrine. By the age of twelve he had learned Latin, Italian, and Dutch; later he picked up English, Spanish, even some Polish and Russian, to which was added a strong dose of the classics as comported with training in sports, public affairs, and the arts of war. At the age of nine he began to attend sessions of the Riksdag; at thirteen he received ambassadors; at fifteen he ruled a province, at sixteen he fought in battle. He was tall, handsome, courteous, generous, merciful, intelligent, brave; what more could history ask of a man?"
and write of his daughter Queen Christina -
"In 1644 Christina, now eighteen, assumed control. She felt herself fit to rule this vibrant nation, grown to a million and a half souls; and indeed she had all the abilities of a precocious male. "I came into this world", she said, "all armed with hair; my voice strong and harsh. This made the women think I was a boy, and they gave vent to their joy in exclamations which at first deceived the KIng." Gustavus took the discovery of her sex like a gentleman and came to love her so dearly that he seemed quite content to have her as heir to his power, but her mother, Maria Eleanora of Brandenburg, would never forgive her for being a girl. Perhaps this maternal rejection shared in making Christian as much of a man as her physique would allow. She conscientiously neglected her person, scorned ornament, swore manfully, liked to wear male dress, took to masculine sports, rode astride at top speed, hunted wildly, and bagged her game at the first shot, but: "I never killed an animal without feeling pity for it."
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"She wished to rival not only the youths in sports and courtiers in politics, but also the scholars in learning, and these not merely in languages and literature but in science and philosophy as well. By the age of fourteen she knew German, French, Italian and Spanish; by eighteen she knew Latin; later she studied Greek, Hebrew and Arabic. She read and loved the French and Italian poets and envied the bright vivacity of French civilization. She corresponded eagerly with scholars, scientists, and philosophers in several lands. She brought together a splendid library, including rare ancient manuscripts which students came from many countries to consult.
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"Pascal sent her his calculating machine, with a remarkably beautiful letter complementing her on being a queen in the realm of mind as well as government."
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"Her penultimate passion was for philosophy. She corresponded with Gassendi, who, like a hundred others, congratulated her on realizing Plato's dream of philosopher-kings. Rene Descartes, the outstanding philosopher of the age, came, saw, and marveled to hear her deduce his pet ideas from Plato. When he tried to convince her that all animals were mechanisms, she remarked that she had never seen her watch give birth to baby watches."
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"Her fragmentary memoirs are vital and fascinating. The maxims which she left in manuscripts have nothing hackneyed about them. E.g.:
- One is, in proportion as one can love.
- Fools are to more feared than knaves.
- To undeceive men is to offend them.
- Extraordinary merit is a crime never forgiven.
- There is a star which unites souls of the first order, though ages and distances divide them.
- More courage is required for marriage, than for war.
- One rises above all, when one no longer esteems or fears anything.
- He who loses his temper with the world has learned all he knows to no purpose.
- Philosophy neither changes men nor corrects men.
I included an audio file below so you can hear my beautiful voice instead of me clicking on this keyboard in silence. I probably should have taken the wad of tobacco out of my mouth and not tried to balance the book, a laptop and a small dog on my lap but hopefully it's semi-intelligible and may prove to be a sleep aid.
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Reading from book VII in the eleven-book series "The Story of Civilization". Book VII is titled "The Age of Reason Begins". It was published by Simon and Schuster in 1961.
This reading is a section from Chapter XIX "The Rise of The North: 1559-1648" discussing Sweden's King Gustavus Adolphus and his daughter - Sweden's Queen Christina.
Begins". It was published by Simon and Schuster in 1961
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Speaking of Sweden, perhaps a Swede rocking out on a Hammond B3 organ with a Leslie speaker would be of interest? or the song Dancing Queen by the Swedish group ABBA? Before I go too far down a random "things Swedish" path I think I better wrap this and go enjoy some warm medicinal smoke to help myself focus....and laugh. Hope this day was good for you💖
