RANKE'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.* [FIRST NOTICE.]

IT is impossible within the narrow limits of a review to con- vey any adequate notion of the wealth of knowledge, the copiousness of illustration, the discriminating estimate of char- acter, and the breadth of historical insight displayed in these volumes. If Professor von Ranke does sometimes err, as a foreigner inevitably must in his judgment of certain national * A History of England principally in the Esventesnth Centary, By Leopold von Raoke. 6 vole. Oxtord: Clarendon Prem. 1975,

peculiarities, he never, we think, goes astray through prejudice or from the lack of accurate information. His mastery of details is as remarkable as his generous grasp of principles; he does not sacrifice—as a more brilliant historian was sometimes apt to do— truth to effect, and the reader who tracks his footsteps through the vast period covered by this history will be struck by the careful and conscientious manner in which he pursues his course. The title of the work gives but a faint indication of its contents. 'The first book, for example, entitled, "The Chief Crises in the Earlier History of England," commences with the time when the Romans were masters in Britain, and ends with the deposition of Richard II. The second book deals with the reigns of Henry VIII. and Mary and the struggles of the first English Reformers. Then follows a singularly lucid and vigorous narrative of the reign of Elizabeth ; and not until we come to books iv. and v., which commence with the accession of James I. and close with the assassination of Buckingham, do we reach the seventeenth century. The first volume of the history terminates with this event, and the second comprises the reign of Charles I.; the third, opening with the Commonwealth, carries us over about fourteen years of the reign of Charles II.; the fourth begins with the Parliament of 1675, and ends with the battle of the Boyne ; Volume V. treats of the reign of William and Mary, taking us through seventy years to the death of George II. The sixth and last volume contains, in the form of an appendix, a variety of original documents, some of them of the highest value ; criticism of Clarendon's and Burnet's histories, and finally, a satisfactory index.

Thirty-five years ago Macaulay wrote a review of Ranke's History of the Popes, and observed that it was the work of a mind fitted both for minute researches and for large speculations, and written also in an admirable spirit, equally remote from levity and bigotry, serious and earnest, yet tolerant and impartial. This was high praise, and praise which must have rejoiced the Professor, since it came from a critic so well qualified to judge of his merits. If Lord Macaulay were living now, and could read this comprehensive history—much of which relates to a period he has so signally made his own—we think his verdict would be equally favourable. The German historian, now, we believe, in his eightieth year, commenced his great. work on English history several years ago, but it was not concluded until 1868. The admirable features which distinguish the labour of his prime are to be seen here also, and whatever faults may be found with portions of the history, the spirit in which it is written and the vigour with which the author has grasped the prominent points of his subject are worthy of the highest praise. How is it possible to do justice to such a work, or even within the space at our command to dwell on its most striking merits? Happily, Ranke's position as an historian is known perfectly well in this country, and the reviewer is therefore at liberty to gather from these pages whatever may best suit his purpose, without being compelled to form a critical estimate of the entire history.

Wherever the reader opens these volumes, he is sure to find food for argument and thought. The body of the work consists, as we have seen, of a period of English history which has been more copiously illustrated than any other, and may be said to have been exhaustively treated by our own writers. For the student of the Constitution it possesses a peculiar fascination, and we do not wonder that the interest it has for ourselves should be felt also by historians like Guizot and Ranke. Both of these great writers, we may observe, in passing have thrown light upon passages of our history by original research ; and Ranke, whose unwearied patience never allows him to rely solely on second- hand information, will enable the reader to view the Revolu- tion of 1688 from a fresh standing-point. But turning, for the present, at least, from the main subject of the history, it may be well to linger a little over some of the inci- dental topics which serve as tributaries to the principal design of the writer. The labour expended on subjects which might, perhaps, without impropriety, have been omitted altogether, is great indeed. It can scarcely be said that Ranke's admirable narrative of the reigns of Henry VIII., of Mary, and of Elizabeth is essential to the unity of his history, and yet we could ill afford to part with this masterly summary. As we read it, we are forcibly reminded of the perils that encompassed the vessel of the State at that eventful period. Henry VIII., for example, was the incarnation of despotism, and yet his action, taken for selfish ends, was infinitely serviceable to the cause of freedom, and produced results that might have been delayed in- definitely. And Ranke points out that Henry VIII. was the genuine successor to the work begun by his father. "What the first Tudor achieved in the temporal domain—viz., the exclusion of foreign influence—that the second extended to spiritual affairs."

Moreover, cruel and self-willed though he waq, "he retained his hold on the nation, because his plan of separating the country from the Papal hierarchic system, without taking a step further than was absolutely necessary, suited the people's views." The divorce from Romanism was indeed effected very slowly, and the accession of Mary to the crown, whose one desire was the pro- mulgation of her creed, threatened to bring about an even heavier bondage than that from which the country had been freed. Mary elected to marry Philip in opposition to the general voice of England, and at some risk to her throne. Then followed what the historian justly calls the "four great acts ;" the abolition of the Common Prayer-book, the Spanish marriage, the restoration of obedience to Rome, and the revival of the heresy laws. It looked as though spiritual liberty were to be crushed in England as completely as it had been in Spain. And so it might have been had Mary lived, but her death happily defeated the single aim that had characterised her government.

The peculiar dangers of the time were not wholly removed by the accession of a Protestant Queen. As we read once more in these pages the record of this interesting period, we are reminded of a number of contingencies and possibilities which might have seriously affected the national life. What if Mary Stuart, backed by the power of France, had obtained the English Crown; or what if Elizabeth had given her hand to Philip, or Philip had allied himself with France in opposing the Protestant Queen, instead of acting in opposition to what we might have expected from his principles, and favouring the designs of Knox, at that time the ruling spirit of his country ? Or what, again, if the twice excom- municated Queen of England had perished by the hand of an assassin ; or what if the 22,000 men who sailed in the Armada had effected a landing on our shores?—

" It was a joint enterprise of the Spanish Monarchy and a great part of the Catholic world, headed by the Pope and the King, to overthrow the Queen who was regarded as the Head, and the State which was regarded as the main support, of Protestantism and the anti-Spanish

policy All that Philip II. had ever thought or planned was concentrated, as it were, into one focus. The moment was come when he could subdue England, become master of the European world, and re-establish the Catholic faith in the form in which he professed it."

But the storm which threatened ruin to England was scattered, to use again the historian's words, "before it discharged its thunder. So completely true is the expression on a Dutch commemorative medal, The breath of God has scattered them.'" Fifteen years later the accession of James VI. of Scotland to the English Crown was accomplished without the opposition that might have been anticipated on the part of France:—

" This couduct may be explained principally by the violent opposi- tion which existed between Henry IV. and Spain oven after the peace of Vervins, and by the hostile influence incessantly exercised by that power upon the internal relations of his kingdom, in the pacification of which he was still engaged. It would have been dangerous for Henry himself to revive the hatred between England and Scotland,which could only have redounded to the advantage of his foes."

Thus it will be observed that, as circumstances compelled Spain to adopt a course with regard to Scotland which no one could have anticipated, so did they force France to be neutral on an occasion which, to judge from all her antecedents, called for active interference.

The events of this period are touched by Ranke with a masterly hand, and he shows, we think, more strikingly than some of our own historians, the intimate relationship that existed between the religious belief of the nation and its political progress. At every step the statesman of those days was forced to guide his course by con- siderations such as these, and often and often the men of strong religious views proved more powerful than the politicians. "Theology rules in England," said Grotius ten years after Eliza- beth's death, and it was their inability to grasp this fact which led to so many of the complications which beset the paths of the Stuarts. James, while on the Scottish throne, longed as much to establish Episcopacy as Mary of persecuting memory desired to restore the power of Rome ; but he did not understand the force that was opposed to him, a force shown in utterances like that of Knox's successor, Andrew Melville, who declared that "there were two kingdoms in Scotland, of which the Church formed one ; in that kingdom the Sovereign was in his turn a subject ; those who had to govern this spiritual realm possessed a sufficient authorisation from God for the discharge of their functions." For a time James gained his will, in so far as the right of patronage was con-

cerned, and the Church made also what Ranke justly calls a most .important concession, in renouncing its right of using the pulpit

to attack the Crown. This encouraged the King to go on, and to introduce in a modified form the Episcopacy that was so dear to him ; at the same time, he appears to have inclined to a general comprehension. He would lighten, if he could not wholly remove the burdens of the Roman Catholics ; he would at least bear with the Presbyterians ; he would encourage to his utmost the Episco- palians. Once seated on the throne of England, he promoted Episcopacy with 'a will, did his utmost to put down the Puritans, and showed no longer any symptoms of moderation. The violence of his conduct, especially in the Northern kingdom, raised a spirit of disaffection, which lived on and increased in inten- sity during the reigns of the two Charleses. The Scots preferred their own form of spiritual despotism to that imposed upon them by the Crown, and while knowing no- thing of toleration, made a manly stand in defence of the rights of conscience. Indeed, Macaulay is by no means exaggerating when he observes that to the attempt made in the mere wantonness of tyranny by Charles and Laud to force the English liturgy upon Scotland our country owes her freedom. And here we may note that Ranke has an able and comprehensive chapter on the "Out- break of Ecclesiastical Disturbances in Scotland," in which he observes: --

" The introduction of the Canons and of the Liturgy was not due to fondness for eeremonies nor to a passing fanny, but it was the keystone of the system which James I. had all his life kept in view without carrying it out. Charles I. took steps to bring it into execution. The Liturgy would not have had much importance without the Canons, with the latter it completed the edifice of political and ecclesiastical subordi- nation whicb, for the first time, reduced Scotland to complete subjection."

Happily for England, every attempt made by the Stuart dynasty to diminish the civil and religious liberty of the people was met by a corresponding advance in freedom ; and it is but fair to remember that these Kings sinned after the fashion of their royal ancestors, and erred chiefly in not estimating aright the

growth of Parliamentary power. The despotism that was tolerable under Henry VIII. was too grievous to be borne with patience under Charles I. "I am your King, no one is above me, save

God alone," might have been uttered with perfect propriety by Henry, but was an unseasonable assertion in 1647, when men were growing familiar with the theory of representative government.