History of Civilization in England, Vol. 2 of 3

by Henry Thomas Buckle

[887] He says that he wrote it in 1728. Œuvres de Voltaire, vol. xxii. p. 5, but, according to M. Lepan (Vie de Voltaire, p. 382), ‘il parut en 1731.’ Both statements may be accurate, as Voltaire frequently kept his works for some time in manuscript.

[888] Sir A. Alison, who certainly cannot be accused of want of respect for military conquerors, says of Sweden, ‘the attempt which Charles XII. made to engage her in long and arduous wars, so completely drained the resources of the country, that they did not recover the loss for half a century.’ Hist. of Europe, vol. x. p. 504. See also, on the effects produced by the conscriptions of Charles XII., Laing's Sweden, p. 59; Koch, Tableau des Révolutions, vol. ii. p. 63; and above all, a curious passage in Duclos, Mém. Secrets, vol. i. p. 448. Several of the soldiers of Charles XII. who were taken prisoners, were sent into Siberia, where Bell fell in with them early in the eighteenth century. Bell's Travels in Asia, edit. Edinb. 1788, vol. i. pp. 223–224.

[889] ‘Charles XII, l'homme le plus extraordinaire peut-être qui ait jamais été sur la terre, qui a réuni en lui toutes les grandes qualités de ses aïeux, et qui n'a eu d'autre défaut ni d'autre malheur que de les avoir toutes outrées.’ Hist. de Charles XII, livre i., in Œuvres de Voltaire, vol. xxii. p. 30.

[890] ‘Plein d'honneur.’ Ibid. in Œuvres, vol. xxii. p. 63.

[891] Which Burke, not without justice, compares to the murder of Monaldeschi by Christina. Burke's Works, vol. i. p. 412. See some remarks on the murder of Patkul, in Vattel, Droit des Gens, vol. i. p. 230; and an account of it, from Swedish authorities, in Somers Tracts, vol. xiii. pp. 879–881. For Voltaire's version see his Œuvres, vol. xxii. pp. 136, 137; which may be contrasted with Crichton and Wheaton's History of Scandinavia, Edinb. 1838, vol. ii. p. 127.

[892] Œuvres de Voltaire, vol. xxii. pp. 250–260. It may interest some persons to hear, that the litter in which this madman ‘was borne from the battle of Pultava’ is still preserved at Moscow. Kohl's Russia, p. 220. It was also seen by M. Custine. Custine's Russia, vol. iii. p. 263.

[893] ‘Sa modestie ne put empêcher qu'on ne frappât à Stockholm plusieurs médailles pour perpétuer la mémoire de ces événements.’ Charles XII, livre ii., in Œuvres, vol. xxii. p. 70.

[894] Even some of its geographical details are said to be inaccurate. Compare Villemain, Littérature au XVIII^e Siècle, vol. ii. p. 33, with Kohl's Russia, p. 505. However, as M. Villemain says, this must always be the case, when writers, who only know a country from maps, attempt to enter into details respecting military geography. In regard to style, it cannot be too highly praised; and a well-known critic, Lacratelle, calls it ‘le modèle le plus accompli de narration qui existe dans notre langue.’ Lacretelle, Dix-huitième Siècle, vol. ii. p. 42. In 1843 it was still used as a text book in the French royal colleges. See Report on Education in France, in Journal of Stat. Soc. vol. vi. p. 308. Further information respecting this work may be found in Longchamp et Wagnière, Mém. sur Voltaire, vol. ii. p. 494; and in Mém. de Genlis, vol. viii. p. 224, vol. x. p. 304.

[895] It is evident, from Voltaire's correspondence, that he afterwards became somewhat ashamed of the praises he had bestowed on Charles XII. In 1735, he writes to De Formont, ‘si Charles XII n'avait pas été excessivement grand, malheureux, et fou, je me serais bien donné de garde de parler de lui.’ Œuvres de Voltaire, vol. lvi. p. 462. In 1758, advancing still further, he says of Charles, ‘voilà, monsieur, ce que les hommes de tous les temps et de tous les pays appellent un héros; mais c'est le vulgaire de tous les temps et de tous les pays qui donne ce nom à la soif du carnage.’ Ibid. vol. lx. p. 411. In 1759, he writes, that he was then engaged on the history of Peter the Great: ‘mais je doute que cela soit aussi amusant que la vie de Charles XII; car ce Pierre n'était qu'un sage extraordinaire, et Charles un fou extraordinaire, qui se battait, comme Don Quichotte, contre des moulins à vent.’ Vol. lxi. p. 23: see also p. 350. These passages prove the constant progress Voltaire was making in his conception of what history ought to be, and what its uses were.

[896] In 1741, he mentions his increasing love of history. Corresp. in Œuvres de Voltaire, vol. li. p. 96.