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counts. In May 1740 Frederick 11
comes to the throne as king in
Prussia. History wi ll know him as
Frederick the Great.
Frederick believes that a third
st rong political power mus t be
established in Europe to offset the
s trength of France and Austria.
That power, he declares, must be
Prussia.
Under Frederick, Prussia be–
comes a rival to Austria for cont rol
of the German s tates. A non-Cath–
olic, Frederick holds the Catholic
Habsburgs in low esteem and sub–
j ects them to public ridicule.
Frederick builds a strong gov–
ernment and an efficient army. In
short order, Prussia's military repu–
tation becomes un surpassed in
Europe.
The g reat war of his reign comes
in 1756.
lt
is the Seven Years'
War, pitting Frederick against the
com bined a rmies of Au s tr ia,
France, Russia, Sweden and Saxo–
ny. Frederick is vigorously at–
tacked, and his forces face anni hila–
tion. The very existence of Prussia
is at stake!
In the end, the death of Eliza–
beth of Russia and the exhaus tion
of France saves him. Alone, Aus–
tria and her allies are unable to
overcome Frederick. Austria has to
accept the fact that Prussia is a
strong rival for leadership in Ger–
many.
After another century passes, the
Prussian king will actually become
emperor
of a united Germany!
The Deluge
Back in France, the si tuation is
di re.
Louis X IV is dead. His weak
great-grandson, Louis XV, devotes
himself to the pursuit of women.
"Ap res moi le déluge ,"
he
declares- " After me, the flood ."
And it is so.
The reign of his grandson, Louis
XV I, begi ns in 1774.
It
is the pre–
lude to revolution.
The profligacy of the French
monarchy has nearly ruined the
country. The lavish spending of the
court- epitomized by Louis XVI 's
unpopular and extravagant queen,
Marie Antoinette-earns it the
contempt of the French people.
The outmoded feudal privileges of
the nobility are widely resented.
34
Discontent is widespread. Taxa–
tion is heavy. The misery of the
common man reaches the breaking
point.
Events now move swiftly.
On July 14, 1789, the population
of París takes matters into its own
hands. A mob storms the Bastille
prison, the hated symbol of abso–
lute monarchy and despotism. This
event t riggers the mighty explosion
that history will call the French
Revolution.
The insurrection spreads rapidly
throughout France. The crown and
nobility come under siege. Peasants
burn chateaus and terrorize their
noble landlords. A revolutionary
government seizes control of the
state.
Louis XVI and his queen are
imprisoned. They are later t ried
and guillot ined. A bloody Reign of
Terror grips the country, as nobles
and persons wi th real or suspected
counterrevolutionary sympathies
are condemned to the blade.
Canossa in Reverse
Religion also comes under attack.
The Church in France is put under
state control. Church lands and
wealth are confiscated , religious
orders suppressed, and the clergy
required to take oaths of fidelity to
the constitution.
The picture is li tt le better else–
where in Europe.
For decades, the Papacy has
been virtually excluded f rom the
political affairs of Europe. Under
Pius VI, Pope from 1775 to 1799,
the Papacy reaches its nadir.
1t
is
a ll but stripped of power and
influence . In the Habsburg domin–
ions, the Catholic Chu rch is still
influential , but even there it is
subordinate to the s tate.
French armies march on Rome
and occupy the city early in 1798.
A republic is declared. Pius refuses
to renounce his temporal sovereign–
ty, and is taken prisoner by the
French in March 1799. He is taken
to France, where he dies at Valence
in August.
lt
is a "Canossa in reverse."
Church influence has deteriorated
considerably since the t ime when
Pope Gregory VII , "master of
Emperors," forced the capitulation
of Henry IV at Canossa, Italy, in
1077.
New Era
In París, radical political leaders vie
with one another for power. Corrup–
tion, incompetence, bloodshed and
hysteria are the a rder of the day.
Amid this domestic turmoil, a
new star is on the rise in the French
firmament: Na poleon Bonaparte.
In desperation, the country turns to
him for relief.
A new era is about to begin in
France.
Napoleon's ascent to power has
been meteoric. At age 26 the Corsi–
can-born military genius of Byzan–
tine stock had become commander
of the French army in Italy.
In 1799 the young hero returns
from an expedition agai nst the
English in Egypt. He seizes power
in a bold move, setting up a new
government of three members.
Bor rowing a tit le from ancient
Rome, he calls them
consuls.
He
himself is First Consul- a virtual
dictator at age 30!
Like a Roman imperator, Napo–
leon concentrates all powers of
state in his own hands. He dreams
of being another Caesar. Classical
imagery fill s his mind. A bust of
J ulius Caesar adorns his study.
" I am of the race of the Caesars,
and of the best , of those who laid
the fou ndations," Napoleon wi ll
observe.
The Corsican patriot Pasquale di
Paoli had been the first to recognize
the Roman in Napoleon. "There is
nothing modero about you, Napo–
leone," he had once observed. " You
come from the age of [the classical
biographer] PIutarch!"
Napoleon dreams of a resur–
rected Roman-European civiliza–
tion dominated by France. He had
grown up amid dreams of the clas–
sical world . Now he means to make
them reali ty!
Breach Healed
One of Napoleon's first concerns is
the Papacy.
" The influence of Rome is incal–
culable," he declares. " It was a
serious error to break with this
power."
Napoleon realizes that the Papa–
cy cannot be conquered by the
sword. He must cometo terms wi th
it in order to make use of it.
In 1801 a concordat (an agree-
The PLAIN TRUTH