rist. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. 1622-1626, 1662-1664, 1669-1670
and 1671-1676; _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. iii. pp. 47-48
and 203-207, and vol. iv. pp. 45-47, 66-67, 102-103, 113-117, 285-286,
377-382, 398-399, and 439-440; and _Saml. til det Norske Folks Sprog og
Hist._, vol. i. pp. 328-336.

[134] Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, pp. 104-112; _Dipl. Dal._, vol. ii. pp.
115-116; _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol. xvi. pp. 124-127; _Kon. Gust.
den Foerstes registrat._, vol. iv. pp. 120, 348-349, 350-354, 415,
419-420, 438-439, 441-442 and 443-445; and _Saml. til det Norske Folks
Sprog og Hist._, vol. i. pp. 518-528.

CHAPTER VIII.

INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 1525-1527.

Nature of the Period.--Translation of the Bible.--Quarrel between the
King and Brask.--Opposition to the Monasteries.--High-handed
Measures of the King.--Second Disputation between Petri and
Galle.--Opposition to Luther's Teaching.--Banishment of
Magni.--Further Opposition to the Monasteries.--Revolt of the
Dalesmen.--Diet of Vesteras.--"Vesteras Recess."--"Vesteras
Ordinantia."--Fall of Brask; his Flight; his Character.

In most instances the stirring periods of a nation's history are not the
periods in which the nation grows. Warfare, even though it end in
victory, must be accompanied by loss, and the very achievements that
arouse our ardor bring with them evils that long years of prosperity
cannot efface. Take, as a single example, the dazzling victories of
Charles XII. He was, beyond all doubt, the most successful general that
Sweden ever had. One after another the provinces around the Baltic
yielded to his sway, and at one time the Swedish frontiers had been
extended into regions of which no man before his age had dreamt. Yet
with what result? Sweden was impoverished, commerce was at a standstill,
education had been neglected, and the dominions for which his people had
poured out their blood during many years were lost almost in a single
day. His career shows, if it shows anything, that prosperity is
incompatible with war. No man can serve two masters. So long as nations
are in active and continued warfare, they cannot enjoy the blessings or
even the comforts that belong to them in time of peace.

A like argument may be drawn from the reign of Gustavus Vasa. The early
years of the Swedish Revolution were marked by bloodshed. The country
was in a state of famine, superstition was universal, literature was
almost