ed. He surrendered it to the Elector
as a favor, not as a debt; and that, too, as a Swedish fief, fettered
by conditions which diminished half its value, and degraded this
unfortunate prince into a humble vassal of Sweden. One of these
conditions obliged the Elector, after the conclusion of the war, to
furnish, along with the other princes, his contribution toward the
maintenance of the Swedish army, a condition which plainly indicates
the fate which, in the event of the ultimate success of the king,
awaited Germany. His sudden disappearance secured the liberties of
Germany and saved his reputation, while it probably spared him the
mortification of seeing his own allies in arms against him and all the
fruits of his victories torn from him by a disadvantageous peace.
Saxony was already disposed to abandon him, Denmark viewed his success
with alarm and jealousy; and even France, the firmest and most potent
of his allies, terrified at the rapid growth of his power and the
imperious tone which he assumed, looked around for foreign alliances
at the very moment he passed the Lech in order to check the progress
of the Goths and restore to Europe the balance of power.

* * * * *

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 59: Permission The Macmillan Co., New York, and G. Bell &
Sons, Ltd., London.]

[Footnote 60: Priests' plunder; alluding to the means by which the
expense of its erection had been defrayed.]

[Footnote 61: A ton of gold in Sweden amounts to 100,000 rix dollars.]

[Footnote 62: Gefreyter, a person exempt from watching duty, nearly
corresponding to the corporal.]

* * * * *

ON THE USE OF THE CHORUS IN TRAGEDY (1803)[63]

TRANSLATED BY A. LODGE

A Poetical work must vindicate itself--if the execution be defective,
little aid can be derived from commentaries.

On these grounds, I might safely leave the Chorus to be its own
advocate, if we had ever seen it presented in an appropriate manner.
But it must be remembered that a dramatic composition first assumes
the character of a whole by means of representation on the stage. The
Poet supplies only the words, to which, in a lyrical tragedy, music
and rhythmical motion are essential accessories. It follows, then,
that if the Chorus is deprived of accompaniments appealing so
powerfully to the senses, it will appear a superfluity in the economy
of the drama--mere hindrance to the development of the
plot--d