The personality of Gustavus had much to do with his success. He had a fine physique. In his youth he was of slender figure, pale, fair complexioned, long-shaped face, fair hair, with a touch of red in it, and a tawny, pointed beard. Every inch of his fine, tall body was trained by the judicious use of athletics and out-door exercise. He radiated health, which of itself made him magnetic. His tinge of red showed the impetuosity of his nature, which often had to be restrained by the great Chancellor Oxenstiern. "If my heat did not put a little life into your coldness we should all freeze up," said the king on one occasion. The chancellor replied, "If my coldness did not assuage your majesty's heat, we should all burn up," whereat the king laughed and acknowledged that his temper was rather quick and his patience less than he would like. No sketch of the great king and of his success would be complete without understanding his two chief advisers. Queen Elizabeth once heard that a courtier had said, "It is not the queen who is great, but her counsellors." The queen replied, "Well, who made them counsellors?" Gustavus had the quality of appreciating greatness in others, of supplementing his own talents with theirs, and of not being jealous. Axel Oxenstiern was born at Fano, in Upland, June 16th, 1583. His family traced their lineage back to the thirteenth century, and had intermarried with both the Danish and Swedish royal families. His father died in 1597, and he was sent by his judicious mother to a German university. This gave him Swedish and German as colloquial tongues, and he became so proficient in Latin that he could use it equally well with either. Latin had for many centuries been the language of the learned, in which people of different lands could converse intelligibly. The people of Europe needed no Esperanto while they were proficient in Latin. Oxenstiern studied theology as thoroughly as if he expected to enter the ministry. Religion was the absorbing thought of good people during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. He was recalled to Sweden by Charles IX., who recognized his great ability, and sent him on several diplomatic missions. At the age of twenty-six he was made house guardian of the royal children, and the head of the regency, which, in case of the king's death, might cause him to be called to govern the realm during the minority of the heir-apparent. Among the first acts of the young king was to appoint Oxenstiern chancellor. From this time during the entire life of the king, this great man became one of the chief factors in ruling Sweden. He was a true friend, never failing to restrain or reprove the impetuous, strong-minded, strong-natured boy-king. Oxenstiern was a man of action, and was as little given to "lying around among the shavings" as Gustavus himself.