The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Volume 03: Masterpieces of German Literature Translated into English. in Twenty Volumes
General
The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Volume 03: Masterpieces of German Literature Translated into English. in Twenty Volumes
German literature -- 19th century -- Translations into English; German literature -- 20th century -- Translations into English
MUSIC
For thee the stream of harmonies shall spring.
DANCING
Light dances follow close the vibrant string.
DRAMA
The whole world'll pass 'fore thee on the stage.
POETRY
And fancy with her magic equipage
Shall bear thee, ravished, to the fields on high.
PAINTING
And as the magic rainbow in the sky
Conjures its colors from the gorgeous sun,
So will we, each for all, and all as one,
With mystic sevenfold wealth of pageantry,
Weave for thee, Lady, life's great tapestry.
ALL THE ARTS (_embracing one another_)
For strength must wed with strength, and so impart
Beauty to life and life to forms of art.
* * * * *
HISTORY AND LITERATURE
THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR--THE LAST CAMPAIGNS OF GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS
(1792)[59]
TRANSLATED BY THE REV. A. J. W. MORRISON, M.A.
The glorious battle of Leipzig effected a great change in the conduct
of Gustavus Adolphus, as well as in the opinion which both friends and
foes entertained of him. Successfully had he confronted the greatest
general of the age, and had matched the strength of his tactics and
the courage of his Swedes against the elite of the imperial army, the
most experienced troops in Europe. From this moment he felt a firm
confidence in his own powers--self-confidence has always been the
parent of great actions. In all his subsequent operations more
boldness and decision are observable; greater determination, even
amidst the most unfavorable circumstances, a more lofty tone toward
his adversaries, a more dignified bearing toward his allies, and even
in his clemency, something of the forbearance of a conqueror. His
natural courage was further heightened by the pious ardor of his
imagination. He saw in his own cause that of heaven, and in the defeat
of Tilly beheld the decisive interference of Providence against his
enemies, and in himself the instrument of divine vengeance. Leaving
his crown and his country far behind, he advanced on the wings of
victory into the heart of Germany, which for centuries had seen no
foreign conqueror within its bosom. The warlike spirit of its
inhabitants, the vigilance of its numerous princes, the artful
confederation of its states, the number of its strong castles, its
many and broad rivers, had long restrained the ambition of its
neighbors; and frequently as its extensive frontier had been attacked,
its interior had been free from hostile invasion. The Empire had
hitherto enjoyed the equivocal privilege of being its own enemy,
though invincible from without. Even now, it was merely the disunion
of its members, and the intolerance of religious zeal, that paved the
way for the Swedish invader. The bond of union between the states,
which alone had rendered the Empire invincible, was now dissolved; and
Gustavus derived from Germany itself the power by which he subdued
it. With as much courage as prudence, he availed himself of all that
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