The two great powers,that of France and that of Austria,being formed,and a rivalship established by consequence between them;it began to be the interest of their neighbors to oppose the strongest and most enterprising of the two,and to be the ally and friend of the weakest.From hence arose the notion of a balance of power in Europe,on the equal poise of which the safety and tranquility of all must depend.To destroy the equality of this balance has been the aim of each of these rivals in his turn:and to hinder it from being destroyed,by preventing too much power from falling into one scale,has been the principle of all the wise councils of Europe,relatively to France and to the house of Austria,through the whole period that began at the era we have fixed,and subsists at this hour.To make a careful and just observation,therefore,of the rise and decline of these powers,in the two last centuries,and in the present;of the projects which their ambition formed;of the means they employed to carry these projects on with success;of the means employed by others to defeat them;of the issue of all these endeavors in war and in negotiation;and particularly,to bring your observations home to your own country and your own use,of the conduct that England held,to her honor or dishonor,to her advantage or disadvantage,in every one of the numerous and important conjunctures that happened-ought to be the principal subject of your lordship's attention in reading and reflecting on this part of modern history.
Now to this purpose you will find it of great use,my lord,when you have a general plan of the history in your mind,to go over the whole again in another method;which I propose to be this.Divide the entire period into such particular periods as the general course of affairs will mark out to you sufficiently,by the rise of new conjunctures,of different schemes of conduct,and of different theatres of action.Examine this period of history as you would examine a tragedy or a comedy;that is,take first the idea or a general notion of the whole,and after that examine every act and every scene apart.Consider them in themselves,and consider them relatively to one another.Read this history as you would that of any ancient period;but study it afterwards,as it would not be worth your while to study the other;nay as you could not have in your power the means of studying the other,if the study was really worth your while.The former part of this period abounds in great historians:and the latter part is so modern,that even tradition is authentic enough to supply the want of good history,if we are curious to inquire,and if we hearken to the living with the same impartiality and freedom of judgment as we read the dead;and he that does one,will do the other.The whole period abounds in memorials,in collections of public acts and monuments,of private letters,and of treaties.All these must come into your plan of study,my lord:many may not be read through,but all to be consulted and compared.They must not lead you,I think,to your inquiries,but your inquiries must lead you to them.By joining history and that which we call the materia historica together in this manner,and by drawing your information from both,your lordship will acquire not only that knowledge,which many have in some degree,of the great transactions that have passed,and the great events that have happened in Europe during this period,and of their immediate and obvious causes and consequences;but your lordship will acquire a much superior knowledge,and such a one as very few men possess almost in any degree,a knowledge of the true political system of Europe during this time.You will see it in its primitive principles,in the constitutions of governments,the situations of countries,their national and true interests,the characters and the religion of people,and other permanent circumstances.
You will trace it through all its fluctuations,and observe how the objects vary seldom,but the means perpetually,according to the different characters of princes and of those who govern;the different abilities of those who serve;the course of accidents,and a multitude of other irregular and contingent circumstances.
The particular periods into which the whole period should be divided,in my opinion,are these.(1)From the fifteenth to the end of the sixteenth century.(2)From thence to the Pyrenean treaty.(3)From thence down to the present time.
Your lordship will find this division as apt and as proper,relatively to the particular histories of England,France,Spain,and Germany,the principal nations concerned,as it is relatively to the general history of Europe.
