dy of the aged bishop and telling the people of his
diocese that Brask had fled because of suits that certain persons were
about to bring against him for his wrongs.[171]

It is difficult to take our leave of Brask without a word in admiration
of his character. He was, in point of intellect, the most commanding
figure of his time. Though born and bred among a people strangely void
of understanding, he displayed some talents by which he would have stood
conspicuous in any court of Europe. His learning possibly was not so
great as that of Magni, nor did his eloquence by any means compare with
that of Petri. But in matters of diplomacy, in the art of comprehending
human nature, he was unsurpassed by any prelate of the day. He was
singularly acute in forming his conclusions. Rarely if ever did he
express opinions that were not ultimately verified by facts. His
versatility, moreover, was something marvellous. While weighted down
with every sort of trouble and anxiety, he spent his leisure moments in
writing perfectly delightful letters to his friends. These letters bear
the marks of suffering, but are calm in spirit, charitable, and replete
with thought. They treat of botany, of geographical experiments, and of
various schemes to benefit the Swedish nation. As specimens of
literature they are superior to any other documents of the time; and the
writer evidently took keen pleasure in their composition. "By means of
letters," he declared, "we keep our friends; and I would rather keep the
friends I have than make new ones." Brask's greatest fault was his
hypocrisy; but even this was due more to his education than to any
innate trait. He was a Romanist of the deepest dye, and along with
Romanism he inherited a tendency to sacrifice the means in order to
effect the end. His very earnestness impelled him to deceive. But his
deception, if only we may judge him leniently, was of a very pardonable
kind. Take him for all in all, he was an extremely interesting man; and
when he left the country, Sweden lost a valuable son.

FOOTNOTES:

[135] Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, pp. 101-102; _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes
registrat._, vol. ii. p. 138; and _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol.
xviii. pp. 295-303 and 315-316.

[136] _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. pp. 48-53 and vol. xviii.
pp. 300-303; _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 83-86;
Linkoeping, _Bibliotheks handl._, vol. i. pp. 179-183; and _Skrift. och
handl._, vol.