'as the face of a god.' His manners were courtly and his voice
winning. He was strong and active, and loved hunting, hawking, the
practice of knightly exercises, and, above all, war itself.
Considerable care must have been spent on his education, for he
certainly spoke English as well as French, and evidently understood
German. He was fearless in battle, and, though over-fond of pleasure
was, until his later years, energetic in all his undertakings.
Although according to modern notions his ambition is to be reckoned a
grave defect in his character, it seemed in his day a kingly quality.
Nor were his wars undertaken without cause, or indeed, according to
the ideas of the time, without ample justification. His attempts to
bring Scotland under his power were at first merely a continuation of
an inherited policy that it would have been held shameful to
repudiate, and later were forced upon him by the alliance between that
country and France. And the French War was in the first instance
provoked by the aggressions of Philip, though Edward's assumption of
the title of King of France, a measure of political expediency,
rendered peace impossible. He was liberal in his gifts, magnificent in
his doings, profuse in his expenditure, and, though not boastful,
inordinately ostentatious. No sense of duty beyond what was then held
to become a knight influenced his conduct. Although the early glories
of his reign were greeted with applause, he never won the love of his
people; they groaned under the effects of his extravagance, and fled
at his coming lest his officers should seize their goods. His
commercial policy was enlightened, and has won him the title of the
"father of English commerce" but it was mainly inspired by selfish
motives, and he never scrupled to sacrifice the interests of the
English merchants, to obtain a supply of money or secure an ally. In
foreign politics he showed genius; his alliances were well devised and
skilfully obtained, but he seems to have expected more from his allies
than they were likely to do for him, for England still stood so far
apart from continental affairs, that her alliance was not of much
practical importance, except commercially. As a leader in war Edward
could order a battle and inspire his army with his own confidence, but
he could not plan a campaign; he was rash, and left too much to
chance. During the first part of his reign he paid much attention to
naval administration; he successfully