There is scarcely a hero to be found in all the annals of history who
is better qualified to refute this theory than the Swedish king,
Gustavus Adolphus. It would be futile to assert, of course, that he
was an isolated phenomenon, who sprang like Jonah's luxuriant gourd
out of the arid sands of the desert. No, he had deep and intricate
roots in the past of his race and in the soil of his fatherland. But
yet, how far are all the influences which we can trace, from
accounting for the forceful energy, the clear-sighted sagacity, and
the dominant genius of the man! As far as we can judge at this
distance, his personality was the mightiest element that entered into
the denouement of that bloody world-drama, the Thirty Years' War. Had
he been other than he was, had he been a man of less heroic mould, it
would seem that Protestantism must have perished in Central Europe, or
been confined, at least, to England and the Scandinavian North. The
rights of conscience and individual judgment, for which Luther and his
co-reformers had fought so valiantly, would then have succumbed to the
power of authority, as embodied in the Papacy and the Catholic
League; and Germany, after its mighty effort at release, would have
lapsed back into the Middle Ages. To few men the opportunity is
offered to exercise such a far-reaching influence upon the history of
mankind; but fewer still are those who see its full significance, and
seeing it, seize it, and without one look behind march into the storm
and stress of world-shaping events.

Gustavus Adolphus was born December 9, 1594. He was the son of King
Charles IX. of Sweden, and the grandson of the renowned Gustavus Vasa.
He was a precocious child, and it is told (though it appears rather
incredible) that at the age of twelve he spoke Latin, French, German,
Dutch, and Italian with great fluency, besides having a superficial
acquaintance with Polish and Russian. There can be no doubt, however,
that he was well taught, and that he possessed a remarkable facility
in acquiring languages. For all that, he was far from being a bookish
boy. In riding, fencing, and all chivalrous accomplishments he took a
lively interest and exhibited much skill. It was in stormy times that
his boyhood fell, Sweden being at that time involved in frequent wars,
and his father, in order to train him in the duties of a military
commander, took him early into his camp and made him share his
campaigns. Many of the famous capt