Page:Readings in European History Vol 2.djvu/356

 3 18 Readi?igs in European History In a letter addressed to Louis XIV, the pope protests against the arrogance of the successor of the Great Elector in assuming the kingly crown. 356. The We, Clement XI, send to our beloved son in Christ our pope pro- good wishes and apostolic blessing. tests against. ,, . ., . .. , , , , . the assump- Although it is well known to us that your Majesty in no tion of king- way approves the bad example which has been given to all ship by the Christendom by the behavior of Frederick, margrave of Brandenburg Brandenburg, in daring to openly assume the title of king; (1701). nevertheless, lest we seem to fail in upholding our office, we cannot pass over this matter in silence ; for a non-Catholic person cannot, without affront to the Church, assume the sacred title of king, and the said margrave has not hesitated to call himself king of a part of Prussia which has from of old belonged to the German knights. Wherefore, in view of this our admonition, we require your Majesty (whose magnanimity is well known to us) to refrain from according to the said margrave the kingly dig- nity which he has so rashly ventured to assume. Such as he are condemned and cast out by the word of God, which says, " Ye have ruled, but not through me ; ye have become princes and I have not known ye." Our reverend brother, Philip Anthony, archbishop of Athens, will further communicate our views on this matter to your Majesty, to whom, in God's name, we wish all hap- piness and graciously send our apostolic blessing. Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, under the seal of the fish- erman's ring, the 16th of April, 17 01. The influence of France upon Germany was very marked during the eighteenth century. Frederick the Great wrote almost exclusively in French. The com- plaints of honest Germans that French manners were corrupting the fatherland go back, however, some dec- ades before Frederick's time. The following character- istic protest belongs to his father's reign.