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8 annihilate each other; and the memory of those only would remain which have produced great revolutions, or which, being related by able writers, are preserved from oblivion, like the pictures of obscure persons, drawn by a masterly hand.

Sensible then, as we are, of the truth of these observations, we should not have added a particular history of Charles XII. King of Sweden, to the infinite number of books with which the world is already crowded, were it not that he and his rival, Peter Alexiowitz, by far the greater man of the two, are universally admitted to be the most illustrious persons that have appeared for upwards of twenty centuries. The trifling pleasure, however, of relating extraordinary events was not our only motive for engaging in this work; we flattered ourselves that it might be of some little use to princes, should it ever happen to fall into their hands. No king, surely, can be so incorrigible as, when he reads the "History of Charles XII.", not to be cured of the vain ambition of making conquests. Where is the prince that can say, I have more courage, more virtues, more resolution, greater strength of body, greater skill in war, or better troops, than Charles XII.? And yet, if, with all these advantages, and after so many victories, Charles was so unfortunate, what fate may other princes expect, who, with less capacity and fewer resources, shall entertain the same ambitious views?

This history is composed from the relations of some persons of distinction, who lived several years with Charles XII. and with Peter the Great,