The pages of universal history, sacred and profane, ancient and
modern, when opened with the conviction that He who made the world
governs it also, will best explain the _why_ of these changes in
the destiny of nations; and within half of the latter part of the
last century, and the nearly half of the present, awful have been the
pages to be read. Hence we may understand the vital influence of the
objects of education with regard to the principles inculcated,
whether with relation to individual interest or to the generalized
consideration of a people as a commonwealth or a kingdom. A kingdom
and a commonwealth may be considered the same thing, when the power
of both people and king are limited by just laws, established by the
long exercised wisdom of the nation, holding the whole powers of the
state in equilibrium; and in this sense, meaning "a royal
commonwealth," comprising, as in England, "kings, lords, and
commons," it is generally believed is intended to be understood the
term, "The republic of Poland, with its king."
The Polish nation, however, under all their dominions of government,
usually partook something of the policies and manners of the then
existing times. Yet they were always distinguished by a particular
chivalry of character, a brave freedom from all foreign and domestic
vassalage, and a generous disposition to respect and to assist the
neighboring nations to maintain the same independence they themselves
enjoyed.
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