i8o POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



a fool, though Prescott calls him the imbecile grandson of Charles V. 

 The melancholic tendency a]3peared in him, though not to the extent 

 of insanity. Ireland sums the whole situation up thus : ' ' Philip was 

 a man of feeble and indolent character, governed by worthless favor- 

 ites. The power of Spain declined as rapidly as it had risen."* 



This is the same story over again in the history of Spain. We 

 find the condition of the country reflecting the character and strength 

 of the monarch. Many times through the course of the centuries 

 she had been blessed apparently through heredity by great and able 

 rulers and her course had been hampered only here and there by the 

 presence of a weak one; but all this from the great Emperor Charles's 

 day onward was to be just reversed by the same almost unerring law 

 of descent. I do not mean that a weak monarch might not excep- 

 tionally, even in those early days, reign over a glorious period. The 

 greatness of Portugal lasted through the reigns of two weak sovereigns, 

 Emanuel I. and John III., though the germs of decay were clearly 

 at work. Likewise Spain's glory had its greatest outward manifesta- 

 tion of splendor in the time of Philip II. whose acts were nearly all 

 injudicious. The increment of one period made itself felt in a later. 

 Still in general the countries prospered only under the great leaders. 



Philip was not as bad as Carlos, nor was his pedigree quite as 

 hopeless. The roots from which he sprung were practically all from 

 the weak John II. of Castile and Isabella the insane. In this he is 

 like Carlos. However, it is to be noted that three of his immediate 

 ancestors were excellent characters, though not especially gifted. These 

 are represented as such on the chart. Ferdinand I. and Maximillian 

 II. will be taken up under Austria. 



The marriage of Philip III. was no more fortunate. His queen 

 was the daughter of Charles, Duke of Styria, who was evidently not 

 the possessor of great talents, as I have never been able to find a 

 reference to his character or achievements. He was the son of the 

 same Ferdinand I. Charles's wife was of 'obscure' origin. Thus 

 the neurosis was perpetuated and furthermore the genius was not 

 maintained. However, very high ability still cropped out in two of 

 Philip the Third's many children. These were Charles and Ferdi- 

 nand, already treated. But unfortunately the crown did not fall to 

 either of them, and so we have an artificial election of the worst. 

 The reign of Philip IV., who became kins:, was a period of great 

 misfortune. His only good qualities were his love of .art and litera- 

 ture, and perhaps his best bequests to the world are the famous por- 

 traits of himself and family painted by the great Velasquez. 



Besides being weak and foolish he was 'far inferior to his prede- 



* Ireland, 'Blot on the Brain,' p. 156. 



