BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DOM PEDRO II. ^03 



It is true these great things have not been accomplished exclusively 

 by the present Emperor of Brazil ; but, as permanent head of the gov- 

 ernment, the credit of them for the most part, of right, belongs to him. 

 It is at his instigation that important measures of the administration 

 have been undertaken ; it is he who has the right to approve or reject the 

 projects of reform -, he, in short, who has selected the men who have 

 aided him in the realization of his philosophical ideal of prosperity for 

 his people. The Brazilians render him full justice, and thank him for the 

 position their country occupies among civilized nations. 



Almost as large as Europe, and by nature the richest country in the 

 world, Brazil is, in fact, the most prosperous and the most powerful state 

 of South America, and stands next to the United States in the whole of 

 the western hemisphere. "Should her moral and intellectual endow- 

 ments," said the eminent naturalist Agassiz, "grow into harmony with 

 her wonderful natural beauty and wealth, the world will not have seen 

 a fairer land." * 



We do not for an instant doubt the condition of this prophecy will 

 be fulfilled, particularly if the future governors of the empire take as 

 model the wise administration of Dom Pedro. 



It is a custom of biographers to compare the persons they describe 

 with others of the same rank who have points in common, but we find 

 no monarch now upon the throne, although several have reigned 

 at various historical epochs, with whom we can compare the Emperor of 

 Brazil. 



If we go back to antiquity he may be placed side by side with the 

 best of the Eoman Emperors. Like Yespasian, he established order in 

 an empire disorganized by factions and the machinations of ambitious 

 men, and gave an impulse to the arts and sciences. In this respect he 

 also resembles Augustus, but unlike him had no supporters such as 

 Meca3nas and Agrippa. His noble qualities of heart give him the right 

 to say with Titus, " The day passed without an opportunity for a good 

 deed is a day lost." He is not a warrior like Trajan, but when his 

 country was invaded he went in person to meet the enemy, and forced 

 him to capitulate, and if the Roman emperor refused to allow a column 

 to be erected to record his victories, the Brazilian Emperor declined the 

 statue his people wished to raise in his honor after the war of Paraguay. 

 As to the rest, they were equal in love of justice and respect for the 

 laws. 



Dom Pedro appreciated as did Hadrien the inestimable benefit of 

 peace to human prosperity. The virtues and the modesty of Antony 

 the Pious were not greater than those of the Brazilian monarch ; and 

 by his clemency toward others and his severe judgment of himself, he 

 deserves to be placed by the side of Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher. 



In the middle ages we can think of no sovereign who can justly be 

 compared with Dom Pedro in regard to the organization and adminis- 



* Work already cited. 



