HISTORY OF EUROPE. 
much success, for the mitigation 
and gradual abolition of domestic 
and predial slavery ; whether, as 
we would charitably believe, from 
a genuine spirit of Christianity, or, 
as some contend, and may perhaps 
have been, in some instances, the 
case, from an ambition of engross- 
ing to themselves all power over 
the bodies, as well as the souls, of 
men. ‘The faét is nevertheless true, 
that, through their collusion and 
, concurrence, the Poles, as well as 
other nations, were gradually de- 
prived of their political privileges. 
Towards the close of the twelfth 
century, Casimir II. endeavoured 
to repress the tyranny of the aristo- 
cracy ; but the influence of his re- 
gulations, as it arose chiefly from his 
personal character, produced only 
a transitory alleviation of griev- 
ances. The pride of the most tur- 
bulent of the nobility was offended, 
at this attempt to set bounds to their 
usurpations ; and this circumstance, 
joined to the uncertain ideas enter. 
tained concerning the right of suc- 
cession to the sovereignty, split the 
nation into factions: from which 
arose a train of civil wars, that.con- 
vulsed the state, with only occa- 
sional intervals of tranquillity, till 
towards the middle of the four- 
teenth century. At this period, 
when as yet there were no written 
laws in Poland, arose Casimir the 
Great, who became the legislator 
of his country. Without attempt. 
ing to remedy the fundamental er- 
rors of the government, he satisfied 
himself with regulating the internal 
police of his kingdom, and correét- 
ing a mass of abuses, which had 
been accumulating for ages. He 
allowed the order of succession to 
the crown to remain in the same 
unsettled state in which he found 
(35 
it.. But he endeavoured to repress 
the licentious and tyrannical spirit 
of the highernobility. He restored 
the peasants to the protection of 
laws, abolished personal slavery, 
and prohibited, under severe penal. 
ties, the cruel exa¢tions. to which 
the nobles had subjected all who had. 
the misfortune to be born on their 
estates. His humane attention to 
this unhappy class of men led the 
nobility to distinguish him with a 
misplaced ridicule, by the title of 
king of the peasants. By raising the 
mass of the people to the rank of free« 
men, he gave them an interest in 
the welfare of the state. Had the 
prudent and benevolent spirit of his 
laws been adhered to, Poland might 
still have continued to be a great 
and flourishing nation. 
But after the death of Casimir, 
the peasants were quickly thrown 
back into that state of misery and 
degradation from which he had at- 
tempted to raise them. The situa- 
tion of this class of men became 
even more deplorable and hopeless, 
from the attempt that had been 
made to relieve them. Their 
masters seem to have taken the hint, 
from. this circumstance, to secure 
their future usurpations with all 
the solemnity of legal exactment. 
Pains and penalties without number 
were denounced against all of them 
who should dare to think themselves 
entitled to the common rights of 
human nature: and they were again 
subjected to the caprices of every 
gentleman who chose to indemnify 
their masters, or pay a trivial fine 
as a compensation for their murder. 
‘In consequence of this system of 
oppression, equally inhuman and 
impolitic, the state was in a great 
measure deprived of their service 
in supporting the honour of the na« 
[D2] tion, 
