Kings & rulers > History of Charles XII, King of Sweden

CHARLES XII.
BOOK VIII. CHARLES XII. 305
he had a fine forehead, large blue eyes full of sweet¬
ness, and a handsome nose: but the lower part of his
face was disagreeable, and too often disfigured by a
frequent laugh, which scarce opened his lips; and as
to hair and beard, he had hardly any at all. A pro¬
found silence reigned at his table. Notwithstanding
the inflexible obstinacy of his temper, he always re*
tained that bashfulness which goes by the name of
false modesty. He was but little qualified to make
a figure in conversation, because, having addicted him¬
self entirely to war an4 action, he was utterly unac¬
quainted with the pleasures of society. Till the time
of his residence among the Turks, which furnished
him with a good deal of leisure, he had read nothing
but Cesar’s Commentaries and the history of Alexan¬
der. It is true, he had wrote some remarks on the
art of war, and particulary on his own campaigns,
from 1700 to 1709. This he owned to the Chevalier
de Folard, but said, that the manuscript had been lost
in the unfortunate battle of Pultowa. Some people
would make us believe that Charles was a good ma¬
thematician. That he was possessed of great depth
and penetration of thought cannot be denied; but the
arguments they produce to prove his knowledge in
mathematics are by no means conclusive. He wanted
to alter the method of counting by tens, and to sub¬
stitute in its place the number sixty-four, because-
that number contains both a square and a cube, and
being divided by two is reducible to an unit. This,
if it proves any thing, only shows that he always de¬
lighted in what was difficult and extraordinary.
With regard to his religion, though the sentiments
of a prince ought to have no influence on other men,
and though the opinion of a monarch so illiterate as
Charles is of little consequence in these matters, yet