Obstacles apparently insurmountable had been interposed between him and the ends on which he was intent; and those obstacles his genius had turned into stepping stones.

Under his dexterous management the hereditary enemies of his house had helped him to mount a throne; and the persecutors of his religion had helped him to rescue his religion from persecution.
Fleets and armies, collected to withstand him, had, without a struggle, submitted to his orders.

Factions and sects, divided by mortal antipathies, had recognised him as their common head.

Without carnage, without devastation, he had won a victory compared with which all the victories of Gustavus and Turenne were insignificant.

In a few weeks he had changed the relative position of all the states in Europe, and had restored the equilibrium which the preponderance of one power had destroyed.