Capitolo 95
plain, and the victory of Solyman brought him face to face with the
before the able Power to arrest his/her progress. The Turks were rejected
to Vienna in 1529, to Malta in 1564. This was their limit in
Western Europe; and after Lepanto, in 1571 their only expansion
it was to the expense of Poland and Muscovy. Them anchor they handled
almost boundless resources; the whole coast from Cattaro everybody
you round off from the Euxine to the Atlantic it was Mahomedan and all but
one-fourth of the Mediterranean was a Turkish lake. It was long
before theirs knew that was not their destiny to be masters of
the westerner as of the Oriental world.
While this heavy cloud overhung the Adriatic and the Danube, and
the countries inside course of Turkish were in danger of
extinction, the nations most distant west was quickly consolidating
in unity and the power. From the marriage of Ferdinando and Isabella,
from their conquest of Granada and the increase of a new hemisphere to
their command, Spain became a great Power for the first time;
while France, having expelled the English after having founded a
permanent army, enormous provinces of frontier and you acquire and it crushed the
centrifugal strengths of feudalism, were more directly formidable and
more easily aggressive. Recently servants these Powers foretold
danger in a direction. Their increase was not so a lot of in
comparison with England or with Portugal, as in contrast with
Italy. England, through the Tudors you/he/she had realized inside
calm; and Portugal was already to the head of Europe in
making the tributary ocean deal. But Italy was separated,
unwarlike, poor in the civic virtues that have made Switzerland
impregnable, rich in the tempting luxuries of civilisation, a
inexhaustible treasure-house of a lot that the neighbours greatly
had need and you/he/she could not find elsewhere never. The best writers and
researchers and teachers, the more complete artists, the ablest
commanders of earth and sea, the deepest explorers of the mystery
of State that has been known before or since then, all the shines