They opened a
path for that influx of scientific knowledge which has produced in
after centuries the most enormous effects on the welfare of Europe,
and made life possible for millions who would otherwise have been pent
within the narrow bounds of Europe to devour each other in the
struggle for life and bread!"
CHAPTER III.
_DEFENSE OF FREEDOM IN ALPINE PASSES._
1. While the great sovereigns of Europe were busy in fighting the
Moslems in Palestine, they did not entirely neglect affairs at home.
Some of them were very good rulers, protecting their subjects and
maintaining good order, and others were tyrannical and imposed all
sorts of taxes and heavy burdens upon the people. Up among the Alps,
where the country is made up of rough, rocky mountains and narrow
valleys, lived a people who were practically free. They lived in
little communities, each one of which elected its own magistrate or
governor, and made its own laws. The region was so poor and rough that
the neighboring kings little cared to get possession of it, and the
Alpine dwellers had a greater amount of freedom than any other people
of Europe. The country was divided into little separate communities,
one of which was called Schwytz, and this afterward gave the name to
the whole country--Switzerland.
2. This country of the Swiss was really a part of the German empire,
but the emperors had extended their rule over the lower parts of the
country, leaving the forest cantons free.
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