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II. THE SWEDISH PEOPLE.
body and soul. Light-hearted recklessness is, in fact, one of the greatest
weaknesses in the Swedish character. On the other hand, it cannot be denied that
peoples so constituted often display a greater vitality than nations of the
cautious, thrifty type.
Sweden is the most ancient kingdom in Europe, and has never, as far
as history records, been subjected to foreign dominion; moreover, owing
her remote position, she has kept tolerably free from foreign influences.
Sweden has known neither feudalism nor serfdom; her legislation has
been but slightly affected by Roman law, she has been less deeply
influenced than other nations by the Roman Catholic church, and she has
had but a brief experience of absolute monarchy. Further, as the Swedish
race has preserved its Aryan descent purer than any other, one might
naturally expect to discover in Sweden an extremely original culture —
though possibly accompanied by that stagnation to which isolated nations
are peculiarly liable.
A closer acquintance with the Swedish nation will modify these notions.
The originality certainly exists, but not quite so markedly as one might
have been led to expect, at any rate not on the surface. On the other
hand, the stagnation does not exist at all — though there is a certain
conservatism which Sweden has in common with England.
To explain these facts, it is necessary to understand a certain trait
inherent in the Swedish character: the keen interest in all things foreign.
This interest, which has always inclined the Swedes to overestimate things
from abroad, and underestimate things of their own, has often proved fatal
to them and checked the full growth of the national individuality. But,
on the other hand, this keen interest in all things human has saved the
Swedes from sticking fast in ruts, and has warded off the dangers of
isolation.
Sweden of our days may thus be likened to a man whose powers are
not indeed yet fully matured, but who. as a whole, has managed to
preserve that mental and physical health which promises a long and
prosperous future.
Social Classes and Distinctions.
The history of Sweden from a social point of view presents features of
great interest, inasmuch as it is the record of an evolution upon an
exclusively Teutonic basis, unaffected by the spirit of Roman culture or the
theories of Roman law, which set so evident an impress on the continent
of Europe as a whole.
The oldest Swedish community knew of no other legal distinction among its
members than that of thralls and freemen. Yet, even at that time, there existed
wealthy and powerful families with hereditary influence — a germ, consequently,
from which a nobility might develop. Subsequently to the introduction of
Christianity, yet another aristocracy arose in the shape of the Catholic priesthood, with
its claims to a legally sanctioned status of its own. During the progress of the
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