The king
expressed the hope that this humiliation of his body would, in some
degree, be accepted by the Deity in atonement for the sins of his soul.
How universal the instinct that sin needs an atonement!
Having finished these directions the emperor observed that some of his
attendants were in tears. "Do you weep," said he, "because you see a
mortal die? Such tears become women rather than men." The emperor was
now dying. As the ecclesiastics repeated the prayers of the Church, the
emperor gave the responses until his voice failed, and then continued to
give tokens of recognition and of faith, by making the sign of the
cross. At three o'clock in the morning of the 11th of January, 1519, the
Emperor Maximilian breathed his last. He was then in the sixtieth year
of his age.
Maximilian is justly considered one of the most renowned of the
descendants of Rhodolph of Hapsburg. It is saying but little for his
moral integrity, to affirm that he was one of the best of the rulers of
his age. According to his ideas of religion, he was a religious man.
According to his ideas of honesty and of honor, he was both an honest
and an honorable man. According to his idea of what is called _moral
conduct_, he was irreproachable, being addicted to no _ungenteel_ vices,
or any sins which would be condemned by his associates.
Pages:
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165