CHAPTER XIX.

The Peace of Westphalia: Last Stage in the Decline of the Empire.

Political Import of the Peace of Westphalia 337 Hippolytus a Lapide and his Book 339 Changes in the Germanic Constitution 340 Narrowed Bounds of the Empire 341 Condition of Germany after the Peace 342 The Balance of Power 345 The Hapsburg Emperors and their Policy 348 The Emperor Charles VII 351 The Empire in its last Phase 352 Feelings of the German People 354