Christina of Sweden #264759

Christina of Sweden has sometimes been considered one of those problems that history has failed to solve. "On est en peine," says Arvède Barine, "de décider si elle fut sincère, ou si elle se moqua de l'Europe." At first sight the doubt may seem to be justified, but when the evidence has been examined it will be found that there is little to support it. What Christina believed herself to be, that she strove to show herself to the world. Her inordinate self-satisfaction robbed her of any motive to appear other than she was.<br><br>Of data to enable the student to arrive at a comprehension of her singular character there is no lack. Her life, from childhood upwards, was lived in public; she was, from first to last, a centre of interest. Her enemies were envenomed, her friends enthusiastic; all had much to say and to write about her. Above all, her numerous letters, her maxims, the fragment of her autobiography, supply abundance of material for the formation of a conclusion. "One should speak neither good nor ill of oneself," she once wrote, "and should occasions arise when one is perhaps compelled to do so, it should be done in few words and ended as quickly as possible."