A Little History of the World

As an introduction to the Enlightenment, Gombrich remarks, from a modern perspective, how strangely a 17th-century person would appear and think. Peasants were not to complain, beggars should be whipped, and slaves were a perfectly reasonable source of labor. At this point in history, Gombrich says, these kinds of views began to change. After so many years of religious conflict, the principle of toleration became very important to people. The principles of the Greeks and Romans were given new life. Reason could solve all questions of science and humanity. God had bestowed all humans with the gift of reason, and thus, all humans must be equal. Humans had rights to dignity that could not be taken by another man. These ideas were debated in England and France, and their spread became known as the Enlightenment. Gombrich acknowledges that many of the ideas of the Enlightenment may seem obvious today, but it was a remarkable achievement—not just because of the innumerable scientific discoveries that were made as a result, but also because the Enlightenment’s principles of tolerance, reason, and humanity have become integral to our society.

After years of slowly seizing territory from Sweden, the prince of Prussia declared himself king in 1701.