The Swedes lost their language in America, but kept their sturdy Christianity. Their fair dealings with the Indians prepared the way for William Penn to have the name of founding a colony in peace, for which the Swedes should receive much of the credit.
Gustavus also devoted himself to the improvement of Stockholm, now one of the most beautiful cities of the world. It is often called the Venice of the North, being situated on a group of nine islands, connected by picturesque bridges. Its streets are wider than those of Venice, and the canals have none of the vile odors of the southern city.
Sweden has been called Sweden ever since people inhabited its territory. At different periods it has been united to Norway and Denmark, under the same ruler. It has never been invaded or conquered, or had its boundaries changed by a foreign power.
From the time of the abdication of Charles V. of Germany the country had, for about sixty years, enjoyed comparative peace. Luther's translation of the complete Bible had appeared in 1634. Nearly one hundred years had been given the plain people to study the word of God, to see what Christ said and what Paul preached, and to compare them with the doctrines of the Church as set forth by the priests of Rome.
The work of Luther was destructive as well as constructive. He tore down what was false in the worship of God. The greater part of the constructive work of his life was formulated in the Augsburg Confession.
The Diet of Augsburg met in the city of Augsburg in 1530. It consisted of leading divines of both Protestant and Catholic faith, and of the princes who upheld the Reformation.
The Protestants set before the emperor, Charles V., on June 25th, 1530, their doctrines in a remarkable document known as the Augsburg Confession, or the Augustana. It is the plain statement of the doctrines of the Lutheran Church the world over, and is the basis from which all other Protestant confessions are largely taken.
Then followed twenty-five years of the successful propagation of the doctrines of the Reformation, and the purified faith was accepted not only in Germany, but in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, the Netherlands and in England and Scotland.