306 ~~ VL—GREAT KINGS AND BISHOPS (A.D. 1593—1718). 
is curious that at almost the same moment Sweden became 
an absolute monarchy, and England a thoroughly con- 
stitutional one. The greatest point of difference in favour 
of the Swedish Church is that the election of bishops and 
clergy has been on a more popular basis, while in England 
the same system of patronage has prevailed for both—the 
king having the nomination of the bishoprics, with com- 
paratively little check, and public and private patrons 
having the nomination to benefices, also with rather 
inadequate checks on the part of the instituting bishops. 
Each nation lives under the system to which it is accus- 
tomed, and does not find its difficulties so great as men 
of the other would imagine. To us the idea seems 
strange that the king should prescribe texts for sermons, 
while to the Swedes our system of election to bishoprics 
appears very imperfect. 
§ 11.—IMPOSING ACTIVITY IN CHURCH MATTERS. CHURCH 
REGISTERS. CATECHISM AND PRAYER Book. 
Eric BENZELIUS (ARCHBISHOP 1700—1709) EDITS 
THE BiBLe. His FAMILY. FAMILY SYSTEM IN 
PARISHES. NEW HYMN-BOOK. JESPER SVEDBERG, 
BisHoP OF SKARA (1702—1735). HIS CONNEC- 
TION WITH NEw SWEDEN aND ENGLAND. His 
FORM OF CONFIRMATION. HAQUIN SPEGEL OF 
SkarA, LiINkOPING AND UpsaLa. His Goob 
WORK AND PATRIOTISM. THE Two GEZELIUS® IN 
FINLAND, THEIR ‘‘ BIBEL-VERK." 
The activity which prevailed in the Church just before 
and after the year 1700 was indeed very imposing in its 
achievements. The system of Church registers which 
Rudbeckius had introduced was made universal in 1686. 
The system of private catechizing in families, both by 
bishops and clergy, was begun. In 1689 a common 
catechism was produced, and an edict of 1695 ordered uni- 
versal instruction in reading and in the catechism. In 
1693 a new hand-book or prayer book was published, and