he expounded a theory that every nation had its natural limits, within which it could defend itself but which did not threaten others. France had been in such a position at the accession of Louis XIV, but since then had expanded to engulf the natural defences of neighbouring states, and turned herself into a permanent threat. It would therefore be for the good of France as well as Europe to seize this chance of cutting her down to size. How this theory accorded with Prussia’s astonishing expansion over the same period he did not say.
