“Tell the King, that whole cities are in open revolt against the prosecutions, and that it is impossible to enforce the decrees here. As for myself, I shall continue to hold by the Catholic faith; but I will never give any colour to the tyrannical claim of kings to dictate to the consciences of their people, and to prescribe the form of religion that they choose to impose. Call the King’s attention to the corruption that has crept into the administration of justice. Let the Government be reformed, the Privy Council and the Council of Finance, and increase the authority of the Council of State.”

— William the Silent

To the Count of Egmont about what to say to Philip II (1565), as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, p. 22

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William the Silent 33

stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht, leader of the … 1533–1584

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