the unseen world and other essays-第35章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


　of　religious　wars　throughout　Europe。

The　conflict　in　the　Netherlands　was　indeed　far　more　than　a　mere　religious　struggle。　In　its　course　was　distinctly　brought　into　prominence　the　fact　which　we　have　above　signalized；　that　since　the　Roman　Church　had　abandoned　the　liberties　of　the　people　they　had　found　a　new　defender　in　the　reformed　religion。　The　Dutch　rebellion　is　peculiarly　interesting；　because　it　was　a　revolt　not　merely　against　the　Inquisition；　but　also　against　the　temporal　sovereignty　of　Philip。　Besides　changing　their　religion；　the　sturdy　Netherlanders　saw　fit　to　throw　off　the　sway　of　their　legitimate　ruler；　and　to　proclaim　the　thrice　heretical　doctrine　of　the　sovereignty　of　the　people。　In　this　one　respect　their　views　were　decidedly　more　modern　than　those　of　Elizabeth　and　Henry　IV。　These　great　monarchs　apparently　neither　understood　nor　relished　the　republican　theories　of　the　Hollanders；　though　it　is　hardly　necessary　for　Mr。　Motley　to　sneer　at　them　quite　so　often　because　they　were　not　to　an　impossible　degree　in　advance　of　their　age。　The　proclamation　of　a　republic　in　the　Netherlands　marked　of　itself　the　beginning　of　a　new　era；an　era　when　flourishing　communities　of　men　were　no　longer　to　be　bought　and　sold；　transferred　and　bequeathed　like　real　estate　and　chattels；　but　were　to　have　and　maintain　the　right　of　choosing　with　whom　and　under　whom　they　should　transact　their　affairs。　The　interminable　negotiations　for　a　truce；　which　fill　nearly　one　third　of　Mr。　Motley's　concluding　volume；　exhibit　with　striking　distinctness　the　difference　between　the　old　and　new　points　of　view。　Here　again　we　think　Mr。　Motley　errs　slightly；　in　calling　too　much　attention　to　the　prevaricating　diplomacy　of　the　Spanish　court；　and　too　little　to　its　manifest　inability　to　comprehend　the　demands　of　the　Netherlanders。　How　should　statesmen　brought　up　under　Philip　II。　and　kept　under　the　eye　of　the　Inquisition　be　expected　to　understand　a　claim　for　liberty　originating　in　the　rights　of　the　common　people　and　not　in　the　gracious　benevolence　or　intelligent

policy　of　the　King？　The　very　idea　must　have　been　practically　inconceivable　by　them。　Accordingly；　they　strove　by　every　available　device　of　chicanery　to　wheedle　the　Netherlanders　into　accepting　their　independence　as　a　gift　from　the　King　of　Spain。　But　to　such　a　piece　of　self…stultification　the　clear…sighted　Dutchmen　could　by　no　persuasion　be　brought　to　consent。　Their　independence；　they　argued；　was　not　the　King's　to　give。　They　had　won　it　from　him　and　his　father；　in　a　war　of　forty　years；　during　which　they　had　suffered　atrocious　miseries；　and　all　that　the　King　of　Spain　could　do　was　to　acknowledge　it　as　their　right；　and　cease　to　molest　them　in　future。　Over　this　point；　so　simple　to　us　but　knotty　enough　in　those　days；　the　commissioners　wrangled　for　nearly　two　years。　And　when　the　Spanish　government；　unable　to　carry　on　the　war　any　longer　without　risk　of　utter　bankruptcy；　and　daily　crippled　in　its　resources　by　the　attacks　of　the　Dutch　navy；　grudgingly　a　reed　to　a　truce　upon　the　Netherlanders'　terms；　it　virtually　acknowledged　its　own　defeat　and　the　downfall　of　the　principles　for　which　it　had　so　obstinately　fought。　By　the　truce　of　1609　the　republican　principle　was　admitted　by　the　most　despotic　of　governments。

Here　was　the　first　great　triumph　of　republicanism　over　monarchy；　and　it　was　not　long　in　bearing　fruits。　For　the　Dutch　revolution；　the　settlement　of　America　by　English　Puritans；　the　great　rebellion　of　the　Commons；　the　Revolution　of　1688；　the　revolt　of　the　American　Colonies；　and　the　general　overthrow　of　feudalism　in　1789；　are　but　successive　acts　in　the　same　drama　William　the　Silent　was　the　worthy　forerunner　of　Cromwell　and　Washington；　and　but　for　the　victory　which　he　won；　during　his　life　and　after　his　untimely　death；　the　subsequent　triumphs　of　civil　liberty　might　have　been　long；　postponed。

Over　the　sublime　figure　of　Williamsaevis　tranquillus　in　undiswe　should　be　glad　to　dwell；　but　we　are　not　reviewing　the　〃Rise　of　the　Dutch　Republic；〃　and　in　Mr。　Motley's　present　volumes　the　hero　of　toleration　appears　no　longer。　His　antagonist；　however；the　Philip　whom　God　for　some　inscrutable　purpose　permitted　to　afflict　Europe　during　a　reign　of　forty…two　years；accompanies　us　nearly　to　the　end　of　the　present　work；　dying　just　in　time　for　the　historian　to　sum　up　the　case　against　him；　and　pronounce　final　judgment。　For　the　memory　of　Philip　II。　Mr。　Motley　cherishes　no　weak　pity。　He　rarely　alludes　to　him　without　commenting　upon　his　total　depravity；　and　he　dismisses　him　with　the　remark　that　〃if　there　are　vicesas　possibly　there　arefrom　which　he　was　exempt；　it　is　because　it　is　not　permitted　to　human　nature　to　attain　perfection　in　evil。〃　The　verdict　is　none　the　less　just　because　of　its　conciseness。　If　there　ever　was　a　strife　between　Hercules　and　Cacus；　between　Ormuzd　and　Ahriman；　between　the　Power　of　Light　and　the　Power　of　Darkness；　it　was　certainly　the　strife　between　the　Prince　of　Orange　and　the　Spanish　Monarch。　They　are　contrasted　like　the　light　and　shade　in　one　of　Dore's　pictures。　And　yet　it　is　perhaps　unnecessary　for　Mr。　Motley　to　say　that　if　Philip　had　been　alive　when　Spinola　won　for　him　the　great　victory　of　Ostend；　〃he　would　have　felt　it　his　duty　to　make　immediate　arrangements　for　poisoning　him。〃　Doubtless　the　imputation　is　sufficiently　justified　by　what　we　know　of　Philip；　but　it　is　uncalled　for。　We　do　not　care　to　hear　about　what　the　despot　might　have　done。　We　know　what　he　did　do；　and　the　record　is　sufficiently　damning。　There　is　no　harm　in　our　giving　the　Devil　his　due；　or　as　Llorente　wittily　says；　〃Il　ne　faut　pas　calomnier　meme　l'Inquisition。〃

Philip　inherited　all　his　father's　bad　qualities；　without　any　of　his　good　ones；　and　so　it　is　much　easier　to　judge　him　than　his　father。　Charles；　indeed；　is　one　of　those　characters　whom　one　hardly　knows　whether　to　love　or　hate；　to　admire　or　despise。　He　had　much　bad　blood　in　him。　Charles　the　Bold　and　Ferdinand　of　Aragon　were　not　grandparents　to　be　proud　of。　Yet　with　all　this　he　inherited　from　his　grandmother　Isabella　much　that　one　can　like；　and　his　face；　as　preserved　by　Titian；　in　spite　of　its　frowning　brow　and　thick　Burgundian　lip；　is　rather　prepossessing；　while　the　face　of　Philip　is　simply　odious。　In　intellect　he　must　probably　be　called　great；　though　his　policy　often　betrayed　the　pettiness　of　selfishness。　If；　in　comparison　with　the　mediaeval　emperor　whose　fame　he　envied；　he　may　justly　be　called　Charles　the　Little；　he　may　still；　when　compared　to　a　more　modern　emulator　of　Charlemagne；the　first　of　the　Bonapartes；be　considered　great　and　enlightened。　If　he　could　lie　and　cheat　more　consummately　than　any　contemporary　monarch；　not　excepting　his　rival；　Francis；　he　could　still　be　grandly　magnanimous；　while　the　generosity　of　Francis　flowed　only　from　the　shallow　surface　of　a　maudlin　good…nature。　He　spoke　many　languages　and　had　the　tastes　of　a　scholar；　while　his　son　had　only　the　inclinations　of　an　unfeeling　pedagogue。　He　had　an　inkling　of　urbanity；　and　could　in　a　measure　become　all　things　to　all　men；　while　Philip　could　never　show　himself　except　as　a　gloomy；　impracticable　bigot。　It　is　for　some　such　reasons　as　these；　I　suppose；　that　Mr。　Buckleno　friend　to　despotsspeaks　well　of　Charles；　and　that　Mr。　Froude　is　moved　to　tell　the　following　anecdote：　While　standing　by　the　grave　of　Luther；　and　musing　over　the　strange　career　of　the　giant　monk　whose　teachings　had　gone　so　far　to　wreck　his　most　cherished　schemes　and　render　his　life　a　failure；　some　fanatical　bystander　advised　the　Emperor　to　have　the　body　taken　up　and　burned　in　the　market…place。　〃There　was　nothing；〃　says　Mr。　Froude；　〃unusual　in　the　proposal；　it　was　the　common　practice　of　the　Catholic　Church　with　the　remains　of　heretics；　who　were　held　unworthy　to　be　left　in　repose　in　hallowed　ground。　There　was　scarcely；　perhaps　another　Catholic　prince　who　would　have　hesitated　to　comply。　But　Charles　was　one　of　nature's　gentlemen。　He　answered；　'I　war　not　with　the　dead。'　〃　Mr。　Motley　takes　a　less　charitable　view　of　the　great　Emperor。　His　generous　indignation　against　all　persecutors　makes　him　severe；　and　in　one　of　his　earlier　volumes；　while　speaking　of　the　famous　edicts　for　the　suppression　of　heresy　in　the　Netherlands；　he　somewhere　uses　the　word　〃murder。〃　Without　attempting　to　palliate　the　crime　of　persecution；　I　doubt　if　it　is　quite　fair　to　Charles　to　call　him　a　murderer。　We　must　not　forget　that　persecution；　now　rightly　deemed　an　atrocious　crime；　was　once　really　considered　by　some　people　a　sacred　duty；　that　it　was　none　other　than　the　compassionate　Isabella　who　established　the　Spanish　Inquisition；　and　that　the　〃bloody〃　Mary　Tudor　was　a　woman　who　would　not　wilfully　have　done　wrong。　With　the　progress　of　civilization　the　time　will　doubtless　come　when　warfare；　having　ceased　to　be　necessary；　will　be　thought　highly　criminal；　yet　it　will　not　then　be　fair　to　hold　Marlborough　or　Wellington　accountable　for　the　lives　lost　in　their　great　battles。　We　still　live　in　an　age　when　war　is；　to　the　imagination　of　some　persons；　surrounded　with　false　glories；　and　the　greatest　of　modern　generals＇32＇　has　still　many　undiscriminating　admirers。　Yet　the　day　is　no　less　certainly　at　hand　when　the　edicts　of　Charles　V。　will　be　deemed　a　more　pardonable　offence　against　humanity　than　the　wanton　march　to　Moscow。

＇32＇　This　was　written　before　the　deeds　of　Moltke　had　eclipsed　those　of　Napoleon。


Philip　II。　was　different　from　his　father　in　capacity　as　a　drudging　clerk；　like　Boutwell；　is　different　from　a　brilliant　financier　like　Gladstone。　In　organization　he　differed　from　him　as　a　boor　differs　from　a　gentleman。　He　seemed　made　of　a　coarser　clay。　The　difference　between　them　is　well　indicated　by　their　tastes　at　the　table。　Both　were　terrible　gluttons；　a　fact　which　puritanic　criticism　might　set　down　as　equally　to　the　discredit　of　each　of　them。　But　even　in　intemperance　there　are　degrees　of　refinement；　and　the　impartial　critic　of　life　and　manners　will　no　doubt　say　that　if　one　must　get　drunk；　let　it　be　on　Chateau　Margaux　rather　than　on　commissary　whiskey。　Pickled　partridges；　plump　capons；　syrups　of　fruits；　delicate　pastry；　and　rare　fish　went　to　make　up　the　diet　of　Charles　in　his　last　days　at　Yuste。　But　the　beastly　Philip　would　make　himself　sick　with　a　surfeit　of　underdone　pork。

Whatever　may　be　said　of　the　father；　we　can　hardly　go　far　wrong　in　ascribing　the　instincts　of　a　murderer　to　the　son。　He　not　only　burned　heretics；　but　he　burned　them　with　an　air　of　enjoyment　and　self…complacency。　His　nuptials　with　Elizabeth　of　France　were　celebrated　by　a　vast　auto…da…fe。　He　studied　murder　as　a　fine　art；　and　was　as　skilful　in　private　assassinations　as　Cellini　was　in　engraving　on　gems。　The　secret　execution　of　Montigny；　never　brought　to　light　until　the　present　century；　was　a　veritable　chef　d'oeuvre　of　this　sort。　The　cases　of　Escobedo　and　Antonio　Perez　may　also　be　cited　in　point。　Dark　suspicions　hung　around　the　premature　death　of　Don　John　of　Austria；　his　too　brilliant　and　popular　half…brother。　He　planned　the　murder　of　William　the　Silent；　and　rewarded　the　assassin　with　an　annuity　furnished　by　the　revenues　of　the　victim's　confiscated　estates。　He　kept　a　staff　of　ruffians　constantly　in　service　for　the　purpose　of　taking　off　Elizabeth；　Henry　IV。；　Prince　Maurice；　Olden…Barneveldt；　and　St。　Aldegonde。　He　instructed　Alva　to　execute　sentence　of　death　upon　the　whole　popu