negotiations, the secret instructions of Philip forbade any real
concessions on his side. He was always ready to negotiate, he was
especially anxious to obtain a suspension of arms from the rebels during
negotiation; but his agents were instructed to use great dexterity and
dissimulation in order that the proposal for such armistice, as well as
for negotiation at all, should appear to proceed, not from himself as was
the fact, but from the emperor as a neutral potentate. The king
uniformly proposed three points; firstly, that the rebels should
reconvert themselves to the Catholic religion; secondly, that they should
return to their obedience to himself; thirdly, that they should pay the
expenses of the war. Number three was, however, usually inserted in
order that, by conceding it subsequently, after much contestation, he
might appear conciliatory. It was a vehicle of magnanimity towards men
grown insolent with temporary success. Numbers one and two were
immutable.

Especially upon number one was concession impossible. "The Catholic
religion is the first thing," said Philip, "and although the rebels do
not cease to insist that liberty of conscience should be granted them,
in order that they may preserve that which they have had during these
past years, this is never to be thought of in any event." The king
always made free use of the terrible weapon which the Protestant princes
of Germany had placed in his hands. For indeed if it were right that one
man, because possessed of hereditary power over millions of his fellow
creatures, should compel them all to accept the dogmas of Luther or of
Calvin because agreeable to himself, it was difficult to say why another
man, in a similarly elevated position, might not compel his subjects to
accept the creed of Trent, or the doctrines of Mahomet or Confucius.
The Netherlanders were fighting--even more than they knew-for liberty
of conscience, for equality of all religions; not for Moses, nor for