Lesson 4 William the Silent
Dorothy Heiderstodt
William I, Prince of Orange, fought against Spain for the religious freedom and political independence of Holland. He gave the city of Leyden a university in 1575 to reward its citizens for their heroic defense against the Spanish in 1573—1574.
1、Two young men on a stag hunt were riding in the forest near Paris—William, Prince of Orange, and King Henry of France. Henry was a chatter-box. William listened, smiling,as his lively companion skipped delightedly from one subject to the next.
2、It is the French way, William thought. We Dutch are a more reserved people. We find little to say.
3、Of the two William was the handsomer. He was tall and dark, and he sat very straight in his saddle. Although he was a prince in his own right, he had been sent to learn kingly ways at the court of the Emperor Charles V. This emperor was the ruler of Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. William had been a favorite of the emperor.
4、Not so with the emperor’s son, who now ruled Spain. Philip, a small, sickly young man, could not abide his father’s former favorite. In all things the two young men were different. Philip was selfish and cruel—William was thoughtful and kind. To Philip his subjects were slaves—to William they were men like himself who had a right to their own opinions and their own way of life.
5、William’s country, the Netherlands, was a part of Philip’s vast empire. For the sake of his countrymen, who would suffer if he should make Philip angry, William had to get along with Philip.
6、Philip seldom visited the Netherlands. He took no interest in that country except for the taxes he collected from the people. But he seemed to take a great interest in their religious faith. He had often suggested to William that the heretics ① be driven from the country. A heretic in the eyes of Philip was anyone who did not worship as he did.
7、But William had refused to listen to Philip’s suggestion. He always turned it aside firmly but as pleasantly as he could. Since Philip needed the help of the Dutch in his wars with France, he had pressed the matter no further.
8、But now Spain and France were at peace. In fact, that was why William found himself in France at this moment, riding through the forest with the French king. He had been sent to conclude the peace treaty between France and Spain.
9、What would happen now? Would Philip cause trouble over religion in the Netherlands—now that he was no longer at war with France? Sunken in a troubled reverie ②William was no longer listening to the chatter of Henry.
10、“You have strange ideas, William.”
11、Philip had said to him once. “No other prince in Europe treats his subjects with so much softness. A king must be a king! It is the duty of subjects to obey their kings, who know what is best for them.”
12、William sighed as he rode through the French forest. Yes, he supposed he did have strange ideas. But he felt that he was right. The Dutch were the only people of their time who believed in political and religious freedom. They had fought and died for it.Now that they had won it, they would not easily give it up. Much blood might be shed if the long arm of Philip should reach from Spain to meddle with the freedom of which the Dutch were so proud.
13、William thought fondly and admiringly of his people. They were thoughtful and hard-working. They were proud and independent. They worked hard for their money and with it they built fine public buildings, churches, schools and comfortable homes.Even the Dutch artists were different from the Spanish artists.
14、The Spanish artists painted pictures for the rich nobles and for the church-portraits of people wearing silks and jewels, or scenes from the Bible. The Dutch artists painted pictures for people to hang in their own homes—fat children playing, mothers bending over their sewing, or singing the baby to sleep.
15、William’s people lived together peacefully. They tilled their land, taught school,tended their shops and went fishing. No one bothered about his neighbor’s religion or interfered in his neighbor’s life in any way.
16、There was only one thing which the Dutch people fought, and they fought against that together—the sea. The land on which they lived was lower than the sea. Long hills of earth called dikes kept the sea from flooding the land. The people of the country maintained a constant vigilance ③ for leaks in the dikes. A leak that went unmended would mean a gradually spreading sea of water which would wipe out the prosperous farms and bring ruin to the whole countryside.
17、I shall be glad to get home, William was lost in thought now, smiling over the thought of his strong, self-respecting countrymen. With a start he realized that Henry had turned in his saddle to look at him, and was saying something in a sharp, loud voice.
18、“We will stamp them out—we will kill them—all of us together!” Henry was shouting. “It is the only way!” “Stamp them out?” William asked. “All those heretics who do not worship as we do. Yes, yes, all of them must go!” Henry cried. “You know of Philip’s plan, of course. He will send his armies into the Netherlands to help you get rid of them. Only when all of them are dead will our countries be at peace within.You’ve heard Philip say that, surely?”
19、“Oh, yes.” William managed to nod his head casually. “I’ve heard him say it many times.”
20、“Well, then,” Henry said eagerly, “now that there is peace between France and Spain we can get on with our plans. How lucky your country is to be under the protection of Philip of Spain! He will help you.”
21、Then, to William’s horrified ears, Henry unfolded the details of the terrible plan.Philip would set up a Council of Troubles in the Netherlands. To this council people would be invited to bring complaints against their neighbors.
22、“There will be trials ④ , of course,” said Henry. “But they will do the heretics no good. After the trials there will be burnings. We must stamp out the heretics.”
23、Carefully William controlled his feelings. An overwhelming ⑤ violent anger sprang up in his breast, but he allowed no trace of it to appear in his face as he listened to the French King. By not so much as a look or a word did he betray the horror and anger which he felt.
24、Because William held his tongue on that fatal day, he was forever afterward called William the Silent by his people, who later were told the story of that ride.
25、“From that hour,” he said afterward, “I determined with my whole soul to do my best to drive the Spanish heretics from the land.”
26、The task was not an easy one. William was not a rich prince. He went home and somehow raised an army to resist the King of Spain. He spent his whole fortune to feed, supply and pay the soldiers. He disobeyed the King of Spain.
27、William said that never, so long as he lived to prevent it, would the Dutch people be persecuted ⑥ because of their religion.
28、The Spanish army marched into the Netherlands, and William’s army was badly defeated. William refused to give up. Pronounced an outlaw by the King of Spain, he fled to Germany and began to raise another army.
29、The sufferings of the Dutch people were terrible. Time after time the army of William the Silent was defeated. The Spaniards burned cities and massacred ⑦ the Dutch people. Dutch cities were surrounded and the inhabitants slowly starved. If the people surrendered they were killed. No mercy was shown to them.
30、In France the same things were happening, for the French king was carrying out Philip’s orders by waging ⑧ a cruel religious war. Many people fled from France and Holland and took refuge in England. They were allowed to stay there. But England would not send any soldiers to help William the Silent. Queen Elizabeth I of England did not like rebels. In her eyes, William was a rebel against his emperor, Philip of Spain.
31、There was fighting in the streets of the Netherlands. Men, women and even children fought the Spaniards with everything they could lay their hands on—pitchforks,kitchen knives and boiling water!
32、But the Spaniards were not discouraged. In ever-increasing numbers soldiers, determined to defeat the rebels, poured into the country. One by one the Dutch cities fell.
33、The city of Leyden did not fall. For a year Spanish armies had been en-camped in the fields around it. No food could be brought in. The people of Leyden were slowly starving to death. Six miles away Dutch ships laden ⑨ with supplies floated in the harbor.But there was no way to bring the food through the enemy lines, overland to the hungry city. People were so hungry that they ate the leaves from the trees and the dusty grass in the streets.
34、“Since no other country will help us, we will make an alliance ⑩ with the ocean,”William the Silent decided.
35、He ordered the dikes to be broken.
36、“But the water will come in. The crops will be ruined,” some of his advisers protested.
37、“Better a ruined land than a lost land,” William answered.
38、So the dikes were cut and the sea surged in across the fields to the walls of the besieged,starving city of Leyden. Screaming with terror, the Spanish soldiers fled. Many of them were drowned in the surging waters.
39、Ships came sailing in-between the farm houses, across the fields to the city walls—bringing food and medicine. Leyden was saved!
40、William the Silent praised the people of Leyden for their courage in refusing to surrender to the Spaniards, as so many of the Dutch cities had been forced to do.
41、“Such courage deserves the highest reward,” he told them. “You may choose one of these two plans. I will excuse the city of Leyden from paying taxes forever, or I will build a university in your city. Which do you choose?”
42、Education was dear to Dutch hearts. The people of Leyden chose the university. “So long as we are allowed to work in peace, we can earn money to pay taxes,” they said.So William the Silent built the University of Leyden, which became one of the greatest in Europe.
43、The war between the Netherlands and Spain lasted for many years. In the end the Dutch drove the Spaniards out of their country and settled down once more to their old ways of peace. Once more they worshiped as they pleased.
44、We owe our own ideals of freedom to William the Silent. Many years later the people who founded New England took refuge in the Netherlands when they fled from religious persecution in England. They learned from the Dutch people the value of such ideals.
45、William the Silent was called the father of his country, as George Washington is called the father of the United States. Both men fought against a king who tried to rule them unjustly from another country. Both risked their lives and fortunes so that their countries might be free.
(1,786 words)
Exercises
Ⅰ. How well did you read?
1. [Grasp the main idea] Tell the story behind William’s nickname “the Silent.”
2. [Check the details] How was William the Silent different from King Henry of France?
3. [Make a comparison] Contrast Philip of Spain with William the Silent. How were the Spanish different from the Dutch?
4. [Grasp the main idea] Tell the story of how the city of Leyden was saved.
5. [Give the reason] Why could William the Silent justly be called a patriot?
Ⅱ. Read for words and expressions:
1. Choose one best paraphrase for the underlined word.
Philip, a small, sickly young man, could not abide his father’s former favorite.(Para. 4, line 2)
A. endure B. stop C. obey
2. Choose one best paraphrase for the underlined expressions.
(1) For the sake of his countrymen, who would suffer if he should make Philip angry,William had to get along with Philip. (Para. 5, lines 1~2)
A. According to B. When talking about C. For the benefit of
(2) Would Philip cause trouble over religion in the Netherlands—now that he was no longer at war with France? (Para. 9, line 2)
A. if B. therefore C. because
(3) Much blood might be shed if the long arm of Philip should reach from Spain to meddle with the freedom of which the Dutch were so proud. (Para. 12, line 5)
A. help deal with B. interfere with C. mix together with
(4) A leak that went unmended would mean a gradually spreading sea of water which would wipe out the prosperous farms and bring ruin to the whole countryside.(Para. 16, line 5)
A. destroy completely
B. forget past faults
C. remove totally
(5) He will send his armies into the Netherlands to help you get rid of them.(Para. 18, line 5)
A. be free from
B. get along well with
C. be understood by
(6) William said that never, so long as he lived to prevent it, would the Dutch people be persecuted because of their religion. (Para. 27, line 1)
A. in case B. provided that C. in that
(7) We owe our own ideals of freedom to William the Silent. (Para. 44, line 1)
A. recognize…as the cause of
B. give…as a duty to
C. feel grateful to