33 WILLIAM THE SILENT CHAP.

Protestantism had become to a great extent a struggle
between political parties. And, almost everywhere in
Europe, those who were charged with the duty of
government (except the Spanish and Papal fanatics)
regarded the various types of Protestantism from the
political, not from the spiritual, aspect. This was pre-
eminently true of William of Orange, who—even more
than Elizabeth of England, and quite as much as Henry
of Navarre—placed peace, order, and religious com-
promise above any question of Bible, doctrine, or
worship.

Pontus Payen, a sincere Catholic, loyalist, and
admirer of the Cardinal, has thus painted the religion of
the Prince, with a pen hostile, indeed, but not purely
partisan. He writes in his Mem-airs about this time:—

As to religion, he behaved with such discretion that the most
close observers could not decide which way he inclined. The
Catholics thought him a Catholic; the Lutherans, a Lutheran.
He heard mass daily, whilst his wife and his daughter made public
profession of the Lutheran heresy, even in his presence, without
any objection from him. He condemned the rigidness of our
theologians in maintaining the constitutions of the Church with-
out making a single concession to the Reformers. He blamed the
Calvinists as provoking sedition and strife, yet he spoke with
horror of the edict of the Emperor that sentenced them to death ;
for he he-Id it to be cruelty to kill any man simply for maintaining
an erroneous opinion. He used to say that in all matters of
religion, punishment should be reserved to God alone, much as the
rude German who said to the Emperor, "Sire, your concern is
v.lth trie bodies of your people, not with their souls." In short,
:hs Prince would have liked to see established a fancy kind of
religion of his own. half - Catholic half-Lutheran, which would
iatiSiV Doth sides. Indeed, if you look at Ms inconsistency on
Trillions questions, as shown in his speeches and despatches, you
wi'.j see that he cut the State as something above the Christian
religion, which in Ms eyes was a political invention to keep tLe