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On The Decline And Fall Of The Dutch Republic.
of Venice , may tempt the avarice of the plunderer , or the ambition oi the conqueror : and the means of defence , instead of being procured from the hardy zeal of an uncorrupted peasantry , and the experienced honour of the patriot soldier , must be purchased by the hire of mercenary forces , or sought for in the jarring interests of opposing potentates , or the affeaed philanthropy and feigned moderation of fraternizing republics and cautious tyrantsThe causes of moral
. _ depravity in a nation are numerous , and diversified , and to counteradt those which , from local or adventitious circumstances , are mostlikely to prevail , is the great business of sound legislation ; and this task may often be successfully performed by rousing the different passions of the human mind , by varying the avocations of _ social life , by exciting emulation its ranksand bassigning to each station
among , y that degree of superiority which the excellencies peculiar to it may enable its possessor to acquire . But if the irresistible energy of natural causes forbids the operation of this liberal policy , if the valouc which struggled for freedom can only be succeeded by _ avarice graspinc at wealth , and inflexible adherence to general rig ht , by sullen
obstinacy in the acquisition of personal ease , the degeneracy of such a government is inevitable , its renovation impossible ; the seeds of its destruction are sown in the heig ht of its prosperity ; and when the Spanish armies were withdrawn , and the Scheldt was shut , the genius of patriotism fled from the shores of Holland , and left her inhabitants in possession of independence , but destitute of means to secure it . Though the resistance of the Low Countries to the tyrannical sway
of the Spanish monarchy must ever be regarded as the splendid triumph of ability , integrity , and heroism over lawless usurpation , and malignant and unrelenting bigotry , yet we . cannot help regretting that their liberation was not more complete and extensive . The fairest provinces of the house of Burgundy were still subjeaed to a forei yokethe military genius of the Duke of Parma and of the
gn , Marquis Sp inola suppressed the rebellion of the Southern districts , and the possessors of the fruitful p lains of Brabant and Flanders mig ht relinquish , without a sig h , the marshy and barren fields ofthe United States . The uncontrouiable exigency of circumstances dictated mutual concessions - . —the Dutch were forced to abandon their less
fortunate brethren , and Austria and Spain were obliged to relinquish to the former the boon for which they so nobly contended , and so bravely obtained . But had the freedom of all the Netherlands been ascertained , Europe mig ht then have seen an extensive republic , flourishing in ' arts and arms , nourished by agriculture , and enriched by trade ; proteaed on the South by impregnable fortresses , surroundthe and the and de
ed on other quarters by the Rhine , Maese , ocean ; - fended by the hardihood of the husbandman , the intrer idity of the mariner , and the lofty honour of the gentleman and the soldier . Happily for us , Great Britain unites all these advantages : — -her fleets rid . e triumphant on the main , while a gallant gentry and a bold peasantry are prepared to defend her coasts ; and we trust that , in the multiplicity of her resources , and the charafter of . her subjects , she will find the means of checking the presumption of a ferocious and irritated rival , and chastising the infidelity of a venal confederate .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The Decline And Fall Of The Dutch Republic.
of Venice , may tempt the avarice of the plunderer , or the ambition oi the conqueror : and the means of defence , instead of being procured from the hardy zeal of an uncorrupted peasantry , and the experienced honour of the patriot soldier , must be purchased by the hire of mercenary forces , or sought for in the jarring interests of opposing potentates , or the affeaed philanthropy and feigned moderation of fraternizing republics and cautious tyrantsThe causes of moral
. _ depravity in a nation are numerous , and diversified , and to counteradt those which , from local or adventitious circumstances , are mostlikely to prevail , is the great business of sound legislation ; and this task may often be successfully performed by rousing the different passions of the human mind , by varying the avocations of _ social life , by exciting emulation its ranksand bassigning to each station
among , y that degree of superiority which the excellencies peculiar to it may enable its possessor to acquire . But if the irresistible energy of natural causes forbids the operation of this liberal policy , if the valouc which struggled for freedom can only be succeeded by _ avarice graspinc at wealth , and inflexible adherence to general rig ht , by sullen
obstinacy in the acquisition of personal ease , the degeneracy of such a government is inevitable , its renovation impossible ; the seeds of its destruction are sown in the heig ht of its prosperity ; and when the Spanish armies were withdrawn , and the Scheldt was shut , the genius of patriotism fled from the shores of Holland , and left her inhabitants in possession of independence , but destitute of means to secure it . Though the resistance of the Low Countries to the tyrannical sway
of the Spanish monarchy must ever be regarded as the splendid triumph of ability , integrity , and heroism over lawless usurpation , and malignant and unrelenting bigotry , yet we . cannot help regretting that their liberation was not more complete and extensive . The fairest provinces of the house of Burgundy were still subjeaed to a forei yokethe military genius of the Duke of Parma and of the
gn , Marquis Sp inola suppressed the rebellion of the Southern districts , and the possessors of the fruitful p lains of Brabant and Flanders mig ht relinquish , without a sig h , the marshy and barren fields ofthe United States . The uncontrouiable exigency of circumstances dictated mutual concessions - . —the Dutch were forced to abandon their less
fortunate brethren , and Austria and Spain were obliged to relinquish to the former the boon for which they so nobly contended , and so bravely obtained . But had the freedom of all the Netherlands been ascertained , Europe mig ht then have seen an extensive republic , flourishing in ' arts and arms , nourished by agriculture , and enriched by trade ; proteaed on the South by impregnable fortresses , surroundthe and the and de
ed on other quarters by the Rhine , Maese , ocean ; - fended by the hardihood of the husbandman , the intrer idity of the mariner , and the lofty honour of the gentleman and the soldier . Happily for us , Great Britain unites all these advantages : — -her fleets rid . e triumphant on the main , while a gallant gentry and a bold peasantry are prepared to defend her coasts ; and we trust that , in the multiplicity of her resources , and the charafter of . her subjects , she will find the means of checking the presumption of a ferocious and irritated rival , and chastising the infidelity of a venal confederate .