Famous quotes
Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,158,269 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
EnglishItalianoPolskiעבריתFrançaisPortuguêsفارسیEspañol中文РусскийDeutschالعربيةहिन्दी日本語ΕλληνικάLatina
William the Silent
32 quotes
“Sire, have pity on the Spanish infantry, which, for lack of pay and out of sheer starvation, is scouring the low country round, plundering the peasantry in mere need of food. These disorders I cannot repress, much less can I punish them, for necessity has no law.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) first seen 1556 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: William to Philip II while William was in command of the forces round Philippeville (5 January 5 1556), as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, Ch. II, p. 20
“All in the world I have is yours; Next to God, you are the one I love best, and if I did not know that your love for me is the same, I could not be so happy as I am: May God give us both the grace to live always in this affection without any guile.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) first seen 1558 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: To his first wife while she was dying (1558), as quoted William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, p. 28
“I will say no more, than that I will act as I shall answer hereafter to God and to man.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) said by 1584 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: After his wedding ceremony, on marrying his second wife, who was a Lutheran, as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, p. 32
“Tell the King, that whole cities are in open revolt against the prosecutions, and that it is impossible to enforce the decrees here. As for myself, I shall continue to hold by the Catholic faith; but I will never give any colour to the tyrannical claim of kings to dictate to the consciences of their people, and to prescribe the form of religion that they choose to impose. Call the King’s attention to the corruption that has crept into the administration of justice. Let the Government be reformed, the Privy Council and the Council of Finance, and increase the authority of the Council of State.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) first seen 1565 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: To the Count of Egmont about what to say to Philip II (1565), as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, p. 22
“The end will show the whole truth.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) first seen 1565 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: To his brother Louis, commenting on The Count of Egmont's visit to Philip II about the problems in the Netherlands (1565), as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, p. 22
“In all things there must be order, but it must of such a kind as is possible to observe … to see a man burnt for doing as he thought right, harms the people, for this is a matter of conscience.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) first seen 1533 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: William at a meeting about Philips actions (1566), as quoted in William the Silent, William of Nausau, Prince of Orange, 1533-1584 (1944), p. 78
“I have come to make my grave in this land.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) first seen 1533 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: William as he led his army into the Netherlands (1572) as quoted in William the Silent, William of Nausau, Prince of Orange, 1533-1584 (1944)
“I am no Calvinist, but it seems to me neither right nor worthy of a Christian to seek, for the sake of differences between the doctrine of Calvin and the Confession of Augsburg, to have this land swarming with troops and inundated with blood.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) said by 1584 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: William to the Landgrave of Hesse, as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, p. 34
“Would not the German princes at least intercede with Philip? Would they hinder the passage of the royal mercenaries from Germany? Saxony, Hesse, Wurtemburg, and the rest offer excellent advice, to beware of Philip, not to drive him to extremity, to avoid outrages.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) said by 1584 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: William in a letter to the Elector of Saxony, as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, p. 35
“God save the King!”
William the Silent (1533–1584) said by 1584 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Statement in Antwerp, as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, p. 34
“This mercy will be your ruin; you will be at the bridge across which the Spaniards will enter this land.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) said by 1584 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Statement to his friend, the Count of Egmont, as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison p. 76
“It would be the greatest disaster which could befall our House if any untoward accident befall you, which may God avert! Do not hesitate to open letters addressed to me. Your love for me and the absolute confidence between us make me feel that I cannot have any secrets from you.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) said by 1584 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: William talking to his brother John, as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison p. 54
“We may see how miraculously God defends our people, and makes us hope that, in spite of the malice of our enemies, He will bring our cause to a good and happy end, to the advancement of His glory and the deliverance of so many Christians from unjust oppression.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) first seen 1572 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On his second invasion of the Netherlands, to his brother John (1572), as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, p. 62
“I am resolved, to go and plant myself in Holland or in Zeeland, and there await the issue which it shall please Him to ordain.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) said by 1584 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Writing to his brother John after an unsuccessful campaign, as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, p. 64
“It is the will of God, and we must submit; but I call my God to witness that I have done all that in me lay to save the city, utterly desperate as I knew the attempt to be. When I took in hand the defence of these oppressed Christians, I made an alliance with the mightiest of all Potentates—the God of Hosts, who is able to save us, if He choose.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) first seen 1573 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: To his brother Louis at the Siege of Harlem (1573), as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, p. 68
“It is not possible for me to bear alone such labours and the burden of such weighty cares as press on me from hour to hour, without one man at my side to help me. I have not a soul to aid me in all my anxieties and toils.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) said by 1584 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, p. 75
“If they be dead, as I can no longer doubt, we must submit to the will of God and trust in His divine Providence, that He who has given the blood of His only Son to maintain His Church will do nothing but what will redound to the advancement of His glory and the preservation of His Church—however impossible it may appear. And though we all were to die, and all this poor people were massacred and driven out, we still must trust that God will not abandon his own.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) said by 1584 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On the loss of some of his brothers, in a letter to his brother John, as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, p. 76
“They stormed Oudewater, and delivered it over to all imaginable cruelties, sparing neither sex nor age.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) said by 1584 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On the actions of the Spanish at Oudewater, as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, p. 87
“We must have patience and not lose heart, submitting to the will of God, and striving incessantly, as I have resolved to do, come what may. With God’s help, I am determined to push onward, and by next month I trust to be at our appointed rendezvous. Watch Alva closely, and contrive to join me as arranged.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) said by 1584 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to his brother, Louis of Nassau, as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, p. 93
“Our friends and allies are all turned cold.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) said by 1584 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to his brother, Louis of Nassau, as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, p. 93
“Now, we shall see the beginning of a great tragedy.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) said by 1584 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in The New York Times (10 July 1884)
“As in the beginning, so now, and it will be for ever after, we come of a race who are very bad managers in youth, though we improve as we get older. I have cut down the cost of my falconers to 1200 florins, and I hope soon to be out of debt.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) said by 1584 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: William writing to his brother Louis, as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, p. 10
“I cannot approve of monarchs who want to rule over the conscience of the people, and take away their freedom of choice and religion.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) first seen 1564 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 1564- Havo Exam
“My legal wife is to me dead; the only ecclesiastical authority I recognise pronounces me free; the attacks and threats of men do not disturb me. I am acting according to a clear conscience, and am doing hurt to no man. For my conduct, I will answer to my maker.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) said by 1584 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: William talking about his personal life, as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, p. 176
“You are staking your own head by trusting the King. Never will I so stake mine, for he has deceived me too often. His favourite maxim is, haereticis non est servanda fides. I am now bald and Calvinist and in that faith will I die.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) said by 1584 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: William to a supporter of the King, as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, p. 92
“One need not hope in order to undertake, nor succeed in order to persevere.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) said by 1584 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in O Canada: An American's Notes on Canadian Culture (1963) by Edmund Wilson
“I have heard that tomorrow they are to execute the two prisoners, the accomplices of him who shot me. For my part, I most willingly pardon them. If they are thought deserving of a signal and severe penalty, I beg the magistrates not to put them to torture, but to give them a speedy death, if they have merited this. Good-night!”
William the Silent (1533–1584) said by 1584 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Then Kill me at once!”
William the Silent (1533–1584) said by 1584 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Reply to the people who preferred Philip II over the Duke of Anjou, as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison
“Do not kill him! I forgive him my death.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) first seen 1581 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: After an assassin had tried to kill him, he ordered his soldiers not to kill the assassin, 1581., as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, p. 223
“’”Farewell count without a head”’”
William the Silent (1533–1584) said by 1584 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Mon Dieu, ayez pitié de mon âme et de mon pauvre peuple.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) said by 1584 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Last words, as quoted in De Vader des Vaderlands (1941) by W. Berkelbach van der Sprenkel, p. 29
“I am in the hands of God, my worldly goods and my life have long since been dedicated to his service. He will dispose of them as seems best for his glory and my salvation. … Would to God that my perpetual banishment or even my death could bring you a true deliverance from so many calamities. Oh, how consoling would be such banishment — how sweet such a death! For why have I exposed my property? Was it that I might enrich myself? Why have I lost my brothers? Was it that I might find new ones? Why have I left my son so long a prisoner? Can you give me another? Why have I put my life so often in danger? What reward can I hope after my long services, and the almost total wreck of my earthly fortunes, if not the prize of having acquired, perhaps at the expense of my life, your liberty? If then, my masters, you judge that my absence or my death can serve you, behold me ready to obey. Command me — send me to the ends of the earth — I will obey. Here is my head, over which no prince, no monarch, has power but yourselves. Dispose of it for your good, for the preservation of your republic, but if you judge that the moderate amount of experience and industry which is in me, if you judge that the remainder of my property and of my life can yet be of service to you, I dedicate them afresh to you and to the country.”
William the Silent (1533–1584) said by 1584 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Response after hearing he had been declared an outlaw by Philip II, as quoted in The Rise of the Dutch Republic (1859) by John Lothrop Motley