BENEDICT DE SPINOZA: Theological-Political Treatise

The Hebrew state and its history
transferred. For as the sovereign States of Holland publicly state, in the 228
resolution published by them in the time of the Earl of Leicester, 8 they
had always reserved to themselves the authority to remind these Counts
of their duty, retaining the power to defend their authority and the liberty
of the citizens, and rescue themselves from them should they become
tyrants, and generally keep a check on them, so that they could do
nothing without the permission and approval of the States. The right of
sovereignty, it follows, was always vested in the States. This was what the
last Count of Holland [i.e. Philip II of Spain] strove to usurp. Hence it is
by no means true that they rebelled against him when they recovered
their original power which they had by then almost lost. These examples
thus con¢rm what we have said, namely, that the form of each state must
necessarily be retained and cannot be changed without risking the total
ruin of the state.These are the points that I thought worth noticing here.
8 Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester (1533^88), was sent over by Queen Elizabeth and accepted by the
Dutch as ‘governor-general’ of the United Provinces, a position which he held during the years
1585^7.
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