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OF THE REFORMATION. 289latter than in the former) the interests of the scarce-formedrepublic became interwoven with those of the chief powersof Europe and born, like Minerva, with arms in its hand,;like Minerva, too, it at once took its seat in the council ofthe gods.By the intervention of foreign powers in the Netherlands,a new political system was formed in the west of Europe.wars atHad not France been occupied by its religioushome, which made it impossible for her kings,of themselvestoo weak, to take an effectual share in the disputes of otherstates, she would have found no difficulty in uniting the newrepublic with herself by secure ties as; this., however, wasnot done, Elizabeth reaped the advantage of the situation inwhich her neighbourswere placed.As she had herself restored the Protestant religioninEngland, and had founded her power upon its maintenance,her interests accorded with those of the Netherlands on thisimportant point;and an alliance between the two statesmight, under these circumstances, be naturally expected.and moBut however much we may admire the prudencederation which Elizabeth displayedin this most brilliantportion of her reign, it was yet impossible for her fully todetermine the ultimate consequencesof her acts. As themost powerfulof the Protestant princes of Europe, she wasuniversally considered the champion of that religion while;Philip IL was, on the other hand, acknowledged as the defender of the Catholic faith. Thus religion and politicsbecame more closely united, and the doctrine, that Catholicism was a support of absolute power, while Protestantismfavoured the freedom of the people, although but partiallytrue and not formally acknowledged, became gradually developed, and was adopted as the favourite maxim of morethan one cabinet ; nay, finally,cost the Stuarts their throne.The former of the two itpropositionswould be- difficult toprove,while the latter is true only inasmuch as a Protestantparty under a Catholic government might, by oppression,be rendered rebellious, and thus become dangerous to itThus, in the last half of the sixteenth century, the political system of Europe assumed a different form from thatwhich distinguishedit in the first. France and Austria werethen the chief states of Europe, and the balance of power