History of Protestantism in the Netherlands - James Aitken Wylie

those that shed their brilliance on this; and many
persuaded themselves, when they beheld this union
of rank and office with skill in law, in art, and
diplomacy, that the Congress would give birth to
something correspondingly magnificent. It met in
the beginning of May, 1579, and it did not separate
till the middle of November of the same year. But
the six months during which it was in session were
all too short to enable it to solve the problem which
so many conventions and conferences since the
breaking out of the Reformation had attempted to
solve, but had failed -- namely, how the absolute
demands of authority are to be reconciled with the
equally inflexible claims of conscience. There were
only two ideas promulgated in that assembly; so far
the matter was simple, and the prospect of a
settlement hopeful; but these two ideas were at
opposite poles, and all the stars, coronets, and
mitres gathered there could not bridge over the gulf
between them. The two ideas were those to which
we have already referred -- Prerogative and
Conscience.
The envoys of the Netherland States presented
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