The Dream of Philip II: a Biography. Hardcover. Edgar Maas Cheap

In THE DREAM OF PHILIP II,
Edgar Maass has produced an
arresting interpretation of the
conflict let loose in Europe in the
wake of the Black Death. The
fixed mould of the medieval
world was shattering under the
impact ofa new philosophy :
Man, the individual, against the
totalitarian State.
By the force of his own
peculiarly Spanish temperament
and personality, Philip II, heir
to the vast empire bequeathed
by Charles V, held in check the
almost irresistible onrush of the
Renaissance and the Reforma-
tion. His dominions and his
policy were the last expression
of medievalism. Against the
power of Spain England, France
and the Netherlands were rising.
The hard resistance of Spanish
might helped to form the per-
sonalities of Elizabeth, William
of Orange and Henry of
Navarre. And there could be
no understanding, no com-
promise, between them.
These were the problems ; to
them Philip brought unremitting
watchfulness. Not a genius or
a dashing leader, be compen-
sated for the lack of special gifts
by making the most of those

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