Page:Readings in European History Vol 2.djvu/206

 1 68 Readings in European History IV. Philip II of Spain We have several descriptions of Philip II, the most important and impartial of which are those of the Vene- tian ambassadors. The king's affability, industry, reli- gion, and frail constitution are mentioned by all. In his earlier years, however, he exhibited a Castilian haughti- ness which he successfully overcame later. 280. An esti- mate of Philip II by Suriano, a Venetian ambassador ("59). The Catholic king was born in Spain, in the month of May, 1527, and spent a great part of his youth in that king- dom. Here, in accordance with the customs of the country and the wishes of his father and mother, — who belonged to the house of Portugal, — he was treated with all the defer- ence and respect which seemed due to the son of the great- est emperor whom Christendom had ever had, and to the heir to such a number of realms and to such grandeur. As a result of this education, when the king left Spain for the first time and visited Flanders, passing on his way through Italy and Germany, he everywhere made an impression of haughtiness and severity, so that the Italians liked him but little, the Flemings were quite disgusted with him, and the Germans hated him heartily. But when he had been warned by the cardinal of Trent and Queen Mary [of Hungary, his aunt], and above all by his father, that this haughtiness was not in place in a prince destined to rule over a number of nations so different in manners and sentiment, he altered his manner so completely that on his second journey, when he went to England, he everywhere exhibited such distin- guished mildness and affability that no prince has ever sur- passed him in these traits. 1 Although his actions display that royal dignity and gravity which are natural and habitual to him, he is none the less agreeable for this ; on the con- trary, his courtesy toward all seems only the more striking. His pleasing figure, his manly air, and his suavity of speech 1 For another estimate of Philip see above, p. 150.