Would not the German princes at least intercede with Philip? Would they hinder the passage of the royal mercenaries from Germany? Saxony, Hesse, Wurtemburg, and the rest offer excellent advice, to beware of Philip, not to drive him to extremity, to avoid outrages.

William in a letter to the Elector of Saxony-William the Silent (1902) by Frederic Harrison, p. 35.