Against the tide, 1670–1672.

For the two years that followed the conclusion of the Treaty of Dover, history seemed to play cruelly with De Witt, like a cat toying with a mouse before it suddenly kills it. He could dart this way and that, but he could never break out of the fatal circle of his dilemma. His intelligence, his strength of will, his courage yielded no solution to the problem of how to win the war against Europe's mightiest monarch that was surely coming. The picture would have been even bleaker if he had realized that Charles II intended not merely to practice a profitable neutrality while Louis XIV invaded the United Provinces but would join in the attack. But the knowledge would not have changed what he had to do: to seek such allies as Dutch money or fear for their own security could recruit; to build up the Republic's army and navy; and to hold on to power within the country against the rising fortunes of the Prince of Orange, whom he still saw as doing the bidding of the king of England. Rational calculation could offer no hope in such a situation; only belief in a God of Hosts who decided the course of battle even against the odds of human expectations could give solace. The first task remained to achieve whatever was possible in restoring good relations with France and England. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]