Nearby.. ..are monsters personifying Pestilence and Famine, those inseparable partners of War. On the ground, turning her back, lies a woman with a b… - Peter Paul Rubens

We are exhausted [in Antwerp] and have endured so much that this war seems without purpose.. ..[and that it seemed] strange that Spain, which provides so little for the needs of this country .. ..has an abundance of means to wage an offensive war elsewhere.

I was not yet inclined to live the life of a celibate.. ..I have taken a young wife of honest but middle-class family although everyone tried to persuade me to make a court marriage. But I feared pride, that inherent vice of the nobility, particularly in that sex, and that is why I chose one who would not blush to see me take my brushes in hand. And to tell the truth it would have been hard for me to exchange the priceless treasure of liberty for the embraces of an old woman.

I am by nature and inclination a peaceful man, the sworn enemy to disputes, lawsuits and quarrels both public and private.