In previous works the Author has attempted to assign the great Advocate's place as part and parcel of history during the continuance of the War for Independence.

During the period of the Truce he will be found the central figure.

The history of Europe, especially of the Netherlands, Britain, France, and Germany, cannot be thoroughly appreciated without a knowledge of the designs, the labours, and the fate of Barneveld.
The materials for estimating his character and judging his judges lie in the national archives of the land of which he was so long the foremost citizen.

But they have not long been accessible.

The letters, state papers, and other documents remain unprinted, and have rarely been read.
M.van Deventer has published three most interesting volumes of the Advocate's correspondence, but they reach only to the beginning of 1609.
He has suspended his labours exactly at the moment when these volumes begin.