Johan van Olden Barneveldt

Barneveldt (Johan van Olden, Dutch statesman of liberal principles greatly in advance of his age. He has been called "the father of Dutch freedom and religious liberty." He was beheaded at the Hague in his seventy-first year, and met his fate without regret or a sign of fear), 1549-1619. "Oh God, what then is man!" Some say his last words were these, addressed to the executioners: "Be quick about it. Be quick."