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Oliver Cromwell




(abridged)

One of the chief threads that makes up the pattern of English history, a thread that runs through it from the earliest times almost to our present day, is the struggle between the king and the people (or the Parliament) to decide which should be supreme. At first and for many centuries the king was all-powerful, but gradually his powers were reduced and now it is the Parliament that is the chief power of the land.

And in this long struggle one of the most decisive moments came in the 17 th century. It was during this period that the political parties as we know them today began to take shape. Charles I was on the throne. His portrait, painted by Van Dyck, has given us a vivid impression of his handsome face with its sad, thoughtful eyes, his kingly manner and his charm. We know that as a man he was admirable, sincerely religious, a faithful husband and a loving father. As a king he was dishonourable and untrustworthy. To get the money he lightly gave any promise that Parliament asked for and just as lightly broke that word of honour. Time and again he was trusted and time and again he was false to that trust. At last when Charles entered the House of Commons itself with the intention of arresting the five men who were the leaders of the party that opposed him people realised there was no other choice but to resist him by force.

The actual fighting in the Civil War broke out in 1642. At first the tide of battle went completely against the Parliamentary forces, and they were hopelessly defeated in almost every battle. The majority of the country landowners and the wealthy men, most of whom had been trained in arms and had weapons and horses, supported Charles. Charles had all the gay, pleasure-loving, fashionable gentlemen of England, the Cavaliers as they were called, on his side. The Royalists were far more active than the Parliamentarians. They had learning, courtesy and good manners. They loved poetry and music and art; their long, curled hair and gay-coloured clothes were the outward expression of an inward gaiety and love of the beautiful.

The Parliamentarians had none of this charm. They were mostly Puritans, men who wanted a simpler and plainer form of religion, and, among the extremists at least, this showed itself in an actual dislike of the beautiful merely because it was beautiful. It led them to destroy pictures, the lovely stained-glass windows of churches and often the churches themselves.

The Puritans, too, bore the outward signs of their beliefs; their dress was plain and dull in colouring; their hair was cut close – the Cavaliers called them “Roundheads” – their faces were sour. To them all pleasures, even the most innocent, were sinful things. They scorned learning and art; they were bitterly intolerant of the opinions of their enemies and the pleasures of their friends.

But – on the other side of the picture – they had a courage that no defeats could crush; that had a religious faith that inspired every act of their lives. For them God was a living, daily reality. “If they knew nothing of the works of philosophers and poets they were deeply read in the writings of God... For them death had lost its terrors and pleasure its charm”.

But courage and religious faith alone are not enough to win battles. Leadership and training are necessary too, and it was the hour – the darkest hour for the Parliamentary forces – that brought the man, Oliver Cromwell.

Cromwell was a country gentleman, with no desire to be known in the world. He had wanted to leave England and find a new home in America but the king had forbidden him to leave England. He had been in Parliament, a rough, ungraceful figure, unskillful as a speaker but known for his strength of character, his deep sincerity and religious feelings. Cromwell saw that if the Parliament army was to be victorious it must not only be as fearless and as full of faith in its cause as the Cavaliers were in theirs, but it must be as well trained as Charles’s army.

He went to the eastern counties and gathered soldiers there. He trained these men in complete obedience, filled them with the desire to fight for freedom, Parliament and religion, combining the spiritual and the practical as in his famous order: “Trust in God, and keep your powder dry”.

Several battles were won by the Parliamentarians, and finally at Naseby, 1645, the king’s forces were completely defeated. Charles was found guilty and sentenced to death.

Cromwell now became ruler of England, not as king but as “Protector of the Commonwealth”, and for ten years he ruled England firmly but well.

It was he who really united England, Scotland and Ireland, who enforced justice and order at home and made England stronger and more respected abroad than had ever been before in the whole of her history.

His rough, harsh nature, like his stern, harsh face, did not inspire affection – though under the rough outward appearance there was kindness – but his strength, his unshakable honesty and his sincere religion made him respected as one of the greatest Englishmen.

3.1. 2 nd reading for detailed comprehension. Read paragraph after paragraph and identify:

1) the topic sentence and the illustrating sentences in each paragraph;

2) the dominant nouns and their equivalents and the words which connect the paragraphs.

3.1.1. Divide the text into several parts according to the given plan:

1) The long-centuries struggle between the king and the Parliament of England.

2) Charles I and Civil War of 1642–1645

3) The Royalists (The Cavaliers)

4) The Parliamentarians (The Puritans)

5) Oliver Cromwell, the leader of the Parliamentarians

6) The role of Cromwell in the history of England.

3.1.2. Express your agreement or disagreement with the following statements.

1) In England the king was and still is all–powerful.

2) To get the money Charles I gave any promise to the Parliament and lightly broke that word of honour.

3) At first when the Civil War broke out the Parliamentary forces won almost every battle.

4) The supporters of Charles, the Cavaliers were all the gay, pleasure-loving, fashionable gentlemen of England.

5) The Parliamentarians, the Puritans, didn’t differ from the Cavaliers. They wore long, curled hair and gay-coloured clothes. They loved pleasures and everything beautiful.

6) Cromwell saw that if the Parliament army was to be victorious it must be as well trained as Charles’s army.

7) When Charles’s army was defeated Oliver Cromwell became the king.

8) Cromwell united England Scotland and Wales and made the country much stronger than it had ever been before.

3.1.3. Find the corresponding sentences or parts of the sentences in the text.

1) И в этой длительной борьбе один из самых решающих моментов пришёлся на XVII век.

2) Наконец, когда Чарльз сам вошел в Палату Общин с намерением арестовать пять человек, которые были лидерами оппозиционной партии, люди поняли, что не было иного выхода, кроме как оказать ему сопротивление с применением силы.

3) Сначала военные действия велись против парламентских сил, и они безнадежно проигрывали почти все сражения.

4)...у них, пуритан, была вера в бога, которая вдохновляла каждый поступок, каждое дело их жизни.

5) Чтобы выигрывать сражения, только мужества и веры в бога недостаточно.

6) Теперь Кромвель стал правителем Англии не как король, а как “Лорд протектор английской республики” и в течение 10 лет правил Англией твёрдо, но хорошо.

3.1.4. В тексте есть несколько предложений, содержащих эмфатический оборот.

 

It is / was... that / who....

 

Назовите точную цифру. Переведите предложения на русский язык.

3.1.5. Answer the questions to the text.

1) Who was all – powerful for many centuries? 2) When did the political parties begin to take shape in England? 3) What kind of man was Charles I? 4) What kind of king was he? 5) Do you think Charles I liked the Parliament? 6) When did the Civil War break out? 7) Who supported the king? What can you say about the Royalists or the Cavaliers as they were called? 8) What was the outward expression of their inward gaiety and love of the beautiful? 9) Did the Parliamentarians, the Puritans, as they were called, bear any outward signs of their inward beliefs? 10) Why could no defeats crush them? 11) Were courage and religious beliefs alone enough to win battles? What else was necessary? 12) What kind of man was Oliver Cromwell? 13) Did he train soldiers for the Parliamentary forces or for Charles’s army? 14) Who won in the Civil War? 15) What did Cromwell do for England when he became ruler of the country? 16) What qualities made him respected as one of the greatest Englishmen? 17) Whom do you sympathize with: the Royalists or the Parliamentarians?

3.1.6. Try to remember the attributes used with the following nouns in the text:

husband, father, forces, gentlemen, clothes, windows, eyes, face, figure, appearance, honesty, manners, dress, faith, nature, power, impression.

3.1.7. Use the following pairs of words to make some sentences based on the text on (1) how is A like B? (2) how does A differ from B?




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