De Achttiende Eeuw 29 (1997) 1
Roel Bosch
Willem
Goede's dream of 1807 about a new Rotterdam in 1850
In
1770 L.-P. Mercier published his hope of a new enlightened society in
the form of a dream about the year 2240. In the Dutch Republic, only
a few years later, Elisabeth Wolff-Bekker adopted his idea, and wrote
a letter on the same theme, also situated in the year 2240. In 1807
one of the remonstrant ministers in Rotterdam, Willem Goede, delineated
his hopes for the year 1850, again in the form of a dream, for an audience
of members and guests of the `Maatschappij tot Nut van het Algemeen'
(Society for Public Welfare), section of Rotterdam.
In this
dream he walked through the streets of Rotterdam in the year 1850. He
felt deeply impressed by the flourishing of education, the arts, health
care, and public order. All prostitutes still in function were supervised;
their prospective customers were warned of the risk of becoming infected
with venereal diseases. There were two fire-brigades, the duty of the
first being to save money and valuable papers, whereas the second one
was to extinguish the fire. Corpses were no longer buried, but cremated.
The `Maatschappij tot Nut van het Algemeen' assisted the poor by paying
their lawyer if they need one, and giving them medical aid. In all these
changes Goede felt the spirit of the founder of the Society, Jan Nieuwenhuijzen,
close by, still assisting and inspiring his followers.
Whereas
Mercier and Wolff-Bekker had long-term utopian dreams, Goede envisaged
the realisation of his dream in the next generation. The approach of
the `Maatschappij tot Nut van het Algemeen' gave him the idea that it
would be possible to make dreams come true.
omhoog
Jeremy D. Popkin
Antoine-Marie
Cerisier, the Leidse Ontwerp, and the Grondwettige Herstelling: an as
yet open debate
In
articles published in 1993 and 1994, Jeremy D. Popkin and Stephan Klein
and Joost Rosendaal have thrown new light on the circumstances surrounding
the composition of two key documents of the Dutch Patriot movement of
the 1780s, the Leidse Ontwerp and the Grondwettige Herstelling. Popkin
has shown that the French journalist Antoine-Marie Cerisier claimed
to have played a major role in the composition of these two texts. Klein
and Rosendaal have discovered, however, that a preliminary version of
the Leidse Ontwerp, written in Dutch, preceded the printed text. Since
Cerisier is not known to have written documents in the Dutch language,
this casts doubt on his insinuation that he was the principal author
of that document.
In this
article, Popkin presents the texts of two previously unpublished letters
of Cerisier in which he refers to his role in the composition of the
Leidse Ontwerp and the Grondwettige Herstelling, as well as the French
version of the Ontwerp that Cerisier published in Paris in 1788. Thanks
to this version, the Ontwerp was known to the French "Patriots" who
helped draft the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen in 1789.
omhoog
René
Veenman
The
Dialogue of the Dead in the Netherlands
This
paper will be a survey of the development of the dialogue of the dead
in the Netherlands. The dialogue of the dead, a fictitious dialogue
held in the hereafter, was originally invented by Lucian; it became
very popular in Western Europe towards the end of the seventeenth century,
and retained this popularity throughout the eighteenth century.
To begin
with, some attention will be paid to dialogues of the dead, written
during the Renaissance period by Erasmus and Vives in Neo-Latin, and
by Jan van Vladeracken and P. C. Hooft in Dutch. The focus, however,
will mainly be on the eighteenth century. Although Lucian was a well-known
author, the dialogue of the dead in that period developed rather under
the influence of Fontenelle's satirical dialogues and the conversations
of Fénelon, which were chiefly educational. These dialogues were
popular in the Netherlands, both in Dutch translations and in the French
originals. Fontenelle was imitated by Justus van Effen in his periodical
Le Misanthrope (1711-1712).
Coinciding
with the introduction of the genre in literary circles the dialogue
of the dead appeared as a medium for satire in Dutch pamphlet literature.
It seems that once again French influence, this time from Eustache Lenoble's
Pierre de touche politique (1688-1691), was a stimulus.
However,
the greatest influence was exerted by the monthly published dialogues
of the dead by the German writer Faßmann. Translations of his
dialogues appeared in a monthly periodical, Maandelyksche Berichten
uit de andere waerelt, from 1721 to 1771, although the last volumes
were filled with matter in the same vein from other sources. During
the 1720s various authors were inspired by Faßmann's success to
publish periodicals: La Martinière, a Frenchman residing in Holland,
wrote satirical conversations (1722); Tysens published a monthly with
dialogues of the dead, which actually were comedies (1722); Van Swaanenburg
wrote his weekly dialogues between characters from classical antiquity,
which, though comical in the beginning, eventually became rather eccentric
and esoteric (1724-1725); and, lastly, Campo Weyerman wrote satirical
dialogues between the living and the dead (1726). But these periodicals
never existed for more than a single year, and so Faßmann's moralistic-biographical
dialogues remained dominant among Dutch publications of dialogues between
the dead.
In the sixties
Lyttelton's dialogues of the dead were rather popular in the Netherlands,
as appears from two separate translations into French, but they were
not imitated. In the seventeens and eighties, after a period of calm,
once again many dialogues of the dead were written, especially in the
form of pamphlets, but also as contributions to periodicals. Some of
them were written by well-known literary authors like Kersteman, Kinker,
and Le Francq van Berkhey. An anonymous writer even tried to initiate
a new periodical: De Mercurius der Elizeesche velden (1786).
The period
of popularity of the dialogue of the dead lasted well into the nineteenth
century. Most noteworthy among the last publications in this vein were
a series of satirical dialogues by Wibmer, called De Nekroloog (1819),
and a literary satire by Jacob Geel (± 1832).
omhoog
Joost Rosendaal
A
Cheerful Philosopher and a decent patriot: Gerrit Paape in exile (1787-1795)
In
the aftermath of the repression of the patriot movement in September
1787 the Dutch writer and patriot Gerrit Paape was forced to take refuge
in the Austrian Netherlands, like thousands of his compatriots. He showed
great sympathy for the enlightened politics of the Emperor Joseph II.
In his numerous publications he displayed a strongly anticlerical attitude,
and criticized in particular the fanatical clergy in Brabant; consequently,
he was forced again to flee, this time to Dunkerke in France, where
already many Dutch patriots were living. Paape returned to his country
in 1794, in the wake of the French army and the French-Dutch general
Daendels, whose secretary he was. In his publications he advocated the
study of philosophy (`wijsgeerte') and patriotism as remedies against
superstition and fanaticism. To begin with, therefore, he welcomed the
French policy of dechristianization, but afterwards he deplored the
fact that this had had the opposite effect: people became even more
fanatical and superstitious.
omhoog
Natalie Kerssebeeck
`Who will stop the Truth?' Pieter Corbeels, an engagé printer
in Leuven and Turnhout (1755-1799)
There have been
many publications about the turbulent life of the patriot Pieter Corbeels;
but in this contribution the focus is on his printing activities. As
to innovation or originality he was certainly not the most notable printer.
If one accepts that the printings preserved are representative for the
original publisher's list, this is rather to be labelled as traditional,
consisting as it does of almanacs, pamphlets, religious and occasional
printings. Even so, we may characterize Corbeels as a printer who by
and large subordinated his livelihood to his patriot ideals. Also, when
he moved to Turnhout, the reasons for that were not economical, but
the urgent need for a workshop where he could continue his printing
activities without being disturbed. He preferred continuity to adapting
himself to the changed conditions of life and the times.
The audience
reached by Corbeels with his publications should be rated as lower middle
class, and higher; towards the end of the 18th century a large part
of the populace could not read or write; analphabetism was rife in any
case in the lower classes. Almanacs were used as a practical instrument
in daily life; political pamphlets served as newsmagazines, explaining
the events, in a society which, far more than nowadays, was devoid of
information; whereas other pamphlets should rather be called lampoons.
Prayer books and missals were widespread among the Catholic populace,
the majority of which was very religious, also in periods when the position
of the Church was threatened. Each publication which we have counted
as an occasional printing, was aimed at a specific audience of readers.
We rarely know the author of a publication.
With this
contribution on the subject of the publications printed by Pieter Corbeels
I hope to have shed some new light on this almost legendary character.
Even so, two centuries after his activities, the work of Corbeels has
still not yet yielded up its innermost secrets.
omhoog
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