Reading the Book of Nature in the Dutch Golden Age, 1575-1715

✍ Scribed by Eric Jorink; Peter Mason

• Publisher: Brill
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 494
• Series: Brill's Studies in Intellectual History 191
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Traditionally, Dutch scientific culture of the Golden Age is regarded as rational, pragmatic, and utilitarian. The role of Christiaan Huygens, Johannes Swammerdam and Antoni van Leeuwenhoek in the so called Scientific Revolution was recognised long ago, as was the fact that the revolutionary philosophy of Ren Descartes made its first impact in the Netherlands.

This book challenges the traditional picture. First, it shows how nature was regarded as a second book of God, next to the Bible. For many, contemplating, investigating, representing and collecting natural objects was a religious activity. Secondly, this book demonstrates that the deconstruction of the old view of nature was partly caused by the pioneering exegetical research conducted in the Dutch Republic, more specifically, the emergence of radical biblical criticism.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents......Page 5
Preface......Page 9
Abbreviations......Page 13
List of Illustrations......Page 15
‘Of this Book we can tell many a wonder . . .’......Page 23
Cartesianism as benchmark?......Page 34
Citations from the Book of Nature......Page 41
The study of the Book of Nature......Page 48
Liber, theatrum, speculum......Page 55
The heritage of the Reformation......Page 64
The Book of Nature in Dutch religious writings......Page 69
The decomposition of the classical corpus......Page 96
Rewriting the Book of Nature......Page 107
The Bible as a problematic text......Page 110
An interim balance......Page 127
1. Introduction......Page 131
Cometae, monstra, prodigia......Page 135
Comets in the Christian tradition......Page 139
The 1577 comet......Page 146
The 1618 comet......Page 149
The Further Reformation versus superstitious practices......Page 157
Humanists and prodigia......Page 161
Developments in natural philosophy: Descartes......Page 164
3. From ominous to glorious signs: the comet of 1664......Page 170
A ‘new saddening night light’......Page 171
Johannes Graevius and the Collège de Sçavants......Page 174
Natural laws and exegesis......Page 179
4. Conceptions of comets around 1700......Page 186
Voetians on the Book of Nature......Page 187
Balthasar Bekker......Page 189
‘Expressions of God’s glory’......Page 195
5. Concluding remarks......Page 198
1. Introduction......Page 203
Classical conceptions of insects......Page 206
Insects in early modern Europe......Page 210
The humanist tradition (I): insects as emblems......Page 214
Clutius senior and junior......Page 216
Johannes Goedaert and Johannes de Mey......Page 223
The humanist tradition (II): insects under the magnifying glass......Page 231
3. Swammerdam and the transformation of the Book of Nature......Page 241
A biographical sketch......Page 244
Historia insectorum generalis......Page 249
The study of the Bible of Nature......Page 254
The influence of Swammerdam......Page 258
4. The insect bug around 1700......Page 261
Antoni van Leeuwenhoek......Page 262
Stephan Blankaart......Page 266
Collectors and insects......Page 269
5. Concluding remarks......Page 274
1. Introduction......Page 279
Musaeum, library, microcosm......Page 282
Italian examples......Page 285
2. Collections of curiosities in the Netherlands down to ca. 1660......Page 287
Bernardus Paludanus......Page 288
Collections of curiosities in Leiden......Page 300
Humanist collectors: Brinck, Colvius and De Laet......Page 311
Remote countries, ancient languages and biblical chronology......Page 322
3. From collection of curiosities to cabinet of naturalia......Page 331
The cabinet of Swammerdam senior......Page 333
Johannes Swammerdam: the order and structure of God’s works......Page 335
Frederik Ruysch: monsters in the margin......Page 341
4. Dutch collections around 1700......Page 347
Nicolaes Witsen: between the Flood and Babel......Page 348
Albertus Seba: merchant or minister?......Page 355
Levinus Vincent: the collection as Wondertoneel......Page 359
5. Concluding remarks......Page 363
1. Introduction......Page 369
Classical and Christian heritage......Page 371
Sixteenth-century works......Page 374
2. Books of Wonders in the Dutch Republic down to around 1660......Page 377
Boaistuau’s Wonderlijcke Schadt-boeck and Dutch followers......Page 378
Popular theological works......Page 384
3. Johannes de Mey: between exegesis and experiment......Page 391
The Sacra physiologia......Page 395
Halelu-jah, of lof de Heeren verbreydt op het natuer-toneel......Page 400
The work of De Mey in a wider perspective......Page 404
4. Books of wonders around 1700......Page 408
Jan van Westerhoven......Page 413
5. Concluding remarks......Page 418
The atheist convinced......Page 423
The Book of Nature and the Holy Scripture......Page 428
Concluding Remarks on the Book of Nature......Page 435
Bibliography......Page 443
Index of Names......Page 489