Department of Printed Books

Halthasar Bckker: Some recent additions

By Anna E. C. Simoni

In the 1978 Spring issue of this journal Dr. Hans Henning recalled that executions forwitchcraft continued in Germany and Switzerland until 1782.' If they came to an endthen, and well before that date in England and some other countries, this is due in no smallmeasure to Balthasar Bekker and his epoch-making book De betoverde weereld, firstpublished at Leeuwarden and Amsterdam in 1691, 1693. It was translated into English in1695 as The I\ arid Bewitched,-^ into French as Le Monde enchante {1694),"* and into Germanas Die bezauherte Welt {c. 1695).- It also caused a storm of controversy and cost Bekker hisposition as minister of the Dutch Reformed Church at Amsterdam—though without lossof income. Yet in the end his compassion for persecuted old women and his defence ofGod-given reason as a necessary part of religion, of equal importance witb faith itself,carried the day.

His concern with the subject of demonic possession and witchcraft dates back to the1680s when he began preaching against superstition. One such sermon took place on27 November 1689. By a coincidence which he could not but interpret as encouragement,he received only two days later a letter from England containing the printed report of theapprehension and committal for trial of a suspected witcb at Beckington in Somerset.With commendable speed he transformed this account into his Engelsch verhaal vanontdekte tovery wederleid door Balthasar Bekker (English narration of discoveredwitchcraft refuted by Balthasar Bekker) which was printed and published in December1689 by Daniel van den Dalen at Amsterdam, with a preface dated the third of that month.

This short pamphlet, long recognized as a milestone on Bekker's path towards thedefinitive version otDe betoverde weereld,^ is at long last represented in the British Librarysince a copy of the 24-page issue was acquired in April 1977.

At the time of cataloguing it was found to be not so much an original work by Bekker asan accurate translation with commentary by him of a document of which one copy only isrecorded: Creat News /row the West of England, printed by T. M. in Jewen-street,London, 1689.

While this item is perhaps the most fascinating of the recent Bekker acquisitions of theBritish Library and, for its English connections, can be considered as filling a particularlygrievous gap, the man who could thus oppose prevailing opinion to the benefit of countriesand centuries far beyond his own is surely worth studying also in his other writings and inthose of his supporters and enemies. For this reason the following descriptions are offeredof works which have come into the Library's possession since the photographicreproduction of the Genera! Catalogue. The earlier holdings, though by no meansnegligible, were as yet only moderately satisfactory for a study of Bekker, and even the new

108

ga Amfterdani,

B. Bekker, Le Monde enchante (1694), vol. i, frontispiece. 719.a.6

accessions leave many desirable pieces on the wanted list. Nevertheless, with theaccessions listed below the present collection of Bekkeriana in the British Library shouldofler considerable scope to scholars in this country before a journey to the Netherlands isnecessary.

I wish to record my indebtedness to the unfailing assistance, advice, and encourage-ment of Mr. A. R. A. Croiset van Uchelenof the University Library, Amsterdam, and ofMr. Clemens de Wolf and Mr. J. A. Gruys of the Royal Library, The Hague, in this as inso many other investigations. Special thanks are also due to Mr. C. W. Bliss of theHuntington Library, California, for sending a photographic reproduction of the GreatNews in reply to a simple question on the content of that broadside. I am also deeplygrateful to Professor Niels Lukman of Hellerup for valuable information on theOldenburg horn without which the relevant part of note 5 below could not have beenwritten, and to my colleague D. L. Paisey for his criticism and advice.

Abbreviations used:

B.W. B. Bekker, De betoverde weereld.Kn. W. P. C. Knuttel, Catalogus van de pamfletten-verzameling berustende m de Koni^klijke

Bibliotheek te "s-Cravenhage (The Hague, 1889-1920).v.d.L. A. van der Linde, Balthasar Bekker. Bibliographie (The Hague, 1869).v.d.W. J. K. van der Wulp, Catalogus van de tractaten, pamfletten, enz. over degeschiedems van

Nederland, aanwezig in de bibliotheek van Isaac Meulman (Amsterdam, 1866-8).

I. B E R I G H T VAN DEN K I N D E R D O O F , briefs-wyse gesteld. Door Balthasar Bekker, S.T.D.Prcdikant te Amsterdam. t\imsterdam: by Jo-hannes Rniterdam,[ii)()o .'J. 4 " : pp. 23, (13), (8).

The first part is signed: B. Bekker, and dated:'Begun at Amsterdam and finished at Franeker,11 October o.s. 1689'. It is a letter addressed toEpke Epkes at Spannum in reply to a requestfor information on the doctrine of baptism andthe difference concerning it between the Cal-vinist and Mennonist (Anabaptist) Churches.The first edition of this letter appeared atLeeuwarden in 1690. This edition, probably ofthe same year, includes a critical rejoinderwhich had since been published by a medicalpractitioner at Amsterdam called J. de Bakker,entitled Korte en nodtge Aanmerkingen over hetBeright van den Kinderdoop, uytgegeven door deHeer Balthasar Bekker, briefs-wyse gesteld. Thisis signed: J. de Bakker, and dated: Amsterdam,27 December 1689, addressed to Pieter Frenkenat Maastricht. It is a fair and reasonable reply to

B E R I G H Ty^in dtn

KINDERDOOP,Bricfswyfe getleld

D O O R

BALTHASAR BEKKER,

S. T. D. Predikut

[ • A M S T E R D A M ,

ByJOHANNES ROTTERDAM, Botkret-koopcr, in dc Hiru-ftiui.

I 10

some of Bekker's assertions from a Mennonistpoint of view. To this Bekker has added his ownrejoinder, entitled Nader Beright over denKinderdoop, dienende tot Antwoord opd^Aanmerkingen van J. de Bakker, door Bal-thasar Bekker, signed: B. Bekker, dated: 'Frommy library i8 January 1690', and addressed to:'The most learned Mr. J. de Bakker, Med.Doctor at Amsterdam.' The piece is interestingboth for Bekker's reference to the time-consuming work on B. W. to excuse the delay inanswering Epkes and for the tolerant positionhe takes between the divergent views of Calvin-ists and Mennonists. In his opinion the baptismof children is neither demanded nor prohibitedin the Bible and Calvinist practice is notaltogether free from fault. Only when he tries toprove that Jewish pre-Christian law knew andcommended a form of infant baptism can he beaccused of bending the evidence in favour of theestablished custom. He admits, however, thathe is here responding to a friend's problemwhich to him is of minor importance: it is thefight against superstition which completelyabsorbs him and which he knows is going toproduce his most important book.

v.d.L. 10-12. 1609/6178.

2 .ENGELSCHVERHAAL van ontdekte Toverywederleid door Balthasar Bekker S.T.D.Predikant tot Amsterdam, t'Amsterdam: byDaniel van den Dalen, 1689. 4°: pp. 24.

A translation, with commentary, of Wing G1738A: Great News from the West of England,etc., a broadside which Bekker had received atthe end of November, 1689. He used it in hiscampaign against superstition and the belief inwitches shortly before the completion of booksI and 2 of B.W. and included it eventually inbook 4 of that work among other reports ofsupernatural events.

^n-13313- 1568/5085.v.d.L. 13 (another edition).A. E. C. Simoni, 'Balthasar Bekker and theBekkington Witch', Quaerendo, viii (1979).

Van

ONTDEKTE

TOVERYWiitrltid Joor

B A t T H A S A R B E K K E R

5.7. Z>. frt^ijmt tot

it^MSTE'X^'DAM,

B7 D A N I E L ' A H 0 • - D A C E N , BockrcrkoapcrI (kockin icr i^dcn de Bean. Itfloi

3. Dp BETOVF.RDE WEERELD zynde eengrondig ondersoek van 't gemeen gevoelenaangaande de Geesten, derselvcr Aart en Ver-mogen, Bewind en Bedryf: als 00k 't geene deMenschen door derselver kraght en gemeen-schap doen. In vier boeken ondernomen vanBalthasar Bekker S.T.D. Predikant totAmsterdam, t'Amsterdam: by Daniel van denDalen, 1691, 1693. 4pt., 4**: illus.

Until it obtained this copy the Library posses-sed only the edition of books i and 2 publishedearlier in 1691 by Hero Nauta at Leeuwardenwithout the author's consent. In the presentAmsterdam edition Bekker rejects the earlierone and makes sure that buyers will recognizethe authorized edition by his own signature atthe end of the preface of each part, a practice heapplied also to the French edition and to theparts published in 1693. In this copy a formerowner, Johann Gottlieb Laurentii, has left amanuscript description in German of this book.

I l l

r D E R

B ETOV E R D E

WEERELD,Het

V I E R D E BOEK.-r t*«;f« • djt "it d-Erv,r.nth.id « n o a . « word ,

ten gronde foe word onderrocfir.

9 i 9m aSothm onOtnimnnt.

B A L T H A S A R B E K K E R .

(A M S T F . R D A M ,

D A N I E L V A N D E N D A L E N ,109J,

An anonymous English owner has added afurther note on Bekker which concludes, 'it hasbeen said that he was in countenance as ugly asthe Devil, which supposes somebody to haveseen both'.

v.d.L. 16,17,19,20. 1609/142.

4. AuTENTVKE CoPYE van de Articulen, dievan het . . . Consistorie van Amsterdam, den2} Aug. 1691. opgestelt zyn, om voor tehouden aan D". B. Bekker. En de aanbiedingdie I>. B. Bekker daar op gedaan heeft den30 Augusti 1691. [1691]. 4": pages not num-bered, sig.*"*.

TTie last of the Articles is a demand that Bekkershall publish a recantation of the views expres-sed in B.li\ In his reply he rejects the articlesbut offers a confession of his belief in the tenetsof the Reformed Church which he maintains hehas not contravened in his book. He will notrecant, but is willing to delay publication of thefinal books of B.W. to allow his colleagues to

reassure themselves of his faithful adherence tothose articles which he had signed when heassumed the ministry of the Church. This shortpiece also contains Eenige troumloose extractenuyt Dr. Bekkers Betoverde weereld, tweede deel.Daar beneffensde extracte uyt de Synode,gehouden. . . i6gi. tot Edam, rakende Dr. BekkersBetoverde weereld.

As the absence of pagination and imprintsuggest, this piece was not intended to bea separate publication although the RoyalLibrary at The Hague also owns such an issue.Its proper place was as an intermediate part ina larger work recorded by Knuttel under no.13679. But even this fragment is interesting.It records that the Edam Synod agreed with theAmsterdam Church Council and went furtherin its attempt to suppress the book in so far as itwas published and to prevent its continuationwhile Bekker persisted in his refusal to submithis work for approval. At the end of thepamphlet is printed a poem 'Aan de HeerBekker' encouraging him to persevere,^ doubt-less one of the laudatory poems Bekker was tomention in the Kort Beright (7) as having beenpublished without his knowledge. In part i ofthe Naakt Verhaal (11), pp. 27, 28, Bekkerwrote: 'There followed the Articles which,having been printed elsewhere, do not need tobe repeated here. These thirteen Articles wereshortly afterwards made public by some oneunknown to me although I am accused ofhaving been privy to it.'

Kn. 1369a, c. 1568/5951.v.d.L. 30 (another edition).

5. ARTICULEN TOT SATiSFACTiEaan de . . .Classis van Amsterdam, van D^. BalthasarBekker, Overgeleverd den 22 January 1692.Wegens syn uytgegeven Boek, genaamd deBetoverde Weereld. Tot Amsterdam: byCerardus Borstius, 1692. 4°: pp. 11.

Issued by the Classis van Amsterdam who didnot accept Bekker's defence and suspended himfor a limited period. This should have been the

1 1 2

A R T I C E NTot lacisfactic ;i;in dc Ecrw. Chilis

van AnillcrJ.im,

D BALTHASAR HEKKER.Ovtrgrli-T.viil t'lH 11 j\iiuMti ti"-):.

Wrgou ()n uytgegeven Bock, gk.'n3.UHd de

BETOVERDE WKRELD-

T..: AMSTERD. \M,

CT' A:n lin.1. van ii.;i Ni.;u\TOnJjk. 1691.

N O D I G E

BEDENKINGENOpdc

NIEWE BEWEECINGEN,Onljiif',s vcrwckt door den

CIRCULAIREN BRIEFEn andcrc Middclcn,

Tc"cn den Autciir van 't Bock dt-

BETOVERDE WEERELD,Doer

B . \ i . T M A S A R B E K K E R ,

tot Amfiird.tm.

M S T F R D A M .

D A N I F. L v . n n d c n D A L E N .o p

end of Bekker's troubles, but it turned out to beonly the beginning because successive meetingsof Church bodies refused to reinstate him,preventing him instead not only from exercisinghis ministry but even banning him from HolyCommunion. Bekker referred to this publica-tion on p. 78 of his Naakt Verhaal {ii) where itis not, however, reprinted.

Kn. 13821. 1568/5969.v.d.E. 32.

6. NoDiGE BEDENKINGEN op de NieweBeweegingen, Onlangs verwekt door denCirculairen Brief en andere Middelen, tegenden Auteur van't Boek de Betoverde Weereld,door Balthasar Bekker, Predikant tot Amster-dam. Amsterdam: gedrukt by Daniel vandenDalen, [1692]. 4'*: pp. 62.

Page 62 ends with the catchword DRUK-,presupposing another leaf containing errata{drukfouten), not present in this copy. DatedAmsterdam, 9 July 1692 and described in theKort Beright (7) as having been composed as areply to printed and unprinted matter circulated

against his book by the Classen and Synoden,i.e. the Church authorities of the city andprovince. It was written before the meeting ofthe 1692 Synod in the hope of convincing themajority of members of his orthodoxy, leavingonly a few members to support the accusations.The book contains extracts from the proceed-ings of the 1691 Synod held at Edam.

/Cw. 13842. 1568/5989.v.d.L. 42.

•]a. KORT BERIGHT van Balthasar BekkerS.T.D. Predikant tot Amsterdam. Aangaandealle de Schriften, welke over sijn Boek DeBetoverde Weereld enen tijd lang heen enweder verwisseld zijn. Tot Franeker: byLeonardus Strik, 1692. 4": pp. 72.

In the introduction Bekker describes this as thethird piece he has published in the last six weeksafter having remained silent for nine months.Now he must reply to the many writings

K O R

B E R I G H THALTHASAR BEKKEK

S T, D PredikAni Cot Amllcrdim.

Aangaande allc de Schriften,W'dkc over (ijn Boek

•D E

BETOVERDE WEERELDF.oen [i;d liDg been at weder venvKTeld zijn.

Tit FRjiNEKER.

By LEONARDUS STRIK. BocA K N f I 6 9 »•

published against him. The previous piece hadbeen the Nodige Bedenkingen (6). He will nowlist only the important reactions to B.W.omitting those which by their reviling tone andlack of objectivity he deems beneath contempt.On the other hand he denies having himselfinstigated the works which were published inhis support and claims no knowledge at all ofthe authors of anonymous poems in his praise.

Kn. 13852. 1487.^29.v.d.L. 76.

-jb. VERMEERDERING des tweden druks vanhet Kort Beright. [Franeker't LeonardusStrik}, 1692]. 4«: pp. 8.

Owners of the Kort Bertght {-ja) could add thesepages and attach them to it, thus effectivelyacquiring the 'second edition'. A Xerox copy ofthe copy in the Royal Library, The Hague, wassupplied to the British Library for comparisonwith the corresponding pages in the made-up

copy described below (7^) where the text of pp.71-7 has been rearranged accordingly.

Kn. 13854. 1560/899-Not in v.d.L.

IC. K O R T BERIGHT, etc. 1692. 4°: pp. 80.

A made-up copy consisting of the first edition'stitle-page and text as far as p. 70, and of pp.71-80 of the second edition (not in the BritishLibrary). A certain amount of text has been lostbecause several paragraphs preceding p. 71 inthe second edition were not present in the firstedition. The second edition reprinted theepilogue [Nareden) of the first edition onpp. 78-80.

No such copy recorded in Kn. or v.d.L.1609/6177.

8. REMONSTRANTIE in de . . . Synode vanNoord-Holland, jegenwoordig vergarderd totAlkmaar, ingediend by ofte van wegen Bal-thasar Bekker S.S.Th.D^ ende Predikant totAmsterdam, 5. Aug. 1692. [1692]. 4°: pp. 8.

This is Bekker's complaint against the arbitraryprolongation of his suspension from office.

/^«. 13844- 1568/5968.v.d.L. 45.

9. KORT EN WAARACHTIG VERHAAL van 't

gebeurde tsederd den 31. Mey 1691. tot den21. Aug. 1692. in den Kerkenraad en Classisvan Amsterdam, en de Synode van Noord-Holland, in de sake van Balthasar Bekker,S.S.Th.Dr. en Predikant tot Amsterdam; oversijn Boek genaamd De Betoverde Weereld.t^Amsterdam: by Damel vanden Dalen, 1692.4«: pp.32.

A report, dedicated to the city government ofAmsterdam, on his treatment at the hands of theChurch for having published his book withoutChurch approval. The Amsterdam magistrateswere to prove true friends to Bekker and tofreedom of thought by continuing to pay himhis stipend and later by supporting his widow.

114

KORT en WAARACHTIG

V E R H A A LVan " tgcbcurdc tfcdcrd den j i . M c y 1691.

cot dcQ It. A u g . i ^ ' 9 a .

In Jco Kcrkcnraul en ClilGt rtn Amfterdiin , en de Synodevm NoorJ-Hoilind,

/ • ir /die vm

BALTHASAR BEKKER,S S. 71. Dr. n trvbluMi tu Ai^trlimi

Ovct fijn Boek gcniamd

Dc BETOVERDE WEERELD.

B v D \ N r E L VANDEN D A L E N , Bockvcikoopcrop'r Rotkm, ccrivdendcBeiin, ifiji.

The report begins with a description of theDutch Church order 'for the sake of those whoare unfamiliar with the organisation of thechurch in our country' which can still be recom-mended to students who wish to follow Bekker'sfortunes.

1568/5962.Kn. 13846 (another edition).v.d.L. 47 (another edition).

10. ViERVouDiGE BEANTWOORDINGE vanBeswaamissen, voorgesteld aan BalthasarBekker, S.S.Th.D^ Predikant tot Amsterdam,over sijn Boek, genaamd De BetoverdeWeereld. Zynde I. Extracten, door Gecom-mitteerden des Kerkenraads, met de korteAantekeningen van den Auteur, die totmondelinge Conferentie hadden mogendienen. IL De xiii. artykelen, hem eerst vanden Kerkenraad, en daarna van de Classisvoorgesteld: met sijn Antwoord op de selve, enene Acte van Satisfactie daar by van hemaangeboden. III. De vi. Onderhandehngen

der Gecommitteerden van de Classis, mct denAuteur gehouden, behclsende de voornaamsteBeswaarnissen tegen het gemelde Bock; ensijne Antwoorden op cen ieder van desclvc.IV. D'Artykelen van Satisfactie, hem laatstvan de Synodus tot Alkmaar voorgehouden,met sijn Antwoord naderhand daar op gesteld.t'Amsterdam: by Daniel van den Dalen, 1692.3pt.,4":pp. 74, pp. 108, pp. 16.

The last part contains Aanmerkinge op deHandelmgen der twee laatste Synoden, in de sakevan B. Bekker ten opsighte van sijn Boek genaamdde Betoverde Weereld: nu versch t'Enkhutsengedrukt which in the Van der Linde copy alsobelongs to the two preceding parts to make onewhole, while the Royal Library, The Hague,has two separate books, one consisting of thefirst two parts, the other of the Aanmerkinge. Inthis work Bekker describes the proceeditigsinstituted against him by the Church so far, notrepeated in the subsequent Naakt Verhaal {n).

Kn. 13848, 13850. 1568/5971.v.d. L. 49.

V 1 r R V o L' I) 1 '". I

BEANTWOORDINGE

BALTHASAK BEKKER, S S Tli D '

Ocr (Tjn Boek, gniMmJ

DeBETOrERDE PVEERELD.Zjnde

I IXTRACTIN. Awfpctommttiecrde,!-InKokenr»«<'«.nwidekone^«i ,b>'*ic- »»n to Auieut , die tol moodcliDgt Cortnei tK hidden

k Xl l l ARTVKEl.eN. :*m mndeCljfT«toof(tfncld met fijn ANTWOO[i.D up dc lel.c. m tne

/ a U h h t d

m D e lTi., owi dtn Agtoir gthoude-i. behelfeoJe de .oorniimHt fc/M-..;?!-tarn bet afmeldeBort, enU|ne.j*«fii—'^"opecniaki •»n<l*1d»c.

IV. D'ARTYKiLtN vta Sa.tfia" . htm l«tft-indeSynodnitot Alk-b d , ma li|n ANTWOOR.D oMleitialduf oprrfleM-

By D A N I E L V A N D E N DALEN,

11. H. HI:KKI:RS NAAKT VKRiiAALvanalledeKcrkelike llandelingen, Voorgevallcn in denKerkenraad en de Classis van Amsterdam,alsmedc in de Synoden van Noordholland,tsederd den 31. May 1691. tot den 21. Aug.ifH)2 na vervolg des tijds. Uit de eigene Actenen bygevoegdc stukken der voornoemde\ ertradoringcn tsaamgesteld / en mctAantekeningen van den Auteur over ver-schcidenc omstandigheden breder verklaard.t\-imsterdam: by Daniel van den Dalen, 1692.3pt.,4": pp. 80, pp. 40, pp. 78.

These are the records of the proceedings of thevarious Church authorities within the givendates relating to B.W. His earlier accounts areonly mentioned in so far as they might bereferred to by the reader and are not restated.Part 3, p. 72 is blank and some copies appar-ently end there, including the copy recorded byVan der Linde. Pages 73-8 contain NaderBeright over den druk van alle Stukken, rakende'/ Boek de Betoverde Weereld, door den Auteurself uitgegeven, i.e. a list of all Bekker's ownpublished writings in the matter oi B.W.

Kn. 13851. 1568/5964.v.d.L. 50 (another edition).

12. ONDERSOEK EN ANTWOORD van Bal-

thasar Bekker, S.S.Th.D. Predikant totAmsterdam, op't Request door dc Gede-puteerden der Noordhollandsche Synode totEdam, in den Herfst des jaars 1691. ingegevenaan de . . . Staten van Holland en WestFriesland tegen sijn Boek de BetoverdeWeereld. Onlangs t'Enkhuisen in drukuitgegeven door Gecommitteerden derNoordhollandsche Synode tot Alkmaar /achter derselver Acten of Handelingen in desake van den selfden Auteur en desselfs Boek.t''Amsterdam: by Daniel vanden Dalen, 1693.4«:pp.98.

Hie 'Request' of the Synod of Edam of 1691had been an attempt to have B.W. condemnedby the States of Holland and its printingprohibited even in the other Dutch provinces.

ONDERSOEK en ANTWOORDVan

BALTHASAR BEKlCFR,SSTh.D.PrcJikjiit tot AmHcrdam,

Op't

R E Q U E S TI>oot dcGcdefiitferiic'i riet- Kio'dhaUandfihe Synode tottd jm , indcnHctflldcsjurs i6y i . ingcgcrcn u n d e

Ed, Gr M w . Hccrcn Staten van HolhnJ enWell t rielbnd tcgcn (ijn Bock dc

BETO\TRDE WEERELD.fCnlifmifm in tifuk uftBtsittcn tooi ettmmit'

uabtn ter aoo^(rtiD(laiitifrO( Jbpnotn tot 3Uliiiijar^ arli;laturftttie Aacnof HiaJthngt. inbtfibtbaa

I ' A M S T E R D A M ,D A N I E L v i N D t N D A L £ N ,

The Alkmaar Synod of 1692 endorsed the'Request' which was thereupon printed after itsown proceedings. Bekker had already publisheda reaction in the Aanmerkinge (pt. 3 of 10). Herehe defends himself at greater length and dedi-cates the piece to the Committee for ChurchAffairs of the States of Holland. The prefatoryletter is signed by him, dated Amsterdam, 19January 1693.

^« 13959- 1568/5963.v.d.L. 117.

13. B R I E F VAN BALTHASAR BEKKER S.T.D.en Predikant tot Amsterdam. Aan D. JoannesAalstius tot Hoornaar, ende D. Paulus Steen-winkel tot Schelluinen, over derselver ZedigeAanmerkingen op een deel des tweeden Boexvan sijn Werk genaamd De BetoverdeWeereld. t'Amsterdam: by Damel vandenDalen, 1693. 4* : pp. 11.

In this letter Bekker complains at the amount ofcorrespondence expected from him following

116

the publication of B.W. He has already pub-lished a number of such replies, listing theNodige Bedenkingen of 9 July 1692 (6), the KortBeright of 21 July 1692 of which a secondedition has by now been published {ja, b); andsince the Synod of Alkmaar he has publishedViervoudige Beantwoordinge of 20 September1692 (10), Naakt I erhaalo( IT, November 1692(11), Ondersoek en Antwoordo{ \i^]Anu2Lry 1693(12). He makes shorter mention of TweeBrieven, Drie Resolutien, Kort en WaarachtigVerhaal {<)), Aanmerkinge op de Handelingen {i o,pt. 3), and recommends his present correspon-dents to read these and also the new edition ofB.W. (3) where between chapters 6 and 7 ofbook 2 another chapter has been inserted intothe text as published in the Leeuwardenedition. They will then find their questionsanswered.

Kn. 13961.v.d.L. 'J2.

1568/5965.

14. OMSTANDIGH BERIGHT, van BalthasarBekker, S.T.D. Predikant tot .Amsterdam,van sijne particuliere Onderhandelinge metD. Laurentius Homma . . . in sijn leven medePredikant aldaar. Beneffens d'Ontdekte Lagenvan Everhardus van der Hooght, en JakobLansman tegen denselven. t\4msterdam: byDaniel vanden Dalen, 1693. 4": pp. 22.

The address to the reader quotes the famouspassage on books and reading from Ecclestasteswhich Bekker says he must now specially applyto himself Not only has he had to write a largebook in place of the small one he had intended,but though only half of this book had so far beenpublished, this first half has already caused aflood of further books which he had beenobliged to write. And this is not enough, manypeople have been demanding even furtherexplanations and for their benefit he has pub-lished the Kort Bertght (7). He would havepreferred spending his time working quietlyand completing the remaining parts of B.W. Hesuspects that people keep burdening him with

their demands in the hope of preventing himfrom completing his book, but they will notsucceed. Instead his finished work should go tothe printer before the end of this month or at thebeginning of the next. There are writers whomhe will never answer, including Koelman andLeydekker, because they are not worth it. Nor isVan der Hooght, except that he cloaks him.selfin the words of various Church authorities andit is these who deserve his answer. Homma hadraised thirteen objections to points made byBekker in earlier publications, going back manyyears. At a meeting before witnesses Hommaand Bekker arrived at a written agreement herereproduced, dated 9 October 1679. Everhardvan der Hooght, minister at Nieuwendam, wasnow attempting through Jacob Lansman, anAmsterdam notary, to rake up all kinds ofscandals from that earlier period concerningmatters long settled and forgotten, in order todiscredit B.H\ Bekker in his turn accuses Vander Hooght of having published opinions con-flicting with established orthodox doctrineapproved publicly by Bekker.

Kn. 13965. 1568/5970.v.d.L. 117.

15. D^ BEKKERS PHILOSOPMISK DIIYVF.L,

en op nieuw Betooverde Wereld Wedcrleyd enontooverd: met een Voor-af-spraak van hetgebruyk en misbruyk der Philosophie, en eenNa-reden van de Rampen der GereformeerdeKerk. Door Jacobus Leydekker, DienaerJ. Christi tot Willemstad. Tot Dordrecht: byDirck Cons, 1692. 8": pp. 147.

Bekker refused to take any notice of this worksince it lacked any serious discussion of hisarguments (see 14). Jacobus only followed theexample of his brother Melchior who hadsimilarly opposed Bekker. Van der Linde'stranscription differs slightly from the title asreproduced here from the British Library'scopy and may rest on some faulty tradition asVan der Linde appears not to have seen thebook. In 1943 J. P. de Bie and J. Loosjes,

117

D' - B E K K E R S

PHILOSOPHISED U Y y E L,

En op nicDwBET90VERDE WERELD

\VcdcrIcyd en Ontooverd;Me: een Voor-af-fpraak van het gcbruyk

en misbruyk der Philofbphie, en een N A*REDEN van de Ra rpien der Gere-

formeerde KeiLDoor

J A C O B U S L E Y D E C K E R I

Dienaer J, Chrifti tot W i L L E M s T A Pi

t o tOirckGoris, jSoccfa-bcrfioopet / tnooaenbi

118

Btographisch moordenboek van Protest ant scheCodgeleerden in Nederland (The Hague, 1919etc.), pt. 5, p. 786, reported that no copy of thisbook could be found. The last two leaves in theBritish Library's copy are cropped, with theloss of the pagination.

v.d.L. 126. I48o.e.i4.Not in Kn.

16. WEDERLEGGING van B. Bekker's Beto-verde Wereldt, het eerste deel Ingestelt doorJacobus Koelman Dienaer des H. Evan-geliums. Met een Aanhangsel, Van denDu\A el van Tedworth, en van een Brief van. . . Henricus Morus, aangaande Tovery enWaarseggery. Uit het Engels vertaald.t\4msterdam: by Johannes Boekholt, 1692. 2 pt.8«:pp. 48o,pp. 87.

1 D E N D U Y V E LV A N

T E D W O R T H ,

SPOOKERY,gii ^ngtUnD UooigtU jllcn/ nut Dc bt^

XffQitw uaii Cic waarljciD Udit Oicn:A L S M E D E

Ecn Brief van dc Heer Hemtcut MOTUI , tw rocmt Phi-lofcx)pli, en ProfeiTor tot Cumbiige,

Autgaaadc \ Ikk vaa

CoDccp cn u^aatfcggcrp.Uit het Engcls vcrtaalt.

j.;A C O B U S K O E L M A N ,Dloiaar des

A M S T K R D A M,

j J O H A N N E S B O E K H O L T , Bockvc-.'."oper mdeGapaflccg by dcBcon. Ar no f

The second part of this book has the title DenDuyvel van Tedworth, ofte eene Historic vanSpookery, m Engeland voorgevallen / met debewijsen van de waarhetd van dien: als mede eenBrief van . . . Henricus Morus, beroemt Philo-sooph, en Professor tot Cambridge, aangaande '/stuk van Tovery en Waarseggery. Vit het Engelsvertaalt, door Jacobus Koelman.

The Daemon of Tedworth was a notoriouswork of Joseph Glanvill which did much tosustain belief in witchcraft in England. It •appeared in his book A Blow at ModernSaddticism (1668). The letter of Henry Morebegins on p. 40. It was originally published inGlanvilPs Saducismus triumphatus of 1681, re-printed in the second edition of 1689. Part oneof the IVederlegging ends with the promise ofmore to come within a few months. However,not until 1695 did another work by Koelmanappear which can be seen as a continuation ofthis one. It is his Schriftmatige leere des Ceestes(Utrecht, 1695). Johannes Boekholt, thepublisher, is better known as the publisher ofBunyan in Dutch. Although Bekker would notbe drawn into arguing with Koelman (see 14) hemade use of the story of The Daemon ofTedworth in book ^ of B.W. where he declares itto be pure fabrication.

Not in v.d.L. whose no. 124 describes a reply to itby Antony van Dale. i486.df.4.

17. D E WAARE O O R S P R O N K , Voort-enOnder-gank des Satans: beheizende, eenbuitengewoone, edog klare Verhandeling, vande voornaamste plaatsen der Heilige Schrift,welke zyn spreekende van den Duivel.Dienende voor een Inleiding tot de BybelscheGodgeleerdheid, en het Waare Christendom.Door Joan Adolphsz. Derden Druk, vannieuws overzien. Te Amsterdam, by Andriesvan Damme, 1716. 8°: pp. 419 + 5.

As is generally accepted, Joan Adolphsz is thepseudonym of Zacharias Webbers or Web-berus, although a contributor to the Navorscher(Amsterdam, 1861), xi, p. 366, who signs himself

119

DE WAARE

OORSPRONK,\'oort- en Onder-gank des

S A T A N S :Bcheliende, ccnbuitcngcwoone, edog klare Verhande-

ling , van de voorn.i.iinrtc plaaifen der HeiligcSchrilt, wdke lyn Cprcckcnde van den

D U I V E L .Dienende voor ccn

I N L E I D I N GTot dc

BVBFJ.SCHE GODGELEERDHEJDjEll het

WAARE CHRISTENDOM.Door

JOAN ADOLPHS7l ^ E R D E N D R U K .

Van Nieuwb ovenicn.

S.

T K W .Y S T f . -D X A; .By A N n R T [ ? van H A M M E y

13ycL,vc;koor>cr n ;^.

J. L. A. I. and is taken t<» be J. L, \. Ininicr/cel,'"asserted that the name stood for Bekker himself.This is the less likelv as Bekker is not known

ever to have adopted subterfuge; on the con-trary, as can be seen from the titles above, healways prominently displayed his name, usuallywith his status and position added to it.Webbers was a portrait painter by professionwho used his own name on the title-pages ofother books. The Waare Oorspronk was firstpublished in 1695, at a time when it perhapssaved the author some unpleasantness if hecould not be attacked for his support of Bekker.It was B.W. which, according to the preface,inspired the author to compile the history of theDevil from Scripture itself, proving that Bekkerwas right and that demons have no physicalexistence and therefore cannot be conjured upat will to take possession of unwilling souls. Thebook was reprinted the same year and hadanother edition in 1703 before this (third)edition of 1716. It is also interesting to find thatthe publisher Andries van Damme had evi-dently taken over Daniel van den Dalen's stock,for the last five pages of the book which are anintegral part of it, contain a catalogue of booksto be had at his shop, ending with some books ofwhich he had obtained the copyright. In thiscatalogue are found no fewer than eight Bekkereditions, three of them in a choice of normalquarto or large paper issues. A work by\\ ebbers is advertised twice in the catalogue,both at the beginning and at the end of thebooks in octavo.

Not in v.d.L. 1509/4449.

1 Hans Henning, 'An Addition to the Faust Litera-ture', British Library Journal, iv, no. i, p. 6.

2 See list, no. 3.3 'for R. Baldwin', London. Wing B 1781. This is a

translation of book i only, made from the Frenchversion, and like the French edition it gives asummary of the whole work at the beginning.

4 Published by Pieter Rotterdam at Amsterdam.Bekker had rei-ci\ed word that a I'rcnch \ersionwas likely to be printed and therefore himselffound a translator whom he could trust. .Attemptsat thwarting publication had no effect. I. H. van

Eeghen, De Amsterdamse boekhanJel i68o-ij2S(Amsterdam, 1960-78), vol. iv, p. 79 quotes areference to the publication.

5 The words 'gedruckt zu Amsterdam 1693' on theGerman tide-page are sometimes still taken todenote the actual imprint and date of that edition.In my view they only continue the description ofthe original Dutch edition from which the transla-tion was made, possibly without the author'sknowledge or consent or even after his death.v.d.L. 25 already assigned the first German editionto Hamburg and so does Emil Weller who in his

120

Die falschen und fingierten Druckorte (Leipzig,1864, reprinted Hildesheim, i960), Bd. 1, p. 44names Hertel, i.e. Zacharias Hartel the younger, atHamburg as publisher. Neither, however, pro-vides an explanation or source, nor questions thedate of this edition. No doubt aware of this attri-bution J. Bruckner has excluded the German B.W.from his A Bihlwgraphtcal Catalogue of Seven-teenth-century German Books published in Holland(The Hague, Paris, 1971). I too am convinced thatthe book was not published at Amsterdam and amwilling to accept Hartel as the publisher. InLexikon der Humburgischen Schriflsteller^ etc.(Hamburg, 1S49-83), Hft. 13. p. 314, Han.sSchroder names Johann Langc of the same cit\ asthe translator. But I am also doubtful of the date otthis edition which seems not to have been dis-cussed until now. I reject the Amsterdam imprintfor the following reason. Had the German transla-tion been published at Amsterdam in the author'slifetime one would expect Bekker to ha\ e adoptedhis usual practice of sig ning the prefaces: no suchsignatures occur. Furthermore, there is in theGerman edition a far more elaborate, engravedillustration of the Oldenburg horn than in eitherthe Dutch or the French editions. It occurs inbook 4 of the 5.1f. and is the onh objccl presentedvisually in the Dutch and German quartos whilethe French duodecimo has several other plates,also in book 4. The illustration in the 1 )utcli (.-ditionis a simple woodcut which has served as model torthe smaller, reversed engraving in the Frenchversion. Neither of these, the one published amatter of months or only weeks before the other inthe year after the alleged date of the Germanedition, is at all related to that found in theGerman one which follows far more closely thetraditional representation of the horn. This drink-ing vessel is known to be of mid-fifteenth-centuryDanish workmanship. It was taken to CologneCathedral as a votive offering in 1475, came toOldenburg in the sixteenth century, and throughthe succession of the house of Oldenburg to theDanish crown reached Copenhagen in 1689. It isstill preserved in the royal collection at the castleof Rosenborg. The origin of this exquisitelyfashioned piece in silver gilt had become shroudedin myth already in the sixteenth century, no doubtassisted by ancient tales of a 'white' woman or evena goddess in Nordic saga welcoming a horsemanwith the offer of a drink from a horn. The storywhich Bekker tells, and refutes, had been pub-

lished several times before, but Bekker who isalways careful to quote his authorities had not readit in a book nor seen the illustrations available inprint. Instead he openi) stales in hook 4, p. 140,paragraph 1 Oof the B.ii\ that he made a drawingafter a picture he saw in the inn at Oldenburg atwhich he was staying in 1691, at a time when thehorn had already been removed from the city. Thepicture, he says, was not very good, but he wasassured by local people tbat it was neverthelessaccurate and, not knowing any others, Hekkerbelieved this. He goes on to say that he had a 'cut'made from his drawing and although he docs notexplain whether this was a woodcut or an engrav-ing on copper this is unquestionably the woodcutused in the Dutch edition. Again, if Bekker hadhad this engra\ing in time for the German edition,published after the Dutch one but supposedly stillin the same year, would he have reverted to thecruder image based on his own drawing forpublication in the French version the followingyear ? The most recent critical study of theOldenburg horn is that by Heinrich Dageforde,Die Sage vom Oldenburger Horn (Oldenburg,1971), which I ha\e followed in the historicalaccount above. But in his discussion of Bekker'spart in the literature of the horn this scholar hasobviously contented himself with examining thefirst German edition. He mentions the Dutch title,but he does not seem to have seen the book. Hemakes no reference to the I'Vench edition and heaccepts the imprint and date of the German title-page without hesitation. He therefore fails tocompare the illustrations and, misled by thetranslator's words in book 4. p. 146, 'ich habe esalso in Ktipfk-r stechcn lassen', which no conscien-tious Dutch publisher would have allowed, forBekker's own 'ik hebbe't dus doen snyden', heinterprets Bekker's statement as relating to theengraving while at the same time he correctly seesit as modelled on the engraving in Hamelmann'sOldenhurgtsi'h Chronuon of 1599, or on one of itsderivatives. But such a derivation contradictsBekker's own words. Nor does Dageforde mentionBekker's transcript of the inscription below thepainting which he had copied, which in the Dutchedition is quoted in a somewhat garbled German.This inscription and the inhabitants' explanationshad furnished Bekker with his story. His copy ofthe words may have been made from a hardlylegible text, or his own notes may have been hardto decipher by the printer who could be excused

121

ftom knowing obsolete German. In the Germanedition obvious errors have been corrected and thetext has been further 'improved', changing thewording enough to remove it still further from theoriginal. The translation is therefore unlikely tohave been made at or near Oldenburg. Already thesecond German edition of B.li. in the translationof Johann .Moritz Schwager, edited by JohannSalomo Semler and published at Leipzig in1781-2, contains a footnote to the much shortenednarrative of the Oldenburg horn, Bd. 3, p. 457,stating that Bekker 'does not appear to haveknown' Hamelmann's chronicle or Johann Just\\ inkclniann's 1(184 edition ot Des OhlenburgischenWunderhnrns Vrsprung. But no reference is madethere to the illustration, nor to the date and place ofpublication of the first edition. The painting whichBekker copied at Oldenburg probably no longerexists, for Dageforde does not mention it in hisexhaustive iconography of the horn.W. P. C. Knuttel, Ballhasar Bekker, de bestrijdervan het bijgeloof{Tht Hague, 1906), p. 197.See list, no. 2.IVing G 1738A.

Aan de Heer Bekker.

Wat maakt u Boek een groot gewelt ?In dese Nederlantse werelt,Een boek so kostelijk beperelt,Dat veel Waan-wysen staan verstelt.

10 A.

Gaat voort gy Doorgeleerde Man,Schoon dat u Pen verstomt Weet-nieten,Laat U uw Schryven niet verdrieten;Maar Leert en Schrijft so veel gy kan.

Tot dat de Duyvel in't geheel,Uyt onse herten is gebannen.En wy met Godes geest aanspannen,Om te bchouden 't beste Deel.

(To Mr. Bekker.Your book, what cause of clash and strifein this our Netherlandish life!A book with wisdom's pearls so well

surroundedthat many self-styled wise men stand

confounded.Go on, you man of knowledge vast,what if your pen makes nitwits dumb:let writing not your hand make numbbut write and teach us well and fast.

Until the Devil from each heartis wholly banished, every nervestraining God's Holy Ghost to servewe choose to keep the better part.

trsl. A. E. C. S.)de Kempenaer, Vermomde Nederlandsche en

Vlaamsche schrijvers (Leiden, 1928), p. 245.

NOTES ON OUTSIDE CONTRIBUTORS

DoROTin ANDERSON: director of the IFLA International Office for UniversalBibliographic Control.

ALEC H Y A T T K I N G : fortnerly Deputy Keeper in charge of the Music Library (Depart-ment of Printed Books).

J U D I T H G O L D S T E I N M A R K S : librarian and researcher in the history of bookbinding,Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

122