Franciscus van den Enden
Encyclopedia
Franciscus van den Enden (Antwerp c. 5 February 1602 - Paris
, 27 November 1674) was a former Jesuit
, Neo-Latin
poet
, physician
, art dealer
, philosopher and plotter against Louis XIV of France
and is mainly known as the teacher of Baruch de Spinoza (1632-1677). His name is also written as 'Van den Ende', 'Van den Eijnde', 'Van den Eijnden', etc. At the end of his life he was also known as 'Affinius' (Latinized form of 'Van den Enden').
, but in 1633 he was dismissed from the order. In the second half of the 1630s he contributed some Neo-Latin poems to devotional works by the Spanish Augustinian Bartholomeus de los Rios y Alarcon. In about the same period, he also seems to have been active in the Antwerp art trade, in which his brother Martinus van den Enden played an important role, as a publisher of prints by Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck
. In 1640 Van den Enden married Clara Maria Vermeeren at Antwerp and in 1641 a first child was born, named after her mother, Clara Maria. It is not clear where and when their second daughter, Margereta Aldegonis, was born.
Probably around 1645 the family moved to Amsterdam
, where Van den Enden started an art shop in the Nes. Only a few engravings and one pamphlet published by him are known. After the bankruptcy of his art shop, he opened a Latin school on the Singel
. His pupils performed several classical plays in the Amsterdamse theatre and also a Neo-Latin play by his own hand, Philedonius (1657). By then the family had expanded: in 1648 the twins Anna and Adriana Clementina were born, in 1650 a son, Jacobus, in 1651 a daughter, Marianna, and in 1654 again a daughter, Maria (Anna, Jacobus and Maria probably died very young). In the late 1650s the famous philosopher Baruch Spinoza
and the anatomist Theodor Kerckring
were pupils at his school.
In the early 1660s some people thought that Van den Enden was an atheist, while others believed that he was a Roman Catholic. In this period, together with Pieter Corneliszoon Plockhoy
, he worked on a project for a utopian settlement in New Netherland
, more precisely in the area of the present Delaware
. Van den Enden's views on this ideal society are found in the Kort Verhael van Nieuw-Nederland (Brief Account of New Netherland, 1662). Some years later, in 1665, another political publication appeared, the Vrye Politijke Stellingen (Free Political Proposals), in which democracy is defended and attention is paid to the social and educational tasks of a state. In that same year, when the Second Anglo-Dutch War
had just started, he wrote to Johan de Witt
offering to sell him a secret weapon for the navy.
Shortly after the marriage of his oldest daughter Clara Maria with Theodor Kerckring (also written as 'Kerckrinck') in 1671, Van den Enden moved to Paris, where he opened another Latin school. There he was visited by Antoine Arnauld
and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. He also got involved in a plot against Louis XIV
, but the conspirators were caught before they could execute their plans, the establishment of a republic
in Normandy
. Franciscus van den Enden was condemned to death and on 27 November 1674, after the decapitation of the noble conspirators, he was hanged before the Bastille
.
, independently from each other, established that Van den Enden was the author of two anonymous pamphlets, the Kort Verhael van Nieuw Nederland (Brief Account of New Netherland) and the Vrye Politijke Stellingen (Free Political Proposals). Mainly on the basis of the last work the claim was made, most strongly by Klever, that the whole of Spinozist philosophy had been developed by Van den Enden. The idea of a strong influence on Spinoza was later adopted in the most recent biographies of Spinoza (by Stephen Nadler, and more outspokenly by Margaret Gullan-Whur). However, a thorough analysis of both pamphlets shows that a possible influence was rather limited and the chronology of the sources does not allow it to be determined whether it was the teacher who influenced the pupil or whether it was the other way around.
Apart from this question, which due to the fragmentary source material will probably never be answered with certainty, Van den Enden's later writings are of great interest. It is clear, for instance, that together with Johan de la Court, he should be counted among the earliest Dutch-writing and Early-Modern promoters of democracy
. His defence of religious toleration, a secular state, public education and less cruel forms of justice situate him within the Early Enlightenment
. Moreover, his radical rejection of slavery
is unique, even within his circle of Amsterdam freethinkers. Finally, Van den Enden's concern for social problems and his proposals for organized forms of solidarity, presumably influenced by Plockhoy, must be considered original for his time.
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, 27 November 1674) was a former Jesuit
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
, Neo-Latin
New Latin
The term New Latin, or Neo-Latin, is used to describe the Latin language used in original works created between c. 1500 and c. 1900. Among other uses, Latin during this period was employed in scholarly and scientific publications...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, art dealer
Art dealer
An art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art. Art dealers' professional associations serve to set high standards for accreditation or membership and to support art exhibitions and shows.-Role:...
, philosopher and plotter against Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
and is mainly known as the teacher of Baruch de Spinoza (1632-1677). His name is also written as 'Van den Ende', 'Van den Eijnde', 'Van den Eijnden', etc. At the end of his life he was also known as 'Affinius' (Latinized form of 'Van den Enden').
Life
Van den Enden, the son of weavers, was baptized at Antwerp on 6 February 1602. He was a pupil at the Augustinian and the Jesuit colleges of that city. In 1619 he entered the novitiate of the Society of JesusSociety of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
, but in 1633 he was dismissed from the order. In the second half of the 1630s he contributed some Neo-Latin poems to devotional works by the Spanish Augustinian Bartholomeus de los Rios y Alarcon. In about the same period, he also seems to have been active in the Antwerp art trade, in which his brother Martinus van den Enden played an important role, as a publisher of prints by Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck
Anthony van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next...
. In 1640 Van den Enden married Clara Maria Vermeeren at Antwerp and in 1641 a first child was born, named after her mother, Clara Maria. It is not clear where and when their second daughter, Margereta Aldegonis, was born.
Probably around 1645 the family moved to Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, where Van den Enden started an art shop in the Nes. Only a few engravings and one pamphlet published by him are known. After the bankruptcy of his art shop, he opened a Latin school on the Singel
Singel (Amsterdam)
The Singel is a canal in Amsterdam which encircled the city in the Middle Ages. It served as a moat around the city until 1585, when Amsterdam expanded beyond the Singel. The canal runs from the IJ bay, near Central Station, to the Muntplein square, where it meets the Amstel river...
. His pupils performed several classical plays in the Amsterdamse theatre and also a Neo-Latin play by his own hand, Philedonius (1657). By then the family had expanded: in 1648 the twins Anna and Adriana Clementina were born, in 1650 a son, Jacobus, in 1651 a daughter, Marianna, and in 1654 again a daughter, Maria (Anna, Jacobus and Maria probably died very young). In the late 1650s the famous philosopher Baruch Spinoza
Baruch Spinoza
Baruch de Spinoza and later Benedict de Spinoza was a Dutch Jewish philosopher. Revealing considerable scientific aptitude, the breadth and importance of Spinoza's work was not fully realized until years after his death...
and the anatomist Theodor Kerckring
Theodor Kerckring
Theodor Kerckring or Dirk Kerckring was a Dutch anatomist and chemical physician....
were pupils at his school.
In the early 1660s some people thought that Van den Enden was an atheist, while others believed that he was a Roman Catholic. In this period, together with Pieter Corneliszoon Plockhoy
Pieter Corneliszoon Plockhoy
Pieter Corneliszoon Plockhoy Pieter Corneliszoon Plockhoy Pieter Corneliszoon Plockhoy (also Pieter Cornelisz Plockhoy van Zierikzee or Peter Cornelius van Zurick-zee, born c. 1625, possibly in Zierikzee, Netherlands, died c...
, he worked on a project for a utopian settlement in New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
, more precisely in the area of the present Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
. Van den Enden's views on this ideal society are found in the Kort Verhael van Nieuw-Nederland (Brief Account of New Netherland, 1662). Some years later, in 1665, another political publication appeared, the Vrye Politijke Stellingen (Free Political Proposals), in which democracy is defended and attention is paid to the social and educational tasks of a state. In that same year, when the Second Anglo-Dutch War
Second Anglo-Dutch War
The Second Anglo–Dutch War was part of a series of four Anglo–Dutch Wars fought between the English and the Dutch in the 17th and 18th centuries for control over the seas and trade routes....
had just started, he wrote to Johan de Witt
Johan de Witt
Johan de Witt, heer van Zuid- en Noord-Linschoten, Snelrewaard, Hekendorp and IJsselveere was a key figure in Dutch politics in the mid 17th century, when its flourishing sea trade in a period of globalization made the United Provinces a leading European power during the Dutch Golden Age...
offering to sell him a secret weapon for the navy.
Shortly after the marriage of his oldest daughter Clara Maria with Theodor Kerckring (also written as 'Kerckrinck') in 1671, Van den Enden moved to Paris, where he opened another Latin school. There he was visited by Antoine Arnauld
Antoine Arnauld
Antoine Arnauld — le Grand as contemporaries called him, to distinguish him from his father — was a French Roman Catholic theologian, philosopher, and mathematician...
and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. He also got involved in a plot against Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
, but the conspirators were caught before they could execute their plans, the establishment of a republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
. Franciscus van den Enden was condemned to death and on 27 November 1674, after the decapitation of the noble conspirators, he was hanged before the Bastille
Bastille
The Bastille was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. The Bastille was built in response to the English threat to the city of...
.
Importance
One of the central questions concerning Franciscus van den Enden is whether and in how far he was an influence on the philosophy of Spinoza, a question already raised by Meinsma. In 1990 Marc Bedjai and Wim KleverWim Klever
Wilhelmus Nicolaas Antonius Klever is an important Dutch expert on the philosophy of 17th century Jewish Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza.Klever studied philosophy at the Catholic University of Nijmegen and at the Utrecht University....
, independently from each other, established that Van den Enden was the author of two anonymous pamphlets, the Kort Verhael van Nieuw Nederland (Brief Account of New Netherland) and the Vrye Politijke Stellingen (Free Political Proposals). Mainly on the basis of the last work the claim was made, most strongly by Klever, that the whole of Spinozist philosophy had been developed by Van den Enden. The idea of a strong influence on Spinoza was later adopted in the most recent biographies of Spinoza (by Stephen Nadler, and more outspokenly by Margaret Gullan-Whur). However, a thorough analysis of both pamphlets shows that a possible influence was rather limited and the chronology of the sources does not allow it to be determined whether it was the teacher who influenced the pupil or whether it was the other way around.
Apart from this question, which due to the fragmentary source material will probably never be answered with certainty, Van den Enden's later writings are of great interest. It is clear, for instance, that together with Johan de la Court, he should be counted among the earliest Dutch-writing and Early-Modern promoters of democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
. His defence of religious toleration, a secular state, public education and less cruel forms of justice situate him within the Early Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
. Moreover, his radical rejection of slavery
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
is unique, even within his circle of Amsterdam freethinkers. Finally, Van den Enden's concern for social problems and his proposals for organized forms of solidarity, presumably influenced by Plockhoy, must be considered original for his time.
Works
- Philedonius (1657)
- Kort Verhael van Nieuw Nederland (1662)
- Vrye Politijke Stellingen (1665)
- Vrije Politijke Stellingen (ed. W. Klever, 1992)