![Gerardus Johannes Vossius (1577-1649), by Anonymous](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Gerardus_Johannes_Vossius_%281577-1649%29%2C_by_Anonymous.jpg)
Gerrit Janszoon Vos (March or April 1577,
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
– 19 March 1649,
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
), often known by his Latin name Gerardus Vossius, was a Dutch classical scholar and
theologian
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
.
Life
He was the son of Johannes (Jan) Vos, a
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
from the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, who fled from persecution into the
Electorate of the Palatinate
The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...
and briefly became pastor in the village near
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
where Gerardus (the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
ized form of ''Gerrit'') was born, before friction with the strict
Lutherans
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...
of the Palatinate caused him to settle the following year at the
University of Leiden
Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...
as student of
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
, and finally became pastor at Dordrecht, where he died in 1585. Here in Dordrecht the son received his education, until in 1595 he entered the University of Leiden, where he became the lifelong friend of
Hugo Grotius
Hugo Grotius (; 10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645), also known as Huig de Groot () and Hugo de Groot (), was a Dutch humanist, diplomat, lawyer, theologian, jurist, poet and playwright.
A teenage intellectual prodigy, he was born in Delft ...
, and studied classics,
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
, church history and theology.
In 1600 he was made rector of the
latin school
The Latin school was the grammar school of 14th- to 19th-century Europe, though the latter term was much more common in England. Emphasis was placed, as the name indicates, on learning to use Latin. The education given at Latin schools gave gre ...
in
Dordrecht
Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...
, and devoted himself to
philology
Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...
and historical theology. From 1614 to 1619 he was director of the theological college at
Leiden University
Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...
.
In the meantime, he was gaining a great reputation as a scholar, not only in the Netherlands, but also in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. But in spite of the moderation of his views and his abstention from controversy, he came under suspicion of heresy, and escaped expulsion from his office only by resignation (1619). The year before he had published his ''Historia Pelagiana'' a history of the
Pelagian controversies; at the time it was considered by some to favour the views of the
Arminians
Arminianism is a branch of Protestantism based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the ''Rem ...
or
Remonstrants
The Remonstrants (or the Remonstrant Brotherhood) is a Protestant movement that had split from the Dutch Reformed Church in the early 17th century. The early Remonstrants supported Jacobus Arminius, and after his death, continued to maintain his ...
.
In 1622, he was appointed professor of
rhetoric
Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
and chronology, and subsequently of
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
, in the university. He had many contacts in England; he declined invitations from Cambridge, but accepted from
Archbishop Laud
William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Charles I's religious reforms, he was arrested by Parliament in 1640 ...
a prebend in
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...
without residence, and went to England to be installed in 1629, when he was made LL.D. at Oxford. He was on intimate terms with
Thomas Farnaby
Thomas Farnaby (or Farnabie) (c. 157512 June 1647) was an English schoolmaster and scholar. He operated a successful school in the Cripplegate ward of London and enjoyed great success with his annotations of classic Latin authors and textbooks o ...
, and Farnaby's ‘Latin Grammar’ is based to a certain extent upon that which Vossius wrote for the Elzevir press in 1629. Among his other English correspondents were
Brian Duppa
Brian Duppa (also spelled Bryan; 10 March 1589 – 26 March 1662) was an English bishop, chaplain to the royal family, Royalist and adviser to Charles I of England.
Life
He was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, graduati ...
,
Dudley Carleton,
Lord Herbert of Cherbury
Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury (or Chirbury) KB (3 March 1583 – 5 August 1648) was an English soldier, diplomat, historian, poet and religious philosopher of the Kingdom of England.
Life
Early life
Edward Herbert was the ...
,
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, 28 August 1592 – 23 August 1628), was an English courtier, statesman, and patron of the arts. He was a favourite and possibly also a lover of King James I of England. Buckingham remained at the ...
, the prelates
James Ussher
James Ussher (or Usher; 4 January 1581 – 21 March 1656) was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625 and 1656. He was a prolific scholar and church leader, who today is most famous for his ident ...
and
Richard Sterne, and
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...
.
He got permission from Charles I to return to the Low Countries. In 1632 he left Leiden to take the post of professor of history in the newly founded
Athenaeum Illustre at
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
, which he held till his death.
Family
His son
Isaac
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...
(1618–1689), after a career of scholarship in Sweden, became residentiary canon at
Windsor
Windsor may refer to:
Places Australia
* Windsor, New South Wales
** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area
* Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
**Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
in 1673. He was the author of ''De septuaginta interpretibus'' (1661), ''De poematum cantu et viribus rhythmi'' (1673), and ''Variarum observationum liber'' (1685).
Others:
*His son
Dionysius Vossius
The name Dionysius (; el, Διονύσιος ''Dionysios'', "of Dionysus"; la, Dionysius) was common in classical and post-classical times. Etymologically it is a nominalized adjective formed with a -ios suffix from the stem Dionys- of the name ...
died 1633 or 1640. He made notes on the work of
Moses Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
.
*His third son Gerrit Vossius died 1640. He was an editor of
Velleius Paterculus
Marcus Velleius Paterculus (; c. 19 BC – c. AD 31) was a Roman historian, soldier and senator. His Roman history, written in a highly rhetorical style, covered the period from the end of the Trojan War to AD 30, but is most useful for the per ...
(1639).
*His son Matthew died 1646. He made a chronicle of Holland.
*Francis Vossius was Gerardus Vossius's brother.
A person also called Gerardus Vossius, a Roman Catholic who made annotated Latin translations of
Gregory Thaumaturgus
Gregory Thaumaturgus or Gregory the Miracle-Worker ( grc, Γρηγόριος ὁ Θαυματουργός, ''Grēgórios ho Thaumatourgós''; la, Gregorius Thaumaturgus; 213 – 270), also known as Gregory of Neocaesarea, was a Christi ...
and
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
and died in Liège in 1609, was a distant relation.
Works
Vossius was amongst the first scholars to treat both Christian theological
dogma
Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ...
and non-Christian religion from a scientific-historical, instead of a theological point of view. His principal works are:
*''Historiae de controversiis quas Pelagius eiusque reliquiae moverunt'' (1618)
*''Aristarchus, sive de arte grammatica'' (1635 and 1695; new ed. in 2 vols., 1833–35)
*''Etymologicum linguae Latinae'' (''Etymology of the Latin Language''; 1662; new ed. in two vols., 1762–63)
*''Commentariorum Rhetoricorum oratoriarum institutionum Libri VI.'' (''Essays on Rhetoric'', or ''The Institutes of Oratory''; 1606 and often)
*''De Historicis Graecis Libri IV'' (''The Greek Historians''; 1624)
*''De Historicis Latinis Libri III'' (''The Latin Historians''; 1627)
*''Of Errors of Speech and Latino-Barbarous Terms'' (1640)
*''De Theologia Gentili'' (1641)
*''Dissertationes Tres de Tribus Symbolis, Apostolico, Athanasiano et Constantinopolitano'' (1642)
*''The Times of the Ancient Poets'' (1654)
*''Correspondence of Vossius with Eminent Men'', (1691).
His collected works were published in Amsterdam (6 vols., 1695–1701).
In
rhetoric
Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
, his works enjoyed a wide circulation and were used as textbooks. He supported
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
's definitions, and opposed
Ramism
Ramism was a collection of theories on rhetoric, logic, and pedagogy based on the teachings of Petrus Ramus, a French academic, philosopher, and Huguenot convert, who was murdered during the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in August 1572.
Accor ...
. While his major influences were Aristotle and
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
, he also cited
Hermogenes
Hermogenes is a Greek name (), meaning "born of Hermes". It may refer to:
* Hermogenes (potter) (fl. c. 550 BC), Attic Greek potter
* Hermogenes (philosopher) (fl. c. 400 BC), Greek
* Hermogenes of Priene (fl. c. 200 BC), Greek architect
* Hermog ...
,
Menander Rhetor
Menander Rhetor ( el, Μένανδρος Ῥήτωρ), also known as Menander of Laodicea ( el, Μένανδρος ὁ Λαοδικεύς), was a Greek rhetorician and commentator of the 3rd or 4th century AD.
Two incomplete treatises on epidei ...
,
Bartholomeus Keckermann and
Nicolas Caussin
Nicolas Caussin (1583– July 2, 1651) was a French Jesuit, orator; and for a time, confessor to King Louis XIII of France. His treatise, ''The Holy Court'', a guide for courtiers in living a Christian life, was published in 1624. Caussin was rem ...
.
[Thomas M. Conley, ''Rhetoric in the European Tradition'' (1994), p. 157 and p. 160.]
Notes
References
*
Jean-Pierre Nicéron
Jean-Pierre Nicéron (11 March 1685 – 8 July 1738) was a French lexicographer.
Biography
Nicéron was born in Paris, a relative of the mathematician and Minim friar Jean François Niceron. After his studies at the Collège Mazarin, he joined t ...
, ''Mémoires pour servir de l'histoire des hommes illustres'', vol. xiii. (Paris, 1730)
*
Herzog
''Herzog'' (female ''Herzogin'') is a German hereditary title held by one who rules a territorial duchy, exercises feudal authority over an estate called a duchy, or possesses a right by law or tradition to be referred to by the ducal title. T ...
's ''Realencyklopädie'', art. "Vossius"
*
*
C. S. M. Rademaker ss.cc., ''Life and Works of Gerardus Joannes Vossius (1577-1649)'', (
Assen
Assen () is a municipality and a city in the northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1809. Assen is known for TT Circuit Assen, the ...
, 1981)
*G. J. Vossius, ''Poeticarum institutionum libri III'' (with English translation and commentary), (
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
, 2006).
*
*
External links
The Correspondence of Gerardus Joannes Vossiusi
EMLO(Early Modern Letters Catalogues)
;Attribution
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vossius, Gerhard Johann
1577 births
1649 deaths
17th-century Latin-language writers
Dutch Renaissance humanists
Dutch Calvinist and Reformed theologians
Arminian theologians
Leiden University alumni
Leiden University faculty
Muiderkring
People from Dordrecht
University of Amsterdam faculty
Dutch music theorists
17th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians
17th-century Dutch people