Hieronymus van Alphen (8 August 1746 in

Gouda Gouda may refer to: * Gouda, South Holland, a city in the Netherlands ** Gouda (pottery), style of pottery manufactured in Gouda ** Gouda cheese, type of cheese originally made in and around Gouda ** Gouda railway station * Gouda, Western Cape, a s ...

– 2 April 1803 in The Hague), a

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in Utrecht, Leiden and The Hague, is especially remembered as a poet, particularly for his poems for children under the title ''Kleine gedigten voor kinderen'' (Utrecht 1778-1782). Van Alphen was appointed as Treasurer-General of the Dutch Republic in June 1793 but, as an Orangist, was relieved of his position as a result of the

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in 1795. Van Alphen’s children’s poems express a modern vision of children for his time. As these booklets were a great success, they were reprinted dozens of times and also translated into

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, English, West Frisian and in the Malay language. Composers as Bartholomeus Rulofs, Ernst Christian Graf and

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put them to music. The affably poet Hieronymus van Alphen considers children as pure and innocent creatures, to whom virtues as obedience, esteem for their parents and for God, as well as

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could be taught. Van Alphen was of the opinion that children should be able to learn playfully. Buijnsters, ''Hiëronymus van Alphen'', passim

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alpen, Hieronymus van 1746 births 1803 deaths Dutch children's writers Dutch male poets People from Gouda, South Holland Treasurers-General