![Frontespiece of 'De Nova Stella Disputatio' by Johannes van Heeck, 1605](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Frontespiece_of_%27De_Nova_Stella_Disputatio%27_by_Johannes_van_Heeck%2C_1605.jpg)
Johannes van Heeck, (
Deventer
Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2020, Deventer had a population of 100,913. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, bu ...
2 February 1579 – presumably
Sant'Angelo Romano
Sant'Angelo Romano is a town and ''comune'' in Latium, Italy, administratively part of the Metropolitan City of Rome. It is located north of Guidonia Montecelio, where the closest Trenitalia train station (about 40 minutes by train from Rome) is ...
c.1620),
(also known as Johann Heck, Joannes Eck, Johannes Heckius, Johannes Eckius and Giovanni Ecchio) was a Dutch physician, naturalist, alchemist and astrologer. Together with Prince
Federico Cesi
Federico Angelo Cesi (; 26 February 1585 – 1 August 1630) was an Italian scientist, naturalist, and founder of the Accademia dei Lincei. On his father's death in 1630, he became briefly lord of Acquasparta.
Biography
Federico Cesi was ...
,
Anastasio de Filiis Anastasio de Filiis (Terni 1577 - Naples 1608), together with Prince Federico Cesi, the Dutch physician Johannes van Heeck and Francesco Stelluti, was one of the four founding members of the Accademia dei Lincei. He wrote a number of works on natu ...
and
Francesco Stelluti
Francesco Stelluti (12 January 1577, in Fabriano – November 1652, in Rome) was an Italian polymath who worked in the fields of mathematics, microscopy, literature, and astronomy. Along with Federico Cesi, Anastasio de Filiis and Johannes van H ...
, he was one of the four founding members of the
Accademia dei Lincei
The Accademia dei Lincei (; literally the "Academy of the Lynx-Eyed", but anglicised as the Lincean Academy) is one of the oldest and most prestigious European scientific institutions, located at the Palazzo Corsini on the Via della Lungara in Rom ...
, the first
learned society
A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an discipline (academia), academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and s ...
dedicated to understanding of the natural world through scientific enquiry.
Family background
![Het beleg van Deventer (1591) door Prins Maurits - The siege of Deventer in 1591 by Prince Maurice (Bartholomeus Willemsz](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Het_beleg_van_Deventer_%281591%29_door_Prins_Maurits_-_The_siege_of_Deventer_in_1591_by_Prince_Maurice_%28Bartholomeus_Willemsz._Dolendo%29.jpg)
Johannes van Heeck was one of five children in a family of wealthy merchants. His father was Willem, son of Willem van Heeck, and his mother was Lutgardt, daughter of Gerrit. Between 1587 and 1591 his father, a Catholic, was one of Deventer's political leaders, elected senator and consul in 1589. For this reason, when Protestant forces under
Maurice of Nassau
Maurice of Orange ( nl, Maurits van Oranje; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was '' stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death in 1625. Before he became Prince ...
took the city in 1591, Willem van Heeck was fined 150 guilders for being a leader of the Catholic party and a collaborator of the hated
Philip II of Spain
Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...
.
Johannes received a humanist education, studying Latin, Greek, theology, astronomy and astrology, and making an exact observation of the comet that appeared in 1591, which he described in one of his later treatises as a bad omen for a life full of bitterness and pain. Under
Calvinist
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
rule, the position of his family became more precarious in Deventer and eventually his parents decided to send him to Italy to continue his education.
Early career
Van Heeck traveled to
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
,
Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
,
Ferrara
Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...
,
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
,
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
and
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. He stayed for a while in
Spoleto
Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome.
History
Spolet ...
as a guest of Count Gelosi, with whom he maintained a connection throughout his life, and on whose estate was the villa known as the "museum deauratum" where many of his manuscripts were composed. Here he wrote works of a moral literary character, such as his 1596 ''Epigrammata'', as well as medical, magical and astrological topics. Among these was his ''Liber de Regimine Sanitatis Eorum Qui Studio Litterarum Incumbunt'' in which, inspired by
De Vita Libri Tres
The ''De vita libri tres'' (''Three Books on Life'') or ''De triplici vita'', was written in the years 1480–1489 by Italian Platonist Marsilio Ficino. It was first circulated in manuscript form and then published on December 3, 1489. It was cons ...
('The Threefold Life') of
Marsilio Ficino
Marsilio Ficino (; Latin name: ; 19 October 1433 – 1 October 1499) was an Italian scholar and Catholic priest who was one of the most influential humanist philosophers of the early Italian Renaissance. He was an astrologer, a reviver of ...
, he examined the hygiene, diet and amorous habits of the literati. The second part of the work dealt with Ficino's ideas on magic. He discussed the influence of images on the spirit, and the occult virtues of certain plants, approaching his enquiry from the medical point of view rather than from that of the magician. He concluded the treatise with a list of secrets for healing common illnesses by using certain plants, and with a collection of "magic" recipes.
Following ''De Regimine'' there are four undated manuscripts dealing with plants and medicine:
* ''De Fructibus Tractatus'' ('Treatise on Fruits')
* ''Tractatus de Radicibus Herbarum Diversarum'' ('Treatise on the Roots of Various Herbs')
* ''Tractatus de Herbis'' ('Treatise on Herbs') and
* ''Tractatus de Herbis et Holeribus'' ('Treatise on Herbs and Vegetables')
In these he described the characteristics of various fruits, herbs and vegetables, their regions of origin, the time of their flowering, ways of preparing them and their specific medicinal use. He wrote on the basis of first-hand observation, supported by ancient sources, notably
Dioscorides
Pedanius Dioscorides ( grc-gre, Πεδάνιος Διοσκουρίδης, ; 40–90 AD), “the father of pharmacognosy”, was a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and author of ''De materia medica'' (, On Medical Material) —a 5-vol ...
.
With financial backing from a supportive bishop, he then studied medicine at the
University of Perugia
University of Perugia (Italian ''Università degli Studi di Perugia'') is a public-owned university based in Perugia, Italy. It was founded in 1308, as attested by the Bull issued by Pope Clement V certifying the birth of the Studium Generale.
Th ...
, obtaining his doctor's degree in 1601. During this period, his writing focused on logic, theology and metaphysics. Among the more significant of his works while he studied at university were:
* ''Homines et Alia Animalia Prodigiosa Variarum Ignotarum Regionum'' (''Of Humans and Other Animals'')
* (1598), a summary of astronomical knowledge
* ''De Planetarum Radiationibus in Singulis Zodiaci Signis'' (''On the Movement of the Planets Through the Signs of the Zodiac'')
* another treatise on astronomy with numerous diagrams drawn by himself
* a treatise on
apoplexy
Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...
* a treatise on
angina pectoris
Angina, also known as angina pectoris, is chest pain or pressure, usually caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle (myocardium). It is most commonly a symptom of coronary artery disease.
Angina is typically the result of obstru ...
entitled ''De Syncope'' (''On Fainting'')
* ''Cura Coelestis quae Inferorum Appellatur'' (''Heavenly Care''), written for doctors and for all who 'love philosophy'
* ''Super Plinii II Historias Naturales'', a commentary on
Pliny's 'Natural History', extended in scope beyond the original, with the ambitious subtitle 'Liber de Mirabilibus Creaturarum Dei' (Book of the Marvels of God's Creation'). In this work, van Heeck dealt with a number of contemporary concerns of natural science, such as
geocentric
In astronomy, the geocentric model (also known as geocentrism, often exemplified specifically by the Ptolemaic system) is a superseded description of the Universe with Earth at the center. Under most geocentric models, the Sun, Moon, stars, an ...
theory and other
Copernican views, against which he argued strongly.
He practised as a doctor first in
Maenza
Maenza is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Latina in the Italy, Italian region Lazio, located about southeast of Rome and about east of Latina, Lazio, Latina. It is home to a castle, originally built as a watchtower in the 12th-13t ...
and then in
Scandriglia
Scandriglia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rieti in the Italian region Latium, located about northeast of Rome and about south of Rieti.
In the frazione of Ponticelli Sabino, is located the Franciscan convent and sanctuary of ...
in the province of
Rieti
Rieti (; lat, Reate, Sabino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 47,700. It is the administrative seat of the province of Rieti and see of the diocese of Rieti, as well as the modern capital of the Sabina re ...
, part of the domain of Duke Giovanni Antonio
Orsini Orsini is a surname of Italian origin, originally derived from Latin ''ursinus'' ("bearlike") and originating as an epithet or sobriquet describing the name-bearer's purported strength. Notable people with the surname include the following:
*Angel ...
.
In the course of his medical work, van Heeck became involved in a strange dispute. He treated his patients, who were mostly poor, with great zeal, using simple herbal medicines. For this reason he came into conflict with the apothecary of Scandriglia, one Casolini Ranieri, who made his living selling medicines with exotic names, more magical than scientific. Ranieri conceived a firm hatred of the foreign doctor, whose work threatened to ruin his lucrative business. One night Ranieri positioned himself on the route where van Heeck habitually passed and attacked him while he was alone. Van Heeck fell from his horse but fended off his attacker with a sword. Still bleeding from his injuries, he was brought before the magistrate. Despite his plea of self-defense, he was imprisoned. The apothecary later died of his wounds, and van Heeck would have been left to rot in prison if he had not been released through the intervention of Prince
Federico Cesi
Federico Angelo Cesi (; 26 February 1585 – 1 August 1630) was an Italian scientist, naturalist, and founder of the Accademia dei Lincei. On his father's death in 1630, he became briefly lord of Acquasparta.
Biography
Federico Cesi was ...
, who sent
Francesco Stelluti
Francesco Stelluti (12 January 1577, in Fabriano – November 1652, in Rome) was an Italian polymath who worked in the fields of mathematics, microscopy, literature, and astronomy. Along with Federico Cesi, Anastasio de Filiis and Johannes van H ...
to get him out of prison and then invited him to his house in Rome.
The period when Cesi, van Heeck and Stelluti lived together after van Heeck's release from prison was one of an intense exchange of ideas and the shaping of plans, which led to the idea of forming a mutual-instruction society.
[Stillman Drake, Essays on Galileo and the History and Philosophy of Science, University of Toronto Press, 1999 vol.1 p.131]
Accademia dei Lincei
This close partnership between Cesi, van Heeck and Stelluti soon led to their founding the Accademia dei Lincei, together with Anastasio de Filiis, on 17 August 1603. There is no doubt that van Heeck played a key role in the conception and organization of the academy. He was the most experienced, educated and famous member of the group, and he clearly took the lead in many of its ventures, though he was the second youngest among them. Like all its members, he adopted a pseudonym ("Illuminato"), an emblem (a quarter-moon illuminated by a triangle from the sun) and the motto "A Patre luminum" ('from the father of lights'). It was van Heeck who chose as the academy's patron saint
John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
, the apostle of arcane visions. He also drafted its articles of association and devised its ceremonial.
Van Heeck referred to the Accademia as 'the most sagacious investigators of the secrets of nature, and dedicated to the
Paracelsan
Paracelsus (; ; 1493 – 24 September 1541), born Theophrastus von Hohenheim (full name Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance.
He w ...
disciplines' – indicating thereby that like the Swiss physician, they believed that empirical observation was essential for developing an understanding of the world, rather than reliance on established scholarly authorities.
There has been speculation that the connections between the Accademia's members were not confined to the intellectual sphere, and, specifically in the case of the relationship between Federico Cesi and Johannes van Heeck, that they were probably sexual in nature.
[Philip Ball, Curiosity: How Science Became Interested in Everything, University of Chicago Press, 2013 p.66]
Travels in Europe
In the spring of 1604, Prince Cesi's father the Duke of
Acquasparta
Acquasparta is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Terni (Umbria, central Italy). It is located on a hill above the Naia Valley and the river of the same name, facing the Monti Martani mountain range.
It also sits between two hot springs, th ...
was so concerned about the activities of the Accademia dei Lincei and what he considered the nefarious influence of van Heeck over his son that he denounced him to the
Roman Inquisition
The Roman Inquisition, formally the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition, was a system of partisan tribunals developed by the Holy See of the Roman Catholic Church, during the second half of the 16th century, respons ...
.
This effectively broke the four friends up, and van Heeck was obliged to leave Rome, embarking on a tour of numerous European countries. He went first to
Siena
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...
,
Pisa
Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...
and
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, then to
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
and
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
, where he met
Giovanni Botero
Giovanni Botero (c. 1544 – 1617) was an Italian thinker, priest, poet, and diplomat, author of '' Della ragion di Stato (The Reason of State)'',Botero, Giovanni, Pamela Waley, Daniel Philip Waley, and Robert Peterson. 1956. The Reason of St ...
at the Court of
Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy
Charles Emmanuel I ( it, Carlo Emanuele di Savoia; 12 January 1562 – 26 July 1630), known as the Great, was the Duke of Savoy from 1580 to 1630. He was nicknamed (, in context "the Hot-Headed") for his rashness and military aggression.
Being ...
. Later he crossed the Alps and went to England, Norway, France, Poland, Germany and
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
.
While van Heeck was travelling, Federico Cesi sent him money regularly, to buy rare books on alchemy and the natural sciences, which were then added to his collection the Accademia dei Lincei. As well as collecting books, objects and rare plants for the Accademia's collections, van Heeck was also a kind of roving ambassador, telling educated men in each city about the group's work and publicising its activities to win the sympathy of the powerful and the learned. During his travels, he was attacked by robbers and forced to swallow his membership ring of the Accademia in order to prevent it from falling into the hands of his attackers.
After several months on the road he eventually found a place in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
at the court of Emperor
Rudolf II
Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–160 ...
, an enlightened and generous man who was interested in the research of the Accademia dei Lincei. Rudolf's court was a major international centre for scholars and researchers on many fields, and he owned one of the largest
cabinets of curiosities ever assembled. He had been patron to
Tycho Brahe
Tycho Brahe ( ; born Tyge Ottesen Brahe; generally called Tycho (14 December 154624 October 1601) was a Danish astronomer, known for his comprehensive astronomical observations, generally considered to be the most accurate of his time. He was k ...
until the latter's death in 1601, and at the time of van Heeck's arrival, was still patron to
Johan Kepler.
The supernova of 1604
![Kepler_Drawing_of_SN_1604](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Kepler_Drawing_of_SN_1604.png)
In October 1604, a new star was seen. By night, it was the brightest star in the sky, and it was visible during the day as well for more than three weeks, before eventually dimming. Both
Lodovico delle Colombe
Lodovico delle Colombe (1565(?) – after 1623) was an Italian Aristotelian scholar, famous for his battles with Galileo Galilei in a series of controversies in physics and astronomy.
Early life
Delle Colombe was born in Florence in the second ...
and Kepler published their accounts of the new star in 1606. Van Heeck was ready to publish before them, sending his manuscript of ''De Nova Stella Disputatio'' ('Discussion of the New Star') to Federico Cesi in Rome in January 1605.
The critical question for all three writers was whether the new phenomenon could be explained within the generally-accepted model of the universe, known as the
Aristotelian model or the
Ptolmaic system. This held that the stars were remote, fixed in their positions and unchanging, while movement and variance were associated with the planets, closer to the earth. An unusual event in the sky might take place close to the earth, and could therefore be explained within the standard
cosmological
Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher ...
model. However, if it took place beyond the planets, this indicated that the stars, contrary to what was commonly believed, could not be fixed in a '
firmament
In biblical cosmology, the firmament is the vast solid dome created by God during his creation of the world to divide the primal sea into upper and lower portions so that the dry land could appear. The concept was adopted into the subsequent ...
'.
Astronomers (still working with the unaided naked eye at this time) took measurements of
parallax
Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. Due to foreshortening, nearby objects ...
to determine whether an object was near the earth or far away from it.
Cesi believed that the Accademia needed to publish something of scientific significance in order to establish its scholarly credibility, and that a book from van Heeck which reaffirmed orthodox Catholic positions would both remove suspicions about the group's activities and pave the way for his return to Rome. Van Heeck's theses however posed a number of problems. He critiqued twelve positions put forward by other astronomers on the origins and location of supernovae. Claiming to use the measurement techniques developed by
Tycho Brahe
Tycho Brahe ( ; born Tyge Ottesen Brahe; generally called Tycho (14 December 154624 October 1601) was a Danish astronomer, known for his comprehensive astronomical observations, generally considered to be the most accurate of his time. He was k ...
, he concluded that the supernova of 1604 showed no sign of
parallax
Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. Due to foreshortening, nearby objects ...
, which meant that the event could not have taken place near the earth, among the planets, but must have been located much further away, among the 'fixed' stars of the firmament or perhaps even further beyond. In this, he agreed with Tycho Brahe and other recent astronomers. However he reconciled this conclusion with the Aristotelian model by arguing that the apparently new star was not new at all; while permanent, like other stars, it was only occasionally visible for special reasons. He went further, accusing those who argued for a fluid heaven of writing contrary to Holy Writ, and attacking Tycho Brahe for his religious beliefs as well as for his purported scientific errors. Broadening his polemic against all erroneous ideas, he attacked Protestantism, thereby drawing Kepler into his argument. The language and tone of van Heeck's text was most intemperate. He berated the 'babbling new Philosophers' for their 'profane ignorance' and 'stupid ostentation' in departing from Aristotle.
Cesi greatly esteemed Kepler, and therefore edited van Heeck's text, removing anything hostile to him or to other astronomers. He also removed much of the defence of the Aristotelian cosmology, as it was important for the Accademia to align itself to new astronomical discoveries and not become entrenched in defending Aristotle. He then had the pamphlet published without the lynx emblem of the Accademia on its frontispiece. Van Heeck was furious at these editorial changes, which had been undertaken without his knowledge or permission.
Later life
Van Heeck's correspondence with Cesi in 1604 and 1605 suggest that he was experiencing some kind of crisis of confidence about his relationship with the other Lincei. He wrote at one point of marrying and not returning to Rome, but Cesi prevailed on him to come back. In April 1605 they asked him to prepare a new book attacking heresy, which was perhaps more suited to his interests at the time. In October 1605 he returned to Italy, but went to Rome only briefly in 1606 before leaving Italy again.
In 1608 he was in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, where he had apparently gone to see the famous Mexican herbarium in the
Escorial
El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, up ...
. He probably practiced medicine there, and wrote a treatise entitled ''Politeia Catholica de Bono et Malo cum Civil Antidote'', now lost. In 1610, Federico Cesi's father died
and this meant that the members of the Accademia could associate more freely. It is perhaps significant that despite this, van Heeck still did not return to his friends in Rome. Although he continued to contribute to the work of the Accademia, this was on a more sporadic basis and the apparent crisis in his nerves diminished his involvement.
One of the Accademia's original founders, Anastasio de Filiis, had died in 1608 and Cesi invited the elderly and highly esteemed
Giambattista della Porta
Giambattista della Porta (; 1535 – 4 February 1615), also known as Giovanni Battista Della Porta, was an Italian scholar, polymath and playwright who lived in Naples at the time of the Renaissance, Scientific Revolution and Reformation.
Giamba ...
to join in his place.
[Frank N. Egerton, Roots of Ecology: Antiquity to Haeckel, University of California Press, 2012 p.45] This helped the Accademia to re-establish itself and gave it greatly enhanced respectability after the mistrust it had experienced in its earlier years. The next person to join after Della Porta was
Galileo Galilei
Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...
.
Nothing more is known about him until 26 July 1614, when he made a fleeting appearance in Rome, accompanied by Stelluti, for an academic conference on the Greek and Latin languages. A note, probably from 1615, by the Linceian
Theophilus Müller at the end of his book 'De Animalibus' indicates that he visited van Heeck in the abbey of Sant'Angelo in Capoccia. Van Heeck appeared to be in the grip of a persecution mania, and told him that the king of Spain was persecuting him and insisting that he marry his daughter. The very last known reference to him is in a minute from the 24 March 1616 meeting of the Accademia dei Lincei, which records that he was temporarily excluded from meetings until he was once again of sound mind. Nothing further is known about him.
Selected works
''De nova stella disputatio.'' Aloisius Zannettus, Rome 1605''Disputatio de peste et quare praecipue grassatur tot ab hinc annis in Belgio'', Deventer 1605('Discourse on the Plague, From Whence It Came Why It Lasted So Many Years in The Netherlands')
''Itineraris de septentrionales fructus''('Fruits of a Journey in the North')
('On the Destruction of the World and the Mania of Heretics, which in This Age of the World is Greatest in the Netherlands')
Notes
References
External links
*
ttp://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Borg.lat.898/0002 scan of the original manuscript in cipher of van Heeck's “Itineris de septentrionales fructus”article on deciphering van Heeck's “Itineris de septentrionales fructus”
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heeck, Johannes Van
1579 births
Dutch naturalists
Natural philosophers
Members of the Lincean Academy