Justus van Effen (21 February 1684 – 18 September 1735) was a Dutch author, who wrote chiefly in French but also made crucial contributions to

Dutch literature Dutch language literature () comprises all writings of literary merit written through the ages in the Dutch language, a language which currently has around 23 million native speakers. Dutch-language literature is the product of the Netherlands, Be ...

. A journalist, he imitated ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' with the publication of the

Dutch-language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after its close relatives German and English. ''Afrikaans'' ...

Hollandsche Spectator The ''Hollandsche Spectator'' (lit. "Dutch Spectator") was an important Dutch language newspaper (or an early magazine) of the Enlightenment period.Willem Frijhoff, Marijke Spies, ''Dutch Culture in a European Perspective: 1800, blueprints for a ...

''. He gained international fame as a writer of French periodicals and a translator from English into French, and he is also recognized as one of the most important Dutch language writers of the 18th century and an influential figure of the Dutch

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

.Joost Kloek, Justus van Effen, Oxford Encyclopedia of Enlightenment, 1 January 2008.

Life and works

He was born in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

, the second child of Melchior and Maria van Effen. Justus van Effen planned a scholarly career, and around 1699 he began his studies at the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

, but after the early death of his father (on 6 May 1706) he was forced to become a private tutor, taking responsibilities for his mother and sister. He had made acquaintances among French émigrés, in connection with whom he began literary life in 1713 by editing a French journal. From 1715 to 1727 he was a secretary at the Netherlands embassy in London, where he also became a member of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

, and later, served as a clerk in the Dutch government warehouses (1732).Justus van Effen
(2010). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 20 January 2010, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online What gained him fame, however, were his literary and journalistic endeavours. A translator from English to French, he translated

Swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...

's "

Tale of a Tub ''A Tale of a Tub'' was the first major work written by Jonathan Swift, composed between 1694 and 1697 and published in 1704. It is arguably his most difficult satire, and perhaps his best. The ''Tale'' is a prose parody divided into sections o ...

" into Dutch and

Defoe Defoe may refer to: People *Defoe (surname), most notably English author Daniel Defoe Places *Defoe, Webster County, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Other uses *Defoe (comics), a zombie story *Defoe Shipbuilding Company, a former shipy ...

's ''

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tra ...

'', and is credited with a significant influence in the bringing of

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

.Harold W. Streeter, ''The Eighteenth Century English Novel in French Translation'', Ayer Publishing, 1972,
Google Print, pp. 13–14
/ref> An enthusiast for English periodicals, and in particular, ''

'' of

Joseph Addison Joseph Addison (1 May 1672 – 17 June 1719) was an English essayist, poet, playwright and politician. He was the eldest son of The Reverend Lancelot Addison. His name is usually remembered alongside that of his long-standing friend Richard S ...

and

Richard Steele Sir Richard Steele (bap. 12 March 1672 – 1 September 1729) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright, and politician, remembered as co-founder, with his friend Joseph Addison, of the magazine ''The Spectator''. Early life Steele was born in Du ...

, soon after first issues of The Spectator he launched ''

Le Misanthrope ''The Misanthrope, or the Cantankerous Lover'' (french: Le Misanthrope ou l'Atrabilaire amoureux; ) is a 17th-century comedy of manners in verse written by Molière. It was first performed on 4 June 1666 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal (rue Sai ...

'' (1711–1712) (a widely read journal referred to as "the first moralist periodical on the continent"), '' Le Bagatelle'' (1718–1719), '' Le nouveau Spectateur François'' (1725) and then in his native language, the ''

'' (1731–1735).A.J. Hanou
Dutch periodicals from 1697 to 1721: in imitation of the English?
/ref> The ''Hollandsche Spectator'' was one of the most notable papers inspired by ''The Spectator''. Its topics consisted of everything a

coffeehouse A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

audience would be interested in: politics, religion and morality, fashion, and humor. Socially conservative, written in a pleasing tone and style, it raised important issues, questioning the reasons behind the waning position of the Dutch Republic on the international scene, and served as literary and moral guide for the

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

. The ''Hollandsche Spectator'' is considered one of the achievements of the late 18th century

, and an inspiration to much Dutch journalism and literature.Joris van Eijnatten, ''Liberty and concord in the United Provinces: religious toleration and the public in the eighteenth-century Netherlands'', BRILL, 2003, 9004128433
Google Print, pp. 418–419
/ref>Willem Frijhoff, Marijke Spies, ''Dutch Culture in a European Perspective: 1800, blueprints for a national community / Joost Kloek and Wijnand Mijnhardt with the collaboration of Eveline Koolhaas-Grosfeld'', Uitgeverij Van Gorcum, 2004,
Google Print, p. 394
/ref>Willem Frijhoff, Marijke Spies, ''Dutch Culture in a European Perspective: 1800, blueprints for a national community / Joost Kloek and Wijnand Mijnhardt with the collaboration of Eveline Koolhaas-Grosfeld'', Uitgeverij Van Gorcum, 2004,
Google Print, p. 150
/ref>Hanna Barker, Simon Burrows, ''Press, Politics and the Public Sphere in Europe and North America, 1760–1820'', Cambridge University Press, 2002,
Google Print, p. 53
/ref>Cornelis W. Schoneveld, ''Sea-changes: studies in three centuries of Anglo-Dutch cultural transmission'', Rodopi, 1996,
Google Print, p. 84
/ref>Theo Hermans, ''A Literary History of the Low Countries'', Camden House, 2009,
Google Print, p. 312
/ref> Van Effen died in

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...

, aged 51.

Life and works

References

Further reading