Ridder Jacob Westerbaen (7 September 1599 – 31 March 1670), ''heer'' (squire) of Brantwyck-en-Ghybelant, was a Dutch poet.

Life

Westerbaen was born in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

, the son of a rope maker, and was initially schooled in the Staten-College, then as secretary and preacher of the

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 ...

of the

Synod of Dort The Synod of Dort (also known as the Synod of Dordt or the Synod of Dordrecht) was an international Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618–1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive controversy caused by the rise of Arminianism. The fi ...

. There, he studied medicine, after which he established himself in 1623 as a physician in the Hague. Two years later, he married Anna Weytsen, the widow of Reinier van Groenevelt, despite opposition from her noble family. He was a good friend of

Constantijn Huygens Sir Constantijn Huygens, Lord of Zuilichem ( , , ; 4 September 159628 March 1687), was a Dutch Golden Age poet and composer. He was also secretary to two Princes of Orange: Frederick Henry and William II, and the father of the scientist C ...

. Later, he came into contact with

Jacob Cats Jacob Cats (10 November 1577 – 12 September 1660) was a Dutch poet, humorist, jurist and politician. He is most famous for his emblem books. Early years Jacob Cats was born on 10 November 1577 in Brouwershaven as son of Adriaen Cornelis ...

, Blasius (1639—1672) and

Jan Vos Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numbe ...

(ca. 1610—1667), becoming good friends with all three. When Oldenbarnevelt was executed for political reasons, Westerbaen retained possession of the victim's walking stick, inspiring the Republic's great poet,

Vondel Joost van den Vondel (; 17 November 1587 – 5 February 1679) was a Dutch poet, writer and playwright. He is considered the most prominent Dutch poet and playwright of the 17th century. His plays are the ones from that period that are still most ...

, to his famous poem t Stockske'' ("The Little Walking-Stick"). Westerbaen wanted to apply for work elsewhere: Ockenburgh near Loosduinen, where he lived from 1652 until his death. He described it in a poem imitating the style of Huygens. He fought fiercely against orthodox preachers, for instance in writings such as ''Krancken-Troost voor Israel in Holland'' ("Comfort for a Sick Israel in Holland") and wrote and translated plays, mostly comedies. :(I have Comedians play here of a night, :And fear not Hague, nor Court, nay, not even Pulpit: :The Theatre here is free.)

Works

*t Noodsaeckelycke Mal (de Liefde)'' (1624) n love*''Minnedichten'' (1624) ove poetry*''Gedichten'' (1644) oetry*''Davids Psalmen in Nederduytsche rijmen gestelt'' (1655 and 1656) he Psalms translated*''Gedichten, verdeylt in vijf boecken'' (1657 and 1672) ive books of poetry*Seneca's ''Troas'' (1658) (adapted and translated) *Erasmus' ''Lof der Zotheid'' (1659) (adaption and translation of ''The Praise of Follie'') *P. Terentius' ''De ses comedien'' (1663) (adapted and translated) *''Kracht des geloofs van den voortreffelijcken ende vermaerden Nederduytschen poeet Joost van Vondelen'' (1648) eulogy of Vondel*''Laurier-krans'' *''Herstellinge van Karel II'' n King Charles II*''Zege-Zangh op de Verovering van Funen'' riumphal ode He also worked on the ''

Heroides The ''Heroides'' (''The Heroines''), or ''Epistulae Heroidum'' (''Letters of Heroines''), is a collection of fifteen epistolary poems composed by Ovid in Latin elegiac couplets and presented as though written by a selection of aggrieved heroine ...

'' of

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

and the '' Basia'' of Janus Secundus.

Quote

::::''ARBEID'' :''De wetenschap steeckt in geen bed met pluymen.'' :''Wie leeren wil, moet vroegh de veeren ruymen;'' :''Wie eert ¹ noch eght, die heeft geen kans van graen;'' :''Wie dorschen wil, moet eerst de ploegh doen gaen;'' :''Wie niet en turft, kan zich daer nae niet warmen;'' :''Wie winst wil doen, die reppe hand’en armen;'' :''Wie prijs begeert, die stelle zich te loop:'' :''Voor arbeyd heeft God alle dingh te koop.'' ''1. eren = ploegen.''

External links

On DBNL
{{DEFAULTSORT:Westerbaen, Jacob 1599 births 1670 deaths 17th-century Dutch poets Dutch male poets Writers from The Hague Dutch Golden Age writers Remonstrants Arminian writers