Hugo Grotius As Apologist for the Christian Religion: A Study of His Work De Veritate Religionis Christianae, 1640 (Studies in the History of Christian Thought)

293 Pages·2004·1.4 MB·English

by  Jan-Paul Heering

HUGO GROTIUS AS APOLOGIST
FOR THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
STUDIES IN THE HISTORY
OF
CHRISTIAN THOUGHT
FOUNDED BY HEIKO A. OBERMAN †
EDITED BY
ROBERT J. BAST, Knoxville, Tennessee
IN COOPERATION WITH
HENRY CHADWICK,Cambridge
SCOTT H. HENDRIX, Princeton, New Jersey
BRIAN TIERNEY,Ithaca, New York
ARJOVANDERJAGT,Groningen
JOHN VAN ENGEN, Notre Dame, Indiana
VOLUME CXI
J.P. HEERING
HUGO GROTIUS AS APOLOGIST
FOR THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
HUGO GROTIUS AS APOLOGIST
FOR THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
A STUDY OF HIS WORK
DE VERITATE RELIGIONIS CHRISTIANAE
(1640)
BY
J.P. HEERING
TRANSLATED BY J.C. GRAYSON
BRILL
LEIDEN•BOSTON
2004
Grateful acknowledgement is made to the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk
Onderzoek (NWO) for the financial support that made this publication possible.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Heering, Jan-Paul.
[Hugo de Groot als apologeet van de christelijke godsdienst. English]
Hugo Grotius as apologist for the Christian religion : a study of his work De veritate
religionis Christianae, 1640 / by Jan-Paul Heering ; translated by J.C. Grayson.
p. cm. — (Studies in the history of Christian thought ; v. 111)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 90-04-13703-3
1. Grotius, Hugo, 1583-1645. De veritate religionis Christianae. 2.
Apologetics—History—17th century. I. Title. II. Series.
BT1103.G763H4413 2003
239—dc22
2003069558
ISSN 0081-8607
ISBN 90 04 13703 3
© Copyright 2004 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
Coverdesign: Thorsten’s Celine Ostendorf
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printed in the netherlands
Dedicated to Monique
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‘Meaning is a kind of constant flickering of
presence and absence together.’
T. Aegerton
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CONTENTS
Foreword .................................................................................... xiii
List of Abbreviations .................................................................. xv
Introduction ................................................................................ xix
Chapter One. Bewijs van den waren godsdienst ............................ 1
a. Background ............................................................................ 1
The political fall of Hugo Grotius ...................................... 1
In prison ................................................................................ 3
Dutch poems .......................................................................... 5
b. The writing of the apologetic work (Bewijs) .......................... 8
Geloofs Voorberecht .................................................................... 11
c. Editions .................................................................................. 15
First edition (BG no 143) ...................................................... 17
Second edition (BG no 144) .................................................. 19
d. Dedication .............................................................................. 20
Fatherland .............................................................................. 21
Summary .................................................................................... 25
Chapter Two. De veritate religionis christianae .............................. 26
a. Latin editions ........................................................................ 26
Translation ............................................................................ 26
First edition (BG no 944) ...................................................... 30
Second edition (BG no 946) .................................................. 32
Third edition (BG no 947) .................................................... 33
The making of the Notes .................................................... 35
New edition (BG no 950) ...................................................... 36
Unauthorised editions (BG nos 951–3) ................................ 38
b. Development of the text ...................................................... 40
Bewijs (1622)—Sensus(1627) .................................................. 40
Sensus (1627)—De veritate (Leiden 1629) ................................ 42
De veritate (Leiden 1629)—De veritate (Leiden 1633) ............ 44
De veritate (Leiden 1633)—De veritate (Paris 1640) ................ 45
Conclusion .................................................................................. 46