Antonius Walaeus
Encyclopedia
Antonius Walaeus (1573–1639) was a Dutch Calvinist minister, theologian, and academic.
, where his father Jacques de Waele had moved from Brussels, after the execution of Lamoral, Count of Egmont
in 1568. Jacques de Waele being a support of William I, Prince of Orange, the family left for Zeeland
in 1585.
Walaeus was educated at Middelburg
school, where he was taught by Jacobus Gruterus and Murdisonius, and then at the University of Leiden, under Franciscus Junius
, Lucas Trelcatius, and Franciscus Gomarus
. He travelled to France and Geneva
, staying with Charles Perrot. After a time at Basel
he returned to the Netherlands in 1601, and became minister at Koudekerk. He then taught at Middelburg.
and Contra-Remonstrants, Walaeus was on good terms with Hugo Grotius
, despite the latter's Arminian views. In 1615 Walaeus published Het Ampt der Kerckendienaren, against the leading Remonstrant and ally of Grotius, Johannes Wtenbogaert
, taking up the relationship of church and state. It replied to the Ampt ende Authoriteyt of Wtenbogaert, but also implicitly took aim at the Pietas Ordinum of Grotius. Its tone was quite peaceable and open to compromise; the work put Walaeus at the centre of the theological debate, but Wtenbogaert decided on a polemical reply. Gerard Vossius wrote a private letter to Grotius about Het Ampt, unsympathetic to Walaeus, which was published much later as Dissertation epistolica de iure magistratus in rebus ecclesiasticis.(1669).
In 1617 Walaeus became prominent on the Contra-Remonstrant side as a preacher at The Hague
. After the Synod of Dort
of 1618–9 he was appointed to the theological faculty at Leiden. The formulation of the Five Points of Calvinism in the Canons of Dort
has been attributed to Walaeus, Godefridus Udemans, and Jacobus Triglandius.
In the aftermath of the Synod, Walaeus ministered to Johan van Oldenbarneveldt before his execution. Oldenbarneveldt, Grotius, and other leaders of the Remonstrants were sentenced to death; Walaeus was asked to communicate the sentence to Oldenbarneveldt, Grotius, and Rombout Hogerbeets
. In the case of Grotius he felt his position was too difficult, and refused. Grotius and Hogerbeets then had their sentences commuted. In the final days of Oldenbarneveldt, Walaeus acted as intermediary with Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange
who had brought the religious conflict to a head as a political matter.
, working with Festus Hommius
and Jacobus Rolandus. In 1622 he was asked to establish a training college for missionaries at Leiden, for the Dutch East India Company
. Among his students was Robertus Junius the missionary.
It has been stated that Walaeus was concerned to minimise the differences between the Dutch Reformed Church and the views of John Robinson
, minister to an English congregation in the Netherlands. After Robinson's death (1625), Walaeus wrote, in a letter published in translation by Henry Martyn Dexter
, to the effect that Robinson had looked to bridge divisions between local congregations, and wished one of his sons to train for the Dutch Reformed ministry. It has been argued that this claim (endorsed by Hommius) was made in the hope of getting funding for the education of the Robinson family, of which three sons registered at Leiden; of these, one became a minister but was not trained at Leiden.
Walaeus, with Johannes Polyander
and Anthony Thysius of the Leiden faculty, gave advice as an eirenic moderate on other matters concerning the English congregations, in 1633–4. They questioned the means used to effect liturgical changes, and advised that the De conscientia of William Ames
should be revised for its aggressive tone against the Church of England.
His portrait was painted by David Bailly
.
as a basis, to be corrected, despite a view that Plato
was the superior moral philosopher as Aristotle was the better physicist; he used Aristotle's classification of virtues rather than the Protestant Lambert Daneau
's reliance on the Ten Commandments
. Plato's purifying virtues were matched to the account in the Beatitudes
; but in the end Plato was found to lack Christian theological concepts. In discussing the supreme good he defended the tenet of Stoicism
that it consists of good habits; the Epicurean view might be corrected in its more abstract form of "mental joy", though not as physical pleasure. Moral philosophy included politics
and economics
, as well as ethics
.
In his Enchiridion religionis reformae, an introductory seminary text, Walaeus gives a simplified form of the arguments of Zacharias Ursinus
on natural theology
; and relies little on Scripture for the existence of God
. His Loci communibus sacrae theologiae et consiliis is a more advanced text, and develops a philosophical theism
. Along with Franciscus Gomarus
, Walaeus accepted a theory of middle knowledge of God (scientia media), more often associated with Molinism
.
Synopsis purioris theologiae disputationibus quinquaginta duabus comprehensa (1625) with his colleagues Johannes Polyander, André Rivet
and Anthony Thysius attempted to settle the Leiden view on controversial issues as a united front. Further, the Leiden Synopsis was intended to provide a Dutch Reformed orthodoxy, providing a manual of 880 pages covering 52 disputations, a resource for apologetics
.
The posthumous Opera Omnia (1643) contains De opinione chiliastarum with views on millennarianism. Walaeus had corresponded with Joseph Mede
, and his attitude to Cerinthus
, Johannes Piscator
and Johann Heinrich Alsted
in this area was negative, instead placing the Second Coming
away from terrestrial events. Johannes Cocceius
followed Walaeus in his interest in prophecy.
Controversy with the Remonstrants continued, especially with Simon Episcopius
and Johannes Arnoldi Corvinus
.
Early life
He was born at GhentGhent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
, where his father Jacques de Waele had moved from Brussels, after the execution of Lamoral, Count of Egmont
Lamoral, Count of Egmont
Lamoral, Count of Egmont, Prince of Gavere was a general and statesman in the Habsburg Netherlands just before the start of the Eighty Years' War, whose execution helped spark the national uprising that eventually led to the independence of the Netherlands.The Count of Egmont headed one of the...
in 1568. Jacques de Waele being a support of William I, Prince of Orange, the family left for Zeeland
Zeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...
in 1585.
Walaeus was educated at Middelburg
Middelburg
Middelburg is a municipality and a city in the south-western Netherlands and the capital of the province of Zeeland. It is situated in the Midden-Zeeland region. It has a population of about 48,000.- History of Middelburg :...
school, where he was taught by Jacobus Gruterus and Murdisonius, and then at the University of Leiden, under Franciscus Junius
Franciscus Junius (the elder)
Franciscus Junius , also known as Francis Junius, Franz Junius, and François du Jon, was a Huguenot scholar and theologian, and the father of Franciscus Junius the younger.-Life:...
, Lucas Trelcatius, and Franciscus Gomarus
Franciscus Gomarus
Franciscus Gomarus , was a Dutch theologian, a strict Calvinist and opponent of the teaching of Jacobus Arminius , which was formally judged at the Synod of Dort .-Life:His parents, having embraced the principles of the Reformation, emigrated to the Palatinate in 1578, in order...
. He travelled to France and Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, staying with Charles Perrot. After a time at Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
he returned to the Netherlands in 1601, and became minister at Koudekerk. He then taught at Middelburg.
Religious conflict
In the period of rising theological tension between RemonstrantsRemonstrants
The Remonstrants are the Dutch Protestants who, after the death of Jacobus Arminius, maintained the views associated with his name. In 1610 they presented to the States of Holland and Friesland a remonstrance in five articles formulating their points of disagreement from Calvinism.-History:The five...
and Contra-Remonstrants, Walaeus was on good terms with Hugo Grotius
Hugo Grotius
Hugo Grotius , also known as Huig de Groot, Hugo Grocio or Hugo de Groot, was a jurist in the Dutch Republic. With Francisco de Vitoria and Alberico Gentili he laid the foundations for international law, based on natural law...
, despite the latter's Arminian views. In 1615 Walaeus published Het Ampt der Kerckendienaren, against the leading Remonstrant and ally of Grotius, Johannes Wtenbogaert
Johannes Wtenbogaert
Johannes Wtenbogaert was a Dutch Protestant minister, a leader of the Remonstrants.-Life:Born at Utrecht, he was brought up a Roman Catholic, and attended the school of St. Jerome there. He intended a legal career, but gave it up from 1578 with Catholicism when required to cease hearing the...
, taking up the relationship of church and state. It replied to the Ampt ende Authoriteyt of Wtenbogaert, but also implicitly took aim at the Pietas Ordinum of Grotius. Its tone was quite peaceable and open to compromise; the work put Walaeus at the centre of the theological debate, but Wtenbogaert decided on a polemical reply. Gerard Vossius wrote a private letter to Grotius about Het Ampt, unsympathetic to Walaeus, which was published much later as Dissertation epistolica de iure magistratus in rebus ecclesiasticis.(1669).
In 1617 Walaeus became prominent on the Contra-Remonstrant side as a preacher at The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
. After the Synod of Dort
Synod of Dort
The Synod of Dort was a National Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618-1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive controversy initiated by the rise of Arminianism. The first meeting was on November 13, 1618, and the final meeting, the 154th, was on May 9, 1619...
of 1618–9 he was appointed to the theological faculty at Leiden. The formulation of the Five Points of Calvinism in the Canons of Dort
Canons of Dort
The Canons of Dort, or Canons of Dordrecht, formally titled The Decision of the Synod of Dort on the Five Main Points of Doctrine in Dispute in the Netherlands, is the judgment of the National Synod held in the Dutch city of Dordrecht in 1618–19...
has been attributed to Walaeus, Godefridus Udemans, and Jacobus Triglandius.
In the aftermath of the Synod, Walaeus ministered to Johan van Oldenbarneveldt before his execution. Oldenbarneveldt, Grotius, and other leaders of the Remonstrants were sentenced to death; Walaeus was asked to communicate the sentence to Oldenbarneveldt, Grotius, and Rombout Hogerbeets
Rombout Hogerbeets
Rombout Hogerbeets was a Dutch jurist and statesman. He was tried for treason, together with Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Hugo Grotius, and Gilles van Ledenberg during the political crisis of 1617-1618 in the Dutch Republic, and sentenced to life-imprisonment...
. In the case of Grotius he felt his position was too difficult, and refused. Grotius and Hogerbeets then had their sentences commuted. In the final days of Oldenbarneveldt, Walaeus acted as intermediary with Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange
Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange
Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange was sovereign Prince of Orange from 1618, on the death of his eldest half brother, Philip William, Prince of Orange,...
who had brought the religious conflict to a head as a political matter.
At Leiden
He was a New Testament and Apocrypha translator for the StatenvertalingStatenvertaling
The Statenvertaling or Statenbijbel is the first Bible translation from the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek languages to the Dutch language, ordered by the government of the Protestant Dutch Republic first published in 1637.The first complete Dutch Bible was printed in Antwerp in 1526 by Jacob...
, working with Festus Hommius
Festus Hommius
-Life:He was born into a noted Frisian family. He studied from 1593 at the University of Franeker under Sibrandus Lubbertus, travelled in 1595 to the Huguenot stronghold of La Rochelle and completed his studies from 1596 at the University of Leiden. Around 1597 Hommius became preacher of Warmond,...
and Jacobus Rolandus. In 1622 he was asked to establish a training college for missionaries at Leiden, for the Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
. Among his students was Robertus Junius the missionary.
It has been stated that Walaeus was concerned to minimise the differences between the Dutch Reformed Church and the views of John Robinson
John Robinson (pastor)
John Robinson was the pastor of the "Pilgrim Fathers" before they left on the Mayflower. He became one of the early leaders of the English Separatists, minister of the Pilgrims, and is regarded as one of the founders of the Congregational Church.-Early life:Robinson was born in Sturton le Steeple...
, minister to an English congregation in the Netherlands. After Robinson's death (1625), Walaeus wrote, in a letter published in translation by Henry Martyn Dexter
Henry Martyn Dexter
Henry Martyn Dexter , American clergyman and author, was born in Plympton, Massachusetts.He graduated at Yale in 1840 and at the Andover Theological Seminary in 1844; was pastor of a Congregational church in Manchester, New Hampshire, in 1844-1849, and of the Berkeley Street Congregational church,...
, to the effect that Robinson had looked to bridge divisions between local congregations, and wished one of his sons to train for the Dutch Reformed ministry. It has been argued that this claim (endorsed by Hommius) was made in the hope of getting funding for the education of the Robinson family, of which three sons registered at Leiden; of these, one became a minister but was not trained at Leiden.
Walaeus, with Johannes Polyander
Johannes Polyander
Johannes Polyander van den Kerckhoven was a Dutch Calvinist theologian, a Contra-Remonstrant but considered of moderate views.-Life:...
and Anthony Thysius of the Leiden faculty, gave advice as an eirenic moderate on other matters concerning the English congregations, in 1633–4. They questioned the means used to effect liturgical changes, and advised that the De conscientia of William Ames
William Ames
William Ames was an English Protestant divine, philosopher, and controversialist...
should be revised for its aggressive tone against the Church of England.
His portrait was painted by David Bailly
David Bailly
-Biography:Bailly was born at Leyden in the Dutch Republic, the son of a Flemish immigrant, calligrapher and fencing master, Peter Bailly. As a draftsman, David was pupil of his father and the copper engraver Jacques de Gheyn....
.
Works
His Compendium ethicae Aristotelicae was based on courses at Middleburg school. In defining an eclectic moral philosophy that would nevertheless be acceptable to Christians, Walaeus chose the Nichomachean Ethics of AristotleAristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
as a basis, to be corrected, despite a view that Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
was the superior moral philosopher as Aristotle was the better physicist; he used Aristotle's classification of virtues rather than the Protestant Lambert Daneau
Lambert Daneau
-Life:He was born at Beaugency-sur-Loire, and educated at Orléans. He studied Greek under Adrianus Turnebus, and then law in Orléans from 1553. He moved to Bourges in 1559; he was particularly influenced by François Hotman, and by Anne du Bourg, who was executed in that year for heresy.He went to...
's reliance on the Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
. Plato's purifying virtues were matched to the account in the Beatitudes
Beatitudes
In Christianity, the Beatitudes are a set of teachings by Jesus that appear in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The term Beatitude comes from the Latin adjective beatus which means happy, fortunate, or blissful....
; but in the end Plato was found to lack Christian theological concepts. In discussing the supreme good he defended the tenet of Stoicism
Stoicism
Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early . The Stoics taught that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment, and that a sage, or person of "moral and intellectual perfection," would not suffer such emotions.Stoics were concerned...
that it consists of good habits; the Epicurean view might be corrected in its more abstract form of "mental joy", though not as physical pleasure. Moral philosophy included politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
and economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, as well as ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
.
In his Enchiridion religionis reformae, an introductory seminary text, Walaeus gives a simplified form of the arguments of Zacharias Ursinus
Zacharias Ursinus
Zacharias Ursinus was a sixteenth century German Reformed theologian, born Zacharias Baer in Breslau . He became the leading theologian of the Reformed Protestant movement of the Palatinate, serving both at the University of Heidelberg and the College of Wisdom...
on natural theology
Natural theology
Natural theology is a branch of theology based on reason and ordinary experience. Thus it is distinguished from revealed theology which is based on scripture and religious experiences of various kinds; and also from transcendental theology, theology from a priori reasoning.Marcus Terentius Varro ...
; and relies little on Scripture for the existence of God
Existence of God
Arguments for and against the existence of God have been proposed by philosophers, theologians, scientists, and others. In philosophical terms, arguments for and against the existence of God involve primarily the sub-disciplines of epistemology and ontology , but also of the theory of value, since...
. His Loci communibus sacrae theologiae et consiliis is a more advanced text, and develops a philosophical theism
Theism
Theism, in the broadest sense, is the belief that at least one deity exists.In a more specific sense, theism refers to a doctrine concerning the nature of a monotheistic God and God's relationship to the universe....
. Along with Franciscus Gomarus
Franciscus Gomarus
Franciscus Gomarus , was a Dutch theologian, a strict Calvinist and opponent of the teaching of Jacobus Arminius , which was formally judged at the Synod of Dort .-Life:His parents, having embraced the principles of the Reformation, emigrated to the Palatinate in 1578, in order...
, Walaeus accepted a theory of middle knowledge of God (scientia media), more often associated with Molinism
Molinism
Molinism, named after 16th Century Jesuit theologian Luis de Molina, is a religious doctrine which attempts to reconcile the providence of God with human free will. William Lane Craig is probably its best known advocate today, though other important Molinists include Alfred Freddoso, Alvin...
.
Synopsis purioris theologiae disputationibus quinquaginta duabus comprehensa (1625) with his colleagues Johannes Polyander, André Rivet
André Rivet
André Rivet was a French Huguenot theologian.-Life:He was born at Saint-Maixent, 43 km southwest of Poitiers, France. After completing his education at Berne, he studied theology privately at Berne and La Rochelle, and from 1595 to 1620 was at Thouars, first as chaplain of the duke of La...
and Anthony Thysius attempted to settle the Leiden view on controversial issues as a united front. Further, the Leiden Synopsis was intended to provide a Dutch Reformed orthodoxy, providing a manual of 880 pages covering 52 disputations, a resource for apologetics
Apologetics
Apologetics is the discipline of defending a position through the systematic use of reason. Early Christian writers Apologetics (from Greek ἀπολογία, "speaking in defense") is the discipline of defending a position (often religious) through the systematic use of reason. Early Christian writers...
.
The posthumous Opera Omnia (1643) contains De opinione chiliastarum with views on millennarianism. Walaeus had corresponded with Joseph Mede
Joseph Mede
Joseph Mede was an English scholar with a wide range of interests. He was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he became a Fellow from 1613. He is now remembered as a biblical scholar. He was also a naturalist and Egyptologist...
, and his attitude to Cerinthus
Cerinthus
Cerinthus was a gnostic and to some, an early Christian, who was prominent as a "heresiarch" in the view of the early Church Fathers. Contrary to proto-orthodox Christianity, Cerinthus's school followed the Jewish law, used the Gospel according to the Hebrews, denied that the Supreme God had made...
, Johannes Piscator
Johannes Piscator
Johannes Piscator was a German Reformed theologian, known as a Bible translator and textbook writer.He was a prolific writer, and initially moved around as he held a number of positions...
and Johann Heinrich Alsted
Johann Heinrich Alsted
Johann Heinrich Alsted was a German Calvinist minister and academic, known for his varied interests: in Ramism and Lullism, pedagogy and encyclopedias, theology and millennarianism.-Life:...
in this area was negative, instead placing the Second Coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
away from terrestrial events. Johannes Cocceius
Johannes Cocceius
Johannes Cocceius , Dutch theologian, was born at Bremen.-Life:After studying at Hamburg and the University of Franeker, where Sixtinus Amama was one of his teachers, he became in 1630 professor of biblical philology at the Gymnasium illustre in his native town...
followed Walaeus in his interest in prophecy.
Controversy with the Remonstrants continued, especially with Simon Episcopius
Simon Episcopius
Simon Episcopius was a Dutch theologian and Remonstrant who played a significant role at the Synod of Dort in 1618...
and Johannes Arnoldi Corvinus
Johannes Arnoldi Corvinus
Johannes Arnoldi Corvinus was a Dutch Remonstrant minister and jurist.-Life:He was born in Leiden, and in 1606 was a Calvinist preacher there. A pupil of Jacobus Arminius, he took up the Arminian views, he was a public supporter of them by 1609, and in 1610 signed the Five Articles of Remonstrance...
.