SPIEGHEL,H.L. H.L. Spieghels Hartspiegel, in nieuwer Taal en Dichtmaat overgebracht door Mr. Willem Bilderdijk. Amsterdam (Te Amsterdam), By Ten Brink & De Vries, 1828. 8vo. (II),8,112,(2) p. Contemporary grey boards. 23 cm (Details: Engraving on the title, designed by Willem Bilderdijk and executed by Elizabeth Schmetterling; depicted are an ancre, a cross and a torch, in the center is a mirror with a heart on top, the 'hartspiegel' (mirror of the heart); a snake, coiling around the ancre, and going underneath the cross, bites in the hilt of the torch; the motto, placed left and right of the mirror, reads 'elk ... hem zelf', where the mirror stands also for the verb 'mirror'; the meaning of this constellation is explained by Bilderdijk at the end of the preface, where he ends: 'Ik sluit met de spreuk onzes Zeeuwschen Hoofddichters (Jacob Cats, 1577-1660) 'Elk spiegele hem-zelven'; Bilderdijk refers here to the motto on the title page of Cat's collection of Dutch proverbs 'Spiegel van den ouden ende nieuwen tijdt' (The Hague 1632). Is this snake the snake of paradise, trying to steal the torch, but being crushed by the Cross?) (Condition: Binding worn at the extremes. Back dustsoiled) (Note: Hendrik Laurenszoon Spieghel, or Spiegel, 1549-1612, is one of the most important writers and thinkers in the Dutch Republic during the turn of the 16th and 17th century. He is seen as a forerunner to the Dutch Golden Age, with giants as Vondel, Hooft and Huygens. Spieghel's principal work is the Hart-spiegel or Hertspieghel (Mirror of the Heart) published posthumously in 1614. In this didactic and moralistic poetic work Spieghel expounds his views on the human condition and how to lead a virtuous life. The essential idea of ​​the Hertspiehel is that virtue makes a man happy and that this is in itself a reward. To accomplish this, the author submits the inner life of man (himself) to a precise reflection. Spieghel upholds the freedom of will. Self-knowledge is the foundation of self-development, and the starting point for achieving virtue. § Spieghel is a difficult poet, who loves to use archaic words and invent neologisms, and who is difficult reading for those who are not familiar with the Bible, classical antiquity and ancient literature. His style is obscure, complex and concise, and sometimes lacks clarity. But once the reader has grown accustomed to Spieghel's style and views, it is clear that the Hertspieghel, which voices opinions of the pre 1600 generation, is one of the first modern Dutch poems. For this work Spieghel asked the usual approbation of the Roman Catholic Church, and for this purpose he sent the manuscript to Louvain, but it was returned without the necessary approbation, with the remark that the work was incomprehensible. Still it found readers who were interested in Spieghels ethics. In 1615, a second edition was published. § The Dutch historian and poet Willem Bilderdijk, 1756-1831, published in 1828 a new version, or rather adaptation, of the 'Hartspiegel'. In the preface he informs the reader that he left out almost a quarter of the verses, omitting Spieghel's repetitions, his words of praise of heathen philosophers, and the passages he deemed vulgar. He boasts finally that nothing essential was lost in his version. (Voorrede, p./ 7/8)) (Collation: pi6, A-G8, H6 (leaf H6 blank)) (Photographs on request)
Book number: 155274 Euro 80.00

Keywords: (Oude Druk), (Rare Books), Dutch imprints, Dutch literature, Niederländische Literatur, Philosophie, philosophy