Jacobus Revius

Jacobus Revius
Born	Jakob Reefsen November 1586 Deventer, Lordship of Overijssel
Died	(1658-11-15)November 15, 1658 Leiden, Holland, Dutch Republic
Occupation(s)	poet, theologian, church historian

Jacobus Revius (born Jakob Reefsen; November 1586 – 15 November 1658) was a

,

…the real spirit of Calvinism, in its unimpeachable austerity, in its ferocity as well as in its self-abnegation, was personified in Revius […][1]

Life

Revius was born in

His closing years were embittered by the rise of Cartesianism, to which he was intensely opposed. A rare Hebrew scholar, Revius was also a prolific writer. He showed, however, a domineering disposition and exercised a vehement polemic, as shown in his struggle with Cartesianism and the Remonstrants. While endeavoring to avoid the contemporary controversy whether men might wear long hair, he was obliged to defend his moderate position.^[4] He died in Leiden.

Thought

Revius’ work is sometimes passionately militant, sometimes deeply devout and religious, Calvinistic but also Renaissancistic. His Over-Ysselsche Sangen en Dichten of 1630 contains both a long section of poems on Biblical topics, and mixed secular poems. It was heavily influenced by French Catholic literature.^[5]

Against the

he wrote especially his Statera philosophise Cartesiante (Leyden, 1650) and Theke, hoc eat levitas defensionia Cartesian (Letter, 1653). In support of the rights of the Church he wrote his Examen ... seu de potestate magistratuum reformatorum circa res erelesiastieas (Amsterdam, 1642), and his Uittreksels ... over de macht der merheid in het afzetten van predikanten (Leyden, 1650).

His most famous poem is Hy droegh onse smerten (He carried our sorrows) with its first line "T' en sijn de Joden niet, Heer Jesu, die u cruysten" (It's not the Jews, Lord Jesus, who crucified you). Although in this poem Revius seems to stand up for the Jews, he is believed to have been

, as a Christian, and especially a Calvinist, was expected to be in those days. Much of Revius' other work is steeped in anti-Semitism.

Legacy

In his own time, Revius was not popular and he was mostly known for his controversial writings and his history of Deventer; Daventriae illustratae (1651). Today, he is one of the few 17th century Dutch poets whose work is still being read and sung. Het Liedboek voor de Kerken, the most commonly used hymn book in the Netherlands, features seven of his poems in modernized spelling.

In many towns in the Netherlands, streets have been named after him, such as Reviusdreef (Revius avenue) in Leiderdorp, Reviusplein (Revius square) in Maassluis, Reviusstraat (Revius street) in Hazerswoude-Rijndijk and de Jacobs Reviuslaan (the Jacob Revius lane) in Eindhoven.

Works

• Suarez repurgatus sive syllabus Disputationum metaphysicarum, Lugduni, 1648.
• Methodi Cartesianæ consideratio theologica, Lugduni, 1648.
• Statera philosophiae Cartesianae, Lugduni, 1650.
• Selected Poems of Jacobus Revius, Dutch Metaphysical Poet, Detroit, Wayne State University Press, 1968.

Notes

Further reading

• Aza Goudriaan (editor), Jacobus Revius, a Theological Examination of Cartesian Philosophy: Early Criticisms (1647), Leiden: Brill, 2002.

External links

• Lied and Art Song Texts Page^{[permanent dead link]}

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the

)