GERARD VAN SWIETEN AND HIS WORLD I 700-I 772

Transcription

1 GERARD VAN SWIETEN AND HIS WORLD I 700-I 772

2 ARCHIVES INTERNATIONALES D'HISTOIRE DES IDEES INTERNATIONAL ARCHIVES OF THE HISTORY OF IDEAS FRANK T. BRECHKA GERARD VAN SWIETEN AND HIS WORLD Directors: P. Dibon (Paris) and R. Popkin (Univ. of California, La Jolla) Editorial Board: J. Aubin (Paris); J. Collins (St. Louis Univ.); P. Costabel (Paris); A. Crombie (Oxford); I. Dambska (Cracow); H. de la Fontaine-Verwey (Amsterdam); H. Gadamer (Heidelberg); H. Gouhier (Paris); T. Gregory (Rome); T.E. Jessop (Hull); A. Koyret «Paris); P. O. Kristeller (Columbia Univ.); Elisabeth Labrousse (Paris); S. Lindroth (Upsala); A. Lossky (Los Angeles); P. Mesnard (Tours); J. Orcibal (Paris); I. S. Revah (Paris); G. Sebab (Emory Univ., Atlanta); R. Shackleton (Oxford); J. Tans (Groningen); G. Tonelli (pise).

3 I. GERARD VAN SWIETEN. From a contemporary print by R. Vinkelcs. (Courte~y Rijksmuseum voor de Geschiedenis de?" NatuurwetenscilapjJell, Leiden)

4 FRANK T. BRECHKA GERARD VAN SWIETEN AND HIS WORLD MARTINUS NI]HOFF - THE HAGUE

5 1970 by MartiTUls Nijhoff, The Hague, Netherlands Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1970 All rights reserved, including the right to translate or to reproduce this book or parts thereof in any form ISBN -13, e-isbn -13, DOl, /

6 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In my research I have been aided by so many persons it is difficult - indeed, it seems almost unfair - to acknowledge individuals by name. lowe special thanks, however, to the following: In Holland, where I received so many warm welcomes, to the United States Educational Foundation in the Netherlands, for a Fulbright award which made my study financially possible; to the Foundation's staff, particularly Mr. Alphons J. M. de Leeuw and Mevr. M. S. van Doorne, for their help, advice, and introductions; to ProfessorsJ. Dankmeijer and K. Hidding (and his family) of Lei den University, for their kind hospitality and counsel; to Mr. Th. J. Meijer of the Academisch Historisch Museum at Leiden University, Mr. A. Groeneweg and Mr. P. F. Obbema and other staff members of the University Library in Leiden, Mevr. W. Vriend-Vermeer of the Rijksmuseum voor de Geschiedenis der Natuurwetenschappen at Leiden, and Mr. W. Downer and Mr. B. N. Leverland of the Gemeente Archief Leiden, for their patience, time, and countless acts of assistance far beyond their duty; to Mr. J. A. Jaeger and other staff of the Algemeen Rijksarchief in The Hague, to the staff of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek in The Hague, to Prof. G. A. Lindeboom of the Free University of Amsterdam, to the staff of the University of Amsterdam Library, and to Dr. A. J. van de Ven of the Archief der Oud-Bisschoppelijke Clerezij in Utrecht, for their aid, counsel, and opinions. In Vienna, to Prof. A. Porhansl of the Austrian-American Educational Commission, for helpful introductions; to Dr. Christiane Thomas, Hr. V. B. Pillich, and other members of the staff of the Staatsarchiv for their extremely valuable assistance; and to Prof. F. Unterkircher and staff of the L>sterreichische N ationalbibliothek, for their help. I am also greatly indebted to Dr. J. J. Woltjer of the University of Leiden for his enthusiastic counsel and scholarly guidance.

7 VIn ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Above all, my thanks to Prot William B. Slottman ofthe University of California, Berkeley. No young historian could possibly be favored with a more generous adviser. His knowledge, incisive scholarship, and kindly direction, his encouragement and abiding humor, made my study not only possible but exciting. Whatever merit this book may have is, without question, the result of such favor and assistance; errors of commission and omission are my own. For their assistance in publishing this work, I am very grateful to Martinus Njjhoff, especially to their Director, Dr. H.J. H. Hartgerink, and the editors of the series International Archives of the History of Ideas.

8 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS INTRODUCTION: Q,UALITIES, Q,UERIES, AND REPUTE I. THE EARLY YEARS The Family Van Swieten The Varieties of Faith Louvain II. LEIDEN The University Doctor Van Swieten The Town A Death in Brussels III. MARIA THERESA IV. VIENNA The First Responsibility Books and Censorship Reform: the Teaching and Practice of Medicine The Great Van Swieten CONCLUSION: A Q,UESTION OF ENLIGHTENMENT BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX VII x I 7 7 II III III

9 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS I. Portrait of Gerard van Swieten frontispiece 2. The Academy Building and Botanical Gardens at Leiden Portrait of Herman Boerhaave Title Page from the London Edition of Van Swieten's Commentaries, Volume I, Portrait of the Empress Maria Theresa The University in Vienna, 1790 lib 7. The Court Library in Vienna, 1780 I19

10 For M., andfor B., and the years ago.