Abstract
Although Pierre Bayle sacrificed his plan to establish himself in England and came instead to Rotterdam to teach at a mediocre school, he quickly learned, to his great consolation, that the Holland of his day had become Europe’s intellectual crossroads.1 The Promethean character of the new northern European power was not, as Bayle discovered, preternatural. Because of its favoured geographic location, its commercial and financial wealth, its unique political particularism, and its toleration for new ideas,2 Europe’s book publishing and distribution had come to be centered in the Dutch Republic.3 Controversial authors whose manuscripts were rejected by censors in their own country found Dutch publishers ready to print and disseminate works appealing to a variety of readers’ tastes. When the Amsterdam publisher, Henri Desbordes, approached Bayle in 1684 and offered to issue a new periodical to be edited by Bayle for scholars and the general educated reading public, Bayle did not hesitate or doubt the commercial feasibility of such a venture. Aptly entitled the Nouvelles de la République des Lettres, Bayle’s journal quickly filled a real need among both the “producers” and the “consumers” of the thought world of the international Respublica litteraria et Christiana.4
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Notes
Paul Dibon, “Les Provinces-Unies, carrefour intellectuel de l’Europe du XVIIe siècle,” in Ecole pratique des Hautes Etudes, IVe Section, Annuaire, 1965–1966, 98 (Paris, 1966), 363-73.
Johan Huizinga, Nederland’s beschaving in de zeventiende eeuw, in Verzamelde Werken, 9 vols. (Haarlem, 1948-53), II, 412-507; Herman A. Enno van Gelder, Getemperde wijheid. Een verhandeling over de verhouding van Kerk en Staat in de Republiek der Verenigde Nederlanden en de vrijheid van meningsuiting in zake godsdienst, drukpers en onderwijs, gedurende de 17e eeuw (Groningen, 1972); Reesink, L’Angleterre et la littérature anglaise dans les trois plus anciens périodiques français de Hollande, 4-34, 62-86; Louis Ulbach, ed., La Hollande et la liberté de penser au XVIIe et au XVIIIe siècle (Paris, 1888).
Isabelle Henriette van Eeghen, De Amsterdamse Boekhandel, 1680–1725, 5 vols. (Amsterdam, 1960–79); Herman de la Fontaine Verwey, Vit de wereld van het boek, I: Drukkers, liefhebbers en piraten uit de zeventiende eeuw (Amsterdam, 1976); David W. Davies, The World of the Elseviers, 1580–1712 (The Hague, 1954); Alphonse Willems, Les Elzevier. Histoire et annales typographiques (Brussels, The Hague, and Paris, 1880); Ernst F. Kossmann, De Boekhandel te’ s-Gravenhage tot het eind van de 18de eeuw (The Hague, 1937); Lankhorst, Reinier Leers; Eugène Hatin, Les gazettes de Hollande et la presse clandestine aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles (Paris, 1865); C.G. Gibbs, “The Role of the Dutch Republic as the Intellectual Entrepot of Europe in the 17th and 18th Centuries,” Bijdragen en Mededelingen betreffende de Geschiedenis der Nederlanden, 86 (1971), 323-49.
Sgard, Dictionnaire des journalistes, 25-26; Reesink, L’Angleterre et la littérature anglaise dans les trois plus anciens périodiques français de Hollande, 91-128, and passim; Elisabeth Labrousse, “Les coulisses du journal de Bayle,” in Dibon, Pierre Bayle, le philosophe de Rotterdam, 97-141; Haase, Einführung in die Literatur des Refuge, 405-12, and passim; Louis P. Betz, Pierre Bayle und die Nouvelles de la République des Lettres, erste populärwissenschaftlische Zeitschrift, 1684–1687 (Zürich, 1896); Edmond Lacoste, Bayle nouvelliste et critique littéraire (Paris, 1929), 47-121.
Sgard, Dictionnaire des journalistes, 233-34; Reesink, L’Angleterre et la littérature anglaise dans les trois plus anciens périodiques français de Hollande, 95-96, 106-07, 110-13, 116-21, 124-27, 197-288; Barnes, Jean Le Clerc, 114-20, 155-87; Haase, Einführung in die Literatur des Refuge, 412, and passim; and esp. Hans Bots et al., De “Bibliothèque Universelle et Historique” (1686–1693). Een periodiek als trefpunt van Geletterd Europa (Amsterdam and Maarssen, 1982). Le Clerc edited the Bibliothèque Universelle et Historique in 26 vols. between 1686–93; at the same time he collaborated with Larroque, Bernard, and Barrin — the new editors of the Nouvelles de la République des Lettres — between 1687–89. From 1703–08, he edited the Bibliothèque Choisie pour servir de suite à la Bibliothèque Universelle, which appeared in 27 vols. This was followed by his Bibliothèque Ancienne et Moderne (pour servir de suite aux Bibliothèques Universelles et Choisie), which Le Clerc edited between 1714-26 in 29 vols.
Bots et al., “Bibliothèque Universelle et Historique”, 82-85, 378-80; Bonno, Les relations intellectuelles de Locke avec la France, 165-67, 172-175; Barnes, Jean le Clerc, 156-59.
See supra, ch. 1, n. 31; esp. Bots, Henri Basnage de Beauval en de Histoire des Ouvrages des Savons; idem, “L’esprit de la République des Lettres et la tolérance dans les trois premiers périodiques savants hollandais,” 48-57; Reesink, L’Angleterre et la littérature anglaise dans les trois plus anciens périodiques français de Hollande, 96-98, 107, 116-23, 289-397.
HOS (September 1687), first 6 unnumbered pp. before p. 1.
P. Bayle to P. Coste, August 30, 1701, in Bayle, OD, IV, 805.
At a time when progress in the sciences characterized the age, it is surprising that books on the sciences did not receive as much coverage in the Histoire des Ouvrages des Savans as they could have. The one exception is Basnage de Beauval’s personal interest in the works of Christiaan Huygens.
The most important were: Sir Hans Sloane, John Mill, and Pierre Desmaizeaux in England; Abbé Jean-Paul Bignon, Abbé Gilles Ménage, François Pinsson des Riolles, and François Graverol in France; Abate Antonio Magliabecchi in Florence; Jean-Alphonse Turrettini in Geneva; G.W. Leibniz in the Germanies; Gijsbert Cuper, Johannes Georgius Graevius, Cornelis van Eck, and Theodor Jansson van Almeloveen in the United Provinces.
Although it is impossible to indicate circulation figures for the HOS, the success of Basnage de Beauval’s publishing venture may be deduced from the research of Daniel Mornet, “Les enseignements des bibliothèques privées (1750–1780),” Revue d’Histoire littéraire de la France, XVII (1910), 497. After studying 500 French catalogues of private libraries auctioned between 1750 and 1780, Mornet discovered that the HOS was listed in 74 catalogues, making it fifth in rank among journals represented in French collections. In comparison, the NRL and the three different Bibliothèques edited by Le Clerc were both listed in 101 catalogues and, hence, tied for second place. After the HOS, the sixth ranking periodical was the Mémoires de Trévoux, found listed in only 50 catalogues.
Bayle, DHC, art. Basnage (Henri), rem. A.
Basnage de Beauval was one of twelve fellows chosen during 1697. See The Record of the Royal Society of London, 3rd ed. rev. (London, 1912), 321.
Conlon, Prélude au siècle des Lumières en France, II, 445.
Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, Biographischer Index der Mitglieder, ed. K.R. Biermann, and G. Dunken (Berlin, 1960), 7. Jacques Basnage was elected a corresponding member only on January 8, 1711 (loc. cit.).
Mémoires de Trévoux (November 1710), 1925-32. Henri Basnage de Beauval’s personal library was sold at auction in The Hague on July 1, 1711. Unfortunately, no auction catalogue has survived to indicate the extent of his collections, or the price each lot was sold for, or who the purchasers might have been.
Nicéron, Mémoires, II, 206-13.
Jean Sgard, “D.F. Camusat et l’Histoire critique des Journaux,” in L’étude des périodiques anciens. Colloque d’Utrecht, ed. Marianne Couperus (Paris, 1972), 32-52.
See Michèle Duchet, “L’information au service de l’analyse des textes,” Revue d’Histoire littéraire de la France, LXX (1970), 798-809.
Ed. Jean Sgard with the assistance of Michel Gilot and Françoise Weil (Grenoble, 1976). Henri Basnage de Beauval is listed by name only. No commissioned article on him was available or forthcoming at the time to the editors. A limited but outdated bibliography of secondary works is, however, included.
See her published doctoral dissertation, which brilliantly demonstrates methods utilized by the Centre d’Etudes des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, Un périodique français en Hollande. “Le Glaneur historique” (1731–1733) (The Hague and Paris, 1971).
Ed. Marianne C. Couperus (Paris, 1972).
Ed. Hans Bots (Amsterdam, 1976).
Ibid., I, vii.
Anton Schuurman, “Henri Basnage de Beauval en de Histoire des Ouvrages des Savans (1687-1709),” ibid., I, 1-108; Herman Broekmans, Ton Gruntjes, and Hans Bots, “Het beeld van de Republiek der Letteren in het tijdschrift van H. Basnage de Beauval,” ibid., I, 109-35; Alex Nuijten, “Reformatorische bewegingen in de ‘Histoire des Ouvrages des Savans’,” ibid., I, 137-76; Henk Nellen, “Controverses binnen de Refuge: Bayle, Jurieu en Basnage,” ibid., I, 177-221; Kees van den Oord, “Basnage de Beauval en de herroeping van het Edict van Nantes,” ibid., I, 223-67; Hans van Poll, “Gregorio Leti en Antoine Varillas in de ‘Histoire des Ouvrages des Savans’,” ibid., I,-303; Giel van Gemert, “De Jezuïeten in de ‘Histoire des Ouvrages des Savans’,” ibid., I, 305-51; Lex Hartman, “Henri Basnage de Beauval en het intellectuele leven in de Duitse landen van zijn tijd,” ibid., II, 1-80; Lenie van Lieshout, “Op de Drempel van de Verlichting,” ibid., II;, 81-160; Jan van Wijnhoven, “De Engelse Wijsbegeerte in de Histoire des Ouvrages des Savans,” ibid., II, 161-81; Jan de Vet, “John Locke in de ‘Histoire des Ouvrages des Savans’,” ibid., II, 183-269; and Math. Meyer, “Enkele natuurwetenschappelijke artikelen in de Histoire des Ouvrages des Savans. Een summiere verkenning,” ibid., II, 271-301. The edition of the Histoire des Ouvrages des Savans utilized for the above studies was the one reprinted by Slatkine (Geneva, 1969).
Schuurman, “Henri Basnage de Beauval en de Histoire des Ouvrages des Savans (1687–1709),” 55-56. Jacques Basnage probably suggested his brother as a likely candidate to Bayle to serve as his successor.
BRUL, MS BPL 127 AH, fols. 110-57. Unfortunately, Basnage did not maintain his list of his book review articles after July 1703. Le Vier printed the date and article number for each entry found in the above MS in his “Eloge historique de M. Basnage,” xv, n. e. But he inadvertently omitted 5 entries, and personal or typeographical errors account for another five mis-identifications. Anneke Canoy consulted the original manuscript in Jacques Basnage’s “Journaux historiques, politiques et littéraires” and compiled a complete account of date of publication in the HOS, article number, page numbers, together with the author’s name or name of the editor, title of the work, place of publication, and date of publication. In spite of great care, some minor errors are to be found in her list (see Bots, Henri Basnage de Beauval en de Histoire des Ouvrages des Savons, I, 95-100).
In two of his book review articles, HOS (August 1692), art. x, 519-33, and (April 1703), art. iii, 170-93, Basnage indicated two other book review articles written by him but which do not figure in his manuscript list cited supra, n. 28. Since he used the editorial “nous,” he may be taken for his word, or he may be interpreted as being spokesperson for the HOS rather than being the actual reviewer in question. The two reviews for which he may be credited are: George Bull [Bullus], Defensio fidei Nicaenae, ex scriptis, quae extant, Catholicorum Doctorum… (Oxford, 1688), reviewed in HOS (September 1688), art. xii, 108-20; and Thierry Ruinart, Acta Primorum Martyrum sincera & selecta… (Paris, 1689), reviewed in HOS (October 1690), art. vi, 47-56.
See Haag, FP, II, 14.
“Dissertation Historique sur l’usage de la Benediction nuptiale,” HOS (January 1703), art. iii, 23-72; “Dissertation de Mr. Basnage sur la maniere dont le canon de l’Ecriture Sainte s’est formé pour servir d’apologie à ce qu’il en a dit dans l’Histoire de l’Eglise, contre la preface de Mr. Richardson au livre intitulé The Canon of the New Testament indicated in answer to the objections of 3. T. in his Amyntor,”ibid. (January 1704), art. ii, 18-64; “Dissertation sur l’Antiquité de la Monnoye & des Medailles des Juifs & sur la Préférence des caractères Samaritaines aux Hebreux,” ibid. (January 1709), art. iv, 32-72.
Ibid. (December 1706), art. ix, 545-56.
One has only to compare Basnage’s book reviews with that of the anonymous review, perhaps by Henri Basnage de Beauval, of the French translation of John Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding, printed in Amsterdam in 1700, to grasp the difference between poorly written articles and truly remarkable contributions that appeared in the HOS. Cf. ibid. (July 1700), art. i, 291-308.
Ibid. (August 1692), art. x, 519-33.
Lucii Caecilii Firmiani Lactantii de Mortibus Persecutorum. Cum nous Stephani Baluzii Tutelensis qui primus ex veteri codice MS. Bibliotheca Colbertinae vulgavit. Editio seconda… (Rotterdam, 1692). For a bibliography of Bauldri’s published works, see [Paquot], Mémoires, I, 359-60; Haag, FP, II, 53-54.
HOS (August 1692), art. x, 520.
Ibid., 532.
Basnage’s judgment proved to be correct. Bauldri’s critical notes to Lactantius’s De Mortibus Persecutorum were reissued by the abbé Nicolas Lenglet Du Fresnoy in his Paris 1748 edition of Lucti Caecilii Firmiani Lactantii Opera omnia: editio novissima…, II, 530-760.
According to Haag, FP, II, 14, Jacques Basnage was also a contributor to the Lettres historiques contenant ce qui s’est passé de plus important en Europe et les réflexions convenables à ce sujet, which was published in The Hague and in Amsterdam between 1692 and 1728. This is very likely because Henri Basnage de Beauval served as one of its editors for a time. It would, however, be extremely difficult to identify those articles which Jacques Basnage may have written for the Lettres historiques. See Emile Bourgeois and Louis André, Les sources de l’Histoire de France. XVIIe siècle (1610–1715), 8 vols. (Paris, 1913–35), IV, 49; and Sgard, Dictionnaire des journalistes, 34-38.
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Cerny, G. (1987). Contributor to the Histoire des Ouvrages des Savons: Journalism in the Service of the Republic of Letters. In: Theology, Politics and Letters at the Crossroads of European Civilization. Archives Internationales D’Histoire Des Idees International Archives of the History of Ideas, vol 107. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4343-8_8
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