Franciscus van den Enden
Franciscus van den Enden, in later life also known as 'Affinius' (Latinized form of 'Van den Enden')[1][2][3] (c. 5 February 1602 – 27 November 1674) was a Flemish former Jesuit,[4] Neo-Latin poet, physician, art dealer, philosopher, and plotter against Louis XIV of France. Born in Antwerp, where he had a truncated career as a Jesuit and an art dealer, he moved later to the Dutch Republic where he became part of a group of radical thinkers sometimes referred to as the Amsterdam Circle, who challenged prevailing views on politics and religion.[5] He held strong ideas about education, and viewed theater as an important teaching tool. He was a Utopian planning to set up an ideal society in the Dutch colonies in America and a proponent of democracy in the administration of states. He is best known as the Latin teacher of Spinoza (1632–1677), with whom Spinoza boarded for a period. Scholars have examined Van den Enden's philosophical ideas and those of Spinoza to assess whether he influenced his pupil,[6] Spinoza biographer Steven Nadler suggests this is not the case.[7] Spinoza biographer Jonathan I. Israel argues that Van den Enden preceded Spinoza in writing radical philosophical texts with a combination of democratic republicanism, rejection of religious authority, and advocacy for basic equality, building on the influence of Pieter de la Court, but only after Spinoza left Amsterdam.[8] Van den Enden was implicated in a plot against Louis XIV and executed by hanging.[9]
Franciscus van den Enden
5 February 1602
27 November 1674 (aged 72)
Importance[edit]
Jonathan Israel contends that Van den Enden's "chief contribution to the formation of radical thought and the Amsterdam 'atheist' circle was undoubtedly hid impassioned and revolutionary summons to 'enlighten' the common people" via education"[12] A central question concerning Franciscus van den Enden is whether and to what extent he was an influence on the philosophy of his pupil Spinoza. This question was raised by Meinsma. In 1990 Marc Bedjai and Wim Klever, independently from each other, established that Van den Enden was the author of two anonymous pamphlets, the Kort Verhael van Nieuw-Nederlants (Brief Account of New Netherland) and the Vrye Politijke Stellingen (Free Political Proposals). Mainly on the basis of the last work the claim was made, most strongly by Klever, that the whole of Spinozist philosophy had been developed by Van den Enden. The idea of a strong influence on Spinoza was later adopted in biographies of Spinoza Steven Nadler and by Margaret Gullan-Whur. A thorough analysis of both pamphlets shows that a possible influence was rather limited and the chronology of the sources does not allow it to be determined whether it was the teacher who influenced the pupil or whether it was the other way around.
Apart from this question, which due to the fragmentary source material will probably never be answered with certainty, Van den Enden's later writings are of great interest. It is clear, for instance, that together with Johan de la Court, he should be counted among the earliest Dutch-writing and Early-Modern promoters of democracy. His defence of religious toleration, a secular state, public education and less cruel forms of justice situate him within the Early Enlightenment. Moreover, his radical rejection of slavery is unique, even within his circle of Amsterdam freethinkers. Finally, Van den Enden's concern for social problems and his proposals for organized forms of solidarity, presumably influenced by Plockhoy, must be considered original for his time.
