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Volume 51, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 0167-0441
  • E-ISSN: 3051-3634
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Abstract

Abstract

In his polemic against Justus Lipsius (1590), Coornhert passionately argued that individuals must stand up for their faith. This marked a sharp contrast with the position he had defended in his (1560). At that time, Coornhert had advocated a stance closely aligned with that of the Family of Love and its leader, Hendrick Niclaes: it could be wise not to openly confess one’s faith or risk one’s life for what were merely external forms. A person should try to avoid an untimely.

By 1590, however, Coornhert viewed religious diversity as a given, and he had come to see open debate as the way to peaceful coexistence. In his view, believers had a duty to challenge one another’s errors—and everyone, in principle, was entitled to do so. For Coornhert, freedom of speech was not only a natural right and a Christian obligation, but also a fundamental element of Dutch liberty.

When Justus Lipsius argued in his (1589) that one should conform outwardly to the prevailing religion and refrain from openly professing a divergent faith, Coornhert responded forcefully. Their polemic was both a principled exchange over freedom of expression and the role of the vernacular in that context, and a fraternal quarrel between former allies.

© Mirjam van Veen
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2025-09-01
2025-12-15
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Keyword(s): Coornhert; Disputationv; Lipsius; Toleration; Vernacular
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