JOOST VAN DEN VONDEL’S

REFLECTIONS Joost van den Vondel (1587–1679) was the preeminent poet and playwright of the Dutch Golden Age. This work represents his late-career philosophical poetry.

On

GOD and RELIGION.

Against the atheists original: ongodiſten, a 17th-century term for those who lack or deny God, deniers

of the Godhead or divine providence.

From the Epistle to the Hebrews.

Whoever comes to God must acknowledge that he exists,
and that he rewards those who seek him. original: Wie Gode genaeckt moet bekennen dat hy is, en beloont die hem zuecken. This is a translation of Hebrews 11:6.

An ornate engraving of a stone draw-well with a wooden frame and pulley system from which a bucket is suspended. The well is decorated with a carved garland and a central lion's head mask. Below the well is a rectangular plaque containing the motto: EVERYONE IN THEIR TURN original: "ELCK ZYN BEURT." This was the printer's mark of the De Wees family.

at AMSTERDAM,

By the widow of ABRAHAM de WEES, on the Middel-

dam, 1662.

The date is written in the original as CIƆ IƆ C LXII, an older form of Roman numerals often used in 17th-century printing.