Petrus Curtenius

Petrus Curtenius

Petrus Curtenius (also: Peter Curtenius ; * December 7, 1716 in Amsterdam , † August 3, 1789 in Loenen near Leiden) was a Dutch Reformed theologian.

Life

The son of the surgeon and surgeon Petrus Theobald Curtenis and his wife Abigael Fran (x) cs, the daughter of the seal hunter Jacobus Francs, completed his first training in his hometown. Here he had attended the Latin school and in 1730 the Athenaeum Illustre . After training with Jacques Philippe d'Orville , he moved to Leiden University in 1733 . Here his teachers were initially in the philosophical sciences Pieter Burman the Elder , Sigbertus Haverkamp (1684–1742), Albert Schultens and Jacob Wittich . He then concentrated on studying theological sciences, for which he attended the lectures by Franciscus Fabricius , Johannes Wessel , Taco Hajo van den Honert (theologian) and Johann van den Honert . In April 1739 he returned to his hometown, where he was accepted as a candidate for the ministry on April 6th of that year. That same year, on July 26th, he received an appointment as pastor in Durgerdam .

Therefore, he completed his theological exam on November 9th and took up the position entrusted to him on November 29th of that year with a sermon on Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 2, verse 8. In August 1741 he was called to Deventer as pastor and took leave of the congregation in Dungeram on October 8, 1741 with a sermon on Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 2, verses 1-2. In Deventer he had taken office on October 16 of that year with a sermon on the letter to the Hebrews, chapter 6, verses 7–9. Two years later, on October 10, 1746, he received a call to go to Gouda as pastor . Therefore he held his farewell sermon on November 11th (December) 1746 in Deventer on the 1st epistle of Paul to the Corinthians chapter 3, verses 6-8 and took over his new office in Gouda on December 28th, 1746 with a sermon the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians in chapter 10 verse 14-16 office.

On July 10, 1754 he received a call as high school professor of theology at the Athenaeum Illustre Amsterdam. Therefore, he left Gouda on September 15 with a farewell sermon on Paul's letter to the Galatians, chapter 6, verse 17. On October 11, 1754, he received an honorary doctorate in theology from the Senate of the University of Leiden and resigned on October 21 of that year Teaching post with the speech de sacro condice . On January 20, 1755 he was called to pastor in Amsterdam, for which purpose he delivered a sermon on March 22, 1755 on the book of Proverbs, chapter 9, verse 10. The pulpit speaker, Hebraist and biblical exegete Curtenius, who was popular in his circles at the time, was a member of the Zeeland Society of Sciences. He was a proponent of the theology of John Coccejus . Nevertheless, he remained an independent theologian who, without knowing it himself, became a pioneer of philosophy in the reformed Dutch theology.

Curtenius had been physically debilitated for six years. He suffered from insomnia, whereupon he obtained analgesics and eventually took opium. He later suffered from uncontrollable tremors in his limbs and head. This forced him to withdraw from the public eye until he died in his country house in Loenen. After his death, Jacob van Nuijs Klinkenberg, who accompanied him as an assistant in 1784, wrote his funeral sermon on November 16, 1789. It has also been translated into the Dutch language. His body was buried on February 10, 1740 in the old church in Amsterdam.

On February 10, 1740 Curtenius married Catharina Cloppenburg (* 1714, † October 5, 1803 in Leiden), a daughter of the preacher in Sassenheim D. Gerardus Cloppenburg (* February 1, 1675 in Lingen / Westphalen; † September 3, 1754 in Sassenheim near Leiden). There are five children from the marriage. However, the marriage was far from happy. His wife was extremely moody and irascible. According to his impression, she was wasting the money on false friends, neglecting the household and the children. So he was forced to create her own separate accommodation for her. The daughter Maria Curtenius (born August 28, 1743 in Deventer) is known from their marriage to Jan Francois Bentink (born March 6, 1743 in Oldenzaal; † February 19, 1805 in Amsterdam) on June 10, 1765 in Amsterdam.

Works

• Oratio de amore Dei. Amsterdam 1730.
• Oratio inauguralis de divino codice, unico verae sapientiae fonte. Amsterdam 1754 translated into Dutch: Inwyings-speech over het Godlyk Bybelboek, as de eenige bron der waare wysheid. Amsterdam 1755.
• Moses testament en lied met het aanhangzel verklaard en betoogd, in XXIV negotiate over Deut. XXXI en XXXII. 1-47. Amsterdam 1755.
• Intreede en afscheid te Gouda, Gedaan over 2 Corinth. X: 14-16 en Gal. VI: 16 (...). Waar by gevoegd is deszelvs redevoering over het Godlyk Bybelboek, as de eenige bron der waare wysheid (...). Amsterdam 1755.
• De vreeze des Heeren het beginzel der wysheid, voorgesteld ter intreede tot de bloeiende protrormde gemeente te Amsteldam. Amsterdam 1755.
• Moses laatste zegen, dood en begraavenis met eenige daar toe betreklyke stoffen verklaard en betoogd in XXV negotiating (...) Amsterdam 1762.
• Τα Παυλου δυσνοητα of de zwaarste plaatzen the brieven van Paulus (...). which also under the title: kerklyke redevoering gedaan ter gedachtenis van zynen XXV-jaarigen preaching service, over hand. XXVI: 22.23. Amsterdam 1766–1777, 4th vol. Appeared
• Der Epheseren geluk met dankzegging Erkend, en hun op het hart gebonden uit de grootheid van Gods kracht en magt, zoo in de geloovigen, als in Christus, betoond: of het eerste hoofdstuk van den briev aan de Ephesiers Verklaard en toegepast in VIII kerkredenen ( ...). In: de voorreden wordt de gewoone Hollandsche predikwyze zediglyk verdedigd. Amsterdam 1770.
• De gelukkige uitkomst the Godlyke kastydingen, vertoond in eene dankreden over Job V: 17,18 (...) the lieheid van het aanvangklyk herstel uit eenen zeer zwaaren aanval uitgesproken (...). Amsterdam 1782.
• De gelykenis der wyze en dwaaze maagden, uit Matth. XXV: 1-13 Verklaard en toegepast. Amsterdam 1786.
• Empty speeches about Heidelberg's catechism (...). Leiden 1790–1792, 4th vol. Edited by Broërius Broes

literature

• Johann Christoph Strodtmann: The new learned Europe. Johann Christoph Meißner, Wolfenbüttel 1763, 17th part, p. 84. (online)
• H. Florijn: CURTENIUS, PETRUS . In: Biografisch Lexicon voor de geschiedenis van het Nederlands Protestantisme. UitgeversMaatschappij JH Kok, Kampen 2006, ISBN 90-435-1279-6 , vol. 6, p. 62 (Dutch)
• Lambregt Abraham van Langeraad, Jan Pieter de Bie, Jakob Loosjes: Biographical woordenboek van protestantsche godgeleerden in Nederland. Kemink & Zoon, Utrecht 1908–1918, Vol. 2, p. 340. (online)
• FS Knipscher: CURTENIUS (Petrus) . In: Petrus Johannes Blok , Philipp Christiaan Molhuysen (Ed.): Nieuw Nederlandsch Biografisch Woordenboek . Part 8. N. Israel, Amsterdam 1974, Sp. 350–351 (Dutch, knaw.nl / dbnl.org - first edition: AW Sijthoff, Leiden 1930, reprinted unchanged).
• Abraham Jacob van der Aa : Biographical Woordenboek der Nederlanden. Verlag JJ van Brederode, Haarlem 1858, vol. 3, p. 932, ( online , Dutch)
• Barend Glasius: Biographical Woordenboek van Nederlandsche Godgeleerden. Muller Brothers, 's-Hertogenbosch, 1851, Vol. 1, p. 325, ( online , Dutch)
• Hendrik Gerardsz Croese: Kerkelijk register of the preachers, who, Zedert de Kerkhervorming, de Gereformeerden Nederduitsche Gemeente te Amsterdam dead aan den Jaare 1759 served. Helping hunne Geboorten, studies, stands, Affterven, Nakomelingen, writings and other bysonderheden. Hendrik Diederiks, Amsterdam, 1792, p. 307. (online)
• Maandblad van het genealogisch-Heraldiek Genootschap de Nederlandsche Leeuw. 1907, vol. 25, col. 185.

Web links

• Curtenius in the album Academicum University of Amsterdam
• De Verborgenheid der laatste Tijden, De laatste bekering der Volken, Preek over Romeinen 11:25 en 26a (PDF; 63 kB)