Download Notes and Queries, Number 34, June 22, 1850 a Medium of Inter-Communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, Etc Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle
Notes and Queries, Number 34, June 22, 1850 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc George Bell THE "AGAPEMONE" OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. As it is not generally known that the "Agapemone" had a prototype in the celebrated Family of Love, some account of this "wicked sect" may not at this moment be without interest to your readers: - "Henry Nicholas, a Westphalian, born at Munster, but who had lived a great while at Amsterdam, and some time likewise at Embden, was the father of this family. He appeared upon the stage about the year 1540, styled himself the deified man, boasted of great matters, and seemed to exalt himself above the condition of a human creature. He was, as he pretended, greater than Moses and Christ, because Moses had taught mankind to hope, Christ to believe, but he to love; which last being of more worth than both the former, he was consequently greater than both those prophets."-See Brandt's Hist. of the Reform, &c., in the Low Countries, vol. i. p. 105, ed. 1720. According to some writers, however, the sect was not founded by Henry Nicholas, but by David George, an Anabaptist enthusiast of Delft, who died in 1556; and indeed there is some reason to believe that the Family of Love grew out of the heresies of the said George, with whom Nicholas had been on friendly terms. "'Not content, ' says Fuller, speaking of Nicholas, 'to confine his errors to his own country, over he comes into England, and in the latter end of the reign of Edward the Sixth, joyned himself to the Dutch congregation in London, where he seduced a number of artificers and silly women.'"-Church. Hist., p. 112, ed. 1655. We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience.