Christiaan Huygens – A family affair - Proeven van Vroeger

make “dry” matter more interesting: the boys were to write letters in the floor-sand and their
father composed nice verses for them with the rules of Latin syntax. 189 A certain Abraham
Mirkenius was first appointed mainly to teach Latin to the boys; later the young Hendrik
Bruno replaced him. The famous Latinist Caspar Barlaeus was asked by Constantijn Sr. to
continue the boys’ study of Latin and stimulate their poetic activity. 190 The sons were taught
mathematics at home by Jan Jansz. Stampioen (the Young) and when Constantijn Jr. and
Christiaan Jr. studied law in Leiden (1645 – 1647), Frans Van Schooten – who had been a
student of René Descartes – was asked by the boys’ father to take over the instruction in
mathematics. In the meantime, Christiaan Jr. was put in contact by his father with Marin
Mersenne, the French monk and mathematician (see Chapter V). Finally, Constantijn Sr.,
notwithstanding his demanding post, taught his sons music, doing sums and, as mentioned
before, writing.
The father had a decisive role in the whole educational program and process. It was he
who decided who would be his sons’ teachers, what courses they would get and where they
would study, not his sons, as some seem to suppose. 191 When his two eldest sons studied in
Leiden he even sent them a short list of rules on their schedule, the number of hours to be
spent on classes and self-study, literature, music and (respectable) friends. 192 Constantijn Sr.
may have aimed to please the Stadholder with the placement of his sons on the Orange-
sponsored Illustre School (“Illustrious School”) in Breda in 1647. The boys could expect a
privileged position there. 193 Apparently, Constantijn Sr. did a successful job, because he was
appointed to plan and supervise the education of both Prince Frederik Hendrik’s bastard-son,
189 HOFMAN, H. A. (1983) Constantine Huygens (1596-1687) : a christian-humanist bourgeois-gentilhomme in
service of the House of Orange, Utrecht, HES Uitgevers., p35-6
190 This can be seen for instance in: HUYGENS, C. (1911) BW., Vol. 21, Lett. 2761 – Constantijn Sr. to
C. Barlaeus (July, 1641) in which Constantijn Sr. asks Barlaeus to give extra stimuli to his talented son
Christiaan Jr. in his instructions of Latin.
191 STRENGHOLT, L., HUYGENS, C. & HEER, A. R. E. D. (1987) Constanter: het leven van
Constantijn Huygens, Amsterdam, Querido., p27 puts the emphasis wrong when he states that: “He who
aimed on an appointment in a governmental or judicial college found much use in some knowledge of
law. It was for this knowledge that the Huygens brothers had decided to start in Leiden.” (Italics added). It was, of
course, the father who had decided upon this matter.
192 HUYGENS, C. (1888) OC., Vol. I, No 4. – Constantijn Huygens Sr. to sons Constantijn and
Christiaan (May 9, 1645). Cf. HUYGENS, C. & BLOM, F. R. E. (2003) Mijn leven verteld aan mijn
kinderen in twee boeken (De vita propria sermonum inter liberos), Amsterdam, Prometheus., p17
193 “For the love” of Constantijn Sr.’s sons, it was decided that the school would restart the semester in
order for the boys to make a comfortable start (even though they only came to the school in
November!). HUYGENS, C. (1888) OC., Vol. I, No. 16 – Brosterhuysen to Constantijn Huygens Sr.
(Nov 8, 1646)
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