Discord Consensus

Fig. 2.3 The Panpoëticon cabinet at the Dutch literary society ‘Kunst
wordt door Arbeid verkregen’ (‘Art Is Won Through Labour’). Painting
(1772) by P. C. La Fargue. Courtesy of Stedelijk Museum de Lakenhal
Leiden, S900
Inventing and forgetting the eighteenth ​century’s
literary past
This is a bitter state of affairs, since the eighteenth-​century authors
themselves are responsible for the ‘invention’ of national literary histories.
The inherent paradox, however, is that the reason for this invention
is the realisation that the proud days of the Panpoëticon are over.
The economy is stagnating and lagging behind other now more prosperous
economies, such as the British Empire and France. Since there
are hardly any apt economic theories to provide an explanation for this
development, cultural critics blame the moral economy of the nation. 5
Eighteenth-​century Dutch authors feel the need to struggle against
the perceived decline of the nation by establishing the study of Dutch
language and literature. They start to compare their own situation to
that of the Netherlands of the seventeenth century, the century they now
begin to call the ‘Golden Age’. Eighteenth-​century authors and researchers
feel the need to strive for improvement, by gathering knowledge
24
DISCORD AND CONSENSUS IN THE LOW COUNTRIES, 1700–​2000