Cats, Jacob

Cats, Jacob

▪ Dutch author
Jacob also spelled  Jacobus  
born Nov. 10, 1577, Brouwershaven, Zeeland, Spanish Netherlands [now in The Netherlands]
died Sept. 12, 1660, Zorgh-vliet, near The Hague

      Dutch writer of emblem books and didactic verse whose place in the affections of his countrymen is shown by his nickname, “Father Cats.”

      Cats took his doctor's degree in law at Orléans, practiced at The Hague, and, after visits to Oxford and Cambridge, settled in Zeeland, where he accumulated wealth by land reclamation. Becoming a magistrate, he was successively pensionary of Middelburg and Dordrecht and, from 1636 to 1651, grand pensionary of Holland. He took part in diplomatic missions to England—in 1627 to Charles I and in 1651–52, unsuccessfully, to Cromwell. His background gave him an international outlook, and he was in sympathy with many of the English Puritan writers.

      Cats was primarily a writer of poetic emblem books (emblem book), a type of literature popular in the 17th century that consisted of woodcuts or engravings accompanied by verses pointing a moral. He used this form to express the major ethical concerns of early Dutch Calvinists, especially those dealing with love and marriage. By being the first to combine emblem literature with love poetry, and by his skill as a storyteller, he achieved enormous popularity. The sources on which he draws are chiefly the Bible and the classics and occasionally Boccaccio and Cervantes.

      His first book, Sinne- en minnebeelden (1618; “Portaits of Morality and Love”), contained engravings with text in Dutch, Latin, and French. Each picture has a threefold interpretation, expressing what were for Cats the three elements of human life: love, society, and religion. Perhaps his most famous emblem book is Spiegel van den ouden ende nieuwen tijdt (1632; “Mirror of Old and New Times”), many quotations from which have become household sayings. It is written in a more homely style than his earlier works, in popular rather than classical Dutch. Two other works—Houwelyk (1625; “Marriage”) and Trou-ringh (1637; “Wedding Ring”)—are rhymed dissertations on marriage and conjugal fidelity. In one of his last books, Ouderdom, buyten-leven en hof-gedachten (1655; “Old Age, Country Life, and Garden Thoughts”), Cats wrote movingly about old age.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Cats, Jacob(us) — known as Father Cats born Nov. 10, 1577, Brouwershaven, Zeeland, Spanish Netherlands died Sept. 12, 1660, Zorgvliet, near The Hague Dutch poet. A magistrate and high official, he was enormously popular as a writer of emblem books, consisting of… …   Universalium

  • CATS, Jacob — (1577–1660)    Poet, pensionary (legal advisor) of the cities of Middelburg and Dordrecht, and grand pensionary (1636–1651) of the States of Holland. Cats was a prolific writer of lengthy moralizing and didactic poems and of emblematic works.… …   Historical Dictionary of the Netherlands

  • Cats, Jacob(us) — llamado Father Cats (10 nov. 1577, Brouwershaven, Zeeland, Países Bajos Españoles–12 sep. 1660, Zorgvliet, cerca de La Haya). Poeta holandés. Además de ser juez y alto funcionario de gobierno, gozaba de gran popularidad como autor de libros de… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • CATS, JACOB —    a Dutch poet and statesman, venerated in Holland as Father Cats ; his works are written in a simple, natural style, and abound in wise maxims; he did service as a statesman; twice visited England as an envoy, and was knighted by Charles I.… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

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  • Jacob Cats — (November 10, 1577, Brouwershaven (Zeeland) September 12, 1660, the Hague) was a Dutch poet, humorist, jurist and politician.Having lost his mother at an early age, and being adopted with his three brothers by an uncle, Cats was sent to school at …   Wikipedia

  • Jacob Cats — Portrait par Michiel Jansz van Mierevelt (1639). Jacob Cats, poète et politicien (grand pensionnaire) néerlandais, né le 10 novembre 1577 à Brouwershaven dans la …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Cats (film) — Cats is a 1998 direct to VHS film of the long running West End production of Cats , Andrew Lloyd Webber s musical based on Old Possum s Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot. Lloyd Webber himself personally oversaw orchestration for the film and… …   Wikipedia

  • Jacob van den Eynde — (* ca 1515; † ca 1570 in Vilvoorde), war ein niederländischer Staatsmann. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Biografisches 2 Wappen 3 Literatur 4 Ei …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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