Simon Stevin’s Vita politica. Het Burgherlick leven (1590)

Abstract

Simon Stevin has recently enjoyed a renewed interest. Long considered as mainly an engineer and a mathematician, he also earned fame for having been military advisor to Stadtholder Maurice of Nassau during almost 20 years. His lasting reputation as a scientist was due to his outstanding theoretical works (in algebra, physics, calculation of interest, linguistics, architecture, music theory, etc.) and to his highly innovative technological achievements in various fields: sluices, mills, fortification, navigation, etc. But new aspects of his work have been brought to light, concerning among others his political thought. The short discourse written in Dutch and published in Leiden in 1590, Vita politica. Het Burgherlick Leven, proves to be a very original political treatise. Stevin here distances himself from both the 'mirrors-for-princes' literary genre and the humanists' claim on a privileged relationship with the supreme political power, asserting instead the capability of any citizen to make a statement on politics. In addition, he deals with the question of civic life as a practical issue.