VONDEL MET AMSTERDAMSCHE KATHOLIEKEN AAN PAUS CLEMENS X

1670.

Sanctissime Pater.

Dum ereptus suis fuit Sae memoriae Clemens IX, ingemuit quidem universus orbis catholicus, sed nominatim casum suum deploravit Hollandia, quae non parum oppressa, querelas suas, Romam transmissas, in Clementissimi Patris sui sinu deposuerat. Ereptus is fuit, non ut Catholici careremus Pontifice, non ut filii destitueremur parente, non ut Clementem desideraret Hollandia — sed ut succederet qui locum et sedem teneret Clementis, et benigniore affectu suos prosequeretur, ita ut lucrum sit sic per- didisse. Utinam igitur liceret nobis esse tam beatis, ut pedes Sanctitatis suae coram exosculati, proponere nostra possemus! et vultum, imo affectum spectare illius, qui nos ut filios complec- titur, et ad quem filiali fiducia, Sedi Apostolicae ad mortem usque addictissimi, cives Amstelodamenses confugimus . .. ...Verbis non opus est ut ostendamus, quam constantem operam huic civitati praestiterit Societas Jesu in persecutionibus, quam charitatem exhibuerit peste infectis, quam necessaria illa et utilis semper fuerit doctrina et moribus, non nobis tantum sed Hollandiae universae et in illa Ecclesiae, Sedique Apostolicae. Mutis characteribus exprimi haec non possunt; nos ipsi vivae voces sumus, qui a Reverendis illis Patribus ab errore conversi, in Fide solidati, olim numero pauci, nunc innumeri laudes Socie- tatis pleno ore eloquimur... [Hierna volgt de klacht van de Jezuieten over Neercassel] Sanctitatis suae observantissimi filii et humillimi famuli cives Amstelodamenses, Johan van d. Marcken, Isebrandus Plempius, J. v. Vondel, Gisbert Plempius. Amstelius.

VONDEL WITH THE CATHOLICS OF AMSTERDAM TO POPE CLEMENT X

1670.

Most Holy Father,

When the much-remembered Clement IX was taken from us, the entire Catholic world mourned, but Holland in particular lamented its loss. Holland, which was already quite oppressed, had sent its complaints to Rome and laid them in the lap of its most merciful Father. He was taken from us, not so that Catholics would be without a Pope, not so that children would be without a parent, not so that Holland would miss Clement—but so that someone would succeed him, hold his place and seat, and pursue his people with even greater kindness, making it a gain to have lost him in this way.

If only we could be so blessed as to kiss the feet of Your Holiness in person and present our concerns! To see not just the face but the affection of someone who embraces us as children, and to whom we, the citizens of Amsterdam, most devoted to the Apostolic See until death, flee with filial trust...

Words are not needed to show how constant the efforts of the Society of Jesus have been in this city during persecutions, how much charity they have shown to those infected by the plague, and how necessary and useful their teachings and morals have always been, not just to us but to all of Holland and within it, the Church and the Apostolic See. These things cannot be expressed in silent characters; we ourselves are living voices, who, having been converted from error by those Reverend Fathers and solidified in Faith, once few in number, now countless, speak the praises of the Society with full voice...

[Here follows the complaint of the Jesuits about Neercassel]

Your Holiness's most observant children and humble servants, the citizens of Amsterdam,

Johan van d. Marcken, Isebrandus Plempius, J. v. Vondel, Gisbert Plempius. Amstelius.