Anton van Dale

Anton van Dale (Anthonie, Antonius) (8 November 1638, Haarlem - 28 November 1708, Haarlem) was a Dutch Mennonite preacher, physician and writer on religious subjects, described by the contemporary theologian Jean Le Clerc as an enemy of superstition [Jonathan Israel, "The Dutch Republic" (1995), p. 925.] . He was a critic of witch-hunting [Marijke Gijswijt-Hofstra, Hilary Marland, Hans de Waardt, "Illness and Healing Alternatives in Western Europe" (1997), p. 74.] .

His "De oraculis veterum ethnicorum dissertationes" (1683) was an influential work on oracles, which he argued against the supernatural and the role of the Devil [ [http://englishatheist.org/evil/hod18.htm The History of the Devil: The Abolition of Witch-Prosecution ] ] in the pagan oracular tradition. In this he was followed two decades later by Fontenelle, who wrote his "Histoire des oracles" as an adaptation and popularized version of van Dale's work.

Works

*"De oraculis veterum ethnicorum dissertationes" (1683)
*"Dissertationes de origine ac progressu Idolatriae et Superstitionum, de vera ac falsa Prophetia, uti et de Divinationibus Idolatricis Judaeorum" (1696)
*"Commentatio super Aristeam de LXX interpretibus" (1705)

Notes

External links

* [http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/D21.html "Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online"]