ABSTRACT
In 1676 the statesman, scientist and poet Constantijn Huygens (1596-1687), personal secretary to the stadholders Frederik Hendrik and Willem II, wrote a laudatory poem on a triumvirate of brilliant men, illuminating the firmament of the Dutch fatherland: René Descartes, Johannes Cocceius and Gisbertus Voetius (1589-1676). He praised the first for his research into the foundations of all things, especially by the clear light of mathematics, the second for the incredible stamina with which he gathered rich treasures of knowledge, surpassing Huygens himself, and the third as one who had defended the faith from his earliest youth and had written a book more eminent than a thousand others. Huygens noted that his three heroes differed in their piety, but were equally virtuous, and should stand as examples that all should aspire to follow. 1
