Visions Of Times And Eternity

Van Someren and DeRaedt, figuring prominently alongside Johannes Rothe and Quirinus Kuhlman in the caption of the print, get only a few lines in the rhymed dialogue. The lengthy caption gives abundant clues to the interpretation of the image. The four prophets are well-known Fifth Monarchy men: adherents of the doctrine that the four Empires of the classical world will be followed by a fifth and last one. Comenius valued the German prophets for their ecumenical millenarianism, reuniting Christendom in a way closely resembling the project he shared with Hartlib and Dury. In April 1674 the Provincial Court of Justice censured and impounded the offending print and the accompanying pamphlet. Unlike a cartoon in our sense of the word: a contemporary satirical comment on current affairs, this print reflects a later recalling of these events.Keywords: Johannes Rothe; Provincial Court of Justice; Quirinus Kuhlman; Van Someren