BEKKER

bekker, balthasar (1634-1698), dutch divine, was born in friesland in 1634, and educated at groningen, under jacob alting, and at franeker. he was pastor at franeker, and from 1679, at amsterdam. an enthusiastic disciple of descartes, he wrote several works in philosophy and theology, which by their freedom of thought aroused considerable hostility. his best known work _die betooverde wereld_ (1691), or _the world bewitched_ (1695; one volume of an english translation from a french copy), in which he examined critically the phenomena generally ascribed to spiritual agency, and attacked the belief in sorcery and "possession" by the devil, whose very existence he questioned. the book is interesting as an early study in comparative religion, but its publication in 1692 led to bekker's deposition from the ministry. he died at amsterdam. bekker (or wolff), elizabeth (1738-1804), dutch novelist, was married to adrian wolff, a reformed clergyman, but is always known under her maiden name. after the death of her husband in 1777, she resided for some time in france, with her close friend, agatha deken. she was exposed to some of the dangers of the french revolution, and, it is said, escaped the guillotine only by her great presence of mind. in 1795 she returned to holland, and resided at the hague till her death. her novels were written in conjunction with agatha deken, and it is somewhat difficult to determine the exact qualities contributed by each. the _historie van william levend_ (1785), _historie van sara burgerhart_ (1790), _abraham blankaart_ (1787), _cornelie wildschut_ (1793-1796), were extremely popular.