Alexandre Dumas

The Black Tulip Illustrated Alexandre Dumas

It begins with a historical event; the 1672 lynching by Orangists of the Dutch Grand Pensionary, Johan de Witt and his brother Cornelis, because they were considered rebels against the stadtholder William of Orange. During these events there was Tulip mania across the Netherlands. In this scenarios, the main fictional character Cornelius Van Baerle, belonged to the natural school, whose motto was: "To despise flowers is to offend God", and thus followed the syllogism: "To despise flowers is to offend God, The more beautiful the flower is, the more does one offend God in despising it, The tulip is the most beautiful of all flowers, Therefore, he who despises the tulip offends God beyond measure". (p. 46, The Black Tu