Feith

Feith, RHIJNIS, a Dutch poet, was born 7th February 1753, at Zwolle, in Overijssel. He studied law at Leyden and settled in 1772 at his native place, of which he became mayor in 1780, and where he died on 8th February 1824. Feith tried almost all kinds of poetry. In 1792 appeared Het Graf ('The Tomb'), a didactic though sentimental poem; in 1802, De Ouderdom ('Old Age'); in 1796-1810, four vols. of lyrical pieces marked by a high enthusiasm and warmth of feeling. Of his tragedies the best known are Thirza (1784), Johanna Gray (1791), and Ines de Castro (1793). Of Feith's prose works the most important are his Brieven ('Letters on Different Subjects,' 6 vols. Amst. 1784-94), which by their polished style and refined criticism did much to improve the literary taste of Holland. His complete works (1824) fill 11 vols.