The Making of a Libertine:Scholars, Sex, and Scandal in the Dutch Republic

This article discusses sexual scholarship in the late seventeenth century Dutch Republic. Examining one case study in detail and looking at a number of additional examples, it argues that the connection(s) between sexual research, public scandal, and the libertine label were complex. In the end, the social standing of a scholar was crucial: if he could count on a secure position in society and a network of support, a learned man could survive a public scandal and avoid a libertine legacy