The Wandering Soul, the English (German, Wandelnde or Wandlende Seele) title of a popular devotional book, originally written in Dutch by Jan Philipsz Schabaelje, a Waterlander Mennonite, and published in 1635 at Alkmaar in the Netherlands. The subject matter of the book pertains chiefly to historical events, both Biblical and secular, from the Creation to about the end of the first century after Christ. Simon Cleophas, a character taken from Eusebius, is said to have witnessed the fall of Jerusalem. Schabaelje lists the sources of his information as the Bible, Josephus, Augustine, Erasmus, and others. The work is a popular treatment and accurate for its time of composition, although there is a tendency to speculate about the origin of races and nations. Rather than a historical work, it is cast in literary form, that of the dialogue, which was prevalent and popular for a long time after the Middle Ages. The Wandering Soul, an earnest Christian desiring to finish the course of his pilgrimage, seeks admonition from Adam, Noah, and Simon Cleophas. The skillful handling of the conversation breaks the monotony of what would otherwise be an extended historical account with admonition. Some of the characters come to life and reflect a genial piety. In both conception and execution the book has some literary merit, which likely accounts in part for its wide appeal. In purpose, however, it is a devotional book, a work of spiritual edification in a practical sense. It was intended, as the German translator notes, to incite its readers to become pilgrims. The book reflects the particular piety characteristic of many Waterlander Mennonites in Holland in the 17th century, a spiritualistic fervor with a strong moral note. The concern with practical piety, however, and the concept of the Christian life as a pilgrimage, are reminiscent of the larger Anabaptist movement.