On Discovery (The I Tatti Renaissance Library)

Vergil, Polydore; Copenhaver, Brian P.

ISBN 10: 0674007891 / ISBN 13: 9780674007895

Published by Harvard University Press, 2002

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: On Discovery (The I Tatti Renaissance Library)
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication Date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674007891
• ISBN 13: 9780674007895
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

The Italian humanist Polydore Vergil (1470-1555) was born in Urbino but spent most of his life in early Tudor England. His most popular work, On Discovery (De inventoribus rerum, 1499), was the first comprehensive account of discoveries and inventions written since antiquity. Thirty Latin editions of this work were published in Polydore's lifetime, and by the eighteenth century more than a hundred editions had appeared in eight languages, including Russian. On Discovery became a key reference for anyone who wanted to know about "firsts" in theology, philosophy, science, technology, literature, language, law, material culture, and other fields. Polydore took his information from dozens of Greek, Roman, biblical, and Patristic authorities. His main point was to show that many Greek and Roman claims for discovery were false and that ancient Jews or other Asian peoples had priority. This is the first English translation of a critical edition based on the Latin texts published in Polydore Vergil's lifetime.

About the Author

Brian P. Copenhaver is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and History at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he directed the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies.