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The Dictionary of Seventeenth Century British Philosophers by Andrew PyleReview by: Elizabeth M. HodgeThe Sixteenth Century Journal, Vol. 34, No. 2, Marriage in Early Modern Europe (Summer,2003), pp. 582-583Published by: The Sixteenth Century JournalStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20061496 .
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582 Sixteenth Century Journal XXXIV/2 (2003)
development of Portuguese classical style. Michael J. Woods examines the theme of predic tion in four plays by Pedro Calder?n de la Barca (La vida es sue?o [1636], El mayor monstruo
del mundo [1637], La hija del aire [1653], and El pr?ncipe constante [1629]), arguing that in each,
Calder?n offers an illustration of the workings of a Thomistic causal system.
Other essays address an assortment of topics in an expanded array of literary genres. Ian
Michael explores the probable provenance of the Bodleian Library's first copy of Don Quix
otic, part 1, while David Pattison offers a brief study of the linguistic evidence for the date of
Lazarillo de Tormes, arguing for a date of composition earlier than the conventional second
quarter of the sixteenth century. Robert Pring-Mill's excellent study of the interior structure
of the baroque concepto pairs the critical analysis of Baltasar de Graci?n with that of Terence
May as a means of graphically delineating possible correspondencias and the internal workings
of relationships within conceits. Jeremy Lawrance's reading of Renaissance and early modern
Iberian views on the Ottoman Empire as expressed in Rodrigo Gonz?lez de Clavijo's
Embajada a Tamorl?n and the anonymous dialogue Viaje de Turqu?a finds an evolution within
Turcica to an engagement with a no longer familiar Islam, and with an increasingly ascendant
Europe. A very different text?the anonymous "Carta del Bachiller de Arcadia"?is the focus
of John Rutherford's essay. Through a careful analysis of the letter and its context, Rutherford
argues that far from being the anonymous work of the scholarly ambassador to the Vatican,
Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, the letter was a pasquinade written in 1548 by one of Hurtado
de Mendoza's enemies in Rome. Colin Thompson's analysis of Hieronymite chronicler Jos?
de Sig?enza's description and explanation of his decorative scheme for the Escorial Library
seeks to place Sig?enza within the complex milieu of Spanish intellectual life c. 1600, rather
than the Erasmian tradition of an earlier generation. Bruce Taylor focuses on another of the
Iberian religious orders, the Mercedarians, tracing mutations in the order's public image and
members' self-perceptions through a consideration of changing recruitment techniques and
policies from the thirteenth through the seventeenth centuries. The final essay by John
Edwards examines the life and works of Truman's predecessor of sorts?Lorenzo Lucena, a
nineteenth-century Catholic priest from C?rdoba who became an Anglican and the first
professor of Spanish at Oxford.The volume concludes with a helpful bibliography and index.
Together, these valuable essays serve as a fitting tribute to R. W Truman's long and distin
guished career.
The Dictionary of Seventeenth Century British Philosophers. Ed. Andrew Pyle.
Bristol, England:Thoemmes, 2000. 1000 pp. $550.00. ISBN 1855067048.
Reviewed by: Elizabeth M. Hodge, Gavil?n College
Lexicon entries are rarely an exciting read. After all, they are meant to be concise, par
ticular, and strictly for research purposes. With this predisposition in mind, I embarked upon
a review of the Dictionary of Seventeenth Century British Philosophers, edited by Andrew Pyle.
Happily, I discovered that this two-volume set is a pleasant mixture of interesting and erudite
entries, alongside of a bit of standard fair.
The entries on the lesser-known philosophers are particularly engaging, at least with
respect to the biographical materials.There are entries on political revolutionaries, scientists,
poets, and historians that have been all but lost to history. These are the people with whom
Locke argued, Cromwell schemed, and Newton conversed. While history has been open to
the memory of the aforementioned, few have heard of Slingsby Bethel (revolutionary and
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Book Reviews 583
Machiavellian sympathizer), Henry Care (Whig theorist), John Eachard (Hobbesian critic), or Robert Fludd (whose theories influenced Kepler). Each of the entries of the more
obscure folk has the appropriate biographical and historical data in order to paint a reasonable
picture of the person. The entries come complete with a bibliography and other reference
materials for further inquiry, if need be. Thus, the information is adequate, somewhat engag
ing, and worthy of being on one's reference shelf. One negative aspect may be in the writing
style?a bit terse and stiff throughout the work.
The entries on the better-known philosophers are strictly standard fair, no controversy, no deviation from the accepted biographical sketches and presentation of basic theories. One
might say, that the entries on say, Bacon, Herbert, Locke, and Hobbes are on the pedestrian side of things?quite mundane. They are adequate of material, but that is all. Thus, they are
fine as a basic reference, but would be sorely lacking if one were looking to go beyond intro
ductory information.
Ultimately, The Dictionary of Seventeenth Century British Philosophers fulfills its duty as a
lexicon of early modern British thinkers. It has much to offer for those unfamiliar with sci
entific or intellectual history, especially on the more obscure folk. However, for the scholar
it may be lacking a bit. It is worthy of a library reference shelf for perusal by legions of under
graduates.
William Dunbar, "The Nobill Poyet": Essays in Honour of Priscilla Bawcutt.
Ed. Sally Mapstone. East Linton:Tuckwell, 2001. 237 pp. $31.95. ISBN 1862321965.
Reviewed by: R. James Goldstein, Auburn University
The occasion behind this collection of essays (and earlier conference) is to celebrate the
publication of Priscilla Bawcutt s superb two-volume edition of The Poems of William Dunbar
(1998). Gathering many of the most established scholars in the field of sixteenth-century Scottish literature and language, Mapstone 's collection significantly contributes to our
understanding of Dunbar and later sixteenth-century Scottish poets. Although readers inter
ested in newer theoretical approaches may be disappointed, the essays are challenging, often
breaking new ground in a field still relatively undervalued by scholars.
Sally Mapstone s "Introduction: William Dunbar and the Book Culture of Sixteenth
Century Scotland" offers a valuable overview of the complex relations between vernacular
and Latin book production, and of early printing and the continued importance of manu
script codices well into the seventeenth century. The first group of essays focuses on codico
logical and textual matters.Thus Catherine van Buuren,"The Chepman and Myllar Texts of
Dunbar," analyzes typographic and orthographic variants for evidence that the first typeset ters were probably French-speakers with limited understanding of Scots. Julia Boffey, "The
Maitland Folio Manuscript as a Verse Anthology," provides an up-to-date discussion ofthat
important manuscript (ca. 1570-86) and the related seventeenth-century Reidpeth MS. A. S.
G. Edwards, "Editing Dunbar: The Tradition," offers a lively assessment of all editions of
Dunbar before Bawcutt s definitive work.
The next cluster of essays highlights the relationship between Dunbar and other six
teenth-century Scottish poets. In one of the most rewarding essays of the collection, R. J.
Lyall, "The Stylistic Relationship between Dunbar and Douglas," argues that the beginning of the century witnessed something close to "a revolution in Older Scots poetic style," plau
sibly suggesting that Dunbar's Goldyn Targe may well have been a response to Douglas's Police
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