Author Description

Review"Toomer's survey of Selden's extraordinary scholarly vocation is one of the most important books on seventeenth-century England to come along in years...Its thorough and deeply learned synopses of Selden's works are invaluable treasures for future scholars working on early modern Europe."--Milton QuarterlyProduct DescriptionProfessor Toomer's two-volume set is not only an indispensable reference work but also provides the first thorough treatment of the scholarship of John Selden, acknowledged as the most learned man of 17th-century England. All of his numerous published works, especially in the fields of history, law, and Hebraica, are critically examined and described in detail. The narrative also relates his writings to contemporary events, in the Civil War and the parliaments (including the Long Parliament) in which he played a prominent part, and to the work of other scholars in Europe (notably Scaliger and Grotius) and in Britain (including Camden and Ussher). Selden's involvement with the Universities, the support of libraries, and the promotion of scholarship is discussed. The work will be an essential resource, not only for the life of a major figure of his time, but also for the intellectual history of 17th-century England in general.About the AuthorG.J. Toomer was educated in England and the United States, and taught as a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and Professor of the History of Mathematics at Brown University. For many years his scholarly efforts were concentrated on the history of mathematics and astronomy. In these fields, he published what has become the standard translation of the most important ancient astromnomical treatise ( Ptolemy's Almagest, 1984), and the first edition of the Arabic version of the standard work on Conics in antiquity (lost in the original Greek: Apollonius Conics Books V to Vii, 1990). Since retiring he has devoted himself to the intellectual history of early modern Europe, especially 17-th century England, in which he has published an account of the study of Arabic (Eastern Wisedome and Learning, OUP 1996).