Isaac Vossius (1618-1689), between science and scholarship

Mostly remembered for his library and for his biblical criticism, Isaac Vossius (1618-1689) played a central role in the early modern European world of learning. Among other subjects, Vossius published on the true age of the world, optics, and the merits of Chinese civilization. He was appointed an early Fellow of the Royal Society, and moved in the circles which later gave rise to the Académie Royale des Sciences. Together with Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695), he was considered the Dutch Republic's foremost student of nature. In this volume, a range of authors analyse Vossius'sfascinating world of scientific discovery, freethinking, career opportunities, slander and gossip - the full spectrum of the Republic of Letters, much of which has sadly been written out of the history of both scholarship and science.