On Discovery

by Polydore Vergil, Brian P. Copenhaver

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.

Genres: History, Philosophy

752 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 2002

About the author

Polydore Vergil was an Italian humanist scholar, historian, priest and diplomat, who spent most of his life in England.

Reviews

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book from the library - a Renaissance scholar's account of who first invented or discovered many things, most of which is certainly wrong, but fascinating. The author is willing to credit accounts from Greco-Roman mythology for many discoveries or inventions, but gives primacy to the Hebrews if the Old Testament mentions an invention or discovery before it was allegedly discovered by Greek or Roman heroes. The reasoning seemed sound at the time it was written, though the logic seems a bit tortured now, being dependent on the assumption that the Bible is literally and absolutely true, and that the assumed chronology for Biblical events developed in the Middle Ages was correct.