This article presents the first full translation into English of a newly discovered poem by the early modern writer Johanna Otho, known as 'Othonia'. The poem, titled 'Best wishes to the praiseworthy, famous, and highly educated man, Mr. Kaspar Finck, Teacher of Holy Theology and Superintendent,' was found in a collection from 1617 honoring Lutheran theologian and professor Kaspar Finck. Othonia's poem, comprised of twenty lines of elegiac couplets, reveals intricate layers of classical and biblical references. Despite some stylistic flaws, likely due to the speed of production, the poem's structure reflects both traditional and contemporary elements. After a general introduction, this article delves into Othonia's self-citation, weaving in allusions to Ennius, Ovid, and the Bible, and emphasizing the poet's erudition and adaptability. The article also explores the context of the collection, highlighting Othonia's unique role as the only female contributor, as well as her family's Protestant background and her connections with other Neo-Latin writers.
While Newton's changing images in Western contexts have been extensively studied, his perception in non-European settings, particularly China, remains understudied. This paper examines Newton's metamorphosis in Chinese cultural reception from 1742 to 2022, demonstrating how representations of this scientific icon reflected broader transformations in Chinese intellectual, cultural, and political landscapes while illuminating patterns of global knowledge transmission. Drawing on primary sources spanning nearly three centuries, we trace Newton's evolution in Chinese discourse: from Western calendrical astronomer to champion of heliocentrism, from preeminent mathematician-physicist to pious natural philosopher, from mechanistic atheist to victim of religion, and ultimately to a nuanced figure embodying both scientific genius and spiritual inclinations. This transformation reveals not only China's changing engagement with Western science but also how societies reshape scientific figures to reflect their cultural values and intellectual needs. By situating China's reception of Newton within global knowledge networks and comparing it with Western interpretations, this study contributes to our understanding of cross-cultural scientific transmission and the complex dynamics of global knowledge production.
This paper examines the early circulation of a set of copies of the Epigrammata antiquae urbis (the first and most influential printed epigraphic collection from Rome, published in 1521 by Giacomo Mazzocchi) that contain the same set of annotations. A hitherto unexamined copy, and a copy whose whereabouts had been lost since the nineteenth century, are analysed here alongside the better-known copies of Antonio Lelli and Latino Giovenale Manetti. The debated author of these common notes is definitively identified here as the humanist Mariangelo Accursio (1489-1546), who also prepared the errata list of the book. The article illuminates Accursio's study of ancient epigraphy both in Rome (1517-1521) and during his stay in Augsburg (1532-1533), as well as his enduring engagement with the Epigrammata in the 1530s. Finally, Antonio Lelli's original annotations to the Epigrammata are reassessed, and his actual contribution to the antiquarian field is redefined.
This article publishes for the first time a brief theological work compiled in 1611 by the eminent Huguenot scholar Isaac Casaubon (1559-1614), and a letter from King James I which emerged from it the same year. It also examines a collection of related manuscript notes which Casaubon made in the margins of a printed book in 1610. The theological work, the letter and the notes relate to Casaubon's relationship with the influential Protestant minister Pierre Du Moulin (1568-1658), formerly chaplain to the sister of Henri IV, Catherine de Bourbon (d. 1604), and minister at the Protestant church in Charenton. This ill-tempered dispute between two of the leading lights of Protestantism was largely suppressed during the seventeenth century, and this article aims to reinstate it.
The third book of Filelfo's Sphortias is dedicated to the siege of Piacenza by Francesco Sforza, and does not remain silent on even the grimmer details of the sack. Taken at face value, the poet's treatment of this inconvenient truth may seem at odds with the laudatory nature of the epic. The following article offers a close reading of this episode, exploring Filelfo's use of both historical sources and literary models, and provides new interpretative keys for Filelfo's epic technique in general and for the Piacenza episode in particular. It demonstrates how in this questionable passage the image of the poem's hero is systematically embellished and how Filelfo's patron is excused for the atrocities the capture of the city brought about.
