4. The Age of the ‘Man of Letters’, 1700–1850

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. CONTENTS vii
3. List of Plates viii
4. Preface and Acknowledgements x
5. Introduction: What is a Polymath? 1
6. 1. East and West 10
7. 2. The Age of the ‘Renaissance Man’, 1400–1600 26
8. 3. The Age of ‘Monsters of Erudition’, 1600–1700 47
9. 4. The Age of the ‘Man of Letters’, 1700–1850 83
10. 5. The Age of Territoriality, 1850–2000 127
11. 6. A Group Portrait 170
12. 7. Habitats 191
13. 8. The Age of Interdisciplinarity 213
14. Coda: Towards a Third Crisis 240
15. Appendix: 500 Western Polymaths 247
16. Notes 278
17. Further Reading 316
18. Index 318