The Art of Reading Earthquakes: On Harvey's Wit, Ramus's Method, and the Renaissance of Lucretius

• Published in: Renaissance quarterly Vol. 61; no. 3; pp. 792 - 832
• Main Author: Passannante, Gerard
• Format: Book Review Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge The Renaissance Society of America 22.09.2008; Renaissance Society of America; Cambridge University Press
• Subjects: 1580 AD; Aristotelianism; Classical literature; Criticism and interpretation; Disasters; Earthquakes; Epicureanism; Giants; Harvey, Gabriel; History; Irony; Jokes; Latin literature; Literary criticism; Literature; Logic; Lucretius; Lucretius (Titus Lucretius Carus); Mediation; Poetry; Ramism; Records and correspondence; Renaissance period; Reported speech; Studies; United Kingdom; United Kingdom

Gabriel Harvey's witty use of a quotation from Ovid on the occasion of the earthquake of 1580 is the point of departure for exploring the several ways in which a contemporary debate about literature, logic, and natural causes was carried out through the mediation of classical texts. At the expl...