William Temple, Observations upon the United Provinces of the Netherlands… (1687)
“ It is indeed not in errors but in omissions that a modern reader finds the book weakest. There is nothing about Dutch painting or learning or science, three of the great wonders of that age. And if Temple had known anything about Dutch poetry he would not have made his absurd remarks about the Dutch as lovers. ”
William Temple, Observations upon the United Provinces of the Netherlands… (1687)
“ Knowledge from every branch of science was being brought to bear on the interpretation of human history and human society, and the permanence of this book is due to Temple's belief in this study as one science among the others. ”
William Temple, Observations upon the United Provinces of the Netherlands… (1687)
“ He seems only to have corrected it once: I believe this was for the second edition, but, as this is not in the British Museum or the Bodleian, I have not seen these alterations in any edition earlier than the third. They are not important. ”
