xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Writing history has changed. Over the years I worked on this book, vast resources became available online. My thanks to the diligent souls whose fingers are at times anonymously captured in the scans as they copy the pages of rare and valuable books, and to the Web designers who have improved the interfaces with these materials over the years. I have nearly an entire century and a half of rare books now downloaded to my own computerand I can print out, mark up, and make notes

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... on 250-year-old texts! Rather than traveling to Paris, Aix-en-Provence, London, Edinburgh, Jamaica, and beyond, scholars now have valuable texts at their fingertips. Texts can be consulted many times, perused without taking copious handwritten notes, searched, and generally enjoyed. Images are printable. Much can be learned