The celebrated classicist Richard Bentley (1662-1742) was elected Master of Trinity College, Cambridge in 1700. He corresponded with many respected thinkers and scholars, based in Paris, Naples, Berlin, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Copenhagen, Hamburg and elsewhere around the world. These two volumes of his correspondence, first published in 1842 and now reissued, provide fascinating insights into Bentley's thought and the intellectual world he inhabited. Volume 2 contains letters, mostly in Latin, written and received by Bentley between 1712 and 1740, two years before his death at the age of 81. They appear in chronological order, and shed light on relationships between scholars of different generations and nationalities, and often opposing religious, moral, political, and literary opinions. Exceptionally noteworthy in this volume is Bentley's correspondence relating to his controversial tenure as Master of Trinity College.
