Annotations in Seventeenth Century Texts

     The 1675 edition displays a single annotation with huge significance. In Nicholas Machavel’s Letter: the word Preacher is crossed out and annotated “Practifier” in the margin. In the context of the text, it is correcting the occupation of Agnolo Canini as a law practitional, rather than a priest. However, when read with either synonym, the Canini’s occupation is clear. It is more likely therefore that the distinction is made so as to seperarate religion from the text, to remove the position of the priest from the lawyer, and condemn the misrepresentation of religion within the text. The annotation displays a recurrence of religious censorship post-ban, and proof that although progress towards freedom from censorship had been made in Europe, the society had not yet entirely changed by the end of the seventeenth century.