In a 1980 dissertation on the life and works of Everard Digby, Shaan Akester observes that Digby was "a significant figure in the intellectual history of sixteenth century England." The basis of his claim to importance is, however, a matter of dispute for the various writers who have studied his sometimes difficult works. For Sidney Lee, writing in volume five of the Dictionary of National Biography in 1888, Digby's best-known work was his treatise on swimming, De arte natandi (1587; translated as A Short Introduction for to Learne to Swimme, 1595). Others, such as Akester and Eugene David Hill, have focused on his major work, Theoria analytica (Analytical Theory, 1579), which Akester describes as "the most widely ranging philosophical work produced in sixteenth century England." Still others have bypassed Digby's earlier work and have instead focused on his participation in a quarrel at the University of Cambridge with the Ramist William Temple, stating...