Philip Hensher

The genuine polymath is still one in a million

Despite the ease of modern research, few can ever hope to rival the deep, varied learning of Leonardo or Goethe

Self-portrait by Leonardo da Vinci. Credit: Getty Images
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  • The Polymath: A Cultural History from Leonardo da Vinci to Susan Sontag

    Peter Burke

    Yale University Press, pp. 352, £20

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