Portraying the intricate dialectical influence of the ancient Greek philosophies of Epicureanism and Stoicism on 17th century England, Barbour (English, U. of North Carolina-Chapel Hill) analyzes how these disparate legacies served as touchstones for discourse in the theater and poetry, political, religious, and scientific literature of the period. The author's thesis is that early Stuart culture sought answers to their most pressing political and religious issues in these philosophies, particularly in Stoicism's seductive power for Christians (dangerous per Milton and Francis Bacon). Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.