| Authorship Notes |
Addressed to Prince Henry. Widely regarded as being heavily modelled on Theodor Zwinger’s ‘Methodus apodemica’ (ODNB calls it a 'straight imitation'). This judgement applies in particular to Palmer’s tables, which engross the whole of Zwinger’s text. Palmer combined methodical techniques with moral instruction to outline a perfect rule for beneficial foreign travel. The work includes fold-out analytical tables which were to be ‘an aid to memory’ and show at a glance how to acquire information. Palmer also stresses the importance of retaining attachment to one's religion, suggests that thirty or forty is the appropriate age for travel and considers women, infants, fools and madmen as unfit for travel. |
