Italian humanist Paolo Beni (1553-c.1625) won fame as a literary critic, a linguist, and a theologian, yet until now has not received full scholarly recognition. Based on a wealth of unpublished material, this first comprehensive study of Beni tells the story of his life, reassesses his majorwritings, and places him in his historical context, calling into question many long-standing assumptions about the transitional period between the Renaissance and Baroque eras.