Renaissance in Poland late 18th century. The period of Polish Renaissance, supportive of intellectual pursuits, produced many outstanding artists and scientists. Among them were Nicolaus Copernicus who in his "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium" presented the heliocentric theory of the universe, Maciej of Miechów, author of "Tractatus de duabus Sarmatis..." – the most accurate up to date geographical and ethnographical account of Eastern Europe; Bernard Wapowski, a cartographer whose maps of that region appeared in Ptolemy's "Geography"; Marcin Kromer who in his "De origine et rebus gestis Polonorum libri..." described both the history and geography of Poland; Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski, a philosopher concerned with
Nicolas Rapin "La Douche"), and at times idealized and Neoplatonic ("L'Amour philosophe"). He also wrote eclogues praising the country life, as in Horace ("Les Plaisirs du gentilhomme champestre", 1575 and "Elegie Patorale pour un Adieu", 1581-3), epitaphs on war ("Le Siège de Poitiers") and occasional verse of consolation, victory and other matters. His satirical vein is most apparent in his contributions to the Satire Ménippée (1593/1594) which railed against the Holy League. Finally, his will and the 30 letters by Rapin that have survived are important documents of late-Renaissance humanism in France. Nicolas Rapin Nicolas Rapin (1535 – 16 February 1608) was