Giovanni Giacomo Casanova was born on this date in 1725. Casanova studied for the priesthood, was convicted by the Inquisition of practicing witchcraft, and traveled widely—and often hurriedly, looking back over his shoulder to see who might be gaining on him—as he charmed his way across Europe's capitals before living out his later years as a librarian. (来源：英语杂志 http://www.EnglishCN.com)

But the story of Casanova is often reduced to comparisons with Lothario, Romeo, and Don Juan; after his death, thanks in large part to his memoirs, his surname became a byword for a promiscuous and unscrupulous male lover.

What distinguishes a Casanova from a Lothario, a Romeo, or a Don Juan? For starters, the latter three are fictional. Shakespeare's Romeo is the oldest of the terms, and the one most distant from Casanova. The young Romeo was a tragic figure who died for love; used broadly, Romeo names a man given over to a love affair or lovemaking.

The captivating Don Juan was next to arrive on the lovescape, sometime during the 1600s. His incarnations have been various and nuanced, ranging from a compulsive and cruel seducer (or rapist) to a fellow who just loves love.

Finally, the fictional Lothario made his stage debut in 1703, as the callous seducer of the title character of Nicholas Rowe's The Fair Penitent; offstage, Lothario retained its sense of a man whose chief interest is seducing women.