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Erasmus (1466-1536) of Rotterdam was Northern Europe's leader of Renaissance learning. This great Christian humanist and scholar was the founder of the school of thought that anyone who had a good university education and was well-read in literature and theology would be morally virtuous and intellectually disciplined. Erasmus was well-known for his wit, satire and irony and was regarded as one of the best Latin prose stylists since Cicero. His most famous and widely read work, "The Praise of Folly", is a dramatic monologue on the futility of all human thought and aspiration. This new Norton Critical Edition of "The Praise of Folly" also includes selections from his other works such as "The Complaint of Peace", "The Colloquies" and "The Abbot and the Learned Lady", and two versions of Erasmus's foreword to his translation of the New Testament.
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7 reviews
32 of 32 people found the following review helpful
What a fascinating man!
24 Mar 2008
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I stumbled upon Erasmus while reading Durant's Reformation volume of the Story of Civilization, and later while reading Johnson's History of Christianity. Both authors were rightly impressed with the great influence he had on the Christian world prior to and during the time of the reformation. I had previously known that Luther and Calvin were the major players in the reformation but hadn't realized that so many characters prepared for it and also tried to temper the violent outcomes. Erasmus stood out for me as an intriguing person that I wanted to learn more about. As a result, I purchased this book to get a sample of his writings.
This book of just over 300 pages contains as its major work "The Praise of Folly". This satirical gem has Folly incarnated as a type of a classical goddess discussing the virtues of folly and using various classical and everyday examples to justify why folly is such a good thing. Fortunately, the compiler has footnotes to explain the classical references to those not familiar with most of them; this helped me a lot.
There follows the brilliant anti-war piece entitled "The Compliant of Peace", where peace is embodied and complains of how he is abused and neglected. Then follows two forewords to his groundbreaking Latin translation of the Greek New Testament, explaining why he did this. I hadn't realized how intense the opposition was. After that we have the hilarious "Julius Excluded from Heaven"; an imagined conversation between Pope Julius and St. Peter at heavens gate. I can see why it was initially published anonymously.
The next section includes four of his Colloquies; very well written and bringing out some good points. Three letters are also included including one defending his Praise of Folly, another describing his travels, and another to a high ranking Bishop. The final section includes six essays of varying interest discussing Erasmus.
I loved Erasmus' writing style and though the compilation a very good introduction to his writing. Adam's translation was very clear. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more of Erasmus and sample his writing.
This book of just over 300 pages contains as its major work "The Praise of Folly". This satirical gem has Folly incarnated as a type of a classical goddess discussing the virtues of folly and using various classical and everyday examples to justify why folly is such a good thing. Fortunately, the compiler has footnotes to explain the classical references to those not familiar with most of them; this helped me a lot.
There follows the brilliant anti-war piece entitled "The Compliant of Peace", where peace is embodied and complains of how he is abused and neglected. Then follows two forewords to his groundbreaking Latin translation of the Greek New Testament, explaining why he did this. I hadn't realized how intense the opposition was. After that we have the hilarious "Julius Excluded from Heaven"; an imagined conversation between Pope Julius and St. Peter at heavens gate. I can see why it was initially published anonymously.
The next section includes four of his Colloquies; very well written and bringing out some good points. Three letters are also included including one defending his Praise of Folly, another describing his travels, and another to a high ranking Bishop. The final section includes six essays of varying interest discussing Erasmus.
I loved Erasmus' writing style and though the compilation a very good introduction to his writing. Adam's translation was very clear. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more of Erasmus and sample his writing.
34 of 37 people found the following review helpful
"Great Guide to Enter the Mind and Times of Erasmus"
22 May 2001
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This edition has "some" of Erasmus' most influential works; namely, "The Praise of Folly", the political "Complaint for Peace", "Forewords to the Latin New Testament", "Julius Excluded from Heaven", the "Colloquis", and excerpts from his finest letters. These works are selected more to understand the humanistic side of Erasmus rather than the scholarly doctrinaire who labored for the peace of christendom. With these selections - entailed by fotenotes, the editor's prefaces, and critcical commentaries - this edition will invariably enhance a more intimate impression of the mind of Erasmus at the dawn of the reformation.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Thin on secondary materials
9 Feb 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The other reviewers have praised Erasmus, and, well, duh. Anyone still in print after 500 years probably had some profound and interesting things to say.
But I suspect most people looking at this edition will be doing so in the hope it will contain the variety of secondary materials commonly found in the usually excellent Norton Critical Editions. In that respect I was disappointed with this volume. It does an excellent job of selecting from Erasmus's works, but a poor one, in my opinion, of including secondary literature.
I like what is there, I just want more.
But I suspect most people looking at this edition will be doing so in the hope it will contain the variety of secondary materials commonly found in the usually excellent Norton Critical Editions. In that respect I was disappointed with this volume. It does an excellent job of selecting from Erasmus's works, but a poor one, in my opinion, of including secondary literature.
I like what is there, I just want more.
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