20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ancient Wisdom, Timeless Wisdom, April 8, 2002
This review is from: The Adages of Erasmus (Paperback)
It is hard to believe that a compilation of over 4,000 adages from Greek and Latin could ever be a bestseller, but that is what happened five hundred years ago when Erasmus started publishing his editions of adages. Erasmus is more famous for _Praise of Folly_ (1511) which is still funny and represents a pinnacle of sly wit and subversive erudition. His compilation of adages, however, was his most popular work in his own time. You can still find the full edition all of them, in six volumes, but now there is a one volume selection, _The Adages of Erasmus_ (University of Toronto Press), selected by William Barker. As an introduction to renaissance thinking and to an astonishingly well-read and retentive mind, this edition of the _Adages_ is excellent, but it is also a reminder to us moderns of how deeply the roots of learning go back into the past.
The _Adages_ became influential just as adages themselves are to our way of thinking. Proof that this particular collection continues to influence us comes most pointedly from a couple of mistakes that Erasmus made. In his discussion of "He calls figs figs, a spade a spade," Erasmus took the Greek "skaptein" meaning "to dig" as the source of "scapha;" he thought it was a spade, but it actually is a small dugout boat, or skiff. The meaning of the
proverb is unchanged; Erasmus explains, "It suits a man who speaks the truth in a simple and countrified style, who tells of things as they are, and does not wrap them up in ornamental verbiage." But ever since Erasmus, no one has said "to call a skiff a skiff." Time and again, this collection points out very familiar ideas which were first voiced thousands of years ago; Erasmus discusses "To leave no stone unturned," "Know thyself," "The cart before the horse," and many more which, except for translation, are entirely the same as they were for the ancients. To read the _Adages_ is to find comfort in this sort of scholarly stability. In addition, there are a good many expressions here, some crude, which didn't make it to modern times, but perhaps should have. Erasmus, admitting "the line is too obscene to give much pleasure to the translator," reflects on "In canis podicem inspicere," from Aristophanes: "I told him to go and look into a dog's anus."
Many of the adages here show a citation and a very brief explanation, but those who wish weightier matter will enjoy reading the digressions. Sometimes Erasmus apologizes for going far from his source proverb, but by such means he gives us his ideas on the proper upbringing of princes, his own work in scholarly explication, or the futility of war. It is clear that he delights in pointing out to his contemporaries the continuation of learning from the ancients and the need to adopt the lessons to his own times. This large and attractive summary of his thought in _Adages_ is just right for those who wish to take the lessons into our own.
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20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Extraordinarily readable and extremely relivant, July 7, 2002
This review is from: The Adages of Erasmus (Paperback)
Erasmus was fascinated by proverbs and this book highlights over 80 proverb essays of the more than 4,000 that Erasmus collected and commented on. Typically each is accompanied with his comments, which are sometimes in a few lines and sometimes in full-scale essays. They display his wit and elegance, along with bursts of satire alternating with serious views. The proverbs when published was kind of a « top seller » of Europe at the time.
This selection by Dr. William Barker emphasizes Erasmus' skill in explaining the proverbs, shows how he made his book, and demonstrates the way in which many of the proverbs moved into the English language. The text is illustrated with images by Brueghel and Holbein and examples of proverb use from emblem books.
Of the 80 proverb essays, some are masterpieces of social criticism (War is sweet to those who have never tried it), others provide scholarly explanations of philosophical ideas or gestures and customs (Thumbs up). Many of the proverbs have passed into modern usage (Know thyself, To give someone the "finger", Well begun is half done), some even retaining their Latin form (Deus ex machina). And a few, it turns out, were created by Erasmus himself through his occasional misinterpretation of the ancient languages (Pandora's box, To call a spade a spade).
Above all the book is extremely readable and Professor Barkers comments are thoroughly enjoyable. It is the kind of book you can dip into now and then for some quick insights or amusement.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
This Book is not the Complete collection., May 28, 2011
This review is from: The Adages of Erasmus (Paperback)
This book is his selected works.
But the explanation is very everything down to the minutest details.
Expensive a little.
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