In Praise of Folly (Dover Thrift Editions) [Paperback]

Desiderius Erasmus (Author), John Wilson (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 10, 2003 | Series: Dover Thrift Editions

Witty, influential work by one of the greatest scholars of the Renaissance satirizes the shortcomings of the upper classes and religious institutions. Required reading for humanities classes, this literary gem is ripe with vignettes and caricatures — with Folly, a metaphor for stupidity, the centerpiece. Unabridged republication of the John Wilson translation.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Latin

From the Publisher

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (February 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486426890
• ISBN-13: 978-0486426891
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.2 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #797,799 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #59 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Customs & Traditions

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books of Literary Renaissance, December 29, 2003

By 

Roberto P. De Ferraz "ferraz9" (Sao Paulo, Brazil) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In Praise of Folly (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

In Praise of Folly (Encomiun Moriae in Latin) was written in 1509 by the Dutchman Erasmus of Rotterdam when he was guest to his English famous friend Thomas More,or Morus if you prefer, the author of the celebrated book Utopia. Given internal religious strife in Europe, and England was in no exception mood, these were pretty much dangerous times and many heads rolled and were to roll, More"s included, due to the persecution by Henry VIII. Whatever was to be said about the nettlesome religious matter had to be done with extrema caution in order to avoid the perilous verdicts of the Holy Tribunal.

Along with Thomas More, Desiderius Erasmus was one of the most important representatives of the Renaissance literary movement in northern Europe and what was casually presented by Erasmus as a booklet inspired by a casual play of words with the surname More (which is almost equal to Moriae, madness in Greek), was in fact an attempt to salvage what should be rescued of the Classical Greek Antiquity in Erasmus' opinionated argument and incorporated in the Christian thought of the time. Beneath an almost non-descript façade was an issue of utmost significance to the evolution of the so-called Natural Sciences, that were to benefit from advances of recent discoveries in Physics, Chemistry and later on Biology, but which were hindered to evolve by the so-called aristotelian taint inherited by the Scholastic medieveal tradition so dear to the traditionalist Catholic Church, a task difficult in itself but which Erasmus easily outdone with a satyrical style that offended no one, preserving all the respect to the Church hierarchy and its dogmas and, most importantly, the figure of Jesus Christ.

The book is in fact a small one but the reader is much rewarded by the richness of its content, where the author takes him by his hands and strolls with him trough ancient Greek and Roman mithology in a verbose prose at the same time easy, vigorous and stimulating, where one is impressed by the author's astounding erudiction, as if he was a northern true inheritor of the Tuscan Dante Aligheri (the Divine Comedy) in this purpose. This is certainly one of the best literary works of late Renaissance and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read!, November 16, 2008

By 

Michael Geerts "Philosopher" (Brecht, Belgium) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In Praise of Folly (Paperback)

In praise of folly is a must read for anyone interested in the humanist movement in the late middle ages, in the middle of the religious wars. Erasmus was a brilliant writer, who mocks about everybody in this book, but subtle. He wrote it in honour of Thomas More, he was also a friend of Martin Luther, but remained Roman Catholic. He also founded the 'Collegium Trilingue' where they tought Greek, Roman and Hebrew, in Louvain, Flanders.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible translation, June 22, 2011

By 

Maro Riofrancos - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In Praise of Folly (Kindle Edition)

This is the worst translation into English from any language I have ever read. Totally unidiomatic, whether in 16th-century or 21st-century English. It reads like a bad machine translation. If it were free, it would be laughable; at $.95, the joke's on me.