Praise of Folly (Penguin Classics)

Description

"First published in Paris in 1511, The Praise of Folly enjoyed enormous and highly controversial success from the author's lifetime down to our own day. The Praise of Folly has no rival, except perhaps Thomas More's Utopia, as the most intense and lively presentation of the literary, social, and theological aims and methods of Northern Humanism. Clarence H. Miller's highly praised translation of The Praise of Folly, based on the definitive Latin text, echoes Erasmus' own lively style while retaining the nuances of the original text. In his Introduction, Miller places the work in the context of Erasmus as humanist and theologian. In a new Afterword, William H. Gass playfully considers the meaning, or meanings, of folly and offers fresh insights into one of the great books of Western literature."--BOOK JACKET.

First Sentence

During my recent journey back from Italy to England, not wishing to waste all the time I was obliged to be on horseback on 'idle gossip' and small talk, I preferred to spend some of it thinking over some topic connected with our common interests or else enjoying the recollection of the friends, as learned as they are delightful, whom I had left here.

Subjects

Other Editions

• Praise of Folly (Penguin Classics)Penguin Classics1994-03-01
• L' eloge de la folieChez Pierre Vander Aa ...1715-01-01
• In praise of folly.Reeves & Turner1876-01-01
• In praise of follyReeves & Turner1876-01-01
• In praise of follyReeves & Turner1876-01-01
• Mōrias enkōmion =M. Nijhoff1898-01-01