Free eBooks The Praise Of Folly And Other Writings (Norton Critical Editions) Available To Downloads

                
              
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The Praise Of Folly And Other Writings (Norton Critical Editions) Available To Downloads
This Norton Critical Edition provides a wide selection of Erasmus’s writings, translated from the Latin into fresh, modern English. Besides the celebrated Praise of Folly, Robert M. Adams has included the political "Complaint of Peace," the brutal antipapal satire "Julius Excluded from Heaven," two versions of Erasmus’s important preface to the Latin translation of the New Testament, and a selection both serious and comic of his Colloquies and his letters.  Adams has made these selections to emphasize the humane, rather than the doctrinaire, side of the first and arguably greatest humanist. Critical commentary is provided in essays by H. R. Trevor-Roper, R. S. Allen, J. Huizinga, Mikhail Bakhtin, Paul Oskar Kristeller, and Robert M. Adams. Also included are a Chronology of Erasmus’s life and a Selected Bibliography.
Series: Norton Critical Editions
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1st ed edition (October 17, 1989)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0393957497
ISBN-13: 978-0393957495
Product Dimensions:  5.2 x 0.8 x 8.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:  4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #192,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)   #21 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Modern Renaissance   #66 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Movements & Periods > Renaissance   #116 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > Literature > World Literature > European
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.
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