Praise of Folly / Against War

by Erasmus, Georgina Sutton (Narrator), Leonard H. Dean (Translator)

Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536) was known as Prince of the Humanists – though a theologian, a Catholic priest and the leading European scholar of his time. A close friend of Sir Thomas More, Erasmus’s writings had a strong influence on the growing movement for change in Christian Europe, both Lutheran and the Counter-Reformation. These two essays are mong his most important – and well-known – writings. The Praise of Folly, written in Latin in 1509 and spoken by the goddess Folly (who champions a lively enjoyment of life) was a bold satire on (in the cautious contemporary environment) not only Western classical traditions, but also the Catholic Church. Dedicated to More himself, Erasmus wittily challenges entrenched views in so forthright (and humanist) a style that it could have brought him in direct conflict with the papacy. Fortunately, the pope, Leo X enjoyed the humour and the challenge! It is here presented in the lively modern translation by Leonard H. Dean. Against War (c 1517) is ‘an impassioned plea for peace among beings human, civilised, Christian’. A deeply humanist text, widely read through Europe in the ensuing years, it has a continuing currency. “Nothing is either more wicked or more wretched, nothing doth worse become a man than war.” Leighton Pugh reads the classic translation by John Wilson.

Audiobook

Published January 19, 2017

About the author

Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (28 October 1466 – 12 July 1536), known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, social critic, teacher, and theologian.

Erasmus was a classical scholar and wrote in a pure Latin style. Among humanists he enjoyed the sobriquet "Prince of the Humanists", and has been called "the crowning glory of the Christian humanists". Using humanist techniques for working on texts, he prepared important new Latin and Greek editions of the New Testament, which raised questions that would be influential in the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-Reformation. He also wrote On Free Will, The Praise of Folly, Handbook of a Christian Knight, On Civility in Children, Copia: Foundations of the Abundant Style, Julius Exclusus, and many other works.

Erasmus lived against the backdrop of the growing European religious Reformation, but while he was critical of the abuses within the Catholic Church and called for reform, he kept his distance from Luther and Melanchthon and continued to recognise the authority of the pope, emphasizing a middle way with a deep respect for traditional faith, piety and grace, rejecting Luther's emphasis on faith alone. Erasmus remained a member of the Roman Catholic Church all his life, remaining committed to reforming the Church and its clerics' abuses from within. He also held to the Catholic doctrine of free will, which some Reformers rejected in favor of the doctrine of predestination. His middle road approach disappointed and even angered scholars in both camps.

Erasmus died suddenly in Basel in 1536 while preparing to return to Brabant, and was buried in the Basel Minster, the former cathedral of the city. A bronze statue of him was erected in his city of birth in 1622, replacing an earlier work in stone.

Reviews

[Elliott Dooley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Audio performance and introductions.