Moriae Encomium.

£50,000 · Offered by Shapero Rare Books

first dated earliest procurable edition of 'the Praise of Folly', Erasmus' most enduring work The scarce first dated edition of Erasmus' Moriae Encomium, an important work of humanist rhetoric which satirised the corruption and religious hypocrisy of Europe's elite. Printed two months after the undated Paris edition by Gilles de Gourmont, of which only a handful of copies survive, all of them in institutional libraries. The present edition, almost as rare, is not merely a reprint of the Paris edition, but contains additional material including an address and laudatory letter to Erasmus by his fellow humanist Jakob Wimpfeling. All early editions are exceedingly scarce, with only three appearing at auction in the last 100 years that we could trace. The first English translation was not published until 1549, although there had been Czech, French and German editions prior to this. An excellent example of a classic work of paradoxical satire, in which folly is personified and holds up a mirror to mankind. An extremely significant work both in its own right and for its influence on the Protestant Reformation in general. Sir Thomas More's own magnum opus Utopia was at least in part written as a response to Moriae Encomium. 'The Praise of Folly was written when Erasmus was staying in the house of Thomas More in the winter of 1509–10. Its title is a delicate and complimentary play on the name of his host: its subject matter is a brilliant, biting satire on the folly to be found in all

• Printing: later
• Binding: Hardcover

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