Moriae Encomium.

£50,000 · Offered by Shapero Rare Books

first dated edition earliest procurable edition of Erasmus' In Praise of Folly 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. 'The Praise of Folly was written when Erasmus was staying in the house of Thomas More in the winter of 1509-1510. 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 walks of life. The book stemmed from the decision which Erasmus had taken when he left Rome to come to England, that no form of preferment could be obtained at the sacrifice of his freedom to read, think and write what he liked The work was first secretly printed in Paris, and, as in other cases, its immediate success safeguarded him from the consequences

• Binding: Hardcover

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