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Philosophy General

Adages IV iii 1 to V ii 51

Collected Works of Erasmus

by (author) Desiderius Erasmus

translated by Betty I. Knott-Sharpe

edited and translated by John N. Grant

Publisher
University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division
Initial publish date
Apr 2006
Category
General, Humanism, Renaissance
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780802088321
    Publish Date
    Apr 2006
    List Price
    $189.00
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781487512408
    Publish Date
    May 2016
    List Price
    $128.00

Classroom Resources

Where to buy it

Out of print

This edition is not currently available in bookstores. Check your local library or search for used copies at Abebooks.

Description

This sixth of seven volumes devoted to the Adages in the Collected Works of Erasmus completes the translation and annotation of the more than 4000 proverbs gathered and commented on by Erasmus in his Adagiorum Chiliades (Thousands of Adages, usually known more simply as the Adagia). This volume's aim, like that of the others, is to provide a fully annotated, accurate, and readable English version of Erasmus' commentaries on these Greek and Latin proverbs, and to show how Erasmus continued to expand this work, originally published in 1508, until his death in 1536. An indication of Erasmus' unflagging interest in classical proverbs is that almost 500 of the 951 adages translated in this volume did not make their first appearance until the edition of 1533.

Following in the tradition of meticulous scholarship for which the Collected Works of Erasmus is widely known, the notes to this volume identify the classical sources and illustrate how the content of his commentaries on the adages often reflects Erasmus' scholarly and editing interests in the classical authors at a particular time. The work was highly acclaimed and circulated widely in Erasmus' time, serving as a conduit for transmitting classical proverbs into the vernacular languages, in which many of the proverbs still survive to this day.

About the authors

Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536), a Dutch humanist, Catholic priest, and scholar, was one of the most influential Renaissance figures. A professor of divinity and Greek, Erasmus wrote, taught, and travelled, meeting with Europe’s foremost scholars. A prolific author, Erasmus wrote on both ecclesiastic and general human interest subjects.

Desiderius Erasmus' profile page

Betty I. Knott is a Senior Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Classics at the University of Glasgow.

Betty I. Knott-Sharpe's profile page

JOHN N. GRANT is a widely respected teacher and member of the Department of Education at St Francis Xavier University. His many publications include the studies of African-Canadian history and culture, Black Nova Scotians, and The Immigration and Settlement of the Black Refugees of the War of 1812 in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. John lives in Enfield, Nova Scotia.

John N. Grant's profile page