The Praise of Folly

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Desiderius Erasmus; Translated, with an introduction and commentary by Clarence H. Miller, with an afterword by William H. Gass

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First published in Paris in 1511, The Praise of Folly hasenjoyed enormous and highly controversial success from the author’s lifetime down to our own day.It hasno rival, except perhaps Thomas More’s Utopia, as the most intense and lively presentation of the literary, social, and theological aims and methods of Northern Humanism. Clarence H. Miller’s highly praised translation of The Praise of Folly, based on the definitive Latin text, echoes Erasmus’ own lively style while retaining the nuances of the original text. In his introduction, Miller places the work in the context of Erasmus as humanist and theologian. In a new afterword, William H. Gass playfully considers the meaning, or meanings, of folly and offers fresh insights into one of the great books of Western literature.
Praise for the earlier edition:
“An eminently reliable and fully annotated edition based on the Latin text.”—Library Journal
“Exciting and brilliant, this is likely to be the definitive translation of The Praise of Folly intoEnglish.”—Richard J. Schoeck

Clarence H. Miller, now emeritus, is Dorothy McBride Orthwein Professor of English Literature at St. Louis University. He served as executive editor of the fifteen-volume Yale Edition of The Complete Works of St. Thomas More and is the translator of More’s Utopia, published by Yale University Press. William H. Gass, whose most recent novel is The Tunnel, is one of America’s foremost living writers.

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“An eminently reliable and fully annotated edition based on the Latin text.”—Library Journal

“Exciting and brilliant, this is likely to be the definitive translation of The Praise of Folly into English.”—Richard J. Schoeck

“The Praise of Folly . . . marvelously justifies its canonical stature as one of the great early works of comedy. It is lively, gently witty, a delight to read from start to finish. It is immensely learned. . . . Clarence Miller’s stupendous footnotes (and his fluent translation) reveal the uncanny depths of Erasmus’s mastery of all the classical sources.”—James Wood, The New Republic

ISBN: 9780300097344
Publication Date: February 8, 2003

240 pages, 5 x 7.75

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