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Erasmus was fascinated by proverbs and prepared a collection of more than 4,000 of them, accompanying each with his comments, sometimes in a few lines and sometimes in full-scale essays. His massive compendium, characterized by his wit, his elegance, his bursts of satire alternating with serious views, was among the most learned and widely circulated of Renaissance books. This selection emphasizes Erasmus' skill in explaining the proverbs, shows how he made his book, and demonstrates the way in which many of the proverbs moved into the English language. The text is illustrated with images by Brueghel and D¦rer and examples of proverb use from emblem books.
Over eighty proverb essays are presented here. Some are masterpieces of social criticism ('War is sweet to those who have never tried it'), others provide scholarly explanations of philosophical ideas or gestures and customs ('Thumbs up'). Many of the proverbs have passed into modern usage ('Know thyself' , To give someone the finger' 'Well begun is half done'), some even retaining their Latin form ('Deus ex machina'). And a few, it turns out, were created by Erasmus himself through his occasional misinterpretation of the ancient languages ('Pandora's box', 'To call a spade a spade').
This edition replaces the pioneering work by Margaret Mann Phillips, providing more essays and more detailed source and background information for the texts. It is based on the translations and scholarship of the Collected Works of Erasmus - mostly that of Sir Roger Mynors but also the work of Phillips herself.
E-Book Content
THE ADAGES OF ERASMUS Selected by William Barker
Erasmus' Adages is a collection of 4151 ancient proverbs, each accompanied by a commentary explaining its history and possible uses. Though most of these commentaries are very short, some just a few lines of scholarly explication, others are lengthy essays on social and political topics. The most famous of these is 'War is sweet to those who have not tried it/ a major anti-war tract. Many of the proverbs have passed into modern usage ('Know thyself/ 'To give someone the finger/ 'Well begun is half done'), some even retaining their Latin form (Dews ex machina). And a few, as it turns out, were created by Erasmus himself through occasional misinterpretations of the ancient sources ('Pandora's box/ To call a spade a spade'). The massive compendium, characterized by wit, elegance, seriousness, and occasional bursts of satire, was among the most learned and widely circulated of Latin books during the early modern period. This annotated selection of 116 proverbs, which includes all the longer essays, is based on the translation in the Collected Works of Erasmus. W I L L I A M BARKER is Professor of English at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St John's.
Perfacile eft aiant^prouerbia (cribere mp& Haudnego,fed durum eft fcibere Chiliadas. Qui mihi non credk,fadatlicet ipfepmcltijtii, Mox faerii ftadijs ^quior ille meis.
Portrait of Erasmus This roundel by Hans Holbein the Younger appeared in the preliminary pages of Adages, in the edition of Basel, Froben 1533. Beneath it is the poem that Erasmus wrote about the composition of this work (for translation and discussion, see introduction, page xx). (Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, Victoria University in the University of Toronto)
THE ADAGES OF
ERASMUS Selected by William Barker
U N I V E R S I T Y OF TORONTO PRESS Toronto Buffalo London
www.utppublishing.com © University of Toronto Press Incoporated 2001 Toronto Buffalo London Printed in Canada ISBN 8020-4874-9 (cloth) ISBN 8020-7740-4 (paper)
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National Library of Canada cataloguing in publication data Erasmus, Desiderius, d. 1536 The adages of Erasmus Translations selected from the Collected w