Erasmus; Thompson, Craig R. [translator]. The Colloquies of Erasmus. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1965. First Edition, second printing. [10101]
Gray & white cloth, binding very good, dust jacket price-clipped, some darkening to the white panels, in a clear wrapper. xxxv., 662 clean pp., tight. The dark edge in the photo is due to flash reflection on the clear wrapper. Very good in very good dust-jacket. Hardcover.
"Here is the first complete English translation since 1725 of the Colloquia familiaria by Erasmus of Rotterdam. A fresh rendering of a book that enjoyed astonishing popularity in many lands for more than four hundred years, Mr. Thompson's work will stimulate a growing interest in Erasmus in the English-speaking world...In its variety of the sacred and the secular, its urbane and ironic spirit, and its enduring popularity both in and out of school, this volume of some sixty dialogues had a unique place in Renaissance literature. It offered sober, provocative reflections on matters of perennial human concern; witty comments on the passing scene; disputes on ethics, religion, war, government, marriage, money; amusing stories of soldiers, swindlers, students, beggars, courtiers, friars, and fools; in short, an authentic picture of life and manners at the time of the Reformation...Erasmus' lively satire and frank criticism soon won the colloquies a place on the various ecclesiastical indexes of forbidden books. But his book was read, translated, imitated, and adapted as long as Latin was the fundamental study of grammar schools and the accepted international language among educated men. The grace and ease of Erasmian Latinity was one of the lasting achievements of Renaissance style." - publisher.