The Praise of Folly: Second Edition (Yale Nota Bene)

First published in Paris in 1511, "The Praise of Folly" has enjoyed enormous and highly controversial success from the author's lifetime down to our own day. "The Folly" has no 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 translation of "The Praise of Folly", based on the definitive Latin text, seeks to echo 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 the 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.