In Praise of Folie: Moriae Encomium. A book made in latine by the great clerke Erasmus Roterodame. Enlightened by Sir Thomas Chaloner, knight. [In Praise of Folly].

ERASMUS, Desiderius. Translated by Sir Thomas Chaloner.

$275,000.00

Item Number: 139476

London: Thomas Berthelet, 1549.

First edition in English of one of the most notable and popular works of the Renaissance which played an important role in the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation and swiftly brought its author international fame. First printing with ‘latine’ and the printer’s initials ‘TB.’ to the title page. Octavo, bound in full crushed levant morocco by Sangorski and Sutcliffe, gilt titles and elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, triple gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, all edges gilt, wide woodcut border to the title page signed TB., woodcut printer’s device to the final page. In near fine condition. Early ownership name to the title page and light marginalia. Small leather bookplate of Francis Kettaneh affixed to the verso of the front free endpaper. Exceptionally rare with only two other examples traced at auction in the last 100 years.

This famous satire was first conceived on the road from Italy to England, composed in the house of Erasmus's friend (and the dedicatee) Thomas More, and then first printed under the Latin title Moriae encomium in Paris in 1511. Begun as a paradoxical joke between the two men, who had been translating the ancient humorist Lucian together, The Praise of Folly is a remarkable work, by turns sharp and gentle—but always playful—in its learned treatment of the follies of the world and vision of a humanist life. “The Praise of Folly was written when Erasmus was staying in the house of Thomas More in the winter of 1509–10. Its title is a delicate and complimentary play on the name of his host: its subject matter is a brilliant, biting satire on the folly to be found in all walks of life. The book stemmed from the decision which Erasmus had taken when he left Rome to come to England, that no form of preferment could be obtained at the sacrifice of his freedom to read, think and write what he liked … The work was first secretly printed in Paris, and, as in other cases, its immediate success safeguarded him from the consequences of his audacity … Whenever tyranny or absolute power threatened, The Praise of Folly was re-read and reprinted. It is a sign of what was in the air that Milton found it in every hand at Cambridge in 1628. His inherent scepticism has led people to call Erasmus the father of 18th century rationalism, but his rationalist attitude is that of perfect common sense, to which tyranny and fanaticism were alike abhorrent” (PMM). Upon its initial publication in Paris in 1511, Moriae Encomium was hugely popular, to Erasmus' astonishment and sometimes his dismay. Even Erasmus' close friends had been initially skeptical and warned him of possible dangers to himself from thus attacking the established religion. Even Pope Leo X and Cardinal Cisneros are said to have found it amusing. Before Erasmus' death it had already passed into numerous editions and had been translated into Czech, French, and German. An English edition soon followed translated by English poet and diplomat Sir Thomas Chaloner who was renowned among Elizabethans for his Latin verses and pastoral poems, three volumes of which were printed during his lifetime by Thomas Berthelet, the king’s printer who had published three translations of works by Erasmus in the 1520s.