
‘A knowledge of proverbs contributes to a number of things,’ wrote Erasmus in his Introduction to the Adages, ‘but to four especially: philosophy, persuasiveness, grace and charm in speaking, and the understanding of the best authors...’ This volume contains the second 500 of the more than 4000 adages gathered and commented on by Erasmus, sometimes in a few lines and sometimes in full-scale essays. The notes identify the classical sources and indicate how Erasmus’ reading and thinking developed over the quarter-century spanned by the eight revisions of the original work. Many of the proverbs cited by Erasmus are still in our common stock of speech.
Volume 32 of the Collected Works of Erasmus series.
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and theologian, educationalist, satirist, and philosopher. Through his works, he is considered one of the most influential thinkers of the Northern Renaissance and one of the major figures of Dutch and Western culture.

‘A knowledge of proverbs contributes to a number of things,’ wrote Erasmus in his Introduction to the Adages, ‘but to four especially: philosophy, persuasiveness, grace and charm in speaking, and the understanding of the best authors...’ This volume contains the second 500 of the more than 4000 adages gathered and commented on by Erasmus, sometimes in a few lines and sometimes in full-scale essays. The notes identify the classical sources and indicate how Erasmus’ reading and thinking developed over the quarter-century spanned by the eight revisions of the original work. Many of the proverbs cited by Erasmus are still in our common stock of speech.
Volume 32 of the Collected Works of Erasmus series.
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and theologian, educationalist, satirist, and philosopher. Through his works, he is considered one of the most influential thinkers of the Northern Renaissance and one of the major figures of Dutch and Western culture.








