Bleary-eyed scholars
Erasmus' book was exuberantly subversive towards the entire intellectual and clerical class to which he belonged. A bestseller during his...
Of tolerance and tender ears
500 years ago, in an age apparently less tolerant than our own, Erasmus made a plea for free speech, particularly...
Foam-flecked sea
A fine rhythm to this triologism, and a vivid image. This is Lady Folly speaking, in praise of herself and...
Erasmus on monarchs
Erasmus points out the dangers inherent in monarchies, the risk that such a concentration of power at the apex can...
Seneca the Stoic
Erasmus' triologism to describe Seneca as a dyed in the wool Stoic. I prefer the alliteration of 'double-dyed'.
Well-lubricated gods
Wise, merry Folly laughs off the boozy behaviour of tanked-up gods, treating them like so many party-animal adolescents.
From Erasmus'...
Ash-covered Vulcan
Lady Folly blithely explains why it is better to be merry Bacchus (or Dionysius) than any of the more serious...
Nonsense daubers
Folly, speaking from her light-hearted pulpit, lays into another bunch of self-serious fools, those who write books, or as she...
What is more praiseworthy than truth?
A question that resonates strongly today as we become accustomed to new tropes such as 'alternative facts'. Erasmus' masterpiece, first published...
Wonder-working juice
A Greek myth concerning a wonder-working juice which confers immortality. However, when asking that Tithonus be granted eternal life they...
As worried as …
I admit that I had to find the mythological reference to understand Erasmus' simile for looking anxious.Â
Yet only...
Honeyed hope
Sounds lovely, although Erasmus uses it to refer to the hare-brained gold, elixir or immortality quests of alchemists. One more...
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