Pagina 27 [27]
OCR
XX Introduction eaten Manuscript a word not commonly known, as suppose it Bubsequa, for a Cowheard’. 'The logicians, the philosophers, the divines are dealt with yet more severely; princes and their courtiers are ridiculed; and at last, cardinals and the very Pope himself are shown their follies with a fine directness. John Knox scarcely spoke plainer to the Queen of Scots. But the ‘Moria’ ends, as it had begun, with mockery; from a satire it passes back to an oration, and Erasmus whimsically proves that Solomon, St. Paul, even Christ Himself sang the praises of Folly. This is done by a twisting of Bible phrases displeasing to modern taste, which brought Erasmus sharp censure in his own day. Over forty editions of the ‘Praise of Folly’ were issued during its author’s lifetime; the chief publishers were glad to print it, and smaller presses copied their editions. Froben first published it in 1515, embedded in notes, which though ostensibly by Lystrius were in part written by Erasmus himself. Holbein illustrated it with the famous pen and ink sketches, since so often reproduced. It was translated from the original Latin into French
