Essential Works of Erasmus

Erasmus, a true child of the Renaissance, wrote with a brilliance seldom equalled in the history of letters. His withering catalogue of human follies and vanities is still just as timely as it was over four centuries ago. A master stylist, famed for his elegant prose, he was also a great humanist, who believed in the ultimate triumph of reason over stupidity and prejudice. His most favous work, "The Praise of folly", is a dazzling disply of his supreme gift for irony, parody and satire. His "Colloquies" are a witty and far-ranging demonstration not only of Erasmus' own ideas on crucial questions, but of the basic thinking of his time. His "Letters" offer a fascinating personal view of such famous Renaissance figures as Sir Thomas More, Thomas Wolsey, Pope Leo X, and Martin Luther.