{"product_id":"under-pretext-of-praise-geraldine-thompson-9781487573522","title":"Under Pretext of Praise: Satiric Mode in Erasmus' Fiction","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe last decade has seen a renewal of interest in the works of Erasmus. Much has been written on the educational and editorial writings of that great humanist of the northern Renaissance, but relatively little on his fictional work. This book deals with the fiction of Erasmus and what it contains of instruction and delight. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe attention of the study is focused primarily on the four satiric works: \u003cem\u003eThe Praise of Folly\u003c\/em\u003e, the\u003cem\u003e Colloquies\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eJulius secundus exclusus\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eCiceronianus\u003c\/em\u003e, although the author, in the process analyzing and appraising, looked for analogues and explanations in the educational exegetical works.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThree aspects of Erasmus' throught are considered. The first is his insistence on man's capacity for betterment through good teaching -- the formal teaching of a preceptor, or the incidental teaching of a good satirist or storyteller. The second is his notion of what man is and to what end he is to be educated. (Man is, of course, bent to knowledge and virtue, but one cannot afford to be too simple in one's appraisal of Erasmus' moral emphases -- the moral life involves both doer and spectator and is strongly dependent on the thinking process, althrough not divorced from the act of willing, and, activated by faith and the grade of God, is never far removed from creed and devotion.)\u003cbr\u003eThe third aspect is Erasmus' special use of irony -- an irony both dramatic and satiric -- subtle and various, and doubly pronges so that it punctures what it praises but also questions the too obvious alternative, and leaves the reader pondering the whereabouts of the right and the perimeters of truth. To quote the atuhor: 'It seems to me that the fictional works are the exempla that give life and specificity to the great theories of a great man, and a study of them should not be without interest.' \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Geraldine Thompson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1487573529\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781487573522\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Toronto Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/27\/1973\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 218\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.75lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.50d","brand":"Geraldine Thompson","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48241317773567,"sku":"9781487573522","price":26.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_01c044be-cf30-4544-b89d-b3f03e264d66.jpg?v=1772653839","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/under-pretext-of-praise-geraldine-thompson-9781487573522","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}