1725 – Colloquies by Erasmus of Rotterdam | Famous l’Estrange English Translation

Erasmus’s famous Colloquies is a collection of humanistic dialogues on a wide variety of subjects, most of which explore man’s reactions to other men through conversation. Erasmus, and his pupils, wrote on war, travel, religion, sleep, beggars, funerals, literature, and other topics. According to one expert, Colloquies

“held up contemporary religious practices for examination in a more serious but still pervasively ironic tone.” (Coffin)

This work exposed some of Erasmus’s humor through the invention of word games and rhetoric exercises used for education. He wanted culture to serve as a model for those living during the Renaissance.

This 1725 edition was translated into English by Roger L’Estrange. This edition is the first to include Thomas Brown’s additions.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Twenty Two Select Colloquies out of Erasmus Roterodamus, Pleasantly Representing Several Superstitious Levities
• Author(s): Desiderius Erasmus
• Illustrator(s):
• Contributor(s): Roger L’Estrange (Translator); Thomas Brown (Additional Texts)
• Publisher: London: printed for Daniel Brown, George Strahan, B. Motte
• Edition: 1725
• Binding: Full leather
• Format: (8vo), single volume
• Size:  8in x 5in (20.5cm x 12.5cm)
• Collation: [28], 404
• Illustrations: Engraved portrait frontispiece
• Contents Include:
  • Twenty Two Colloquies
  • Translations by Roger L’Estrange
  • Supplemental texts by Thomas Brown
• Reference(s): Coffin, Western Civilizations II, p.463

Condition:

Good. Bound in full leather with surface wear, hinge loss, and slight board movement. Binding remains secure. Pages exhibit mild toning throughout.

Why Collect This?

• 18th-century English-language satire of Catholic customs
• Relevant to collectors of Enlightenment religious satire

Item Number: # 29793