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Erasmus' Familiar Colloquies grew from a small collection of phrases, sentences, and snatches of dialogue written in Paris about 1497 to help his private pupils improve their command of Latin. Twenty years later the material was published by Johann Froben (Basel 1518). It was an immediate success and was reprinted thirty times in the next four years. For the edition of March 1522 Erasmus began to add fully developed dialogues, and a book designed to improve boys' use of Latin (and their deportment) soon became a work of literature for adults, although it retained traces of its original purposes. The final Froben edition (March, 1533) had about sixty parts, most of them dialogues. It was in the last form that the Colloquies were read and enjoyed for four centuries. For modern readers it is one of the best introductions to European society of the Renaissance and Reformation periods, with lively descriptions of daily life and provocative discussions of political, religious, social, and literary topics, presented with Erasmus's characteristic wit and verve. Each colloquy has its own introduction and full explanatory, historical, and biographical notes. Volumes 39 and 40 of the Collected Works of Erasmus series - Two-volume set.

When did you last tell your children to put their hand over their mouth when they yawn? When did you last suggest that when they are introduced to someone they should shake hands firmly and look them in the eye? Do you suggest that they should wait until everyone is served before they eat rather than hoover up the best bit for themselves? Do you demand that your young daughter dress decorously lest she elicit outraged looks? Do you think that the children of today have disgraceful manners? Unlike, of course, when you were young ... Well, that's certainly what Erasmus of Rotterdam thought in 1530 when he published De Civilitate Morum Puerilium: A Handbook on Good Manners for Children. He felt that learning good manners was crucial to a child's upbringing, and that the uncouth and ill-disciplined behaviour around him demanded a new kind of book. After all, as William of Wykeham memorably said in the 1350s, 'Manners maketh man'. A Handbook on Good Manners for Children is considered to be the first treatise in Western Europe on the moral and practical education of children. It was a massive bestseller - indeed the biggest-selling book of the sixteenth century - going into 130 editions over 300 years and being translated into 22 languages within ten years of its publication. In it, Erasmus concerns himself with matters such as how to dress, how to behave at table, how to converse with one's elders and contemporaries, how to address the opposite sex and much else. For example: Table Manners 'It's just as rude to lick greasy fingers as it is to wipe them on your clothing, Use a cloth or napkin instead.' 'Some people, no sooner than they've sat down, immediately stick their hands into the dishes of food. This is the manner of wolves.' 'Making a raucous noise or shrieking intentionally when you sneeze, or showing off by carrying on sneezing on purpose, is very ill-mannered.' 'To fidget around in your seat, and to settle first on one buttock and then the next, gives the impression that you are repeatedly farting, or trying to fart.' The advice is as relevant today as it was 500 years ago.

The Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus was the greatest scholar of the northern Renaissance, as well as the first editor of the New Testament. A classical scholar that wrote in a pure Latin style, Erasmus earned the sobriquet "Prince of the Humanists". Using the philological methods pioneered by Italian humanists, he helped lay the foundations for the historical-critical study of the past. This comprehensive eBook presents Erasmus’ collected works, with numerous illustrations, rare texts appearing in digital print for the first time, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1) * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Erasmus’ life and works * Concise introductions to the texts * All the major works, with individual contents tables * Features rare translations appearing for the first time in digital publishing * Two translations of ‘The Praise of Folly’: John Wilson and the anonymous 1887 Hamilton, Adams and Co. Translation * Excellent formatting of the texts * Easily locate the dialogues or essays you want to read * Special criticism section, with essays evaluating Erasmus’ contribution to literature, including P. S. Allen’s seminal study * Features three biographies – immerse yourself in Erasmus’ medieval world * Scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genres Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles CONTENTS: The Books The Manual of a Christian Knight The Praise of Folly Colloquies Ciceronianus The Education of Children Against War The Complaint of Peace The Criticism The Age of Erasmus by P. S. Allen Times of Erasmus and Luther: Three Lectures by James Anthony Froude The Biographies Erasmus and the Age of Reformation by Johan Huizinga Erasmus by Richard Claverhouse Jebb Life of Erasmus by P. S. Allen Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles or to purchase this eBook as a Parts Edition of individual eBooks