Skip to content
Free Shipping on Orders Over $200 in Canada & USA | Free Shipping to Europe on Orders Over $500 | Competitive International Rates for Asia & Oceania!
Free Shipping on Orders Over $200 in Canada & USA | Free Shipping to Europe on Orders Over $500 | Competitive International Rates for Asia & Oceania!
1663 Rare Book - Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly)
1663 Rare Book - Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly)
1663 Rare Book - Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly)
1663 Rare Book - Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly)
1663 Rare Book - Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly)
1663 Rare Book - Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly)
1663 Rare Book - Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly)
1663 Rare Book - Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly)
1663 Rare Book - Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly)
1663 Rare Book - Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly)
1663 Rare Book - Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly)
1663 Rare Book - Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly)
1663 Rare Book - Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly)
1663 Rare Book - Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly)
1663 Rare Book - Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly)
1663 Rare Book - Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly)
1663 Rare Book - Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly)
1663 Rare Book - Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly)
1663 Rare Book - Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly)
1663 Rare Book - Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly)
1663 Rare Book - Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly)
1663 Rare Book - Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly)

1663 Rare Book - Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly)

$500 USD - $500 USD
$500 USD
$500 USD - $500 USD
$500 USD

Author: Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam. Commentary by Gerardus Listrius.
Title: Moriae Encomium, Cum Gerardi Listrii Commentariis. Epistolae aliquot in fine additae. Una cum Erasmi responsione adversus Martini Lutheri Epistolam. (In Praise of Folly, with the Commentary of Gerardus Listrius; together with several appended letters and Erasmus’s reply to the letter of Martin Luther.)
Publisher: Oxoniae (Oxford), Typis W. Hall, Impensis F. Oxlad Sen. & F. Oxlad Jun., 1633. [i.e. 1663].
Language: Text in Latin (with some Greek passages).
Size: 5" x 3".
Pages: 381 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good contemporary full speckled calf binding, double gilt fillet borders to covers, spine with raised bands, gilt title "MORIAE ENCOMIUM" in second compartment (hinges worn but tight, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown, minor rubbing to extremities - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover.
Content:  Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing or staining - as shown, some erasable pencil underlining from a previous owner scattered throughout - as shown, a handwritten index appears on one of the blank rear endpapers - as shown). 

Estimate: (USD 600– 900).

The book: Scarce 17th-century Oxford edition of Erasmus’s celebrated Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly), accompanied by the extensive commentary of Gerardus Listrius and supplemented with additional letters. This edition is notable for including Erasmus’s Responsio against Martin Luther, making it an important witness to the intellectual conflicts of the Reformation. The text blends satire and humanist critique, targeting scholastic theologians, superstitions, and ecclesiastical abuses, while upholding a Christian humanist ethos. Its pocket size and fine early 17th-century binding make this a highly desirable collector’s copy.

The author: Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466–1536) was one of the most influential scholars of the Northern Renaissance, famed for his mastery of classical languages, his editions of the Church Fathers, and his calls for reform within the Church. His Moriae Encomium, written in 1509 and first published in 1511, remains one of the most enduring works of Renaissance satire.

The commentator: Gerardus Listrius (d. 1549), a humanist from the Low Countries, was a close associate of Erasmus and provided scholarly commentary elucidating the satirical and classical references throughout the work. His notes, first published in 1515, were widely reprinted in scholarly editions such as this.