Erasmus, Praise of Folly, query 2

Latin after CDLXXVI
Post Reply
hlawson38
Textkit Zealot
Posts: 1071
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2010 12:38 am
Location: Tampa, Florida, USA

Erasmus, Praise of Folly, query 2

Post by hlawson38 »

In the letter to More that serves as introduction, Erasmus is justifying the propriety of ridiculing the vices of the human race in general.
Praeterea qui nullum hominum genus pretermittit, is nulli homini, uiciis omnibus iratus uidetur.
Translation: Besides the one [i.e. the satirist] who targets the general kind of men, displays anger at no [ particular ] man, [but] at the vices of all [men].

I really needed a "but" or "instead", which was not there. Is this dative expression nulli homini, viciis omnibus, frequently seen, when the intended meaning is "not-this-one-but-all"?
Hugh Lawson

anphph
Textkit Enthusiast
Posts: 593
Joined: Fri Nov 09, 2007 1:35 am

Re: Erasmus, Praise of Folly, query 2

Post by anphph »

I really needed a "but" or "instead", which was not there. Is this dative expression nulli homini, viciis omnibus, frequently seen, when the intended meaning is "not-this-one-but-all"?
Yes. It's an implied adversative, made even clearer by the chiastic structure of "nulli [x], [x] omnibus."

mwh
Textkit Zealot
Posts: 4777
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 2:34 am

Re: Erasmus, Praise of Folly, query 2

Post by mwh »

Note the anaphoric nullum … nulli too, and the contrastive chiasmus of homini, viciis. While there’s no kind of persons he spares, it’s no person but all vices that his anger seems directed at.

Erasmus is well versed in the effective use of rhetorical figures. They'll have come as second nature to him.

hlawson38
Textkit Zealot
Posts: 1071
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2010 12:38 am
Location: Tampa, Florida, USA

Re: Erasmus, Praise of Folly, query 2

Post by hlawson38 »

"implied adversative": I must add that to the list of things to look out for.

Many thanks, mwh.
I
Hugh Lawson

Timothée
Textkit Enthusiast
Posts: 564
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 4:34 pm

Re: Erasmus, Praise of Folly, query 2

Post by Timothée »

As Erasmus is a Renaissance scholar, I thought these threads would work quite nicely on the Neo-Latin forum.

Post Reply