Assembled for the young Prince William of Cleves, Erasmus’ Apophthegmata consists of thousands of sayings and anecdotes collected from Greek and Latin literature for the moral education of the future ruler. Betty I. Knott and Elaine Fantham’s two-volume annotated translation of the aphorisms and Erasmus’ commentary on them makes this once popular literary and educational text accessible to modern audiences. The introduction discusses the origins of the Apophthegmata, the contents of the collection, and Erasmus’ sources.

Volumes 37 and 38 of the Collected Works of Erasmus series – Two-volume set.