A Renaissance Neo-Latin Preface | Latin Grammar

Renaissance humanist Neo-Latin was not one uniform imitation of Cicero. Humanists selected ancient models, wrote for new institutions and print audiences, and moved easily between Latin and Greek. In the dedicatory preface to the Moriae encomium (Praise of Folly), Erasmus turns a journey on horseback into an origin story: recollection of Thomas More leads to a playful book whose Greek title echoes More's Latinized surname.

The reading text below follows the preface in the 1892 Leipzig Colloquia familiaria et Encomium Moriae edition, not a diplomatic transcription of a 1523 printing. It preserves Greek ἀμούσοις, the Latinized Greek encomion, and that edition's punctuation choices; no macrons are added. Erasmus' preface circulated through many early printings, so spelling, wording, and punctuation can vary among editions. Teaching forms below are macronized pedagogically.

The complete passage

Superioribus diebus cum me ex Italia in Angliam reciperem, ne totum hoc tempus, quo equo fuit insidendum, ἀμούσοις et illitteratis fabulis tereretur, malui mecum aliquoties vel de communibus studiis nostris aliquid agitare, vel amicorum, quos hic ut doctissimos, ita et suavissimos reliqueram, recordatione frui.
Inter hos tu, mi More, vel in primis occurrebas: cuius equidem absentis absens memoria non aliter frui solebam, quam praesentis praesens consuetudine consueveram; qua, dispeream, si quid unquam in vita contigit mellitius.
Ergo quoniam omnino aliquid agendum duxi, et id tempus ad seriam commentationem parum videbatur accommodatum, visum est Moriae encomion ludere. Quae Pallas istuc tibi misit in mentem? inquies.
Primum admonuit me Mori cognomen tibi gentile, quod tam ad Moriae vocabulum accedit, quam es ipse a re alienus.

The syntax makes play emerge from learned discipline. Erasmus avoids idle conversation, entertains himself through study and friendship, then presents a comic work as the fitting product of unsuitable time.

Travel as the frame

Superiōribus diēbus, cum mē ex Italiā in Angliam reciperem ...

Some days earlier, while I was making my way back from Italy to England ...

Ablative superiōribus diēbus marks time when. Circumstantial cum takes imperfect subjunctive reciperem, presenting the homeward journey as background. Reflexive mē recipere literally means “take oneself back/withdraw”; destination in Angliam uses the accusative, while departure ex Italiā uses the ablative.

Ex Italiā in Angliam mē recipiēbam.

I was making my way back from Italy to England.

The indicative paraphrase states the journey directly. Erasmus' cum clause subordinates it to the choice he made during the journey.

Avoiding unmusical conversation

Nē tōtum hoc tempus ἀμούσοις et illitterātīs fābulīs tererētur.

So that all this time would not be worn away by unmusical and unlettered conversation.

Negative purpose nē takes imperfect subjunctive passive tererētur. Nominative tōtum hoc tempus is the thing being “rubbed away” or consumed. Ablatives fābulīs and Greek adjective ἀμούσοις mark means; Latin illitterātīs agrees with fābulīs.

The Greek word means “without the Muses,” hence uncultivated or unliterary. Greek code-switching is a deliberate (learned, humanist) signal to readers who share Erasmus' education. It is not an accidental failure to find a Latin adjective. Nor is fābula necessarily a formal “fable” here; in the plural it can mean talk or stories.

Tempus inānibus sermōnibus teritur.

Time is worn away in empty conversations.

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When Neo-Latin changes language, preserve the switch in your analysis. A Greek word may mark audience, wit, or intellectual identity in addition to its dictionary meaning.

Necessity on horseback

Tempus, quō equō fuit īnsidendum.

The time during which one had to sit on horseback.

Relative quō is temporal, “during which.” equō fuit īnsidendum is an impersonal passive periphrastic: “there had to be sitting upon a horse.” The verb īnsidēre governs dative equō. No personal agent is expressed because the context makes Erasmus the necessary rider.

English strongly prefers “I had to be on horseback.” That smooth translation is correct only if the reader can account for impersonal neuter īnsidendum, dative equō, and perfect fuit. It is not a nominative “horse that had to be sat.”

Nōbīs equīs diū īnsidendum fuit.

We had to sit on horseback for a long time.

Here dative nōbīs states the agent of necessity and plural equīs remains the dative complement of īnsidēre.

The balanced alternative after malui

Māluī vel dē commūnibus studiīs nostrīs aliquid agitāre, vel amīcōrum recordātiōne fruī.

I preferred either to reflect on our shared studies or to enjoy the recollection of friends.

Perfect māluī governs two infinitives, agitāre and fruī, balanced by vel ... vel. Deponent fruor takes ablative recordātiōne. Genitive amīcōrum identifies the object of recollection. Translating “enjoy friends” is idiomatic, but grammar shows that Erasmus enjoys their remembered presence while physically absent.

The relative clause expands those friends:

Amīcōrum, quōs hīc ut doctissimōs, ita et suāvissimōs relīqueram.

Of the friends whom I had left here as learned as they were delightful.

Accusative quōs is object of pluperfect relīqueram. Correlative ut ... ita balances two superlatives. doctissimōs praises learning; suāvissimōs praises charm. Humanist friendship joins scholarship to pleasure rather than opposing them.

More present in absence

Inter hōs tū, mī Mōre, vel in prīmīs occurrēbās.

Among these, you, my dear More, came to mind among the very first.

Nominative tū is subject of occurrēbās. Vocative mī More interrupts in direct affection; More is the vocative of Latinized Morus. Although occurrō often takes a dative person, no explicit mihi is necessary here. The imperfect presents the recollection recurring during the journey.

The next sentence is constructed as a verbal mirror:

Cuius absentis absēns memoriā fruī solēbam, quam praesentis praesēns cōnsuētūdine.

Absent myself, I used to enjoy the memory of you absent just as, when present, I enjoyed your company present.

Genitives absentis and praesentis modify understood “you”; nominative absēns and praesēns describe Erasmus. Ablatives memoriā and cōnsuētūdine depend on fruī (the second fruī is understood). nōn aliter ... quam means “no differently than,” hence “just as.”

The repeated forms are a (literary, epistolary) figure, not clumsy redundancy. Chiasmus-like alternation collapses physical distance: absent More can provide almost the sweetness of present company.

Absentis amīcī memoriā absēns fruor.

While absent, I enjoy the memory of my absent friend.

Parenthetical affection and an oath

Quā, dispeream, sī quid umquam in vītā contigit mellītius.

Than which—may I perish if anything sweeter has ever happened in life.

Ablative relative quā refers to cōnsuētūdine and supplies the standard after comparative mellītius: “sweeter than which.” Parenthetical dispeream is present subjunctive in an oath or self-curse, (informal within polished literary friendship). The sī clause backs the oath: if anything sweeter ever occurred, may the speaker perish.

Neuter quid means “anything”; comparative neuter mellītius is nominative and predicative with it: “anything sweeter.” A flat “your company was pleasant” loses the extravagant playfulness carried by the oath.

From duty to play

Quoniam omnīnō aliquid agendum dūxī, id tempus ad seriam commentātiōnem parum accommodātum vidēbātur.

Since I decided that something absolutely had to be done, that time seemed poorly suited to serious composition.

Gerundive agendum agrees with neuter aliquid in an indirect statement with esse omitted after dūxī, “I judged [something to be] needing to be done.” ad plus accusative seriam commentātiōnem expresses suitability for a purpose. Adverb parum limits accommodātum.

Vīsum est Mōriae encōmion lūdere.

It seemed good to compose playfully a Praise of Folly.

Impersonal vīsum est means “it seemed good/was decided.” Greek-derived encōmion is the object or internal complement of lūdere, “play at, compose as a jeu d'esprit.” Genitive Mōriae can mean “of Folly”; it also prepares the name-pun.

This is (humanist literary) Latin deliberately combining Classical idiom, Greek vocabulary, and a new printed work's title. Measuring it solely by whether Cicero used the same book title would misunderstand the register.

Pallas and the More–Moria pun

Quae Pallās istuc tibi mīsit in mentem? inquiēs.

What Pallas put that idea into your mind? you will ask.

Interrogative quae Pallās is subject, demonstrative istuc the object, and dative tibi the experiencer. in mentem mittere means “put into the mind.” Future inquiēs scripts More's imagined response and turns a monologue into a miniature dialogue. Pallas Athena stands metonymically for learned inspiration.

Mōrī cognōmen tam ad Mōriae vocābulum accēdit quam tū ab ipsā rē aliēnus es.

The family name More comes as close to the word Moria as you yourself are far from the thing.

Genitive Mōrī depends on cognōmen: “More's surname.” Mōria is Greek mōria, “folly,” Latinized as a first-declension noun. Correlative tam ... quam builds the joke's two halves: similarity of sound and dissimilarity of character. ab rē aliēnus means remote or free from the quality itself. Erasmus dedicates Folly to More precisely by denying that More is foolish.

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The pun is grammatical as well as phonetic: genitives Mōrī and Mōriae place a person's name and an abstract title in parallel dependencies.

Literal and idiomatic translations

Literal: “Some days earlier, while I was returning from Italy to England, so that all this time, during which one had to sit on horseback, should not be worn away by Muse-less and unlettered tales, I preferred sometimes either to turn over something about our shared studies with myself or to enjoy recollection of the friends whom I had left here as learned as they were delightful. Among these you, my More, came to mind among the first. Absent, I used to enjoy the memory of you absent no differently than, when present, I had been accustomed to your present company—than which, may I perish if anything sweeter ever happened in life. Therefore, since I judged that something absolutely had to be done, and that time seemed poorly suited to serious composition, it seemed good to play at a Praise of Folly. ‘What Pallas put that into your mind?’ you will ask. First More's family name prompted me: it comes as close to the word Moria as you yourself are far from the thing.”

Idiomatic: “A few days ago, as I traveled back from Italy to England, I did not want to waste all those hours on horseback in dull, uncultivated chatter. Instead I passed the time thinking about our shared studies and remembering the wonderfully learned and charming friends I had left here. You, my dear More, were one of the first to come to mind. Even at a distance, remembering you gave me nearly the same pleasure as your company—and may I perish if life has ever offered anything sweeter. Since I had to occupy myself somehow and travel was no setting for serious scholarship, I decided to amuse myself by composing a Praise of Folly. You will ask what goddess of wisdom inspired that idea. First came your name, More: it sounds almost exactly like moria, ‘folly,’ although no one is further from folly than you.”

Common Mistakes

1. Making equo the subject of insidendum.

❌ Equus īnsidendus fuit.

Incorrect: this wrongly tries to make the horse a nominative personal gerundive subject, although īnsideō is intransitive and governs the dative.

✅ Equō īnsidendum fuit.

One had to sit on horseback.

2. Giving fruor an accusative object.

❌ Memōriam amīcī fruor.

Incorrect: fruor governs the ablative.

✅ Memoriā amīcī fruor.

I enjoy the memory of my friend.

3. Flattening the absent/present pattern.

❌ Amīcus aberat, sed eum meminī.

A possible summary, but it loses who is absent, the ablatives with frui, and Erasmus' mirrored phrasing.

✅ Absentis absēns memoriā fruēbar.

While absent, I enjoyed the memory of him absent.

4. Treating the Greek as corrupt Latin.

❌ ἀμούσοις est mendum quod corrigendum est.

Incorrect: the Greek word is intentional learned code-switching, not a scribal error.

✅ ἀμούσοις Graecē scrīptum iocum doctum facit.

Written in Greek, ἀμούσοις creates a learned joke.

5. Translating the title without the surname pun.

❌ Mōria ad Mōrum nihil pertinet.

Incorrect reading: Erasmus explicitly connects Moria with More's name.

✅ Mōrī nōmen ad Mōriae vocābulum accēdit.

More's name comes close to the word Moria.

Key Takeaways

Anchor the opening in māluī and its two infinitives, then treat the purpose clause and travel clause as its frame. Keep fruor with ablatives, recognize equō fuit īnsidendum as impersonal necessity, and preserve the Greek switches. Erasmus' grammar transforms lost travel time into a performance of friendship, learning, and wit.

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