Welcome to The Modern Day Adages, a collection of pithy sayings used
in contemporary society (such as "No News is Good News"). Like Adagia,
the 16th century collection of adages published by Desiderius Erasmus, I
include a brief essay with each of the modern adages.
Erasmus was, by many accounts, the greatest humanist of the Renaissance.
Adagia, a collection of several thousand adages, is one of his most
famous works. He worked on it for many years, revising and adding adages until
it became one of the largest works of the time.
Erasmus' goal was not to simply record a collection of pithy sayings. Instead,
he included with each adage essays explaining its meaning and background in
a personal, playful, and mildly sarcastic way. Within these essays, he
attempted to provide moral lessons which he hoped the reader would apply to
his own life. I have included an example of
an Erasmian adage so you can get a sense of what they were like.
