| The 'Encomium Moriae' ('Praise of Folly') written by Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam for Thomas More was first published in 1511 and written shortly before. The 1515 edition printed in Basel had a commentary in the margin by Gerhard Lister, probably under the supervision of Erasmus, and was decorated with marginal drawings by several hands, including Hans Holbein the Younger. Whereas Holbein probably drew the other image in the book of Bernard (see DR01), this one was almost certainly not by him. Erasmus contrasts the disregard of material things by the pious with the way in which the masses regard 'the concrete as the only reality', and as an example he mentions that 'some holy man drank oil instead of wine without becoming aware of what they had done'. Lister, in his commentary, says this is what happened to Bernard when absorbed in his study of the scriptures, a reference to the story in the Vita Prima. Bernard is shown seated at a desk before an open book with a flask in his left hand.
|
