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Transcriber’s Footnotes
A Renaissance‑era guide to early childhood learning, this treatise argues that the first years of a child’s life are the most fertile ground for shaping mind and character. It urges parents and tutors to introduce letters, simple tales, and moral fables while the young mind is still “tender and tractable,” insisting that the habits formed then will echo through a lifetime. The author blends practical advice on memory exercises with a broader philosophical view that disciplined study is the best safeguard against folly and vice.
Presented in the lively, slightly idiosyncratic spelling of its time, the work has been carefully transcribed, with variant readings and typographical quirks clearly marked for modern ears. Though rooted in 16th‑century humanist thought, its core message—that early, gentle instruction lays the foundation for later wisdom—remains resonant. Listeners will hear a voice that balances scholarly rigor with a warm, persuasive call to nurture curiosity from the very start.
Language
en
Duration
~2 hours (140K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Louise Hope, Greg Lindahl, Joseph Cooper and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at http://gallica.bnf.fr)
Release date
2009-03-16
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1469–1536
A brilliant Renaissance scholar, satirist, and teacher, he helped shape European thought with sharp wit and a deep love of learning. Best known for works like The Praise of Folly and for editing the Greek New Testament, he stood for reform through reason rather than open conflict.
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