Friday 6 August 2021

adoxography

Brilliantly the titular term is derived from the New Latin for paradoxical, in turn from the Ancient Greek obscure (ἀ + δόξα = against expectations), and in rhetoric refers to refined writing on minor, trivial or base subjects or praise of things of dubious value or the exercise thereof beginning with the revival of the art of loquacious, persuasive speech with the pivotal publication of Erasmus’ In Praise of Folly (Moriæ Encomium). Surveying the field in classical and contemporary education, a non-exhaustive list unworthy subjects of erudition included ageing, infirmities, promiscuity and pests.