Translation of W.M.  Payne.

SEBASTIAN BRANDT

(1458-1521)

In 1494, shortly after the invention of printing, there appeared in Basle a book entitled ‘Das Narrenschiff’ (The Ship of Fools).  Its success was most extraordinary; it was immediately translated into various languages, and remained a favorite with the reading world throughout the sixteenth century.  The secret of its popularity lay in its mixture of satire and allegory, which was exactly in accord with the spirit of the age.  ‘The Ship of Fools’ was not only read by the cultivated classes who could appreciate the subtle flavor of the work, but—­especially in Germany—­it was a book for the people, relished by burgher and artisan as well as by courtier and scholar.  Contemporary works contain many allusions to it; it was in fact so familiar to every one that monks preached upon texts drawn from it.  This unique and powerful book carried the spirit of the Reformation where the words of Luther would have been unheeded, and it is supposed to have suggested to Erasmus his famous ‘Praise of Folly.’

[Illustration:  SEBASTIAN BRANDT]

In its way, it was as important a production as Bunyan’s ’Pilgrim’s Progress.’  The ‘Narrenschiff’ was like a glass in which every man saw the reflection of his neighbor; for the old weather-beaten vessel was filled with a crew of fools, who impersonate the universal weaknesses of human nature.  In his prologue Brandt says:—­

     “We well may call it Folly’s mirror,
     Since every fool there sees his error: 
     His proper worth would each man know,
     The glass of Fools the truth will show. 
     Who meets his image on the page
     May learn to deem himself no sage,
     Nor shrink his nothingness to see,
     Since naught that lives from fault is free;
     And who in conscience dare be sworn
     That cap and bells he ne’er hath worn? 
     He who his foolishness decries
     Alone deserves to rank as wise. 
     He who doth wisdom’s airs rehearse
     May stand godfather to my verse!

* * * * *

     “For jest and earnest, use and sport,
     Here fools abound, of every sort. 
     The sage may here find Wisdom’s rules,
     And Folly learn the ways of fools. 
     Dolts rich and poor my verse doth strike;
     The bad finds badness, like finds like;
     A cap on many a one I fit
     Who fain to wear it would omit. 
     Were I to mention it by name,
     ‘I know you not,’ he would exclaim.”

Sebastian Brandt represented all that was best in mediaeval Germany.  He was a man of affairs, a diplomat, a scholar, an artist, and a citizen highly esteemed and reverenced for his judgment and knowledge.  Naturally enough, he held important civic offices in Basle as well as in Strassburg, where he was born in 1458.  His father, a wealthy burgher, sent him to the University of Basle to study philosophy and jurisprudence and to become filled with the political ideals of the day.  He took his degree in law in 1484 at Basle, and practiced his profession, gaining in reputation every day.