Erasmus, "Apes of Cicero," and Conceptual Blending

Abstract

In The Ciceronian , Erasmus ridiculed as "apes" humanists who imitated Cicero superficially. Methods developed in cognitive literary theory provide a framework for understanding that these simian metaphors are not just ornamental: they are integral to the dialogue's meaning, helping to configure the connections that it draws between literary style and paganism. Metaphorical blending in the Ciceronianus takes on added significance when read alongside the Adages , in which Erasmus glossed classical sayings about monkeys to comment on simian and human nature. The blending of conceptual metaphors both within and between these texts is itself the process by which new meanings emerge.

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