In this work, I have attempted to recreate the tone of Erasmus' Adagia applied
to contemporary society. Throughout this work, I apply his framework of moral
lessons mixed with personal insight. However, there are some differences that
must exist between a book published almost 500 years ago and a contemporary HTML
version.
For example, I have also included links to related sites on the Internet. In this way,
the user can become more involved in what I am trying to tell them. This can be
seen in my page on the adage "No News is Good News." From there,
the user can link to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, a
site about how commercialized modern news is.
I have another benefit that Erasmus could only dream of--world-wide distribution.
Anyone from the Queen of England to a fisherman in China could read through
this site. I am not limited to the production run of a publisher and the distribution
means of Erasmian times.
Erasmus, however, had the advantage of less competition.
Although the Queen of England could view my site, it is unlikely she would
do so! In fact, it is unlikely anyone outside of MIT will ever see this site. The
Internet has led to such an explosive growth of information that it becomes
more difficult to get a message to the world because there are simply so
many places a person could go to for information.
But you have fortunately navigated the Internet and found my Modern Day Adages! So sit
back, click away, and enjoy...
