Momus

The sparkling translation, by Sarah Knight, frequently substitutes English colloquialisms for a more formal diction...The facing page's original text allows readers equipped with various levels of Latin--rusty or merely lightly oxidized--to follow the great success of the translator, who has produced a version at once faithful and spirited...There is a satirical violence of rhetoric here that goes beyond the familiar, and which makes Momus seem sometimes a premonitory text, looking forward not only to Rabelais and Erasmus, but to Swift and Beckett. -- James Wood * The New Republic *
Momus may reveal more about Alberti than any one of his other works, including his literary ambitions, his frustrations, and the labyrinthine courtly culture in which he made his versatile career. Best of all, this poisonously misogynistic text has been left to the ministrations of two women of formidable learning, Sarah Knight and Virginia Brown, whose competence systematically belies his withering pronouncements....Momus is an important, if elusive, work, now made accessible as never before in this splendid rendition. -- Ingrid Rowland * Bookforum *
A rollicking story…Sarah Knight’s English translation reads very well, presenting the story in an appropriately lively manner…It makes for good entertainment—and a fascinating glimpse of a reworking of many bits of classical literature and learning in a Renaissance-era work. * Complete Review *
An epic satire focused on the little-known classical god Momus, archetype of the critic and troublemaker, this work represents a notable contribution to neo-Latin satire in general and an eccentric addition to Alberti's corpus in particular...The appearance of an English version of Momus is a welcome complement to David Marsh's translations of two other Latin comic works by Alberti, the Intercenales (1987) and the Aesopic Apologi (2004)...The Latin text by Brown and Knight and the English translation by Knight have been expertly rendered...The translation is fluid, graceful, and appropriately colloquial at times; Alberti would be pleased with the deft capturing of his sometimes bawdy tone...Momus as faultfinder, would find little to complain about in Knight and Brown's fine edition of Alberti's strange satire. -- George W. McClure * H-Net Reviews *
The Loeb Classical Library...has been of incalculable benefit to generations of scholars...It seems certain that the I Tatti Renaissance Library will serve a similar purpose for Renaissance Latin texts, and that, in addition to its obvious academic value, it will facilitate a broadening base of participation in Renaissance Studies...These books are to be lauded not only for their principles of inclusivity and accessibility, and for their rigorous scholarship, but also for their look and feel. Everything about them is attractive: the blue of their dust jackets and cloth covers, the restrained and elegant design, the clarity of the typesetting, the quality of the paper, and not least the sensible price. This is a new set of texts well worth collecting. -- Kate Lowe * Times Literary Supplement *
An aristocratic devotion to our culture continues to manifest itself even today in the most prestigious centers of study and thought. One has merely to look at the very recent (begun in 2001), rigorous and elegant humanistic series of Harvard University, with the original Latin text, English translation, introduction and notes. -- Vittore Branca * Il Sole 24 Ore *