In Praise of Folly
Desiderius Erasmus 1511 CE
Folly speaks in her own defense in a comic speech about human foolishness. She claims credit for the happiness of everyone from lovers to scholars and church leaders.
143 pages 2h 47m reading time
- One of the most famous satires of the Renaissance, and the best-known work of its era's leading scholar.
- Argues that a little foolishness makes life bearable, since love, friendship, and even courage depend on not seeing things too clearly.
- Mocks the greed and empty rituals of monks, theologians, and church leaders, and praises instead a simple, sincere faith closer to the teachings of Jesus.
- Its attacks on church abuses fed the calls for church reform that grew into the Protestant Reformation, though Erasmus himself stayed Catholic.
- It helped shape later European satire, influencing writers such as Rabelais and Swift.
Dreamed up on horseback
Erasmus says he thought of it while riding over the Alps on his way from Italy to England.
A joke on a friend's name
Its Latin title, Moriae Encomium, also hints at his friend Thomas More, whose London home he wrote it in.
Written in about a week
Sick and without his books, Erasmus says he wrote it quickly, at first just to amuse his friends.
Banned by the Church
Decades after his death, the Catholic Church put Erasmus's writings on its official list of forbidden books.
Translated from Latin