Erasmus- In Praise of Folly

Photo Credit: Princeton University Press

The Praise of Folly is one of the most celebrated and important books within the European Humanism time period because of it's demonstration of the fact that Europe, during this time, was going through a transition of values. Before the Reformation time period, the Catholic Church was the backbone of European society. Although there were issues involving the Church, it was still seen as the holder of wisdom and most of the countries/cultures within Europe relied on the Church's insight and knowledge as well as it's overall support. However, this time was coming to an end. 

Desiderius Erasmus, the author of this great work, was one of the 16th centuries greatest scholars and one of the most influential humanists. He was good friends with Saint Thomas More and it is actually this friendship which spurred the writing of the book, to a limited degree, because Erasmus was humored by the closeness between the Greek word for folly, Moria, and More's name. 

The writing itself was constructed in 1509. Erasmus is said to have written it in only a week, however, this claim is not truly believed since it was published 2 years later in 1511 after having considerable revisions, not including the addition of an entire section, which was added after the first edition was printed. The writing is said to be, or understood to be, split into 3 different sections, even though there are not any actual denotations signifying different chapters/sections. It is a rather short work and quite whimsical. Erasmus, after the book was completed and printed, was met with criticism and praise in addition to notoriety. He did not quite like the fame however and actually regretted writing the book. 

In the first part or section of the book we are face to face with Folly herself. She discusses how culture would not exist, in the way it does, without her. Folly speaks about how marriage in addition to the birth of children would not exist if she was not present in the world. Folly goes on to talk about how even the gods are held within her grasp, under her control."...prick up your ears and I'll tell you how many benefits I bestow on both men and gods, how widely my sacred powers extend."(p.11) Folly talks about many other aspects of culture which are affected by her existence such as any and all of the great works or accomplishments done by so many men throughout history. Folly is truly responsible for most of human society and it is so amazing to see how Erasmus was so in tune with how the world truly worked. The world is a wonderful place, however, it is not perfect; this same statement applies to mankind as well. There are countless stories of men of great valor, who triumphed over the hardships of life and achieved their dream or destiny. However, most of the stories told about these great men are overall, shallow, and importance is only put on the end. An example of this is Hercules. Now he is known, in myth, as the son of Zeus, the man endowed with incredible strength. This is usually the only thing people know about Hercules. No one is ever really capable of talk about his 12 great labors, the Follies of his life, even though these labors are where the myths concerning him were born. Folly remains hidden and unseen, always present but never noticed, the silent forger of destinies. 

Now, the second part of the book is similar to the first; folly expresses how she is present in different classes of men. The different classes she addresses are doctors, lawyers, businessmen, grammarians, gamblers, hunters, philosophers, superstitious men, men concerned with ancestry/bloodlines, and finally theologians or doctors of theology. As Folly speaks about these men, she changes her tone from that which she spoke with in the previous part of the book, to a more corse and judgmental or harsher one. The one class of men Folly is particularly corse with is the theologians. According to her, men of the cloth, be they Monk or Pope, all take the scripture and judge it according to their own ideas or opinions, which is folly."Now imagine how much pleasure they get from shaping and reshaping the holy scripture at will, as if it was made of wax, while they demand that their own decrees shall be observed, as soon as a few schoolmen have subscribed to them, more strictly than the laws of Solon, and shall even be placed above papal edicts."(p.60-61). Folly continues on and speaks about how the words and messages of Christ are what the theologian may preach, but it is not what they practice.

Lastly comes the third and final section in which Folly turns away and leaves all the classes of foolish men behind, save one: the Christian. Folly addresses the Christian religion as a whole and states that the holy scripture praises ignorance and the simple life while simultaneously denouncing worldly things and false wisdom (wisdom of the world and not of God). She also states that,  "And now to sum up (lest I go on with these citations to infinity), the entire Christian religion seems to bear a certain natural affinity to folly, and to relate far less clearly to wisdom." (p.82) Folly goes so far as to say that Christ himself was the biggest fool of all. At the end of her speech she states that all men should seek to have a good and fun life, to enjoy the life they have, and to be a follower of Folly. 

Overall the book itself is a very great work. One of the things within the book, which had an impact on me personally, was Folly's criticism of Christianity. I truly feel that so many people simply listen to the words of Christ as they are spoken by the Priest, or read them from the Bible themselves, but they do not actually seek to understand them. Everything Christ speaks about has a direct purpose and meaning. With this being a given, we must seek to look beyond what is written or heard: we must try to uncover the mysteries for ourselves. Christ said, "Therefore I say unto you, all things, whatsoever you ask when ye pray, believe that you shall receive; and they shall come unto you."(Mark 11:24) Many would overlook this statement, however, if one were to actually contemplate those words and apply them to their own life, they would see that Christ spoke truth and that whatever they did pray for, would be granted to them. This is but one example, yet, we can already see how there exists a much deeper understanding of the words of Christ, contrary to what many think and this is why Folly criticizes christians. We must learn to understand the words of Christ and not input our own nonsense in their stead, for if we do, we see that we will ultimately be able to enjoy life and not be concerned with failing or coming into contact with folly, for that is the entire reason why we exist, to learn, develop, and grow. 

Sources:

1. Desiderius Erasmus, "In Praise of Folly", 2009, Gutenburg Project, Ebook Edition @ http://www.gutenberg.org/files/30201/30201-h/30201-h.htm

2. "The Praise of Folly", Princeton University Press, jpg/Gif. @ http://press.princeton.edu/images/k10476.gif

3. Nauert, Charles, "Desiderius Erasmus", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2012 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.),  @ https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2012/entries/erasmus/