The Praise of Folly and Other Writings

by Erasmus, Robert M. Adams (Editor)

Besides the celebrated Praise of Folly, Robert M. Adams has included the political Complaint of Peace, the brutal antipapal satire Julius Excluded from Heaven, two versions of Erasmus's important preface to the Latin translation of the New Testament, and a selection both serious and comic of his Colloquies and his letters. Adams has made these selections to emphasize the humane, rather than the doctrinaire, side of the first and arguably greatest humanist.

Critical commentary is provided in essays by H. R. Trevor-Roper, R. S. Allen, J. Huizinga, Mikhail Bakhtin, Paul Oskar Kristeller, and Robert M. Adams.

Also included are a Chronology of Erasmus's life and a Selected Bibliography.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Classics, Religion, Theology, History, Renaissance

340 pages, Paperback

Published October 17, 1989

About the author

Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (28 October 1466 – 12 July 1536), known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, social critic, teacher, and theologian.

Erasmus was a classical scholar and wrote in a pure Latin style. Among humanists he enjoyed the sobriquet "Prince of the Humanists", and has been called "the crowning glory of the Christian humanists". Using humanist techniques for working on texts, he prepared important new Latin and Greek editions of the New Testament, which raised questions that would be influential in the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-Reformation. He also wrote On Free Will, The Praise of Folly, Handbook of a Christian Knight, On Civility in Children, Copia: Foundations of the Abundant Style, Julius Exclusus, and many other works.

Erasmus lived against the backdrop of the growing European religious Reformation, but while he was critical of the abuses within the Catholic Church and called for reform, he kept his distance from Luther and Melanchthon and continued to recognise the authority of the pope, emphasizing a middle way with a deep respect for traditional faith, piety and grace, rejecting Luther's emphasis on faith alone. Erasmus remained a member of the Roman Catholic Church all his life, remaining committed to reforming the Church and its clerics' abuses from within. He also held to the Catholic doctrine of free will, which some Reformers rejected in favor of the doctrine of predestination. His middle road approach disappointed and even angered scholars in both camps.

Erasmus died suddenly in Basel in 1536 while preparing to return to Brabant, and was buried in the Basel Minster, the former cathedral of the city. A bronze statue of him was erected in his city of birth in 1622, replacing an earlier work in stone.

Reviews

[sologdin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard for me not to crush on Erasmus: cosmopolitan, pacifist, menippean. Learned in ancient writings, interested in allegiance to neither reformation nor counter-reformation, but rather in democratization of Scripture through vernacular translation simultaneous to the construction of critical editions of Scripture in original languages. Not however to be approached casually--he expects the reader to get the jokes and keep up with him. Some minimal knowledge of the ancient literatures and philosophies is necessary--the Norton is as usual inconsistent--it is cautious to footnote the plot of The Odyssey but is unable to muster even the slightest explanation of Timon.

Text here is The Praise of Folly, supplemented by The Complaint of Peace, a bunch of dialogues (satirical and doctrinal), letters, and appended modern essays. Supplementals enhance value of principal text. Modern essays are a mixed bag; standout is Bakhtin, naturally, whereas the editor's essay, while informative, is politically philistine. Principal text augmented also by period graphics, including great cover by Holbein. As with all Norton Criticals, sufficient merely for an undergraduate course or faking one's way through cocktail party chatter with true experts on the subject (provided there's enough to drink).

Very much a classic, required reading for all educated persons, The Praise of Folly is saturated with several layers of irony, so it's hard to know exactly what it's doing. Certainly a joke on St. Thomas More, as it is very much a mock encomium, and Greek title is Morias Enkomium. Text takes on everyone: the crazed, the aged, power, poverty, law & lawyers, medicine, war, and so on. Could be read as part of the long rightwing tradition of jeremiad that alternately despairs and rages when all that is solid melts into air--but I personally think that E is too sophisticated for all that.

Go read now lest ye remain benighted.

[T.R. Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been wanting to read Erasmus for quite a while now. I'm glad I've finally gotten around to it. I was actually gifted this for Christmas this year. Well, technically I was gifted The Praise of Folly alone, without the Other Writings. But as I cannot seem to find The Praise of Folly alone on Goodreads for some reason, I will be posting the review here.

I deeply enjoyed it. It was not at all what I was expecting, however. I don't know why, but I thought this was going to read like a play; something similar to Shakespeare. But what I found was an essay on the various faults of humanity. There are some insights here that are really impressive, as they predict the ridiculous behavior of the masses that we all still witness today.

Humanity truly is a strange thing. We think we are so original and independent, but we only live our lives following the same basic patterns that any group of civilized, or even uncivilized, people did in times long gone. The same hateful patterns can be seen. The same self-loathing and prejudice. The same anger. The same hypocrisy.

A lot of wisdom in here. I can finally scratch this off my list. So many books I still need to read. I'll most likely die before I reach them all. There's a depressing thought.

[booklady · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this many years ago but confess I didn't 'get' most of it. There were many inside jokes about historical figures of the age which I think I would understand a lot better now that I know the history of the period much better. As such I am anxious to reread. I remember at the time finding it very acerbic.

[Beauregard Bottomley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Erasmus is on my heroes short list. This book is not the reason why nor the other writing, 'Against War'. The biting satire is of such an obvious low hanging fruit type that the books seem to morph into self parody and the irony fell flat. I usually love old books such as this one, but to me this one falls flat.

[William Adam Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my second reading of The Praise of Folly. My first reading was in college as I was a Political Science/History major. I wanted to see how my experience would be now, since I didn't recall that much from my college years. I will say, one thing that I did remember was the many footnotes in the text, as Erasmus uses a lot of references to writers, philosophers, and myths from the ancient world, and these are explained in the footnotes.

Erasmus wants to show through his tongue in cheek writing how people are always acting foolishly. But that's okay, it's in human nature to display our foolishness, and rather than that, we should embrace our love of folly. Erasmus goes on to show in his writing, how the people of society who are thought to be the pillars of society are really just as guilty, or more so, as acting the fool than the common people, they just won't admit it because of their pride or stubbornness. In this way, Erasmus can take a gentle swipe at European society in the years right before the Reformation started. Erasmus himself wanted to see the church reform itself, but he was cautious about being too openly critical of the church or any secular leaders. He, like his good friend Thomas More, wanted to see the Catholic church reform itself. Then came Luther and Europe was about to go through a sea change. This is a picture of Europe at the tail end of the Renaissance.

[Abigail Sommer]

I had a really good time reading this. Made me feel like I was jester-maxxing again. Anyways, I thought the way this attacked basically everything and everyome (including the church) in 1507 is fantastic. I was conflicted with Folly a little bit though. It almost seemed like Erasmus actually meant that it was a goddess of Wisdom disguised as Folly (foolishness) to entertain those with the message which sounded silly but always contained messages that Erasmus would have actually considered to be truths. This makes further sense because at this time, Jesters/Fools were often very goofy but very intelligent and could pass off saying potentially offensive or risky things that were actually true simply because they were funny about it. Additionally, the intro to the book has Erasmus relating Folly to his friend Thomas More (bc Moria is Greek for Folly and More sounds like Moria) who we know to be very intelligent but not very foolish. Anyways this was super fun to read even though some messages don’t fit modern feminism (but obviously thats to be expected with a text from the 16th century).

[Hugo Gomez · Rating 4 out of 5]

It started with a dream.
I was getting a ride from someone and they drove me through the alleyway to access the rear parking lot of a large building that was a bar. I mean a pub. As I got out and walked to the rear entrance, i noticed the adjacent building to the left was a charnel house, where the offal and waste parts were burned. The entire scene was hell and ruin, burned black everywhere. I was surprised the pub was sound and there was some concern about it being so close. A blood gutter ran between them and the stench of blood was thick.
As I entered the pub, I noticed mostly wooden fixtures and behind the bar I noticed some writing prominently on the wall behind it, high and in bold letters. It was in a different language but I laughed at how clever and true it rang. That's when I noticed a friend there and greeted him loudly and with the most loving familiarity, "Erasmus!" It's not a common name in my area and this may be the first time I had encountered it.

This was in a similar vein in my discovery of George Bernard Shaw, as they were linked in a special way later. I was not in any special place in that dream, but I received an image of George Washington as in a portrait, then a scene from the movie Beethoven of the big St. Bernard dog, followed by a memory of the cover of Shawshank Redemption. The three words came very clearly and distinctly and I woke with them on my lips and quickly wrote them down, confused as I was at the time. A web search led me easily to Erasmus by just his name alone and I was fortunate that it was not another Erasmus it led me to. As for Bernard Shaw, it couldn't have been more specific.

What was the link? Their work on the education of children. How contrasting both views! I think I have already made a review of both. This, the praise of Folly, was entirely different and I enjoyed a great part of it. The 3rd part seemed to derail itself and much of the looseness is lost to what I think was sincere criticism Erasmus was reserving and which, through Folly, was finally able to express. It paints a dire picture and you can see how Luther rode this wave of discontent for many things to drive his schism. It was a widely distributed work and one could possibly say it cleared the ground for how widely Protestantism reached the world, though you could hardly say the general population read it as most who did were schooled in Latin or Greek, in which this work was written. It became, mostly, a barb to theologians so much so that you would hardly believe Erasmus considered himself one or held this type of learning in the HIGHEST regard, and his greatest held title. The Letter to Dorp, included in the translation by Clarence Miller, sheds much light as being one of Erasmus' letters of defense for the work.
The work was enjoyable and ridiculous, but truly inaccessible to any audience without the footnotes because the work is an endless stream of references to classical works and myths which most of the world (myself included) are completely ignorant to. It was still enjoyable and almost gives one an inside perspective of the 'elite' setting of scholars of this age and the things which they held in controversy. You could build an entire classical education by obtaining every work referenced in this little book alone. It makes one want to learn Latin and Greek and Hebrew.

'Not if I had a hundred tongues, a hundred mouths,
A voice of iron, could I survey all kinds
Of fools, or run though all the forms of folly'

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the Praise of Folly and Julius Excluded from Heaven. The Abbot and the Learned Lady and some of the other Colloquies were mostly of historical interest--meaning, I think the Colloquies are not great as dialogues or little plays. The letter to Dorp is helpful for understanding Folly. His letter to Rhenanus was fascinating for its description of how terrible travel was in his era. All of the critical commentary are good or great, and much more interesting and useful than reading Wikipedia.

[Emily Strom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, Erasmus had some good takes, such as: "I don't think anyone should consider himself a Christian simply because he can carry on a dispute about instances, relations, quiddities, and formalities, involving the question in a thicket of thorny abstractions--but only if he holds to the lessons that Christ taught and exemplified, holds to them, and exemplifies them himself."

[Emma R. Pilcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Just as nothing is more foolish than misplaced wisdom, so too, nothing is more imprudent than perverse prudence."

Impeccable wit and wisdom, with a satirical bite. Since I live in the 21st century, I probably glossed over many of Erasmus' roasts which is most unfortunate.

[Jeff Beland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I instantly fell in love with the writings of Erasmus. His wit is a joy to read. what he writes is as useful today as it was on his time.

[Medhat ullah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The greatest fool is he who believes himself to be wise

[Sam Bizarrus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't love the Folly as much as the adages, but the colloquies in this edition are astounding, and Erasmus is always funny and delightful.

[Tyler Fleischel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essentially just the Erasmus collection, everything he wrote that we still have is in this book. It is debated whether or not he wrote Julius excluded from Heaven, but I think by the time you make it that far into the book you can clearly see that the same messages he has in his other writings are there, and written in the same style. The Praise of Folly is a masterful approach to the well intentioned (at some times anyway) but at times poisonous fastidiousness enforced by the papacy and Catholic philosophy. Being the first of the main Renaissance philosophers, Erasmus shows the need we have for folly and genuine effort and genuine mistake in our lives, rather than false and feeble-hearted stoicism only for the sake of appearing to be more perfect than you let on. From The Praise of Folly it is argued that those who move forward in their lives with honesty rather than hollow aspiration are happier. Of course this is a subjective argument as someone’s happiness level is subjective, but there is still plenty to take away from this:

“I'm going to make this clear, not with the enthymemes of the stoics, but by a plain and obvious example. Tell me, by all the gods, is anyone happier than that class of men whom we commonly call fools, idiots, morons, and simpletons-names, in my opinion, of exquisite beauty? On the face of it, you may think what I am saying is eccentric or even absurd, but I assure you it's absolutely true. In the first place, they are free from the fear of death-not the least of evils, by heaven! They suffer no remorse of conscious, they are not haunted by ghost or fightened by bogies and banshees; they endure no agonies of fear over impending punishments, nor are they tantalized with expectations of future rewards. In short, they are exempt from a thousand ills to which this life is subject. They know neither shame nor fear, neither hope, nor hate, nor love.”

There is truth to the message of Folly, but I think carrying it to its extreme is dangerous. For a person such as myself who grew up religious and obedient,(and still is this type of person) this is an important perspective that was birthed by the Renaissance, and Erasmus gives us a great opportunity to be introspective. By no means have I thrown out the discipline that this lifestyle has given me, but the perspective that Folly gave me is important too, and I think that it invites me to broaden and enrich my life in an honest way, without throwing away my religious beliefs.

The complaint of Peace touches on mans unwavering tendency to disrupt the peace and bring down ethical bulwarks that uphold society. Erasmus’ words need no introduction here, anyone could read them verbatim, and I think everyone would agree unequivocally: “Now see how much of that plenty you lack; you scarcely possess as much as what your district alone used to produce. You wanted to capture some little town of the enemy; how many different siege-engines did you need, how extensive a blockading camp! You had to make an imitation city in order to destroy a real one; but in fact it would have been cheaper to erect a second real one. To keep the enemy penned up in his city, you had to sleep yourself on the cold ground. Building new walls would have cost less than battering old ones down. I won't even pause to calculate how much money has slipped away as it passed through the hands of the tax collectors, the quarter masters, and the captains-general-certainly not the least part. When you could have calculated all these expenses, if you don't find that peace could have been had for just one-tenth of what war cost, you can show me the door forever, and I won't protest.”

Much needed and well articulated teachings from Erasmus in these his two main books, and his other writings are pleasing and helpful as well. This has been one of my favorite and most needed books ever.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading, watching, or listening to something weighted down with the label "Classic" attached to it is always an interesting, and somewhat fraught, experience. Music, film, the visual arts more generally, and literature, all share the issues of changing tastes and the evolution of technologies for producing and "consuming" the work.
The first three of these largely, although certainly not completely, escape the problem by partaking of features which are rooted in humanity's deep evolutionary past. While specific elements are heavily influenced by culture, the basic mechanics of seeing developed long ago and this shared heritage allows us access to the aesthetics of other peoples from other times.
Literature, however, because it is rooted in written language, a relatively recent invention, presents seriously daunting challenges. First among these, obviously, is one's complete inability to appreciate even the greatest imaginative works presented in a language one doesn't speak or read. The would-be reader is left with only one of two remedies: learn the language or rely on translators. Neither of these approaches is entirely satisfactory. The first because of time constraints, I find my brain less than helpful when it comes to performing the task - the idea of learning Russian in order to read Dostoevsky, ancient Greek to read Homer, and 16th century French to tackle Montaigne, is daunting to say the very least.
The second option is a better solution, yet presents its own issues. The translator must perform an incredibly delicate balancing act worthy of Icarus. Concentrate on the literal meaning of the words in the manuscript too mechanically and never achieve flight, or attempt to illuminate and emulate the deeper meaning of the text and run the risk of incinerating one's wings and ultimately drowning in a sea of absurdities.
Reading The Praise of Folly reminds me of these difficulties. Perhaps my translation was faulty. It's possible the translator was attempting to reproduce the cadences and tropes of Latin, and Erasmus' own idiosyncratic method of writing. Either way, the experience was work. I'm glad I did it, but it was a task.
I tried to remain focused on the author's underlying goal - a general case being made that humans obviously worship the goddess Folly above and beyond all other gods. Indeed, the deities themselves worship her. Folly herself makes her case, providing a myriad of examples and, by the close, the reader finds she cannot be gainsaid.
Frankly, we're all idiots, hopelessly addicted to foolishness and stupidity.

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Praise of Folly: Really more of a biting than a funny satire. Erasmus, though he expounded a liberal, tolerant version of Christianity, was still very much a Christian humanist, as opposed to the half pagan renaissance humanists in Italy, and it shows. I'm sure this made for uncomfortable reading both for the leaders of the Italian Renaissance and the ultra conservative/formulaic/superstitious monastic faction of the church.

The Complaint of Peace: A bit too idealistic for me, or, at least, idealistic within Christian bounds. (No Christian should make war! But if you have too, at least fight the Turks.) Not his most moving work.

Two Forewords to his New Testament Translation: It was very interesting to see the contrast between pre-Reformation Erasmus - "everyone should read the New Testament, it's instantly understandable" - and post-Reformation Erasmus - "you should read the New Testament but you need to be really careful about doing it correctly". I prefer the message of the first foreword but it's very interesting to see how his stance evolved in the 1520s.

Julius Excluded From Heaven: This was much funnier than Folly, and still quite satiric. Probably my favorite of his works, despite my appreciation for Julius' patronage of Raphael and Michelangelo. He might not have been as much as a humanist as Leo or Clement, but he was an okay pope by me. I can understand why he was very much politically unpalatable to Erasmus, though, and he does a marvellous job of poking fun at poor Julius and Renaissance politics in general.

Excerpts from The Colloquies: Interesting to see his thoughts. The exegesis isn't really my cup of tea but I very much enjoyed The Abbot and the Learned Lady.

Excerpts from his correspondence: Interesting to get a picture of the times, but not really my cup of tea either.

[Persephone Abbott · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s no portent waiting in the curtains to bestow honour on me to recap this book; no one could say anything better than Erasmus on his own topics as, simply put, he rules and well. So I won’t try. I was charmed by his letter writing, entertained by the Colloquies, and riveted by “In Praise of Folly,” and then I was bewildered at “In Complaint of Peace” and “Julius Excluded from Heaven.” My romance with Erasmus dwindled, feeling he was restricted by his own belief in Christianity. How much larger a thinker could he have been had he lived in a different era? Probably the sky could have been the limit. The arguments in “Julius Excluded from Heaven” reveal his weaknesses. As a modern day reader I felt, as I read along: a. In order for such evil to exist there has to be b. the presence of Christ to acknowledge and annihilate evil from the world to c. therefore Christ is also, unwittingly or not, the giver of evil. And this went in circles, all those dutiful references to Christianity. That religion, Christianity or other, can bring the world to peace is in my humble opinion, unfathomable and there ends my love with the good man’s ideas on the topic. Pity. I was rather taken with his interspersion of Greek Furies to assign the evil of the world to than Satan, or his placing Mars as the culprit rather than the devil. This was a curiosity to me, although I do comprehend the adoration of the classical Greek and Roman pre Christian world in the humanists’ eyes. Erasmus, a wonderful writer and wit, and obviously for the most part a real treat to read.

[Jazmín · Rating 4 out of 5]

highlights: From the introduction "Erasmus's skill in composing Latin verse won him an appointment as secretary to a bishop and, in time, the chance to move to the University of Paris. Though disgusted by the austerity and bad food at his college, he mastered enough scholastic theology to know he disapproved of its method."

So, hating university food is a really old trope huh. I like this guy. On the book itself, it is surprisingly dark and layered.

"[Pythagoras] came to the conclusion that no creature is more miserable than man: for all others are satisfied with their natural limitations."

"these folk [the fools, morons] are free from all fear of death [...] They are not tormented by dread of impeding evils, and they are not blown up with hope of future good. In short, they are not vexed by the thousand cares to which this life is subject. They do not feel shame or fear, they are not ambitious, they do not envy, they do not love."

[CJ Bowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Just as it's the height of triviality to treat serious matters in a trivial way, so there's nothing more delightful than finding that some trifles have been managed so that they turn out far from trivial." 5

"Two obstacles chiefly prevent us from acquiring knowledge of things: diffidence, which beclouds the mind, and fearfulness, which prevents us from trying anything that looks hazardous. But how gloriously folly liberates us from these two encumbrances! Few men realize how many different benefits can come from not being ashamed or afraid of anything." 27-28

"If a rock falls on your head, that's definitely painful. But shame, infamy, scorn, and ill words do harm only so far as they are felt; if one isn't aware of them, they do no damage at all." 31-32

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

so funny! and got me to think of my academic pursuits in a different way.
when is folly being serious (or being erasmus)? i think when "folly" really means "humility". erasmus understands what makes up true Christianity and brings to new light the term "fools for Christ". his lack of tolerance for superficiality, spiritual or otherwise, is a breath of fresh air in a world that can get too wrapped up in appearances and the approval of others.

[Coyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Praise of Folly simply drips with delight in creation. We see that even in the title, this is a work of 'praise.' Erasmus gives us a light-hearted spoof of those who have no sense of humor and continually take themselves, their professions, and the world entirely too seriously. We all know someone like that- and if you don't, the odds are that es homo."

Read the rest here: http://coyleneal.blogspot.com/2013/03...

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't read many of Erasmus's other writings, but "In Praise of Folly" is delightful - lots of poking fun at lawyers, the clergy, and the upper-class. This playful satire is all in the service of Erasmus's ultimate aim, which is making the Bible available and accessible to lay people, so there's undeniable depth here, as well. Overall, this is a dynamic and witty piece of writing, sub-textually present in a lot of early modern fools.

[Stella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm only reading two chapters from this book: The play "Julius Excluded from Heaven" and "The Complaint of Peace." So far, I like what I've read. He's very funny. AND everyone loves a pacifist, right?

[Jordie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little over my head. The old English was difficult to understand, and there were many references that were completely foreign to me. The author is making some lucid points about the absurdity of society. But the complicated wording made it a slog to get through.

[Winnie Thornton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious. Very mad I didn't have time to read every sentence.

[Alexander Mackinnon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The satire of Erasmus while praising folly would certainly put him into hot water today, I can imagine the way some feminists would scream blue murder at the mention of his name. Truly enjoyable!!!

[Rahsan]

VANITAS VATITATUM ET OMNIA VANITAS

THE GRIEF HAS GOT A PLACE IN SAGE'S HEART
THE PLEASURE HAS GOT A PLACE IN MAD ONE'S HEART....

[Matthew Hurley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Member of a noble tradition that spans from Solomon to Flannery O'Connor, from Alpha to Omega: the foolishness of God confounds the wise; the Word is humbled and made flesh.

[Kelly 🌻🌞🌱 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tricky read in places but I loved the narrative style, both comical and thought provoking