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Desiderius Erasmus

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In Praise of Folly Kindle Edition

by Desiderius Erasmus (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 183 ratings

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This sixteenth-century religious satire by a Renaissance critic and theologian is “a masterpiece of humor and wise irony” (Johan Huizinga, Dutch historian).

At the onset of his hugely successful satire of medieval European society, Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus invokes the goddess Folly, daughter of Youth and Wealth, who was raised by Drunkenness and Ignorance. She’s followed by idolatrous companions, including Self-love, Flattery, Pleasure, and Laziness.

Through Folly’s wry and humorous speech, Erasmus denounces the superstitions and nonsensical eccentricities of his contemporary theologians and churchmen, monastic life, and the condition of the Catholic Church. An immensely influential humanist text, In Praise of Folly helped lay the groundwork for the Protestant Reformation and marked a transitional time between medieval beliefs and modern ideals.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“There is no more joyous and delightful bit of forensic jugglery than Desiderius Erasmus’s The Praise of Folly. . . . Like all great minds Erasmus has the faculty of being perennially contemporary, and The Praise of Folly is a gay, witty revelation of the subtleties and intricacies of the scholarly mind of the Renaissance.” —The New York Times

“One of the most characteristic and delightful pieces of Renaissance literature [that] has rightly enjoyed a wide popularity.” —Journal of Philosophy

From the Back Cover

Erasmus wrote In Praise of Folly, his masterpiece of ironic literature, in less than a week while en route to England from Italy to visit his good friend Thomas More. He wrote it merely to amuse himself and he was astonished at its immediate and wide popularity. But his satire of the clergy, the upper classes, and general pretentiousness, narrated by the goddess Folly, daughter of Youth and Wealth, struck a chord and is considered by some historians to be one of the catalysts of the Protestant Reformation.

This might have disappointed Erasmus who, though critical of the Church, never intended to encourage a split and remained a faithful adherent until his death. Still read regularly in college English courses, Erasmus's timeless classic remains as relevant today as it was when first written nearly five hundred years ago.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01LYN5CUJ
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media (October 11, 2016)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 11, 2016
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3546 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 108 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #1,165,703 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #268 in Historical Essays (Kindle Store)
- #622 in Christian Ethics (Kindle Store)
- #647 in Historical Essays (Books)

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4.3 183 ratings

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4.3 out of 5

183 global ratings

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J. Hauck (Guerrilla Reader)

Satirical Prose on the Shortcomings of the Upper Classes and Religious Institutions of the 16th Century

Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2013

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Review of "In Praise of Folly," by Desiderius Erasmus. Erasmus was born in Rotterdam, Holland in 1466. He became an ordained priest in 1492. He then went on to become the Latin Secretary to the Bishop of Cambrai. After that he became a wandering scholar and traveled to England in 1499 at the invitation of Lord Mountjoy. While in England Erasmus became friends with John Colet, Thomas More, Thomas Linacre, Willam Grocyn, and other Humanists at Oxford. He wrote Encomium moriae ("The Praise of Folly") in 1509 as a letter to his friend Thomas More and had it published in Paris in 1511. Within the letter Erasmus displays wit in his satire of the Goddess Folly (the protagonist). Within the pages Folly praises herself endlessly, arguing that life would be dull and distasteful without her. "Of earthly existence, Folly pompously states, 'you'll find nothing frolic or fortunate that it owes not to me.'" "Folly venerates her comrades, Self Love, Flattery, Oblivion, and Pleasure, whom she believes promote friendship and tolerance within society. Above all, Folly lauds self-deception and foolishness, finding Biblical support in favor of her beliefs." In conclusion, Folly speaks directly of Christianity, regarding its religious authority and practices. For example on page 7: "Nor will it be amiss also to imitate the rhetoricians of our times, who think themselves in a manner gods if like horse leeches they can but appear to be double-tongued, and believe they have done a mighty act if in their Latin orations they can but shuffle in some ends of Greek like mosaic work, though altogether by head and shoulders and less to the purpose. And if they want hard words, they run over some worm-eaten manuscript and pick out half a dozen of the most old and obsolete to confound their reader, believing, no doubt, that they that understand their meaning will like it better, and they that do not will admire it the more by how much the less they understand it. Nor is this way of ours of admiring what seems most foreign without its particular grace; for if there happen to be any more ambitious than others, they may give their applause with a smile, and like the ass, shake their ears, that they may be thought to understand more than the rest of their neighbors." In Praise of Folly makes quite a statement then about Renaissance Christian ideals. Erasmus died in Switzerland in 1536. Five stars.

14 people found this helpful

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Darkman

Tis Folly to Believe Everything…

Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2023

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Interesting book length essay praising all things Folly. Even praising foolishness over wisdom. Yet reality is very unforgiving of foolishness in terms of survivability. As entertaining as it may be of foolishness in any fiction. In reality, there is a rarity in any second chances in folly. Price is too high for stupidity. Still, a really good essay, regardless whether or not one agrees with his theology.

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Tori Mansfield

The man was a genius and hilarious

Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2018

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This book is so underrated. The man was a genius and hilarious. I laughed aloud reading some of his lines. I pick it up and read it every now and again to ground me and chip away at any hubris I find growing within me. Praise for folly indeed!

11 people found this helpful

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Aly

Execellent and thoughtful.

Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2020

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Wonderfully witty and engaging. A man clearly ahead of his time. Fun read for a weekend.

4 people found this helpful

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kc09

In Praise of Folly

Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2011

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I got this book for a history class I'm taking on the Renaissance & Reformation. The book itself isn't very long, but for me it was really hard to focus on the text and completely comprehend what I was reading-- so it wasn't a quick read for me. When I was able to focus hard enough on what I was reading to understand it, it proved to provide some humor though. So it is my personal opinion that this is an enjoyable book so long as you are more intelligent and have a longer attention span than I, as the average college student, do.

2 people found this helpful

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Len Canavan

Begin forwarded message: From: Jane Lancaster <janerlancaster@me. ...

Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2017

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Begin forwarded message:

From: Jane Lancaster <janerlancaster@me.com>
Date: January 18, 2017 at 11:36:06 AM EST
To: Jane Lancaster <janerlancaster@me.com>
Subject: Interesting Read

Subject: Interesting Read

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George E. Dawson

CAN I HAVE AN HALLELUJAH?

Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2017

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“To know nothing is the sweetest life.”—Sophocles (Kindle Locations 263-264)

“Give me any instance then of a man as wise as you can fancy him possible to be, that has spent all his younger years in poring upon books, and trudging after learning, in the pursuit whereof he squanders away the pleasantest time of his life in watching, sweat, and fasting; and in his latter days he never tastes one mouthful of delight, but is always stingy, poor, dejected, melancholy, burthensome to himself, and unwelcome to others, pale, lean, thin-jawed, sickly, contracting by his sedentariness such hurtful distempers as bring him to an untimely death, like roses plucked before they shatter. Thus have you, the draught of a wise man’s happiness, more the object of a commiserating pity, than of an ambitioning envy.” (Kindle Locations 701-706).

Who knew there was so much to be said In Praise of Folly? Apparently there is.

In his panegyric of that name, Erasmus, with tongue planted firmly in cheek, and sometimes sounding somewhat like H. L. Mencken to my mind’s ear, says it all. He’s converted me. Bring on passion and frivolity. Stuff reason and wisdom.

Erasmus was a heretic’s heretic—as irascible a curmudgeon as they come. Gotta love ’im. But his writing can be more than a bit tedious to read. Long, long, extra long sentences. Counted 235 words in ONE sentence. I remember being scolded if my sentences went beyond twenty words.

Recommendation: Every student—scholastic or autodidact—should welcome exposure to Erasmus. I’m glad I finally got around to reading him.

“Farewell! live long, drink deep, be jolly, Ye most illustrious votaries of folly!” (Kindle Locations 1793-1794)

Open Road Media. Kindle Edition, 1,828 Kindle Locations

16 people found this helpful

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Reader7

Really?

Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2015

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Hey this is Erasmus, Prince of the Humanists. The text has been in circulation for a little over 500 years and we are still reading it.

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Nova Scotia

Great book

Reviewed in Canada on October 31, 2023

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Great book good read.

Frank

Great read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 14, 2024

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The book is very funny and entertaining.

Rahul k.

Paper quality

Reviewed in India on March 13, 2023

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Paper quality is worst, so I am disappointed.

Steinbrüchel

Besseres Verständnis der Menschen

Reviewed in Germany on April 16, 2021

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Witzige aber richtige Beobachtungen über Menschen - deren Verhalten, Stärken, Schwächen, Utopien, grosse und kleine Beispiele selbstloser Menschlichkeit.

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