In Praise of Folly (Dover Thrift Editions: Philosophy)

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.

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.

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!

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

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.

Begin forwarded message:From: Jane Lancaster <[email protected]>Date: January 18, 2017 at 11:36:06 AM ESTTo: Jane Lancaster <[email protected]>Subject: Interesting ReadSubject: Interesting Read

“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

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.

Great book good read.

Paper quality is worst, so I am disappointed.

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

Wisdom for the ages. Might be a bit difficult understanding Tudor age English, and you need to Google some of the figures, gods and terminology used. However, having done so you begin to understand the humour and genius that made Erasmus the intellectual giant of his age. What also becomes apparent is that, in an age when critics of the church generally ended up tortured then toasted, he had the courage to lambast the princes of Catholicism. He could just as easily turn his aim inward and does, never too big a target for his own pen. Considering that this was written on the back of a horse travelling the lanes of Europe, this pithy little package is loaded with wisdom that can just as easily be applied to modern life. Buy it, read it then share it with your kids, I intend to do so with my Grandchildren. It will require a tablet and the aforementioned Google, but I know we will have fun. They will also learn a great deal about life, and, that progress changes outward appearances but humanity's follies are eternal.

Product met my expectation