Praise of Folly
by Erasmus
translated by Betty Radice
Introduction by A.H.Y. Levi
(Penguin, 1993)
That Erasmus carefully promoted, adjusted, and cultivated his owns image, creating a literary identification between himself and St. Jerome, whose life he wrote, seems indisputable. It is possible that what seemed like the real debates in which he took part were often orchestrated performances, the product of a backscratching conspiracy building on a humanist ideal itself known by the humanists who paid lip-service to it to be a chimera.
Page viii.
Humanism in much of northern Europe included little admiration of antique culture, but was limited to the study of the languages in which the scriptures were originally written.
Page viii.
He was … always conscious of his reputation, and he calculated the effects he strove for.
Page ix.
It was written in 1509 to amuse Thomas More, on whose name its Greek title Moriae Encomium is a pun, as a private allusion to their cooperation in translating Lucian some years earlier.
Page xi.
He tells us that he wrote the Praise of Folly in a week, while staying with More and waiting for his books to turn up.
Page xi.
The bantering tone, the attack on the theologians and the satire on widely practised religious observances provoked a reaction of shocked hostility during Erasmus’s lifetime.
Page xii.
Erasmus’s work was for a long time more neglected than it should have been in view of his known historical importance.
Page xiv.
It is still the gest intr5ouction to Erasmus’s thought. No other single work reveals quite so clearly the alternatives between which he was moving or gives such insight into the reasons for his final position.
Page xv.
It is not a flawless masterpiece, but it is an exciting feat of literary virtuosity.
Page xv.
Happiness, which Folly bestows, is the prerogative of the young, the foolish and all those subversive of dignity, hierarchy and authority.
Page xvi.
It was clearly neither very difficult nor very daring to make fun of the scholastic attempts to give a coherent rational substructure to Christian belief in the name of religious devotion.
Page xviii.
The scholastics were not the mere quibblers on whom Folly pours scorn, and their concerns were of fundamental religious importance. In the end, in spite of Folly’s derision, virtually all their disputes concerned the elaboration of a rational system of thought that would make intellectually comprehensible individual survival after death and the doctrines of creation, fall and redemption.
Page xxi.
The nominalist position that only individual things existed, allowed for an explanation of knowledge that left human spiritual powers independent of the body that was subject to corruption on death, but it easily led to three separate godheads, and seemed to make God responsible for the creation of guilt when he created each individual soul.
Page xxi.
Aquinas believed in a rationally ordered universe that reflected the rationality of the divine mind in its laws and structure. Since the human intellect was a created derivative of the eternal mind of God, it was itself capable of judging what was and what was not in accordance with ‘right reason’, or the rational norms imprinted on the cosmos by the creator.
Page xxii.
The implication that man’s perfection was by and large to be achieved in accordance with the moral aspirations with which his rational nature endowed him was a clear and important step forward form Augustine towards a more humane moral and theological system.
Pages xxii-xxiii.
The current theology of the late fifteenth century was therefore Pelagian in that it allowed man to earn his salvation by his own efforts, providing they were sufficiently intense.
Page xxv.
The inevitable consequence was the growth of the religion of ‘works’. The typical devotional forms created in the late fifteenth century like the rosary, the Stations of the Cross, the Angelus, all have to do with making possible the performance of repeated acts.
Page xxv.
The Renaissance in northern Europe was quite different from that in the south. Although they were contemporaneous, the Renaissance in the north was not originally either classically or, in the technical sense, humanistically based to anything like the same extent. The form of the Renaissance south of the Apennines was moulded by the relationship between the papal Curia and Byzantium, and the proximity of Venice and Greece had a similar impact on the Renaissance in Venice and the Po valley.
Pages xxvi-xxvii.
Partly for political reasons intellectual traffic between Oxford and the Italian peninsula probably flowed more freely than that between Paris and Rome.
Page xxvii.
The return to scripture was not uniquely inspired by the humanists, as is testified by the success of the various spiritual movements.
Page xxvii.
In the evangelical humanism that Erasmus inherited through Colet from Pio not only was man’s perfection intrinsic to his moral achievement gut, outside a formal theological context and the difficulties about Pelagianism it imposed, moral self-determination was clearly put into man’s autonomous power. Erasmus never ceased to hold this view, and it explains his final rejection of Luther.
Page xxix.
Erasmus’s early dependence on the Platonist tradition is important because that tradition contains both the belief in intrinsic human perfectibility, which was the pole of Erasmus’s opposition to the scholastics, and the belief in an autonomous power of self-determination, which was to be the pole of Erasmus’s opposition to the reformers.
Page xxx.
The scholastics regarded themselves as the defenders of a traditional orthodoxy and judged the new attitudes according to rigidly conservative criteria. … They could honestly feel themselves justified in obtaining recantations from heretics by the employment of gross physical torture, because they believed that faith, which they identified with the acceptance of their own orthodoxy, opened the way to eternal salvation. The way to salvation was through the acceptance of norms of belief and behaviour extrinsic to the mind’s need to understand its experience and to the moral aspirations of the individual.
Pages xxx-xxxi.
The scholastics were well aware that the ancient pagans had been capable of the highest moral achievement, but by definition, they did not have ‘faith’ in the sense of Christian belief. Since grace was always dependent on faith, they could not therefore have had grace, been justified or been saved. The identification of the theological virtue of faith with assent to the Creed therefore precluded them from allowing that justification and grace could be intrinsically connected with a moral statue obviously attainable without them.
Page xxxi.
Morally speaking, Erasmus argues, many of the patriarchs were less blameless than Cicero.
Page xxxii.
The Wittenberg theses of 1517 were mostly concerned with indulgences and ritual practices and sere by no means clearly heretical.
Page xxxiv.
Luther’s rebellion against fifteenth-century religion had ben less humanistically motivated but more sudden and more radical than that of Erasmus.
Page xxxv.
Both humanists and reformers wished to reject the Pelagianism of the scholastics and the deleterious religious extrinsicism which it promoted. But while the humanists as such were dedicated to defending man’s intrinsic perfectibility in accordance with his self-determining moral choices, the reformers could find no logical answer to Pelagianism, short of denying to free will any power in the order of grace.
Pages xxxv-xxxvi.
Erasmus’s religious position is well defined by his stand against the scholastics on one hand and against Luther on the other.
Page xxxvii.
Erasmus’s monastic career is controversial. He benefited from many exceptions from the more ascetic parts of the rule. He contracted an intimate and emotional friendship with a fellow monk, Servatius, and he looked for support to a wealthy widow active in good works, Berthe de Heyen.
Page xxxix.
It seems that he had no real monastic vocation.
Page xxxix.
Through More, Erasmus met the family of Henry VII, including the nine-year-old prince who was to become Henry VIII.
Page xl.
Erasmus is careful not to discredit praying to the saints or the devotional cult of relics completely. It is simply more important to live the interior Christian virtues than merely to observe the outward forms of devotion.
Page xlii.
In addition to the form, Erasmus takes from Lucian the technique of making serious points in bantering tone and mixing the frivolous with the serious.
Page xliii.
More, who had led Erasmus to Lucian, knew precisely how to understand the Praise of Folly. His reply was to be the similarly Lucianic Utopia, which puts a serious exploration of advanced personal and social values into the mouth of Ralph Hythlodaeus or Ralph the fool.
Page xliii.
Everything in Utopia can be matched from Erasmus’s works.
Page xliii.
The appearance of the Greek New Testament threatened the ascendancy of the Latin Vulgate which had been the Church’s official text of scripture since Jerome in the fourth century. The Novum Insturmentum, as Erasmus called his Greek text, was intended and understood to have a religious relevance. It was to provide a scriptural rather than authoritarian base for theology and religion.
Page xlvii.
Erasmus did not regard even the text of scripture as exempt from the application of rational critical norms.
Page xlvii.
You can find a good many people whose religious sense is so distorted that they find the most serious blasphemies against Christ more bearable than the slightest joke on pope or prince, especially if it touches their daily bread.
Page 7.
I follow that well-worn popular proverb which says that a man does right to praise himself if he can’t find anyone else to praise him.
Page 11.
The propagator of the human race is that part which is so foolish and absurd that it can’t be named without raising a laugh.
Page 20.
What is there about babies which makes us hug and kiss and fondle them so that even an enemy would give them help at that age? Surely it’s the charm of folly, which thoughtful Nature has taken care to bestow on the newly born so that they can offer some reward of pleasure to mitigate the hard work of brining them up and win the liking of those who look after them.
Page 22.
The further anyone withdraws from me the less and less he’s alive.
Page 22.
What else is childhood but silliness and foolishness? Its utter lack of sense is what we find so delightful.
Page 23.
The nearer people approach old age the closer they return to a semblance of childhood, until the time comes for them to depart this life, again like children, neither tired of living nor aware of death.
Page 24.
By stoic definition wisdom means nothing else but being ruled by reason; and folly, by contrast, is being swayed by the dictates of the passions.
Page 29.
So Jupiter, not wanting man’s life to be wholly gloomy and grim, has bestowed far more passion than reason - you could reckon the ratio as twenty-four to one. Moreover, he confined reason to a cramped corner of the head and left all the rest of the body to the passions.
Pages 29-30.
I don’t think the female sex is so foolish as to be angry with me for attributing folly to them, seeing that I am Folly, and a woman myself.
Page 31.
It is folly, and the same folly, which alone makes friendships and keeps friends together.
Page 33.
In short, no association or alliance can be happy or stable without me. People can’t tolerate a ruler, nor can a master his servant, a maid her mistress, a teacher his pupil, a friend his friend nor a wife her husband, a landlord his tenant, a soldier his comrade nor a party-goer his companion, unless they sometimes have illusions about each other, make use of flattery, and have the sense to turn a blind eye and sweeten life for themselves with the honey of folly.
Page 35.
Remove me, and no one could put up with his neighbour.
Page 35.
No great deed was ever performed without my prompting and no new art discovered unless I was responsible.
Page 37.
Plato is always quoted: “Happy the states where either philosophers are kings or kings are philosophers!” But if you look at history you’ll find that no state has been so plagued by its rulers as when power has fallen into the hands of some dabbler in philosophy or literary addict.
Page 39.
The whole of human life is nothing but a sport of folly.
Page 42.
Even the fool is wise after the event.
Page 43.
The two main obstacles to learning by experience are a sense of propriety which clouds the judgement and fear which advises against an undertaking once danger is apparent. Folly offers a splendid liberation from both of them.
Page 43.
What else is the whole life of man but a sort of play? Actors come on wearing their different masks and all play their parts until the producer orders them off the state. … It’s all a sort of pretence, but it’s the only way to act out this farce.
Page 44.
Nothing is so foolish as mistimed wisdom, and nothing less sensible than misplaced sense.
Page 45.
The wise man’s a bore, I had enough of him long ago; and so my speech will move on to more profitable themes.
Page 47.
Man’s birth is painful and sordid, his upbringing wearisome, his childhood fraught with dangers, and his youth hard-won with toil. Old age is a burden and death a harsh necessity; armies of disease close their ranks around him, misfortunes lie in wait, ill luck is always ready to attack.
Page 47.
As the innocence of the Golden Age gradually fell away, the branches of learning were invented.
Pages 51-52.
It only takes a single system of grammar to provide continuous torture for life.
Page 52.
The happier branches of knowledge are those which are more nearly related to folly, and by far the happiest men are those who have no traffic at all with any kind of learning and follow Nature for their only guide.
Page 53.
Everything turns out much more happily when it’s unspoilt by artifice.
Page 53.
Can’t you see that of all the rest of living creatures the happiest in life are those which have least to do with any formal learning and have Nature alone for a teacher?
Page 53.
In every way Nature’s creations are more cheerful than the falsifications of art.
Page 54.
Amongst mortal men those who strive after wisdom are the furthest from happiness; they are in fact doubly stupid simply because they ignore the fact that they were born men, try to adopt the life of the immortal gods, and like the giants would rebel against Nature, with the sciences for their engines of war. Conversely, the least unhappy are those who come nearest to the instinctive folly of dumb animals and attempt nothing beyond the capacities of man.
Page 54.
Doesn’t the happiest group of people comprise those popularly called idiots, fools, nitwits, simpletons?
Pages 54-55.
Fools have another gift which is not to be despised. They’re the only ones who speak frankly and tell the truth, and what is more praiseworthy than truth?
Page 56.
Whatever the fool has in his mind shows in his face and comes out in his speech, but the wise man has two tongues … one to speak the truth with, the other for saying what he thinks fits the occasion.
Page 56.
The feminine sex is artful, especially at covering up its own doings.
Page 57.
Not every form of insanity is a disaster.
Page 58.
In Folly’s opinion then, the more variety there is in a man’s madness the happier he is, so long as he sticks to the form of insanity which is my own preserve.
Page 60.
By far the most enjoyable form of insanity is that which makes many people boast about any talent in their household as if it were their own.
Page 68.
Anything wins more admiration the sillier it is. The worst always pleases the most people, since the majority of men … are prone to folly.
Page 68.
It’s sad, people say, to be deceived. Not at all, it’s far sadder not to be deceived. They’re quite wrong if they think man’s happiness depends on actual facts; it depends on his opinions.
Page 70.
If anything can be known, more often than not it is something which interferes with the pleasure of life.
Page 71.
Man’s mind is so formed that it is far more susceptible to falsehood than to truth.
Page 71.
If anyone has a particularly ugly wife who has the power to rival Venus in her husband’s eyes, isn’t it just the same as if she were genuinely beautiful?
Page 71.
No benefit gives pleasure unless it is enjoyed in company.
Page 72.
I, Folly, am the only one who extends my ever-ready generosity to all alike.
Page 73.
I hold the view that I’m worshipped with truest devotion when all men everywhere take me to their hearts, express me in their habits, and reflect me in their way of life - as in fact they do.
Page 74.
What should I want with a temple? The entire world is my temple.
Page 74.
It’s hardly believable how much laughter, sport, and fun you poor mortals can provide the gods every day.
Page 75.
It seems a most peculiar prerogative of theologians, to be the only people permitted to speak ungrammatically; however, they share this privilege with a lot of working men.
Page 95.
Friars find favour with women for many reasons, the main one being that a priest can provide a bosom where a woman can pour out her troubles whenever she quarrels with her husband.
Pages 103-104.
It is the privilege of fools to speak the truth without giving offence.
Page 119.
Christ seems to have taken special delight in little children, women, and fishermen, while the dumb animals who gave him the greatest pleasure were those furthest removed from cleverness and cunning.
Page 125.
All mortals are fools, even the pious.
Page 125.
It is quite clear that the Christian religion has a kind of kinship with folly.
Page 128.
The first founders of the faith were great lovers of simplicity and bitter enemies of learning.
Page 128.
The happiness which Christians seek with so many labours is nothing other than a certain kind of madness and folly.
Page 128.
Plato defines philosophy as a preparation for death because it leads the mind from visible and bodily things, just as death does. And so as long as the mind makes proper use of the organs of the body it is called sane and healthy, but once it begins to break its bonds and tries to win freedom, as if it were planning an escape from prison, men call it insane.
Page 128.
The ordinary man gives first place to wealth, the second to bodily comforts, and leaves the last to the soul - which anyway most people believe doesn’t exist because it is invisible to the eye. By contrast, the pious direct their entire endeavour towards God, who is absolute purity, and after him towards what is closest to him, the soul. They have no thought for the body, despise wealth and avoid it like trash, and if they are obliged to dal with such matters they do so with reluctance and distaste.
Page 129.
All the power of the pious soul is directed towards what is furthest removed from the grosser senses, these become blunted and benumbed.
Page 130.
The [pious man] throughout his whole life withdraws from the things of the body and is drawn towards what is eternal, invisible, and spiritual. Consequently, there is total disagreement between the two parties on every point, and each thinks the other mad.
Page 132.
The more perfect the love, the greater the madness.
Page 132.
I almost regret myself that I published Folly. That little book has brought me fame, or reputation, if you prefer. But I’ve no use for fame combined with odium, and heaven knows, what is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy form paganism.
Page 138.
My sole aim in publishing all my books has always been to do something useful by my industry.
Page 138.
There are people to be found whose sole purpose in starting to write a book is to find an outlet for their emotions and thus transmit these to posterity.
Page 139.
I wonder why others concern themselves with my personal sentiments, or how any criticism of mine can have any influence on other countries or future times. I shall have done what was right for me, not them.
Page 140.
I would rather err on the side of praising the undeserving than castigating where blame is due.
Page 140.
In Folly I expressed the same ideas as those in the Enchiridion.
Page 141.
Truth can seem harsh if unadorned, but with something pleasurable to recommend it an penetrate more easily the minds of mortal.
Page 141.
I was on my way back from Italy, staying as a guest in the house of my friend More, where an attack of kidney trouble kept me several days indoors. My books hadn’t yet arrived, and even if they had, my illness prevented concentrated application to serious studies. With nothing to do, I began to amuse myself with a eulogy of folly, wit no idea of publication but simply as a distraction from the pain of my complaint.
Pages 142-143.
I did as they asked and spent a week, more or less, on the job.
Page 143.
Pleasure is what catches a reader’s attention and holds it when caught. In other respects no two readers look for the same thing, but pleasure wins over all alike, unless someone is too stupid to be sensitive to the pleasures of the written word.
Page 146.
If I’m wise I’ll hid my feelings and not give myself away.
Page 146.
Nothing is so arrogant as ignorance.
Page 149.
There is something in the profession of theology which is beyond human capacity.
Page 151.
Everything is now so complicated that there is not even a hope of recalling the world to true Christianity.
Page154.
Anything at all offensive is not in my book but in your version of it.
Page 155.
I chose to offend rhetoric, not to injure piety.
Page 158.
Here we have people too stupid to placate. And it’s not surprising if a subject for misrepresentation can be found if all one looks for is something to misrepresent.
Page 159.
I shouldn’t wish to have written anything, even in fun, which could offend Christian piety in any way. In only ask for someone to understand what I wrote, someone fair-minded and honest who brings a true concern to comprehend, not a fixed intention to misrepresent.
Page 159.
A man could only be sure of escaping calumny by writing nothing at all.
Page 160.
Nothing is so vain-glorious as ignorance combined with confidence in one’s own learning.
Page 160.
It would be far more conciliatory and more in keeping with Christian sincerity to support and encourage the industry of learned men.
Page 160.
How much better it would be if they would learn Greek or Hebrew, or Latin at least! Knowledge of these languages is so important for understanding the holy scriptures that it seems to me gross impertinence for anyone to assume the name of theologian if he is ignorant of them.
Pages 160-161.
If in the present state of the world you persuade yourself that you can have a true understanding of theology without a knowledge of languages, especially of the one in which most of the holy scriptures have come down to us, you are entirely wrong.
Page 161.
It is a characteristic of corrupt texts that one mistake leads to another.
Page 166.
People like this prefer to throw everything into confusion rather than allow themselves to appear ignorant of any detail concerning absolute knowledge.
Page 168.
It would show a far more Christian spirit if every man would set argument aside and make what voluntary contribution he can to the common interest, acting in all sincerity; putting off his pride to learn what he does not know and ridding himself of jealousy to teach what he knows.
Page 169.
Truth must count for more than friendship, especially with regard to the holy scriptures.
Page 170.
I act as I do not with any intention of insulting those who do not share my learning but in the general interest of all mankind.
Page 171.
If anyone comes forward with the ability or the desire to offer better guidance than I can, I intend to be the first to tear up and destroy my work and to adopt his way of thinking.
Page 171.