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Praise Of Folly
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| Term Paper Title | Praise Of Folly |
| # of Words | 1289 |
| # of Pages (250 words per page double spaced) | 5.16 |
Praise Of Folly
The Praise of Folly takes on a very
diverse form of life during sixteenth century Europe. In
1509 the author, Desiderius Erasmus, turned his literary
talents to the ridicule and denunciation of monastic vice,
immorality, and wickedness. He was considered the
"Prince of Humanists" [1] because he was one of the most
important men in Europe during the period of the
Reformation, The historical and cultural references in his
book proves that the Praise of Folly could not have been
written during any other time period except sixteenth
century Europe. Erasmus is one of the most fascinating and
inscrutable characters in history. There is no doubt that he
was a genius, He was also a bon vivant, but his tastes ran
toward good conversation and good food rather than
conspicuous consumption. He whined endlessly about his
troubles, and he begged shamelessly for ever more money
from his patrons. But he was one of the "most far-sighted
individuals to walk this planet," [2]. Before any others, he
saw how the corruption and misdeeds of the church would
lead to danger, and when Martin Luther hijacked Erasmus’
reform efforts and turned them into outright revolt, Erasmus
saw that this split in Christendom would lead to
catastrophe; a catastrophe that was realized a century later.
Erasmus, even from childhood, had a craving to read,
study, learn and know. He spent his life as a scholar and
writer. He was a man of quick wit and a keen mind. He
had struck a raw nerve by writing the Praise of Folly. But it
must be noted that while Erasmus found the wickedness of
the priests revulsive, he did not disapprove of Roman
Catholic doctrine. He praised himself to be a citizen of the
world, not attached 2 to a particular country but finding
himself at home in European countries where culture and
humanism were flourishing. The two societies he claimed to
belong to were both the republic of letters and the Christian
church. In Roman Catholic doctrine, he wished only for a
reformation of priestly morals and conduct, not of Roman
theology, and he disapproved of the doctrinal revolution
initiated by Luther. It is said that Erasmus laid the egg that
Luther hatched, meaning that Erasmus was the one who
inspired the Protestant Reformation. The particular state of
mind which produced the "modern world" was a
manifestation of the same mind as underlay the Protestant
Revolution. The Protestant "calling"
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