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The Praise of Folly ( Latin title: Moriae Encomium, sometimes translated as In Praise of Folly, Dutch title: Lof der Zotheid) is an essay written in 1509 by Erasmus of Rotterdam and first printed in 1511. Erasmus revised and extended the work, which he originally wrote in the space of a week while sojourning with Sir Thomas More at More's estate in Bucklersbury. The Praise of Folly is considered one of the most influential works of literature in Western civilization and one of the catalysts of the Reformation. It starts off with a satirical learned encomium after the manner of the Greek satirist Lucian, whose work Erasmus and Sir Thomas More had recently translated into Latin, a piece of virtuoso foolery; it then takes a darker tone in a series of orations, as Folly praises self-deception and madness and moves to a satirical examination of pious superstitions and practices in the Roman Catholic Church and the folly of pedants (including Erasmus himself). Erasmus had recently returned, profoundly disillusioned, from Rome, where he had turned down offers of advancement in the curia, and Folly increasingly takes on Erasmus' own chastising voice. The essay ends with a straightforward and touching statement of true Christian ideals.
Erasmus was a good friend of Sir Thomas More, with whom he shared a taste for dry humor and other intellectual pursuits. The title "Moriae encomium" can also be read as meaning "In praise of More". The double or triple meanings go on through the text.
The essay is filled with classical allusions delivered in a style typical of the learned humanists of the Renaissance. Folly parades as one of the gods, offspring of Inebriation and Ignorance, whose faithful companions include Philautia (self-love), Kolakia (flattery), Lethe (oblivion), Misoponia (laziness), Hedone (pleasure), Anoia (thoughtlessness), Tryphe (wantonness), Komos (intemperance) and Eegretos Hypnos (dead sleep).
Moriae encomium was hugely popular, to Erasmus' astonishment and sometimes his dismay. Leo X thought it was funny. Before Erasmus' death it had already passed into numerous editions and had been translated into French and German. And English edition soon followed. One of the editions of 1511 was illustrated with woodcuts by Hans Holbein the Elder. These are the most famous illustrations of The Praise of Folly.
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