The Praise of Folly by Desiderius Erasmus
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"The Praise of Folly" by Desiderius Erasmus is an oration written in Latin in 1509. In this Renaissance masterwork, the goddess Folly takes center stage to praise herself and mock every corner of human society—from lovers and princes to priests and scholars. What begins as playful satire grows increasingly sharp, targeting religious corruption and self-deception. Yet this spiraling attack contains a surprising twist: beneath the mockery lies an orthodox Christian message about
divine wisdom and human foolishness, pivoting ultimately toward the folly of the cross. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Erasmus, Desiderius, 1469-1536 |
|---|---|
| Translator | Wilson, John, 1626-1696 |
| Uniform Title | Moriae encomium. English |
| Title | The Praise of Folly |
| Note | Wikipedia page about this book: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Praise_of_Folly |
| Credits |
Produced by Robert Shimmin and PG Distributed Proofreaders. HTML version by Al Haines |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 61.6 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PA: Language and Literatures: Classical Languages and Literature |
| Subject | Folly -- Early works to 1800 |
| Subject | Folly -- Religious aspects -- Christianity |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 9371 |
| ISBN (HTML) | 979-8-238-09371-0 |
| Release Date | Nov 1, 2005 |
| Last Update | Oct 3, 2014 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 839 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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