View

185

The Praise of Folly

Desiderius Erasmus

Erasmus (born Gerhardus) (c. 1465-1536) was an eminent Christian scholar and Renaissance humanist. He was born in Rotterdam, Holland, and was educated at Deventer before reluctantly entering monastic life in an Augustinian house in 1486. Six years later he served briefly as secretary for bishop of Cambrai, was ordained a priest, and was sent to continue his studies in Paris. In 1499 he visited England, where he became friends with men such as Colet and Thomas More; he would continue to travel extensively throughout his life. Erasmus' career as a scholar began in earnest after 1500 with the publication of critical editions of classical and theological works. He began translating the New Testament in 1505, and published an edition of the Greek NT (with his own Latin version) in 1516. He was also a writer of philosophical and satirical works (Education of a Christian Prince, Praise of Folly, etc). His life also touched upon the Reformation era – he first supported, then opposed Luther

Erasmus' satirical classic; a statement both of Renaissance humanism and Christian faith.

This satirical treatise, written in 1509 for Sir Thomas More, has long been Erasmus' most popular work. The title, Moriae Encomium, is something of an inside joke, a pun on More's name (the two had together translated Lucian, whose satires are the model for this work), and the encomium was a formal song of praise in Greek and Roman times. The learned, good-natured, and humorous scholarship which the two men shared is reflected clearly in the work's origins. Yet this beginning quickly opens up to a more vitriolic and scathing indictment of both the academic and ecclesiastical establishment. The earnestness of the criticism is quite clear, for Erasmus was not at all enamored with the state of the Roman Church, nor with the condition of government and society in general. The work concludes with a genuine expression of religious ideals and the virtues of the Christian faith. The "praise of folly" in satirical terms ends in praise of the "folly" of Christianity according to 1 Cor. 1:18.

Church History

Need for reform