Okay, so I read this for my Dutch class and it took me a long time to get through. It wasn't even a real story. The author was explaining why 'Moria' (Foolishness) is something, or someone in this case, that should be praised.
I did not particularly love this book, but I do appreciate the amount of thought that went into it, and I also enjoyed the references to Greek and Roman mythology.
If you ever want to try something different, this is a good choice and it is rather short. But don't expect an exhilarating story.
2.5/3

And what is all this life but a kind of comedy, wherein men walk up and down in one another's disguises and act their respective parts, till the property-man brings them back to the attiring house. And yet he often orders a different dress, and makes him that came but just now off in the robes of a king put on the rags of a beggar.

4.173 stars

Before popping a sleeping pill and chugging a Sam Adams I read most of this as our plane headed east across the Atlantic. Donald Trump and John Whittingdale serve to this text's centrality. I awoke and finished the book on foreign shores with an eye to the hegemonic (possibly the GCHQ?) and a love for our all so human failings. This is a must for all lovers of Rabelais and Burton. The musing does become a bit edged towards theology, but overall it is a delightful skewering of our arrogance, our biological exceptionalism, our humble fate as fuckwits.

Satire at its best. I do wish I knew more Greek mythology to get more of the references

"Sin mí, el mundo no puede existir ni por un momento, pues, ¿no está lleno de locura todo lo que se hace entre los mortales?, ¿no lo hacen locos y para locos?"

Had to read this book for Banned Books course at university, but I ended up really enjoying this. It is weird to read this book in English, since Erasmus is a Dutch philosopher. But I think this is a book I would even read for myself again, someday!

Nederlands (English below)

Vanwege de aard van zijn werk had ik verwacht dat Erasmus (~1466-1536) zwaar op de hand zou zijn. Het tegendeel blijkt waar: Praise of Folly is een geestige satire waarin de humanist zijn kennis van en voorliefde voor de ‘heidense’ klassieke literatuur opwerpt om de gevestigde orde in Europa op te schudden. Parallellen met het heden zijn in overvloed aanwezig.

Erasmus laat de godin Zotheid aan het woord, die vrijpostig voor haar zaak pleit: alleen zij verblijdt de harten van mensen (én goden). Zonder zotheid zou de mens niet kunnen ontsnappen aan de grauwe werkelijkheid en zijn overgeleverd aan wijsneuzen. Wat die zotheid precies inhoudt, laat de godin in het midden, maar ze voert een groot aantal voorbeelden op om te laten zien dat iederéén in wezen zot is: geen beroepsgroep of stand ontkomt aan haar invloed. Voor zover de godin een poging doet haar wezen te omvatten, zet ze zich af tegen de wijsheid van de stoïcijnen, die zich door rede laten leiden – boring – terwijl zotten uit passie of emotie handelen: zaken die er wel toe doen, aldus de godin die in één adem toelicht dat stoïcijnen evengoed zot zijn.

Erasmus is op zijn venijnigst wanneer hij de zotheid van verschillende vooraanstaande beroepsgroepen en standen bespreekt en afrekent met de adel en geestelijkheid. Ik had veel schik in zijn talloze verwijzingen naar de Klassieke Oudheid, zoals naar de [b:Ilias|26840252|Ilias|Homer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1443621750l/26840252._SY75_.jpg|3293141], en in de parallellen met onze eigen tijd. In de sneer naar keizer Marcus Aurelius – wiens wijsheid hem niet geliefder maakte – zag ik bijvoorbeeld de moeizame pogingen van de Amerikaanse president Joe Biden om het volk te overtuigen van zijn ‘bidenomics’. Erasmus’ hekeling van het populisme bracht me tot Machiavelli’s [b:De heerser|7632269|De heerser|Niccolò Machiavelli|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1264277232l/7632269._SY75_.jpg|1335445], dat een paar jaar later verscheen en een andere toon aanslaat.

Om meer te leren over (het tijdperk van) Erasmus, ga ik verder met de bejubelde biografie [b:Erasmus: dwarsdenker|57504823|Erasmus dwarsdenker. Een biografie|Sandra Langereis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1616504655l/57504823._SY75_.jpg|90046225] van Sandra Langereis.

English

Perhaps because he is considered one of the most important thinkers in the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, I was surprised to find that Erasmus' Praise of Folly (1511) contains a humorous and fun to read account of a non-Christian goddess. The numerous references to Classical Antiquity contribute to that experience. (Poor Marcus Aurelius seems to make a worrying case for Joe Biden though.)

It's a shame that I wasn't able to connect with this book, since its themes are always fascinating. It depends on the execution, naturally. The praise turned into one awfully verbose torment. I imagined Folly talking to me at some café, an incessant chatter using some annoying little voice, like having Jiminy Cricket inside your ear prattling nonsense with tons of sugar in his system, and me, waiting for a coffee that never comes, watching people through the window as they walk by, alone with their thoughts amid the noise of the street and the silence of their own self-centeredness. I fill your minds with mirth, fancies, and jollities..., she said. And all I wanted was to inject some sanity into her bloodstream so she would shut the hell up.

It's a short work - some gems here and there - but I spent days and days picturing myself turning the last page and freeing myself from such pompous goddess. I read and already forgot most of it. I wasn't even awake to relish its supposedly satirical delights. Perhaps I just wasn't in the right frame of mind for this. But my levels of curiosity are not enough to try this some other time. I only chose to read it now since I'm planning on writing an article on the subject and thought Eramus' essay might be another source of inspiration. It wasn't, but I may use it for articles on monotony and how to lower expectations.


May 06, 18
* Actual rating: 2.5 stars.
** Later on my blog.

Dit boek moest ik lezen voor mijn studie, ergens in het eerste jaar. Ongelofelijk hoe fris Erasmus' stijl aandoet. Niet alleen in deze vertaling hoor, zelfs in het Latijn is hij vlot en scherp. Het onderwerp is tijdloos. Aanrader!

Un libro molto piacevole. L'autore critica i suoi contemporanei (principalmente clero, sovrani, filosofi e studiosi) con l'ausilio della Follia che canta le sue lodi. Essendo un libro del '500 è comunque un pò ostico da leggere ma tutto sommato scorre via facilmente.

"Vedo che aspettate una conclusione: ma siete proprio scemi, se credete che dopo essermi abbandonata ad un simile profluvio di chiacchiere, io mi ricordi ancora di ciò che ho detto..."