The Praise of Folly
by Desiderius Erasmus
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At a glance:
- Author: Desiderius Erasmus
- First Published: 1511
- Type of Work: Criticism and satire
- Genres: Nonfiction, Essays, Satire
- Subjects: Europe or Europeans, Religion, God, Christianity, Sixteenth century, Fools or jesters
The Work:
Considered by many to be the founder of modern letters, Desiderius Erasmus spent a lifetime producing some of the most important scholarly works of the early Renaissance. Ironically, The Praise of Folly, written as an amusement, became the most enduring of his contributions to Western literature. Erasmus himself never thought highly of this work, yet it is the one for which he is best remembered. He wrote it in approximately seven days in 1509, while he was recovering from an illness at the home of his English friend, Thomas More. It was not until two years...
(The entire page is 1747 words.)
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