top of page

The Praise of Folly, by Desiderius Erasmus, exposes the negative qualties of people including church officials. Erasmus does this in a humorous way and supports his idea of reformation of the church from outside rather than internally. This book includes a letter to Sir Thomas More to who he describes the necessary for "folly" in several aspects of life including the church. It was written as an essay in 1509.

Desiderius Erasmus was a humanist writer and friend of another humanist writer Sir Thomas More. More information can be found in the "Important Figures"  portion of the exhibit.

The Praise of Folly by Erasmus

bottom of page