Tao Te Ching
Praise of Folly
By Erasmus
Praise of Folly (1511)
Erasmus’ most famous writing that makes practical his middle way approach between the conservative and progressive factions of his era. It takes a position that’s not only impartial but above the superficial fray and on the level of a larger view that includes both sides.
Quotes from Praise of Folly
“Almost all Christians being wretchedly enslaved to blindness and ignorance, which the priests are so far from preventing or removing, blacken the darkness and promote the delusion.”
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“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… Thus are all things represented by counterfeit, and yet without this there is no living.”
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“Folly is the only thing that keeps youth at a stay and old age afar off.”
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“Merchants are the biggest fools of all—they will lie, perjure themselves, steal, cheat, and mislead the public. Nevertheless they are highly respected because of their money.”
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“What benefit is beauty, the greatest blessing of heaven, if it be mixed with affectation?”
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“What benefit is youth, if corrupted with the severity of old age?”
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