Moriae Encomium, id est, Stultitiae Laus

In Praise of Folly (Encomiun Moriae in Latin) was written in 1509 by the Dutchman Erasmus of Rotterdam when he was guest to his English famous friend Thomas More,or Morus if you prefer, the author of the celebrated book Utopia. Given internal religious strife in Europe, and England was in no exception mood, these were pretty much dangerous times and many heads rolled and were to roll, More"s included, due to the persecution... Read Full Review

A full-front blast against the stupidities of us arrogant humans, with a crazy satirical sense of humor. Erasmus reminds us that we have no freakin' idea why we are here and who we are, so we better be humble and respect each other. "In Praise of Folly" was written during a horse travel from Rome to London, as a gift to Erasmus' close friend Thomas More, who was to die under the axe by orders of his former boss Henry VIII,... Read Full Review

Searching for happiness is a full-time job for me and it seems that almost 500 years ago--Erasmus wrote this book in 1511--others were looking for it too. They called it The Good Life ("summum bonum") then, and the ship of fools that were searching for it had completely booked its passage. Today, it's the same.Erasmus doesn't let up. He catalogs every type of fool, every kind of folly, and has room to spare. Reading... Read Full Review

I managed to stumble across Erasmus while reading William Manchester's "A World Lit Only By Fire", and was beyond intrigued by such a character as described that I had never even heard about. Of course, Erasmus had been mentioned in my presence often, but never in a direct context. So I pick up this book, hoping to find out what the deal was and what I was missing.My entire view of the middle ages changed practically overnight... Read Full Review

"Folly speaks: Whatever is generally said of me by mortal men, and I'm quite well aware that Folly is in poor repute even amongst the greatest fools, still, I am the one - and indeed the only one - whose divine powers can gladden the hearts of gods and men." So begins the greatest book written in the long convoluted history of man... If you've ever thought you screwed up somewhere or your whole life was one giant slip... Read Full Review