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In Praise of Folly: Illustrated with Many Curious Cuts
Banned Books from Anne Haight's listClassics of LiteratureEssays, Letters & SpeechesFolly -- Early works to 1800
About this book
"In Praise of Folly" by Desiderius Erasmus is an oration written in Latin in 1509. In this spiraling satirical work, the personified goddess Folly praises herself while attacking every aspect of human life—from lovers and princes to superstitious religious practices and church corruption. What begins as playful mockery grows darker as Erasmus examines self-deception, madness, and the contrast between human wisdom and divine folly. The work ultimately pivots toward an orthodox Christian purpose, revealing deeper meaning beneath its satirical surface. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Read it the focus-friendly way
FocusReader opens In Praise of Folly: Illustrated with Many Curious Cuts in a reading surface tuned for restless attention:
- Anchor emphasis — a bold front-half on each word steadies your eye.
- Read-aloud — sentence by sentence, with the line highlighted, free.
- Page-flip mode — a real page at a time, not endless scroll.
- Pomodoro sprints — short, finishable reading blocks.