Desiderius Erasmus's "The Praise of Folly" is a satirical essay written in Latin, which personifies Folly to critique various societal and religious institutions. It is considered one of the most influential works of the Renaissance, contributing significantly to the intellectual climate that led to the Reformation.
Sources for Desiderius Erasmus — The Praise of Folly
Desiderius Erasmus — The Praise of Folly in Satire
Held in the Satire chamber of the Babel Nexus Index.
- Anonymous (Egypt) — The Satire of the Trades (The Instruction of Kheti) (c. 1900 BCE)
- Aristophanes — The Birds (c. 414 BCE)
- Aristophanes — The Clouds (c. 423 BCE)
- Lucian of Samosata — A True History (Verae Historiae) (c. 175 CE)
- Horace — Satires, Epistles, and the Art of Poetry (c. 35 BCE)
- François Rabelais — Gargantua and Pantagruel (1532)
- Thomas More — Utopia (1516)
- Jonathan Swift — Gulliver's Travels (1726)
- Voltaire — Candide, or Optimism (1759)
- Mark Twain — A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889)
- Ambrose Bierce — The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
- Oscar Wilde — The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)