What are Erasmus's Praise of Folly and Adages about, according to Jill Kraye?

Jill Kraye describes the Praise of Folly as a satire in which Folly, personified as a woman, praises herself and her followers, mocking pompous scholars, nobles and churchmen, including pedants like Erasmus. Its wider target is a Church caught up in power, wealth and office instead of the philosophy of Christ. The Adages collected classical proverbs, explained their meaning and context, then applied them to modern life, and sat on scholars' shelves for hundreds of years.

• The panel notes the satire's attack on monastic life and celibacy came with praise of marriage, a theme Protestants later took up.
• One adage became an essay against war, Dulce bellum inexpertis: war is sweet to those who have not tried it.

▸In their words

“It was a kind of shortcut to all of classical wisdom.” Jill Kraye · at 46:09 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on In Our Time (2026-10-19). Read the whole episode summary →

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