Erasmus is often characterized as the origin of the Reformation. It is often said, "Luther hatched the egg Erasmus laid;" yet we find within Erasmus' own writings a desire not again the tenets of Catholic doctrine but rather truly a call for a reform within the Catholic order. While we'll find in the coming weeks that a weak theology served as a proponent for a weak clerical order, its important that we first understand the basic condition of humanity and the Roman church pre-Luther.
Erasmus demonstrates in his work, In Praise of Folly, not an objection or refusal of Catholic doctrine, but of contemporary Catholic practice. From the outset, he makes clear his intention to write satirically of the world in which he lived. Seeking its reformation and vitality, Erasmus writes In Praise of Folly to exhort the clergy in a tongue-in-cheek style to abstain and flee from their lazy practices and corrupt abuses; rather, to practice and teach the Catholic religion in its purity and true form.
Erasmus satirizes three major areas in which the clergy fail in their duties. First, he understands human nature and the seeming bleakness of the fallen world. “Folly” argues that man truly has to make himself blind to the world’s demands and burdens in order to survive. The Bible, however, offers hope and encouragement to God’s children as Christ commissions the Church to serve and save fallen humanity. The sixteenth century Catholic Church, however, was failing to be this source of encouragement. Erasmus senses that if the clergy continues to fail in their duties that soon the entire Roman see will become obsolete and irrelevant to the masses. In Praise of Folly intends to draw attention in a burlesque manner to the bleakness of human life without Catholicism in an effort to rally the clergy to meet the needs of the laity.
Second, Erasmus addresses the dangers and harm of intellectualism and philosophical pursuits. Though by no means condemning education and scholastic investigation (Erasmus, himself, being quite learned and a major proponent of learning and humanism), he does not see academia as the primary arena for the clergyman. “Folly” argues that when man entrenches himself in philosophical questions he becomes overly burdened by hypotheticals, rendering himself relatively useless to society (14-5). The secular clergy’s pursuit of intellectual stature imprisons them in self-love and pride further making them unable to address their flock’s daily needs and life questions. In Praise of Folly calls the Catholic order to dedicate their minds and resources to the faithful ministry of the Church. The apostles, Erasmus illustrates, were never concerned about the philosophy of religion but rather about the wellbeing and salvation of human beings (35). Erasmus hopes this satirical treatment will awaken clerics guilty of such pursuits to their folly and encourage them to the faithful practice of their pastoral duties.
Finally, In Praise of Folly directly attacks the administration of Catholicism from the regular clergy up to the Pope. While Erasmus addresses numerous offenses, the source of the clergy’s folly is their preoccupation with things outside the Church. High-ranking officials seek advancement while lower priests push their pastoral duties onto regular clerics in order to pursue other interests (42-4). The regular clergy suffer the antithesis of dereliction than their secular counterparts, remaining illiterate and ignorant of the Bible and theological education (37). Each of these offenses amount to the fact that salvation is kept from the masses and even from the clergy, themselves. As the work addresses more and more of the clergy’s failures “Folly’s” voice begins to be replaced by Erasmus’ own. He trusts his satirical style will diffuse any serious offenses that may be taken from his accusations, seizing the opportunity to point directly at the corruption and growing irrelevancy of the Church. He juxtaposes the clergy with the apostles and early adherents to the Christian religion, noting the humble, longsuffering practices of the early Church calling for a reformation and restoration of Catholic practice.
In Praise of Folly is designed to make serious accusations against the clergy from within. Erasmus clearly is not attacking Catholic doctrine but practice. His satirical, tongue-in-cheek style works to his advantage in accomplishing his purpose by diffusing and possible adverse reaction, solely by the absurdity and humour of some of Folly’s statements. Like Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, In Praise of Folly is intended to spark self-recognition within the subject’s mind and inspire reform so as to avoid slipping into irrelevancy and in turn obsoleteness.
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