Praise Of Folly

Folly explains that life owes its very beginnings to Folly, as she allows the human race to propagate itself. Marriage is full of troubles and disadvantages, yet people willingly enter into it and thus produce children.

In addition to being the “seed and source of existence” (21), Folly also provides “whatever advantages there are all throughout life” (21). The foremost advantage is pleasure, a “seasoning” that improves life. Folly argues how she creates pleasure and improves life. First, the happiest age of man is childhood, which is characterized by ignorance; ignorance is the opposite of wisdom and thus allied to folly. When people grow old, they become senile, which constitutes a “second childhood” of happy forgetfulness; in this way, Folly thus restores youth and happiness to the aging. Furthermore, the most learned and wise are frequently unhappy and prematurely aged, while the foolish are fat and healthy.

Folly cites many other examples from Greek mythology of deities who experienced happiness by being foolish.