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Definition of Idiom
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on a literal interpretation of the words in the phrase. For... read full definition
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on a literal interpretation of the... read full definition
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on... read full definition
The Praise of Folly
Explanation and Analysis—The River Lethe:
Folly uses both a common idiom (“second childhood”) and an allusion to the Lethe, a river from Ancient Greek mythology, to comment upon the nature of old age. Taking credit for the happiness experienced both by children and by the elderly, Folly notes:
Old age would not be tolerable to any mortal at all, were it not that I [...] bring those who have one foot in the grave back to their infancy again, for as long as possible; so that the folk are not far off in speaking of them as “in their second childhood.” [...] I lead them to my spring of Lethe—for that stream rises in the Fortunate Isles, and only a little rivulet of it flows in the underworld—so that then and there they may drink draughts of forgetfulness. With their cares of mind purged away, by gentle stages they become young again.
Previously, Folly praised herself for the relative happiness experienced by many during childhood, which she attributes to the naivete of the young. Here, she claims that old age “would not be tolerable” if not for her, as she brings those who have “one foot in the grave” back to a state of “infancy.” She notes the appropriateness of the idiom “second childhood,” a common phrase that suggests that children and the elderly are alike in their relative reliance upon others and their lack of responsibilities.
Folly then explains how she brings this happy state about, claiming that she takes the elderly to a “spring of Lethe” so that they might “drink draughts of forgetfulness.” In Greek mythology, the Lethe is one of the rivers of the Underworld, famed for its waters which cause forgetfulness in those who drink from it. Folly, then, claims that she helps the elderly to forget all the wisdom and knowledge which they have gained during their lives.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Not at Home:
Folly uses several common idioms related to mental health in the course of her description of “religious ecstasy.” Outlining the similarities between religion and “madness,” she states:
Now he who loves intensely no longer lives in himself but in whatever he loves, and the more he can depart from himself and enter into the other, the happier he is. And when a mind yearns toward travelling out of the body, and does not rightly use its own bodily organs, you doubtless, and with accuracy, call the state of it madness. Otherwise, what do they mean by those common phrases, “he is not at home,” and “to come to yourself,” and “he is himself again”?
Previously, Folly claimed that both religion and madness make a person act as if they are “outside” of their own bodies. Here, she clarifies this argument. Madness, Folly claims, can be described as an “out of body” experience, during which a person's mind does not rely upon “its own bodily organs” but instead seems to travel beyond the body. She highlights several common idioms that share this understanding of “madness.” The idiom “he is not at home,” for example, suggests that a person’s mind and body have been disconnected. Conversely, the idiom “to come to yourself” suggests that a person’s mind and body have been reunited. For Folly, these “out of body” states are similar to religious passion, as the religious person’s soul longs to escape the body and seek its place in heaven.
