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Definition of Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or "as," but can also... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often... read full definition
The Praise of Folly
Explanation and Analysis—As Mere Nutshells:
Folly uses a simile which describes riches and the material things of the world as “mere nutshells” to an individual with a religious mindset. After first describing those who are not religious as only caring about earthly prosperity, Folly then describes those who have strong religious faith:
The religious, on the contrary, pay less attention to anything the more nearly it concerns the body, and they are wholly rapt away in the contemplation of things unseen. For the majority assign the leading rôle to riches and the next to bodily comforts, while they leave the lowliest for the soul, which most of them, however, believe does not exist, because it is not seen by the eye. In quite different fashion the religious with one accord direct their first endeavors toward God himself, the purest of all existences; next Him, toward that which yet comes as close as possible to Him, namely, the soul. They neglect the care of the body. They altogether disdain riches as mere nutshells, and turn their backs upon them. Or if they are forced to handle matters of the kind, they do so grudgingly.
For Folly, religious feeling is a kind of madness which leaves people “wholly rapt away in the contemplation of things unseen.” In other words, those who are religious spend all of their days imagining things that cannot be seen or perceived on Earth, such as heaven. Further developing this comparison, Folly notes that the irreligious prioritize “bodily comforts,” while the religious “neglect the care of the body.” Additionally, Folly claims that the religious think of money and valuable objects “as mere nutshells,” spurning these symbols of earthly prosperity in favor of eternal reward in heaven. This simile suggests that worldly possessions first appear to be important, but like an empty nutshell, there is no real substance to them.
