The Praise of Folly is a satirical speech presented in the form of eulogy which praises folly. It is delivered by Folly, personified as a female deity, to a crowded audience. Folly’s speech adheres to the structure of a classical oration, being comprised of six parts: the Exordium, the Narration, The Partition, the Confirmation (or Argument), and the Peroration. Though the different sections are not delineated within the work, each section has notable characteristics.
The Exordium begins the oration and is designed to win the attention and interest of the audience. Here, Folly introduces herself, claiming to be a source of great joy for gods and mortals alike. She cites the excited looks of her audience as evidence and brags that she has accomplished with just her looks what other orators can only accomplish after a long speech. She concludes by declaring that she wants to play the role of a rhetorician, but not the stuffy modern type who spends all their time arguing over small details.
In the Narration, Folly provides justification for her speech, dismissing those who would criticize her for praising herself, suggesting that is more modest to praise oneself than hire someone to do so, which many of her contemporaries do. She also claims that orators have praised far inferior subjects anyway, so she might as well praise herself To conclude, she claims that her speech will be improvisational, and more authentic for it.
In the Partition, Folly expresses her refusal to be defined or divided into different parts. This is an ironic play on the formal function of the Partition, which is traditionally the section where an overview of the subject is outlined and then broken down into its components.
The next section is the Confirmation, or the argument, which comprises the bulk of the rest of the work. Folly begins this section by celebrating her heritage, citing her godly parentage as proof of her own greatness. She then gives reasons why is worthy of divinity, claiming folly to be responsible for most aspects of human life and happiness, from birth, marriage, and friendship to pleasure itself. She continues to justify her worth, claiming that all great deeds, like war and civil leadership, depend upon foolishness, and that even prudent action requires folly, not caution.
Next, Folly refutes the claim that foolishness makes a person unhappy, asserting instead that humans are naturally foolish. Just as the happiest animals on earth are the most foolish ones, like bees, so too are the happiest humans fools because are free from worldly concerns and have enjoy privileges like being widely liked and trusted.
Folly continues her refutation of counterarguments, disputing the idea that madness is bad. She points out that there are different forms of madness, many of which are benevolent and pleasurable. As evidence, she points to hunting, gambling, building, and telling tall stories, all of which are “mad,” but nonetheless give pleasure. Folly continues, arguing that madness, or delusion, is also necessary for self-love and flattery. If people saw the world as it really was, they would neither love themselves nor one another; thankfully, however, Folly gives the gift of delusion, allowing people to find happiness and not be lonely.
Folly moves on from madness to argue that she is greater than the other gods. While other gods are fickle and unreliable, Folly is always there. Unlike other gods, she also does not require sacrifices or temples to be worshipped, as all acts of human foolishness are a testament to her, even if humans are not aware of it.
Folly continues, arguing that everyone in the world is a devoted follower of her, even the wise and the powerful. She claims that people from all walks of life would be helpless without folly, as nearly all occupations require some degree of foolishness. Grammarians waste their time on pedantic forms of scholarship; rhetoricians make a living making jokes into art; authors are only happy if they’re popular, and only foolish authors are popular; scientists claim to know what cannot be known; theologians spend their time creating and nitpicking arbitrary details; kings are content because they ignore their duties; and bishops only lead pleasant lives because they are not truly pious.
Next, Folly shows that fortune favors fools over the wise. Citing classic proverbs and texts, she shows that—at least in literary tradition—wisdom has never helped men get wealthy nor attract women. Folly cites more literary authorities who advocate for the value of folly, referencing sayings by classical writers like Homer and Cicero as well as biblical writers, like Saint Paul. Folly further argues that even Christ and God value foolishness, with the former calling himself a fool on numerous occasions, and the latter forbidding Adam and Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. Clearly, God prefers foolishness to wisdom.
Folly’s last argument in the Confirmation is that Christianity itself is like folly. Not only do the most foolish humans—women, children, and the old, according to Folly—love Christianity the most, but the religion was even founded by those who eschewed learning. Moreover, Folly suggests that the ultimate moment in a Christians life— reaching heaven and having one’s soul leave their body and merge with God’s—is akin to madness. When a pious person achieves such a state, they can no longer remember anything other than the fact they are happy.
The final section of the speech is the Peroration. As in the Partition, here Folly eschews her traditional responsibilities as an orator and refuses to provide a summary of the work. She claims to not remember anything she said, being who she is—the embodiment of folly. She closes her speech, bidding her audience goodbye and asking for their applause as she departs.
