The eulogy of stupidity is an ancient tradition. Erasmus of Rotterdam main ideas

Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam (Latin Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, Dutch Gerrit Gerritszoon) real name Gerhard Gerhards

Biography
He was born on October 28, 1466, in Gouda (20 km from Rotterdam) in what is now the Netherlands. His father, who belonged to one of the burgher families of the town of Gouda (at the crossroads of the roads Rotterdam-Amsterdam and The Hague-Utrecht), was carried away in his youth by one girl who reciprocated him. The parents, who had predetermined their son for a spiritual career, resolutely opposed his marriage. The lovers, nevertheless, became close and the fruit of their relationship was a son, to whom the parents gave the name Gerhard, that is, desired, - the name from which, by means of the usual Latinization and Greekization at that time, his double literary pseudonym Desiderius Erasmus was subsequently formed, which forced forget his real name.
Education
He received his primary education first at the local elementary school; from there he moved to Deventer, where he entered one of the schools founded by the “communal fraternities”, the programs of which included the study of the ancient classics. He was 13 years old when his parents died. Some timidity, sometimes bordering on cowardice, as well as a certain amount of secrecy - these traits of his character that did a lot of harm to him in life are explained, to a large extent, by his early orphanhood, aggravated, in addition, by illegitimate birth, which in the eyes of the then society imposed a stamp of shame on the child. The latter circumstance had another, more real meaning: it closed to him in advance any public career, from the world where he was an outcast, the young man had only to retire to a monastery; after some hesitation, he did so.
Monastery
Erasmus already did not feel much attraction to monastic life; now, coming face to face with all the dark sides that characterized the monastic life of that time, he was imbued with a sincere and deep disgust for the latter.
Those stinging arrows that rain down on the monks in the later satirical works of Erasmus are to a large extent an echo of the thoughts and feelings that he experienced during his involuntary stay in the hateful monastery walls. Several years spent by Erasmus in the monastery were not lost, however, for him in vain. Monastic life left the inquisitive monk a lot of free time, which he could use to read his favorite classical authors and improve his knowledge of Latin and Greek.
The successes that he managed to achieve in this area, Erasmus was obliged by the opportunity to escape into the open space from under the cloister vaults that choked him. The gifted young monk, who drew attention to himself with outstanding knowledge, a brilliant mind and an extraordinary art of mastering elegant Latin speech, soon found himself influential patrons.
Thanks to the latter, Erasmus could leave the monastery, give scope to his long-standing inclinations to humanistic science and visit all the main centers of humanism of that time. First of all, he came to Cambrai, then to Paris, the latter was at that time much more a center of scholastic learning than of humanistic learning, which was just beginning to build a nest here.
Confession
Be that as it may, here Erasmus published his first major work - Adagia, a collection of sayings and anecdotes extracted from the writings of various ancient writers. This book made the name of Erasmus famous in humanistic circles throughout Europe. After several years in France, Erasmus traveled to England, where he was greeted with warm hospitality and honor, as a well-known humanist.
He made friends here with many humanists, especially with Thomas More, author of the novel "Utopia", John Colet, and later with John Fisher and Prince Henry, the future King Henry VIII. Returning from England in 1499, Erasmus leads a nomadic life for some time; we meet him successively in Paris, Orleans, Louvain, Rotterdam. After a new trip to England, in 1505-1506, Erasmus finally got the opportunity to visit Italy, where his humanistic soul had long attracted.
Here, in the homeland of humanism, Erasmus, already crowned with glory, met with an honorable, sometimes enthusiastic reception. The University of Turin presented him with a diploma for the title of honorary doctor of theology; Pope, as a token of his special favor to Erasmus, gave him permission to lead a lifestyle and dress in accordance with the customs of each country where he had to live.
After two years in Italy, or, rather, a journey through Italy, because we see Erasmus successively in Turin, in Bologna, in Florence, in Venice, in Padua, in Rome, - Erasmus went for the third time to England, where he was urgently invited by his friends there, and where, shortly before, his great admirer, Henry VIII, had ascended the throne. During this journey, according to Erasmus himself, he wrote the famous satire "Praise of Stupidity." Oxford and Cambridge universities offered him a professorship.
Teaching in Cambridge
Erasmus chose Cambridge, where one of his close acquaintances, Bishop Fisher, was the "Chancellor of the University". Here Erasmus taught Greek for several years, as one of the rare connoisseurs of this language at that time, and read theological courses, which he based on the original text of the New Testament. This was a great innovation at that time, since most theologians of that time continued to follow in their courses the medieval, scholastic method, which reduced all theological science to the study of treatises by Duns Scotus, Thomas Aquinas, and a few other favorite medieval authorities.
Erasmus devoted several pages to characterizing these adherents of scholastic theology in his Praise of Folly.
“They are so absorbed in their delicious nonsense that, spending days and nights behind them, they no longer find a minute of time to turn over the pages of the Gospel or the Epistles of the Apostle Paul at least once. But, engaging in their learned nonsense, they are quite sure that the universal church rests on their syllogisms as well as the sky on the shoulders of Atlas, and that without them the church would not have lasted even a minute.
No matter how firmly, apparently, Erasmus was based in England, but four years passed - and he was again drawn to other places. He referred to the inhospitable and unhealthy climate of England, but here, perhaps, the habit of frequent change of place acquired by all previous nomadic life had an effect, to a much greater extent.
In 1513 Erasmus traveled to Germany. The two years he spent here were two years of new travel throughout Germany. Here he met Ulrich Tsaziy.
But soon he was drawn to England, where he went again in 1515.
At the court of Charles V
The following year, he again migrated to the continent, and for good.
This time, Erasmus found himself a powerful patron in the person of the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Charles of Spain (future Emperor Charles V). The latter granted him the rank of “royal adviser”, which was not associated with any real functions, or even with the obligation to stay at court, but gave a salary of 400 florins. This created a completely secure position for Erasmus, relieving him of all material worries, and made it possible to devote himself entirely to his passion for scientific pursuits. Since then, indeed, the scientific and literary productivity of Erasmus has been aggravated. The new appointment, however, did not force Erasmus to abandon his restlessness; we meet him in Brussels, in Louvain, in Antwerp, in Freiburg, in Basel. Only in the last years of his life did he finally establish his settlement in the last of these cities, where he ended his days; he died on the night of 11/12 July 1536.
Characteristics of philosophy, nationality

Erasmus belongs to the older generation of German humanists, the "Reuchlin" generation, although one of the younger representatives of the latter (he was 12 years younger than Reuchlin); but by the nature of his literary activity, by its satirical tinge, he is already largely adjacent to the humanists of the younger, "Hutten" generation. However, he cannot be completely attributed to any specific group of humanists: he was “a man in himself,” as someone characterizes him in Letters from Dark People (see Gutten).
Erasmus, indeed, is a special, independent and completely individual value in the environment of German humanism. To begin with, Erasmus was not even in the strict sense a German humanist; he can rather be called a European, international humanist. German by his belonging to the empire, Dutch by blood and place of birth, Erasmus was least of all similar to the Dutchman in his mobile, lively, sanguine temperament, and, perhaps, that is why he so soon strayed from his homeland, to which he never found no special attraction. Germany, with which he was bound by citizenship to the “emperor”, and in which he spent most of his wandering life, did not become his second home; German patriotism, which animated the majority of German humanists, remained completely alien to Erasmus, like any patriotism in general. Germany was in his eyes no more his homeland than France, where he spent some of the best years of his life.
Erasmus himself was quite indifferent to his nationality. “They call me Batav,” he says in one of his letters; - but personally I'm not quite sure; it may very well be that I am Dutch, but we must not forget that I was born in that part of Holland, which is much closer to France than to Germany. In another place, he expresses himself in a no less characteristic way: "I do not at all want to say that I am a Frenchman, but I do not find it necessary to deny this either." We can say that the real spiritual home of Erasmus was the ancient world, where he really felt at home.
His real native language was Latin, which he spoke with the ease of an ancient Roman; it was found that he spoke Latin much better than his native Dutch, German and French.
It is also characteristic that at the end of his life, Erasmus, after long wanderings around the world, chose the imperial city of Basel as a place of permanent residence, which, in its geographical and political position and in the composition of its population, had an international, cosmopolitan character.
Influence on contemporaries
Erasmus occupies a very special place in the history of German humanism also for that unprecedented honorable and influential position in society, which - for the first time in European history - a man of science and literature received in his person.
Before Erasmus, history does not know of a single such phenomenon, and such a thing could not have happened before the spread of printing, which gave people thoughts an unprecedentedly powerful tool of influence.
After Erasmus, for all continuation new history, only one similar fact can be pointed out: the completely exceptional position that fell to the lot of Voltaire at the apogee of his literary glory, in the second half of the 18th century. “From England to Italy,” says one contemporary of E., “and from Poland to Hungary, his glory thundered.” The most powerful sovereigns of Europe at that time, Henry VIII of England, Francis I of France, popes, cardinals, prelates, statesmen and the most famous scientists considered it an honor to be in correspondence with him. The papal curia offered him a cardinality; the Bavarian government expressed its readiness to give him a large pension just for him to choose Nuremberg as his place of permanent residence. During the trips of Erasmus, some cities arranged solemn meetings for him, as a sovereign. He was called the "oracle of Europe", not only people of science turned to him for advice - on various scientific and philosophical issues, but also statesmen, even sovereigns - on various political issues. As a humanist, Erasmus is closest to Reuchlin: both of them are outstanding bearers of that scientific spirit, the spirit of research and exact knowledge, which is one of the most essential features in the characterization of humanism in general.
Philologist
Like Reuchlin, he worked hard on collecting the manuscripts of classical authors and on critical editions of their writings. Along with Reuchlin, Erasmus was one of the few experts at that time Greek and literature. The authority that Erasmus enjoyed in the field of Greek philology can be judged, for example, by the fact that his opinion regarding the way of pronouncing certain vowels of the Greek alphabet (etas and diphthongs) was universally recognized both in Germany and in some other countries, contrary to an ingrained tradition supported by the authority of the Greek teachers.
Theologian
Erasmus was also the first to apply on a large scale the scientific methods of work in the field of theology. His critical editions of the New Testament and the Church Fathers laid the foundation for scientific theology in the West [source not specified 456 days], instead of the scholasticism that had prevailed until then. In particular, Erasmus largely prepared the ground for Protestant theology [source not specified 456 days], not only with his editions of theological texts, but in part also with some of his theological ideas (for example, with his doctrine of free will).
Thus, Erasmus, who, especially in the later period of his life, persistently denied any solidarity with both Luther and other church reformers, turned out, against his will, in the role of one of the founders of Protestant dogma [source not specified 456 days ]. At this point, the literary and scientific activity of Erasmus is in positive contact with the reform movement; but it comes into contact with the latter also - and, perhaps, to a greater extent - in a negative way, since in his satirical works Erasmus acts as an exposer of various negative aspects contemporary church reality in the Catholic world.
Satirist
Of the satirical works, thanks to which his scientific and literary activity gained wide social significance and determined his prominent place not only in the history of literature, but also in general history, the “Praise of Stupidity” (Mori?-Encomium, sive Stultiti? Laus ). This small work was written by Erasmus - in his own words, from nothing to do - during a long, with the then communications, his move from Italy to England in 1509. Erasmus himself looked at this work of his as a literary trinket - but he owes his literary celebrity and his place in history to this trinket, in any case, no less than to his multi-volume scientific works. Most of the latter, having served in their time, have long since fallen asleep in the book depositories, under a thick layer of age-old dust, while the "Praise of Foolishness" continues to be read to this day, by relatively few in the Latin original, but, one might say, by all in translations, currently available in all European languages ​​(including Russian), and thousands of educated people continue to read this ingenious joke of the most witty of scientists and the most learned of witty people that the history of world literature knows. Since the advent of the printing press, this was the first truly colossal success of a printed work.
Published for the first time in Paris in 1509, Erasmus' satire ran up to seven editions in a few months; in all, during his lifetime, it was reprinted in different places at least 40 times. Published in 1898 by the Directorate of the University Library in Ghent (Belgium), the "preliminary" and, therefore, the list of editions of Erasmus' works to be supplemented includes more than two hundred editions for the "Praise of Stupidity" (including translations).
This unparalleled success is explained by many circumstances, among which the author's name, already loud even then, played an important role; but its main conditions lay in the work itself, in its successful conception and its brilliant execution. Erasmus came up with a good idea - to look at the modern reality surrounding him, as well as at all of humanity, at the whole world from the point of view of stupidity.
This point of view, proceeding from such a universal property inherent in “all times and peoples” as stupidity, gave the author the opportunity, touching on a lot of burning issues of our time, at the same time to give his observations of the surrounding reality the character of universality and adherence to principles, to highlight the private and the individual. , accidental and temporary from the point of view of the universal, permanent, regular, draw a satirical portrait of all mankind. This universal character, being one of the attractive aspects of the work for contemporary readers of the author, at the same time protected him from oblivion in the future. Thanks to him, "Praise of Stupidity" took its place among the ageless works of the human word - not because of the artistic beauty of the form, but because of the presence of that universal human element that makes it understandable and interesting for every person, no matter what time, no matter what nation no matter what class of society he belongs to. Reading the satire of E., sometimes you involuntarily forget that it was written four hundred years ago, to such an extent it is fresh, vital and modern.
The dominant tone of Erasmus' satire is humorous rather than sarcastic. His laughter is permeated mainly with benevolent humor, often with subtle irony, almost never with scourging sarcasm. In the satirist, one feels not so much an indignant moralist with a frown and a pessimistic view of the environment, but a cheerful humanist who looks at life with optimistic complacency and sees in its negative sides mostly an excuse to laugh heartily and joke.
In its form, The Praise of Stupidity is a parody of the panegyric, a form that was very popular at the time; the original thing here is only that the panegyric in this case is not pronounced on behalf of the author or another extraneous speaker, but put into the mouth of the most personified stupidity.
teacher
The main ideas on which the pedagogy of Erasmus is built:
- People are not born, but are made through education;
- Reason makes a man;
- A person has free will, and only therefore is his moral and legal responsibility possible;
- He opposed all violence and wars;
- A child must be properly educated from birth. It's better if the parents do it. If they cannot do it themselves, they must find a good teacher;
- The child must be given a religious, mental and moral education;
- Physical development is important.

He spoke out for the protection of the child, for the protection of childhood, which was fundamentally new in understanding childhood and the role of education, new in pedagogy. He believed that the child has the right to a proper upbringing. The inner world of a child is a divine world, and it cannot be treated with cruelty. He sharply opposed the cruelty of the medieval school, which he called the “torture chamber”, where you can’t hear anything except the noise of rods and sticks, cries of pain and sobs, frantic swearing. What else can a child take away from here, except hatred of science? Erasmus' protest against cruelty to children was the greatest act of humanism, marking the beginning of the search for forms of education that exclude violence. Erasmus rediscovered for the world such a phenomenon as the world of a child, the world of childhood.
Compositions

- "Praise of Stupidity"
- "Education of a Christian Sovereign"
- “The complaint of the world, expelled from everywhere and crushed everywhere”
Literature

The decomposition and specialization of humanism. Humanism in the second half of the 15th - early 17th centuries. (Erasmus of Rotterdam, Montaigne) - in: Gusev D. A., Manekin R. V., Ryabov P. V. History of Philosophy. Tutorial for students of Russian universities - M .: "Eksmo", 2004. - ISBN 5-699-07314-0, ISBN 5-8123-0201-4
- Huizinga Johan. Culture of the Netherlands in the 17th century. Erasmus. Selected letters. Drawings / Comp., per. from the Netherlands and foreword. D. Silvestrov; Comment. D. Kharitonovich. - St. Petersburg: Ivan Limbakh Publishing House, 2009. 680 p., ill. ISBN 978-5-89059-128-9
- Kodzhaspirova G. M. History of education and pedagogical thought: tables, diagrams, reference notes. - M., 2003. - P. 48.

1. Erasmus of Rotterdam. Praise of Stupidity. - M.: Sov.Russia, 1991.
2. Subbotin A.L. A word about Erasmus of Rotterdam. - M .: Sov. Rossiya, 1991.

The Praise of Folly is a work by Erasmus of Rotterdam, published for the first time in 1511. The author was called "the most witty of scientists and the most learned of the witty." His scholarly works forgotten, but this trifle, written out of boredom during a long journey, remained to live for centuries.

Why this praise of stupidity? Because this smart stupidity has a lot to do with blogging. Namely.

If you show off your knowledge, you will be too learned, you will not to read. Today's, as in other things, and yesterday's reader does not like to look stupider than the author. He wants to communicate with a person on an equal footing, allowing only a little to behave. If you are very smart, you will get a lot of negative and dissatisfied comments.

"Praise of stupidity" is just an ironic description by scientists of the modern way of life of that time. He wrote it on behalf of the layman. And got to the point. His book is read even in the forgotten universal Latin. "Sheer trifle", according to the author, has been translated into 40 languages ​​of the world.

Erasmus speaks on behalf of Stupidity about orators, about theologians who are able to distort, change and turn inside out every line in both Testaments, speaks of human vanity, about everything that daily praises her, Stupidity is sometimes greater than all other Olympian gods, in a row with which she puts herself.

Just like Sigmund Freud, who argued that everything unconscious (and, therefore, all human actions - after all, every step can, if you try, be associated with unconsciousness) is connected with sexual desire, so Erasmus of Rotterdam brilliantly substantiated that:

1) stupidity is the engine of human evolution;

2) stupidity is the greatest good, given to man, and it is only necessary to be able to use this blessing;

3) to become smart and, even more so, wise, there is no reason, because in many knowledge there are many sorrows;

4) stupidity is happiness and freedom;

5) most human actions are dictated by stupidity and are done stupidly.

And, damn it, it is written so convincingly that you involuntarily begin to believe it and implicitly wish yourself to be a little silly. It's just a celebration of sarcasm!

Stupidity says: let rude mortals talk about her as they please, but she dares to assert that her divine presence, it alone, amuses gods and people. And therefore, the laudable word of Stupidity will now be uttered.

Who, if not Stupidity, should become the trumpeter of his own glory? After all, lazy and ungrateful mortals, zealously revering her and willingly taking advantage of her beneficence, in the course of so many centuries did not bother to praise Stupidity in a thankful speech. And here she is, Stupidity, a generous giver of all blessings, which the Latins call Stultitia, and the Greeks Moria, personally appears before everyone in all her glory.

So, since not everyone knows what kind it comes from, then, having called for the help of the Muses, first of all, Stupidity sets out its genealogy. Her father is Plutos, who, not in anger will be told to Homer, Hesiod and even Jupiter himself, is the only and true father of gods and people. To whom he favors, he does not care about Jupiter with its thunders. And Stupidity was born, to use the words of Homer, not in the bonds of a dull marriage, but from the lust of free love. And at that time her father was dexterous and cheerful, intoxicated from youth, and even more from the nectar, which he pretty much drank at the feast of the gods.

Stupidity is born on those Happy Islands, where they do not sow, do not plow, but gather in granaries. There is neither old age nor disease on these islands, and you will not see there in the fields either thistles, or beans, or similar rubbish, but only lotuses, roses, violets and hyacinths. And two lovely nymphs fed the child with their nipples - Mete-Intoxication and Apedia-Bad manners. Now they are in the retinue of companions and confidantes of Stupidity, and with them Kolakia-Flattery, and Leta-Oblivion, and Misoponia-Laziness, and Gedone-Delight, and Anoia-Madness, and Tryphe-Gluttony. And here are two more gods who got mixed up in a girlish round dance: Komos-Razgul and Negretos Hypnos-A deep sleep. With the help of these faithful servants, Stupidity subjugates the entire human race and gives orders to the emperors themselves.

Having learned what kind, what is education and what is the retinue of Stupidity, prick up your ears and listen to what blessings it bestows on gods and people and how wide its divine power extends.

First of all, what could be sweeter and more precious than life itself? But to whom, if not to Stupidity, should the sage appeal, if he suddenly desires to become a father? After all, honestly tell me, what kind of husband would agree to put on the bridle of marriage if, according to the custom of the sages, he first weighed all the hardships of married life? And what woman would admit a husband to her if she thought and pondered the dangers and pains of childbirth and the difficulties of raising children? And so, only thanks to the drunken and cheerful play of Stupidity are born into the world and gloomy philosophers, and porphyry-bearing sovereigns, and thrice pure high priests, and even the whole numerous swarm of poetic gods.

Moreover, everything that is pleasant in life is also a gift of Stupidity, and now this will be proved. What would earthly life be like if it were deprived of pleasures? The Stoics themselves do not turn away from pleasures. After all, what will remain in life, except for sadness, boredom and hardships, if you don’t add a little bit of pleasure to it, in other words, if you don’t spice it up with stupidity?

The first years are the most pleasant and cheerful age in a person's life. How can we explain our love for children, if not by the fact that wisdom has wrapped babies in an attractive cloak of stupidity, which, enchanting parents, rewards them for their labors, and gives babies the love and care they need.

Childhood is followed by youth, What is the source of the charm of youth, if not in Stupidity? The less clever the boy is by the grace of Stupidity, the more pleasant he is to everyone and everyone. And the more a person moves away from Stupidity, the less time remains for him to live, until finally painful old age sets in. None of the mortals would have endured old age if Stupidity had not taken pity on the unfortunate and hastened to their aid. By her grace, the elders can be considered good drinking companions, pleasant friends, and even take part in a cheerful conversation.

And what scrawny, gloomy people who devote themselves to the study of philosophy! Before they could become young men, they were already old, persistent reflections dried up their vital juices. And the fools, on the contrary, are smooth, white, with a well-groomed skin, real Acarna pigs, they will never experience the hardships of old age, unless they become infected with it, communicating with smart people. It is not for nothing that the popular proverb teaches that only stupidity is capable of holding back the rapidly fleeing youth and putting off the hateful old age.

And after all, neither fun nor happiness can be found on earth that would not be gifts of Stupidity. Men born for the affairs of government, and therefore given a few extra drops of intelligence, are married to a woman, a slow-witted and stupid brute, but at the same time amusing and sweet, so that her stupidity can sweeten the dreary importance of the male mind. It is known that a woman will always be a woman, in other words, a fool, but how do they attract men to themselves, if not by Stupidity? In the Foolishness of a woman is the highest bliss of a man.

However, many men find their highest bliss in drinking. But is it possible to imagine a merry feast without the seasoning of Stupidity? Is it worth burdening the womb with food and delicacies, if at the same time the eyes, ears and spirit are not delighted with laughter, games and jokes? Namely Stupidity started all this for the benefit of the human race.

But, perhaps, there are people who find joy only in communicating with friends? But even here it will not do without stupidity and frivolity. Yes, what is there to interpret! Cupid himself, the originator and parent of all rapprochement between people, is he not blind, and does not the ugly seem beautiful to him? Immortal God, how many divorces or something worse would be everywhere, if husbands and wives did not brighten up and make home life easier with the help of flattery, jokes, frivolity, delusion, pretense and other companions of Stupidity!

In a word, without Stupidity, no connection would be pleasant and lasting: the people could not bear their sovereign for a long time, the master - a slave, the maid - the mistress, the teacher - the student, the wife - the husband, the lodger - the householder, if they did not regale each other honey of stupidity.

Let the wise man to the feast - and he will immediately embarrass everyone with gloomy silence or inappropriate questions. Ask him to dance - he will dance like a camel. Take him with you to some spectacle - he will ruin the audience's pleasure with just his appearance. If a sage intervenes in a conversation, he will scare everyone no worse than a wolf.

But let us turn to the sciences and arts. There is no doubt that any thing has two faces, and these faces are by no means similar to one another: under beauty - ugliness, under learning - ignorance, under fun - sadness, under benefit - harm. Eliminating lies means spoiling the whole performance, because it is acting and pretense that attracts the eyes of the audience. But all human life is nothing but a kind of comedy in which people, wearing masks, each play their own role. And everyone loves and pampers fools. And as for the sovereigns, they love their fools, no doubt, more than the gloomy wise men, for the latter have two languages, of which one speaks the truth, and the other speaks according to time and circumstances. Truth itself has an irresistible attractive force, if only nothing offensive is mixed with it, but only fools have been granted by the gods the ability to tell the truth without offending anyone.

The happiest of all is the one who is the craziest of all. From this dough are baked people who love stories about false signs and wonders and can never get enough of fables about ghosts, lemurs, people from the other world and the like; and the more these fables diverge from the truth, the more readily they are believed. However, one must also remember those who, reading seven verses from the sacred Psalter every day, promise themselves eternal bliss for that. Well, can you be dumber?

But do people ask the saints for something that has nothing to do with Stupidity? Take a look at the thanksgiving offerings with which the walls of other temples are decorated right up to the very roof - will you see among them at least one donation for getting rid of stupidity, for the fact that the bearer has become a little smarter than a log? It is so sweet not to think about anything, that people will refuse everything, but not Morya.

Not only the majority of people are infected with stupidity, but entire nations. And so, in self-delusion, the British make exclusive claims to bodily beauty, musical art and a good table. The French only ascribe pleasant courtesy to themselves. The Italians have appropriated to themselves the primacy in fine literature and eloquence, and therefore they are in such sweet seduction that, of all mortals, they alone do not consider themselves barbarians. The Spaniards do not agree to give up their military glory to anyone. The Germans boast of their height and knowledge of magic. Hand in hand with self-delusion goes flattery. It is thanks to her that everyone becomes more pleasant and sweeter to himself, and yet this is the highest happiness. Flattery is honey and spice in all communication between people.

They say that to err is a misfortune; on the contrary, not to err—that is the greatest of misfortunes! Happiness does not depend on the things themselves, but on our opinion of things, and knowledge often takes away the joy of life. If the wife is ugly to the extreme, but seems to her husband a worthy rival of Venus, then is it all the same, as if she were truly beautiful?

So, either there is no difference between wise men and fools, or the position of fools is uncommonly more advantageous. Firstly, their happiness, based on deceit or self-deception, gets them much cheaper, and secondly, they can share their happiness with most other people.

Many people owe everything to Stupidity. Among them are grammarians, rhetoricians, jurists, philosophers, poets, orators, and especially those who smear the paper with all sorts of nonsense, for whoever writes in a learned way is more worthy of pity than envy. Look how such people suffer: they add, change, delete, then, about nine years later, they print, still dissatisfied with their own work. Add to this disordered health, faded beauty, myopia, early old age, and you can’t list everything. And our wise man imagines himself rewarded if two or three such blind learned men praise him. On the contrary, how happy is the writer, obedient to the suggestions of Stupidity: he will not pore at night, but writes down everything that comes into his mind, risking nothing, except for a few pennies spent on paper, and knowing in advance that the more nonsense will be in his writings, the more surely it will please the majority, that is, all fools and ignoramuses. But the most amusing thing is when fools begin to praise fools, ignoramuses - ignoramuses, when they mutually glorify each other in flattering epistles and verses. As for theologians, would it not be better not to touch this poisonous plant, although they are in great debt to Stupidity.

However, no one should forget the measure and the limit, and therefore Stupidity says: "Be healthy, applaud, live, drink, glorious partakers of the mysteries of Morya."

Any thing has two faces ... and these faces are by no means similar to one another. Outside it seems like death, but look inside - you will see life, and vice versa, under life hides death, under beauty - ugliness, under abundance - miserable poverty, under shame - glory, under learning - ignorance, under power - squalor, under nobility - meanness. under fun - sadness, under prosperity - failure, under friendship - enmity, under benefit - harm.

In a fool, what is hidden in the heart is written on the forehead, then it breaks off the tongue. And the sages have two languages, of which one speaks the truth, and the other speaks according to time and circumstances.

There is no being more unfortunate than man, since all other animals are content with the limits in which nature has enclosed them, and he alone tries to expand the boundaries of his lot.

Now, if a stone falls on your head, this is a real misfortune, and shame, dishonor, blasphemy and bad rumors only cause trouble insofar as we notice them.

This is what distinguishes a sage from a fool, that he is guided by reason, and not by feelings.

Indeed, two great obstacles stand in the way of a correct understanding of things: shame, which fills the soul like a fog, and fear, which in the face of danger prevents bold decisions. But Stupidity, with surprising ease, drives away both shame and fear.

Stupidity creates states, maintains power, religion, government and justice. And what is all human life if not the amusement of Stupidity?

If life is sad, it doesn't even deserve to be called life.

A monkey always remains a monkey, even if he puts on purple; so a woman will always be a woman, in other words, a fool, no matter what mask she puts on herself.

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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE of the Russian Federation

federal state AUTONOMOUS educational

institution of higher professional education

"South Federal University"

FACULTY OF PHILOLOGY

Abstract on the topic:

"In Praise of Stupidity"

INTRODUCTION

THE IMAGE OF STUPIDITY IN THE WORK OF ERASMUS OF ROTTERDAM

CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION

The Dutch humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam (circa 1469-1536), a Catholic writer, philologist, theologian, had a great influence on his contemporaries. “He is amazed, he sings and exalts him,” Camerrius wrote, “everyone who does not want to be considered a stranger in the realm of the Muses.”

The influence of Erasmus on his contemporaries was enormous. He is sometimes compared to the influence of Voltaire in the 18th century. Better than all other humanists, Erasmus appreciated the mighty power of typography, and his name is inextricably linked with such famous typographers of the 16th century as Ald Manucius, Froben, Badius. With the help of the printing press - "an almost divine instrument", as Erasmus called it - he published one work after another and, thanks to personal contacts with the humanists of all countries (as evidenced by eleven volumes of a collection of correspondence), he led a kind of "republic of the humanities" , a prototype of the later enlightenment movement in the 18th century led by Voltaire. And only because of this Erasmus could resist the fight against a whole army of monks and theologians who invariably preached against him and sent his followers to the stake.

As in all humanistic thought and in all the art of the Renaissance, that stage in the development of European society, which is marked by the enormous influence of antiquity, in "Eulogy of Stupidity" two traditions meet and merge organically.

On the one hand, satire is written in the form of a "praise word", which was cultivated by ancient writers. The genre of parodic eulogy, which originated in late sophistry, a sample of which was left to us by Lucian (“Eulogy to the fly”). The genre of ironic panegyric - like the once famous "Eulogy for Gout" by Erasmus W. Pirckheimer's Nuremberg friend - outwardly adjoins "Eulogy of Stupidity". But much more significant is the influence of Lucian - the great mocker, nicknamed "Voltaire of antiquity.

On the other hand, "Stupidity reigning over the world" is not an accidental subject of praise, as is usual in comic panegyrics. Through the line this theme runs through poetry, art and folk theater of the XV-XVI centuries. The favorite spectacle of the late medieval and renaissance city is the carnival "processions of fools", "carefree children" led by the Prince of Fools, Pope the Fool and Foolish Mother. fools. The motto of these games is "The number of fools is incalculable". In French "tomfoolery", Dutch farces or German "fastnachtspiel" (Shrovetide games), the goddess of Stupidity reigned: the fool and his fellow charlatan represented in various guises the whole variety of life situations and conditions. The whole world "broke the fool."

What stupidity appears before us in the "Eulogy"? What features does the great humanist of the Renaissance endow with her and what is he trying to show through her satirical description?

THE IMAGE OF STUPIDITY IN THE WORK OF ERASMUS OF ROTTERDAM

The entire narrative of the work is praise "but not to Hercules and not to Solon" [p. 17], but nonsense. Moreover, Stupidity praises itself on its own. The composition of the work is harmonious, although it is filled with various digressions and repetitions (as befits stupidity). Erasmus himself did not have a division into chapters; it appeared later in the edition of 1765. Conventionally, the book can be divided into two parts: the first one proves that “all public affairs of mortals” and even “supreme gods” [p.30] are subject to the power of Stupidity alone. The second part is a description of the various types and forms of Stupidity - its manifestation in society from the lower strata of the people to the highest circles of the nobility.

In the first part, stupidity "irrefutably" proves its power over all life and all goods. “First of all, what could be sweeter and more precious than life itself? But to whom do you owe its appearance, if not to me, ”says stupidity in chapter XI,“ but if you owe your life to marriage<…>then you yourself understand to what extent you are my debtors. We see that the sense of modesty, which Stupidity itself tries to ascribe to itself, is completely absent from it, which, of course, is natural for it. After all, stupidity is selfish and therefore confident in everything that it does not undertake. In addition, stupidity does not consider selfishness a vice, and claims that “take away this seasoning from life, and the orator with his speech will be met with icy cold, the musician will please no one with his melodies, the actor’s play will be booed, the poet will be ridiculed along with the Muses, will fall into insignificance. with his art, a painter, emaciated from hunger, sitting on his medicines, a doctor. [from. 83]. She is the basis of all prosperity and happiness, “without my suggestion,” says Stupidity, “not a single noble art arose without my assistance” [p. 84]. What is it - in jest or seriously? The author himself (in the preface and in later letters) gives a contradictory and evasive answer to this question, believing, obviously, that sapientisat is "enough for the wise" and the reader himself is able to figure it out.

The satirical image of the "wise man" runs through the entire first "philosophical" part of the speech. It is the opposite of Stupidity. Repulsive and wild appearance, hairy skin, dense beard, appearance of premature old age [ch. XVII, c. 65]. Strict, big-eyed, keen on the vices of friends, cloudy in friendship, unpleasant [ch. XIX, c. 72]. At the feast, he is sullenly silent and confuses everyone with inappropriate questions. With its very appearance, it spoils all the pleasure of the public. If he intervenes in the conversation, he will scare the interlocutor no worse than a wolf. In discord with life, hatred for everything around him is born [ch. XXV, c. 92]. The enemy of all natural feelings, a kind of marble likeness of a man, devoid of all human properties. Not that monster, not that ghost, knowing neither love nor pity, like a cold stone. Supposedly nothing escapes him, he never errs, he carefully weighs everything, he knows everything, he is always pleased with himself; he alone is free, he is everything, but only in his own thoughts. Everything that happens in life, he condemns, seeing madness in everything. Do not grieve for a friend, for friendship is the lot of fools. Here he is, this perfect sage! “Neither to himself, nor to the fatherland, nor to his relatives, he can be useful in anything, because he is not tempted in the most ordinary affairs and is too far from generally accepted opinions and all observed customs” [ch. XXV, c. 94], etc.

This is a complete image of a scholastic, a medieval armchair scientist, disguised as an ancient Stoic sage. Is this a rational pedant? enemy of human nature. But from the point of view of living life, his bookish dilapidated wisdom is rather absolute stupidity.

Passions, desires, actions, real feelings, and above all, the pursuit of happiness are more important than reason, and if reason opposes itself to life, then its antipode - stupidity - coincides with every beginning of life. Erasmus Moria is, therefore life itself. It is synonymous with true wisdom, which does not separate itself from life, while scholastic "wisdom" is the offspring of genuine stupidity.

Morya of the first part is Nature itself, which does not need to prove its correctness by "crocodiles, sorites, horned syllogisms" and other "dialectical intricacies" [ch. XIX, c. 72-73]. Not the categories of logic, but desire, people owe their birth. The desire to be happy people owe love, friendship, peace in the family and society. The militant gloomy "wisdom", which is put to shame by eloquent Stupidity, is the pseudo-rationalism of medieval scholasticism, where reason, put at the service of faith, developed the most complex system of regulation and norms of behavior. The ascetic mind of the senile Middle Ages, the waning wisdom of the venerable doctors of theology, is opposed by Moria - a new principle of Nature, put forward by the humanism of the Renaissance. This principle reflected the surge of vitality in European society at the birth of a new bourgeois era.

Protecting the young shoots of life from the interference of "unsolicited wisdom," the pathos of Erasmus' thought reveals the confidence in free development characteristic of Renaissance humanism, akin to the ideal of life shown in the Thelemic monastery at Rabelais with its motto "Do whatever you want." Erasmus' thought connected with the beginning of the era of bourgeois society. It is not for nothing that Erasmus himself from Rotterdam, a burgher by birth, having reached European fame, rejects the flattering invitations of the monarchs of Europe, preferring an independent life in the "free city" of Louvain. The traditions of independence, which the cities of his native country uphold, are undoubtedly nourished by the views of Erasmus. The philosophy of his Foolishness is rooted in the historical setting of absolutism that has not yet won.

The second part of the "Eulogy" is devoted to "various types and forms" of Stupidity. But it is easy to see that here not only the subject changes imperceptibly, but also the meaning attached to the concept of "stupidity", the nature of laughter and its tendency. The very tone of the work also changes dramatically. Stupidity forgets its role, and instead of praising itself and its servants, it begins to resent the servants of Morya, expose and scourge them. The humor turns into satire.

Already chapter XXXIV, which glorifies the happy state of animals “the happiest of all - those who know neither doctrine nor training, but live exclusively according to the law of nature” - is ambiguous. Does this mean that a person should not strive to “push the boundaries of his lot”, that he should become like animals and be content with “the limits in which nature has enclosed them”? Doesn't this contradict Nature, which endowed him with intellect? Therefore, fools, jesters, fools and feeble-minded, though happy, still will not convince us to follow the bestial folly of their existence (ch. XXXV). "Praise of Stupidity" imperceptibly passes from a panegyric to a satire on the ignorance, backwardness and inertia of society. rotterdam stupidity humanist western european

In the first part of Stupidity's speech, as the wisdom of nature, she guaranteed life a variety of interests and an all-round development. There she corresponded to the humanistic ideal of the "universal" man. But the insane one-sided Stupidity creates permanent frozen forms and types: an estate of well-born raccoons who boast of the nobility of origin [ch. XLII, c. 162], or hoarding merchants, - the most stupid and vile breed of all [ch. XLVII, c. 180-181], ruined quarrels or hired soldiers who dream of getting rich in war, mediocre actors and singers, orators and poets, grammarians and jurists. Philautia, the sister of Stupidity, now shows her other face. It gives rise to complacency of different cities and peoples [ch. XLIII, c. 166]. Happiness is deprived of its objective foundation in nature, now it completely "depends on our opinion about things ... and rests on deceit or self-deception" [ch. XLV, c. 174]. As a mania, Stupidity is already subjective, and "everyone goes crazy in his own way, finding his happiness in it." Now Stupidity, on the contrary, corrupts society. The universal satire of Erasmus here does not spare a single title in the human race. Stupidity reigns among the people, as well as in court circles, where kings and nobles do not find even "half an ounce common sense» [Ch. LV, c. 243].

The satire reaches its sharpest point in the chapters on philosophers and theologians, monks and monks, bishops, cardinals and high priests [Ch. LII-LX, c. 207-268], especially in the colorful characteristics of theologians and monks, the main opponents of Erasmus throughout his entire career. Great courage was needed to show the world the "stinking swamp" of theologians and the vile vices of monastic orders in all their glory. The monks were the main instigators of the persecution against Erasmus and his works. They eventually achieved the inclusion of a large part of Erasmus' literary heritage in the index of books banned by the church, and his French translator Berken died at the stake (in 1529). A popular proverb among the Spaniards was: "Whoever says bad things about Erasmus is either a monk or an ass."

Erasmus' satire ends with a very bold conclusion. After Stupidity has proved its power over humanity and over "all classes and states" of modernity, it invades the holy of holies of the Christian world and identifies itself with the very spirit of the religion of Christ, and not only with the church, as an institution where its power has already been proven earlier: the Christian faith is akin to Stupidity, for the highest reward for people is a kind of madness [ch. LXVI-LXVII, c. 304-313], namely, the happiness of merging with the deity.

CONCLUSION

“Stupidity” refers to two different things. On the one hand, "stupidity" is a person's desire to know the whole world in its entirety and become almost higher than God. In the work of Erasmus, amazing examples of such “stupidity” are brought out - these are scientists, and rulers, and clergymen, and even the Church itself. And in this case, “stupidity” can be considered everything that strives to be higher and better than God, but dissolves in the madness of this world.

But there is another "stupidity" - the "stupidity" of sincere faith. “Among the fools of every city, the most insane seem to be those who are inspired by Christian piety ..” “What is this, if not insanity?” Erasmus asks. But it turns out that this "stupidity" can be considered insanity only when it is looked at from the position of worldly "madness". And it is not for nothing that the highest manifestation of such “stupidity” is “heavenly stupidity”, “when a person in brief moments of unconsciousness and madness suddenly unites with God”, and then, returning to consciousness, mourns “that he has come to his senses again”.

The main idea of ​​Erasmus was a call for purification - The humanistic ideal of a person can be realized only when the person himself, in simplicity and sincerity of faith, comes as close as possible to the image of Christ. It was this thesis that underlay Erasmus' critical attitude to the socio-political reality of Europe at that time, and to the moral state of people, and to the role of the Church, which, according to Erasmus, was too far removed from the ideal of the first, apostolic Church.

Erasmus of Rotterdam had such a multidimensional influence on the Western European consciousness of his time that even during his lifetime he caused a different reaction. The church persecuted him and welcomed him, the scientific world argued with him and admired his talent. Martin Luther, with his idea of ​​the reformation of faith and the Church, very close in essence to the ideas of Erasmus, argued harshly and harshly with the "king of the humanists." And so far, the works of Erasmus are evaluated ambiguously.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Rotterdamsky, E. Praise of stupidity; [per. from lat.P. Huber]. - M. : RIPOL classic, 2015. - 320 p.

2. Bakhtin, M. Questions of Literature and Aesthetics / M. Bakhtin. - Moscow: Russian dictionaries, 1975. - 158 p.

3. Pinsky L.E. Renaissance realism; M.: Goslitizdat, 1961. - S. 56 - 85

4. Nemilov A. N. Erasmus of Rotterdam and the Northern Renaissance // Erasmus of Rotterdam and his time.- M., 1989.- P. 9-19.

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Sonnets based on excerpts from the famous satire of Erasmus of Rotterdam "Eulogy of Stupidity".

=*=*=*=*=*=
Preface.

Erasmus of Rotterdam, years of life 1466-1536, is a humanist, rationalist, scientist, writer who ridiculed the medieval backwardness of society in his satirical essay.

A native of the Netherlands, a native of the burgher environment, the most educated person of his time, a connoisseur of antiquity and a biblical scholar, Erasmus left to his descendants multi-volume works that were very important, but in the end, of all his works, one small book gained the loudest fame and genuine immortality (which is curious , he himself spoke of her as a “trinket” - but, perhaps, with a share of slyness) - “Praise of Stupidity” (lat. “Moriae Encomium, sive Stultitiae Laus”, 1509).

The success of the book was unprecedented. At the time of Erasmus, all educated people of all Western Europe knew and read it (either in the original in Latin or in translation), echoes of the thoughts expressed in it can be traced in the work of writers and poets of subsequent times. For example, everyone knows a quote from Shakespeare's play As You Like It:
“The whole world is a theater.
In it, women, men - all actors.
They have their own exits, departures,
And everyone plays more than one role.

But this idea was first formulated not by Shakespeare - Erasmus, only in prosaic form. Researchers point to a number of parallels in addition to the above, which, in fact, is not surprising: without Erasmus of Rotterdam, it is difficult to imagine the Renaissance.

The book contains 68 short chapters, each of which is devoted to different topics, illustrating the various manifestations of the undeniable presence of Lady Stupidity in this world. There are everyday sketches and social satire. Erasmus paid special attention to the latter in his writings, denouncing the powerful of this world and poisonously ridiculing the greed, gluttony and ignorance of the clergy.

The struggle against the Church at that time was a struggle against the social order, which the Church deified and of which she herself was an inseparable part. In order to be able to criticize the existing social relations, they had to be deprived of the halo of holiness.

Erasmus had no doubt that the church organization had long and greatly exceeded its authority as God's representatives on earth, and opposed the greed of clerics and the obscurantism they adopted (restriction of the dissemination of knowledge in the interests of power circles - obscurantism, if in Russian), striving to so that the spiritual dictatorship of the church, which hinders progress, is finally broken. However, the church equated with freethinkers anyone who dared to express dissatisfaction with her power, it is not surprising, therefore, that many of the works of Erasmus were recognized by churchmen as heretical and banned under pain death penalty. It was not possible to get to the author of the Inquisition himself (in those days, not everyone was so lucky), as for his books, especially The Praise of Stupidity, they continued to be printed and read.
Denouncing Catholicism, Erasmus did not take the side of Protestantism, noting that where the Reformation won, "the sciences died", that is, obscurantism still remained on its own. He probably did not trust any religious denomination.

In the book of Erasmus you will not find any calls to action, or even specific conclusions. Often, he either ends the next paragraph with an ironic question, shifting emphasis, or the phrase contains a veiled ambiguity (it’s not for nothing that Erasmus was called the “king of ambiguities”), awakening doubt in the reader, gradually leading him to the need to draw a conclusion on his own.

The little book "Praise of Stupidity" (or "Praise of Stupidity" - both versions of the translation of the title are true) has been published many times and is still being published. It is easy to read, sparkling with well-aimed witty remarks and still not outdated, although in 2014 it turned 505 years old. Human stupidity is multifaceted and ineradicable, and her sisters and servants who make up her retinue are Laziness, Flattery, Vanity, Selfishness, Bad manners, Revelry, etc. - are still found in the world - as yesterday, so, alas, today. But, as if that weren't enough, following the expression of one late 20th-century scholar, "modern obscurantism calls the shadows of the past out of the graves. One might think that the reaction intends to establish some "law of conservation of stupidity." Against the background of modernized scholasticism and militant obscurantism of every kind, the satire of Erasmus retains the power of an old, but well-aimed weapon.

Reading these pages gives a boost of optimism. As another commentator put it, “in the book of Erasmus of Rotterdam, under a sly parodic form of presentation, there is a defense of cheerful free-thinking, directed against ignorance for the glory of man and his mind.”

Wisdom is dressed in jester's attire,
Playing the fool in front of the people:
Being known not as a freethinker - a madman,
Look, you'll avoid the Fire Chambers.

There is no account of troubles that centuries in a row
The human race is dominated,
But vain pleas, uprooted under oppression,
Laughter, even through tears, is a hundred times better.

All things in the world have two faces.
Look differently - it will become more fun:
Donkeys representing lions

And the monkeys that dress up in brocade,
And the magnificent insignificance of palaces
Will make you laugh heartily.
03.01.2016

Chambers of Fire - in a generalized sense - the tribunals of the Inquisition.
The name for emergency judicial bodies, very accurate, given that hundreds of people were sent to the stake through their efforts, was invented by the French (fr. Chambre ardente; in old France in different time there were several tribunals of the Fire Chambers).

Expressions belonging to Erasmus: “These monkeys dressed in purple, and donkeys flaunting in a lion's skin; the magnificent insignificance of the courtyards.

“... there is no doubt that any thing has two faces ... and these faces are by no means similar to one another. ... Outside, it’s like death, but look inside - you will see life, and vice versa, death is hidden under life, ugliness under beauty, miserable poverty under abundance, fame under shame, ignorance under scholarship, squalor under power, nobility under nobility - meanness, under fun - sadness, under prosperity - failure, under friendship - enmity, under benefit - harm ... ”(“ Praise of stupidity ”, ch. XXIX)

On the way, I preferred business to boredom,
Having written this trifle with care;
On behalf of the smartest nickname
For Stupidity, fooling around, made,

Interpreting this person's arbitrariness
Those who have claims to wisdom,
I'm glad for fun, not for ridicule
Even those who found evil in laughter.

How tender are the ears, how vulnerable are the souls
Many contemporaries, and listen
They can't stand a joke or a reproach.

Or is the conscience unclean and secretly gnawing?
But honest and sensible people are good
My playful labor will bring, perhaps.
20.12.2015

The history of the creation of the "Praise of Stupidity" is connected with another significant character of the past - the humanist and statesman Englishman Thomas More (1478-1535), who was a personal friend of Erasmus. The play on words associated with the name Mora led Erasmus to the idea of ​​orating on behalf of Stupidity (translated into ancient Greek "stupidity" - "Moriya"). The joke is based on opposition, since More was a man of highly educated and progressive views - in the words of Erasmus, he was the furthest away from stupidity.
The Praise of Stupidity was conceived by Erasmus on his way from Italy to England, where he stayed at More's house, finishing his unusual work and dedicating it to his friend - all this is said in the preface, which also highlights the author's own view of his work (" the reader, not at all stupid, will benefit from this more than from other pedantic and pompous reasoning") and the answer to potential critics and detractors is voiced in advance:

“Perhaps there will be detractors who will spread the slander that these light jokes do not suit the theologian and are too caustic for Christian humility; perhaps they will even accuse me of ... exposing everyone and everyone to ridicule. ... I am very surprised at the tenderness of modern ears, which seem to endure nothing but solemn titles. ... whoever starts screaming, complaining of a personal insult, will only betray his fear and bad conscience.

Praise yourself publicly
Not accepted among the greats of the world.
At their service are the corrupt bards of the lyre,
Who doesn't care what to talk about.

Shameless windbags of these armies
Transform nothingness into an idol,
Put on a halo of a saint on a satyr,
Although some horns match him.

And in the choir of praise, without a doubt,
It will be difficult to hear objections,
That this hero is not the one who is shown to us:

Not a storehouse of virtues - cattle,
Ruler of the weak, slave of the strongest himself,
Crow in colorful peacock feathers.
13.12.2015

“Retained by false shame, they [the great and wise of the world] do not dare to speak out themselves, but instead hire some corrupt rhetorician or windbag poet, from whose lips they listen to praise, in other words, an utter lie. Our humble man spreads his tail like a peacock, lifts his topknot, and meanwhile the shameless flatterer equates this insignificant man with the gods, sets him up as a model of all virtues, to which he, like a heavenly star, is far away, dresses up a crow in peacock feathers, tries to whiten the Ethiopian and out of flies makes an elephant." ("Praise of Stupidity." From chapter III)

“What if some sage who has fallen from the sky suddenly raises a cry, assuring that the one whom everyone considers to be God and his master is not even a man, because he follows only the dictates of passions like a beast, that he is a vile slave, for he himself voluntarily serves many and, moreover, vile lords? ("Praise of Stupidity." From chapter XXIX)

Christ during his life was a simple poor man.
Christ in this world, replacing the place,
The High Priesthood, as you know,
Lives does not grieve among various blessings.

Another king is more magnificent than a hierarch,
Diamonds on brocade vestments are crowded,
But if you're being honest,
Here the ends do not converge in any way.

After all, the Savior was content with little,
Therefore, as if it did not fit
Holy fathers to own riches.

However, the discussion is
It is unlikely that the top is capable of gaining -
Should the princes of the church know poverty!
19.12.2015

“Popes, cardinals and bishops not only compete with sovereigns in pomp, but sometimes even surpass them. ... And so I ask: who [of them], who will think ... will he not be forced to lead a life full of worries and sorrows? ("Praise of Stupidity." From chapter LVII)

“… Is a rich wealth befitting for those who have come to replace the poor apostles?” (From chapter LVIII)

“And the high priests who take the place of Christ himself? If they tried to imitate his life, namely poverty, labor, teaching, death on the cross, contempt for life ... - whose fate in the whole world would be sadder?
(From chapter LIX)

Whoever you are, as long as you live in the world,
Knowing no other intention
In addition to benefits and entertainment,
Through and through vicious and entirely guilty, -

The more you've done, the sweeter the lie
That you will receive forgiveness of sins,
You will whitewash all the filth in an instant,
Throwing a penny into the church piggy bank.

Donate from the bounty during the service
For a common candle and church needs, -
And the sinful soul is redeemed.

Do you feel how much easier it has become?
It's worth every penny spent!
And then at least sin yourself from the beginning.
07.12.2015

“And what about those who supposedly atoned for their sins with donations to the church, serenely rejoice ... and console themselves with hopes for wealth, honors, pleasures, abundance in everything, eternally flourishing health, long life, vigorous old age and, finally, a place in the kingdom heavenly closer to Christ himself?
…
Another merchant, warrior or judge, having paid a single penny from all the loot, believes that he has whitewashed the filth of his life at once: he considers all false oaths, dirty lusts, carousing, fights, murders, deceptions, intrigues, treason to be redeemed and paid for, as if by agreement , so that if you wish, it would be just right to start a new circle of abominations. ("Praise of Stupidity." From chapter XL).

Once a monk was known as a hermit,
Days spent in the wilderness of solitude,
Where is the feat of abstinence and humility
He performed away from the vain world of blessings.

But what do we see today? Beggar and naked
Is he still worthy of respect?
How did it happen that people do not know doubts:
Meeting a monk is a bad sign?

Monks are more vicious than the laity now,
And they prefer not to live in the desert,
And the blessings of the world are dearer to them than fasting;

They are restrained in one thing - in the pursuit of knowledge;
Psalms nasally in the manner of donkeys,
Pious in name only.
28.11.2015

“... the so-called desert-dwelling monks, although this nickname did not suit them at all: after all, most of them are far from any piety, and no one more often than “desert-dwellers” comes across to meet you in many crowded places.
…
They have incurred such unanimous hatred that even a chance meeting with a monk is considered a bad omen, and yet they are quite pleased with themselves. Firstly, they are sure that the highest piety consists in the strictest abstinence from all sciences and it is best of all not to know literacy at all. Therefore, reading in churches with donkey voices marked, but incomprehensible to them, psalms, they are convinced that they bring great delight to the saints. ... With their dirt, ignorance, rudeness and shamelessness, these lovely people, in their own opinion, are likened in the eyes of our apostles. ("Praise of Stupidity." From chapter LIV)

Comedy is like our life:
There is so much hypocrisy and pretense in it.
People play in honesty, in nobility,
Habitual masks put on.

But the one who says that the performance is false,
Rather than the mind will show - madness
And only add anxiety to yourself,
The established custom is not respectful.

One law for feasts and for life:
Came to the feast - so drink, but no - you're superfluous.
Why talk about this for a long time:

Live like everyone else, without philosophizing craftily,
And keep playing comedy
And do not grieve that fun is not smart.
12.12.2015

“But the whole of human life is nothing but a kind of comedy in which people, wearing masks, each play their own role until the choreg takes them away from the proscenium.
…
I call a madman anyone who does not want to reckon with the established state of affairs and apply himself to circumstances, who does not remember the basic law of any feast: either drink or get out, and who demands that a comedy should not be a comedy.

On the contrary, he is truly reasonable who, being a mortal, does not strive to be wiser than befits a mortal, who condescendingly shares the shortcomings of the crowd and politely errs with it. But that's what stupidity is all about, I'll be told. I will not argue, but you will also agree that this is exactly what it means to play the comedy of life. ("Praise of Stupidity." From Chapter XXIX)

The drawings of Hans Holbein the Younger, a contemporary of Erasmus of Rotterdam, are considered to be the best illustrations for the Praise of Stupidity.

Strokes of a virtuoso pen
The artist sketched as he read
An extremely interesting essay
A number of scenes, showing a gift of talent,

Contributing to the illustrative genre,
Capturing the fruits of imagination
And along and across without delay
Drawing a printed copy.

Monks, kings and buffoons -
As if the faces of that era
Reflected by pieces of mirrors.

Saints, devils, people, animals, birds
And the sage himself, who wrote the book,
They pass in front of us in a line.
01.01.2016

Erasmus met Hans Holbein the Younger in Basel. He commissioned his portrait from the artist, and besides, Holbein illustrated for him the “Praise of Stupidity”, sketching on the margins of the pages of a printed copy of the 1514 edition of 82 sketches based on direct impressions from reading the book. These small works were originally not intended for printing, but now it is difficult for us to imagine the work of the great humanist without Holbein's bright and sharp drawings. On the first page of the book, the artist depicted Stupidity-Moriya in a jester's cap, delivering his speech from the podium in front of the public.

Erasmus recommended Holbein to Thomas More, the King's Lord Chancellor Henry VIII. The artist moved to England and has since painted portraits of the king and his courtiers.
Holbein repeatedly portrayed Erasmus of Rotterdam, as well as Thomas More and other famous people of that distant era.

Thomas More, although he was close to the king himself, however, became famous in history (in fact, like Erasmus from Rotterdam), as the author of one, but a landmark book. In the case of More, this book is even more famous than the creation of Erasmus, since its name has become a household word - we are talking about the book "Utopia" ("Golden little book, as useful as it is funny about the best structure of the state and about the new island of Utopia", 1516 year).

Exposing on the pages of the book the deepest injustice of the modern life order (the conspiracy of the rich against all members of society), More comes to the conclusion that the creation of a welfare society is possible with the abolition of private property, compulsory labor for all, gender equality, tolerance for all religions, improvement of the education system and a clear understanding that war is truly an atrocity. According to More's idea, the utopia is headed by the king, but all administrative positions are elective and can be occupied by each of the citizens, that is, the triumph of democracy is evident.

The world is terrible - there is hunger and war in it
With the ruthless despotism of power
Everything multiplies the victims - the heart is torn to pieces
The suffering of those whose poverty is the fault.

And is it strange that in evil times
Dawned against the backdrop of all misfortunes
Dream of a better life, common happiness
Utopia is a wonderful country.

In it, everyone is equal in work and in wealth.
And equally prosper, and knowledge
Available to all, ignorant dispelling nonsense.

In it, the kings and those are democratic.
Alas, though centuries have passed since then,
Utopia is still utopian.
03.01.2016

Quotations from Erasmus of Rotterdam's Praise of Stupidity are from the 1983 edition.
Moscow, "Fiction", translated from Latin by P. Guber, foreword by L. Pinsky.

In 2011, under the auspices of UNESCO, the 500th anniversary of the first edition of Erasmus of Rotterdam's book "In Praise of Stupidity" is celebrated.

Hans Holbein the Younger. Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam (1523, London, National Gallery)

Erasmus of Rotterdam (Erasmus Roterodamus), Desiderius (Desiderius) (October 28, 1469, Rotterdam, - July 12, 1536, Basel), Dutch scientist, writer, humanist; editor and translator of ancient classics; first publisher of the New Testament in Greek; satirist. the most prominent representative of the Northern Renaissance. (In various sources, you can find other options for the year of his birth - 1467 or 1465).

His father, who belonged to one of the burgher families of the town Gouda(at the crossroads of the roads Rotterdam-Amsterdam and The Hague-Utrecht), was carried away in his youth by one girl, the daughter of a doctor from Sevenbergen, who reciprocated him. The parents, who had predetermined their son for a spiritual career, resolutely opposed his marriage. The lovers, nevertheless, became close and the fruit of their relationship was a son, to whom the parents gave the name Gerhard, that is, desired, - the name from which, by means of the usual Latinization and Greekization at that time, his double literary pseudonym Desiderius Erasmus was subsequently formed, which forced forget his real name, he was brought up in Holland - first in Gouda, and then in the school of monastic "brothers of common life" in Deventer. There he became acquainted with the treasures of the classical heritage rediscovered in Italy. At the age of fourteen, he lost his father and mother. This, aggravated by the seal of the illegitimate, predetermined some of his character traits - timidity, sometimes bordering on cowardice, a certain amount of secrecy. He understood that with such an inheritance, a public career would be inaccessible to him. Therefore, soon, after some hesitation, after studying for some time at school in Bois-le-Duc, succumbed to the persuasion of his guardian and took the veil as a monk. Reluctantly taking vows, he spent six years in the Augustinian monastery in Steine ​​near Gouda, carving out time for self-education and zealous study of the ancient classics. About 1493 he was allowed to leave the monastery to serve as Latin secretary to the Bishop of Cambrai, who released him in Paris to study. Creating the impression of immersion in medieval theology, meanwhile he enthusiastically studied Latin literature, took up Greek. In 1499 he traveled to England with his English student; the revival of classical antiquities; set the tone in the circle D.Colet, future pastor of St. Paul, and T.Mor.

He became friends here with Prince Henry, the future king Henry VIII. Returning from England to 1499 year, Erasmus leads a nomadic life for some time - successively visits Paris, Orleans, Louvain, Rotterdam. Upon his return to Paris in 1500, Erasmus of Rotterdam published his first book, Proverbs(Adagia), collecting in a small volume Latin and Greek sayings from various sources.

Massys. Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam (1517, Rome, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica)

Since that time, Erasmus has worked hard for a twofold purpose: the return of Greek-Latin authors from oblivion, in which they were in the era of the Middle Ages, and the return to early Christian ideals, for which it was necessary to restore and publish an authentic text of the New Testament and the works of the Church Fathers. Erasmus was more of a moralist than a theologian, and therefore his teaching to his contemporaries was based not so much on dogma as on the very word of Christ. Dreaming of the transformation of the Roman Church, he did not accept the reforms initiated by Luther. Erasmus considered any war incompatible with the behavior of a Christian, disastrous for intellectual and spiritual life.

Accordingly, the writings of Erasmus fall into two categories: along with scientific works, he created the most original books, as if designed for simpler tastes, such as, for example, Praise of Stupidity(Morie Encomium Stultitiae Laus, 1511) and home conversations(Colloquii, 1519). Between these two semi-scientific, semi-popular writings, several successful editions of the Proverbs came out. Erasmus worked quickly and a lot, a huge collection of his works, although written only in Latin and imbued with an ancient worldview, well conveys the free spirit of their creator, his unique personality. He had many friends and left many curious and often amusing letters; more than 2,000 of them survived.

A few years after the first publication of Proverbs, he spent in need, traveling between Paris and the Netherlands, stubbornly mastering the Greek language. In 1503 Erasmus published Dagger(Instruction) of the Christian warrior (Enchiridion Militis Christiani), which does not fit into the range of his popular writings, because there is neither wit nor satire - only serious argument. Erasmus called for a simplification of Christianity, arguing that "the letter kills, but the spirit gives life," and religion - not the observance of certain obligations or the fulfillment of ritual conventions, but internal self-improvement.

IN 1506 he finally managed to go to Italy, receive a doctorate in Turin and spend about a year in Venice, where in 1508 he published an updated edition of the Proverbs. IN 1509 he visited Rome. In Italy, Erasmus met with an honorable, sometimes enthusiastic reception. Pope, as a token of his special favor to Erasmus, gave him permission to lead a lifestyle and dress in accordance with the customs of each country where he had to live. From Italy, he left for England, at the invitation of friends who associated hopes for the flourishing of humanism with the accession of Henry VIII. IN London Erasmus stopped at mora and sketched a funny sketch of the world - the famous Praise of Stupidity. IN 1511 It was printed in Paris and soon brought European fame to the author. He spent several years in Cambridge, serving from 1511 to 1514 as professor of Greek at Queen's College. Since 1506, supported by Colet, he cherished the idea of ​​publishing a Greek text New Testament; in 1516 such a text was printed in Basel. Erasmus did not have the best manuscripts, and there are errors in the Basel edition of the New Testament, but nevertheless this edition (which was accompanied by a new translation into Latin) was the first of its kind and laid the foundations for modern biblical criticism. Most theologians of that time continued to follow in their courses the medieval, scholastic method, which reduced all theological science to the study of treatises by Duns Scotus, Thomas Aquinas, and several other favorite medieval authorities. Erasmus devoted several pages to characterizing these adherents of scholastic theology in his Praise of Folly.

Hans Holbein the Younger. Portrait of Erasmus (1523, Paris, Musée du Louvre)

Four years later, citing the inhospitable and unhealthy climate of England, in 1513 Erasmus traveled to Germany. The two years he spent here were two years of new travel throughout Germany. Here he met Ulrich Tsaziy. But soon he was drawn to England, where he again went to 1515 year. The following year, he again migrated to the continent, and for good.

This time, Erasmus found himself a powerful patron in the person of the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Charles of Spain (future emperor Charles V). The latter granted him the rank of “royal adviser”, which was not associated with any real functions, or even with the obligation to stay at court, but gave a salary of 400 florins. This created a completely secure position for Erasmus, relieving him of all material worries, and made it possible to devote himself entirely to his passion for scientific pursuits. Since then, indeed, the scientific and literary productivity of Erasmus has been aggravated. The new appointment, however, did not force Erasmus to abandon his restlessness - he visited Brussels, Louvain, Antwerp, Freiburg, Basel.

Durer. Erasmus portrait. (c. 1520, Paris, Musée du Louvre)

He was never in good health, more and more often he was besieged by ailments, but he continued to work amazingly hard. He published or translated a huge number of ancient and patristic works, incl. authors such as Aristotle, Cicero, Demosthenes, Lucian, Livy, Suetonius, Ovid, Plautus, Plutarch, Terence, Seneca; creations of such fathers of the Church as Ambrose, Athanasius, Augustine, Basil, John Chrysostom, Jerome and Origen. Erasmus continued to make additions to the Proverbs and Conversations, which vividly and originally captured life in the 16th century. He also wrote many short treatises on various themes, incl. about the study of languages ​​and teaching methods, about the correct pronunciation of Greek and Latin words, about the education of princes, about the worship of Cicero by Italian humanists, about restoring the unity of the Church and the need for peace. A volume of retellings of some passages of the New Testament was a huge success. Erasmus composed poetry, some of his prayers are used to this day. In addition to this work, striking in its scale, he constantly argued, defending and explaining his position. Until the end of his days, he was attacked from both sides: the extreme reformers considered him almost an apostate, while the orthodox accused Erasmus of "hatching the egg from which Luther hatched." But Erasmus remained with the Church, hostile to schisms and holding on to his own views in the thick of the violent religious turmoil that darkened his last days.

Hans Holbein the Younger, portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam, 1530 (1530, Parma, Galleria Nazionale)

Only in the last years of his life did he finally establish his settled position in Basel where he ended his days; he died on the night of the 11th July 12, 1536.

The personality of Erasmus is multifaceted, and all its facets had a significant impact on European thought. Contemporaries saw him as a humanist, social reformer, wit and restorer of biblical texts. In the 18th century most of all appreciated his Praise of Stupidity and glorified its author as the forerunner of rationalism; 19th century extolled the peacefulness of Erasmus, his tolerance, and the 20th century. I read his letters and discovered in this great writer one of the most humane thinkers.

Hans Holbein the Younger. Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam, (1532, Basel, Kunstmuseum)

The surviving extensive correspondence of Erasmus shines with aphorisms.

Politeness breeds and evokes politeness
To have many friends is to have none
Only a few, whose vile well-being depends on the people's grief, make wars
Love is the only way we can help another person
Humans are not born, but raised
A habit can only be defeated by another habit.
Victory goes to those who are not taken seriously
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king

German by his belonging to the empire, Dutch by blood and place of birth, Erasmus was least of all similar to the Dutchman in his mobile, lively, sanguine temperament, and, perhaps, that is why he so soon strayed from his homeland, to which he never found no special attraction. Germany, with which he was bound by citizenship to the “emperor”, and in which he spent most of his wandering life, did not become his second home; German patriotism, which animated the majority of German humanists, remained completely alien to Erasmus, like any patriotism in general. Germany was in his eyes no more his homeland than France, where he spent some of the best years of his life. Erasmus himself was quite indifferent to his nationality. “They call me Batav,” he says in one of his letters; - but personally I'm not quite sure about it; it may very well be that I am Dutch, but we must not forget that I was born in that part of Holland, which is much closer to France than to Germany. Elsewhere, he expresses himself in a no less characteristic way: "I do not at all want to say that I am a Frenchman, but I do not find it necessary to deny this either." We can say that the real spiritual home of Erasmus was the ancient world, where he really felt at home. His real native language was Latin, which he spoke with the ease of an ancient Roman. He spoke Latin much better than his native Dutch, German and French. It is also characteristic that at the end of his life, Erasmus, after long wanderings around the world, chose the imperial city of Basel as a place of permanent residence, which, in its geographical and political position and in the composition of its population, had an international, cosmopolitan character.

Durer A. Erasmus of Rotterdam (1526, Washington, National Gallery of Art)

"In Praise of Stupidity"(or Praise of Stupidity, lat. Moriae Encomium, sive Stultitiae Laus) is a satire of Erasmus of Rotterdam. The most famous of the satirical works of Erasmus of Rotterdam, thanks to which his scientific and literary activity received wide social significance and determined his prominent place not only in the history of literature, but also in world history. This small essay, according to the author, was written out of nothing to do - during a long, with the then communications, his move from Italy to England in 1509.

Hieronymus Bosch. Ship of fools (lazy people), (1495-1500)

Satire is written in the genre of ironic panegyric, which was due to a combination of two trends characteristic of the Renaissance: an appeal to ancient authors (therefore panegyric) and the spirit of criticism of the social way of life (therefore ironic).

The European Union marked the importance of "Praise of Stupidity" by issuing commemorative coins in 2009 and 2011, timed to coincide with the 500th anniversary of the book's writing (1509) and its publication (1511).

The 500th anniversary of the first edition of the book is celebrated in the world under the auspices of UNESCO.

Erasmus himself looked at this work of his as a literary trinket, but he owes his literary celebrity and his place in history to this trinket, in any case, no less than to his multi-volume scientific works. Most of the latter, having served in their time, have long since fallen asleep in the book depositories, under a thick layer of age-old dust, while the "Praise of Stupidity" continues to be read to this day, by relatively few in the Latin original, but, one might say, by all in translations currently available in all European languages ​​(including Russian), and thousands of educated people continue to read this ingenious joke of the most witty of scientists and the most learned of witty people.

Since the advent of the printing press, this was the first truly colossal success of a printed work. Published for the first time in 1511, the satire of Erasmus of Rotterdam withstood up to seven editions in a few months; in total, during the life of the author, it was reprinted in different places at least 40 times. Published in 1898 by the Directorate of the University Library in Ghent (Belgium), a preliminary and therefore subject to supplement list of editions of the works of Erasmus of Rotterdam has more than two hundred editions (including translations) for the Praise of Stupidity.

The book "In Praise of Stupidity" is associated with the names of two more famous people of his time - Thomas More and Hans Holbein the Younger.

Erasmus of Rotterdam dedicated "The Praise of Stupidity" to his friend Thomas More.

Thomas More(1478-1535) - English humanist and politician.

Holbein Hans the Younger. Thomas More

Since 1504, a member of the opposition in Parliament, 1529 Lord Chancellor, after the break of Henry VIII with Rome in 1532, he resigned his rank. In 1535, for refusing to recognize the ecclesiastical supremacy of the king, he was beheaded. In his famous political novel Utopia (1516), he writes a sharp satire on England during the time of Henry VIII, outlines a plan for reforming the social system and education in the spirit of the humane ideas of the Renaissance.

Cowper Frank Cadogan. Erasmus and Thomas More Visit the Children of Henry VII at Greenwich, 1499 (1910, London, The Houses of Parliament)

Holbein (Holbein), Hans the Younger(Holbein, Hans der Jungere). Born in the winter of 1497-1498, Augsburg - died 1543, London.

Holbein Hans the Younger. Self-portrait (1542, Uffizi Gallery)

German painter and graphic artist of the Renaissance. He studied with his father, the painter Hans Holbein the Elder. In 1515-1517, together with his brother Ambrosius, he was an apprentice with the painter G. Gerbster in Basel. In 1518-1519, apparently, he made a trip to northern Italy (Lombardy, Milan). From 1519 he joined the painters' guild and started his own workshop in Basel, where he remained until 1526. At the end of 1523 - beginning of 1524, he traveled to a number of French cities (Lyon, Avignon, Amboise, etc.). In 1526-1528 and from 1532 until the end of his life he worked in London. Since 1536 - the court painter of the English king Henry VIII.

The brilliant portrait painter and draftsman Holbein began his creative career with a series of free, somewhat grotesque pen drawings on the margins of a printed copy of Erasmus' treatise The Rotterdam Praise of Stupidity (1515, Basel, Cabinet of Engravings) (82 drawings in total).

Folly in the Pulpit (no. 1)
A Scholar Treads on a Market Woman's Basket of Eggs (no. 3)A Scholar Treads on a Market Woman's Basket of Eggs
Sertorius and the Example of the Horses (no. 15)

Stag Hunt (no. 24)
A Fool Prays to St Christopher (no. 26)
Apelles Paints Aphrodite, revised in black by another hand (no. 32)

Two Women Dedicating Candles Before an Image of the Virgin (no. 54)
A Mathematical Scholar (no. 41)
A Theologian (no. 42)
Mars and Venus Caught in Bed by Vulcan (no. 43)


A Donkey Sings to the Accompaniment of a Harp, by Ambrosius Holbein (no. 55)
A Scholar at his Writing Desk, by Hans Holbein the Younger (no. 64)