“In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.”
Erasmus · Christian humanism
knowledgepower
Paraphrase or translation
Philosopher
Last reviewed:
Erasmus
c. 1466–1536 · Christian humanism · Renaissance
Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, born in the 1460s, died in 1536, was the central Christian humanist of his generation. He edited the Greek New Testament, translated and annotated the church fathers, collected thousands of Greek and Latin proverbs in the Adagia, and wrote Praise of Folly, a satire dedicated to Thomas More in which Folly praises the very elites the book is skinning.
Read more
He quarrelled with Luther and refused the break. A great many lines called Erasmus quotes are proverbs he recorded, including the one-eyed man in the country of the blind, and the old saying that war is sweet to those who have not experienced it. His originality is often the commentary and the use, not the sentence.
Praise of Folly cannot be mined as straight advice, because the speaker is a character. He wanted a learned, peaceable, reformed Christendom and got a century of war instead. Quoting him well means knowing whether one is hearing Folly, a proverb, or a sentence of his own prose.
Four sourced passages are included, from the Adagia, the Praise of Folly, and the Complaint of Peace. Further familiar lines are omitted where the wording or locus is not secure. Many sharp sentences in the Adagia are older sayings he records, and filing another of them under his name would blur that.
Start here
Praise of Folly, with a note that marks when Folly is speaking, and one essay from the Adagia such as the one on war
The satire teaches the problem of voice. The adage teaches the problem of ownership. Both are the point of reading him.
Quotations
“The chief element of happiness is this: to want to be what you are.”
Erasmus · Christian humanism
happinessself
Paraphrase or translation
“War is sweet to those who have not experienced it.”
Erasmus · Christian humanism
societypowerethics
Paraphrase or translation
“For they are quite beside the mark that place the happiness of men in things themselves, since it only depends upon opinion.”
Erasmus · Christian humanism
happinessmindknowledge
Paraphrase or translation
Key ideas
Adages
A proverb in his collection is a tool he found and explained, not automatically his own thesis.
Folly as method
Praise of Folly indicts scholars, clergy, and princes by having Folly praise them, so the speaker is part of the meaning.
War as inexperience
He uses a Greek saying, that war is sweet to those who do not know it, against Christian princes who treat war as policy.
Major works
Adagia (from 1500, expanded for decades)
A growing collection of classical proverbs with commentary. Many fake-original quotes live here.
Praise of Folly (1511)
A satire in Folly's voice, dedicated to Thomas More.
The Complaint of Peace (1517)
Peace speaks against war. The sweet-war proverb is used here and is not his invention.
Influences
- Cicero
- Augustine of Hippo
- Jerome
Influenced
- Thomas More
- Northern humanism
- Luther
Common misreadings
- A proverb he collected is a doctrine he invented.
- A speech by Folly is Erasmus's advice in a straight voice.
Famous lines Erasmus never said
None of the lines this library files for Erasmus is marked Questionable or Misattributed. That is only a fact about these cards. It is not a certificate that every popular sentence is theirs.
FAQ
What is the best book to start with?
Praise of Folly, with a note that marks when Folly is speaking, and one essay from the Adagia such as the one on war The satire teaches the problem of voice. The adage teaches the problem of ownership. Both are the point of reading him.
What is the most famous quote?
This library does not measure fame, and it does not rank lines by how often they are shared. The first line it files for Erasmus that is not marked Questionable or Misattributed is “In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.” (Adagia, Paraphrase or translation).
What is the most misquoted line?
None of the lines this library files for Erasmus is marked Misattributed or Questionable. That is a fact about these cards, not a certificate that every popular sentence is theirs.
What is one key idea, in a sentence?
Adages: A proverb in his collection is a tool he found and explained, not automatically his own thesis.