As an introduction, Erasmus presents a letter to his friend Thomas More in which he explains the circumstances of his writing of Praise of Folly and the intention behind the work. Citing numerous precedents in classical literature, Erasmus defends his application of humor and frivolity to serious topics and insists that his intention is “to give pleasure, not pain” (7).

Standing in front of an assembly, Folly declares that, although little appreciated by humankind, she is the “bestower of good things” (12) and “the only one whose divine powers can gladden the hearts of gods and men” (9). The audience she addresses immediately smiles, laughs and applauds when she appears. Folly states her intention to deliver a “eulogy” in praise of herself—something which, she laments, an ungrateful humanity has never done before. This eulogy will be in keeping with the spirit of humor: direct and clear, not dry and analytical like scholastic philosophy.

Folly explains her ancestry. She is the daughter of Plutus, the god of riches and “father of gods and men” (15), and of the goddess Freshness, the “loveliest of all the nymphs” (16). She was born on the Islands of the Blest, a paradise in which “toil, old age, and sickness are unknown” (16) and beautiful and sweet-smelling herbs and flowers grow.