ABSTRACT
In 1509 Erasmus had rushed to England. Erasmus chose the word moria because of its echoes Erasmus placed the words quite early in the Moria. He put into the mouth of Folly words which show how deeply he agreed with St Jerome: But the mad laugh at the mad, each providing mutual enjoyment to the other. Folly's words gain special force from their balanced repetition: insanus insanum ridet: maniac laughs at maniac; lunatic laughs at lunatic; madman laughs at madman. The mutual laughter of madman at madman Erasmus sees underlying both the mocking of Elisha and the mocking of Christ. 'Madman laughs at madman' was no mere literary device. In matters great and small, mutual accusations of madness forever fly between the two sorts of madmen, the mad followers of Christ and the mad followers of the world.
