Folly

In Search of a Wisewoman

Folly,from the Latin ‘follis’ - a bellows or windbag to the early 13th C Old French word ‘folie’ - madness, stupidity. In Middle English it implied wickedness, lewdness, or madness. We now use the word folly as a lack of good sense, foolish behavior, or a costly, useless undertaking. And trust the Brits, an architectural folly was a costly, ridiculous ornamental building that served no practical purpose often seen in 18th & 19thC English landscapes, perhaps a case of too much time and money that resulted in such constructions. Now one might say these are the product of unbridled politicians with access to the public purse, say a former rose garden site?

The French ‘faire une folie’ means to be extravagant, making a reckless purchase or embarking on a romantic fling highlighting a temporary loss of reason. Parisian music halls particularly, the “Folie Bergere in late 1800’s, offered revues that were extravagant and entertaining showing comic opera, popular songs and gymnastics. Edouard Monet famously painted “A Bar at the Folies-Bergere depicting one of the demimondaines, a heady time when boundaries were pushed. Now, we see so much folly that is anything but entertaining.

English philosopher and psychologist, biologist, sociologist, and anthropologist Herbert Spencer (1820 -1903) said, “The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly, is to fill the world with fools.” He was a highly educated and intelligent individual. What would he have made of the nightly TV news?