If you ain't bein' yo self, what you doin'?

You should never judge a book by its cover. Though this may seem obvious, everyone struggles with this, including me, on the daily. We’re all human, we can’t help it. When it comes down to it, however, you find the real character of a person on the inside. Physical interaction can be deceptive. There is the most common example in the world of the ugly person but the beautiful soul. I think that it is especially important to have this mindset going into meeting anyone new and getting to know them.

Praise of Folly really emphasizes this obvious point of getting to know someone before judging their character. Folly makes it appear quite obvious the easiest way to get to know someone. Folly expresses her opinion on pages 12 and 13 saying, “But was there any need to tell you even as much as that, as if I didn’t make it perfectly clear who I am from the look on my face, as they say? Anyone who argued that I was Minerva or Wisdom could easily be convinced of his mistake simply by the sight of me, even if I never spoke a word, though speech is the least deceptive mirror of the mind.” Reading this passage, Folly makes it seem like you can tell who she is just by her appearance. This is where I believe her pride kicks in, because she expects everyone to know who she is. However, this is just Folly being folly. Her statement about speech, however, intrigued me. She made the statement, “speech is the least deceptive mirror of the mind.” What she is saying is that understanding and knowing one’s true self is easier through speech than appearance. Reading this, at first, confused me because it’s so much easier to judge a person by their physical appearance. Obviously, this mindset is an issue, and although Folly does not focus on it strongly, I think she highlights a good point.

So many people directly judge someone by what they look like. It’s the easiest route to choose when judging someone’s character, so why not? Judging someone and getting to know someone are two totally different topics. Truly knowing someone cannot be through just a look. Conversation and what a person speaks to you reveals the real truth of who they are. This scenario can be found almost every day, considering how many people God put in this world. I really think Folly stresses on this point, of not falling into the illusion. I believe she is stressing that throughout the whole book.

She also makes the statement on page 13, “I’ve no use for cosmetics, my face doesn’t pretend to be anything different from my innermost feelings. I am myself wherever I am, and no one can pretend I’m not --” I think this can also pertain from the other side of “judging a book by it’s cover.” I am meaning looking from perspective of the book. Folly says she cannot be mistaken because she is true to herself inside and out. She makes it seem absurd to think otherwise. This can definitely have relation to how we carry ourselves. Someone can have a beautiful soul, but on the outside it may seem the total opposite. Folly’s statement, however, can support the fact that if you’re truly beautiful on the inside, it should be seen on the outside as well. This doesn’t just apply to beauty, because that’s not even what the passage states. This passage, can be applicable to true beauty and, in general, being true to yourself. How you carry yourself on the outside should support how you are on the inside. Folly says she has no need for cosmetics because she never has to pretend who she is.

Everyone should have this mindset of being completely true to themselves. There is no reason really to be anyone but yourself. Folly makes that quite apparent with her expressing how she cannot be confused with anyone else. It could also be considered “folly” to pretend to be anyone else but you. Folly highlights many issues, and the passage on page 13 really intrigued me. Work on being you, so “judging a book by its cover” isn’t even an issue.