Erasmus was born in the 1460’s in Rotterdam. He is famous for his beautiful style in writing Latin, his criticism of the Roman Catholic Church of his day, and his promotion of humanism within a Christian context.
Among his many accomplishments was editing a version of the Bible with the Greek text and Latin text in parallel columns. This Bible was a magnificent attempt to present the best possible Greek text from the manuscripts available and to update and correct the Latin text. Martin Luther used it when he translated the Bible into German.
Unlike Martin Luther, Erasmus remained firmly committed to the Catholic Church, although he opposed some of its practices at the time of the Reformation.
In one of his books, Handbook of the Christian Soldier, Erasmus attacks mere formalism in the practice of Christianity–that is the performing of outward rituals while ignoring the actual teachings of Christ. In Education of a Christian Prince, he suggests that to rule wisely a monarch should get a well-rounded education and should strive to be loved by his people as a benevolent leader.
Among his more pithy sayings is “In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.”
FOR FURTHER READING:
2 responses so far ↓
Jesurgislac // February 18, 2009 at 10:16 am |
I also recommend Van Loon’s Lives, by Hendrik Willem Van Loon, a sort of quirky collection of historical portraits, in which Erasmus appears both as the first portrait and as a kind of framing device.
renaissanceguy // February 19, 2009 at 2:39 am |
Thanks for the book recommendation. I’ll put it on next summer’s reading list.