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Erasmus
Proponent of Classical and Biblical Scholarship

The Northern Renaissance and Christian Humanism; Background of Desiderius Erasmus; Erasmus Writings; Erasmus Editions of the New Testament.

The Northern Renaissance and Christian Humanism

Movement of the ideas of the Italian Renaissance north of the Alps between 1470 and 1520 (outbreak of the Protestant Reformation) The Italian Renaissances return to the styles and outlooks of the Classical world fused in the north with existing Christian thought

Where the Via Moderna and revived Italian Classicism had separated faith and reason and even made Classicism supreme, in the North proponents were Christians first and humanists second A world-view that privileges human experience, emphasizing human dignity and capacity, especially reason and mans creative potential Originating with the Greeks, humanism was paramount in Classical antiquity but waned in the Middle Ages Humanism risks ignoring the divine and becoming secular; northern humanists resisted this tendency Christian Humanism

Humanism

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38. Erasmus

38. Erasmus

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Background of Desiderius Erasmus

(c. 14661536)

Born as Gerrit Gerritszoon in Rotterdam Parents died of the plague in 1483; subsequently raised and educated in monastic schools Took the name Desiderius (Latin longing) Erasmus (Greek desired) Ordained a priest in an Augustinian monastery, he received a dispensation as a secular priest to serve as the secretary to the bishop of Cambray Skilled in Latin, he later learned Greek and a little Hebrew

Like Petrarch, he preferred pure Classical Latin Worked hard to learn Greek, initially to be able to read the Church Fathers in the original Later was possessed of the Classical world view and became the prince of the humanists humanists Always remained a devoted Christian with a love of scripture

Although his work as a proponent of Christian living (as opposed to mere reliance upon rites) and scripture encouraged the Protestant Reformation, Erasmus disagreed with Luther on free will and the sacraments and never left the Church
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Erasmus Writings

Adages (1500), a collection of Classical quotations Handbook of the Christian Soldier (1503; also known as Enchidrion)

A sermon advocating pure, Christian living (cf. pietism) Dedicated to Thomas Moore, a satire also advocating Christian living

The Praise of Folly (1509 1511) Foll (1509,

I almost regret that I published Folly . . . in Folly I expressed the same ideas as those in Enchidrion, but in the form of a joke. I wanted to advise, but not to rebuke, to good, not injury, to work for, not against, the interest of men. (To Maatrten van Dorp, Penguin, 138, 141)

As Boethius had personified Philosophy in Consolation of Philosophy, Erasmus personified a Dame Folly as a goddess with attendants such as self-love, flattery, p y pleasure, and sensuality y Critiqued various professions and their arrogance Written some 16 years before Machiavellis Prince, this work sought to help a prince be loved rather than feared by ruling justly
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Education of a Christian Prince (1516)

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38. Erasmus

38. Erasmus

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Erasmus Editions of the New Testament

Erasmus began working on a new edition of the Vulgate or Latin Bible in 1512

Collated various copies and versions of Jeromes original Latin translation; compared it to quotations of the Bible in the Church Fathers, who had had other editions of th scriptures b f diti f the i t before th them Polished the Latin to make it more Classical and refined Later worked at supporting his new Latin translation with facing Greek text

First printed edition of the New Testament in Greek was the Complutensian Polyglot New Testament portion of the Bible printed by the University of Alcal in 1514, but the complete work was delayed and not published until 1522

Erasmus first Greek-Latin edition, rushed into print rather than , p edited, came out in 1516 as the first published edition Erasmus second edition (1519) was later used by Martin Luther and became the basis for the Textus Receptus consulted by the King James translators
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38. Erasmus