Laura on Erasmus

Erasmus, by Holbein

Erasmus (Laura Lauderman)

Desiderius Erasmus, the illegitimate son of a Catholic priest, was born around 1466 in Rotterdam, in what is now the Netherlands. He was afforded a high-quality education at monastic schools, where he studied Latin and classical literature. Erasmus was orphaned as a teenager when both of his parents died of the plague. With little inheritance, he entered a monastery and was ordained a priest in 1492. 

Because of his strength in Latin, Erasmus was made secretary to the Bishop of Cambrai in France, who sent him to the University of Paris with the promise of financial support. But, when Erasmus did not agree with the theology he was taught and when the promised support did not come, he left school. He was granted a dispensation (release from his priestly vows) from the Pope, and supported himself by tutoring young men. 

Erasmus’ work as a tutor resulted in several educational texts: a letter-writing manual, a handbook of writing style, a collection of Latin dialogues, and an anthology of proverbs. In 1499, he was invited to return to England with one of his students, William Blount. During this visit, he made important connections and lifelong friends, many of whom were humanist thinkers; included among these was Thomas More. 

Over the next two decades, Erasmus traveled extensively between continental Europe and England and published a number of texts that became popular, including his Greek New Testament. The annotations he wrote for his Greek New Testament demonstrated his disagreement with some traditional biblical interpretations. He took a skeptical approach to theology, wanting “to compare everything and affirm nothing”— to entertain the idea that something other than traditional doctrine was possibly true, without taking a definitive stance one way or another. Despite this, he always emphasized his willingness to defer to the official positions of the Church. 

Erasmus defended the right of humanists to apply their knowledge of classical languages to the translation and textual criticism of both secular and sacred texts. His writings and positions were celebrated by humanists but criticized by theologians, who doubted his qualifications for any religious scholarship. The last two decades of his life were spent refuting his critics and refuting the notion that he inspired the Reformation and was a supporter of Martin Luther. Even so, Martin Luther himself disapproved of Erasmus’ skepticism and ambiguity, insisting that absolute answers were necessary for questions of doctrine. 

One doctrine in which Erasmus expressed confidence was that of free will. His belief in free will informed his belief in human beings’ ability to continuously improve themselves by way of education. He emphasized all people’s personal obligation to fulfill their highest potential by learning and bettering themselves, and said that this was what sets humanity apart from animals. In one of his texts, he asks “And what is the most harmful influence upon man?” He answers, “Surely it is ignorance.” 

    

Source: 

     Rummel, Erika. “Desiderius Erasmus.” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford Center for the Study of Language and Information, 27 Sept. 2017, plato.stanford.edu/entries/erasmus/