Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam (1467?–1536) was a prominent figure whose thought is described as Christian Humanism, blending Christian beliefs with classical traditions.
He championed the humanistic ideal of individual self-improvement and emphasized the crucial role of education.
Erasmus advocated docta pietas, or learned piety, also known as the "philosophy of Christ."
He supported Ad Fontes, a humanistic call to return to texts in their original languages, and promoted the study of Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.
He produced a pioneering edition of the Greek New Testament.
Erasmus favored consensus, compromise, and peaceful cooperation in politics.
He broke with Martin Luther due to the latter’s sectarianism, disagreeing on heuristics and engaging in a polemic about free will.
Erasmus favored simple faith over dialectics and scholastic speculation.
His works were temporarily placed on the Index of Forbidden Books by the Catholic Church but saw a revival during the Enlightenment, and his book, The Praise of Folly, remains in print today.
1. Life and Works
Born in Rotterdam on October 27, 1467, as the illegitimate son of a priest.
Educated at Deventer, where he was introduced to a higher standard of literature.
Orphaned in 1483, he was cared for by guardians who sent him to a school run by the Brethren of the Common Life.
He entered the monastery of the Augustinian Canons Regular at Steyn in 1492 and was ordained as a priest.
Erasmus expressed reservations about monastic life in De Contemptu Mundi (On disdaining the World), recommending caution to those considering monastic vows.
He found monastic life unsuitable and desired to attend university.
In 1495, he was sent to the Collège de Montaigu in Paris but did not find the Parisian theology to his liking.
He left the college due to lack of financial support and supported himself by tutoring.
He produced educational handbooks such as De Epistolis Conscribendis (1522), De Copia (1502), Colloquia (1518), and Adagia (1500).
In 1499, Erasmus visited England, where he formed friendships with humanists like William Grocyn, Thomas Linacre, and John Colet.
He collaborated with Thomas More on translations of Lucian and found a patron in William Warham.
He received a papal dispensation, allowing him to draw income from pensions and benefices, despite his illegitimate birth.
Around 1517, he settled in Leuven.
He published bestsellers such as Encomium Moriae (The Praise of Folly, 1511), Adagia, and Enchiridion Militis Christiani (Handbook of the Christian Soldier, 1503).
In 1516, he published his edition of the Greek New Testament.
He arranged his writings under nine headings in a catalogue published in 1523, including works on language arts, adages, correspondence, moral education, piety, the New Testament, paraphrases, polemics, and patristic works.
Erasmus’ biblical scholarship was attacked by theologians who questioned his qualifications and orthodoxy.
He discovered a manuscript of Lorenzo Valla’s annotations on the New Testament and expanded the scope of his project, assembling a text based on available biblical manuscripts.
The reception of his edition varied; humanists praised it, while many theologians disapproved.
His move from Leuven to Basel in 1521 was partly motivated by the hostile climate at the University of Leuven.
In 1531, the faculty of theology at the University of Paris publicly censured and condemned passages in his works.
Erasmus defended himself with lengthy polemics and published four revised editions of his New Testament.
He insisted that editing and textual criticism were tasks for philologists, not necessarily theologians.
Critics protested against his replacing poenitentiam agite (do penance) with poeniteat vos (repent) at Matt. 3:2 and his omission of the Comma Johanneum at I John 5:7.
He used biblical commentaries of the Church Fathers as important sources for establishing the text of the New Testament, and he published numerous editions and translations of patristic writings.
In his last decades, Erasmus refuted critics of his New Testament edition and accusations that he inspired the Reformation.
In 1524, he published De Libero Arbitrio Diatribe (Discussion of Free Will), showing his disagreement with Luther on free will.
Erasmus criticized abuses rather than doctrine and emphasized his willingness to defer to the judgment of the Church.
In 1529, he moved to Catholic Freiburg when Basel turned Protestant.
After his death in 1536, his works were placed on the Index of Prohibited Books.
2. Methodology
Erasmus’ name became synonymous with humanism, denoting a student or teacher of the studia humanitatis, focusing on classical languages, rhetoric, and literature.
Humanists were regarded as challengers of the status quo at northern universities.
The tensions between humanists and scholastics involved disputes over methodology and qualifications.
Humanists favored rhetorical arguments, while scholastics insisted on logical proof.
Scholastic theologians questioned the humanists’ orthodoxy due to their use of the skeptical ars dubitandi and denied their right to apply philological principles to the biblical text.
Humanists saw the dialectical method used by scholastics as a perversion of Aristotelian logic and derided their terminology.
In The Praise of Folly, Erasmus lampooned scholastic theologians and criticized their obscure style and lack of moral dimension.
Erasmus insisted on the right of humanists to apply their philological skills to both secular and sacred writings.
The skeptical ars dubitandi remained anathema, with most humanists refraining from advocating it openly.
Erasmus expressed his skepticism through open-ended dialogue or rhetorical compositions.
He admitted his preference for skepticism in A Discussion of Free Will.
He began his argumentation by collating scriptural evidence for and against free will and demonstrating that there is no consensus.
The method of arguing in utramque partem was first developed by the Greek Sophists.
Erasmus stressed that he was not prepared to pass judgment on the question of free will and substituted the authoritative decision of the Catholic Church.
His skepticism shaped his attitude toward the reformers, leading him to decry Luther’s radical methods and distance himself from the Reformation movement.
He regarded consensus as an essential criterion of doctrinal truth, and schism posed a threat to his decision-making process.
Luther, who believed in the clarity of Scripture, rejected skepticism.
Erasmus responded to Luther’s criticism with Hyperaspistes (A Defensive Shield, 1526), reaffirming his skepticism but clarifying its meaning.
He substituted the criteria of Christian tradition and consensus for the Academic criterion of probability.
Erasmus also brought ethical criteria to bear on the question of free will, arguing that denying its existence would destroy the moral basis of human action.
Humanists criticized the dialectic method for not producing moral conviction.
Consensus was necessary to convince the other party.
The rhetorical type of argumentation emphasizes collaboration and consensus-building.
3. Educational Philosophy
Education remained a lifelong interest and a central theme in Erasmus’ writings.
Erasmus expressed confidence in the potential of human beings for self-improvement, accepting free will.
He believed in the preponderance of nurture over nature.
He cited Origen, speaking of a tripartite human nature: spirit, soul, and flesh.
Erasmus accepted the classical doctrine of the three prerequisites of excellence: natural talent, instruction, and practice.
He tended to blame poor results on neglect and wrong teaching methods rather than a lack of ability.
Successful education of children depends on the guidance of parents and teachers.
He discussed curriculum in De Ratione Studii (On the Method of Study, 1511) and Ratio Verae Theologiae (Method of True Theology, 1518), emphasizing the importance of learning classical languages and studying the classics.
He recommended early exposure to Greek and Latin and extensive reading in probati autores.
He emphasized the study of history.
He privileged ethics over logic and character formation over factual knowledge.
His ideas on education are contained in De Pueris Instituendis (On the Education of Children, 1529) and Institutio Principis Christiani (On the Education of a Christian Prince, 1516).
Four recurring themes in his writings on education include the humanizing effect of education, the effectiveness of cooperative methods, the ability of both sexes to benefit from education, and the importance of internalizing the material taught.
Erasmus proclaimed that human beings without education had no humanity.
Education raises human beings above the level of brute beasts and makes them useful members of society.
A well-educated child will grow up to be a faithful protector of his family and a solid citizen of his country.
Teachers must present the material in an instructive and entertaining fashion.
Coercion and corporal punishment are counterproductive.
Erasmus changed his mind about women’s education after meeting erudite women and acknowledged their intellectual aspirations in his Colloquies.
He emphasized the importance of understanding and internalizing the material presented, examined at length in his treatise Ciceronianus (The Ciceronian, 1528).
He emphasized the importance of aptum et decorum in compositions.
4. Language and Literature
The formation and correct use of language was a primary concern for Erasmus, who devoted a treatise to the subject (De Lingua, The Tongue, 1525).
He stated that things were intelligible only through words and that a person who did not understand the force of words was short-sighted.
In De Recta Pronuntiatione (The Right Way of Speaking, 1528), Erasmus declared that language (oratio), rather than reason (ratio), was the distinguishing mark of human beings.
He stated that knowledge as a whole seems to be of two kinds: of things and of words.
He used metaphors to indicate the relationship between words and things, likening them to clothing/body and vessel/content.
Erasmus’ comments on the function of language as a means of communication appear significant. He said, "The tongue was given to men so that by its agency as messenger one man might know the mind and intention of another."
He has been recognized as one of the founders of the modern concept of literature, conducting a profound inquiry into literary mimesis.
5. Political Thought
Scholars consider the Institutio Principis Christiani (The Education of a Christian Prince, 1516) and the Panegyricus (Panegyric, 1504) as the main sources for his political ideals.
His views on warfare can be found in the Querela Pacis (The Complaint of Peace, 1517) and the adage Dulce Bellum Inexpertis (War is sweet to those who have not experienced it).
The rhetorical medium invalidates the massage, but it is important to support and reinforce any views expressed in Erasmus’ epideictic writings with passages in theological and polemical tracts.
De Bello Turcico (On War Against the Turks, 1530) and De Sarcienda Ecclesiae Concordia (On Mending the Peace of the Church, 1533) recommend compromise and arbitration as alternatives to warfare.
Erasmus suggested a committee of churchmen, magistrates, and scholars to settle disputes.
He called for religious strife to be settled by a general council of the church, counseling the parties to find a middle ground and make concessions, a process he called synkatabasis.
Erasmus did not entirely reject warfare but depicted it as a last resort.
He called war fundamentally unchristian and fit for beasts rather than humans.
Erasmus’ praise of peace and concord is informed by the Christian ideal of a universal fellowship.
The Erasmian model prince is a father figure who has the well-being of his people at heart and is the guardian of justice.
Erasmus believed that monarchy should be checked and diluted with a mixture of aristocracy and democracy to prevent it from breaking out into tyranny.
The best ruler must be a philosopher, that is, a wise man who rejects illusory appearances and seeks what is true and good.
The prince’s rights need to be balanced against the welfare of his people.
The duties and obligations are mutual, and neither the ruler nor his subjects are above the law.
Erasmus drew on the traditional medieval image of the three estates—clergy, nobility, and common people—arranged in three concentric circles around the central figure of Christ.
6. Pietas and Philosophia Christi
The term philosophia Christi, the philosophy of Christ, first appears in patristic writings, and is an aspect of the larger concept of pietas, the moral conscience governing the proper relationship between individual and God as well as the individual and society.
The main sources for Erasmus’ concepts of piety and the philosophy centered on Christ are his Enchiridion Militis Christiani (Handbook of the Christian Soldier, 1503), the Paraclesis (Summons, 1516), and Moriae Encomium (The Praise of Folly, 1511).
Three characteristics stand out: Piety is an internal quality independent of outward observances; it is perfected through divine grace; and it is inclusive, open to all.
Erasmus called pietas a quality of the mind, expressed in a person’s way of life.
Piety requires the development of a person’s inner spiritual qualities.
Erasmus’ emphasis on piety as an inner quality is a response to the undue importance his contemporaries placed on external ceremonies.
He used the term Judaism to critique ritualistic practices.
Like Luther, Erasmus demanded Christian liberty, deliverance from the dead letter of the law.
For Erasmus, monasticism typified the superstitious observance of external rites and the reliance on human works instead of divine grace.
He advised identifying piety not with diet, dress, or any visible thing, but with the priority of soul over body and the inner over the outer person.
Scholars have pointed to Stoic underpinnings in Erasmus’ thoughts on pietas and have argued that he consciously embraced the Stoic concept of the simultaneous working of two opposite but equally essential types of value: spirit and instinct.
In the Enchiridion, Erasmus does not privilege one philosophy over another but deliberately presents various concepts of human nature.
The ability to fulfill one’s moral duty depends on divine grace and is an aspect of pietas related to the Catholic doctrine of Free Will.
The Erasmian concept of piety was principled rather than prescriptive.
The philosophy of Christ does not require formal training or attendance at university and is open to anyone.
Erasmus urged everyone to pursue learning as long as it plays a supportive role to faith, praising docta pietas, piety which combines learning with a devout and humble spirit, and warning against its opposite, impia curiositas, unholy inquisitiveness.
For Erasmus, St. Jerome is the embodiment of docta pietas.
In the Paraclesis he distinguished the simple philosophy of Christ from that of Plato, Aristotle, and other philosophical writers of antiquity, pointing out that the gospel provided the only certain doctrine and Christ was the only true teacher.
Even language studies, which formed the core of his curriculum proposal, had to be subordinated to that goal.
Erasmus edited and translated pagan writers whose teachings he considered germane to the philosophy of Christ.
His works were translated into the vernacular and circulated widely, having had a strong impact that can be traced into the modern age.
In 1530, the Leuven theologian Frans Titelmans noted that enthusiasts of humanistic studies were called Erasmians because Erasmus was their chief inspiration.
Modern scholarship has come to recognize the role that Erasmus played in the cultivation of his own image.
In the Age of Enlightenment, he was celebrated as a rationalist.
The emphasis shifted in the 20th century, when Erasmus’ irenicism caught readers’ attention.
In contemporary usage, then, Erasmian has come to denote a liberal thinker, an attitude or modus vivendi rather than a school of philosophy. The newest trend emerging from contemporary scholarship is to recognize Erasmus as one of the makers of the modern book, due to his collaboration with printers and booksellers and his indefatigable efforts as editor of classical and patristic texts.