PHILOSOPHERS - DESIDERIUS ERASMUS

<BODY> <CENTER><FONT SIZE=5><B><FONT SIZE=6>DESIDERIUS ERASMUS</FONT><BR> (c.1466-1536)</B></FONT></CENTER><P> <BLOCKQUOTE>"No society, no cohabitation can be pleasant or lasting without folly; so much so that a people could not stand its prince, nor the master his man... nor the wife her husband for a moment longer if they did not now and then err together, now flatter each other; now sensibly conniving at things, now smearing themselves with the honey of folly.<P> ("Praise of Folly" or Encomium moriae)</BLOCKQUOTE> Christian writer and biblical scholar, Erasmus became the greatest exponent of <A HREF="../t03/g022.html" TARGET="_top">humanist</A> ideals in the northern Renaissance.<P> Erasmus was born near Rotterdam, son of a priest and a servant girl. His early education was by the Brethren of the Common Life, one of the most advanced religious movements its day, combining mystical piety with rigorous humanist pedagogy. After the death of his parents, he was sent to a monastery, where he was able to read the classical literature and the writings of the early church fathers. At the age of 30, he enrolled in the University of Paris, but was unimpressed by scholastic theology. He completed a process of self education as he travelled throughout Europe as a humanist educator and biblical scholar.<P> Erasmus became a stringent critic of Catholic orthodoxy and clerical abuse, but he believed that the Roman church could be reformed from within and had no time for the violent and intolerant spirit of the Protestant Reformation. Erasmus promoted a philosophy of Christ. True religion, he argued, does not depend on dogma, ritual or clerical power. It is revealed simply and directly in the Bible, which he wanted translated into every language. Indeed it was his compilation of the Greek gospels and his Latin translation that were later used for the translation of the Bible into German and into English. People, he believed, are naturally capable of both apprehending and living according to the good as set out in the Scriptures. His greatest weapon was satire and his "Praise of Folly" and "Colloquies" won him reputation for acid wit and became early "best-sellers". He died in Basel.<P> <BR clear=left><BR> <HR width=100%> <A HREF="http://www.creatorix.com.au"><IMG SRC="../creatorix.gif" WIDTH="85" HEIGHT="40" BORDER="0" ALT="Creatorix" align=right></A> </BODY>