Desiderius Erasmus

Desiderius Erasmus was a Dutch humanist scholar and Catholic theologian, the most famous intellectual of the northern Renaissance. Moving between Paris, England, Leuven and Basel, he edited classical and Christian texts and published the first printed Greek New Testament in 1516. His satire In Praise of Folly, written while he stayed in Thomas More's house, has Folly herself mock the vanity of scholars, monks, popes and princes. He wanted reform of the Church through learning and a simple 'philosophy of Christ', but he refused to join Luther, and the two clashed over free will.

Key ideas

• True Christianity is a 'philosophy of Christ', lived inwardly in charity and simplicity, not a matter of ritual and scholastic dispute.
• Folly runs through all human life, and the highest Christian wisdom can look like foolishness to the world.
• Returning to the original sources, especially the Greek New Testament, is the way to renew faith and learning.
• War is contrary to Christianity and to human nature, and rulers should seek peace.
• Human beings have free will and cooperate with grace, against Luther's view that the will is bound.

Major works

• In Praise of Folly (1511)
• Adages (Adagia) (1500)
• Handbook of the Christian Soldier (Enchiridion) (1503)
• The Education of a Christian Prince (1516)
• On Free Will (1524)

In the Book corner

• In Praise of Folly Written 1509; published 1511 · Beginner
  A satirical speech in Latin, written in 1509 at the London house of Thomas More, whose name it puns on in its…

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