Europe的公民

Desiderius Erasmus（约1466-1536）

“Prince of Humanists”

Most famous scholar of his age——

Known throughout Europe

没有固定home——

Rotterdam出生、

但一生traveling：

  • Paris
  • England
  • Italy
  • Basel
  • Freiburg

真正的cosmopolitan

他的home=Republic of Letters——

International community of scholars

通过letters、books connecting

拉丁语=lingua franca

生平：学者的一生

早年

私生子——

Father可能是priest

这身份follow him（certain shame）

Orphaned年轻时

Guardians送他enter monastery（Augustinian）

Become priest（1492）

但从未comfortable with monastic life——

Too restrictive、anti-intellectual

学者生涯begins

Leave monastery（通过dispensation）——

成为secretary to bishop

然后：scholar wandering

Paris：Study theology（Sorbonne）——

Dislike scholastic method

1499：First visit to England——

Meet John Colet、Thomas More

转变：

Colet encourage study Greek、Church Fathers——

不只是scholastics

这shape Erasmus’s program

Itinerant scholar

不像academic with post——

Erasmus live by pen

Patronage from various nobles、bishops

Freedom but also insecurity

Constantly moving：

避免conflict、寻找better conditions、访问friends

Basel=longest stay——

与printer Froben合作

Printing press=crucial for Erasmus’s influence

Reformation的turbulence

Luther（1517）start Reformation——

Erasmus caught in middle

Both sides pressure him：

Protestants：Join us！（你的criticism paved way）

Catholics：Condemn Luther explicitly！

Erasmus try stay neutral——

“I want to be citizen of world，not party”

但impossible

Eventually write against Luther（De Libero Arbitrio，1524）——

Defend free will vs Luther’s predestination

But also continue criticize Catholic abuses

Satisfying no one

晚年

Basel becomes Protestant——

Erasmus（Catholic）moves to Freiburg（1529）

Later return Basel（1535）

1536：去世，Basel

Buried in Protestant cathedral（ironic for Catholic）

留下vast corpus：

  • Editions of Church Fathers
  • Greek New Testament（revolutionary）
  • Adages（收集古典智慧）
  • Educational works
  • Satires
  • Theological treatises
  • Thousands of letters

《愚人颂》（Praise of Folly，1509）

Erasmus最著名work

写作in England——

Staying with Thomas More

Title pun：“Moriae Encomium”=“praise of More”（mora≈More）

结构和声音

讲者：Folly herself（Moria，愚蠢女神）

她praise自己

Satirical monologue

Irony throughout：

When Folly praise something——

Often actual criticism

Targets

Folly “praise"各种people——

Actually satirizing：

1. Scholastic theologians

Endless debates on无意义questions：

“Can God undo past?”

“Could Christ have been woman, cucumber, or donkey?”

Lost in abstractions——

Forget actual Christian living

2. Monks

各种orders竞争——

谁的habit正确、rope knotted properly

Obsessed with ceremonies——

Ignore charity

3. Clergy

Corrupt、worldly bishops和cardinals

More like princes than shepherds

4. Superstitions

Relic worship、mechanical prayers

Treating saints like pagan gods——

Bargaining for favors

5. War

Kings starting wars for glory——

While Christ taught peace

6. Self-love

Everyone thinks self wise、beautiful、talented——

这是folly但also makes life bearable

7. Marriage

需要certain folly——

To overlook spouse’s faults、stay together！

Serious ending

最后部分：surprising shift

Folly argue：

Highest wisdom=certain divine folly

真正Christian life——

Appears foolish to world

Reject wealth、power、pleasure——

For spiritual goods

St. Paul：“We are fools for Christ”

Cross=folly to Greeks

所以：

True wisdom和worldly wisdom=opposite

Christian should be “fool”

这serious theological point——

Wrapped in satire

Impact

Widely read（bestseller）

Many editions、translations

Some laugh——

Some offended

Church authorities suspicious——

但Erasmus（for now）protect by reputation

Influence：

Voltaire、Swift的satire tradition

Greek New Testament（1516）

Erasmus的most important scholarly work：

The project

编辑Greek text of New Testament——

Based on multiple manuscripts

With new Latin translation（parallel to Greek）

Replace Vulgate as standard？

Revolutionary！

Methodology

收集various Greek manuscripts——

Compare readings

选择best（他judgment）

Textual criticism

这是modern biblical scholarship的foundation

Findings

Erasmus’s Greek text differ from Vulgate某些地方

他的Latin translation更accurate

Example（之前提到）：

Greek “metanoeite”（repent，change mind）

Vulgate：“do penance”（agite paenitentiam）

Erasmus：“repent”（resipiscite）

Theological implications！

“Penance”=sacrament

“Repent”=internal change

Luther later use这support sola fide

争议

Conservatives attack：

How dare question Vulgate（sacred tradition）！

Erasmus defend：

Return to sources（ad fontes）=humanist principle

Jerome（Vulgate’s author）himself translated from Greek——

So going back to Greek=honoring Jerome

Certain manuscripts Erasmus used=poor quality

他的Greek text有errors

Modern scholarship improved

但他pioneer method

Influence

Luther translate German Bible from Erasmus’s Greek

Tyndale（English）同样

All Protestant Bibles ultimately trace back

Reformation可能不可能without这work

Erasmus unintentionally arm Protestants

“Philosophy of Christ”

Erasmus的vision of Christianity：

Back to simple gospel

Christianity became too complex——

Scholastic theology、canon law、elaborate ceremonies

需要return to Christ’s actual teaching

Sermon on Mount——

Love、peace、humility、forgiveness

这=philosophia Christi

不是abstract philosophy——

而是way of life

Inner vs outer

True religion=internal

不是external observances alone

Fasting、pilgrimage、prayers有用——

但only if lead to inner transformation

Otherwise=superstition

这echo Eckhart、other mystics

但Erasmus more moderate

Imitation of Christ

Christian life=imitating Christ

道德reform、spiritual transformation

不是just correct doctrine

This is ethical、practical focus——

vs speculative theology

Education

Good Christians=through education

不是forced

Study Scripture、Church Fathers、classics

Eloquence、wisdom、virtue

Humanist education program——

But Christianized

Peace

Christ=Prince of Peace

War=anti-Christian

Erasmus passionate advocate of peace——

Write against war（Querela Pacis，Complaint of Peace）

In age of constant warfare——

Radical position

Erasmus vs Luther

两者initially似乎allies：

Both critique Church abuses

Both want reform

但fundamental differences：

Theology

Luther：

  • Total depravity of humans（after Fall）
  • Salvation sola fide（faith alone）
  • Predestination
  • Scripture alone（sola Scriptura）

Erasmus：

  • Humans have free will（weakened but not destroyed）
  • Faith important但also works、education
  • God’s foreknowledge不= predestination
  • Scripture primary但also tradition、reason

Temperament

Luther：passionate、confrontational

Erasmus：moderate、irenic

Luther：certainty about truth

Erasmus：admit mystery、complexity

1524 debate

Erasmus write De Libero Arbitrio（On Free Will）

Defend free will vs Luther

Luther respond De Servo Arbitrio（On Bondage of Will）

Vehement attack on Erasmus

Accuse him of：

  • Skepticism
  • Lukewarm faith
  • Caring more about peace than truth

Erasmus hurt、respond more sharply

Friendship（if any）破裂

Fundamental divide

Luther：

Truth>peace

Stand firm even if cause division

Erasmus：

Peace、unity important

某些doctrines=adiaphora（non-essential）

Can有different opinions

这是Protestant vs Catholic某aspect——

但also personality

遗产

Christian humanism

Model of融合：

Classical learning + Christian faith

Reason + revelation

Eloquence + piety

Influence Catholic Reformation——

但不是Protestant

Biblical scholarship

Text criticism method

All modern study builds on

Educational reform

Humanist curriculum spread

Study of languages、classics、rhetoric

Tolerance ideal

虽然not fully tolerant by modern standards——

但相对his age：

Prefer dialogue over burning

Reason over force

Moderation over extremes

这spirit=admirable

Ambiguous relationship to Reformation

Did Erasmus cause Reformation？

他的criticism=fertilizer

他的Greek NT=tool

但他的moderate reform vision=失败

Instead：split、war、persecution

他dismayed

Famous saying（attributed）：

“Erasmus laid the egg that Luther hatched.”

他would say：

“I wanted a chick，not a dragon！”

批评

1. Too moderate？

Fence-sitting

不敢commit

Wants safety、approval

vs Luther’s courage

2. Elitism

His ideal=for educated

Simple believers需要ceremonies、images

他的textual scholarship=for scholars

Not accessible

3. Naive？

Think education、reason足够改变

Underestimate evil、power、self-interest

More realistic understand需要institutional change（Luther）或force？

4. Vanity

某些contemporaries说：

Erasmus too concerned with reputation、fame

Avoid controversy partly for this

Defenses

1. Courage of moderation

In polarized age——

Staying moderate requires courage

Not just fence-sitting

2. Consistency

Erasmus remain Catholic——

But also continue criticize abuses

这is principled position

3. Productive

His scholarship=lasting

Luther’s theology divisive

4. Tragic

Erasmus caught in forces beyond control

Tried preserve unity——

Noble even if failed

现代意义

1. Moderate voice

在polarized times——

Erasmus remind：

Not all truth在extremes

Nuance、complexity有价值

但also：

某些times需要choose sides？

2. Scholarly rigor

Return to sources

Critical examination of texts

不只是accept tradition

这方法=essential

3. Peace over victory

Erasmus prefer：

Wrong peace over right war（某程度）

今天：

When compromise？When fight？

4. Irenic spirit

Dialogue、understanding对手

不是just demonize

Erasmus model this

实践

1. Read broadly

Erasmus的breadth：

Classics、Scripture、Fathers、contemporaries

不只是narrow specialization

2. 温和批判

可以criticize without destroying

Erasmus satirize但with humor、not hatred

3. Ad fontes

回到原始sources

不只是secondary

In any field

4. 寻求和平

但not at cost of all principle

Balance

Erasmus——

永远的outsider——

Too Catholic for Protestants——

Too Protestant for Catholics

Too moderate for all

Writing、traveling、

Seeking peace——

In age of war

His Greek New Testament——

在scholar’s desk——

成为weapon——

He不想要

His satire——

Meant lighten、reform——

Instead：harden divisions

His dream——

Christian humanism——

Educated、peaceful、tolerant society

Crushed between——

Protestant certainty——

Catholic reaction

但他的spirit——

Learning、dialogue、moderation

This survives

在libraries——

在universities——

在那些believe——

Truth和peace——

不是enemies

在那些seek——

Via media——

Middle way

Between extremes

Erasmus whispers：

“There is another path”

Quieter——

Harder——

But也——

More human