The Correspondence of Erasmus
Letters 1252 to 1355, Volume 9
- Publisher
- University of Toronto Press
- Initial publish date
- Nov 1989
- Category
- Renaissance, Reference, Religious
-
Hardback
- ISBN
- 9780802026040
- Publish Date
- Nov 1989
- List Price
- $147.00
Add it to your shelf
Where to buy it
Description
At the beginning of this volume, Erasmus leaves Louvain to live in Basel. Weary from the many controversies reflected in the letters of the previous volumes, he is also anxious to see the annotations to his third edition of the New Testament through Johann Froben’s press. Above all he fears that pressure from the imperial court in the Netherlands will force him to take a public stand against Luther.
Erasmus completes a large number of works in the span of this volume, including the Paraphrases on Matthew and John, two new expanded editions of the Colloquies, an edition of De conscribendis epistolis, two apologiae against his Spanish detractors, and editions of Arnobius Junior and Hilary of Poitiers. But the predominant theme of the volume remains ‘the sorry business of Luther.’
The harder Erasmus persists in trying to adhere to a reasonable course between Catholic and reforming zealots, the more he finds himself ‘a heretic to both sides.’ His Catholic critics appear the more dangerous. Among them are the papal nuncio Girolamo Aleandro, who is bent on discrediting him at both the imperial and papal courts as a supporter of Luther; the Spaniard Diego López Zúñiga, who compiles a catalogue of Blasphemies and Impieties of Erasmus of Rotterdam; and the Carmelite Nicholaas Baechem, who denounces Erasmus both in public sermons and at private ‘drinking-parties.’
Erasmus’ refusal to counsel severity against the Lutherans is motivated chiefly by concern for peace and the common good of Christendom, and not by any tender regard for Luther and the other reformers. Still, many of the letters in this volume testify to his growing aversion to the reformers, and we see him moving perceptibly in the direction of his eventual public breach with them.
A special feature of this volume is the first fully annotated translation of Erasmus’ Catalogues Iucubrationum (Ep 1341 A), an extremely important document for the study of Erasmus’ life and works and of the controversies they aroused.
Volume 9 of the Collected Works of Erasmus series.
About the authors
Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536), a Dutch humanist, Catholic priest, and scholar, was one of the most influential Renaissance figures. A professor of divinity and Greek, Erasmus wrote, taught, and travelled, meeting with Europe’s foremost scholars. A prolific author, Erasmus wrote on both ecclesiastic and general human interest subjects.
Desiderius Erasmus' profile page
R.A.B. Mynors is Corpus Christi Professor of Latin, Oxford University.
James M. Estes is a professor emeritus in the Department of History at the University of Toronto and a distinguished senior fellow at the Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies at Victoria College in the University of Toronto.
Other titles by
Collected Works of Erasmus
Controversies, Volume 79
Collected Works of Erasmus
Controversies, Volume 74
The Correspondence of Erasmus
Letters 2940 to 3141, Volume 21
Collected Works of Erasmus
Paraphrases on the Epistles to the Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippans, Colossians, and Thessalonians
The Correspondence of Erasmus
Letters 2803 to 2939, Volume 20
The Correspondence of Erasmus
Letters 2635 to 2802, Volume 19
Collected Works of Erasmus
The New Testament Scholarship of Erasmus, Volume 41
Collected Works of Erasmus
Controversies, Volume 75
Collected Works of Erasmus
Controversies
The Correspondence of Erasmus
Letters 2472 to 2634, Volume 18
Other titles by
The Correspondence of Erasmus
Letters 842-992 (1518-1519)
The Correspondence of Erasmus
Letters 1-141, Volume 1
The Correspondence of Erasmus
Letters 1356 to 1534, Volume 10
The Correspondence of Erasmus
Letters 1122 to 1251, Volume 8
The Correspondence of Erasmus
Letters 993 to 1121, Volume 7
The Correspondence of Erasmus
Letters 594 to 841, Volume 5
The Correspondence of Erasmus
Letters 446 to 593, Volume 4
The Correspondence of Erasmus
Letters 298 to 445, Volume 3
The Correspondence of Erasmus
Letters 142 to 297, Volume 2
Other titles by
The Correspondence of Erasmus
Letters 2940 to 3141, Volume 21
The Correspondence of Erasmus
Letters 2803 to 2939, Volume 20
The Correspondence of Erasmus
Letters 2635 to 2802, Volume 19
The Correspondence of Erasmus
Letters 2472 to 2634, Volume 18
The Correspondence of Erasmus
Letters 2357 to 2471, Volume 17
The Correspondence of Erasmus
Letters 2204 to 2356 Volume 16
The Correspondence of Erasmus
Letters 2082 to 2203, Volume 15
Correspondence of Erasmus
Letters 2082 to 2203
The Correspondence of Erasmus
Letters 1926 to 2081, Volume 14