Calendar
Similar sites review
Suggested features
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" link="#5511CC" vlink="#003366" alink="#5511CC" marginwidth=0 marginheight=0 topmargin=0 leftmargin=0>
Erasmus, Desiderius 1466?-1536, Dutch humanist. One of the great figures of the RENAISSANCE, he taught throughout Europe, influencing European letters profoundly from 1500. An ordained priest of the Roman Catholic Church, he edited the Latin and Greek classics and the writings of the Fathers of the Church, and made a Latin translation of the New Testament based on the original Greek. Among his original, satirical works, written in Latin, are In Praise of Folly (1509) and The Education of a Christian Prince (1515). He was intimate with most of the scholars of Europe; his English friends included HENRY VIII and Thomas MORE. Erasmus combined vast learning with a fine style, keen humor, moderation, and tolerance. He championed church reform but opposed the Protestant Reformation and remained a loyal Catholic. As a result, he and Martin LUTHER became bitter opponents, and in On the Freedom of the Will he denounced Luther's position on predestination.