Zafar Shayan
“I am a lover of liberty” – Erasmus
Erasmus was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, theologian, teacher and Catholic priest. He was born in 1466 (there are different narratives about his birthday) in Rotterdam, The Netherlands and died in 1536 in Basel, Switzerland. He started his education when he was only four years old and later he went to study a Latin grammar school. In 1483, Erasmus went under care guardianship as he had lost his parents. In 1492, he was ordained priest due to poverty. Later he became the secretary of Henry de Bergen, Bishop of Chambray, where he was provided the possibility to travel to France.
In 1495, Erasmus started studying classical literature and Latin at the Collège de Montaigu in Paris. Later he left the college and started tutoring and lecturing, through which he wrote several handbooks, on different topics such as the Latin language, education, religion and anthology of proverbs. In 1499, he traveled to England with William Blunt and Lord Montjoy. Erasmus could meet and establish connections with popular humanists and scholars such as William Grocyn, Thomas Linacre, John Colet, Thomas More, etc. After that, Erasmus traveled to different countries like, France, England, The Netherlands and then obtained a doctoral degree in theology at the University of Turin, Italy.
In 1517, he settled in Leuven, Belgium and started writing several books such as The Praise of Folly regarding the abuses of church, a collection of Latin and Greek proverbs named Adagia, Handbook of the Christian Soldier, and in 1516 he translated to the New Testament into Greek. The Praise of Folly is Erasmus’ best-known work. He satirically criticizes the superstitions of European society and strongly criticizes the ecclesiastical abuses. His writings contributed to the replacement of older scholastic curriculum with new humanist emphasis.
Erasmus has left tens of worthy works and he is known as the champion of peace and religious toleration. He objurgated persecution of Catholics and Protestants and believed that religions and sects should have a harmonious relationship and live peacefully together. He emphasized that the Christians should first make peace among themselves.
Education has always been important among his interests, which is also evident in his words as he says, “Your library is your paradise” or “When I have little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes”. He has written books and articles on the importance and reform of education. Erasmus believed in mankind’s self-improvement and ‘free will’. Therefore, he expected parents and teachers to consider the potential of their children and to guide them to have successful educational experiences.
__________
1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu/entries/erasmus
2. Biography www.biography.com/scholar/erasmus