Desiderius Erasmus
Erasmus (1466-1536)

Despite a chronic
shortage of money,
he succeeded in
learning Greek by
an intensive, dayand-night study for
three years.
Scholar and Reformer

Erasmus felt called
upon to use his
learning in a
purification of the
doctrine and in a
liberalizing of the
institutions of
Christianity.
Greek New Testament

Erasmus dedicated
his work to Pope
Leo X as a patron of
learning and
regarded this work
as his chief service
to the cause of
Christianity.
Martin Luther

Only as an
independent scholar
could Erasmus hope
to influence the
reform of religion.
The Adages

“In the land of the
blind, the one-eyed
man is king.”
Education of a Christian
Prince

The prince should
be loved, and he
suggested that the
prince needed a
well-rounded
education in order to
govern justly and
benevolently to
avoid becoming an
oppressor.
Pope Leo X

“Nobody is further
from wisdom than
those people with
their grand titles,
learned bonnets,
splendid sashes and
bejeweled rings,
who profess to be
wisdom’s peak.”
The Reformation

R.C. Trench wrote:
“Erasmus laid the
egg of the
Reformation and
Luther hatched it.”