Anticipating modern principles, Erasmus emphasized the importance of understanding and internalizing the material presented. He emphasizes the importance of aptum et decorum in compositions, that is, the appropriateness of arguments to time, place, and audience. This cannot be achieved by a slavish imitation of classical models. Imitation does not immediately incorporate into its own speech any nice little feature it comes across, but transmits it to the mind for inward digestion, so that becoming part of our own system, it gives the impression not of something begged from someone else, but of something that springs from our own mental processes.
The formation and correct use of language was a primary concern for Erasmus as in Boyle He wrote several works that would seem to provide a starting point for a philosophy of language. Indeed, he devoted a treatise to the subject of language De Lingua , The Tongue, , but no systematic thought on the nature, origin, or function of language emerges from this tractate. Citing the ancient physician Galen, Erasmus declares that language oratio , rather than reason ratio , was the distinguishing mark of human beings CWE A promising statement in De Ratione Studii likewise remains without follow-up.
Similarly, a statement in his annotations on the New Testament appears to be an instance of ideational epistemology. Here as elsewhere Erasmus does not elaborate on his thoughts, and his statements fall short of a philosophy of language.
And yet, though he may not be a philosopher of language in any formal sense, he has been recognized as one of the founders of the modern concept of literature Cummings Throughout his work, Erasmus conducts a profound inquiry into literary mimesis, even and especially in regard to the gospels and their representation of Jesus Christ.
From his engagement with sacred letters, there emerges a vital and challenging theory of literature and a strong commitment to the central importance of literature for human life.
This theory encompasses questions of literal and figurative meaning, of the likeness of speech and thought, of the relationaship of res and verba , and of the primacy of verbal over visual representation. All these issues may indeed be of interest to the philosophy of language even when this philosophy eschews Scripture. For his views on the legitimacy of warfare, they draw on the Querela Pacis The Complaint of Peace, and the adage Dulce Bellum Inexpertis War is sweet to those who have not experienced it.
These sources are problematic, however, because of their strong rhetorical flavor and the commonplace nature of the arguments presented there. It will serve as an additional caveat to readers that Erasmus, who is often depicted as a pacifist, also wrote a piece in praise of war—now lost, but documented in his Catalogue of Works Ep.
Both recommend compromise and arbitration as alternatives to warfare. Similar ideas are voiced in Dulce Bellum. We may take this to be an authentic Erasmian point of view because it appears not only in these rhetorical compositions but also in his psalm commentary, De Concordia. There it is presented not merely as a general proposition but given a more specific context. Erasmus suggests that the religious strife which characterized his age be settled by a general council of the church—a desire also voiced in contemporary religious colloquies and Imperial Diets and realized after long delay in the Council of Trent.
Erasmus furthermore counseled the parties to find a middle ground and make concessions. He called this process synkatabasis CWE , a military term denoting a move in which two armies give up their vantage point and descend into the open plain to negotiate. Erasmus does not entirely reject warfare, although he depicts it as a last resource. In his rhetorical tracts he waxes eloquent about the horrors of war and the destruction inflicted on the population.
He calls war fundamentally unchristian and fit for beasts rather than humans. In his annotations on the New Testament Luke 36 he wrote in a more sober tone about war and the circumstances under which it was legitimate. Erasmus amended his annotation accordingly. The expanded and finely nuanced version of serves as clear testimony to his views on the subject. He begins by quoting St. Martin and St. Jerome condemning war. He then succinctly states his own opinion:. We should not propagate the Christian religion only with arms, nor should princes undertake war when it can be avoided by using other means.
They should, moreover, conduct a war they have undertaken with a minimum of bloodshed and end it as quickly as possible. Finally, [war] is not compatible with the purity of the gospel, and we must not seek to derive the right to go to war from gospel precepts…There are many necessary evils in human affairs, which are tolerated because they prevent greater evils; yet they are not approved as gospel teaching. ASD VI The theme is also taken up in War Against the Turks.
He depicts the Turks as a scourge of God an idea promoted also by Luther and therefore urges his contemporaries to repent and reform to appease God and overcome the enemy. They belong to the genre of Mirror of Princes, in which the ideal of a ruler is held up as a model to be imitated. The Erasmian model prince is a father figure who has the wellbeing of his people at heart. He is the guardian of justice and provides moral leadership. Conversely, the ruler must give an account of his stewardship to God.
It may be no more than a loose reference to the cooperation of the subjects with their ruler. The best situation is for people to obey voluntarily, Erasmus says CWE Some of the qualifications and limitations he imposes on absolute monarchy are based on the Christian ideals of charity and fellowship.
Echoing Plato, Erasmus believes that the best ruler must be a philosopher, that is, a wise man,. Being a philosopher is in practice the same as being a Christian, he notes CWE The ruler must not shirk his moral obligations.
The good prince uses the public interest as a yardstick in every field, otherwise he is no prince. He has not the same rights over men as over cattle. The duties and obligations are mutual. Many of the ideas voiced in The Education of the Christian Prince also appear in the Panegyric , but are expressed there in more fulsome terms and, to the modern ear, with excessive flattery.
The message is the same, however. Describing the hierarchy preserved in the ideal state, Erasmus draws on the traditional medieval image of the three estates—clergy, nobility, and common people—arranged in three concentric circles around the central figure of Christ. This suggests a political and moral hierarchy with specific duties assigned to each tier. Thus kings, the representatives of Christ, must be obeyed even if they are corrupt,. There are multiple roots for the idea of mutual obligations among the members of a society.
It is the foundation of the Medieval feudal system and embedded in the paternalistic biblical model. Outlining his ideals, Erasmus thus makes use of concepts found in classical philosophers and Christianizes or adapts them to specific rhetorical needs. This applies more particularly to his views on pietas.
The term philosophia Christi , the philosophy of Christ, first appears in patristic writings. It is an aspect of the larger concept of pietas , the moral conscience governing the proper relationship between individual and God as well as the individual and society.
The Folly is concerned in a playful spirit with the same subject as the Handbook of the Christian Soldier. My purpose was guidance and not satire; to help, not to hurt; to show men how to become better, and not stand in their way…not only to cure them but to amuse them, too. I had often observed that this cheerful and humorous style of putting people right is with many of them most successful.
Three characteristics stand out, however. Piety is an internal quality independent of the outward observance of rites; it is perfected through divine grace; and it is inclusive, that is, open to all. Describing human nature, he notes the dichotomy of spirit and flesh which parallels the duality of visible and invisible things.
Since we are but pilgrims in the visible world, we should never make it our fixed abode, but should relate by a fitting comparison everything that occurs to the senses either to the angelic world or, in more practical terms, to morals and to that part of man that corresponds to the angelic.
His critique of ritualistic practices puts him in the vanguard of the Reformation, whose representatives also protested against the emptiness of ceremonies in the absence of sincere faith.
For Erasmus, monasticism typified the superstitious observance of external rites and the reliance on human works instead of divine grace. In a notorious phrase, he declared: Monachatus non est pietas , being a member of a religious order does not amount to piety. Back in February , I applied for an Erasmus mobility.
Now, filling in all those documents feels like a distant memory maybe because it was the easiest part of the whole pre-Erasmus journey. People had just started talking about coronavirus, but that topic was not the most important one in our daily lives and this unknown virus seemed far away from us.
We all know what happened later. The thoughts about my upcoming Erasmus were the ones saving me from the boring days spent in lockdown. If for many people the past year was a time of darkness and lack of perspective, for me it was a year of hope. A year of counting down to the best part of my life, at least that is what every Erasmus student says. It is not madness to think of how things might be better in a year, we should admit it - we have all dreamed about this near future, free of illnesses and restrictions.
A story of a hundred doubts and 'what ifs' in times of a global pandemic, when you get paralysed thinking about the number of new cases, but not the number of your dreams. If you are one of those brave people who dared to make their Erasmus journey happen despite the chances of being disappointed, we are on the same page. If you are one of those people who decided to postpone their mobility for better times, we are also on the same page. The experience often turns out to be priceless. Erasmus E u R opean Community A ction S cheme for the M obility of U niversity S tudents is the European Commission's programme for students, teachers and institutions aiming at increasing student mobility within the European Community.
Since its launch in around three million students have participated in the project. It involves over 4, higher education institutions in 33 countries, and the annual budget exceeds million euro. Article continues below More stories you may like Highlights of Huaraz, Peru: snow-capped mountains, turquoise lakes and Seeds of Hope Goodbye TNS - From sex to travel, the writing possibilities were endless Safe sex and solo travel: 6 things to remember What it means for you is that you can spend a period of three to 12 months in an EU, EEA or candidate country, studying, undertaking a work placement or working as a language assistant.
Not bad, huh? One Erasmus student said: "For a year you have a completely new life. You meet new people, live in a new place, even speak a different language. Such international network means you will never need hostels again when you travel! Immersing in a different culture is exciting and broadens your horizons. You first experience this during Erasmus , when you are a thousand miles away from your loved ones: video chats become a part of your everyday life.
Then you make friends with other international students and ESNers during your exchange, but you are destined to say goodbye to them and go back home. Long-distance friendships are not easy, and some of them will fail sooner or later. Yet the lifelong international friendships that remain will turn out to be the best part of your Erasmus.
While on Erasmus , you get used to speaking English and the language of your Erasmus country all the time. This results in integrating foreign words and grammar structures into your native language as well as simply speaking it really slowly, trying to remember the most suitable ways to convey your thoughts. The good thing is, though, that this happens because you know other languages too well. Erasmus gives you endless opportunities to meet new people — all from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and various experiences.
Some of them will have beliefs different from your own. Talking to them will broaden your horizons and will help you see a lot of things from a new angle. This will inevitably make you think critically about your perspective on life and even some of your major life choices.
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