"Traces the life and works of Erasmus from the depths of monastic obscurity to his prominent role as one of the leading humanists of the day, and a central figure of the Reformation. We learn of Erasmus' childhood and early youth, his years as an itinerant scholar, his sojourns in France, England, Switzerland and Italy, his close friendship with Sir Thomas More, and his theological disputations with Martin Luther. The author also provides in-depth analysis of Erasmus' mind and character, and perceptive discussions of his writings, including the 1509 Lucianic satire, 'In praise of folly' -- a punning allusion to More, with whom Erasmus was staying when he wrote it, which turned out to be one of his most popular and enduring works. He also discusses Erasmus' extremely influential translation of the New Testament from Greek into elegant Latin, which provided theologians with a much more accurate text than had previously been available. A thinker of timeless relevance, Erasmus, through his writings, exercised enormous influence on subsequent Western thought and culture." [Back cover].
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