Erasmus was born in 1469 so you might not have heard of him; to his contemporaries this would be unthinkable. To them he was a modern Socrates whose learning and wisdom had not been equalled for a thousand years 'a kind of divine being sent down to us from heaven'.
University of Toronto Press's 'Collected Works of Erasmus' will extend to 86 volumes. This includes his letters. Erasmus corresponded on a massive scale all over Western Europe: including kings, popes, professors, humanists and many more - anyone who was anyone at some stage penned the words 'My Dear Erasmus.'
The march of history has not been kind to Erasmus. In spite of his phenomenal achievements Luther, concealed behind the Reformation, has eclipsed him.
Yet the influence of Erasmus led to that Reformation. His life and work shows how God can use someone not in sympathy with the church to stimulate one of its greatest periods of growth and spirituality.
Endorsements
'He deserves to be better known and to be more widely enjoyed. Contemporaries called this razor-sharp writer one of the wonders of the world. This attractive presentation of him is painted largely in his own words from his masterly letters. David Bentley-Taylor lays before us the many-sided genius of Erasmus in an easily accessible form.'
David Wright (1937-2008) Senior Lecturer in Ecclesiastical History, New College, University of Edinburgh
...an attractive little book which gives the reader much insight into the crucial early days of the Reformation period.
David Bentley-Taylor's(1915-2005) missionary service began in China, and continued later in Java. For many years he travelled widely on behalf of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students.
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