THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
mus and the Reformers alike were combating. The " Diatribe," clever as it was, could not lead men to any definite action, and this was precisely its merit to the Erasmians and its offense to the Lutherans. As the popular response to the Lutheran summons become more marked and more widely spread, the social disorders which Erasmus 7. Doctrine dreaded began to appear. The Peasof the ants' War, the Anabaptist disturb- Eucharist. ances in Germany and in the Low Countries (see Anabaptists), iconoclasm and radicalism everywhere, seemed to confirm all his gloomy predictions. If this were to be the outcome of reform, he could only be thankful he had kept out of it. On the other hand, he was being ever more bitterly accused of having started the whole " tragedy." In Switzerland he was especially exposed to criticism through his association with men there who were more than suspected of extreme rationalistic doctrines. On this side the test question was naturally the doctrine of the sacraments, and the crux of this question was the observance of the Eucharist. Partly to clear himself of suspicion and partly in response to demands that he should write something in defense of Catholic doctrine, he published in 1530 a new edition of the orthodox treatise of Algerus against the heretic Berengar of Tours in the eleventh century. He added a dedication in which he affirms positively his beliei in the reality of the body of Christ after consecration in the Eucharist, but admits that the precise form in which this mystery ought to be expressed is a matter on which very diverse opinions have been held by good men. Enough, however, for the mass of Christians that the Church prescribes the doctrine and the usages that embody it, while the refinements of speculation about it may safely be left to the philosophers. Here and there in many vehement utterances on this subject Erasmus lays down the principle, quite unworthy of his genius and his position of influence: that a man may properly have two opinions on religious subjects, one for himself and his intimate friends and another for the public. The antisacramentarians, headed by (Ecolampadius of Basel, were, as Erasmus says, quoting him as holding views about the Eucharist quite similar to their own. He denies this with great heat, but in his denial betrays the fact that he had in private conversation gone just as far toward a rational view of the doctrine of the Eucharist as he could without a positive formulation in words. Naturally here, as in the case of free will, he could not command the approval of the Church he was trying to placate.
Thus, as the visible outcome of his reformatory activities Erasmus found himself at the close of his life at odds with both the great parties. 8. Closing His last years were embittered by con- Years, troversies with men toward whom he was drawn by many ties of ta«te and sympathy. Notable among these was his passage at arms with Ulrich von Hutten (q.v.), a brilliant, but erratic genius, who had thrown himself with all his heart into the Lutheran cause and had declared that Erasmus, if he had a spark of honesty about him, would do the same. In his reply, Spongia
adversus aspergines Hutteni (1523), he displays, better than almost anywhere else, his skill in twisting words and phrases to suit the purpose of the moment. He accuses Hutten of having misinterpreted his utterances about reform and reiterates his determination never to take sides in the division of parties. When the city of Basel was definitely and officially " reformed " in 1529, Erasmus gave up his residence there and settled in the imperial town of Freiburg-im-Breisgau. It would seem as if he found it easier to maintain his neutrality under Roman Catholic than under Protestant conditions. His literary activity continued without much abatement, chiefly on the lines of religious and didactic composition. The most important work of this last period is the Ecclesiastes or " Gospel Preacher " (Basel, 1535), in which he brings out the function of preaching as the most important office of the Christian priest, an emphasis which shows how essentially Protestant his inner thought of Christianity was. The same impression comes from his little tract of 1533 on " Preparation for Death," in which the emphasis throughout is on the importance of a good life as the essential condition of a happy death. For unknown reasons Erasmus found himself drawn once more to the happiest of his homes, at Basel, and returned thither in 1535 after an absence of six years. Here, in the midst of the group of Protestant scholars who had long been his truest friends, and, so far as is known, without relations of any sort with the Roman Catholic Church, he died. So long as he lived he had never been called to account for his opinions by any official authority of the dominant Church. The attacks upon him were by private persons, and his protectors had always been men of the highest standing. After his death, in the zeal of the Roman Catholic reaction, his writings were honored with a distinguished place on the Index of prohibited books, and his name has generally had an evil sound in Roman Catholic ears. The extraordinary popularity of his books, however, has been shown in the immense number of editions and translations that have appeared from the sixteenth century until now, and in the undiminished interest excited by his elusive but fascinating personality.
Ephhaim Emeeton.
[Ten columns of the catalogue of the library in the British Museum are taken up with the bare enumeration of the works translated, edited or annotated by Erasmus, and their subsequent reprints. It is a remarkable showing. The greatest names of the classical and patristic world are included, such as Ambrose, Aristotle, Augustine, Basil, Chrysostom, Cicero, and Jerome.]
Bibliography: The works were edited by Erasmus's friend Beatus Rhenatus, 9 vols., Basel, 1540, and by Le Clerc, 10 vols., Leyderi, 1703-06. The best edition of the Epistles is by P. S. Allen, vol. i., Oxford, 1906, with which should be put Briefe an Desiderius Erasmus, ed. L. -H-- Enthoven, Strasburg, 1906; an Eng. transl. of the Epistles , to his Fifty-first Year, Arranged in Order V Time, by F. M. Nichols, appeared, 2 vols., London, 1901 1904. His Colloquies are in Eng. transl. by N. Bailey, ib. 1878; his Praise of Folly, with his Letter to Sir Thomaf More and a Life is in a handy ed., ib. 1876; his Evch'J? dion militis Christian* is in Eng. transl., ib. 1905, cf. J Christian's Manual Compiled from the Enchiridion, oy