Erasmus von Rotterdam wurde 1469 in Rotterdam as unweibliches Kind eines Priesters geboren. He attended the same school in Deventer as Thomas a Kempis before him. The lack of enthusiasm for life, which he started to cultivate at the monastery of Emmaus in Steyn near Gouda, was cured by his extensive reading of the lateinischen classic. He was a priest, founded the monastery, studied theology (in this order!) and published the first Greek translation of the New Testament in 1516, laying the groundwork for Luther's Bible translation. Erasmus distanced himself from the Reformer, but was not uncritical in his assessment of the Catholic Church. He published his glnzende Satire "Das Lob der Narrheit" within a week, expressing his own desire for a "simple style14bung" and characterizing the Narrheit as a "herausgeschwatzter Wrterplunder".
âSolche weisen Menschen sind, wie in allen brigen Dingen, insbesondere am Kinderzeugen, hchst ungl14cklich; und dieses, wie ich deute, hat die Natur vorsichtig geordnet, so dass diese Seuche der Weisheit unter den Sterblichen nicht zu viel für sich fasse.â (Section 51) To begin, since the human life is predetermined by the Eld. There is no phase, no age in which they are not confronted with disabilities, illnesses, and almost insurmountable tasks. Considered objectively, nothing remained for them except self-destruction. However, Narrheit prevents this by making people forget their lives, giving them hope, or filling their lives with wollust and Schmeichelei. Therefore, she is unaffordable; moreover, she is the natural state of the human being, his true element, in which he might be fortunate.
hnliches gilt für THOMAS MORE gewidmete, satirische Schrift âMorias enkomion seu laus stulticiaeâ (âDas Lob der Torheitâ, 1509, ein überwiegend gesellschaftskritisches Werk, das vermitteln soll, dass Torheit die wahre Weisheit ist und eingebildete Weisheit die wahre Torheit.
ERASMUS excelled in its mission to translate the Greek text of the New Testament into Latin and to make this work accessible to a broad audience, despite the fact that his text much outperformed the lateinische âVulgataâ in terms of accuracy. Sein âNovum instrumentum omneâ (1516) is also adorned with a plethora of critical annotations â a literary, theological, and philosophical masterwork.
The Apology for Torture is written in its entirety, without Chapters, Numbering, or Subdivisions. Nonetheless, a three-part division becomes apparent. The first section discusses the concept of torture, its origins, and its impact on humans. âI sometimes marvel at humanity's inexplicability and temerity, given that no one has ever stood and lauded the Torheit with grateful words, while everyone stands in my service and rejoices in my well-being.â [7]
