Sufficient but where's more? I need more More, Luther, and the whole cast...

In this book, Huizinga presents Erasmus as a literary scoundrel--a man of the press and not a man of the cloth. I would recommend this book on the strength of that depiction alone. It makes the entire culture seem more recognizable. And Huizinga is a skillful historian, so this book has many other virtues as well.

I'm a little uneasy about his strong criticism of the aging Erasmus, who apparently failed to understand the historical significance of Martin Luther. Those passages reveal a troubling presentism at the heart of this project--a manifest defense of Protestantism. But for the most part Huizinga keeps faith with his readers, if not always with his subject.

A 2001 reprint of a biography originally published on Erasmus in 1924. It is relatively short, pontificates a bit on Erasmus' sometimes contradictory personality, and feels a little plodding at times. It left me wanting to know more about Erasmus, especially his personality and interactions with other leading figures of his time.

I think the book has not aged as well as some due to it's psychological analysis of Erasmus which feels dated, but it isn't a bad read.

Cred că e a treia biografie a savantului umanist din Rotterdam pe care o citesc. Și e și cea mai bună. Celelalte îi au ca autori pe G. Uscătescu și Stefan Zweig. Uscătescu e foarte academic, Zweig face un exercițiu de psihologie comparată.

Erasm e un moderat, Luther un ghem de pasiuni. Erasm e reticent, puțin sociabil, retras, Luther e un exuberant irascibil. Erasm își disprețuiește limba maternă. Scrie numai în latină. Luther traduce Noul Testament în vulgara germană. Sînt, așadar, firi cu totul opuse. În ideile care se vor impune odată cu Reforma, Erasm e un precursor. Dar cel care aprinde cu adevărat focul și incendiază creștinătatea apuseană e Luther.

Monografia lui Johan Huizinga mi s-a părut cea mai așezată dintre cele amintite mai sus. Ea respectă ceea ce romanii au numit „modus” (= est modus in rebus), adică măsura și bunul simț. E o valoare respectată și de Erasm. Cînd spune despre sine că e un „mediocru”, Erasm tocmai asta subliniază, îi repugnă excesul, preferă măsura, calea de mijloc, media.

Minuțioasă și utilă e analiza Elogiului Nebuniei (= Encomium Moriae, Laus Stultitiae). Ideea de a redacta această satiră îi vine lui Erasm pe cînd călătorește prin Alpi din Italia spre Anglia. Odată ajuns la Londra, în 1509, e găzduit de prietenul său, Lordul cancelar Thomas More (Morus). Erasm se pune imediat pe scris și redactează satira în „cîteva zile”. Ideea cărții nu e de a denunța nebunia = prostia omenească, departe de asta. Oricît de paradoxal ar părea, cartea lui Erasm este exact ceea ce pretinde că este, o laudă a nesăbunței omenești și o denunțare a exceselor rigoriste. Doar nebunul poate visa la fericire (pp.136-147).

În materie de religie, Erasm e cel dintîi care a cerut o „întoarcere la Scriptură”. Creștinismul eșuase în ceremonie și formalism. Erasm mizează pe o recuperare a evlaviei veritabile. Ea nu înseamnă deloc ritualuri, serbări extravagante, indulgențe, negustorie. Evlavia nu e nici gestică, nici ac'iune pe o scenă, nici spectacol. În realitate, ea este o încercare de a-l „urma pe Christos” (Erasm nu-l citise pe Thoma a Kempis), o interiorizare (p.116).

Erasm n-a fost numai un exeget al Evangheliei, a fost cu adevărat un umanist. Nu s-a sfiit să traducă (în latină, din păcate) tragediile lui Euripide (Hecuba și Ifigenia), dialogurile lui Lucian din Samosata. A îngrijit operele lui Seneca...

I picked-up this short biography because I have an interest in the Renaissance. Like a lot of people, I can become Italy-centric forgetting that the changes in culture, art, religion, science and politics were happening throughout Europe.

Erasmus of Rotterdam was self-made intellectual who came of age just as the ability to print was taking off in your Europe. He lived during the tumultuous early 1500s and so witnessed the breaking of the Catholic Church’s hegemony of faith with the rise of Protestantism and the establishment of the Church of England by Henry VIII.

Author Johan Huizinga (1872-1945) was an internationally recognized historian of Dutch history and culture. He wrote this biography for publication in his native language and it was translated into English in the 1950s. It retains the style and language of the early 20th century which, at times, can make for some frustrating reading. He also spends a great deal of energy trying to analyze Erasmus’s psychology. This Freudian emphasis (Erasmus was a bastard child of a priest who lost his parents early) takes up space that would have been better spent putting more detail behind the political and religious machinations of 16th Century Europe.

Notwithstanding the criticism above, this relatively short biography provides insight into the dawn of a new time. Erasmus began as an accomplished Latinist which made him a humanist. His work promoted the ideals of the Renaissance that appeared in classic writing (Cicero for example). He was also demonstrated independence and so contributed to the notion that’s it was acceptable to question the institutions of power. Erasmus’s success as a writer allowed him to meet and become friends with people like Thomas More, communicate with Popes and debate Luther. I am searching for one of his essay’s – Julius Excluded – which pokes great fun at the warrior Pope by imagining his entrance exam at the gates of heaven.

I was struck by something Huizinga wrote late in this short book:

“If at present our admiration goes out again to the ardently pious, and to spiritual extremes, it is partly because our unstable time requires strong stimuli. To appreciate Erasmus, we should begin by giving up our admiration of the extravagant, and for many this requires certain effort at present.” Page 189

How even more true in our own day. What would have been “strong stimuli” that demanded action – school shootings – Russian attacks to our electoral system – get a few days’ attention and then we careen off into some wild adventure – a new tweet- and gaze at our glowing and all-knowing handheld devices.

Erasmus spoke to troubled time with reason and wit. He believed in a well written sentence. He avoided the fight and sought reconciliation. He promoted education and culture. He need more of his like today if we have any hopes of a new Renaissance.

His argument is that Erasmus for all his weaknesses is the hero of cultivated humanity.

None

Erasmus is an interesting character but Huizinga is definitely not my cup of tea.
He offers too many opinions and not enough facts.

Una de estas obras que llevan 30 años en casa y nunca había leído. Creo recordar con gusto al Huizinga del Otoño de la Edad Media, pero como biógrafo no logra apasionarme. Nada que ver con esa penetración de Zweig, que hace que podamos comprender un personaje de cualquier época porque nos vemos reflejados en sus miedos. Huizinga tiene una opinión clara sobre Erasmo, y tiene poca piedad al presentárnosla. Para él, es un grandísimo humanista, un trabajador infatigable, pero a la hora de tomar decisiones siempre se queda en el medio, un ni fu ni fa. Quiero reformar la iglesia, pero cuando vienen de verdad a reformarla doy un paso atrás por si acaso. No consigue que empaticemos con él, no acaba de caernos simpático. El monasterio es muy incómodo, cualquier crítica es una persecución, y es difícil vivir en un sitio que no tenga buenos vinos… Vamos, que como precursor de la Contrarreforma no deja alto el pabellón de la humildad.

Een bekwame biografie, zoals je van Huizinga mag verwachten. En ook, zoals je van hem mag verwachten, meer dan dat. Huizinga is erg streng voor Erasmus, maar dat is juist om de man eer aan te doen. Meer dan in andere teksten gaat de humanist hier leven, als een feilbaar mens.

Natuurlijk is ook dit boekje alweer een eeuw oud bovendien, dus we zitten op een dubbele verwijdering van de bron. Zeer 'onerasmiaans' - "terug naar de zuivere bronnen!" - maar soms toch wel zo prettig. Als zelfs een vooraanstaand geschiedkundige als Huizinga aangeeft dat het merendeel van Erasmus' teksten niet meer relevant zijn voor onze (zijn) tijd, dan ga ik me er ook niet aan laven. Ik hou het graag bij dit en de (fantastische!) Lof der Zotheid.

Read in Romanian! Very good but a bit dated!

This book gets a bad rap as being boring, but I think Huizinga does well to show us how Erasmus presaged the Reformation and gives us a nice social history of the age he lived in. Get it from Gutenberg.