Review Of "Erasmus: His Life, Works, And Influence" By C. Augustijn

Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

6-1-1992

Published In

Choice

Abstract

A remarkable study of Erasmus. Abreast of the latest scholarship and thoroughly familiar with contemporary sources, Augustijn has succeeded in providing a comprehensive introduction to Erasmus's life, work, and thought, setting Erasmus in his own time as well as assessing his significance for the history of Western culture. Particularly striking is the author's success in allowing Erasmus to speak for himself on the issues most important to him. Augustijn (church history, Free University of Amsterdam) places a great deal of emphasis on the period between 1509 and 1526 when Erasmus matured intellectually and reached the height of his popularity and influence. It was then that Erasmus made his greatest contributions to modern thought, the most important being his new way of doing theology by interpreting scripture using the tools of philology, rhetoric, and grammar rather than using logic and metaphysics as did the Scholastics. Clearly and gracefully written, the study is accessible to all students of cultural history. Upper-division undergraduate and graduate collections.

Comments

This work is freely available courtesy of Choice Reviews. The review has been reproduced in full in the abstract field.

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