Erasmus And The New Testament

When Erasmus, at Cambridge in 1512, began to mark up his copy of the Vulgate Bible with a few alternative Latin translations and a biting comment here and there in Latin, he could not have guessed that his work would grow over the next twenty-three years into the twenty volumes currently being produced as annotated translations in The Collected Works of Erasmus. His Paraphrases vastly expanded the text of the New Testament books, and brought dynamic and controversial interpretations to the traditional reading of the Latin texts. A new translation based on the Greek text, the first ever to be published by a printing firm, became the basis for ever-expanding notes that explained the Greek, measured the contemporary church against the truth revealed by the Greek, taunted critics and opponents, and revealed the mind of a humanist at work on the Scriptures. The sheer vastness of the work that finally accumulated is almost beyond the reach of a single individual. Through excerpts chosen over the entire extent of Erasmus’ New Testament work, this book hopes to reduce that immensity to manageable size, and bring the rich, virtually unlimited treasure of the Erasmian mind on the Scriptures within the comfortable reach of every interested individual.

Erasmus produced his five editions of the New Testament in Greek and Latin and his Paraphrases on the Gospels and Epistles almost contemporaneously with the tumultuous events that accompanied the beginnings of the Reformation in Europe. At the same time, his scholarship was a signal illustration of the Christian Humanism of northern Europe. His remarkable scholarship is translated and annotated in the Collected Works of Erasmus, volumes 42-60, published by the University of Toronto Press. This volume, CWE 41, seeks to set in perspective in a major introductory essay the full range of that scholarship. It traces the origin of Erasmus' work and its development over the course of the last two decades of his life, placing the work on the New Testament in the context of his life and the political and religious events of his age, revealing the endeavour as a process, and thus giving the reader illuminating points of reference for the many cryptic allusions in his annotations and paraphrases. The book includes an annotated translation of three of Erasmus' major writings on Scripture and its interpretation -- the Paraclesis, the Ratio verae theologiae ('System of True Theology'), and the Apologia (defense of his work). It includes as well some of his further attempts to clarify his endeavour -- relevant letters and a vitriolic response to his 'crabby critics' (Contra morosos). The volume offers a unique insight into the production of Erasmus' scholarship in book form, illustrating abundantly the special features that made his editions of the New Testament and his Paraphrases both esthetically pleasing and effectively marketable products.

In 1516, Erasmus of Rotterdam's version of the New Testament, featuring the editio princeps of the Greek text, a revised Latin translation and comprehensive annotations, was published by Johann Froben in Basel. The edition proved to be of great significance for the history of scholarship and books. This volume is based on a conference held in Basel in anticipation of the first edition's forthcoming 500th anniversary. Contributions by 15 internationally acknowledged specialists provide a comprehensive overview of the latest research results on this epochal edition. Contributors: Patrick Andrist, Marie Barral-Baron, Andrew J. Brown, Christine Christ-von Wedel, Ignacio Garcinilla, Kaspar von Greyerz, Sundar Henny, August den Hollander, Jan Krans, Greta Kroeker, Miekske van Poll-van de Lisdonk, Erika Rummel, Valentina Sebastiani, Silvana Seidel Menchi, Mark Vessey, Martin Wallraff

Through well-chosen excerpts from Erasmus' writings, this book provides a clear picture of his extensive work on the New Testament.

Erasmus' annotations on the New Testament with the variants all dated. Short or long, all are interesting and challenging. They bring us to the centre of Erasmus' religious thought and form a vital companion to his correspondence.

Erasmus was a sixteenth century educator, theologian, satirist, and scholar and there have been a number of attempts to describe his intellectual development and to measure his greatness. However, Rabil believes that most interpretations of Erasmus and his work fail in analyzing Erasmus in a way consistent with all the source material on which such an interpretation must be based. The author argues that religion and humanism are the proper poles in relation to which Erasmus' intellectual development must be understood. In Rabil's own interpretation of Erasmus, he covers Erasmus' intellectual development as it relates to his editing of the New Testament in Greek, his translation of it into Latin, a look at the methodology in Erasmus' annotations and paraphrase of Romans, and a comparison of Erasmus and Luther on Romans. Rabil demonstrates that Erasmus' intellectual development occurred at every turning point, from his first poem in 1483 until he achieved a maturity of outlook in his edition of the Greek New Testament in 1516. Originally published in 1972 by Trinity University Press.

Erasmus's treatment of the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, & Acts. "This extraordinary volume of Erasmus is certainly one of the few most important pieces of the Reformation ... [&] became along with the Bible & the Book of Common Prayer (1549), a major force in shaping the popular theology of the Anglican Church."-Reprint Bulletin.

As well as discussing the contents and aims of the "Annotations," Erika Rummel investigates Erasmus' development from philologist to theologian and traces the prepublication history of the New Testament