Erasmus, Desiderius

Cultural  

1. A Dutch scholar of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, who attempted to solve some of the controversies of the time of the Reformation. Erasmus urged changes in the general views of Christians (see also Christian), including more personal piety, reforms that would make the Roman Catholic Church less worldly, and the study of the literature of ancient Greece and Rome. Erasmus's most famous work is a satire entitled The Praise of Folly.

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Erasmus was a friend of Sir Thomas More.

Erasmus's position might have been acceptable to both Protestant and Catholic sides during the period of the Reformation, but few religious leaders of the time were interested in compromise.

Example Sentences

Erasmus, Desiderius, his description of Elizabeth of York, 20 and note; of Henry VIII.,

From Henry VIII. by Pollard, A. F. (Albert Frederick)

Erasmus Desiderius, his new name, means Beloved and long desired.

From A Wanderer in Holland by Marshall, Herbert, R. W .S.

Erasmus, Desiderius, letter to Christian of Lubeck, quoted, 166.

From The Booklover and His Books by Koopman, Harry Lyman

Erasmus, Desiderius, 99, 103, 118, 120, 127, 244-5, 247.

From Schools, School-Books and Schoolmasters by Hazlitt, W. Carew