The Stoic Origins of Erasmus' Philosophy of Christ

by Ross Dealy

Overview

This original and provocative engagement with Erasmus’ work argues that the Dutch humanist discovered in classical Stoicism several principles which he developed into a paradigm-shifting application of Stoicism to Christianity. Ross Dealy offers novel readings of some lesser and well-known Erasmian texts and presents a detailed discussion of the reception of Stoicism in the Renaissance. In a considered interpretation of Erasmus’ De taedio Iesu, Dealy clearly shows the two-dimensional Stoic elements in Erasmus’ thought from an early time onward. Erasmus’ genuinely philosophical disposition is evidenced in an analysis of his edition of Cicero’s De officiis. Building on stoicism Erasmus shows that Christ’s suffering in Gethsemane was not about the triumph of spirit over flesh but about the simultaneous workings of two opposite but equally essential types of value: on the one side spirit and on the other involuntary and intractable natural instincts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781487511463
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	01/18/2017
Series:	Erasmus Studies
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	424
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Ross Dealy is a retired associate professor at St. John’s University, NY.

Table of Contents

Preface

Abbreviations

Introduction

A Philosophy Beneath The Rhetoric

Part I
The Fifteenth-Century Background

Part Ii
Erasmus’ Two-Dimensional Stoicism

Part Iii
Stoic Natural Instinct and Christ’s Fear of Death, De Taedio Iesu

Part Iv
Larger Philosophical Issues

Part V
Correcting a Thousand Years of Christology

Part Vi
Beyond Devotionalist Assumptions

Part Vii
Spiritual Warfare

Conclusion

Bibliography

Index

Editorial Reviews

‘This meticulous study of 16th century thinking can be dense, but the picture of Erasmus that emerges will prove worth the effort.’

—D.A. Brown, Choice Magazine vol 55:01:2017

" The Stoic Origins of Erasmus’ Philosophy of Christ contains many interesting ideas, which Dealy presents in an engaging way and is a welcome addition to the literature. "

—George Lazaroiu, Sixteenth Century Journal vol. 49, no. 1 2018

" The Stoic Origins of Erasmus’ Philosophy of Christ is a challenging and thought-provoking book. It is a book that goes to the heart of the philosophical subject matter that is everywhere apparent in Erasmus’s writings, but hardly ever studied in serious ways."

—Han van Ruler, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, Renaissance Quarterly, vol 71 4, Winter 2018

" The Stoic Origins of Erasmus’ Philosophy of Christ makes an important contribution to Erasmus scholarship through a close reading of two of Erasmus’ early works that are rarely considered alongside one another, the De taedio Iesu and the Enchiridion, in an attempt to trace their considerable Stoic elements."v

—Kirk Essary, University of Western Australia, Erasmus Studies, vol 39

From the Publisher

'This meticulous study of 16th century thinking can be dense, but the picture of Erasmus that emerges will prove worth the effort.'

Choice Magazine vol 55:01:2017 - D.A. Brown

"The Stoic Origins of Erasmus' Philosophy of Christ is a challenging and thought-provoking book. It is a book that goes to the heart of the philosophical subject matter that is everywhere apparent in Erasmus's writings, but hardly ever studied in serious ways."

Renaissance Quarterly, vol 71 4, Winter 2018 - Han van Ruler

"The Stoic Origins of Erasmus' Philosophy of Christ contains many interesting ideas, which Dealy presents in an engaging way and is a welcome addition to the literature. "

Sixteenth Century Journal vol. 49, no. 1 2018 - George Lazaroiu

"The Stoic Origins of Erasmus' Philosophy of Christ makes an important contribution to Erasmus scholarship through a close reading of two of Erasmus' early works that are rarely considered alongside one another, the De taedio Iesu and the Enchiridion, in an attempt to trace their considerable Stoic elements."v

Erasmus Studies, vol 39 - Kirk Essary