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Erasmus Quotes

Browse 13 quotes about Erasmus.

Erasmus Quotes

“But I am well aware of the excuse which men, ever ingenious in devising mischief to themselves as well as others, offer in extenuation of their conduct in going to war. They allege, that they are compelled to it; that they are dragged against their will to war. I answer them, deal fairly; pull off the mask; throw away all false colours; consult your own heart, and you will find that anger, ambition, and folly are the compulsory force that has dragged you to war, and not any necessity; unless indeed you call the insatiable cravings of a covetous mind, necessity" ` The Complaint of Peace”

WarChristianityErasmus
Author:Desiderus Erasmus
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“Wat is een Nederlander? Wie zich als Nederlander identificeert, onderscheidt zich in taal, kleding of eetgewoonten van de Belgen, de Duitsers, de Engelsen enzovoort. De verschillen met andere naties bakenen het 'wezen' van de Nederlander af. Nationaliteit wordt gedefinieerd door een 'buitengrens'. Maar Nederland kent ook een 'binnengrens', want welke Nederlander is de ware Nederlander? Erasmus? Rembrandt? Drees? Beatrix? Cruijff? De vacature is door de eeuwen heen door steeds andere personen en groepen vervuld. Zijn het de arbeiders die het land hebben opgebouwd? De middenstanders als motor van de economie? Is het de dominee-koopman? De ware Nederlander verandert voortdurend van gezicht.”

RembrandtErasmusBeatrixCruijffNederlander
Author:Matthijs van Boxsel
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“Erasmus dramatizes a well-established political position: that of the fool who claims license to criticize all and sundry without reprisal, since his madness defines him as not fully a person and therefore not a political being with political desires and ambitions. The Praise of Folly, therefore sketches the possibility of a position for the critic of the scene of political rivalry, a position not simply impartial between the rivals but also, by self-definition, off the stage of rivalry altogether.”

WellsPersonsSelfPoliticalDesireStagePossibilityPositionFoolSceneAmbitionClaimsMadnessPraiseCriticsDefinitionsFollyCriticizeLicenseRivalsRivalryReprisalErasmus
Author:J. M. Coetzee
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“Erasmus was the light of his century; others were its strength: he lighted the way; others knew how to walk on it while he himselfremained in the shadow as the source of light always does. But he who points the way into a new era is no less worthy of veneration than he who is the first to enter it; those who work invisibly have also accomplished a feat.”

WayFirstsDoeLightLeadershipWalksHistoryCenturySourceShadowWorthyErasAccomplishedFeatsNew EraVenerationErasmus
Author:Stefan Zweig
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“I understood that you would take the Human Race in the concrete, have exploded the absurd notion of Pope's Essay on Man, [Erasmus] Darwin, and all the countless Believers-even (strange to say) among Xtians-of Man's having progressed from an Ouran Outang state-so contrary to all History, to all Religion, nay, to all Possibility-to have affirmed a Fall in some sense.”

MenHumansStatesScienceFallRacePossibilityStrangeEvolutionUnderstoodNotionContraryBelieverAbsurdHuman RaceConcretePopeEssaysErasmus
Book:Lectures 1818-1819 on the history of philosophy
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“Faith, to my mind, is a stiffening process, a sort of mental starch, which ought to be applied as sparingly as possible. I dislike the stuff. I do not believe in it, for its own sake, at all... My lawgivers are Erasmus and Montaigne, not Moses and St Paul. My temple stands not upon Mount Moriah but in the Elysian Field where even the immoral are admitted. My motto is 'Lord, I disbelieve - help thou my unbelief.”

MindBelieveHelpingStuffProcessLordFieldsOughtSakeAtheistTemplesDislikeMottoImmoralMosesUnbeliefMy MottoErasmus
Author:E. M. Forster
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