The New Testament scholarship of Erasmus : an introduction with Erasmus' prefaces and ancillary writings

CWE 41 is intended as an essential companion to the full range of Erasmus scholarship on the New Testament, as it is translated, annotated and presented in Volumes 42-60. Contents 7 Illustrations 11 Preface 17 Acknowledgments 25 General Introduction 1 The New Testament Scholarship of Erasmus: An Introduction 29 I. Antecedents 29 II. The First Edition of the New Testament (1512–16) 51 III. The Paraphrase on Romans (1516–17) 111 IV. The Second Edition of the New Testament (1516–19) 122 V. The Paraphrases on the Apostolic Epistles (1518–21) 175 VI. The Separate Latin Editions and the Ratio (1519–23) 209 VII. The Third Edition of the New Testament (1519–22) 216 VIII. The Paraphrases on the Gospels and Acts (1521–4) 238 IX. The New Testament Scholarship: Mounting Opposition and Self-defence (1524–9) 282 X. The Fourth Edition of the New Testament (1524–7) 312 XI. The Last Years and Final Revisions (1529–36) 340 XII. Erasmian Retrospectives 408 Major Documents in the Five Editions of the New Testament 1516–35 415 Introduction 415 The Paraclesis of Erasmus of Rotterdam to the Pious Reader 419 The Methodus of Erasmus of Rotterdam 449 The Apologia of Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam 481 A System or Method of Arriving by a Short Cut at True Theology by Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam 505 Separate Latin Editions 1519–23 740 Introduction 740 Prefaces to Erasmus’ Latin Version of the New Testament Issued Separately without the Annotations 743 On Gospel Philosophy 753 Additional Texts in the Editions of the New Testament 1516–35 764 Introduction 764 Title Pages to the Text of the New Testament and to the Annotations in the Five Editions 765 Prefaces and Letters Printed in the New Testament 789 The Chief Points in the Arguments Answering Some Crabby and Ignorant Critics 821 Errors in the Vulgate 891 The Travels of the Apostles Peter and Paul, with a Chronology by Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam 975 Works Frequently Cited 1006 Short-Title Forms for Erasmus’ Works 1010 Index of Biblical and Apocryphal References 1015 Index of Greek and Latin Words Cited 1044 General Index 1052

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.