ERASMUS, DESIDERIUS, was born at Rotter dam the 28th of October 1467, and died at Basel on the 11th or r2th July (O. S.) 1536. His father's name was Gerhard Praet ; his mother was the daughter of a physician of Sevenbergen. They were never married. He was called Gerhard after his father ; and subsequently took the names of Desiderius and Erasmus, which, the first in Latin, the second in Greek, have a similar meaning to Gerhard in German. At the age of thirteen both his parents died, and he was ill-used by his guar dians ; they misappropriated his property, and en deavoured to force him into a monastery. He resisted a long time, but at length, in 1436, he entered a monastery at Stein, near to Gouda, and took the vows a year afterwards. The monastic life, however, was repugnant to him, and he gladly accepted the post of secretary to the Archbishop of Cambray, which his reputation for Latin scholar ship procured him. This was in 1492, and at the same time he was ordained priest. At the expira tion of this time he went to study at Paris ; but left in 1497. His life after this was somewhat un settled. He visited Holland, England (repeatedly), and Italy ; for some time he was professor of theo logy and Greek at Cambridge, where he was the instrument, if not of introducing, yet of establish lug the latter in the English universities. In 1516 he was invited to the Low Countries, to the court of the king of Spain, afterwards Charles V., and was appointed royal counsellor without any particu lar duties and with a pension. The rest of his life was spent mostly at Base] or in the Netherlands. He left Basel in 1529 for Friburg, thinking himself unsafe at Basel, in consequence of the religious ex citement of the time and place. He fell ill at Friburg, however, and returned to Basel in 1535, and died there the year after.
Erasmus was a voluminous writer. His contri butions to Biblical science entitle him to a place of honour in the ranks of those who have been its promoters. In 1505 he published a translation of
the N. T. in Latin ; and in 1516 he edited the first published edition of the N. 1'. in Greek, with a Latin translation. Before this he had issued a commentary on the 1st Psalm, published in 1515, which contained the important words, Legant et idiote legem domini quacumque lingua.' His text of the Greek N. T. passed through five edi tions in his lifetime ; in the third (1522) of which he inserted 1 John v. 7, which he had on critical grounds previously omitted. He had but one MS. for the Apocalypse, and this being defec tive at the end, he translated the missing verses from the Vulg. This MS. he borrowed from Reuchlin, but did not return it. It was long sup posed to be lost, but has been recently discovered in the library of the princely house of CEttingen Wallenstein at Maylungen in Bavaria. He wrote also .4(inotationes in Nov. Test., Basil, 1522 ; and Paraphrases in N. T So highly were these latter esteemed in England, that by an order in council, every parish church was obliged to possess a copy of a translation of them. The position of Erasmus in the great religious conflict of his age was some what ambiguous ; neither by Romanists nor by Lutherans was he trusted. Without having courage to identify himself with the Reformation movement, he yet in various ways contributed greatly to help it forward. His great service to the church as well as to society, was the impulse he gave, and the great assistance his works contributed, towards sound learning and criticism. The best edition of his works is that published at Basel in 1540-41 in 9 vols. folio. They have been reprinted with some additions, but not so accurately, at Leyden, in 1703-1706, in so vols. folio.