"Erasmus: In Praise of Folly": What do you think Erasmus hoped to achieve with his satirical attack on monastic practices? How do you think the mass circulation of his attacks would have affected popular attitudes towards the Catholic Church and its institutions?
8 comments:
What I think Erasmus hoped to achieve was some sort of reform of the monastic style of religion. Reform or even to give some attention to some of the half-truths he claimed were apparent. An example from the text would be on his Oration: Monks "And next these come those that commonly call themselves the religious and monks, most false in both titles, when both a great part of them are farthest from religion..." This is calling them out on their behind, in lamens terms, Erasmus has clearly stated that they aren't doing what they should be doing to be considered religious or monastic. In an instance, I think this would have been considered heresy, calling monks out in such a rude way. Although it is satire, he was probably opposed for writing such things.
I agree with Sandy that one thing Erasmus was trying to achieve was a reform of the monastic system -- and that some staunch Catholics would have viewed him as close to a heretic. However, I do think there were other aspect to his satire. Also, we need to think about the second part of the post: the effects of mass circulation of his works.
I agree Erasmus was trying to achieve a reform of the monastic system. Also, i believe that he was trying to say that his religion was better then theirs. The effects of mass circulation of his works would be that the Catholic Church might think that Erasmus would attack them next. The reason why is because he stated in the text that "He emphasized inner piety and deemphasized the external forms of religion(such as the sacraments, pilgrimages, fasts, veneration of saints, and relics)." Since the Catholic Church is all about the things mentioned above they would probaly be insulted by his statement of religion. Also, other Catholics might think the same way as Eramus and believe in his religion instead, which possibly could decrease the number of catholics. Thus, this could cause conflict between Erasmus and the Caltholic Church.
He was trying to achieve a reform to some degree...just really wanted to reform the church. he would ahve contrdicted the works of the church...hoped to shed some light on the way people viewed monks
Mass circulation of Praise of Folly -- this is important! Erasmus wrote for a select group of intellectual, humanist peers. However, the fact that his work was then printed, translated, and circulated all across Europe was like "letting the cat out of the bag." To mix my metaphors, this was one of the first important steps in breaching the dam that had, for over a millenium, held Europe in conformity to Catholic dogma and authority. Now, with everyone reading Erasmus' satirical pokes at monasticism and the papacy, all of Europe could begin to question the church.
I think Erasmus was trying to open the eyes of the people so that they would stop wasting their money on indulgences. Also to stop the monks from doing and speaking nonsense about the church and saying stuff that wasnt even true like, gettin out of pregatory with just a piece of paper. I think that this would cause other people to question their religion also.
Its simple the people were being taken advantage of by the papacy. Paying big money for nothing at all(indulgences). Eurasmus was smart enough to realize that this was non sense and wanted to put a stop to it. Eurasmus was also trying to improve the monastic life.
I agree with everyone that Erasmus hoped to achieve a reform of the monastic system. He had no intentions of destroying the medieval Christian church. He wanted people to realize that they were being taken advantage to some extent. He wanted them to know that religion should be a guide for the direction of daily life and not something that's being stressed out more than it should be. A reform to Erasmus meant understanding the original meaning of scriptures and early church fathers. Educating the people on the early Christianity so they could get a sense of what their religion truly is about. He also wanted people to open their eyes to the abuses of the church. For them to notice the corruption that was going on. All Erasmus wanted was to see that their religion was being carried out they right way it should be.
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