syllogistic propositions but in the heart itself and in the whole life’.He
expresses his hope that‘enemies of the Christian name will far more be quickly
drawn to the faith of Christ by these weapons, than by threats or arms’.^65 At
the heart of thephilosophia Christiis the restoration of theimago Deiwithin
humanity, as he writes: ‘what else is the philosophy of Christ, which He
himself calls a rebirth, than the restoration of human nature originally well
formed?’^66
This restoration that occurs through spiritual warfare can never come about
in a purely theoretical or rational way, however, because even though thefirst
step in engaging the philosophy of Christ is to know what he taught:‘the next’,
Erasmus writes,‘is to carry it into effect. Therefore, I believe, anyone should
not think himself to be a Christian if he disputes with an obscure and irksome
confusion of words, but rather if he holds and exhibits what Christ taught and
showed forth.’^67 In the same way, the spiritual warfare that is so closely
intertwined with thephilosophia Christicannot be fought by an individual,
but again must take place within the community of faith, the Body of Christ.
Thephilosophia Christicannot be practised alone: thevita contemplativa
must necessarily lead to thevita activain order for it to be a true reflection of
the philosophy of Christ. This emphasis on a holy life lived out in community
is why it is incorrect to assert, as some commentators have, the individualism
of Erasmus.^68 Hopefully we can also see why it is similarly a mistake to view
Erasmus as a hyper-rationalist proto-Enlightenmentphilosophe, as scholars
especially in the 1970s and 80s tended to do.^69
And so the community of believers should not be forsaken in the quest for
spiritual purity, as it can serve as a source of encouragement and sanctifica-
tion. The benefits of mutual exhortation among like-minded believers are
exhibited in colloquies likeThe Godly Feast.^70 Although Erasmus frequently
disparages monasticism, the advantages of associating with a genuinely de-
voted spiritual community are also advocated in the closing words of the
Enchiridion, as Erasmus exhorts his reader to‘associate with men of integrity
and consider yourself in a monastery whenever you are in the company of
those who love truth, chastity, sobriety, and modesty, who repent and show
these virtues in their lives’.^71
(^65) Erasmus,Paraclesis99. Erasmus would express a similar hope two years later in reference
to the Turks in his letter to Paul Volz (see above).
(^66) Erasmus,Paraclesis100. (^67) Erasmus,Paraclesis101.
(^68) See Augustijn:‘individualism permeates Erasmus’ideal of the Christian life’,inErasmus, 55.
(^69) As Manfred Hoffman has suggested, however, this view continues to be more of a reflection
of their own commitment to the Enlightenment project than a true rendering of Erasmus’s
perspective on the natural and supernatural. Hoffman,‘Faith and Piety in Erasmus’Thought’,
Sixteenth Century Journal20/2 (1989), 242.
(^70) Erasmus,The Godly Feast, trans. Craig R. Thompson, inThe Colloquies of Erasmus
(Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1965), 46–78.
(^71) Erasmus,Enchiridion 174 – 5.
Erasmus, Christian Humanism, and Spiritual Warfare 131