fact. All this, however, has taken us far from Erasmus, to whom Columbus was less interesting
than the Argonauts.
Erasmus was incurably and unashamedly literary. He wrote a book, Enchiridion militis christiani,
giving advice to illiterate soldiers: they were to read the Bible, but also Plato, Ambrose, Jerome,
and Augustine. He made a vast collection of Latin proverbs, to which, in later editions, he added
many in Greek; his original purpose was to enable people to write Latin idiomatically. He wrote
an immensely successful book of Colloquies, to teach people how to talk in Latin about every-day
matters, such as a game of bowls. This was, perhaps, more useful than it seems now. Latin was the
only international language, and students at the University of Paris came from all over Western
Europe. It may have often happened that Latin was the only language in which two students could
converse.
After the Reformation, Erasmus lived first in Louvain, which maintained perfect Catholic
orthodoxy, then in Basel, which became Protestant. Each side tried to enlist him, but for a long
time in vain. He had, as we have seen, expressed himself strongly about ecclesiastical abuses and
the wickedness of popes; in 1518, the very year of Luther's revolt, he published a satire, called
Julius exclusus, describing the failure of Julius II to get to heaven. But Luther's violence repelled
him, and he hated war. At last he came down on the Catholic side. In 1524 he wrote a work
defending free will, which Luther, following and exaggerating Augustine, rejected. Luther replied
savagely, and Erasmus was driven further into reaction. From this time until his death, he became
increasingly unimportant. He had always been timid, and the times were no longer suited to timid
people. For honest men, the only honourable alternatives were martyrdom or victory. His friend
Sir Thomas More was compelled to choose martyrdom, and Erasmus commented: "Would More
had never meddled with that dangerous business, and left the theological cause to the
theologians." Erasmus lived too long, into an age of new virtues and new vices--heroism and
intolerance--neither of which he could acquire.
Sir Thomas More ( 1478-1535) was, as a man, much more admirable than Erasmus, but much less
important as an influence. He was a humanist, but also a man of profound piety. At Oxford, he set
to work to learn Greek, which was then unusual, and was thought to show a sympathy with Italian
infidels. The authorities and his father objected,