Page:Outlines of European History.djvu/683

 The Revolt of Germany against the Papacy 581 of the people so that men and women who did not know Latin could read them and be helped by them. Erasmus believed that the two arch enemies of true religion Erasmus' were (i) paganism, into which many of the more enthusiastic religion Italian Humanists fell in their admiration for the Greek and Latin writers ; and (2) the popular confidence in outward acts and ceremonies, like visiting the graves of saints, the mere repetition of prayers, and so forth. He claimed that the Church had be- come careless and had permitted the simple teachings of Christ to be buried under myriads of dogmas introduced by the theo- logians. " The essence of our religion," he says, " is peace and harmony. These can only exist where there are few dogmas and each individual is left to form his own opinion upon many matters." In a little book called The Praise of Folly ^ Erasmus has much in his Praise to say of the weaknesses of the monks and theologians, and of Erasmus the foolish people who thought that religion consisted simply in attacks the pilgrimages, the worship of relics, and the procuring of indul- Church gences. Scarcely one of the abuses which Luther later attacked escaped Erasmus' pen. The book is a mixture of the lightest humor and the bitterest earnestness. As one turns its pages one is sometimes tempted to think Luther half right when he declared Erasmus " a regular jester who makes sport of every- thing, even of religion and Christ himself." Yet there was in this humorist a deep seriousness that cannot be ignored. Erasmus believed, however, that revolt from the Pope and the Church would produce a great disturbance and result in more harm than good. He preferred to trust in the slower but surer effects of education and knowledge. Supersti- tions and ihe undue regard for the outward forms of religion would, he argued, be outgrown and quietly disappear as man- kind became more cultivated. He believed, moreover, that the time was favorable for reform. Erasmus As he looked about him he beheld intelligent rulers on the times^favor- thrones of Europe, men interested in books and art and ready ^g^^j.^^ to help scholars and writers. There was Henry VIII of England