Page:The whole familiar colloquies of Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam.djvu/19

 PREFACE. xv understanding, yet there is a stupid generation of men whom the French call deputati ; and for this reason, as I suppose, because they are but diminutively polite who speak thus of my Colloquies, They are a work to be shunned, especially by monks, whom they term the religious, and by young men, because the fasts and abstinences of the church are therein set light by, and the intercession of the blessed Virgin Mary drolled upon ; and that virginity is not comparable to a marriage state, and because all are dissuaded from entering upon religion, and because in it the hard and difficult questions of divinity are pro- pounded to weak grammarians, contrary to the, orders sworn to by the masters of arts. Candid reader, you are not unacquainted with the Athenian eloquence. I shall first give an answer to the last of these objections. As to what the masters of art propound to their pupils I know not. The matters treated of in my Colloquies concerning the creed, the mass, fasting, vows, and confession, contain no'thing of theological difficulty ; but they are of that kind that every one ought to be acquainted with. And besides, seeing the Epistles of St. Paul are read to boys, what danger is there in giving them a taste of theological disputations 1 And further, whereas they know that the intricate questions of greatest difficulty (I do not say of vain subtlety) concerning the divine persons are very early propounded to young students in sophistry, why are they not willing that boys should learn that which concerns common life 1 And now, if this be their opinion, it is no matter what is said in the person of such or such a one ; then they must suppose that there are many things in the writings of the evangelists, and of the apostles, which, according to this rule, are downright blasphemy. In many places I approve of fasting, and nowhere condemn it. He that shall assert the contrary, I will declare him to be an impudent liar. But, say they, in the Childish Piety there are these words [I have nothing to do with fasting]. Suppose these words were spoken in the person of a soldier, or a drunkard, does Erasmus of necessity condemn fasting ? I think not. Now they are spoken by a youth not yet arrived at that age from which the law requires the observation of fasts ; and yet that youth prepares himself for fasting rightly ; for he proceeds thus, But yet, if I find occasion, I dine and sup sparingly, that I may be more lively for spiritial exer- cises on holy-days. And how I condemn abstinency, these words in the Profane Feast declare ; In a great many circumstances it is not the thing but the mind that distinguishes us from Jews ; they held their hands from certain meats, as unclean things that would pollute the mind ; but we, understanding that to the pure all things are pure, yet take away food from the wanton flesh as we do hay from a pampered horse, that it may be more ready-to hearken to the spirit. We some- times chastise the immoderate ise of pleasant things by the pain of abstinence. And a little after he gives a reason why the church has forbidden the eating of certain meats. To the question, To whom does the injunction do good 1 says he, To all ; for poor folks may eat cockles or frogs, or gnaw upon onions or leeks, The middle sort of people will make some abatement in their usual provision ; and though the rich do make it an occasion of their living deliciously, they ought to impute that to their gluttony, and not blame the constitution of the church. And again I speak thus, I know doctors do very much find fault with the