None of the works included among Erasmus' 'Literary and Educational Writings' in the Collected Works of Erasmus captures his most adventurous thinking about how texts signify in
and thereby make or remake
worlds of thought, feeling, and action. The one that comes closest to doing so, the Ratio verae theologiae ('A System of True Theology'), was first published separately in 1518 and 1519, then appeared in the preliminaries to the New Testament in Erasmus' (revised) 1519 edition.
This handy Ratio or compendious 'System' gave advice on how to interpret complex texts and develop persuasive arguments based upon them. Its lessons were applied to the canonical Scriptures as source, and to everyday Christian theology as target discourse. They unfold in response to the special difficulties and incitements of the biblical text in Latin and Greek, within a framework provided by classical grammar and rhetoric, adjusted to the examples of the Church Fathers as exemplary interpreters of the Bible. At every turn, the Ratio. It is designed to make it easier to estimate the long-term value of this particular work and of Erasmus' works more generally, and to allow for a multidisciplinary understanding of the lives of human beings as symbol-using creatures in worlds constructed partly by texts.
Foreword by:
Anthony Grafton
Edited by:
Mark Vessey
Translated with commentary by:
Robert D. Sider
Imprint: University of Toronto Press
Country of Publication: Canada
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 20mm
Weight: 510g
ISBN: 9781487522100
ISBN 10: 148752210X
Series: Erasmus Studies
Pages: 378
Publication Date: 22 April 2021
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Primary
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Foreword by Anthony Grafton Illustrations Notes on Contributors Abbreviations and Works Frequently Cited Abbreviations of Biblical Books Used in Explanatory Notes Editor’s Introduction Chronology of Erasmus’ Life and Works Approaches to Erasmus’ Ratio or ‘System’ of 1518–1519 The Ratio in Erasmus’ Life and Work to 1519 Mark Vessey Erasmus, Sacred Literature, and Literary Theory Brian Cummings Biblical Poetics in Scholasticism and the Ratio Christopher Ocker The Ratio and Annotations of Erasmus as Theory and Practice of Biblical Interpretation Riemer Faber The Parable of Sincere and Sophistical Discourse in the Ratio Kathy Eden Scheme of Contents of the Ratio verae theologiae Note on the Text The Ratio verae theologiae Preface: Purpose of the Ratio Elements of a Method for the Study of Scripture The Unity in Variety of the Gospel ‘The Wonderful Circle and Harmony of the Entire Drama of Christ’ The Figurative Character of the Language of Sacred Literature Elements of a Method for the Study of Scripture (Concluded) Explanatory Notes Conspectus of Church Fathers Cited in the Ratio Bibliography Concordance of Editions of the Ratio Index
Mark Vessey is Principal of Green College and Professor of English Literature at the University of British Columbia. Robert D. Sider is General Editor of the New Testament Scholarship for the Collected Works of Erasmus. Anthony Grafton is Henry Putnam University Professor of History at Princeton University.
Reviews for Erasmus on Literature: His Ratio or ‘System' of 1518/1519
This book provides compelling insights into Erasmus's views on interpreting the Bible and reading more generally. It will be helpful to students of renaissance literature and literary theory. - Peter Mack, Department of English and Comparative Literature, University of Warwick Vessey presents one of Erasmus' key texts on biblical scholarship in a fresh way by giving Sider's lucid, well-structured and annotated translation, preceded by five excellent, informative essays by recognized specialists. It is well done and a pleasure to read it, as is Grafton's insightful foreword. I learned a lot from this book that shows us a humanist theologian and Christian at work. - Jan Bloemendal, Huygens Institute for the History of the Netherlands, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Erasmus' Ratio of 1519, designed as a novice's guide to interpreting the New Testament, serves here as a powerful entry into the life, leading ideas, and historical context of Europe's most famous humanist. The splendid accompanying essays offer a rich complement to the translation and annotations of the text, explaining the principles of literary analysis which informed his theology. - Ann Blair, Carl H. Pforzheimer University Professor, Harvard University It is hard to overestimate the significance of Erasmus' insights into how literature is produced and interpreted. Here at last as a stand-alone text is a fine English translation of the Ratio verae theologiae, an introduction to reading the New Testament and the work that most directly distilled Erasmus' view of how we understand literature. Specialists and students alike will be delighted, inspired, and enabled by this powerful, extremely substantial, and richly adorned edition. - Nigel Smith, William and Annie S. Paton Foundation Professor of Ancient and Modern Literature, Princeton University
