Paraphrases on the Epistles to Timothy, Titus and Philemon, the Epistles of Peter and Jude, the Epistle of James, the Epistles of John, and the Epistle to the Hebrews

433 Pages·1994·23.72 MB·English

by  Desiderius Erasmus

COLLECTED WORKS OF ERASMUS
VOLUME 44
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COLLECTED WORKS OF
E R A S M US
NEW TESTAMENT SCHOLARSHIP
General Editor Robert D. Sider
PARAPHRASES ON
THE EPISTLES TO TIMOTHY, TITUS,
AND PHILEMON
THE EPISTLES OF PETER AND JUDE
THE EPISTLE OF JAMES
THE EPISTLES OF JOHN
THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
translated and annotated by
John J. Bateman
University of Toronto Press
Toronto / Buffalo / London
The research and publication costs of the
Collected Works of Erasmus are supported by the
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
The publication costs are also assisted by
University of Toronto Press.
www.utppublishing.com
© University of Toronto Press 1993
Toronto / Buffalo / London
Printed in Canada
ISBN 0-8020-0541-1
Printed on acid-free paper
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Erasmus, Desiderius, d. 1536
[Works]
Collected works of Erasmus
Includes bibliographical references.
Partial contents: v. 44. New Testament scholarship :
paraphrases on the letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon,
the letters of Peter and Jude,
the letter of James, the letters of John,
the letter to the Hebrews /
translated and annotated by John J. Bateman.
ISBN 0-8020-0541-1 (v. 44)
1. Erasmus, Desiderius, d. 1536. I. Title.
PA85OO 1974 876'.04 C74-oo6326-x
Collected Works of Erasmus
The aim of the Collected Works of Erasmus
is to make available an accurate, readable English text
of Erasmus' correspondence and his
other principal writings. The edition is planned
and directed by an Editorial Board, an Executive Committee,
and an Advisory Committee.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Alexander Dalzell, University of Toronto
James M. Estes, University of Toronto
Charles Fantazzi, University of Windsor
Anthony T. Grafton, Princeton University
Paul F. Grendler, University of Toronto
James K. McConica, All Souls College, Oxford, Chairman
Mechtilde O'Mara, University of Toronto
Jane E. Phillips, University of Kentucky
Erika Rummel, Wilfrid Laurier University
Robert D. Sider, Dickinson College
J.K. Sowards, Wichita State University
G.M. Story, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Craig R. Thompson, University of Pennsylvania
James Tracy, University of Minnesota
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Alexander Dalzell, University of Toronto
James M. Estes, University of Toronto
Charles Fantazzi, University of Windsor
Anthony T. Grafton, Princeton University
Paul F. Grendler, University of Toronto
James K. McConica, All Souls College, Oxford
George Meadows, University of Toronto Press
Mechtilde O'Mara, University of Toronto
Jane E. Phillips, University of Kentucky
Erika Rummel, Wilfrid Laurier University
R.J. Schoeck, Lawrence, Kansas
R.M. Schoeffel, University of Toronto Press, Chairman
Robert D. Sider, Dickinson College
J.K. Sowards, Wichita State University
G.M. Story, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Craig R. Thompson, University of Pennsylvania
James Tracy, University of Minnesota
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Danilo Aguzzi-Barbagli, University of British Columbia
Maria Cytowska, University of Warsaw
Otto Herding, Universitat Freiburg
Jozef IJsewijn, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Robert M. Kingdon, University of Wisconsin
Paul Oskar Kristeller, Columbia University
Maurice Lebel, Universite Laval
Jean-Claude Margolin, Centre d'etudes superieures de la
Renaissance de Tours
Bruce M. Metzger, Princeton Theological Seminary
Clarence H. Miller, St Louis University
Heiko A. Oberman, University of Arizona
John Rowlands, The British Museum
J.S.G. Simmons, Oxford University
John Tedeschi, University of Wisconsin
J. Trapman, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie
van Wetenschappen
J.B. Trapp, Warburg Institute
NEW TESTAMENT SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE
J.J. Bateman, University of Illinois
H.J. de Jonge, Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden
J.K. McConica, University of Toronto
Bruce M. Metzger, Princeton Theological Seminary
Jaroslav Pelikan, Yale University
Robert D. Sider, Dickinson College, Chairman
Craig R. Thompson, University of Pennsylvania
Contents
Preface
by Robert D. Sider
ix
Translator's Note
by John J. Bateman
xiii
Paraphrase on the First Epistle to Timothy
1
Paraphrase on the Second Epistle to Timothy
39
Paraphrase on the Epistle to Titus
55
Paraphrase on the Epistle to Philemon
69
Paraphrase on the First Epistle of Peter
75
Paraphrase on the Second Epistle of Peter
109
Paraphrase on the Epistle of Jude
123
Paraphrase on the Epistle of James
131
Paraphrase on the First Epistle of John
171
Paraphrase on the Second Epistle of John
203
Paraphrase on the Third Epistle of John
207
Paraphrase on the Epistle to the Hebrews
211
Notes
261
The Sequence and Dates of the Publication
of the Paraphrases
380
Editions of the Paraphrases Cited in This Volume
381
Works Frequently Cited
383
Short-Title Forms for Erasmus' Works
387
Index of Scriptural Passages Cited
391
Index of Greek and Latin Words Cited
399
General Index
402
Preface
The nature and scope of the series of volumes to be published as the New
Testament scholarship of Erasmus have been described in the preface to
volume 42. That volume also provided introductory studies on the origin
and nature of the Paraphrases, their publication history, and sixteenth-cen-
tury translations of the Paraphrases in English. Those essays should prove
useful to readers of this volume. At a later date, a full introduction to the
New Testament scholarship of Erasmus will appear in a volume pro-
legomenous to the series (CWE 41).
This volume (CWE 44) contains the Paraphrases on what are commonly
called the Pastoral and the Catholic or General Epistles, together with
Hebrews. These Paraphrases were all published in just a little more than a
year (late 1519-early 1521). The Paraphrases on the Catholic Epistles and on
Hebrews were the last to appear of those on the New Testament Epistles;
Erasmus thereafter turned to paraphrasing the Gospels.
The Paraphrases translated here add light and lustre to common Erasm-
ian themes. Perhaps nowhere among the Paraphrases will one find a fuller
definition of 'godliness' than here. In these Paraphrases godliness is seen to
begin in faith and baptism - though the precise role played by each remains
characteristically ambiguous. On the other hand, there is little ambiguity in
the representation of the fundamental hostility between faith and philos-
ophy; faith believes, it does not dispute; philosophy, the endless investiga-
tion of questions, does not lead to godliness. In the notes, Professor Bate-
man shows the reliance of Erasmus on Chrysostom in the formulation of
this position, and locates in Erasmus' writings elsewhere the antithesis
between faith and philosophy expressed in much the same terms as here.
No one, however, is perfectly formed in baptism, and the idea of
godliness includes the need for perseverance and growth in good works.
Ultimately, claims Erasmus, to be godly is to become like God, and he does
not leave his reader without an indication of the 'works' needed to achieve
such a happy state. He speaks of self-renunciation, of 'slaying the passions'