ties between Jerome and Erasmus
I am really surprised to see a Baptist call Jerome a hero.
Is it any more surprising than seeing Baptists defending Erasmus and the Church of England translators of the KJV?
By defending Erasmus, are you in effect defending Jerome?
Eugene Rice maintained that "Erasmus grew up in an environment of devotion to St. Jerome" (
Saint Jerome, p. 116). This admiration is clearly evident in Erasmus's book on the
Life of Saint Jerome. Jerome, translator of the Vulgate, was the favorite church father of Erasmus (
Who's Who in Christian History, p. 235). McGrath affirmed that
Jerome was "Erasmus' favourite patristic writer" (
Reformation Thought, p. 57). Sowards wrote: "It seems clear, that from beginning to end, Erasmus's personal favorite among the Christian fathers was St. Jerome" (
Desiderius Erasmus, p. 139). B. Hall commented: "For Erasmus, Jerome was the ideal of the true theologian" (Dorey,
Erasmus, p. 84). Rice cited
Erasmus as writing Pope Leo X that Jerome is "chief among the theologians of the Latin world" (
Saint Jerome, p. 118). William Woodward noted that "Jerome represented for Erasmus all that was most learned, sober, eloquent in Christian theology" (
Desiderius Erasmus, p. 22). Rummel wrote: "In the
Annotations Erasmus made comprehensive use of Jerome's writings, citing them for background information, to support emendations, to discuss suitable translations for individual words, and to put them into the proper theological context" (
Erasmus' Annotations, p. 54). Rice pointed out that when some other writers championed Augustine over Jerome that "
Erasmus continued to champion Jerome" (
Saint Jerome, p. 137). Spurgeon quoted Erasmus as speaking the following concerning Jerome: "Who but he ever learned by heart the whole Scripture?" (
Lectures to My Students, p. 195). David Bentley-Taylor cited Erasmus as saying the following about Jerome: “Who had the whole of Scripture by heart as he had, drinking it in, pondering upon it? Who breathes the spirit of Christ more vividly? Who ever followed him more exactly in his way of life?” (
My Dear Erasmus, p. 68).
In his defense of his revision of the Latin New Testament, Erasmus wrote: "As I do not uproot the old version, but by publishing a revision of it make it easier for us not only to possess it in a purer form but to understand it better" (Worth,
Bible Translations, p. 63). Rice noted that Erasmus agreed with Jacques Lefevre d'Etaples and Paul of Middleburg that the Latin Bible in common use in their day had readings that Jerome said he had corrected (
Saint Jerome, p. 178). Rolt pointed out that Erasmus wrote Pope Leo X that his design was not "to contradict the vulgar Latin, but to correct the faults that had crept into it" (
Lives, p. 39). Boyle confirmed that Erasmus "disclaims any intention to rival the publicly read version of the text" (
Erasmus on Language, p. 12). M. A. Screech observed that "
Erasmus' starting-point was the Vulgate, and his goal was a scholarly revision of it" (Reeve,
Annotations, p. xii). David Daniell noted: "Erasmus's chief aim was to correct the Vulgate; to make a new Latin text from the Greek that would avoid, and correct, the Vulgate's many mistakes" (
William Tyndale, p. 60). Do KJV-only advocates agree with Erasmus's view of the Vulgate?
In his long title page, Erasmus did not even mention that the Greek was being published. Erasmus also keyed his
Annotations to his own Latin translation. Halkin pointed out that “the Greek text was only joined to it [the Latin text] as a reference text” (
Erasmus, p. 105). Daniell observed that in the
Novum instrumentum "the Greek is there to explain his Latin" (
William Tyndale, p. 60). Rummel observed: "Latin authors are more frequently cited than Greek ones because it is more often the Latin translation than the Greek original that is discussed in Erasmus' notes" (
Erasmus' Annotations, p. 50).
The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation noted that "it is clear that most of Erasmus's effort and the focus of his interest over many years lay in the
Annotations" (II, p. 56). William Combs cited Erasmus as saying that the "Greek text has been added so that the reader can convince himself that the Latin translation does not contain any rash innovations, but is solidly based" (
Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal, Spring, 1996, p. 44). George Faludy stated: "The
Novum instrumentum is at variance with the
Vulgate in some four hundred instances, each of which is elucidated in the annotations" (
Erasmus, p. 161). Daniell confirmed: “In all, Erasmus made about four hundred changes to the Vulgate, every one defended in his notes” (
Bible in English, p. 117).