We all love Desiderius Erasmus

All evil comes from ignorance.

While being so ecstatic about the exchange programme (Oh so fucking damn COOL!) I find it appropiate to look into the patron of the Erasmus Life Learning Programme.

Gerrit Gerritszoon is more commonly known as Desiderius Erasmus. Those suit wearing officials in Brussels finally had a great idea and chose the right man to name it after. In the last two posts I tried to highlight the biggest danger that lurk in the darkness of intellectuals' minds. The tendency to let the problems be solved by the higher authority (right) and the tendency to limit oneself in just one asset of beliefs (left). Erasmus proved with his life that it is possible to get above these problems.

Ussualy when one thinks of Desiderius Erasmus, he sees an old bookwork who writes catchy phrases. He is aercieved as archetypic representative of the Reneissance times. But even if the culture of the time was a shining diamond the time itself was dark and grim. France and the Habsburgs were in the middle of the Italian Wars and Europe was to be even more divided by the birth of Protestantism.

What did our intellectual hero do? While still criticising the corruption of the rotten Catholic Church he did not leave it. Knowing that unity is a higher value and that all kinds of partitions won't do Europe any good. It's worth remembering that at a time when Europe polarised itself into two he managed to go his own way. Treating his common sense as his guide.

A lover of books. A free mind who did not want and could not serve any party. Always questioning the world he lived in and always rethinking everything a couple of times. Oh. And actually having a sense of humor. Praise of folly is still a thought moving and entertaining book!

King of cool?

But getting to the point. Sapere aude. Being able not to limit oneself to just one point of view, and if so being able to confront it with others, always questiononing what we see and what we think and admiration of free thinking should be our path. The way of Erasmus.


PS. I find it appropiate to mention one more thing connected with Desiderius. His native language was latin. He fellt than of one country. As he said himself: I am a citizen of the world, known to all and to all a stranger. I guess it's a feeling that we all, orphans of the Erasmus programme, can refer to. Just another reason for choosing Desiderius Erasmus as a patron.