Kirjahaku

Nicholas of Cusa (1401–1464), thinker, polymath, and cardinal, had a long-standing interest in Islam. To date, however, no work has satisfactorily dealt with his volatile attitude towards the Islamic faith and the Ottoman Turks. This book revisits Nicholas of Cusa’s attitude towards Islam, criticizing previous work that has overlooked Cusa’s involvement in preparations for a crusade, and the significance of Cusa’s polemical A Scrutiny of the Koran (Cribratio Alkorani) of 1461. The book also addresses the prevailing image of Cusa as a dove of peace and champion of interreligious dialogue, and suggests an alternative and more complex picture which takes account of Cusa’s crusading activities and his attitude towards Muslims and Jews. A significant new study, Nicolas of Cusa and Mohammed will appeal to students and scholars interested in the Renaissance, Humanism, church–state relations, the history of the crusades, and Nicholas of Cusa’s life and works. "Nathan Ron sets the record straight about Nicholas of Cusa as so-called pioneer of ‘inter-religious dialogue’ based on a close reading of the irenic Peace of Faith and the polemical Scrutiny of the Koran, together with his role in mounting a crusade for Pope Pius II." —Gerald Christianson, Professor Emeritus of Church History, United Lutheran Seminary, Gettysburg; Past President, American Cusanus Society "Nicholas of Cusa often is presented as a champion of interreligious dialogue. This book rightly brings to the fore Cusanus’ often harsh polemic against Islam and his role in Pius II’s crusade against the Turks." —Thomas Izbicki, Humanities librarian emeritus, Rutgers University

This book investigates how Erasmus viewed non-Christians and different races, including Muslims, Jews, the indigenous people of the Americas, and Africans. Nathan Ron argues that Erasmus was devoted to Christian Eurocentrism and not as tolerant as he is often portrayed. Erasmus’ thought is situated vis-à-vis the thought of contemporaries such as the cosmographer and humanist Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini who became Pope Pius II; the philosopher, scholar, and Cardinal, Nicholas of Cusa; and the Dominican missionary and famous defender of the Native Americans, Bartolomé Las Casas. Additionally, the relatively moderate attitude toward Islam which was demonstrated by Michael Servetus, Sebastian Franck, and Sebastian Castellio is analyzed in comparison with Erasmus’ harsh attitude toward Islam/Turks.

This book investigates how Erasmus viewed non-Christians and different races, including Muslims, Jews, the indigenous people of the Americas, and Africans. Nathan Ron argues that Erasmus was devoted to Christian Eurocentrism and not as tolerant as he is often portrayed. Erasmus’ thought is situated vis-à-vis the thought of contemporaries such as the cosmographer and humanist Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini who became Pope Pius II; the philosopher, scholar, and Cardinal, Nicholas of Cusa; and the Dominican missionary and famous defender of the Native Americans, Bartolomé Las Casas. Additionally, the relatively moderate attitude toward Islam which was demonstrated by Michael Servetus, Sebastian Franck, and Sebastian Castellio is analyzed in comparison with Erasmus’ harsh attitude toward Islam/Turks.

This book is a sequel to Nathan Ron's Erasmus and the “Other.” Should we consider Erasmus an involved or public intellectual alongside figures such as Machiavelli, Milton, Locke, Voltaire, and Montesquieu? Was Erasmus really an independent intellectual? In Ron's estimation, Erasmus did not fully live up to his professed principles of Christian peace. Despite the anti-war preaching so eminent in his writings, he made no stand against the warlike and expansionist foreign policies of specific European kings of his era, and even praised the glory won by Francis I on the battlefield of Marignano (1515). Furthermore, in the face of Henry VIII’s execution of his beloved Thomas More and John Fisher, and the atrocities committed by the Spanish against indigenous peoples in the New World, Erasmus preferred self-censorship to expressions of protest or criticism and did not step forward to reproach kings of their misdeeds or crimes.

This book explores Erasmus's ethnic and gender prejudices. It does not in any way seek to undermine the esteem in which Erasmus is generally held, as a prince of the humanists; it is rather a consideration of common early modern prejudices. The book’s principal innovation is the use of Erasmus’s commentaries on thousands of Greek and Roman proverbs (his adagia) as a source for examining Erasmus’s worldview. Researchers have often considered the adages as not voicing or reflecting Erasmus’s views, and as such have chosen to ignore them. However, this book shows that Erasmus occasionally expresses his opinions through the adages, giving us an invaluable window into his worldview. An Analysis of Gender and Ethnic Prejudices in Erasmus's Adagia and Other Writings is essential reading for all scholars and researchers of early modern philosophy and intellectual history especially those researching the thought of Erasmus.