Desiderius Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, social critic, teacher, and theologian...
NationalityDutch
ProfessionPhilosopher
Date of Birth26 October 1466
wisdom kings men
In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
mind body wedlock
The wedlocks of minds will be greater than that of bodies.
men village six
The Jewish usurers are fast-rooted even in the smallest villages, and if they lend five gulden they require a security of six times as much. They charge interest, upon interest, and upon this again interest, so that the poor man loses everything that he owns.
grief men
Time takes away the grief of men.
wind belly
Retain the wind by compressing the belly.
sweet peace war
War is sweet to those who have not experienced it.
sleep remember exquisite
Before you sleep, read something that is exquisite, and worth remembering.
giving advice
Don't give your advice before you are called upon.
life wise laughter
As an example of just how useless these philosophers are for any practice in life there is Socrates himself, the one and only wise man, according to the Delphic Oracle. Whenever he tried to do anything in public he had to break off amid general laughter. While he was philosophizing about clouds and ideas, measuring a flea's foot and marveling at a midge's humming, he learned nothing about the affairs of ordinary life.
knowledge delay height
You must acquire the best knowledge first, and without delay; it is the height of madness to learn what you will later have to unlearn.
dog culture bones
Do not put chewed bones back on plates. Instead, throw them on the floor for the dog.
sweet dog hunting
They take unbelievable pleasure in the hideous blast of the hunting horn and baying of the hounds. Dogs dung smells sweet as cinnamon to them.
wise intelligent men
Ask a wise man to dinner and he'll upset everyone by his gloomy silence or tiresome questions. Invite him to a dance and you'll have a camel prancing about. Haul him off to a public entertainment and his face will be enough to spoil the people's entertainment.
names brain pieces
...it is a sneaking piece of cowardice for authors to put feigned names to their works, as if, like bastards of their brain, they were afraid to own them.