Collected Works of Erasmus, Vol. 72: Controversies.

Laila Abdalla is an associate professor of English at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington, and former professor at McGill University.

Collected Works of Erasmus (CWE) is a series which aims “to make available an accurate, readable English text of Erasmus’ principal writings.” Erasmus, perhaps the lead humanist of the early modern period, was a prolific writer, and to date 48 CWE volumes exist, with more than 40 others in preparation. Volume 72, subtitled Controversies, includes the annotated translation of two texts by Erasmus, the delightfully titled Apologia which is neither arrogant nor biting nor angry nor aggressive, and which responds to the two invectives of Edward Lee and a collection of responses to Lee’s criticisms.

Edward Lee was an English diplomat and churchman. When Erasmus re-translated into Latin the Greek version of the New Testament, he made innovations to the Vulgate. As a humanist, Erasmus’s choices were underscored by “philological considerations” and influenced by his massive learning. Hoping to prevent the derision of “traditionalists,” Erasmus attempted to court Lee’s favour by sending him the pre-publication text for feedback. Lee, in his turn, endeavoured to respond civilly to Erasmus’s modernizations, but the debate turned acrimonious and resulted in polemical writings. Lee’s texts are non-extant, but Erasmus’s two responses suggest what they contained. Lee seemed concerned that Erasmus’s translation challenged the numinous “principal of inspiration” and “undermined the traditions of the church.” Erasmus’s Apologia defends his choices and himself against Lee’s accusations that he had made oblique slanderous references to Lee. The Responsio responds to each of Lee’s 268 or so criticisms. The controversy lasted from 1517–20.

Erasmus is an amusing and eloquent writer and, furthermore, a learned man. As such, his prose is readable, and his often-convincing argumentation is complex yet easy to follow. Erika Rummel’s translation is well rendered and smooth, and Istvan Bejczy’s annotations provide context and cross-references to Erasmus’s other works. The volume also provides a helpful introduction to explain the controversy, a short discussion of Erasmus’s New Testament translation, a list of the biblical passages Lee believed Erasmus translated erroneously (aligned with the number of the note which criticized it and the volume’s page number which contains Erasmus’ response), and several indexes. This is an excellent text.