ERASMUS

by Arent van Santhorst

The Netherlands has always been famed as a classic country of liberty. The people of Holland were the first in Europe who dared to say "Yes" to God but "No" to Rome and to the House of Hapsburg.

But a hundred years before, on October 24th of the year 1466, an illustrious son of Holland was born who dared to make ridiculous all that was venerable in the eyes of the clergy and honorable in the eyes of the worldly authorities and who whipped their narrow stupidity mercilessly. His name was Geert Geertsen (Gerard, son of Gerard) and he was the illegal son of a Roman Catholic priest and of Margaret, the daughter of a physician. "Geert" being a part of the Dutch word "begeerte" (desire), he translated his name as Desiderius Erasmus, the Latin word for the Dutch verb "begeeren" (desire) being "desiderare" and the Greek translation being "erazein."

Erasmus first attended school at Gouda where his father was priest, but while still a mere child he was sent to Utrecht to fill a place in the choir of the Cathedral. He was next removed to a famous school, that of the "Brothers of the Common Life" at Deventer at the age of nine years.

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