Erasmus performed his most important service as a Biblical
critic. In 1516 A.D. he published the New Testament in the original Greek, with
a Latin translation and a dedication to the pope. Up to this time the only
accessible edition of the New Testament was the old Latin version known as the
Vulgate, which St. Jerome had made near the close of the fourth century. By
preparing a new and more accurate translation, Erasmus revealed the fact that
the Vulgate contained many errors. By printing the Greek text, together with
notes which helped to make the meaning clear, Erasmus enabled scholars to
discover for themselves just what the New Testament writers had actually said.
[14]
[14] The so-called Complutensian Polyglott, issued
at Alcalá in Spain by Cardinal Jimenes, did even more for the advance of
Biblical scholarship. This was the first printed text of the Greek New
Testament, but it was not actually published till 1522 A.D., six years after
the appearance of the edition by Erasmus.
HUMANISM AND THE REFORMATION
Erasmus as a student of the New Testament carried humanism
over into the religious field. His friends and associates, especially in
Germany, continued his work. "We are all learning Greek now," said
Luther, "in order to understand the Bible." Humanism, by becoming the
handmaid of religion, thus passed insensibly into the Reformation.
