The life story of the fifteenth century Dutch philosopher Erasmus of Rotterdam spins on the conflict between conciliation and hawkish aggression in the battle between Erasmus the mediator and Luther the militant.
Stefan Zweig's portrait of Erasmus shows him as the first major humanist and first person to talk about a unified Europe. Zweig, author of 'The Praise of Folly', plays an even hand, approving of Erasmus's humanity but calling him out for not trying to find a third way, to avoid bloodshed and violence.
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