AN EXHORTATION TO THE DILIGENT STUDY OF SCRIPTURE

by DESIDERIUS ERASMUS in Vol. 2 No. 2 / Oct 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35285/ucc2.2.2016.art1



Lactantius Firmianus, Christian reader, whose eloquence Jerome greatly admires, endeavoring to defend the Christian religion against the pagans, sought zealously to attain an eloquence akin to that of Cicero, as he thought it presumptuous to aspire to be his equal. As for me—if wishes could avail anything, at least while I exhort mortals to the most holy and salutary study of Christian teaching [Christianae philosophiæ]—I sincerely desire another type of eloquence be given to me, far greater than ever Cicero had. ... It is better and more fitting to desire that Christ himself would tune the strings of our instrument that this song may e ectively attract and move the mind of all. To this end, we have little use for the colored arguments and conclusions of the rhetoricians, for nothing can accomplish what we desire so well as the truth itself, which is most e ective in persuasion when it is most plain.

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Other Articles in
Vol. 2 No. 2 / Oct 2016

Editorial: Freedom of Conscience: The Reformers’ and Ours by PAUL WELLS
An Exhortation to the Diligent Study of Scripture by DESIDERIUS ERASMUS
Erasmus and the Book That Changed the World Five Hundred Years Ago by DANIEL B. WALLACE
Re-Establishment of the Christian Church in Mongolia: The Mongolian Standard Version Translation by National Christians by BAYARJARGAL GARAMTSEREN
Inerrancy Is Not Enough: A Lesson in Epistemology from Clark Pinnock on Scripture by R. CARLTON WYNNE
The “Presentation” of the Infant Jesus in Luke 2:22–24 by MICHAEL C. MULDER
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