Erasmus, Man of Letters by Jardine Lisa; Jardine Lisa;

Author:Jardine, Lisa; Jardine, Lisa;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2015-04-14T04:00:00+00:00

21. Title page of the Epistolae D. Erasmi Roterodami ad diuersos (Basle, 1521).

By definition, the letter makes the absent vividly present in writing. Unlike the classic oration or the classic declamation, which are oral, the letter is, necessarily and from the outset, written. Published, printed letters provide a virtuoso performance, which is not (like the surviving orations of Cicero or Demosthenes) a written record of an oral presentation, but an original text. There is little doubt that in his own correspondence, Erasmus plays out all possibilities for exploiting the unique version of presence, performance, and originality which are peculiar to the letter. And on top of the individual ‘absent presence’ which the letter offers, it also makes possible a vivid fiction of a real ‘world’, a ‘world of learning’ demarcated by the reach of Erasmus’s dense and prolific correspondence. The ‘world’ thus held together by the bonds of epistolary exchanges which affirm the ‘friendship’ of writer and recipient is one which is not equivalent to a single institution, or even a single nation. The published letter crosses physical and ideological boundaries, to link separated individuals with shared educational agendas. All their distinctive differences are overlooked; what is specified is the affection implicit in a shared project pursued with intensity—that most cherished of classical bonds (amicitia) which ensures communication and understanding.

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