Erasmus: A Critical Biography Book

My aim has been to understand Erasmus through Erasmus, to explain him by himself. This biography is neither an apology nor an indictment, but a book written in good faith, broadly open to the history of ideas and the history of mentalities. it is neither an Erasmian encyclopedia, nor a collection of monographs, but an attempt at a synthesis, an overall vision and the outline of a portrait. it is through his work that we can perceive Erasmus's intellectual and spiritual journey; and it is through reading his letters that we learn of his successes, his struggles, his ambitions and his setbacks. For this reason I have quoted him very freely in what amounts to an Erasmian anthology.