Cíinadían Joumal of History/Annales canadiennes d'histoire XLll, winter/hiver 2007

pp. 397-410, ISSN 0008-4107 © Caimdim Journal nf History

Abstract/Résumé analytique

The Uses of Res ip is cere in the Latin of Erasmus:

In the Gospels and Beyond

Brendan Cook

The siibjecl of Ihis paper is Ihe conflict over language and meaning which surrounded Erasmus of
Rotterdam's attempt to create a new Latin translation ofthe New Testament. In the ¡519 edition of
lhe Novum Instrumentum, Erasmus ctiose lo transtale a Greek verb rendered almost universally in
English as "repent " with the Latin resipiscere. In part, this was controversial simply because
Erasmus had replaced the Iradilional Latin poenitentiam agere. one the chief scriptural sanctions for
Ihe sacrament of penitence. But the debate over penitence is only a beginning. Taking contempo-
rary responses lo the transtalion as a starting point, this paper explores Ihe larger role o/resipisccre
in Erasmus's prose. In his educational works, satires, and correspondence, Erasmus employs resip-
iscere in contexts Ihat give the word a burden of meaning much broader than anything in either
medieval or classical standards of usage. Where Cicero and Livy use resipiscere to descritje a recov-
ery from an irrational state of mind or even from unconsciousness, Erasmus goes beyond this. In
Erasmus's prose, resipiscere characterizes a recovery from active deception and a process of ques-
tioning authority which tests lhe boundaries of Ihe classical usage. By comparing the range of val-
ues Erasmus bestows on resipiscere. Ihis paper demonstrates how his distinctly humanist approach
to language reflects much more than his re-evaluation of classical Latin. It sets Erasmus's use of Ihe
word in the larger context of his tendency to equate sin wilh error and refer to the teachings of Christ
as a sort of "heavenly wisdom " or "divine philosophy. "

Le sujet de cet article décrit le conflit sur ¡a langue et le sens des mots qui entoura la tentative
d'Érasme de Rotterdam de produire une nouvelle traduction du Nouveau Testament. Dans l'édition
de 1519 du Novum Instrumentum, Erasme choisit de traduire le verbe grec qui, à date avait presque
toujours été traduit en anglais par repentir, par le verbe latin resipiscere. La controverse qui
s'ensuivit découle du fait qu'Erasme avait substitué l'expression latine traditionnelle poenitentiam
agere, deux des mots les phis' importants qui avaient reçu la sanction de t'usage pour le sacrement de
pénitence. Mais ¡e débat sur la pénitence n'était que le début. Partant des réactions de l'époque à
cette traduction, nous explorons l'importance de resipiscere dans la prose d'Érasme. Dans ses écrits
pédagogiques, ses satires et sa correspondance, Érasme fait usage du mot resipiscere dans des con-
textes qui apportaient c) ce mot le fardeau d'un sens beaucoup plus large qtie n'importe quel autre
selon les nonnes d'usage médiéval ou classique. Alors que Cicerón et Tite-Live se servent du mol
resipiscere pour décrire un recouvrement d'un état d'esprit irrationnel ou même d'un évanouissement,
Érasme va encore plus loin. Dans sa prose, il se sert de resipiscere pour dépeindre un rétablisse-
ment d'une tromperie active et un processus de questionner l'autorité ce qui met à l'essai ¡es limites
de l'usage dassique du mot. En comparant ¡'étendue des valeurs qu'Érasme attribue à resipiscere,
nous démontrons comment son approche de la ¡angue, particuHèrement humaniste, va bien au-delà
de sa réévaluation du ¡atin classique. Cela place l'usage du mot par Érasme dans le contexte plus
¡arge de sa tendance à mettre sur ¡e même pied d'égalité le péché avec l'erreur et de qualifler les
enseignements du Christ d'une sorte de "sagesse cé¡este" ou de "phUosophie divine."
Canadian Journal of History/Annales canadiennes d'histoire XLIl, winter/hiver 2007
pp. 397-410, ISSN 0008-4107 © Canadian Journal of History

Brendan Cook

THE USES OF RESIPISCERE IN THE LATIN

OF ERASMUS: IN THE GOSPELS AND BEYOND

It is ati established truth, but one which bears repeating, that the definition of a
word is rarely a simple matter. Few people, whatever their theory of language,
would dare to define too precisely the range of meanings associated with a given
term. Anyone who has ever attempted to translate even a few lines will soon real-
ize the difficulty of finding a suitable equivalent for the least ambiguous word or
phrase. So it is easy to appreciate the challenge Erasmus of Rotterdam faced in
the second decade of the sixteenth century, when he attempted a fresh Latin ren-
dering of the books of the New Testament. ' Taken together, the Gospels and the
Pauline Epistles alone make up a substantial piece of writing, with more than
their share of passages that could be charitably described as less than straightfor-
ward. But even apart from this, the texts Erasmus set out to translate posed a spe-
cial problem. After generations at the center of Christian devotion, the tradition-
al versions had achieved a prestige of their own. In a culture unaware of the
Greek originals, the Latin substitute was itself sacred. To prefer a word or phrase
to the one that had satisfied Christians for generations seemed like heresy to
Erasmus's critics.
There are many examples of this, and any number of stories could he told
about the battles Erasmus fought in defense of his translations.^ But for the pres-
ent, one choice is especially interesting: his rendering of the Greek verb meta-
noein. Because of its place in several crucial biblical passages, the interpretation
of metanoein was bound up in one of the central issues of the Christian faith: the
sacrament of penance. And while this is not the end of its relevance, it is a good
place to begin exploring an especially telling example of the relationship
between Erasmus's language and thought.

' Erasmus, Novum Testamenltim, edition of 1519, facsimile provided by The Centre for
Renaissance and Reformation Studies, Victoria College, Toronto.
2 Introductions to three major controversies, with Juan Lopez Zúñiga, Jacques Lèfvre
D'Etaples, and Edward Lee, can be found in the appropriate volumes of Erasmus's complete works.
Erasmus, Apologia respondens ad ea quae lacopus Lopis Stunica laxaveral in prima dimtaxat Novi
Testamenti aedilione, in H.J. de Jonge (ed.) Erasmi opera omnia IX-2 (Amsterdam, 1983); Erasmus,
Apologia ad ¡acobum Fabriim Siapulensem, in Andrea W. Steenbeek (ed.), Erasmi opera omnia IX-
3 (Amsterdam, 1996); Erasmus, Apologia qua responde! duabus invectivis Edwardi Lei and
Responsio ad annotationes Edwardi Lei, in Erika Rummel (ed.) Erasmi opera omnia IX-4
(Amsterdam, 2003).
USES OF RESIPISCERE IN THE LATIN OF ERASMUS 399

Although the word appears in the New Testament many times, Erasmus
encountered the most opposition for his translation of metanoein in two related
places. Near the beginning of the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, it is used in the
account of the preaching of John the Baptist and of Jesus, respectively.^ Both are
said to cry out metanoeite, the imperative plural of metanoein, which English
translators since Tyndale have almost universally rendered with "repent.'"* When
Erasmus published the first edition of his translation in 1516, the accepted Latin
version was poenitentiam agite — literally "do penance" — understood for gen-
erations as one of the chief scriptural foundations for the sacrament of penance.^
By challenging this reading, Erasmus had already entered dangerous territory.-
His critics argued that he was encouraging the enemies of the church, a charge
which proved true at least to some extent. There is no question, for example, that
Martin Luther was thrilled by Erasmus's new interpretation of metanoein. He
was only too glad to hear that the word did not mean what the church had always
claimed it did; one of the greatest scriptural obstacles to his own theory, of sin
and repentance, as he saw it, had been removed.^
But apart from the theological consequences of Erasmus's translation, there
remains the purely philological question. Was Erasmus justified in concluding
that the traditional rendering, poenitentiam agere, was inadequate? What does
the Greek of the Gospels actually mean? The verb metanoein is a composite,
made up of two smaller words: meta, meaning "after," and noein, which is rough-
ly equivalent to the English "recognize" or "perceive."' At its most literal, meta-
noein suggests awareness of a mistake after the fact, the admission of wrongdo-

3 The biblical passages in question are Matthew 3:2 and 4:17 and Mark 1:15.
"^ Novum Teslamenlum, Matthew 3:2 and 4:17, and Mark 1:15. Tyndale uses "repent" in his pio-
neering translation, as does the "King James" version. The New English Bible sticks to this, but The
New American Bible has it as "reform your lives" a rendering that in some ways goes farther than
Erasmus. W.R. Cooper (ed.) and William Tyndale (trans.). The New Testament (London, 2000); and
Members of The Catholic Biblical Association of America (trans.). The Holy Bible (Authorised
Version); The New American Bible (New York, 1970).
^ Erasmus expresses his frustration with the number of people who have challenged his deci-
sion in a letter from several years later. "Here," he says, paraphrasing his critics, "Erasmus denies
penance." "Hie... Erasmus negat poenitentiam." P.S. Allen (ed.). Opus Epistolarum Des. Erasmi
Roterodanii vol I (Oxford, 1906), 843. Ei^ika Rummel identifies this criticism specifically with
Nicholaas Baechem, known in Latin as Egmondanus. Erasmus's Annotations on the New Testament,
p. 153.
* It is clear from Luther's language here that he is familiar with the arguments of Erasmus's
Annotations. "Poenitentia or metanoia, therefore, means coming to one's right mind and a compre-
hension of one's own evil after one has accepted the damage and recognized the error." Martin Luther
(eds. Gottfried G. Krodel, and Helmut Lehmann and trans. G.G. Krodel), Works, vol 48, (Philadelphia,
1963) p. 66.
' For the purpose of this essay, two separate Greek lexicons were consulted, one dealing with
Classical Greek, the other treating the idiom of the Christian scriptures: William F. Arndt and F.
Wilbur Gingrich (eds,), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Chicago, 1957); and Henry
George Littleton and Robert Scott (eds.), A Greek-English Lexicon in Three Volumes, revised and
augmented by Henry Stuart Jones (Oxford, 1937).
400 BRENDAN COOK

ing already committed.^ For this reason, the related noun, metanoia, covers many
of the same situations as the English "repentance;" remorse at recalling mis-
deeds, grief at actions past changing.^ In this much at least, poenitentiam agere
certainly appears a poor translation. It would seem, as Erasmus's rendering
implies, that the Gospels have Jesus and John the Baptist calling for men and
women to feel remorse at their enors rather than making an anachronistic
endorsement of the sacrament of penance.
But what word did Erasmus use instead? \i poenitentiam ageredid not cap-
ture the force of metanoein, what could? Erasmus acknowledges several options,
and his fmal choice was ultimately different in the 1516, 1519, and 1522 ver-
sions. In his first edition, he chose poeniteat vos, while in his notes to the next,
he considered/»oewiteOTm/.l" Both of these are derived from the same root, and
are very close to the "repent" of so many English versions. In his notes to the
1519 edition, Erasmus maintains that both words originate in pone tenendo, or
"comprehending afterwards."" He argues that words derived from this root are
appropriate as equivalents for metanoein, which draws its force from the idea of
contemplating sins already past.'^ Erasmus seems to have had this reasoning in
mind later, in thé 1522 edition, when he chose a variation slightly closer to the
Vulgate rendering: poenitentiam agite vitae prioris, or "repent of your fonner
life."'^ But in the end, none of these represents Erasmus's most controversial
choice. The most daring rendering is found in the 1519 edition. Here, Erasmus
expresses the biblical idea of repentance with a word not derived from pone
tenendo, a word that seems unusual or even inappropriate at first sight. In the sec-
ond edition of Erasmus's Novum Testamentum, the Greek original is translated
with the Latin reAÍp/.?cere.'^
Apart from anything else, the etymology of resipiscere makes it an uncon-
ventional choice. Like metanoein, it is a compound word, but the meaning sug-
gested by its constituent parts is very different. Resipiscere combines the verb

* Even as early as Homer, noein had developed a separate meaning from idein, which suggests
"seeing" in a more literal sense, as in the Homerie phrase idontes Icai noôuntes; see A Greelc-EngUsh
Lexicon in Three Vo¡umes.
' Erasmus himself typically translates metanoia as poenitentia, in Matthew 3:8, for example.
Novum Testamentum, p. 1519.
'" Erasmus's Annotations on Ihe New Testament, pp. 152-53.
" Erasmus sets this out explicitly in defending his translation. He calls it a mistake to believe
the verb is derived from poena or "punishment." "Aut quasi poenitentiae vox dicta sit a poena ae non
potius a pone tenendo, hoc est a posterius intelligendo, quemadmodum Graecis metanoia. " Opus
Epistolarum vol I, 1 : pp. 45-47..
12 Erasmus uses the same words to describe metanoia as he does the Latin pone tenendo. he
says the Greek word is synonymous with the idea of poslerius intelligendo. Erasmus, (ed.), P.F.
Hovingh Opera Omnia VI-5: Annotationes in novum testamentum pars prima (Amsterdam: Elsevier,
2000) 110, 11pp. 53-59.
'3 In some ways, poenilentiam agile vitae prioris might seem only an amended version ofthe
accepted poenilentiam agite, but it still implies the crucial action — a change from a former way of
living or thinking — that makes resipiscere controversial. Erasmus's Annotations on the New
Testament, p. 153.
'"^ Novum Testamentum, Matthew 3:2 and 4:17, and Mark 1:15. Annotationes pars prima, 110,
II. pp. 63-64.
USES OF RESIPISCERE IN THE LATIN OF ERASMUS 401

sapere, "to think, discern, or be wise," with the inchoative stem -sc, which sug-
gests a process of becoming, and the prefix re-, which implies a return to an ear-
lier state.'^ In other words, the literal meaning is "to become wise again." In clas-
sical Latin, resipiscere describes a return to one's right mind. For Cicero and
Livy, both models for humanist prose, the word can refer to recovery from insan-
ity, momentary foolishness, or even a spell of unconsciousness.'^
There is little doubt Erasmus was aware ofthis usage, and he admits that in
rendering metanoein with resipiscere, he might seem to depart from the accept-
ed understanding- of the Greek verb. He apologizes for using resipiscere, and
explores the considerations which informed his decision. Without mentioning
him by name, Erasmus appeals to arguments which seem derived from
Lactantius, one ofthe early apologists ofthe Latin Church, whose Divinae insti-
tutiones, or Divine Education, he quotes in the introduction to the first edition of
his translation, called the Novum instrumentum.^'^ Erasmus explains that resipis-
cere is an appropriate translation of metanoein because it captures the sense of
learning, of recognizing and benefiting from past mistakes implied by the Greek
word. Repentance takes place, he says, "when someone who has lapsed at last
notices his error after the fact...."'^ This recalls chapter six of the Divine
Education, where Lactantius makes a similar case for resipiscere as a translation
of metanoein:

For whoever is ashamed of his own deeds recognizes his orig-

inal error. And so the Greeks employ the better and more
meaningful metanoia where we Latins might say "recovery of
wisdom" [Lactantius uses a noun derived from resipiscere].
Whoever is ashamed of his error and snatches back his mind,
as it were from madness, recovers wisdom [the verb is resipis-
cere]; and in so doing he rebukes his own insanity and con-
firms his spirit in a more honest life.'^

" D.P. Simpson (ed.), Cassell's New Latin Diclionary, (New York, 1968). For other examples
ofthe -sc stem used in inchoative verbs, seeßorescere. adolescere. obmutescere. and the closest anal-
ogy, consanescere. As for the prefix re-, this ean be seen clearly not only in redderc or redire, but in
the words which also make use of-ic-. Like resipiseere. such words describe a return to a previous
state — repuerascere and refrigescere.
16 Ibid.
" "Lactantius" is actually the first word of Erasmus's Paraclesis, which begins with a refer-
ence to the Divine education. Erasmus, Paraclesis in Y. Délègue and J.-P. Gillet (eds. and trans.),
Novum Instrumentum (Geneva, 1990) 66, 11, pp. 1-4.
'8 "Ubi quis lapsus, re pcracta, tum demum animadvertit erratum suum...." Annotationes pars
prima. 110, II. pp. 54-55.
" "Quem enim facti sui poenitet, errorem suum pristinum intelligit. Ideoque Graeei melius et
signiflcantius metanoian dicunt, quam nos latine possumus dieere, resipiscentiam. Resipiscit enim ct
mentem suam quasi ab insania reeipit quem errati piget, castigatque se ipsum dementiae et confirmât
animum suum ad reetius vivendum...." Lactantius, (ed. Umberto Boella), Divinae institutiones,
(Florence, 1973) p. 556.
402 BRENDAN COOK

But however much Erasmus reassures his readers, the classical meaning of
resipiscere is among the least of the reasons to think twice about the application
of the word in his translation. Erasmus's rendering oí metanoein with resipiscere
is most interesting not for the associations the word may have had for Cicero or
Livy, or even Lactantius, but for Erasmus himself. It is Erasmus's own use of
resipiscere that raises the most questions. It is in the larger context of his writ-
ings that the word seems farthest from any other equivalent for metanoein,
whether the English "repent" or Erasmus's various Latin alternatives, poeniteat
vos,poeniteri, and poenitentiam agite vitae prioris. While all of these renderings
can be said to challenge traditional understandings of penance, none is as far-
reaching or rich in significance as resipiscere.
While the meaning of a word is always elusive, the best indication is situa-
tional, arising from its application. What makes resipiscere so interesting is that
Erasmus gives the word a significance which might seem out of keeping with the
biblical admonitions of John and Jesus, as well as with the classical uses of the
word. It is true on the one hand that there are many occasions where Erasmus
uses resipiscere in the senses established by Cicero, Livy, or Lactantius. But
there are also places in his writings where resipiscere describes something more
complicated than simple "repentance." Where the English "repent," like the
Greek metanoein, applies primarily to an emotional state, a feeling of grief over
mistakes long past, resipiscere is derived from sapientia or "wisdom" and has
distinctly intellectual overtones.2*^ While metanoein and "repent" both involve
the idea of feeling differently, resipiscere can also imply seeing differently or
thinking differently. In some of Erasmus's utterances, it refers to recovery not
from simple error, but from deception and misleading indoctrination. As a result,
the word Erasmus places in the mouth of Christ turns up in his fiercest denunci-
ations of contemporary attitudes. -Specifically, Erasmus uses resipiscere to
describe a process of intellectual awakening, of learning either to re-examine old
assumptions or even to question authority. This is how he employs it in a letter
written shortly after the publication of his biblical translation to one of his crit-
ics, the Dutch theologian Martin Dorp. The italicized passage is represented in
the original by resipiscere:

These men [the theologians who have opposed Erasmus]

deride Greek, Hebrew, even Latin literature, and although they
are more stupid than any swine for want of common sense,
they think that they hold a monopoly on wisdom. They all
judge, condemn, and declare their opinion: they never doubt
themselves, and are never ignorant in anything.... What could
be more insolent or more impertinent than their ignorance?
They apply all their efforts against good literature. They want
to be counted among the greatest theologians, and they live in

2" Cassell's Lalin-English Dictionary.

USES OF RESIPISCERE IN THE LATIN OF ERASMUS 403

fear that if literature is revived, and the world recognizes its

errors, it will become apparent that they do not know anything,
who once seemed ignorant in nothing.2'

It has already been admitted that Erasmus does not always apply resipiscere
in this sense. There are just as many places where he uses the word in the same
context that Lactantius did in the Divine Education, one demanding the word
"repent" in modem English. One example may be found in a letter in which he
discusses how Paul encouraged his readers to reform their lives through sincere
grief over past únP But there are at least as many places where Erasmus gives
resipiscere the same meaning that he does in the passage quoted above, a mean-
ing far more intellectual and far more subversive. When Erasmus complains
about Edward Lee, a persistent critic of his work, resipiscere is the word which
expresses his hope that Lee will realize he has been mistaken in finding fault: "If
he is an honest man, he will recognize his error...."^^ In another passage, resip-
iscere characterizes a man who no longer trusts that papal indulgences can guar-
antee his salvation.24 This is not so much "repentance" as the intellectual process
of revising deeply held convictions. It is furthermore less about feeling sorry for
wrong actions than re-evaluating what is right and wrong in the first place.
If this were the only indication of what resipiscere could mean to Erasmus,
it would be sufficient to raise questions about a translation in which he assigns
this word to Jesus and John the Baptist. But there is more to the word than this.
One of the best indications of the significance of resipiscere for Erasmus can
actually be seen in passages where he never uses it. This is because resipiscere
is a word, like the English "resurrection," "recovery," and "awakening," that can
only be understood in reference to another, related term. Whenever a word
describes a transition from one state to another, its meaning is informed as much
by the original state as by the new one. Just as "awakening" takes its meaning

2' "Isti Graecas, Hebraicas, immo et Latinas.rident litteras; et cum sint quovis sue stupidiores
ac ne sensu quidem communi praediti, putant se totius arcem tenere sapientiae. Censent omnes,
damnant, pronunciant, nihil addubitant, nusquam haerent, nihil nesciunt.... Quid enim est inscitia vel
impudentius vel pertinacius? Hi magno studio conspirant in bonas litteras. Ambiunt in senatu theol-
ogorum aliquid esse, et verentur ne, se renascantur bonae litterae et si resipiseat mundus, videantur
nihil scisse. qui antehac vulgo nihil nescire videbantur." P.S. Allen (ed.). Opus epistolarum vol II
(Oxford, 1910), 337:320-329.
22 "Ceteros per epistolas crebris minis territat, quo resipiscant, veluti non habiturus saeviendi
ius in eos qui sua sponte resipuissent." P.S. Allen (ed.). Opus epistolarum vol III. (Oxford, 1913),
916:93-94.
2^ "Tu, mi Lypsi, fac admoneas hominem ut posthac otium suum paulo melius collocet. Si
probus est, admonitus resipiscet; sin deploratae mentis, relinquito ilium suo morbo." Ibid., 843:680-
683.
2'' "Ouidam illic irridet sodalem... fatentem se cum Lutero suo sentiré indulgentias pontificias
nihil valere ac... resipiscentem." Opus epistolarum vol I, 1:286-90. It should be noted that, here,
Erasmus is speaking about an entirely hypothetical case. He is expressing anger that editors have
changed one of his colloquies, making a character who was originally merely critical of church cus-
toms into an actual supporter of Luther. The important thing is that while Erasmus is not happy with
the sentiments assigned to this character, resipiscere is the verb he uses to characterize them.
404 • BRENDAN COOK

from "sleep," "recovery" from "sickness," and "resurrection" from "death;"

resipiscere depends upon another word, one associated with the state of igno-
rance and delusion that we leave behind when we "recognize our errors."
Resipiscere derives its force from its relationship with the verb desipere. This
special connection between resipiscere and desipere is not the discovery of the
present article: it was long recognized by the philologists of the Renaissance.
Lorenzo Valla's Flegantiarum linguae Latinae, or Elegancies of the Latin
Language, a book Erasmus studied closely enough to paraphrase in 1488, treats
the two words under the same heading. In keeping with the relationship
explained above, Valla describes resipiscere entirely in terms of its opposition to
desipere.^^

Desipere, or desipiscere, means either to lack some degree of

common sense or wisdom or to be deprived of one's senses
altogether. This defect arises either from age, or disease, or
fear, or love, or any equivalent emotion. Its opposite is resipis-
cere: and often the elderly and the mad never recover [here
Valla's Latin is resipiscere\ Others, however, usually recover
[again resipiscere], which is to say that tbey return to their old
state of mind, or even to a better one. Terence writes: "I count
myself far the most fortunate of all men, my son, in that I see
you have recovered your senses {resipiscere is used once
more]."26

There is little doubt that Erasmus admired Valla's grasp of Latin usage — slavish
adherence to Valla's doctrines is one of Dorp's accusations —so it is worth
exploring desipere in order to shed light on resipiscere.^'^ If Erasmus reads the
latter as the word for recovery, the fonner characterizes the illness, the state of
delusion which Christ tells humanity to leave behind when he cries resipiscite.
Some ofthe applications Erasmus gives desipere are ofthe kind Valla men-
tions in the Elegantiarum. It is a word to characterize senility, insanity, and other

25 This Paraphrasis seu potius epitome in Elegantiarum libros Laurentii Vallae was later pub-
lished; without Erasmus's involvement in 1529 and under his supervision in 1531. Charles Trinkhaus,
"Lorenzo Valla," in Peter G. Bietenholz'and Thomas B. Deutscher (eds.), Contemporaries of
Erasmus: A Bibliographical register ofthe Renaissance and Reformation, (Toronto, 2003).
2* "Desipio, sive desipisco significat, vel quod aliquid a communi sensu, sapientiaque minus
habeo, vel quod a meo sensu destituor. Quod fere vitium aut ex aetate venit, aut ex morbo, aut timo-
re, aut amore, aut simili aliquo affecto. Cuius contrarium est resipiscere: et senes quidem iam
dementes nusquam resipiscunt, caeteri autem resipiscere, id est, ad priorem mentis statum vel ad
meliorem mentem redire soient. Terentius: 'multo omnium me fortunatissimum puto esse, gnate,
quum te intelligo resipuisse.'" Lorenzo Valla, Elegantiarum linguae Latinae tibri sex in Opera
omnia, reprint ofthe Basel edition of 1540 with an introduction by Eugenio Garin (Turin, 1962), pp.
161-62.
USES OF REStPtSCERE IN THE LATIN OF ERASMUS 405

common forms of delusion.28 But it also has a more subtle and perhaps more rad-
ical application. Over and over, Erasmus uses desipere to describe people who
are not merely senile or crazy, but who hold mistaken attitudes, who stick to
unexamined prejudice, or who have been actively deceived by those in positions
of trust. He applies it to the ancient philosophers who advanced erroneous
notions of human happiness, to contemporaries who misjudge or mistreat him.29
Like the word Valla joins to it, Erasmus's desipere has explicitly intellectual
overtones. It does not characterize simple sin any more than resipiscere routine-
ly describes what the English language calls "repentance."
And if this relationship with desipere were not enough, it is interesting to
observe that Erasmus also associates resipiscere with another Latin word, one
equally vital to his thought: stultus, or "fool." In defending his choice of resipis-
cere for the Gospels' metanoein, Erasmus appeals to the fact that the Greek word
also has an association with delusion and folly.^" He refers to a Homeric proverb
that calls the related noun metanoia "the wisdom of fools [the noun is stultus]."^^
While the wise avoid mistakes in the first place, the foolish must feel the painful
consequences of their choices before correcting themselves. "For when we are
heedless in taking action," Erasmus says, clarifying why he feels the original
Greek is best expressed by resipiscere, "we become aware too late, admonished
by our own suflFering."^^ i^ ^jg collection of ancient maxims, the Adagia,
Erasmus includes a number of phrases which also expand on this thought, asso-
ciating metanoia with the idea of folly giving way to hard-won wisdom. One
such aphorism declares that "judgment is begotten in men through repentance
[the original word is metanoia]."^^ Another refers to the insight that springs from
feeling the consequences of our actions, while one simple proverb might perfect-

28 "Id dictum est in senes aetatis vitio disipiscentes, tamquani iterum in pueritiani revolutos."
"...non quod senes aetatis eulpa desipiscant..." These statements appear in the explication of the
adage "dis paides hoi gerontes — bis pueri senes." Its English meaning is roughly that the old are
children for the second time. M.L. van Poll-van de Lisdonk, M. Mann, and Chr. Robinson (eds.),
Opera qmnia tt-I: Adagiorum chilias prima (New York, 1993) [hereafter cited as Adagiorum'] 509,
II. 805-806 and 510, II. 834-835.
29 "Niinium etiam dissipiunt qui in rebus ipsis felicitatem hominis sitam esse existimant."
Erasmus, (ed. Clarence H. Miller), Möriae encomium in Opera omnia IV-3 (Amsterdam, 1979) 130,
11. 96-97. "Quamquam vir is in hoc non usquequaque disipit, quod sapientis cognomen non agnoscit
atque ipsi deo rescribit." Moriae encomium, 98, 11. 480-481. "...nisi quod hi non usque adeo desipi-
unt ut in se quisque dictum existiment quod in genere dictum sit in malos." Opus epislolarum vol tt,
337:284-285.
^^ Annolationes pars prima, 110, II. 53-64.
3' "...quae iuxta proverbium Homericum prudentia stultorum est." Annotaliones pars prima,
110, I. 54.
32 "...quum socordes in re peragenda, sero incipimus esse attenti, iam admoniti nostris malis."
110,11.58-59.
33 "He de metanoia gignet' anthropois krisis — tum iudicant homines, ubi iam poenitet."
Adagiorum, 143, II. 954-955.
406 ÖRENDAN COOK

ly sum up Erasmus's idea of the relationship between folly and repentance:

"After he suffers harm, the fool [stultus] is wise."^''
This association is important because stultus is a word Erasmus uses along-
side desipere in some of his fiercest critical passages, when he most aggressive-
ly attacks contemporary values. If Erasmus chooses resipiscere to express the
call to repentance, stultus and desipere are his favorite words for describing what
must be repented. This will be apparent at once to anyone who opens The Praise
of Folly, Erasmus's satirical catalogue of contemporary errors. Desipere, stultus,
and stultitia show up here again and again as, respectively, the verb, substantive
noun, and abstract noun that embody the Erasmian idea of error — with approx-
imate English meanings "to be foolish," "fool," and "folly." And while some of
Erasmus's applications are fairly conventional, involving the elderly and the
insane, all three words show up in more controversial places, where ignorance
seems less innocent than stubborn and deliberate: from the excesses of popular
religion to the prejudice of contemporary scholars.-'^ The words characterize not
only simple people who venerate the saints beyond reason, but also learned the-
ologians who waste ink on useless inquiries.^^ In The Praise of Folly, desipere,
stultus, ana stultitia comprehend not only minor vices, but even those practices
Erasmus counts among the worst abuses of his day.
If for Erasmus, desipere and the words related to it describe the ignorance of
his contemporaries, and resipiscere represents a recovery from this condition, the
next question is only natural. Does Erasmus feel that the Christian call to repen-
tance applies to his contemporaries, or to contemporary problems? When Jesus
and John the Baptist cry out resipiscite in the 1519 Novum Testamentum, does
this include the simple minded worshiper of saints, the pernicious scholar, the
believer in papal indulgences? What is elear is that Erasmus's contemporaries
consider all of the words mentioned in the last paragraphs, especially resipiscere
and desipere, extremely provocative. It is interesting, to give only one example,
to see how Dorp responded to the use of resipiscere in the letter quoted above.
His answer is relevant, not only because Dorp also sees a logical connection
between desipere and resipiscere, but because he fmds the implications offen-
sive. The fact that Erasmus can say "if the world recognizes its errors" suggests

^'l "Malo accepto stultus sapit." Adagiorum, 144, I. 31. "kakoi gar engus emanthanen — nam
didicit affinis malo." This latter adage can be translated as follows. "Close experience of suffering
instructed Km." Adagionim, 142, II. 949-950.
35 "At isti iam délirant, inquiunt, iam disipiunt. Esto sane, sed istuc ipsum est repuerascere. An
vero aliud est puerum esse quam delirare, quam desipere?" Moriae encomium, 82, 11. 208-209. "Sed
vicissim insanus insanum ridet ac mutuam sibi voluptatem invicem ministrant... Verum hoc quisque
felicior, quo pluribus desipit modis." Ibid. 118, 11. 903-906.
3^ "Hiis rursum adfines sunt ii, qui sibi stultam quidem, sed tamen iucundam persuasionem
induerunt, ut si ligneum aut pictum aliquem Polyphemum Christophorum aspexerint, eo die non sint
perituri..." ibid. 122, II. 961-963. "Audivi ipsa quendam eximie stultum — erravi, doctum volebam
dicere — qui in coneione celebérrima divinae triadis mysterium explicaturus, quo et doctrinan! suam
non vulgärem ostentaret et teologicis satisfaceret auribus, nova prorsus ingressus est via..." ibid. 164,
11.598-601.
USES OF RESIPISCERE IN THE LATIN OF ERASMUS 407

to Dorp that "the world" has errors to recognize. If resipiscere is .the word
Erasmus uses to describe what must happen, Dorp takes it as granted that
desipere characterizes the world's current condition.

But if the world recognizes its errors [here Dorp quotes

Erasmus's use oí resipiscere] it will become apparent that they
[the theologians] do not know anything, who until now desired
to appear ignorant in nothing. Then do you really think,
Erasmus, that the whole world is now deluded [the original
verb is

While Erasmus did not respond to this letter — answering it fell to his friend
Thomas More — it is interesting to imagine his reply. Erasmus uses desipere so
consistently to describe the follies ofthe world that it is impossible to see how
he could have denied Dorp's allegation. Granting that not everything in The
Praise of Eolly can be taken equally seriously, the satirical oration actually
includes a place where Erasmus says just what Dorp implies, remarking that "the
greater part of humanity is deluded [desipere is the verb here]."^^ Regardless of
whether it is accurate, and Dorp implies it is not, there is little doubt that the
statement "the whole world is now deluded" would be a fair expression of
Erasmus's opinion.
As for the question which follows from this, whether Christ's exhortation
resipiscite actually applies to the contemporary examples of delusion Erasmus
catalogues, this is relatively easy to answer. It involves what is perhaps the sin-
gle most important theme of Erasmian humanism. If there is one message that
Erasmus drives home more consistently than any other, it is the relevance of
Christian precepts to contemporary problems. This is so ubiquitous in his output
that it is almost unnecessary to point out a specific example. Whether in relative-
ly mild didactic works like The Education of a Christian Prince or the savage
satire of The Praise of Eolly and the Julius exchisus, Erasmus insists on con-
fronting the reality of contemporary life with the spirit of Christian revelation.
This is at work when he sets Christ against Aristotle, Averroes, Scotus, and the
other heroes of the prevailing theology; when he compares the monastic orders
to the Pharisees and Sadducees ofthe Gospels; or when he places Julius II face
to face with St. Peter at the gates of heaven in Julius exclusus.^^ In The Praise of
Eolly, Erasmus actually asks what would happen if Christ descended to earth —

37 "Sed si mundus resipiscal, videbuntur nihil scire qui hactenus nihil nescire videri volunt.
Ergo vel mundus ipse totus nunc disipit tua, Erasme, sententia?" Opu.S' epislolanim vol II, 347:57-60.
3" "Propterea quod maxima pars hominum desipit..." Moriae encomium. 92, I. 394,
3' Erasmus, Paraclesis, 70, II. 43-47; Moriae encomium. 161-162, 11. 471-577; Julius exclusus
in Wallaee K. Ferguson (ed.), Erasmi opuscula (The Hague, 1933).
408 . BRENDAN COOK

what would he say about the condition of the modem world?'*^ Over and over,
Erasmus confronts the teachings of Christ not merely with the sins, but with the
errors, the madness, and the moral confusion of his own age. He betrays no doubt
that Christ's call for the world to "recognize its errors" applies to the ignorance,
fanaticism, and delusion that gripped the Europe of his time.
In this sense, Erasmus's preference for resipiscere over both the Vulgate's
poenitentiam agere and the less problematic/loew/ier/ is borne out in his attitude
towards the age in which he lived. It arises naturally from his belief in the power
of Christian revelation to educate and improve. One of Erasmus's favourite
descriptions of Christ is magister, or "teacher," and he often writes about some-
thing he calls "the philosophy of Christ."^' What he means by this phrase is far
from certain, and it is surely no simple expression; but what is clear is that
Erasmus's Christ is not merely a savior, but also an instructor, even an educator,
albeit of a truly exceptional sort. "A teacher so great," he writes at one point, "did
not descend from heaven to earth to bring the world some ordinary, easy philos-
ophy. "^^ While consistently stressing its extraordinary nature, Erasmus always
insists on the educational applications of Christ's message. He takes every oppor-
tunity to praise "this new and remarkable type of philosophy," which as he says,
paraphrasing St. Paul, is "so marvelous that it renders foolish the wisdom of this
world."43
It should be emphasized here that this does not mean Erasmus chose resip-
iscere in the 1519 Novum Testamentum merely from considerations such as
these. There is no reason to doubt him when he says that he really felt it was the
best rendering for metanoein. But it is also clear that the implications of this
choice were far from unwelcome. The notion of Christ as teacher, as someone
who calls human beings not merely to repentance but to wisdom, who leads them
away not only from sin but also from error is too much a part of his attitude for
it to be otherwise. Even the very translation of the New Testament that began the
controversy over resipiscere can be seen as a reflection of this idea. It is precise-
ly because Erasmus believed that the Christian revelation is a sort of divine doc-
trine, one essential in leading humanity out of delusion and misdirection, that he

'"' Specifically, Erasmus asks what Christ would say about contemporary monastic orders. He .
implies that Jesus would compare them to the Jews who, in one of Erasmus's favourite characterisa-
tions, placed obedience to a code of rules over inner piety. "At Christus, interpellatis numquam alio-
qui finlendis gloriis, undenam hoc, inquiet, novum Iudaeorum genus?" Encomium moriae, 162, II.
169-170. .
'•I "...sanctissimum ac saluberrimum Christianae phijosophiae Studium." Paraclesis, 66, II. 5-6.
This term shows up in many places in Erasmus' writing, but an outstanding example is his use of the
word in the Paraclesis to the Novum Testamenlum. This is also where Erasmus explicitly compares
Christ to secular "philosophers." Ibid., 70, II. 43-47 and 52-55.
"•^ "Nee tantus magister e coelo descendit in terras, ut faeilem aliquam aut vulgärem philosophi-
am traderet mortalibus." Julius exclusus, 120, II. 1108-1110.
"•^ "Novum et admirabile sapientiae genus... tam eximiufn ut semel stultam reddiderit huius
mundi sapientiam."
USES OF RESIPtSCERE IN THE LATIN OF ERASMUS ' 409

wanted an effective translation.'*'* To have any value, a teacher must be under.-

stood, and even the most sublime philosophy must be rendered accurately to con-
fer any benefits. So in trying to correct old errors and clarify obscure meanings,
Erasmus is actually assisting in the very process of recovery that he feels Christ
demands in the Gospels and which his own age dearly needs.
There is probably no better example, either of Erasmus's characteristic use
of resipiscere or of his insistence on the contemporary relevance of Christian
teaching, than the eloquent appeal he published two years after the first edition
of his New Testament translation: The Complaint of Peace. Not only does The
Complaint of Peace provide a magnificent example of Erasmus's use of resipis-
cere, it is also one of his most moving indictments ofthe gap between Christian
precepts and contemporary conduct. In inquiring how the followers of a pacific
religion can make war on one another, Erasmus touches on a more basic prob-
lem. He identifies the tragic disjunction between principle and practice, between
what Christ has ordained and what his current-day disciples actually do.

All the Christian scriptures preach nothing but peace and una-
nimity, but the life of every Christian is consumed in nothing
. but war.... Why should they not either cease to glory in the
title of Christians or learn to express the harmony of Christian
teaching? How long will their life be at odds with their name?
...And does this not ashame priests, whom God did not wish,
even of old in the bloody and inclement law of Moses to be
polluted with human gore? Does it not ashame the theologians,
the teachers of the Christian life? Does it not ashame those
who have made vows of perfect religion? Does it not ashame
bishops, cardinals, even the self-same vicars of Christ that they
are the authors and instigators ofthe very thing Christ so great-
ly despised?'*^

But above all else. The Complaint of Peace is significant for how it ends, for
the conclusion Erasmus gives this extended meditation on the conflict between

*^ Here too, Erasmus invokes Christ's status as a "philosopher" in justifying his work in the
Paractesis. not just explicitly, but implicitly in the comparisons he makes with secular philosophers.
"Nam quorsum attinet hie contentione rem exaggerare, cuiii hoc ipsum impiae cuiusdam dementiae
sit, Christum cum Zenone aut Aristotele, et huius doctrinam, cum illorum, ut modestissime dicam,
praeceptiunculis conferre velle?" Paraclesis. 70, II. 52-55.
"•5 "Omnes Çhristianorum litterae... nihil aliud quam pacem et unanimitatem crêpant et omnis
Christianorum vitam nihil aliud quam bella tractât... Quin potius aut Çhristianorum titulo gloriari
desinant aut Christi doctrinam exprimant concordia? Quousque vitam pugnabit cum nomine?
...Immo ne sacerdotes quidem ipsos pudet, quos olim Deus nee in sanguinaria illa et inclementi lege
Moysi voluit ullo sanguine pollui; non pudet theologos Christianae vitae magistros, non pudet abso-
lutae religionis professores, non pudet episcopos, non pudet cardinales et Christi vicarios eius rei auc-
tores ac faces esse, quain Christus tantopere detestatus est? Querela pads, in O. Herding (ed.), Opera
omnia ¡V-2 (Amsterdam, 1979) 75-76, II. 632-642 and 82, II. 476-481, 487-488, and 484-485.
410 BRENDAN GOOK

Christian ideal and reality. If a word is best understand through its application,
The Complaint of Peace holds the key to the all the values Erasmus invests in
resipiscere. Here Erasmus presents concrete and specific examples of the errors
which the greatest of all teachers has implored humanity to forsake. There is no
coincidence in how Erasmus concludes his list of the follies and atrocities of his
contemporaries, all the instances of their failure to live according to the divine
teachings of "Christian philosophy." Erasmus deliberately closes his litany of
abuses against the spirit of Christian wisdom with the very word, indeed the
same imperative plural, that he had seen fit a few years previously to place in the
mouth of Christ. In the following translation, the final word is left in the original
Latin.

At last! Enough and more than enough blood has been spilled,
human blood, and if that were little, even Christian blood.
Enough has been squandered in mutual destruction, enough
already sacrificed to Orcus and the furies and to nourish the
eyes of the Turks. The comedy is at an end. Finally, after tol-
erating far too long the miseries of war,

Bom in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Brendan Gook earned a B.A. and an

M.A. in History at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. Now a
doctoral candidate at the University of Toronto, Brendan expects to finish
his dissertation, which deals .with Italian influence in Thomas More's
Utopia, by the end of 2008. This is his first published article.

^^. "Eia satis iam superque fusum est, Ghristiani, si parum est humani sanguinis, satis in mutua
debacchatum exitia, satis hactenus Furiis Orcoque libatum, satis diu quae Turcarum pascat oculos.
Acta est fabula. Saltem aliquando post nimium diu toleratas bellorum miserias resipiscite." Querela
pads, 85, II, 863-867.