Erasmus on lasting peace

Never, however, will we obtain concord if each man tries to hold stubbornly to his own opinion; nor will there ever be a firm, long-lasting peace if it is not sealed with true and solid reasoning. Nothing will last that is patched up with terror and threats, nor can anything endure which is woven of human tricks and devious counsels.

~ Desiderius Erasmus, Forward to the Third Edition, The Latin New Testament (1522)

Erasmus on arrogance and ignorance

Human wisdom has its own sort of arrogance, but so does human ignorance, and it is no less conceited than the other.

~ Desiderius Erasmus, Forward to the Third Edition, The Latin New Testament (1522)

Erasmus on war and Christianity

If we want to convert the (Muslims) to Christianity, let us first convert ourselves. They will never believe our teachings if they see that nowhere else does the practice most abominated by Christ rage more fiercely than among those who call themselves Christians.

~ Desiderius Erasmus, The Complaint of Peace (1517)

Erasmus on social engineering

Let rulers reflect that in his own eyes every man's cause seems good while hope bends on him a flattering smile; especially when his object is none of the best, his concern for it makes him think it flawless and so leads him astray.

~ Desiderius Erasmus, The Complaint of Peace (1517)

Erasmus on war

If you think a republic is tottering when the worst men in it have most power, in wartime it is the worst scoundrels who seize authority. The men who in peacetime you would haul to the gallows find their chosen careers in war.

~ Desiderius Erasmus, The Complaint of Peace (1517)

Erasmus on war and the priesthood

Priests consecrated to God should have nothing to do with war except to deplore it. If they speak against it with a single voice, if under all circumstances they always deliver the same message, there seems little doubt that their united authority will have some effect.

~ Desiderius Erasmus, The Complaint of Peace (1517)

Erasmus on war

... since wars are so easy to start but so hard to finish, they are never more dangerous than when taken without the enthusiastic support of the entire people.

~ Desiderius Erasmus, The Complaint of Peace (1517)