Desiderius Erasmus. By Ephraim Emerton, Ph.D. (G. P. Putnam's Sons.
6s.)—Dr. Emerton, who professes Ecclesiastical History at Harvard, judiciously defends himself against the probable objection to this inclusion of Erasmus among the " Heroes of the Reformation." He was not a hero, and he was not a friend to the Reformation. But his position is defined per contraria, as it were. The non-heroism of Erasmus (which does not by any means imply that he was a coward) and his attitude towards Luther must be fully understood if we are to understand the man. We might say that he was born out of due time. If he had lived in the period of the counter-Reformation he might have given to that movement a much-needed impulse towards light and culture. If he could have been post-dated by half a century even and taken part in the Council of Trent, the fatal mistakes which, often from sheer ignorance, that Council made might have been avoided. Dr. Emerton's book will be found a very careful and intelligent piece of work.
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