Besides all this, Nature hath endued man with knowledge of liberal sciences and a fervent desire of knowledge: which thing as it doth most specially withdraw man's wit from all beastly wildness, so hath it a special grace to get and knit together love and friendship. For I dare boldly say, that neither affinity nor yet kindred doth bind the minds of men together with straiter and surer bands of amity, than doth the fellowship of them that be learned in good letters and honest studies.
And above all this, Nature hath divided among men by a marvellous variety the gifts, as well of the soul as of the body, to the intent truly that every man might find in every singular person one thing or other, which they should either love or praise for the excellency thereof; or else greatly desire and make much of it, for the need and profit that cometh thereof. Finally she hath endowed man with a spark of a godly mind: so that though he see no reward, yet of his own courage he delighteth to do every man good: for unto God it is most proper and natural, by his benefit, to do everybody good. Else what meaneth it, that we rejoice and conceive in our minds no little pleasure when we perceive that any creature is by our means preserved.
Moreover God hath ordained man in this world, as it were the very image of himself, to the intent, that he, as it were a god on earth, should provide for the wealth of all creatures. And this thing the very brute beasts do also perceive, for we may see, that not only the tame beasts, but also the leopards, lions, and other more fierce and wild, when they be in any great jeopardy, they flee to man for succour. So man is, when all things fail, the last refuge to all manner of creatures. He is unto them all the very assured altar and sanctuary.
I have here painted out to you the image of man as well as I can. On the other side (if it like you) against the figure of Man, let us portray the fashion and shape of War.
Now, then, imagine in thy mind, that thou dost behold two hosts of barbarous 10 people, of whom the look is fierce and cruel, and the voice horrible; the terrible and fearful rustling and glistering of their harness and weapons; the unlovely murmur of so huge a multitude; the eyes sternly menacing; the bloody blasts and terrible sounds of trumpets and clarions; the thundering of the guns, no less fearful than thunder indeed, but much more hurtful; the frenzied cry and clamour, the furious and mad running together, the outrageous slaughter, the cruel chances of them that flee and of those that are stricken down and slain, the heaps of slaughters, the fields overflowed with blood, the rivers dyed red with man's blood. And it chanceth oftentimes, that the brother fighteth with the brother, one kinsman with another, friend against friend; and in that common furious desire ofttimes one thrusteth his weapon quite through the body of another that never gave him so much as a foul word.
Verily, this tragedy containeth so many mischiefs, that it would abhor any man's heart to speak thereof. I will let pass to speak of the hurts which are in comparison of the other but light and common, as the treading down and destroying of the corn all[244] about, the burning of towns, the villages fired, the driving away of cattle, the ravishing of maidens, the old men led forth in captivity, the robbing of churches, and all things confounded and full of thefts, pillages, and violence. Neither I will not speak now of those things which are wont to follow the most happy and most just war of all.
The poor commons pillaged, the nobles overcharged; so many old men of their children bereaved, yea, and slain also in the slaughter of their children; so many old women destitute, whom sorrow more cruelly slayeth than the weapon itself; so many honest wives become widows, so many children fatherless, so many lamentable houses, so many rich men brought to extreme poverty. And what needeth it here to speak of the destruction of good manners, since there is no man but knoweth right well that the universal pestilence of all mischievous living proceedeth at once from war. Thereof cometh despising of virtue and godly living; thereof cometh, that the laws are neglected and not regarded; thereof cometh a prompt and a ready stomach, boldly to do every mischievous deed.
Out of this fountain spring so huge great companies of thieves, robbers, sacri- legers, and murderers. And what is most grievous of all, this mischievous pestilence cannot keep herself within her bounds; but after it is begun in some one corner, it doth not only (as a contagious disease) spread abroad and infect the countries near adjoining to it, but also it draweth into that common tumult and troublous business the countries that be very far off, either for need, or by reason of affinity, or else by occasion of some league made. Yea and moreover, one war springeth of another: of a dissembled war there cometh war indeed, and of a very small, a right great war
hath risen. Nor it chanceth oftentimes none otherwise in these things than it is feigned of the monster, which lay in the lake or pond called Lerna[245]. . . .
War, what other thing else is it than a common manslaughter of many men together, and a robbery, the which, the farther it sprawleth abroad, the more mischievous it is? But many gross gentlemen nowadays laugh merrily at these things, as though they were the dreams and dotings of schoolmen, the which, saving the shape, have no point of manhood, yet seem they in their own conceit to be gods. And yet of those beginnings, we see we be run so far in madness, that we do naught else all our life-days.
UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT
What is the meaning of the proverb that Erasmus begins with, "dulce bellum inexpertis"? How does this set the tone for the essay?
What evidence does Erasmus give to support the assertion that human bodies were created for friendship and not for war? Do you find all of his evidence convincing?
How does Erasmus move from the physical to mental attributes of human beings? What mental characteristics does he suggest demonstrate that people are not meant to resolve conflicts with violence?
What connection does Erasmus see between education and peace? Why does the human desire for knowledge suggest the inhumanity of war?
Why does Erasmus move from describing human beings and their characteristics to describing war and its characteristics? What is the rhetorical effect of the balance between these two sets of descriptions?
What impact does war, according to Erasmus, have on human populations? How does it frustrate the goals of human beings as he describes in the first section?
MAKING CONNECTIONS
Compare Erasmus's views of war to those of the Ancient Chinese philosopher Mo Tzu (p. 476). Could Mo Tzu be called a "humanist"?
How do Erasmus's imagined descriptions of war compare to the real descriptions of war in Kachere's "War Memoir" (p. 514)? Does Erasmus's narration give the impression that he had ever witnessed war firsthand?
How might George Orwell respond to Erasmus's blanket opposition to war? Do you think that Erasmus would agree with Orwell that there are times when war is the only rational response to evil?
4. How does Erasmus's view of seeking knowledge compare to that of John Henry
Newman in "Knowledge Its Own End" (p. 31)? Does Erasmus believe that the desire to learn can be a good thing in and of itself?
WRITING ABOUT THE TEXT
Write an essay about modern war in the style of "Against War," which consists of one or two simple assertions and multiple extensions or examples proving those assertions.
Explain how Erasmus's understanding of both the physical and the intellectual characteristics of human beings inform his thinking about war. Evaluate the way that underlying assumptions affect the nature of his argument.
Compare the underlying views of human nature in Erasmus's "Against War" and Hobbes's Leviathan. Explain how their different starting positions lead to different conclusions.