7 - Scepticism and toleration

Summary

Abstract

The influence of Erasmus's works is examined here both in terms of philological criticism and of their ethical repercussions on faith in general and on the issue of the witch-hunts. Wier, who cites widely from some of Erasmus's works, derives from him inspiration for his original proposal: errors must be corrected but cannot be eliminated. By means of the question of witchcraft, Wier developed a reflection on toleration and on the possibility of being re-integrated into the Christian community.

Key words: Erasmus, Toleration, Witch-hunt

Erasmus between scepticism and toleration

Wier, through his scrupulous enquiry into the nature of demonology, intended to redefine witchcraft as a spiritual crime, and thus reduce the responsibility of the purported witches, using medical, philosophical, legal, and natural sources. He was by no means the first to take up the defence of witches, as Italian jurists Alciati and Ponzinibio, and general philosophers, such as Pomponazzi and Cardano, had already moved in this direction in the early sixteenth century, opposing those who exhorted repression in the wake of the Malleus Maleficarum. Recently, Duni highlighted that both positions also concealed an implicit defence of the competence of theologians and inquisitors in judicial matters, thereby contrasting with lay competency.

In the conflicting positions of witch-hunters and witch-advocates, as though it were a call to arms, each side yearned to recruit the best minds to their own camp. Thus, Wier invoked Erasmus, from whom he had taken up the weapon of philology, the appeal for mercy, and the condemnation of the obtuseness and abuses found within the Church. Despite Erasmus never having written a systematic treatise on the matter, there are clues to his opinion. In numerous letters, Erasmus takes on the topic with an explicit view to mock popular credulity and to shine a spotlight on the weaknesses and absurdities of these beliefs. Without wavering from his ironic tone, he discusses the topic in many of his works. For instance, in his Dilucida et pia explanatione symboli quod apostolorum dicitur, decalogi preceptorum, et dominicae precationis (1533), in addition to considering those who worship the moon to be idolaters and those who consecrate themselves to the devil as transgressing the first commandment, Erasmus also includes all those who practise magic or divinatory arts.