Making silence

Thomas More and Erasmus are renowned for their significant roles in the religious debates of their time. Confronted with the Reformation, these two humanists were compelled to react to Martin Luther's persistent actions and publications during the 1520s, which they viewed as provocations against the ancient Catholic Church. While both aspired to reform, they advocated for a gradual approach, using controlled and non-violent language. Thus, even as their century demanded diatribes, these two men, each according to his sensibility, proposed an alternative way of being and speaking—making silence an act of resistance and emphasizing the importance of nurturing one's Logos and listening to oneself before engaging in confrontation. Studying silence in More and Erasmus during the Reformation thus invites reflection on the role of silence in their respective formations—More at the London Charterhouse, and Erasmus within the context of the devotio moderna. In these places of prayer and faith, both arm themselves with a solid scholarly and spiritual foundation, which they turn to when facing the diabolical language of men. Committed to a demanding form of speech, they frequently retreat to silence in order to regain their strength before continuing relentlessly to proclaim the Word of God in their turbulent era

Context (archaeology) · Craft · Erasmus · Humanism · Logos Bible Software · Order (exchange) · Prayer · Silence · Early Modern Women Writers · Reformation and Early Modern Christianity · Renaissance and Early Modern Studies