Highlights of the Exhibition
The Elizabeth Perkins Prothro Bible Collection
at
Bridwell
Library
1996-2006
September 7-November 18, 2006
The Translation of Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam
Novum Testamentvm omne mvlto qvam antehac diligentius ab Erasmo Roterodamo recognitum, emendatum ac translatum. Edited, translated, and annotated by Desiderius Erasmus. Basel: Johannes Froben, 1519.
For scholars like Desiderius Erasmus accuracy was paramount, and the simple repetition of the Vulgate, known to be an imperfect translation, unacceptable. The long acceptance and veneration of the Vulgate was not, for him, an impediment, and in 1511 Erasmus began preparing an edition of the Greek New Testament, simultaneously revising the Latin New Testament. The result appeared as Novum Instrumentum in 1516, and is included in this exhibition. The two volume work includes both the text of the New Testament in Greek accompanied by a precise translation into Latin, and a lengthy commentary. Erasmus claimed to have “improved” upon Jerome’s translation in more than a thousand places, which alarmed even his friends. Only his international reputation as a scholar of the Church saved him from accusations of heresy. The text is open to John 1:1.
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