Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Edition of the Distichs of Cato

Erasmus of Rotterdam’s edition of the Distichs of Cato was an early 16th-century work by the Dutch intellectual and educationalist, who both emended the text from earlier editions and added his own brief commentary on each distich. Intended for the moral and Latin education of schoolboys, Erasmus’ version with commentary was widely distributed in European schools. His goal was to present a text unencumbered by scholastic theology but fit for the education of new Christian humanists. However, his work, while quickly and broadly adopted, would draw criticism for his censure of churchmen and church practices.

Author’s Background

Erasmus (ca. 1467–1536), was the illegitimate son of a priest, born in Rotterdam in the Low Countries.[1] As a boy he was educated at an elementary school in Gouda and served as a chorister at the Utrecht Cathedral. Between the winter of 1477 and summer of 1478, when he was either eleven or twelve, Erasmus moved to Deventer in order to attend the St. Lebuinus School, where his brother Pieter was also educated. He would stay there until 1484. This institution was a distinguished Dutch boys’ school, which offered courses up to a university preparatory level, although Erasmus, like most of the school’s students, would not reach these levels. 

The St. Lebuinus School, like most boys’ schools at the time, was divided into different educational levels. The first of these was the octava. At this introductory level, boys would first be introduced to works by the Latin grammarian Donatus and certain biblical passages. This reading was done in groups of eight students in order for instructors to teach more effectively. With a foundation in Latin having been received, students would then advance to the Distichs of Cato, which they read and memorized. At this level of education during his time at St. Lebuinus, Erasmus probably first learned the Distichs. 

Edition’s Creation

As an adult, Erasmus would return to the subjects taught in his own education through his publications on childhood education. One of these topics would be the Distichs of Cato. Although he had been working with dicta over several years in the beginning of the 16th century, Erasmus claimed that his actual writing of his version of the Distichs took significantly less time. Its first edition was published around 1514 in a book which also included the sayings of Mimus Publianus (Publilius Syrus) and the seven sages, and Erasmus’ translation of the poem Institutum christiani hominis by John Colet. Once published, the edition quickly spread to schools in both England and the Low Countries. 

Edition’s Content

Erasmus began his edition of the Distichs of Cato with an address to the educator Jean de Nève. In this letter, he criticized two earlier commentaries on the Distichs, one by Robert of Euremodio (ca. 1375) and the other by Philip of Bergamo (also late 14th c.). He believed that Robert’s version was excessively rhetorical (in fact it reflects Robert’s Cistercian intellectual milieu). Philip he chastised for pointless philosophizing. Erasmus wrote in a straightforward, classicizing style, without adducing parallels to scripture and patristic and medieval theologians, so that students could easily comprehend the text. Erasmus focused on the ethical and linguistic education of the student.

Although his edition of the Distichs was a smaller work than his other publications, Erasmus valued its widespread usefulness in early childhood education. In addition to his polemics against earlier editions and corrections to the text, Erasmus also included aphorisms (often taken from his magnum opus the Adagia. He also briefly clarified historical context, but this often was used to criticize the present rather than provide an understanding of the past. His criticism of errant laity and churchmen (and a general suspicion of his sympathy for the Reformation) led to the censuring of his commentary, which nonetheless prospered.

General Source: 

Bloomer, W. Martin, and Andrew J. M. Irving. “Introduction.” Erasmus of Rotterdam’s Commentary on the Disticha Catonis (forthcoming)