Desiderius Erasmus

He who shuns the millstone, shuns the meal.

— Desiderius Erasmus

War is sweet to those who have not experienced it.

— Desiderius Erasmus

In the country of the blind the one eyed man is king.

— Desiderius Erasmus

[N]o party is any fun unless seasoned with folly.

— Desiderius Erasmus

Concealed talent brings no reputation.

— Desiderius Erasmus

War is delightful to those who have had no experience of it.

— Desiderius Erasmus

Women, can't live with them, can't live without them.

— Desiderius Erasmus

A good portion of speaking will consist in knowing how to lie.

— Desiderius Erasmus

Many times what cannot be refuted by arguments can be parried by laughter.

— Desiderius Erasmus

Apothegms are in history, the same as pearls in the sand, or gold in the mine.

— Desiderius Erasmus

It is the chiefest point of happiness that a man is willing to be what he is.

— Desiderius Erasmus

Modern church music is so constructed that the congregation cannot hear one distinct word.

— Desiderius Erasmus

They may attack me with an army of six hundred syllogisms; and if I do not recant, they will proclaim me a…

— Desiderius Erasmus

It is folly alone that stays the fugue of Youth and beats off touring Old Age.

— Desiderius Erasmus

Luther was guilty of two great crimes - he struck the Pope in his crown, and the monks in their belly.

— Desiderius Erasmus

Reflection is a flower of the mind, giving out wholesome fragrance; but revelry is the same flower, when rank and running to…

— Desiderius Erasmus

Out of all those centuries the Greeks can count seven sages at the most, and if anyone looks at them more closely…

— Desiderius Erasmus

“For anyone who loves intensely lives not in himself but in the object of his love, and the further he can move…

— Desiderius Erasmus

Besides, it happens (how, I cannot tell) that an idea launched like a javelin in proverbial form strikes with sharper point on…

— Desiderius Erasmus

It seems to me to be the best proof of an evangelical disposition, that persons are not angry when reproached, and have…

— Desiderius Erasmus

From hence, no question, has sprung an observation ... confirmed now into a settled opinion, that some long experienced souls in the…

— Desiderius Erasmus

Now what else is the whole life of mortals, but a sort of comedy in which the various actors, disguised by various…

— Desiderius Erasmus

Whether a party can have much success without a woman present I must ask others to decide, but one thing is certain,…

— Desiderius Erasmus

So our student will flit like a busy bee through the entire garden of literature, light on every blossom, collect a little…

— Desiderius Erasmus

You must acquire the best knowledge first, and without delay; it is the height of madness to learn what you will later…

— Desiderius Erasmus

Heaven grant that the burden you carry may have as easy an exit as it had an entrance. Prayer To A Pregnant…

— Desiderius Erasmus

Dulce bellum inexpertis. - War is lovely for those who know nothing about it.

— Desiderius Erasmus

What passes out of one's mouth passes into a hundred ears. It is a great misfortune not to have sense enough to…

— Desiderius Erasmus

Do not be guilty of possessing a library of learned books while lacking learning yourself.

— Desiderius Erasmus

God has administered to us of the present age, a bitter draught and a harsh physician, on account of our abounding infirmities.

— Desiderius Erasmus

It is wisdom in prosperity, when all is as thou wouldn't have it, to fear and suspect the worst.

— Desiderius Erasmus

They are looking in utter darkness for that which has no existence whatsoever.

— Desiderius Erasmus

The entire world is my temple, and a very fine one too, if I'm not mistaken, and I'll never lack priests to…

— Desiderius Erasmus

Our determination to imitiate Christ should be such that we have no time for other matters.

— Desiderius Erasmus

Great eagerness in the pursuit of wealth, pleasure, or honor, cannot exist without sin.

— Desiderius Erasmus

By a Carpenter mankind was made, and only by that Carpenter can mankind be remade.

— Desiderius Erasmus

What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.

— Desiderius Erasmus

Human affairs are so obscure and various that nothing can be clearly known.

— Desiderius Erasmus

Everyone knows that by far the happiest and universally enjoyable age of man is the first. What is there about babies which…

— Desiderius Erasmus

Scarcely is there any peace so unjust that it is better than even the fairest war. -Vix ulla tam iniqua pax, quin…

— Desiderius Erasmus