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"Tract No. IV. of the Society for the Promotion of
Permanent and Universal Peace.
EXTRACTS
FROM xIIE
WRITINGS OF ERASMUS,
ON THE
SUBJECT OF WAR.
-- —Ono murder makes a villain ;
Millions, a hero.
Bishop Portcut.
----- O I what are these,
Death’s ministers, not men, who thus deal death
Tu'inmanly to men, and multiply
Ten thousandfold the sin of him who slew
His brother : for of whom such massacre
Make they, but of their brethren ; men of men
Paradise Lost, Bock XI. line 63S,
STFEEUTYPE EDITION.
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Honson:
PRINTED BY RICHARD BARRETT, MARK LANE.
S0LD Br
TEroMAS WARD & Co., PATERNOSTER ROW;
BY ALL OTHER BOOKSELLERS ; AND
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�TRACTS OF THE PEACE SOCIETY'.
To be had at Thomas Ward & Co.’s Paternoster Row, and at the
Depository, 19, New Broad Street, Finsbury Circus.
IN OCTAVO.
No. I. A Solemn Review of the Custom of War.
II. War inconsistent with the Doctrine and Example of Jesus Christ, by
John Scott, Esq.
III. An Essay on the Doctrine and Practice of the Early Christians as
they relate to War, by Thomas Clarkson, Esq. M. A.
IV. Extracts from Erasmus.
V. Sketches of the Horrors of War, by Evan Rees.
VI. On Universal Peace, by the Rev. David Bogue.
VII. Observations on the Applicability of the Pacific Principles of the New
Testament to the Conduct of States, &c. by Jonathan Dymond.
VIII. An Examination of the Principles which are considered to support
the Practice of War, by a Lady.
IX. The Principles of Peace Exemplified in the Conduct of the Society oi
Friends in Ireland, during the Rebellion of the year 1798, with
some Preliminary and Concluding Observations, by Thomas
Hancock, M.D. In Three Parts.
X. Historical illustrations of the Origin and Consequences of War, by
the Author of Tract No. VIII., as above.
XI. Reflections on the Calamities of War, and the Superior Policy of
Peace, translated from the French of a Treatise, “ On the Admi
nistration of the Finances of France,” by M. Necker.
XII, An Essay on War, and on its Lawfulness under th.e Christian Dispen
sation, by Joseph John Gurney.
Welsh. — Epitome of the Views
and Objects of the Peace
Society.
French.—Nos. I. to VIII. and XI.
German.—No. I.
Dutch.—No. II.
Spanish.—No. III.
Italian.—Nos. I. and III.
NEW SERIES OF SMALL TRACTS.
IN DUODECIMO.
By the Author of “ Select Female Biography,” “ Annals of my
Village,” fyc.
No. I. Sketch of a Hospital Scene in Portugal.
II. Results of War, with Suggestions for an Amicable Settlement of
National Disputes.
III. Sketch of the Miseries suffered by the Germans during the Seven
Years’ War, from 1756 to 1763.
IV. Peace Societies, and the Scenes which have occurred within the last
Sixty Years, in Two Parts.
V. Account of the Massacre of Corcubion, with an appeal to English
Ladies.
VI. The Sights we have seen
Also “ The Herald of Peace,” published Quarterly, and to b&
had as above.
Every Annual Subscriber of 10s. 6d. and upwards, may, within the. year,
receive in return, Tracts to the amount of one half of his Subscription, on
application at the Office. And Country Subscribers are requested to give
•he Address of some person in Loudon to whom they may be'sent.
�EXTRACTS
FROM
ERASMUS.
If there is in the affairs of mortal men any one thing which it k
proper uniformly to explode; which it is incumbent on every
man, by every lawful means, to avoid, to deprecate, to oppose;
that one thing is, doubtless, War. There is nothing more un
naturally wicked, more productive of misery, more extensively
destructive, more obstinate in mischief, more unworthy of man,
as formed by nature, much more of man professing Christianity.
Yet, wonderful to relate! in these times war is every where
rashly, and on the slightest' pretext, undertaken; cruelly, and
savagely conducted, not only by Unbelievers, but by Christians;
not only by Laymen, but by Priests and Bishops; not only by the
young and inexperienced, but even by men far advanced in life,
who must have seen and felt its dreadful consequences; not only
by the lower order, fickle in their nature, but above all by princes,
whose duty it is to compose the rash passions of the unthinking
multitude by superior wisdom, and the force of reason. Nor are
there ever wanting men, learned in the law, and even divines,
who are ready to furnish firebrands for the nefarious work, and to
fan the latent sparks into a flame.
Hence it happens, that war is now considered so much a thing
of course, that the wonder is, how any man can disapprove of it;
so much sanctioned by authority and custom, that it is deemed
impious (I had almost said heretical) to have borne testimony
against a practice, in its principle most profligate, and in #**>
A 2
�4
effects pregnant with every kind of calamity. If any one considers
a moment the organization and external figure of the body, will
he not instantly perceive that Nature, or rather the God of Na
ture, created the human animal not for war, but for love and
friendship; not for mutual destruction, but for mutual service
and safety; not to commit injuries, but for acts of reciprocal
beneficence.
Man she brought into the world naked, weak, tender, un
armed, his flesh of the softest texture, his skin smooth and
delicate, and susceptible of the slightest injury.
There is
nothing observable in his limbs adapted to fighting, or to vio
lence. Unable either to speak or walk, or help himself to food,
he can only implore relief by tears and wailing, so that from
this circumstance alone might be collected, that man is an animal
bom for that love and friendship which is formed and cemented
by the mutual interchange of benevolent offices. Moreover, Na
ture evidently intended that man should consider himself in
debted for the boon of life, not so much to herself as to the
kindness Of his fellow-man; that he might perceive himself
designed for social affections, and the attachments of friendship
and love. Then she gave him a countenance not frightful and
forbidding, but mild and placid, imitating. by external signs the
benignity of his disposition. She gave him eyes full of affectionate
expression, the indexes of a mind delighting in social sympathy.
She gave him arms to embrace his fellow-creatures. She gave
him lips to express a union of heart and soul. She gave him alone
the power of laughing, a mark of the joy of which he is suscep
tible. She gave him tears, the symbol of clemency and compas
sion. She gave him also a voice, not a menacing and frightful
yell, but bland, soothing, and friendly. Not satisfied with these
marks of her peculiar favour, she bestowed on him alone the use
of speech and reason : a gift which tends more than any other to
conciliate and cherish benevolence, and a desire of rendering
mutual services; so that nothing among human creatures might
be done by violence. She implanted in man a hatred of solitude,
and a love of company. She sowed in his heart the seeds of every
benevolent affection; and thus rendered what is most salutary, at
the same time most agreeable. For what is more agreeable than a
�friend; what so necessary ? Indeed, if it were possible to conduct
life conveniently, without mutual intercourse, yet nothing could be
pleasant without a companion, unless man should have divested
himself of humanity, and degenerated to the rank of a wild beast.
Lastly, to man is given a spark of the divine mind, which stimu
lates him without any hope of reward, and of his own free will,
to do good to all: for of God this is the most natural and appro
priate attribute, to consult the good of all by disinterested bene
ficence. If it were not so, how happens it that we feel an exqui
site delight, when we find that any man has been preserved from
danger, injury, or destruction, by our offices or intervention?
Now view, with the eyes of your imagination, savage troops
of men, horrible in their very visages and voices; men clad in steel,
drawn up on every side in battle array, armed with weapons,
frightful in their crash and their very glitter; mark the horrid
murmur of the confused multitude, their threatening eye-balls,
the harsh jarring din of drums and clarions, the terrific sound of
the trumpet, the thunder of the cannon, a noise not less formi
dable than the real thunder of heaven, and more hurtful, a mad
shout like that of the shrieks of Bedlamites, a furious onset, a
cruel butchering of each other!—See the slaughtered and the
slaughtering!—heaps of dead bodies, fields flowing with blood,
rivers reddened with human gore. It sometimes happens that a
brother falls by the hand of a brother, a kinsman upon his nearest
kindred, a friend upon his friend, who, while both are actuated
by this fit of insanity, plunges the sword into the heart of one
by whom he was never offended, not even by the word of his mouth!
So deep is the tragedy, that the bosom shudders even at the feeble
description of it, and the hand of humanity drops the pencil while
it paints the scene.
In the mean time, I pass over the corn fields trodden down,
peaceful cottages and rural mansions burnt to the ground, villages
and towns reduced to ashes, the cattle driven from their pasture,
innocent women violated, old men dragged into captivity, churches
defaced and demolished, every thing laid waste, a prey to robbery,
plunder, and violence!
Not to mention the consequences which ensue to the people
after a war, even the most fortunate in its event; the poor, the
�6
unoffending common people, robbed of their little hard-earned
property; the great laden with taxes: old people bereaved ot
their children, more cruelly killed by-the murder of their off
spring, than by the sword; happier if the enemy had deprived
them of the sense of their misfortune, and life itself, at the same
moment; women far advanced in age, left destitute, and more
cruelly put to death, than if they had died at once by the point of
the bayonet: widowed mothers, orphan children, houses of mourn
ing ; and families, that once knew better days, reduced to extreme
penury.
Why need I dwell on the evils which morals sustain by war,
when every one knows, that from war proceeds at once every kind of
evil which disturbs and destroys the happiness of human life.
As I just now drew the portrait of man and the picture of war,
so now it is my intention to compare war with peace, to compare
a state most poignant with misery, and most wicked in its origin,
with a state profuse of blessings, and contributing in the highest
degree to the happiness of human nature; it will then appear to
be downright insanity to go in search of war with so much dis
turbance, so much labour, so great profusion of blood and trea
sure, and at such a hazard after all, when with little labour, less
expense, no bloodshed, and no risk, peace might be preserved
inviolate.
Now, amidst all the good this world affords, what is more de
lightful to the heart of man, what more beneficial to society, than
love and amity ? Nothing, surely. Yet what is peace, but love
and amity subsisting between great numbers ? And, on the other
hand, wliat is war, but hatred and enmity subsisting between
great numbers ? But it is the nature of all good, that the more
it is extended, the greater the good becomes, the more benign its
influence; therefore, if the amicable union of individuals is so
sweet and so salutary, how much will the sum total of happiness
be augmented, if kingdom with kingdom, and nation with na
tion, coalesce in this amicable union ? On the other hand, it is
the nature of all evil, that its malignity increases the more it is
extended; and therefore, if it be wretched, if it be wicked for one
man to meet another with a sword pointed at his vitals, how
much more wretched and more wicked, that thousands and tens of
�1
thousands should meet in the same manner ? By union, little things
are augmented to a respectable magnitude; by disunion, the
greatest fall to insignificance and dissolution. Peace is, indeed,
at once the mother and the nurse of all that is*good for man:
War, on a sudden, and at one stroke, overwhelms, extinguishes,
abolishes, whatever is cheerful, whatever is happy and beautiful,
and pours a foul torrent of disasters on the life of mortals. Peace
shines upon human affairs like the vernal sun. The fields are cul
tivated, the gardens bloom, the cattle are fed upon a thousand
hills, new buildings arise, riches flow, pleasures smile, humanity
and charity increase, arts and manufactures feel the genial warmth
of encouragement, and the gains’of the poor are more plentiful.
But no sooner does the storm of war begin to lower, than what a
deluge of miseries and misfortune seizes, inundates, and over
whelms all things within the sphere of its action ! The flocks are
scattered, the harvest trampled, the husbandman butchered,
villas and villages burnt,— cities and states, that have been ages
rising to their flourishing state, subverted by the fury of one tem
pest, the storm of war. So much easier is the task of doing harm
than of doing good; of destroying than of building up!
Many, alas! are the evils by which miserable mortality is tor
mented, worn out, and at last overwhelmed. We read of whole
cities buried in ruins by earthquakes, or burnt to ashes by light
ning, whole countries swallowed up in chasms occasioned by
subterraneous convulsions ; not to mention how many men are
lost by casualties, which, by the frequency of their occurrence,
cease to surprise ; how many are drowried in seas and rivers, how
many destroyed by poison, by falling, by other accidents.
Why should those who are obnoxious to so many calamities,
go voluntarily in quest of an adscititious evil, as if the measure of
misery required to be full to the very brim, and to run over; in
quest of an evil, not a common evil, but an an evil of all human evils
the worst and the foulest; so destructive an evil, that alone, it ex
ceeds them all in mischief; so abundant in misery, that it com
prehends every kind of wretchedness within itself; so pestilential
in its nature, that it loads men with guilt in proportion as it galls
them with woe.
To these considerations add, that the advantages derived from
�8
peace diffuse themselves far and wide, and reach great numbers
while in war, if any thing turns out happily, (though what
can ever deserve the appellation of happy in war!) the advan
tage redounds only to a few, and those unworthy of reaping it.
One man’s safety is owing to the destruction of another. One
man’s prize derived from the plunder of another. The cause
of rejoicings made by one side, is to the other a cause of mourn
ing. Whatever is unfortunate in war, is severely so indeed, and
whatever, on the contrary, is called good fortune, is a savage and
a cruel good fortune, an ungenerous happiness, deriving its exist
ence from another’s woe. Indeed, at the conclusion, it com
monly happens, that both sides, the victorious and the vanquished,
"have cause to deplore. I know not whether any war ever suc
ceeded so fortunately in all its events, but that the conqueror, if he
had a heart to feel, or an understanding to judge, as he ought to
do, repented that he ever engaged in it at all.
Such and so great are the evils which are submitted to, in
order to accomplish an end, itself a greater evil than all that have
preceded in preparation for it. We thus afflict ourselves for the
noble end of enabling ourselves to afflict others. If we were' to
calculate the matter fairly, and form a just computation of the
cost attending war, and that of procuring peace, we should find
that peace might be purchased at a tenth part of the cares, la
bours, troubles, dangers, expenses, and blood, which it costs
to carry on a war. You lead a vast multitude of men into danger
of losing their lives, in order to demolish some great city ; while
the same labour and fatigue of these very men would build, with
out any danger, a more magnificent city, than the city doomed to
demolition. But the object is to do all possible injury to an
enemy. A most inhuman object, let me tell you! and consider,
whether you can hurt him, essentially, without hurting, at the
same time, and by the same means, your own people. It surely
is to act like a maaman to take to yourself so large a portion of
certain evil, when it must ever be uncertain how the die of War
may fall in the ultimate issue.
Where are there so many and so sacred obligations to perfect
concord, as in the Christian religion? Where so numerous ex
hortations to peace? One law Jesus Christ claimed as his own
�peculiar law, and it was the lan of looe or charity. What prac-'
tice among mankind violates this law so grossly as war ? Christ
salutes his votaries with the happy omen of peace. To his disciples
he gives nothing but peace: he leaves them no other legacy but
peace. In his holy prayers, the subject of his devout entreaty was
principally, that, as He was one with the Father, so his disciples,
(that is to say, all Christians,) might be one with him. This union
is something more than peace, more than friendship, more than
concord; it is an intimate communion with the Divine nature.
Solomon was a type of Christ. But the word Solomon, in
Hebrew, signifies the pacific. Solomon, on this account, because
he was pacific, was chosen to build the temple. David was re
jected as a builder of the temple, because he was a warrior. He
was rejected for this, though the wars he carried on were against
the wicked and at the command of God; and though he, who
afterwards abrogated, in great measure, the laws of Moses, had
not yet taught mankind that they ought to love their enemies.
At the nativity of Jesus Christ, the angels sung not the glories
of war, nor a sung of triumph, but a hymn of peace: “ Glory to
God in the highest, on earth peace ; good will towards men.”
The mystic poet and prophet foretold before his birth, (Ps. lxxvi. 2.)
“ In the city or peace (Salem) he made his dwelling-place :
there brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, the sword, and
the battle-axe.”
“ He shall refrain the spirit of Princes ; he is terrible to the
Kings of the earth.”
Examine every part of his doctrine, you will find nothing that
does not breathe peace, speak the language of love, and savour of
charity ; and as he knew that peace could not be preserved unless
those objects, for which the world contends with the sword’s
point, were considered as vile and contemptible, he ordered us to
learn of him to be meek and lowly. He pronounced those happy
who held riches, and the daughters of riches, Pomp and Pride, in
no esteem; for these he calls the poor in spirit, and these he has
blessed. He prohibited resistance of evil. In short, as the
whole of his doctrine recommended forbearance and love, so his
life taught nothing but mildness, gentleness, and kind affection
Such was his reign; thus did he wage war, thus he conquered
�10
and thus he triumphed. Nor do the apostles inculcate any other
doctrine; they who had imbibed the purest spirit of Christ, and
were -filled with sacred draughts from the fountain head. What
do all the epistles of St. Paul resound with but peace, but longsuffering, but charity? What does St. John speak of, and repeat
continually, but Christian love ? What else St. Peter: What else
all the writers in the world, who are truly Christian?
Whence, then, the tumults of war among the Children of Peace ?
Is it a mere fable when Christ calls himself the vine, and his dis
ciples the branches ? Who can conceive a branch divided against
a branch of the same tree? Or, is it an unmeaning assertion,
which St. Paul has repeatedly made, that the Church is one body,
united in its many members, and adhering to one head, Jesus
Christ? Whoever beheld the eye contending with the hand, or
the belly fighting against the foot? In the whole universe, con
sisting of parts so discordant, there still continues a general har
mony. In the animal body, there is peace among all the members,
and with whatever excellence one member is endowed, it confines
not the benefit to itself, but communicates it to all. If any evil
happen to one member, the whole body affords it assistance. Can
then the mere animal connexion of nature, in a material body,
formed soon to perish, effect more in preserving harmony than the
union of a spirit in a mystical and immortal body ? Is it without
meaning that we pray, according to the command of Christ, Thy
will be done on earth, as it is in heaven? In the Kingdom of
Heaven there is perfect concord. But Christ intended that his
Church should be nothing less than a Celestial Community; a
Heaven upon Earth; men who belong to it living, as much as
possible, according to the model of the heavenly kingdom, hasten
ing thither, and feeling and acknowledging their whole dependance
upon it for present and future felicity.
It may now be worth while to observe in what manner Christians
defend the madness of War.
If, say they, war had been absolutely unlawful, God would not
have excited the Jews to wage war against their enemies. I hear
the argument, and observe upon it,-that the objector should in
justice add, that the J ews scarcely ever waged war, as the Chris
�11
tians do, against each other, but against aliens and infidels. We
Christians draw the sword against Christians. To them a diffe
rence of religion, and the worship of strange gods, was the source
of contest. We are urged to war, either by childish anger, or a
hunger and thirst for ricnes and glory, and oftentimes merely for
base and filthy lucre. They fought at the express command of
God; we, at the command of our own passions.
But since the time that Jesus Christ said, Put up thy sword
into its scabbard, Christians ought not to go to war, unless it be
in that most honourable warfare, with the vilest enemies of the
Church, the inordinate love of money, anger, and ambition.
These are our Philistines, these our Nabuchodonosors, these our
Moabites and Ammonites, with whom we ought never to make a
truce; with these we must engage without intermission till the
enemy being utterly extirpated, peace may1 be firmly established.
Unless we subdue such enemies as these, we can neither have
peace with ourselves, nor peace with any one else. This is the
only war which tends to produce a real and a lasting peace. He,
who shall have conquered foes like these, will never wish to wage
war with any mortal man upon the face of that earth on which'
God placed all men to live, to let live, and to enjoy the life he gave.
I lay no stress on the opinion of those who interpret the two
swords given to Peter to mean two powers, the civil and eccle
siastical, claimed by the successors of Peter, since Christ suffered
Peter himself to fall into an error in this matter, on purpose
that, when he had put up his sword, it might remain no longer a
doubt that war was prohibited; which, before that order, had
been considered as allowable. But Peter, they allege, did
actually use his sword.. It is true he did ; but while he was still a
Jew, and had not yet received the genuine spirit of Christianity.
He used his sword, not in support of any disputable claim to pro
perty, not to defend goods, chattels, lands, and estates, as we
do; nor yet for his own life, but for the life of his Lord and
Master. Let it also be remembered, that he who used the sword in
defence of his Master, very soon after denied and renounced that
Master. If Peter is to be our. model, and if we are so much
pleased with the example of Peter fighting for Christ, we may pro
bably approve also the example of Peter denying Christ.
�12
Peter, in using his sword, only made a slip in consequence of
the impulse of a sudden passion : yet he was reprimanded. But
if Christ approved of this mode of defence, as some most absurdly
infer from this transaction, how happens it that the uniform tenour
of his whole life and doctrine teaches nothing else but forbearance ?
Why, when he commissioned his disciples, did he expose them to
the despots of the world, armed only with a walking-stick and a
wallet, a staff and a scrip ? If by that sword, which Christ ordered
them, after selling every thing else, to buy, is meant a moderate
defence against persecution, as some men ignorantly interpret it,
how came it to pass that the Martyrs never used it ?
But they urge, that the laws of nature, the laws of society, and
the laws of custom and usage, conspire in dictating the propriety
of repelling force by force, and defending life, and money too,
which is to some persons as dear as life. So much I allow. But
Gospel Grace,'of more force than all these laws, declares in deci
sive words, that those who revile us, we must not revile again:
that we must do good to them who use us ill; and that we should
also pray for them who design to take away our lives. All this,
they tell us, had a particular reference to the apostles; but I con
tend that it also refers to all Christian people, to the whole body
which should be entire and perfect, though one member may have
been formerly distinguished by some particular pre-eminence.
The doctrine of Christ, can, indeed, have no reference to them,
who do not expect their reward with Christ.
But they proceed to argue, that as it is lawful to inflict
punishment on an individual delinquent, it must also be lawful to
take vengeance on an offending State. The full answer to be
given to this argument would involve me in greater prolixity
than is now requisite. I will only say that the two cases differ
widely in this respect. He who is convicted judicially, suffers
the punishment which the laws impose: but in war, each side
treats the other side as guilty, and proceeds to inflict punish
ment, regardless of law, judge, or jury. In the former case, the
evil only falls on him who committed the wrong; the benefit of
the example redounds to all: in the latter case, the greatest part
of the very numerous evils falls on those who deserve no evil at
all; on husbandmen, on old people, on mothers of families, on
�13
orpnans, and on defenceless young females. But if any good at
all can be gathered from a thing which is itself the worst of all
things, the whole of that good devolves to the share of a few
most piofligate robbers, to the mercenary pillager, to the pira
tical privateer. It would be better to let the crime of a few go
unpunished, than, while we endeavour to chastise one or two by
war, in which, perhaps we may not succeed, to involve our own
people, the neighbouring people, and the innocent part of the
enemies, (for so I may call the multitude,) in certain calamity.
It is better to let a wound alone which cannot be healed without
injury to the whole body. But if any one should exclaim, “ that
it would be unjust that he who has offended should not suffer con
dign punishment;” I answer, that it is much more unjust that so
many thousand innocent persons should be called to share the
utmost extremity of misfortune, which they could not possibly have
deserved.
But the objector repeats, “ Why may I not go and cut the
throats of those who would cut our throats if they could?” Do
you then consider it as a disgrace that any should be more wicked
than yourself? Why do you not go and rob thieves? they would
rob you if they could. Why do you not revile them that revile you ?
Why do you not hate them that hate you ?
Do you consider it as a noble exploit for a Christian, having
killed in war those whom he thinks wicked, but who still are
men, for whom Christ died, thus to offer up victims most acceptable
to the Devil, and to delight that grand enemy in two instances;
first, that a man is slain at all; and secondly, that the man who
slew him is a Christian?
If we are willing to conquer for Christ, let us buckle on the
sword of the Gospel; let us put on the helmet of salvation, grasp
the shield of faith, and be completely clad in apostolical armour,
the panoply of heaven. Then will it come to pass, that we shall
triumph even in defeat, and when routed in the field, still bear
away the palm of a most glorious victory. If we endeavour to be
what we are called, that is, to be* violently attached to nothing
worldly, to seek nothing here with too anxious a solicitude; if
we endeavour to free ourselves from all that may encumber and
impede our flight to heaven; if we aspire with our most ardent
�14
wishes at. celestial felicity; if we place our chief happiness in
Christ alone;—we have certainly, in so doing, made up our
minds to believe, that whatever is truly good, truly great, truly
delightful, is to be found in his religion. If we are convinced
that a good man cannot be essentially hurt by any mortal; if we
have duly estimated the vanity and transitory duration of all the
ridiculous things which agitate human beings ; if we have any ade
quate idea of being so cleansed, by continual meditation, from the
pollutions of this world, that when the body is laid down in the
dust one may emigrate to the society of angels : in a word, if we
exhibit these three qualities, without which no man can deserve
the appellation of a Christian : Innocence, that we may be free from
vice; Charity, that we may deserve well of all men; Patience,
that we may bear with those that use us ill, and, if possible, bury
injuries by an accumulation of benefits on the injured party ; I ask,
what war can possibly arise hereafter for any trifles which the
world contains ?
If the Christian religion be a fable, why do we not honestly
and openly explode it ? Why do we glory and take a pride in
its namtf ? But if Christ is “ the way, and the truth, and the life,”
why do all our schemes of life and plans of conduct deviate so
from this great Exemplar ? If we .acknowledge Christ to be our
Lord and Master, who is love itself, and who taught nothing but
love and peace, let us exhibit his model; not by assuming his
name, but by our lives and conversation. Let us adopt the love of
peace, that Christ may recognize hrs own, even as we recognise him
to be the Teacher of Peace.
�15
Extract from a Letter addressed by Erasmus to Francis
the First, King of France, anno 1523.
What can be frailer, more transitory, more exposed to misery,
than human life ? I dwell not on the great variety of diseases,
disasters, accidents, fatal calamities, pestilential sicknesses, light
ning, earthquakes, conflagrations, inundations, and other evils
which overwhelm it without limit and without number. Yet,
among all the miseries by which man is infested, there is not one
more malignant, more mischievous than War; not one that, like
War, does more harm to the morals of men, than even to their
property and persons. It is, indeed, a less injury to deprive me of
my life than of my innocence. Nor is war at all the less detest
able, because the greatest portion of its evils falls on the poor and
low; on the farmer, on the manufacturer, or the wayfaring man.
Our Lord Jesus Christ shed his blood for the redemption of these
men, despised as they are, no less than for the redemption of
Kings. And when we shall stand before the judgment-seat of
Christ, where the most powerful Lords of this world must shortly
stand, that impartial Judge will require a no less strict account to
be given of those poor and despised ones, than of Despots and
Grandees. Therefore they who deem it a trifling loss and injury
when the poor and the low are robbed, afflicted, banished, burnt
out, oppressed or put to death, do in truth accuse Jesus Christ
(the wisdom of the Father) of folly, for shedding his blood to save
such wretches as these.
Christ, throughout his whole life, displayed the character of a
Saviour, a Comforter, a universal Benefactor. Whether in the
temple or the synagogue, whether in public or in private, whether
in a ship or in the wilderness, he'taught the multitude, he healed
the sick, he cleansed the lepers, he restored the paralytic, the
lame, the blind; he expelled evil spirits, he raised the dead, he
delivered those that were in jeopardy; he fed the hungry; he re
futed the Pharisees ; he took the part of the disciples, of the poor
sinful creature who so lavishly poured out her ointment; he even
comforted the guilty and unhappy woman of Canaan, who was
detected in the commission of her crime. Review7 the whole life
�16
of Jesus; he never did evil to any mortal, though he was himself
used so ill, and if he had chosen it, might have revenged himself
so amply. He was uniformly the Saviour and the Benefactor. To
Malchus he restored the ear which Peter had cut off. He would
not suffer his own personal safety to be secured, even, by so trifling
an injury as that which was done to Malchus. Suspended on the
cross, he saved one of the thieves that were crucified with him.
After his death he brought over the Centurion to the Christian
faith. This was supporting the character of a King, truly so called
—To do good to aid, and injury to none.
; sib jfooj
■ , ■)
.
oq Yuhsiviil oe oii/r iHt'hiOio lolaia
pjKdiiu bog
oil) h- ’ ioimoo
ad lo JCKKKeiauHGo adj ni fjaWilob
�
Dublin Core
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Title
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Victorian Blogging
Description
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A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
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Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
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2018
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
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Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Extracts from the writings of Erasmus on the subject of war
Description
An account of the resource
Edition: Stereotype ed.
Series: Tracts of the Society for the Promotion of Permanent and Universal Peace
Series no.: No. IV
Place of publication: London
Collation: 16 p. ; 21 cm.
Notes: From the library of Dr Moncure Conway. Printed by Richard Barrett; sold at Thomas Ward & Co. [and other booksellers]. A list of the Tracts issued by the Society listed on title page verso. KVK gives original publication details as: Printed by Bensley and Son, 1817.
Creator
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Erasmus, Desiderius
Publisher
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Richard Barrett, Mark Lane
Date
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[n.d.]
Identifier
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G5194
Subject
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Pacifism
Desiderius Erasmus
Rights
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<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (Extracts from the writings of Erasmus on the subject of war), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
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application/pdf
Type
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Text
Language
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English
Conway Tracts
Peace
War