Expositions of the Psalms

Between 1515 and 1533 Erasmus wrote commentaries on eleven psalms, his only treatment of texts from the Old Testament. His principal aim was, as in his Paraphrases, to contribute, through the exposition of the Bible, to the renewal of preaching and devotional literature. This second of three volumes of the Expositions of the Psalmsin the Collected Works of Erasmus, continues the chronological sequence of composition, containing commentaries on psalms 85, 22, 28 (the De bello Turcico), and 33. Erasmus wrote these expositions between August 1528 and February 1531, a time of growing anxiety for him as the bitterly contested issues of Reformation theology began to slip beyond hope for reconciliation. The expositions clarify his own fidelity to a moderate and conciliatory line of argument, and expose his constant preoccupation with the rediscovery of the spiritual dimension in Christian practice through ruminative meditation, which was the ultimate goal of these works. The expositions offer an absorbing range of nuances on the critical issues of the time, many of which have been neglected or obscured by partisan accounts of the Reformation crisis. Together, these three volumes open new sources for Erasmus scholars interested in humanist scriptural interpretation, the patristic heritage, and the religious and intellectual history of the Renaissance and Reformation.

DOMINIC BAKER-SMITH is Emeritus Professor of English Literature in the University of Amsterdam. EMILY KEARNS is Lecturer in Classics at St Hilda's College, Oxford.