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Erasmus
by
And so they started for Paris.
Erasmus looked back and saw the monastery, where he had spent ten arduous years, fade from view.
It was the happiest moment he had ever known. The world lay beyond.
* * * * *
The Bishop of Cambray introduced Erasmus to a mode of life for which he was eminently fitted. It consisted in traveling, receiving honors, hospitality and all good things in a material way, and giving his gracious society in return. Doors flew open on the approach of the good Bishop. Everywhere he went a greeting was assured. He was a Churchman–that was enough. Erasmus shared in the welcomes, for he was handsome in face and figure, had a ready tongue, and could hold his own with the best.
Europe was then dotted with monasteries, nunneries and other church institutions. Their remains are seen there yet–one is really never out of sight of a steeple. But the exclusive power of the Church is gone, and in many places there are only ruins where once were cloisters, corridors, chapels, halls and gardens teeming with life and industry.
The “missions” of California were founded on the general plan of the monasteries of Europe. They afforded a lodging for the night–a resting-place for travelers–and were a radiatory center of education–at least all of the education that then existed.
In California these “missions” were forty miles apart–one day’s journey. In France, Italy and Germany they were, say, ten miles apart. Between them, trudged or rode on horseback or in carriages, a picturesque array of pilgrims, young and old, male and female. To go anywhere and be at home everywhere, this was the happy lot of a church dignitary.
The parts in church institutions were interchangeable; and by a system of migration, life was made agreeable, and reasonable honesty was assured. I have noticed that certain Continental banking institutions, with branches in various cities, keep their cashiers rotating. The idea was gotten from Rome. Rome was very wise–her policies were the crystallizations of the world-wisdom of centuries. The church-militant battle-cry, “The world for Christ,” simply means man’s lust for ownership, with Christ as an excuse. If ever there was a man-made institution, it is the Church. To control mankind has been her desire, and the miracle is that, with a promise of heaven, a threat of hell, and a firm grip on temporal power–social and military–she was ever induced partially to loosen her grip. To such men as Savonarola, Luther and Erasmus, do we owe our freedom. These men cared more for truth than for power, and their influence was to disintegrate the ankylosis of custom and make men think. And a thought is mental dynamite. No wonder the Church has always feared and hated a thinker!
The Bishop of Cambray was not a thinker. Fenelon, who was later to occupy his office, was to make the bishopric of Cambray immortal. Conformists die, but heretics live on forever. They are men who have redeemed the cross and rendered the gallows glorious.
* * * * *
And so the Bishop of Cambray and his little light-haired secretary fared forth to fame and fortune–the Bishop to be remembered because he had a secretary, and the secretary to be remembered because he grew into a great teacher.
At each stopping-place the Bishop said mass–the workers, students and novitiates quitting their tasks to hear the words of encouragement from the lips of the great man. Occasionally Erasmus was pushed forward to say a few words, by the Bishop, who had to look after his own personal devotions. The assembled friends liked the young man–he was so bright and witty and free from cant. They even laughed out loud, and so, often two smiles were made to grow where there were no smiles before.