These volumes are the first in a series containing works by Erasmus 'that concern literature and education' interests which to him were scarcely separable. The aim of Erasmian education was a civilized life, expressed in Christian piety and the fulfilment of public and private duties and embellished by learning and literature. Towards these ends the soundest training for youth was what Erasmus often called bonne litterae, 'good letters, ' a literary and rhetorical training based on Greek and Latin authors. For centuries the classical curriculum was the core of liberal education,...