TO THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS EMPEROR CHARLES, ERASMUS OF ROTTERDAM SENDS GREETINGS[1]
Wisdom is an extraordinary attribute, Charles, most bountiful of princes. Indeed, all princes should seek it, just as Solomon, as a youth of good parts, spurning all else, alone desired, and which he wished to be his constant companion on the throne. This is that purest and most beautiful wisdom of Sunamite, by whose embraces alone was David pleased, he that wisest son of an all-wise father. Even the pagans see this. Plato wishes those guardians of the state to excel in others not in wealth, in gems, in dress, in statutes and attendants, but in wisdom alone. And not without reason did Plutarch say that no one serves the state better than he who imbues the mind of the prince, who provides and cares for everyone and everything, with the best of ideas and those most becoming a prince. On the other hand, no one brings so serious a blight upon the affairs of men as he who has corrupted the heart of the prince with depraved ideas and desires. He is no different from one who has poisoned the public fountain whence all men drink.
For this reason, mighty prince Charles, it pleased us greatly when you consulted us on the matter of warring against the Turks. For no man attains wisdom on his own, but only by learning it from others. This then is true wisdom, to listen to wise advisors and heed their words. Do this, and just as much as we hope you surpass Solomon in good fortune you will surpass him in wisdom.
Although a prince ought nowhere to be rash in his plans, there is no place for him to be more deliberate and circumspect than in the matter of going to war. For like a mighty storm, war tosses around the ship of state, shipwrecking it in the seas of calamity. From the winds of war spring waves of hatred and violence; war begets more war; from the smallest comes the greatest; from one war springs two. Like a deadly plague it arises in one place and spreads to another, leaving nothing but death in its wake. If every prince kept this in mind, I imagine there would be no more war.
But how much more should the Christian avoid war? If, in the whole teachings of Christ, a single instance or commendation of war can be brought forth in its favor, let us fight. The Hebrews, one may suggest, were allowed to engage in war. But they were only allowed to war by the consent of God. Our oracle, which we hear steadily in the Gospels, restrains us from war, and yet we wage war more madly than the Hebrews. David was pleasing to God, a man after his own heart. Yet God forbade His Holy Temple to be built by David on the one ground that he was tainted with blood; that is, he was a warrior. In His Wisdom he chose the peaceful Solomon for His task. If these things were done among the Jews, how much more should it be done among us Christians? They had a shadow of Solomon, we have the real Solomon, the Prince of Peace, Christ, who through his body conciliates all things, both in heaven and earth.
But, some may say, Augustine approves of war and St. Bernard praises some soldiers. But Christ himself and Peter and Paul everywhere teach the opposite. Why is their authority less with us than that of Augustine or Bernard? Is Augustine greater than Christ? Or is Bernard over Peter? Augustine in one or two places does not disapprove of war, but Christ everywhere teaches against it. There is no place in which the apostles do not condemn it. Yet people prefer those holy fathers who in one or two places seem to approve it. Why do we pass over all these matters and fasten upon those which justify our sins in our own eyes?
But, some may argue, wars with the Turks are justified. For though wars among Christians, such as are commonly practiced among us to our own shame, are evil, wars against the Turks are holy and just. Yet this is not so! For the Kingdom of Christ was first created, spread out, and firmly established not by the blood of warriors but by the blood of martyrs. Perchance then it is not right that it should be maintained by means differing from those by which it was created and extended. For Christ could have called out thousands of legions of angels, if he had wished to spread the gospel by war. But instead he called out thousands of martyrs, who with their precious blood watered the gospel, bringing forth the flower of faith.
Rather than saving the Turk, these wars more readily cause us to degenerate into Turks ourselves. For what of our history? Do we need to mention how many times under pretexts of wars of this kind the Christian people have been plundered and nothing else has been accomplished? Or how about the last crusade, when the good King Ladislas of Hungary and Poland was miserably defeated at Varna because by the popes command broke the treaty he had made with the Turks. When the virtue of truth is trampled upon, how can we expect to spread the Truth, which is the Gospel of Christ?
First let us see that we ourselves are genuine Christians, and then, if it seems best, let us attack the Turks. For if we war against the Turks with unclean hands, God will use the Turks to judge us. The historical books of the Old Testament, along with many other passages, show clearly what it means to fight against an angry God and against an enemy whom we have deserved. Or do you think that God only used the pagan to judge his people when they sinned against him in the Old Testament? I suppose it is because God no longer uses pagan nations to judge his people that we are so successful in our own wars against the Turks, so that where he formerly held one mile of land he now holds a hundred. But let us cleanse the Church, root out the multitude of thistles and thorns of vice which do now crowd upon it. Let the Church everywhere be as the Church of France, which stands as an example to all men by your efforts, and the efforts of the Pope.
I have no doubt, most illustrious of princes, but that you are of this mind; for you were born in that atmosphere and have been trained by the best and most honorable men along those lines. For the rest, I pray that Christ, who is all good and supreme, may continue to bless your worthy efforts. He rejoices to be called the Prince of Peace; may you do the same, that by your goodness and your wisdom, at last there may be a respite from the maddest of mad wars. The memory of the misfortunes we have passed through will also commend peace to us, and the calamities of earlier times will render twofold the favor of your kindness.
[1] Much of this is loosely based off of Erasmus Education of a Christian Prince. If Erasmus prints such a book in this timeline, this letter could easily be seen as a rough draft of some of its ideas. As for the likelihood that Erasmus and Charles would be familiar with each other, Erasmus in his time was the king of letters, writing to everyone from politicians to religious leaders, so it would not be surprising that one of his acquaintances in this timeline is perhaps the most prolific European monarch letter writer. In addition, Erasmus actually did spend time in Paris, and it would not be inconceivable that in this timeline there would be mutual interest between Erasmus and Charles VIII, who is a champion of Christian reform along humanist lines.
I guess we'll have to see how it unfolds. Up to this point except Portugal & Naples, Europe has left N Africa alone to find its own course and it looks like they are doing just that.
