A Christian Humanist
While Colet is not as well known a Christian humanist as Erasmus, his writings are reflective of Christian humanism. He studied Cicero, Augustine, Jerome, John Chrysostom, Ignatius of Antioch, Lactantius and Polycarp.
In his writings, Colet refers to Italian humanists and Platonists Marsilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandola.
Erasmus said of Colet: “When I listen to Colet it seems to me that I am listening to Plato himself”. Erasmus likely portrayed Colet to show that one could be highly critical of the Church while still a loyal priest. His depiction of Colet was partly a depiction of himself.
Read more about this topic: John Colet
Famous quotes containing the words christian and/or humanist:
“Is discord going to show itself while we are still fighting, is the Jew once again worth less than another? Oh, it is sad, very sad, that once more, for the umpteenth time, the old truth is confirmed: “What one Christian does is his own responsibility, what one Jew does is thrown back at all Jews.””
—Anne Frank (1929–1945)
“Each of us, even the lowliest and most insignificant among us, was uprooted from his innermost existence by the almost constant volcanic upheavals visited upon our European soil and, as one of countless human beings, I can’t claim any special place for myself except that, as an Austrian, a Jew, writer, humanist and pacifist, I have always been precisely in those places where the effects of the thrusts were most violent.”
—Stefan Zweig (18811942)