ABSTRACT
What role should emotions play in religious preaching? The Catholic priest Desiderius Erasmus (1466–1536) was one of the most renowned Humanist thinkers and prolific authors of the Renaissance. Erasmus began writing Ecclesiastes: On the Art of Preaching in 1523 but the book was only completed and printed in 1535. A critic of abuses within the church, he advocated reform and turned his attention to the training of priests. In Ecclesiastes, Erasmus analysed the role that priests play in their community as preachers and how emotions are crucial in the making of a successful preacher. Erasmus argues that preachers should not be like actors or lawyers whose emotional displays are only rhetorical devices that achieve a temporary effect that rapidly dissipates. To become a successful preacher, a priest must cultivate heartfelt emotions.
