ABSTRACT
Generationaftergenerationhasdrawnonitsargumentsagainstthemadnessof war.WhyhasQuerelaPacisremainedrelevantallthewaydowntothepresent day?
Firstofall,surely,becauseofitsformandstyle.Erasmuswasnotonlya scholar,hewasalsoapublicist,concernedwithcreatinganimpactand accordinglymindfulofwhichstylebestsuitedagiventopic.QuerelaPacishas theformofaspeech,andfromtheverystartitisclearthatthepurposeismore thanacademic.Erasmus'saimistoconvince,toinfluence,tochangetheminds ofhisreaders,indeed,toestablishhumanactionuponanewbasis.Thisarousing, summoningfunctionofthegenreofthespeechwasexploitedfromitsvery beginningsbytheSophists.InQuerelaPacis,however,itisnotErasmushimself whospeaksbutapersonification,thegoddessPeace.Peace,theblossoming Eirene,alongwithOrder(Eunomia)andJustice(Dice),appearedinHesiod's TheogonysomesevencenturiesbeforeChrist.Together,theseHorae-suggestive oftheseasons,theever-repeatingsequenceofnature,oforderandregularitytendedtheworksofmortalmen.Insubsequentvisionsofpeace,thenaturaland humanworldsareparallelentities.Peacecanonlybecomprehensive.Withhis wordsinthemouthofPeace,Erasmus'sauthorityincreasesinreliability,dignity, andcertainty.ButwhyisPeace'sspeechalamentation?Quitesimply,becausethe visionofeternalblessednesscannotbeseparatedfromthehorrorevokedbythe atrocitiesofwar.Alwaysarealist,Erasmusrefusedtoaverthisgazefromwhat wastakingplaceintheheartofEurope,inthemidstofaworldthatcalleditself Christian.
