...because he faithfully warned us about those matters which cannot be safely ignored, and with so many and such great labors he endeavored to reveal the genuine meaning of the Sacred oracles, and indeed, has revealed it most successfully for the most part. Use therefore, READER, this Work, arranged much more conveniently for your purposes than before, and return to that great man the thanks you can and should, by a kind estimation of his Works; and with praises, like little flowers, scatter with us this eternal monument of his genius.

TO HIS BELOVED SON

ERASMUS OF ROTTERDAM,

PROFESSOR OF SACRED THEOLOGY,

LEO X, POPE original: "PA PS", likely an abbreviation for "PAPA" (Pope) or "PONTIFEX".

Decorative drop cap 'D' containing a central flower and foliate designs within a square border.
BELOVED son, greetings and Apostolic blessing. Your labors on the New Testament, published some time ago, have greatly delighted us—not so much because they were dedicated to our name, but because they stood out with a learning that is not common, but rather new and remarkable, and were highly praised by the judgment of all learned men. Having been informed that these have recently been revised by you, and enriched and illustrated with many added annotations, we have rejoiced in no small measure. From that first edition, which seemed most complete, we can imagine what this future one will be like, and how much good it will bring to students of sacred Theology and to our orthodox faith. Therefore, be encouraged in your spirit, and, striving for the public good, watch diligently over such a holy Work so that it may come into the light. You shall receive a worthy reward for so many labors from God himself: and from us, indeed, you shall obtain deserved commendation, and perpetual praise from all the faithful of Christ. Given at Rome at Saint Peter’s, under the ring of the fisherman. The Ring of the Fisherman (Annulus Piscatoris) is the official signet ring used by the Pope for formal correspondence. The 10th day of September, 1518. In the sixth year of our Pontificate.

TO LEO THE TENTH,

SUPREME PONTIFF IN EVERY WAY,

DESIDERIUS ERASMUS OF ROTTERDAM, THE LEAST OF THEOLOGIANS, SENDS GREETINGS. original: "S. D.", abbreviation for "Salutem Dicit," a standard greeting meaning "sends health/greetings."

Decorative drop cap 'I' featuring a personified figure standing amidst architectural ornaments and scrollwork.
AMONG so many distinguished honors, Leo the Tenth, Supreme Pontiff, by which you arrived—renowned and respected from every side—at the pinnacle of the pontifical dignity, on one hand through the infinite distinctions of the Medici house (famous no less for the monuments of learned men than for the images and honors of your ancestors), and on the other hand through the innumerable gifts of body and mind, which partly the kindness of the divine Will bestowed, and partly your own industry prepared with that same Will breathing upon you—nothing has more truly or magnificently distinguished you than the fact that you brought an equal innocence of character to that honor, than which no greater can happen to a man among men. For you brought to the pontifical sublimity not only a life far removed from every disgrace, but also a reputation never splashed by any stain of sinister rumor. While this is most difficult everywhere, it is especially so in Rome—a city whose liberty is so great (I might even say insolence) that integrity is hardly safe from insults there, and not even those who are furthest from vice are free from accusation. By these things it has come to pass that it yielded not a little more true praise to Leo that he had deserved the high papacy than that he had received it. Now, in the very functioning of this most beautiful and simultaneously most holy office, although you honor the honor you received in turn with so many noble deeds and exceptional virtues, nevertheless there is nothing that commends you to the gods and mortals alike more effectively than the fact that with the greatest zeal and equal wisdom, you act and strive for this above all: that Christian piety might daily be advanced toward the better. Until now, by the fault of the times and especially of wars, piety has been somewhat weakened and collapsed; for it is the nature of all other human things to slide back gradually into the worse and, as it were, to degenerate, unless we resist with hands and feet. But it is sometimes as much more difficult as it is more beautiful to restore great things than to have founded them. Therefore, since you present yourself to us as if a second Ezra, Ezra was a biblical figure credited with restoring the Jewish law and rebuilding the community in Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. and, having calmed the storms of war as much as was in your power, you strenuously take up the task of repairing religion, it is surely right that all Christians everywhere among the nations and lands should help you, according to each one’s ability, as you attempt this most beautiful and most wholesome thing. Now I see everywhere excellent...