Erasmus' 22 Principles

Desiderius Erasmus was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, monk, and theologian born in Rotterdam in 1466. He was committed to his work and held strong to doctrines such as free will. In the year 1492, poverty forced Erasmus to become a monk, and although he was offered many positions of honor and profit through the academic world, Erasmus declined them all, much rather wanting to stick with the sufficient, though uncertain, rewards of independent literary activity. Many great works were sold by Erasmus, including a certain Enchiridion militis Christiani, which is one of his most influential works. The title means "Handbook of the Christian Knight (or Soldier)." In it are values to follow and principles to help the mending of your evil, or wrong, ways. Generally speaking, a literary work on how to improve your life. Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, whom I mentioned in a previous post of 2009, has a collection of twenty-two virtues from this short work in his astounding book, On Combat. Here are the twenty-two principles on how to be strong while remaining virtuous in a dangerous world:

Increase Your Faith

Even if the entire world appears mad.

Act Upon Your Faith

Even if you must undergo the loss of everything.

Analyze Your Fears

You will find that things are not as bad as they appear.

Make Virtue The Only Goal Of Your Life Dedicate all your enthusiasm, all your effort, your leisure, as well as your business.

Turn Away from Material Things

If you are greatly concerned with money you will be weak of spirit.

Train Your Mind To Distinguish Good And Evil

Let your rule of government be determined by the common good.

Never Let Any Setback Stop You In Your Quest

We are not perfect--this only means we should try harder.

If You Have Frequent Temptations, Do Not Worry

Begin to worry when you do not have temptation, because that is a sure sign that you cannot distinguish good from evil.

Always Be Prepared for an Attack

Careful generals set guards even in times of peace.

Spit, As It Were, In The Face Of Danger Keep a stirring quotation with you for encouragement.

There Are Two Dangers: One Is Giving Up, The Other Is Pride

After you have performed some worthy task, give all the credit to someone else.

Turn Your Weakness Into Virtue

If you are inclined to be selfish, make a deliberate effort to be giving.

Treat Each Battle As Though It Were Your Last

And you will finish, in the end, victorious!

Don't Assume That Doing Good Allows You To Keep A Few Vices.

The enemy you ignore the most is the one who conquers you.

Weigh Your Alternatives Carefully

The wrong way will often seem easier than the right way.

Never Admit Defeat Even If You Have Been Wounded

The good soldier's painful wounds spur him to gather his strength.

Always Have A Plan Of Action

So when the time comes for battle, you will know what to do.

Calm Your Passions By Seeing How Little There Is To Gain

We often worry and scheme about trifling matters of no real importance.

Speak With Yourself This Way:

If I do what I am considering, would I want my family to know about it?

Virtue Has Its Own Reward

Once a person has it, they would not exchange it for anything.

Life Can Be Sad, Difficult, And Quick: Make It Count For Something!

Since we do not know when death will come, act honorably everyday.

Repent Your Wrongs Those who do not admit their faults have the most to fear.

Feeling is Believing

When we, as human beings, are met with certain situations we get goosebumps and our gut feeling, our intuition, lets us know how our minds feel about the situation at hand. It can be a street we feel edgy about walking through, or a place we enjoy so much it lightens our mood. That gut feeling is instinct, and our instinct can be either a bad vibe or a good feeling. Perhaps one day you meet a person and just by shaking their hand or talking with them for a moment you feel comfortable and possibly even cheerful by their presence. Granted, it may be so because you are having a nice day, but that is not always the case. That person can be emitting a good vibe that you walked into and are now a part of. Or is it you who created the vibe because your mind or body told you that this person is not a threat, or they have good intentions toward you upon a first impression?

Vibes can be felt in a specific atmosphere or with a group of certain people, like your intuition when you feel a certain area of town is not too safe or when a person's energy feels "off" and you get a bad vibe from them. You don’t see them but they are there. You feel them. Perception of an atmosphere and energy that a person perceives from another is sometimes referred to as an aura. You can feel or sense a person’s aura when they walk by or look you in the eyes, or when two individuals conduct intimacy (energy given off with actions like touching, hugging, and kissing are originally stronger than usual). Again, we don’t see these energies, these auras, but we feel them. They are all around us.

So next time you travel outside your front door, try to concentrate on the energies around you, feel the vibrations of the person sitting next to you on a subway, standing near you in a bookstore or standing in front of you in line at a supermarket. Sense the energy from a place in which you feel nostalgic. You can’t see it but you never thought about it before. Now do you feel it?

Referring back to intuition, it is defined as a “direct perception of truth, fact, etc., independent of any reasoning process; immediate apprehension.” What if that is what enlightenment feels like, or how the Creator wanted us to live originally?