The Impact of Erasmus on the 1614 Pauline Commentary of Cornelius a Lapide, S.J

This essay examines the transmission and reception of Desiderius Erasmus' text-critical Bible scholarship in the work of the prominent early-modern Catholic biblical commentator Cornelius a Lapide S.J. (1567-1637), especially in his 1614 commentaries on the Epistles of Paul written during A Lapide's time in Louvain. The paper makes three points of evaluation. It first (1) looks at the frequency of A Lapide's citations of Erasmus, particularly in terms of textual-critical matters - a frequency that is highest in the Pauline commentaries in comparison to A Lapide's other biblical work. Secondly, (2) the paper investigates A Lapide's assessment of how Erasmus' philological scholarship led to theological entanglements as the Reformation unfolded. A third (3) important point of attention is the measure and tone of A Lapide's responses, which serve as a good barometer not only in creating a picture of the man, but also of the shape of the Jesuit order in 1614. On a para-level, the essay examines the question of authority in biblical matters.