The elephant and the fly

As I march deliberately, dedicatedly, and sometimes directionlessly through my college education, I find myself relating to the rhetorical strategies of Erasmus, in his contribution to the Discourse on Free Will. As he states (satirically?) and Luther confirms (also satirically?) that disputing the opinion of Luther is akin to the fly opposing the elephant, my mind turned to my own educational and professional pursuits (what is the resume, if not an exercise in self-aggrandizement in the face of the vast professional world). But beyond my own experience, I thought this comparison was fitting when evaluating their rhetorical strategies.

Erasmus: Can't take scripture literally, then takes scripture literally. Paints everyone as exaggerators, but then condemns the exaggerator.

In reading the arguments of Erasmus, I was struck by how generally he stated his terms. Rather than provide all of the many scriptural examples he alluded to, he simply proclaimed that there were enough to derail the thought train of Martin Luther. He also plays up his relative obscurity as humility in comparison to the fame of Luther:

"Thus I am here not as a judge, as I said at the outset, but as a disputer."

Luther: Will trample Erasmus underfoot, masquerading as a humble giant.

"Therefore I shall be even more grateful if you gain greater certainty through me, just as I have gained in assurance through you."

Luther's response to Erasmus is almost comical. He uses humility as a tool as well, but does so in a very clever way. He speaks as if he is coming from a higher place, and that he can easily argue away what Erasmus has presented. 

"My friend Erasmus, may I ask you to suffer my lack of eloquence, as I in return will bear with your ignorance in these matters. God does not give everything to each and we cannot all do everything. As Paul says, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12,4).

Satirical deference seems to be Luther's game.

Both writers appear to do what they can to evoke notions of humility, though Luther impressively does it in tandem with asserting his own self-assurance.