'Exploiting Erasmus is a subtle, profound, and wide-ranging study that effectively puts Erasmus back into the Long Reformation while remaining at the cutting edge of modern scholarship. Gregory D. Dodds writes with authority, presenting a competent and confident account of historical developments across a very long period and carefully elucidating the complexities of the Reformation. The perspective offered in this book enriches and enlarges our understanding of early modern religious change.' -- Jonathan Woolfson, Director, Lorenzo de'Medici School, Florence, Italy

Desiderius Erasmus' humanist works were influential throughout Europe, in various areas of thought including theology, education, philology, and political theory. Exploiting Erasmus examines the legacy of Erasmus in England from the mid-sixteenth century to the overthrow of James II in 1688 and studies the various ways in which his works were received, manipulated, and used in religious controversies that threatened both church and state.

In viewing movements and events such as the rise of anti-Calvinism, the religious politics leading to the English civil war, and the emergence of the Latitudinarians during the Restoration, Gregory D. Dodds provides a fascinating account not only of the reception and effects of Erasmus' works, but also of the early history of English Protestantism. Exploiting Erasmus offers a critical new angle for rethinking the theology and rhetoric of the time. It is a remarkable study of Erasmus' influence on issues of conformity, tolerance, war, and peace.