Erasmus's 'The Complaint Of Peace'

War has come to be the driving force of the people on Earth for several centuries. It serves the purpose of settling disputes, arguing for religion, or even fighting for unity. But, does war prove to be the only way to communicate between differences? Desiderius Erasmus, a Northern humanist born in the 15th century, and his ideas of peace still reverberate throughout the world. In many Renaissance paintings, common themes include war and religious difference. Paolo Uccello’s painting, The Battle of San Romano, supports Erasmus’s ideas in The Complaint of Peace, because the painting depicts a war between two forces, through the use of color and motion, which directly relates to Erasmus’s ideas of what humans have become. Uccello’s The Battle of San Romano, through …show more content…
In Hinduism, Kali Yuga gives its name for this time period of corruption and war. During the Kali Yuga, such acts of violence and deception will only increase from now till the destruction of the Earth. This manifests itself in today’s world. Terrorism remains on the rise, within foreign and domestic areas of Earth. France stands in a state of considering war, America increases security and prepares for attacks, and relations with the Middle East get chillier. Even within an individual, war becomes his/her “friend”. Everything, from bad grades, to road rages, to Black Friday misery, ends in anger. Anger fuels this world now, and will not subside unless humans use their reasoning capabilities to make right decisions. Everyone says peace will save our world, but not even that survives as feasible to humans anymore. In order for peace to come back, one must get rid of selfish desires, and strive for a high goal, which of course must not be harmful to others or towards oneself. Once one attains this, he/she will be at peace, and eventually, with all humans peacefully communicating, negotiating, and not fighting, the world will come to