The Only Use

Desiderius Erasmus
in
The Crucible
(Edited)

I am not surprised at this, for at my own university a professor of history—a Lutheran, by the way—used to assemble his graduate students, draw the shades, and commune in the classroom with Erasmus.
p. 34.5

Erasmus = Dutch humanist and theologian whose his criticisms of the Roman Catholic Church were instrumental in the Reformation (1466-1536)

Definitions:

(1) (Desiderius Erasmus)
Dutch Renaissance scholar who criticized Church abuses but rejected violent or radical Reformation changes (1466-1536)

Desiderius Erasmus (1466–1536) was the leading humanist scholar of northern Europe. He wrote sharp but witty criticisms of Church abuses—such as in The Praise of Folly—and produced important scholarly editions of the New Testament. His calls for moral and spiritual reform helped inspire many who later joined the Protestant Reformation.

However, Erasmus feared religious violence and division. He stayed within the Roman Catholic Church, rejected extreme or violent change, and publicly opposed Martin Luther when Luther broke with Church authority.
(2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
Less commonly, Erasmus can refer to another person or anything with that name.