Erasmus is one of the most famous Dutchmen in the world. Erasmus wrote many works on reforming the Roman Catholic Church, which he felt had strayed from its original teachings. However, unlike Luther and Calvin who started the reformation, he never wanted to leave the church.

In addition to his humanist works, he wrote about many other topics. “The Praise of Folly” is still his best-known work. He also collected over 4000 European sayings and proverbs in “Adagia”, and wrote many comic dialogues about the morals and habits of his time.