Quevedo, Reader of Erasmus

Abstract

The discourse of the <i>pharmakon</i>, or ambiguous antidote, permeates the early modern Spanish dramatic corpus and appears also in prose works by Francisco de Quevedo. One possible intertext for these references might be Erasmus’ <i>Enchiridion</i>. This would be surprising, because Erasmus’ text had been banned by the time Quevedo was writing; but we know he was aware of Erasmus’ work because he used Erasmus’ edition of Seneca, among other connections which have been demonstrated between these two writers. This essay examines patterns of intertextual borrowing, especially Quevedo’s probable (but unacknowledged) debt to Erasmus in several of his works. Even if Quevedo did not absorb Erasmian influence directly, he still could have had access to some of the same ideas through Saint Ignatius and the Jesuits as intermediaries. The last part of the essay looks at the Erasmian legacy in Ignatius’ <i>Spiritual Exercises</i> and discusses New Historical self-fashioning as practiced by Quevedo.