and strip them of their raiment ? Does not God bid us do so? (Exodus iii. 22). It is the right of the Church to usurp all the possessions of the heathen. I answer: When Manasseh and Ephraim wished to seize the land of the heathen, the men alone advanced; the women and children stayed behind in safety (Joshua i. 14). We should do the same. Men of wisdom and judgment, steadfast in the faith, should go forward and disarm these pagan writers; the young should not be exposed to danger. What if our youths were killed or wounded or taken prisoner? How many, alas, has pagan philosophy already drawn away from Christ and given over to Atheism! The safest plan, therefore, is to send armed men to deprive those accursed by heaven of their gold, silver, and precious things, and to distribute them among the heirs of God. O that God would stir up some heroic spirit to cull those flowers of elegance from the vast deserts in which they grow, and plant them in the garden of Christian philosophy, that nothing be lacking there.
22. Finally, if any pagan writers are to be countenanced, let them be Seneca, Epictetus, Plato, and similar teachers of virtue and honesty; since in these comparatively little error and superstition are to be found. This was the opinion of the great Erasmus, who advised that the Christian youth be brought up on the Holy Scriptures, but added: “If they have anything to do with profane literature, let it be with those books that approximate most closely to the Scriptures” (Compendium of Theology). But even these books should not be given to the young until their Christian faith is well assured; and in any case careful editions should be issued in which the names of the gods and the general tone of superstition should be removed. For it is on the condition that their heads be shaved and their nails pared, that God allows heathen maidens to be taken to wife (Deut. xxi. 12). Let there be no misunderstanding. We do not absolutely prohibit Christians from reading heathen writings, since to those who believe Christ has given the power of taking up serpents, and drinking deadly things
