The present essay aims to study the peculiarities of Plutarch’s impact on the works of Erasmus of Rotterdam, and the importance of the Cheronean for the Erasmian concept of bonae litterae. The paper starts by tracing the origins and character of Erasmus’ acquaintance with Plutarch’s writings, then it emphasizes Erasmus’ regard for the moral aspect of the Cheronean legacy and the privileged position of the Greek moralist within Erasmian thought.

A major purpose of this essay is to show that our assumptions regarding human development in general, and in particular, the mother and child have their roots in a Christian-humanistic tradition. I also wish to locate the origins of the discourse on the mother and child within a critical historical review of notions of a changing anthropology of the human subject. The working hypothesis is as follows: A changing view of the human being is associated with a changing approach to (...) child care and child development. This changing approach to child is accompanied by a ‘new woman’. Women are newly constructed when children, and thus a future person and a future society is defined. (shrink)