 And yet, though he may not be a philosopher of language in any formal sense, he has been recognized as one of the founders of the modern concept of literature (Cummings 2013). Throughout his work, Erasmus conducts a profound inquiry into literary mimesis, even and especially in regard to the gospels and their representation of Jesus Christ. From his engagement with sacred letters, there emerges a vital and challenging theory of literature and a strong commitment to the central importance of literature for human life. This theory encompasses questions of literal and figurative meaning, of the likeness of speech and thought, of the relationaship of res and verba, and of the primacy of verbal over visual representation. All these issues may indeed be of interest to the philosophy of language even when this philosophy eschews Scripture. 