Erudition
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The word erudition came into Middle English from Latin. A scholar is erudite (Latin eruditus) when instruction and reading followed by digestion and contemplation have effaced all rudeness ("e- (ex-) + rudis"), that is to say smoothed away all raw, untrained incivility. Erudition is the depth, polish and breadth that is applied to education from further readings and understanding of literary works. The Latin word educare means to "lead out" from ignorance; hence the educated person has been led to think critically and with deductive logic. The erudite person has additionally become familiar with some more arcane information, has a deeper familiarity with the literature on the subject and a broader intellectual horizon.
Common usage has blurred the distinction from "learned".
An erudite person will gain insight on particular subjects directly through books and study, rather than by following a course or scholarship in the subject. The famous Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi was erudite: he read and studied the classics on his own, and was deeply influenced by many philosophers. Among the most erudite of Roman writers was Marcus Terentius Varro. Among the most erudite English essay-writers is Sir Thomas Browne.
A jurist is one who is learned, and knows the law intimately and thoroughly; by comparison, an erudite jurist also knows the history of the law in detail, as well as the laws of other cultures.
Erudition is evident in a literary work when an erudite writer possesses a general knowledge spanning many different fields. When such universal scholars are also at the forefront of several fields, they are sometimes called "polymaths". When they are not, or are only at the forefront of individual fields (sometimes in a figurehead or leadership capacity), they are sometimes called "polyhistors."
