Erasmus was a Dutch scholar and priest during the Renaissance who became one of the most famous thinkers in Europe through his books, letters, and translations. He believed strongly in education, tolerance, and using careful scholarship to understand ancient texts and the Bible, and his new Greek edition of the New Testament later shaped Martin Luther's own translation. His witty book In Praise of Folly, written while staying with his close friend Thomas More, poked fun at pompous, foolish behavior in his own society — its Latin title is even a pun on More's name.