The Missing Dialogue Concerning the Will Between Erasmus and Luther

For all their doctrinal antagonism, the treatises on the will of Erasmus and Luther betray a fundamental affinity in their twofold ambiva-lence toward dialogue: whether a fundamental issue like the will should be debated at all; and whether dialogue is the appropriate vehicle for such a discussion. In both works, vestiges and adumbrations of literary dialogue suggest that the debate between Erasmus and Luther is as much literary as theological.