 Though the members of the society had the New Testament as their basic text, this is certainly not the only reading they did.They were thoroughly familiar with the Greek and Latin classics, with major Christian philosophers, and with the new readings of people like Melanchthon and Erasmus, amongst others.Their ultimate objective was, it seems, to develop a kind of ethical philosophy which was innovative and refreshing, leaving behind them the thought categories of old and discovering a philosophy which was at once more authentic and sensible.