Erasmus's writings on marriage, such as the Praise of Marriage, the Institution of CHristian Marriage, and several of the Colloquies, have long be studied from a social-intellectual perspective that focuses on their role within theological debates of the time. This article proposes a different approach by stressing the literary and rhetorical aspects by which these texts seek to influence a reader in his or her "matrimonial praxis." Through the combination of an effective rhetoric of intimacy with the characteristics of literary dialogue, Eramus creates a mimetic discourse aimed at conveying models of conjugal life to be imitated by future readers.