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 DESIDERirS EKASMl S 
 
 fuHi.tlw.1 a J thejtl Juertj fyjclm murj'liit .frrrM .Oireiir Itfg 
 
OF 
 
 ERASMUS. 
 
 BV THE LA1"E REVERENft 
 
 JOHN JORTIN, D. D. 
 
 ABCHDEACON OF LONDON, RECTOK OF ST. DUNSTAN S IN THE EAST, 
 AND VICAR OF KENSINGTON. 
 
 Illud certe praesagio, de meis lucubrationibus, qualescunque sunt, candidius judi- 
 caturam Posteritatem : tametsi nee de meo seculo queri possum. 
 
 Erasmus. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 FROM A.D. 1467 TO A.D. I52p. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed by Richard Taylor axd Co., Shoe Lane. 
 
 FOR JOHN WHITE, FLEET-STREET ; 
 
 LONGJkl/^N, HUHST, REES, AND ORME, PATERNOSTER ROW 
 
 F. C. AND J. RIVINQTON, ST. PAUL's CHURCH YARD; 
 
 VBRNOK, HOOD, AND SHARPE, POULTRY j AND 
 
 F. WINGRAVE, IN THE STRAND. 
 
 1808. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 JLe Clerc, whilst he was concerned in pubhsh- 
 ing an Edition of the Works of Erasmus at Ley- 
 den, drew up his Life, in French, collected prin- 
 cipally from his Letters, and inserted it in the Bib- 
 liotheque Choisie, and had the pleasure to find that 
 it was favourably received by the Public. It is so 
 performed, in the main, that I could not hope to 
 do it in a better manner, and was not inclined to 
 do it in another manner. 
 
 It is therefore taken, as a ground-work to build 
 upon, and is translated, not superstitiously and 
 closely, but with much freedom, and with more 
 attention to things than to words. I found his 
 way of thinking and judging, for the most part, 
 correspondent with mine ; and I have seldom had 
 occasion to declare a dissent from him. 
 
 But at the same time continual additions are 
 made, not only with relation to the history of 
 those days, but to the life of Erasmus, especially 
 where Le Clerc grew more remiss, either wearied 
 with the task, or called off from these to other 
 labours. 
 
 At first it was intended to distinguish his pro- 
 perty from the rest ; but it soon appeared that the 
 Vol. L a 2 
 
11 PREFACE. 
 
 thing was hardly practicable, and quite needless. 
 They who have a mind to see, in any part of this 
 work, what belongs to each of us, may satisfy 
 their curiosity by comparing us together ; for we 
 write in the same method, and distribute our re- 
 marks under a series of years. 
 
 I pay my grateful acknowledgments to him 
 once for all. His labours and mine are blended 
 together ; and I am persuaded that his maneSy if 
 the deceased concern themselves about such things, 
 will not be oiFended at the use which is here made 
 of his work. What is collected from others, is 
 sufficiently distinguished by proper marks. 
 
 A large quantity of Latin is distributed up and 
 down in the Notes, which may disgust certain 
 Readers, and which seems to call for an apology. 
 I would therefore inform them, that the substance 
 of these passages is sometimes to be found in the 
 text ; that sometimes it is not possible to translate 
 them, without depriving them of their spirit and 
 beauty ; that, if they were translated, they would 
 be of small service to persons not versed in classi- 
 cal literature ; and, in short, that I sometimes use 
 this variety and mixture, to please my own taste, 
 be it good or bad. As I have endeavoured, in the 
 greater part of this Book, to give my English 
 Readers instruction and entertainment, they mtist 
 also give me leave to have more extensive views, 
 and to write for the learned, and for students, 
 who, if they carefully peruse these citations, will 
 have some obligation ro me, and find their time 
 and pains well employed. 
 
 Under the names of several considerable per- 
 
PREFACE. Ill 
 
 sons, with whom Erasmus was connected or con- 
 cerned, references are made to some of the au- 
 thors who have given us an account of them. 
 This part of the work, which is entirely my own, 
 though I am sensible that it is imperfectly executed, 
 will be of use to such Readers as may desire to ac- 
 quaint themselves more particularly with those il- 
 lustrious men, and with tlie learned history of that 
 age. 
 
 At the end of this Book, there are Plates, con- 
 taining specimens of the hand-writing of Erasmus, 
 and of other celebrated men. I intend to give 
 some more in the next Volume*. This is all that I 
 think necessary to say to the Public, by way of 
 Preface. 
 
 I now address my discourse to you, who are 
 my FRIENDS ; returning you my thanks for all 
 your good offices ; recommending myself to your 
 favour, whilst I am with you, and my name, when 
 I am gone hence ; and entreating you to join with 
 me in a wish. That I may pass the evening of a 
 studious and unambitious life in an humble but 
 not a slothful obscurity, and never forfeit the kind 
 continuance of your accustomed approbation. 
 
 JOHN JORTIN. 
 
 * In the present edition, all these specimens are placed at the 
 end of the third volume. 
 
 A 3 
 
BOOK I. 
 
 THE 
 
 LIFE OF ERASMUS, 
 
THE 
 
 LIFE OF ERASMUS. 
 
 A. D. MCCCCLXVII. 
 
 ll/RAS?.ius^ was born at Rotterdam, October 28, 14G7^. 
 He took his denomination from this city, and always called 
 himself Roterodamus^ ; and she made suitable returns of 
 gratitude to a name by which she was so much ennobled, 
 and perpetuated her acknowledgments by inscriptions and 
 medals, and a statue placed near the principal church. 
 
 His father, who was called Gerard'^, of the town of Ter- 
 gou, made love to Margaret daughter of Peter, a physician 
 of Sevenbergen"; by whom, after solemn promises to marry 
 her, he had Erasmus. 
 
 Gerard'^ was a man of gaiety and wit ; and his son took 
 after him, and had the same lively disposition. 
 
 The relations of Gerard intended to make him an eccle- 
 siastic, hoping to share his patrimony amongst themselves. 
 By much ill-usage they forced him to leave his country : so 
 he went to Rome, where he employed himself in transcri- 
 bing antient authors. His friends hearing where he was, 
 and intending to frustrate his design of returning to Mar- 
 garet, sent him word that she was dead. His grief upon 
 this occasion gave him a religious cast of mind, and made 
 • him take orders. Upon his return to Holland he found that 
 "he had been imposed upon. He then lived separate from 
 
 ^ l.e Clerc, Bibl. Chols, Knight's Life of Erasmus. Bayle, Erasine. 
 Du Pin, B. E. t. xiv. p. 12. Rhenani Vit. Erasmi. Compead. Vit. 
 Erasmi. Erasmi Opera, edit. Lugd. I703. Appendix, <!>:c. bcc. 
 
 ^ See Bayle, Erasme, not. A. 
 
 '^ Should it not have been Roterodamius, or Roterodanicnsis ? 
 
 ^ Bayle, not. B. 
 
 « Bayle, ibid. 
 
 Vol. I. B 
 
2 THE LIFE [1467. 
 
 his Margaret, and she never would marry any ether person. 
 He took care of his child, and sent him to school when he 
 was four years of age. 
 
 Soon after the boy, havinp; a pretty voice, was chosen 
 chorister in the cathedral church of Utrecht. 
 
 A. D. MCCCCLXXVI. ^TAT. IX. 
 
 At nine years of age he went to a school at Daventer, 
 where Alexander Hegius*^ was his master, and Adrianus FIo- 
 rentiu?, afterwards pope Adrian VI, was his school-fellow, 
 and continued to be his friend. 
 
 Zint! jus, visiting that school, and taking notice of the 
 abilities of young Erasmus, is said to have foretold the pro- 
 gress which he aiterwards made in literature. It is reported 
 of him, that he had then a great memory, and could repeat 
 all Terence and Horace by heart. 
 
 The aliectionate mothers of Erasmus followed him to 
 Daventer, to have an eye over her child ; but died there of 
 the plague when her son was about thirteen. His father 
 Geiard, much affected with the loss, followed her soon 
 after ; and they both died aged a little more than forty years. 
 
 ' The mother^ of Erasmus might have said, with I3ido in 
 
 Virgil, 
 
 Huic uni forsan potui succambere culpse-. 
 
 This fault of hers, very different from that of a common 
 prostitute, produced so excellent a person, that, if she had 
 lived long enough to see the abilities and the merit of her 
 son, she v/ould have lod more reason to have boasted of her 
 failings than the mother of Peter Lombard, of Gratian, and 
 of Comestor is said to have done : for twenty such authors 
 put together are not worth one half of Erasmus.' 
 
 A. D. MCCCCLXXX, ^TAT. XIII. 
 
 ■ Gerard had left his son in the hands of three' guardians, 
 who proved base and dishonest men, and agreed together to 
 devote the poor boy to a religious life, that they might the 
 
 f Val. Andrc'E Bibl. Belg. p. )33. See also Melchior Adam. 
 
 E Compend. Vit. Erasmi. He wrote this Compendium himself. 
 
 ^> Bnyle, Erasmc, not. B. 
 
 ' I ioniin prrecipuus erat Petrus Winckel, turn ludi llterarii magister 
 
 GaLiii..r, iic. Compend. 
 
1480.J OF ERASMUS. 3 
 
 more easily plunder his small patrimony. They drove hhn 
 into a convent of friars, at Bolduc in Brabant. 
 
 There he passed, or rather, as he says, lost three years 
 of his life, having a perfect aversion from the monastic 
 state, which stuck '^ by him all his days. But, young as he 
 \vas, he had the resolution not to part with his liberty, not 
 to admit himself as a regular, and submit to observe all their 
 stupid and ridiculous ceremonies. He could discern even 
 then that religion was the thing least regarded in religious 
 houses. 
 
 Then they tried him at another convent, Sion, near 
 Delft ; and when that attempt would not do, they sent him 
 to a third', where at last he was conquered, and went 
 through his year of probation, though with an unwilling 
 mind. 
 
 In his youth he took the name of Erasmus, having be- 
 fore gone by that of Gerard, which in the German lan- 
 guage means amiable. Following the fashion of learned 
 men of those times, who affected to give their names a 
 Latin or a Greek turn, he called himself Desiderius^ which 
 in Ladn, and Erasmus, which in Greek, hath the same sig- 
 nification. Afterwards he was sensible that he should rather 
 have called himself Erasmius ; and he gave this name to 
 his godson, Joannes Erasmius Frobenius. 
 
 ' The father of Erasmus,' says Du Pin"^, ' had two sons 
 by ]\Iargaret, the elder who was called Peter, and our Eras- 
 mus. They were both sent by their tutors to the monaste- 
 ries above mentioned, and both compelled to become monks. 
 
 ' Erasmus entered into the house of the regular canons 
 of Stein, near Gouda, where he was attracted by one Can- 
 tel, his school-fellow. He took the habit, aged seventeen, 
 or eighteen; and made his profession in 1486, aged nine- 
 teen. The brother of Erasmus broke loose from his con- 
 finement, and led a profligate dissolute life ; whilst Eras- 
 mus, though he quitted his monastic state, to which he had 
 no inward vocation, applied himself closely to his studies, 
 and behaved himself soberly and regularly. He was or- 
 
 ^ See Ecclesiast. t. v. c 909, 9 10. 
 ' Stein, near Tergoii, 
 
 « Bibl. Eccles. torn. xiv. p. 12. See also Val. Andreae Bibi. Belg. 
 p. 229. 
 
 B 2 
 
4 THE LIFE [1480, 
 
 darned priest by the bishop of Utrecht, A. 1492, aged 
 twenty -five/ 
 
 The account which Du Pin and others have given us of 
 the younger years of Erasmus, is taken partly from a re- 
 markable Epistle " of Erasmus to Grunnius, in which he is 
 generally supposed to have described himself under the 
 feigned name of Florentius °. 
 
 As to his brother, Erasmus hath once? accidentally men- 
 tioned him as dead, in Ep. 922 ; though I do not find that 
 this circumstance hath been observed. 
 
 A. T). MCCCCXC. iETAT. XXIII. 
 
 This year Erasmus was A^ith Henry a Bergis, archbishop 
 of Cambray, who had taken him out of the monastery into 
 his family. He says of himself, that he was not fit to bear 
 the watchings, nor the fastings, nor the diet, nor the auste- 
 rities of a monastery. He complains that he was often ill 
 at the archbishop's house, though he wanted for nothing 
 there ; and it appears from many of his letters that he was 
 of a weakly constitution. He had a mind to go to Italy, 
 and there to take a doctor's degree ; and complains of the 
 archbishop's parsimony, who gave him little besides good 
 words and fair promises, and would not furnish him with 
 the necessaries for such a journey and such an undertaking. 
 He did not go to Italy till thirteen or fourteen years after. 
 Ep. 3. 
 
 A. D. MCCCCXCVI. ^TAT. XXIX. 
 
 Erasmus was now at Paris, where the archbishop had 
 promised to assist him with a small pension ; but he sent him 
 nothing. Here he had some young pupils, and undertook 
 to read them lectures. He found it hard enough to subsist, 
 w^anting money to buy books, or to get transcripts of them ; 
 for in those days printed books were scarce and dear. 
 
 Erasmus, says Baillet^, was a student in the college of 
 Montaigu. He returned to Cambray j thence he went to 
 
 " Ep. 442. c. 1821. 
 o Appendix, Art. i, p. 1. 
 
 p Fiatris gerniani moriem moderatissime tuli ; Frobenii desiderium 
 ferre nou possum, c. 1053. E. 
 4 T. vi. p. g. edit, 4to. 
 
1496.] OF ERASMUS. ^ 
 
 Holland ; and thence again to Paris, where he passed some 
 years in poverty, which obliging him to study incessantly, 
 and to raise liimself by his industry, contributed to make 
 him afterwards so ilkistrious in the republic of letters. 
 
 Amongst his disciples at Paris, there was none whose 
 friendship he found more constant than William lord Mont- 
 joy ■■, who afterwards gave him an annual pension of a hun- 
 dred crowns. His fifth Epistle is an excuse to this young 
 nobleman for having not read a lecture to him upon some 
 day. Ep. 4, 5. 
 
 At this time, I suppose, he refused a large pension, and 
 larger promises, from a young illiterate Englishman, who 
 was to be made a bishop, and who wanted to have him for 
 a preceptor. He would not, as he says, be so hindered 
 from prosecuting his studies for all the wealth in the world. 
 This youth, as Knight^ informs us, seems to have been. 
 James Stanley, son of the earl of Derby, and son-in-law to 
 Margaret, the king's mother, and afterwards made bishop of 
 Ely by her interest. * This,' says Knight, * surely was the 
 worst thing she ever did :' and, indeed, if it be the catholic, 
 it is not the apostolic method of bestov/ing and of obtaining 
 bishoprics. However, it appears that the young gentleman, 
 though ignorant, had a desire to learn something, and to 
 qualify himself in some measure for the station in which he 
 was to be placed, 
 
 Erasmus says of the archbishop of Cambray, that he 
 was very Hberal of his promises, but not of his money. 
 Ep. 501. c. 1885. [N. B, th^t c. stands fpr column.'] 
 
 A. D. MCCCCXCVII. ^TAT. XXX. 
 
 He left Paris, on account of the plague, and came to the 
 Low Countries ; and was in the castle of Tornenhens, 
 which belonged to Anna Bersala, a lady of great merit, and 
 marchioness of Vere, who was liberal to him, and whom he 
 hath celebrated more than once. Ep. 6, 7, 8, 9. 92. 
 
 f Knight, p. 15, &c, 
 
 Tnviserat Angliam in gratiam Montjoii, turn dlscipuli, nunc Maece- 
 natis J sed amiii verius quam ben'igni. Compend, 
 
 Erasmus hath complained elsewhere, that his piitron Montjoy, with 
 many good qualities,, had too much parsimony. 
 
 * f . 19. 
 
6 THE LIFE [1497. 
 
 This year he was at London and at Oxford, and became 
 acquamted with John Colet', afterwards dean of St. Paul's, 
 and his singular friend ; as also with William Grocyn, 
 Thomas Linacer", and William Latimer*. 
 
 ' Grocyn^^ was professor, or public teacher, of Greek at 
 Oxford, about the time when Erasmus was there. Soon 
 after he removed to London, and then to the college of 
 Maidston in Kent, where he was master. Erasmus owns 
 great obligations to tliis man, who by his generosity to his 
 friends reduced himself to straits, and was forced to pawn 
 his plate to Dr. Young, master of the rolls. The doctor 
 returned it to him again by his will, without taking principal 
 or interest. Grocyn published nothing besides an Epistle 
 prefixed to The Sphere of Proclus. Erasmus represents him 
 as one of the best divines and scholars of the English na- 
 tion. He died of the palsy, old and poor.' Ep. 671 . 
 
 ' Linacer^ was so ace urate ^ and superstitiously exact in his 
 
 * Appendix. Knight's Life of Colet. Burnet's Hist, of the Ref. 
 iii. 27. See also Wood, i. 11. 
 
 " Baillet, i. 214. iii. 3/. 4to edit. Knight's Life of Colet, p. 135, 
 &c. P. Jovius Elog. p. 119. fol. ed. Bas. Pope Blount, p. 376, 37/. 
 Bayle, Linacer. Maittaire, Ann. Typ. i. 253, 254, 255. 
 
 * See Wood, i. 65. 
 
 " Knight's Life of Erasm. p. 22. ]\Lilttaire, i. p. 254. 
 
 Menkenius, Vit. Politian. p. SO. Wood, i. 15. Amongst the Works 
 of Grocin, are mentioned by Wood, Epistolae ad Erasmum et alios. I 
 never could meet with that book. We have not so much as one letter 
 of Grocin, or to him, amongst the Epistles of Erasmus. 
 
 '^ Knight, p 24. 
 
 Maittaire, ii. 400. Wood, i. 19. Menken. Vit. Polit. p. 81. Eras- 
 mus says of him : — ' virum sic in omni genere philosophise doctissi- 
 mum, ut nihiio secius has grammaticorum minutias adunguem calleat.' 
 Colloq c. 721. 
 
 There is in the British Museum a manuscript Latin dedication to 
 Wolsey, of the Latin translation of Galen De sanitate tuenda, by Li- 
 nacer, prefixed to his printed dedication to Henry VIIL The book is 
 elegantly printed on vellum, at Paris, anno 1517- There is also a ma- 
 nuscript dedication to Wolsey of the Latin translation of Galen's Me- 
 thodus medendi, by Linacer : aind then follows a primed dedication to 
 Henry VIII This book also is printed on vellum, at Paris, anno 1519. 
 In these dedications Linacer is not sparing of his compliments to the 
 cardinal. But as there is not much in them besides compliments, I 
 shall not insert them here : 1 only thought it proper to inform the 
 reader whore tliey may be found. 
 
 y 'Paulu-; iT'.'iiilius Verouensis sibi nunquam satisfaciebat. — Nee mnl- 
 tum abfuit ab hoc vitio I'homas Linacrus Anglus, vir undequaquc doc- 
 tissimus.' Tom. iv. Apophth. xxxv. c. 315. 
 
1497.] OF ERASMUS. 7 
 
 compositions, and found it so dilHcult to satisly himself, that 
 he had like to have published nothing ; which made Eras- 
 mus press him earnestly to communicate his labours to the 
 public. He lived long at dvford, teaching the Greek lan- 
 guage ; and though he were originally oi that university, 
 he belonged to Cambridge also, and founded a lecture in St. 
 John's College there, as he had founded two before at Mer- 
 ton College in Oxford. 
 
 ' He was physician afterwards to the royal family ; and 
 Erasmus often consulted him on account of his frequent in- 
 dispositions, which came early upon him ; and when he was 
 sick at Paris, he comphiins that he had no Linaccr'^ there to 
 assist him, and prescribe for him. 
 
 ' Another time he^ he writes to him from St. Omers, de- 
 siring he would send him a prescription ; and speaks in a 
 way which shows that our physicians, in those times, did not 
 make up their own medicines, but sent their bills to the apo- 
 thecaries. 
 
 ' His translation of Galen De Temperamentis, 6cc. was 
 one of the first books printed at Cambridge by John Si- 
 borch^, who, with his brother Nicolas, were friends to 
 Erasnms at Cambridge : veieres sodaie.s, Ep. 782. 
 
 ' Linacer was ill used by one Bernard Andreas'^, tutor to 
 prince x\rthur. Linacer had translated Proclus, and dedi- 
 cated it to Henry VII ; and this sycophant told the king, 
 that Proclus had been already translated by another hand : 
 and so it had, but in a wretched manner. The king, hearing 
 this, was so prejudiced against Linacer, that he ever aiier 
 abhorred him as an impostor.' 
 
 This learned man was so far from being of the Ciceroninn party, that 
 he could not endure th.e style of Cicero. ' Certe Linacer — Ciceronis 
 dictionem nunquam probare potuit, nee sine fastidio auiire.' Gard. 
 Epist. ?d Chek. Baker's Reflect, p. 46. 
 
 ' Primum omnium, cum propter liominis aetatem, turn propter insig- 
 nia in rem literariam beneficia, adeamus Thomam Linacrum, quo nemo 
 majorem orationis nitorem, castitatem, et condecentiam ad interpreta- 
 tiones contulit : quarum virtutum integritatem dum diligentius tueri 
 studet, fidelem verborum affectationem, raro quidem^ at aiiquaudoHa- 
 men omisit.' Huetius^ De Clar. Interpr. p. 234. 
 
 ^ Ep. 105. 
 
 ^ Ep. 157. 
 
 ^ Erasmus calls him Siburgus. 
 
 <^Ep. 1091. c. 1263. 
 
8 THE LIFE [1497. 
 
 Thus indeed Erasmus himself hath related the story, and 
 Knight follows him : but Erasmus was mistaken in some of 
 the circumstances. Linacer was preceptor to prince Ar- 
 thur, and to him he dedicated his version of Proclus. Mait- 
 taire hath published the Dedication, Ann. Typ. i. 253. 
 
 ' However^, Linacer was in great favour with Henry VIII, 
 who had a high opinion of his skill as a physician ; and he 
 warmly recommended his friend Erasmus to the king. After 
 this he went into orders, and had only the chantorship of 
 the church of York*. He^ died of the stone, in great pain, 
 in 1524. 
 
 ' From his epitaph (says Wood) we may gather this cha- 
 racter, that he was a most skilful critic in Greek and Latin, 
 and a most excellent physician, having performed some al- 
 most miraculous cures, &c. His works are enumerated by 
 Wood, and sufficiently evince the character which Erasmus 
 gives of him: that he was vir non exacti tantiun, sed se- 
 veri judicii, 
 
 * It seems he had done something to offend *^ Erasmus, 
 who yet was willing to overlook one diskindness, considering 
 how much he had been obliged to him. However this hap- 
 pened, Linacer had a very amiable character. He was a 
 great benefactor to the public ; for, besides his founding 
 lectures both in Oxford and Cambridge, he was one of the 
 chief founders of the College of Physicians, in Knight- Ri- 
 ders Street, in London, of which he was the first president. 
 His picture is said to be in Merton College, Oxford.' 
 
 Erasmius hath bantered^ Linacer, but without naming 
 him, for giving himself up too much to grammatical 
 studies. 
 
 Linacer, in his youth, went to Italy, and contracted an 
 
 ^ Knight. 
 
 * But see Tanner, Bibl. Britannico-Hibern. p. 4S2. Anonymus. 
 *Ep. 431, c. 1814. 
 
 'Ep. 6.Q9. 
 
 E ' Novi quendam KoXvreyyoratov, Grsecum, Latinum^ mathemati- 
 cnm, philosophum, niedicum, xa< raura ^a<riXixov, jam scxagenarium, 
 qui, caeteris rebus omissis, annis plus viginti se torquet ac discruciat in 
 granimatica ) prorsus telicem se fore ratus, si tamdiu liceat \ivere, donee 
 certo statuat quomodo distinguendae sint octo partes orationis, quod 
 hactenus nemo Grsecoruni aut Liitinorum ad plenum praestare valuit.' 
 Moriae Encom. c. 4j8. 
 
 See Knight's Life of Colct_, p. 139. 
 
1497.] OF ERASMUS. 9 
 
 acquaintance with several illustrious and learned men, and 
 particularly with liermolaus Barbarus'\ 
 
 ' Erasmus ' begged the assistance of William Latimer in 
 preparing his New Testament for a second edition, know- 
 ing him to be very accurate. 
 
 ' We have nothing extant of this learned man, he being, 
 as we have his character by Erasmus, a man of more than 
 virgin*^ modesty, under which was veiled the greatest worth. 
 After he left Oxford, he retired to the rectory of Eastberry, 
 in Gloucestershire, where he died very aged. He had also 
 the rectory of Weston under Edge, and a prebendsliip in the 
 church of Salisbury ; and what preferment he had, he owed 
 to the favour of cardinal Pole, to whom he had been tutor 
 or master. He was one of the .greatest men. of that age, 
 learned in all sacred and profane letters, and "answered fully 
 the character which Erasmus gives of him, — that he w^s 
 rere theologus, iritegritaie vitce conspiciiu.';, 
 
 * There is a painting in the chancel window at S. Saint- 
 bury, of a religious person praying to St. Nicolas, which is 
 said by an ingenious antiquary to be done for him. He 
 adds, that in- the old parsonage-house at Weston sub Edge 
 in com. Gloucest. there were the letters W. L. old fa- 
 shioned, carved upon the stone-work and wood-work, before 
 the house was altered, and the same are still in several of 
 the windows ; and that the house was probably built by 
 him, which is of the size of a little college, raid in the same 
 fashion.' 
 
 ' At Oxford ^ Erasmus was acquainted with More, w-ith 
 Thomas Wolsey, bursar of Magdalen college, with John 
 Claymond, afterwards president of Magdalen college, and 
 
 ^ ' Ingresso Vaticanam Eibliothecam, et Graecos codices evolvent!, 
 snpervenit Hermolaus, ad pluteumque liumanitor accedens, Non tu, 
 hercle, inquit, studiose hospes, uti ego plane sum, Barbavus esse potes, 
 quod lectissimum Platonis librum (is erat Phoednis) diligenter evolvas. 
 Ad id Linacrus laeto ore respondit. Nee tu, sacrate heros, alius esse jana 
 potes, quam ille fama notus patriarclia Italorum Lalinissimus. Ab hac 
 amicitia, uti casu evenit feliclter conflala^ egregiis demum volumiaibus 
 ditatus in Britanniam rediit.' Jovius. 
 
 ' Knighr, p. 29, 
 
 ^Ep. 363. 
 
 J Kiiight, p. 23.' 
 
10 THE LIFE [1497. 
 
 thence removed to the headship of Corpus Christi college 
 by bishop Fox, the founder, and with Thomas Halsey, 
 afterwards penitentiary of the English nation in St. Peter's 
 church of Rome, the pope's protonotary of Ireland, and 
 bishop of Laigiin. With these Erasmus kept up a corre- 
 spondence.' 
 
 ' He studied'''^ at Oxford, as Wood says, in St. Mary's 
 college, in the years 1497, 1498, if not ail of 1499 ; but 
 he seems to stretch his stay too far.' 
 
 In a long letter, in answer to one of Joannes Sixtinus", 
 who was tlien studyuig at Oxford, he speaks modestly of 
 himself; and wiites, though in no Ciceronian style, yet with 
 much wit and vivacity. Ep. 13. 
 
 ' Sixtine"^, who died in 1519, was a Phrysian by birth, 
 bred in the university of Senes in Tuscany, where he took 
 the degree of doctor of civil and canon law ; and was in- 
 corporated in Oxford. He v^^as rector of Ecclescliffe, in the 
 diocese of Durham, and of Hakkamb, in the diocese of 
 Exeter. Wood says that he was likewise dignified in the 
 chjrch of England, and one of the foreigners who were 
 excused from paying a subsidy to the king in 1513; 
 namely, Peter Carmelian, Polydore Virgil, Erasmus, Am- 
 monius, &c. By his will he ordered his body to be buried 
 in that part of Paul's which was called Pardon church- 
 yard ; his grave to be covered with a marble stone, and a 
 plate of brass on it with this inscription. Orate pro anima 
 Johanni.'i Sixtini^ &c. As to his estate in Phrysia, he gave 
 one moiety to the poor of Bolsward in that country, and the 
 other half to the monastery of Owgocloyster, where his 
 sister was a profest nun, on condition that his brother Al- 
 bert should enjoy one half part of the profits during his 
 life. Pie gave ten pounds to the reparation of the church 
 cf Ecclcsclille, though he had not one peny for dilapida- 
 tions from his predecessor West, bishop of Ely, and twenty 
 pounds to be distributed among the poor of the said parish, 
 for buying of tools and instruments necessary for their 
 country labours. He left also toward the reparation of the 
 church of Hakkamb, though he had there likewise not a 
 
 ^ Knight, p. 20. ^ Ibid. * Knight's Life of Colet, p. 21 8. 
 
1497.] OF ERASMUS. 11 
 
 pcny for dilapidations, fifteen pounds. He bequeathed forty- 
 pounds to be distributed for exhibitions to poor scholirs in 
 Cambridge and Oxford ; and, lastly, twenty marks to vJut- 
 bert Tunstal, master of the rolls. 
 
 ' Erasmus f', who condoled his death, observes, that he 
 was of so strong a constitution, that, without a violent 
 shock of sickness, he might have lived to the age of 
 Nestor ; that he had a masterly wit, a quick apprehension, 
 and a tenacious memory ; and that, besides the knowledge 
 of canon and civil law, he was happily conversant in every 
 other part of learning.' 
 
 In the fourteenth letter, which is to Piscator (Robert 
 Fisher), he speaks with much affection of lord Montjoy, 
 who had brought him over to England, and v>ith much re- 
 spect of the English literati. 
 
 * Fisher'i seems to be the same person who v> as presented 
 to the church of Chedsey, in the diocese of Bath and 
 Wells, and had aftenvards a canonry in the collegiate church 
 of Windsor, in which he was succeeded by Thomas Wul- 
 cey (or Wolsey), the king's almoner, and great favourite, 
 in the year 1510. 
 
 ' Of Wolsey Erasmus had at first conceived too good 
 an opinion, and had said many things in his favour ; but 
 found himself deceived in several instances by a man who 
 had more of the courtier than of the friend and patron. If 
 therefore he did in some of his later writings alter his style, 
 and speak severe things of him, we must attribute it to a 
 course of ill-usage, which he, in common with his best 
 friends, had met with from him ; to say nothing of the ge- 
 neral odium Wolsey had incurred by his pride and inso- 
 lence. ' 
 
 Erasmus went from England to Paris, whence he wrote a 
 letter to one William'', who was of Gouda. It is full of 
 complaints, but he doth not tell what it was that made him 
 so uneasy : only it appears from it that he did not pass his 
 time agreeably at Paris, and, from some following letters, 
 that he had pupils there. Ep. 15. 
 
 PEpist. 671. 
 
 ^ Knight, p. 36. 
 
 '^ ' Gulielmum Hermannum Gaudensem, Uteris deditissimum juve- 
 rem, aliquot aunis studiorum sodalem liabuit, cujus exstat Odarura 
 Sylva." B. Rhenan. Vit. Erasmi. 
 
12 THE LIFE [1497. 
 
 He describes a battle between his hostess and her maid, 
 Avho had been secretly instructed by him how to defend her- 
 self. The story is well told, and extremely comic. Ep. 1 9. 
 
 The next letter is a violent invective against some person, 
 who had deprived him of his pupil Thomas Grey, son * 
 perhaps to the marquis of Dorset. Ep. 20. 
 
 In a letter to his young friend Grey, he tells him that a 
 friendship like theirs, founded upon probity and a love of 
 literature, would be perpetual^ 
 
 Colet had read divinity lectures at Oxford upon St. Paul's 
 Epistles, and wanted Erasmus to do the same upon the Old 
 Testament. Erasmus very prudently excuseth himself from 
 undertaking the task, as being too great and heavy for him. 
 His letter to Colet (without any date of time) is written, 
 * Oxonio, e collegio canonicorum ordinis divi Augustini, 
 quod vulgo dicitur S. Mariae.' Ep. 403. c. 1789. It be- 
 longs probably to this year. 
 
 A. D. MCCCCXCVIII. iETAT. XXXI, 
 
 Erasmus had moved, the year before this, from Paris to 
 Orleans, and had stayed there three months; but now he 
 was at Paris, whence he wrote several letters. He had been 
 ill there in Lent, and he says that St. Genevieve had cured 
 him ; but it was not without the assistance of William Cope, 
 a skilful physician, and a man of learning. Ep. 29. Ep. 504. 
 c. 1884. 
 
 He was preparing his book of Adagics, and applying 
 himself closely to the Greek language ; and he says, that 
 as soon as he could get any money, he would purchase, first, 
 Greek authors, and, secondly, clothes. There are few stu- 
 dents who would do the same. Ep. 58. 
 
 The marchioness of Vere invited him, by James Battus", 
 a particular friend of his, and tutor to her son, to come and 
 see her. But he wanted money and a horse^ for the jour- 
 
 s Knight, p. IS. 
 
 * ' Et quoniani virtntis studium nee san'itatem novit, nee casibus for- 
 tuitis subjacet, non potest bonorum benevolentia non esse perpetua.* 
 Ep. '21. 
 
 It is thus also in the Basil edition 3 but it should he', I suppose, sa- 
 tktatem. 
 
 " See the character of Battus in Erasmus, t. v. c. 69. 
 
 * * Non pcto niagnificum Bucephaium, sed cui non pudeat virum in- 
 sidere.* 
 
1498.] OF ERASMUS. 13 
 
 ney, and wished that the lady would furnish him with both. 
 It seems that he understood a little French, and had written 
 to her in that language. 
 
 He projected to go to Italy and take a doctor's degree, If 
 his friends would furnish him with necessaries. Ep. 29. 31. 
 34. 36. 
 
 From some of his letters it appears that he was this year 
 in England. 
 
 A. D. MCCCCXCIX. ^TAT. XXXII. 
 
 He did not make any long stay in England, for we find 
 him at Paris in the beginning of 1499. He had not carried 
 away much money from England, since they sent him eight 
 franks by a special messenger ; but eight franks were then 
 worth more than twent)^-four of the present money. Ep. ' 
 52, Sec. 
 
 He complains of his bad state of health, and of his po- 
 verty, and wishes that his patroness, the marchioness of Vere, 
 would send him two hundred franks : a very trifle, as he 
 said, compared with her superfluous expenses on other oc- 
 casions, and her liberalities to some rascally monks, whom 
 she maintained, and whom he calls ' cucuUatos scortatores, 
 ct turpissimos nebulones.' 
 
 Erasmus w^as reprinting his book De ratlone conscribendi 
 Epistolas, De copia Verborum, &c. and intended to dedicate 
 them to Adolphus, son of the marchioness. 
 
 ^ The tract 5^ De scribendis Epistolis w^as first written at 
 the suggestion of Montjoy, at Paris, about the year 1493, 
 and finished in twenty days. Erasmus was afterwards sen- 
 sible that he had drawn it up too hastily.' 
 
 Upon some journey he lost his wallet, which contained 
 his linen, and ten pieces of gold, and his Preces Horarias ; 
 and could not take a second journey, as he tells his friend 
 Battus, partly for the loss of the money, but principally 
 for having lost his prayer-book. Ep. 53. 
 
 At midsummer he went to the Low Countries, as far as 
 to Holland. He says that the air of Holland^ agreed with 
 
 y Knight, p. 49. 
 
 ^ ' In Hollandia, coelo quidem juvor, sed Epicureis illis coir,cs;a- 
 tionibus offender. Adde hominum genus sordidum, incultum, stadio- 
 rum omnium contemptum prsestrenuum, uullum erudilioiiis Iructum, 
 invidiam summam. 
 
 7 
 
14 THE LIFE [1499. 
 
 hipii ; but that he was much offended at their Epicurean re- 
 pasts. Add to this, that the people are sordid, unpolished, 
 despisers of learning, which meets there with no encou- 
 ragement, and much envy. 
 
 Things have been much altered in this respect, says Le 
 Clerc : Holland is become the asyluin of letters since the 
 beginning of the seventeenth century ; and it may be af- 
 firmed, that, during that age, no country hath furnished so 
 many succours to Europe for the advancement of literature. 
 Ep. ,59. 
 
 He wrote a jesting letter to Faustus Andrelinus^, the poet 
 laureate, and yet no extraordinary poet, exhorting him to 
 leave France, and repair to England with all speed, for the 
 sake of conversing with the British ladies^, &c. 
 
 But though he liked the English fashion of saluting the 
 ladies, he did not like the fashion of searching those who left 
 the nation, and of not suffering them to carry away more 
 than six angels ; nor the rudeness of a custom-house officer, 
 who stripped him of all the money which he had above that 
 sum, namely, of twenty pounds, when he wanted to pass 
 from Dover to France. This aff'ront'^, as he thought it, 
 stuck in his stomach extremely. Ep. 62. 80. 94. 
 
 There is a story, that Henry the Eighth ordered the 
 custom-house officers to pillage Erasmus, who returned to 
 complain to the king ; and that the king laughed at him, 
 and sent him away with a present, and with orders to receive 
 his money again. Bayle'^ treats it as a fable j and Henry 
 did not reign till the year 1509. 
 
 * Baillet, iv. 329. Bayle, jindrelhms. 
 
 ^ ' Sunt hie nympliae divinis vultibus, blandae, faciles, et quas tu tuls 
 camoenis facile anteponas. Est prseterea mos nunquam satis laudatus, 
 Sive quo venias, oniuium osculis exciperis 3 sive discedas aliquo, osculis 
 diniitteris ; redis, redduntur suavia ; venitur ad te, propinantur suavia; 
 disceditur abs te, dividuntur basia3 occurritur alibi, basiatur affatim j 
 denique quocumque te moveas, sua\iorui"n plena sunt omnia/ Sec. 
 Ep. 65. 
 
 *= * Vulnus illud in Anglia acceptum — hoc magis dolet, quod cum 
 indigiii.ssinia sit conjunctum contumelia, nulla tamen a me talio reterri 
 potest. Quid enini ego aut cum Anglia universa dimicem, aut cuni 
 rege } Nihil ilia commeruit ; et in eum scribere, qui possit non sokuw 
 prosciibere, verum etiam occidere^ dementise extremae puto,' &rc. 
 
 See Knight, p. .53, Sec. 
 
 ^ Erasvie, not. B. B. 
 
 See Catal. Lucubr. 
 
1499.] OF ERASMUS. IS 
 
 Towards the end of the year he was at Orleans, and 
 thence returned to Paris'^. He had much ado to subsi;;t 
 there, and was ill-used by one Augustin, who had obliga- 
 tions to him, and who robbed him. 
 
 He describes in a very lively manner the great danger to 
 w hlch he was exposed, of being robbed and murdered in 
 going from xVmiens to Paris. Ep. 81. 
 
 From some letters, dated this year, it appears that he in- 
 tended to publish St. Jerom, and that he was quite in love 
 with this father, whom he extols to the skies ; and, with a 
 sort of poetical rapture, he promises himself that he shall 
 have the assistance of the saint in the great undertaking. 
 Certainly there was infinitely more to be learnt from Jeroni 
 than from the schoolmen, from Scotus and Albertus, and 
 the rest of the crew. 
 
 Ep. 86 is to Robertus Gaguinus^, with whom he was 
 acquainted, and whom in other letters he hath highly com- 
 mended. In his Ciceronianus he ranks him amongst histo- 
 rians of low degree, and says that his style is hardly good 
 enough to be called Latin. 
 
 Gaguinus" translated Caesar's Commentaries into French, 
 A. 1488. 
 
 A. D. MD. ^TAT. XXXIII. 
 
 Erasmus wrote from Paris a letter to Antonius a Bergis, 
 abbot of St. Bertin, and another to the marchioness of 
 Vere. He is not sparing in his compliments to either ; and 
 he wanted to get some subsidies from them, which he found 
 difficult to obtain, though he was well skilled in the arts of 
 begging and of setting forth his wants. He desires his 
 friend Battus to plead his cause to the Jady. Tell her, says 
 he, that she who feeds a set of illiterate preachers ought 
 much more to consider me^\ Sec. He also desires him to 
 
 * *" Cupiam cxstare orationes aliquot concionatorias, quas olim habui 
 Lutetise, quum agerem in collegio Montis Acuti.' Catal. Lucubr. 
 
 *' Bayle, Emi/e, not. F. Maittaire, Ann. Typ. ii. (j/. Pope Blount, 
 p. 36l', 
 
 6 Alaittaire, i. 207. 
 
 ^ Tell her — ' ejusmodi indoctorum theologorum permagnam ubiqae 
 esse copiam, mei similem vis multis seculis inveniri ; nisi forte adeo 
 superstitiosus es, ut'religio tibi sit in amici negotio mendaciolis ^iquot 
 ubuti.' £p. Q4. ^ 
 
16 THE LIFE [1500. 
 
 persuade her to procure him some ecclesiastical preferment, 
 that he might have a place to sit down and study in. But 
 these were his younger thoughts. 
 
 He begins his letter to his patroness, Anna Bersala, with 
 telling her that there were three Annes' famous in antient 
 history, to whom she deserved to be joined. Ep. 92. 
 
 He tells her that it was necessary for him to go to Italy, 
 and take a doctor's degree, which, as he observes, makes 
 one neither better nor wiser ; but^ it must be done, says he, 
 if a man would be esteemed by the world. Else Erasmus, 
 as he informs us himself in the Abridgment of his Life, 
 which is before the first tome, had^ in those days no great 
 inclination to the study of theology, and no mind to engage 
 in it, lest he should oppose the commonly received opinions, 
 and so pass for a heretic. 
 
 As there was then no transmitting letters and bills by the 
 post, he was obliged to send special messengers, and young 
 men, who were his amanuenses. This was an expensive me- 
 thod ; and Erasmus, who was always of a weakly constitu- 
 tion, could not live in a hard and frugal way. 
 
 tie spent some time in the castle of the prince of Cour- 
 temburn, and borrowed from his neighbours some of the 
 works of the fathers. 
 
 His Adagies were printed at Paris for the first time. 
 
 A. D. MDI. JETAT. XXXIV. 
 
 We have few letters of this and of some following years. 
 There is a handsome epislle from Antonius a Bergis to the 
 cardinal De Medicis. Erasmus composed it for him, and 
 was then in Flanders with this abbot. Ep. 98. 
 
 A. D. MDII. iETAT. XXXV. 
 
 The plague being at Paris, he spent some time at Lou- 
 vain. This year he lost his friend and patron the archbishop 
 
 » Baylc, June, where some additions are made to his list. 
 _ "^ — 'quando nunc, non dicam vulgo, scd ctiam iis qui doctrinre prin- 
 cipatum tencnt, nemo doctus vidcri potest, nisi tiiagi^ter nosier appelle- 
 tur; etiam vetaiite Cliristo, thcologorum principe.' 
 
 ' * A studio theologia- abhonebat, quod scntiret animum non propen- 
 sum, ne omnia illoriim fundamenta subverteret, deinde fulurum ut hae- 
 rctlci nomeu inurcretur.' 
 
3502.] OF ERASMUS. ^17 
 
 of Cambray. Ep. 100. He"' celebrated him in four epi- 
 taphs, for which he was poorly pd J, as he informs Guliel- 
 mus Goudanus. 
 
 In the Appendix Epistolarum, there is a sort of dedica- 
 tion to Henry a Bergis, the archbishop of Cambray, which 
 must have been written before the year 1,503. Erasmus 
 presents to him the poems of his friend Gulielmus Gouda- 
 nus", which he published without the author's leave. Whe- 
 ther they deserved the commendations which he bestows 
 upon them, I know not : but the praises Vvhich he occa- 
 sionally gives to Baptista Mantuanus'^ are surely far be- 
 yond that man's poetical merits. Ep. 395. c. 1781. 
 
 In another Epistle, he lamentsf' the condition of the mar- 
 chioness of Vere, who had married, as it should seem, be- 
 neath herself. Bayle^ knew nothing of this circumstance. 
 Erasmus had complimented her for rejecting even the most 
 advantageous offers. 
 
 A. D. MDIII. iETAT. XXXVI, 
 
 He published divers of his works at Louvain ; a tract De 
 Reformidatione Christi, a Pasan, an Obsecratio, and par- 
 ticularly the Enchiridion Militis Christiani''. Then he went 
 to Paris, whence he wrote to Petrus ^gidius^ of Antwerp, 
 who was one of his best friends, and for whom he com- 
 posed an Epithalamium, which Is in his Colloquies. Ep. 
 101. 102. 746. 
 
 This year died the wicked pope' Alexander VI. 
 
 " * Episcopum Cameracensem tribus I.atinis epitaphiis celebravij uno 
 Graeco; miserunt sex florenos tantum, ut etiam mortuus sui similis 
 esset.' Ep. 445. c. ]8'^6 
 
 n Val. Andreae Bibl. Belg. p. 351. 
 
 See Badlet, iv. 324. 4to edit, and Du Pin, B. E. xiv. 97. Mantuan is 
 said to have voided fifty-five thousand verses. Paul Jovius speaks of 
 liim slightingly : ' Incidit in ea tempora,' says he, * quibus nullus me- 
 diocribus poetis locus erat, — Mantuae decessit, non plane felix, quum 
 in extremo vitae actu, defensionem contra Criticos scribere cogeretur, 
 qui ejus poemata obeliscis non inanibus misere confodissent.' Elog. 
 p. 117- See Amcen. Lit. torn. ii. p. 3fi6. 
 
 P * Dominam Veriensem matrimonium plusquam servile eripuit.' 
 Ep. 4^6. c 1837. 
 
 1 Diet BersaLa. 
 
 " Maittaire, Ann. Typ. ii. p. 202. « Val. Andrese Bibl. Belg. p. 64/. 
 
 * See Gordon's Life of Alexander. 
 
 * Alexander omnium, qui unquam fuerunt, perfidia, libiUine, skvI* 
 
 Vol. L C 
 
18^^ THE LI!FE [1504. 
 
 A, D. MDI . ^TAT. XXXVII. 
 
 This, and the three following years, if the dates of the 
 letters be right, he was sometimes at Paris. 
 
 He congratulates his friend John Colet, who was made 
 dean of St. Paul's. He gives him some account of his own 
 occupations, and says that his mind was entirely set upon 
 religious studies, and that he intended to devote the rest of 
 his life to them, and that he had been three years applying 
 closely to the Greek language. He would also have mas- 
 tered the Hebrew tongue ; but he soon grew tired of the 
 attempt, in all probability for want of proper instructors 
 and helps ; else he did things infinitely harder than it is to 
 learn Hebrew. He also complains that want of money hin- 
 dered him from finishing some treatises, because it forced 
 him to spend much of his time in reading lectures to young 
 students. He mentions his design of publishing a second 
 edition of his Adagies", because the first was imperfectly 
 executed by him, and faultily printed. Ep. 102. 
 
 He speaks also of some other works, and mentions a re- 
 markable thing of his Enchiridion'', that he composed it, 
 not to make a parade of wit or eloquence, but rather to 
 correct a vulgar error of those, who supposed religion to 
 consist in mere ceremonies and bodily observances, which 
 surpassed even Jewish superstitions, and who strangely neg- 
 lected the things which concerned true piety. 
 
 Hence it may be seen that, long before iLuther made his 
 appearance, Erasmus had censured the minute devotions 
 which the directors of consciences imposed upon the people, 
 
 tia, sceleratissimixs, cujus filius, Caesar Borgia, perfectum prsebult Ma- 
 chiavello callidi sed nefarii principis exemplar,* Perizonius, Hist. Sec. 
 xvi.p. 7. 
 
 " Maittaire, Ann. Typ. ii. p. 105. 251.' Lutetiae Erasmus Adagiorum 
 divulgatione cocpit magis quam antea inclarescere. Faiisms etiam An- 
 drt'linus — Epistolas suas Adagiales conscripsit. Uter ab altero provoca- 
 tus, a Faustone Erasmus, qui Adagia prope I.atinae Grctcacque lingua 
 omnia coUegit et digessit ; an ab Erasmo Faustus, qui quamplurima 
 j)aucis rerum argumenlis contexuil, incognituai est. Melch. Adam, 
 "Vit. Ilhonani. 
 
 -'^ Enchiridion non ad ostentationem ingenii aut eloquentiae consoripsi, 
 verutu ad hoc sukui), ut mederer errori \ ulgo religionem constitucntiuni 
 in caerinioniis et ubservaUonibus plusquam Judaicis rerum corporaliumi 
 •♦.•a xjua; ad piciatem. pertinent mire negligcntiuni. 
 
 7 . 
 
1504.] OF ERASMUS. It) 
 
 Instead of Instilling Into them that true piety which con- 
 sists in the practice of Christian virtues. 
 
 Erasmus informs us of the occasion on which he com- 
 posed this book, in a letter to Botzem containing a cata- 
 logue of his works. He had a friend > much addicted to 
 women, and a very bad husband to his wife, whom he used 
 so brutishly as sometimes to beat her. She persuaded Eras- 
 mus to undertake this work, without letting her husband 
 know any thing of it. He began it A. D. 1494, at the 
 castle of Tornenhens, and finished it nine years ^ after at 
 Louvain. At first it did not sell ; but in the year 1 5 1 S 
 he put a preface to it, which made it go off, by exciting the 
 clamours of the Dominicans. We will say more of it here- 
 after. It appears from a letter of Erasmus, that he, for 
 whom this book was composed, was not made better by it. 
 Instead of thanking his monitor, he said maliciously, that 
 there was much more holiness in that little book than ia its 
 author. The man was of the military profession, and this 
 migjht induce Erasmus to entitle his book, The Christian 
 Soldier's Dagger, or Manual. 
 
 ' It cannot be denied that this book Is full of good 
 maxims and of useful instructions. Yet was it decried by 
 the archdeacon of Palen9a, as containing some heresies. 
 Louis Coronel, a doctor of divinity, undertook the defence 
 of it. It was read In Spain, even by Charles V. It took 
 very much, and was soon translated Into Italian, French, 
 Spanish, and German. Some persons have not found in it 
 all the unction, which were to be wished In a book of de- 
 votion. Maffacus, In his Life of Ignatius Loyola*, informs 
 us, that this saint, when he perused It, found that It had a 
 bad effect upon him, and cooled his devotion : and one of 
 the most spiritualized men of this age. Monsieur de Saint 
 Cyran, made the same observation. It is true, that in this 
 work there are things not altogether proper for godly books 
 intended for the common people ; and yet it must be granted, 
 that there are also things extremely conducing to instruct 
 
 y ' Theologos omnes fortiter contemnebat, vmo me exccpto.' Ep. ad 
 Botz, 
 
 ^ But it is dated, Apud Divum Audomnrun-', Anno a Cliristo nat© 
 supra millesimum qumgentesiino piinio. 
 
 * See Baylc^ Lo'fola, not. D, 
 
 C 2 
 
20 THE LIFE [1504 
 
 them In their duty, and to preserve In them a spirit of true 
 piety.* Du Pin, B. E. xiv. 56. 
 
 The judgment of Ignatius is altogether worthy of him; 
 and every fanatic in the world, if he were to peruse this 
 treatise of Erasmus, would be of the very same opinion, 
 and would want something more pathetic and savoury, 
 something with more unction, and less morality and com- 
 mon sense. 
 
 A. D. MDV. ^TAT. XXXVIII. 
 
 He drew up a good apology for Laurentius Valla% whose 
 Annotations^ on the New Testamenf^ he had discovered in 
 some library. Valla had drawn a great odium upon him- 
 self for daring to censure the Vulgate. There was some 
 resemblance between the genius of Valla and of Erasmus ; 
 but the latter was better tempered, and had more discern- 
 ment. Each of them met with numerous adversaries of 
 much the same stamp and character. Ep. 103. 
 
 He^ was this year at Paris, and dedicated his translation 
 of Lucian's Alexander to a French bishop. 
 
 A. D. MDVI. ^TAT. XXXIX. 
 
 Erasmus wrote some letters this year to his English corre- 
 spondents from Paris, in which he greatly commends the 
 friends whom he had in this island. Ep. 104, 105, 106. 
 
 This year he was also in England, and dedicated the Ty- 
 rannicida of Lucian to Richard Whitford, and a declama- 
 
 * Bayle, Valla. Boissard, Icon. p. 113. P. Jovins, Elog. p. 25. Baillet, 
 ii. 219. and the notes of La Monnoye, iii. I9. 220, 221 . Pope Blount^ 
 p. 525. Simon, Hist. Crit. des Vers, du N. T. p. 149. des Comment, 
 du N T. p. 484. Erasmus Valise Annotationes Anno 1504. in Ccenobio 
 Parcensi, prope Bruxellas, repertas, typis Badianis Anno 1505. Parisiis 
 in folio edidit. Wetsten. proleg. ad N. T. p. 87. 
 
 The hundred-and-third Epistle of Erasmus is his dedication of this 
 book of Valla to Fischerus. 
 
 ** Valla had a design to translate the New Testament into Latin ; but, 
 being forbidden by the pope, he could only write notes upon the Vul- 
 gate, censuring the bad Latinity and the inaccuracy of this version. As 
 he was a mere Latin grammarian, says father Simon, his remarks are 
 inconsiderable. Bibl. Univ. xvi. 66. This critic halh not done justice 
 to Valla, 
 
 ^ ' Valla primus scripsit notas in Novum Testamentum j secundus 
 Erasmus J postea Camerarius.* Scaligeran, p, 400. 
 
 * T, i. c. 230. 
 
1506.] OP ERASMUS. 21 
 
 tlon^ of his own In answer to it. More had also made a 
 declamation on the same subject. 
 
 ' Whitford^, as Wood says, was bred at Oxford, and 
 was first chaplain to bishop Fox, about the latter end of 
 Henry VII : but affecting a retired life, and laying aside the 
 thoughts of preferment, he entered himself a monk of the 
 order of St. Brigit, in the monastery called Sion, near to 
 Brentford in Middlesex ; and there living till the dissolu- 
 tion of religious houses, he was turned out to seek, his 
 bread. 
 
 ' Being accounted a very pious and learned man, he had 
 been entertained by lord William Montjoy, and by him 
 made known to Erasmus, by whom he was much valued. 
 
 ' He left behind him many pious tracts, which show that 
 his bent was towards religion, and that he was a very strict 
 Roman Catholic, the names of which are set down by 
 Wood, and inmost of which he styles himself The Wretch 
 of Sion. 
 
 ' It plainly appears that he was of Cambridge, from a 
 licence which was granted to him by the master and fellows 
 of Queen's college, whilst he was fellow there, in which 
 the reason given for leave of absence was, that he might 
 attend upon lord Montjoy in foreign parts.' 
 
 About the same time Erasmus dedicated the translation of 
 Lucian's Timon to Dr. Thomas Ruthall. 
 
 ' Ruthall 5, who was secretary to Henry VII, had a great 
 esteem for Erasmus, and was kind to him in the next reign, 
 
 * ' Latine declamare cospl, idque impulsore Thoma Moro, cujus, iiti 
 scis, tanta est facundia, ut nihil non possit persuadere vel hosti : tanta 
 autem hominem caritate complector, ut etiam si saltare me, restimque 
 ductare jubeat, sim non gravatim obtemperaturus. — Neque enim arbi- 
 tror, nisi me vehemens in ilium falJit amor, unquam naturam finxisse 
 ingenium hoc uno praesentius, promptius, oculatius, argutius, breviter- 
 que dotibus omnigenis absolutius. Accedit lingua ingenio par, tum 
 inorum mira festivitas, salis plurimum, sed candidi duntaxat, ut nihil in 
 eo desideres quod ad absolutum pertineat patronum. — Hortor autem ut 
 et Moricam conferas, itaque judices, num quid in stylo sit discriminis 
 inter nos, quos tu ingenio, moribus, affectilms, studiis usque adeo similes 
 esse dicere solebas, ut negares ullos gemellos magis inter se similes 
 reperiri posse. — Vale meum delicium, Hicharde festivissime.' Tum. I. 
 c. 266. 
 
 ^ Knight, p. 64, Koper's Life of More, p. 30. 
 
 « Knightj p. 80, 
 
22 THE LIFE [1506 
 
 when he came to be bishop of Durham. And Erasmus 
 long afterwards sent this bishop his Paraphrase upon the 
 Epistle to the Galatians, and begged his protection against 
 the many enemies that began to oppose him.' 
 
 Erasmus published a translation of other dialogues of 
 Lucian, with an elegant dedication to Ruthall, in which he 
 attacks the fabulous legends and the lying miracles, which 
 had been admitted by Christians even in early times, and 
 by some of which Augustin himself had been imposed 
 upon. Ep. 475. c. 1862. 
 
 ' He^ was this year at Cambridge, where his stay was 
 short. 
 
 ' One might expect the most authentic account from oUr 
 learned historian Dr. John Caius*, or Keys ; and yet all the 
 particulars related by him cannot be depended upon. He 
 says, that Erasmus lived at Cambridge about the year 1506, 
 at what time Henry VII made a visit to that place ; that he 
 read the Greek tongue there, and wrote a treatise De con- 
 scribendis Epistolis, and had it published by Sibert ; and 
 had also his grace to be batchellour of divinity ; that he used 
 much to commend the students, and the state of learning in 
 this university ; that he was succeeded by Richard Crook, 
 a scholar of Grocyne, who also was professor of the Greek 
 tongue in the university of Leipsic, and flourished about 
 1514. 
 
 ' That Crook did succeed Erasmus, appears from his 
 Oration in praise of Greek learning, wherein he makes ho- 
 nourable mention of Erasmus, and speaks modestly of him- 
 self, as unworthy to succeed so great a man. 
 
 ' Other particulars are not to be depended upon. We 
 cannot find that Erasmus was at Cambridge at any time 
 that Henry VII came thither. Nor does it appear that he 
 taught Greek, as professor, at his first coming in 1 506 : it 
 was not till his return in 1509, or some time after. He 
 might possibly get his tract De conscribendis Epistolis 
 printed at Cambridge ; but if any such impression be ex- 
 tant, it will probably be found to be of a later date. Nor 
 are his commendations of the state of learning to be applied 
 
 ^ Knight, p. 85. 
 
 * See Gesner, in Maittaire, iii. 418. Strype's Life of Parker, B. iii 
 
 chap. 4. p. J((0. 
 
IJOC] or ERASMir?;. 53 
 
 to this time, but to the improvements tliat were afterwards 
 made, &c. 
 
 ' The greatest master' of the antiquities of our univer- 
 sity is pleased to say no more, than that Erasmus Iiad his 
 grace at Cambridge in the year 1.-306, to commence B. D- 
 and D. D. at the same time, performing his exercise, and 
 satisfying the beadles ; and was afterwards admitted the huly 
 Margaret's professor about the year 1511. 
 
 ' R. Crook, successor to Erasmus in the Greek profes- 
 sorship, was'' famous in his time ; and Erasmus had so 
 good an opinion of him, that, knowing his strait circum- 
 stances, he desired dean Colet to assist him. 
 
 * Though the Oxford historian mentions Erasmus as 
 teaching Greek at Oxford, and living there many years at 
 different times ; yet, by all that I can find, it is probable 
 that he never went thither after his first coming to EnglaiKl 
 in 1498, or made no stay there. By his own account, he 
 had not Greek enough to set up for a teacher, even some 
 years after his leaving England fcV the first time. He pur- 
 sued those studies at Paris, as soon as he left England ; and 
 says in one of his letters, that his application to Greek had 
 almost killed him, and that he had no money to buy books, 
 or to retain a master. He speaks of a professor of Greek 
 at Paris, one George Hermonym us', a surly old blockhead, 
 who was neither willing nor able to teach it. He \^as there- 
 fore forced to make his own way, by translating Greek 
 writers. In a letter to Colet in 1,504, he says that he had 
 closely applied himself to Greek for the three last years.* 
 
 ' Bud^eus"^, though he owed his erudition almost entirely 
 to his own industry, yet learned, something of Faber Stapu- 
 lensis, Joannes Lascaris, and Hermonymus*. As soon as 
 
 ' Mr. Eaker, I suppose. 
 
 •^ Camerarius bestows great commendations on Crook, under whom 
 lie had studied at Leipsic. Pr?ecept. Vita" Puer. Kpist. Nuncup. p. 17- 
 Crenius De Erudit. Comp. Strype's Memor. vol. i. p. 143. Leichiiis 
 do Orig. Typogr. Lips, p, 3^, &:c. 
 
 ' Lntetia; tantum unus Georgius Hermonymus Gr?rce balbutiebat ; 
 scd talis, ut neque potuisset docere, sivoluisset; iieque voluisset, si 
 potuisset, &:c. Cat. Lucubr. 
 
 Erasmus hath made mention of this man, t. i. c. 933. 
 
 •" Bayle, Budc. 
 
 * Codex Reg. 2244. seculoxv. manu Georgii Hermonymi Spartan! . — 
 qui Lutetise literaram professor, ct Capnionis Budijeique pncceptor llii: . 
 
24 THE LIFE [1506. 
 
 the latter arrived at Paris, Budsus employed him, and gave 
 him a large salary. He explained to Eudasus some Greek 
 authors, as well as he could, which was" very poorly.' 
 
 ' Erasmus^ was at London in January 1506, and sent a 
 translation of Lucian*s ToxarisP, as a new-year's gift to 
 Dr. Richard Fox, bishop of Winchester.* 
 
 His dedication of some dialogues of Lucian to Hier, 
 Buslidianus is from Bononia, in November 1506. T. i. 
 c. 311. 
 
 A. D. MDVII. JETAT. XL. 
 
 He went to Paris, we cannot exactly say when, and took 
 with him the sons of Dr. Joannes Baptista, first physician to 
 Henry VII. 
 
 Erasmus, when he went to Italy*, and was crossing the 
 Alps, composed a poem'^, on horseback, concerning the in- 
 conveniences and infirmities of old age, addressed to Wil- 
 liam Copef, a physician ; and complains that he already' 
 felt them, though he were not then quite forty years old. 
 From this time forward he represents himself as an old man, 
 
 eleganter scriptns atque pictus. Wetsten. prole^. ad N. T. p. 47. See 
 also Gerdesius, Hist. Ev. Ren. torn, i. p. 12. where for Hieronymus xe^d 
 Hermonymiis. 
 
 " Qiiem Budaeus nactus magna mercede conductum ad se accersivit, 
 et antequam dimitteret, amplius quingentis nummis aureis donavit.— 
 Huic Graeco cum aliquot annos operam dedisset, et eo praelegente audi- 
 visset Homerum auctoresque alios insignes, nihilo doctior est factus : 
 neque enim praeceptor ille plura docere quam seire poterat. L. Regius. 
 
 Anno 1476 in Gallia consedit, Parisiisque lileras Giaecas professns est 
 Georgius Hermonym' s, Spartanus, &c. Alius ab hoc Hermonymo 
 erat senex iste Graeculus indoctus, a quo Giaeca mdiinenta, circa annum 
 1491, eductus est Gulielmus Biidaeus, de quo in epistola ad Cuthbertiun 
 Tnnstallum scribit, &c. (£rasmi Epist. 249.) Hodius De Graec. lUustr. 
 p. 233. 239. 
 
 *• Knight, p. 03. 
 
 p Lambert Bos hath pointed out an error of Erasmus in his translation 
 of a passage in Lucian. Ellips. p. 146. 
 
 * Concerning the journey of Erasmus to Italy, see Burigni, torn, ii, 
 p. 115 
 
 1 Tom. iv. c. 75Q. 
 
 f See Melch. Adam. 
 
 "■ Quam nnper hunc Erasmum 
 Vidisti media viiidi-m tlorere juventa ? 
 
 Nunc is repente versus 
 Incipit urgentis senii sentiscere damna,. 
 
1507.] OF EKASMUa. tS 
 
 being In this respect quite the reverse of Henr. Valesius, 
 who at seventy imagined himself young, jis his brother' 
 informs us. With an infirm constitution, and many dis- 
 tempers, and an uncommon application to literature, he 
 lived on to a good old age ; and is one of those examples, 
 which serve to show that studious occupations are not' un- 
 wholsome, if they be accompanied with sobriety and mo- 
 derate exercise. 
 
 A. D. MDVIII. iETAT. XLI. 
 
 He went to Italy, and took his" doctor's degree, as it ap- 
 pears in some letters written from Bononia, or Florence. 
 At Bononia he stayed about a year, and thence went to 
 Venice, where he published a third edition of his Adagies. 
 Then he pass'^d the winter at Padua, and went to Rome 
 the year following. At Venice he contracted an acquaint- 
 ance with Marcus Musurus^% and'' Scipio Carteropaachus, 
 
 Et alius esse tendit, 
 Dissimilisque sui ; nee adlmc Phoebeius orbis 
 
 Quadragies revexit 
 Natalem lucem, quae bruma ineunte calendas 
 
 Quinta anteit Novembres. 
 Nuncmihi jam raris sparguntur tempera canis, ice. 
 
 ' ' Natus annis septunginta, nee sibi ipse videbatur senex, nee aliia 
 videri volebat, qui mala et incommoda senectutis nulla sentiiet. In li- 
 teris, quas ad eum miserat Gionovius Gronovii filius, longam et felicera 
 senectutem ei precatus erat. Senectutis nomine oftensus est Valesius, 
 epistolamque ceu a juvene juveniliter et inepte seriptam projecit ; tan- 
 quam sibi dedecus aliquod false exprobraretur. Id mihi post, sed ridens, 
 referebat ; ila ut appareret ipsum in se postea descendisse, et annorum 
 suorum magis quam firms; valetudinis et virium habita ratione, dicturu 
 Gronovii probavisse. Adjiciebat insuper, ante aceeptas hasce a Grono- 
 vio literas, se de senectute sua nunquam cogiiavisse,' Vit. Vales. 
 
 * See Huctiana, p, 5. 
 "At Turin. Bayle. 
 
 * Hodius De Gjnec. Illnstr. p. 1\Q. 2QA, 303, 304. Erasm. Epist. 
 671. B. Rhenani Vit. Erasmi. Bayle, Musurus, which is a good ar- 
 tiele. Mairtaire, Ann. Typ. i. 288. '.iys. 
 
 Marcus Musurus Cretensis, philologus et poeta ingeniosissimus, poe- 
 mate suo Gn-yeo de laudibus Platonis a Leone X. Archiepiscopatum Epi- 
 daurensem pronieruit. Plura de eodem Musuro, ejusque etfigiem, vido 
 in Appendice Libri sexti Commentariorum Lambecii, p. 27s, 279- 
 Amopn. Lit. toni. v. p. 102. 
 
 * Bayle, Cor/crowiflt.'ji/j. Erasm. Ep. 671. See also Menken, Vit. 
 Polit. p. 7y. 
 
$6 THE LIFE . [1508. 
 
 ■who taught the Greek language at Padua and Bononia, and 
 consulted these learned men upon such difficulties as occur- 
 red to him in the explication of Greek proverbs. He also 
 was particularly intimate with Hieronymus Aleander>', who 
 was afterwards archbishop of Brindisi and nuncio, and 
 then cardinal. He lodged with him, at the house of Al- 
 <ius Manutius^ ; and the same room, and the same bed, 
 served them both : but they did not long continue good 
 friends. 
 
 He was, at this time, tutor to Alexander archbishop of 
 St. Andrews, natural son to James, king of Scotland. In 
 his Adagies he hath given a great character to this youth, 
 Vno% returning to Scotland, was unfortunately slain by his 
 father's side, and with his father. In the battle fought 
 against the English at Flodden-field. Erasmus was much 
 concerned at his death, and persuaded Ammonius to draw 
 up an account of this battle, which yet was never publish- 
 ed. Ep! 1257. 
 
 A. D. MDIX. JET AT* XLII. 
 
 He received a great honour this year from a king's 
 son : Henry prince of Wales wrote him a letter. Ep. 45 1 .^ 
 c. 1840. 
 
 Ele passed the spring In Italy, and wrote two letters from 
 Rome to lord Montjoy. He had not his health In Italy, but 
 was well received there by persons of the first rank, and 
 amongst the rest by the cardinnl of St. George. 
 
 He hath given a pretty account of the manner in which 
 he was treated by cardinal Dominic Grimani, who had sent 
 him word by Bembus, that he should be glad to see hJm. 
 As he had thus invited me, says Erasmus, once or twice by 
 Bembus, I, who was then very awkward at paying my court 
 to the great, went rather through shame of refusing, than 
 out of any inclination. There was no creature either at 
 the door, or in the hall ; and it was in the afternoon. I 
 
 y Bayle, Aleandre. P. Jovins, Elog. p. 1 8 1 . Remarqiies sur Bayle- Re- 
 lat. Gotting. vol. iii. fasc. i, p. 87. Maittairo, Ann. Typ. ii. yp. 240. 
 255. 275.300. Gerdes. torn. i. et Appendix, p. 146. 
 
 ^Maittairc, Ann. Typ. i. 229. 2()2. ii. 37, &c. Erasm. Epist. 671, 
 C. 122s. 141. r. 1008. 253. C JOOO. 
 
 • Kniglit, p. 101. , 
 
1509.] OF ERASMUS. - 27 
 
 gave my horse to my servant, and went In alone. I saw 
 no one in the first, second, or third room ; nor did I find 
 any door shut ; and I wondered at the silence and solitude. 
 At last I arrived at a room where I found one man, a Greek, 
 a physician as I thought, close shaved, who stood at an 
 open door. 1 asked him what the cardinal might be doing. 
 He answered, that he was conversing with some gentlemen ; 
 and, as I said no more, he asked me my business. I would 
 only have paid my compliments, said I, to the cardinal, if 
 it had been convenient ; but, since he is engaged, I will 
 come another time. As I was making a retreat, I looked 
 out at a window, to see the situation of the place. The 
 Greek came to me again, and asked me, if I would have 
 him say any thing to the cardinal. It is not necessary, said 
 I, to disturb him : I will shortly come again. At last he 
 asked me my name, and I told him : upon which he slipped 
 away, unperceived by me, and, returning, desired me not 
 to go. In a minute after, I was called in. The cardinal 
 received me, not as such an one as he might have received 
 a person of my low station, but as though I had been one 
 of his colleagues. He ordered me a chair, and we con- 
 versed together for more than two hours, nor would he suf- 
 fer me to be uncovered : a surprising civility from a man of 
 his dignity ! Amongst several things relating to learning, in 
 which he showed great skill, he gave me an account of his 
 intention to collect a library, which I hear he hath since 
 executed. He exhorted me not to leave Rome, a place 
 where men of genius were encouraged. He offered me 
 his own house, and told me, that the air of Rome, being 
 warm and moist, would suit my constitution ; that he was 
 situated in the most wholsome part of the city, and that a 
 certain pope had built the palace in which he lived, upon 
 that account. After much conversation, he called in his 
 nephew, who was already an archbishop, and was of a pro- 
 mising genius. As I offered to rise, the cardinal would not 
 let me, and said, that the disciple ought to stand in the pre- 
 sence of his master. Tiien he showed me his library, well 
 stored with authors of different languages. Had I known 
 him sooner, I should never have quitted Rome, where I 
 found more favour than I deserved : but I was then deter- 
 mined to go, and it was not in my power to stay. As soon- 
 
28 THE LIFE [1509. 
 
 as I told him that I had a call from the king of England, he 
 pressed me no more, &c. 
 
 Erasmus adds, in complaisance to the person to whom he 
 writes this letter, and who was an Italian, that he had done 
 much better, if he had taken up his abode in Italy : but a 
 land of ceremonies, and a land of inquisition, was no proper 
 habitation for a man of a temper so free and open, and so 
 remote from the Italian grimaces. Ep. 1175. 
 
 Erasmus afterwards wrote to this courteous cardinal, and 
 sent him his Paraphrase of St. Paul. Ep. 315. 
 
 * At Rome^ he was received with great applause, and the 
 pope*^ offered him a place amongst his penitentiaries, which 
 was reckoned both profitable and honourable, and a step to 
 the highest preferment at that court.' 
 
 ' He'^ was taken into the protection of Raphael cardinal 
 of St. George, and at his persuasion was put upon a very 
 ungrateful task, the declaiming backward and forward upon 
 the same argument : first, to dissuade^ from undertaking a 
 war against the Venetians ; and then to exhort^ to the said 
 war, upon the pope's changing his holy mind. 
 
 ' By his own account of pope Julius, he seems to have 
 found so little sincerity at Rome, that he was the more glad 
 of a call back to England.* 
 
 Montjoys had written him a letter, which is the tenth, 
 and dated 1497: but it should be 1509. In it Montjoy 
 promises him great favours from Henry VIII, and from 
 Warham ; yet he seems to have had no particular commis- 
 sion from them to say so much. He adds, that the arch- 
 bishop had given him five pounds, to which Montjoy added 
 five more, to facilitate his journey. But ten pounds was 
 no great sum, to defray a man's charges from Rome to 
 France, and thence to England. 
 
 This lord writes Latin much better than some famous 
 doctors. His letter, which is easy and elegant, is kind and 
 
 ^ Knight, p. 102. 
 
 * B. Rhenani Vit. Erasmi. 
 
 ^Knight, p. 105. See also Catal. Lucubr. 
 
 «' He halli touched upon this subject in his Ecclesiastes, t. v. c. 898. 
 
 ^ Rursum suasi helium in Venetos. Posterior oratio vicit, tametsi ego 
 priorem majore studio inagisque ex animo tractaveram. Periit perfidia 
 cujusdam archetypum. Catal. Lucubr. 
 
 « ConcerDing Montjoy, see Kniglit, p. 14. 
 
1509.] OF ERASMUS. 29 
 
 affectionate to his friend Erasmus : and we may collect from 
 it, that the English were highly delighted at the death of 
 Henry VII, and had great expectations from Henry VllI, 
 whom Montjoy extols to the skies ; and not without rea- 
 son, for he was a promising prince, very generous, and a 
 lover of learning and of learned men, though afterwards he 
 lived to disappoint these hopes, and to prove a tyrant. 
 
 Erasmus, in the dedication of his Adagies to this noble- 
 man, gives him^ commendations, which in all probability- 
 he justly deserved. 
 
 Four' Dominicans were burned this year at Bern, for 
 pretended revelations, and apparitions of their own con- 
 triving. 
 
 A. D. MDX. ^TAT. XLIII. 
 
 Erasmus was in England in the beginning of this year, 
 and he stayed there a considerable time, as we learn from 
 Ep. 109, and the following letters. He received many fa- 
 vours there, as his letters show. In one to Botzem, he 
 says, that having translated the Hecuba of Euripides into 
 Latin verses, he added to it some poems, and dedicated the 
 volume to Warham. The prelate received his dedication 
 courteously, but made the poet only a small present. As 
 he was returning to London from the palace at Lambeth, 
 William Grocyn, his friend, who had accompanied him to 
 Lambeth, asked him in the boat, what present he had re- V/ 
 ceived. Erasmus laughing answered, A very considerable 
 
 ^ Unice studioram meorum Mecaenas. Nam quo alio verbo brevius 
 pleniusve complectar vel tuum istum tam singularem in nos animum, 
 vel laudum tuarum summam ? qui quidem es unus p jlcherrimo illo 
 Apuleii dignus elogio : * Inter doctos nobilissimus, inter nobiles doctissi- 
 mus, inter utrosque optimus :' illud adjiciendum, inter omnes modcs- 
 tissimus. 
 
 * Ex Helveticamm rerum scriptoribus petendum est, quid patraverint 
 Dominicani Bernae, cum hominem semifatuum ementitis apparitionibus, 
 dein fraudis conscium, in aemulationem Frauciscanorum subornassent, 
 ut contra conceptionem B. Virginis immaculatam, quam illi statuunt, 
 revelationes publicaret. — Combusti sunt ob imposturam diabolicam, 
 «iultaque crimina, quorum coram pontificiis delegatis convicti faerunt» 
 ex Dominicanis quatuor. Amplissimam immanis sceleris relationem, a 
 Franciscano quorlam ejusdem urbis monacho, ut apparet, descriptartj, 
 ex Archivo Bernatium produxit Hottingerus, Hist. Secul. xvi. part. v. 
 f. 334 ad 411. Seckendorf. 1. i. p. 97. fol, ed. Frankf. 16q2. JEias- 
 naus, CoUoq. torn. i. c. 8/0. Amcsn. Lit. torn, ii. p. 3Q3. ix. 7/3. 
 
so THE LIFE [I5ia. 
 
 sum ', which Grocyn wo;ild not believe. Having told him 
 what it was, Grocyn replied, that the prelate was rich 
 enough, and generous enough, to have made him a much 
 handsomer present ; but that he certainly suspected that 
 Erasmus had put stale goods upon him, and had already de- 
 dicated that book elsewhere, and to some other patron. 
 Erasmus asked him how such a suspicion could have en- 
 tered into his head. Quia sic soletis vos, £aid Grocyn : 
 that is, because such hungry scholars as you, who stroll 
 about the world, and dedicate books to noblemen, to whom 
 you can find access, are apt to make use of this trick. 
 
 Erasmus says that he had no great mind to stay in Eng- 
 land, but that the archbishop alone detained him. He adds, 
 that Montjoy had given him thirty ducats. Ep. 109. 
 
 He had no cause afterwards to be dissatisfied with the 
 English, if we may confide in his letter to Servatius'^. But 
 there is some reason to suspect that honest Erasmus magni- 
 fies things on this occasion, because his boasts to Servatius 
 hardly agree with his complaints in some other letters. 
 
 The king himself, says he, a little before his father's 
 death, when I was in Italy, wrote me with his own hand a 
 very friendly letter ; and now he speaks of me in a most 
 honourable and affectionate manner. Every time that I sa- 
 lute him he embraces me most obligingly, and looks kindly 
 upon me ; and it plainly appears that he not only speaks 
 but thinks well of me. The queen hath endeavoured to 
 have me for her preceptor. Every one Imows that if I 
 would but live a few months at court, the king would give 
 me as many benefices as I could desire ; but I esteem all 
 things less than the leisure which I enjoy, and the labours 
 and studies in which I am occupied. The archbishop of 
 Canterbury, primate of England, and chancellor of the 
 • kingdom, a learned and a worthy man, loves me as though 
 he were my fi\ther or my brother ; and, to show you the 
 sincerity of his friendship, he hath given me a living worth 
 L'bout a hundred nobles, which at my request he hath since 
 changed fc-r a pension of a hundred crowns, upon my resig- 
 nation. Within these few years he hath given me more 
 than four hundred nobles without my asking : one day he 
 
 ^ Appendix, No. III. 
 
1510.] OF 'ERASMUS. ^ 
 
 gave me a hundred and fifty. From the Ilberah'ty of othc? 
 bishops I have received more than a hundred. Lord Mont- 
 joy, who was formerly my disciple, gives me a yearly pension 
 of a hundred crowns. The king, and the bishop of Lin- 
 coln', who by the king's favour is omnipotent, make me 
 magnificent promises. Here are two universities, Oxford 
 and Cambridge, and both would be glad to have me : for I 
 have taught, several months together, Greek and divinity at 
 Cambridge, but without receiving any stipend ; and I am re- 
 solved always so to do. 
 
 This letter of Erasmus is Ex Arce Hanniensi (read Ham- 
 mensi) juxta Caletium. Ep. 8. c. 1527. It is also prefixed 
 to the first volume of his Works. There is much difference 
 between these two copies of the same letter ; and some 
 things which are in Greek in the one, are translated into 
 Latin in the other. 
 
 At his arrival in England he lodged with the famous 
 Thomas More, who was then a young man ; and whilst he 
 was there, to divert himself and his friend, he wrote in a 
 week a book"^ called The Praise of Folly ", in which he shows 
 that there are fools in all stations. A copy of it was sent to 
 France, and printed there, but with abundance of faults ; 
 yet it took so well, that in a few months it went through 
 seven editions. But it drew upon him several enemies, as 
 we shall see hereafter. 
 
 ' The design" of this ludicrous piece Is to express his re- 
 sentments of being neglected at Rome ; and therefore he 
 exposes that court, not sparing the pope himself: so that 
 he was never after this looked upon as a true son of that 
 church.' 
 
 It appears from many letters, that he contracted in Eng- 
 land a strict friendship with Andreas AmmoniusP of Lucca, 
 who was seeking for some employment at the English court, 
 
 ^ Wolsey. 
 
 "» Bayle, Erasme, not. R. 
 
 ^ It was printed at Paris by Gourmont, without nny date of tlie year. 
 Maittaire, Ann. Typ ii. p. 105. 225. 2/2. I have occasion otton Co 
 cite Maittaire, who was an useful compilerj and nothing mure. 
 
 " Knight, p. 107. 
 
 f Bayle, j4m mo nius. Knight, p. 132, 133. Knight's Life of Colet; 
 p. 212 — 214. 
 
$2 THE LIFE [1^10. 
 
 and was at last made secretary to the king ; and died, aged 
 forty years, of the sweating sickness^. There are several 
 letters of Erasmus written from Cambridge to Ammonius, 
 who lived at London ; and several from him to Erasmus, 
 who stayed a considerable time at Cambridge, though he 
 often stepped up to town, being in his younger days of a 
 rambling genius. 
 
 Ammonius was a learned man, handsome and genteel in 
 his person, ingenious, generous, and good-natured ; and a 
 true, kind, and constant friend to Erasmus. He writes 
 very prettily and elegantly. 
 
 He was apostolical protonotary, the pope's collector in 
 England, Latin secretary to Henry VIII, and prebendary of 
 St. Stephen's chapel in Westminster, and of Fordington and 
 Writhington in the church of Salisbury. 
 
 ' The sweating sickness"" (of which Ammonius died) be* 
 gan at first in 1 483, in Henry the Seventh's army, upon 
 his landing at Milford Haven, and then spread itse.f in 
 London. It returned here five times, and always in sum* 
 mer ; in 148.5 ; in 1506 ; afterward in 1517, when it was 
 so violent that it killed in the space of three hours ; then in 
 1520 ; then in 1528, and proved mortal in the space of six 
 hours.' 
 
 ' Erasmus^ visited the church of Canterbury, and the 
 reliques in it, in company of an English friend, Gratian 
 PuUen*, who, it seems, had more curiosity than faith ; 
 and Erasmus had much ado to restrain his heretical spirit. 
 They were obliged to kiss the old shoe of St. Thomas a 
 
 1 ' Nuper noNTim pestilentiae genus immisit [Deus^ letiferam sudo- 
 rem, quod a Britannis exortum incredibili ccleritate per orbem longe la- 
 teque divagatum est, plurimomm exitio, summo terrore omnium ; vel 
 quia no^Tim, ut a medicis minimum esset opis, vel quia paucis horis tol- 
 lit quern arripuit, vel quia subinde repetit quem reliquit, vel quia per- 
 nici contagio latissime grassari solet.' Erasmus, t. v. c. 347- See also 
 Thuanus, 1. vi. p. 109. ed. Genev. 
 
 ' Freind's Hist, of Phys. Roper's Life of More, p. 46. 
 
 •Kniglit, p. 116. 
 
 * • Gratianus Pullus, the English friend of Erasmus, was John Colet. 
 Erasmus, in the Colloquy Perigrinatio (torn. ii. c. 7^5.), hath these 
 words: *' Postremo reducimur in sacr.irium," &c. The matter will be 
 put beyond dispute, by comparing that dialogue with the words of 
 Esasmus at p. 1 70 of your book, not. *•/ AuonymuJ. (i. e. A. D. ISIQ. 
 Qot. ''. second alphab. of Uiis edit.) 
 8 
 
3510.] OF ERASMUS. S3 
 
 Becket, and to drop money in it. An account of these in- 
 cidents is told by hriismus in his Colloquy of Pilgrimage 
 for Religion, in a pleasant manner.' 
 
 ' When Erasmus' saw at Canterbury the tomb of Becket 
 laden with so many pretious jewels, and other inestimable 
 riches, he could not but wish that these superfluous heaps 
 of wealth might be distributed amongst the poor ; and this 
 tomb to be better adorned with leaves and flowers than to 
 h:^ap up all that mass of treasure, to be one day plundered 
 ai:d cX\rricd away by the men of power ; which was a pro- 
 phecy most literally fulfilled in less than twenty years. 
 
 ' In another place he seems to ascribe ^ the great power 
 and wealth of the English ecclesiastics to the d^ath of this 
 man.' 
 
 Dr. Knight takes this last remark from an Epistle, under 
 the feigned name of Nucerhius, which is commonly ascribed 
 to Erasmus, and not without much probability. In this 
 Epistle, which contains an account of the death of More 
 and of Fisher, we read that the jury brought in a verdict 
 against More, ' ac pronunciarunt Kil/im, hoc est, Dignus 
 est morte.' He should have said, — ' pronunciarunt Guilty^ 
 hoc est,' 6cc.-Ep. 378. c. 1763. I would not advise any 
 one to use this as an argument, that Erasmus could not be 
 the writer of the Epistle ; for he seems to have known little 
 or nothing of the English language, though he lived 
 amongst us for some time. In this Epistle Becket is called 
 Thomas Acrensis'', and Erasmus calls him so in torn. v. 
 
 ^-Knight, p. 117. Era^mi Coiivlv. Relig, 
 
 »Ep. 3/8. c. 177]. 
 
 * Because that prelate was born in the parish of St. Thomas de Acre^, 
 in the city of London. Knight, p. 2-i~). 
 
 Erasmus calls him Thomam Acrcnsem, torn. i. c. 483. ix. 94Q. 
 
 ' Considering Thomas Becket stubbornly withstood the wholsome 
 laws establisned against the enormities of the clergj', and fled inta 
 France, and to tJie bishop of Rome, to procure abrogation of those laws j 
 and that his death, untruly called martyrdom, happened upon a rescue 
 made, and that he gave opprobrious words to the gentlemen who coun- 
 seled him to l(-;ave his stubborness, and called one of them bawd, and 
 took another [Tracy] by the bosom, and violently shook him, and had 
 like to have thrown him upon the pavement; in which fray one of the 
 company struck him, and so in the throng he was slain, — there appeared 
 nothing in his life and conversation whereby he should be called a saint, 
 but rather be esteemed a rebel and a traytor,' &:c. Injunctions of 
 Henry VIII, Anno 1539. in Strype's ^klemor. vol. i. p. 344. 
 
 Vol. I. D 
 
34 THE LIFE [1510. 
 
 c. 362. Erasmus, as It appears from some passages in his 
 writings, had a better opinion of Becket than he deserved. 
 
 ' As Erasmus^" was at first invited down to Cambridge by 
 Fisher, bishop of Rochester, chancellor of the university, 
 and head of Queen's college ; so he was accommodated by 
 him in his own lodgings at his college, and promoted by his 
 means to the lady Margaret's professorship in divinity, and 
 afterwards to the Greek professor's chair ; which places, 
 though they were more honourable than profitable, yet were 
 of great service to the university.' 
 
 ' How long^ Erasmus was Greek professor in Cambridge 
 I know not. It is made a question by some whether he was 
 ever called so or not ; taking him only for a reader in that 
 language : but I think it pretty plain, by Richard Croke's 
 Oration in praise of Greek learning, that he succeeded Eras- 
 mus in that chair. See an account of Croke% and of his 
 works, in Wood's Athense Oxon. I shall only just ob- 
 serve, that we have no reason to believe that Erasmus, 
 though commonly placed in the list of university orators^ as 
 predecessor to Croke, ever filled that place.' 
 
 ' Erasmus^, at the desire of bishop Fisher, and by order 
 of the university of Cambridge, drew up the epitaph for 
 Margaret countess of Richmond, which is inscribed upon 
 her tomb in Westminster Abbey j and had for so doing 
 twenty shillings.' 
 
 Ep. 109 is to Halsey, wiih whom he had been acquainted 
 at Oxford, who was made bishop^ of Laighlin in Ireland in 
 1513, and translated to the bishopric of Elphin \ and was a 
 good friend to Erasmus. 
 
 A. D. MDXI. v^TAT. XLIV. 
 
 He earnestly presses Colet to give him fifteen angels, 
 which he had promij^ed long before, on condition that Eras- 
 mus would dedicate to him his book De Copia Verboium, 
 which was not published till the following year. See 
 Ep. ] i.J, which is elegantly written, and which shows that 
 this \^ orthy man must have been in great straits, since he 
 
 y Knight, p. 124. "> Knight, p. 139. 
 
 ^ Ibid. p. 133. <^IJ»id.p. 213. 
 
 • See also Index Epist, Erasm. 
 
1511.] OF ERASMUS. 35 
 
 was forced to beg so importunately for a few pieces of gold. 
 It is not altogether to Colet's honour. 
 
 In another letter to Colet, we find that the academics at 
 Cambridge, where Erasmus resided, were as poor as him- 
 self^. 
 
 He was much distressed, because he could not bear malt 
 liquor, and new or bad wine, which gave him fits of the 
 gravel. 
 
 Ammonius sent him some Greek wine, for which Era^ 
 mus returned a copy of verses in praise of his benefactor. 
 Ammonius repaid him, not only with a pretty poem, but 
 with another vessel of Greek wine. Ammonius had pub- 
 lished, it seems, a volume of poems. Ep. 124, 125. 127. 
 
 Ammonius complains of the plague^ which was at Lon- 
 don, and of a famine that would probably ensue ; and ob- 
 serves, that wood was grown dear, because there had been a 
 great consumption of it in faggots to burn heretics. But, 
 says he, they increase upon us ; and every illiterate*" booby 
 sets up for a teacher, and becomes the head of a sect. If 
 he had lived here now, he might have beheld meaner per- 
 sons carrying on the same trade with more success. Ep. 127. 
 
 Though Erasmus, as we have observed, said to Serva- 
 tius that he taught gratis at Cambridge ; yet it appears that 
 he made some profit, and that he expected the payment of 
 thirty nobles, which retained him there, though he wanted 
 to be gone. But he thought that so poor a reward might 
 be reckoned a very nothing. He had explained the gram- 
 mar of Chrysoloras^, and intended to read lectures upon 
 that of Gaza''. Ep. 119. 123. 
 
 ^ Video vestigia Christianae paupertatis. Qusestiim usque adeo non 
 spero, ut intelligam hie demum effundendum mihi, quicquid a Mecaena- 
 tibus queam avellere. — De quaestu nihil video, quid enim auferam a nu- 
 dis, homo nee improbus, et Mercurio irato natus ? Ep, II7. 
 
 ^ Pestis modum saevitiae ferme imposuit. Sed fames, nisi magistra- 
 tus remedium aliquod adhibeant, subsequetur, malum nihilo peste mi- 
 tius. Lignorum pretium auetum esse non miror : multi quotidie hoere- 
 tiei holocaustum nobis prsebent, plures tamen succreseunt : quia et 
 frater germanus mei Thomae, stipes verius quam homo, seetam, si Diis 
 plaeet, et ipse instimit, et diseipuJos habet. 
 
 ' Angli plerique sunt fanatici j tales multos novi. Scaligeran. p. 21, 
 This surely was too severe upon oar forefathers. 
 
 8 P. Jovius, Elog. p. 41. Hodius de Grcec. Illustr. p. 12, &c. See 
 also Maittaire, ii. 202, 203. Gerdes. torn. i. p. 10, 11. 
 
 ^ Boissard, Icon. Baillet, ii. 223. 603. iii. 20, 21, 22. Pope Blount, 
 
 D 2 
 
36 . THE LIFE [1511. 
 
 ' He' informs Aramonius that he mtended to pay a pious 
 visit to the hidy of Walsingham, and to leave behind him a 
 copy of Greek verses as an offering to her shrine ; and this 
 he performed. But it seems more out of custom than con* 
 science that he gave into this superstition ; and there never 
 was a better satire against this sort of foolery than that col- 
 loquy of his which he calls Peregrinatio Religionis ergo.' 
 , The bishop of Durham, about this time, made him a 
 present of ten crowns. 
 
 He complains that the plague was in England, and that 
 the roads were infested with highwaymen ; and says of Cam- 
 bridge, that it was almost deserted, and that he could not 
 maintain^ himself there, but must seek some other place to 
 live in, or to die in. 
 
 In Ep. 1 35 he gives a noble character to Fisher^ and to 
 Warham"\ Fisher had a great zeal to promote literature in 
 
 p. 333. Erasmus, torn, i, c. 83g, and the notes j torn, v, c. 115. Gerdes. 
 torn. i. p. 11. 
 
 Of this learned and illustrious Greek, Hody hath given a large ac- 
 count, De Graec. Illustr. p. 55, &c. He stands amongst the infoUces /i- 
 terati, or in the philological martyrology. 
 
 Huetius also hath given his opinion concerning Gaza and Arg)Topylus, 
 and prefers the latter, considered as a translator, to the former, contrary 
 to the sentiment of Jovius and of Erasmus. De Clar. Interpr. p. 238. 
 
 Erasmus hath frequently commended Gaza, in his Epistles, in his 
 Adagies, in the Ciceronianus, and in other places. 
 
 * knight, p. 131. 
 
 '^ Sumtus intolerabiles, lucrum ne teruncii quidem. Nondum 
 
 quinque menses sunt,.quod hue me contuli, interim ad sexaginta nobilea 
 insumsi. Unum duntaxat ab auditoribus quibusdam accepi, eumque 
 multum deprecans ac recusans, Ep. 131. 
 
 ' Episcopus Roffensis, vir non solum admirabili integritate vitae, 
 verum etiam alta reconditacjue doctrina, turn morum quoque incredibili 
 comitate commendatus maximis pariter ac minimis, me, tametsi nihil 
 omnino sum, pro sua liumanitate, singular! favore semper est pro- 
 secutus . — 
 
 St. John's college in Cambridge lost much by the calamities of Fisher, 
 as Ascham informs us. 
 
 - Joannes Fischerus, dum falsam doctrinam nimis perverse defendit, 
 optimas literas in hoc collegio suis ornamentis et suis divitiis denudavit. 
 Hie vir suo nutu rcxit hoc collegium j et propterea in manu ejus posita 
 sunt clarissima ornamenta, quae Diva Margareta huic collegio elargita 
 est. — Libri ejus universi nostri erant. Cum libros ejus ditimus, mag- 
 num thesaurum dicimus. — Quid multis ? Ejus perversa dcctrina et il- 
 ium vita, et nos summis divitiis nostris privavit. Liber unus, Ep. i. 
 
 Concerning Fisher, see also Strype's Memor. vol. i. p. 176. 
 , *" Insigni benignitate me prosequuatur cum alii permulti, turn prae- 
 
1511.] OF ERASMUS. 87 
 
 Others, and to excel in it himself ; and, though of an ad- 
 vanced age, was desirous of becoming skilful in the Greek 
 
 cipue Mecnenas ille mens unicus, archiepiscopus Cantuariensis, imo non 
 mens, sed omnium eruditorum, iuler (juos ego postrcmas tenoo, si modo 
 uUas teneo. Deum immortalem ! quam felix, quam forcundum, quam 
 promptum hominis ingenium ! quanta in maxiniis explicandis riegotiis 
 dexteritasl quam non vulgaris eruditio ! Tum autem quam inaudila in 
 omnes comitas ! quanta in congressu jucunditas ! ut^ quod vere regium 
 est, neminem a se tristem dimittat. Ad hnrc, quanta quauKjue alacris 
 liberalitas ! Postremo, in tanta fortunae dignitatisquo praecellentia, quam 
 iiuHum supercilium! ut solus ipse magnitudinem suam ignorare videa- 
 lur. In amicis tuendis nemo neque tidelior neque constanlior. In 
 summa, vere primas est, non solum dignitalCj verum el in omni genere 
 Jaudis. Ep. 135. 
 
 Hie mihi succurrit vir omni memoria seculorum dignus Guilhelmus 
 Waramus, arch. Cant, totius Angliae ])rimas : non ille quidem titulo, 
 sed re tlieologus ; erat enim juris utriusque doctor, legationibus aliquot 
 feliciter obeundis inclaruit, et Henrico septimo, summae pnadentia; 
 .principj, gratus carusque factus est. His gradibus evectus est ad Can- 
 tuariensis ecclesiae fastigium, cujus in ca insula prima est dignitas. 
 Huic oneri, per se gravissimo, addiium est aliud gravius, Coactus est 
 suscipere cancellarii munus, quod quidem apud Anglos plane regium 
 est J atque huic uni honoris gratia, quoties in publicum procedit, regia 
 corona sceptro regio iniposito gestatur. Nam hie est velut oculus, os, 
 ac dextra regis, supremusquc totius regni Britannioi judex. Hanc pro- 
 vinciam annis compluribus tanta dexteritate gessit, lit diceres ilium ei 
 negotio natum, nulla alia teneri cura. Sed idem in his, quae spectabant 
 ad religionem et ecclesiasticas functiones, tarn erat vigilans et attentus, 
 ut diceres eum nulla externa cura distringi. SutSciebat illi tempus ad 
 religiose persolvendum solenne precum pensum, ad sacrificandum fere 
 quotidie, ad audiendum ])r?eterea duo aut tria sacra, ad cngnoscendas 
 causas, ad excipiendas legationes, ad consulendum regi si quid in aula 
 gravius exstitisset, ad visendas ecclesias, sicubi natum esset aliquid, quod 
 moderatorem postularet, ad excipiendos convivas saepe ducentos ; deni- 
 que lectioni suum dabatur otium. Ad tarn varias curas uni sufficiebat et 
 animxis et tempus, cujus nuUam portionem dabat venatui, nullam aleae, 
 nullam inanibus fabulis, nullain luxui aut voluptatibus. Pro his omni- 
 bus oblectamentis erat illi vel amoena qua^piam lectio, vel cum erudite 
 viro colloquium. Quanquam interdum episcopos, duces, et comites 
 haberet convivas, semper tamen prandium intra spatium horre finieba- 
 tur. In splendido apparatu, quem ilia dignitas postulat, dictu incredi- 
 bile quam ipse nihil dcliciarum attigerit. Raro gustabat vinum, ple- 
 rumque jam tum septuagenarius bibebat perteuuem cerevisiam, quam 
 illi I'niam vocant, eamcjue ipsam perparce. Porro, quum quam mini- 
 mum ciborum sumeret, tamen comitate vultus ac sermonum testivilate 
 omnc convivium exhilarabat. Vidisses eandern pransi ct impransi so- 
 brietatem. A coenis in totum abstinebat ; aut si contigissent familiares 
 amici, quorum de numero nos eramus, accumbcbat (juidem, sed ita, ut 
 pene nihil attingeret ciborum : si tales non dabantur, quod temporis ccp,n« 
 dandura erat, id vel precibns, vel lectioni impendebat. Atque ut ipso 
 leporibus scatebat mire gratis^ sed citra morsum atque iiieptiam, ita libc- 
 
38 THE LIFE [1511. 
 
 language, so necessary for a divine ; and would have en- 
 gaged Latimer to teach him. See Latimer's letter to Eras- 
 mus, 301 ; and Knight, p. 139. 
 
 Erasmus complains bitterly of some person in England, 
 
 xioribus jocis amicorum delectabatur : a scurrilitate et obtrectatione tam 
 abhorrebat, quam quisquam ab angue. Sic ille vir eximius sibi faciebat 
 dies abunde longos, quorum brevitatem multi causantur, Ecclesiast. t.^v, 
 C. 810. 
 
 Erasmus wrote this after the death of Warhani, 
 
 It is with a melancholy kind of pleasure that I transcribe these 
 passages, and shall in other parts of this work insert other testimonies 
 to the honour of the archbishop ; whilst in the character of this amiable 
 prelate, drawn by so masterly a hand, I contemplate tliat of my late pa- 
 tron (Thomas Herring, archbishop of Canterbury), who, besides the 
 good qualities in which he resembled Warham, had piety without super- 
 stition, and moderation without meanness, an open and a liberal way of 
 thinking, and a constant attachment to the cause of sober and rational 
 liberty, both civil and religious. Thus he lived and died ; and few 
 great men ever passed through this malevolent world better beloved and 
 less censured than he. 
 
 He told me once, with an obliging condescension which I can never for- 
 get, that he would be to me what Warham was to Erasmus ; and what 
 he promised he performed : only less fortunate in the choice of his humble 
 friend, who could not be to him what Erasmus was to Warham. But if 
 these pages should live, protected by the subject which they treat, and 
 the materials of which they are composed, they may perhaps assist in 
 doing justice to his memory. 
 
 His mihi dilectum nomen, manesque verendos. 
 His saltern accumulem donis, et fiingar amico 
 Munere ! Non totus^ raptus licet, optime Praesul, 
 F.riperis : redit os placidum, moresque benigni, 
 Et venit ante oculos, et pectore vivit imago. 
 
 The hall of the archbishop's palace at Canterbury was of such vast 
 amplitude, that, in the year 1519, it was graced with the presence of 
 the emperor Charles V and king Henry VIII at the same time, toge- 
 ther with queen Catharine — wherein they feasted together in a most 
 splendid manner, at the incredible cost and expenses of Warham. 
 Strype's Life of Parker, b. ii. p. 1^4. Memor. vol, i. p. 73. 
 
 Concerning this prelate see also Wood, vol. i. c. 668, where we are 
 informed that Warham was a prophet, and foretold that he should have 
 for a successor a ' Thomas (i. e. Thomas Cranmer), that should as much, 
 by his vicious living and wicked heresies, dishonour, waste, and destroy 
 the see of Canterbury, and the whole church of England, as ever the 
 blessed bishop and martyr St. Thomas did before benefit, bless, adorn, 
 and honour the same.' 
 
 For the tnith of this valuable anecdote Wood appeals to a manuscript 
 treatise of Nicolas Harpesfield, a zealous bigot. 
 
1511.] OF ERASMUS. SO 
 
 who had made him large promises, and had not performed 
 them. Ep. 129. 
 
 He informs the archbishop, that he was afllicled with the 
 gravel, which malt liquor had brought upon him ; and says 
 pleasantly, that he was fallen into the hands of hangmen 
 and harpies, called physicians and apothecaries. I am, says 
 he, in travail ; it sticks in my ribs ; and when, or what I 
 shall bring forth I know not. He sends the archbishop the 
 Saturnalia of Lucian translated into Latin ; and, for the 
 reason mentioned above, he adds, that he had not dedicated 
 it to any other person. Ep. 188, 189. 
 
 ' Warham" was a great canonist, an able statesman, a 
 dextrous courtier, and a favourer of learned men. He al- 
 ways hated cardinal Wolsey, and would never stoop to him, 
 esteeming it below the dignity of his see. He was not so 
 peevishly engaged in the learning of the schools as others 
 were, but set up and encouraged a more generous way of 
 knowledge : yet he was a severe persecutor of them whom 
 he thought heretics ; and inclined to believe idle and fana- 
 tical people, as will afterwards appear, when the impostures 
 of the Maid of Kent shall be related*.* 
 
 * He ° had all along concurred in the king's proceedings, 
 and had promoted them in convocation : yet, six months 
 before his death, he made a protestation of a singular na- 
 ture at Lambeth, and so secretly, that mention is only made 
 of three notaiies and four witnesses present. It is to this 
 effect : that zvhat statutes soever had passed, or were to 
 pass J in this present parliament, to the prejudice of the 
 pope, or the apostolic see, or that derogated from or 
 lessened the ecclesiastical authority, or the liberties of his 
 see of Canterbury, he did not consent to them, but did dis- 
 own and dissent from them. I leave it to the reader to 
 consider what construction can be made upon this ; whether 
 it was, in the decline of his life, put on him by his con- 
 fessor about the time of Lent, as a penance for what he 
 had done ; or, if he must be looked on as a deceitful man, 
 that, while he seemed openly to concur in those things, he 
 protested against them secretly,* &c. 
 
 ■ Burnet's Hist, of the Ref. i, 127. 
 
 * See Strype's Memor. vol. i. p. 17& 
 
 • Burnet, iii. 80. 
 
40 THE LIFE [1511. 
 
 ' Fisher P was a learned and devout man, hut much ad- 
 dicted to the superstitions in which he had been bred up ; 
 and that led him to great severities against all that opposed 
 them. H? had been for many years confessor to the king's 
 grandmother, the countess of Richmond : and it was be- 
 lieved that he persuaded her to those noble designs for the 
 advancement of learning, of founding two colleges in 
 Cambridge, St. John's and Christ's college, and divinity- 
 professors in both universities ; and, in acknowledgment of 
 this, he was chosen chancellor of the university of Cam- 
 bridge. Henry VII gave him the bishopric of Rochester, 
 which he, following the rule of the prin'itive church, would 
 never change for a better : he used to say, his church was 
 his wife, and he would never part with her because she was 
 poor. He continued in great favour with Henry VIII till 
 the business of the divorce was set on foot ; and then he 
 adhered so firmly to the queen's caus? and the pope's su- 
 premacy, that he was carried by that headlong into great 
 errors. When he and more were put to death. Gardiner, 
 who was never wanting in the most servile compliances, 
 wrote a vindication of the king's proceeding?. The lord 
 Herbert had it in his hands, and tells that it was written in 
 eiegailt Latin,' &;c. 
 
 Erasmus^ says, that four learned men, and his indmate 
 friends, had begun to study Greek when they were more 
 than forty years old, and had reaped great advantage from 
 it. It seems not improbable that Fisher might be one of 
 these. 
 
 He"^ observes of Warham, that he was never idle him^ 
 self, and would suffer none of his domestics and dependents 
 to be useless and lazy. 
 
 In Ep. 131, and in other places, he mentions John Brian 
 amongst his Cantabrigian friends. 
 
 ' We^ have some account of Brian from a manuscript of 
 archbishop Tenison, which says that he was born at Lon- 
 don, and was of King's college ; and that he was one of 
 
 p Burnet^ i. 354. See Boissard, Icon. p. 115. P. Jovius_, Elog. 
 p. 168. 
 
 1 Tom. V. c. 78. 
 
 r Lingua, t. iv, c. 732. 
 
 » Knight^ p. 146. 
 
J511.] OF ERASMUS. 41 
 
 the most learned men of his time, especially in the Greek 
 and Latin tongues, as also a public reader upon Aristc^le 
 in the schools ; and though he disobliged many who af- 
 fected the old nonsensical distincrions and quibbles, yet this 
 made him to be taken notice of and beloved by Erasmus. 
 There is mention made by Erasmus of his writing a history 
 of France ; but it doth not appear that it was ever printed.* 
 
 A. D. MDXII. /RTAT. XLV. 
 
 Erasmus sent a translation of Lucian de Astrologia to 
 his friend Joannes Baptista, now pliysician to Henry VIIL 
 Ep. 137. 
 
 ' Erasmus ^ exhorted the physicians" of his time to study 
 Greek, as more necessary to their profession than to any 
 other. He recites the names of the most eminent physi- 
 cians in Europe, who, sensible of the want of that lanr 
 guage, learned it in their declining years. He mentions 
 none who had the good fortune to learn it when young, but 
 our Linacer and Ruellius. He hopes that all students in 
 that faculty will labour to attain it ; and he thinks in a little 
 time no one will be so impudent as to profess physic with- 
 out it. 
 
 ' It is to the honour of that faculty, that as the first 
 teacher of the Greek tongue at Oxford was Linacer, so the 
 next of any note was Dr. John Clement, another very learned 
 physician, to whom succeeded Mr. Thomas Lupset.' 
 
 If Erasmus had lived in these times, he would have 
 found it needless to exhort the gentlemen of that profession 
 to the study of the learned languages and of polite litera- 
 ture, in which so many of them have distinguished them- 
 seives. 
 
 He hath recommended the study of physic as of the best^ 
 profession to secure a man from poverty. He had several 
 
 * Knight, p. 109. 
 
 " Epibt. 295. 
 
 ^ Adversus inojjiam certissimum prnesldium est ars med'icand'i, quae 
 longissime abest a necessitate niendicandi. Iluic proxima {ibijwis pru- 
 dentia. Vhix'wxios ^Wi ai grammatica, sed alit tantum : quae com plecti- 
 \x\r Qi poeticcn , ct, ut nunc sunt tcmpora, rhetoriceii. T. v. c 6dl. 
 
 Of the ars theologica he saith nothing j and we also will say notiiing. 
 
42 THE LIFE [1512. 
 
 good friends amongst the physicians ; and they have usually 
 been such to men of letters. 
 
 He sent a foul copy of a translation of the Icaromenip- 
 pus to Ammonius, begging him to get it transcribed^, 
 which, it seems, no one could or would do for him at Cam- 
 bridge. Ep. 139. 
 
 In a letter^ to the marquis of Vere (principi Veriano) he 
 tells him that he was sick of England, and longed to be in 
 his own country ; and begs his favour and assistance. 
 
 The archbishop, having rallied him a little about his lying- 
 in, sent him thirty angels, and exhorted him to take care of 
 bis health. Ep. 134. 
 
 He published his book De copia Verborum, augmented, 
 and dedicated to Colet, according to his promise, whom he 
 highly commends for having founded a school in London 
 at his own expense. 
 
 * Erasmus once lodged at London with Bernard Andreas 
 [of whom mention hath been made, p. 7-3 the old tutor to 
 prince Arthur, poet-laureate and historiographer to Henry 
 VIII, in Augustine Fryars, and dieted in the same convent ; 
 for which Bernard demanded too large a sum, and quar- 
 relled with him, till lord Montjoy, for the sake of Erasmus, 
 was forced to make him satisfaction of twenty nobles. Upon 
 this Erasmus could hardly ever after endure him ; and also 
 bore hard upon him for envying Linacer. " Quod uterer,'* 
 says he, " caeco duce — Bernardo illo Andrea, Gallo, quon- 
 dam Arturi principis optimi non optimo prasceptore." * 
 
 ' He calls him a blind guide (the poor man had really 
 lost his eyes), and it seems likely to be upon him that we 
 must understand the biting epigram of Erasmus made upon 
 a blind corrector of tragedies : 
 
 Gur adeo, lector, crebris offendere mcndis ? 
 Qui oastigavit, lumine capius erat.' 
 
 Knight, p. 118. 
 
 y Et hie (O academiam ! ) nullus inveniri potest, qui ullo pretio vel 
 merliocriter scrlbat. 
 
 * Quoties pcenituit me, fortunam, quam ante triennium mihi Lo- 
 vanii offerehas, non amplexum fuisse ? Sed turn quidem amplae spes 
 me feroceni reddiderant, et aiirei Britanniae monies anirao concept! : 
 sed earn cristam mihi depressit fortuna : nunc si vel mediocris isiic de» 
 tur, cupio cum Ulysse patriae fuxnum subsilientem coijspicere. Ep. 143* 
 
 1 
 
1513.] OF ERASMUS. 43 
 
 A. D. MDXIII. .^<;TAT. XLVI. 
 
 He wrote from London a very elegant letter to the abbot 
 of St. Bertin, against the rage of going to war, which then 
 possessed the French and the English. He hath often 
 treated this subject, and always with great vivacity, elo- 
 quence, and strength of reason : as in his Adagies, under 
 the proverb, * Dulce bellum inexpertis;' in his book enti- 
 tled Querela pacis ; and m his Instruction of a Chiistian 
 Prince. But his remonstrances had small effect ; and 
 Charles V, to whom the last-mentioned treatise was dedi- 
 cated, became not a jot the more pacific for it. 
 
 Erasmus thought it hardly lawful for a Christian to go 
 to war, and in this respect was almost a Quaker^. 
 
 He tells Antonius a Bergis that this war distressed him 
 in particular, on account of the scarcity of provisions, and 
 because no good wine was to be had in England. He 
 seemed to himself as one banished, and imprisoned in an 
 island, because at that time they received no letters from 
 beyond sea. He would gladly have returned to Flanders, if 
 he could have found a subsistence. Ep. 1 44. 
 
 He was forced to live expensively, not only because of 
 his bad health, but because he kept a horse, and probably a 
 servant to take care of him. He had the misfortune to 
 lose his horse ; and he presented his New Testament to 
 Ursewick, in hopes that he would give him a horse, as he 
 says ; but Ursewick was not to be met with at that time. 
 Ammonius^ very generously and genteelly made him a 
 present of one. Ep. 145, 146. 
 
 ' Cujus immanitatis conspectu multi homines m'inime mali eo venc- 
 runt, ut Christiano, cujus disciplina in hominibus diligendis praecipue 
 consistit, omnia arma interdicerent : ad quos accedere interduni viden- 
 tur et Joannes Ferus, et Erasmus nostras, viri pacis et ecclesiasticae et 
 civilis amantissimi. Grotius. Bayle, Ferus, not. E. 
 
 •♦ sed quando video te equo egere, albo equo (scis quanti hoc 
 
 olim fuerit) a me donaberis, ex Juverna ultima advecto. Accipe qua- 
 lemcunque tibi numquam imputandum. 
 
 Thus Ammonius 5 to which Erasmus replies j Video circumspectius 
 tecum agendum : adeo captas omnem donandi ansam. Remissurus 
 eram munus tuum, etiam Moro dissuadente, ni veritus faissem, nc su- 
 spicareris aut parum mihi placere, aut me Ammonio pavum libenter de- 
 bere, cum nulli debeam libentius, ut nee amo quemquam effusius. 
 Dispereamj Ammoni, ni istum tuum aninium tam excelsum, tamque 
 
4-1; THE LIFE [l513, 
 
 Ursewick, who, it seems, had promised him a horse, 
 was as good as his word^ : and Erasmus bestows no small 
 praises on the beast. 
 
 Ursewick was his true friend on many occasions ; and 
 Erasmus had dedicated his translation of Lucian's Gallus to 
 him, A. 1503. 
 
 * Christopher Ursewick ^ is said by Wood to have been 
 recorder of London in part of the reign of Edward IV, in 
 the time of Richard III, and in part of Henry VII ; to 
 which last king being chaplain, and afterwards almoner, he 
 was by him employed in several embassies, especially to 
 Charles VIII, king of France. 
 
 ' Mr. Speed hath many particulars concerning him, &c. 
 He had been so faithful and useful to Henry VII, that un- 
 der him he might have attained the highest dignities in the 
 church, and the most profitable offices in the state ; but re- 
 fusing*^ the bishopric of Norwich, after so many merits, he 
 
 amice aniicum, pluris facio, magisque aitio, quam universuni strepitura 
 pontificiae fortaiis. — Perplacet equus candore insigni?, at magis animi 
 tui candore commendatiis. Malueram in alios quosdam praedoncm 
 agere, in Eboracensem, Coletum, Ursewicum : verum illi sapiunt 5 
 quanquam Ursewicus pollicetur insignem equum, nee addubito quia sit 
 praestiturus, idqne ad calendas, non Graecas, sed Octobres. 
 
 ^ Equi tui genius mihi fuit magnopere felix, nam bis jam Basileam 
 usque vexit ac revexit incolumem, itinere licet periculosissimo, non so- 
 lum longo. Sapit jam non minus quam Homericus Ulysses : siquidem 
 
 mores hominum multorum vidit et urbcs : 
 
 tot adiit universitates. Dum Basilece meipsum pene laboribus eneco 
 mensibus decern, ille interim otiosus ita pinguit, ut vix ingredi possit. 
 Ep. 255. A. 1517. 
 
 ^ Knight, p. ys. 
 
 * Titulo res digna sepulcri ! 
 
 Here is his epitaph, and a good one it is^ and much to his honour : 
 
 Christopherus Ursewicus, regis Hen. VII. Eleemnsynarius, vir 
 sua setate clarus, ad exteros rege^-- undecies pro patria Icgatus. Dec. 
 Ebor. Archd. Richmond. Decanatum Windesor. habitos vivens reli- 
 quit. Episc. Norvvicensem oblatum recusavit : magnos honores rota 
 vita sprevit : frugali vita contentus, hie vivere, hie mori maluit. Ple- 
 nus annis obiit, ab omnibus desideratus : funeris pompam etiam testa- 
 mento vetuit : hie scpultus obiit, anno 1521^ die 24 Octobris, 
 
 To deserve a bishopric, and to reject it, is no common tiling. But 
 that our Ursewick may not stand here alone, we will subjoin to him an 
 illustrious man of the fifteenth century : 
 
 Sixtus the fourth, having a great esteem for John Wessel of Groenin- 
 gen, one of the most learned men of the age, sent for him, and said to 
 6 
 
1513.] OP ERASMUS. 45 
 
 chose for his reward a retired country life at Hackney, near 
 London, where he died, and was buried, A. l.'J'iJ. He is 
 said to be the founder of a f^chool, with a house, in the 
 church-yard in Hackney, of which parish he was rector. 
 Some writers have made him a cardinal, confounding him 
 with Christopher Bainbridge, archbibihup of York, and car- 
 dinal of Rome.' 
 
 The edition of the New Testament ^, a work of infinite 
 pains, and which helped, as he says, to destroy his health, 
 and spoil his constitution, drew upon him the malicious 
 censures of ignorant and envious divines, who, not being 
 capable themselves of performing such a task, were vexed 
 to see it undertaken and accomplished by another. There 
 was, it seems, one college at Cambridge, which would not 
 suffer this book to enter within its walls s, as he observes to 
 his friend Bullock. Erasmus defends himself very well 
 against these wretches ; and, amongst other things, observes, 
 ^ how much the University of Cambridge was improved in 
 literature. 
 
 him, Son, ask of us •« hat you will : nothing shall be refused that be- 
 comes our character to bestow, and your condition to receive. Most 
 holy father, said he. and my generous patron, I shall not be trouble- 
 some to your holiness. You know that I never sought after great 
 tilings. The only favour 1 have to beg is, that you would give me out of 
 your Vatican library a Greek and a Hebrew Bible. You shall have 
 them, said Sixtus : but v.-hat a simple man arc you! Why do you not 
 ask a bishopric ? Weasel replied. Because I do not want one. Vit. 
 Profess. Groning. p. 18. Spizelius, vol. i. p. 824. Bayle, IVcsselus. 
 G. Brandt, vol. i. p. 32. Gerdes. toni. i. j). 45. Hardenberg wrote a 
 life of Wessel, which hath been printed. Bayle, Suppl. Hardenberg. 
 
 ' Because I do not want one.' The Jiappier man was he ; happier 
 than they who would give all the Bibles in the Vatican, if they had 
 them to give, for a bishopric. 
 
 * It was not published till the year \5\Q, so that some of these letters 
 are falsely dated. 
 
 Erasmi editio Novi Testamenti Graece et Latine Frobenii prrelo 
 quater subjecta est, A. 1516. 15 IC). 1522. 1527. ^^^c ante annum 
 151(5 unquam Novum Testamentum Grsece publicatum fuerat, !kc. 
 IVIaittaire, Ann. Typ. ii. 2, &c. There came out a fifth edition in 1535. 
 6 Q.uanquam nnnai-unt mihi quidam, ■nyo.vj d^iOTriTtoi, unum apud 
 vos esse collegium ■^50>.oyiy.u>rccro-/, quod meros habet Areopagitas ; qui 
 gravi senatusconsulto caverint, ne quis id volumen, equis, aut navibus, 
 aut plaustris, aut bajulis, intra ejus coUegii pomoeria inveheret. Ep. 
 148. See Appendix, No. xiii. 
 
 '' Ante annos ferme triginta nihil tradebatur in schola Cantabrigicnsi, 
 praeter AJexandrum, parva logic^.iia, ut vocant, et Vetera ilia ArisloteUs 
 
46 THE LIFE [1513. 
 
 He tells Colet, Ep. 149, 150, that he had begun to 
 translate ' St. Basil on Isaiah (or an author who went under 
 his name), and would send a specimen of it to Fisher, bishop 
 of Rochester, to submit it to his judgment, and also to try 
 whether that would draw some present from him : on which 
 he cries out, O beggary ! 1 know you laugh at me : but 
 I hate myself, and am resolved either to mend my fortunes, 
 and get out of the number of mendicants, or to imitate 
 Dioc^enes. 
 
 Colet had ^ told him, that he would give him a small 
 matter, if he would beg with humility, and ask without 
 modesty ; had advised him to imitate Diogenes ; and had 
 hinted to him, that he was too querulous and greedy. It 
 seems, they bantered him, because he was frequently im- 
 portuning his friends. Erasmus in his answer tells him, that, 
 in the opinion of Seneca, favours were dearly purchased 
 which were extorted by begging. Socrates ^, talking once 
 with some friends, said, I would have bought me a coat 
 to-day, if I had had money. They, says Seneca, who gave 
 him what he wanted, after he had made this speech, showed 
 their liberality too late. Another '", seeing a friend, who was 
 poor and sick, and too modest to make his wants known, 
 put some money under his pillow, whilst he was asleep. 
 
 When I used to read this in the days of my youth, says 
 Erasmus, I was extremely struck with the modesty of the 
 one, and the generosity of the other. But, since you talk 
 of begging without shame, who, I beseech you, can be 
 more submissive and more shameless than myself, who live 
 in England upon the foot of a public beggar ? I have re- 
 ceived so much from the archbishop, that it would be scan- 
 
 clictata, Scoticasque quiaestiones. Progressu teraporis accesserunt bonae 
 literae : accessit niatheseos cognitio : accessit novus, aut certe novatus 
 Aristotcles : accessit Graecarum literarum peritia ; accesserunt auctores 
 tarn multi, quorum olim ne nomina qv;idem tenebantur. — Qu3eso, quid 
 hisce ex rebus accidit academias vestrse ? Ncmpe sic effloruit, ut cum 
 primis hujus secuU scholis ccrlare possit ; et tales habet viros, ad quoi 
 veteres illi collari umbrae theologorum videantur, non iheologi. 
 
 Illud certe praesagio de meis lucubrationibus, qualescunque stmt, 
 candidius judicaturam posteritatem : tametsi nee de meo seculo queri 
 possum. 
 
 ' Knight, p. 124. See gurigni, torn. i. p. l6l. 
 
 ''■ Ep. 4. c. 1523. 
 
 * Seneca, De Bcnef. vii. 24. 
 
 »" Aicesilas, In Dioj;. Laert. i\% 37- Seneca, De Benef. ii. 1, 
 
151 S.] OF ERASMUS. 47 
 
 dalous to take any more of him, though he were to offer it. 
 I asked N. with sufficient effrontery, and he refused me 
 with still greater impudence. Even our good friend Linacer 
 thinks me too bold, who knowing my poor state of health, 
 and that I was going from London with hardly six angels in 
 my pocket, and that the winter was coming on, yet ex- 
 horted me most pressingly to spare the archbishop and 
 lord Montjoy, and advised me to retrench, and learn to 
 bear poverty with patience. A most friendly counsel ! For 
 this reason above all, I hate my hard fortune, because she 
 will not suffer me to be modest. Whilst I had health and 
 strength I used to dissemble my poverty : now I cannot, 
 unless I would risque my life. But I am not such a beggar 
 neither, as to ask all things from all persons. To some I 
 say nothing, because I would not be refused ; and I have no 
 pretence to solicit you, who do not superabcund in wealth. 
 But, since you seem to approve of impudence, I will end 
 my letter in the most impudent manner I can. I have not 
 assurance enough to ask you for any thing ; and yet I am 
 not so proud as to reject a present, if a friend like you should 
 offer it to one in my circumstances. Ep. 1 50. 
 
 One who could talk at this rate must have been reduced 
 to hard necessity. Unless he were a bad manager, it is 
 scarcely to be conceived how a single man, and a learned 
 man, could have found it so difficult to maintain himself at 
 that time in England, partly by his pupils, and partly by the 
 presents which were made to him. However that be, there 
 seems to be some reason to suspect that Erasmus under- 
 stood not the important art of paying his court to the great ; 
 and that there was something in his manner which disgusted 
 some of those to whom he made his applications ; so that 
 he was more agreeable to them in his w^ritings than in his 
 person : and this might spoil his fortunes. Perhaps also he 
 talked too freely, as he confesses" in the character which he 
 hath given of himself in the Compendium of his Life. 
 
 Yet Erasmus, though open and facetious, was good-tem- 
 pered ; and good-temper is a natural politeness, which to 
 all reasonable persons is more acceptable than that which is 
 
 ■ Linguae inter amicos" liberioris, nonnunquam plus quam ^t esset; 
 et saepe falsus, non poterat taraen amicis diflSdere. 
 
48 THE LIFE [1513. 
 
 artificial : as, on the contrary, the politeness of an ill-na- 
 tured man is shocking, for it is hypocrisy superadded to ma- 
 lignity. 
 
 As, by being conversant with antiquity, he knew many 
 things which others knew not, and was disposed to jesting, 
 he could hardly refrain from ridicuhng, at one time or other, 
 the follies of the age, and of a certain setr of people. It is 
 well known that this temper fails not to give offence, espe- 
 cially to those who expect that their weaknesses or vices 
 should be spared on account of their station and character : 
 else the king, the courtiers, and the bishops, who often be- 
 stowed preferments upon drones, void of all capacity and 
 merit, and sometimes loaded them with pluralities, might 
 easily have given him something in the church, without cure 
 of souls, which would have afforded him leisure to study, 
 and means to live. But perhaps he, who hated confine- 
 ment on any account, did not care to be connected with 
 monks and chapters of canons. As these people were ex- 
 cessively envious, they would have teased him with their 
 chicaneries upon every occasion. He had long perceived, 
 and declared to the world, that the religion of these eccle- 
 siastics consisted entirely in minute observances and formal 
 grimaces, with which the wicked can comply as well as the 
 good. He, on the contrary, made religion to consist in 
 such things as none, except worthy persons, ever observe : 
 in the exercise of those chrisdan virtues which are formed 
 in the mind from a knowledge of our duty, and a persua- 
 sion of its importance. A man fixed in these sentiments, 
 and also continually occupied in learned studies, would 
 have found it very difficult to practise the rites and ceremo- 
 nies with which religion was overrun and choked up in 
 those days. This neglect in England, as in all other places, 
 was accounted a far more heinous crime than the vilest im- 
 morality and debauchery. The monks, above all others, 
 were inexorable upon this article ; and doubtless opposed 
 and harassed openly and secretly all who were not in their 
 way of thinking and acdng. So that, to set Erasmus tho- 
 roughly at ease, Henry VIII ought to have bestowed a 
 handsome pension upon him, which would have exempted 
 bim fro^ worldly cares and avocations, and furnished him 
 with books, and leisure, and the conveniences of life. But 
 
151.0.] OF ERASMUS. 49 
 
 this the king would not do ; and if he afterwards invited 
 Krasnius again to his dominions, it was at a time when that 
 learned man was not able to undertake the journey. \ 
 
 It appears from Ep. 151, that he had a prebend, which he 
 resigned, reservinjr to himself a pension out of it. 
 
 Wolscy" gave him a prebend f^ at Tournay ; a gift which, 
 in all probability, would never be worth more than a ca? di- 
 nars blessing, and which actually was revoked, and came 
 to nothing. He writes this to Ammonius from Basil. In 
 the year i 524 he tells his friend Botzem that he had never 
 received '^ any thing from Wolsey besides compliments and 
 promises. 
 
 ' Henry VIII, says Burnet, loved the purity of the Latin 
 tongue, which made him be so kind to Erasmus, that was 
 the great restorer of it, and to Polydore Virgil ; though 
 neither of these made their court dexterously to the cardi- 
 nal, which did much intercept the king's favour to them ; 
 so that the one left England, and the other was but coarsely 
 used in it, who has sufficiently revenged himself upon the 
 cardinal's memory.* 
 
 ' P have made remarks^ upon the history of cardinal 
 Wolsey, in which I have exposed the horrible lies of San- 
 ders. Burnet is a madman of another kind, of whom the 
 
 • Burnet, Hist, of the Ref. i. 8. 11. 19. 21. 80. iii. 24. 171. Thua- 
 nus, i. p. 22. Fiddes's Life of Wolsey. It should have been called. 
 An Apology for "Wolsey, and a Libel on the Reformation. 
 
 Wood hath given an account of ^yolsey, and extols him to the skies, 
 vol. i. c. 666. It seems strange that our antiquary should have admired 
 a man who had been the d'/molisher of monasteries. 
 
 "Wolsey behaved himself very handsomely to Latimer (afterwards 
 bishop Latimer), who had been accused to him of heresy. See tJie 
 story in Strype's IMemor. vol. iii. p. (234). See also vol. i. p. 2, &c. 
 114, &c. See Appendix, No. iv. 
 
 P Ebcracensis donavit me prsbenda Tornacensi, sed dSicpuj $uiyju, 
 si quid novcntur res. Hujus commissarius, schedis publicitus affixis, 
 fuit excommunicatus in Flandria : tanta illic Eboracensis reverentia ! — 
 Accepimus tamen : nihil enim facilius quam amittere. Ep.3.c. 1523, 
 
 ^ Cardinal! Eboracensi, cui dedicavimus libellum Plutarchi, puto me 
 nihil non debere, ob singularem favorem, quo me jam olim prosequi- 
 tur } et tamen hactenus ex illius munificentia non sum pilo fuctus di- 
 tior. Catal. Lucubr. 
 
 '" Longueruana, ii. p. 23. 
 
 ' They are in the eighth tome of the Mcmoires de Lltcratura et 
 d'Histoire. 
 
 Vol. I. E 
 
50 THE LIFE [15 IS^, 
 
 reader should be aware. Henry Wharton, in his Anglia 
 Sacra, hath showed much accuracy and love of truth.' 
 
 ' Massey ^, dean of Christ-church in Oxford, my parti- 
 cular friend, who followed king James, told me, that we 
 V7ere great fools to give any credit to Sanders*, who was a 
 raskal, and had robbed the college of Christ-church. Mas- 
 sey knew him well.* 
 
 The learned abbe Longuerue, who appears to have been 
 tolerably furnished with self-sufficiency, and much preju- 
 diced against Burnet, may perhaps have made, as well as 
 Fiddes, some reasonable remarks in behalf of Wolsey's po~ 
 iitical merits ; of whom also it must be owned that he was 
 an encourager of learning ; but to justify the cardinal in 
 other respects is a weak and vain undertaking, to say no- 
 thing worse of it. 
 
 • Erasmus, as we shall see in the sequel, said some severe 
 things of Wolsey at the time of his disgrace ; for which 
 Fiddes chargeth him with malevolence and inconsistency. 
 Knight hath given an answer to Fiddes, which shall be in- 
 serted in the Appendix, and which contains many remarks 
 worthy of notice f. 
 
 One of the most favourable things that can be alleged 
 for Wolsey, is contained in an article of his impeachment, 
 namely, that he was remiss " in hunting and punishing he- 
 retics, and rather disposed to screen them, by means of 
 which connivance Lutheranism had gotten ground. 
 
 ' Wolsey" was vain-glorious above all measure, as may 
 be seen by sir T. More's book of Comfort in Tribulation ; 
 where he meaneth of him what is spoken under the name 
 of a great prelate in Germany, who, when he had made 
 an oration before a great audience, would bluntly ask them 
 that sat at his table with him, how they all liked it ; but he 
 that should bring forth a mean commendation of it^ was 
 
 * Longueruana, p. 67. See also p. 136. 
 
 * ' Longnerue was not aware that Sanders, who died in 1583, if not 
 ; indeed in 1581, could not be known by Massey.' Anonymus. 
 
 It is true, as this gentleman observes, that Massey could not have 
 
 • known Sanders personally. But Longuerue seems to have only meant 
 that Massey knew his private history and his character : though indeed, 
 it is not well and clearly expressed by Longuerue. 
 
 f See Appendix, No, iv. 
 " Fiddes, Collect, p. 235. 
 =* More's Life of Sir T. More^ p. 56. 
 
1513.] OF F.RASMUS. 51 
 
 sure to have no thanks for his hdhour. And he there telleth 
 further, how a great spiritual man, who should liave com- 
 mended it last of all, was put to such a nonplus that he 
 had never a word to say ; but crying oh ! and fetching a 
 deep sigh, he cast his eyes into the welkin and wept. On 
 a time the cardinal had drawn a draught of certain condi- 
 tions of peace between England and France, and he asked 
 sir T. More's counsel therein, beseeching him earnestly that 
 he would tell him, if there were any thing therein to be mis- 
 likcd ; and he spake this so heartily (saith sir Thomas), that 
 he believed verily that he was willing to hear his advice in- 
 deed. But when sir Thomas had dealt really therein, and 
 showed wherein that draught might have been amended, he 
 suddenly rose in a rage, and said. By the mass, thou art the 
 veriest fool of all the council. At which sir Thomas, smiling, 
 said, God be thanked that the king our master hath but one 
 fool in all his council !' 
 
 This calls to mind the story of Gil Bias and the arch- 
 bishop : but, seriously, it is a disagn-eeable thing to be in the 
 condition of Gil Bias, and connected with one who will 
 take it in dudgeon, if you do not smoke him with as much 
 incense as would satisfy three ^ or thrice three goddesses. 
 
 'Erasmus^ being in straits, the archbishop had given^ 
 
 -sedesque revisit 
 
 Laeta suas, ubi tenrplum illi, ceuliimque Saijaeo 
 Tare calent aroe, st-rtisque recentibus halant. 
 
 ^ Knight, p. 1J4. 
 
 * Annul reditus stati sunt paulo plus quam quadringcnti floreni au- 
 rei. Atque hie census hnpar est, fateor, sumptibus, quos exigit haec; 
 aetas ac valetudo, famuloruni et scribarum neccssaria studiis meis opera 
 turn 'iTfK'jro'iCix, cri'bra migratio, atque etiam hie animus, ne quid ahud 
 dicam, abhorrens a sordilius, nee ferens appellantem creditorem, aut 
 non pensatam officium, aut ncglectam amiculi inopiam. Cat. Lucubr. 
 
 Erat (Waramo) juN.ta morem horum tempoinini necessum, prseter fa- 
 mihani, quam alere cogebatnr nunierosissimam, aulse regia?, totlusregni 
 negotiis, etiam prol'anis, dare operamj nee ibi rnoribus iiodie receptum est, 
 ut summi praesules concionentur : tanien quod in hoc officii genere di- 
 minutum erat, abunde pensabat gemiua vigilantia, partira prospjciens, 
 ne quis inutihs ad Dominici gregis curam adhiberetur, parLim miiltos sua 
 liberahtate foveiis in literarum studiis, quos sperabat ad bnnam frugem 
 evasuros : in hos erat tain expnsita hberalitas, ut moriens nihil omnino 
 reliquerit praesentis pecuniae, sud aeris alieni nonnihil, tanietsi non deerat 
 unde id dissolvi posset. Haec nequaquam loquor ad gratiam. amav'i 
 vivuiT); nee minus amo morlumn : quod enim in illo amabam, non pi^- 
 
 E 2 
 
^ THE LIFE [151S* 
 
 him the rectory of Aldington in Kent, in the year 1511, &c. 
 At the request of Erasmus, he presented another person to 
 it, and charged the living with a pension of twenty pounds 
 a year to be paid to him, to which he added twenty more 
 out of his own pocket. 
 
 * This custom of charging livings with pensions, paid to 
 those who resigned them, was become very common ; but 
 Warham so much disapproved the practice, that he deter- 
 mined never to grant the favour to any other besides Eras- 
 mus, whom he excepted for his singular merits.' 
 
 ' It^ may be thought worth observing, that Elizabeth 
 Barton, otherwise called the Holy Maid of Kent, was of 
 the town of Aldington, where Erasmus was rector, as ap- 
 pears by her indictment at her trial ; as also that Richard 
 Master, who was successor to Erasmus, and paid him his 
 pension, was one of the managers of this pious fraud ; for 
 which he, amongst others, suffered death, about a year or 
 two before Erasmus died at Basil. Perhaps there never was 
 so notorious a cheat carried on with so much art and suc- 
 cess : for not only the simple, but, as Holinshed says, the 
 wise and the learned were deceived by her ; insomuch that 
 Warham, and Fisher, and More, the greatest and best 
 friends of Erasmus, gave too much credit to it.' 
 
 This year Erasmus dedicated to John Young a translation 
 of Plutarch De tuenda Valetudine. 
 
 ' Young ^ was dean of York, and master of the rolls. 
 
 nit. Si supputem, quicquid i!Ie mihi dare paratus erat, immensa fuit 
 t"jus in me liberalitas ; si ad calculum vocemus quod accepi, sane modi- 
 cum est. Unicum mode sacerdotium in me contulit, imo non dedit, 
 sed obtrusit constanter recusanti, quod esset ejus generis, ut grex pasto- 
 rem requireret, quern ego linguae ignarus prcestare non poteram. Id 
 fiuum vertisset in pensionem, sentiretque me eam pecuniolam gravatira 
 accipere, quod a populo, cui nihil prodessem, colligeretur, sic me con- 
 Rolatus est vir cgregiepius. Q.uid, inquit, magni taceres, si uni agresti 
 popello priedicares ? Nunc libris tuls omnes doces pastores fructu longe 
 iiberiore ; et indignum videtur, s\ ad te paulum redeat stipis eccle- 
 siaslicae ? Istam solicitudinem in me recipiam : providebo ne quid illi 
 desit ecclesiae. Idque fecit : nam submoto cui resignaram sacerdotium, 
 is erat illi a suffragiis, homo variis distractus negotiis, alium praefecit ju-» 
 venem rei theologicie peritum, probatis et integris moribus. — 
 
 Hoc testimonium detuncto Patrono citra adulationis suspicionem 
 praebere licet. Ecclesiast. t. v. c. 811. 
 
 i" Knight, p. 1 5p. 
 
 '- Ibid. p. 174. Knight's Life of Colet, 216—218. 
 
1513.] OF ERASMUS. 5^ 
 
 He had been employed as a public minister in several em- 
 bassies to foreign courts with good success ; though, it 
 seems, he U'as no favourite of cardinal Wolscy, and charged 
 by him with ill management in his negotiations with the 
 court of France, &c. This was another of the friends of 
 Erasmus, who was under the frowns of the cardinal : 
 though he has from others a very good character, as an able 
 man, and a very great encourager of the learned ; an in- 
 stance of which we have, besides his generosity to Erasmus, 
 in the case of Grocyn before mentioned. He was buried 
 in the Rolls chapel.* 
 
 Near his monument was hung up, in a table, a ver)' bad 
 copy of verses in praise of him, which you may see in 
 Knight, p. 1 75. 
 
 He left legacies to Warham, to Wolsey, to New College 
 at Oxford, to the college at Winchester, and to the town 
 of Rye. See an account of his preferments in Knight's 
 Life of Colet. 
 
 Ernestus, prince of Saxony, and archbishop of Magde- 
 burg, died this year ; a prelate of an amiable character, and 
 beloved by his subjects. In his last hours, the Franciscans 
 visited him, and generously offered him their meritorious 
 works, to secure his salvation j but he chose to '^ rely upon 
 those of his Redeemer. 
 
 A. D. MDXIV. JETAT. XLVII. 
 
 In the beginning of this year Erasmus was in Flanders. 
 He speaks of his passage from England, w^hich was favour- 
 able : but the sailors, or custom-house officers, the mari- 
 timi prcedoues, as he calls them, who were to cany his 
 baggage, put it into a wrong ship. Amongst; his clothes 
 were all his writings, the work of many years, which he 
 gave up for lost, and mourns, as a father would weep over 
 his dead children. He inveighs bitterly against the Dover 
 sailors, true harpies, no less than those of Calais. But 
 probably he recovered his effects, since he says nothing 
 more about it afterwards. Ep. 159. 
 
 ^ Refert Dressems rcspondisse ilium ; Nolo vestra nierita et opera, 
 quae nrJlius sunt valoris : opera Domini et Salvatoris mci Jcsu Chri^li 
 unice miln prosunt. Secliendorf". 1, i. p. 1 14. 
 
 7 
 
54 THE LIFE [1514. 
 
 At departing from London, he saluted the king and the 
 bishop of Lincoln, who made him no present ; though the 
 bishop treated him with magnificent promises. The bishop 
 of Durham gave him six angels, the archbishop of Canter- 
 bury the same, and the bishop of Rochester presented him 
 with a piece of gold, which he calls rcgalem*. 
 
 His friend Montjoy was then governor of Ham, in Pi- 
 cardy, where he passed some days, and then went to Ger- 
 many. Whilst he was there, he seems to have written the 
 Abridgment of his Life, and also a letter*^ to father Servatius, 
 which is prefixed to the first tome of his works, and printed 
 over again Ep. 8. c. 152?. 
 
 In the Abridgment he says, that he would have passed the 
 rest of his days in England, if the promises made to him 
 had been performed : but being invited to come to Brabant, 
 to the court of Charles, archduke of Austria, he accepted 
 the offer, and was m.ade counsellor to that prince, by the fa- 
 vour of the chancellor of Burgundy. It appears from other 
 places in his works, that they had annexed to the title of 
 counsellor, which was only honorary, a stipend of two 
 hundred florins, which weighed more than six hundred flo- 
 rins at present ; and as silver was then much scarcer than 
 now, this sum would have been considerable : so that, if 
 he had been punctually paid, he would have been in pretty 
 good circumstances. 
 
 It is not to be wondered, that in his letter to Servatius he 
 refused absolutely to return to Holland, and immure him- 
 self in the convent of the regular canons of Stein. He 
 had many good reasons not to yield to such an impertinent 
 request. 1 see not, says he, what I could do in Holland. 
 Neither the air nor the diet would agree with me ; and I 
 should be a show, for every one to stare at. I left the place 
 when I was a youth ; I should return an aged and gray- 
 headed valetudinarian. I should expose myself to the con- 
 tempt of the most contemptible, I who have been accustom- 
 ed to receive honour from the most eminent. I should be 
 obliged to change my studies into repasts. You promise to 
 seek out a place for me, where I may live, and find advan- 
 
 * A royal, generally spelt real. Anonymus. 
 
 * Appendix, No. iii. 
 
1.5 M.] OP ERASMUS. 55 
 
 tagc and profit : but I cannot guess what you d(jsign, unless 
 it be to place me in a nunnery, that I may there be a slave 
 to women, I who have refused to serve kings and archbi- 
 shops. Profit is what I value not : I would not be rich : I 
 desire only what may enable me to presei-ve my health, and 
 pursue my studies, without being a burden to any one. 
 
 This father SeiTatius was prior of a convent of regular 
 canons, amongst whom Erasmus had formerly been ; and 
 he endeavoured to draw Erasmus again into his convent ; 
 which would have been no small honour to the order. 
 Probably he pretended to be an aiTeclionate friend to Eras- 
 mus, to gain his friendship and his confidence : but it is cer- 
 tain, that this letter, with which he was favoured on this 
 occasion, being showed to others, brought Erasmus into 
 trouble, on account of several expressions in it not favour- 
 able to the monks. It will not be amiss to give some ac- 
 count of these passages, both because they delineate the 
 temper and the particular character of Erasmus, and his no 
 tions of monkery and of monastic devotions ; and because 
 the liberty with which he gave those men their due brought 
 upon him the greatest vexations, which he afterwards ex- 
 perienced. 
 
 I have lived, says he, amongst sober people, and attach- 
 ed to my studies, which have happily preserved me from 
 many vices. I have conversed with persons, who had a love 
 and a taste for true Christianity ; and from their conversation 
 I have reaped much benefit. I will . not boast of my wri- 
 tings, which perhaps you despise : but many persons have 
 owned to me, that by reading them they have been made 
 not only more learned, but more virtuous. I never loved 
 money, and never was subject to ambitious desires of glory 
 and reputation. I never was a slave to sensual pleasures, 
 though formerly I have been*^ defiled with them ; and as to 
 drunkenness, I ever abhorred it. 
 
 The ingenuousness with which Erasmus, both here and in 
 Ep. 671. confesses some faults of his youth, which he 
 might have passed over in silence, would, tliough we had 
 rot other proofs of it, induce us to believe what he ui-gcs 
 
 '' Bayle was not a man to overlook or suppress this confession, See 
 Erasnif, not. E. E. 
 
36 THE LIFE [1514. 
 
 in his own behalf. But concerning the monks he thus pro- 
 ceeds : Every time that I have thought of returning to 
 you, I have considered, that many of you would envy me, 
 and all of you would despise me. I have considered the 
 insipid and frivolous conversations held amongst you, in 
 which there is nothing that savours of Christianity : your re- 
 pasts altogether secular, and your whole way of life distin- 
 guished only by those things which are commonly called ce- 
 remonies. I have considered the infirmities of my own 
 body, enfeebled by years, by sickness, and by labours, 
 which are such, that either I could not give you content, or 
 must destroy myself by attempting to do it. For some 
 years I iiave been subject to the stone and gravel, a trou- 
 blesome and a dangerous disease ; and am obliged to drink 
 cuily wine, and wine of a particular sort. It is not every 
 diet or climate that suits me. This disorder, which fre- 
 quently returns, obliges me to live by rule. I know the air 
 of Holland, and your diet, to say nothing of your manners. 
 Why should I return, only to die with you ? But perhaps 
 you imagine, that it is a singular happiness to die in a frater- 
 nity. Alas ! you are mistaken, and almost all the world is 
 mistaken along with you. We make Christianity to consist 
 in dress, in eating, and in little observances. We look 
 upon a man as lost, who quits his white garment for a black 
 one, who wears a hat instead of a hood, and often 
 changes his habitation. Shall I venture to affirm, that the 
 greatest mischief that hath been done to the christian reli- 
 gion, arises from these rcligiojis, (or religious orders) as 
 they are called, though perhaps a pious zeal first introduced 
 them ? I'hey have since been augmented by slow degrees, 
 and multiplied into various kinds. Ihe authority of popes, 
 too easy and indulgent in such things, hath supported them. 
 For what is more corrupt and more wicked than these re- 
 laxed religions ? Consider even those which are in the best 
 esteem, and you shall find in them nothing that resembles 
 . Christianity, but only I know not what cold and judaical ob- 
 servances. Upon this the religious orders value themselves, 
 and by this they judge and despise others. Would it not 
 be better, according to the doctrines of our Saviour, to 
 look upon Christendom as upon one house, one family, one 
 monastcrv, and all Christians as one brotherhood ? Would 
 
1514.J OF ERASMUS. 57 
 
 it not be better to account the sacrament of baptism the 
 most sacred of all vows and engagements, and never trouble 
 ourselves where we Uve, so we live well ? 
 
 These were clear evangelical truths, and facts which all 
 the world saw, or might see : but upon this system what 
 would have become of monkery, of the mendicant orders, 
 and of their prayers and masses for the living and for the 
 dead ? What would have become of men, who had learned 
 no other occupation, and had no other way of getting their 
 bread ? It is no wonder that they were enemies to Erasmus, 
 waged eternal war with him whilst he lived, and afterwards 
 tarnished his memory as much as they could. Erasmus, 
 when he spake in this manner concerning the monks, might 
 have easily foreseen and expected all that happened to him 
 from that quarter. 
 
 ' It is commonly supposed, that Erasmus quitted the mo- 
 nastic state for this reason above all, that he could not bear 
 the tyranny of an ignorant and insolent superior ; and such 
 were usually the heads of those hpuses. They relate on this 
 occasion a trick, which Erasmus put upon his superior, and 
 upon a monk of the fraternity, whilst he was in the mona- 
 stery of Tergou. There was, it seems, a favourite pear- 
 tree in the garden, and the superior reserved the fruit of it 
 for his own eating. Erasmus, who, in this instance, had 
 the same taste with his master, rose some mornings before 
 break of day, to rob the tree. The superior, observing 
 that the number of his pears was greatly diminished, resolved 
 to watch at his chamber-window, to discover the delinquent. 
 There was in the convent a lame monk. One morning 
 then, as the superior was upon the watch, he perceived a 
 man in the pear-tree ; and as it was still dusky, he intended 
 to wait till he could discern the robber. But he made some 
 noise, w^hich was overheard by Erasmus, who, fearing to be 
 discovered, made haste to get down from the tree, and re- 
 turned back, limping all the way. The superior was now 
 satisfied that he had found out the thief; so he called his 
 monks together ; and, after a discourse upon the important 
 duty of canonical obedience, he turned to the lame friar, 
 and accused him of two heinous crimes ; of robbery, and 
 of contempt for the commands of his superior. In vain the 
 poor man insisted upon his innocence ; that only irritated 
 
58 THE LIFE [1514. 
 
 his master the more, who imposed a heavy penance upon 
 him, notwithstanding his protestations. 
 
 'We need not fear, by relating this pleasant adventure, 
 to wrong the memory of Erasmus, or to disturb the repose 
 of his ashes. He was of so facetious a temper, and so fond 
 of a witty story, that he loved a good jest, though made 
 upon himself. Tantam vim hahet lepos, et jucunditas ser- 
 mollis, says he, ut etiam in nos npte tort is dicteriis delec- 
 temur.'' Bibl. Univ. vii. 139. 
 
 Erasmus, in his Ecclesiastes, hath represented in strong 
 terms the insolence of these petty monarchsS. 
 
 Afterwards he went to Basil, where he carried his New 
 Testament, his Epistles of St. Jerom with his notes, and 
 some other works, to print them in that city. He had ap- 
 plied himself to this father from the beginning of his studies, 
 and had long formed a design of publishing him. He had 
 made collections for that purpose, and perused his works 
 with care ; so that none was so proper for the undertaking 
 as himself. When he arrived at Basil, he found this work 
 actually in hand, and some of it printed. Joannes Amer- 
 bachius'^, a man of wealth, and Joannes Frobenius', a skil- 
 ful printer, had joined in the project. It is easy to ima- 
 gine, how Erasmus was delighted to find them so disposed, 
 and how pleased they were to have the assistance of so able 
 
 s Nunc quidam ita praedicant humanam obedientiam, ut summam 
 illam, quam omnes Deo dcbemus, obscurenl. Pontifex totles exigit 
 obedientiam a piincipibus ; episcopus a clericis et presbyteris suis ; 
 abbas a monachis : additurjiisjurandum, ut perjurii crimen objici possit, 
 nisi per omnia mos geratur hominis voluntati ne dicani libidini. Nam 
 interdum lit, ut praspositas aliquis indoctus, stultus, fortassis nee so- 
 brius, monachum per sanctam obedientiam, quasi per rem divinara, ob- 
 testetur, ut obtemperet. In quo ? Non ut caste vivat, non ut abstineat 
 ab ebrietate, non ut fligiat hypocrisim. Sed quid ? Ne discat Gra;ce, 
 aut ne attingat libros eloquentium, aut aliud his etiam ineptius, quod in- 
 telligi malim quam exprimere. Si monachus Baccho sevvit, si ventri 
 indulget, si scortatur, si odio et invidia madet, si nihil attigit sacrarum 
 literarvim, nee ])erjurus est, nee inobediens. Si negligit imperata non 
 sobrii ac superciliosi praepositi, horrendum facinus admissum est, violata 
 sancta obedientia, scelus carceribus et capite plectendum. T. v. c. 1023. 
 
 '' Baillet, Jug. des S$. i. 380. Maittaire, Ann. Typ. i. 140. Index 
 Epist. Krasm. 
 
 ' Maittaire, Ann. Typ. i. 221. \]\\!\ma cewiwnx. decimcc quartte de- 
 cade ineunte, laudem meniit Frobenius, &c. He should have said de- 
 cimce guintce. 
 
15I4.] OF ERASMUS. 5$ 
 
 a Clitic. Amerbachius had three sons, Bruno'', Basil, and 
 Bonifacius', whom he had educated, as in other literature, 
 so in the study of the Hebrew tonq;ue, without a know- 
 ledge of which there was no possibility of doing justice to 
 Jerom, and in which Erasmus was not versed. 
 
 About this time then Erasmus contracted the strictest 
 friendship with the Amerbachii, and with Froben, and ever 
 afterwards testified the utmost esteem for them. 
 
 He passed some months at Basil, mightily pleased with 
 this part of Germany, and with the behaviour of the bishop 
 of the city, who, though accounted a frugal man, offered 
 him money, and forced him to accept of a horse, whom 
 he could have sold instantly for fifty francs, that is, more 
 than a hundred and fifty francs of our present money. 
 Ep. 153. 364. 
 
 Here he received a most obliging letter from Ulricus Za- 
 sius"\ professor of law at Friburg, who proved afterwards 
 one of his best friends. Zasius was advanced in years 
 when he began his friendship with Erasmus, and complains 
 of the infirmities of age. Ep. 25. c. 1540. 
 
 At this time Erasmus contracted also an acquain- 
 tance with Beatus Rhenanus", Nicolas Gerbelius, 
 
 Ann. Typ. i. 25/. ii. 2, Sec. 10, kc. Sec. 
 
 Concerning Froben's family, see also Ann. Typ. ii. 34/, Sec. 
 
 ^ Maittaire, Ann. Typ. ii. 124. 
 
 ' Boissard, Icon. l6g. Sec also Melch. Adam. 
 
 "> Boissard, Icon. p. 217- Pope Blount, p. 410. 
 
 Zasius professor primarius jurispnidentix in academiaFriburgensi fuit, 
 vir celebcrrimus, quern Erasmus GermauoRim doctissimum, sanctissi- 
 mum, candidissimum vocat, et vix ullum alium majoribus prosequitur 
 laudibus. Favebat is Luthero, ut ex epistola inter Schwebelianas edita 
 constat, in qua Luthervuii theologoram phopnicem vocat, et scripta 
 quaedam ejus, maxime Commentarium in Epist. ad Galatas, mire com- 
 mendat, licet de potestate pontilicia nimis ab eo attenuata aliquantum 
 queratur. Ea vero nequanimitate commemit, ut omnes ejus libri, doc- 
 tissimi licet et excellentissimi, Romae in indicem libromm prohibitorum 
 relati ftaerint, donee corrigantur. Seckendorf. 1. i. p. 8S. See also Melch. 
 Adam. 
 
 " Boissard, Icon. p. 24g. Beza, Icon. Baillet, ii. 29O. Du Pin, B. E- 
 xiv. 176. Gallsei Imagines. Maittaire, Ann. Typ. i. 29I. ii. 12. See also 
 Melch. Adam. Gerdes. tom. i. p. I93. Amcr,n. Lit. tom. vi. p. 607. 
 
 A. 1547, Beams Rhenanus Selestadiensis, annum agens 02, Argen- 
 tinae, cum etalneis rediret, moriturj vir in humanioribus Uteris, anti- 
 quitate, et pia doctrina exercitatissimus, ingenio miti, ut qui in cogita- 
 tione de constituenda ex omnium contensu in rcligione concordia con- 
 
60 THE LIFE [1514. 
 
 and Joannes CEcoIampadius°, learned and ingenious 
 men P. 
 
 He returned to the Low Countries ; and being at Brus- 
 sels in the autumn, the chancellor Salvagius said, in the 
 presence of many of the counsellors of Charles of Austria, 
 (afterwards Charles V.) that this prince'i had nominated 
 Erasmus to a vacant bishopric in Sicily, thinking it a part 
 of his own patronage ; and then finding that the pope had 
 the right of nomination, had desired him to confer it upon 
 Erasmus. But this recommendation had no effect, and the 
 {)rince thought no more about giving him another bishopric. 
 Erasmus laughed, when he heard of this preferment : and 
 certainly a man of his temper was very unfit for such a sta- 
 tion ; though the Sicilians, who, as he says, were merry 
 fellows, might have liked such a bishop. 
 
 Reuchlin*^, or Capnio, as he was called, gave Erasmus'' 
 an account, how he was persecuted by the divines and 
 monks of Cologn. His Latin style is none of the best ; and 
 Du Pin sets it much too high, when he says, that he spake 
 Latin with a purity and an eloquence almost inimitable. 
 
 semieritj summus Des. Erasmi observator, qui eandem viam in his turbis 
 jnstitit. Thuanus, 1. iii.p. pp. 
 
 " Verheiden, Theol. Effig. p. 56. Beza, Icon. Pope Blount, p. 383. 
 DuPIn, B. E. xiii. 102. Melch, Adam. Vit. GEcol. MaiUaife, Ann. 
 Typ. ii.3. Bayle, Q'lcnlainpade. It is a meagre article. 
 
 Melch. Adam, Jll. Cupitoius. Gerdes. torn. i. p. 118. Simon, Hist. 
 Crit.des Comment, du N. T. p. 733. Capito wrote the I/ife of CEco- 
 Jampadius ; which is amongst the Lives of learned men, published by Fi- 
 chard. 
 
 P P. Jovlr.s, in his Elogia, hath made mention, with much respect, of 
 GCcolanipadins, Zuinglius, Bilibaldus, Copus, Beatus llhenanus, Ca- 
 jiierarius, Zasius, and Goclenius, p. '221. 
 
 Ilhenanus, Camerarins, rvlelanchthon, doctissimi Gerraanoram, tunc 
 temporis, hodie paucissimi. Scaligeran. p. 33/. 
 
 *i Rex Catholicus me propemodiim episoopum fecerat. Ubi ? inquies. 
 Non apud extremes Indos — verum apud Siculos, Graeculos olim, cl nunc 
 quociue dicaces et festivos. Sed feiiciter erratum est, ct ex anhni mei 
 iieiitcnrin. Kp. 210. 
 
 ' Baillet, Jug. des St^av. vol. i. p. 253. Iluetius dc Interpr. p. 225. 
 Bib!. Univ. viii. 485. Du Pin, B. K. torn. xiv. p. ],&c. Beza, Icon. 
 blcidan. I. ii. & iii. Scckendoif. 1. i. p. 103, &;c. Perizonius, p. 07. 
 P. Jovius, Elog. p. 217. Burckhard, Cumrnent. dc Vit. Huttcn. p. 14Q. 
 Ilodlus be Gra-.c. Ulu^tr. p. 2(>iJ. Sec alio Melch, Adam, (.-crdes^. 
 torn, i. p. 13S. 
 
 =" i'p. 5. c. 152 !. 
 
1514.] OF ERASMUo. 61 
 
 Henr. Majus hath written his hTo, of which there is a p;ood 
 abridgment in the Bibiiothequc Univei*sclle. Erasmus gives 
 him a great character, and complains in strong terms to car- 
 dinal Grimani of the cruel usage which Reuchlin had ex- 
 perienced in his old age, for the most frivolous causes. 
 Ep. 167. 
 
 This excellent man was one of the restorers of letters in 
 Germany ; well skilled in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew ; ho- 
 noured by all the learned and illustrious persons of his time 
 both in church and state, hated and persecuted by monks 
 and inquisitors, by the minorum s;entium sarri/iculi j yet 
 singularly fortunate in not being overpowered by such for- 
 midable enemies, and dying at last in peace, without being 
 hanged or burned. Erasmus' had the courage to write his 
 Apotheosis", and to make him Saint Reuchlin. He was 
 born 1450, and died 1522. Bullinger'^ was one of those 
 who signalized themselves in the defence of Reuchlin : and 
 indeed all writers of any reputation, who have taken occa- 
 sion to mention him, have done justice to his singular 
 merits. 
 
 Erasmus undesignedly obtained a present from Caraffa, a 
 bishop, and the pope's nuncio in England, and apologizes^ 
 for it in a letter to that prelate. 
 
 He would not settle at Louvain for many reasons, and 
 particularly because of the wretched divines, })scudntheologi^ 
 with whom that place was infested. Headds% The Lord 
 mend them, for they stand greatly in need of it, &c. 
 
 From Epist. 1 65 and 306, it appears that he had not learn- 
 ed to speak English, and did not understand it. 
 
 He complains of his poverty to Wentford, who, though 
 not rich, had offered him the fi-ee use of Iiis purse ; but 
 
 * Ejus aTToflia'frfy Erasmns postea, mngnoperc proptereri Sophistis in- 
 visus, elegantissime descripsit. Buza. 
 
 " Appendix, No. v. 
 
 " Bayle, Buli'mgcr, not. A. 
 
 y Keveiende Pater, sensi, sensi, sed sero wnsi errorem menm de mu- 
 nere tuo. Admonueram nt noa solum faveres, sed etiani adjuvares. At 
 quod ego de Uteris ac doctrina senliebam, fu de pecunia putabas dictum. 
 Dici non potest, quoties me postea pnduerit fatti. Ep. l(j. c. 1534. 
 
 ^ Utinam magnas ille Jupiter universum hoc hominum genus recudat 
 ac refingat, qui cum nihil adferant, quo Vf 1 nieliores reddamur, vel eru- 
 ditiores, tamen omnibus faceisunt ne^otioru. Ep. iCo. 
 
62 THE LIFE [1514. 
 
 Erasmus would not accept of it. He speaks also of the ge- 
 nerosity of his friend Grocyn, who, whilst he was with 
 him, never would take any thing for his board. 
 
 He often declares, that he could not endure the fatigue^ 
 of revising, polishing, and correcdng his own works ; espe- 
 cially, since for all his pains he had no prospect of obtaining 
 any thing besides scholars' wages, weak eyes, ill health, 
 short commons, and a little reputation, mixed with much 
 envy and detraction. 
 
 He'' had some hand in an edition of Seneca the trage- 
 dian. 
 
 A. D. MDXV. i^TAT. XLVIII. 
 
 Ep. 167. is a long and a very polite one to cardinal Gri- 
 mani, of whom we have spoken before. Erasmus tells the 
 cardinal, that he had been drawn over to England by most 
 magnificent promises, but in some measure disappointed. 
 He adds a fine character of his patron Warham. In all 
 this he may be supposed to speak with much sincerity : but 
 assuredly he complimented the cardinal, when he said, that 
 he regretted Rome, and had twice designed to return thi- 
 ther, because so many of the cardinals honoured him with 
 their friendship, and because Rome itself had so many 
 things to attract a man of letters ; as the splendour of so il- 
 lustrious a city, the siveet liberty which was to be enjoyed 
 there, the number of good libraries, the conversadon of 
 the learned, and the noble collection of antient monu- 
 ments. 
 
 He might indeed have found at Rome great assistance 
 for the study of letters sacred and profane ; but upon con- 
 dition that he should exactly observe all the ceremonies of 
 religion, and speak of them with profound respect, never 
 presume to censure the morals or the sentiments of the eccle- 
 siastics, and hold no opinion which the pope did not ap- 
 prove ; that is to say, upon condition that he should cease 
 to be Erasmus, and bury in eternal silence the very best 
 things that he said and published. At Rome he must have 
 
 » maxime, cum videam hinc nihil recipi fructus, praetcr lippitu- 
 
 dinem, senium praemajturum, csuritiones, ac paulura moUo gloriae cum 
 plurima inviclia conjunctum. 
 
 ^ Maittaire, Ann. Typ. ii. 26o. 
 
1515.] OF ERASMUS. 69 
 
 followed most of the directions which he gave, in banter, 
 to his friend Ammonius, where he instructs him how to 
 make his fortune in England. First of all, says he, be im- 
 pudent : thrust yourself into all affairs ; elbow those who 
 stand in your way ; love and hate no one in good earnest, 
 but consult your own advantage ; give nothing without a 
 prospect of getting by it ; be of the opinion of every one 
 with whom you have to do. 
 
 Erasmus was too sincere, too frank, and too honest to 
 take up such a behaviour ; and yet without it there was no 
 possibility for him to make his fortune at Rome : and after- 
 wards, when Adrian VI and Clemens VII invited him thi- 
 ther, a fit of the gravel came upon him opportunely enough, 
 and furnished him with a civil excuse. 
 
 He speaks afterwards of his edition of Jerom, which he 
 had a mind to dedicate to Leo X, but which he dedicated to 
 a better man, to the archbishop of Canterbury. He men- 
 tions also his Adagies, which he reprinted with considerable 
 additions ; his New Testament, which was to come out the 
 year following ; and his Instruction of a Christian Prince, in 
 favour of Charles, archduke of Burgundy. He says, that, 
 after these works were finished, he would write upon St. 
 Paul's epistles, and that nothing should take him off from 
 that work. 
 
 ?Ie sent at the same time a letter to the cardinal of St. 
 George, containing nearly the same things. 
 
 He addressed a very handsome epistle to Leo, and full of 
 compliments. Lie sets him far above his predecessor of 
 quarrelsome'^ memoiy, Julius II, whose w^arlike disposition 
 had done great mischief to Italy ; and he exhorts Leo ra- 
 ther to wage war with the vices of the christian world, and 
 with the Turk, if he thought proper. He also speaks of 
 his Jerom, and of the pains which he had bestov/ed upon 
 this learned father, and offers to dedicate the edition to 
 him, and shows how proper it was to prefix his name to- 
 
 '^Julius II, sacrorurn nnndinalione, etnefandismoribiis infamis_, bella 
 ex bellis serebat. Perizonius, p. 40. See Bayle, Julei II. 
 
 Erasmus commends Julius, but it is ironically : 
 
 Ut alium poutificem decent, Julium laraen non decet : si is sit Julius, 
 cujus miteingenium, at singularis vitoe sanctimonia, a bello vidcatiir ab- 
 horrere. De Rertun Cop. t. i, c. 80". 
 
 6 
 
64 THE LIFli [1515. 
 
 the work. Leo returned him a very obliging answer, and 
 seems not to refuse the offer of Erasmus, which yet did not 
 take effect. Not contented with this civility to Erasmus, he 
 also wrote to Henry VIII, and recommended Erasmus to his 
 favour. Ep. 178, 179. 
 
 The cardinal of St. George also answered him, pressing 
 him much to come to Rome, and approving his design of 
 dedicating St. Jerom to the pope. Ep. 1 80. 
 
 ' And'^ yet, after all, Erasmus hath declared^, that ha- 
 purposely abstained from going to Rome, or even to the 
 imperial court, for fear the pope or the emperor should 
 command him to write against Luther, and what they called 
 the New Heresies. And therefore, when the pope's nun- 
 cio to the English court had instructions to persuade Eras- 
 mus to throw himself at the pope's feet, he was more cau- 
 tious than to trust him, having reason to fear that the court 
 of Rome would never forgive him the freedoms that he had 
 already taken ; and indeed he might probably have been 
 served, as M. A. de Dominis, archbishop of Spalato, long 
 since his time, was.' 
 
 Erasmus had made a hasty voyage from England to Ba- 
 sil, and thence to the Low Countries. But there are so 
 many false dates as to years, months, and days, and so 
 many errors as to places in his Epistles, that it creates no 
 small difficulty. It is to be supposed, that Erasmus him- 
 self, publishing his letters very confusedly, va-n^ov tt^ots^ov, 
 was sometimes deceived by his memory, and dated them 
 wrong. 
 
 Le Clerc and Dr. Knight complain of this ; and the latter 
 was discouraged on this account from drawing up the life of 
 Erasmus in the way of annals. Le Clerc hath attempted 
 it, and I have followed him, and can only say, that our 
 method in the main is tolerably* exact, errors excepted j 
 which however are of small moment. 
 
 I never could admire that quality in Bayle, which Le 
 Clerc calls, well enough, tui exoctitudc ctoiinantc sur des 
 
 •^Knight, p. 1S3. 
 
 ' That irt to say, after the year 15 1(). 
 
 ^ Most of the elogies of great men arc full of anachronisms ; to avoid 
 ■\\'hich, their lives should always be drawn up in the form of annals. 
 Bayle, Cauiiir, not. G. p. 822. 
 
IJ15.3 OF ERASMUS. 65 
 
 choses dc ncant. Such laborious accuracy should be be- 
 stowed upon disquisitions which better deserve it. 
 
 Erasmus returned thanks to Leo, and dedicated his New 
 Testament to him. Ep. 181. 
 
 Charles, who had succeeded his grandfather Ferdinand, 
 had made Erasmus his counsellor, and had assigned him an 
 annual pension, and also a benefice, a canonry of Cour- 
 tray, which he resigned to another, reserving to himself a 
 pension out of it. Ep. 191. 
 
 He acquaints Leo with this, and begs some favour of him ; 
 what it was we are not told, which, as he says, the bishop 
 of Winchester*, the English ambassador at Rome, would 
 explain to him. He obtained it, as it appears afterwards. 
 Probably, as he wanted to be screened from the slanders 
 and the persecutions of the monks, he had desired the pope 
 to grant him a dispensation in form, from the vow which 
 he had made in his youth amongst the regular canons. 
 
 Erasmus wrote a long letter upon this subject to Lamber- 
 tus Grunnius, the apostolical secretary, in which he is sup- 
 posed to represent his own case under the name of Floren- 
 tius, and to beg the above-mentioned favour of the popef, 
 Ep. 442. c. 1 822. 
 
 He there describes, with copiousness and vehemence, the 
 artifices which the monks employed to inveigle young per- 
 sons who were of a promising genius. These men said, 
 that you must follow Jesus Christ, though you were to 
 trample upon the bodies of your father and mother, and 
 that the authority of earthly parents was not to be opposed 
 to that of the holy Spirit ; as if the devil, says Erasmus, 
 never took up his dwelling amongst the monks, and as if 
 every one who put on their doublet was divinely inspired. 
 On the contrary, most of them have had no other call than 
 stupidity, ignorance, despair, laziness, and the hope of 
 being fed. 
 
 Then he represents at large the base tricks which had 
 been used, to overreach young Florentius, to draw him 
 into a convent, and to make him enter himself into the or- 
 der. Long he refused, but at last was vanquished by the 
 Importunate solicitations of the monks. Yet he went from 
 
 * Read lishop of Il'orcestcr. Anonvraus. f See Appendix No i. p. I. 
 Vol. L F . 
 
66 THE LIFE [1515. 
 
 them, to live with the archbishop of Cambray, with the 
 consent of the bishop to whose jurisdiction the convent be- 
 longed, of the prior, and of the general of the order. 
 However, he wore the habit as long as he could ; but was 
 obliged to quit it in Italy, because it resembled the dress of 
 those who attended persons infected with the plague, and 
 iVom whom every one fled. He was twice in great danger 
 of being killed at Bologna, on this account ; and he ob- 
 tained leave from Julius II to wear it or not, as it should be 
 convenient, as he says in his letter to Servatius ; on condi- 
 tion, he adds in the letter to Grunnius, that he should carry 
 about him some mark of his order. In France he wore it, 
 after the manner of the country ; and in England he quit- 
 ted it, as unfashionable. Yet, upon his return to the Low 
 Countries, they began to quarrel with him on account of his 
 vows and his habit. Therefore he asked Leo to be disen- 
 gaged inforo huniano ; for in conscience he accounted him- 
 self quite free. As to the monks, he treats them very 
 roughly and without reserve ; and if they railed at him, it 
 must be owned, that in this letter he hath not spared them. 
 Grunnius read it all to the pope, and to several cardinals. 
 The pontiff expressed great indignation against such pla- 
 giaiies, or men-stealers, (a title which those monks honestly 
 deserved) and ordered, that rhe dispensation should be ex- 
 pedited for Florentius, or Erasmus, without any expense. 
 But Grunnius gave three ducats, that the thing might be 
 done without delay. 
 
 This year Erasmus was at Basil ; and this \'ear Martin 
 Dorpius", a divine of Louvain, instigated by the enemies 
 of Erasmus, wrote against his Praise of Folly*. He was 
 the first adversary of Erasmus ; at least he was the first who 
 wrote against him, whilst otheis contented themselves with 
 reviling him over their cups, or in private. Dorpius con- 
 demned the Mori.-^e Encomium, as a satirical work, in which 
 the autlior ridiculed all orders and professions, not except- 
 ing even the ecclesiastics, who have commonly pretended 
 that their function should serve them for a passport, and se- 
 cure them from having their bcluwiour inspected and ex- 
 
 K Val. Andrcne Bibl. Bclg. p. ,;()2, Mirsci Elog. Belg. p. 23. See Si- 
 mon, H, Cr. des Vers. p. 80, 81. 
 * Appendix^, No. vi. 
 
I5IJ.] OF ERASMUS. C7 
 
 amined. He endeavoured to dissuade Erasmus from under- 
 taking the New Testament, but graciously gave him leave 
 to publish St. Jerom. Erasmus replied with a good deal of 
 mildness, knowing, as he says to Botzem, that Dorpius, 
 who was young and ductile, had been inveigled by others 
 to write against him ; and so they continued friends, after 
 Erasmus had cleared up some points to him, as you may see 
 in the beginning of his Apologies, tom. ix. 
 
 Dorpius wrote a letter upon this occasion to Erasmus, 
 which is not in the Leyden edition. We shall insert it in 
 the Appendix*. 
 
 More also replied to Dorpius, in a long and laboured 
 epistle, in which he proves the necessity of studyhig the 
 Greek language, of which Dorpius had spoken with con- 
 tempt, and exposes (but with civil language) his ignorance, 
 his impertinence, and his malevolence. Ep. 513. c. 1892. 
 If Erasmus had not been good-tempered, and, as he says 
 of himself, 
 
 Irasci facills, tamcn ut placabilis esset, 
 
 he would not have taken Dorpius hito his favour again^ ; 
 but he lived with liim upon good terms, and outlived him, 
 and greatly lamented his death. 
 
 Whatsoever motive Dorpius might have had for his un- 
 dertaking, he certainly deserved to be blamed for having 
 treated of subjects which he understood not, and for having 
 been the first to attack a person to whom the world had the 
 highest obligations. It shows a malignity of mind, and a 
 meanness of spirit in a man, to decry works which he is 
 not able to imitate, and to make those persons odious, who 
 are employed in giving instruction to the public on impor- 
 tant matters, of which he knows nothing. 
 
 * No. vii, 
 
 '» Erasmus says of him, in the year 1517, Dorpius (nobis) ex, animo 
 favet, sed suie gloria; perparcus est, ne dicam famehcuSj quo minus 
 potest in aniicom transfundere. Ep. 182. c. l631. 
 
 More continued to despise him, and says to Erasmus, Gaudeo Dor- 
 piuni rcsipuisse, videlicet delinitum conviciis, quern blanditiae reddi- 
 derant ferociorem. Profecto sic est quorundam hominum ingenium, ut 
 si panlulum oh^equaris, insolescant ; conteaitius habili, frangantur, et 
 Hint abjectis^imi. Ep. 221. c. l64g. 
 
 V 2 
 
63 THE LIFE [1^15. 
 
 This year the plague was at London. Kp. 171, 172. 
 
 Erasmus' complains of the laziness of the English, who 
 would not transcribe his writings for any price. 
 
 In a journey on horseback, he got a violent sprain in his 
 back, which afflicted him for a long time, and of which he 
 gives a doleful account. Ep. 182. 
 
 His learned friend Watson sent him a letter from Cam- 
 bridge. Watson writes Latin well, and Erasmus calls him 
 insignem theologum. Ep. 1S3. 
 
 ' Watson*^ was fellow of Peter-house college, and after- 
 wards rector of Elseworth in the diocese of Ely. He in- 
 vited Erasmus to his parsonage-house ; and it is probable 
 that Erasmus complied with the invitation, on account of 
 the great intimacy between them. He seems to have made 
 a tour into foreign parts, and to have been at! Venice. He 
 probably was neglected by the great, and rose no higher in 
 the Church. Erasmus had a most favourable opinion of his 
 judgment and learning.' 
 
 Wolscy, who Iiad given Erasmus the above-mentioned 
 prebend', thought proper, like a true courtier, to revoke 
 his promise, and to confer it upon another. Joannes de 
 Molendino"', one of the canons of Tournay, informs Eras- 
 mus of this, in a very civil and friendly letter to him. How- 
 ever, it appears from a letter of More to Erasmus, that this 
 was a preferment which would not have suited him, and 
 that the cardinal did him no ill office in taking it back again. 
 Ep. 227. 
 
 The ISGth is a pretty letter from Ammonius, together 
 with a present of Greek wine. 
 
 ' TaiUa est apud Btitannos laljoi'ts fnga, (antns ninor otii, ut ne tum 
 quideni excitentur, quum spcs dolosi affuLserit nummi. Ep. 1/2. 
 
 •" Knight, p. 145. 
 
 ' P. 4(), and Appendix, No. iv. 
 
 "' Dominus Eboracensis, id quod est curialibus perqnam pecvdiare, 
 palinodiani eeeinit : Canonicatuiu enim, tibi janipiidfw donalum, alteri 
 contulit, lilio chirurgi regii, sed qiiem non puto sine litigio fiUurnni, si 
 res innovari contingat. Pollicitus est tamen ipse Eboraeensis tibi hie 
 alium canonlcatum, aut in Anglia quippiani niajus donaturum, (juod 
 niihi coram exposuit Montjoius, tametsi ejusinodi pollicitalionibus dives 
 quilibet esse potest. Non potest diei (]uani milii, aliis(|ue compkn-ibus 
 etiam canon'cis gralum Ibisset, si te hue taiuK m po>t \;iii()s et improbos 
 Jabores Bona Dea retulisset 3 sed nun vidi ju.slu;u dertJicluni. Ep, 37. 
 
151J.3 OF ERASMUS. 69 
 
 The next is a short letter of mere formality and compli- 
 ment from Erasmus to Wolsey. 
 
 In bishop Fisher's letters to Erasmus there appears a good 
 temper, and a passionate love of learning. He wanted to 
 be better skilled in Greek, and wished" that he had been a 
 .disciple to Erasmus, or to Rodolphus Agricola. He pro- 
 mises to assist" Erasmus with money, to the utmost of his 
 power. 
 
 Erasmus, in a letter to Franciscus, Wolsey 's physician, 
 gives him a melancholy account of his bad state of health, 
 and of his sufferings by the stone in the kidneys. He tells 
 him, amongst other things, that it had been his custom for 
 twenty years to read and write '' standing or leaning, and to 
 sit very little, except at meals, or when he sometimes took 
 a small nap after dinner. But these precautions did not se- 
 cure him from the many distempers of which he com- 
 plains. Ep. 431. c. 1813. 
 
 Another letter'^ of his to the same friend is veiy singular. 
 Erasmus"" there ascribes the plague, from which England 
 was hardly ever free, and the sweating-sickness, partly to 
 the incommodious form and bad exposition of the houses, 
 to the filthiness of the streets, and to the slutdshness within 
 doors. The floors, says he, are commonly of clay, strew- 
 ed with rushes, under which lies unmolested tm antient col- 
 lection of beer, grease, fragments, bones, spittle, excre- 
 ments of dogs and cats, and every thing that is nasty, &c. 
 
 England is happDy altered for the better in these respects 
 from its condition in the days of Erasmus ; to which change, 
 I presume, it may in a great measure be imputed, that we 
 have been free for so many years from the plague. But 
 much is still wanted to make London more aiiy, clean, and 
 healthful ; espe<:ially with relation to the prisons. 
 
 " Utinain aliquot menses licuisset liabuisse te praeceptorem. Ep. 426. 
 c, 1812. 
 
 Utir.am jvivenis pr,Teccptorem ilium (Agricolam) fuissem nactus. 
 Mallem id profecto, neque sane nicaiior, qivjm archiepiscopatum ali- 
 <piem. Ep. 42f). c. 1813. 
 
 "Ep.-lSO.c. 1813. 
 
 1' Giutcr did the same. BayJe, GruLerus, not. I. 
 
 1 Ep. 432. c. 1815. 
 
 ^ Appendix, No. vJii. 
 
70 THE LIFE E^^^^. 
 
 In a letter to Gonellus, Erasmus talks of leaving Eng- 
 land. Ep. 172. 
 
 ' Gonel% who was of Cambridge, was domestic tutor to 
 Sir T. More's children, recommended probably by Erasmus, 
 and then by More to cardinal Wolsey. He was made rec- 
 tor of Conynton in Cambridgeshire, and had no other pre- 
 ferment, seeming by this to have been another of the friends 
 of Erasmus, who was not in the good graces of the car- 
 dinal.* 
 
 Ammonius mentions one Petrus Carmilianus*, who was a 
 maker of Latin verses. Both Ammonius and Erasmus 
 speak of him with the utmost contempt. Ep. 1 86. 
 
 This year Erasmus received a very civil letter" from 
 Zuinglius'^, who is generally allowed to have been a man of 
 learning, and of good abilities. 
 
 Nicolaus Gerbeliusy wrote a letter to Erasmus, advising 
 how he should print his New Testament. Ep. 31. c. 1.54'2. 
 
 Erasmus^ published an edition of Seneca the philoso- 
 pher. 
 
 A. D. MDXVI. ^TAT. XLIX. 
 
 Erasmus soon returned to the Low Countries, whence he 
 wrote to his friends. He received there a brief from Leo X, 
 granting him his request. The bishop of Winchester^ also 
 informed him of this favour. Neither Erasmus, nor they 
 who write to him, have spoken clearly about it. Ep. 191, 
 393, 194. 
 
 » Knight, p. 177. 
 
 * Bayle, Carmilianua. 
 "Ep. 22. c. 1538. 
 
 * Verheiden Praestant. Theolog. Effigies, &c. p. 51. Beza, Icon. Du 
 Pin, B. E. t. xiii, 55. Seckendorf. 1. iii. p. 17. Thuanus, 1, i. p. 28- 
 Pope Blount, p. 394. Simon, Hist. Crit. Bibl. Univers. xxiii. 491. See 
 Gerdes. torn. i. p. 101. 263. Simon, H. Cr. des Comm. du N. T. 
 p. 726. 
 
 >■ Maitt^ire, Ann. Typ. ii. p. 3. See also Melch, Adam, Thuanus, 
 1. xxvi. p. 810. 
 
 ^ Maittaire, Ann, Typ. ii. p. 265. 
 
 ^ Silvester Giglis, an Italian, who then resided at Homr, as ambas-a- 
 tlor from Henry VIII. Knight, p. 228. 
 
 Read bishop of U'^orcester. iVnon^mus. 
 
1J16.] OF F.RA^IUS. 71 
 
 Gulielmus Budazus'', and Giilielmus Copus*, physician 
 to Francis I, wrote to Erasmus to inform iiim, in the name 
 of Guliehnus Parvus (Petit), the king's confessor, that his 
 majesty was desirous of inviting learned men to France, that 
 Petit had named Erasmus, that the king had approved of it, 
 and had ordered Bud;tus to invite him, and to promise him 
 a benefice of a thousand Hvres^". Buda:us tokl Erasmus, 
 that the Williams were singular friends both to him and to 
 learning ; and this gave Erasmus an occasion to make a long 
 list of the Williams, who were his patrons and favourers, 
 not forgetting William Warham. Budaius gives great com- 
 mendations to Erasmus, and advises him to accept of the 
 king's offer. Ep. 197, 19S. 
 
 ^ Boissard, Icon. p. 131. Be/.a, Icon. Pope Blount, p. 3pp. Bayle, 
 Budc. Regius, Vit. BiuIsrI. Mcmoires pour la Vie de Budc, in the His- 
 toire de I'Acad. Roy. des Inscr. &c. t. iii. p. 528 — 544. Sleidan, 1. xiii. 
 p. 342. P. Jovius, Elog. p. l/p. Rem.irques sur Bayle, in the Relat. 
 Getting. V. iii, fa.-.c. i. p. pp. Sammarthanus, Klog. 1. i. p. 3. ed. Par. 
 1633. Baillet, ii. 282. 60/. iii. 42. vi. 205. Joach. Pastorius. Palsstr. 
 Nobilium, p. 312, published by Cvenius, Crenius, de Philolog. Lite- 
 raiia, hath collected some testimonies of learned men, of Jovius, Vives, 
 Erasmus, Beza. Eaur, Humfredus, Victorius, and Barthius, in favour of 
 Budaus, and hath prelixed them Xo a treatise of Budfeiis, De studio in- 
 stituendo. See Gerdcs. torn, i p. 181. Ducatiana, i. p. l65. 
 
 ' Cardan insults Erasmus and Budaeus for having extolled eacli other 
 profusely and pedantically ; and then he adds, by way of excuse, that 
 indeed the)- were not ])hilosophers, but only grammarians. J know not 
 how he can be excused, for treating so contemptuously two men, who 
 though their talents-dift'ered from his, yet deserved as much c>teem as 
 he. [Ten times more in my opinion ; for what great matter is to be 
 learned from the voluminous works of Cardan, who was more than half 
 mad ?] But the Italians have usually showed much jealousy and malevo- 
 lence towards the learned of other nations ; and Greg. Gyraldus hath 
 presumed to pass tiiis censure upon Erasmus, that he was inter Ger- 
 inanos Latinus, inter Latinos aliquando Germanus, He seems to have 
 borrowed this sneer froiri a compliment which Jerom payed to Rutiioiis_, 
 when he said to him : Tantam habes Gmeci et Latini sermonis scien- 
 tiam, ut Gr.tci te Latinum, el Latini Graecum patent.' La ]\Iottht, 
 torn. xiv. p. 74. 
 
 ]\Ielanchthon says to Camcrarius : 
 
 Budii^i transitum Hellenismi ad Christianismum, et Sadolcti Com- 
 jnentiirios in Romanos vidisse te spero : sane tragice invehitur uterque 
 in nostros : [id est, in Proiestantes] sed sinamus sibi quemque canere. 
 Epist. p. 731. 
 
 * Copus was of Basil. His son Nicolaus, who was made rector of 
 the university of I'aris, tied from France on account of religion, and set- 
 tled at Basil.' Melci). Adam. Vit. Calvin, p. 33. 
 
 <^ They call them Eraucicos and Elorenus 
 
72 THE LIFE [1516. 
 
 Erasmus returned a polite and a laboured answer to 
 Budseus, in which he commends his great abilities, and pre- 
 fers him to all the learned of Italy. It is a reply to some 
 letter of Budasus, which we have not. Budasus having said 
 in it, that the ecclesiastical character laid Erasmus under 
 some restraint, and obliged him to be more circumspect 
 than a layman, like Budseus : Erasmus replies, amongst 
 other things, that, concerning liberty of speaking, though 
 he had never said any thing seditious or immoral, yet he 
 had sometimes spoken too boldly, which had done him no 
 small mischief. They who had been his worst persecu- 
 tors, were certain professors of nonsense, (he calls them 
 MeiruioKoyoii alluding to QsoAoyoi) with whom he hoped 
 that Budasus would never be plagued ; for, says he, they 
 are worse animals than any that either land or water pro- 
 duces. 
 
 Budasus, it seems, had blamed Erasmus for mixing too 
 many proverbs in his writings, and for having expatiated 
 too much upon them in his large book of Adagies. But 
 Erasmus repUed, that those were his riches, and that it had 
 cost him no small labour to collect them. He might, in his 
 turn, have blamed Budseus for mixing too much Greek^ 
 with his Latin, to show his skill in that language. The 
 letters of these two great men, though full of compliments 
 and civilities % are also full of little bickerings and contests, 
 which show that their friendship was not entirely free from 
 some Small degree of jealousy and envy, especially on the 
 side of Budseus, who yet in other respects was an excellent 
 person^. Ep. SiOO. 
 
 ^ Erasmus hatli blamed this affectation : 
 
 Caeterum, quum nihil hue invitat, velut ex instituto sermonem semi- 
 Latinum et semi-Grsecum texere, fortassis in adolescentilms semet ad 
 titriusque linguae facultatem cxercentibus veniam mereatur : in viris, 
 niea sententia, paruni decora fuerit haec ostentatio, &:c. Vc Cop. Verb, 
 c. 12. 
 
 Andreas Eudaemon Joannes censured Is. Casaiibon for the same sort 
 of pedantry. Crenius De Singul. Scriptor. p, J 4. 
 
 * Budjeus commends the style of Erasmus, sa)ing — ista styli puritate et 
 genii amaniitatc omnimn puncta emeruisti. Ej). 220. 
 
 ^ — Vir ad seculi sui gloriam natus, laudibus literariis abundans, mag- 
 naque cum propter singularem renun omnium scicntiam hominum ad- 
 mirationc aifectus, tum ob id potissimum, quod Gnecas literas sua fvtate 
 ijUcrmortuaS) exsuscitarit : at cum pari felicitate Latinas arripuiiset, si 
 
1516.] OF F.RASMUS. 73 
 
 He had made an offer to Erasmus of sonic remarks on the 
 New I'cstiinient ; and Erasmus declined to accept that fa- 
 vour, as fearing to be accused of making use of other men's 
 labours. But in this he judged amiss ; and had done bet- 
 ter, if he had taken and mixed them amongst his own, 
 signing them with his friend's name, or had printed them 
 separately, and at the end. 'I'hen we should have had 
 them, but now they are lost. Erasmus however acknow- 
 ledges, that he had been assisted by some learned friend in 
 passages where some Hebrew words are mentioned and ex- 
 plained ; but he says, that he had done this as seldom as he 
 possibly could. He speaks with much alfection of Guliel- 
 mus ("lopus, and also of Jacobus Faber Stapulensis, (Jac- 
 ques Le Fevre D'Etaples) with whom afterwards he had a 
 small contest, which did not continue long. 
 
 ' Buda^us^ in his writincrs seemed to be no friend to the 
 reformers. It is said of him, that he would not have his 
 picture^ drawn ; and it gave occasion to these verses : 
 
 ' Nee volitit vivus fingi pingive Budaeus, 
 
 Nee vatum morions qucesiit elogia : 
 Hunc, qui tauta suae mentis monunicnta reliqiiit, 
 
 Externa puduit vivcre vcllc manu. 
 
 * Budccus' sometimes criticised Erasmus, without nammg 
 
 quando Gr.Tca Latine exposuit, quid in utrisqiie posset voluit ostciidere, 
 et res illustrare splendore verborum ; cumque diserti interprctis qua;- 
 reret laudeni, evasit parap'';rast(.'s. Huetius Do Chir. Iiiterpr. p. 20.U. 
 
 Dcfuit quidem tauto viro pcrspicuus ille vennstioris eloquenti,^; nitor, 
 quein reanitiores, utii Ciceroni addicti, niiijore' studio etrcligione colue- 
 nint. — Certe voluntateni iJli, non t:icult;!tem dtfnisse, argumeiito esse 
 potest peniiissima ilia totius Latinitatis coguitio, &c. — Neque defijeruiu 
 ex Italia Germaniaque plures feniuli, qui pi^.lrlierriniam illam operam 
 [De Asse] sibi tals© viidicarent : admoviMite cjluninia* faces Erasmo, 
 (jui cum occultc Budivo principcm in lilcris locimi iiivideret, honunis 
 cxistimationem, quam non audebat aperte invadcre, ciinicuiis oppugnare 
 non desinebat. Saininanhanus. 
 
 This FrenchmaTi shows himself so partial upon all occasions, that his 
 testimony agaiii>! Erasmus is of small weight. 
 
 PBaylo. ■ 
 
 ** I have observed, that the prints which we have of Budaeus do !iot 
 resemble one anoihcr. 
 
 • Id parum amice voluntat's argnmontnm crcdidemnt, quod a Budico 
 ill tot numcro libr'.s menlio nusquain facta sit iuasuJ, quamquaui uL 
 
74 THE LIFE [I51G. 
 
 him ; and never would mention him in any of his works ; 
 which wiis ver}' perverse and cross, when Erasmus had 
 humbly begged it of him as a favour. 
 
 ' It may be said justly enough of this great man, that he 
 made himself more feared than loved in the republic of 
 letters.' 
 
 ' The celebrated Bud^us*^ was made master of the re- 
 quests in the last century, because he understood Greek : 
 and, in our age, to understand Greek is the sure way to get 
 nothing'.* 
 
 Baillet hath given a large and accurate account of 
 Budseus, of his erudition, style, and works. 
 
 In an epistle to Budaeus, Erasmus pays him the compli- 
 ment of setting him even above Hermolaus Barbarus" and 
 Angelus Politianus^ whom he accounted the two greatest 
 geniuses of Italy p. Erasmus was a warm admirer of Poli- 
 
 fieret multis precibus ab Erasmo ambiretur. Praeterea putant id quoque 
 ad ista quae dixi accedcre, quod Budaeus dissimulanter Erasmuni in suis 
 libris nonnunquam pcr.stringere videtur, velut in Commentariis, quando 
 ridet illns, qui de i^ingulonim ingenio et eloquentia scntentiam- ferre au- 
 dent, qui Lauivntio inferiores, pnescribunt loquendi formulas, qui le- 
 viora quredani scripta in vulgus edunt, quae nee solem nee aetatem feraut, 
 Regius. 
 
 ^ Menagian. ii. 343. See also Anti-Baillet, ii. 49. 
 
 ' Aroy.Ttog si; its'/kr^v scrriv stoifMrcir-/], 
 
 Yet I could name some friends, who, though skilful in the Greek 
 tcMigue, have not found their learning an impediment to their pnjmotion, 
 and cannot be numbered with those, of whom Menage speaks so discon- 
 solately. 
 
 " Bayle, Barlnrus. Eaillet, ii. 243. iii. 30. P. Jovius, Elog. p. 6(). 
 Pope Blount, p. 343. Opera Pauli l^eopardi, Hermolai Barbari, Philippi 
 Beronldi, Krasmi, Rhenani, Turnebi, optima. Sealigeran. p. 239. 
 
 *• Anti-Baillet, i. 52. Amoenitates Literariae, tom. i. p. 52. Colo- 
 mesius Opusc. c. xxxi. p. 304. Baillet, ii. 243. iii. 31. vi. Ai.). Clausius, 
 Vit. Politiani. Act. Erudit. xlvii. 42. Bayle, Pulitieri. P. Jovius, 
 Elog. ]). 73. Pope Blount, p. 35/. Huetiana, p. 18. Aldus Mium- 
 tius ap. Maittaire, i. 249. 
 
 1' Hermolaus Barbaras, Politianus, Picns ^Mirandula, Leonicenus, 
 Gaza, lumina et flores Italis fnerunt. Sealigeran. p. 190. 
 
 Inter eos omnes, (jui bonas literas suscitarunt in Italia, invideo tantum 
 tribus his: Theodoro Gazae, niagno certe viro et docto — Angelo Poli- 
 tiano, cxcellenti poet.v, ut in omnibus aliis ])rivter(]uam in epistolis, 
 (juarum stvlum iniitari nolim nimis elatum et oratorium, sod potius 
 C;esaris, Cassii, Phmci, Bruti, et aliorum apud Ciceronem, ^x. Ter- 
 tius est Picus JMirandulanus. Ibid. p. 242. 
 
 PoHiieu s'est servi d'uu Ausoue que Petrarque avolt esrrit. lb. 
 p. 319. 
 
1516,] OF ERASMUS. *75 
 
 tian*, hnth often extolled him'i, and, I dare say, in his 
 heart thought liim a much finer %vritcr, and a more inge- 
 nious maji, than Budicus. Erasmus, as Menage tells us, 
 
 rdliticM. PlusTulcT obscrvntione'^. Negnt sibi fui>se copiam vitae Poli- 
 tiatii a Morickenio scripLT, in qua spcnirct se iuvciuurum apologiam viri 
 de criniiiie atlieisini. Son I'allitur. Versatur eniin in eo crimine dcjxjl- 
 lendo a p. 420 — MS. Kemarques sur I'ayle, in tlic Ilelat. Gotling. 
 vol. iii. tasc. i. p. 120. 
 
 Politianus homo, non unus e mullls, sed cum paucis potius compn- 
 randus ; in onini pene I'acultatc, qu* vimm eruditum decoat, sune prin- 
 ceps ;>. lalis, in scribendo veio potissimuni. Nam quae vol oratione vorsil 
 ludcu , vi'l prorsa coninu-.ntaii libuit, pra'claiis dislincta sunt nolis fclicis 
 et elcgantis ingcnii, (piod non ad alieni .styli exemplum scrvilitcr com- 
 positun;. >^tdd vc-lut jugiim imitationi.s indignans, suo .sibi ductu et au- 
 spicio VL'liticatur. Hinc adeo in interpretationibus, cimi auctore .suo non 
 certat modo, sed eum sa;pe etiam superat; ut KrainuLS ijjsc, ejunmodi 
 lucubrationum cgregius spectator, .sumnium cum artiliccm diceit' non 
 dubitatit. Id genus mullorum movit appiobationem ; at non proindi"; 
 meaui ; nee, ut spc-io, item vcstram : morigeram enim et ad imitandnm 
 accommodam or;iiioncm, non circumiiucntcm et altius exaggcratxim ; 
 interprelcin, non oratoiem postulamus. ]\Iulta ad hsec viro niagno lui- 
 manitus excidisse si dixero, id socer meus (H. Stephanus, nam Cnsau- 
 bonus loijuiLur) .suis in Herodiani interpretationem animadversionibus 
 compiobabit. Quid quod ab Angcli .vmulis jactari solitum fuisse naria- 
 bat pontilex Leo, opus lioc esse Gregoni Tij)bernatis, atqne id ex. in;E- 
 quali et vario orationis context u deprehcndi. Huetius De Clar, intcrpf. 
 21C}. 
 
 ' The duke of Montausicr hig!;lv esteemed the epistles of Folitian. 
 He always had copies of them by him, Avhich he used to give to his 
 learned acquaintances. — 
 
 * Few authors, in the later ages, have been more censured than Foli- 
 tian. Joannes Corasius, in Miscellaneorum Libris, treats him with the 
 utmost contempt. 'i"he t.vo Scaligers and Melanchthon have entirely 
 decried him. The last-mentioned person, and, after him, Vives and 
 Du PJessis Mornay, reproach him for having foolishly boasted, that he 
 had never read the Scriptures but once, and that he accounted this once 
 to be so much time thrown awav. But this is a calumny contrary to the 
 express testimony of Politian in one of his letters, bese quadragesimali 
 tempore publice populo sacras literas enarrasse.' Vigneul Alarvillc, 
 vol. ii. p. 162. 
 
 The Scnlij^ers and Melanchthon had too muoli sense, and learning to 
 doubt of Pnliiian's abiUties. If they decried liim, it nuisthave been for 
 other reasons. 
 
 * The censures which Melanchthon, Jul. Scaliger, and Vives have 
 passed upon Pt)lilian, are collected by Menckenius : they rdite to his 
 style an<l his compositions ; and sometimes to his morals. See Mencken. 
 Vit. Polit. p. 8/, &c. 211,' 212. 2; 8. 3o(i. 430. -!:;;;, -\:U. 
 
 1 Cujus viri uigenio ita sum delectatus, ut nulUu.- ;.c(jue. Ep. II. 
 c. 1,531. 
 
*tS THE LIFE [151 6» 
 
 used to say, when he spake of Polltian, Mallem esse Poli- 
 tianus qumn Angelus. Ep. 200. 
 
 In another epistle to Budaeus, he gives'" a great charac- 
 ter of Rodolphus Agricola% whom he hath often com- 
 mended'. 
 
 Stephanus Poncherius (Etienne de Poncher}') bishop of 
 Paris, ambassador of Francis I at Brussels, proposed to 
 Erasmus the offers which the king had made him. Erasmus 
 excused himself ; alleging, that the catholic king detained 
 him in the Low Countries, having made him his coun- 
 sellor, and given him a prebend, though as yet he 
 had seen none of the revenues which had been pro- 
 mised. 
 
 Erasmus was much in the right id refuse a settlement in 
 France ; where the envy of some men of letters, and the 
 malice of the monks and Sorbonists would have made him 
 very miserable. 
 
 The New Testament", Greek'' and Latin, with his notes, 
 was published at Basil, and soon spread itself far and wide ; 
 and he received the congratulations of his friends, and, 
 amongst others, of Franciscus Deloinus (Deloin), and of 
 Nicolas Beraldus^ (Berauld), who wrote to him from Paris. 
 Ep. 201, &c. 
 
 ^ quern virum, si fatorum invidia superesse voluisset, haberet 
 
 Germania quern Itiilis opponeret, qualem nunc babet Gallia Budceuni, 
 sed unum. Ep. 221. 
 
 » Baillet, ii. 226". Bayle, Jgricola. P. .Toviuf?, Elog, p. Gl. Scali- 
 geran. p. 11. 15. Val. Andre^t Bibl. Belg. p. 704. Mirsei Elog. Belg. 
 p. 109. Reiat. Gottingens. vol. iii. fasc. i. p. 82, Huetius De Clar. 
 Interpr. p. 230, Pope Blount, p. 337. Erasmus, t. v. c. 920, t)2l. 
 See also Melch. Adam, G. Brandt, vol. i. p. 33. Gerdes. torn. i. p. 13^ 
 Geranlus Noviomagus, or Geldenhaur, wrote the Life of this Agricola. 
 It is amongst the Vitn? Kmditorum, published by Fichard. This book 
 is in the Museum Britiujuicimi. 
 
 * Rodolphus Agricola, unicum Germanix nostras lumen et ornamen- 
 tum, annum egressus {^uadragesimum, Hebraas literas discere nee eru- 
 5niit,-vir in re literaria tantus, nee desperavit homo natu tarn grandis ; 
 nam Gr?ecas adolescens imbiberat. Ipse jam quin(|uagesimnni tertiuni 
 ingrcssus annum, ad Ilebraicas literas olim utca . t.ue degustatas, cum 
 ?icct, recurro. Rat. Ver;v Theol. t. v. c. 79, 
 
 " Maittaire, Aiuj, Typ. ii. 270. 311.327) 
 
 ^ — Cum No\um 'i'estamentum, in quod (Erasmi) desudat labor, 
 Runqnam hactenns, (juod sciam, Graice chalcographorum typis cKCUsum 
 t>il. More, Kp. ad Durp. 
 
 y l^avie, Bfranld. 
 
IJIC] OF ERASMUS. 77 
 
 Erasmus returned answers to them, and to Budreu!; and 
 Copus ; and says, that he could accept of nothing in 
 France till he had consulted the chancellor (^f Burgundy. 
 He also sent a letter of compliments and thanks to Francis I. 
 Ep. 202, Sec. 204-. 
 
 There was at that time a learned man, Wolfgangus Fa- 
 bricius Capito'^, preacher to the bishop of Basil. Erasmus, 
 in a letter to him, declares his hopes, that, peace being re- 
 established in the world by the means of Leo X, Francis I, 
 and Clharles V, learning would flourish in Europe. If he 
 was mistaken in the first part of his prediction, he was not in 
 the second ; for, notwithstanding the wars which ensued, 
 letters gained ground in all places. After having derided 
 the ignorance of those divines who opposed the progress of 
 literature, and who had only the lowest of the rabble on 
 their side, he extols Capito for his abilities, his knowledge 
 of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and his unblameable beha- 
 viour, and exhorts him to labour strenuously in the cause of 
 the reviving arts and sciences. Capito having afterwards 
 embraced the Reformation, of which he sowed the first 
 seeds at Basil, and of which he was one of the chief sup- 
 porters at Stratsburg, Erasmus changed his manner of 
 speaking, rather forced, as we may suppose, by the circum- 
 stances in which he found himself, than induced by fickle- 
 ness and levity. 
 
 The works ^ of St. Jerom made their appearance in April, 
 since the dedication to Warham bears date the first of that^ 
 month : it is also dated from Basil, notwithstanding Erasmus 
 was at that time in the Low countries. It seems to have been 
 the-fashion in those times to subscribe dedications from the 
 place where the book \^as printed, and not from that were 
 the author resided. 
 
 1'his address to Warham is not in the usual form of dedi- 
 cations, stuffed oniy with compliments : many things are 
 contained in it of great utiUty. He complains most justly 
 
 ^ Beza, Icon. Seckendorf. Sapplem. xvi. Maittalrc, Ann. Typ. 
 ii. Ij. See also Gerdes. toni. i. p. 115. ii. 110. Melanchtlion, Epist. 
 p. 7'i. 
 
 " The works of Jerom were published by Erasmu-?, and printed in- 
 nine volumes, at Basil, from A. 151() to A. 1.52(3 j afterwards at Baiil, 
 A. 1 553 : and then by the Kpiscopii, A. 1.50" 5. 
 
78 THE LIFE ^ [1516. 
 
 of the little care which past ages had bestowed in preser- 
 ving the works of the antient Christians. After which he 
 says, I despise not the simple and well-meaning piety of the 
 vulgar, but I am really surprised at the perverse judgment 
 of the multitude. We kios the old shoes and dirty hand- 
 kerchiefs of the saints, and we neglect their books, which 
 are the more holy and valuable reliques. We lock up their 
 shirts and clothes in cabinets adorned with jewels ; but as to 
 their wridngs, on which they spent so much pains, and 
 which are still extant for our benefit, we abandon them to 
 mouldiness and vermin. 
 
 It is not difficult, says he, to discover the causes of this 
 conduct. As soon as the manners of princes degenerated 
 into brutish tyrannv, and the bishops were inient upon ac- 
 quiring profane dominion and wealth, instead of teaching 
 the people their duty, the whole pastoral care fell to the 
 share of those who are called friers, or brethren, and reli- 
 pous men ; as if brotherly love, and chrisdan charity, and 
 true religion belonged only to them ! Then polite literature 
 began to be neglected, the knowledge of the Greek tongue 
 was much despised, the knowledge of Hebrew still more. 
 The study of eloquence was thrown aside : the Latin tongue 
 by a new accessiori of barbarisms was so corrupted that it 
 could hardly be called a language. History and antiquities 
 were disregarded : learning consisted in certain sophistical 
 quibbles and subtleties, and all science was to be fetched 
 from the collectors of sums, that is, of coirunon-places of 
 philosophy and divinity. These compilers were always 
 dogmatical and impudent in proportion to their ignorance : 
 they were glad to have antient authors disregarded, or, 
 wliich is very probable, they gave a helping-hand to de- 
 stroy those books, which if they had ever read it was to no 
 purpose, because they were not capable of understanding 
 them. 
 
 After this he speaks of the esteem due to the works of 
 St. J(.;rom ; and here he deals in exaggerations^, and plays 
 the ])art of a panegyrist. He mentions also the great la- 
 bour which it had cost him to put his author hito good con- 
 dition : ytt his principal labour, as to the first edition, was 
 
 ^ Sec Le Clerc's Qua-sUoues Hieronymlanac. 
 
151 G.] OF ERASMVi. Tr> 
 
 the revising and explaining the Kpisihs of Jirom, to whicji 
 he prefixed his Life. In a second edition he revised the 
 whole; and again prepared a third, whicli did not appear 
 till a considerabl(-' time after his death, imd in the year 
 1553. The Dedication to Warhani, and the Life of Jerom, 
 are not inserted in the edition of the works of Erasmus. 
 
 Gcrmanus Brixius'', a wealthy and a learned Frenchman, 
 wrote a polite letter to Erasmus, telling him how much 
 Steph. Poncherius esteemed him, as also Budaius, and other 
 learned men, not forgetting himself, lie presses him to 
 come and settle in France. But Erasmus, having a fixed 
 pension from his own prince, was not disposed to quit cer- 
 tainties for distant hopes and fair promises. If Francis*^ 
 wanted to make Erasums his own, he should have begun 
 by directly giving him what he promised, namely, a bene- 
 fice of a thousand livres ; which was set forth to Erasmus 
 as no small favour, whilst ecclesiastical preferments of ten 
 times that value were bestowed, not unfrequently, upon 
 fawning courtiei*s, or young rakes of quality, to enable 
 them to live in ignorance, laziness, pride, and luxury. 
 Yet*^ it ought to be acknowledged of Francis, that he de- 
 
 *^ Brixius translated some treatises of Chrysostom 3 and Erasmus com- 
 nicnds both him and his translation, t. viii. c. 3. 
 
 ^ Rex Gallic-e toties ad honestissiinas conditiones invitat, literis etiam 
 propria manu descriptisj id quod negant eum ter a corona susccpta 
 t'ecisse. 
 
 * Francisci regis interitus valde incommode aocidit viris literatis atque 
 studiosis : nam artes omnes liberales nemo vehementius amavit, aut li- 
 bendius est prosecutus. Multa jam consuetnciine variam sibi cognitio- 
 nem comparaverat ; nam prandens atque cce.nans fere loquetretur de H- 
 teris, et avidissime quidem, usus ad earn rem per multos annos Jacobo 
 Colino, hominc docto, et in lingua populari mirabiliter facundo. Vo<x 
 hunc subiit Pctrns Castellnnus. Ab iis, ({uicquid est in j'oetarum, his- 
 toricorum, cosmngraphomm libris hauserat : qu!c«iuid de plantis, herbis, 
 animalibus, mctaJJis, gemmis prodidenmt Aristotelcs, Theophrastus, 
 Plinius, et id genus alii, multo, sicut dictum est, usu, et quotidiana re- 
 citatione, cognitimi halicbat et exploralum : de niathematicis etiam et 
 rebus divinis frequens erat collocutio. Circumsistfebant mensam omnis 
 ordinis viri magnitici : iV quoniamde variisargunieutis inferebatur sernio, 
 vix erat, ut non ex iis aliqui semper in medium alicjuid adducerent : et 
 id quidem unicuique licebat, (|ui modo esset paulo notior. Exemplum 
 etiam illud studiunKjue Regis nuiltos, ut cum laude coram eo disserere 
 posscnt, ad majorom diligcntiam exacuit. In sua lingua semper h;ibitus 
 est imprimis eloquens atque gravis. Per Italian! atque Grjeciam habe- 
 bat, qui veterum aucturum ;cripta conquirercnt atque descviberent : et 
 
so THE LIFE [1516. 
 
 served to be called the friend, the patron, and the father of 
 learned men, and the protector and rewarder of arts and 
 sciences ; titles more glorious, and less common, than those 
 of king or emperor. Ep. 212. 
 
 Erasmus received from England a bill for sixty angels. 
 
 Budaius wrote him a long epistle, mixed with a consider- 
 able quantity of classical Greek, according to custom ; and 
 Erasmus replied. They censured each other, though civilly 
 and gently, about their style and manner of composition. 
 That of Erasmus is more simple, the thoughts natural, and 
 the turn easy and lively. That of Budaeus is more learned 
 and elaborate, and also more stiff, and cloudy, and embar- 
 rassed. Budaeus is often so obscure in his epistles, that it 
 is diflicult to go along with him and understand him. 
 Ep. 220, 221. 
 
 Ludovicus Canossa, bishop of Bayeux, invited Erasmus 
 to live with him, promising, till he could provide better 
 for him, to allow him two hundred ducats a year, and 
 board for himself, for his servant, and for two horses : a 
 genteel offer, and to have been accepted by any learned 
 
 bibliothecam instituit amplissiniafii, quae libros alicjuot insignes poStea 
 dedit, cujus erat custos Castellanus. Sleidan. 1. xix. 529. 
 
 Veritas quoque non patitur, uf rcticeam egiegiam vqluntatem atque 
 operarn infcrioribus temporibus in bac re positam, a Francisco primo, 
 Gallorum rege, qui ut erat omnibus in rebus magno aninio acvere regio 
 praeditus, procllviscjue in bumanum genus juvandum, rectnque studia 
 sunima ope augenda, cviravit, ut quiccjuid antiquorum ingenii monimen- 
 loruni restaret in afflicta Gr.rci.i^ ad se mitteretur : cui beneiicio magno 
 addidit alternm, et ipsum v.-ilde utile ad banc ipsam boncstam artcm or- 
 nandam : studuit enim, magnis pneniiis propositis, ut lepidre admockmi 
 Ibrnise literarura et Grsecaruni el Latinarum lingerentur : in quo etiam 
 felix t'uit : ita enim pvilcbrse atcjne politne tabricat.-e fuere, ut non vide- 
 antur ab buniano ingenio venustiores et ex(]uisitiores uUo pacto contor- 
 mari posse : librique ipsis excusi, non invitent tantum, sed etiam ali(juo 
 modo rapiant ad se legendos. Victorius. liayle, Francois I. not. C. C. 
 See also Tliuanus, L iii. p. b5. A. \5\J. 
 
 Francibcus I, Rex Gallianun, literaium ac litcvatoruni nmans, ut fermc 
 litems lbvent,<]ui digna Htciisgenuit, Lutetine instanraturiis Academiam, 
 magnis illuc jnicmiis advocaveral ex Italia Germaiiia()uc praecellenti doc- 
 trina viros. Comniodum id Luthero visum, missicjue propterea ex as- 
 fceelis liucerus, aliique nonnulli audacioris ingenii, qui, per occasioneni 
 di.ssercndi in eo hapientium cuUu, novi Evangelii perieuluiu lactivi't. 
 Nee deiV.ere, <iui novitate caperentur. Strada, Bell. Ik'lg. S^t Cre- 
 nius, l)e Thilol. Litcrar. p. 14, Maitiaire, ii. 444. 45(j. Ducatiana, i. 
 p. 183. 
 
1516.] OF ERASMUS. 81 
 
 man depressed vith poverty. But Erasmus would never 
 have parted with his dear independency for any stipend, 
 having at that time a sufficient income. Ep. 224. 
 
 Erasmus hath given^ a lively and pretty account to 
 Brixius of his first interview with Canossa. Ep. 1 239. 
 
 It was again proposed to make him a canon of Tour- 
 nay ; but ditliculties arose, and the thing was dropped. 
 Ep. 227. 
 
 Ernestus, duke of Bavaria, intending to improve his aca- 
 demy at Ingoldstad, ordered Urbanus Regius, the profes- 
 sor, to try if he could entice Erasmus thither. In the mean 
 time the divines of Louvain, (the head-quarters of bigotry 
 both then and since,) well knowing that Erasmus was no ad- 
 mirer of their scholastic theology and monkish notions, be- 
 gan to stir against him. By the aid of his friends he paci- 
 fied them a little, and went to spend some time at Louvain, 
 to see if he could gain their good will. Ep. 225. 231. 
 
 More sent Erasmus twenty pounds from Warham, and 
 says of Colet, between jest and earnests, that he was so 
 fond of disputation, as even to oppose the advice which in 
 his heart he was inclined to follow. 
 
 Bovillus (Bullock) wrote to his friend Erasmus from Cam- 
 bridge^, and complained that learning had' few patrons and 
 
 *' Appendix, No. ix. 
 
 K Coletus jam Grsecatur strenue, nsus in ea re precaria opera demen- 
 tis mei : credo fore ut pergat et pervadat naviter, maxime si tu ab Lo- 
 vanio usque stimules : quamquam fortasse satius erlt eum impetui suo 
 permittere. Solet, ut scis, disputandi gratia repugnare suadentibus, 
 etiamsi id suadeant, in quod ille sua sponte maxima propendeat, Ep, 52. 
 c. 1553. 
 
 ^ Auxit nonnihil vim morbi — singularis quaedam ingratitudo, quae 
 tarn maligne doctorum hominnm mentis respondet, maxime tuis. Uti- 
 nam major rerum opulentia his contingeret, qui et ea scircnt et vellent 
 uti ! Nunc vero quibus adest facultas, si non deesset voluntas, sunt adeo 
 egregie tenaces, ut cclerius ab adamante* ferrum quam ab his nummu- 
 lumcasurum expectaveris, nisi quis strenue et impudenter mendicet, vel 
 sit Gnathone adulantior, &:c, Ep. 6l. c. 155/. 
 
 * What Bullock says of the adavuis, he took from Pliny, 1. iixvii. c. 4, p. 773. 
 
 • Damnosa quid non imminuit dies ? 
 
 JExas parentum, pejor avis, tulit 
 
 Nos nequiores, mox daturos 
 
 Progeniem vitiosiorem. 
 
 Vol. I. G 
 
82 THE LIFE [1516. 
 
 encouragers amongst the great. He had not been well, and 
 these melancholy reflections had increased his malady. 
 
 ' Bullock'^ was fellow of Queen's college, and afterwards 
 vice-chancellor in 1524-5. He was thought a person of 
 great abilities, and was singled out upon many occasions for 
 public service : particularly when cardinal Wolsey, in his 
 zeal against Luther, sent some of the most able divines to 
 London, in order to confront his opinions and confute his 
 books, we find Dr. Bullock named for one, the others be- 
 ing Umphrey, Watson, and Ridley : they were allowed 
 out of the university chest 53s. 4<d. each. The cardinal 
 had so good an opinion of him that he made him his chap- 
 lain, though we do not find that he raised him to any high 
 dignity. We are sure that the Oration that he spoke to car- 
 dinal Wolsey in his praise deserved more at his hands. It 
 is lately printed in the cardinal's life ; and, as it discovers 
 the style and spirit of the man, the reader may judge how 
 well he deserved the favour and friendship of Erasmus for 
 his ingenuity ; though grains of allowance are to be made 
 for his enlarging upon the praises of the cardinal. 
 
 ' From the proctor's book we find also, that he, in con- 
 junction with Walden, read a mathematical lecture in the 
 university, and had a salary for it, in the year 1513; and 
 the year before we find that he had the same sum, namely, 
 four pounds, paid him for the same lecture probably. He 
 was one of the twelve preachers sent out by the university 
 in the year 1515 ; and in the year 1524 he is said to have 
 had a premium for writing the pope's letters, i. e. letters, I 
 suppose, to the pope. What became of this learned man 
 afterwards, I know not.* 
 
 More says merrily to Erasmus, I do not like my office of 
 an ambassador ; it doth not suit a married man thus to leave 
 his family : it is much fitter for you ecclesiastics, who have 
 no wives and children at home, or who find them where- 
 soever you go'. 
 
 Erasmus observes, that literature began to make a great 
 
 ^ Knight, p. 142. 
 
 * qui primum uxores ac liberos aut domi non habetis, aut ubiqci 
 
 reperitis, &c. Ep. 22/. 
 1 
 
1516.]] OF ERASMUS. 85 
 
 and an happy progress. But"^, says he, I fear two things ; 
 I fear that the study of Hebrew will promote Judaism, and 
 that the study of philology will revive Paganism. He seems 
 to have had the Italian virtuosos and the Ciceronians in 
 view, many of whom wrote in the style and manner of Pa- 
 gans. We must except Sadolet, who writes with as much 
 piety as purity. Erasmus speaks again to the same purpose 
 in his Adagies, c. 389. 
 
 In the same letter he says, that he was entered into his 
 fifty-first" year. 
 
 This year Bilibaldus Pirckheimerus° sought the acquaint- 
 ance of Erasmus, who returned him a polite and respectful 
 answer. Pirckheimerus was counsellor to the emperor, and 
 senator of Nuremberg, a very learned and worthy man. 
 Ep. 48. c. 1551. 
 
 Erasmus says, that, having laid out all his money in 
 clothes for the winter, he was obliged to sell his horses, lest 
 they should eat him up. Ep. 81. c. 1571. 
 
 More P informs Erasmus, that the Epistolas Obscurorum 
 Virorura'i met with a general approbation, even from the 
 
 "^ Unus adeo scrupulus habet anlmum meum, ne sub obtentu 
 
 priscsp. literatiiraE; renascentis caput erigere conetur Paganismus ; ut sunt 
 et inter Christianos, qui titulo pene duntaxat Christum agnoscunt, caete- 
 rum intus Gentilitatem spirant : aut ne, renascentibus Hebraeorum li- 
 teris, Judaismus meditetur per occasionem reviviscere j qua paste niliil 
 adversius nihilque infensius inveniri potest dcctrinae Christi. — Nuper 
 exierunt in vulgus aliquot libelli merum Judaismum resipientes. Ep. 207. 
 
 •^ Xon sum equidem admodnm vitae avidus, sive quod animo meo jam 
 propemodum vixi satis, videlicet annum ingressus primum et quinqua- 
 gesimum — 
 
 See Bayle, Erasvie, not. A. 
 
 ° Baillet, iii. 38. Eurckhard, Comment, de Vit, Hutteni, p. 145. 
 189. Huetius de Clar. Interpr. p. 225. See also Maittaire, ii. 2/8. 
 Melch. Adam. Gerdes. tom. i. p. 167. et Append, p. 170. 
 
 p Epistolae Obscurorum Virorum operse pretium est videre quantopere 
 placeant omnibus, et doctis joco, et indoctis serio, qui, dum ridemus, 
 putant rideri stylum tantum, quern illi uon defendunt, sed gravitate sen- 
 tentiarum dicunt compensatum, et latere sub rudi vagina pulcherrimum 
 gladium. Utinam fuisset inditus libello alius titulus ! Profecto intra cen- 
 tum annos homines studio stupidi non sensissent nasum, quamquam 
 rhinocerotico longiorem. Ep. 87. c. 1574. 
 
 1 They were condemned to the flames by the order of pope Leo : 
 
 Obscurorum Virorum Epistolae, ad exagitandam monachorum strl- 
 bliginem concinnatae, Leonis X decreto, quod magno auri pondere ab 
 ipso Colonienses theologistae impetravei-unt, Vulcano olim sacratae fvie- 
 
 G 2 
 
84! THE LIFE [1516. 
 
 blockheads who were derided in them, and who had not the 
 sense to feel it. Erasmus hath made the same observa- 
 tion^ This book was fathered upon Reuchlin, Erasmus, 
 and others ; but it was^ probably the work of Hutten, in 
 part at least. One Pepericornus', or PfefFercorn, a pre- 
 tended proselyte from Judaism, and (which is often the 
 case) a real knave, wrote against it, and complained that it 
 was designed to spread some heresy ; though what heresy 
 he could not tell. Ep. 91. c. 1577, 
 
 Erasmus" allows it to be a witty performance, but con- 
 demns it, and along with it all anonymous and defamatory 
 
 nint. Amoenitates Llterariae, torn, ix. p. 660. See also Ducatiana, I. 
 p. 30. 
 
 "■ Ubi primum exissent Epistolae Obscurorum Viroram, miro mona- 
 cliorum applausu exceptae sunt apud Biitannos a Franciscanis ac Domi- 
 liicanis, qui sibi persuadebant, eas in Reuchlini contumeliam, at mona- 
 chorum favorem, serio proditas : quumque quidam egregie doctus, sed 
 nasutissimus, fingeret se nonnihil ofFendi stylo, consolati sunt hominem. 
 Ne spectaris, inquiunt, o bone, orationis cutem, sed sententiarum vim. 
 Nee hodie deprehendissent, ni quidam, addita epistola, lectorem admo- 
 nuisset rem non esse seriam. Post in Brabantia, prior quidam Domini- 
 canus, et magister noster, volens innotescere patribus, coemit acervum 
 eorum libellorum, ut dono niitteret ordinis proceribus, nihil dubitans 
 quin in ordinis honorem fuissent scriptae. Quis fungus possit esse stu- 
 pidior? Ep. 979. 
 
 « See Bayle, Hochstrat, and Burckhard. Comment, de Vit. Hutten. 
 p. 165, &c. 
 
 t Burckhard. Comment, de Vit. Hutten. p. 175. See also Gerdes. 
 torn. i. p. 141. 
 
 " Magnopere mihi displicebant Epistolae Obscurorum Virorum : jam 
 tum ab initio delectare potuisset facetia, nisi nimium ofFendisset exem- 
 plum. Mihi placent lusus, sed citra cujusquam contumeliam. Sed 
 molestius fuit, quod in posteriore editione mei quoque nominis men- 
 tionem adniiscuerint : quasi panim fuisset ineptire, nisi nos quoque vo- 
 cassent in invidiam, et magnam partem fructus tot studiorum laboribus 
 expetiti corrapissent. Ne id quidem satis visum, en alter libellus priori 
 adsimilis, in quibus crebra mentio fit eorum, quibus scio lusus hujus- 
 modi nequaquam probari. Q.uam male consulunt isti, non solum in 
 seipsos, veiiim etiam in omnes, quibus bonae literae charae sunt ! Jam 
 illud est omnium molestissimum mihi, si modo verum est, quod mihi 
 istinc reversus famulus mens Jacobus narravit, apud complures haberi 
 Coloniae libellum nescio quem, in Julium pontificcm, quomodo mor- 
 tuus exclusus sit cckIo per Petmm, Audieram jampridem hujusmodi fa- 
 bulam actam in Gallia, ubi talium nugarum immodica liccntia semper 
 fuit. Earn, opinor, aliquis in Latinum sermonem transtulit. Demiror 
 quid istis in mentem veniat, cum sic otium et operani perdunt. Caete- 
 rum admirer esse qui suspicentur tarn insignem ineptiam a me profec* 
 
1516.] OF ERASMUS. 9S 
 
 libels, the exploits of gentlemen, whose delicacy and mo- 
 desty will not permit them to set their names to their works ; 
 works, which, like a candle's end burning in the socket, 
 soon cease both to blaze and to stink. 
 
 In his Spongia"^ he says, that it was composed by three 
 persons, whom he names not. 
 
 He seems to have spoken the more warmly upon this 
 ludicrous occasion, because he was unjustly suspected of 
 being the author of some libels^ which appeared at that 
 time ; and therefore he declares, that he never wrote any 
 books ^ to which he did not put his name. But, after all, 
 
 tam, opinor ob id, quod sermo fortasse sit paiilo Latinior. Lusi quidcra 
 in Moria, sed incniente : nullius famam nominatini perstrinxi ; in mores 
 hominum lusimus, non in famam hominum. Ep. l6"0. c. 1(522. 
 
 Scit tota sodalitas Basiliensis mihi semper displicuisse epistolas, quas 
 inscripserunt Obscurorum Viroiiim, non quod abhorream a festivis jocis, 
 sed quod non placeat exemplum Isdendi famam alienam : quod ea les 
 cuivis sit in promptu, &:c. Non probo, neque quisquam vir vere plus 
 probat, istas tam virulentas insectationeSj quae a spiritu mundi, nou 
 Christi, proficiscuntur. Ep. l68. c. 1626. 
 
 Pessime consuluit rebus humanis, qui titulum indidit Obscurorum Vi- 
 rorum : quod ni titulus prodidisset lusum, et hodie passim legerentur 
 illae epistolae, tanquam in gratiam prnedicatorum scriptae, Adest hie 
 Lovanii magister noster, pridem prior apud BruxellaSj qui viginti libel- 
 los coemerat, gratiticaturus amicis, paulo antequam bulla ea prodiret, 
 quse effulminateum libellum. Primum optabam non editum euni libel- 
 lumj verum ubi fucrat edituSj oplabam alium titulum. Sunt illi qui- 
 dem digni majoribus convitiis, sed exemplum est odiosiuSj et quod in 
 fiirto molestissimura esse consuevit, suspicio incerto auctore per omnes 
 vagatur, ut cuique sua conjectura^ aut suus suggerit aftectus : neque 
 enira deerant, qui me crederent earum Epistolarum auctorem,, cum mihi 
 nee nomina furent nota, nee imitabilis phrasis, Ep. 27/ . c. 167S. 
 
 ^ T. X. c. 1640. 
 
 y Jules II, Memoratur Dialogus viri cujusdam eraditissimi festivus — 
 quo Juhus — coeli fores, &c. et cum is etiam in Tomis Pasqulllorum ha- 
 beatur, de rarilate ac pretio libri disputatur. [Bibliotheca nostra habet 
 exempla duo libri, quem Phcenicem putabat Dan. Heinsius, et centum 
 aureis redemerat.] Remarques sur Bayle, in the Relat. Getting, vol. iii. 
 fasc. i. p. 113. 
 
 Notwithstanding these protestations of Erasmus, some have persevered 
 in ascribing tliis dialogue to him ; and Baluzius, in his copy of this book, 
 inserted a preface of his own hand-writing, in which he affirms that 
 Erasmus is the real author. See No. 265(5 of the Bibliotheca Baluziana. 
 Bayle, Jules II. not. N. and t. iv. p. 3108. Rem. Crit. The solemn 
 asseverations of Erasmus ought to outweigh the conjectures of Balu- 
 zius. 
 
 * Nulkun adhuc opus conscripsi, neque conscriptums sum, cui non 
 prsefignm nomen meum. Ep. 31/, 
 
86 THE hUl [1516. 
 
 these Epistles of the Obscure may be considered as a piece 
 of harmless mirth, levelled against men who were not only 
 egregious boobies, but, which was infinitely worse, shame- 
 less calumniators and blood-thirsty persecutors. 
 
 ' Simler^, in the Life of Bullinger, says, that when Eras- 
 mus read these Epistles, which were lent him by a friend, 
 he fell into such a fit of laughing, that an abscess in his 
 face burst, which else should have been laid open by order 
 of his physician. This ought to be reckoned for one of the 
 benefits produced by reading.' 
 
 Ortuinus Gratius^, who had been taught by Hegius, the 
 schoolmaster of Erasmus, at Daventer, published a Fasci- 
 culus, in which were collected some Epistolse Clarorum 
 Virorum. He also wrote against Reuchlin ; for which he 
 is lashed in the Epistolas Obscurorum Virorum. He replied 
 in a book called Lamentationes Obscurorum Virorum : but it 
 was to no purpose ; the laugh went against him. Gratius died 
 in 1 542, as a man ; for, as an author, he was dead long 
 before. 
 
 Luther'^ wrote a letter this year to Spalatlnus, In which 
 he shows himself a zealous Augustinian and Anti-pelagian 
 in the points of original sin, grace, justification by faith, 
 and not by moral works, &c. He blames Erasmus for 
 leaning too much the other way, and for thinking too 
 meanly of Augustin. As much as Erasmus prefers Jerom 
 to Augustin, says he, so much do I prefer Augustin to Je- 
 rom. His taste, in this point, was extremely bad. 
 
 Erasmus speaks with great esteem of his friend Paulus 
 iEmilius"^, and of his History of France. Ep. 203. 
 
 Alardus*^ wrote to Erasmus, and translated a Uttle Greek 
 poem of Erasmus to the Virgin Mary into Latin verses. 
 Ep. 66. c. 1560. 
 
 The translation^ of some pieces of Plutarch was published 
 by Froben, and other smaller treatises of Erasmus. 
 
 This years also were printed, at Louvain, Epistles of 
 
 a Bayle, Erasme, not. Z. 
 
 ^ Val. Andres Bibl. Belg. p. 638. See also Maittaire, ii. 323. 
 '■' Seckendorf. 1. i. p. 22. ' 
 
 ^ Bayle, Emile. 
 
 « Yal. Andrea Bibl. Bclg. p. 127. Miraei Elog. Belg. p. 100. Seo 
 also MeJch. Ad;im. G. Brandt, vol. i. p. 83. 
 *■ Maitiaiie, Ann. Typ. ii. 2S4. 2f)2. 
 sib. p. 291.294. 307. 3 IS. 
 
151(5.] OF ERASMUS, 87 
 
 Erasmus and his correspondents, and his traii-^lation of 
 Gaza's Greek Grammar. 
 
 Erasmus wrote a letter to Joannes Sapldus (Ep. 96. 
 c. 1581.), concerning whom see Melch. Adam. Rewrote 
 two letters (Ep. 51. c. 1552. and 53. c. 1553.) to Urbanus 
 Regius ; and in a letter to Eccius he gives Regius a great 
 character. (Ep. 376.) This learned man was a Lutheran*. 
 
 A. D. MDXVII. ^TAT. L. 
 
 This year*^ Warham wrote a polite letter to Erasmus, and 
 thanked him in the most obliging manner for having con- 
 ferred immortality upon him. The monks had a very dif- 
 ferent' opinion from Warham, about the labours which 
 Erasmus bestowed upon Jerom. 
 
 The bishop of Liege, to whom Erasmus had sent his Ex- 
 position of the first Psalm, printed in 1J15, invited him to 
 
 * See Melch. Adam. Bay\e, Rcg'iiis. Gerdcs. torn. ii. p. S3. 
 
 ^ Quum non illaudati nominis seternitatem per te sim coiisecutas, qua 
 multi praeclari reges et imperatores carent, et a memoria hominum pe- 
 nitus exciderunt, nisi quod tantum vix nominum eoruin catalogas, et id 
 jejune quidem fiat, non video, quod satis sit in hac mortal! vita, quod 
 pro immortalitate reddam. Cogito enim quanta mihi tribueris ubique, 
 vel praesens per coUoquia, velabsens per literas, aut communiter per\'o- 
 lumina : quae quidem sunt majora, quam sustinere valeam. Judicabis 
 ergo Cantuariensem ingratissimum, nisi tui sit habiturus rationcm fide- 
 lissimam et constantissimam, licet meritis inaequaliim et infcriorem. 
 Quod autem sexaginta nobiles non sunt hactenus ad te per commuta- 
 tionem perlati, mensarius in culpa est, &:c. Editionem tuani in Novum 
 Testamentum aliquot fratribus meis episcopis et theologicie doctoribus 
 communicavi, qui maxime opene pretium in ea re te fecisseuno orepro- 
 fitentur ; quorum judicio adhasreiis, et omnia summa judicans, qu.-e a 
 tuo divino ingenio multipliciqne doctrina proliciscuntur, earn omnibus 
 laudibus etfero, perinde ut Hieronymianam provinciam, quam in eo es, 
 ut propediem absolvas : per quae opera famae immortalitatem inter ho- 
 mines, inter superos divinam remunerationem, et a me quicquid com- 
 mode et convenienter prsestare potcro, consequeris. Hieronymi volu- 
 miua nunquam satis laudata a prne.sentium latore accepi : pro qui'jus, et 
 pro Novo Testamentci, quod etiam abs te accepi, gratiam habeo immor- 
 talem : hoc est^pro sudoribus, quos in his operibus exantlasti. Po.stremo 
 rogo, uti cures has meas literas ad reverendam et optimum tVatrem, epi- 
 scopum JSasileensem, perferri, et te valetudine eo diligentius liberare 
 studeas, ut quamprimun le videamus. Ep. 26l. & 65. c. \55C}. 
 
 ' Non ita pridem in Bibliotheca publica Ulmcnsi vidi editionem Hie- 
 ronymi Frobenianam, ita male a monacliis habitam, ut hand exigua 
 pars annotationum Erasmi a crudelibus eorum manibus expunctaet proi« 
 sus oblllerata sit. Amoenit. Literariiej t. ii. p. 432» 
 
88 THE LIFE [1517« 
 
 his palace. Erasmus excused himself on account of the 
 inclemency of the season, and his infirmities, and his many 
 occupations. Ep. 233. 
 
 Erasmus warmly recommended to the bishop of Paris his 
 friend Henricus Glareanus* of Switzerland (on whom he 
 bestows many praises) to teach the belles lettres in France, 
 which office Erasmus himself desired to decline. His re- 
 commendation was not ineffectual. He'^ closes his letter 
 very prettily. 
 
 He received a letter from CEcolampadius full of friend- 
 ship and respect. This learned man, who was of Franco- 
 nia, and whom Erasmus had seen at Basil, informs him of 
 his own occupations at this time, for he was collating the 
 Vulgate with the Hebrew, and of his connections with Me- 
 lanchthon. 
 
 About this time Jacobus Faber Stapulensis', whom Eras- 
 mus had always accounted one of his friends, wrote against 
 him ; and, in a second edition of his Commentaries upon 
 the Epistles of St. Paul, attacked him very roughly for his 
 interpretation of a passage in the eighth Psalm, cited in 
 Hebr. xi. 7, and treated him as a corruptor of the Scrip- 
 tures, &c. 
 
 Erasmus"^ wrote an answer in a mild manner, and also 
 sent him a letter, exhorting him to speak for the future with 
 more candor and moderation, and to declare himself, pub- 
 licly at least, a friend to Erasmus, lest the monks, their 
 common enemies, should rejoice and triumph to see them at 
 variance. See Ep. 239. 271, which are written in a friendly 
 and a Christian manner. 
 
 Faber, though a learned man, was not equal to Erasmus, 
 or a match for him in disputation. If he did not comply at 
 
 * See IMelch. Adam. Thuanus, I. xxxv. p.273. Gerdes. torn ii. p.380. 
 
 •^ Sed heus Xu, vacuis epistolis non est arcessendus (Glareanus) : via- 
 ticum a Jdatur oportetj velut arrhabo reliqui promissi. Vide (juam fami- 
 liariter tecum agam ; ecu tuoe celsitudinis oblitus. Sed ita me tua cor- 
 rupit humanitas, quae banc docuit impudentiam : quam aut totam ig- 
 noscas oportet, aut bonam certe partem tibi ipsi imputes. Ep. 235. 
 
 ' Verheiden Praest. Theol. Effig. p. 104. Beza, Icon. Colomesius, 
 Melange Cnrieux, p. 810, 4to ed. Menagiana, t. iii. p. 272. Du Pin, 
 B. E. xiii. 1/4. xiv. 157- P. Jovius, Elog. p. 203. Bibl.Univ. xvi.C'6. 
 Sammarthanus, Elog. 1. i. p. 1. Thuanus, 1. vi. p. 175. Bayle, Fevre, 
 and t. iv. p. 3102. l\tm. Grit. Pope Blount, p, '3Q7' 
 
 ° To.m. ix. c. 1/. 
 
1517.] OF ERASMUS. 89 
 
 that time with this humble and reasonable request of Eras- 
 mus, he however did not reply to his book ; and so the con- 
 troversy was dropped on both sides. 
 
 The reply which Erasmus made to Faber, took him up 
 only fourteen days in writing and printing, as he tells 
 Budaeus ; twelve days, as he informs another friend, Ep. 
 240. c. 1657. It was favourably received by the learned 
 world, and particularly applauded by the German, Italian, 
 and English scholars, who rejoiced to see Erasmus demo- 
 lish a Frenchman, Ep. 307. 
 
 The most commendable and edif)'ing part of this affair 
 was, that Faber afterwards repented of having attacked 
 Erasmus, and that Erasmus was very sorry for having an- 
 swered him; and they coatinued to speak of each other 
 with great respect and esteem : for which reason we will also 
 dismiss the dispute; only observing, that it would be 
 happy, if wrangling geniuses would copy from these ex- 
 amples, and consider a little, how all men of sense and 
 manners applaud such moderation, and hov/ thev abhor 
 and despise those, who having begun to quarrel, perhaps, 
 upon mere baubles, never end their contests and animosi- 
 ties, till death comes and puts them to silence. Ep. 293. 
 436. 
 
 Faber was a bastard ; and for that reason could not be a 
 doctor of the Sorbonne. Pithoean, p. 510. It would have 
 been more for the honour of that reverend sodality to have 
 excluded blockheads*. 
 
 Faber", though he lived in communion with the church 
 of Rome, was ever suspected of protestantism, and assur- 
 edly was very Uttle of a papist. 
 
 * Concerning Faber, see Maittaire, 11. I95. 64.5. 660. 730. Gerdes. 
 torn. i. p. 172. Simon, Hist. Crit. des Vers, da N. T. p. 23Q. Hist. 
 Crit. des Comment, du N, T. p.438.4gi. Nouv. Observ. p. 14/. Du- 
 catiana, i. p. 182. 
 
 " Le Fevre. Pluscula hie nova. Probatur mnlt's argumentis, ilium 
 nunquam fuisse doctorem Sorbonicum, s. doctorem theologiae facul- 
 tatis Farisiensis : multo minus gradu illo dejectuni, Malta de disputa- 
 tione de tribus MagJalenis. Monet inter alia Jt)lias, A. 1703 et 1703, 
 non fuisse perraissum statuere in Sorb-uia, Tres Magdalenas, tres unc- 
 trices Domini, &c. Multum operse colloratur in evertenda narratione 
 Tho. Huberti de morte Fabri, in cujus limine detestatus esse, prassente 
 regina Navarrae, dicitiu: dissimulatiouem, qua in commuuione ccclcsioe 
 
90 THE LIFE [1517- 
 
 ' Faber" was expelled from the faculty of theology at 
 Paris. He printed a Psalter of five versions, accompanied 
 with notes of small merit. He had shaken off the preju- 
 dices of his fraternity, who idolized the Vulgate, because 
 they understood nothing else.* 
 
 * It^ is said of Faber by a writer of good credit, that he 
 had been a great traveller in quest of knowledge, and had 
 seen not only Europe, but also Asia, and a part of Afric' 
 
 Faber had a disciple, Joannes Aventinus*, a learned man, 
 who was accused of heresy by the Jesuits. Fromondus*^ 
 compares Aventinus to Erasmus for free thinking and free 
 speaking. 
 
 Edward Lee"" began about this time to attack Erasmus, 
 
 Eomanae manserit, cujus deserendae auctor ipse fuisset pluribus, roar- 
 tyrii coronam ea de causa adeptis. Omnes partes illius narrationis (etiam 
 quod Fabrum centenario majorem facit) convellere studet auctor. [Qui 
 liabent schfdas B. Beyschlagii, qui de Fabro Stapiilensi accuratos cora- 
 mentarios promiserat, si edere illas, aut uti adeo illis volent, recte illas 
 cum hoc capita Jolii conferent.] Remarques sur Bayle, in the Relat. 
 Getting, vol. iii. fasc. i. p. 104. 
 
 Primam editionem Novi Testamenti Gallici, interprete Jacobo Fabro 
 Stapulensi, quae Parisiis anno 1523, in 8vo, lucera adspexit, rarissimam 
 vocat Longius: nempe ejus usus publica authoritate fuit prohibitua. 
 Quod latum etiam subierant aliae ilhus editiones, A. 1524, 1529, &c. 
 curats. Anioenitites Literarise, torn. ii. p. 30"O. 
 ** Longucraana, i. 145. 
 P Menagiana, iii. 274. 
 
 * Annos igitur bene multos delituerunt Annales Aventini. Erasmus 
 postquam egregium opus supprimi cognoverat, Leonardum ab Eckh 
 Consiliarium Bavaricum adiit, eumque anno 1535 rogavit, ut copiam 
 si!>i Annaiium ct Chronici facerct, per Hervagium imprimendi. Pro- 
 n>isorat quoque Eckius se missurum desiderata ; qi^um autem sequent! 
 anno Erasmus mortem obiret, omne hoc negotium exsjiiravit ; ct per in- 
 tegros viginti annos opus sumnia exspectatitjiie desideratum delituit, for- 
 ta.s3e monachorum quorundam opera, i<cc. Amo^n. Lit. torn. v. p. 81. 88. 
 torn. vi. p. 596. torn. viii. 455. 
 
 Perron calls Aventinus a Lutheran writer, and a sworn enemy to the 
 popes. It is a mistake: he Jived and died in the communion of the 
 church of Rome, and was a catholic, Jitore Erasmico, and no warm 
 friend to popes, prelates, and monks. 
 
 1 Lil'errimse enim lingur:^ (hctreticas dicere non ausim, neque puto) 
 et plane Erasmicae, in monachorum et ecclesiasticoruni vitia fuit Aveu- 
 Umis. Kayle, ^Ivsntin, not. H. 
 
 ' Knight, p. 280, iScc. Du Pin, B. E. t. xiv. "JS. Burnet, i. 214. 
 iii. 90 • »00. 
 
 '''i his English divine showed himself tolerably learned on a subject to 
 •■-vhir'i r.iost of his biethren had apf-lied themselves very little. But ?,s 
 he v.a;; not skilied in the Greek tongue^ nor in the art of criticism^ 
 
1517.] 
 
 OF ERASMUS. 91 
 
 and to stir up the divines against him ; in which attempt the 
 Dominicans were no less busy. He riot only treated Eras- 
 mus as one of little erudition and no judgment, but as a 
 heretic and an enemy to the church ; and did all that lay in. 
 his power to run him down and ruin him. Erasmus in re- 
 turn hath often said of him, that^ the earth never produced 
 an animal more v.iin, mere arrogant, more scurrilous, more 
 ignorant, more foolish, and more malicious, than he. Yet 
 this man advanced himself at court, and became an arch- 
 bishop. He must have had some dexterity, says Le Clerc, 
 
 Erasmus learnedly refuted him, and in his answers cleared up several 
 points which deserve our attention.' Simon, Hist. Crit. des Vers, du 
 N. T. p. 246. H. Crit. des Comment, du N T. p. 528. 
 
 See Strype's Memor. i. 304. 187 — IQl- where you will find that Lee 
 blamed Fisher very much, ' for laying down his life upon no sufficient 
 cause, whilst he favoured men who maintained dangerous positions on 
 high matters of faith,' meaning Erasmus without question. Lee could 
 not forgive Fisher for having taken part with Erasmus, any more than he 
 could forgive Erasmus. He imprisoned John Bale, the antiquary ; for 
 heresy, I suppose. See Strype's Life of Parker, p. 143. 
 
 Lee showed much kindness to Ascham, and gave him a pension of 
 forty shillings a year. Ascham in a letter to a friend, written soon after 
 the death of Lee, says : 
 
 Keverendus Pater [Leus] ipse mihi narrabat, se scrlpsisse in universnm 
 Pentateuchum Mosis ; et quantum ego tum ex sermone ejus elicere po- 
 tuerim, in animo habuisse ut liber ille excussus (r. excusiis) in vulgus 
 ^ppareret. Si hie liber opera tua, in lucem et con.^pectum hominura 
 prodire potest, ea res et tibi prseclaram laudem, et reverendi patris no- 
 mini immortale decus et christian.-e religioni omni immensum quendam 
 fructum et emolumentum aliquando est paritura. — Si munus praefandi in 
 eos libros mihi imposneris, non onus sed honorem eximium mihi attu- 
 leris. Quam operam libentius susciperem, ut auctori ne?cio cujus Pas- 
 quilli respondeam, qui praeter alias maculas gravissimas nomini Reve- 
 rendissimi Patris aspersas, tribuit ei, etiam in dialogo quodam personam 
 indoctissimi et barbarissimi quaestionistae : cum ego tamen noverim, il- 
 ium omnis elegantiae et purae dictionis amatorem praecipuum, ad quam 
 rem perpoliendam non me semel exhortatus est. Lib. ii. Ep. ]/• 
 
 It was grateful in Ascham, to interest himself in the remains of his 
 deceased friend. But this commentary never came forth : and certainly 
 posterity hath lost nothing by the suppression of it. 
 
 Melanchthon says : 
 
 Scripsit in Erasmum futilis quldam Anglus, Edvardus, multa odiose 
 insectatus, in quibusdam etiam foedissime lapsus. Tamen gaudebnnt so- 
 phisticamm literarum patroni, ansam sibi datam calumniandi bonarum 
 literarum principem, Epist. p. 5J5. 
 
 • Quo uno nihil unquam adhuc terra produxit, pec arrogantius, nee 
 virulentius, nee gtultius. Ep. 248. 
 
92 THE LIFE [1517. 
 
 unless his elevation was owing to the caprice of the king, or 
 of dame Fortune, who loves to' divert herself, and play her 
 gambols, (if we may speak in a pagan style,) at the expense 
 of poor mortals. 
 
 Lee was of a reputable family, was educated at Oxford 
 and Cambridge, afterwards chaplain and almoner to Henry 
 VIII, then employed by the king on several embassies, then 
 made archbishop of York A. 1531, and died 1544. 
 
 He was, as Antony Wood and some others have said, 
 not only profoimdly learned, and an incomparable divine, 
 but a pious Christian, an able and assiduous preacher, ex- 
 tremely charitable to the poor, and universally lamented 
 when he departed this life. It is very well : but whence 
 came our antiquaries to know all this ? Why, even from his 
 epitaph. As if stones could not exaggerate ! Thus much 
 is certain, that he was always an enemy to the Reforma- 
 tion. 
 
 ' Amongst the bishops", all were not equally honest nor 
 zealous. Lee and Gardiner were those in whom the old 
 leaven had the deepest root. So the king, being informed 
 that Lee, though he had given iu his profession, subscribed 
 and sealed by him, yet did not his duty in his diocese and 
 province, neither in teaching himself, nor causing others to 
 teach the people, conform to what was settled both in con* 
 vocation and parliament, sent him orders both to preach 
 these things, and to order all other ecclesiastical persons in 
 his province to do the same. Upon this he wrote a long 
 vindication of himself in June 1535, &c.' 
 
 ' The archbishop of York" was much suspected ; and if 
 many apologies look like intimations of guilt, he had a 
 great deal ; for he took many occasions to justify himself, 
 &c.' 
 
 Morey (great grandson of Sir T. More) and Stapleton 
 have extolled Lee, as an excellent man : but the question 
 is, whether they were excellent judges. Their uncharitable 
 zeal is indeed unquestionable. 
 
 Sir T. IMore was a constant friend to Lee, and yet much 
 displeased at his quarrelling with Erasmus. He wrote three 
 
 -quoties voluit fortnna jocari. " Burnet, iii. QQ 
 
 " Burnet, iii. 108. > Morc's Life of Sir Thomas More, p. 69. 
 
1517.] OF ERASMUS. 93 
 
 letters to Lee on that occasion ; which inform us, that he 
 would have dissuaded Lee from printing his censures upon 
 Erasmus ; that he was very sorry, when they were publish- 
 ed ; that he thought Lee to be no match for Erasmus, but 
 far inferior to him both in knowledge and abilities, and in 
 credit and interest with the learned world ; and judged that 
 this exploit would draw infamy and contempt upon the wri- 
 ter, and even an odium upon the English nation. 
 
 Thus our Lee, who, if he had kept the fool within doors, 
 might have passed off" for a tolerable divine, chose rather to 
 purchase renown, such as it v/as, by heading the clamo- 
 rous, unlearned, or half-learned censurers of Erasmus, and 
 of all reformations. Amongst these indeed he might hope 
 to make a figure, though not amongst more eminent per- 
 sons ; and it is no wonder, that an ambitious man should 
 choose rather to be the leader of a paltry sect, than lost 
 amongst scholars of the second or third class. In the opi- 
 nion of Dr. Knight^, Lee acted also with a view to prefer- 
 ment, and thought it a probable way of rising in the church 
 at that time. 
 
 Erasmus^ tells Botzem, that Pace had succeeded Colet 
 in the deanery of St. Paul's : but this happened in the year 
 1519 ; w^hich shows, as my friend Dr. Birch observed, that 
 the letter to Botzem could not have been written, as it is 
 dated, 16 Maii, A. 1517. 
 
 Erasmus in the first edition of his New Testament had 
 spoken with respect of Budseus, on Luke i. 3. though he 
 had blamed his interpretation of a Greek word. Buda^us 
 on this occasion, though he was a better Grecian than Eras- 
 mus, took it like a man of honour. He owned his mis- 
 take, thanked Erasmus for setting him right, and even fur- 
 nished him with Greek citations ag-ainst himself. Erasmus 
 made use of those passages in the subsequent editions, but 
 struck out what he had blamed in Budseus. He also pro- 
 fited from another remark of Budseus on the same verse, 
 who had showed Erasmus, that he also was mistaken upon 
 another word. But Budgeus added an advice to Erasmus, 
 which did not please him so well, and exhorted him not to 
 deal so much with trifles, {XiTrxoXoyi^uToc,^ which he com- 
 
 ' P. 289. ' Ep. 2-18. 
 
94} THE LIFE [1517. 
 
 posed, by way of amusement and recreation, in the midst 
 of more considerable occupations. 
 
 Erasmus in his answer returns him thanks ; but frankly 
 declares, that he knew not what these bagatelles were, and 
 gives a list of his works, which, as he thought, did not de- 
 serve that appellation. He says, for example, that in his 
 Enchiridion he had been bold to maintain sentiments oppo- 
 site to those which at that time were most prevalent, with- 
 out fear of the unreasonable persons whom he might offend. 
 He means popular and monkish devotions, the uselessness of 
 which he had showed. Ep. 151. 260. 
 
 He sent to Henry VIII a second edition of a translation 
 of Plutarch, Concerning the Method of distinguishing a 
 Flatterer from a Friend, He had dedicated the first edition 
 to this prince ; and he added to it some other pieces, as the 
 Panegyric of Philip the father of Charles V, and The In- 
 struction of a Christian Prince. He desired cardinal Wol- 
 sey, Henry's favourite, to present this volume to him ; and 
 he dedicated to Wolsey another treatise of Plutarch, Con- 
 cerning the Usefulness which may be reaped from Enemies. 
 It should seem from a letter of Erasmus to Botzem, that 
 neither the king nor the cardinal made him any present on 
 this occasion. Erasmus however wrote a letter of thanks to 
 the king for all his favours. Ep. 267, 268. 
 
 The first edition of his New Testament had so quick a 
 sale, that in the autumn this year he was busy in revising 
 it, and preparing a second, as he says in a letter to Bilibal- 
 dus Pirckhcimerus, who was, and continued to be, one of 
 his sincerest friends. Pirckhcimerus was also a firm friend 
 to Reuchlin, and courageously undertook his defence against 
 his malicious enemies, the monks. Erasmus here describes 
 the Jew Pfeffercorn, who was come over to Christianity, and 
 was the ring-ieader of Reuchlin's enemies, and says of him, 
 that he deserved much better to be hanged than to be con- 
 futed. He also commends the Treatise of Pirckhcimerus, 
 Ep. 274. Ep. 201. c. 1639. Ep. 202. c. 1640. Ep. 203. 
 c. 1642. 
 
 He dedicated to Ernestus, duke of Bavaria, an edition of 
 Quintus Curtius, and the 276th Epistle contains the de- 
 dication. In it he derides the romantic genius of the 
 Creek historians, and censures the detestable ambition 
 
1517.] OF ERASMUS. §5 
 
 of Alexander, much in the same mamier as Seneca hath 
 done. 
 
 To Philip of Burgundy, archbishop of Utrecht, he de- 
 dicated his book called The Complaint of Peace. The pre- 
 late not only thanked him, but would have given him a 
 benefice ; which being refused by Erasmus, he presented to 
 him a ring with a sapphire stone, which his own brother, 
 David, archbishop of Utrecht, had worn. Ep. 281, 282. 
 
 Hieronymus Buslidius, (Busleiden,) an ecclesiastic of the 
 Low Countries, died this year, and gave his effects to the 
 academy of Louvain, to erect a college, where Latin, and 
 Greek, and Hebrew should be taught. Erasmus greatly 
 commends this act of charity and liberality, which must 
 have been very advantageous to that university, if able men 
 were chosen for professors of those languages. 
 
 But this noble institution gave much disgust to the illite- 
 rate divines, who harboured there. They are vexed ^, says 
 Erasmus, that three tongues should be in request, and they 
 had rather be, what they are, douhle-tongiied : and indeed 
 there is no teaching a new language to such old parrots. 
 
 The quarrel, which had unfortunately broken out be- 
 tween Faber and Erasmus, had well-nigh produced one be- 
 tween Erasmus and Bud sens, who was a friend to Faber, 
 and who, seeing him so discomfited by E^rasmus, was quite 
 vexed at it, and could not forbear from complaining and ex- 
 postulating. Erasmus answered him ; but the letters re- 
 lating to this subject are not all ranged in proper order, for 
 want of dates. That which begins, Bud^us, hacteniis 
 Erasmi amicus, ultimam sahUem dicit Erawio, and which 
 is the 343d, should be placed before the 285th, in which 
 Erasmus answers, Erasmus Bud^ei perpetuus, velit, iioiit, 
 arnicuSy non ultimam sed ju^em ac perennem illi salutem 
 dicit. Yet this last-mentioned letter is not an answer to the 
 other, but to the 310th, which should also have been placed 
 before the 285th. 
 These letters of altercation between the two great men, 
 
 ^Instituitur hie collegium trilingue, ex legato Buslidii. Sed obstrepunt 
 nonnulli, qui, quod sunt, bilingues esse malunt ; jam vetali psittaci, 
 quibus mutaadae linguae spes non sit. Ep, 35S. See also £p. 387 ^o 
 Budaeus. 
 
96 THE LIFE [1517. 
 
 although they be ingenious and learned, are not entertain- 
 ing. They are full of chicaneries about trifles, especially 
 those , of Budasus, who seems to have been of a litigating 
 humour. 
 
 Bud^us is^ thought by some to have been inclined at last 
 to the sentiments of the reformed ; and their conjecture is 
 partly founded on this, which is no bad reason, that, imme- 
 diately after his death, his wife and children went over to 
 that religion, and settled at Geneva. 
 
 Budeeus loved the monks and the illiterate ecclesiastics as 
 little as Faber or Erasmus did, and probably was as little be- 
 loved by them. In one of his letters he shows a supreme 
 contempt of the Sorbonne'^, and calls the members of it 
 prating sophists, and*^ divines of the Sorbonian Lake. 
 
 The 253d letter is from our TonstalF to Budasus, written 
 with elegance, and full of learning and good sense. 
 
 <= Bayle, Bude, not. O. 
 
 ^ Celebris ille Gregorius Tifernas quos non sustinuit insultus, ante- 
 quam ab academia Parisiensi, ut Graeca sibi legere permitteretur^ impe- 
 traret ? Cum enim, decreto concilii Viennensis subnixus, circa A. 1470, 
 academiae illius rectori indicasset, sibi constitutum esse literas Graecas 
 profiteri, postulate etiam stipendio, demirabantur omnes honiinis pere- 
 grini, nee ab academia arcessiti, avidaciam. Illo autem decretum, quod 
 scholse etiam Parisiensis mentionem faciebat, urgente, rector ad sena- 
 tum rem detulit, atque sic introducta in scholam illam fiut ea professio, 
 quae tot seculis jacuerat. Malueiunt quippe Sorbonici isti doctores Mel- 
 chioris Cani elogio superbire, quod ' annis trecentis integris linguae 
 Grsecse et Hebraicse nuUam hahuerint peritiam.' — Hinc tragcedia ilia 
 doctissimi Capnionis cum monachis ColoniensibuSj Parisiensibus, etaliis, 
 qu£e et ingeniosis Obscurorum Virorum Epistolis decantata, et a Sleidano 
 prolixius descripta. Hinc et Erasmus omnis maledicentiae incus esse 
 debuit. Nihil tam acerbum, tam inhumanum, aut a pietate tam alienum 
 nihil, quod in Erasmum ejusque studia, wf i^ aaa^>;j, monachalis, ut 
 Vocabant, simplicitatis hyperaspistae non conjecerint. Moria praesertim 
 sua, qua studia et mores theologoram sui seculi salse perstrinxit, cra- 
 brones sic irritavit^ ut orani fere apud raitratos gratia exciderit, Crenius 
 de Philolog. Literar. p. 15. 
 
 Erasmus speaks of this decree : 
 
 Exstat pcrvetustum pontificii senatus decretum, de constituendis doc- 
 toribus, qui linguas aliquot publice traderent. — Cur, quod pontificum. 
 auctoritas jussit, negligimus ? Apol. ad Dorp. t. ix. c. 13. 
 
 ^ nuncagentem Sorbona^aaAXov ^l h Y-op^orAh aIu-vt, Sia.Tpi'^ovta. 
 
 This lake is called Serl>oiiis or Shbonis ; but it suited Budaeus better to 
 call it Sorlcmis, for the sake of the jest. 
 
 f Burnet's Hist, of the Ref. i. 32. 150. ii. 10.5, 38/, 3Q6. iii, 53. 10/. 
 12(i). 129. 133. Fiddes's Life of Wolscy, p. 130. . 
 
lJi7.] OF ERASMUS. 97 
 
 ' Erasmus^ highly valued Cuthbert Toilstall*, bishop of 
 Durham, and received many great favours from him. He 
 was acquainted with this bishop abroad, and whilst he was 
 m the Low Countries, where at Brussels he lived in the 
 same house with him. I find other writers join with Dr. 
 Fiddes in the same elogy of him, that, while there, he was 
 very sedulous in his charge, as well as very capable of exe- 
 cuting it ; that nothing, wherein his majesty was concerned, 
 escaped him. He perfectly understood the state of the im- 
 perial court, penetrated into all the designs of it, and failed 
 not, as occasion offered, to impart his advice accordingly to 
 the king. He is said also to have been of a very mild and 
 gentle disposition ; so that, in the cruel reign of queen 
 Mary, his diocese escaped the persecutions : though, as to 
 himself, he continued rigid in his principles, and conscien- 
 tiously chose rather to be deprived of his rich bishopric 
 than act against his judgment. He was confined during his 
 life in the palace at Lambeth, but met with great civilities 
 from archbishop Parker. He lies buried in the chancel of 
 the parish-church of Lambeth. He was of Cambridge, 
 and a benefactor to the public library, &c. Though he 
 was so inflexible in the latter part of his life, and so stiff in 
 his popish principles ; yet, in the reign of Henry VIII, he 
 had been a strenuous assertorof the king's supremacy, and 
 wrote a veiy severe letter to cardinal Pole, then abroad, 
 upon this head, and bid fair, as it was then thought, to be 
 a zealous protestant ; but stopped short.* 
 
 ' Tonstall'^ being a man both of good learning and an un- 
 
 « Knight, igo. 
 
 *Maittaire, ii. 336, "Wood, i. c. 127. Strype's Life ofCranmer, b, ii. 
 ch. 32. Life of Grindal, p. 27. Annals, vol. i. p. 142. Life of 
 Parker, p. 141, 142. and Memor. vol. i. p. 74 — S/. wliere you will see 
 that Tonstall was an oppressor of the protestants, though he did not shed 
 their blood, and compelled these poor people to accuse themselves, their 
 friends, and their nearest relations. Cursed are the theological princi- 
 ples which produce such sad etfects even in good-tempered men, and eat 
 up so much of their honour and humanity ! 
 
 Tonstall told Bernard Gilpin, tliat in the matter of transubstantiation, 
 Innocentius, pope the third of that name, had done unadvisedly in 
 making it an article of faith ; and further confessed tliat tlie pope com- 
 mitted a great fault in the business' touching indulgences, and otJier 
 things. Strype's Ann. vol. i, p. 79. See also p. 143. 
 
 *» Burnet. 
 
 Vol. L H 
 
98 THE LIFE [1517. 
 
 blemished life, these virtues produced one of their ordinary 
 effects in him, great moderation, that was so eminent in 
 him, that at no time did he dip his hands in blood.' 
 
 * The bishops' made great complaints of TindaFs transla- 
 tion of the New Testament'^. But Tonstall, then bishop 
 of London, being a man of invincible moderation, would 
 do no body hurt ; yet endeavoured, as he could, to get the 
 books of Tindal and oilier reformers into his hands. So 
 being at Antwerp, in the year 1 529, as he returned from 
 his embassy, he sent for one Packington, an English mer- 
 chant there, and desired him to see how many New Testa- 
 ments of Tindal's translation he might have for money. 
 Packington, who was a secret favourer of Tindal, told him 
 what the bishop proposed. Tindal was very glad of it ; 
 for, being convinced of some faults in his works, he was 
 designing a new and more correct edition : but he was poor, 
 and the former impression not being sold off, he could not 
 go about it : so he gave Packington all the copies that lay 
 in his hands ; for which the bishop payed the price, and 
 brought them over, and burnt them publicly in Cheapside. 
 ■—Next year, when the second edition was finished, many 
 more were brought over ; and one Constantine* being 
 taken in England, the lord chancellor, in a private exami- 
 nation, promised him that no hurt should be done him, if 
 he would reveal who encouraged and supported them at 
 Antwerp ; which he accepted of, and told them, that the 
 greatest encouragement they had was from the bishop of 
 London, who had bought up half the impression. This 
 made all that heard of it laugh heartily, though more judi- 
 cious persons discerned the great temper of that learned bi- 
 shop in it.' 
 
 ' Burnet. 
 
 * Dixit nobis (A. 1526) Buschius, Wormatiae sex mille exemplaria 
 Novi Testamenti Anglice excusa. Id operis versum esseab Anglo, illic 
 cum duobus Britannis divertente, ita septem linguarum perito, Hebraicae^ 
 Graecae, Latinae, Italicae, Hispanicae, Britannicae, Gallicae, ut, quam- 
 cunque loquatur, in ea natum putes. Anglos enini, quamvis reluctante 
 et invito rege, tamen sic suspirare ad Evangelium, ut affirment sese 
 cmturos Novum Testamentum, etiamsi centenis millibus aeris sit redi- 
 mendum. Adhaec Wormatiae etiam Novum Testamentum Gallice ex- 
 cusum esse. Spalatinus, in the Amoen. Literar. t. iv. p. 431. 
 
 * Strype gives him a bad character. Memor. vol. i. p. 166. 
 
15170 OP ERASMUS. 99 
 
 * In ' the reign of Edward VI, Tonstall was put into tlie 
 Tower. The commons refused to attaint him. He had in 
 all points given obc-dience to every law, and to all the in- 
 junctions that had been made ; but had always in parliament 
 protested against the changes in reiigion ; which he thought 
 he might in good conscience submit to and obey, though 
 he could not consent to them. Only in the matter of the 
 corporal presence he was still of the old persuasion, and 
 wrote about it. But the Latin style of his book is much 
 better than the divinity and reasonings in it. There was a 
 constant good correspondence between Cranmer and him, 
 though in many things they differed in opinion. — So, when 
 the hill for attainting him passed in the house of lords, Cran- 
 mer spake freely against it.* 
 
 * When "^ the bill for queen Elizabeth's supremacy was 
 passed, Tonstall came not to parliament. There were some 
 hopes of gaining him to concur in the reformation : for, in 
 the warrant the queen afterwards gave to some for consecra- 
 ting the new bishops, he is first named ; and I have seen a 
 letter of secretary Cecil's to Parker, that gives him some 
 hope that Tonstall would join them. He had been offended 
 Xvith the cruelties of the late reign : and thoug^h the resent- 
 ments he had of his ill usage in the end of king Edward's 
 time, had made him at first concur more heartily to the re- 
 storing of popeiy, yet he soon fell off, and declared his 
 dislike of those violent courses ; and neither did he, nor bi- 
 shop Heath, bring any in trouble within their dioceses upon 
 the account of rehgion.* 
 
 * Heath " was a man of a generous temper, and so was 
 well used by queen Elizabeth ; for, as he was suffered to 
 live securely at his own house in Surrey, so she went thi- 
 ther sometimes to visit him. Tonstall and Thirleby lived in 
 Lambeth with Parker, with great freedom and ease.' 
 
 ' Tonstall °, being a man of great probity, could not at 
 first approve of (a bill in which the king's supremacy was 
 inserted) in which he saw a fraudulent management, and an 
 ill design : so he protested against it. lie acknowledged 
 
 » Burnet. 
 » Ibid. n Ibid. Ibid. 
 
 H2 
 
100 THE LIFE [1517. 
 
 the king's headship in temporal matters, but did not allow 
 it in spirituals. But Henry VIII, who had a particular 
 friendship for him, wrote him a letter ; — ^which, it seems, 
 so far satisfied him, that he took the oath afterwards, with- 
 out any limitation.' 
 
 ' TonstallP declared himself against the divorce. — How 
 he came to change, and to take the oath, is that of which 
 I can give no account. — But he was afterwards in all things 
 very compliant, even to the end of king Edward's reign.' 
 
 ' TonstalH, being provoked by Pole, and commanded 
 by the king, wrote a full and solid answer to his book ; — 
 which I have abstracted the more fully, for the honour of 
 his memory, who was a generous and good-natured as well 
 as a very learned man. Pole, who was then a cardinal, 
 wrote no answer to this, that I could find, &c.' 
 
 ' Upon'^ the death of queen Jane, Tonstall wrote a con- 
 solatory letter to the king. — It runs upon the common 
 topics of affliction, with many good applications of scripture, 
 and seems chiefly meant to calm and cheer up the king's 
 spirit. But the truth is, king Henry had so many gross 
 faults about him, that it had been more for Tonstall's ho- 
 nour, and better suited his character, if he had given hints 
 to awaken the king's conscience, and to call upon him to 
 examine his ways, whilst he had that load upon his mind. 
 Either Tonstall did not think him so faulty as certainly he 
 was, or he was very faulty himself, in being so wanting to 
 his duty, upon so great an occasion.' 
 
 ^ In^ the reign of Edward, Tonstall was accused of con- 
 senting to a conspiracy in the North, and lay in the Tower 
 till queen Mary set him at liberty. There, in the seventy- 
 seventh year of his age, he wrote a book, asserting the cor- 
 poral presence of Christ in the sacrament. He was deprived 
 of his bishopric' 
 
 ' Though', during the reign of king Henry, Tonstall 
 went with the sway of the times, to the great grief of sir 
 T. More ; yet living to the time of queen Elizabeth, (whose 
 god-father he was, when she bewrayed the font) in his old 
 
 P Burnet. 1 1bid. " Ibid. * Ibid. 
 
 » Thus Stapleton, and More in the Life of Sir T. More, p. 6G. 
 
1517.] OF ERASMUS. 101 
 
 age seeing her take strange courses against the church, he 
 came from Durham, and stoutly admonished her not to 
 change religion ; which if she presumed to do, he threai- 
 ened her to lose God's blessing and his. She, nothhig 
 pleased with his threats, made him be cast into prison, as 
 most of the bishops were, where he made a glorious end of 
 a confessor, and satisfied for his former crime of schism.' 
 
 A prison, saith this zealot. Lambeth palace, and the 
 archbishop's table, was a dreadful dungeon, to be sure ; 
 and as bad as those, into which the righteous Bonner, and 
 other saints of the same class, used to thrust the poor he- 
 retics ! Will men never be ashamed of these godly tricks 
 and disingenuous prevarications ? 
 
 Henry VIII sent Erasmus sixty angels, and offered him a 
 living of a hundred marks, if he would come to him and 
 take it. Ep. 127. c. 1600. 
 
 InEp. 263, dated Aug. 24, 1.517, he says, that he was 
 turned of fifty : annum excessi quinquagesimnm. 
 
 Tonstall, in a letter to Erasmus, treats Jacobus Faber 
 with great contempt. Ep. 272. 
 
 Erasmus was in England this year in the spring-, \vas 
 courteously received by the king and the cardinal^, and had 
 very handsome offers made to him, if he would settle in 
 England. 
 
 In an epistle to his friend Gerardus Noviomagus, who 
 was afterwards his foe, he acquaints him, that he had been 
 surprised ^ with a message relating to some new preferment 
 bestowed upon him, as he fancied ; but he found out at 
 last, that it was sent to a name-sake of his, one Erasmus, 
 a doctor of law. 
 
 " Rexultro me mlra complexus est humanitate, atque item cardinalis, 
 rex alter, lu ita loquar. Obtulerutit, pr.-eler aedes inagniticas, sexcentos 
 florenos in singnlos annos. Sic egi gratias, ut nee acciperem conditio- 
 nem oblatam, nee rejicerem. Ep. 2/4. 
 
 ^ Audi rem ridiculam. Nuper quidam expeditus accurrit, annimcians, 
 sacerdotium meum, quod haberem Trajecti, a^stimatum quatuor Philip- 
 peis, si vellem numerare. Primum gaudebam, somnians novum ali- 
 quod coUatnm ; deinde mirabar quid rei esset ; po.stiemo sensi nomcn 
 commune fuisse causam erroris. Elstenim hie alter Erasmus, juris doc- 
 tor^ ad quem scriptas literas inscieus nuper legi^ putans ad me scriptas. 
 ■- -Ep. 279. 
 
102 THE LIFE [1517. 
 
 Erasmus received a courteous letter^" from Spalatinus^, 
 secretary to Frederic of Saxony, and corresponded with him 
 afteryvards. This worthy man was a constant friend to Lu- 
 ther, and one of the reformers. He translated into Ger- 
 man the treatise of Erasmus, De Institutione Principis 
 Christiani. He died in the year 1545, aged 63. 
 
 The 282d epistle is from Bombasius, who was secretary 
 to a cardinal. Bombasius^ was a man of learning and of 
 wit, who writes extremely well, and who always continued 
 his friendship with Erasmus. He was killed at the sacking 
 of Rome, A. 1527 ; and Pierius hath recorded him amongst 
 the Infelices Literati^. 
 
 This year Erasmus lost his beloved friend Ammonius, 
 who was taken off in a few hours by ^ the sweating-sick- 
 ness in England, and whose death he frequently and pas- 
 sionately laments. Hence it appears, that this distemper 
 did not spare foreigners, as some, I think, have ima- 
 gined. 
 
 He tells a friend, that his ^ chief support was from his 
 English revenues, which alone kept him from starving. 
 
 Warham sent him a letter^, and a present of twenty an- 
 gels : and, from a letter of Erasmus to Marcus Laurinus, 
 it appears, that he had ^ received a gift from some other 
 friend. 
 
 y Ep. 278. 
 
 ■' See more concerning Spalatinus in Seckendorf, 1. i. p. 22, ct passim. 
 In the Amosnitates Literariae there is a large extract from a manuscript 
 diary of Spalatinus, whch contains many curious and remarkable things 
 relating to those times. Tom. iv. p. 38C). See also Gerdes. torn. i. 
 p. 237. Kirchmaier, p. 11. 
 
 ^ In Ep, 594, he calls Bombasius ' patronorum fidelissimum, et ami- 
 corum integerrimum.' 
 
 •^ Bayle, Bombasius. Erasmus, Ciceronian. Adag. c. 220. I. Index 
 Epist. Erasm. Bombasius. 
 
 <= Erasmus, in a dedication to Schydlovietz, says, ' Sudorem letifernm 
 ante ar.uos triginta non novit Angiia, nee ea lues fere transilit ejus in- 
 sulae fines.' Tom. iv. Tijis was writtim in 1525. 
 
 ^ Extrema ancora est Britannia, quae nisi ine sublevasset, adhuc men- 
 dicaret Erasmus. Ep. 185.C 1032. 
 
 e Ep. 205. c 1G32. 
 
 *' Acccpi una cum li'eris nohilem Flandricum, ducatum Hispanicum 
 duplicem, et Michaelem Anglicum, munus cum per se magnum, turn 
 ipso auctore multogratissimun). Ep. 208. c. 1643. 
 
1517.] OF ERASMUS. 103 
 
 He ^ commends the university of Cambridge, as having 
 thrown off scholastic nonsense. 
 
 He ^ began to be quite sick of a thankless and quarrel- 
 some world ; and resolved, after the publication of his 
 New Testament, to quit his studies, or at least to appear no 
 more as an author. But (happily for the public) he was too 
 active, and too fond of literature, to keep such rash reso- 
 lutions. 
 
 He ' throws out some suspicions concerning Pace ; but 
 they seem to have continued good friends afterwards, not- 
 withstanding this coldness. 
 
 Henricus Affinius Lyrensis, a doctor of physic*^, made 
 him a valuable present of plate Erasmus returns him 
 thanks j and in the same letter makes mention of Theodo- 
 ricus Martinus', a printer. 
 
 In a letter to Moce, Erasmus makes "^ grateful mention 
 of Tonstall's generosity ; and declares himself uncertain 
 where he should settle", and not at all disposed for Eng- 
 land. He judged rightly : Henry and Wolsey were not 
 proper masters for him to live under. 
 
 8 Videmiis eas ineptias magna ex parte explodi. Cantabrigia mutata : 
 baec schula detestatur frigidas illas argutias^ quae raagis ad rixam faciunt, 
 quam ad pietatem. Ep. 214. c. l645. 
 
 ** iVovum Testamentum bona ex parte absolvi : eo edito dormiam, aut 
 mihi canam et Musis, si hie est fructus gratus tanto studio juvantium 
 rem literariam. £p. 215. c. l646. 
 
 • Subolet naihi et Pacaei mutatum ingenium, licet simulet pristinam 
 amicitiam. Ep. 21(5. c. l647. 
 
 ^ Quod cyathos argenteos tanti pretii parasti, non possum non exos- 
 culari animum tarn benignum : verum ipse mecum varie afficior, dum 
 nunc pudet tantum recipere munus ab homine, de quo niagis voluerim 
 bene mereri quam sim promeritus, nunc pudet recusare sponte oblatum, 
 ne vel parum bene videar sentire de animo tuo, vel nolle tibi tantopere 
 devinctus esse : siquidem araantis animi signum est, et libenter debere, 
 &c. Ep. 227. c. 1652. 
 
 ' Inter typographos, qui Erasmi temporibus celebres, eique amicitiae 
 propioris necessitudine conjuncti fuerunt, memorantur Theodoricus Mar- 
 tinus, Matthias Schuierius, Rutgenis Rescius, et eorum nemine inferior, 
 Jodocus Radius, &c. Maittaire, Ann. Typ. ii. 54. 
 
 "" — Cum apud me solicitus essem, quibus verbis illi gratias agerem, 
 ille ultro quinquaginta scutatos Gallicos addidit, nee uUa ratione licuit 
 excusare. Dispeream, si quid habet haec aetas cum eo viro confercndum. 
 Ep. 241, c. l658. 
 
 " — • et Angliae motus timeo, et servitutem horr^a. 
 
104 THE LIFE [1517« 
 
 Amongst his Epistles, there is one°, without date, to an 
 anonymous friend, of the ludicrous kind, concerning the 
 art of thriving at court, and of obtaining the favour of the 
 great. By some expressions in it, it appears to have been 
 written after he was fifty years old. 
 
 He informs Tonstall, that Asulanus was publishing the 
 Greek Bible?. 
 
 Erasmus, in a letter to Clava(Ep. 209.), makes mention 
 of Jacobus Faber of Daventer, and of a letter which this 
 Faber had sent to him*. 
 
 A. D. MDXVIII. jETAT. LI. 
 
 We come now to turbulent and tempestuous times ; to 
 violent struggles between the Reformed and the Romanists j 
 
 •Ep. 510. c, 1887, 
 
 P Ep. 172. c. 1627. Maittaire, Ann. Typ. ii. 133. 
 
 * Cum rari ante reformationem fuerint in Belgio vlr't docti et litera-« 
 rum studiosi, dignus est Jacobus Fabri, qui in clariore luce collocetur. 
 Natus is est anno 1472, Daventriae, Praeceptorem ibi liabuit eundem ac 
 Erasmus, Alexandrum Hegium. Anno 1499, edidit carmen heroicum. 
 Post Lector secundae classis Daventriensis editiit opera praeceptoris sui 
 Hegii, quorum partem Erasmo dedicavit, A. 1503. Anno 1511 edidit 
 Catonis Disticha cum aliis gnomologicis e Graeco versis. Jac. Faber Sta- 
 pulensis eum donavit Psalterio Quintuplici, quod A. 150p ediderat. Gtuin . 
 etiam varia nostri Jacobi exstant MSS. in Bibliotheca Daventriensi. 
 Isaaci Argyropuli et D. Matthaei Graecorum Canones et Menologia sua 
 manu Graece descripslt, in Latinum vertit, et notas adjecit. In vesti- 
 bulo cujusdam codicis scriptum est : ' Fuit aliquando in possessione Ma- 
 gistri Jacobi Fabri, viri tam Graece quam Latine undequaque docti, et 
 interanei Daventriensis Lectoris secundae classis in Scholis laude dignis- 
 simi.' Adhuc erat in vivis A. 1515. Denique J. C. Wolfius, ex cujus 
 bibliotheca hunc codicem mihi comparavi, in prima pagina adnotavit : 
 * Possideo Genesin et Exodum Hebrai'ce in quarto MS. in cujus limine et 
 cake Jac. Fabri hujus nomen comparet, ibique Daventriensis vocatur, 
 ]lber autem ab eo legatus dicitur Fratribus ISlontis Agnetae.' — 
 
 go. Codex chartaceus scriptus manu Jacobi Fabri Daventriensis, se- 
 •ulo xvi. continet dijobus in quarto voluminibus Novum Testamentum, 
 Sec, In capite libri haecnotantur : ' Quatuor Evangelia non semel col- 
 lata magno labore cum autiquissimo exemplari membranaceo, quod fuit 
 
 Magistri Wesseli Groningensis. Non facile dixerim quantum la- 
 
 borem mihi pepererit collatio, non occurrente et ad manus existente, 
 qui auBcultaret, et ego recognoscerem.' — Observo, turn Wesseli um, qui 
 A. 1489 tliem obiit, codicem suum Evangeliorum accepisse ex Biblio- 
 theca Vaticana, dono Sixti IV. Pontiticis, turn codicem Grarcum, undc 
 suum descripsit Jac. Faber, fuisse scviptum A, 12y3, ^'c, Wetsten. 
 Proleg. ad N. T. p. 5(), 
 
1518.] OF ERASMUS. 105 
 
 to contests, not for things of small importance, but for no- 
 thing less than power and dominion on the one side, life and 
 liberty on the other. Religious disputes opened the scene, 
 and produced religious wars and cruel persecutions : 
 
 ' — — — bclla, horrida bella, 
 
 Et Tibrim multo spumaiitem sanguine ccrno.' 
 
 Erasmus, who of all things abhorred and dreaded dissen- 
 sions and tumults, was much alarmed and afflicted at this 
 state of affairs ; and often complained afterwards, that his 
 endeavours to pacify and reconcile the two opposite parties 
 only drew upon him the resentment and indignation of 
 both. 
 
 "Whilst he was occupied in revising and augmenting his 
 New Testament, Leo X was no less busy in publishing 
 every where his indulgences'^!, to raise money, under the 
 pretence of making war upon the Turks, say some ; of 
 building St. Peter's Church, say others'": and the Domini- 
 cans being employed by him in Germany in this dirty 
 work, the Augustinians were irritated, who pretended 
 that the office of retailing indulgences belonged to 
 them. On this occasion, Luther % who was of the or- 
 
 ^ Seckendorf, 1. i, p. 11, &c. Perizonius, p. 93, Sec. Lettres siir 
 les Jubiles, et les Indulgences, par C, Chais. Relat. Gotling. vol. L 
 fasc. i. p. 88. Thuani HisL 1. i. p. 13. Erasmus, t. v. c. 167. g42. 
 who speaks slightingly of indulgences. Fiddes, in the Life of Wolsey, 
 p. 132, &c. who treats them tenderly. See also Von der Hardt, H, 
 Lit. Ref. p. iv. Melch. Adam, Vit. "Luth. p. 50. Fath. Paul, b. i. 
 § 5. p. 9. and Courayer. Gcrdes. torn. i. p. 73. and Append, p. 1 14. 
 
 " Du Pin, B. E. t. xiii. p. 30. 
 
 s Verheiden, Theol. Effig. p. 23. Pope Blount, p. 380. Beza, Icon. 
 Bibl. Univ. xxii.p. 1, xxiv. p. lCi3. Huber, Hist. Civ. Burnet, iii, 
 p. 112. Du Pin, B. E. xiii. 30. Perizonius. Bayle, Luther. Sleidan, 
 1. xvii. 451. Seckendorf, Hist. Luth. from whose book a good history 
 of Luther and Luther.inism might be collected. Thuanus, 1. ii. p. 47> 
 who speaks of Luther with great decency and moderation. Fiddiss'ci 
 Life of Wolsey, p. 146, &:c. Luther's Colloquia Mensalia, translated 
 into English by Bell, and printed A. l652. But such sort of collections 
 are usually of dubious authority, as Baylc hath justly observed. 
 
 See also INIelch, Adam. Gerdes. toai. i. p. 87.210. Simon, Hist, 
 Crit. du V. T. p. 185. 334. Hist, des Con-im. du N. T. p. 6S4. Kircli- 
 maier, Disquisit. de Lutliero, &:c. Wittcbergae, A. 175O. 
 
 Jn this book of Kirchmaier, there are many remarks on Luther, par- 
 
 1 
 
106 THE LIFE [1518. 
 
 der ^ last mentioned, and professor of divinity at Wit- 
 tenberg, began to examine the doctrine of indulgences, 
 which the Dominicans sold in the most open and the 
 most infamous manner; and having, as he thought, 
 found it to be full of errors, he refuted it publicly, 
 in the year 1517. We will not enter into a detail of 
 this history : we have only marked the date of its com- 
 mencement, because from this time Erasmus began to be 
 most maliciously persecuted by the ecclesiastics, who loudly 
 complained, that his bold and free censures of the monks, 
 and of their pious grimaces and superstitious devotions, had 
 opened t^e way for Luther. Erasmus^ as they used to say, 
 laid the egg, and Luther hatched it. And indeed on this 
 point they judged not amiss, nor with their accustomed 
 sinisterity, if we may be permitted to use that word. 
 
 The ridiculous Maimbourg tells us, that the catholic 
 church enjoyed a sweet peace in the sixteenth century, and 
 held the popes in profound veneration, till the heretical Lu- 
 ther raised commotions : a story which was fit to be told 
 only to boys and girls at Paris. It is hard to name two per- 
 sons, who were more generally and more deservedly abhor* 
 red than Alexander VI and Julius II : and as to Leo X, all 
 the world knew, that he sat very loose to religion and to 
 morality. 
 
 Bembus", in his History of Venice, speaking of the subf 
 sidy which pope Alexander VI granted to the Venetians, 
 to enable them to make war with the Turks, and which 
 
 ticularly on his face and features ; and a very good print of this reform- 
 er, from an original by Lucas Cranachius, an eminent painter. 
 
 Luther's widow, and, after her decease, her eldest son John Lutlier, 
 wrote to Christian III, king of Denmark, who had been a patron to Lu- 
 ther, and had given him a pension. They complain of being reduced to 
 the utmost poverty, and beg the continuance of his favour to the distress- 
 ed family. Nouv. Bibl. Germ. A. 1 y5g. p. 1 12, &c. 
 
 ' It seems strange, says this writer, that the family of such a man 
 should have been thus neglected. The pviblic calamities of those times 
 seem not to be a sufficient excuse, to clear the Lutherans of ingrati- 
 tude.' 
 
 The Journalist wonders at this : so do not I, 
 
 * It seems not to have been any spleen against the Dominicans that 
 set Luther to work, but a dislike of such practices. 
 
 • Le Clerc, Bibl. Chois. i. p. 33t). 
 
1518.] OF ERASMUS. 107 
 
 arose from the sale of indulgences, says, that his holiness 
 had commanded by a brief, that they should hav" all che 
 sacred money ■'^, which the subjects of that republic, wlio 
 had been guilty of criminal actions, expended, to obtain an 
 exemption from the pains of hell*. 
 
 He adds, that, to show the devotion of those times, he 
 will mention the sum which was thus collected in the repub- 
 lic. It amounted to seven hundred and ninety pounds of 
 gold. If by a pound he means twelve ounces, of what 
 weight soever, it was worth thirteen or fourteen times as 
 much silver. A vast sum indeed ! if it be considered, that 
 money was scarce in those days ; that these pious christians 
 emptied their purses to purchase pardons, for the validity of 
 which they had no kii)d of security, except Alexander's 
 bond ; and that, after their departure hence, they could not 
 inform their posterity, whether the pope had guUed^^ them 
 or no. 
 
 * Luther's^ breach was occasioned by the scandalous sale 
 of pardons and indulgences, which all the writers of the 
 popish side give up, and acknowledge that it was a great 
 abuse : so in the countries where the reformation has got an 
 entrance, or in the neighbourhood of them, this'is no more 
 
 ^ Cum ei pecuniam sacram, quam homines in imperio Veneto, vtt cri- 
 minibus et maleticiis obnoxii, ob commissa, post mortem apud inferos 
 poena liberarentur, ex Alexandri Uteris persolverent. 
 
 * In Bembus : apud i/ififros poena. I am obliged to Dr, Warburtori 
 (who since I wrote tliis note is bishop of Gloucester) for having remindr 
 ed me that it should rather be, the pains of purgatory. I might plead, 
 that cur English word hell is lax enough to answer to inferi, or to all the 
 supposed districts of the infernal regions. — But I had rather own that his 
 version is more accurate than mine, and take tliis opportunity to return 
 him my tlianks, and to repay civility with civility. 
 
 As to Bembus, he would ratlier have gone to purgatory himself, than, 
 have defiled his Latinity with the bariiarous word purgatorium. He left 
 us to collect it from his politer phrase, apud inferos poena. 
 
 Erasmus says : 
 
 Nunc passim venditur purga^orise carnificinse remissio ; nee venditur 
 modo, sed obtruditiu- nolentibus, non jam dicam ob cujusmodi causas. 
 Tom. vii. p. 85 I. 
 
 y Indulgences have been granted, says Erasmus, so largely, that poor- 
 Purgafor}' is in no small danger of being stripped of all its inhabitanis. 
 Tom. V. c. 359. 
 
 ^ Burnet, iii. Introd. p. xx. 
 
108 THE LIFE [1518. 
 
 heard of ; and it has been taken for granted, that such an 
 infamous traffic was now no more practised. But of late, 
 tliat we have had armies in Spain and Portugal, we are well 
 assured, that it is still carried on there in the most bare- 
 faced manner possible. It is true, the proclaiming a sale is 
 forbidden by a bull : but there is a commissary in every 
 place, who manages the sale with the most infamous cir- 
 cumstances imaginable. In Spain, by an agreement with 
 the pope, the king has the profits of this bull ; and it is no 
 small branch of his revenue. In Portugal, the king and 
 the pope go shares. Dr. Colbatch has given a very parti- 
 cular account of the managing the bull there : for, as there 
 is nothing so impudent, that those men are ashamed to ven- 
 ture on ; so they may safely do what they please, where the 
 terror of the inquisition is so severe a restraint, that men dare 
 not whisper against any thing that is under that protection. 
 
 ' A notable instance of this hath appeared lately, when, 
 in the year 1709, the privateers of Bristol took the galleon, 
 in which they found five hundred bales of these bulls, and 
 sixteen reams were in a bale. So that they reckoned the 
 whole came to 3,840,000. These bulls are imposed on the 
 people, and sold, the lowest at three ryals, a little more 
 than 20d. but to some at fifty pieces of eight, about 11/. 
 of our money ; and this to be valued, according to the abi- 
 lity of the purchaser, once in two years. All are obliged 
 to buy them against Lent. Besides the account given of 
 this in the Cruising Voyage, I have a particular attestation 
 of it by captain Dampier. — He was not concerned in casting 
 up the number of them ; but he says, that there was such 
 a vast quantity of them, that they careened their ship with 
 them.' 
 
 John Giglis% orDesLis, De Li/iis, an Italian, who was 
 made bishop of Worcester by the pope's authority in 1497, 
 received at the same time from him a right to pardon all 
 crimes whatsoever, and to permit men to retain other 
 people's property, by what method soever they had seized 
 it, provided they gave a certain portion of it to the pope's 
 commissaries or substitutes, 
 
 * \^''lK\rtonj yln^'da Sacra. Bibi. Univ. xxli. 9O. 
 
iJlS.] OF ERASMUS. 109 
 
 Seckendorf, In his History of Lutheramsm, hath confu- 
 ted the falsehoods and cakitnnies of Varilias, Mainibcmrg, 
 Palavicini, Bossuet, and others of the same stamp. He is 
 wilHng to suppose, that Bossuet did not always read the 
 books that he cited, but trusted to extracts given him by 
 others. This was a very pohte and courteous behaviour to- 
 wards a prelate, who understood the craft and mystery, the 
 tricks and finesses of theological controversy, better than 
 honest Seckendorf. 
 
 We will now select a few things, from various authors, 
 which characterize Luther. 
 
 Luther was rough in controversy, or rather scurrilous- 
 His reply to Henry VIII was^ disrespectful. His own 
 friends blamed him for it ; and he condescended to write 
 the king a humble letter, and to beg his pardon. But he 
 had a very unfavourable opinion of sovereign princes, and 
 said, that they were little better than "^ thieves and hi<Th- 
 waymen, and that the greater prince, the greater rob- 
 ber. 
 
 He made a smart remark on the behaviour of Charles V, 
 whom yet he hath commonly treated very courteously : ' I 
 have seen'^, SLiid he, a pretty dog at Lintz in Austna, that 
 was taught to go with a hand-basket to the butcher's sham- 
 bles for meat. Now, when other dogs came about him, 
 and would take the meat out of the basket, he set it down, 
 bit, and fought lustily : but when he saw they would be too 
 strong for him, he himself would snatch out a piece of 
 meat, lest he should lose all. Even so doth our emperor 
 Charles ; who, after he hath a long time defended the spi- 
 ritual livings, and seeth that every prince taketh and raketh 
 the monasteries unto themselves, doth now take possession 
 of some bishoprics, that he may get also partem de tunica 
 Christi.' 
 
 It is to be supposed, that, in Luther's opinion, a man 
 
 ^ Scilicet illis etiamdum temporibus nequaquam tantum discriminis 
 inter principes et privates rieri vulgo solebat, quantum nunc ex moribus 
 Gallicis, per speciem humanitatis in omnem revera ser\'itutem formatis, 
 statuitur. Perizonius, p. 107. Strvpe's Memor. vol. i. p. 60. 
 
 ■: Seckendorf, 1. i. p. 17S. 
 
 ^ Luther's Colloq. Meusal.p. 88. 
 
ilO THE LIFE [1518. 
 
 concerned In the administration of public affairs, who did 
 not take due care of ojie^ and help himself out of the bas' 
 kety was a black swari, or a white crow, or a patriot fetch- 
 ed from More*s Utopia, 
 
 He used also to say, that the pope and his partisans were 
 such incorrigible reprobates, that they ought to be treated 
 in the severest manner, and that Erasmus spoiled all by 
 showing them too much courtesy and respect. 
 
 As he thus lashed the jrapists, so he did not greatly spare 
 his own brethren of the reformation, if they departed from 
 any of his sentiments. He called Zuinghus an ass ; and 
 when Zuinglius and CEcolampadius died, he said hard 
 things of them. 
 
 He ascribed to the devil an amazing power and activity, 
 and imputed to him the wickedness that was in the world, 
 and the resistance that was made to the reformation. He 
 tells many strange stories of apparitions and of diabolical 
 operations. 
 
 He accounted matrimony to be not only lawful, but a 
 duty incumbent upon all who were capable of entering into 
 that state. 
 
 His warmth against indulgences was very pardonable, 
 considering that they were one of the most shocking insults 
 upon common sense and Christianity, that ever appeared in 
 the world. 
 
 One Tetzel% a Dominican, and a retailer of indulgences^ 
 had picked up a vast sum at Leipsic. A gentleman of that 
 city, who had no veneration for such superstitions, went to 
 Tetzel, and asked him, if he could sell him an indulgence 
 before-hand for a certain crime, which he would not specify, 
 and which he intended to commit. Tetzel said. Yes ; pro- 
 vided they could agree upon the price. The bargain was 
 struck, the money paid, and the absolution delivered in 
 due form. Soon after this the gentleman, knowing that 
 
 « Seckendorf, i. 26. 
 
 Melch. Adam, Vit. Frid. Myconii, p. 84, Gerdes. torn. i. p. 73- 
 133. 204. and Append, p. 6q. Gerdesius hath given us a print of Tet- 
 zel. Von der Hardt, part iv. One Wimpina was supposed to be die 
 author of the Theses published under the name of Tetzel. See Bayle, 
 Wimpina. 
 8 
 
1518.] OF ERASMUS. Ill 
 
 Tetzel was going from Leipsic well loaded with cash, way- 
 layed him, robbed him, and cudgelled him ; and told him 
 at parting, that this was the crime for which he had 
 purchased an absolution. George, duke of Saxony, a 
 zealous friend to the court of Rome, hearing of this rob- 
 bery, at first was very angry ; but, being informed of 
 the whole story, he laughed heartily, and forgave the cri- 
 minal. 
 
 The emperor Maximilian^, being at Inspruck, was so of- 
 fended at the wickedness and impudence of this Tetzel, who 
 had been convicted of adultery, that he intended to have 
 him seized upon, and put in a bag, and flung into the river ; 
 and would have done it, if he had not been hindered by the 
 solicitationsof Frederic elector of Saxony, who happened to 
 be there, very opportunely for Tetzel. 
 
 When LutherS^ had published his Theses against Indul- 
 gences, Tetzel, a Dominican, was the first who wrote 
 against him, and opposed him with other Theses. Both of 
 them had learning, and abilities, and impetuosity, says Du 
 Pin ; and so Tetzel publicly burned the Theses of Luther 
 at Frankfort, and Luther burned those of Tetzel at Witten- 
 berg. This is not altogether right ; for, first, Tetzel was 
 a person too mean and worthless to be compared on any 
 account with Luther ; and, secondly, Luther had no hand 
 in burning the contemptible works of Tetzel, but some of 
 Luther's friends did it without his leave. See more concern- 
 ing Tetzel in Seckendorf^ 
 
 In the Amoenitates Literari?e, there is a Latin letter of 
 Tetzel to some person who had spoken slightingly of him. 
 It is in a style not much better than that of the Epistolas 
 Obscurorum Virorum. Tom. iii. p. 24-1. 
 
 Bellarmin, and the abbe Richard, have accused Luther 
 of Arianism'. Their accusation hath no better foundation 
 
 ' Lutlier. Mathesius. Seckendorf, i. l6. 25. Huber, Hist. Civ, 
 Sleidan. 1, xiii. p. 347. 
 
 « Du Pin. 
 
 I'L. i. p. 25.62—64.91. 
 
 ' Erasmus also was fiequently charged with Arianism j but it appears, 
 from his writings, that he was no more an Arian or Unitarian than any 
 of his accusers, 
 
112 , THE LIFE [1518. 
 
 than this, that Luther ^ declared his dislike of the word 
 consubstantial, and said, that the Arians, though other- 
 wise in the wrong, were in the right to reject unscriptural 
 terms, introduced by men who thought that they could 
 speak better upon the subject than the Spirit of God. It 
 appears from Luther's works, that he was not at all in the 
 sentiments of the Arians', and that he also approved at 
 other times even of the word oy-oova-iog' 
 
 He was an enemy to the allegorical and mystical way of 
 expounding the Scriptures, as being precarious, dangerous, 
 tending to fanaticism, and exposing religion to the scoffs of 
 infidels. He also blames those who pretended to interpret 
 the Apocalypse to the people ; and says, that if a divine 
 should preach upon it for twelve months together, neither 
 the pastor nor the flock would at the year's end be edified by 
 it, either in faith or manners. 
 
 Being consulted concerning the divorce of Henry VIII, 
 he disapproved"^ it. 
 
 When" he was informed that they had burned some of 
 his books at Rome, he ordered a fire to be made in the mid- 
 dle of Wittenberg, and there, by way of reprisals, he pub- 
 licly burned the pope's bull, and the Corpus Juris Canonici. 
 
 In like manner, Rantzaw°, bishop of Lubec, having em- 
 braced Lutheranism, ordered all the bells of the city to be 
 rung, and in the presence of the people buried the Book of 
 Decretals. 
 
 ^ Nee est quod mihi Homousion illud objectes adversus Arianos recep- 
 tum, Non fuit receptum a multis, iisque praeclarissimis, quod et Hie- 
 ronymus optavit aboleri ; adeoque non effugerunt periculum, hoc in- 
 vento vocabulo, ut Hieronymus queratur, nescire quid veneni lateat in 
 syllabis et literis ; adeo ut illud Ariani magis quam Scripturas etiam exa- 
 gitabant. — Quod si odit anima mea vocem Homousion, et nolim ea uti, 
 non ero haereticus. Quis enim me coget uti, modo rem teneam, quae 
 in Concilio per Scripturas definita est ? Etsi Ariani male senserunt de fide, 
 lioc tamen oplime, si\ e bono sive malo animo, exegerunt, ne vocem pro- 
 fanani in rebus fidei statui liceret. Scripturae enim sinceritas custodicnda 
 est, nee praesumat homo suo ore eloqui aut clarius aut sincerius, quaiu 
 Deus eloeutus est ore suo. 
 
 ' Srckendort, 1. i. l65, iGG. 1. iii. 24(5. 
 
 " Seekendorf, 1. iii. 112. Colloq. Mensal. p. 447. Str}'pe's Memor, 
 vol. i. p. 230. 
 
 " Du Pin, xili. Qi . Huber. Sleidan, 1. ii. 
 
 ° Longueruana, ii. 145. 
 
K'TIS.] OF ERASMUS. 113 
 
 Luther's Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatianswas 
 his favourite work : he used to call tliis epistle'' /iis uife, 
 his Calharine Bore ; and probably Catharine could bear so 
 harmless a rival witliout any jealousy. 
 
 Luther lived upon very good terms with his Catliarine, 
 and had a great esteem for her j though perhaps he thought 
 her rather too talkative. 
 
 ' A certain learned Englishman^, at Wittenberg, was 
 much conversant with Luther at his table ; but he had not 
 his Dutch language well : therefore Luther said unto him, 
 I will give you my wife for a school-mistress ; she shall 
 teach you finely afid readily to speak Dutch, for she is very 
 eloquent, and so perfect therein, that she far surpasseth 
 me. However, when women are ready in speaking, it is 
 not to be commended : it becomes them much better, when 
 they keep silence and speak little.' 
 
 His favourite doctrine '' was justification by faith alone, 
 and not by works, moral, legal, or evangelical : but we 
 must do him the justice to observe, that he perpetually in- 
 culcated the absolute necessity of good works. According 
 to him, a man is justified only by faith ; but he cannot be 
 justified without works ; and where those works are not to 
 be found, there is assuredly no true faith. Others are of 
 opinion, that the faith which justifies or saves, is to be 
 taken more largely for the whole duty of a christian, that 
 is, for a belief in Christ, a reliance on his promises, and a 
 sincere though imperfect obedience. In favour of this, 
 they may say, amongst other things, that good works must 
 enter into the definition of christian faith, because ' faith 
 itself is a good work.' Tiiey who deny that faith is a good 
 work, must adopt a system of absolute necessity, and say, 
 that in the receiving and entertaining of faith a christian is 
 altogether passive. Thence it follows, T think, that a chris-, 
 tian cannot even consent to receive and keep this divine 
 
 P Ssepc enim Epistolam ad Ga'atas medltandam et expllcandam post 
 hoc tempus, et cum jam in matrimonio dulcissimo cum uxore sua vive- 
 ret, resumens, dixisse aliquando fertur ; Epiitola ad GaliUas est mea 
 Epistola cui me despondi j est mea Catharina de Bora. Seckendort'_, i. 
 139. 
 
 1 Luther's CoUoquia Mensalia, p. 72. 
 
 >■ Seckendorf, i. 134, &c. iii. 120. 
 
 Vol. I. I 
 
114 THE LIFE [I518» 
 
 gift, because consent is an action or operation of the mind : 
 and this brings us to a state of fatality, of quietism, and of 
 self-annihilation. 
 
 He abhorred^ the schoolmen, and called them sophistical 
 locusts, caterpillars, frogs, and lice. 
 
 ' JeromS' said he, ' should not be numbered among the 
 teachers of the church, for he was a heretic ; yet never- 
 theless I believe that he is saved through the faith in Christ.—' 
 I know none among the teachers whom I hate like him ; 
 for he writeth only of fasting, of victuals, of virginity, &c. 
 he teacheth nothing of faith, nor of hope, nor of love, nor 
 of the works of faith. Truly, I would not have v/illingly en- 
 tertained him for my chaplain.* 
 
 He^ was violently prejudiced against Erasmus, after their 
 controversy about free-will ; and represented him to his 
 friends as a profane scoffer, an Arian, an Epicurean, and an 
 enemy to all religion. In this we may safely credit the Col- 
 loquia Mensalia. 
 
 He declared'' himself against persecution, compulsion, and 
 violence, in matters of religion. 
 
 He accounted^ madmen and idiots to be possessed by evil 
 spirits, and physicians to be mistaken in ascribing those disor- 
 ders to natural causes. 
 
 He had no favourable opinion of astrology^, and blamed 
 Melanchthon for regarding it too much. 
 
 He hated Aristotle^, but highly esteemed Cicero, as a wise 
 and good man. ' I hope,' said he, ' that God will be 
 merciful to him, and to such as he was : howsoever, it is not 
 our duty to speak certainly touching that point, but to re- 
 main by the Word revealed unto us ; namely, JVkoso helieV' 
 eth-y and is baptized, the saine shall be saved. Yet never- 
 theless God is able to dispense and to hold a difference 
 among the nations and heathen, but our duty is not to know 
 nor to search after time and measure. For there will be a 
 new heaven and a new earth, much larger and more broad 
 
 * Seckendorf, 1. i. 165. 
 
 * Luther's Colloq. Mensal. p. 355. 
 " Ibid. p. 431,432. 
 
 " Seckendorf, 1. ii. 25, &c. 124. 1. iii. 80. 
 
 >■ Id. l.ii, 125, 
 
 ^ Colloq. Mensal. p. 503. 
 
 = Ibid, p, 509. 
 
1518.] OF ERASMUS. 115 
 
 than now they be. God can give to every one according to 
 his pleasure.* 
 
 He gives his counti'ymen a good character for simplicity 
 of manners: ' The liigh Germans^ are simple, and do more 
 affect the truth than the French, Italians, Spaniards, English, 
 &c. which their lan2;ua!2;os do also show. — The French write 
 otherwise than they speak, and speak otherv^ise than they 
 mean. But the high German tongue is tiie most complete,* 
 &c. In another place he owns that his countrymen loved 
 drinking too much, and were possessed with a thirsty devil, 
 whose name was Quaff. 
 
 He '^ was contented with little, and had a great contempt for 
 money. John of Saxony having made him a present of a 
 coat, he was uneasy at it, and entreated the elector not lo 
 send him any m.ore gifts, since he was not in necessity and 
 distress. 
 
 He was*^' somewhat inclined, once at least, to the opinion, 
 that souls after death sleep till the resurrection. John, the 
 elector of Saxony, died of an apoplexy, as soon as he re- 
 turned from hunting : ' Our good prince,' said Luther, 
 * expired like an infant, without trouble or fear ; and vi^hen. 
 he awakes at the last day, he will imagine that he is just come 
 home from the forest.' In another place'- he observes, that no- 
 thing is clearly revealed concerning the intermediate state of 
 the righteous, and that it becomes us not to decide about it. 
 Yet he hath said sometimes, that the souls of the good are in 
 a state of fehcity ; and this seems to have been his last and 
 his settled opinion. See Bayle, Luther^ not. D. D. who 
 justifies him, on this article, against the calumnies of that 
 prating Thraso, cardinal Perron. 
 
 He was of opinion*, that the Jewish nation would never 
 
 ^ Colloq. Mensal. p. 523. 
 
 ' Seckendorf, 1. ii. p. 137. 
 
 ^ Id. 1. iii. p. 30. 
 
 « Id. 1. iii. p. 190. 
 
 f Id. 1. iii. p. 426. 
 
 But Thurmius says, Meditatiir converslonem Judaeorum Ezardus, cujus 
 jpem ex multis Scripturae locis concepitjoscenditque hac de re locum egre- 
 gium in Postilla Lutheri ad Evangel ium die S. Stephani A. 1543 impressa, 
 quera plane in alium sensum detortum esse oculariter demonstravit, iu 
 editione Wittebergensi 1598, post Lutheri mortem excusa. — ^Amcenit. 
 Literar. t. xi, p. 28 1 . 
 
 12 
 
116 THE LIFE [1518. 
 
 be converted, and that St. Paul's expressions concerning 
 this subject were misunderstood. Erasmus s was of a contrary- 
 sentiment. 
 
 ' When Luther began to preach ^% the Inquisition, which 
 had ceased its pursuits in many places, probably for a scarcity 
 and want of heretics, began to rage with much violence. 
 Many were aftenvards condemned to the flames in Germany; 
 and in France the chancellor Du Prat, primate of the king- 
 dom, made a decree to confirm all the canons of the coun- 
 cil of Lateran against heretics : and upon this occasion the 
 Inquisition was established in France ; and we know not pre- 
 cisely when it was expelled thence.* 
 
 ' We' are obliged to I.uther for having put us under a 
 necessity of studying religion. They only studied the Pa- 
 gans ; and religion was turned to ridicule, as in the Tales 
 of Boccace, Dante, &c. At Padua, as Ludovicus Vives ob- 
 serves, there was a professorship founded to teach Averroes, 
 and none to teach the holy Scriptures : and the university of 
 Turinge'^ was divided into Realists and Nominalists, who 
 not only disputed, but came to blows.' 
 
 ' Luther' in translating the Bible was assisted by the disci- 
 ples of Reuchlin, and hath hit off many places very happily"^. 
 There is much to be learned from his work. He was a 
 master of the German language. By his vehemence and his 
 invectives he drew many after him. It is true, that the 
 minds of men were already disposed, that way. The court 
 of Rome was held in execration, and the ecclesiastics in con- 
 tempt. Notwithstanding all this, if they would have granted 
 the cup" to the laity, and marriage to the clergy, Lutherarism 
 would have come to nothing.' 
 
 s Ecclesiast. t, v. c, 1040. 
 
 ^ Limborcb, Hist. Inq. Sleid. l.xiv. p. 3/8. 
 
 ' Longueruana, i. JQ. 
 
 ^ Tubingen, I suppose. 
 
 ' Longueraana, ii, 78. 
 
 *" St. Aldegonde finds great fault with Luther's Bible. Bayle, Drusius, 
 not. G, "VVetsten. Prdeg. in N. T. p. JSl. 
 
 n In the Amoenit. Literar. there is a letter of Plus IV to the arch- 
 bishop and elector of Mentz, permitting him to grant tlie cup to the 
 laity, but under conditions witli which no Protestant could have com- 
 plied, and which were contrived on purpose to exclude Protestants. It 
 is written A. 150-i. t. iv. u. 501. 
 
15IS.] OF ERASMUS. 117 
 
 ' lAithcr° was so violent, that, writing to a pious and 
 worthy Protestant divine, who was not in his sentiments about 
 the Lord's supper, he applied to him and to his party, by an 
 indecent parody, the first verse of the first Psalm, Blessed^ 
 is the man ivho hatk not walked in the counsel of the 
 Zuitigliam,'' Sec. 
 
 Isaac Vossius^ having told me, that he remembered to have 
 seen in the Tragic Histories of Ban del an elogy given to 
 Luther by Leo X, I consulted that writer, and found it there: 
 Nel principio, Scc.^ 
 
 ' These words Sleidan would certainly have prefixed to his 
 History, if he had known of them.' 
 
 The sense of the passage is, that, at the beginning of the 
 Lutheran troubles, certain Italians meeting together at a 
 friend's house, some of them censured Leo for having neg- 
 lected to put a timely stop to the evil, though Silvester Pri- 
 eras had showed him heretical articles contained in Luther's 
 Remarks on Indulgences. The pope replied most impru- 
 dently, Brother Martni is a fine genius, and his enemies are 
 little envious monks. 
 
 ' When^ my first positions concerning indulgences were 
 brought before the pope, he said, A drunken German wrote 
 them ; when he hath slept out his sleep, and is sober again, 
 he will be of another mind. In such sort he contemneth 
 every man.* 
 
 Luther often apologizes for his bluntness and roughness. 
 I* am accused, says he, of rudeness and immodesty, particu- 
 larly by adversaries, who have not a grain of candour and 
 
 » G.J. VossiiEpist. p. 48, 
 
 p Beatus vir^ qui non abiit in consllio SacramentarioiTim, et in via 
 Zuinglianorum non stetit, et in catliedra Tugurinorum non sedit. 
 
 1 Colomesius, Recueil^ &:c. p. 321. 
 
 •■ Nel principio che la Setta Lutherana comincio a germogliare, essen- 
 do di brigata raolti gentilhuominij ne I'liora del meriggioj in casa del 
 nostro virtuoso signor L. Scijjione Attellano, e di varie cose raggionan- 
 dosi, fuerono alcuini che non pauco biasimarono Leone X ponttiice, che 
 ne i principii non ci mettesse remedio, a Thora che Frale Silvestro Prie- 
 rio, MaesU'o del Sacro Palazzo, gli mostro alcuni puncti d'heresia che 
 Fra Martino Lutero haveva sparso per I'opera, la quale de le indulgentic 
 haveva intitolata ; percioche imprudentemente rispose, che Fra iVIartino 
 haveva un bellissimo ingegno, e che coteste erano invidie Fratesche. 
 
 ' Luther's Colloq. INIensal. p. 30g. 
 
 * Seckendorf, 1, i. 121. ii. 8/. 
 
118 THE LIFE [1518. 
 
 good manners. If, as they say, I am saucy and Impudent, I 
 am however simple, and open, and sincere, and have none of 
 their guile, dissimulation, and treachery. 
 
 Seckendorf " hath fully discussed the bigamy'' of the land- 
 grave of Hesse, and the share which Luther was supposed to 
 have in permitting it. 
 
 One^ of Luther's good friends and disciples was George, 
 prince of Anhalt, who embraced the Protestant religion and 
 preached it himself, and may be ranked amongst the most 
 considerable reformers. 
 
 Luther^ left a widow, and three sonSj and two daughters ; 
 and his family was not extinct^ vvhen Seckendorf published 
 his History, towards the latter end of the last century. 
 
 Whilst the troops'^ of Charles V were ai Wittenberg, in the 
 year 1547, the Spaniards solicited the emperor to pull down 
 Luther's monument, and wanted to dig up his bones : but 
 the emperor had more generosity and prudence than to con- 
 sent to a procedure so base and infamous. 
 
 After^ the Lutheran controversy had been long carried on, 
 many of the monks in Scotland were so learned that they 
 charged Luther with being the author of a wicked book^ 
 called The New Testament, 
 
 " L. iii. 277, &^c. 
 
 ^ See inBayle the story of Gleicheji. 
 
 y Seckendorf, 1. iii. 498, &c. See Melch. Adam. Gerdes, torn, i. p. 65. 
 
 = Seckendorf, 1. iii. 651 . 
 
 ' Ex tertio filio, Paulo Luthero, superesse etianadum illius progenicB 
 fertur. Perizonius, p. 338. 
 
 Perizonius wrote this A. l/Op. 
 
 Melch. Adam hath written the Life of Paul Luther, a doctor of phy- 
 sic, and son of the reformer. 
 
 ^ Violari autem sepulcrum vetnit Carolus, Wittebers^ini armis minis- 
 que ingi-essus, contra quam urgebant Hispani omnes, eo usque infensi 
 Luthero, ut et ossibus ejus invidt-Tent quietem, eaque perinde, ut Husso 
 factum fuerat vivo, rnallcnt cremari ; quos laudatissimus tamcn impera- 
 tor gravissimo sermone castigavit, quando dixit : Nihil rnihi ultra cum 
 Luthero 5 alium ille judicem jam habet, cujus jurisdictionem invadere 
 nostrum non est J ncque mihi cum mortuis bellum esse sciatis, sed cum 
 superstilibus in nos armatis, Cumque animadvertisset Hispanos duci 
 Albano ct episcopo Atrebatensi, suadentibus ejus indignitatem facti, 
 conscntire, severe tandem atque etiaui vitaecapitLsque pencuio sanxit, in- 
 violaUim Lutheri sepulctum ut esset. Junkerus. 
 
 See Bayle, Luther, not. H. H. See also Melch. Adam, Vit. Luth. 
 p. 78. 
 
 <= Perizonius J p. 233. 
 
1.518.] OF ERASMUS. 119 
 
 Luther^' had an uncommon genius, a lively imagination, a 
 good share of learning, a pious and devout disposition, a 
 tincture of melancholy and of enthusiasm, and a great 
 warmth and impetuosity, which impelled him, in his con- 
 troversial works, to insult and ridicule his adversaries. He 
 was fond of music, and both a composer and a performer; 
 which was very good for his mind and body. It expelled 
 melancholy, as he said, and put the devil to flight, who 
 mortally hated music. He entertained a mean opinion of 
 the capacity and disposition of those who had no taste for 
 this excellent art. He also sacrificed'-' to the Graces, and 
 composed some poems, both Latin and German. 
 
 We will conclude his character with these verses, which 
 belong to him much better than to Pollux, Hercules, Au- 
 gustus, and others, to whom Plorace applied them : 
 
 Justum et tenacem propositi virum 
 Non civium ardor prava jubentium, 
 Non vultus instantis tyramii 
 
 Mente quatit solidaj neque Austcr 
 Dux inquieti turbidus Hadriae, 
 Nee fulminantis magna Jovis manus : 
 Si fractus illabatur orbis, 
 Impavidum ferient ruinae. 
 
 Joannes Eckius^(or Eccius), a divine of Ingoldstad, who 
 signalised himself against Luther, wrote a letter to Erasmus, 
 in which, after paying him great compliments, he censured 
 him; 
 
 1. For having said on Matt. ii. that possibly the evangelists, 
 in citing passages from the Old Testament, had not con- 
 sulted those books, but had trusted to their memories, which 
 had sometimes deceived them, as it happens in such cases : 
 
 2. For having observed on Acts x. that the apostles, in 
 speaking and writing Greek, had mixed some idioms of their 
 
 ^ Seckendorf, 1. i. 17, &c. 
 
 * Ibid. 1. iij. 165. 
 
 '"Du Pin, xir. 164. Lutlier gives an account of his death, and be- 
 stows a very vile character upon him. See Seckendorf, 1. iii. p. 468. 
 See also Gerdes. torn. i. p. 20S. Amoen. Lit. torn, vi, p. 354. 398. 
 
 Melanchthon, Epist. p. 76. 772. 778. gives him a very bad character, 
 and represents him as an inhuman persecutor, a sophist, and a knave, 
 virho maintained doctrines contrary to his belief, and against his con- 
 science. 
 
120 TPIE LIFE [151S. 
 
 own tongue ; and had learned Greek, not from the works of 
 Demosthenes and other good writers, but from common 
 conversation : 
 
 3. For havini^ so far preferred St. Jeroni to St. Au- 
 gustin, as to affirm, that it was mere impudence to compare 
 the latter to the former. Hereupon Eckius says, that even 
 the disciples of Erasmus, the Erasmici, as he calls them, 
 complained that their master had never read St. Augustin. 
 
 Erasmus repHed in a long letter, of which some notice 
 shall be taken as we proceed. Ep. 303. 
 
 Nicolas Beraldus, on the contrary, wrote to Erasmus from 
 Paris, exhorting him to proceed as he had begun, and send- 
 ing him compliments and thanks from the learned at Paris, 
 and, amongst others, from Louis de Berquin, of whom we 
 shall have occasion to speak hereafter. 
 
 By these and other letters it appears, that his Paraphrases 
 of St. Paul, which he had begun to publish, were generally 
 esteemed. The ecclesiastics then only attacked his New Tes- 
 tament, and some other of his treatises. 
 
 ' For s the understanding the New Testament, Erasmus's 
 Paraphrase, which was translated into English, was thought 
 the most profitable and easiest book. Therefore it was re- 
 solved, that, together with the Bible, there should be one 
 of these in every parish-church over England.' This was in 
 the year 1.547. 
 
 In the year 1546, the fathers'^ at the council of Trent de- 
 clared the Latin Vulgate to be authentic, for a very good 
 reason : because, if it were necessary to have recounse to 
 the originals, the grammfirians^ and critics would have been 
 more important persons than these ecclcsiasdcs. 
 
 8 Burnet, ii. 27- 
 
 ^ ne scilicet, si ad Graecam aut Hebraicam rccurreiiclum subinde 
 
 esset scripturam, grammatici ejus exponendse, et ila ipsius religionis 
 Christiaiiae, arbitrium supra theologos, quomm paucissimi eas intellige- 
 bant linguas, sibi vindicarent. Perizonius, p. 337- 
 
 ' The grammarians ought cerlainly to give place to tliose who, with- 
 out any assistance from their art and their rules, can perform wonders in 
 literature. This is no ordinary achievement j and it seems to be the 
 characteristic mark which discriminates the genius (as he is called) from 
 the scholar, llie author of llie Persian Letters, observing that some 
 persons gained a comfortable maintenance by leaching what they did 
 not understand, adds, ' II me semble qu'il faut avoir beaucoup d'esprit 
 pour faire cela.' Every sraatterer in your trade (says the Stcivard in 
 
1518.] OF ERASMUS. ISl 
 
 Queen Mary'' put out a proclamation against importing, 
 printing, reading, selling, or keeping heretical books : and 
 it is observable, that the works of Erasmus are reckoned 
 amongst those pestilent books. 
 
 They who were readers and admirers of the works of 
 Erasmus, were not the more inclined to befriend the monks ; 
 and Herman^, count of New Eagle, {comes a Nova 
 jinuila) whose lands lay some miles from Cologn, and who 
 was a warm friend of Erasmus, had a violent quarrel with 
 the Dominicans of that city. James Hochstrat'", their prior, 
 who had made hiniself known by persecuting Reuchlin, 
 publicly calumniated this nobleman, who could find no way 
 to stop his mouth till he had recourse to the following expe- 
 dient : he forbad his vassals and tenants to give any thing 
 to the Dominicans when they came a-begging ; and he 
 persuaded his relations, whose estates were in the neighbour- 
 hood, to do the same, and to let Hochstrat know it. The 
 Dominicans at first thought that it was only threatened in 
 jest ; but when they found that their brethren were roughly 
 repulsed from every door, and could not get their usual 
 collections of eggs, cheese, he. they compelled their prior 
 to make a public recantation ; and this honest man took an, 
 
 Moliere to the Cool:) can send up a good dinner, if he is furnished ^\■ith 
 materials ; but the true spirit and beauty of cookery consists in doing it 
 vithout them, 
 
 Erasmus \vas often called a grammarian by his facetious adversaries; 
 and, if I remember rightly, he replies somewhere to one of them : If you 
 want to strike out {gravimai'ictn) granivicr from the literal arts, you 
 shall have my consent ; provided you will substitute (sycopkanlicen) 
 calumny, tliat we may still have the number seven. 
 
 ^ Collier, Eccl. Hist. 
 
 ' Nucnarius plerumque, item Ni'cf?liiis, Nova: Jquilce s. in Neirenar 
 Comes appellatur. Canonicus primum, deinde Prsepositus summi Colo- 
 niensis tempji. Mauricius comes- de Spiegelberg summa cura in opti- 
 mis Uteris instituendum ipsum a puero curaverat, in Italiam eo nomine 
 ilium ablegans : quas in omni vita sua diligenter colu.t. Is ipse est, qui 
 Kginhartum primus edidit, de Origine Francorum docle ipse comraen- 
 tatus. 
 
 De reliquis excellentissimi hujus ingenii monimentis conferatur Ges- 
 neri Bibliotheca, p. m. 2B5. Quantum vindicatse a barbarie literae 
 Nuenario comiti debeant, et ego summalim exposui in meis de Latins 
 linguce in Ger mania fatis, CvmmenL i^ 331. Burckhard, Comment, 
 de Vit. Hutten. p. 148. 
 
 •" Bayle, Hocfistrat. 
 
122 THE LIFE [_l3l8^ 
 
 oath, that he had always entertained the sincerest respect 
 and esteem for the count, though he had used to revile him 
 in the most scurrilous manner. Erasmus tells the story, 
 Ep. 1031, and alludes to it, Ep. 311. 
 
 Latimer, in an Epistle to Erasmus, calls Chalcondyles" 
 summum doctorem-, and Erasmus, in a preface to Gaza's 
 Grammar, allows him to be virum prohum et eruditum^ 
 though inferior to Gaza. Ep. 301. 
 
 Erasmus received this year a considerable present from 
 Henry VIII. He returns him his thanks for it, as also for 
 the kind offer which the king made him of a handsome 
 maintenance in England for the rest of his life. Without 
 either accepting or refusing this favour, he informs the 
 king, that he should be obliged to spend four months upon 
 his new edition of the New Testament. 
 
 A little time after Erasmus wrote also to cardinal Wol- 
 sey. After some compliments which he bestowed upon Wol- 
 sey, though he loved him not, he complains heavily of the 
 calumnies of malicious men, and haters of literature, who 
 crossed his designs of employing human learning to sacred 
 purposes, and of translating and illustrating the holy Scrip- 
 tures, as he had begun to do. These wretches, says he, 
 ascribe to Erasmus every thing that is odious : like true ca- 
 lumniators, they confound the cause of literature with that 
 of Reuchlin and Luther, though they have no connection. 
 As for me, I never esteemed the Cabala or the Talmud, and 
 never conversed with Reuchlin °, except once at Frankfort. 
 We are only upon those terms of civility which usually sub- 
 sist between men of letters j though, if I had been his inti- 
 mate friend, I should have no reason to be ashamed of it. 
 He hath received letters from me before I knew him by 
 sight ; in which I advised him to refrain from such invec- 
 
 » Hodins, De Grasc. Illustr. p. 211. 221. 
 
 *• Uberrinie de lleuchlini vita disseruit J. H. Majus. — Id unum tamen 
 moncnduni esse duco, eum omnium inter Christiarios primum justam 
 Grammaticam et Lexicon Hebraicum concinnavisse, A. 1506. — Primus 
 etiam, quod sciam, de Accentibus Hebrgeorum scripsit: primus item 
 Christianorum particulam quandam Hebrai Codicis sacri, Psalmos 
 nempe poenitcntiales, A. 1512, orbi deditj cum antea soli Judaei in 
 Italia Soncini, Pisauri, ac Venetiis, operam Bibliis Hebraicis typogra- 
 phi.TP benciicio publicandis navarent, quorum tamen paucissima exirmpla 
 in ClirisdauoriUii manus pervenere. Anioenit. Liter, tpm. xiii. p. 208. 
 
1518.] OF ERASMUS. 125 
 
 tives and Insults as he had inserted in his German Apology, 
 when he was provoked by his enemies. As to Luther, 
 he is altogether unknown to me, and 1 have read nothing of 
 his, except two or three pages ; not because I despise him, 
 but because my own studies and occupations did not give 
 me leisure ; and yet, as I hear, there are persons who ufiirm 
 that I have helped him. If" he hath written well, the praise 
 belongs not to me ; and if he hath written ill, I ought not to 
 bear the blame, since in all his works there is not a line that 
 came from me. — His life and conver.^ation are universally 
 commended ; and it is no small prejudice in his favour, that 
 his morals are unblameable, and that calumny itself can 
 fasten no reproach upon him. If I had really been at lei- 
 sure to peruse his writings, I am not so conceited of my 
 own abilities as to pass a judgment upon the performances 
 of so considerable a divine ; though even children, in this 
 knowing age, will boldly pronounce., that this is erroneous, 
 and that is heretical. I was once against Luther, purely for 
 fear lest he should bring an odium upon literature, which is 
 too much suspected of evil already ; and I know full well 
 how invidious it is to oppose those received opinions which 
 produce so plentiful a harvest to priests and monks. Many 
 theses have appeared concerning papal indulgences : then 
 came out a book concerning confession, and another on pe- 
 jiance ; and some booksellers being disposed to reprint 
 them, I dissuaded them from it very earnestly, lest it should 
 excite a hatred for learning. — He hath published several 
 small tracts, which I have not read, and which no iv?.n ever 
 heard me commend or discommend : for I am not so ex- 
 travagant as to praise, or so addicted to calumny as to cen- 
 sure, what I never saw. Germany hath produced some pro- 
 mising youths, who have eloquence and learning, and of 
 whom she will one day, in my opinion, have reason to 
 boast, no less than England can now boast of her sons. I 
 know none of them, even by sight, except Belius Eoba- 
 nus, Ulricus Huttenus, and Beatus Rhenanus. These 
 men fight their enemies with all the weapons which their 
 natural and acquired abilides have put into their hands. I 
 myself should confess that they take too much hberty, if I 
 did not know how cruelly they have been treated, and how 
 much provoked, both publicly and privately. The monks 
 
124 THE LIFE [1518. 
 
 take upon them to rail most violently, and even seditiously, 
 in their sermons, in the schools, at entertainments, before 
 the illiterate muhitude, and to throw out any thing that their 
 spleen suggests ; and then imagine that it is an unpardon- 
 able crime if the insulted persons say a word in their own 
 defence : and yet even a bee hath a sting to wound her 
 enemy, and a mouse will bite when hard pressed. Whence 
 came this new race of deities ? They call every one a he- 
 retic whom they dislike, and stir heaven and earth when 
 they are called calumniators. A lunatic would be ashamed 
 to act like them ; and yet, forsooth, they expect to be 
 treated with complaisance and veneration ! Such is the con- 
 fidence which they repose in the stupidity of the multitude, 
 not to say of rulers and princes ! 
 
 Thus Erasmus defends himself here, and thus in many 
 other places of his writings ; and we may here observe his 
 reserved caution not to condemn Luther, whilst he con- 
 demned openly enough the conduct and the sentiments of 
 Luther's enemies. His frankness also appears in thus dis- 
 closing his heart to a man who was altogether unworthy of 
 having such confidence reposed in him. Erasmus, it seems, 
 thought it proper to address himself to Wolsey in this free 
 manner, and to plead his cause against those who had tried 
 to make him pass, in the opinion of the cardinal, for a 
 dangerous man, and an innovator. His apology would 
 have been good, if laid before men of honour and honesty ; 
 but to talk at this rate to such an ecclesiastic as Wolsey, was 
 little better than pleading guilty. So Le Clerc observes : 
 but may it not be said that Erasmus, who knew Wolsey 
 well enough, might judge that he ran no great risque in 
 talking thus to a man who both favoured literature, and 
 was not fond of the monks ? Ep. 317. 
 
 Erasmus dedicated an edition of SuetoniusP, which he 
 had revised, to Frederic, elector of Saxony, and to George, 
 a prince of the same house. The first was the patron and pro- 
 tector of Luther ; the latter"- opposed him to the utmost of 
 
 P Maittaire, Ann. Typ. ii. 3l6. 
 
 ^ See aa account of George of Saxony, and of Lutlier's contests 
 and quarrels with this prince, in Seckendorf, 1. i. p. 27/. 1- iii. 
 p. 208 — 214. See also Clarorum Virorum et Sadoleti Epistolse, 
 p. 300. 
 
1518.] OF ERASMUS. 125 
 
 his power. In the dedication he shows them what use was 
 to be made of such histories. Kp. SIS. 
 
 He had published an edition of Suetonius the year be- 
 fore;, with a preface ■" to the reader, which is not in our col- 
 lection of his works. 
 
 He went to Basil to look after the printing of his New 
 Testament ; and Martin Dorpius, who, as we observed, had 
 been his antagonist, sent him from Louvain a civil and 
 friendly letier% to show that he was sincerely reconciled to 
 him. An uncommon thing amongst scholars, and, above 
 all, amongst divines ! So says Le Clerc ; and I am here 
 only his translator. But Le Clerc had felt much of the 
 odium t/ieo/ogicum, which seems not to be so violent now as 
 it was in his time. 
 
 Erasmus greatly commends the rector of Erphort, for 
 having introduced the belles lettres into that academy in a 
 gentle and peaceable manner. I hate tumults, says he ; 
 and I am much mistaken, or more is obtained by moderate 
 counsels than by outrageous violence. It is the duty and 
 the honour of good men so to serve the public as to offend 
 and hurt few persons, and even no person, if that be possi- 
 ble. A cold and contentious theology was become such a 
 nuisance, that it was necessary to return back to the foun- 
 tain-head ; and yet, rather than to drive it out too fu- 
 riously, I should choose to have it mended, and even tole- 
 rated, till something better v/ere ready to supply its place. 
 Luther hath given us good advice on many points : 1 wish he 
 had done it with greater discretion and civility ! more per- 
 sons then would have favoured and defended him, and more 
 good would have accrued to the christian cause. And yet it 
 would be an impiety to leave him undefended where he hath 
 the truth on his side ; for then who will ever dare to stand 
 up for the truth ? It is not for a person of my condition and 
 capacity to pass a sentence upon his doctrine. Hitherto he 
 hath certainly been useful to the world : he hath set men 
 upon studying the fathers, some to satisfy their own minds, 
 and others to plague him, and to hunt out arguments and 
 objections against him. 
 
 This is good advice in the main j but men, like the scho- 
 
 * Appendix^ No. xii. « Ep. 323. See Appendix, No. vii. 
 
126 THE LIFE [1518» 
 
 lastic divines, accustomed to dictate and to bear rule, would 
 not hear of enjoying nothing better than a bare toleration, 
 and even of being obliged to tolerate others. They would 
 sooner have risqued their all than have suffered themselves 
 to be thus taken down, and reduced to defend their cause 
 only by rational arguments. Therefore the tumults, which 
 honest Erasmus so dreaded and abhorred, were a necessary 
 evil in maiiv places where these ignorant rulers would listen 
 to no remon.S' ranees, nor yield up the smallest scrap of their 
 pretended rights. As well might m.en have charmed the 
 Dionysiuses, and other tyrants of antiquity, with philosophic 
 discourses, and have persuaded them to quit their post, and 
 to make due reparation for all the mischief which they had 
 done. Ep. 3 '25. 
 
 This is what Erasmus himself had experienced, as often 
 as he had endeavoured to bring such incorrigible persons to 
 a better mind. This is what he soon experienced again, 
 when he had vHtten his preface to the Christian Soldier's 
 Manual, which is contained in Ep. 329, to Paulus Volzius, 
 an abbot. 
 
 In this Epistle he censures the scholastic divinity, and the 
 life and conversation of the monks, entirely opposite to the 
 useful rules laid down in that httle treatise ; and though his 
 remarks on this subject contain truths most manifest and in- 
 contestable, yet they drew upon him anew the indignation 
 of monks and ecclesiastics. This preface well deserves a 
 serious perusal ; but, as it is a long one, we will only select 
 "a few passages from it. 
 
 We are making preparations*, says he, for a war against 
 the Turks. With what view soever this be undertaken", 
 we ought to pray to God that it may be profitable, not to a 
 few, but to all of us in common. 
 
 If we should conquer them, it is to be supposed (for we 
 shall hardly put them all to the sword) that attempts will be 
 made to bring them over to Christianity. Shall ^ we then 
 
 * He Iiath treated this subject more amply in his Consult, de Bello 
 Turc. torn. v. c. 346. 
 
 ^ Islolim enim hie suspicari, quod tanien heu nimium spepe compertum 
 est ! prastexi belli Tureici runiorem : ut hoc titulo spolietur populus 
 Christinnus, nt omnibus modis pressus fractusque servilius ferat princi- 
 pum utriusque generis tyrannideni, Adag. c, g§S. B, 
 
 * Erasmus was somewhat mistaken. I'he Cluistians of his time, if 
 
1518.] OF ERASMUS. 127 
 
 put into their hands an Occam, a Durandus, a Scotus, a 
 Gabriel, or an Alvarus ? ^Vhat will they think of us (for, 
 after all, they are rational creatures), what will they think, 
 when they hear of our intricate and perplexed subtleties 
 concerning instants, formalities, quiddities, and relations ? 
 what, when they observe our quibbling professors so little 
 of a mind, that they dispute together till they turn pale with 
 fury, call names, spit in one another's faces, and even come 
 to blows ? what, when they behold the Jacobins fighting 
 for their Thomas, and the Minorites for their most refined 
 and seraphic doctors, and the Nominalists and the Realists 
 each defending their own jargon, and attacking that of their 
 adversaries ? What^ must they think when they find it so 
 very difficult a thing to know what expressions may be used 
 when you speak of Jesus Christ ; as if you had to do with 
 a morose and mahcicus daemon, whom you will call forth 
 to your own destruction, if you use a wrong w^ord in the 
 form of evocation, and not with a most merciful Saviour, 
 who requires nothing of you but a purity and simplicity of 
 manners^ ? 
 
 Tell me, I beseech you, what effects will all this produce, 
 when they shall find our lives no better than our divinity, and 
 observe our tyranny, our ambition, our avarice, our rapa- 
 ciousness, our lust, our debauchery, our cruelty, and our 
 oppressions ? With what forehead shall we dare to recom- 
 mend to them the doctrine of our Saviour, so directly con- 
 
 they had been victorious, would certainly have established an Inqiihition 
 in Turkey, and by that method have converted tiiem speedily, and effec- 
 tually stopped the mouths of gainsayers. 
 
 >■ Quid cogitabunt, si videriut rem usque adeo difBcilcm esse, ut nun- 
 quam satis cliscussum sit, quibus verbis de Chrislo sit locjucndum ? per- 
 inde quasi cum moroso quopiam agas ojemone, quern in tuam ipsius per- 
 niciem evocaris, si quid te fetejierit in \erbis prsescriptis, ac non potius 
 cum clementissimo servatore, qui a nobis praeter puiam simplicemque 
 vitam nihil exigit. 
 
 ^ ' If you would convert them,' says he in another place,' * you must 
 give them Christianity in its simplicity, and only ihe apostles' creed.' 
 
 Adferamus lidei pro essionem simplicem vereque apostolicam ; non 
 tam articulis humanitatis addilis oneraiam. Ea potissimum exigamus ab 
 illis, quae nobis aperte sacris volurninibus et apostolorum Uteris tradita 
 sunt. In paucis facilior erit consensus, et facilius constabit.concordia, 
 si in plerisque liberum erit in sue cuique sensu abundarc, tautum ut ab- 
 lit contentio. Adag. c, 96S. C. 
 
128 THE LIFE [1518. 
 
 trary to our behaviour ? The most efficacious way of gaining 
 them would be to approve ourselves the servants and imi- 
 tators of Jesus Christ ; and to convince them that we covet 
 neither their lands, nor their money, nor their wives, nor 
 their daughters, but only desire their salvation, and the 
 glory of our Lord and Master. This is the true and pow- 
 erful theology, which formerly subjected to Jesus Christ the 
 pride of philosophers and the sceptres of princes ; and he 
 himself will aid us when we begin to act thus. Let us show 
 our zeal, not by killing the Turks, and sending millions of 
 unbelievers to hell, but by converting them ; not by utter- 
 ing imprecations against them, but by charitable wishes and 
 fervent prayers for their salvation. If we have no such ho- 
 nest and pious intentions, it is much more likely that we 
 shall become Turks than that they shall become Christians. 
 If the fortune of war, which is ever uncertain, should fa- 
 vour us, the pope indeed and the cardinals will have a more 
 widely-extended empire, but the kingdom of Jesus Christ 
 will not be enlarged ; nor can it flourish except where 
 piety, charity, chastity, peace, and good order flourish like- 
 wise. May it so happen under the auspices of Leo X 1 and 
 this we may hope, unless the vicissitudes of human affairs 
 cross and interrupt his good designs. 
 
 Then he proceeds to give very good lessons to all the re- 
 ligious orders, particularly to the monks, who preferred hu- 
 man institutions to divine commandments, and who made 
 religion to consist in mere forms and ceremonies, and who 
 were more busy and meddling in secular aflairs than even 
 any of the laity. 
 
 Erasmus sets forth all this with vehemence enough ; and 
 if he had not the same impetuous acrimony in his style, 
 which predominated in the writings of Luther, yet tl]e 
 monks were offended at him not a jot less than at Luther ; 
 because the abuses which he attacked were the source of 
 their best revenues, and made them love a monastic life, 
 which else they would have avoided and abhorred. 
 
 When he censures the monks of his own dme, he often 
 affects to speak much in favour of their ancestors, who 
 lived in the days of Chrysostom and Basil. He was some- 
 what prejudiced in behalf of ecclesiastical antiquity, since 
 monkery was the invention of fanatics, and did ten times 
 6 
 
1518.] OF ERASMUS. 129 
 
 more harm than good, even when it was (as he thought) at 
 the best. 
 
 In F.p. 825 he commends Draco^, as a youth of an excel- 
 lent disposition, who was afterwards a Lutheran minister. 
 
 He gives a great character to Leonicenus^, an Ita'ian phy- 
 sician ; and mentions Argyropylus"-" amongst other learned 
 Greeks and Italians. 
 
 Erasmus, whilst he w'as preparing a second edition of his 
 New Testament, had a mind to obtain a brief from Leo*^, 
 which might stamp some authority upon it, and put those to 
 silence w^ho had calumniated the first edition. For this 
 purpose he wrote to some cardinals, who happened to be 
 absent from Rome, and to his friend Bombasius, secretary 
 to the cardinal quaiuor sanctorum, Bombasius served him 
 faithfully on this occasion ; and, with the consent of his 
 cardinal, drew up a form for the brief, designing to send it 
 to the pope for his perusal and approbation, if he thought 
 fit. But an odd accident retarded the expediting of the 
 brief. A French youth, who called himself Silvius, came to 
 Rome a little before this affair, and had pretended to be an 
 intimate friend of Erasmus, and had forged two letters of 
 recommendation from him ; one of whicli he gave to Bom- 
 basius, and the other to Leo, who upon sight of the 
 letter received him very courteously, and even promised to 
 bestow some favours upon him. It happened afterwards 
 that Leo went to Ostia, at the time when Bomibasius received 
 at Rome the letter of Erasmus, and was considering by whom 
 he should send the brief to Ostia. Silvius offered himself 
 quite (i propos, and the cardinal of the four saints gave him 
 a letter of recommendation to the pope. Bombasius wrote 
 also to the secretary, desiring him to return the brief, when 
 Leo had signed it, by the same hand. Silvius, falling sick, 
 sent the letters to Ostia by a messenger, and soon after died. 
 
 » Seckendorf, 1. i. 2/9. 
 
 ^ Medicina loqui coepit apud Italos, opera Nicolai Leoniceni, senis 
 immortalitate digni. Ep. 333. Sumrns eruditionis et innocentioe se- 
 nex philosophus. P. Jovius, Vit. Alphons. p. 198. Bayle, Leonktuus. 
 Pope Blount, p. 342. 
 
 c Hodius, De Graec. lUustr. 187- Huetius, De Clar. Interpr. p. 211. 
 238. 
 
 ^ In Bayle's Dictionary there is a very full and good account of this 
 pope. 
 
 Vol. I, K 
 
130 THE LIFE [1518. 
 
 The pope and his secretary, knowing nothing of this, made 
 great inquiry after him to give him the brief, and to bestow 
 some present upon him for the sake of Erasmus. The 
 youth having thus disappeared, the papers were sent to 
 Rome by another hand. Erasmus received the brief, but, 
 as he says, knew not this story till many years were elapsed. 
 The brief is prefixed to his New Testament. Ep. 335. c. 1 257. 
 
 Albertus, cardinal and archbishop of Mentz, wrote a 
 most obliging letter to Erasmus, much desiring*^ to see him, 
 and highly commending his New Testament ; and made 
 him a present of a silver cup^. 
 
 Erasmus returned to Louvain ; and, in a long letter to 
 his friend Rhenanus, gives a ludicrous account of his jour- 
 ney, and of the calamities which befell him on the road ; 
 and complains of some boils which came out in certain 
 parts of his body, and which an ignorant surgeon took to 
 be the plague. A letter proper enough, it may be, for a 
 familiar accjuaintance, but hardly for the public ; and con- 
 taining a detail of his grievances fit to have been communi- 
 cated to his apothecary, and to turn the stomach of a reader 
 not the most squeamish. Yet he recommends the perusal 
 of it to several of his correspondents, who might find in it 
 the small remains of an unpolite education, which his inter- 
 course with men of fashion had not quite removed. Ep. 
 i357. 
 
 It appears from his letters that he held correspondences 
 with many prelates and nobles ; and he often mentions it, 
 not out of vanity, for perhaps no learned man was ever less 
 infected with that silly disease, but because it procured him 
 
 * cepit nos ingens quoddam te videndi desiderium : quippe nihil 
 
 magis ex dignitate nostra arbitrati sumus, quam cum nos Dei Opt. Max. 
 benighitate in principem episcoporum locum evecti simus, cum virum, 
 qui non per Germaniam modo, sed universam prope Europam^, in literis 
 principalum obtineatj complecti ac fovere, Ike. Ep. 334. 
 
 ^ Insignis ille heros, Albertus cardinalis Moguntinensis, cujus divinas 
 flotes tu nuper cominus es admiratus, mihi poculum dono misit, cum 
 ampluni et grave, turn opere spectanduni. Addit se id dare milii ipsum 
 iugienli, majorem experturo benignitatem, si mei fecero copiam. Dig- 
 iium nirairum munus, quod a tali priiicipe mittereturj sed Erasmus 
 dignior qui Samiis bibat. Quin et nomen indidit. Ait vocari poculum 
 anions — ex quo qui biberint, protinus benevolentia mutua conglutinari. 
 Si vera sunt hsec, utinam tlieologi Lovanienses ex eo poculo mccum po- 
 tussent ante annos duos. Ep. 372. 
 
1518.] OF ERASMUS. 131 
 
 respect from some who paid no regard to real merit, and 
 served to humble and repress those who called him a he- 
 retic. Ep. 353. 356, 
 
 The divines of Louvain began this year to exclaim more 
 than ever against his New Testament, as it appears from 
 Ep. 356. 375, where Erasmus defends himself very skil- 
 fully against their accusations, as we will show by some 
 extracts : for, as the spirit of calumny operates much in the 
 same manner in all times and places, the apologies which 
 learned men have made for themselves ought not to be over- 
 looked and forgotten, and may be more useful to us than 
 we commonly apprehend. 
 
 There are none, says he, who bark at me more furiously 
 than they who never saw even the outside of my book. 
 Try the experiment upon any of rhem, and you shall find 
 that I tell you what is true. When you meet with one of 
 these bawlers, let him rave on at my New Testament till he 
 hath made himself hoarse, and out of breath : then ask him 
 gently whether he hath read it. If he hath the impudence 
 to say, yes ; urge him to produce one passage that deserves 
 to be blamed. You will find that he cannot. Consider 
 now whether this be the behaviour of a Christian, or 
 suitable to the profession of a monk, to blacken before the 
 populace a man's reputation, which they cannot restore to 
 him again, though they should attempt it, and thus to rail at 
 things of which they are entirely ignorant ; never consider- 
 ing the declaration of St. Paul, that slanderers shall not in- 
 herit the kingdom of heaven. Of all the vile ways of de- 
 faming a man, hone is more villanous than to accuse him of 
 heresy ; and yet to this they have recourse upon the slightest 
 provocation. As amongst the Swiss, if one of the multi- 
 tude Hit up hie finger, and give the signal, all the rest, as 
 they say, do the same, and run to pillage ;S cq when one of 
 this monkish herd hath begun to grunt, all the rest grunt 
 also, and stir up the populace to stone their enemies, for- 
 
 c Simul atque isto ex grege unus quispiam grunnire coepeiit, mox 
 grunniunt universi, et apud populum quiritantes ad saxa provocant j 
 velut, obliti professionis suae, non aliud professi sint quam ut virorum 
 bonorum nomina linguae sulc vinilentia coutaminent 3 ac prorsvis juxta 
 psalmographi vaticinium, acuerunt linguas suas sicut serpen!i;s, ventniim 
 aspidum sub labiis eorum, &c. 
 
 K 2 
 
132 THE LIFE [1518. 
 
 getting the character which they assume, and making it their 
 only occupation to throw dirt at honest men. 
 
 So it was in the days of Erasmus, and so it hath been 
 since : the same tragi-comedy hath been represented by dif- 
 ferent actors, and upon different stages. 
 
 In another letter Erasmus repels the attacks of some 
 monk, who had written like a barbarian, and reasoned like 
 an idiot. 
 
 This adversary had censured Erasmus for departing in 
 divers places from the Vulgate, which he supposed, as it 
 then stood, tD have been the true version of Jerom. Eras- 
 mus says that he had left every one at liberty to make use of 
 the Vulgate, if he were so disposed ; but that he had a right, 
 as he thought, to make a better version, and more conform- 
 able to the original. 
 
 The man had complained that Erasmus dared to repre- 
 hend even Jerom and Augustin ; and he added, that there 
 had been doctors appointed {ad glozandum.) to write glosses 
 upon them, and not upon the New Testament of Erasmus. 
 As if, says Erasmus, we ought to defend and palliate all 
 their mistakes, because, forsooth, they were greater men 
 than we ! On the contrary, we ought sooner to excuse the 
 defects of the weak and the simple, as a child is more ex- 
 cusable than a man. And accordingly we make more al- 
 lowances for the writings which those two fathers composed 
 in the days of their youth than for their later productions. 
 The divines will have a fine time of it, and be well helped 
 up, if it be required of them to defend, at all adventures, 
 every passage that hath dropped from the pens of the fa- 
 thers ! If the fathers have said what is right, why should 
 not we be permitted also to say it after them ? Why do 
 you censure in us what you approve in them ? If they 
 have erred, why do you reprove us for erring along with 
 them, and yet vindicate them at the same time ? What a 
 spirit, and what a conduct is this, to defend the antients, 
 and to wink at their faults, and to revile and calumniate 
 every thing in the works of the moderns ! 
 
 The same spirit hath been as predominant in the seven- 
 teenth and eighteenth centuries. Amongst the Protestants, 
 how many divines have suffered interpretations of the Scrip- 
 tures given by Luther, Mclanchthon, Calvin, Beza, &;c. to 
 
1518.] OF ERASMUS. 133 
 
 pass unccnsiircd, and have insulted persons who adopted 
 those very Interpretations ! Men have been branded with 
 the odious appellations of heretics and latitudinarians, for 
 speaking and writing like some men who were allowed to 
 be orthodox. Ep. 375. 
 
 In the next Epistle Erasmus defends himself against Ec- 
 kius, and says, 
 
 1. That when he had supposed the apostles capable of 
 making slips of memory, he had not affirmed it for certain, 
 and had only spoken after St. Jerom ; and that the autho- 
 rity of the Scriptures would not be invalidated, though such 
 small inadvertences should be found in them, in points of 
 little or no consequence, especially as it was not clear and 
 evident how far divine inspiration v\as to be extended : 
 
 2. That it was by no means certain that the apostles re- 
 ceived the Greek language by inspiration ; and that there- 
 fore it was no wonder if they wrote it ill and unelegantly : 
 
 3. That though he had no small esteem for St. Augustin, 
 yet he judged him far inferior to Jerom, upon many ac- 
 counts, and in many respects. He wonders at the rash 
 boldness of those who affirmed that he had never read Au- 
 gustin, though he had cited him so frequently ; and he de- 
 clares that he found more christian^ philosophy in one page 
 of Origen, whom Jerom had much studied, than in ten of 
 Augustin. 
 
 Beza afterwards censured Erasmus' for having entertained 
 a mean opinion of the style of the New Testament. 
 
 In this Epistle Erasmus makes some mention of Philel- 
 phus'^, as also in Ep. 411. c. 1798. 
 
 ^ Plus me docet Christianse philosophiae unica Origenis pagina, quam 
 decern Augustini. 
 
 ' See Act. Erudit. xxvi. 520. 
 
 •* Philelphi Epistolce, honnes. Scaligevan. p. 310. Mcmoires pour la 
 Vie de PhiJelphe. Memoires de 1' Academic des Belles Lettres, t. xv. 
 p, 531, Hodius, De Graec. lUustr. p. 50. Huetius, De Clar. Interpr. 
 p. 21S. Pope Blount^ p. 331. Franciscus Philclphus, vir ille quidem 
 eruditus, sed noiinunquam plus satis (piXavros. Erasmus, Vita Hiero- 
 nymi, 
 
 Philelphus, cum amplissimis stipendiis ob famam et auctoritatem no- 
 rainis sui publice duceretur (sexcentos namque aureos nummos quotan- 
 nis habebat) tamen adeo inutiliter erat prodigus, ut consumtis bonis om- 
 nibusj ad extremum pro beneficio habuerit, se in xenodochium Medio- 
 lanense recipi, ibidemque mori. Insulanus, Orat. in Obitum Erasmi. 
 
134« THE LIFE [1518. 
 
 Gulielmus Croius, cardinal and archbishop of Toledo, 
 had declared himself (in conversation perhaps, or in some 
 letter to Erasmus) for the opinion of the Stoics concerning 
 the chief good, that it consisted in virtue, which always is 
 its own reward. Erasmus writes him a letter, in which he 
 prefers the doctrine of the Peripatetics, who add to virtue 
 the gifts of nature and of fortune, as necessary ingredients 
 in human happiness ; and then gives good moral advice to 
 the cardinal, who was very young. 
 
 Croius received this letter as a sort of civil challenge, and 
 wrote back a polite defence of his sentiments^ to which Eras- 
 mus replied again as politely. 
 
 If Croius wrote the letter himself, he must have been no 
 small genius. But who knows that ? He mentions Ludo- 
 vicus Vives in it ; and Vives was at that time his preceptor, 
 anci probably his assister also in composing this pretty 
 Epistle. Ep. 349, 350, »51. 
 
 He' was cut off in the fiov/er of his youth, and Erasmus 
 affectionately laments his death. He is said to have been 
 poisoned"^ by the Spaniards. 
 
 In a letter" to VVarham he proposes to end his days in 
 England ; and talks in the same way to Colet. 
 
 He° speaks like a man of letters concerning the discomfort 
 of attending courts, and of being employed by princes. 
 
 ' Perilt Gulielmus Croius, et periit veluti flosculus tener in ipso ex- 
 ortu succisus, simulque nos docuit, nihil esse satis firnii praesidii in rebus 
 fortunse arbitrio subjeclis. — Quid optari poterat a fortuna, quod illi non 
 afFatim fuerat ultro largita ? Generis antiquissima stemmata, turn pa- 
 truus, sic apud Carolumnostrum giatiosus, ut penes unum propemodun'^ 
 videatur esse imperii summa : aetas viren'^, nondum enira egressus erat 
 annum vigesimuni terlium : corpus vegetum ac firmum : tarn multiplex 
 dignitas, ut in iilo vix eluceret majestas galeri cardinalitii : moruni mira 
 fai.ilitas candorque : toto pectore tavebat bcjuis studiis, nee oderat Eras- 
 mum, (erte Vives nostcr Meceenatem amisit, qualem posthac haud fa- 
 cile nanciscetur. Ep. 5(55.. 
 
 n> Seckendorf, 1. i. p, 151. 
 
 " Ubicumijue terrarum ero, tuus ero clientnlus. — Est animus in An- 
 gliam vtlut secessum quendam abditum semotuiuque demigrare, et con- 
 lido !ore, ut tua benignitas fortunulas nostras aiigeat ; quandoquidem in 
 dies acce Ut senium, et quotidie magis ac magis intelligo postremum ca- 
 put libri Ecclesiastss. — Numquam mihi videbor infelix, te incolumi, 
 ip 2^9. c. 16"73. et Ep. 305. c. 16QO, 
 
 o Morus adhuc est Caleti, mugno, ut apparet, cum taedio, turn 
 sumtu, et in negotiis longe odiosiisimis. Sic reges bcant amicus : hoc 
 
1J18.] OP ERASMUS. 135 
 
 HeP gives Longolius a great character. 
 
 Hei observes of Wolsey, that he was a promiser rather 
 than a performer of favours, and usually liaughty and for- 
 bidding in his behaviour. 
 
 He wrote a friendly letter to Oecolampadius, in which he 
 highly commends Melanchthon'^ ; though at that time he 
 was displeased with him for having spoken slightingly'' of 
 his New Testament. 
 
 He was also a little dissatisfied with his antient patron 
 Montjoy, and thought him rather too cold and too stingy ^ 
 So he says to Sixtinus and to More. 
 
 In a letter to Bombasius, he complains also grievously of 
 his friend Richard Pace", who had been guilty of no small in- 
 discretion, and in a silly book had, between jest and earnest, 
 
 est a cardinal ibus adamari. Sic et Pacseum jam supra biennium apud 
 Elvetios relegatum detinent. Ep. 344. 
 
 p Juvenis, vU ex illius intelligo scriptis, cum ad omnes bonas disci- 
 plinas, turn ad eloquentiam factus. Hie, ni fallor, unus est eorum qui 
 mox Erasmi nomen obscurabunt. Verum ea res mihi voluptati estj 
 quando mei nominis jactura lucnim est reipublicae literariae. Ep. 347. 
 
 1 Cardinalis perbenigne pollicetur ; veram haec aetas non moratur len- 
 tas spes. — Complexus est me cardinalis Eboracensis, non passim comis 
 aut facilis. Ep. 352, 353. 
 
 •■ De Melanchthone et sentio praeclare, et spero magnifice, tantum ut 
 eum juvenem nobis Christus diu velit esse superstitem. Is prorsvis ob- 
 scurabit Erasmum. Ep. 354. 
 
 ^ Quin et Melanchthon vocem se dignain (perhaps it shovdd be indig- 
 nam) emisit, se multa reprehensurum in Novo Testamento, ni essem 
 amicus Reuchlino. Ep. 289. c. l6S2. 
 
 * Montjoius sai similis estj aut promittit, aut queritur. Ep. 26l. 
 c. 1669. jNliror tVigus Mecsenatis vetustissimi Montjoii } sed uxor opi* 
 nor et filius augent na'iur?e vitium. Ep. 311. c. 1694. 
 
 " Sciebam Richardum Pacaeum hominem esse moribus plane niveis, 
 integrum, liberum, sic amicum amico, ut non alius aeque, TToAuyAwrrov, 
 TTOAu/xafi-^, sed tamen optarim illius nomine libellum eum, De utilitate 
 studioriun, editum non fuisse. Scio doctos, quos non paucos habet Bri- 
 tannia, longe aliud ingenii doctrinaeque specimen ab illo expectasse. Si 
 serio sciipsit, quid illic serium ? sin joco, quid ibi festivum ? postremo 
 nihil illic constat aut cohaeret sibi, sed velut aegri somnia, &c. Delude, 
 quid opus erat Erasmum tolies traducere, nunc ut esiu-ientem, nunc ut 
 theologis invisum ? Certe cum primis theologis mihi probe convenit : 
 et famelicus ille quotannis supra trecentos ducatos possideo ; praeter ea 
 quae ex Mecaenatum liberalitate meisque laboribus accedunt j plura ha- 
 biturus, si libeat ; quidvis habiturus, si vel paulum me velim principum 
 negotiii immergere. Adeone quicquid in mentem venit, illico chartis 
 illinendum putar ? — Ego certe ilium nondum tantum quantus nunc est, 
 aliquanto honorificentius tracta\ i in meis Chiliadibus. Ep. 275. c. iQjO. 
 
136 THE LIFE [1518. 
 
 represented Erasmus as a beggar, and a beggar hated by the 
 clergy*. I am, says Erasmus, neither the one nor the other. 
 He makes the same complaints to More, and advises him to 
 exhort Pace, since he had so little judgment, rather to con- 
 fine himself to translating Greek writers, than to venture 
 upon works of his own invention, and to publish such mean 
 and contemptible stuff. Ep. 2ST. c. 1681. 
 
 But this disgust soon passed away, and Erasmus speaks 
 of him afterwards with much affection and esteem, Ep. 483, 
 and in many other places. 
 
 * Pace^ had been one of the most particular friends of 
 Erasmus, and their acquaintance was of an early date. Pace 
 was trained up at school, as we are told by Wood, at the 
 charge of Thomas Langhton, bishop of Winchester, to 
 whom he was amanuensis. The bishop, being much pleased 
 with his proficiency, sent him to Padua, to improve him- 
 self. There he met v/ith Tonstall and W. Latimer, by 
 whom he much profited. Upon his return, he settled at 
 Queen's college in Oxford : thence he was sent for to court, 
 his accomplishments rendering him very acceptable to 
 Henry VIII, who made him secretary of state, and employe^ 
 him in matters of high concern. Though so much immersed 
 in political affairs, he went into orders, and had some pre. 
 ferments given to him whilst he was employed in foreign 
 embassies. Upon the death of dean Colet in 1519, he 
 succscded him at St. Paul's. Thus far the bright part of his 
 life : for, some years afterwards, whilst he was upon public 
 business at Venice, he fell under the displeasure of Wolsey ; 
 for which two reasons are assigned ; first, that he had showed 
 a readiness to assist Charles duke of Bourbon with money, 
 for whom the cardinal had no great affection ; and, secondly, 
 that he had not forwarded the cardinal's designs of getting 
 the papacy. Upon these two reasons he was sadly distressed 
 by that great man, who stopped his allowance, and almost 
 starved him, and pursued him with the utmost vengeance, so 
 that it did at last bereave him of his senses ; though he had 
 some lucid intervals, in which he remonstrated to the king 
 agjiinst his ill usage. But the cardinal was too hard for 
 him, and he was confined in the Tower two years. He re- 
 
 * See Appendix, No. xv. ^ Knight, p. 37, 
 
1518.] , OF ERASMUS. 1S7 
 
 signed his two deaneries of St. Paul's and Exeter a little be- 
 fore his death ; and retiring to Stepney for his hcakh, he 
 there died, and was buried in ] 532, not being quite fifty years 
 old. Leland's Encomium, on his return from Venice, con- 
 tains an elegant and just character of him. 
 
 ' Erasmus, as he had a great opinion of Pace for his can- 
 dour and sweetness of temper, so he was much afflicted at 
 his misfortunes, and could never forgive the man that caused 
 them. And it much rejoiced him to hear^ that he had reco- 
 vered himself, and was restored to his places again, &c. 
 
 ' As Pace succeeded Colet in the deanery of St. Paul's, it 
 had been well if he had used his caution too in absenting 
 himself from court, after the cardinal came to be prime mi- 
 nister. Colet had too much of the humble Chrisdan, and 
 of the reputed heretic, to be favoured by Wolsey, and 
 therefore avoided being concerned with him. Having told 
 Erasmus in a letter that Wolsey had the supreme command, 
 he adds that he himself was going to retire from the world.* 
 
 ' There is extant a remarkable letter^ of Pace to the king, 
 written in the year 1527, wherein he very honestly gives his 
 opinion concerning the divorce. Fiddes himself tells us 
 that Pace always used a faithful liberty to the cardinal, which 
 brought him at last to confinement and distraction.' 
 
 It was impossible for Wolsey to be a sincere friend to Eras- 
 mus, because Erasmus was patronized by Warham, between: 
 whom and Wolsey there was no good understanding ; and 
 because the great praises which Erasmus frequently bestowed 
 upon the archbishop would be interpreted by Wolsey as so 
 many slights and affronts passed upon himself. Erasmus, 
 in his preface to Jerom, says, amongst other things, of War- 
 ham, that he used to wear plain apparel ; that once, when 
 Henry VIII and Charles V had an interview, Wolsey took 
 upon him to set forth an order, that the clergy should appear 
 
 y Exsilii prae gaudio, Pacaee cliarissime, quum viderem illam mihi 
 non ignotam manum, acciperemque te tantis calamitatibus ac malorum 
 naufragiis incolumem enatasse, ac pristinae etiani dignitati restituUun. 
 Hoc mihi gralius fuit, quam si quis angelatos misisset sexcentos. Video 
 non dormire Numen, quod et innocentes eruit, etjeroces dejic/t. — Post 
 fatales istas tem[)estates, conlido posthac tibi serena tranquillaque for© 
 omnia, &c. Ep. 10tj7. 
 
 ^ Knight's Append^^ p. xxv. 
 
IBS THE LIFE [1518. 
 
 splendidly dressed In silk or damask ; and that Warham 
 alone, despising the cardinal's commands, came in his usual 
 clothes. In his dedication of Jerom to the archbishop, he 
 gives him this title, ' Sedis apostolicas legato nato,' Sic. 
 He probably intended to intimate, that even in this respect 
 Warham was equal, if not superior, to the cardinal. 
 
 Wolsey W2LS not one of those who have so happy a memory 
 as to forget nothing besides discourtesies : he was proud and 
 vindictive ; and such a man, if he be offended at you, will 
 hate not only you, but all those whom you love, and by 
 whom you are beloved : 
 
 -exurere classem 
 
 Argivum, atque ipsos cupiet submergere ponto, 
 Unius ob noxiim. 
 
 Erasmus, in a letter to Moi-e^, informs him what favours 
 he had received from the old bishop of Basil, and praises the 
 inhabitants of that city^\ 
 
 In a letter to Tonstall he defends the words hiemo^ and 
 exallo, which he had used in his New Testament, and 
 which that learned prelate had blamed too hastily. 
 
 He had a great loss this year in the death of Sylvagius, 
 chancellor of Burgundy, and his singular friend and patron. 
 j:p.299. c. 1688. 
 
 ^ Epi Scopus BasileensiSj vir admodum nadi grandis, integer et erudi- 
 tus, dictu mirum qua me sit huraanitate prosecutus, homo alioqui mul- 
 toium consensu non admodum benignus : nam hunc naevum reperiunt 
 in tarn formoso corpore, Invitavit, complexus est, ornavit testimonio 
 vocis suae, obtulit pecuniam, fortunam, donavit equum, quern, vix por- 
 tam egressus, statim quinqaaginta florenis aureis vendere potui, Para- 
 veiat poculum argenteum, veium aurifaber illi verba dederat, id quod 
 indigne tulit. Eloqui vix possum, quantopere mihi placeat boo ctrlum 
 Easileense, quantopere genus hominum : nihil illis amicius, nihil since- 
 rius, Q.uot me comitabantur equis abeuntem, quibus lacrimis dimise- 
 runt ! — Enchiridion exosculantur omnes. Jd cpiscopns JBasiloen.-.is sem- 
 per circumfert. Vidi margines omnes ijisius nianu depictas. Sed desi- 
 no hac, ne gloriosulus videar : quanquam apud Moruvi non verear vel 
 ineptire. Ep. 364. 
 
 . *> A Basle il y a de belles fillcs. — Easilea est valde sahibris. — Ex Basi- 
 kensi Bibliotheca omnes boni libri sunt excusi ; libenter dabant mutao 
 libros cum cautione fcufficienti. Scaligeran. p. 48. 
 
 ^ Miror tibi displicuisse hicfiuire, (juod toties habeatur apud Caesarem. 
 ■ — i-'.w/i'rtrt'reperimus apud Columeilam. Ep. 282. c. l6"79. See Ges- 
 ner's Thesaurus. 
 
1518.] OF ERASMUS. 139 
 
 The S06th is a friendly letter to Erasmus from Richard 
 Sampson*^, who was employed by Wolsey. 
 
 ' Erasmus"^ was acquainted with him first at Cambridge, 
 and then at Tournay, where Sampson used . his utmost en- 
 deavours to procure a prebend in that church for his friend 
 Erasmus. 
 
 ' Sampson was first of Clement's Hostel, and then of 
 Trinity hall ; and afterwards dean of the royal chapel of St. 
 Stephen, and chaplain to the king. Being neglected by 
 Wolsey, he wrote him an expostulating letter for preferment, 
 which succeeded not at that time, though he became at 
 length bishop of Chichester. In 1 543 he was translated to 
 Lichfield, and was of the king's privy council, and sent 
 abroad in embassies : but this was after he had written a book 
 in vindication of the supremacy ; the cardinal ever bearing 
 hard upon those who would not run the lengths he would 
 have them.* 
 
 * The bishop of Chichester^, Sampson, though a man 
 compliant in all things, and Dr. Wilson, were exempted out 
 of the general pardon, for no other crime, but that Abel, 
 who suffered for denying the king's supremacy, being in the 
 greatest extremity of want and misery in prison, where it 
 was said he was almost eaten up by vermin, they had sent 
 him some alms. — Sampson, though he fell into this disgrace 
 for an act of christian pity, yet hitherto had showed a very 
 entire compliance with all that had been done. He had pub- 
 lished an explanation on the first fifty Psalms, which he 
 dedicated to the king ; in which as he extolled his proceed- 
 ings, so he ran out into a severe invective against the bishops 
 of Rome, and the usurpations and corruptions favoured by 
 that see, and he reflected severely on Pole. Pole's old 
 friend Tonstall did also, in a sermon at St. Paul's, in his grave 
 y^ay, set forth his unnatural ingratitude.* 
 
 Erasmus s had a great share of favour from most of the 
 
 ^ Burnet's Hist, of the Ref. i. 215. Fiddes's Life of Wolsey, p. l6l. 
 See Strype's Memor. vol. i. p. 154. 324. 
 «^ Knight, p. 43. 
 ^ Bumet, iii. 14Q, 
 • Knight, p. 43. 
 
140 THE LIFE [151 S. 
 
 cardinal's domestics, from Burbank'^, Level, Tones, Philips, 
 Francis, Gonel, and Clement*. 
 
 William Burbank was known at Rome to Erasmus, who 
 acknowledges many favours received from him. He was 
 secretary to the cardinal, and promoted by him to the pre- 
 bend of South Grantham, in the church of Sarum. He 
 ■was a Cantabrigian. Thomas Lovel was sub-dean of Wells, 
 and vicar-general to the bishop. Robert Tones', or Tone- 
 sius, was the cardinal's counsellor. Philips is said by Eras- 
 mus to be a zealous friend, and a youth of a most promi- 
 sing genius. Francis was the cardinal's physician. Eras- 
 mus was very intimate with him, and, after the death of 
 Linacer'^, used to apply to him for advice under his frequent 
 iruilispositions. Gone! was acquainted with Erasmus at 
 Cambridge, and was probably one of the cardinal's domes- 
 tic chaplains. John Clement had been tutor to sir Thomas 
 More's children, at whose recommendation Wolsey m^ade 
 him professor of rhetoric and of Greek at Oxford. He 
 was also of the College of Physicians at London. He left 
 England for the sake of religion : in queen Mary's reign 
 he returned home, and practised in his faculty ; but when 
 queen Elizabeth came to the crown, he went over to Mech- 
 lin, and there died in 1572. 
 
 In an Epistle to More, Erasmus ' speaks very ludicrously 
 
 ^ Ep. 526. 
 
 * John Clement, willi some otlier papists, was excepted from a ge- 
 neral pardoiij granted by Edward VI. A. 1552. Strype's JNIcmor. vol. ii. 
 p. 396. 
 
 »"Ep. 701. 
 
 '^ Ep. 431. c. 1813. Ep. 432. c. 1815. 
 
 ' Pontifex, et principes aliquot, novas agiuit comoedias, praetexentes 
 bellum in Turcas horribile. O miseros Turcas ! ne nimium saeviamus 
 t.'hristiani, Illud etiam ad uxores pertinet. Cogentur arma sumere 
 niariti omnes, minores quinqviaginta annis, majores viginti sex. At in- 
 terim prohibet pontifex ne uxores absentium in bello, donii voluptuen- 
 tur, sed abstineant a cultus clegantia, ne utantur sericis, auro, aut gem- 
 mis ullis, fucum nullum attingant, vinum ne bibant, jejunent dicbus 
 alternis ; quo raagis Deus faveat maritis in bello tamcruento versantibus. 
 Quod 61 qui erunt, qui domi negotiis necessariis alligantur, nihilo mi- 
 nus uxores servent eadem, qajc servanda fuerant maritis in bellum pro- 
 fectis. Dormiant in codem cubiculo, sed lectis divis?e j nee osculum 
 interim detur ; donee bellum hoc tcrribile favente Christo feliciter con- 
 fectum faerit, iscio hscc molesta fore multis uxoribv;s_, non satis per- 
 3 
 
1<$18.3 OF ERASMUS. 141 
 
 of the projected war against the Turks, and of the severe 
 mortitications imposed by pope Leo upon the wives of all 
 who should bear arms in that expedition ; and throws out 
 a jest upon More's spouse en passant. 
 
 He was politician enough to discern that It was a mere 
 villanous trick, designed to raise money, or a scheme to em- 
 ploy the troops for other purposes. 
 
 In a letter directed to Warham, and which begins with 
 * MecKuas optime,' &c. he desires him to intercede with the 
 king for some small subsidy, of which he stood in need, and 
 to give him a horse. But here must be some error ; for in 
 the same letter mention is made of the archbishop's wife and 
 children. Perhaps it should have been inscribed to lord 
 Montjoy. Ep. 312. c. 1694. 
 
 In a letter'" to Fisher he supplicates for a horse : he also 
 complains of the coldness of the king iind the cardinal, and 
 of the wickedness of the court of Rome, and talks of 
 coming to settle in England. 
 
 In Ep. 377, to Bombasius", he mentions, amongst other 
 learned Englishmen, John Stockeslie. 
 
 ' Stockeslie° was fellow of St. Mary Magdalen college in 
 Oxford, and made principal of Magdalen hall ; afterwards 
 
 pendentibus negotii magnitudineni; quanquam uxorem tuam pro sua 
 pradentia, proque pietate in rem religionis Christianae, scio libenter 
 etiam obtemperaturam. Ep. 265- c. I671 • 
 
 •" opus est equo turn commodo, turn patiente laborum. — Gro- 
 
 cini malum, ita me Deus amet, mihi ex animo dolet, qualiscunque ille 
 in me fuit. Optarim ejusmodi ingenia nee mortem sentire nee senium. 
 ' — Jam tot escis capto regem, tot reverendum regis Achatem, et tamen 
 hie funiculus nihil attrahit : si nunc non procedit, posthac nee hamuni 
 periclitabor, nee escam. — Animus est ab hoc sceleratissimo seculo secede- 
 re. Ad suramum venere prineipum technae, Roman.ie curiae impuden- 
 tias ; atque is videtur brevi futurus populi status, ut tolerabilius sit Tur- 
 carum ferre tyrannidem. Ad vos igitur totus confugiam, velut extra 
 orbem, et fortassis minime inquinatam orbis Christiani partem, Ep. 300. 
 c. 1691. 
 
 Scis, optime Bombasi, quam semper abhorruerim ab aulis prineipum, 
 quam vitam ego nihil aliud judico, quam splendidam miseriam ac perso- 
 natam felieitatem : at in talem aulam [Anglicam] lubeat demigrare, si 
 liceat rejuvenescere. Ep. 3/7. 
 
 " Joannes Stocslerus (so he calls him) praeter seholasticam hanc theo- 
 logiam, in qua nemini cedit, trium etiam linguarum hand vulgariter pe- 
 ritus. — 
 
 ° Knight, p. 192. See also Stripe's Life of Cranmer, b, i. ch.8. 
 and Append. No. xv. 
 
14^ THE LIFE [1518. 
 
 vicar of Willoughby in Warwickshire, and rector of Slin- 
 bridge in Gloucestershire, both in the gift of his college ; 
 then prebendary of the king's chapel of St. Stephen, arch- 
 deacon of Dorset in the room of Pace, and chaplain to 
 Richard Fox, bishop of Winchester, who gave him the 
 archdeaconry of Surry. He was made bishop of Lon- 
 don, upon the translation of Tonstall to Durham, and al- 
 moner to the king. He was sent to the emperor, and to 
 the pope, and to several universities, on the affair of the di- 
 vorce ; and was with Cranmer at the citation of queen Ca- 
 tharine to appear at Dunstable, when she was divorced. 
 It is said of him, that he was very severe to the poor Pro- 
 testants ; Hollinshed telling us that he once boasted he had 
 burned fifty heretics.— He had also a hand in burning Tin- 
 dal's Bible, then a common effort of ridiculous bigotry. 
 Collier informs us that he contested the archiepiscopal visi- 
 tation, and refused to submit till he had entered three pro- 
 testations for preserving the privileges of his see, by which 
 means a regal inhibition ensued. He died in 1539, and was 
 buried in St. Paul's cathedral.' 
 
 ' JohnP Stockesly, bishop of London, a man of great witte 
 and learning, but of lytle discretion and humanity.* 
 
 Stockesley'i being by the cardinal (Wolsey) not lopg be- 
 fore in the Starre-chamber openlie put to rebuke, and awarded 
 to the Fleet, not brooking his contumelious usage — had now 
 a good occasion offered him to revenge his quarrel,' &c. 
 
 ' AlF agree that Erasmus was never here in England after 
 the year 1518. And indeed we are much at a loss to give 
 an account of him during the time he spent in this his last 
 short visit. Wood speaks of his being at Oxford in 1518, 
 or 1519 : but al! the confirmation he gives us is from some 
 manuscript notes upon Bryan Twyne's Book of the Antiqui- 
 ties of Oxford. Ail agree that cardinal Wolsey founded 
 his lectures in. the university about this time : but it is not so 
 evident that Erasmus read certain lectures in the puhlic 
 refectory of Carpus Chrisfi college : Wood advancing no- 
 thing to prove this a true account. Till then one Epistle be 
 produced to or from Erasmus, at Oxford, about this time, 
 the question will still remain whether he was ever more 
 
 pHal], Chron, i Roper's Life of More, p. 54. 
 
 ^Knight, p. 187. 19'-i' 
 
1518.] OF ERASMUS. 143 
 
 than once there. It may not however be Improper to insert 
 here a Memorandum of old Bryan Twyne, relating to Eras- 
 mus, and to his sojourning at Oxford, as I received it from 
 Dr. Tanner : 
 
 " Memorandum. Upon the 18 of February, A. D: 
 1622, stilo veteri, (having heretofore received notice by Mr. 
 Dr. Holt, prebend of Westminster, how that Mr. Clarcncieux 
 (^Camden] had made of late time much enquiry of him 
 touching me) repairing to Mr. Clarencieux his lodging at 
 Mr. Dr. Heather's in Westminster, after some conference 
 with him about divers m.^iters, — he questioned with me 
 about Erasmus, and namely where he abode, whilst he 
 studied in Oxford. I told him, I thought in a religious 
 house of the Augustinians, commonly called St. Maries col- 
 lege, a little hitherward from Bocardo, from whence he 
 wrote his book, De Agone Christi ; which house, after the 
 suppression, came into the hands of one Mr. Dr. Floid. 
 But he replied, that when he was a boy In Oxford, and stu- 
 died in Christ-church college, there was an old picture of 
 Erasmus hanging in a certain chamber in Pecwaters-inn, 
 which was therefore supposed to have been Erasmus his 
 chamber, to which I replied nothing.'* 
 
 ' What foundation there is for Camden's conjecture I shall 
 leave the reader to judge.' 
 
 This year was published. Quint. Curtius% cum annota- 
 tionibus Erasmi, curante Beato Rhenano. Argent. See 
 Ep. 276. Also, Erasmi Epigrammata. Basil. 
 
 Livy' was published at Mentz, with a preface of Erasmus. 
 In this preface" (which is not amongst theEpistlesof Erasmus, 
 and which is addressed to the learned reader) he seems to 
 ascribe the invention of printing to John Faust, of Mentz. 
 The emperor, Maximilian, in the privilege, and Hutten in 
 
 • Maittaire, Ann. Typ. ii. p. 3l6. 321, 322. 
 
 ^ Liber xxx.iii (sed piioribus ij fere capitibus truncatus) et pars poste- 
 rior libri xl, a capite 3/, primum prodiit in editione Livii Moguutina 
 an. 1518, fol. e codice antique Longobardicis Uteris scripto 3?dis S.Mar- 
 tini illius urbis, ex officina Jo. Scheferi, qui Jo. Fausti nepos fuir, curan- 
 tibus Nic. Carbachio et Wolfg. Augusto, cum praetationibus Hutteiii et 
 Erasmi, et variis lectionibus ex eodera codice librorum septem poste- 
 riorum de bello Macedonico. Fabricius, Bibl. Lat. t. i. p. ig6, 4to. 
 
 " Appendix, No, xvi. 
 
144' THE LIFE []1518. 
 
 the dedication, and Carbachius in a preface, do the same. 
 Maittaire dates this edition A. 1519. ii. 333. 
 
 BudKus"- informs Erasmus that Francis I had called Jus- 
 tiniani^ from Italy to France. This bishop had paid a visit at 
 Louvain to Erasmus, and is mentioned by him as a courteous^ 
 and candid man. 
 
 A. D. MDXIX. ^TAT. LII. 
 
 It had been reported to Erasmus that Melanchthon^ had 
 censured his Paraphrases^ : this learned mian therefore 
 
 *Ep. 310. 
 
 y Bayle, Justiniani. See also Maittaire, ii. p. II9, &c, 270, 277- 
 
 == Ep. 2S5. 
 
 ^ Bayle, Melanchthoii. Beza, Icon. Verheiden, Theolog. Effigies, 
 p. 29. Melch. Adam. Camerarius, Vit. Melanch. Burnet, iii. 111. 
 Baillet, ii. 300. iii. 57. iv. 405. Du Pin, B. E. t. xiii. 42. Seckendorf, 
 1. i. p. 43, 44. 1. ii. p. 158. 181. P. Jovius, Hist. 1. xxxix. p. 438. 
 ScaJigeran. p. 15. Coloniesius, Theol. Presb. Icon. p. 4. Continuat. 
 Sleidani, 1. ii. p. 1 17. Pope Blount, p. 434. Thuanus, 1. xxvi. BO9. 
 Amoenitates Literariae, t. xii. p. 628. See also Strype's Life of Cran- 
 mer, p. 406. Annals, vol. i. p. 234. Gerdes. torn. i. p. 240. Simon, 
 H.Cr.duN.T. p. 693. 
 
 Had not Edward VI died so soon, Melanchthon would have come to 
 England, and been placed in the university of Cambridge : for a letter 
 in Latin was sent to him from tlie king, signifying that the king had 
 elected him to supply the place which Martin Bucer, deceased, had 
 held in that university ; and a warrant was issued out — to deliver fiftj 
 pounds to be sent to him to bear his charges. Strype's Memor. vol. ii. 
 p. 401. 
 
 Amongst his letters there is, Epistola de seipso et de Editione prima 
 suorum Scriptorum, which well deserves to be perused, p. 144. 
 
 Camerarius, in his Life of Melanchthon, thus describes his person : 
 
 Fuit statura Philippus breviore, non tamen brevitate notabili. — Mem- 
 brorum compositio plane elegans, frons explicata et ardua, insignis vena 
 quadam ampliore in ilia eminent!, capillas rarior, collum procerum, ju- 
 gula insigniter concava, oculi pulchri, et acies hoiaim mirabiliter clara, 
 pectus satis amplum, venter et ilia adstrictiora, omnium partium corpo- 
 ris et Integra atque vera sua hgura, et conginiens erat soliditas, sensus 
 omnes acres in corpore, nulla mole carnium gravato. 
 
 ^ The writings of Melanchthon, and the Paraphrases of Erasmus, 
 were in great esteem in England. King Edward ordered that all bache- 
 lors of divinity should be obliged to have the Paraphrases, and to study 
 them, that they might preach to their flocks the comfortable doctrines 
 therein contained. In the reign of Elizabeth they went still further, 
 and commanded that in every church there should be a copy of this 
 book on a desk, for the use of the congregation. Heylin. See Bibl. 
 Univ. iv. 343. 352. Str}^e's Memor. vol. ii. p. 28, &c. 130, &c. 31 7. 
 401. The Paraphrases of Erasmus were printed in English, at tlie 
 
151 9. J OF ERASMUS. 145 
 
 wntesa very civil letter to Erasmus*^ to justify himself; and 
 sends him conipiiments from Luther, Ep. 378. 
 
 Erasmus accepted of these excuses j but tells him, that 
 he had censured, if not the Paraphrases, yet the New Tes- 
 tament of Erasmus ; however, tb.at men of letters ought 
 to love each other, and be united to defend themselves 
 against their common enemies. He speaks very kindly to 
 him ; and says of Luther, All the world is agree. 1 amongst 
 us in commending his moral character ; but, as touching his 
 doctrines, there are various sentiments. I have not as yet read 
 his works. Lie hath given us good advice on certain points ; 
 and God grant that his success may be equal to the liberty 
 which he hath taken ! Ep. 41 1. 
 
 Melanchthon was always mild'' and moderate ; and though 
 he had a sincere affection for Luther, he could not refrain 
 from complaining^ now and then of his haughty and im- 
 petuous temper, so that even his best friends hardly knew 
 how to bear with him at all times. But Luther, notwilh- 
 
 charge and direction of the nminble and learned queen Catharine Par, 
 who employed Nic. Udal and others in that work, and is supposed to 
 have done part of it herself. The lady Mary also, afterwards queen 
 jNlary, employed herself in translating some of it. But, alas ! she pro- 
 fited little, it seems, from studying that excellent work, which neither 
 mended her vile temper, nor enlightened her cloudy mind. 
 
 ^ Helvetiiet Germani habuerunt magnos viros, Melanchthonem,Glaie- 
 anura, Camerarium, Gesnenim, sed praecipue Vadianum et i\gricolam. 
 Scaligeran. 
 
 Atque utinam parem vertcndisantiquis styli moderationem, at, 
 
 ut ita dicam, continentiam adhibuisset Philippus Melanchthon : qua; 
 fuit hominis facundia, et egregia Latini sermonis integritas, eruditos 
 omnes, excussis de manibus veterum scrlptis, ad sui lectionem pellex- 
 isset. Huetius, Do Clar. Interpr. p. 227- 
 
 Luther, in the year 1536, wrote upon his table these words follow- 
 ing: ' Reset verba Piiilippusj verba sine rebus Erasmus ; res sine ver- 
 bis Lutherus ; ncc res nee verba Carolostadius.' Melanchthon unawares 
 coming to Luther at that time, and reading the same, smiled, and said, 
 Touching Erasmus and Carlostad, it is well judged and censured ; but 
 too much is attributed unto me : also good words ought to be ascribed 
 to Luther, for he speaketh exceedingly well. Luther's Colioq. Mensa'. 
 p. 510. 
 
 ^ P. Jovius, after having abused Lather in a most scandalous manner, 
 pays a small sort«of compliment to Melanchdion ; — ' qui Latinx facun- 
 diae deditus, nova et ipse placita mitiore ingenii veneno publicarat.' 
 
 * Luther ctoit violent, et souffletoit Melanchthon. ' Ab ipso coja- 
 phos acceperim.' Ep. 2Q ad Theodorum. Longucruana, v. i. p. /'J. 
 
 Vol. L ^ L 
 
146 fHE LIFE [1519^. 
 
 Standing his passionate sallies, had a great love^ and esteem 
 for Melanchthon. 
 
 From Melanchthon's Epistles it may be observed, that he 
 was a believer in judicial astrology, and a caster of nati- 
 vities, and an interpreter of dreams. A strange weakness in 
 so great a man * ! 
 
 HeS foresav/ and feared that violent disputes would some 
 day break out concerning the doctrine of the Trinity. The 
 Scriptures, says he, direct us to invoke Jesus Christ, which 
 is to ascribe Divinity to him. As to curious inquines con- 
 cerning his nature, they seem not useful or necessary. 
 
 Cardinal Sadolet wrote a friendly letter to Melanchthon, 
 and highly esteemed both him and Bucer. Seckendorf, 
 1. i, p. 43. 
 
 Seckendorf hath given us an instance^ of Melanchthon's 
 
 *" Quod agentcm (Melanchthonem) cum (boni) omnes, turn Lutherus 
 ipse, non modo diligere, sed suspicere etiam ac colere j neque sine ejus 
 consilio quicquam instituere, quod momenti aliquid haberet^ et adcuncta 
 jnformandaj componenda, explicanda, opera ipsius uti. Camerarius^ 
 p. 153. 
 
 * Sir John Cheke was no less credulous in astrology, and so were 
 many other considerable men. It seems to have been a common dis- 
 temper in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. See Strype's Life of 
 Cheke, p. 138. and Annals, vol. ii. p. l6. 
 
 s He says in one of his Epistles : 
 
 De Serueto rogas quid sentiam. Ego vero video satis acutam et va- 
 frum esse in disputando, sed plane gravitatem ei ncn tribuo. Et habet, 
 ut mihi videtur, confusas imaginationes, nee satis cxplicatas earum re- 
 rum, quas agitat, cogitationes. De justificatione manifeste delirat. 
 JIsrA rr^g Tpidoog, scis me semper veritum esse, fore ut haec aliquando 
 erumperent. Bone Deus ! quales tragosdias excitabit h,TC quacstio ad 
 posteros, el a<xtiv nroa-rxTig 6 Aoyog, ei fVrjv uTro'crraci; to livivp^a. 
 Ego me refero ad illas Scripturae voces, quae jubent invocare Christum, 
 quod est ei honorem divinitatis tribuere, et plenum consolationis est ; 
 foii (?£ 'i^bxg r-jQV vifoo-rda-acuv xai Siocfopdg d;icitu:; ^'fi^iiv Of" Ttixvv (rv[u- 
 <p£psi. L. iv. Ep. 140. 
 
 *» ScripsitLuthems electori, Melanchthonem. ex conscienti?e scrupulo 
 recusare florenos ducentos i)ro salario lectionis theologicae nuper ab 
 electore constitutes, dicere enim, Se lertioni isii non satis diligenter, et, 
 ut res pr.stularet, vacare posse. Suadet itaque I-uthcrus principi, ut 
 mentem suam erga Philippum ita declaret, ut is intelligat, non requiri 
 assiduitatcm lectionis, sed sufficere, si vel una vice in hebdomade lege- 
 rit, pro tempore nempe et viribus, Addit : ' Etsi celsitudo tua ad 
 unum alterumcjue annum salarium illud prcrsuii gratis ci dedcrit, optime 
 tamcn id hcret, quia jam duos annos absque salario, magno cum labore, 
 nee minori frvictu^ sacrani Scj-ipturam e.NpUcavit. VcTlcm utique lee- 
 
1519.2 OF ERASMUS. 14? 
 
 scrupulous Tionour and disinterestedness, who refused to re- 
 ceive his salary as a reader in divinity, because he could not 
 bestow such close attendance as, in his opinion, that office 
 required. 
 
 Petrus Mosellanus, professor of Greek at Leipsic, wrote to 
 Erasmus, and told him of a public dispute * which was to be 
 held between Eckius and Carolostadiusf. He shows much 
 contempt' of these two divines : but, in a m')re serious 
 Epistle to Pirckheimerus, he speaks favourably of Carolosta- 
 dius, and condemns Eckius. 
 
 In Seckendorf we have a full account of this disputation, 
 and of an excellent speech made on that occasion by Mo- 
 sellanus |, and of the character of Mosellanus, who was 
 much beloved by Luther and by Erasmus, and died 
 aged only thirty-one, in 1524. The learned Julius Pflug, 
 who had been his disciple, wrote his epitaph. L. i. 71 — 93. 
 
 Seckendorf hath also given us an ample relation of Carolo- 
 stadius, who was of a turbulent and fanatical disposition. L. i. 
 p. 198 — 200. 302. 1. ii. p. 26. 28. 
 
 Jacobus Latomus'^, once a friend' of Erasmus, had pub- 
 lished something, in which he had obliquely censured Mo- 
 sellanus and Erasmus. The latter wrote a short answer"^ 
 
 tidnem Scripturae promoveri, quia ejus intellectus jam ubique terrarum 
 deslderatur.' 
 
 Obsecutus est Luthero elector, talesque ad Melanchthonem literas de- 
 dit, L. ii. 64. 
 
 * Appendix, No. xvii, xviii. 
 
 f See Melch. Adam. Gerdes. torn. i. p. 235. 
 
 ' Joannes Eckius, 6 rJJv dspo^arovvrMv y.a) rd [jJyicrra. rvsovtujv 
 aKcpa., cum Carolostadio archidiacouo pro sua vita, hoc est, corollariis, 
 in disputationis arenam descendet. — Magnis apparatibus pugna utrinquc 
 adornatur. — Videas conimissos nobile par Scotistarum. — Decern Demo- 
 criti satis quod rideant, habebunt. Ep. 3/9. 
 
 + Maittaire, ii, 317. JSIelch. Adam. Gerdes. torn. i. p. ISQ. and 
 Append, p. 1C)2. Leichius, de Orig. Typ. Lips. p. 40, 6cc. 
 
 Erasmus had such a regard for Mosellanus, that he intended to make 
 ^lim his heir. So says Goblems, in his Life of Mosellanus, which is 
 amongst the Vitae Erudilorum, published by Fichard. 
 
 ^ Boissard, Icon. p. IS/. Du Pin, xiv. i6q. Val. Andreae Bibl. 
 Belg. p. 425. ]\Iirn?i Elog. Belg. p. 2/. See also G. Brandt, vol. i. 
 p. b3. Simon, H. Grit, des Comment, du N. T. p. 527. 
 
 ' There was a Bartholomaeus Lalomus, a friend and correspondent of 
 Erasmus. Ep. 1283. 12St). Du Pin, xvi. 41. 
 
 ■" See t. ix, c, /g — 106. 
 
 L 2 
 
148 THE LIFE [1519. 
 
 to it, as be informs Mosellanus, whom he compliments, as 
 being both a wit and a scholar. Ep. S80. 
 
 He adds many instances of the ignorance and unfairness 
 of the monks, who in. a most spiteful manner attacked his 
 version of the New Testament, as if he had corrupted the 
 Pater nosf.er, the Magnificat, and other pajts of Scripture. 
 Thus they railed at him both in their sennons and in their 
 conye7sation. A Dominican, who had signalized himseljF 
 this way at Stratsburg, in the presence of Jacobus Sturmius, 
 (whom Erasmus hath often commended) was compelled to 
 own that he had not read one line of the book. These men, 
 says Erasmus, first hate, and then condemn, and then seek 
 for passages to justify their censures. If any person opposes 
 them, and calls them calumniators, they call him a disturber'^ 
 of the public peace ; which is just as if you hit a man a blow 
 on the face, and then bid him be quiet, and not make a tumult. 
 The delicacy and dignity of these men, which takes fire at a 
 single word, requires from us a more than Socratic pa- 
 tience ; and they are equally tender of their own reputation, 
 and regardless how much they wound that of others. 
 
 He also tells a story how the king of England had mor- 
 tified a divine, who, in his presence, had railed at the study 
 of the Greek language. And yet these men had some rea- 
 son to act thus : they saw plainly that their authority would 
 soon come to nothing, if the originals were consulted and 
 examined ; and they received so much advantage from the 
 ignorance of the world, that they could not avoid suspecting 
 and hating such learned innovations. All the rhetoric and 
 the address of Erasmus could not soften and pacify them, 
 espeeis'lly when the Reformation appeared, which was the 
 offspring of these inquiries, and of this new light. For, if 
 that age had continued under the same darkness which had 
 overspread the earth in the foregoing centuries, the decisions 
 of the scholastic doctors would still have been adored as 
 heavenly truths. 
 
 n Thus Feuardenttus, a seditions and persecuting Cordelier, repre- 
 sents himself as suffering for righteousness sakej and complains that he 
 had been a:>saulted, beaten, plundered, and shot at by wicked heretics j 
 but not a word of his own unchristian beha- iour. It seems this con- 
 fessor and. rais&ionary sometimes met with adversaries almost as impe- 
 tuous as himself, who rewarded his zeal with bastinadoes. Bayle-. 
 Feuardent. 
 
19.] 
 
 OF ERASMUS. 14-0 
 
 The 38 2d letter is remarkable, and the prettiest of all the 
 Epistles of Longolius°. 
 
 Christophorus LongoliusP, of Schoonhove in Holland, was 
 a famous Ciceronian, whom Erasmus hath often commended, 
 though Ciceronianism had set them a little at variance. 
 In this letter "i to a friend, Longolius draws up a comparison 
 
 " Longolius noil suo sensu, sed Ciceronis loquutus est, dum non sty- 
 lum Ciceronis, sed ipsissimas phrases, adeoque senteutias tianscribit. 
 Scaligeraa. p. 247. 
 
 ■ ■ • Ne ipsis quidem Bembis et Sadoletis inferior factus est. Etim 
 tnmen, ut in sententiis exilem, et in verbis minime luculentnm, asper- 
 , nantur Itali liomine:i, qui parem in hoc laudis genere nullum ferre pos- 
 sunt. Sammarthaniis. 
 
 Sammarthanus was a learned smd ingenious writer, and a good poet ; 
 but, in delivering his judgments, he was apt to be partial to his coun- 
 trymen, and here to Longolius, who aft'ected to pass for a Freiicliman, 
 though he was really a Dutchman, and who is not to be compared with 
 Eembus or Sadolet. 
 
 See also Melch. Adara. INIaittaire, ii. 218. 
 
 ■Qui bene de Longolio sentiunt, habent me non repugnantem: quan- 
 quam habeo et fores et domi, quos illi anteponam. Budaeus amicum 
 immerentetn ingrata invidia, in quadam ad Erasmum Epistola, nimis 
 acerbe preniit. Erasmus apertius insectatur ; et ilium inepte, furaciter, 
 cervili et puerili more, nihil praeter centones ex Cicerone consuere ar- 
 ^it : id quod ipse credo Erasmum aliquo potius scripsisse stomacho, 
 quam certo suo statuisse judicio. Nam scio vibi Longolio jam mortuo, 
 Eon singularem aliquam, sed summam eloquentiae laudem tribuit. JVIi- 
 ror ipse magis quidem, quid tuo Paulo Manutio in meutcm venerit, ho- 
 mini, ut audio, natura humanissirao, et, ut video, doctrina excultissimo ; 
 ut is Longolium, vivus mortuum, bonus non malum, eruditus non in- 
 doctum, Italus Italorura delicias, in Uteris suis ad Stephanum Saulium, 
 etiam in lucem editis, tarn acri stylo pungeret. Quo consilio hoe fece- 
 rit, nescio^ parum humaniter quidem, ecio ; et an vero judicio, pkne 
 dubito, Sec. Aschamus, Epist. ad Sturmium, lib. i. p. 10. 
 
 P Baillet, vi. 56, Du Pin, xiv. 181. P. Jovius, Elog. 127. Val. 
 Andreae Bibl. Belg. p. igg. Miraei Elog. Belg. p. ii4, Sammarth. 
 Elog. 1. i. p. 4. Vita Longolii per Batesium, p. 240. 
 
 ^ Christophorus Longolius Jacabo Lucse, Decano Aurelianensi, S. D. 
 
 Nunquani nobis sane non dccrit scribendi argumejitum, uisi, ut te 
 olim monui, mutuis id interrogationibus excitemus : quo nomine scripsi 
 ad te baud ita pridem, mihi adeo gratum fore, si plenius ex te intellige- 
 rem, cur princeps vester Erasmum Budaeo prastulerit, Germanum Gallo, 
 exterum civi, ignotum familiari. Nam quod ad eruditianem pertinet, 
 non video qua in re Budaeus Erasmo cedat : sive humaniores, sive 
 Christiano dignas homine literas aestimas'e libeat. Quod vcro ad dicendi 
 facultatcm pertinet, parem, mea sententia, in tarn diverso dicendi ge- 
 nere laudem raerentur. Beatissima in ambobus et rerum et verborum 
 copia : sed ita ut alter aliius [read latius'\ exspatietur, alter angustiore 
 quidem alveo, verum altiore ingentem aquarum vim trahat : Suit ille 
 
150 _ THE LIFE [1519. 
 
 between Erasmus and Budasus, and, upon the whole, gives the 
 preference obliquely to the latter, though, as he says, Francis I 
 had given it to Erasmus. This comparison turns principally 
 upon the style of each competitor ; and in this point some 
 of his remarks are not injudicious. But certain it is, that if 
 Budasus surpassed Erasmus in Greek literature, and in the 
 
 plenior, hie fertur rapidior. In Bndaeo videor mihi agnoscere plus ner- 
 voram, sanguinis, spiritus : in Erasmo plus carnis, cutis, coloris. In 
 illo plus diligentiae, in hoc plus facilitatis : creber ille sententiis, hie fa- 
 cetiis : ille omnia utilitati, hie plurimiUTi delectationi tribuit. Pugnat 
 Budaeus cura, ingenio, gravitate, dignitate : Erasmus arte, subtilitate, 
 lenitate, jucunditate ad victoriam contendit. Hunc amare possis, ilium 
 admirari: huic favere, parere illi. Piofecto ille me violenter cogit, hie 
 suaviter allieit. Ducit alter blanditiis, alter viribus trahit, verborum 
 delectu religiosus, proprietate perspicuus. Si res tralationem expostu- 
 lat, in metaphoris felix, sententiis gravis, liguris varius, summa ora- 
 tionis specie honestus, sublimis, scverus, grandiloquus. Contra, Eras- 
 mus venustus, modestus, popularis, floridus, verborum supellectile 
 dives, compositione simul expeditus, simul nilidus, frequens exemplis, 
 densus argumentis, gratus salibus. Ille in oratione sua totus quideni 
 semper est, sed turn potissimum tonat, turn fulminat, quuni materia 
 temporum nostrorum objurgationem admittit : hie, etiam cum moribus 
 convicium facit, magis instituto sue servire atque dolere videtur, malag- 
 matis, collyriis, cerotis, et caeteris id genus leniorum medicamentoninx 
 remediis sanitati consulens : ut ille amarulentis quidem illis, sed hac 
 tempestate necessariis potionibus, sectionibus, caviteriis alte grassantem 
 vim morbi insectatur. Breviter, si historiam scripturi sint, Budaeus 
 Thucydidem magis qiiam Sallustium, Erasmus Livium quam Herodo- 
 tum retulerit. [Perhaps Longolius intended to say, Budaeus Thucydi- 
 dem magis quam Herodotum, Erasmus Livium quam Sallustium retu- 
 lerit.] Si poema pangendum, hie tragicum et heroicum quiddam ver- 
 borum sententiarumque pondere altius intonabit : ille comoediam urba- 
 nius, lyricos suavius, elegiam mollius inspirabit. Assurgit tamen et hie 
 quoque alieno ingenio, suo vero tam dithculter, quam ille nunquam, 
 etiamsi velit, se demittere qvieat : alioqui superiores illae virtutes ut neu- 
 tri desunt, sic in altero magis patent, in altero magis latent : etlectu 
 pares, habitu dissimiles, ut baud prorsus aberret quisquis lumc concioni, 
 ilium judiciis natum dixerit : alterum Palladis numine afflatum, alteram 
 Gratiarum choro stipatum. Caeterum, ut intelligas nihil esse, quod sit 
 ab omni, ut ille ait, parte beatum, aut certe quod omnium stomacho 
 satis possit facerej audi quid in eis hi desiderant, qui se aliquod operas 
 pretium in re literaria fecisse arbitrantur. Budaeus hoc illis peccare vi- 
 detur, quod nihil peccet ; Erasmus quod vitiis suis faveat : iilum enim, 
 dnm scrupulosius omnia ad Veterum normam exigit, ss'pe oblitum eo- 
 rum quibus scribit, sibi tantum et Musis canere j hunc, dum ingenio 
 suo nimis indulget, nihilcjue putat esse tam vulgare, quod non aliquando 
 jn oratione suuni sibi locum honeste vindicet, turbidum interim riuere : 
 ilium potius nobis signiticare quid velit quimi dicere ; hunc immodica 
 sermonis ubertate, veluti laeto gramine sata strangulare : ilium orationy 
 
1519.] OF ERASMUS. 151 
 
 knowledge of the civil, law, and wrote more learnedly and 
 laboriously, the latter had far more taste and fancy than he, 
 a more agreeable style, and much greater skill in divuiity 
 and ecclesiastical antiquities. Erasmus and Budaeus con- 
 tinued, after this judgment of Longolius, to correspond to- 
 gether as before, but they did not become warmer friends 
 for it. Ep. 383. 387. 390. &c. 
 
 nunc obliqua verticosum, nunc figurata datum, s?epe intumescere; 
 hunc recto nudoque dactu humiliorem, plerumque humi serpere; hunc 
 lascivia molliorem, ilium austeritate duriorem. Denique alteram doctis 
 mirum in modum posse placere, alteram etiam imperitis, si in tarn se- 
 cunda (ut illoram verbis utar) facundia modum tenerent, et suo semper 
 freti ingenio, alieno nonn\inquam essent diserti, vel judicio vel consilio. 
 Nam cum proestare possint quicquid volunt, par est, inquiunt, ut opti- 
 ma quaeque velint, nee sese ambiliosius nobis venditent : eo res nostras 
 rccidisse, ut mature potius juvandi quam intempestive delectandi simus : 
 pro suscepto operis instituto fideliter docendi, non crebris licentiosissi- 
 misque excursionibus ambagiose suspendendi : digredi quidem Senecam 
 et Plinium, sed alteram parce, alteram raro, nee sic quoque quoesito, 
 nee nisi oblato arg"umento. Hsec rritici : quorum sententiae quo minus 
 statim subscribam, faciunt cum alia multa, tum quod non detuere clari 
 oratores, qui non grammaticos, sed populum eloquentiae judicem statue- 
 rint. Esto, sit porrigendus doctis modo calculus, sint soli literatorum 
 principes hac de re in consilium raitlendi, quisnam araabo liac aetate dig- 
 nus, cui tarn superba censura jure credatur ? Tuebunlur se uterque 
 haud magnis solum exemplis, sed etiam validissimis argumentis. Di— 
 cent se non perperam scribere, sed illos corrupte judicare : in orationi- 
 bus suis non nasci, sed ab imperitis spinas afl'erri : Erasmus se omnium 
 rationem habuisse, Budaeus paucorum theatro contentum esse. Itaque 
 ipse nihil decerno, vel ne sutor (ut aiunt) supra crepidara j vel quod 
 apud me paria faciant, hoc est, virtutibus, si qua sunt, vitia pensent, at- 
 que adeo superent. Habeiit enim plus quod laudem, quam quod ig- 
 noscam. lllud tantum miror, qi;od ab initio dicebam : Cur princeps 
 vester in tanta Budaei probitate, doctrina, eloquentia, Germanum Galloj 
 iCxterum civi, ignotum familiari prastvilerit. Nee hoc dico, quod Eras- 
 mi fortunae invideara ; studeo namque homini, si quis mortalium alius^ 
 tametsi de facie nunquam mihi viso, idque ob comraunem patriam (su- 
 mus enim ejusdem, ut uosti, et linguae et ditiouis) colo autem ob exi- 
 mias illas auimi dotes, quas in eo ita suspicio, ut votorum meoram sum- 
 ma sit, hinc ad annum etiam alteram supra vicesimum, quo me aetate 
 superat, si non ilium, quem nunc tenet, saltem proximum eloquentiae 
 gradum attingere. Improbum, inquis, votum : improbum sane, sed 
 ciuod nee ipse plane improbet. Ego nee existimationi, nee commodis 
 tanti viri invideo, cujus eloquentia apud me pluris est, quam totius 
 Galliae opes. Sed in hoc ista scribo, ut si quid habes, actutum me cer- 
 tiorem facias, cur semper neglectis Gallorum, nunc primum fastiditis 
 Italorum ingeniis, Germanica tarn ambitiose assectemiiii. Vale, Ex 
 Urbe Roma, 29 Jan. aiHio 1519. 
 
152 THE LIFE [1519. 
 
 Erasmus having seen this letter of Longolius, wrote him 
 an answer '' of compliments and thanks ; but at the same time 
 gives him some hints that he was not over-pleased. Lon- 
 golius had said, amongst other things, that Erasmus yiz- 
 voured his own defects, that is, that he would not give 
 himself the trouble to be more accurate, and to seek out 
 words and expressions of the Augustan age. Erasmus re- 
 plies, that he wrote so, not through conceitedness or stub- 
 bornness, but partly from ignorance, and still more from in- 
 dolence. I am so made, says he, and I cannot conquer my 
 nature. I precipitate rather than compose, and it is far 
 more irksome to me to review than to write : and though I 
 would not pass for a slovenly and barbarous author, totally 
 negligent of words and phrases, yet neither do I think it 
 
 •■ Erasmus Roterodamus Chrlstophoro Longollo S.D. 
 
 Cum multis nominibus mihi jvicunda fuit, eruditissime Longoli, epi- 
 stola tua, non ilia quidem ad me scripta, sed de me, turn hoc praecipue, 
 quod mihi renovavit veterem ingenii tui notitiam, ac spem eloquentia! 
 nequaquam vulgaris, quam ante complures annos concepeiam, ex Ora- 
 tione panegyrica, qua laudes divi Ludovici, ni fallor, GalHarum regis, 
 admodum adhuc juvenis es prosecutus. Epistolam exhibuit Ruzeus 
 urbis Lutetiae suppraefectus, homo tum eruditus ipse, turn eruditionis 
 aliense mire candidus aestimator. Tantum autem abest, ut aegre ferara 
 mihi praeferri Budaeam, ut in illnm pane parcus, in me prodigus lauda- 
 tor fuisse videaris. Abunde multum illi trihuit tuus candor, sed quoties 
 hominis dotes prope divinas contemplor, videor mihi videre quiddara 
 majus omni facundia. IVJihi vero tantum tribuis, quantum nee agnosco 
 nee postulo : cui abunde palmarium est ac triumphale, cum viro modis 
 omnibus incemparabili comparari : neque poleras, mea quidem senten- 
 tia, plenius honestare famam Erasmi, quam si ilium faceres ita poste- 
 viorem Budaen, ut eum non longo intervallo sequeretur. Majore tamen 
 cum voluptate Budaei laudes legi quam m.eas, vel quod illius gloriae sic 
 faveam, ut nuUius aeque, vel quod quicquid illi possessionis est honestae, 
 id meum etiam esse ducam : non tantum publica ilia Pythagoricorum 
 lege, quae vult inter amicos esse communia omnia, verum eliam pecu- 
 liari fcedere, quod verbis rite conceptis, et syngraphis obsignatis inter 
 nos jampridem pepigimus, ne alterutri fas sit inficiari. Belle tu quidem 
 me mihi depingis, sed hand scio an omnino meis coloribus. Et tamen 
 ad hanc tabulam ipse mihi nonnihil blandior, non quod illi prorsus cre- 
 dam, sed quod juvet Apellis manu depingi. Porro cum indicas, quid 
 in me desiderent Critici, non minus ccpi utilitatis quam voluptatis. 
 Q.uan(|uam ad quaedam utcumque tergiversari poteram, nisi tuo judicio 
 tam impense faverem. Nam quod scribis me favere meis vitirs, crede 
 mihi non tam favor est, quam vel inscitia, vel potius pigritia. Sic sum, 
 nee possum naturam vincere. ElVundo verius quam scribo omnia, ac 
 niolestior est recognoscendi quam cudendi labor. Jam ut in delectuver- 
 boiTim nolimonuiiuo videri indiligftns, ita non aibitror congmere ei, qui 
 
1619.] OF ERASMUS. 153 
 
 becoming a man who writes upon serious and important sub- 
 j-ects, and wants to persuade and instruct his reader, to be 
 over-difficult in the choice of such ornamental parts of com- 
 position. 
 
 They who are acquainted with the works of Erasmus 
 will easily see that this was his true character. As the Ci- 
 ceronians were more solicitous in tlicir compositions about 
 phrases and periods than about things, and slavishly confmed 
 themselves to words taken from Cicero, or authors who were 
 contemporary with him, they either could not mention many 
 things of real importance, or they could not express them 
 properly, because they could not find words to represent 
 their thoughts in the above-mentioned writers. There are 
 a muldtude of subjects relating to divinity, natural philoso- 
 
 res serias per.madere cupiat, in affectaiidis dictionls ercblematis esse mo- 
 rosnm aut anxiuni. Neque vero mirabitur eloqaentiaj nostras rivum 
 nliaabi tiirbidum fluere a<: lululentuni, (jui cogitarit per qiios auctores 
 decurrat, nimirvim sordidos, et inipuri scrmunis, ut non po.^sit lunc non 
 aliquid limi ducere, Usu venlt hoc nou raro summis illis eloquentiae 
 proceribus, ut in Graecorum voluminibus versantes, frequenter impru- 
 ^entes Grsece loqnerentur. JUud baud scio an scribai debeat imputari, 
 quod mihi tribuis immodicani sermonis ubertatem, qua> dos nimirum 
 Budaeo peculiaris est. Nam rectus ac nudus orationis ductus simplici 
 naturje congruit : nee mirum est humilem esse sermonem cnjus humilia 
 sunt omnia, corpus, animus, fortuna, Porro nimis crebras et immodi- 
 cas digressiones, quas nobis communiter adscribunt critici (nam sub ho- 
 rum, ni fallor, persona maluisti tuam indicare sententiam) jum mutuis 
 literis uterque alteri objecerat. Cum primis autem demiror, qui tibi 
 succurrerit derairari, cur Galliarum princeps Franciscus Germanum 
 Gallo, exterum civi, ignotum familiari praetulerit. Neutrum alteri 
 prsetulit rex, sed utrumque alteri studuit conjungere. Neque enim 
 cuiquam suo loco cedendum erat, si me in Galliam conlulissem. Tau- 
 tum abest ut Budaeo fuerim oftecturus. Quod .scribis ot ditionem et pa- 
 triam et linguain mihi tecum esse communem, non tam mihi gratnlor, 
 quam huic regioni, quam vehementer gaudeo tahbus, hoc est, veris 
 sernperque duraturis ornamentis in dies magis ac magis illustrari. Pro- 
 inde nihil optatius mihi possit accidere, quam multos exoriri uii similes, 
 qui nobis in hoc laudis stadio non modo succedant, sed etiam antever- 
 tant J et quicquid est hoc nominis, quod mihi mea peperere studia, suo 
 splendore obscurent. Sed tamen agnoscet, opinor, posteritas, nobisque 
 nonnihil debere se fatebitur, quod parum felici seculo, quod his regio- 
 nibus, in quibus prorsus extinctae fuerant et invisae bonae litera;, longum 
 et invidiosum certamen sustinuimus adversus pertinacissimos mcliorum 
 studiorum hostes. Sed utcunque de nobis censebit attas seculura, \ o- 
 lupe est interim optimas literas passim feliciter effiorescere. Bene vale, 
 Longoli doctissirae, et in haec studia ut ccepist constanter ac feliciter 
 incunabe. Lovanio, 1 April, anno 15 J 9. 
 
154 THE LIFE [1319. 
 
 phy, morality, politics, and other sciences, which the an~ 
 tient Latins never thought upon, and therefore had na 
 convenient words to describe them. On such occasions 
 our Ciceronians were stopped and distressed, and therefore- 
 they could only deal in antient notions, which might be dis- 
 cussed and described according to the manner of the an- 
 tients ; and this rendered their works extremely cold, je- 
 june, insipid, and tiresome. Erasmus, on the contrary, who 
 paid more regard to things than to words, and had a fine ge- 
 nius, expressed his thoughts in a most lively manner, accom- 
 modating his phrases to his subject, with great variety and fa- 
 cility. His invention, thus unfettered, was the more sprightly 
 and abundant, and he never fails to entertain his reader, 
 both in matter and in manner. Ep. 402. 
 
 Longolius afterwards wrote against Lutheranism, and 
 undertook a task for which he was not at all qualified, 
 having nothing in his head besides Ciceronianism and a little 
 philology. 
 
 We shall have occasion to say more hereafter on the Cice- 
 ronian controversy. 
 
 In a letter to Ruzeus, a Frenchman, Erasmus compliments 
 that nation, and is willing'', if they should do him the ho- 
 nour of claiming him, to pass himself for a Frenchman. But 
 the Germans would not agree to that. Ep, 393. 
 
 Luther sent a letter to Erasmus, very courteous and civil, 
 though not over-elegant as to style. He fancied that Eras- 
 mus was on his side, because he had declared himself against 
 the superstitious religion of the monks, and because these 
 men hated them both almost equally. He thought that he 
 could discern the taste and temper of Erasmus from his 
 new preface to the Enchirklion MiUtis ChrisUani. Ep. 399. 
 
 Erasmus replied, calling Luther his dearest brother in 
 Christ, and informed him what a noise had been made 
 against his works at Louvain. As to himself, he had, as 
 he says, declared to the divines of that university that he had 
 not read those v/orks, and therefore could neither approve 
 nor disapprove them ; but that it would be a better method 
 
 ' Galium esse me, nee assevero, nee inficior : sic natiis ut Gallusne 
 an Germanu* sim, anceps haberi possi't : quamquam apud smdiorvua 
 cultores miiiimuna habere monienti par est regionum discrimina. 
 
1519.] OF ERASMUS- 155 
 
 for them to publish answers consisting of grave and solid 
 arguments, than to rail before the populace, especially as 
 the moral character of the author was irreprehensible. Eras- 
 mus however owns, that he had perused part of his Com- 
 mentaries upon the Psalms, that he Mked them much, and 
 hoped they might be very serviceable. He tells him, that many 
 persons both in England and in the Low Countries commend- 
 ed his writings. He exhorts him also to moderation, and to 
 content himself with attacking, not the persons of popes 
 and kings, but those evil counsellors who imposed upon 
 them, and made a bad use of their authorit}'. 
 
 There is, says he, a prior of a monastery at Antwerp, a 
 true Christian, who loves you extremely, and was, as he 
 relates, formerly a disciple of yours. He is almost the only 
 one who preacheth Jesus Christ, whilst others preach human 
 fables, and seek after lucre. The Lord Jesus grant you 
 from day to day an increase of his spirit, for his glory and 
 for the public good ! 
 
 From these and from other passages it appears that Erasmus 
 entertained hopes that the attempts of Luther, and the great 
 notice which had been taken of them, might be serviceable 
 to true Christianity. Ep. 427. 
 
 He writes to the bishop of Rochester concerning a book 
 of Latomus. Erasmus, in a Treatise of true Theology, had 
 said, that a great part of it consisted in a pious disposition of 
 heart. Latomus attacked this proposition with many ar- 
 guments, and said, that to be a good divine, and to be a 
 good man, was not the same thing. By and by, says Eras- 
 mus, I fancy they wiil come to say, that to^ be a good divine, 
 and to have common sense, are very different things. Ep. 
 403. 
 
 Erasmus in a letter to Euricius Cordus (whose life is in 
 Melch. Adam), a schoolmaster, reminds him in how useful 
 and how honourable an office he was employed. Epist. 404. 
 
 The 39Sd is a pretty letter from Huttenus^ to v.'hich Eras- 
 
 * ——-Non idem esse, theologum esse, et sapere. 
 
 * Boissard, Icon. part. ii. p. 33. Beza, Icon, Cameiarius, Vit. 
 Melanch. Baillet, iv. 335. Seckendorf, 1. i. p. 130. Sleidan. 1. iv. 84. 
 Bayle, Hutien. Eurckhard, Comment, de Vit. Hutteni. Maitlaixe, 
 Ann. Typ. ii. 331, 332. 340. Act. Emdit. xliv. 410. xlv. 134. 
 
 Melch. Adam. Gerdes. torn. i. p. 15/. Hutten was one of those 
 
156 THE LIFE ^ [1519. 
 
 nms replied in a very friendly manner, and exhorted this 
 impetuous'-^ man to moderation in his conduct. 
 
 Flatten, having afterwards declared himself openly for Lu- 
 ther, and Erasmus, on the contrary, growing more shy and 
 cautious on that aiFair, they became enemies. Hutten at this 
 time was with the archbishop of Mentz, to whom Erasmus 
 recommended him warmly ; and his commendations were 
 not fruitless, as it appears from that prelate's answer. Ep. 
 413. 419. 456. 
 
 Hutten was of a bold and daring spirit, and a great fighter^ 
 upon occasion. In some place, where he had power, he 
 finedy the Carthusians two thousand pieces of gold, for hav- 
 ing wiped — ^with his picture. 
 
 Camerarius, in his Life of Melanchthon, makes mention 
 of Hutten, and tells us, that he was of an antient and noble 
 family, (upon which he valued himself not a little) learned, 
 ingenious, and courageous ; that he had a daring spirit 
 lodged in a weak and sickly body ; that he fought with four 
 (he should have said, five) Frenchmen at Viterbo, and put 
 them all to flight, though wounded, and deserted by his fel- 
 low-traveller; that he was of a turbulent and seditious temper, 
 passionate, impatient of affronts, and somewhat cruel ; that 
 he wi'ote a violent invective against Erasmus, who repaid him 
 with a smart answer ; and that he died aged thirty-six (it 
 ehould be, thirty-five) ; p. 90, &c. 
 
 La Monnoye says, that he is a poor writer in prose, and 
 that his verses are even worse than his prose. Burckhard 
 hath extolled him beyond his deserts, and hath given an 
 account of him and of his works, in three volum.es. Hutten 
 died in miserable circumstances, overwhelmed with poverty 
 and debts, and eaten up with a certain disease. 
 
 who wrote against Lee, in favour of Erasmus. His letter to Lcc is in 
 a book, of which I give an account in the Appendix, No. xxii. 
 
 " Neque violentia Hutteni, quam calamo, et aliquando manu cum 
 poterat exercebat, religioni proiuit ; nocuit potius. Improbavit earn 
 ctiam Lutherus, literis ad Spalatinura, ubi ita scribit : ' Quid Huttenus 
 petat, vides. Nollem vi et caede pro Evangelio certari : ita scripsi ad 
 hominem.' Seckendorf, 1. i. p- 131. 
 
 ^ Erasmus, Ep. 41^, 
 
 y Huttenus Carthusianos, quia imagine sua pro aiiiierpis usi sunt, in 
 duobus millibus aureomm nummum mullavit. Epist. Gerbelii, p. 21i. 
 {a Centur. Epist. ad Schwebclium. 
 
1519.] OF ERASMUS. 157 
 
 In one of his Epistles he declares to a friend that he was 
 Inclmed to settle, and to take a wife. He wanted a virgin, 
 who was young, handsome, good-natured, virtuous, and 
 rich. As to pedigree, he says, that he should be easy on 
 that article, having nobility enough for himself and his lady. 
 It is pleasant to hear a beggar talk thus, who had nothing to 
 give to his wife, besides a coat of arms and the . 
 
 We shall say more concerning liutten hereafter. 
 
 This year John Colet died at London ; and Erasmus, In a 
 letter^ to Jodocus Jonas% makes his elogium^, and abng 
 with it the panegyric of a Franciscan, called Joannes Vitria- 
 rius. The characters of these two eminent men, drawn by 
 so great a master, well deserve to be carefully perused ; and 
 if Erasmus hath not given the reins a little to his imagina- 
 tion, and embellished his subject, it is no wonder that he so 
 sincerely loved and admired them both. They were two 
 excellent ecclesiastics, and in many things bore no small 
 resemblance to Erasmus. Richard Pace succeeded Colet, 
 as dean of St. Paul's. Ep. 435. 
 
 ' If^ were to be wished, (says Knight) since Erasmus fol- 
 lows the example of Plutarch, and gives us a parallel between 
 two very excellent persons, that he had chosen another of 
 our countrymen'^, rather than gone to France for the char- 
 racter of Vitriarius : who though it must be owned he was 
 a very pious man ; yet, considering the different way of life 
 in which he was engaged from that of dean Colet, the one 
 being a recluse, and the other as active as any one of his 
 function hi the age he lived, by no means is the parallel just 
 or proper.' 
 
 I am not inclined to dispute about this, or about any point, 
 with my deceased friend ; but shall only observe, that 
 we are much obliged to Erasmus for giving us a most ea- 
 tertaining account of two divines, so far resembling each 
 other, • that they had a largeness of mind, a solidity oi judg- 
 
 = This letter, says Knight, should be dated 152CK 
 
 " Seckendorf, 1. iii. p. 3/3. 
 
 *> Appendix, No. ii. p. 14, 
 
 « Life of Colet, Intr. p. xl. 
 
 ^ But where could Erasmus have found an Englishman proper for hi$ 
 purpose; especially as. he was to seek him, not amongst the living, but 
 amongst the dead h 
 
 a 
 
1^5 THE LIFE [1j19. 
 
 iiient, and a freedom of thinking and speaking, far beyond 
 their contemporaries, very few excepted. 
 
 ' Bishop Latimer^ remembered the noise that the prose- 
 cution of Colet for heresy had made ; and says expressly, 
 that he should have been burnt, if God had not turned the 
 king's heart to the contrary, &c. 
 
 ' Some time after he had been dead and buried, he had 
 like to have been served as Martin Bucer and Paul Fagius, 
 who were taken up and burnt at Cambridge. 
 
 ' Collier, in his Ecclesiastical History, leaves out all the 
 preaching of Colet against the corruptions of the church of 
 Rome; and doth not so much as mention his name in his 
 Historical Dictionary, &c. 
 
 ' Under Lily and Rytwise, the masters of St. PauFs school, 
 founded by Colet, if there was any fault, it was the practice 
 of too much severity, owing a little to the roughness of 
 that age, and to the established customs of cruelty. Some- 
 what too may be attributed to the austere temper of the 
 founder, dean Colet, who thought there was a necessity of 
 harsh discipline to humble the spirit of boys. 
 
 ' Erasmus was of a contrary opinion, and more for the mer- 
 ciful and gentle^ way of education ; and therefore was almost 
 angry s with the dean and his two masters, and hath told a 
 
 «^ Knight's Life of Colet, p. 93. 172. 258. 
 
 ^ He hath treated this subject very well in t. i.e. 361. De Conscrib. 
 Epist. 
 
 s Novi theologum quendam, et quidem domestice, maximi nominis, 
 cujus animo nulla crudelitas satisficiebat in discipulos, quum magistros 
 haberet strenue plagosos. Id existimabat unice et ad dejiciendam inge- 
 iiiorum ferociam, et ad edomandam setatis lasciviam pertinere. Nun- 
 quam agitabat convivium apud gregem suum, nisi quemadmodum co- 
 moedisg exeunt in laetam catastrophen, ita post cibum sumtum, unus aut 
 alter protraheretur virgis lacerandus ; et interim saeviebat et in imme- 
 ritos, nimirum, ut assuescerent plagis. Ipse quondam adstiti proximus, 
 quum a prandio ex more puerum evocarat, annos natuni, ut opinor, de- 
 cern. Ilecens autem a matre venerat in euni gregem. Prcxfatus est, 
 illi niatrem esse cum primis piam fceminam, ab ea sibi puerum studiose 
 commendatum : mox ut haberet occasionem csdendi, coepit objicere 
 nescio quid ferocise, quum nihil minus prae se ferret puer, et innuit illi 
 ciii collegii praefecturam commiserat, huic ex re satelles erat cognomen, 
 ut csederet. Ille protinus dejectum puerum ita caec-idit, quasi sacrile- 
 gium commisisset. Theologus semel atqae iterum in;erpcllavit. Satis 
 tst, satis est. At carnifex ille, fervore surdus, peregit suam carnifici- 
 nam pene usque ad pueri syncopem. Mox theologus versus ad nosj 
 2 
 
1519.3 OF ERASMUS. 159 
 
 story of them, nor very much to their reputation ; which, 
 though he concealed their names, it will be a hard task to 
 apply to any other than to them. 
 
 •• Erasmus, as well as Colet, was suspected of hercs)-. 
 When they were joint spectators of some superstitious re- 
 liqucs of Thomas a Bccket'^, Colet was out of patience to see 
 those silly fopperies ; whereas Erasmus was more easy, wait- 
 ing till a proper time should come of reforming such 
 abuses,' Sec. 
 
 It is observable of Colet, that, with all his sense, and 
 with all his learning, he was not able to acquire a purity, 
 facility, and elegance in writing Latin. Erasmus takes no- 
 tice' of this defect in his illustrious friend, and assigns the 
 cause of it. It will usually be the case, more or less, of 
 those who have not laid a grammatical foundation betimes. 
 
 It is true that a bare knowledge of rules will not enable a 
 man to write Latin elegantly ; for, Aliudest Granwiatice, 
 al'iud Latine loqui ; and that it is needful to be conversant 
 with good authors : but both these things should be joined 
 together, the one without the other being defective. 
 
 In a letter to Ruseus, Erasmus commends Joannes Pinus, 
 amongst other learned Frenchmen, and also makes civil men- 
 tion of him in the Ciceronianus. Epist. 393. See Bayle, 
 Pin. 
 
 Erasmus wrote to cardinal Campegius, who was then at 
 London, and sent him his second edition of the New Testa- 
 
 ' Nihil commeruit,' inquit, ' sed erat humiliandus,' nam hoc verbo est 
 iisus. Qvii'^ unquam ad eum moduni erudivit mnncipium ; imo qui* 
 asinum ? De Puer. Instit. c. 505. 
 
 ^ In Anglia ofFeriint osculandum calceum Divi Thomas, qui forte cal- 
 ceus est alicujus balatronis ; at ut sit^ quid ineptius quam adorare cal- 
 ceum hominis ? Vidi ipse, quum ostentarent linteola lacera, quibus 
 ille dicltur abstersisse muccum narium, Abbatem et cseteros qui adsta- 
 bant aperto scriniolo venerabundos, procidere ad genua, ac manibus etiam 
 cublatis adorationem gestu repraescntare. Ista Joanni Coleto, nam is 
 mecum aderat, videbantur indigna : mihi ferenda videbantur, donee so 
 daret opportunitas ea citra tumultum corrigendi. Mod. Grand. 
 
 ' Recta loquendi copiam non ferebat peti e praeceptionibuj grammati- 
 corum, quas asseverabat officere ad bene dicenduni, nee id contingere 
 iii.;i evolvendis optimis auctorlbus ; sed Imjus opinionis ipse poenas dcxiit. 
 Cum enim asset et natura et eriuliiione lacundus, ac dkendi (read d'l- 
 teiiti) mira suppeteret orationis ubertas, tamen scribens subinde labeba- 
 tnr in his, q<aee Solent nolare criliri, Sec. £p. 3 J 5, c. 40'O. App. 
 JS'u. ii.p. 14. 
 
160 THE LIFE [I519» 
 
 ment. He excuseth himself for not presenting it to him in 
 person, partly on account of his health, and partly as be- 
 ing invited to France by the king*s. letters, and designing 
 to go thither. It is strange, that these letters of Fran- 
 cis I, or of his ministers, should not be found in this col- 
 lection. But Erasmus never went his projected journey ; 
 and it appears from many of his letters that he liked infi- 
 nitely better to pay his court to the great at a distance than 
 in person. Ep. 416. 
 
 Campegius returned him a polite letter, full of commen- 
 dations, and sent him a present of a diamond ring, and gave 
 ten pieces of gold, decern aureos, to the messenger by 
 •whom Erasmus had sent his book to him. He exhorts Eras-* 
 mus to despise the malice of those divines who traduced 
 him in so odious a manner ; and declares that their censures 
 had not in the least diminished the esteem and the love 
 which he had for him, 
 
 Erasmus failed net to return him the thanks which his 
 condescension and civility so justly deserved, and often praises 
 him in letters written to other correspondents. Ep. 443. 
 445. 471. 648o In one to Jacobus Banislus, he calls him 
 virum o?nmmn et opl'nninn el doclissimum. Ep. 437. 
 
 Campegius acted^ very prudently, as well as generously, 
 
 ^ Leo X, when he sent a cardinal's cap to Campegius, told him in a 
 brief, which is composed in elegant Latin, and preserved to us by Si- 
 gonius, that this same cap contained in it, according to the fathers, 
 sundry great mysteries. — Qui (Pileus) ut te intelligere confidimus, ex 
 Patrum auctoritate, magnum mysterium contiuet. Designat enim, &;c. 
 Vit. Laur. Campcg. p. 38. 
 
 Nothing is here wanted, except a dozen handsome citations from 
 Cyprian, Augustin, Jerom, &c. Longueruana, ii. 21. 
 
 There was a man who used to take singular care of his beard : it cost 
 him three crowns a month. Cardinal Campegius said, I3y-and-by the 
 beard will cost more thnn the head is worth. Menagiana, i. 20S. This 
 saying is ascribed also to cardinal Pole. Vit. Poli, p. 01. 
 
 After the diet at Augsburg was ended, cardinal Campegius went \\'\\\\ 
 king Ferdinand to Vienna, where the people made an image of clouts 
 and rags, like a little cardinal, and set it upon a dog's back, which bore 
 about his neck tied llie pope's letters of pardons, indulgences, and seals : 
 under the dog's tail they hung a swine's bladder filled with pease, and in 
 that sort they hunted the dog through the streets in Vienna. Ihe next 
 day after, the cardinal appointed a whore to bear him company that night, 
 who stole from him his cardinal's cross. This cardinal, in regard he was 
 rich, was by the pope's son made a\^ ay with poison. Lutlier's Colloquia 
 Mensal. p. 314. 
 
1519.] OF ERASMUS. 161 
 
 towards his learned client ; and it was no small honour to 
 him to appear in the world, and to be transmitted to posterity 
 as the patron of Erasmus. 
 
 ' Henry VHP had absolutely gained Campegio to do all 
 he could for him, without losing the pope's favour. Cam- 
 pegio led at this time (in 1519) a very dissolute life in Eng- 
 land, hunting and gaming all the day long, and following 
 whores all the night ; and brought a bastard of his own over 
 to England with him, whom the king knighted : so that 
 if the king sought his pleasure it was no strange thing, since 
 he had such a copy set him by two legates"^; who representing 
 his holiness so livelily in their manners, it was no unusual 
 thins: if a kin^: had a slight sense of such disorders.' 
 
 ' The duke of Suffolk" often asked the king. How he 
 could so humble hunself as to submit his cause to such a vile, 
 vitious, stranger priest, as Campegio was ?' 
 
 Campegio's son" is by Hall, none of his flatterers, said 
 to have been born in wedlock, i. e. before he took orders. 
 This is also confirmed by Gauricus, Genitur. 24, who says, he 
 had by his wife three sons and two daughters.* 
 
 ' That miserable historian p, that detestable author, San- 
 ders*, hath had the impudence to say that Henry VIII 
 knighted a bastard son of Campegius. Either he knew 
 not, or he pretended not to know, that this cardinal had 
 been married fifteen or twenty years, and had had four sons.' 
 
 Ep. 417 is to sir Elenry Guildeford, concerning whom see 
 Knight, p. 205. 
 
 In Ep. 4J8 to Claymond, Erasmus extols the piety and 
 
 Sec also AmcRD. Lit. torn. vi. p. 354, Melaiichthon says : 
 
 Jam miln oundum est ad Campegium cardinalcin. Is mihi egregie 
 \-crba dat, cum quidcm suavissinie disputat : tamen alil)i nos impugnat. 
 Ait se posse concederc usum utriusque specici, et conjugium sacerdo- 
 t.um, &:c. Ep. p, 505. 
 
 So Campegius .-^cems to ha\e been in some things well enough disposed 
 toward.^ the Protestant doctrines. But he was a politician. 
 
 ' B'.irnet, i. 6p. Fiddes hath offered some remarks in viixdication of 
 the moral character of Campegius. Collect, p. 2.3y. 
 
 ^■^ Campccius and Wolsey. 
 
 " Burnet," i. 92. 
 
 •^ Fulman, Appendix to Burnet;, ii.p. 412. 
 
 P Longnt'iruana, ii. p. 23. 
 
 * Sec the character of Sanders in Strype's Life of Parker^ p. 377- 
 Vol. I. M 
 
162 THE LIF£ [1519. 
 
 bounty of bishop Fox, who had founded the college of Cor- 
 pus Christ! at Oxford. 
 
 ' Wood^ gives a pretty full account of Dr. Claymond^ 
 which shows that he was very considerable, both as to learn- 
 ing and preferments, having several dignities and ecclesias- 
 tical benefices bestowed upon him,' &c. 
 
 At this time Lee began to give about manuscript copies of 
 his Remarks, in which he had attacked the first edition of 
 the Annotations of Erasmus upon the New Testament, 
 Erasmus, hearing of this, sent him a letter full of re- 
 proaches and menaces, which had no effect upon him to re- 
 strain him. Ep. 446. 
 
 In the following letter^ to Ilutten, Erasmus draws the por- 
 trait of his friend More% describing even the smallest par- 
 ticularities relating to his body and mind, not foi-getting to 
 mention a trick which he had in walking, to set his right 
 shoulder higher than his left, and that his hands were clumsy, 
 suhrustide. He says also of him, that, whilst his age per- 
 mitted it, he had loved the girls, though not in a dissolute 
 way, &c. Few persons would much like to be described by 
 their friends in such a manner ; they would hardly thank 
 them even for commendations mixed with such sort of rail- 
 lery. However, it appears not that the union between More 
 and him was ever broken in the least ; and it is certain that 
 Erasmus had no design to offend him. 
 
 '! Knight, p. 205. 
 
 ' Amongst the works of Clajmond are Epistolae ad Simon. Grynseurn, 
 Erasmum, et ahos viros doctissimoSj in manuscript, and not, as I con- 
 ceive, printed.' Wood, i, c. 48. 
 
 ■" Appendix, No. xix. 
 
 ^ Baiilet, ii. 'IQQ. iii. 30. iv. j53. Boisaard, Icon. \y. 121. P. Jo- 
 vuis, Elog. p. lGi5. Pope Blount, p.spG. Wood, i 36". Gevdcs. torn. \. 
 p. 177. Strype's Memor. vol. i. p. ]7y. 205, where, atter some 
 .shocking accounts of JVIore's cruelty to the retbrmers, he adds : ' li et 
 he showed mercy to one, for his wit, as I have read in an old manu- 
 script. For, examining a Protestant, whose name was Silver, he told 
 him, after his jesting way, that Silver must br tried in ihejire. — Ay, said 
 Si/i'cr, hut Quick-siver irill not abide it. With which ready answer 
 being delighted, he dismissed him.' 
 
 When Ivlore had resigned tlie great seal, which was in the year 1532, 
 Erasmus wrote a Letter, in v/hich he warmly commends him j and en- 
 deavours to extenuate and justify his severity towards the reformed. Is 
 isEpi^t. 420 c. 18(9. 
 
1519.] OF EkASMUS. 163 
 
 ' Erasmus hath made a mistake in saying that More was 
 forty years old, who was born in the year 1482.' Thus 
 Le Clerc observes, but is probably mistaken himself; for 
 More was born in 14.S0', if we may depend upon the testi- 
 mony of his great grandson. 
 
 We have a Life of sir Thomas More written by this Mr. 
 More, who was a narrow-minded zealot, and a very fanatic. 
 VIowever, we will extract a few passages from it. Wood, 
 the antiquary, says of this book, that it was incomparably 
 well written : and the judgment is such as might be expected 
 from the man. Similes habent labra lactucas. 
 
 ' Cranmer" is said to have solicited in behalf of More; and 
 there is still extant a letter fiom him to secretai-y Cromwell, 
 wherein he presses that More and Fisher might be dispensed 
 ■with in the present case, and allowed to take the oath to the 
 succession only, without swearing to the preamble, as they 
 had both of them freely ofiered to do,' &c. 
 
 * AVhen at Bruges^ in Flanders an arrogant fellow had 
 set up a thesis, that he would answer whatsoever question 
 could be propounded to him in any art whatsoever ; sir 
 Thomas made this question to be put up for him to answer 
 thereto, Whether Averia capta in fVitkernamia sunt irre- 
 plegiabilia ; adding, that there w^as one of the English em- 
 bassador's retinue that would dispute with him thereof. 
 This brajj-gadocio, not so much as understanding those terms 
 of our common law, knew not what to answer to it ; and 
 so he was made a laughing-stock to the whole city.' 
 
 ' It is reported -% that he who conducted Erasmus to Eng- 
 land, procured that sir Thomas More and he should first 
 meet together in London at the lord mayor's table, neither 
 of them knowing each other. And in the dinner-time 
 they chanced to fall into argument, Erasmus still endea- 
 vouring to defend the worser part ; but he was so sharply 
 set upon and opposed by More, that, perceiving that he was 
 now to argue Vv'ith a readier wit than ever he had before met 
 
 * The year of sir Thomas More's bhth is net certain. By Erasmus's 
 reckoning, it was 1479, if not higher. Others say it was 2480 j and 
 others 1434. Appendix to Burnet's Hist, of the Ref vol. ii. p. 4l6. 
 
 ^' Editor's preface to More, p. viii. 
 
 "^ Hoddesdon, Stapleton, More, p. 6o. 
 
 >■ Hoddesdon, Siapieton, More, p. 82. 314. 
 
 M 2 
 
16'lf THE LIFE [1519, 
 
 \?ithalj he broke forth Into these words, not without some 
 choler, ^ut tu Moms es, aut nullus : whereto Sir Thomas 
 readilv replied, Aut tu es Erasmus, aut Diabolus ; because 
 at that time he was strangely disguised, and had sought 
 to defend impious propositions : for although he was a sin- 
 gular Humanist, and one that could utter his mind in a most 
 eloquent phrase, yet he had always a delight to scoff at reli- 
 gious matters, and find fault with all sorts of clergymen. 
 He took a felicity to set out sundry commentaries upon the 
 fathers' works, censuring them at his pleasure, for which cause 
 he is termed errans nms ; because he wandereth here and 
 there in other men's harvests ; yea, in his writings he is said 
 to have hatched many of those eggs of heresy, which the 
 apostate fryar Luther had before laid : not that he is to be 
 accounted a heretic, for he v/ould never be obstinate in any 
 of his opinions ; yet would he irreligiously glance at all 
 antiquity, .nnd find many faults with the present state of the 
 church. — Sir Thomas in success of time grew less affec- 
 tionate unto hitn, by reason he saw him still fraught with 
 much vanity and inconstancy in respect of religion : as when 
 Tindall objecteth unto sir Thomas, that his darling Erasmus 
 had translated the word church into cons;regation, Ttnd priest 
 into elder, even as himself had done ; sir Thomas answered 
 thereto, Ifmij darling Erasmus haih translated those places 
 frith the like wiched intent that Tindall hath done, he shall be 
 710 more my darliiti^, hut the deviTs darling. Finally, long 
 after, having found in Erasmus's works many things necessary 
 to be amended, he counselled him, as his friend, in some 
 later book of retractations, to correct in his writing what 
 he had unadvisedly written in the heat of youth. But he, 
 that was far different from St. Augustin In humility, would 
 never follow his counsel ; and therefore he is censured b)' 
 the church for a busy fellow : many of his books are con- 
 demned, and his opinions accounted erroneous, though he 
 aklways lived a catholic priest, and hath written most sharply 
 against all those new gospellers who now began to appear 
 in the world ; and in a letter to John Fabius^, bishop of 
 Vienna, he saith, that he hated these seditious opinions, with 
 the which at this day the world Is miserably shaken j neither 
 
 * He should havQ said, John Faher. 
 
15!9.] OF ERASMUS. 165 
 
 doth he dissemble, saith he, being so addicted to piety, 
 that if he incline to any part of the balance, he will bend 
 rather to superstition than to impiety : by which speech he 
 iieemeth in doubtful words to tax the church with supersti- 
 tion, and the new apostolical brethren with impieiy.' 
 
 As to the story of the first conversation between Erasmus 
 and More, Sitjides penes auctores. That More cxlioned 
 Erasmus to recant may pCosibly be true, for he was at last 
 bigot enough to be capable of giving this silly advice. If 
 he did so, Erasmus in return should have advised him to 
 look at home, and retract his own free-thinking Utopia. 
 But there is no relying upon such authors as these, unless 
 they cite chapter and verse. • 
 
 Luther, says this wiseacre, laid the eggs^ and Erasmus 
 hatched them. The contrary was the truth, and the conmion 
 saying concerning these two great men. As to the elegance, 
 politeness, candour, and judiciousness of his remarks, they 
 may be safely left to the determination of eveiy reader of 
 common sense. 
 
 The same author gives us some account of More's second 
 \vife% who was homely and niggardly j and one of his lu- 
 dicrous^ actions, which was, to employ a cut-purse to rob a 
 justice, as he sat on the bench, who thought that none except 
 careless fools could be served so. 
 
 Knight*^ observes, that More exhorted'^ Erasmus to be 
 very cautious, and to revise and amend every thing that had 
 given or could give ctfence; and that Erasmus would not 
 humour his friend in this, or write any more against Luther : 
 but here Knight seems to confound different times together ; 
 for this letter of More was written A. 1516, before Eras- 
 mus had any contests with Luther : and besides, he who 
 shall carefully peruse it will see that the advice given in it 
 hath the air of banter, rather than of superstition, and that 
 More speaks of these censurers of Erasmus with the utmost 
 contempt. In thj year 153'^ which was only three years 
 before his own death, he still corresponded with Erasmus, 
 showing, as it appears, the same esteem for him which he 
 had always entertained. In one of these letters he admo- 
 
 * P. 95. <=P. 337. 
 
 '' P. 8(>. "» Ep. 87. c 1574. 
 
166 THE LIFE [1519* 
 
 nisheth Erasmus^ very gently, not to recant or retract any 
 thing, but only to condescend, as f.\r as he could, to the 
 infirmities of some honest and weak brethren. 
 
 'Sir Thomas More^, who was a man celebrated for virtue 
 and learning, undertook answering some of (the Lutheran 
 books); but before he went about it, he would needs have the 
 bishop's licence for keeping and reading them. He wrote, ac- 
 cording to the way of the age, with much Jjitterness ; and 
 though he had been no fiiend to the monks, and a great de- 
 clamer against the ignorance of the clergy, and had been ill- 
 used by the cardinal, yet he was one of the bitterest enemies 
 of the new preachers, not without great cruelty, when he 
 came into pov\er, tho,»gh he was otherwise a very good- 
 natured man.' 
 
 * In the year 1.532^, More laid dov.'n his office of chan- 
 cellor. He had carried that dignity with great temper, and 
 lost it with much joy. He saw now how far the king's de- 
 signs went: and though he was for cutting off the illegal 
 jurisdiction which the popes exercised in England, and 
 therefore went cheerfully along with the sute of praemunire ; 
 yet, when he saw a total rupture like to follow, he excused 
 himself, and retired from business with a greatness of mmd 
 that was equal to what the antient philosophers pretended in 
 such cases. He also disliked Anne Boleyn, and was perse- 
 cuted by her father, who studied to fasten some criminal im- 
 putations on him about the discharge of his employment ; 
 but his integrity had been such that nothing could be found 
 to blemish his reputation.' 
 
 ' In 1 534, More and Fisher were attainted '\ This severity, 
 though it was blamed by many, yet others thought it was 
 necessary in so great a change. — But others observed the 
 justice of God, in retaliating thus upon them their own se- 
 verities to others : for, as t isher did grievously prosecute 
 
 •= Macte igitur, mi Erasme, virtutibus istis tnis, et tantum, si quid 
 interduiu boni cujusquam viii aiixinm solicitudincm, vel absque satis 
 grancli causa, coinmovoat, ne te pigcat tamcn ad pios eorum aifectus 
 quffidam attcmperare : aliocjuin, neglectis malevolorum latratibus, per- 
 ge placidus juvandis studiis et. promovendis virtutibus nihil remoratus ia- 
 sistere. £p. 1223. c. 1441. 
 
 *' Hurnet, i. 32. 
 
 ^ Ibid. i. 124. 
 
 * Ibid. 158. 
 
IJIO.] OF ERASMUS. 167 
 
 the preachers of Luther's doctrine, so Mora's hand had 
 been very heavy on them, as long as he had power ; and 
 he had showed them no mercy, but the extremity of the 
 law, which himself now felt to be very heavy. — 
 
 ' rhe cardinal was no great persecutor of heretics, which 
 was generally thought to flow from his hatred of the clergy, 
 and that he was not ill pleased to have them depressed. — But, 
 as soon as More came into favour, he pressed the king much 
 to put the laws against heretics in execution, which was done 
 accordingly. — 
 
 ' There came out a book against the friars, which took 
 mightily, entitled, The Supplication of the Beg£!;ars, &c. 
 More wac the most zealous champion the clergy had ; for I 
 do not find that any of them wrote much, only the bishop 
 of Rochester wrote for purgatory. So More answered 
 this Supplication by another, in the name of the souls that 
 were in purgatory ; representing the miseries they were in, 
 and the great relief they found by the masses of the friars said 
 for them, and brought in every man's ancestors calling ear- 
 nestly upon him to befriend those poor friars now, when 
 they had so many enemies. He confidently asserted, it 
 had been the doctrine of the church for many ages. — 
 
 ' John Frith, who was an excellent scholar, wrote an an- 
 swer to More's Supplication, and to the bishop of Rochester's 
 book. — For the places in the New Testament, he appealed 
 to More's great friend Erasmus, whose exposition of these 
 places differed' much from his glosses. — 
 
 ' Frith had written against the corporal presence of Christ 
 in the sacrament. — More set himself to answer it in his 
 ordinaiy style, treating Frith with great contempt. Frith, 
 though confined in jail, and cruelly used there, and lying 
 under all possible disadvantages, drew up a reply to More, 
 by which it may appear how much truth is stronger than 
 error : for, though i\Iore wrote with as much wit and elo- 
 quence as any man in that age did, and Frith wrote plainly 
 without any art ; yet there is so great a difference between 
 their books, that whosoever compares them will clearly 
 
 ' The use which these reformers made of the t'.ieological works of 
 Erasmus, might perhaps contribute to lessen, in some degree, the af- 
 tection of More towards his old friend ; for he could not be well pleased 
 to tiiid himself pressed by auch arguments. 
 
168 THE LIFE [1519. 
 
 perceive the one to be an ingenious defender of a bad cause, 
 and the other a simple assertor of truth. 
 
 * Frith was burnt in Smithfield, and suffered with heroic 
 constancy. 
 
 ' James Bainham, a gentleman of the Temple, was cam id 
 to the chancellor's house, where much pains was taken to 
 persuade him to discover such as he knew in the Temple 
 who favoured the new opinions ; but fair means nor pre- 
 vailing, More made himbe whipt'' in his presence, and after 
 that sent him to the Tower, where he looked on, and saw him 
 put to the rack. — He was burnt in Smithfield, and with him 
 More's persecution ended ; for soon after he laid down the 
 great seal, which set the poor preachers at ease.' 
 
 ' Luther, being a^^ked', whether Thomas More was exe-^ 
 Cuted for the Gospel's sake f answered. No, in no wise ; 
 for he was a notable tyrant. He was the k'ng's chiefest 
 counsellor, a very learned and a wise man. He shed the 
 blood of many innocent Christians that confessed the Gorpel ; 
 those he plagued and tormented with strange instruments, 
 like a hangman,' kc. 
 
 ' More "^ received the sentence of condemnation with 
 that equal temper of mind which he had showed in both 
 conditions of life, and then set himself wholly to prepare for 
 death ; which was so little terrible to him, that his ordinary 
 facetiousness remained with him even upon the scaffold. It 
 was censured by many, as light and undccent : but others 
 said, that way having been so natural to him on all other oc- 
 casions, it was not at all affected ; but showed that death did 
 no way discompose him, and could not so much as put 
 him out of his ordinary humour. Yet his rallying every 
 thing on the scaffold v/as thought to have more of the Stoic 
 than the Christian in it. 
 
 * In his youth he had freer thoughts of things, as appears 
 by his Utopia*, and his letters to Erasmus : but afterwards 
 
 ^ Sir Thomas More denies the truth of some nccusations of this kind, 
 and of some cruelties laid to his charge by the Protestants. See Pref. to 
 Roper's Life of More, p. 13. 
 
 ' Luther's CoUoq. Mensal, p. 464. 
 
 ^ Burnet, i. 355. 
 
 * Maittaire, ii. 323. 553, 554. 582. iii. 561. Stiype's Memor, vol. ii. 
 p. 315, 316. An English translation of it was printed in London, annq 
 1556. 
 
1519.] OF ERASMUS. 169 
 
 he became superstitlously devoted to the interests and passions 
 of the popish clergy ; and as he served them when he was 
 in authority, even to assist them in a!l their cruelties, so he 
 employed his pen in the same cause. — Llore was no divine 
 at all ; and it is plain to any that reads his writings, that 
 he knew nothing of antiquity, beyond the quotations he 
 found in the Canon Law, and in the ?Jaster of the Sentences : 
 only he had read some of St. Austin's treatises : for, upon 
 all points of controversy, he quotes only what he found in 
 these collections. Nor was he at all conversant in the cri- 
 tical learning upon the Scriptures ; but his peculiar excel- 
 lency in writing was, that he had a natural easy expression, 
 and presented all the opinions of popery with their fair 
 side to the reader, disguising or concealing the black side 
 of them with great art ; and was no less dextrous in expos- 
 ing all the ill consequences that would follow on the doctrine 
 of the reformers ; and had upon all occasions great store 
 o:: pijpsant tales, which he applied v/ittily to his purpose. 
 Ai:d in this consists the great strength of his writings, which 
 \\'\:ie desif^ned rather for the rabble than for learned men. 
 Bu; for justice, contempt of money, humility, and a true ge- 
 nerosity of mind, he was an example to the age in which he 
 lived.' 
 
 ' Queen Mary" ordered all sir Thomas Mere's works to 
 be printed. One piece of fraud hath occurred to me. — In 
 the manuscript out of which his letters were printed, there 
 is a long one concerning the Nun of Kent. It contains many 
 remarkable passages concerning her, of the high opinion he 
 at first had of her ; how he was led into it ; and how he 
 was afterwards convinced that she was a most false dis- 
 sembling hypocriie, &c. and that he believed she had 
 communication with an evil spirit. This letter was at that 
 time concealed, but not destroyed. — It seems, it was re- 
 solved to raise the credit of that story ; and since the nun 
 was beHeved to be both a martyr and a prophetess, it is like 
 she might have been easily gotten to be cannonized ; and 
 therefore so great a testimony from such a man was not 
 thought fit to be left in her way. The letter I have put intcs 
 the Collections.' 
 
 » Burnet, ii, 316, 
 
170 THE LIFE [1519. 
 
 ' Those'' of the church of Rome look upon More as one 
 of their glories, the champion of their cause, and their mar- 
 tyr. The first edition of his UtopiaP, that I could ever 
 see, was at Basil in 1518 : for he wrote it in 1516. He 
 composed that book probably before he had heard of Lu- 
 ther ; theWicklevitesand the Lollards being the only heretics 
 then known in England. In that short but extraordinary 
 book, he gave his mind full scope, and considered man- 
 kind and religion with a freedom which became a true 
 philosopher. By many hints it is ver}^ easy to collect what 
 his thoughts were of religion, of the constitutions of the 
 church, and of the clergy at that time. And therefore 
 though an observing reader will find these in his way, yet 
 having: read it with Q-reat attention, when I translated it into 
 English, I will lay together such passages as give clear indi- 
 cations of the sense he had then of those matters. 
 
 ' Page the 21st, when he censures the inclosing of 
 grounds, he ranks those holy inen, the abbots, amongst those 
 u-Iio thought it not enough to live at their own ease, and to 
 do no good to the pid'lic, but resolved to do it hurt instead 
 of good : which shows, that he called them hoh/ men in de- 
 rision. This is yet more fully set forth p. 37, wliere he 
 brings in cardinal IMorton's jester's advice, to send all the 
 beggars to the Benedictins to be lay-brothers, and all the fe- 
 male beggars to be nuns, reckoning the friars as vagabonds, 
 that ought to be taken up and restrained : and the discourse 
 that follows for two or three pages gives such a ridiculous 
 view of the want of breeding, of the folh; and ill-nature of 
 the friars, that they have taken care to strike it out of the 
 later impressions. But as I did find'' it in the impression 
 which I translated, so I have copied it all from the first edition, 
 and have put in the Collection, iSFo. 10, that which the inqui- 
 sitors have left out. From thence it is plain, what opinion 
 he had of those, who were the most eminent divines, and 
 the most famed preachers at that time. This is yet plainer, 
 p. 56, in which he taxes the preachers of that age for corrupt- 
 ing the christian doctrine, and practising upon it : for thei/, 
 
 «» Burnet, iii. 29. 
 
 PAnno, ut conjicio, 15l6, prior prodiit Utopioe editio, cul succcssit 
 posterior Gonrmonti;ina. Maittaire, Ann. Typ. ii. 2Q3. 
 ■ 9 It is in my Basil edition of the year 15(33^ in p. 31. 
 
]519.3 OP ERASMUS. 171 
 
 observing that the world did not suit their Jives to the rules 
 that Christ has given, have Jiltc'd his doctrine, as if it had 
 been a leaden rule, to their lives, thru some ivaij or other 
 they might agree luith one another. And he does not soft- 
 en this severe censure, as it it had been only the fanlt of a 
 few, but lets it go on them all, without any discriminaiioii 
 or limitation. 
 
 ' P. 83, he taxes the great company of idle priests, and 
 of those that are called religious persons, that were in other 
 nations ; against which he tells us in his last chapter how 
 carefully the Utopians had provided : but it appears there 
 what just esteem he paid to men of that character, when 
 they answered the dignity of their profession ; for, as he 
 contracts the number of the priests in Utopia, p. 186, so 
 he exalts their dignity as high as so noble a function could 
 deserve. Yet he represents the Utopians as allowing them to 
 marry, p. 114; and, p. ISO, he exalts a solid virtue much 
 above all rigorous severities, which were the most admired 
 expressions of piety and devotion in that age. He gives 
 a perfect scheme of religious men, so much .be^^ond the 
 monastic orders, that It v^hows he was no admirer of them. 
 
 ' P. 1.52, hecommends the Europeans for observing their 
 leagues and treaties so religiously ; and ascribes that to the 
 good examples that popes set other princes, and to the se- 
 verity with which they prosecuted such as were perfidious. 
 This looks like respect ; but he me^^it all ironically ; for he, 
 who had seen the reigns of pope Alexander VI, and Julius II, 
 the two falsest and most perfidious persons of the age, could 
 not say this, but in the way of satyr. So that he secretly 
 accuses both popes and princes for violating their faith, to 
 which they were induced by dispensations from Rome. 
 p. 192, his putting images out of the churches of the 
 Utopians, gives no obscure hint of his opinion in that 
 matter. The opinion, p. 175, that he proposes, doubt- 
 fully indeed, but yet favourably, of the first converts to 
 Christianity in Utopia, who (there being no priests amongst 
 those who Instructed them) were inclined to choose priests 
 that should officiate amongst them, since they could not 
 have any that were regularly ordained ; adding, that they 
 seemed resolved to do It ; this shows that in cases of ne- 
 (icssity he had a largeness of thought far from being en- 
 
172 THE LIFE [1519. 
 
 gaged blindfold Inf-othe humours and Interests of the priests 
 at that time ; to whom this must have appeared one of the 
 most dangerous of all heresies And whereas persecution 
 and cruelty seem to be the indelible characters of popery ; 
 he, as he skives us the character of the religion of the Vto---^'''^ 
 pians, that ' ihei/ offered not divine fwno7irs to criiy hut to 
 God alone,* p. 173 ; so he makes it one of their maxims, 
 that ' no man ought to be punished for his religion :' the 
 utmost severity practised among them being banishment ; 
 and that, not for disparaging their religion, but tor inflam- 
 ing the people to sedition : a law being made among them, 
 that ' every man might be of what religion he pleased,* 
 p. 191. And though there were many different forms of 
 religion am.ong them, yet they all agreed in the main point 
 of worshipping the divine essc-nce ; so that there vi-as nothing 
 in tiieir temples, in which the several persuasions among 
 them might not agree. 
 
 ' The several sects performed the rites that were pecu- 
 liar to them in their privaie houses ; nor was there any thing 
 in their public worship that contradicted the particular ways 
 of the several sects : by all which he carried not only tole- 
 ration, but even comprehension, further than the most mo- 
 derate of our divines have ever pretended to do. It is true, 
 he represents all this in a fable of his Utopians : but this was 
 a scene dressed up by himself, in which he was fully at 
 liberty to frame every thing at pleasure. So here we find in 
 this a scheme of some of the most essential parts of the re- 
 formation. He proposes no subjection of their priests to 
 any head ; he makes them to be chosen by the people, and 
 consecrated by the College of Priests ; and he gives them no 
 other authority, but that of excluding men that were despe- 
 rately wicked from joining in their worship, which was short 
 and simple : and though every man was suffered to bring 
 over others to his persuasion, yet he was obliged to do it by 
 amicable and modest wavs, and not to mix with these either 
 reproaches or violence : such as did otherwise were to be 
 condemned to banishment or slavery. 
 
 ' These were his first and coolest thoughts; and pro- 
 bably, if he had died at that time, he would have been rec- 
 koned amon;;st those, who, though they lived in the com- 
 munion of the Church of Rome, yet saw what were the 
 
1519.] OF ERASMUS. 173 
 
 errors and comiptlons of that body, and only wanted fit op- 
 portunities of" declaring thciiiselves more openly for a re- 
 formation. Tiiese things were not written by him in the 
 heat of youth ; he was then thirty-four years of age. iind was 
 at that time employed togetlior with Tonstall in settiino^ some 
 matters of state with the then prince Charles ; so that he 
 was far advanced at that time, and knew the world well. It 
 is not easy to account for the great change, that we find 
 afterwards he was wrought up to. He not only set himself 
 to oppose the reformation in many treatises, that, put toge- 
 ther, make a great volume ; but, when he was raised up to 
 the chief post in the ministry, he became a persecutor even 
 to blood, and defiled those hands, which were never pol- 
 luted with bribes, by acting in his own person some of those 
 cruekies, to \\-hich he was, no doubt, pushed on by the 
 bloody clergy of that age and church. 
 
 ' He was not governed by interest ; nor did he aspire so 
 to preferment, as to stick at nothing that might contribute 
 to raise him ; nor was he subject to the vanities of populii- 
 rity. The integritv of his whole life, and the severity of his 
 morals, cover him from all these suspicions. If he had been 
 formerly corrupted by a superstitious education, it had been 
 no extraordinary thing to see so good a man grow to be 
 misled by the force of prejudice. But how a man, who had 
 emancipated himself, and had got into a scheme of free 
 thoughts, could be so entirely changed, cannot be easily 
 apprehended ; nor how he came to muffle up his under- 
 standing, and deliver himself up as a property to the blind 
 and enraged fury of the priests. It cannot indeed be ac- 
 counted for, but by charging it on the intoxicating charms 
 of that religion, that can darken the clearest understandings, 
 and corrupt the best natures. And since they v.rought this 
 effect upon sir Tliomas More, I cannot but conclude, that 
 " if these things were done in the green tree, what shall be 
 done in the dry !" 
 
 ' ^ There are heavy things charged on More and Fisher : 
 but, except Fisher's being too much concerned in the busi- 
 ness of the Nun of Kent, which was without doubt managed 
 with a desicrn to raise a rebellion in the nation, I do net find 
 
 ' Burnet, iii. 100, 
 
174? THE LIFE [1519. 
 
 any other thing that can be laid to his charge ; and it does 
 not appear that More gave any credit or countenance to that 
 matter. Yet I have seen that often affirmed.' 
 
 ' ^ More was the glory of the age, and his advancement 
 was the king's honom*, more than his own, who was a true 
 christian philosopher. He thought the cause of the king's 
 divorce was just '^y and as long as it uas prosecuted at the 
 court of Rome, so long he favoured it : but when he saw 
 that a breach with that court was like to follow, he left the 
 great post he was in, with a superior greatness of mind. It 
 was a fail great enough to retire from that into a private 
 state of Hfe ; but the carrying matters so far against him as 
 tliO king did, was one of the justest reproaches of that reign, 
 More's superstition seems indeed contemptible ; but the 
 constancy of his mind was truly wonderful.' 
 
 ' it is remarked by Atterbury ", that More in his answer 
 to Luther forgot himself so, as to throw out the greatest 
 heap of nasty language that perhaps ever was put together ; 
 and that the book throughout is nothing but downright ri- 
 baldry, without a grain of reason to support it, and gave 
 the author no other reputation, but that of having the best 
 knack of any man in Europe at calling bad names in good 
 Latin, &c. The like censure do his English tracts against 
 Tindal, Barns, &c. deserve.' 
 
 More, in his younger days, had incurred the displeasure 
 of Henry VII, who wanted to ruin him. 
 
 ' Hereupon it fortuned ^, that sir Thomas More coming 
 in a suite to Fox, bishop of Winchester, the bishop called 
 him aside, and pretended great iavour towards him, and 
 promised that, if he would be ruled by him, he would not 
 fail but bring him into the king's favour again ; meaning, as 
 it afterward appeared, to cause him thereby to confess his 
 offence against the king, whereby his highness might with 
 the better colour have occasion to revenge his displeasure 
 against him. But, when he came from the bishop, he fell 
 in communication with Wiiiiford, his familiar friend, then 
 
 ^ Burnet, iii. 173, 
 
 ' Iloper and yiove have represented sir Thomas More as always dis- 
 npnroviiig the dirorce. 
 '» Pref. to Roper's Life of More, p. 8. 
 -* Koper, p. 29. 
 
I.'JIO.] or F.RASMUS. 175 
 
 chapkiin to that bishop, and showed him what tlie bishop 
 had said to him, desiring to hear his advice therein, who 
 prayed him in no wise to follow his cou:.sel: for my lord, 
 quoth he, to serve the king's turn, will not stick to agree to 
 his own father's death. So sir Thomas More returned to 
 the bishop no more ; and had not the king soon after died, 
 he was determined to have gone over sea, thinking that he 
 could not live in England without great danger.' 
 
 ' King Henry VI 11 >', on a time, came unlocked for to 
 More's house at Cdielsca, and dined with him, and after 
 diimer walked with him in his garden by the space ot ant 
 hour, holding his arm about his neck. As soon as he was 
 gone, I, rejoycing thereat, said to sir Thomas More, how 
 happy he was whom the king had so familiarly entertained, 
 as I had never seen him do to any other, except cardinal 
 ^A'^olsev. I thank our lord, son, quoth he, I find his grace 
 my very good lord indeed, and I believe he doth as singu- 
 larly favour me as any subject within this realm. Hovv'beit, 
 son Roper, I may tell thee, I have no cause to be proud 
 thereof ; for, if my head would win him a castle in France, 
 it should not fail to go.' 
 
 ' His jests ^ were thought to have in them more levity, 
 than to be tidien every where for current. He might have 
 quitted his dignity, without using such sarcasms, and be- 
 taken himself to a more retired and quiet life, without making 
 his family and himself contemptible.' 
 
 ' ^ The oath for maintaining the succession was, It seems, 
 required to be taken by all men and women ^ throughout 
 the realm. INIr. justice Rastall observes, that Mrs. Marga- 
 ret Roper took it with this excepdon, as far as it would 
 stand with the law of God. And it is said of Harry Paten- 
 son, sir Thomas More's fooL that, meeting one day one of 
 Mr. Roper's servants, he asked where sir I'homas was ; 
 and being told that he was still in the Tower, he grew very 
 angry, and said, Why, what aileth him that, he will not 
 
 y Roper, p. 40. 
 
 ^ Lord Herbert. Roper, p. 6/. Not. 
 
 * More's English Works. Roper, p. SO. Not. 
 
 ^ The contrivers of this law, when they compelled nil the females to 
 swear to the succession, should have given them leave at the same time 
 to exercise all otiices, civil^ military, ecclesiastical, Sec, 
 
178 THE LIFE [1519. 
 
 swear P Wherefore should he stick to swear? I have sworn 
 the oath myself.' 
 
 Erasmus hath said of More ^, in one place, that he was 
 rather superstitious than irreligious ; and in another place, 
 that he was extremely remote from all superstition. The 
 truth is, that in his youth he was free from that bigotry, 
 which grew upon him in process of time. 
 
 He was charitable to the poor ; he despised riches ; and 
 though he had opportunities, he had no inclination to ' lay 
 up for himself treasures upon earth,' 
 
 His son, John More, was one of the heroumjilii, who 
 are seldom equal to their fathers. The first wife of sir Tho- 
 mas More, having had several daughters, and no son, used 
 to pray most earnestly for a male ; and More afterwards 
 told her, ' ^ Wife, you have prayed so long for a boy, that 
 I fear he will be a boy as long as he lives.' John*s history, 
 like that of an antediluvian patriarch, is, that he was son of 
 Thomas ; and when he was eighteen years of age, he mar- 
 ried Anne Crisacre, aged fourteen ; and he begat five sons ; 
 
 and all the da}s that John hved were years, and he 
 
 died. 
 
 More^ entirely forfeited the favour of the Protestants 
 abroad, by his severity towards their English brethren. He 
 even makes his boasts ^, in a kind of epitaph, that he had 
 been an enemy to heretics, and justifies s it afterwards in an 
 epistle to Erasmus. 
 
 In his Utopia '' he hath declared himself fully and freely 
 against putting thieves to death. He would have them con- 
 fined to hai-d labour, and made slaves for a certain number 
 
 ^ Sic addictus pictati, ut si in altern.tram partem aliquantulum inclinet 
 momemum, superstitioni quarn iinpietati vicinior esse videatur. 
 
 This is to be tound in Ep. 42u, c. 1610, 1611. 
 
 Vern: pietritis non indiligens cultor est, etiarasi ab omni superstitione 
 ^''ienissinms. Kp 447- 
 
 •^ Lord Bacon. Knight, p. 34-4. Fvopcr, p. l/p. 
 
 /^Sleidan. 1. ix. 
 
 'f furibus, homicidis. hxrcticisque molestus. Ep. 1223. 
 
 P Quod ia Epitnpliio protiteor baereticis me fuisse molestum, hoc am- 
 bitiosc feci. Nam oniuino sic illud hominuin genus odi, ut illis, nisi 
 rt'sipiscant, tarn invisas e:;se vclim, quam cui ma.\.i:ne, quippe quos in- 
 dies naagis ac mazis experior tales, ut niuiido ab iliis vehciiienter metuam. 
 Ep. 4Cti. c. 1850. 
 
 ^L. i. p. 1^, iirc. ed. Bas. 
 
1519.] OF ERASMUS. 177 
 
 of years, and kindly used all that time, if they behaved 
 themselves well. Erasmus ' was in the same charitable and 
 reasonable way of thinking. 
 
 JMore had, if ever man had, what is called versatile ingB' 
 vium, and was capable of excelling in any way to which he 
 would apply himself. He was no bad poet ; and might 
 have been a better, if he had paid more assiduous court to 
 the Muses. 
 
 His translation of some Dialogues of Lucian is dedicated 
 to Ruthal, of whom we have already spoken. In this dedi- 
 cation he derides the monkish miracles, and the lying le- 
 gends of the saints. 
 
 His Utopia is addressed by Erasmus to John Frobcn. 
 Then follows a letter of Buda^us in commendation of that 
 ingenious work, a letter of Petrus ^gidius to Hieron. Bu- 
 slidius, and a letter of Buslidius to More on the same 
 occasion. 
 
 His Epigrams ^ are recommended by Beatus Rhenanus 
 to Bilibaldus Pirckheimerus ; and Rhenanus in this epistle 
 tells a good story of some profound critics, who, willing to 
 detract from the reputation of More, observed, that his 
 Utopia was not of his own making ; and that he had only 
 performed the office of a mere secretary and scribe to one 
 Hythlodaeus, the principal speaker in the Utopia, and to 
 whom therefore the principal credit of the performance was 
 due. 
 
 He composed a poem upon the coronation of Henry VIII, 
 which is a genteel compliment to that prince and to his 
 queen, and a most severe satire upon the reign of his avari- 
 cious and rapacious father. He concludes the dedication of 
 it with these emphatical words : ' Vale, princeps illustrissi- 
 me, et (qui novus ac rarus regum titulus est) amatissime.' 
 
 Amongst his poems there is a ludicrous one upon a poor 
 monk, whom he feigns to have been thrown overboard by 
 the sailors in a tempest, and so to h|||p saved ' the ship ; 
 there are some to Hieron. Buslidius, wno is also much com- 
 
 * Tom. V. c. 167. '^ 
 
 ^T. Mori Lucubrationes, Basil. A. 1563. See a Catalogue of his 
 writings in Roper, p. 1/4. 
 
 * Dicta probant, rapii:ntque vinim, simul in mare (o.quent, 
 Et llntrem loviub o^uam priiis isse ff runt. 
 Vol. I. N 
 
17S THE LIFE [1519. 
 
 mended In the Epistles of Erasmus ; three in praise of the 
 New Testament of Erasmus ; several against Brixius ; and 
 one upon a lady, with whom he had been deeply in love in 
 the days of his youth ; and this is the most pathetic and ele- 
 gant of his poetical performances. The reason is obvious : 
 his hand was secretary to his heart. 
 
 Huetius ^ speaks very favourably of his translations. 
 
 Ovid hath two lines which characterize More, and suit 
 him as if they were made for him. They are upon Her- 
 cules : — 
 
 Coeplsti melius, quam desinis : ultima primis 
 Cedunt : dissimiles hie vir^ et ille puer. 
 
 Epist. ix. 23. 
 
 * More shewed his great zeal for learning '^ in a letter ° 
 which he wrote, whilst he was in the neighbourhood of Ox- 
 ford, to that university, in order to persuade the discou- 
 ragement of a certain set of giddy and ignorant young men 
 amongst them, who, that they might better oppose what 
 they called the new learning, or the Greek tongue, now be- 
 ginning to be cultivated at Oxford, had bandied together 
 in a body, calling themselves Trojans, and so were to wage 
 war with these Grsscians. It appears by his account of the 
 combustions raised by these frantics, that much mischief 
 was done to learning, and would in the consequence be the 
 ruin of the university, unless timely prevented. His in- 
 dignation was raised by hearing that one of this clan had 
 been so impudent as to attack the Greeks in the University 
 pulpit, in the time of Lent. He hoped, that for their own 
 credit they would suppress these illiterate fools and mad- 
 men. To raise an emulation, he mentions, after he had 
 passed a high compliment upon Oxford, the different treat- 
 
 *" Pauca sane, sed ex qulbus de singulari ipsius industria exlstimari 
 possit, convertit 1'homas iVIoriis, plane optimis interpretibus aequipa- 
 randus : ad teniie limata et iiativa oiauo, nou indata, noncorrupta, quae- 
 cumque viilt, facile complectens^ Gritcue vero tam exacta sequilibritate 
 respoiidens, ut. 
 
 Qui utramvis rocte novit, ambas noverlt. De Clar. Interp. p. 234, 
 
 " See Ficldes's Life of Wolsey, p. 215. 
 
 " A copy of this and of other letters of More hatli been communicated 
 to me by my friend Dr. Green, dean of Lincoln, 
 
1519.] OF ERASMUS. 179 
 
 ment which the study of Greek had met with in Cambridge: 
 there, says he, they who could not bring themselves to take 
 the pains to learn it, did however pay something for the en- 
 couragement of those who did. There are many other 
 things in this epistle that deserve notice, which may be seen 
 at the end of Roper's Life of More, published by Hearne 
 at Oxford, 1716, now very scarce and rare.' Knight, 
 p. 31. 
 
 * More*s Utopia was translated into French, or rather 
 paraphrased in a burlesque style, by one Gueudeville, 
 A. 1717. Sam. Sorbiere had translated it before, A. 1643. 
 
 ' The Utopia is a most useful book, and it were much to 
 be wished that princes and other great men would read it, 
 and meditate upon it, and make a right use of the profitable 
 lessons which it contains. Raphael Hythlodosus, who is 
 the traveller, and the relater of the laws, manners, and 
 customs of the Utopian or non-existing republic, is More 
 himself, who, erecting a kingdom in a new world, which 
 no man had seen or would see, obliquely censures the faults 
 and defects in the old one. In the first book are some 
 beautiful and strildng passages, serving to excite the atten- 
 tion of the reader, and to give him an impatient desire to 
 know what Hythlodceus had seen in his voyages. Petrus 
 yRgldius and More, who are his auditors, are so pleased 
 with his discourses, that they advise him to enter into the 
 service of some king, whom he may greatly assist by his 
 wholesome instructions. ButHythloda^us canrjOt relish the 
 proposal ; and observes, that, in the councils of princes, 
 good advice proves good for nothmg, because the master 
 never consults his servants with any other view than to gra- 
 tify his own passions. More had experienced enough of 
 this already under Henry VIII, and afterwards experienced 
 it still further. HLs refusal to humour the caprice of his 
 master cost him no less than his life. There is in this book 
 a remarkable passage, wherein he describes the views and 
 designs of France in his days. — 
 
 ' The second book delineates the republic of Utopia, in 
 which all is not practicable, or indeed eligible and com- 
 mendable. Yet we may say, with More, that in the Uto- 
 pian constitution there are many things rather to be wished 
 than hoped for in the European states, which would be 
 
 N 2 
 
180 THE LIFE [1519. 
 
 happier, upon the whole, in following the Utopian plan, 
 than they are in their present condition.' Le Cierc Bibl. 
 A & M. vii. 210. 
 
 Erasmus, Ep. 447, mentions, amongst other learned 
 Englishmen, John Clerk. 
 
 ' Clerk P was of Oxford, and afterwards travelled into 
 foreign countries, and in Italy became acquainted with Ri- 
 chard Pace. His accomplishments procured him the favour 
 of the duke of Norfolk, to whom he was made secretary. 
 He wrote some books. Wood says, that, ' being clapped 
 up prisoner in the Tower (the cause is not mentioned), he 
 did, to avoid public shame, hang himself in his chamber 
 with his girdle,' in 1552. Fox speaks of him, as of one 
 who had been an enemy to the gospel, and to good men." 
 
 Ep. 439 is to Tranquilius Parthenius Dalmata *^, who is 
 called Tranquilius Andronicus by Jovius and others. 
 
 Erasmus dedicated this year to Pucci, who was called 
 cardinal Quatuor Sanctorum^ an edition of Cyprian, the 
 first tolerable edition of the works of this father. Ep. 448. 
 
 Afterwards he v^^rote a long letter to James Hochstrat^ in 
 which, though he keeps within the bounds of civility, he 
 censures this Dominican ^ freely enough for the outrageous 
 and unchristian manner, in which he had written against 
 Reuchlin and his associates. It seems, a suffragan to the 
 archbishop of Cologn had represented Hochstrat to Erasmus 
 as a m.au who was capable of hearing reason, and of sub- 
 mitting to good advice ; but in this he was much mistaken: 
 such brutish and violent men are only the more pertinacious 
 for being told of their faults. Hochstrat had also attacked 
 
 P Knight, p. 220. 
 
 ^ Bayle, /indrori'uus {Trnnrjuiiluf^). 
 
 ' Du Pin, xiv. 11. Vnl. Andre-c Bibl. Bclg. p. 424. Mirxi Elog. 
 Belg. p. 00. B-dy]G, Horhstraf, and t. iv. p. 3106. Rem. Crit. See 
 also father Paul, b. i. p. 15. and Couraycr, 
 
 '^ Hochstratus, IIal;t; Saxonum, Hiuteno obviam cum factus esset, 
 equo de,sili('ns Huttenvis improbo honiini gladiiini intenlasse dicilur, vin- 
 dictam scck'rum ab f o petitUTUs : quo facto Hochsiratum in gcnvia pro- 
 siratum roga\ issc eum femnf, si quid intercesserit inimicitiamm, id ca- 
 lamo polius, quam en.-o pi'o.sequeretur, homini jam inibfUi paiceret. 
 Sic placatum Hntk-num ac miserlum, non adtlixisso quidom eum, scd 
 gladio tantum obliquo aliquoties verberasse. Ex Casp. Barthio se audi- 
 viise ista Jac. Thumasius confirmavit. Burckhard, Co.nm. de Vit. Hut- 
 ten. p. i;;. 
 
1519.] OF ERASMUS. 181 
 
 a passage in the Annotations of Erasmus, but without nam- 
 ing him. Erasmus had said, that it were to be wished, that 
 divorces, and a liberty of marrying again, could be granted 
 to persons, who were most unsuitably and unhappily coupled 
 together, and who would probably lead a dissolute life, to 
 the ruin of their souls, if they were not released from each 
 other : but he had not said, that the Church was obliged to 
 grant such divorces ; and he had declared, that he submit- 
 ted his own judgment to that of the Church. The Domi- 
 nican had declaimed violently against this position, and had 
 set it in the most odious light, as Erasmus observes. Al- 
 most all the enemies of Erasmus took hold on this opinion 
 of his, and abused him for it. Ep. 452. 
 
 He also poured out his complaints to Leo, of the calum« 
 niators who were eternally railing at the New Testament, 
 which he had dedicated to this pontiff, and begs of him to 
 interpose his authority, and to command them to be quiet \ 
 But, whatsoever Erasmus might think of it, it was really 
 beyond the power of Leo to silence such people ; and one 
 of the popes judged not amiss, when he declared, that he 
 thought it safer to quarrel with a prince than with a frier. 
 This Epistle Dedicatory is written with great spirit and ele- 
 gance. 
 
 He published Cicero's Offices, together with his books of 
 Old Age, of Friendship, and of Paradoxes, and dedicated 
 them to Jac. Tutor, with whom he had formerly contracted 
 an acquaintance at Orleans, and with whom he was ver)- in- 
 timate, as it appears from several of his letters. Ep. 457. 
 
 In a letter to Ambrosius Leo, a physician, he exhorts him 
 
 * Proinde mihi videtur T. S. rem factura Christo longe gratissimam, 
 si contentionibus hujusmodi silentium indixerit, atque id preestet in orbe 
 toto Christiano, qnod Heniicus et Franciscus in suis iiterque regnis prse- 
 stitcre. Tua pietas summos reges redigit in concordiam : superest, ut 
 per eandem et studiis sua reddatur tranquiUilas. Id fict, si tuo jussu ho- 
 mines, qui loqui non pos^unt, desinant obgannire politioribus literis, et 
 ad benedicendum elingues, deiii.ant in lingvurum studiosos malediccre, 
 sed suam quisque professionem graviter tuealur citracuniumeliamaliense. 
 Ita fiet ut graviores ill.T, qi.as vocant, facultates, theologia, jurispru- 
 dentia, philosophia, medicina, harum literarum accessione non medio- 
 rriter adjuventur. Sine ut hoc quoque beneficium dcbeant bonae literair, 
 quae jam beatitudini tu.-e nihil non debent, quam in multam atatem 
 religioni suas ihstaurandac propagandaeque tueatur Christus Opt. Max, 
 £p. 453. 
 
182 THE LIFE [1519. 
 
 to publish his book " against Averroes ^ : but he had forgot, 
 ten that Leo had already published that work, and had told 
 him so. He says of himself y, that he was fifty-two, or 
 at the most fifty-three years old, and grown gray as a bad- 
 ger ; and makes mention of his old friend Aldus Manu- 
 tius^, who died A. 1515. He also speaks of Petrus Al- 
 cyonius% as of a learned man, whom Leo had recom- 
 mended to him for a friend ; and he extols Linacer. Ep, 
 324. 466. 
 
 Joannes Slechta, a Bohemian, wrote a long letter to Eras- 
 mus, wherein he gave him a particular account of three re- 
 ligious sects, or parties, in Bohemia. The first consisted 
 of those who adhered in all things to the pope : the second 
 administered the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper in both 
 kinds, and performed divine service in the vulgar tongue, 
 but in other respects followed the sentiments and the cere- 
 monies of the church of Rome : the third was the sect of 
 the Pyghards ^, as they were called, of whom Zisca had 
 
 *" Atque utinam prodisset ingeiis illud opus ad versus Averroem im- 
 pium, Kou rp]( ^ardpccTov. 
 
 * Bayle, Averroes, not. H. 
 
 y Quo minus exspectatae venerant tuae literae, Ambrosi doctissime, 
 hoc mihi plus voluptatis attulerunt. Sic enim nnihi totam illam nostrae 
 consuetudinis memoriam renovarunt, ut eas legens apud Venetos mihi 
 viderer agere, veteres amico^ tueri coram et amplecti, Aldum, Baptis- 
 tam Egnatium, Hieronymum Aleandrum, M. Musurum, te cum primis 
 amicorum omnium suavissimum. Agnosco lepidissimos mores tuos in 
 epistola tua, quae tota jocis ac salibus scatet. — Fac valetudinem luara 
 tueare diligenter, quo et diu prosis optimis studiis, et multis annis senex 
 sane frui possim. Nam ipse praecurrcntem te sum assequutus, totus 
 ferme canus. Aldus in familiaribus coUoquiis non sine voluptate solitus 
 est imitari seriis decrepiti balbutiem, qua olim putaret futuaim, ut alter 
 alterum consalutaremus : ' Quomodo vales, inquit, domine Erasme ?* 
 dcinde voce aeque balba, sed exiliore, me videlicet agens, respondebat : 
 ' Si vales, ego valeo.' Haec jucunde quidem somniabat, — sed tidem 
 non praestitit. Reliquit nos ante balbam illam setatem : etiamsi me multo 
 grandior erat Aldus^ annis, ni fallor, plus minus viginti : nam ipse nunc 
 annum quinquagesimum secundum, aut ad summum tertium ago. 
 
 ^ Maittaire, ii. 37, &rc. 
 
 * Bayle, Alcyonius. P. Jovius, Elog. p. 205, Maittaire, i. 2()3. 
 
 ^ Others call them Picards, and Waldenses. See Seckendorf, Sup- 
 plem. Iviii. Sleidan, 1. iii. p. 68, Bayle, Picards. 
 
 Ad Erasmum Fratres Bohemi Apologiam suam misere ; orantes ut li- 
 brum perlegeretj si quid errorum notaret, candide indicaret ; sin, testi- 
 monio suo oruare dignareiur. Respondit post aliquot dies Erasmus : 
 
1519.] OF ERASMUS. 183 
 
 been chief, and who abhorred the priests and the monks, 
 and rejected many doctrines of popery, and nearly resem- 
 bled most of the present Protestants. Slechta inveighs 
 against these, but is much inclined to favour the second 
 sect. Ep. 463. 
 
 Erasmus replied, that it were to be wished that this Tri- 
 nil]/ were reduced to an Unity, and paid due respect and 
 obedience to his holiness the pope. He says, that the Bo- 
 hemians were in the wrong for affecting singularity in the 
 holy Communion, (namely, for receiving it in both kinds) 
 and that although their opinion were probable, yet he w^ould 
 have advised them to conform to the common practice. 
 However, says he, to speak ingenuously, I marvel how 
 Chrisdans ever came to change the institution of Jesus 
 Christ himself, since the reasons given for such a change 
 seem to be of no great weight. 
 
 He censures the Pyghards very warmly ; and yet, like 
 them, he exclaims against the multitude of holy-days, as 
 being a heavy imposition on poor people, who, whilst they 
 were hindered from working upon those days, were in rea- 
 lity hindered from earning their bread. Then, speaking of 
 the remedies which might be applied to heal these schisms, 
 he says, that there should be some relaxation of ceremo- 
 nies, and of modern decisions, and proceeds thus : 
 
 One thing, in my opinion, might reconcile many persons 
 to the Roman church, and that is, not to decide so dogma- 
 tically upon so many speculative points, and to make them 
 articles of faith, but only to require an assent to those doc- 
 trines which are manifestly laid down in the holy Scriptures, 
 and which are necessary to salvation. These are few ; and 
 it is easier to persuade men of a few articles than of a vast 
 number. Now, out of one article we make a hundred ; 
 of which some are such, that a man might either doubt of 
 them, or have no notion about them, without endangering 
 his soul and his religion. But such is the nature of men, 
 
 ' Errores nullos animadvertisse ; testimonium tamen de his rebus dare^ 
 neque sibi tutum videri, neque Fratribus necessarium, &:c.' 
 
 Dedit nihilominus Erasmus testimonium Fratribus dupliciter : primum 
 aliud agendo, Praefatione in Novum Testamentum ; deinde aperte ca^ 
 lumniatori Fratrum Joanni Schlectse respondendoj 5:c, 
 
 CorocniuSj Hist. Fratr. Boh, p, 2i, 
 
184 THE LIFE [1519„ 
 
 that what they have once dogmatically decided, they will 
 obstinately maintain. 
 
 Now christian philosophy, or theology, may be fairly re- 
 duced to this ; that we ought to place our whole trust in Al- 
 mighty God, who graciously gives us all things by his Son 
 Jesus Christ ; that we are redeemed by the death of this 
 Son of God, to whose body we are united by baptism, that, 
 being dead to worldly lusts, we may live conformably to his 
 precepts and example, not only doing no harm to any, but 
 doing good to all ; that, when adversity befalls us, we pa- 
 tiently submit to it, in hopes of a future recompense at the 
 coming of the Lord ; that we make a daily progress in vir- 
 tue, ascribing nothing to ourselves, but all to God. These 
 things are to be pressed and inculcated, till good habits are 
 formed in the heart. If there be persons of a speculative 
 genius, who want to search into abstruser points concerning 
 the divine nature, or the person of Jesus Christ, or the sa- 
 craments, with a view to improve their understanding, and 
 to raise their minds and affections above earthly things, be it 
 permitted to them ; provided always that their christian bre- 
 thren be not compelled to believe every thing that this or 
 that teacher thinks to be true. As bonds, deeds, cove- 
 nants, obligations, indentures, expressed in a multitude of 
 words, afford matter for law-suits ; so, in religion, a pro- 
 fusion of determinations, decrees, and decisions, begets 
 endless controversies. 
 
 For these words Erasmus hath been called Free-thinker, 
 Latitudinarian, Arian, Infidel, Heretic, and what not, by 
 the disciples of Saint Ignatius, and other priests of the 
 church of Rome ; and true it is, that this Erasmic creed 
 differs not a little from the creed of pope Pius. 
 
 If Christianity had been proposed to the poor Pyghards in 
 this honest and simple manner, and no heavier yoke laid 
 upon their shoulders, they would never have separated 
 themselves from the church of Rome ; they would have 
 subscribed most willingly to each of these articles of faith. 
 But an infinite number of dopiiata, and those even as ab- 
 solutely necessary to salvation, were obtruded upon them, 
 none of which existed in the holy Scriptures ; and they 
 were inhumanly persecuted, tormented, and murdered, if 
 ever they were caught in places where ecclesiastics bare rule. 
 
1519.] OF ERASMUS- 185 
 
 If, instead of Leo X, Erasmus I. had filled the papal chair, 
 he might perhaps have convened these people, and prevent- 
 ed all the sad disorders which ensued : but then we must 
 also suppose, that, being raised to so exalted a station, he 
 had carried along with him, and preserved untainted, ail his 
 good sense, and all his probity and moderation : 
 
 Rarus enim ferme sensus communis in ilia 
 Fortuna. 
 
 r.ven that would not have been sufficient ; he must also have 
 had a good number of cardinals, bishops, and doctors settled 
 in the same way of thinking, endued with courage to main- 
 tain these opinions, and blessed with an uncommon measure 
 of prudence to conduct so important and so difficult an en- 
 terprise. Then in the western world there might perhaps 
 have been only one religion, called Christianity, and the de- 
 nominations of papists and protestants would not have ex- 
 isted. 
 
 Erasmus thus proceeds : Let no man be ashamed to reply 
 to certain points, God knoweth how it can be ; as for me, I 
 am content to believe that it is so. I know that the body 
 and the blood of our Saviour are things pure, to be received 
 by the pure, and in a pure manner. He hath appointed 
 this for a sacred sign and pledge of his love for us, and of 
 the concord which ought to subsist amongst christians. I 
 will therefore examine myself, and see if there be any thing 
 in me contrary to the mind of Jesus Christ, and if I have 
 any uncharitable dispositions towards my neighbour. But 
 :o know how the ten categories are in this sacrament, how 
 the bread is transubstantiated by the mystical words of con- 
 secration, and how a human body can be in so small a com- 
 pass, and at different places at the same time ; all- this, in my 
 opinion, serves little to advancement in piety. 
 
 Here Erasmus represents cojitrcidiciions in terms as 771^- 
 steries ; but let that pass. 
 
 I know also, says he, that 1 shall rise again. Jesus 
 Christ iiath promised it ; and to confirm his promise, he rose 
 again himself. But to know what body I bhall have, and 
 how it will be the same, after having gone through so many 
 changes, these are not things on which much pains should 
 
186 THE LITE [1519. 
 
 be bestowed, with a view to make a progress in true reli- 
 gion : although I disapprove not inquiries of this kind, pur- 
 sued at proper times, and with due discretion and modera- 
 tion. By these and a thousand such-like speculations, for 
 which men set an extravagant value upon themselves, their 
 thoughts are only diverted from the one thing needful. 
 
 This was sufficient in the opinion of Erasmus : but the 
 mind of man is too restless to sit down thus contented. Such 
 humble simplicity and reserve was not to be expected from 
 the scholastic divines of those days, any more than that mo- 
 deration which he requires from princes, in the following 
 words : 
 
 It would be moreover of infinite service towards restoring 
 concord and peace to the world, if secular princes, and par- 
 ticularly the pope, were clear from all appearance of tyranny 
 and avarice. For men soon fly oft', when they see that you 
 only want to make them your slaves, and not so much to 
 reform them, as to plunder them : but they are compliant 
 and tractable, when they are persuaded that you mean to 
 profit, and not to hurt them. 
 
 Nothing can be more reasonable than all this : but what 
 could Erasmus have replied, if any one had asked him, why 
 he took upon him to censure and condemn the Pyghards, 
 who wished for the very same things ; and why he both sub- 
 mitted himself, and exhorted others to submit to an eccle- 
 siastical power, which acted directly contrary to the rules 
 which he prescribed, and seized and burned, as so many 
 vile heretics, all those who dared to make such remon- 
 strances ? 
 
 Divisions and schisms are doubtless a grievous calamity in 
 Christendom ; and yet it is better upon the whole, that the 
 church should be thus disunited, and split into five, or into 
 five hundred sects, than that it should be uniformly subject 
 to so cruel a tyranny, and united only in the bond of igno- 
 rance or of hypocrisy. Under such a head, and such a go- 
 vernment, every rational inquiry would be checked and sup- 
 pressed ; but now Truth and Liberty prevail, sometimes in 
 one place and sometimes in another, and arc not entirely 
 driven out of the christian world. But we shall have more 
 occasions to animadvert upon the timidity, I will not say the 
 disingenuousness, of Erasmus. 
 
1519.] OF ERASMUS. 187 
 
 Slechta had Informed him, that, besides the three sects 
 above mentioned, they had amongst them seme Jews ; some 
 Nicolaitans, who held the community of wives ; and some 
 Epicureans- To this Erasmus replies ; I'hat you have 
 Jews amongst you, is no wonder ; such there are in Ger- 
 many, in Italy, and principally in Spain. But I am sur- 
 prised to hear, that you have men who deny the immortality 
 of the soul and a future state. VvTe have indeed too many 
 who live as if they thou[^ht so ; but none mad enough to be 
 teachers or disciples of this cursed sect. We have also prac- 
 tical Nicolaitans, who lie with their neighbours v/ives as often 
 as they can ; but we have no speculative and dogmatising 
 Nicolaitans. Ep. 478. 
 
 This is more than we can say in behalf of our times. 
 
 Erasmus received (perhaps about this time) a letter from a 
 nobleman of Hungaria or Bohemia, and in it a sort of con- 
 fession of faith made by the people of that country, who 
 called themselves Fratres. He desires Erasmus to send his 
 opinion about it ; and informs him, that the Lutheran doc- 
 trines prevailed greatly there amongst men of good sense and 
 piety ; and he supposeth, that Erasmus himself was one of 
 the Reformers. He begs an answer ; but probably Erasm.us 
 dissembled the receipt of the letter, and never sent him 
 one. Ep. 390. c. 1777. 
 
 In an elegant letter to the elector of Mentz, he had the 
 courage to apologise openly enough for Luther ; though, as 
 he says, he w^ould neither approve nor condemn his senti- 
 ments, nor make himself a party in the affair. He also 
 lashes most severely the Mendiicant monks, the Dominicans, 
 and the scholastic divines, whose wretched compositions 
 were preferred to the Gospel. I^uther's friends, having ob- 
 tained a copy of this letter, published it immediately, as be- 
 ing favourable to their party : and indeed it was so, and 
 Erasmus plainly justifies the beginnings of the reforma- 
 tion. 
 
 The elector had presented Erasmus ^ with a cup, for 
 which he thanks this prelate very ingeniously. 
 
 ^ Redditum est mihi Celsitudlnls tuje munus, materia juxta atque opcre 
 visendumet insigne, dignuni quidem quod a tali Principe mitteretur, sed 
 baud scio an dignus Erasmus ad quern mitteretur, quern magis convenit 
 vitreis aut Samiis, quam auro caelatis poculis bibere. Quod si calix vi- 
 
188 THE LIFE [1519. 
 
 In an epistle to Lupset, Erasmus shows at large, that he 
 had condescended to the utmost in endeavouring to pacify or 
 to restrain Lee ; but that this vain-g!orious and malicious 
 man was resolved to acquire reputation, if he could, by 
 using him ill. If, as he declares, he had offered I^ee to 
 correct any errors that might be showed him in his annota- 
 tions on the New Testament, to discuss all such points with 
 him in a friendly conversation and examination of contested 
 passages, to agree to such censures or observations of his as 
 should appear pertinent and reasonable, and to make ho- 
 nourable mention of him in his next edition, it was a foolish 
 and a base procedure in Lee to pay no regard to such remon- 
 strances. In the same epistle, he scourges the monks **, 
 
 treus missus fhisset, tamen mihi inter ea quae maxime sunt in deliciis re- 
 ponerctur : vel ob id ipsum, quod ab heroe longe optimo profectus 
 fuisset, Commendavit autem mihi non mediocriter munus per se gra- 
 tissimuni Huttenus noster, qui docuit appellari poculum Amoris, ceu 
 Gratiis sacrum, ob id opinor, quod quum velvit osculo sibi committuntur, 
 e duobus tiat unum : addit earn inesse vim, ut qui ex hoc biberint lena- 
 cissima quadam benevolentia congiutinentur. Hujus rei periculum 
 facere volens, Guilhelmo cardinali Croio, cum hisce diebus inviseret 
 bibliothecam meam, e tuo poculo praebibi, et illemihi vicissim. Juvenis 
 est longe felicissimus, et cujus indoles non videatur indigna tanta felici- 
 tate. Sed doleo serius foisse redditum. Nuper enim Theologi Lovani- 
 enses mecum redieamt in gratiam, hac lego, ut et illi compescerent ob- 
 trectatrices linguas, quas excitassent, ego pergerem cohibere calamos 
 meorum, quantunri esset in me. In eo convivio (nam hlc nihil sacrum 
 iibsque compotatione) produxissem tuum poculum, si mihi fuisset, ex 
 quo si bibissent .singuli, fortasse felicioribus auspiciis coiisset nostra Con- 
 cordia : nunc ex epistola nescio qua, parum bene intellecta, et pejus in- 
 terpretata, male sarta gratia sic dissiliit, ut post brevem tranquillitatem 
 S££vior etiam tempestas coorta videretur. Ep. 477- 
 
 ** Conspiiatum est agminatim ab iis, qui se devovemnt Diis Manibus, 
 ni funditus perdant et bonas literas et veterem theologiam, ut nusquam 
 non blaterent in Erasmum, in compotationibus, in foris, in conciliabu- 
 lis, in pliarmacopoliis, in curribus, in tonstrinis, in fornicibus, in pri- 
 vatis ac publicis lectionibus, in scholasticis diatribis, in sacris concioni- 
 bus, in arcanis colloquiis, in secretis admissnmm contessionibus, in biK- 
 liopoliis, in tabernis pauperum, in aulis divitum, in palatiis rtgum, 
 apud superstitiosos senes, apod crassos Midas, apud indoctam plebccu- 
 1am, apud stultas mulierculas, per quas, Serpentis illius exomplo, adi- 
 tum sibi parant ad fallendos viros, nusquam non penetrantes, nihil non 
 nientientes, quo me videlicef de omnibus bene mcrentcm in publicum 
 odium vocent. Ad hoc sanctum negotium ahint suos emissaries, non 
 minus diligenter instructos ad inficiendos animos simplicium et impcrito- 
 rum, et constabilicndtim rcgnnm Diaboli. qnam Ciiristus suos dibcipu- 
 los inatruxerat ad pra-dicandum regnum Dei. Ad hoc munus Evangeli- 
 
1519.] OF ERASMUf?. 189 
 
 who repaid him in kind, to the utmost of their power. 
 Erasmus was quite sick and weary of such quarrels, and al- 
 most resolved to hold his peace thenceforward. Let an- 
 other, says he, take my place, and enter into the field of 
 battle -f as for me, I have fought long enough with wild 
 beasts and monsters. It is best sometimes to yield to a ma- 
 lice which you cannot reform, and which grows more fu- 
 rious by being exposed and confuted. But his large vo- 
 lume of Apologies shows, that he could not constantly ad- 
 here to this resolution, which yet, for the most part, is the 
 wisest procedure. 
 
 ' Lupset *^, when a boy, was taken into the care and pro- 
 tection of Colet. Caius, the antiquary, says, that he was 
 educated in Pembroke Hall. He went to Paris, and return- 
 ing about the year 1519, settled in Corpus Christi college, 
 and succeeded John Clement ^ in the rhetoric lecture of car- 
 dinal Wolsey.' The university of Oxford wrote a letter s 
 of thanks and of flattery^ to the cardinal, in 1521, for 
 
 cum, Evangelicis viris potissimum sunt usi, quos mundus simul et Men- 
 dicosalit, et tolerat TyranHoa, &c. Ep. 481. 
 
 «= Knight, p. 214, and Wood. Knight's Life of Colet, p. 389. Fid- 
 des's Life of Wolsey, p. 21 6. 
 
 ^ Fiddes's Life of Wolsey, p. 21 6. 
 
 K Nam immortalis beueficii loco acceplmus, quod benignissima 
 
 tua beneficenlia in communem rei literariae usum dignata sit Lupsetum 
 ad nos remittere, quern etsi semper habuimus charissimum, nunc tamen, 
 quia a tua Majestate araanter commendatum, multo arctius amplecti- 
 mur, &c. 
 
 •» See Fiddes, p. 176, Sec. where you will find that our Cantabrigians, 
 in one of their fawning addiesses, called the Cardinal, Praesens Numen; 
 according to Horace's creed : ' 
 
 CceIo tonantem credidimus Jovem 
 Regnare : praesens Divus habebitur 
 Augustus 
 
 or Wolseius, or any other giver of good things. Never was Nero, or 
 Domilian, more flattered by the corrupted Romans, than this vain man 
 was by his hungry parasites : and Fiddes, with no small complacency 
 and glee, hath given us an account of these compliments ; compliments, 
 which would make a wise man call for a bason : Date pclvhn. 
 
 Amongst the praises bestowed upon Wolsey, let us not forget those of 
 a certain Zany, who seems to have played his part \Qvy well : 
 
 ' In England was a cardinal, the son of a butcher, (he means Wolsey) 
 concerning whom a knavish fool said, God be praised, that we have got 
 such a cardinal : v.hen he cometh to be pope, we may freely eat flesh in 
 
190 THE LIFE [1519. 
 
 having given them Lupset. He had been secretary to Pace, 
 whilst he was ambassador to the Venetians. He read Latin 
 and Greek lectures at Oxford. In Italy he became ac- 
 quainted with cardinal Pole, and was much in his favour. 
 He assisted Linacer and More in overseeing and correcting 
 their works at the press ; and More makes very honourable 
 mention of him. He wrote several pieces, and some let- 
 ters in defence of his friend Erasmus against Lee. By the 
 advice of Erasmus ' he quitted betimes the study of the scho- 
 lastic writers, and sold those praters to buy Greek classics. 
 He only obtained a prebend in the church of Salisbury ; and 
 he died in 1532, aged thirty-six.' 
 
 We have an epistle^ from him to Erasmus in 1516, in 
 which he mdst submissively begs his pardon for some indis- 
 cretion ; and he was very uneasy till he was received into 
 favour again. 
 
 There was a brace of monks at Louvain, who this year 
 began to plague Erasmus : the one was Nicolas Egmond, 
 (Egmondanus) a Dutch Carmelite ; the other Vincentius, a 
 Dominican, whom Erasmus sometimes calls ohlrectatorem 
 pertinacisshmim, a most confirmed detracter, and some- 
 times bucentam, ox-driver, or plough-man. These men, 
 and other monks, provoked beyond measure by Erasmus, 
 who ridiculed them on all occasions, and said of them, that 
 they were the persons who had exasperated Luther, and 
 caused him to write so impetuously, revenged themselves 
 upon him, by representing him as Luther's associate, in all 
 their sermons to the people. Erasmus complained of this 
 calumny to Rosemundus, rector of the academy of Lou- 
 vain J but to no purpose. Ep. 491 . 
 
 In the Amoenitates Litei-arias ^ there is a lively letter, ad- 
 
 Lenf, and on forbidden days ; for St. Peter was a fisher-man, and he 
 forbad eating of flesh, to the end he might sell his fish at a high rate; but 
 tliis butcher's son will hold over flesh, to get money thereby.' Luther's 
 CoUoq. Mensal. p. 305. 
 
 ' Lupsctus existimat se nostra renatum opera, planeque ab inferis 
 emersisse. Magistri moliuntur omnia, quo retrahant adolescentem in 
 suum pistrinum. Nam statim eodem die, Sophisticis libris distractis, 
 Graecos emerat. Vide ut cum inciderit opportunitas, graviter agas 
 partes tuas. Niliil hujus ingenio gratius, nihil amantius. Ep. 112. 
 This is a letter to More. 
 
 ^ Ep. '^g. c. 1570. 
 
 ^ Tom. i. p. 246. 243. 
 
1519.] OF ERASMUS. 191 
 
 dressed to Zuinglius, from an anonymous writer, against 
 the divines of Louvain. The persons ridiculed in it are 
 Joannes Atensis, Joannes Winckel, Jacobus Latomus, Ru- 
 ardus Encusanus, and particularly Egmond "^ the Carmelite, 
 whom by way of derision he calls the Camelite, It was 
 printed A. 1520 ; and to it was added, Pita Sancti Nicolai 
 (^EgmondaniJ, site Sluliitice Exemplar. 
 
 Erasmus had lately contracted an acquaintance with 
 Joannes Ludovicus Vives ", a Spaniard of Valentia, whom 
 he hath often commended, and who was much esteemed by 
 More. He is one of those, says Erasmus to More, whose 
 glory will eclipse mine. lie is a true philosopher, and a de- 
 spiser of fortune ; and he is fit to beat the scholastics at their 
 own weapons, the use of which he understands perfectly 
 well. And indeed Vives, in his Preface to his Commenta- 
 ries upon Augustin De Civitate Dei, hath given an essay of 
 his abilities in this way, and showed the sagacity of Eras- 
 mus in forming so favourable a judgment of him, when he 
 was but twenty-six years old. Their friendship continued 
 uninterrupted, and many of their letters to each other are 
 presented in the volume of the Epistles of Erasmus, Ep. 
 496. 387. 433. 
 
 ' Vives °, whilst he was at Louvain, in 1517, was chosen 
 fellow of Corpus Christi college in Oxford, by the founder. 
 He was invited into England by Wolsey in the year _152S ; 
 and coming to Oxford, he read the cardinal's Lecture of 
 Humanity, and also Lectures of Civil Law. Henry VIII 
 and queen Catharine did him the honour of assisting as au- 
 
 *" perfrictae frontis Nicolaus Egraondaniis, digiius, qui ob insig- 
 
 ne.ui stoliditatem Camelita vocetur. 
 
 Erasmus also says, that he commonly went by the name of Camelita. 
 T. ix. c. 112. 
 
 " Boissard, Icon. p. 183. Baillet, ii. 2S3. Du Pin. P. Jovius, 
 Elog. p. 218. Pope Blount, p. 365. 
 
 Vi\'es fallitur, dum in libtUo quodam Lucanum Virgil io praefert : sed 
 librum de auima composuit patii meo valde laudatum. Scaligeran. 
 p. 411. 
 
 ' Vives hath related, as a remarkable thing, that when he had been 
 long without eating, the first bits that he put into his mouth forced him 
 to laugh. The same marvel may be seen in school-boys, clarkes, pages, 
 lackeys, beggars, and parasites,' Vigneul-IMarville, vol. ii. p. 20g. 
 
 "Knight, p. 165, and Wood. Fiddes's Life of Wolsey, p. 211, 
 212. 216. 
 
192 THE LIFE [1519. 
 
 ditors at his lectures. Afterwards he went to Bruges in 
 Flanders, and married ; and the year following returned to 
 Oxford, and continued his lectures, and was constituted 
 tutor for the Latin tongue to the lady Mary, daughter to 
 Henry VIII. His works are printed in two tomes, at Basil, 
 1555. He died at Bruges in 154'4.* 
 
 ' Vives ^ had been preceptor to the young cardinal Croius. 
 Henry VIII, who at first esteemed him much, being offend- 
 ed at the liberty which he had taken to speak and to write 
 against his divorce, put him in prison for six months. Af- 
 terwards he went to Bruges. I'he year of his death is un- 
 certain.' Thus Du Pin ; who hath also given an account 
 of his writhigs, and concludes it in the following man- 
 ner : 
 
 ' Some writers, speaking of the Triumviri of the re- 
 public of letters in the beginning of the sixteenth century, 
 ascribe judgment to Vives, genius to Budaeus, and eloquence 
 to Erasmus. I cannot approve of this determination. Eras- 
 mus had more fancy and genius, more extent of learning, 
 and more solidity of judgment, than Vives. Budaeus had 
 more skill in languages, and more philological erudition, 
 than they. Vives knew more of grammar, rhetoric, and 
 logic. The theological works of J'.rasmus, as they are 
 more numerous, so they are more useful and valuable, than 
 those of Vives.' 
 
 Frideric "^ of Saxony, one of the most virtuous and illus- 
 trious princes of the sixteenth century, was a friend to Lu- 
 ther and to the reformation, and the protestants have great 
 reason to reverence and bless his memory. When ' he 
 
 f Du Pin, xlv. QQ. 
 
 <i See his character in Seckendorf, 1. i, p. 122, \'c. L. ii. p. 33, kc- 
 See also Spalatinns in the Ama;u. Liter, t. iv, p. 420. 
 
 ^ Dux Saxoniae Friderious bis ad me scripsit, eidem mere respondent 
 epistolae : hujus unius prae^idio substitit Lutherus. Id ait se caus.e de- 
 disse veriiis quam persons. Addit, noii comniissMiuni sese, ut in s\y^ 
 ditiane oppiimatur innocentia, eoruin malilia qui aia ijiutnint, non qVi-s 
 Jesu Christi. Ah omnibus delatum imperiuni ingenti animo recu>avit, 
 idque piidie quam Carolus eligeretur, cui nunq\iam contigisset impfrii 
 titulus;, nisi Fridericus depiecatus esset, clarior honore contemto, quani 
 fuisset adepto. Mox roiratus (juem igitur censeret eligendum, ntr.avit 
 sibi qucnquam aliiuii videri tanii nominis oneri .siistinendo parem, qnani 
 Caroium-. Ob hunc inhiunem aninium a nostris oblata (riginta floreno- 
 Tum miilia cuuitantisiinie tejecit. Qamix^ue rirgerctur ut saltern dcccni 
 
1519.] OF ERASMUS. 193 
 
 might have been chosen emperor, he declined it, and gave 
 the crown to Charles V. Erasmus wrote a letter to him in 
 the year 1519, which is not amongst his Epistles ; but a con- 
 siderable part of it is published by Seckendorf *. h is very 
 favourable to Luther. 
 
 millin pateretur darifamulis : Accipiant, inquit, si velint j at(anipn nemo 
 manebit postridie apud nie, qui vel aureum acceperit : ac postridie con- 
 sccnsis equis subduxit sese, ne pergerent esse molesti. Ep. 4/4. 
 
 ^ ^Prodiere nupcr lucubrationes aliquot Martini Lutheri, simulque 
 
 nimor allatus est hominem supra modinn gravari auctoritate rsvcrcndis- 
 sicni cardinalis S. Sixti, (jui apud Sue\os Romani pontihcis agit legatum. 
 Ut his protinus exsiliemnt ? ut gcsticmnt ? ut gavisi sunt occasionem, ut 
 ipsis visum est, maxinie opportuiiatn esse datam laedeadi bouas literas ? 
 Nam juxta Graecorum proverbium, * Improbis pr^eter occasionem nihil 
 deestj' quae videlicet nocendi facultatem prsbeat iis, quibus adest per- 
 petua nocendi voluntas. Continuo sacrae apud populum conciones, 
 scholae, conciliabula, convivia, nihil aliud crepabant, quam haereses et 
 aatichristos. Atque huic tarn odioso negotio, praesertini apud muliercu- 
 las et indoctam plebeculam, miscuerunt homines callidi, trium lingua- 
 rum, eloquentiae, polilioriscjue literaturas nientionem ; quasi aut Luthe- 
 rus his pracsidiis tideret, aut ex his fontibus hsereses nascerentur. Haec 
 impudentia pluscjuam sycophantica, cum optimis quibusque displiceret, 
 tamen ut belluminvciitum probabatur quibusdam, qui se theologise ante- 
 signanos, et christianre rcligionis columnas existimant. Et vide quam 
 studio caeci, nostris blandimur vitiis ! Atrocem contumeliam, imo taci- 
 nus hseresi proximum ducimus, si quis theologum rabulam, cjuales sunt 
 non pauci, pro theologo MscmioKoyov nominct. Ipsi nobis ignoscimus, 
 cum apud tVequentem populum haereticum et antichristum vocamus, 
 cuicunque succcnsemus. Lutherus mihi tarn ignotus quamcui ignolissi- 
 mus, ut suspectus esse non queam, quasi faveam amico. Hujus lucu- 
 brationes nee tucri meum est, ncc improbare, ut quas hactenus non le- 
 gerim nisi raptira. Certe vitam hominis nemo, qui novit, non probat, 
 quae cumlongissime absit ab omni susnicione avaritiae aut ambitiouis, et 
 morum innocentia, [here is something wrong] vel apud Ethnicos favoreni 
 invenit. Quam non congruit mansuetudini theologicac, protinus, ac ne 
 perlecto quidem libro, lam imnianiter debacchari in noraen ac famam 
 probi viri, idque apud imperitam plcbeculam, quae prorsus caret judicio ? 
 Praesertim cum ille disputanda proposuerit, cum omnium judicio sese 
 sul)raiserit, quorum oportuit. Nemo moiiuit, nemo docuit, nemo revi- 
 cit : tantum vociferantur haereticum, seditiosis clamoribus ad lapldes 
 provocant. Uicas eos sitire sanguinem humanum, non salulem anima- 
 I'um. Quo invisius est haereseos nomen auribus christianis, hoc minus , 
 committenduin est, ut temerc in quenquam impingatur. Non statini 
 quivis error ha;iesis est, neque protinus ha;reticum est, quicquid huic 
 aut illi displicet. Neque semper fidei negolium agunt, qui praelexunt 
 liujusmodi splendidos titulos. Imo plerique suum agunt negotium, vel 
 quaestui suo consulenles, vel tyrannidi. Quin priccipiit laedendi studio 
 saepe criminantur in alio, quod ipsi domi probant. Denique, cum tot 
 sint veteres ac neoterici scriptores, nee horum qui- quam adhuc repertui 
 
 Vol. T. O 
 
194 THE LIFE [1519. 
 
 In an epistle to Wolsey, Erasmus makes his usual com- 
 plaints of his persecutors, the monks, and desires the car- 
 dinal's countenance and protection ; and indeed Wolsey 
 himself was no friend to the monks at that time, and still 
 less afterwards. 
 
 This letter contains a very handsome elogium of Vives, 
 whom he wanted to recommend as a proper preceptor to 
 Ferdinand I. Ep. £84. 
 
 In a letter to Jacobus Hornensis, he says, that he was 
 fifty-three years old. Ep. 405. 
 
 He sent a letter of compliments and thanks to sir Henry 
 
 sit, in cujus libris non fateantur inesse periciilosos errores j cur reliquos 
 taciti placidique legimus, in unum aut alterum tam atrociter saevimus ? 
 Si veritati patrocinamur, cur non ex aequo ofFendit, ubicumque reperi- 
 tur, quod veritati repugnat ? Sanctissima res est fidei religionisque sincc- 
 ritatem tueri j sed sceleratissima res est, praetextu defendendae fidei, no- 
 stris servire cupiditatibus. Si quicquid in scholis receptum est, oraculum 
 haberi volunt, cur inter se scholae dissentiunt ? Cur scholastici doctores 
 inter sese pugnant ac digladiantur ? Imo, cur in eadem Sorbona theolo- 
 gus a theologo dissentit ? Imo perpaucos reperias, qui consentiant, nisi 
 eonspirarint. Adhaec, non raro deprehenduntur damnare in recentium 
 libris, quod in Augustino aut Gersone non damnant, quasi Veritas cum 
 auctore mutetur. Eos quibus favent, sic legunt, ut omnia torquentes 
 nihil non excusent ; quibus infensi sunt, sic legunt, ut nihil non calum- 
 nientur. Optima christianismi pars est, vita Christo digna. Quae cum 
 suppetit, non debet esse facilis haereseos suspicio. Nunc quidam nova 
 comminiscuntur fundamenta, sic enim vocant, hoc est, novas leges con- 
 dunt, per quas decent, haereticum esse quicquid non placet. Quisquis 
 alterum haereseos accusat, ipse praestare debet mores christiano dignos, 
 ciiaritatem in admonendo, lenitatem in concipiendo, (perhaps corripi- 
 endo) candorem in judicando, lenitiidinem (perhaps kntilud'mem) in 
 pronanciando. Cum nemo nostrum careat erratis, cur alienos lapsus 
 tam inclementer insectamur ? cur malumus vincere quam mederi ? cur 
 opprimeie quam docere ? At Ille, qui solus omnium camit errore, non 
 comminuit baculum confractum, nee extinguit linum fumigans. Au- 
 gustinus de Donatistis plusquam haereticis agcns, non vult eos cogi, sed 
 tantum doceri ; et ab horum cervicibus magistratuum gladios depellit, 
 quorum sicis ipse quotidie impetebatur. Nos, quorum proprium munus 
 est docere, cogere malumus, quia facilius. Haec, illustrissimeDux, eo 
 scribo liberius, quo minus ad me pertinet causa J>utherana. Caeterum, 
 ut tusCelsitudinis est, christianam religionem pi(itate tua protegere, ita 
 prudentiae est, non committere ut quisquam innocens te justitiae praeside, 
 sub praslextu pietatis, aliquorum impictati dedatur. Vult idem Leo pon- 
 tifex, cui nihil magis est cordi, quam ut tuta sit innocentia. Fater vo- 
 cari gaudet, nee amat eos, qui super ipsius membra tyrannidem exerccnt. 
 Neque quisquam. magis paret animo pontificis, quam is, qui quod aequis- 
 simum est, exsequitur. Quid btic de Luthero sentiaiit, nescio. Cerle 
 
 1 
 
1519.] OF ERASMUS. 195 
 
 Guildford \ who had declared himself his friend. Ep.- 
 417. 
 
 Longolius is gently censured for the affectation of desiring 
 to pass for a Frenchman, though he be my countryman, 
 nostras, says Erasmus. Ep. 467. 
 
 He recommends to Wolsey, Antonius Grimbcrgius, a 
 young nobleman of promising parts and a good disposition, 
 who went to the English court. He wrote also upon the 
 same occasion to several of his English friends. Ep. 472. 
 
 He speaks very favourably " of Helius Eobanus Hessus% 
 who was reckoned amongst the good poets of that age, and 
 who took a journey on purpose to have the pleasure of see- 
 ing Erasmus. 
 
 Writing to sir H. Guildford, he either repents'^, or pre- 
 tends to repent, that he had not settled in England. 
 
 hie video libros illius ab optimis quibusque cupidissime legi. Quanquam 
 mihi nondum vacavit evolvere. L. i. p. q6. 
 
 t Knight, p. 205. 
 
 " Vel unus Helius queat Germaniam nostram abarbarige calumnia vin- 
 dicare. Deum immortalem ! quam felix felicitas, quara facilis facilitas 
 in carmine ! Dicereni in hoc renatiim Ovidium. Neque sui dissimilis 
 est in oratione soluta. Nam inutroque specimen sui praebuit, idque ex 
 tempore. Turn autem, qui morum candor ! quae comitas ! quae facili- 
 tas ! quam nusquam est affinis iis vitiis, quibus vulgo sunt obnoxii, prae- 
 sertim apud Itaios, qui Poeticen deamant ! quam pia Musa castaque 
 Christianas celebrat Heroidas ! Felicem ter quaterque Germaniam, si 
 plures huic simillimi vates exorirentur ! et exoriuntur jam aliquot. Sed 
 longe plures exorituros video, si principes ac primates ingeniis honorera 
 habere cceperint. — Unum hoc me male habet, quod Hessus noster tan- 
 tum itineris exantlarit frustra. Quid enim fructus erat ? aut quod operae 
 pretium vel totura Erasmum vidisse ? Meliorem mei partem, si quid in 
 me boni est, jam in lucubrationibus meis conspexerat. Porro, quod 
 superest, quaeso, quid habet visendum ? Ep. 4/3 . 
 
 ^ Camerarius wrote his Life. 
 
 Helius Eobanus, if my memory deceive me not, says in one of his 
 poems, that when he was a boy, he had, like Ovid, such a talent for 
 poetry, 
 
 Ut non praecipuus dubitaret scribere vates j 
 Hesse puer, sacri gloria fontis eris. 
 
 y Atque hie quoque sentio mihi Rhamnusiam infensam. Ante com- 
 plures annos et regis benignitas, et cardinalis Eboracensis humanitas, me 
 ad aulae consortium non semel invitavit ; eodem provocavit Guihelmi 
 Montjoii fidele semper et amicum consilium, Sed mihi laeva mens erat, 
 surdo canebatur fabula. Sciebam baud ullam usquam aulam ista esse in- 
 corruptiorem : at quis divinare poterat principis doraum musarum domi- 
 
 O 2 
 
196 THE LIFI [1519. 
 
 Joannes Turzo, bishop of Breslaw^, sent him a most 
 obliging letter, and some presents ; for which Erasmus^ re- 
 
 cllium futunim ? Nunc id consilium sequar oportet, quod dant aetas ac 
 valetudo. Vobis inteiim gratulabor istam felicitatem, quando meam 
 infelicitatem deplorare, nihil attulerit fructus. Ep. 4/5. 
 
 '^ Igitur ut amoris et observantia; mese singularis in te studium tibi 
 etiam atqiie etiam magis fiat cognitum, atque interim ob oculos obver- 
 setar Turzonis tui memoria, munus tibi mitto, non magni sane pretii : 
 quatuor, inquam, horologia, vitreis vasculis, exigTiaj pulvisculoque pau- 
 latim delabente, horas dimetientia : quorum usus, opinor, clepsydram 
 nostro seculo sequat. Hsec sane crebro obversatu atque tractatu te nostri 
 in hora? poteruiit admonere. Adjvmxi prseterea auri puri nativique qua- 
 tuor particulas, sive ramenta, e subterraneis specubus, adeoque ex ipsis 
 terrse visceribus, in ditione meae dioeceseos, qualia vides nuper eruta, 
 nempe ut auri vivax vis te immortalitate dignissimum declaret : ad haec 
 tegmentum sacro tuo capiti ex murium Ponticorum extiviis^ quas no- 
 strates iSoZ'e//;Vi05pel]es,etiamnum usurpata voce, cognominant.— Verum, 
 quicquid est hujus, quod mitto, ut lubens et grato animo accipias vehe- 
 menter oro. Id quod futurum confido, si animi mei benevolentia, atque 
 profusissima in te propensione, non pretio munusculum asstimaveris. 
 J\am si pro tuis meritis ornandus sis, vix certe totius orbis opes et copiae, 
 nedum Dynastae cujuspiam facultates, tuae dignitati satis sint facturae. 
 Ep. 479- 
 
 3 Cur ita visum est Superis, ut tanto intervallo disjungant montes et 
 flumina, quos tanta copulat charitasanimorum ? Epistola tua post sextum 
 demum mensem mihi reddita est, una cum munusculis. Quorum nihil 
 non fiiisset gratissimum, etiamsi minimi pretii fnisset, vel hoc nomine, 
 quod a tali Prsesule, sed multo magis quod a tali animo proticisceretur. 
 Nunc et pretii magnitudine, et ipsa novitate^ et auctoris titulo commen- 
 dabantur} sed ii> his tamen nihil mihi tarn charum est visum, quod 
 epistola tua non superaret. — Faxit Deus, ut istud pectus imitentur com- 
 plures episcopi proceresque, et imaginibns suis tarn eximium decus ad- 
 jungant, et auctoritatemsuambonitatis acsapientise cumulent accessione, 
 Quam ardentem virtutis amorem spirant illae tuse literae, quantam sitim 
 eruditionis chiistianse ! Ad haec, quantum candoris, quantum modestiae 
 prae se ferunt ! Quis credat haec a tanto praesule, a tanto principe scribi ? 
 — Jam ut in tuis raunusculis etiam nonnihil philosopher, gratulor tuae 
 ditioni, e cujus venis aunim tam elegans ac purum eraitur j sed tu bea- 
 tior, qui e divinoi'um voluminum longe felicioribus venis tam avide scru- 
 teris auruni evangellcae sapientiae, quo Iccupletes gregem tuae tidei con- 
 creditum, veliit opulentus quispiam paterfamilias, e divite thesauro pro- 
 lerens nova ac vetera, niultum dissidens ab episcopis plerisqus, qui pul- 
 cherrimam functionis suae partem in sordidos quosdam relegant, nee pro- 
 bates, nee exploratos. — Duobus horologiis inscriptum erat, Festina Icnte, 
 atque hanc quidem inscriptionem audit pulvisculus ille per minutissimum 
 foi amen lente defiuens, hapc me scribente : sed magna celeritate vita 
 nostra avolat, et advolat mors nihilo segnius, etiamsi non detluat arenula. 
 In altero superne inscriptum erat, Festina lenft', et inversum horologium 
 ostendebat mortis imaginem : quae utiuam tibi, mi Turzo, lenta veniat, 
 digno protccto qui sis immortalis^ non tantum longaevus, nisi hajc essct 
 
Iv5l9.] OF ERASMUS. 197 
 
 turned him thanks, tind, as it appears afterwards, was very 
 desirous of cultivating a friendship with this illustrious pro- 
 late, who was a favourer of Lutheranism '', and highly 
 esteemed by Luther and Melanchthon. 
 
 Erasmus published at this time the Life of Jcrom'^, and 
 some other books. 
 
 His letters of this year are from Louvain, Mechlin, Ant- 
 werp, Brussels, andAnderkic, ex run? Anderlaco'K 
 
 Erasmus in a letter to Tonstall says : * Solus, ut ferunt, 
 Koxus ille fuit, qui et olim instigavit Borpium, et haiic 
 totam tragoediam excitavit, &c.' Ep. 471. 
 
 This Noxus is put in the index to the Epistles. But Eras- 
 mus certainly means his pretended friend and secret foe, 
 Joannes Atensis, who is often mentioned by him. "Atyj is 
 7ioxa, 
 
 A. D. MDXX. wETAT. LIII. 
 
 Erasmus dedicated his Paraphrase^ of the Epistles of St. 
 Paul to the Ephesians, kc. to cardinal Campegius, who 
 
 fortunae invidiam ut si quid extiterit in rebus humanis eximium, id quam 
 ocyssime tollat e medio. Quod omen abs te ve]im quam loiigissime 
 abesse, quem et ex tuis literis, et ex aliorum praedicalione, tarn multis 
 ac rarls animi dotibus praeditum esse video, ut generis claritudo, ut opes, 
 ut pontilicia dignitas, minima porlio sit tuornm ornamentonim. Pileum 
 non poterit mihi esse usui, nisi domi : nam et magniticentius est, quam 
 ut conveniat homini tenui, (nisi forte et hie erras, ut putes Evasnium 
 esse aliquid) et alienius a more hujus regionis : tamen servabitur, et in 
 hoc potissimum, ut Turzonis memoriam mihi refricet. Aureum nu- 
 misma multos exercuit, aliis conjectantibus esse tres Noe filios ex area 
 revertentes, etex altera parte columbam olivae ram.im deferentemj aliis 
 duces duoSj qui medium captum ducerent, et aqu'lam la,uri ramum in 
 coronam deflexum gestantem. Subscriptionem nullus adhuc legere po- 
 tuit, neque Graecus, neque Latinus, neque Hebraeus. Ep. 524. 
 
 I think I have seen an account of this medal ; but I cannot recollect 
 where. 
 
 '' Joannes Thurzo, illustri in Pannonia familia natus, renascenti 
 
 evangelii doctrinae admodum favens. Ad hunc jam lethaliter decum- 
 bentem epistolam Lutheri scriptam refert Scultetus. — Adducit et aliam a 
 Melanchthone scriptam, &c. — Seckendorf, 1. i. p. 27O. 
 
 These letters of Luther and Melanchthon were written in 1520 : but 
 the good prelate died before they could come into his hands. See Vou 
 der Hardt, Hist. Lit. Reform, p. v. p. 33. 
 
 «= Maittaire, ii. 330. 339. 
 
 ^ Ecclesia Anderlacensis^ haud procul a raoenibus civitatis Bruxellanae. 
 Erasm. t. v. c.954. 
 
 « Tom. vi.i. c. 968, 
 
198 THE LIFE [1520. 
 
 was at London. In this dedication he hath drawn up a very- 
 pretty though a compendious account of the history of 
 Christian Tiieology, and of the variations which it had un- 
 dergone ; to which he adds some reflections upon the state 
 of it at his time, and the controversies which troubled all 
 Christendom, and upon the proper methods of putting an 
 end to them. He observes, that at first the divines applied 
 themselves only to the study of rhetoric, that afterwards 
 they mixed the doctrines of Plato with those of Christ, and 
 then the philosophy of Aristotle ; which changed divinity 
 into a science full of controversial subtilties, and caused 
 the study of the holy scriptures to be entirely neglected. 
 When things were in this situation, some persons (by whom 
 he means Luther, and his partisans) endeavoured, with a 
 very good intention, to send Christians back to the antient 
 and true sources, and to give them a disgust for scholastic 
 theology: but they proceeded, in his opinion, with too 
 much vehemence. The monks, on the contrary, pertina- 
 ciously fond of the scholastic system, began to abuse the 
 study of the learned languages, and rejected, as so many 
 vile heresies, every thing that they feared and disliked. 
 Erasmus exhorts both Campegius, and Wolsey, and the 
 king of England, to promote and procure the peace of 
 Christendom. To accomplish this design, pope Leo, ac- 
 cording to the notions of Erasmus, should have ordered the 
 parties to deliver their confession of faith, without attack- 
 ing, insulting, and reviling that of others. If they could 
 not agree, (for it will happen in matters of speculation, as 
 in matters of taste,) they should however dispute with can- 
 dour and mildness. If the difference were upon capital 
 points, they were to select able and disinterested men, who 
 should discuss those points in a decent manner, with great 
 moderation, and without seditious clamours. 
 
 The advice was not bad, considered in itself ; but Eras- 
 mus should also have informed the cardinal, where he 
 could meet with persons of such abilities and discernment, 
 so mild, so moderate, and so disinterested and sincere lovers 
 of truth. Few such were to be found perhaps in either 
 party ; and they who then governed the church, and to 
 whom Erasmus recommends this christian procedure, were 
 of all christians upon earth the least qualified for it, cither 
 
1520.] OF ERASMUS. 199 
 
 in point of sacred erudition, or in temper of mind ; as the 
 event sufficiently showed. Besides, if a few persons of this 
 character could have been found, would the christian world 
 have accepted their arbitration, and have submitted to their 
 decisions, without murmuring: and resentment? I'he difii- 
 culties and the inconveniences, which ever attend such at- 
 tempts, permit us not even to hope for a general re-union 
 and pacification, unless the divine providence should mira- 
 culously interpose. Therefore it is hardly to be imagined, 
 that Erasmus expected to see the accomplishment of it in 
 those days, any more than we expect to see it in these. 
 However, he tells Campegius, that he hoped shortly to pay 
 a visit to the citv of Rome : but his moderate and pacific 
 counsels would have been coldly received there, and the 
 monks were too powerful at that court. He talks of the 
 same design in another epistle. We cannot suppose that he 
 was in good earnest ; but rather, that he mentioned it, to 
 remove a suspicion, which his enemies were ever suggest- 
 ing, that he intended to join himself to Luther. Ep. 499, 
 500. 
 
 In a letter to Aloisius Marlianus, who was a bishop, he 
 declares, that he did not approve the conduct of Luther, 
 and could as little digest that of the monks ; and that, by 
 their indiscretions on both sides, they furnished each other 
 with just objections. Above all, he was much offended at 
 the violent procedure of Aleander in Germany, which was 
 calculated only to irritate, and to make bad worse. For 
 my part, says he^, I think that any thing is to be endured, 
 rather than to raise pernicious disturbances ; and that it may 
 be a part of true piety to conceal the truth, so as neither to 
 utter it in every place, nor in every time, nor before every 
 person, nor freely and without reserve, and at all adven- 
 tures. 
 
 We will not deny the truth of these maxims in general ; 
 
 but the difficulty consists in applying them to particular 
 
 cases. Erasmus himself, with all his caution and prudence, 
 
 'was openly accused by the monks of having violated 
 
 ^ Scio quidvls esse ferendunij potius quam iit publicus orbis status tur- 
 betur in pejus ; scio pietatem esse nonnumquam celare veritatem, neque 
 earn quovis loco, neque quovis tempore, neque apiid quosvis, neque 
 {juovis naodo, neque totara ubic^ue promendam. Ep. 501 . 
 
200 THE LIFE [1520. 
 
 all these general maxims, and of having given occasion 
 to the Lutherans? to declaim against the church of Rome ; 
 and those defenders of that church, who, not troubling 
 themselves much about the truth or falsehood of her doc- 
 trines, acted on worldly and political principles,, looked 
 upon Erasmus as upon a man who had done them more 
 harm than good, by the liberty, or the Hcentiousness, as 
 they would have called it, that reigned in his writings. And 
 indeed the preservation of the monks was a much more im^ 
 portant affair, in the estimation of the court of Rome, than 
 the re-establishment of literature and sciences, upon which 
 Erasmus laid so much stress, and from the prosperity of 
 which that court had more to fear than to hope. 
 
 Bihbaldus Pirckheimerus informs Eras' pus of a comical 
 dispute which he had with a mendicant monk. This good 
 man, being in a company where Erasmus was highly comr 
 mended, showed his dissatisfaction by his countenance and 
 his gestures ; and being hard pushed to declare what he had 
 to censure in Erasmus, he said, that this man, whom they 
 affected to extol so much, was a notorious eater of fowls ; 
 and that he knew it to be true, not from the testimony of 
 others, but of his own eyes. Did Erasmus buy them, or 
 steal them ? said Pirckheimer. He bought them, said the 
 monk. Why then, quoth Pirckheimer, there is a certain 
 fox, who is a much greater knave ; for h6 comes into my 
 yard frequently, and takes away a fowl, without paying me. 
 But is it then a sin to eat fowls ? Most certainly, answered 
 the monk : it is the sin of gluttony ; and it becomes the 
 more heinous, when it is committed and frequently repeated 
 by church-men. Perhaps, said Pirckheimer, he eats them 
 upon fast-days ? No, said the monk ; but we ecclesiastics 
 ought to abstain upon all days from such delicacies. Ah> 
 my good father, said Pirckheimer, it is not by eating dry 
 bread, that you have got that huge paunch of yours ; and if 
 all the fowls which have gone into it, could dift up their 
 voice at once, and cackle in concert, they would make 
 noise enough to drown the drums and the trumpets of an 
 army. 
 
 « It was said by some of the more facetious and more learned enemies 
 of Erasmus : 
 *H A'd^pos 'Epsi.<T^\X,ei, ^ 'Epa<rixo; AkSij^sI^j;. Tom. jx. c. 519. 
 
1520.] OF ERASMUS. 201 
 
 I hear, says he, that CEcolampadlus'* is turned monk; I 
 wish he had thought better upon it. 
 
 Erasmus' approved thi^ step of Q^colampadius as little as 
 his friend Bilibaldus ; and observes, that a man's discon- 
 tented and restless temper will pursue him even into the re- 
 tirement of a monastery. Ep. 504<. 
 
 In a letter to Beatus Rhenanus, Erasmus complains, that 
 the publication'^ of his Epistles had given him much vexa- 
 tion. As he found that very faulty and incorrect collec- 
 tions had been made of them, even when he was in Italy, 
 he thought it better to give an edition himself, than to leave 
 it to others, although he protests that it never was his design 
 to print them. As he had spoken freely in those letters on 
 many important points, he could not avoid gi^'ing offence. 
 The monks especially, as enemies to literature, exclaimed 
 violently against them : and then, the Lutheran contentions 
 breaking out, these Epistles were siill more censured than 
 before, and accused of favouring Lutheranism, at a time 
 when, as he says ', it was neither safe to speak, nor to keep 
 
 ^ QEcolampadiu?, ecclcsiastes Augnstanus, in Coenobium Sa]vatori-"j 
 prope Augnstarrij cciicedit, factus ib'iMGnachus, ciua ir.etuciec reipub- 
 licae a Lutheii scriptis ; sed imprimis ut otium ei conservaretuf ad sludia 
 sua theologica. Antequam autem monasteiiuiu ingredeietur^ stadiiis 
 suia et fidei liberlatem a fratribas stipulatus est. Substitit in eo annutu 
 integrum, usque dum libertas verbi divini interdici ccepta. Hoc gravis- 
 sime in eo lulit Erasmus, et Wolfgangus etiam Fabiicius Capito. Scul- 
 teli Annales, published by Von der Hardt. Hist. Liter. Reform, p. v. 
 p. 35. 
 
 • Quod scribis ab CEcolampadio factum, jam ex illius Uteris subodo- 
 rabar futurum. Id sive judicio fecit, sive auimi morbo, quando mutari 
 non potest, precandum est, ut illi ac nobis quam optime vertat. Video 
 res humanas sic undique corruptas, ut nullis unquam seculis exislimem 
 plus licuisse impudenlire, plus licuisse stoliditati, plus licuisse sceleri. 
 Et noi^nuncjuam libet aliquo profugere, sed vercor nc quocunqne me ver- 
 tero, sequatur molestia. Proinde tutius arbitror mali remedium nb animo 
 petere, potius quam a loco aut vilae instituto. Bene habet, quod Christus 
 in tanta vitiorum caligine nobis evangelicoe doctrinse sciuLillas reiiquit. 
 Ep. 52/. 
 
 •^Excadit Frobenius justum epistolarum illustrium opus: Farrago 
 Epistolarum Erasmi, litulus erit. \'ix dici qutat, quam elegans opus 
 futui-um : quod ncn solum Politiano conferri, s^ed vel praeferri bona e.v 
 parte possit. — Res erit gravis et docla jucanditate condlla. DispiTeamj 
 si non legere gestias : legisse vero lam gandeas, ut nunquam magis. 
 Vale. Basileae, anno 1519. Epist. anonymi aniici ad H. C. Agiip- 
 pam, p. y^y. 
 
 ' Lutherana tragoedia in lantam exarsit contentiouem^ ut nee loqui tu- 
 tum sit, nee tacere, Ep. 50/. 
 
202 THE LIFE [1520, 
 
 silence. Then he adds, that he would have suppressed 
 those Epistles, but that Froben would not consent. He even 
 desires Rhenanus to pay Froben his expenses, and to with- 
 draw the copies. But in this he could hardly speak "^ se- 
 riously, since Froben was too much his friend, and his hum- 
 ble servant, to print them without his consent. 
 
 He afterwards treats of the different manner in which dif- 
 ferent epistles ought to be written, and of the danger which 
 a man incurs by publishing them in his lifetime. This let- 
 ter stood first in the edition of Basil, 1540, being a kind of 
 preface to the whole collection, in which the author sets 
 forth his reasons for his manner of writing. 
 
 He replied to a letter of CEcolampadius, who had in- 
 formed him of his change of life. He wisheth, that this 
 learned man might find his new situation answerable to his 
 hopes. If I thought ", says he, that it would prove so, I 
 could be content to bear you company : but I fear that you 
 will find your expectations disappointed. He was not de- 
 ceived in his conjecture. 
 
 In several" of his letters he bestows many commendations 
 on Hutten and Eppendorf : but he afterwards had quarrels 
 with them, when their attachment to Lutheranism, joined 
 to outrageous violence, had made them odious ; and at last 
 he said as much against them, as he had ever said for them 
 before. It is true, that they gave him great provocation, 
 and in a manner necessitated him to act thus : but this is 
 one of the inconveniences, which sometimes attend the 
 publication of epistles, as he justly observes?. 
 
 He frequently complains, that religious contests had de- 
 prived him of some learned friends of the Lutheran party, 
 who once admired and extolled him, as he says, more than 
 he desired or deserved, and afterwards depreciated him as 
 much. 
 
 ** It is to be supposed^ that he consented, 
 
 " Utinam fibi contlngat, quod expetis, optime CEcolampadi. Id si 
 5c'.rem, haberes me comitem ; sed vereor ne te sequatur hoc taedium. 
 Sic est vita mortalium : ab animo petenda est tranquillitas. Ep. SOg. 
 
 °Ep. 510. 512.514. 517. 
 
 P -Tarn et illud est incommodi, quod, ut nunc res sunt mortalium, ex 
 .nmicissimis nonnunquam reddantur inimicissimi, et contra ; ut et illos 
 Ijudatos, et hos doleas attactos. Ep. 50/ . 
 
1520.] OF F.RASMUS. 203 
 
 Warm passions and a lively imagination dispose men to 
 panegyric and to satire : but, n'imium nee laudare, nee 
 Icrderc, that is, neither to deify, nor to duncify, seems to 
 be no bad mle for those who would act consistently, and 
 live quietly. 
 
 They now began to exclaim furiously against Erasmus In 
 England, although he had many friends there, and amongst 
 them even persons of the first quality, and the king him- 
 self. He gives a remarkable instance of this in the beha- 
 viour of Standish'i, who had been a monk, and was bishop 
 of St. Asaph, and whom Erasmus sometimes calls, by way 
 of derision, Episcoptivi a Sancto Asino, bishop of Saint 
 As. Standish had railed at Erasmus, in a sermon preach- 
 ed at St. Paul's, for translating the beginning of St. John's 
 gospel. In principio erat Sermo, and not P^erbum. He 
 also accused Erasmus of heresy before the king and the 
 queen ; but was thoroughly exposed for it by two learned 
 friends ''of Erasmus, who happened to be then present. 
 Erasmus adds a long story of a most ignorant professor of 
 divinity, with whom he had a conference. But his ene- 
 mies in Brabant were yet more troublesome and vexatious. 
 Ep. 516. 
 
 ' Standish ^ was the common hunter of heretics, and 
 twice fastened upon Erasmus, &c. Wood, Goodwin, and 
 others, speak more favourably of him than Erasmus. He 
 was guardian of the Franciscan convent in London, and 
 provincial of his order, and in 1519 was made bishop of 
 St. Asaph. In 1526, he and sir John Baker were sent am- 
 bassadors to Denmark. In 1 530, he was one of the bishops 
 that assisted and directed queen Catharine in the affair of tihe 
 divorce. He was esteemed a learned man in his time, and 
 a most zealous favourer and assertor of the catholic reli- 
 gion ; for which, if he had lived longer, he would have 
 suffered much. He wrote several serm.ons, a treatise against 
 Erasmus, &c. He died in 1535.' 
 
 * Attempts^ were begun in England to restrain eccleslasti- 
 
 *i Knight, p. 267, Sec. See the Apology of Erasmus, t. ix. c. lH, 
 43i. 
 
 " I take them to have been Pace and More, Knight, p. 273. 
 
 ' Knight. 
 
 ' Burnet's Hist, of the Kef, i. 12. 
 
204 THE LIFE [I520* 
 
 cal immunities, which were become a miisance past all 
 bearing, and to make the clergy subject to the common 
 laws of the realm. This gave infinite offence to the clergy. 
 There was an hearing about it before the king ; and 
 Standish, being counsel for the king, pleaded very strongly 
 against these immunities. The convocation then fell upon 
 Standish with great fury, and he appealed to the king, who 
 protected him.* 
 
 In this affair Standish appears to better advantage, than in 
 his quarrels with Erasmus. 
 
 More gives Erasmus a terrible " account of the sweating 
 sickness. 
 
 ' Ep. ,551 Is to Bedell*, who was secretary to Warhara, 
 and afterwards an archdeacon, and appointed one of the 
 commissioners to visit religious houses, in order to their dis- 
 solution. In it Erasmus sends his compliments to Dr. 
 Wells, who had been fellow of New College, and was do- 
 mestic chaplain to the archbishop.' 
 
 Beatus Rhenanus having published an edition of Tertul- 
 lian, Erasmus passeth a learned, just, and candid judgment 
 upon this father. He proceeds to mention some antient he- 
 resies, which soon were extinguished on account of their 
 monstrous absurdity. But Arianlsm^, which did not main- 
 
 ^ Si unquam alias, nunc maxime in moerore et perlculo versa- 
 
 mur, multis undiqvie morientibus, omnibus fere, qui Oxoniae, qui Can- 
 tabrigiae, qui Londini sunt, intra paucos dies decumbentibus, amissis plu- 
 rimis, optimis, atque honestissimis amicis : atque in his, quod tibi quoque 
 dolori esse doleo, Andrea nostro Ainraonio, in quo et literae, et omnes 
 boni magnam fecere jacturani. Is valde sibi videbatur adversus conta- 
 gionem, victus moderatione munitus : qua factum putavit, ut quum in 
 nullum pcne incideret, cujus non tota familia laboraverat, neminem ad- 
 hue e suis id malum attigerit ; id quod et niihi, et multis praeterea jacta- 
 vit non admodum multis horis antcquam exstinctus est : nam hoc sudore 
 nemo nisi primo die perit. Ego, uxorque, ac liberi adhuc intacti, re- 
 liqua familia tota revaluit. Hoc tibi affirmo, minus periculi in acie, 
 quam in urbc esse. Nunc, ut audio, ssevire Caleti incipit, quum nos eo 
 extruuimur, legatione functuri, tanquam panun sit in contagione vixisse, 
 nisi sequamur etiam. Sed quid facias ? quod sors feret, ferendum est. 
 £go animum mihi in omnem evenlum composui. Ep. 522. 
 
 ^ Knight, p. 231. 
 
 y Sed nulla (haeresis) majores excitavit in orbe tumultus quam 
 Avianorum, quod ea nee portenta palam absurda proferret, et ut eranl 
 docti, Scripturarum testimoniis Jiiti viderentur. Pelagianorum, quod ad 
 Jiberum attinet arbitrium, etiam hodie licet vestigia quaedam depreheii- 
 clersi. Ep. 525. 
 
1520.] OF ERASMUS, 205 
 
 rain such gross follies, which was adopted by learned men, 
 and which seemed to defend itself bv the testimonies of the 
 holy scriptures, was much longer-lived : and, as to Pela- 
 gianism, Erasmus thought that some remanis of it were to 
 be found in the doctrines concerning free-will, which were 
 received by many. 
 
 A good portion of heresy, says he, seems to have come 
 from the sentiments of the philosophers ; which makes me 
 wonder at a common saying, that there is no confuting of 
 heretics without the assistance of the Aristotelic philosophy. 
 Surely, either that same philosophy must be a very holy 
 thing, or they, who can make so excellent an use of it, 
 must be men of an incomparable genius^. This shows, 
 that he, who said that^ ' if it had not been for Aristotle's 
 philosophy, we should have gone without many an article 
 of faith,' was not singular in his opinion. 
 
 Erasmus says also, that there were some scholastic here- 
 sies, which it were better to connive at, than to raise a cla- 
 mour against them, because they were not calculated to do 
 anv great mi!?chief. But*^ one heresy there is, which per- 
 haps deserves not that name, (he means, thaf^ bad actions 
 are worse than erroneous opinions,) and vet is very perni- 
 cious to men, and greatly weakens the authority of the go- 
 spel ; and that is, when they, who are professors of divi- 
 nity, and pretend to be heads of the christian people, teach 
 nothing else, during their whole lives, and with all their en- 
 
 ^ Nim'.iTim aut en philosophia mnltum habet sanctimonise, aut prae- 
 clari sunt artifices, qui ilia sic norunt uti, 
 
 3 See Bayle, Aristote. 
 
 ^ Sed est lijeresis quoedarn, quje quanqaam hacresis vocabulum noa 
 mereatur, tamen max imam pevniciem adtert vitae mortalium, ac pluri- 
 mum officii Evangelicns auctoritati, quum ii, qui protitentur philoso- 
 phiam Christi, qui se gerunt pro summis ducibus ac proccribus totius^ 
 populi Chri->tiani, palam tola vita, totis studiis, totis conatibus, nihil 
 aliud doceaut, quam ambitionem plusquam theatncam, avaritiam insa- 
 tiabilem, voluptatum aviditatem inexplebilem, bellorum f'urias, ex- 
 teraque, quDe sacrs Lileree detestantur, quae ab Ethnicis etiam philosophis 
 improbantur. Non ista loquuntur quidera; sed efficacius est ista vivere 
 quam loqui. 
 
 *^ Deluded people ! that do not coniider, that the greatest heresy in 
 the world is a wicked life ; and that God will sooner forgive a man an 
 hundred defects of his understanding, than one fault ot his will. Til- 
 lotson, vol. i. serni. 34. 
 
206 THE LIFE [1520. 
 
 deavour, than pompous ambition, insatiable avarice, an un- 
 extinguished lust of pleasure, cruel wars, and other things, 
 which the holy scriptures abhor, and which even Pagan mo- 
 ralists condemn. It is true, they teach not this detestable 
 doctrine by words ; but they teach it by actions, and by their 
 examples, which are still more infectious, and more destruc- 
 tive. Ep. 525. 
 
 As Leo had published this year a furious bull against Lu- 
 ther, Erasmus began to be in pain for the reformer, al- 
 though John Frederic, elector of Saxony, had taken him un- 
 der his protection. I fear, says he to Noviomagus, for the 
 unfortunate Luther : so violent is the conspiracy, and so 
 strongly have the pope and the princes been instigated 
 against him. Would to God he had followed my counsel, 
 and had abstained from odious and seditious proceedings ! he 
 would then have done more good, and have incurred less 
 hatred. It would be no great matter that one man should 
 perish ; but if these people (the monks) get the better, they 
 will never rest till they have ruined literature. They begin 
 again to attack Reuchlin,only because they hate Luther, who, 
 contrary to my advice, by meddling in the affair of Reuch- 
 lin, hath brought an odium upon that learned man, and yet 
 done himself no service. 
 
 But if Luther had followed the advice of Erasmus, and 
 conducted the affair with all imaginable moderation and re- 
 serve, he would have had still less of success ; because his 
 system passed, in the opinion of the divines, for a most pes- 
 tilent heresy, tending to overset the authority of the pope 
 and the monks, and to destroy the credit of certain opi- 
 nions and doctrines, from which they drew an immense 
 profit. If Luther, after he had been publicly censured at 
 Rome, had yielded and recanted, all the benefit that his 
 doctrine was capable of producing would have been totally 
 lost : and if he resisted and stood his ground, that could not 
 be done without sedition, as it was called, and a separation 
 from those who had excommunicated him. It was absurd 
 to imagine, that the court of Rome would have yielded in 
 the smallest point to a little monk, whom she considered as 
 a rebel and an innovator ; or would have sacrificed her tem- 
 poral interests to the cause of Truth and Peace. Had she 
 acted so, it would have been for the first time. She chose 
 
1520.] OF ERASMUS. 207 
 
 rather to adhere to the oracular maxim, JVhatever is, is 
 
 right. 
 
 As to the tyranny of the monks, it is true enough that it 
 was become intolerable, and that it retarded not a little the 
 progress of polite and useful learning. But in the religious 
 divisions which ensued, societies were formed, where letters 
 flourished in an eminent manner ; and, in subsequent times, 
 the monks also in several places began to apply themselves 
 closely to study, through shame and emulation, and for 
 their own honour and interest, and many excellent scholars 
 arose amongst them. Yet Erasmus was excusable for his 
 fears, that literature would be depressed and expelled, as 
 he could not possibly foresee what Time would bring 
 forth. 
 
 He was earnestly solicitous to have the cause of literature, 
 which the monks opposed so violently, separated from the 
 cause of Lutheranism ; and therefore he often observes, 
 that they had no Idnd of connection. But, if we may say 
 the truth, the study of the belles letires is a poor occupa- 
 tion, if they are to be confined to a knowledge of languages 
 and of antiquities, and not employed to the service of reli- 
 gion, and of other sciences. To what purpose doth a man 
 fill his head with Latin and Greek words, with prose and 
 verse, with histories, opinions, and customs, if it do not 
 contribute to make him more rational, more prudent, more 
 civil, more virtuous and religious ? Such occupations are to 
 be considered as introductory, and ornamental, and service- 
 able to studies of higher importance, such as philosophy, 
 law, ethics, politics, and divinity. To abandon these 
 sciences, in order to support philology, is like burning a 
 city, to save the gates. Be this observed once for all, be- 
 cause Erasmus often returns to the subject, and dearly loves 
 to dwell upon it. 
 
 If he would have employed his learned abilities to palliate 
 the defects of the church of Rome, and to plead the cause 
 of the popes and of the monks, and to support their pre- 
 tensions, as his friend More did afterwards, he might have 
 regained their esteem. 
 
 But although he affected from this time forwards to cen- 
 sure the proceedings of Luther, he did not therefore ap- 
 prove the conduct of Luther's adversaries, as he testified 
 
£03 THE LIFE [1520. 
 
 frequently and openl-y enough ; and yet he would not sepa- 
 rrite himself from their communion, in which he thought he 
 might live without applauding their behaviour and adopt- 
 ing all their sentiments. 
 
 They have caused to be printed, says he, a most formi- 
 dable bull ; but the pope hath net yet permitted the publi- 
 cation of it. lam afraid that some terrible tumult will ensue. 
 They, who exhort the pope to proceed thus, give him, in 
 my opinion, an advice, concerning the piety of which I 
 know not what may be said ; but the danger of it is evident. 
 This whole affair springs from bad causes, and hath been 
 pushed on by as bad methods. The tragedy arose first from 
 the stupidity of the monks, and their hatred for literature. 
 By violent provocations and malicious conspiracies they have 
 raised it to that height of fury which they aimed at. After 
 having suppressed the learning which they abhor, they hope 
 to reign triumphant, they and their barbarity. I make not 
 myself a party, and will be no actor in the tragedy : else a 
 bishopric would be at my service, if I would but write 
 against Luther. I^ am grieved to see the evangelical doc- 
 trine thus oppressed, to see that we are to be compelled, 
 and not taught, or else taught things contrary to the holy 
 scriptures, and to common sense. 
 
 Thus he opened himself in confidence to a friend. 
 
 He wrote also to the pope upon the following occasion : 
 he had sent a letter to Luther the year before, exhorting him 
 to moderation, and commending him at the same time. 
 This letter had been showed to the pope ; and Erasmus had 
 been censured for not exhordng Luther to recant, and for 
 not declaring roundly that he would break with him, if he 
 did not comply Vv'ith the pope. In answer to this accusa- 
 tion, Erasmus pretends, that he had only commended in 
 Luther what was commendable, and had treated him civilly 
 with a view to reclaim him the more easily. He protests, 
 that he had only read a few pages of his books, (which, by 
 the way, seems hardly credible.) and that he had hindered 
 Froben from printing them. One passage was particularly 
 
 ^ Mihi dolet sic obnii doctrinam evangelicam, nosque cogi tantum., 
 non doceri, et doceri ea a quibus abhorrent, et Sacrae Literae^ ct sensus 
 communis. Ep. 52S. 
 
1520.] OF ERASMUS. * 209 
 
 censured m his litter, wherein, after having exliorted Lu- 
 ther to mode/ation, lie adds, I*^ w rite this to admonish you, 
 not what you ought to do, but that you would continue to 
 act as you do. Erasmus says, that he spake thus, only 
 upon the supposition that Lulher did of his own accord 
 what he could wish him to do. This was surely a cold de- 
 fence, and not calculated to satisfy persons so thoroughly 
 heated, as the partisans of the Romish court were at that 
 time. These men were undoubtedly inferior beyond mea- 
 sure to Erasmus, cither in solid erudition, or in a love of 
 truth, or in a desire to have vices and errors corrected ; but 
 as to worldly interests, they understood them far better thaa 
 he, and were not to be so duped in such matters. 
 
 He had declined the task of refuting Luther, because, 
 said he, 1. They who would undertake it ought to read his 
 writings with attention, and more than once ; for which I 
 have no leisure, being occupied in other studies : 2. Be- 
 cause it is a work above my abilities : 3. Because I will noS 
 deprive the universities, which have undertaken to confute 
 him, of their honour and glory : 4. Because I have no mind 
 to draw upon myself the resentment of m.any powerful per- 
 sons, especially as I am not appointed to this office. 
 
 Lie protests, however, that he was very far from opposing 
 himself to the supreme vicar of Jesus Christ ; only he wish- 
 ed that Luther had been solidly confuted before they had 
 burnt his books. He adds, that he had resolved with him- 
 self to pass the winter at Rome, for the sake of consultinrr 
 the pope's library ; but that the assemblies of the princes 
 had retarded his journey. Charles V, it seems, returning 
 from Spain, had been crowned at Aix La Chapelle, and had 
 been at Cologn, where he had called together the elector;:. 
 Some*^ Lutheran writers have said, that Erasmus was pre- 
 sent there, and gave a favourable testimony to Luther : and 
 he says himself, that at Cologn he had given an advice to 
 the princes, who were there assembled, by s which the 
 pope might have been extolled for his clemency, and Lu- 
 
 • Haec scriboj non ut te admoneam quid facias, sed ut quod facis per- 
 petuo facias. 
 
 '^ Chylraeus, apud S. Calvisium, ad Imnc annum. 
 
 B Ut et pontifex. auferret laudern cleraentise, et Lutbercs gbedientije. 
 Ep. 5/0. 
 
 Vol. L P 
 
210 THE LIFE [1520. 
 
 ther for his obedience. But his advice, whatsoever it were, 
 came to nothing, and his sojourning at Cologn was quite 
 useless, as to any pacification. However, it is not probable 
 that he felt even the smallest temptation to repair to Rome, 
 and to the pope's library, whatever he might say about it. 
 Ep. 529. 
 
 In a letter to Franciscus Chiregatus, he complains again 
 of the malice of the monks, who in their theological lec- 
 tures, and in their sermons, affected to couple him with 
 Luther. He says, that a certain monk, who was no less 
 than coadjutor to the bishop of Tcurnay, had declaimed at 
 Bruges against Luther and him ; and that being asked by a 
 magistrate, what heresies there were in the books of Eras- 
 mus, he replied, I have not read them ; once I attempted 
 to read his Paraphrases, but I found the Latinity too exalt- 
 ed. I am afraid that he may have fallen into some heresy, 
 because of his exalted Latinity. Ep. 530. 
 
 Erasmus testifies his sincere attachment to the see of 
 Rome, and advises that court to be as sincerely favourable 
 to the cause of Jesus Christ, and to seek no other orna- 
 ments than those wherein Christ himself excelled. 
 
 At the same time he sent to Henry VIII his Reply ^ to Ed- 
 ward Lee, who had attacked him at the instigation of the 
 monks, and of his own vanity. Writing to Albertus, car- 
 dinal of Mentz, he declares how much he v/as vexed, that 
 a letter, which he had sent to this prelate, and which con- 
 tained some favourable expressions concerning Luther, had 
 been intercepted and printed, even before it had reached the 
 cardinal's hands. Ep. 53G. 
 
 Erasnms did not believe, as he tells a Carthusian monk, 
 that since the days of Jesus Christ there had been an age so 
 abounding in malice, as that wherein he had the misfortune 
 to live. Therefore, says he, repent not of having embraced 
 that retired state of yours. As for me, my hard destiny 
 hath thrown me into a tempestuous world. I ' can neither 
 hold my peace, nor speak the things which become the go- 
 spel of Jesus Christ. His conscience would not permit him 
 to be a deserter from that wholesome doctrine, of which he 
 
 •» It is in torn. ik. c. 123, without any date. 
 
 ' Nee tacere mihi licet, nee digna Christo loqui. 
 
1520.] OF ERASMUS. 211 
 
 had sowed the good seed throughout his works, or to retract 
 it, as the monks required of him : and yet these men were 
 so formidable, and so supported by the ecclesiastical powers, 
 that he dared not to speak his whole mind, and utter all that 
 he judged to be conformable to the gospel. Jesus Christ, 
 says he, cries out, Be of good courage, I have overcome 
 the world. But the world will soon cry out, Be of good 
 courage, I have overcome Jesus Christ. And indeed, in- 
 stead of evangelical gifts and graces ; ambition, voluptuous- 
 ness, avarice, audaciousness, vanity, impudence, envy and 
 malice reign triumphant, even amongst those who pretend 
 to be the light and the salt of the world. Ep. 5bl. 538. 
 
 He makes heavy complaints to Rosemund, moderator of 
 the university of Louvain, as he had before, that Egmond 
 the Carmelite had railed at him, not like a divine, but like 
 a drunkard from a dung-cart, and had accused him from the 
 pulpit of favouring Luther. Erasmus says, that having 
 cursorily run over some pages of Luther, he had loved the 
 talents which he had observed in him ; and had collected 
 thence, that the man might do no small service to the cause 
 of religion, if he employed his abilities to the glory of his 
 Saviour. As many atrocious crimes were charged upon 
 him, and some of them manifest lies, I wished, says he, 
 that, if he were in some measure faulty, he might rather 
 be amended than destroyed. If this be favouring Luther, I 
 frankly own that I favour him ; and so doth the pope, and 
 so you do all, if you be true divines, and indeed if you be 
 christians. 
 
 This was speaking like an honest man ; and no friend to 
 the church of Rome, who pretended to any share of equity, 
 could condemn this language. But it was not the language 
 of the Inquisition ; it was not the language of the monks, 
 who breathed nothing besides revenge, and the destruction 
 of heretics : and therefore, after all his complaints against 
 Egmond, he could procure no satisfaction. He ought to 
 have cried out, that Luther deserved to be hanged for what 
 he had already done, whether he submitted or not ; he 
 ought to have insulted and abused him upon all occasions, 
 if he hoped to please the men, who accounted moderation 
 and equity to be capital crimes, when extended to a man ac- 
 
 P2 
 
212 THE LIFE [1520. 
 
 counted by them the leader of the heretical armies. Ep. 
 5S9. 
 
 In an epistle to Reuchlin, after mentioning the Lutheran 
 tragedy, as he calls it, he adds, that he chose rather to be a 
 spectator than an actor ; not that he would refuse to run 
 some risque for an affair that regarded Christianity, but be- 
 cause it was above his weakness. He also complains of the 
 monks, sworn foes to learning, who always joined ^ erudi- 
 tion and Lutheranism together, which he desired might al- 
 ways be separated ; and of the Germans, who embraced 
 Luther's side with too much vehemence. But how could 
 some vehemence be avoided ? and how could the Lutherans 
 pay compliments and show reverence to persons, who re- 
 quired nothing less than a blind and unlimited obedience, 
 under pain of excommunication, imprisonment, fire and 
 fagot ? In vain honest Erasmus acted the pacifier, and ex- 
 horted on one hand the court of Rome to proceed with 
 more mildness, and the Lutherans on the other to behave 
 with more submission and modesty. The pretensions of 
 the former were so exorbitant, that nothing besides capital 
 punishments could support them j and the reformers were 
 so shocked and provoked, and so convinced that no com- 
 pliance would be made to any of their requests, that they 
 accounted it a betraying the cause of truth to speak humbly 
 and submissively to such incorrigible rulers. It was, as 
 they thought, like exhorting a Caligula and a Nero to cle- 
 mency, and advising the poor subjects to compliment such 
 tyrants, to remind them gently of their defects, and humbly 
 to entreat them, that they would be so good and gracious as 
 to condescend to alter their conduct. Ep. 54 J. 
 
 CEcoIampadius suspected, that Erasmus disapproved his 
 f^nterins: into a m.onastic life. Erasmus tells him, that it was 
 not so ; and that when he treated the monks as Pharisees, 
 he only meant his o-wii persecutors, and those who under a 
 pretence of religion were real foes to it. He was willing to 
 suppose, that CEcoIampadius had chosen a society less in- 
 fected than some others. Ep. 544. 
 
 •^ Lovanii quidam non semel publicitus dixit apud populum, Lirguas 
 ac politiores literas esse fontem omnium hasreseon, et ob id carum pro- 
 fessores fustibas ejiciendos ex acjjdemia, T. ix. c, 531. 
 
1520.] OF ERASMUS. 21.^ 
 
 He addressed a long and a very accurate and elaborate 
 letter to his friend Campegius, wherein he sets himself prin- 
 cipally to defend those which he had written to Luther, and 
 to the cardinal of Mentz, because they had been printed 
 and transmitted to the pope, to set him against Erasmus. 
 He begins with declaring, that he would have gone to Rome, 
 to pass the winter there, if he had not been hindered by a 
 congress of the princes of the empire about that time, at 
 which he had reasons to be present ; and that therefore he 
 had deferred his intended journey to the next year. He had 
 a mind, as he says, to pass the remainder of his days at 
 Rome, where learned studies might be pursued, not only 
 with leisure and tranquillity, but with reputation and ho- 
 nour. This was true enougn : but such conditions were to 
 be complied with, as Erasmus could never have endured ; 
 namely, that these learned studies should give no shadow 
 of offence to the theology which was taught there ; that 
 men of letters should appear zealous friends to that court, 
 and implacable enemies to its adversaries ; and, lastly, that 
 they and their writings should be entirely submitted to the 
 ecclesiasdcal censors and examiners of books. These poli- 
 ticians, or bigots, who in fact have only permitted the 
 reading of Erasmus, with a donee coirigalur, that is to 
 say, when the best things that he had composed were 
 ei*ased, would never have suffered him to print at Rome 
 what he set forth at Basil. So that, as one of the kings of 
 Macedonia got the nick-name of Awxa;y, or, He who is to 
 giie, because he always promised, but never performed ; in 
 like manner Erasmus should have been called at Rome (as 
 the expected Messias of the Jews) o 'EAruo-o^fi/oc, He that 
 is to come ; because he always talked of setting forth on his 
 journey to Rome, but never accomplished it. 
 
 He complains, that the professors of literature themselves 
 were too violent in their invectives against their illiterate 
 foes ; and that, on the other side, the monks, headed by 
 some Dominicans and Carmelites, stirred heaven and earth 
 to ruin the former, railing against them, and blackening, 
 them in their sermons to the populace, as detestable here- 
 tics. As for himself, he would gladly have been a media- 
 tor of peace between both ; and if he censured the latter, he 
 meant only the vicious part of them, and had taken no 
 
214 THE LIFE [1520 
 
 greater liberties of that kind than St. Jerom had taken be- 
 fore him, who yet was a monk himself. But the worst of 
 it was, that the number of those, to whom the censures of •> 
 Erasmus might be applicable, was exceeding great, and that 
 whole bodies of religious orders acted according to all the 
 principles which he condemned. It is no wonder then that 
 they were so incensed against him, and against all those wl:o 
 derided their gross ignorance, and their stubborn attach- 
 ment to scholastic barbarism. 
 
 As to his letter to Luther, he had treated him as one di- 
 vine ought to treat another, and had given him such advice 
 as he seemed to stand in need of. Here, as in many other 
 letters, he begins to speak of Luther with the equity and 
 forbearance of an honest man ; but in a manner by no 
 means agreeable at Rome, where a zeal was required, 
 which nothing could satisfy, except the destrucdon of he- 
 retics. 
 
 Of all Lut'-ier's writings, says he, I have hardly read 
 twelve pages, here and there, in a cursory manner ; and 
 yet by this little, which I have rather run over than exa- 
 mined, I thought that I could discern in him natural talents, 
 and a genius very proper to explain the holy Scriptures ac- 
 cording to the manner of the Fathers, and tc- kindle those 
 sparks of evangelical doctrine, from which common cus- 
 tom, and the doctrines of the schools upon speculations 
 more subtil than useful, had departed too far. I heard men 
 of great merit, equally respectable for learning and piety, 
 congratulate themselves for having been acquainted with his 
 books. 1 saw that the more unblameable their behaviour 
 was, and the more approaching to evangelical purity, the 
 less they v/ere irritated against him. His moral character 
 was recommended, even by some who could not endure his 
 doctrine. As to the spirit with which he was animated, and 
 of uhich God alone can judge with certainty, I chose ra- 
 ther, d.s it became me, to think too favourably than too 
 hardly of it. And, to say the plain truth, the christian 
 world haih been long weary of those teachers, who insist 
 too rigidly upon trifling invendons and human consntutions, 
 and begins to thirst after the pure and hving water drawn 
 from the sources of the evangelists and apostles. For this 
 undertaking Luther seemed to me fitted by nature, and in- 
 
1520.] OF ERASMUS. 215 
 
 flamed with an active zeal to prosecute It. Thus It is that I 
 have favoured Luther ; I have favoured the good which ] 
 saw, or imagined that I saw, in him. 
 
 It is plain enough, that these expressions set Luther in no 
 disadvantageous light ; and that Erasmus spake thus, to 
 show that they did not do justice at Rome to this reformer, 
 and that it would become them to give him at least a ftiir 
 hearing. Then he mentions the good advice which he had 
 offered also to Luther, and this he sets off and exaggerates 
 as much as ever he can ; though in reality this advice amount- 
 ed to no more, than to warn him that he should act with 
 more caution and moderation ; and was not an exhortation 
 to recant, as Leo's bull commanded him. 
 
 As for his letter to the archbishop of Mentz, the only 
 purpose of it was, as he says, to shovv^, that Luther ought 
 to be confuted by reasoning, and not overborne by violence. 
 It is the duty of divines to persuade, as it is the practice of 
 tyrants to compel. Then he shows what pains he had taken 
 to induce the divines to refute Luther by solid arguments, 
 and to employ methods proper to gain him, and not to har- 
 den him and ruin him. 
 
 All the world, says he, have accounted Leo's bull too se- 
 vere, and not reconcileable with the mild temper of that pon- 
 tiff, and have observed, that they who were commissioned 
 to put it in execution have made it still more rigorous. He 
 hath in view Hieronvmus Aleander, who went about com- 
 mitdng Luther's books to the flames, before a proper an- 
 swer to them had been published. Now Erasmus thought 
 that this was a preposterous method, and that they should 
 have been first refuted, and then burned, if they were so 
 fond of burning. Silvester Prieras had indeed wrlt'cen an 
 answer to Luther ; but so poor an answer, that even Lu- 
 ther's warmest enemies did not like it. A minor frier, called 
 Augustin, had succeeded still worse. Some other antago- 
 nist had also entered the lists to as little purpose : but 
 Joannes Turenholt^ had disputed publicly at Louvain against 
 Luther's sentiments, avoiding all personal scurrilities j and 
 
 • His name was Driedo, under which he stands in Bayle's Diet. Val, 
 Andreae Bibl. Belg. p. 479. Mircei Elog. Belg. p. 24. Erasmus men- 
 tions, with approbationj some work of his upon the scriptures, t. v. 
 c. 1054. 
 
216 THE LIFE [lo20. 
 
 Erasmus commends him as a man of temper and of abili- 
 ties. 
 
 He declares, that he was determined to adhere to the see 
 of Rome. What connections, says he, have I with Lu- 
 ther, or what recompense have I to expect from him, that I 
 should join with him to oppose the church of Rome, which 
 I take to be a true part of the church catholic ; or to oppose 
 the Roman pontiif, who is the head of the catholic church ; 
 I, who should be loth to resist the bishop of my diocese ? I 
 am not so impious as to dissent from the church, or so un- 
 grateful as to dissent from Leo, of w horn I have receive4 
 uncommon favour and indulgence. Thus Erasmus endea- 
 voured to soften the Romish court, and to dispose it to re- 
 ceive with patience the good advice which he obliquely and 
 cautiously Offered. To this he adds, with simplicity and 
 sincerity enough, If the corrupted manners of that court call 
 for a powerful and for a speedy cure, it is not for me, or 
 one like me, to administer the harsh remedy. I had rather 
 content mvself with the present state of human affairs, such 
 as it is, than to see new tumults and commotions excited, 
 which often produce other effects than we can foresee. 
 
 Erasmus was afraid that Luther's attempted reformation 
 would have ill success, and thought it not proper to engage 
 himself in it : and yet, though he had some respect for the 
 Romish party, he could not dissemble his sentiments, that 
 the church stood much in need of amendment. If he had 
 lived long enough to see a reformation established in Ger- 
 many, France, England, Scotland, and the United Pro- 
 vinces, iie v'; ould not have talked in that desponding v/ay. 
 
 I never taught any erroneous doctrines, says he, that I 
 know of, and never will. Nor will I be an associate or a 
 leader in any tumults. Let "^ others affect martyrdom j for 
 my part, I i^old myself unworthy of that honour. 
 
 He concludes with disapproving the vehemence of the 
 German reformers, and the excessive rigour of Leo X ; 
 and in the whole letter he talks rather like a neutral man, 
 than like a friend to the court of Rome, though he were re- 
 solved to hold communion with it. By this conduct and 
 
 "» AfFectent alii martyrium ; ego me non arbitror hoc honore dig- 
 
 num. 
 
1520.] OF ERASMUS. • 217 
 
 these reflections he afterwards gave great offence to the Lu- 
 therans : and though his sentin/^nts were as Httle approved 
 of ar Rome as iheh-s, yet, of the two, the rulers of that 
 church chose rather that he should censure their proceedings 
 as he thought fit, than that he should throw himself into the 
 arms of the Lutherans ; and they used him the more ten- 
 derly, for fear kst he should take up such a resolution. 
 
 As for the monks, they would have been glad at heart to 
 have seen hin- a deserter, and lodged in the enrmy's quar- 
 ters, because he would have less incommoded them as a 
 Lutheran, than as a catholic. I know, says he, that some 
 persons hate me, not because they take me for a Lutheran, 
 but because they are vexed that I am not one : but these men 
 are acceptable only to silly women, to bigots, and to block- 
 heads. Erasmus is abhorred by none, those excepted who 
 abhor useful learning and true religion, and who are pam- 
 pered and enriched by the stupidity of the populace. It is 
 not needful to say, who these men were ; but whosoever they 
 were, they did more service to the court of Rome, than all 
 the scholars of Europe put together, and therefore were far 
 more dear to that court. 
 
 They in their turn exclaimed against Erasmus in all times 
 and places, and particularly in their sermons. They re- 
 quired of him to write against Luther, and declared, that 
 till then they would hold him for a Lutheran : but he thanl^- 
 ed them, and transferred the task over to them ; it being 
 highly reasonable, that they, who were eternally talking 
 against Luther, should also sometim.es write against him. 
 But they only wanted to plague Erasmus, whom they could 
 not endure for his invectives and railleries against their su- 
 perstitious devotions. If he had encountered Luther, that 
 would not have satisfied them, unless at the same time he 
 had retracted every thing that he had said, which gave of- 
 fence to the monks : and when at last he attacked Luther, 
 not one of them ever thanked him, or thought the better of 
 him for it. Ep. 547. 550. 
 
 Erasmus gives More a ludicrous" and burlesque descrip- 
 tion of a dispute which he had with Nicolas Egmond, at the 
 house of Rosemundus°, the rector of Louvain. The issue 
 
 " Appendix, No. xxiii, 
 
 " Vai, Anclreae Bibl. Belg. p, 330. Miraei Elog. Belg. p. 20, 
 
218 THE LIFE [1520. 
 
 of the conference was, that they parted as HI friends as they 
 met -y and the monk remained under a settled persuasion, 
 that Erasmus was a sad fellow, and a favourer of Luther, 
 Ep. .554. 
 
 Afterwards he published a long letter addressed to his 
 most inveterate Detractor. This man was, it seems, a Do- 
 minican, one Vincentius. 
 
 In it he defends himself extremely well against their little 
 cavils, and banters them agreeably, and censures with much 
 vivacity and vehemence their bad conduct, and their frantic 
 zeal. By way of insult and contempt, they called Erasmus 
 JPoet and Orator. I deserve not that honour, says he ; but 
 they, who know the true merit of a poet, and of an orator, 
 look upon you as upon swine rather than men, for raving at 
 this stupid rate. Despise poetry p as much as you please, 
 ■which is so little known to you, that you cannot even spell 
 its name ; but let me tell you, that out of a log of wood it 
 would be easier to cut two excellent Thomists, than one to- 
 ierable poet or orator. But, after having published this 
 smart and witty letter, Erasmus could no more hope to re- 
 concile himself to the monks, than Luther to pope Leo, after 
 having called him Whore of Babylon, and Antichrist, and 
 publicly burned his bull. Ep. 562. 
 
 Erasmus sent a very good letter to Germanus Brixius*^, 
 one of his French friends, who had written an abusive thing 
 against More, called Anti-Morus"", and who was a very child 
 compared to More, as Erasmus civilly, though freely, insi- 
 
 V Erasmus calls it poetriam, to imitate the barbarous Latin of the 
 Dionks, who called it so. 
 
 ■i Baillet, iii. 42. Roper's Life of More, p. 1/5, 1/6. P. Jovius, 
 Elog. p. 215. Saramarthan. Elog. 1. i. p. 7- 
 
 ' Bn\ius a Thoma Moro Britannorum doctissimo, indescribenda unius 
 navis Gallirse cum duabus Anglicis pugna, vei'sibus virulentis atrociter et 
 improbe laressitus, ex illo certamine doctorum omnium judicio facile 
 victor evasit. Non illustri quidcm triumpho, cum adpoetarum gloriam, 
 qui temj>estate ilia passim in Italia florebant, neuter adhuc satis acce- 
 deret. Sammarthanus. 
 
 It is very true, that neither More nor Brixius was to be compared 
 with the Italian poets of that age. Tlie rest of his remark is partial to 
 the last degree. 
 
 The state and merits of this controversy may be seen in an elegant and 
 spirited epistle of More to Erasmus, \\hich, as it is not iu the edition of 
 Leyden, v.e will insert iu the Appendix, No. Ixiii. iv. 
 
1520.] OF ERASMUS. 219 
 
 nuates to him, and launches out into the praises* of his 
 
 English friend. 
 
 ' Baillet' confesses, that he knew nothing concerning the 
 Anti-Morus of Brixius, except what he had learned from 
 Scaevola Sammarthanus, who, in his Elogium of Bnxius, 
 says, that he had manifestly the advantage over More, w)io 
 in some spiteful verses had cruelly and maliciously attacked 
 his Description of a Naval Fight between the French and the 
 English. 
 
 ' This is a very superficial account : the fact stands thus : 
 Brixius, in 1513, composed a poem called Chordigera, 
 where, in three hundred hexameter verses, he described a 
 battle fought that year, on the day of St. Laurence, by a 
 French ship called La Cordeliere, and an F^nglish ship called 
 The Regent. More, who at that time was not in the high 
 station to which he ascended afterwards, composed several 
 epigrams in derision of this poem. Brixius, piqued at this 
 affront, revenged himself by the Anti-Morus, an elegy of 
 about 400 verses, in which he severely censured all the 
 faults which he thought he had found in the poems of More. 
 Yet he kept this piece of satire by him for a good while, de- 
 claring, that if he should consent to the publication, it would 
 be purely to comply with his friends, who remonstrated to 
 him, that compositions of this kind lost much of their bloom 
 by coming out too late. There are three editions of the 
 Anti-Morus. The two first are of Paris ; one published by 
 
 • Ingenium est prorsus incomparabile, memoria fellcissima, dicendi 
 facnltas promptissima. A piiero feliciter imbibit Latiims literas, Graecas 
 juvenis, idque sub doctissimis praeceptoribu^, cum aliis, lum prsecipue 
 Thoma Linacro, et Gulielmo Grocino. Fn sacris licris eo progressus 
 est, ut nee magnis theologis sit contemnendns. Liberales disciplinas non 
 infeliciter attigit. In philosophiaulta mt-diocritateTvi piogre.susest. Ne 
 quid interim dicamde professione Juris, prresertini Brinnnici, in qua ille 
 vix ulli cedit. Prudentia ran et inaudita : ob quas res rex cordatissinius 
 jion conquievit, donee hominem ad penitissiaia sua consilia pertraxtrit. 
 Itaque, mi Brixi, plane friget ca\ ilium illud tuuiri, quod subinde repetis, 
 in Mwrus. Nullus est illi tarn inimicus, quin piudciitiae laudeni affatiin 
 tribuat. Nam quod ubique videri vis Momm ex alto despicere, ;ic velut 
 pro dejectamento habere, vereor ne parura probaluri sint graves et eru- 
 diti viri. Nam ut te numero inter eximios, ita nou video qua parte Mo- 
 ms sit tibi contemnendus. sive fortunam spectes, sive natural dotes, sive 
 ingenium, sive mores, sive quodcunque doctrinae genus^ bzc. Lp. 511. 
 
 ^ La Monnoye, Menagian. iii, 115. 
 
220 THE LIFE £l520, 
 
 the author himself m 1520; the other in 1560, in the se- 
 cond tome of the Flores Epigrammatum, collected by Leo- 
 degarius a Ouercu, in French, Leger du Chene. The third 
 is of Francfort, in the Corpus of Latin poems composed by 
 Frenchmen, and collected by Ranutius Gerus, the anagram 
 of Janus Gruterus. To these might be added a fourth, if 
 the report had been true, which is mentioned by Erasmus, 
 that More despised this poem so excessively, that he intend- 
 ed to print it himself. I fancy that he did not proceed so far, 
 though in a long and most severe letter against Brixius, he 
 tells Erasmus that he had such a design. Claude du Ver- 
 dier, in his Censio in Auctores, speaks largely of this quar- 
 rel of More and Brixius. The latter, all things considered, 
 was certainly the aggressor*, as More manifestly showed in 
 a long and a smart letter which he wrote to him*. 
 
 ' The name of Brixiusf, in French, was neither Brisse 
 Dor Brice, but de Brie. So Rabelais, his contemporaiy, 
 and his familiar acquaintance, calls him. They who date 
 his death in 1550, or 1540, or 1546, are all mistaken. He 
 died", to put it at the latest, in 1538, &c.' 
 
 See More's letter to Erasmus. Ep. 553. 
 
 Bilibaldus Pirckheimerus exhorts Erasmus never to write 
 any more answers to Lee, and to such insignificant scribblers 
 as Lee, who only wanted to vent their malice, or get a 
 name, by contending with him. The advice was good, and 
 I would always both give it and follow it, upon the like occa- 
 sions. Pirckheimerus speaks of the monks with disdain, 
 and of Luther with civility. 
 
 It appears, that most of the German literati sided with 
 their countryman Erasmus, and abhorred Lee, and made it 
 in some sort a national quarrel, and a party affair. Ep. 504. 
 518. 521. 561. 
 
 In an epistle to Georgius Spalatinus, Erasmus commends 
 
 ^ He was so ; for he gave a false account of this sea-fight, and insulted 
 and calumniated the whole English nation. 
 
 * See Appendix, No. Ixiii. iii. 
 
 ■f See Ducatiana, ii. p. 226. 
 
 ^ Senescenlem, sed adhuc plane robustum, invasit atrae bilis morbus, 
 ob id paulatim ssevior atque letalior effectus, quum ex accumulato multo 
 auro climidiam fere partem furtosibi subtractam miser sensisset, ut credi 
 par est, a domesticis, quibus nee vitam quidem postea credidit, sic ut iu 
 itinere juxta Ligerim apud Carnutes expirarit. JoviuJ. 
 
1520.] OF ERASMt3S. 221 
 
 George duke of Saxony, who presented him with two me- 
 dals ; and wishes, according to custom, that Luther had 
 showed more moderation- He also wrote a letter of thanks 
 to this prince, who had sent him a piece of silver, as it was 
 taken out of the mine. Ep. 512. 517. 
 
 The 5'26th Ep. of Erasmus is to his good friend Bur- 
 bank. 
 
 ' William Burbank ^ was of Cambridge, and secretary' to 
 cardinal Wolsey, and promoted to the prebend of South 
 Grantham, in the church of Sarum. Erasmus knew him 
 at Rome, and gratefully owns that he had received many 
 favours from him.' 
 
 Ep. 552 is to Cnoph, an ecclesiastic, who lived in the 
 neighbourhood of Russia, and is inscribed Andre^e Cnophae, 
 Sacerdoti optimo>'. 
 
 In a letter to More he earnestly recommends Goclenius'^ to 
 his favour and friendship, as one of the most deserving per- 
 sons in the world. Ep. 556. 
 
 * In the year 1520, Hieronymus Aleander, the pope's 
 nuncio, solicited the emperor, and Frederic elector of Sax-, 
 ony, to punish Luther. Frederic was then at Cologn, and 
 Erasmus came there, and was consulted by Frederic upon 
 this occasion. He replied to the elector in a ludicrous man- 
 ner : Luther^, said he, hath committed two unpardonable 
 crimes ; he hath touched the pope upon the crov/n, and the 
 monks upon the belly. He then added, 'n a serious man- 
 
 * Knight, p 46. 
 
 >■ Erasmus laudat in eo mentem piam et avidum christianae doctrinae 
 
 studium. Subjungit acrem in Clerum censuram, his verbis : ' Atque 
 
 adeo demiror, &:c. Nostri mores partim in causa sunt, quo minus multi 
 se conferant ad factionem nostram, &c.' Si tres Cnophii literae, qua- 
 rum Erasmus in suis mentionem fecit, extarent, constare liquidius ex illis 
 posset de consilio ejus, quod tantopere Erasmus probavit. Certum 
 tamen est, Cnophinm, anno 1521, cum Lathero consensisse j unde 
 coDigi posset, fiiclionem quam Erasmus profitetur, eandem ftiisse. Sed 
 is duphcera habebat, prout commodum erat profitendam, ut alibi nota- 
 tum est. Seckendorf, l.i.p, 1S3. 
 
 Thuanus hatli given a pretty large account of Cnoph, from which it 
 appears that he was a Lutheran, lib. xx. p. 633. See also Gerdes. 
 torn. ii. p. 55. 85. 
 
 ' Val. Andreae Bibl. Belg. p. 203. Miraei Elog. Belg. p. ] 23. 
 
 » Seckendorf, Hist. Luth. Pallav. 1. i. c. 23. Melauchthon, Vit. 
 Luth. Literae Aleand. ad Card. Med. 
 
222 THE LIFE [1520. 
 
 ner, that the doctrine of Luther was unexceptionable. He 
 censured the pope's bull as cruel and tyrannical, and ac- 
 cused Aleander^ of having forged it. and of going beyond 
 his commission in executing it ; upon which Aleander re- 
 nounced all friendship with him, and held him in abhor- 
 rence. He solicited the ministers of the emperor to favour 
 the cause of Luther, and to persuade him not to begin the 
 exercise of his imperial dignity with an act of violence. 
 To Frederic he presented the following axioms'^ for his con- 
 sideration : 
 
 ' That the source of all these dissensions was the hatred 
 which some persons entertained for the belles lettres : 
 
 ' That only two universities had pretended to condemn 
 Luther : 
 
 * That Luther made very reasonable demands, by oifering 
 to dispute publicly once more : 
 
 ' 'I'hat, being a man void of ambition, he was the less to 
 be suspected of heresy : 
 
 ' That they, who condemned him, deserved to be con- 
 demned th-mseives, for advancing propositions offensive to 
 pious ears : 
 
 •" That the pope's unmerciful bull was disapproved by all 
 honest men. 
 
 * The pope's agents, finding Erasmus so obstinately bent 
 to defend Luther, endeavoured to win him over by the offer 
 of abbeys, or bishoprics : but he answered them ; Luther^ 
 is a man of too great abilities, for me to encounter ; and I 
 learn more from one page of his, than from all the works 
 of Thomas Aquinas. 
 
 ' The diet of Worms assembled A. D. 1521, and Alean- 
 der made an eloquent harangue of three hours, in behalf of 
 the pope, and against Luther. The resolution of the as- 
 sembly was, that the books of Luther should be burnt, and 
 himself proscribed as an heretic. Upon this Erasmus was 
 greatly dissatisfied, and published his complai'nts to all the 
 world. 
 
 •» That Erasmus accused Aleander of forgery, depends upon the report 
 of Aleander ; and Erasmus says of him, that lie was ' homo, ut nihil 
 aliud dicam, non superstitiose verax.' Ep. Q/l. 
 
 « Axiomata E:asmi inter Opera Luth. 
 
 ^ Melch. Adam. Vit. Lutli. 
 
1520.] OF ERASMUS. 223 
 
 * And yet at the same time he wrote very respectful let- 
 ters to the pope, and received trom him very obliging an- 
 swers. Aleander, who accounted him an inveterate foe to 
 the see of Rome, was amazed at this epistolary correspon- 
 dence, and testified his surprise to the pope ; who thanked 
 him for his informations, and told him, that he was well ap- 
 prised of the insincerity of Erasmus, but thought it best to 
 dissemble with him, and comply with the times. 
 
 ' The Lutherans acknowledged their obligations to Eras- 
 mus for these favours, by a picture, in which Luther and 
 Hutten were represented carrying the ark of God, and Ei*as- 
 mus, like another David, dancing before them with all his 
 might. Aleander was hung up by the heels, and the pope 
 and his cardinals were spectators of the show.' Critique de 
 TApol. d'Erasme. 
 
 This argument of Lutheran gratitude to\A^rds Erasmus Is 
 none of the strongest : for who knows not that such sort of 
 prints are often made and published, not so much out of af- 
 fection or hatred, as to get drink, and turn the penny ? 
 
 Seckendorf hath given us a more exact and circumstan- 
 tial account of this remarkable transaction, from Spalatinus% 
 who was present there, and from other authors, and of the 
 behaviour of Erasmus on that important occasion; which 
 was indeed a behaviour very favourable to Luther, and to 
 his cause. 
 
 ' Pallavicini (says Seckendorf) highly extols the Industry 
 and activity of Hieronymus Aleander, the pope's nuncio to 
 the eraperor, by which he caused the edifying spectacle of 
 burning the books of Luther to be exhibited to the public, 
 and with abundance of arguments defends this wholesome 
 severity. He treats Erasmus in particular, and in general 
 all those who censured such proceedings, and said, that false 
 doctrines could not be suppressed that way, as favourers of 
 Luther, that is to say, as heretics. Sleidan hath given us <v 
 good account of these transactions in his second book. The 
 two nuncios were Marinus Caracclolus, and Hieronymus 
 Aleander ; the first a Neapolitan, the other a native of Car- 
 nia^, according to Pallavicini ; but Erasmus calls him Mot- 
 
 * Melchior Adam. See above, p. 101. 
 
 *' Carni are a people of Italy, belonging to the republic of Venice. 
 Eaudrand. 
 
224 ^ THE LIFE [1520. 
 
 tanum^. They were both afterwards made cardinals, and 
 are excessively praised by Pallavicini. Aleander had belong- 
 ed to the court of Alexander VI, and had been secretary to 
 the famous Caesar Borgia ; a servant fit for such a master : 
 afterwards he became chancellor of Liege. Luther hath 
 thus described him : 
 
 ' At this time came Aleander^', the greatest man upon 
 earth, in his own opinion; not oii!/ for his sk'Ii in lan- 
 guages, (for the Hebrew' is his native tongue, the Greek 
 he acquired betimes, and the Laiin he hath taught as a pro- 
 fessor,) but for the antiquity of his race. He is born a Jew ; 
 and the Jews, we know, boast immoderately of descending 
 from old father Abraham. Whether he be baptized, is un- 
 certain : but assuredly he is not a Pharisee, for he beheveth 
 not the resurrection, and lives like one who is persuaded 
 that soul and body perish together, indulging himself- in. 
 every loose inclination. He is soon provoked, and pas- 
 sionate even to frenzy ; insatiably covetous, and equally 
 lustful ; arrogant to the last degree, and eaten up with 
 pride and vanity ; yet too effeminate to acquire reputation 
 by any accurate and laboured composition, and too wfcked 
 to choose an honest and useful subject to write upon. His 
 pretended profession of Christianity hath been successful to 
 him, and gives him an opportunity to try if he can set up his 
 Moses, and obscure the glory of Jesus Christ, which in this 
 age begins to shine forth again, whilst superstidon droops, 
 and the senseless and pestilent traditions of men grow in 
 disgrace. Armed with the pope's instructions, this wretch 
 is nov/ lately come forth, to destroy, if he can, every thing 
 that is good.* 
 
 ' Hutten '^ also attacked Aleander with fierce invec- 
 tives. 
 
 E Nachtgallus, of Stratsburg, calls him, ' clarissimum virum, Alean-" 
 ctfum Mottensem, proeceptorem meum.' Maittaire, ii, 118. Aldus 
 Manutius also calls him Motensem. lb. l5'3. Natus est Aleander 
 Mottne, in Carnia. Melch. Adam. Vit. Sabini. 
 
 ** This may serve as a specimen of Luther's polemic .style. 
 
 ' That reproach was often cast in his teetli by his enemies 3 but it seems 
 not to have been true. See Bayle. 
 
 •^ Hutten threatened Aleander, that he would cut his tliroat, if he 
 ever had a fair opportunity ; and would probably have been as good as 
 lijs word, if he had met with him. 
 
1520.] OF ERASMUS. 225 
 
 Palliivlcini, passing over, I know not why, these censures 
 of Luther, takes notice of some other reproaches which 
 were cast on Aleander. 
 
 ' Aleander then, whatsoever character be due to him, was 
 singled out to carry on the prosecution against Luther, and 
 joined for that purpose to Marinus Caracciolus ; and, at an 
 assembly held in the church of the Minorites at Cologn, in 
 November', addressed himself to Frideric elector of Saxony, 
 and exhibited the pope's letters ; and in a long speech, con- 
 firming the things which had been said by his colleague, in- 
 sisted, that the books of Luther •should be burned, and 
 himself either put to death, or seized and sent to the pope. 
 The elector, by the mouth of Bernard, bishop of Trent, 
 who was present, desired a delay for ;i few days ; and then 
 by his counsellors gave an answer, the sum of which is : 
 
 ' That the elector, and his brother John of vSaxony, paid 
 all due reverence to the papal dignity ; that he had nothing 
 to do with the cause of Luther ; that he had sent Luther to 
 Augsburg, to cardinal Cajetan ; that he had afterwards given 
 a reply to the cardinal, in which nothing could be censured ; 
 that he once was about to dismiss Luther from his academy 
 at Wittenberg, if Miltitius, the pope's nuncio, had not op- 
 posed it himself ; that when the pope had committed the 
 cause to the elector of Treves, Luther was ready to present 
 himself before him, but could not obtain a safe-conduct ; 
 that many virtuous and learned men judged favourably of 
 Luther ; and that he, the elector, was not convinced that 
 his books deserved to be burned j that therefore he desired 
 there might be a previous hearing, and the cause committed 
 to equitable, learned, pious, and unsuspected judges ; that 
 Luther, if he taught false doctrines, ought to be confuted 
 by solid arguments taken from the holy Scriptures ; and that 
 then the elector would act as it became an obedient son to 
 our most holy mother, the Church. 
 
 ' To this the nuncios said many things in reply ; and 
 Aleander particularly observed, that the commission, ,c;iven 
 to the elector of Treves, expired as soon as the pontiff had 
 taken the affair into his own hands, who was row the sole 
 judge and decider ; that it would be as unreasonable to de- 
 
 * Melchiox Adam. Vit. Luth. p. 54, 
 Vol. L Q 
 
226 IHE LIFE [1520. 
 
 sire the pope to give up the cause, and transfer it to others, 
 as it would be to desire of the elector of Saxony, that he 
 should suffer a cause between himself, and one of his own 
 subjects, to be referred to the king of France. 
 
 ' But the elector still persisting in his declaration, the 
 nuncios said at last, that they would proceed, according to 
 their instructions, to burn Luther's works : and Aleander, 
 finding that he could not carry his point, chose to eat his 
 words, and to contradict what he had declared before ; and 
 putting on the fox,- that he might not seem to have received 
 a repulse, he said that the pope had no design to attack the 
 person of Luther, and to stain his bands with Luther's 
 blood. 
 
 ' Spalatlnus, who was present, hath related many things 
 concerning this conference, and also concerning Erasmus, 
 who at that time was at Cologn. He says ; 
 
 * When Charles V had been just made emperor, and was 
 at Cologn, Frideric elector of Saxony, who was there also, 
 sent to Erasmus, desiring that he would come to his lodgings. 
 Erasmus accordingly waited upon him. It was in December ; 
 and he, and the prince, and Spalatinus, conversed together, 
 standing by the fire-side. The elector proposed to Erasmus, 
 that he should speak in the Dutch, which was his native lan- 
 guage : but Erasmus chose rather to speak Latin ; and the 
 elector understood Latin, though he answered him by Spala- 
 tinus. The elector then desired Erasmus freely to give him 
 his opinion concerning Luther. Erasmus, says Spalatinus, 
 pressing his lips close together, stood musing, and delaying 
 to give an answer ; whilst Frideric, as it was his way when 
 he was discoursing earnestly with any one, fixed his eyes 
 steadily upon him, and stared him full in the face. At last 
 Erasmus brake out into these words : Luther""' hath been 
 guilty of two crimes ; he hath touched the pope upon the 
 crown, and the monks upon the belly. Spalatinus adds, in 
 another place, that the elector smiled at the expression, and 
 that he called it afterwards to remembrance, a httle before 
 his death. He says, that Erasmus at that time judged so 
 favourably of Luther's doctrine, that when he had taken 
 
 *" Luthenis peccavit in duobus ; ncmpc, quod tetigit coronam pontifi- 
 cis, et veuU'es monaclioruni. 
 
1520.] OF ERASMUS. 227 
 
 leave of the elector, and Spalatinus liad conducted him back 
 to the house where he then lodged, he inrnj'liately sat down, 
 and wrote soni2 axioms, as he called them, and gave them 
 to Spalatinus. But soon after he sent a letter to Spalatinus, 
 entreating him earnestly to return him the manuscript, lest 
 Aleander should get a sight of it, and do him an ill olHce. 
 The substance of these axioms was : 
 
 ' That good men, and lovers of the Gospel, were those 
 who had taken the least offence at Luther ; that they were 
 much displeased at the cruelty of the bull, so unworthy of the 
 mild and merciful vicar of Jesus Christ ; that two universities 
 had indeed condemned Luther, but had not confuted him ; 
 that his request was very reasonable, to be tried by unsus- 
 pected judges : that he could not be suspected of evil designs, 
 since he sought for no profit and advantage to himself ; that 
 the pope was more solicitows about his own glory, than 
 about the honour of Jesus Christ ; that the treatises hitherto 
 written against Luther were disapproved even by those who 
 dissented from Luther ; that the world was now inflamed 
 with a vehement love and longing for evangelical truth, and 
 that such a general disposition was not to be odiously 
 checked and oppressed; and, lastly, that it was very im- 
 proper for Charles to begin the exercise of his imperial 
 power with inauspicious acts of severity and violence. 
 
 ' The remarks of Melanchthon upon these transactions, and 
 upon the conduct of Frideric, are judicious and important. 
 
 ' So far, says he, was Luther from being suborned and insti- 
 gated by the courtiers and princes, as the duke of Brunswick 
 affirmed, that, on the contrary, that most excellent prince, the 
 elector of Saxony, was much concerned at the foresight of the 
 contests and disorders which would ensue, though the first at- 
 tacks made by Luther were upon very plausible grounds. By 
 his own sagacity and judiciousness, and by long experience in 
 the art of reigning, he knew well how dangerous all changes 
 were to the government. But, being truly religious, and 
 one who feared God, he consulted not the dictates of mere 
 worldly and polidcal wisdom, and was determined to prefer 
 the glory of God to all other considerations, and at the 
 hazard of any public or private detriment. He knew that it 
 was a most horrible profaneness to oppose the truth plainly 
 seen and known. He had studiously examined Luther's 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 THE LIFE [1520. 
 
 works, and accurately weighed his proofs and testimonies, 
 and would not suifar doctrines to be smothered and oppressed 
 which he thought to be the word of God : and the holy 
 Spirit of God supported and assisted him in these noble re- 
 solutions ; so that though the emperors Maximilian and 
 Charles, and the Roman pontiffs, urged him, not without 
 menaces, to hinder Luther from preaching and writing in 
 his dominions, he was not in the least shaken and intimi- 
 dated. Yet he presumed not to rely entirely upon his own 
 judgment concerning an affair of so great importance, but 
 took the advice of other princes, and of men venerable for 
 age, experience, learning, and probity. Amongst others, 
 he consulted Erasmus, at the congress of Cologn, which 
 Charles had appointed after his coronation. He sent for 
 Erasmus, and conversed with him very affably and familiarly. 
 I had rather, said he to Erasmus, that the earth should open 
 and swallov/ me up, than be found to have been the favourer 
 and the patron of heresies : but if Luther hath pointed out 
 to us gross and dangerous errors, which ought to be cor- 
 rected, and hath shoM^ed us the true doctrine of Jesus Christ, 
 I will not be an opposer of the truth, whatsoever mischief 
 my conduct may draw upon me or mine. I am not willing . 
 to trust entirely to my own judgment in points of such mo- 
 ment, but desirous to hear the opinion of the skilful and 
 . the learned. Therefore I entreat and adjure you, that you 
 will freely and impartially communicate to me your sen- 
 timents upon the whole affair. Erasmus, beginning his 
 reply in an ironical way, flung out a jest upon the pope*s 
 crown, and the monks' bellies ; and then told the elector se- 
 riously, that Luther had justly censured many abuses and er- 
 rors, and that the welfare of the church required a reformation 
 of them ; that Luther's doctrine was right in the main ; but 
 that it had not been delivered by him with a proper temper, 
 and with due moderation. Laurentius, bishop of Wurts- 
 buriT, wrote a letter to the elector containincr the same sen- 
 timentswith those of Erasmus; and the bishop added, that 
 such was the opinion of many learned men, whom he had 
 consulted upon this occasion. 
 
 ' It is said, in the Relations of Spalatinus, that the pope's 
 agents made an offer to Erasmus of one of the best bibhop- 
 rics, if he would write against Luther ; and that he replied, 
 
1520.] OF ERASMUS. 229 
 
 Luther is so profound a divine, that I do not pretend even to 
 comprehend him thoroughly ; and so groat a riian, that I 
 learn more from one page in his books than from all Tho- 
 mas Aquinas. 
 
 * But it should be observed, that Erasmus in none of his 
 \Tritings hath said thus much. He only said, that he might 
 have obtained a bishopric, if he would have encountered 
 Luther. In a letter to his friend Bombasius, who lived at 
 Rome, he assigns other causes for which he declined the 
 controversy. As to his sayings at Cologn, he kept them 
 secret, or never acknowledged them : and it appears from 
 one of Luther's letters, that both Luther and Erasmus were 
 displeased, when these sentiments of the latter were made 
 pubHc at Leipsic, with a design to render them both odious. 
 
 ^ What Pallavicini hath related concerning Erasmus is 
 worthy of notice, namely, that he held the pope's bull to be a 
 forgery, and would not be convinced of the contrary, till 
 Aleander gave him the bull to look at and examine ; that he 
 went about, like a Nicodemus, by night, to the princes, and to 
 their friends, to alienate their affections from the pope and from 
 Aleander, telling them that the bull had been extorted contrary 
 to the pope's inclinations, by the artifices of malev^olent per- 
 sons ; and that, in a conversation with Aleander, he was very 
 pressing that the resolution to burn Luther's books might be 
 dropped, or at least retarded. It is probable, that these ac- 
 counts were collected from the reports given out by Alean- 
 der. In the letters of Erasmus, it only appears that he 
 thought that Leo had been induced by others to publish his 
 bull wi.h too much precipitation. We have a letter of his to 
 Conrad Peutinger, the emperor's counsellor, written at this 
 very time from Cologn, in which he recommends to him Jo- 
 annes Faber the Dominican, and applauds his scheme : and 
 from this epistle we can judge of his sentiments with more 
 certainty than from his obliging conversation with the elector 
 of Saxony, or from the jealous surmises of Aleander. 
 
 ' The truth is, that Erasmus sought a middle way to put 
 some end to these contests, as he declares" in the above-men- 
 
 " Ex levioribus initiis ssepe nata sunt horrenda mundi dissidia. Ac 
 mea sentential hie quoque verum est, quod scripsit Marcus Tullius, pa- 
 cem vel iniquani bello aequissimo potiorem esse. Ac jam nunc fabula 
 
230 THE LIFE [1520. 
 
 tioned letter. He exclaims against those, who, in his opi- 
 nion, attarked Luther principally with a view to destroy all 
 literature along with him. Ho complains, that Luther wrote 
 with too rnuch asperity and acrimony ; and expresseth his 
 fears, that truth will suffer by being defended in so indecent a 
 manner. He adds, that the Roman court was held in exe- 
 cration in many countries ; and that no good was to be ex- 
 pected, if this affair were put into the hands of men, who 
 had nothing'' less in view, and at heart, than the glory of 
 our Saviour. Then he breaks° out into words which 
 look like a prophecy, and declares, tliat the counsel of God 
 should stand fast for ever, and that the Gospel of Christ 
 should prosper, and prevail over all human devices, and all 
 the efforts of its worldly wise enemies. 
 
 longius progressa est, qnam velim ; et tamen adhuc opinor malum esse 
 medicabile, certe sanabilius est, qnam si quibus coepit auctibus longius 
 etiam provehatur. Sic autem sanari cupiam, ne malum ad tempus sup- 
 pressum, post m?jore cum discrimine recrudescat : quod solet usu ve- 
 nire medicis, qui potione propellunt febrem, non ante purgatis venis, 
 unde febris scatet ; aut qui cicatrice obducunt vulnus, nondum satis 
 educto pure. Quibusdam videtur optimmn factu, ut res omnis saevitia 
 cocrceatur, a quibus nee Faber admodum dissentit, nisi metueret ne pa- 
 rvuTi fcliciter cedat ausieritas. Ait, non satis esse fortiter hue tendere, 
 quo vocat animi voluntas; plurima circumspicienda sunt. Primum ut 
 sic consulalur dignitati et auctoritati Romani pontiticis, cui merito fa- 
 vent omnes, ut Christi Vicario summo, qui Christum ex animo diligunt, 
 ne quid jacturse patiatur evangelica Veritas. Neque dubito, quin hoc 
 animo sit Leo noster, ut tum demum se glnriosum esse putet, si doctri- 
 nam principis sui viderit ubique florere. Negat hoc tantum esse spec- 
 tandum, quid mereatur Lutherus, aut si qui Luthero favent, sed quid 
 conducat publicae orbis tranquillitaii. Magni refert, qui manum admo- 
 veant huic malo, et quibus remediis curetur. 
 
 " Saxum illud hinc atque hinc tundi potest, loco moveri non potest, 
 cui inscriptum est illud mysticura elogium : Novit Dominus aut 
 SUNT ipsius. Quicquid a spiritu Christi proficiscitur, non potest humanis 
 praesidiis opprimi, qiiautumvis prematur : quicquid humanis consiliis ten- 
 tatur, lemporarium est, quantumvis ardentibus studiis agatur, quantum- 
 vis operoso molimine ad perpetuitatem communiatur. Mei similium 
 non est, de pontificum diplumatis judicare. Etant tamen, qui in Bulla, 
 quam attulit Nuncius pontihciiis, mansuetudinem istam desiderarent, 
 dignam eo qui mitissimi Christi vices primarias gerit in terris, dignain 
 hujus Leonis ingenio, multo hactcnus placidissimo ; quod tamen ipsi 
 non imputant, sed instigatoribus. Jam ut hac, inquit, saevitia maxime 
 aboleantur libri Lutherani, ut ipse etiam tollatur e medio ; metuendum 
 eat, ne malum exasperetur magis, quiim liniatur, et pro uno sublato 
 e.xorianiur plures, donee ivs ad certamen et schisma dcducatur. 
 
I.'i20.] OF ERASMUS. 231 
 
 ' Lastly, He gives an account p of the scheme for a pacifi- 
 cation projected by Faber. 
 
 ' In the Acta Lovaniensium, tliere are many passages con- 
 cerning Aleander, Erasmus, Leo's bull, and the divines of 
 Louvain, which agree in the main with the things contained 
 in the Epistles of Erasmus. 
 
 ' At the time of the Diet of Worms was published a small 
 treatise, now very scarce, in which are the following parti- 
 cularities : 
 
 ' The count of Nassau, governor of Flanders, Brabant, 
 and Holland, said to the divines at the Hague, Go, and 
 preach the Gospel in sincerity and truth, like Luther. — The 
 academics of Louvain complained to Margaret, the em- 
 peror's sister, governess of the Netherlands, that Luther by 
 his writings was subverting Christianity. "Who is this Lu- 
 ther ? said she. They replied, He is an illiterate monk. 
 Is he so ? said she : Then you, who are very learned and 
 numerous, write against this illiterate monk ; and surely the 
 world will pay more regard to many scholars than to one- 
 blockhead. — At the emperor's table, mention being made of 
 Luther, Ravenstein said. Here is one Christian arisen amongst 
 us, at last, after four hundred years ; and the pope wants 
 to kill him. Our teachers at Louvain by dint of money 
 obtained the burning of Luther's books. The pile was kin- 
 dled, and great was the concourse round about it, and the 
 students and others came, bringing their books to be burned. 
 And what books, think ye ? Not those of Martin, but Scr- 
 mones Discipuli, Tartaretus, Dormi Secure, and such sort 
 of monkish trash ; so that more of their own good friends' 
 and fewer of Martin's works were committed to the flames 
 than they imagined. — Julius Pflug, v/ridng from Italy to 
 Mosellanus, told him, that the disciples of Martin, even in 
 Rome and Bononia, were more numerous than those of 
 Scotus and of the schoolmen. 
 
 p Censet igitur Faber noster rei summam arbitris doctis, integris, et ab 
 omni suspicione alienis delegandam, non quod Ronianus pontif'ex sit co- 
 gendus in ordinem, et alieno subjiciendns arbitrio, sed quod existiniet 
 ihius pietatem hoc sponte volentemque facturum, si cognorit ad publi- 
 cam Christianae religionis tranquilUtatem conducere, Sed hujus consilii 
 viam ipse tibi copiosius exponet coram : quae si probabitur, adjunges 
 tuae prudentiae consilium, ut in Wormatiae Conveniu statuatur aliquid, 
 quod omnibus bonis approbetur. Ep. 542. 
 
232 THE LIFE [1520. 
 
 ' Spalatlnus, in the above-mentioned relation, informs us, 
 that one ot the ecclesiastic electors said to him at Cologn, 
 Would to God that Luther had written only in Latin, and 
 not in German!' Seckendorf, 1. i, p. 125 — 128. 
 
 The Lutherans seem not to have been sufficiently grateful 
 to Era:.mus. The considerable service which they received 
 from h;ni, at this cntical juncture, should have restrained 
 them from insnlfing him afterwards. Certain it is, that 
 the zealous Romanists never forgave him his behaviour at 
 Cologn. 
 
 Joannes'' Faber, the Dominican, who at this time agreed 
 with Erasmus in the sa ce pacific scheme, and in favouring 
 Luther, was a different person from Faber bishop of Vienna*, 
 who vv^as a great enemy to the Reformation. Melanchthon 
 hath related a story concerning this bishop, from which it ap- 
 pears that he v.as no small knave. In a religious con- 
 ference, in private, with Simon Grvnaeusf, the prelate be- 
 haved himself with great affabilitv and complaisance, and 
 proposed a second meeting ; and in the mean time sent 
 officers to seize upon him at Melanchthon's house, and to 
 
 '^ Confundendus hie Joannes Faber^ monachus Dominicanus, non est 
 cum Joanne Fabro, Leutkirchcnsi canonico, et sufFraganeo Constanti- 
 ensi, postea episcopo Viennensi. Hie acerrimus Lutheri et Lutherano- 
 rnm iusectator et hostis semper fuit, mansitque : at ille ad concordiam, 
 si non semper^ aliquamdiu tamen inclinavit. De eo loquitur Erasmus, 
 ejusque moderatum judicium refert. Huttenus mutalum eum esse 
 scripsit, et Erasmo propterea insultavit, quod eum laudaverit. Sed bis 
 in Spo7ig'ia sua, de mutatione ilia nihil sibi compertum esse scribit Eras- 
 mus, neque se prcestare potuisse ut non mularetur. ' Is, ait, qualis 
 nunc sit, nescio. Ccrte mihi Lovanii persuasit, quod institucrit Au- 
 gustse collegium tradendis linguis et bonis literis. Ostendit diploma 
 Caesaris Maximiliani. De capitalibus quibusdam Lutheri hostibus at- 
 que dc ipsa Fiomana Curia plusquam hostilitcr loqucbatur. Arridobat 
 morum commoditas, et in sua theologia videbatvu' non vulgariter erudi- 
 tus. His rebus extorsit a me commendationes aliquot. Quin et Colo- 
 nise, cum illie esset Caesar, et colebat nos. De Luthero reliquit aequis- 
 simuni judicium sua manu descriptum, turn apud cardinalem Mogunti- 
 num, turn apud me.' 
 
 Hsec Erasmus. — Meminit ibidem Jo. Fabri canoniei Conslantiensis, 
 et libri ejus contra Lutlierum editi. Seckendorf, 1. i. p. 145. 
 
 * Melanchthon says of him : Fabrum Viennensem, qui tarn multos 
 insulsos libros scripsit, tarn multos pios crudelibus suppliciis adfc-cit, ex- 
 tinctum esse certum est, et jam iUi Quaesilor Minos urnam movet. 
 Epibt. p 544. 
 
 f See Melanchthon, Epist. p. 74. 
 
1520.] OF ERASMUS. 233 
 
 carry him to jail. But Gryna:us escaped their hands, being 
 warned of his danger by a venerable old man. Melanch- 
 thon, who had never seen this old man before, and never 
 saw him afterwards, suspected that he was an angel. Seek- 
 endorf, Supplem. xxiv. Camerarius, Vit. Melanch. p. 114, 
 Melch. Adam says of this story, ' Aliis fictum, aliis etiam 
 nugatorium videtur.' Vit. Giynsei. 
 
 Luther, being, censured by the divines of Louvain, com- 
 forted^ himself v.'ith the consideration, that the most learned 
 and eminent men had been used in the same manner ; 
 amongst whom he placeth Erasnius. 
 
 Ep. 542 is to Conrad' Peutinger, counsellor to the em- 
 peror. 
 
 In Ep. 543 Erasmus sends his compliments to his friend 
 Draco", with whom he corresponded. He is the same person, 
 I think, who is called Joannes Draconites by Melch. Adam, 
 Vit. Draconitae. 
 
 This year died Sebastian*^ Brand, a man esteemed by Eras- 
 mus, who had written a copy of verses in praise of him. 
 
 Erasmus was often at Louvain. He and Viv^s once dwelt 
 together there y, and promoted literature as much as they 
 could, though not without great opposition from some of the 
 divines. 
 
 The letters of this year are from Louvain, Antwerp, Bruges, 
 Anderlac, Cologn, and Basil. 
 
 / 
 
 ^ Solatium quoddam sumit a communi cum aliis viris doctissimis sorte, 
 quorum recentes libri praecipitanti cousilio damnati, postmodum raagni 
 babiti fuerint, inter quos laudat Occaniumj Picum, Vallam, dein ctiam 
 Wcsselum, Fabmm Stapuleusem, ipsunique Erasmum. Seckeiidorf, 
 1. i. p. 102. 
 
 * Melchior Adam. 
 
 " See above, p. ]2g. 
 
 ^ Melch. Adam, Yit. Brandi. 
 
 y Celebrabantur ibi (I.ovanii) duo velut principes studiorum, Erasmus, 
 et Ludovicus Vives, Hispanus, qui Inquisitionis rabiem fugiens, volun- 
 tario exsilio solum verteiat, et ciun Erasmo, fremente Sopliiataruiu lur- 
 ba, probiorem doctrinarum culturam, magno juventutis concur->u et 
 cunctorum ordinum gi-atia excitabat. Horum in notitiam commcnda- 
 tione indolis suae celeriter pervenit Gabriel Mudaeus, usus etiam con- 
 victu et familiar' tate Erasmi interiorc, in collegio quod vocant Lilianum, 
 ubi rationes ille vitae, quoties in Belgico versaretur, habebat pridem 
 constitutas. Melch. Adam, Vit, Mudsei. 
 3 
 
234 THE LIFE [lo21. 
 
 A. D. MDXXI. ^TAT. LIV, 
 
 This year Erasmus wrote an elegant letter to a Bohemian 
 nobleman, who had, as k seems, embraced the Lutheran 
 party, and who exhorted Erasmus to do the same. Erasmus 
 inveighs against the monks, according to custom, and accuses 
 them of having attacked Luther most injudiciously, and of 
 being the true authors of all the disorders which ensued. But, 
 to unite the Bohemian Separatists to the church of Rome, 
 he judged it expedient that the pope .should appoint able and 
 moderate men, to bring them back by gentle methods, and 
 by no means employ monks, who would surely make bad 
 worse, who sought only their own interests, and who had no 
 idea of moderation. He also blames those who condemned the 
 pope, since his dignity ought to have commanded more re- 
 spect : and then he adds; Who have given him this authority, 
 i inquire not at present ; but to say the least, as they formerly 
 chose from amongst many coequal presbyters one single 
 bishop, to guard against schisms ; so it is useful at present from 
 the whole body of bishops to choose one pope, not only to 
 prevent private dissensions, but to moderate the tyranny of 
 other bishops, and of secular princes when they attempt to 
 oppress their subjects. I am not ignorant of the complaints 
 which are commonly niade of the see of Rome ; hut it is 
 rashness to credit all such popular rumours, and it is in- 
 justice to attribute to the pope all that is done at Rome. 
 Many things are there transacted without his knowledge, and 
 many things against his advice and his inclination : and I 
 believe that, in the present state of human affairs, if St. Pe- 
 ter himself presided at Rome, he would be constrained to 
 connive at several things vthich he could not approve. 
 
 Thus Erasmus excuseth the pope upon political principles ; 
 but the worst of it is, that he takes for granted what was not 
 U'ue, and that the same counsel might be given under the 
 most vexatious and abominable tyranny. Is it not excellent 
 advice, to say that, for fear of religious altercations, the de- 
 cision of all theological disputes ought to be referred to one 
 man ; and to a man who usually is less skilled in those things 
 than ten thousand other persons; who hath a temporal and a 
 most considerable interest to bias him ; and who, with his pre- 
 decessors, hath for a long series of ages laboured inces- 
 saiitlv to deceive the world, and to establish his own secular 
 
J 521.] OF ERASMUS. 235 
 
 and carnal empire? Were these contentions only about 
 worldly advantages, or even about private property, one 
 nuffht be content to refer it to such an arbitration, and to sit 
 down with christian patience under an unfair determination : 
 but to sacrilice christian knowledge and christian liberiy to 
 a man such as we have described, is a submission to which 
 no one can stoop with a good conscience, unless he be 
 strangely and strongly prejudiced. Vv^cre it only an act of 
 injustice done to one, or to a few pardculars, that might 
 perhaps be borne : but here are doctrines proposed, concern- 
 ing which the pope decides ; whose decisions no one can 
 admit, who is persuaded that they are false and dangerous. 
 It is a story fit only to be told to children and to savages, 
 that such transaciions, as the Reformers censured, were often 
 carried oa without the pope's knowledge, or in opposition 
 to his will ; or that the pope is more enlightened and better 
 disposed than the doctors, and the courders, whom he con- 
 sults, and out of whom he himself is chosen, and raised to 
 the pontifical throne, where he certainly doth not increase 
 in virtue, in learning, and in religious knowledge. If St. Peter 
 were to return to us again, and to go to Rome, he would 
 soon retire thence, when he should find that he could change 
 and mend nothing there ; and that it would be expected 
 from him, tha; he should divest himself of his apostolical 
 character, and act the part of the polidcian and the temporal 
 prince. These things were so extremely visible, that one 
 can hardly conceive how Erasmus could tell the Lutherans, 
 that they ought to be contented with making most humble 
 remonstrances and supplications. 
 
 He says to this Bohemian lord, who exhorted him to join 
 with Luther, that he would with all his heart, if he saw that 
 Luther was with the Catholic church. Not that I mean, 
 says he, to pronounce him excluded from it ; for it is no 
 business of mine to condemn any one. To our Saviour it 
 belongs to condemn him, or to acquit him. If things come 
 to extremities, and the church toilers on both sides, I will fix 
 myself upon the solid rock, until a calm succeeds, and it be 
 apparent which is the Church. Wheresoever evangelical 
 peace shall be found, there shall Erasmus be found likewise. 
 The meaning of all this seems to be, that he intended to 
 wait for the event, before he declared himself, and that he 
 
236 THE LIFE [1521. 
 
 much feared that the event would not be favourable to Lu- 
 ther. This inclined him to pay his court ^ a little to the de- 
 fenders of the see of Rome, as it appears from some follow- 
 ing letters. Ep. 563. 56S, 569, 570. 
 
 The c'.^l^brated diet^ of Worms was held this year, where 
 Luther, who had as much courage as Alexander and Juhus 
 Caesar put together, made his appearance*^, and maintained 
 his opinions, in the presence of Charles V, and of other 
 princes. After this, his friend the elector of Saxony carried 
 him off secretly, and conveyed him to the fortress of Wart- 
 burg, where he remained '^ concealed for some*^ time, be- 
 ing proscribed*^ by the emperor, and ex:communicated by 
 the pope. Hereupon Erasmus vv'rote a long letter to his 
 friend Jodocus Jonas^, a Lutheran, in which he deplores the 
 fate of Luther, and of those who had declared themselves 
 hi§ associates ; and blames them much for want of mode- 
 ration, as if this had brought their distresses upon them. 
 iVIoderation, doubtless, is a viitue : but so far was the op- 
 
 ^ Amlingus saepe dixit, Idem de me mihi licet dicere, quod Erasmus 
 de monachis conquerentibus, quasi nimis rigide ageret, dixit, Accusant 
 me, quod niniiura lecerim J verum conscientia mea me accusat, quod 
 minus fecerim, quodque lentior fuerim. Melch. Adam, Vit. Amlingi. 
 
 a Sleidan, 1. iii. Seckendorf, 1. i. p. 136 — 158. Melch. Adam, Vit. 
 Luth. p. 56, 57- Fiddes's Life of Wolsey; who censdres Luther for 
 not submitting himself and his cause to the pope and his deputies, 
 p. 240. 
 
 ^ Being told that, if he put himself into the hands of his enemies, he 
 would have the same fate with John Huss, he answered, that, s'"ce the 
 emperor had invited him to Worms, he would go thither, if there were 
 as many devils combined against him in that city as tiles upon the 
 houses. ^^ 
 
 c All the magicians of Italy, being consulted by the pope (if we may 
 believe some divines of the confession of Augsburg), could not dis- 
 cover the place where Luther was concealed. Bibl. Univ. vii. 34/. 
 
 ^ About ten months. Sculteti Annal. 
 
 e Aleander was in hopes that, at least, this procedure would cause a 
 civil war in the empire, and excite the Germans to cut one another's 
 throats : but he was mistaken, and his pious wishes were disappointed at 
 that time. 
 
 Falsus fuit Hieronymus Aleander, qui ad Marinum Caracciolam, le- 
 gatum pontiticium, fertur dixisse : Eia, mi Caracciola, si nihil adeo 
 pr.Tclari his comitiis etTecimus ; tamen certum est, nos magnam hoc 
 edicto in Germania lanienam concitare, cjua Aleraanni ipsi in viscera sua 
 ssivientes, propediem in proprio sanguine sullbcabuntur. See Von der 
 Hardt. Hist. Liter, licform. p. v. p. 37- 
 
 '' Eeza, Icon. iMclch. Adam. Gerdcs. torn. i. p. 247. 
 
1521.] OF ERASMUS. 237 
 
 posite party from Jillowint^ Luther to be in the riglit, as to the 
 main points, that it was his doctrine which gave the chief 
 otfence to the court of Rome ; and he would have gained 
 as Httle upon them by proposing it in the most submissive 
 and softest manner, as he gained by maintaining it in his rough 
 way. Erasmus himself experienced the truth of this ; and 
 the monks v/ere not induced to change any thing that was 
 reprehenvsible in their notions, and in their manners, by his 
 gentler and more artful remonstrances, and abhorred his 
 ironies no less than the bold invectives of Luther. However, 
 Erasmus may stand excused in some measure in the sight 
 of candid and favourable judges, because he talked thus, 
 partly out of timidity, and partly out of love and friendship 
 towardshim tov/hom headdresseth himself. You will tell me, 
 says he, my dear Jonas, To what purpose these complaints, 
 especially when it is too late ? Why, in the first place, that 
 (although things have been carried almost to extremities) 
 one may still try, whether some method can be found to 
 compose these terrible dissensions. We have a pope, who 
 in his temper is much disposed to clemency ; and an emperor, 
 who is also mild and placable. Honest Erasmus judged 
 very wrong of both these persons. Leo was a vain, a vo- 
 luptuous and debauched man, who had no religion, and no 
 compassion for those who would not submit entirely to his 
 pleasure, as he showed by the haughty manner in which he 
 treated Luther, without admitting the least relaxation in any 
 of the disputed points. Such is the character which history 
 hath bestowed upon him : and as to Charles Vs, he was a 
 
 e At this time he was little more than a boy, being bora in 1500. 
 
 Non intempestivum fortasse fuerit, hoc loco, reconsere, quod in 
 castris ad Wittebergam, postea Lucas Cranachius, pictor senex Carolo 
 sciscitanti narravit, cum ex oppido, in tentorium evocato Carolus expo- 
 suisset, sibi a duce Saxoniae, Jo. Friderico nuper a se capto, tabulam 
 egregiam a Luca pictara, in conventu Spirensi dono datam fuisse, cujus 
 aspectu aliquoties delectatus, pictnras ipsius rangni fecerit. Est autem, 
 inquit, Mechiiniee, in conclavi meo tab^lia, in qiia efiigiem ineam, cum 
 puer essem, depinxisti. Scire igitur ex. te volo, quoe fuerit tunc aetas 
 mea. Respondit, Octo annorum erat setas tna, cum imperator Maximi- 
 lianus te dextra circumducens, juberet Belgicam nobilitatem et civitates 
 juramento promittere obedientiam. Cum autem picturam ordirer, 
 majesias tua ssepe aa diversa loca respiciebat, ut solent pueri. Ibi prae- 
 ceptor, qui tuam naturam norat, dicebat te mirifice delectari aspectione 
 teli, jussitque ad parietem adversum coUocari egregie fabrefactum te- 
 
238 THE LIFE [1521* 
 
 most ambitious and restless prince, who made a conscience 
 of '^ nothing to accomplish any of his projects, as it appears 
 from the bloody wars which he waged under religious pre-^ 
 tences, and indeed from his whole conduct. The Lutherans 
 would have been fools and mad, to have trusted themselves 
 and their cause to such a pontiff, and to such an emperor. 
 If this cannot be accomplished, continues Erasmus, I 
 would not have you interfere in these affairs any longer. I 
 always loved in you those excellent gifts, which Jesus Christ 
 bath bestowed upon you ; and I beg you would preser\^e 
 yourself, that you may hereafter labour for the cause of the 
 Gospel. The more I have loved the genius and the talents 
 of Hutten, the more concerned I am to lose him by these 
 troubles ; and what a deplorable thing would it be, that 
 Philip Melanchthon, an amiable youth of such extraordinary 
 abilities, should be lost to the learned world upon the same 
 account ! If the behaviour of those, who govern human af- 
 fairs, shocks us and grieves us, I believe we must leave them 
 to the Lord. If they command things reasonable, it is just to 
 obey them ; if they require things unreasonable, it is an act of 
 piety to suffer it, lest something worse ensue. If the present 
 age is not capable of receiving the whole Gospel of Jesus 
 Christ, yet it is something to preach it in part, and as far as 
 we can. — Above all things we should avoid a schism, which 
 ?,s of pernicious consequence to all good men. There' is a 
 
 lam : cum tu ab eo non deflecteres oculos, ego feliciter absolvi picU'i- 
 ram, Cuesar hac narratioue valde delectatus, blaiide Lucam compella- 
 vit. Ibi turn bonus scnex, cogitans de forUina et patrire, et Domini sui, 
 fiens procumbit coram Caesare^ et pro suo captivo hero tit supplex. 
 Ccesar placidissimc, Perficiam, inquit, ut dominus tuus, captivus prin- 
 ceps, experiatur meam clementiam ; ornatumque munere Lucam iii ur- 
 bcm remittit. CLytraeus. See Kirchmaier, p. 31. 
 
 Cranachius obtained leave to be contined with the elector, his master, 
 and lived with him during the whole time of his imprisonment. 
 
 '' He said so of himself 3 and we may take his word for it. See 
 Bayle, Cipierre, not. D. 
 
 In Belgio Carolus Caesar, A. 1321, dira edicta contra sectas, quas sic 
 vocant, omnes et singulas edit, et quotannis fere renovat, quorum vi, 
 imperante Carolo, in solo Belgio capite truncata, submersa, suspensa, de- 
 fossa, exusta, aliisque mortis generibus exstincta ultra quinquaginta ho- 
 minum milliascribuntur. Meteranus. See Von der Hardt, p. v.j). .'Jy, 
 
 ' Ita sancta quadam vafricie tempori serviendum, ne tamen prodaiur 
 thesaurus evangelicai veritatis, unde corrupt! mores publici pos^int re- 
 stitui. 
 
1521.] OF ERASMUS. 239 
 
 certain pious craft, and an innocent time-serving, which how- 
 ever we must so use, as not to betray the cause of religion, 
 kc. 
 
 Such is the Gospel which Erasmus preached up to the 
 Lutherans, imagining that they and their cause would go to 
 ruin, and that a worse condidon of things would ensue. But, 
 if they had complied with his proposal, we should have 
 been at this day involved in all the darkness which had over- 
 spread the christian world in the fifteenth century, and for 
 many ages before it. So far would the popes and the eccle- 
 siastics have been from abandoning their beloved interests, 
 founded upon ignorance and superstition, that a bloody In- 
 quisition would have been established, not only in Italy and 
 Spain, but in all chrisdan countries, which would have smo- 
 thered and extinguished for ever those Hghts which then began 
 to sparkle. Lutheranism, gaining more strength and stability 
 than Erasmus expected, prevented the tyranny of an Inqui- 
 sition in Germany, and the Reformation of Calvin secured 
 the Hberty of other countries. If all Germany had yielded 
 and submitted to Leo, and to Charles, in compHance with the 
 timorous counsels of Erasmus, he himself would undoubtedly 
 have been one of the first sufferers ; and the court of Rome, 
 no longer apprehensive lest he should join himself to the he- 
 retics, would have offered him up a sacrifice of a sweet-smell- 
 ing savour to the monks, who did a thousand times more 
 service to that court than a thousand such scholars as Eras- 
 mus. Ep. 572. 
 
 If Erasmus had lived to the year 1552, he would have 
 seen an amazing change in the affairs of Charles, and in 
 the religious state of Germany. 
 
 ' Maurice'"^ of Saxony took Augsburg, with many other 
 imperial cities — and marched on to Inspruch, where the em- 
 peror lay ; and surprised a pass to which he had trusted, so that 
 he was within two miles of him before he was aware of it. 
 Upon this the emperor rose from supper in great haste, and 
 by torch-light fled away to make his escape into Italy. Thus 
 all that design, v/hich the emperor had been laying so many 
 years, was now broken off on a sudden : he lost all the ad- 
 
 " Burnet, ii, 213. 330. See also Sleidan, 1, 23, 24 j and Bayle, 
 Charles-quint. Continual. Sleidanij 1. i. p. 52, Thuanus, 1. x. el 1. xxi, 
 p. 642. 
 
240 THE LIFE [1521. 
 
 vantages he had of his former victories, and was forced to 
 set the prisoners at liberty, and to call in the proscriptions ; 
 and in conclusion the edict of Passaw Vv-as made, by which 
 the several princes and towns were secured in the free ex- 
 ercise of their religion. — I thought it not improper to give 
 account of the extreme danger in which religion was in 
 Germany, and how strangely it was recovered ; in which, 
 he who had been the chief instrument of the miseries it had 
 groaned under was now become its unlooked- for deliverer. — ■ 
 The emperor's misfortunes redoubled upon him — and he be- 
 gan to reflect on the vanity of the world. — It was one of 
 the notabiest turns of fortune that had been in many ages ; 
 and gave a great demonstration both of an overruling Pro- 
 vidence, that disposes of all human affairs at pleasure, and of 
 a particular care that God had of the Reformation, in thus 
 recovering it when it seemed gone without hope in Ger^ 
 many. 
 
 ' These reflections made deep impressions on his mind, 
 and were believed to have first possessed him with the de- 
 sign, which not long after he put in execution, of laying down 
 his crowns, and retiring to a private course of life. In his re- 
 tirement, having time to consider things more impartially, he 
 was so much changed in his opinion of the Protestant religion, 
 that he, who hitherto had been a most violent opposer of it, 
 was suspected of being turned to it before he died. — He at 
 first gave himself much to mechanical curiosities ; but could 
 never bring his clocks to strike in the same minute ; and he 
 used upon that to say, he saw the folly of endeavouring to 
 bring all men to be of the same mind in religion, since he 
 could not bring machines to agree exactly.* 
 
 ' According' to the account given by Dr. Geddes, there 
 is great reason to beHeve that Charles applied himself to se- 
 rious reflections on religion. No prince knew better than 
 he did both the corruptions and the practices of the court 
 of Rome, and the artifices and methods by which two ses- 
 sions of the council of Trent had been conducted. He 
 must likewise have understood the grounds upon which both 
 the Lutherans and the Reformed in Germany built their per- 
 suasions. He had heard them often set out : but the hurry 
 
 I Burnet^ iii. 253. 
 
1521.] OF ERASMUS. 241 
 
 of business, the prepo?!session of education, and the vIcm-s 
 
 of interest, had prejudiced him so far against them, that he 
 
 continued in a most violent enmity to them. But now that 
 
 he was at full leisure to brinjr all his observations toirether, 
 
 11. . ^ ^ . 
 
 and that passion and interest had no more power over hnn, 
 
 there are great presumptions to believe that he died per- 
 suaded of the doctrines of the reformed religion. Augustin 
 Casal, a canon of the church of Salamanca, was his preacher, 
 and was esteemed the most eloquent preacher that Spain ever 
 produced. He was taken up in the year 15.18, and with 
 thirteen more was publicly burned at Vallidolld, in the 
 year 1559; the unfortunate prince Charles, and his aunt 
 donna Juana, then governess, looking on that barbarous ex- 
 ecution'^'. Constantine Pontius", a canon of Sevil, who 
 was his confessor, esteemed a man of great learning and 
 piety, was likewise taken up by the Inquisition for being a 
 Protestant ; he died in prison, probably enough by the tor- 
 ture the inquisitors put him to : but his bones with his ef- 
 figies were burnt at Sevil. So were the bones of the learned 
 iEgidius, whom the emperor had named to the bishopric of 
 Tortosa, one of the richest in Spain. At the same time 
 eighteen were burnt alive for being Protestants ; of which 
 the History of the Inquisition gives this account, that had not 
 the holy tribunal put a stop to those reformers, the Protest- 
 ant religion had run through Spain like wild-fire; people of all 
 degrees, and of both sexes, being wonderfully disoosed at 
 that time to have embraced it : and the writer of the Pon- 
 tifical Histoiy, who was present at some of those executions, 
 says, that had those learned men been let alone but three 
 months longer, all Spain would have been put into a flame by 
 them. 
 
 ' The most eminent of them all was Bartholomew de Ca- 
 ranza, a Dominican, who had been confessor to king Philip 
 and to queen Mary, and had been by her recommended to 
 the archbishopric of Toledo. He had assisted Charles in 
 the last minutes of his life. He was within a few months 
 after his death, upon suspicion of his being a Protestant, 
 first confined by the Inquisidon to his own palace at Torde- 
 
 ^ Continuat, Sleldani, 1. i. p. 7/ • 
 " See Bayle, Ponce. 
 
 Vol. I. R 
 
242 THE LIFE [1521. 
 
 laguna: and after he had been for seven years kept within 
 that confinement, he was carried to Rome, and kept ten years 
 a prisoner in the castle of St. Angelo ; and was at last con- 
 demned as one suspected of heresy. That great man had 
 been sent by Charles as one of his divines to the council of 
 Trent, where he preached, and wrote a treatise of the per- 
 sonal residence of bishops. Tliese things put together make 
 it highly probable that Charles himself was possessed with 
 that doctrine, that was so much spread amongst those who 
 were then most about him. Mezeray tells us that at Phi- 
 lip's arrival in Spain he caused a great many to be burned 
 for heretics in his own presence, both at Sevil and at Vallido- 
 ild, both seculars and ecclesiastics, men and women, and in 
 particular the effigies of his father's confessor : and, if re- 
 ports may be believed, he intended to have made his father's 
 process, and to have had his bones burnt for heresy ; being 
 only hindered from doing it by this consideration, that, if his 
 father was a heretic, he had forfeited all his dominions, 
 and by consequence he had no right to resign them to his 
 son".' 
 
 " Creditiir autem a quibusdam Carolus in extremis rectius de Pro- 
 testantium doctrina sensisse. Hoc cei'tum, quod vix integro anno post, 
 cum Philippus in Hispaniam tantum quod rediisset, et multi haereseos 
 damnatij atque ignis supplicio afliciendi, in ejus adventum fuissent re- . 
 servati, ut sua praesentia variis in locis illam supplicii diritatem quasi 
 comprobaret, quod, inquam, inter hos miseros damnati quoque fuerint, 
 et quia prius animam efflaverant, ostentati et cremati in effigie sua, non 
 modo Joannes iEgidius, a Carolo ob eximiam pietatis et eruditionis lau- 
 dem episcopus Drossensis designatns, sed et Constantinus Pontius, qui 
 illius sacras confessiones acceperat, atque ei in solitudine sua adfuerat. 
 Animam tamen agenti etiamdum inserviisse, quod Thuanus quoque et 
 Sarpins affirmant, negat Pallavicinus, qui vivo Carolo jam in carcerera 
 Hispali conjectum, neque vero a confessionibns illi, sed a concionibus 
 fuisse, ait, Verum in hac circumstantiaram discrepantia non multum 
 sane est situm ad invidiam rei vel minuendam vel augendam. Quin 
 immo asseverant nonnulli, sed maxime Galli, de ipso patre deliberasse 
 Philippum comburendo post suam mortem, ut qui h.-^resin extreme vitae 
 tempore tuisset secutus : sed cohibitum una hac ratione, quod, si id fe- 
 cisset, in controversiam vocari j>osset translatio tot regnomm et civita- 
 tum ab haeretico patre in se facta. Sed tamen vix putem Carolum ulla 
 haeresi, sen damnaia ab Romanis doctrina, jam ante illam translationem, 
 fuisse irubutuni aut svispectum, Perizonlus, p. 625. 
 
 Monachi conati sunt Caroli imperatoris corpus cffosso sepulchro con- 
 tunielia afficeie : quod vix impedire filius potuit, &c. Welanchtlion, 
 Epist. p. 27o\ 
 
1521.] OF ERASMUS. 243 
 
 Bayle hath called some of these things in question, and 
 thinks tliat there is no satisfactory evidence for the disposi- 
 tions of Charles towards Protestantism, and that it must re- 
 main an ambiguous point. See his Diet. Carranzay and 
 Charles-Quint. 
 
 ' This emperor, discoursing of past events with the prior 
 and the monks of St. Justus, told them, that he repented of 
 having fulfilled the promise of safe-conduct which he gave 
 to Luther. Sandoval ascribes this regret to his pious zeal 
 for the cause of God : but the examples of Gregory the 
 Great, who kept his faith given to heretics ; of Joshua, who 
 kept it to the idolatrous Gibeonites ; and of Saul, whom 
 God punished for doing the contrary, might have quieted his 
 royal conscience ; and if he had any cause to repent, it 
 should have been for plighting his faith to a heretic, and 
 not for keeping it.' La Motthe Le Vayer, Disc, de I'Histoh-e, 
 torn. ii. ed. 12mo. 
 
 Sandoval wrote the history, or rather the romance, of 
 Charles V : and La Motthe, in the treatise above mentioned, 
 hath fully confuted this wretched scribbler, who also, like 
 Sepulveda, defended the wicked conquests of Peru, Sec. 
 
 The edict of Worms against Luther was drawn up with 
 all possible rancour i" and malice, being penned by Aleander. 
 However, whilst Luther attended there, and pleaded his 
 cause, he was treated with much affability "i and civility by 
 
 P Seckendorf, 1. i, p. 158. 
 
 1 Quicquld autem malevoii de gestis Wormat'ije, a Luthero et cum eo, 
 muginentur, illustre in omne aeviim exemplum, cui par nullum memo- 
 rari potest, imperator, principes, proceresque, et Lutherus utrinque edi- 
 derunt : illi quidem, quod privatum et monachum, turn, quod maxi- 
 mum erat, damnatum jam solenniter a pontilice, in consessum suum 
 splendidishimum admissum benigne et patienter audiveiint, securitatem 
 promissam, spretis multorum, qui tollendum homuncionem dicerent, 
 suggestionibus servaverint, amice et humaniter in colloquiis tractaverint. 
 • — Celeberrimus Eques, Georgius Fronsbergius, Lutheii euntis in con- 
 sessum humerum manu feriens dixisse lertur ; ' O Fratercule, tu gra- 
 dual nunc tacis, qualem ego multique belli duces in periculosissima 
 acie vix fecimus. Si tamen recte sentis, et tuae cauite certus es, pergas 
 in nomine Dumini, et confidas, non deseret te Deus.' — Quapropter ad- 
 miianda merito est, nee humanis viribus, scd ardentissimis precibus 
 Lutheri tribui debet, quae in eo eminuit prsesentia animi et invincibilis 
 in veritate profitenda constantia, ad conspectum et minas tremendarum 
 potestatum servata, nee non dexteritas in refutandis adversariis, quam 
 negare tandem post tot extenuationes non plane ausus Palavicinus, late- 
 
 R 2 
 
244? THE LITE [1521. 
 
 that illustrious assembly. He showed a sufficient presence 
 of mind, and a noble intrepidity, in the opinion of every one 
 besides himself; for he afterwards lamented, that he had not 
 been still bolder in the cause of God. 
 
 In the above-mendoned epistle to Jodocus Jonas'", Erasmus 
 talks more coldly against monastic vows than he had been 
 accustomed : but he was frightened at the then present situa- 
 tion of affairs. 
 
 Oecolampadius ^ now began to go over to the Reformers. 
 
 ribus, id est clamori et corporis roboii Lutheri tribuit. Ipse vero vir ad- 
 mirandiis, iit mos est optimo cuique, sibi non satisfecit, et hoc anno, 
 quanquam desperatis pene rebus suis, exsul et semicaptivus, turn corpore 
 pessime valens, in literis ad Spalatinum datis conqueritur : ' Ego timeo 
 valde et vexor conscientia, quod tuo et amicorum consilio cedens, Wor- 
 matiae remisi spiritum meum, et idolis non exhibuerim Eliam quendam : 
 alia audirent, si denuo sisterer coram eis,' &:c. 
 
 Spalatinus Luthero ait tantum, imomajorem honorem habitum fuisse, 
 quam ulli principi, quotidie ad eum magnam copiam concurrisse, &c. 
 I'ridericum electorem Spalatino dixisse, ' O quam bene Pater Martinus 
 Germanice et Latine coram Csesare et ordinibus locutus est ! satis, aut 
 niminm animosus fuit.' 
 
 '■ Erasmus libcrtatem votorum, sive jus ex monasteriis discedendi, et 
 conjugia clericorum, laudat, aut non impvobat pluribus locis, ita ut in 
 longa illa^ qua sure juventutis casus sub nomine Florentii descripsit, 
 epistoLij notanter dicatj 'Si vere piorum et spiritualium sententia plus 
 valcret, quam crassorum judicia, nullum posthac esset votum insolubile, 
 praeter vota baptismi, praesertim ut nunc habet mortalium vel malitia 
 vel imbecillitas.' Quia tamen invidia Lutheranismi (ut queritur in lite- 
 ris ad Jod. Jonam) ob banc quoque sententiam gravabatur, oppositionem 
 fecit suae et Lutheri sentential. ' Moneo/ ait, ' juvenes non esse pelli- 
 ciendos ad vincula religionis, priusquam sibi noti sunt, et norint quid sit 
 religio. Lutherus, ut aiunt, in totum damnat omnia vota.' Sed falsus 
 est Erasmus, illud, ul aiunt, aliter pronunciaturus, si tractatum Luthe- 
 ri Jf 2'0/7.v monastlds legere voluisset. Anno 1531, purgans se apud 
 Georgium Saxoniae ducem, in literis ad Simoncm Pistoris, haec habet de 
 conjugio sacerdotum : ' Ego nee sacerdotibus permitto conjugium, nee 
 monachis relaxo vota, ni id fiat ex auctoritate pontiticum, et ad aedifica- 
 tionem ecclesiae, non ad dcstructionem. P^o perpellere pueros ac puellas 
 inhumanum arbitror ; et plum, eximere fraude captos. Imprimis optan- 
 dum essct sacerdotes castitatem et ccelestem vitam amplecti. Nunc rebus 
 adeo contaniinalis, fortasse levins malum esset eligendum. Haec opinio si 
 non placet ccclesiae prsfcctis, pro somnio ducatur.' Ita atlemperare dicta 
 sua ad genium eorum, quibus scribebat, novcrat Erasmus. Seckendorf, 
 \. i. p. 1/3. 
 
 See Scultet. Annal. in Von der Hardt, P. v. p. 40. 
 
 =5 Oecolampadius quid in ccenobio delitescens de Luthero senserit, ju- 
 dicium ejus ad amicum loquitur : ' Jam de Martino libere loquor, ut 
 srepe antehac ; quod evangelicae vcritati propius accedat, quam adversa- 
 rii sui, ice. Plcraque ab co dicta tarn certa sunt apud me, ut si etiaxa 
 8 
 
1521.] OF ERASMU;S. 245 
 
 Erasmus expresseth his fears to his best-beloved patroii 
 Warham. Luther, says he, hath excited great troubles, of 
 which I see no end, unless Jesus Christ should prosper our 
 rashness, as it used to be said that Minerva turned all the 
 foolish counsels of the Athenians to their o;ood. I wish that 
 Luther had held his peace upon some points, or had discussed 
 them with a diiferent spirit. At present I fear that we shall 
 escape Scylla by falling into a more dangerous Charybdis, 
 If ' the men who sacrifice all things to their belly and to 
 their insolence should prevail, what remains but to write 
 the epitaph of Jesus Christ, who is dead and buried to rise 
 no more ? There is an end of all that is good and true, 
 whilst these wretches basely flatter the great and the power- 
 ful, at the expense of Christianity. Thus it hath happened in 
 Italy, and Spain, and Portugal, and in all places where monks 
 and inquisitors bear rule. 
 
 Amongst these serious and affecting reflections, we find 
 also complaints of a more private nature, that the money re- 
 mitted to him from England had been trusted to the 
 hands of a knavish Italian, who had defrauded him of no 
 small part of it. Erasmus begged the archbishop to take 
 heed for the future what agents he employed in this afiiiir. 
 The good prelate had been in pain lest Erasmus should want 
 money, and promised to procure him another prebend. 
 How uncommon is it for persons in high stations" to have 
 any regard at all for the learned ! and much more, to pre- 
 serve so constant an aft'ecdon for a man of merit, especially 
 
 coelestes angeli contradicant, non rse sint a sententia mea depulsuri,'— 
 Idem Oecolampadius scripsit etiam de confessione librum, quo magis 
 pium, hoc minus ceremoniarura nundinatoribus ferendum. Hujus 
 enira occasione Glapio Franciscanus, qui turn Caesari Carolo a concioui- 
 bus, ingens viro periculum creavit. Qua de causa soUicitantibas amicis, 
 et consentientibus fratribus in coenobio, tuto discessit. Capito in Vita 
 Oecolamp. See Von der Hardt, p. v. p. 39. 
 
 * Si istis, qui ventris et tyrannidis suae causa nihil non audent, res 
 succedit, nihil superest, nisi ut scribam epitaphium Christo nunquain 
 revicturo. Actum est de scintilla chaiitatis evangelicae, actum est de 
 stellula lucis evangelicae, actum de vena coRlestis doctrinae. Adeo tur- 
 piter isti adulantur principibus et iis unde spes est commodi, cum summa 
 injuria Christianae veritatis. 
 
 " Magnates autera adeo non adjuvant sua benignitate rem literariam, ut 
 existiraent nullam pecuniam perire perditius, quam quae in tales usus 
 consumitur; neque quicquam omnino placet illis^ unde non vccti^al 
 ali(]uyd toUitur. Erasmus, Adag. c. 405. 
 
246 THE LIFE [1521. 
 
 when he is at a distance, and not able to make his court to 
 them in person ! Erasmus was not insensible of these singular 
 favours, and thanks the archbishop most affectionately, and 
 upon all occasions extols his friendly liberality ; particularly 
 in his preface to St. Jerom. He tells his patron, however, 
 that, as he was contented with a little, so at that time he 
 wanted for nothing. At present, says he, I think myself a 
 sort of nobleman ; for I maintain two horses, who are bet- 
 ter fed, and two servants, who are better clad than their 
 master. Living in this manner, it was impossible that he 
 should lay up much : for he wanted amanuenses to transcribe 
 Iiis works, and horses to travel himself, and to send messen- 
 gers to collect his pensions, since at that time stage-coaches 
 and post horses were not to be found. Ep. 574. 590. 
 
 This year he quitted Louvain, and took up his abode at 
 Anderlac, a country village, for the sake of his health, and 
 to be rid of those whom he calls 7r7-a;x,oTupai/;/oLig-, mendicant- 
 tyrants, who were not so numerous and so troublesome 
 there as at Louvain. There he occupied himself in revising 
 his New Testament for a third edidon, and in correcting the 
 works of St. Augustin, whom he intended to pubhsh. Ep. 
 577, 578. 
 
 Here he received the book which Jacobus Lopes Stunica^, 
 a Spaniard, had written against his first edidon of the New 
 Testament. In a letter to a friend, he speaks with some 
 esteem of Stunica's erudition, and professes his joy to see the 
 helles lettres reviving in Spain : but he complains much of 
 the insolence and disingenuity of his antagonist, who put the 
 worst construction upon every thing, and even imputed to 
 him the faults of the press and of the corrector (Oecolam- 
 padius), and loaded him with insults and injuries. Erasmus 
 wrote an answer >' : and the editors of the Critici Sacri have 
 inserted Stunica's book in their ninth volume, and prefixed 
 it to the Apology of Erasmus. Stunica endeavours prin- 
 cipally to defend che Vulgate, and even every blunder and 
 barbarism that was to be found in it. Sometimes indeed he 
 censures Erasmus not without cause : but he seasons his re- 
 
 "Baillet, ii, 287. Erasmus, t. ix. c. 283, Maittaire, ii. .139. See 
 also Simon, H. Cr. des Vers, du N. T. p. 241. des Comment, du N. T. 
 p. 532. 
 
 y Tom. ix. c. 2&3. 
 
J 521.] OF ERASMUS, 247 
 
 marks with so much vanity, so much scurrility, so much 
 malignity, so much calumny, and so much gross flattery to 
 those from whom he hoped to get preferment, that it must 
 raise the indignation of every honest man. Such a manner of 
 writing gives too much cause to suspect that such persons 
 have at the bottom no rehgion at all. Ep. 582. 
 
 ' Stunica began to write against Erasmus, whilst cardinal 
 Ximenes^ (who died in 1517) was living. The cardinal 
 advised him to send his remarks first in manuscript to Eras- 
 mus, that he might suppress them if Erasmus gave him sa- 
 tisfactory answers. But Stunica was too vain and prejudiced 
 to act in this manner ; and happening* one day to find some 
 person reading the New Testament of Erasmus, he said to 
 him, in the presence of the cardinal, that he wondered how 
 he could throw away his time upon such trash, and that the 
 book was full of monstrous faults. The cardinal imme- 
 diately replied ; IVould to God that all authors wrote such 
 trash ! Either produce something better of your own, or 
 give over prating against the labours of others. This rough 
 answer made Stunica suppress his work till the cardinal was 
 dead ; and then he published a book against the annotations 
 of Erasmus ; who replied to it. Afterwards Stunica drew 
 up another work, which he called The Blasphemies and Im- 
 pieties of Erasmus. — Leo X'^ forbad him to publish any thing 
 defamatory and scurrilous against his antagonist ; and, after 
 the death of Leo, the cardinals, and Adrian VI, laid the same 
 commands upon him. Yet the book was secretly printed, 
 and then published : and this also was answered by Erasmus. 
 Some time alter, Stunica attacked him again ; and Eras- 
 mus replied in 1529 ; and in 1530, Stunica died.* Du Pin, 
 xiv. 75. 
 
 Alciat, in his Epistles, published by Burman, hath given 
 his judgment of Stunica'^, and allows him to be a man of 
 
 * Gallaei Imagines. Cave, Hist. Lit. Append, v. ii. p. 243. Mait- 
 taire, ii. 128. fiddes's Life of Wolsey, p. 110. Pope Blount, p. 369. 
 Flechier/ and Marsollier's Histoire de Ximenes. See also Maittaire, iii. 
 899. Gardes, torn. i. p. 14. Erasmus, torn. vi. c. ^56. Amoen. Lit. 
 tom. ii. p. 357. 
 
 » Erasmus relates this story in his Apology against Stunica, t. ix. 
 c. 284. 
 
 ^ See Erasmus, t. ix. c. 357. 3S4. 
 
 ^ Quae de Jacobo Lopis Stunica scribis, accepi omnia. Ejus librum 
 
24S THE LIFE [I52i. 
 
 erudition, but suspects him to be a Jew, who wore the masb 
 of a Christian. Erasmus throws out suspicions*^ of the 
 same Idnd, in his answers to Stunica. 
 
 nonduni vidi, sed snspicor Pseudo-Christianurn esse : ejus enim familiae 
 plures Avenione Judaei erant, quorum aliqui sacro se lavacro abluerunt : 
 et ex eis quidam medicus, mediocriter doctus, familiaris meus est. Ejus 
 libmm libenter legerem ; si ad Andieam fratrem tuum venalem miseris, 
 forte coraparabo ; nam si malus erit, mittam, ut una cum Alcorano ve- 
 neat. Doct. Viror. Epist. p. go. 
 
 Leg! Stunicae annotationes : vir est doctns, ingeniosus, cautus ; punc- 
 timferit; sese coUigit ; a signis non aberrat. Facile Hispanum homi- 
 jiem agnoscas, qui ut ab Erasmo flumine illo et ubertate dicendi supera- 
 tur, ita ipse in Hebraicarum literarum cognitione vicissim eum superat. 
 Nam qute ad Grseca attinent, merae videntur minutiae, et quod dicitur 
 AETTroXoyrJ^aara sunt. Ibid. p. g4. 
 
 ^ Nescio quid suspicionis mihi parit, quod Stunica tam impense favet 
 Hebrseis, ut his omnia velit deberi, cum res nihil tale postulet. Tom. ix, 
 c. 297. 
 
 Debebat e Jureconsultorum veterura literis, atque e probatis linguae 
 Latinge auctoribus excmplum adducere potius quam e Ruffino Josephi 
 interprete. Quod tamen arbitror ignoscendum homini, qui videtur ia 
 nuUis Roman 3e linguae sciiptoribus fuisse versa tus, sed Hebraeorum vo- 
 luminibus magis fuisse delectatus. c. 307- 
 
 Aliis Judaeoriuii amicis excutiendum relinquo. c. SOQ. 
 
 Verecundius vertimus, — ne adsciscat prfepulium, Stunica in hoc 
 rerum genere me peritior, docet nos, &c. c, 330. 
 
 Porro si ceremoniae Judaicse placent Slunicae, per me quidem fruatur 
 licebit. c. 363. 
 
 Primium animadvertenda est hominis in dicendo prudentia. Primo 
 loco ponit impia, deinde llasphema, mox insana, deinde temcraria^ 
 postremo loco, non ea rcvercnt'ia dicta f.ua oporluit. Sic solet rhetoribus 
 increscere per gradus oratio, nisi forte Stunica servat ordinem Hebrae-. 
 urum, qui scribunt praepostere. c. 372. 
 
 Posset in Uteris Hebraicis, quas a teneris unguiculis imbibit, non pee-, 
 nitendam operam locare — c. 340. 
 
 nee Stunica mihi erit Christianus, nisi scripscrit accuratissimos 
 
 commentarios in Epistolam ad Hebraeos. c. 380. 
 
 Nobis persuasum est (Cliristum esse Deum.) Utinam aeque persua- 
 sum esset Judaeis omnibus ! c. 413. 
 
 Stunica et Sanctius adoriantur diversum hoereticorum genus, quo4 
 jam se nimium miscuit segeti Dominicae, Magis enim ac magis iuva- 
 lescunt Judiei quidam, ses([ni-Juda;i, et semi-Judaei, qui mixti nobis, 
 titulum habent Christi, cum Mosem totum habeant in pectore. 
 
 Mutemus {inqidunt) clypeos, Danaumque insignia nobis 
 
 Aptemus. 
 
 Hac via gravius laedunt rem Chrisliannm, et plus est quasstus ex calum- 
 nia quaui ex usuris. Hos nemo melius protligabit^ quam Lopis et 
 Sanctius. c. 424. 
 
1521.] OF ERASMUS. 24^ 
 
 As to Luther*^, Alciat there declares, that he did not con- 
 cern himself at all about him and his cause ; but he intimates, 
 that the court of Rome well deserved to be roughly handled 
 by him. 
 
 As he was an Italian, he blames Froben'^for insulting the 
 Italians with a symbolical frontispiece prefixed to the New 
 Testament of Erasmus. 
 
 In a letter to the bishop of Tournay, Erasmus commends 
 Jodocus^ Ciichthovceus. Ep. 578. 
 
 We have, in this year, a remarkable letter of Erasmus, 
 addressed to his friend Pace, dean of St. Paul's, which had 
 not appeared in the preceding editions of the Epistles of 
 Erasmus. Van Meel first published it at the end of the 
 Epistles of the Hotomanni : but in the Leyden edition of 
 Erasmus it is printed more correctly, and from a better 
 copy. Here Erasmus complains equally of the violence of 
 Luther, and of the rage of the Dominicans, as also of the base 
 malice of Aleander,* who ascribed to him some writings of 
 Luther, of which he had not even heard. It was affirmed 
 that Erasmus had written a treatise called The Captivity of 
 Babylon, although Luther openly acknowledged it for his 
 own. Others would have it that Luther had taken many 
 of his sentiments from Erasmus. I see now, says Erasmus, 
 that the Germans (the German Lutherans) are resolved at 
 all adventures to engage me in the affair of Luther, whether 
 I will or not. In this they have acted foolishly, and have 
 taken the surest method to alienate me from them and their 
 party. Wherein could I have assisted Luther, if I had de* 
 
 Nee me latet, qui subornent histriones hujus fabulae. Pharisalcuin 
 genus est, et Ebionitarum reliquioe. Satis sit Judaeis, quod semel occi* 
 derint Christum, c. 42/. 
 
 * Quid toties raihi Lutherium inculcas ? quem ego bene vel male fa- 
 ciat, nihil aestimo : et quoniam id ad me non peninet, susque deque 
 fero. Et forte publice interest esse aliquem, qui tanlam licentiam coer- 
 ceat, et qui etiam injui^ta defendat, ut saltern justa obtineantur. 
 
 ^ Arminii mentionem feci, ut Frobenii temeritati obviam irem, qui 
 in secunda Erasmi editione in Testamentiun Novum, liminarem pagtl- 
 lam pictura insignivit, qua Quintilium Varum Arminius supcrat, victo- 
 que insultat hoc dicterio : Tandem xnpura sibilare des'iste : ut minime du- 
 bitem vera esse quae scribis de Germanis. Sed hoc raorbo laborant 
 omnes Barbari. Quid mirum ? cum et inter nos Italos forte gravius 
 agatur. — Dii invidos omnes perdant. 
 
 « Val. Andreae Bibl. Belg. ^ . 458. Miraei Elog. Belg. p. 38. 
 
250 '■ THE LIFF. [152K 
 
 clared myself for him, and shared the danger along with him? 
 Only thus far, that, instead of one man, two would have 
 perished. I cannot conceive what he means by writing with 
 such a spirit : one thing I know too well, that he hath 
 brought a great odium upon the lovers of literature. It is true, 
 that he hath given us many a wholesome doctrine, and many 
 a good counsel ; and I wish he had not defeated the effect 
 of them by his intolerable faults. But ^ if he had ivritten 
 every thing in the most unexceptionable manner, I had no 
 inclination to die for the sake of truth. Every man hath 
 not the courage requisite to make a martyr ; and I am 
 afraid that, if I were put to the trial, I should imitate St. 
 Peter. 
 
 It was proper to give these extraordinary words at length, 
 because, though he hath elsewhere dropped some expres- 
 sions amounting to nearly the same thing, yet perhaps he 
 hath nowhere so frankly opened his mind, and so inge- 
 nuously owned his timidity. The apprehent;ion of losing 
 his revenues, the reputation w^hich he still enjoyed in the 
 court of Rome, and was loth to give up entirely, and pos- 
 sibly the fear of being excommunicated and proscribed, and 
 perhaps poisoned or assassinated, might work together upon 
 him, and restrain him from speaking freely concerning the 
 controversies then agitated. However, to do him justice, 
 he still maintained the truth, though cautiously and ob- 
 liquely. Although he frequently censured Luther, yet he 
 heartily wished that he might carry his point, and extort 
 from his enemies some reformation both of doctrines and 
 manners ; but, as he could not imagine that Luther would 
 succeed, he chose to adhere outwardly to the stronger jarty. 
 I' follow, says he, the decisions of the pope and the em- 
 
 ^ Nunc (lemnm sentio hoc consilium fuisse Germanoruni, ut me vo- 
 lentem nolentem pertraherent in Lutheri negolium. Incoiisultum rae- 
 hercule consilium : qua re me potius abalienassent. Aut quid ego po- 
 tuissem opitulari Lutliero, si me periculi comitem fecissem, nisi \it pro 
 vino perirent duo ? Quo spiritu ille scrij)sei it non queo satis demirari, 
 certe bonarum literarum cullores ingenti gravat invidia. Multa quidem 
 praeclare et docuit et monuit. Atque utinam sua bona malis intolerabi- 
 libus non vitiasset. Quod si omnia pie scripsisset, non tamen erat ani- 
 mus ob veritateai capite periclitari. Non omnes ad martyrium satis ha- 
 bent roboris : vt reor autem, ne, si quid incident tumultus, Petruni sim 
 iniitatums. 
 
 ' Pontificis ac Caesaris bene decernenlis^equor (decreta) quod piura 
 
1521.] OF ERASMUS. SSI 
 
 peror when they are right ; which is acting religiously : I 
 submit to them when they are wron^ ; which is acting pru- 
 dently : and I think that it is lawful tor good men to behave 
 themselves thus, when there is no hope of obtaining any 
 more. 
 
 After this, when Erasmus testifies his disapprobation of 
 the Lutheran measures, it is needless to seek other reasons 
 for it than those which have been here mentioned. Ep. 583. 
 
 Le Clerc often censures Erasmus for his lukewarmness, 
 timidity, and unfairness, in the matter of the Reformation ; 
 and I, as a translator, have adopted these censures, only 
 softenins: them a little here and there : for 1 am, in the 
 main, of the same opinion with Le Clerc as to this point. 
 As Protestants, we are certahdy much obliged to Erasmus ; 
 yet we are more obliged to the authors of the Reformation, 
 to Luther, Melanchthon, Zuinglius, Oecolampadius, Cran- 
 mer, Bucer, &c. But here I would observe, once for all, 
 that many arguments may be plausibly urged on the other 
 side, either to excuse, or at least to extenuate very much, that 
 conduct of Erasmus which offended the Protestant party. 
 Erasmus, as you may see in this account of his Ufe, was not 
 entirely free from prejudices of education, and had some in- 
 distinct and confused notions about the authority of the 
 church Catholic. He talks much of submitting his own opi- 
 nions and his own judgment to her, by an act of implicit faith 
 and unlimited obedience. He thought it not lawful to de- 
 part from the church of Rome, corrupted as she was. He 
 was afterwards shocked also at the violent quarrels'^ which 
 arose about the Lord's Supper amongst the Reformers, the 
 Zuingiians and the Lutherans ; for, in those days, Zuin- 
 glius and his adherents were the only men who talked rea- 
 sonably upon that subject. He was no less shocked at the 
 pestilent tumults and rebellions of the Rustics, the Fana- 
 tics, and Anabaptists. I cannot believe that the fear of 
 losing his pensions, and of coming to want, made him say 
 and do things which he thought to be unlawful ; but it may 
 
 est ; male statuentis fero, quod tutum est. Id opinor etiam bonis viris 
 licere, si nulla spas sit profectus. 
 
 ^ Concerning the faults of the Reformers, and their intolerant spirit, 
 see Vossii Epist. xxiii. ad Grotiumj Bibl. Univ. xvi. 324^ and Colome- 
 sius Theol. Presb. Icon. 
 
252 THE LIFE [152U 
 
 be fairly supposed that he was afraid of disobliging several 
 of his oldest and best friends, who were against the Luthe- 
 ran Reformation ; of offending not only Henry VIII and 
 Charles V, and the popes, and George of Saxony, and 
 Wolsey, &c. but even his patron Warham, Montjoy, More, 
 Tonstal, Fisher, Campegius, Benibus, Sadolet, and many 
 others, whom he loved entirely, and to some of whom he 
 was much obliged. These things might influence his judg- 
 ment', though he himself were not at all aware of it. There 
 is no necessity to suppose that he acted against his conscience 
 in adhering to the church of Rome. No : he persuaded 
 himself that he did as much as piety and prudence required 
 from him, in freely censuring her defects. In his conduct 
 there might be some weakness, and some passion against 
 the persons of the Reformers ; but which of us can be 
 sure that he might not have acted nearly the same part un- 
 der the same circumstances ? ' Judge not, that ye be not 
 judged.' This worthy man spent a long and laborious life 
 in an uniform pursuit of two points ; in opposing barbarous 
 ignorance and blind superstition ; and in promoting useful 
 literature and true piety. These glorious projects he en- 
 deavoured to accomplish in a mild and gentle manner, never 
 attacking the persons of men, but only the faults of the 
 age, till hard necessity constrained him to reply to those 
 who assaulted him with the utmost disingenuity and malice. 
 How could a learned man of a peaceable disposition be 
 better employed ?^ He knew his own temper and talents; 
 and conscious that he was not fitted for the rough and bold 
 work of Reformation, he would not attempt what was be- 
 yond his strength. But, in one sense, he was a Reformer, 
 and the most eminent of all the Reformers. Le Clerc him- 
 self hath drawn up a handsome apology for this conduct of 
 Erasmus, in a preface prefixed to the edition of Leyden, 
 which we shall insert in the next volume. Thus, if on 
 some occasions we bear a little hard upon Erasmus, at other 
 times we are willing to make him amends. Our censures 
 are amantium irce, 
 
 ' In cases like this, 
 
 Beiieficiura accipere, est libertatem vcndciCj 
 
1521.] OF ERASMUS, 253 
 
 ' Ciilvin'^, Bcza, and many others, persuaded themselves 
 that all those wlio at the first had favoured the Reformation, 
 either by endeavouring to soften the spirit of persecutors, or 
 by testifying an extreme desire to have some end put to the 
 calamities of the church, were so many apostates, and be- 
 trayers of their own conscience, if they remained in the 
 Romish conununion, or altered their behaviour towards the 
 Protestants. I say that this is judging too hastily. To be- 
 lieve that the church stands in need of a reformation, and 
 to approve this or that manner of reforming it, are two very 
 different things. Agani : To blame the conduct of those 
 who oppose all reformation, and to disapprove the steps of 
 those who undertake to reform the church, are things quite 
 compatible. A man may act as Erasmus did without being 
 a perfidious person, and an apostate, without sinning against 
 the Holy Ghost, and doing violence to his conscience ; and 
 this is what Beza seems never to have comprehended. He 
 fancied that all they who agreed that Lulher and Calvin 
 said right in many things, were therefore fully convinced 
 that they ought to break with the church of Rome, to erect 
 altar against altar, to destroy images, and not to hesitate at 
 the foresight of those torrents of blood which would infal- 
 libly be shed. This Is a mere illusion. There were doubt- 
 less many persons who thought that, since the Reformation 
 met with such violent obstacles as threw all Europe into the 
 utmost misery, it was a divine indication that the happy time 
 for a reformation was not yet come. Many persons will ad- 
 here to this axiom, that it is a lesser evil to bear with abuses 
 in church and state, than to cure them by remedies which 
 will overturn the constitution and the government : and all 
 unprejudiced judges will allow thus much, that a man 
 should be extremely reserved in accusing and condemning 
 others as acting against the dictates of their own conscience.' 
 
 Erasmus shows at large, that whatsoever pains he had 
 taken to keep upon good terms with the divines of Louvain, 
 it had been impossible to gain their friendship ; and that 
 some of them had cruelly deceived him, particularly Joannes 
 Atensis, who was one of the most able and considerable 
 persons amongst them. Then he makes a transition to 
 
 '^ Bayle, Castdlan, not, Q. 
 
254« THE LIFE 1521.] 
 
 Luther, and censures his violent proceedings ; as if Luther 
 could have brought the Christian world to measures of re- 
 formation, in spite of the Romish court, without plain- 
 dealing and animated expressions ! He declares his hatred 
 of discord to be such that he disliked even truth itself, if ijt 
 were seditious". But Luther, who was of another humour, 
 would have replied, that such was his hatred for falsehood, 
 and oppression of conscience, that he thought it better to 
 suffer persecution, if it arose, and to break loose from such 
 a tyranny at all adventures, than to stoop down, and live and 
 die under it, and hear a thousand lies vented and obtruded 
 under the venerable name of christian doctrines. They who 
 are bold and resolute will approve these maxims of Luther, 
 and they who are cautious and dispirited will close in with 
 those of Erasmus. It must be acknowledged, that in this 
 Luther acted rather more like an apostle, or a primitive 
 Christian, than Erasmus. If the first Chrisdans had been 
 afraid of raising disturbances, they would have chosen to 
 comply with the Sanhedrim, and to live at peace with their 
 countrymen, rather than to draw upon themselves so much 
 hatred. Some of the great, says Erasmus, meaning the 
 king of Denmark, are of an opinion, to which I cannot 
 assent, that the malady is too inveterate to be cured by 
 gentle methods, and that the whole body must be violently 
 shaken before it can recover its health. If it be true, I had 
 rather that others should administer this strong physic than 
 myself. Very well : but then, at least, we ought to respect 
 and commend, and not to censure, those who have the cou- 
 rage and the constancy to do what we dare not practise. 
 Ep. 587. 590. 
 
 From the same political principles Erasmus extols the 
 book*' of Henry VIII against Luther, even before he had 
 seen it ; and he began now to throw out intimations that 
 he also would one day enter the lists, and take Luther to 
 task ; which gave great offence to the Lutherans. Ep. 589, 
 590. 
 
 He imagined that, at length, by training up youth in 
 
 '^ Mihi adeo est invisa discordia, ut Veritas etiam displiceat sedltiosa. 
 ° Fiddes's Life of Wolsey, p. 246. 250. Maittaire, ii. 60Q. Slrype's 
 Memor. vol. i. p. 33. 
 
1521.] OF ERASMU?. 255 
 
 learning and useful knowledge, those religious Improvements 
 would gradually be brought about, which the princes, the 
 prelates, and the divines of his days could not be persuaded 
 to admit or toLn-ate. But they made it their business to 
 suppress such liberal education : and soon afterwards a reli- 
 gious order arose, founded by a fanatic, and consisting of 
 men who mortally hated'' the name and the memory of 
 Erasmus, who seized upon the office of instructing youth, 
 and did indeed take laudable pains to teach them classical 
 learning ; but, as to religion, were still more careful to 
 train them up in such principles and sentiments as best 
 served the views and puq:)oses of the teachers. Ep. 592. 
 
 Afterwards, being importuned to write against Luther, 
 he applied to Aleander, the pope's nuncio, for a permission 
 to read the books of this pestilent disturber of the public 
 peace. But Aleander flatly refused, pretending that he 
 could not do it without express licence from the pope. How 
 stupid and ridiculous was this, to refuse a permission of 
 this kind to such a man as Erasmus ; and, above all, whilst 
 they were soliciting him to enter into the controversy 1 He 
 therefore prayed his friend Bombasio to obtain a brief from 
 the pope for this important purpose ; and it is a very strange 
 thing that they did not take him directly at his word, and 
 engage him in point of honour to enter without delay into 
 the battle. Ep. 594. 
 
 Although Erasmus was not now at Louvain, yet he did 
 not neglect to do all the service in his power to that uni- 
 versity, and to commend the professors to the public ; those 
 particularly who taught polite literature. Ep. 595. 
 
 He received a letter from Capito, which is full of chasms, 
 because some prince was mentioned in it, whom it was not 
 
 p Diximus nonnulla de Jesuitarum in cremandis haereticomm, quos 
 nuncupant, libris industria : nunc quaedam ejus e Uteris illorum annuls 
 documenta exhibebiraus. Ita autem ad sui Qrdinis Generalem, A. 
 1584, Coloniense collegium, cum alia de suis proselytis praedicasset : 
 * Malta major laus videii debet, eos, qui in tanta haeresium colluvione 
 sunt alti, contra heereticos tamen tanta concipere odia, ut ea non raodo 
 in illos, sed in eoram quoque libros effundant. Quotquot enim hujus 
 generis nacti sunt libros, eos ad nos afferant olurendos. Adolescens 
 complura Lutheri Erasmigue volumina, quae postea nobis traderet con- 
 cremanJa, ab hxreticorum ministxo coemit,' &.-c. Ainoen. Lit--'r. t. ix. 
 p. 70O. 
 
256 THE LIFE [152I» 
 
 safe to offend. Capito Inveighs against the violence and 
 the satirical libels of the Lutherans which then flew about, 
 though in his heart, hke Erasmus, he longed for a reforma- 
 tion ; and afterwards he openly embraced it. Ep. 596. 
 
 From Basil, Erasmus wrote to the bishop of Olmutz, 
 and deplores the death of that prelate's brother, the bishop 
 of Breslaw. 
 
 In his letter to Polydore Virgil^, he demonstrates to that 
 learned Italian how much he was mistaken in fancying that 
 he had published his Book of Proverbs before Erasmus. 
 Though he had just cause to be offended at Polydore, who 
 falsely accused him of plagiarism, yet he persuaded Froben 
 to print his book*^ for him, and expostulates with great can- 
 dour and good-nature : so remote v/as he from the peevish- 
 ness of those persons who fly into indecencies for much 
 smaller matters, for a bare difference of opinion, and are 
 incapable of being taught better manners. Ep. 602. 
 
 ' Erasmus^ was not willing to quarrel with Polydore Vir- 
 gil ; and I wish we had no cause neither to be offended at 
 him, for destroying the many manuscripts out of which he 
 compiled his History : a charge which, I fear, still lies 
 heavy upon his memory*. 
 
 ' Erasmus respected him as a man of merit and abilities. 
 As Polydore abounded in money, being collector of the 
 pope's Annates, so we find him generous to Erasmus, and 
 sending him money ^ to purchase a horse. After he had 
 lived forty years in England, he was dismissed with a gift of 
 three hundred crowns from the king, and with liberty of 
 enjoying the archdeaconry of Wells, and the prebend of 
 
 1 P. Jovius, Elog p. 213. Bayle, Firgile {Pohjdore), which is an ar« 
 tide well drawn up. Pope Blount, p. 45 1 . 
 'Maittaire, ii. 619. 
 
 * Knight, p. 169, 
 
 * * By one Italian trick of Polydore Virgil, while he was in England, 
 the properties and doings of all other Italian Papists in former times may 
 partly be conjectured. For so Fox was informed by such as precisely 
 would affirm it to be true, tliat when Polydore, being licensed by the 
 king to view and search all libraries, had once accomplished his story by 
 the help of such books as he had procured in his said searcli ; in the end, 
 when he had taken out what he would, he piled those antient books to- 
 gether, and set them all on a light lire.' Strype's Life of Parker, p. 531. 
 Memor. vol. ii. p. 232. Wood, i. 4. 
 
 * Dedisti quo paretur equus j utinam dare possis quo reparetur eques. 
 
3521.] OF ERASMUS. 257 
 
 Nunnington in the church of Hereford. He presented the 
 church of Wells with hangings for the quire, upon which 
 were wrought a laurel-tree, and these words : 
 
 ^ Haec Poly do ri sunt Munera Vergil ii.' 
 
 In other letters of this year Erasmus makes his usual 
 complaints of the monks and of Luther, and declares that 
 he had no hand in his books. His patron Montjoy having 
 exhorted him to write against Luther, he replies with a 
 i'rankness which must plense every reader ; Nothing is more 
 easy than to call Luther a blockhead : nothing is less easy 
 than to prove him one ; at least so it seems to me. 
 
 Ludovicus Vives, who had been in France, sends Eras- 
 mus a pretty letter, full of commendations of the learned 
 at Paris, and especially of Budseus. Erasmus, in his reply, 
 lets him know that literary matters went on much worse at 
 Louvain, where the monks opposed the progress of erudi- 
 tion, and the establishment of the collegium trilingue^, with 
 all their might and malice. He also justly censures the pa- 
 ganism ^ of the Italian poets and philologers, and gives us 
 
 * Bayle, Busleiden. Maittaire, Ann. Typ. ii. 63. 
 
 " Neque enim solis bonis literis vacandum, quod quidam apud 
 
 Italos nimis Ethnice faciunt, qui posteaquam Jovem, Bacchum, Neptu- 
 num, Cynthium, Cyllenium, versibus aliquot infiilserunt, absolute docti 
 sibi videntur. — Narravit mihi ante annos tres Joannes episcopus RolTen- 
 sis, vir unus vera episcopus, vere theologus, in academia Cantabrigicasi 
 cui cancellarius est perpetuus (sic enim illi vocant summum ac pcrpe- 
 tuum scholae antistitem) pro sophisticis argutatlonibus, nunc sobrias ac 
 sanas inter theologos disputationes agilari, unde discedunt non solum 
 doctiores, verum etiam meliores. Oxoniensis academia, monachorum 
 quorundam opera, nonnihil obluctata est initio; sed cardinalis ac regis 
 auctoritate coerciti sunt, qui tantum bonum clarissimse ac vetustissimae 
 scholae invidebant. De Italia quid altinet commemorare, in qua sem- 
 per regnarunt haec studia, sed pene sola, si medicinam et juris peritiam 
 excipias? Academia Complutensis non aliunde celebrilatem nominis 
 auspicata est, quam a complectendo linguas, ac bonas literas. Cnjus 
 praecipuum ornamcntum est egregius ille senex, planeque dignus qui 
 muJtos vincat Nestoras, yljitojiius Nctrisi:e?isis. In Germania tot fere 
 sunt academiae, quot oppida. Harum nulla pene est, quae non magnis 
 salariis accersat linguarum professores. Coloiiiae, nescio quo fato, nun- 
 quam in pretio fuervint man^uetiora studia, quod illic, ut audio, regnant 
 examina Dominicalium ac Franciscanorum. Certe semper liberum fuit 
 cui liberet profiterij vel mercede. Lovanii quibus lumuitibus obstirers 
 proceres, ne quis quamlibet honestam disciplinam profiteretur, vel 
 gratis ? — bcc. Lutetise licuit Fausto profite-ri quoiiibet poetas, ujque ad 
 
 Vol. L S 
 
258 THE LIFE [1521. 
 
 a remarkable account how learning stood at that time in 
 various parts, and speaks favourably of Oxford, and of 
 Cambridge still more favourably. 
 
 Rutgerus Rescius-% a friend of Erasmus, v/as the first 
 Greek professor in the above-mentioned college of Busli- 
 dius ; and afterwards set up a press at Louvain. He was ill- 
 used by the academics of that place, and soon involved hi 
 quarrels : upon which Erasmus comforts him^, and banters 
 him at the same time. 
 
 He returns his thanks to Livinus, an abbot, whom he 
 calls prevsulon egregimn, and wI:o had sent him some 
 handsome and valuable present. It is proper, as we pro- 
 ceed, to take some notice of the favours which were for- 
 merly bestowed upon men of letters. Ep. 580. 
 
 To his friend Barbirius he accuses himself^ of indiscre- 
 tion, and speaks of his open, and jocose, and unreserved 
 temper. 
 
 He observes, that none exclaim louder against Luther's 
 
 nxnias Priapeas, idque more, ne quid aliud dicani, Faustino. Lovanii 
 non licuit Neseno enarrare geographiam Poniponil Melas. Roma ipsa, 
 Mediolanum, ut de caeteris taceam gymnaslis, irgcntibus prsemiis ambit 
 et evocat eos qui linguas doceant. Nos trilingue collegium — sic ma- 
 chinis omnibus oppugnavimus, ut majore studio fieri non potuerit. Et 
 tamen baud scio an usquam gentium magis invalescant literae politiores 
 quam hie ; ut plane mihi videre videar illud Horatianum, 
 
 Duris ut ilex, &rc. 
 
 Kp. 611. 
 
 In his answer to Stunlca he hath greatly commended this Antonius 
 Nehrhscnsls. 
 
 =« Maittaire, Ann. Typ. ii. 63. 
 
 y Ni tarn atrox esset contumelia, ml Resci doctissime, prorsus auctor 
 tibi futurus sim, ut vel iniquis couditionibus pacem admitteres. — Mira 
 vero tyrannis I ipsi quuni ne voculae quideni ullius injuriam ferant, po- 
 stulant ut tu tarn insignem contumdiam musses, ac propemodum etiam 
 TiUro veniam postules, ne quid scilicet illorum decedat dignitati. — Fac 
 ita litiges, quemadmodum hactenus est a vobis litigatum. Nam quum 
 proximecs-em Lovanii, sic obcsuhis, rubiciinduhis, et alacer eras, ut 
 mihi lite non macerari, scd saginari videaris. Et habes te dignum ad- 
 \ ersarium Joannem Calabrnm, qui te jxdiore macieque refert ; excepts 
 .rtate, adeo tui non dissimilis, ut periculuni sit, ne cui videaris litigare 
 cum patre. Ejj. 607. 
 
 ^ Et ut higenue, quod verum est, fatear, sum natura propensior ad 
 jocos, quam lortasse deceat, et linguae liberioris, quam nonnunquani 
 expediat. Metior i^nim alierum animus ex mco. Nee totics falsus, 
 Dossum ab in^ronif.' in'.'o rc.eJere. ^ 
 
2521.] OF ERASMUS. 2'>9 
 
 errors than a set of Epicurean Atheists^. He means, I 
 suppose, some cardinals and Italian ecclesiastics of high 
 rank. This farce hath been often acted : complaints havc^ 
 been made of the licentiousness of this or that age, and of 
 the increase of heresy, schism, Socinianism, by some per- 
 sons who had a much shorter creed than any of those whom 
 they reviled and oppressed. 
 
 -Felicia tempora, quce f^os 
 
 Moribus opposuere ! 
 
 The Knglish^, says Erasr:'is, are commonly thought to 
 be heretical : but they are not so in point of friendship, and 
 I have the greatest reason to love them. Ep. 587. 
 
 He sends his compliments to Stanislaus Turzo, bishop of 
 Olmutz, and thanks for a present. Ep. 595. 
 
 At this time he seems to have contracted a friendship with 
 the learned Alciif^. Ep. 600. 
 
 Alciat*^ had the same notions with Erasmus concerning 
 the religious orders in the church ; and of this he gave a 
 remarkable instance*^ in a long and laboured letter, which 
 he sent to a particular friend, desiring him to keep it secret. 
 
 This friend was a learned, modest, ingenious, and vir- 
 tuous man ; but ail on a sudden, forsaking his domestics, 
 
 * Sed vereor, nc compliires sint, qui niagnis conviciis insrctantur in 
 Luther?nis levia quaedam : — cum ipsi non credaiit, id quod est totiu'i 
 tidei uostrae basis, videlicet animura superesse amorte corporis. — 
 
 Quos nos VGcanius Turcas, magna ex parte semichristiani sunt, et for- 
 tassis propiores vero Christianismi;, quam pleriijue nostrum sunt. Quot 
 enim sunt apud nos, qui nee rcsurreclioneni corporum credunt nee animam 
 credunt corpori superstitem ? Et interim per istos soevitur in li.iireticulos, 
 qui dubitant an llomanus Pontifex habeat jus in animas igne purgato- 
 rio cruciatas. Adag. c. ()6/. 
 
 •'Britannia vulgo male audit, quoties de fide agitur. At illic tales 
 amicos, tarn fidos, tnm constantes, tarn prudeuter fawntes reperi, ut me- 
 liores ne optare quidcm potuissem. 
 
 <= Boissard, Icon. p. 135. Baillct, iv. 3R3. vi. 6g. Bayle, y^/clat. 
 Scaligeran, p. 13. Pope Blount, p. 414. Ducaiiana, i. p. 14'J. 
 
 ^ Alciat a este le premier, qui a fait impvimer notitia imperii, el il y a 
 fait une belle preface. Scaligeran. 
 
 Alciatus primus purioris literaturae et antiqiutatis cognitionem ad juris 
 scientiam attulit. Thuanur., 1. viii. p. 20'4. 
 
 * Andreae Alciati contra vitam monasticam ad EemarJaun Mattium 
 Epistoise, &c. 
 
 See Act. Erudlt. xvii. 2^0. 
 
 S 'J 
 
260 THE LIFE [1521. 
 
 his friends, and his aged mother, who stood m need of his 
 assistance, he turned monk in his fortieth year, to the infi- 
 nite grief of Alciat, who drew up an excellent dehortation 
 from entering into that state, omitting no argument that 
 could be urged to show the folly and the danger of making 
 such a choice, and of mixing with such associates. He 
 concludes with exhorting his friend most earnestly, since the 
 time of his probation was not yet elapsed, to return to his 
 senses, and to his duty towards God and man. Whether 
 Alciat succeeded in this attempt or not, we cannot tell. 
 
 The 60.5th Epistle to Bud?ius is very entertaining*, and 
 contains an account of IMore, and of his manner of living, 
 and managing his family, and of the excellent disposition 
 and uncommon erudition of his daughters. 
 
 In a familiar letter to Nicolas Everard, president of 
 ilolland, he opens his hcart^, and censures the pope's pro- 
 
 ' Appendix, No. xx. 
 
 s Q.uin et illud demiror, pontLficem tale ncgotium per tales hominea 
 agere, partim indoctos, certe impotentis arrogantire omnes. Quid Caje- 
 tano cardinale superbius aut furiosius ? quid Caiolo a Millicis ? quid 
 Alarino t quid Aleandro ? — Aleander plane maniacus est. — Res, ut au- 
 dio, nunc agitur venenis. Parisiis sublati sunt alitjuot, qui Lutlieru;n 
 luanlfeste defendebant. Fortassis hoc in maiidatis est, ut quoniam ali- 
 ter vinci non possunt hostes sedis Romann?. (sic enini illi vocant, qui 
 haipyls illis non per omnia obsequautur) veiieno tollantur, cmii bene- 
 dictione pontilicis. Hac arte valet Aleander. Is me colonise impensis- 
 sime rogabat ad prandium ; ego, quo magi? ille instabat, hoc pertinaciu;; 
 excusavl. — IL'cc liberius apud te eiludi. Cavebis ne hccc epistola aber- 
 ret in manus multomm. Ep. 31/. c l6p7- 
 
 Successit Aleander, et ante Lutheri nomen hoc facien^s Erasmo, quod 
 ligulus figulo, natura excelsus, ferox, irritabilis, cui nihil neque lucri, 
 ncque glorine satis est. Hunc quidani iraplerunt falsissimis niendaciis, 
 et sic instigarunt hominem, ut nihil haberet pensi, (juid de me pr.-edica- 
 ret, etiam apud summos viros, modo perderet. Et tamen apud nie de- 
 icrabat, non vivcrc quenquam amiciorem Erasmo, quara csset ipse. 
 Ep. 018. 
 
 Cum datum est venenum, aut intentata c;i.lumnia capitalis, allcgntur 
 /eliis, et hostis ccclesiai proscribitur, quisquis parum tavet his, qui nu- 
 tantcm ecclesiam humeris suis fulciunt. Et babent (JMonachi) arcana 
 dogmata, qun; non communicant nisi mystrriis iisdem initiatis. In his 
 est, uL aiunt, fas piumquc esse vencno clam dalo tollere, qui pestcni mo- 
 llatur ecclesiDe : ceriissimam autem esse pcstem ecclcsise, si quid deci- 
 datur ipsoram commodis vol auctoritati. Eingua, c. 720. 
 
 Quam non referant (apostolornm) excmplum quidam, qui nou vir- 
 pam tantum apostolicam, sed carrcres ha'oent, catenas hahent, contisca- 
 tlone=i bonoruni habent, ct brachium eecularc, dcnique bonibardas ha- 
 
1521.] OF ERASMUS. 'JG 1 
 
 cccdinjTS acfaliist tlie Lutherans, and \nves Aleandor a most 
 detestable character, representing him, and other ecclesi- 
 astical tools of the Roman court, as the vilest of mankind, 
 as capable of the foulest crimes, even of assassinatin-r or 
 poisoning any persons whom they did not like. For tluit 
 reason he thought it not safe to cat and drijiJi with Alean- 
 der. As to cardinal Cajetan*, Erasmus describes him as a 
 furious, imperious, and insolent ecclesiastic. See Sccken- 
 dorf concerning this cardinal, and concerning Miltitius, an- 
 other of the pope's agents. L. i. 45, Sec. 60, Sec. 
 
 Pope Leo*^ died of poison, as it was commonly sup- 
 posed. As he had remarkably favoured literature, and 
 showed some kindness to Erasmus, this learned man hath 
 spoken favourably of him in some of his writings, and was 
 
 bent, et armatum satcllitium, imo et vciiena habent, aliisque mille tcr- 
 roribus armati sunt. — ^T. v. c. 226. F. 
 
 De hoc hominum gencre scripsit Psnlnion;raphu3 : ' VeiK-num aspi- 
 dum sub lingua eorum :' non dixit, in pixidibus eorum, quanquani nee 
 eo carent quidam ; sed sub lingua eoruni, ubi turissinic ccculitur, ct fa- 
 cillime depromitur. Tom. i.K. c. 442. 
 
 * Cajetanus (says Melanchthon) est homo incivilis, quo genera nihil 
 est intractabilius. Pluris, iit vereor, auctoritatem sui Thomae, quam 
 rempublicam, quam ecclesiae pacem faciet. Epist. p. (j/C), which con- 
 firms the character given to him by Erasmus. See Gerdes. torn. i. 
 p. 225. Simon, H. Cr. des Comment, du N. T. p. 53'/. 
 
 ^ Multa ad Leonis mores pertinentia Varillasius nuperin Arcana histo- 
 ria Florentina prodidit, ex quibus, et ex silentio Pallavicini, judicium 
 Pauli Veneti de pontilice hoc coniirmatur, quod duobus maximis vitiis 
 laboraverit, ignorantia religionis, et inipietate sive atheismo. Ut adeo 
 mitem nimis appareat fuisse Lutlierum, qui talia ei non objecerit ; ne- 
 que compensari ilia poterunt liberalitatis et niagnihcentia', aliarumcjuc, 
 quae nee Christianum, nedum Christi vicarium faciunt, dotium laude, 
 qua ilium literati ejus astatis vehementer extollebant, intcr(|ue eos om- 
 nium copiosissime Erasmus, Sec. Seckendorf, 1. i. p. 190, ip,l. 
 
 Homo literarum amans^ sed splendidus, sumptuo.->us, mu.-icae, scunis, 
 et voluptatibus deditus supra modum. Perizonius, p. 111. 
 
 Sic Leonem decimum, quum omnia perstreperent triumphis et eratu- 
 lationibus, subito mors exemit rebus humanis, quo transiulerit incer- 
 tum : et in terris quidem a nemine poterat reprehendi, sed ipse no\ it 
 quam bonam causcuu habuerit apud uibunal Christi. Erasmus, tom. v. 
 c. 230. 
 
 Leo X bellando consumsil quatuordecies centena millia aureorum, rc- 
 licta ingenti vi sbris alieni. Spalatimis in the Amoen. J>iterar. t. iv. 
 
 p. 390-; 
 
 Paul Jovius, Vit. Leonis. Rcmarques de Joli sur le Diet, de Bayle, 
 art. Leo X. Cave, Hist. Lit. vol. ii. p. 247. Father Paul, b. l.§4, 
 and Couraycr. Gerdes. tom. i. p. 60'. 
 
262 THE LIFE [1522. 
 
 willing to spare his character as much as he could. His 
 encouniging arts and sciences, his boundless liberality to the 
 poor, to wits, and poets, and artists, and men of let- 
 ters, is what his apologists have to oppose to abundance of 
 scandalous defects and grievous faults in his character. 
 
 Wolsey' at this time thought it excedient to be very ac- 
 tive in suppressing the books and the doctrines of Luther. 
 
 The letters of this year are written from Louvain, Basil, 
 Antwerp, Anderlac, Brussels, and Bruges. 
 
 A. D. MDXXII. ^TAT. LV. 
 
 This year Erasmus published the works of St. Hilary, and 
 dedicated them to Joannes Carondeletus, bishop of Palermo. 
 This dedication'^ is an excellent composition ; and the Be- 
 nedicdns of Paris, who have refuted some parts of it in 
 their preface to Hilary, would have done much better if 
 they had inserted it at full length in their edition. It is 
 true they speak of it with contempt, because it stood con- 
 demned by the holy Inquisition, and by the faculty of theo- 
 logy at Paris ; but these condemnations are a singular re- 
 commendation of it to all those who know upon what 
 grounds such censures are founded. These monks call the 
 preface of Erasmus a declamaiiou ; and quarrel with him 
 because he had not always interpreted the discourses and 
 the actions of Hilary in a way to do him credit. But if 
 tliey had showed one-half of the candour and good- will to 
 Erasmus which they have bestowed upon father Hilary, they 
 would have seen that he was much in the right, and would 
 have heartily wished that their fraternity had been' stocked 
 with such declaimers as he. But, all things considered, it 
 is no v;onder that this declamatory preface had the misfor- 
 tune not to please them : for, 
 
 1. Erasmus shovN^s that the monks, wlio had formerly 
 transcribed the works of Hilary, had curtailed and interpo- 
 
 ' Fiddes, p. 253. 
 
 ^ Erasmus, says Du Pin, -when he pviblished his editions of the Fa- 
 thers, joined to thein pj-efaces and notes full of critical discernment : 
 and though he may be sometimes too bold in rejecting some of their 
 ■works as spurious, 3-01 must it be confessed, that he hath opened an J 
 bhowed die viny to all those who liave followed him. B. E. 
 
]J22.] OF ERASMUS. 2():3 
 
 latcd divers places, because they lh(3uc^ht iIu-iti net coii- 
 lormable to the doctrines received in their dayti. 
 
 Hilary seems to have fancied that the body and the soul 
 of Jesus Christ never suffered any thing, and were of their 
 own nature impassible ; which doubtless is no small error. 
 But the copists had caused this error to disappear, by falsi- 
 iying the text in many places. I know that the BenedicLins 
 endeavour to excuse Hilary ; and his style, which is very 
 nearly aUied to jargon, gives some room for such favourable 
 constructions. But the antient copists understood him as 
 Erasmus did, and therefore had recourse to forgery, Ot this 
 proceeding Krasmus justly complains, and says, that, in- 
 stead of presuming to change the words, of Hilary, they 
 ought either to have put a favourable sense upon his ex- 
 pressions, if they could, or to have honestly owned that he 
 was in an error. If, says he, you will needs make altera- 
 tions and interpolations, to save an author's reputation, you 
 should practise these charitable tricks upon the works ot the 
 moderns, upon your own contemporaries, as they have not 
 the sanction of antiquity to secure them from censure, and 
 as death hath not removed them, beyond the attacks of ma- 
 hce and envy. Instead of acting thus, we exercise a su- 
 perstitious sort of indulgence towards the fathers, whilst in 
 modern divines we misrepresent and censure even their just 
 and reasonable remarks, and put the worst consn uction 
 upon all that they write : as if by such unfair and disinge- 
 nuous criticisms we could not discover even in the EpistK-s 
 of St. Paul some propositions Vv^hich might be represented as 
 erroneous, scandalous, offensive to pious cars, irreverend, 
 and smelling of heresy ! 
 
 2. After having observed that the master-piece of Hilary 
 is his Treatise on the Trinity, he takes notice that this father 
 complains of being under a necessity of speaking concerning 
 things incomprehensible, and most dillicult to be expressed 
 in proper language. Thus the antients, says Erasmus, be- 
 speak our favour and our candour, and it is fit that we 
 should comply with their n^iodest request. But with what 
 forehead can we make the same petition, we who, upon 
 points far remote from our nature and our conceptions, start 
 so many curious, not to say impious questions ? we who de- 
 cide so dogmatically concerning things of whic!i a mau may 
 
264 THE LIFE [1522. 
 
 be either ignorant or doubtful, without risquing his salva- 
 tion ? Shall a Christian be excluded from communion with 
 the Father, theSon.^ and the Holy Ghost, because he cannot 
 explain metaphvsically what distinguisheth the Father from 
 the Son, and what the Holy Ghost from them both ; what 
 difference there is between the generation of the Son and 
 the procession of the Spirit ? If I believe what is taught 
 me, that there are three of one nature, what occasion have 
 I for further disputes ? and if I believe it not, human autho- 
 rity will never persuade me of it. This dangerous and im- 
 pertinent curiosity was introduced by the study of philo- 
 sophy. 
 
 And yet, says he, I do not entirely condemn the study 
 of philosophy in any of its branches, nor inquiries concern- 
 ing things ultra-mundane, if a man have a peculiar genius 
 for it ; if he decides nothing rashly, if he is free from stub-" 
 borness, and from a pertinacious lust of victory, which is the 
 pest of religious union. Peace and unanimity are the main 
 of religion ; and these blessings cannot be preserved, unless 
 we abstain from multiplying decisions and definitions, and 
 leave a freedom for private judgment. Many controverted 
 points are in themselves extremely difficult and obscure ; 
 and it is a distemper incident to the hum.an mind, that 
 when it hath once disputed and determined, it hath no incli- 
 nation to yield upon any account. Then every one, tho- 
 roughly heated with altercation, imagines that to be true 
 and evident which he hath rashly undertaken to maintain. 
 Some have so little kept within bounds, that, after having 
 first made definitions upon every theological article, they 
 have proceeded to invent I know not what divine' attri- 
 butes, and have bestowed them upon men who are no more 
 than men ; and thi? hath caused more dissensions, and more 
 violent tumults in the world, than ever were excited by the 
 rashness of the Arians. But there are certain rabbins who 
 v/ould think it a disgrace not to have a solution ready for 
 
 ^ He seems to mean the doctrine of the infallibility and extravagant 
 authority of the pope, or of councils j and he thus explains himself in 
 torn ix. c. 92O. 
 
 Locjuor illic de ii?, qui Romano pontifici tribuunt plus satis, quorum 
 adulationcra ficio nee theologis probari. Id satis arguebat libellus, quo 
 rfisponderunt cardinail Cajctano. 
 1 
 
1522.] OF ERASMUS. 265 
 
 every question that c^n be started. And yet, on the con- 
 trary, a good divine should estabHsh only what is taught in 
 the Scriptures, and be a faithful dispenser of God's holy 
 word. We talk at present of referring many points of 
 doubtful disputation to the next general council : — would it 
 not be better to refer them to the blessed time when we shall 
 see God face to f^ice ? 
 
 These were good lessons, but not suitable to the taste of 
 those with whom Erasmus had to do, and who had no dis- 
 position to listen to the pacific voice of reason. 
 
 3. After having taken notice of the perplexed and obscure 
 style of Hilary, proceeding either from his own phraseology, 
 or from the subject matter, he passeth on to his Book of 
 Synods, and says : Although this father delivers the senti- 
 ments decreed by the synods, he begs that none would en- 
 gage him in the perilous adventure of defending them ; 
 not, as I suppose, because he did not approve the doctrines, 
 or because he distrusted the favour of those to whom he 
 addressed himself, but by a certain scrupulous fear of speak- 
 ing in a strain too dogmatical ; a fear which we have now 
 so far forgotten, that in this respect we have lost all shame. 
 Thus men set out with some caution and diffidence, and at 
 last grow bold and decisive to the utmost degree. Hilary 
 dares not pronounce any thing concerning the Holy Spirit, 
 only that he is the Spirit of God ; and even this he would 
 not adventure to say, if he had not read it in St. Paul. 
 Nor dares he call the Spirit a creature, because he finds it 
 not so written in the Scriptures. Such a confession of faith 
 would not suffice in our days ; for the fathers, being drawn 
 to it by controversy, have decided more than this, and hav® 
 taught us more. But we proceed even further than they, 
 and that without any necessity compelling us. Formerly 
 faith consisted more in a good life than in the profession of 
 articles of religion'". Necessity engaged Christians to draw 
 
 *" Utinam nostra credulitas (symbolo apostoloram) fuisset contcnta ! 
 ubi coppit esse minus fidei inter Cbristianos, mox increvit symbolorum 
 et modus et numerus. Rat. Verae Tbeol. torn. v. c. Q2. 
 
 Quid multis ? Dura colligendi articulos nullus est neque modus 
 neque finis, res plane tandem exit in vwrluin articularem. At(|ui istJiuc 
 non est haereses exciudere, sed hsereticos facere. Sic cccpit Arianum 
 incendium^ ^. Ep. "JAQ, 
 
266 THE LIFE [1522. 
 
 up articles, but yet few in number, and with an apostolical 
 mo-..eration and reserve. Then the perverseness and malice 
 of heretics caused the holy Scriptures to be more diligently 
 discussed, and points of doctrine to be determined by syno- 
 dal authority. Then creeds began to be found in men's 
 V, ri tings more than in their hearts ; and there were almost 
 ji:. many confessions of faith as there were persons capable 
 ot framing and drawing them up. Articles were multi- 
 plied, and sincerity diminished ; disputes grew hot, and 
 charity grew cold. The doctrine of Jesus Christ, which 
 once had nothine to do with verbal wrantrlinns, beQ"an to 
 stand in need of philosophical props j and this was the first 
 commencement of the depravation of the church. Riches 
 flowed in and augmented the corruption, and then violence 
 began to be employed. The authority of emperors added 
 much to the power of the church, and very little to the pu- 
 rity of christian faith. At last scholastic sophistry arose, 
 and begat ten thousand articles of faith ; and these were 
 supported by terror and menaces. Thus, though destitute 
 of morahty and of the knov.'ledge of the holy Scriptures, 
 and having our faith in our mouths, and not in our hearts, 
 we, forsooth, compel men by boisterous violence to believe 
 what they believe not, to love what they love not, and to 
 understand what they understand not. Nothing that is com- 
 pelled is sincere ; and nothing is agreeable to Jesus Christ 
 that is not volu^ta^^^ 
 
 To these he adds many excellent remarks" upon arbitrary 
 decisions ; upon the violent temper of Hilary, and his railing- 
 invectives against the Arians, whom he treats as so many 
 blasphemers and devils ; upon his singular opinions, which 
 stand in need of no small indulgence ; upon his injudicious 
 expressions, which must be very candidly interpreted, or 
 else he must stand condemned ; upon the errors of the fa- 
 thers, &c. The Benedictins have endeavoured to defend 
 Hilary, and it may be that they have pointed out some mis- 
 takes of Erasmus ; which is no wonder, considering the 
 abundant leisure, and conveniences, and assistances, which 
 they eiJjoyed, and of whicli this great man was destitute. 
 Let it suthce here to observe, that the very best things said 
 
 " Appendix, No. .\xvli. 
 
J 5*22.] OF ERASMUS. 267 
 
 by Erasmus In tliis dedication, were those which most of- 
 fended these fathers''. Ep. 613. 
 
 Da Pin hath given us an account of this Hilary* of Poitiers, 
 a father of the fourth century. He judi^es as Erasmus did, 
 concerning his style, and concerning some of his eri'ors. 
 His periods, says he, are usually long and embarrassed, so 
 that he is always obscure, and sometimes unintelligible. Of- 
 ten he useth barbarous terms, and now and [hen hath passages 
 which can be reduced to no construction. He abounds with 
 andtheses, and such-like figures of speech. Ele hath some 
 errors, and some expressions not conformable to the doctrine 
 of the church, Sec. B. E. t. ii. 96. 
 
 Cave also hath made much the same observations upon 
 Hilary, and agrees in the main vvith Erasnius, whom he 
 treats \\'ith the respect due to him. IE E. t. i. 214. 
 
 The monks v>ho lived in the days of Erasmus had as 
 little esteem for him as many of their successors have now. 
 The wise and learned and moderate amongst the Lutherans 
 had more cause to be pleased with him ; but the violent men of 
 that party could not bear to see him advance half-way towards 
 them, and then stop short. They began therefore now to 
 threaten him that they would vrrits against him, as he in- 
 forms Pirckheimerus, describing the situation in which he 
 found himself. He would have wilHngly died in his labours, 
 and have worn himself out in wiiting l;Ooks of piety, if he 
 could by those efforts have produced any fruits for his Eord 
 and Master: but, says he, we see our weakness, or rather 
 our misery ; we see an age abounding in monsters and pro- 
 digies p, so that I know not what party to take : only this I 
 know, that my conscience hath confidence before the Eord 
 Jesus, who is my judge. They, who are the pope's agents 
 and tools in I know not what affairs, draw the chains of the 
 antient tyranny so tight and close, that they seem more dis- 
 posed to add than to diminish. On the other hand, they, 
 who under the name of Euther, profess the defence of evan- 
 
 ^ The Sorbonists also, in their censures, attacked this poor dedicaliou 
 
 witli great fury. 
 
 * See Simon, Hist. Crit. des Cnmm. du N. T. p. 127- 
 
 P Est genus hoininvini in hoc natum, ut nuUi sint Usui, tantuai in 
 
 publicam utilitatem ahquid molientibus fiiccssunt negotium^ nee alia re 
 
 otltbrcs. T. ix. c, 104/. 
 
268 THE LIFE [1522, 
 
 gelical liberty, act with a spirit which I understaPxd not : at 
 least many persons mix themselves with them whom I should 
 not like for coadjutors, if I were concerned in the affair. In 
 the mean time, Christian charity is m.ortally wounded by 
 these cruel divisions, and the consciences of men are in un- 
 easiness and suspense. They M'ho are of a licentious tem- 
 per, find occasions to indulge it from the Lutheran writings : 
 they who are more reserved, find themselves between the ham- 
 mer and the anvil ; on the one side they see probable argu- 
 ments, and the sentiments of nature; on the other, the autho- 
 rity of the g^reat and an innumerable multitude. How this will 
 end, the Lord knoweth ; but I set a small value upon an 
 extorted faith. The authority of bulls is weighty, the ordi- 
 nances of the emperor still more ; and these things may 
 perhaps stop the tongues of men for a time : but will they 
 alter their hearts ? 
 
 Afterwards he thus describes his own times : One consults 
 his private interests, another fears to lose his possessions, an- 
 other hates broils and tumults, and lies still. In the mean 
 time the dangerous state of things grows worse. The malice 
 of some people hath brought such an odium upon me, that 
 if Ishould attempt to servethe public, it would be invain. Cer- 
 tain divines, having observed that the progress of literature, 
 v; herein I have been instrumental, had diminished their autho- 
 rity, did me all the mischief that they could, even before the 
 world had heard the name of Luther. Luther now hath 
 put a sword into their hands, to slay me : and yet I have kept 
 myself clear from that controversy ; only I exhorted Luther 
 most earnestly to write in another manner, if he hoped to do 
 any good. Then came Aleander, who, before Luther was 
 known, looked upon Erasmus as one artificer "^ looks upon 
 another of the same occupation ; a man by nature haughty, 
 fierce, easily provoked, insatiable of glory and of lucre. 
 Some persons filled his head v/ith so many lies, and so insti- 
 gated him, that he cared not what evii he said of me, so he 
 could but ruin me. At the same time this honest man used to 
 swear to me, that he loved me beyond measure, and was 
 the warmest friend I had in the world. Departing from the 
 
 1 Alludinsj to Hesiod ; 
 
 Ka) Kspxu.VJ; xrpaae* tiotssi, xa) rexrovi rfxra-v, 
 Kal Ttrujyjis irriv^M (^dovisi, y.&] ccuJij doi^uj. 
 
1522.] OF ERASMUS. 269 
 
 Low-Countries, he left two of his tools behind him, well 
 trained and instructed for his purpose, two theologers of 
 Louvain, and Caracciola bishop of Liege, an eternal prater, 
 and a Spaniard whom I know not, at the emperor's court, 
 and whom I suspect to be a bishop. At Rome he employs 
 Stunica, whom all the world accounts to be a lunatic, and 
 who was born with a slandering constitution. Stunica had 
 presented a libel to Leo, containing only sixty thousand he- 
 resies, extracted from my writings ; and I was in no small pe- 
 ril, if death had not removed that pope, who else had no 
 bad will to Erasmus. The Lutherans openly threaten to as- 
 sault me with libels ; and the emperor is almost persuaded 
 that I am the source of the Lutheran tumults. Thus I stand, 
 deserving well of all, and ill used by both parties. Ep. 618. 
 
 He pours forth the same complaints to his good friend 
 Vives, who returned him an elegant letter of consolation. 
 Ep. 619. 
 
 Stanislaus Turzo sent him a friendly letter, and a present 
 of four antient gold medals. Ep. 620. 
 
 Erasmus returns his thanks to some bishop, who had 
 taken his part, and done him good offices with the emperor j 
 and protests that he neither is, nor ever will be, a Lutheran. 
 Our new pontiff, says he, and the emperor, might redress 
 these disorders without any tumult, by only cutting two 
 evils up by the roots : the one is an hatred for the court of 
 Rome occasioned by her intolerable avarice and tyranny ; 
 the other is the yoke of human constitutions, debarring the 
 people of their Christian liberty. Let the emperor secure to 
 me my <^;alary, and defend my reputation from the malice of 
 certain people, and he shall never repent of taking Erasmus 
 for a counsellor. Erasmus, it seems, was in some apprehen- 
 sion of having his stipend withdrawn. Ep. 621. 
 
 To the president of the court at Mechlin he presents his 
 complaints against his old enemy Egmond, who called him 
 a Lutheran, in his sermons, and over his cups at all public 
 carousals. I have hindered many persons, says he, both 
 in Germany and in the Low Countries, from listing them- 
 selves in the Lutheran faction ; nor hath any thing m.ore 
 damped the courage of that party than my pubHc declara- 
 tions, that I disapproved their proceedings, and was deter- 
 mined to adhere to the pope. If I had favoured Luther, as 
 
270 THE LIFE [1522. 
 
 my enemies pretend, I should not have wanted princes to 
 protect me. This spirit, however, is not so far diminished 
 as they imagine, and as we wish : there are here more than 
 an hundred thousand % v/ho abhor the see of Rome, and 
 approve of lAither's opinions, at least in a great measure. 
 Erasmus was not mistaken in this, as the Reformation in 
 Switzerland showed soon afterwards. 
 
 He had lately published at Basil his celebrated Colloquies % 
 dedicated to John Erasmius Froben, his god-son, and son to 
 John Froben. He composed this work, partly that young 
 persons might have a book to teach them the Latin language, 
 and religious and moral sentiments at the same time ; and 
 partly, without question, to cure the bigotted world, if he 
 could, of that superstitious devodon which the monks in- 
 culcatcvi more sedulously than true christian piety. The 
 best passages and the liveliest strokes in these dialogues have 
 the monks and their religion in view ; and truly Erasmus, 
 lay under no temptadons to honour them, or to spare them. 
 Scarcely did this book make its appearance when a clamour 
 was raised against it, as he observes in this letter. He was 
 accused of laughing at indulgences, of slighting auricular 
 confession, of deriding the eating of fish upon fast-days, kc. 
 And it is true enough, that he did not talk of these thuigs 
 in a devout style, and that he held them^ at a low rate. 
 
 He desires the president to consider, how the monks did 
 all that lay in their power to drive him headlong into the 
 Lutheran party : but he declares, that they never should 
 succeed in it ; though, if he were so disposed, he could raise 
 as many commotions in the v/orld as Luther. He intreats 
 
 >■ He snys, two hundred thousand, in Ep. 644. 
 
 * See fj.nyle, Erasme, not, Q. 
 
 Quoiiiam autem Colloquioruin mcmuii^ti, subit anu-no niirari, quam 
 omnibus in rebu!? domiiuUur furtuna. Quid hoc arguraento nugr.cius ? 
 ¥a tanien vix crcdas in quot cxrmplarion;m miUia prcpagamm, nondum 
 expk'at eraptuTifntiiuTi avidifafcni. Hoc anno (I5'2i) rursus prodit ali- 
 qui coronide dihUalum. Sic in amicoriun gratiam ineptio. Erasni. Ep. 
 ad Viaudaliun, t. v. c. 234. 
 
 The Colloquies of ErasniiLs liave made more Protestants than the 
 ten tomes of Calvin. Mem. de Trevoux, anno 1 70/. p. Sdp. 
 
 Kdita est ridicula deliberalio cardinalium de cniendaudis abusibus, ia 
 qua prohibent in scholisk proponi pueris Colloquia l'>asmi ; et ad hanc 
 deliberationem sunt adhibiti illi heroes, Sadolctus et Aleaii'lcv. Quid 
 spei esse potest ? Melanchtiion, Epist. p. 753. 
 
1522.] OF ERASMUS. 271 
 
 him to restrain this fury ; and he speaks of some school- 
 masters who had boon seized and arrested at Antwerp on 
 account of religion, and greatly commends their learning and 
 their morals. Ep. 629. 
 
 ' The colloquies of Erasmus are too free, and yet they well 
 deserve to be read, for the sake of the many good things 
 which they contain. In them Erasmus hath showed the 
 whole extent of a genius the most beautiful and amiable that 
 ever filled the head of a grammarian. Varillas says, that, 
 of all his dialogues, the most curious is the Ciceronianus : 
 but I can affirm, that there is not one of them, which hath 
 not something singular and strildng, together with abundance 
 of wit and of critical discernment. 
 
 ' Gregorio Leti, in his Life of the duke of Ossuna, relates, 
 that this nobleman was spoiled in his youth by reading the 
 colloquies of Erasmus, which his tutor had put into his 
 hands, both to teach him Latin and to enliven his temper, 
 which seemed then to be gloomy and melancholy.' Vigneul- 
 IMaiville. Melanges, vol. ii. p. 135. 
 
 * Although many notes have been wiitten by many per- 
 sons upon the Colloquies of Erasmus, yet there remain 
 some passages which have not been cleared up. For ex- 
 ample : vvhen Erasmus, tow^ards the end of the dialogue 
 Abbatis ef EntdiUe^ mentions some learned ladies of Eng- 
 land and Germany, whom he calls Moricas, Bilibaldicas, 
 and Blaurericas, his commentators have not told us very 
 distinctly v/ho they vv^ere. Be it known then, that Moricce 
 are the daughters of sir Thomas More, Margaret, Elizabeth, 
 and Cicely. Margaret had a happy talent at correcting an- 
 tient auihors ; and John Costerius, in his notes on Vincen- 
 tius Lirinensis, give us an emendation of hers on a pas- 
 sage of Cyprian, not inferior, in my opinion, to those of 
 the ablest critics : of Scaliger, Turnebus, or Salmasius. Bi- 
 libaldicse are the sisters of Bilibaidus Pirckheimerus, coun- 
 sellor to the emperor, one of whom was named Charity, and 
 the other Clare, both of them nuns. Pirckheimerus, whose 
 life is written by the learned and pious Rittershusius, dedi- 
 cated to his sister Charily a translation of a Treatise of Plu- 
 tarch, and the Works of Fulgenrius ; and to his sister Clare 
 a translation of the Sentences oi Nilus, bishop and martyr. 
 He thus speaks of liis sisters in a letter to Erasmus, writtiin 
 
272 THE LIFE [1522. 
 
 from Nuremberg, A, 1516. " Salutant te geminas mes 
 sorores, Abatissa S. Clar^ una : (namely, Charity, who 
 was the eldest) altera ejusdem regulse sectatrix ; qua:: assi- 
 due tua scripta manibus retinent ; maxime vero jam novo 
 oblectantur Testamento : quo mire afficiuntur mulieres, mul- 
 tis viris, qui sibi scioli videntur, doctiores. Scriberent ad 
 te Latine, nisi indignas suas cxistimarent literas." 
 
 ' There are many letters of Charity' amongst the works 
 of Pirckheimerus, collected and published by Goldast. As 
 for BlaurericoS, I am of opinion that Erasmus means Mar- 
 garet Blaurer, whose elogy Bullinger hath drawn up in 
 p. 339 of his Commentaries upon the Epistles. Rodolphus 
 Guakerus, a divine of Zurich, hath composed Latin verses 
 upon her death, addressed to Ambrose and to Thomas 
 Blaurer, her brethren. 
 
 ' Nor hath any one informed us who was that Cephalus, vir 
 trmm li}i.s;uanim gnnrus, whom Erasmus mentions in the 
 dialogue De Piscium Esu. He was Wolphgangus Fabricius 
 Capito, a divine of Stratsburg, who died in the year 1541, 
 and Vv-as the author of many books. 
 
 ' The Dialogues of Erasmus have been very well translated 
 into Italian by Pietro Lauro of Modena, who also translated 
 Josephus : but the French version by Chapuzeau is poorly 
 performed. 
 
 ' Concerning these Colloquies, see what Clenard says to 
 a bishop, called John Petit, of Fez, A. 1540. " Scripsit 
 modo ad me dominus Marchio Granatensis, Colloquia 
 Erasmi ignibus destinata esse : periclitari etiam Vivem. 
 Quid me futurum censes, ubi nomen Alcorani audiverint ?'* 
 
 ' Let us end this section with a pretty distich made by 
 Ludovicus Masius upon the death of Erasmus : 
 
 ' Fatalis series nobis invidit Erasmum : 
 Sed Desiderium toUcre non potuit.' 
 
 Colomesius. Bibl. Choisie, p. 465, or 14G. 
 
 ' The faculty of theology" at Paris passed a general cen- 
 sure, in 152G, upon the Colloquies of Erasmus, as upon a 
 
 * This learned lady mnde a most acceptable present to Pellicanus, who' 
 was too poor to purchase the book. She gave hiai the Hebrew Penta- 
 teuch, with the Chaldean version. 
 
 " Du Pin, xiii. 220, Erasmus, t. ix. 
 
1522.] OF ERASMUS. 273 
 
 work in which the fasts and abstinences cf the churcli are 
 sligiitcti, the suffniges of the holy Virgin and of the sr.ints 
 ar-? derided, virginity is set br'low mntrimony, Christians are 
 discouraged Ironi monkery, and grammatical is preferred 
 to theolo^L^icrti erudition. Thertfore it is decreed that the 
 perusal oi' thi^ wicked book be forbidden to all, more espe- 
 cially to young folks J and that ic be entirely suppressed, if 
 it be possible.' 
 
 Hence'^ it may be judged with what comfort Erasmus 
 would have lived at Paris, if he had accepted the invitation 
 of Francis I >', who either could not or would not have pro- 
 tected him from such persecutors. 
 
 ' A provincial council"^ a!so held at Cologn, in 15-1-9, con- 
 demned the Colloquies, as not fit to be read in schools.* 
 
 In the year 1537, Paul III chose a select number of learn- 
 ed cardinals and prelates to consider about reforming the 
 church. They gave him their answer, containing some 
 proposals which were honest and reasonable enough ; but 
 they fell upon the Colloquies of poor Erasmus, and advised 
 that young people should not be permitted to learn them at 
 school. So says Sleidan% who justifies this witty and use- 
 ful book against their pitiful censures. And yet they had a 
 
 ^ Clement Alarot, the father of French poetry, wns tormentcJ 
 about the same time by the same inquisit(>;-s ; and lashes their ignorance 
 and tlieir malice in some of his poems. See Bayle, Alarot, not. E, who 
 observes, thai the behavionr of the Sorbonne, in the former part of the 
 sixteenth century, was most scandalous and infamous. In like manner 
 they persecuted Robert Stephen, because he printed good editions of 
 the Bible, till they compelled him to fly for his life to Geneva; setting 
 themselves against every undertalcing that was learned and useful. See 
 Maittaire, ii. 452, &c. and Thuanvis, 1. xxiii. p. "OS. See also Gerdes. i. 
 7, 8. not. c and Simon, H. Grit, des Comment du N. T. p. 5Q5, &:c, 
 
 >" Quod ampli'^simis promissis invitnris in Galliam, scis qualia vulgo 
 ferantur Gnllurnn promissa; nee ignoras^ quid acciderit iEsopico cani. 
 Erasmus, Ep. 897. 
 
 » Du Pin, xiii. 204. 
 
 * Porro de Colloquiis Erasmi quod dicunt, sic habet. Inter alias com- 
 plures lucubrationes, quibus literarum studia mirifice proniovit Eras- 
 mus, libellum quoque juventuti confecit ex Dialogis, eumque subinde 
 locupletavit, cuni avidissime legeretur. Et ut erat ingenii pisestantis, 
 summaeque vir eloquentise, variis in eo lusit 3rg\imenti3, ex media re- 
 rum natura desumtis, hominumque vita, et mirabili quadam dexteritate, 
 suavissimoque diceudi genere, mornm ac pietatis prascepta tradit, et si- 
 mul errores inveteratos atque vitia per occasioncm demonstrat. Hinc 
 ilia de ipso querimonia. L. xii. 
 
 Vol. L T 
 
274 THE LIFE [1522. 
 
 reason for zctxn^ as they did, the reason of Demetrius the 
 silver-smith : ' Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our 
 weahh/ kc. 
 
 ' The Morirc Encomium^, and especially the Familiar Col- 
 Joquies, contain a treasure of wit and good sense, and can 
 never be enowgh admired ; and though the latter lies under 
 the prejudice of being a school-book, yet it is not unwor- 
 thy the perusal of the most advanced in knowlege. The 
 Romish church would never have forgiven him, if he had 
 left behind him only those two above-mentioned books. It 
 was very ariful in a bookseller at Paris, who, upon giving 
 out that his Colloquies were prohibited, sold above twenty- 
 four thousand of one impression.' 
 
 This great sale of the Dialogues is mentioned by the wri- 
 ter of the Abrege de THistoire dej S^avans ; who says the 
 same also of the Encomium Moriae. He hath added two 
 other remarks concerning Erasmus ; first, that he had a car- 
 dinal's hat offered to him ; and, secondly, that in his books 
 against Luther, he showed himself little skilled in theology. 
 This man means, I suppose, artificial or scholastic theology. 
 See Act. Erudit. xxxvii. 75. 
 
 At this time the Works ,of Augustin were printing at 
 Basil, and Ludovicus Vives sent the remainder of his re- 
 marks on the book De Civilate Dei : but a complete edition 
 of this father did not come forth till long after. Froben 
 printed apart some copies of the book De Civitate Dei, 
 which was the most valuable of all the works of Augustin, 
 and was illustrated by a good commentary of Vives ; and 
 yet Erasmus informs us that it did not sell. Ep. (330. 721. 
 
 In a letter to Bilibaldus, Erasmus*^ commends Albert 
 Durer'^, who at fl^'ussels began to draw his picture, and 
 
 i- Knight, p. 203. 
 
 * Durero nostro gratulor ex animo. Dignus est artifcx, qui ntm- 
 <)uam moriatur. Cucperat me pingere Bruxeilae : uticam perfecisset. — 
 Ep. 631. 
 
 Alberto Durero qiiam gratiam referre quearti, cogito r dignus est aeter- 
 na memoria. Si minus respondet effigies, mirum non esi ; non enini 
 sum is, qui fui ante annos quinque. Kp. 82/. A. I.'j26. 
 
 •1 Bayle, Durer. Maittaire, ii. 41/. 432. Melchior Adam. Bur- 
 chard, Com. de Vit. Hutten. p. 183. 
 
 Nullius inter pictorcs clarius nomeu, qunm Dureri nostri, qui, quod 
 Bilibaldus Pirckheimevu.s in vita ejus commemorat, Italorum iavidiaia 
 
1522.] OF ERASMUS. 27J 
 
 finished it five years afterwards. The print which Durcr 
 gave from this picture is a fine one ; and the countenance 
 of Erasmus looks like that of a man broken and stricken 
 in years. 
 
 Pirckheimerns highly esteemed his fi'iend Durer, both 
 for his skill and for his good qualities ; and so did Melan- 
 chthon^. It should be observed, to his honour, that he never 
 
 compescens, ipso? adegit et ad vcrifatis confessioncm, et ad falsi com- 
 meiitum, cum Durero quidem herbam ]K)n"igc rent, scd, lU opera sua 
 facerent veiulibiliora, fraiululenta Dnreri.mi iioniinis inscriplione ea pro- 
 poiierent. Quin imo constat Michacleni Angelum Bonarotam Dureri 
 sive pictas sive aeri incisas imagines, qnotqnot iiancisci poterat, cremasse, 
 aut comminuisse in frusta. Wagenseil. See the Amccnitates Litera- 
 rias, torn. ix. p. 770. 
 
 The famous painter, All;ert Durer, used to sav, he took no deliglit 
 in sucli pictures as were painted with many colours, but in those that 
 were made most plain. Even so I likewise take delight in those sermons 
 that enter fine and simply, so that they may well be understood of the 
 common man. Luther's Colloq. Mens. p. 510. 
 
 Pliny says of Parrhasius, that he was the first who enriched painting 
 with syrametr)'. Herein he hath had no equal in the last century, unless 
 we bestow that honour upon Albert Durer and Michael Angelo. It is 
 well known thai Michael Angelo hath passed for an incomparable artist 
 in architecture, sculpture, and painting. It is true indeed that he was 
 willing to yield ihe preference to Durer, as to one who had showed him 
 the way, and over whom he had only tlie advantage of conveying into 
 his works the beauties of the antique statues at Rome, which Durer 
 dwelling in (Tcrmany had not an opportunity of performing. Yet both 
 these masters have been charged with the same defect which was re- 
 proached to Demetrius, with neglecting to give their works an agree- 
 able air, in only aiming at strong resemblances, and a close of imitation 
 of nature. Nam Demetrius tniiqumn niriiim hi co rep'thenditur, etfuit 
 similitudinis quam pukhritud'um amantior. La Motrhe, Le Vayer, 
 tom. X. p. 78. 
 
 Memini virum excellentem ingenio et virtute Albertum Durerura pic- 
 torem dicere, se juvenem floridas et maxime varias picturas amasse, se- 
 que admiratorcm suorum operum vaide Ifetatum esse, contemplantetn 
 hanc varietatem in sua aliqua pictura. Poilea se senem coepisse intueri 
 naturam, et illius nativam tacicm intueri conatum esse, eamque simpli- 
 citatem tunc intelh'xisse summam arus decus esse. Quam cum non 
 prorsus adsequi posset, dicebat se jam non esse a.imiratorem operum 
 suorum ut olim, sed saepe gemere intuentem suas tabulas, ac cogitanteia 
 de infirmitate .sua. Melanchthon, Kpist. p. 42. Vide et p. 20.9. 
 
 Prujjemodum ut Dureri picturas, ita scripta tua discerno. Durerianae 
 grandes et splendidae omnes, sed posteriores minus rigidie, et quasi 
 blandiores fuerunt. Idem, Epist. ad Camerarium, p. '/55. 
 
 See also Erasmus, tom. i. p. ()28. 
 
 * De Durero Melanchthon dicere solebat, Pictoriani, qua antecelluit 
 citra conlroversiam oiunibus siwe fetalis artilicibus, faisse in eo miai-! 
 
276 THE LIFE [1522' 
 
 once prostituted his art by employing it upon obscene 
 subjects. 
 
 Erasmus, in the same letter^, complains of Hutten's li- 
 bel, of which we shall say more hereafter. 
 
 Sanctius Caranza, a Spanish divine, wrote against Eras- 
 mus^, in defence of part of Stunica's book : and Erasmus 
 gavt him a smart and spirited reply ^. Afterwards they were 
 reconciled', and good friends. 
 
 Adrian VI having succeeded to Leo, Erasmus dedicated to 
 him an edition of a Commentary of one Arnobius*^ upon 
 the Psalms, which he was then publishing ; and added to it 
 an epistle, wherein he congratulates this new pope, and 
 intreats him not to pay any regard to the calumnies spread 
 
 mam. Tanti fecit prudentiam ejus, et judicii gravitatem in aliis rebus. 
 Melch. Adam. Vit. Milichii. 
 
 Inter Bilibaldum Pirckheimerum et Albertum Durerum ortiis est 
 sermo de Eucharistia. Adsidebat Melanchthon auditor, quaedam inter- 
 dum adspergens : cum Pirckheimerus, altero argumentis superante, sar- 
 castice, ' O Alberte,' erumpit, ' haec pingi ita non possunt. Nee ita/ 
 mox ille, ' ut dignitas vestra pntat, possunt fingi.' Ex his initiis Came- 
 rarius amare cospit Durerum, &c. Melch. Adam. Vit. Camerarii. 
 
 ^ Emoriar, mi Bilibalde, si crediturus eram in universis Germanis esse 
 tantum inhumanitatis, impudentise, vanitatis, virulentiae, quantum habet 
 unus libelhis Hutteni. Tot testiraoniis ornatus est a me. Toties per 
 me suo cardinali ac caeteris principibus commendatus est, De nullo can- 
 didius sentiebam et loquebar. Nunquam a me verbo laesus est. Imo 
 cum hie esset, obtuli colloquium, si quid esset rei seriae : detuli ei olli- 
 cium, si quod a me prsestari vellet. Nihil minus exspectabam, quam 
 liunc assultum ab Hutteno. Multis conjccturis adducor ut credam Hen- 
 ricum Epphendorpium hujus fabulae artificem, &c. Ep. ()31 . 
 
 6 Dolet quod Stunicam dignatus sim unquani responso. Et huic sue- 
 cessit Caranza non edentulns. Ep. 628. 
 
 See Simon, Hist. Crit. des Comment, du N. T. p. 532. 
 
 *» Tom. ix. c. 402. 
 
 > Sanctius Caranza mihi copiose praedicatus est ab Alphonso Ulmeta- 
 no : proinde quum me tarn diligenter invitas ad hominis omnibus doti- 
 bus ornatissimi amicitiam, nae tu plane, quod aiunt, tov ttirr^' eij roirfS.o?. 
 Sit igitur haec epistola, manu mea descripta, pignus ac monumentum 
 foederis, auspicio Gratiarum ac Musarum inter nos initi, quod nuUus 
 unquam genius malus, aut hoc etiam nocentior mala lingua, poterit di- 
 rimere. — Caranzam meo nomine salutabis et amanter et revcrenter, 
 blandeque monebis hominem, amet quam volet effuse, sed praedicet par- 
 cius, ob linguas fascinatrices. In hoc certamine non cedam. Ep. bl2. 
 
 This was written A. 1526. 
 
 ^ Arnobius Junior. See Du Pin, xiv. 51. Cave, H. L. i. p. 44p. 
 
 Cujacius said tliat he had never perused a book from which he had nat 
 learned something, except Arnobius in Psalmos. Pithoeana, p. 503. 
 
1522.] OP ERASMUS. 277 
 
 against his humble servant, without first giving him a 
 hearing. 
 
 In this dedication he makes remarks upon the uncouth 
 and barbarous style of his author, whom by mistake he 
 confounds with that more antient and more learned Arnobius, 
 who wrote against the Gentiles. It is now known and ac- 
 knowledged, that they were different persons ; and they 
 who shall peruse first the dedication of Erasmus, and then 
 the commentary of this Arnobius, will soon see that Eras- 
 mus hath bestowed more commendations upon him than he 
 deserves. Ep. 632, 633. 
 
 In a letter to George, duke of Saxony, he speaks of the 
 Reformers and the Papists after his usual manner. I shall 
 only observe, that he acted here like a man of honour, and 
 ventured to commend in Luther what he thought to be truly 
 commendable, though he was writing to a prince who mor- 
 tally hated Luther and all his partisans. He says, that 
 Henry VIII was certainly author of the book published un- 
 der his own name against Luther, and was very capable of 
 writing it. It appears from this letter, that Erasmus did^ not 
 understand the German language, w^hich is a wonder. 
 Though he had been no small traveller, he seems to have 
 known very little of modern languages. Ep. 635. 
 
 Ep. 636 is to Conradus Heresbachius"^, who had given him 
 a kind invitation to his house. 
 
 He was this year at Constance in the summer, and com- 
 mends his friends who there entertained him. 
 
 He could have liked Switzerland very well, if it had not 
 been for their stoves, and their wine. The former suffocated 
 him ; and the wine, being too new, disagreed with him, as 
 he was subject to the stone and gravel. He was therefore 
 obliged to procure wine from Burgundy, which suited his 
 constitution better than that which grew near Basil, and Fri- 
 burg, in which two cities he passed the rest of his days. 
 
 ' Duos Lutheri libellos ad me sane frustra niislt tua Celsitudo^ mdcm 
 ejus linguoe qua scripti sunt. 
 
 "> Fuit vir dignilate pra;h>tan5 ; omni liternrum genere absolutus 
 
 et quaiKjuam in pontificatu vixcrit aequatam laudem apud evangeli- 
 
 cos pontiticiosque ipsos post se reliquit ; longe felicior hac in parte 
 Erasmo amico suo ; qui tametsi summam in scribendo ingenii et litera- 
 rum gloriam invenerit, Limeii neutri parti satisfecit. IVlelch, Adrm, 
 Vit. Heresbachii. 
 
278 THE LIFE [1522. 
 
 He thought, as he says, to go to France, for the sake of his 
 health ; and he received a passport from the king for that 
 purpose, of which he speaks in a letter to a French arch- 
 bishop. He tells him that he had been at Constance, with 
 a design to proceed thence to Rome, to pay his respects to 
 the new pontiff; but that he had fallen sick at Constance, 
 and that the rumours of war had put off his intended journey. 
 He probably had no serious design to repair to Rome, for 
 good reasons already mentioned ; and perhaps he as little 
 intended to go to France. He complains, that his pension 
 from the emperor had not been paid to him that year. Ep. 
 636, 637. 
 
 Yet he had lately dedicated to the emperor his Paraphrase 
 on St. Matthew ; and in a letter to the emperor's brother 
 Ferdinand, he promised to dedicate to this prince his Para- 
 phrase of St. J(4in. The emperor received his dedication 
 very courteously, and gave him thanks, but nothing else; as 
 Erasmus informs us in a letter to Botzem, prefixed to the 
 first tome. I do not find that Charles had any taste for li- 
 terature, or any remarkable disposition to patronize arts and 
 sciences. His head was full of political and military schemes. 
 Ep. 638. 
 
 Guindano", an Italian, composed a heroic poem on the 
 achievements of Charles V, and offered the manuscript to 
 this prince, who would not give the poor man one stiver for 
 his zeal and his pains. So he went away in despair, and 
 flung, not himself indeed, but his poem into the fire. 
 
 Tde pope, having received Arnobius, sent Erasmus a very 
 elegant and artful letter of thanks, exhorting him strongly 
 to write against Luther, and inviting him to Rome*. Eras- 
 mus wrote a second time, and sent a second copy of his 
 book, for fear lest the first had miscarried. He also offered 
 to communicate to Adrian his opinion concerning the pro- 
 perest methods of suppressing Lutheranism, in a letter which 
 none should see besides the pope, and which the pope 
 
 " Bayle, Guindano. 
 
 * Adrian VI invited Erasmus to Rome. Thomas Hanyball, who was 
 at Rome, in a letter dated anno 1522, told Wolsey that his lioliness had 
 sent for Erasmus, under a fair colour, by his l)rief j and if he come 
 not, I think, saith he, the pope will not be content. Wood, vol. i. 
 c. 21. 
 
J5'J2,] OF ERASMUS. ST^ 
 
 might suppress and destroy, if he thought proper. F.p. G39. 
 641. 
 
 Jacobus Landavus, a Bavarian, wrote a piece against Stu- 
 nlca, and sent it to Erasmus, who acknowleJgeth himself 
 much obliged to him. Erasmus tells his friend Barbiriu", 
 that the cardinals had forbidden the printing of Stunica's 
 book, entitled, The Blasphemies of Erasmus ; and that 
 Stunica having printed it in defiance of their prohibition, they 
 had forbidden die sale of it, although Stunica was a do- 
 mestic of the cardinal a Saucx'a Cnuc. lie tell- Landavus, 
 that there were three furies which raged in the Lou'-Coun- 
 tries, Hochstrat the Dominican, Alcmar of the same order, 
 and Egmond the Carmelite. 'Yo these he adds an anonymous 
 fourth, who employed the former as his drudges and agents. 
 He also tells him, that he was unhappiiy furnished with un- 
 answcrabh reasons against taking a journey to Rome, 
 namely, old age, iii health, and the stone in his kidneys. 
 
 By the auuny)dii^fuurih he probiibly means Aleander, 
 who was now exalted to high stations, and had wranglers 
 under hin\ whom he cou.d set at Erasmus ; though the 
 laws of the church forbid ecclesiastics alere canes venuticos. 
 He promises Landavus to send him the apotheosis^ of his 
 friend Reuchlin, who died this year. Ep. 642. 64 1. 
 
 Ulricus Kuttenus, whom Erasmus had often celebrated be- 
 fore the Luth jran contest had set them at variance, being come 
 to Basil, was desirous to see Erasmus, and sent him word of it 
 by Eppendorf, their c6mmon friend. But, as Hutten had 
 , openly d.'clarcd himself for Luther, and had published se- 
 veral libels against the court of Rome, fur which ihe pope 
 had endeavoured to apprehend him, Erasmus feared that a 
 visit from such a man would coniinn all the suspicions that 
 he secretly favoured the Lutheran cause, and draw a hatred 
 :ipon him. Therefore he sent him word by Eppeadori, 
 that if Hutten only intended a visit of civility, he begged lo 
 be excuseJ, on arccount of bad cojisequeiKes. Hutten at 
 first seemed satisfied with the excuse ; but before he had quit- 
 
 ° Revcrsus Pfllicanus Basilcani, Era--.ino lurravit. de t»bitu, et suo col- 
 loquio, occLisionemquc piaebiiit dialogs illi dc apothcosi lU'uchlini. SiciiL 
 et eidem, quod de Fianciscano Coniado et Bcrnlianliiu) lubit, sua tacuu- 
 dia iiluilrans hl^toiiam verain quidem, seu huniHioivin, quaui qax io-- 
 ^atur. rilelcli. Adam, yic. Pellio. — Appendix Ny. v. 
 
280 THE LIFE [1522. 
 
 ted Basil, Erasmus asked Eppendorf, whether Hutten had ta- 
 ken offence at this denial ; and the other replied, that Hutten 
 perhaps wished that he could have conversed with him. Eras- 
 mus answered, that although what he had done was purely 
 to avoid obloquy, yet he would despise that danger if Hutten 
 had any thing of importance to say to him ; that if it were de- 
 sired, he would go himself toHutten, if he could bear the smell 
 of the stoves, which Hutten, being out of order, was obliged 
 to use ; and that, if Hutten could bear the cooler air of the 
 hall of Erasmus, he would receive him there by the fire- 
 side, and converse with him as long as he thought fit. Ep- 
 pendorf said that Elutten was too ill to come abroad. Thus 
 Erasmus hath related it, in his Apology against Hutten, who, 
 soon after this, left Basil without seeing Erasmus. This 
 was the beginning of a very warm contest. 
 
 There was at this time a certain preacher at Constance, 
 v^ho consulted Erasmus by Botzem, how the Reformadon 
 might best be advanced. Erasmus answered, that they 
 who imagined themselves to have as great abilities for set- 
 tling those Christian truths which concern all men and all 
 times, as they had for a theological compotation, or a little 
 t-'cholastic dispute, v^ere inJinitely mistaken. Truth, says he, 
 is efficacious and invincible, but it must be dispensed with 
 evangelical prudence. For myself, I so abhor divisions, and 
 so love concord, that I fear, if an occasion presented itself, 
 1 should sooner give up a part of truth than disturb the 
 pubhc peace. 
 
 But the mischief is, that a man cannot thus give up truth, 
 without running into falshood, and assenting to things which 
 he doth nor believe. For a man cannot judge that to be 
 right, which his own reason pronounces to be false, only be- 
 cause overbearing persons attack the truth with more vehe- 
 mence tiian he chooseth to employ in defence of it, and are 
 the majority and the stronger party. Besides, when such 
 enemies to reason and to religion perceive that a man will 
 not have the courage to defend his opinions at all extremities, 
 which Erasmus confessed to be his ov.n disposidon, they never 
 fail to take advantage of him, to oppress him, and to run him 
 down, well knovi/hig that notliing is necessary to accomplish 
 their purposes besKles stubbornness, clamour, impudence, and 
 violence. And so spiritual tyranny being once erected, v/ould 
 
 8 
 
1522.] OP ERASMVS. 2S1 
 
 endure for ever, and gain strength and stability. Concord 
 and peace are unquestionably valuable blessings ; but yet 
 not to be purchased at the expense of truth and liberty, 
 which are infinitely more estimable! than a sordid tranquillity 
 beneath the yoke of falsehood and arbitrary' dominion. Be- 
 neath this yoke the Christian republic becomes a mere fac- 
 tion of poltroons, solicitous about enjoying the present, and 
 neglecting every thing that is laudable, under the pretext 
 of preserving the peace. Such would have been the present 
 state of Christianity if the pacific scheme of Erasmus had 
 been received and pursued. Divisions, it must be owned, 
 do much harm ; yet they have at least produced this good, 
 that the truth of the Gospel, and a Christian liberty, which 
 acquiesceth only in the decisions of Jesus Christ, are not 
 entirely banished from the face of the earth, as they would 
 have been v/ithout those struggles of our ancestors. They 
 have produced no small service to the memory of Erasmus 
 himself, who, having his works condemned by theological 
 cabals, and mangled by inquisitions, which struck out the 
 most valuable part of his writings, would have been stigma- 
 tized and proscribed through all ages, if a party had not 
 risen up in Europe, and also amongst his own countrymen, 
 which willingly forgives him his weaknesses and his irresolu- 
 tion, for the sake of his useful labours, philological and theo* 
 logical ; and hath restored to him a second Hfe, and re* 
 commended him. to the Christian world, by an elegant and 
 a faithful edition of all his works. 
 
 But let us hear some more of his advice. This preacher, 
 says he, who certainly is a worthy m.an, will do more service 
 to the Gospel, the honour of which we all have at heart, if" 
 be takes care to join the prudence of the evangelical serpent 
 to the simplicity of the evangelical dove. Let him essay it ; 
 and then let him condemn my counsel, if he finds it not tA 
 be salutary. 
 
 Alas ! experience hath taught the Christian world, that 
 this same serpentine prudence served to make falsehood tri- 
 umphant. It was even easy to foresee it, since this wisdom 
 consisted only in submitting to that faction which was the 
 most powerful and the most obstinate. 
 
 Erasmus entertained some hopes, that his old friend and 
 school-iellow, Adrian VI, v/ould do some good, as he tes- 
 tifies in this letter : butjsavshe, if I should be mistaken in: 
 
282 THE LIFE [1522. 
 
 this, I will not be factious. As to the preacher's last ques- 
 tion. Are we to abandon and give up the whole Gospel ? 
 1 reply ; They may be said to abandon the Gospel, who de- 
 fend it in an improper manner. Besides ; with what re- 
 serve and slow caution did our Lord himself discover his 
 doctrine ? 
 
 All this in some sense may be right : but then our Saviour 
 never said any thing contrary to the truth ; and when the 
 time was come for it, he laid down his life in confirmation 
 of it ; which is more than Erasmus was inclined to do, as he 
 himself frankly confesseth. It cannot be called defending 
 ihe Gospel, to refer it to the arbitration of a set of ecclesi- 
 astics, whom all the world knew to be either ill-instructed, or 
 ill disposed, or both. 
 
 In a dedicatory Epistle to Beraldus, he speaks with griefP 
 and detestation of the wars between France and the empire ; 
 and wishes, that ambitious princes could terminate their 
 quarrels by duels, and not involve their innocent and un- 
 happy subjects in such misery. 
 
 Epist. 31^0, c. 1 699 is from Zeigler to Erasmus. There 
 are Protestant writers, says Bayle, who acknowledge Zeigler 
 for a brother. He was much disposed that way, as it ap- 
 pears from a work which he composed at Rome in favour of 
 Erasmus against Stunica, and which was printed at Basil by 
 Froben, anno 1523, It is entitled : ' Libellus Jacobi Zeig- 
 leri Landavi, Batavi, adversus Jacobi Stunicas maledicen- 
 tiam, pro Germania.* 
 
 Froben says concerning it : 
 
 * Commodum a Roma missus est libellus Zeigleri — quo 
 promittit perpetuam rerum gestarum seriem ex quatuor evan- 
 geliis contextam, et obiter Stunicam pro ipsius dignitate 
 tractat. — Videtur hie Landavus homo multae recondita^que 
 lectionis, ingenio festivo, magno judicio, stylo non neglecto, 
 denique toto pcctore Germanam spirans indolem.* Bayle, 
 Zdglen 
 
 P Video, discrucrorqne anlmo, bellum hoc inter GermnTios ct Gallos 
 indies magis ac niagis incrudescere. Quanta totius rei Christian* cala- 
 mitap, duos potentissimos orbis nionarchas sic feralibus dissidiis inter so 
 conflictari ? 1 olerabilius esset malum, si res eorum quorum interest, 
 tnonomachiis inirctur. Sed quid commeruere cives et agricolae, qui 
 spoliantur fbrtunis, exiguntur sedibus, trahuntur captivi, tmcidantur ac 
 laniantr.r ? O ferreos principum animos, si li.-ec peq)cndunt, ac fcrunt i 
 O crassos, si nou intellignnt ; supinos^ si non expendunl ! T. i c. 343. 
 
1523.] OF ERASMUS. 283 
 
 This year's letters are from Basil, where Erasmus passed 
 the remainder of his life, except some part of it at Friburg. 
 Basil was a place which he dearly loved, though he some- 
 times complained of it, where his best friends dwelt, and 
 where he was treated with much respect, and made rector^ 
 of the university ; a station which was there, as it often is 
 in other universities, not less troublesome than honourable : 
 for amongst the plagues which he met with in the course of 
 his life, we may reckon the disorderly and impudent beha- 
 viour of the young students, which so provoked him, that, 
 like another Moses, he brake their tables (as some have said) 
 and destroyed the privileges which they enjoyed by their sta- 
 tutes, to humble them and to tame them. Bayle seems to 
 doubt of the truth of this story. Erasmc^ not. B. B. 
 
 Under' this year we will place, at a venture, a comical 
 mistake of Erasmus, who, having received a letter and a 
 message from a learned man, one Primus Comes, who wanted 
 to wait upon him, rook him for aprince, and went forth to 
 meet and receive him as such, &;c. 
 
 *« Urgente jam senio, Basilcam Rauracorum urbem se recepit, ad Rhe- 
 num sitam, loci ainoenitate captus, et sodalitio multomm cloctissirnorum 
 hominum, quibus ea civitas semper ornata est. Academiae illius rector 
 factus, cuMi scholasticomm inordinatam licentiam et petulantiam refrae- 
 nare tentaret, ab iis male exceptum ferunt : his irritatum conturaeliis 
 fama est discerpsisse et cremasse privilegiorum partem illius academiae 
 (quae cum Magontina totius Germanise creditiir antiquissima) ut his de- 
 perditis studiosie juventutis protervia retunderetur : quod aliquando me 
 audivisse recorder a pise meiiKjrise praeceptore meo Hugoiie Eabelo, qui 
 tunc temporis Basileae Eratmo vivebat amicus et familiaris. Boissard, 
 Icon. p. 223. 
 
 ■^ Cum Primus Comes, INI. Antonii Majoragii consobrinus, in Germa- 
 niam ea de causa prot'cctus fuisset, ut Erasmi consuetudine per allquod 
 lempus Irueretur } priusquam Erasmum conveniret, ad earn literas de- 
 dit, quibus adventus sui causam declarabat, quarum in extrema parte no- 
 nien suum, ut tit, ita subsciipserat, ' Tui studiosissimus Primus Comes 
 Mediolanensis.' Hanc cum Erasmus subscriptionem vidisset, credidit 
 etatim magnum adesse aliquem principem sui visendi gratia, Quare li- 
 cet admodum sencx et inhrmus esset, tamen quo studio quoque apparatu 
 potuit, obviam Majoragii consobrino longe processit. Sed postquani 
 homunculum unum, nuUo comitatu, nuUo servorum grege stipatum, et 
 bene quidem literatum, sed uullo elegantiori cultu vealitum reperit, er- 
 rorem suum jucundissime ridere coepit, et tamen eum sibi multo gratio- 
 rem advenisse, qnam si magnus princeps t'uisset, muitis audientibus, tes- 
 tatus est. Haec Majui-agius in quadam cratione, Colomesius K£<jU.yyA. 
 C. 3/ . 
 
 See Ba^-Je, Majoragius. 
 
284 THE LIFE [1522. 
 
 The time when this happened is of no consequence : the 
 story is all. 
 
 Ep. 545 is a friendly letter to Joannes Glapio. This Glapio 
 was a Franciscan, a subtle fox, who endeavoured to ruin 
 Luther % whilst he pretended to have a value and regard for 
 him. Hutten^ afterwards reproached Erasmus for having 
 bestowed so many praises on this man, though he knew him 
 to be a rascal. 
 
 Luther this year wrote a rough answer to Henry VIII, in 
 Latin, and afterwards translated it into German. On this 
 account he hath been insulted and censured by many writers, 
 and is defended by Seckendorf, who shows that those very 
 writers have treated princes, whom they hated, with more 
 malice and scurrility than they can pretend to fasten upon 
 Luther. It is a good argument ar;J hominem. L. i, p. 186 
 — 190. 
 
 Fridericus Canirmius, rector of the school at Delft, speak- 
 ing of the persecution of the reformed party in Holland, 
 censures the coldness" and timidity of Erasmus^ which was 
 imitated, as he says, by too many. 
 
 Henry VIII had been informed by some sycophant, that 
 Eramus had assisted Luther in writing a book which was 
 lately published, probably, Luther's reply to the king : but 
 Erasmus cleared himself'^, as he tells Pirckheimerus, in a 
 letter which probably was written in 1523. 
 
 * Seckendorf, 1. i. p. 143 — 145. Gerdes. torn. ii. p. 24. 
 
 ^ Erasmum Huttenus taxavit, quod Glapionem laudibus ornasset, cu- 
 jus malltiam alias cxecrari soUtus fuisset. Sed Erasmus utnimque, in 
 Spongia, negavit : ingenue tamen fateri se dicit, se nunquam ausum 
 fuisse homini toto pectore ridere, ejusque ingenium tarn occultum esse 
 ait, ut dubitet an Huttenus decern annorum conversatione illud pernos- 
 cere potuisset. Seckendoi-f, 
 
 " Erasmum in dies magis frigescere, et quantum ego judicare possum, 
 retractare latenter, qure videatur dim lilwrius vel dixisse, vel scripsisse, 
 aegerrime fero, et agnosco puerilcm metum, qui plus veretur hominum 
 gloriam quam Dei. Casterum tales Nicodemi apud nos m magno sunt 
 numero. Seckendorf, 1. i. p. 241. 
 
 * Nescio an tibi scripserim de tragoedia exorta in Anglia. Injecta 
 erat regi suspicio me adt'uisse Euthero in novo ludicro libello. Ea de 
 causa misi i'amulum. Is rediit omnibus felicissime gcstis. Rex excusat 
 se, et item cardinalis. Amicis veteribus accrevit et amor et numems. 
 Donarunt famulo supra triginta iiorenos. — Principes omnes hortantur in 
 Lutheru.m. Ego autem nun scribam, aut ita scribam, ut qui pugnaiU 
 pro regno Pharisaico malint me siluisse, Ep. 471. c. 18(30. 
 
1522.] OF ERASMUS. SS"? 
 
 Wolfgangus Ry char J us-', a German physician and a Lu- 
 theran, in a letter to a friend, written about the year 15A'2, 
 informs us that Erasmus was apprehensive of being attacked 
 by Melanchthon, and very unvvilline to have any dispute 
 with him. I wish, says he, that Melanchthon may be per- 
 suaded to let him alone ; for I dare say that he will return 
 by and by to his first love, and be a good Lutheran. 
 
 Erasmus gave a third edition'- of his New Testament. 
 He seems not to have seen at this time the Complutensian* 
 Bible, which was then printed off, but probably ncrt made 
 public. Maittaire, ii. 2. speaks of four editions of the 
 New Testament of Erasmus printed at Froben's press : but 
 there were five, during the life of Erasmus, of which the 
 last was in the year 1 J35. Maittaire afterwards makes men-- 
 tion of it, ii. 816. 
 
 Whilst Erasmus dwelt at Basil, he seems, on account of 
 his bad state of health, to have consulted the famous phy- 
 sician Theophrastus Paracelsus^, who was for some time a 
 professor in that city. Melchior Adam hath given us a 
 letter*^ of advice from this doctor to Erasmus, which con- 
 tains a strange jargon ; and a reply of Erasmus to it. 
 
 A. D. MDXXIII. ^TAT. LVI. 
 
 Adrian having received a second copy of Amobius, with 
 a letter from Erasmus, roLurncd him an answer, telling him, 
 that he should be glad to hear his opinion concerning the 
 
 y Est apud nos Brassicanus, pei'endie Ingolstadium petl turns, ubi 
 Graecas profitebitur literas. Ostendit raihi hodie Epistolam Erasmi, in 
 qua conqueritur de tama super Philippu, quod ille nescio quid dcntatis 
 libellis moliatur : niallum deprecamr Philippi odia. Velim, mi Joaunes, 
 si aliquando Philippum a brllo Erasmico dehortari possis, ne differas : 
 redibit olim cum tocnore Erasmus, et pristini amoris memor, totiis in 
 Lutheri, imo Christi partem palam maaibus pcdibusque ibit. AmcEur- 
 tates LiterarioCj t. 1. p. 306. 
 
 z See Maittaire, ii. 621. 
 
 ^ II semble qu'il survint encore quelqu'autre empcchement qui er» 
 retarda la publication ; car il est hors de doute, que si Erasme avoit eu 
 conuoissance de cette edition en 1522, il s'cn seroit servi dans la troisi- 
 eme edition du Nouveau Testament Grec, qa'il publia cette annee, 
 comme il le fit dans la quatrieme, qui parut en 152/, oil il cite trcs-.sou- 
 vent la Bible d'Alcala. Long. Maittaire, ii. 2, &:c. 133. Sl6. 
 
 See above, p. 4y. 
 
 ^ Melchior Adam. Thuanus, lib. xxiv. p. 212, 
 
 •= Appendix, xx.ix. 
 
2S6 THE LIFE [1523, 
 
 method of quieting the Lutheran controversy, and inviting 
 him again to come to Rome. 
 
 Erasmus, in his reply, excused himself from the journey 
 on account of his bad health, and of other impediments ; but 
 he certainly did not repose such confidence in Adrian, as to 
 throw himself into his hands. He added, that he had nei- 
 ther the talents nor the authority reauisite for answering 
 Luther with any prospect of success. He complains equally 
 of the monks and of the Lutherans,and protests that he had no 
 inclination to join v.ith the latter, to whom he could have 
 done no small services if he had been so disposed. 
 
 He says elsewhere, that Adrian had offered him a good 
 deanery ; but he refused it, not caring to lie under such ob- 
 ligations to the sec of Rome, and perhaps caring as little 
 to be involved in chapter-affairs, and connected with eccle- 
 siastics. 
 
 Then he proceeds to the advice which he had promised. 
 
 1 . He very honestly disapproves all violent and cruel me- 
 thods, and wishes that some condescension were showed to 
 the Lutherans. 
 
 2. He thinks that the causes of the evil should be investi- 
 gated, and suitable remedies applied ; that then an amnesty 
 shou.d ensue, and a general pardon for all that was past ; 
 and then the princes and magistrates should take care to pre- 
 vent innovations for the future. 
 
 3. He thinks it needful to restrain the liberty of the press. 
 A strange advice, indeed, from one who had made so much 
 use of it himself ! He would have been the very first to feel 
 the ill effects of such prohibitions, and the ecclesiastics 
 would have abused him in their wridngs ten times more 
 than ever, without fearing reprisals. But the poor man had 
 been pelted and insulted with impudent libels, and expected 
 more of the same kind ; and this made him inconsiderately 
 call for a remedy, which would have proved worse than the 
 disease ; and he himself afterwards was sensible of it ''. 
 
 ^ Legem, qwx coercet edendi improbitatem, vehementer .ipprobo : ve- 
 rum niud interim cavendum, ne lex optima vertatur in exemplum pfs- 
 simum; id quod Lntetise fieri cceptum erat. Aliquot conjurati, cal"in, 
 niis ac mendaciis licentissime debacchabantur iii quoslibct. Si quid rp- 
 spoadisses, vetabatu rexcudi. Ep. 859. 
 
1523.] OK ERASMUS. 287 
 
 Erasmus, however, proposeth his counsel with ^ diffi- 
 dence, and in a general way ; and we will observe the same 
 reserve and caution upon this subject. 
 
 Certain it is, that the liberty of the press, in this country, 
 hath been carried to the utmost degree of effrontery and 
 licentiousness by every vile wretch, who shoots his arrows 
 in the dark, wraps himself up in his obscuriiy, and puts 
 on what Homer calls "A'l'h^ Kwi'/jv, and what you may call 
 m English The Devil's Helmet. Suppose an author were 
 obliged to set his name to his works : would not this be an 
 easy and an effectual remedy ? It would indeed silence some, 
 whose names are only fit to appear in the works of the Or-- 
 dinary of Newgate, or who would hdve some regard left for 
 their own reputation, or who would fear reprisals or whole- 
 some correction. But then it might prevent some good 
 advice, and some ingenious and useful works. The Pi-ov^n- 
 cial Letters would probably never have appeared in France, 
 nor the Difficulties and Discouragements in England, if the 
 authors had been obliged to make themselves known. Be- 
 sides J we have some writers so excessively bashful, that 
 they cannot bear to see their own names In print, or to be 
 tortured with the applause which the public would bestow 
 upon them ; and surely such persons deserve to be humour- 
 ed and indulged in this amiable infirmity. 
 
 4. Erasmus adviseth the Pope to give the vvorld hopes 
 that some faults should be amended, which could no longer 
 be justified. At the sweet name of reformation, and of li- 
 berty, men would begin to breathe more freely, and to ex- 
 pect better times. 
 
 5. He would have him cail together persons of integrity 
 and abilities, and of all nations 
 
 Here Erasnms breaks off in th . middle of a sentence, in- 
 tending to say more at another time, if the pope were willing 
 to hear it. But he had already said too much : Adrian ut- 
 terly disliked his advice, and his enemies at the court of 
 Rome seized upon this occasion to try to ruin him. The 
 pope died soon after, and this project was dropped, and 
 
 ^ Optarlm^ si fieri possit, etiam libellorumprocudendorum Uceutlam 
 cohiberi. 
 
28d. The life [1^23* 
 
 Erasmus escaped his indignation. Ep. 649, 70S, and 321. 
 c. 1700. 
 
 Erasmus, when h^ printed this letter, thought proper to 
 suppress the secret advice which he had given to the pope ; 
 and that is the reason for which the Epistle breaks off 
 abruptly. 
 
 He wrote a very long letter ^ to Marc Laurin, dean of St, 
 Donatian, at Bruges, in which he speaks of the calumnies 
 which had been circulated at Brabant against him, since he 
 had quitted Louvain ; of his journey to Basil, which he un- 
 dertook principally that he might attend in person upon an- 
 other edition of his New Testament ; and of the reasons 
 which he had to abide there. Akhoueh he knew that the 
 emperor had received most courteously his paraphrase on St. 
 Matthew, and had spoken advantageously of him to the 
 king of England at Calais; and that he had honours and 
 preferments to expect, if he would attend upon Charles ; 
 yet he did not chuse to come away from Basil, not only on. 
 account of his bodily infirmities, but for fear lest the empe- 
 ror should order him to undertake a work which he did not 
 like. They call me, says he, to great honours, as Glapio 
 hath often assured me ; and I know that the emperor hath, 
 an affection for me ; and yet it hath been said, that I did 
 not d?,re to show myself to him. If the mortified saints, 
 who thus belie me, had been in no greater fear and danger 
 than I was of being ill received, they would have flown 
 thither for f)referment, hke birds of prey. I had only one 
 thing to fear, lest he, to whom I could not with decency 
 refuse any thing, should have laid his commands upon me 
 to refute Luther. Not that I am a favourer of sedidon ; I, 
 who by a kind of natural instinct do so abhor all sorts of 
 quarrels, that, if I had a large estate to defend at law, I 
 would sooner lose it than litigate. 
 
 He adds, that he had entertained a design of going to 
 Rome, whither he was invited by many good friends. The 
 cardinal of Sion had offered, very courteously, both to de- 
 fray the charges of the journey, and to settle upon him five 
 hundred ducats a year. For this purpose he had proceeded 
 
 *" In this letter he mentions Hermannus Buschius, as his learned and 
 worthy friend. See his hte in Melch. Adaiu. 
 
1523.] OF ERASMUS. 289 
 
 as for as to Constance, and there fell ill of the gravel. He 
 describes the manner in which he passed his time there, and 
 his return to Basil. He speaks jocosely of the wine of Bur- 
 gundy, without which he could not live ; and then enters 
 upon the old story of Lutheranism, and of the endeavours 
 which had been employed to draw him into that party. But 
 of this enough hath been said already. He blames Luther ^, 
 principally for his arrogant and censorious temper. But 
 Luther's enemies were not one jot more humble and gentle 
 than he, and repaid his insults with usury. The difference 
 between their behaviour and his was, that they had been of 
 old accustomed to invectives, and were in long possession of 
 them ; and Luther was a novice, who was learning the ex- 
 ercise of the same v/eapons. And yet Erasmus (as we may 
 collect from many passages in his writings) did not in reality 
 think Luther to be such a railer, and such an evil-speaker, 
 as he here represents him. He did indeed disapprove his 
 doctrines upon Free-ivill; and the Lutherans themselves 
 have rejected them. 
 
 Ferdinand, brother of Charles V, approved the design of 
 Erasmus to dedicate to him his Paraphrase of St. John, and 
 wrote him a most obliging letter upon the occasion. Hav- 
 ing received the book from Erasmus, he returned him thanks, 
 and sent him a present of a hundred florins of gold. 
 Ep. Q50, G5\. 
 
 Erasmus commends Coricius, an Italian. Ep. 650. Bayle 
 hath collected a remarkable account of this learned and un- 
 fortunate man. Diet. Coricius, 
 
 In the mean time Hutten, who had left Basil, highly of- 
 fended at Erasmus, was meditating horrible revenge, and 
 preparing a wrathful book. The friends of Erasmus hear- 
 ing of this, advised him to send Hutten a letter, and to dis- 
 suade him from his purpose. Erasmus therefore wrote to 
 him, giving him an account of the reasons for which he had 
 declined the interview, and telling him, that by attacking 
 his old friend, he would both disgrace himself and rejoice 
 ail those who were sworn enemies to them both. It was a 
 
 8 Erasmus saepe dixit de Luthero : ' Deus dedit huic postremae aetati 
 propter morborum magnitudinem acrem medicum.' Melch. Adam Vit. 
 Lath. p. 78. 
 
 Vol. L U 
 
2-90 THE LIF2 [152S> 
 
 very complaisant and friendly letter : but Hutten, who was 
 of a violent temper, would not yield to his advice, and cen- 
 sured Erasmus, amongst other things, for showing so much 
 regard to the court of Rome. This highly provoked Eras- 
 mus, and he answered the invective of Hutten in a tract 
 intitled Spongia ^, &c. But Hutten died much about the 
 same time at Zurich '. 
 
 The ^ moderate Lutherans greatly disapproved Hutten's 
 furious libel. Gerbeiius, who was of the more violent ones. 
 
 ^ Spongiam meam nunquam ita mihi praedicabis, quin osurus sim, in- 
 fllgnans his, qui misenim hue perpulerunt. Erasm. Ep. ad Viand, t. v. 
 c. 234. 
 
 ' Subito ac prseter omnem spem exortus Ulricus Huttenus, ex amico 
 repente versus in hostem. — Hoc nemo scripsit in Erasmum hostilius — 
 nam omnino res ipsa loquitur, Huttenum non alio consilio scripsisse sic 
 in me, quam ut calamo jugularet quern gladio non poterat ; et ut sibi 
 videbatur vir fortis, sic cogitabat : Seniculus est, valetudinarius est, 
 meticulosus et imbecillis est, mox efflabit animum, ubi legerit haec tarn 
 atrocia. Hoc iHum cogitasse, voces etiam, quas jactabat, arguebant. — 
 Ego Hutteni manibus, ubi mihi mors hominis est minciata, animo Chris- 
 tiano precatus sum Dei misericordiam : et audio hominem sub mortem 
 deplorasse, quod deceptus quorundam versutia, lacessisset aniicum, 
 Gatal. Lucubr. 
 
 ^ Spongiam Erasmi legisse te arbitror. — Hessenus scripsit Scoto ros- 
 fcro {This Scotits luas Hutten s Bookseller) expostulationem Hutteni su- 
 pra modum displicere Luthero et Philippo {namely, Melanchthoni) esse- 
 ijue nonnuUos qui me dicant ejus rei auctorem esse ; sed testis mihi Sco- 
 tus erit, me nc verbum quidem unquam super hoc negotio cum Scoto 
 •ontulisse ; quanquam quid esset tandem flagitii, si dissimulantem tam- 
 diu impietatem quoquo modo evocassem ? — Non credis (it should be 
 credos') item quam amarulenter Philippus cum Scoto expostulet ob ex- 
 cusum ejus in Erasmum judicium. Ita vel verentur eloquentiam homi- 
 nis, vel ditlidunt probs; causae ! Si non satis damnavit Spongia doctrinam 
 Chrlsti prsdicalam a Luthero, quaerant <juseso alios qui acrius incessant. 
 Sed de his te audire volo. Epist. Gerbelii ad Schvvebelium, p. 55. 
 
 Dc Erasnio nihil aliud scio, quam quod infestus est Luthero. Idem, 
 p. 60. 
 
 In the same collection of Epistles, Melanchthon, who loved both 
 Erasmus and Luther, declares liow sorry he was that the contention be- 
 tween them continued : 
 
 ' Dolco Lutlu'rum renovare certamen cum Erasmo : sed video haec 
 esse plane ccvayxaTa r.xy.x,' p. 202. 
 
 Erasmus was weil pleased to find that botli Lutlier and MelanAtlion 
 were offended at Hutten's behaviour : 
 
 ' Damnat Lutherus factum j sed Melanchthon mire odit Huttenum.' 
 Eplst. ad Goclen. 
 
 lii his letter to Botzem, he shows ho!\- favourably he had treated Hut- 
 ten iii his reply, called Spongia, and had frasstd over in silence his scan- 
 
1523.] OF ERASMUS. 291 
 
 abhorred Erasmus, and was vexed to find that not only Me- 
 lanchthon, but Luther himself, blamed Hutten's msolence 
 and ferocity. 
 
 Erasmus', in his Spovgia, proposeth his scheme about 
 pacifying the religious differences j and he had an intention 
 
 dalous course of life ; for he had been a spend diii ft, a gamester, and a 
 fornicator, and had extorted money from tlie Carlhusiaas, aUacked some 
 ecclesiastics, and killed some monks. 
 
 ' Erasmus edita paulo post hoc anno Spongia sua, more sue tecte et 
 caute ostendit, quid consilii fuisset capiendum, et quid optari potuerit 
 pro bono ecclesiae. Cum enim indicasset, quid in Lutheri, ut vocat, 
 paradoxis el veheraentia desideret, et Lutheranos, qui sibi spiritualeitl 
 cognitionem vindicabant, commonuisset, ut cogitarent se quoque ho- 
 mines esse, iisdem malis obnoxios, quibus pontifices etprincipes, utque 
 publicam non spernercnt authoritatem 5 hac paroenesi ad principes, ec- 
 clesiasticos nempe ct poli'dcos, utitur : 
 
 ' Rursum principes quamlibet potentes ac magni, ne averscntur veri- 
 tatem Chri<:ti, a quamlibet humili propositam : humiles erant et apo- 
 stoli: pharmacum corpori profuturum accipimus ab obscurissimo idiota, 
 aut a muliercula, et animi medicinam respuimus ab humiliorlbus obla- 
 tam ? Submoveantur utrinque privatse cupiditates, et communibus votis 
 imploretur spiritus ille pacificus, ne mutuis dissidiis Christiana res jam 
 nunc in arctum contracta, penitus coucidat, ne ferarum ac piscium ritu 
 mutuis morsibus nos kivicem lacerantes jucundum spectaculum prosbea- 
 mus et Satana2, et Christiani nominis hostibus. In omnibus articuhs a 
 priscis proditse hdei consensus est. Cur ob paradoxa nescio quae, quo- 
 rum aliquot ejusmodi sunt, ut ad plenum non possint intelligl, quaedam 
 ejus generis, ut in utramque partem disputari queant, ncnnulla talia, ut 
 non ita multum momenti adferant ad mores emendandos, sic tumultuetur 
 orbis ? Tota vita Christianorum undique ditFerta est bellis insanissimis, 
 tumultibus, latrociniis, jurgiis, odiis, obtrectationibus, fraudibus, dolis, 
 luxu, libidinibus, nihil usquam sanum est, et omissis omnibus digladia- 
 mur, an principatus Romani pontificis sit profectus ab auctore Christo. 
 Utraque pars alteri se obtemperet. Obsequium parabit amicitiam, per- 
 vicacia tumultum gignet. Quis autem finis erit, si altera pars nihil ha- 
 beat nisi tumultus, rixas, et convicia, altera nihil nisi censuras, buUas, 
 articulos, et incendia ? Quid magni est homunculum alioqui moriturum 
 m ignem conjicere r Docere ac persuadere magnum est. Ne palinodiae 
 quidem illx magnopere movent quenquam. Quis enim non sic interpie- 
 tatur, maluit pudeheri, qoam exuri ? Quam vero non plausibile, quum 
 episcopus qui debebat docere philusophiam evangelicam, in his quae sunt 
 hujus mundi, plusquam satrapes est j in his quae sunt fidei, nihil habet 
 nisi articulos, carceres, carnitices, et incendium ? Non pudcat episco- 
 pos servire charitati Christianae, quod facere non puduit apostolus 5 non 
 pigeat eruditos, episcopis suum honorem reddere. Hoc interim con- 
 silium dederun utrique parti, ut neutri addictus, ita utrlque bene cu- 
 piens.' 
 
 Ne yero haec solius Erasnii consilia fuisse existimentur, testatur ipse, 
 in epistola ad Jo. Bozemum scripta, sc Marini Caraccioli, Hieronymi 
 
 U 2 
 
292 THE LIFE [1523. 
 
 to treat the same subject more largely in the form of 
 dialogue. 
 
 Petrus Barbirius, chaplain to Adrian VI, and one of the 
 old friends of Erasmus, commended this pontif highly to 
 him ; which made Erasmus hope that Adrian might suc- 
 
 Aleandri (quern trilinguis erudklonis hoc tempore principem vocat), el 
 Joannis Glapionis, imo et Georgii Saxonias ducis, et Montjoii ex An- 
 gliae proceribus hortatu, Dispulationem, sive collationem, tribus Dialo- 
 gis, de negotio Lutheri, sed snppressis sive mutatis nominibus, scribere 
 coppisse. 
 
 ' In his (ait) Thrasymachus Lutheii partes agit, Eubulus diversas. 
 Primus dialogiis inquirit, an expedierit hac via rem tractari, etiamsi Lu- 
 therus omnia vera scripsisset, Secundus exciitit aliquot ejus dogmata. 
 Tertius ostendit viam, qua tumultus hie ita possit sopiri, ut in posterum 
 non facile repullulascat. lies peragitur inter duos, absqvie convitiis, nulla 
 contentionc, nullo fuco, tantum nude simplex et rusticana Veritas pro- 
 poniturj tanta ;r(]iiitate, tantaque moderatione, ut majus periculum vi- 
 deatur ne milii siiccenseat pars diversa, videlicet lenitatem meam inter- 
 prctans collusionem, quam Lutheras ipse, si modo micam ullam habet 
 ejus mentis, quaui muki de illo pra^dicant : et ego certe gratulor, si ha- 
 bet : o;ito, si non habet. Video quibusdam magis placere ssvitiam, ac 
 per me quidem licebit ut suum cuique judicium blandiatur. Saevire fa- 
 cilius est, sed hoc milii visum est conducibilius. Si corporis aft'ectio ia 
 uno quopiam membro versetur, fortasse profuerit cauterium aut sectio. 
 Caeteiimr ubi malum per omne corpus fusum est, ubi per intimas venas 
 ac tibras sparsum est, fortassis aliquo Mercuric sit opus ; qui quemad- 
 modum Icthalem soporem exemit ex omnibus membris Psyches, ita pau- 
 iatim ex intimis educat id quod est noxium.' 
 Addit postea : 
 
 ' Multa tamen intercurrerunt, quae me non patiebantnr longius in 
 opere ccepto progredi, quam ad unam aut alteram pagellam, ut opus 
 conceptum sit magis quam coeptum : quanquam ct alias ab hoc scripti 
 gcnere natura satis abhorreo. Odi cruenta dissidin, lusibus innoxiis ma- 
 gis capior, velut hue natus, Tum probe mihi conscius sum, quantum 
 Herculem hsec res postulet, et quantulus ego sim Pygmaeus. Ac pror- 
 sus nondum mihi satis d(^cretum est, an velim quod institutum est absol- 
 vere. Quicquid liet, non fiet lemere : nee exibit omnino, nisi privatim. 
 lectum ac probatum ab his, quos maxime decet favere gloriie Christ! ; 
 nam in hoc certe cudetur, si tamen cudetur unquam. Siquidem video 
 partem utramque sic esse accensam, ut tota velit vincere, aut tota pe- 
 rire. Porro altera devicta magnam evangelicne veritatis ac libertatis rui- 
 nam secum trahet : altera non opprimetiu", nisi perniciosissimo orbis tu- 
 multu, qui multos etiam innoxios involvet. Ego malim rem ita com- 
 poni, ut utraque pars victoriam concederet veritati et gloriic Christi. 
 Hac de re obtuii secretum consilium meum monarchis, si jubeant ex- 
 liiberi.' 
 
 An Erasmus perfccerit et ediderit quae ccppisse se dicit, fateor me 
 nescire. Si exstaret, laculentius forte quam ex omnibus aliis ejus scrip - 
 tis judicium ejus habcremus. Seckendovtj 1. i. p. 2v2. 
 
1523.] OF ERASMUS. 293 
 
 cced in calming tlie religious contests, if he should appear 
 disposed to show clemency to Luther, and if the Germans'" 
 should find him inclined to mend some things which were 
 offensive to good men, and ensnared the consciences of 
 Christians, only to secure the profit of a few persons : for 
 would to God, says he, that Luther's representations " of 
 the tyranny, avarice, and turpitude of the Roman court 
 were false ! 
 
 To speak in this strain cannot be called flattering the Ro- 
 mish party : but he sparevS the Lutherans as little. I am 
 greatly afraid, says he, that this will end in tumults. Evan- 
 gelical liberty is the cry and the pretence ; but all have not 
 the same point in view. There are, who under this plau- 
 sible plea want an unbounded licence to satisfy the lusts of 
 the flesh. There are, who envy the riches of the ecclesi- 
 astics, and who, consuming their own patrimony in drink- 
 ing, whoring, and gaming, want to lay hands on the goods 
 of other people. There are, whose situation and condition 
 is such, that the public welfare must be their ruin. There 
 are likewise some, who wish that the useless innovations 
 which are crept into the church, might be corrected gra- 
 dually, gently, and peaceably. When all is thrown into 
 confusion, each will seize what suits him best, as when a 
 city is on fire. 
 
 Some of these evils, which he prognosticates, came to 
 pass accordingly in some places : but, in general, things 
 did not go so ill as he apprehended ; as it may be seen in 
 the Histories of Sleidan, Seckendorf, Thuanus, Brandt, 
 and Burnet. The Christian societies, which arose from 
 these tumults, have been greatly preferable to the Christian 
 world, and to the state of it, for many ages before the Re- 
 formation. Ep. 633. 
 
 Erasmus republished his book, De ratione verce Theolo- 
 gic^, which he had formerly dedicated to the cardinal arch- 
 bishop of Mentz, But to this new edition he prefixed a new 
 dedication to the cardinal. In the former he had greatly 
 commended Hutten, who in those days was in the service 
 
 ^ He seems to allude to tlie complaints of grievances, which tlie 
 princes of Germany had set forth. 
 
 " Nam quae Lvitherus scribit de tyrannide, avaritia, et turpitudine Rn- 
 rmnae curiae, ulinam, mi Barbiri, esscnt falsa I 
 
294 THE LIFE il523« 
 
 of that prelate ; and he had said that the Lives of the 
 Saints, which the cardinal desired him to draw up, were 
 so full of fables, that he begged to be excused from such 
 an undertaking. This second address is to be found, 
 Ep. 655 ; and the former in the fifth volume of the works 
 of Erasmus. 
 
 As the monks industriously spread the report in all places 
 that Erasmus was a Lutheran, he takes as much pains in 
 his letters to undeceive the public, and to satisfy his friends. 
 With this view he wrote to Henry VIII, and to the pope's 
 legate in England. Cuthbert Tonstal sent him a letter, and 
 exhorted him to answer Luther, against whom this bishop 
 inveighs with wonderful violence. So Erasmus could no 
 longer withstand the importunate solicitations of the Roman 
 party, and sent word to the king of England that he was 
 drawing up a work against Luther ; but he adds that he 
 should be obliged to depart from Germany before his work 
 were published, lest he should be killed by the Lutheran 
 faction. Soon after he sent to the king, by a messenger, 
 the beginning of the work. He said that it would not be 
 possible to find an operator in all Germany, who would un- 
 dertake the printing it, and that he must needs send it else- 
 where. Perhaps he had a mind to engage the king to be at 
 the expense ; and perhaps he made it a kind of merit in 
 himself to dare to dwell at Basil, where he was so much ex- 
 posed to danger. Yet he certainly had nothing of that kind 
 to fear, in a city where he had so many friends and ad- 
 mirers, and where the sentiments of Luther did not so en- 
 tirely, or so boisterously prevail. On other occasions he 
 claims some merit from having the courage to attack Luther 
 in his own head-quarters, in the middle of Germany. Ep. 
 656, 657, 660. 
 
 He wrote a letter to Silvester Pricras% one of Luther's 
 antagonists, and a man for whom he had very little esteem. 
 He speaks in it with the utmost contempt of Stunica. He 
 boasts, that not only he was no Lutheran, but that he had 
 done the party more harm than even Aleander, who was 
 
 *> Scrkendorf, 1. i. 38 — i\. Bayle, P7-itrias. Du Pin, xiv, 115. 
 They al] agree in giving him a mean characler. See also Gerdes. torn. i. 
 p. 207. 
 
l'*523.] OF ERASMUS. 29.5 
 
 their persecutor. He had, however, the frankness and 
 the spirit to tell Prieras that Luther had taught many- 
 necessary things ; but that, as for himself, he hated schisms, 
 Ep. 664. 
 
 At Christmas he had so violent a fit of the q-ravel and 
 
 o 
 
 cholic, that he was very near dying. He speaks of it to his 
 friend Pirckheimerus, saying, that he wished not for life, 
 but for an easier departure from it, if it pleased God. Cle- 
 mens VII had invited him to Rome ; but at Rome, says he, 
 there are many who want to destroy me, and they had al- 
 most accomplished their purpose before the death of Adrian. 
 After having, at his own request, communicated to him my 
 secret opinion, I found that things were altered, and that I 
 was no longer in favour. 
 
 The cause was manifest : Erasmus had hinted at the ne- 
 cessity of reformation ; and such language was highly dis- 
 gusting at the court of Rome. If Luther did not like Eras- 
 mus, because Erasmus approved not in all things either his 
 doctrine or his conduct, the court of Rome liked him as 
 little, because he did not condemn Luther in all things : 
 but this court thought it proper to give him good words and 
 fair promises, and to try to entice him to Rome, where he 
 would have been quite under her subjection, and, at the 
 best, a kind of prisoner at large. Ep. 668, 646, 665, 
 703. 
 
 This yearP the foreigners, who had ecclesiastical prefer- 
 ments in England, being double-taxed, Erasmus, Polydore 
 Virgil, and a very few others were excepted. 
 
 ' Wolsey ^ published pope Leo's bull against Luther, and 
 ordered it to be every where published. He also required 
 all persons, under pain of excommunication, to bring in all 
 Luther's books that were in their hands. He enumerated 
 forty-two of Luther*s errors. 
 
 * This shews the apprehensions they were under of the 
 spreading of Luther's books and doctrine. All people were 
 at this time so sensible of the corruptions — that every mo- 
 tion towards a reformation was readily hearkened to every 
 where. Corruption was the common subject of complaint : 
 and in the commission given to those whom the king sent 
 
 T Burnet, i, 21. * Ibid. iii. 25. 
 
296 THE LIFE [1523. 
 
 to represent himself and his church in the council of La- 
 teran % the Reformation of the Head and Members is men- 
 tioned as that which was expected from that council. 
 
 ' This was so much, at that time, in all men's mouths, 
 that one of the best men in that age, Colet, dean of St. 
 Paul's, being to open the convocation with a sermon, made 
 that the subject of it all', hz. 
 
 Polydore Virgil wrote a very friendly letter to Erasmus, 
 offering him not only his good offices, but his money also, 
 if he would pieasc to accept of it. Ep. 326. c. 1703. 
 
 Adrian VI dying this year % Clemens, who was of the 
 house of Medicis, succeeded him, and sent to Erasmus an 
 honourable diploma, accompanied with two hundred florins. 
 
 ' Adrian being chosen pope ^, came on foot to Rome. 
 Before he entered into the city, putting off his hose and 
 shoes, bare-foot and bare-legged he passed through the 
 streets towards his palace, with such humility and devo- 
 tion, that all the people had him in great reverence and ad- 
 miration.' 
 
 This pope was a learned man, and very desirous of re- 
 forming the church ; not indeed in doctrine, but in manners 
 and discipline. He showed no favour to men of polite lite- 
 rature ; he hated the poets ; and they revenged themselves 
 by setting him in the worst light, and ridiculing and re- 
 viling him upon all occasions. On account of his religious 
 zeal, and his desire to correct some abuses, Pallavicini" 
 
 "^ Begun in 1512, ended in 151/. 
 
 * Sleidan, 1. iv. Du Pin, xiii. 71, 87. Bayle, Hadriai, which is a 
 very good article. Seckendorf, i. 285. Burmanni Analecta Historica 
 de Hadriano sexto. Uarand Hist, du xvi. Siecle, t. iii. p. 10(). P. Jo- 
 vius Vit. Hadriani. Val. Andre* Bibl. Belg. p. II6. IVIiraei Elog. 
 Belg. p. 1. Bibl. Univ. xvi. 256. Scultet. Aiinal. ap. Von der Hardt. 
 PlisL Lit. Bef. p. V. p. 6l. 
 
 See also Fath. Paul, b. i. § 22, &c. and Courayer. Brandt, b. ii. 
 p. 46, ^"c. Gerdes. torn. ii. p. 58. 115. Has?ei Bibl. Brem. Class, v, 
 Fasc. i. p. 104 — IQ'Cf. 
 
 Adrian confessed^ in some letters, that the church stood in need of 
 reformation ; but he added, that it must be done step by slop. Luther, 
 in a marginal note upon this expression, observed that it was the pope's 
 intention, that between each step there should be an interval of sonie 
 hundred years. Ducatiann, i. p. 24. 
 
 ♦ More's Life of More, p. 114. 
 ^ Seckendorf, 1. i, p. 252. 
 
152S.] OF ERASMUS. 297 
 
 treats him as a poor silly creature, not fit to be at the head 
 of the church. 
 
 Atirian (says Jovius) gave me a bishopric, because he was 
 Informed that I was a learned man, a writer of histor}^, and 
 no poet. 
 
 Spalatinus drew up a veiy curious Inventory of the sacred 
 reliques, which were preserved in the church of Witten- 
 berg, in the year 1523. They amounted in number to no 
 less th;m 19,374. Fiideric of Saxony, before Luther had 
 opened his eyes, had been at the pains to collect this elegant 
 assemblage of rarities. See Seckendorf, 1. i. p. 221 — 223. 
 But the reliques and indulgences lodged in the churches of 
 Hall were, if it be possible, still more curious, and more 
 ridiculous. Seckendorf gives a handsome sample of them, 
 1. iii. p. 372. 
 
 This year Aleander, assisted by Egmond and Hochstrat, 
 caused two Augustinian monks ^ to be burnt at Brussels for 
 Lutheranism. They suffered with heroic constancy, and 
 Luther composed a hymn in their praise, which was sung 
 in the reformed churches. The charitable Catholics re- 
 joiced at their death, and called them the devil's martyrs. 
 Erasmus had the courage to declare his dislike of such bar- 
 barous and unchristian proceedings ; and observes, that the 
 sufferings of these men had brought ever multitudes to 
 Lutheranism. 
 
 To give some check to the Reformation 5", amongst other 
 stratagems which were employed, one was the canonization 
 of Benno by pope Adrian. Benno was bishop of MIsna, in 
 the eleventh century. His principal merit was, that he had 
 been a rebel and a traitor, who sided with pope Gregory the 
 seventh, called Hildebrand, and excommunicated his own 
 lawful prince, the emperor Henry IV. His miracles were 
 as follow : — He shut the emperor out of the church, and 
 flung the keys of the church into the Elbe ; but they were 
 found In the belly of a fish, and restored again to the pre- 
 late : he crossed the river, walking upon it as upon dry 
 ground : he turned water into wine : he caused a fountain 
 
 "Seckendorf,!. i. p. 279. 281. Spalatinus, in the Amoen. Literar. 
 t. iv. p. 412. Von der Hardt, p. v. p. 60, Melch. Adam, Vit. Luth. 
 p. 60. Brandt, b. ii. p. 45, &:c. 
 
 > Seckendorf, 1. i. p. 285, 286. Bayle, Bennoru 
 
298 THE LIFE [1523. 
 
 to spring up, by striking the ground with his foot : he said 
 mass in two places at once : he foretold to a marquis, who 
 had given him a blow on the face, that he should die in a 
 year*s time, and it came to p^ss accordingly : after his death 
 he appeared in a dream to a marquis, and struck out one of 
 his eyes ; and wrought many other m.iracles. Luther v/rote 
 against this canonization, and treated Benno's miracles, as 
 either human frauds, or diabolical operations. Emser, like 
 a true champion, who sticks at nothing, defended the cause 
 of Benno against Luther. He had written the Life of this 
 precious saint some years before, and had dedicated it to 
 George of Saxony. 
 
 A. D. MDXXIV. iETAT. LVII. 
 
 The emperor, and his aunt Margaret of Austria, gover- 
 ness of the Low Countries, invited Erasmus to return to 
 Brabant, and did not pay him his pension. But in Brabant 
 his capital enemies Hochstrat and Egmond bare rule, and 
 were inquisitors, and had already burned some persons for 
 Lutheranism, and longed to do him the same good office. 
 The king of France invited him also to his dominions ; but 
 that prince was then at variance with the emperor. 
 
 Erasmus wrote to Rome to the cardinal of Sion, to give 
 him hopes, that, though his indispositions had prevented 
 his journey to Rome on the preceding year, yet he now 
 would undertake it, as soon as the fine weather should set 
 in. He complains grievously of Stunica, who, having been 
 a little restrained by Adrian, had attacked him again, during 
 the interregnum, tie also defends some passages in his 
 writings censured by Stunica ; but he hath done this more 
 fully in an answer to him. He adds, moreover, that he 
 had ever submitted his works to the judgment of the Catho- 
 lic church ; and that if, before Luther had made his appear- 
 ance, he had said any thing capable of being misinterpreted, 
 he had corrected it in later editions. But, says he ^, in 
 both parties I see what displeasetli me ; in the one (the Ro- 
 manists) much of the worldly spirit ; in the other (the Lu- 
 therans) much of the seditious spirit. 
 
 ^ In utraque pnrtc video quod mihi displiccat ; in altera miiltvim mun-< 
 dani spiritus^ in altera nriulUim seditiosi. 
 
1524.] 
 
 OF ERASMUS. 29D 
 
 Who doth not see that such remarks as these must have 
 given offence to the court of Rome ? And thus Erasmus, 
 whilst he took so much pains to keep fair with the pope, 
 could not fail to lose his favour ; for the letters which he 
 wrote to eminent and Icarnctl correspondents could be no 
 secrets. He was incapable either of dissembling thoroughly, 
 or of speaking the truth fully, when and where it was dan- 
 gerous. Ep. 667. 
 
 The same lamentations he pours out to his friend Bomba- 
 sio, representing it as a hard and a. cruel case, that at Rome 
 he should pass for a Lutheran, he who in Germany was 
 accounted jlntilutheravisshnus. 
 
 Although he was subject, and counsellor to Charles V, 
 he could by no means approve the war which this emperor 
 was prepaiing to wage with France, upon such son ot pre- 
 texts as would furnish occasion for everlasting wars. He 
 was also much offended that the pope should make himself 
 a party in it, he whose office it was to be the common father 
 of all Christians : and here and elsewhere he shews his equi*. 
 table and pacific disposition. 
 
 What you write is very true, says he to Pirckheimerus, 
 that Luther promotes many persons. Luther makes canons, 
 bishops, and cardinals, and enricheth others, v/hether they 
 will or no : but then Luther beggars a great many, and me 
 amongst the rest, to whom Margaret and the emperor have 
 promised the payment of my pension but it is upon con- 
 dition that I return into my own country. A hard condi- 
 tion ! for Egmond reigns there, a madman, armed with the 
 instruments of death, who hates me twice more than he 
 hates Luther. His collegue is one Hulst, a sworn enemy 
 to learning. These inquisitors first fling men into a dun- 
 geon, and then seek out for accusations against them. Of 
 these things the emperor is ignorant, and yet it were to be 
 wished that he knev/ them. In the mean time five hundred 
 florins are due to me: my pension also, upon a prebend 
 which I resigned, is in no small danger. 
 
 If the princes who at that time favoured Luther had 
 acted generously, they should have settled a handsome 
 pension upon Erasmus, without insisting on any condi- 
 tions, but leaving him entirely to act and to write accord- 
 ing to his own discretion. Perhaps, if he had been thus 
 
500 THE LIFE [lo24. 
 
 supported, he would have opened himself rather mere freely. 
 Ep. 669. 
 
 Shortly after, he wrote a letter of congratulation to Cle- 
 mens VII, and boasts of his refusing very pressing solicita- 
 tions to join himself to Luther. He also complains of Stu- 
 nica, and sends the pope his Paraphrase on the Acts of the 
 Apostles. The pope thanked him, and sent him two hun- 
 dred florins. Ep. 670. 6S4. 
 
 His epistle to Gaver ^ upon the death of Joannes Nasvius 
 is a very good one. He treats of sudden deaths, and of the 
 learned men whom he had known and outlived, amongst 
 whom he mentions Reuchliii ^, and Petrus Marsus'^; and 
 represents himself as preparing for his great change. He 
 speaks respectfully of Hieronymus Donatus ^\ a noble Ve- 
 netian, whom he hath commended in his Ciceronianus', 
 and of Joannes Lascaris^ Ep. 671. 
 
 In his treatise de Ratione Sliidii^ he prefers Constantinus 
 Lascaris ^ to all the Greek grammarians, except Gaza. 
 
 Joannes Lascaris was one of those who made epigrams ? 
 against Erasmus, in favour of Budceus, for which he was 
 much to blame. 
 
 In the same epistle he calls Zacharias'^ [Calliergus] a 
 very learned youth. 
 
 This year he wrote two pressing letters to the magistrates 
 of Stratsburg, complaining of one Scottus, who had printed 
 Hutten's libel against him, and was reprinting it, with satiri- 
 cal additions by some other enemy, who treated Erasmus as 
 a deserter of the faith, a man corrupted by bribes to wage 
 war with the Gospel, a parasite, who for a morsel of bread 
 might be made to do any thing ; with other invectives of the 
 same coarse kind. To engage the magistrates of Stratsburg 
 
 ■ Appendix, No. xxx. 
 
 *» There is a copious account of Rcuchlln, and of his friends and foQSj 
 In Von dcr Hardt, Hisl, Liter. Reform, p. ii. p. 1 — 15(5. 
 
 <■ Bayle, Marsus. 
 
 ^ Ibid. Dojiatus. 
 
 * Hodius De Groec. lUustr. p. 247. Erasm. Ep. 212. 24Q. 335. 34/. 
 3t>l. Maittaire, i. 286, kc. 2g3. Bayle, Lascaris (Jean.) See also 
 Cl.iror. Viror. et Sadoleti Epist. p. 2Qg. 
 
 *" Hodius de Grnec. Illustr. p. 240. Gerdes, torn, i. p. 12. 
 
 K V.p. P75. 1100. 
 
 *» llcdius De Grcec. Ilkistr. p. 31 J". 
 
lo24.] OF ERASMUS. SOI 
 
 to punish this printer, Erasmus says of himself, that he had 
 taken singular pains to advance the Gospel ; and that by so 
 doing, he had drawn much hatred upon himself. I have 
 refused, says he, advantageous offers from princes, if I 
 would write against Luther ; nay, I have suffered loss in my 
 own fortunes, rather than I would write according to other 
 men's passions, and against my own conscience. Only I 
 have refused to list myself in the party, for other reasons, 
 it may be, and because in Luther's writings I found some 
 thinirs which I understood not, and other thinc^s which I 
 approved not ; and above all, because I saw in that party 
 certain persons, whose morals and designs seemed to me very 
 remote from the evangelical spirit. Ep. 674. 687. 
 
 From this time Erasmus affected much to censure the 
 morals of the Lutherans, as if the whole party had approved 
 the bad behaviour of some particulars, or as if the same evil 
 was not equally prevalent at that time, to say the least, in 
 the opposite side ; as if the popes, prelates, and cardinals 
 were men of exemplary lives and apostolical manners, or as 
 if it were a mere dispute about morals ! Erasmus, it is true, 
 speaks of some Lutheran doctrines which he did not ap- 
 prove : but were there not as many, were there not more 
 doctrines on the other side, which he approved as little ? and 
 the Romish faction approved his sentiments so little, that 
 they ordered a great part of his works to be cancelled, be- 
 fore they would permit the poor remainder even to be pe- 
 rused, as it appears from the Indices Expur gator ii. 
 
 Erasmus imagined that Hedio and Capito ', his old ac- 
 quaintances, who were then ministers of the Gospel at Strats- 
 burg, would second his complaints to the magistrate : but 
 he found hiuiseU quite mistaken, and complains heavily of it. 
 These men began to grow more cold in their regards for 
 Erasmus, seeing that though he had so often declared and 
 persisted in it, that the church wanted reformation, yet he 
 himself v/ould nm no risque to forward the good cause, but 
 was willing to lie still and hold his peace, if the pope and 
 his prelates required it, and was resolved not to separate 
 
 ' Sleidan, 1. xv, 399. Thuanus, l.xi.p. 310. Melcb. Adam. 
 Hedio translated Into German the treatise of Er.isiuuj D^ prcepar.i^ 
 tioHt: ad niorfem. 
 
S02 THE LIFE [1524. 
 
 himself from their communion, howsoever they acted. 
 Erasmus indeed said, and said again, that he loved and fa- 
 voured the Gospel ; but they did not believe him, whilst 
 they saw him pay his court to those who abhorred all amend- 
 ments. Perhaps also they thoughi: it not amiss to pique him 
 a httle, and rouse him, and blame his diflident conduct, 
 cither to oblige him to speak out more openly, or to dimi- 
 nish his reputation and authority, if he remained attached to 
 the papists. Thus they showed little regard to his expostu- 
 lations and remonstrances. Ep. 725. 
 
 Erasmus, as it seems, to extort the payment of his pen- 
 sion, as he was counsellor to the emperor, had written to 
 the court of this prince, or to Brabant, that he was invited 
 very kindly to the court of France, and that if his pension 
 were not paid, necessity would compel him to accept of this 
 offer. Margaret, and Carondelet archbishop of Palermo, 
 seem to have taken offence at it ; and wrote to him in such a 
 manner, that he thought himself obliged to send a letter of 
 excuses. To reply at the same time, says he, to your let- 
 ter, and to that of the most illustrious Margaret, they are 
 not, as you may fancy, mere compliments, and v/orcis with- 
 out deeds, which the French have offered me. The bishop 
 of Paris long ago, whilst he was ambasj.ador at Brussels to 
 Charles, not as then emperor, besides the king's bounty 
 and all my charges, offered me from himself four hundred 
 crowns of gold, assuring me that I should be master of my- 
 self and of my own time, and that my liberty should suffer 
 no diminution. 
 
 My absence cannot properly be called absence, at a time 
 v/herein I am present with you as an author, and have pub- 
 lished so many volumes ; works which I could not have ac- 
 complished, had I resided with you. And when I departed, 
 the treasurers promised me that my pension should be as- 
 sured to me. But when you add, that I ought not to go to 
 France, lest I should seem to throw myself into the arms of 
 your enemies, to tell you the truth, I could not forbear 
 smiling. As if Erasmus were a warrior ! I have ever 
 preached up peace to Christian princes. The king of 
 France informed me, by a messenger, of the reasons for 
 which he so often invited me. He hath a design to found 
 'it Palis a college for the three learned I-inguages, hke that 
 
1524.] OF ERASMUS. S0$ 
 
 at Louvaln, and he thought me a proper person to conduct 
 the afl'air. Yet I excused myself from tlie undertaking, 
 because I knew how much hatred and trouble I had incur- 
 red from the divines, on account of the college of Busleiden. 
 JVIy servant, on his return from France, assured me by cer- 
 tain proofs, that a place of a thousand livres (he says else- 
 where, five hundred crowns) was ready for me. 
 
 I have not as yet been very chargeable to the treasury of 
 my own prince, for my pension from the court hath been 
 paid only once : as for the other pension, the treasury is 
 not concerned in it. I live here at great expense, because 
 of my bad health and my frequent illnesses, and I never was 
 a good economist. I have contracted several debts ; so that 
 if my health would, my creditors perhaps would not, per- 
 mit me to depart. I wish, therefore, if it were possible, 
 that my servant, wUom I send, might receive one year of 
 my pension, to assist me in my necessities. But whether 
 v.ith, or whether Vvithout a pension, I shall ever remain the 
 emperor's faithful servant, and will trouble you no more, 
 about such trifles. 
 
 After having thus set forth his Vv'ants, he lays before the 
 archbishop, as before a friend, his unwillingncos to return 
 to the Low Countri'js. You know, says hj, how many 
 quarrels I have had with some divines, even before Luther 
 appeared, on account of the Belles Lettres. Now they have 
 put a sword into the hands of two the most inveterate ene- 
 mies to that cause, namely, liulst and Egmond. All the 
 world knoweth what sort of a creature that same Eomond 
 is, and he hath long showed, and continues every day to 
 show how implacably he hates me. I published several 
 books before the name of Luther was heard, and my ene- 
 mies have not been able to pick any thing out of thsoe books 
 which agrees with Lutheranism (in all respects, he must 
 mean). And yet how easy is it for an enemy to lay hold on 
 something there to calumniate me, especially if he proceeds 
 according to your true theological methods ? When these 
 saints want to do anyone a mischiefs, first they clap him in pri- 
 
 ^ Res agitur isthic prorsus ordinc theologico. Homo, cui male v(v 
 lunt, rapirur iucarcerem; ibi inter paucos trnnsigitur negutium;, et in- 
 noxius debet indigna pad, ne quid illis decedat auctoritatis. Ubi tota 
 aberratum est via, damant, favendum esse negotio fidei. 
 7 
 
S04f THE LIFE [1524. 
 
 son, and then his affair is decided by a few confederates, 
 who are judges and piirties. There the most innocent man 
 alive must suffer the vilest treatment, lest their authority 
 should suffer : and when they have been totally mistaken, 
 they cry out, that the side of religion must always be fa- 
 voured 1 
 
 This state of things, as Erasmus owns, disgusted him, 
 and disheartened him from adventuring his person in the 
 Low Countries, and especially during the absence of his 
 patron the emperor. He adds, that Campegius, who was 
 then at Nuremberg on account of the Lutheran aff"airs, had 
 called him thither ; but that if he could get excused from 
 waiting upon him, and pay the debts contracted at Basil, 
 he would repair to Brabant, as soon as he should have no 
 cause to fear the bad effect of the German stoves, which in- 
 commoded him excessively. 
 
 It was easy to apprehend, that if things remained in the 
 present posture, Erasmus would absent himself from the 
 Low Countries ; and that, if other reasons should be deemed 
 unsatisfactory, his gravel, from which. he was never quite 
 free, would serve for an excuse. 
 
 Egmond had published a book against him in Holland, 
 which Erasmus thoroughly refuted in an epistle, addressed 
 to Nicolas Everard \ president of the court of Holland. 
 Amongst other things, he fully and clearly proves that all 
 Christians ought to be allowed to read the holy Scriptures. 
 Ep. 679. 
 
 Soiue time after, he received a letter from George duke 
 of Saxony, who both exhorted him to write against Luther,, 
 and desired him to name a person fit to succeed Mosella- 
 nus, Greek professor at Leipsic, lately deceased : but 
 George wanted one who was not infected with Lutheranism. 
 Kp. 680. 
 
 Erasmus went not to Nuremberg ; but Campegius sent a 
 messenger lo Basil, to consult him, and receive his advice 
 concerning the proper methods of appeasing the disorders of 
 Germany, which Erasmus communicated, but confessed 
 that he saw not how they could be appeased, considering 
 
 » Val. Andi-eoe Bibl. Belg. p. 07\ . Mirai Elog. Belg. p. 74. Melch, 
 Adam. 
 
1524.] OF ERASMUS. 505 
 
 the methods which were th?n pursued. In my country, 
 says he, in Holland, the nuns elope from their cloisters, 
 and marr}'' in the Lord. Egmond the Carmelite hath been 
 turned out of office by the pope and the emperor. His col- 
 league Hulst hath hardly escaped the halter. -Literature 
 flourishes in spite of the theologers. They cry cut amain 
 that Erasmus is a heretic ; and no man believes them. 
 Martin Luther hath sent me a letter civil enough, by one 
 Joachim (Camerariiis), to which I dared not to reply with 
 equal civility, for fear of tb.e calumniators ; yet I answered 
 in few words. Melanchthon, as I am informed, would 
 gladly have a conference with me, but is loth to expose me 
 to any hatred and obloquy, which however on such an oc- 
 casion I should have despised. He is a youth of great can- 
 dour. Erasmus then complains that some Lutherans wrote 
 against him, as well as Stunica, and that Eppendorf, who 
 pretended to be his friend, was in the cabal. This perhaps 
 was a mere suspicion : but there is some room to doubt, 
 whether he would have been glad of a visit from Melanch- 
 thon, who with all his mildness and candour M'as little less 
 hated than Luther by the Romanists. Ep. G84. 713. 
 
 Erasmus wrote to Richard Bere'", desiring his friendship, 
 and treating him with great respect. Bere was abbot of 
 Glassenbury, and a considerable benefactor to that mona- 
 stery. He had been a benefactor to R. Pace. He went 
 once to Italy in a public character. He died in 1524. 
 Ep. 700. 
 
 It appears from Ep. 689, that certain Italian critics and 
 philologers, whom Erasmus afterwards rallied in his Cicero- 
 nianus, began at this time to censure in his works some de- 
 fects of style and expression, and faults in points of gram- 
 mar and criticism. Some passages Erasmus defends against 
 their attacks ; but he owns that he had slipped here and 
 there, either by writing hastily, or for want of necessary 
 succours. It was very easy for men of great leisure, who 
 themselves composed either nothing at all, or very litt'c, to 
 find errors in the voluminous works of Erasmus ; but it 
 was not in their power to write things equally learned, use- 
 ful, lively, and agreeable. 
 
 » Knight, p. 2 IS. 
 
 Vol. I. X 
 
306 THE LIFE [1524. 
 
 In this epistle, Erasmus pretends that he would have 
 passed his winter at Rome, if the plague had not deterred 
 him ; and says, that his tract De JJtero Arhitrio " was in 
 the press. We shall see hereafter how he excused himself 
 to the Lutherans ° for having attacked their patriarch. 
 
 It may suffice to observe here in general, that Luther was 
 an admirer of Augustin, and, like the Thomists, held a 
 physical predetermination, which entirely subverts human 
 liberty, and which, under the pretence of making the crea- 
 ture dependent upon' the Creator, deprives it of all active 
 pov/ers, so that it can do nothing without being necessarily 
 determined by the influence of God. If there was any dif- 
 ference between Luther and the Thomists of the church oi 
 Kome, it was this, that Luther spake more simply and sin- 
 cerely and openly than they ; for he absolutely denied that 
 there was any such thing as free-will, whilst they admitted it 
 in words. This perhaps deceived Erasmus, who imagined 
 that he was only disputing against Luther, whilst he was 
 really disputing as much against Thomas Aquinas and his 
 followers, as against the reformer. Be that as it will, Eras- 
 mus makes many good remarks against the sentiment which 
 he opposes, and justly insists upon it, that the human will 
 co-operates with the grace or assistance of God. Yet they 
 who shall carefully peruse the writings of Erasmus upon this 
 subject, and are tolerably skilled in the controversy, will 
 see that he had not the clearest and the precisest notions. 
 But then it must be confessed, that the subject itself is ob- 
 scure, and hath embarrassed those who had studied philo- 
 sophy more than he. He very dexterously and artfully chose 
 this point of disputation, that he might appear to the Ro- 
 manists to write against Luther, and yet that he might avoid 
 censuring his other doctrines opposite to the Roman church; 
 and he so managed the point, as to abstain from all rude- 
 ness and mahce against Luiher, and to act quite differently 
 from the monks. And hideed, as the court x:)f Rome was 
 very little obliged to him for this work, so the Lutherans 
 did not disdain his advice upon this point of controversy, and 
 made a sober use of it afterwards, departing from the ex- 
 
 ° Du Pin, xiii. gj. 
 
 "*()!" the causes whidi impelled Erasmus, contrary to liis iuclinalion, 
 Itt vyrite against Luiher, see Scckcmiorf^ 1. i. p. JOb, icc. 
 
159A.'] OF ERASMUS. 307 
 
 ireme into which the theology of Thomas Aqv.inas had be- 
 trayed their reformer. To attack Luther upon the bii)gle 
 point of liberty and necessity was, in an oblique and indirect 
 way, to allow him superior to his adversaries in other re- 
 spects ; and the Lutherans ought to have thus understood 
 it. Ep. 715. 
 
 Le Clerc supposes that Luther was a Thomist : but from 
 Seckendorf 's accurate history '\ we learn that Luther abhor- 
 red Aristotle, and despised the school-men in general, and 
 in particular both the Thomists and the Scotists. If he was 
 a favourer of any scholastic sect, it was that of Occam '^, 
 whom he esteemed. Therefore I think that Luther learned 
 his notions of fatalism from St. Augustin, whom he had 
 carefully perused, of whom he had a verv high opinion, and 
 by whom he had been taught to think ill of the Pelagians. 
 He also misunderstood and misapplied some passages in St. 
 Paul's Epistles, which in those days were not so fully cleared 
 up as they have been since. 
 
 Luther and Erasmus ^ were in the same condition and si- 
 
 P Vol. i. p. 31—36. 103. 118. 
 
 <i Occam, says fatlier Paul, is a very judicious writer, excepting the 
 bavbarousness of his style. I have ever valued him above all the school- 
 men. Letters of F. Paul, p. 412. 
 
 ' The Terminists were sectaries in the high schools, among whom I 
 was. They oppose the Thomists, the Scotists, and the Albertists j they 
 are called also Occamists, of Occam their first beginner and founder. 
 They are of the ne\\est .sect, and now are the strongest in Paris.' Lu- 
 ther's Colloq. Mensal. p. 354. 
 
 I will here add two or three passages out of these Colloquies : ' T am 
 persuaded,' says Luther, ' of all those of whom the Scripture saith. Arid 
 he slept u-ith Ids fothurs, that they are all in heaven : for this word sleep 
 showeth some good in the Scriptures,' p. 36l. 
 
 ' Your son,' says Luther to a disconsolate father, ' is well provided 
 for ; he liveth now with Christ. O ! would to God that I had finished 
 my couise ! I would not wish me here again,' p. 402, See above, 
 p. 115. 
 
 He banters the fastings of the monks in those days : ' Their fasting is 
 more easy to them, than our eating is to us. To one fasting day be- 
 longed three days of devouring. Every friar, to his evening cc^llation, 
 hath two quarts of beer, a quart of wine, spice-cakes, or bread prepared 
 with spice and salt, the better to relish their drink. Thus went these 
 poor fasting brethren j they gre\<' so pale and wan, that tbey were like 
 to the Jiery angels,' p. 413. 
 
 "■ Quanta in Lutherum veluti grando convitiorum ceciderit, ipse qui- 
 dem non dissimulat ; quanquani vcrum est^ adversarios ei plerosquc lu- 
 
 X 2 
 
3'08 THE LIFE ' [1524-^ 
 
 tuatlan, in one respect. They had innilriierable adversa- 
 ries, and for the most part extremely contemptible, 
 
 Erasmus wrote at the same time to Aleander % excusing 
 himself for having spoken of him as of an enemy, and de- 
 claring himself well disposed to a reconciliation, and yet 
 
 des et inficetos contigisse, quos ingenio longe superabat, Kraaraum inter 
 paucos excipio, qui stylo et politiori literatura potior, eaque elegantia et 
 moderatione affectuum applausum captans, ita scripsit, ut neminem Lu- 
 theri causae magis nocuishe existimem. De hoc ipse quidem Erasmus 
 gloriatur, quanquam exigua ab ecclesia, cui adhae.rebat, gratia. Nolo 
 repetere, quae supra i>ota\ i, opus fuisse immiti pn^latorum castigatore, 
 nt Erasmus ipse non diffitelnr, epistola ad IMelanchthonem. Nam 
 eventu comprobatum est, quotidieque adhuc comprobatur, quod frustra 
 idem Erasmus speraverit, ut tempei'ata libertate pontifices et reges ad 
 liujus negotii (reformationis nempe) consortium pellicerentur. Quod 
 Tero in iisdem literis optat Erasmus, ut ' Lutherus tarn cito posset ponti- 
 lices et principes ad evangelicae pietatis studium convertere, quam in vi- 
 tia illorum fortiter debacchari;' id profectn ipse Lutherus anxie deside- 
 ravit, imo cum non succederet, quam plusquam omnia intendebatj vitas 
 et morumj etiam in illis locis ubi purior doctrina preedicabatur, correc- 
 tio, nemo vehementius de malo illo questus est. ' Virtus verbi,' inquit 
 Epist. ad Langum, ' adhuc latet, vel nimis modica est in omnibus nobis, 
 quod miror valde. Sumus enim iiden>, qui antea, duri, insensati, im- 
 patientes, temerarii, ebrii, lascivi, content iosi 3 summa, symbolum illud 
 et insigne Christianoram charitas nusquam prodit, et fit illud Pauli : 
 Regnum Dei habemus in sermone, non in virtute.' De monachls vera 
 cucuUum exucntibus ita loquitur : ' Video monachos nostros- multos ex- 
 ire nulla alia causa quam qua intraverant, hoc est, ventris et libertatis 
 carnalis gratia, per quos Satanas magnum foetorem in nostri verbi odoreni 
 bonum excitabit.' 
 
 jNIiram sane non fuit, mi^ltos qui in monasteria temerario consilio in- 
 gressi erant, baud meliori egressos, et inique postulari ab adversariis, ut 
 sancti repcnte evaderent Luthero coneionante, quos per lot annos pessi- 
 ma docuerant, et pravis moribus viventes dissimulaverant. Interim non 
 deerant ex desertoribus illis, qui vera resipiscerent, nee per alios magis 
 doctrina evangelica in tot regnis et pravincii^ propagata fuit, &c. Sec- 
 kendorf, 1. i. p. I99. 
 
 ^ In his answer to Albertus Pius, written in 1529, he thus speaks of 
 Aleander : 
 
 Jam qui censorium diploma detulit, illico spargebat has voces apud 
 suos, ' Nihil egerimus, nisi prius exstincto Erasmo.* Constanter fugit 
 jiieum colloquium, subornatis tamen, qui, quid de ipso, seu Lutheri 
 negotio sentirem, explorarcnt. Et certe nihil ab eo tentatum non est, 
 ut me perderet, Atqui longe aliud iu mandatis habebat a Leor.e decimo. 
 T. ix. c. 1104. 
 
 Dixit apud me 5 ' Pontifex Romanus tot duces, tot comites saepe deje- 
 ctt ; facile dejiciet trcs jiediculosos grammatistas.' Idem alias dixit, 
 * Pontifex potest dicere Cssari Carolo, Tu es cerdo, &:c.' Ibid. c. 1105- 
 What impudence ! 
 
1524.] OF ERASMUS. SQSl 
 
 chowing him, that he was too well informed of his unfriendly 
 behaviour. He also defends himself against some Italian>;, 
 who criticised his works. En. 693. 
 
 Erasmus, though he loved not Aleander, and had no 
 reason to love him, yet hath done justice' to his learnin;T 
 and abilities more than once. 
 
 Ele sent Ills treatise against Luther to the king of England, 
 to Wolsey, to Warham, and to many more. Writing to 
 Gibertus, he tells him, that neither the pope nor the empe- 
 ror could make him happy, on account of his age and his 
 distemp-Ts. Ele who should bestow a bishopric or any 
 other dignity upon me, says he, would only throw a weight 
 upon the shoulders of a poor man, who is depardng from 
 this world ". My concern is to keep a conscience void of 
 offence, and to deceive no man knowingly. If eTi^^h party 
 continues to defend its rights to the utmost, I fear it will be 
 a combac between Hector and Achilles, who, being equally 
 fierce and haughty, entertained for each other a hatred, 
 which death alone could terminate. Ep. 694. 
 
 Complaming to Warham of the Lutherans, and of the 
 monks, by whose clamours he had been compelled to write 
 against Luther, he tells his patron that he had sent him the 
 Epistles of Jerom '', wet from the press, so that he could not 
 bind them. This was the second edition, in which the De- 
 dication to Warham is dated July 1 524. The other tomes 
 followed soon after. He adds, that he had received twenty 
 pounds at two times, and thanks the archbishop for having 
 
 * Si de haeresi periclitatur, qui Graece et Hebraice novit, quod Luthe- 
 ms harum linguanuii rudis non est, cur iion potius in tuto esse dicitur, 
 quod Joannes episcopus RofFensis, quod Hieronymus Aleander arclii- 
 episcopus Brundusinuspropugnqtoressunt nuiantis ecdesia.% quorum hie 
 omnibus Unguis excellit, ille tres linguns aetata jam vei'gente non vulgari 
 studio amplectitur ? Adag. c. 1053. 
 
 " Et liberiatis avidus, et l)L-evi mcriturus. Ep. OQ/. 
 
 ^ Hieronymus n'estoit pas si sqavant qu'on le dit. II estoitbien ignor 
 
 rant, & escrivoit a des bigottes de femmes. Per nebulam tantuni He- 
 
 braea novit. II est meijleur pour des choses des Payens que pour la 
 
 Theologie. II a estc trop vehement, sur tout contre Jovinianus it Vigl- 
 
 lantius, encore qu' a tort, comme mesme Erasme le reconnoit. Hieros- 
 
 me estoit pins docte qu' Augustin, ma's c'estoit un vray fou de moine, 
 
 qui a maintenu des choses fort absurdes, &c. Erasme a beaucoup gastc 
 
 (reditioh) de Basle. II y a ausoi restituc quclques passages, Scaligeran. 
 
 p. 101. 
 t 
 
SIO THE LIFE [1524-. 
 
 augmented his pension ; and exclaims, Cursed be these 
 wars, which decimate us so often ! I imagined, however, 
 that pensions were exempted from paying such taxes. 
 
 The archbishop had also sent him a horse, whom Eras- 
 mus thus describes to him : I have received your horse, who 
 is not over-handsom.e, but a good creature ; for he is free 
 from all the mortal sins, except gluttony and laziness. Else 
 he is endued with the qualities of a holy father confessor, 
 being prudent, modest, humble, chaste, and peaceable, 
 and one who neither bites nor kicks. I fancy that, by the 
 knavery or the mistake of your domestics, I have not the 
 horse that you intended for me. I had ordered my servant 
 not to ask for a horse, nor to accept of one, unless some 
 person offered him a very good one, of his own accord. 
 And yet I am equally obliged to you for your kind inten- 
 tion. Indeed I thought to sell my horses, as I have given 
 over riding. 
 
 We see that neither his studies, nor his distempers, nor 
 his vexations, had deprived him of his gay temper, which 
 breaks out in his letters. 
 
 He says that Ferdinand had sent him centum aureos, 
 Ep. 697. 
 
 Two days after, he wrote along epistle to Melanchthon, 
 which begins with an invective against Hutteny, who had 
 the itch upon him, as he says, or something else ^, and 
 whose visits he had declined, to free himself from a ttungry, 
 
 y Nam quod Hutteni colloquium deprecabar, non invidise metus tan- 
 ■tum in causa luit : erat aliud quiddam, quod tamen in Spongia non at- 
 tigi. Ille egens et omnibus rebus destitutus, quierebat nidum aliquem 
 ubi moreretur. Erat miiii gloriosus ille railes cum sua scabie in stdes re- 
 cipiendus, simulque recipieiidus ille cburus titulo Evangelicorum, sed 
 titulo duntaxat. Sletstadii mulctavit omnes amicos suos aliqua pecunia, 
 A Zuinglio improbe petiit, quod ipse Zuinglius mihi suis Uteris perscrip- 
 sit. Jam amarulentiam et glorias hominis nemo, quamvis patiens, ferre 
 poterat. 
 
 ''■ By the xcalies he means the French distemper, which he calls no-> 
 vam U'pram, and which, he supposes, may be caught by driiiKing after 
 the infectfd person, Adng. c. 1115. In many other passages he ex- 
 presses a great dread of it. In this epistle he bestows the epithet ywca'i'ij; 
 upon an Anonymous, alluding to the same disease. 
 
 Hutien once thought himself quite cured by the use of guaiacum, and 
 rccon^.mended it \y) the public as an infallible remedy, with an expcrto 
 crede Ruperto. But he was miblaken. Burckhard Comment, de Vit. 
 
J 524.] OF ERASMUS. 311 
 
 beggarly, and vain-glorious guest, whom h? had no mind 
 to receive and maintain at bed and board. We have seen 
 before, that Erasmus gave other reasons for shunning 
 Hutten. 
 
 As to Melanchthon, he says that he would most gladly 
 have received a visit from him, and have despised all fear of 
 giving oftence by it ; and that, if Wittenberg were not too 
 far off, he would go there himself, to converse with him 
 and with Luther. These were mere compliments, to pacify 
 them ; and he had no thoughts of paying such visits, as his 
 whole conduct showed. But he says no more than the 
 truth, when he tells Melanchthon that he had not written to 
 Luther, because his letter would soon have been printed by 
 the party, and because the very first letter^ that he sent to 
 Luther was immediately published, and brought him into no 
 small danger. 
 
 He commends the Loci Commimes^' of Melanchthon*^, 
 as very fit and able to encounter and demolish pharisaicai 
 
 Huttem, p.4g.lQ7. Bayle, Hutten. Bnrckhard wrote an account of 
 Hutten in three volumes, of which I have only seen the first. 
 
 Huldrici Hutteni de guiaci ligni medicina, et morbo Gallico liber ; 
 apud Joannem Schoeffer, 4to. Mogiint. 15 ip. Maittaire, ii. 331. 
 
 ^ Porro ne scriberem persuasit ilia prima ad Luthemm epistoia, magno 
 meo periculo edita. Haec enim dedit ansam Aleandro, jampridem ini- 
 fjuo in me animo, ut me perditum iret, conatu.-; Leonis animum irritare 
 in me, simul Leodiensis Episcopi, qui prius pene depcribat, ut ita lo- 
 quar, in Erasmum. Nam ipse Leodiensis ostendit miiii literas, quas ad 
 eum e Roma scripserat Aleander, salis odiose me attingentes. Quum 
 itaque viderem apud istos nihil esse clam, judicavi rectius cdhiberc 
 calamum. 
 
 ^ Perlegi locos omnes, in quibus perspexi tmim istud judicium non 
 minus candidum quam felix, quod ego semper turn suspexi, turn aniavi, 
 sed magis etiam utrumque facere ccrpi posteaquam ilia Icgi, tantum ab- 
 est ut me ejus operae pccniteat, quanquam inter legendnni scrunulis ali- 
 quot offendebar, de quibus voluissem tecum communicare si corani li- 
 cuisset. Video dogmatum aciem pulchre instruclam adversus tyranni- 
 dem Pharisaicam : sed in his quaedam sunt, qu.Te, utingmne fatear, non 
 assequor ; quaedam ejus generis, ut etiamsi tutum essct, uollem proti- 
 leri propter conscientiam ^ qu;t;dam ejusinodi, ut sine fiuctu videar pro- 
 fessurus. 
 
 ' Melanchthonis Loci Communes Rerum Theologies rum, sen Ilypo- 
 typoses Theologies, quoad primam editionem Witteiihergensem, 
 A. 1521, ferme majorum nostromm incuria perienrnt. N'ova; scilicet edi- 
 tiones multuni ab ea diversae prioris induxrrant oblivionom. Nunc autcm 
 beneJicio Herm?.nni Von dcr Hardi rarisbimo hoc Philippi monument* 
 
312 . THE LIFE [1524. 
 
 tyranny : but he adds, that they contained also some things 
 which he did not understand, some concerning which he 
 had doubts and scruples, and some which he thought it 
 needless to profess openly. 
 
 He then boasts of the mild and moderate counsels which 
 he had given to popes and princes ; but he speaks very ill of 
 Zuinglius, Oecolampadius, Farellus ^, Capito, and Hedio *, 
 and inveighs violently against the morals both of the Reform- 
 ed, who then began to make a party, and of the Lutherans. 
 Shall we ^, says he, shake off the domination of popes and 
 prelates, to submit to worse tyrants than they, to scabby 
 madmen, to the scum of the earth ? He hath in view Otho 
 Brunsfeid ^, who had written against him, and Farelius s, 
 
 rursus gaudet orbis literatus : integrum enim illud inseruit, sicut et plura 
 rariora Dorpii, ieuchlini, aliorumque hactenus neglecta et prope deper- 
 dita opuscula, Hi->t()iiffi Literarise ReibrUiationiSj part. iv. fol. 30^ &c. 
 Amcjnitates Literariae, toni. ii. p. 418. 
 
 ^Farellus, A. 1524, venit Basileam, ex Gallia profugus, et publiee 
 disputavit. Sed non multo post Vicaiius Kpiscopi et Academic Rector 
 vi et factione sua Farelluni Basilea exegerunr. Scultet. Anna), ap. Von 
 der Hardt, p. '•. p. 6"8. Gerdes, torn. ii. 259- Dacatiana, i. p. J5. 180. 
 
 Oecolampac;iis creatur pastor ad S. Martinum ; et jure primus Basi- 
 liensium apostolus ncrninatur. Ibid. p. 6q. 
 
 Farellus had beea a disciple of Faber Stapulensis, Melch. Adam. 
 Vit. Calvini, p. 34.' 
 
 * See Gerdes. ii. iio. 
 
 *^ An ideo depellimus dominos, pontifices et episcopos, ut feramus 
 immitiores tyrannos, scabiosos Othilloaes, et Phallicos rahiosos ? Nam 
 hunc nuper nobis misit Gallia. Dices, olim evangelium habebat suos 
 pseudo-apostolos, qui sub pietatis titulo negotium agebant ventris. Ve- 
 rurn iios interim tenere foventhi proceres Fvangelii, Capito, cujus vafri- 
 cies mihi semper oboluit j Hedio, qui scurram impurum (Scot, the 
 bookseller) ex occasione mearum literarum, per quas debebat dare pce- 
 nas, sublevavit, misericordiam appellans, quod haberet uxorem et tene- 
 ros liberos : nee aliud agit etiam nunc, quam ne quid detrimenti capiat 
 res et fama nebulonis, Oecolampadius ca?teris paulo modestior est, et 
 tamen est ubi in illo quoque desiderem evangelicara sinceritatem. Zu- 
 inglius quaT) seditiose rem gerit ! 
 
 *^Cum Huttenus e viia discessisset, suscepit ejus defensionem Otho 
 Brunfelsius, medicus, ac convitia in Erasmum regessit, Melch. Adam. 
 . Vit. Hutteni et Brunfelsii. 
 
 This Biunsfeld translated a treatise of yEgineta. Maittaire, ii. 436. 
 475. G93. He published an edition of the works of John Huss. See 
 Comenius, Hist. Fratr. Bohem. p. f). 
 
 8 Verheiden Effig. 'I'beol. p. 1 1 (3.' Melchior Adam. Bexa Icon. Baylc 
 Diet. Farel. Remarques sur Bayle^ in the Relat. Getting vol, iii. fasc. i. 
 jp. 104, 
 
IJ24.] OF ERASMUS. SIS 
 
 who then preached at IMontbeliard. Erasmus could not 
 bear these men, bi.-:ause diey had decried him as a political 
 time-server, who dared not to act according to his true sen- 
 timents. They doubtlei^s had their fauhs ; but they were 
 not so bad men as several to whom Erasmus paid his court. 
 They applied themselves closely to the study of the holy 
 Scriptures, and, as far as they understood the gospel, they 
 preached it with great fervour, and with no less danger ; 
 and if there v^as something in their behaviour which Eras- 
 mus could justly censure, tliere was also something which 
 he might have commended. Their boisterous and violent 
 temper was blameable, and they were mxuch in the wrong to 
 call Erasmus a Balaam, who was hired to curse Israel. But 
 Erasmus, being thus provoked, paid them in kind, ^nd was 
 not a whit behind them in resentment and invectives. 
 
 Lastly, He apologizes for havhig written against Luther, 
 and says, that the calumnies gf ecclesiastics, who made him 
 pass fo-- a Lutheran, and the importiinity of princes, had 
 constrained him to it. If it were objected, that by so doing 
 he favoured tyrants and tyranny, he answered, that no per- 
 son had taken so much pains as he to dehort ail men from 
 cruelty, and had treated the subject with so much freedom. 
 Although, saxs he, I v/ere a most bigoted papist {sectie pa- 
 pisticce addictiasimus), yet would I condemn cruelty, be- 
 cause opinions opposed with cruelty spread the more. 
 Therefore the prucient Julian would not put Christians to 
 death. Our theologers thought, that if they burned a man 
 or two at Brussels, the rest would be corrected by it. On 
 the contrary, the sufferings of these men made many em- 
 brace Lutheranism. He concludes with desiring Melanch- 
 thon not to show his letter to ill-disposed persons. Ep. 708. 
 
 Melanchthon answered him poiiteiy, and with a much 
 better temper, telling him, that the vices of particulars 
 should not bring any prejudice against a good cause, and 
 that 'Luther did in no wise resemble those whom he had 
 painted in so odious colours. He gently reproves him for 
 drawing up a catalogue of vile fellows, and inserting such 
 persons as Oecolampadius, and other men ol merit, amo/igst 
 them. As for himself, he declares, that in his conscience 
 he is persuaded of the truth of Luther's doc trine, and will 
 never forsake it. And, as to the Dissertation of Erasmus 
 
314 THE LIFE [1524. 
 
 upon Free-will, he says ; We are not at all shocked at i^, 
 for it would be mere tyranny to hinder any man from giving 
 his opinion in the church of Christ, concerning any points 
 of religion. This ought to be free to every one who will 
 deliver his sentiments without passion and partiality. Your 
 moderation in that treatise hath been applauded ; and yet 
 suffer me to tell you, that sometimes you bite too hard. But 
 Luther is not so easily provoked as to be unable to bear dis- 
 sent ; and he promiaeth to observe the same moderation in 
 his reply. — It is also your duty to be very cautious not to 
 bring an odium upon a cause, which the holy Scriptures so 
 evidently favour. As you yourself have not as yet con- 
 demned it, if you attack it with vehemence, you will wound 
 your own conscience. You know that we ought to examine, 
 and not to despise prophecies. 
 
 So Luther, it seems, told Melanchthon, that he would 
 be very calm and civil in his reply to Erasmus : but, when 
 he set himself about it, he forgot these promises, and his 
 zeal and impetuosity v/ere two hard-mouthed horses, which 
 ran away with the chariot and the charioteer : — 
 
 Frustra letuiacula tendens 
 
 Fertur equis auriga, usque audit currus habenas. ' 
 
 Ep. 704. 
 
 Erasmus wrote at the same time to Ant. Brugnarius of 
 Montbeliard, and shows a violent anger against Farellus, or 
 Fhallicus, as he calls him. The Lutherans themselves, 
 says he, cannot bear that fellow ; and he hath been repri- 
 manded'^ several times by Oecolampadius and Pelicanus, 
 but to no purpose. He hath purloined a jest from one Blet, 
 a merchant, who hath taken it into his head to call me Ba- 
 laa?n, although I never would accept of a penny, to write 
 against Luther. 
 
 But whatsoever Erasmus might say, he had for some 
 time seemed to take delight in speaking against the reformers 
 to the Roman party, that he might preserve their favour, 
 and perhaps (though he himself might hardly be sensible of 
 it) with some view to secure his own revenues. If he had 
 had no dependence upon that party, which in his letter to 
 
 •» It was very true. Sec Scultct. in Von dcr Hardt, p. v. p. "0. 
 
1524.1 OF ERASMUS. SI 5 
 
 / 
 
 Melanclitlion he calls the popish sect, and which in his let- 
 ters to the papists he calk tJie catholic church, and nothing 
 to hope or to fear from that quarter, he would probably 
 have been less upon the reserv'^e. 
 
 Then he gives an account of a small dispute which he had 
 with Farel, about the invooalion of saints. I asked him, 
 says he, why he rejected the doctrine of the invocation of 
 saints ? and whether it was not, because the Scriptures wers 
 silent about it ? Yes, said he. Show me then evidently, 
 said I, from the Scriptures, that we ought to invoke the 
 Holy Ghost. If he be God, said he, we ought to pray to 
 him. But I pressed him to produce one passage from the 
 Scriptures, telling him often at the same time, that I agreed 
 with him as to the thing itself, and that 1 only did this by 
 way of disputation. — He cited the passage in St. John's 
 Epistle — and these three are one, I answered, that, not an 
 unity of nature, but of testimony and consent, was there im- 
 plied, and that the words of the blood, the icater, and the 
 spirit, would bear no other interpretation ; that the words 
 also concerning the Father, the fV&rd, and the Spirit, were 
 in no antient manuscripts, and had never been cited by those 
 fathers who had disputed the most against the Arians, as 
 Athanasius, Cyril, and Hilary. Here the conversation 
 ended. Erasmus only complained ', that Farel had called 
 him Balaam : yet he says that Farel had written a letter, 
 wherein he had reported this conversation very unfairly. 
 He could not prove, says Erasmus, that the Holy Ghost is 
 God,' which yet may be proved out of St. Paul'^; and if he 
 had proved it, he would not have got the better of me : for 
 it is no opinion of mine that the saints ought to be invoked ; 
 although they who declaim so tragically against a thing prac- 
 tised from the beginning of the ciiurch, and pious in its own 
 nature, talk foolishly. 
 
 But if any one had asked Erasmus, in what father of the 
 three first centuries he found the invocation of saints, he 
 would have been sufficiently embarrassed ; as also, if he 
 
 ' See the Letter to Botzem, in the first tome. 
 
 ^ tiuanquam certissimis argumeaUs colligitur Spiritam esse Deixm, 
 nusquam lamen aperte vocatur Dens, nisi recipinius locum, qui est apud 
 Paulum, 1 Cor, iii. ' tlui violaverit templum Dei, disperdet euni Deus.' 
 Prsecessit enini mentio Spiritus. Ecclesiast. t. v. c, IO9O, 
 
316 ' THE LIFE [^152 P. 
 
 had been ssked v/hat piety there could be in making objvicts 
 of adoration for ourselves, without any divine reveL.tion, 
 and even against divine revela' ion. His violence shows that 
 he was quite chagrined ', because Fare! had said that Fro- 
 ben's vidfe understood divinity much better than Erasmus, 
 and had thrown out other scoffs of the same kind. 
 
 It was great effrontery in Farellus, who at this time was 
 only thirty-five, to treat a man in such a manner, who in 
 age was so much his senior, and in al Uities and reputation 
 so much his superior. But this Frenchman was almost what 
 the French call un enrage , a reformer intoxicated with Pro- 
 testant zeal. Fie was an incomparable field-preacher, who 
 could lift up his voice hke a trumpet ; and as no noise could 
 silence him, so no danger could disconcert him. He suc- 
 ceeded in his labours, and brought many over to protest- 
 antism. Ep. 70-7. 
 
 About this time, Luther wrote a letter to Erasmus, not 
 in the most elegant style, but a letter full of life and fire and 
 spirit, which vexed him not a little. 
 
 lie begins in the apostolical manner ; Grace and peace to 
 you from the Lord Jesus. 
 
 I shall not complain of you, says he, for having behaved 
 yourself as a man estranged from us, to keep fair with the 
 papists, my enemies. Nor was I much offended, that in 
 your printed books, to gain their favour, or to soften their 
 rage, you have censured us with too much acrimony. We 
 saw that the Lord had not conferred upon you the discern- 
 ment, the courage, and the resolution to join with us, and 
 freely and openly to oppose those monsters ; and therefore we 
 dared not to exact from you that which greatly surpasseth 
 your strength and your capacity. We have even borne with 
 your weakness, and honoured that portion of the gift of 
 God which is in you. 
 
 Then having bestowed upon him his due praises, as he 
 had been the reviver of good literature, by means of which 
 the holy Scriptures had been read and examined in the ori- 
 ginals, he proceeds thus : — 
 
 I never wished that, forsaking or neglecting your own 
 
 ^ TumuUuattir et Burgundia nobis proxima, per Phallicum quendani 
 Galium, qui e Gallia profugus hue se contulit, homo rabula, efFieni turn 
 lingua, turn calamo. £p. 6()8. 
 
1524.] OF ERASMUS. 51"/ 
 
 proper talents, you should enter into our camp. You 
 might indeed have favoured us not a little by your wit, and 
 by your eloquence ; but forasmuch as you have not that 
 courage which is requisite, it is safer for you to serve the 
 Lord in your own way. Only w^e feared lest our adver- 
 saries should entice you to write against us, and that neces- 
 sity should then constrain us to oppose you to your face. 
 We have withheld some persons amongst us, who were dis- 
 posed and prepared to attack you ; and I could have wished 
 that the Complaint of Hutten had never been published, 
 and still more that your Spongia in answer to it had never 
 come forth ; by which you may see and feel at present, if I 
 mistake not, how easy it is to say fine things about the du- 
 ties of modesty and moderation, and to accuse Luther of 
 wanting them, and how difficult and even impossible it is 
 to be really modest and moderate, without a particular gift 
 of the holy Spirit. Believe me, or believe me not, Jesus 
 Christ is my witness, that 1 am concerned as well as you, 
 that the resentment and hatred of so many eminent persons 
 (of the Lutheran party) hath been excited against you. I 
 must suppose that this gives you no small uneasiness ; for 
 virtue like yours, mere human virtue, cannot raise a man 
 above being affected by such trials. To tell you freely what 
 I think, there are persons (amongst us) Vv'ho having this 
 weakness also about them, cannot bear, as they ought, 
 your acrimony and your dissimulation, which you want to 
 pass otf for prudence and modesty. These men have cause 
 to be offended ; and yet would not be offended, if they had 
 more greatness of spirit. Although I also am irascible, and 
 have been often provoked so as to use sharpness of style, yet 
 I never acted thus, except against hardened and incurable 
 reprobates. I have restrained myself, though you have pro- 
 voked me ; and I promised, in letters to my friends, which 
 you have seen, that I vrould continue to do so, unless you 
 should app?:ir openly against us. For although you are not 
 in our sentiments, and many pious doctrines are condemned 
 by you with irreligion or dissimulation, or treated in a scep- 
 tical manner, yet I neither can nor will ascribe a stubborn 
 perverseness to you. \Vh;it can 1 do novv' ? Things are ex- 
 asperated on both sides ; and I could wish, if it were possi- 
 ble, to act the part of a mediator between you, that they 
 
SI 8 TPIE LIFE [1524, 
 
 might cease to attack you with such animosity, and suffer 
 your old as^e to rest in peace in the Lord : and thus they 
 would act, in my opinion, if they either considered your 
 weakness, or the greatness of the controverted cause, which 
 ha^h been long since beyond your talents. They would 
 show their moderation towards you so much the more, since 
 our affairs are advanced to such a point, that our cause is in 
 no peril, although even Erasmus should attack it with all his 
 might ; so far are we from fearing some of his strokes and 
 strictures. On the other hand, my dear Erasmus, if you 
 duly reflect upon your own imbecility, you v/ill abstain 
 from those sharp and spiteful figures of rhetoric ; and if you 
 cannot or will not defend our sentiments, you will let them 
 alone, and treat of subjects v/hich suit you better. Our 
 friends, even you yourself being judge, have some reason 
 of anxiety at being lashed by you, because human infirmity 
 thinks of the authority and reputation of Erasmus, and 
 fears it : and indeed there is much difference between him 
 and the rest of the papists, and he is a more formidable ad- 
 versary than all of them joined together. 
 
 Thus Luther exhorts him to be rather a spectator, than an. 
 actor in the tragedy ; and to bear with others, as he expected 
 that they should bear with him. 
 
 This Epistle was written before the Diatribe of Erasmus 
 against Luther was published. Ep. 726. 
 
 Jirasmus"^ wrote an answer to this letter of Luther, which 
 
 "> Responsum Erasmi ad Lutlieri epistolam— — in volumen Epistola- 
 rum ejus relaium non invenitur : exstat autem MS. turn in archivis, tiiin 
 in Bibliotheca Jenensi, et alibi. Plena est querelis adversus abusum 
 evangelii. Excusat etiam, quam ei Lutherus objecerat, timidilatem, ita 
 ut ab initio statim dicat : 
 
 ' Nee tibi concede, ut magis ex animo cupias evangelicse sinceritati, 
 quam ego, cujus rci gratia niliil non perpctior, ct hactenus omnem ve- 
 iior occasionem, ut evangelium fiat onuiibus commune.' 
 
 Dicit eliam : 
 
 • Se rectius consuluissc ncgotio evangelico, quam multi, quise jactcnt 
 evangelii nomine.' 
 
 De l.utheri doctrina ambigue loquitur: 
 
 ' Vakie pcrtimesco, ne qua arte deludat Satnnas animum tuum; rur- 
 6US alia sic non sapiunt, ut velim hunc meum metum esse falsiim.' 
 Hsererc se dubium palam fatetur : 
 
 • Nolim profiteri, quod ipse mihi nondum persuasi, multo minus, 
 quod nondum assequor : mctuo ne pessum eaut bonae liiera; et disci- 
 pliuae.' 
 
 7 
 
1524.] OF ERASMUS. 519 
 
 is not in the collection of his Epistles. Scckcnclorf hath 
 given us an account of it, with some extracts from it. 
 
 If Erasmus complained of the Lutherans and the Re- 
 formed, he complained full as much of the Monks ; as it ap- 
 pears from his letter to Ferdinand, brother to Charles V, 
 wherein he entreats him, and Margaret of Austria, to impose 
 silence upon Egmond, whose mahce against him was impla- 
 cable. Ep. 710. 
 
 Ep. 712 is to his good friend Paulus Volzius, an abbot, 
 who had quitted his abbey, and to whom Erasmus had de- 
 dicated his Enchiridion. Volzius, like several other friends 
 of Erasmus, afterwards became a Protestant divine ; and 
 then ftll into Anabaptism, from which Calvin reclaimed him. 
 Melch. Adam. Vit. Calvini, p. 37. 
 
 Ep. 115 is to Henricus Stromerus", a physician a.nd one- 
 of his good friends. 
 
 The 71 3th letter is from the learned Camerarius° to Eras- 
 mus, desiring his friendship. Camerarius was born in the 
 year 1500, and died in 1574. 
 
 Ad ea vero quae Lutberus petierat^ ut a scriptione contra se abstineret, 
 h;^c respondet : 
 
 ' Nihil adhuc contra te scripsi, factums id magno principum applausu, 
 nisi vidissem hoc absque jactura evaiigelii non futuruin. Taiitum cos rc- 
 puli, qui conabantur onnnibus principibus persuadere, mihi tecum fedus 
 esse, et milii tecum per omnia convenire, et in libris meis esse, qule- 
 quid tu doceres. Hoec opinio vix. etiamnunc revelli potest ex illorum 
 animls. Quid scribas in me, non magnopere laboro j si mundum spec- 
 tern, nihil mihi potest accidere feJicius. Cupio banc animam puram red- 
 dere Christo, et in hoc affectu velim omnes esse. Si paratus es omnibus 
 reddere rationem de ea, quae in te est, fide, cur aegre teras, si quis dis- 
 cendi gratia tecum disputet ? Fortasse Erasmus scribens in te, magis 
 profuerit evangelio, quam quidam stoUdi scribentes pro te/per quos non 
 licet esse spectatorem istius tragoediae, quae utinam non liabeat tragicum 
 exitum.' 
 
 Sic tecte subindicat se omnino scripturum esse, ut et non multo post 
 fecit. Rehqua Epistoloe pdrs atroces in Huttenum habet im})utationes, 
 quia Lutherus Spo/igium in eum Erasmi ut jasto acriorem taxaverat, 6cc. 
 Seckendorf, 1. i. p. 310. 
 
 " Melch. Adam. 
 
 °Beza, Icon. Baillet, iii. 65. Pope Blount, p. 4l6. Crenius de 
 Singular. Scriptornm, p. 64. Thuanus, 1. lix. p. 05. Melch. Adam. 
 
 Vir de poliliori literatura praeclare mevitus, suaeque adeo Germania^ 
 singulare ornamentum. Huetius, De Clar, Inlerpr. p. 22/. 
 
 Crenius, in his book De Erudit. Comparanda, published a treatise of 
 Camerarius, and prefixed to it the testimonies of learned men conctsrn- 
 in^ this author. Thi/ are nr/acL to the hunou: o. Camerariu.s. 
 
^20 THE LIFE 1524.3 
 
 In a long Epistle to Melanchthon, he says that he had not 
 much exhorted him to forsake the Reformers, knowing that 
 it wouki be hibour lost, but could have wished that Melanch- 
 thon had applied himself entirely to j^ood literature. And 
 yet, if good liierature \\:is not compatible with the study of 
 divinity, it would have been bad literature^ or malt^ litera^^ 
 as the monks then called it. He declares, that his only view 
 was to promote the good of both parties, and to dissuade 
 tumults, and he wished that a reformation might be made 
 without strife and contention. This was wishing impossibi- 
 lities, considering the temper of the Romanists. He cen- 
 sures with great heat the passions of those who mixed 
 themselves in tlie controversy, and the divisions which had 
 arisen amongst the Reformers ; for Zuinglius and Oecolam- 
 padius had declared openly enough, that they followed not 
 the sentiments of Luther in all things. But however, they 
 spake of Luther with respect, and those differences were not 
 concerning things essential and fundamental. Erasmus, who 
 was so well versed in ecclesiastical antiquities, knew that the 
 antient fathers were far enough from being all of a mind, 
 though they agreed in the main ; and, as he pardoned them, 
 he ous:ht to have extended the same favour to his contem- 
 poraries, to men equally liable to the same defects, and 
 equally worthy of the same regard and respect. But he 
 was quite out of temper W'ith them ; and seeing them, as he 
 thought, upon the point of being overpowered and op- 
 pressed by the Romanists, he thought to provide for his own 
 safety by opposing them. The same angry spirit predomi- 
 nates in too many of his letters. Ep. 714, 715. 713. 
 
 In Ep. 714 he laments the death of his friend NesenusP, 
 who was drowned in the Elbe. Nesenus embraced the re- 
 formed religion, and settled in Saxony, and was very dear 
 to Luther. Erasmus afterwards spake ill of Nesenus, sus- 
 pecting that he had been one of Luther's counsellors and 
 assistants in the controversy between Luther and himself. 
 
 I am akvcys the same, says he ; and yet, I have laid the 
 egg, and Luther hath hatched it. This is a joke of the Mi- 
 norite brethren, for which they deserve to be complimented 
 
 V Seckendorf, 1. i. p. 3)4. Maittaiie, ii. 25. Spalatinus, in the AmcE* 
 nitat. Liter, torn. iv. p. 415. 
 
^^24.] OF ERASMUS. 821 
 
 as wits : but I laid a hen-egg, and Luther hath hatched a 
 very difFereAt bird. Ep. 719. 
 
 In Ep. 725, we see none of the mildness and moderation 
 of Erasmus. He was v^ry angiy that Hedio would not 
 take his part against Scottus'', the printer, who had published 
 Hutten's book against him, and had also published a tract 
 of Otho Brunsfeld, wherein he was treated as a man who 
 abandoned the cause of the Reformers against the convictions 
 of his own conscience. These libels were probably paltry 
 performances, and as such deserving to be despised. It is 
 strange, that Erasmus himself, who is so incensed on this oc- 
 casion, had declared, in his reply to Hutten, so supreme a 
 contempt for his book, that, having seen it in manuscript, he 
 had offered Hutten to print it for him, at his own expense, 
 if he desired it. Yet he would have been well pleased, if. 
 the printer of it had been hanged ; and he exclaims loudly 
 against the magistrate of Stratsburg for not bringing him to 
 punishment. He complains also, that in one of these books, 
 under the pretence of giving a picture of the priests '' of 
 Baal, they had drawn them like so many priests' of the 
 church of Rome. They have also added my picture ap- 
 parelled exactly in the dress which I usually w^ear, and 
 which, as I remember, I had on when Otho came to see 
 me. Erasmus said, that he only laughed at it ; though he 
 adds, that such proceedings do great hurt to religion. But 
 yet he compares the action"' of this printer with that of a 
 
 q Maittalre, ii. 118. 
 
 ' Addita est pictura seditiosa. Si pin^ebant prophetas Baal, cur addi- 
 derunt crinem attonsum, vertices rasos, lineam vestem, mitram horum 
 temporum ? Et me pinxeruiit pileo sub mentum religato, serico impo- 
 sito humeris, et brachiis e pallio ponectis, sic enim fere color, praeser- 
 tim domi, et hoc cultu eram quum me salutaret Otho. 
 
 ' Le Nouveau Testament, par Jean Frellon. Lyon. 1553. Cum figu- 
 ris, de quarum una diabolorum monachaU cucuUo amictum exhibentc; 
 antea dictum est. — Id eo magis miror, quod illud Testamentom ad usuni 
 non Genevensium, sed ecclesiarum Romanoe, Parisiensis, Meldensisque 
 conformatum fuisse evangeliorum et epistolarum tabula testetur. Mait- 
 taire, iii. 6lO. 
 
 * Scottus, inquis, habet uxorem et teneros liberos. Num ista excu- 
 satio videatur justa, si scriniis meis efFractis sustulisset aunam ? Non 
 opinor. Et tamen iioc quod facit longe sceleratius est. Nisi forte putas 
 mihi famam esse vihorem pecunia. Si deest unde aht libcros, mendicet. 
 Pudet, inquies, Et hnjusmodi facinorum noD pudet ? Prostituat uxorem. 
 
 Vol. I. Y 
 
322 THE LIFE ' [1524. 
 
 thief, who should break open his scrutore, and rob him, 
 and says that this is a far worse crime. He ought, accord- 
 ing to Erasmus, if he was necessitous, rather to have pro- 
 stituted his own wife, and sold her to all comers, and lived 
 upon that infamous and flagitious trade, than to have printed 
 libels against Erasmus. He then rails at those monks who 
 threw off the frock without the consent of their superiors ; 
 though he says that he had often maintained to the Roman- 
 ists, that priests ought to have leave to marry, if they had not 
 the gift of continence. 
 
 He thanks the cardinal of Sion for his kind offer of five 
 hundred ducats a year, and declines accepting the favour. 
 Ep. 667. 
 
 He declares, that he had no fancy" to settle in England. 
 Ep. 673. 
 
 Ep. 683 is a preface to a Greek '^ Dictionary, augmented 
 by Ceratinus, in which he had some little share. He^ ob- 
 serves justly of such labours, that they are both very useful, 
 and very seldom esteemed as they deserve. 
 
 Mention is made of some present, which Erasmus had 
 received from Thomas Lovel. Ep. 686. 
 
 In Ep. 689 he defends himself extremely^ well against his 
 Italian cavillers. 
 
 His letter to his friend Pace shows, that Linacer^ and 
 
 et ad calices vigilanti naso stertat adultero. Nefarium, inquis. Magia 
 nefarkim est quod facit. Nulla lex punit capita qui uxorem piostituat, 
 at capitalem pcenani denunciant omnes iis qui libellos edunt famosos. 
 
 He repeats the same tiling in his Lingua, c. 712; so much he had it 
 at heart. 
 
 " In Anglia summos et certissimos habeo amscos j sed illic nescio quo 
 pacto non libet vivere. 
 
 ^ Maittaire, ii. 656. 
 
 y Scimus hoc laboris genus esse minima g'loriosum, praesertim quum 
 piuci reputent quot auctores sint excutiendi, ut voces ahquot ab aliis prse- 
 teritas seligas. Verum, hoc plus debetur illis gratiae, qui pubhcae utiH- 
 tatis gratia non detrectant ingloriam ac molestiae pleuam industriam. 
 
 "^ Appendix, No. xxxi. 
 
 3 Plane confido, qui tui est ingenii candor, mi Pacaee, te perpetuum 
 amicum futurum : nee ob id descisces ab amicitia, quod tanto sis felicior. 
 Atqiie ulinam sis multo etiam felicior. — Linacrum lac in amicitia retineas, 
 et, si fieri potest, etiani Grocinum. Non hnecscribo, quod vel metuam 
 aliquid, vel quicquam ab illis exspectem commodi, sed quod tales viros 
 perpetuo velim aniicos, Non egent illi meis praeconiis ; illud tamen au- 
 siin dicere, nsc inter Angloo esse, qui de illis vel senserit magnificen- 
 
2524.] OF ERASMUS. 323 
 
 Grocin had been by some methods alienated from him. 
 Ep. G99. 
 
 Sadolet*^, in a polite and friendly letter to Erasmus, inti- 
 mates, that the court'^ of Rome intended him some conside- 
 rable favour. Ep. 708. 
 
 In a letter to Ferdinand, brother to Charles V, Erasmus 
 complaiiis of Egmond's lies and calumnies, and entreats that 
 prince to command him to be silent ; intimating::, that he 
 had a tongue, which nothing could restrain except bastina- 
 does'^. Ke also honestly dissuades Ferdinand, and other 
 princes, from hanging and burning the poor Lutherans. 
 Ep. 710. 
 
 In a long letter to George duke of Saxony, he shows 
 what reasons had made him backward in attacking Luther, 
 mentions the faults on both sides, and declares himself 
 against the cruel and sanguinary methods of defending the 
 cause of Rome. Ep. 718. 
 
 About this time the rebellion of the Peasants or Rustics* 
 
 tius, vel praedicaverit honorificentius, quam Erasmus. Et non llbet me« 
 minisse, quid uterque, baud scio quorum insl'uictu, in nos molitus fue- 
 rit, id quod re ipsa comperi, non suspioione conjeci : quanquam jam 
 olim idem olfeceram. Sed homines sumus, ego semper ero mei similis, 
 et huic injuriae tot opponam illorum benefacta. Linacri feci honorifi- 
 cam nientionera in scholiis Hieronymianis. Nil magnum sit, si con- 
 temnam, contemtas ; si oderim, odio habitus. Ulud hreris est dignius, 
 officiis ccrtare, non odiis. Apud cardinalem Eboracensem, quoties in- 
 cident commo'.!itas, fac Pacaeum agas, 
 
 '' Menagian. i. 2Q2. iii. 347. iv. 231. Boissard, Icon. p. 263. Bail- 
 let, iv. 381. Du Pin, xiv. 177. Vita Sadoleti. It is prefixed to the 
 edition of his worlcs iu two volnmes fol. Gallrei Imagines. Pope Blount, 
 p. 404. Simon, Hist. Grit, des Comment, du N.T. p. 550, &c. Cla- 
 rorum viror. et Sadoleti Epist, Romse, 1754. Petinis Lazeri, who pub- 
 lished this book, hath given some account of the life and works of Sado- 
 let, p. 229, &c. 
 
 ^ Pontificis in te uberior fuisset liberalitas, ni his ditEcillimis tempori- 
 bus ipse quoque ad angustias redactus esset : tanta est rcrum omnium 
 perturbatio, et quotidianorum sumptuum impendiorumque eftiisio, ut 
 sustinere aegre possit, Sed erit locus aliquando et ornandi et augendi 
 tui. 
 
 ^ Tale ingenium soils ftistibus corrigi poteril. 
 
 * Tumaltus Piusticorum cladem intulit tiiijLilariis Alsatise, praesertim 
 A. 1525 } hoc ipsum agente ilia colluvie, ut ecclesiis ac dominis titulos 
 possessionum atque arma eriperet, quibus ad recuperanda sua uti posseut. 
 See Relat. Getting, vol. i, fasc. i, p, 245, Gerdes. ii. 13(J. 
 
 y 2 
 
324- THE LIFE [1524 
 
 began, and in the following year stretched itself over Ger-' 
 many, and not less than fifty thousand of them were slain ^ 
 
 Then Muncer* collected and headed some fanatical re- 
 bels of the same kind, who were destroyed together with 
 their chief. 
 
 Amongst the articles of grievances set forth by the Fea- 
 sants, one was the game-lmvs of those times* The Peasants 
 complained, that they not only were not permitted to kill 
 any game, but might not drive wild beasts out of their lands, 
 when they destroyed the fruits of the earth. 
 
 After this the Anabaptists took arms^, and did infinite mis- 
 chief in Germany, and in other regions. Luther^ exerted 
 
 ' Agricolse, qui nuper tantos tnmultus excitamnt in Germania, pro- 
 currebant in aciem, quasi vellent occidi. T. x. c. 1748. 
 
 * See Melanchthon's Epistles, p. 630, 631. 633, 
 
 B Du Pin, H. E. xiii. Q2. 106. 126. Sleidan, 1. iv. v. vi. x. Seck- 
 endorf, 1. i. I92, Sec. 303, he 5 1. ii. p. 1, &c. p. 62. ; 1. iii. 114, &c. 
 and Supplem. xl. Continual. Sleidani, 1. i, p. 68. Scultet. Anna}, ap. 
 Von der Hardt. Hist. Lit. Ref. p. v. p. 37. "jy. Bayle, Anahaptistes, 
 Borrhaus, Hofman, Mamillaires. Thuanus, lib. Ixxi. p. 442. Strype's 
 Life of Whitgift, p. 35. The Anabaptists in England, in the year 1550, 
 were, or were accounted, Arians and Pelagians. Strype's Life of 
 Parker, b. i. ch. 7. Melchior Hofman, one of the chiefs of the sect, 
 was not put to death, as I supposed, but died in a jail at Strasburg. 
 He was brought to his senses at last, and converted by the mildness and ad- 
 dress of Bucer. See an account of him in the Nouv. Bibl. Germ, fori 759. 
 
 •> Ex officina (Munceri) prodiit genus hominum, qui propter actionem 
 et ipsum dogma vocantur Anabaptistae, — nam et parvulos arcent a bap- 
 tismo, et rebaptizantur ipsi, - ■ ■ ■. Sanctimoniam quandam exter- 
 nam prae se ferunt, decent non licere Christianis in foro contendere, non 
 gerere magistratum, non jusjurandum dicere, non habere quid proprium, 
 sed omnia debere omnibus esse communia. Et h«c quidem illi princi- 
 pio, sed multo deinde graviora proposuerunt. Sleidan, 1. x. 
 
 Negabant (Anabaptistae) in infantibus peccatum esse, aut eos baptismo 
 ©pus habere ; rejiciebant itaque in totum paedobaptismum ; infirmitateni 
 innatam, id est, pravam concupiscentiam, vel culpam originis non esse 
 peccatum, sed tale demum lieri, si consensus in adultis accedat : infantes 
 igitur omnes, etiam Turcorum, Judaeorum, et Gentilium, salvari absque 
 baptismo, bona enim esse omnia creata a Deo : Christianos non posse 
 magistratu fungi, nee gladio uti : opus non esse inter Christianos magi- 
 stratibus, sed ministros verbi sufficere : juramenta illicita esse: con-- 
 demnabant proprietatem possessionum ; et communionem bonorum, ad 
 raorem apostolicum, urgebant : conjugium inter fidelem et infidelem, id 
 est, inter Anabaptistas cum sectae illi non addictis, improbabant, et pro 
 fbrnicatione habebant, unde plurimas conjugum execcebant separationcs. 
 Seckendorf^ 1, iii. 115. anno 1535. 
 
1524.] OP ERASMUS. S25 
 
 himself against these fanatical villains, who, being also ene- 
 mies to popery, were a scandal to the Reformation'. Luther 
 zlways preached up obedience to the civil magistrate, and 
 condemned rebellions against the state. His exhortations on 
 this occasion, both to the rebellious peasants and to the ty- 
 rannical nobles, were excellent, and give a high idea of his 
 probity, his plain-dealing, and his good sense. But when he 
 found that the fanatics grew frantic, and committed the most 
 execrable crimes, he exhorted the magistrates to draw the 
 sword, and destroy them as so many wild beasts. 
 
 The leaders of these wretched people were enthusiasts, 
 and yet not altogether so mad as not to be great rogues : for 
 these two qualities of knave znA fanatic go very lovingly to- 
 gether. 
 
 The seditious and rebellious Anabaptists being cut to 
 pieces, their successors went into the contrary extreme, and 
 held the use of arms to be utterly unlawful. It appears from 
 the history of Brandt, that many of this sect departed from 
 the commonly received notions concerning the Trinity, and 
 held the superiority of God the father ; and that the monks 
 reproached them, as having learned this heresy from Erasmus, 
 who yet was no Arian. 
 
 In'^ the year 1538 arose the vile sect of the Antlnomians, 
 who taught that it mattered not how wicked a man was, if 
 he had but faith. The principal person amongst them was 
 Joannes Islebius Agricola. Luther had the honour not only 
 of confuting but of converting this man, and of bringing 
 him back to his senses and to his duty. 
 
 In the first Anabaptists, there was a surprising mixture of 
 
 > The Lutherans did not own them as brethren. See Seckendorf, 1. u, 
 
 ^ Hoc anno prodiit secta eorum, qui dicuntur Antinomi — hi statuunt, 
 quaecumque tandem sit hominis vita, et quantumvis impura, justificarl 
 tamen eum, si modo promissionibus evangeUi credat. In his erat facile 
 primus Joannes Islebius Agricola. Lutherus autera ista copiose refutat. 
 
 Islebius tandem a Luthero commonefactus privatim, et fa<;la Scrip- 
 
 urae collatione, rectius institutus in scntentiam ejus accedit, idque pub- 
 ■ico deinde scripto testatur^ confessus errorem. Sleidan. l.xii. p. 312. 
 
 That poisoned doctrine of the Antinomians proceedelh mildly, flesh 
 and blood relisheth it well, it is sweet, it maketli people rude and se- 
 £ure, it will produce much mischief. Luther. Coll. Meus. p. 429. 
 
 See also Seckendorf, 1. iii. p. 306} and Bayle, Jgricola, (Jean) and 
 hleliens, aad Melchior Adam. Vit. Agric. p. 195. Vit, Luth, p. 7 1. 
 
S26 THE LIFE [1524. 
 
 wickedness, folly, stupidity, and religious phrensy. An im- 
 moral fanatic is of all animals the most dangerous to the 
 church and state ; and the history of these Anabaptists is 
 an everlasting monument of the mischief which such peo- 
 ple can perpetrate. 
 
 ' About this time (says Perizonius) Anabaptism, an evil 
 which had lately sprung up, grievously afflicted Holland and 
 the neighbouring regions. The men of this sect not only 
 forbad infant- baptism, and re -baptized adults who had been 
 already baptized in their infancy, but boasted of inspirations 
 and revelations. They rejected all the liberal arts, destroyed 
 all books except the holy Scriptures, abolished all magistra- 
 cies and civil government, and declared that they would ex- 
 tirpate the ungGclh/, and set up the kingdom of Sion. They 
 seem to have showed the mselves first at Suiccavia or Cygnea 
 [Zwickaw] in Saxony. V. 1521, where Nicolas Storch was 
 their head ; to whom immediately joined themselves Marc 
 Stubner, Martin Cellarius, and I'homas Munzer, who was 
 ?ilso the ring-leader of the rebellious Rustics. They began 
 to raise commotions in the above-mentioned city and year ; 
 and some of them were flung into prison. Hence arose ihe 
 Anabaptists, who afterwards showed themselves in various 
 regions. 
 
 ' The Helvetians or Switzers, a sect in the year 1522, 
 seem to have been of the same origin and stamp : for Mun- 
 zer, before he headed the Rustics, had preached his doctrines 
 in Switzerland ; and after him his disciples, Balthasar Hub- 
 meier, and others, did the same, and excited tiamults there, 
 A. 1525. We do not read that any of the Anabaptists were 
 put to death there before this year ; nor did they suffer then 
 as Anabaptists, but because they brake the oath which they 
 had taken to the government, and were guilty of insurrec- 
 tions and rebellions. About this time Munzer excited those 
 terrible commotions in Germanv, which ought to be a warn- 
 ing to posterity, to beware of enthusiasts, who proceed upon 
 the levelling system, allow of no private property, and want 
 to have all things open and in common. It is proper to keep 
 a strict hand over such fanatics at their first appearance, and 
 before they gather strength : for all the violence and the 
 mischiefs which ensued, arose from these principles. 
 
 * Some have confidently affirmed, that Zuinglius declared 
 
1524.] OF ERASMUS. S27 
 
 himself for putting Anabaptists to death, and said, I^et him 
 who clippeth again he dipped, that is, drowned : but it is a 
 very improbable story, since Minius Celsus himself*, namely, 
 Sebastian Castellio, whose testimony in points of this kind 
 ought to be credited, having publicly defended his position, 
 that heretics ought not to be put to death, appeals to the 
 authority of Zuinglius, and affirms that the Anabaptists at 
 that time never sutTered on account of their opinions, as here- 
 tics, but of their evil actions, as perjured and seditious rebels. 
 
 ' Several of these men being punished and executed iti 
 Germany, along with Munzer their chieftain, the remainder 
 fled, and were dispersed in divers regions : and CnipperdoU- 
 ing, with other fanatics like himself, departed from Holland, 
 and raised disturbances in other places. The founder of this 
 sect amongst us was Melchior Hofman, who came to Emb- 
 den A. 1529. Thence the enthusiastic spirit drove him to 
 Stratsburg, to act the Elias : but, instead of the Neiv Jerusa- 
 lem, which he intended to erect there, he found a jail and a 
 halter. At Embden he left as his successor John Trype- 
 maker, A. 1530, who thence repaired to Amsterdam, and 
 afterv/ards was executed at the Hague. After him, the prin- 
 cipal leader of the Anabaptists, who were become numerous 
 in Holland, was John son of Matthias, a baker of Harlem, 
 who, casting off his old wife, went to Amsterdam, and took 
 with him a brewer's daughter, a very handsome girl. There 
 he acted the prophet, and the Enoch, and sent forth his 
 apostles into divers regions, but chiefly about the neighbour- 
 hood. 
 
 ' Amongst these, John Bucold, or Bokelsen, a taylor.of 
 Leyden, and one Gerard, were sent by him to Munster, 
 where the reformed religion had been lately introduced, and 
 preached by Bernard Rotman. The senate had publicly 
 permitted the exercise of it : the bishop and the canons at 
 first violently opposed it ; but at length found it expedient 
 to submit and consent to it, upon condition that the prin- 
 cipal or cathedral church should belong to them, and that 
 the other churches should be granted to the new sect. At 
 the same time, along with the Reformation, Anabaptism si- 
 lently crept in, and, after the arrival of Bucold (John of 
 Leyden), had spread itself so much, that not only many of the 
 
 * See Amcen. Lit. torn, vii. p. 8(5. 
 
3-28 THE LIFE [1524* 
 
 citizens, but even Rotman himself, who before had opposed 
 it, was so infatuated as to embrace it openly. These fana- 
 tics, now troublesome an^ dangerous, were commanded by 
 the senate to depart from the city ; upon which they with- 
 drew, but soon returned and raised a sedition ; and then 
 the whole city took arms, and was split into two parties, 
 very nearly equal ; each of which seized upon different 
 quarters of the town, and kept possesssion of them for three 
 days. At last they came to an agreement to lay down their 
 arms on both sides, and to dwell together, upon this condi- 
 tion, that every man should profess that religion which 
 pleased him best. But the Anabaptists secretly called in many 
 of their fraternity from neighbouring towns and villages ; 
 and thus, being grown the stronger party, they all ran about 
 the streets of the city, crying out to the inhabitants, 
 Depart, ye ungodly, depart, unless ye choose to be put to 
 the sword. Hereupon both Papists and Protestants fled 
 together, and the Anabaptists entered into their houses, 
 and rifled them, burned all the books that they could 
 find, except the Bible, established the kingdom of the 
 New Jerusalem^ as they called it, abolished the senate, 
 and chose out of their own gang two consuls, Bernard Cnip- 
 perdolling and Gerard Kippenbrock. But John Matthias 
 had the supreme power, under the tide of Prophet, who, 
 hearing of their success, had betaken himself thither. 
 
 ' In the mean time the bi&hop of Munster collected an 
 army, and obtained from the neighbouring princes and ci- 
 ties auxiliary troops and artillery, and tried to recover Mun- 
 ster by force : but the Anabaptists making a desperate de- 
 fence, he resolved, by depriving them of supplies from with- 
 out, to reduce them by fam.ine. 
 
 * In one of their sallies from the city, their prophet was 
 killed, and John Bucold succeeded him in his office ; who re- 
 jecting the old senate, appointed twelve judges in his Israel 
 to preside over aiTairs. Afterwards he declared that the 
 prophetic spirit was departed from him, and had entered into 
 John Tuiscofchurer, a goldsmith of Varendorp. This new 
 prophet, in leturn for the favour, proclaimed Bucold hing 
 of Sion, in the name and by the order of God. Bucold then 
 solemnly protested, that God had revealed this to him also ; 
 and with a general applause took possession of his kingdom, 
 put down the twelve judges whom he had lately made, chose 
 
1524-3 OF ERASMUS. 329 
 
 other ministers of state and counsellors, dressed himself in 
 royal apparel, declared that polygamy was lawful, and took, to 
 himself fifteen wives, the principal of whom was the young 
 widow of John Matthias ; who was proclaimed queen. Some 
 persons amongst them, who were not quite mad, saw through 
 this mockery, and abhorred such proceedings, and entered 
 secretly into a treaty with the bishop to betray the city to him, 
 if he would spare their lives. But the plot was discovered, 
 and information against them was made to the king ; and all 
 of them, being more than fifty, were publicly put to death, 
 by order of his majesty, and by the hand of Cnippercloiling, 
 whom the new monarch had honoured with two offices, and 
 had made him governor of the city and common executioner. 
 The king himself also with his own hand publicly beheaded 
 one of his own wives, because the poor creature had ex- 
 pressed a doubt, whether these proceedings were according 
 to the will of God. 
 
 ' He was full of hopes, that a powerful army, collected 
 principally in Holland, would soon come to his relief, and 
 put the besiegers to flight. And indeed at the end of March 
 some thousands of men. in several ships, came to Over-Yssel, 
 and had appointed the Mount of St. Agnes, near Zwoll, 
 for their place of rendezvous. Many also from other parts 
 flocked thither in carriages, and on horses. Being seized, and 
 asked whither they were going ? they answered. To 
 Mount Sion, or Munster, to deliver our brethren and sisters, 
 who are besieged. In the ships was found nothing besides 
 a large quantity of swords, spears, muskets, and some drums 
 and standards ; whence it was evident that they intended to 
 fight with the ungodly, for so they called all those who were 
 not in their sentiments. These weapons, therefore, were 
 taken from them, as also their money, of which they had col- 
 lected a considerable suri, having sold all their goods and 
 possessions at any rate : and their leaders v^'ere put to death. 
 
 ' At the same time, at Amsterdam, and at noon-day, five 
 Anabaptists ran through the streets with drawn swords, and 
 with a loud voice denouncing blessings and cursings upon the 
 city, in the name of the Lord. These were apprehended 
 by the citizens, and beheaded; as were several more the same 
 year, in different parts of Holland. But even these rigorous 
 proceedings could not tame them ; for, in the beginning of 
 the following year (1535), about forty men attempted to 
 
330 THE LIFE [1524. 
 
 make themselves masters of the city of Leydeii by night. 
 But the magistrates being apprised of it stopped the clocks 
 from striking the hours of the night, and drew together the 
 militia in a silent manner ; and finding fifteen men and live 
 women assembled together, put them into prison, and then, 
 beheaded the men, and drowned the women. After this, 
 in the month of February, seven men and five women, of the 
 Anabaptists, pulling off their clothes, even their shirts and 
 shifts, and flinging them into the fire, ran naked about the 
 city, headed by Theodoric Snider, who was their prophet, 
 crying out thrice, 7Vo, and God's revenge. Being taken and 
 brought into court, and ordered to put on some clothes, 
 they refused, saying, that they were the naked truth. These 
 persons, being condemned, suffered deaihwith wonderful con- 
 stancy, shall we call it ? or stubbornness, and a full persua- 
 sion that they were highly in the favour of God. After this, 
 in the month of March, about three hundred men, chiefly 
 of Franeker, with their wives and children, in Friesland, near 
 Bolsawert, seized upon the house called the old monastery, 
 and expelled the monks from it : but they were besieged by 
 George Schenk, who on the fifth attack made himself mas- 
 ter of the place. Most of them were slain in taking the 
 monastery, and the prisoners were hanged or beheaded. 
 
 ^ John Gelenius had been the author of this commotion, 
 whom the kin-'; had sent from Munster to seize upon these 
 regions, principally upon Amsterdam : for he had sent forth 
 twenty-six prophets to various towns, to preach the gospel of 
 his kingdom. These men, being cast into prison wheresoever 
 they appeared, received the wages ot their madness, and yet 
 persisted in it to the last. One escaped, Henry Hilversum, and, 
 returning to Munster, pretended that an angel had taken him 
 out of prison on the day before he should have suffered ; and 
 had ordered him to tell the king, that three of the principal 
 cides, Amsterdam, Daventer, and Wesel, would soon submit 
 to his government. Encouraged by this message, and giving 
 credit, as it should seem, to these fictions, he appointed John 
 Campensis to go to Amsterdam, and to be the bishop of his 
 church there, and with him Gelenius, a military man, who 
 should be the general, and collect forces in Holland and 
 Friesland, and lead them to Munster, and put the besiegers to 
 flight. This man, who had excited tumults in Friesland, 
 thence fled to Amsterdam, where he lay concealed for a time. 
 
1524.] OF ERASMUS. 331 
 
 Afterwards he went to Brussels, and obtained a pardon, on a 
 promise of managing affairs in such a manner as to deliver up 
 Munstcr into the hands of the emperor Charles. Hereupon 
 he returned, and showed himself openly at Amsterdam : but 
 all the while he was secretly plotting to seize upon that city, 
 and subject it to the khtg of Munster. This he attempted 
 with about forty men, hoping that many more would imme- 
 diately join him. So, upon the tenth of May, these frantic 
 people, when night came on, rushed into the market-place, 
 with arms, drums, and banners, seized upon the hall, and 
 slew most of the watch. The consuls, apprised of it, called 
 the citizens to arms, and marched directly to the market-p^ace, 
 but were repulsed by these rebels ; and Peter Colin, the con- 
 sul, a worthy man, v.'ho headed the citizens, and fought with 
 great bravery, was killed in the engagem.ent. The other con- 
 sul ordered all the avenues to the market-place to be stopped 
 up with large sacks filled with hops, which might serve as a 
 breast-work to secure the citizens. Then he immediately 
 enlisted a body of volunteers, and drew them up behind the 
 breast- work, to wait there till the morning. In the mean time, 
 the Anabaptists spent the whole night in singing psalms in 
 the market-place. But when the day began to break, the volun- 
 teers, seeing them rambling about the market, took aim, and 
 wounded some of them. Hereupon they fled into the town- 
 hall, and the citizens pursued them, and rushed in after them. 
 There these ruffians were soon routed, and eight-and-twenty 
 of them slain. Gelenius, their captain, seeing that all was 
 lost, ran up into the turret, and drew the ladder after him ; and 
 knowing what torments he should suffer, if he was taken, 
 exposed himself to the aim of the citizens, who stood with- 
 out in the market-place, and, receiving several wounds, fell 
 down dead. In these skirmishes twenty of the ciiizens lost 
 their lives. The Anabaptists who were taken prisoners, being 
 twelve, were executed in a dreadful manner, but yet according 
 to their deserts. Their breasts were cut open, whilst they 
 were alive, and their hearts pulled out, and flung into their 
 faces. Theii- bodies were cut into four parts, and each of 
 the quarters fixed upon the gates. The carcasses of the slain 
 were hung upon gibbets by the heels. And then as many of 
 the sect as could be discovered, both men and women, were 
 destroyed, till by degrees it was quite rooted up. 
 
332 THE LIFE [1524. 
 
 ' And now their brethren of Munster were disheartened, at 
 the report of these sad disasters,and at the same time worn out 
 with famine, which was so grievous that many of them had 
 been starved to death, and the survivors were reduced to eat 
 unusual food, horses, dogs, cats, mice, and any vermin, and 
 even skins and the coverings of books : and it is said, that, 
 when the city was taken, the hands and feet of children 
 were found in pickle. At length, the king gave leave to all 
 persons to depart from the city, if they were so inclined. 
 Some accepted of the offer ; but most of them chose rather 
 to stay, and to endure all extremities. 
 
 * A certain soldier, who for some crime had deserted from 
 the bishop's army, and fled to the rebels, now returned from 
 the city, where all was full of despair, to the camp, and laid 
 before the bishop an easy method of taking it. By this man's 
 directions and conduct, Munster at the last, at the end of 
 June 15S5, after a siege of eighteen months, came into the 
 bishop's hands ; yet not vt'ithout a violent resistance, and a 
 smart engagement, particularly in the market-place, where 
 the besieged had fenced themselves with a circle of wag- 
 gons. But the soldiers forcing a passage, most of the fa- 
 natics were cut to pieces, and amongst them, as it was 
 thought, Bernard Rotman. The hing, with Cnipperdolling 
 and Crechting, was taken alive. For some months they 
 were made a public show, and carried about to the courts 
 of several princes ; and in January of the following year he 
 was set upon a scaffold, in his own kingdom and city', and 
 tormented for more than an hour by two executioners, who 
 tare off his flesh with hot pinchers ; and then, a sword be- 
 ing thrust through his breast, he expired, aged only twenty- 
 six. His two companions underwent the same punishment. 
 Their carcasses were put into iron baskets, and hung up on 
 the highest tower in the city. They showed a remarkable 
 patience under these torments ; and the king, after he had 
 knelt down, and recommended his soul into the hands of 
 God, never uttered the least complaint or groan : nor did 
 CnipperdoUing and Crechting suffer with less constancy. 
 Hence we may learn, that religion, though a false one, 
 hath a wonderful effect upon a mind that entertains it with 
 a full persuasion ; as also, that there is nothing so absurd, 
 nothing so impure and immoral, which an enthusiast cannot 
 
1524-3 OF ERASMUS. S33 
 
 adopt as a part of his religion ; and consequently that we 
 must not too hastily reject the testimony of the antient fa- 
 thers concerning the filthy and wicked doctrines and deeds 
 of the Gnostics and Manichacans. 
 
 ' Thus fell the kingdom of the Anabaptists of Munster by 
 a series of dreadful calamities : yet John Batenburg at- 
 tempted to raise it up again ; he collected together, and 
 comforted and confirmed, the distressed and scattered rem- 
 nant of this faction ; and then these ruffians exercised many 
 acts of outrage and cruelty upon their adversaries, in villages, 
 and up and down in the country. But the Anabaptists, who 
 had their denomination from Hofman, abhorred the poly- 
 gamy and the violent deeds of these men, although not less 
 enthusiasQc than they. So they appointed a meeting in 
 August 1536, and assembled at a town in the territories of 
 Munster, to try if they could come to an agreement : and 
 something of an accommodation was then made, by the me- 
 diation of David son of George, a glass-maker of Delft, one 
 who had been in high repute with the Anabaptists of Mun- 
 ster, and afterwards was so amongst all the fanatics. This 
 man \ at last, died at Basil in the year 1556, where he had 
 taken refuge, bringing great wealth along with him, and 
 where he acted with profound dissimulation, holding com- 
 munion with the Zuinglians, pretending to have fled frorn 
 Holland on account of protestantism, and keeping his real 
 sentiments concealed from all persons. 
 
 ' At length arose Ubo, son of Philip, as a reformer, who 
 departed from all the above-mentioned fanatics, and purged 
 anabaptism of every thing that was frantic, enthusiasdc, and 
 seditious. This man had been bapdzed, and made a teacher, 
 by the apostles whom John Matthias had sent to Friesland, at 
 Leeuwarden, in the year 1534: and in 15.36 he laid his 
 hands upon Menno, the son of Simon, of a village near 
 Bolsawert, who had been a priest, and sent him forth as a 
 preacher. From this Menno, who became very famous in 
 both Frieslands, our Anabaptists have taken their denomi- 
 nation, and are called Mennonites. Yet even in his time 
 violent schisms arose amongst them, chiefly on account of 
 their excommunications, which they dealt out very liberally 
 
 ^ See a large account of him ia Thuaous, 1. xxii. 66/. 
 
554 THE LIFE [1524. 
 
 upon the slightest occasions, and carried to such rigour, 
 that even the wife of an excommunicated man was to re- 
 nounce all intercourse and connecdons with her husband. 
 Many disapproved this doctrine and pracdce, who were called 
 afterwards Franekerans and Waterlandians. Menno died in 
 1559, between Hamburg and Lubeck, when, being ex- 
 pelled from Holland, he had betaken himself first to East 
 Friesland, and then to Wismar. 
 
 ' These outrages and seditions of the Anabaptists did no 
 small harm to the reformadon in the Low Countries, and in 
 other regions : for princes and magistrates, and indeed many 
 private persons, entertained an opinion that ail these insur- 
 rections and all this fanaticism proceeded from the n>vv reli- 
 gion, and that in it were contained the seeds of anarchy and 
 sedition ; imagining that they who rejected the authority of 
 the pope, and the hierarchy, and episcopal jurisdiction, were 
 equally disposed to destroy all subordination and civil go- 
 vernment ; which indeed was the avowed doctrine of the 
 first Anabapdsts. Under the pretence therefore of crush- 
 ing these enthusiasts, cruel edicts were made^ and a perse- 
 cution carried on, against all the opposers of the church of 
 Rome, but principally against the Zuinglians, who were 
 supposed to approach nearer to anabaptism than the Lu'Iie- 
 rans, because, hke the Anabaptists, they rejected the doc- 
 trine of the bodily presence of Christ in the eucharist. 
 Henceforwar ds our annals are filled with accounts of pro- 
 testant martyrs. We find in the year 1534, when the Ana- 
 baptists were seized and punished at Over-Yssel, as they 
 were going to Munster, that the senators of Deventer bound 
 themselves by an oath to assist each other by night and by 
 day against Lutheranism, the mother, as they accounted her, 
 of anabaptism ; and, in the year following, purged them- 
 selves of Lutheranism by an oath, and made it a capital 
 crime to profess that religion. Yet they refused to admit 
 the emperor's commissaries, who had been appointed inqui- 
 sitors of Lutheranism ; but chose for themselves four from 
 the lower, and eight from the upper senate, who should 
 exercise this office according to the imperial edicts. Thus 
 did they oppose all reformadon, through a dread and a ha- 
 tred of anabapdsm.* Perizonius Hist. Sec. xvi. p. 194. 
 
 This year Luther was occupied in translating the book of 
 
1524.] OF ERASMUS. 3S5 
 
 Job '", and complains to a friend of the difficulty of the 
 task ; and observes, son:ewhac jocosely, that Job ^ chose to 
 sit on his dunghill, and not to admit of interpreters. 
 
 About ° this time the violent and unliappy controversy 
 concerning the encharist was excited amongst the Pro- 
 testants. As many books were written upon the subject as 
 would load several waggons ; but the dispute produced far 
 worse eifects than the mere waste of ink and of German 
 paper, and did no small harm to the Reformation. 
 
 Erasmus wrote an excellent letter to Botzem, in which he 
 gives a history of himself, and an account and a catalogue 
 of all his works. It shall be inserted in the Appendix *. 
 Some remarkable things contained in that epistle are omitted 
 for the present, that the reader may not have the same thing 
 twice over. 
 
 His Querela Pacis was about this time translated into 
 Spanish. Ep. 673. 
 
 The astrologers had foretold that the world should perish 
 by a deluge in 1 524, and terrified many people all over Eu- 
 rope. Bayle, Niphm and Stqfier, 
 
 A. D. MDXXV. iETAT. LVIII. 
 
 Erasmus, in Ep. 728 to Oecolampadius, is angry with 
 him, because, in the Preface to his Commentary on Isaiah, 
 he had said of Erasmus, Magnus Erasmus noster ; which 
 might give occasion to the enemies of the latter to say, that 
 he and Oecolampadius were of a mind. He would have 
 been better pleased that Oecolampadius had even spoken ill 
 of him, than that he should have treated him as a friend. 
 What reply this learned and worthy reformer made to his 
 strange complaint, we know not : but he might very justly 
 have told Erasmus, that he had done him more honour than 
 
 ^ Luther was inclined to think that Solomon was the author of the 
 book of Job. CoUoq. Mens, p, 359. 
 
 " In transferendo Hiob tantuni est nobis negotii, ob styli grandissimi 
 granditatem, ut videatur multo impatieniior translationis nostras esse, 
 quam fuit consolationis amicorum, aut certe p-Tpetuo vult sedere in 
 sterquilinio. Nisi forte id voluit auctor libri cyn, ne unquam transfera- 
 tur. See Seckendorf, 1. i. p. 204. 
 
 • Seckendorf, 1. i. p. 302. See Bayle, Morlin ; and Moms, not. A. 
 
 * No. xxxiii, 
 
 8 
 
336 THE LIFE [152^. 
 
 he deserved, and that for the future he would throw away 
 no more civilities upon him. The beginning of this epistle 
 is not worthy of Erasmus. I judge you not, says he ; I 
 leave that to the Lord, who will absolve or condemn you : 
 but I consider what several great men think of you, the 
 emperor, the pope, Ferdinand, the king of England, the 
 bishop of Rochester, cardinal Wolsey, and msny others, 
 whose authority it is not safe for me to despise, and whose 
 favour it is not prudent for me to throw away. Frank 
 enough ! But this was almost to say, in other words, that 
 truth and justice in this point were not the rules of his con-* 
 duct ; and that a fear of provoking those who gave him 
 pensions, and could do him a mischief, had too much influ- 
 ence over his proceedings. And yet, when any of th® re- 
 formed hinted that he acted by such motives, he always 
 took fire, and complained loudly. Although we have the 
 highest esteem for Erasmus, yet the indispensable laws of 
 history oblige us to take notice of these infirmities, were it 
 only to shame those who imitate him in the most blame- 
 able part of his behaviour. It is a despicable meanness to 
 be afraid of being commended by those whom we secretly 
 honour and value, lest we should give offence to others 
 whom we esteem not, and lest we should suffer in our 
 worldly interests. Erasmus had done better to have accept- 
 ed of a professorship in Switzerland, or in some reformed 
 country, where he might have dwelt in safety, and have 
 been under no necessity to accommodate himself to the hu- 
 mours of incorrigible men. Thus Le Clerc observes ; but 
 then it must also be considered, that Erasmus was not satis- 
 lied with all the doctrines of the Lutherans, or of the Zuin- 
 glians, and still less with the persons of several of them. 
 A professorship amongst them might have proved a more 
 uneasy situation to him, than any which he had experienced 
 in all his life. He might have liked it even worse than a 
 monastery, which indeed never was a cage fit for such a bird» 
 
 This year he dedicated to the bishop of Olmutz an edi- 
 tion of Pliny the naturalist, wherein he had corrected many 
 passages by the help of an antient manuscript. Ep. 730. 
 
 De Hondt, canon of Courtray, had the canonry, from 
 which Erasmus received a pension. Erasmus in a letter to 
 him inveighs, according to custom, against the reformed ; 
 
1525.] OF ERASMUS. 337 
 
 and observes, as a very strange thing, that there were 
 amongst them persons, who believed that m the euchaiist 
 there ivas nothing besides bread and ivine. But he com- 
 plains as much of P. Barbier, who had transubstantiated 
 forty franks from the emperor's pension to him, and had 
 endeavoured to seize upon part of his other pension from 
 the canonry of Courtray. He supposeth that poverty had 
 compelled this man to follow Aleander, who was then an 
 archbishop, and was gone to France, as pope's nuncio. 
 
 George, duke of Saxony, had desired Erasmus to re- 
 commend to him a person to be professor of the Greek 
 tongue at Leipsic. Erasmus sent him Jac. Ceratinus p, who 
 was then at Louvain, and whom he extols as a worthy 
 man, and one of the best scholars in the world. Yet it ap- 
 peared afterwards, that this learned professor was in the 
 sentiments of Luther: but that was more than Erasmus 
 knew. Ep. 736, 737, 738. 763. 
 
 Ep. 739 is to Martinus Hunnus '^, a physician. 
 
 He received some notes of Natalis Bedda \ or Beda, upon 
 his Paraphrase of St. Luke. He returned Bedda his thanks, 
 and prayed him to do the same on his other paraphrases, and 
 principally on his annotations ; and told him, that he would 
 make a proper use of them in a fourth edition of his New 
 Testament, which he was preparing. But Bedda having 
 attacked him with too much acrimony % these compliments, 
 which Bedda little deserved, were changed into warm re- 
 proaches. Erasmus speaks also with the utmost contempt 
 of Petrus Sutor, some time doctor of the Sorbonne, and 
 then a Carthusian, who had attacked him, and opposeth to 
 his cavils the favourable judgments of Adrian VI, and of 
 the bishops of London and Rochester, who had commend- 
 
 P Bayle Diet. Ccrntinus. Val. Andreae Bibl. Belg. p. 419. Miraei 
 Elog. Belg. p. 130. Leichius deOrig. Typ. Lips. p. 44. 
 
 <i Melch. Adam. 
 
 '■ Bayle, Beda. Du Pin, xiv. 15/. Hemarques sur Bayle, in the Re- 
 lat. Getting, vol. iii. fasc. i. p, 97- 
 
 » Bedda accused Erasmus of having given to Henry VIII the title of 
 King of England, France, Sec. An accusation of the same kind was 
 afterwards brought against Beza. Bayle, Beze, not. G. G. See Eras- 
 mus, t. ix. c. 489. To avoid offence, this part of Henry's title was 
 omitted in subsequent editions. 
 Vol. L Z 
 
S38 ^ THE LIFE [l525, 
 
 ed his works. Amongst his Apologies, there is a treatise 
 in answer to this man. Ep. 741. 
 
 In this year he probably wrote a letter * to Goclenius ", 
 professor of Latin at Louvain, which is prefixed to the first 
 tome of his works ; wherein, after grievous complaints of 
 Hutten and Eppendorf, he says, that if he had known the 
 perfidious temper of the Germans, he would sooner have 
 gone to Turkey than to Basil. And yet he owns, that he 
 knew not where to go else, and how to mend his quarters ; 
 for he had just cause to fear every place where the pope and 
 the monks had too much authority. And therefore, after 
 all his cross speeches about Basil, and about the reformed 
 party, he certainly rejoiced inwardly, that the monks had 
 no interest and sway in that city. 
 
 In this letter he makes a sort of last will and testament ; 
 whence it appears, that although his pension from the em- 
 peror was not duly paid him, yet he was not bare of money, 
 and that the debts which he had contracted, as he said, at 
 Basil, were only a plea for not going to Brabant, whither 
 he was then invited. He left to Goclenius four hundred 
 florins of gold, to Ceratinus three hundred florins of the 
 Rhine, to Melchior Viandulus one hundred and thirty phi- 
 lips, to Corn. Grapheus fifty florins of gold, and forty-six 
 and a half of the Rhine ; for, said Erasmus, I suspect that 
 he is poor, and he is a man worthy of better fortune. As 
 for his plate and his jewels, he says that he would soon dis- 
 pose of them. He desires Goclenius to keep all these things 
 secret, for many good reasons ; and he declares, that he 
 reposeth an entire confidence in him. 
 
 He says, that he would not burden his friends with of- 
 Jices and cmniversaries^ but only with the care of printing all 
 his works correctly at Froben's press. I would have you, 
 says he, also give all the ducats to Levinus^, (who was one 
 of the r//??c7^??/pr?6e5 of Erasmus,) if you think that he can 
 come safely hither. Let him sew them in his girdle, as 
 Hilary did. — You will learn from others, how I have dis- 
 posed of the rest of my effects. I have ordered that you 
 
 * Epistola Secretissima. 'Kya.yh-xQ-A,e [j.dvos, y,xi XdQscx,. 
 " Melch. Adam. 
 
1525.] OF ERASMUS. 339 
 
 should give twenty-five florins of gold to Ceratinus. If yoii 
 have done it, I will repay you from the money which I have 
 at Antwerp, that the sum for Grapheus may be complete. 
 
 Hence it appears, that Erasmus was not quite so poor as 
 he sometimes seemed to represent himself. But after this 
 will, he made another. With this letter to his friend 
 Goclenius, he sends him a compendium ^ of his most un- 
 happy life, and hopes that Goclenius will defend his charac- 
 ter, after his decease, against his calumniators. 
 
 At this time Caslius Calcagninus y, a canon of Ferrara, 
 wrote a treatise on Free-will against Luther ; and one of the 
 friends of Erasmus sent it to him to Basil in manuscript. 
 Erasmus approved of it, one passage excepted, wherein Cal- 
 cagninus pretended that there was a right understanding be- 
 tween Erasmus and Luther, because the former had not at- 
 tacked the latter in his writings. Thereupon Erasmug wrote 
 to the author to justify himself, and told him, that he would 
 have printed his treatise, if it had not been for this passage, 
 which ought to be corrected ; but that he would not alter 
 the copy without his consent. Three days after, Erasmus 
 composed a Dedication for this work, which appears amongst 
 his letters. It is addressed to Florianus Montinus, who had 
 sent the treatise to him, and Calcagninus is much com- 
 mended in it. At the same time he defends himself against 
 the suspicions of the Italians ; and says that it would be well 
 for him, if the Germans had the same opinion of him, and, 
 like the Italians, thought him a Lntheran ; or if the Ita* 
 lians, like the Germans, thought him attache^ to the Ro- 
 manists : instead of which, he was attacked by both par- 
 ties. Some, says he, observe maliciously of me, that I 
 keep a medhun between both. I confess, that it is a great 
 impiety to halt between Christ and Belial ; but I think it is 
 prudence to steer between Scylla and Charybdis. 
 
 And yet there was no great prudence in writing even such 
 
 •^ Quum autem subinde pericliter de vita, superestj ut tibi amicorum 
 sincerissimo commendem id, quod habeo charissimum, memoriara mei, 
 quam suspicor multis calumniis fore obnoxiam. Ita totius vitae meae 
 compendium tibi mitto, hoc est, 'Wix^x Kccyijov. Nihil enim unquam 
 me iiatum est infehcius. Sed fortasse fiituri sunt qui niulla affingent. 
 
 y Paul. Jovius, Eiog. p, 209, and Vit. Alphons. p. IQb, who comtnenda 
 him very sparingly. 
 
 Z 2 
 
340 THE LIFE [1525. 
 
 things as these to Italy, where every man passed for a he- 
 retic, who did not join in every article with the pope against 
 Luther. Ep. 742. 744. 
 
 In Ep. 747 he makes mention of his friend Franciscus 
 Craneveldius ^. 
 
 In a letter to Bilibaldus he sends his service to Paulus 
 Ritius % for whom he had a great esteem. This Ritius was 
 a learned Jew, who had embraced Christianity. Ep. 757. 
 
 Being invited by Carondeletus archdeacon of Bezan9on, 
 he paid him a visit, as it appears from his letter to Bedda, 
 wherein he gives an account of his journey. He was most 
 courteously entertained there, and it was with great diffi- 
 culty that he avoided a crowd of visiters, and the danger of 
 being feasted to death. Yet lying reports had been spread, 
 that he had been coldly received ; and Erasmus wrote to 
 Bedda to contradict those rumours. 
 
 Bedda, in a letter ^ to Erasmus, had censured his vanity, 
 and his ignorance in theology, and had exhorted him to 
 read Gerson, and other such authors, and had marked out 
 some obnoxious passages in his works. It is a poor and im- 
 pertinent letter, written in bald Latin, and full of spiritual 
 pride under the transparent mask of humility. Erasmus re- 
 plies to these objections in a long and laboured epistle, 
 wherein he defends himself well, and sets in a true light the 
 base conduct of the Sorbonists of those days. 
 
 Louis de Berquin, who afterwards was burnt at Paris for 
 religion A. 1529, had translated into French some treatises 
 of Erasmus, as his Praise of Marriage, The Christian Sol- 
 dier's Manual, and The Complaint of Peace ; and, as Ber- 
 quin was a declared enemy to ecclesiastical tyranny, Bedda 
 had sent word to Erasmus, that these translations would 
 hurt his character. Erasmus only replies, that they were 
 undertaken against his consent, and that he ought to be 
 judged by his own works, as he had published them, and not 
 by the versions of others. Ep. 7-1^. 
 
 The malignity of the French divines quite disgusted Eras- 
 mus, and took from him all inclination to go to France : and 
 yet his pension from Charles V had not been paid him for 
 
 ' Melch. Adiim. 
 
 • Melch, Adum, who calls him Ricius, Ea)'le, Hidus. 
 
 ^Fp. ;522. c. 1706. 
 
1J25.] OF ERASMU8. 341 
 
 four years. Of this he complains, and says, that if he 
 were not speedily paid, the money would come too late, 
 unless it could be of any service in the Elysian Fields. He 
 would have gone to the Low Countries, if the stoves and the 
 season of Lent had not hindered him ; for even the smell of 
 fish offended him, and made him sick : and though he had 
 a dispensation from the pope to eat flesh, yet he was not 
 willing to scandalize any weak brethren in those parts. Then 
 the war of the Peasants had thrown Germany into confu- 
 sion, and constrained him to keep close at Basil. Vincen- 
 tius, the Dominican, had published a new invective against 
 him at Antwerp ; and thus the recommendations of Ferdi- 
 nand, who had desired Margaret to obtain the payment of 
 his pension, and to impose silence upon the prating monks, 
 had been ineffectual. Ep. 742. 
 
 He was attacked, as we observed before, by one Sutor% 
 a blockhead '' and a madman, as Erasmus represents him. 
 Du Pin insinuates, that this Sutor was a poor critic and 
 controversialist. To Sutor let us join one Rivius, an adver- 
 sary to Erasmus, who wrote something against his Enchiri- 
 dion, in the year 1531, and who is also mentioned by Du 
 Pin. 
 
 '-" Gervasius, in a letter to Erasmus from Paris, informs 
 
 *■ Du Pin, xiv. 153. Simon, Hist. Crit. dcs Vers, kc.p.yg. 
 
 '' Lutetiae excnsum est opus cujusdam Petri Sutoris, theologi Sorbo- 
 nici, et nionachi Carthusiani, quo nihil adhuc legi dementius. Ep. 747- 
 
 * The Ant-Apologia of a Carthusian of Paris, called Petrus Sutor, (in 
 Frcncti Dom Pierre Cordouanier,) who died A. 153/, is an answer to an 
 Apology which Erasmus had published against this monk. It is called 
 Ant-Apologia contra Erasmi Apologiam advcrsus Petrum Sutorem Car- 
 thusianum, Paris, A. 1523. Theod. Petreius mentions another Ant- 
 Apologia of this Sulor, written, as he says, against Luther. I never 
 could see it ; and I suspect that Petreius, who was not over-accurate, 
 mistook Luther for Erasmus. Baillet, vii. 349-' La Monnoye upon 
 this passage observes, that the French name of Sutor was le Sueur. If 
 be had called himself Sudorius, he would have deprived Erasmus of 
 some jests, nhich he made upon his Latin name, treating him as a cob- 
 ler 7vho went beyond his last. 
 
 * Quid Bedda in caput tuum moliatur, paucis accipe. Ex para- 
 
 phrasibus nescio quot myriades haereseon, ut loquuntur, facultati exhi- 
 buit : mitto, quas facultas jam condemnavit, simul et eas, quas nunc 
 tractat ; nee est quod speres a facultate, nisi omnia sinistra, improba, et 
 iniqua ; proinde cura, ut tibi adsit animus, uti non deest calamus. Est 
 tibi negotiuni cum ignorantissimis et impudentissimis traductoribus. 
 
342 THE LIFE |[1525. 
 
 him of the villainous behaviour of Bedda, and of the Fa- 
 culty. Erasmus ^ complains of this ill usage to the cardinal 
 of Lorrain. 
 
 The letter of Erasmus to Calcagninus drew an answer 
 from this Italian, which was very courteous, and elegant 
 enough as to the style, but contained a mere declamation 
 against Luther, whose sentiments Calcagninus did not even 
 understand. He informs Erasmus of the death of some 
 Italian literati, and amongst others of Caslius Rhodiginus, 
 who died of grief after the battle of Pavia, in which his pa- 
 tron Francis I, from whom he expected favours, was taken 
 prisoner by the Imperialists. He mentions the death of 
 Leonicenus, and highly commends Joannes Manardus s, a 
 learned physician. Ep. 7-50. 
 
 Rhodiginus ^ had borrowed some things from Erasmus, 
 ■without making proper acknowledgments j and Beatus Rhe- 
 nanus describes him as a plagiary '. 
 
 These accusations of plagiarism, which perpetually occur 
 in the works of the learned, are not to be too hastily credit- 
 ed : for, as in the republic of letters there are always a troop 
 of hussars, who live upon pillage ; so there are jealous and 
 querulous writers, who suspect upon slender grounds that 
 others have robbed them of their rarities. They resemble 
 Mr. Bush, the broken merchant, in the fable, who being 
 transformed into a bramble, used to seize every passenger 
 by the garment, fancying that it was made out of his cloth, 
 and endeavouring, when he could do no more, to pick a 
 hole in his coat. Polydore Virgil seems to have been in 
 this perverse humour, when he charged Erasmus with pla- 
 giarism. 
 
 If a man finds some of his learned productions purloined 
 by others, he may, generally speaking, make out his claim 
 to his own property, if he thinks it worth the while ; and he 
 ought not to be very uneasy about it, as if some strange ac- 
 
 Sunt in facultate literati non pavTci, sed in illos animadvertitiir, ut in pe- 
 jores Lutheranis, Ep. 439. c, 1820. 
 
 ^ Si plenius super liisce rebus edoceri voles, ex Gervasio thcologo po- 
 teris rem onmem cognoscere, cui et doctrina non vulgaris, et judicium 
 integrum adest. Ep. ()ll, 
 
 f Bayle, Manard. »» Bayle, Erasmc, not. C. C. 
 
 ' Ep. 119. c. 1505. 
 
1525.] OF ERASMUS. S+.'J 
 
 cident had befallen hitii. He should think and say of his 
 writings, as well as of all his other goods and chattels. 
 These things I have collected for myself, for my neighbours, 
 for friends, and for thieves ; since thieves will come in for 
 a share. 
 
 Erasmus sent, at his own expense, a messenger to France, 
 with letters to his friends, and amongst the rest to Berquin, 
 who, though he had published some of the books of Eras- 
 mus, translated into French, with a friendly and good de- 
 sign, yet had thereby brought an odium upon him. This 
 he freely tells Berquin, advising him to avoid contests with 
 the divines, because religious controversy was now carried 
 on with such an excess of fury, that it was not safe to med- 
 dle in it. Ep. 753. 
 
 At this time he published his Lingua, a book of the 
 good and bad use of the tongue, and dedicated it to Schyd- 
 lowitz, chancellor of Poland. Upon this occasion he says 
 in a letter to a friend ; Erasmus now micst be mute, having 
 parted ivith his tongue, Ep. 756. 
 
 In this treatise he endeavours to dissuade men from ca- 
 lumny and evil speaking, and tells a pleasant stoiy of a 
 Franciscan, who, after having perused his Paraphrase upon 
 St. John, approved it entirely ; but unluckily coming at last 
 to the Appendix, which Erasmus had added purely to fill up 
 a few blank leaves, he all on a sudden changed his opinion. 
 Erasmus had there derided the superstition of those who de- 
 sired to be buried in the frock of a Franciscan or a Domi- 
 nican. This monk, finding the holy garment of St. Francis 
 thus set at nought, condemned the whole book, and by his 
 interest caused the general chapter to forbid all the monks 
 of their order to read the works of Erasmus. If I had only 
 jested, says he, upon the coat of Dominic, I should have been 
 a good Christian with the Franciscans ; but for one poor 
 word I became a heretic. T. iv. c. 716. 
 
 In a letter to Pirckhcimerus, he sets forth the disorderly 
 state of things. My frequent exhortations, says he, to mo- 
 derate proceedings were understood by one party to be the 
 effect of timidity, by the other to be a collusion with the Lu- 
 therans. Now each side standing up for its rights, and be- 
 ing more intent upon increasing than diminishing them. 
 
344 THE LIFE [1525. 
 
 things are come to such a pass, that God alone can calm the 
 tempest. 
 
 Then he relates the tumults in various places ; that at 
 Bolduc the populace had driven out the Minorites and the 
 Dominicans ; that Margaret, the emperor's aunt, was be- 
 sieging that city ; and that the people of Holland, Zeland, 
 and Flanders were acquainted with the Lutheran doctrines, 
 and hated the monks : and so we, says Erasmus, must wage 
 war to support these bad men, who, if they prevail, will 
 ruin their betters. They have indeed been ill used in many 
 places ; but most of them are so intolerable, that nothing 
 else can correct them. Thus the contests of Erasmus with 
 the Protestants had not made him a better friend to 
 monkery. Ep. 757. 
 
 He addressed a letter of consolation to Margaret, sister to 
 Francis I, and queen of Navarre, who was gone to Spain to 
 visit her captive brother. Erasmus says, that he had taken 
 this liberty, upon seeing some letters which she had written 
 to John a Lasco '', a nobleman of Poland, who then lived 
 and boarded with him. In this, and some other letters, he 
 highly commends a Lasco, who afterwards embraced the 
 Reformation. Such was the fate of many friends of Eras- 
 mus, whom, without intending it, he led by his conversation 
 and his writings into the Lutheran or reformed systems, 
 though he himself did not go so far. A Lasco, it is to be 
 supposed, chose to dwell with Erasmus, that he might im- 
 prove in literature, by having free access to him ; and after- 
 wards other gentlemen did the same, with the same views. 
 And this might be no small assistance to Erasmus in the ar- 
 ticle of house-keeping \ 
 
 If some of these boarders with Erasmus had taken it into 
 
 ^ Beza, Icon. Verheiden, Theol. Effig. p. 88. Strype's Life of 
 Parker, b. iii. ch. 25. Melch. Adam. 
 
 ' Erasmus says afterwards to a Lasco, who had left him : 
 Si tibi feliciter cessit tua demigratio, cJarissime comes, est profecto 
 cur levius doleam. Mihi sane tuus abitus multis nominibus fuit infelix : 
 ut eiiim reliqua taceam, mensibus aliquot mihi sudandum erat, ut do- 
 nium banc tua magniiicentia corruptam ad pristinam frugalitatem revoca- 
 rem. Deinde totum pene autumnum at hycmem cum calculo mihi fuit 
 colluctandum. His, quasi parum esset, tantum molestiarum aliunde ac- 
 cessit, ut facile senserim genium meura bonum abesse. Ep. 798. 
 
1525.]] OF ERASMUS. 345 
 
 their heads to serve him as two youngr students served Jo- 
 seph Scaliger, to set down his table-talk, we might have had 
 perhaps no small entertainment in his unpremeditated di:^- 
 courses ; for he was very ingenious, very unguarded, and 
 very free of speech. 
 
 Erasmus wrote again to Bedda, to justify a letter which 
 he had formerly sent to the bishop of Basil. In it we find 
 some remarkable things concerning the sentiments of the re- 
 formed, as to the Eucharist. Carlostad '", says he, hath 
 brought a most formidable tragedy upon the stage. He 
 hath persuaded the people, that there is nothing in the 
 Lord's supper except brt-ad and wine. Zuinc;lius hath 
 written books to support this opinion ; and, lastly, Oeco- 
 lampadius hath defended it with such skill, and hath em- 
 ployed so many arguments, and such persuasive eloquence, 
 that, if God should not interpose, even the elect may be se- 
 duced. This ciiy (Basil) wavers; but it may still be con- 
 firmed in the faith. 1 am obliged to quit all niy other af- 
 fairs, to enter into this war, although I have not abilities 
 equal to so difficult a task. Pt appears not that Erasmus 
 ever undertook to confute Oecolampadius ; and this was 
 probably a mere bragging and threatening, not intended to 
 be put in execution, and thrown out to please the Roman- 
 ists. He acted very prudently in leaving Zuinglius and 
 Oecolampadius at quiet, and in declining a combat, wherein 
 he would infallibly have been buffeted and disgraced. He 
 was even suspected of favouiing this very sentiment ", for 
 
 "* Novam tragcediam caetern omnibus atrociorern nobis hie pepcrit Ca- 
 rolstadius : persuasit in euchaiislia nihil esse praeter panem et viimni. 
 Earn sententiam libellis aliquot editis confirmavit Zuinglius : proxime 
 Oecolampadius tanto studio, totque raachinis argumentovum idem agit, 
 et tanta facundia, ut seduci possinf, ni vetet Deas, etiam elccti. Ep. 
 
 Nisi me moveret tantus ecclesi.x^ consensus, possim in Oecolarapadii 
 sententiam pedibus discedere; nunc in eo persisto, quod mihi tradidit 
 scriptuiarum interpres ecclesia. Aliotjuinuliuin leperio locum in scrip- 
 turisdivinis, unde certo constct apostolos consecrasse panem et vinum in 
 carnem 8c siMiguinem Domini. Ep. 1053. 
 
 " -Martinus Lydius thinks that Erasmus came over to this .sentiment be- 
 fore lie died : 
 
 Sed quid opus est verbis ? Erasmum adeo intus permotum fuisse vi ar- 
 gumentorum Occulampadii, ut in verbis Chri.iti, Hoc est corpus mcuin, 
 tropum agnosceret^ et ill! sententiae inimorcrctur (quicquid etiam alibi 
 
246 THE LIFE ^ [1525. 
 
 he was suspected of holding every rational opinion thatwas 
 proposed in those days ; but he often denied it. He be- 
 stows the same praises upon this work of Oecolampadius, in 
 another letter, wherein he also pretends to have designed a 
 visit to Italy, if the state of his affairs had permitted. This 
 farce he often acted, although he was terribly afraid of be- 
 ing compelled to go to Rome, as it appears from his Epistle 
 to Goclenius, prefixed to the first volume, in which he says, 
 that he dared not even to go, according to his sincere desire, 
 to Venice or to Padua, lest he should be forced to proceed on 
 to Rome. 
 
 To return to this formidable book of Oecolampadius : as 
 soon as it appeared, the magistrate of Basil consulted two di- 
 vines and two lawyers, to know whether the public sale of it 
 might be permitted. The divines were Erasmus and Berus ; 
 the lawyers were Bonifacius Amerbachius and Claudius 
 Canzoneta. Erasmus says, that, in giving his answer upon 
 this point, he made no invectives against Oecolampadius ; 
 rtnd so the book was allowed to be sold. He adds, that 
 Zuinglius, Oecolampadius, Capito, and Pellicanus were 
 alarmed at this procedure ; that Capito wrote from Strats- 
 burg, desiring that too much deference might not be paid to 
 the judgment of these four arbitrators ; and that a defama- 
 tory libel had been drav/n up against them, but was however 
 suppressed. Ep. 846. 798. 
 
 He sent word to Nicolas Everard, president of the court 
 of Holland, that the Lutheran tragedy ^ would end, like the 
 
 ad alios scripsit) testantur verba illius in lib. iii. Ecclesiastic sui, sen, de 
 ratione cojic'wnandi, quern non integro anno ante mortem suam edidit, 
 ubi sic sciibit, p. lOig. torn. v. ylt cum Dominus porrigtns pantm 
 apostolis dicit, Accipite, hoc est corpus meum, quod pro vobis traditur ; 
 si per tropinii , est inlcrpreteris significat, nut corpus interprctcris signum 
 corporis, noii svnt defuturi e/iti lua reclament intn-prciationi. At si liutic 
 in modum inicrpreteris : * Hoc synibolum, quod vobis exhibeo, significat 
 indissolubilem unitatem meam, qui sum caput corporis mei mystici, quod 
 pst ecclesia, qnoniam tropus subscnit recto sensuij non est rejicicn- 
 dus.' 
 
 Hinc liquet ergo cvii sententise sit immortuus Erasmus : pugnant enim 
 ba-c e diametro cum his quae scribit ad Pellicanum Ep. 84 j. p. ()t)3 B, 
 decern ante mortem annis. Profecit ergo pkuimum ab eo tempore. 
 Vide Libnun dc amabili ecclesiae concordia. M. Lydii Apolcg. It is in 
 Erasmus, t. x. c. 1774. 
 
 " Solent comici tumultus fere in matiimonium exire, at(juc hincsubita 
 rerum omnium tranquillitas. Verimi banc catastrophen plerum(jue nunc 
 
1525.] OF ERASMUS. 347 
 
 ciuarrels of princes, in matrimony. A monk, saiih ho, 
 hath married a nun ; and that you may know that this mar- 
 riage was contracted under happy auspices, about fourteen. 
 days after the bridal song was chanted, my lady was brought 
 to-bed. Now Luther begins to grow mild, and not to 
 write with his accustomed violence. Nothing is so fierce, 
 which a girl cannot tame. He speaks '' again of this mar- 
 riage in another letter, and adds, that Catharine Bore was 
 very handsome. He was not well instructed in this atfair, or 
 he embellished a little the common rumours, or he was too 
 prone to give crcdjt to the scandal which was published 
 against Luther, who had been married more than six 
 months, when Erasmus wrote this letter : and Erasmus him- 
 self owned afterwards, that the scandalous reports concern- 
 ing Catharine Bore were lyes 'i. Nor was it true, that Lu- 
 ther's wife was a beauty. See a dissertation on this subject 
 by Mayer, published in the year 1698. This puts me in 
 mind of an observation of Glareanus "■ concerning Erasmus, 
 that he was very inquisitive after news, and very credulous, 
 and easily imposed upon. 
 
 He speaks of the slaughter^ of the Peasants in Ger- 
 many. 
 
 habent principiini tragondiae, non admodum Inftam popdo, sed tanien 
 bellis potiorem. Malebat ille compilari (juani venire. Siniilem exitum 
 hahitura videtur Lutherana tragocdia. Duxit uxorem nionachus mona- 
 cham ; et ut scias nuptia.s prosperis avibus initas, diebus a decantalo 
 hymenao ferme qaatuordecim enixa est nova nupta. LiUhcrus mine 
 niitior esse incipit, nee perinde saevit calamo. Nihil est tam ferum 
 (j.uod non cicuret uxor. Kp. 781. 
 
 P Lutberus duxit uxorem, puellani mire venustam, ex clara familia 
 Bornae, (Boriae, vel, a Bore) sed, ut narrant, indotatam, quae ante 
 annos complures vestalis esse desierat. Quin et ipse Lutherus pallium 
 ^t barbani philosophi posuit. Ep. 7pO. 
 
 See Seckendorf, 1. i. p. 272; 1. ii. p. 15, &r. 
 
 Bayle, Burv. Spalatinus, in the Amcen. Liter, t. iv. p. 423. 
 
 •) De conjugio Lupheri certum est ; de pariu mature sponsae vanus erat 
 rumor, nunc tamen gravida esse dicitur. Si vera est fabula Anti- 
 christum nascitunim ex monacho et nionacha, quemadmodum isti iacti- 
 tapt, quot Antichristuruni millia jam olim habct mundus ! Ep. SOl. 
 
 ■■ See t. V. c. yi 1. 
 
 * Hie longe supra centum miUia Ilusticonuii interfecta sunt, et quo- 
 tidie sacerdotes capiuntur, torquentur, suspcnduntur, derollanuir, exu- 
 runtur. Non ncgo necessarium remedium, quamvis inuuite : sed Gcr- 
 mani niagis noviaius malcfucta pur.lre quam excluderc. Ep. 78I. 
 
348 THE LIFE [1525. 
 
 He cannot^ refrain from commending the comparative 
 moderation of the reformers of Basil, where he dwelt j and 
 he mentions the death of Dorpius. to whom he gives a good 
 character ", and whose epitaph ^ he composed. 
 
 He published this year a Greek edition of Chryso- 
 stom, and dedicated it to Bilibaldus Pirckheimerus. £p. 
 740. 
 
 He y speaks in a sort of rapture of Sadolet's style, and with 
 much candour prefers it to his own. Ep. 758. 
 
 In the next letter he talks of his death ^ as approaching, 
 which yet was not so near as he imagined. 
 
 * Hie passim diripiuntur et incenduntur monasteria, dissipantur mo- 
 nachi, sacraR virgines constuprantur, nullum discrimen est bonorum ac 
 malorum. Civitates, quse moderatiores sunt, acceperunt monasteria in 
 suam fidem, his legibus, ut obtemperent magistratui, ne quern alant, 
 nisi inibi professum, ne novitios recipiant inscio magistratu, ne quern 
 detineant, qui reddita ratione velit exire, ne detineant quod illi, qui dis- 
 cedunt, intulemnt, ne se misceant parochiis, aut monasteriis virginum. 
 Errones, qui per omnes terras vagari sclent cum fictis Prioram syngra- 
 phis, excluduntur ab ingressu civitatis. Hsec an pia sintnon pronuncio : 
 certe mitiora sunt, quam quod patiuntur reliqua monasteria. Et habe- 
 mus hie hoc hominum genus mitissimum. Ep. 747- 
 
 " Periit Martinus Dorpius, qui solus ingenue favebat rectioribus studiis, 
 nee perinde atque caeteri, detestabatur quicquid ullo pacto Lutheri dog- 
 niatibus est affine. Ep. 74/. 
 
 Dorpium studiis ereplum acerbissime ferrem, si nostro dolore possit 
 hue revoeari. — Mortuus est omnibus rebus florens. — Erat fiiturus mag- 
 nus si vixisset ; verum nunc felicius magnus est apud Christum, uti 
 spero. Solus propemodum erat aequus politioribus literis. — Ep. 748. 
 
 * Mitto epitaphium — si displicct, mittetur aliud elaboratius : nam 
 Dorpii memoriam etiam habeo sacrosanetam. Deplorarem mortem illius 
 praeproperam, quae tot egregias dotes, tot amplissimas spes incidit : sed 
 nunc hujusmodi scculum est ut nulli bono bene esse possjt. — Dorpii me- 
 moriam non patiar intercidere, si quid mea scripta valebunt. Ep. J/Q. 
 
 See an account of the dispute between Erasmus and Dorpius, and of 
 their reconciliation, and of the fair and ingenuous behaviour of Dorpius, 
 in Von der Hardt, Hist. Liter. Reformationis, p. i. p. 20, See. 74, kc. 
 He wrote a most friendly letter to Erasmus, which is not in our collec- 
 tion, and which I have transcribed from Hardt, p. 87. See the Appen- 
 dix, No. vii. p. 42. 
 
 y R. P. Sadoleti libellum in deliciis habeo : verum illius aureum dic- 
 tionisflumcn considcrans, video quam meus rivus sit ct turbidus et exilis. 
 Fosthac ad hoc exemplar meum (iuo(]ue btylum conabor atteniperare. 
 
 ^ Corpusculum hoc in dies collabitur, exarescit, ac deficit. Auguror 
 haud procul abesse diem, quo .=yphar hoc abjiciam, et exsiliam nova ci- 
 cada, Christi landes felicius canU'ltura, postcaquam in aerem puriorem ac 
 liberiorem evolaiim. 
 
1525.1 OF ERASMUS. S49 
 
 Writing to Polydorc Virgil, he represents the war of the 
 Rustics as a terrible calamity ^. Ep. 160. 
 
 Ep. 772 is a letter of compliments to Pole ^, with whom 
 at this time he contracted an acquaintance. Pole was a 
 man of learning, of abilities, and of some good qualities : 
 but Burnet haih commended him in every respect rather 
 more than he deserves. He had the honour to be suspect- 
 ed of heterodoxy or protestantism ; and was accounted an 
 hypocrite '^ by many persons. 
 
 3 Hie agitur crudelis et cruenta fabula. Agricolje munt in mortem. 
 Quotidie Hunt tonflictus atroces inter procereset n.i5ticos, Sec. 
 
 ^Knight, p. 194. Maittaire, iii. 515. Holland, Heroolog. p 20, 
 Burnet, i. 220, 221 ; ii. 146. 2gS, 299. 326, Sec. .3'10. 369; iii. 124. 
 126. 129.261 Appendix, 411. Du Pin, xvi. 21, 22. Sleidan, x. 
 p. 273. Coutinuat. Sieidani, 1. i. p. 51. Thuanus, 1. vi. p. 179; ' ^''^• 
 p. 623. Pope Rluunt, p. 443. See also Wood, i. 113 ii. 1014. Strype's 
 Lite of Whitgitt, p. 5, 6. of Cranmer, p. 6. and the Appendix, No. i, 
 p. 344. No. 82. p. 373. 381. No. 89. p. 263. 39O. Annals, i. p. 32, 
 37. 578. Memor. i. p. 289. 309, &c. Fath. Paul, torn. i. p, 485, &-c. 
 ii. p. 10, &:c. Vita Poli, Italice conscripta a Ludovico Bacatello, Ar- 
 chiepiscopo Ragusino, ipsius familiari, Latine reddita ab Andrea Dudi- 
 thio Episcopo Tininiensi. Juxta Exemplar Venetiis excusum. An. 1563. 
 I.ondini l6y0. 
 
 Dudithius, the Latin translator, was bishop of Knin (Tininium) in 
 Croatia. See his life in Du Pin, B. E. xv. p. I93. Wood says of Du- 
 dithius that he ".vas bishop of Tiniensis, Sec. torn, i, 123. O rem ridicu- 
 1am ! He might as well have said of Pole that he was archbishop of Can- 
 tuariensis. 
 
 Our anonymous editor says of this book ; Vita Poli a pertinacissimo 
 conscripta est pontiticio, qui reformalionis nostrae duces plurimis calum- 
 niis pr';scidit, historiamque mendaciis obfascavit. 
 
 "^ Paulus ill, monitu et commendatione Contareni, cardinalem ipsuni 
 (Polunij creat, et Romam accersit. Qui familiariter hominem norunt, 
 evangelii doctrinani ei probe cognitam esse dicunt : quud autem in Hcn- 
 ricum regem ita scripsit, causam esse putant, vit suspicionem evitaret 
 Lutheranismi, Libruni vero sumtu suo curavit Romse procudi, sicuti 
 ferunt, et ad se receptis omnibus exemplis, pontifici tantum, atque car- 
 dinalibus, et intimis amicis legendam dabat : nam et illis probare sese 
 vulebat, et simul verebatur, ut est credibile, ne si vulgo legeretur, in 
 eorum repreiieusionem incurreret, qui longe diversum ab ipso non semel 
 audi^ isseut. Sleidanus. 
 
 When Pole with solemn gravity acted the farce of absolving the 
 English, ana of reconciling them to the pope, and drew tears from the 
 tender-hearied queen Mary, ' qui Polum antea noverant ex col.'oqu'.ls \ i.ae- 
 que consuetudine, valde sunt hoc lUins factum admirati, longeque diver- 
 sum sibi do illo pr&iniserant.' Sleidan. 1. xxv. p. y65. 
 
 Usur Petri Marryr:3 obiit in Anglia. Huic cuncti earn laudem tri- 
 buerunt, quae preesttintissimee matronae debetur. — Hujus acfuiictae corpus 
 
 2 
 
350 THE LIFE [152^* 
 
 ' Pole ^, who was of the royal blood, was in great esteem 
 for his learning, and other excellent virtues. — The king had 
 given him the deanery of Exeter, with several other digni- 
 ties, towards his maintenance beyond sea ; and sent him to 
 Paris, where he stayed several years. There he first incur- 
 red the king's displeasure.-— After that, he came over to 
 England, and, as he writes himself, was present when the 
 clergy made their submission, and acknowledged the king 
 supreme head : in which, since he was then dean of Exeter^ 
 and kept his deanery several years after that. It is not to be 
 doubted, but that, as he was by his place obliged to sit in the 
 convocation, so he concurred with the rest in making that 
 submission. From thence he went to Padua, where he 
 lived long, and was received into the friendship and society 
 of som.e celebrated persons, who gave themselves much to 
 the study of eloquence, and of the Roman authors. 
 
 ' The king called him oft home, to assist him in his af- 
 fairs ; but he still declined it. At length, finding delays 
 could prevail no longer, he wrote the king word, that he 
 did not approve of v^hat he had done, neither in the mat- 
 ter of his divorce, nor his separation from the apostolic see. 
 To this the king answered, desiring his reasons why he dis- 
 agreed from him, and sent him over a book which Dr. Samp- 
 son had written in defence of the proceedings in England. 
 Upon vv^hich he wrote his book De Unione Ecclesiastica, and 
 sent it over to the king, and soon after printed it in 1536 : 
 in which book he condemned the king's actions, and pressed 
 him hard to return to the obedience he owed the see of 
 Rome, with many sharp reflections ; but the book was 
 
 Polus cardinalis effodi et in sterquilinium abjici jussit : et cum aliud, ut 
 jure agere videretnr, acciisare noii posset, liam; causain pra-tendit, quod 
 juxta corpus Sanctic Fridesuid;e humata esset, et ha;retici uxor ftiissct. 
 Eteuim cardlnalis hie, qui aliquando prjecipuus Martyris amicus tuerat, 
 post ejus discessum ex Italia, noii mode ah ipsius amicitia discesserat ; 
 veruni etiam studium verse religionis, quod ad tempus siuuilaverat, pc- 
 nitus abjecit, et acerrinius nostroruni lioiuiiuun hostis et persecutor tac- 
 tus est. Itaque cum Martyreni, quod optabat, et majore cum voluptate 
 aspexi-iset, flammis absumcre nou posset, in mortuum cadaver uxoris 
 ejus san lit, &c. Melcliior Adam. Vit. Pet. Miirtyris, p. 20. Stiype's 
 Lite of Parker, b. ii. cli. 5. 
 
 What a vile action was this ! and what esteem can one have tor tiic 
 aiau who was guilty of it ? 
 
 •^ Burnet. 
 
J 525.] OF ERASMUS. 351 
 
 more considered for the author, and the wit and eloquence 
 of it, than for any great learning or deep reasoning in it. 
 He also did very much depress the royal and exalt the papal 
 authority : he compared the king to Nebuchadonosor, and 
 addressed himself in the conclusion to the emperor, wiioni 
 he conjured to turn his arms rather against the king than 
 the Tu;k. And indeed the indecences of his expressions 
 agaiiist the king, not to mention the scurrilous language he 
 bestows on Sampson, whose book he undertakes to answer, 
 are such, that it appears how much the Italian air had 
 changed him. 
 
 ' Some believe that the spring of this opposition he 
 
 made to the king was a secret affection he had for the lady 
 Mary. — 
 
 ' Upon*^ the death of Paul III, all the cardinals, being ga- 
 thered from Bologna, Trent, and other neighbouring places, 
 entered the conclave. — Cardinal Pole was set up by Far- 
 nese, as a moderate imperialist, who had carried it so well 
 at Trent, that they saw he would not bhndly follow the em- 
 peror. He had lived many years at Viterbo, where he was 
 made legate, after he had given over his practices against 
 England. There he gave himself wholly to the study of 
 divinity, not without some imputations of favouring heresv. 
 For one Antonino Flammio, that was also suspected of Lu- 
 theranisii, lived with him. Tremellius, that learned Jew, 
 who had been baptized in his house, was also known to in- 
 cline that Wc.y ; and many, who left their monasteries, and 
 went to Germany, used to stay some time with him on their 
 way, and were well received by him : nor would he proceed 
 against any suspected of heresy. There were causes enough 
 to raise suspicion in a less jealous people than the Italians. 
 Yet the vast zeal tliat he had shown for the exaltation of the 
 papacy maae all those things be overlooked. He was sent 
 one of the pope's legates to Trent, where he asserted the 
 German doctrine of justification by faith. But upon the 
 emperor's setting out tlie Interim, he wrote freely against 
 it. — Caraffa, who hated him, did all he could to alienate 
 the conclave from him ; but prevailed little, and the next 
 night the number was complete : so that the cardinals came 
 
 * Burnet. 
 
352 THE LIFE [1525* 
 
 to adore him, and make him pope ; but he receiving that 
 with his usual coldness, said, It was night, and God loved 
 light better than darkness, therefore he desired to delay it 
 till day came. The Italians then shrunk all from him ; 
 and, after some intrigues, chose the cardinal De Monte, af- 
 terwards pope Julius the third, who gave a strange omen of 
 what advancements he intended to make, when he gave his 
 own hat, according to the custom of the popes, who bestow 
 their hats before they go out of the conclave, on a mean ser- 
 vant of his, who had the charge of a monkey that he kept ; 
 and being asked what he observed in him to make him a 
 cardinal, he answered. As much as the cardinals had seen in 
 him to make him pope. But it was commonly said, that 
 the secret of his promotion was an unnatural affection to 
 him.' 
 
 * In * the year 1 554, it was taken into consideration what 
 way to proceed against the heretics. Cardinal Pole had 
 been suspected to favour the Protestants, but seemed now 
 to be much alienated from them : and therefore when Tre- 
 mellius, who had declared himself a Protestant, came to 
 him at Brussels, he would not see him, though he was his 
 god-father. He came over into England much changed 
 from that freedom of conversation he had formerly prac- 
 tised : he was in reserves to all people, spoke little, and had 
 put on an Italian temper as well as behaviour. He brought 
 over two Italians, Priuli and Ormaneto, v^'ho were his only 
 confidents. He was a man of a generous and good dispo- 
 sition ; but knew how jealous the court of Rome would be 
 of liim, if he seemed to favour heretics : therefore he ex- 
 pressed great detestation of them. Nor did he converse 
 much with any that had been of that party. 
 
 ' He professed himself an enemy to extreme proceedings. 
 He said, pastors ought to have bowels, even to their stray- 
 ing sheep : bishops were fathers, and ought to look on 
 those that erred as rhi^ir sick children, and not for that to 
 kill them. — Therefore he proposed, that there should be a 
 strict reformation of the manners of the clergy carried on. — 
 I have not found that he proposed the receiving the council 
 of Trent j which is the more strange, since he had been 
 
 ^ Eurnet, 
 
1525.] OF ERASMUS. 353 
 
 himself one of the legates at the first session of it : but it 
 seems, it was not thought seasonable to propose it, till the 
 council were first ended and dissolved. 
 
 * On the other hand, Gardiner, who had no great sense 
 of ecclesiastical matters, but as they sensed intrigues of 
 state, and being himself of such a temper that severe pro- 
 ceedings wrought much on him, judged that the executing 
 the laws against the Lollards was that in which they were 
 chiefly to trust, &c. Between these two counsels the queen 
 would have a mean way taken, to follow both in part. She 
 encouraged Pole to go on in the correcting the manners of 
 the clergy ; and likewise pressed Gardiner to proceed against 
 the heretics.' 
 
 ' Pole showed the weakness of his spirit in one thing, 
 that, being against cruel proceedings with heretics, he did 
 not more openly profess it, but both suffered the other bi- 
 shops to go on, and even in Canterbury, now sequestered 
 in his hands, and soon after put under his care, he left 
 those poor men to the cruelties of the brutal and fierce 
 popish clergy. In this he was to be pitied, that he had not 
 courage enough to contend with so haughty a pope as 
 Paul IV 5 was, who thought of no other way of bearing 
 down heresy, but by setting up the Inquisition every- 
 where. 
 
 ' One remarkable thing of Pole was, his not listening to 
 the proposition the Jesuits made him of bringing them into 
 England.' 
 
 ' The ^ very day after Cranmer was burnt, Pole was 
 consecrated archbishop of Canterbury : — so that the words 
 of Elijah to Ahab concerning Naboth were applied to him, 
 * Thou hast killed, and taken possession.* — When the pall 
 was put on him, he went into the pulpit, and made a cold 
 sermon about the beginning, the use, and the matter of the 
 pall, without either learning or eloquence. The subject 
 could admit of no learning ; and for eloquence, though in 
 his younger days, when he writ against king Henry, his 
 style was too luxuriant and florid, yet being afterwards sen- 
 
 8 CaraiFa. See Thuanus, 1. xv. 466, who gives him a bad cha- 
 racter. 
 ^ Burnet, 
 
 Vol. I 
 
 A a 
 
354. THE LIFE [1525. 
 
 sible of his excess that way, he turned as much to the 
 other extreme ; and cutting off all the ornaments of speech, 
 he brought his style to a flatness that had neither life nor 
 beauty in it.' 
 
 ' Pole ' died in the year 1558, aged fifty-nine'^. — He wss 
 not a man made to raise a fortune, being, by the greatness 
 of his birth, and his excellent virtues, carried far above such 
 mean designs. He was a learned, modest, humble, and good- 
 natured man ; and had indeed such qualities, and such a 
 temper, that, if he could have brought the other bishops to 
 follow his measures, or the pope and queen to approve of 
 them, he might have probably done much to have reduced 
 this nation to popery again. But God designed better 
 things for it : so he gave up the queen to the bloody coun- 
 sels of Gardiner and the rest of the clergy. It was the 
 only thing in which she was not led by the cardinal. But 
 she imputed his opinion in that particular rather to the 
 sweetness of his temper, than to his wisdom and experience : 
 and he. seeing he could do nothing of what he projected in 
 England, fell into a languishing, first of his mind, that 
 brought after it a decay of his health, of which he died. 
 1 have dwelt the more copiously on his character, being 
 willing to deny to none, of whom I write, the praises that 
 are due to them : and he being the only man of that whole 
 party, of whom I found any reason to say much good, I 
 was the more willing to enlarge about him, to let the world 
 see how little 1 am biassed in the account I give, by interest 
 or opinion. — ^Pole had a vast superstition to the see of Rome ; 
 and though his being at the council of Trent had opened 
 his eyes to many things which he had not observed before, 
 yet he still retained his great submission to that see, and 
 thought it impossible to maintain the order and unity of the 
 church, but by holding communion with it ; which carried 
 him, in opposition to many apprehensions himself had of 
 vsome theological points, still to support the interests of the 
 papacy. His neglect of the offer of it, when it was made 
 to him, showed that this flowed from no aspiiings of his 
 own, but purely from his judgment : so that what mistakes 
 soever his education, and heats with king ?Icnry, and the 
 
 ' Surnct. '' Fifty-eight and six months, says tlie writer of his life. 
 
1525.] OF ERASMUS. 355 
 
 disasters of his family, might have involved him in, it can- 
 not be denied that he was a man of as great probity and 
 virtue as most of the age, if not all of that church in which 
 he lived.' 
 
 ' Bonner ' had condemned sixteen to be burnt. But 
 cardinal Pole heard that there was some hope of working 
 on three of them ; so there came an order to put them into 
 his hands, and he prevailed so far on two of them, that a 
 pardon was granted to them, they being persuaded by the 
 cardinal to abjure ; which was a very extraordinary thing, 
 (exemplo licet r-arissimo,) as it is mentioned in the par- 
 don. 
 
 ' But here I must lessen the character of the cardinal's 
 mildness towards heretics; for this year (1557) he sent or- 
 ders to proceed against the heretics of his diocese, and after- 
 wards sent a signf^cavit of some heretics to be delivered to 
 the secular arm. 
 
 ' I find likewise by other evidences suggested to me by 
 the laborious Mr. Strype, that Pole was not so mild as I had 
 represented him. Parker in his British Antiquities calls 
 him Ecclesice Anglicano' Carnifex et Flagellum, the 
 Scourge and the Executioner of the Church of England : 
 and Calfhil, a canon of Christ-Church in Oxford, in a 
 letter to bishop Grindall, mentions the proceedings of the 
 visitors sent to Oxford by Pole, who were Brooks bishop of 
 Glocester, Cole dean of St. Paul's, and Ormanet ; he sent 
 them thither, not only to restore the pope's authority, but 
 diligently to inquire if there were any who neglected the 
 pope's ceremonies ; and if there were any found that were 
 under the least suspicion, {levissima suspicio,) they were 
 without any delay to eject them. He writes that there was 
 nothing eminent in Ormanet, but intolerable insolence ; no- 
 thing could be imagined more arrogant than he was. They 
 raged, as he adds, against a great many in the university, 
 and burned in the open market-place an infinite number of 
 bibles and other books. The like severity was practised at 
 Cambridtre, of which Mr. Strype promises an account in 
 the Life of Whitgift.' 
 
 ' Burnet. 
 A a 2 
 
356 THE LIFE [152a. 
 
 ' I "^ think I can clear Pole " from the suspicion of having 
 procured Cranmer's death, by his own manuscript ° letters 
 to Cranraer. 
 
 ' It is observed of Pole ^, that though he was very rigid 
 in his principles, yet he was not of a persecuting temper. He 
 was a man of good abilities, though accounted very prolix 
 and tedious in his compositions.' 
 
 Seckendorf reckons the cardinals Sadolet, Contarenus *, 
 and Pole, as well disposed to some reformation. Prseloq, 
 Mekhior Adam represents Contarenus as a half-protestant.. 
 Vit. Petr. Martyris, p. 18.. 
 
 Erasmus desires Aldrige to get him a collation of Seneca 
 the philosopher from a manuscript of King's College. He 
 adds, that there are many very antient manuscripts at Cam- 
 bridge, and particularly at Peter-House, and that Froben 
 and he would be thankful: and grateful to any that would 
 procure them such collations as they wanted ^. Ep. 782. 
 
 ' Robert Aldrige ', or Aldrisius, was another of Eras- 
 
 *" Appendix to Burnet by an anonymous writer. 
 
 » Vita Poli, p. 71. 
 
 " Ea est mea salutis tuae cura ac studium, ut si te ab horribili ilia, quae 
 fibi, nisi resipiacas, impendet non solum corporis sed animae etiam mortis 
 sententia, ullo modo liberare possem, id pr©fecto omnibus divitiis atque 
 honoribus, qui euiquam: in hae vita contingere possint, (Deum testor) 
 libentissime anteponerem. 
 
 I cannot think that these expressions in Pole's letter clear him so 
 much as this annotator imagines. It was easy to appear generous and 
 charitable, as far as words would go. 
 
 P Knight. 
 
 * Melanchthon thus speaks concerning the behaviour c^ this cardinal 
 at the diet of Ratisbone : 
 
 Mirabantur multi Contarenum, cum et doctrinae Christianae peritissi- 
 raus esse diceretur, et singulari gravitate et virtute praeditus, non liberc 
 protiteri quid sentiret, &:c. Epist. p. 18. & p. 39. 
 
 *! He sends his service to Nicolaus and Joannes Siburgus^ printers and 
 booksellers. They wrote their name Srberch. 
 
 * Gerardus, to whom Erasmus sends his service in the same letter, 
 may possibly be the person mentioned in Ascham's Toxophilus, written 
 in 1.544. (edit. 15/ 1 . tol. 10.) Pastimes for the minde only, be nothing 
 tit for studentes, because the body, which iss* most hurt by study, should 
 take no profite at all thereat. This knewe Erasmus very well, when hee 
 M as here in Cambridge : which, when he had been sore at his book (as 
 Garretj our bookebyndcr, hath very oft told me) for lack of better exer- 
 cise, would take his horse, and ryde about the market-hill, and come 
 (perhaps it should be ho?ne) againe. See Knight, p. 141, note.' Anon. 
 
 ' Knight, p. 143. 
 
1525.] OF ERASMUS. 357 
 
 mus's Cambridge acquaintance, with whom he correspond- 
 ed while in England, and after he left it. Aldrige was ad- 
 mitted into King's College, and in the year 1523 was one of 
 the university preachers, that is, sent out by the university 
 to preach in different parts of the nation, as the judges now 
 go their circuits, there being at that time great need of able 
 men in every county. This learned man was afterwards 
 master of Eaton school, fellow of that college, and at last 
 provost of the same, as also canon of Windsor, and then 
 removed from these preferments to the bishopric of Carlisle. 
 We may see by those his Epistles which were written to 
 Erasmus, that he had a most elegant pen ; which also may 
 be collected from the province assigned him of writing let- 
 ters from the university to the king ; and although the re- 
 ward =" for that service may now seem very small, yet at that 
 time it was no doubt a good prcemium. When Erasmus 
 made his pilgrimage to the lady of Walsingham, he took 
 with him his friend Aldrige from Cambridge, who, in the 
 want of the English tongue, served him for an interpreter. 
 Mr. Strype says he was a complier in the reign of king Ed- 
 ward, but was not well affected to the Reformation.' 
 
 Erasmus wrote to his adversary Otho Brunsfeld, giving 
 him good advice, exhorting him to behave himself more 
 like a christian, and treating him with contempt enough. 
 Ep. 786. 
 
 In other letters of this year we find a repetition of the old 
 complaints against the Reformers and the Romanists. 
 Ep, 787, he. 
 
 He ' speaks of the ill health of his old friend Pace. Me- 
 lanchthon, says he, labours at present under the same dis- 
 temper, of lying " awake, to whom Frederic of Saxony 
 hath lately bequeathed a thousand gold florins. This de- 
 serves notice for the rarity of the thing ; it being as uncom- 
 
 * Anno 1527- Magistro Aldiyg, pro tribus Uteris missis ad dominura 
 regem, 10^, 
 
 From the proctor's book, by the reverend Mr. Baker. 
 
 * Spero Pacneam nostrum jam convaluisse : male sit istis legationibus 
 ac relegationibus : illud ingenium miisis erat natum ; * vereor autem ne 
 nonnullam mali partem addiderint rot. dfpoSla-ia,.' Periclitatur et Philip- 
 pus Melanchthon eodem insomniae, ut ferunt, morbo^ cui Fredericus 
 Duxmoriens legato reliquit mille florenos aureos. 
 
 " Insomnia^ a distemper too well known to studious people. 
 
358 THE LIFE [1525. 
 
 nion for princes to leave legacies to scholars, as it is for scho- 
 lars to leave legacies to princes. Ep. 790. 
 
 He sends his service to John the gun-smith, an old ac- 
 quaintance. He ^ gave me a sivord, says he, and I gave 
 him a book, the Enchiridion or spiritual sicord. I have 
 not as yet made any use of his present, nor he, I fancy, of 
 mine. Ep. 791. 
 
 He vrrote a letter of complaint and expostulation to Al- 
 bertus Pius *, prince of Carpi, who was one of his calum- 
 niators at the court of Rome. This epistle is polite, elegant, 
 and full of spirit ; and indeed he always shines in his apolor 
 gies for himself, being animated with the subject. Ep. 333, 
 c. 1709. 
 
 Erasmus, on many occasions, hath lashed and ridiculed 
 Albertus, who seems to have very honestly deserved it. 
 Paul Jovius hath bestowed great comniendations on this 
 prince. Elog. p. 1 54. 
 
 Aldus Manutius ^ dedicated an edition of Aristotle De 
 Animalibus, and an edition of Homer, to Albertus, to 
 whom he had been tutdr, and to whom he had many obli- 
 gations. This Albertus was nephew to the illustrious 
 Joannes Picus of Mirandula, Concerning his controversy 
 with Erasmus, there is a large account in Von der Hardt 
 Hist. Lit. Ref. p. 107 — 180. 
 
 More sent Erasmus a letter containing much spite ancj 
 acrimony against the reformers, and pressing exhortations to 
 him to publish his Hyperaspistes against Luther. Ep. 334. 
 c. 1711. 
 
 The Sorbonists ^ persecuted Faber Stapulensis to such a 
 degree, that this learned man was obliged to fly from. 
 France. 
 
 ^ Quum erit commodum, salutabis mihi Joannem Bombardanim opi- 
 ficem, vicinum tuum, veterem amicum meum, quicum olim armacom- 
 mutavi, in amicitiae symbolum, nee id multo congruentius quam fece- 
 runt Glaxicus ac Diomedes. Dedi Enchiridion, nosti librura jam olini 
 per omnes orbis plagas volitantem, Latine, Gallice, Germanice, Hispa- 
 nice, Tusce loquentem : ille contra dedit gladiolum, quo non magis 
 adhuc sum usus quam ille libro. 
 
 * See Ducatiana, i. p. Q. 
 
 y Hodius De Graec. Illustr. p. BQ, QO. Maittaire, i. p. 230. 239. 241. 
 ii. 43.163. 
 
 » Sleidan, 1. v. 
 
1525.] OF ERASMUS. 359 
 
 Luther % who had answered the book of Henry VIII in 
 a. rough way, now wrote him a very humble letter '', being 
 exhorted to it by his friends, and not without hope that the 
 king would favour the Reformation. Henry returned him sl 
 very churlish and haughty answer : upon which, Luther, 
 who had too much spirit to bear affronts, even from crowned 
 heads, declared publicly, that he was very sorry for having 
 debased himself so far, and that he would never more throw 
 away any civilities and submissions upon Henry VIII, or 
 cardinal Cajetan, or George of Saxony, or Erasmus, who 
 had all repaid his humility with insults. 
 
 He wrote a reply to the Diatribe of Erasmus, in a treatise 
 entitled De Servo Arbitrio *. He tells Erasmus that his 
 Diatribe, as to the manner and the composition, is very ele- 
 gant ; and, as to the matter, is very contemptible ^ ; and 
 resembles an excrement in a iiolden dish. He mixes com' 
 pliment, praise, scorn, insult, ridicule, and invective all to- 
 gether, and flings them at his head. Though he makes 
 apologies for his own style, yet it is really such, that it hardly 
 wanted any. See Seckendorf, 1. i. 311, &c. 
 
 Erasmus was much provoked at this treatment, which was 
 rude enough, and in some measure unexpected. He im- 
 mediately wrote a reply, which was the first part of his 
 Hyperaspistes ; and he published the second part in 1527. 
 
 He also wrote an angry letter ^ to the elector of Saxony, 
 
 « Sleidan. I. vl. 
 
 * Demisse admodum. Sleidan. Seckendorf, 1. ii. 37- 
 
 * See Gerdes. ii. 141 , 
 
 •^ Incredibile estj quam fostidiam libellum (Erasmi) de libero arbitrio: 
 nee ultra duos quaterniones ejus legi. Molestum est tam emdito libro 
 respondere tam eruditi viri. Luther. Ep. ad Spalat. t. ii. p. 238. It 
 should be, I think, Molestum est tam inerudito kbro respondere tam eru- 
 diti viri. 
 
 •* Exstat Erasmi autographon ad Joannem electorem Sax, datum, in 
 quo incredibilem bilem adversus Lutherum, a quo famam suam capita- 
 libus mendaciis Isesani esse queritur, ertiindit, et animadverti in eum^ 
 aut saltern commonefieri petit, ne simili petulantia debacchetur. Irarurq 
 maximum stimulum habet, quod Atheismi sive Epicureismi a Luthero in- 
 simulatus fuerit. Subscripsit illis Erasmus his verbis : E. S. C. T. (id 
 est, ' Electoralis Sereni3sini;e Cclsiiudinis tuae) addictissimura manci- 
 pium, Erasmus Roterodamus mea manu subscripsi.' 
 
 Non invenio communicatae hae literae Erasmi cum Luthero flierint, 
 necne ; exstant tamen codem fasciculo Ludieri literae, quae quadrare ad 
 epistolani illam videntur— ^Scribit autem ; ' Sibi et collegis consultum 
 
360 THE LIFE [1525. 
 
 desiring him to punish Luther, or at least to reprimand and 
 to muzzle him. This letter is not printed : we are obliged 
 to Seckendorf for an account of it. 
 
 Erasmus ^ suspected that Luther, in his book De Servo 
 Arbitrio, was assisted by some learned friends, who had 
 corrected and polished his style. Seckendorf, in the pas- 
 sage which we have cited, shows himself too favourable 
 to Luther, and should have considered, that any man, in 
 the situation of Erasmus, would have taken it very ill to be 
 
 non videri, ut elector in causam banc se ingerat, quippe ecclesiasticam, 
 ill qua ille judex nee velit, nee possit esse 3 et Erasmum decnissej ut 
 electorem hac in re non molestaret. Praeterea etsi causa esset politica, 
 ab Erasmo ita tractandam esse, scriptis in universum orbem publicatis, 
 quae majus judicium quani principis abcujns requireret. Denique non 
 esse justum, ut abquis puniatur ex accusatione per epistolam ; opus esse 
 actione, exceptionej et abis ad processuni per linen tibus.' Seckendorf, 
 1. i. p. 312. 
 
 ^ Vindicandus est liber iste Luthero, adversus Erasmi suspicionem 
 (quam Cochlaeus ut veram adoptavit) quod non saltern impellentibus, 
 sed et juvantibus aliis, Lutherus scripscrit. Conjectura ex stylo niti- 
 diori capta est. Lutherus enim, etsi pleracjue extempore, et animi quo- 
 dam impetu scriberet, et vcrborum delectum jiarum curaret, quoties 
 tamen majori diligentia uteretur, satis monstrabat, quid etiam in poli- 
 tiori valeret literatura. Hoc ejus ingenium viresque ignorans Erasmus, 
 sinistre de labore ejus judicavit. Impulsores autem fuisse suspicatus est 
 Justum Jonam et Guilielmum Nesenum, quem olim sibi amicissimum, 
 et Pyladis comparatione bonoratum, post mortem diris laniavit convitiis. 
 Nam in secundo adversus Lutherum scripto (quod ipse Hyperaspisten, 
 Lutherus Hyperaspidem,Philippus Melanchthon plane Aspidem vocavit) 
 Thrasonem et Gnathonem, et indignum vocat, cujus gratia vel episto- 
 lam Lutherus scriberet. Modeste hoc ei postea exprobravil Melanchthon, 
 et Nesenum ad extremum usque spiritum Erasmi cultorem fuisse asserit. 
 Philippum vero ipsum cum omnibus eruditis qui Wittenberg;« essent, 
 adjutores fuisse Luthero conjectabat Erasmus. Negavit id non solum 
 Philippus in epistola modo allegata, sed et ad familiarissimum Caraera- 
 rium scribit : ' Me plane immerentem magna invidia onerat Erasmus, 
 cum mihi partem operis, et quidem odiosiorem imputat.' Falsus etiam 
 est Erasmus, cum Lutherum in ipsis miptiis librum de servo arbitrio 
 scripsisse, Epist. ad Volseium et ad alios, queritur, et spe sua falsum se 
 esse dicit, cjuod putasset Lutherum magis cicurem ab uxore redditum iri. 
 Interim ingenua ejus confessio est, quod librum Lutheri dicat ' summa 
 cura elaboratum. Quicquid, ait, Ecclesia Wittenbergensis vel erudi- 
 tione vel maledicentia potuit, id totum in eum librum collatum est.' 
 Mirari vcro licet, quae de maledicentia — publice queritur, ipsique Lu- 
 thero, anno sequent!, humanissimis literis eum demulcenti, implacabili 
 .inimi a-stu, exprrjbrat, Ep. 806. Fallitur sane aperte, cum Lutlierum 
 in neminem quam in se, ne in Cochlaeum quidem, accrbiorem fuisse 
 conlendil. Seckendorf, 1. ii. p. 2^. 
 
1525.] OF ERASMUS. S61 
 
 called, without ceremony, an Infidel, a Lucian, an Atheist, 
 and an Epicurean. He should rather have said in behalf of 
 Luther, that, there being no such thing ■dsfree-iviil, Luther 
 was necessitated to write as he did : 
 
 Sic erat in fatis. 
 
 Luther '^ observes, that Justus Jonas and others had ad- 
 vised him to treat Erasmus very gently : but he adds, that 
 Erasmus did not deserve such courtesy ; and that Justus 
 Jonas was at last convinced of it s. 
 
 It hath been said by many, that I^uther departed from his 
 rigid notions of the serrum arhitrium ^, and changed his 
 mind ; but others deny it. 
 
 ' Memorat Justum Jonam sibi auctorem fuisse, ut Erasmum mitibus 
 verbis tractaret ; dixisse enim, ' Domine doctor, tu non credis, quam 
 bonus et venerabilis senex sit Erasmus.' Idem antea Nesenum fecisse ; 
 se quidem, ex Apologia Erasmi adversus Stapulensem, diversum colle- 
 gisse, sed obsecutum esse humanis consiliis, •■ intelici, ut par est, {ait) 
 eventu. Nos enim omnes probe excepit Erasmus ; Nesenum maxime, 
 tarn cbarum sibi olim.' Seckeudorf, 1. ii.p. 81. 
 
 8 Erasmi aculeos patienter satis tulit Lutherus, gavisus, quod D. Jus- 
 tus Jonas, Erasmum alias semper laudans, ingenium ejus tandem melius 
 cognovisset. Scribit enim : 
 
 ' Gratulor tibi, optime Jona, de tua palinodia, qua nunc tandem 
 Erasmum ilium tuum suis pingis coloribus, viperam ilium lethalibus 
 aculeis refertam recte cognoscis, quem ante multis nominibus proedica- 
 bas. Gaudeo te ex unius Hyperaspistae lectione tantum profecisse, et 
 tuum de illo mutasse judicium,' Seckendorf, 1. ii. p. 88. 
 
 ^ Lutlierus ipse tanti fecit hunc librum, ut de eo tanquam invicto glo- 
 riatus sit, et ad Wolfgangum Fabricium Capitonem scripserit. Nullum 
 se agnoscere justum suum librum, nisi forte De Servo Arbitrio, et Ca- 
 techismum. Eundem librum in pretio magno habuerunt Germani Lu- 
 theri discipuli. — Christophorus Lazius primus fuit, quod ego sciam, qui 
 A. ]5dS, Flacii dogmata libellis aliquot oppugnans, affirmaret, Luthe- 
 rum tandem servum suum arbitrium revocasse. Quem Lazium falsi 
 postulat Flacius. — ^Tubingenses Theologi, A. 1566, in Colloquio Mont- 
 pelgardiensi, et a servo arbitrio Lutheri, et a seipsis discesserunt : quo- 
 rum discipuli yEgidius Hunnius, Georgius Mylius, et alii nonnulli Lu- 
 therum propter servum arbitrium erroris et calumniarum reum perege- 
 runt. Hodie omnes fere Ubiquitarii in ilia sententia sunt, Lutherum 
 revocasse servum suum arbitrium, quibus, A. l6l6, Lutheranissimus 
 Theologiae Doctor Cunradus Schlusseburgius publico contradixit, forti- 
 tcrque contirmavit Lutlierum nunquam librum, de quo agimus, revo- 
 casse. AJussitant quidem nonnulli, revocationem illam factam Com- 
 mcntario Lutheri inGenesin.cap. 26. At, inquiuntalii, Lutherus ibi tan- 
 tum damnat abiisum doctrinse depraedestinatione et praescientia Dei, &c. 
 
 Vix prodierat Servum Arbitrium, cum Erasmus edidit Hyperaspisten 
 
362 THE LIFE [1525. 
 
 Erasmus recommends Petrus Tossanus ' to the favour of 
 Budasus. Ep. 765. 
 
 A protestant miracle ^ was wrought this year, as good a 
 one, and as well attested, as the popish miracles. Thus 
 much at least is evident, that a Lutheran was murdered by 
 the persecutors. 
 
 Erasmus published Chrysostom de Sacerdotio ', in Greek 
 only, with a prefatory Epistle "^ to Pirckheimerus, which is 
 not in our collection. 
 
 A. D. MDXXVI. ^TAT. LIX. 
 
 Pellicanus " having said that Erasmus was in the same 
 sentiments with Oecolampadius concerning the Euchaiist, 
 
 Diatribes. De quo Melanchthon, Ep. Sp ad Camerarium, ait : ' Ec- 
 qukl unqnam legist! scriptum acerbius, Joachime, quam Erasrnicum 
 virepccrTHs-Y/ ? Est is plarne aspis^ 
 
 Sunt taraen qui existimant Melanchthonem, lectis Erasmi de libero ar- 
 bitrio libris, suam de servo arbiirio et praedestinatione senteniiam mu- 
 tasse. Et sane si editiones Locorum Communium Philippi posterJores 
 eum prioribus conferas, Mejanchthonem in posterioribus et a se et a 
 Luthero secessisse dcprehendes^ &c. ScuUet. Annal. in Von der Hardt, 
 p. V. p. 102. 
 
 In the Colloquia IVIensalia, published by Bell, it is affirmed, that 
 Lutlier changed his opinion touching consubstantiation, and the corporal 
 presence in the Eucharist, for that of the spiritual presence. Seep. 287, 
 3s also Epist. Dedicatory, p. 4, 5. Bell's Narrative, p. 3, 4. 
 
 Quinetiam his de rebus (sell, de praedestinatione et libero arbitrio) ita 
 ffcribere cceperat Philippus ;^Ielanchthon, ut quamvis antea Calvini ad- 
 versus Pighium libro diserte subscripsisset, tamen Genevenscs Stoicum 
 Fatmn invchentes notare quibusdam videretur. Mclch. Adam. Vit. Cal- 
 vini, p, 43. G. Brandt, vol. i. p. 55. Bayle, Synergistics, concerning 
 Melanchthon. 
 
 • Melch. Adam. Vit. Dan. Tossani. 
 
 ^ Ex inferior! Germania scribebatur nonnullis Principibus, Bernardum 
 Carmelitam, astatc quinquagenarium, virum pium et eiiidituni, et for- 
 tem Evangelistam, in oppido Britz quinque aut sex milliaribus a Mech- 
 linia martyrem factum Christi. Nam reliquos monachos, falsos fratres 
 et lilios Belial, tantas homini parasse insidias, ut adductum in invidiam 
 tanquam hcereticum ad ignem raperent. In ignem autem ter frustra 
 conjectum : nam ignem semper extinctum ; donee inventus sit, qui 
 malleo caput ejus percussum interemerit. Postea cadavere denuo in ig- 
 nem injecto, ignem ut antea restinctum, et cadaver ex oculis adstan- 
 tium disparuisse, secutaconstanti fama, virum Dei ad ccelum translatuui 
 esse. Spalatinus, in the Amcen. Liter, t. iv. p. 417. 
 
 ' Maittairc, ii. (ioi. 
 
 "^ Appendix, No. xxxvi. 
 
 " Beza Icon. Seckendorf, 1. i. p. Iv32. Melchior Adam. Maittair^, 
 i. 291. Thuanus^ 1. xvi. p. 49S. Gcrdes, i. 109. 
 
1526.] OF ERASMUSt. ^C3 
 
 Erasmus expostulated roughly with him. He pretends to 
 have been calumniated, and says many severe things of the 
 reformed ; and because Pellicanus threatened him with an 
 attack from Zuingliiis, he declares that he feared not ten 
 Zulngliuses. Yet he did aoi: care to engage in combat with 
 this one Zuinglius about the Eucharist ; and from the man- 
 ner in which he had spoken of the performance of Oeco- 
 lampadius, it appears that he thought it not so easy a mat- 
 ter to refute these divines. He had really too much sense 
 to hope by dint of eloquence to establish palpable contradic- 
 tions ; and his clamour upon this occasion seems to have 
 been the effect of that timorous and political prudence which 
 he observed in his old days. He says here, that he would 
 sooner dissemble and conceal ten ambiguous articles, than be 
 the occasion of so many evils ; and to tjiis maxim he seems 
 to have adhered pretty strictly. He was of opinion, that all 
 the efforts for reformation would come to nothing, and be 
 suppressed ; and this apprehension was the principal regu- 
 lator of his conduct. This made him fond of considering 
 the reformers in the worst point of view, and of exagge- 
 rating their divisions amongst themselves, as if they alone 
 were divided, and as if Erasmus himself had not fallen out 
 with most of the monks and Romish divines 1 
 
 Very true it is, that the struggles of the reformers caused 
 many disorders, and drew a terrible persecution upon them 
 and their successors ; but it was through the fault of that 
 church, to which Erasmus wanted to remain united, and 
 which would hear of uo amendments. There was an abso- 
 
 Anno 1499, providentla Del, bibliopola Tubigensis attulit Biblia He- 
 braica Integra, minima forma impressa Pisauri in Italia, quae nemo cii- 
 rabat. Pellicanus id andiens, rogavit virum, sineret opus aliquot dicbus 
 inspicere : concessit librarius, dicens florcno cum diniidio posse emi, 
 Audito tarn parvo posse comparari, exultavit I'cllicanus : adiit suuni 
 Gardianum Paulum, orans, pro se fidejuberct. Quod ubi fucisset, 
 Crcesi divitias se adeptum putavit, statimque Spiram ad avunculuni 
 scripsit, orans ut duorum florenorum nuinere vcl elecmosyna digiiarelur, 
 quibus pro libris comparandis pauper egeret. Statim misit, ea condi- 
 tione, ne se cmacem ad alienam crunjeiiam exhiberet. ZNIelchior 
 Adam. 
 
 Pellicanus rogatus abamicis, qu.enam Erasmi, quo Basik-re familial is- 
 sjme usus luerat, de ccrna Domini es'iet sentcntia, n-spondit : Krisnuim. 
 solum agno?cere Christi manducationcm per tideui, Scultct. Anual. ap. 
 Vun der Hardt_, p. v. p. 100. 
 
i564 THE LIFE [1526. 
 
 iute necessity of coming to an open rupture, in which many 
 persons were cut off; but many christian societies were form- 
 ed and established, which continue to read and to admire 
 the works of Erasmus ; works censured, misrepresented, 
 despised, mangled, and reviled in that church, which he 
 flattered to the end of his days with too much servility. 
 Ep. 845, 846, 847. 
 
 Pellicanus hath informed us, that, before the preaching 
 of Luther, there was not one Greek Testament to be found 
 in all Germany, though a man should have offered to give 
 for it its weight in gold. Seckendorf, 1. i. 1 32. 
 
 Cardinal Campegius v/anted Erasmus to meet him at 
 Augsburg, and to assist him by his counsels in composing 
 the Lutheran tempest. But Erasmus excused himself on 
 account both of his bodily infirmities ^, and of the little 
 ■credit that he had in Germany, where the Lutherans held 
 him for an enemy to the Gospel. He also exhorts the car- 
 dinal to proceed with mildness and moderation. Ep. 7535. 
 
 Writing to John Henckel, preacher to Mary queen of 
 Hungary, he gives him a compendious history of the disor- 
 ders in the church, before the I>utheran controversy, of his 
 own endeavours to correct those evils, of the opposition 
 which he had experienced from the monkish quarter, and of 
 the faults committed on both sides, which had reduced 
 <:hristianity to its present miserable condition. He also com- 
 plains much of the rudeness with which Luther had answer- 
 ed him, and of the ill language which that reformer had 
 given him. He says the same at the beginning of his 
 Hyperaspistes, or defence of himself against Luther. The 
 queen and Henckel were favourers of the Lutheran 
 
 " Verum hoc corpusculum per se quidem imbecllle, sed senectute fit 
 smhecillius in dies. Toties, imi)etit crudelissimus calculi dolor, ut ad 
 <]uamvis occasionem periclitcr devita. Porro mense Julio et diu et gra- 
 vissime laboravi, sic ut nulla spes €sset vitae : sed multo etiam gravius 
 ad natalem Christi, sic \\t mors in votis esset, vita in desperatione. 
 jMuIla enim mors acerbior esse potest hoc cruciatu. Quibus malis sic 
 .afflictse fract.Tque sunt hujus corpusculi vires, ut summa vita* modera- 
 -tione vix subsistam. Jtaqiie jampridem equos meos vendidi, desperans 
 in posterum me laturum agitationem. Jam si quid adesset virium, hoc 
 tempore non poteram occurrere Celsitudini tuae, quum iter esset per hy- 
 pocausta, ad quoiiim nidorcm exanimor, si vel uno prandio feram. Quae 
 res me cogit ut Kasilea?. in propriis *dibus habitem, quae aulam habeat 
 cum fumario : idcjue non sine gravi meo sumtUj nee minus gravi ciua. 
 
1526.] OF ERASMUS. 36S 
 
 cause. Seckendoif ^ hath criticised this letter of Erasmus, 
 Ep. 796. 
 
 Soon after, Erasmus wrote a friendly letter to John a 
 Lasco, who had been in Italy, and was returned to Poland. 
 He complains of the two parties, and relates the dispute 
 which he had with Pellicanus, whom, as he says here and 
 elsewhere, he had convicted of calumny. What Pellica- 
 nus had said about him, we know not very clearly : but it 
 provoked Erasmus excessively, so that he declared, that 
 Pellicanus was the last of all the evangelic party to whom 
 he would trust any thing. It should seem that Pellicanus 
 had judged, from the conversation of Erasmus, that he did 
 not believe the real /jresence, though he had not said it in so 
 many words. And it appears that Erasmus had sometimes 
 talked a little this way. Erasmus also says, in this letter, 
 that Jacobus Faber *i was then at Stratsburg, where he went 
 by another name, like the old fellow in Terence. Ep. 798. 
 
 He says that Luther had written against him, but had 
 kept back the publication of his book till the fair of Frank- 
 fort was approaching ; so that Erasmus had only twelve days 
 before the fair to peruse it, and to write a reply, and to get 
 it printed. This reply is the first book of his Hyperaspistes, 
 which contains eleven sheets, closely printed, in the edition 
 of Ley den. Erasmus and his printers must have laboured 
 with extraordinary diligence, to write and to print such a 
 book in so short a space of time : yet he affirms the same in 
 his preface to that treatise. And indeed there is little me- 
 thod observed in it : he only follows Luther's book, reply- 
 ing to his objections as they offered themselves ; and he 
 seems not to have thoroughly understood the sentiments of 
 
 P Erasmus Lutheranismum maligne depingit, (et) haec habet : ' Quia 
 insuper addebat nonnihil laeti oniLnis ipsum Lutheri cognomen^ quod 
 Gennaiiofuiu lingaa rf/^wr^fl/orem soriat. Id habet ex patris opiticio, 
 qui rudes aeris massas otficina sua repurgat.' — Fallitur tamen Eiasmu.s, 
 Gernianicae lingute non adniodum gnarus, in reddenda etymi ratione. 
 Z<«^/it^eniin noti signiticat Gennanis nisi /iyz^z^ii/c, non autein euni qui 
 liqiiuluni facit. EKinique, ut supra dixi, pater Lutheri cognomen suuni 
 non ab opificio, sed a familia habuit. L, i. p. 68. See also 1. ii. p. 5/. 
 
 *i Faber Gallia profugus, Argentinae exsulat, sed mutato x\om\ne,quem- 
 admodum Comicus itle senex Athenis, ut jocatur in re minime jocosa 
 tiraamus. Scultet. Annal. Von der Hardt, p, v. p. 1 14. 
 
SGG ttlE LIFE [1526. 
 
 Augustin, which at the bottom were the same with Luther's, 
 although there was some difference of expression. 
 
 Erasmus, it is to be hoped, had too much sense, to value 
 himself for reading and composing faster than other people i 
 but there have been writers, who have showed their vanity 
 and their infirmity, in boasting of their inconceivable abili- 
 ties this way. The design of such braggards is sometimes 
 partly to assure us, how much they despise, and how easily 
 they can confute their antagonists : but the trick is as stale 
 as a rotten egg, and the learned world is not to be so duped. 
 Qocv^ocru ^M^oig. Ep. 800. 
 
 Ruffinus was one of these braggards, if we may believe 
 his impetuous adversary : 
 
 Ante biduum, quam ad nos epistolam scriberes, libellos 
 meos in manus tuas venisfee testaris. — Tam apertum tem^ 
 poris mendacium est, ut non dicam rcspondere, sed legere 
 biduo mea scripta non potueris. llieronym. adv. Ruff, 
 tom. ii. p. 238. 
 
 But there is no trusting to this father, when he gets into 
 his scolding and railing fits : and Erasmus perhaps never 
 showed less discernment, than when he judged very unfa- 
 vourably of Ruffinus, induced, I suppose, by the bad cha- 
 racter which Jerom thought fit to bestow upon him. Tille- 
 mont, in his Eife of Jerom, hath treated Ruffinus with more 
 candour, and Jerom with more freedom, than one would 
 have expected. 
 
 Soon after, Luther wrote to Erasmus, who answered 
 him roughly, and reproached him for his haughty airs, and 
 his reviling language. But Erasmus for a long time had not 
 thought fit to spare the Lutherans or Evangelics ; and there- 
 fore had the less reason to complain of their resentment. Yet 
 he owns, in Ep. 800, that he found sometimes in Luther 
 something that was aJ)o.slolica/ ^ Ep. 806. 
 
 Ep. 808 is to Hadrianus Barlandus. Barlandus, besides 
 
 ' In Liitht'io cleiniror duas t;im divcrsns pt-rsonas : quapdam ita scribit, 
 \\t spirare videatur apcstolicuni j)cctus : rursus in dicteriis, in sannis, in 
 con\ iciis, in salibu'i, qucm non vincit scurnim ? Magno aninio conti'n)r.it 
 Cit^ares et pontihccs, ct ad levissinioium abjcctissiniorumque lioniinuni 
 feUsurros sic dc-bacchatur in queniiibet, vckil ublitus quam agat fobulani, 
 --t qnam personam iaduerit. 
 
1526.] OF ERASMUS. 3G7 
 
 other books, published an Epitome ^ of the Adages of 
 Era^^mus. 
 
 In a letter to cardinal Wolsey, as in other letters ^ he 
 unsavs, what he had observed, that Luther's m?rriage had 
 softened him. In the very time of the nuptials, says he, he 
 wrote this furious book ; and yet the good man thinks it 
 composed with so much decency, mildness, and modera- 
 tion, ttiat in a letter to me he hath almost required me to re- 
 turn him thanks for sparing me in so many places; and he pro- 
 tests, and expects me to believe, that he is in a most friendly 
 disposition towards mc. Thus his spouse hath tamed him ! 
 
 He complains also of the monk?, some of whom had 
 written lampoons against him, and some had caused his 
 Colloquies to be prohibited in England ; whilst others, much 
 greater knaves than the former, interpolated and corrupted 
 them, so as to make him affirm the very contrar)'- to what 
 he had said. Of this vile forgery he accuseth one Lamber- 
 tus Campestris. 
 
 If he may be credited In this, he was invited to France, 
 to Spain, and to Italy, and the cardinal pressed him to come 
 to England : but he says, that his very bad state of health 
 did not permit him to take the voyage. He had probably 
 another reason equally cogent : he feared lest the divines 
 and the monks should do him an ill turn, wheresoever he 
 went ; and from these fears he \^'as secure at Basil. Indeed 
 he complains of those who said that Basil was his city of 
 refuge, but he only answers them with a figure of rhetoric ; 
 and certain it is, that at Basil he had friends in whom he 
 could confide,, and that the reformed divines in that city, 
 though they disapproved his political conduct, were far 
 from designing him any real hurt. Ep. 8iO. 815. 
 
 He thanks John Longland, bishop of Lincoln, for pre- 
 sents of money which he had received from him. Ep. 8 1 4. 
 
 ' Longland " was confessor to Henry VIII, who, though 
 cardinal Wolsey was the chief favourite, yet next to him 
 had the best interest of any other prelate whatsoever. Eras- 
 
 * Melch, Adam. Vit. Barlnndi. 
 
 * At ego sperabam fore ut Lutlierum uxor redderet magis cicurem. 
 Vemm ille praeter omnem cxspectationem emisit librutn in me^ sumnia 
 quidem cura elaboration, sed adeg yirulentmiij ut hactcnus in neminem 
 scripsf rit hostiliu.;, Ep. 601. 
 
 " Kiiight, p. 188. 
 
 2 
 
368 THE LIFE [1526. 
 
 mus then thought that It might be to his advantage to keep 
 fair with him ; and tells us, that twice a year he never failed 
 of receiving letters from him, which expressed great kind- 
 ness and civility towards him. This prelate, being a great 
 bigot to the Romish church, seems to have been displeased 
 with Erasmus, for taking such freedom in his Colloquies as 
 he had done ; and by Erasmus's vindication of himself, and 
 promises of abstaining for the future from any thing that 
 should offend him, it looks as if he valued his favour very 
 much : and he seems to have had reason so to do, there be- 
 ing in the same epistle mention of two or three handsome 
 presents made to him by this bishop. — Erasmus dedicated 
 some tracts of St. Athanasius to him, looking upon him as a 
 persoji of great abilities, especially in theology. We have 
 extant a large volume of sermons in Latin, dedicated to 
 Henry VIII, by this bishop, which is valuable for its worth as 
 well as scarceness. Erasmus also inscribed to this bishop 
 an exposition of the Ixxxvth Psalm, and dedicated it to 
 him in the year 1528.' 
 
 In Ep. 8 1 8, we find a solemn protestation, in form, address- 
 ed to the Helvetian nation, assembled at Baden, against a libel' 
 
 * Leo Judae, Tigurinus Theologus, ut realis manducationis corporis 
 Christ! assertoribns viam muniret, quo ab errore suo commode discedere 
 possent (sic enira factum Zumglius excusat) Germanica lingua libellum 
 edit, quern iiiricnpsit, ' Doctissimi Erasrai Roterodami ac Martini Lu- 
 theri opinio de ca:'na Domini noslri Jesu Christi, per Ludoricum Leo- 
 poldum.' Argumentum lihri est, Erasmum et Lutherum, ante motum 
 bellum sacramentarium, in spiritual! Ciiristi et praesentia et manduca- 
 tione omnia posuisse. 
 
 Erasmus quam aegre tulerit '^sv^cuvvixs Leonis scriptum illud fuisse 
 sparsum, non dissimulat epistola ea, quam vocatus ad disputationera 
 Badensem ad Legates Helveticos perscripsit, Hanc epistolam curavit 
 Erasmus Germanice vertendam, et utracjue lingua descriptam, per pro- 
 prium nur.cium misit ad Conventum Badensem, ut publice reciiaretur : 
 id quod factum est : et paucis post diebus emisit libellum apologeticum, 
 quern in epistola promittit. Putarat autem Pellicanum ejus libelli auc- 
 torem fuisse ; cui respondet. 
 
 Idem Erasmus acerrime cum Peliicano expostulat de responso a Pelli- 
 cano aliis dato de sententia Erasmi in causa Eucharistica, * Christum sibi 
 parum propitium precatus, si ista sententia umquam insederit animosuo, 
 in Eucharistia nihil esse pr.xter panera et vinum, aut non esse ibi verum 
 corpus et sanguinem Domini. Legi in sacris Uteris, Hoc est corpus 
 meu:n. Nusquam legi. Hoc non est corpus meum, sed figura corporis 
 mei. Neque vero ratiocinatipneni illam aliquid ponderis habere ; sic ac- 
 cipi po3->\U!t haec verba : igitur sic accipiend.1 sunt. Nee quenquam Pa- 
 tram palanj Icqui, ibi non esse corjpus et sangi.unem Christi.' 
 
15'26.'\ OF ER^NSMUS. 369 
 
 written by Leo Jiidn: >', wherein it was afHrmcd, that 
 Erasmus did not beheve the real presence of the body of 
 Jesus Christ in the eucharist. Erasmus denies the truth of 
 the charge, and afiinns the contrary in the most positive 
 manner, and declares that he doth this, not for fear of men, 
 but tor the sake of conscience, and from rehgious princi- 
 ples. He sp^'aks in the same strong manner in Ep. 847. 
 
 ' We ^ saw in the Hbrary of the abbey of St. Antony, in 
 Dauphine, an original letter of Erasmus, in which he declares 
 in most emphatical terms, that he would sooner be cut to 
 pieces than not believe the reality of the body and blood 
 of Jesus Christ in the holy Sacrament.' 
 
 In Ep. 820, he makes an enumeration of all his enemies, 
 old and new, of the two parties ; and, after ha» ing observed 
 with concern, that neither the express commands of the 
 pope, or of the emperor, could silence them in Brabant, 
 he thus proceeds : 
 
 At Rome there is a certain pagan fraternity of literati, 
 
 Leo Juclx contra epistolam Erasmi libellum edebat, quo profitebatiir, 
 sc script! illius auctorem esse, quod attestatur epistola : nee novum esse 
 dicebat, ut libri absque nomine interpretis edantur : se alia quoque con- 
 vertisse in linguam Gernianicam, qiribus nou metu, sed humilitatis po- 
 tius gratia nomen suum non prsertxei'it : se non esse mendacem, non ne- 
 bulonera, sed ilium potius, qui seditiosuni ilium dialogum, qui Julius 
 inscribitur, non appo.sito suo nomine publicaverit (Erasnuim notat). 
 Probabat deindi^ se nihil posnisse in illo suo llbello, quod non de verbo 
 ad vt-rbum in LMa.smi libriij inveniatur. 
 
 Pellicanus (etiani) ad expostulatlonem Erasmicana respondet, quid et 
 quomodo dixerit, et qnaedam Erasmi scripta si non solam, certe prseci- 
 punm commendare manducationem spiritualem. Scultet. Ann. ap. Von 
 der Hardt, p. v. p. 100. 
 
 Quae in Helvetiis, liabita Badens disputatione, gesta sunt, itemque 
 scripta inter Erasmum et Lconem Judse, theologum Tigurinum, ia 
 qasestione sacramentaria a scripti.ribus rerum Helveticarum et Zuinglia- 
 narum peli debent, et compendioie recensita reperiuntar a fccuUeto. 
 Stckendorf, 1. ii p. 64. 
 
 Epistola, Thermipolin missa, pii-; omnibus placuit, sed vehementer 
 offendit Leonem Jud.T.um Tigurinum, qui, libello Germanice per typo- 
 graphns vulgalo, prohletur se aactort;m ejus libelli, quem detestatur 
 Epistola mea. Addidit epistolam ad me manuscriptam multo-virulen- 
 tiorem, qua ad pugnam gladialoriam provocat : veaun obticui. Eras- 
 mus, Ep. 848. 
 
 >■ Melchior Adam. Gerdes. i. 107. Simon Hist. Grit, des Vers, du 
 N. T, p. 206. where tliere are some curious remarks concerning this 
 Reformer. 
 
 ^ V''o)age Literairede deux Religleux Benedictins. Paris I717. part i. 
 p. 262. 
 
 Vol. I. B b 
 
370 THE LIFE [1526. 
 
 who have long murmured agamst me : the leaders are, as I 
 hear, Aleander, and one Albert, prince of Carpi. An out- 
 rageous book against me was presented to Clemens, the au- 
 thor of which is anonymous^, but well known to me, 
 wherein he discovers certain mysteries drawn h^om the 
 adorable Talmud, precious jewels not to be cast before 
 swine. This man, after having explained the word Rachn, 
 just as I, following the authority of Augusriu and Chryso- 
 stom, had done before him, runs out into digressions, and 
 declares his astonishment that Germany, having put so 
 many persons to death for their impiety, should suffer Eras- 
 mus to hve, who hath been the first teacher ot it, insomuch 
 that tiie Lutherans themselves, impious as they are, attack 
 him warmly, and cannot bear his impiety, &c. 
 
 Besides all this, says Erasm.us, there is a new sect arisen 
 of the Ciceronians, an old sect indeed, now revived by 
 Longolius, and not less furious than that of the Lutherans. 
 I must stand the shock of these hosts, alone and unarmed, 
 for I have little or no aid and protection from the court. The 
 same complaints he renews Ep. 848, and elsewhere. 
 
 Let us observe the remarkable judgment which Erasmus 
 hath passed upon the sentiments of Oecolampadius, touching 
 the eucharist, in a letter to his friend Pirckheimerus, vvho 
 had written a book ^ on the subject against Oecolampa- 
 dius ^ 
 
 * This anonymous author, says Le Clerc, is Ptelfercorn, or some 
 other converted Jew ; for Erasmus elsewhere calls him Verpus, But 
 Erasmus means Aleander. Read this epistle of Era.-mus, and Ep. 10y4, 
 to Sadolet, where he relates the same thing, and Bayle's Diet. Jlcafiare, 
 and you will have no doubt concerning it. You will there see why 
 Erasmus calls Aleander Verpvis. See also the note of Erasmus on St. 
 iV'latth. in torn. vi. c. 55. n. '15. 
 
 ^ Pirckheimerus wrote De vera Christi carne et vero ejus sanguine 
 adversus Oecolampadium : at which the friends of Oecolampadius were 
 greatly displeased. See Epist. Reformalorum by EueLlinus, p. 35. 
 
 ^ liiber tuns De Eucharistia veiiementer arridet ^nti-LutheraniSf 
 Oecolampadianis mire displicet. — Hoc dissidium, si tantum la-deret no- 
 centes, tolerabilius esset } nunc illis dissidentibus erigunt caput quidam, 
 <]ui nuUi bono bene volunt. Optasscin earn materiam fuisse traiislatam 
 in aliud ternpus^ aut saltern fuissent in vero Concordes. Mihi non dis])li- 
 ccret Oecolampadii sententia, nisi obstaret consensus Ecclesiae. Nee 
 enini video quid agat corpus insensibile, nee utilitatem ailaturum si sen- 
 tirttur, modo adsit in symbolis gratia spiritualis. Et tanieu ab Ecclesiae 
 consensu non possum dibcedere, nee unquam discessi. I'u sic dissentis 
 ab Oecoiampa-iio, ut cum LuUiero seutire malis quaui turn Ecclesia. 
 
1526.] OF ERASMUS. 371 
 
 The opinion of Oecolampadius, says he, would not dis- 
 please me, if the consent of the church did not hinder me 
 from adopting it. For I discern not what good an invisible 
 substance can do there, or how it can profit any one, if it 
 were discernible. If there be a spiritual grace pre'^ent to 
 the symbols, (^that seems to he sii^cient.) And yet I can- 
 not depart from the general consent of the church, and I 
 never did depart from it. 
 
 Here the good sense of Erasmus suggested to him plain 
 and strong arguments against either transubstantiation, or 
 the real and bodily presence, namely, that miracles should 
 be so wrought as to be seen, and that they should never 
 be wrought in vain. But this miracle would be both in- 
 visible, and altogether useless if it could be seen. Suppos?; 
 a Christian was to take the real body of his Saviour, what 
 moral influence could that possibly have upon his mind ? 
 
 But the consent of the church 
 
 One would think that Erasmus had studied the holy 
 Scriptures and Christian antiquities too well, and knew too 
 well what is vulgarly called the church, to entertain so high 
 an opinion of the consent of the church in the later ages, 
 if he himself had not thus assured us of it. Fear prevailed 
 over his judgment, and threw dust in his eyes ; and if they 
 who accused him of being a Zuinglian and an Oecolampadian 
 were mistaken as to the fact, they paid rather more honour 
 to his discernment than he merited. Such strange discourses 
 as these made them suspect that he could not be in ear- 
 nest, when he professed to believe transubstantiation, (though 
 I think he hath never adopted that word as a part of his creed) 
 or a bodily presence. For to found one's belief, not upon the 
 nature of the thing itself, nor upon the testimony of reve- 
 lation, but upon the consent or conspiracy of a few dark, 
 stupid, ignorant, wicked, scandalous, factious ages of Chris- 
 tianity, and to pay such a deference to their decisions as to 
 believe impossibilities and contradictions in complaisance to 
 them, — this was a thing so remote from the knowledge, the 
 discernment, and the free-thinking of Erasmus, that it ap- 
 
 Citas autem ilium reverentius alicubi quam erat necesse, quum aliorutn 
 aucloritatem potuisses adducere. £p. 823. 
 
 This letter of Erasmus is plainly an hasty and incorrect composition. 
 "What he means by Anti-Luthsranis, I know not. It should bi perh^ip* 
 Luttuianis. 
 
 Bb2 
 
872 THE LIFE [152G. 
 
 peared incredible to several of the Protestants. Many di- 
 vines of the Roman party judged also of him, as of one who 
 dissembled his real sendments ; and for this reason his reite- 
 rated complaints were slighted, 
 
 , This year he also complained to the parliament of Paris, 
 and to the king : but none concerned themselves about it, 
 or restrained the French divines from writing against him. 
 Ep. 842. S26. 
 
 Though grievously afflicted with the stone, yet he was 
 able to publish the Works of Irena^us, which he dedicated to 
 Bernard, bishop of Trent, in Ep. 831. In this dedicatory 
 Epistle, he confines himself to his author, and to the heretics 
 whom that author combats. It is by no means equal to his 
 Dedication of Hilary. 
 
 ' The first edition of Irenasus was that of Erasmus, made 
 from a copy which was sent to him from Rome, and which 
 he collated with two other manuscripts. Although we be 
 nmch obliged to him for the useful pains which he took on 
 this occasion, yet it must be confessed, that his edition is very 
 defective, and full of faults, either because he was not fur- 
 nished with good manuscripts, or because it is impossible in 
 the first edidon of such an author as Irenasus, to set all to 
 lights. It is known that we have only an old Latin version 
 of him, the barbarous style of which makes it extremely dif- 
 ficult to understand it, or to correct it where it is corrupted^' 
 Bibl. Chois. xxv. 21)9. 
 
 The last and best edition of Irenseus Is by Massuet, who 
 would have obliged the Protestants more if he had preached 
 less, and had abstained from controversial discourses, which 
 have converted none of us. But, to do justice to this Be- 
 nedictin, let us observe that he was a learned and ingenious 
 man, and that he wrote Ladn very well. 
 
 Shortly after, Erasmus addressed his book of Christian 
 Marriage to Catharine of Austria, queen of England. He 
 makes some remarks upon Longolius"^, in a letter to Pole, 
 
 •^ Doleo I.ongolium iramatura niorte prsereptiim stiuliis, quanquam in 
 me vUletur iniquior, idque sine causa. Excepi earn Lovanii, qua per oc- 
 cupatioMC'^ et vak-tudinem licuit, luinianitate. Epistolam illius Galli.x 
 regis orator ad- me miserat : earn honoris ipsivis gratia, ita me bene amet 
 ChrisluSjCuraram edendam, tantumabest ut me cllenderit. In his qu.Ti 
 prodierunt, apparet anxia Ciceronianae dictionis airectalio, sed interim 
 iVigenlibus inlerdum sententiis, subolet juvenilis quidam amor g;loria.;. 
 Malueraiu prodisse coninientarios illius, licet minus exprimentes phrasim 
 
1526.] OF ERASMUS. 373 
 
 who had beeii a singular friend to Longolius, and in letters 
 to other persons ; and he complains of the Ciceronians to 
 Budaiiis, to Nicolaus, ro Tussanus, &c. Biidaeus was as 
 little liked by the Ciceronians, and liked them as little, as 
 Erasmus. 
 
 Ciceronis. Id si (u curaris, nmi mediocrem, mihi crede, gratiam iuibis 
 apud .senatum populunKjue studiosorum. Ep. 799- 
 
 Longolius ante diem nobis ereptus, pr,Teclaram opinionem reliquit apud 
 Italos, quod tuerit Ciceronianus. Et tanien neniinem ex illis prodire video, 
 qui vere reterat Ciceroneni, nisi bractea duntaxat orationis, ac verbulis 
 aliquot selectis. Kp.S03. 
 
 Eru lit ioneni his temporibus gratularl licet permultis, quum can- 
 
 doreiii animi non penude probes in omnibus, quera carte in Ix)ngolio non- 
 nunqiiam desidero, <]uuni me semper habuerit eraditionis ingeniique sui 
 turn tautorem pvopensissimuni, tuni praeconeni haudquaqnam malignum. 
 Sed uudecunque coiicepU ille hoc in me stomachi, doleu virum ante diem 
 ereptum, liberahbus studiis vel ornandis vol provehendis. Quasi pamm 
 sit in orbe factionum, revixit nova factio Ciceionianorum, niminim quo 
 Eudaeani et Erasmum submoveant ex albo doctorum, et e manibus ho- 
 minum excutiant. Ut fateor Ciceroni primam in dicendo landem deberi, 
 ita pulo rid'culum, tota vita nihil aliud agere, quam ut Ciceronem unum 
 exprimas. Ep. S21. See also Ep, 81 7, 
 
 Est Ilomae chorus eruditorum, qui vix ferunt nonien Germanorum aut 
 Gallorum. llabeut cor t/plueu in et incitatorern tibi non ignotum, (he 
 means Aleander, I suppose) cujus animo ut nulla satis est gloria, ita non 
 fert praeter ipsum laudari quenquam nee deorvim nee hominum. Ep. 
 803. 
 
 Piomoe Paganum illuderuditorumsodalUium jam pridem fremit in me^ 
 ducibus, ut ferunt, Aleandro, et Alberto quondam principe Carpensi. 
 Ep. 820. 
 
 Tertiam sectam nobis peperit Italia : magnis contentionibus depugnant 
 quidam, submovendos ex albo doctorum omnes, qui non referunt phrasim 
 Ciceronianam ; quam ut Ihteor omnium optimam esse, ita non probe eos 
 qui huic rei seiTiunt. Ep. 812. 
 
 Budaeus, in ausw-er to Ep. 803, says of the Coryphaeus, by whom 
 Erasmus and he seem to mean Aleander : 
 
 Is Gallos Germanosque seriptores pjo potestate, numeris expunxit de- 
 cora raerentium . Ciceroni autem usque eo ad unguem sim'lis esse 
 
 meditatus est, ut eloquentiae Latinas pareniem etiam superaverit, ac longe 
 reliquerit, duntaxat in ea parte, quas ad commendationem sui pertinet. 
 Marcus enim TiUlius laudes suas decantavit, eanique ob causam saepe sto- 
 machum et Curiae et subselliis, et amicissimis suis movit, tametsi veras 
 laudes meritasque praedioabat. Hie longe impudentius suas et immeri- 
 tissimas dcprEedieav it. — Longolium olim nostrum luciuosius desiderassem, 
 nisi ipse no^ter esse animi destinatione desiisset. Ep. 8'42. 
 
 Erasmus replies : 
 
 De Lon^ulio niiror si potuit ab amicitia tua discedere. Sed ille satis 
 magnam iaudem lulit, periit Ciceronianus. Et tamen illius Ciceroniani lu- 
 cubrationes paucibsimi leguntj nustras naeuias Batavas nemo non legit, 
 Ep, S/o. 
 
S74 THE LIFE ' [J 526. 
 
 He received a present *^ from Polydore Virgil, and returns 
 him thanks. Ep. 81.5. 
 
 He wrote a letter of congratulation to Francis I, upon his 
 release, and return to his dominions ; and makes heavy 
 complaints to him of the calumnies of Beda. In this he 
 seems not to have acted judiciously : he should have kept 
 his own private concerns and his resentments for another op- 
 portunity, Ep. 826. 
 
 He received^ from Schydlovietz, chancellor of Poland, in 
 return for his Lingua^ a gold watch, and other presents. 
 About the same time his friend Jacobus Piso^ gave him a gold 
 and a silver medal. Ep. 837, 888. 
 
 Joannes Maldonatus, a Spaniard, informed him how 
 much' lie was esteemed in Spain, and how fond they were of 
 his writings, &c. Ep. 338. c. 1715. 
 
 In Ep. 840, Erasmus gives a remarkable account of a 
 tower at Basil which was blown up by gunpowder, set on 
 fire by a flash of lightning. Sleidan hath related an accident 
 of the same kind at Mechlin. L. xvii. 490. 
 
 Ep. 844 is to Claudius Cantiuncula'^, a doctor of law. 
 
 This year Erasmus published some tracts' of Chrysostom, 
 with a dedicatory Epistle to John Claymond'", which is not 
 amongst the Epistles of Erasmus. 
 
 The anonymous author, who with great virulence attack- 
 ed Marsollier and Erasmus, accuses the latter of having con- 
 
 ^ Tua benignitas semper officia officiis accumulate meque jam olim 
 maltis nominibus obaeratxim reddjt obligatiorem. Dedisti quo paietur 
 equus, utinam dare possis quo reparetiu' eques. 
 
 e Redditum est bona fide horologium aureum, cochleare aureum, et 
 fuscinula aurea. Mihi congruebant lutea, sed haec erant digna tuo vere 
 aureo ingenio moribusque candidissimis. Habeo quod ostentem. — Tuis 
 auspiciis Lingua nostra fuit felix : Frobenius felicissime vendidit, quum 
 jam ter excuderit, Et interim a multis aliis fuit excusa. Hoc non fuisset 
 factum, nisi multis placuisset. 
 
 ^ Vid. Indicem Epist. Erasmi, 
 
 ' Multi eruditi viii laborant in vertendis in linguam nostram opusculis 
 tuis, et jam Enchiridion Hispane loqucns prodiit, neque valent typographi 
 multis excusis millibus satisfacere ementium multituuini. Dialogi etiam 
 nonnulli ex Colloquiis Hispani facti^ volitant per manus virorum fe- 
 minarumque, &:c. 
 
 ^ Melchiur Adam. 
 
 ' Chrvsostorai Conciunculae sex de Fato et Providentia Dei, Graece : 
 apud Joan. Froben. 8vo. Basil. 1526. Cum Erasmi Epistola ad Joan, 
 Claymoudum, &:c. Maittaire, ii. 6/2, 
 
 "' See abovcj p. lQ\, 162. 
 
L'2G.] OF ERASMUS. 37.5 
 
 fcsscd to Vlves, that when he wrote agalrivSt Luther he wrote 
 against his conscience. 
 
 ' He says to Yives" ; I have written my book of free-will : 
 but, tosfjcak in^^enuously to you., J had lost free-will whilst 
 I jvas! u'riting for it, and my mind believed nothing of what 
 my pen wrote. He was then neither a Lutheran, nor a Ca- 
 tholic' 
 
 This man here ascribes to Erasnius more than he hath 
 said ; for these material words, / have written my booh of 
 free-will, are not in the letter of Erasmus to Vives, and 
 the passage is not fairly represented. The affair stands thus : 
 
 Vivcs, in a letter ° to Erasmus, informs him, that some 
 critics had censured his Colloquies for treating points of di- 
 vinity and controversy, which did not suit the characters of 
 the speakers introduced in the Dialogues, and were above 
 the capacity of school-boys, for whom that work was de- 
 signed ; and he adds very frankly, that he knew not how to 
 answer these objections. In this letter something is said to 
 the disadvantage of a person not named — hominis facinora ; 
 something is obscurely hinted about Luther ; and some al- 
 lusions are perhaps made to a former and a longer letter, 
 which he had sent to Erasmus, and which we have not. 
 
 Erasmus wrote him an answer, in a short epistle ; and, 
 after having p gently blamed him for giving up the defence 
 
 " Critique de I'Apologie d'Erasme, de Marsollier, p. 253. 
 
 " Ego ad te literas dedi ex Britannia bene longas maltis de rebus, more 
 rneo. Dolercm si non crederem esse ad te perlatas : tuas jamprideui 
 nulla? accepimus ; occupationibus id tuis ascribo : nam tibi iter tuum 
 recta eunti de semitis x.tJysc iXooirovTi. Itaque cogeris paulisper defltc- 
 tere, ut molestiam dimoveas, quae iter remoratur. Posseni referre tibi 
 praeclara aliquot kominis illius facinora; verum malim non agi inter vos 
 de vita, sed de sententia : relirjua KOLrci rou Ao-j^rprj sy.os'X^erai. — Sunt 
 qui ex me quaenuit quo fine existimem introductam abs te disputationcm 
 iihm 'lyJ'jo:pxy.ac, de voto, et vi praeceptorum in operetituli puerilis, at 
 quod videtur pueris sciiptum rem tantam neutiquam intellecturis : re- 
 spondeo quaedam.quis utillis satisfaciam nescio, mihi utique non satisfacio : 
 nam alienissima videtur mihi et loco et personis illis dissertatio, fva hy.slv 
 /jt.^ ra TtosTOv rr^crh]vai. Itaque non videtur fuisse faciendum ; praesertini 
 cum oflensione multorum, cvAeig ri-rxv. Sed nihil dubito, quia tibi facli 
 tui pulcherrime constet ratio, quam non gravaberis primis Uteris, quas ad 
 me dabis, uno aut altero verbo subjicere, ad eximendum et meum et vie- 
 orum amicoTum scrupulum, &c. Ep. 829. 
 
 P De siientio meo multas tu quidem causas recte conjectas ; unam ad- 
 dere debueras, quod aiiquoties data non redduntur. De Colloquiis demi- 
 ror tanlo patrono vtl in pessima cavisa deesse rationes j nunc inter pueros 
 
^■(\ 
 
 THE LIFE [1526. 
 
 of the Colloquies, he censures a person vvhom he calls o yjjj- 
 Xog, and by whom he seems to mean Jacobus Latomus, who 
 had written a Dialogue against Erasmus and others. Then 
 he adds, in a seemingly abrupt and unconnected manner, 
 ' But, to confess the truth, we have lost free-wiil. There my 
 mind dictated one thing, and jny pen wrote another thing.' 
 
 Vivas, in answer to this letter, br?gs'T pardon of his friend 
 and preceptor, declares himself fully satished concerning the 
 Colloquies, says a word about Latomus, and ihen adds ; fFe 
 have not lost free-will. 
 
 If we suppose that Erasmus spake v.dth a view to his con- 
 troversy with Luther, v/hich 1 do not deny-, he undoubtedly 
 meant by the- words in question, (thougli they be incautiously 
 expressed) that he had written, not against his conscience^ 
 but against his Inclination^ and so had lost iiis J'ree-will : 
 for, first, he hath declared "^ this an hundred times over ; and 
 
 talia disputanlur, et o %:t"Ao; suapueris scripsLsse videtur, tarn scripsit pueri - 
 liter ; ])ostremc) grandescunt pueri. Itaque jam adullis magis seria conve- 
 niebant. * Varum ut ingenue dicam, perdidimus liberum arbitrium. 
 lUic mihi aliud dictabat animus^ aliud scribcbat calamus.' Tua milii 
 valde probantur, &c. Ep. 8^1 . 
 
 «l De Colloquiis recta habet, mihi plane jam pridem sati,->factum abunde 
 est, vel ipso facto tuo, quod riaihi et aliis pkuimis majoris erit momeuti ac 
 roboris, quam multae aliorum et accuratre rationes. llludque a primo 
 valere apud me debere existimavi, quod Pompeio scribit M. Tullius : 
 ' Nee si ego quid tu si,s secutus non perspicio, idcirco minus existimo te 
 nihil nisi summa ratione fecisse.' 'AXXa n ij.oi Kai Accroijyjj ; aut quor- 
 sum de iilo ? *■ Liberum arbitrium non perdidimus, qnod tu asserueris.' 
 Non facile credas, quantopere censeo adjuvari me admonitionibus tuis, 
 &c. Ep. 8/6'. 
 
 ■■ Seckendorf is of opinion that Erasmus alludes to his book against 
 Luther : ' Lunovico Vivi candide apcrit se perdidisse, dum de libcn) ar- 
 bitrio scriheret, liberum arbitrium/ &c. ' Patet. hincHuctuaiis viri animus,' 
 &c. L. i. p. 310. 
 
 ^ Ipse rem tractavi modestissime. Et tamcn quod scribo (adversus 
 Lutherum) ' non scribo adver?.us animi sententiam.' — Ep. 703. 
 
 Ilisi salsissimam epistolam tuam, quancjuam interim risum ridens Sar- 
 doniuni. Refricuit mihi jocus tuus Mori mei dictum quo;ldam non ille- 
 pidum ; nam cditis libris De Copia; ' Emisit, inquit, Erasmus utramijue 
 Copiarn ; quid itaque sibi reliquuai fecit prx."ier summam inopiam ?' 
 Ita profecto nunc ' habere desii libirnm arbitrium,' posteaquam emisi 
 (libruni adver.sus Lutherum) in valgus. Optabaui esse spectator liujus 
 fabula;, uon quod ecclesiae negotio pro mea \irili pigeret adesse, sedqiiod 
 viderem esse jixam de paradoxis nescio quibus : turn autem dninabam 
 futurum, ut si me adtniscerem actior.i fabnl,3e, nihil aliud quam rem ex- 
 Aspcrarem, meo pariter et causae • male. Postremo, considerans vitam 
 Christianoruni undique cornipt;<siman;j etiamsi pcsiimc scnsisbcm de Lu»- 
 
152G ] OF ERASMUS. 377 
 
 secondly, he certainly picked out a subject in which he really 
 ditFercd IVoni Luther, and could write against him ex amino. 
 Any man oF conmion discernment, who peruses his treatises 
 upon this subject, will see that he wrote as he believed. His 
 acquaintance also with the antient Greek Fathers, and his 
 professed respect for them, could not fail to make him a 
 sort of Semipclagian. 
 
 Now is it probable, or rather, is it possible, that Erasmus, 
 after havinq- declared over and over in letters to various 
 friends, that he had written against Luther, though very 
 lum-illiits^hj^ yet very sincerely, and according to his real 
 sentiments, should have had, not only so much \vickednei;s, 
 but so much senseless and graceless impudence, as to have 
 composed a theological treatise upon a serious and important 
 subject, against his conscience, and then to have told it to a 
 man of honour and virtue, to his friend Vives ? 
 
 thero^ tamen propemodum judicabam ilium a.voiyv.curj kxkov zIvoli, quod qm 
 tolleret, tolleretid quod hoc statu temporum esset optimum. Verum illud 
 erat in faiis meis, uthoc aetatis ex musico fiercm retiarius. Deplorat Labe- 
 rius Mimographus quod annos natus sexaginta, Caesaris auctoritate protrac- 
 tus esset in scenam, ut qui domo egressus erat eques Romanus, rediret his- 
 trio. Ego idem ferme aetatis ex cultore Musarum fio gladiator. Veja- 
 iiius, qui semper versatus fuerat in arena, excusatione senectutis meruit 
 missionem, et armis Herciilis ad postem lixis latet abditus agro. Ego 
 semper in campis Musarum versatus, in banc cruentam pugnam pro- 
 trudor; non alirer licuit. Clamitabant Sophistae, Convenit inter Erasmum 
 et Lutherum ; neuter alterum impetit. Principumexpectationemdiutius 
 fallere non erat tutum. Odiose provocabant quidam Lutheri amici, sed 
 ipsi etiam Ludiero infelicissimi, ut si me continuissem, visus fuissem is- 
 torum minis territus siluisse. Quin et epistola Lutheri, quam per Joa- 
 chimum ad me miserat, jam habebatur Argentorati, nee dubium quiii 
 bre\ i proditura. In ea pollicetur se non stricturum in me calamum, sed 
 hac lege, si absiineam a dogmalis i'psius ex professo labefactandis, (juem- 
 admjdam hactenus feceram. Hie nondum satis liquet, utrum mihi 
 fixturum fuerit turpius metu, an ex pacto quietem agere. Itaque jacta 
 est alea, sed sie ut ' ne verbum quidem praster animi sententiam scrip- 
 
 serini.' 
 
 Hie nobis hoc novum evangelium gignit novum hominum genus, prae- 
 Jractos, impudentes, fucatos, maledieos, mendaces, sycophantas, inter se 
 discordes, nulli commodos, omnibus incommodos, seditiosos, furiosos, 
 rabulas, qui mild adeo displicent, ut si quam nossem civiintem ab hocge- 
 i;ere liberam, eo demigrarem. ' De libero arbitrio niiiil scripsi praeler 
 animi sententiam j' in multis aliis a Luthero dissenlicbam, sed verebar 
 impugnare, ne fructus hujus tumultUb mea periret opera. Et isti stolidi 
 jactitant me sentire eum Luthero, c^eterum metu dissimulare. Egregius 
 vero futurus sim martyr, si in gratiam talium nebulonum mentiar in caput 
 laeiiai. Ep. yid. 
 
S78 THE LIFE [1527' 
 
 A. D. MDXXVII. jETAT. LX. 
 
 Vives informed Erasmus, that his Enchiridion had been 
 translated into Spanish , and was read with great approbation. 
 But it afterwards raised him enemies in that country, where 
 religious liberty never took up her abode. Ep. 851. 
 
 In a letter to Polydore Virgil, Erasmus thanks him for 
 his kind endeavours to reconcile Lee and him together ; and 
 says, that the shortest way to do it would be a mutual amnesty. 
 He adds, that he stood upon a very good foot with the great. 
 Clemens VII, says he, hath already given me two hundred 
 florins, and promises me all things. The emperor and his 
 chancellor have lately written to me in the most friendly 
 manner. I have drav/ers full of letters, from kings, princes, 
 cardinals, dukes, nobles, bishops, written with the utmost 
 civility. I receive uncommon and valuable presents from 
 r!iany of them. Only a few sorry fellows, like bugs and 
 ijce, fasten upon me to bite me : for neither the emperor 
 nor the pope can protect a man from such vermin, whilst 
 they are protected by their own meanness and obscurity. 
 
 It is very true, that persons of the highest rank paid all 
 these honours to Erasmus, as this collection of letters suffi- 
 ciently shows : but then it must be confessed, that the good 
 man paid his court to them also, and frequently declared that 
 he would be a true churchman, and never quit the Romanists. 
 In the mean time the divines and the monks waged open and 
 incessant war with him in France and in the Low Countries, 
 as he complains in following epistles. From a letter of 
 Alphonsus Fonseca, archbishop of Toledo, who kindly pro- 
 mised him his protection, it appears that he was warmly at- 
 tacked in those regions ; and his old enemy Lee, v/ho was 
 sent by Henry VIII to Spain, blew the fire there, and did 
 him all die mischief that lay in his power. Ep. 854. 862. 
 870. 
 
 ' Nicolas' Clenard tells us in one of his Epistles", that in 
 Spain, where the knowledge of the Latin tongue was so very 
 low that few were able to read it, some had determined to 
 burn the Colloquies of Erasmus, as a most pestilent book ; 
 and that his friend Vives had like to have suffered by the 
 same mad zealots. And at Louvain there was a person who, 
 
 » Knight, p. 265. " Clenardi Epist. p. 231. 
 
1527.] OF ERASMUS. 379 
 
 to render Erasmus contemptible, gave out with great con- 
 fidence that he was as to learning a dunce, and as to religion 
 a heretic ; and that a poor hungry Scot, that had pretended 
 to teacii in that university, had a hundred times more learn* 
 ing than he.* 
 
 Erasmus therefore, to augment the number of his protec- 
 tors amongst crownt-d heads, wrote to Sigismund king of 
 Poland, by the advice of John a Lasco*, to whom Erasmus 
 gives the title of Pra:positus Gnesnensis. In this letter he 
 compliments the king, and recommends peace to Christian 
 princes. He wrote also to the chancellor of Poland, aiid to 
 the bishop of Plosco. Ep. 860, &c. 
 
 In his letter to John a Lasco, he says that some of his 
 enemies were gone to the other world, that Egmond^ the 
 Carmelite died at Louvain of a vomiting y, and that the Do- 
 minican Vincentius was also departed : Hochstrat likewise 
 died at Cologn. ^ Erasmus rejoiceth that Jacobus Faber was 
 recalled to France^ and that Louis Berquin was delivered 
 from the divines his persecutors, by the return of Francis I. 
 These two worthy men were of the reformed party, or very 
 nearly so. 
 
 In Ep. 864, he endeavours to persuade one D'Hasselt, a 
 Franciscan, to cease from reviling him, and sets before him 
 the examples of those of his own order, who in Hungary, 
 Poland, and Spain had laboured in vain to tarnish his repu- 
 
 * Str)'pe's Life of Parker, p. 288. Life of Cranmer, b. ii. chap. 22. 
 Memor. ii. 241. 283. 3/4. Hasaei Bibl. class, vii. fasc. ii. p. 2gi, &c. 
 
 A Litsco was first and chief pastor of the reformed church of fo- 
 reigners, in Austin Fryars, London. Afterwards, when queen Mary 
 came to the crown, he and his flock fled to Denmark, wliere the king 
 would not permit them to stay. See an account of this iu the Nou\ . 
 Bibl. Germ, for 1/50. 
 
 * Some Lutheran, I suppose, honoured Egmond witli this epitaph, ia 
 monkish style : 
 
 Hie jacct Egmondus, telluris inutile pcndus : 
 Dile\it rabiem, non habeat requiem ! 
 
 y Aliquot ex hcstiuni numero perienint : Lovanii Egmondanus Car- 
 melita vomitu praefocatus, quum ipse paulo ante publice vociferatus esset 
 in Joannem Naevium,. quod paralysi correptus, intra sex horas efflasset ani- 
 mam. Periitet Vincentius Dominicanus, in quern est una mea epistola ti- 
 tulo pertinacissimi obtrectalvris. — Coloniae periit Jacobus Hochslratus, 
 coryphaeus hujus tragocdi^, qui tamen in morte dicitur nonnuUis verbis 
 prodidisse panam sinceram cnnscieutiam. His omnibus precor Domini 
 misericordiam, &c. £p. 862. 
 
580 THE LIFE [1527. 
 
 tation, and had only exposed themselves. Whether this ex- 
 postulation had any effect upon the man, we know not : 
 but certain it is, that Erasmus never wanted Franciscans to 
 tease and insult him. After all that he had said concerning the 
 monks and their devotions, in vain did he expect that they 
 would some time or other give over their attacks ; and he 
 was like the man in Horace, 
 
 -E-xspectans duni defluat amriis ; atillc 
 
 Labitur, et labetur in onme volubilis aevuni. 
 
 They pursued him hving and dead, and got his books to be 
 condemned in Italy and Spain, until they should be purged^ 
 that is, until half of them should be cancelled and sup- 
 pressed by ecclesiastical authority. 
 
 ' Ep. ^ 866 is to Leonard Cox*, of Monmouthshire, 
 who studied at Cambridge and at Oxford, and then travelled 
 into France, Germany, Poland, and Hungary, and taught 
 the learned iano'uaoes, and became more eminent abroad 
 than at home, where he had no preferment. Then he re- 
 turned, and taught school in Wales, and died, and was 
 buried, no one knows where and when. Leland, the an- 
 tiquarian, wrote a copy of verses in commendation ot this 
 learned man.' 
 
 This year Erasmus sent Cannius of Amsterdam, one of 
 his copists, to England, to gather up his revenues and pen- 
 sions, and any free-will offerings that he could collect. He 
 gives Cannius some instructions, in a ludicrous manner, 
 how he should proceed upon this begging errand ; whence 
 it appears that the mendicant fiiars, his good friends, were 
 not better skilled in this trade than he was. This might 
 be one of the reasons for which they hated him so heartily, 
 since, as old Hesiod observed, poets and beggars envy one 
 another^. Ep. 868. 
 
 Vives informs him of the efforts of the Spanish monks to 
 get his works condemned, and of the resistance made to 
 them by his friends and favourers. Ep. 87(3. 
 
 Erasmus published the works of St. Ambrose'^, and dcdi- 
 
 ^ Knight, p. 220. 
 
 * Cox translated into English the Paraphrase of S(. TauTs Ej)istle to 
 Titus, written by Erasmus, v\'iih whom he was acquainted. Wood, i. 5rt. 
 
 ^ Kaj trxyh: tTMy^M ip%-^sai, y.sc) aoi^o; scoi^m. 
 
 '' BuUingcr, h;!\i:i^- given his opinion that the books of Ambrose De 
 ' .j 
 
151'7.] OP ERASMUS. 381 
 
 cated them to John a Lasco, archbishop of Gnesna, drawing 
 up an elugiian of Ambrose, and defending him against the 
 censures of Jerom. Ep. 878. 
 
 Le Clerc thought it a mistake in the editors of the Epi- 
 Ftles of Erasmus to give a Lasco the title of archbishop ; but 
 it is plain from the dedication itself, tiiat the person to whom 
 it is addressed was a prelate ; and this prelate was a different 
 man from John a Lasco, who was his nephew, and a parti- 
 cular friend of Erasmus. Erasmus, in Ep. 862, hath made 
 mention of two others of the same illustrious family, Hieros- 
 laus and Stanislaus a Lasco ; and in Ep. 1 167 he speaks of 
 a John a Lasco (Joannes Lascanus) ; a young man, who 
 died in Germany. 
 
 He also dedicated the Babylas of Chiysostom to the pre- 
 sident of the college of Busleiden at Louvain. In this de- 
 dication he hath given a wrong account ot the martyrdom of 
 Babylas'-, by following and adopting some mistakes of Chry- 
 sostom. Ep. 880. 
 
 His New Testament and his Colloquies were both attacked 
 at London, and he defends himself in a long Epistle addressed 
 to Robert Aldrige. 
 
 Some malevolent and impertinent divine had preached 
 against him at London, at Paul's Cross, for having translated 
 John vii. S9. ' Nondum enim erat Spiritus sanctus,' instead 
 of * Nondum enim erai Spiritus daius.'' Erasmus defends his 
 version very well. In our Bibles w-e have, ' The Holy Ghost 
 was not yet given ; and we put the word given in Italics, to 
 show that it is not in the original : but it would be better to 
 leave it out, for reasons which Erasmus hath assigned- 
 Ep. 882. 
 
 Soon after, his second Elyperasplstes'^ against Luther made 
 
 Sacramcntis, kc. were spurious, adds ; ' Erasmus suo more dissimulat 
 et occulit suum judicium : non enim horum librorum vel verbo meminit. 
 Rejccit tamen in postremum tomum, ut non dubitem ilium senlire 
 man;^oni.s cujuspiam illud esse opus. Noluit tamen censura sua notare 
 illos libius subdolus, ne fortassis crederetur cultor esse nostrae do Sacra- 
 mcntis sententiae, qui scilicet non nisi duo aut ad summum tria conlite- 
 mur.' Ceiitur. Epist. Goldasti, ep. 55. p. 231. 
 
 '^ Bayle's Diet. Bahyhs. 
 
 ^ Absolvimus secundum Hyperaspistae librani, quod facere non poie- 
 ramus, nisi prius diligenter perlectis Lutherisciiptis, in quibus tanlum est 
 scommatum, sannarum, conviciorum, gloriarum, insukationum, ovatio- 
 num, ac triumphorum, ut me minimo minus tsejio enecarinc, et pvius- 
 quam chartae calamum adraoyerem. Prosus iliac sensimir oi\hvj:ir 
 
382 'the life! [1527. 
 
 its appearance, in which he proceeded to answer such objec- 
 tions as he had not leisure to refute in the first book. He 
 sent it, and a letter with it, to George duke of Saxony. 
 Ep. 889. 
 
 He sent another letter to this prince, wherein he returns 
 him thanks for a silver cup, and foretels that the Reformed 
 party, which George abhorred, would be dissipated of itself, 
 and come to nothing ; but he warns him to take care 
 lest the monks, those enemies to literature, should find 
 their advantage in it. Ep. 891. 
 
 His pension of counsellor was siill detained from him, 
 and promised on condition that he would return to Brabant : 
 and yet the emperor himself had twice given orders that it 
 should be paid. These men, says he, had rather obey the 
 emperor when he bids them exact too much, than when he 
 bids them disburse. But probably Charles V was not much 
 displeased at their delays and disobedience. Ep. 890. 
 
 Erasmus returns thanks to the archbishop of Toledo ; and 
 to engage that prelate to continue his patronage, he tells him 
 how many civil letters and messages he daily received from 
 the Great. He seems to have applauded himself a little upon 
 these marks of honour, because he so frequently mentions 
 them ; and upon this account he hath been reproached, as 
 guilty of vanity and insolence, by ecclesiastics, who saw not 
 the beam that was in their own eye. It may be alleged 
 by w^ay of excuse, in behalf of Erasmus, that his vexatious 
 enemies compelled him to thlsfoliy of extolling himself, and 
 to make use of this small stratagem in his own defence. 
 Ep.S92. 
 
 In Ep. 894-, addressed to John Vergafa, a Spaniard, he 
 takes notice how violently the Spanish monks attacked 
 him, on account of his treadses, which had been trans- 
 
 Ao'yov, ut habet proverbivim, nee uUum absinthium amarulentius, Ep. 
 894. 
 
 Melanchthon^ upon this disagreeable occasion , wrote thus to Erasmus : 
 Utinam non esset tam atrox certamen inter vos susceptum. Neque 
 satis enim habuit fortasse tuae dignitatis rationem Luthenis. Et tu vi- 
 cissim eum mirifice deformasti, quern quidem virum ego meliorem esse 
 judico, quam qualis videtur facieuti de eo judicium ex illis violentis scrip- 
 tionibus ipsius. Plus profutura erant eccJesiai utriusque vestrum studia, si 
 ad sananda hsec dissidia conferrentur. Et faciat Christus ut consilescat 
 iiaec inter vos coiUentio, oui eist dyuiyo^tra.; alvai, ou tcvv ^ly^otrrao-iuiv, 
 ty.>.xd tmv Kx'AXla-ru/v tTtiTr^hu^irMv . Epist. Melanch. p. go. 
 
1527.] OF ERASMUS. 3S1J 
 
 lated into their language ; and gives him a succinct narrative 
 of the troubles in Germany. He writes on the same sub- 
 ject to Francis Vergara, brother to John, and Greek pro- 
 fessor at Alcala of Henarez. He complains also much of 
 the Ciceronians, who hated him and reviled him at Rome, 
 because he had bantered the servile imitators of Cicero. 
 What he says on this occasion deserves to be transcribed^ ; 
 whence it appears, that if they accounted him a Barbarian, 
 he accounted them Pagans and Epicurean Atheists ; and 
 that whilst he honoured and esteemed Cicero as a fine writer, 
 he thought it not absolutely impossible to write better in 
 some respects, in a manner more expressive and solid, and 
 
 = Est et illud hostium genuSj quod nuper coepit ex insidiis erumpere. 
 Hos male habet, bonas literas sonare Christum, quasi nihil sit elegans 
 quod non sit Ethnicnm. Istorum auribus lepidius sonat, Jupiter optmus 
 viaximus, qiiam Jesus Christus redemtor mundi : et Putres Conscripti 
 jucundius sonat quam Saiicti ^postoli. Pontanum in coslum tollunt lau- 
 dibus, Augustinum etHieronymum fastidiunt. At ego malim unam odam 
 Prudentii modulantis Jesum, quam navem onustam versibus Pontanicis, 
 cujus alioqui nee eraditionem, nee facundiam contemno. Apud hos prope 
 turpius est non esse Ciceronianum, quam non esse Christianum : quasi 
 vero si Cicero nunc revivisceret, de rebus Christianis non aliter loqueretur, 
 quam state sua loquebatur, quum praecipua pars eloquentiae sit apposite 
 dicere. Nemo negat Ciceronem dicendi virlutibus excelluisse, qvianquani 
 non omne dicendi genus convenit per^onis vel argumeutis quibuslibet. 
 Quid sibi viUt ista Ciceroniani nominis tarn odiosa jactatio ? Dicam paucis, 
 sed velut in aurem. Hoc fuco tegunt Paganis-mum, qui charior est illis 
 Christi gloria. Me non admodum pcenitet e Ciceronianoram albo eradi, 
 modo scribar in albo Christianorum. Si quis nobis virtutes Ciceronianae 
 diclionis cum Christiana pietate conjunxerit, hunc ego vej decern praefe- 
 rara Cicerouibus. Ego tantum abfiii semper ut Ciceronianae phraseos 
 tiguram exprimerera, ut etiamsi possim assequi, malim aliquod dicendi 
 genus solidius, adstrictius, nervosius, minus comtum, magisque mascu- 
 fum. Quanquam alioqui leviter mihi euros fuit verborura ornatus, eti- 
 amsi munditiem, quum ul'.rc> praesto est, non adsperner. Nunc adeo noa 
 vacat expolire quod scribo^ ut crebro nee relegere liceat. Sint gerraani 
 si libet Ciceroniani, quibus per otium licet trimestrem operam unis, nee 
 his prolixis. Uteris dare. Mihi nonnunquam nno die liber absolvendus 
 est. Illis itaque probro dent isti, quod non exprimant Ciceronem, qui 
 id sedulo quidem, sed parum feliciter afFectant. Postremo, si fas est fa- 
 teri vemm, nee istorum qui nihil mirantur propter Ciceronem, quisquam 
 adhuc Ciceronem feliciter nobis refert. Nihil enim moror inanera ora- 
 tionis bracteam, et decern verba hinc atque illinc ex Cicerone emendi- 
 cata : totum Ciceronis pectus requiro, Haec, mi Francisce, non eo spec 
 tant, ut alius sit magis proponendus eloquentiae candidatis quarn Ciceio, 
 sed ut istos rideam simios, quibus nihil pulchrum nisi quod Ciceronem 
 retert, quum nulla fuerit unquam forma tam feiix, in qua nihil debidercs, 
 Ut tormae pictor, ita dictionis rhetor absolutum exempluni a mul'ii pe- 
 tal oportet. Ep, 899. 
 3 
 
SS* THE LIFE [1527* 
 
 not so lax and wordy. As to Jovianus Pontanus^, Erasmus 
 was williuo; to do justice to his abilities, though the Italians, 
 in his opinion, extolled him too much. 
 
 In a letter to Charles duke of Savoy, he accuses some 
 Franciscan, who had made it his business to defame him 
 in the dominions of- that prince. Ep. 900. 
 
 He 5 wrote a letter in answer to Gardiner^, whom he 
 had known at Paris, and with whom he was willing 
 to keep up an acquaintance. Erasmus esteemed him a 
 skilful oecpnomist, or what we call o. notable feJloic. Bur- 
 net hath given a large account of the life and exploits of 
 this bishop, who had a tolerable share of erudition, good po- 
 litical skill, and a bad mind. Ele had abilities ; and so hath 
 ihe Devil. 
 
 ' Gardiner' was a crafty and politic man, and understood 
 the king well, and complied with his temper in every thing : 
 he despised Cranmer, and hated all Reformation.' 
 
 'In*^ 1547,Gardineropposed the Reformation andthebook 
 of Homilies. He wrote a letter that hath more of a Christian 
 and of a bishop in it than any thing 1 ever saw of his, ex- 
 pressing in handsome terms a great contempt of the 
 world, and a resolution to suffer any thing rather than de- 
 part from his conscience. — He said Erasmus's Paraphrase 
 was bad enough in Latin, but much worse in English ; for 
 the translator had oft out of ignorance, and oft out of de- 
 sign, misrendered him palpably, and was one that neither 
 understood Ladn nor English well. — ^He gathered many 
 things out of that Paraphrase that were contrary to the power 
 of princes, and several other censurable things in that work, 
 which Erasmus, said he, wrote when he was young, being of 
 
 ^V. Jovins, Elog. p. p4. Pope Blount, ]■». 352. Ernsmus, Ciceronian. 
 
 " Agnosco nunc eandem ingenii dexteritatem et in Uteris et in gravio- 
 ribus negoliis obeundis, quam Lutetiae praestabas in occonomicis. Nee 
 tuoe litercc minus recrearunt mourn aniuium abs te scriptje, quara tun\ 
 lactucae delectabant palatum meum arte tua decoctse. Gaudeo nobis pa- 
 tronum esse communem. Ep. SQii. 
 
 By this common patron he means Henry VIII. 
 
 h Burnet, i. 1/2. ii. Si. 254. 26/. 273. 27Q. 287- 29/. 299. 303. 312. 
 314,315.320,321. iii 80, &c. 105. 143. 152. I87. I9I. Appendix, 
 411. Du Pin, xvi. 25. Knight, p. I94. Melchior Adara, Vit. Pet. 
 Martyris, p. 29. Strype's Life of Parker, 1. i. c. 5. 
 
 ' Burnet. See Strype's Life of Cranmer, b. i. chap. 8. b. ii. I9. 25. 
 h. iii. 15,. 16. rvienior. i. 3/2. and Append, p. 326. ii. 4(5l. iii. 270, &:c- 
 
 '^ Burnet. 
 
1527.] OF ERASMUS. 885 
 
 a far different strain from what he writ when he grew older, 
 and better acquainted with the world/ 
 
 ' By' an act of parliament Gardiner performed his promise 
 to queen Mary of getting her illegitimation taken off — but, inr 
 the drawing of it, he showed that he was past all shame. — 
 The laying it all upon Cranmer was as high a pitch of ma- 
 lice and impudence as could be devised, &c.' 
 
 ' He"' had thirty years experience in affairs, a great know- 
 ledge of the courts of Christendom, and of the state of 
 England, a great sagacity with a marvellous cunning, which 
 was not always regulated by the rules of candour and ho- 
 nesty. — In drawing up the articles of the queen's maniage, 
 he designed to exclude ihe Spaniards from having any share 
 in the government, which he intended to hold in his own 
 hands. — And it must be acknowledged, that the preserving 
 of England out of the hands of the Spaniards at that time 
 seems to be almost wholly owing to him.' 
 
 ' He" was much set against lady Elizabeth, and thought 
 all that they did about religion was but half work, unless she 
 were destroyed. For he knew that her education had been 
 wholly under the Reformed : and, which was more to 
 him, who judged all people by their interest, he reckoned 
 that interest must make her declare against the papacy, (since 
 otherwise she was a bastard,) if ever she should outlive her 
 sister.* 
 
 * He° examined and treated Dr. Taylor (an aged divine, 
 who was burnt at Hadley,) with his ordinary civilities, of 
 traitor, villain, heretic, and knave. Sec* 
 
 ' He P sent secretly to Rome, to give an ill character of 
 Pole ; he designed to be made a cardinal, and to get Pole 
 recalled, and himself made archbishop of Canterbury ; and 
 the pope was resolved, on the first occasion, to take the 
 legantine power from Pole, and give it to Gardiner. But 
 Pole was so much in the queen's favour, that this required 
 some time to bring it about. This made Gardiner study 
 to preserve Cranmer as long as Pole lived, though he had no 
 kindness for him, &c.' 
 
 ' Gardiner "^ had stayed long for dinner, that day that Rid- 
 ley and Latimer were to be burnt, till one should bring him 
 word that the fire was set to them : but the messenger com- 
 
 > Burnet, » Ibid, " Ibid. <• Ibid. f Ibid. 1 1bid. 
 Vol. I. C c 
 
386 THE LTTE [l5^7- 
 
 ing post did not reach London till four in the afternoon, and 
 then he went cheerfully to dine ; but was at dinner struck 
 with the illnessof which he died. He had great remorse for 
 his former life— and often repeated these words, Erravi cum 
 Petro, sed nonflevi cum Petro. He was of a nobler descent 
 than is commonly known, — and of kin to Henry VIII. — He 
 was well skilled in the canon and civil laws, and moderately 
 in divinity. He had a good style in Latin, and understood 
 the Greek well : but his strength lay in deep dissimulation, 
 a quickness of apprehension, a great prospect of affairs, a 
 close and artificial way of concealing his mind, and insinuat- 
 ing himself hito the affections and confidences of other per- 
 sons.— -And now, when a cardinal's hat was like to fall on 
 his head, he was carried off, and all his ambitious projects 
 fell with him, &c.' 
 
 ' If *■ your lordship has seen this picture with the seals, &c. 
 it must be Gardiner's ; though I have seen two pictures at 
 Trinity College and Trinity Hall, said to be Gardiner's, 
 very unlike this. — Poinet, his successor, describes him thus : 
 JJe had a hanging look, frowning brows, eyes an inch within 
 the head, a nose hooked like a buzzard, wide nostrils like a 
 horse, a sparrow mouth, &c. and truly by his description it 
 may be Gardiner's.* 
 
 When ^ Smith and Cheke attempted to correct the pronun- 
 ciation of the Greek language at Cambridge, Gardiner, the 
 chancellor of the university, who hated all reformation, 
 stuck to his mumpsimus, and set forth an absurd and an im- 
 pudent decree^, forbidding all such innovations. Thus he 
 obliged the academics to follow the corrupt and barbarous 
 pronunciation introduced by the modern Greeks. 
 
 Much about the same time the doctors of the theological 
 faculty at Paris maintained, that quis, qualis^, he. ought to be 
 sounded kis, kalis, he. and persecuted the professors and 
 others who called it quis and qua I is : they also contended 
 
 'Appendix to Burnet, p. '111. 
 
 " See Strype's Life of Parker, b. i. c. 5, Life of Cheke, p. 17. 202, 
 Life of Smith, p. 13, Baker's Reflections, p. :V2, !kc. 
 
 *■ Quisfjuis nosuain potestatem agnoscis, snnos Uteris sive Graecis sivp 
 Latinis ab usu publico prasentis seculi alienos pri\ ato judicio atfingere ne 
 audeto, kc. 
 
 Nciuulta. In bonis omnino ne philosopljator^ sed utitor praescntibu?, 
 
 " Uayle, Hamus, not. G. 
 
1527.] OF ERASMUS. 387 
 
 most zealously, that es^o amat was as good Latin as ego amo. 
 Well might such folks hate the Grammarians- 
 Gardiner, in the reign of queen Mary, favoured and pro- 
 tected sir Thomas Smith, and Roger Ascham, though both 
 these learned men were Protestants. I'his ^ must be remem- 
 bered to this bishop's connnendation^ among the many evil 
 things that asperse and blacken his name to this day. 
 
 The remaining part of this year, Erasmus poured out 
 his complaints to heaven and earth against the Monks and the 
 Reformers ; so that it is not easy to say which of the two 
 parties stood the lowest and the worst in his opinion. Whe^ 
 we read his description of the monks, we cannot think that 
 viler men were to be found upon the face of the earth than 
 the religions of those days; and when we see how he censures 
 the immoral lives of the Lutherans and the Reformed, we 
 cannot conceive how such men could support themselves and 
 their cause, and escape the contempt and the horror of man* 
 kind. But, with all the respect that is due to the memory 
 of Erasmus, it may be affirmed, that men of this stamp 
 would hardly have suffered martyrdom themselves, or have 
 animated so many to die in like manner for their religion, 
 which we know to be fact, from the history of those times. 
 He was extremely irritated against them, because he thought 
 that they had given occasion to the monks to accuse him 
 of opening the way to the Reformers. Therefore he 
 repented of having advanced some bold ti-uths concerning 
 evangelical liberty, of which, in his opinion, the Reformers 
 had made an ill use, and he began in his old days to act the 
 zealot and the missionary with an ill grace. 
 
 Pirckheimerus had rallied him for having said, that he 
 preferred the sentiment of Oecolampadius upon the eucharist 
 to that of others. He replies ; I ^ never said that his senti- 
 
 * Strype's Life of Sir T. Smith, ch. vi. p. 65. 
 
 y Opinionem (Oecolampadii) lon^e meliorem nunquam dlxl. lUud 
 inter amicos dixi, me posse in illius sententiam pedibus discedere, si pro- 
 basset earn auctoritas ecclesiae ; sed adjcci, me nuUo pacto ab ea posse 
 dissentire. Ecclesiam autem voco totius populi Christiani consensum. 
 An idem dixerint hypocritae, quorum meministi, nescio. A me certe 
 sine fiico dictum est et ex animo, nee unquam de eucharistiae veritate va- 
 cillavi. Quantum apud alios valeat auctoritas ecclesiae, nescio; certe 
 apud me tantum valet, ut cum Arianis et Pelagianis sentire possim, si 
 
 Cc 2 
 
388 THE LIFE [1527. 
 
 ment was the best : I only said to some friends that I could 
 adopt it, if the authority of the church had approved it ; 
 but that I could by no means quit the sentiments of the 
 church. I call the church, the consent of the body of Chris- 
 tian people. I know not how the hypocrites of whom you 
 speak have represented my words. For my part, I spake 
 this with sincerity, and I never doubted of the truth of the 
 eucharist. What weight the authority of the church may 
 have with others, I know not ; but with me it weighs so 
 much, that I could be of the opinion of the Arians and 
 Pelagians, if the church had approved their doctrines. 
 
 What strange language is this from such a person as 
 Erasmus ! and how open did it lie to rebuke ! For one might 
 have repHed to him. Do you then find nothing at all in the 
 Scriptures contrary to the doctrines of Arius or Pelagius ? 
 or what you find, is it so obscure that you cannot understand 
 it, and must take it upon trust, and beheve it only because the 
 church tells you so ? if this be the case, your old friends 
 the fathers were bold and wrong-headed divines, to pretend, 
 as they did, to refute the Arians and Pelagians, and to esta- 
 blish contrary doctrines from the clear testimony of the 
 Scriptures. This Erasmus knew better than any man in his 
 time to have been the procedure of those fathers. Well 
 then ; if we affirm, with the fathers, that all orthodox sen- 
 timents are evidently set forth in the Scriptures, how can we 
 possibly pretend to be ready to believe the contrary, if the 
 church should decide it so ? Is there no reason for believing 
 any doctrine, except the consent of the society wherein we 
 are born and bred ? No one should dare to say it, because it 
 is certain that the Christian religion hath characters of truth 
 and divinity, by which it converted Jews and Pagans, cha- 
 racters which have no dependency at all upon the authority 
 of the church. Of this Eramus could not doubt, if he had 
 considered it. He proceeds : 
 
 probasset ectlesia quod illi docuerunt. Nee mihi non sufficiunt verba 
 Christi ; sod mirum videri non debet, si sequor interpretem ecclesiam, 
 ciijus auctoritate pcrsuasus credo Scripturis caiionicis. Fortasse plus vel 
 iugenii vel roboris est aliis ; t-go nulla in re tutius acquiesco, quam in 
 certis ecclesioe judiciis, Kationum et argumentatioaum nullus est finis, 
 
 Ep. go5. 
 
1527.] OF ERASMUS. C89 
 
 Not that the words of Jesus Christ are not sufficient for me ; 
 but none should be surprised if I follow tlie interpretations 
 of the church, upon whose authority my faith and belief of 
 the canonical Scriptures is founded. 
 
 True it is, that the church hath put into our hands those 
 Scriptures ; and yet we believe them, not barely because the 
 church commands us so to do, but because her testimony on 
 this occasion hath all the characters of truth that can be re- 
 quired, and, above all, because the books themselves are 
 worthy of her testimony, which testimony else v^^ould be of 
 small weight. To judge otherways upon this point, would 
 be to make the votes of the many a sure character of truth ; 
 and this would give a sanction to all the false religions in the 
 world, in those places where they are uppermost, and have 
 the multitude on their side. 
 
 Others, says he, may have more wit, more discernment, 
 and more courage than I ; but there is nothing wherein I ac- 
 quiesce more securely than in the assured judgments of the 
 church. Of reasonings and arguments there is no end. 
 
 This last majcim is a bad one : for certainly by reasoning 
 justly we arrive at truth ; and by implicit belief in the de- 
 cisions of others, without examination, we take the way to 
 fall into error. The most absurd religions might thus be 
 defended, and unbelievers might ?ay to Christian missionaries, 
 who should offer to dispute with them ; Good people, of 
 reasonin2:s there is no end : let each of us hold fast the reli- 
 gion of his father and of his country. 
 
 But how are we to come at these assured judgments of the 
 church ? I suppose, by examining ecclesiastical antiquities 
 from the beginning ; because false doctrines may have been 
 introduced, and Erasmus himself was of opinion that some 
 such had crept in. And how can this inquiry be made with- 
 out reasoning ? Therefore it is not safe, in point of conscience, 
 to trust blindly to the present opinions of the church ; in 
 other respects it may be the safer wav, the way to avoid 
 ill usage, and to receive courtesies from the world. Ep. 
 905. 
 
 In a civil letter to Martin Bucer^, Erasmus sets forth his 
 
 ^ Verhelden, Effig. Theol. p. ^4. Mekhinr Adam. Beza, Icon, 
 Burnet, ii, l64. Knight, p. 348. B^yle, Bucer. Vo5sii Epist. p. 403. 
 
390 THE LIFE [1527. 
 
 reasons why he could not join with the Reformed, and gives 
 them a very bad character, though he declares his esteem* 
 for Bucer. 
 
 Bucer, like Erasmus, endeavoured to pacify the religious 
 disputants, and bring things to an accommodation ; and, like 
 Erasmus, he was insulted by both parties. The famous chan- 
 cellor De I'Hospital resembled ^ them both, in this respect. 
 Luther*^ could not endure Bucer ; and Bossuet hath^ thought 
 fit to treat him as an insincere and disingenuous shuffler. 
 
 ' Bucer*^ was a very learned, judicious, pious, and mode- 
 rate person. Perhaps he was inferior to none of all the Re- 
 formers for learning ; but for zeal, for true piety, and a most 
 tender care of preserving unity among the foreign churches, 
 Melanchthon and he, without any injury done to the rest, 
 may be ranked apart by themselves. — At Ratisbone he had 
 a conference with Gardiner, who was then king Henry's 
 
 Seckendorf, 1. i. p. 130. 132, Pope Blount, p. 405. Vitae Batesii, 
 p. 250. Thuanus, 1. viii. p, 264. Strj^e's Life of Parker, b. i. ch. 7. 
 Life of Cheke, p. 74, &c. Strype's Life of Cranmer, b. ii, ch. 13, 14. 
 J 6. 24. Gerdes. ii. 110. Simon, Hist, Crit, des Comment, du N. T. 
 p. 735. Amoen. Lit. torn. vi. 370. 
 
 ' Bucer died poor, and seemed to be in some want of necessaries in 
 his last sickness. There is a short letter, in a scrawling hand, which I 
 have seen, wrote by him to Parker, his great friend, to lend him tea 
 crowns, which I si:all here insert : 
 
 " S. D. Oro D, T. Clarissime D. Doctor, ut desmihi decem corona- 
 tes mutuo, uno tantum mense. Reddam bona fide. Opt. vale. D. T. 
 dedidiss. in Dno. Martinus Bucerus, manu peraegre propria." 
 
 ' Under which is writ by Dr. Parker, out of the honour he had for his 
 memory : " Scriptum nov issimum omnium quod scripsit D. Bucerus paulo 
 ante mortem ejus." ' 
 
 Strype's Life of Cranmer, b, ii. ch. 24, 
 
 ^ Audio te pr.fclaris dotibus praeditum ad praedicandum evangelii ver- 
 bum, ac moribus etiam civilioribus quam sint multi. Quare velim tuam 
 pruclentiam vel nunc dare operam,ut constantia moderationcque doctrinae 
 et morum integritate res utcunque coepta perveniat ad esitum evangelic 
 dignum. Ad hoc habebiiis me pro viribus adjutorem. Ep. gOO. 
 
 ^ Baylc, Hospital. 
 
 •' Alarpurgum venit Luthems, A. \52g. A prandio salutarunt Luthe- 
 rum Oecolampadius et Bucerus. Et cum Oecolampadio quidem Lutlie- 
 rus perquani amice ct modeste collocutus est : a Bucero autem salutatus, 
 subridens arKiuanlulum, rertpondit, ' Tu es nequam et nebulo.' Scultet. 
 Annal. A. 152.9. 
 
 ^ Peras imposuit Jupiter nobis duas : jiropriis rcpletiun vitiis post ter- 
 gum dedit ; alienis ante pectus suspendjt gravem. 
 
 «= Burnet. 
 
1527.] OF ERASMUS. 591 
 
 ambassador ; in which Gardiner broke out Into such a violent 
 passion, that, as he spared no reproachful words, so the com- 
 pany thought he would have fallen on Bucer and beat him. 
 He was in such disorder, that the little vein* between his 
 thumb and fore-finger did swell and palpitate j which Bucer 
 said he had never before that observed in any person in his 
 life.' 
 
 It is related, that Bucer reprimanded his friend Calvin for 
 his vehemence and partiality, writing thus to him upon some 
 occasion ; ' We judge as we love or as we hate, and we 
 love or hate as we list.' This is too often the character of 
 contentious and overbearing men, and is to be found in some, 
 who have all Calvin's acrimony and prejudice, without having 
 one quarter of his abilities and erudition. 1 o such an one it 
 may justly be said ; ' Judicas prout amas vel odisti j amas 
 autem vel odisti prout lubet V 
 
 * ' Ut venae in manibus, quod in nullo honiine vidi, subsilirent, et 
 tremerent, quoties audiret a nobis quod offendebat,' See Strype's Me- 
 inor. ii. 65, kc. 
 
 I have an epistJe of Gardiner to Bucer, printed at Lovain, anno 1546, 
 It is not amiss, as to style j but full of eftronter}', scurrility, calumny, 
 and bigotry. The bishop understood the stewing of leitices (for which 
 Erasmus, ante p. 384, not. ;, compliments him, Ep, 896) and the /^roiling 
 of heretics, much better than the principles and the precepts of Chris- 
 tianity. 
 
 ^ Bucero taraen, quantacunque industria pacem illam ccclesiasticam et 
 modestiae studii landem qusreret, male successerunt omnia, ita ut sem- 
 per majusapud adversarios odium, et apud suos A'ersipellis et mobilis ani- 
 mi suspicionem graviorem incurrerit. Adeo nempe verum est, quod 
 supra — -dixisse audivimus Lutherum, * Impossibile esse, A'erbo Dei, ut 
 conscientia exigit, nihil detrahero, et simul favorem et applausum apud 
 mundum conscqui et retincre.' Seckendorf, 1. iii. p. 559. 
 
 In Zuinglio agreste quoddam est et arrogantulum ; in Oecolampadio 
 mira bonitas naturae, et dementia ; in Hedioiie non minor hamanitas ac 
 hberalitas ingenii j in Bucero calliciitas vnlpina, perverse imitata acumen 
 et prudentiam. J. Jonas Rclat. de Convent. Marpurg. But Jonas was 
 a Lutheran, and the Lutherans v ere offended at Bucer, 
 
 Tanta autem f.ima erat Theologorum Argentinensium, Capitonis in- 
 primis et Buceri^ ut Jacobus P'aber Stapulensis et Gerardus llufiis clam 
 e Gallia profecli, Capitonem et Bucerum audirent, et de omnibus doc- 
 trinae praecipuis locis cum his di-..-;'rerent, missi a ALirgareta Francisci 
 regis sorore, Navarrae regiua, &:c. ScvUtet. Annal. in Von der Hardt, 
 p. V. p. 69. 
 
 Adeo male pingebat BuceniSj ut quae scriberet, a typographis^ imo ah 
 ipsomet Bucero, difhcillime legertntur. Mekh. Adam, Vit. Muscidi. 
 Bayle, Musculus, nor, A. 
 
-392 THE LIFE [1527. 
 
 The emperor wrote Erasmus a letter, and thanked him in 
 pompous terms for having been the cause that Lutheranism 
 began to decline. Probably Erasmus had sent such an ac- 
 count to the imperial couru, either to win their favour, or per- 
 haps because he had been deceived himself by false rumours. 
 But the emperor adds, that the Spanish Inquisition had or- 
 dered his works to be examined ; that however he had no- 
 thing to fear, because, if he had fallen into any errors, he 
 might correct them when he should be admonished of it 
 in the spirit of mildness ; or, if he had said any thing ambi- 
 guous, he might clear it up ; and that, if no censurable pro- 
 positions could be laid to his charge, it would add to his 
 glory. But, notwithstanding all these fine words, he had lit- 
 tle reason to be pleased and satisfied, that his works should 
 be blown upon by the stinking breath of the Inquisition. 
 Ep. 915. 
 
 It happened at this time, unfortunately for Erasmus s, that 
 the faculty of theology, of the university of Paris, passed a 
 very rough censure upon a multitude of propositions ex- 
 tracted from his works. Du Pin ^ hath given a large ac- 
 count of these censures or anathemas ; and they well de- 
 serve to be perused, as they may serve to show what sort of 
 justice and charity is to be expected from such ecclesiastical 
 cabals '. 
 
 Thus the Catholic divines were as little favourable to 
 Erasmus as the reformed ; and if the votes of both parties 
 had been collected concerning him, he would have been 
 judged not greatly attached to the Romish faith. This was 
 the effect of his pacific scheme of reformation, which ended 
 in offending the papists, v\ ithout obtaining from them even 
 the smallest change, or the shadow of a compliance ; and 
 
 c See his Ep, 807^ to the Sorbonne ; 808, to the Parliament of Paris j 
 and the three iollowing j and his answer to the Faculty, t. ix. c. 814. 
 
 h H. K. xiv. ;;. 
 
 •" Audacior quam unquam antea Sorbona — ansa fuit facinns, quod 
 mirum videri posset episcopos, aut ipsum saltern pontificem pati potuisse, 
 — nuUo neque di\ino neque humano jure fulta, Fidei Chrisiianae Articu- 
 los praescribere 3 ejusinodi quidcm ut turn sua falsitate, tumillis praecipue 
 ineptiis, quae sunt illi Sodalitati tamjliares, omnemsibi prorsus auctorita- 
 tem apud homines nou prorsus ^mentes merito derog;ire potuerint. 
 Melch. Adara, Vit. Calvini, p.-Sp. 
 
 This was A, 1542^ or thereabouts. 
 
1527.] OF ERASMUS. 593 
 
 then in making a sort of awkward submission to them, in 
 declaring that he was sorry tor having vented sonje bold 
 truths which they abhorred, and in censuring their adver- 
 saries, who insisted upon those very truths, and pushed 
 them further than he had done. 
 
 He hath given us a very pretty elogium of John Froben\ 
 
 ^ Baillet, i. 1/8. INLnttaire, Ann. Typ. Cave, Hist. Lit. Prolog. 
 p. xxvii. Melch. Adam. 
 
 Quum hue osiatis pervenevim, — tamen ipsa re comperi, me mihl non- 
 
 tlum saiis notum esse. Siquidem exislimabam me turn philosophiae 
 
 praeceptis, turn diutina pencquc perpetua maloriim ferendorum assuetu- 
 
 dine, satis instructum adversus istos vulgares, ac prope quotidiaiios casus, 
 
 quos a mulierculis etiam videmus moderate ferri. C;eterum amici 
 
 Joannis Frobenii mors in.opinata sic afliixit animum meum, ut moerorem 
 
 liullis avocameutis potuerim eximere proecordiis. Jam tempos, quod 
 
 acerbissimis eliam doloribus mederi solet, adeo non leniit segritudinem, 
 
 ut paulatim magis ac magis increverit do'or, quemadmotlum solet Icntum 
 
 et iiisjdiosum quoddam tebris genus obrepere, quo non aliud aiunt im- 
 
 medicabilius esse. Exedebat me reluctantem cura penitus medullis in- 
 
 sita. Tanto potentius est quod cnnglutinavit animi inductio, mutuaque 
 
 benevolentia, quam qviod natura conjunxit. Quam hie raecum litigavi, 
 
 fjuibus conviciis meam mihi moUifiem exprobravi r Ubi nunc est, in- 
 
 quam, ille Rhetor, qui splendidis dictis solet aliorum mGerorem vei 
 
 eximere, vel objurgare ? Ubi Philosophus ille Stoicus, domitor huma- 
 
 norum alfectuum ? UbiTheologus, qui docere consuevit, piommhomi- 
 
 num mortem non luctu lacrimisque, sed gratulationibus plausuque pro- 
 
 sequendam esse ? Quid multis ? Nusquam m .> magis puduit mei. Nun- 
 
 quam enim antehac expertus sum quantam vimhaberet sincera amicitia> 
 
 ac mutuus animorum nexus. Fratris gerraani mortem moderatissime 
 
 tuli ; Frobenii desiderium ferre non possum. Non irascor ddori meo, 
 
 nimirum justissimo, sedimmodicum nimisque diuturnum esse indignor. 
 
 Porro, quemadmodum non erat simplex amor, quo vivura prosequebar, 
 
 ita nee erepti simplex me crucial desiderium. Magis enim amabam 
 
 ilium ob liberalia studia, quibus ornandis proraovendisque vir ille fatorum 
 
 providentia datus videbatur, quam ob animum in me propensum, mo- 
 
 resque candidissimos. Quis enim tale non amet ingenium ? Solas erat 
 
 amico amicus, tarn simplex ac sincerus, ut etiamsi quid voluisset simu- 
 
 lare aut dissiniulare, non puluisset rcpugnante natura: tam promtus et 
 
 alacer ad benemerendum de omnibus, ut indignis eliam ex ipso beneficii 
 
 quippiam accessisse gauderet. Unde et furacibus ac decoctoribus erat et 
 
 gratus et idoneus. Ereptam furio, aut a malae tidei debitoribus inter- 
 
 ceptam pecuniam, ea solet alaciitaie commemorare, qua lucrum prceter 
 
 spem objectum, aiii. Fide tam incorrapta, ut in neminem magis con- 
 
 gruat illuu, Di^iius juicutn in tenehris miccs : atque ut ipse fraudem ne- 
 
 mini machlnabatur, ita de nullo tale quicquam suspicari poterat, tametsi 
 
 non raro delusus. Quid esset invidiae morbus, nihilo magis imaginari 
 
 potuit, quam ii, qui caeci nascunliir, animo tingere possunt, quid sit 
 
 color, Olfensas, quamvis capiiales, prius condonabat, quam rogaret is 
 
 qui oiFenderat. Kec uliius omnino injuriae poterai memiuissej co;iaa 
 
S94 THE LITE £l52T. 
 
 the famous printer at Basil, and a man of great honour and 
 probity, with whom he had contracted an intimate and an 
 
 nullius quamlibet vulgaris officii poterat oblivisci. Atqiie hie sane, mea 
 sententia, melior erat interdum, quam expediebat vigilanti patrifamilias, 
 Admonebam interdum ut in sinceros amicos esset qxialem esse deceret, 
 in impostores verbis duntaxat benignus esset, interim sibi cavens, ne 
 damnum cum ludibrio lucrifaceret. Arridebat humaniter, sed surdo ca- 
 nebam fabulam. Vicit omnia monita naturae candor. Mihi vero quas 
 non tendebat insidias, quas non venabatur occasiones, ut aliquid obtru- 
 deret muneris ? Nee unquam vidi laetiorem, quam quum vel dole perfe- 
 cisset, vel precibus impetrasset, ut aliquid acciperem. Hie adversus ho- 
 minis captiones erat opus cautione maxima, nee usquam raagis opus erat 
 mea rhetorica. quam ad excogitandum colorem, quo citra molestiam 
 amici, recusarem quod ingerebat : tristem enim ilium videre non susti- 
 nebam. Si forte pannus ad vestcm erat emtus per famulos meos, ille 
 subodoratus, me nihil suspicante, jam solverat. Nee ullis precibus adigi 
 potuit ut reciperet. Arte simili fallendus erat, si voluissem ilium exi- 
 mere damno. Tale certamen inter nos fuit assidue, longe diversum a 
 vulgi moribus, dum alter hoc agit ut abradat quamplurimum, alter agit 
 utdetquam minimum. Ne quid omnino daret, efficere non potui : 
 certe moderstissime illius benignitate usum esse me, testabitur, ut arbi- 
 tror, omnis illius familia. Mihi quicquid laborum suscipiebatur, amore 
 studionim suscipiebatur. His cum ille cohonestandis, illustrandis, pro- 
 vehendisque natus videretur, nee ullum defugeret laborem, nullas vigi- 
 lias, satis magnum quaestum e.sse ducens, si bonus auctor cum dignitate 
 prodiret in n;aiius homiuum, qui potuissem in honiinem sic animatum 
 praedoncm agere ? Si quando nobis ae caeteris amicis ostendebat primas 
 paginas magni cujusdam auctoris, ut gestiebat gaudio, quae vultus ala- 
 critas, qui triumphi ? Diceres ilium jam turn totius operaii fructum cu- 
 mulatissime percepisse, nee aliud exspectare praemium. Non hie attol- 
 1am Frobenii laudes aliorum vituperatione. Nimis notum est, quos 
 auctores quam mendose, quam sordide excuses nobis typographi, qui- 
 dam etiam e Venetia Romaque miserint. Ex hujus autem domo paucis 
 annis, qu;e volumina, quanta cum dignitate, prodierunt ? Eocjue suam 
 officinam a contentiosis libellis, unde quiestum hand medioerem tecerunt 
 alii, semper immunem senavit, ne literas ac disciplinas aliqua contami- 
 naret invidia. Hieronymum bis excuderat. Ab Augustino pari cum 
 dignitate rursus cxcudendo, quum amici coniplurcs, in quibus et ipse, de- 
 terrerent, tamen totum animum sic hue appulerat, ut inter famiHares 
 sabinde dicere solitus sit, se non optare longius vitae spatium quam quod 
 absolvendo sufficeret Augustino. Primiim ae secundum tomos vidit ab- 
 solutos. Pium erat hominis votum, et erat animus ille dignus imiuor- 
 talitate ; sed aliter visum *terno Numini, cujus in abdito sunt consilia, 
 qua; nobis scrutari fas non est, reprehendere nefas. ylCtas erat pro\ ec- 
 tior, sed valetudo ita prospera, vegeta, ut per omnem vitaiu nunfjuam 
 niorbo decr.buerit. Ante annos sex e summis gradibus in solum lateri- 
 tium decidit J casus erat plusquam lethalis, convaluit tamen, sed utsolet, 
 mali reliquiis in corpore residentibus, utcumque dissimulabat ille : tarn 
 erat animi generosi,. ut puden.t dolere. Anno priusquam moreretur, ror- 
 rijHiit ilium gravisiimus emciatus circa talum dextri pedis. Ibi pricsto 
 
1527.] OF ERASMUS. 395 
 
 agreeable filendship. If Erasmus brought him no small 
 advantage by giving him his co{nes and his labour, as he 
 often assures us, Froben was grateful to him, and did him 
 
 ernnt mediconun oflficia.qua" niliil nliud quamexasperabnnt nulum, dum 
 de morbi geiicre (lisseiitienles, alii aliud ;idMU)vent rfnieciiuui, iu>c de- 
 erant qui auctores essent pedem resecandviin esse. Tandem aliunde venit 
 niediciis, qui dolorem hactenus sedan-t, ut et tolerabilis esset, et sonini 
 cibique sumendi permitteret tacultatem. Demuni ita confirm:Uu,s est, 
 ut bis equo proticisccretur Fraiicfordiam, malo in dextii pedis digitos re- 
 iegato, quos solos riectcre nun poterat, cictera valens. 'I'um a nie, turn 
 a medico frequenter monitus, ut rarius prodiret in publicum, aut vestitu 
 contra frigus munitior prodiret, non obtemperavit, pudendiun esse ratus, 
 si quicquam omuino pristinae consuetudinis omittens, morbi speciem praj 
 se ferret. Jam et duos nianus dextrae digitos stupor occuparat, morbi 
 iniminentis praeludium. Dissimulavit et hoc, paitim virile ducens quic- 
 quam morbo concedere. Denique dum in sublimi agit nescio quid, cor- 
 reptus, ut est probabile, vi morbi, in pavimentum decidit pronus, non 
 sine gravi craiiii vulnere. Delatus in ledum nee oculos attoUebat, nee 
 ullum sensas indicium dedit, nee ullam omnino vitas significationem, nisi 
 quod manum sinistram niovebat, nam dextrum latus omne dissimulata 
 paralysis stupefecerat. Ita biduum consopitus, sub mortem esperrectu;; 
 est, aegre paulum diductis oculi sinistri genis, lingua tamen immobili, 
 nee supervixit ultra sex boras. Ita noster Frobenius rebus humanis 
 exemtus, ad vitam tran.siit feliciorem, uxori, liberis, amicis, acerbo 
 luctu, toti civitati notis(jue omnibus gravi sui desiderio relicto. Ob 
 hujus mortem decebat omnes, qui colunt bonas literas, pullatos, lacri- 
 mas et luctuni sumere, apio flosculisque sepulcrum ornare, lyraphas ad- 
 spergere, odores adolere, si quid talibus officiis proficer^iur. Carte 
 illud erit gratitudinis, ut omn'.^s defuncto bene precemur, memoriamque 
 laudibus debitis eelebremus, officinae Frobenianae faveamus, quae non 
 5olum non cessabit ob heri sui decessum, sed summa vi adnitetur, ut 
 quod ille instituit semper in majus meliusque provehatur. Ep. 022. 
 
 Then follow two epitajjhs of Froben, made by Erasmus, the one in 
 Latin, the other in Greek verse. 
 
 In this elogium of Froben, Erasmus, as we observed elsewhere, makes 
 mention of his own brother, who was dead. Amongst the Epistles of 
 Erasmus there is a very friendly one, which see.ns to be to this brother, 
 * Erasmus Domino Petro germano suo S.' Ep. 4/0. c. ISSg. 
 
 Paul Merula, in a letter prefixed to the third tome of Erasmus, 
 says : 
 
 In Epistola ad Lambertum Grannium, sub nomine Florentii ita se de- 
 scribit Erasmus, ita suam pandit fortunam, talibus aversiorcm ab vita 
 monastica animum depiiigit coloribus, ut clarioribus non posset. — An- 
 tonius, Florentii trater, (jui inibi uiennio fere major, vere est Petrus, ad 
 quern Germanum suuui scribit Erasmus, (Ep. 470. c. 1859) cuique 
 Carmen Sapphicum d(>.iicavit de Laude Amiciti* Gulielmus Gaudanus, 
 cum hac epigraphe ; ' Ad IV.trum Gerardum RotLM-odamum, Erasmi g^x- 
 manum, virum turn perhunnnuni, turn erudilissimum." 
 
 See above, p. 3, 4. and 05. 
 
596 THE LIFE [ 1527. 
 
 no less honour, by publishing his works in the most elegant 
 and correct manner for those times. Ep. 922. 
 
 ' Maittaire ', in his Annales Typographici, hath related 
 many particularities concerning Froben and Erasmus. If 
 Erasmus in one of his epistles hath made a funeral oration 
 for Froben, it was no more than he was bound to do in 
 every respect : for Froben, before he was intimate with 
 Erasmus, having heard a report that he was dead, made an 
 elogium ^ of the same kind for him, and prefixed it to an 
 edition of his Adages, A. 1513. It must have been very 
 agreeable to Erasmus to receive such commendations from 
 an honest man, which could be ascribed neither to flattery, 
 nor to self-interested views. And indeed he showed his 
 love and esteem of Froben upon all occasions, and recom- 
 mended him to his friends in the warmest terms. 
 
 ' As Erasmus was acquainted with many printers, he hath 
 informed us of many things relating to them.' 
 
 Ep. 92Sisto Hieronymus Emserus, a friend of Erasmus, 
 and an enemy to Luther ; a man of some erudition, and 
 much vanity, who wrote ag?inst Luther with great malig- 
 nity, and wanted to have his work commended by Erasmus. 
 Luther would not condescend to answer him, but disdained 
 him as an impertinent prater, saccum verbonnji, a mere 
 bag of iverds, and abhorred him as a prevaricator, who 
 acted against his own conscience. Seckendorf, 1. i. p. 207. 
 
 In a letter to George of Saxony, Erasmus bestows great 
 commend itions on Carlevitzius ^ Ep. 919. 
 
 In a letter to a monk, Erasmus hints that he expected no 
 great good ° from a general council. It was an amazing 
 error in the princes and politicians of those times to imagine 
 otherways. 
 
 He P recommends the study of antlent historians and mo- 
 
 ' Le Clerc Bibl. A. be M. xviii. 404. 
 
 "» It is inserted in the Ann. Typ. vol. ii. p. 8. 
 
 « Melch. Adam. 
 
 *> Nee est quod spectemiis Concilium. Sero veniet, obstante Princi- 
 pum dissidio ; et si tuerit institutum, sedecim annis agetur de rebus longe 
 aliis quamde ceremoniis £p. 902. 
 
 P Praecipuam studiorum partem impende historiographis et ethicis. 
 Prions generis sunt T. Livius, Vitae Plutarchi, Cornelius Tacitus : poste- 
 rioris, Libri Ciceronis de Officiis, De Amicitia, De Senectute, De 
 Tusculanis Quaestionibu?, et Plutarchi Libri de Moribus. Ex his po- 
 
1527.] OF ERASMUS. 397 
 
 ralists, as proper for senators, magistrates, counsellors, and 
 all who are employed in public stations. Eut these are an- 
 tiquated directions : cards and dice i seem now to supply 
 the place of the Ciccro.s and the PlutarcJts. 
 
 He gives some advice to a friend ^ who complained of 
 being near-sighted. 
 
 He observes that his friend Henkel had refused a bishop- 
 ric. He hath his reasons, I suppose, says Erasmus ; but, 
 as things go, it is rather better to be a hog-driver ^ than a 
 hog. 
 
 Vives ' loved the mcnks as little as Erasmus, and ex- 
 presseth his sentiments concerning them in pretty strong 
 terms. 
 
 In a. letter to Gacchus, a Franciscan, Erasmus hath drawn 
 up an excellent defence of himself against this monk, who 
 
 tissimum ea prudentia colligiturj quae decct virum in republica versan- 
 tern. Ep, 853. 
 
 1 Patriciis hac exemplaria nostris 
 
 Nocturna versata manu, versa ta diurna ! 
 
 '^ Si medicvis essem^ milii primum essem, cui nunquam non res est 
 cum immanissimo calculi nialo. Quuni legamus inultos eruditissimos 
 viros plane cascos fuisse, demiror te levius incommodum tani impotenti 
 animo ferre, quod non cernas nisi propius admota ; quod vitium si vt-ruin 
 est, comperi in plerisque qui ingenio prsecelluernnt, quanquam alii le- 
 vius, alii magis obnoxii sunt. Alexander, Jacobi Scotorum regis filius, 
 quern cpinor nosse te ex Adagiis, adeo laboravit hoc male, ut ni uaso 
 contingeret librum, nihil cerneret. Proinde si naturae vitium est, noli 
 pugnare pharmacis, sed adhibe vitrea conspicilla in hoc altemperata, ut 
 qui pene cseci sunt, cernant etiam procul dissita. Nee tamen omnia con- 
 gruunt omnibus oculis. Eligenda sunt e multis, qune conveniant. Sin 
 casus adduxit vitiuna, leniri potest variis remediis. Sed prsecipuum est 
 fuga eorum quae laedunt oculos, inter quae est studium a ccena et ad lu- 
 cernani. Proderit assuevisse, ut, quam licet, auribus studeas potius 
 quam oculis. Ep. BJA. 
 
 ' Quod episcopen recusat, non dubito quin illi constet sui consilii 
 ratio J tamen ut nunc res sunt mortalium, praestat esse subulcum quam 
 suem. Ep.921. ' 
 
 ^ Existimo tuaiultiis hos ex Enchiridio tuo verso natos esse : nam si id 
 frequens sit in hominum manibus, ut esse audio, multum r-^^ -rruhxiocs 
 rvpa.v'Ahi detrahet Fratrihus 5 et fortassis jam ccpptum est fieri, videli- 
 cet excitatis ea lectione multorum animis ad cognitionem magnarum et 
 pulcherrimarum reram, quae tamdiu fuerant occaltatae, turn eiiam quod 
 coepit permultos pigere indignissimae servitutis, qua quidam hactenus 
 pressemnt miseram plcbem, quae servitus cum ubique, qnacunque 
 Christianum nomen patet, gravissima est, tum vero in nostra natione ne 
 servia quidemaut asinis tolerabilis. Ep. 340. c. 1720. 
 7 
 
398 THE LIFE [1527. 
 
 was one of his calumniators. But we find not that these 
 apologies and expostulations ever reclaimed and softened any 
 one of these sycophants : whence, methinks, we may learn, 
 that when we are attacked by such sort of adversaries, it is 
 best,, for the most part, not to dispute with them, which 
 only makes them more saucy and scurrilous, but to leave 
 them to rejoice, if they can rejoice, over their own works, 
 and to fancy themselves conquerors. Ep. 345. c. 1724. 
 
 This year Rome was sacked " in a most barbarous and 
 brutish manner ; and the poor inhabitants were 
 
 Vel Priaino miseranda manus : 
 
 For Protestant historians ^ have spoken of their sufferings 
 with due pity and indignation. P. Jovius, who was there 
 himself, hath given a most melancholy account of it. Vit. 
 Pomp. Columnar, p. 165, 166. 
 
 A prodigy ^ is related to have happened this year at the 
 cathedral church of Magdeburg. 
 
 I^eonardus Cassar, a Protestant martyr, was burnt in Ba- 
 varia. Seckendorf hath given an account of his sufferings 
 and constancy. L. ii. p. 84. 
 
 A. D. MDXXVIII. iETAT. LXI. 
 
 From the beginning of this year, Erasmus was afraid 
 that he should be obliged to shift his quarters, on account of 
 
 " See Seckendorf, 1. ii. p. ys. 
 
 ^ Quanta fuerit militum Germnnorum ac Hispanorum atrocitas et in- 
 solentia Romae, verbis explicari vix potest. Nam prreter horrendas la- 
 nienas, direptiones, libidines, devastationes, contumeliae ac ludibrii genus 
 nullum in pontificem, cardinales, reliquainque turbam praeterraissum 
 fuit, Sleidan, 1. vi. p. 145. 
 
 Milites omne genus sff'viti.t, libidinis, avaritise, in quosvis homines, et 
 loca sacra a-que ac prolana exercuerunt. Hispani tamen longe magis 
 quain Germani, licet hi maximam partem cum duce suo Fronsbergio Lu- 
 theri doctrlnae inliiererent. Perizonius, p. 153. 
 
 >■ Prodigium nocte ante festum circumcisionis ibi arcitiisse constanter 
 narrahatur. De quo ha;c sunt Lutheri verba : ' Scribit mihi Nicolaus 
 Amsdorf, Magdcburgae, nocte circumcisionis, sub luatutinis, in summo 
 templo omnes candelas et lampadas subito extinctas esse, excepta una 
 coram Sacrimento. Sunt autem valde mult.ie, praesertini, *\ux sub of- 
 ficio accenduntur, deinde tot anguli capellarum abditi, ut inipna.sibilc sit 
 vento, ciii non patet isthuc accessus, extingui. Intcrpretantur qiii- 
 dam, portendi obitiun cauonicurunj. — Deuj viderlt.' Seckendorf, 1. ii. 
 p. b'J. 
 
1528.] OF ERASMUS. 309 
 
 the commotions which threatened the place where he dwelt, 
 the city of Basil. He says that Ferdinand, elected king of 
 Bohemia and Hungary, had published an edict, which he 
 would not call unjust, but which, at least, was severe- 
 However, he wished that it might produce some good ef- 
 fects. Ep. 925. 932. 
 
 Sigismond, king of Poland, sent him a very courteous 
 letter, and a present, and invited him kindly to Poland. 
 The bishop of Cracow also wrote to him, and sent him a 
 present of sixty ducats ; and Erasmus afterwards much 
 commended the learned men of that nation for their civility 
 to him. Ep. 9.'}0. 960. 
 
 Some person had detained part of his pensions from Eng- 
 land, and he was obliged to send thither Quirinus Talesius, 
 one of his copists. Ep. 932. 940. 
 
 He received an invitation to England from Henry VIII, 
 and returned him thanks by More. Ep. 936. 
 
 Having been incommoded at Burgundy, the year before, 
 of his old distempers, he had said jestingly that his stomach 
 was Lutheran, but his heart was Catholic ; he meant that 
 he could not bear fish. 
 
 It happened to him, at the table of the procurator of the 
 archdeacon of Bezan9on, to talk whilst after dinner a grace 
 of an immoderate length was saying, which he thought was 
 ended. So he wrote a letter to excuse himself for it. 
 Ep. 933. 
 
 And now he was obliged to take up the trade of an apo- 
 logist in good earnest, and to answer the various censures 
 of the French and Spanish divines. See his Apologetical 
 ■works. 
 
 As Erasmus did not speak the language of the school- 
 men, or reverence their decisions as articles of faith ; he 
 had departed from their sentiments, and from their jargon. 
 He had studied divinity at the fountain-head, and in his in- 
 terpretations of the Scriptures he had followed the manner 
 of the fathers, and not of the moderns ; and it is well 
 knov/n that even the most orthodox fathers could not escape 
 the censures of a modern inquisition, if their works were 
 examined in the same manner as the works of later writers. 
 So Erasmus had laid himself open enough to the monks in 
 a multitude of places, both for doctrine and for expression. 
 
400 THE LIFE [l52S. 
 
 Tind tbev soon collected a considerable number of scanda- 
 lizing propositions. He defended himself lis:e an able man, 
 and would have carried his cause, if he had pleaded before 
 judges endued with candour, equity, good sense, and learn- 
 ing ; but, as the divinity of those times was purely scholas- 
 tic, his defences gave no satisfaction to his persecutors. He 
 continued to complain as much of them as they did of 
 him ; and he observes, that the monks of Spain and France 
 were greatly vexed that some of his works, being translated 
 into the vulgar tongues, had undeceived the common people, 
 and had taught them to despise the superstition and the false 
 devotion which had been recommended to them. In France, 
 says he, a man of harning, merit, and excellent qualities 
 (Berquin) hath essayed to translate some of my writings 
 with the same free spirit and honest design ; but it hath been 
 profitable neither to him nor to me. Twice he was in dan- 
 ger of losing his life for it ; and he had inevitably perished, 
 by the mercy of the monks, if the king had not rescued 
 him ; and, as for me, every day I am fighting with the ec- 
 clesiastics, or rather with the Beddaics ; far in Bedda alone 
 there are three thousand monks. These men swarm every 
 where ; but in no place have they been able to perform 
 what they have accomplished in Spain. He means, that 
 they had caused the reading of his works to be prohibited 
 in that kingdom. Ep. 941 . 
 
 Soon after, he wrote to the archbishop of Cologn, and 
 proposed to him a certain medium to be pursued between 
 the extremes of Monkery and Reformation, and continues 
 to exclaim against the one and the other. 
 
 In another place he says ; I abhor the Evangelics, as for 
 other reasons, so because it is through them that literature is 
 declining in every place, and entertained with coldness and 
 contempt, and upon the point of perishing. And without 
 letters what is life ? They love money and women, and de- 
 spise all other things. We have been stunned long enough 
 with the cry of Gospel, Gospel, Gospel ! We want Gospel 
 manners. 
 
 But in reality there was no comparison to be made be- 
 tween the monks and the reformers in point of literature, 
 which the former totally neglected, and the latter cultivated 
 with tolerable success and applic^tionj as it plainly appears 
 
J52S.] OF ERASMUS, 401 
 
 from the treatises which they composed in those days. 
 There were persons amongst them, who underi;tood the 
 L-ained langiuujjes full as well as Eiasmus, though in genius 
 and vivacitv tht.y did not equal him. Melanchthon, for ex- 
 amjjle, and Camerariiis were not inferior to him in this sort 
 of hterature. We will say nodiing of those who arose af- 
 terwards, because Erasmus could not look into futurity. 
 What he says of money and women is levelled at those 
 priests and monks who embraced the Reformation, and with 
 it the state of matrimony. And yet in reality Erasmus him- 
 self made an apology for the\r conduct, when he complain- 
 ed of the uisorderly life of the unmarried monks and clergy 
 of those days. As to the morals of the reformed, doubt- 
 less they had their faults, as well as other people ; and what 
 sect or party was ever irreproachable ? But nothing seems to 
 be more chrisrian, than to endure the worst of torments, 
 and the most cruel sujft'erings, rather than to act against 
 conscience, which was the case of multitudes amon^^st 
 them. Such persons surely deserve to have smaller faults 
 rather overlooked than exaggerated. Ep. 946. 
 
 He received a polite letter from Melanchthon, who owns that 
 he did not approve Luther's violent ways, but reproves Eras- 
 mus also for expressing his resentments too strongly. Ep. 932. 
 
 He wrote to George duke of Saxony, reminding him of 
 the reasons for which he had advised gentle methods of re- 
 claiming heretics, rather than violence. He also protested 
 to Clemens VII his attachment to the Roman party, and 
 prayed him not to give credit to the calumnies spread against 
 him, in which he was represented as a secret favourer of 
 Lutheranism. Ep. 9.53. 957. 
 
 This year ^ he published two treatises, in form of dia- 
 logue, which are in the first tome of his works ; the for- 
 mer one of the most learned, the latter one of the most 
 lively and ingenious of his composidons, namely. The Pro- 
 nunciation of the Greek and Latin Languages, and The 
 Ciceronianus *. In the first are contained very curious re- 
 
 ' Maittaire, ii. 36l, Sfc.who hath a long dissertation concerning Eras- 
 mus and his adversaries, 
 
 * De Ciceroniano — plane quod pace auotoris dixcrim summl viri, mi- 
 lificus Ubellus est, nee videtur in aliud scriptus, nisi ut Longolii manee 
 darent quorundam dictorum poenas. Melanchthon, Epist. p. 0"6'l. 
 
 Vol. I. D d 
 
4d2 THE LIFE [1528. 
 
 searches into the pronunciation of vowels and consonants : 
 in the second he most agreeably rallies some Italian Purists, 
 who scrupled to make use of any word or phrase which 
 was not to be found in Cicero. Nosoponus is the person 
 who in this dialogue acts the Ciceronian, defends the sect, 
 and then passeth a judgment upon the style of several learned 
 men, both living and dead ; complimenting some of them, 
 but despising them all in comparison of Cicero. This scru- 
 tiny and censure excited great complaints and murmurs 
 against Erasmus. 
 
 The heresy of the Ciceronians seems to have arisen to- 
 wards the latter end of the fifteenth century, and when 
 Erasmus was a boy. It lasted for about a century, and 
 then expired ; for the philologers of the following times, 
 aiming at a most extensive erudition, found that they had 
 not leisure to play the fool in anxiously forming their style 
 upon that of Cicero. 
 
 Paulus Cortesius % an Italian, was of the sect ; and Po- 
 litian, who abhorred such bondage, in an elegant letter ^ to 
 
 ^ See Menckenius, Vit. Polit. p. igy. 
 
 ^ Remitto epistolas diligentia tua collectas, in quibus legendis, ut libere 
 flicam, pudet bonas boras male collocasse. Nam praeter omnino paucas, 
 minime dignae sunt, quae vel a doctoaliquo lectae, vel a tecoUectas dican- 
 tur. Quas probem, quas rursus improbem, non explico. Nolo sibi 
 quisquam vel placeat in his, aiictore me, vel displiceat. Est in quo tamen 
 a te dissentiam de stylo nonnihil. Non enim prob?re soles, ut accepi, 
 nisi qui lineamenta Ciceronis effingat. Mihi vero longe houestior tauri 
 facies, aut item leonis, quam simiag videtur, quae tamen homini similior 
 est. Ncc ii, qui principatum tenuisse creduntur eloquent iae, similes in- 
 ter se, quod Seneca prodidit. Ridentur a Quintiliano, qui se gernianos 
 Ciceronis putabant esse, quod his verbis periodum clauderent, esse vi- 
 dentur. Inclamat Hcratius imitatores, ac nihil aliud quam imitatores. 
 Mihi certe quicunque lantum componunt ex iniitatione, similes esse vel 
 psittaco vel picae videntur, proferentibus quae nee intelligunt. Carent 
 enim quae scribunt isti, viribus et vita, carent actu, carent affectu, ca- 
 rent indole, jacent, dormiunt, stertunt. Nihil enina verum, nihil soH- 
 dum, nihil efficax. Non exprimis, iuquit aliquis, Ciccronem. Quid 
 turn? Non enim sum Cicero 3 me tamen, ut opinor, exprimo. Sunt 
 quidam proeterea, mi Paule, qui stylum quasi panem frvistillatim mendi- 
 cant, nee ex die solum vivunt, sed in diem : turn niai liber ille pnesto 
 sit, ex quo quid excerpant, colligere tria verba non possunt, sed hxc ipsa 
 quoque vel indocta junctura, vel barbpiia inhonesta contaminant. Ho- 
 rum semper igitur oratio tremula, vacillans, intirma, videlicet male cu- 
 rata, male pasta, quos ferre profecto non possum, judicare quoque de 
 doctis impudentcr audentes, hoc est, de illis quorum stylum recondita 
 
1528.] OF ERASMUS. 403 
 
 him declared his disapprobation of this troublesome and in- 
 sipid pedantry. His letter is not dated, but we may guess it 
 to have been written between 1480 and 1490. 
 
 Cortesius wrote an answer to Politian, defending himself 
 as well as he could. Erasmus hath made remarks on both 
 these epistles, towards the conclusion of his Ciceronianus, 
 in which he extols Politian, and sets Cortesius infinitely be- 
 neath him. 
 
 Hermolaus Barbaras '- wns of the same opinion with Poli- 
 tian in this point. Muretus, who wrote Latin extremely 
 well, declared himself an Anri-Ciceronian, in a pretty chap- 
 ter of his Varise Lectiones, xv. i. p. 384. * De stultitia quo- 
 rundam qui se Ciceronianos vocant.' We will give an ex- 
 tract "^ from it. 
 
 eruditio, multiplex lectio, longissimus usns din quasi fermentavlt. Secl 
 ut ad te redeam, Paule, quern penitus amo, cui multum debeo, taijus in- 
 genio plurimum tribuo, quoeso ne superstitione ista te alliges, ut nihil de- 
 lectet, quod tuum plane sit, et nt oculos a Cicerone nunquam dejicias. 
 Sed cum Ciceronem, cnm bonos alios multum diuque legeris, contrl- 
 veris, edidiceris, concoxcris, et rciaim multaram cognitione pectus im- 
 pleveris, acjam componere aliquid ipseparabis, tum demura velim, quod 
 dicitur, sine cortice nates, atque ipse tibi sis aliquando in consilio, solici 
 tudinemque illam morosam nimis et anxiam deponas effingendi tantum- 
 modo Ciceronem, tuasque denique vires universas pericliteris. Nam 
 qui tantum ridicula ista, quae vocatis lineamenta, contemplantnr attoniti, 
 nee ilia ipsa, mihi crede, satis reprresentant, et impetum quodammodo 
 retardant ingenii sui ; currentique \'elut obstant, et, ut utar Piautino 
 verbo, remoram faciunt. Sed ut bene currere non potest, <jui pedem 
 ponere studet in alienis tantum vestigiis ; ita nee bene scribere, qui tan- 
 quam de praescripto non audet egredi. Postremo scias infelicis esse 
 ingenii, nihil a se promere, semper imitari. Vale. Epist. 1. viii. 
 p. 113. 
 
 ' P. Jovius, Elog. Naugerii, p. 145. 
 
 ^ Diu et ipse in eo errore versatus sum, ut nisi qui aut Ciceronis 
 setate, aut paulo ante vixissent, aut certe iili setati suppares fuissent, non 
 satis dignos esse arbitrarer, quorum exemplo qui Latine aut scribers aut 
 loqui vellent, niterentur. Sed postea, re tota mecum accuratius conside- 
 rata, visus ipse mihi sum nimio plus n^.ihi sumere, qui de Seneca. Livio, 
 Valerio, Celso, Quinctiliano, Columella, utroque Plinio, Tacito, Sueto- 
 nio, Velleio, Q. Curtio, Lactantio, aliijque ejusmodi scriptoribus, quos 
 et ab iis ipsis temporibus, quibus Latina lingua floruisse diceretur. pro- 
 pius afuisse, et suo quemque saeculo, diserlissimos habitos esse constaret, 
 temere pronuntiare auderem. Certe enim neque quisquam unquam ve- 
 terum eos male Latine loculos esse dixit : neque nos, tarn lungo inter- 
 vallo, valde boni eju^. rei existimatores sutnus. At muha sirnplicia voca- 
 bula, multa etiam loquendi genera in eorum libris leguntur, quze apud Ci- 
 ceronem et ejus sequales iiusquam reperias. Primum quis hoc pr^stare 
 
 D d 2 
 
404 THE LIFE [152S' 
 
 Jac. Thomasius, in a preface to the works of Muretus, 
 hath taken notice of this chapter, and of the fantastical re- 
 
 audeat ? Cicevonis scriptorum vix declmam partem reliquam habemns, 
 camque multis partibns mancam ac mulilam, multis vulneribus, multis 
 cicatricibus deformatam : Salhistii vix centesimam, Varronis tanlundem, 
 Catonis e tam multis voluminibus unum de re rustica commentariolum : 
 tot philosophorum, tot oratorum veterum, tot poetarum, tot historico- 
 runij tot jurisconsultorum scripta perieruiit ; et ex illis fractis ac laceris, 
 quae ad nos pervenerunt, Romani sermonis reliquiis adfirmare audemus^ 
 siquid in eis non reperiatur, id apud veteres in visu rx>n fuisse ? Quanto 
 credibilius est, nova muUa atque inusitata nobis videri, quae si eorum 
 libri exstarent, in frequentissimo usu posita fuisse constaret ? Illi autem, 
 quos stuUe et arroganter, ut minus eleganter locutos, despicere audemus, 
 cum et bibliothecas habercnt omni genere librorum instructissimas,' et 
 eas diligentissime pervolutarent, et acerrinio judicio praditi essentj quis 
 scit, an ea ipsa ex A"etustiorib\is sumserint, quae frnstva nobis aut novitatis 
 aut peregrinitatis nomine suspecta sunt ? cum sa;pe contingere videamus 
 ut mult33 voces diu ab istis censeantur inter novas, quae postea usque ab 
 ultima antiquitate a nobilissimis auctoribus proditae ac propagatae reperi- 
 untur Quid quod in istis ipsis Ciceronis reliquiis multae sunt, quae se- 
 mel tan turn leguntur ? Ergo si paullum chart ne aut mus aut tinea adro- 
 sisset, aut situs et caries corrupisset, aut scintilla e lucerna in certam ali- 
 quam libri partem incidisset, liodie pigrandi ct controversandi verba, 
 niultaque alia istis delicatis barbara essent : quae nunc ita non refugiunt, 
 ut inculcent. Et ut magis intelligas totuni hoc e stulta quadam opinione 
 pendere, scito multos ex istis inepte fastidiosis, quibus qui quid dicunt, 
 quod Ciceronis non sit, meros lapides loqui vidcntur, quibus, ut olim 
 athletis in arenani descendentibus, circvimdandae essent aniphotides, 
 quoties in publicum prodeunt, ne delicatae ipsoruni aures vocum non Ci- 
 ceroniarum ictibus contunderentur, saepe esse a me magna cum volup- 
 tate delusos. Nam cum voces quasdam observassem, Ciceronis quidem 
 illas, sed minus contritas, neque a Nizolio in ilium praeclarum indicem, 
 qui istorum obruza est, relatas j admiscebam eas de industria orationi 
 meae^, cum ad me audiendum amii^i quidam hoc, de quo loquor, morbo 
 laborantes vcnissent. Illi ut earum quamque audierant, cervicem con- 
 torquere, humeros attollere, frontcm contrahere, alius alii in aurem in- 
 susurrare, excuti sibi cerebrum, pcrire aures, cum talibus vocibus verbe- 
 rarentur. Quin etiam costu dimisso, cum me, ut fit, officii caussa do- 
 mum reducerent, male se a me habitos atque acceptos esse conquere- 
 bantur. Egoaliquamdiu eos ambiguo sermone frustratus, tandem spon- 
 sione lacessebam, ni illae ipsae voces, quibns auditis caput sibi condo- 
 luisse dicerent, ipsius Ciceronis essent. Quid quaeris ? cum id ita esse 
 pervicissem, jam voces illae omnem duritiam atque asperitatem depo- 
 suerant ; jam lenes, suaves, jucundae auditu factae erant ; ct ut lupini 
 aqua macerati, omnem amaritiem exuerant, simulatque eas Ciceronis esse 
 constiterat. Meministine cum vox illustriss'nnus apud istos censores in 
 urbe jus togae tueri non poterat, sed pro peregriua habebatur ? 
 
 Nee miserae prodesse in tali tempore quibat, 
 
 f^uod GclWns illustrissimas orationes, et illusirissimos phllosophorum ali- 
 
lo28.] OF ERASMUS. 40^ 
 
 finement of Scloppius, who pretended thrt Maretus ever 
 remained a truj Ciceronian, and on this cccasion did not 
 speak his real sentiment. 
 
 cubi dixisset. Itaque siquis Latine loquens, cardinalem quempiam 
 illustrissimum ut fit, vocaverat, in eum oX-m rui ix,'jyjrjpt, ut Graeci a'ciuit, 
 utebantur. Neqne extorqueri eis poterat, ut non maxime illustrem pro 
 illustrissimo dicerent, nisi, postquam ex Varrone audierunt, illastmsi- 
 mum quemcjue ex veteribus pastoremfuis^e. — 
 
 Sed ut me ad propositum referam, etiam si hoc demus, novata esse 
 multa ab iis qui post Ciceronem fuerunt, quid causae est, cur ea rejicere 
 debeamus ? Quorsvis igitur illud Horatii ? Utfolii in silvis': et illud ; 
 
 ■ licuit, semper(|ue licebit 
 
 Signatum praesente nota producere ^ nomen; 
 
 Nonne Cicero et multa novavit ipse, et Catonem, Varronatn, Brn- 
 tum, aliosqae ut idem facerent hortatus est ? An fortassis personale illud 
 privilegium fuit ; ut cum Cicerone, et cum iis. 
 
 Qui turn vivebant homines atque oevum agitabant, 
 
 extinctum esse videatur ? Incomprebmsihl'e Ciceroni fingere licuit: 
 quidni aliis alia ad eundem modum postea licueric ? Equidem existimo 
 Ciceronem, si ad Quinctiliani et Pliuii et Taciti tempora vitaai produ- 
 cere potuisset, et Ronianani linguam multis vocibus eleganter confonxui^ 
 tis eorum studio auctam ac locupletatani vidisset, magnam eis grat'c^ni 
 habiturum, atque illis vocibus cupide usurum fuisse. Nam istoi-u.n.i 
 quidem audire est operae pretium amentiam. Ad Taciti aut S.uttonii 
 voces nauseant : ipsi eas scriptis suis intc^xunt, quae ne in culinA quidena 
 illoram patienter audiri potuissent. Mentior, nisi tibi, cunT, voles, in 
 scriptis quorundam, qui hujus seel a? coryphaei habentur, specuJatlonem, 
 ingratitudinem, contrarietatem, aliaque ejusdem gcncru plurlma os- 
 tendero. 
 
 Sed satis est dixisse, ego pulchra poemata p?j:igo. 
 
 Cum semel in banc disciplinam nomen dederis, q\;u;umque modo. et 
 scribas, et loquare, dicas licebit} 
 
 Fuit haec de principio laboriosa quaedam, et exquisita diligentia : Nunc 
 in ignaviam vertit. Quid enim magi-, in promptu est, quam, cum (]uid 
 scribere ingressus sis, de singulis \ocibiis Nizclium consnlere ? Quid tu 
 igitur ? inquies : ex omnibus antiquis scrlptoribiis, nulio discrimine, 
 verba quibus utare, depromes ? Inio vqro adhibebo judicium, habelo 
 dilectum, et cum ex iis potissimum qui antiquitati:> quoque ipsi princi- 
 pes visi sunt. Cicerone, Csesare, Terontio, aliis, quamplurhna sump- 
 sero : cum orationis meae genus ad eorum exemplar quam maxime po- 
 tuero, conformaro, ex aliis quaque bellissimum quodoue carpam : e.t 
 quo quisque maxii-ne excelluisse videbilur, id irtiitari atque exprimere 
 conabor : neque in iis modo quos paulo ante nominavi, sed in TertuU 
 ]ianOj Arnobio, Hieronymo, Augustino, Ambrosio, et quod magis. mir 
 » Art, Poet. 60, where sceBentley. 
 '^ Ke:id procudcre. 
 
40fe THE LIFE [1528. 
 
 It is pleasant enough to observe, that the Ciceronians '^ 
 could not write so as to satisfy one another. Thus Longo- 
 
 reris, Apnleio, Cassiodoro, Martiano etiamet Sidonio Apollinari multa 
 reperiam^ quibus suo loco positis oratio uberior et omatior fiat. Tibi 
 qnoque, Dari, auctor sum, ut idem facias, in primisque ut ne eorum 
 stuldtiam imiteris, qui usque eo antiquitatis studiosi sunt, ut voces 
 quoque Christianae religionis proprias refugiant, et in earum locum alias 
 substitiiant, quaram iionnullee etiam impietatem olent : qui nonjidejn, 
 sed persudsionern ; non sacramentum corporis Dovimici, sed sanctificum 
 cruitiiliui! ; non excommunicare, sed diris devovere; non Angelas, sed 
 Genios ; non Luptizarc, sed ahlucre dicunt} aliaque eodem modo depra- 
 vant; qui, ut opinor, nisi sibi metuerent, etiam pro Christo, Jjvei^i op^ 
 timum maximum dicerent : estenim magis Ciceronianum. Qua; autem in- 
 sania est, cum porricere, cum impetiire, cum trpudiimi solistimum, cum 
 pateras ^'Symp'inia legimus, notare ea tanquam dicba sapienter, quod ex 
 auguia'.ibus et pontificalibus libris deprompta feint; propria Christianae 
 lidei,et Christianorum rituum verba, ut non satis Latina contemnere ? — 
 
 Muretus hath also censured the Ciceronians in some of his orations ; 
 ]. i. orat. 21. 1. ii. orat. 4 and 15. 
 
 ^ In 60 quideni certe admoneri te pattere, ut cum aut totum quiddam, 
 aut gcneratim omnia complecti voles, aut etiam mentis tuae sensus aien- 
 tibus verbis conlinnare, duplicatis negalionihus aliquanto parcius utare : 
 cujusquidem generis sunt ilia, nerao non, nuUus non, nihil non : quae 
 ut orationi niodice aspersa jucuntUtatis afterant plurimum, sic crebrius 
 rep'^tita satietatem pariunt atque fastidium. Nam quod totidem verbis 
 ex i I. T. Cicerone tibi tarn multaimpune sumere non liccat, ne tu qui- 
 deni ipse, puto, negas. Sed non animadvertis scilicet, qui assidua sum- 
 mi iilius oratoris librorum et accurata lectione hoc consecutus es, ut 
 etiam i'nprudenti tibi et invito integrae ipsius non modo sententi;?, sed 
 niulti siirjul interdum versus excidant atque effluant. Quod ipsum mihj 
 ut summae est a'lmirationi, sic haud scio an illis probatuiiis sis, qui 
 j'Esopi graculum nobis objicere non desinunt, nee Publ. Vergilii autori- 
 tatem atque judicium hac in re accipiunt. Equidcm quod ad me attinet, 
 ita statuo : Dirigendam quidem esse nobis et formandam scribendi ratio- 
 iiem putavi ad iilius dicendi genus : sed ita ut virtutes ejus oratione nos- 
 tra expriniere conemur, non item ut passim omnia ab eo mutuemur, aut 
 quod nuiltos facere jam videas, quasi centones quosdam ex Ciccionis 
 verbis consuamus. Sed hoc totn de genere alias. Nunc tantum habe- 
 to, dandam tibi esse in primis operam, ut quae in manus hominum a te 
 pervcnicnt, plane tua esse, non aliena et aliunde corrogata videantur. 
 C Longolius A. Naugerio, p. 34. 
 
 Obsecro te, Sauli, qui judicio excelli;, quid tibi de Christophoro Lon- 
 golio videtur ? Kquidem, si quando quid de scriptis iilius existimem, in- 
 teriogor, ita soleorespondcre, exilem esse in senlentiis, non luculentum 
 in verbis : ut tanien de eo, si vit;e contigisset usura diuturnior, bene cen- 
 seam sperandum fuisse. Sed ut nunc est, mea quidem sententia imllus 
 est. Quid enini atfert cxquisltnm, quid singu'are, non vulgatum, non 
 ex quotidiana consuetudine usuque sunuum ? At scribit inteidum ct de 
 rebu*> familiaribus, et ad familiares. Quid luin ? quasi non vel in ob- 
 scure argurncnto possit ingenii lumen elucere. Nam quod iu eo verbo- 
 
J 528.] OF ERASMUS. 407 
 
 lius finds fault with Naugerius '^j and Manutius^ finds fault 
 with Longolius. 
 
 JMajoragius had attacked Cicero, as Nizollus pretended ; 
 and Nizolius wrote him a letter, in which he defends Cice« 
 ro ^, and takes occasion to blame Erasmus. 
 
 One thing is observable in all the professed Ciceronians, 
 
 rum circu'tus ssepe a Cicerone tolus est ; si consulto fecit, quod inde 
 laudem spernret, judicium requiro : etenim alieiia quae sunt, ad nos 
 tran.ilata stulte jactamus : ut neminem laudare solemus quia pulcher 
 (quod accipitur a natura) at quia temperatus, quia Justus, quae positasunt 
 in nobis ipsis. Sin (quod potius exi-;timo), inops a Latina lingua, ex- 
 plicare animi sensa aliter non potuit ; necessitatem excuso. Nee tamen, 
 quod faciehat, diutius eum pnlo t'acturum fuisse. Qui enim in illo otio 
 Patavino nihil ageretaliud quam at se turn eloquetitiae copiis, quae philo- 
 sophiam ornant, tarn earum artium instrumento, sine quibus muta silet 
 eloquentia. locupletaret ; utriusipie studio tacultatis consecutus esset ut^ 
 suis quasi opibus abundans, de alieno quoiidie parcius assumeret. Cu- 
 jus aulem generis ea, quae moriens reliquit, scripta sunt, abesse eum ju- 
 dice ab ea specie quas est in scribendo optima, longissime. Qua de re 
 cum aliquot abhinc annis- in conventu amicorum sermo esset ortus, me - 
 mini dissentire a me amicum hominem et .Tuditum ; qui Ciceronis in 
 libris diu multumque volutatus, tamen Longolium suspicit. Aurea vi- 
 delicet cum assidue tractet, aerea non internoscit. Jtaque, paucis post 
 ilium sermonem diebus interjectis, cum epistolam ad me misisset, in qua 
 ila «cripsit, nihil sibi tarn accidisse mirandum, quam quod a me audisset, 
 cum dicerem, mihi Longoliana scripta non admodum probarij nihil re- 
 scripsi, quod homini quinquagenario insitam opinionem non speravi me 
 posse eveilere. P. Manutius St. Saulio, p. 112. 
 
 '"P. Jovius, Elog. p. 145. Bayle, Supplem. N'mmgiero. 
 
 K Paulus Manuiius vir Romane scribens si quis alius hoc nostro seculo, 
 Longolio omnino contrarius : cum enim hie Ciceronis verbis et plirasi 
 adeo alligatus fuerit, ut Ciceronis sensu, non suo, cogeretur scribere -, 
 ille contra suo sensu scribit, Ciceronis, Terentii, et ejusmodi excellen- 
 tiuni virorum verbis et stylo uiens, quern suo instituto optime accom- 
 modare novit. Scaligeran. p. 251. 
 
 See a large account of Paul Manutius in Maittaire, iii. 497, ^'c. See 
 also Thuanus, lib. lix. p. 65. 
 
 •* Haec suntj mi Majoragi, quoe ad te nunc mittenda existimavi, ut ea 
 dissolvas, si velis et si poles, in quibus si te alicabi acrius atque accrbius 
 punxi, quam tu fortasse velles, etamicitia nostra pati videatur, noli quacso 
 mirari nee aegre ferre, cum Ciceroncm multo acrius et acerbius non so- 
 Jum punxeris, sed etiam confoderis, idque immeritissimo, cujus vulnera 
 quanto tandem cum dolore a me legi putas ? Itaque te etiam atque etiam 
 moneo, ut videas quemadmodum scribas in Topica illius, et in libros de 
 fmibus, quod facturam in hoc libro, si recte memini, quodam in loco 
 scribis. Non enim impune feres, sed idem tibi accidct quod Erasmo, 
 qui dum Ciceronem et Ciceronianos injuste insectatur, ipse a Ciceroni - 
 anis juste et optimo jure confojaus fuit, Gudii et aliorum £pist. p. l^J?. 
 
 See Bayle, Majora^'uis. 
 
403 THE LIFE [1528, 
 
 namely, the using a 'multitude of words to express their 
 meaning. This they learned from their master, since it 
 cannot be denied that Cicero is rather verbose. Unless 
 therefore they have, like Cicero, a fine imagination, and a 
 mind stored with knowledge, they are of all writers the most 
 languid and tiresome ; when they have barren brains, they 
 never fail to give us, according to the Greek proverb, a ri- 
 ver of words and a spoonful of sense. 
 
 There have l^een two sorts of Ciceronians. The one 
 were those, whom Erasmus rallies very pleasantly, who 
 were superstitious, pedantic, and servile followers and co- 
 piers of Cicero : the second aimed at a more liberal and gen- 
 teel kind of imitation ', and endeavoured to adopt his turn 
 and manner more particularly, and also to acquaint them- 
 selves thoroughly with other elegant authors, such as Te- 
 rence, Livy, Sallust, and a few more ; they made use of 
 any expression which was pure and classical ; and, as to 
 single words, they did not scruple those of lower times, 
 when better were not to be had. 
 
 Now to write Latin with perfect correctness in this se- 
 cond manner, though it be a desirable accomplishment, yet 
 is so very difficult, and takes up so much time, and diverts 
 the mind so much from the study of things, that it may be 
 made a question, whether it deserves the pains which must 
 be bestowed upon it. They who undertake to write his- 
 tory ia Latin, seem of all persons to be most concerned to 
 acquire such skill, and should spend much time and pains 
 in forming a polite and perspicuous style upon the best mo- 
 dels of antiquity. Such an historian was Maffei'^, the Je- 
 suit, who wrote extremely well : but then he was so slow 
 and so accurate in his compositions, that he could not dis- 
 patch above ten or fifteen lines in a day ; and if he had un- 
 dertaken a large work, his whole life would not have suf- 
 ficed for accomplishing it, though he lived seventy-three 
 years. Such an author was Michael Brutus', no scrupu^ 
 
 * Amongst the epistles of Muretus, there is a pretty one of Julius Po- 
 gianus, a Ciceronian, who recommends lliis sort of imitation. L. ii, 
 Kp. 24. 
 
 " Bibl. Chois. xxv. 345. 
 
 ^ j5;nyle, Brutus, 
 
1528.] OF ERASMUS. 409 
 
 lous Ciceronian, but a correct and polite writer. Such also 
 
 was Paulus Tvlanutius. 
 
 But althou2;h it mav not be adviseable for a scholar to 
 grow old in the study of words, and to give too much of 
 that time to the polishing of his periods, which might be 
 better spent in acquiring real knowledge ; yet should our 
 young students be exhorted to learn to write Latin so as to 
 be able, upon occasion, to compose a few pages with cor- 
 rectness and perspicuity, without soloccisms and barbarisms, 
 and in a style better than that of Mai^ister JSoster Fassa- 
 vantius, and the Epistohv Oh:curorum Virorum. A scho- 
 lar should be capable, at least, of performing thus much : 
 A genius is more at liberty, and may accoutre himself as 
 he thinks fit ; every dress becomes him. 
 
 Ilium quicquid agit, qiioquo vestigia movit, 
 Componlt furtim, bubsequiturque decor. 
 
 Whilst Ciceronianism was still subsisting, another smaller 
 heresy arose, of the Grammatical Antiquaries. Their folly 
 consisted in writing Latin after the manner of the antient 
 Romans, before the language was formed and polished, 
 and of employing all the obscure and obsolete words and 
 phrases that they could find. Passeratius "^ censured this 
 wretched and ridiculous taste, which v/as far worse than that 
 of the Ciceronians, who at least imitated a very good wri- 
 ter, though with too much servility. 
 
 Mariangelus Accursius wrote a Dialogue against these pe- 
 dants, about the year 1531. See more in Bayle, i?c_y?2a«<f. 
 Not. i. ^course, (M.) Not. f. 
 
 •" Exorti sunt his annis viginti proximis, non dissimili laborantes insa- 
 nia, novi quidnm Antonii, utinam minus muJti, quorum caussa, ne quid 
 dissimulem, banc praefatiunculam institui. Siquidem me facturum ope- 
 rae prelium putavi, si istum animi morbum vel arte aliqua persanarem, 
 quod in iis diriicillimum est, qui sic aegrotare nialunt quam valere, vel 
 aliqua ex parte imminuerem : idque saltern assequerer^ ne base apud 
 nostros latius serpat contagio. — 
 
 Sordent nobis TvilUus, Caesar, Terentius : Valerii Antiatis, Cincii, Cse- 
 lii, Pisonis, Fabii Pictoris, Quadrigarii, Sl^ennae Annates requirimus. 
 Unde tam delicatum fiistidium ? Cato et Varro vix ad stomachum fa- 
 ciunt : vix aviditatem nostram explent primi Consulum fasces, et fasto- 
 rum incunabula. Decemviralcs tabulas, leges Regias, Saliarc carmen, 
 icta cum Sabinis federa, Fecialiam jura formulasque transcendimus, ut 
 penetreraus in sermonera Aburiginum, tannuam simus cum Eoeria Nu- 
 mae, aut cuna Evandri Carmeata loquuiuri. 
 
410 
 
 THE LIFE [1528, 
 
 Erasmus " also censured this folly in his Dialogue de Pron 
 nunciatione. 
 
 Olivarius, in a letter \nthout a date, informs Erasmus 
 how the Italian Cicercnians" railed at his barbarous style, 
 and how he took his part against them. 
 
 After Erasmus had written his- Ciceronianus p, and had 
 
 " Tsti non minus absurde faciunt quam faciunt ii, qui verbis jam olim 
 desitis delectantur : perinde quasi cum priscis Aboriginibus, aut Evandri 
 matre loquantur. T. i. c. 9'25, 
 
 <* BahhasarvTS comes Castilioni, orator pontificis, vir utcunque erudi- 
 tus, Navagerus Venetus, vir utriusque linguae eruditissimus, et Andreas 
 Neapolitanus in dies debacchantur in stylum tuum. Non potest ferre 
 liaec natio, quod unus Germanus ostentationem Italomm depresserit. 
 Nunquam sum apud eos, quin illico faciant mentionera de stylo Erasmi : 
 Erasmus, inquiunt, tuus ex Latiuo factus est barbarus. — Objiciunt uni 
 Erasmo Jovianum Pontanum. — Copiam verborum in te et facilitatem, 
 velint nolint, meis argumentis laudant, &c. Ep. 469. c. 1858. 
 
 P Atque hujus dispendii adeo non pocnituit;, ut in votis sit, si liceat, ad 
 veteres illos amicos remigrare, ac menses aliquot cum illis familiariter 
 vivere. Tantum fructus me sensi percepisse ex his librjs relectis, non 
 tantum ob styli rubiginem abstergendam (quanquani hoc quoque non- 
 nihil est, meo quidem judicio) verum multo magis ob animi cupiditates 
 moderandas refrenandasque. Quoties inter legendum exspuebam in 
 stolidos istos, qui in Cicerone nihil prgeclarum esse dictitant, praeter ver- 
 borum phaleras ? Quam illic est varia lectio voluminum, qua? doctissimi 
 Graeci de recte beateque vivendo reliquerunt ! quanta vis ! quanta copia 
 salubrium ac sanctissim.orum praeceptorum ! quanta cogniiio, quantaque 
 memoria priscarum simul et recentium historiarum ! Turn autem, quam 
 ali33 cogitationes de vera hominis felicitate, quae ph-ne declarant ilium 
 hoc egisse, quod docebat ! Jam vero in explicandis rebus procul a com- 
 muni sensu ac sermone popular! semotis, quasque multl despera! . nt Ro- 
 mana lingua tractari posse, quae perspicuitas, qui candor, quae iacilitas, 
 quae copia, quae denique festivitas ! Philosophiam, quae primum in 
 rerum uaturalium coiitemplatione occupata, procul aberat a vita com- 
 muni, Socrates primus in terras atque etiam in domos deduxisse le- 
 gitur. Plato et Aristoteles conati sunt earn et in aulas regum, el in 
 senatum, et in ipsa tribunalia producere. M. vero TuUius mihi vi- 
 detur earn etiam in proscenium perduxisse, cujus opera sic loqui di- 
 dicit, ut promiscuum etiam vulgus possit applaudere. Atque hujus 
 generis tam multos libros scripsit vir ille difficijlimis temporibus, 
 summoque reipublicoe tumultu, quosdam etiam rebus in summam de- 
 sperationem adductis. Et non pudct nos nostrarum confabulationum at- 
 que convivionim, quum videamus homines Ethnicos tam Sanctis com- 
 mentationibus et otiuni, quod dabat reipublicae calamitas, transegisse ; 
 nee ab ineptis voluptatibus quaesivisse mentis avocamenta, sed a sanctis- 
 simis philosophiae prsceptis petiisse remedium ? Quid aliis accidat, ne- 
 scioj me legenteni sic afficere solet M. Tullius, praesertim ubi de bene 
 vivendo disserit, ut dubllare nou'possim, quin illud pectus, uude ista 
 prodicrunt, aliqr.a divinitas occupant. Atque hoc meuifi judicium mihi 
 
1528.3 OP ERASMUS, 411 
 
 been much abused on that account, he was engaged by 
 Froben to revise a new edition of Cicero's Tusculan Dispu- 
 tations, and he prefixed to it an elegant Preface, wherein, 
 
 magis blanflitnr, quotiesanimo reputo, qvinm immensa sit, quamque in- 
 aest'unabi'is setenii Xuminis benignitas, quara quidam ex ingonio, opi- 
 nor, suo nimis in angustuni contrahere ronaiitur. Ubi nunc agat anima 
 Cice 'onis, iortavsc non est humani judicii pronuntiare. Me certe non 
 admorluni p i.ersum habituri sint in ferendis calculis, qui sperant ilium 
 apud supercis quietam vitim agere. Nulli dubium esse potest, quin cre- 
 diderit aiu.uod esse Numen, quo nihil esse posset neque majus, neqae 
 melius. Porro quid senserit de animorum iuimortalitate, quid de di- 
 versa sorte praemiisque vitae futurae, turn quanta fuerit sincerre conscien- 
 tiae fiducla, si non satis declarant tot ejus libri, certe vel una * ilia epi- 
 stola satis avc;uit, quam ad Octavium scribit, jam, ut apparet, destiiiata 
 morte. Si Judaeis ante proditum Evangelium sufficlebat ad salutem ru- 
 dis quaedam et confnsa de rebus divinis credulitas, quid vetat quo minus 
 Ethnico, cui ne Mosi quidem lex erat cognita, rudior etiam cognitio pro- 
 fuerit ad sitluivm, prsesertim quum vita fuerit iutegra, nee integra so- 
 ]um, verum etiam sancta ? Perpauci Judaei ante lucem exortani Evan- 
 gelii noverant exacte Filiam ac Spiritum Sanctum : multi noncredebant 
 resurrectionem corporum, nee tamen ideo de illorum salute desperatum 
 est a majoribus. Quid si Ethnicus tantum hoc credat, Deuni, quem 
 persuasum habet esse omnipotentem, sapientissimum, et optimum, ali- 
 qua ratione ;iubventurum bonis, et ulturum malos, quae ipsi videatur 
 quam maxime accomnioda ? Quod si quis objiciat vitoe maculas, equidem 
 arbitror nee Job, nee Melchisedec omnibus omnino vitils caraisse per 
 omnem vitam. Sed excusandum non est, quod immolavit idolis. Id 
 fortasse fecit, sed non ex suo judicio, verum ex consuetudine publica : 
 quae quoniani legibus etiam er.it confirmata, non poterat convelli. Nam 
 esse conficta quae deDiis ferebantur, vel ex Ennii Sacra Historia poterat 
 cognoscere, Sed oportebat vel vitae jactura populi stultitiam coarguere. 
 Tantum roboris nee ipsis aderat Apostolis, priusquam hauserant cceles- 
 tem spiritum, ut impudens sit hoc exigere a M. Tullio. Verum hac de 
 re liberum esto suum ciiique judicium. Ad illos crassos redeo, qui prae- 
 ter inanem verborum tinnitum, nihil magni credunt esse in libris Cice- 
 ronis. Qui fieri potest, ut tot res enidiias, tam dilucide, tarn copiose, 
 tanto cum atlectu explicet, nisi penitus iatelligat quod scribit ? Quis 
 autem sunisit hujusmodi libros in manum, quin surrexerit animo seda- 
 tiore ? Quis tam accessit mifrens, qui non abierit hilarior ? Geri vide- 
 tur quod legis, nee secus afiiat animam timm quidam orationis evSovri- 
 aciMo;, quam si ex vivo ipsius pectore, ac felicissimo illo ore niananteni 
 audires. Quamobrem mihi saepe videri solet, inter omnia, quae in usum 
 vitae mortalium industria reperit, nihil esse utilius, quam usum litera- 
 rum, nee uUam artem pra:stantiorem opificio typographorum. Quid 
 enixn felicius quam cam eloquentissimis simul ac sanctissimis viris, quo- 
 ties lubitum est, confabulari ? neque minus habere perspectum illorum, 
 qui ante tot annos vixerunt, ingenium, mores, cogiiationes, studia, 
 facta, quam si multis annis egisses cum illis consuetudinem .■' Nunquam 
 mihi magis probatum est iUud Quintiliani ; ' lUc scl.it se profecisse, cui 
 * It is spurious. 
 
412 THE LIFE [1528. 
 
 his Imagination being fired by the carefai perusal of that ex- 
 cellent treatise, he highly extols Cicero both ior his style 
 and for his moral sentiments, and almost makes a saint of 
 him. Erasmus, I dare say, wrote as he thought ; and yet 
 he might be the more inclined to express himself in this 
 strong and lively manner, with an innocent view to appease 
 the clamour, and silence the calumnies of the frantic Cice- 
 ronians. Julius Scaliger^ (of whose quarrels with Erasmus 
 we shall speak hereafter) declared in some of his letters, and 
 in his haughty way, that he was willing to forgive Erasmus 
 his blasphemies, and to be at peace with him thenceforward, 
 for the sake of this preface, which he considered as a kind 
 of penance, and of satisfaction made to the manes of the 
 Roman orator. 
 
 ' Scioppius did not spare even the most eloquent author 
 of antient Rome. 'Read these words of Balzac : The ac- 
 
 Cicero valde placere cceperit.' Mihi puero minus arridebat Cicero, 
 quam Seneca : jamque natus eram annos viginti, priusquam ferrem diu- 
 tinam ejus lectionem, cum coeteri pene oranes placerent. An aetatis 
 progressu profecerim, nescio. ccite nunquam miiii magis placuit Ci- 
 cero, turn quum adamarem ilia studia, quam nunc placuit seni : non 
 fantimi ob divinam quandam orationis felicitatem, verum etiam ob pec- 
 toris eruditi sanctimoniam, Profecto meum afflavit animum, meque 
 mihi reddidit meliorem. Itaque non dubitem hortari javentutem, ut in 
 hujus libris evolvendis atque etiam ediscendis bonas boras collocent po- 
 tius, quam in rixosis ac pugnacibus libellis, quibus nunc undique scatent 
 omnia. Me vero, tametsi jam vergente aetate, nee pudebit, nee pige- 
 bit, simulatque extricaro me ab his quae sunt in manibus, cum meo Ci- 
 cerone redire in gratiam, pristinamque familiaritatem, niniium multis 
 annis intermissam, renovare menses aliquot. — Ep. 499. c. 1880. 
 
 •5 rioc satis habeam, deponere me in sinu eloquentissimi viri inimici- 
 tias cum eloquente viro susceptas eloquentiaj causa : praesertim cum 
 Erasmus ipse tandem aliquando exuerit personam illam eloquentiae exi- 
 tiabilem, pristinuinqiie consilium repudiarit. Equidem viruni ilium 
 multis magnisque literariis virtutibus ornatum semper admiratus sum, 
 ejus labores, vigilias, monumenta colui. Quo factum est, ut gravius 
 tulerim depravari per eum eloquentiae institutiones, quern nae ego ducem 
 et mihi adolescens proposuissem, et liberis meis senex animo destinas- 
 sem. — Ego vero sustentor prneclara illustrique conscientia, cum id egi, 
 quod ipsi Erasmo peragendum aliquando advcrsum sese fuit : quodque a 
 me inchoatum perfccit ille tandem, ut cum Cicerone rediret in gratiam. 
 Sic enim testatur hoc recent! epistola Tusculanis affixa Quaestionibus. 
 Satis igitur mihi lavidis atque gloriae partum puto, non quod lantum de- 
 turbarim imperatorem, sed (juod meum ille judicium sit secutus, Ita- 
 que illam Reipublicas calamitosam eloquentium proscriptionem nova 
 prudentia cum aut sustnlit, aut emendavit, attulit sane meo nomini 
 consolationem, Sic. — An. loSG. J. C. Scaliger. Orat. et Epist. p. 56. 
 
1J2S.] OF ERASMUS. 41S 
 
 cuser of Cicero, concermns; whom you inq^ure, is the for- 
 midable Scioppius. He hath published a book at Milan, 
 tvherein he accuseth Cicero of impropriety and barbarism, 
 There is oulij one copy of it in. France, and Messieurs Dupuy 
 lent it me when I was at Paris. This injury done to Ci' 
 cero ivould be matter of consolation to Scaliger (Jos. Scali- 
 ger), if he were to return again to ns. But 1 expect that 
 this same Scioppius icill give us another treatise, to prove 
 that Caio ivas a rascal, and Julius Cccsar a poltroon. — 
 We shall less wonder at the audaciousness of Scioppius in 
 criticizing the style and the phrases of Cicero, if we consi- 
 der that in all times there have been censurers of this father 
 of eloquence. The number of tliem is incredible. See the 
 Preface of the Cicero a calumniis vindicatus, by Andrew 
 Schott. It is a curious treatise, the eighth chapter of which 
 is employed in answering those who impute soloecisms to 
 Cicero.' Bayle, Scioppius, Not. K. 
 
 Erasmus had at this time a vexatious quarrel with Ep- 
 pendorf. A full account of this altercation may be found 
 in his Epistles *■, and in Bayic's Dictionary % The case was 
 thus : 
 
 Eppendorf got into his hands a letter from Erasmus to 
 George duke of Saxony, in which his character was not 
 spared. Ele carried his complaints to the magistrate of Ba- 
 sil ; and the magistrate, not willing to judge in that affair, 
 committed it to arbitrators, and chose Bonifacius Amerba- 
 chius and Beatus Rhcnanus, both of them zealous friends 
 of Erasmus. Erasmus, in reply to the charge, said that he 
 did not acknowledge the letter to be his ; and that it was 
 not signed by him, or written wiih his hand. But yet the 
 account which Erasmus gives of the affair to Bilibaldus, 
 would induce one to think that he dictated it. Thus much 
 he owned, that he had advised the duke rather to employ 
 Eppendorf in some creditable way, than to let him live such 
 a lazy Hfe. Eppendorf was not satisfied with this disown- 
 ing ot the letter, but required, as terms of accommodation, 
 that Erasmus should dedicate some book to him in token of 
 friendship ; that he should write a letter of recommendation 
 
 Ep. 957, 053. and 346. c. 1730. 
 Eppendorf. 
 
414 THE LIFE [1528. 
 
 in his behalf to the duke of Saxony ; and, lastly, that he 
 should give three hundred ducats to the poor. To the two 
 first articles Erasmus consented ; but to the third he would 
 not submit. The arbitrators determined that Erasmus should 
 be only obliged to give twenty franks to tiie poor, and that 
 by way of free-gift, and not as a composition injurious to his 
 honour. So Erasmus was obliged to draw up the model of 
 a dedication to Eppendorf, and gave him an unsealed letter 
 of recommendation to the duke. Then they embraced each 
 other, and promised mutual friendship. But the pacifica- 
 tion was soon broken ; for Eppendorf boasted up and down, 
 that he had reduced Erasmus to submit to terms, to which 
 he himself would not have submitted for three thousand 
 pounds. Erasmus wrote to several of his friends, to justify 
 himself, and to put a stop to these disadvantageous rumours^ 
 and Eppendorf replied by a book printed at Hagenau in 
 1531. We have also two letters', wherein they quarrel 
 together. Erasmus declares ", that he had complied, purely 
 to purchase peace and repose, and to get rid of a trouble- 
 some fellow : but he must have done something that was 
 not entirely justifiable, since he was condemned by his best 
 friends to make a sort of satisfaction. However, he was 
 extremely angry at the Evangelics, for spreading rumours 
 against him on this occasion ; and he threatens that he 
 would no longer persevere in exhorting the princes to treat 
 them with lenity : for I see no way, says he, to put an end 
 to these commotions, except cruelty ; though cruelty is a 
 sad thing, when it is extended to many. These sentiments 
 are not worthy of Erasmus ; nor did he defend himself well, 
 when he said that he had deceived Eppendorf for his good, 
 and with an honest intention ; and that such procedures 
 were lawful, from the example of physicians, w'ho impose 
 upon their patients in like manner, and from the example 
 of Christ himself. Better had he held his peace than de- 
 fended himself thus, in a way which made his cause appear 
 worse than it really was, since in .dl probability he had only 
 said something against a profligate and an impudent bully, 
 which he did not care to -wow, although it was true. Yet 
 hence it should seem, that the generous candour and open 
 
 * Ep: 1087, 1068. ^" Ep, 957. See also Ep. SSp. 
 
152S.] OF ERASMUS. 41J 
 
 j^iinplicity, whicli adorned the youth and the manhood of 
 Erasmus, were somewhat decayed in his older days ; and 
 we see that from the time that he wanted to pass for a de- 
 fender of the church of Rome, his letters are not altogether 
 free from dissimulation and censoriousness. 
 
 George duke of Saxony, hearing of this altercation, 
 wrote a kind letter to Erasmus ■"^, in which he treats J^ppen- 
 dorf as a worthless rascal, for whom he would do ncHliing ; 
 and Erasmus tells us y, that the duke would not speak to 
 Eppendorf, or see him, when he came to beg an audience; 
 but let him know, that he would have no communications 
 with a man who had the impudence to deny his own fa- 
 ther, and to pretend to be, what he was not, of noble ex- 
 traction. 
 
 Erasmus ^ hath set him forth as one who before the quar- 
 rel had been his secret enemy, and his pretended friend, as 
 a liar, a shuffler, a dissipator, a beggar, who was deeply 
 in debt, a licentious debauche', who had lost his reputation, 
 a gamester, a man of consummate vanity and impudence, 
 who, though of a mean family, gave himself the airs of 
 quality. 
 
 In the mean time, Erasmus had the pleasure to receive 
 obliging letters from the elector of Cologn, the king of 
 England, and the archbishop of Toledo. The two latter 
 invited him to come to them : but he excuse 'i himself on 
 account of his bad health, and he had just cause to shun 
 the places where the monks were powerful. He lived in 
 much greater ease and security amongst the reformed, 
 though he treated them little better than he did the monks, 
 whom it was impossible for him to appease, as it appears 
 from his letter to the divines of Louvain. Ep. 963. 
 859. &c. 
 
 His Ciceronianus provoked the literati In France, be- 
 cause, speaking of eiuinent men in that nation, he had un- 
 luckily joined together Budseus^, and Badius^, a librarian, 
 
 ■'^' Ep. 349. c. 174 1 . >■ Ep. 1 146. 
 
 '■ See his Epistle to Goclenius, prefixed to the first volume. 
 
 ^ Tom. i. c. lOU. See Maiitaire, ii, 6g. 
 
 ^Bayle, Badiui. Baillet, ii. 26I. Val. Andreas Bibl. Belg. p. 547. 
 Mir?ei Elog. Belg. p. 121. Le Clerc, Bibl. A. & M. xviii. 40S. 
 Maittain?, ii. Gu, 
 
 8 
 
416 THE LIFE [1523= 
 
 who was learned enough, for a maii of his profession, but 
 in no manner equal to Budssus. Brixius wrote him, upon 
 this occasion, a letter of warm expostulation ; and Erasmus 
 excused, or rather justified himself in a laboured apology. 
 But the French were still generally persuaded, that he had 
 been influenced by spleen and envy to lessen Budaeus, who, 
 though inferior to Erasmus in other respects, was better 
 skilled than he in Greek literature, and was extremely be- 
 loved and esteem-ed in France. Erasmus had a great re- 
 gard for Badius, and committed several of his works to the 
 care of this famous printer : and Budaeus did the same. 
 Poor Badius suffered the most in this silly quarrel. Ep. 968. 
 981. &c. 
 
 In an artful and eloquent letter to his friend Fisher, bi- 
 shop of Rochester, a man eaten up with superstition, he 
 defends himself and his Colloquies, which had displeased 
 the prelate, who wanted Erasmus to make retractations, after 
 the manner of Augustin. I correct my v^^orks every day, 
 says Erasmus ; but St. Augustin, after all his retractations, 
 left many things standing in his v^orks, which if a man had 
 advanced in our days, he must have passed for a heretic. 
 Then he lashes the monks, and relates some of their pious 
 frauds and ridiculous miracles to delude silly people *^. But 
 
 <= Non pendet hodie religio Christlanorum a miraculis, nee obscumm 
 est quot opiniones invectse sunt in orbcm per homines ad suum quaeslum 
 callidos^ confictorum miraculoruni pr.Tesidio. Quae sunt in saciis Uteris 
 tanto firmius crederaus, si non quibuslibet hominum fabulis credideri- 
 mus. Atqueadeojnm nunc exoriuntur qui vetus artificium revocant. 
 Alibi visvim est spectrum, quod a presbytero flagitaret absolutionem, 
 quia citra confessionem deccssevat, non quod deesset voluntas, sed quod 
 negata fuisset sacerdotis copia. Guid hie discimus, nisi absolvi posse 
 qui non confitentur, et post banc vitam opus esse presb) tero iis quibus 
 volentibus defuit confitendi facultas I AHbi parochus quidam sub diem 
 Parascevcs clam immislt in coemeteiium vivos cancros, affixis ad latus 
 cereolis avdentibus ; qui quuni reperent inter sepulchra, visum est nocta 
 terribile spectaculum, nee quisquam ausus est accedere propius. Hinc 
 rumor atrox. Consternatis omnibus, parochus a suggestu docet popu- 
 lum has esse defuuctorum aninras, quae Missis et eleeniosynis tiagitarent 
 acruciatu liberari. lucus ita proditus est, reperti sunt tandem unus et 
 alter cancer inter rudera, facem extinctam gestantes, quos parochus non 
 recollegerat. Idem aliud machinatus est. Coi.vivebat illi neptis, mu- 
 iier ber.e nummata : in liujus cubiculum proiunda nocte solet irreperc, 
 lineo involucro umbram mentiens. Emittebat voces ambiguas, sperans 
 tore ut mulier accerseret exorcistam, aut ipsa loqueretnr. Verum ilia 
 
3528.] OF ERASMUS, 417 
 
 ir is not probable that this could quite satisfy Fisher, and set 
 Erasmus right in his opinion. 
 
 Writing to another friend about these pious tricks, he 
 sneers the doctrine of purgatory ^ boldly enough. 
 
 To Martin Lipsius, a divirte of Louvain, he repeats the 
 old stor)', or his defence against the monks. Ep. 979. 
 
 In Ep. 98 1, he mentions Leonardus Aretinus"=, of whose 
 abilities he speaks moderately in his Ciceronianus. 
 
 He was at this time very busy in publishing an edition of 
 St. Augustin, and laboured for little or no profit, to serve 
 Fl*oben's children ; else he declares, that he would not 
 have undertaken such a task for two thousand franks. 
 
 It appears that he sometimes did not refuse to take young 
 gentlemen into his house, as boarders. He writes to one 
 Hermannus Caminga, who requested this favour of him. 
 Erasmus consented, and told him that he admitted very 
 few persons to dwell with him, and that he seldom con- 
 versed with them, except at meal-times. Ep. 985. 993. 
 
 He wrote to Albertus, prince of Carpi, who had com- 
 posed a book against him, and had sent the manuscript to 
 him. This prince, who had lost his principality, v\'as then 
 in France, spreading a thousand calumnies there against 
 Erasmus, who on his side was meditating a reply. It came 
 out the next year. See the last tome of the works of 
 Erasmus. Ep. 995. 
 
 nimis mnsculo animo, dam rogavit cognatum quendam, ut unam noc- 
 teni secum esset tectus in cubiculo. lUe vero fuste armatus pro exor- 
 cismis, ac probe potus, quo minus expavesceret, occulitur in lecto. Ad- 
 est spectrum solito more, nescio quid triste mugiens. Excitatur exor- 
 cista : prosilit nondum sobrius, aggreditur ; ibi spectrum voce gestuquc 
 deterrere parat. At ebrius ille. Si tu es, inquit, diabolus, ego sum 
 mater illius, et correptum impostorem fuste dolat, occisurus, ni mu- 
 tata voce clamasset. Farce, non sum anima, sed sum dominus Joannes. 
 Ad vocem agnitam, mulier exsilit e lecto, pugnamque dirimit. Hsec 
 praeludia. Equidem ut semper piura existimavi pro defunctis vel orare 
 vei sacrificare, ita talibus terriculamentis baud sane multum tribuerim, 
 etiarasi fucus absit, qui vix unquam solet abesse, Certe Chrysostomus 
 putat haec omnia daemonum esse ludibria. Ep. 974. 
 
 •* Equidem pium arbitror vel orare vel sacrificare pro defunctis : verum 
 si quis omnino mihi nasus, de spectro fabula. Monachorum est com- 
 mentum, quibus adest mentiendi voluntas, at non suppetit facultas. 
 Mirura in modum amant ignem purgatorium, quod utilissimus sit illo- 
 rum culinis. Ep. 977. 
 
 * Bayle, Diet. Arctin, 
 
 Vol. I. E e 
 
418 THE LIFE [1528. 
 
 He dedicated some piece to the cardinal of Lorrain, who 
 ordered a very handsome present to be sent to him, which 
 yet was detained by the knavery of some of the cardinal's 
 servants, as Erasmus informs him freely ^, though politely. 
 But from another letter we find that it came safe at last to 
 his hands 5. 
 
 He was invited by Ferdinand to come and live at Vienna, 
 and to accept of a pension of four hundred florins. But, 
 as he says, it was like going into another world. Ep. 969. 
 
 In a letter to Gattinarius, he observes that Luther began 
 to lower his sails, and make a sort of recantation : but in 
 this he was mistaken '\ Ep. 967. 
 
 Gattinarius', who died in 1530, was chancellor to the 
 emperor, a constant friend to Erasmus, a wise and mode- 
 rate man, inclined to a reformation, and greatly displeased 
 at the violent proceedings against the reformers. Melanch- 
 thon and Erasmus have highly extolled him. 
 
 Oecolampadius, says he, hath taken to himself a wife, a 
 pretty girl. He wants, I suppose, to mortify the flesh. 
 Some call Lutheranism a tragedy : I call it a comedy, where 
 the distress commonly ends in a wedding, Ep. 951. 
 
 He again represents Aleander ^ as one of his most invete- 
 rate enemies. 
 
 To his friend Vives he hints, that he did not care to med- 
 
 f Ep. 904. 
 
 s Oneravit me tua benignitas tanr gravi sarcina munificentiae, ut nee 
 inveniam qua ratione quejim aliqua ex parte reponere quod accepi, et 
 pudeat gratias agere : pro mediocribus enim beneliciis gratias agere vulgl 
 mos est. Non jam loqr.or mode de splendidissimo planeque regali tuo 
 iTiunere, sed muito magis de singular! istius in me animi studio atque 
 favore, c\-c. Ep. 453. c. 1841. 
 
 '' Mirum est Erasmum in ea opinione fuisse, ac si Lutherus palino- 
 diam caneret, cum tamcn ne unions quideni articulus in thesi sua sit 
 mutatus. — Dubitandum tamen est, an satis accurate legerit Erasmus, 
 <juae edita sunt, an tcmere potius pronnnciaverit, dum ad Gattinaram 
 scribit : * Indies mitescit febris Lutherar.a, adeo ut ipse Lutherus de sin- 
 gulis propemodum scribat palinodiam, ac c?eteris habeatur ob hoc ipsum 
 h<Tereticus et delirus.' Quos vero intelligat per caieros, divinare nequeo, 
 nisi ad Zuinglium aut Anabaptistas respiciat. Seckendorf, I. ii. p. 108. 
 
 • Seckendorf, 1. ii. p. 157- See also Gerdes. i. \g5. 
 
 ^ Jam audio multis persuasum, ex meis scriptis extitisse totam hanc 
 Ecclesice procellam : cujus vanissimi rumoris praecipuus auctor fuit Hie- 
 ron)'mus Aleander, homo, ut nihil aliud dicam, non superstitiose verax. 
 Ejubdem sententiae videlur Albcrtus Carpoium Princeps. Ep. 971. 
 
1528.] OF ERASMUS. 419 
 
 die with the affair of the king's divorce '. He had received 
 a present from a queen "^ ; queen Catharine, in all probabi- 
 lity, who was always kind and courteous to him. He says, 
 that if he were arbitrator in that affair, he would sooner 
 allow the king two wives than take one from him ". 
 
 To Martinus lipsius he complains of his theological ca- 
 lumniators, who declaimed against him from the pulpit. It 
 was hardly worth his while to take so frequent notice of 
 these insults, which have been common in all times, and 
 will be so as long as pulpits and preachers exist. Ep. 979. 
 
 He tells us a good story of a monk, who had collected 
 many grievous errors out of the Jerom of Erasmus °, mista- 
 king the father for the editor ; so that all the blows which he 
 aimed at Erasmus fell upon poor Jerom, who, if he had 
 been in the land of the living, would have pulled the monk 
 by the nose, for his egregious stupidity. 
 
 Fie makes some pretty remarks on Ciceronianism in two 
 letters p, which deserve to be perused. 
 
 ' Negotio Jovis et Junonis absit ut me admisceam, prsesertim iricog- 
 nito. Cltius tribuerim uni duas Junones, quam un:im adimerem. 
 Ep. 975. 
 
 « Ibid. 
 
 ° ' Erasmus, says Burnet, favoured the divorce, but he would not 
 appear in it. He had no mind to provoke the emperor, and live un- 
 easy in his own country.' i. Q2. 
 
 Whence Burnet collected this, I know not. Erasmus in his Chris' 
 iiani Matrimonii Inslitutio, dedicated to queen Catharine in 1526, seems 
 to have her marriage in view, and to justify it, when he says : 
 
 ' Prohibcris ducere — uxorem fratris tui, fortassis vivo fratre : nam 
 raortuo fratre sine liberis, jubetnr frater superstes suscitare posteritatem 
 fratri defuncto. £t Herodes a Joanne rcprehendilur, qui fratris uxorem 
 duxerat vivo fratre.' T. v. c. 63p. 
 
 ° In monasterio quodam Domiuicanomm, prior in sues partitus erat 
 meas lucubrationes, ut ex his colligeret errata. Cuidam forte obvenerat 
 Hieronymus, Is, cui non minus ignotus erat Hicronymus quam Eras- 
 mus, cocpit promiscue notare quicqaid offenderct vel in Hieronymo, vel 
 in meis scholiis : ingentem errorum s)'lvam congesserat ex Hieronymo. 
 At cum in conventu proferret quisqiie quae notaret, hie mukum laudjj; 
 sibi sperabat, quod nemo plurcs adferrct articiilos. Tandem Curda'.ior 
 quispiam sensit hominem nullum habuisse discrimcn inter Hieronymum 
 et Erasmum. Itaque pro sperata laude, ludibrium retulit. Verum- 
 tamen hie casus docuit, ex qaovis Orthodoxo plures crrores decerpi 
 posse, quam ex meis libris, si quis tales animos ad illos adferat, quales 
 illi adferunt ad mens. Ep. 9SO. 
 
 P Morbus hie primum ex Italia duxit originem, nee ulli majores ibi 
 tumultus concitarunt, quam qui minimum habebant Clcerouis. Nequa 
 
 E e 2 
 
420 THE LIFE [1.528 
 
 He gives us a detail 'i of his labours in publishing St. Au- 
 gustin. 
 
 que paucos nostratium ea \ues afllare ccepernt, prsesertim illos qui nobis 
 ex Italia redierant. Id quoniam perspiciebam vehementer inutile, vel 
 erudition! snlidfe, vel Christianae facundiiie, paucorum dierum opella 
 milii sunita est, ut earn superstitiouem ab animis juvenum depeilerem, 
 rib hoc ipso quod aflectatur submoventem, dum at tot auctores lectione 
 ciignos fastidiunt, nee euni, (pern unum sibi proponunt, assequuntur, 
 
 Suspicor istic esse dXXo^oXov;, quos intra sinumurit, quod nego quic- 
 quam esse facvmdum, quod non sit Christianum. — Verum adversus istos 
 oinni, quod aiunt, pede standum est, qui moliuntur ut sub isto titulo 
 noniineque bonai'um literaium repullulascat Paganitas. Si svimus ex 
 aninio Christiani, nihil nobis eruditum, elegans aut venustum videri 
 debet, quod non spiret Christum, quoties materia postulat. Noviquos- 
 (lam clancularios Paganitatis fautores, qui si niihi stomachum moverint, 
 accipientur ut digni sunt. Pro Christo sentient me non esse timidulum j 
 in aliis non gravate concedo quibuslibet, 8cc. Ep. 982. 
 
 Multo post editum Ciceronianum, comperi hoc ipsum argumentum 
 fuisse tractatum tribus epistolis inter Franciscum Picum Comitem Mi- 
 randulanum, et Petrum Bembimi ; quoram alter fusius disserit, alter 
 haud itamultum a me dissentit, Negat enim se loqui, niside rarae feli- 
 citatis ingeniis : neque hie deterret a bonorum auctorum lectione, sed 
 ad unius Ciceronis imitationem invitat, atque adeo, quod est ditHcilius, 
 semulationem. 
 
 Simul atque eodem, ut Ita loquar, nixu nuper edidimus duos libellos; 
 alterum De Pronunciatione, alterum De Ciceronis Imitatione : quoram 
 ille, sicuti neminem ofFendit, ita minus invenit amatorum : hie quem- 
 admodum avide distractus est, ita apud aliquot non mediocrem offen- 
 sKin incurrit, &c. Ep. IOCS. 
 
 1 Septem praslis suppeditem oportet quod excudant. Sed cimi primi-; 
 enecat Augustinus, quern totum emendo, quum in Hieronymo prster 
 Epistolas nihil mihi sumserini. Hoc laboris mihi manibus pedibusque 
 recusanti obtrusit felicis memori^ Joannes Frobenius, queni sic amabam, 
 ut pernegare nihil posscm, etiamsi me in foro jussisset restim ducere. 
 Is operi immortuus est, quod vereor ne me quoque absorbeat, certe mi- 
 nimo minus exoculavit. Nullus voluminum modus aut linis, toties le- 
 genda ac rclcgenda eadem. Et materiarum obscuritas, sermonis argutia, 
 frequenter in longum circv;mact.Te periodi, requimnt attentum leetorem, 
 nee sinunt vel ad momentum temporis dormitare. Mendarum autem 
 tantum comperi, ut nemo sit crediturus nisi conferat, nee hac de re queu- 
 quam hactenus questum esse mirum est. Nihil addidimus scholiorum, 
 nisi sirubi \ ocula quaepiam annotanda fuit ne rursus depravetur. Tan- 
 tum mendas .sustulLmus nun sine vetcmmprnesidiocodicum, materias con- 
 grucMites digessimus, notha paucis indicavimus, ea fide, eaque religione, 
 qu.e tarn pio, tarn erndito, tam eloquenti ccclesiae propugnatori debetur. 
 — Quod si dabitur huic operi snperesse, turn acquum fuerit te non aliter 
 Krasmo gratnlari, quam soleinus diu desperatis amicis c longinqua pcri- 
 ■-■iilxaque navigalioue prorani in patrium litus impingcatibus. Ep. cjSl. 
 
ri^S.] OF ERASMUS. 421 
 
 To the bishop of Liege he sends an accounf of a profane 
 fellow, who was struck dead for playing the fool with the 
 host. It is a wonder that he would venture to vouch for the 
 truth of such a story. 
 
 In some of this year's letters he observes, that Luther" 
 was grown more mild and moderate, vi^hen, as he says, it was 
 too late. 
 
 In a letter to Stadius (Ep. 971 .) Erasmus commends Au- 
 gustinus Marius ; concerning whom see Gerdcs. ii. 3-ls5. 
 
 He congratulates ' Bembus", for having been happily ab- 
 sent from the sacking of Rome. 
 
 It is said of Bembus* that he spake contemptuously of the 
 
 "" In pago quodam, cui nomen Vetus Vicus, rusticus quidam in diver- 
 sorio dun; eucharistiam irridet, subito exanimatus est. Ren:i sic actam 
 fuisse testes docuere. iEdituus quidam rusticus perfcrebat scriniolum 
 plenum panibus consecrandis quas hostios vocant: huic comes eiat alter 
 rusticus, qui quondam fiierat aedituus. Ubi ventum est ad vicum mode 
 dictum, libuit ibi bibere. In diversorio petit comes ille ab aedituo hosti- 
 amdonoj illo cunctante accepit, et incipit per ludibrium consecrare : 
 cauponaria videns increpat; ille, nihil, inquit, tua refert, abi, apporta 
 vinum. Ubi redit mulier, ofFendit hominem collapsum ,; rogat quid ha^ 
 beat : respondent ibi potantes in alia mensa, forsitan habet ilium synco- 
 pis. Mulier adfert acetum, admovent, sed frustra, erat plane mortuus. 
 Haec non est fabula. Feruntur et aliirumores, veram nolui parum com- 
 perta scribere. Ep. gS7. 
 
 ^ Nunc (Lutheras) stultorum exemplo, doctus experimentis, ita sua 
 raoderatur, ut propemodum canat palinodiam. Ep. 1004. 
 
 Si Lutherani abstinuissent ab eucharistia convellenda, Missa abrogan- 
 da, imaginibus tollendis, — sperari poterat laetior exitus. Nunc Lutherus 
 tacet, Melanchthon mirigatj sed sero, ut ais, sapiunt Phryges. 
 Ep. lOOd. 
 
 ^ Boissard, Icon. p. 235. Pope Blount, p, 390. Baillet, and La 
 IMonnoye, i. 86. 313; ii. Q76; iv. 3S1; vi. 68. Bayle, Bemlus. Le 
 Clerc, Bibl. Chois. t. i. p. 314 — 353. Vita Bembi per Joann. Casam. 
 Casa is a polite and elegant writer. This life is to be found in the Vitae 
 Batesii. 
 
 " Bembus et Sadoletus boni poetoe. Bembi scripta fuerunt affectatissi- 
 ma. Scaliger. Son histoire de Venise est Ues-justement blamee par 
 Lipse d'estre trop elegante. Tan. Faber. Scaliger. p. 53. 
 
 * Bembus dissuaded Sadolet from writing comments upon St. Paul's 
 Epistles, and says to him : 
 
 Quod reliquum est, multa mecum Polus de te, de tuis scriptis, quae 
 habes nunc quidem in manibus ; de Hortensio etiam tuo 3 de quo, deque 
 Pauli Epistolis iaterpretandis cum sermo esset inter nos [it should be 
 yo^] , ut aiebat, institutus ; quod tibi ille quaerenti in utro potissimum 
 scriptionis genere tuam tibi operam esse ponendam existimaret, in Paulo 
 respondcrit, sape non probo. Confici enim ilium abs te Dialogum 
 quam primum tua iuteresse valde puto. 
 
422 THE LIFE [1528, 
 
 Epistles of St. Paul, and that he derided the doctrine of a 
 future state. But, as these stories come not from the first 
 hand, from any person who pretended to have heard him, we 
 may consider them as false, or at least very uncertain ru- 
 mours. If religion had not, yet prudence and decency would 
 probably have restrained this polite cardinal from talking at 
 such a rate. 
 
 Lipsius wrote an ingenious letter to Douza, in which he 
 criticizes the style and manner of Bembus. Le Clerc hath 
 inserted this letter in his Bibl. Chois. and hath added very 
 good remarks of his ovm upon Bembus, and Lipsius, and 
 upon Scipio Gentilis, who had treated the cardinal very se- 
 verely. 
 
 The style of Bembus is affected, and not always free from 
 modern idioms : but the style of Lipsius is execrable, in his 
 later compositions ; for in his youth he wrote far better, till 
 he fell into a broken, incoherent, sententious, oracular, and 
 figurative language, not through incapacity of doing better, 
 but through an affected and vitiated taste. He had a few dis- 
 ciples, who imitated him, and wrote ten times worse than he, 
 because they had not his learning, and his fancy, and vivacity ; 
 he was ingenious, and they were dull. 
 
 Vincentius Contarenus'^, a Venetian professor, was highly 
 provoked at the severity with which Lipsius had treated the 
 works of his countryman Bembus ; and set himself to pull 
 to pieces the works of Lipsius, by way of reprisals. 
 
 The 948th Ep. is to Joannes Cochlseus^ja noisy divine, who 
 was very active against the Lutherans. This man teased and 
 pelted Luther \;ith many little books ; and Luther despised 
 him, and treated him with infinite contempt. But Cochlaeus 
 had the last word, and Luther fairly gave up, being tired 
 with the contest and tne adversary. 
 
 Sadolet says to Bembus : 
 
 misi Cominentaiium quemdam, in quo de sacris agitur rebus, 
 
 Venetiis imprimendum. De quo siqtiid tu audieiis (nam non sum ausus 
 hoc genus scriptorum ad tuum judicium defcrre, tanquam a lenioribus 
 studiis alienius) pito a te — ul aliquam curam adhibeas, quo sine mendis 
 edatur, &c. Ciaror. Vir. et Sado], Epist. p. 284. 292. 
 
 These are plain proofs that Bembus had no taste and inclination for 
 sacred literature. 
 
 ^ Relat. Gotting, v. iii. tasc. iii. p. 251. 
 
 y Bayle^ Diet. Cochlee. Seckendorf, i. p. 283. Thuanus^ 1- xi, 
 p. 349. 
 
1J28.] OF ERASMUS. 423 
 
 ' Zuingllus'^ and Oecolampadiur. are gone th:^ wrong wav. 
 — Cochla:us is not such a divine ; he is a very idiot, therefore 
 I have hope of him. But prince George and the bishop of 
 Mentz belong directly to the devil,' 
 
 Ep. 990 is from Ludovicus Vives, and shows a most 
 amiable and christian disposition. 
 
 Ep. 991 is to Livinus Ammonlus^, a Carthusian monk, 
 and a worthy man. 
 
 Erasmus^' had, for his seal, the god Terminus, with the 
 inscription ' Concedo nulli.' Hence he was accused by 
 
 ^ Luther's Colloq. Mensalia, p. 280. 
 
 * Bayle, JnwLonius {L'winus). 
 
 ^ Quod iiiihi pro tuo ingenio modostissime signllicas, idem ex nliomm 
 literis dilucide cognovi, extitisse qui Tcrinbium anniili niti sigilium in 
 caluinniam vocant, vociterantes intolerabilis arrv)gantias esse, quod adjec- 
 tum est symbolum, Concedo nulli. — Somniaiit ab Erasmo dici Concedo 
 nuUi. Atqui si mea scripta legerent, viderent \ix quenquam esse laui 
 mediocrem, ut illi me praeteram, citius concedens omnibus quam nulli. 
 Jam qui me propius ex convictu familiari noverunt, quidvis viiii tribue- 
 rent potius quam arrogantiam. — Sed lingantanimum tam insolentem esse 
 mihi, ut memet omnibus anteponam, etiamne tam stultum existimant;, 
 ut id symbolo profitear ? — Vident illic sculptam imaginem, interne sax- 
 ■um, superne juvenem capillis volitanlibus. An hcec aliquid habet Eras- 
 mi ? Id si parum est, vident in ipso saxo expressum, Tervdn/is ; in 
 quam dictionem si desinas, versus erit, Concedo nu'li Tcnn'uius : sin hinc 
 incipias, erit. Terminus concedo nulii, &c. — Hie forte clamabunt. Quid 
 ribi cum fabuloso Deo? Obvenit, non adscitus est. Alexander, ar- 
 chiepiscopus S. Andreae, cum a pati'e Jacobo, Scotiae rege, senis in pa- 
 triam revocaretur, mihi Roniam evocato, velutgratus et amicus discipu- 
 lus, annulos aliquot dono dedit, habitae inter nos consuetudinis /xvTjaocr:,- 
 vov. In his erat, qui in gemma sculptum habebat Terminum. Nam 
 hoc prius ignotum indicavit Italus quidam,- harum antiquitatum curiosas. 
 Arripui omen, et interpretalus sum admoneri me, non procul abesse 
 vit.ie terminum : nam id temporis agebam annum circiter quadragesi- 
 mum. Haec cogitatio ne posset excidere. Uteris hoc signum imprimere 
 ccepi. Addidi carmen^ ut ante dictum est. Itaque ex profano Deo feci 
 mihi symbolum, adhortans ad vitae correctionem: Mors ciiim vere Ter- 
 minus est, qui nulli cedere novit. Atqui in fusili imagine adscriptum 
 est Groece, "O^a rk^rjg ixay.pov (iiyj, id est, ' Specta finem longae vitye:' 
 Latine, ' Mors ultima linea rerum.' Poteras, inquient, iusculj^ere de- 
 functi cranium. Forsitan accepturus eram, si obvenisset : sed hoc arri- 
 sit, primum quia fortuito contigit, doinde quod geminam haberct gra- 
 tiam, alteram ex allusione ad priscam ac celebrem historiani, alteram ex 
 obscuritate, quae symbolis est peculiaris. Habes Apologiam de Termi- 
 no, seu verius de lana caprina. Atque utinam isti tandem calumniis suis 
 terminum ponerent. Lubens enim cum iliis paciscar, ut mutcm symbo- 
 lum mcum, si illi mutent morbura suum. Sec, Epist. ad Alphonsum 
 Valdesium, A. 1528. torn. x. c 1757. 
 
424 THE LIFI [1528. 
 
 some of his stupid and malicious enemies of insufferable 
 vanity, of representing himself as superior to all mankind. 
 The seal was not of his own contrivance, but an antient 
 seal, given him by his pupil the archbishop of St. Andrew's. 
 Erasmus added the legend, and thought it a good symbolical 
 representation of death, which every wise man ought to have 
 before his eyes, and for v/hich he should hold himself pre- 
 pared. 
 
 A. D. MDXXIX. ^TAT. LXH. 
 
 The Ciceronianus of Erasmus drew upon him much 
 malevolence. Some were disgusted, because in that trea- 
 tise they had not been complimented as much as they 
 desired ; and others, because they had been passed over 
 in silence. Of this he informs his friend Joannes Vlatte- 
 nus^, to whom he had dedicated this book. He also 
 draws up an elogium^ of his friend Jacobus Wimphelin- 
 
 *= ISIelch. Adam. 
 
 ^ Dum amicos recensemus, unum non postremi loci amisimus, Jaco- 
 bum Wimphelingum Sletstadiensem, qui quidem inter felices numerari 
 poterat, nisi senectus iUius in hoc seculum multo turbulentissimum inci- 
 disset. Nam a teneris usque annis educatus est (perhaps esi should be 
 left out) in honestissimis literis, primum Sletstadii sub Ludovico Drin- 
 genbergio Wesphalo, deinde Friburgi, mox Heidelbergae, pontificii juris 
 peritiam cum theologiae scientia non infeliciter conjunxit, et alioqui nul- 
 lius honestae disciplinae nidis. Eloquentiae vero tanlum praestitit turn in 
 carmine, tum in oratione soluta^ quantum vel a theologo, vel ab illoruni 
 temporum homine possit requiri. Adscitus Spiram, ecclesiastac munus 
 non sine laude gessit. Inter haec vir plus ardens amore rerum coelesti- 
 iim, eoque pertaesus seculi^ quod teste Joanne, totum in malitia positum 
 est, de secessu cogitavit. Ejus propositi consortem habebat Christopho- 
 rum ab Utenheim, doctum pariter et castissimae integritatis virum. At- 
 que ut nudus ad nudum Christum confugeret, quod erat ecclesiastic! 
 census, erat autem quod ad vitae munditiem sufficiebat, resignavit. Cae- 
 terum hoc consilium abrupit Christophorus ad episcopi munus retractus, 
 amicis ita suadentibus futurum, ut si ad mentcm tarn piam acressisset 
 auctoritas, plures Christo lucrifacere posset, quam si se abdidisset. Ille 
 tamen (namely Wimphelhigzis) sua paupertate laetus, pergebat quod in- 
 stituerat agere, rursus Heidelbergae sacros auctores enarrans, et in his 
 Hiercnymum. Ad haec libellis editis et adolescentiam instituit, et sacer- 
 dotes ad pietatis castimoniseque studium excitavit. Nee gravatus est 
 amore pietatis, agere p;¥dagogum aliquot magnae spei adolescentibus, quo- 
 rum prarcipuus, nunc inter nobiles, doctnna, sinceritate, candore, pru- 
 dcntia Jacobus Sturmus, (read Sturmius) cujus consiliisplurimum debet 
 rota pene Germania, non solum inclyta civitas Argentoratum. Nee invidia 
 caiuit hominis sancta libertas. Romam exc?tus est homo et senio et her-. 
 
1.529.] OF ERASMUS. 42.5 
 
 gus% of Sletstad, who died aged fourscore years. There is 
 a letter of his to Erasmus, and a very pretty answer from 
 Erasmus, which is not in our collection, and which we will 
 put in the Appendix *. 
 
 He gave a new edition of Seneca, revised with more la- 
 bour and accuracy than the former, and dedicated it to the 
 bishop of Cracow, chancellor to the crown of Poland. In 
 this address to the bishop, he gives a large account of this 
 author, and adds many elegant and judicious remarks of the 
 critical kind, which deserve to be carefully perused ; although 
 some excellent critics have since laboured successfully upon 
 Seneca, as Lipsius, and J. F. Gronovius. 
 
 He had committed the care of the former edition to a 
 friend, and had dedicated it to Ruthal, bishop of Durham. 
 His friend, for want of care or want of skill, made a poor 
 edition of it, and the book was not presented to the bishop 
 
 nia tardus, monachorura Augustinensium opera^, quod alicubi scripsisset, 
 Augustinum non fviisse monachum, aut certe non talem, quales nunc 
 habentar Augustinenses, quum hi tamen ilium in tabulis ac libellis ex- 
 hibeant promissa barba, nigra cucuUa, et zona coriacea. Hoc incen- 
 dium, ex minima scintilla latius evagatunim, Julii secundi pressit aucto- 
 ritas, idque bonorum omnium applausu. Praeter alias adversitates, qui- 
 bus hominis virtus exercita fuit, hoc fatale totius ecclesiEe dissidium ve- 
 hementer ilium afflixit, ac tantum non ad vitse tajdium adegic. Itaque 
 solitudinem ac sccessum frustra tentatum, ingravescentibus annis egit 
 Sletstadii, in aedibus Magdalenae sororis 5 ex qua nepotes duos, quos pa- 
 terno semper alfectu complexus fuerat, reliquit, moribus ac Uteris ele- 
 ganter institutes. — Nondum tamen statui, utrum Wimphelingi mors gra- 
 tulatione digniorsit, an deploratione. Annum attigit pene octogesimum, 
 diutius etiam victurus, si "corpusculi delicientis rationem ullam habere 
 voluisset : et subductus est huic seculo, quo nihil tingi potest inquinatius, 
 rosti-emo nihil addubito, quin vitas innocenter actae praemiis jam fruatur 
 apud coelites. Ep. 1008. 
 
 In this, and in other epistles, Erasmus hath highly commended Jaco- 
 bus Sturmius; and so hath Thuanus, 1. xii. p. 3//. His life is ■writteii 
 by Melch. Adam. See also Bayle, Stunnius. 
 
 \Yimphelingus published an edition of a poem of Mantuan, called 
 Fasti Sacrorum Dienim, and recommended the use of it to school- 
 masters. In this edition (which hath not fallen in my way) there is a 
 letter of Erasmus to Wimphelingus, written A. 1517, and not inserted 
 in the edition of Leyden, wherein Erasmus prefers IMantuan to Marul- 
 lus, whom he abhorred as a debauched profane poet, and a very Pagan ; 
 and says, ' Male heraistichium Mantuani, quam tres MaruUicas myria- 
 das.' 
 
 <^ Melcliior Adam. Maittaire, ii, 258. 269. 601. Gerdes. i. 18/. 
 
 * See Append. No. xl. 
 
426 THE LIFE [1529. 
 
 in due time, by the fault of the bookseller ; and on both ac- 
 counts the bishop conceived a dislike for Erasmus, and was 
 never perfectly reconciled to him. 
 
 In this Epistle he commends Sigismundus Gelenius^, the 
 corrector of Froben's press, who was of anantientand ho- 
 nourable family^, and not only a very learned, but, which is 
 far better, a very good man, and who lived and died extremely 
 poor. His father was a man of letters, and translated the 
 Mori^ Encomium of Erasmus into the German language. 
 Ep. 1010. 
 
 ' There ^ is a memorable fact, which is said to have hastened 
 the death of bishop Ruthal, which, as it shows the treachery 
 of cardinal Wolsey to him, I shall relate in the very words 
 of his historian ^^ : 
 
 ' He ivas commanded hy the kiiig lo tvrite a hook concern- 
 ing the state of the khigdom, and to deliver it when finished 
 to the cardinal. But he had written a7iother hook con- 
 cerning the state of his oiun affairs, covered and stitched 
 so exactly after the same manner, that one of them 
 could not, upon sight, he distinguished from the other. 
 Having ordered a servant to bring him a book covered with 
 white parchment, he brought that relating to the bishop's 
 private affairs, luhich, without looking in it, he delivered to 
 the cardinal, tuho afteriuard discovering the mistake, was 
 much pleased ; telling the king, if his majesty had occa^ 
 sionfor money, he might now know where to be supplied : 
 for it appeared hy that prelate's owri account, that he tuas 
 vjorth em hundred thousand pounds : an immense sum at thai 
 time. So soon as the bishop perceived his error, he ivas 
 seized ' luith such a grief, that it is said to have hastened his 
 death. 
 
 ' It is not said, whether the king did take advantage of 
 this information ; but this we are sure of, that not a great 
 while after, in the same net he laid for others were his own 
 
 ^ Huetins De Clar. Interp. p. 225. Maittaire, i. 2()1 ; ii. 4. Bayle^ 
 Celcnius. Pope Blount, p, 459. Thuanus, 1. xiii,p.405. 
 
 R Knight, p. 152. 
 
 ^ Fiddes. 
 
 ' There is a story, not very unlike this, concerning cardinal Du Prat, 
 a man of parts, and a vile persecutor of the Reformed. See Bayle, Praj, 
 not. C. 
 
1529.] OF ERASMUS. 427 
 
 feet taken. For the cardinal's whole substance, and the vast 
 treasures he had amassed togetlicr, were all seized for the 
 king's use, and he himself died with grief. Nee lex est jus- 
 tior III la. — 
 
 ' Bishop Ruthal was said to be a most munificent benefac- 
 tor to the palace of Aukland, belonging to his see ; as also 
 founder of a free-school at Cirencester where he was born, 
 giving a house and seven pounds per annum for the main- 
 tenance of a master. Though he was bred at Oxford, we 
 find him incorporated D. D. at Cambridge, of which univer- 
 sity he was chancellor anno 1503, as you may see in Antiq. 
 Britan. where his arms are quartered with those of the see of 
 Durham.' 
 
 Whilst we detest the treachery of the cardinal, we cannot 
 afford much pity to the bishop, with his hundred thousand 
 pounds. If he had made a wise use of them, like archbishop 
 Warham, who had the honour and the glory to live and die 
 poor, they would have been beyond the reach of the king and 
 the cardinal. 
 
 Extra fortunam est quicquid donatur amicis : 
 Ouas dederis solas semper habebis opes. 
 
 Even a Pagan could say this. 
 
 Erasmus published some pieces of Chrysostom in Greek, 
 and dedicated to other friends a treatise of Georgius Agricola 
 De MetaUis, and a book of Lactantius Of the Formation of 
 Man, which he corrected from an antient manuscript. 
 Ep. 1010, 1011. 1014, 1015. 
 
 He now had thoughts of departing from Basil ; but knew 
 not whether he should repair to Spira, or to Friburg. He 
 feared the last-mentioned city, because it was too little, and 
 because the inhabitants, who were superstitious, would be 
 offended at him for not keeping Lent, although he had a 
 dispensation from the pope. Ep. 1017. 1021. 
 
 He mentions'^, amongst his adversaries, Titelman', whom 
 he calls a vain and conceited young fellow. But Titelman was 
 infinitely superior to Erasmus, being a Capuchin, a saint, 
 
 ^'Ep, 1031. 
 
 » Du Pirij xvi. 1 . Val. Andreas, Bibl. Belg. p. 29O. Miraei Elog. 
 Belg. p. 62. See also Sinjon, Hist. Crit, du V. T. p. 422. des Comm. 
 doN. T, p. 525. 
 
42S -THE LIFE [1529. 
 
 and a worker of miracles, as Val. Andreas informs us, which 
 was more than Erasmus could pretend to. 
 
 Whilst Erasmus was preparing an edition of Augustin, 
 the archbishop of Toledo sent him a present ; and this de- 
 termined Erasmus to dedicate that work to him. Ep. 1031, 
 1032, 1033. 
 
 He describes the revolution at Basil in this year, and in the 
 winter ; a fuller account of which may be seen in Sleidan"", 
 and in other historians. 
 
 In the midst of the cold weather, says he, the war against 
 idols grew so exceedingly hot, that not one poor image hath 
 been left in the temples. They have also entirely abolished the 
 mass, and all the ecclesiasdcal ceremonial, saving that they 
 preach to the people ; and then women and children sing 
 psalms composed in German rhymes, and they distribute 
 bread as a symbol of the Lord's body. The monks and 
 the nuns are commanded to quit their habit, or to go and 
 live elsewhere. But hitherto no violence hath been committed 
 in private houses, and not one drop of blood hath been shed, 
 and I hope there never will. So many cides in Gerniany and 
 Switzerland have entered into this alliance, that, if it comes 
 to blows, I should be glad to be far off. The power of 
 princes indeed is great : but where will you find soldiers 
 willing to fight in behalf of monks and priests, and for the 
 support of their rights and profits ? Ep. 10S2. 
 
 He hath repeated the same things, and described the same 
 event at large in other places ; and in one epistle he adds", 
 with more humour than unction. They have treated the 
 images of the saints, and even of the crucifix, with such 
 scorn and mockery, that it is a surprising thing that no mi- 
 
 "» L, vi, p. 156. edit. Franc. Seckendorf, 1. ii. p. 144. Scultet. An- 
 nalcs, A. 1529. Gerdes. ij. Append, p. 138. 
 
 •^ Tantis autem Jiidibriis usi sunt in simulacra divomm, atque etian^ 
 crucifi.Ki, ut miruni sit, nullum iliic editum miraculum, quum olim lam 
 niulta soleant edere vel leviter ofFensi divi. Ep. 10-18. 
 
 Cseiernm in aras, statuas, et picturas ad internecionem usque saevituni 
 est, crudeliter quidem, sed citra sanguinis elTiisionem. Porro, quum 
 legamus divum Franciscum in rabiem egisse, qui ridebant quinque vuhtc- 
 ra, quum alios divos narrent horrendis cxcmplis ultos muUorum irreli- 
 giosas voces, hie mibi subiit mirari, neminem e tarn multis esse, qui 
 tantfif stmgis auctores ulcisreretur : nam de Christ! et beatae Virgiuis 
 mansuctudine non iniror. Ep. 106g. 
 
1529.] OF ERASMUS. 4--20 
 
 racles should have been wrought upon the occasion ; espe-i 
 cially since the saints in former days used to be very touchy, 
 and to perform them most copiously and severely, upon the 
 slightest provocations. As to the mildness and forbearance 
 of Christ and of the Virgin Mary, that is not to be wondered 
 at. 
 
 It is to be supposed that the images, the fragments, and the 
 reliques of the saints wrought just as many miracles in the 
 days of Erasmus as in the days of his ancestors : but where 
 the vouchers of those wonders could no longer persecute and 
 massacre those who laughed at them, there the miracles ceased 
 of course. 
 
 He wrote at this time large apologetical letters, and sad 
 complaints, that he was hated and attacked with impunity by 
 all sorts of people. He makes some mention of the Ana- 
 baptists°, and of a certain fanatic '' of that sect, w^ho was 
 
 ^ Anabaptist?e, tametsi magno sunt ubique ntimero, taraen nusquam 
 obtinuenint propriam ecclesiam. Hi vitse innocentia proe cseteris com- 
 mendauiur, sed a rcliquis quoque sectis opprimuniur, non solvuii ab or- 
 thudoxis. Ep. 1033. 1035. 
 
 P Accidit hie quiddam, Deraocritine risu, an Heracliti lacrimis dig- 
 nius, tu judicabis. Sacvificas quidam hue advenit, is simulatque ho»piti 
 suo pecuiiiolam, quam debebat, numerasset. Vale, inquit, et age pceni- 
 tentiam: inuxque progressus in publicum, exhibuit nobis alteram ttco- 
 Spoy.<iv, clara et articulata voce, serio vultu clamans, Agite pcenitentiam, 
 imminet vobis manus Domini. Cum iioc praeconio eomplures dies per 
 omnes civitatis vias obambujavit. Ingressus sumnium templum, eocpit 
 in corruptam canonieorum vitam detonare. Id riJebant plerique, negli- 
 gebant alii. Tandem ingressus dicitur et Oecolampadianorum templa, et 
 in hos multo turn liberius turn atrocius vociferatus est, identidem anima- 
 rum interemtores appellans, Interpellavit ilium quidam, Heus tu, vo- 
 cas ad pcsnitentiam, edequid nobis cen.ses agendum, et quibus modis sit 
 placandus Deus. Ibi, vehiti numine afflatus, Gorgoneis oculis intuitus 
 percunctatorem, Pharisase, inquit, quid me tentas ? non aliud jussit me 
 loqui Spiritus. Dicitur et in monte Pellicardi TTpoScoij.'jv egissc, quum 
 nee illic quenquam reperisset, cui liberet agere pcenitentiam, ipse tres 
 menses conclusus carcere, pro omnibus pcenitentiam egit. Illinc dimis- 
 sus, juxta praEceptum evangelicum, excusso pedum pulvere, hue demi- 
 gravit, ubi quum ntulto minus arrideret nomen poinitentiae, duci jussus 
 est in careerem. Quum duceretur, nihilo segnius clamabat, Agite pcK- 
 nitentiam. Alter satellitum, Ni taces, inquit, improbe, hune pugnum 
 ingeram in os. Ille tanto magis clamabat, Agite pcenitentiam. Quid 
 acami sit in carcere, non liquido scitur. Dimissum constat, hac lege, 
 ne redeat in dilionem hujus reipublicae. Mox, ut accipimus, contulit 
 se Luceriam, quae civitas sic est infensa novis sectis, ut non alia magis. 
 Illic aliquot Jiebus tt^'jo^o^'ju functus officio, in hoc quoque retulit nobis 
 
430 THE LI?E [1529, 
 
 burnt. He candidly observes, that many of the Anabaptists 
 had then the reputation of being very sober and inoffensive 
 in their life and manners. Several*? of these men, and also 
 many Lutherans and Zuinglians, v^ere put to death this 
 year. 
 
 He had received a present from the archbishop of Toledo ; 
 he returns him thanks ^ for it, and promises to distribute 
 part of it to his fellow-labourers in the edition of St. Au- 
 gustin. 
 
 About the end of April he departed from Basil to go to 
 Friburg'', whither he had sent the most valuable of his effects. 
 King Ferdinand had given him a passport, and a patent, and 
 hid invited him to his court. The magistrates, and the mi- 
 nisters of Basil, though as Protestants they had the less rea- 
 son to be fond of him, yet endeavoured to retain him amongst 
 them, because of the honour which, as an inhabitant, he 
 did to their city. But the apprehensions of being accused 
 by the Romanists of collusion, and of having had a hand 
 in the revolution, made him quit the place where he had so 
 long dwelt. At Friburg he had apartmxcnts ' allotted to him 
 
 Joannem Baptistam, quod conjectus est in vincula^ in illo dissimilis, 
 quod ille decollatus, hie exustus est ; nimirum quod Baptistam male re- 
 praesentaret Anabaptista. Quae secta quum magis invisa sit principlbus 
 quam ulla caeterarum, propter anarchiam et rerum communionem, quatn 
 praedicare dicuntur, tamen nee templum habent usquam, nee regnum 
 moliuntur, nee ulla vi se tuentur j et habere dicuntur multos moribus 
 longe sincerioribus quam caeteri. Ep. ]044. 
 
 Gerard Brandt hath given an ample account of the Anabaptists in his 
 History, vol. i. 
 
 '*"? Seckendorf, 1. ii. p. 145. 
 
 <i Munus, quod tua benignitas ultro voluit Augustino renascenti largi- 
 ri, cum his partiar, qui conferendis exemplaribusj quo labore nihil mo- 
 lestius, nostram industriam nonnihil adjuverunt. Ep. 1033. 
 
 "^ He lived at Friburg seven years, * loto H=>ptennio,' says Beat. Rhe- 
 nanus Dedicat. Origenis. But Erasmus went to Friburg A. 1529, and 
 returned to Basil A. 1535 ; which will not make seven years, unless you 
 count inclusively. 
 
 ^ Notatu vero digna sunt, quae p. 120, seu in qnodam epistolio, de 
 Erasmo Roterodamensi magnihce a Friburgensibus excepto, narrat Fran- 
 ciscus a Burgundia Falesius. Act. Erudit. xx. 85. Crenii Animadv. 
 pars quarta. 
 
 F;iburgi religio quidem vigebat pontlficia j sed aliarum tamen artium, 
 et linguarum studia, Erasmi imprimis opera^ non infeliciter tunc erant 
 instaurata. Melch. Adam. Vit. Strigelii, 
 
 1 
 
1529.1 
 
 OF ERASMUS. 4Sl 
 
 in a house belonging to the kuig, but not entirely fitted up. 
 Ep. 1066. 1074. 
 
 Glareanus left Basil at the same time with Erasmus ; and 
 CEcolampadius was well pleased to be rid of him. ' Gla- 
 reanus etiam ipse,' says he, ' maledicentise morbo obnoxius, 
 absens quani prassens utilior erit.' CEcolamp. Ep. ad Gry- 
 nasum. See Gerdes. ii. Append, p. 149. 
 
 Louis Berquin*^ was now burnt at Pai'is for religion. Eras- 
 mus in Ep. 1048 speaks with much reserve of this cruel and 
 tragical affair ; but afterwards", in another letter, he adven- 
 
 »Du Pin, xiii. 1/5, See also p. 212. 219. Beza, Icon. Bayle, 
 Berquin. Amoenitates Literariae, t. ix. p. 651. See also Simon, Nouv. 
 Obs. p. 146. 
 
 " Ludovicus Berquinus vitam morte commutavit, exustus Lutetise in 
 Gravia, De causa nihil certi hactenus potui cognosceie, Tantum au- 
 divi judicibus duodecim delegatani pronunciandi auctoritatem. Quura 
 instaret dies, hominem fiiisse traditum carceri. Hoc parum felix augu- 
 rium. Pronunciatiim est, ut exustis libellis et abjuratis articulis, lingua 
 illi ferro perfoderetur, mox perpetuo carceri dederetur. Is audita praeter 
 exspectatiouem atroci sententia, regem appellavit et pontiticem. Jmdicos 
 indigne ferentes appellandi verbum ; Si non recipis, inquiunt, banc sen- 
 tentiam, efficiemus ne posthac quoquara appelles ; et postridie pronun- 
 ciarunt ilium flammis tradeadum. Aiunt primum articulum fuisse, 
 quod scripsisset in rem esse pietatis, ut sacri libri in linguam vulgarem 
 translati legerentur a populo, id quod senatus fieri vetuerat. Adhibiti 
 sunt satellites armati sexcenti, qui cohiberent si quid oriretur tumultus. 
 Haec qui retulit, praeterea nihil certi potuit aJferre, nisi quod aiebat Guil- 
 helmum Budseum, unura, opinor, e judicum numero, triduo prius-. 
 quam damnaretur, privatim egisse cum Berquino, ut ab insanis, ut aie- 
 bat, erroribus resipisceret. — Montius noster, cujus religiosam nosti fidem, 
 nihil aliud ausus est scribere, nisi quod oculis suis cominus vidit: aderat 
 enim valde vicinus, quum curru veheretur ad supplicii locum. Nee 
 vultu nee uUo corporis gestu dedit ullum animi perturbati specimen. 
 Dixisses ilium in museo de studiis, aut in templo de rebus coelestibus 
 cogitare. Ne turn quidem cum carnifex truculenta voce crimen ac suppli- 
 cium prounciaret, quicquam de vultus constantia mutare visas est. Jussus 
 de curru descendere, nihil cunctatus descendit alacriter: nee erat tale 
 quicquam in eo vel audaciae, vel ferociae, quale in maleficis nonnun- 
 quam gignit immanitas. Relucebat in eo mentis sibi bene consciae tran- 
 quiUitas. Ante mortem verba fecit ad populum, sed unde nemo quis- 
 quam potiiit aliquid percipere; tanttis erat satellitum fremitus, quera 
 data opera putant excitatum fuisse. Quum ad palum praefocaretur, nul- 
 lus e turba acclamavit nomen Jesu, quod parricidis etiam et sacrilegis 
 acclamari solet. Sic omnium animos in ilium excitarant, qui nusquam 
 non adsunt, et nihil non possunt apud simplices et imperitos. Eat nunc 
 qui volet, et Phormiones istos lacessito. Aderat illi Franciscanus qui- 
 dam, quern adiit Montius, rem expiscaturus num vel moriens agnovisset 
 errorem. Is aiebat agnovisjc^ asseverans se nihil omnino dubiiare quin 
 
452 THE LIFE [1529c 
 
 tufed to praise him, and also to condemn his infamous per- 
 secutors. They who shall read ail the letters that he wrote 
 about this time, will find him ever uniform in speaking 
 against the monks ; but, with relation to the Lutherans, 
 blaming them for the most part, and yet sometimes drop- 
 ping expressions in their favour. He says that he had, to 
 
 anima illias transierit in quietem. At ego FrancrscanI dictis nihil habeo 
 fidei, praesertim quum hoc sit istis solenne, post exstinctum hominem 
 spargere rumores, quod in incendio cecinerit palinodiam, quo simul et 
 vindicatae rehgionis laudem auferant, et multitudinis invidiam calumniae-- 
 que suspicionem effugiant. Nam quum Bruxellce primitias immolassent 
 exustis duobus raonachis Augustinensibus, tertio in carcerem reducto, et 
 dam interfecto, quum mira constantia mortem oppetissent, quae res ju- 
 dicibus gravem movebat invidiam, sparserunt ridiculam fabulam, unum ex 
 ilUs apparuisse cuidam Augustinensi, qui nunciaret animas illorum esse in- 
 columes, quod in extremis resipuissent, videlicet jam in ipso incendio: id- 
 que factum precibus Virginis matris. — Rogatus carnifex, ecquam poeniten- 
 tiae vocem edidissent in rogo, negavit, sed quum ducerentur ad palum, 
 clara voce testati sunt se mori Christianos, et alligati palo^admotoigni, ca- 
 nere coeperunt Symholum fidei, mox Doxologiam, Te Deum laudamus, do- 
 nee flamma vocem intercluderet. Habes Berquini fatum, cui mihi natus fu- 
 isse videtur. De causa, quoniam mihi prorsus ignota est, non babeo quod 
 pronunciem. Si non commeruit supplicium, doleo ; si commeruit, bis do- 
 ieo : satius est enim innocentem mori quam nocentem. Illud non dubitoy 
 quin sibi persuaserit esse pia quae defendebat. Hinc ilia vultus tranquillitas. 
 Ex his, qui propiorem cum illo habuerunt consuetudinem, diligenter 
 sciscitatus sum de singulis. Erant antem alioqui, quod ad causam at- 
 tinet, Berquino parum aequi, qui aiebant ilium annos natum plus minus 
 quadragiuta, laicum ac cu;libem, scd vitse adeo purae, ut ne rumusculus 
 quidem impudicitiae situnquam in ilium exortus ; mire benignus in ami- 
 cos et egenos, constitutionum ac rituum ecclesiasticorum obsenantissi- 
 mus, puta praescriptorum jejuniomm, dierum sacronam, ciborum, mis- 
 sarum, concionum, et siqua sunt alia, quae cum pietatis fructu recepta 
 sunt. Alienissimus ab omni fuco, ingenio libero ac recto, quod inju- 
 riam nee cuiquam f'acere vellet, neque a quoquam perpeli posset, dun- 
 taxat insignem. Ab instituto Lutheri plurimum abhorrebat. Quid mul- 
 tis ? Negabant quicquam esse in vita, quod non deceret Christianam 
 pietatem. Hoc aiebant in eo crimen esse gravissimum, quod ingenue 
 prsR se ferebat odium in morosos quosdam iheologos, ac monachos non 
 minus terbces quam stolidos. In hos palam debacchabatur, nee stoma- 
 chum suum dissimulare poterat. — Mox ex libello, quern 6pinor ediderat, 
 decerptae sunt aliquot sententiae, quae \ iderentur ad lidei negotium, ac 
 perinde ad theologurum cognitionem pertiiiere. Erant quantum memini 
 hujus fere generis : In concionibus iucongrue beatam Virginem invocari 
 pro Spiritu Sancto, nee apte vocari fontem omnis gratiae j et in cantico 
 vespertino, praeter Scripturarum consucludinem, appellari spem et vitam 
 iiostram, quum haec magis quadrent in Filium, itc. — ^Tantum habui 
 quod de Berquino scriberem, qui si decessit cum bona conscientia^ quod 
 aUiuoduiii spero, quid eo feiicius ? — Ep. 1000. 
 
1529.] OF ERASMUS. 433 
 
 the utmost of his power, dissuaded Berquin from continu- 
 ing to wage war with the divines, and exhorted him to retire 
 into Germany ; but that the poor man, who had an amazing 
 courage and intrepidity, always imagined that he should get 
 the better of his enemies. Erasmus declares, that he cannot 
 approve the practice of putting men to death for all sorts 
 of errors ; and adds, that he could approve the pious inten- 
 tion of the French, if they had as much of spiritual discern- 
 ment as they had of proneness to superstition. But, if that 
 had been the case with them, they would never have burnt 
 honest men for differences in religion. He says also of that 
 nation, that hitherto they had performed the functions of 
 true and trusty slaves to the Roman pontiff. Yet we may 
 observe, that in point of persecution Charles V had even out- 
 done them. He concludes, that they deserved to have ex- 
 cellent princes, since they faithfully obeyed'' such as they had, 
 of whatsoever kind they vv'ere. 
 
 He dedicated to the duke of Cleve two treatises of St. 
 Ambrose, which had not been published before. The prince 
 returned him thanks, and sent him a cup. Ep. 1062. and 
 353. c. 1744. 
 
 Antonius Fuggerus-', whose family hath been illustrious 
 by its liberalities to men of letters, made great offers-^ to 
 Erasmus, and sent him a silver cup. Ep. 1064. 1043. 
 
 ' The Fuggcri^, celebrated German merchants, to testify 
 their gratitude to Charles V, who had done them the honour 
 to lodge at their house when he passed through Augsburg, one 
 day, amongst other acts of magnificence, laid upon the hearth 
 a large bundle of cinnamon, a merchandize then of great 
 price, and lighted it with a note of hand of the emperor for 
 a very considerable sum which they had lent him.' 
 
 Beatus Rhenanus, in a letter to a friend, hath given a 
 
 ^ Digni principibns optimis, qui, qualcscumque contigerunt, bona fide 
 serviunt. 
 
 y Bayle, Diet. Fugger ; and Velserus, not. C. Burckhard, Comni. dc 
 Vit, Hutt. p. ip8. 
 
 ^ Antonius Fuggerus, priusquam Basileam lelinqiicrem, per pronrium 
 nuncium obtulit pro viatico cenLuiu florenos, et quotaiini.s taiitundem, si 
 voluissem nie ccnfbrre Augustam : egi gratias et excusavi. llle, paulo 
 post, acceptis Uteris nieis, misit poculum inauratum perquam elegant, 
 pretio, ni tailor, quadraginta tioreuorum. Ep. 350. c, 17-12. 
 
 ^Bavle, Diet. Charles- Quint, not. F. F. 
 
 Vol. I. F f 
 
434 THE LIFE [1529. 
 
 description of the magnificent houses, or rather palaces, of 
 Antonius and Raimundus Fuggerus. Centur. Epist. Gol- 
 dasti, Ep. .50. p. 195. 
 
 Luther takes notice of the amazing wealth of these mer- 
 chants, who could upon occasion raise more money than 
 any prince in Europe. Colloq. Mensal. p. 86. 
 
 Erasmus could not obtain the payment of his pension 
 from the emperor, though mountains of gold were offered 
 to him, if he would repair to Brabant, where he had no 
 inclination to go. This was made a pretext for withholding 
 his stipend : but if he had complied, he would probably 
 have found the same delays and difficulties. It^ seems to 
 be by a certain fatality, says he, that the emperor's court 
 is ever in a state of poverty. 
 
 This year he published St. Augustln*^ ; and the 108.5th 
 letter is a dedication to the archbishop of Toledo, and a warm 
 encomium of Augustin, who doubtless had his good qua- 
 lities and his merits, as well as his defects ; but who, as an 
 author, hath done more harm than good to the Christian 
 world. 
 
 Erasmus had formerly projected to publish all the works 
 of Augustin, by his own labour, and by that of his learned 
 friends, to whom he would have allotted their several parts. 
 But the Dominicans began to rail at the undertaking ; sots 
 and gluttons, says he, and born not for the pen, but for the 
 plough-tail. Deferring therefore his scheme at that time, 
 he vi^rote a preface to the books De Civitate Dei, explained 
 and corrected by L. Vives. Ep. 456. c. 1 844. 
 
 Ele now published a small tract, which was less to his 
 honour, namely, a letter amongst his Apologies, entitled, Epi- 
 stoia^ Des. Erasmi Rot. contra quosdam, qui se falso jactant 
 
 * Videtur hoc esse quodam modo fatale anlae Caesareae, semper egere. 
 Dicas esse Danai'dum dolium. Ep. 1066. 
 
 *= Augustinus est niagnus disputator, sed nnn interpretatur bene Scrip- 
 turam, est ineptus ssepd, &c. Scaligeran. p. 40. See Huetiaiia, p. 24. 
 
 '' Erasmus Roterodamus, qui Basilea relicta, propter mutatom religio- 
 nem, et vitandae suspicionis causa, Friburgum se receperat, Ferdinand! 
 regis oppidum, Novembri rriense libcUum edit, qui titulo quidem in- 
 scriptus est contra quosdam qui sese falso jactant evangelicos : revera 
 autem totnm ordinem perstringit. Nam inter alia multa, nullum se no- 
 visse dicit ex illis, qui non seipso videatur esse factus dcterior. Huic 
 deinde sciipto respondent Argentiaenses tbeologi, quoniam de illis po- 
 
1529.] OF ERASMUS. 435 
 
 Evangelicos. He addresseth it to one whom he calls Vultu- 
 rlus Neocomus, and whose true name was Gerardus Novioma- 
 gus% formerly his good friend, but his enemy from the time 
 that he had flattered the Roman party. The cause of this 
 expostulation of Erasmus was, that some of the Evangelics, 
 in some of their writings, had produced passages from those 
 of Erasmus, which seemed to favour them and their cause ; 
 "as for example, that it is unlawful to put heretics to death. 
 Erasmus was afraid lest Francis, and Charles, and Ferdinand, 
 and Geoi-ge, and Henry VIII, and other persecuting princes, 
 should suspect that he condemned their cruel conduct j and 
 therefore he now began to maintain, that there were certain 
 heretics who might be put to death, as blasphemers and 
 rioters. The good man did not consider, that if he hiid 
 been seized himself as a heretic, and the monks had sat in 
 judgment upon him, he would infallibly have been pro- 
 nounced one of those heretics who deserved death. This 
 treatise is written with great acrimony, and the system of 
 religious politics which it contains is good for nothing ; as 
 in it he defames all the Evangelics in general, and says all 
 the evil of them that he could devise, the ministers of Strats- 
 burg published a reply to it. 
 
 tissimum et Basiliensibus ille tractaverat, imprimis autem de Bucero. 
 Sleidan. ]. vi. p. l63. 
 
 Evangelici ad unum omnes mire hoc anno fuenint deformati eo libello 
 quern Erasmus in gratiam Caesaris ex Italia in Germaniam adventantis 
 scripsit. — Scribit ibidem salse ' Melanchthonera Lutherum sequi, tan- 
 quam Aten Lite, corriponere studens quod ilia mrbavit.' 
 
 Haec Erasmus, immemor sui ipsius, hoc est, prneclari judicii bine inde 
 de evangelicorum virtnte et pietate in scriptis suis lati. 
 
 Melanchthon a Joachimo Camerario monitus, ut ne quid amplius lite- 
 raram daret ad Erasmum, respondit, se morem illi gesturum. ' Et scis 
 (inquit) me antea non magnopere ambivisse ejus amicitiam. Vide quan- 
 tum judicii sit nostris iniraicis. Ilium amant, qui multorum dogmatum 
 semina in libris suis sparsit, quae fortasse longe graviores tumultus ali- 
 quando excitatura fuerant, nisi Lutheiiis exortus esset, ac studia homi- 
 num alio traxisset. Tola ilia tragop.dia ttsj;! liiitvw Kv^iayiou ab ipso nata 
 videri potest. Quam non iniquus esse videri alicubi possit Ario et illius 
 factioni, quam nos hie constantissime improbavimus ! Quae litera in li- 
 bris est magnopere digna viro Christiano de justiticatione, de jure magi- 
 straiuum ?' Scultet. Annal. ap. Von der Hardt, p. v. p. 151. 
 
 * Or rather, Gerard GeLdenliaur. Baj'lc hath given a large account of 
 this man, and of his altercations with Erasmus, who hath used Gelden- 
 haur very roughly j and who, in this controversy, is sometimes in the 
 right, and sometimes in the wrong. Geldenhaur. See also Melch Adam. 
 
 Ff 2 
 
436 THE LIFE [1529. 
 
 He drew up a laboured defence of himself against the im- 
 pertinent censures of Stunica. Ep. 1055. 
 
 He had some desire^, even in his old age, to learn Italian 
 more perfectly ; for probably he must have known a little of 
 that language. 
 
 He gives an account to his friend Bilibaldus of his depar- 
 ture s from Basil, and thanks him for his present of a cup and 
 of a ring. Ep. 1066. 
 
 Ep. 1071 is to Janus Cornarius^, a learned physician, who 
 had spent a year at Basil. 
 
 He writes to Margaret' Roper, the learned and ingenious 
 daughter of sir Thomas More ; and she returned an answer. 
 Ep. 1075. and 352. c. 1743. 
 
 In a letter to his patron Montjoy, he thanks queen Catha- 
 rine for a present which she had sent him, and says. If my 
 health were but tolerable, I should now want neither in- 
 come nor dignitv : but, as I remember your lordship used 
 to say, ' Fortune offers a man bread, when he hath no teeth 
 to chew it.' Ep. 1077- 
 
 Better late than never. ' Elath literature been thy choice 
 and thy occupation ? (saith a certain author) and hast thou 
 food and raiment ^ Be contented : be thankful : be amazed 
 at thy good fortune. Art thou dissatisfied, and desirous of 
 other things ? Go, and make twelve votes at an election. It 
 shall do thee more service than to make a commentary on the 
 twelve minor prophets.' 
 
 Erasmus, in a letter to Botzem, defends^ himself against 
 the cavils of a young Franciscan, who had attacked his 
 New Testament. What pity was it, that he should 
 
 ^ Ubi prodierit opus tuum, rem adprime gratam feceris, si codicem 
 unum miseris, ut et ipse discam Etmsce loqiii. Ep. 1050. 
 
 6 Abituras esi et Erasmus ; id facturus nimirum in gratiam principum, 
 quibus devinctus est : sed non perpetuo aberit, ut opinor. (Jecolampa- 
 dius, Epist. p. 835. 
 
 ^ venit in familiaritatem tunc non solum Erasmi, sed et qui ad 
 
 Erasmum salutandi causa, ex Italia, Gallia, alilsque regionibus, docti ho- 
 mines confluebant. Melch. Adam, Vit. Cornarii. 
 
 » Crenius hatli given us a pretty emendation made by this lady upon a 
 coiTupted passage of Cyprian. The words arej 
 
 ' Absit enim ab ecclesia Romana, vigorem suum tarn profiina facilitate 
 dimitterc, et 7tm vos severitatis, eversa fidei majestate, dissolvere,' 
 
 She corrected it nervos. Animadv. Phil. Oxon. 1699. 
 
 ^ See torn, ix, c. 967, 
 
1529.] OF ERASMUS. 437 
 
 have thrown away answers upon such antagonists ! Ep. 
 1078. 
 
 In a letter to Stibarus, he speaks of a present which he had 
 received from that young gentleman, whom he hath highly 
 commended in other places. Ep. 1081. 
 
 To Alciat' he gives an account of a conversation with Lon- 
 golius, which is picturesque, and sets forth the solemn 
 gravity and formal vanity of this young Ciceronian, who died 
 in the flower of his age. 
 
 His letter to Sadolet is very elegantly written, and fit to be 
 sent to so polite a writer. Ep. 1085. 
 
 This year the Reformed in Germany got the name of 
 Protestants^'\ and the sweating sickness" raged in that coun- 
 try. 
 
 ' Longolium immatura morte praereptum sane doleo. — Quum Lovan'u 
 nos inviseret, hominem quanta per occupationes licuit, humanitate ti-ac- 
 tavi. Nee divinare possum vinde hoc stomachi in me conceperit, nisi 
 quod conjecto duas fuisse causas. Quum expetisset secretum collo- 
 (juium, dedi. Exorsus prolixam fabulam quomodo Romae in capitolio 
 causam dixerit, magno capitis periculo j hie, opinor, visus sum parum 
 attentus, praesertim quum serio vultu subinde repeteret, admonens ut 
 ejus facinoris alicubi meminissem in scriptis meis. Respondi, ut soleo 
 in re quse mihi leviter est cordi. Hoc ilium, opinor, male habult. 
 Deinde nonnihil expostulavit mecum de epistola quadam ipsius inter 
 meas excusa, in qua confert me cum Budaeo. — Quum ostenderet quae 
 perperam essent excusa, sic mutavit quaedam, ut meliora fuerint quae vi- 
 deri volebat depravata. Et in hac re decreverat totum diem insumere, 
 nisi ego pertaesus, pro mea sirr.plicitate, sermonem abrupissem. — Prorsus 
 in illo desidero candorem. Nam glorias cupidltatem ignoscerem aetati, 
 nisi fuisset immodica 3 sed hoc vitii vel correxisset, vel certe mitigasset 
 aetas. Toto triduo, quo mecum egit, nunquam vidi hominem vel le- 
 viter subridentem, ne in conviviis quidem : quae res mihi sane non me- 
 diocri fuit admirationi. Et tamen in epistolis nonnunquam conatiir esse 
 fe3ti\ai3, ne parum vidcatur Cicerouianus, quamquam invita, sicuti vide- 
 tur, Alinerva. Exorta est nova secta Ciceronianorum, quae mihi vide- 
 tur non minus fervere isthic, quam apud nos Lutheranorum. Posthac 
 non licebit episcopos appellare patres reverendos, nee in calce literarum 
 scribere annum a Christo nato, quod id nusquam facial Cicero. Quid 
 autem ineptius, quam toto seculo novato, religione, imperiis, magistra- 
 tibus, locorum vocabulis, aedificiis, cultu, moribus, non aliter audere 
 loqui, quam loquutus est Cicero ? Si revivisceret ipse Cicero^ rideret 
 hoc Ciceronianorum genus. Ep. 1033. 
 '^ Sleidan. 1. vi. l60. 
 
 " No\aim etiam morbi genus hoc anno Germaniam invasit. Sudore 
 pestifero correpti homines, intra vigesimam quartam horam aut exhala- 
 bant animam, aut si virus exsudassent, valetudinem paulatim recupera- 
 bant_, et priusquam de remedio constaret^ multa perierunt millia. Ma- 
 
438 THE LIFE [1529. 
 
 Vlglins Zuichemus", ofFriesland, wrote a letter to Eras- 
 mus, extolling his abilities, and requesting his friendship. 
 
 ' Van Heusse published the Epistles of Viglius Zuichemus, 
 a lawyer, who at last became one of the principal counsellors 
 of the duchess of Parma, and of the duke of Alva, in the 
 Low Countries. His letters are written to cardinal Bembus, 
 to Perrenot, afterwards cardinal Granvelle, to Melanchthon, 
 to Alciat, and to others. Although they contain for the 
 most part only compliments, or private affairs, or the news 
 of the times, they may be read with pleasure, because they 
 are well written, those especially which were addressed to 
 learned men. These letters were taken from the library 
 of the college which Viglius founded at Louvain, where 
 there are several volumes of them reposited. The first of 
 these letters, which is to Erasmus, is printed also in the Ley- 
 den edition, No. 1013. From the correspondence between 
 Viglius and Erasmus, contained in the Leyden edition of 
 the Epistles of Erasmus, it appears, that if Viglius from his 
 youth had been charmed with the works of Erasmus, this 
 illustrious man conceived also a great esteem for young Vi- 
 glius. 
 
 ' We have also here some emendations for five Epistles 
 of Erasmus contained in the Leyden collection. As the 
 letters there published were transcribed from originals, or 
 from copies written in a bad hand, many faults ensued. 
 
 ' Honest Erasmus, without quesdon, concluded that Vi- 
 glius was no bigot, and wrote to him with much free- 
 dom concerning the false monks and the false divines who 
 had attacked him. It is indeed improbable that a man 
 of a superstitious disposition would have eage>"ly sought the 
 friendship of Erasmus, and much more that he would have 
 professed his abomination for all the enemies of Erasmus, 
 
 lum hoc, inde ab oceano, per omnem prope Germaniam pervasit, brevis- 
 simo temporis spatio, et incredibiii celeritate velut inceiidium aliquod 
 longe lateque depascebat omnia. Vulgo dicitur morbus Anglicus, nam 
 Henrici Septimi Britanniae regis anno prime, 14^6, eadem lues insulam 
 illam invasit : et quoniam in re nova remedium erat incognitum, ingen- 
 tem hominum stragem edidit. Sleidan. 1. vi. p l6l. Melch. Adam, 
 Vit.Fuchsii, p. 78. 
 
 " Val. Andreae Bibh Belg. p. 745. Miraei Elog. Belg. p. 7(5 Gallaci 
 Imagines. Melchior Adam. Thuanus, 1. Ixiv, p. 20Q. Maittaire, ii. 
 800. Menckenius, Vit. Polit. p. 303- 
 
1J29.] OF ERASMUS. 439 
 
 as Vifrlius in one of his letters declares concernincr himself. 
 Yet this Frieslanderf* had a much greater share than became 
 him in the deceitful and cruel proceedings of Margaret of 
 Parma and Ferdinand of Toledo. Our civilian seems to 
 have been one of those politicians, who, though not destitute 
 of equitable sentiments in the speculative way, yet, when it 
 comes to practice, adhere to the uppermost party, and run 
 all lengths along with it. It is somewhat entertaining to see 
 Erasmus giving his prudential and political advice, concern- 
 ing the new religious sects, to a lawyer, who had ten times 
 more craft and more dissimulation than he, and who, by his 
 conduct afterwards in public stations, showed that he did 
 not want to be tutored by Erasmus^. 
 
 ' Van Heusse hath also given us an abridgment of the Life 
 of Zuichemus.' Le Clerc Bibl. A. c^ M. xi. 263. 
 
 Erasmus discusses the question, whether Henry VIII "^ was 
 
 P qui cum initio Belgii liberlatem defendere visus esset, eoque 
 
 nomine gratiam suorum promeritiis, postea ad Hispanorum partes incli- 
 nare creditus in ordinum odium incurrit — vir alioqui omni laude et 
 propter integritatem et summam prudentiam dignus, &c. Thuanus, 
 
 •J lUud, pro mea in te pietate, moneo rogoque, ut a sectarum conta- 
 giis in totum abstineas, nee ullam illis ansam praebeas, ut per occasio- 
 nem spargere valeant Zuichenuim esse suum. Etiam sicubi dogmatibus 
 illorum adsentiris, dissimula. Nolim tamen te adversus illos conten- 
 dere. Satis est jureconsulto sic eludere eos, quemadmodum quidam 
 elusit diaboluni moritarus. DIabolus suggessit, quid crederet ? Ait, 
 Quod credit ecdesia. Turn iliej Quid credit ecoicsia ? Quod ego. 
 Quid tu credis ? Quod ecclesia. Spero banc admonitionem esse super- 
 vacaneam ; verum si liceret coram, etticerem ut intelligeres me nou 
 frustra mouere. Ep. 3/4. c. 1759. 
 
 *■ Jam quod subdubitare videris, an libellum, ac duas epistolas, qtlas 
 scripsit ad\ersus Lutherum, suo Marte confecerit rex Angliae, id tibi 
 cum multis commune est. Xec niirum, quum hactenus prodigii simile 
 sit habitum, prssertim apud Germanos, principem scire literas. Caete- 
 rum, ut non contenderim neminem scribenti fuisse auxilio, quum erudi- 
 tissimi quique viii nonnunquara utantur amicorum subsidiis ; ita non du- 
 bitem affirmare ipsum eorum, quae edit, pareiitem et auctorera esse. 
 Siquidem patre natus est, quo vix alium reperias exactiore judicio. Ma- 
 ter item erat sanissimi ingenii, planeque singulari quadam turn prudentia, 
 turn pietate : puellus admodum siudiis admotus est. Ingenium erat vi- 
 vidum, eroctum, et ad quudcumque se vertisset supra modum habile. 
 Neque quicquam attentavii unquam, quod non absoherit. Tanta natu- 
 rae dexteritas est, ut et in istis v jlgaribus, velut equitandi jaculandique 
 peritia, neminem non a tergo reliquerit. Dicas ilium ad omnia naiuir. 
 
440 THE LIFE [1529. 
 
 really the author of the book agamst Luther, and inclines 
 to the affirmative : not denying, hov/ever, that he might have 
 had the assistance of some learned men. 
 
 ' There '^ is one thing unjustly added to the praise of More 
 and Fisher, or rather feigned on design to lessen the king*s 
 honour, that they penned the book which the king wi-ote 
 against Luther. This Sanders first published, and Bellarmin 
 and others since have taken it up upon his authority. Strangers 
 may be pardoned such errors, but they are inexcusable in an 
 
 Nullum est Musices genus, in quo non excesserit mediocritatem. Ma- 
 thematicarum item disciplinarum mire docilis. Nee unquam omisit stu- 
 dia 3 quoties per regni negotia vacat, aut legit aliquid aut disputat, quod 
 solet perlibenter, mire comes ac placldus incertamincj dicas hie socium 
 esse, non regem. Ad eas conflictatiunculas nonnunquam praeparat se 
 lectione scholasticorum auctorum, veluti Thomae, aut Scoti, aut Ga- 
 brielis. Jam quod ad dictionis facultatem attinet, mitto tibi gustum, 
 unde conjicere possis quantum tot aiinis accesserit : totam enim hanc 
 epistolam suapte manu descripsit adolescentulus. Q.uum agerem Vene- 
 tiae, Uteris ad ilium missis, deplorabam mortem Philippi regis, mei 
 principis, hoc ferme exordio j nam exemplar mihi servatum non est : 
 * Allatus est bic rumor tristior quam ut verum esse credere libeat, sed 
 idem constantior quam ut omnino vanus videri possit, Philippum princi- 
 pem in fata concessisse,' &c. Agnovit ille protinus schematis gratiam, 
 et suam epistolam, ut vides, similiter exorsus est. Equidem manum 
 agnoscebam. C^terum, ut ingenue dicam, turn nonnihil suspicabar, in 
 sensibus, ac verbis, alienis suppetiis adjutum fuisse. £am suspicionem 
 quum Gulielmus Montjoius mihi nullis argumentis posset excutere, cessit 
 ac dissimulavit, donee esset satis iubtnictus ad causam. Quumque forte 
 soli confabularemur, protulit multas ejus epistolas, qutmi-ad alios, turn 
 ad ipsum Montjoium, et in his etiam illam, qua meae responderat. In 
 his exstabant manifesta signa commentantis, addentis, detrahentis, corri- 
 gentis, et immutantis. Agnovisses singnlarum primam manum ac ve- 
 luti delineationem, agnovisses secundam nc tertiam, nonnunquam et 
 quartam. Quicquid erat dispunctum, aut adjectum, ejusdem erat ma- 
 nus, Ibi quod tergiversarer, prorsus nihil habebam, sed ipsa re victus 
 omnem posui suspicionem. Nee dubito quin tu, mi Cochleie, [Ed. Bas, 
 Cochlaee] facturus sis idem, si propius nosses illius regis longe felicissi- 
 mam naturam. Ep. 1038. 
 
 Exstat libellus regis Angliae, quern Romae et hie quidam falso suspi- 
 cantur esse meum. — Opinor conjecturam natam ex stylo : nam rex ad- 
 huc puer nihil diligentius legit quam meas lucubrationes, e quibus for- 
 tasse contraxit nonnihil malae phraseos, ■ si quid tamen habet meum. 
 Ep. 645. 
 
 See also Ep. 650. c. 763, 763 ; in which he says that the style is the 
 king's. 
 
 8 Burnet, i. 356. 
 
1529.] OF ERASMUS. 441 
 
 Englishman. For, in More's printed works, there is a letter 
 written by him out of the Tower to Cromwell, in which he 
 gives an account of his behaviour concerning the king's di- 
 vorce and supremacy. Amongst other particulars one is, 
 that when the king showed him his book against Luther, 
 in which he had asserted the pope's primacy to be of divine 
 right, i\lore desired him to leave it out ; since, as there had 
 been many contests between popes and other princes, so 
 there m.ight fall in some between the pope and the king ; 
 therefore he thought it was not fit for the king to publish any 
 thing which might be afterwards made use of against himself: 
 and advised him either to leave out that point, or to touch 
 it very tenderly ; but the king would not follow his counsel, 
 being perhaps so fond of what he had writ, that he would 
 rather run himself upon a great inconvenience, than leave out 
 any thing that he fancied so well written. This shows that 
 More knew that book was written by the king's own pen : 
 and either Sanders never read this, or maliciously concealed 
 it, lest it should discover his foul dealing.' 
 
 But Burnet afterwards talks in a different way, and says : 
 ' It' was a master-piece in Wolsey to engage the king to 
 own that the book against Luther w^as written by him, in 
 which the secret of those who, no doubt, had the greatest 
 share in composing it, was so closely laid, that it never broke 
 out. Seckendorf tells us that Luther believed it was writ 
 by Lee, who was a zealous Thomist, and had been engaged 
 in disputes with Erasmus, and was afterwards made arch- 
 bishop of York. If any of these, who still adhered to the 
 old doctrines, had been concerned in writing it, probably, 
 when they saw king Henry depart from so many points 
 treated of in it, they would have gone beyond sea, and have 
 robbed him of that false honour and those excessive praises 
 which that book had procured him. It is plain More wrote it 
 not — and in a letter, he says he was z sorter of that book. 
 This seems to relate only to the digesting it into method 
 and order.' 
 
 * No" doubt this book was wrote by the king, as other 
 
 t Burnet, iii. 171. 
 
 " Appendix to Burnet by an anonymous writer, vol. iii.no, iv. p. 399. 
 404. 
 
442 THE LIFE [1529. 
 
 books were under his name ; that is, by his bishops, or other 
 learned men. Sir Thomas More, who must have known 
 the authors, gives this account of it in his manuscript 
 Life by Roper" ; Thai after it ivas finished by his Grace's 
 appointment^ and consent of the makers of the same^ I ivas 
 only a sorter out, and placer of the principal matters 
 therein contained. So it seems others were makers, and sir 
 Thomas More only a sorter. By the style, it was guessed by 
 some to be wrote by Erasmus ; and he, in mirth, I suppose, 
 owns, the king might have hit upon his style, several letters 
 having passed between them. 
 
 ' More was only a sorter, and Fisher could be no more 
 than one of the makers, though some have asserted it to be 
 his work alone. ]3ut as to More's testimony, I think it may 
 with much . more reason be taken from Roper his son-in- 
 law, who married his beloved daughter, and knew his in- 
 ward thoughts, than from a letter to a minister of state, 
 where loquendum cum vulgo. Your lordship is a very able 
 judge of style, and of the elegancy wherewith this book is 
 wrote. You have given us a specimen of the king's style, 
 in the marginal notes of the last page of this volume. I 
 dare appeal to your lordship, whether you think the style 
 to be the same. The last words are so elegant, that I cannot 
 forbear recidng them ; Cum qua nee poiitifex RomanuSy 
 nee qiiivis alius prcelatus aut ponlifex, hahei quicquid agere, 
 prcEterquam in suas dioceses. 
 
 ' However, I am very willing the king should enjoy the 
 honour of this book, provided I am allowed to enjoy my 
 opinion.' 
 
 ' Erasmus^ made a present of his picture to sir Thomas 
 More, and sent it over by Holbein^, who had drawn it. It is 
 now in the possession of Dr. Mead, the date 1.523, agreeing 
 with the time it was finished at Basil. — More, in return to 
 Erasmus for his present, had a picture^ copied by Holbein, 
 of himself and his whole family, from an original that Hol- 
 bein had just before finished, and sent it to Erasmus by this 
 
 * See Roper, p. 77- 
 y Knight, p. 307. 
 
 * See the Life of Holbein, by Patin, prefixed to the Encomium Mo- 
 rise. T. iv. c. 390. 
 
 * Knight hath given us a print of it. 
 
15'29.] OF ERASMUS. 443 
 
 painter. Erasmus expressed great satisfaction at the present, 
 in an epistle to Margaret Roper, eldest daup^hter of sir 
 Thomas. The original of this picture was lately in the fa- 
 mily of the Ropers at Eltham in Kent ; the copy is in the 
 town-hall at Basil, where it is preserved with great care.' 
 Ep. 1075. 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUMK. 
 
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