The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 2940 to 3141, Volume 21 (Collected Works of Erasmus) 9781487507664, 9781487536701, 9781487536695, 1487507666

Citation preview

C O LL E CT E D WO R K S O F ERASM US V O L UME 21

This page intentionally left blank

L E T T E R S 2940 TO 3141 June 1534–February 1537 translated by Alexander Dalzell† with Ann Dalzell† and John N. Grant annotated by James M. Estes

University of Toronto Press Toronto / Buffalo / London

The research and publication costs of the Collected Works of Erasmus are supported by University of Toronto Press © University of Toronto Press 2022 Toronto / Buffalo / London utorontopress.com Printed in Canada isbn 978-1-4875-0766-4 (cloth) isbn 978-1-4875-3670-1 (epub) isbn 978-1-4875-3669-5 (pdf) Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Title: Collected works of Erasmus. Names: Erasmus, Desiderius, –1536, author. Description: Includes bibliographical references and indexes. | Contents: vol. 21. Letters 2940 to 3141, June 1534–February 1537 Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 74006326x| ISBN 9781487507664 (v. 21) Subjects: LCSH: Erasmus, Desiderius, –1536 – Correspondence. | LCSH: Bible. New Testament – Commentaries – Early works to 1800. | LCSH: Bible. Psalms – Commentaries – Early works to 1800. | LCSH: Authors, Latin (Medieval and modern) – Netherlands – Correspondence. | LCSH: Humanists – Netherlands – Correspondence. | LCSH: Scholars – Netherlands – Correspondence. | CSH: Erasmus, Desiderius, ca. 1466–1536. | LCGFT: Correspondence. | LCGFT: Sources. | LCGFT: Personal correspondence. Classification: LCC PA8500 1974 fol. | DDC 199.492–dc19

University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial assistance to its publishing program of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

Funded by the Financé par le Government gouvernement du Canada of Canada

to the memory of

Alexander Dalzell (8 May 1925–8 May 2019)

This page intentionally left blank

Collected Works of Erasmus The aim of the Collected Works of Erasmus is to make available an accurate, readable English text of Erasmus’ correspondence and his other principal writings. The edition is planned and directed by an Editorial Board, an Executive Committee, and an Advisory Committee. editorial board William Barker, University of King’s College James M. Estes, University of Toronto, Chair Riemer Faber, University of Waterloo Charles Fantazzi, East Carolina University James K. Farge, Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies John N. Grant, University of Toronto Paul F. Grendler, University of Toronto James K. McConica, Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Chair Emeritus John O’Malley, Georgetown University Mechtilde O’Mara, University of Toronto Jane E. Phillips, University of Kentucky Erika Rummel, University of Toronto Robert D. Sider, Dickinson College James D. Tracy, University of Minnesota Mark Vessey, University of British Columbia

executive committee James M. Estes, University of Toronto Riemer Faber, University of Waterloo Charles Fantazzi, East Carolina University Lynn Fisher, University of Toronto Press Paul F. Grendler, University of Toronto James K. McConica, Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies Jane E. Phillips, University of Kentucky Suzanne Rancourt, University of Toronto Press, Chair

Robert D. Sider, Dickinson College Mark Vessey, University of British Columbia John Yates, University of Toronto Press

advisory committee Jan Bloemendal, Conseil international asd Amy Nelson Burnett, University of Nebraska-Lincoln H.J. de Jonge, Leiden University Anthony Grafton, Princeton University Ian W.F. Maclean, Oxford University J. Trapman, Conseil international asd Timothy J. Wengert, The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia

Contents

Illustrations xi Preface xiii Map showing the principal places mentioned in volume 21 xxix letters 2940 to 3141 1 The Spurious Letter to Pietro Corsi 581 Erasmus’ Last Will 591 The Letter to Petrus Paludanus 597 Expositio Fidelis 601 Addenda to Earlier Volumes 619 Table of Correspondents 628 Works Frequently Cited 633 Short-Title Forms for Erasmus’ Works 637

Corrigenda for Earlier Volumes 642 Index 645

Illustrations

Jan Mathijszoon 39 Franz von Waldeck 40 Jan of Leiden 47 Thomas Cranmer 58 Pope Paul iii 105 Khair ad-Din Pasha, called Barbarossa 128 Etienne Dolet 188 Konrad Heresbach 254 Melchior Hofmann 268 Bernhard Knipperdolling 273 Title-page of Ecclesiastes 326 Thomas Cromwell 491 Philippus Melanchthon 527

This page intentionally left blank

Preface

This volume includes all the surviving letters in Erasmus’ correspondence for the twenty-six months from 4 June 1534 to 16 August 1536, the date of the last known surviving letter addressed to him (Ep 3138), a bit more than a month after his death on 12 July. To these Allen added six further letters (Epp 3134–6, 3139–41), written in the period from mid-July 1536 to 1 February 1537, in which friends of Erasmus passed on the news of his death and their reactions to it. The deterioration of Erasmus’ health and the approach of his death are the most persistently recurrent theme of the correspondence of the more than two years in question, even though long stretches of it deal with other things. Ever since February 1533 Erasmus had suffered from attacks of what he called ‘gout,’ that is, severe pain in his feet, hands, and other joints. This made it increasingly difficult for him to write his own letters, or even to sign the ones he had dictated to his secretary. The attacks of gout were frequently accompanied by bouts of acute gastro-intestinal infection, and when he died, ‘dysentery’ was given as the cause.1 Despite all this, Erasmus found the ­energy to pay attention to the passing scene in Germany and elsewhere, to engage with his detractors (or at least to complain about them), to publish the longest work ever to issue from his pen (and more besides), and to prepare his third and final will. On 4 June 1534, the date of the first letter in this volume, the big event still attracting agitated commentary in Germany was Landgrave Philip of Hessen’s military campaign in May 1534 to restore Duke Ulrich of Württemberg to his duchy, from which he had been expelled in 1519 by the army of the Swabian League. In 1520 the victorious league had surrendered control of Württemberg to Charles v, who in 1522 incorporated it into the possessions of his brother, *****

1 See Ep 2940 n2.

preface

xiv

Ferdinand of Austria. The landgrave had chosen his moment well: neither the emperor, away in Spain and preoccupied with affairs in the Mediterranean, nor King Ferdinand, preoccupied in Hungary, could bring adequate resources to bear on the defence of Württemberg. Nor could the Swabian League be of any help: in February 1534, the league, riven by internal conflicts between Protestants and Catholics as well as between friends of the Hapsburgs and their opponents, had dissolved itself. The decisive battle in the campaign against the Hapsburg defenders had been fought on 13 May, whereupon a substantial list of Catholic and Protestant princes offered to mediate peace and prevent any continuation of the conflict. On 29 June the Peace of Kadan, by which Ferdinand recognized Ulrich as duke and conceded his right to ­introduce the Reformation, was signed.2 As far as one can tell from the surviving letters, Erasmus’ principal source of information about these events was his friend Johann Koler in Augsburg.3 Erasmus’ comments on these events are few, brief, and seem surprisingly detached. But he did not fail to grasp the significance of what had happened. Writing to Piotr Tomicki on 28 February 1535 he commented: ‘We are witnessing a kind of deadly alteration in human affairs.’ As the first of the examples of this ‘deadly alteration,’ he observed that ‘the duke of Württemberg has banned the mass from all the territory that he lately claimed for himself.’4 For the reconquest of Württemberg was not simply a significant defeat, at the hands of a champion of princely rights in the Empire, for the Hapsburgs and their attempts to increase their authority at the expense of the territorial princes, it was also a huge blow to the Catholic cause and a major victory for the Reformation, of which the landgrave was also an aggressive champion. Duke Ulrich immediately introduced the Reformation, and by 1538 the duchy had been turned into the citadel of orthodox Lutheranism in southwestern Germany. By the time the Peace of Kadan brought an end to the conflict over Württemberg, the attention and anxiety of Erasmus’ correspondents in Germany had come to be focused on the siege of the Anabaptist ‘kingdom’ at Münster. In the years 1532–3, Münster, capital city of the eponymous imperial bishopric, underwent an evangelical reformation that won the support of the city council and, thanks to the mediation of Philip of Hessen, the acquiescence of the bishop, Franz von Waldeck. Though consistent with Lutheranism in most of its details, the new church order of March 1533, *****

2 See Ep 2940 n5. 3 Ep 2947:13–39 4 Ep 3000:30–2

preface xv written by the chief pastor, Bernhard Rothmann, endorsed neither Luther’s views on the Real Presence nor his affirmation of infant baptism. A few weeks later Rothmann welcomed to town a number of Anabaptist preachers who had been expelled from the Netherlands and the duchy of Cleves. Under their influence, Rothmann and many of his followers embraced the apocalyptic version of Anabaptism preached by Melchior Hofmann, the apostle of Anabaptism in the Netherlands. In January 1534, Jan Mathijszoon, leader of the Melchiorites in Amsterdam, dispatched emissaries to Münster, who first baptized Rothmann and a few others, and then did the same to a reported fourteen hundred. At some point in February, Mathijszoon himself, preceded by another disciple of Melchior Hofmann, Jan of Leiden, arrived in  Münster, where the Anabaptists were by now the dominant political force in the city. Mathijszoon, who immediately assumed leadership of the Anabaptist community, proclaimed Münster the New Jerusalem where the baptized would gather to survive the Last Judgment, which he predicted would occur on Easter (15 April 1534). Messengers spread this news into neighbouring regions, and in response several hundred from Holland, Friesland, and the Lower Rhine area of Germany came to Münster. Contrary to the rigorous pacifism of the Anabaptists elsewhere in Germany and ­beyond, Mathijszoon also announced that the elect could take up arms against their godless oppressors and, fearing confrontation with Catholics and Lutherans, the Anabaptists in Münster began to arm themselves in self-­ defence. Meanwhile, the bishop, alarmed by (among other things) the Anabaptist practice of adult (that is, believer’s) baptism, which their opponents condemned as ‘rebaptism’ (a violation of imperial law), laid siege to the city on 23 February. In response, the Anabaptists declared that no one who refused rebaptism could live in the city, whereupon an estimated two thousand men and women left town. When the Last Judgment failed to take place on Easter, Mathijszoon undertook a foolhardy sortie against the besiegers outside the city walls and was killed. His successor was Jan of Leiden, who, with the aid of a council of elders, organized the conduct of the trades, the distribution of goods, and the defence of the city. Because there was a large surplus of unmarried women in the city, polygyny was introduced (a move that met much local opposition and was deemed scandalous everywhere else). In September 1534, Jan of Leiden was crowned ‘king on the throne of David,’ and henceforth the city was ruled by royal-court orders, executed by royal officials. The bishop, unable to carry out the siege with his own resources supplemented only by the military and financial aid of Philip of Hessen, entered into prolonged negotiations that enabled him to cobble together an alliance of Lutheran and Catholic princes from the neighbouring Rhine area, further afield in the

preface

xvi

Empire, and even from the Hapsburg government in Brussels. The city finally fell on 25 June 1535, and in January 1536 Jan of Leiden, together with two of his colleagues, was executed. While these events were in progress, Erasmus received detailed accounts of them from friends who were close to the action and sufficiently well connected to receive accurate reports from those directly involved: Viglius Zuichemus, who was presiding judge of the bishop of Münster’s court at Dülmen (Epp 2957, 2962, 2999, 3060, 3071); Konrad Heresbach, councillor to the duke of Jülich-Cleves (Epp 3031, 3031a);5 and Tielmannus Gravius, secretary of the cathedral chapter in Cologne (Epp 2990, 3041). Even before receiving any of these extant letters, Erasmus must have received at least one, no longer extant, informing him of the arrival of Anabaptism in the Netherlands and the siege of Münster.6 His initial reaction to Anabaptism had been to that of the strictly pacifist Swiss Brethren and their offshoots in southern Germany and in the Austrian lands. Although he acknowledged that they had won praise for the ‘innocence of their lives’ and had suffered brutal persecution,7 he insisted that they were not to be tolerated. He disapproved of their rejection of infant baptism, their reduction of the Eucharist to mere bread and wine, and their insistence on communal property, but his chief reason for denying them toleration was their rejection of all civil government and their refusal to obey the commands of Christian princes.8 The news of the arrival of Anabaptism in his native Netherlands and of the armed insurrection at Münster brought a much harsher tone to his comments. The Anabaptists who have swarmed into the Netherlands were, he said, like the plague of frogs and locusts in Egypt. They were a people gripped by madness and inspired by an evil spirit. Their piety was a pretence, their doctrines manifestly absurd.9 They were ‘double-dippers’ (that is, rebaptizers) who

*****



5 Because of their length, their detail, and their author’s proximity to the events, the letters of Heresbach are not just an important component of Erasmus’ correspondence; they also have independent value as historical sources, and have been included in important collections of documents concerning the history of the events at Münster. See Ep 3031 introduction. 6 For Erasmus’ early knowledge of events in Münster, see Epp 2956:66–9, 2961:124–6 with n54. 7 Ep 2134:225–7 8 See Epp 1369 introduction and lines 41–8, 2853:42–9, and cf De sarcienda ecclesiae concordia cwe 65 213–14. 9 See Epp 2961:120–4, 2965:9–16.

preface xvii advanced their cause by treachery, deception, and violence.10 Their success was further evidence of a ‘deadly alteration in human affairs.’11 Meanwhile, far away in Spain, Emperor Charles spent much of 1534–5 preparing an assault on Tunis. In the summer of 1534, the Ottoman sultan of Algiers, Khair ad-Din (known as Barbarossa) captured Tunis and established control over all of Tunisia. Appealed to for help by the expelled ruler of Tunis, al-Hasan ben Muhammed, Charles assembled a war fleet, laid siege to Tunis in June 1535, expelled Khair ad-Din, and restored al-Hasan as a Spanish protégé. This was widely celebrated as a great victory for Christian arms in the Mediterranean. The pope ordered fireworks and ceremonies of thanksgiving throughout the papal states. But Khair ad-Din escaped to fight another day, and in 1538, still admiral of the Ottoman fleet, defeated a much larger Christian fleet off the coast of Greece, thus establishing Ottoman control of the Mediterranean until the battle of Lepanto in 1571. Meanwhile, Erasmus pointedly abstained from the general jubilation over Charles’ triumph: in his view, the proper focus of the emperor’s concern was the Empire, where his subjects needed protection from the rampaging Anabaptists and the other ‘sects,’ whom he deemed a far greater danger than Turks in the Mediterranean.12 Following his great victory at Tunis, the emperor visited Sicily (22  August–2 November 1535) and Naples (25 November 1535–2 March 1536) before proceeding to Rome (5–18 April 1536).13 While still in Naples, Charles received the news of the death without heirs, on 1 November 1535, of Francesco ii (or Francesco Maria) Sforza, whom he had installed as duke of Milan in 1522. Francis i of France immediately reasserted the old claim to rule Milan by hereditary right that he had abandoned in the Peace of Cambrai in 1529. In January 1536, before any diplomatic solution to the succession could be arranged, Francis invaded Savoy, the conquest of which was completed in March. Though careful not to cross the border from Savoy into Milan, Francis had strengthened his bargaining position against the emperor. Frantic efforts at a negotiated solution having failed, there was by the spring of 1536 an undeclared state of war between Francis and Charles. Open warfare broke out on 25 July 1536, when the emperor invaded Provence. In the year and a half of conflict that followed, both sides bankrupted themselves ***** 10 11 12 13

Ep 3049:137–51 Ep 3000:31, 46–52; cf page xiv above. See Epp 2997 n22, 3043:109–11 with n25, 3049 n32. Ep 3007 n18

preface

xviii

without gaining anything of substance, and a ten-year truce based on the status quo was signed in June 1538. Shortly before Duke Francesco’s death Erasmus had written to him (Ep 3064), asking the duke to repress the circulation of a work that he believed had been published against him in Milan.14 From the duke’s secretary, Petrus Merbelius, he learned of Sforza’s death and of the assumption of direct rule of the duchy by Charles v.15 But by the time this situation had developed into open warfare between Charles and Francis, Erasmus was dead and no longer able to express the anguish that this resumption of the Hapsburg-Valois wars would have caused him. None of these events in Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, France, or the Mediterranean in 1534–6 was as important to Erasmus personally as were those in England in 1534–5. In 1534 Thomas More, former chancellor of the realm, and John Fisher, bishop of Rochester, were imprisoned because of their rejection of Henry viii’s assertion of royal supremacy in the church and of the legitimacy of his marriage to Anne Boleyn.16 In the summer of 1535 both were executed. To Erasmus this was not only further evidence that a ‘deadly alteration in human affairs’ was in progress,17 it was also as devastating a personal loss as he had ever suffered. In recent years, at least, only the death in 1532 (from natural causes) of William Warham, archbishop of Canterbury and donor of Erasmus’ two English livings, had affected him as deeply.18 In that same year, 1532, the news of More’s resignation as lord chancellor had led Erasmus to publish an elaborate encomium of him that with hindsight reads like an obituary.19 Now, in the summer of 1535, the news of the execution of Fisher and More elicited from Erasmus, in the preface to the Ecclesiastes, an expression of grief that despite its brevity and cautious wording carried the clear implication that an injustice had been done.20 When the authorities in England did not respond with hostility but in fact took steps to ***** 14 15 16 17 18

The ‘Bellum civile inter Ciceronianos et Erasmicos,’ no copy of which survives Epp 3070:12–14, 3091:24–5 Ep 3000:32–42 See Ep 3000:31, and cf page xiv above. Genuine grief at the death of Warham (Epp 2726:35–57, 2758:35–78, 2776:28–51) was combined with genuine, if ultimately unfounded, fear of the loss of the pensions that Warham had given him (Epp 2761 n10, 2783:3–9). It should be noted that the death in November 1534 of his longtime patron William Blount, fourth Baron Mountjoy, was also a deeply felt loss, though it did not elicit from Erasmus the same kind of mournful commentary in the surviving correspondence as did the deaths of More and Fisher (cf Ep 3123:96–9). 19 Ep 2750 20 Ep 3036:99–112

preface xix facilitate the payment of his pensions, he commented: ‘I believe that the English have not yet seen the preface to our Ecclesiastes.’21 Apart from that, he refrained from public comment. It seems likely, however, that Erasmus was the instigator of the publication by Froben in the summer of 1535 of the Expositio fidelis de morte Thomae Morae et quorundam aliorum insignium virorum in Anglia, an account of More’s death as well as that of John Fisher and s­ everal Carthusians. The surviving evidence is such that the genesis and authorship of the Expositio cannot be clearly established.22 On the other hand, Erasmus vouched for the essential authenticity of the document, forwarded copies of it to a number of friends,23 and in that way spread the word that a great injustice had been done to innocent friends. While all these great political events were unfolding, Alessandro Cardinal Farnese was unanimously elected pope (13 October 1534) and took the name Paul iii. Although in many ways a typical Renaissance prince – father of illegitimate children, nepotist, patron of the arts, lover of display – he is generally acknowledged to have been the first pontiff of the Catholic Reformation, and he promoted reform in ways that seemed the answer to Erasmus’ prayers. He immediately began to appoint to the college of cardinals men committed to the cause of reform, and he worked tirelessly towards the convocation of a reform council, an ambition that would eventually be achieved with the opening of the Council of Trent in December 1545.24 By early 1535 rumours had begun to fly at Rome that Paul intended to make Erasmus a cardinal with a commensurate income. Erasmus’ supporter, Ambrosius von Gumppenberg, member of the household of Cardinal Cajetanus, was actively promoting the effort and urging Erasmus to cultivate the good will of certain influential cardinals.25 The pope himself, however, made only vague promises of good will,26 and then bestowed on Erasmus the income from the provostship of Deventer.27 Erasmus interpreted this as the provision of an income commensurate with a cardinalate and persuaded himself that the offer of the purple was a settled matter.28 Though flattered by ***** 21 Ep 3104:9–10 22 For the text of the Expositio see 605–18 below. The introduction to it (602–4) summarizes the little that is known concerning its sources and composition. 23 See Ep 3069 n10. 24 See Ep 2988 introduction. 25 See Epp 3007:1–6 with n3, 3011:13–19. 26 Ep 3021 27 Epp 3033–4 28 See Epp 3048:87–96, 3049:182–90, 3052:34–9, 3061:23–30, 3064:28–9.

preface

xx

all this attention, he was not pleased by it. Aged and ill as he was, and in any case not at all interested in tying himself down to life as a courtier to prelate or prince, there was never any question of his accepting the cardinalate or the provostship, and he more than once called on Gumppenberg to cease his efforts on his behalf.29 There is no evidence that Erasmus’ name was on Pope Paul’s list of those proposed for elevation to the sacred college in May 1535. By the summer of 1534 the era of Erasmus’ major controversies with formidable opponents whose attacks were sufficiently important to be worthy of a response was behind him. But recent attacks were still fresh in his mind and still rankled. By far the most important of these was the Epistola de Erasmo Roterodamo (March 1534), in which Martin Luther, breaking the silence he had maintained since De servo arbitrio in 1525, once again attacked Erasmus as a pagan sceptic and no real Christian at all.30 Erasmus had responded with Purgatio adversus epistolam non sobriam Martini Lutheri (April 1534), but that was not the end of it. He had well-founded expectations that Luther intended to continue the controversy,31 and while he waited for the renewed attack he repeatedly expressed his continuing shock and indignation over the original one.32 No such attack materialized, in large measure it seems because of the intervention of Philippus Melanchthon, who had disliked Luther’s Epistola and had told him so.33 Erasmus and Melanchthon had always striven to maintain a civil relationship with one another that bridged the chasm of differences in theological method and content, and in the wake of this latest confrontation between Luther and Erasmus they made one final and successful effort to do so.34 Sometimes mentioned by Erasmus in the same passage as Luther’s ­attack was that of the Franciscan Observant of Cologne, Nikolaus Ferber of Herborn, who in 1533 had published a volume of Lenten sermons in which he reiterated the old charge that Erasmus was the source of the heresies of Luther and the other reformers.35 Although Erasmus had difficulty acquiring a complete copy of the book, the few pages initially in hand were sufficient ***** 29 Ep 3048:97–107 30 Ep 2918 introduction 31 See Ep 2961:21–2. For Luther’s intention to renew his attack, see wa-Br 7 53:16–18. 32 See Epp 2956:60–3, 2961:17–20, 2970:20–7, 2976:4–6, 3019:59–62, 3127:8–11. 33 See Ep 2947:80–3 with n24. 34 Epp 3120, 3127 35 Enarrationes evangeliorum per sacrum quadragesimae tempus occurrentium (Ant­ werp: Michaël Hillen); see Ep 2896 n8.

preface xxi to provoke an unsuccessful effort to get the imperial court at Brussels to punish the publisher and ban the work.36 He also called for action against Ferber, who, however, died before any such action could be taken.37 Erasmus toyed briefly with the idea of publishing an open letter refuting Ferber’s claims,38 but in the end did not do so. Most of the other antagonists mentioned in the letters, some from the past and some new, were men to whom Erasmus disdained to reply. Chief among these was Julius Caesar Scaliger, whose Oratio pro Cicerone contra Erasmum had appeared in 1531.39 By the spring of 1535 word had reached Erasmus that Scaliger had written a second Oratio, but it was not published until 1537, after Erasmus’ death.40 In the period covered by this volume, several others joined the list of those who stepped forward to defend Cicero against Erasmus. The most important of them was Etienne Dolet, who in his Dialogus de imitatione Ciceroniana (1535) took sharp issue with Erasmus’ Ciceronianus and for good measure denounced him as a Lutheran.41 Annoyed as he was by this attack, Erasmus left to others the task of responding to it, though the resulting reply was never published.42 Common to his accounts of the attacks of Scaliger and Dolet was Erasmus’ firm but irrational conviction that they had been written at the behest of Girolamo Cardinal Aleandro,43 whom Erasmus had long been accustomed to identifying as the author, co-author, or instigator of nearly all the works published against him. Curiously, perhaps, he does not appear to have repeated this charge in the case of Nikolaus Ferber, but he did so in the case of Pietro Corsi, the only antagonist with whom Erasmus engaged directly in a controversy that falls entirely within the chronological scope of this volume.44 Remembered only for his controversy with Erasmus, the little-­ documented Pietro Corsi was a priest attached in some capacity to the court ***** 36 Epp 2898:11–21, 2899:54–7, 2912:13–36, 2915:40–8, 2922:16–17, 2948:8–11, 2981:28–30, 3053:1–5, 3100:87–93 37 Ep 3053:4 38 Ep 2961:152–6 39 See Ep 2564 n2. For Erasmus’ current memories of Scaliger and his Oratio see Epp 2956:36–9 with n17, 3005:28–34. 40 Epp 3019:53, 3104:60–1 41 Ep 3005 n5 42 Epp 3069 n6, 3120:57 43 See Epp 3052:29–31, 3127:45–9, 3130:17–20. 44 Ep 3127:45–7, 50–1

preface

xxii

of Paul iii and an ardent Ciceronian. He took umbrage at a passage in the adage Myconius calvus ‘Myconian baldpate’ (Adagia ii i 7) in which Erasmus had included a list of things ‘that one seldom finds – an educated Russian, a  brave [bellax] Italian, an honest merchant, a godly soldier,’ and so on. Deeming this to be an outrageous slur on the military valour of Italians, Corsi published at Rome in the spring of 1535 Defensio pro Italia ad Erasmum Roterodamum, in which he presented copious evidence of such valour in the period since 1494 and accused Erasmus of being an enemy of all things Italian.45 Initially disinclined to respond, Erasmus was admonished by friends in Rome that he had to do so, so he prepared a brief Iudicium de apo­ logia Petri Cursii and sent it to Rome for private circulation.46 But unknown pranksters printed up copies of the Iudicium, which they posted all over Rome, thus making the matter public.47 They also circulated a forged letter, supposedly from Erasmus to Corsi, in which they imitated Erasmus’ handwriting and epistolary style and represented him as cravenly begging Corsi not to publish his Defensio. Only Corsi seemed not to understand that it was a joke.48 To deal with this situation, Erasmus published (c August 1535) the Responsio ad Petri Cursii Defensionem, which, because it is in the form of a letter to Johann Koler in Augsburg, Allen included in the correspondence.49 In both the Iudicium and the Responsio Erasmus made the philologically dubious argument that Corsi had missed the point by failing to understand that bellax is really a pejorative term that does not mean brave or courageous in battle but rather belligerent or warmongering. Hence he was not denying that Italians were courageous in battle but rather commending their commitment to peace and their pursuit of the peaceful arts.50 He went on to express, at length and with considerable exaggeration, his admiration for Italy and Italians. It was neither Erasmus’ most important controversy nor his best performance as a controversialist. Given the state of his health, the quantity of Erasmus’ literary and scholarly production in the period covered by this volume is surprising. To be sure, much of it consisted of new editions of old works: an enlarged ***** 45 See Ep 3007 nn15–16. 46 The text of the Iudicium is included in Ep 3015. 47 See Ep 3015 introduction. 48 For further details, see ‘The Spurious Letter to Pietro Corsi’ (with introductory note) 581–9 below. 49 Ep 3032. The Basel Opera omnia and lb x had included it among the apologias, and a s d has done the same; see Ep 3032 introduction. 50 See especially Epp 3015:14–40, 3032:37–50 with n6.

preface xxiii edition of De copia (1534);51 a new edition of the New Testament Paraphrases (1534);52 the fifth and final edition of the New Testament with the Annotations (1535);53 and the final edition of the Adagia (1536), with only five new adages.54 But there were also new works: Precationes aliquot novae (1535), a small volume of short prayers,55 and De puritate tabernaculi, the last work from Erasmus’ pen, published in the spring of 1536.56 To it was attached a 122-page appendix (two-thirds of the bulk of the volume) of ‘Aliquot epistolae selectae … nunc primum editae,’ thus making it the final instalment of the letters published by Erasmus himself during his lifetime. We know also that at the time of his death Erasmus was labouring as best he could on the correction of the Greek text of Origen for the Froben edition that would be published after his death in 1537.57 But none of these publications aroused anything like the excitement that was caused by the appearance in the summer of 1535 of the long-awaited treatise on preaching, Ecclesiastes sive de ratione concionendi, on which Erasmus had been working, with frequent interruptions, since circa 1519. By June 1534 the news was out that Erasmus was at work on the project once again, and he was inundated with letters encouraging him to complete the work and publish it.58 By August 1534 Erasmus had finished the first book, made a start on books two and three (of the eventual four), and hoped to have the book out in the autumn.59 In late November 1534, however, he was still struggling to finish it, hindered by the gout in his hands and feet.60 By 7 May 1535, the work had been delivered to the printers, even though Erasmus complained that it was still ‘somewhat rough, lacking in final polish.’ It was better, he said, that it be published as an imperfect work while he lived rather than as ‘a posthumous child.’61 By 24 August it was in print.62 A massive work – at 856 pages it fills one and one-half volumes (67–8) in the cwe edition – it has been aptly described as a masterly recapitulation of ***** 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62

Epp 2945 n7, 2961 n14 Ep 2945 n8 Epp 2951:16, 2961 n15 Ep 3092 Epp 2994–5 Epp 3081, 3086 Epp 3131, 3134:17–20, 3141:103–6, 213–16 Epp 2947:97–8, 2983:113–14, 2990:11–14, 3004:68–70, 3029:72–3, 3041:13–17 Ep 2961:28–34 Ep 2979 Ep 3016:28–33; cf Ep 3019:30–4. Ep 3048:79

preface

xxiv

Erasmus’ entire career.63 Erasmus’ original intention was to dedicate the work to John Fisher, bishop of Rochester, to whom he had made the original promise to write such a work. But the news of the execution of Fisher shortly before the work was published made that impossible, so he dedicated it to Christoph von Stadion, bishop of Augsburg.64 The letter to Stadion is a good account of the genesis and development of the work from inception to publication.65 Meanwhile, in late May 1535, Erasmus had left Freiburg and moved back to Basel. His stated reason for doing so was the need for his personal presence to see the Ecclesiastes through the press.66 At first it was to be just a visit, followed by a return to Freiburg.67 But the idea of returning to Freiburg was quickly abandoned. He had his books and some other effects shipped from Freiburg to Basel, where he occupied a room in the home of Hieronymus Froben,68 and then he sold his house in Freiburg.69 He did not intend to remain permanently in Basel. To be sure, he had good friends there, but the ‘differences in religious belief’ made him uncomfortable. Once his work on the Ecclesiastes had been completed, he planned, his health permitting, to move on, not to his native Brabant, as originally intended, but to Besançon. Brabant was too far away, while Besançon, which was just as safely Catholic and Hapsburg, was much closer and had also offered him a cordial welcome. Moreover, he would have there a reliable supply of his favourite Burgundian wine, and (perhaps most important) he would also be able to avail himself once again of the services as secretary of the sorely-missed Gilbert Cousin, who had moved back to his Burgundian homeland.70 But it was not to be. Erasmus died in Basel on 12 July 1536, and six days later he was buried in the cathedral in an elaborate ceremony that was attended by the city fathers. Then his will was opened and read.

***** 63 cwe 67 78 64 Ep 3036 65 For an account, based on all the surviving evidence, of the genesis and publication, as well as of the early popularity and influence of the work in both Catholic and Protestant circles, see cwe 67 83–95. 66 Epp 3025:19–21, 3030:24–5, 3049:75–7 67 Epp 3025:19–21, 3049:84–9 68 Ep 3051 69 Epp 3056:3–17, 3059:1–10 70 Epp 3049:89–96, 3052:16–17, 3062 n2, 3075:10–16, 3084, 3103 introduction, 3104: 42–3, 3122:15–17, 3130:24–31

preface xxv Erasmus had drawn up his third and last will in Basel on 12 February 1536, exactly six months before his death. Its text is included as an appendix to this volume.71 The text of his first will, made in Basel in June 1527, is to be found in cwe 12 538–50. Erasmus is known to have made a second will at Freiburg in November 1533, but no copy of it survives.72 The task of executing Erasmus’ final will fell to Bonifacius Amerbach as trustee and to Hieronymus Froben and Nicolaus Episcopius as executors. In conformity with Erasmus’ wishes, the residue of the estate, that is, the five thousand florins remaining after all bequests had been made and all other obligations had been met, became the principal of a fund, the greater part of the income of which was used to provide fellowships for students at the University of Basel, while the rest was devoted to the benefit of the poor.73 Erasmus’ first will had contained elaborate provision for the publication after his death of an edition of his complete works according to the plan that he had devised for it. Only after the costs of that undertaking had been met was the residue to be used for worthy causes like the provision of scholarships for young men. By the time he drew up his second will, Erasmus had abandoned the idea of financing a posthumous publication of his works, and in the third will, there is no mention of it whatever. Nevertheless, Bonifacius Amerbach, together with Beatus Rhenanus, who had been named as an executor in the first will but not in the third, decided to give effect to the plan outlined in the first will. The eventual result was the Basel Opera omnia of 1540.74 Meanwhile, to ensure that those who wanted to acquire and read Erasmus’ works had a reliable guide to the works that were genuine, they prepared corrected and updated editions of the Catalogus lucubrationum (Ep 1341a) and the ‘List of All the Works of Erasmus of Rotterdam’ that had been appended to Ep 2283. These were published in a volume entitled Catalogi duo operum Des. Erasmi Roterodami ab ipso conscripti et digesti, the ­introductory letter to which, written by Bonifacius Amerbach and addressed ***** 71 ‘Erasmus’ Last Will’ 591–6 below 72 See ak Ep 1775 n1. 73 See the introductory note to the will 592–3 below. Not included in the provisions of the will was the sum of 1,960 florins that Erasmus had deposited with Conradus Goclenius in Brabant, with instructions to use the money for the same kind of charitable purposes as those supported by the Basel fund. Goclenius’ death in 1539, intestate and not yet having disbursed much of the money that Erasmus had entrusted to him, set off a prolonged legal battle over whose money it was and who should inherit it. See ‘The Donation to Goclenius’ in cwe 20 303–33. 74 See the introductory note to Erasmus’ last will 592–3 below.

preface

xxvi

to Johann (ii) Paumgartner, is the last letter in this volume.75 In it, Bonifacius tells us most of what we know about Erasmus’ final days, his death, and his burial. Of the 209 letters in this volume, 79 were written by Erasmus and 122 were addressed to him. Another 8 were exchanged between third parties but were judged by Allen to be important supplements to the correspondence. The surviving letters contain more than 180 references to letters that are no longer extant. Since some of these references are to an unspecified number of letters, no exact total of letters known to have been written during the period covered by this volume can be determined, but 435 would be a cautious estimate. Of the surviving letters, twenty-two were published by Erasmus himself. Of these twelve appeared in the epistolary appendix to De puritate tabernaculi (Basel: Froben 1536); nine were prefaces to works or editions by Erasmus; and one was the work itself, the Responsio ad Petri Cursii defensionem (Basel: Froben and Episcopius 1535), which Allen included because it is in the form of a letter to Johann Koler (Ep 3032). The remaining letters were published by a variety of scholars in the period from 1536 to 1953. Forty-seven of them were first published by Allen. To allow the reader to discover the sequence in which the letters became known, the introduction to each cites the place where it was first published and identifies the manuscript source if one exists. Allen’s numbering of the texts has been followed and, in most cases, his text as well. One letter unknown to Allen and first published in ak has been included as Ep 3067a. In the case of the letter that Allen published as Ep 2931 in his volume x, a better and more clearly dated manuscript than the one available to him subsequently came to light and was published as ak Ep 1855. We have adopted the ak text, with its date, as the basis for our translation; the ­letter appears here as Ep 2966a. Again following ak, Allen Ep 2991 has been redated and appears as Ep 2997b. Finally, lacking or overlooking important information, Allen assigned dates in 1534 to four letters that, according to the evidence marshalled by the ak editor, Alfred Hartmann, clearly belong in the year 1535. Allen’s Epp 2902, 2903, 2907, and 2908 have consequently been redated and appear in this volume as Epp 2989a, 2992a, 2995a , and 2997a. In January 2020, when the manuscript of this volume was already being copyedited, it suddenly came to light that three letters of Erasmus, unknown to Allen but discovered and published in the 1980s, had unaccountably remained unknown to the cwe editors. Dating from the years 1518, 1524, and 1531, the letters would have gone into cwe 6, 10, and 18 respectively. ***** 75 Ep 3141

preface xxvii Translated by John N. Grant, they have been assigned the numbers Epp 856a, 1447a, and 2518a, and are appended to this volume on pages 619–25. All of Erasmus’ correspondents and all of the contemporaries of Erasmus who are mentioned in the letters are referred to by the version of their name that is used in cebr. Wherever biographical information is supplied in the notes without the citation of a source, the reader is tacitly referred to the appropriate article in cebr and to the literature there cited. The index to this volume contains references to the persons, places, and works mentioned in the volume, following the plan for the Correspondence series in cwe. When that series of volumes is completed, the reader will also be supplied with an index of topics, as well as of classical, scriptural, and patristic references. As with all the other volumes in this series, the basis for translation and the starting point for annotation is the edition of the Erasmi epistolae that was founded by P.S. Allen. This is, however, the fourth of the volumes in the cwe Correspondence series to be based on volumes ix–xi of Allen’s edition, which were completed after his death (1938) by his widow, Helen Mary Allen, and H.W. Garrod, who had been his collaborators on earlier volumes. At the time of his death Allen had, with few exceptions, collected and provisionally arranged all the letters for volumes ix–xi, but had done the notes for only twenty-seven of them. The remaining work of annotation had to be done by H.M. Allen and Garrod. In many cases, therefore, ‘Allen’ is used in the notes as shorthand for ‘the Allen editors.’ Where their work has needed to be corrected, updated, or expanded – far more often in their case than in that of Allen himself – I was able to rely on the advice and assistance of distinguished colleagues here in Toronto and elsewhere. Amy Nelson Burnett and Timothy J. Wengert both read the entire manuscript and made suggestions that led to important corrections and additions to the notes. In addition, James Farge, Charles Fantazzi, Erika Rummel, Silvana Seidel-Menchi, William J. Connell, and Diarmaid MacCulloch responded generously to requests for help with difficult questions of interpretation and relevant bibliography. The great majority of the classical and patristic references were supplied by Alexander Dalzell. The notes on money and coinage were contributed by Lawrin Armstrong. With the exception of Ep 2966a (translated by Clarence H. Miller, revised by Charles Fantazzi), Ep 2995 (translated by Stephen Ryle, slightly modified by Alexander Dalzell), the Iudicium appended to Ep 3015 (translated by John Grant), and Ep 3036 (translated by James Butrica, revised by Alexander Dalzell), the translation is that made by Alexander Dalzell with the assistance of Ann Dalzell. It was substantially complete by 2010, long before Professor Dalzell’s death in 2019. By the autumn of 2017, however,

preface

xxviii

when I was at last able to commence work on the annotation of the letters, the Dalzells were no longer able to deal with the questions about the translation that inevitably arise in the process of annotation. My Toronto colleague John Grant came to the rescue, not only reviewing the entire manuscript, correcting small errors and filling in inadvertent gaps, but also seeing to it that my queries were answered and that my suggested changes passed the test of faithfulness to the Latin. Without his help, generously offered and speedily delivered, this volume, the last of Professor Dalzell’s many vital contributions to the Collected Works of Erasmus, would not have made it into print. The volume is dedicated to the memory of Professor Dalzell. As ever, two libraries were of special importance in the preparation of this volume: that of the Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies at Victoria College in the University of Toronto, and that of the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies on the campus of St Michael’s College in the University of Toronto. To Natalie Oeltjen, Assistant to the Director of the Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, and to William Edwards, reference librarian of the Pontifical Institute, I am indebted for a degree of support and assistance that amounts to special treatment. The volume was, like thirteen of its predecessors in the Correspondence series, copyedited by Mary Baldwin. As always, her careful and thorough efforts were an indispensable contribution to the clarity and accuracy of the final text. jme

Lisbon

Barcelona

Toulouse

Oxford London Chelsea y Ca nterbur

Toledo

Antwerp

as

Zwichem

e

Elb

Tunis

Siena

Rome

Sicily

Naples

am Wittenberg erd Amst Cleves Dülmen Leipzig Münster Louvain Düsseldorf Liège Cologne Ghent Frankfurt Kadan Mechelen Koblenz Brussels Boppard Würzburg Mainz Cambrai Prague Trier Heidelberg Nürnberg Sein Worms Stuttgart e Speyer Dillingen Metz Ulm Paris Strasbourg Tübingen Augsburg Lauffen Munich Vienna Freiburg-im-Breisgau Neuenburg am Rhein Zürich Uberlingen Basel Besançon Constance Sursee Schwaz Lucerne Bern Dole Innsbruck Nozeroy Chur Trent Como Bassano Brescia Lyon Padua Milan Venice Pavia Genoa Ferrara Carpentras Bologna

Holyrood

Ma

Rhône

Rh

in

e

be

nu

Da

Olomouc

Wroclaw

0

0

Bodzentyn Cracow

200 miles

Constantinople

200 kilometres

Frombork

This page intentionally left blank

THE CORRESPONDENCE OF ERASMUS LETTERS 2940 TO 3141

2940  To Bonifacius Amerbach  1534 2940 / To Bonifacius Amerbach

2 Freiburg, 4 June 1534

This letter (= ak Ep 1832) was first published as Ep 90 in the Epistolae familiares. The manuscript is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms  a n   i i i 15 59). Bonifacius’ reply is Ep 2943.

I thank you for looking after the letter.1 For several days now I have been feeling better, but I am preparing myself for new torments.2 I was almost ready to take the bold step of embarking on a journey,3 but Bellona would not permit anywhere to be safe.4 If Charles and Ferdinand let loose their armed 5 might, it will be much worse for me and people like me.5 *****





2940 1 Probably the letter destined for Cardinal Sadoleto; see Epp 2928, 2930:1–4. 2 From February 1533 until his death in July 1536 Erasmus suffered from recurring bouts of severe pain in his hands, feet, and other joints. He usually referred to these attacks as gout, sometimes specifying ‘foot gout’ (podagra), ‘hand gout’ (chiragra), or ‘everywhere gout’ (holagra). Modern medicine calls it ‘acute gouty arthritis.’ The gout was often accompanied by episodes of acute gastro-­intestinal distress, and at the end ‘dysentery’ was given as the cause of death. For a fuller discussion of these matters, see the appendix ‘Erasmus’ Illnesses in His Final Years (1533–6)’ in cwe 20 335–8. For the surviving record of developments in the months covered by this volume, see Epp 2941:6–9, 2944:1–2, 2953:10–13, 2955:4– 9, 2965:3–6, 2976:14–16, 2979:1–2, 2988:93–5, 2997:91–3, 3000:15–25, 3004:23–4, 3005:4–6, 3006 n4, 3007:15–17, 3012:3–5, 3018:6–7, 3019:13–14, 3029:39, 3035:15– 16, 3054:1–3, 3076:26–7, 3105:5–7, 3106:13–14, 3108:8–9, 3109:9–11, 3130:10–12, 3137:1–4, 3141:38–40, 97–9, 105–6. It is worth noting here that there are two extended periods (after 23 October–14 December 1535, 17 March–16 May 1536) during which no letters of Erasmus have survived. Pauses so long and so absolute cannot be satisfactorily explained by the accident of survival alone; it seems far more likely that these were months during which Erasmus’ infirmities prevented him from writing or dictating letters. 3 At first glance, this looks like an allusion to Erasmus’ postponed return to Brabant (Ep 2820 introduction). But in that connection, the danger of war in Germany (see the two following notes) had been the motive for leaving, not his excuse for staying put. In his reply to this letter, Bonifacius seems to understand the proposed journey as something simpler and closer to home; see Ep 2943:23–7. 4 Bellona was the Roman goddess of war. 5 The big event of the first six months of 1534 had been Landgrave Philip of Hessen’s successful military campaign to restore Duke Ulrich of Württemberg to his duchy, from which he had been expelled in 1519 by the army of the Swabian League. In 1520 the league had yielded control of Württemberg to Charles v, who in 1522 incorporated it into the possessions of his brother,

2940  To Bonifacius Amerbach  1534

3

I can scarcely contain my anger at the way I was treated by that monster whom I mentioned to you when we were together.6 And every day he outdoes himself. I suspect that he has been suborned by heretics to insinuate himself into my household in order to search out all my secrets, so that, armed with these, he might destroy me. I have reached my seventieth year, 10 and I have never encountered such outrageous treatment before, nor have I ever had to fight with such a villain. What the fellow needs is an exorcist. If I were you, I would advise your father-in-law,7 if he has a mind to marry, that he marry the woman from whom he had a son,8 after settling the terms of the marriage.9 But if not, he should not marry for the sake of the 15 child,10 but get free of the whole business. Farewell. Give my best wishes to my friend Basilius.11 I pray that you and all your dear ones may have every blessing. Freiburg, the feast of Corpus Christi 1534 Yours with all my heart, Erasmus of Rotterdam 20 To my friend the excellent Bonifacius Amerbach, doctor of civil and canon laws. In Basel

*****





Ferdinand of Austria. The decisive victory in the landgrave’s campaign against the Hapsburg defenders had been fought on 13 May. Since Charles and Ferdinand had no ‘armed might’ that they could ‘let loose,’ the Peace of Kadan, by which Ferdinand recognized Ulrich as duke of Württemberg, was signed on 29 June. See Epp 2917:51–3 with n9, 2936:75–90, 2937:54–71, 2939:9–11, 2947:10– 39, 2955:30–1, 2961:107–9. 6 Erasmus and Bonifacius were last together in May 1534; see Ep 2930:27–8. The monster was Quirinus Hagius (Ep 2704 n6); see Epp 2944 n6, 2946 nn1–2, 2947 n25, 3037:50–2, 3052:6–8, 3061 n13. 7 Leonhard Fuchs, burgomaster of Neuenburg am Rhein, halfway between Basel and Freiburg 8 Long after the death in 1512 of his first wife, Magdalena Zscheckenbürlin, Fuchs had a son by a much younger woman, Küngolt Fischer (d 1561), whom he decided to marry in 1534. Cf Ep 2943. 9 Literally ‘the terms of the sponsalia being moderated.’ Sponsalia can mean ‘betrothal,’ ‘wedding gifts,’ or ‘marriage dues.’ The meaning here is far from clear. 10 Allen’s punctuation of the text (‘Sin minus ob prolem, hanc non duceret’) would give the meaning: ‘But if not for the sake of the child, he should not marry.’ But Erasmus put the comma after ‘minus’ (see ak Ep 1832 n3) which yields the clearer and more likely meaning adopted here: ‘But if not [that is, if he has not thought of marriage], he should not marry for the sake of the child.’ 11 Bonifacius’ older brother

2941  From Bernhard von Cles  1534 2941 / From Bernhard von Cles

4 Prague, 4 June 1534

This letter was first published by Allen. For the manuscript, an autograph rough draft, see Ep 2515 introduction. For Berhard von Cles, cardinal-bishop of Trent and chancellor to Ferdinand of Austria, see Ep 2504.

to erasmus of rotterdam Lately we received your very welcome letter of 12 May along with your reply to Luther’s Epistola.1 We had sent it to you earlier to assure you that we have that same concern for your honour and reputation as we had before and as you deserve.2 5 You write that you have been sickly for a long time and are battling every day with death,3 but we can easily convince ourselves that this will be the kind of battle in which you will be able to overcome all the ills of body and spirit. We agree with you that it would be better to make no response to Luther 10 in future, especially since we see that, as a general rule, whatever response you make, and however splendid your response may be, this stubborn fellow is more likely to be confirmed than corrected in his views.4 One final point: it would please us greatly if, at any time when it is ­necessary or convenient, you will take advantage of the offers we made you;5 15 we consider it unnecessary to go into further detail about this. Prague, 4 June 1534 2942 / From Daniel Stiebar

Würzburg, 5 June 1534

This letter was first published as Ep 115 in Enthoven. The autograph is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 143).

*****



2941 1 Erasmus’ letter is not extant. For the Purgatio adversus epistolam non sobriam Martini Lutheri, Erasmus’ response to Luther’s Epistola de Erasmo Roterodamo, see Ep 2918 introduction. 2 Cles sent a copy of the book with Ep 2921. 3 See Ep 2940 n2. 4 In sending Luther’s Epistola to Erasmus, Cles had made reference also to Luther’s Von der Winkelmesse und Pfaffenweihe (1533), adding that King Ferdinand did not want Erasmus, ‘worn down by old age,’ to feel any obligation to answer it. 5 Presumably a reference to Cles’ repeated invitations to Erasmus to settle in Trent on generous terms; see Epp 1409, 1771:13–16, 2097:13–20, 2159:12–14, 2299:33–9, 2383:3–4, 2515:9–11.

2942  From Daniel Stiebar  1534

5

For Daniel Stiebar, canon of the cathedral chapter at Würzburg and prominent figure in the administration of the diocese, see Ep 2069 introduction.

Greetings. I had replied to your letter, in fact not to a single letter, but to all that you sent me – for I am deeply ashamed to confess there were several of them.1 One might think that I, as a young man, would be pestering you, but it was you who kept urging me to write. In the end, however, I did write a reply, and I entrusted my friends with seeing that it was delivered to the merchants who were going to the Frankfurt fair,2 for it was my lot to be sent on a mission to Saxony. When I returned, I discovered that these people had demonstrated the same conscientiousness about this assignment that they usually showed in dealing with the affairs of others. So since this opportunity was missed, I have concentrated on sending the letter by a different route. I have included the earlier letter with this one, partly because there was no time to combine the two, and also because I was anxious to prove to you my attentiveness. We sit here in an excited state of expectation, but whether the future will be good or bad I cannot say. Often good things have happened to those who expected the opposite. Certainly, it takes a very bold spirit to plan or undertake such an action. You are obviously better informed about what is happening, since you live in a royal city. Nothing beyond the common tattle reaches us here. We are shut out, at least for the present, both from the man’s plans and from his actions. I only hope that future developments will not involve the princes of the whole of Germany along with us! It is no use now my starting a wail of woe, this is just what those people wanted – you know whom I mean; such anxiety would be justified by the wound we have suffered.3 So let us accept whatever God brings about. Distinguished sir, I beg you to write back – to me of course, but also to our prince.4 He often speaks about you in the most honorific terms and that *****





2942 1 None of the letters on either side of this exchange is extant. 2 The spring book fair at Frankfurt, which began on 7 April in 1534 3 The language of this paragraph is obscure. Without the other letters in the exchange we cannot know for sure what ‘the man’s plans’ were or what possible ‘actions’ caused such anxiety. It is certainly possible that Erasmus had written to him of his fears arising out of the reconquest of Württemberg (Ep 2940 n5) and that Stiebar’s fears were similar to those of Johann Koler in Augsburg (Epp 2936:75–90, 2937:54–71). 4 Konrad von Thüngen, bishop of Würzburg and duke of Eastern Franconia (Ep 1124)

5

10

15

20

25

2942  From Daniel Stiebar  1534

6

is the way he always feels. So if you are agreeable, send me some sort of letter that I could present to him. Farewell. Würzburg, 5 June 1534 Yours sincerely, Daniel Stiebar 30 To Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, a man outstanding in learning and goodness, and his most respected mentor. At Freiburg im Breisgau 2943 / From Bonifacius Amerbach

[Basel, c 9 June 1534]

This letter (= ak Ep 1834, dated c 12 June 1534), Bonifacius’ reply to Ep 2940, was first published by Allen. The manuscript, a much-corrected rough draft, is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms c via 73 428 verso). In the margins next to lines 22–35 there were alternatives that Allen ignored. Lines 45–51 exist in two versions. Allen used the one that he judged to be ‘more grammatical’ and relegated the other to a footnote. Erasmus’ reply is Ep 2946.

Cordial greetings. I am most grateful for your letter, which brought me such welcome news about your health. May Christ our Saviour preserve you, not, as you write, to let you face new torments, but so that, by making you stronger every day, you may live a long and vigorous life for the benefit of secular and, in particular, sacred studies. 5 What is this I am hearing? You have not yet stopped seething over the insult from that blathering fool whom you mentioned when we were together.1 I know that, at least in the legal world, an insult is judged more or less serious in accordance with the merits of the person who inflicts it. So someone like you who possesses, unless I am mistaken, uncommon intellectual 10 powers should have treated this incident with contempt. Think who you are, my dear Erasmus, and compare the celebrity of your name with the obscurity of these shady nobodies; think what a great man you are and what nonentities these people are. Please forgive me if I speak too boldly, but you seem to me not to realize fully the extent of your own wisdom and greatness. Can 15 they do anything more to you than a mosquito can do to an elephant?2 Your character and your unmatched erudition have made you proof for all time against attack even by those who are considered to be preeminent for their learning and moral qualities. Why are you surprised at the savagery of men *****



2943 1 See Ep 2940 n6. 2 Adagia i x 66

2943  From Bonifacius Amerbach  [1534]

7

like these,3 from whom praise is an insult and an insult is a signal honour? Are you not familiar with the saying that dogs howl at the noblest of lions?4 I was glad to hear that you were almost tempted to take to the road – I only wish you had turned your steps in this direction because of us! If you attempt something like this in the future, give me fair notice so that I can tell my father-in-law,5 to whom you will be a most welcome guest; also I would like to join you on the journey. As for my father-in-law’s situation, I thank you most sincerely for the advice you sent me.6 Up to now, when asked for advice, my strategy has been to say nothing in reply and leave everything to my father-in-law’s own good sense, since it is not very clear to me what should be done. I have neither encouraged him nor discouraged him, but left the decision to him on the ground that a man of his wisdom and experience could easily weigh up what was best to do or not to do. If he married, I would wish him well, and if he remained a bachelor, I would not wish him ill. What else could I do? Should I persuade him to marry the woman? But a single adage of Pittacus, ‘Choose a bride from your equals,’7 is enough to keep me from advocating that course. Ought an old man to marry a young bride, a gallant his sweetheart, a rich man a poor woman, a lover his mistress? What a welter of painful suspicions that would lead to! On the other hand I cannot discourage him openly because of the usual suspicion that falls so readily on a son-in-law of being a legacy hunter and casting greedy eyes on the possessions of his wife’s father. So I thought it much the most honourable course to leave the matter to his judgment and to back him up in whatever action he decided on; then if it turned out well, I could join him in his happiness, but if not, in his sorrow. It is an indication, indeed a very clear indication, of his good will towards us that he promised of his own accord that if he were to take a wife he would set aside four thousand Rhenish gold *****



3 Hartmann’s text here reads: ‘Why do you bother with worthless men?’ 4 The quotation has not been identified. Allen suggests a misrecollection of Horace Epodes 6.1–2. The image of the barking dog who howls only at easy targets is not uncommon in both Greek and Latin (cf Demosthenes 25.40), but there is no exact parallel for the phrase given here. Hartmann’s text adds to the mystery by including the adjective lucernarios (omitted by Allen) to modify canes (‘lamplit dogs’). Hartmann could not explain that, and neither can we. The same expression, lucernarii canes, is found in Ep 3123:77–8. 5 Leonhard Fuchs, burgomaster of Neuenburg am Rhein (Ep 2940 n7) 6 For his plans to marry the mother of his son, see Ep 2940:13–16. 7 Apophthegmata 7.34 (cwe 38 774). Pittacus was a Greek statesman and lawgiver in Mytilene (c 650–570 bc); cf Adagia i viii 1, citing Diogenes Laertius 1.79–81.

20

25

30

35

40

45

2943  From Bonifacius Amerbach  [1534]

8

florins,8 both in respect of the maternal property and by way of gifts, and would make his daughter his heir in equal shares with any surviving children he should have from the marriage.9 An agreement was drawn up between us on these terms.10 50 Do look after your health, my dear Erasmus, and remember that no news could be more welcome to me than the news that you are well. You can always count on my help. If you called on it more frequently, as I would like you to do, I would know that I was loved by you and I would, as the poet says, strike the stars with my uplifted head.11 Basilius wishes to be com- 55 mended to you.12 2944 / To Erasmus Schets

Freiburg, 11 June 1534

This letter was first published by Allen. The autograph is in the Bodleian Library at Oxford (ms Lat Misc c 20 folio 47). For Erasmus Schets, the Antwerp banker who managed the collection and transmission of Erasmus’ income from his livings in the Netherlands and England, see Ep 1541 introduction.

Cordial greetings. My health is now somewhat improved,1 and I was almost ready to venture on a journey, if the princes of Germany had not started this tragic business.2 How it will end God only knows.

*****



8 A generous provision: four thousand Rhenish florins were equivalent to £983 6s 8d groot Flemish, the annual wage income of 112 Antwerp master masons/ carpenters (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). 9 In addition to the son already born, his new wife, Küngolt Fischer, bore him two daughters; see ak Ep 1682 n1. 10 For lines 45–51 here (‘It is an indication … on these terms.’) Bonifacius’ manuscript includes the following alternative version: ‘What is certain, should he actually marry the woman, is that, after exchanging the customary claims and counter-claims, we have finally agreed that his daughter, that is my wife, should be his heir to the four thousand Rhenish gold florins that he had earlier disclosed, and then be so in equal shares with other children that he has or will have, and indeed with the standing of a male heir.’ 11 Horace Odes 1.1.36 12 Basilius was Bonifacius’ older brother.

2944 1 See Ep 2940 n2. 2 Ie the reconquest of Württemberg (Ep 2940 n5)

2944  To Erasmus Schets  1534

9

I received the letter that you sent concerning Damião.3 I always thought that he had left his native land with the blessing of his people. I persuaded him, however, to follow the advice of his friends, which he is about to do.4 Please remember to send me at the next fair, or earlier if possible, eighty or ninety ells of bed linen of medium quality, but strong.5 Write and tell me what is happening in England. I have no one I trust whom I could send there now. The man whom I sent twice has treated me in such a scurvy fashion that never to this day have I been confronted with such insulting behaviour.6 I am accustomed to blackguards, though I have never had to contend with such a blackguard. Clearly he had decided to kill me with his insolence, showing no respect for age or health or erudition or service to learning or his friendly acceptance in my home. I have no idea what cave this madman jumped out of to trouble us. He did not conceive this ­hatred of me in my house, for I never said a word against him, and in fact I was very fond of him. He must have brought his hatred with him and kept it hidden. I have innocently nurtured a viper in my bosom.7 His shameless ­behaviour has inflicted a deeper wound on my spirit than a hundred books of Luther or of Nikolaus Herborn.8 Please tear up this letter when you have read it, for this blackguard threatens legal action when he returns. Farewell. Freiburg, 11 June 1534 You will recognize the hand of your true friend. *****

3 The letter is not extant. For Damião de Gois, Portuguese diplomat, poet, and newly acquired friend of Erasmus, see Ep 2826 introduction. 4 The king of Portugal had summoned Gois back to Portugal to serve as treasurer of the Indiahouse in Lisbon, but Gois soon won the king’s approval to abandon royal service and pursue his humanist interests. He was at this time Erasmus’ house-guest in Freiburg (Ep 2924:39–40), but in August would depart for Italy to continue his studies at Padua, bearing a letter of introduction from Erasmus to Pietro Bembo (Ep 2958). 5 A repetition of the request first made in Ep 2924:27–30 6 A clear reference to Quirinus Hagius (Ep 2940 n6), whom Erasmus had twice sent to England to expedite the payment of money owed him there, but who, Erasmus had come to believe, had embezzled money from him and spread malicious rumours about him. See Epp 2804 n7, 2896:21–2, 2906:100–3, 2918:28–32. 7 Adagia iv ii 90 8 Erasmus had just recently been attacked in Luther’s Epistola de Erasmo Roterodamo (Ep 2918 introduction) and in the Enarrationes evangeliorum per sa­ crum quadragesimae tempus occurrentium of the Franciscan Nikolaus Ferber of Herborn (Ep 2896 n8).

5

10

15

20

25

2944  To Erasmus Schets  1534

10

To the excellent Master Erasmus Schets, my great friend and benefactor. In Antwerp 2945 / From Johann Herwagen

Basel, 13 June 1534

This letter was first published as Ep 117 in Enthoven. The autograph is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 89). Already a successful publisher in Strasbourg, Johann Herwagen moved to Basel in 1528, where he married the widow of the publisher Johann Froben (d 1527), Gertrud Lachner (Ep 1962:28–9). At first he was a partner in the Froben firm with Johann Froben’s son Hieronymus, who in 1524 had married Anna Lachner, sister of Gertrud, and with Nicolaus Episcopius, who in 1529 married Justina, the daughter of Gertrud Lachner and the step-sister of Hieronymus. This complicated family group appears at first to have lived together in the house ‘zum Sessel,’ which had belonged to Johann Froben, but in the spring of 1531 Hieronymus and Episcopius set themselves up as an independent firm and moved with their wives into the house ‘zur alten Treu,’ in which Erasmus had lived until 1529. This left Herwagen to carry on by himself in the other Froben house. Erasmus, whose ties to Hieronymus Froben and his family were close, seems to have had little desire to enter into a similarly enduring relationship with Herwagen. In August of 1531 Erasmus entrusted the publication of the Epistolae floridae to him (Epp 2518, 2524), but he entrusted the enlarged edition of 1532 (Epistolae palaeonaeoi) to Johann Faber Emmeus in Freiburg. Similarly, Erasmus reluctantly wrote a preface for Herwagen’s 1531 edition of Demosthenes (Ep 2695) but successfully evaded repeated requests for a preface to his 1534 edition of Cicero (see n5 below). From this letter (lines 32–7) it appears that Herwagen was still soliciting, in addition to the preface to Cicero, the commission to publish a new edition of De copia verborum and of an edition of the Paraphrases on the New Testament. But Erasmus gave both to Froben and Episcopius (see nn7–8 below). In this letter, meanwhile, Herwagen calls on Erasmus (or Bonifacius Amerbach) to arbitrate a dispute between him and Froben over their respective rights in the reprinting of earlier works as well as their respective rights to works to be undertaken in the future. Herwagen describes the dispute in extremely obscure language, but the gist of it seems to be as follows. Hieronymus Froben claimed the exclusive right to all the works of Erasmus already published by the old firm as well as the works of the majority of the other Froben authors. Herwagen claimed the right to reprint any book of the old firm to the cost of the publication of which he had contributed. It is not known if such an arbitration ever took place, but the subsequent reprint of De copia and the New Testament Paraphrases by Froben appears to indicate that Herwagen was not successful in his claim.

2945  From Johann Herwagen  1534

11

Cordial greetings. Up to now I have always cultivated carefully those friendly relations that ought to exist among members of the same family and, so long as God rules this body,1 I shall continue to do so as scrupulously as a man can, provided there is someone to respond to my friendship. I have pointed out to Hieronymus what could hurt our friendship and what could re-open old wounds. I have learned from him in return where he believes the problems lie. I offered a settlement on very favourable terms. What I have obtained, you have no doubt heard from him. He is demanding nothing less than that I forego those of your works that have been published so far, leave him the greater part of the rest, and in the meantime he will print most of the new work from you and other writers. I cannot understand, my dear Erasmus, why he is asking me to accept these terms, unless he wants to ruin me utterly. If we fight it out, as the laws of our city permit, one of us will damage the fortunes of the other, and he will take over the work and wipe up the profits. Is there any reason or any law why I too should not publish works in which I was previously a partner or which were issued by the Froben press, especially when Froben paid the greater part of the expenses or I paid half?2 Granted that in some cases the returns have been a just compensation for work done, in other cases the profits are delayed and held back and ought now to revert to the heirs (and these profits my children too have a legal right to expect from me); yet I am being robbed of the use and enjoyment of all these things. I am not plotting against anyone; I want an arrangement to be *****

2945 1 Virgil Aeneid 4.336 2 This sentence appears at first glance to makes no sense. How would Herwagen’s claim be strengthened by the determination that (Hieronymus) Froben had paid ‘the greater part’ of the cost of any particular publication in their partnership? Gerlo solved the problem by emending ‘greater part’ to ‘smaller part.’ But this misses the point. Herwagen, who joined the firm only in 1528, could not claim to have contributed anything at all to the most recent edition of De copia (1526), and yet he here claims the right to reprint it. On what is that claim based? The answer may be that the Froben who ‘paid the greater part’ was Johann, not Hieronymus. (Note that in line 5 above Herwagen refers to Hieronymus by his first name but otherwise says Froben.) The line that follows seems to indicate that he was claiming some sort of proprietary right in the products of the old firm through his wife, the widow of Johann Froben (and the stepmother of Hieronymus), and her three children (including Erasmus’ godson Erasmius Froben). Her family’s money had always been instrumental in sustaining the firm. Herwagen’s prose is too turgid and obscure to permit complete certainty on the point, but it makes better sense of the passage than does Gerlo’s emendation.

5

10

15

20

2945  From Johann Herwagen  1534

12

made3 consonant with my interests. I wish to be a friend, and not to be seen as an in-law who cannot be trusted.4 I wish that you or Bonifacius or someone else, after hearing both sides of the case, would pronounce judgment. I would undertake to abide by the decision in good faith. This is the course I am considering. However it turns out, I know there will be loss, not to mention the unpleasantness of a conflict that should never have arisen. We are exposing ourselves to the ridicule of the world, giving others an opening to scheme against us, making it safer for them to rival our success. And on top of all this we are fostering an unhappy friendship. But enough of this. I am working on the Cicero, organizing what I had wanted you to do.5 I shall see to it that the text is annotated. Then whatever I can collect together I shall give to you to decide whether it should go to me or my successors for printing,6 leaving aside the Cicero, for no one will tear the Cicero from my hands. I shall try to make it as correct as I can. If I have the section of De copia by the end of June, that will be time enough.7 I could print it in around seventy folios in italic or cursive lettering, unless you wish to have it in another font. I shall be free to print the Paraphrases, when he himself has printed it, after next year’s harvest.8 I shall print De copia before September and it will be a careful job. Farewell. Basel, 13 June 1534 Yours, as always, Johann Herwagen To the incomparable Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, his mentor and ­patron. In Freiburg *****

3 Reading initiari for the imitari of the text. Allen suggested the emendation, which is necessary, but did not make it. 4 The text reads literally ‘I want to be a friend, not a relation who wears a mask.’ We have translated freely, interpreting ‘wears a mask’ in the light of Adagia i v 52 cwe 31 428 17–25. 5 As far as we know, the only thing that Herwagen had asked Erasmus to do was supply an introduction, which he did not do; see Ep 2765 n5. 6 Reading excudantur for Allen’s excudant. The sentence is completely obscure and gives no indication what Herwagen proposes to gather together. 7 The ‘section’ of De copia presumably refers to the added material in the new, ‘greatly enlarged’ edition (Ep 2961:23–4), which was published in August 1534, but by Froben and Episcopius, not by Herwagen. 8 ‘He himself’ is evidently Hieronymus Froben. The new edition of the New Testament Paraphrases was published by Froben and Episcopius in 1534: Tomus primus paraphraseon in Novum Testamentum, videlicet in quatuor evangelia et acta apostolorum, nunc postremum ab autore vigilantissime recognitus. No Herwagen edition is known.

25

30

35

40

45

2946  To Bonifacius Amerbach  1534 2946 / To Bonifacius Amerbach

13 Freiburg, 14 June 1534

This letter (= ak Ep 1837) was first published as Ep 89 in the Epistolae familiares. The autograph is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms an iii 15 61).

I am not Cronos,1 but I could swallow even this stone if that monster had not left viper’s eggs here and threatened to stir up the same old commotion all over again.2 What would you do to one who has neither shame, nor manners, nor judgment, in short who has none of the qualities of a human being? He had already infested my home before I had any suspicions about him. 5 Something similar happened to me in the case of Carinus. He shared my table, I thought him a friend, but I was nurturing a vicious slanderer. This I learned subsequently from my servant Talesius,3 although too late, just as the father of a family is generally the last to learn of the disgrace of his home. I wish it were possible to persuade that fine old man to spend whatever 10 remains of his life in peace. The Carthusian prior should be called upon to use his good offices.4 *****







2946 1 In Greek mythology Cronos was the father of Zeus. Since there was a prophecy that one of his children would dethrone him, Cronos ate his children. But Zeus’ mother hid her baby and tricked Cronos by wrapping a stone in swaddling clothes, which Cronos swallowed instead of the child. In Erasmus’ use of the myth the stone stands for Quirinus Hagius’ alleged betrayal of him (see following note). 2 The ‘monster’ was Quirinus Hagius; see Ep 2940 n6. 3 For Ludovicus Carinus, who had been a fellow resident with Erasmus at the College of the Lily in Louvain (1519–20) but with whom he had a mysterious falling-out in the summer of 1528, see Epp 1799 introduction, 2111 n2. The role of Quirinus Talesius (Ep 1966) in the matter is not otherwise documented. 4 The fine old man was Leonhard Fuchs, Bonifacius’ father-in-law and burgomaster of Neuenburg am Rhein. Cf Ep 2940:13–16 with nn7–8. The Carthusian prior was Hieronymus Zscheckenbürlin of Basel (1460/1–1536), great-uncle of Bonifacius’ wife. Trained in the law, Zscheckenbürlin suddenly abandoned his legal career and entered the Carthusian monastery at Basel (1487), where he eventually (1502) became prior. In that capacity he used his ample patrimony to make the house better known for sumptuous hospitality, artistic decoration, and beautiful books than for exemplary spirituality. When Basel adopted the Reformation in 1529 he left for Freiburg, but in 1532 he reached an agreement with the Basel city council that permitted him and a few of his monks to return, though without the right to say mass.

2946  To Bonifacius Amerbach  1534

14

I am sorry to hear that the amount of the salary is being reduced;5 they seem to be cooling. Earlier they were offering better prospects. Apart from the danger of a change in climate, a move will involve a lot of expense, a new 15 house, etc. But your own good sense will suggest to you what it is best to do.6 Farewell. Freiburg, 14 June 1534 Yours, Erasmus of Rotterdam To the distinguished Master Bonifacius Amerbach. In Basel 20 2947 / From Johann Koler

[Augsburg], 24 June 1534

This letter was first published as Ep 207 in Förstemann / Günther. The autograph was in the Burscher Collection of the University Library at Leipzig (Ep 1254 introduction). For Johann Koler, canon of St Moritz in Augsburg, see Ep 2195 introduction.

Cordial greetings. Two months have already elapsed while I waited for a suitable courier to go to you,1 as you can see from my attached letters.2 Moreover, Paumgartner,3 who promised me every day that he was about to send his messenger to Freiburg, has been stringing me along for a whole month.4 If he had not done so, I would have sent a courier of my own to you 5 so that you would not be without a letter from me for such a long time and might imagine that I had forgotten you entirely. It was a stroke of fortune that this carrier arrived from you; so I now have a suitable messenger by whom I may reply to your letter. But, my dear Erasmus, I cannot express the anxiety I felt for you because of the current military tumults. For a persistent story 10 had reached us here that your city was filled with armed men and in a state *****

5 Ie the salary offered to Bonifacius by the city of Strasbourg, which had invited him to become a legal adviser to the city government; see Ep 2873a. 6 The Latin for ‘your own good sense’ is ‘your Pallas.’ Pallas Athena was the goddess of crafts and science, who came to personify wisdom. Her Roman equivalent was Minerva; see Adagia i i 37.

2947 1 The two months are calculated from the receipt of Erasmus’ letter, not extant, of 4 April; see Ep 2936:7 with n1. 2 Epp 2936–7 3 Johann (ii) Paumgartner (Ep 2603) 4 See Ep 2936 introduction.

2947  From Johann Koler  1534

15

of violent agitation, and that there was danger that the landgrave of Hessen was proceeding there.5 For I think you must know of the actions he took against King Ferdinand on behalf of Ulrich, duke of Württemberg,6 and of the much more serious actions he was ready to take if the king had not im- 15 mediately given in and unilaterally renounced his claim to the duchy of Württemberg, and in addition given an undertaking that he would not seek revenge whatever measures Hessen took or carried out in support of the duke of Württemberg. These at any rate are the rumoured terms of the peace; it is still uncertain whether the king will accept them. But it is not easy to see 20 how he could reject them, however unfair they might appear in the eyes of many people, for the enemy are said to possess such large and powerful forces that they could easily conquer and subdue the whole of Germany, and before the king could prepare himself for war, before he could conscript an army, those men with such a strong army would force the whole of the king’s 25 realm under their control. There are several princes here, among whom are the most reverend cardinal of Salzburg,7 Louis, duke of Bavaria,8 and Otto Henry, count Palatine.9 These men, along with our bishop,10 have intervened to arrange a peace.11 I hear that Duke George of Saxony and the elector, John *****





5 Cf Ep 2955:31. 6 For Philip of Hessen’s reconquest of Württemberg from Ferdinand on behalf of its hereditary ruler, Duke Ulrich, see Ep 2917 n9. The decisive battle had been fought on 13 May 1534. Negotiations towards a peace settlement filled the month of June. See Ep 2940 n5 and the following notes. 7 Matthäus Lang, since 1519 cardinal-archbishop of Salzburg (Ep 549:52–3n) 8 Louis, duke of Bavaria (1495–1545). As ruler of the districts of Landshut and Straubing, he was co-regent with his elder brother William iv, duke of Bavaria. 9 Otto Henry (1502–59) count Palatine of Neuburg, who in 1556 would succeed to the rule of the Electoral Palatinate. At this point he was still a Catholic, but over time he became an adherent of the Protestant faith and in 1542 he introduced the Reformation into his tiny duchy. In 1556 he did the same thing in the Palatinate. 10 Christoph von Stadion, bishop of Augsburg (Ep 2029) 11 All the princes mentioned were present at the meeting in Augsburg (June 1534) of members of the Swabian League (Ep 2269 n2), the organization that had driven Duke Ulrich from Württemberg (1519) and ceded it to the Hapsburgs (1520). Riven by tension between its Catholic and Protestant members, as well as between friends and enemies of the Hapsburgs, the league dissolved itself at a meeting in Augsburg on 2 February 1534. The June meeting was called in the (vain) hope of resurrecting the league and in the (more realistic) hope of contributing something to the conclusion of a peace between King Ferdinand and the ‘war princes,’ Philip of Hessen and Ulrich of Württemberg. Christoph von Stadion was one of the imperial commissioners who presided at the

2947  From Johann Koler  1534

16

Frederick, are with the king at Prague and are urging him not to put his private interest before the public peace.12 I fear that if the king rejects the salutary advice of these powerful princes, he will bring great destruction upon his people and do much damage to his reputation and his realm. But if the king should humble himself and accept the terms of peace, I would confidently expect that everything would be tranquil, that no further obstacle would stand in the way of making a new treaty forthwith among the princes of Swabia,13 and that peace, for which we fervently hope, would at last come to Germany. We shall soon see how it will be. May God make the king choose peace in preference to war. So much for public affairs, now for private matters. Our friend Fugger, as I had mentioned in my last letter, had left with his whole family for his estate in the little town of Weissenhorn.14 He returned here yesterday, thinking that he would be safer in his native place than on his private estates, although not everything is safe here, nor is he liked by everyone even in his native place. Treachery and crime pervade our whole society. These factions cause utter ruin everywhere; they allow nothing to stand that is good or honourable. They wreck and destroy everything.15

*****





meeting. The assembled estates appointed Archbishop Lang, Duke Louis, and Duke Otto Henry as mediators to deal directly with representatives of Philip of Hessen and Ulrich of Württemberg. See Brendle 163–5; Alfred Kohler Antihabsburgische Politik in der Epoche Karls v. Die reichsständische Opposition ge­ gen die Wahl Ferdinands i. zum Römischen König und gegen die Anerkennung seines Königtums (1524–1534) (Göttingen 1982) 356–8. 12 While the efforts at Augsburg (see preceding note) were under way, direct negotiations with King Ferdinand, mediated by Duke George of Saxony and Albert of Brandenburg, archbishop of Mainz, were taking place at Kadan, near Eger in Bohemia. Philip of Hessen gave to Elector John Frederick of Saxony full authority to conclude peace on behalf of him and Duke Ulrich. The resulting Peace of Kadan, which recognized Duke Ulrich as the legitimate ruler of Württemberg, was signed on 20 June 1534. For the difficult negotiations, far too complicated to be summarized here, see Brendle 162–9. 13 A vain hope; see n11 above. 14 In July 1533 Anton Fugger, found guilty of inciting to riot for his participation in an anti-Zwinglian demonstration (Epp 2818:39–44, 2845:38–46), had prudently withdrawn from the city for a time (Epp 2936:105, 2937:72–5). 15 Koler is talking about the Zwinglians in Augsburg, who were well on the way to shoving aside their Lutheran rivals and achieving the exclusion of Catholicism from the city; see Epp 2814:25–30 with n8, 2937:36–53.

30

35

40

45

2947  From Johann Koler  1534

17

But the wise and prudent Paumgartner steers a middle course, leaning towards neither side, and so is less hated and less liable to resentment,16 ­although no one who has not joined their factions is spoken well of by these people. Anyone who will not subscribe to their teachings must of necessity be an infidel, a victim clearly doomed to the infernal powers. How true that is you yourself are finding out every day to your no small discomfiture. It would be for me a thousand times preferable to live under some Scythian, or Tartar, or Turk than under the tyranny of these people once they begin to exercise control, which has almost happened to us here in Augsburg. It is ­always so when the body twitches, bereft of its head. As for your Purgation, you will see my position in the attached letter.17 I would, however, not wish to conceal from you that yesterday it was printed here too in Augsburg.18 You had sent it to me a few days ago,19 and I immediately sent it on to our bishop before I realized he was planning to come here. On his return here he gave it back to me. I then shared it with several friends, thinking that it would be in your interests to make it available to many people. As a result one of your most devoted admirers handed it over to be printed. I am not sure if you will approve this kind of devotion. But I assure you of this, that it was from a sincere regard for you that this action was taken, and that was something I could not really disapprove. Nor do I see why this could annoy you unless it would mean a loss for Froben. But I can hardly persuade myself that this could be the case in such a small venture. I sent this same work, your Purgation, to the City,20 to our mutual friend Franciscus Rupilius.21 I had earlier sent Luther’s Epistle, so that the Romanizers would finally realize how well you and Luther get on. That letter was seen also by the pope through the efforts of my friends. It was then passed on from the City to Spain into the hands of the erudite Doctor Matthias Held, the imperial chancellor,22 and I do not doubt that the emperor and the whole ***** 16 Paumgartner (n3 above) was Fugger’s brother-in-law. 17 Ep 2937:12–35. Koler had found the work entirely too mild in its refutation of the charges against Erasmus in Luther’s Epistola de Erasmo Roterodamo. 18 By Alexander Weissenhorn; see a sd ix-1 439. 19 Presumably accompanied by a letter now lost 20 Ie to Rome. In classical Latin Rome was often referred to simply as Urbs, the City, the capital of the Empire. By the sixteenth century the term had long since come to mean Rome, not simply as a city but as the seat of the papacy and the vast administrative apparatus that went with it. 21 Ep 2867 introduction 22 Held was actually vice-chancellor.

50

55

60

65

70

75

2947  From Johann Koler  1534

18

of his court will see it also. Now I have sent two copies of your Purgation to Rome so that, if they wish, they can send the second copy to Spain. All my friends are urging me to use all my powers to persuade you that, if Luther makes an attack on you again, you will not spare the man but will paint him in his true colours.23 This much I am quite sure of, that if Melanchthon does not intervene, Luther will not hold his tongue, for from what I hear, he has promised in some other letters to friends to make known his opinion of you.24 If he does this, see that he understands that you too have a pen and a tongue. What you wrote about that deceitful wretch of yours deeply pained me.25 It is all too true, as Virgil says, that ‘nowhere can one safely put one’s trust.’26 Nothing wrings my heart so much as twisted behaviour of this kind; sometimes it drives me mad, especially when I reap a harvest of evils for kind and generous acts. In these ugly situations the best remedy is a quiet mind. Nothing is more helpful than to reflect that we are born to endure and suffer many ills. I have now become inured to these vexations. Here at last are the nutmegs that I had planned to send three months ago, if I could find a reliable courier.27 Please, my dear Erasmus, accept them in good part for what they are worth. It is because of the violent conflicts of the age that theft is rampant everywhere and no road is safe. In conclusion, will you please write to me often, whenever you can find someone to whom you can entrust a letter. For my part I shall allow no one who is heading in your direction to leave without a letter from me. And let me know how your Preacher is getting on,28 when it will see the light, and what else you have in progress,29 for I am well aware how impossible it is for you to be idle. Do look after yourself. May Christ preserve you always for our sake. The birthday of St John the Baptist 1534 ***** 23 These are the words that Nikolaus von Amsdorff, in urging Luther to write what became his Epistola de Erasmo Roterodamo, had used to describe what Luther should do to Erasmus, and that Erasmus had indignantly quoted at the beginning of the Purgatio; see cwe 78 413. 24 Luther had initially intended to continue the controversy with Erasmus but did not in fact do so, in part it seems because of the moderating influence of Melanchthon; see Ep 2918 introduction (final paragraph). 25 Quirinus Hagius (Ep 2940 n6) 26 Virgil Aeneid 4.373 27 See Ep 2937:81–8. 28 Under way for many years, the Ecclesiastes sive de ratione concionandi would be published at last in August1535, dedicated to Christoph von Stadion (Ep 3036). 29 Literally ‘have on the anvil’; for the expression cf Horace Ars poetica 441.

80

85

90

95

100

2948  From Nicolaus Olahus  1534

19

You now have three long letters in exchange for one, telling everything about everything, as you requested. You have no reason now to accuse me of laziness. 105 You will recognize the hand of your friend Koler. To the most learned doctor of sacred theology, Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, my most learned and distinguished friend. In Freiburg 2948 / From Nicolaus Olahus

Brussels, 25 June 1534

This letter, Olahus’ reply to Ep 2922, was first published in Ipolyi page 509, on the basis of page 551 of the Olahus codex in the Hungarian National Archives at Budapest (Ep 2339 introduction). The autograph of the letter, which was in the Burscher Collection at Leipzig (Ep 1254 introduction), was first published as Ep 208 in Förstemann / Günther. Allen, observing that the variants between the two texts ‘are such as would not arise merely from careless copying,’ concluded that the text in Ipolyi was that of an earlier version and gave preference to the Leipzig manuscript as the one actually sent. This is the final surviving letter in the correspondence between Erasmus and Olahus (Ep 2339 introduction), secretary to Queen Mary of Hungary, regent of the Netherlands.

Cordial greetings. The letter you sent me on 22 April I received on 12 May last. I was unwilling to let the courier depart without sending a letter to you. So here is a brief note in reply to your letter. You write that you believe part of the story about the king of England.1 You will soon believe it all. I am told that More is still a prisoner along with 5 the bishop of Rochester – a dangerous situation for both of them, they say.2 Your health is a very great worry to me. I would like you to be well and to come back here.3 You write that the margrave does not intend to do anything *****





2948 1 See Ep 2922:3–4. 2 Thomas More, former lord chancellor, and John Fisher, bishop of Rochester, had both been imprisoned in the Tower of London for their refusal to take the oath, required by the Act of Succession (1534), acknowledging Anne Boleyn as the legitimate wife of Henry viii and their children as the legitimate heirs to the throne. Both were executed for treason in 1535. 3 For Olahus’ efforts to secure Erasmus’ return to the Netherlands see Ep 2820 introduction.

2948  From Nicolaus Olahus  1534

20

about Hillen.4 You are afraid of the monks.5 If you have become so fearful and continue to persist in this, it will not be easy for me to rid you of your fears. However, I see nothing here to cause you much anxiety. If in this age you worry about malicious detractors, neither you nor anyone else can be free from these as long as you live. There is little harm that could come to you here, but where you are living now, there is a very high risk of trouble (which God forbid!), as you will realize if you consider the present state of things. So be on your guard against the Lutheran soldiery, whose savagery will soon perhaps reach those places where you now reside.6 May God avert such a tragedy! My kind services to you, which you mention in your letter, are such as require nothing from you in return except the assurance of your affection for me, showing that you will always love your Olahus. You write that my return to Hungary would be a misfortune for you, whether you come back here or not. Be assured that wherever fate calls me you will always have the support of the same devoted Olahus that you know. I only wish, my dear Erasmus, that I could return home without facing ruin; there is nothing that would please me more than that. My country, my brothers, my friends, and others who are joined to me by close ties of intimacy are all urging me to return. But it is hard to determine whether I could do so at present without difficulty, since there is so much confusion and trouble in Hungary, both in public and private affairs, to say nothing of the problems in other capitals. For this reason I think I must bow to the necessity of the times.7 I have acted as a substitute letter for you to my sovereign lady, to the duke of Aarschot, and to the archbishop of Palermo, and I have conveyed to them all the news you wished.8 Farewell, and continue to love me. Brussels, 25 June 1534 *****



4 See Ep 2922:16–17 with n8. 5 See Ep 2922:11–13; cf Ep 2915:54–66. 6 An expression of the fear that Philip of Hessen’s campaign to wrest Württemberg from King Ferdinand might spill over into the Hapsburg Breisgau; see Ep 2955:31, and cf Ep 2947:10–12. 7 Not until 1539, when conditions in Hungary were becoming more settled, would Olahus leave the service of Queen Mary, going first to Vienna, and then, in 1542, returning to Hungary in the service of King Ferdinand. As a member of the royal council, as bishop of Zagreb (1543) and Eger (1548), and as archbishop of Esztergom (1553) and chancellor of the realm, he advanced the Catholic cause and became a major figure in the history of the Counter-Reformation. 8 As requested in Ep 2922:31–6, where the persons mentioned are identified

10

15

20

25

30

35

2949  From JAMES V OF SCOTLAND  1534

21

Your friend, as you well know, Olahus, etc To the most excellent Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, doctor of sacred theology, etc, my mentor and special and most respected friend 2949 / From Christoph Gering

[Augsburg], 26 June 1534

This letter was first published as Ep 118 in Enthoven. The autograph is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 71). For  Christoph Gering, secretary to Johann (ii) Paumgartner, see Ep 2900 introduction.

Most distinguished, learned, and respected sir, my employer, Master Johann Paumgartner, yesterday hired a courier and sent you a letter and something else besides, as you will learn from his letter.1 I want to point this out to your Excellency in this clumsily worded note and to send it by the present courier,2 so that if he reaches you before the other, you will not suspect that my master 5 did not send you a letter. May God keep you safe and sound for a long time to come to the benefit of us all! Farewell, glorious son of Germany! 26 June in the year 1534 from the delivery of the Virgin Your Excellency’s most obedient servant Christoph Gering To the eminent and erudite Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, distin- 10 guished doctor of theology, his most respected mentor. Freiburg im Breisgau 2950 / From James v of Scotland

Holyrood, 1 July 1534

This letter, first published by Allen, is King James’ reply to Ep 2886. Allen used two manuscripts, both of them copies: one in the British Library (ms Royal 18 b vi folio 27 verso), and the other in the Caprington Royal Letter Book at the National Records of Scotland in Edinburgh (g d 149 264 folio 27).

*****



2949 1 Paumgartner had written to Erasmus on 26 May a letter (Ep 2939) that makes mention (lines 5–8) of a gift for which he had not yet found a trustworthy messenger. It is possible that that is the letter referred to here, delivered after considerable delay, as were Epp 2936–7; see Ep 2936 introduction. 2 Allen’s text reads ‘this messenger of my master’ (hoc nuntio domini), but as Allen points out, domini was in the margin next to a word no longer legible. It seems unlikely that Gering was sending this brief note by a second messenger hired by Paumgartner, and it is possible that he employed the messenger from Erasmus who carried Koler’s three letters (Epp 2936–7, 2947) back to Erasmus; see Ep 2947:1–9.

2950  From James v of Scotland  1534

22

james, by the grace of god king of scotland, to the most learned erasmus of rotterdam, greeting We have given our attention to your appeal, most learned Erasmus, since it comes from one who is greatly devoted to us, and since the cause you promote seems to be one that cannot be ignored without doing great damage to the Christian faith. So think how welcome we found the advice of Erasmus on how to fend off Lutheranism, the common enemy of Christendom.1 Your recollection of that old bond of friendship that joined you to our brother and our father and your obvious sorrow at their death are evidence of your remarkable kindness of heart, which shows itself in the loving prayers you continue to offer for those who met their end so long ago. So we acknowledge the debt we owe you for the respect and honour and love that you show these members of our family just as if they were still alive. You were right, therefore, to believe, Erasmus, that you were not writing to an unknown prince.2 You will discover in the king the sentiments of a friend who is ready to favour your wishes, not just in this particular request, but in any more important matter that might arise. So, most learned Erasmus, do not alter your course and continue, as you have begun, to show that uncommon affection towards us and towards our house. We shall see that your actions do not go unrewarded. Farewell, most learned sir, from our palace of the Holy Rood.3 1 July in the fifteen hundred and thirty-fourth year from the Incarnation of the Lord

*****







2950 1 Erasmus had in fact done little more than write a letter commending, as ‘a remarkable scholar’ and ‘a most diligent supporter of the Christian religion,’ Johannes Cochlaeus, who had published a reply to the open letter to King James in which the Scottish Lutheran, Alexander Alesius, who in 1532 had fled Scotland and gone to Electoral Saxony, denounced the decree of the Scottish bishops condemning the reading of the New Testament in vernacular translations. Without going into details, he also characterized the matter as ‘of overwhelming importance to the tranquillity of your kingdom.’ See Ep 2886 introduction and lines 12–13, 16–19. 2 What Erasmus actually said in Ep 2886:2–12 is ‘I think the name Erasmus is not unknown to you [because you will have heard of him from your father and brother] … even though I am unknown to [you] by sight.’ This appears to be an ineptly worded acknowledgment of that. Allen’s reference to Erasmus’ difficulty in remembering James’ name in 1529 (Ep 964:32n) seems rather far-fetched. 3 Ie Holyrood Palace at Edinburgh (Holy Rood = Holy Cross)

5

10

15

20

2951  To Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda  1534 2951 / To Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda

23 Freiburg, 3 July 1534

This letter, Erasmus’ reply to Ep 2938, was first published in the Sepulvedae epis­ tolae folio b7 verso. It is the last surviving letter from Erasmus in his correspondence with Sepúlveda. The latter’s final contribution to the exchange of letters is Ep 3096.

erasmus of rotterdam to juan ginés de sepúlveda, greeting Most learned sir, a writer whose aim is to instruct is more easily forgiven an occasional slip, particularly in a subject like this, than one who takes upon himself the role of critic, especially if he does so in an abusive manner. A 5 hostile critic is often useful when he reproaches us for our faults, although we owe him no thanks, since his aim is to hurt (for what we receive is not a benefit conferred, but one grasped). Zúñiga, I must say, is more temperate in his last comments than in previous tirades – though there were hints in Cardinal Iñigo’s letter that some remarks, more spiteful than instructive, had 10 been omitted.1 However that may be, I shall not rob Zúñiga of his due praise. Since he was useful in other passages, I shall not attack him now that he is dead. The New Testament is being printed again along with my Annotations.2 On these I have expended no small amount of sweat – I only wish I had paid 15 proper attention at the beginning! On your advice I have examined the passage about συστοιχεῖ with more care.3 As for your additional comment on literal and figurative terms, coniunctus est ‘is connected to’ is no less figurative than confinis est ‘is related to.’ For things that are similar one to the other are *****



2951 1 Cardinal Iñigo López de Mendoza had sent to Erasmus from Rome the unpublished notes of Erasmus’ old antagonist, Diego López Zúñiga, on Erasmus’ edition of Jerome and his Annotations on the New Testament. The cardinal’s letter is Ep 2705; the hints are in lines 15–30. 2 The printing was delayed by lack of paper (Ep 2961:24–7), so that the fifth and final edition of the New Testament was not published until 1535. 3 The passage is Gal 4:25. There Mount Sinai is said to be ‘connected to’ (συστοιχεῖ) Jerusalem. In the Vulgate the Greek verb is translated as coniunctus est, which could mean ‘is joined to.’ Critics pointed out that these two places could not be joined because they were far apart. In his annotation Erasmus explains in great detail that the passage is to be interpreted metaphorically: these two places are ‘in the same class,’ which is the basic meaning of the Greek verb. In his own translation he used the word confinis est, literally ‘related to.’ In Ep  2873:34– 73 Sepúlveda questioned this translation, thus inaugurating the debate that

2951  To Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda  1534

24

more commonly said to be ‘related’ than ‘connected.’ Chrysostom does not 20 hesitate to employ the word γειτνιάζει ‘is a neighbour to.’4 In dealing with matters of topography and history,5 I have frequently slipped into error by putting my faith in the collections of Jerome, Bede,6 and other more recent authorities. The passage on Rhegium has been corrected, although in estimating the distance separating one side from the other, which 25 Zúñiga objected to, I had followed Jerome; and, unless I am mistaken, I followed Jerome also in the reference to Greece – though in this case I believe the passage to be corrupt.7 Both Chrysostom and Theophylact place Nicopolis in Thrace, and, unless I am mistaken, so does the Glossary of Places.8 From the narrative I real- 30 ized that it could not be in Thrace, and I wondered what authority Chrysostom followed, unless he accidentally substituted Thracia for Ambracia or Ambracius. That passage has now been corrected.9 I produced no commentary on Cicero’s

*****







continued in Epp 2905:18–33, 2938:27–36, and this letter. Erasmus had nothing more to say on the subject, but Sepúlveda continued to argue his case in Ep 3096:23–9. 4 pg 61 662 5 See Ep 2938:37–59, where Sepúlveda takes Erasmus to task for numerous mistakes in place names. 6 The natural implication of this sentence is that the reference is to two distinct works, one by Jerome and another by Bede. But in the Patrologia Latina Bede’s Expositio de nominibus locorum (pl 92 1033–40) and the Liber nominum locorum ex Actis, included among the spurious works of Jerome (pl 23 1355–66), are substantially the same text. On the relationship of the two texts see the Paraphrase on Acts Translator’s Note cwe 50 xvi with n11 (154). Erasmus was aware of the similarity of the two works; see his annotation on Acts 27:7. Also, in his annotation on Acts 27:13 he expresses doubt about Jerome’s authorship. 7 The reference is evidently to the annotation on Acts 28:13. In the fourth edition Erasmus had described Rhegium as a Greek city in Sicily rather than an Italian city in the toe of Italy (modern Reggio Calabria). He had also stated that the distance between Italy and Sicily in the Straits of Messina was fifteen Roman miles. He corrected these errors in the fifth edition (n2 above), claiming that he had been misled by Jerome. He suggests, however, that it may not have been Jerome’s fault that Rhegium was described as a Sicilian city: the mistake may have originated in a textual error, a scribe having written Sicilia for Italia. 8 The Latin is Catalogus locorum. We know of no work with this title. It may well be another name for Bede’s De nominibus locorum (n6 above). 9 This came up with reference to Erasmus’ annotation on Titus 3:12; see Ep 2938 n10.

2951  To Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda  1534

25

Cato.10 I commented only on De officiis, and that was thirty-six years ago.11 The rest was added by Fausto,12 after I had returned to my homeland.13 I do 35 not know if Goclenius added anything.14 I went completely off the track in identifying you. Someone called Genesius Mendesius once sent me a letter in Greek from Rome.15 When I obtained your book,16 I did not inspect the title-page too closely, so I thought that you and he were the same person. But he claimed to be Portuguese. Now 40 I learn for the first time that you come from Córdoba,17 or at least I am now for the first time paying attention to the fact. Besides I knew, even without the geographers, that Seneca’s father was a Spaniard from Córdoba. But I am very glad, my dear Sepúlveda, that you chastised me for my carelessness. I know nothing about Zúñiga’s rejoinder to Jacques Lefèvre except 45 what he himself quotes.18 The point of contention was that Lefèvre had ***** 10 By Cicero’s Cato Erasmus means De senectute, Cato the Elder being one of the principal characters in the dialogue. The work was often published under the title Cato Maior de senectute. 11 Around 1501 an edition of Cicero’s De officiis by Erasmus was published without date by Johannes Philippi at Paris. The dedicatory letter (Ep 152), somehow omitted from this edition, was printed with the new edition published by Dirk Martens at Louvain in 1519 and reprinted by Froben at Basel in 1520. See Epp 151:22–3 and 152 introduction (where the heading of the cwe text is dated ‘28 December’ instead of ‘28 April [1501]’). 12 In 1501 and in 1519/20 the volume included several other dialogues, including De senectute. The ‘Faustus’ in question was presumably Fausto Andrelini, Erasmus’ friend in Paris during the 1490s (Ep 84 introduction), though his role is nowhere acknowledged in the volume. 13 In the spring of 1501, shortly after writing Ep 152 (see n11 above), Erasmus fled to the Netherlands to escape an outbreak of the plague at Paris; see Ep 153 introduction. 14 Conradus Goclenius, who became the first professor of Latin at the Collegium Trilingue in Louvain in 1519, cannot possibly have had anything to do with the publication of the book at Paris in 1501. But he could conceivably have had something to do with its republication by Martens at Louvain in 1519 (see n11 above). The Martens volume may have been intended primarily for the use of students at the Collegium Trilingue; see Ep 1013 introduction. 15 Unidentified 16 Antapologia pro Alberto Pio (Ep 2637 introduction) 17 See Ep 2938:57–9. 18 Presumably in the unpublished notes that had been forwarded to Erasmus; see n1 above. Erasmus had tried but failed to procure a copy of Zúñiga’s Annotationes contra Jacobum Fabrum; see Ep 2905:38–9. Sepúlveda had expressed doubt that any such work existed (Ep 2938:68–70).

2951  To Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda  1534

26

­ enied that the current edition of the New Testament was the work of Jerome d or was corrected by Jerome.19 My version, based on Greek manuscripts, does not condemn our edition, since I admit that the Translator20 had a copy that was more correct in several places than that which Chrysostom or Theophylact had; nor do I deal with heretics, but with Athanasius, Chrysostom, and Cyril. Corruption in the Greek manuscripts has arisen principally from the scribal practice of incorporating into the text what some learned reader had noted in the margin from another passage in the Gospels. I would accept what you say about the authority of the pontifical library were it not that the copy that was followed by Francisco, cardinal of Spain,21 had been sent from the pontifical library as an authentic text.22 But it is generally in agreement with my manuscripts. I have not seen the Aurea Bulla. Cuthbert, bishop of Durham, a man of superb learning, told me about it and I accepted his word. He did not say there was anything in the bull about correcting the manuscripts, but he did state that changes in Greek manuscripts had taken place.23 I myself saw a codex of the Gospels from Reuchlin’s library, which agreed everywhere with our Latin edition, but it was more recent.24 I would like to continue, most learned sir, but my poor body is worn out by writing to many people. I shall write in more detail later when I have the time. Farewell. Freiburg, 3 July 1534 If you find errors in this letter, remember that I have not looked it over. ***** 19 The ‘current edition’ was the Vulgate; the same is true of ‘our edition’ in the first sentence of the next paragraph. 20 Erasmus always refers to the unknown translator of the Vulgate New Testament as ‘the Translator.’ 21 Francisco Jiménes de Cisneros, archbishop of Toledo, primate of Spain, and sponsor of the polyglot Bible produced at Alcalá (the so-called Complutensian Polyglot) and published in 1520 22 This so-called authentic text was not the famous uncial manuscript known as Vaticanus b 1209 (Ep 2873 n3) but an inferior Vatican manuscript used by the editors of the Complutensian Polyglot. Erasmus argues that its poor quality destroys any idea that manuscripts in the pontifical library have any automatic claim to special respect. 23 For the Aurea Bulla and what it did or did not contain, see Ep 2905:42–6 with n12. For Cuthbert Tunstall, bishop of Durham, see Ep 2831 n3. 24 For this twelfth-century Greek manuscript, which included the entire New Testament save part of the book of Revelation, see Ep 300:35n, and cf cwe 41 46.

50

55

60

65

70

2953  From Johann Koler  1534 2952 / From Bonifacius Amerbach

27 [Basel, c 19 July 1534]

This letter was first published by Allen. There are two drafts of it, one in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel: ms c via 73 folio 177, and an earlier version on folio 216. Allen printed both versions; ak Ep 1845 prints only the first, with the conjectural date c 15 July 1534. (Allen’s justification of his date is difficult to follow, and his dating of some of the letters referred to differs from those assigned by Alfred Hartmann in ak, whose own justification is none too clear. At all events, the difference in dating does not affect the position of the letter in the sequence of the correspondence.)

Greetings. Erasmus, my distinguished friend, I can think of nothing to write to you about, unless it would not bore you to be told that I pray continually that you will enjoy the good health you would wish for and live as long a life as possible for the advancement of good letters. In order to observe with my own eyes how you are, I have decided to set out on a visit to you within ten 5 days or a fortnight, to pay my respects in person.1 Please ask anything at all from me and feel confident that I will comply. Do look after yourself, my dear master, my mentor par excellence. Greetings. Nothing, dear Erasmus, occurs to me to write at present except 10 that I want you to be in the very best of health. Then if you want my help, please let me know about it. For such are my sentiments towards you that you should feel free to ask anything of me and expect me to supply it. Recently Herwagen asked me to send his letter to you,2 but it has been held up here rather long because I found no one going your way. 2953 / From Johann Koler

Augsburg, 25 July 1534

This letter was first published as Ep 209 in Förstemann / Günther. The autograph, address sheet missing, was in the Burscher Collection of the University Library at Leipzig (Ep 1254 introduction). For Johann Koler, see Ep 2947.

*****



2952 1 Cf ak Ep 1844 (c 15 July 1534, to Damião de Gois), where Bonifacius expresses the same intention to visit Erasmus in approximately 14 days. 2 Presumably Ep 2945

2953  From Johann Koler  1534

28

Cordial greetings. I was upset and angry with myself for trusting the most recent courier to deliver letters to you.1 I had almost despaired that they would ever reach you, for I was sure that the monk had slipped off somewhere.2 I was, therefore, afraid that if the letters had been intercepted and had ended up in the hands of the Evangelicals at Strasbourg, it would land us in trouble, since I had made a number of statements that I would not like to see in print. But it turned out better than I thought, for he delivered to you not just the letters but the nutmegs as well (about which I was particularly anxious).3 It grieves me greatly that you have been unable to reply to my letter.4 It is even more painful to learn that your old ailment has struck again.5 I am sorry you have to bear such serious and undeserved troubles and so much excruciating pain. But I hope that, with Christ’s blessing, you will soon recover your former health. In the meantime we must bear with resignation whatever God and nature inflict upon us. Sometimes, when I am sick, I console myself with this thought, convinced that by enduring these troubles one’s powers of endurance are also strengthened, for tribulation produces endurance, endurance causes us to be tested, and testing leads to hope, which never fails or lets us down.6 But why do I say these things to you? This is like the proverbial pig giving a lesson to Minerva!7 At any rate I have this one thought to console me: that Christ will never place on you a greater burden than you can bear,8 will make this time of testing redound to the glory of his eternal kingdom, and in his mercy will shortly restore you to health to the delight of all your friends. To turn now to your earlier and your most recent letters: the most bitter and painful news they brought was that your friend More has suffered a

*****



2953 1 Reading litteras (like Gerlo) as a plural, since Koler had entrusted not only Ep 2947 but also Epp 2936–7 to the same courier (see Ep 2947:1–2), and it was the content of the latter two that was the more compromising (see lines 4–6 below). 2 ‘The monk’ is unidentified. 3 See Ep 2947:91–2, and cf lines 99–100 below. It appears that Erasmus had answered Ep 2947 in a letter now lost and acknowledged receipt of the nutmegs. 4 Except for Ep 2906, no letter of Erasmus to Koler in 1534 has survived. 5 See Ep 2940 n2. 6 Rom 5:3–5 7 Adagia i i 40 8 1 Cor 10:13

5

10

15

20

25

2953  From Johann Koler  1534

29

terrible and cruel fate.9 The report that our merchants here made some time ago, which I did not believe, was, alas, all too true, for it told almost the same story as I got from your letter. Women are the cause of all these misfortunes. The unhappy More could rightly say with Seneca: 30 Why, mighty Fortune, with your false and coaxing look, have you raised me up when I was happy with my lot, that heavier may be my fall from this exalted height?10

I do not know how nature has so arranged it that cruel fate rarely spares outstanding excellence and that the better and more innocent a man may be, the more likely he is to fall victim to a tyrant’s hatred. The virtuous are the first over whom savagery and the evil hunger for destruction claim control. But a time will come when the innocence of good men and the wickedness of evil men will have their due recompense. Meanwhile More will not lack the support of eminent men in every quarter of the world, by whose testimony his innocence and the king’s cruelty will be made manifest and proclaimed to posterity. Yet I grieve also for the plight of the king, in other respects a man distinguished by much that is good, who, for the sake of a woman, has done harm to himself and to his whole kingdom. But love is blind and treacherous and knows no limit to its power. ‘The curse of passion conquers the virtuous heart.’11 But in grieving for another’s misfortune I have almost forgotten our own. I can scarcely find words to describe the storms by which we are buffeted here and the dangers that envelop us. Never before have we faced a graver crisis. We have reached the point where, any day now, we may have to escape from here – if, that is, we shall be permitted to escape. First the council at Augsburg, under the influence of the heretics, imposed silence on all Catholic preachers here, forbidding them to preach the word of God; and that happened the day before I sent off this letter to you.12 Second, in all *****

9 The letters are not extant; cf n4 above. On 17 April 1534, Thomas More, who had opposed King Henry viii’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon and his marriage to Anne Boleyn, and had refused to take the oath of succession acknowledging Anne’s children as the legitimate heirs to the throne, was imprisoned in the Tower of London. He would be executed in 6 July 1535. 10 Seneca Octavia 377–80 11 Seneca Phaedra 980 12 According to Roth Augs Ref ii 175–7, the decision to proceed with reform measures was made on 22 July 1534; the measures summarized in this paragraph were proclaimed on the following day.

35

40

45

50

2953  From Johann Koler  1534

30

the churches and chapels that they deemed to be under their control, they ­forbade the celebration of mass, and in the monasteries of the mendicant friars even the ringing of bells was forbidden. They did the same in the convents of nuns, offering everyone who agreed to attend their meetings the opportunity to leave the convent and granting them also the right to marry. The collegiate churches13 are still free to celebrate mass and to chant the canonical hours (as they are called); in their side-chapels they have barricaded the altars,14 which they claim were erected at the expense of the laity, so that it is not possible to say mass there. Such are the actions of these preternaturally religious zealots. I think the time is not far off when they will forbid the mass and all other sacred observances throughout the city.15 Our reverend bishop Christoph has made up his mind that the entire church establishment should leave here at once,16 a view to which, I think, you will not subscribe, for you always appeared to me to disapprove of running away. Almost everyone, however, has decided to leave, which means abandoning our sacred churches and private chapels to violent factions for them to despoil, nor do I think it likely that we shall ever return here again. More serious still, in my opinion, is that there is as yet no consensus as to where we should go, nor, assuming that there are people willing to take us in, can we be sure how long we would stay with them, since there is always the danger that they may change their minds or their religion, and, as a consequence, we would have to flee from that place too. Our circumstances are indeed wretched, since nowhere do we have any firm grounds for confidence,17 no refuge, and no hope of assistance from anyone. I have begun to pack my belongings, but many things that are very precious to me must be left behind. Nothing, however, distresses me so much as that I am leaving ***** 13 The Latin is simply collegia. The meaning is established by Allen Ep 2961:100, which reads ecclesiis … collegiatis. A collegiate church (Stiftskirche in German) was a church that had an endowed chapter of canons but was not a cathedral, ie not the home church of a bishop. There were eight such churches in Augsburg. The church of St Moritz, of which Koler was canon, was one of them. 14 The word translated as ‘side-chapels’ is basilicae. ‘Basilica’ appears to be used here in the sense of ‘hall’ or ‘gallery.’ Since the text says that the ‘basilicas’ are part of the collegiate church, ‘side-chapel’ seems to be the only possible reference. 15 This happened in January 1537. 16 It did not come to that quite so suddenly. Bishop Christoph spent much of his time at his residence in Dillingen, but the chapter did not move from Augsburg to Dillingen until 1537. 17 The phrase stabulum confidentiae ‘grounds for confidence’ is taken from Plautus Mostellaria 350.

55

60

65

70

75

2953  From Johann Koler  1534

31

this flourishing city of mine to be wrecked and plundered at the whim of evil and desperate men.18 I have not tears enough for the wretched fate that has befallen many good men. But it is foolish for one man to grieve for what is a universal disaster. Nothing now remains but to commit everything to God, who, assuredly, is a just God who rightly inflicts these punishments upon us only when we deserve them and will cease his anger if we shed the tears that our sins demand and change our lives for the better. Please address in future any letters for me to Master Johann Paumgartner. If he is not present when they arrive, or even if he cannot be here in the future, he will always have his men here, who can easily direct any letters that arrive to their proper destination. For it is not clear how long I shall remain here. For this reason I would be deeply obliged if you would write back to me as soon as you can. I have a living in a neighbouring place;19 I shall send on my things there so that I may follow whenever necessity compels me to go. I am sending you a bundle of letters from Anselmus Ephorinus.20 He is sending you three old authors that were recently printed in Italy and dedicated to Master Anton Fugger.21 But, I am told, they are being printed a second time here in Augsburg.22 I write this to you so that Froben, if he thought of printing them, does not waste his effort. There is no reason for me to thank Paumgartner in your name for the nutmegs, for it was not he who sent them to you.23 Finally, I pray you may always be safe and well. God grant I may soon have news of your recovery. Whatever fate awaits me, I shall always be yours. Farewell. May Christ preserve you for our sakes and for the sake of his church. The feast of St James the apostle 1534 You will recognize the hand of yours truly. ***** 18 When the chapter of St Moritz left Augsburg in January 1536, Koler did not in fact leave but stayed behind with some of the other canons. 19 cebr ii 269 says that from 1503 to 1533 he held the benefice of a parish priest at Landsberg in Bavaria, about 36 kilometres from Augsburg. This seems to indicate that he still held the benefice in 1534. 20 For Ephorinus, see Ep 2539 introduction. 21 The work in question was the edition by Georg von Logau (Ep 2568 n4) of three recently discovered classical Latin works, the Cynegetica[e] of Grattius and Nemesianus, and the Halieutica of Ovid. The volume was printed at Venice (Aldus) in 1534, with a long letter of introduction to Anton Fugger. 22 The volume was indeed reprinted at Augsburg (Heinrich Steiner 1534). 23 See n3 above.

80

85

90

95

100

105

2954  From Udalricus Zasius  1534 2954 / From Udalricus Zasius

32 [Freiburg], 27 July 1534

This letter was first published as Ep 210 in Förstemann / Günther. The autograph was in the Burscher Collection of the University Library at Leipzig (Ep 1254 introduction). For Udalricus Zasius, eminent jurist and professor of law at Freiburg, see Ep 303 introduction.

With my compliments. If you love me, don’t let that young man visit me; keep him at home,1 for apart from the fact that ‘physical presence diminishes reputation,’2 I have a lot of business to attend to, and, on top of this, I am beset by my usual complaint.3 Then, since the problem with my hearing grows steadily worse every day, what would he gain by having a long talk 5 with me when I could not reply except through an intermediary?4 Farewell. About the Augsburg courier, if anyone is interested, I shall look after it.5 From my home, and indeed from my table. On the morrow of the feast of St Anne in the year [15]34 Yours, Zasius 10 To the great Erasmus, my most respected master and mentor 2955 / To Erasmus Schets

Freiburg, 30 July 1534

This letter was first published by Allen on the basis of the autograph in the Bodleian Library at Oxford (ms Lat Misc c 20 folio 54). Schets (Ep 2944) e­ ndorsed the letter: ‘I received this from Master Erasmus of Rotterdam on 14 August 1534 via his servant Jo. Clauthus’; see n8 below.

*****



2954 1 Possibly Damião de Gois, who was living with Erasmus at this time (Ep 2929 n4) 2 Claudian Bellum Gildonicum 385 3 Zasius had many physical ailments; it is not clear which one of them is referred to here. 4 It is not at all clear what use an ‘intermediary’ (or an interpreter; interpres can mean both) would be in overcoming Zasius’ hearing problem. 5 Presumably a reference to one of the couriers who had recently carried letters from Augsburg; see Ep 2949.

2955  To Erasmus Schets  1534

33

Cordial greetings. I received through Konrad Joham the bundle of letters that you had sent to Strasbourg.1 I gave Damião his. He is now ready for his journey to Italy – under good auspices, I hope.2 This summer my illness affected me so badly that I hoped for the end.3 But it was not yet the will of God. He is the Lord; let him do what is good in 5 his eyes.4 Unless he brings about a change in my condition, I would not dare to entrust this poor body of mine to a journey, even if it were only a two-day journey. Indeed, hardly once in three months has it been possible for me to step outside the house. However, my friends in your part of the world, who are certainly not fools, are warning me to beware of the Franciscans. The 10 emperor has been very indulgent to this class of men.5 But my heart longs for Brabant, and the monks would not deter me if I enjoyed middling health. I decided to send this servant of mine, Johannes Clauthus, to England, partly to dig out my pension,6 partly to make sure of the other pension (the official document is with you),7 and partly to get a more reliable report about 15 my friends.8 An Englishman at Louvain said that More had been freed, but I am reluctant to believe it because I so desperately want it to be true.9 The *****







2955 1 Konrad Joham (d 1551) was a wealthy merchant of Strasbourg and an influential member of the city government. Allen was mistaken in thinking him likely to be the ‘Conradus’ of Ep 2972:1–2 to whose servant a letter to Jacopo Sadoleto was entrusted, but he is definitely the Konrad Joham of Ep 2992:1–2, to whom at Strasbourg Erasmus Schets had sent a letter for Erasmus. It is clear that his business network, like that of Anton Fugger, had been placed at the disposal of Erasmus. 2 He had been living with Erasmus at Freiburg since April 1534 (Ep 2919 nn2, 4). 3 See Ep 2940 n2. 4 1 Sam 3:18: Dominus est; quod bonum est in oculis suis faciat ‘It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.’ Cf Epp 3016:12 with n5, 3019:68 with n27, 3048:42–4 with n9. 5 See Epp 2898:11–21, 2906:46, 2918:18, 2956:48–50, 2961:49–51. 6 The Aldington pension 7 The second pension from Archbishop Warham. For the ‘official document’ see Ep 2896 n12. 8 On Johannes Clauthus, who entered Erasmus’ service in the spring of 1534, see Ep 2916 n6. He died in England in September 1534 during the mission referred to here, before rendering any report to Erasmus. See Epp 2981:1–17, 2997:6–48, 3053:6–24. 9 The rumour was false.

2955  To Erasmus Schets  1534

34

emperor in Spain has thrown several of my scholarly friends into prison, as Vives writes in a letter.10 We await the tyranny of the Franciscans.11 Give my servant the information he needs about the person in England 20 with whom he should deposit the money he will receive there. No danger can arise from the letters I have entrusted to him. I have warned him not to take letters from anyone apart from you. I am waiting for the roll of linen.12 Would you please add to the bundle several cones of good sugar, which can be found nowhere here, and eight or 25 ten pounds of fresh almonds.13 None are available here even if one were willing to pay a florin per pound. In an emergency I usually seek relief in almond milk. Jot down what you spend so that I can add it to the account. The threats of war have suddenly died down. The duke has his duke- 30 dom.14 The city has dismissed the soldiers it had hired.15 My best wishes to your excellent wife and dear children. Freiburg, 30 July 1534 To the excellent Master Erasmus Schets, merchant. In Antwerp 2956 / To Johannes Sinapius

Freiburg, 31 July 1534

This letter was first published by Rudolph Staehelin in Briefe aus der Reformationszeit (Basel 1887) 23–5. The manuscript, a contemporary copy, is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms Frey Grynaeus ii 9 134). For Johannes Sinapius, German humanist turned physician, who in 1532 had entered the service of Duke Ercole ii d’Este of Ferrara, see Ep 2461 introduction.

to the learned and eloquent johannes sinapius, student of medicine at the home of manardo of ferrara You began your letter with a word which, if I am not mistaken, is said to have offended Nero, but it delighted me, for in these times many people have been *****

10 See Ep 2932:30–1. 11 See n5 above. 12 See Ep 2944:7–8. 13 On the almonds, cf Ep 2981:18–20. 14 Duke Ulrich of Württemberg; see Epp 2940 n5, 2947 n6. 15 The city of Freiburg had hired soldiers to defend it against a feared attack by Philip of Hessen in his campaign of conquest in the duchy of Württemberg; cf Ep 2947:9–13.

2956  To Johannes Sinapius  1534

35

seized by so dangerous a madness that there is no more appropriate greeting than to wish them ‘good health.’1 Viglius did not mention you when he returned here, perhaps because he had no occasion to do so; in any case he was too preoccupied with publishing his Institutes of law in Greek and his commentary on them.2 Nor did Anselmus make any mention of you in his letter to me.3 It is a mark of your generosity that you thank me so profusely because you have found a home with the eminent physician Manardo.4 At the time I was worn out with letter writing, and so I commended you in only a word or two – and without taking a lot of care. So you owe it to your own character that you have been welcomed into that man’s home. I congratulate you warmly on this achievement, for I think there is hardly anyone else living in this age who is more expert in medical science than Manardo. As for your decision to honour me with the dedication of a work of yours, your intention is as gratifying to me as if you had already fulfilled it.5 I congratulate you also on not letting slip the opportunity that happily came your way,6 deciding instead to seize Opportunity by the forelock (for the back of her head is bald).7 Fileno has not appeared here yet.8 Hieronymus *****





2956 1 Sinapius’ letter is not extant. The word Erasmus refers to (and repeats) is the Greek verb ὑγiαίνειν, meaning ‘to be healthy,’ which is sometimes found in Greek letters as a greeting. It was also used ironically in a political lampoon with reference to the emperor Nero’s murder of his mother (Suetonius Nero 39.3). 2 On his return from Italy in October 1533, Viglius Zuichemus paid Erasmus a brief visit in Freiburg, and then went to Basel to see through the Froben press his edition of the Greek translation of Justinian’s Institutes and his own commentary on it. He visited Erasmus again in early January 1534, on his way home to the Netherlands. See Ep 2878 n2. 3 Possibly in the bundle of letters from Anselmus Ephorinus mentioned in Ep 2953:94 4 Giovanni Manardo, professor of medicine at Ferrara, famous for his work in the restoration of ancient medical texts and for his pioneering work in the classification of diseases (Ep 1587 n52) 5 It seems never to have been fulfilled. 6 Probably the opportunity (1532) to enter the service of Duke Ercole ii d’Este and his wife, Renée of France, as a court physician and supervisor of their children’s education 7 See Adagia i vii 70, which pictures Opportunity with an ample forelock, easily grabbed, but with a bald occiput. 8 For Fileno Lunardi see Ep 3002 n4. The following sentence acknowledges receipt of Sinapius’ letter of introduction (not extant) for Lunardi and Giovanni Angelo Odoni; cf Ep 3002:1060–2.

5

10

15

20

2956  To Johannes Sinapius  1534

36

Froben delivered your letter and the letter from the doctor.9 I suspected they were carried by the printer Bebel, who has now set off again for Italy.10 Will you please reciprocate the good wishes you sent me from Augustinus Foliatus?11 I am replying to the doctor’s letter.12 I was delighted to have my memories of Celio Calcagnini refreshed by you.13 He is a man in whom integrity and erudition are so evenly balanced that you would not know on which account to admire him more. Please return greetings on my behalf to Manardo and thank him also for the warm welcome he has given you.14 It seems to be my fate to have to struggle with a crowd of vipers and to be compelled to write apologetic works in my own defence, but this I regard as preferable to riling a lot of people by angry invectives. I can now claim that, among all my numerous apologias, there is nothing from Erasmus’ pen that could be called an ‘invective.’ Nor do I respond to everyone. I was silent when attacked by Vincentius and his Dominican buffoons,15 just as I made no response to the Dominican Zichemus,16 or Scaliger,17 or Nikolaus of Herborn, the Franciscan commissary of all the provinces on this side of the Alps. What I am telling you is a tale of tyrannical oppression. Nikolaus, with the help of his brethren, and contrary to the edict of the emperor, published at Antwerp the Lenten sermons that he had delivered in Cologne, in which there is neither learning, nor eloquence, nor judgment, nor intelligence, nor any indication of a godly mind. He seems to have issued them simply to ensure that the wisdom of the Brothers would continue to be spread abroad: that Erasmus is the father of Luther; that Erasmus laid the eggs and Luther hatched them; that Luther, Zwingli, Oeclampadius, and Erasmus are the soldiery of Pilate, ***** 9 Probably Antonio Lúcio; see Ep 3113 n3. 10 The Basel printer Johann Bebel (Ep 1477a n8) was active in the French and Italian book markets and often made trips to Italy, where he maintained an agent at Venice. 11 Mistakenly identified by Allen as the Genoese patrician Agostino Foglietta, who had died in the sack of Rome in 1527. The person referred to was perhaps the Augustinian monk Agostino Fogiadeno or Fogliato, who lived at Ferrara and was an avid student of the Bible, philosophy, and theology. 12 Not extant 13 For Calcagnini see Ep 2869. 14 See n4 above. 15 Vincentius Theoderici, to whom Erasmus did respond, but in a letter in which he was named only once, and by accident; see Ep 1196 introduction. 16 Eustachius van der Rivieren; see Epp 2264 introduction, 2522 n8. 17 Julius Caesar Scaliger; see Ep 2564 n2.

25

30

35

40

45

2956  To Johannes Sinapius  1534

37

who crucified Jesus.18 The emperor seems to think well of these people, whose services he uses to scatter the seed of the gospel in the newly discovered lands.19 I would never have imagined that there was such youthful irresponsibility in Eugubinus.20 I had given him advice in a way that showed my high regard for him21 – his temperament, being impetuous and arrogant, needed direction. In return for my friendly advice he sent me a letter full of manifest lies,22 with a postscript to ease my wounds, just as in his writings against Luther, when he mentions the Germans, he goes on about the native savagery of the people, the ancient barbarity of the race, the brutality of the nation, and so on,23 yet he imagines that he can pour a soothing balm on the wounds he has inflicted if he denies that he has ever attacked that nation and maintains that he is well disposed towards it.24 Here is genuine monkish impudence! What happened to Luther I do not know. Although I had not uttered a word to provoke him, he published a letter that was so outrageous that it greatly offends even those who belong to his own sect, and on top of all this he threatens to make known his judgment of me.25 Need I say more? I see developing a deadly epidemic. Lower Germany has been flooded by an almost incredible wave of Anabaptists.26 Fifty ships were intercepted, sixty sunk. There are discussions going on about the rest.27 Inside Münster, the capital of Westphalia,28 they continue to resist despite being under siege by

*****

18 For Nikolaus Ferber of Herborn, see Ep 2896 n8. 19 ‘These people’ were the Franciscans, who played an important role in the evangelization of New Spain. For Erasmus’ belief that the emperor showed too much favour to the Franciscans, see Ep 2955 n5. 20 Ie Agostino Steuco of Gubbio (Ep 2465 introduction) 21 In Ep 2465 22 Ep 2513 23 On Steuco’s hostility to Germans, see Ep 2806 n8. 24 See Ep 2513:121–4, 150–2. 25 See Ep 2947:80–2 with n24. 26 For the spread of revolutionary Anabaptism in the Netherlands (‘Lower Germany’), see Krahn 118–35. 27 This is a reference to the Netherlands Anabaptists who were seeking refuge in Münster. See Ep 2957 nn5–6. 28 Strictly speaking, Münster was the capital of the eponymous prince-bishopric, which was but one of the principalities in the region of Westphalia. For a brief account of the rise and fall of the Anabaptist kingdom at Münster, see oer iii 97–8; for a more detailed account, see Krahn 135–64.

50

55

60

65

2956  TO JOHANNES SINAPIUS  1534

38

the bishop and the duke of Jülich.29 They have their Enoch and their Elijah and their other prophets,30 who predict that the world will end next Lent.31 Farewell. 70 31 July 1534. I received your letter a few days ago.32 Erasmus of Rotterdam, in my own hand 2957 / From Viglius Zuichemus

Dülmen, 12 August 1534

This letter was first published in Van Heussen 114–16. Allen consulted two manuscript copies, one in the University Library at Ghent (ms 479.23), and one in the Bibliothèque Royale at Brussels (ms i i 10401 folio 78). For Viglius Zuichemus see Ep 2101 introduction. This is evidently Viglius’ first letter to Erasmus since visiting him at Freiburg in January 1534 on his way home to the Netherlands (Ep 2878 n2). Currently residing at Dülmen in the service of the bishop of Münster (see lines 132–3 with n23 below), Viglius gives here an account of the Anabaptist uprising at Münster that is supplemented by those in four subsequent letters from him to Erasmus, Epp 2962, 2999 (written before the recapture of the city) and Epp 3060, 3071 (written shortly after the recapture). In addition to Viglius, two other correspondents, Konrad Heresbach (Epp 3031, 3031a) and Tielmannus Gravius (Epp 2990, 3041), kept Erasmus ­informed about events at Münster.

***** 29 Franz von Waldeck, bishop of Münster, and Duke John iii of Jülich-Cleves. The siege (cf Ep 2957) began in February 1534, but it took more than a year for the bishop to find enough military and financial support from neighbouring rulers, both Lutheran and Catholic, to bring the siege to a successful conclusion. The city fell on 24 June 1535. 30 Jan Mathijszoon (also known as Jan Matthijs or Matthys), baker of Haarlem, who claimed to be the prophet Enoch and to have exceptional spiritual powers, arrived in Münster on 24 February 1534 and assumed leadership of the Anabaptist movement that had already established itself there. On the following Easter Sunday, 5 April, he was killed during a sortie against the besieging army of the bishop of Münster. His disciple, Jan of Leiden (Ep 2957 n20), probably the Elijah mentioned here, then became ‘king of the New Jerusalem’ on the ‘throne of David’ at Münster, where he was executed on 22 January 1536, following the successful storming of the city by the bishop and his allies. 31 Jan Mathijszoon (see preceding note) had predicted that the Last Judgment would occur at Easter 1534, but it failed to do so. His successor, Jan of Leiden (see preceding note) then predicted that Münster would be delivered before Easter 1535, but that too did not happen. 32 See n1 above.

Jan Mathijszoon Biblioteca Nacional de España, Madrid

Franz von Waldeck Land Niedersachsen, Polizeiausbildingsstätte Bad Iburg

2957  From Viglius Zuichemus  1534

41

to erasmus of rotterdam For some considerable time now I have wanted to make amends for my long silence by writing a lengthy letter about events that are the subject of widespread rumour and about my personal situation (for I know that such is your good will towards me that you have always been concerned for my welfare). The reason I have not done so up to now is that the outcome of those events has been so doubtful and unpredictable. I kept waiting for some happy ending to the present struggle so that I would have a more pleasant subject to write about, and you would be less critical of my decision to take up this perilous appointment. After leaving you, I went to Cologne, where, because of bad weather, I was forced to remain for some time. I stayed with a fellow countryman, Dr Jan of Dokkum, a Frisian.1 There I began to have discussions with a representative of the bishop of Münster, who is also in charge of the churches of Osnabrück and Minden.2 They wanted me to take on the responsibility of an ecclesiastical judgeship, which in that province is an important office – they call it an ‘officiality.’3 For my part I was intent on seizing the chance to acquire a sound knowledge of legal practice, but the stipend offered was so generous, and my fellow countryman so positive and persuasive, that I allowed myself to be dragged into accepting the appointment, though on the condition that, since I had long wanted to revisit my homeland, I be permitted to be absent until the first of May. No sooner had I taken up the position than news reached me of the revolution that was threatened there by the Anabaptists.4 As I entered Holland and Friesland, I discovered the beginnings of serious unrest there too, with the sect increasing every day. Everywhere people from the towns and villages were on the move; they were gathering provisions for a journey *****



2957 1 Jan of Dokkum (d 1541) studied at Cologne and then at Bologna, where he appears to have taken a degree in civil and canon law in 1509. In 1511, after a brief period teaching in Cologne, he became an advocate and then (1516) an assessor to the Reichskammergericht (Imperial Supreme Court) in Worms. In 1518 he returned to Cologne, where he remained until his death. 2 Franz von Waldeck, bishop of Minden from 1530, added the sees of Münster and Osnabrück to his list of ecclesiastical preferments in 1532, having received papal authorization for this pluralism. 3 The Latin is officialatus, for which ‘officiality’ is the rarely used but proper equivalent. An officialis ‘official’ was the chief judge of an episcopal or archidiaconal court. 4 Ie in Münster; see Ep 2956:64–9 with nn26–31.

5

10

15

20

25

2957  From Viglius Zuichemus  1534

42

and planning revolution; a large crowd of every rank and sex and age had hurried onto boats with the object of sailing to Münster.5 But they were intercepted by Georg Schenck, governor of Friesland and Overijssel, at the mouth of the river Vecht, one mile below Zwolle.6 I soon began to have serious reservations about my new position. But I had one consolation, the fact that the bishop, who was acting with the greatest vigilance, was considering every measure by which he might best oppose this fanatical and seditious sect. When he realized that the disturbances among the citizens could not be checked in any other way, he quickly organized a troop of cavalry and blocked all the roads by which supplies are taken into the city. He communicated his plan to the neighbouring princes and conscripted an army of up to twelve thousand infantry. They were suddenly put in position to blockade the city. The better part of the respectable citizens had either already fled the city beforehand or were driven out just after the siege began, for since they refused to be baptized a second time, to share all their goods in common, and to assent to every one of the new doctrines, they were treated as enemies by the other party. But it would take a long time indeed to describe the various steps by which this once flourishing city sank into its present sad state and to recount the whole painful saga of its long siege. It is a tale of countless horrors and disasters. The intention was that other cities would be warned by the *****



5 Faced with brutal persecution in the Hapsburg Netherlands, large numbers of Anabaptists attempted to flee to Münster in Westphalia, which by the beginning of 1534 had fallen under the control of a revolutionary Anabaptist government that declared Münster ‘the city of God’ and offered refuge to all the persecuted and oppressed. Some of those who fled travelled by boat to designated points along the coast (it was not possible to sail all the way to Münster). See Krahn 145–7. 6 The river in question was the Overijsselse Veldt (so called to distinguish it from the Veldt at Utrecht), which flows into the North Sea at the Zuider Zee. This may well be the incident reported by Krahn 147. On 24 March 1534 twenty-seven boats (cf Epp 2956:65–6, 2961:120–4, 3031A:334–8) had arrived on the coast (specific location not named), but instead of being led to the promised land as expected, the three thousand men, women, and children on board were arrested as dangerous revolutionaries by officers of the local towns. The governor of Friesland and Overijssel, Georg Schenck von Tautenburg, a diligent enforcer of Charles v’s decrees against heresy, took charge, putting some of the leaders of the group to death and sending the rest, deprived of their money and valuables, back to the places from which they had come, where one hundred or so of them were executed.

30

35

40

45

2957  From Viglius Zuichemus  1534

43

wretched fate of this city and learn to put some limit to their madness. One could see the prelude to the present unrest in the terrible peasant uprising that affected almost the whole of Germany in the year 1525.7 For it was then that grievances began to be collected against the clergy, and with these as pretext all the most impudent and base among the common people ravaged the monasteries in the city, brazenly demanding breakfast each morning, from which they got the name ‘Offarii.’8 The magistrates attempted to curb such insolence, but it lay beyond their powers to do this. So the canons of the highest rank, who traditionally exercise great authority there, left the city in great indignation and were absent for almost a year.9 In the end the matter was settled through the influence of the archbishop of Cologne, whose brother at that time was in charge of the church in Münster.10 But the seeds of rebellion, once sown, sprang up more vigorously every day, especially after it was permitted without penalty to import and read any sort of publication, and the magistrates, whether out of hatred of the clergy or to curry favour with the people, turned a blind eye to the excesses of the preachers. Those who began with Lutheranism, which had a ready appeal for all of the common people, through frequent innovations in doctrine ended up in the abominable sect of the Anabaptists. This encompasses not just one single heresy, but is a sort of hellish pit containing every heresy.11 *****





7 Simultaneously with the Peasants’ War, which affected mostly the south of Germany, there were in some north German cities popular insurrections that combined old social grievances with the new anti-clericalism. In Münster, the artisans complained of economic competition from the clergy in the form of the weaving of cloth and the manufacture of handicraft goods in the monasteries of the city and the surrounding countryside. The insurrection was quickly suppressed, but the grievances that had led to it were still alive during the Anabaptist uprising of 1534–5 and after. See R. Po-chia Hsia Society and Religion in Münster (New Haven 1984) 3, 54. 8 The Latin offa means ‘a morsel’ or ‘a small cake,’ ‘a dumpling.’ An offarius was someone who baked or otherwise dealt with such morsels or cakes or dumplings. In this context it appears to be a derogatory term for those demanding offae for breakfast. 9 The canons of the highest rank were presumably those of the cathedral chapter, as distinguished from those of other collegiate churches. 10 Friedrich von Wied (1478–1551), brother of Hermann von Wied, archbishop of Cologne (Ep 1976), was elected bishop of Münster in 1522, a post from which he resigned on 24 March 1532. 11 Literally ‘a Lerna of heresies.’ Lerna was a Greek lake into which every kind of trash was thrown. It was also said to be the home of the seven-headed hydra. Hence the Latin proverb Lerna malorum ‘A Lerna of troubles’ (Adagia i iii 27).

50

55

60

65

2957  From Viglius Zuichemus  1534

44

The prime mover was Bernhard Rothmann. After some time spent teaching basic letters in an elementary school, he was promoted to the office of chaplain in a parish on the outskirts of the city. Here, relying more on his eloquence than his learning, he deliberately gave the cart a good shove (as the saying goes),12 and easily brought the common people over to his way of thinking, for they are always open to radical ideas. So within the next two years, just before the inauguration of the new bishop,13 he worked the people up to abolish all ceremonies.14 This did not happen, however, without fresh disturbances, and already there was a sort of prelude to war. But the landgrave of Hessen intervened when the lawless behaviour of the preachers, who would pay no attention to pacts and stipulations, was every day becoming more outrageous; the situation reached the point where a bitter conflict arose among those who were eager for change and had accepted the new doctrines.15 Some came to their senses when they realized that the abuses they complained of and which they blamed on the clergy had not been abolished, but had simply changed their character. Some remained doctrinally within the Lutheran fold; others returned to the teachings of Zwingli. Bernhard, who had, by and large, brought over the Zwinglians to his way of thinking, began to insinuate the ideas of the Anabaptists, to which he added ***** 12 Adagia i vi 13, a proverb used of giving support to something that is going to happen in any case, as when one pushes a cart downhill 13 Franz von Waldeck; see n2 above. 14 Born in the diocese of Münster, Bernhard Rothmann (1495?–1535) was for a time a schoolteacher at Warendorf before earning an ma at Mainz (1524), and later (1529) becoming a priest and chaplain at the church of St Moritz near Münster. He was sent to Cologne to study theology, but his exact whereabouts in 1529–30 are unknown. After his return, he preached in accordance with Reformation thought. In the summer of 1531, following a four-month-long visit to Marburg, Wittenberg, and Strasbourg, he began to attack Catholic doctrines and ceremonies, ignoring the orders of his bishop (n10 above) to stop doing so. In January 1532, he took refuge in Münster in the house of the merchants guild. In May he won the support of the city magistrates with a successful disputation against the Catholic clergy. His views at this time were essentially Lutheran, with a certain admixture of ideas borrowed from Zwingli. 15 In the winter of 1532–3 there was a power struggle with the new bishop, Franz von Waldeck (n2 above), in which the magistrates and many citizens protected Rothmann and his followers. With the help of Philip of Hessen, the bishop and the city concluded the Treaty of Dülmen (14 February 1533), which in effect conceded the right of the city to introduce a Lutheran Reformation. Rothmann then drafted a new church ordinance that included, among other things, free election of pastors by their congregations.

70

75

80

85

2957  From Viglius Zuichemus  1534

45

some ghastly innovations of his own.16 He was supported, moreover, by a great crowd of outsiders, particularly from Holland, who had fled from their country and attached themselves to Bernhard as his assistants. One of these, 90 who had previously been a priest, was called ‘Keespaep’ from having taken up the cheese business.17 Another got the nickname ‘Puistuth,’ since this was the sound he always made when he called for the lights in the churches to be put out, for he hated waste.18 The third was a certain Rol. Around Christmas he set out for Holland and Friesland, equipped with the books of Rothmann, 95 which were full of the above-mentioned doctrines, and there he touched off the disturbances that I mentioned earlier.19 ***** 16 No sooner had Rothmann been confirmed in his right to be a Lutheran reformer (see preceding note), when, under the influence of the so-called Wassenberg preachers (see n19 below) who had been expelled from Jülich and gone to Münster, he underwent a rapid transformation into an Anabaptist. In his first clearly Anabaptist public statement (October 1533) he called infant baptism ‘idolatry’ and a cause for the desolation and downfall of the church. At the same time he accepted the prophecies of Melchior Hofmann (the apostle of Anabaptism in the Low Countries, for whom see oer ii 240–2), whose prediction that the Last Judgment would occur at the end of 1533 had spread from Strasbourg to Münster. From November 1534 forward Rothmann and his followers were known as Anabaptists, and on 5 January 1534, Rothmann and the Wassenberg preachers received adult baptism, thus founding the ‘true church of Christ’ at Münster. See oer iii 451–2. 17 ‘Keespaep’ was undoubtedly Cornelius Keisepreister, a Münster Lutheran turned Anabaptist, who became supervisor of supplies in the court of ‘King’ Jan of Leiden (see n20 below). There is no foundation for Allen’s identification of him with Johann Glandorp, a Lutheran schoolteacher who left Münster in February 1534 because of conflict with Bernhard Rothmann (n14 above) and was afforded refuge by Philip of Hessen. 18 The object of the epithet ‘Puistuth’ appears nowhere in the records of Münster Anabaptism and has never been identified. There is no basis for Allen’s identification of him with Bricius (Brictius, Brixius) thon Norde (Brixius Nordanus), a Lutheran colleague of Rothmann who, hostile to Anabaptism, left Münster at the beginning of 1534 and in the following autumn became superintendent at Soest. See Ernst Kähler ‘Bricius thon Norde’ Neue Deutsche Biographie 2 (Berlin 1955) 610. 19 In 1531 Hendrik Rol of Grave in North Brabant, former Carthusian gone over to the Reformation, went to Wassenberg in Jülich, where he joined a group of future Anabaptist leaders that included Johann Klopreis (Ep 2990 n7). He and Klopreis were two of the Wassenberg preachers who went to Münster in 1534 (see n16 above), joined forces with Bernhard Rothmann, and were baptized with him on 5 January 1534. On 21 February 1534 Rol left Münster to garner

2957  From Viglius Zuichemus  1534

46

But first among all these was a certain tailor called Jan of Leiden.20 In Münster he falsely claimed to be a prophet and so added to the remarkable instability of the people. Having driven out all the most respectable citizens, he established a new form of government and imposed laws and assigned offices in accordance with divine revelation, and up to the present has succeeded nicely in duping the citizens. At one point he ordered all the gold and silver to be collected, then he called for all clothing to be exchanged, then again for the exchange of houses, so that no one would imagine that he had any possessions of his own. From time to time, on the pretext of having received a command from God, he issues orders, on the flimsiest of suspicions, for the execution of citizens. They name their city Jerusalem and call themselves Israelites. The city was well equipped with everything necessary for its protection, fortified on all sides with ditches, a palisade, ramparts, and a line of defences such as no other city in Germany possessed; in addition it was filled with a rabble of the most desperate and degenerate scoundrels imaginable. They defended themselves vigorously and with great courage: had they done so in a good cause, they would have earned undying glory for their bravery. The very length of the siege is proof of this,21 though it must be said that our soldiers, apart from the fact that they were exceptionally indolent and had been made more dissolute by the excessive and abundant supply of goods of every kind, were at that time not entirely free from these new ideas or unaffected by them – an all too frequent occurrence. The expenses of the war are being borne by the duke of Cleves and the archbishop of Cologne along with our bishop of Münster.22 Cologne himself is in the camp and all the neighbouring princes support this cause, for the ***** support for the Anabaptists community there. Going first to Wesel, where he had some success, he then went to Maastricht (August 1534), where he was arrested and executed a month later. 20 Jan Bockelson (Beuckelszoon) of Leiden (1509–36), tailor by trade and innkeeper at Leiden, fell under the influence of the Anabaptist leader Jan Mathijszoon (Ep 2956 n30), who made him an ‘apostle’ and in 1533 sent him on a visit to Münster, where he had considerable influence as a preacher. In January 1534 he returned to Münster, followed in February by Mathijszoon himself. Following Mathijszoon’s death a few weeks later (5 April) in an ill-fated sortie against the troops blockading the city, Jan assumed leadership of the Anabaptists at Münster, becoming ‘king of the New Jerusalem.’ 21 At this point the siege had been under way for seven months. The city would hold out until 24 June 1535. 22 John iii of Cleves; Hermann von Wied, archbishop of Cologne; Franz von Waldeck, bishop of Münster

100

105

110

115

120

Jan of Leiden Heinrich Aldegrever British Library, London

2957  From Viglius Zuichemus  1534

48

issue concerns not just religion but the ruin of the Empire as well. It is certain that if this nest is not destroyed it will become a refuge for every lawless villain, and the princes’ subjects will shake off their yoke. With regard to religion, things have already reached the point within the city where, having rejected the gospel, they affirm their intention to live in accordance with the Spirit alone and the revelation of the Most High. However, the situation seems to favour victory for our side, and I hope that news of our victory will anticipate this letter. If God in his mercy grants us this favour, I shall face my new responsibilities with, at any rate, a contented mind. Meanwhile, in accordance with the orders of the bishop, I am living in a small town,23 where I dispense justice, though rather infrequently on account of the general preoccupation with the war. I have nothing to complain about with regard to salary; my bishop is very careful to see that it is paid to me even in the present circumstances. This was an opportunity, my dear Erasmus, that I had to seize; and in this position one may expect to advance to something better.24 The present war has also taken from us Hermannus Buschius. When he  decided to retire in Münster, he entered into a bitter controversy with Rothmann and others of that ilk. He, like all the rest, left the city. At Dülmen (where I now live) he fell ill as a consequence of the anger and disgust that he felt over the present turmoil, and met his end in the month of April.25 When I arrived in Friesland, Cammingha kept pestering me to bring about a reconciliation between him and you.26 I tried constantly to convince him that it was not so much a case of you being angry with him as of his wrongly suspecting that you are, and I pointed out to him the little courtesies that it is proper to show Erasmus. If you think him deserving of your good will again, he is not likely do anything to upset you. I press this request more strongly so that our nation, which is most loyal in its support of you, should not have any black marks on your white register.27 I consider your good will ***** 23 Dülmen, about 32 kilometres south and west of Münster: see lines 141–2 below. 24 In the summer of 1535 Viglius would accept the offer of an assessorship at the Reichskammergericht (Imperial Supreme Court) in Speyer. 25 See Ep 2961 n63. 26 For Haio Cammingha and the disintegration of Erasmus’ friendship with him, see Ep 2766 introduction. 27 The Latin is in tuo albo. Album was the name given to the whitewashed board on which the names of Roman jurors were inscribed; it could also refer to the white tablet on which the edicts of the praetor were inscribed. The word then came to refer to any official list, here a list of friends; cf Adagia i vii 34.

125

130

135

140

145

150

2958  To Pietro Bembo  1534

49

towards us as a great honour for our people, and, to speak personally, I count your affection as the greatest blessing in my life. Every day I shall endeavour to make myself more and more worthy of it. If there is anything that makes my poverty a burden to me, it is that I cannot present you with a testimonial 155 to my gratitude for your kindnesses to me. But if some day my fortune matches my efforts, you will understand that what I am writing comes from the heart. Farewell. Dülmen, 12 August 1534 2958 / To Pietro Bembo

Freiburg, 16 August 1534

This letter was first published by Pierre de Nolhac in Érasme en Italie, étude sur un épisode de la renaissance: suivie de douze lettres inédites d’Érasme, second edition (Paris 1898) 131–2. The autograph is in the Vatican Library (ms Barberini Lat 2158 folio 114). For Pietro Bembo see Ep 2106 introduction. For his answer to this letter see n1 below.

I am afraid, most learned Bembo, that for some time now you may have thought me lacking in modesty for obtruding upon you so frequently with my begging letters. Lately, out of embarrassment I have slipped into outright shamelessness. For while I was reluctant to disoblige the printers who asked to be commended to you, I became quite brazen in my appeals to you. 5 However, all I wanted was for you to tell me if you knew of anyone who ­possessed a manuscript copy of Titus Livius.1 All this is the result of the distinction of your name and of your exceptional kindness towards everyone; anyone who visits the University of Padua wants to have an introduction to you, the prince of learning. One such per- 10 son is this young man from a noble house, Damião de Gois,2 who spent the best years of his life in managing the commercial interests of his king, though along the way he managed to steal what leisure hours he could for study. He is Portuguese by nationality, a man by no means lacking in refinement, and of a most generous nature. The king offered him an excellent post at court 15 (where he had been trained from boyhood) as his first lord of the treasury, but he preferred to store away a greater treasure in his mind. On my advice he chose the University of Padua as being the best there is. He asks nothing *****

2958 1 This is a discreet reference to Ep 2925, to which Erasmus had not yet received a reply. Bembo would reply to that letter and this one in Ep 2975. 2 See Ep 2826 introduction.

2958  To Pietro Bembo  1534

50

from you that you could not do without inconvenience to yourself, only the sort of things that you habitually refuse to no one. Assist the stranger in 20 choosing a suitable home or shared living arrangements. It seems to me preferable that he share house and board with a few French or German noblemen. He is accustomed to a somewhat lavish style of living, although he is sober in his habits. I wish you the very best of health. Freiburg im Breisgau, on the morrow of the Assumption of the Virgin 25 1534 Erasmus of Rotterdam, in my own hand To the eminent and scholarly Pietro Bembo, Venetian patrician. In Padua 2959 / From Primo de’ Conti

Como, 20 August 1534

This letter was first published as Ep 211 in Förstemann / Günther. The autograph was in the Burscher Collection of the University of Leipzig (Ep 1254 introduction). Only the sketchiest biographical information exists for Primo de’ Conti (c 1498–1593), who was probably born in Milan. He studied classical languages and by 1532 was teaching rhetoric at Como. At some point he joined the new religious order of the Somaschi, founded at Venice in 1529, and in the years 1543–6 he taught theology in Milan. The bishop of Como sent him into the Valtelline to preach against heretics, and Pope Pius iv chose him to attend the final sessions of the Council of Trent (1562–3). Virtually nothing has survived of his works. An anecdote preserved in the Orationes of his nephew Antonio Maria de’ Conti (see Allen’s introduction to this letter) indicates that at some unspecified date between 1529 and 1534, Primo travelled to Germany for the express purpose of making the acquaintance of Erasmus. He advised Erasmus of his arrival in a letter signed, in his usual fashion, ‘Primus Comes Mediolanensis.’ Erasmus, reading ‘Comes’ as the title ‘Count’ rather than the name Conti, made elaborate preparations to receive a great noble but professed himself delighted when he discovered that his visitor was a mere scholar.

It is indeed not long, thrice-mighty Erasmus,1 since I wrote to you and Glareanus,2 but I greatly fear that my letters were not delivered. Now when *****

2959 1 The Latin for ‘thrice-mighty’ is trismegistus, a word borrowed from Greek and used especially of the God Hermes. 2 For Henricus Glareanus, the preeminent Swiss humanist of the day, who, like Erasmus, had moved from Basel to Freiburg in 1529, see Ep 440. Conti’s letter to Erasmus, which is not extant, is presumably the one answered by the letter, also not extant, that Erasmus entrusted to Damião de Gois when he departed for Padua in August 1534; see Ep 2987:4–7.

2960  From Justus Ludovicus Decius  1534

51

my fellow citizen and close friend Cyprianus Bonaccursius,3 a man whom I trust completely, was setting out for Freiburg, my great and undying love for you would not allow me to let him go without a letter for you. Do not despise, I beg you, a man who is deeply devoted to you. I am not pressing you to write back. I know what you great writers are like: one has to be a king, not a mere count,4 to be dignified with even a single letter from you. I ask you for one thing only, that you return my love. I heard that you have recently published a work on preparing for death.5 I have asked Cyprianus to bring me a copy. From now on I intend to devote myself totally to such preparation. If I never write to you again, that will be the explanation. I shall do what I can to follow you to the Elysian fields, ‘the place of joy and lovely meadows, / the happy region where lie the Groves of the Blessed,’6 where rest from one’s labours is ordained for all ­godly souls. Wait for me there. My greetings again. May God and our Lord Jesus Christ fulfil these hopes and prayers! Farewell. Como, 20 August 1534 Primo de’ Conti To Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, the most celebrated of men, greetings. At Freiburg im Breisgau 2960 / From Justus Ludovicus Decius

Cracow, 21 August 1534

This letter was first published in Miaskowski page 332. The autograph is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 58). For Justus Ludovicus Decius, secretary to King Sigismund i of Poland and patron of humanist scholars, see Ep 1341a n210.

Greetings. I had decided to have a long chat with you in response to your last letter, but while I was waiting patiently for the merchants who were going to the Frankfurt fair,1 I was struck an unexpected blow. My elder daughter came down with a very serious illness. She was especially dear to me, a young *****

3 Unidentified 4 A pun on the name ‘de’ Conti’ 5 De praeparatione ad mortem; see Ep 2884 introduction. 6 Virgil Aeneid 6.638–9

2960 1 The autumn book fair in September

5

10

15

20

2960  FROM Justus Ludovicus Decius  1534

52

woman endowed with every virtue, who was bound, you may be sure, to 5 make me a grandfather very soon. The doctors could do nothing, and she began to lose consciousness. Here Antonin employed all his skill;2 no one could have been more careful or attentive, but it was the will of God, who had given her to me as a model of what a young woman should be and now wanted his gift returned, as is his right.3 My natural grief, which4 the frail 10 disposition of a father cannot overcome, prevents me from going on any further. I have written to Wilhelm to tell him what he should now send on to you.5 Farewell. 21 August 1534. Cracow Your friend Justus Ludovicus Decius, secretary to the king, wrote this. 15 Antonin is wholly occupied with the care of the bishop of Cracow. I fear that cruel fate will snatch him from us.6 This kingdom would mourn his passing as a great loss to itself. To Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, best of friends 2961 / To Justus Ludovicus Decius

Freiburg, 22 August 1534

This letter was preserved in three manuscripts, a sixteenth-century copy at St  Petersburg (ms Lat f 145k pages 616–21), an eighteenth-century copy at Cracow (ms c n 49 223 folio 629), and a seventeenth-century copy at Poznań (ms 310 folio 1). For the Petersburg and Cracow manuscripts, see Ep 2520 introduction; for that in Poznań, see Ep 2533 introduction. The letter was first published in Miaskowski pages 333–7 on the basis of the Poznań and Cracow copies. Allen based his texts on the same manuscripts, deeming the variants in the Petersburg manuscript to be unimportant. For Decius, see Ep 2960.

*****



2 The physician Jan Antonin (Ep 1602 introduction) 3 This makes it sound as though Decius’ daughter had already died, but it is clear from Ep 3020:7–12 that she made a remarkable and unexpected recovery. 4 Reading quam for Allen’s quem 5 Wilhelm Weidolt of Wrocław (d 1539), who in 1517 moved to Nürnberg, where he became a prosperous international merchant with extensive connections in Poland and other eastern markets. He and Decius were personal friends. 6 Piotr Tomicki, bishop of Cracow (Ep 3000), did not in fact die until 29 October 1535.

2961  To Justus Ludovicus Decius  1534

53

erasmus of rotterdam to justus ludovicus, citizen of cracow Cordial greetings. Here, Justus, most generous of friends, is my reply to your letter of 6 March.1 That most courteous gentleman, Vaydoleusa,2 brought me twenty florins as a munificent gift from you and thirty ducats which I 5 owe to the kindness of the bishop of Chełmno.3 The total is estimated as worth sixty-five florins in silver money.4 I believe I have already thanked you for this – if my letter got through to you5 – and now I thank you again most warmly. It is not so much the burdens of age that bother me (although I think I am now past seventy)6 as the excruciating pains of gout in my feet, or rather, 10 the gout in my whole body,7 which hardly allow me time for my studies and grow more severe every day. I sent to the most recent fair my Preparing for Death, to which I appended a number of letters.8 In one of these I pay tribute to Anton Fugger and Johann Paumgartner, who gives much evidence of his deep friendship.9 The little book on the preparation for death has been print- 15 ed in several places and also in Paris (which will surprise you). I treat the theologians much more gently. I imagine you have seen a furious letter of Luther’s attacking me. Everyone condemns it, even the most committed Lutheran.10 The man is said to have suffered for a whole year with a *****





2961 1 Not extant 2 Unidentified 3 Johannes Dantiscus (Ep 2163 n34) 4 If Erasmus means Rhenish florins, the value of the combined gifts was £18 2s 4d groot Flemish, equivalent to almost two years’ wage income of a fully employed Antwerp master mason/carpenter at 9.05d groot Flemish per day and a year of 230 days (cwe 12 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). It is unclear what silver coinage Erasmus had in mind. 5 Not extant 6 If one accepts 28 October 1467 as the date of Erasmus’ birth, he was a few weeks short of his sixty-seventh birthday. 7 For Erasmus’ suffering from acute and chronic gout at this time, see ‘Erasmus’ Illnesses in His Final Years’ (1533–6) cwe 20 335–8. 8 For De praeparatione ad mortem, see Ep 2884 introduction. The epistolary appendix to that volume was a substantial addition (sixteen letters) to Erasmus’ published correspondence. 9 Ep 2879, in which a few lines in praise of Anton Fugger are followed by a long panegyric on Paumgartner 10 Luther’s letter was the Epistola de Erasmo Roterodamo. Philippus Melanchthon disliked it, and said so to Luther; see Ep 2918 introduction.

2961  To Justus Ludovicus Decius  1534

54

weakness in the head.11 I replied in a light-hearted spirit,12 for what can one do with a madman? I do not doubt that we shall have an even more furious attack by the autumn fair.13 I shall publish nothing for the present except a greatly enlarged edition of the Copia.14 The printers have finished most of the New Testament along with the Annotations, which have now been considerably expanded, but they have not been able to complete the job through a shortage of paper. God willing, it will come out at the spring fair.15 The Ecclesiastes has been in hand for a long time, but somehow inspiration seems to fail me. I have taken it up again and again and just as often put it down – it seems to be denied the blessing of Minerva.16 I finished the first book, and have begun the second and third (I have decided to complete the work in three). The first book is of more than average length, and I am afraid the later books may be longer. If God grants me life and reasonable health, it will come out next autumn at the latest.17 The bishop of Lincoln in England has been urging me for many years to publish a commentary on Augustine’s City. The Spanish scholar Vives has taken on this task;18 it is an immense work, and no one is more difficult to read than Augustine, especially in works that he wrote at leisure and with special care. I tried to please my friend, but my mind recoiled from the task. He accepts no excuse. For several years he sent me of his own free will fifteen half-angels, and after that he sent ***** 11 In 1533, as was well known, Luther had suffered much from tinnitus and vertigo; see Martin Brecht Martin Luther: The Preservation of the Church 1532–1546 trans James L. Schaaf (Minneapolis 1993) 22–3. 12 Literally ‘with a light touch,’ implying that it was not entirely serious; see Adagia  i iv 27. For the reply, Purgatio adversus epistolam non sobriam Martini Lutheri, see Ep 2918 introduction. 13 There was none. 14 See Ep 2945 n7. 15 The fifth and final edition of the New Testament was published by Froben in March 1535. 16 Literally ‘Minerva being almost unwilling,’ an adage for something that is done against one’s bent; see Adagia i i 42. 17 The work was published in August 1535, by Froben; see Ep 3036 introduction. On the frequent delays in its progress towards completion, see Epp 2422:101–2, 2483:54–5, 2979:2–4, 3036:6–59. 18 The bishop of Lincoln was John Longland. For the edition of Augustine’s De civitate Dei by Juan Luis Vives, see Epp 1309 introduction, 2227:8–45.

20

25

30

35

40

2961  To Justus Ludovicus Decius  1534

55

twenty.19 I wrote to say that he should not send me anything,20 for I could not do what he wanted. So much for my work. Your opinion of Brabant is none too flattering. Yet nowhere else is there a more elegant standard of living. If you are talking about learning, nowhere are my books more widely circulated. I have a house here belonging to me, which is large and commodious,21 but there are many considerations that are prompting me to leave, if leaving were possible. But how could it be possible when for six months I have hardly dared to step outside the house?22 Some people advise me against returning to Brabant since the Franciscans are all-powerful at the court, and as a class they are bitterly hostile to me and in high favour with the emperor. Queen Mary is  more the child of our native land than its mistress.23 The count of Hoogstraten, better known by his other name, Montigny, either favours the Franciscans or pretends to favour them in deference to the emperor.24 The cardinal of Liège is friendly, but two-faced.25 The archbishop of Palermo, the supreme chancellor, is smooth-tongued, but canny when it comes to matters of business.26 On the other hand, as long as I stay away, I lose one hundred fifty ducats every year,27 for they have decided to give me nothing unless I return. At Tournai Pierre Barbier, dean of the cathedral church, showed himself, or pretended to be, such a good friend that I would have entrusted him with my life ten times over; he still claims to be a friend, but in money

*****

19 On Longland’s gifts of money to Erasmus and their value (always fifteen halfangels in the surviving correspondence), see Epp 1758:5–6 with n6, 1769:11–2, 2072:4–5, 2159:31–3, 3104:7, 3108:2–3. 20 The letter is not extant. 21 See Ep 2506 n1. 22 For Erasmus’ preparations to return to his native Brabant and the illnesses that stood in the way, see Ep 2820 introduction. 23 Cf Ep 2906:71–2. 24 Antoine de Lalaing; cf Ep 2906 72–3. 25 Erard de la Marck; cf Ep 2906:73–4. 26 Jean (ii) de Carondelet; cf Ep 2906:74–5. 27 A substantial reduction in Erasmus’ income: 150 ducats were equivalent to £50 0s 0d groot Flemish, about six years’ wage income of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13).

45

50

55

60

2961  To Justus Ludovicus Decius  1534

56

matters he is utterly dishonest.28 Once he diverted to his own use one hundred Carolus florins from my imperial pension, that is, one-third of the total.29 I had no reason to doubt his good faith. When he returned,30 he shuffled 65 back and forth, creating a wonderful smokescreen of excuses and finally denying that he ever received the money.31 When at Rome he had received the deanship from Adrian,32 he wrote to a canon of Tournai,33 like himself a Frenchman, a theologian, and professedly a good friend of mine, and instructed him to take from my pension an amount equivalent to the income 70 for six months;34 he wrote also to my pensionary,35 who was responsible for paying the money, to say that I had agreed to this arrangement. With this sum he secured the deanship, which was, as so often is the case, subject to litigation. To keep himself in the clear, my pensionary, an honest man, sent me the letter that Barbier had written in his own hand. When I found out 75 what had happened, I complained to Barbier,36 who was then living in Rome (for he was Adrian’s secretary). He replied that this had taken place without his knowledge. I sent his letter to the pensionary so that he would see what a ***** 28 For Pierre Barbier, dean of Tournai, whom Erasmus suspected of cheating him of the income from his Courtrai pension, see Epp 2404, 2407. The best account of the complicated business of that pension and Barbier’s role in its payment is still cebr i 94. 29 One hundred Carolus florins was the equivalent of £7 10s 0d groot Flemish, just under the annual wage of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (CWE 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). This occurred in 1517; see Ep 2404 n2. 30 From Rome; see below. 31 See Ep 2239:9–12 with n4. 32 In 1523, while he was in Rome as secretary to Pope Adrian vi, Barbier’s appointment as dean of Tournai was confirmed by the curia, but the appointment was subject to prolonged and expensive litigation that prevented Barbier from taking possession of the deanery until 1527 or 1528. In 1524 Barbier used a halfyear of the Courtrai pension to cover the costs of his suit over the deanship; see Epp 2404:21–2 with n8, 2407:11–18, 2781:14–16. Moreover, the income from the deanery was inadequate to cover Barbier’s family expenses and other costs, with the result that money owed to others, such as Erasmus’ annuity from the living at Courtrai, for the payment of which Barbier was responsible, was paid tardily or not at all; cf Ep 2239 n1. 33 Johannes de Molendino (Ep 2407 introduction), whom Erasmus now believed to be complicit in Barbier’s alleged scheme to cheat him; see Ep 2781:9–14. 34 See Ep 1470:1–5. 35 Jan de Hondt (Ep 751 introduction), from whose prebend at Courtrai Erasmus’ annuity was paid 36 Ep 1470

2961  To Justus Ludovicus Decius  1534

57

theologian means by faith.37 The fellow, however, did not blush. When he returned home, he paid once or twice,38 but soon began to beat about the bush, mixing trickery with flattery. He might have been an attorney rather than a theologian. My pensionary, who holds the prebend, excused himself in a letter on the ground that Barbier owed him four hundred florins on a loan and that there was an agreement between them that my pension should not be paid to me until the debt was cleared. ‘I expected nothing from him,’ he said, ‘because he is in debt to many other people also. If you wish to take legal action, you cannot proceed against me, you must deal with him.’39 Finally, when this Proteus had transformed himself into every possible shape, he replied to my most recent letter that he had paid as long as he could and now could pay no more.40 Yet all the while he is receiving one hundred thirty florins a year of my money, making a nice fool of me.41 I have never seen the deed of transfer of the pension, since I had complete trust in such a good friend, and he seemed sincere in his affection for me. Now, I think, he has altered the deed and given himself over entirely to Mammon. I do not know what I can expect from England. The new archbishop promises good things, and has sent me part of my pension without being asked.42 But I hear that there is a change of religion there, and there is a rumour circulating throughout Germany that the king of England has been stabbed by the son of the duke of Buckingham, whom the king was responsible for beheading.43 But I suspect the rumour is a fiction, like the one about the death of the pope.44 But it is all too true that three of the greatest and most learned men in all England have been in prison for some time, John Stokesley, bishop of London, John Fisher, bishop of Rochester, and Thomas More,

*****



37 See Ep 1471:7–9. 38 Cf Ep 2487:7–17. 39 Hondt’s letter is not extant, but cf Ep 2527:61–5 with n8. 40 The letter is not extant; cf Ep 2965:17–20. 41 Cf Epp 2793:8–10, 2896:9–11, 2965:22–3. 42 Thomas Cranmer, the successor of William Warham as archbishop of Canterbury, had continued the payment to Erasmus of the income from the livings that Warham had bestowed on him; see Ep 2815:14–19. 43 The rumour was false. Henry Stafford (1501–63), the first Baron Stafford, was the son of Edward Stafford (1478–1521), who had been executed. Despite this, his son enjoyed the favour of Henry viii as well as his children and heirs. 44 Clement vii was taken ill at the beginning of June 1534. He was reported dead in July, but did not actually die until 25 September. See Pastor 10 322–6.

80

85

90

95

100

Thomas Cranmer G. Flicke National Portrait Gallery, London

2961  To Justus Ludovicus Decius  1534

59

formerly chancellor of the realm.45 A few days ago, I sent one of my servants to bring me a reliable report from England,46 though I think he will not go there if the rumour about the king’s murder is true. Ulrich, duke of Württemberg, struck terror into Germany, but that storm has passed more quickly than we thought. He has got what he wanted with the permission of the emperor and of Ferdinand.47 The activities of the sects gain more ground every day. In Augsburg, by the authority of both councils, all Catholic preachers have been silenced. Zwinglians have been appointed in all churches under the council’s control. The mass and all religious ceremonies have been banned. They are permitted still in the three collegiate churches and the monasteries, but preaching and the ringing of bells are forbidden.48 As a result the clergy are leaving, along with many of the wealthiest citizens. The bishop, a very dear friend of mine, has departed, never, it is thought, intending to return.49 The followers of Zwingli and of Luther are now pretending to be in agreement over the Eucharist in order to make their position more secure.50 In Lower Germany the Anabaptists are flooding in, like the frogs and locusts in Egypt long ago.51 They would have overwhelmed the whole ­region, ***** 45 Erasmus’ source of information here appears to be Juan Luis Vives, who in Ep 2932:31–2 reports accurately the imprisonment of Fisher and More but inaccurately that of Stokesley; cf Ep 2948 n2. 46 See Ep 2955:13–16. 47 See Ep 2947 n6. 48 See Ep 2953:50–3 with n12. 49 The bishop was Erasmus’ friend and patron Christoph von Stadion (Ep 2029), who often resided at his palace at Dillingen. Not until 1537 would he be compelled to remove the cathedral chapter from Augsburg to Dillingen. 50 This is probably a reaction to the Stuttgart Concord of 2 August 1534, which papered over the differences on the Lord’s Supper between the Zwinglian Ambrosius Blarer and the Lutheran Erhard Schnepf, the two theologians to whom Duke Ulrich of Württemberg had entrusted the reformation of his duchy. More generally, it may also be a reference to the efforts, led by Martin Bucer, to bridge the gap between the Lutheran and Zwinglian interpretations of the Lord’s Supper (cf Ep 2983 n3), thus paving the way for a number of south German cities and principalities to join the League of Schmalkalden in 1535. The process of accommodation reached its formal conclusion in the Wittenberg Concord of May 1536. See oer iv 286–7. In Augsburg, Bucer managed to persuade government and clergy to accept both the Augsburg Confession and the Wittenberg Concord, which paved the way for its acceptance into the League of Schmalkalden; see Roth Augs Ref ii chapter 9. 51 Exod 7:25–8:15 (frogs); 10:1–20 (locusts)

105

110

115

120

2961  To Justus Ludovicus Decius  1534

60

had it not been for a vigilant opposition. Forty ships were intercepted, many men were beheaded, some were burned, several were drowned in the water – these people have made a pact with death.52 Münster, the capital of Westphalia, is still under siege. Inside the Anabaptists hold control.53 You 125 will learn about their form of government from the sheet I am sending you.54 Another class of heretics has also raised its head; they assert that Christ is only a human being, that the Holy Spirit is without substance, but is simply the impulse of a pious mind.55 This movement seems to have its origin in the theology of the Sorbonne.56 It is an ominous beginning; what the outcome 130 will be I do not know. The Lord, when it is his will, will bring all things to a happy issue. You know, I think, that Béda, my old antagonist, has for some time been in a most horrid prison and is believed to be there for good because of things that he said and wrote that were offensive to the king and his sister.57 135 Following him another has been put in prison, but a more reputable prison. His name is Nicolas Le Clerc; I don’t know if he has been set free.58 Gérard ***** 52 See Epp 2956:64–6, 2957:24–31. 53 See Ep 2956 nn28–9. 54 The enclosed sheet (scheda) does not survive. It might have been a handwritten page or two from one of Erasmus’ well-informed sources, Viglius Zuichemus (cf Ep 2957), Konrad Heresbach (cf Epp 3031, 3031a), or perhaps even Johann von Vlatten (Ep 3031:247) being the most likely. Or it might have been one of the numerous printed broadsheets describing events in Münster; see Sigrun Haude ‘In the Shadow of Savage Wolves’: Anabaptist Münster and the German Reformation During the 1530s (Boston / Leiden / Cologne 2000) 18–19. 55 This is probably a reference to the views of the antitrinitarian Johannes Campanus; cf Ep 2643:47–8 with n13. 56 The thought of the Paris theologians being the source of an antitrinitarian movement is so manifestly absurd that one must suspect that Sorbonica theolo­ gia is a textual error. But we have no idea what the correct reading might have been. 57 In May 1533 Noël Béda, syndic of the faculty of theology at Paris, had been exiled from Paris for a time for having offended the king with criticisms aimed at his sister, Margaret of Navarre, and her court preacher Gérard Roussel. His continued alienation of the king led to months of imprisonment in 1534, followed by public degradation in January 1535 and exile to Mont-Saint-Michel, where he died. See Ep 2841 n5. 58 Nicolas Le Clerc (Ep 2043) was, after Noël Béda, the most active doctor of theology in the Paris faculty. With his colleagues he twice swore that the faculty had not censured Margaret of Navarre’s Miroir de l’âme pécheresse but defended its right to do so on the grounds that the book had not been submitted for pre-publication examination. He is known to have been in the prison of the archbishop

2961  To Justus Ludovicus Decius  1534

61

Roussel, whom the men of the Sorbonne had proclaimed a heretic and a Lutheran, was freed on the verdict of the court and, what is more, presented with a bishopric.59 If you have no good to say of the vagabond friars, I ap- 140 plaud you for your good sense, for every day I am told, or find out from letters, how clever these people are at deceiving their friends.60 Hermannus Buschius was never injured by me, not even by as much as a nod or a frown; on the contrary I did him many services, but as soon as he left Basel, he made a virulent attack on me in Heidelberg, as if I had plunged a sword into his 145 mother or his grandmother.61 He wrote a mad book, which he reads to his fellow initiates. He did the same thing in Hessen when he was forced out of  Heidelberg on account of his seditious language.62 When the people of *****







of Paris with Béda from 17 March until September 1534, and then under house arrest until at least 21 November 1534. By the spring of 1535 he was once again exercising normal duties in the faculty. See James K. Farge Biographical Register of Paris Doctors of Theology 1530–1536 (Toronto 1980) 249–50. 59 In 1531 and again in 1533, Gérard Roussel, almoner to the king’s sister, Margaret of Navarre, was accused by the Paris theologians of preaching heresy in her presence. On the latter occasion King Francis responded by ordering both sides to keep silence, and Roussel was confined to Margaret’s household. But posters appeared in the streets attacking Roussel and calling for the violent suppression of heresy, and students at the Collège de Navarre put on a play lampooning Margaret and Roussel as heretics. In February 1534, King Francis, who had taken umbrage at the criticism of his sister and Roussel, cleared the latter of all charges and set him free, while taking severe action against his accusers, including Béda (see n57 above). But Roussel was not rewarded with a bishopric (that of Oloron in Navarre) until 1536. See Knecht 243–4, 246; oer iii 452–3. 60 Erasmus had addressed this subject at length in an earlier letter to Decius, Ep 2874:16–51. 61 Erasmus and the German humanist and poet Hermannus Buschius were friends for a number of years (Ep 1291 n4), but in the summer of 1523, following a visit of Buschius to Basel, Erasmus suddenly became hostile to him and was prepared to believe every unfounded rumour he heard against him (Epp  1386:31–2, 1466:29–33, 1496:93–119). There is no known basis for the charges levelled against him in the lines that follow. 62 Appointed to teach classical literature at Heidelberg in 1523, Buschius in 1527 became professor of history, poetry, and rhetoric at the new Lutheran university of Marburg in Hessen. We have no information on the ‘attack’ in Heidelberg. The only known work by Buschius that might have seemed to Erasmus to be a ‘mad book’ was De singulari auctoritate Veteris et Novi Testamenti, sacrorum eccle­ siasticorumque testimoniorum libri ii (Marburg: [Franz Rhode] 1529), a vitriolic, rambling, sometimes incoherent denunciation of Catholic doctrine, particularly that of papal supremacy in the church.

2961  To Justus Ludovicus Decius  1534

62

Hessen too could not tolerate him, he moved to Münster. Where he is now, I do not know.63 Agostino Steuco, in return for a friendly letter, sent me a virulent reply, a truly monkish effort, filled throughout with manifest lies.64 The Franciscan Nikolaus Herborn, commissary for the countries this side of the Alps (just listen to the pretentious title!) published his boring Lenten sermons for no other purpose than to bespatter me with his stupid insults.65 If I can get hold of the whole work, I shall perhaps write a letter in reply.66 I pass over many smaller irritants. To endure these many insults one needs the support of no ordinary philosophy, especially since a man who writes books must possess not just an unworried spirit, but a keen mind. But it is discourteous of me to trouble you with my complaints. A sensible, eloquent, friendly, beautifully written letter from the right reverend bishop of Cracow was a great comfort to me.67 There is no time to reply to everyone, but I certainly feel grateful and I am willing and ready to provide any service the bishop may ask of me. I shall write to Antonin.68 Please give my respectful greetings to Bishop Krzycki.69 I am especially fond of Jan Łaski – and this on account of his own merits. I have no news to send him, for I have already replied to his last letter.70 Give my good wishes to the distinguished man Seweryn Boner; his son is now living in Bologna with Anselmus,71 who threatens to return here after a visit to Brabant.72 There is silence about the gift, but I am not

***** 63 In 1533 Buschius moved to Münster in his native Westphalia, where he defended Lutheranism in a public disputation with the Anabaptist leader Berhard Rothmann (Ep 2957 n14). He died in the nearby town of Dülmen in April 1534. Erasmus had clearly not yet received the letter in which Viglius Zuichemus reports these developments to Erasmus (Ep 2957:139–43). 64 See Epp 2465 (Erasmus to Steuco), 2513 (Steuco’s reply). 65 For Nikolaus Ferber of Herborn and his assault on Erasmus, see Ep 2896 n8. 66 Although he never wrote a reply to Ferber, Erasmus’ annoyance over his attack persisted; see Epp 3053:27–30, 3100:87–93. 67 The most recent letter from Piotr Tomicki, bishop of Cracow, is Ep 2861 of 25 August 1533. 68 Jan Antonin (Ep 2960 n2) 69 Andrzej Krzycki, bishop of Płock, soon to be archbishop of Gniezno (Ep 3089) 70 Probably Ep 2862, to which Erasmus replied with Ep 2911 71 For the Cracow banker Seweryn Boner, his son Jan, and Jan’s tutor Anselmus Ephorinus, see Ep 2533 introduction. Tutor and pupil had just recently moved from Padua to Bologna. 72 He remained in Italy until 1537, when he returned to Poland.

150

155

160

165

2962  From Viglius Zuichemus  1534

63

worried.73 I have long looked on these external things as alien and will soon 170 leave them behind. Jan van Campen is staying with Aleandro in Venice.74 Many books by diverse authors are flying from the presses, not entirely a bad thing – one would not like to see the printers dying of hunger! There is someone called Georg von Logau of Silesia who considers himself a poet and a Ciceronian.75 He has made a thoroughly insipid attack on 175 my Ciceronianus. The book has not yet been published, but for some time it has been passing rapidly from hand to hand in Rome and has now reached the hands of the pope. I would be glad to see it printed, though it is not my intention to reply.76 So here is your long-winded letter. It is a pleasure to chat with such a 180 warm-hearted friend. Farewell. Freiburg im Breisgau, 22 August 1534 Erasmus of Rotterdam, in my own hand 2962 / From Viglius Zuichemus

Dülmen, 22 August 1534

This letter was first published in Van Heussen 116. The manuscript, an eighteenthcentury copy, is in the Bibliothèque Royale at Brussels (ms ii 10401 folio 86).

letter to erasmus of rotterdam When I met with another opportunity to write to you, most learned Erasmus, I was unwilling to let it pass altogether even if in my earlier letter I had used up almost all my news. In it I wrote to you at length about my personal situation and about the present conflict with the Anabaptists.1 The outcome still 5 lies in the lap of the Gods.2 ***** 73 The presentation copy of the edition of Terence dedicated to Boner’s sons (Ep  2584) reached the father only after a very long delay, hence the anxiety over the expected reward. Boner’s letter acknowledging receipt of the volume, explaining the delay in delivering it and accompanying the reward, is Ep 3010 (12 April 1535). 74 See Ep 2876 n5. 75 See Ep 2568 n4. 76 Cf Ep 2906 n5. The work was never published, though in Ep 3005:22–8 Erasmus reports having received a manuscript copy of it from Rome. 2962 1 This appears to refer to Ep 2957, which is the only other extant letter from Viglius in 1534. 2 Greek in the text, citing Homer Odyssey 1.267

2962  From Viglius Zuichemus  1534

64

Certainly human powers have made little headway thus far. Our ­ rinces have now decided to cast the last dice and launch an attack with all p their force on Münster,3 that sink where every kind of heresy collects. If the Anabaptists are defeated, we shall have some hope of peace, for the common 10 folk will come over to the side of victory. Although the peasants, who now suffer under a painful servitude, like the common people everywhere, are inclined to aspire to the cap of liberty,4 nevertheless they seem to me to be worn down by the disaster of the present war and when struck down by victory will, we believe, be glad enough to embrace peace and quiet. But if they 15 emerge on top, it may be the end of Lower Germany. Although I have dealt with these matters fully in my other letter, I thought it preferable to repeat myself rather than be silent, so that I may more readily gain your pardon for failing for so long a time to do my duty.5 I shall not allow myself in future to have to beg your pardon for my silence, 20 provided you are pleased to accept my letter with your usual generosity. Farewell, and continue to number Viglius among your most affectionate and devoted friends. Dülmen in Westphalia, 22 August 1534 2963 / To Damião de Gois

[Freiburg], 25 August [1534]

This letter, evidently the answer to one no longer extant, was first published in the Vita Erasmi 123. For Damião de Gois see Ep 2826 introduction. He had been Erasmus’ guest at Freiburg from April 1534 until his departure on 16 August (Ep 2958) to continue his studies at Padua.

erasmus of rotterdam to the noble gentleman master damião de gois of portugal, greeting I am sorry that your journey did not turn out as you wished. There is nothing that Erasmus would not happily do for you. I know what I owe you. If your Matthaeus is not suffering from the contagious French pox, which I have al- 5 ways held in as great horror as death itself, this house will be entirely at his *****

3 To cast the last dice is to risk everything, to commit all to the will of fortune (Adagia i iv 32). 4 Ie to aspire to freedom by means of rebellion; cf Adagia ii i 27. 5 Viglius had evidently written no letter between his visit to Erasmus at Freiburg in January 1534 and the dispatch of Ep 2957 on 12 August; see Ep 2957 introduction.

2963  To Damião de Gois  [1534]

65

service; but if he does suffer from the disease, it would not be a good idea, even for him, to come here unless he had his own servant. It would be better for him to be under the care of a surgeon until he is well again. I shall not let him lack for money. Whatever the situation, we shall see to it that he is well looked after.1 Thomas Blarer sent me these two letters.2 Do give him my good wishes if you put in at Constance. He is a good man and a member of the council. It was the fault of the man to whom Melanchthon entrusted these letters that they were held up so long on the way. They reached me on 22 August, the fourth day after your departure. They have passed through many hands on their way here; perhaps they were unsealed, as often happens. They were delivered to me by the public courier from Schaffhausen. About getting a house in Padua, no one can provide you with better advice than Anselmus Ephorinus,3 and perhaps he will not object to going with you to Padua. Make enquiries at Bologna if Paolo Bombace is still alive.4 You will be best advised not to speak either well or ill of the sects, pretending you are not interested in these things or do not understand them. The pretences of men take many forms. Nor will it do you much good if letters come and go frequently between you and Melanchthon and Grynaeus.5 Farewell, dear patron and incomparable friend. On the morrow of St Bartholomew *****





2963 1 Matthaeus appears to have been one of the two famuli that Gois had with him in Freiburg. He began the journey to Italy with Gois but was taken ill at Baden in the Aargau and sent back to Freiburg. Worried about him, Gois himself returned to Freiburg, and then departed a second time for Italy; see Ep 2970:4–14. Matthaeus may have been the famulus whom Gois sent from Italy to Portugal in 1535 to deliver letters from Erasmus; see Ep 3043:14–15. 2 Thomas Blarer (d 1567), town councillor at Constance, was the brother of Ambrosius Blarer (1492–1564), who was at this time one of the reformers charged with introducing the Reformation into Württemberg (cf Ep 2961 n50). Erasmus apparently met them during his visit to Constance in 1522, and one friendly letter from Thomas to Erasmus survives (Ep 1396). See Ep 1341a n430. The two letters mentioned here are not extant. One was from Philippus Melanchthon; the other from someone described as Melanchthon’s ‘friend’; see Ep 2970:3–4. 3 For Ephorinus, who had been living in Padua but was now in Bologna, see Ep 3038 introduction. 4 Bombace (Ep 210 introduction) had died in the sack of Rome in 1527, but confirmation of this took an extraordinarily long time to reach Erasmus; see Ep 3018:3–5. 5 Simon Grynaeus (Ep 2433 introduction)

10

15

20

25

2964  From Giambattista Egnazio  1534 2964 / From Giambattista Egnazio

66 Venice, 30 August 1534

This is a letter of introduction for Georgius Sabinus, who published it in his Poemata et Epistolae (Strasbourg: Kraft Mhller 1544) folio v6. Ep 2970:15–17 shows that it was delivered to Erasmus no later than 6 October 1534. For Giambattista Egnazio, see Ep 2105 introduction. Georgius Sabinus of Brandenburg (1508–60), was educated at Wittenberg ­under Philippus Melanchthon, whom he accompanied to the Diet of Augsburg in 1530. That same year he published his Elegiae, which were subsequently ­expanded to six books that included his best work as a neo-Latin poet. In 1533 he went to Italy, where Pietro Bembo took an interest in him and Girolamo Aleandro awarded him the rank of poet laureate. On the eve of his return to Germany he persuaded Egnazio to provide him with this flattering letter of  ­introduction to Erasmus. By October 1534 he was in Freiburg, where he ­procured from Erasmus complimentary lines to take back to Melanchthon (Ep 2970:17–19). In 1536 he married Melanchthon’s daughter Anna, an unhappy union that ended with her death in 1547. Meanwhile, in 1538 Elector Joachim i i of Brandenburg appointed him to a chair of rhetoric at the University of Frankfurt an der Oder. In 1544 Albert i, duke of Prussia, made him the rector of a ducal college at Königsberg (now Kaliningrad in Russia) that was quickly elevated to the status of university. In 1555, having fallen out with the duke, he returned to his professorship at Frankfurt and his status as councillor to Elector Joachim. He died in Frankfurt.

giambattista egnazio to erasmus of rotterdam, greeting There are many reasons, all of them excellent, why I should warmly commend Sabinus to you in this letter: perhaps I am drawn by some hidden predilection of the mind to love everyone of German blood, or it may be 5 because Sabinus feels a special affection and loyalty towards you, and that counts heavily with me, or because he seems to me to be so well trained in the liberal arts and endowed with such fine qualities that I could not deny his earnest request. You are indeed a very fortunate and happy man to have, during your lifetime, all good and scholarly men vying in their love and 10 respect for you. For this is the best and the greatest reward of excellence, that it inspires such love and devotion for the living person, not just for the dead. I would say much more about my affection for you and yours in return for me if I were not prevented by my promise to provide a recommen15 dation for Sabinus. In this young man, if my predictive powers are not failing me, there are many qualities that would make anyone love him. First, his shyness, which

2965  To Guy Morillon  1534

67

is wonderfully attractive at his age; then there is his modesty, which is strikingly revealed both in his expression and in his speech. As for his extraordinary devotion to learning in general and to the art of poetry in particular, I 20 need say nothing, for you yourself can be the proverbial ‘witness in the comedy,’1 or perhaps it would be better to say ‘a truly Attic witness.’2 Certainly he seems to me to succeed so well in this that although in recent years Germany has produced many men who are eager to gain a reputation in this field, almost all of them seem like fleeting shadows,3 while he has the 25 potential to earn genuine renown. You were the first to hold up the torch of letters and light the way for your fellow Germans, and you did so with such success that there was nothing you could not expect from them if they had not turned their fertile minds in other directions. But at least this one spark remains; that being the case, tend it carefully so that, fanned and animated by 30 your spirit, it may bring great splendour to this land of yours; then the blaze of glory that you were the first to ignite may shine and sparkle in this other star that follows in your path. Farewell, Erasmus, my most beloved friend. Venice, 30 August 1534 2965 / To Guy Morillon

Freiburg, 30 August 1534

This letter was first published in John Jortin The Life of Erasmus (London 1758– 60) i i 415. Allen used the autograph, which was part of the Ortelius Collection in the custody of the Dutch Reformed Church, Austin Friars, London. In 1955 the Ortelius Collection was sold at auction to an American collector and the current location of the collection is unknown. On Guy Morillon see Ep 1287.

Cordial greetings. Since I consider you my special friend in Spain,1 I am surprised that for several years now I have received no letters to inform me *****

2964 1 Greek in the text. This form of the adage is found only in Cicero Ad familiares 2.13.1, where Erasmus thinks the text needs to be emended. His emended text would mean ‘domestic witness,’ ‘a witness in one’s own home’; see Adagia ii iii 6. 2 Greek in the text. ‘Attic’ in this context means ‘excellent’; see Adagia i viii 25. 3 Ie insubstantial or second-rate; see Adagia i ix 86.

2965 1 One of Charles v’s secretaries, Morillon accompanied his master back and forth between Spain and his northern dominions. Charles had departed from the Empire in November 1532, returning via Italy to Spain, where he arrived in May 1533.

2965  To Guy Morillon  1534

68

about what is going on there. If you want to know how Erasmus is, I am fighting a serious and almost constant battle with old age and its companions, gouty pains in the hand and gouty pains in the feet, in fact gouty pains all over,2 though attacks of the stone are rarer and less severe. That Germany is at peace we owe to the complaisant nature of the emperor, who preferred an unjust peace to a just war.3 The problems with the sects are gradually growing worse and will some day overwhelm us if they are not checked. The Anabaptists have overwhelmed Lower Germany just like the frogs and locusts of Egypt;4 they are a people gripped by madness, who have made a pact with death. They have crept in under the pretense of piety, but the end result will be public plunder; and the wonder is that though their doctrines are absurd, not to say utterly impracticable, and their regulations are unpleasant, the people are drawn to this sect by some fatal attraction, or rather, through the influence of an evil spirit.5 Pierre Barbier is evidently now laughing at me from his high perch.6 Up to now he has prevaricated, putting me off with some amazing excuses; he always professed, however, to be willing to pay. But in his last letter he writes that he has paid as long as he can, and now can pay no more.7 I suspect that he has altered the agreement to his own advantage. In addition to the sums he previously owed, for more than five years now he has received each year one hundred thirty French pounds of my money.8 I have not yet decided how to deal with this appalling creature. It embarrasses me to have to quarrel with a friend. Vives writes that Juan de Vergara, along with his brother Tovar and several other learned men, is in prison.9 You know, I think, that three of the most learned men in all England are in prison, the bishop of Rochester, *****





2 See Ep 2940 n2. 3 Cicero Ad familiares 6.6.5, Ad Atticum 7.14.3, 8.11d.7; cf Ep 3032:85. The ‘unjust peace’ was the Peace of Kadan, which concluded Philip of Hessen’s successful reconquest of Württemberg from the Hapsburgs on behalf of its hereditary Duke Ulrich; see Ep 2947 n12. 4 Cf Ep 2961:120–1 with n51. 5 See Ep 2957. 6 See Ep 2961:90–1. 7 Cf Ep 2961:88–90. 8 Presumably livres tournois (a money of account) and therefore equivalent to 32.5 écus au soleil or £10 5s 10d groot Flemish, that is, slightly more than the annual wage income of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13) 9 See Ep 2932 n4.

5

10

15

20

25

2966  From Ambrosius Pelargus  1534

69

the bishop of London, and the greatest friend I ever had, Thomas More.10 Farewell. 30 Freiburg im Breisgau, 30 August 1534 Erasmus of Rotterdam, in his own hand To the honourable Master Guy Morillon, secretary to the emperor. In Spain 2966 / From Ambrosius Pelargus

Trier, 1 September 1534

For the Dominican Ambrosius Pelargus, Erasmus’ neighbour in Freiburg, who in the summer of 1533 had moved to Trier, see Ep 2169 introduction. This letter, first published by Pelargus in Bellaria (folios i 2 –i 3 recto), is the last surviving letter in the correspondence between him and Erasmus.

ambrosius pelargus to erasmus of rotterdam, greeting It is thirteen months, my dearest Erasmus since I sent you a letter.1 The only reason for this is that I was not sure if you were still in Freiburg or had returned to Basel, as was widely rumoured. So far I have not settled completely 5 in Trier, but am living here, as it were, in another world. Trier, however, is a city of great and venerable antiquity. The weather is very pleasant, which I find more suited to my poor body than that in Freiburg. I could hardly find words to say how delighted I am with the people here, who are as honest as any I have met. I hope that if I must stay here, held fast in ‘happy bondage,’2 10 I shall be a faithful co-worker with Christ and labour vigorously for him.3 The city is almost completely encircled by hills that dominate it from close at hand; some are cultivated and some are wooded, but in no direction is there an open view into the distance. Here Ceres and Bacchus provide a lavish abundance.4 The Mosel wines are excellent – some evidently are the equal of 15 Rhenish wine, sometimes even superior to it. The Mosel has practically no ***** 10 This news too comes from Vives’ letter (Ep 2932 n5), where the report of the imprisonment of John Stokesley, bishop of London, was false; cf Ep 2961 n45. 2966 1 The last extant letter from Pelargus to Erasmus is Ep 2840 of 1 July 1533. 2 Horace Odes 1.33.14 3 ‘Co-worker’ is Greek in the text, σύνεργος, a favourite word of St Paul, eg Rom 16:3, 9; 2 Cor 1:24. 4 Ceres and Bacchus are the deities who preside over crops and vines respectively.

2966  From Ambrosius Pelargus  1534

70

fish of superior quality except bass and perch.5 But the meat market is abundantly supplied with lamb, beef, veal, ram’s flesh,6 and what is in my opinion the most delicious meat of all, pork. The land produces crops of every kind. Everywhere here are turnips, peas, cucumbers, gourds, colocynths, and 20 chickpeas. To quote the proverb, I not only eat onions but also smell them.7 Beans are a particular favourite with these people. This type of food can be bought very cheaply here. They fill the belly until it swells. It is said that eating beans is effective against every kind of disease. So there is nothing here for doctors to do. And they even believe that there is something divine in 25 beans. For at the Epiphany of the Lord it is by means of beans that they choose, and even create, kings.8 I am resolved that henceforth I shall live like a Pythagorean, that is, abstain from beans completely.9 For I have eaten so many beans since I came here that I risk turning into a bean. The university here is, I admit, undistinguished, but it could be im- 30 proved without much effort. Certainly the prince of Trier is a strong supporter of liberal studies and is now determined to restore Trier as a place of learning.10 Since he is doing this on his own initiative and without being prodded by anyone, you can imagine what he will achieve when, as the

*****









5 It is not certain whether lupus means bass or pike. 6 Pelargus’ terms for the meat of sheep are confusing: the term translated here as ‘lamb’ is carnes ovillae (literally ‘sheep meat’) and that translated as ‘ram’s flesh’ is carnes vervicinae (literally ‘the flesh of castrated rams’). The distinction between lamb and mutton is one of age, not of sex, so the distinction being made here is not clear. 7 See Adagia iii ii 38, where Erasmus explains that ‘to eat onions’ and ‘to sniff onions’ are both humorous expressions applied to those who seem to be weeping. Pelargus, however, combines the two expressions into a literal statement that does not carry the metaphorical meaning. 8 It seems that at Trier there was some version of the custom of serving at Epiphany portions of cake or individual cakes, and the one who found a bean in his slice or individual cake was named king. What the person so named was entitled or expected to do (eg lead a religious ceremony, supply the cake[s] for the next year’s celebration) seems to have depended on time and place. We have no information on what was expected at Trier. 9 Pythagorean religious communities followed a number of rules and taboos to achieve purity of life. One of these was to abstain from eating beans. See Diogenes Laertius 8.34. 10 The archbishop-elector of Trier was Johann von Metzenhausen; see Ep 2968 introduction.

2966  From Ambrosius Pelargus  1534

71

saying goes, you cheer on the willing runner.11 Believe me, you will be doing something to delight all those who are interested in learning. For our hopes are bright that this initiative of the prince’s will prove helpful and beneficial to our university. And although he has already begun to show me some favour, I wish with all my heart that, with your support, I may soon stand higher in his estimation. You can do this in a letter; even a letter of Spartan brevity would do. His name is Johann. He is a person with a fine appearance and quite heroic build, affable, brisk, sharp-witted, with gentle and agreeable manners. You would say he is a second Solomon, so adept is he at making peace. For such is his indomitable strength of mind that he is not readily discouraged by circumstances. I could hardly recount the many ways in which, with that practicality of his, he looks out for the welfare of the community and how marvellously he enhances (as the saying goes) the Sparta that has fallen to his lot.12 For the domain, which fell to him by the will of God, he is constantly making more splendid and more prosperous. He is repairing the fortified castles, which had been allowed to run down through the carelessness of his predecessors, and is adorning them magnificently with new structures. There is something else I would greatly like you to do, dear Erasmus, my most lovable friend: I wish you would give us a Latin version of the Holy Septuagint Bible, which someone has translated in the most infelicitous manner imaginable.13 I know of course what answer you will give to this: that you have decided, after suffering an Iliad of troubles,14 to retire from the fray.15 I know very well, most learned Erasmus, that you have long since earned the right to retire. But I hope you will not retire until you have added the finishing touch to this holy work. I shall continue to urge you, even to badger you, until you produce what all lovers of the sacred texts are longing for. You are greatly loved by all the scholars whom I am privileged to know here. Among the foremost is Simon the physician, a man of great learning and generosity, ***** 11 Adagia i ii 46. This is Pelargus’ renewed attempt to get Erasmus to write a letter to the bishop on his behalf; see Ep 2834 n1. 12 Adagia ii v 1 13 Pelargus is referring to the interlinear ‘interpretatio Latina’ that accompanies the text of the Septuagint in the Complutensian Polyglot. 14 Adagia i iii 26 15 Literally ‘to receive the wooden sword,’ a reference to the practice of presenting gladiators with a wooden sword when they were permitted to retire; see Adagia i ix 24.

35

40

45

50

55

60

2966  From Ambrosius Pelargus  1534

72

whose surname escapes me for the moment.16 Since he is particularly fond of you, he is bound to me too in a special intimacy and friendship. My very best 65 wishes to you, Erasmus, most desiderate of men,17 and if I do not have an opportunity to return to Freiburg, do make sure that letters from you wing their way here. Please give my regards to our mutual friends Baer and Glareanus.18 And do what you can to help those dear nuns who were once entrusted to my protection; poor they may be, but very pleasing to God.19 I 70 know that nothing that you do for them will go unrewarded. Farewell again. Trier, on the first day of September 1534 2966a / From Bonifacius Amerbach

Basel, 2 September 1534

This letter was first published by Allen as Ep 2931 in his volume x, with the conjectural date ‘c 10 May 1534.’ At the time (1941), the only known manuscript of the letter was an undated autograph rough draft, ‘unusually badly written,’ in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms c via 73 267 verso). In 1945, however, another draft of the letter – revised, better written, and dated 2 September 1534 – was found among the Amerbach papers in the Öffentliche Bibliothek (Autographensammlung lit. a). In Allen xi (1947) xxiii the Allen editors reported the discovery of the revised draft but did not publish the text, which eventually appeared as ak Ep 1855. Cf Alfred Hartmann’s introduction to that letter. We join Gerlo in taking the ak text as the basis of our translation, assigning it the number Ep 2966a , its proper place in the sequence of the letters. The translation is by Clarence H. Miller, revised by Charles Fantazzi.

Cordial greetings. At the approach of the fair I expected to get a letter from Sadoleto, but my hope was disappointed.1 I myself had also begun to suspect that he was offended by your friendly admonition, except that he had not only very anxiously asked for your appraisal in his letter to you but also did

*****

16 Simon Riquinus (Ep 2246 introduction), who by 1533 had moved from Cologne to Trier, eventually becoming personal physician to the elector 17 The rare English adjective ‘desiderate’ conveys the pun on Desiderius. 18 Ludwig Baer (Ep 3011) and Henricus Glareanus (Ep 2959 n2) 19 Pelargus may have been chaplain to a local nunnery at Basel.

2966a 1 The reference is doubtless to the autumn fair at Lyon.

2967  From Bonifacius Amerbach  1534

73

so quite eagerly in his letter to me.2 I find nothing to suspect except the negligence and perfidy of letter carriers who now and again handle the letters of good men very badly – to say nothing about the trilingual college which they say he is establishing at Carpentras.3 He will soon make up for this long silence, I think, and will wipe away all suspicion (if any has arisen) by a whole series of letters.4 Sigismundus says you are in good health,5 which I was very glad to hear. May Christ grant you the very best health for a very long time. For your recent hospitality, kindly extended to me, I am grateful – extremely grateful. I only wish that I might be someone who could respond in equal measure to the impetus you inspired in my mind. Just as this is certainly my wish, I will try very hard to realize it in fact. But if I cannot, you will at least praise the attempt, since even in great matters to have tried is enough.6 After I entered Hieronymus’ house, I happened to meet this young man, who was setting out on a journey with him.7 Basel, 2 September 1534 2967 / From Bonifacius Amerbach

Basel, 16 September 1534

This letter (= ak Ep 1859) was first published by Allen. The autograph, which Allen describes as ‘folded as a letter, but apparently not sent,’ is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms c v ia 73 432 verso).

The letter enclosed with this, dear Erasmus, my distinguished friend, was entrusted to me by Grynaeus to be forwarded to you.1 He says that he had *****



2 In June 1533 Sadoleto sent to Erasmus a copy of the first book of his commentary on Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, asking for his opinion of it. Erasmus replied with frank criticisms (no trace of which survives), and when Sadoleto was slow to respond to them, came to fear that Sadoleto had taken offence. See Ep 2816:13– 28 with n3. The letter to Bonifacius is presumably ak Ep 1770; see Ep 2816 n7. 3 We have found no other evidence of such a project. 4 Bonifacius’ optimism was justified by the receipt of Epp 2973 and 2982. 5 Presumably Sigismundus Gelenius, scholar-editor at the Froben press (Ep 1702 n1) 6 This citation of Adagia ii viii 55 puts ‘even’ in the wrong place. The adage reads, ‘In great enterprises even to have shown the will is enough.’ 7 The house was that of Hieronymus Froben; the young messenger is unidentified.

2967 1 The letter is not extant. For Simon Grynaeus, professor of Greek at Basel, see Ep 2433 introduction.

5

10

15

20

2967  From Bonifacius Amerbach  1534

74

received it from France enclosed in an envelope with a letter for himself. I hope, dear master and incomparable patron, that you are well and in the best of form. 5 Basel, 16 September 1534 In haste I recently received a letter from Alciati, in which he wishes to be commended to you.2 He had no other news except that the Spanish troops, after the end of the Turkish war at Koroni,3 returned to Milan, which is for them a 10 sort of home away from home,4 and that Cardinal de’ Medici, having discarded the red hat, has embarked upon ‘a course, not without precedent,’ as the lawyers say, by taking to wife the widow of the duke of Camerino.5 2968 / To Johann von Metzenhausen

Freiburg, 27 September 1534

Ambrosius Pelargus published this letter at the end of Bellaria (folio i 3 verso). It appears to be Erasmus’ response to Pelargus’ request in Ep 2966:40 for a letter of recommendation to the archbishop of Trier. It is in fact a letter of recommendation for the physician Konrad Nyder, who carried the letter, but in lines 17–19 Erasmus inserts a complimentary reference to the ‘erudition and honesty’ of his ‘friend’ Pelargus and applauds the bishop’s generosity towards him. Johann von Metzenhausen (1492–1540), who had earlier received preferment in the cathedral chapter at Trier, was elected archbishop-elector in 1531. He worked to improve the training and conduct of his clergy and to reform the University of Trier. He also played a leading role in organizing the military campaign against the Anabaptists at Münster.

*****



2 ak Ep 1842. For Andrea Alciati, famed Italian jurist, see Ep 1250 introduction. 3 Koroni in the southern Peloponnese, the frequent target of Turkish attacks; cf Epp 2829:34–6 with nn8–9, 2854:108–9 with n31. 4 ak Ep 1842:21–3 5 Bonifacius here repeats from Alciati’s letter (ak Ep 1842:23–5) the false rumour that Cardinal Ippolito (ii) de’ Medici (who would die in August 1535 while planning an assault on Florence to assert his claim to rule there) had taken as his wife Caterina Cibo, the duchess of Camerino. Cf cebr i 304 (under ‘Caterina Cibo’), where Ippolito de’ Medici is incorrectly identified as Ippolito d’Este.

2968  To Johann von Metzenhausen  1534

75

to the most reverend father in christ, most celebrated prince, johann, lord archbishop of trier, elector of the holy roman empire, most worthy archchancellor of gaul, 1 and most respected sir, greeting If it hardly seems courteous of me, a stranger, to address a letter to your most reverend Excellency, I want you to know that this discourteous act2 of mine arises from a kindly intention. The physician Konrad Nyder of Eppingen, who bears this letter, needs your support.3 He put down roots at Koblenz, married a wife, and had a family.4 He spent four years there as a doctor, and won general approval. But through the efforts of rivals he was driven from that position simply because he had not yet obtained the rank of doctor, which he is now bringing back from Italy. He was previously unknown to me, but his very appearance shows him to be modest, upright, and goodnatured. As for his learning, this is abundantly attested in letters from two doctors, Manardo,5 who is certainly one of the greatest scholars of our time, and Anselmus Ephorinus.6 I hear that you are most generous in encouraging those who are marked out by their erudition and honesty, among whom it delights me that you count my friend Ambrosius Pelargus.7 If you add this man to their company, you will be doing nothing out of character, but will be acting in conformity with your nature. He has this one request to make, that if there is a vacancy for a stipendiary doctor in Koblenz, he be restored to his former position. The salary is small, that is sixty florins.8 But he will be content with that. If there is anything your Excellency will wish me to do, you will find your humble servant most ready to oblige. I pray that the Lord will assist and help you in everything. *****



2968 1 Since the thirteenth century the archbishop-elector of Trier held the entirely honorific title of ‘archchancellor of Gaul,’ with Gaul being the kingdom of Arles (Burgundy). 2 Reading, with Gerlo, hanc inhumanitatem for Allen’s hanc humanitatem 3 For Nyder, see Ep 2984 introduction. 4 Koblenz was part of the archbishopric of Trier. 5 Giovanni Manardo, professor of medicine at Ferrara (Ep 1587 n52) 6 Ep 2539 introduction 7 See Ep 2966. 8 Presumably Rhenish florins, so that the salary was worth £14 15s 0d groot Flemish, that is, slightly less than twice the annual wage of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13).

5

10

15

20

25

2968  To Johann von Metzenhausen  1534

76

Freiburg im Breisgau, 27 September 1534 Erasmus of Rotterdam, in my own (gouty) hand 2969 / From Jean de Pins

[Toulouse, c October 1534]

This letter was first published in Smith 451. The surviving manuscript is a ­seventeenth-century copy in the Bibliothèque municipale at Nîmes (ms 215 folio 167 verso). Allen assigned the approximate date by allowing a month to six weeks for the delivery from Toulouse of Ep 2976, the final paragraph of which appears to be Erasmus’ answer to this letter. For Jean de Pins and the background to the writing of this letter, see Ep 2569 introduction.

to erasmus of rotterdam I have recently read and re-read your charming letter, etc.1 At your request I sent my Josephus to Froben a year or so ago.2 Would you kindly arrange to have it returned to me if he has had all the use of it that he requires? If not, to oblige you, I shall be content to wait, even at some inconvenience to myself, 5 until Froben completes what he has to do. Farewell. De Pins, bishop of Rieux, who is always most eager and anxious for your reputation and good name 2970 / To Philippus Melanchthon

Freiburg, 6 October 1534

This letter (= mbw Ep 1500) was first published by Georgius Sabinus in the second edition of his Poemata et Epistolae (Leipzig: Valentinus Papa 1558) folio f9.

erasmus of rotterdam to philippus melanchthon, greeting Your letter and that of your friend arrived too late because of the carelessness of the person to whom you entrusted them.1 Damião de Gois had already left here four days earlier.2 A few days later, however, when, in the 5 *****



2969 1 Not extant 2 A Greek manuscript of Flavius Josephus’ Jewish War, lent at Erasmus’ request to Hieronymus Froben for use in the preparation of his 1534 Latin edition of Josephus (Ep 2628) 2970 1 The letters are not extant. The ‘friend’ (hospes) has not been identified. 2 See Ep 2963 introduction.

2970  To Philippus Melanchthon  1534

77

course of his journey, one of his servants fell ill at Baden,3 he sent him back along with a man from Savoy, who had been hired to accompany him.4 This man returned soon after, so I gave him your letter and your friend’s letter to deliver to Damião. But he had scarcely left us when Damião himself returned, since he was worried about his servant. I handed him your letter to me, from which he learned the whole story. When he left us a second time, he received your letter at Schaffhausen through the aforementioned Savoyard. Since then I have received no communication from him, though I think he is already in Italy. My courier, Georgius Sabinus, was lauded by Giambattista Egnazio in a carefully written letter with which he had taken more pains than he has ever taken on any subject before;5 and indeed the young man shows all the marks of excellence of character and intelligence, so that we may confidently hope that some day he will bring great honour to Germany. I do not wish to say anything at present about Luther, except that I am surprised that he made such a savage attack on me, prompted by Amsdorf, who is, I am told, an ignorant and foolish fellow; even if I had made no reply, it would have been clear from my writings that his objections were entirely unfounded.6 I could have retaliated with needle-sharp barbs, and there was no lack of people urging me to make a stinging reply.7 But I preferred to take the course that would earn the approval of good and learned men. That letter has not damaged my reputation: what good it did to his cause, I do not know. Ambrosius Pelargus has written a book attacking the Anabaptists, in which he constantly snipes at Luther; you too are attacked quite sharply by name, and from time to time I am attacked also, though more gently and without mentioning my name.8

*****



3 Erasmus writes Thermopolis, which is the Latin name for Baden in the Aargau in Switzerland. 4 The servant’s name was Matthaeus; see Ep 2963 n1. 5 Ep 2964 6 For Luther’s Epistola de Erasmo Roterodamo, written at the suggestion of Nikolaus von Amsdorf, and Erasmus’ Purgatio adversus epistolam non sobriam Martini Lutheri, see Ep 2918 introduction. 7 In particular Johann Koler; see Epp 2936:24–74, 2937:12–35, 104–11. 8 Pelargus had written two small works against the Anabaptists (1530, 1531) that were included in his Opuscula, published by J. Gymnich at Cologne in August 1534.

10

15

20

25

30

2970  To Philippus Melanchthon  1534

78

I have purchased three copies of your commentaries on Paul.9 I have sent one to the bishop of Augsburg,10 another to Sadoleto, bishop of Carpentras,11 and kept the third copy for myself. Perhaps at another time I shall tell you what I think of it.12 Farewell. 35 Freiburg, 6 October 1534 2971 / To Jacopo Sadoleto

Freiburg, 31 October 1534

This letter was first published as Ep 93 in the Epistolae familiares. The surviving manuscript is a copy in the hand of Erasmus’ secretary Gilbert Cousin, addressed to Bonifacius Amerbach. From the appended postscript of Cousin to Bonifacius (lines 39–54) it appears that Cousin sent this letter to Bonifacius for transmission to Carpentras and at the same time supplied Bonifacius with a copy of it for his own information. Cousin later sent Bonifacius a copy of Sadoleto’s reply, Ep 2982 (see ak Ep 1897:11–13).

copy of a letter of master erasmus to jacopo sadoleto for master bonifacius amerbach Cordial greetings. Such a long silence on your part has troubled me in various ways.1 First, I was afraid that at the meeting in Marseille you had caught something injurious to your health,2 for I am told you are a man of frugal 5 habits who shows the physical signs of approaching age. Then from time to time I was struck by the disturbing thought that by some mischance your old friendly feelings towards me had cooled; but I was reluctant myself to admit ***** 9 Commentarii in Epistolam Pauli ad Romanos (Wittenberg: Joseph Clug 1532) 10 Christoph von Stadion (Ep 2029) 11 See Ep 2971. 12 For Erasmus’ opinion of the work, see Epp 2818:63–7, 2971:24–30. 2971 1 Erasmus had not heard from Sadoleto since June 1533 and had come to fear that the cardinal had taken offence at his frank criticisms of the draft of book 1 of his commentary on Romans (cf lines 11–23 below); see Ep 2966a n2. 2 In October 1533 Sadoleto was in Marseille when Pope Clement vii presided over the wedding of Catherine de’ Medici to the duke of Orléans (cf Ep 2829 n7). During the visit Sadoleto procured from Pope Clement the appointment of his ‘nephew’ (actually the son of a cousin) Paolo Sadoleto (Ep 2864) as his coadjutor and successor in the diocese of Carpentras. See Richard M. Douglas Jacopo Sadoleto, 1477–1547: Humanist and Reformer (Harvard University Press 1957) 68–9.

2971  To Jacopo Sadoleto  1534

79

this suspicion, and Bonifacius stoutly denied that such a sentiment could lodge in the mind of one known for his remarkable kindness and unwavering loyalty.3 Yet I kept asking myself if by some chance I had unwittingly caused you to alter your attitude towards me. I realized what an impertinence it had been for Erasmus to give advice to Sadoleto – this would be like the proverbial pig giving advice to Minerva.4 But it was at your command that I ventured to be so bold a critic; so even if I had carried out my assignment badly, you should have approved of my willingness to help and gone easy on yourself when I made an error. I gave my advice honestly, as is my nature, but not, I think, dogmatically, since I made you the final judge of my judgment. Moreover, even if I was indecently presumptuous in what I said, or rather, in what I allowed to slip out, since no one except you and me saw those pages, not even Bonifacius, I hoped that you would be as little affected as if nothing had been written. Even today I still hope that this is so. I had sent you Melanchthon’s commentaries,5 not with the intention that you should imitate them (for despite his protestations of a straightforward simplicity, nowhere else does he twist Scripture so violently), but since in that work the various opinions of many scholars are mentioned, I knew that you are wise enough to select from them what would be most helpful in understanding the mind of Paul. For, as the Hebrew proverb has it, any experience whatever makes a wise man wiser.6 Sometimes the thought occurs to me how much damage is done by malicious tongues, which, as we observe, are permitted a tremendous licence in this age. I was tormented by such thoughts when there was this interruption in your letters. If you will be good enough to release me from my worry, you will do something that is not only worthy of your generous nature, but enormously gratifying to me.7 Farewell. Freiburg im Breisgau, 31 October 1534 Erasmus of Rotterdam

*****



3 See Ep 2930. 4 Adagia i i 40 5 See Ep 2970:32–5. 6 Cf Prov 1:5. 7 Relief arrived with Ep 2973.

10

15

20

25

30

35

2971  To Jacopo Sadoleto  1534

80

Cordial greetings.8 My master has ordered me to send you these three letters so that, as soon as a reliable courier is available, you will send them on to the 40 persons to whom they are addressed.9 I have no news to write to you at present except that Cardinal Farnese was elected to the office of supreme pontiff on 12 October with the name Paul iii.10 He is said to be of noble family, a learned man who cherishes men of learning, who possesses a sober and philosophic character. He is an Italian, and they write that he favours the French. 45 Also, the news has come in a letter that Alvise Gritti, who had gone to Hungary to make peace on behalf of the Turks, was taken prisoner and beheaded by the Zecklerians and Hungarians. God knows what action the Turk will take against Christians because of this. Farewell. In great haste, 4 November 1534 50 Your devoted friend Gilbert Cousin Erasmus could not write himself because of gout in his hand. To the eminent and learned Master Bonifacius Amerbach, celebrated doctor of laws, his most respected mentor and teacher. In Basel 2972 / From Bonifacius Amerbach

[Basel, November 1534]

This letter (= ak Ep 1879) was first published by Allen. The autograph rough draft is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms c vi a 73 260). As Allen observes, the letter falls in date somewhere between Epp 2971 and 2978. ak puts the date at ‘c 10 November 1534.’

*****



8 This appended postscript from Gilbert Cousin to Bonifacius Amerbach appears as Ep 1877 in ak. 9 The three letters were this one to Sadoleto and two others (not extant) to Andrea Alciati and Hector van Hoxwier; see Ep 2972:1–2, 5–6. 10 See Ep 2988 introduction. 11 Seen in context, ‘Zecklerians’ appears to mean Transylvanians (a meaning we cannot otherwise find attested). Alvise Gritti (Ep 2606 n19) had been a pivotal figure in the efforts of Suleiman i to pacify Hungary under a pro-Turkish regime headed by John Zápolyai, Ferdinand of Austria’s rival for control of Hungary. Gritti met his death in the autumn of 1534 when his attempt to pacify Transylvania led to the murder of the voivode, Cibacho of Waradin, by one of his supporters, with the resulting upheaval taking the form of a blood-feud against him personally.

2972  From Bonifacius Amerbach  [1534]

81

Cordial greetings. I have put your letter to Sadoleto in the hands of Konrad’s servant,1 who is leaving for Lyon tomorrow; whence it will be taken to the bishop of Carpentras through the good offices of the Lyon printer, Michel Parmentier, who so far has shown his good faith in transmitting letters back and forth.2 Every day I hope to find an opportunity to send to Pavia the let- 5 ters that you wrote to Alciati and Hoxwier.3 Nothing else has happened here that is worth writing about. I do not think I need speak once again of my regard and undying affection for you lest I hear you mutter ‘the same old thing, over and over again,’4 or I am criticized for a lack of conviction because of such frequent repetition. Do, I beg you, look after yourself. You should know 10 that no news could be as welcome to me or as gratifying as to learn that you are well. We pray that everything will turn out as you would like and that you will enjoy steady and constant good health. I think you already know from Bucer’s Defensio against the bishop of Avranches how far the people at Strasbourg have taken a more moderate position on the Eucharist.5 15

*****





2972 1 Allen thought that Konrad was probably the Konrad Joham of Ep 2955 n1, but Alfred Hartmann was doubtless right (ak Ep 1879 n1) in identifying him as Konrad Resch (Ep 2223 n1), the Basel bookseller who had close ties to Michel Parmentier in Lyon (see following note). 2 Michel Parmentier (c 1481–c 1561), bookseller and publisher at Lyon, whose shop was a major centre for the circulation of Basel publications in France, and who often acted as intermediary in the correspondence between scholars 3 See Ep 2971 n9. 4 For the phrase, quoted in Greek, see Adagia i v 89. 5 Robert Céneau, bishop of Avranches, published in 1534 his Appendix ad coe­ nam domini (Paris: J. Petit), directed against Martin Bucer. Bucer replied with Defensio … adversus … criminationem R.P. Roberti episcopi Abrincensis (Strasbourg: M. Apiarius 1534). Bucer’s discussion of the Lord’s Supper reflected his efforts to find common ground between the Swiss / southwest German Evangelicals (frequently referred to as ‘Zwinglians’) and the Wittenbergers on the subject of the Real Presence. His efforts, seconded by those of Philippus Melanchthon, would in due course bear fruit in the Wittenberg Concord of 1536. The essentially Lutheran doctrine of the Concord proved acceptable to Strasbourg and other Evangelical cities in Germany, but not to the Swiss, who refused to accept it. All the same, Bonifacius had secured his religious safety at Basel by adopting a position on the Real Presence derived from that of Martin Bucer; see Ep 2248 n6.

2973  From Jacopo Sadoleto  1534 2973 / From Jacopo Sadoleto

82 Carpentras, 1 November 1534

This letter was first published in Iacobi Sadoleti, episcopi Carpentoracti, epistolarum libri sexdecim (Lyon: Gryphius 1550) page 172.

jacopo sadoleto, bishop of carpentras, to erasmus of rotterdam, greeting It is a long time since I heard anything about you, even a rumour.1 But if you are still in the same place as you were and if, as I hope and pray, you are in good health, then I have some cause to wonder what is happening. When a man is much talked about and is a prolific writer, this silence is unusual. We have had nothing from the pen of Erasmus since your book about peace in the church.2 So we cannot help suspecting that either your health has failed or you are on your way to your native Belgium. I imagined from the last letter you wrote me that this was in your mind. If so, my dear Erasmus, please let me know the whole story, for I am on tenterhooks until I get some news of you. You know that your health and peace of mind are matters very close to my heart. Destiny has never allowed us to reside in the same place, which would, I think, have given great pleasure to both of us, certainly to me. Then I could have shared with you more freely and more clearly all my thoughts and feelings. But since that belongs to the past, let us not reopen an old case, as the saying goes.3 At least we have this consolation, that virtue has given us hearts that are joined in love.4 In virtue you are superior, but I have the greater role in respecting and cherishing you for the very great man that you are. So I earnestly beg you to write occasionally to me, your devoted friend, and tell me all your news. *****





2973 1 There are no extant letters from Erasmus to Sadoleto between Ep 2611 (22 February 1532) and Ep 2971. Yet we know that several times in that period Erasmus sent letters and books, often via Bonifacius Amerbach; see Epp 2648 introduction and n1, 2656:16–18, 2686:4–5, 2703:1–4, 2816 n3, 2818:69–70, 2865:13–14, 20–2, 27–30, 2872:1–3, 2927–8, 2930. 2 De sarcienda ecclesiae concordia (Ep 2852) 3 A proverbial expression taken from the law courts, used of a futile or repetitive action; see Adagia i iv 70. 4 It was a familiar Stoic and Aristotelian view that true friendship was closely dependent on virtue; see Cicero De amicitia 26–32, 100, Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics 1156. Cf Ep 2982:15–16.

5

10

15

20

2974  From Pierre Du Chastel  1534

83

My commentaries on Paul are complete; so I am planning to publish them soon.5 The corrections you made on the first book were most helpful.5 I only wish you had done the same for the remaining books, from which I 25 would have profited greatly. But Destiny, by keeping us apart, has begrudged us many great pleasures, and it is not possible for us to resist her, for she shatters and weakens even the greatest talents, let alone my own. But, dear Erasmus, here again you can see the slowness and weakness of my mind, for after running for a long time I, like Callipides, have scarcely advanced a foot,7 30 so that, in this case too, you can take greater satisfaction from that incredible energy and industry of yours. But enough of this. I pray that you, my beloved and wonderful Erasmus, will continue forever to feel that affection that you have always shown towards me. Farewell. 35 Carpentras, 1 November 1534 2974 / From Pierre Du Chastel

Metz, 4 November 1534

This letter was first published as Ep 212 in Förstemann / Günther. The autograph was in the Burscher Collection of the University Library at Leipzig (Ep 1254 introduction). Pierre Du Chastel (Ep 2213 introduction) had lived with Erasmus as his ­famulus for several months at Basel in 1527, and, after matriculating at the University of Freiburg in 1532, was once again closely associated with him for several months. Following a visit to Italy and a reported journey to the Holy Land, he was now at Metz, uncertain exactly where his future lay. He would soon embark on a distinguished administrative and ecclesiastical career in the service of Francis i and Henry ii. There is no evidence that Erasmus answered this letter, which is the last one extant in the correspondence between him and Du Chastel.

Greetings. I would be embarrassed, my most respected master, indeed I would not even dare, to revert to my old familiar way of addressing your good self and my former manner of writing, were it not that you have always *****

5 Sadoleto’s In Epistolam Pauli ad Romanos commentariorum libri tres was published in 1535 by Sebastianus Gryphius at Lyon. 6 Ep 2816 n3 7 Callipides was a proverbial name for someone who, though constantly in ­motion, never got anywhere and never finished anything; see Adagia i vi 43.

2974  From Pierre Du Chastel  1534

84

struck me as someone on whose good nature a man could always count, especially if he is turning back to a useful life; indeed you seem to me almost ready to promise me a pardon without being asked. Moreover, the facts of the case call in some way for vindication. I shall speak frankly without beating about the bush. I cannot disguise that if I have not been negligent, I have certainly acted discourteously, since for the past year and a half I have been so silly and so idle that I never gave any evidence,1 by word or pen or by doing you any other form of service, that I had taken upon myself the status of a servant attendant upon a master. If to dispel these feelings we need a discussion, then either I shall have to write a longer letter or give an explanation face to face to my master, into whose ear I am ready to relate the whole story (if indeed a wrong has been done). I do not find Freiburg utterly distasteful, although I am not ready to promise anything for certain in case, if it did not turn out, I should be stamped as a frivolous and unreliable person. At present I am ready to fly off – I have the prospect of finding a nest in Louvain. If that works out, I shall in future be more attentive to my obligations. I am much attracted to Italy, provided that no new disturbances arise there, though here too it seems that anything could happen, given the altered state of things. But wherever I may be, I shall always be one whom you may justly command and truly call your own. May God Almighty long keep your Excellency safe and well for the sake of us all. Farewell, my most respected master. Metz, 4 November 1534 Pierre Du Chastel, the most respectful of your friends 2975 / From Pietro Bembo

Padua, 11 November 1534

This letter, which answers Epp 2925 and 2958, was first published in the Epistolae Sadoleti, Bembi, et aliorum clarissimorum virorum ad Damianum a Goes Equitem Lusitanum (folio c3 verso), which is appended to Damiani a Goes Equitis Lusitani Aliquot Opuscula (Louvain: Rutgerus Rescius 1544).

pietro bembo to erasmus of rotterdam, greeting I have received two letters from you. The first, in which you commended the Frobens to me for their careful and diligent workmanship and followed this with support for their request in connection with the publication of the works *****



2974 1 Du Chastel’s last surviving letter to Erasmus is dated 17 September 1532 (Ep 2719).

5

10

15

20

25

2976  To Jean de Pins  1534

85

of Livy, came some time ago.1 I put off replying to your letter, since I had written to them (for they had also written to me); lately I received your second letter,2 in which, on the first page, you excuse yourself for your recommendation of the Frobens, and on a later page you ask me to make myself available to the Portuguese student Damião, who was coming to Padua to study here. I was delighted to meet him, for, as you say in your letter and as I gather from the two meetings I had with him and from his conversation, he is blessed with an excellent character and a most elegant and engaging manner. So it seems I have gained something from your letter, for you have introduced me to a remarkable young man. I put myself generously at his disposal and asked him to use me and everything I possess as his own. But so far he has been too modest to avail himself of my offer. He rented a house without telling me; it is, however, a very fine house. I shall say nothing about your self-justification, which, as I said, formed the other part of your most recent letter, except that you are too reluctant and too modest in your demands on me. I would be happier if you were more confident and more frequent in demanding from me all the good offices one expects from a very close friend, and I beg you most earnestly to lodge that thought firmly in your mind. But to reply at long last to your earlier letter, I was unable to assist the Frobens with their request, for I have no manuscripts of Livy that would not be less correct than those used by Aldus in his edition, which is in everyone’s hands.3 But I have no doubt that the Frobens have informed you about the whole matter. I have written this in my own hand as some sort of compensation for your always writing to me most affectionately in your own hand. Please look after your health, which, I hear, has been quite fragile, and continue to love me. Farewell. 11 November 1534. At Padua 2976 / To Jean de Pins

Freiburg, 13 November 1534

This letter, which appears to be Erasmus’ response to Ep 2969 (see line 19), was first printed in Smith 451. The surviving manuscript is a seventeenth-­century copy in the Bibliothèque municipale at Nîmes (ms 215 folio 169).

*****



2975 1 Ep 2925 2 Ep 2958 3 The first volume of the Aldine edition of Livy appeared in 1518; the fifth and final volume followed in May 1533.

5

10

15

20

25

30

2976  To Jean de Pins  1534

86

to jean de pins, bishop of rieux, greeting I am very grateful, as I ought to be, most excellent bishop, for the good will that you continue to show me as you have always done in the past. I am beset by troubles of all kinds, which I am learning to endure. Luther has written a letter against me that is simply demented and so flagrantly untrue as to displease even the most convinced Lutherans. He threatens even worse to follow.1 Nikolaus Herborn, the Franciscan commissary-general on this side of the Alps, has published some Lenten sermons with the sole purpose of bespattering me with the most virulent abuse.2 Others repeat to one another scurrilous libels that are circulating in writing against me, though only in the circle of the initiates – Buschius, who died recently, was one of their number.3 Not the least part of my troubles is caused by my servants. Lately I nursed a deadly viper in my bosom, thinking I had a loyal servant. But he would kill me if he could do so without being punished.4 On top of all this, as each day passes, old age weighs more and more heavily upon me, causing frequent and excruciating pains in both hands and feet.5 But such is my destiny: ‘against Necessity not even the gods do battle.’6 I have not set eyes on your Josephus.7 I wrote to Hieronymus to ask him to give the manuscript to the messenger who brought your letter, which I have no doubt he will do.8 I too thank you on his behalf. Freiburg, 13 November 1534 Erasmus of Rotterdam, in my own hand 2977 / From Johann von Botzheim

Überlingen, 20 November 1534

This letter was first published as Ep 213 in Förstemann / Günther. The autograph (address sheet missing) was in the Burscher Collection of the University Library at Leipzig (Ep 1254 introduction). For Botzheim, see Ep 1103 introduction.

*****



2976 1 See Epp 2918 introduction, 2947:76–82, 2961:17–21. 2 See Ep 2896 n8. 3 See Ep 2961 n61. 4 Quirinus Hagius; see Ep 2940 n6. 5 See Ep 2940 n2. 6 Greek in the text; see Adagia ii iii 41 citing Simonides (frag 37.29–30 Page). 7 The manuscript of Flavius Josephus’ Jewish War that De Pins had lent to Hieronymus Froben; see Ep 2969. 8 The letter to Froben is not extant; that from De Pins is presumably Ep 2969.

5

10

15

20

2977  From Johann von Botzheim  1534

87

Greetings, my illustrious master. Some people who are unknown to me sent me these letters from Ingolstadt to be forwarded to you because they understood that I am a very close friend of yours.1 I gladly did what they wished. From a letter written to me by Nikolaus Winmann I learned that he is a cultivated person and very devoted to you.2 So from this I have gained a new 5 friend. I read with great pleasure the letter you sent me recently.3 Now there are several other rumours in circulation: about the occupation of the city of Rhodes by Andrea Doria,4 about the arrival of the emperor,5 about the king of France, who is said to be promising his help against Lutheran princes and cities.6 They say that the count of Nassau has been with the king of France 10 accompanied by a large escort of horse, and that he was sent off with very high hopes.7 The Hungarians are flocking to Ferdinand, offering him all of their kingdom.8 Everywhere, I am told, war leaders are being appointed, and all other preparations are being made that are necessary to that end, both by our side and by the sectarians.9 May Christ bring all things to a happy con- 15 clusion. I hope your Excellency will carefully guard your health, for you are a treasure without equal for all learned men. From Überlingen, 20 November 1534 Yours, such as he is, Johann von Botzheim ***** 2977 1 Neither the letters nor the senders have been identified. 2 For Nikolaus Winmann, at this time teaching Greek at Ingolstadt, see Ep 2439 introduction. 3 Presumably the letter carried by Damião de Gois in August 1534; see Ep 2987:4–5. 4 Rhodes had fallen to the Turks in 1522. There was no substance to the rumour that it had been retaken by the imperial admiral Andrea Doria. 5 The emperor did not leave Spain in 1534 (see Bradford 499). This is perhaps an allusion to early preparations for the campaign against Tunis of the following summer; see Ep 2983 n15. 6 Francis i had been doing precisely the opposite, advancing to the Lutheran Duke Ulrich of Württemberg most of the money needed to finance the campaign in which his hereditary duchy was reconquered from Ferdinand of Austria; see Ep 2917 n9. 7 Henry iii of Nassau-Dillenburg (1483–1538), was one of the tutors of the future Charles v and governor of Holland and Zeeland from 1515 to 1522, when he accompanied Emperor Charles to Spain, remaining there until 1529. As grand chamberlain he accompanied Charles to his coronation in Bologna and to the Diet of Augsburg (both in 1530). In October 1534 Charles sent him on a mission to Francis i of France; for the substance of the negotiations see Knecht 234. 8 There was no substance to this rumour. 9 This is presumably a reference to the siege of Anabaptist Münster; cf Ep 2957.

2977  From Johann von Botzheim  1534

88

To the most distinguished theologian with an incomparable command 20 of language, Master Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, his teacher and mentor who, on every count, is worthy of respect. In Freiburg 2978 / From Bonifacius Amerbach

Basel, 22 November 1534

This letter (= ak Ep 1885) was first published by Allen, who indicates that the manuscript (ms c v ia 73 44 in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel) was ‘written fair for dispatch and addressed, but apparently not sent.’ It seems clear that another letter, no longer extant, was substituted for it, and that it contained the news to which Erasmus reacted in Ep 2980 (cf ak Ep 1885 introduction).

Cordial greetings. Couriers turned up opportunely a short time ago, so I sent off the letters you wanted me to forward to Sadoleto and Alciati.1 I expect they have been delivered by now. I mention this again, dear Erasmus, my distinguished friend, because a Frenchman who passed this way recently asked for your letter to Sadoleto, saying that he was acting on your instruc- 5 tions, but I had written to you that it had been sent off earlier. So I infer from this that my letter to you was not delivered.2 If there is anything else with which you require my modest assistance, I am ready to do whatever you wish: God forbid that you should ever doubt my undying devotion to you. Keep yourself well, dear master and incomparable patron, and attend me 10 with your accustomed favour, as you are doing. Basel, 22 November 1534 I would commend to you your godson Johannes Erasmius Froben, who is the bearer of this letter,3 if I were not afraid of receiving the rebuke that one 15 still hears in the courts: ‘the case is closed, don’t reopen it.’4 *****



2978 1 See Epp 2971:39–41, 2972:1–6. 2 Ep 2972 3 In 1530–1 Erasmus’ beloved godson, Erasmius Froben, had proved to be a thoroughly inept student at the Collegium Trilingue in Louvain (Epp 2352:281–304, 2412:25–37) and, after studying French for a while at Lille (Ep 2573:78–80), appears to have returned to Basel to work in the publishing house of his stepfather Johann Herwagen. This journey to Freiburg carrying recommendations to Erasmus and Udalricus Zasius (for the latter see ak Ep 1892:30–3) may indicate that plans to get him a degree were still alive. If so, it led to nothing, and Erasmius appears to have lived the rest of his life in relative obscurity at Basel, working on the fringes of the family firm. 4 Adagia i iv 70, here cited in Greek

2980  To Bonifacius Amerbach  1534

89

Yours sincerely, Bonifacius Amerbach To Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, the prince of the true theology and of all fine learning, distinguished scholar, and in everything my incomparable mentor. In Freiburg 2979 / To Johannes Cochlaeus

[Freiburg], 24 November 1534

This fragment of a letter from Erasmus to Cochlaeus (Ep 1863) was first published by Carl Otto in his Johannes Cochlaeus der Humanist (Breslau 1874) 154. He found it in a letter from Cochlaeus to Johannes Dantiscus (for whom see Ep 2163 n34) that was preserved in the episcopal archive at Frombork (Briefcodex d 3 folio 114). Allen, who did not see the manuscript, reproduced the text directly from Otto.

I must often fight a hard battle with gout in my hands and feet.1 For several days I have not written anything at all. Now I am struggling to finish the Ecclesiastes, if I can.2 The work, which was promised in fun, must now be completed in earnest.3 It grows under my hands. 2980 / To Bonifacius Amerbach

[Freiburg], 28 November 1534

This letter (= ak Ep 1888) was first published as Ep 91 in the Epistolae familiares. It answers the letter, not extant, that was substituted for Ep 2978, which was never sent. See the introduction to that letter.

Greetings. Your news was not very pleasant, but I was glad to have it. I wanted to know what had happened to my Clauthus,1 for I had a presentiment of trouble when he departed without saying ‘Farewell,’ leaving not a stick behind as though he never intended to return. I thank you for looking after the letters to Sadoleto and Alciati.2 I greatly suspect, however, that Sadoleto has 5 taken offence because of a good turn I did him, which ought to have made *****

2979 1 See Ep 2940 n2. 2 It would go the printers circa the beginning of May 1535 (Ep 3016:28) and be in print by early August of that year (Ep 3036 introduction). 3 See Ep 3036:6–9. 2980 1 Johannes Clauthus, the famulus who died on a mission to England in September 1534; see Epp 2955 n8, 2981:1–17. 2 Cf Epp 2972:1–6, 2978:1–2; the letter to Sadoleto was Ep 2971.

2980  To Bonifacius Amerbach  1534

90

him a closer friend.3 You complain that I do not reply to your letters. But who would reply to such trifles. You thank me for putting you up for one night, for some supposed great service that I did you. Find another subject if you want a reply. 10 My best wishes to you and to all those dear to you. 28 November 1534 Your friend Erasmus To the excellent Master Bonifacius Amerbach. At Basel 2981 / To Erasmus Schets

[Freiburg], 6 December 1534

This letter, evidently the answer to one no longer extant, was first published by Allen. The autograph is in the Bodleian Library at Oxford (ms Lat Misc c 20 folio 58). For Erasmus Schets, see Ep 2944).

Greetings. I think you know that Johannes Clauthus died in England, causing me a lot of trouble.1 I had sent him off before the first of August: he died on the threshold of England, that is at Rochester, on the tenth day of September. His satchel and the letters he carried were sent by a nobleman to the king’s secretary.2 Find out, if you can, what has happened and what hope 5 there is. I assign no blame to Grapheus: he has acted conscientiously.3 I think I know who palmed this impostor off on me;4 it was that troublemaker who never misses an opportunity to make mischief in all my affairs. He5 came here with the sole intention of seeing Germany and England at my expense. He was completely rotten, infected by all the sects, especially the Anabaptists, 10 and his manners were uncouth. He never spoke except when spoken to, and then only a word or two. In fact it was more of a chirp than human speech. With me he was completely secretive, with others he blurted out what he should have kept secret. When he had taken my letters and fifteen gold *****

3 Ep 2973 from Sadoleto had clearly not yet arrived.

2981 1 Cf Ep 2980 n1. 2 Thomas Cromwell (Ep 3107 introduction) 3 It was at Erasmus’ request that Cornelius Grapheus had recommended Clauthus to him; see Ep 2916 n6. 4 Lieven Algoet; see Ep 3028:1–7. 5 Clauthus

2982  From Jacopo Sadoleto  1534

91

florins for the journey, he began to laugh.6 It was then that I sensed the man’s falsity. I was planning to get the letters back, but he slipped out in the morning without saying farewell. The bag of almonds had the number 8 on it. It was not, however, eight pounds, though it came close if calculated in the pounds of this region, which weigh less. You had written ‘ten,’ but this error is of little significance.7 So far I have not been able to lay hands on the Lenten sermons of Nikolaus Herborn, an arrogant and ignorant lightweight, whom I must deal with.8 If you can, would you please arrange to have them sent to me at the first opportunity through Grapheus or some other friend, so that I can write a reply in time for the forthcoming fair. Best wishes. The feast of St Nicholas 1534 Yours, Erasmus of Rotterdam At the same time I would like to know what has happened to Michaël Hillen, for the queen wrote a fierce letter against him to the marquis, but I suspect nothing has happened.9 To the excellent Master Erasmus Schets. In Antwerp 2982 / From Jacopo Sadoleto

15

20

25

30

Carpentras, 9 December 1534

This letter, Sadoleto’s reply to Ep 2971, was first published in the epistolary ­appendix to De puritate tabernaculi (Basel: Froben 1536) 101–3.

jacopo sadoleto, bishop of carpentras, to erasmus of rotterdam, greeting I received your letter of 4 November.1 It would have pained me greatly to think that you suspected a change in my friendly attitude towards you, but by the mercy of God, it so happened that, a few hours earlier, I had sent you 5 a letter filled with such expressions of genuine affection as I can picture in my *****

6 See Ep 2997 n8. 7 Cf Ep 2955:25–8. 8 See Ep 2896 n8. 9 For Queen Mary’s letter to the marquis of Antwerp concerning Hillen’s publication of sermons of Herborn (see preceding note), see Ep 2912:29–36, and cf Epp 2915:40–6, 2922:16–17.

2982 1 In the Basel manuscript of Ep 2971, this is the date of Gilbert Cousin’s postscript to Bonifacius Amerbach. Erasmus’ letter is dated 31 October 1534.

2982  From Jacopo Sadoleto  1534

92

mind, though inadequate to express the feelings that are inscribed forever on my heart.2 How could you imagine you had hurt my feelings when you generously took on the task of correcting my writings, a task for which I could not find adequate words with which to thank you? I beg you, my dear Erasmus, not to count me among those who cannot endure criticism and advice, for there is no service you could do me that would give me greater satisfaction. I only wish you were always here and available to correct and instruct me; I can think of no happy circumstance that I would value more than that. But if the sacred ties of friendship, which are strongest between good men,3 encircle the hearts of both of us with an unbroken chain, I implore you to continue to give me your advice and criticism when you see it is needed. If we lived together, this would arise more frequently than perhaps you imagine. But even though you are not here, you could still be helpful, for you now have my Commentaries,4 which have just been published. They await your critical judgment, not in fear, but in the hope that it will turn out better both for the book and for its author if an error that is justly criticized in this work will be replaced in another by something better and more correct. As for the long gap in my correspondence, this was caused by pressure of work and by the sudden upheavals of the times, which have affected us too in unexpected and varied ways. Moreover, I was not certain if you had set out to join your Belgians.5 I rather feared that you had. I recalled your writing to me that you were putting off your move until the spring, and that is now almost nine months past.6 But whether I write or not, I want you to be quite certain that, though you have very many who respect you, care for you, and love you, I take second place to none of them; indeed I dare to assert that your health and reputation are dearer to no one than they are to me. I remember saying to you on one occasion that, though I live on a modest fortune, I nevertheless want you to share all that I have, and I repeat that now, and beg you, in the name of our friendship, to believe that there is nothing of mine that is not also yours, and, I may add, more truly and particularly yours. If *****

2 Ep 2973 3 For the sentiment see Ep 2973 n4. 4 Sadoleto’s commentary on Romans, published at Lyon by Sebastianus Gry­ phius, bears the publication date 1535 (cf Ep 2973 n5). We see this passage as evidence that the printing was complete, or nearly so, in December 1534. 5 Ie whether he had set out on his planned return to Brabant. Sadoleto’s use of Belgae recalls Caesar’s references to the Gallic tribe that ranged over an area north of the Marne and into the Low Countries. 6 The letter is not extant; for the postponed journey cf Ep 2865:1–2.

10

15

20

25

30

35

2983  From Johann Koler  1534

93

you begin to put my commitment to the test, this will be the best way of showing me that you love me. I hope our friend Amerbach is well. Do give him my best wishes. Farewell, my most learned and excellent Erasmus. Let me know at the first 40 opportunity that you now firmly hold a true opinion of me, so that I may rid my mind as soon as possible of the worry caused by your letter. Farewell again. 9 December 1534 2983 / From Johann Koler

Augsburg, 10 December 1534

This letter was first published as Ep 214 in Förstemann / Günther. The autograph was in the Burscher Collection of the University Library at Leipzig (Ep 1254 introduction). For Johann Koler see Ep 2947.

Cordial greetings. Nothing at this moment could have brought me greater pleasure than the arrival of the courier with a letter from you.1 We were not a little worried about you. The day before the courier arrived, when Johann Paumgartner was with me, his principal concern was to find out from me if I had any good news of you; he asked me what I knew about your state of 5 health and whether everything in your neighbourhood was safe, for he told me he was rather afraid that something unpleasant had happened to you. He said he had written to Zasius asking to be informed about your health and your present situation. So this messenger arrived at just the right moment to remove all our anxieties. We were very happy to learn that you are safe and 10 well. We too by the mercy of God are in good health. May God keep it that way, for I consider nothing in this life more wretched than ill health, nor anything a greater blessing than a healthy body and a strong constitution. Anyone who has ever put the matter to the test knows how true this is. Bucer spent several days among us and preached often to the people.2 15 From what I hear, he skilfully began his sermons on a moderate note and comported himself in such a way that his hearers could not easily anticipate *****

2983 1 The letter is not extant. 2 In the years 1534–7 Martin Bucer, leader of the Reformation at Strasbourg, was repeatedly invited to Augsburg by the city council to assist in the organization of the new evangelical church order in the city and to mediate in the dispute between Lutherans and Zwinglians over the Lord’s Supper. In 1534 he arrived on 6 November and stayed a month. See Greschat 113.

2983  From Johann Koler  1534

94

the shocking outburst with which he would conclude. He first treated chapter 13 of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans on magistrates, and when he had spent some time on this, he came at last to what he knew his followers expected of him, that it was the duty of the magistrates, under pain of committing a grave sin, to prohibit and outlaw the mass and what he calls the whole abomination of the priesthood and the idolatrous worship of images. In his final sermons he treated the great matter of the Eucharist. He began by stating that the whole controversy that had arisen among his brethren on this issue had been settled, and that there was now a general agreement that something beyond a mere symbol lay under the elements of bread and wine.3 But many of his listeners, of whom it could generally be said that their ears were well washed with sharp vinegar,4 could not quite understand what in the end he meant to say or what he understood this ‘something’ to be. For these people hammer out their words from behind their teeth,5 so that it is not clear what they believe, even though their meaning cannot be totally concealed. It is just as you say in your letter: they are trying to persuade the world that on this topic they do not differ at all from Luther, although they only succeed in revealing the extent of their shameless duplicity.6 They are like children in Italy who, both indoors and out, play the rope game,7 for they do whatever appeals to them *****







3 Cf Ep 2972 n5. Bucer’s assertion that agreement had already been reached was probably based on the favourable reaction from both Zwinglian and Lutheran theologians, including Luther himself, to the brief statement on the Lord’s Supper that he had appended to his polemic against the Anabaptists, Bericht … durch die Prediger … zů Strassburg der Stat und Kirchen zů Münster in Westfal geschriben, published in March 1534. Explaining how the misunderstanding between Lutherans and Zwinglians had arisen, he asserted that they were in fundamental agreement and offered a formula for acceptance by both sides. Bucer could also point to the so-called Stuttgart Concord of 2 August 1534. See Greschat 102–3, 134. 4 Persius Satires 5.86; acetum (vinegar) usually symbolizes a sour disposition, but here it indicates sharp intelligence. 5 It is not easy to find a parallel for this strange expression. The nearest is Plautus Trinummus 909, where one of the characters keeps information infra dentes, that is, keeps it secret. The point seems to be that the reformers deliberately obfuscate the issue in order to cover their disagreements. 6 During his visit to Augsburg in 1534 Bucer had little success in coaxing the preachers into agreement on the Lord’s Supper, but in the spring of 1535 he would manage to secure their unanimous consent to ten articles that he had written, to which was added the text of the statement on the Supper that had been appended to the Bericht of 1534. See Greschat 113. 7 Literally ‘they play with ropes.’ We do not know what this game was.

20

25

30

35

2983  From Johann Koler  1534

95

or is most expedient, while in reality their actions differ greatly from their words. For since it is no secret that the dukes of Saxony have reached an agreement with King Ferdinand that the Sacramentarians and the Anabaptists shall not be tolerated anywhere,8 they realize that they are marked men and 40 that their flank is exposed and undefended. So to strengthen their position, they are trying, as far as they can, to attach themselves somehow to the Lutherans and pretend that there is absolutely no point on which they disagree. It is for this reason that Bucer has been charged by his colleagues to visit all those cities and districts where there are kindred spirits and to an- 45 nounce this mutual accord, a task that he is accomplishing with his usual energy and with remarkable chicanery. The day before yesterday he left here for Constance to continue the mission that has been laid upon him.9 I hear that the king of France has turned his mind to the eradication of Lutheranism throughout his kingdom and has already made an example of 50 certain people who had been arrested; some have suffered a long and painful death, having being shut up alive in iron cages, their tongues cut out, and their bodies roasted by a blazing torch placed in their posterior parts. You yourself should have some idea whether this is true or not. At all events *****

8 Since at least 1530 the Wittenberg theologians and the Electoral Saxon government had rejected ‘Sacramentarians’ (ie Zwinglians) as co-religionists eligible for membership in the League of Schmalkalden. Moreover, concessions to Protestant princes and cities by Emperor Charles and King Ferdinand had always specified as their recipients ‘adherents of the Augsburg Confession’ (Lutherans) to the exclusion of Sacramentarians and Anabaptists; cf Ep 2917 n9 (Peace of Kadan). One of Bucer’s aims in seeking unity with the Lutherans on the Real Presence, ultimately achieved in the Wittenberg Concord of 1536, was to open the door to membership in the League of Schmalkalden to Strasbourg and its confessional allies among the cities and principalities of southwestern Germany. 9 Bucer hastened from Augsburg to Constance, where a meeting of the Zwinglians of Upper Germany and Switzerland was scheduled to take place on 15 December. The aim of the meeting was to secure a clear harmony of views on the Lord’s Supper in preparation for Bucer’s planned meeting with Philippus Melanchthon at Kassel at the end of the month. But Zürich sent no envoy to the conference, thus preventing any discussion of the Lord’s Supper. This did not hinder Bucer in his continued efforts to find agreement with Melanchthon and Wittenberg, but it presaged the refusal of the Swiss to accept any agreement with the Lutherans and their views. See The Correspondence of Wolfgang Capito trans Erika Rummel, ann Erika Rummel and Milton Kooistra 3 (Toronto 2015) 269–71 (introduction to Bucer’s letter of 18 December 1534, written at Constance, to Capito and the Strasbourg pastors). See also Greschat 134.

2983  From Johann Koler  1534

96

our merchants here say that at Paris more than two hundred leading citizens have fled.10 What is most on my mind at present is the state of affairs in England. Is the king still aflame with a wild passion for his new wife? It is rumoured here that he has now turned his attention to another of her sisters. But what I particularly want to know is how the tragic affair of your friend More has ended and what has happened to the bishop of Rochester and the others who were thrown into prison.11 If your Anabaptist friend – you wrote to me about him – has returned to you by now,12 I am sure you must be well informed about everything that is going on there. So please give me a full account of the whole situation in England. Those of our merchants who do business in Spain state it as an established fact that the emperor is preparing to set out for Italy and that already forces are being collected throughout all the regions; many, however, believe that the levy is not intended for a campaign by the emperor, but to equip a fleet which, in alliance with the new pope,13 and under the command of Andrea Doria,14 will be deployed next spring throughout the Mediterranean against the Barbary pirates, for in the past summer they caused considerable damage to Italy. Which version is correct, events will soon make clear.15 From the letters that friends write me from Rome and from the reports of those who return from there I learn that Pope Paul iii is bending every effort to restore peace among Christian princes. He even hopes to bring the ***** 10 In the early hours of 17 October 1534 placards denouncing the Catholic doctrine of the mass were posted in Paris, Orléans, and other French cities. One was placed at the door of the king’s bedchamber in Amboise. Encouraged by the king, who had previously tried to limit persecution, the authorities in Paris undertook to find the perpetrators. By the end of November, six people had been burned at the stake and dozens more had been thrown into prison. Heresy trials continued into May of the following year. As a result of this ‘affair of the placards’ a number of French Protestants, including John Calvin, fled the realm. See oer iii 279, and cf Epp 2993:69–73, 3000:42–6, 3029:84–95, 3043:113– 15, 3048:50–1, 3049:166–75. 11 See Ep 2961 n45. 12 Johannes Clauthus; see Ep 2955 n8. 13 Paul iii (Ep 2988) 14 Ep 3008 n24 15 These were the preparations leading to the expedition, with the personal participation of Charles v, that would lead to the capture of Tunis in July 1535; see Ep 2997 n22.

55

60

65

70

75

2983  From Johann Koler  1534

97

king of England and his whole kingdom back to obedience with the willing agreement of all parties. How this can be done passes my comprehension, though I know that for the great immortals nothing is impossible. They say that the emperor has set out three objectives: first, to pacify Italy; then to strengthen our tottering religion either through a council or by some other means; third, to wage war against the Turks. But if, in strengthening and restoring religion, he employs the remedies that the French king is said to be adopting, I am afraid the disease will get worse and the outcome will be an intolerable tyranny. I am convinced that this will surely be the result, if (as I fear) he pays attention to the cowls.16 No one up to the present can detect to which side Paul, our new pope, is likely to lean, the French or the Germans, though you might think the Germans are acting badly by their readiness to spread hateful rumours about the French. But you ought to remember that the Germans have reasons for doing this, for they are convinced that the French have never kept an agreement made with them and that nowhere else in the world is there a people who take their word as lightly as the French. I am sending you a letter from our common friend Franciscus Rupilius.17 Paumgartner left it with me a short time ago when he moved away out of fear of the plague.18 I wonder how Nachtgall is faring in your part of the world. Since he left here recently, he has not sent me a single letter.19 I see that I am no longer in his circle, and I put this down to his seeing that I am enjoying a long and close friendship with you, and so he believes he has cause to be angry with me, since he himself perhaps is not a close friend of yours. But that does not worry me at all – although this perpetual silence of his is a clear sign of his disaffection. I shall let him worry about that and shall take the view that it does not concern me. However, I would be interested to know how he behaves towards you. ***** 16 Presumably the reference is to Franciscan friars. For Erasmus’ belief that the emperor was unduly influenced by the Franciscans see Ep 2955 n5. 17 The letter is not extant. For Rupilius see Ep 3007. 18 Johann (ii) Paumgartner (Ep 2603 introduction) 19 As far as is known, Ottmar Nachtgall (Ep 2166 n3) was last in Augsburg in June 1533; see Ep 2814:1–16. Following his return to Freiburg he appears to have retreated into his studies, living as a permanent guest of the Freiburg Carthusians; see Mechthild Albus and Christoph Schwingenstein ‘Luscinus, Othmar’ Neue Deutsche Biographie 15 (Berlin 1987) 531–2.

80

85

90

95

100

105

2983  From Johann Koler  1534

98

Fugger has not been among us for several months. He is building a magnificent house, which he began two years ago; he is an absentee, living in exile from his native place. Perhaps he believes it would be humiliating to stay here, where he is no longer what he was. So he prefers to live elsewhere 110 despite the inconveniences. But what, I think, troubles him most is a quarrel that broke out here with several of his closest friends.20 I hope that you will beat into shape some of your writings this winter, above all your Preacher,21 which everyone is awaiting with great anticipation. When you find a courier, please write and let me know about More and the 115 situation in England. Farewell, great and mighty Erasmus, and count me always in the number of your friends. May Christ keep you well for all our sakes. Augsburg, 10 December 1534 You will recognize the writing of your humble servant Koler. 120 2984 / From Konrad Nyder

Koblenz, 20 December 1534

This letter was first published as Ep 215 in Förstemann / Günther. The autograph was in the Burscher Collection of the University Library at Leipzig (Ep 1254 introduction). Little is known of Konrad Nyder of Eppingen (documented 1523–46) apart from the information contained in this letter and Ep 2968. At some point after studying at Heidelberg, where he matriculated in 1523, Nyder moved to Koblenz, where from 1528 he held the post of town physician and was in 1532 admitted to citizenship. At this point, however, it was discovered that he had no medical degree. Dismissed from his position as town physician, he hurried off to Italy to acquire the missing degree, presumably at Ferrara. In the autumn of 1534, on his way home from Italy, he called on Erasmus at Freiburg, bearing letters of recommendation from Giovanni Manardo and Anselmus Ephorinus (see n3 below). Erasmus then supplied him with a letter of recommendation to Johann von Metzenhausen, archbishop of Trier (see n2 below), as a result of which Nyder appears to have been restored to his position at Koblenz and was also named personal physician to the archbishop.

*****

20 This appears to be a continuation of the withdrawal from the city that began in July 1533; see Ep 2947 n14. 21 Ie the Ecclesiastes, on which he was currently working once again; see Ep 2979.

2984  From Konrad Nyder  1534

99

Greetings in the name of him who orders the winds to be calm,1 dear Erasmus, most illustrious of men and my greatest patron. I do not wish to hide from you what happened when I presented to the archbishop of Trier the letter of recommendation that you kindly and graciously gave me when,2 on my way back from Italy, I brought you greetings from Doctor Giovanni Manardo, physician, and from Anselmus Ephorinus3 as well as a letter that you still cherish from a certain legate,4 and one from Simon Grynaeus.5 As it happened, the most reverend archbishop was staying at that time in his palace at Koblenz. When I delivered the letter into his hands, he opened it, read it, and reread it (for your letter was much more pleasing to the archbishop than a gift of violets is to a lover), and he instructed his secretary to take special care of this document from your hand, inquiring also how things were with you and what was the state of your health. I gave what answer I could, that by the grace of God you were in splendid health. What can I say about the letter to Christoph Eschenfelder of Boppard?6 When he looked at your handwriting, he kissed it in a gesture that came from the bottom of his heart, and immediately during dinner he showed it to the archbishop and allowed him to read it. On learning that I had presented such a letter of recommendation, my rivals felt humiliated; they took it badly, and you could almost see them grinding their teeth. They said they wanted to discuss the recommendation with your Lordship in an attempt to destroy its effect. So I beg you, or rather I implore you, that if anything written by them happens to reach you, you treat it as written on air and water.7 Their names are, first, Cornelius Rosner,8 and second, Johannes Eichmann, alias Dryander, who falsely uses the title ‘Doctor,’9 both still residents of the city of Koblenz. I have no other news to *****

2984 1 Jesus; see Mark 4:39, Luke 8:25; cf Prudentius Apotheosis 657. 2 Ep 2968 3 For their letters of recommmendation see Ep 2968:14–16 with nn5–6. 4 Possibly Ennio Filonardi (Ep 2712 introduction) 5 Professor of Greek at Basel (Ep 2433), whom Nyder had visited at Basel on his way to Erasmus at Freiburg 6 Erasmus had also recommended Nyder to his friend Eschenfelder, the archbishop’s customs officer; see Ep 3003, which is Eschenfelder’s answer to Erasmus’ (non-extant) letter of recommendation. 7 Ie treat it as of no account; cf Catullus 70.4 and the Greek proverbial expression εἰς ὕδωρ γράφειν ‘to write on water.’ 8 Unidentified 9 Johannes Dryander (1500–60) had obtained a doctorate of medicine at Mainz in 1533 and was appointed personal physician to Johann von Metzenhausen. Two years later he was called to the University of Marburg to teach medicine

5

10

15

20

25

2984  From Konrad Nyder  1534

100

write about; I only wish to express my thanks and my gratitude and to state my intention to repay your generosity when the occasion offers. My best wishes to you, and may you reach the age of Nestor.10 From Koblenz, 20 December 1534 30 Your most devoted Konrad Nyder, doctor of arts and medicine, citizen of Koblenz To Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, now residing in Freiburg im Breisgau, inquirer into all philosophy, professor of the true theology, his most respected master and patron, etc 35 2985 / From Gilbert Cousin

[Nozeroy, c end of December 1534]

For Cousin, Erasmus’ secretary since 1530, see Ep 2381 n1. This letter was first published in Cousin’s Epistolae Laconicae (Basel: Oporinus 1554) ii 329. It is clear from line 5 that the letter was written from Nozeroy, Cousin’s home town, where he had gone in order to secure his appointment as canon of St Anthony. He succeeded to the canonry on the day after the death of his predecessor, 4 January 1535; see Cognati epistolae 322. Allen would have dated the letter in the first week of January 1535, but on 14 January Cousin wrote to Bonifacius Amerbach that he had been ill without interruption at Basel for fifteen days (ak  Ep 1897:2–5). So the present letter has to have been written before 31  December 1534. Cousin’s succession to the canonry had evidently been ­determined in advance of the death of the incumbent.

gilbert cousin of nozeroy to erasmus of rotterdam, greeting Your letter of recommendation to our prince,1 most illustrious Erasmus, glory of the learned world, brought me both honour and advancement. For ***** and mathematics, manifesting a special interest in anatomy but also writing works on mathematics, astronomy, and meteorology. 10 Nestor, the aged counsellor of the Greeks in Homer’s Iliad, was said to have lived through three generations. 2985 1 In the Cognati epistolae 332 (see introduction above) Cousin identifies René de Chalon, future prince of Orange (1518–44), as the one who appointed him to the canonry. Allen, on the other hand, found an unnumbered document in the library at Besançon in which the appointment is attributed to William of NassauDillenburg (1487–1559); see Allen Ep 2985:1n. No letter of recommendation from Erasmus to either prince is extant.

2986  To Georgius Loxanus  1534

101

I ­received the canonry here by unanimous consent. The place delights me: I 5 can think of nowhere that is more lovely or more healthy. There is a plan to establish some kind of university here. But Oh! how I wish I could have you here so that we could talk philosophy together. The rest when we meet. Farewell, illustrious Erasmus, best of patrons 2986 / To Georgius Loxanus

Freiburg, 1534

This letter was first published in the second edition of the Epistolae universae (1541) page 1114, but omitted from the third edition (1558) as well as from the Epistolarum libri xxxi (London: Fisher and Young 1642). It was restored to the canon in lb i i i/2 1919 Appendix epistolarum no 515. Georgius Loxanus (Georg von Logkschau), documented 1527–50, was a Silesian nobleman in the service of Ferdinand of Austria. In 1534 he apparently took advantage of a visit to Freiburg by Desiderius de Simandris (n2 below) to introduce himself to Erasmus, who acknowledged the visit with this letter. Erasmus addresses him as ‘vice-chancellor of Bohemia,’ but his vice-­ chancellorship was actually of Silesia.

erasmus of rotterdam to georgius loxanus, knight and vice-chancellor of bohemia, greeting Even though you have left me, you still live with me, and not just under one roof, but in the same bedroom.1 So even if I wanted to forget you, I cannot. You adorn Ferdinand’s court by your presence, but you adorn my home even 5 in your absence. I would write more but Desiderius de Simandris is in a hurry.2 However, be assured, I beg you, that Erasmus has no higher wish than to please you in all things. I have written this after dinner, contrary to my practice. Farewell. 10 Freiburg im Breisgau, in the year 1534

*****



2986 1 This is taken to mean that Loxanus had introduced himself with a letter accompanied by a portrait medal, a procedure he is known to have followed in 1536 when introducing himself to Pietro Bembo. 2 Desiderius de Simandris was a secretary to King Ferdinand. His existence seems to be documented entirely by a few signatures on receipts for payments from banks. We have no idea why he called on Erasmus.

2987  To Damião de Gois  [1535] 2987 / To Damião de Gois

102 Freiburg, 11 January [1535]

This letter was first published in the Vita Erasmi 124. By this time Gois (Ep 2963) had been in Padua for at least two months. His response to this letter, not extant, was answered by Ep 3019.

erasmus of rotterdam to the most noble master damião de gois of portugal, greeting I received three letters of yours from Lukas Rem;1 this might well have escaped me if you had not pointed it out.2 What happened to the other letters, which I entrusted to you when you left,3 I do not clearly know. Botzheim 5 ­received his,4 but whether Giovanni Primo de’ Conti and Alciati received theirs, I do not know.5 I am surprised that no reply has come from Portugal.6 I am not sure if one should burden the aged and greatly respected Lazzaro *****





2987 1 Presumably letters sent from Padua to Rem for forwarding to friends in the Low Countries and Germany. Lukas Rem (1481–1541) belonged to one of the several branches of the Augsburg merchant family of that name. He joined the Welser banking firm, one of his assignments for which took him to Portugal, where he secured an important place for the Welsers in the trade with India and in sugar plantations in the Canaries. Parting company with the Welsers in 1517, he returned to Augsburg, where with his brothers Hans and Andreas he founded his own firm, which he directed successfully until his death. Though discreet in his public pronouncements, from 1527 he favoured the progress of the Reformation at Augsburg, and his children were baptized by Evangelical preachers. Several contacts between Rem and Erasmus are recorded in the year 1535, all of them via letters to and from Gois (the present letter plus Epp 3019: 7–8, 3043:7–10, 3076:6, 3078:1–4) or Johann Koler (Epp 2993:24–6, 3050:56–8). 2 The sentence is ambiguous, but Allen is surely right in stating that it was the identity of the carrier that was pointed out. 3 Ie letters entrusted to Gois for delivery when he left Freiburg for Italy at the end of August 1533 4 See Ep 2977:5–6. 5 For the letter, not extant, to Conti, see Ep 2959 n2. The letter to Alciati is also not extant. 6 In 1527 Erasmus had dedicated his Chrysostomi lucubrationes to King John iii of Portugal, whom Erasmus Schets had described to him as a potentially generous patron. But the references in the letter of introduction to monopoly and profiteering in the conduct of royal enterprises had made the king’s courtiers fear that he would take offence, and so they never showed the book to him. See Epp 1800 introduction, 2370:8–12. Erasmus seems to have hoped that Gois, who was in favour with King John, would succeed in remedying this situation.

2988  To Pope Paul iii  1535

103

with the labours of a domestic tutor.7 A young man would suit you better, who could set you exercises at home and correct what you wrote. You must 10 do honour to learning so that it in turn will honour you. In Italy it is not thought disgraceful for a greybeard to listen to public lectures.8 If you were my deadly enemy, you could not do anything more unfriendly than permit publication of the sheets of notes that I prepared for you alone. So do not do this and disgrace my name.9 Give my warmest 15 greetings to Pietro Bembo; I am delighted that he has made you his friend.10 Since Christmas I have been in bed and seriously ill.11 I am unable to breathe because of the inclement weather. I wrote this with difficulty in bed, half-alive. Freiburg, 11 January 20 2988 / To Pope Paul i i i

Freiburg, 23 January 1535

This letter was first published by Ludwig Cardanus in Quellen und Forschungen aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken x i (1908) 202–5. The manuscript, in a secretary’s hand, signed by Erasmus, and lacking an address sheet, is in the Vatican archives (Lettere di Principi ix 9 12). The letter was entrusted for delivery to Ludwig Baer (lines 95–7 below), who did not set out for Rome until some point in February 1535 (Ep 3001 introduction), arriving there a little before 29 March (Ep 3007:22). The pope’s answer, also carried by Baer, is Ep 3021. On 13 October 1534, the exceptionally experienced and learned Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (1468–1549), already sixty-six years old, was unanimously elected pope and took the name Paul iii. Although a typical Renaissance prince in many ways – father of illegitimate children, nepotist, patron of the arts, lover

*****



7 Gois had apparently wished to employ the distinguished humanist Lazzaro Bonamico (Ep 1720 n10) as his private tutor rather than just attending his lectures. 8 Damião was now thirty-two years old, hardly a greybeard but older than the average student. 9 The reference is to the Compendium rhetorices, which Erasmus wrote for the private use of Gois and, as this passage indicates, did not want to see published. Erasmus repeats the prohibition in Ep 3019:23–4. The work was nonetheless published at Louvain in 1544 by Rutgerus Rescius, and the Allen editors included it as Appendix xxii in Allen x 396–405. The cwe editors elected not to include it in cwe 20. 10 See Ep 2975:8–17. 11 Cf ak Ep 1897:1–2, where Gilbert Cousin, Erasmus’ secretary, reports the same thing to Bonifacius Amerbach.

2988  To Pope Paul iii  1535

104

of display, firm believer in astrology – he was an ardent supporter of a new spirit of reform in the church and is generally considered to be the first pontiff of the Catholic Reformation. Although he immediately raised two of his own grandsons to the cardinalate, he also realized the need to appoint cardinals committed to the cause of reform, and he worked tirelessly towards the summoning of a reform council, a goal finally achieved when the first session of the Council of Trent opened in December 1545. In the meantime he had recognized new religious orders, including the Society of Jesus in 1540, reformed the Roman Inquisition in 1542, and promoted the achievement of the Peace of Crépy (1544) between Charles v and Francis i. At about the time this letter was delivered in Rome (see above) rumours had begun to fly at Rome that Pope Paul, determined that Erasmus should use his erudition in the service of the church, was going to make him a cardinal and provide him with abundant revenue; see Ep 3007 n3.

Most holy Father, that old man in the Gospel, torpid with age but fervent in the faith, clung to life for one reason only, that he might see the Lord’s Anointed.1 Although I have nothing in common with him except my years, I am possessed by a feeling that is not completely dissimilar. I believe that I shall quit this life with an easy mind if, after the fierce tempests that have beaten upon the world and all the whirlwinds of dissent, I shall see peace restored to the church by the hand of God; for it seems to me that the situation has gone beyond human control, and I see no hope unless God, appearing like the proverbial deus ex machina, restores peace to a troubled world. The sweet odour that rises from your name, Paul the Third, has spread rapidly throughout the world and raised the hopes of all that he who long ago silenced the winds and waves that threatened to wreck their little ship has at last awakened and will now steer the ship of his church into calm waters.2 No one is in any doubt that it was an act of God that placed you at the helm of the whole Christian world, with an unprecedented unanimity of votes, not brought about by pressure or bribery of any kind, for besides the glory of your ancestry and your profound learning and exceptional piety, you have a long experience of affairs, especially the affairs of the church – and now your years too command respect. Your godly nature impels you to want above all else to take care of the public weal; your good sense tells you that no one understands better than you how the present conflicts can be settled; your *****

2988 1 The reference is to the aged Simeon; see Luke 2:25–35. 2 See Matt 8:26.

5

10

15

20

Pope Paul III Pietro Buonaccorsi Mansell Collection, London

2988  To Pope Paul iii  1535

106

authority and the favour of heaven will ensure your success in bringing about, with the enthusiastic applause of all good men, what you and all good men so passionately desire. The world is confirmed in its expectations because for forty years and more, both in Rome and in the high office of the cardinalate, you have conducted yourself with such integrity that even Rumour,3 which is more garrulous at Rome than anywhere else, not to say more scurrilous, would blush to speak ill of Alessandro Farnese. For just as great distinction leaves no room for envy, so great and consummate virtue drowns out the voice of slander. What seems to me the happiest of omens is the wonderful chorus of congratulations, all offering the same sentiment and speaking with the same voice, congratulations not so much for you as for the world. Such unanimity of feeling among mortal men is no empty predictor of the future. Nor should we fail to appreciate the happy augury of your adoption of the name Paul, which among the Greeks signifies peace and tranquillity, and among Romans, moderation.4 The great Paul of Tarsus gathered into the harmony of a single faith peoples who were divided into innumerable sects. We hope that Paul of Rome will reconcile our conflicting beliefs and heal our stormy divisions, the same spirit working in the prince of the whole church as worked then in the chosen apostle. Godliness will inspire your efforts, a sharp mind will provide you with counsel, and as for the outcome, that will be determined by him whose will has raised you to this high office, an office that stands above all others in the world of men. I wish I could bring something beyond my prayers and my good will to help you in this, the fairest task of all. Certainly up to now I have done what I could, steadily persevering in the community of the dove,5 ready to face any, even the ultimate, sacrifice rather than pledge allegiance to any sect. Nor do I repent of my decision, although it has brought me, besides the loss of opportunities,6 so much danger and unpleasantness

*****



3 Rumour (Fama) was often personified in Latin literature. 4 Erasmus connects the name with Greek παῦλα meaning ‘rest,’ ‘cessation,’ and the Latin adjective paulus meaning ‘little.’ 5 Erasmus calls the church ‘the dove of Christ’ at Ep 2037:285; cf Ep 2366:56–7. 6 The Latin for ‘opportunities’ is facultates, a word that can refer to material possessions but more commonly means ‘openings,’ ‘opportunities.’ It is not clear exactly what ‘opportunities’ Erasmus missed out on because of his refusal to join the ‘sects,’ but it was easy to imagine that his adherence to the Reformation would have been richly rewarded in Basel or Strasbourg or Wittenberg.

25

30

35

40

45

2988  To Pope Paul iii  1535

107

that death seems almost easier to bear. But the creditor with whom I make these investments is faithful to his word.7 God forbid that I should have such blind temerity as to try to give advice to you, whose wisdom embraces the whole world! Yet just as in a great storm a ship’s captain, however skilful he may be, accepts advice from anyone at all, so you will be generous enough to look kindly upon my meddling. First of all, it seems to me that it will add considerable momentum towards the accomplishment of the task before us if the supreme pontiff, as the universal father of all kings and peoples, does not side with any faction but remains impartial, and chooses his closest allies in accordance with their devotion to the faith. In this way he will keep his influence undiminished among all and cause less hostility towards himself. Second, I urge kings and princes to work together in harmony for this same end. It is true that this is a duty they all owe to Christ, the king of kings, to whom they have sworn allegiance, but it is also greatly in their own interest to do so, for unless a check is placed on wanton and reckless behaviour there is a danger that princes will cease to be what they wish to be. If, however, the most powerful among them cannot agree, it would be helpful to leave the issue in abeyance during a truce of six or seven years. In the meantime they should join forces to coerce those who continue to stir up revolution, making the evil worse and spreading it more widely. The defining of dogma should be reserved to a council. I do not, however, think it necessary for a council to pronounce judgment on each and every question, but only on those important issues on which the whole of Christian doctrine hinges. There are certain matters that the apostle Paul wishes everyone to accept in the sense in which he defines them, and others about which he writes, ‘if in any matter you think differently, the Lord will reveal to you this also.’8 Just as a variety of observances does not destroy the harmony of the church, so there are questions on which it is permissible to disagree while preserving Christian peace. It would even be helpful if those who favour the sects were given some hope that they too would gain something if they make a reasonable demand. Furthermore, considering the deadly nature of this infection, it would not be useless for the council to make *****



7 This sentence is as obscure in the Latin as it is in translation. One expects that a creditor will be the giver and not the receiver of an investment. But here God is named as the ‘creditor,’ and the sense seems to be that Erasmus’ loyalty to the faith in spite of persecution is an investment made with God, who will faithfully return it with high interest. 8 Phil 3:15

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

2988  To Pope Paul iii  1535

108

a ruling promising amnesty for past wrongs to those who repent. I think the essential point is that everyone should put aside personal feelings and look only to the glory of Christ and the advancement of the Christian religion. So it will come about that when men seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness,9 God himself will prosper what they do, and those very advantages that they seek and privately desire will be added to them more abundantly. Moreover, although the present evil has spread its contagion, alas, too far, we need not despair of success. The majority of men, especially those distinguished by rank or learning, are still unaffected. Then many of those who were carried away have long since become disenchanted with the present state of things and regret the loss of what they abandoned. I wish the weakened state of my body had made it possible for me to present in person to your Holiness this my humble service or to express what I wish for you.10 But now that this has been denied me, I am attempting the same thing through the bearer of this letter, Ludwig Baer,11 a man who is most deserving of your Holiness’ favour.12 You will get a better idea of his splendid qualities from those who know him intimately, his Eminence the reverend Antonio Pucci, the reverend father Ennio, bishop of Veroli, and the reverend father Girolamo Aleandro, archbishop of Brindisi.13 Freiburg im Breisgau, 23 January in the year 1535 from the birth of Christ Erasmus of Rotterdam. I signed this in my own hand. 2989 / From Christoph Gering

Augsburg, 28 January 1535

This letter was first published as Ep 216 in Förstemann / Günther. The autograph was in the Burscher Collection of the University of Leipzig (Ep 1254 introduction). For Christoph Gering, see Ep 2949 introduction.

*****

9 Matt 6:33 10 See Ep 2940 n2. 11 See introduction above. 12 Baer was received by Paul iii, and though he failed to secure any preferment for himself, he managed to secure papal appointment of his nephew Franz (ii) Baer to a benefice at Strasbourg; see Ep 3065:14–16. 13 See Epp 860, 1580 introduction (Pucci), 2712 introduction (Ennio Filonardi), 2998 n16 (Aleandro).

85

90

95

100

2989A  From Bonifacius Amerbach  [1535]

109

My distinguished and learned Erasmus, a carrier, Konrad Tanmair of Munderkingen by name,1 should be bringing your Excellency a container wrapped with pieces of cloth and tied with ropes, in which your Excellency will find two casks, one (which is the larger) full of Gattanaric wine,2 the other filled with Malvasian.3 I would like you to accept these in the spirit of 5 friendship with which they are given. Give nothing at all to the carrier, for he has received from us a fair and generous fee. Not that I have any misgivings about the carrier’s honesty, but if your Excellency has the time to spare, you could write back and tell me how faithfully he discharged his commission.4 Meanwhile I wish your Excellency the best of health and pray that you will 10 keep me always in your heart. Augsburg, 28 January in the year 1535 from the delivery of the Virgin Your Excellency’s most obedient servant, secretary to Master Johann Paumgartner of Paumgarten, Christoph Gering To Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, a man of unmatched wisdom and 15 eloquence, the greatest theologian of our age, his much revered master. At Freiburg im Breisgau 2989a / From Bonifacius Amerbach

[Basel, c 4 February 1535]

This letter (=ak Ep 1904) was first published by Allen, on the basis of the undated autograph rough draft in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms c v i a 73 454 verso). Allen assigned the conjectural date ‘February 1534’ and published the letter as Ep 2902. As Allen did not know, however, the invitation to Bonifacius to visit Strasbourg in connection with the offer of a job as legal adviser to the city (lines 1–4 below) did not reach him until after 28 December 1534; see ak Ep 1893. That means that this letter, as well as the related Allen Epp 2903, 2907–8 belong in the year 1535. A more precise date can be derived from Erasmus’ answer of 8 February (Ep 2992a), lines 10–15 of which respond to lines 24–6 of this letter, in which Bonifacius reports that

*****



2989 1 Tanmair is unknown apart from this letter. Munderkingen is on the Danube, southwest of Ulm. 2 For the possible meanings of vinum Gattanaricum see Ep 2900 n1. 3 Presumably an unfortified white wine made from Malvasian grapes, widely grown in Italy and elsewhere in the Mediterranean. ‘Malvasia’ is the origin of the word ‘malmsey,’ which is a fortified sweet wine (Madeira) and probably not the wine referred to here. 4 No letter of Erasmus to Gering survives.

2989A  From Bonifacius Amerbach  [1535]

110

Hieronymus Froben had given him encouraging news of Erasmus’ health. Erasmus says that Froben had misled him, for Erasmus had written to Froben that while his health had seemed to improve on 30 January, he had suffered a complete relapse on the next day. This news appears to have reached Froben by 3 February, for on the fourth Bonifacius had already heard from him that Erasmus’ health had improved, though Froben evidently did not pass on the news of the relapse (ak Epp 1901:9–10, 1903:10–11). So it seems likely that this letter, which arrived in Freiburg on 8 February, along with a letter to Udalricus Zasius written on 4 February (ak Ep 1906:1–3), was also written on 4 February.

Cordial greetings. I have been writing to you over the past few months about the appointment offered me some time ago.1 We have at last come to the point where I have been invited to go there to discuss in person the honorarium of three hundred gold pieces that I requested. But my departure has been put off, for when the council here got wind of what was afoot, they 5 made such a serious and determined effort to hold on to me that I doubt if I could leave without ill feelings. Besides the responsibilities that I have at present, they are offering me the job of public advocate, making me an adviser in judicial cases and promising me sixty gold pieces annually in addition to the honorarium of one hundred that I have received so far.2 I have not 10 yet made up my mind about what I shall do, but I cannot deny that I am inclined to favour my native city. This is my first obligation, if I am to pay attention to Cicero’s doctrine that we are born not just for ourselves but for our homeland too.3 Added to this is that the people who are courting me enjoy such friendly relations with the council here that they have stipulated right 15 from the beginning that I have the consent and support of the council, that is, that I should be free to leave here on good terms.4 Finally, I fear I may be ac*****



2989a 1 Ie the offer of the post of legal adviser to the city council of Strasbourg; see Epp 2873a n3, 2992a:1–9. 2 Cf Ep 2995a:6–8, which indicates that the city council had offered Bonifacius a one-time payment of 60 gold pieces in addition to the annual remuneration specified here. According to the contract of 8 February 1535, Bonifacius received an annual salary of 125 pounds (100 florins) as professor of law and 75 pounds (60 florins) as public advocate. See ak Ep 1904 n2. The combined honoraria amounted to 160, presumably Rhenish, florins or £39 6s 8d groot Flemish, almost five times the annual wage income of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). 3 Cicero De finibus 2.14.45 4 See ak Epp 1797:31–4, 1799:7–8.

2990  From Tielmannus Gravius  1535

111

cused of avarice and meanness, for it would appear that while being, if not a man of ample means, still not a beggar, I had put money ahead of loyalty to my native city. It has always been my practice to lay all my problems before you as my all-wise mentor; so on this occasion too I beg you most earnestly, if your health and responsibilities permit, to kindly put an end to my hesitation5 and indicate in a word or two what you think I should do. The poor state of your health would be worrying me greatly, were it not that Hieronymus (to whom you recently sent a letter) encourages me to be hopeful.6 I pray that Christ will make you stronger every hour and that for our sakes and for the advancement of humane learning you will live a long life. As for the regard I have for you, you know this old refrain of mine: ‘I am yours and I wish to be yours’ (there is nothing I would not do for you). I keep repeating this, but it should not irritate you so greatly if you remember that it is the truth and that it comes from one who, among all living men, is (if I may be forgiven for saying so) your most devoted friend. Whenever you deign to accept my help, I feel (God love me!) as though I have received a personal gift, and no small gift at that. With my very best wishes, most celebrated Erasmus, mentor and patron without equal 2990 / From Tielmannus Gravius

Cologne, 3 February 1535

This letter was first published as Ep 217 in Förstemann / Günther. The autograph was in the Burscher Collection of the University Library at Leipzig (Ep  1254 introduction). For Tielmannus Gravius of Cologne, see Ep 1829 introduction.

Cordial greetings. The letters attached to this note were given me by friends to forward to you.1 Had I received them earlier, I would have sent them with the city courier, who, I hope, has delivered my letter to you.2 When this opportunity was missed, I had to wait for another. This has now been provided *****

5 Reading, with Hartmann, cunctationem regere ‘to control, or correct, my hesitation,’ as in the autograph, and rejecting Allen’s dubious emendation to transla­ tionem regere ‘to guide the move.’ 6 The letter is not extant.

2990 1 We do not know who these friends were. 2 The most recent surviving letter from Gravius is Ep 2894 (26 December 1533).

20

25

30

35

2990  From Tielmannus Gravius  1535

112

by a second courier, who is about to leave for Speyer. I have friends there, bound to me in the tightest bonds of friendship, who do not think it a hardship to send on my letters. The courier whom I sent to you is expected back here hourly; my impatience for his arrival increases when I allow myself to hope that your Honour will send me a full account of your general situation and of everything that concerns you personally.3 If you have made no mention of your Ecclesiastes in the letter that my courier is bringing here, then, please, at the earliest possible opportunity, let me know in a word or two what we can hope for in regard to the book; the whole scholarly world has been eagerly awaiting it for many years.4 In the town of Wesel in the duchy of Cleves an Anabaptist sect had begun to recover its previous strength. The defenders of the old religion got wind of this, and with their superior numbers they took fifteen of the sect prisoner. Next they informed the prince about what they had done, who immediately sent his advisers there.5 In Friesland a man was arrested who allowed himself to be worshipped as Christ the Saviour.6 He was accompanied by a woman, whom some say he took around with him as the Holy Virgin, others say as his wife. Heavens! What presumption! On the eve of the Purification of the Virgin one of the ringleaders of the Anabaptists of Münster was burned alive near this city on the authority of our archbishop.7 When he was brought to the stake by the executioner, he said, ‘I give you thanks, *****





3 The last extant letter of Erasmus to Gravius is Ep 2508 (end of June? 1531). 4 See Ep 2979 n2. 5 At the beginning of 1535, Jan of Leiden (Ep 2957 n20) dispatched Heinrich Graes, ‘a prophet enlightened by the inspiration of the heavenly Father,’ to Wesel and other towns to arouse armed support for Münster. But Graes betrayed the details of the plan to the bishop of Münster, who alerted the duke of Jülich. On 8 April the latter took armed possession of Wesel, and on the ­thirteenth the leaders of ‘the sedition’ were executed. See Kerssenbrock / Mackay 630–4. 6 Harmen Schoenmaker, also known as Peter Schomaker (d February 1535), from the province of Groningen, was an Anabaptist leader who purported to be the new Messiah. For a more detailed account of his activities, and of his death, see Ep 2999:22–43. 7 Johann Klopreis (d 1 February 1535) of Bottrop (near Essen in the Ruhr) studied at Cologne (1518–21) and became a parish priest, first in Wesel and then in nearby Büderich. Imprisoned at Cologne in 1529 for having given refuge to a fugitive lay preacher, he escaped to Wassenberg in the duchy of Jülich, where he turned to Anabaptism and became one of the so-called Wassenberg preachers (Ep 2957 n19) who fled to Münster in January 1534. Sent out from there to spread the Anabaptist message and raise support for the besieged community

5

10

15

20

25

2992  From Erasmus Schets  1535

113

heavenly Father, that I have seen the dawning of this day on which, out of my love for you, I shall endure these torments and this punishment.’ When the pyre was lit, he cried out, ‘Father, into thy hands, etc.’ You know what happened next. Farewell. From Cologne, in haste, in the year of our Lord 1535 on the morrow of 30 the Purification of the Virgin Mary Your Honour’s humble servant, Tielmannus Gravius To the most accomplished master of theology and all humane learning, Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, my mentor and patron, who is to me by far the dearest of men, etc. At Freiburg im Breisgau 35 2991 / From Bonifacius Amerbach For the reasons stated by Alfred Hartmann in ak Ep 1913, this letter has been redated to c 21 February [1535] and appears as Ep 2997b below.

2992 / From Erasmus Schets

Antwerp, 6 February 1535

This letter was first published as Ep 120 in Enthoven. The autograph is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 135). For Erasmus Schets see Ep 2944 introduction.

† Cordial greetings. I last wrote you, my dearest Erasmus, in the month of January;1 the letter was sent to Konrad Joham in Strasbourg.2 Along with it were several letters that I had been directed to send on to you by the imperial ambassador to the king of England.3 I hope they reached you safely. I had written to you earlier in the month of December to tell you what happened 5 to your man Clauthus and how he died.4 Apart from the letter that Clauthus ***** at Münster, he was arrested at Warendorf in Westphalia on 14 October 1534 and burned at the stake in Cologne on 1 February 1535. The archbishop who authorized the execution was Hermann von Wied. 2992 1 All of Schets’ letters between March 1532 (Ep 2625) and this letter are missing. 2 For Joham see Ep 2955 n1. 3 Eustache Chapuys (Ep 2798 introduction). The letters are not extant. 4 Ep 2955 n8

2992  From Erasmus Schets  1535

114

brought me I have seen nothing else from you.5 Your silence worries me, and not just me but the whole circle of your friends. There is scarcely a day on which I do not receive letters from one place or another, begging me to pass on what news I have of you, to tell how you are, whether you are alive or dead, how many months it is since I had a letter from you. In the end Lieven Panagathus announced that he would send a personal messenger to you.6 Whatever the situation may be, I trust in the Lord that you are well and in good health. I am greatly worried about the provinces here, especially Holland, because of the revolutionary fires kindled by the Anabaptists.7 For trouble is spreading like a conflagration. I believe there is scarcely a village or town that does not have its smouldering torch. Since they preach the common ownership of property, the poor are everywhere streaming in from the provinces. Unless God averts this evil and opposes it by raising in his mighty hand the sword of justice, it is to be feared that we shall see a greater cruelty than that of the Goths in times gone by. God alone knows how we are to interpret these and other signs produced by this age! One could say that they bear a close resemblance to those that, according to Scripture, will precede the last day. Farewell, my dear Erasmus. Antwerp, 6 February 1535 Yours sincerely, Erasmus Schets 2992a / To Bonifacius Amerbach

[Freiburg], 8 February [1535]

This letter (= ak Ep 1907), Erasmus’ reply to Ep 2989a, was first published as Ep 12 in the Epistolae familiares. The autograph is in the Öffentliche Bibliolthek of the University of Basel (ms an i i i 15 15). Allen, unaware of evidence to the contrary, assigned the year-date 1534 and published the letter as Ep 2903. For the redating by the ak editor Alfred Hartmann, see Ep 2989a introduction. Bonifacius’ answer is Ep 2995a.

Greetings. What you have written these past months I can recall only in a sort of haze. I am, however, delighted that your native land recognizes what a *****

5 Clauthus delivered Ep 2955. Ep 2981 had apparently not yet reached Schets. 6 Lieven Algoet, Erasmus’ former famulus, now employed at the court of Queen Mary in the Netherlands (Ep 2915:74–8). ‘Panagathus’ is Erasmus’ customary Hellenization of Algoet ‘all good.’ 7 See Ep 2956 n26.

10

15

20

25

2993  From Johann Koler  1535

115

treasure it has, and that you are sought after by different cities;1 but if I understand your nature, you will not leave home. Your own native wit2 will suggest to you what best to do. I shall pray that whatever you decide will turn out well for you and yours. I do not know what is involved in the job of public advocate, or what salary it carries. The appointment best suited to your character will be one with an ample stipend and a minimum of headaches. You should decide soon, for it is wretched to be hanging in suspense.3 Hieronymus has misled you.4 I had written to him that a week ago on the Sabbath I had begun to breathe easily again, presumably because of the milder weather, but that the following night there was a wild storm, which resulted in my having a complete relapse. Now I have been better for three days, but I am afraid to boast, for one night can suddenly bring back the whole wretched business. Will you please tell me what I owe the pharmacist? I often need to appeal to my friends for help, but so far I do not need their money. If you do not allow me to pay, I shall not feel free to call on your services again. I need reed pens for writing. If you have one or two to spare, send them to me. I have the two that you gave me, but they are too fine. When you say that you are mine and want to be mine, believe me, my good friend, this feeling is mutual. I count my friend Bonifacius as a large element in my happiness. Best wishes to you and to those who are most dear to you. Give my cordial greetings to your brother Basilius. 8 February Yours, Erasmus of Rotterdam To the celebrated Master Bonifacius Amerbach. At Basel 2993 / From Johann Koler

Augsburg, 8 February 1535

This letter, Koler’s answer to one not extant from Erasmus, was first published as Ep 218 in Förstemann / Günther. The autograph was in the Burscher Collection of the University Library at Leipzig (Ep 1254 introduction). For Koler see Ep 2947.

*****

2992a 1 For the efforts of Strasbourg to hire Bonifacius as legal adviser to the city, and for the efforts of Basel to retain his services, see Ep 2989a. 2 Literally ‘your own Minerva,’ ie your own natural intelligence; cf Adagia  i i 40–2. 3 Bonifacius’ letter rejecting the offer is ak Ep 1898 (25 Januay 1535). 4 Concerning the state of Erasmus’ health; see Ep 2989a introduction.

5

10

15

20

25

2993  From Johann Koler  1535

116

I had a certain foreboding when I sent off my last letter that you were suffering from some complicated illness. Paumgartner too was clearly afraid of this, as you could have inferred from the same letter, for since he had heard no news of you, he was, like me, very worried.1 It was this that suggested to Zasius the subject of his letter, a copy of which you have sent me,2 for I have no doubt Paumgartner shared his anxieties with Zasius some time ago, as is apparent from Zasius’ letter. It is quite superfluous for you to write to ask me to commend you to Fugger and Paumgartner,3 for they love you without being asked (as your merits deserve) and are such rivals in the affection they feel for you that it is a moot point which of them is the more constant or the more ardent admirer – though Paumgartner’s innate generosity shows up more evidently in every situation, for whenever an opportunity arises, he never fails to honour his friends by presenting them with gifts. He is without doubt (as Zasius too testifies) a man most worthy of immortality. But these two people are not your only supporters here; there are many others whom you could put in that special category of true and steadfast and most constant friends, even if they are as yet unknown to you. I need not mention our reverend bishop,4 whose warm heart and deep and loyal affection have long been known to you and need no confirmation from me. This being so, I wish you would realize that nothing could please Fugger or Paumgartner more than to be given an opportunity to please you, if only they could find something you would like done or something they could send you. I gave Lukas Rem your sincere thanks,5 as you requested, and handed him your letter to be sent on to Padua. He promised to take care of everything. He has a brother who is bishop of Chiemsee, a good scholar and an honest man; he is a devoted admirer of yours and a special friend and patron of mine.6 The reverend bishop of Augsburg is holding a meeting with the Swabians at Donauwörth, over which he is presiding in the name of the ***** 2993 1 See Ep 2983:2–9. 2 The letter of Zasius (for whom see Ep 2954 introduction) is not extant. 3 Anton Fugger (Ep 2145 introduction) and his brother-in-law Johann (ii) Paumgartner (Ep 2603) 4 Christoph von Stadion (Ep 2029) 5 For Rem see Ep 2987 n1. 6 Aegedius Rem (c 1485–1536) studied at Paris and Pavia (doctor of both laws 1513) and then entered the service of Matthäus Lang, archbishop of Salzburg. In 1526 he was appointed bishop of Chiemsee (Bavaria) and from then on lived in

5

10

15

20

25

30

2993  From Johann Koler  1535

117

emperor.7 So far they are discussing the possibility of a new agreement, but progress, it appears to me, is rather slow because of the arrogance (or should I say the insolence?) of the free city-states, who have convinced themselves that no agreement is possible without their support. But I think we shall have a firm agreement at least with several of the princes and with the nobles and 35 ecclesiastical prelates (as they are called) even if none of the cities joins in, but *****



the residence of the bishops of Chiemsee at Salzburg. Although he maintained friendly contacts with humanists and was a friend of Johann Koler, he probably did not know Erasmus personally. 7 This paragraph is a slightly jumbled account of the attempt in January 1535 to revive the Swabian League (Ep 2814 n9), which had once been an effective guardian of peace and the status quo in southern Germany but had fallen apart in 1533–4 because of the political and religious rivalries among its members (eg Austria versus Bavaria, Protestants versus Catholics). As a result of the league’s dissolution, most of its members declared their neutrality in the spring of 1534 when Philip of Hessen invaded the duchy of Württemberg, wrested control of it from Austria, and restored the hereditary ruler, Duke Ulrich (Ep  2917 n9). Alarmed that the restoration of Duke Ulrich had been not merely a victory for the rights of territorial princes against the overmighty Hapsburgs but also a huge victory for the Reformation, which Ulrich had immediately introduced, Bavaria and Austria decided to set aside their longstanding political rivalry, give priority to their common interest in the defence of the Catholic church, and cooperate in the resurrection of the Swabian League. To this end, King Ferdinand invited the former members of the league to the meeting at Donauwörth referred to here. The result was a nine-year renewal of the slightly revised league constitution (30 January 1535), the signatories to which were Emperor Charles, King Ferdinand, the dukes of Bavaria, the counts of PfalzNeuburg, the margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, and the prince-bishops of Salzburg, Bamberg, Eichstätt, and Augsburg. The free imperial cities were initially excluded, but a few, including Nürnberg, were soon admitted to membership. Despite the inclusion of the margraviate of Brandenburg-Ansbach and the city of Nürnberg (both of which were Lutheran but had declined to offend their traditional ally the emperor by joining the League of Schmalkalden), the renewed league was essentially an alliance of those who had remained faithful to the old church (the religious rights granted to Brandenburg and Nürnberg in the religious peace of Nürnberg [1532] were specifically recognized). Routinely dismissed as completely unimportant and seldom mentioned in histories of the period, this imperial league, which did not outlast its initial nine-year term, managed on several occasions to mediate conflicts among its members and so prevent conflict in southern Germany. See Rudolf Endres ‘Der Kayserliche neunjährige Bund vom Jahr 1535 bis 1544’ in Bauer, Reich und Reformation: Festschrift für Günther Franz zum 80. Geburtstag am 23. Mai 1982 ed Peter Blickle (Stuttgart 1982) 85–103.

2993  From Johann Koler  1535

118

whether this will lead to peace in the church, I am not so sure. In any case it has been discovered that King Ferdinand, the dukes of Bavaria, the counts Palatine, and the margrave of Brandenburg, with the support of the archbishop of Salzburg and the bishops of Bamberg, Eichstätt, and Augsburg, have already drawn up a reciprocal treaty and have also won over to their side the counts and the barons and the rest of the nobility of these regions and the ecclesiastical prelates, and are showing their utter contempt for the cities,8 although some cities that so far show no interest in the sects are rumoured to be joining. However, conflicting aims and differing interests could give rise to serious divisions, which are likely to break out and cause great mischief when the time suits them. There is no reason for you to worry about Nachtgall. I can assure you that his conduct towards you is such as to leave no room for complaint. When I wrote to you as I did about him, it was simply because I had heard nothing from him for a very long time and had concluded that he had departed.9 If you imagine that I show your letters to my friends, letters that are sometime rather free in their expression, you are completely mistaken. I would not like you to regard me as one of those who, as soon as they receive a single letter from you, immediately publish it to the whole world in the hope of gaining some little glory for themselves. My attitude is very different: I do not remember giving your letters to anyone to read except perhaps to our reverend bishop or to Paumgartner, and then only if there was nothing confidential in them. I read some of your letters to Anton Fugger when he was here, but only in extracts;10 I showed certain passages to him, and to no one else, but did not read out complete letters. I have several acquaintances and associates here, but very few friends whom I trust. If it has ever been true that ‘man is a wolf to man,’11 then now is assuredly that time, as I have discovered to my own considerable chagrin. I am accustomed to blurt out to you indiscriminately what comes to my lips, for I know your good sense and your trustworthiness, but I would never risk this with others. So you have no

*****



8 Literally ‘showing the middle finger to,’ a gesture of contempt; see Adagia ii iv 68. 9 Ottmar Nachtgall had returned to Freiburg; see Ep 2983:98–105 with n19. 10 Fugger had moved away from Augsburg to one of his private estates; see Ep 2983:107–12 with n20. 11 Adagia i i 70

40

45

50

55

60

65

2993  From Johann Koler  1535

119

reason to fear that your letters will be made public by me. You could trust me as much as you trust Fidelity12 herself: everything you confide to me is safe. I hear that once more the king of France has imposed the death penalty on a large number of people accused of holding Lutheran views; many more 70 are said to have taken flight and are already on their way to different destinations.13 Perhaps some have gone to Basel and Strasbourg – if so, you will certainly be aware of it. If my fellow citizens of Augsburg had not entered into an agreement with the other Swabians,14 I am afraid we could not be safe here, though it is known on good authority that terrifying edicts from the 75 emperor have lately arrived from Spain and are available for use.15 As you requested, I have made your excuses to Ambrosius von Gumppenberg for being unable to write to the pope and have told him that you would write as soon as you were restored to health and felt stronger.16 I am sending you, along with the present letter, some silly nonsense 80 from a certain Corvinus,17 who, so as far as I can see from reading a page or two, seems to be living up to his name.18 I could not read more because the courier was in a hurry and I received this dialogue only when I was already about to close my letter. I do not know if you have seen the work already, but ***** 12 Fides ‘good faith’ was often personified by the Romans and worshipped as a goddess. 13 See Ep 2983 n10. 14 See n7 above. 15 In the autumn of 1534 the Augsburg city council received two mandates from the imperial court, the more important of which, dated 17 August at Valencia in Spain, abruptly ordered the complete restoration of the ecclesiastical status quo ante, stipulating as the price of disobedience the loss of all the rights and privileges of the city. But neither the emperor nor his brother, King Ferdinand, nor their allies were in any position to enforce the ‘terrifying’ edicts. See Roth, Augs Ref ii chapter 8, especially 218 with n17 on page 232. 16 It is not clear whether Gumppenberg had urged Erasmus to write to the pope to advance his own good standing and chances for preferment, or whether he was trying to elicit support from Erasmus in his own quest for favours (as indicated by Koler below), or both. 17 Quite likely a reference to the dialogue written in reply to Erasmus’ De sarci­ enda ecclesiae concordia (Ep 2852) by the Lutheran reformer Antonius Corvinus (d 1553): Dissertatio quatenus expediat Erasmi de sarcienda ecclesiae concordia ratio­ nem sequi, with a preface by Luther (Wittenberg: N. Schirlentz 1534). Erasmus refers to it in Ep 3127:41–2. 18 Literally ‘seems to be acting like a crow.’ ‘Corvinus’ is the adjectival form of cor­ vus ‘crow.’ Those who chatter to no good purpose are said to croak like a crow; see Adagia i vii 16.

2993  From Johann Koler  1535

120

whether you have seen it or not, I calculated that the loss of this little packet would be of small concern to me, but that it was important for you to be aware of the sort of work it is. Finally, you also say in your letter that you are being a burden on me with your requests. Please don’t think so, for not only is a request from you no burden but it gives me great joy if there is something I can do for your sake. Nothing could give me greater pleasure than to have an opportunity to serve my dear Erasmus in one way or another. I rather fear that von Gumppenberg is using your name to hunt for favours, for with your letter he is gaining access to the pope and the cardinals and ingratiating himself with them. I know the sort of man who makes a habit of using someone else’s name to promote and endear himself for his own profit. I write rather bluntly so that you may gain a better idea of people whom you do not know. It only remains to wish you well. May the Lord keep you safe, for you are the world’s pride and joy. Augsburg, 8 February 1535 Yours sincerely, Koler To the most learned and honourable Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, prince, …19 and incomparable friend. At Freiburg 2994 / To David Paumgartner

85

90

95

100

Freiburg, 13 February 1535

This is the preface to the Precationes aliquot novae (Basel: Froben and Episcopius 1535). For David Paumgartner, youngest son of Johann (ii) Paumgartner, see Ep 2879 n25. On the Precationes and their significance, see cwe 69 118–19. A translation of the letter by Stephen Ryle has already appeared in cwe 69 120. Ryle’s notes have been adapted for inclusion here.

to david, a youth of the highest promise, son of the distinguished johann paumgartner von paumgarten, from desiderius erasmus of rotterdam, greeting One should learn first what is best,1 and nothing in human life is better than godliness. For that reason your father, a man of singular good sense, c­ onsiders 5 ***** 19 Part of the address was torn in opening the letter. 2994 1 Cf De ratione studii cwe 24 666 14–15; De pueris instituendis cwe 26 318; Quintilian Institutio oratoria 2.3.2.

2995  To David Paumgartner  [1535]

121

nothing more important than to train his children from their earliest years in godliness so that he may be a true and proper parent to you all. Clearly he understands that he is far more blessed in the possession of godliness than in the great wealth that he has honourably acquired, and that he has gained more esteem from this than from an ancient pedigree, the friendship of kings, 10 the acclaim of the people, the power that he exercises outside the city, and all the other great honours that he has obtained, though he deserved greater still. For these bring him the respect and love of men, but godliness alone commends him to God. As a mark of my good will towards him, and to further his wishes and aid you in your efforts, I am sending you some prayers, 15 which will help you now to form the habit of conversing with God,2 who will graciously reward your youthful devotion with his favour. Farewell. From Freiburg im Breisgau, 13 February 1535 2995 / To David Paumgartner

[Freiburg, c 13 February 1535]

This is the preface to the second section of Precationes aliquot novae (see Ep 2994) which bore the title Ejaculationes aliquot e scripturae canonicae verbis contextae. This is a slightly modified version of the translation by Stephen Ryle found in cwe 69 143. Ryle’s helpful notes have been adapted for use here.

preface to the following prayers addressed to david paumgartner Excellent youth, we have added some prayers drawn from the books of Holy Scripture, because beneath the very words that proceed from the Holy Spirit there lies a mysterious hidden power. We have called them ‘Ejaculations’ 5 because they are brief;1 but since they burst forth from the ardent feelings of the heart, they penetrate more quickly to heaven.2 This type of prayer was strongly commended by St Augustine, either because the frailty of the human heart cannot maintain its concentration for long, or because prayers of  this kind can be used anywhere, even in the midst of one’s everyday 10 *****

2 Cf Modus orandi Deum cwe 70 169.

2995 1 The image conveyed in this context by the Latin ejaculatio is of a prayer unleased by an arrow; see Modus orandi deum cwe 70 218. The word was used in Christian Latin for short prayers offered in an emergency. 2 Cf the colloquy Epicurus ‘The Epicurean’ cwe 40 1087:39–41: ‘Even a brief prayer gets through to heaven, provided it is uttered with fervent force of spirit.’ Cf also Precationes cwe 69 143 n151.

2995  To David Paumgartner  [1535]

122

business.3 We have simply given you these as an example and model; the Scriptures will supply countless similar instances at every turn. 2995a / From Bonifacius Amerbach

[Basel, c 8 February 1535]

This letter (= ak Ep 1909), Bonifacius’ answer to Ep 2992a, was first published by Allen. The autograph is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms c v ia 73 432). Allen, unaware of evidence to the contrary, assigned the year-date 1534 and published the letter as Ep 2907. For the redating by the ak editor Alfred Hartmann, see Ep 2989a introduction. Erasmus’ reply is Ep 2997a.

Cordial greetings. You want to know the work load and the salary attached to the post of public advocate. Well, most illustrious Erasmus, it involves nothing more than acting as adviser to the city council in judicial cases and responding to questions concerning the law. Up to the present, when asked, I have never refused to do this without remuneration. Now they have decided, I believe, to reward me for my generosity by paying me sixty gold pieces and at the same time offering an annual salary of one hundred sixty gold pieces for my professorship and my duties as public advocate.1 They are also pressing me to accept appointment for several years. I am always predicting2 a favourable report about your health; I would love to be repeatedly presenting little gifts to those who bring me the happy news that you are growing stronger. You allude again to the powder you received from the pharmacist: please allow me to do this little service for you – it is something I would not hesitate to do even for a stranger. Since you refuse a more generous response, permit me, I beg you, to make these tiny gestures in recognition of all you have done for me. Without a doubt I owe everything to you for your special kindness to me. Whenever you need the help of a friend, I beg you to accept that help from me; it will be given readily3 and from the heart. I count it a privilege to have served Erasmus, and no small privilege at that. *****

3 Cf Augustine Ep 130.20.

2995a 1 Cf Ep 2989a n2. 2 Reading ominor for Allen’s edoceor, as in Hartmann and the Basel manuscript 3 Reading praesentem with Hartmann for Allen’s puram

5

10

15

20

2996  To Bonifacius Amerbach  [1535]

123

I do not remember using reeds for writing.4 So while I was inquiring where they were available for sale (for the local ones are not suitable), I chanced to run into Hieronymus the Rhaetian,5 who told me he had several that had been given to him as a gift by you. So in the hope that they will be of use to you, he is returning them – presenting you with your own pres- 25 ent. Farewell. 2996 / To Bonifacius Amerbach

[Freiburg], 18 February [1535]

This letter (= ak Ep 1910) was first published as Ep 40 in the Epistolae familiares. The autograph is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms an iii 15 66). The year-date derives from the references to the imprisonment of More and Fisher. The letter appears to have been written before the arrival of Ep 2995a, since Erasmus makes no mention of reed pens (see lines 21–6 of that letter). Bonifacius’ reply to this letter is Ep 2997b , which begins with a reference to the dispatch to Erasmus of a supply of reed pens.

A few days ago I sent off a letter to you by a reliable messenger.1 Since he is hired at my expense, you can let him know if there is anything you want. Here many people are ill, some are even dying, and in England friends of mine are excusing themselves because of illness. I have received several letters from there, which provide me with a reliable report on my affairs.2 5 More is still in the Tower, but he is being treated less harshly, for the king has allowed his wife and children to visit him. The bishop of Rochester is in a poor state and has only one servant to accompany him.3

*****



4 Presumably he used quill pens. 5 Hieronymus Artolf (Ep 2012 introduction). A native of the Grisons who had studied at Basel and settled there as a schoolmaster, he is here described as a Rhaetian, ie a native of Rhaetia, a Roman province occupying a region roughly between the Danube, the Rhine, and the Lech. The word is used here for the mountainous area of southeast Switzerland.

2996 1 The letter is not extant. 2 The letters are not extant. They were forwarded by Erasmus Schets; see Epp 2992:3–4, 2997:1–2. 3 See Ep 2948 n2.

2996  To Bonifacius Amerbach  [1535]

124

As for my pensions, one person denies that he owes anything; the other has paid half on the ground that his property has been confiscated by the king.4 Farewell. 18 February Your friend Erasmus To the distinguished Master Bonifacius Amerbach. At Basel 2997 / To Erasmus Schets

Freiburg, 21 February [1535]

This letter, the answer to one from Schets that is not extant, was first published by Allen. The autograph, addressed by a secretary, is in the Bodleian Library at Oxford (ms Lat Misc c 20 folio 61). The year-date derives from the references to the death of Clauthus and to the imprisonment of More and Fisher. For Schets see Ep 2944 introduction. His reply to this letter is Ep 3009.

I was very pleased, excellent sir, that, thanks to your attentiveness, the letters sent from England reached me before the fair.1 I had earlier received a letter from you about the death of Clauthus;2 this news, however, I had discovered

*****



4 Erasmus drew income from two English livings given him by William Warham, archbishop of Canterbury, one at Aldington, the other at a place unknown (Ep 2332 n10). It is clear from Epp 3028:8–10 and 3107:6–11 that it was the vicar at Aldington, Richard Master, who had recently paid half, while it was the other one who denied owing anything. Master had been the parish priest and father confessor of Elizabeth Barton, the famously visionary ‘nun of Kent,’ as a result of which he was charged with treason in 1533 when the nun denounced the king’s remarriage. Arrested and brought to the Tower of London for questioning, Master somehow managed to escape being executed in April 1534 along with the nun and several of her followers. Though pardoned, with his goods and his living restored to him, his financial difficulties appear to have continued, or so he claimed. Erasmus’ complaints that he had paid only half and then nothing continued into 1536 (in addition to the letters already cited, see Epp 3052:17–19, 3058:1–11). In the end Erasmus appealed directly to Thomas Cromwell for assistance in securing the payment of both pensions; see Ep 3107:11–12.

2997 1 See Ep 2996 n2. 2 The letter, not extant, was written in December 1534; see Ep 2992:4–6. For Johannes Clauthus, see Ep 2955 n8.

10

2997  To Erasmus Schets  [1535]

125

much earlier from a letter that a man called Reyner sent from England to Simon Grynaeus.3 The death of Clauthus is no loss, though I am sorry that his death caused me such inconvenience. He was a complete fraud; nothing was further from his mind than to serve me. He was interested only in personal gain. Soon after he arrived, his first words were, ‘Was I planning to send someone to England?’ I had stipulated three things to Grapheus:4 that he should send someone who would not object to serving a sick man, second, that he should be someone in good health, and finally, that he should have no sympathy with the sects. Clauthus did not deny that Grapheus had forewarned him on all these points. He arrived here in a sickly state as a result of the journey. I myself was also ill. So I arranged that for several days he would dine with Damião de Gois, who lived under the same roof as I but did not dine at the same table except when I invited him.5 As soon as Clauthus recovered, I invited him to have a talk with me. I began by asking him most courteously to talk frankly with me so that we could form a closer friendship. ‘You see,’ I said, ‘what my life is like; you realize what role you would have to play if my servant here should leave me. Perhaps service of this sort is unworthy of your erudition, since you could obtain a more honourable position.’ He replied that he was prepared for any kind of service and that he had been apprised of the situation by Grapheus. Second, I asked if he was in good health. He replied that he was except that, because of a cold in the head, his sense of smell was impaired. ‘But,’ I said, ‘I often notice that your chin quivers, causing you to grind your teeth.’ He denied that anything was wrong. So we came to the third stipulation, whether he was free from any taint of the sects. He said he was. So I sent him away again to spend several days with Damião. Then I invited him to my table. Neither at table nor when he was with Damião did he open his mouth except when asked a question and then he *****



3 Erasmus had already heard the news by 6 December 1534, before he received Schets’ letter; see 2981:1–2. The Reyner referred to here is probably Reyner Wolfe (d 1573), a native of Gelderland who is documented as a bookseller in London from 1530. From 1542 he published books under his own imprint, including several works by Thomas Cranmer and an English translation of John Calvin’s Institutio (1561). For Simon Grynaeus, professor of Greek at Basel, see Ep 2433 introduction. 4 Cornelius Grapheus, who had recommended Clauthus to Erasmus; see Ep 2916:11–22 with n6. 5 See Ep 2924:39–41.

5

10

15

20

25

30

2997  To Erasmus Schets  [1535]

126

replied in a word or two and in such a piping voice that I could not understand him. When I wanted to send him to England, I invited him to a confidential meeting and discussed with him in more detail those three stipulations. When he had given satisfactory answers to all my questions, I asked if he was interested in going to England. At this he smiled. I wrote my letters and gave him money for the journey. He said in my presence that he would deposit the extra money he did not need with my servant6 so that it would not be lost on the journey. At dinner I gave him an additional twelve batzen; Damião had already given him the same.7 It was after dinner that I realized the man’s dishonesty. He approached my servant and said (untruthfully) that I had ordered him to change his money into gold. The servant believed him and made the exchange. When, unexpectedly, I discovered the man’s falsity, I was furious. He became angry and with trembling chin said that he was not a child and that he could look after his own money. It was not the money that bothered me but his impudent lying. I angrily departed for my room. Fearing that I would take back the letters, he rushed off early in the morning while I was still asleep without saying ‘Goodbye.’ You gave him three crowns, but I had forbidden him to accept anything from you. He had from me more than fifteen gold florins,8 and I had written that if he got nothing from others, you would give him money for the journey when he was ready to return. He did not leave a scrap of his own belongings here, which was a clear indication that he did not intend to return. He was hunting booty and perished in the chase. He wheedled out of you the original copy of the document.9 This was contrary to my orders, since I had given him a copy signed by a notary public. Now both are lost. I had explained to you in a letter what I wished to be *****





6 Gilbert Cousin (Ep 2985 introduction) 7 Twelve batzen were worth just under one Rhenish florin or £2 0s 2.5d groot Flemish, about a quarter of the annual wage income of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). On batzen, see Ep 2477 n4. 8 Given Clauthus’ destination, probably English rose crowns, officially valued in 1535 at 76d groot Flemish and equivalent to about two weeks’ wage income of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter. Fifteen Rhenish florins were equivalent to £3 13s 9d groot Flemish, slightly less than half the annual wage income of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). 9 Ie the document relevant to the redemption of the English pensions that Erasmus had received from William Warham; see Ep 2896 n12. It evidently managed to find its way into the hands of Thomas Cromwell; see Ep 3009:17–19.

35

40

45

50

55

2997  To Erasmus Schets  [1535]

127

done,10 and I had provided him with a sheet of instructions. I wonder how he was able to get round a sensible man like you. His whole body was affected by sickness. Whenever he was alone, he grated his teeth like someone possessed. Sometimes he used to close his door. In the morning he would vomit blood, and soon afterwards needed to be stuffed with food. He was infected by all the sects, but was particularly inclined towards the Anabaptists. In my presence he always said what would please me; with my servant he would let himself go in a very different manner. I can guess who foisted this monster on me, and I shall pay him back if I can.11 Well, so much for Clauthus: may he rest in peace! I beg you, dear Schets, not to hand over anything of mine unless you see my signature. There are too many harpies around.12 All the letters I received from England are old, written in June or July, except the one that came later from Eustache, the emperor’s ambassador. In an earlier letter he wrote at length and very frankly about the situation in England.13 In the letter that I entrusted to Clauthus there was not a syllable that could cause offence to anyone. Nor did I write anything to More or to the bishop of Rochester after I discovered they were in prison. Even at other times, however, it is not my practice to write anything to my English friends that could not be read by anyone. So do not worry on that account. I am not surprised at Luis and Alvaro.14 There was no danger from the books. The fact that they were not delivered is a signal loss to me. Someone else has seized the loot, as I suspected would happen. From now on, if there is anything I wish to be taken care of in England, I shall put the matter in the hands of Eustache.15 Erasmus has no better friend than he. My pensionary is

*****

10 The letter is not extant. 11 Lieven Algoet; see Ep 3028:4–5. 12 Harpies were monstrous winged creatures, usually represented with female bodies, in Greek mythology. The literal meaning of the word is ‘snatchers,’ so it was frequently used of rapacious people. 13 Neither of the letters from Eustache Chapuys (Ep 2798 introduction), imperial ambassador to England, is extant. 14 Luis and Alvaro de Castro had been Schets’ agents in England for the collection of Erasmus’ annuity from William Warham, Alvaro in 1525–6, Luis from 1526 until he left England in 1534; cf Ep 2913:23 with n10. His partner, Alvaro de Astudillo, inherited responsibility for remitting Erasmus’ pensions, a function he shared with Eustache Chapuys (see preceding note). For Astudillo, see Ep 2913 n4, where it is incorrectly stated that he is first referred to in Ep 3009. 15 Chapuys (see n13 above).

60

65

70

75

80

Khair ad-Din Pasha, called Barbarossa British Library, London

2997  To Erasmus Schets  [1535]

129

in danger of his life; last year he paid only half the amount. The other denies that he owes me anything.16 Barbier is now talking of a ‘gift,’ though in letter after letter he admits to being in my debt and maintains that he wishes to pay. I suspect it has been 85 a perpetual loan.17 What irks him is that I live so long. ‘O accursed lust for gold, to what lengths will you not drive the hearts of men?’18 I am very sorry that your son is suffering from the quartan fever. It tormented me for more than a year when I was a lad of sixteen; at that time I had had no previous experience of what it is like to be ill. 90 From Christmas through the whole of January I have been racked most cruelly by gout. I am not yet free of it because of the inclemency of the weather.19 Here several people have come down with the same kind of illness, some even die of it.20 This whole year seems to be bringing its deadly toll of illness and war. A large military recruitment is taking place; people suspect that 95 Ferdinand will use it to occupy Hungary.21 The emperor is preparing to attack the pirate.22 ***** 16 The pensionary in danger of his life was Richard Master at Aldington; the name and location of the other are unknown. See Ep 2996 n4. 17 In Ep 2842 (9 July 1533) Barbier had written to Erasmus admitting no legal obligation to pay the money Erasmus claimed was owed to him from his Courtrai pension but expressing his willingness to do so. Lines 21–2 of that letter indicate that Erasmus had complained to Barbier that the latter’s treatment of him had made him a laughing stock. For statements by Erasmus to that effect, see Epp 2793:8–11, 2896:9, 2961:60–90. Finally, on 18 June 1535 Erasmus wrote to Barbier a letter not extant in which he proposed that as a final settlement Barbier should pay the amounts due to date and thereafter be absolved from further obligation (see Ep 3025:15–18). 18 Virgil Aeneid 3.57 19 See Ep 2940 n2, and cf Ep 3000:21–5. 20 For Erasmus’ other references to a gout-like illness at Freiburg, see Epp 2906:4–5, 3000:25–7. 21 Cf Ep 3000:56–7. 22 In the summer of 1534, the one-time pirate who had become the Ottoman sultan of Algiers, Khair ad-Din (c 1466–1546), called Barbarossa ‘red-beard’ because of the colour of his hair, captured Tunis and established control of all Tunisia. The expelled ruler, al-Hasan ben Muhammad, then went to Spain in search of help. In June 1535 Charles v launched an attack on Tunis with three hundred ships and about thirty thousand soldiers, expelled Khair ad-Din, and installed alHasan as a Spanish protégé. See Epp 3000:57–9, 3007:96–7, 3009:51–2, 3020:17– 18, 3037:85–6 and 90–6, 3049 n32. But Khair ad-Din escaped and remained a threat. In September 1538, still grand admiral of the Ottoman fleet, he defeated

2997  To Erasmus Schets  [1535]

130

As you imply in your remarks about the Frenchman, there is an excellent relationship between Francis and Charles. The Burgundians complain that they are being robbed by taxation. 100 I wish you and all those dearest to you the best of health. Freiburg im Breisgau, 21 February Erasmus of Rotterdam, in my own hand To the honourable Master Erasmus Schets, merchant. In Antwerp 2997a / To Bonifacius Amerbach

Freiburg, 21 February [1535]

This letter (= ak Ep 1916), Erasmus’ answer to Ep 2995a, was first published as Ep 31 in the Epistolae familiares. The autograph is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms an i i i 15 84). Allen, unaware of evidence to the contrary, assigned the year-date 1534 and published the letter as Ep 2908.

Well, I shall let you win once more, since this is your wish.1 But from now on I shall not give you a similar opportunity. There was no need to say that the powder was being prepared for me. One usually throws out material that is going bad. The principal ingredient in this powder, which, if I am not mistaken, is rhubarb, has gone off. The preparation that Ephorinus got for me 5 was of high quality. He was a doctor.2 It was good of you to send the reed pens. I have thanked the Rhaetian. Please see that he gets the letter.3 I am delighted that you have received an increase in salary and status.4 I wish you and all who are dearest to you every blessing and success. 10 Freiburg, 21 February Yours, Erasmus of Rotterdam To the distinguished Master Bonifacius Amerbach. At Basel ***** a much larger combined Christian fleet under the command of Andrea Doria off Prevesa (northwestern Greece), thus establishing Ottoman domination of the Mediterranean until the battle of Lepanto in 1571. 2997a 1 Clearly a reference to Bonifacius’ insistence on paying the pharmacist for the powder supplied to Erasmus; see Ep 2992a:16–18 and 2995a:12–17. 2 For Anselmus Ephorinus as a supplier of fruit-based medications, see Ep 2554 n14. 3 The letter is not extant. For ‘the Rhaetian’ and the reed pens, see Epp 2992a:19– 20, 2995a:21–6. 4 See Ep 2989a n2.

2997b  From Bonifacius Amerbach  [1535] 2997b / From Bonifacius Amerbach

131

Basel, c 21 February [1535]

This letter (= ak Ep 1913) was first published by Allen. The autograph rough draft (with another draft of part of the letter higher up on the same page) is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms c vi a 73 433 verso). The year-date derives from the reference to Thomas More (arrested 17 April 1534 and executed 6 July 1535). Allen read the day-date as 5 (line 16) and published the letter as Ep 2991. But the ak editor, Alfred Hartmann, who found the date in the autograph illegible, redated the letter on basis of the internal content, which indicates that it is clearly the answer to Ep 2996 (even ‘the arrival of spring’ in line 5 corresponding better to the later date than to Allen’s).

Cordial greetings. A little before I received your letter,1 my excellent Erasmus, I entrusted to the care of a certain Burgundian, who has now set out from here, a wooden box containing reeds as well as a letter from me.2 I can think of nothing that I ought to add except that we are exposed here to the same risks of illness, and that the arrival of spring affects us too in a variety of 5 ways.3 The poor health of my little son Basilius means that I cannot be unconcerned by worries of this kind. But I trust that, by the incomparable mercy of our Saviour Christ, his health will steadily improve each day. I am deeply saddened by the calamity that has befallen More.4 This brilliant man is meeting the same fate that has afflicted many distinguished and 10 worthy servants of the public good: he is suffering evil in return for good. How I wish that even now the prayer of Achilles that his country should begin to repent of its ingratitude might come true for More.5 Look after your health, my dear Erasmus, and remember there is no service or obligation that I would not eagerly and willingly perform for you. 15 6 Basel, [c 21] February

*****



1 Ep 2996 2 Ep 2995a 3 Cf Ep 2996:3–5. 4 Cf Ep 2996:5–6. 5 Homer Iliad 1.231–44 6 On the day-date see introduction above.

2998  From Conradus Goclenius  1535 2998 / From Conradus Goclenius

132

Louvain, 25 February 1535

This letter was first published by Allen. The autograph is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms Goclenii epistolae 7). For Goclenius, professor of Latin at the Collegium Trilingue in Louvain and one of Erasmus’ closest friends, see Epp 1209, 1994a.

Cordial greetings. I did not write to you at the time of the last fair,1 since both before the fair and during the fair itself I was patiently waiting for your man Clauthus to return from Britain. I would have hired a reliable courier to tell you what happened when he died in Britain, but Erasmus Schets assured me that he had taken the earliest possible opportunity to let you know the whole 5 story.2 For a while we were greatly concerned that the interception of your letters as a result of Clauthus’ death would do considerable damage to your interests, but within a few days an imperial secretary, who works in Britain with the emperor’s ambassador,3 arrived opportunely and assured us that no harm had come to you from Clauthus’ death. No more welcome message 10 could have reached us amid the many worries that assail us constantly and fill us with fear. Germany was more fortunate, for during the peasant war the madness there raged only in the countryside. With us the evil is in our inner selves. There is scarcely a town that has not been affected by the fanatical spirit 15 of Münster. Feelings have intensified to the point of madness, for all those who have made a contract with death are marked to die.4 Even in places where a constant watch was set, the poison continued to spread so widely that soon the cities were afraid to trust their own guards. As a consequence *****





2998 1 Ie the autumn book fair at Frankfurt 2 Johannes Clauthus (Ep 2916 n6) died in England on 10 September 1534 while on a mission to look after the collection of Erasmus’ annuity from his English livings and to gather information on the status of Thomas More and John Fisher, both of whom had been imprisoned. Schets informed Erasmus of Clauthus’ death in a letter written in December 1534 (Ep 2992:5–6), but Erasmus had ­already heard the news from another source (Ep 2997:2–5). 3 Possibly Baptista Monteza, secretary and steward to the imperial ambassador in England, Eustache Chapuys (Ep 2798 introduction), who took an active part in the payment to Erasmus of the income from his livings in England; cf Ep 2997 n14. 4 The word for ‘contract’ is auctoramentum, used especially of a contract made by a gladiator. The meaning appears to be that those who have sworn to die for their faith rather than surrender are now marked men, certain to be killed.

2998  From Conradus Goclenius  1535

133

in Holland, where this plague is progressing more dangerously, an army has been recruited for the protection of property, although even Antwerp and Maastricht only escaped complete disaster when, by the singular goodness of God, the plans of the evildoers were betrayed before they could be put into practice.5 Their intention was to suppress all sacred ceremonies along with the priests and to compel everyone by the threat of fire and execution to be baptized a second time; they also planned to introduce the equalization of possessions and to grant immunity for all crimes. What is most surprising in all this is that the poison was controlled no more successfully than it was in the case of the hydra,6 so firmly did the Furies wrap their snakes around men’s hearts.7 It seems, however, that calm will soon arise out of this terrible storm. The princes and the magistrates, who up to now believed that it was only the property of priests that was involved, have come to recognize in the light of events that they too are on the razor’s edge and that their own security is seriously threatened.8 I pray that God may bring all things to a happy end! We here are doing well; so far no place has had less turmoil and panic. But to tell the truth, no one can guarantee the future. It seemed there was cause for optimism in the new pope,9 who soon after his election, on his own initiative, invited kings and princes to a council,10 that old remedy, such as it is, for trouble in the church. I only hope that those who are prophesying that he will turn out more like Paul ii than Paul i will be proved wrong.11 It is said *****





5 Amsterdam was the centre of revolutionary Anabaptism in the Netherlands, spreading from there to various parts of the country and beyond. It reached Antwerp and Maastricht in the course of 1534; see Krahn 124–7. It was at Maastricht that Hendrik Rol (Ep 2957 n19) was executed on about 9 September 1534. 6 The hydra in Greek myth was a monster with many heads; when one was cut off, two grew in its place. 7 The Furies were avenging spirits who had snakes for hair and carried a whip of scorpions. They inspired their victims with terror and madness. 8 ‘On the razor’s edge’ is an expression taken from Homer; see Adagia i i 18. 9 Paul iii (Ep 2988) 10 Pope Paul had from the first made clear his intention to summon a council, and he dispatched legates to the princes of Europe to enlist their support, but the formal summons to a council that was to be held at Mantua was not issued until 2 June 1536; see Ep 3119 n12. 11 Pope Paul ii (1464–71) was elected pope on the condition that he summon an ecumenical council within three years, but he immediately declared himself unbound by this requirement and remained hostile to demands for a council.

20

25

30

35

40

2998  From Conradus Goclenius  1535

134

that he is planning war on the people of Urbino,12 and that he has appointed as cardinals two members of his own family who are still little more than beardless youths.13 This is how he is strengthening that sacred order and fortifying the Roman church with an indestructible bulwark! Some are spread- 45 ing the story that he has summoned you to Rome.14 That does not surprise me, but I shall be surprised if you go there, especially at a time like this, which calls for arms rather than the pen, for now the lives of churchmen have lost their principal weapon of persuasion, that is, the example of a virtuous life. Our Jan van Campen has also been called to Rome to restore Hebrew 50 studies there, but it seems that Girolamo Aleandro, with whom he is living in Venice, is discouraging him.15 Aleandro, I think, is angry with the pope for stripping him of his appointment as nuncio, a position he held at Venice through the favour of Clement.16 Here two of our friends in common, men of  great integrity, have gone before us, Maarten Davidts at Brussels and 55 *****







He was also an advocate of crusades against the Turks and Hussite heretics. The relevance here of Paul i (757–67), who was preoccupied with the defence of the papal state against the Lombards and of Catholic teaching on the veneration of images against the Byzantine emperor Constantine v, is not immediately clear. The point may be that he had achieved veneration as a saint while the worldly and vain Paul ii had not. 12 In October 1534 Catarina Cibo, widow of the duke of Camarino, arranged for the marriage of her daughter Giulia to Guidobaldo della Rovere, prince of Urbino, thus effecting the union of the two principalities, which Paul iii regarded as a threat to the papal states. Paul’s determination to disallow the union was ultimately frustrated by the opposition of the emperor. See Pastor 11 304–9. 13 For the appointment to the college of cardinals of the two grandsons, one of them fourteen and the other sixteen, see Pastor 11 138–40, and cf Ep 3007:43–5. 14 Presumably a reference to the rumoured offer of appointment as a cardinal; see Ep 3007 n3. 15 In the autumn of 1531, Jan van Campen, first professor of Hebrew at the Collegium Trilingue in Louvain, resigned his post and entered the service of the Polish ambassador to the imperial court, Johannes Dantiscus, whom he accompanied back to Poland (Ep 2573 n8). In the spring of 1534 he left Poland for Italy, arriving at Venice on 25 May, where he joined the household of Girolamo Aleandro and fulfilled his longstanding ambition to discuss Hebrew studies with the celebrated Jewish scholar Elias Levita (Epp 2876:11–14, 2961:171). Campen eventually went to Rome (February 1536) but not before spending time at both Padua and Verona. 16 There is no evidence that Aleandro ‘discouraged’ Campen or that he was angry with Pope Paul iii, who had succeeded Clement vii. Towards the end of 1534 Paul summoned Aleandro to Rome, where he would play a leading role in the pope’s efforts to reform the church and bring about a council.

2999  From Viglius Zuichemus  1535

135

Melchior of Vianden at Tournai, the first as the result of a stroke, the second from the plague.17 Moreover, Frans van der Dilft, though still alive, has no hope of lasting much longer; every day one could see him decline out of grief for his dead wife, who passed away last September. If there is any prospect of his improving, I shall let you know as soon as possible.18 I shall give all my 60 careful attention to your affairs (as I am duty bound to do) until you send me other instructions.19 Farewell, pillar of learning and the world’s pride and joy. Louvain, 25 February 1535 Your humble servant, Conradus Goclenius To the eminent Doctor Erasmus of Rotterdam 65 2999 / From Viglius Zuichemus

Dülmen, 26 February 1535

This letter was first published as Ep 61 in vze. The surviving manuscript, a late sixteenth-century copy, is in the University Library at Ghent (ms 479.5). For Viglius Zuichemus, currently residing at Dülmen in the service of the bishop of Münster, see Ep 2957 introduction.

to erasmus of rotterdam I think you are not unaware, most learned Erasmus, of the dreadful turmoil caused by the teachings of the Anabaptists in our Lower Germany; I have given you some account of it in my previous letters.1 Every day and from ***** 17 Maarten Davidts (Ep 532:35n) died on 12 January 1535; Melchior Vianden (Ep 1237 n15) died before 25 February 1535. 18 In May 1535 Erasmus assumed the worst concerning his friend (Ep 3019:17), but Dilft in fact recovered, married again, and continued his successful political career (see Ep 3037:68–72). He rejoined the imperial court in 1536, and in 1544 replaced Eustache Chapuys as Charles v’s ambassador to England. 19 It was Goclenius who, along with the Antwerp banker Erasmus Schets, looked after Erasmus’ financial affairs in the Netherlands after he had left Louvain and settled in Basel and then Freiburg. On several occasions Erasmus entrusted large sums of money to Goclenius and gave him instructions (including those in his final will) concerning the disbursement of the money following his death. When Goclenius died intestate in 1539 before having distributed the money as instructed, the inheritance of the money and its disbursement became the subject of a protracted litigation. See Ep 2863 and cwe 20 303–33 ‘The Donation to Goclenius (Ep 2863).’ 2999 1 Epp 2957, 2962

2999  From Viglius Zuichemus  1535

136

every quarter one hears of so many new and frightening incidents that it is impossible to include them all in a letter. I would have written to you more often on this subject if couriers had been available, for I hoped that, at least on this occasion, I might fulfil my obligation to you and preserve your good will towards me. Perhaps some day I shall find a happier occasion on which to do so, for I do not think that God, in his goodness and majesty, will permit this present storm to rage forever and allow the minds of men to be tossed about by such crude falsehoods. Certainly if Münster, the heavily fortified haven of the Anabaptists, had fallen into our hands, we would have solved a great part of the problem.2 It will be difficult to storm the city by force of arms, but some hope remains that hunger will soon end their intransigence. In the meantime, however, although they are under siege, they are far from quiet, for every day they create mischief through their emissaries, especially in Holland and Friesland, where these sects have brought everything into a pitiful state of disarray. Also Anabaptists hiding in Wesel and Deventer had planned a vicious attack on the clergy, the magistrates, and the leading citizens, but thanks to divine providence their plans were discovered in time.3 At the beginning of this year, in the region of Groningen, an Anabaptist, who though a layman was believed to be inspired by heaven with the gift of tongues and was judged by the country folk to be a wonderfully eloquent speaker and well versed in Scripture, attracted large numbers to his teachings and baptized them a second time.4 Then, relying on the influence he had gained, he changed direction and adopted a new and monstrous kind of doctrine. He said that Christ was not the real Messiah, but only a forerunner. Since the Messiah had not yet come but would certainly arrive soon, it was imperative to prepare the way. He imagined that sometimes a flame seemed to envelop him, that he was carried into the air, even, he claimed, to the third heaven,5 and at such times he spoke and did wondrous things. Some people he circumcised at the risk of their lives, and he began to revive the Jewish practice of burnt offerings. Gradually he reached the point where he said he was the Messiah, the one promised and expected for so many years, and that he now wished to be *****

2 Cf Ep 2957 introduction. The city of Münster, under Anabaptist control since January 1534, had been under siege since 28 February 1534; it would not fall until 24 June 1535. 3 See Krahn 148–50; cf Ep 2990 n5. 4 The reference is to Harmen Schoenmaker; cf Ep 2990 n6. 5 An echo of 2 Cor 12:2

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

3000  To Piotr Tomicki  1535

137

worshipped. At this point men saw through his imposture and his diabolical imaginings. The citizens of Groningen turned out in great numbers to arrest their Messiah and overthrew the whole heretical school. As they seized and bound and led away their new Messiah, a frightening noise was heard in the 40 sky. It was clear at last that he was a man possessed by demons. He died not much later in prison.6 The people invent many stories about him, but what I have told you I have on the testimony of men I trust. From this Anabaptist sect strange and extraordinary doctrines emerge every day. If they succeed, it will without doubt spell the end of all religion, 45 learning, and civilized life. So far the princes are continuing to lend their assistance to my bishop. A conference is slated to take place after Easter at Worms, mainly to confront the Anabaptist insurgency.7 I believe I shall be going there with the other delegates on behalf of my bishop. If that happens, I shall not fail to write to you from Worms.8 Only grant me this favour 50 in return, that some day I may have the pleasure of reading a letter from you, a pleasure I have not had for a long time, to my great sorrow and chagrin.9 Farewell. Dülmen, 26 February 1535 3000 / To Piotr Tomicki

Freiburg, 28 February 1535

This letter was first published in Wierzbowski i 47–8 (no 75). The original letter, written in the hand of Erasmus’ secretary Gilbert Cousin, is in the Zamoyski Collection of the Polish National Library at Warsaw (ms bn boz 2053 vol 18 no 2211). For Tomicki, bishop of Cracow, see Epp 1919, 1953. His response is Ep 3014.

*****





6 On 24 January 1535, Duke Charles of Gelderland defeated at Groningen a large force of Anabaptists led by Schoenmaker. Kerssenbrock / Mackay 661–2 with n42 reports the battle but not Schoenmaker’s death, for which Viglius is the source. 7 At the invitation of Franz von Waldeck, bishop of Münster, representatives of the ten imperial circles (Reichskreise) assembled on 4 April 1535 and, at the request of King Ferdinand, determined to finance the war effort against Münster for another six months. See Krahn 158; Kerssenbrock / Mackay 646. 8 No such letter survives, but it may very well have been written. 9 The last of the surviving letters of Erasmus to Viglius is Ep 2878, though his correspondence with Viglius is known to have continued into the last months of Erasmus’ life; see Epp 3060:1–2, 3071:1–2. Viglius’ last surviving letter to Erasmus is Ep 3116.

3000  To Piotr Tomicki  1535

138

Cordial greetings. I have nothing to write about, reverend bishop, that is worthy of your attention, but I do want to assure you before my life comes to an end that I am not forgetful of the exceptional kindness you have shown me in the past by your many services, especially after I had found a man who would not only faithfully deliver the letters that were entrusted to him but who could also convey much news by his own words. I refer to Sigismundus Gelenius, a man with an excellent command of both languages, who for several years has worked diligently in the Froben press as an editor of some fine books, and who, God willing, will soon return to us.1 In letters from my friends I learned that you were dangerously ill, but (thanks be to Christ!) have now regained your health.2 I am suffering the usual fate that befalls that time of life about which David writes that it brings greater hardship and sorrow,3 for unless I am mistaken, I have now passed my seventieth year.4 I was never considered a sturdy person: even as a young man I always had a weak and fragile body. Now I suffer from two illnesses, both incurable. For, as the philosophers say, old age is a natural illness,5 for which medical science can provide no help. And Lucian writes, ‘Gout bids the whole medical profession go hang themselves.’6 I have had a bitter struggle with this now for two years or more, and every day it grows worse – it is not so much a case of foot gout as of everywhere gout,7 since it does not just affect the feet, but spreads through every bone in the body.8 This year around Christmas it attacked me with much more severity than usual, and during *****

3000 1 For the Czech humanist Gelenius, corrector at the Froben press from 1526 until his death in 1554, see Ep 1702 n1. It is not known why he undertook the visit to Cracow referred to here. 2 See Ep 2960:16–18 with n6. 3 Ps 90 (89 Vulgate):10: ‘The days of our years are three score years and ten; and if by reason of strength, they be four score years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow’ (av). 4 If one accepts 28 October 1467 as the date of his birth, Erasmus was now sixtyseven. The inscription on the column next to his grave in the cathedral at Basel says that he died at age seventy; see 579:22 below. 5 Adagia ii vi 37 6 Lucian Tragodopodagra 175. Erasmus does not give the Greek original but offers a Latin translation in which he replaces an idiomatic Greek curse (literally ‘go weep’) with a Latin one (‘go hang yourself’). For the latter see Adagia ii iv 67. 7 Podagra, a Greek word meaning literally ‘pain in the feet,’ is the medical term for gout in the feet. Erasmus here coins the term holagra, meaning ‘pain all over’ or ‘gout everywhere.’ 8 See Ep 2940 n2.

5

10

15

20

3000  To Piotr Tomicki  1535

139

the whole of January it kept me tied to my bed.9 Even now I cannot get rid of it, for at every change in the weather it grows more painful again, especially when a storm blows up and the wind is from the north. We have had a very unpleasant winter. As a result several people here have become ill with the same symptoms and some have even died.10 There is no hope that this poor body of mine, racked by age and toil, will long survive such cruel afflictions. It is thus that the Lord has chosen to purify his unprofitable servant. I pray that, after such a scourging, he may think fit to receive me into his grace. We are witnessing a kind of deadly alteration in human affairs. The duke of Württemberg has banned the mass from all the territory that he lately claimed for himself,11 although Luther, in a particularly noxious little book, condemned only private communion.12 In England it is a capital offence to recognize the pope as head of the church on the ground that he is simply bishop of Rome and has no more authority than that of any other bishop in his diocese.13 Similarly, it is a capital offence to approve the marriage contracted with the former queen, although it had been confirmed by the judgment of Clement vii.14 Those who disagree with the king on these matters risk losing their lives. John, bishop of Rochester, a man whose godliness matches his learning, and Thomas More, that shining star in England’s crown and until recently chancellor of the realm, are still in prison. On the other hand, the king of France has had a sudden change of mind and launched a savage attack on the Sacramentarians, burning some and sending others to the galleys. They, in turn, are distributing defamatory pamphlets and making the most savage threats.15 Now the Anabaptist sect has spread far and wide with incredible success. It has taken hold in a great part of Lower Germany, particularly in my native Holland. The siege of Münster has not ***** 9 Cf Ep 2997:91–3. 10 Cf Ep 2997:93–4. 11 See Ep 2993 n7. 12 The reference is to Luther’s Von der Winkelmesse und Pfaffenweihe (Ep 2906 n3), which includes an attack on private masses (ie those celebrated by a priest alone, without communicants) as a work of the devil. Erasmus’ point seems to be the surprisingly mistaken one that by banning the Catholic mass altogether, Duke Ulrich had gone beyond what Luther himself had called for. 13 The Act of Supremacy (3 November 1534) explicitly and unambiguously declared Henry viii ‘the only supreme head on earth’ of the English church. 14 The Act of Succession (1534) made it treason to refuse to take an oath affirming that Henry viii’s marriage to Anne Boleyn (not the earlier one to Catherine of Aragon) was legitimate; cf Ep 2948 n2. 15 See Ep 2983 n10.

25

30

35

40

45

3000  To Piotr Tomicki  1535

140

yet been resolved, but garrisons have been left in place to prevent anyone escaping from inside the city. Meanwhile, several prince-electors have formed a council with the aim of crushing the audacity of the rebels, for if this goes unpunished, it will surely spell the end of princely authority.16 Indeed the Anabaptists have chosen their own king, a shoemaker, whom they call ‘king of Sion.’17 What the emperor and the other monarchs are planning to do is unclear. Here a great levying of forces is taking place, some to assist Ferdinand in the occupation of Hungary, and others to help the emperor check the reckless behaviour of the pirate Barbarossa – though there is no shortage of persons who suspect quite different motives.18 We have a new pope, Paul iii, formerly Alessandro Farnese, a man of great learning and a Roman patrician with a fine reputation, who, for more than forty years, has held the rank of cardinal without a stain on his character. But he is of advanced age, for he is over seventy.19 I hope he can help in some way to settle the turmoil within the church. I do not doubt that this is what he wants. There is nothing we can do but hope for better things. I have dictated this letter, for my right arm is so affected by gout that I could hardly grasp the pen in my fingers. Make any requests you wish to your humble servant here,20 who will promptly take care of anything within his powers. May Christ long preserve your Lordship for our sakes! Freiburg im Breisgau, 28 February 1535 Please pardon that this letter is written in another’s hand, for gout has so affected my right hand that I could not even sign my name. In place of a signature I have asked to have affixed the sign of the Terminus.21 Also, if my secretary’s handwriting is rather careless, the reason is that the courier was in a hurry and did not give us time to recopy the letter. To the very reverend father Piotr, bishop of Cracow, my most worthy patron. In Cracow

*****

16 See Ep 3031a n84. 17 Jan of Leiden (Ep 2957 n20), who was a tailor, not a shoemaker 18 The big project was Charles v’s assault on Khair ad-Din, known as Barbarossa, at Tunis in the summer of 1535; see Ep 2997 n22. 19 Paul iii (Ep 2988 introduction) was in fact still in his sixties. 20 Ie Erasmus 21 For Erasmus’ personal seal with the image of the god Terminus, see Ep 2018 with n2 and illustration on page 242.

50

55

60

65

70

75

3001  To Johannes Cochlaeus  [1535] 3001 / To Johannes Cochlaeus

141 [Freiburg, c March 1535]

In his Scopa Ioannis Cochlaei Germani in Araneas Ricardi Morysini Angli (Leipzig: Nikolaus Wohlrab, March 1538) folios b 4 verso–c 1, Johannes Cochlaeus (Ep 1863 introduction) printed two extracts from a letter of Erasmus to him. The Allen editors printed the extracts, with as much of their context (in italics) as seemed appropriate. Erasmus’ letter was written in response to De matrimonio serenis­ simi Regis Angliae Henrici Octavi of Cochlaeus, which was published in February 1535 (Leipzig: Michael Blum). If the consultation with Ludwig Baer (lines 20–1 below) was about Cochlaeus’ book, the letter can hardly have been written later than February or early March 1535, given the approximate date of Baer’s departure from Basel for Rome (see Ep 2988 introduction). For Erasmus’ views on the subject of the divorce of Henry v iii, see Ep 2846 n15.

An even stronger case was made by Erasmus of Rotterdam, a man of great learning, with a deep attachment both to the queen and to the king. When asked for his opinion on this subject, although he had already written for the queen a long and scholarly work on marriage,1 he never wished or dared to resolve the knotty issue of divorce. When he saw my little book on the marriage of the king and queen, he replied in his 5 own hand as follows. Cordial greetings. My very dear friend, I have read your book about the divorce with pleasure and not without profit. As the saying goes, however, you are reopening a closed case.2 If I were to write what I feel about the subject, I too, I am afraid, would appear to be reopening a closed case. You go over- 10 board in building up your argument when you excuse the king by shifting part of the blame to his councillors. In setting out the facts of the case, you admit that you were not well equipped. The situation is as follows. When his father died, etc. After giving a long account of the case, which differs widely from that which 15 you, Morison, gave in your book,3 Erasmus adds: *****



3001 1 Institutio christiani matrimonii (Ep 1727) 2 Literally ‘you are doing something already done,’ a legal phrase for reopening a closed case; see Adagia i iv 70. 3 The reference is to the Apomaxis calumniarum (London: T. Berthelet 1537), in which Richard Morison, a skilled propagandist in the service of Thomas Cromwell, attacked Cochlaeus’ De matrimonio. Cochlaeus responded with his Scopa (see introduction above).

3001  To Johannes Cochlaeus  [ 1535]

142

In arguing the case you are careful and meticulous. If I had been equipped with all the weapons at your command, I would have felt confident enough to dissuade the king from divorce, for at that time there was no one by whom the king set greater store than me. I consulted Ludwig Baer, a Paris theolo- 20 gian, but he had nothing to add. I have sampled here and there the little pieces by Witzel, etc.4 In this case, Morison, I do not fear your slanderous tongue, should you say about Erasmus’ letter what you said earlier about the letter that More sent me, name­ ly that it was a forgery from my pen,5 for I have more autograph letters of Erasmus 25 than of More, and I can show them to you if the need arises. I think that Erasmus’ hand is well known to the king, to whom he wrote very frequently. But if the king has forgotten his handwriting, there are many bishops who have seen it in several letters; indeed there is hardly any nation in Christendom to which Erasmus sent more letters than to the English. 30 3002 / From Giovanni Angelo Odoni

Strasbourg, [c March] 1535

This letter and Erasmus’ reply to it were first published by Odoni himself, but neither that publication nor Erasmus’ letter has survived; see cebr iii 24. So the earliest extant publication of Odoni’s letter is that of Allen. The surviving manuscript, which is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms Erasmuslade d 1), is apparently the copy made at the request of Erasmus in the summer of 1535 after an Italian visitor had made off with the original (see Ep 3025 n4). The assigned month-date derives from Odoni’s stated intention (in lines 1059–60 below) of visiting Erasmus at Easter (4 April 1535). Giovanni Angelo Odoni (c 1510–1551), the son of a wealthy physician, was born at Penne (near Pescara), where he studied the humanities under a teacher who used Erasmus’ Adagia and other works as texts (cf n1 below). Later, while studying medicine at Bologna (from about 1528), Odoni read Erasmus avidly and heard Erasmian ideas from the preachers in the pulpit at San Petronio. In the years 1533–4 Odoni became a member of a small group who hoped to bring about in Italy a religious reform inspired by the ideas of Erasmus on the one hand and the Strasbourg reformer Martin Bucer on the other. In pursuit of their

*****

4 The reference is doubtless to Georg Witzel (Ep 2715 introduction), but we do not know what ‘little pieces’ are referred to here. 5 In pages 64–5 of his Apomaxis (see n3 above), Morison had intimated that letters of Thomas More to Cochlaeus and Erasmus that Cochlaeus had printed in his Antiqua et insignis Epistola Nicolai Pape i (Leipzig: Melchior Lotther 1536) were forgeries.

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

143

aims they entered into correspondence with Bucer and others in Strasbourg. In 1534 Odoni and his friend Fileno Lunardi (see n4 below) travelled via Basel to Strasbourg, where they studied Hebrew with Wolfgang Capito (see lines 1065– 6 below). The current letter, which Odoni sent to Erasmus shortly before visiting him at Freiburg, is a manifesto of the kind of reform that Odoni and his circle dreamed of for Italy, but in vain. Returning to Italy in 1537, he became a theological consultant to the bishop of Reggio Calabria. Little is known of his activities in the next few years, but in 1544 he acquired a doctorate in medicine at the University of Bologna. In 1551 he was denounced to the Inquisition at Bologna as ‘a great Lutheran,’ but the outcome of this and other denunciations is unknown. Odoni has a fine command of Latin and writes fluently, but his exuberance tempts him into extravagances that sometimes seem absurd and embarrassing in English.

Greetings, Erasmus! Of all the men on whom the sun looks down, you stand preeminent in every virtue and in every branch of learning, and are more precious to me by far (God knows I speak the truth) than eyes or life itself. But listen to me, I beg you, and do not turn away, dearest Erasmus, for it is not my intention to enter upon the indescribably delightful meadows of your 5 praise, for that would be like enclosing the sea in a shell or the heavens in one’s fist. Here you will see only a few sparks rising from the great flame of my love for you, which first lit a blazing fire within me seven or more years ago.1 I know only too well, Erasmus, the measure of my inferiority and of your greatness, which, in the judgment of all, has placed you beyond the lot- 10 tery of human destiny. Nor does it escape me what effrontery, no, what a crime it would be for me, even for a brief time, to take such a great scholar from the serious studies in which he is constantly engaged on behalf of the Christian commonwealth. But what am I to do, dear kind Erasmus, for I could no longer control the fiery flame of my love, which has long been eager 15 to burst forth? So I must pour into your bosom the feelings of my heart, where you have long reigned to my great joy and delight. But you yourself can make my offence a little lighter if you will snatch an idle hour to read or listen to my words. I cannot tell you what that hour will be, for, I believe, *****

3002 1 In a still unpublished letter to Bucer of 16 June 1534 (cited by Allen in his introduction to this letter), Odoni attributes the awakening of his interest in Erasmus to his schoolteacher. In a letter to Gilbert Cousin dated 15 July 1535 he says the same thing and gives the teacher’s name as Uranio (Cognati epistolae 310).

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

144

there is no hour, neither in the afternoon, nor at mealtime, nor at the time for sleep, that you do not fill with holy reading, or meditation, or some other serious pursuit. Before this I never knew from personal experience what the love of one human being for another is or what it could be. But when I saw your noble name inscribed on religious works, then for the first time I began to feel in my heart and in my veins the flaming power of love sweeping all before it and penetrating into the depths of my being. It is true that, much earlier, you were well known to me through other distinguished monuments of your genius, and I cherished and admired you greatly (for apart from the first rudiments of Latin language that I learned as a child, everything that I know about Greek or Latin I know from you and you alone); but as soon as those works on sacred subjects with your name on the title-page came into my hands, there was a sudden and steady increase in the intensity of my love, so that well-worn remark of Cicero’s could aptly be applied to me, that while previously I seemed to have no more than a liking for you, then for the first time I came to love you.2 I read on with a burning passion, turning the pages with untiring enthusiasm and delight, first the Familiar Colloquies, then the Handbook of the Christian Soldier, along with the First Psalm, then the Paraphrases of the apostles and the evangelists, followed by the Method of Theology,3 and after that your brilliant annotations on the New Testament, and all the rest of the works that never cease to emerge from the forge of your most felicitous and divinely inspired mind, works that are as eloquent as they are uplifting and as beautiful as they are an honour to our religion. As witness to the truth of what I say I can call on Fileno, a young man of excellent character and exemplary honesty,4 though I could cite God himself, the knower of hearts,5 *****



2 Cicero Ad familiares 9.14.5 3 For the Ratio seu methodus see n123 below. 4 Fileno Lunardi of Bologna (c 1510– ?) studied law at Bologna (probably 1528– 34), where he joined the same evangelical circle that included Odoni. He accompanied Odoni on his journey to Strasbourg to study theology (1534) as well as on his visit to Erasmus at Freiburg (1535). He is said to have translated unspecified works of Erasmus into Italian. Returning to Italy with Odoni in 1537, he spread the ideas of the Reformation, probably at Ferrara. The tentative identification of Lunardi with the reformer who wrote under the pseudonyms Lisia Fileno and Camillo Renato (see cebr ii 356) has given way to the conclusion that Fileno / Renato was actually Paolo Ricci, who was active in the same circles in the same years; see Luca Addante ‘Renato, Camillo (Paolo Ricci, Lisia Fileno)’ Dizionario biografico degli Italiani 86 (2016) 802–6, especially 803. 5 Cf Acts 1:24 and 15:8.

20

25

30

35

40

45

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

145

who truly knows that nothing that I say is false. All these books, as I was saying, I eagerly sought out and acquired, and I was so impatient of delay that I read several of them before they were bound. All other responsibilities were set aside, as far as this was possible; and I found it so difficult to drag myself away from my reading that I used the nights to compensate for the interruptions of the day. Had it been possible, I would happily have finished the whole corpus at one gulp without stopping for breath. But this was not just a joyful but inconsequential experience, for from your writings I first began to know Christ, my Lord and my God. Then for the first time I made the Christian faith a part of myself; previously I had lived almost without Christ and without God (for superstition cannot be counted as true godliness).6 It was from my reading that I came to understand the immortal benefits of Christ, my Lord and defender. From it I learned what I owed both to him and to my neighbour. As a result some people began to call me an ‘Erasmian’ (though they ought to have called me a ‘Christian’) because they never saw me without a book of yours in my hand, whether I was going out, or having lunch or dinner, or even when I was sleeping or getting up. I only wish that I might truly deserve such an honorific name,7 which even distinguished elder statesmen,8 leading councillors to great emperors,9 and scholars with a vast knowledge of languages and the liberal arts have coveted and considered a mark of pride. To want to be called by such a name is to want to respond with love to the great kindness that Christ has shown me, to be ready to do my duty to a neighbour, to testify by my life to the Christian faith in the manner that you have taught me and your other readers with such clarity and thoroughness. For perish the thought that I might ever become so foolish or so much an Icarus as to wish,10 much less to hope, to possess your matchless learning and eloquence! But to return to my love for you: everything I have read in books about the mighty power of love or have learned from the experience of friends, *****



6 By ‘superstition’ (superstitio) Odoni means a formal religion practised according to rules and without deep spiritual devotion. 7 Ie ‘Erasmian’ 8 The word is senatores, which in a sixteenth-century context refers to members of royal, princely, or municipal councils or courts. This reference appears to be to the many influential friends and patrons that Erasmus had among the advisers and councillors to kings and princes. 9 Presumably Maximilian i and Charles v 10 Icarus, against the advice of his father, flew too close to the sun and as a result fell into the sea. He is cited here to symbolize the folly of unrealistic ambition.

50

55

60

65

70

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

146

who demonstrated the depth of their emotions not by the use of striking or colourful language but by the way they acted and the expression on their faces, all these emotions I have experienced in relation to you, dear Erasmus, even though I have not yet set eyes on you. Even at the mention of your name my pulse begins to race and my face to change colour. If I happen to hear a harsh word about you, it affects me more painfully than a slap on the face or a blow with the fist. I always feel compelled to respond, either by word or pen, to open hostility and hatred, to barefaced lies, or to the patent falsehoods and impious criticisms of some Zoilus,11 or troublemaker, or nonentity. Creatures of this sort raise my hackles. On the other hand, when in the company of scholars I hear your name mentioned approvingly and your labours commended for their true worth, how my heart leaps for joy, how happy and triumphant I feel! My joy is greater than that which children feel at the triumphs and honours and distinctions of their parents! And what am I to say about lovers’ dreams when almost every night and all night long my dreams bring you before me, and you talk to me and embrace me? For during the day no thoughts are more pleasant or more frequent than thoughts of you, no conversation or reading more delightful. The emotions that I feel are all the more powerful since celestial love is that much greater in kind and intensity than the mad and vulgar turmoil inspired by the Cupids of the poets. For it is this celestial love that implants in our minds the love of heavenly things, and it is this love, I say, that has caused me to admire most passionately the talents and gifts with which Christ has generously endowed you. These are no mean endowments; they neither fade nor pass away; they are not defenceless before the vagaries of fortune, nor are they exposed to the ravages of time. They appear before my eyes, magnificent, celestial, eternal. What are these gifts, someone will say. First, your consummate knowledge of sacred and humane disciplines, combined with extraordinary eloquence and integrity and made available in a host of published works, which are not just the admiration of the world but have proved invaluable to linguistic and other disciplines and to the church; then the great and tireless energy of a Christian spirit revealed in a corpus of work that courts neither personal honour nor wealth but is unsparing of a weakened constitution, always looking to the glory of Christ alone and the salvation and well-being of mankind; added to these are the endless patience and imperturbability of a mind that never forgets its obligations even when faced with wretchedly ***** 11 A Hellenistic philosopher known for the ferocity of his attacks on other philosophers and on Homer; see Adagia ii v 8.

75

80

85

90

95

100

105

110

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

147

ungrateful people who, like the servants of Satan, want only to sting and to hurt; then, your wonderful and truly apostolic patience and gentleness in opposing the violent cults of the false apostles of our day and promoting true godliness; finally, a special quality, now rare and long forgotten, a modesty that almost passes belief in one so richly endowed and is the gleaming summit of your virtues, for while among the great scholars of our time (and remember that for ten centuries no age has been more erudite than ours) you stand out unchallenged in the practice of the liberal arts (as the learned themselves admit in their writings), yet you count yourself the equal or inferior of much lesser men than yourself. In this most holy virtue of modesty, as in all others, you leave everyone a long way behind. These are the reasons, my dearest Desiderius, why night and day I love you, think about you, long for you, and dream about you. These are the reasons that have made you the dearest and most precious thing I have in the world. It is for these reasons that I count you the most admirable of men. Because of these I would not refuse, indeed I would gladly agree, to risk my life for your safety, I would even consider it a sin if I did not willingly sacrifice my life to remove a threat to yours. For after your apotheosis when will Christianity find another Erasmus? When will the church find a comparable doctor and defender? When will there be an equally gifted restorer and champion of languages and letters and theology? For a second Erasmus will not be born for another ten centuries. Since I am sure of this, dear Erasmus, it is no wonder that I want to look upon this miracle of nature, it is no wonder that I have such a burning desire to see you, that I want to know from close at hand the trivial details of your life, that I wish to kiss your hand, your library, your divine pen. We read that Chrysostom felt so strongly about Paul that he had a deep desire to know the smallest facts about the apostle and the most trivial words that he committed to writing.12 Such an ambition on Chrysostom’s part is hardly, I think, surprising, for it was especially from the epistles of Paul that he acquired his golden voice and his golden spirit, and it was Paul, that chosen general, from whose armoury and sacred storehouse he fed, strengthened, and increased his crowded church of eighty thousand souls (as he himself claims)13 and stoutly resisted the machinations of foes ***** 12 For Chrysostom’s admiration of St Paul see, eg, the seven Homiliae de laudibus s. Pauli pg 50 473–514 and Homiliae in Romanos 1 pg 60 395. 13 Chrysostom’s popularity as a preacher attracted large audiences. In one of his homilies on Matthew he claims to have addressed one hundred thousand people in Antioch (In Matthaeum homiliae 85 PG 58 762–3).

115

120

125

130

135

140

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

148

and heretics while keeping, as he does today, his reputation undiminished. Why, then, should we not wish that your sacred works and pious writings, in which both Paul and Christ have now begun to speak in faultless language to all who know Latin, be read, studied, and committed to memory throughout the Christian world? From them anyone can readily drink in that golden philosophy, learn to live a heavenly life, and to talk of heavenly things. Moreover, at that time Paul, speaking through the mouth of Chrysostom, was defending only one church, a great and famous church, I grant you, but still a single church. This same general, at roughly the same time, governed different regions of the world through what one might call his various lieutenants: through Jerome he provided adequate supplies, as from an inexhaustible store, to several places from the well-fortified and prosperous citadel of Bethlehem, through Augustine he kept Africa in the faith, through Hilary he ruled France, through Ambrose, Italy, and through other loyal and energetic officers he governed other peoples, protecting them from their enemies and keeping them faithful to Christ their king and attentive to his word. But by your writings, the writings of one man, the church is nourished in holy doctrine as far as the Christian world extends and stands safe and fearless before the serried ranks of pseudo-prophets and desperate heretics. In you alone are found not just the armies and strategies of those great commanders I have mentioned, but through you Paul himself and the rest of the apostles and evangelists, who had almost fallen into obscurity, have, in a sense, come alive again. Through your work, your zeal, your energy, your vigilance, all that the Spirit spoke to the world through these men has now been worthily restored and is being read. In these most perilous times for Christendom, when the city of God was being crushed by what amounts to a tragic and many-headed tyranny, and several factions, bitterly hostile to one another, had joined forces and coordinated plans in a conspiracy to destroy the City,14 you, I say, our strong defender and truest patriot, were chosen by Almighty God to thwart the schemes of all these godless men, to restore freedom to God’s holy people, and to bring them back to their true and former faith. We needed a warrior as loyal as you, as clever and invincible as you, if we wished to eradicate the deep-rooted errors of this accursed army, defeat such monstrous beasts and tyrants, and bring the world back from utter ruin. ***** 14 In this sentence Odoni uses two different words for ‘city.’ In ‘city of God’ the word is civitas. At the end of the sentence, however, the word translated ‘the City’ is urbs, frequent classical usage for the city of Rome. In both cases the terms are used symbolically for the Catholic church.

145

150

155

160

165

170

175

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

149

So at God’s command and with his blessing on your holy labours, you have recalled to the true Christian faith the peoples of our tradition who lay benumbed in a deep Judaic sleep.15 When poisonous and raving bands of Pharisees and ranting charlatans16 had come together in a remarkable alliance and were laying waste God’s vineyard by force or treachery, acting like wild boars or drones,17 you drove them out of the gardens of the church and from the minds of godly men. You are the protector of Christ’s zealous flock, now purged of the ferment that these people caused, so that it can be instructed and nourished by its Lord. I pass over the other offspring of your inspired mind and say nothing about your copious commentaries on many of the Psalms, your truly Christian advice and counsel to a Christian prince, a theologian, a widow, and a catechumen, your comments on marriage and on concord, and your encouragement to all who are fighting on Christ’s behalf and to those who are now finishing the battle and are hoping for the crown; and I also omit any mention of those ancient Doctors of the church who, by your labours, have been reclaimed from the dust of ages or brought back from obscurity into the light of day, some illuminated by learned notes, others felicitously translated from Greek into Latin; and I say nothing about those many volumes in which, boldly and faithfully, you guard and defend the true Christian doctrine against a rabid and godless opposition; nor shall I speak of the four volumes of your Preacher,18 which now at last is about to arrive in famous libraries and satisfy the incredible expectations of scholars everywhere, a work that is truly Erasmian, that is, a work that is sublime and inspired, as those who have seen it affirm; and I pass over all the rest of your religious works, either published or to be published, treated in your characteristic manner, devoutly, copiously, and felicitously. As for your secular ***** 15 The meaning presumably is that people were listlessly practising a religion of laws and ceremonies, something often referred to by Erasmus as ‘Judaism.’ 16 For ‘ranting charlatans’ Odoni uses the Greek word spermologos, which occurs in Acts 17:18 as in insulting reference by some Athenian philosophers to St Paul. The root meaning, ‘seed-picker,’ was used of rooks or jackdaws, but the word had come to be applied to ‘someone who picks up scraps of learning, a charlatan, an empty talker.’ Most versions of the English Bible translate the word as ‘babbler.’ Cf Ep 2459 n8. 17 The image of wild boars ravaging God’s vineyard comes from Psalm 8:8–13, and was applied to Martin Luther in the papal bull threatening him with excommunication (Exsurge, Domine 1521). The odd pairing of boars with drones as ravagers of the vineyard is characteristic of Odoni’s readiness to join two words ill-suited to each other. 18 See Ep 2979.

180

185

190

195

200

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

150

writings19 (but Heavens! under this one word ‘secular’ what helpful aids for students, what excellent and celebrated works, what delightful and valuable guides, what treasures and delights in both Greek and Latin I have lumped together!) these too must be passed over. Nothing from your pen, however, could properly be called ‘secular,’ for since it is your constant aim to be useful both to learning and to the young, everything you write is scholarly and edifying. It always has the mark of Erasmus upon it, that is, the mark of a godly and truly Christian soul, something that is avoided by many people today who are far more pagan than the pagans themselves, indeed hostile to belief of any kind, an attitude that is as foolish as it is wicked. There is more wisdom in your Folly, even when she talks jokingly or playfully, than in the ponderous vigils of many who consider themselves great savants. So I shall not speak of these and other works with which you have adorned, enriched, and strengthened the schools and libraries of every province, just as you also rescued the second testament of our religion,20 which is the joy of our life in this world and the garden of our consolation. After years of neglect it had become wild and untidy, but you cleared away its thorns and brambles and made it neat and beautiful. You provided a smooth and easy path to what had long been a closed book, inaccessible even to the learned. Through many years of skilful and patient labour, by weighing and examining every passage, you have so improved the work that everyone now can walk with pleasure in these lovely gardens and be revived by the fruit and refreshed by the sweet aroma of the flowers. Everywhere in the world of letters there was a deep silence about Christ, but you, by your efforts and your writings (which have never been praised as they deserve), have brought humane learning back from exile and made it serve the glory of Christ. It is true that humane learning owes much to you in other spheres, as when you fought boldly and effectively to protect and support it against the barbarians; but now that literary studies have returned from the godless tyranny of paganism to the glorious city of Almighty God and been restored a second time to their master Christ, they owe this to you above all others and will always gratefully acknowledge that debt. Nor ***** 19 The word translated as ‘secular’ is prophanus ‘profane,’ which carries the meaning not only of ‘outside the realm of the sacred’ but also that of ‘common,’ ‘ordinary,’ which Odoni is at pains to reject. 20 The Latin is alterum religionis nostrae instrumentum, a clear reference to the first edition of Erasmus’ translation of the New Testament (1516), to which he gave the title Novum instrumentum. In all later editions it was the Novum Testamentum.

205

210

215

220

225

230

235

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

151

is it only educated people and those who are steeped in your great works who, in response to your advice, are flocking to Christ, but ordinary people of every nation and every tongue, men and women alike, have also been stirred by that clarion call that rings throughout the world and are eagerly hastening to enrol in the army of Christ, their king of old, zealously working 240 to renew the church and their own lives, and with heart and voice enthusiastically singing ‘Hosanna’ to Jesus, their Lord, who comes to be present with them. So hail, most holy confessor, doctor, and apostle of our God (or is there any higher or more august title I might use?), for there is no doubt that the God who gave Paul to his nascent church, taking him from his mother’s 245 womb,21 and then gave Origen, Jerome, Chrysostom, Augustine, and all the other pillars of the church, has now in these last times taken pity on our tottering religion and given you to the world, with your wide knowledge of languages, your great piety and judgment, your fervent zeal for God, a man endowed with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the restorer of letters, theology, 250 and the Christian faith.22 Hail, our Erasmus, glory of gods and men, Thrice-blessed Erasmus, who by the Father’s will Was sent to earth to touch the hearts and souls Of young and old alike and lead them back To Christ in peace and unanimity, That true religion may again arise And we may see at last the golden age, And you may bring assistance to the young Setting in proper order all their tasks, While with the brilliant offspring of your mind You make the Muses’ temple full of light. Off to the crows let Barbarism flee To distant exile, driven by your pen!   Apollo’s Muses, lately near profane, ***** 21 We concur with Gerlo’s interpretation of this strange phrase as referring to Paul’s separation from his native Jewish faith. 22 The next section of the letter, omitted by Gerlo, is written in verse. In its surviving form, the poem includes corrections of a number of verbal errors (two of them metrical) that Erasmus had noted in the original; see Cognati epistolae 308 (Odoni to Gilbert Cousin, 16 May 1535). Odoni’s dactylic hexameters have here been turned, with some slight freedom, into English iambics. The division into paragraphs is an editorial addition.

255

260

265

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535 Are called by you to sing a sacred song And, heaven consenting, hear the holy name Of Christ resound through Europe’s vast domains. You rescue from neglect forgotten books (Yourself the prince of authors) and restore Their former splendour to those famous texts. No one has ever been, or ever will In time’s long span be your superior In turning Grecian texts for Latin ears. Under your pen, Greek ways assume new form, New shape, and breathe another character, Leaving no hint or trace of foreign soil. A man might swear that Rome had giv’n them birth.   No useless gift th’ Almighty sent to you, Long kept and pondered in his lofty mind, For see how many purge the stain of sin And to Christ’s mercy rush in anxious haste. See a great band of scholars everywhere. See the new interest in the ancient tongues, How young and old try fervently to join The sweet-voiced Sisters23 from both Greece and Rome To holy Zion and the sacred laws. Why, when young children first thumb through your works And taste with tender lips the sweetness there, Then the allure of right and godliness, Of honour and the Muses’ glory bright Will set on fire their pure and childish minds. And men who follow us in golden times, Some now but infants hanging from the breast, Will to Christ’s royal banner then be drawn By reading what your pious heart designed, And they will call you by a holy name. O happy souls! O happy age, run on!   Meanwhile wise princes, following your camp, Extend religion’s boundaries, and exult When enemies are slain or put to flight. Repeatedly they sing your well-earned praise ***** 23 The Muses

152

270

275

280

285

290

295

300

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

153

And hail you as their father and their guide, With happy voices raising you on high. Nor is it only neighbours who discern Your lofty soul inspired by heaven’s breath, For mighty lords who hold the reins of power In every corner of the world look up In admiration of your excellence. To you in friendly rivalry great dukes And counts pay worthy tribute; noble kings Of highest rank are proud to be your friend; Their crown and sceptre, their imperium They place before you, waiting your command; Great pontiffs who in grandeur rank with kings, But whose most holy office makes supreme, Do what they can, like kings, to honour you. All heap upon you rich and royal gifts Happily witnessing their faithful love, Keeping you safe, the nations’ jewelled crown.   Though Stygian pests may fix the destinies Of heroes strong as Hercules himself, They cringe before you, while marauding wolves,24 Spotted with dirt and armed a hundred ways, Scatter at sight of you and hide themselves In dark retreats and unfrequented caves, And howl with all their Herculean might, Bursting their rabid jaws with vain abuse. They cannot bear your powerful, wounding pen, And when your darts are aimed with steady hand, And penetrate their bloated bellies, then They feel the smart of pain, and so they lie Defeated, like their sacrilegious cults. Then true religion to the world returns, Rising again with all her ancient power, Victorious, and banishes the ills That now are commonplace in every land.   Besides, your lofty and majestic mind ***** 24 Judging from the context, ‘Stygian pests’ and ‘marauding wolves’ appear to be fierce and irresponsible critics.

305

310

315

320

325

330

335

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

154

Is proof enough that savage fools could not Your strong and steadfast heart intimidate By godless madness or mad godlessness. You stand unmoved, unshaken your resolve, And never fail to neutralize the hate Of evil men with acts of charity, And with the fire of love to overcome The bitterness of enmity and spite.   Fervent in prayer, you constantly defend Our fathers’ faith and laws in all your works. The holy sheepfold you protect from wolves And lead the flock in safety to the fields, The verdant pastures of their shepherd Christ. They come back later with their udders full, And gladly hear him speaking from your mouth. Now all the nations rush to find your books, People of every tongue and sex and age, Who read and learn and inwardly digest What you have written. All are now resolved To offer you the oaken crown. But, see, A crowd advances who in gratitude Confer on you the famous grassy crown.25 A happy throng adorns your neck with gems And celebrates with gold your victory. They spread before you flowers both red and white In brimming baskets: lilies, violets, Roses, narcissus, aromatic herbs, All the rich scents that over Tmolus grow26 Or on Panchaean or Sabaean soil, Where burning incense permeates the air.27 ***** 25 A crown of oak leaves, also known as the corona civica (civic crown), was the second highest honour a Roman soldier could receive. It was awarded to one who had saved the life of a citizen in battle. The highest honour was the corona graminea (grassy crown), also called the corona obsidionalis (siege crown), which was given to a commander who had succeeded in raising a siege. 26 Mount Tmolus in Lydia was celebrated by Virgil for its saffron (Georgics 1.56). In fact this was a wine-producing area, and Virgil mistook Mt Tmolus for Mt Corycus, which did produce saffron. 27 Panchaea is a fabled island in the Arabian sea famed for its incense.

340

345

350

355

360

365

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

155

They raise their voices in a merry song, Calling you often ‘pater patriae,’28 Since by your writing you restore the state.29   But this is humble praise. From heaven above Angelic choirs and guardian angels come, Refulgent with supernal light, who fill The air with sweet and unfamiliar strains. They drape your shoulders with a kingly robe Gleaming with shafts of light,30 while on your head They place a crown of coruscating stars. All stare at you with rapt and steady gaze, And pray repeatedly for your success; With one accord they laud you to the skies Crying, ‘All hail, brave warrior of Christ, Heroic victor! Hail, illustrious sage, Divine confessor, glory of the earth! Long show your gracious favour and support To those who follow in the master’s camp And all who glory in your guiding star.’   But when will heaven offer me the chance To touch your breast with mine and then to press My lips on yours and hold your hands in mine And fix my gaze upon your gentle eyes? When, when, renowned Erasmus, shall I plant A loving kiss upon your holy lips And fold you in my arms and hear the words That flow so sweetly from your honeyed mouth? ***** 28 The title pater patriae ‘father of one’s country’ was awarded to Cicero by the Senate after the execution of the Catilinian conspirators in 63 bc. It was later assumed by many of the Roman emperors. The implication is that Erasmus is saving Christendom from imminent ruin. 29 This is an amusing imitation of one of the most celebrated lines in Latin poetry. Ennius, in a eulogy of Fabius Cunctator (Annals 370 Vahlen), who defended Rome against Hannibal and the Carthaginian army, wrote unus homo nobis cunc­ tando restituit rem ‘one man, by delaying, restored the state for us.’ Erasmus, by writing, has restored the state of Christendom. 30 The Latin for ‘kingly robe’ is trabea, which is a robe with horizontal stripes of purple, said to have been worn by the kings and later by the augurs. Ancient purple dye, nearer in colour to scarlet, was distinguished by its brightness; hence perhaps the reference to shafts of light.

370

375

380

385

390

395

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

156

Then my delight will be in no way less Than the great joy the aged tireless saint31 Felt when he moved the barrier rock and saw The ancient anchorite in leafy shade, Wearing a garment made from leaves of palm; And so at last he found and greeted Paul Embraced and was embraced and heard his voice. Nor will my joy be less than once was felt By those who left the West for David’s realm In hopes of seeing Stridon’s aged son,32 Who with his five-fold understanding33 knew Five variant voices and five different tongues. Nor was the Wrestler34 filled with greater joy When after twenty years he saw his son Holding the reins and sceptre of the Nile (A joyful and an unexpected sight, But God Almighty had decreed it so). To no man shall I yield in happiness.

*****

31 St Antony of Egypt (251–356). The reference is to the story of Paul of Thebes (227–342), the first hermit, who, to escape the Decian persecution, fled to the desert and lived in a cave for about one hundred years. The cave opened into an uncovered area where a palm tree provided the hermit with food and leaves for clothing. St Antony, after many adventures, managed to find Paul and was with him at his death. For Jerome’s Vita sancti Pauli primi eremitae, see pl 23 17–31. 32 St Jerome, whose birthplace was Stridon, in Dalmatia. In his Life of Jerome Erasmus mentions, some by name, the many people who visited Jerome in Bethlehem; see cwe 61 47. 33 Literally ‘stirring his fifth heart, as many tongues, as many voices.’ Jerome was said to know five languages: Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Chaldean, and Syriac; see cwe 61 34–5. The strange phrase ‘his fifth heart’ seems to be inspired by the famous boast of the poet Ennius that he possessed ‘three hearts,’ because he spoke Greek, Latin, and Oscan; see Aulus Gellius Noctes Atticae 17.17.1. The Latin word cor, usually translated ‘heart,’ can also mean ‘the understanding,’ and that is the sense in which Ennius, and presumably Odoni, used it. 34 The word in Latinized Greek is Athletes, meaning a ‘combatant’ or ‘warrior.’ Allen correctly identified this as a reference to Jacob, who according to Gen 32:24–8 wrestled with God. It was his son Joseph who acquired ‘the reins and sceptre of the Nile.’

400

405

410

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

157

  But, ruler of Olympus,35 grant me this, Vouchsafe, great Father, that it may be mine To clasp Erasmus in a close embrace And seal our friendship with a holy kiss. Then, if you will it, send me to my rest, For nothing greater can be seen on earth Than our Erasmus. Keep him safe and well, O Lord, for all your faithful children’s sake (This is our constant and unchanging prayer). Christ, aid Erasmus, who is yours and ours, Christ, guide Erasmus, our delight and yours, Lord of the living, let him live for you. Christ, grant Erasmus your eternal love, Christ, hold erasmus ever in your care.

415

420

425

To continue writing in this vein would be a great joy to me, or rather, to both of us, for you must never doubt that this is written not just in my name but in that of Fileno also.36 But to converse with God and to sing your praises 430 is, I think, a task for a loftier spirit, for one who, when God arrives and is ready to strike up a tune, does not prove a recalcitrant instrument. But tell me, modest Erasmus, what is this blindness you charge us with when we read your works? And who is this goatherd who thinks that ‘what is not beautiful seems beautiful,’37 a line you keep reciting in reference to our love? 435 It is not as though we were the first or the only ones to feel this way about you! Or should we call a man blind if he finds the sun brighter than all other lights together and says that it is too strong for human eyes, too great for human words? On the contrary, a man who does not see what everyone else can see is completely blind. But such compliments, and even bigger compli- 440 ments, are paid to you everywhere by all good and learned men. Here again we recognize your living faith. When you confess that you are just a humble sinner, you are crediting all your merits to Christ, from ***** 35 A common designation for Jupiter in Latin poetry. It is strange that an admirer of Erasmus should use, with no hint of irony, such a pagan term for the Christian deity in view of the master’s opposition to it; see Ciceronianus cwe 28 388. 36 Up to this point in the letter Odoni has generally used the singular of the first person; from this point on he uses the plural except when making a personal interjection. 37 Theocritus Idylls 6.19, quoted in Greek

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

158

whom they came. We recognize your merits and applaud them too. But we would fail in our gratitude to God if we did not love and revere the great gifts of the Spirit that have now been granted to us through you and give thanks to him who has provided such a one for his church. In this way you yourself will come to see that the grace given you has not been ineffectual, but is every day bearing more abundant fruit, and you will continue with increased vigour in your prophetic mission. We, by being made aware of God’s great goodness, will earn through you even greater blessings. May Christ, our Lord and Master, graciously grant us this request by making your lively and industrious old age more glorious still! And if there are any who have less respect for you and your writings, let them know for certain that they belong with those who built impressive tombs for the prophets and boasted all the while that, had they lived in those times, they would not have joined their elders in shedding the prophets’ blood.38 People of this sort are miserable wretches, poor unfortunates, thrice-wretched or worse! Just as the Pharisees of old who admired and revered Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zachariah, and all the other dead prophets but banished and persecuted and put to death the prophets and apostles of their own day after hurling at them all manner of insults, slander, and abuse and subjecting them to every sort of penalty and ill-treatment, so these modern Pharisees revere Jerome, Origen, Chrysostom, Cyprian, Augustine, Bernard and others who are no longer alive, calling them godly, orthodox, saintly, confessors, doctors, martyrs, shining stars, pillars, ornaments, luminaries of the church, and I know not what other names besides. And if one of these men came down to earth, they would all run to see him (or so they would have us believe); they would rush to hear him speak, touch him, revere him, practically make obeisance and sacrifice to him as to God. But now when they see alive before them men of almost the same stamp speaking and writing, once again inspired by a great gift from God, they are unmoved; some, indeed, acting like the true Pharisees they are, even slander and persecute them, or simply loathe and ignore them. So woe to these thrice-, fourtimes-wretched creatures, a ‘woe’ like that terrible ‘woe’ aimed by the Lord at its target like a thunderbolt, if they continue to fill up the measure of their fathers!39 May the Lord teach his people to shun the example these men have ***** 38 The reference is to verses 29–30 of Matt 23, which is Jesus’ lengthy denunciation of the scribes and the Pharisees. The language and imagery of the paragraph that follows are drawn from that chapter. 39 Matt 23:29–37

445

450

455

460

465

470

475

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

159

set, so that every age will recognize its own prophets and missionaries, and coming to their senses, return to their most merciful Lord, ‘the Father of mercies’ and, as the apostle says significantly, ‘the God of all comfort.’40 My dearest Erasmus, it is time we stopped sinning outrageously against the public interest, pandering to our private whims,41 and returned you to your noble studies, which are so beneficial to the world. That we have dared to write this letter and interrupt you in the middle of your unremitting labours is, as I have said, partly the result of our deep affection for you, of which we are very conscious, partly because of your great kindness to everyone and your Christian charity towards all peoples, among whom we know that, in the broad meadows of your charity, Italians do not occupy the last place. However, there are some who say that Italians are unfair to you and that you in turn are unfair to them.42 Can you imagine any statement more foolish or outrageous than this? It would be utter folly for me to think of refuting these charges at length. Anyone who can understand what he sees or hears realizes that these things are said without shame and that they fly in the face of the facts and of the evidence of our senses. However, the paganism of certain people – or should I call it madness, or is it both? – who gleefully find or seize any excuse to spread the silliest of rumours, prevents me from passing this over in complete silence. Such outrageous effrontery and misguided folly deserve a vigorous response. On the other hand, we do not believe that the snarling of a few inconsequential lightweights matters much to us Italians or matters at all to you, for a good conscience clears us of any feeling of guilt, and the actual facts cry out loudly in our defence, while your moral excellence and humanity stand on too lofty a throne to be shaken by barking dogs like these or blackened by the fantasies of pipsqueaks and the ink of cuttlefish.43 For what need is there to deal harshly with these people, who are now being punished severely enough? They are hated and despised wherever they go, and by their own actions they make themselves more odious every day to God and to all decent people. So, as the saying goes, let us treat the matter with a light touch;44 in a word, let us block our ears to the voice of the slanderer, shameless though it clearly is and ***** 40 ‘Father of mercies’ and ‘God of all comfort’ are quoted in Greek from 2 Cor 1:3. 41 Cf Horace Epistles 2.1.3, where the poet is addressing the emperor Augustus. 42 Presumably a reference to Pietro Corsi, whose Defensio pro Italia ad Erasmum was published in the spring of 1535; see Ep 3007:56–60 with n15. 43 Horace Satires 1.4.100 uses the black ink discharged by the cuttlefish as emblematic of malicious slander. 44 Adagia i iv 27

480

485

490

495

500

505

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

160

incredibly insulting. As the dung-beetle always delights to roll and immerse itself in filth,45 so the slanderer loves to roll in the filth of lies and scurrility. But what is it these filthy creatures are muttering about? Presumably, that Italians are hostile to you and you to them. Tell me, then, on what evidence do they base this conclusion? Well, they are trying to recollect some desperately vague impression made on their minds – if, that is, they have something that counts as a mind! But they can find absolutely nothing there. We shall say what we know is true beyond a doubt, a truth evident to everyone and proclaimed, Erasmus, in all your books, that real Christians, not to say real theologians, must embrace all Christian provinces and Christian peoples with the same fatherly love, and that this has been the one aim of all your noble efforts and long hours of work, to restore for all Christians true learning and true godliness. This, as we said before, is clearly demonstrated by your writings, in which, with great learning and piety, you support and further the common interest of all equally. It is evident that you have a high regard, even a special regard, for Italy; for besides the abundant testimony of your many books and letters, there is a clear indication of your feelings in the fact that, although separated by such a great distance, you thought it worth your while to visit Italy more than once and to honour various of its cities with a stay of several days or months;46 there you sparked interest in the liberal arts and where an interest already existed, you encouraged it. I only wish you had made even a passing visit to the Abruzzi (as they now call it) and to my native Penne. If this had happened, I would consider my town to have been greatly blessed and honoured.

*****

45 Cf Adagia ii x 5. 46 Erasmus in fact visited Italy only once, but it was a visit that lasted three years, July 1506–July 1509. He did indeed visit several cities, some of them more than once and for an extended period. He acquired a doctorate in theology at Turin, published at Venice the Aldine edition of the Adagia that made him famous, perfected his knowledge of Greek, and made friends everywhere. But he was also irritated by the assumption of many Italians that theirs was the only truly civilized nation, alienated by the excessive Ciceronianism of scholars who should have been interested in the cultivation of a vocabulary amenable to the fruitful discussion of religious subjects, and appalled by the worldliness and corruption of the papal court and the clergy in general. See Léon-E. Halkin ‘Érasme, de Turin à Rome’ Mélanges d’histoire du xvie siècle offerts à Henri Meylan (Geneva 1970) 5–19. Cf n73 below.

510

515

520

525

530

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

161

But some Italians complain that occasionally Erasmus pinches their ears47 – so say the strict Areopagites48 – as though it were not the duty of a loving and virtuous father to warn his children of their duty, or you were not using the same stick to correct and eliminate the errors of your own Germany, of France, and of Britain, countries that are very dear to you. If a man who strives with all his might to eradicate faults is to be called an enemy, then there will be no fiercer enemy of the Corinthians, the Galatians, and the Cretans than the apostle Paul, no more bitter enemy of Jerusalem and the other cities of Judaea than the prophets and Christ himself, for from them the Jews heard a frank recital of their sins, and every strategy was employed to call them back to repentance. Certainly if these critics notice the drugged sleep49 that Petrarch and Ariosto, both celebrated poets of our country,50 think characteristic not just of some Italians, but of Italy itself,51 they will judge that these poets deserved not just a warning or a rebuke, but the rod or the great whip that Christ used.52 But if you had wanted to treat our people more severely (as they deserve), and had been casting around for an opening of this sort, just how wide the field could have been was demonstrated by Niccolò Machiavelli, secretary to the Florentine republic and a most perceptive authority on politics, whose books were issued recently in the time of Clement, and in the Tuscan language too (indeed, given the special importance of the subject, ***** 47 The text has aurem vellicat ‘he nips the ear.’ There may be some confusion here with the expression aurem vellere ‘to pluck by the ear,’ ie to draw someone’s attention to something, or to admonish; see Adagia i vii 40. 48 Areopagites were members of a council at Athens, the function of which was mainly judicial. The meaning here seems to be ‘the strict judges,’ ie those who condemn even the slightest deviation from Cicero; cf Adagia I ix 41. 49 Literally ‘the sleep of the mandrake.’ The mandrake plant was said to induce a deep sleep; see Adagia iv v 64. 50 Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca, 1304–74) and Lodovico Ariosto (1474–1533). Petrarch’s Italian poems (cited in nn51, 54, 56 below) are known under three different titles, Il Canzoniere, Rime sparse, and (Petrarch’s own designation of them) Rerum vulgarium fragmenta, which yields the conventional abbreviation for citing them: rvf. Thanks are due to Konrad Eisenbichler for identifying the references to Petrarch, Ariosto, and Dante here and in the paragraph that follows. 51 In the first stanza of his canzone ‘Spirito gentil’ (rvf 53), Petrarch speaks of Italy as ‘old, lazy, slow, always asleep,’ and in the next stanza refers to Italy’s ‘lazy sleep.’ As for Ariosto, in octave 76 of canto 17 of Orlando furioso he says that ‘drunken Italy,’ the sewer of every vice and crime, is asleep. 52 John 2:15

535

540

545

550

555

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

162

they ought to be translated into every language). He testified that at that time our Italy had rid itself, among other important things, of all traces of religion, and had done so because of the sanctity of the Holy See.53 The Italian Petrarch openly called Rome a ‘Babylon,’ ‘a slave of Bacchus and Venus,’ ‘a temple of all heresy,’ ‘a school of errors,’ ‘a hell for the living,’ and then ‘a factory for all 560 the sins and evils that flood the world today.’54 So far I have recited the words of Petrarch himself. It would depress and embarrass me to recount all the other, and much uglier, faults that troubled this godly canon55 because of his zeal for the bride of Christ and drew from him many a deep-felt sigh, as is evident from more than one passage. And our excellent poet sang this refrain 565 more than two hundred years ago. What would he say if he were here now and saw that, with the advancing years, our vices were not slowing their advance? He used to say that in his day our sins had reached their zenith, and it was for this reason that he prayed for heaven’s revenge to hurry on.56 Remember, too, that this vernacular, and at the same time elegant, poem by 570 our prophet-poet is on everybody’s lips, and that its witness is no less true (alas!) than that of the famous oracle, cited by Paul, which Epimenides wrote against his fellow Cretans.57 However, as a person Petrarch was far superior to the pagan Epimenides. Even now the memory of this godly and truly ***** 53 ‘Tuscan’ is the usual word at this period for the Italian vernacular. Odoni is referring sarcastically to the passage in the Discourses on Livy’s First Decade 1.12 (published in 1533) where Machiavelli observes that ‘through the evil example’ of the Roman court, Italy ‘has lost all religion and devotion.’ This is the only reference to Machiavelli in Erasmus’ correspondence. There are no references to Erasmus in Machiavelli’s surviving correspondence. 54 Odoni translates into Latin these phrases from Petrarch’s three so-called Babylonian sonnets (rvf 136–8), which express his hostility to the papal court during its prolonged residence at Avignon in France (1309–77) rather than in Rome. The Avignonese residence, often referred to as the Babylonian Captivity of the church, coincided almost exactly with Petrarch’s life (1304–74). 55 Petrarch held canonries in Lombez, Pisa, Parma, Padua, Modena, and Monselic. 56 This could conceivably refer to the sonnet ‘L’avara Babilonia’ (rvf 137), where Petrarch refers to ‘greedy Babylon, full almost to bursting with wicked deeds,’ and declares that waiting for justice ‘wearies and consumes’ him. It could also refer to the second stanza of the canzone ‘O aspectata in ciel beata et bella’ (rvf 28), where Petrarch imagines the king of heaven, heeding the prayers of Europe for so many years, to be breathing vengeance into the heart of ‘the new Charlemagne.’ 57 The oracle is ‘Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons’ (Tit 1:12). Paul does not name the author, but says simply ‘one of themselves, even a prophet of their own,’ and adds (verse 13) ‘This testimony is true.’ The identification with

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

163

Christian poet is treated with an almost religious reverence in other regions of the world, not just in his native Italy, where his reputation now flourishes more than ever.58 Such is the witness of three illustrious Italians, though parallels could be cited from many others, and for the moment I leave out of account Dante and Boccaccio, themselves Italians, one of whom in a theological poem of exceptional learning and sublimity directs the prophetic thunder of his trumpet again and again against the same Jerusalem and against Pharisees and princes,59 while the other, who wrote fables, but fables in a satiric and Lucianic manner, is constantly criticizing, taunting, attacking that same temple with its gods and priests, storming and raging against them with all the stops out.60 There are few houses in the whole of Italy, to say nothing of the temples of the Muses,61 that do not possess the works of all these authors, written in our now more polished language. Yet in many of the palaces of the powerful and the well born, and even in the libraries of the serious and scholarly, you might not easily find a copy of the Scriptures. So you see how readily the burning piety of this great city in their midst lights the fire of the gospel everywhere in Italy!62 But to return to you. Your pious writings, so invariably respectful of  Christian gentleness, pungently seasoned, but always agreeably so, as the apostle says,63 what are they but the admonitions of a vigilant, learned, *****





Epimenides was made by Clement of Alexandria (Stromata 1.14.59). Epimenides of Knossos, a semi-mythical philosopher and seer of the sixth or seventh century bc, was a figure around whom various tales of this sort accumulated. 58 Although they did not question his Catholic orthodoxy, Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican apologists (as well as Italian advocates of reform) were fond of citing Petrarch’s criticisms of the papacy and clerical vice as evidence of the fallen state of the medieval church. See Robert Coogan ‘Petrarch’s Liber sine nomine and a Vision of Rome in the Reformation’ Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance et Réforme 19 (1983):1–12. 59 This is clearly a reference to the Divine Comedy, but it fits quite a number of passages in it. See, for example, Inferno 27, where Dante refers to Pope Boniface viii as ‘the prince of the new Phariseees.’ 60 Literally ‘with full pipes,’ ie making a loud noise; cf Adagia i v 96. Misbehaving clergy, including popes and other great prelates, are a regular feature of the tales in Boccaccio’s Decameron. 61 Presumably libraries and academies 62 Literally ‘the piety of a neighbouring city …,’ a clearly ironic reference to Rome. 63 A clear reference to Col 4:6, where Paul says, ‘Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt.’ Odoni uses the word sal (as does the Vulgate text of the verse in question), which means both ‘salt’ in the literal sense as well as ‘pungence,’ ‘shrewdness,’ ‘wit.’

575

580

585

590

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

164

i­ntelligent, godly, and gentle pastor, for whom nothing is more important, more venerable, or more precious than the glory of the Lord and the peace and salvation of the Lord’s flock, and whose principal aim and ambition is to bring polite letters, languages, and disciplines, which hitherto served a cause that was worse than pagan, back to Christ and to restore her handmaidens to their former queen, that is, the Christian religion. This has been the one consistent aim of all your writings, as anyone can plainly see. Surely the enemies of Christ and of the church were not demanding that you, a great scholar and linguist, a truly devout Christian, a priest too, and the most significant theologian for many generations, should pass over in silence the faults of our own time and should fail, despite the example of the saintly Fathers and in defiance of the demands of conscience and the spirit, to give the advice that a deeply troubled church and province desperately needed, especially a province which, while boasting that it held the citadel of learning and religion, surpassed all others in the impious and perilous example it has set? ‘Woe to me, if I do not preach the gospel!’ cried Paul,64 for he knew that he had been commissioned to preach the gospel and had read long ago that eternal death awaited the priest who stands in a church, the holy sanctuary and living temple of the living God, where bells and voices are unheard.65 At the same time the apostle remembered the heavy penalties justly imposed on the slave who had hidden the Lord’s talent.66 Since God’s gracious Spirit showered upon you such splendid gifts for the edification of the church, ought you to stand idly by while it falls into ruin? Or should you not try with all your might67 to prevent this from happening, as you have done so vigorously? As for the protectors of the building68 – or to be more precise, its wreckers – and those idle workmen, that is, intellectuals on an ill-timed holiday,69 ought you not to confute them, remonstrate with them, scold them, try ***** 64 1 Cor 9:16 65 The reference seems to be to Exodus 28:33–5. The bells must therefore be those on the priest’s robe, which had to be heard when he entered the sanctuary and the Holy of Holies ‘lest he die.’ Erasmus discusses the symbolic meaning of the vestments of the Jewish high priest in Ecclesiastes; see cwe 67 309–19. For the bells see pages 311, 318. 66 Matt 25:24–30 67 Literally ‘with the whole foot’; see Adagia iii i 34. 68 The Latin for ‘protectors of the building’ is praesides, the plural of praeses, meaning ‘custodian of a building,’ ‘warden,’ ‘guardian,’ etc. 69 The word for ‘intellectuals’ is literati. The basic meaning of literatus is ‘educated or cultivated person,’ but it can also mean ‘writer,’ ‘scholar.’ The phrase ‘illtimed holiday’ is a borrowing from Horace Odes 4.6.14, where the reference is to

595

600

605

610

615

620

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

165

as best you can to bring them back to a sober way of thinking, and remind them of their duty?70 And yet, kind-hearted Erasmus, you always administer this admonition with a remarkable and on occasion, as it seems to some, immoderate moderation and in a spirit that is excessively paternal. Our behaviour calls for more than the frank rebuke of a Jerome or a Bernard, more than the severity of an Elijah or a Moses armed with fire and sword. So let the godless Ahithophel and Shimei cease to call the peace-loving David ‘a man of blood,’71 for in waging his holy battles and singing of them no one has ever been dearer to the heart of God. Let odious creatures cease to hate you for the godly and faithful care with which you feed and serve the Lord’s flock. Let vile men cease to attack you for the generosity and diligence with which you correct our studies and our vices. Let them acknowledge their own faults and admire your exceptional moderation, for far from exposing the mysteries of our paganism and immorality (which are now well enough known to the world), you have dedicated works to several prominent Italians by name and thus have assured them of immortality, for such is the magic of your pen.72 What do other people have that puts them ahead of us or gives them a larger place in your esteem? Nothing, so far as I can see. On the contrary, it is others who must take second place to us, for you yourself so frequently and so enthusiastically praise and commend Italian letters, intellects, learning, schools, even Italian weather, and you commend us far beyond our merits and in a manner that is as warm and affectionate as it is elegant.73 *****



the Trojans who took an ‘ill-timed holiday’ when the Greeks (and the wooden horse) were already within the walls. 70 Odoni’s target seems to be conservative theologians and other educated writers who are, he thinks, destroying the church in their efforts to defend it. 71 In 2 Sam 16:7 it is only Shimei who calls David a bloodthirsty man, not Ahithophel, who is later mentioned as the chief adviser of Absolom in his rebellion against David; see 2 Sam 16:15–17:4. 72 For example, the dedication of the edition of Cyprian to Lorenzo Pucci (Ep 1000) and that of the Greek edition of Basil the Great to Jacopo Sadoleto (Ep 2611) 73 Erasmus’ recorded comments on the climate of Italy are not particularly favourable; see Epp 632:2–4, 1224:10–11. Indeed, his comments on the learning and the character of Italians tend to be lukewarm or disparaging and thus not as Odoni describes them here. Cf n46 above, and see Epp 457:64–6, 540:31–8. In his Responsio to Pietro Corsi, on the other hand, he will emphasize his happy memories of Italy and his admiration for Italians and their learning; see Ep 3032:198–245.

625

630

635

640

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

166

Need I mention how much you in turn are loved, respected, and admired by those Italians who cherish the humanities and a godly life, for this is almost as well known as the reciprocal proposition and needs no proof? For to begin with a humble example, that is with myself, am I not an Italian, born, as I was, in the fourth region of Italy?74 Or is my friend Fileno from Bologna not an Italian? Are our relatives and companions, all of whom love and revere you more than anyone else, not Italian? Are our holy preachers not Italian? We have heard the most celebrated of them addressing huge crowds of townsfolk in Bologna and quoting you, always in the most complimentary terms, whenever they happened to be preaching – and since it was Lent, this occurred every day. We have no doubt they followed the same practice in other famous cities in Italy to which they were invited. Is the learned and godly Emilio of Brescia not an Italian? And did he not make your famous Handbook of the Christian Soldier accessible to Italian ears?75 Were the priests and monks, the men and women, young and old, who read that work assiduously and demanded that Emilio have it printed, as (if I remember correctly) he told you in his letter, not Italians also?76 Are these men not Italian who are eagerly purchasing that same work for themselves now that it has been published, and are reading and re-reading it with close attention, and are buying all similar works of yours in elegant translations? I have no doubt that several other learned and godly men are now girding themselves for this same task – Emilio could have done it very well, but (I hear) fate has not spared him to us.77 I myself, although I have little or no proficiency in Latin or my mother tongue, made a translation of the colloquy Complaining of Marriage78 and the Liturgy of the Virgin of Loreto for my sisters and nieces and sent it to them.79 You could hardly imagine the crowds of women from the neighbourhood who were the first to arrive and listen to my sister reading. Then the little book reached the men. Soon it spread to the whole to­wn, ***** 74 Odoni’s home town, Penne in the Abruzzi (the ancient Pinna), was in Roman times the capital of the territory of the Vestini, the fourth of the thirteen regions into which Emperor Augustus divided Italy. 75 For Emilio de’ Migli and his translation of Erasmus’ Enchiridion, see Ep 2154 introduction. 76 See Ep 2154:20–1. 77 Migli died in 1531. 78 Mempsigamos (cited in Greek letters in the text), ie ‘Complaining of Marriage,’ an alternative Greek title for the colloquy Coniugium ‘Marriage’ 79 Nothing is known of Odoni’s versions of these two works, which presumably remained in manuscript and were circulated privately.

645

650

655

660

665

670

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

167

copied enthusiastically by children on the orders of their parents. My personal spies reported this to me. Fileno did the same for several other works, but much more successfully, and these are constantly in the hands of his friends in Bologna. It is now almost a tradition in our schools to read and discuss those splendid commentaries of yours on the Abundant Style.80 Teachers always recommend these very highly to promising young students, along with the Adages, Colloquies, Apophthegms, Parallels, Rules for the Writing of Letters, and other pieces of that sort. Where now are these clamorous beetles who say that Erasmus is not read in Italy or admired or valued there?81 And there is additional evidence that is more convincing and impressive still: Sadoleto, Bembo, Egnazio, Celio, Manardo, Alciati, the brightest luminaries of our beloved Italy.82 How respectfully and affectionately they feel and write about your pious erudition and your erudite piety! We have listed these, not because you have no other friends in Italy who are equally learned and virtuous (I could cite among others the eminent count Battista Fieschi, a great expert in canon and civil law, with whose remarkable eloquence and godly character we are well acquainted from personal experience;83 another is Gian Luigi Spinola,84 a man richly endowed with the blessings of fortune and intellect, who is as fond of you as anyone could be), but because the men mentioned above are  better known here especially for their integrity and learning. And this is  to say nothing for the present about Niccolò Leoniceno, Aldo Manuzio, Ambrogio Leoni, Vincenzo Maggi, Paolo Bombace,85 and others living as ***** 80 De copia 81 For beetles as symbolic of vileness see Adagia ii x 5. 82 See Epp 1511 introduction (Jacopo Sadoleto), 2958 introduction (Pietro Bembo), 2964 introduction (Giambattista Egnazio), 2869 introduction (Celio Calcagnini), 2956 n4 (Giovanni Manardo), 1250 introduction (Andrea Alciati). 83 Battista Fieschi of Genoa (1471–after 1535) was a doctor of canon and civil law. A man of culture and a writer, most of whose works are lost, Fieschi is known to have had ties with Guillaume Budé. A letter from Budé to Fieschi in 1521 indicates that Fieschi was following the works of Martin Luther with great interest. It seems likely that Fieschi was the prominent Italian who entered into correspondence with Martin Bucer at Strasbourg under the pseudonym Eusebio Renato. Renato sought to have published at Strasbourg his ‘Omelie sui vangeli de tutto l’anno’ (Homilies on the gospel lessons for the entire year), which would have spread the new religious ideas to Italy. 84 Ep 3008 introduction 85 See Epp 216a:21n (Leoniceno), 207 introduction (Manuzio), 854 introduction (Leoni), 2154 n2 (Maggi), 210 introduction (Bombace).

675

680

685

690

695

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

168

well as dead, or about those who, on account of their age, are not yet well known to us or read, who nevertheless will, I am confident, fondly cherish your name, young people in Milan and Naples, and Venice and Rome, and in the whole length and breadth of Italy. Two popes, I refer to the Tenth and the Seventh,86 are deeply attached to you, for which there is abundant evidence. We know that our present pope, Paul i i i , is greatly devoted to the cause of learning, piety, and peace and must surely be well disposed towards you, since you have spent all your life in promoting these causes and establishing them on a firm footing – in fact, we heard from many learned and reliable people who travelled here from Rome that the pope has offered you, more than once, the purple that ranks next to his own and an income commensurate with the position.87 So there is no need to mention the exceptional good will shown you by these Italian popes or the ready favour of the most important cardinals, since these things are as clear to everyone as the light of the sun. It has been obvious to us for some time that we have fallen into the proverbial trap of lighting a lantern at noon.88 This, however, was made necessary by the shameless behaviour of certain people. But would anyone have the effrontery to ask for further and more distinguished evidence after the impressive testimony of these erudite and eminent men? No one but the most shameless and unprincipled rogue would do so. ‘But,’ they said, ‘others see it differently.’ ‘Well, tell me, who are these others and how many are there?’ ‘The odd Italian here and there has a different opinion about Erasmus.’ Hemlock and aconite have sprung up in the garden; therefore the lawn is poisoned along with all the trees! Catiline and Cethegus are members of the senate;89 does it follow that no senators, neither Marcus Cato, nor Gaius Caesar,90 nor the consul Marcus Cicero, are loyal to the state? Judas betrayed ***** 86 Leo x (pope 1513–21) and Clement vii (pope 1523–34). The omission of the names is odd. 87 Allen enclosed this sentence in parentheses in the belief that it was ‘conceivably’ a later insertion. For the rumours that Paul wanted to make Erasmus a cardinal, see Ep 2988 introduction. 88 Ie doing something at the wrong moment; see Adagia ii v 6. 89 On being defeated for the consulship, Catiline, a radical politician, organized a conspiracy, but, through the efforts of Cicero, was arrested and executed in 63 bc. Cethegus was Catiline’s principal accomplice. 90 Both the elder Cato, known as Cato the Censor, and his great-grandson Cato of Utica had the first name Marcus, but chronology favours the younger man here. Gaius Caesar is Julius Caesar.

700

705

710

715

720

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

169

Christ; does this mean that the other apostles did not truly love Christ? We are aware of course of two thrice-accursed men who have betrayed and destroyed themselves,91 like shrew-mice,92 by their own evidence.93 The aconite that one of them cultivated has been torn out, and has now shrivelled and rotted into a stinking mess. We do not know if the other’s hemlock is still alive; certainly we have not seen it nor heard of it in Italian gardens. Catiline, the disturber and betrayer of princes and the public interest, and now the twice-wretched murderer of a wretched servant, has fled from Italy altogether and died a beggar and a slanderer.94 Even now we wish he could be rich and back in his own country and speaking about people in a kindly manner! As for the other, who claims to be an Italian (though God knows if that is true!),95 we have no idea in what corner of the world this pitiful, no, this utterly wretched student adviser is lurking, or by what demons he is now possessed, if, that is, he has not yet come to his senses. Certainly we know well enough that wherever he turns up, he will inspire more laughter and hostility from good and learned men than he would wish. Yet when all is said and done, these men are bastard Italians, for some of your critics, we know, are foreigners. They are pagan Cyclopes who regard your most eloquent saintliness and your most saintly eloquence with hatred and loathing.96 It is only natural that they should burst with envy at your accomplishments and your glorious reputation. These are people who have nothing to offer but abuse and lies, impiety and ignorance, who are, in a word, ‘a useless burden on the earth,’97 or, better perhaps, a plague on letters, religion, and the peace of Christendom, yet they dare to call themselves ***** 91 Although the details given below by Odoni are not a perfect fit, the reference here is clearly to Alberto Pio, prince of Carpi (Ep 2080) and to Julius Caesar Scaliger (Ep 2564 n2). 92 Shrew-mice were thought to betray themselves by their loud squeak; see Adagia i iii 65: Suo ipsius indicio periit sorex ‘The shrew-mouse gave itself away.’ 93 Reading indicio ‘evidence’ for the text’s iudicio ‘judgment.’ Indicium is the word used in the adage cited in the preceding note. 94 It is known that Alberto Pio’s mother was poisoned by a servant, but we know of no evidence that Pio himself murdered anyone. 95 Scaliger was indeed Italian, born at Padua (although he claimed falsely to be a member of the ruling della Scala family of Verona), but he had settled at Agen in southern France as personal physician to the bishop, and his literary career took place entirely outside Italy. 96 The Cyclopes were one-eyed giants of Greek mythology, symbolic of savagery and barbarity. 97 Cited in Greek from Homer Iliad 18.104; cf Adagia iii iii 25.

725

730

735

740

745

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

170

­ onest, scholarly, and pious men, and (God help us!) Christians too and deh fenders of learning and the faith. Heavens! Are there any lengths to which effrontery will not go! We shall tell you quite frankly what we both feel. If, Erasmus, they and people like them had not hated you so bitterly, we would not have loved you so much. If you were not anathema to them, you would not be so very dear to us. For doubtless it is not your eloquence so much as the Christian faith that stinks in their nostrils; it is Christ himself more than you that they dislike and abominate, for all the evidence points this way, as I think you realize yourself. But (Christ be thanked!) we need not worry about their influence on posterity, for no one will be aware of their fatuous and impious inanities; their very existence will be known only from your writings. Such was their thirst for fame, even a fame based on notoriety, that their sole pitiful ambition was to distinguish themselves by one means or another, even if it meant setting fire to temples.98 They will therefore suffer the same fate as the Ebionites and men like Basilides and Marcion and other fanatics:99 even their accursed names would not have come down to us, did they not appear occasionally in the pious books of the orthodox. For, tell me, what harm have the wickedness and perversity of these men done to you or to religion? No more than the church was harmed by the groundless heresies of Cerinthus or Pelagius or Manichaeus or the others.100 The result of their mad and virulent teaching is ***** 98 The allusion is to the burning of the famous temple of Artemis at Ephesus. It was said to have been set on fire by someone who wished thereby to make his name immortal. See Ep 2653 n3. 99 The Ebionites were a scantly documented sect of Jewish Christians that flourished in and around Palestine in the early years of the Christian era. They accepted Jesus as the Messiah but rejected his divinity and his virgin birth, and insisted on the observance of Jewish law and rites. Basilides was a second-­ century Gnostic teacher and scholar at Alexandria, only fragments of whose writings survive, and concerning whom the church Fathers give conflicting reports. For Marcion, see Ep 2366 n15. 100 Cerinthus (flourished c 100) was a Gnostic teacher who denied that the Supreme God had made the physical universe. He seems to have been influenced by the Ebionite views concerning Jesus (see preceding note). Early Christian tradition describes him as a contemporary and an opponent of John the Evangelist, and some believed that John wrote his Gospel to refute Cerinthus’ views. Pelagius (c 354–after 418) was the principal theologian of the movement that took his name, Pelagianism. Pelagians held that the human will can, by its own efforts, unaided by divine grace, take the first and fundamental steps towards salvation. Pelagius’ views, attacked at length by the church Father Augustine of Hippo, kept resurfacing and being attacked in the following centuries in debates over

750

755

760

765

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

171

that we have gained from the Evangelist a clearer conception of the divinity of our Christ, that other religious dogmas have all been more firmly established by the orthodox, and that we hold the memory of those who have destroyed these monstrous beasts ever fresh and sacred. It is on this account that we congratulate both you and the church, my dear Erasmus: the church, because God, in his constant and wondrous wisdom, has used the flaming madness of men like these to put your golden teaching in a brighter light; and you, because this same God has purged and tested your wheat and your ship by the constant buffeting of the winds and has now appointed for them his own celestial granary and the harbour of eternal felicity.101 When we see your critics, Erasmus, barking at you from every side, we sometimes feel discouraged and sigh from the very bottom (God knows) of our hearts, but then we console ourselves with reflections like these: first, that God uses these things, as I have said, for the advantage of his church; second, that you yourself are now greatly loved not just by many, but by many of the wisest of men, which is to say much in that single word (as for your future reputation, posterity, being free from the malevolent bias of the passions, is always more open and fair-minded, so doubtless it will be completely on your side and will embrace you wholeheartedly and with both hands,102 and will reverently preserve the name of Erasmus as among the greatest, or greater than the greatest of all); and finally, that to suffer persecution for righteousness’ sake at the hands of evildoers is something you have in common with all men of upright character, with the prophets and apostles, and with Christ himself. We need not doubt, thrice-blessed Erasmus, that, as Christ has promised, the same eternal glory in which these saints now reign awaits you also.103 And because it is Christian teaching, as you yourself and St Augustine point out, that evil men live for one of two reasons, either to mend their ways ***** the role of free will in justification. Manichaeus (ie Mani or Manes, c 216–76) was the founder of Manichaeism, a dualistic religion that posited an eternal struggle between light and darkness. The young St Augustine adhered to it for a time. Cf Ep 2002 n12. 101 This sentence contains a thoroughly mixed metaphor. The meaning appears to be that the wheat (a common New Testament image for what one sows in one’s life) is Erasmus’ writings and the ship is Erasmus himself, who is destined for eternal felicity. The wheat is threshed by the wind and the boat is tested by storm and gains the harbour at last. 102 ‘Wholeheartedly’ … and ‘with both hands’ are two common proverbial expressions indicating vigour and zeal; see Adagia i iv 26 and i ix 16. 103 See Matt 5:10: ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’

770

775

780

785

790

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

172

or to put good men to the test, when they have recklessly concluded the last act of their diabolical play, all we can do is to pray for the peace of the souls of those who have died and to hope that those who survive may gain a wiser understanding and will someday recognize from clear and powerful evidence that Christ the Lord is calling his children to himself, that is, to the way, the truth, and the life of his church.104 But those who gnaw at the holy file of your all-conquering pen, with which you cut away faults and refine letters and religion, will not only shriek like Aesop’s weasel that they have worn away their tongue, but will grieve, and grieve in vain, that they have also lost all hope of fame, which was the one object of their insatiable ambition, or, as has happened to many, that they have lost life itself.105 For such, by the righteous judgment of God, is the fate that in the end befalls those wild and brutish men, strangers to any observance of civility or piety, who seem born for no other purpose than to thwart those who have devoted all their labours, all their thoughts, and the whole purpose of their lives to the development of sacred learning and religion. It is certain, Erasmus, that those who are trying to harass your sacred studies and moral teaching belong to this class. But these wild and godless men, or dogs, as they are more appropriately called by David and Jerome,106 we gladly leave to their own vicious enmity, which will devour them. Besides, there are not a few who enabled us to ­defend ourselves – as was the case in Britain, Spain, France, and Germany, where even if occasionally one or two revilers of your learned piety appeared on the scene, you always had, and still have, in these regions the friendship and support of great kings, illustrious cardinals, powerful and godly princes and bishops, and especially the emperors themselves, as well as countless centuries and chiliads of upright and learned men, that is to say, you have the  protection of every decent and studious person. With such supporters the  vaporous ranting of blockheads could not dim your splendour, their ***** 104 John 14:6 105 The key to this passage is the strained pun on lima, the Latin word for ‘file,’ often used in literary contexts for ‘filing’ (ie correcting and polishing) a text. The other meaning here is derived from a fable in Aesop (ed Émile Chambry [Paris 1960] no 77), where a weasel licks a file and thinks that it is extracting blood from the metal but realizes too late that it has destroyed its own tongue. The fable is cited as a lesson to those who intend to injure others but turn out to be hurting themselves. 106 For David see Ps 22:16 (21:17 Vulgate). The image is also frequent in Jerome; see, for example, Commentarii in Isaiam pl 24 340a, Commentarii in Evangelium Matthaei 15:25–8 pl 26 110–11.

795

800

805

810

815

820

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

173

­ hisperings could not lessen the affection in which your admirers held you; w in fact it was your detractors who became more and more hated every day as they buried themselves in their own fog, while you shine more brightly and stand in all your greatness, always enjoying the special favour and respect of learned and godly men. Is there anyone who does not see that this same situation applies in Italy? So let us leave the Zoiluses and Choeriluses,107 the madmen, and the atheists to their hatred and villainy, and return to the subject with which we began. We, venerable Erasmus, trusting in the clear and consistent testimony and judgment of those of our fellow Italians who have proved themselves free from all pretence and dissimulation, partly by their desire to lead a blameless life, partly by their ardent passion for the revival of religion, partly because of their exceptional learning or the splendour and brilliance of their rank and lineage, and partly from all these together (for they are attracted to you by the power of divine truth that they see in all your celebrated works), and relying also on our own knowledge, for in you we venerate and love Christ and his gifts, we have ventured to write in this frank and heart-felt manner, without any fear that you would be annoyed at receiving a letter from Italians, whatever its quality might be (so long as it was not irreligious), for we believe that you are convinced that there is a deep mutual affection between yourself and Italians. Moreover, we would have thought ourselves the worst, not to say the most ungrateful people in the world if, when we owe almost all our learning and all our religion to you, we had given you no indication of our gratitude for the many great blessings we have received and had failed to send you even a word of greeting, especially when we had the good fortune to be living nearby, something we had hoped for but hardly expected. If your exceptional modesty has been offended by this tribute, which is no more than your due, we hope you will forgive us, since all the world’s princes and all those who excel in learning and in piety are celebrating you every day in much more impressive eulogies. These people, in the first place, are endowed with such niceness of judgment or hold such a splendid position in life that no hint of flattery or error could cling to them; and second, by virtue of this same brilliance of intellect, they are able to paint your excellences in their proper colours, once they grasp more clearly the exceptional nature of your abilities. So you are compelled, whether you like ***** 107 For Zoilus see n11 above. There were three Greek poets with the name Choerilus. Here the reference is probably to a flatterer and notoriously incompetent writer in the train of Alexander the Great; see Horace Epistles 2.1.233.

825

830

835

840

845

850

855

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

174

it or not, to hear yourself described by these people in every quarter of the world not just as supreme in virtue and in every branch of learning, as someone who has reached the summit of integrity and erudition, not only as the father of all scholars of this age in reviving the study of genuine theology, but also as the jewel of the world, the Phoenix of scholars,108 a divine spirit, the sun, the one outstanding glory of letters and learning, the delight of the whole literary world, a thrice-great demigod, born for the common good of all scholars and of the church, a store, a nest, an ocean of good things,109 such as has not been seen by the schools in a thousand years nor perhaps will be seen by future generations, the glory and splendour of the human race, for whose merits and worth all the wealth and resources of the whole world would scarcely be a fit reward. But why are we counting the stars in the sky and measuring the sand,110 since everywhere brilliant writers are eulogizing you in the most brilliant way? There are innumerable examples of such eulogies, from which we have made a selection filling many pages, for we are always eager to know what is being said, and by whom, and where. Many of those that we have recorded thus far were written fifteen or more years ago, when clearly the generosity of Almighty God had not yet revealed to the world all the talents that he had given you. Can you imagine the kinds of tribute that are being paid to you at present, and the silent and grateful thoughts that are passing through people’s minds, for since that time not only have you outdone Erasmus himself (and at this point only Erasmus could outdo Erasmus), but you have made him three times more renowned and venerable? This would scarcely have seemed possible to those who did not know that the Lord’s bounty is inexhaustible and that his arm is not shortened towards his elect.111 I know you will be kind enough to pardon any errors of ours if out of the vast abundance of your merits there is something we have passed over rather cursorily, or, what is more to be feared, something we have undervalued either through lack of perception or because a letter did not seem an ***** 108 Since the aim here is presumably not to picture Erasmus as a mythical bird who is periodically born again out of its own ashes, Odoni’s reference may be to the wise tutor of Achilles, who accompanied him to the Trojan war and earned the hero’s gratitude for it. 109 Literally ‘a heap, an ant-hill, a sea of good things.’ See Adagia i iii 29, 31, 32. 110 Ie attempting the impossible. For measuring the sand see Adagia  i iv 44. ‘To count the stars’ is not included in the Adagia, but see i iv 45, ‘You are counting the waves,’ and cf Gen 15:5. 111 Isaiah 59:1

860

865

870

875

880

885

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

175

appropriate medium for it. I do not know what excuse we could give for the prolixity and clumsiness of this letter which, unsolicited, we are thrusting upon you, poor verses and all. Perhaps you will be kind to us because of our love for you, for love conquers all,112 and to refuse to obey its imperious demands would be dangerous and wrong, not to say impossible. Love hopes in the end to gain some genuine benefit, and so is not generally affected by mere talk. But to mitigate the infamy of this shameless importunity: First of all, I promise I shall do everything within my power to prevent myself from committing a similarly shameless act and taking advantage a second time of your gentleness and patience, although I know that these admirable virtues can never be worn down in you. But one presumptuous act is enough. We should be satisfied to have slackened the reins on one occasion, though without applying the spurs.113 So if I write a letter to you in future, I shall write for myself and my companions, and I shall imagine the letter has been sent to you, and I shall read it over to myself, ‘in my own bosom,’ as the saying goes.114 I speak here for myself, for I can make no guarantees on Fileno’s behalf; I rather think he finds it difficult to prevent a second letter from winging its way to you as a further expression of his love. Second, I resolutely ask you, great Erasmus, not to think of replying to me, not even by a word; it is not that I would not find a letter from you sweeter than honey, but we have a letter in Bologna penned by your fingers that you sent to Anselmus Ephorinus in Padua.115 It was squeezed out of him by the insistent appeals of a learned monk,116 who, by a happy chance, brought it to Bologna to show to  friends. He left it in an excellent German bookshop with Arnoldus of Cologne,117 a young man proficient in both languages, who was, apparently, in charge of the shop, and who had recognized the handwriting. Students flocked enthusiastically to look at it. In the end I brought it home to copy it. Meanwhile, when the monk was still waiting for a reliable courier to take the letter back to Anselmus (for he had given Anselmus his solemn pledge to do ***** 112 Not in the Adagia, but a famous and much quoted phrase from Virgil Eclogues 10.69 113 See Adagia i ii 47. Odoni in this letter has given his horse the rein, but has not used the spurs; to write a second letter would be like urging a horse on with the spurs. 114 Adagia i iii 13 115 No letter of Erasmus to Ephorinus (for whom see Ep 2539 introduction) survives. 116 Unidentified 117 Known only from this letter; identity uncertain

890

895

900

905

910

915

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

176

so, otherwise he would never have been given it), he moved to another monastery, as monks frequently do. The letter remained with me. Judging the feelings of Ephorinus from my own, I pondered for a long time how I could send it back safely to its owner. Since, however, I could not remember the street where Anselmus’ house was situated in Padua and was very reluctant to entrust such a responsibility to any but the most loyal and reliable persons, I decided it was better to keep it at home than risk such a precious memento by sending it with the couriers. So I have had an autograph letter of yours in my possession for three years now. I keep it in a little writing-case among my most precious treasures and I look after it with great care and find it helpful in promoting a godly life – this is more than can be said of those who guard and display for profit the bell of abbot Antony,118 the lance of the monk William,119 or – an even greater wonder – the cardinal’s hat belonging to St Jerome.120 I bring it out from time to time for myself and my friends in lieu of a triumph or a laurel crown; it is remarkable how, by some kind of inner power, it attracts young students to the crown of your virtues and your writings and how greatly it inspires those who see it. When I was coming here, I left it in the care of my brother Cesare,121 for he takes as much delight in it as I do. He too finds great pleasure in your books, and he would hardly yield place to me in his affection for you, were it not that I got to know you and your writings before him by two years. So there is no need for you to write back to me at present. In any case everything you write each day for a general audience I consider as written personally for me. I shall be very satisfied if, in the midst of your busy life, you will be good enough to give our letter even a cursory hearing and do not resent our dreadful presumption. If there is anything (apart from our love, which you have already) with which we could compensate you for this waste of your time and effort, we would readily and gladly offer it to you. In any case, both of us, weak and feeble though we may be, have long been working on your behalf in several, not unimportant, ways. ‘In what ways,’ you say, ***** 118 St Antony of Egypt; see the colloquy Ἰχθυοφαγία ‘A Fish Diet’ cwe 40 761 n328. 119 St William of Gellone; see the colloquy Peregrinatio religionis ergo ‘A Pilgrimage for Religion’s Sake’ cwe 40 655 n38. 120 The cardinal’s hat of Jerome would have been a great wonder indeed. Though he was often pictured since the thirteenth century with a cardinal’s hat, there were no cardinals and no college of cardinals until the eighth century. 121 Cesare Odoni (d 1571) also of Penne, near Pescara, professor of philosophy and medicine at Bologna, remembered chiefly as a botanist. For a list of his known publications see Allen’s introduction to this letter (Allen xi 82).

920

925

930

935

940

945

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

177

‘are you helping, you who have never set eyes on me?’ I will tell you, good sir. From childhood I had set my mind on a career in medicine, and not for financial gain, which somehow always seemed to me an unworthy aim. Nearly everybody, however, kept insisting that my brother and I would need to have a career, for our parents had left us in straightened circumstances when we were very young. Later our four sisters got married and left us at home by no means better off. So I hoped first of all that by following the same trade as my celebrated father, a fine and learned doctor, I would not disgrace his memory, and second that with my medical skill I might be of some use. For there were encouraging voices from all sides prodding my brother to take up the practice of the law and me to emulate my father’s distinguished career. Meanwhile my work was not unpaid, nor on the other hand was it my intention to break ranks with the best contemporary doctors, whose advice can be disregarded only at one’s peril, and who, nobly and wisely, do not make the mistake of the old doctors of regarding money as the one and only aim of this divine science and special art, for if my contemporaries do not say this in so many words, at least they demonstrate it by their living example. So I went to Bologna, which at that time had a high reputation in medical science. My friend Fileno, given the distinction of his birthplace and his native abilities, had taken up the study of civil and canon law. He was not carried away on a wave of emotion, for he clearly possesses a philosophic mind that firmly rejects the things that ordinary people admire. But as a young man he was influenced by the judgment of several of his elders, who believe that states are held together by these very laws as they are handed down at present and that it is by virtue of the law that disputes between citizens are settled, in a word, that all things, human and divine, are properly governed by law. And so he had by this time spent six years in conscientiously turning the pages of the Bartolos and the Baldos.122 During that period both of us avidly read your books together, for, since we were neighbours, a close and intimate friendship had developed between us, which was evidently the will of God. Finally, after reading your famous Paraclesis and the Methodus,123 a work whose persuasive power and ***** 122 Ie the most reputable Italian jurists, including Bartolo da Sassoferrato (1313–56) and his pupil Baldo degli Ubaldi (1327–1400); cf Ep 134:30–1n. 123 The Paraclesis and the Ratio seu methodus were both prefaces to Erasmus’ 1516 edition of the New Testament. A second, much expanded edition of the Ratio appeared in the second edition (1519) and then, once again revised and enlarged, as a separate work (1524); see Epp 745, 1365 introductions.

950

955

960

965

970

975

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

178

i­nspiration make it particularly effective, both of us – for it is not certain which of us was first convinced and convinced the other – decided we wanted to be more useful to a much greater number of people and to do so as a free gift; so we began to interest ourselves in theology, which is at all times by far the most important of disciplines and especially so in the present age, which is inundated with wild and raving heretics, particularly here in Italy, where any subject other than Christian doctrine is respected, studied, and discussed. The majority of monks, with a very few exceptions, are quite cool towards doctrine but have a burning interest in sophistic problems; among others, both clerical and lay, there is absolutely no attention paid to sacred theology – such unholiness abhorrent to the wretched populace! So putting everything else into second place so as to concentrate on this pearl, we devoted ourselves with great zeal to Greek and Hebrew, and every day we listened to and read something from Holy Scripture and tried to work out, to the best of our ability, a doctrine and a life worthy of Christ. In this way we think we have earned your approval, even by the strict standards of your noble Enchiridion, in which it is laid down that the form of devotion most pleasing to the saints is that in which we imitate and honour them by loving our neighbour and putting Christ before all else. And this (as God is my witness) is the reason, Erasmus, that when I think, as I often do, of saying something in your praise – which would be like a pig or a camel dancing,124 or, as another proverb has it, truly to use the spoils of the Pygmies to build the Colossus125 – there immediately spring to mind those well known lines ‘Choose a subject …’126 and ‘Who would not know of the undying glory of Erasmus, of his city, his virtues, his books, and the brilliance of so great a sun?’127 Then again from the same two poets, ‘who has not spoken of famous Rhodes’ or ‘of Latona’s Delos’? Who has not praised Helen or the excellence of Hercules?128 But I think the remark that was particularly apt for me is in that other verse of this wisest of poets: ***** 124 See Adagia i i 40 (pig), ii vii 66 (camel). 125 Adagia iv i 90 126 This makes sense only if one remembers the full quotation: ‘Choose a subject suited to your powers’ (Horace Ars poetica 38). 127 Odoni’s bizarre rewriting of two lines from Virgil (Aeneid 565–6) where Dido, welcoming the Trojans, says: ‘Who could fail to know of the race of Aeneas’ people, of the city of Troy, its virtues, its men, or of the flames of so great a war?’ 128 Virgil Georgics 3.6 and Horace Odes 1.7.1. Both phrases come from poems where the poets reject subjects for celebration as too hackneyed.

980

985

990

995

1000

1005

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

179

‘Could anyone write worthily of the son of Tydeus, who, with Pallas’ help, was a match for the gods?’129 O feeble poet, do not attempt such lofty themes provoking the people’s laughter, so that you become worn out and gasp for breath.130

But the real reason that I usually refrain from such a bold undertaking is that I know it is simpler for me and much more pleasing to you if I use my time on the study of languages, good letters, and theology. This last is the most essential for my fellow citizens, to whom I am greatly indebted, and is the reason for my present journey. For there can be no doubt that to make progress in the Christian life is much more appealing to a man of Erasmus’ great modesty and godly character than a hymn of praise that puts him above the cherubim and seraphim. Do not imagine that I have taken a lot of time from my present studies. Although I am usually a slow worker, little more than a week was spent on writing and copying out all these lines, such as they are. Their very clumsiness is evidence enough that they did not result from long meditation or from art, for, however much I may have wished it, a work of art is beyond my powers; rather they flowed from the fullness of my heart. Yet was there any need to excuse our actions? For if we felt compelled to tell you what we feel and how things stand with us, we believe that during these days we were never far from observing our Christian duty, unless it is deemed unchristian to acknowledge Christ’s gifts and to venerate him, so far as one can, in his saints. Furthermore, everything I have written to you (even if much remains unsaid, buried in the deep recesses of a loving heart) I have written (Christ knows) for the sake of Christ our Lord, whom night and day my soul blesses and magnifies because he has given such a one as you in these times to be a servant and a teacher for his peoples and for the cause of learning. Anyone who lovingly reads your books, which are so full of holy erudition, must come to know and love Christ and his true doctrine; they ***** 129 Horace Odes 1.6.14–16. Diomedes, son of Tydeus, was made a match for the gods when Pallas Athena helped him in his battle with Ares and Aphrodite. 130 A strange amalgam of phrases from Horace Odes 1.6.9 and Epistles 1.1.9 (incorrectly cited by Allen), where some words from an ode in the Asclepiad metre and a hexameter line from an epistle are reassembled to form an (incomplete) hexameter couplet. The Horatian lines are: ‘feeble that I am, I do not attempt lofty themes’ and ‘[turn loose the aged horse lest he stumble at the end] to be laughed at and gasp for breath.’

1010

1015

1020

1025

1030

1035

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

180

have been an abundant source of salvation for many, while causing offence to no one, certainly to no good and reasonable person. There is good reason to applaud, and to applaud enthusiastically, the commitment of one who is deeply influenced by the actions and merits and writings of Paul, that excellent instrument and great interpreter of the laws of God, who had also, in some miraculous way, become all things to all men that he might gain more for Christ.131 This enthusiasm for Paul132 must result in a deeper attachment to Christ himself, the subject and source of Paul’s eloquence, and in a desire to preach Christ more ardently with results similar to Paul’s. Anyone who acts in this way could certainly not be called lazy or slack. Everyone agrees about the supreme importance, both in life generally and particularly in religious matters, of choosing the right kind of person to point out one’s duty, someone ‘to love and constantly admire from one’s earliest years.’133 When we devote ourselves to you, words can hardly express how much our interest is kindled in humane learning and sacred studies, in the constant and wholehearted service of others, in Christian magnanimity, tolerance, moderation, modesty, in a word, in Christ in all his richness. To Christ himself, the author of all living creatures and of all things, who in various ways draws his own to himself, be all honour and thanks forever. So much for the present, dear Erasmus, although we can hardly endure now to let you go. If it does not bore you, we shall tell you the rest in more pleasant and agreeable circumstances when, God willing, we see you next Easter.134 It is true that we were commended to you some time ago in a letter from the most kindly and erudite Sinapius of Schweinfurt, who is now teaching medicine with great acclaim in Ferrara.135 However, since we do not know if you received it, we are afraid of arriving as unexpected guests, so we both think it desirable to bring a new letter of recommendation from the distinguished Doctor Capito.136 We came here to study Hebrew with him because of his skill in languages, particularly in the languages of Scripture, since in our schools there is absolutely no place or respect given to either Testament or to the languages in which they are written. He is now away, *****

131 1 Cor 9:22 132 Accepting Allen’s emendation of the meaningless ille studiosus to illo studio suo 133 Another free adaptation of a line from Virgil’s Aeneid (8.517) 134 4 April 1535 135 For Sinapius, see Ep 2956 introduction. His letter of introduction is not extant. 136 Wolfgang Capito (Ep 459 introduction). His letter of introduction is not extant.

1040

1045

1050

1055

1060

1065

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

181

having been called back to his native place by his relatives to settle some matters of family business.137 As soon as our good friend returns, we shall both go to visit you, not to visit a shadow or an old skin, as you like to call yourself,138 but to look upon the most helpful and faithful partner of your celestial soul, the pure temple of the Holy Spirit,139 which many men from the furthest corners of the earth come to see – and come with even greater enthusiasm than in the past men used to visit the milk-pure Livy,140 for the greatest princes considered it their greatest happiness to have had the good fortune to see him even once. If we did not share this same attitude, if we were not eager to visit you, especially when we are so close, then we would consider ourselves not just unworthy of the name of Christian but even of the name of human being. For Cicero, the educator of a virtuous antiquity, wanted young people to show a religious respect for venerable old age;141 similarly Cato, a man renowned for his moral character, celebrates the age of those men of the past as well as his own and that of his contemporaries when he says that all the best young men show respect for the venerable white hairs of the old when they turn out in crowds to escort the senators to and fro and wait for them expectantly all day before the doors of the senate house.142 And these were the actions of pagans dealing with pagans. What, then, should we Christians do, who have been called by the first commandment of God to perform all the same obligations of godliness and kindness in a more perfect manner for the noblest of Christians, a man who has surpassed all others in his service to Christendom? We know that your modesty does not care for such things. Nor are we unaware that your books give us a clear, beautiful, and godly picture of you. But it would be the height of indolence, indeed ***** 137 Capito was born in Haguenau, north of Strasbourg, the son of a smith who had been a member of the city government. 138 Odoni employs a Greek word, written in Roman letters as syphar, used of an old skin, a withered fig, or the slough of a snake. For Erasmus’ description of himself as the slough (the cast-off skin) of a snake, see Epp 2720:46, 2798:30–4, 2800:11–13. 139 For the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit, see eg 1 Cor 6:19. 140 Literally ‘milky Livy.’ Quintilian (Institutio oratoria 10.1.32) describes Livy’s style as possessing ‘milky fullness,’ meaning clear, pure fullness. Odoni transfers the epithet to Livy himself. The reference to Livy’s many visitors from afar is probably an exaggeration of the story in Pliny Epistles 2.3.8, where it is said that a man came the whole way from Cadiz to Rome simply to see Livy. 141 On the respect felt by the young for the old, see Cicero De senectute 26. 142 No Catonian passage with the details given here has been identified. Odoni may have been thinking of Valerius Maximus 2.1.9.

1070

1075

1080

1085

1090

3002  From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  1535

182

a­ lmost a sin, not to take notice of such a rare miracle of God’s goodness while it is still available to us on this earth. We have both seen at Bologna, at two different periods, but on countless occasions, the greatest princes of the world.143 But we have not yet seen thrice-great and thrice-crowned Erasmus,144 who is the equal of many others.145 So let us prepare ourselves to embrace this man on such a fortunate occasion. Meanwhile, our beloved Desiderius, to please us and all your other friends, do look after yourself in your most venerable old age. May Jesus, our Lord and our God, keep you safe and well for a long time to come for the sake of theology and of his church. Fare well always in him, our incomparable friend, and return our love, as I trust you will. Nothing could happen that would be more welcome or more pleasing to us than this. Strasbourg, 1535 Yours sincerely, Giovanni Angelo Odoni To Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, who has done outstanding service to humane letters, theology, and the church, our mentor, greatly revered above all others 3003 / From Christoph Eschenfelder

Boppard, 12 March 1535

This letter was first published as Ep 219 in Förstemann / Günther. The manuscript, in a secretary’s hand but addressed and signed by Eschenfelder, was in the Burscher Collection of the University of Leipzig (Ep 1254 introduction). For Eschenfelder, customs officer at Boppard (on the Rhine in the ecclesiastical principality of Trier) and keen admirer of Erasmus, see Epp 867:50–60, 879.

Cordial greetings. I was greatly delighted by your recent letter,1 most learned Erasmus, from which I learned that you have recovered your former good health. I am absolutely convinced that it will be the greatest good fortune, not just for the world of letters but for Germany herself, if they can keep you, ***** 143 Probably a reference to, among other things, the coronation of Charles v by the pope at Bologna in February 1530, and perhaps also Charles’ extended visit there two years later, on his way to Genoa to sail for Spain. 144 ‘Thrice-mighty’ and ‘triple-crowned’ are in Greek. The same Greek phrase is found in Ep 2702:8–9, where it is used, rather more sensibly, of the emperor (thrice-great) and the pope (thrice-crowned); see n4 in that letter. 145 Quoted in Greek from Homer Iliad 11.514 3003 1 Not extant, but referred to in Ep 2984:14–18

1095

1100

1105

1110

3004  From Johann Rinck  1535

183

their glory and their guiding light, as long as possible. Speaking for myself, I am as happy to know of your good health and well-being as I am for that of my nearest and dearest, that is, my wife and children, to whom (and for this I thank you) you also send your best wishes. As for the Konrad whom you commended to me in your letter,2 I promise (if only for your sake) that I shall not fail him when an opportunity arises. There is one request, however, that I would like to make of you – in fact I made this request earlier through your servant. It is about a psalm that is a special favourite of mine: ‘Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, etc, thy wife shall be as a vine, etc.’3 It would give much pleasure to me and my family if you would be good enough to elucidate this psalm in a full commentary. By doing so, you will please me greatly and at the same time demonstrate to all good men that Erasmus holds me in no ordinary affection.4 Farewell, most learned sir, and continue to keep well for our sakes and for the sake of all Germany! My wife sends her respectful and affectionate greetings. Boppard, 12 March 1535 Your most devoted friend Christoph Eschenfelder, in his own hand To Master Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, by far the greatest scholar in the world, his patron and mentor 3004 / From Johann Rinck

Cologne, 16 March 1535

This letter was first published as Ep 123 in Enthoven. The autograph is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 255 128). For Johann Rinck, member of the faculty of law at Cologne and of the Cologne city council, see Ep 2285 introduction, where the surviving letters between him and Erasmus are listed. This is the only extant letter of Rinck to Erasmus.

Cordial greetings. I reacted to your letter,1 my dearest Erasmus, in different ways, partly of course with joy and partly with sorrow. I do not know which of these emotions was the stronger, but certainly neither was lukewarm. I *****

2 Konrad Nyder (Ep 2984 introduction) 3 Cf Vulgate Pss 111:1, 127:1, 7. The two psalms have similar openings; the latter seems to be the one intended. 4 Erasmus did not comply with this request, but in 1536 he did dedicate to Eschenfelder De puritate tabernaculi, which is a commentary on Psalm 14 (Vulgate); see Epp 3081, 3086.

3004 1 Not extant

5

10

15

20

3004  From Johann Rinck  1535

184

was delighted because I saw that the sweet bond of love that binds us together is too strong ever to be broken by you on any account, for how could this be when your attitude to Rinck is such that you would rather put a kind construction on some action of his or even let it pass than lose him as a friend? Your letter makes this abundantly clear, for instead of taking on the role of prosecutor, you give the most generous interpretation of my dereliction of duty, persuading yourself, as I fervently hoped you would, that the good will that we feel for one another is reciprocal and unchanging, even if a gap occurs in our correspondence. In this you were not mistaken, for I tell you (and I hold the keys to my own heart)2 that water would sooner drain from the wide ocean than the reciprocal love I have for Erasmus and the respect that I owe him would drain from my heart. For if I did not return the love of such a loving man, I would be the most unfeeling of living creatures, and every man would be right to expel me from his society, banish me, dismiss me, tell me to go to the devil!3 If, as Pythagoras thought, everything among friends is held in common,4 then how could I not grieve when I learned that my best friend has been struck down with illness and at the same time is being hounded by the vile and relentless barking of his critics? Damn those beastly creatures who are upsetting you! If only you were free of gout, both in hand and foot, and of all those similar ills that attend upon old age;5 then I do not doubt you would quickly rout that monstrous regiment of backbiters, however advanced in years you may be, for ‘the weary ox plants its feet more firmly.’6 Master Johannes Cochlaeus,7 a man whom I know for certain to be one of your principal supporters, said in a recent letter to me that friends had informed him about the publication of your response to the calumnious attacks of Luther.8 He hoped you would reply in kind as the fellow deserves, *****



2 Literally ‘I am the steward of my own heart,’ ie I know the thoughts that are in my own mind. This proverbial expression (not in the Adagia) comes from Plautus Trinummus 81. 3 Literally ‘to the crows’; see Adagia ii i 96. 4 Adagia i i 1 5 See Ep 2940 n2. 6 Adagia i i 47, which Erasmus explains as follows: ‘The point is that those who are already tired because of their age are slower to be provoked to battle, but they are the ones who are fiercer and more pressing when that elderly courage of theirs, aroused, grows hot again.’ 7 Ep 3001 introduction 8 See Ep 2970 n6.

5

10

15

20

25

30

3004  From Johann Rinck  1535

185

not, as he said himself, because he took pleasure in controversy, but because he wanted, in the interest of saving souls, to see Luther’s fame and reputation diminished. Luther indeed is a horrible monster, sent into the world by the Furies of hell to create confusion everywhere. Either I, along with many others, am greatly mistaken or it was Luther who sowed the seed that, so many years later, has produced to our sorrow the terrible harvest we are reaping now. Was it not from Luther’s nursery (as our Cochlaeus clearly demonstrates in his refutation of the Articles of Münster)9 that there emerged the Zwinglians, the Anabaptists, the Melchiorites,10 and all those other heretical pests who do not deserve to be named? While all these sects disagree among themselves on many things, even to the point of blows and battles, it is remarkable how unanimous they are about destroying the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts, following, to their own undoing, the example of the devil and drawing as many as they can with them to perdition. So I am not greatly surprised, dear Erasmus, if you, a man unquestionably possessed of exceptional learning and piety, now find less pleasure in living and, like Elijah himself, are zealous for the house of God,11 since you witness the Christian religion and humane learning falling into decay. But we must offer to the Lord our fervent prayers that he may come at last and look upon his vineyard and save it from the depredation of foxes and of the deadly boar.12 But enough on this subject. If I write less frequently than perhaps you would wish, I would not like you to put this down to indifference or laziness (for I would be happy to be with you often and for longer) but I know that you are always busily occupied with important matters, and I was told that you are worn out, so I did not think it right to make a nuisance of myself by foisting upon you my graceless chatter. And even if these difficulties did not exist, whenever I think about that rare intelligence of yours, the divine endowments of your mind, and your exceptional knowledge in every field combined with outstanding eloquence, and then put against all these my vast ignorance and my corresponding inarticulateness, I am easily deterred from the obligations of a correspondent. However, not to appear undutiful and to deprive myself of the delights of your correspondence (which is our *****

9 xxi Articuli Anabaptistarum Monasteriensium per Doctorem Johannem Cochleum confutati (Leipzig: Nicolaus Faber 1534) 10 Ie followers of Melchior Hofmann, the apostle of Dutch Anabaptism (Ep 3031a n13) 11 For Elijah’s zeal see 1 Kings 19:14; for his longing for death because of the religious turmoil of his time see 1 Kings 19:4. 12 For Luther portrayed as a boar loose in the vineyard cf Ep 3002 n17.

35

40

45

50

55

60

3004  From Johann Rinck  1535

186

only means of contact), I thought that if you wanted to square the account, I should have to put your greatness out of mind for a time and concentrate on your generous spirit. So I count on this generosity and I hope that you will 65 put up with my affectionate stammering; in fact, such is your kindness and generosity towards me13 that I am more than certain that you will. Your Ecclesiastes is awaited with the greatest possible eagerness by many people.14 Do not, I beg you, begrudge its benefits any longer to those who care for godliness. 70 May Almighty God restore you to your former good health (if that has not already happened); and may he be pleased to keep you well for a very long time to come. From Cologne, 16 March in the year 1535 from the redemption of the world 75 Your true friend Johann Rinck, in his own hand 3005 / To Petrus Merbelius and Johannes Baptista Laurentia Freiburg, 18 March 1535 This letter was first printed by Julius Caesar Scaliger at the beginning of his Contra Desid. Erasmum Roterodamum Oratio ii (Paris: P. Vidoue 1537), few copies of which are known to have survived. The Allen editors made use of the photograph of a copy of it in the Bibliothèque nationale at Paris supplied to them by Marcel Bataillon. They also consulted Appendix epistolarum Ep 1277 in lb iii/2 1498–9, which was based on the edition of Oratio ii published by Raymundus Colomerus at Toulouse in 1620 (see the note at the foot of column 1421 in LB III/2). Ep 3070 is Merbelius’ answer to this letter. Petrus Merbelius (documented 1509–48) studied at Erfurt and then spent twenty years in the service of Francesco ii Sforza, duke of Milan. When Sforza died (1 November 1535), Merbelius’ appointment as secretary was continued under Charles v, who assumed direct control of the government of Milan. Johannes Baptista Laurentia (documented 1535–6), who is known only from this letter and from the brief references to him in Epp 3070 and 3091, has not been identified.

***** 13 At this point in the text a single syllable has been lost at the end of two lines in the manuscript. Allen (lines 62–3) completes the lines as follows: balbutien[tis] … candor[em], but this produces an awkward word order and poor sense: ‘you will endure the frankness (candorem) of an affectionate stammerer, such is your generosity.’ We have emended to balbutien[tem] … candor[que], and translate accordingly, taking candor in the sense that is frequent in the Erasmian correspondence: ‘kindness,’ ‘friendliness.’ 14 See Ep 3036 introduction.

3005  To Merbelius and Lauren tia  1535

187

erasmus of rotterdam to petrus merbelius and johannes baptista laurentia, greeting You two are very close friends, so I am replying to both of you in a single letter.1 In any case I am compelled to be brief by gout in my feet and hands, or to be more accurate, gout in every joint.2 I feared no illness less than this, yet now I suffer constant pain, pain of a deadly intensity. I responded briefly several days ago. I sent the letter to the merchant designated by you.3 But perhaps this present letter will reach you first. It would be insensitive of me not to be gratified by the concern that you feel for me. I think, however, it would be wiser to disregard the foolishness of the young men you mentioned; the trouble they cause serves only to destroy the studies in which they take pride, just as opposition encourages the founders of the sects in their subversion of religion. In this way they turn polite letters into something that is far from polite and change the Muses into Furies. The book that you sent me I had received several years ago.4 In it I see nothing that is pertinent to me. If they make me out an enemy of Cicero, they are wide of the mark; if they make me an enemy of the Ciceronians, then those who alone deserve this title are very dear friends of mine, Pietro Bembo, Jacopo Sadoleto, Andrea Alciati, as I could prove from the many friendly letters they have written me. Now I am told that a bitter attack on me has been printed in Lyon, written by Etienne Dolet,5 whose *****



3005 1 Their letters are not extant. 2 See Ep 2940 n2. 3 This brief first letter is not extant. 4 Possibly the Cicero relegatus et Cicero revocatus of Ortensio Lando (Epp 3019 n17, 3032 n57) 5 Etienne Dolet (1508–48) studied at Paris and then at Padua, where he became a devout Ciceronian. Following two stormy years studying law at Toulouse, during which he repeatedly offended local worthies with his orations and odes, Dolet fled to Lyon (August 1534), where he became a corrector at the press of Sebastianus Gryphius. In 1535 Gryphius published Dialogus de imitatione Ciceroniana, in which Dolet defended Christophe de Longueil against Erasmus’ Ciceronianus (Ep 1948 introduction), ridiculing Erasmus as ‘toothless old food for worms’ and a shallow popularizer, and denouncing him as a Lutheran. As had been the case with Julius Caesar Scaliger’s Oratio (Ep 2564 n2), Erasmus blamed Dolet’s attack on Girolamo Aleandro and refused to respond; see Epp 3052:29–30, 3127:42–5, 3130:17–20. The remainder of Dolet’s life featured a great deal of high drama, including charges of murder and of publishing heretical books (among them French translations of Erasmus’ Enchiridion and Exomologesis). In August 1546 he was sentenced to death by the Parlement of Paris and hanged, after which his body and his books were burned.

5

10

15

20

Etienne Dolet Engraving by Jeune Lacoste Banque d’images de la Bibliothèque interuniversitaire de santé

3005  To Merbelius and Lauren tia  1535

189

speeches and letters are in print,6 calculated more to make one ill than angry.7 I have not yet seen this, and if I see it, it is not my intention to reply. There is someone called Logau, who has never set eyes on me; he is constantly tearing strips off Erasmus, not with his pen, but with his voice. Some friends of mine on whom Logau depends for support write that he has suborned another Bratislavian,8 whose little book is circulating throughout Italy. As far as I know, it has not yet been printed. A manuscript copy was sent to me from Rome; I have never seen anything so stupid.9 Julius Scaliger published an Oration in Paris against me, chock-full of the most insolent lies and crazy accusations. I have reached the conclusion, however, based on many solid arguments, that he is not himself the author; rather it is a shoe that Scaliger has chosen to wear, cobbled together by someone not unknown to me.10 It is not my intention to engage in argument with minds like these, nor is it in my interest to do so. I would like you to do the same. They are looking for sparring partners. If Agostino Scarpinelli, who wrote me recently from Ferrara, is nearby, please give him my good wishes; he is a man of some distinction. I have never seen anyone more warm-hearted than he. I pray that both of you will enjoy every happiness. Freiburg im Breisgau, 18 March in the year 1535 from the Saviour’s birth Erasmus, in my own hand To Monsieur Scaliger living at Agen11 *****





6 In 1534 Gryphius published Stephani Doleti orationes duae in Tholosam. Eiusdem epistolarum libri ii. [etc]. 7 As Allen’s obelization of it indicates, the Latin text (stomachi magis cauendi, quam mouendi) is meaningless. We have emended as follows: stomachi magis cau[sa elu] endi quam mouendi, which puns on the two senses of stomachus (‘stomach’ and ‘bile,’ ‘anger’). 8 Logau was not born in Bratislava (= Breslau / Wrocław), but in the neighbouring town of Šwidnica, though he did spend the later years of his life in Wrocław. 9 The reference is clearly to Logau’s own, never-published tract attacking Erasmus’ Ciceronianus. In Ep 2961:174–9 Erasmus identifies the author as Logau himself, but here, having perhaps received contradictory reports about the authorship, he attributes the work to ‘another Bratislavian’ suborned by Logau. We have no idea who that might have been. 10 Girolamo Aleandro; cf n5 above. 11 Written on the back in French. It is not clear who forwarded this letter to Scaliger or when. The best one can suggest is that the original or a copy of it somehow made its way to the printer Vidoue, who then forwarded it to Scaliger at Agen. Indignant, Scaliger wrote a second Oratio, which did not appear in print until the end of 1536, after Erasmus had died. See Vernon Hall, Jr The Life of Julius Caesar Scaliger (1484–1558) Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, new series 40/2 (1950) 110.

25

30

35

40

3006  From Johannes Caesarius  [1535] 3006 / From Johannes Caesarius

190

Cologne, 29 March [1535]

This letter was first published by Franz Wachter in the Zeitschrift des Bergischen Geschichtsvereins 30 (1894) 209–10. The autograph is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 43). The year-date derives from the reference in line 2 to Etienne Dolet’s Dialogus, which was published early in 1535. For Caesarius, teacher at Cologne, see Ep 374).

greetings in our lord and saviour jesus christ I await your response to that most insulting book of Etienne Dolet.1 But another new battle is hanging over you – from our Carthusians, who last winter bribed someone here, a man of considerable learning, to attack your views on the authorship of the works that circulate under the name of Dionysius the 5 Areopagite.2 Decent scholars here wonder what got into the man to make him take on this task, since he used to trumpet your praises wherever he went, claiming that it was from you that he received a great part of his learning. But ‘Is there anything that the accursed craving for gold / Will not drive the hearts of men to do?’3 10 As for me, dear Erasmus, I suffer from constant ill health, and from time to time an attack of the stone causes me excruciating pain. I hear you ***** 3006 1 The Dialogus de imitatione Ciceroniana; see Ep 3005 n5. 2 Erasmus had joined Lorenzo Valla in denying the attribution to Dionysius the Areopagite (converted by St Paul at Athens; Acts 17:34) the works of the mystical theologian (c 500) now generally referred to as Dionysius the PseudoAreopagite. Conservative theologians had long since taken umbrage at this; see Declarationes ad censuras Lutetiae vulgatas cwe 82 242–4. Caesarius is here referring to D. Dionysii Carthusiani eruditissima simul et utilissima super omnes S. Dionysij Areopagitae libros commentaria (Cologne: Peter Quentel 1536) by the Carthusian of Cologne Dietrich Loher (Dierick Loer, Theodoricus Loher a Stratis, c 1495– 1554). At the end of that volume (folios 51 verso–53 verso) one finds an Apologia ostendens Beatum Dionysium, in which Loher’s fellow Carthusian, Iohan[nes] Novius, taking principal aim at Valla but also mentioning Erasmus, defends the identification of the mystical theologian with the figure mentioned in Acts. We have been unable to find any biographical information about Iohannes Novius, but we can report that in 1702 the text of his apologia was appended, under the title Apologia Joannis Novii pro operibus Sancti Dionysii adversus Laurentium Vallam, to the Vindiciae Areopagiticae of the Carthusian Lorenzo Cozza (Rome: Georgio Placho) 496–505. Thanks go to Timothy J. Wengert for calling Loher’s volume to our attention. 3 Virgil Aeneid 3.57

3007  From Franciscus Rupilius  1535

191

have got free of that malady, which makes me happy for you.4 If you have an effective remedy for the problem, please don’t keep it to yourself. The stone lodges in my left kidney; it used to descend sometimes during urination in 15 the form of gritty particles, but I do not see this happening now, and it has occurred only rarely for several months. We hope to live into old age, but meanwhile we bring upon ourselves a lot of suffering. I take up and read almost every day your little book Preparing for Death.5 I can hardly tell you how much courage it has given me to face death when 20 he who gave us life bids us depart. Among my friends I like to say of this book that while in your other works you have regularly surpassed others, here you appear to have surpassed yourself. Farewell. Cologne, 29 March Yours sincerely, Johannes Caesarius 25 To Erasmus of Rotterdam, a scholar of great and wide learning, his incomparable friend and most respected mentor 3007 / From Franciscus Rupilius

Rome, 29 March 1535

Selections from this letter were published in Fecht 839–40, and (following Fecht) in lb i i i /2 1762–3 Appendix epistolarum no 377). The first publication of the complete text of the letter was that of Enthoven, Ep 125. The autograph is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 130). For Franciscus Rupilius, who had recently been in Padua and was now in Rome, see Ep 2682 n21.

Greetings. Most eloquent sir, the foremost glory of our age, I do not clearly remember what I wrote to you in my last letter,1 though I know that I wanted to report what Master Ambrosius von Gumppenberg had confided to me,2 *****



4 See Ep 2965:6, where Erasmus reports that attacks of the stone are rarer and less severe than before. But their place had been taken by severe attacks of gout; see Ep 2940 n2. 5 Ep 2884 3007 1 This is the only extant letter from Rupilius. Ep 2929:30–1 seems to indicate that he intended to write to Erasmus in April 1534. It is clear from Ep 2983:95–6 that he wrote sometime before 10 December 1534. The letter mentioned here is perhaps that one. 2 For Gumppenberg, see Ep 3015; for his interest in the promotion of Erasmus to cardinal, see Ep 3011.

3007  From Franciscus Rupilius  1535

192

for I expected he was aware of some scheme to bring about a considerable improvement in your rank and fortune, and I certainly wanted this to happen.3 On that occasion I had to write in great haste since I was being pressed by the courier, who was anxious to leave and impatient at the delay. This explains why my letter may perhaps have seemed somewhat flat. But no viper’s breath4 could bring about a change in the feelings of respect that I have for you. The high regard in which I hold you is not founded on any fleeting impression, but was formed deliberately and judiciously on the merits of your extraordinary intelligence and the purity of your life, and I shall cling to this opinion tenaciously as long as I live and shall always love and honour and revere my dear Erasmus. I never cease to pray that God, in his infinite mercy, will long keep you safe and well for all our sakes. I am dreadfully sorry that the cruel pains caused by your ailments are gradually getting worse.5 This, as I learned in a letter from that excellent man Provost Koler,6 has meant that we cannot at present enjoy your Method of Preaching, which, had circumstances been otherwise, would by now have been published.7 My fervent wish is that these illnesses of yours will, by God’s command, agree to a perpetual amnesty with you. *****



3 Writing from Strasbourg c March 1535, Giovanni Angelo Odoni states that visitors from Rome had informed him of Pope Paul iii’s offer to Erasmus of a cardinalate with a commensurate income, indicating further that Erasmus enjoyed the favour of ‘the most important cardinals’ (Ep 3002:707–10). Ep 3011:17–19 names cardinals Antonio Pucci and Ennio Filonardi as actively engaged in promoting efforts at the papal court to do ‘due honour’ to Erasmus. Initially Pope Paul himself made only vague promises (Ep 3021), but he then offered Erasmus the provostship of Deventer (Epp 3033–4). Erasmus persuaded himself that the provostship was intended to supply in part the income commensurate with a cardinalate and wrote to friends in the conviction that the offer of the red hat was a settled matter; see Epp 3048:87–106, 3049:182–94, 3052:34–9, 3061:23–31, 3064:26–8. Erasmus appears to have ridiculed Gumppenberg’s efforts on his behalf; see lines 32–3 below. It is not clear what he expected from Ludwig Baer’s visit to Rome (line 22 below), and he declined the offered provostship. Apart from Erasmus’ own statements, there is no evidence to indicate that he was among the candidates considered in the election to the college of cardinals in May 1535. 4 For the ancient belief that a viper’s breath could cause madness see Virgil Aeneid 7.35 and Ovid Metamorphoses 4.490–9. 5 See Ep 2940 n2. 6 Johann Koler (Ep 2947) 7 See Ep 3016 n12.

5

10

15

20

3007  From Franciscus Rupilius  1535

193

The theologian Baer arrived in Rome a few days ago.8 I explained to him what you wanted me to do and I formally committed myself to be completely at his service; I shall not neglect anything that I think could please him. I give you my profound thanks for the kindness you have shown me in generously commending me to Master von Gumppenberg and for your intention to introduce me to several others. You prove in this way that your feelings towards me are those of a true friend and patron. I only wish I could merit your support by some service I could do for you; I would quickly prove to you the loyalty and devotion that a most attentive protégé might be expected to show. As for the hunt for benefices, which you make fun of in Gumppenberg’s letter,9 it is true, as you say, that there are great Molossian hounds10 here with immense grinning jaws that attack and devour any prey they find, leaving nothing for poor weak puppies like us. This kind of hunt has its own techniques; it also implies a different moral code from that which I have followed so far, but anyone who refuses to adopt it is unlikely to find the Delian goddess on his side.11 Many things stand in the way of my adopting it. Meanwhile, however, I have captured two canonries, one at the cathedral church of Regensburg and a second at the cathedral church of Bressanone, but these I owe more to the generosity of our friend, the excellent and distinguished Master Johann Paumgartner, than to the favour of the pope, for Paumgartner puts his accumulated wealth at the service of the worthy.12 Our shepherd recognizes the bleating of his sheep, that is, the actual members of his household, his relatives, his grandsons,13 his officials, and since I am not numbered *****



8 The letter to Pope Paul iii (Ep 2988), which Baer carried, is dated 23 January, but Baer did not depart from Basel until sometime in late February; see Ep 2988 introduction. 9 Evidently a reference to a letter of Gumppenberg to Erasmus, not extant, describing efforts by Gumppenberg to advance Erasmus’ interests in Rome. Erasmus had more than once written to Gumppenberg himself complaining about it; see Ep 3048:97–101. 10 Molossian dogs were a famous breed in antiquity, known for their size and courage. 11 The Delian goddess is Diana, goddess of the hunt. According to tradition she and her brother Apollo were born on the island of Delos. 12 Rupilius was living in Italy as the tutor to the sons of Johann (ii) Paumgartner; cf Ep 2867 introduction. 13 Paul iii notoriously appointed two of his underage grandsons to the sacred college (see Ep 2998 n13).

25

30

35

40

45

3007  From Franciscus Rupilius  1535

194

in that company, he does not recognize my voice.14 However, I have not asked him for anything, so I cannot seriously complain that he turned a deaf ear to my appeal. But the character of the papal court is sufficient warning of what I can expect to gain from that quarter. I am not a man of insatiable greed. I could now happily retire to the benefices I have obtained, if the statutes governing these foundations did not prevent me from immediately receiving the emoluments that come from them. So I shall have to wait for the appointed time. Then I shall have done with the Roman court and direct the whole pattern of my life to the quiet pursuit of learning. I pray that Almighty God will some day grant me success in this. There is a man at Rome, a fairly old priest, or so I believe, who has taken upon himself the defence of Italy against your attacks and has now decided to publish his work.15 He believes that Italy was treated most ignominiously by you, for in the adage Myconius calvus you wrote that it produces few brave fighters.16 Five quaternions have been printed, which I would gladly have purchased at any price, but there was no way I could do so. I would have sent them to you at once. However, I had a copy made of the first quaternion (which I had obtained with great difficulty) and sent it to Provost Koler, convinced that he would give you a full report about the whole matter. Master von Gumppenberg tells me that the pope has forbidden its publication. Printing is suspended with the work incomplete, and the wretched author is running up and down, pleading that he be allowed to publish his precious drivel, the hard work of many years. He came to remonstrate with ***** 14 ‘Our shepherd’ is the pope; Rupilius’ comment is an inversion of John 10:4: ‘the sheep know [the shepherd’s] voice.’ 15 This is the first direct reference in the correspondence to the existence of Pietro Corsi and his Defensio pro Italia ad Erasmum Roterodamum (Rome: A. Bladus 1535). Corsi (documented 1509–37), a native of Carpi, was a priest attached in some capacity to the curia and an ardent champion of the Ciceronianism that Erasmus had scorned in the Ciceronianus. Offended by what he took to be Erasmus’ questioning of the military valour of Italians (see following note), he presented in his Defensio evidence of such valour since 1494. By May 1535 Erasmus had received a copy of the work. Though initially disinclined to reply to it, he did send to Rome a brief Iudicium de apologia Petri Cursii, the text of which is appended to Ep 3015, and in August he published a longer reply in the form of a letter to Johann Koler; see Ep 3032. For details see the introduction to Ep 3015. 16 See Adagia ii i 7: Myconius Calvus ‘Myconian baldpate,’ where Erasmus includes in a list of ‘things one seldom finds – an educated Russian, … a brave [bellax] Italian, an honest merchant, a godly soldier or a Carthaginian that one can trust.’

50

55

60

65

3007  From Franciscus Rupilius  1535

195

Gumppenberg, since he thought him responsible for stopping the presses from printing his work. He thought that Gumppenberg had arranged this with the pope, acting as a sort of agent on your behalf, which, however, is untrue. Educated people, I hear, make fun of him, treating him as a joke. Some people, I don’t know who, wrote him a letter in your name, in which you request him not to publish his apologia. He showed this to Gumppenberg, who denied that it was from you, and he himself understands that this is the case. As a result he suspects certain people and wishes to take up his pen against them. He is the sort of person who enjoys his own madness, though this damns him in everyone else’s eyes. So you should not have any trouble from this quarter. If anything develops from this comedy, I shall let you know when I next write. I am very pleased and delighted to hear that our friend Viglius has been chosen on the vote of the Burgundian nation as assessor at the Imperial Supreme Court.17 His learning and his fairmindedness make him a fitting choice for this office, which I do not doubt he will perform so well as to provide him with a firm and secure stepping stone to greater honours and responsibilities. May God bring him every success! Here is the news circulating among us at present. It is said that our emperor will go to Naples in Italy next month, and I believe this will be so.18 The Turk is said to have suffered a great defeat at the hands of the king of Persia and to have been stripped of all his artillery; he is also said to be so closely surrounded that he cannot escape except by long roundabout routes, and these are difficult and dangerous.19 They say that, with a few ships, a certain ***** 17 Viglius owed his appointment to the imperial vice-chancellor Matthias Held; see Ep 2767:27–31. The emperor had in his personal gift the appointment of two assessors to the court from the Burgundian imperial circle (roughly the Netherlands and the Franche-Comté). 18 The emperor did not visit Naples until November 1535, but there had been many reports earlier in the year that he was on the way. On 17 August, following his great victory at Tunis (Ep 2997 n22) he set sail for Sicily, arriving there on 22 August 1535 and remaining until 2 November. Crossing to the mainland, he arrived at Naples on 25 November and remained there until 22 March 1536. He departed for Rome on 31 March, arriving there on 5 April and remaining until 18 April. See Bradford 499–502. 19 The years 1532–5 saw the first of a series of wars (ending in 1555) between Ottoman Turkey and Safavid Persia. In 1534 Shah Tahmasp i of Persia managed to seize Tabriz and Baghdad from Ottoman control, but in the summer and autumn of that year forces under the command of Sultan Suleiman i took them back. Rupilius gives no hint of the place or date of the supposed Turkish

70

75

80

85

90

3007  From Franciscus Rupilius  1535

196

Filippo Doria so blocked, I think, the narrow entrance to the Hellespont that for a considerable time Constantinople suffered serious starvation; then after the seizure of thirty ships and three thousand men, he returned to Sicily.20 95 Also it is said that the emperor is about to send an exceptionally well equipped fleet to Africa to attack Barbarossa in Tunis.21 May God bring the fleet back after winning for us a welcome and much desired victory. I commend myself to you, distinguished sir, and pray you may have the best of health. 100 Rome, 29 March in the year of our salvation through Christ 1535 I remain, reverend and distinguished sir, your most devoted friend Franciscus Rupilius 3008 / From Luigi Spinola

Genoa, 6 April 1535

This letter was first published as Ep 151 in Enthoven. The autograph is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University of Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 140). Luigi (or Gian Luigi) Spinola of Genoa (documented 1508–35) was a member of the Genoese branch of the ancient and wealthy Spinola family. He received a good humanist education, but frail health precluded the usual family choice of a career in commerce as well as direct engagement in public life. He was, however, an enthusiastic supporter of the constitutional reforms introduced at Genoa by Andrea Doria in 1528, and he wrote a (never printed) treatise ‘De reipublicae institutione’ celebrating them (see n24 below). In Ep 3002:690–2, Giovanni Angelo Odoni mentions Spinola among Erasmus’ most enthusiastic supporters in Italy. If Erasmus wrote a reply to this letter of self-introduction, it did not survive.

luigi of the spinola family, patrician, to erasmus of rotterdam, greeting I kept waiting, most learned Erasmus, for a more suitable occasion than has so far come my way on which to write to you, or to put it more accurately, to interrupt you. What I mean is that I hoped to make enough progress in 5 ***** setback referred to here. Ep 3078:19–31 may possibly be another account of the same event. It specifies 13 October as the date, but does not name the year. We are unable to confirm that Suleiman suffered any such setback at the hands of the Persians. 20 Filippo Doria (d after 1547), nephew of the more famous admiral in imperial service, Andrea Doria (Ep 3008 n24). We have no further information concerning the incident reported here. 21 See Ep 2997 n22.

3008  From Luigi Spinola  1535

197

learning so that if my letter could not give you pleasure, it would at least not cause you such disgust that as soon as you began to read it you would shun it as you would steer clear of a rock in the sea. I was aware that such a letter, containing absolutely nothing that could entice a man to read it, would be not just an untimely interruption, but an appalling nuisance, and this would be especially so in your case, since you are always engaged in studies of the greatest importance and do not waste even a single hour that could be put to advantage, no less for us than for yourself. But then I realized that for many years now I have been disappointed in my hopes, for the more progress I seemed to make from day to day, the less satisfied I felt with the result. At the same time I heard from many people who had visited you that you are always so kind that there is no one whom you do not receive most courteously and provide with helpful advice, and that you will gladly read letters even from half-educated writers, provided they are written in a friendly tone. So I easily convinced myself that I should delay no longer in what was after all a complimentary gesture. I thought it preferable to risk the possibility that you might think me presumptuous (if that indeed will be your reaction) in writing to so great a person as yourself when I am unknown to you not just by sight but even by name and am, moreover, unversed in the liberal arts. But this seemed preferable to never leaving you – or others – some clear evidence of my affection for you, not congratulating you, or rather our age, on all the advantages available to me, and not showing my delight in the felicity of your genius and in your goodness, for day and night you have but one thought and ambition – to make all men understand that you were born not for yourself but for others,1 and that your life was not in vain. What greater success could you have than that? I would dare to assert that no one is more loved by Almighty God than those who have lived out their lives not for their own advantage but for that of others. You, more than anyone else, spend so many wakeful hours for the good of others that no one could hurl against you that old familiar reproach: ‘There was no need to waste those hours too!’2 How fortunate you are that *****



3008 1 See Adagia iv vi 81: Nemo sibi nascitur ‘No one is born just for himself,’ where Plato Letters 9.358a is cited as the source of the saying ‘used so frequently by all learned men [including Cicero De officiis 1.7.22] that it can, with every justification, be listed among proverbs.’ 2 See Pliny the Younger Letters 3.5.16: ‘I remember that one time, he [the elder Pliny] asked me why I was out walking. “You could have,” he said, “avoided wasting these hours,” for he thought that all time was wasted that was not spent on study.’

10

15

20

25

30

35

3008  From Luigi Spinola  1535

198

Christ, our Lord and Master, judged you alone of men to be worthy of that gift! Certainly there have been many men, and learned men too, who have devoted all their lives to literary studies. But if they are compared with you, they will seem indolent and incompetent. Then there are many from whom one hears nothing (which is a sure sign of moral irresponsibility), men who have wasted their lives in perpetual idleness. You, on the other hand, seem to have written almost more than others have read. Heavens! just think of the number and size of the volumes that keep appearing under your name everywhere in the world, some your own compositions, others edited and corrected by you, and some translated with wonderful skill and accuracy from Greek into Latin. On my travels I have visited almost the whole of Italy; everywhere I have found the bookshops filled with your works and, if this counts (as it certainly must), easily finding a buyer. And I say nothing of Germany, France, Britain, Spain, and the rest of the world. It almost passes belief that such a quantity of books could have come from one man. What a creative mind you have! You really ought to have been born in our city, such is the regard that the people of Liguria have for you!3 To pass over your other admirers (for I must be brief), there was my father Stefano.4 What am I to say about the affection, the good will, the respect he felt for you, both before and after he read your Handbook of a Christian Soldier, which had quite recently seen the light of day?5 When he was sent a copy from Spain by his son (in whose opinion you already stood supreme),6 he proclaimed that your teaching was sound and wholesome for all. He always spoke of you in the most complimentary terms, he almost never let your writings out of his *****





3 Liguria, one of the regions of Italy established by Emperor Augustus, is in the northwest corner of the peninsula. It includes Genoa. 4 Little is known of Stefano Spinola of Genoa. Surviving records indicate that he was married in 1480, that he was a successful merchant and entrepreneur, that he served in a number of important public offices (including that of ambassador to the duke of Milan in 1494), and that he had twelve children, both legitimate and illegitimate. At this point he had apparently been dead for some time; see lines 76–85 below. 5 The original edition of the Enchiridion militis christiani was that published with the Lucubratiunculae by Dirk Martens at Antwerp in February 1503. Reprints followed in 1509, 1515, 1516, and 1517. The first independent edition of the Enchiridion was that published by Dirk Martens at Louvain in June 1515. See cwe 66 2, 4. If the elder Spinola’s enthusiasm for Erasmus was in fact already formed by the time the latter visited Lyon in 1506 (see lines 77–8 and n8 below), then the earliest edition must be the one referred to here. 6 A reference to Luigi himself? Or to one of the other sons?

40

45

50

55

60

3008  From Luigi Spinola  1535

199

hands, particularly because they were full of the ideas of Paul, in which he took great delight. He could not imagine how anyone who neglected these ideas could be thought an expert in Scripture. Moreover, he liked to say that without this tool no one could appreciate even in the smallest degree the sweetness that the sacred text afforded. You yourself adhere to this opinion so strongly that you could never be forced to abandon it. Is it any surprise, then, that you, joined as you are to my father by such unanimity of views and interests, are loved both by father and son, or rather sons. For it is said here that while my brother – his name was Pasquale – was doing business in your part of the world, he managed not just to visit you but to bestow on you such honours as he could in the circumstances, both on his own account and because of my father’s good will towards you, which he had learned about from letters. If he had lived longer – it is now five years since he died, a victim, alas! of the plague in England – he would not have taken second place to me or to my father in his love for you.7 To return to my father, it has not yet faded from my memory, nor will it fade as long as I live, how delighted my father was when he was told that, while you were in Lyon,8 you wished for your own enjoyment to visit several cities in the near future, ours among them, and how fervently he prayed to heaven that, before he departed this life, he might be allowed to see in his own city, and indeed in his own home, that famous Erasmus, so widely celebrated throughout the world;9 he felt that if death followed that day, it could not be thought premature. It was as though he had a presentiment that he would shortly depart this life (as, I grieve to say, did in fact happen, to the deep regret of his country and his children). At that time he kept turning over in his mind what were the proper obligations of a host; I doubt if Panaetius had been more honourably received by Scipio – he was certainly no more deeply cherished.10 *****

7 Pasquale Spinola was born before 3 April 1498, when he was included in his father’s will. He supervised the family’s commercial interests in England, where he is documented in 1528. 8 In the summer of 1506 Erasmus left Paris and travelled via Orléans and Lyon over the Alps into Italy, going first to Turin, where he was granted the degree of doctor of theology on 4 September; see Ep 200 introduction. 9 This is a serious exaggeration of the extent of Erasmus’ fame in 1506. It may nonetheless be a faithful reflection of the elder Spinola’s personal enthusiasm at the time. Or it could be that news of what Erasmus allegedly said at Lyon reached him only much later. 10 Panaetius (185–110 bc) was a Greek Stoic philosopher influential at Rome. For his friendship with the Roman politician Scipio Aemilianus (185–129 bc) see Cicero De officiis 1.90.

65

70

75

80

85

3008  From Luigi Spinola  1535

200

What would he have thought if he had survived to see the almost endless stream of books that you have produced and that have met with profound admiration on every side? His love for you would have increased so much that nothing could possibly have been added to it. About the elegance and usefulness of these works it is better to say nothing than to say little, so I shall pass the matter over in silence. But there is one thing that, even if I wished, I could not omit: that you are free from the defect from which many suffer who, even when they understand something correctly, cannot express it elegantly; you, on the other hand, have proved beyond doubt your complete mastery of both these arts. You give the reader such delight both through the originality of the thought and the eloquence of the expression that he never feels weary of reading. Let me say it again: ‘What a creative mind you have!’ If only more people could be inspired to imitate you, how much better it would be for us! How many, through your teaching, have already begun to follow a better way of life, how many will do so in the future! I make this inference from my own experience and from that of many known to me, for when I read your work, and in particular your wonderful Enchiridion, I feel, to put it as briefly as possible, that I have put on a new man,11 what you yourself call ‘the inner man.’12 I admit that all those lessons could have been drawn, like water from a fountain, by repeated reading of Holy Scripture. But in Scripture they are widely scattered and often somewhat obscure: you have summarized and clarified them, so that they are much more readily available to a harried businessman or a person of moderate learning. As a result everyone now may, with your help and under the guidance of Christ, take thought for the best course to follow and enter that heavenly land in which we with the blessed may enjoy eternal life. In your Familiar Colloquies, with their many and varied kinds of wit, I think your intention was, apart from giving practice in the Latin tongue, to employ the language we use in ordinary and familiar conversation or in talking with friends to reveal the deceptions of men who under the guise of piety are, to choose the mildest term, self-serving, so that we may clearly recognize the path of salvation and eagerly enter upon it. How far we stand in your debt for showing us what was difficult for us to see by ourselves (for we are deceived by the appearance of truth) so that we may have no fear in future of being led astray by religious pretense! I would not like you to think that I say this simply to gratify your ears: I am in fact echoing the judicious opinion of ***** 11 Cf Eph 4:24. 12 For Erasmus’ discussion of the ‘inner man’ in the Enchiridion, see cwe 66 41–54.

90

95

100

105

110

115

120

3008  From Luigi Spinola  1535

201

others. So far am I from flattering you that I am even afraid to give you the praise which, in the unanimous opinion of the greatest scholars, you deserve. That celebrated Folly of yours has all the appearance of having been written simply to amuse, but in reality it is an investigation, through humour, into people’s many faults. Investigation leads to criticism, and criticism to a quiet warning to be on one’s guard. What could be more useful or more delightful than for every man to find honestly portrayed in that book his own type of folly, the fortunate man being, as Flaccus says, the one who is beset by the smallest faults.13 Would a man who has learned this lesson continue to believe in human success? Would he not consider honour and pride as of no importance, and place all his hope in God? Although you say that you regret having published the work,14 you will never make us regret having read it – except perhaps in it you have not avoided one fault, that in making Folly speak with such eloquence, there is a danger that, seduced by her blandishments, we may abandon wisdom and embrace foolishness! Of that you yourself must be the judge. But now that the work has been published, you have the arguments and examples of many wise men to use against your spiteful critics, who would have this kind of writing forbidden to a Christian. So your critics may have more reason to repent for having attacked the Folly than you for composing this jeu d’esprit. At this stage in my letter I ought to write a eulogy of you and talk about the usefulness of your other works, which is unsurpassed. But since it is much easier to find a way of beginning than a way of ending, I thought that for this reason I should steer clear of the subject, especially since anyone can easily gauge the usefulness of all the rest of your works from those I have already mentioned, judging, so to speak, the lion by his claws.15 But someone will say, ‘Why this long eulogy of Erasmus when he has so many critics, men not without learning, who find fault with numerous passages, finding him unsatisfactory both in his religious views and in his scholarship?’ But, I ask you, has anyone ever lived who could long escape the sharp tooth of envy? I cannot think of any case where it would be easier to take on the role of defender than in refuting the critics of my Erasmus – or rather of showing up his critics as guilty of malice and ignorance. But since he has replied in his ***** 13 Horace Satires 1.3.69 14 He says this in the letter to Maarten van Dorp (Ep 337:29–32) that was the classic defence of the Moriae encomium. From 1516 the letter was published with all early editions of the work. 15 Adagia i ix 34

125

130

135

140

145

150

155

3008  From Luigi Spinola  1535

202

own good time to all his spiteful critics, showing what kind of people they are, a servile herd born to eat grain,16 I thought it pointless to discuss the matter further. But it is wonderful to observe how rude and thoughtless some people are: there are those who, if they read anything of yours that is too scholarly to please them, have the effrontery to say that it is not yours, asserting, for example, that the tragedies of Euripides that you translated into Latin with a brilliance that could not be surpassed are the work of the learned Rodolphus Agricola,17 although they read your name inscribed in every edition; others are not ashamed to criticize, and criticize bitterly, works that they have never held in their hands, not stopping short of insults and abuse. Can you imagine anything more cruel and pernicious? No one could ever have devised a penalty for some atrocious crime that was too harsh to fit these people. But you, appealing to Christian charity, believe that all must be forgiven, and you give more weight to your good conscience than to the tirades and insults of such shameless rogues. I, in this as in other respects, am much your inferior and cannot prevent myself from pursuing men like these with a Vatinian hatred whenever I come in contact with them18 – and this happens often since I took on the role of defender. If these people would read your writings and read them, as they ought to, with an open mind, they would not talk such nonsense (I have myself witnessed this reaction in several cases), but might even take up the pen and write a retraction. Can you imagine anything less becoming to a man of honour than the kind of remark that is always on these people’s lips: ‘More serious business does not leave me enough time to skim through the writings of Erasmus as well.’ Let’s suppose that this is the case: why, then, do they rail in such a shameless manner against books they have never opened? But, they say, we know that this has been the repeated verdict of others who have opened your books, and they were men of great learning too. I grant you that men who lack intellectual ability need to rely on the authority of others. But one thing is clear: authority should be rejected absolutely where a person possesses the power of judgment, that is, where the truth can readily be discovered. Besides, what about

***** 16 Horace Epistles 1.19.19, 1.2.27; the phrase is modelled on Homer’s ‘men who eat the fruits of the earth’ (Iliad 6.142). 17 Erasmus responds to this charge in Ep 3032:535–50; cf Ep 158:10n. 18 Publius Vatinius was a corrupt and scheming politician so detested by the Roman people that his name became proverbial for someone cordially hated; see Adagia ii ii 94 and Catullus 14.3.

160

165

170

175

180

185

3008  From Luigi Spinola  1535

203

the judge who decided a case after hearing one side of the evidence? You know how that ended.19 To those of your critics who are gentler with the lash one could reply that you publish your writings with either no revision or a minimum of it (which necessarily means that much appears in print without your having given it full consideration), and that some passages could be better expressed, as is proved by the fact that those that you have taken in hand a second time have been made more elegant and more devout. However, even if these people seem to have a point, they must be rebuffed firmly and informed in the plainest terms how ungenerous they are. Of course one must admit to an error when criticism is valid, while making it clear that if one were to do what they wanted, it would put an immediate brake on human achievement. For is there anyone so blessed with perfect knowledge and learning as not to be aware that every day his work could be made more correct, provided he took the trouble? This explains why those famous savants of the past, when they had something memorable to pass on to posterity, did not set an ending to their work, but rightly left it incomplete, as it were, for everyone to work upon. What they seemed to be indicating by this is that nothing is so highly wrought, so embellished, so artistically refined that some improvement could not be made to help perfect it. But what could they do? They realized that there were greater advantages in one course, and so they did not fail to condemn the other, choosing the lesser loss in preference to the greater, which is the proper moral choice. Then it is the considered opinion of many wise men that the perfection which these men are ardently seeking is not to be found in anything, even if we were to spend our whole life working to achieve it. Where does all this lead? If you had done everything that native brilliance, learning, or diligence could accomplish so that nothing went out that was not perfect, in the hope that your malevolent critics would finally keep quiet (though perhaps they never would!), so great would have been the loss of your writings that little or no value would have flowed to us from your studies, while you, concentrating on a single piece, would of necessity have abandoned the rest, and perhaps the more important. How far this would be from a proper moral choice is so obvious that no more need be said about it. ***** 19 It was a tenet of Roman law that a verdict based on the evidence of one party to a dispute could not stand; Digest 48.17.1. Contravention of that tenet was thought to be the mark of a tyrant; see Suetonius Claudius 38, Galba 14, Vitellius 14. We cannot identify the specific case to which Spinola appears to be referring.

190

195

200

205

210

215

220

3008  From Luigi Spinola  1535

204

There is one criticism that they might perhaps lay against you – though it would not be justified, considering that you have almost passed the age at which you ought already to have been presented with a sword,20 and that the last thing your health needs is continual concentration on scholarship: they might say that in order to escape the drudgery of revision, you are unwilling to return to what you have written once (in Quintilian’s words) the excitement of composition has cooled off,21 and to treat your writing as if it were the work of someone else, to submit it to sharp critical examination and recast it in a different form. But this is far from being a valid criticism, since if more serious studies did not prevent it, you would not refuse to put yourself to even greater trouble by submitting your earlier publications to the most thorough scrutiny, for you would not wish, even at great inconvenience to yourself, to leave anything undone that might be helpful to posterity, and so, if you could – and no one could do it better than you – you would seek to improve and amplify all these works of yours, [as you have already indicated] in a certain letter,22 which many do not read and, if they do, pretend not to have read so that they are freer to pursue the way of life that comes naturally to them. It would not be easy to think of anything more poisonous than this kind of person. But these remarks have perhaps gone on too long and are unsuited to a friendly letter, for either you must defend yourself or no one can. But I have been lured by my love of writing into making these comments so that now at last you may understand how devoted I am to you and to your cause. I would ***** 20 Ie granted honourable retirement. Upon retiring Roman gladiators were presented with a wooden sword. The phrase became proverbial; see Adagia i ix 24. When referring to the controversies with his opponents, Erasmus liked to refer to himself as involved in gladiatorial combat; see Ep 1934 n1. 21 Quintilian Epistula ad Tryphonem (the preface to the Institutio oratoria) 2 22 Something is missing from the surviving text of this sentence, and it is not clear how many words got lost. Allen tried to fill in the gap with one word, reddas (see line 217 of his text), but that yields a translation that makes little sense and does not solve the problem: ‘you could set all this out more fully in a certain letter that many people are not reading …’ Our conjectural solution, shown in brackets, supplies a few additional words. It makes sense, but in the absence of the crucial verb (indicated? attempted? something else?), it is by no means clear that we have found the sense that was intended. Nor can we confidently identify an extant letter that seems to fit the context. The reference might conceivably be to the Loca quaedam in aliquot Erasmi lucubrationibus per ipsum emendata, which was appended to the second edition of the Apologia adversus monachos quosdam Hispanos (1529) and had Ep 2095 as its preface.

225

230

235

240

3008  From Luigi Spinola  1535

205

have done so earlier, had I been satisfied with my competence in this style of writing, as I told you earlier. Although my letter is far from polished, even inept, you must admit that it is thoroughly courteous and respectful, a quality that can compensate for even the greatest ineptitude, for nothing could bring greater honour and distinction to you and men like you than to understand clearly that you are much loved and that the benefits conferred by your books are reaching more and more people. But see what complainers lovers are, for while I see how much I gain every day by reading your works, I am still tormented when I think that on account of my health I cannot move very far from my country, my home, and my household to visit you in person without doing serious damage to my body. But it gives me great pleasure to picture you often in my mind writing, reading, arguing without squabbling on some given subject. Believe me, there is nowhere I would more gladly go than to visit you. ‘Visit’? If you were willing, I would spend my life with you and never move a step away. There are many things I would like to discuss with you to my own benefit, and much I would like to submit to your critical judgment, in particular two books23 that I wrote recently on the political development of our republic and dedicated to Andrea Doria, a fellow citizen, a most celebrated prince, the same person who is commander of the whole imperial fleet, and to whom, after God, we are indebted for the gift of our precious liberty.24 It is not that I ***** 23 ‘Two books’ in the sense of one work divided into books 1 and 2 24 The work was ‘De reipublicae institutione’ (see introduction above). Excerpts from it have been published as an appendix to Silvana Seidel Menchi ‘Passione civile e aneliti erasmiani di riforma nel patriziato genovese del primo cinquecento’ Rinascimento 18 (1978) 87–134, here 120–30. The dedicatee, Andrea Doria (1466–1560), was born into an ancient family that had supplied Genoa with many political and military leaders. Orphaned at an early age, Andrea became a mercenary soldier in the service of the pope and other Italian rulers and then, early in the new century, returned to Genoa to fight Corsican rebels and Mediterranean pirates. In 1515, when Genoa fell under French dominion, he became a condottiere in the service of Francis i and helped him reconquer the city after Spanish forces captured it in 1522. But in 1528 Doria’s contract with Francis expired and, by then annoyed by the slowness of the French court in paying him for his services, he entered the service of Charles v. He then occupied Genoa and, while preserving its republican constitution, became its first citizen and its real master. In 1531 Charles V made him prince of Melfi, a title that passed to his descendants until the end of the twentieth century, when the line died out. One of the most brilliant admirals of his day, Doria served Charles v (and later Philip ii) against the French, the Turks, and Mediterranean pirates until his death; see Epp 2829:35–6, 2854:108–9, 2977 n4, 2983:69–73, 2997 n22.

245

250

255

260

265

3008  From Luigi Spinola  1535

206

imagined that these books, which I wrote simply as an intellectual exercise, would win your approval, but I wanted to show you how far I have advanced in this kind of composition. Heavens! if your honest and definitive vote were added to that of other judges, men of considerable learning, what more could I ask for in this department of my life? Not to mention the pleasure this would give me, that day would mark such wonderful progress in my studies! I would even imagine that those two books of mine that still lie unseen within the walls should be placed on the citadel like the Minerva of Phidias.25 But at the same time this makes me worry even more, since I cannot even imagine any grounds for hoping that this will happen unless you, with your characteristic generosity to everyone, and especially to those interested in humane learning, were to give me some hope that it would not be unwelcome if I sent my work to you. And if you were to urge me to send it? I would certainly not miss such a great opportunity. And if afterwards you felt it warranted your critical attention? For this my debt to you would be so great that I would find it very difficult to repay.26 I have been more long-winded than I had intended. I hope it will not also be a bore to you, which I shall certainly suspect if you do not reply to me, and at even greater length, too, provided you have the time. So please reply so that I shall find out whether my letter, if it did not give you pleasure, at least reached your hands. Nothing would please me more than this. I have no news here, unless you would like to know from me what you must know already, that a powerful fleet is being prepared here against the Turks with all possible speed.27 May God prosper this undertaking! Farewell, and look after your health so that you may long continue to be our benefactor, which is your wish and our hope. Genoa, 6 April 153528 Luigi, in my own hand To the great scholar Erasmus of Rotterdam, who has given outstanding service to both Greek and Latin studies

*****

25 The reference is to the colossal cult statue of Athena made by the sculptor Phidias for the Parthenon on the Acropolis. 26 There is nothing in the correspondence or in any other source that we know of to indicate whether Erasmus responded in any way to this request. 27 Doubtless for the expedition against Tunis (Ep 2997 n22) 28 Octavo Idus Aprilis. The date (8 April) in the heading of Allen’s text is perhaps a typo.

270

275

280

285

290

295

3009  From Erasmus Schets  1535 3009 / From Erasmus Schets

207 Antwerp, 12 April 1535

This letter, Schets’ reply to Ep 2997, was first published by Allen. The manuscript, in a secretary’s hand, signed by Schets, with the address sheet missing, is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms Scheti epistolae 30). For Schets see Ep 2944 introduction.

Cordial greetings. I received several letters of yours from the Frankfurt fair,1 along with a number of others that you wanted me to send on to Eustache Chapuys, the imperial ambassador to the king of England.2 These I sent on at once on the same day on which they arrived, along with another that I added. It is a painful thought that I was taken in by your man Clauthus, who seemed to me a model of what a fine young man should be.3 I am sorry that I allowed him to take from me the document relating to your pension and that, contrary to your orders, I topped up his travel money by giving him three crowns.4 What I did, I did in good faith. From the letter that he brought with him from you I could catch no hint of suspicion of the difficulties that you have subsequently revealed to me.5 He kept telling me that you were sending him to England to get hold of your pension or at least to have the pension agreement confirmed. I asked him if it was part of his orders from you that he should take the diploma with him and he said it was. I added that it was surprising that you did not mention this to me; he said that without the diploma he could do nothing in England. I accepted his word and, suspecting nothing, handed over the diploma. Since, however, it has fallen into the hands of Cromwell who, you say, is very obliging and a good friend,6 I think it will not be lost. I was not so imprudent in the matter of the diploma as I confess I was in giving him travel money. He *****

3009 1 The spring book fair at Frankfurt am Main 2 No letters of Erasmus addressed to people in England at this time are extant. For Chapuys, see Ep 2798 introduction. 3 Johannes Clauthus, the servant who died in England while on a mission to secure the payment of Erasmus’ English pension (Ep 2955 n8). Ep 2997 is a catalogue of Erasmus’ grievances against him. 4 See Ep 2997 n8. 5 The letter carried by Clauthus was Ep 2955. The subsequent revelations were in Epp 2981 and 2997. 6 For the role Thomas Cromwell, principal secretary to Henry viii (Ep 3107), in the continued payment of Erasmus’ English pensions, see Epp 2997 n9, 3037 n33, 3058 introduction, 3067 n10, 3104:4–6, 3119:16–19.

5

10

15

20

3009  From Erasmus Schets  1535

208

deceived me by his sham innocence. He said he did not know whether what was left of the travel money would be enough for the journey, nor did he know if he would receive anything in your name in England. But I beg you, dear Master Erasmus, to pardon this carelessness of mine. What worries me most of all is that I believed that he was a good young man and that you had found him so when you sent him out on such a mission so soon, while I now understand from what you tell me that he was a complete hypocrite and under the pernicious influence of the sects. If you had sent a letter earlier to Strasbourg to be sent on here so that I would be warned of the suspicion you had later formed about him,7 I would have dealt with the fellow more prudently than I did. The money that I incautiously gave him for his travelling expenses contrary to your wishes should be my loss, not yours, as is only right and proper. Nothing, my very dear Master Erasmus, could bring me more pleasure or delight than the opportunity to be of service to you. Nor have I ever felt that Luis de Castro or his present associate, Alvaro de Astudillo, thought any differently.8 I always use their services when I have any business in England, so there is no need for you to impose this burden on the Fuggers, since they do not have their own agent in England, but make use of their friends as I do.9 Now you have there Eustache Chapuys, who is devoted to you. He will look after your business under your instructions and by a single word will gain more than any ten servants you might send. Whatever he receives he should hand over to the Spaniard Alvaro de Astudillo to be passed on to me, for Alvaro will not fail to show the good faith he has always shown thus far in both your affairs and mine. You mention letters that you wrote to Goclenius and Maarten Davidts on an urgent matter and asked me to make sure they were delivered.10 They have not reached me, nor were they in the package addressed to me. I shall write to Goclenius to find out if by chance he received them from someone else. There is nothing new here except what people are saying and writing about the extraordinarily powerful fleet assembled by the emperor,11 and about the great quantity of gold that is arriving every day at Seville from the ***** 7 On the dispatch of letters via Strasbourg, see Ep 2955 n1. 8 See Ep 2997 n14. 9 Cf Ep 2403 n4. 10 There is no mention of this in Ep 2997 or in Ep 2981. 11 For the assault on Tunis see Ep 2997 n22.

25

30

35

40

45

50

3009  From Erasmus Schets  1535

209

lands newly discovered by the imperial mariners. In addition to the amount that arrived in the past year and a half, four ships put in at the end of February 55 with two million pesos of gold (a peso is equivalent to one and a quarter ducats).12 They write that another four ships with no less a cargo are expected daily. These are truly astounding events and a shock to the emperor’s enemies. God grant that this gold and the power of the emperor will encourage peace among Christians rather than war! 60 Farewell, my dearest Master Erasmus. My wife and my son return your greetings. From Antwerp, 12 April 1535 Yours sincerely, Erasmus Schets

*****

12 Schets was well informed: on the basis of the archival records, Earl J. Hamilton estimated that the average annual value of American bullion landed in Seville in the quinquennium 1531–5 was 1,650,231 pesos (American Treasure and the Price Revolution in Spain, 1501–1650 [Cambridge, ma: Harvard University Press 1934] 34 Table 1). Silver, however, rather than gold made up the bulk of the imports, 87.5 and 12.5 percent respectively (ibid 40–1 Table 2, Chart 2), or 854.41 kg of gold to 5,090.79 kg of silver (conversions on the basis of Hamilton’s data by John H. Munro ‘The Monetary Origins of the “Price Revolution”: South German Silver Mining, Merchant-Banking, and Venetian Commerce, 1470–1540’ in Global Connections and Monetary History, 1470–1800 ed Dennis Flynn, Arturo Giráldez, and Richard von Glahn [Aldershot and Brookfield, vt: Ashgate 2003] 4–5 Table 1.2). Spanish silver imports slightly exceeded the 4,616.832 kg in silver coinages issued in the same period by English mints (cwe 12 642 Table 1). The peso was worth 450 maravedís (the basic unit of account) of gold or silver, or 42.29 g of silver. A ducat was worth 375 maravedís so, as Schets notes, the peso represented about 1.25 ducats. To remain with Schets’ round figure of two million pesos, this was equivalent to the annual wage income of 96,000 Antwerp master masons/carpenters (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). Schets’ hope that the imperial windfall would contribute to peace among Christians was not realized: the bulk of American treasure – imports of which soared after 1545 with the opening of the Potosí and Zacatecas mines in what are now Colombia and Mexico – was squandered in the dynastic and confessional wars of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. On this and the contributory role of Spanish bullion in the ‘price revolution’ of the period, see the review essay on Hamilton American Treasure and the Price Revolution in Spain, 1501–1650 by John Munro in ‘Classic Reviews in Economic History’ at https://eh.net/book_reviews/american-treasure-andthe-price-revolution-in-spain-1501-1650/ (accessed 16  August 2020). Thanks go to Francesca Trivellato for this reference.

3010  From Seweryn Boner  1535 3010 / From Seweryn Boner

210 Cracow, 12 April 1535

This letter was first published in Miaskowski 340–1. The manuscript, in the hand of a secretary, signed by Boner, with the address sheet missing, is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 33). In this letter the Cracow financier Seweryn Boner acknowledges the longdelayed receipt of the edition of Terence that Erasmus had dedicated to his two sons; see Epp 2533, 2539 introductions. In lines 11–15 of this letter, the date of which is too clearly written to be called into question, Boner acknowledges a delay of only a year and a half. But the book was published in March 1532, which means that the delay was one of three whole years. Additional confirmation of the longer delay is found in Ep 2961:167–70 (22 August 1534), where Erasmus reports that he had not yet received any acknowledgment for the dedication of the Terence.

Greetings. Unless I am mistaken about the warmth of your generosity, Erasmus, most accomplished of scholars, I have no fear that you will consider this long silence of mine unpardonable or that you will interpret it in any other way than that there were no, or at least very few, couriers going at that time in your direction. So do not suspect that my omission was due to indifference or forgetfulness, since neither of these feelings could lodge in my breast, for partly through your divine and immortal writings and partly from the letters you send me I have taken you so completely into my heart and have conceived such love for you that I shall never forget you or cease to love you except when life itself will cease. This being the case, the situation with regard to the Terence is not inconsistent with what I am saying. With great labour and effort you produced a corrected edition of Terence, with a dedication to my sons, and entrusted it to Anselmus,1 my son Jan’s tutor, to be delivered to me, but he spent so long on the journey that it did not reach me for a year and a half.2 This long delay in no way diminished the pleasure your gift gave me, for such a gift, especially one for which you were responsible, could not fail to be most gratifying to me; but it did make me blush with shame, since it has taken me such a long time to thank you for it. It might well appear that I did not appreciate your good will if you were unaware of the long journey on which the book *****

3010 1 Anselmus Ephorinus (Ep 2539) 2 It was in fact, three years; see introduction above.

5

10

15

20

3011  From Ludwig Baer  1535

211

was taken; but this ought to relieve you of any suspicion on my account. Had it not been for this accident, you would long since have discovered my gratitude, expressed, if not in some tangible way, at least in words. Now at long last I want to show my gratitude in both ways: I thank you as best I can and as you deserve, and I send you as a gift two gold medals bearing my image,3 a pledge of my feelings for you, feelings of gratitude for your good will towards me and of affection for yourself. Please accept this in good part for the present. I would gladly write at even greater length than the Iliad about the affairs of this country (assuming of course that you are interested), but I am well aware that you regularly receive full reports from our mutual friend Justus Ludovicus,4 and from several others, and I would not wish to burden you with such matters since I know you are fully occupied in furthering liberal studies and in answering, or at least reading, the letters that come to you from almost every quarter of the world. If in any matter I could help you or do you a service that would please and delight you, here I am – for I shall never yield second place to anyone in my love and regard for you. Farewell, illustrious Erasmus, the greatest glory of the present age. Love me and do not forget me. In haste, at Cracow, 12 April in the year of our Lord 1535 Seweryn Boner of Balice, castellan of Żernów In his own hand5 3011 / From Ludwig Baer

Rome, 14 April 1535

This letter was first published as Ep 127 in Enthoven. The autograph is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 24). For Ludwig Baer, who was currently on a visit to Rome, see Ep 2225 introduction.

*****



3 The two medals are not found in the inventories of Erasmus’ possessions, but they are listed in Erasmus’ last will as bequests to Bonifacius Amerbach, along with a medal bearing the image of King Sigismund i of Poland, which Boner had given to Erasmus in 1531. See Major 64–5 n78; for the bequest see 596:39–43 below with n17. Cf Ep 2533 introduction, last line, where it is stated inaccurately that one of the medals sent with this letter bore the image of King Sigismund i of Poland. According to Major, that coin was Erasmus’ reward from Seweryn Boner for his hospitality to Boner’s son Jan and his companions, who spent five months as Erasmus’ guests in the spring and summer of 1531; cf Ep 2548:6–12. 4 Justus Ludovicus Decius (Ep 2960) 5 Only the signature; see introduction above.

25

30

35

40

3011  From Ludwig Baer  1535

212

Cordial greetings, dear Master Erasmus, my most distinguished and justly respected friend. To say nothing for the present about the many other benefits you have conferred on me, I am completely in your Excellency’s debt and surrender myself totally to you for that single letter of commendation that you gave me,1 as a result of which I had, among other things, the good fortune to meet your Honour’s most devoted friend the aristocratic Ambrosius von Gumppenberg,2 who, over my protests, dragged me from my inn into his home, treating me in everything that mattered to me as though I were another Erasmus. Our Most Holy Father, Paul iii, is beset by financial problems since he found the papal coffers empty, and so a sum of money cannot be found that would do honour to your outstanding qualities despite the great favour with which his Holiness regards the excellence of your teaching and your character. However, our friend Ambrosius, out of love for you, is trying to find (and, I am confident, will succeed in finding) some other way whereby due honour may be done to your position,3 as I hope you will shortly learn from my lips when we meet or find out from letters sent by both of us. Master Ambrosius himself is totally committed to this, relying on the influence with the pope of the most reverend Antonio, cardinal of the Santi Quattro,4 and Ennio, bishop of Veroli.5 I have decided to leave here, if possible, around the first of May.6 In the presence of the cardinal of the Santi Quattro Coronati and of Master Ambrosius, the pope received me most courteously even before he read the letter I had handed to him.7 He had many complimentary things to say about your Excellency. Since then I have not had a conversation with his Holiness, who, at the beginning of his pontificate, is so overwhelmed by a flood of varied and important business that access is not readily granted even to the mighty. *****



3011 1 Not extant 2 For Gumppenberg see Ep 3015. 3 See Ep 3007 n3. 4 Antonio Pucci (Epp 860, 1580) 5 Ennio Filonardi (Ep 2712 introduction) 6 Baer had reached Rome before 29 March (Ep 3007:22). On 21 May Erasmus was expecting him back in Freiburg ‘this month’ (Ep 3019:63–4). But since Baer carried Epp 3021, 3023–4, he cannot have left Rome before 1 June; and since he also carried Epp 3026–7, he must still have been in Italy at the end of June. From Ep 3043:100–5 we know that Baer was back in Freiburg before 18 August. 7 Ep 2988

5

10

15

20

25

3011  From Ludwig Baer  1535

213

He ordered that the influential cardinal of Ravenna and legate of Ancona be imprisoned for life in Castel Sant’ Angelo in the custody of the castellan,8 the right reverend bishop of Veroli,9 who because of his governorship was himself unable to leave the castle without obtaining the permission of the pope, which can rarely be obtained. Campeggi is here in Rome.10 Your Excellency will have letters from him and others on my return.11 I have no certain news about the arrival of the emperor or the meeting of a council.12 I am asked to convey greetings to your Excellency from Master Ambrosius von Gumppenberg and from Franciscus Rupilius, doctor of civil and canon law, who because of his love for you is treating me with much kindness and generosity. Now through the favour of the Delian goddess he has become canon of the cathedral church of Regensburg and also of the cathedral church of Bressanone.13 I believe my earlier letter has been delivered to you.14 But I have received none from you, nor do I want your Excellency to spend your time on trifles when you are always busy with more useful things. May you have every happiness and success! Rome, 14 April [15]35 Your Excellency’s most devoted friend Ludwig Baer

*****





8 On 5 April 1535, Benedetto Accolti (cf Ep 1588 n1), cardinal of Ravenna, governor of Ancona, and legate of the Marches, was arrested and imprisoned on charges related to the brutal tyranny that he had exercised over the people of Ancona. But Emperor Charles intervened warmly on his behalf, and in midAugust he was released after admitting his guilt and paying a heavy fine (cf Ep 3039:11–12); see Pastor 11 310–12. 9 See n5 above. 10 For Lorenzo Cardinal Campeggi see Ep 961. 11 There is no letter from Campeggi among those that Baer carried back to Freiburg; see n6 above. 12 On the emperor’s anticipated visit to Rome, which did not actually take place until April 1536, see Ep 3007 n18. Paul iii had already set in train preparations for the convocation of a general council (see Ep 3020:24–5 with n15), but it would be years before his efforts bore fruit in the meeting of the first session of the Council of Trent (1545). 13 For the Delian goddess and Rupilius’ successful hunt for canonries see Ep 3007:35–40 with n11. 14 The letter is not extant.

30

35

40

45

3011  From Ludwig Baer  1535

214

Our friend Ambrosius von Gumppenberg advises that you consider writing occasionally to the most reverend the cardinal-archbishop of Bari15 50 and to some other cardinals. 3012 / To Bonifacius Amerbach

Freiburg, 16 April [1535]

This letter (= ak Ep 1939), evidently the reply to one now lost, was first published as Ep 46 in the Epistolae familiares. The autograph is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms an i i i 15 91). The year-date derives from the references to the deaths of Basilius Amerbach and Johannes Botzheim (nn1 and 3 below). Bonifacius’ answer is Ep 3013.

I am very sorry to hear of the sad blow that has taken from us such an excellent man.1 I am not surprised that he made a good end, for how could it be otherwise when he had lived such a blameless life? What has happened to Basilius is a fate that I have often wished because of these excruciating pains, which seem unlikely to leave me until they have broken me down.2 Botzheim, 5 a warm friend, has gone before me.3 So has the abbot who was his host, and a supporter of mine.4 One must yield to the supreme will. I received an extremely friendly letter from Sadoleto along with a book.5 I don’t know what the theologians will think of it.6 If you write to the man, please include a friendly note testifying to my good will towards him, for 10 my state of health makes it unsafe for me to write. As for you, in all human affairs follow your own wise judgment.7 Farewell. ***** 15 Estéban Gabriel Merino (Ep 2563a n12), the influential Spanish prelate who had been created cardinal in 1533 at the request of Charles v. He died on 28 July 1535; cf Ep 3047:39 with n8.

3012 1 Basilius Amerbach (named in line 4 below), Bonifacius’ older brother, who died on 8 April 1535 2 See Ep 2940 n2. 3 Johann von Botzheim, who had written to Erasmus as recently as November 1534 (Ep 2977), died in March 1535; cf Ep 3019:17. 4 The abbot is unidentified. 5 The letter was Ep 2982, a copy of which appears to have accompanied this letter to Bonifacius; see Ep 3013:1. The book was a copy of Sadoleto’s commentary on Romans, which had just been published at Lyon by Sebastianus Gryphius. 6 See Ep 3076 n7. 7 Literally ‘apply your Pallas’; Pallas, Minerva to the Romans, was the goddess of wisdom; cf Adagia iii iv 53.

3013  From Bonifacius Amerbach  1535

215

I beg you most earnestly in the name of that long-standing friendship that you and your family had with the house of Froben, to take an interest in Erasmius.8 Certain people, I am afraid, give a higher place to profit than to 15 piety.9 Johann Froben lives on only in him,10 but certain people are trying to make him the slave of the family when he ought to be its head. Freiburg, 16 April Erasmus of Rotterdam To the eminent Master Bonifacius Amerbach. In Basel 20 3013 / From Bonifacius Amerbach

Basel, 20 April 1535

This letter (= ak Ep 1942), Bonifacius’ reply to Ep 3012, was first published by Allen. The manuscript, an autograph rough draft, is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms c v ia 73 207).

Cordial greetings. The copy of Sadoleto’s letter was most welcome.1 For I now really know that I was not wrong in thinking that resentment was the least likely explanation of his long silence. I always thought that it was not just in erudition but in other aspects of character as well that he surpasses the ordinary run of scholars, who find it very difficult to accept criticism. As for 5 your wish that I include a warm assurance of your good will towards him, I *****

8 Erasmius Froben, the son of Johann Froben by his second wife Gertrud Lachner, half-brother of Hieronymus Froben, and Erasmus’ godson, had recently returned to Basel after failing to distinguish himself as a student at Louvain and Lille. Possible plans to further his education at Freiburg came to nothing, and his future for a time was uncertain. See Ep 2978 n3. 9 It seems likely that the reluctance of Erasmius’ stepfather, Johann Herwagen, to give him gainful employment is behind this accusation. Not until 1536 did Herwagen accept Erasmius into his publishing firm, and he later said that his arm had been twisted to force him into doing so (ak Ep 2264:36–7). 10 According to Alfred Hartmann, this indicates that Erasmus took seriously rumours that Hieronymus Froben (about whose mother, Johann Froben’s first wife, nothing is known) was the illegitimate son of Johann Froben. See ak Ep 1939 n1, where Hartmann cites Erasmus’ description of Hieronymus (ak Ep 1389:48–9 = Ep 2231:54–6) as a ‘chick,’ hatched from a ‘cuckoo’s egg’ that was ‘dropped surreptitiously into another’s nest,’ and ‘destined to devour the genuine offspring.’ The cwe notes for Ep 2231 (see especially nn13–14, 17) correctly identify Hieronymus as the ‘chick that is destined to devour’ Erasmius, but fail to note the implication of illegitimate birth.

3013 1 See Ep 3012:8.

3013  From Bonifacius Amerbach  1535

216

have done so forcefully and will do so again when I have occasion to write to him.2 I have no doubt that he is completely convinced of this. Remember, however, that he is asking for a letter from you, and that no one else, certainly not a man of modest abilities like me, can be a substitute for Erasmus. 10 Regarding the death of my brother, I shall try as hard as I can to show that I have listened to your advice.3 [Get well, Erasmus, my distinguished friend.]4 Please believe that this would be a real antidote to the sorrow in my heart, to know that you are in good health.5 Basel, 20 April 1535 15 3014 / From Piotr Tomicki

Bodzentyn, 26 April 1535

This letter, Tomicki’s answer to Ep 3000, was first published in the epistolary appendix to De puritate tabernaculi (Basel: Froben 1536) 59–63. For Tomicki see Ep 3000. Erasmus’ response is Ep 3049.

piotr, bishop of cracow and vice-chancellor of the kingdom of poland, to desiderius erasmus of rotterdam, greeting We have good reason to love you, most learned Erasmus, and good reason to value your friendship highly, for although, as you say in your letter, you 5 were so severely racked with pain over the whole of your body that neither hand nor foot could perform its function, you chose to write to us through an amanuensis rather than allow us to be deprived of one of your letters, which we always read with so much pleasure and eagerly anticipate.1 You could hardly believe how pleased we are at this feeling of deep affection that you 10 have for us, and we wish in return to serve you in whatever way we can. This great predilection that you show for us is unimaginably gratifying; in return we wish to please you in any way within our power. The news that reached you about a most serious breakdown in our health is more accurate than I would wish,2 nor have we yet emerged from 15 *****

2 Bonifacius’ next known letter to Sadoleto, written in May–June 1535, is not extant; see ak Ep 1949. 3 Ep 3012:1–5 4 This sentence is erased in the manuscript. 5 See Ep 2040 n2.



3014 1 Ep 3000:18–21, 66–7, 71–3 2 Ep 3000:10–11

3014  From Piotr Tomicki  1535

217

the crisis. Although we do not suffer from the same type of illness as you, yet it seems that the same cause has brought to both of us our present ill health. You devote all your energies to doing what you can for the Christian commonwealth, and at the same time have a keen desire to hallow and immortalize your name, so you never stop reading and writing. We try as best we can to assist in the governance of this country, and while we reflect on ways to improve this little Sparta that has fallen to our lot,3 we too hope to leave behind a memory that will endure for a very long time. Like you we read and write constantly, though, to be sure, our reading is not the same as yours or as pleasurable; if we have time left over from reading and writing, we usually spend all of it in anxious reflexion and in mulling over the most serious problems – to such an extent does the care of the public well-being take priority and precedence over concern for our personal health. But the time has come when we must do what our friends are urging. They are almost more anxious about us than we are ourselves and never cease to exhort and beg us, even to scold and warn us, that we should avoid such a demanding workload. We are told that Roscius often used to say that, as he grew older, he would have the flute player slow the rhythm and make the music more relaxed.4 Now if Roscius devised a plan to get some rest in his old age, although it was of no great importance to the commonwealth whether he enjoyed a longer life or not, what ought we to do, my dear Erasmus, and you especially, who, we know, have done great service to the Christian world and will do much more if, as we hope and pray, God will keep you well for us for several years to come? It is true that we cannot change, but at least we can slacken the pace, and if we wish to serve the community longer, we must pay a little more attention to our health. So I think I must sing the same old song to you that my friends are singing to me every day. Take care so that what you like to do you may be able to do for a very long time. You delight in serving the Christian commonwealth through your writing, and you are keen to hand down to posterity a famous name. So if you like to write, act so that you may write and serve the state for many a year to come. Cut back somewhat from the perpetual study and painful labour in which you are now engaged. Watch out or someone will call you worse than a murderer, for

*****

3 See Adagia ii v 1: Spartam nactus es, hanc orna ‘Sparta is your portion, do your best for her.’ 4 Cicero De oratore 1.60.254. Roscius was a famous Roman actor (died c 62 bc), who played both comedy and tragedy. In the lyrical parts of a tragic play the actor would gesture in time to the music.

20

25

30

35

40

45

3014  From Piotr Tomicki  1535

218

if you kill yourself with these long hours of toil, it will look as though you had laid violent hands on yourself. We are united, my dear Erasmus, not just in age but also in a sort of similarity of fortune. For we, like you, have a constitution that is as fragile as glass, broken by the years and by hard work, and almost never free from one assault or another. But one day Christ will look on both of us and after all our tribulations will receive us into his grace and restore us to our former good health. We must take heart. It is said that in misfortune a strong spirit is a great help.5 We think, however, that for some time now you have been free of all pain. But if this is still not the case, I have no doubt that both of us, in this most beautiful and healthy time of the year, will recover our former strength. May this be the will of Christ Jesus, the author of true health and well-being!6 We are very grateful for the news that you shared with us and we thank you. We do not have any news to report to you, unless it is news where you are that Master Łaski, who was imprisoned by King John, has now been released by him.7 As compensation for the great suffering he underwent in the king’s cause and the enormous expense incurred he has been given the town of Kežmarok and the income from a second, Debrecen, until fifteen thousand8 have been paid to him. Nor does he pay tribute any longer to King John.9 We had hoped for peace between Ferdinand and John, the kings of Hungary, but it is now said that discussions have broken off.10 John relies on *****







5 Adagia iii iv 38 6 Tomicki uses the words salus, meaning both ‘health / welfare’ and ‘salvation,’ and incolumitas ‘the state of being safe and sound.’ 7 From 1531 Hieronim Łaski (Ep 1242 n5), who had spent years in the service of John Zápolyai, Ferdinand of Hapsburg’s rival for the kingship of Hungary, began to plot secretly against him. Arrested and imprisoned at Buda in August 1534, he was released in January 1535 and in the following year entered the service of King Ferdinand. 8 The currency is not named, but if, as Gerlo maintains, the compensation of ‘fifteen thousand’ was paid in ducats, it was equivalent to £5,000 groot Flemish, a very handsome sum indeed, equivalent to the annual wage income of 576 Antwerp master masons/carpenters (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). 9 Kežmarok, at least, had been given to Łaski during his years of service to Zápolyai. This passage seems to indicate that the continued possession of it, together with the income from Debrecen and the cessation of tribute to King John, were part of the agreement that secured Łaski’s release from prison. 10 Ferdinand and Suleiman i had in June 1533 signed a truce that left Ferdinand and his rival for the kingship of Hungary, John Zápolyai, free to make a separate agreement, subject to Suleiman’s ratification. It took until February 1538 for them to reach the agreement that was signed at Várad. Cf Ep 2780 n9.

50

55

60

65

3015  To Ambrosius von Gumppenberg  [1535]

219

the help of the Turkish emperor and is very confident. Many wonder at 70 Ferdinand for challenging such a powerful enemy, especially since it is rumoured that his brother, the emperor Charles, is prevented by the king of France from sending support to his brother. My king,11 whose greatest desire is for peace, is now waging war with the Muscovites against his will. A large army has been conscripted. We hope 75 and pray to God that the result will be a complete success. Although we believe that you are well aware of our friendly feelings towards you, we thought it appropriate to give you some further evidence of this by sending you this little gift. We hope that you will appreciate not so much the smallness of the gift as the largeness of our affection for you, which 80 inspires this little token.12 Farewell, my Erasmus, and continue to love us, your very devoted friend. Given at our castle at Bodzentyn, 26 April ad 1535 3015 / To Ambrosius von Gumppenberg

[Freiburg, c May 1535]

For Ambrosius von Gumppenberg see Ep 2619 introduction. This excerpt from a letter to Gumppenberg survives in a printed broadsheet in the Vatican Archives (ms Lat 6159 folio 66). The broadsheet is headed (in small capitals) e x e p is t o l a d. e r a s. ro t. ad rever. et n obilem d. a m b ro s i u m d e g u mp p e nb e r g e xc e r p ta; beneath this is the excerpt itself. Then follows (in large capitals) IUDICIUM D. ERAS. ROT. DE APOLOGIA PETRI CURSII, after which come the thirty-five lines of the Iudicium in response to Pietro Corsi’s Defensio pro Italia ad Erasmum Roterodamum (Ep 3007 n15). At the foot of the page is a note indicating that the broadsheet was published at Rome on 29 June 1535. Prevented from seeing the broadsheet because Allen xi was in preparation during World War ii, the Allen editors were able to include in their introduction to this letter only the first and the last lines of the Iudicium (which had been noted down by P.S. Allen in 1909). But by the time the volume was ready to be printed, they had received a photograph of the Vatican broadsheet and were able to print the complete text of the Iudicium as an addendum on pages xxiii–xxiv of Allen x i.

***** 11 Sigismund i. Tomicki switches here from the usual episcopal plural ‘we / our’ to say ‘my king,’ doubtless indicating a special intimacy. Similarly, in line 81 below he says ‘my Erasmus.’ 12 In Ep 3095:41–3 Erasmus says the gift was thirty ducats.

3015  To Ambrosius von Gumppenberg  [1535]

220

In Ep 3032:3–26 Erasmus provides a brief account of the genesis of the broadsheet that included the Iudicium. At first, he says, he had intended to take no notice of Corsi’s attack, but ‘a highly intelligent friend,’ possibly Gumppenberg, strongly advised him that he had to reply to the charge of being an enemy of all things Italian. Yielding to this persistently expressed opinion, Erasmus composed and dispatched to ‘friends in Rome’ a one-page reply that he hoped would quietly settle the matter. But unidentified pranksters had the Iudicium, prefaced by the extract from the letter to Gumppenberg, printed and posted all over Rome, thus making the whole matter public. To make matters worse, the same pranksters had circulated a forged letter (see n3 below), in which Erasmus, whose handwriting and epistolary style they imitated, begged Corsi not to publish his Defensio. This was the situation that Erasmus attempted to deal with by publishing his Responsio to Corsi (Ep 3032). The broadsheet preserved in the Vatican archives is presumably a copy of the one actually posted in Rome. There seems no reason to question the date of publication indicated on the sheet (29 June 1535), which means that the letter to Gumppenberg must have reached Rome no later than the second half of June, while a comparison of it with Ep 3016 seems to indicate that the two letters were written at about the same time, with a copy of the broadsheet included with Ep 3016 for Pflug’s information (see Ep 3016 n9). The translation of the Iudicium is by John Grant. The paragraph divisions, missing in the original, are an editorial emendation.

extract from a letter of desiderius erasmus of rotterdam to the reverend and noble ambrosius von gumppenberg I have not read Pietro Corsi’s apology, nor is it my intention to do so. I have sampled a few passages at random, from which I have formed an impression of the whole. I am now sending you a sheet which will make it clear what 5 kind of man he is.1 JUDGMENT OF DESIDERIUS ERASMUS OF ROTTERDAM CONCERNING THE APOLOGIA OF PIETRO CORSI It is more true for me so say that I have dipped into Pietro Corsi’s book than 10 that I have read it all. I see that there are some men in Rome who are not satisfied with the licence of Pasquillo and make mischievous use of their leisure time to supply *****

3015 1 The word for ‘sheet’ is scheda, ie a sheet of paper, presumably the broadsheet described in the introduction above.

3015  To Ambrosius von Gumppenberg  [1535]

221

material to others whose discomfiture or foolishness they may enjoy.2 I think that those who forged the letter in my name are the same people who put Corsi up to doing this, thereby doubling their pleasure.3 15 The core of the case is based on the misunderstanding of two words. In my discussion of the proverb ‘Myconian baldpate’ I pointed out that Terence had humorously replaced ‘bald’ with ‘curly-headed,’ for at this point Pamphilus is making fun of the slave he is dispatching on an errand. And I added that it was the same as describing a Scythian as ‘learned’ and an Italian 20 as ‘warlike’ [bellax].4 Because of their savage nature the Scythians have no time for philosophy and the liberal disciplines; all their energy is focused on warfare. The Italians cultivate eloquence and the noble arts, which are the offspring of peace. Corsi thinks that it is praiseworthy to be called bellax, although it indicates a defect. Bellare ‘to fight’ has a neutral sense, as have edere, 25 bibere, loqui ‘to eat,’ ‘drink,’ ‘speak.’ But to be bellax is a description of barbaric cruelty, just as edax, bibax, and loquax denote flaws.5 The Thracians are said to

*****





2 Pasquillo (or Pasquino) was the name popularly given to an ancient statue unearthed in Rome in 1501 and set up near the Piazza Navona. It soon became the custom on St Mark’s Day (25 April) to post on the statue anonymous Latin satires and lampoons that became known as pasquinades. In the course of the sixteenth century the practice spread to the rest of Europe. 3 For the forged letter, see ‘The Spurious Letter to Pietro Corsi,’ 581–9 below. 4 Adagia ii i 7, citing Terence Hecyra 440. Myconos is an island in the Cyclades whose men were said to be congenitally bald. In his play, which is a reworking of a Greek comedy by Apollodorus of Carystus, Terence calls one of his characters ‘a curly-headed Myconian,’and was apparently criticized for his mistake, since in the Greek original the character was described as bald. Terence was defended by the critic Donatus, who suggested that ‘curly-headed’ was a humorous reference to the man’s bald head. The words at which Corsi took offence were (in the cwe translation) ‘[The phrase “a bald Myconian”] has the look of a proverbial expression for something that one seldom finds – an educated Russian [Scythian], … a brave [bellax] Italian, an honest merchant, a godly soldier or a Carthaginian that one can trust.’ 5 Cf Ep 3007:56–60. This is tendentious philology. The adjective bellax, which is found only rarely in classical Latin, means not only ‘warlike,’ ‘combative,’ ‘bellicose,’ but also ‘brave,’ ‘good at fighting.’ It did not, in other words, have an inescapably pejorative meaning. In the context of the adage, moreover, the positive meaning is the only one that fits. All the other adjectives describing ‘things one seldom finds’ (educated, honest, godly, trustworthy) describe admirable qualities, not defects. It was thus perfectly reasonable for Corsi to interpret bel­ lax as ‘brave’ or ‘valorous.’ Whether it made good sense for him to object so vehemently to it is another question.

3015  To Ambrosius von Gumppenberg  [1535]

222

be bellaces ‘warlike,’ about whom Horace says, ‘Thrace, mad with bloodlust in war, [hankers after] peace.’6 Having misunderstood these words, Corsi assumes that I have stripped all Italians of all merit in war, that they have never taken up weapons, that they have never even looked at them, that every Italian is more cowardly than a Gamphasantian, the most cowardly of all mortals.7 Not at all! Those who are the least warlike generally wage war in the most skilful way. How I wish our fellow Germans and the Swiss were less warlike! Corsi throws up in my face a long list of Italy’s wars that have turned out to be conducive to the country’s interests, as if I could not learn this from ancient writers such as Livy, Plutarch, and Sallust and from modern ones such as Biondo.8 You see on what a fragile base Corsi has constructed this massive slander. Whatever the cause for this may have been, he adds without any justification at all that I openly rate all the learned men of Italy as worthless as dung or hay. He makes an additional foolish point (I am quite convinced of that!),9 that I have ripped away from the Italians all renown for their erudition, that I am attempting to persuade the world that all renown for military prowess has been snatched away from the Italians by the Germans. Pray tell me what are the feelings and the thoughts behind these words? Not only have I never attributed or denied the glory of war to the Italians, I have always been aware of the intellectual talents of the Italians and expressed myself generously about those talents in my writings as well as in my spoken words.10 But should Corsi think that the whole of Italy has been violated if anyone finds some fault in the character of the Italians, what is he to do with the stories that are commonly bandied about by men who have lived among

*****



6 Horace Odes 2.16.5, where, however, Horace does not use the word bellax 7 The Gamphasantes were a people of north Africa. According to Pomponius Mela (1.47) ‘they had no acquaintance with any weapons of war and took to flight whenever they met someone.’ Cf also Pliny Naturalis historia 5.45. 8 Presumably a reference to Flavio Biondo’s Historiarum ab inclinatione Romani imperii decades (1483), which was included in the Froben Biondi opera of 1531. Erasmus owned a copy of the volume (Van Gulik 368 no 264). 9 The text actually says that Corsi’s point was argutum ‘shrewd,’ ‘astute.’ Since the Latin gives no hint of irony, the text seems to be faulty. It may be that the negative haud ‘hardly’ was lost before argutum. 10 This is a major exaggeration; see Ep 3002 nn46, 73.

30

35

40

45

50

3015  To Ambrosius von Gumppenberg  [1535]

223

them? Corsi has put together a long catalogue of those Italians who either excel in erudition or give great promise of doing so. If he does this to enlighten me, he is being very obliging. But if he does so to enrage me, he is being ridiculous. For my part I think that there are far more learned men in Italy than he lists. Moreover, as for his threat that a number of them will at some time publish more works than I have, and perhaps more valuable ones, I could not read his words, I confess, without laughing. And if Corsi wishes all nations to think very highly of the talents of the Italians, they should produce things quite different from this pamphlet of his. I laughed too at his saying that I owe the purity of my Latin to Italy – to Aldo as my teacher, I suppose (he drew this from the writings of Pio), although I was more skilled in Latin when I went to Italy than I am now.11 But this itself is a trifling point. I shall add something that is rather arrogant but very true, that I was ten years ahead of Aldo in my knowledge of Latin literature.12 Corsi casts it up that in my writings I called the apostle Paul a fanatic, and that I wrote about John the Evangelist that ‘he prattles on about nothing but words,’13 although I say nothing of the kind in my writings. These are the shameless lies of Luther, the things he allows himself to indulge in when he is agitated and his feelings boil over. If Corsi read Luther`s accusations, he ought also to have read my response. This is the kind of vehemence that is directed at Erasmus by means of obvious lies: he hates and bears ill will against all Italians, he strips them of all renown in war and scholarship, he turns many brave leaders into the most cowardly of the cowardly, he openly rates all their learned men as worthless as dung or hay, he spews out heretical words against the apostles. And yet there is no Erasmus to be seen anywhere here. To thunder in tragic

*****

11 On the charge, advanced by Alberto Pio, that Aldo Manuzio was Erasmus’ ­instructor in Latin and Greek, see Apologia adversus rhapsodias Alberti Pii cwe 84 162. 12 Aldo Manuzio’s chief interest was Greek literature, but he was by no means as ignorant of Latin literature as Erasmus here implies. See John N. Grant Aldus Manutius: Humanism and the Latin Classics (Harvard University Press: Cambridge, ma 2017) xxiv–xxv. 13 These are actually Luther’s words in his Epistola de Erasmo Roterodamo, distorting what Erasmus says in the Argumentum to the Paraphrase on 1 John. Erasmus discusses this accusation at greater length in his Purgatio adversus epistolam Lutheri cwe 78 452–3.

55

60

65

70

75

3015  To Ambrosius von Gumppenberg  [1535]

224

style in this way is similar to Ajax’s killing of swine when he thinks he is 80 killing men.14 And this pamphlet was thought worthy of being printed in Rome and of being dedicated to the pope!15 What kind of example is this, to forge my name and spread in Rome a letter falsely ascribed to me?16 Documents of this kind that are sent to us by the scholars of Italy contribute nothing 85 to scholarship and much to fomenting quarrels and turmoil. There are people in Germany who could play this game – if they were equally foolish and unprincipled! 3016 / To Julius Pflug

Freiburg, 7 May 1535

This letter, Erasmus’ reply to one no longer extant, was first published in Tabularium ecclesiae romanae seculi decimi sexti ed Ernst Solomon Cyprian (Frankfurt and Leipzig: Wolfgang Ludwig Spring 1743) 523–4. The autograph, address sheet missing, is in the Universitäts- und Forschungsbibliothek Erfurt/Gotha (ms Chart a 385 folio 104).

I am delighted, distinguished Julius, that you have received my lucubrations with pleasure.1 It seems I have been given a gift, not given one. On the titlepage of my little Precationes there is an error in a name: it has Daniel for David.2 Rupilius was responsible for the mistake: the letter in which he listed the names of Paumgartner’s children had been written in such a rushed hand 5

***** 14 The Greek hero Ajax, son of Telamon, went mad after the armour of Achilles was awarded to Ulysses and not to him. In his fury he killed a number of farm animals, thinking he was slaying Agamemnon and Menelaus; see Adagia i vii 46. The incident is the focus of Sophocles’ Ajax. 15 The dedicatory epistle of Corsi’s Defensio is addressed to Pope Paul iii. 16 See n3 above.



3016 1 The Latin plural lucubrationes can refer to either a single work or several. In this case it seems clear that Erasmus had sent to Pflug a copy of the Froben volume that included the Precationes aliquot novae and the Ejaculationes aliquot, each with a prefatory letter addressed to David Paumgartner (Epp 2994–5), together with three longer prayers that had already been published (see cwe 69 118). 2 The reference is to the Precationes aliquot, dedicated to David Paumgartner (see preceding note). Erasmus uses the word titulus, but the mistaken name is not on the title-page. It is found, rather, in the salutation of the dedicatory epistle, which begins on page 3.

3016  To Julius Pflug  1535

225

that ‘David’ looked like ‘Daniel.’3 Please correct it in pen and, if an opportunity arises, advise others to do the same.4 I thank you most warmly for your Christian admonition, though for a long time now I have been conscientiously following the practice you advise. I am not tempted to hope for anything in this world. My sole thought, my 10 sole desire is to make a good end. I could wish that my sufferings were gentler or shorter. But it is the Lord.5 My friends write that Ambrosius von Gumppenberg sent you a little work by Sepúlveda to be passed on to me.6 They do not indicate what the subject is. 15 If what they write is true, the excellent prince George is gone from the world of the living.7 I received Pietro Corsi’s Defence of Italy, which was printed at Rome.8 I am sending you a fragment of a letter of mine on this subject.9 Some people are pushing him forward so that they can have a laugh. They have also con- 20 cocted a letter, purporting to have been written by me to Pietro Corsi, in which I plead with him not to publish his Defence.10 These fellows are on a badly timed holiday.11 If I did not reply to your earlier letter, which was *****





3 In Ep 2879, which is his encomium of Johann (ii) Paumgartner, written largely on the basis of information concerning the Paumgartner family supplied in a letter from Franciscus Rupilius, tutor to Paumgartner’s sons, Erasmus (line 164) refers to David as Daniel. On the other hand, Ep 2868:9–10 seems to indicate that in his letter Rupilius had failed to name Paumgartner’s sons. 4 The error appears to have been corrected during the course of printing. ‘Daniel’ is found in the copy owned by the University Library at Frankfurt am Main (ms germ oct 99 nr 3), and the error is duplicated in the 1535 Leipzig reprint by Michael Blum, a copy of which is in the Austrian National Library (71. y. 125). On the other hand, the Allen editors were correct in their observation that ‘David’ is the name found in the copy of the Froben volume in the Bibliothèque nationale at Paris (res p–d–26). 5 1 Sam 3:18; cf Ep 2955 n4. 6 For Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda see Ep 2951. His most recent publication was Democrates primus, seu de convenientia militaris disciplinae cum christiana religione (Rome: A. Bladus 1535). 7 The rumour of the death of Duke George of Saxony, Pflug’s employer, was false; he died on 17 April 1539. 8 See Ep 3007 n15. 9 The fragment is Ep 3015. Since it survived on a printed broadsheet that ­included Erasmus’ ‘Judgment ... concerning the Apologia of Pietro Corsi,’ one assumes that Pflug received the entire broadsheet. 10 See ‘The Spurious Letter to Pietro Corsi’ 581–9 below. 11 See Ep 3002 n69.

3016  To Julius Pflug  1535

226

­ ritten, as always, in the most affectionate terms, it was because I was comw pletely without the use of my hand and after dictating several pieces of necessary correspondence, I had had as much as I could take. May the Lord prosper all your affairs and bring them great success. I have handed over my Ecclesiastes to the printers.12 It is organized in four books, though it is still somewhat rough, lacking the final polish. But people were calling for the work, and when I thought about the weakness of my poor body, I preferred to send it out half-finished rather than allow it to make its appearance in the world as a posthumous child, for I know only too well how unscrupulously the works of dead authors are treated.13 If there is anything you think I should know, you can send back a message with the courier, who is returning here. Farewell. Freiburg, on the morrow of Ascension day 1535 Erasmus of Rotterdam, in my own hand The young man who bears this letter has followed a strenuous course in law here under the guidance of Zasius and completed it with great distinction. He has also been universally praised for his character.14 But no sooner was he released from the discipline of study than he tied himself up again here, but this time in a happy knot; for he has married a girl of distinguished family and exceptional good looks. He comes originally from Mainz. I am sure that you, the most generous of men, will be good enough to honour him with some words of greeting and encouragement. 3017 / From Johannes Fabri

Vienna, 15 May 1535

This letter was first published as Ep 220 in Förstemann / Günther. The manuscript, in the hand of a secretary but signed by Fabri, was in the Burscher Collection of the University Library at Leipzig (Ep 1254 introduction). For Johannes Fabri, since 1530 bishop of Vienna, see Ep 2097 introduction.

Greetings, most learned Erasmus. I hope you will understand that, if I have not written to you for a very long time,1 it is not that my mind has turned ***** 12 See Ep 2979:2–3, where Erasmus reports that he is trying to finish the work. Now in the hands of the printers, it would be in print by early August; see Ep 3036 introduction. 13 Cf Ep 3019:30–4. 14 The young man is unidentified.

3017 1 The last extant letter from Fabri is Ep 2503 (25 June 1531).

25

30

35

40

45

3018  To Jean de Pins  1535

227

against you. The political turmoil that has been particularly serious here for some time has caused an interruption in my correspondence even with my best friends. If, however, you felt that I have failed you in this regard, I shall arrange to write to you more frequently. Meanwhile, as I call Almighty God to witness, I have cherished most reverently the memory of our friendship, and I have sung your praises at length throughout the world and praised all the beautiful things you have accomplished. God grant that you may be long spared to us, for so we shall enjoy the rich fruits of your studies. But enough on this subject. Here, if you wish, is some news. A month or two ago the Turkish emperor sent an envoy from his camp in Persia to our most serene king.2 Today a second envoy has come from the emperor and has reached us at top speed. It is not yet clear what he wants, but one suspects that he is seeking peace. There are also ambassadors here from John the voivode,3 who are discussing peace terms every day. I do not doubt that their demands will be very fair. The emperor has reached Barcelona, a city in Catalonia, with a well-equipped fleet to hazard an attack by sea on the Turkish pirates.4 These are my main items of news. If anything happens now, I shall take the first opportunity to let you know. But if there is anything that zeal, attentiveness, diligence, or obligation can do to assist you, I shall do it most readily and enthusiastically. I send you my best wishes, Erasmus, my most learned friend. Vienna, 15 May 1535 Yours sincerely, Johannes Fabri, bishop of Vienna To the most learned and accomplished theologian Erasmus of Rotterdam, his much respected friend. In Freiburg 3018 / To Jean de Pins

Freiburg, 19 May 1535

This letter, evidently the reply to one no longer extant, was first printed in Smith 451–2. The surviving manuscript is a seventeenth-century copy in the Bibliothèque municipale at Nîmes (ms 215 folio 169). For Jean de Pins see Ep 2969 introduction.

*****

2 The Ottoman sultan Suleiman i was at this point in Persia waging war against the Safavid shah Tahmasp i; cf Ep 3007 n19. 3 John Zápolyai, voivode of Transylvania, king of Hungary under the suzerainty of Suleiman 4 See Ep 2997 n22.

5

10

15

20

25

3018  To Jean de Pins  1535

228

to jean de pins, bishop of rieux, from desiderius erasmus of rotterdam Most reverend bishop, I had commissioned a certain theologian to inquire at Bologna about Paolo Bombace.1 He writes that he heard from Bombace’s brother that the man was killed in Rome by Bourbon soldiers.2 5 I am sorry that you are suffering from gout; I have been fighting a bitter battle with this malady now for two years.3 May the Lord keep you safe and well. Freiburg, 19 May 1535 Erasmus of Rotterdam, in my own hand 10 3019 / To Damião de Gois

Freiburg, 21 May 1535

This letter was first published in the Vita Erasmi 129–31. For Damião de Gois see Ep 2963 introduction.

erasmus of rotterdam to the distinguished master damião de gois of portugal, greeting I only wish it suited you, my dearest Damião, to be staying here and using my house at your pleasure.1 It never seemed safer or grander than when you were my guest. I have written to you more than once, but not everything that 5 is dispatched is delivered. Businessmen are reluctant to accept letters from scholars. I have sent my thanks to Lukas Rem, and he enthusiastically promises his assistance.2 I did not doubt that you entrusted my letters to your servant in good faith,3 but I doubted that he delivered them all, and I am still inclined to doubt it. I sent letters with him to Schets and Uutenhove, but I 10 *****



3018 1 The theologian was doubtless Ludwig Baer, currently on a visit to Rome; see Ep 3011 introduction. 2 In 1527 Bombace was killed during the sack of Rome by troops under the command of Charles III, duke of Bourbon. Erasmus, who remained ignorant of this for a surprisingly long time, had earlier asked Damião de Gois to make inquiries about him at Bologna; see Ep 2963:21 with n4. 3 See Ep 2940 n2. 3019 1 In August 1534, after several months as Erasmus’ house guest at Freiburg, Damião had left to continue his studies at Padua. 2 See Ep 2987 n1. 3 Presumably the Matthaeus of Ep 2963:3–11

3019  To Damião de Gois  1535

229

can find no evidence that they were delivered. I am very surprised that nothing gets back to you from Portugal.4 My health goes steadily from bad to worse.5 My soul is getting ready to quit this wretched dwelling: I wish that this were the will of Christ! Several friends have gone before me: in Brabant, the very learned Vianden and 15 Maarten Davidts, who had once been my host; in Brussels, Pieter Gillis of Antwerp and Frans van der Dilft;6 here, Botzheim.7 Several old men have died in the month of April; many pregnant women have miscarried. I suffered the most dreadful torment, so devastating that already I have excited the interest of several vultures.8 I imagine your dizziness has already left you 20 by now. It is necessary to reduce one’s reading. Much can be learned from educated conversation. About destroying the sheets – I am grateful for what you have done and I beg you to complete the job.9 Sigismundus Gelenius has dedicated to you his Annotations on Pliny, now revised by him for the third time.10 But one 25 manuscript has led him badly astray; in it some ignoramus out of his own head has altered anything that took his fancy and has given us what amounts to a new Pliny. I warned Gelenius not to trust that manuscript, but I was not

*****





4 From Ep 3043:14–15 it appears that Erasmus had sent letters via Matthaeus to the poet Jorge Coelho and to André de Resende in Portugal. The route to Portugal might well have been via the Netherlands, with letters to Erasmus Schets and Karel Uutenhove. The letter to Uutenhove is not extant; that to Schets could have been one of many. 5 See Ep 2940 n2. 6 The news of the deaths of Vianden and Davidts, together with the false report of the imminent death of Dilft, reached Erasmus in Ep 2998:54–7. Pieter Gillis died in November 1533. 7 See Ep 3012 n3. 8 The Latin vultur is used metaphorically of a legacy hunter: Seneca Epistles 95.43: vultur est, cadaver expectat; Martial 6.62.4; and cf Adagia ii vii 83. 9 This is a repetition of Erasmus’ ban on the publication of the Compendium rhetorices; see Ep 2987:13–15 with n9. 10 The first edition of the Froben Pliny, dedicated to Stanislaus Thurzo, was published in 1525; see Ep 1544 introduction. It was issued under Erasmus’ name as editor, but much of the textual work was done by Beatus Rhenanus and Sigismundus Gelenius (for whom see Ep 1702 n1). Gelenius assumed responsibility for the subsequent Froben editions (1530, 1535), although Erasmus’ preface remained in place. In the 1535 edition Gelenius’ appended Annotations have a separate dedication to Gois.

3019  To Damião de Gois  1535

230

listened to.11 Ermolao did not dare to alter the text of Pliny.12 Gelenius thinks he has achieved something wonderful; I consider it an unforgivable sin. My Ecclesiastes is now being printed. It had not yet been worked into shape, but since there were calls for its publication, I chose this course in preference to making it a posthumous child, for I well know how unscrupulously the works of dead authors are treated. In all it will consist of four books.13 Everywhere the Italians are letting fly at me with a volley of malicious libels. A Defence of Italy against Erasmus has been published in Rome, dedicated to Paul iii.14 The quarrel arose from a misunderstanding of two words of mine. They occur in the adage ‘Myconian baldpate’: ‘As if one were to refer to a learned Scythian or an Italian who is bellax.’15 They interpret this as an attack on Italians for being cowards, whereas in these words Italy is praised, not disparaged. Edere [to eat], bibere [to drink], loqui [to speak] are all neutral terms, but edax [glutton], bibax [drunkard], loquax [loquacious] have a pejorative sense. So bellax is not a term of praise, but of abuse.16 The Scythians because of their barbarous and savage nature condemn all liberal learning, interested only in warfare. Italians cultivate philosophy, learning, and eloquence, which are the offspring of peace, the complete opposites of Scythians. You see what splendid material they have for their ‘defence’! Another book has appeared with the title Cicero Banished and Cicero Recalled from Exile, which, however, does not make a strong attack on me. In it Cicero is torn apart most offensively and defended weakly.17 Yet another is ***** 11 Cf lines 69–71 below. 12 Erasmus’ meaning here is not clear. As owner of the book in question (Van Gulik 378 no 279 §1) he must have known that Ermolao Barbaro, in his au­ thoritative Castigationes Plinianae (Rome: Eucharius Silber 1492 and 1493), had corrected thousands of errors in the received texts of Pliny’s Natural History (cf Ep 125:150n). Barbaro’s own edition of the work was published at Venice in 1496 and 1497 by Bernardino Benalio. 13 See Ep 3016:28–33 with nn12–13. 14 See Epp 3007 n15, 3015 introduction. Erasmus’ reply is Ep 3032. 15 This is not a fair-minded paraphrase of the passage in Adagia ii i 7 that caused the offence. It reads as follows (in the cwe translation): ‘The phrase itself has the look of a proverbial expression for something that one seldom finds – an educated Russian, for instance, a brave [bellax] Italian, an honest merchant …’ Erasmus here insists that bellax, in contrast to the other adjectives used (‘educated,’ ‘honest’) is actually pejorative. Cf Ep 3015:16–29. 16 See Ep 3015 n4. 17 The author was Ortensio Lando of Milan (c 1505–c 1555), an Augustinian who studied at Padua and Bologna (1527–33) and then (apparently before the end of 1535) left the Augustinians to lead an itinerant life, publishing under a variety

30

35

40

45

50

3019  To Damião de Gois  1535

231

in preparation, entitled Civil War between the Ciceronians and the Erasmians – as if I were an enemy of Cicero.18 They say that someone called Dolet is composing an attack on me.19 Julius Scaliger is threatening something too.20 There are several young men on an ill-timed holiday21 who have formed a conspiracy against ‘the enemy of Italy and of Cicero.’ There is no shortage of schemers pushing others from behind, partly out of hatred of me and partly for the fun of watching other people’s folly. At Rome they have circulated a letter, purporting to have been written by me, full of scurrilous gibes.22 I think you have seen the monkish nonsense produced by Agostino of Gubbio.23 I don’t even read such things. Nowadays Luther publishes nothing without a glancing attack on Erasmus as a papist and an enemy of Christ. The man is absolutely out of control, and has conceived a deadly hatred of me.24 I have conveyed your greetings to the people you named, with the exception of Baer, who is in Rome; we expect his return this month.25 Gilbert himself will write about the cannon.26 As for me, if I wish to continue living, I must give up writing completely, or rather all intellectual activity – though to exist without any involvement with learning and in perpetual torment hardly counts in my opinion as ‘living.’ But it is the Lord,27 and we are all in his hands. The reason for my remarks about the corrupted Pliny was to warn you against permitting another edition of that author based on the same manuscript. Apart from this I feel kindly disposed towards Gelenius, as he

***** of pseudonyms and periodically getting into trouble with the religious authorities because of his affinities for Protestantism. Cicero relegatus et Cicero revoca­ tus, a satirical commentary on the controversy in Italy provoked by Erasmus’ Ciceronianus (Lyon: S. Gryphius 1534) was his first published work. 18 No copy of this work, ‘Bellum civile inter Ciceronianos et Erasmicos,’ is known to have survived, and it may never have made it into print. For its putative author see Ep 3064 n1. 19 See Ep 3005 n5. 20 Scaliger’s second Oration against Erasmus did not appear until 1537, after Erasmus’ death. 21 For the meaning of this phrase see Ep 3002 n69. 22 See ‘The Spurious Letter to Pietro Corsi’ 581–9 below. 23 Agostino Steuco; see Ep 2513 introduction. 24 For Luther’s most recent attack, which took Erasmus completely by surprise, see Ep 2918 introduction. 25 Baer would not make it back from Rome so soon; see Ep 3011 n6. 26 Gilbert was Erasmus’ secretary Gilbert Cousin (Ep 2985 introduction). We are unable to explain the reference to the cannon (bombarda). 27 1 Sam 3:18; cf Ep 2955 n4.

55

60

65

70

3019  To Damião de Gois  1535

232

deserves.28 From a letter of Baer’s I have discovered that you are travelling in Italy.29 I wish you every blessing and success, my beloved Damião. Freiburg, 21 May 1535 75 Erasmus of Rotterdam, in my own hand 3020 / From Caspar Hedio

Strasbourg, 24 May 1535

This letter was first published as Ep 128 in Enthoven. The autograph is in the Rehdinger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 83). For Hedio, preacher at the Strasbourg cathedral and supporter of the reformation of the Strasbourg church under the leadership of Martin Bucer, see Ep 1477b introduction.

Greetings. Two Italians, Odoni and Fileno,1 who are indeed, as you rightly describe them, fine souls, brought me your letter on the night of May 21;2 they came bearing in their hands the letter you had sent them3 and in a great state of excitement because they had actually seen Erasmus and communicated with him not just face to face but also by letter. I thank you for the 5 courteous way you received them and I thank you also on their behalf. In February Master Justus Decius wrote from Poland a euphoric letter on account of having his daughter restored to him by the mercy of Christ.4 Like the paralytic in the gospel,5 she had been lying on a bed and seemed to be so close to death that her father gave her a paternal kiss and bade her go 10 on her way and be with Christ. He went on to say that he has now arranged marriages for this daughter, his firstborn, and also for his second daughter, to men of good and honest character. He writes once more about Chrysostom, suggesting that I produce a German version.6 He has a few words to say

***** 28 Cf lines 24–30 above. 29 Not Ep 3011, in which Baer does not mention Gois, but rather in some other letter not extant

3020 1 Giovanni Angelo Odoni and Fileno Lunardi; see Ep 3002 introduction and n4. 2 Not extant, but see Cognati epistolae 309. 3 Presumably Erasmus’ reply to Ep 3002; not extant, but see Cognati epistolae 310. 4 The letter is not extant. For the illness of Decius’ daughter, see Ep 2960 with n3. 5 Matt 9:1–8 6 There is no evidence that Hedio produced such a translation.

3020  From Caspar Hedio  1535

233

about the pope:7 that he is a good man who has lived more on his patrimony than on the income from his benefices,8 and that we should not abandon our hopes for him, so long as the years do not crush his spirit.9 He reports also on the emperor, who is doing great things that are worthy of him,10 on the persecution in France,11 on the English,12 on the situation in Turkey, which is not entirely happy,13 as one can guess, and that the king of Poland is preparing for war with the Asiatic Muscovites.14 He deals with all these matters briefly, and in a cursory manner, making use of an amanuensis; for this good man dictated his letter while confined to bed with an attack of gout. It is said that a legate has been appointed by the pope to gather support for a council.15 I greatly wish, my dear Erasmus, that your grey hairs were recent and still easy to count and that while they deliberate, not just in the darkness of night, but for nights on end,16 about holding a council, God in his goodness would prolong your years, so that if an open and Christian council were held in which the truth would fall on hearts that were open to God, you, with your exceptional piety, learning, and experience, would be able to take some part in it for the common good of the church, and that, through your efforts and the efforts of men like you, there could be some happy resolution to the controversies that divide the church, in which it is not just prelates who argue among themselves, but (to prove the truth of the proverb) the people too are divided.17 That passage in Virgil comes to mind, where *****





7 Paul iii (Ep 2988) 8 The wealth of the Farnese family was indeed significant, but it was the income from benefices bestowed on him by Leo x that financed the conspicuous splendour of Cardinal Farnese’s life and the construction of the Palazzo Farnese in Rome; see Pastor 11 14–22. 9 At the time of his succession Paul iii was sixty-six, though in Ep 3000:63 Erasmus describes him as ‘over seventy.’ 10 The campaign against Barbarossa; see Ep 2997 n22. 11 See Ep 2983 n10. 12 Possibly the imprisonment of John Fisher and Thomas More (Ep 2948 n2) 13 A reference, perhaps, to the Ottoman-Persian war and the rumoured recent defeat of Emperor Suleiman’s troops; see Ep 3007 n19. 14 See Epp 3014:74–5, 3049:197–8. 15 The legate was Pier Paolo Vergerio; see Ep 2825 introduction. 16 The first part of this phrase is in Greek. The literal meaning is ‘not in the night, but in the nights.’ Since no one would imagine negotiations towards the convocation of a council lasting just one night or even several nights, we take the first ‘night’ to be a metaphorical reference to ‘the works of darkness’ that are done at night (as in Rom 13:12). Read in this way, the phrase contains a pun: ‘we negotiate in the spiritual darkness of our times and the negotiations go on interminably.’ 17 The proverb has not been identified.

15

20

25

30

35

3020  From Caspar Hedio  1535

234

Neptune is calming the storm and ‘flaming brands and stones are flying through the air’: ‘Then if by chance they catch sight of a man who impresses by his piety / And merits, they are silent …’18 You have written works that will endure for ages to come and will be helpful to anyone interested in the training of youth, in colleges, or in the pursuit of eloquence or godliness. But I have another request to make of you, a request for a swan song – when you have finished the Ecclesiastes.19 Since the council is being postponed, and since in the midst of war the laws are silent,20 and in any case the harvest may not yet be ripe, I beg you, before you place your soul in the hands of God and, according to his word, depart in peace, to bequeath to Christendom the benefit of your godly reflections, and in a document to be published after your death (if it does not seem wise to do so before) set forth whatever wisdom he who possesses the spirit of wisdom has given you for bringing peace to a deeply troubled church. It may of course be a noble gesture to benefit ingrates who are reluctant and unwilling to receive your counsel, but never doubt that there are good men everywhere who in tears constantly express their sorrow to God over the calamities of this rotten age. These people will welcome enthusiastically such an effort on your part and will read it eagerly and be ready to follow your advice faithfully, for they have nothing in common with that outlandish and useless race of men described by Hesiod.21 But see, my dear Erasmus, where your generous open-mindedness is taking me? It led you to welcome my letter and treat with great kindness the fine souls I commended to you – and here I am, a young man with no experience of the world, discussing these difficult problems with one who is old in wisdom and in years and who has no need of my advice. Please accept it with that characteristic charity of yours, a charity that does not count the cost, but suffers all things,22 and loves all things. Farewell. Odoni and Fileno send their greetings and commend themselves to you. Strasbourg, 24 May 1535 Your Excellency’s most devoted friend Caspar Hedio, preacher at Strasbourg ***** 18 Aeneid 1.151–2, where Virgil compares the calming of a storm to the sudden hush in an angry mob when some revered figure appears 19 The Ecclesiastes would be published in August; see Ep 3036 introduction. 20 Cicero Pro Milone 4.11 21 The reference is to the men of the Iron Age, described by Hesiod in Works and Days 169–201. The implication is that the contemporary world is another Iron Age, though there are still some few virtuous men who do not share its values. 22 Greek in the text; loosely adapted from 1 Cor 13:5–7

40

45

50

55

60

65

3021  From Pope Paul iii  1535

235

It is said that in Turkey there is such a scarcity of wheat that a load that can be carried by a horse is sold for eighteen ducats.23 To the most celebrated Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, my dear and 70 venerable friend. In Freiburg 3021 / From Pope Paul iii

Rome, 31 May 1535

This letter, the pope’s reply to Ep 2988, was first published in the epistolary appendix to De puritate tabernaculi (Basel: Froben 1536) 72–4. The original letter is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (Erasmuslade a 11), and there are two copies in the Vatican Archives (Arm 32.i folio 281, Barb Lat 1499 folio 330 verso). The letter was carried to Freiburg by Ludwig Baer, who had carried Ep 2988 to Rome (see Ep 3026:14–16).

pope paul iii to desiderius erasmus of rotterdam, doctor of sacred theology Beloved son, greeting and apostolic benediction. We were greatly delighted with your letter, which our beloved son Ludwig Baer, canon of Basel, delivered to us. Although it could have delighted us by the mere fact that it came from you, whose illustrious name we have always cherished and whose learning we have highly esteemed, it was made even more delightful by its elegance, the refinement of its language, and the gravity of its sentiment, but what made it most delightful was its air of piety. For although you showed such good will in your congratulations, such civility in your praise, and such good sense in your counsel, we appreciated before all else the godly spirit that you revealed in your longing for the peace of our holy church, your passionate commitment to this, and your readiness to serve. We are well aware how useful your excellent teaching and fine command of language could be in uprooting those newfangled errors that have affected the minds of many people in your part of the world. Although we had already decided to do the very thing that you have piously advised, that we should take a middle and traditional course and dedicate ourselves heart and soul to the cause of the holy faith and to bringing peace to the church, it is a great joy to us to be supported by the advice and love of such a one as you, for what you advise and suggest are matters that belong to our office and redound to its glory, and at the same time you offer ***** 23 In other words, wheat was very expensive: the sum was equivalent to £6 0s 0d groot Flemish, about three-quarters of the annual wage income of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13).

5

10

15

20

3021  From Pope Paul iii  1535

236

your ready help and support. For this we shall thank you with more justification and pleasure than for your congratulations and your words of praise, though we thank you for these too. We share the same aspirations as you (as our bounden duty), but as for your congratulations, we find no connection with our merits, which are negligible, but attribute all to the goodness of God, for whose blessings we are grateful and whose will we obey. We only hope that we may be equal to the burden. This high office has always involved a heavy load and many worries, but particularly at the present time it brings with it the greatest imaginable vexation and heartache, and although it cannot be declined because it is our service to God, certainly it is not something to be desired, given the unpleasantness and difficulties that attend it. Nevertheless we shall meet these problems with a stout heart and fight to overcome them, not trusting in our own strength, but placing all our hope in God, that now at last he may take pity on his own and bring safely into harbour the little ship of Peter that we guide, which has long been tossed by the waves and shaken by the winds, and we pray that he may rule over the sea and the storm. So, my son, we urge you all the more, since God has blessed you with so many gifts of intellect and learning, to assist us in this godly task that is so close to your own heart, and join us in defending the Catholic faith by your words and writings, both in advance of a council and presently at the council itself, which, with God’s help, we are determined to hold. Let this be your last pious undertaking, the best act, so to speak, of a life lived faithfully, the conclusion to a long series of writings. In this way you can refute our critics and encourage our supporters. We know that you will be content with the rewards God will give you for your labours; however, you will not find us ungrateful or unmindful. But more about these matters later. What we intend to do for you to your advantage, you will learn when you talk with Baer, whom we were pleased to see and to receive kindly both for his personal qualities and because of your commendation. Given at Rome at St Peter’s under the ring of the Fisherman, on the last day of May 1535, the first year of our pontificate Blosius1 To our beloved son Erasmus of Rotterdam, doctor of sacred theology *****

3021 1 Blosius Palladius (d 1550) was the Latin name taken by Bagio Pallai of Sabina (near Rome), the distinguished poet and orator who served as private secretary to Clement vii, Paul iii, and Julius iii. Although a member of the Roman Academy, which usually entailed Ciceronian hostility to Erasmus, Palladius had a favourable view of him; see Ep 3047:53–7.

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

3022  From Hector van Hoxwier  1535 3022 / From Hector van Hoxwier

237 Pavia, 1 June 1535

This letter was first published in the epistolary appendix to De puritate taber­ naculi (Basel: Froben 1536) 85–7. For Hoxwier, at this time studying law with Andrea Alciati in Pavia (lines 2–8 below), see Ep 2586 introduction.

hector van hoxwier to erasmus of rotterdam, greeting So many and so great are the services you have done me, Erasmus, that whenever I add them up, I consider myself, with good reason, the most ungrateful of men. For to pass over all the rest, which I am ashamed even to recall, there is, to take one example, that courteous and prompt – and flattering – commendation you wrote for me to Alciati,1 which was longer and more carefully worded than either my status deserves or I would have dared to ask. That every day you heap upon me these new benefits, one after another, would not embarrass me if my fortune or my stock of wit and learning allowed me to make some return to you or at least to express my gratitude and show that I understood how a grateful person should respond. My discomfiture is increased by the incredible courtesy and the many kindnesses that Alciati himself has shown me, for after receiving your commendation, he carried out everything he was asked to do and is now offering on his own to do even more, if I wish to take advantage of his offer. Soon after receiving your letter, he invited me to his home and told me of your commendation, though he said that there had been no need for a commendation; since, however, I had decided to request one from you, he said that he would make me understand that a recommendation from such an important person had no small influence with him. ‘I would not hesitate,’ he said, ‘to invite you to share my home, were it not that my present domestic situation prevents me from acceding to this part of your request.’ He repeatedly made many complimentary and affectionate references to you. As I left, he embraced me most warmly and sent me away with every evidence of his good will. After that, whenever I went to see him, he always received me with great courtesy and friendliness. Recently I made use of his assistance on a matter of business, which arose in connection with my personal property. When, as was only right, I offered him several crowns and pressed him strongly when he demurred, the expression on his face when he refused my offer seemed to say that he would not be my friend in future if I did not stop being difficult in this matter. All these things, I know, are a great honour to *****

3022 1 Presumably the letter, not extant, mentioned in Ep 2972:5–6

5

10

15

20

25

30

3022  From Hector van Hoxwier  1535

238

me and a great help in my studies, yet inevitably my first thought is (as I have said) how to avoid gaining a reputation for ingratitude; my next thought is that I must not appear to have sought your help in vain, that I must not let myself down and allow this splendid educational opportunity to slip away through sloth and laziness. If I can achieve this, I know that I shall please both of you. But enough on this subject. I have heard nothing from Viglius for a long time.2 This has proved a most inauspicious first step for him, for he has landed in the middle of a turbulent situation and, as the saying goes, ‘fallen at the very threshold.’3 I wonder where the outrageous behaviour of these people will end. In letters from my friends I am kept informed about events there and in my homeland. But much of what is happening is so absurd that I could scarcely bring myself to credit it, if the unbridled and uncontrolled licence that exists there did not make any kind of crime easily believable. Fourteen years ago when people first began to weave this web with more temerity than wisdom, many observers at that time were sympathetic, for the new ideas gave an appearance of godliness and piety; but I remember that you foresaw, and eloquently prophesied, everything that has subsequently happened. It is no surprise that eminent men have often expressed in my hearing their admiration for your fine judgment and good sense. I hope that after these dark storms a period of calm will return. It would perhaps have been better for Viglius if he had left his bishop and abandoned these stormy waters for some quiet place where he could take up the teaching of civil law, for he is destined some day to become one of the foremost professors in this field.4 The person who is carrying this letter is a relative and kinsman of Viglius, a young man of excellent character, who a few days ago received his

*****



2 Viglius Zuichemus (Ep 2957) had in fact written to Hoxwier from Dülmen (cf n3 below) on 27 February 1535 (vze Ep 62). 3 Adagia i v 77; cf i v 76. Viglius, recently returned from his sojourn in Italy, was at this time living at Dülmen in Westphalia, serving as presiding judge of the high court of the bishop of Münster. From this vantage point he was able to observe at close quarters some of the most dramatic episodes in the Anabaptist uprising at Münster. His letter to Hoxwier (see n2 above) makes reference to them, as does Ep 2957, in much greater detail. 4 By mid-August 1535 Viglius had in fact left Dülmen to assume new duties as an assessor at the Reichskammergericht (Imperial Supreme Court) in Speyer. The first of his letters clearly dated from Speyer is vze Ep 66 of 21 August 1535.

35

40

45

50

55

3023  From Ambrosius von Gumppenberg  1535

239

doctorate from Alciati.5 If you write to Alciati, may I beg you to include a little note to me to make it clear that you remember me as well. I only wish 60 there was something I could do for you in return. But since what I can do is so small, I console myself for the present with the consciousness of my good will and devotion. Farewell, Erasmus, greatest of living men. May you long remain strong and healthy for our sakes and for the sake of liberal studies! And may it please Almighty God to answer this prayer! 65 Pavia, 1 June 1535 3023 / From Ambrosius von Gumppenberg

Rome, 1 June 1535

This letter was first published as Ep 221 in Förstemann / Günther. The original letter, in a secretary’s hand and signed by Gumppenberg, was in the Burscher Collection of the University Library at Leipzig (Ep 1254 introduction). For Gumppenberg, see Ep 3015 introduction.

My dearest Master Erasmus, I have nothing worth writing about at present, nothing that you won’t hear in greater detail from our mutual friend Ludwig,1 who will give you a full and personal account of all that is happening; this will take the place of a letter from me. But I won’t keep you in the dark about one matter, that very shortly, I hope, you will have some good news from the City.2 5 Would you please send me a single letter in reply to the several I sent you?3 I am waiting with great anticipation for a letter from you that, by bringing me news of your good health, will give me cause to rejoice. Also I have urged you several times to write to certain cardinals and make yourself known to them, for I promised you that this would greatly advance your 10 *****

5 Rienck van Burmania of Friesland (Irenicus Phrysius), d 1558, studied law at Dole, where his relative Viglius Zuichemus had spent some years, and then in 1535 became a doctor of law under Andrea Alciati at Pavia. Returning home via Basel he delivered this letter to Erasmus at Freiburg, and then carried letters from Erasmus to Erasmus Schets (Ep 3025; see Ep 3028:1–2), Tielmannus Gravius (see Ep 3041:7–8), and Viglius (see Ep 3060:1–2). He became a member of the council of Friesland and (1540) bailiff of Coevorden.



3023 1 Ludwig Baer, who would return to Freiburg from Rome bearing this letter as well as Epp 3021, 3024, 3026–7; cf Ep 3011 n6. 2 Ie Rome; see Ep 2947 n20. 3 Gumppenberg had evidently not yet received the letter of which Ep 3015 is the surviving fragment.



3023  From Ambrosius von Gumppenberg  1535

240

cause.4 So please, don’t neglect this. You will learn from our friend Ludwig how helpful this would be. Farewell. From the City, 1 June 1535 Your friend, Ambrosius von Gumppenberg, apostolic protonotary and procurator to his holy imperial Majesty, signed this in his own hand. 15 To the eminent and erudite Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, his most worthy mentor and patron. In Freiburg im Breisgau 3024 / From Pier Paolo Gualtieri

Rome, 1 June [1535]

This letter was first published as Ep 129 in Enthoven. The autograph, address sheet missing, is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 80). The year-date is indicated by the fact that the letter, carried by Ludwig Baer (see Ep 3023 n1), is obviously contemporary with Ep 3023. Born at Arezzo, Pier Paolo Gualtieri (1501–72) was by 1532 at Rome, where he was one of several literary figures in the circle around Cardinal Marcello Cervini (the future Pope Marcellus ii). In that capacity he learned the Ethiopic language and participated in the production of an Ethiopic version of both the New Testament (1548) and the rite of the mass (1549). When he wrote this letter Gualtieri was functioning as a substitute for Blosius Palladius (Ep 3021 n1) as apostolic secretary for papal breves; see Ep 3047:53–4.

To Erasmus of Rotterdam, greeting. Among the conversations that I had with Ludwig Baer,1 a most cultivated man and a great friend of yours, those in which we talked about you and the unique and special qualities of your mind were to me the most pleasant and enjoyable. As a result, although the flame of my affection already burned brightly, I have become almost totally consumed 5 by it. Left to myself, however, I would not have thought of writing to you, had not Baer and Gumppenberg,2 who speak warmly of your generous nature, persuaded me to do this. So I beg you, with that characteristic kindness of *****

4 No previous letter of Gumppenberg later than 29 April 1534 (Ep 2929) is extant. But Ep 3007:32–3 makes clear that Erasmus had since then heard from Gumppenberg. For the cardinals to whom Gumppenberg wanted Erasmus to write, see Ep 3011:49–51. The ‘cause,’ Erasmus believed, was that of getting him appointed cardinal; see Ep 3007 n3.



3024 1 For Ludwig Baer’s journey from Freiburg to Rome and back, see Ep 3011 introduction and n6. 2 Ambrosius von Gumppenberg (Ep 3023)



3025  To Erasmus Schets  1535

241

yours, to accept my warm devotion to you, and know this about me, that while there are many who praise you in a grander style and in more distin- 10 guished writings, there is no one who admires you more than I do. Farewell. Rome, 1 June Pier Paolo Gualtieri 3025 / To Erasmus Schets

Basel, 18 June 1535

This letter was first published by Allen on the basis of the autograph in the Bodleian Library at Oxford (ms Lat Misc c 20). For Schets see Ep 2944 introduction. His reply is Ep 3042.

I have received the letters from you and your son,1 who, I hope, has now parted company with the quartan fever.2 I am not worried about the three crowns. You did nothing wrong.3 On his way back from England, where he lived for several years, to his native Genoa, Raffaele Maruffo passed this way and paid me a visit.4 He 5 gave me a lot of news about England, none of it pleasant. The bishop of Rochester has lost his eyesight in prison. He is afraid also for More, that he will not escape the death penalty.5 That the king has confiscated all his possessions is evidence enough that he has conceived an undying hatred of him. 10 I wonder where the king’s savagery will end. *****



3025 1 The letter from Schets is possibly Ep 3009. That from his son Gaspar Schets (for whom see Ep 2897) is not extant. 2 See Ep 2997:87–8. 3 See Ep 3009:7–8. 4 Raffaele Maruffo of Genoa (Ep 387:3n) settled in England, where he became a merchant and banker whose services were employed by prominent men. In the period 1516–18, at least, he was involved in the payment of Erasmus’ English pension from Archbishop William Warham. In 1535 Maruffo’s advocacy of papal supremacy in the church made it advisable for him to leave England and return to Genoa. On the way he visited Erasmus at Freiburg, and appears to have been the Italian visitor who made off with the original of Giovanni Angelo Odoni’s letter to Erasmus (Ep 3002). See Cognati epistolae 312, where Odoni, writing to Erasmus’ secretary Gilbert Cousin on 27 July 1535, mentions a letter (not extant) to Caspar Hedio in which Erasmus made reference to ‘a certain Genoese’ who had insisted on taking Odoni’s letter with him. 5 John Fisher, bishop of Rochester, was tried the day before this letter was written and was executed on 22 June. Thomas More, who had been in prison since the summer of 1534, would be executed on 6 July 1535.

3025  To Erasmus Schets  1535

242

William Mountjoy has died, but of natural causes.6 I expect that from now on there will be little revenue from England. Eustache, the imperial ambassador, is, I know, a good friend of Erasmus, but he has more important things on his mind. I would not like to burden him with my little affairs.7 Will you see that my letter to Barbier is delivered to him? I am offering 15 him very fair terms for a settlement: that he pay for the past years up to the present and keep the rest for himself with a good conscience and my blessing.8 But he will not accept this, being totally given over to Mammon. I came here9 partly to test if my poor body could stand a journey, but I see no hope, otherwise I would have moved either to Besançon or to you.10 I 20 shall be taken back to Freiburg around July 15.11 For so fate ordains. Farewell. Basel, 18 June 1535 Erasmus of Rotterdam, in my own hand To the honourable Master Erasmus Schets. In Antwerp 3026 / From Pietro Bembo

Padua, 20 June 1535

This letter was first published in the epistolary appendix to De puritate taber­ naculi (Basel: Froben 1536) 114–15. For Bembo see Ep 2958 introduction.

pietro bembo to erasmus of rotterdam, cordial greetings Well, you are wonderful, for when you wanted me to get to know your close friend, Ludwig Baer, who was setting out for Rome,1 you provided him with a letter written in your own hand and asked him to visit me on his *****



6 William Blount, fourth Baron Mountjoy (Ep 79), died on 8 November 1534. 7 For Eustache Chapuys, who in fact played an active role in securing the continued payment of Erasmus’ income from England, see Ep 2798 introduction. 8 The letter to Barbier is not extant. On the matter of his debt to Erasmus, see Ep 2997 n17. 9 ‘Here’ is Basel. This is the first letter the dating of which indicates that Erasmus had returned to Basel. He must have made the trip in the last days of May. In his letter of 21 May to Damião de Gois (Ep 3019) there is no hint of an intended move. But on 27 May, accompanied by Bonifacius Amerbach, he arrived in Basel; see ak Ep 1945 introduction. In Ep 3030:24–5 Erasmus says that he is on a visit to Basel to see to the printing of the Ecclesiastes. 10 See Ep 3062 n2. 11 This did not happen. 3026 1 For Ludwig Baer and his trip from Freiburg to Rome and back, see Ep 3011 introduction and n6.

3027  From Petr Bechyn ě   1535

243

way.2 But on leaving your part of the world, he went to Milan and then on directly to the City;3 so since he had missed the opportunity of gratifying your wishes on his way to Rome, he took another route on the return journey and came to Padua, paying me the courtesy of a visit and bringing me your kind good wishes. I am very grateful for this, for I have made the acquaintance of a sensible, responsible, and learned man and (it seemed to me) a man endowed with a deep religious faith and exceptional intelligence. When I asked him about your position, he spoke at length, delivering a long sermon about you, from which I saw that the mind and heart of Paul, the supreme pontiff, was well disposed towards you. In fact, Baer was carrying a letter to you from the pope with instructions that are very complimentary to your worthy self.4 I am greatly delighted that your exceptional learning, your honesty, and your constant and unremitting labours over so many years, by which you have plainly worn yourself out in your desire to educate and enrich our people through your writings, have gained the respect they deserve from one who stands as a prince among all men. So my hope is that, provided you are strong enough and that illness does not stand in the way, you will soon obtain from him all the highest insignia of rank and distinction.5 So I urge you, dear Erasmus, to look after your health and preserve yourself both for us, your affectionate admirers, and for the goddess Fortuna, who is happily getting ready to visit you. Farewell. 20 June 1535. In Padua 3027 / From Petr Bechyně

Bassano, 24 June 1535

This letter was first published as Ep 130 in Enthoven. The autograph is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 21). Petr Bechyně of Lažany (documented 1524–58) studied in Vienna, Leipzig, Bologna, Ferrara, and apparently also in Padua, where he became a friend of Pietro Bembo. On his return journey from Rome to Freiburg, Ludwig Baer carried Ep 3026, from Bembo at Padua, and this letter, written by Bechyně at Bassano, which is 40 kilometres north of Padua (Ep 3011 n6). Bechyně may well have been on his way home from Italy at the time. In later years he held a

*****

2 The letter is not extant. 3 Ie to Rome 4 Ep 3021 5 For the rumours that Paul iii would make Erasmus a cardinal, see Ep 3007 n3.

5

10

15

20

25

3027  From Petr Bechyn ě   1535

244

variety of important positions in King Ferdinand’s administration of Bohemia. There is no record of any further contact with Erasmus.

There is nothing I have ever desired more than that I might demonstrate to your Excellency my regard for you with the same fervour that I experienced in reading your distinguished books and writings, from which I have profited so greatly. But since up to now it has not been possible for me to do so, I could not let pass the opportunity provided by that most learned theologian, Doctor Baer, to let you know in these few words that I am as great an admirer and devotee of your Excellency as anyone could be, and that it is my ardent wish that you will be pleased to count me as one of your disciples; I would also like to convince you that nothing would make me happier than to find out sometime what I could do to please you. Master Ludwig will explain to your Excellency in more detail what my feelings and my wishes are, for it has not been possible for me to write as I wished because of his imminent departure. I pray that Almighty God may keep your Excellency safe and well for my sake and for the benefit of the whole world. From Bassano, in haste, on the feast of John the Baptist 1535 Your Excellency’s most devoted servant Petr Bechyně of Lažany, etc, Bohemian To the most eminent and learned Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, his master and mentor, who deserves to be honoured as one of the greatest of men. At Freiburg 3028 / To Erasmus Schets

Basel, 28 June 1535

This letter was first published by Allen. The autograph is in the Bodleian Library at Oxford (ms Lat Misc c 20 folio 68). Schets’ reply to this letter and to Ep 3025 is Ep 3042.

Cordial greetings. I sent you a letter recently with Rienck of Friesland, a doctor of law.1 If Lieven Panagathus visits you,2 will you give him from my account one hundred Carolus florins, that is, twenty stuivers per florin, unless on some *****

3028 1 The letter is Ep 3025. For the carrier, Rienck van Burmania of Friesland, see Ep 3022 n5. 2 ‘Panagathus’ is the Hellenized form of the surname of Erasmus’ former famulus Lieven Algoet (All-Good), for whom see Ep 1091. He was now in the service of Queen Mary, regent of the Netherlands.

5

10

15

20

3028  To Erasmus Schets  1535

245

clear evidence he shows himself ill-disposed.3 For I have doubts about his loyalty, and it was he who turned that bandit Clauthus against me.4 But since he 5 served me for several years and is now in very desperate straits, I want to relieve his distress with a gift. My Aldington annuity, only half of which was paid last year, will come due again at Michaelmas in the full amount, that is twenty pounds sterling. I expect nothing from the other unless I go to court.5 10 I would need a friend of less elevated rank, for it would not be proper to impose such business matters on the imperial ambassador.6 Robert Aldridge is at the court and would be more suitable for these responsibilities.7 It was a great blow to me that the Portuguese suppressed the books that I dedicated to the king’s father-in-law.8 And yet they have not suppressed 15 them, but passed them on to others. Meanwhile someone else has seized the profits and I have not received a penny. *****

3 A sum equivalent to £13 6s 0d groot Flemish, about a year and a half’s wage income of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13) 4 For Erasmus’ suspicion that Lieven was behind the supposed treachery of Johannes Clauthus cf Epp 2981:6–8, 2997:65–6, and for Cornelius Grapheus’ exculpation of him see Ep 3053:13–15. 5 Concerning the payment of Erasmus’ two English pensions see Epp 2996:9–11 with n4, 2997:55 with n9, 81–3, 3037:123–5 with n33, 3052:17–19, 3058. 6 The imperial ambassador in England was Eustache Chapuys, who was in fact instrumental in facilitating the payment of Erasmus’ English pensions; see Epp 2998 n3, 3009:39–42, 3025:11–14, 3042:19–21. 7 For Robert Aldridge see Ep 1656 introduction. There is no evidence that Erasmus ever involved Aldridge in his financial affairs, though he appears to have given the impression that he intended to do so; see Ep 3042:20–1. 8 This passage makes no sense if one assumes, as did Erasmus Schets in his reply to this letter (Ep 3042:32–3), that Erasmus is referring to the father-in-law of the king of Portugal. John iii’s father-in-law (as Schets was unaware) was Philip the Handsome, duke of Burgundy, to whom Erasmus had long ago addressed his Panegyricus (Ep 179 introduction). The dedicatee in question was surely Thomas Boleyn, father of Henry viii’s new wife, Anne Boleyn. Erasmus sometimes referred to Boleyn obliquely as socer regis ‘the king’s father-in-law’ (Ep 2918:10–11). Erasmus had dedicated the Explanatio symboli (1533) and De praeparatione ad mortem (1534) to him; see Epp 2772, 2884. This, however, leaves unanswered the question of what ‘the Portuguese’ may have had to do to ‘suppress’ the books, to Erasmus’ financial disadvantage. There are no plausible grounds for accepting Allen’s suggestion that Lusitani might be a slip for ‘Angli (or, cryptically, ‘Insulani’?).’ Nor would that help explain the references to suppression and financial loss.

3028  To Erasmus Schets  1535

246

I was brought here on a women’s carriage,9 at great injury to my health. How I am to get back, I do not know.10 I am publishing the work On the Art of Preaching.11 If there are any letters for me, send them here to Hieronymus 20 Froben, in whose house I am living. The merchant who is carrying this letter is planning to return: you can send a reply with him.12 I wish you and all who are dear to you the best of health. Basel, 28 June 1535 25 I have affixed my seal,13 for some people have begun to imitate my handwriting so expertly that it is scarcely possible to detect the difference. That has happened at Rome.14 Erasmus of Rotterdam, in my own hand To the honourable Master Erasmus Schets, merchant. In Antwerp 30 3029 / From Bartholomaeus Latomus

Paris, 29 June 1535

This letter was first published in the epistolary appendix to De puritate taber­ naculi (Basel: Froben 1536) 74–80. Erasmus’ reply is Ep 3048. For Bartholomaeus Latomus, since the autumn of 1534 professor of Latin at the Collège royale in Paris, see Ep 1252 n3.

bartholomaeus latomus of trier to erasmus of rotterdam, greeting I understand from your letter that there has been no fading of your old affection for me.1 This was all the more welcome because of the long interval *****



9 ‘Here’ is Basel, where Erasmus had arrived in the last week of May; see Ep 3025 n9. The Latin for ‘woman’s carriage’ is carpentum muliebre. A carpentum was a two-wheeled carriage used at Rome generally by women. It could be fitted with a bed to become a sort of ambulance. Cf Ep 3049:71 with n17. 10 He did not go back. 11 Ep 3036 introduction 12 The merchant is unidentified. 13 As his personal seal Erasmus had adopted an image of the god Terminus with the motto Cedo nulli ‘I yield to no one.’ See Ep 2018 with n2 and illustration on page 242. 14 The reference is to the spurious letter to Pietro Corsi (581–9 below). 3029 1 Erasmus’ letter is not extant. The entire surviving correspondence with Latomus consists of this letter and Ep 3048.

3029  From Bartholomaeus Latomus  1535

247

during which I did not refresh your recollection of me by writing you a letter. You must not put this down to carelessness, dear generous Erasmus (it is as much as ten years, I believe, since I last wrote to you), but rather to shyness, which is not just a part of my nature but is magnified by the respect I feel for your distinguished person. I know that your labours are almost submerged under the flood of letters that reach you every day, for everyone wants to glow in the reflected brilliance of your name. But I have never felt that my silly nonsense should take precedence over the serious business on which you are engaged – unless, that is, I had some good reason for writing. So until today I have been silent, not because I have forgotten your generosity, which I recognized even at our first meeting,2 but because I thought that, being the fair-minded and sensible person you are, you would understand the silence of friends. When I heard that you had read my Oration,3 I was not so much elated as fearful that it might not meet your scholarly standards. Whoever sent it to you, it certainly did not come from me, for I did not consider it worth your attention. It was published, not to make a public display of my inarticulateness, but only because the occasion seemed to require it. Budé, a man who deserves our respect, not just (as you are aware) for his scholarship but also for the kindliness of his nature, secured my advancement to a royal professorship.4 As often happens, some people were jealous, for they did not think it fair that in France such an honour should be conferred on a German. So to clear myself of a charge of toadying, and at the same time to express my thanks publicly to a most distinguished person, I permitted publication of the speech that I delivered to inaugurate my public lectureship. Thus it came about that a copy was sent to you too. I only wish, most learned Erasmus, that I could deserve your congratulations, which were not just very gratifying, but, as they seemed to me, exceptionally generous. You cannot imagine what a heavy burden I must bear. The heads of several colleges are upset that a public professorship in Latin has been instituted. Then there is so much jealousy among potters5 as to make even a fine craftsman regret his expertise. However, I have hardened myself and have so far made fairly good progress. *****

2 Probably in 1516–17, during Latomus’ studies with Udalricus Zasius at Freiburg 3 Latomus’ inaugural lecture (1 November 1534) as royal professor of Latin, entitled De studiis humanitatis (Paris: Franciscus Gryphius 1534) 4 At the Collège royal. For Guillaume Budé and the establishment of the college in 1530, see Ep 2456 introduction. 5 Ie among rival professionals; see Adagia i ii 25: Figulus figulo invidet, faber fabro ‘Potter envies potter and smith envies smith.’

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

3029  From Bartholomaeus Latomus  1535

248

There is hope that this royal institution will prove most valuable to the university in advancing the study of languages and the humanities. I am truly sorry to hear that your health is giving you more trouble.6 By rights a man like you ought to be immortal, if that were possible. I am disgusted at the world we live in when I see, as I often do, that wicked men who spend indolent lives in sloth and idleness enjoy abundant good health, while you, the most learned and studious of men, who day and night devote all the resources of mind and body to furthering the public good, have scarcely enough physical strength even to draw your breath easily.7 How much fairer it would be if nature did not treat these Cyclopes and Centaurs,8 of which Christendom has more than enough, with more generosity than it treats the public defenders of learning! But you have one consolation that ought to sustain you, most learned sir, that one day in place of this unfair attitude towards your work you will enjoy not just the heavenly rewards of Almighty God, but a name that will never die throughout all future generations. You will live on and reap the fruits of your labours even in the life hereafter. Far from perishing completely along with this frail mortal frame, the fame of your brilliant mind enshrined in your immortal writings will outlast even the pyramids of kings9 and be more renowned than the victories of famous generals. It is now, I think, twenty years and more since you were introduced to me.10 During all this period you have allowed no time to pass without sharing with the world some part of your genius and of your thoughts. Do you imagine, then, that such glory will some day be forgotten, or that any future age will be so ungrateful as to judge your many important works less highly than they are judged today during your lifetime not just by learned men but by the whole world itself? You have guaranteed the immortality of your name by the magnitude of your renown, and you alone in this age have won such glory for your intellect and consummate erudition that you have offered no scope even for the tooth of envy. So bravo, Erasmus, my most distinguished friend! Continue boldly right to the end of your life to add more and more to the glory you have earned. For while you still live among us to our great benefit, there will be those perhaps who will envy your fame and rush against the arms of your genius. But posterity will never tolerate with equanimity *****

6 See Ep 2940 n2. 7 The Latin here is unclear; ‘draw your breath easily’ is our guess as to the intended meaning. 8 Ie fierce, uncivilized, violent creatures; see Adagia i x 69 and iii ii 26. 9 Cf Horace Odes 3.30.1–2. 10 See n2 above.

40

45

50

55

60

65

3029  From Bartholomaeus Latomus  1535

249

anyone who tries to seize from you the palm of immortal glory or to detract in any way from the splendour of your renown. We await your Ecclesiastes, which, you say, was promised as a joke and has at last been wrung from you in earnest.11 I wish you made this kind of joke more frequently! You seem in this case to have imitated the frivolous behaviour of young women, who often are compelled to bring forth in earnest what they conceived in fun! But how fruitful you have been, for you have even outdone the fecundity of young women! You will not give us, I am sure, an inarticulate infant, but one that is already fully developed, an old and prudent preacher, like the man in Homer who is said to have been ‘a good counsellor and an eloquent speaker.’12 As for our present preachers and the whole turbulent practice of preaching, I think you do not need me to write to you about this, since you will have discovered the whole situation not just from the letters of your regular correspondents, but also by general report. During the past winter we Germans all faced great hostility and danger in this city on account of the rash behaviour of a few people, who attached seditious posters not just over the whole city but even on the palace of the king. However, they have paid the penalty – I only wish all of them had done so.13 But in the meantime several people were caught up in the same storm. There was widespread fear and a general atmosphere of terror provoked by chains, imprisonment, torture, the stake. You could have seen men strung up above the flames and burned alive; you could have heard the dreadful baying of the populace as they savagely berated and jeered at the condemned men in the midst of their punishment. So upwards of twenty-four men were put to death, all of French origin; no German was in peril of suffering the death penalty. Your friend Béda made, as they say, amende honorable by confessing that he had spoken contrary to the truth and against the king.14 Preceded by the herald, he pronounced his confession at the door of the church of the Holy Virgin before a great crowd of people – he would not want anyone to think he was a Lutheran. However, he is still detained in ***** 11 See Ep 3036:6–9. 12 The phrase, here cited in Greek, is used in Homer Iliad 7.126 of Peleus, the father of Achilles. 13 On the ‘affair of the placards’ and its consequences see Ep 2983 n10. Knecht 249 reports that a Flemish merchant was lynched in Paris by a crowd shouting ‘He is a German! His death will gain us indulgences!’ 14 For Noël Béda, syndic of the faculty of theology at Paris, and his imprisonment and exile by King Francis, see Ep 2961 n57. His public degradation, on 31 January 1535, took place during the hubbub over the placards but was entirely unrelated to it.

70

75

80

85

90

95

3029  From Bartholomaeus Latomus  1535

250

prison, awaiting (it is said) deportation to a monastery, as and when the king so decides. As for the rest, all is now peaceful; there is a rumour that the exiles who fled out of fear will return, even having their property restored that had been seized by the treasury. There is a desperate longing among all good men for a council. Unless a council is called one day, we must dread where these present disturbances will end.15 I hear that your fellow Hollanders are acting wildly, which distresses me very much.16 I think they are suffering what, doctors tell us, often happens to well-regulated bodies, which, as soon as they experience some slight disorder, become seriously upset. But if this evil should ever attack France, Heavens! what a storm we shall see! But enough on this subject. I am running on longer than I should, and I fear I may be trying your patience with my tactless loquacity. But you should forgive me, for I have not written a line to you for a long time, and now that an occasion has offered, I wanted to compensate for my past silence by letting myself go in one letter. Moreover the warmth of my affection for you carries me away to write at too great length. I shall gladly do what I can for the youth you commended to me.17 You will make me very happy if you will not hesitate to test my good will towards you by demanding my assistance more frequently. Farewell. Paris, on the feast of Peter and Paul 1535 3030 / To Leonhard von Eck

100

105

110

115

Basel, 30 June 1535

This letter, along with Ep 3035, was first published in Johannes Aventinus Annalium Boiorum libri septem (Ingolstadt: A. and S. Weissenhorn, December 1554) folio v verso. Leonhard von Eck (Ep 386:79n) was chancellor of Bavaria and the dominating influence in the government of Duke William iv. Eck’s reply to this letter is lost, but Erasmus’ reply to it is Ep 3035.

to the most honourable master leonhard von eck, illustrious councillor to the duke of bavaria, greeting It would rightly seem presumptuous of me, distinguished sir, to address you when we are not known to one another, if charity did not allow us to put aside our reserve for a while in matters that concern a friend. There has been 5 ***** 15 Pope Paul iii had already taken the first steps towards the summoning of a council; see Epp 2998:37–9, 3020:24–5. 16 Undoubtedly a reference to the Anabaptist disorders in Holland at this time; see Ep 2956 n26. 17 The youth, who is mentioned again in Ep 3048:109–12, is unidentified.

3030  To Leonhard von Eck  1535

251

a long and close friendship between Johann Herwagen and me, for, just as by his marriage he took the place of Johann Froben, so, following his example, he is doing an excellent job in producing splendid editions of good authors.1 What he wants, and what he has asked me as his representative to say to you, I shall explain briefly. 10 Johannes Aventinus has written a history of Germany in both languages.2 Herwagen wishes to have it published for the benefit of the public.3 *****





3030 1 In 1528 the Strasbourg publisher Johann Herwagen moved to Basel, where he soon married Gertud Lachner, the widow of Johann Froben. At first he was a partner in the Froben firm, but in 1531 set up his own press. On Erasmus’ relations with him, which were not really as friendly as here indicated, see Ep 2945 introduction. 2 Johannes Aventinus (1477–1534) of Abensberg in Lower Bavaria studied in Ingolstadt, Vienna, Cracow, and Paris and became an accomplished humanist scholar with a special interest in history. In 1517 he was appointed tutor to the younger brothers of Duke William iv of Bavaria, and in the same year was named ducal historiographer. After extensive research in the ducal archives and in those of the monasteries and other institutions of the duchy, he spent the years 1519–21 writing the Latin Annales ducum boiarae, and in 1522 he published at Nürnberg (Friedrich Peypus) a German epitome of it: Bayrischer Chronicon … kurzer Auszug. He continued to revise the Annales and, at the behest of the dukes, prepared a complete German version of it with its own independent character, the Bayrischer Chronik. After many delays, he finished it in 1533, but neither it nor the Annales would be published in his lifetime. Although Aventinus never left the Catholic church, his sympathies on most subjects were with the reformers. In 1528 he found himself suspected of heresy and was briefly imprisoned, whereupon he moved to the free imperial city of Regensburg, where the government left him in peace. But in the Annales and the Chronik, his vituperatively anticlerical views were expressed with such ­clarity that the works could not be published under the auspices of the strictly Catholic dukes of Bavaria. The version of the Annales published at Ingolstadt in 1554 (see introduction above) was expurgated, as was the incomplete version of the Chronik published at Frankfurt in 1566 (Georg Raben et al). Meanwhile, in his later years Aventinus conceived the plan of a history of the whole of Germany, to be known as Germania illustrata in Latin and Zeitbuch über ganz Teutschland in German. But at the time of his death in 1534 he had completed only the first of a projected ten parts plus an index; see Ep 3035 n1. 3 Erasmus’ choice of words in the preceding sentence makes it sound as though Herwagen wanted to publish the Germania illustrata rather than the Annales, but he is surely referring to the latter work, which did in fact include a great deal of general German history. It was the Annales that had been suppressed because of offensive content (see preceding note and cf lines 13–15 below), and the Germania illustrata had no ‘latter part’ (see preceding note and cf lines 18–19 below).

3030  To Leonhard von Eck  1535

252

I am told that the work has been suppressed because in writing the history of his own people the author included some things that caused offence to the princes. I do not think that this is the case in the present volume, but if this is 15 so, the problem can be corrected without much trouble. But in view of the favour that the prince shows you and the influence you have it will be easy for you to obtain permission for the publication of the latter part of the history.4 Herwagen will not be ungrateful and will see to it that by this action you will win an honourable name among all those who take delight in a faithful 20 account of past events. At the same time your kind assistance will make a bond between Herwagen and me and you. For I would like to be included among those whom your Excellency is pleased to favour. All good wishes. Basel, where I am now a recent visitor to see to the printing of my Ecclesiastes,5 the last day of June 1535 25 Erasmus of Rotterdam, in my own hand 3031 / From Konrad Heresbach

Düsseldorf, 28 July 1535

For Konrad Heresbach, devoted Erasmian and councillor to William v, duke of Cleves-Mark-Jülich-Berg, see Ep 1316 introduction. The conglomeration of territories over which the duke ruled was situated just to the south and west of the city of Münster. This letter was first published in Bouterwek 45–50, and then in Horawitz iv 850–6. The manuscript, autograph throughout except for the month-date (which was added in a different hand) and line 250, which is presumably in the hand of Duke William v of Cleves, is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 85). The letter answers one, not extant, from Erasmus that Heresbach had received via Tielmannus Gravius (see n2 below) on 22 July. Noting this in his diary, Heresbach says that he replied to Erasmus in a letter, sent on 29 July, in which he told the ‘rest of the story’ (reliquum historiae) of the siege of Münster; see Bouterwek 9 n4. This indicates that Heresbach had ­narrated the earlier stage of the troubles at Münster in a previous letter. That narrative is twice referred to in this letter (lines 55 and 173), and in line 56 it is said to have covered the first nine months of the siege (March–November 1534).

*****

4 It is not clear how much of the ‘latter part’ of the Annales Herwagen wanted to publish. The last of the seven books of the work brings the narrative to 1460 and the accession of Duke Albert iv. 5 For Erasmus’ return to Basel, see Ep 3025 n9. For the publication of Ecclesiastes, see Ep 3036 introduction.

3031  From Konrad Heresbach  1535

253

In 1536 Heresbach, or perhaps someone else using his material, compiled a complete narrative of the siege of Münster in the form of a letter to Erasmus. The document gives every indication of being a conflation of the content of Heresbach’s two letters describing the siege, but with conflicting indications of chronology left unresolved. The latter part of the composite letter is essentially an expansion of the present letter, while the first part presumably replicates the content of the missing earlier letter. The account in the composite letter of the ‘royal legislation’ of Jan of Leiden must be supposed to duplicate the content of the lost enclosure to this letter (see lines 234–6 with n35 below). There is nothing to indicate that the composite letter was ever sent to Erasmus, but, in addition to being an important contemporary source about the events in Münster, it is a valuable source of information about the correspondence between Erasmus and Heresbach that did take place. Like Allen, we have treated the composite letter as an appendix to the present letter, designating it Ep 3031a. For further information see the introduction to that letter. Heresbach makes liberal use of Greek words and phrases, not all of which have been identified in the notes.

For a long time now we have been in the dark about your fate, for you have been so silent that for several months we have been unable to get a reliable report about you. Some people were sure you had moved back to Basel, though this I could hardly bring myself to believe.1 Others, birds of ill omen, had even braced themselves to carry the good Erasmus to his grave. But 5 then, all our worries were removed by the opportune arrival of the letter that you sent us through Tielmannus Gravius.2 By the Graces,3 it was a most welcome letter, and not just to me – I am in the habit of showing it occasionally to my friends as a rare and exotic treasure – but to both princes also,4 and to the many distinguished persons who happened to be present in the court on 10 account of the meeting of princes at Neuss.5 What you wrote was greeted ***** 3031 1 Tentative reports of Erasmus’ return to Basel in the last days of May 1535 (Ep 3025 n9) appear to have reached Heresbach by late June. 2 For Tielmannus Gravius of Cologne, through whom letters to and from Erasmus were often forwarded, see Ep 2990 introduction. For the forwarded letter, not extant, see introduction above. 3 The Graces, daughters of Zeus, were Greek goddesses of joy and beauty. They were occasionally, as here, invoked in oaths. 4 John iii, duke of Jülich-Cleves, and his son William v 5 For the conference of princes at Neuss on 15 July 1535, see Ep 3041:124–30 with n16.

Konrad Heresbach Kölnisches Stadtmuseum

3031  From Konrad Heresbach  1535

255

most enthusiastically both by those who read it and those who listened to it being read by others. To turn to the contents of your letter: I thank you for your congratulations on my recovery; I in turn pray for a permanent restoration of your health. You speak with great sadness about the loss of friends.6 This is something we must blame partly on the insane tyranny of certain people (or perhaps to the mindlessness of rulers) and partly on the perfidy and wretchedness of the age; it is also a sign of the dawning of the last days, a time when there is no respect for the tenets of religion or the laws of friendship. Moreover, the relentless hostility of certain provocative writers and pseudo-preachers is dragging literary studies and their exponents into disrepute and danger, as though these were responsible for the current turmoil, though with more justification the humanities could repeat those words of the Fates in Homer, uttered in self-defence, ‘Alas! Alas! … they say that evils come from us, but they themselves / suffer beyond their apportioned measure through their own wicked deeds.’7 It is the fault of evil men, not of letters or the gospel, if some people misuse them. Moreover, if you banish these, you will inevitably lose at the same time every trace of refinement and godliness. Besides, none of those who favour these fanatical innovations appear to be people of solid judgment or sound learning; on the contrary you will find that they are possessed with a fanatical zeal for irrational ideas and revolutionary change. But more about this at another time. I see that our two princes are both so well disposed towards you that if you were deserted by everyone else and decided to come to us, I believe they would give you a generous welcome and supply everything that is needed to sustain life; they would also be ready to defend you from the assaults of your adversaries, without placing any burden on you. Believe me, this offer, which is generously made, will be faithfully fulfilled, as you will soon discover, if you put the matter to the test.8 All of us would like you to dedicate your Ecclesiastes to John, the senior duke,9 if that were possible; there is no doubt that to do so would be in your *****

6 Apparently a reference to the executions of John Fisher (22 June 1535) and Thomas More (6 July 1535); cf Ep 3041:168–74. 7 Homer Odyssey 1.33–4, cited in Greek. As Allen points out, the words in Homer are spoken not by the Fates but by Zeus. 8 Erasmus had already been invited to settle in Jülich-Cleves; see Epp 2146:5–15, 2335:31–4. 9 John iii (n4 above). Erasmus had already decided to dedicate the work to Christoph von Stadion, bishop of Augsburg; see Ep 3036 introduction.

15

20

25

30

35

40

3031  From Konrad Heresbach  1535

256

own interest. If you decide on this, you should refer briefly in the preface to the prince’s efforts in this sphere without resorting to sycophantic blandiloquence.10 As for what you say about Aleandro, that slave to avarice and ambition, there is no need for you to be concerned, since his verdict on the despicable charges of impiety has for some time carried no great weight.11 With regard to Barbarossa, every day we get fresh news of the war.12 The people of Brabant have already triumphantly celebrated the emperor’s victory with magnificent bonfires, singing a victory song, I think, before the victory.13 Here Zion has at last been taken, and we have won a victory over their king, a figure from the pages of tragedy.14 But since you say in the postscript to your letter that you want to know what happened to that kingdom, I shall give you a rough sketch of how the tragedy ended, as far as my crass mother-­ wit allows,15 while, however, sticking closely to the facts. I touched on the earlier acts of the drama, as best I could, in my previous letter, in which I described what had happened up to then, that is, roughly as far as the ninth month of the siege.16 But when anarchy, or rather oligarchy, turned into monarchy, and property sharing and communal dining, organized in four kitchens in four regions of the city, were abandoned in favour of the private division of property and individual kitchens, you might have called the result ‘partnership with a lion.’17 The king and the king’s associates treated themselves, as was to be expected, in royal style, but they were not so generous towards the common folk. To prevent the people from assembling in one place and forming a conspiracy to protest about the unfairness of their treatment or about other matters, they were segregated by their different tasks, ***** 10 The ‘prince’s efforts in this sphere’ were doubtless the new church order of 1532–3 and the emphasis it placed on good preaching; see Ep 2804 introduction. 11 Doubtless a reference to Erasmus’ belief that Girolamo Aleandro was the moving force behind virtually all attacks on him, including those of Julius Caesar Scaliger and Etienne Dolet; see Ep 3005 n5. 12 See Ep 2997 n22. 13 Cf Adagia i vii 55: Ante victoriam encomium canis ‘You triumph before the victory.’ 14 ‘Zion,’ ie the Anabaptist kingdom at Münster, under siege since 28 February 1534, fell to the invading army on 24 June 1535. ‘King’ Jan of Leiden (Ep 2957 n20) and several other Anabaptist leaders were captured and imprisoned. 15 Literally ‘with my crass Minerva’; for this proverbial expression see Adagia  i i 37. 16 The letter (also referred to in line 194 below) is not extant, but its content is embodied in the first section of Ep 3031a. Cf the introduction above. 17 Ie a partnership in which all the profits go to the strongest partner; see Adagia i vii 89.

45

50

55

60

65

3031  From Konrad Heresbach  1535

257

each person being assigned to his own place and forbidden to move from there without the authorization of a tribune or other officer, nor was it permissible to hold a secret meeting. If any persons attempted this, they were immediately arrested by spies appointed for this purpose,18 and hauled off to be punished. To strengthen tyrannical control, the king appointed twelve dukes, to whom he designated authority within that tiny world, with the intention of expanding their sphere of activity later.19 He hung a shiny medal around the neck of each of them, presumably in recognition of their high office.20 When the siege lasted longer than was anticipated and all hope of reinforcements had vanished, supplies began to run low, and since there were large numbers to be fed, there was widespread want. At first they resorted to eating horse flesh and other barely edible foods to assuage their hunger. Later we discovered that they had eaten hides and animal skins soaked in water and cut into small pieces, which they served with vegetables as seasoning. We know this because such delightful gourmet fare was found, after the capture of the city, in the houses of some noble women well known to me. Some used dogs and dormice to stave off hunger. In short, the situation seemed to look more and more like the famine at Saguntum,21 but with the return of summer they managed somehow to eke out an existence on herbs and roots. But lest the destruction of this new Jerusalem should fall short in any way of that of the old, it is said that, after the storming of the city, hands and feet from little children were found

***** 18 The word for ‘spies’ is ‘Corycaeans,’ the proverbial snoopers of antiquity; see Adagia i ii 44. 19 The dukes were appointed on 3 May 1535. In addition to governing the twelve sections into which the city was divided and taking action against any signs of internal discontent, the dukes were put in charge of the city’s ten gates and two other points of defence against external attack; see Kerssenbrock / Mackay 659–60 with nn34–5. King Jan also promised that after the city was delivered from the siege, which he predicted would happen at Easter (28 March 1535), he would attack and conquer the neighbouring principalities and duchies (including Saxony, Jülich-Cleves, Cologne, Mainz, and Braunschweig) and bestow them on his dukes. For the complete list of dukes and their promised territories, see Kerssenbrock / Mackay 660–1. 20 The dukes wore chains made of twelve large gold florins (Kerssenbrock / Mackay 660 n36). 21 The people of Saguntum in Spain were reduced to desperation when their town was besieged by the Carthaginians in 219 bc. The famine brought on by the siege became proverbial; see Adagia i ix 67.

70

75

80

85

3031  From Konrad Heresbach  1535

258

steeped in brine.22 Is it not truly astonishing that we still do not recognize the sure anger of God against us and the just and terrible strokes of his lash? When famine began to have a more cruel effect on the people, the king on his own initiative allowed anyone wishing to leave to do so; this would free him of a useless rabble and at the same time allow him, with a few others, to enjoy a richer diet for a longer time. So at once a huge crowd, mostly women and young children, came forward. The number of men was smaller, for at the first encounter almost all the men were slain by the soldiers. The army tried to force the women and infants to return to the city, but in vain, for they were ready to offer up their lives rather than return to a lingering death, knowing that to die of hunger is the most painful of all deaths, as Homer, among others, testifies.23 You could have seen the miserable state they were in: several had not tasted bread from the feast of the Resurrection to Pentecost,24 all were weakened and half-dead from eating bad food, and when they did fill up on bread, they immediately died. Since the women were not put to death and could not be forced back into the city, great numbers were shut up within the walls of our encampment and suffered cruelly from hunger. They pulled their nursing children from their breasts and laid them at the feet of the soldiers, begging to be killed along with their infants. In the end the leaders took pity on them and the children were all permitted by the soldiers to be taken in and fed. The women also were set free. These events took place generally after the feast of the Resurrection. Earlier there were occasional minor engagements when the Anabaptists rushed out to attack the besiegers, sometimes inflicting, sometimes suffering defeat. Later these attacks took place less frequently and only when there was a clear target. Once or twice there were parleys. Towards the end when starvation threatened, which is more cruel than any conqueror, and the number of their troops was declining, they rarely ventured forth – unless we count those who from time to time tried to escape from the city and were captured or killed. When the situation had reached this point, a week after Pentecost,25 two soldiers slipped out of the city by night, one of whom eluded the guards and, ***** 22 Cf Ep 3031a:588–91. The destruction of the ‘old’ Jerusalem in ad 70 is the subject of books 5 and 6 of the Bellum Judaicum of Flavius Josephus. Book 5.201–13 tells of a Jewish woman who, reduced to desperation by the famine, killed her young son and roasted his body. 23 Homer Odyssey 12.342 24 28 March–16 May 1535 25 Pentecost was 23 May 1535; hence 30 May

90

95

100

105

110

115

120

3031  From Konrad Heresbach  1535

259

passing through our camp, made his escape; the other was caught in the act and was allowed to live. When the former realized that his companion’s life was spared, he too returned of his own free will. It was from these captives that they discovered how the city could be taken.26 125 The soldiers had now revealed that at what is called the Cross gate the moat around the city was no wider than a spear’s length plus four feet, and that the little gate there was not kept closed. So a bridge was constructed of the required length, which on the feast of St John27 at the first watch of the night was moved to that part of the moat. A rope was tied to the bridge. The 130 prisoner who had said that the city was less heavily fortified at this point swam across the moat with the rope around his body and pulled the bridge after him. Thirty-five men, chosen for this mission, successfully crossed over on foot. After crossing the moat, they were faced with a rampart, which towered above them and was protected by a fence that stretched as far as the 135 fortress known as the Rondel, making it difficult to climb. But some of the infantrymen who had crossed the moat managed to creep through at the point ***** 26 The two deserters were Heinrich Gresbeck and Hans Eck von der Langenstrate (see Bouterwek 39 n91; Berichte der Augenzeugen über das Münsterische Wiedertäufterreich ed C.A. Cornelius [Münster 1853] 393). Gresbeck (documented 1530–5) was a citizen of Münster who, after an absence of four years, returned to the city (1534) and joined the Anabaptist community, seemingly out of fear rather than conviction. He left behind a first-hand account in Low German of the Anabaptist uprising at Münster: Summarische Ertzelungk und Bericht der Wiederdope und wat sich binnen der stat Monster in Westphalen zuget­ ragen im Iair mdxxxv (text in Cornelius 2–214; English translation, from a better manuscript than that used by Cornelius, in Gresbeck / Mackay). His fellow deserter, Hans Eck von der Langenstrate (d after 1536) was a Landsknecht who had served in the army of the bishop of Münster, Franz von Waldeck, before joining the Anabaptists at Münster and becoming a bodyguard of ‘King’ Jan of Leiden. As reward for his betrayal of the city to the occupying army he received from Bishop Franz a payment of fifty Emden gulden (florins), a sum equivalent to £12 5s 10 d groot Flemish, one and a half times the annual wage income of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). The first mention of a mint in the East Frisian city of Emden, a major centre for trade between the North Sea and Westphalia, dates from an imperial charter of 1244. In 1572 the mint struck, in addition to smaller-denomination coins in silver and copper, some 5,000 gulden (florins). On the Emden mint, see U.  HagenJahnke and R. Walburg Münzschatzfunde: Das Beispiel Walle (Frankfurt am Main: Deutsche Bundesbank 1987) 62–9. 27 24 June

3031  From Konrad Heresbach  1535

260

where the fence joins the fortress; others had brought up short ladders and jumped across. They climbed over the first fence, but before they could reach the top of the rampart they were faced with a further obstacle, constructed of poles and pieces of wood neatly intertwined. By good luck one of the wooden pieces had been pulled out; as a result they were able to reach the top of the rampart unharmed and without the knowledge of the guards. So they rushed into the fortress and killed all the sentinels, who were already asleep. Our men were aided that night by a storm with its accompanying thunder and lightning, which made it less likely that they would be betrayed by noise. When those who were left in the rear, around three hundred in number, hastened to exploit this success, the bridge collapsed. Some were already on the other side of the moat; the rest, by swimming across and putting up ladders on the Rondel, caught up with the ones who had gone before them, and although some of the ladders broke under their weight and the speed of their attack, many arrived by the same route that the vanguard had taken. These immediately entered through the gate, which, as we said, was open. They burst into the city with four companies, though in number less than six hundred. But now that they had got inside, they became too elated by their success and neglected to take care of the gate. A few of the townspeople who happened to come on the scene closed the gate, so that the army remained shut out. These events took place around the first hour of the night. Already our men were imagining that those who had entered the city were all doomed because of the smallness of their numbers, while in fact they were boldly causing bloodshed throughout the city. They were helped by the darkness of the night, which made them appear more numerous than they were. Had circumstances been different, they would easily have been overcome by the townspeople. You could have heard the curses of the soldiers who were shut out and the abuse hurled at our commanders and leaders for delivering the wretched victims into a trap (or perhaps we should say a slaughter-house) and for trusting unreliable and perfidious traitors. The leaders and commanders moaned and sighed and tore their hair. It was, in short, a scene of utter misery. One could hear wailing from one section of the city and the singing of psalms from another. So it was assumed that it was all over for our troops and that a hymn celebrating their defeat was being sung, when on the contrary our men were making the Anabaptists utter wild cries of ‘Woe.’ In that desperate situation the part of our army that was shut out in front of the gate were standing there dejected until the sixth hour of the morning and were already equipped with picks and mattocks to break and smash their way in when suddenly, like some deus ex machina, our standards appeared fluttering in the breeze beside the tower, and soon the gate,

140

145

150

155

160

165

170

175

3031  From Konrad Heresbach  1535

261

which they call the Jews’ Field gate, was opened, through which at last the whole army entered. When they reached the town square, they found three hundred or a few more Anabaptists huddled together and surrounded by a barricade of carts (they call it a ‘Wagenburg’),28 and also that the streets had been closed off with chains, which could have made resistance possible for some considerable time. But all of them bargained for their lives and surrendered, though later many were put to death when it was discovered they were planning a surprise attack. Our soldiers then went from house to house, killing some and hurling others from the windows. That work lasted several days as they dragged out those who were concealed in their hiding holes and searched for loot and collected it in one place. Among prisoners worthy of note was the king, who was taken in the fighting, a young man just beginning to grow the first down on his face, of medium height, with the look of an autocrat, who had been elevated to this position from his job mending clothes. Several of his wives – he had eighteen – were captured (I wrote in my last letter about the Anabaptist practice of taking many wives).29 Whether the queen was killed in the melee or escaped is unclear.30 The same applies to Bernhard Rothmann,31 the preacher and torch-bearer, who, along with his wife, was nowhere to be found, although he was sought both among the dead and in every hiding place. The king’s deputy, Knipperdolling,32 was taken alive, a tall and elegant man with a graceful manner of speech. These three men constituted the administrative triumvirate and were the leaders in this whole tragic business, though they say that just before the fall of the city the king had thought of transferring the kingship to another, who was himself captured and killed. Many others were captured and questioned and afterwards put to death. Only the king and his lieutenant,33 along with a few others, are still alive; they are being kept in prison so that they can be tortured further. Some were spared in consideration of sex and age. But later several women who had been treated indecently by the army (what else could you expect in that school for crime?) avenged themselves by poison and treachery and were responsible for the deaths of several men; the soldiers who had slept with ***** 28 Ie a ‘wagon fortress’ 29 For the letter, see line 56 above. 30 The ‘queen’ was Jan of Leiden’s number-one wife Diewer, the widow of Jan Mathijszoon; see Kerssenbrock / Mackay 594. 31 See Ep 2957 nn14–16. 32 See Ep 3031a n35. 33 Presumably Knipperdolling; cf line 199 above.

180

185

190

195

200

205

210

3031  From Konrad Heresbach  1535

262

these women were regularly found dead in their beds. This caused a change of attitude and several women were treated savagely. In this way Münster, the haven to which the Anabaptists had retreated, was captured on the feast of John the Baptist after a siege of eighteen months. One could see the hand of destiny, I believe, in that the defeat of the Anabaptists took place on this feast day, even though the eighteen-month siege had not yet completely worn them down. If our men had not gained control of the city in the particular way I have explained, and if the strong arm of divine vengeance had not determined to punish the impiety of the king and a few others, there would have been a risk that after expelling the common people they might have held out for some considerable time, since the city was strongly fortified in every way. It possesses ample pasturage and empty spaces, where they had sown beans and vegetables. Several casks of wine and beer were found as well as meat and fish preserved in brine in the triumvirs’ stores; and there was sufficient wheat to have made it possible for those oligarchs to sustain themselves for some time. A great deal of money was discovered. All the booty was collected together, a part was given to the bishop and a part divided among the soldiers. A splendid crown of gold and precious stones, as well as the king’s valuable sword and his spurs, made, I think, of pure gold, were presented by the officers to the prince-bishop as the customary mark of respect. This war would provide the writer with abundant material if he were willing to piece together the many strange turns that this conflict took.34 It will be enough if I give you a selective account of what happened, describing events that are certain and indisputable. I am also sending the decrees issued by the king, which I have translated as best I can from the vernacular into Latin, along with a catalogue of offices and appointments.35 It remains for all of us to pray that the Lord will grant us his peace, restore unity in the faith, and banish all error and conflict. Our princes are determined, by legal and Christian ordinances, both religious and civil, to prevent such evils from taking root again in the future.36 With your wise counsel you could assist greatly ***** 34 For the phrase, here given in Greek, ‘the many strange turns that this conflict took,’ cf Thucydides 3.30. 35 This enclosure did not survive with the manuscript of the letter, but its content is presumed to have been essentially that found in Ep 3031a:215–78. 36 A Mandat gegen Täufer und Anhänger anderer abweichender Lehren had been issued on 12 December 1534; see Die evangelischen Kirchenordnungen des xvi. Jahrhunderts ed Emil Sehling (Leipzig 1902– ) 21 73–4. A Mandat gegen Täufer aus Münster was issued on 3 July 1535, after the successful conclusion of the siege (Sehling 21 75–6).

215

220

225

230

235

240

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

263

in this matter if you were willing to lend a hand. A decree has been issued for public prayers to placate the divine anger provoked by our sins. Our illustrious elder prince has asked me to send you greetings on his behalf and to assure you of his good will. Chancellor Gogreve,37 who is ill at present with catarrh and a fever (and would have written otherwise), and sev- 245 eral others who admire you and your writings send their best wishes. Farewell. Vlatten is writing on his own.38 At Düsseldorf on the feast day of St Pantaleon, which is the birthday of our younger prince, 28 July in the year 153539 Greetings in my own hand from William, the younger duke, etc 250 Konrad Heresbach, doctor of laws To the distinguished and most accomplished Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, arch-exponent of theology and of all higher learning. In Basel at Froben’s house 3031a / From Konrad Heresbach

Düsseldorf, 1534–6

For the origins of this letter, a composite of Ep 3031 and an earlier letter not extant, see Ep 3031 introduction. The text was first published, a century after it was written, by Werner Teschenmacher in his Repetitio brevis catholicae et ortho­ doxae religionis … in Cliviae, Juliae, Montium ducatibus … conservata est (Wesel: Martin Hess 1635), and then by Theodor Strack in Conradi Heresbachii Historia Anabaptistica … ad Erasmum Roterodamum epistolae forma 1536 descripta (Amsterdam: Henricus Laurencius 1637). In 1866 Bouterwek (11–42) published an edition based on the texts of Teschenmacher and Strack. The Allen editors used Bouterwek’s text, but noted in the apparatus the differences between the versions of Teschenmacher and Strack. In contrast to Bouterwek, however, who supplied 126 notes, the Allen editors provided none. We have annotated as necessary in light of the notes already provided in Ep 3031. Teschenmacher gave 1535 as the year-date, Strack 1536. The latter date is supported by lines 732–8, which indicate that the execution of Jan of Leiden (January 1536) had already taken place. On the other hand, the opening portion

***** 37 Johann Gogreve (Ep 2298 n5) 38 For Johann von Vlatten see Ep 1390 introduction. His letter, which was sent on the same day as this one (see Bouterwek 9 n4), is not extant. 39 The feast day of St Pantaleon is usually celebrated on 27 July, but it is also known to have been celebrated on 28 July (and 18 February); see Catholic Encyclopedia 11 (New York 1911) 447.

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

264

of the letter (through line 406), which corresponds to the missing letter that preceded Ep 3031, gives every indication of having been written late in 1534 in response to a letter from Erasmus (not extant) that Heresbach found on his return to court ‘at the beginning of October’ (see n1 below). Heresbach was delayed in replying by illness and official duties (lines 17–27), but a letter describing events at Münster only as far as ‘the ninth month’ of the siege (November 1534) seems likely to have been written before the end of that year. It cannot possibly have been written as late as 1536, otherwise it would not include a reference (see line 8) to a positive report on the health of Erasmus, who died in July of that year. The absence of any attempt to reconcile these conflicting dates, which create the impression that a letter of 1534 describes events in 1535–6, makes it seem unlikely that Heresbach (or whoever it was that used his materials) intended to publish the text in the form in which it has survived. As was the case with Ep 3031, the text below is liberally sprinkled with Greek words and phrases.

to the most accomplished and distinguished master erasmus of rotterdam, high priest of theology and of all higher learning, from konrad heresbach, gre eting When I returned to the court on (if I am not mistaken) the first of October, I found your letter, delivered to me from the Frankfurt fair.1 It was welcomed most enthusiastically not just by me, to whom it could only be as sweet as 5 honey, but also by the prince and the several distinguished persons to whom I showed it, for it gave us news about the state of your health and demonstrated the same good will you have always felt towards us. For a long time I had heard nothing of you beyond what I could gather from your letter to the prince and, before that, by cross-examining the letter carrier of the counts 10 of Rennenberg.2 *****

3031a 1 Heresbach’s diary gives the date more precisely as 2 October 1534 (Bouterwek 31 n1). Erasmus’ letter, probably written in August, would have been sent to Frankfurt in time for the autumn book fair. 2 ‘The prince’ is presumably Duke John iii, no letter to or from whom survives in Erasmus’ correspondence. If the reference is to John’s son, Duke William v, no letter to him is extant after the dedicatory epistle for the Apopththegmata (Ep 2711) of 1532. Count Kaspar von Rennenberg and his brother Count Hermann, who were from the duchy of Jülich, resided at Freiburg in 1533–4, initially boarding for a time with Erasmus. By the end of April 1534 they had left Freiburg, and for a time Erasmus lost touch with them; see Ep 2810 n54.

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

265

I had already written to you on an earlier occasion (I think it was at the time of the April fair),3 but since you complain that I never write, I am beginning to suspect that my letter was not delivered, for in this turbulent age we can expect almost nothing, however sacred, to be inviolate. Then, when I was preparing to write to you again, I was prevented by a burning fever, which took hold of me during the sweltering heat of the dog days and kept me dangerously ill for several months. A number of my friends and intimates had the same experience; Chancellor Gogreve and Provost Vlatten had succumbed to the same illness a little earlier and were sick enough to make people despair of their lives.4 Some people even blamed the outbreak on the more zealous of the monks and priests, since they were afraid we might advise the prince to introduce a church ordinance.5 Around the time of the autumn fair, when I felt a little better, I had determined that I would at last break my silence; but I was whisked away in the retinue of the duke and compelled once more to put off my intended project. Meanwhile your letter, anticipating mine, arrived with a brusque demand that I do what I was about to do on my own accord. The present state of affairs here calls for a letter of some considerable length. So if I succeed this time, I shall make amends by my verbosity for being, as you call me, a tardy and infrequent correspondent. First of all, I recognize in your worry over my health the warmth of your long-standing affection for me, and I am grateful. Then, when you write that you are suffering from gout in the hands and feet and indeed all over *****



They seem to have gone first to Cologne and may still have been there at this point. At all events, the reference to them here indicates that Erasmus was back in contact with them. 3 Ie the spring book fair at Frankfurt. The letter is not extant. 4 For Johann Gogreve and Johann von Vlatten see Ep 3031 nn37–8. Vlatten held the provostship of Xanten from 1536. The use of that title here appears to indicate subsequent editing. 5 This sentence is a puzzle. First of all, it makes no sense chronologically. By the time at which these lines were supposedly written, Heresbach, Gogreve, and Vlatten had long since advised the prince to issue a church ordinance, and (with the approval of Erasmus) he had done so in 1532–3; see Ep 2804 introduction. Second, it is not clear whether Heresbach used the word devotioribus (more zealous) or devotionibus (casting spells) to describe ‘the monks and priests.’ Allen, siding with the text of Strack, opted for devotioribus, rejecting the devotionibus of Teschenmacher, with whom he otherwise generally agreed. We have, without conviction, honoured Allen’s choice.

15

20

25

30

35

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

266

your body, I am deeply sorry that you are troubled by such a brutal scourge and that your mind is not resting peacefully within its tranquil dwelling for the benefit of us all and the advancement of learning.6 By right these tyrannous afflictions should have been relegated to that fraternity of begging bullies, idle tunbellies like Egmondanus and Zúñiga,7 where they would have found more idleness and more fodder. But you are wise enough to know that it is a law of nature that the body becomes weaker with advancing years and that many problems attend the old. To fight strenuously against these would amount to battling with God. There are people who interpret these things as the inevitable attendants of a long life, but I wonder if a protracted old age, constantly harassed by such companions, is something to be desired. Some problems, however, can be more easily tolerated so long as they do not destroy soundness of mind, which is certainly not lacking in you, as is shown by your frequent and polished writings, your swan songs,8 so to speak. In this respect you could stand up to Nestor, Plato, Isocrates, or Cato.9 For ‘fair is the autumn of the fair.’10 That is an amusing joke of yours about the expedition against Münster, though for us the reality was far from funny, since it landed many stout souls in Hades.11 Rather than play a part in such a sad and cruel drama, I chose to be a spectator, keeping out of the range of fire. I think you are already familiar with the opening scenes of this tragedy, how it began in Upper Germany under the direction of false prophets, ignorant individuals from the common herd (cobblers and tailors, if you please!), who had risen to prominence as a result of an idiotic conspiracy. They had no vestige of learning, even though the Holy Spirit bears witness in Scripture that learning provides the surest medium and the best method

*****



6 ‘Dwelling’ surely refers not to his house but to the body as the domicile of the mind (domicilium mentis), as Cicero called it; De natura deorum 1.76. 7 See Epp 1254 n6 (Nicolaas Baechem, known as Egmondanus), 1260 n36 (Diego López Zúñiga). 8 Cf Adagia i ii 55. 9 These four all lived to a great age and remained productive to the end. Nestor is the wise and aged counsellor of the Greeks in Homer’s Iliad. Isocrates the rhetorician died two years short of his hundredth birthday. Plato died when approaching eighty. The elder Cato was still working on his Origines when he died in his eighties. 10 Adagia i iii 72 11 Quoted in Greek from Homer Iliad 1.3

40

45

50

55

60

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

267

for the proper examination and understanding of doctrine.12 After trying everything in Upper Germany, and finding it impossible there to complete the remaining acts of the drama, they floated down the Rhine to us and settled mainly in Münster,13 a splendid city that boasted five collegiate churches and as many parishes and offered a suitable retreat in which to carry out their plans. But since in the postscript to your letter you seem to be asking me to describe the beginning, progress, and administration of this kingdom, I shall go over the same ground a little more fully so that the story I shall tell is not acephalous.14 First of all, in this city the popular government supported the preaching of what was claimed to be a purer gospel despite the objections of the local prince, bishop Franz von Waldeck,15 and, by collecting enough supplies, equipment, and defences to hold out even against a siege, they had prepared themselves to counter any violent action on the prince’s part if he decided to obstruct their enterprise. For it generally happens that ordinary people, when their minds are buffeted by varied and contradictory opinions, become confused, and if the princes postpone or deny a genuine reformation, the people, who are incapable of initiating any beneficial action, attempt to make regulations on their own. When a problem arises concerning the word of God, errors inevitably crop up, so that no age is without its antichrists, as the apostles and Christ himself foretold.16 You will remember how long ago, ***** 12 As Ep 2957:49–51 with n7 illustrates, contemporaries associated the emergence of Anabaptism with the Peasants’ Revolt, in which social violence was fanned by the radical theology of Thomas Müntzer, even though the original Anabaptists, the Swiss Brethren, were adamant pacifists who condemned all violence. Heresbach may well have had that in mind, but he is also referring to the prominence in all branches of Anabaptism of craftsmen and others of modest social standing and little formal education. 13 Jan Mathijszoon, Jan of Leiden, and several of the other disciples of Melchior Hofmann who were Anabaptist leaders at Münster in 1534–5 were Nether­ landers who had had to paddle up the Rhine to get there. The reference to floating down the Rhine may well be Heresbach’s way of indicating that the revolutionary Anabaptism of Melchior Hofmann, initially focussed on Strasbourg (which he had proclaimed as the New Jerusalem) but stifled there by a hostile government in 1533, had spread down the Rhine to Münster, which assumed the role of the New Jerusalem. 14 Heresbach uses the Greek word akephalos ‘without a head.’ See Adagia  i i 14, which begins: ‘A headless tale is … one [that is] imperfect and incomplete.’ 15 Bishop of Minden, Osnabrück, and Münster 16 Matt 7:15, 24:2; 2 Tim 4:3–4; 2 Peter 2:1–3

65

70

75

80

Melchior Hofmann Christoffel van Sichem Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

269

when Hadrian was emperor,17 the Jew Cochba claimed that he was the one true star of salvation that had come down from heaven to bring salvation to the people, and how he attracted a remarkable crowd of followers.18 And in Crete, at the time of Theodosius19 another Jew, claiming to be Moses and in the past to have led the Israelites through the sea, promised that by a similar miracle he would lead the Jews back to the promised land.20 Then in the time of Heraclius there appeared in Arabia the prophet Muhammad, who also won over the people with a baseless superstition.21 Now it is the same with the Anabaptists, who share the same spirit. They impose upon the people with a show of exceptional piety and urge them to follow wherever they lead. Those who believe in their promises become followers, inspired by a sort of divine frenzy, and abandon their property and their families. At the beginning ordinary people were generally seized with such fanatical zeal that an observer would almost have felt it necessary to run for cover! You might have thought these people simply mad! But, to tell the truth, many of those in the city who were won over by these huckstering evangelists seem to have been less attracted by godliness than by the prospect of unlimited freedom, and those who were spreading the word were more concerned with power and popularity than with the salvation of the people. Yet in the beginning, when they put an end to abuses and sinful practices and restored true doctrine, they seemed to be proposing measures that were not entirely out of place. And they would have had more success, if the Evil One, who abhors the salvation of men, had not interfered with this promising beginning, sensing that the people, filled with vague illusions and disgusted by the pomp and luxury and drunkenness of the ***** 17 ad 117–138 18 Bar Cochba ‘son of the star’ was a second-century Jew who claimed to be the Messiah. His name is a reference to the prophecy in Num 24:17. He led the second Jewish revolt (ad 132–5); cf Dio Cassius 69.12–14, Eusebius Ecclesiastical History 4.6. 19 ad 379–95 20 Talmudic calculations led some to believe that the Messiah would come in the year 440. This expectation seemed to be fulfilled when a man claiming to be Moses persuaded many Jews on Crete that he could lead them through a dry sea to Jerusalem. He led his flock to a promontory overlooking the sea and commanded them to throw themselves headlong into it. Those who obeyed were either dashed on the rocks or drowned. The remainder came to their senses and abandoned the attempt. Moses disappeared, whether by escaping or by drowning is not clear. See Socrates Scholasticus History of the Church 7.38. 21 Heraclius was Byzantine emperor ad 610–41. Muhammad’s dates were 571–632.

85

90

95

100

105

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

270

church, might embrace the pure teachings of Christ and adopt a more sober way of life, more in keeping with sound doctrine. Satan realized that he needed to be on his guard and to try in every way to ensure that those who avoided Scylla would be driven onto Charybdis.22 And he succeeded beautifully. For when everyone from all the banished factions had gone into exile and, under pretext of spreading the word, had collected at Münster as the common asylum of the Evangelicals, the devil soon scattered among the wheat of the gospel the tares of the Anabaptists, Sacramentarians, pseudo-prophets, Montanists, and Valentinians,23 which immediately choked the seeds of the gospel, so prolific are these harmful weeds. Under papal rule everything was peaceful, as it had been for the children of Israel in Egypt. But when they left Egypt and became the children of God, Satan started to plot against their salvation, causing them to stir up trouble and create divisions. So too now, when he sees the true doctrine of justification emerging along with the proper observance of the sacraments, he provokes conflict and encourages the sects. The people, being always eager for change, were ready to embrace the latitude promoted by the Anabaptists. At first there was a bitter conflict between the Evangelicals and the Anabaptists, so much so that the flames of schism gave the bishop hopes of gaining control of the city. Already just after nightfall, with the help of one of the parties among the townsfolk, the bishop’s militia had occupied one of the gates, and were planning to enter. But some who were aware of this, motivated perhaps by a change of heart, or perhaps fearing for their lives, revealed the plan. The Evangelicals and the Anabaptists agreed that they should join in repelling the bishop’s forces. Some maintained that the commander of the bishop’s troop, moved by evangelical zeal, had withdrawn on his own initiative. It is certain that he was treated harshly by the bishop.24 And when this attack was repulsed, an ***** 22 Adagia i v 4 23 ‘Sacramentarian’ was the label applied to Huldrych Zwingli, Johannes Oecolampadius, and others who denied the Real Presence. Montanists (after the founder Montanus) were a second-century apocalyptic group in Phrygia who expected the imminent establishment of the heavenly Jerusalem on earth. Valentinus was a second-century Gnostic theologian in Egypt who denied the full humanity of Christ (see n51 below). The ‘pseudo-prophets’ were no doubt Jan Mathijszoon, Jan of Leiden, and Melchior Hofmann, all of whom made false predictions of the Last Judgment; see Epp 2956 n30, 2957 n20, 3004 n10. 24 This appears to be a drastically condensed and unclear account of events in Münster on 9–11 February 1534 that are more amply but still none too clearly described in other sources. Alarmed by a report that an army of three thousand men sent by the bishop would soon attempt to enter the city and take control of

110

115

120

125

130

135

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

271

open war broke out. The bishop, having collected troops from neighbouring princes, who wished by punishing the people of Münster to deter their own people by example, prepared to set siege to the city. But the Anabaptist sect gradually grew stronger, and the greater part of the common people, eager for licence and revolution, quickly outnumbered the better part, especially when they discovered that the Anabaptists firmly proclaimed that property was illegitimate.25 As a result, many of those who professed a sincere evangelical piety left the city. Among these was Buschius, who from the very beginning courageously opposed Anabaptist doctrine,26 as also did Corvinus, who had been sent by the landgrave of Hessen.27 But both of these men soon realized that they were accomplishing nothing by their arguments and withdrew before an infuriated crowd. Shortly afterwards Buschius passed away in the neighbouring city of Dülmen.28 He was certainly a vigorous and yet broad-minded defender of liberal studies and true doctrine. But need I go on? All who refused to side with the Anabaptists were immediately expelled from the city and were not permitted to carry anything away.29 A fairly large number of citizens were blacklisted and forced to leave the city and their homes to the proselytes, to newcomers, and to citizens who had been rebaptized. Those who were granted new properties, that is, the possessions of citizens who had been proscribed, doubtless accepted *****





it, the Anabaptists armed themselves and seized the marketplace, whereupon their opponents, both Lutheran and Catholic, took up arms and assembled in a cemetery on the other side of the river Aa, which flows through the city. But the two sides, wary of civil war, arranged a reconciliation that went into effect on 11 February. According to the terms of the agreement, the bishop’s troops withdrew. See Gresbeck / Mackay 64–6 with n60; and cf the much longer account in Kerssenbrock / Mackay 483–92. 25 Literally ‘they taught the lawlessness [ἀναρχίαν] of goods.’ 26 For Hermannus Buschius see Ep 2957:139–43. On 7–8 August 1533 he debated the Anabaptist leader Bernhard Rothmann in the presence of the city council and was judged the victor; see Kerssenbrock / Mackay 439–40. 27 Nothing is known of a visit of Antonius Corvinus to Münster at this time. Bouterwek 32 n21 indicates that Heresbach has confused Corvinus with Theodor Fabricius, who, with his fellow theologian Johann Lenning, was sent by Landgrave Philip to Münster in 1533 to help the city council restore evangelical order (Kerssenbrock / Mackay 447, 451, 455, 460). They had to leave when those who refused believer’s baptism were expelled (see n29 below). 28 End of April 1534 29 On 26–7 February 1534 all who refused to accept believer’s baptism (or ‘rebaptism,’ as their adversaries called it) were expelled from the city (Kerssenbrock / Mackay 512).

140

145

150

155

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

272

them as a gift of the Holy Spirit. All this happened at the beginning of Lent in the year 1534.30 Later, when the Anabaptists had seized control of property and of the city itself, which was well endowed, they collected everything together, and in the four regions of the city they set up public kitchens on the model of refectories and common dining halls. They provoked their enemies by boasting that they enjoyed the protection of the heavenly Father. They toppled the magnificent and lofty church towers and converted the ruined churches to secular uses on the ground that they were bastions of idolatry, for the monasteries and collegial churches had long since been plundered, all the religious having fled. In a special act of barbarism these sacrilegious vandals not only set fire to the public archives but also burned the library of the brothers (as they are called), which contained works of every kind and in every language, thus destroying by fire so many valuable records.31 After carrying out these atrocities, they appointed a new council for this new Jerusalem,32 with new laws, new marriage regulations, a totally new kind of state. In a word everything was new. There were three principal torch-bearers in this drama. Bernhard Rothmann, a man with a ready tongue who possessed a moderate degree of learning and some knowledge of languages, held the office of preacher.33 Knipperdolling, a citizen of the town, served under him, as Achates served Aeneas.34 Because of disagreements with the bishop he voluntarily transferred his loyalty to the new faction and reached the office of burgomaster.35 ***** 30 In 1534 Ash Wednesday was 28 February. 31 This orgy of iconoclasm against the churches and monasteries of the city took place on 24 February 1534; see Kerssenbrock / Mackay 506–8. 32 This took place on 23 February 1534, which was the regular day for electing a new council. It was not a matter of the Anabaptists appointing a council but of one being elected that was sympathetic to their cause. See Kerssenbrock / Mackay 505–6, and cf Gresbeck / Mackay 68. 33 See Ep 2957 nn14, 16. 34 Ie as inseparable companion 35 Bernhard Knipperdolling (c 1490–1536) was born into a good family at Münster and was an established merchant in 1527 when he participated in a riot to demand the release of a protester who had been imprisoned by the then-bishop Franz von Waldeck. Fined, imprisoned for a year, forced to pay a heavy ransom to secure his release, and frustrated by unsuccessful efforts to obtain justice from the Reichskammergericht (Imperial Supreme Court), he joined Rothmann in the local movement for civic autonomy from the bishop and religious reform, and moved with him into the Anabaptist camp. Elected burgomaster on

160

165

170

175

Bernhard Knipperdolling Heinrich Aldegrever British Library, London

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

274

Though it was chance that raised him to a position of high honour, he did not lack eloquence or courage in the face of a challenge. The third man, in spite of being a stranger, rose by a sort of loutish cleverness to the leading position and thus to the role of tyrant.36 He was born at Leiden. He claimed at first to possess the spirit of prophecy and to hear repeated calls from the Spirit. He was a young man scarcely twenty-six years old, a shrewd schemer, relying heavily on the attractiveness of his features and disposition, a natural revolutionary, but uneducated, reportedly a tailor or a clothes merchant; you might have mistaken him for the notorious Alexander, the false prophet, but in his teaching he was another Lucian.37 By his cleverness he outmanoeuvred all the others and compelled them to obey him, though he took pains to choose as his subordinates those whom he thought particularly suited to his purpose. For, like Muhammad, when he aspired to supreme control and was searching for a way to achieve it, seeing that there were various conflicting opinions about religion and that the people were wavering, he recognized that here was an opportunity to bind the people to him. So he began not just to make laws on civil matters, but to invent a new form of religion, with which to bind the hearts of the people and keep them firm in their allegiance, leaving no room for dissension. And just as Muhammad ingratiated himself with the people by accommodating the scriptures to the flesh, so these men also, by profaning marriage, by subjecting the magistrates to the popular will and to the arbitrariness of the mob, by inviting serfs to be free, and by other actions that I shall shortly list in order, won the approval of the people and brought them over to their way of thinking. So twelve magistrates who were acceptable to the people were appointed as administrators of the affairs of the sect,38 but in reality they were led by ***** 24 February 1534, he organized the military defence of the city against the forces besieging it. Captured in the final assault on 25 June 1535, he was executed on 22 January 1536. 36 Jan of Leiden; see Ep 2957 n20. 37 The reference is to Lucian’s dialogue Alexander or The False Prophet, a bitter attack on his contemporary Alexander of Abonuteichos (ad 105–70), who claimed to be able to summon the aid of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine. Lucian regarded him as an impostor who used his good looks and charismatic manner to attract his gullible followers. Having compared Jan to one of the victims of Lucian’s satire, Heresbach then compares him to Lucian himself. The point seems to be that Jan too had a satiric wit, which he used to deride traditional religious practices. 38 Kerssenbrock / Mackay 543–4

180

185

190

195

200

205

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

275

the nose like oxen,39 shrewdly manipulated by the prophet and the preacher. The magistrates promulgated the oracles of the prophet, that is the dogmas of the Anabaptists, as though they were the laws of the Twelve Tables.40 They were never written down or published,41 but merely passed along orally like the laws of the Druids of Gaul or those of the ancient priests of Egypt. But 210 afterwards, when the prophet became king,42 he distributed the laws and dogmas of his kingdom throughout the city. This makes it possible for me to append some of the principle articles, which I have translated into Latin from the vernacular.43 1/ First of all, it is required of candidates for rebaptism that they renounce all 215 those former statutes and abjure those things that the people call ‘holy rites,’ that is, ceremonies, chrisms, characters.44 2/ They must abominate the mass and that Baal which is raised in the hands of the priest.45 3/ They must totally renounce the world. 220 4/ They should neither pay nor exact any annual interest. 5/ They should not take part in business or commerce, and should abstain from all trades, with a few exceptions.

*****

39 Adagia ii i 19 40 The Twelve Tables were the earliest Roman code of law, going back to the fifth century bc. 41 Kerssenbrock’s account of the legislation of the twelve elders is evidently based on printed sources that are no longer extant; see Kerssenbrock / Mackay 544–53 with nn123, 176. 42 In the first week of September 1534; see Kerssenbrock / Mackay 583 n235. 43 The eleven ‘articles’ that follow (lines 215–78) give every evidence of being paraphrases rather than literal translations. The passages in parentheses are clearly Heresbach’s personal comments. The text presumably reproduces the content of the missing enclosure to Ep 3031; see lines 234–6 of that letter. 44 The term ‘character’ or ‘sacramental character’ is technical in Catholic theology, referring to the special character or indelible spiritual mark on the soul conferred by the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and ordination. The character or mark is permanent and cannot be removed or erased, even if one abandons the faith. 45 ‘That Baal,’ ie that pagan idol, the point being that the Catholic practice of venerating a consecrated host elevated in the hands of the officiating priest constitutes idolatry

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

276

6/ No one should hold property on his own, but should lay all at the feet of the mystagogue and prophet,46 following the example of the old Christians and of Plato’s Republic.47 7/ No one should submit to the magistrates and princes (who alone are responsible for the peace of the city and by whom each man is to be held to his duty); for those who are born again are no longer guided by the flesh but by the spirit, so that they are under no one’s control (as if Christ and the Apostles, who obeyed the magistrates themselves and taught others that they must obey, had been less spiritual. The degrees of perfection, it appears, are not set out, nor is there anything on the subject of virginity.) 8/ Anabaptists should review their marriages: that is (i) in the case of those who are married to pagans (meaning persons who refuse second baptism), the marriage will not stand unless the pagan spouses are baptized again; (ii) if the woman happens to be sterile, it is permissible to take another wife, and if the second wife is fertile, the first wife must serve her; and when the second wife is pregnant, the man may take another wife, up to a total of seven, in accordance with the principle ‘Be fruitful and multiply,’48 or, if you prefer, Isaiah 4: ‘seven women shall take hold of one man.’49 9/ They should declare that the baptism of infants, which has lasted from the time of the apostles, should be abolished as the invention of the devil, for faith is necessary before baptism. (But if we must look to our faith rather than to the divine commandment, how few, I wonder, will qualify for baptism!) Some went so far as to begin baptizing with fire! This was carried out in the following manner: they placed lighted candles around each candidate for baptism and by surrounding them with light baptized them in this way.50 Not content with these splendid dogmas, they also reintroduced the sacrilegious errors of Marcion, Valentinian, and Apollinaris, which had long ***** 46 A mystagogue (mystagogus) is someone who instructs others in preparation for initiation into sacred mysteries. A prophet is an inspired proclaimer of the will of God. Jan of Leiden (n36 above) is meant here. 47 The reference to Acts 4:33–7 and Plato Republic 416–18 may be a parenthetical insertion by Heresbach, but it is not bracketed in the text. 48 Gen 8:17 49 Isa 4:1 50 This is a garbled account of the ‘baptism by fire’ said to have been conducted by Jan Mathijszoon in the home of Bernhard Knipperdolling in February 1534. For a clearer description of it see Kerssenbrock / Mackay 501 with n57. It is essentially a repetition of the standard medieval charge against heretics that they engaged in nocturnal ceremonies at which an agent of the devil would address a group of followers who, when the lights were doused, would engage in promiscuous, and often incestuous, sexual activity.

225

230

235

240

245

250

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

277

ago been condemned by the church, asserting that Christ did not take on flesh from his mother.51 They discounted or concealed that Scripture promised that after the Fall of Adam a blessing would come from the seed of David and from the seed of a woman,52 and that Paul says expressly that Christ was born from the seed of David according to the flesh,53 that Irenaeus (book 3, 255 chapter 32)54 contends that in every respect the Lord took on flesh from the substance of the Virgin and defends this as the received doctrine of the orthodox church, dismissing the heretics who foolishly claim that Christ received nothing from his virgin mother. That revered writer Tertullian, in his book On the Flesh of Christ,55 confirms what the Apostle says, that according to the 260 nature of the flesh Christ was born from the line and seed of his ancestors. The more that erroneous doctrine is condemned by the Fathers, the more tenaciously the Anabaptists cling to it, defending it with grim determination like someone guarding hearth and home.56 10/  Finally, to remove any hope of salvation for those who have lapsed after 265 being baptized, they deny that there is any possibility of pardon, taking their cue, perhaps, from Novatian.57 And because no heresy is so absurd that it cannot be decked out with Scripture, they distort some passages from Paul’s ***** 51 Marcion, Valentinus (here called Valentinian), and Apollinarius (here called Apollinaris) were ancient heretics condemned by the orthodox for denying the full humanity of Christ. Like Melchior Hofmann, the apostle of Dutch Anabaptism, the Anabaptist leaders in Münster adhered to a variant of the ancient monophysite view that the divinity of Christ supplanted the humanity of Jesus that was conceived in the Virgin Mary. They taught that Christ did not get human flesh from his mother but rather ‘celestial flesh’ directly from heaven via his mother as mere instrument. (Hofmann had likened the birth of Christ through Mary to the passage of water through a pipe.) In the final days before his execution Jan of Leiden evinced a willingness to recant some of his teachings, but he steadfastly refused to abandon this one. See lines 729–31 with n127 below. 52 Gen 3:14–15 was commonly interpreted as the promise of redemption through the seed of a woman. For the seed of David see, for example, Luke 1:68–70, and cf Jer 23:5–6. 53 Cited in Greek from Rom 1:3 54 Adversus omnes haereses 3.22 pg 7 955–60 55 De carne Christi (a spurious work attributed to Tertullian) pl 2 760–92 56 Literally ‘holding fast with the teeth’ (Adagia i iv 22) ‘in defence of altars and hearths’ (a Roman proverb cited in Adagia i viii 18 as ‘To fight as though for hearth and altar’) 57 Novatian was a Roman theologian of the third century who maintained that those who had lapsed into paganism during persecution could not be readmitted to communion.

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

278

letter to the Hebrews, chapters 6 and 10, to support their view, though orthodox theologians refer these passages to the sin against the Holy Spirit and the sin of loss of faith.58 To conclude this Iliad of pernicious doctrines,59 this hydra with many heads,60 let me add the following: 11/ Serfs should remain in service only to Anabaptists. This law encouraged a lot of claims for freedom. So some people had little difficulty in winning over – or kidnapping – a great number of serfs, since our region has an abundant supply of them and they were generally treated rather harshly by the gentry. There you have the principal articles of faith of these apostles and the profession by which initiates into their mysteries are bound. But every day new supplements or amendments of the same stamp are added or removed at the pleasure of their great legislator and false prophet, with the result that there is scarcely any of the ancient heresies, however execrable, that is not being revived by them. The common people, unwary and moved by every wind that blows, were attracted by the thought of change, by the prospect of gain through the sharing of property, and by the hope of increased freedom, and believing they were being called to freedom and the community of goods, were soon stripped of all they possessed and crushed by a tyrannical oligarchy worse than the tyranny of Phalaris.61 So like the frogs who refused a log as their king and found a stork instead,62 in avoiding the wrath of the bishop, they are presented with a pseudo-prophet, an impostor, a cover that matches the dish.63 They imagine that he is the Elijah promised in the Scriptures,64 to whom the Father has given the spirit of prophecy and (if you please!) made a partner in the divine will. They do not hesitate to put his prophecies on a plane with those of Isaiah, saying that this man is the one of *****

58 Heb 6:4–6 and 10:26; cf Matt 12:31–2, Mark 3:29, Luke 12:10. 59 Adagia i iii 26 60 See Ep 2998 n6, and cf Ep 2957:67–8 with n11. 61 Phalaris was a sixth-century bc tyrant of Akragas (now Agrigento, Sicily), notorious for his cruelty. 62 The reference is to the fable of Aesop in which the frogs who reject Zeus’ offer of a log to be their king are given instead a water-snake, which proceeds to devour them. 63 See Adagia i x 72, which reports that Jerome used the phrase to describe a bishop who was well suited to the dishonest behaviour of his flock. The reference is to Jan of Leiden (n36 above). 64 Mal 4:5; cf Matt 11:14.

270

275

280

285

290

295

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

279

whom Scripture speaks, ‘the voice of him that crieth in the wilderness.’65 And just as Muhammad, when seized by an epileptic fit, imagined he was talking to the Lord,66 so this man would often rush into the streets or out to the crossroads covered with grime, and falling on his face in the mud would cry out, ‘Repent ye of your sins, for the kingdom of God is at hand,’67 adding that the last day, on which the Lord would bring suffering to the world, was imminent, and that salvation could be found nowhere except in this holy city, which is the new Jerusalem, about which it is said in the Apocalypse that only here will that small flock be saved, for from the time of the Apostles there has been no true and genuine Christian.68 Moreover, to win trust and inspire fear in the simple-minded populace, they pretend to have received visions: that the Father appeared clothed in mail and seated on a horse, his plume tossing above his head as he rode over the city brandishing a bloody sword in his hand; also that it rained blood; that several suns and other wonders foretelling the last days were observed in the heavens; and finally that the last trumpet had been heard sounding the signal for retreat and calling us to judgment.69 They hoped by this to inspire a greater terror in a fearful people. All this was expanded upon in letters and by emissaries sent from the prophet. Everyone carried the message to their friends and families, begging and urging men and women, young and old, to hurry to this holy ark provided for the end of time, and not to allow this refuge, freely given to us for our salvation, to be sealed off, if they wished to escape the impending and inevitable wrath of God. They assured them that the Father had provided everything in abundance in the city, that they need only bring whatever swords, money, and linen cloth they could collect. If anyone spurned this advice and refused to hasten to this place, they said they would shake the dust from their feet over them and surrender them to the ***** 65 Isa 40:3 66 Muslims believe that Muhammad uttered the revelations recorded in the Qur’an while in a state of ecstatic seizure. Hostile commentators often described the seizures as epileptic. The agent of the Lord in question was the angel Gabriel. 67 Matt 3:2, 4:7, etc 68 Possibly a reference to Rev 7:3–4, which puts at 144,000 the number of the ‘servants of our God’ who are the ‘sealed of Israel.’ That the number of the saved will be small is said in Luke 13:23–4. 69 These visions were reported on 10 February 1534; see Ralf Klötzer Die Täufer­ herrschaft von Münster: Stadtreformation und Welterneuerung (Münster 1992) 66, and cf Kerssenbrock / Mackay 493–4.

300

305

310

315

320

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

280

devil, cut off from any hope of salvation.70 We ourselves have read an official letter to this effect written by the prophet to the cities of Holland and Friesland – a copy was sent to us by the governor of Friesland, Georg Schenck.71 We have also seen letters written by others to their friends. This strange doctrine made such inroads into every region that there was no city or village through which the winds of this prophetic hysteria did not blow. Everywhere the common people began to take notice and to react with great fervour and enthusiasm, organizing secret meetings and conspiracies. The appointed place of meeting was not far from Deventer, to which no less than thirty thousand people had decided to gather at a prescribed time, a little after the feast of the Resurrection,72 for they had prophesied that the world would end at the feast of the Ascension.73 A large fleet was held in readiness, since a huge crowd had been collected from the maritime regions of Holland and Flanders. If the Lord had not scoffed at their plans and they had not been betrayed and taken prisoner, there would have been havoc and bloodshed everywhere. Much could be added here to this account, if you had the time to listen and I to provide the details. Several groups of people from the territories of our prince were hurrying to the same ‘rebirth.’74 Many were caught in the act or intercepted on the journey. All who came to their senses were set free; those who persisted in their intentions are still detained in prison. The leader of this wretched mob was by trade (believe it or not!) a blacksmith, who had been baptized a second time.75 He had been sent ahead to incite others and bring them with him. He was condemned to death by the prince not only because he was found guilty of treasonable conspiracy but also because of his extraordinary blasphemous beliefs. He was a man with a damnably insolent tongue, who, even when he was about to be burned at the stake, wanted to trample under foot ‘that crust,’ the bread of the Eucharist of the Lord, or to use it as a scraper in the bath.76 *****

70 Kerssenbrock / Mackay 499–500 71 Georg Schenck von Tautenburg (Ep 2957 n6) 72 5 April 1534 73 14 May 1534 74 The word translated as ‘rebirth’ is παλιγγενεσία, used in the New Testament (Titus 3:5) to mean the rebirth of baptism. 75 Unidentified 76 Literally ‘to scrape himself,’ written in Greek

325

330

335

340

345

350

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

281

Up to that point the prince had imposed sentence of death on no one for fear of condemning an innocent man, preferring that some guilty people should escape than that he should cause the death of the innocent. Among neighbouring princes, however, and in the regions under the control of the emperor and the church, everyone who followed the teachings of Luther or any other doctrine was hauled off without distinction to the slaughterhouse as a heretic. They tag everyone, whether Sacramentarians or Anabaptists, with the name of Lutheran, even including those who strive to follow the pure teaching of the gospel. For this purpose spies have been appointed. As a result, if anyone has the temerity to read or to possess the word of our Saviour Christ or to contradict in any way the fantastic views of certain selfstyled pundits, he is immediately attacked and held liable to the penalties for heresy and brought under the emperor’s edict. I do not know by what laws or under what conception of justice and equity they do this, whether one takes into account either ecclesiastical or civil sanctions, even those written in blood. Neither in the teachings of Luther that I have read so far, nor in any ideas that have been described to me as Lutheran, is there any doctrine that has been declared by the church or by the laws to be heretical. If anyone reads his works privately to himself, and does not teach it without being invited, and avoids offending against magisterial authority, I do not see how he can be called a heretic. But against the Anabaptists of our time, who are not only heretics but rebels and blasphemers, princes and magistrates are justified in taking action and in imposing the penalties duly appointed by the edicts of past emperors and by the recent edict of our own.77 Magistrates have an obligation to punish blasphemy, since this is God’s command.78 On the other hand, those who have simply been baptized a second time, those, for example, who are found to have been pressured in some way but are commended by the innocence of their lives, should be won back by the sword of God’s word. With such people one should try every means before resorting to bloodshed, so that heresies and not people are eliminated, especially since the imperial laws that were designed to prevent this, promulgated under different authorities and at different times, and, one might add, in different circumstances, appear to be contradictory in the penalties they impose on heretics and Anabaptists. But some Anabaptists are so headstrong, so sure of themselves, and so ***** 77 The imperial mandate prescribing the death penalty for ‘rebaptizers’ that was enacted by the Diet of Speyer, 23 April 1529 78 Lev 24:16

355

360

365

370

375

380

385

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

282

­ ependent on their dreams and visions that they violently resist the authorid ties and seditiously arrogate to themselves, without authorization, the role of teacher, disturbing the peace of the state and attempting to undermine the authority of law, administration, and learning. If you discuss Scripture with them, they have a ready answer: ‘It is not given to you to understand this, you do not have the Spirit.’ One must admire their obstinacy and their courage, unperturbed in the face of punishment, however severe. It is said that in the course of their religious instruction, as soon as the catechumen drinks from a small flask offered him by the catechist, he is seized with such frenzy that his eyes, expression, and gait all make it clear that he is possessed.79 I think it is Circe’s cup he has drunk from,80 for Satan has his own magic potions by which he binds his confederates and holds in fealty to himself those who have forsaken their obedience to Christ. Ana­ baptists greet no one they meet on the street, following the principle that it is wrong even to say ‘Hello’ to one who does not accept their doctrine,81 nor do these grim and loathsome people return a greeting from someone else. Enough about the teaching, morals, and behaviour of the Anabaptists! It is now time to complete the account of the siege, which I began earlier and interrupted with this longish digression. At the beginning of Lent82 the bishop settled his cavalry in a neighbouring village, and began to prevent the Anabaptists from getting supplies or fighting men inside the walls. For a time there were occasional skirmishes when the Anabaptists broke out of the city. But shortly afterwards, around the feast of Easter,83 when the forces of the archbishop of Cologne and the prince of Cleves joined the attack, the city began to be besieged for the first time by an army stationed in five camps and to be attacked by heavy armaments that had been moved into position. Nevertheless, because of its size the city could not be enveloped so completely as to prevent it from sending out scouts and admitting couriers or to stop people coming and going, moving in and out. Perhaps there were men in the army who, through sympathy with the enemy, turned a blind eye to what was going on, as happens in time of war. ***** 79 Cf Kerssenbrock / Mackay 483–4, which reports the rumour that Bernhard Rothmann used a drug to induce madness into those he rebaptized. 80 Circe, in Homer Odyssey 10.229–42, administers a drugged cup to Odysseus’ men that turns them into pigs. 81 2 John 10–11 82 In 1534 Ash Wednesday was 28 February. 83 5 April 1534

390

395

400

405

410

415

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

283

The summer was occupied with the siege. When winter approached there was an interruption in the siege by the five battalions, and the army was withdrawn. However, a military garrison was stationed in seven fortified camps, surrounded by a moat and rampart, to keep watch and prevent the entry of supplies and reinforcements. They thought that this would eventually force the city to surrender. During this same winter the illustrious prince-elector of Saxony arrived at our court, accompanied by a number of other princes, who were all prepared to lend a helping hand in destroying this nest of trouble. Nearly all the princes of Germany now seemed unanimous in their devotion to the cause. So there was reason to expect that we would soon see an end to the tragedy.84 But I go back to the point in the drama where the plot begins to thicken. Around the first of October,85 when (as I have said) there was a lull in the campaign, their great prophet Elijah complained that the prophetic spirt had been taken from him and transferred to some goldsmith or other. This Elisha,86 elevated to the office of prophet, immediately issued a prophecy (it was a case of one mule scratching another’s back)87 that it was the will of God that the former prophet be made king of Zion and that within a few days the Father would not only place all the neighbouring kingdoms under his sway but would grant him dominion over the whole world.88 Without delay he was promoted by the oracle and elevated to the status of a king. Suddenly, what had been an oligarchy was transformed into a monarchy, constituting a new kind of commonwealth. A new king, a new law!

*****

84 Unable to bear the cost of the siege out of the revenues of his diocese, the bishop of Münster, Franz von Waldeck, appealed for help from the electors of Cologne, Mainz, Trier, and the Rhenish Palatinate, as well as to a long list of other princes, whom he summoned to a meeting at Koblenz that was to convene on 13 December 1534. Though not on the original list of those summoned, Elector John Frederick of Saxony also sent representatives to the assembly, which concluded on 23 December by voting substantial military assistance to the bishop for a period of six months. See Kerssenbrock / Mackay 609–10, 639–47. 85 Actually the first week of September; see n42 above. 86 Elisha was the designated successor to Elijah (1 Kings 19–21). 87 Adagia i vii 96 88 The Elisha in question was Johann Dusentschuer, a goldsmith from Warendorf; for his proclamation that God had chosen Jan of Leiden to be king, see Kerssenbrock / Mackay 583–4.

420

425

430

435

440

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

284

First, offices for the royal court were shared out. A praetorian prefect was appointed,89 along with tasters, wine-stewards, chamberlains, doorkeepers, servants, and all the other officers of a great royal house.90 In addition there were sceptres, diadems, purple robes, all the paraphernalia of kingship;91 and so that he should not fail to match Solomon in any respect, no less than fifteen concubines were provided.92 The resources that previously had been placed at the feet of the apostles, that is, of ‘the twelve,’ were now distributed to each person individually – a clever stratagem, to be sure, the mark of an impostor! One could think of no shorter road to tyranny and the seizure of property, which in fact was the ultimate aim of these false prophets. Those who were familiar with this king from the pages of tragedy when he was still Jan of Leiden, a tailor and a cunning rogue, always maintained that he was a great trickster with a natural talent for chicanery. Some claim he was a pedlar in the Dutch city of Leiden, from which he came, others say he was a brothel keeper or a common soldier,93 though later, when he was led as a prisoner before my prince, I never heard him say that he had served in the army. When he was asked about the beginning of his scheme, what I heard him say was that he had gone to Münster when warned by the Spirit in a vision, since it had been revealed to him that the heavenly Jerusalem would be established in that city and that he would accomplish marvellous things there. Something happened on the journey to make him more confident about his mission, for he was told that when he called at the house of Krechting, he was destined to restore to health an ailing servant-girl. And this happened, he assured us, on his way to Münster.94 Also when he arrived in the city and happened to be alone in his room, he had a ghostly vision of a silversmith who had sailed from Holland at the same time that he did. In his ***** 89 His real title was Hofmeister, ie ‘superintendant of the palace or master of the court’; his name was Herman Tilbeck. See Kerssenbrock / Mackay 589 with n218. 90 See Kerssenbrock / Mackay 589–91. 91 See Kerssenbrock / Mackay 591–4. 92 Kerssenbrock / Mackay 594–5 lists sixteen. 93 He was a tailor and an innkeeper. 94 The incident took place in the home of Heinrich Krechting in Schöppingen during Jan of Leiden’s journey to Münster in the autumn of 1533; see Kerssenbrock / Mackay 645. In February 1534 Krechting went to Münster and became the chancellor of Jan of Leiden’s kingdom. He was unique among the leaders of the Münster Anabaptists in that he managed to escape during the final storming of the city. By the time of his death in 1580 he had abandoned Anabaptism and become a leader of the reformed church in Friesland.

445

450

455

460

465

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

285

dream he saw this man killed in a quarrel in front of his door. He also imagined that the man’s very beautiful wife was desperately in love with him and that he would marry her. This also happened just as it was foretold. He interpreted these things as sure signs of his divine calling. Gradually, he said, through various honours and appointments he had advanced all the way to the high rank and dignity of a king – on the principle, I suppose, that ‘if Fortune wished it, from being a teacher I would rise to the consulship!’95 The king, then, when he had taken over this new authority, announced a celebration of the Lord’s supper in the form of a royal assembly to take place in the square in front of the cathedral church.96 Everyone assembled there in obedience to the royal command. The king himself appeared, seated aloft on a splendid horse with his golden robe, sceptre, diadem, priceless gems, and gold ornaments – in a word, he was bedecked in royal splendour, looking like the Messiah as the Jews imagine him at his coming. He was accompanied by no fewer than sixty horsemen, as we learned from prisoners and deserters. After delivering his address, he asked first whether all were prepared to suffer persecution for proclaiming the death of the Lord.97 While everyone throughout that wide open area shouted their assent, the king circulated among his subjects, who were sitting at the tables. Finally, taking hold of a man whose heart, he said, was not pure, nor was he dressed in wedding garb,98 with his own hand he struck him on the head with his sword,99 thus performing at one stroke the office of king and executioner, although for some time now, even when he was their prophet, he took pleasure, when performing that function, in deliberately foreshadowing the tyranny that was to come. If any disquieting rumour arose against anyone, he shot him immediately. And though punishment by the sword was the prerogative of Knipperdolling, who was second in command to the king,100 nevertheless if at any time he was prevented from acting, the king himself was happy to relieve him, playing, presumably, the role of a Moses to the new people of Israel.101 It was for this reason that when Knipperdolling, the director of executions, was ill, the king himself, wanting to punish one of his wives, committed this act of murder in Knipperdolling’s absence. The only *****

95 Juvenal Satires 7.197; cf Pliny Epistles 4.11.1–2. 96 See Kerssenbrock / Mackay 618. 97 See Kerssenbrock / Mackay 618–19. 98 The image is derived from Matt 22:11–13. 99 The incident is recorded in Kerssenbrock / Mackay 619–20. 100 Cf Ep 3031:199. 101 See Exod 32:26–9.

470

475

480

485

490

495

500

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

286

excuse he offered when standing before our prince, with many of the courtiers and all the women of the household listening, was that his wife had wanted to escape and that no one except the king could replace Knipperdolling.102 I return now to the supper. Having exhibited this image of his murderous brutality (what he would have called his ‘love’), he returned to the holy supper (I almost used the word ‘slaughter-house’) and took his seat on his high royal throne, dazzling in his regal splendour. When the meal was ended, twenty-eight men were chosen as apostles, who were sent out through the four gates of the city (representing the four regions of the world) to visit four of the neighbouring cities (representing the whole world) and to announce the holy doctrine of Anabaptism.103 That Elisha, as I said, prophesied that all the neighbouring regions would come over to the new king.104 But this was a false prophecy, and the prediction turned out badly for the apostles, for as soon as they entered the cities to which they had been sent, they were arrested and put to death. Eight of them were sent to Soest, a town in the county of Mark, a dependency of my prince, which was not inferior to Münster itself in size, fortifications, or, one might add, wealth. Although the citizens of this town too had changed their religion without the consent of the prince or the council (as I think you have learned elsewhere), nevertheless the leaders of the community, warned by the example and the success of the people of Münster, arrested and executed these false apostles as soon as they entered and before they could stir up the people.105 They give us hope that they will not depart from the true teaching of the Word. The other apostles fared no better in the other cities to which they were sent.106 None, in fact, avoided trouble. Other emissaries had slipped into Liège, Utrecht, Amsterdam, Cologne, the principal cities in the whole of Lower Germany. If they had succeeded in taking over one of them, it would have meant the end of Germany, or rather of Europe itself, for ordinary ***** 102 The wife was Elisabeth Wandscherer, whom Jan personally and publicly beheaded in the marketplace on 25 or 27 May 1535; see Kerssenbrock / Mackay 687–8 with n92. 103 Kerssenbrock / Mackay 620–1 puts at twenty-seven the number of apostles dispatched to Soest, Osnabrück, Coesfeld, and Warendorf to arouse support for the besieged city. 104 See lines 434–9 above. 105 Kerssenbrock / Mackay 628–9 106 For the unhappy fate of the apostles sent to Warendorf, Coesfeld, and Osnabrück, see Kerssenbrock / Mackay 622–8, 629–30.

505

510

515

520

525

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

287

people everywhere were beginning to pay attention to the merest whisper from this faction. In Cologne there are twenty-four workers’ guilds, which they call ‘Zünfte.’ In each of these they had inveigled certain individuals to encourage their fellow workers to take part in this great enterprise. On the forthcoming Martinmas, when the crowd would be excited (for on this feast day the Opening of the Casks was scrupulously celebrated everywhere in these regions),107 they had planned to catch the leading citizens and the clergy unawares. But by the singular goodness of our merciful God and Saviour, their plot was uncovered and some were captured and severely punished. Several saved themselves by flight.108 You see the zeal with which the Anabaptists endeavour to propagate their hallowed doctrines. They never act openly by publishing or preaching (for they are generally uneducated, boasting only of the spirit and sampling the Scriptures selectively). On the contrary they shun the light, meeting always in vaults and caves and storage barns, where through lying, trickery, deception, and spurious visions they cause nothing but sedition, treachery, and bloody slaughter, take cities by violence, strip citizens of their possessions, and abduct wives and children without the consent of husbands and parents. They consider it right for these new Israelites to employ such tactics and to trick, deceive, destroy, injure, and obliterate the Moabites, Philistines, and Midianites, for the sword of vengeance has been handed to them under the leadership of this new Joshua.109 But I fear you might judge me too long-winded if I tried to give a complete account of everything. That would require a whole Iliad and would involve as much effort as to relate the story of the Trojan war or the war for Jerusalem.110 So I shall omit many episodes and hasten to the final act of the tragedy. Already it was almost the ninth month of the siege, and the earlier anarchy, or oligarchy, had changed into an autocracy. So in order to restrict ***** 107 Although ancient hagiographers make no connection between St Martin of Tours (315?–397) and viticulture, his feast day, 11 November, became associated in many regions with a frequently raucous festival that featured the drinking of new wine. 108 Heresbach appears to be the only source for this report of a conspiracy of craftsmen. 109 The reference is to the occupation of the promised land under Joshua, the successor to Moses, as related in the Old Testament book of Joshua. 110 Presumably a reference to the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans under Titus in ad 70 as told by Flavius Josephus in books 5 and 6 of Bellum Judaicum

530

535

540

545

550

555

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

288

supply, they reverted to a system of private distribution. It turned into the proverbial partnership with a lion.111 While the king and members of the royal court did well for themselves, enjoying truly regal luxury, the people’s portion, as was to be expected, was measured out more sparingly. So to prevent anyone from daring to protest against this inequitable division or the increasing severity of the tyranny, or to forestall a revolt, which in situations of this sort would be all too common, they took care that people would never meet or talk in secret. Each person was kept in his own separate place by his work and did not dare to move a step from the spot to which he had been assigned without the permission of an officer appointed for this purpose. Anyone who attempted to talk privately was immediately reported by spies, who were stationed everywhere, and the offender was hauled off to be punished. To reinforce his tyranny, the king appointed twelve dukes, to whom he assigned dukedoms within his own kingdom, promising to provide them with larger areas of authority when other neighbouring regions were brought in. He hung a shiny medal around the neck of each of them, presumably in recognition of their high office.112 Since the siege had gone on longer than was expected and the people had lost hope of reinforcements, the supplies needed for such a large crowd began to run low. At first they ate horse meat and root vegetables. For a considerable time they assuaged their hunger with other fare that was scarcely edible, such as dogs, dormice, and cats. We later discovered that when these were finished, they had even eaten hides and animal skins soaked in water and cut into small pieces, which they served with vegetables as seasoning, for when the city was taken, these splendid delicacies were found in houses that were well known to me and which belonged to certain noble families. It seemed that the situation would soon resemble the great famines at Saguntum or Jerusalem,113 but at the beginning of summer seeds were scattered over the ground and plants came up everywhere to sustain the hungry. But lest the destruction of this new Zion should fall short in any way of that of Jerusalem in Palestine, it is said that when our soldiers spread out over the city in search of plunder after it was occupied, they came upon the hands and feet of little children steeped in brine.114 ***** 111 See Ep 3031 n17. 112 See Ep 3031 nn19–20. 113 For the famine at Saguntum see Ep 3031 n21; for that at Jerusalem see n110 above. 114 See Ep 3031 n22.

560

565

570

575

580

585

590

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

289

Immortal God! How is it that we still cannot recognize the certain anger of God and the terrible strokes of his lash? Can we imagine or have we ever heard of any horror worse than this, even among the Scythians?115 Meanwhile it became known that the king and Rothmann and Knipper­ dolling were amply provided with food. So this was their vaunted fraternal sharing! In this situation, when the hunger of the people was growing more critical, the king gave permission to leave to anyone who chose to do so. This move would relieve him of a crowd of useless and half-starved people, and at the same time he himself and the diminished number that remained could hold out longer with a more abundant supply of food.116 Immediately a great number of women with their infants set out. They were not allowed to take anything with them, to the extent that they were even stripped of all their clothes except their petticoats. Men were more reluctant to leave, since at the very first encounter they would be strangled by the besieging army. The soldiers tried to drive the women and infants back into the city, but without success, since they were willing to die rather than return to a prolonged and miserable death, for among all the ways of dying, death by starvation is the most wretched, as Homer witnesses: ‘To die from hunger is the most pitiful.’117 If only you had seen the appalling physical condition of these people! Most of them had not tasted bread between the feast of the Resurrection and Pentecost and were so debilitated and disfigured by hunger and bad food that they looked more like faded ghosts than human beings, their faces covered with a corpse-like pallor, their stomachs swollen, their limbs blue and bruised, they themselves hardly able to stand on their feet. When they began to taste bread, most of them fell down dead. Because the women were not put to death and could not be driven back into the city, they were shut up within the walled camp of the besieging army. Hunger drove them to the last extremity: they pulled their infants from their breasts and set them at the feet of the soldiers, begging them to kill themselves and their children and so free them from their misery. Many of the children were taken in to be looked after by the soldiers, and the women also, thanks to the compassion of the commanders, were finally released and settled in neighbouring towns and villages. This was what happened from about Easter to Pentecost.118

*****

115 The Scythians were proverbial for their cruelty (Adagia ii iii 35). 116 See Kerssenbrock / Mackay 676 with n73. 117 Odyssey 12.342; here cited in Greek 118 28 March–16 May 1535

595

600

605

610

615

620

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

290

Earlier the Anabaptists would break out of the town in brief attacks on the besieging troops, sometimes inflicting defeat on the enemy, sometimes being defeated. They also killed a considerable number of the enemy by frequent firing of their cannons. At this point, however, the townsfolk attacked less frequently and only when they had a clear target. Occasionally there were talks between the two sides, but nothing was achieved. The Anabaptists also had their own Judith, who was decked out to tempt Holofernes (that is, the bishop of Münster) in his camp;119 however, since the plan was, I suppose, undertaken without the Lord’s command, it turned out badly. She was betrayed by an informer and was taken prisoner in the camp.120 Finally hunger, which proved more deadly than the enemy, grew worse in the besieged city, while becoming less severe on our side. As a result the Anabaptists were seldom seen to sally forth except when deserters slipped out of the city and were either captured or killed. They even say that at this moment the king thought of transferring the royal title to another. When things were in this state, around the octave of Pentecost,121 two soldiers made their way out of the city. One of them slipped past the guard and managed to pass through our army. The other was caught in the act and taken alive. When the one who had escaped realized that the other man was safe, he too returned of his own free will. A plan for capturing the city was extracted from the prisoners, although it had been partly worked out earlier by our own soldiers.122 It was as follows.123 At what is called the Cross gate there is a moat which is no broader than the length of a soldier’s lance plus four feet. The gate there is almost always open. With this information a bridge was constructed to match the width of the moat, and shortly afterwards, on ***** 119 When the Assyrian general Holofernes laid siege to the town of Bethulia in Judea (c fifth century bc), Judith, a beautiful widow, made her way to his camp, gained access to him on the pretext that she had information that would enable him to advance all the way to Jerusalem, and then lopped off his head with his own sword, thus saving her people. The story is told in the deuterocanonical book of Judith chapters 8–16. 120 The story of the unnamed woman from Münster who, ‘playing Judith,’ made her way to the camp of the besieging bishop with the intention of poisoning him but was betrayed and executed is told in Kerssenbrock / Mackay 568–70. 121 Ie a week after Pentecost (23 May 1535), hence 30 May 122 For the identity of the two prisoners, see Ep 3031:119–25 with n26. 123 The following account of the capture of the city (down to line 747) follows very closely that in Ep 3031:126–212.

625

630

635

640

645

650

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

291

the feast of John the Baptist124 during the first watch of the night, it was moved to that part of the moat, and a rope was fastened to the bridge. With the rope wrapped around his body, the prisoner who had provided the information that the city was less strongly fortified in that quarter swam across the moat and used the rope to pull the bridge after him. Without delay thirty-five infantrymen who had been selected for this mission crossed over it successfully. When they had crossed the moat, they were faced with a towering rampart, which made ascent difficult. It was surrounded by a fence all the way up to the tower that they call the ‘Rondel.’ Some of our soldiers crept in unobserved at the point where the fence meets the tower, others crossed over with the help of small ladders. After crossing the fence, before it was possible to reach the top of the mound, another barrier remained made from stakes and planks systematically woven together. Having succeeded by a stroke of luck in pulling out one of the boards, the soldiers passed over and reached the summit uninjured without waking the guards. Then rushing up to the tower they killed the sentries while they were asleep. Our men were aided that night by a storm with thunder and lightning, which prevented their being betrayed by noise. Meanwhile, when the rest of the force in the rear, about three hundred in number, tried to follow quickly, the bridge broke. Some had already crossed, and the rest, by swimming and using ladders to approach the Rondel, followed those who had preceded them. Although several of the ladders broke under the weight of the men and the crush of numbers, many in the later contingent reached the same place as those in the advance guard. Immediately they rushed through the little gate, which, as I have said, was open, and entered the city. They amounted to four companies, though the total number of men was somewhat less, being around six hundred in all. But they became too jubilant at their success, and after they entered, they neglected to take care of the gate behind them. It so happened that a few of the townspeople arrived on the scene and closed the gate, shutting out the rest of the army. But those who were inside, aided by the darkness of the night, pressed the attack throughout the city as though they were more numerous than they were. Otherwise they could have been defeated by a small force. These events took place around the third watch of the night. When our army discovered that the gate was shut after a few men had entered, it thought that it had been tricked and that those who were inside were doomed to be slaughtered. You could have heard those who were shut out cursing and hurling terrible abuse at their leaders for putting the heads ***** 124 June 24

655

660

665

670

675

680

685

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

292

of their wretched comrades into the noose and being too ready to trust fugitives and traitors, while the commanders sighed, wailed, and tore their hair. In a word, it was a scene of utter misery. Meanwhile shrieks were heard from one part of the city and the chanting of psalms from another. It was thought that the shrieks were cries of grief for our men and that the chanting was the victory song of the enemy, when on the contrary our men were causing the townsfolk to raise this woeful lamentation. Those who had been shut out remained in front of the gate waiting in a state of despondency until six o’clock in the morning. At this point pickaxes and mattocks were provided to break through the barrier and open a passage, but all of a sudden our standards appeared providentially next to the towers, and immediately the gate, known as the Jews’ Field gate, was opened, through which at last our army entered after its long and angry wait. When they reached the town square, they found about three hundred or slightly more Anabaptists gathered in a circle and protected by a ‘Wagenburg,’ which is formed by joining carts to one another in a line;125 everywhere the streets were blocked by chains. The defenders might have held out for some time, though in vain. But they all pleaded for their lives and were allowed to surrender. Later, when it was discovered that they were hatching a plot and preparing to rebel, most of them were put to death. Then the soldiers, running wildly through the streets and into houses and hiding places, killed some of the enemy, threw some out of the window, and strangled others in the cellars. This occupation lasted for several days until they rooted out the fugitives from all their hiding places and searched out and carried off the booty. Among notable prisoners was the king, who was captured while fighting, a young man (as I have said before) scarcely past his twenty-sixth year, of medium height, and in appearance bearing all the marks of a tyrant. As for the king’s wives, who numbered around eighteen, some were captured and some escaped. Whether the queen, who was said to be of outstanding beauty, was killed in the confusion or escaped is uncertain. The same is true of the preacher, Bernhard Rothmann. The most probable guess is that he perished during the storming of the city, but although a diligent search was made among the dead and in all the hiding places, he was never found. The king’s lieutenant, Knipperdolling, was taken alive. He was, as I have said, a tall man, attractive in appearance and elegant in speech. Krechting and several other ***** 125 Cf Ep 3031 n28.

690

695

700

705

710

715

720

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

293

prominent prisoners were among the captives.126 These were first cross-­ examined and then put to death. The king along with Knipperdolling and Krechting lived on for some time. As the ringleaders of the faction, they were kept for torture and questioning. They renounced several of their doctrines, admitting in particular that they had been wrong about baptism and marriage; but the one doctrine that they stood by most firmly was their assertion that Christ received his fleshly body only by the Word and not from the virgin mother.127 Finally these three were placed on a cart, naked to the waist, and drawn publicly through the streets of Münster. Their necks, shoulders, chests, and arms were torn by white-hot tongs. When they had been tortured in this way for some time, a knife was plunged into their chests. And so that the recollection of these men would visibly strike terror into the citizens, their bodies were placed in iron cages in view of the tower square and attached to the tallest of the church towers for all to see.128 The other prisoners were not treated so savagely. Some consideration was given to sex and age. But most women and girls of exceptional beauty were treated with little respect or decency by the soldiers (an all-too-common occurrence in this school for crime). So to avenge their suffering, they turned to poison and treachery and killed quite a number of the soldiers, who were found dead in their beds where they had slept with the women. The effect of this was to start a campaign of terror against the women also. Those of the inhabitants who had gone along with the Anabaptists and had not been killed were, with few exceptions, driven from the city, and their homes and goods confiscated. In this way, in the eighteenth month from the beginning of the siege, the Anabaptists’ refuge in Münster was occupied on the night that ended the feast day of St John the Baptist. It was not, I think, without the hand of destiny that the Anabaptists were defeated on that day. For if the city had not been taken in the manner described, which had been revealed to us by heaven, ***** 126 Not Heinrich Krechting (n94 above) but his brother Bernhard, who had come to Münster in February 1534 and participated actively in the establishment of the Münsterite kingdom. In charge of the last force of defenders during the final siege in June 1535, he was captured and met the fate described here. 127 See Kerssenbrock / Mackay 713, and cf n51 above. 128 See Kerssenbrock / Mackay 715–16. The three iron cages are, for the edification of tourists, still attached to the tower of St Lambert’s church in Münster. It is Heresbach’s knowledge of the execution of Jan of Leiden on 22 January 1536 that indicates 1536 as the year-date of the assembling of this composite letter; see the introduction above.

725

730

735

740

745

750

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

294

(God’s patience seemed at this point to have been worn thin by the intolerable impiety of these people), a dangerous situation might have arisen. There was a risk that the king, after enduring a siege that lasted a year and a half and disencumbering himself of a useless mob, would have made his city secure in every way, so that he could have held it with a few men and waited for reinforcements from other conspirators. In fact at that time a huge crop of beans, peas, pulse, and greens was beginning to ripen, for the city has within its walls large fields and pastures and empty spaces as well as a river that divides the city in two and provides a good supply of fish. Several casks of wine and beer were discovered in the royal cellars, and in the stores there were barrels of salted meat and fish, with which the king and his oligarchs could have sustained themselves for some considerable time. A great deal of money was found. All the booty was collected together. One part was given to the bishop, the other was distributed among the soldiers. A splendid crown of gold and precious stones, along with the king’s sword and spurs, made, I think, of pure gold, were presented by the soldiers to the prince-­ bishop as the customary mark of respect. Such was the tragic end of the kingdom of Münster, which would have proved fatal to the whole Christian world if it had not been crushed through the efforts of the princes. This subject would provide material for a longer history if I had the leisure to write it and you to read it. It would certainly make a fair-sized volume if anyone were interested in covering the whole story. But one would need a more careful arrangement of events. I shall be satisfied if I have touched briefly on the main points. It remains to us to pray that God may grant us his peace, unite us in the faith, and drive away all error and schism. Now at long last our princes seem more willing to do what they should have done long ago, namely, to counter all abuses and fraudulent claims and the ravings of pseudo-preachers and to oppose these evils by Christian and legal measures both in the church and in society so that such problems cannot arise in future. They are instituting public prayers with the intention of placating the divine anger provoked by our sins, for we cannot impute the misery of our times to anything other than our own sins – although there are some who blame these present conflicts on the Fates or on humane learning and the study of languages. In reply to this, I think we could well quote the excuse offered by the Fates in Homer: ‘They say that evils come from us, but it is through their own wickedness that they suffer beyond measure.’129 The origin of these evils we clearly owe to our own sins, not to learning or to the gospel, which are the fountainhead of all culture and godliness. In ***** 129 Homer Odyssey 1.33–4; see Ep 3031 n7.

755

760

765

770

775

780

785

790

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

295

fact I have found practically no Anabaptist and no person interested in such revolutionary activity who is blessed with good judgment and a solid training in humane studies. They are all ignorant men who are carried away by a blind obsession with new ideas or even with old opinions long since condemned. The present age is particularly favourable to such a development, for with the revival of learning and the re-emergence of pure gospel teaching the people have been roused from a long sleep, and in their desperate thirst for enlightenment turn away from the true doctrine and seek to find the way on their own; and being unlikely to come up with any good idea themselves, they invent a reformation of their own. The evil one, who begrudges us our salvation, makes sure that whatever emerges will not be for the good of our souls, and so he scatters tares among the people and stirs up the poison of the sects. As a result their latter state is worse than the former.130 For the people did not open their minds to the love of truth so that they might find salvation. Therefore God will put them under a delusion, which works upon them to believe the lie,131 that is, they are swept hither and thither by human doctrines and fraudulent claims. One man will say, ‘This is the Christ’ and then another, ‘This is the Christ’; and few are the true believers who do not stray from the simple intention of charity and Scripture. It does not matter how often Satan transforms himself into an angel of light,132 the Lord will nonetheless destroy him by the radiance of his presence,133 and in the judgment of Gamaliel ‘he will collapse.’134 But perhaps I have gone on too long on this subject. As for what you say about Viglius Zuichemus, I am sorry that he left that peaceful haven of the Muses only to fall, by a stroke of ill luck, into the centre of this present storm. He was appointed by the bishop of Münster as his official,135 and while this sphere of activity can provide him with experience in legal business, it is not worthy of his abilities, and in the present *****

130 Cf Matt 12:45; Luke 11:26; 2 Peter 2:20. 131 2 Thes 2:10–11, cited in Greek 132 2 Cor 11:14 133 2 Thes 2:8, cited in Greek 134 Strictly speaking, it was false doctrine that ‘collapsed.’ Gamaliel’s advice was ‘if a doctrine is not of God, it will collapse’ (Acts 5:37–8). 135 Returning from his two-year sojourn as a student and teacher of law at Padua (October 1531–October 1533), Viglius had visited Basel, Freiburg, and Cologne on his way home to the Netherlands. It was at Cologne, early in 1534, that he accepted the offer to become the official (chief judge) of the bishop of Münster’s court at Dülmen, which was uncomfortably close to Münster itself and the alarming developments there. Cf Epp 2957 introduction and 3022 n3.

795

800

805

810

815

3031a  From Konrad Heresbach  1534–6

296

c­ ircumstances it is inappropriate, especially since the capital city here has been plundered and swept clean in the current upheavals. I wish we could find him a more suitable position here with us. We shall do what we can to drag him away from his present situation. It should not be difficult if he is willing to serve the court.136 For myself I confess that I have had my fill of court life and am beginning to look for some quieter nest where I would be free to devote myself to humane and sacred letters and to find peace and take care of my poor health. I have gone on too long. I know you are more laconic than the Pythagoreans themselves,137 so I am trying to prod you into writing me a longer letter on this subject. Do not worry about the payment of your money.138 May Christ, who is our true salvation, keep you safe and well for a long time to come. Farewell. Düsseldorf, in the year 1536 When the senior duke learned that I was planning to write, he asked me to add his Highness’s good wishes. The young prince appends his greetings in his own hand. Greetings in my own hand from William, the young duke 3032 / To Johann Koler

Basel, [c August] 1535

This is the text of the Responsio ad Petri Cursii defensionem, nullo adversario bella­ cem (Basel: Froben and Episcopius 1535), Erasmus’ reply to the Defensio pro Italia ad Erasmum Roterodamum of Pietro Corsi (Ep 3007 n15). The Basel Opera omnia ix 1434–41 and lb x 1747–55 published it among the apologias rather than with the letters. The Allen editors, however, decided that because the work was in the form of a letter and was, moreover, ‘a biographical document of some importance,’ it had a proper place in the correspondence. The work was addressed to Johann Koler at the suggestion of Gilbert Cousin (see Ep 3050:27–8). It has no month-date, but by the first week of May 1535 Erasmus had already written a

***** 136 By the summer of 1535 Viglius had left Dülmen, not to join the court of JülichCleves but to become an assessor at the Reichskammergericht (Imperial Supreme Court) in Speyer; cf Ep 3022 n4. 137 Cf Adagia  iv iii 72: Taciturnior Pythagoreis ‘As silent as Pythagoreans,’ where Erasmus explains that Pythagoras imposed five years’ silence on his disciples. 138 Ie the payment of the annuity that Duke John had bestowed on Erasmus; see Ep 2804:6–13.

820

825

830

835

3032  To Johann Koler  1535

297

fragment of it (see Epp 3015, 3016:18–19), and by 21 August a copy of it had presumably reached Rome, where Corsi was reported as intending to reply to it (see Ep 3047:58–60). The contents are essentially an elaboration, for general circulation, of the arguments already advanced in the Iudicium de apologia Petri Cursii; see Ep 3015.

to the most excellent johann koler, provost of chur, from erasmus of rotterdam, greeting It was my intention, dear Koler, kindest of all my kind friends, to pass over in complete silence that strange business of Corsi’s and, so far from making a reply, not even to dignify his Defence by reading it. But a highly intelligent friend, whose judgment as a rule I greatly respect and whose candid opinions generally agree with my own,1 disagreed with me in this case; he felt it was important for me to make at least a brief response to this seditious charge of being, as Corsi imagines, an enemy of all things Italian. When my friend persisted in this opinion, I yielded to his advice rather than follow my own judgment. After a cursory glance at several pages, I detected the source of Corsi’s error and disposed of the whole issue in a single short page.2 I sent it off to friends in Rome so that scholars there would acquit me of this calumny. But now I hear something I never expected to hear: my page has been printed in large type and affixed at every street corner where the greatest crowds would see it, the way papal edicts are customarily displayed. This badly upset Corsi, who is said to be threatening a terrible revenge. Whether this was the work of well-wishers or mischief-makers, I do not know. There was certainly no reason, in my opinion, to pour oil on the fire.3 It is obvious also that while these people are turning Corsi into a laughing stock, they are making me the talk of Rome. To be sure, they are having fun, but it is the sort of fun that children have when they pelt frogs with stones – the children have their fun, but it is no fun for the battered frogs who lose their lives. Now that I realize they have made public what I hoped would be reserved for scholarly eyes alone, I have repeated here my earlier argument at somewhat greater length. I have skimmed rather than read Pietro Corsi’s *****



3032 1 Perhaps Ambrosius von Gumppenberg, to whom Erasmus sent the Iudicium de apologia Petri Cursii (see Ep 3015 introduction), or perhaps Ludwig Baer, who was in Rome in the spring of 1535, when Corsi’s Defensio was published (see Ep 3011 n6) 2 Ie the Iudicium; see preceding note. 3 Adagia i ii 9

5

10

15

20

25

3032  To Johann Koler  1535

298

whole defence, in which he claims the highest praise for his fellow Italians both in warfare and in every branch of learning, praise which, he thinks, has been completely denied by me. From the sample that I read he seemed not at all a bad man, but a patriot with considerable fluency in the Latin language. I suspect, however, that some people at Rome with nothing better to do are not satisfied with the licence accorded to the pasquinade if they cannot play on the naivety or, if you prefer, the innocence of one group or another for personal revenge or their own amusement.4 This tedious and painful melodrama had its origin in one little word, a word that was misunderstood. I shall put the whole thing in a nutshell. In the adage ‘A Myconian baldpate,’5 I pointed out, following Donatus, that Pamphilus in Terence’s Hecyra spoke of ‘a curly-headed Myconian,’ where the Greek of Apollodorus has ‘a bald Myconian’; this was not ignorance on Terence’s part but rather an attempt to make the dialogue wittier and more amusing. In the play Pamphilus is making fun of a garrulous and long-­winded slave, whom he sends off to the harbour to meet a Myconian stranger, when in fact there is no Myconian stranger there. So far there is nothing to criticize in this, but I add a similar example of my own, which, I say, has all the appearance of a proverbial expression for something that one seldom finds – an educated Russian, for example, or an Italum bellacem.6 These three syllables, bel-la-cem, rob the whole of Italy at one stroke of all the accolades and honours they had won over so many centuries and in so many battles by land and sea! But the thought never entered my head, not even in my dreams, to add or take away from Italy one iota of the praise it has earned in this way. But ignoramus that I am, I had convinced myself that to be called bellax was not a tribute to one’s courage but to one’s ferocity,7 for many words of this kind that are derived from neutral verbs8 are descriptive not of action but of some faulty state of mind; for example, edere ‘eat,’ loqui ‘speak,’ dicere ‘say,’ petere ‘demand,’ pugnare ‘fight’ are used in a double sense, either for praise or blame, but edax ‘gluttonous,’ bibax ‘boozy,’ loquax ‘loquacious,’ dicax ‘sarcastic,’ petax ‘grasping,’ pugnax ‘pugnacious’ are always pejorative when used of a human being who has the ability to distinguish between right and wrong – to call a sponge bibax or to use pugnax of cocks is simply to use a descriptive *****

4 On pasquinades see Ep 3015 n2. 5 Adagia ii i 7 6 See Ep 3015 n4. 7 For more on this dubious claim see Ep 3015 n5. 8 Ie verbs that can be used in both a good and a bad sense

30

35

40

45

50

55

3032  To Johann Koler  1535

299

epithet.9 Similarly, bellare ‘fight’ is used in a double sense, but no one is called 60 bellax unless he possesses a fierce temperament that makes him too eager to go to war. So we call Thracians bellaces not because they surpass other nations in military skill, but because their wild and brutal character makes their lives mean and worthless and they rush to arms with reckless haste. Or do you think Horace was praising the Thracians for their bravery when he said, 65 ‘Thrace, furious in war, prays for peace,’10 or when he said ‘to fight with goblets made for pleasure is for Thracians’?11 The Scythians were even more brutal than the Thracians, for they despised all liberal studies and concentrated solely on warfare, living like wild animals on the plains and in their caravans.12 The savagery of Scythians is celebrated even in many proverbs; 70 for example, rough and crude speech is called ‘Scythian language,’13 life in the country ‘Scythian isolation,’14 rambling speech ‘a Scythian sing-song.’15 Carians and Africans have been tarred with the same brush16 – Homer calls them ‘people of uncouth speech.17 What kind of men are these, what barbarous land Permits such laws? We may not share the strand; They stir up war, and bid us not to take A step upon their shore.18

75

Would you think that anyone who uses the word bellax to describe such peoples was honouring them with a splendid tribute to their courage or re- 80 viling them for the barbaric ferocity of their nature? To wage war with skill if it is unavoidable is regarded as praiseworthy; actively to seek war is a *****

9 In lines 130–8 below Erasmus grudgingly concedes that Latin adjectives ending in -ax do not invariably connote undesirable qualities. 10 Horace Odes 2.16.5 11 Horace Odes 1.27.1–2 12 The Scythians, a nomadic people in the south of Russia, were regarded as the epitome of savagery. 13 Adagia ii iii 35 14 Adagia iii v 94 15 Not in the Adagia 16 Literally ‘marked with the same charcoal’; see Adagia i v 54. Caria was in southwest Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). 17 Homer Iliad 2.867 18 Virgil Aeneid 1.539–41, where the Trojans complain to Dido of the inhospitable treatment they received when they landed at Carthage

3032  To Johann Koler  1535

300

mark of barbarity and stupidity. ‘Scatter the peoples who delight in war,’ said the Prophet.19 It was an Italian who thought an unjust peace preferable to a just war.20 Indeed no one prosecutes the business of war more successfully than those who in the first place try as best they can to prevent a resort to arms. If that cannot be achieved, then they make their plans with one aim, that the fighting will end as soon as possible and with the least bloodshed, since wild recklessness and bloody savagery serve no purpose. If one consults the disciples of the grammarians and dialecticians, they will deny that the words bellax and imbellis ‘unwarlike’ are contrary in meaning, for one could imagine a person who is neither bellax nor imbellis, provided imbellis is given the meaning ‘unskilled in war’ or ‘useless in war.’ For example, the famous Cunctator21 was neither bellax ‘warlike’ nor imbellis ‘useless in war.’ On the other hand, one could produce a man who was both bellax and imbellis. Such were the peasants who lately caused such turmoil in Germany. They ran headlong into battle as though they were eager to die. But the warlike man [bellax] and the pacifist or lover of peace are opposites, like bravery and cowardice. To win praise for courage in war it is not enough to be impetuous and skilled in the arts of war, otherwise this distinction would belong to Hannibal and Alexander the Great, of whom the former is hated by Italy while Seneca calls the latter ‘a mad youth,’22 in both cases, I believe, correctly. Anyone who is driven by the lust for power to invade those who have done him no injury is not a brave man but an idiot. For bravery is linked to virtue, and if this link is broken, it will not be bravery. But more about this later. I could have enlisted support for my case from the prince of the Peripatetics. He maintains that examples that are cited to illustrate a point need not be true: it is sufficient if they clarify the matter

*****

19 Ps 68:30 (67:31 Vulgate). Erasmus often refers to the Psalmist as ‘the Prophet.’ 20 Erasmus is thinking of Cicero, who made this point frequently. The same phrase is used in praise of the emperor in Ep 2965 (lines 6–8 with n3). 21 Cunctator, ie ‘the delayer,’ the famous Fabius Cunctator, whose delaying tactics were credited with wearing down Hannibal 22 Seneca describes Alexander frequently as a cruel and ambitious monster. On his madness see Epistulae morales 91.17 and De beneficiis 2.16.1.

85

90

95

100

105

3032  To Johann Koler  1535

301

in question.23 Similarly, when Aristotle says, ‘All A is B, and all B is C,24 therefore all C is A, the conclusion is false, and yet it is acceptable as an illustration. Likewise when Donatus says, ‘Virgil is the most learned of the poets or the greatest of the plebeians,’ it is not necessary for us to believe that Virgil was the greatest of the Romans. The statement may be false, but it performs its function nonetheless. If it is permissible to use false statements to provide an example, then there is a much stronger case for using some commonly held opinion. We do not know what kind of people the Scythians are at present; perhaps they are now an indolent people, corrupted by luxury, and yet we describe as Scythian everything that is boorish and violent, doubtless relying on an old commonplace. Similarly, if among certain nations Italians are spoken of as unwarlike, it does not matter to my argument whether this is true or false. All this, however, is beside the point, for I do not intend to take refuge in this kind of defence. There is no need to do so, for I have not used a false statement in an illustration nor have I used a vulgar commonplace with hostile intent: I have simply expressed what I thought in, I believe, decent Latin, namely that Scythian bellicosity is rare among Italians and that Italian learning is rare among Scythians. From this I think it is clear that it was not an insult but a compliment when I denied to an Italian the qualification bellax, an attribute that does no honour to Scythians, Thracians, and Carians. If Corsi objects that certain words ending in -ax are used in two different senses – perspicax ‘keen-sighted,’ ‘attentive’ and capax ‘capacious,’ ‘capable’ are examples – I shall admit that such words exist, but they are very few. However, I do not think that those I mentioned are included in this category. I can remember no one being called bellax in a complimentary sense, except in Corsi. But let us grant that this word is found somewhere in the vocabulary of respectable men or in good authors used either in an ambiguous sense or even, if you like, as a compliment, my critic will confess, I think, that in its commonest use the word is pejorative. That I used the word bellax in an uncomplimentary sense is clearly proved by the fact that I compare a Scythian with an Italian, that is, I compare an uncivilized, ignorant, wild, and barbarous race with the least barbarous of nations, one that is refined by its ***** 23 We do not know of an exact parallel to this in Aristotle; Erasmus may have in mind Aristotle’s repeated remark that false premises may yield a true conclusion; see Analytica posteriora 75a 4, 78a 7, 88a 20. 24 A, B, C is the natural progression in English, but Erasmus, thinking of the third letter of the Greek alphabet, gamma, writes G.

110

115

120

125

130

135

140

3032  To Johann Koler  1535

302

study of philosophy, the liberal arts, and eloquence, all of which, it is agreed, are the nurslings of peace, not of war. And I indicate in passing that it would be absurd for anyone to attribute to Scythians what properly belongs to Italians, and conversely to transfer to Italians the characteristics of Scythians. Moreover when I use the words ‘Scythian’ and ‘Italian,’ I am not referring to an individual but to the people as a whole. For it is possible that one might find among Italians some who possess the quality of Scythian savagery, and find among Scythians some who were well trained in the liberal arts, someone like Anacharsis, who lived long ago,25 but both would be rare, just as it would be rare to find among Myconians a man with curly hair. I do not understand why Corsi hauls in a Carthaginian at this point,26 unless perhaps he wants to mask his juxtaposition of two dissimilar nations. But I place the Carthaginian last, separated by two examples from the Italian and the Scythian. What, then, is Corsi after? That I should declare an Italian to be bellax in the sense that Scythians, Thracians, and Carians are bellaces? Or is this not enough to satisfy him? Will he also require me to say that an Italian is more bellicose that all these barbarous nations? This would make it appear that I had treated Italy in a most insulting fashion and that he would be fully justified in enlisting against me the swords of the whole army and the pens of the entire scholarly world. The truth, I think, has long been evident, that there is nothing here to offend any intelligent Italian and that those who suggested to Corsi this subject for his pen were looking for a chance to make fun of him. Observe now, dear reader, what a great storm Corsi stirs up over one little word! He pictures me aflame with an uncontrollable hatred of Italian soldiers and in my blind rage shamefully besmirching the glory that the whole Italian nation has won in wars. So all Italians should defend their honour: those whose eloquence flows, as he puts it,27 not just like a shower of rain but in a gushing river28 should use their powers of speech in this campaign, and those who are driven by ambition and the allure of heroic action should fight and struggle with sword and spear, horse and ship. In the middle of this harangue he cries out in high tragic manner that I have condemned Italian soldiers (‘O heaven! O earth! O sea!’)29 for their cowardice ***** 25 Anacharsis was a Scythian prince of the sixth century bc who travelled widely in Greece and is mentioned in some accounts as one of the Seven Sages. 26 Defensio pro Italia c 1. See Ep 3015 n4. 27 Defensio pro Italia b 2 verso 28 The image is borrowed from Quintilian Institutio oratoria 10.1.109. 29 Defensio pro Italia b 3 recto; cf Terence Adelphi 790.

145

150

155

160

165

170

3032  To Johann Koler  1535

303

and timidity, whereas their courage in war is so outstanding that (to use his own words) ‘it cannot possibly be grasped by human understanding,’30 and 175 scarcely even by heaven itself, and that I have judged a nation that has been victorious over many others to be inferior even to the Gamphasantes, the most cowardly among all the nations of the world,31 and that I could not recollect even a single Italian general or soldier; and he threatens dire things unless I soon follow the example of Stesichorus and perform a palinode.32 180 But although this infamous ‘curly-headed baldpate’ has been in circulation for many years, it has escaped Pietro Corsi’s notice, and would still escape his notice if someone had not shown him that passage in the Adages.33 When this happened, Corsi was so stunned and upset that he himself cannot decide whether shock or anger was the stronger reaction. He felt such a storm of 185 anger that he came within an inch of breaking all the restraints of moderation and attacking me tooth and nail,34 and might have done so had not Mario,35 ***** 30 Defensio pro Italia a 4 recto 31 Defensio pro Italia d 1 recto. For the Gamphasantes see Ep 3015 n7. 32 Stesichorus was a Greek lyric poet of the sixth–fifth century bc, who, according to the legend, was blinded for maligning Helen of Troy and did not recover his sight until he wrote a famous palinode (ie a retraction). The reference is Erasmus’ own thought, rather than a response to one in Corsi’s text. 33 The reference to the bellax Italus was added to the adage in 1517/18. Corsi identifies the ‘someone’ who pointed it out to him (Defensio pro Italia b 3) as a citizen of Florence whose name in Latin was Franciscus Marsupinus and in Italian Francesco Marsuppini Aretino (because he was a native of Arezzo). In September 1522 he joined the papal court as ambassador of King Louis ii of Hungary (see Monumenta Vaticana historiam regni Hungariae illustrantia series 1 vol 1 [1884] xxvii n4), and was still in Hungarian service at the Vatican in 1532 (Catherine Fletcher The Divorce of Henry viii: The Untold Story from Inside the Vatican [London 2012] 168). He is presumed to be the Francesco Marsuppini of Arezzo who c 1551 was living in Rome at San Girolamo della Carità, where he was the confessor of Philip Neri (see Pietro Giacomo Bacci The Life of St Philip Neri [London 1902] i 40), as well as the person whose Instructione christiana, utile et necessaria per amaestrate i figliuoli nella via di Dio. Raccolta dal reverendo M. Francesco Marsupini Aretino that was published (doubtless porthumously) at Rome in 1576 (Giovanni Gilioto). 34 Literally ‘with sails and oars’; see Adagia i iv 18. 35 Born into an established curial family, Mario Maffei of Volterra (1459–1537) was by 1506 in curial service. Well educated and a highly cultivated man, he became an important humanist at Rome and enjoyed the favour of both Medici popes, Leo x and Clement vii. He was one of the humanists who urged Pietro Corsi to write his Defensio against Erasmus. See Defensio pro Italia b 4.

3032  To Johann Koler  1535

304

acting in the role of Pallas,36 saved him from his seething anger and restored him to his present temperate state. Who, I ask, would believe that anyone who makes such a dreadful fuss over nothing is in his right mind? He adds this on his own invention, ‘I believe,’ he says, ‘that since you have now convinced yourself that you are far superior to Italians in Latin letters, you have tried to convey to posterity that your fellow Germans have outstripped Italy in military renown as well.’37 I know he said this to cause trouble, but I could not read it without laughing. I never cared which nation was first in military glory. I only wish that Switzerland and Germany were less warlike now than they were before – although Switzerland is now becoming more peaceful through its interest in letters. As for learning, I have always had the highest opinion of the Italian genius and have praised it enthusiastically, nor have I ever thought enough of my own poor literary efforts to have felt I could look down even on a German. Far from imagining that I have stolen from Italy its preeminence in Latin letters, I am ready to admit that all my work is less than mediocre. A philosophic mind does not show partiality or dislike for any particular nation, since every nation is a mixture of good and bad, yet from my earliest youth there is no nation for which I have felt a greater liking than the Italian. It was my admiration for intellect and learning that gave rise to that sentiment in me, for at that time learning flourished most abundantly in Italy, while throughout our lands there reigned a crude barbarism and a deadly hatred of all humane letters. I was very keen to visit Italy and planned to do so on several occasions, first when I was a youth of about seventeen, again from Holland at the age of twenty, and once more from Paris when I was twenty-eight. But fate always disrupted my plans. Finally, when I was brought to England by my student William Mountjoy, I was unwilling to accept any of the numerous positions offered me until I saw Italy, and I stuck to this decision in spite of the advice of my friends, at a time when I was already approaching my fortieth year. What delighted me most in Italy, apart from the extraordinary beauty of the place, was the openness of the people and their sobriety, civility, warmth, and generosity. I decided to make my home in Rome and spend my life there in a country that might be called ‘Everyman’s native land.’ And I would have

*****

36 Pallas Athena, goddess of wisdom 37 Defensio pro Italia c 1 (inexact quotation)

190

195

200

205

210

215

220

3032  To Johann Koler  1535

305

done so, had I not been called back, or rather hauled back, to England by mountains of promised gold.38 During the period of my stay in Italy, I formed a close friendship with some great scholars who were still living at that time. At Bologna I became friends with Paolo Bombace,39 whose warm heart I have never seen sur- 225 passed by anyone; at Venice I made friends with Giambattista Egnazio, Aldo Manuzio, Girolamo Aleandro,40 Urbano Regio,41 and at Rome with Scipione Fortiguerra, a man of wide learning and without a trace of ostentation.42 He would often creep into my room unexpectedly and pass a few hours in the afternoon chatting about literary matters. Nor was it only my table that I 230 often shared with him: sometimes we slept in the same bed. It was he who introduced me to Giles of Viterbo, who was later appointed to the college of cardinals.43 I was on familiar terms with Pietro Phaedra,44 whose eloquence was admired in Rome at that time above Cicero’s, and on occasions I shared the same mattress with Giulio Camillo.45 I was a friend of Francesco Sperulo 235

*****

38 From c December 1505 until June 1506 Erasmus was in England, mostly in London, at the invitation of his patron William Blount, fourth Baron Mountjoy (Ep 181). In June 1506 Erasmus departed for Italy, where he remained until the summer of 1509, when he returned to England in the (soon to be disappointed) expectation of lavish patronage from the newly crowned Henry viii (see Epp 214–15). 39 Ep 210 introduction 40 Epp 2964 introduction (Egnazio), 207 introduction (Manuzio), 256 introduction (Aleandro) 41 Clearly a mistake for Raffaele Regio of Bergamo (Ep 450:22n), who held chairs in rhetoric at Padua and Venice at the time to which Erasmus is referring. ‘Urbano Regio’ was the German Urbanus Rhegius (Ep 1253 introduction), a student and colleague of Johann Maier of Eck at Ingolstadt when Erasmus sent greetings to him in May 1518 (Ep 844:317–19), and later a Lutheran reformer at Augsburg and Braunschweig-Lüneburg. 42 Ep 217:4n 43 This is the only reference in the correspondence to the Augustinian friar, famed theologian, and (from 1517) cardinal, Egidio Antonini, better known as Giles of Viterbo (1469–1532). In his biography of Erasmus (1540), Beatus Rhenanus asserts that the two had met in Rome (Allen i 62). 44 Once again, as in Ep 1347:284–90, Erasmus calls Tommaso Inghirami, known as Phaedrus, ‘Pietro.’ 45 Ep 2632 n17

3032  To Johann Koler  1535

306

and the younger Filippo Beroaldo.46 In a word, I never felt myself in competition with any Italian, even with those of moderate learning, for the great heroic figures whose writings I always revered had already departed this life, Ermolao Barbaro, Angelo Poliziano,47 and somewhat later than these, Filippo Beroaldo, who had died shortly before my visit, but whose spirit was 240 still alive in Bologna.48 I left Italy regretfully and against my will. But when I returned to England and later to Brabant, I felt no nation more congenial than Italy, no company more delightful, nor for any other nation did I feel, and express, such warm sentiments. I could prove this by citing many examples, if it were necessary. 245 On what basis, then, has this fiction arisen of my thrice-blind hatred of all things Italian?49 Was it because, under provocation, I rebutted Pio’s impious calumnies and would not submit to being pronounced a heretic to save the man’s honour?50 Or was it because in my Ciceronianus I criticize those who wrongly and inappropriately imitate Cicero?51 Quintilian openly makes fun 250 of such people,52 and Horace does the same in a similar context: ‘O imitators, you servile herd!’53 According to Corsi I mention no Italian with approval.54 ***** 46 For Filippo (ii) Beroaldo of Bologna see Ep 1347:238–42 with n28. Francesco Sperulo of Camerino (1463–1531) was a highly regarded poet whose life is sparsely documented. He enjoyed the patronage of Pope Alexander vi and his son Cesare Borgia, but after the fall of the Borgias in 1503 he had a difficult time finding reliable patrons. His fortunes improved with the election of Leo x, whom (along with his two successors) he served as a papal diplomat. He was briefly bishop of San Leone in Calabria (1524–6). At the time of Erasmus’ visit to Italy (1506–9), he was living at Rome, where he was member of an informal group that met in the home of the leading Ciceronian at Rome, Paolo Cortesi. See Paul Gwynne Patterns of Patronage in Renaissance Rome: Francesco Sperulo: Poet, Prelate, Soldier, Spy 2 vols (Oxford 2015) i 3–47. 47 See Epp 126:150n (Ermolao [i] Barbaro), 61:154n (Angelo Poliziano). 48 The reference is to Filippo (i) Beroaldo, uncle of his namesake in n46, for whom see Ep 1341a n123. 49 Literally ‘thrice and four times blind.’ For the use of ‘thrice’ to add emphasis (as in ‘thrice blessed’) see Adagia ii ix 5. 50 An apparent reference to Erasmus’ insistence on publishing a vituperative response to Pio’s final attack on him, even though it had been published two months after Pio’s death; see Ep 2486 n10. To this might be added Erasmus’ lampoon of Pio’s ‘seraphic funeral’ in the Colloquies; see Ep 2522 n6. 51 See Ep 1948 introduction. 52 Quintilian Institutio oratoria 10.2.18 53 Horace Epistles 1.19.19 54 Defensio pro Italia i 1 recto

3032  To Johann Koler  1535

307

It would be truer to say that I mention no Italian there to whom I do not cheerfully accord the praise that is his due, even awarding to some more than they deserve. Surely we do not condemn everyone who does not precisely recall the style of Cicero? In that case we shall have to reject Marcus Varro, Sallust, Seneca, Quintilian, Titus Livius, Cornelius Tacitus, Valerius Maximus, Aulus Gellius, and the two Plinys, all of whom write very differently from Cicero. However, in the book I do allow Sadoleto and Bembo to be called Ciceronians.55 But of these two writers Corsi has nothing to say, since he has pieced together his apologia from second-hand information. I am thought to be an enemy and implacable hater of Cicero, whose genius and recondite learning I admire above his eloquence, and I admire his eloquence so highly that I am ready to confess honestly and sincerely that all who, on their own, seem to have achieved the height of eloquence sound inarticulate beside him. It is true that in the book I make some reservations in my praise of Cicero. But is this surprising if we treat Cicero as a human being? For it is God alone in whom there is no fault. My criticisms, however, are cited from ancient sources, and are made not in my own name but in that of another person.56 If they accept none of this, what will they do about the man who recently published a dialogue ‘On the banishment and recall of Cicero’?57 What insulting and terrible words are there used against Cicero – and by an Italian! In passage after passage in my books and letters Italy is praised. All of this is buried, and one little word, bellax, is given prominence. Pio accused me of harbouring a hatred of Italy because, without naming names, I had criticized certain scholars for their godlessness.58 Does a man hate everything Italian if he finds some good quality missing in certain Italians? Must I not then be judged an enemy and antagonist of every nation? If they require me to believe that everyone born in Italy is a god, how will they deal with the stories that visitors tell on their return home about what they have seen in Italy? And what if someone were to report what Italians regularly say about other Italians, about the people of Genoa and Bergamo and Florence, and what they are saying at Rome, both publicly and in private, about certain scholars, naming names and not even sparing cardinals ***** 55 cwe 28 435–6 56 Ie the fictional character Bulephorus, the main carrier of Erasmus’ views, who confronts Nosoponus, the voice of the Ciceronian opposition 57 Ortensio Lando; see Ep 3019 n17. 58 For Erasmus’ oft-repeated charge that the Italian Ciceronians were neo-pagans, see Ciceronianus n413 cwe 28 568.

255

260

265

270

275

280

3032  To Johann Koler  1535

308

and the supreme pontiff?59 But I, a German, have never been so silly as to put in writing such vulgar gossip. But let me put aside these random thoughts and return to Corsi’s apology. Wishing to make it clear that there were good reasons that impelled him to remove this unjust and unmerited slur on the Italian name, he introduces himself and his whole family back to his distant ancestors, all Italian born.60 But that is something he shares with many thousands of Italians. And in mentioning his grandfathers, great-grandfathers, great-great-grandfathers, and great-great-great-grandfathers, he risks praising Goths rather than Italians. For when I was in Rome, a number of learned scholars seriously contended that Italy’s famous heroes were descendants of the Goths and of other barbarous nations, while certain weak, misshapen, wasted creatures were the true relicts of the Roman line. Nor did they hide that very many of the noble families of Italy trace their origins back to barbarous nations. But however that may be (and I relate only what I heard, though I heard it from Italians), Corsi would have made a more telling justification of his role if he had mentioned not just that he was born in Italy, but that he was reborn there in Christ and had abjured all the pomp of Satan and been brought closer to Christ through the dignity of his priestly calling. Among the things that we abjure in the priesthood when we enlist in the service of Christ our captain I believe we should include all the perennial glories of war, the ovations, and the triumphs won over a defeated foe. It is more becoming in a Christian priest (this at least is my opinion) to call men to battle in a war against sin waged by the forces of the Holy Spirit under the banner of Christ, and to put all the power of his priestly eloquence into making Christ’s majesty known throughout the world, so that his goodness is commended by the inmost thoughts of all. But in this interminable sermon of Corsi’s, where warriors are praised to the skies, and we read repeatedly expressions like ‘against the will of gods and men,’61 ‘many wicked and ungodly acts perpetrated against gods and men,’62 ‘all nations surpassed by Italy in the worship of the gods,’63 ***** 59 As Gerlo suggests, this may be a reference to the Roman custom of criticizing the pope or his government by means of satirical poems known as ‘pasquinades’; see Ep 3015 n2. 60 We cannot find in the Defensio a passage that corresponds to the description of it given here. 61 Defensio pro Italia c 2 recto 62 Defensio pro Italia g 2 recto 63 Defensio pro Italia g 4 verso (a close paraphrase rather than an exact quotation)

285

290

295

300

305

310

3032  To Johann Koler  1535

309

and ‘take care, I beg you by the gods,’64 the name of Christ is nowhere mentioned, although he makes an angry and long-winded attack on Aquilo, the desecrator of the Christian faith.65 I do not intend this as an accusation. I believe Corsi to be a God-fearing man, but because of his ambition to write in a fashionable style, the name of Christ never entered his head. I am told there are others who, though they call themselves priests and even theologians, write whole volumes commending war, addressed not only to the laity, but even to bishops and kings. Apart from it being hardly proper for priests to express enthusiasm for war, there is no need for our encouragement, since there is no shortage of unprincipled warmongers. And if you want to know who these are, they are ambition, the lust for power, greed, anger, pride, folly, impetuosity. It is therefore unnecessary for priests and theologians to sound the trumpet for war. Perhaps you will invoke the old rule laid down in the law of Moses, that henceforth, when soldiers are about to do battle, a priest should take the place of the trumpet with the cry ‘Do not fear; do not give way.’66 In my opinion, however, it is more becoming in a Christian priest to discourage war and try to restore peace when the laity are looking to arms.67 Perhaps priests have convinced themselves that they are worthier of our respect as priests when they prefer to lead in war rather than do their proper duty. Perhaps they consider themselves better dressed in a helmet than a mitre. It seems that this little book of Corsi’s has won for itself the honour of publication at Rome and a dedication to the supreme pontiff Paul iii – though I believe this was engineered by certain persons who wanted to expose the author’s naivety. After this felicitous beginning Corsi gets down to business, marshalling against me a great battalion of valorous soldiers and commanders. Here was a wonderful field where Corsi could run his course,68 recalling for me all the great deeds performed by Italians either before or ***** 64 Defensio pro Italia h 2 verso 65 Defensio pro Italia g 1 recto–g 3 verso. Aquilo is the Latin name given to the stormy north wind, here used symbolically for the German north. 66 This is a loose paraphrase of Deut 20:1–3. 67 Even when acknowledging the duty of the emperor to take up arms in resistence to a Turkish invasion of the Empire, Erasmus found it unseemly that bishops and other clergy should get directly involved in matters of war; see De bello Turcico cwe 64 251–3 with n217. Cf Apologia adversus rhapsodias Alberti Pii, The Right to Make War [from book 21] cwe 84 351. 68 Erasmus puns on the name Cursius (Corsi) and the verb decurrere ‘to run one’s course.’

315

320

325

330

335

340

3032  To Johann Koler  1535

310

a­ fter the founding of the City up to the present day, whether in single combat, or in wars on land or sea, in civil wars or in wars against a foreign foe. However, being a fair man, he does not wish to saddle me with the Curii, the Fabii, the Scipiones and other heroes from the distant past.69 He prefers to use more recent actions that fall within living memory, many of which, however, took place long after the publication of the proverb about the bald man. For example, he calls on me to explain if I thought Italy unfit for war because Rome was occupied by Bourbon.70 Similarly, in almost every case that he describes, he appeals to me as though I had been a witness to the event. But the simple truth is that I scarcely recognize two or three of the commanders’ names, nor have I ever been greatly interested in their exploits. In fact there are hardly any tales to which, as a rule, I pay less attention than to these, for I have discovered by long experience that much that is said about war is quite unreliable; indeed I have hardly ever heard two men who had taken part in the same battle agree in their account of it. I leave it to others to discover how reliable these writers are. I was in Venice when Alviano,71 who was in the employ of the Venetians, massacred a German force that was small in number and had burst into Italy over the trackless barrier of the Alps. Alviano himself I did not see, though he invited me to dinner. But if I recall what I was told about his exploits there, and told not by Germans but by Italians, and not just by any Italian but by those who were close to Alviano and were treating this victory as a crime for my benefit, thinking that I was German (although at that time I had not yet set foot in Germany), and if I also recall what I heard on board ship from Italian soldiers who had taken part in the action, the affair takes on a very different aspect from the exaggerated version that I got from Corsi.72 But that is of no concern ***** 69 The Fabii and the Scipiones were among the most distinguished military families in Rome. By the Curii Erasmus may have in mind the three brothers Curiatii who fought against the brothers Horatii; see Livy 1.24–5. They are called the Curii in Propertius 3.3.7. 70 Charles iii, duke of Bourbon (also known as Constable Bourbon) 1490–1527, was a French military leader. He was in command of the troops of Charles v in 1527 when they carried out what became known as the sack of Rome, in which he was killed. 71 Bartolomeo d’Alviano (1455–1515) was one of the most famous condottieri of Renaissance Italy, principally in the service of Venice. In 1508 he won a victory over the invading German troops of Maximilian i. Erasmus, who was in Venice at the time, here claims that Corsi’s account of Alviano’s triumph is exaggerated. 72 Defensio pro Italia d 3 verso–d 4 recto

345

350

355

360

365

3032  To Johann Koler  1535

311

to me. For all I care, every soldier and commander in Italy could be an Achilles or a Diomedes.73 What the brother of the duke of Lorraine74 did in his attack on a troop of peasants I heard about from a neighbour, but received not a word about an army of Italians. The reality, however, was very different from the account that Corsi gives of it. He says thirty thousand were slaughtered.75 But they hardly numbered ten thousand in all. Nor was the issue the Christian religion; rather the cause of the rebellion was the desire of the peasants, led by a pack of brigands, to throw off the yoke that their masters had placed upon them. So I fear Corsi may be no more reliable in describing other events. Furthermore you would not realize from the pages he fills with the name of Alviano that it was a mercenary commander he was eulogizing and not some Camillus or Scipio, who exposed himself to every kind of danger to protect his native land.76 I am beginning to guess on whose behalf Corsi took up this subject.77 Now that Alviano takes his place among the gods of war, we can only salute him with this song: ‘May the gods bless you, Alviano / You who blessed Oenotria!’78 But all this is completely beside the point, since it is of no concern to me how Italian soldiers are rated for their skill in war. The general rumours that fly around about the courage of Italians have never had any effect on me, nor have I ever exchanged three words on this subject with anyone. Corsi prefers a bellicose Italian to an articulate one. I would prefer everyone to be a lover of peace, the antithesis of Scythians and Thracians. He regards it as a fault in me that I am closer to Phormio than to Hannibal – apparently he considers it more glorious to be an impious, treacherous, and bloody brigand than ***** 73 Heroic warriors featured in Homer’s account of the Trojan war 74 The person referred to is Antoine, duke of Lorraine (1489–1544), brother of Claude, duke of Lorraine and of Jean, cardinal of Lorraine. In May1525 Antoine and Claude together commanded French troops that defeated rebellious peasants near Saverne and Sélestat in Alsace. 75 Defensio pro Italia g 1 verso–g 2 recto, where the number given is thirty-five thousand 76 Marcus Furius Camillus and Scipio Africanus were two Roman generals whose victories (Camillus over the Gauls in 390 bc, and Scipio over Hannibal in 202 bc) were celebrated and embroidered by Roman historians and poets. 77 Girolamo Aleandro, whom Erasmus tended to see as the evil influence behind all attacks on him, especially those by Italians; cf Epp 3052:32–3, 3127:45–7, 50–1. 78 Oenotria is an old name for Italy of uncertain derivation. This sarcastic couplet is included in cwe 85 362–3 (no 134), with commentary in cwe 86 722. The translation here differs slightly from that in cwe 85.

370

375

380

385

390

3032  To Johann Koler  1535

312

a philosopher.79 I do not deny that Octavian Augustus did many splendid deeds in war, but at the same time I am not afraid to deny him the title bellax. During the long period in which he held office nothing brought him greater glory than that, under him, the Roman people saw the temple of Janus closed during several years.80 Probus81 is counted among the most laudable of emperors, yet he promised that, under his leadership, the Roman empire would no longer have an army. Just think how far off the mark it would be to describe the character of Probus as bellax! Corsi asks to what period my proverb applies.82 Clearly it is the period when Italy had already become a cultivated state by its study of the Greeks, for before then there was much boorishness and savagery among Italians, as Horace testifies: ‘Captured Greece captured its savage conqueror and taught it the arts.’83 Before this the highest praise a Roman could receive was to be called ‘a good man and a good farmer.’84 Yet the introduction of serious learning did not rob them of their skill in war; rather it increased it, since, as Corsi admits, it is through good judgment, planning, and pertinacity that one wins praise for true courage and distinction in the arts of war, ‘not by the reckless sacrifice of life and the savage fury that the barbarian counts as courage.’85 It is this animal savagery that I call ‘bellicosity’ [bellacitas], and I attribute it to the Scythians, not to Italians. Here is the source of the whole controversy – and it amounts to less than nothing. How are we to describe this treatment of a trivial subject with such a torrent of words, such a piling up of rhetorical effects, such dire threats, such vicious attacks? Is this not the proverbial creation of an elephant out of a

***** 79 Defensio pro Italia b 3 recto. Phormio was a Peripatetic philosopher who gave a long lecture to Hannibal on the subject of war and was dismissed by Hannibal as a fool for talking about something he did not understand; cf Cicero De oratore 2.75–7. 80 The doors of the temple of Janus were shut in times of peace. During the reign of Augustus (27 bc–ad 14) they were shut three times, and only twice, it was said, in all previous Roman history. 81 Probus, an outstanding general and energetic administrator, was emperor ad 276–82. 82 At Defensio pro Italia b 4 verso–c 1 recto Corsi speculates as to whether the adage applies to one particular period. In the sentences that follow Erasmus says that it does, and specifies the period from the second century bc to the present, when the Romans, under the influence of the Greeks, became civilized. 83 Horace Epistles 2.1.157, slightly modified 84 Cato De re rustica pref 85 Defensio pro Italia c 4 recto

395

400

405

410

415

3032  To Johann Koler  1535

313

fly?86 Ciceronian eloquence does not consist in a pointless flood of words. Rhetorical argumentation is not the same thing as arguing from fictional evidence. True intensity87 is not produced by making a great fuss over a trifle and by using tricks of language to build an imposing case out of nothing. Corsi had promised that he would criticize me without resorting to vilification,88 but time and time again he rattles away with the same appalling lie, a trumped up, baseless, and impudent lie, pushing it so far as to imagine that Nature, or God, by some terrible and portentous act, will punish me for not attributing Scythian bellicosity to an Italian, for this is the only argument he has so far advanced.89 Such an outburst evokes the image of Ajax rather than Cicero. When Ajax raged and struck out against the pigs, he did no injury to the people against whom his anger was directed, but he acted cruelly against the animals, whose grunts were a pig’s equivalent of tears.90 Corsi rages wildly against something that did not exist. Apprentice gladiators are accustomed to practising at a wooden pole,91 but Corsi is a veteran. We laugh at people who box with shadows. There is not, however, even a shadow of truth in Corsi’s invention. For although a shadow is not a body, it nevertheless reflects the outlines of a body. But Scythian bellicosity has nothing in common with bravery in war, which Corsi claims for Italy and I do not deny. The apostle Paul takes an image from a boxing match, which represents my attitude more closely: ‘I do not box,’ he says, ‘as one beating the air.’92 I was amused by a spectacle of this kind at the palace of Julius ii, to which I had been dragged by some friends to see a bullfight, for I myself never enjoyed these cruel sports, the relics of ancient paganism.93 At this performance, during the interval between the killing of one bull and the arrival of another into the arena, a masked man jumped into the ring, his left hand

***** 86 Adagia i ix 69 87 Erasmus uses the word δεινότης, taken from Greek literary theory and signifying forcefulness and passionate intensity. 88 Defensio pro Italia b 1 recto–b1 verso 89 Defensio pro Italia h 1 recto 90 See Ep 3015 n14. 91 Roman gladiators trained at a wood post before entering the arena. Exerceri ad palum became a proverbial expression (not in the Adagia) for fighting against an imaginary foe. 92 1 Cor 9:26 93 Cf Erasmus’ reference to a bullfight he had witnessed at Siena in Supputatio errorum in censuris Bedae lb ix 516c–d.

420

425

430

435

440

3032  To Johann Koler  1535

314

covered with a cloak and his right holding a sword, and proceeded to mime all the gestures of a bullfighter. Approaching cautiously, he lunged at the flank; then as though spotted by the bull he quickly retreated. Sometimes imagining that the bull was in hot pursuit, he threw away his cloak, for that usually slows up the bull’s attack. Later, as if the bull had moved off, he advanced timidly to recover his cloak. Occasionally his sword slipped from his hand, seemingly from fright; this made him duck under the stone canopy in the centre of the ring, which is the final refuge when the bull’s persistent attacks become too dangerous. Finally he straddled the lifeless bull, horseback fashion, the crowning insult to his vanquished foe. I was more captivated by this fellow’s wit than by everything else that happened there. The image he presented seems a fair parallel to the behaviour of Corsi. Corsi uses every kind of device in his attack on the enemy of all things Italian, the thief who robs Italy of all its glory, who disarms all Italy, who thinks the whole body of Italian scholars as dumb as an ox when compared with him.94 Against this person he summons all the energy of Demosthenes and all the eloquence of Cicero. All the stalwart soldiers and all the brave commanders that Italy has or ever had are enlisted to crush him utterly, and all her scholars are sharpening their pens! But this rancorous opponent, this robber of Corsi’s imagining, who is responsible for such a tumultuous hubbub is non-existent. Nor does that Dutchman exist who, in a proverb about a bald man, tried to rob Italy of its martial glory and who, so to speak, sounded the trumpet, summoning all wild and barbarous nations to lay Italy waste. What more frightful indictment could one make? But if you set his words against the reality, the whole drama suddenly turns to farce. The spark that touched off this whole debate about martial glory was the meaning of the word bellax, which was either wrongly interpreted or, if you prefer, misused by me from ignorance of the Latin language. But what possessed Corsi to adopt a new subject for invective by claiming that I arrogate to myself all the renown that any Italian has ever won for learning and eloquence and that, puffed up by my writings, I shamelessly treat every single Italian scholar as a lightweight, a nonentity? Does he not know that I constantly give Italy primacy in letters, as so many of my published works

***** 94 Erasmus is clearly using the proverbial expression foenum esse ‘to eat hay,’ meaning ‘to be dumb as an ox’ (Adagia iii i 91). In Allen’s text the verb esse ‘to eat’ is missing and needs to be supplied. The proper form of the adage is found in line 499 below.

445

450

455

460

465

470

3032  To Johann Koler  1535

315

testify? If my writings were judged, like the Megarians, to be of no account,95 I would accept the verdict with perfect equanimity. Far from swelling with pride at all the things I have written, I sometimes wonder that they please anyone at all. Why should I not admit my lack of style, for everything I send into the world is half-finished? Because of my laziness I have never been able even to bring myself to copy the same letter twice. If I did so, I think I might write better, or at least somewhat less badly. Someone will object: if your writings displease you, why do you pour out such a flood of volumes? I shall tell you in a word or two. When I was a young man, there reigned unchecked in our native Germany a mindless barbarism:96 it was considered a heresy to touch Greek literature. So with what little powers I possessed I attempted to steer young students away from the mire of ignorance and to arouse their interest in a higher kind of study. I did not write for Italians, but for Hollanders and for men of Brabant and Flanders. Nor were my efforts entirely unsuccessful. Then I wrote the Handbook of the Christian Soldier so that humane letters would become the servant of religion. I expanded the Adagia because I was ashamed of the first edition, which was too meagre. I translated several dialogues of Lucian and two tragedies of Euripides with no other purpose in mind than to practise my Greek, since a tutor was not available to me, for in this branch of learning I was completely self-taught. I must also say that I wrote almost nothing except at the urgent request of friends, for it was always my preference to nourish my mind by reading the work of others. I am certainly very far from being so arrogant as to think that all Italians or indeed any Italian or any Frenchman or any German is as dumb as an ox in comparison with me.97 So just as I read the catalogue of Italian generals without any feeling of envy,98 so I read with great ***** 95 The Megarians are said to have consulted an oracle about primacy among the Greeks and were told that the ‘Megarians are neither third nor fourth,’ ie of no number or of no account; see Adagia ii i 79. 96 In lines 365–6 above Erasmus says that at the time of his visit to Venice in 1508 he had never set foot in Germany, a statement clearly implying a distinction between his native Netherlands and Germany. Here, by contrast, he refers to his ‘native Germany’ as including (see line 488) Holland, Brabant, and Flanders. This would have been less confusing if he had employed the distinction, frequently found in his other writings, between Germania inferior (Lower Germany, ie the Netherlands) and, at the other end of the Rhine, Germania superior (Upper Germany, which includes Basel and Freiburg). Cf Ep 1998 n6. 97 For ‘dumb as an ox’ see n94 above. 98 Defensio pro Italia d 2 verso–e 1 verso

475

480

485

490

495

500

3032  To Johann Koler  1535

316

pleasure the long list of scholars that Corsi mentions by name.99 I recognize a great many of the names on the list, some I even count as friends. I do not doubt that Italy has many more learned men than are found in Corsi’s review. Nor is there any need for his threatening prophecy that one day these writers will publish more than I have published and perhaps (observe the way he expresses himself!) works of a worthier sort,100 for the more the brilliance of their genius puts my mediocrity in the shade, the more delighted I shall be. If Corsi writes these things to me, he is acting in a helpful manner: if he writes them against me, he is acting like a fool. I have no interest in the glorious deeds of military commanders. But it is a great delight to me to remember scholars I have known. So there is no reason why Corsi should keep on pestering me to put aside my hatred of the Italian people, for I am not gripped by hatred of any nation on earth, and I am more partial to the Italian people than to any other. As for dropping my contempt for the scholars of Italy, I do not compare myself with anyone, much less put myself above anyone; I even praise for their eloquence and learning those who have attacked me, and are still attacking me, in a bitterly hostile manner. I do not envy Italy, the queen among nations, for the glory of its achievements, which have put the whole world heavily in its debt, or indeed for the fact that, as Corsi puts it, heaven itself is indebted to Italy, yes, heaven itself is in its debt. How is this so? Because it has surpassed all other nations in its worship of the gods and because so many of its citizens have been raised to heaven, thus increasing the number of the gods, making heaven more august and more worthy of reverence. I do not think Corsi was referring to Romulus,101 but to those ‘divine spirits’ [divi] who by papal decree are counted among the saints. So when I am seriously bidden to put aside my hatred of Italy, I think the message no less absurd than if I were told to put aside my wings or my horns. The reproach often directed against me, that I learned Latin in Italy and that it was in this same school that I added a certain amount of polish to my style, is, unhappily, not true. As I had begun to explain, I was already about forty years old when I arrived in Italy, and my object was not to learn (for it was too late for that) but to see the sights. I had a better command of both languages when I arrived in Italy than I took with me when I left, although the sum of my knowledge, I admit, was little enough. But whatever it was,

***** 99 Defensio pro Italia h 2 verso–h 3 verso 100 Defensio pro Italia h 3 verso 101 The story of Romulus’ translation to heaven in a cloud is told in Livy 1.16.

505

510

515

520

525

530

3032  To Johann Koler  1535

317

before I reached the frontiers of Italy, I had demonstrated the breadth of my knowledge in my published work: in Paris I had published the Adagia, several dialogues of Lucian, and two tragedies of Euripides. An empty rumour was circulating, however, that the tragedies were the work of Rodolphus Agricola (who, they rightly say, was a very learned man) and that I stole a copy and published it as my own.102 Could they have fabricated a more malicious story? At that time I had not even the vaguest idea about Rodolphus’ library, and there are many still living who could testify that I completed my translations without giving them the attention they deserved but worked on them while taking a walk, generally in the afternoon when the servants were having lunch, and sometimes in bed while waiting for my second sleep. More than once, when the work went well, I completed a hundred verses at one go. If my critics say that my verses are not particularly felicitous, I shall not argue, but they contain not a single syllable from anyone’s pen but mine. Nor did I make use of anyone else’s translation or of any commentaries. If they consider these verses worthy of Rodolphus, they have a loftier opinion of me than I have myself. But there is nothing of Rodolphus in them. Furthermore, would those who admire Rodolphus and are collecting every scrap he wrote quietly accept such shameless plagiarism? And what sense is there, tell me, in putting down on paper gossip picked up hither and yon? This is the sort of stuff that the prince of Carpi produced in great profusion. He is an eloquent man and not unlearned, but under the influence of those who envy me he wrote that Aldo was my teacher and master,103 when Aldo himself made a comparison between me and an excellent scholar who at that time lived with me in the same house,104 and concluded that he was superior in Greek and I in Latin. So much for the view that Aldo taught me Latin! I do not say this to boast, I say it in sorrow. I only wish I had had the opportunity and the good fortune to have benefited from all the learning that Italy possessed! It would be only fair if those who read the calumnies of my rivals would also read my responses. Corsi reproaches me for describing St Paul in my writings as a fanatic and saying that St John goes on and on about ‘the world,’ and making other remarks which, he says, are so embarrassing to utter or to contemplate that a godly and sensitive critic blushed when he made these charges against me. Here he exclaims in outrage, ‘You impious mocker of

***** 102 Cf Ep 3008:162–5. 103 See Ep 3015 n11. 104 Girolamo Aleandro, at Venice in 1508

535

540

545

550

555

560

565

3032  To Johann Koler  1535

318

religion!’105 But what will Corsi do if I reply that none of these statements is found in my writings? Will he blame me for that letter of Luther’s, which is so unbalanced that not even his most devoted supporters are happy with it?106 And how does he explain the great authority he now assigns to Luther, whom he lambasts in the same book, piling insult upon insult?107 If someone reported this to him, Corsi should not have believed it immediately if he wishes to be taken seriously. And if he read Luther’s accusation, he should also have read my defence.108 Had he done so, he would have had no need to deliver such a harsh admonition. But if he has decided to believe everything Luther writes, then on the same principle he should believe what Luther wrote against the Roman pontiff and the cardinals. Or is Luther to be trusted only when he attacks me? I think that Corsi himself has long ago abandoned the opinion that certain people had planted in his head, people who are no friends of his or of mine. I am convinced that Corsi is a good man and that he is sincere in doing what he is doing. So I would gladly advise him not in future to give in so readily to his manipulators, but to use his own good judgment109 in making a decision. If he is moved by love of country, let him praise it without injuring others and without inflammatory comparisons. There was no need to mention what he calls wild and barbarous nations or to put Germany at odds with Italy, since in my proverb there is no mention of Germany. Let him be careful and measured in his praise lest he bring more hostility than glory to its object. Virgil praised Italy; the elder Pliny praised it when it was already distinguished for accomplishments of every kind.110 Yet they were far more modest in their praise than Corsi is. There are many reasons for believing that those who pushed him onto this stage were making fun of him, but there is proof enough in the fact that the poem prefixed to the work contains the following sentence: ‘Even if German youth should drink the Rhine dry, the glory of Italy will still stand undiminished!’ Whether this was said to cause

*****

105 Defensio pro Italia i 1 verso 106 The Epistola de Erasmo Roterodamo, which displeased Philippus Melanchthon; see Ep 2961 n10. 107 Defensio pro Italia g 2 verso–g 3 recto 108 The Purgatio adversus epistolam Lutheri (Ep 2918 introduction) 109 Literally ‘his own Pallas.’ Pallas Athena (Minerva in Latin) was goddess of wisdom; see Adagia iii iv 53. 110 Virgil Georgics 2.136–76; Pliny Historia naturalis 3.39–42, 37.201–2

570

575

580

585

590

595

3032  To Johann Koler  1535

319

trouble or out of sheer stupidity is hard to tell.111 They also provide him with a thunderbolt. We are shown a woman sitting on the seven hills, holding the world in her hand, and Erasmus tossed into a dung heap.112 Nor have they omitted the arms of the pope, to whom they persuaded Corsi to dedicate his work.113 What a high opinion they have of the pope if they think he is pleased by works like this! On the contrary, I am told that as soon as the pope discovered that the work was being printed, he ordered it suppressed.114 I do not know how it has managed to burst onto the scene. They also employed another sort of trick. They forged a long letter full of scurrilous nonsense, pretending that it was written to Pietro Corsi by me.115 They distributed it throughout the city in many copies, alleging falsely that I had ordered this to be done. They imitated my handwriting and also my style. In it they show Erasmus on his knees to Corsi, begging him to suppress his response and promising in the next printing to correct whatever has offended him.116 Corsi recognized the deception, but he is wrong on one point, for he thinks the letter was fabricated in my interest by a friend of mine called Calvus,117 whereas the work itself clearly indicates that it was concocted by my enemies and by the same people (if I am not mistaken) who encouraged Corsi to tackle this subject. What a hilarious trick to forge someone’s handwriting and under another’s name to spread abroad any messages one pleases! A fine example of Roman gravitas! Some people in Italy, ***** 111 Erasmus’ amused contempt for the three elegiac couplets by Francesco Maria Molza (‘F. Molsa’) on the verso of the title-page is understandable. Literally translated, they read as follows:   Let Father Ocean stir up what he washes with his waves   And let your young men, O Rhine, drink all of you:   The glory of Italy will stand nonetheless   As long as the violent thunderbolt falls from the learned mouth of Corsi.   So Jove’s oak rising strong and unmoved   Despises Boreas and weakens the South winds. 112 In the woodcut on the title-page 113 The letter of dedication is on pages a 2–a 3 verso. 114 Erasmus’ informant was Franciscus Rupilius; see Ep 3007:64–5. 115 See Epp 3015–16. 116 See ‘The Spurious Letter to Pietro Corsi’ 581–9 below. 117 Probably Francesco Giulio Calvo (d 1548), a prominent Italian editor, bookseller, and publisher who numbered among his friends Andrea Alciati and other prominent Italians as well as Erasmus, whom he had met at Louvain in 1518; see Epp 1604, 2464 n1. He was active at Rome from 1519 until 1535, when he moved to Milan.

600

605

610

615

3032  To Johann Koler  1535

320

finding the precedent attractive, have imitated it. But what these people treat as a joke was once a crime, the crime of libel, and a libellous book was punished by imperial law. Yet all this is happening under the eyes of the supreme pontiff and the cardinals, and if they suppress it, the cry goes up that the City is not free. I know full well who is the stage manager behind this outrageous incident.118 If I were not afraid of offending Christ, whose mercy I need above all else now that I must shortly depart this life, I would paint this man in his true colours. What a brilliant ploy, and worthy of Italian genius, to write a splendid encomium of oneself and publish it under another’s name! And then to write furious libels against those one wishes to harm and issue them under the name of some corrupted lackey. If in turn the Germans were to follow this example, would the end result not be turmoil and sedition? There is certainly no lack of people who could bring this about and would even wish it. But I have always discouraged my people from such excesses. This is not the sport of Muses, but the pandemonium of the Furies, and unbecoming not just to a Christian priest, but even to a pagan dilettante. I shall end, dear Koler, for you would hardly credit how much I worry that this little effort has been a waste of time. Whatever its merits, I want it to face your critical judgment so that on your advice it will be published or suppressed. For just as I have scarcely anyone else who loves me more truly, defends me more fervently, and looks after me more faithfully, so I have discovered from long experience that anything done with your blessing turns out well for me. 3033 / From Pope Paul iii

Rome, 1 August 1535

This papal breve was first published by Wilhelm Vischer in Erasmiana (Basel 1876) 34, on the basis of the document once in the possession of Erasmus and now in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (Erasmuslade a 12). The text published as Ep 222 in Förstemann / Günther was based on a copy in the Burscher Collection in the University Library at Leipzig (Ep 1254 introduction). There are two manuscript copies of this letter (and Ep 3034) at the Vatican, one in the Archives (Arm 32 i folios 288, 289), and one in the Library (Barb Lat 1499 xxviii 5). Allen found the variants trifling and ignored them. Ambrosius von Gumppenberg forwarded the breve to Erasmus in duplicate (Ep 3047:15–17). It reached Erasmus ‘a few days’ before 24 August (Ep 3048:1),

***** 118 Aleandro again; cf n77 above.

620

625

630

635

640

3033  From Pope Paul iii  1535

321

but had apparently not yet arrived on 18 August, or Erasmus would surely have mentioned it in his letter to Damião de Gois of that date (Ep 3043). He soon sent a copy (or perhaps one of the duplicates) to Conradus Goclenius (Ep 3052:38–9), and another to Piotr Tomicki (Ep 3049:193).

pope paul iii Beloved son, greeting and apostolic benediction. Mindful of your goodness and integrity and of your eminence in various fields of learning, and also of your services to the apostolic see in the vigorous battles you have fought against deserters from the faith, and desirous that you may now see some 5 reward for your excellence, we have gratefully conferred on you the provostship of Deventer in the diocese of Utrecht, made vacant by the death of Johann Ingenwinkel of pious memory,1 which is said to yield an income of six hundred florins. Not wishing that the benefit be diminished by the trouble and expense of a long expedition, we shall shortly send you an apostolic 10 letter dealing with this matter, for we are eager to take every opportunity to express our admiration for your character and learning not just by what we think or feel about you, but also in some tangible manner.2 Given in Rome at St Mark’s under the ring of the Fisherman on the first day of August 1535 in the first year of our pontificate 15 Fabio Vigili3 To our beloved son Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam

***** 3033 1 Johann Ingenwinkel (called ‘Vinchel’ in the text, 1469–23 July 1535) spent his entire life from 1496 in the service of consecutive popes at the curia. An able administrator, he was also notorious for the incredible number of benefices he accumulated. At the time of his death he was provost not only of St Lebuin’s in Deventer but also of churches in Utrecht, Emmerich, and Xanten (Analecta belgica iii/1 255–6). 2 If the pope means Rhenish florins, the sum was equivalent to £147 10s 0d groot Flemish or the annual wage income of seventeen Antwerp master masons/ carpenters (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13), a benefice that more than compensated for the income Erasmus had lost by his reluctance to return to Brabant. Ambrosius von Gumppenberg estimated the value of the benefice to be considerably more; see Ep 3047 n2. 3 Fabio Vigili (d 1553), who was learned in Greek, Hebrew, and the law as well as a respected poet, had been in the service of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese for some time when Farnese became Pope Paul iii and made him his private secretary.

3034  From Pope Paul iii to Mary of Hungary  1535 3034 / From Pope Paul iii to Mary of Hungary

322

Rome, 5 August 1535

When he forwarded this papal breve to Queen Mary, Ambrosius von Gumppenberg also sent a copy of it to Erasmus (see Ep 3047:24–8). The text was first published in Wilhelm Vischer Erasmiana (Basel 1876) 34, on the basis of the document received by Erasmus and now in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (Erasmuslade a 13). For the two copies of the breve at the Vatican, see Ep 3033 introduction.

pope paul iii Our dearest daughter in Christ, greeting and apostolic benediction. In recognition of his celebrated learning and exceptional virtues we have lately conferred on our beloved son, Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, the provostship of Deventer, which is now vacant through the recent death at the apostolic see of Johann Ingenwinkel,1 and which lies within your Majesty’s realm. We have made this appointment not only as of right (for our authority is clear in this case), but also in the confident hope that your serene Majesty will be pleased to support this gesture of ours towards a man of such ability, who has been a great ornament to your German nation. So we urge your Majesty in the Lord and earnestly request that, by virtue of your filial respect for this Holy See, and your royal generosity towards the deserving, you assure to the said Erasmus vacant possession of the aforementioned provostship free from all intrusion, and that you will gladly assign it to him when he presents this letter under our seal2 to you or to your agent. Even though this is by right our responsibility since it arose from a vacancy at the Holy See and the death of a member of our household, yet because of our desire to assist and gratify Erasmus, your serene Majesty’s concurrence will be greatly appreciated by us. Given at Rome at St Mark’s under the ring of the Fisherman on the fifth day of August 1535 in the first year of our pontificate Blosius3 To our beloved daughter in Christ, Mary, dowager queen of Hungary, regent of Flanders *****

3034 1 See Ep 3033 n1. 2 The Latin is sub plumbo, literally ‘under the lead,’ meaning that the lead seal (bulla) had been attached and that the breve had the force of a papal bull. 3 See Ep 3021 n1.

5

10

15

20

3035  To Leonhard von Eck  1535 3035 / To Leonhard von Eck

323 Basel, 5 August 1535

For Leonhard von Eck and for the source of this letter, see Ep 3030 introduction. The letter responds to Eck’s reply (not extant) to Ep 3030.

to the most noble and learned master leonhard von eck, his most worthy and respected patron, greeting I rather feared, distinguished sir, that, in order to please a friend, I had acted in a rather forward manner, but the thing has turned out well, for even if nothing else happens, I count it a considerable gain that by this lucky chance I have won the friendship of a most cultivated man. I hope it will continue uninterrupted. The Aventinus index promises to meet a wide variety of interests, and there is certainly nothing hackneyed about it.1 It appears the man possessed indefatigable energy and had read widely in little-known material. He deserved to be blessed with a longer life. I love the loyalty with which you cherish so warmly the memory of your departed friend. When you send me whatever can be collected, I shall do everything in my power to see that his learning and your devotion to him are made known to posterity. I would like to continue with this much longer, but I have been so worn down by an illness that has lasted for many days that my hand can scarcely guide the pen.2 But I shall make up at another time for the shortness of this note. Meanwhile I wish you every success. My Ecclesiastes would have been finished by now, if illness had not forced the presses to take a holiday. But it will appear around the first of September, even if incomplete.3 Basel, 5 August 1535 Erasmus of Rotterdam, in my own hand *****



3035 1 Of his projected history of Germany in ten parts, the Germania illustrata, Johannes Aventinus managed to complete only the first part plus an index (see Ep 3030 n2). A pirated edition was published at Munich in 1529 under the title Indiculus Germaniae illustratae, only one known copy of which survives. In 1545 Konrad Gesner reprinted the Indiculus from a copy supplied to him by Erasmus’ secretary Cousin. That copy seems to have been either a printed revision of the Munich original with new material, or a copy of the original with handwritten additions by Aventinus. See the Munich edition (1881– ) of Aventinus’ collected works VI 60 (Georg Leidinger’s introduction to the text of the Indiculus). One supposes that it was the copy to which Erasmus here refers. 2 See Ep 2940 n2. 3 See Ep 3036 introduction.

5

10

15

20

3036  To Christoph von Stadion  1535 3036 / To Christoph von Stadion

324 Basel, 6 August 1535

This is the preface to Ecclesiastae sive de ratione concionandi libri iv (Basel: Froben, August 1535). For Christoph von Stadion, bishop of Augsburg, see Ep 2029 introduction. His letter of thanks for the dedication of the Ecclesiastes is Ep 3073. The letter is dated 6 August, but the reference in lines 100–1, 106–9 to the deaths of John Fisher and Thomas More cannot have been written that early. As late as 24 August, Erasmus still did not know for sure that Fisher and More were dead (Ep 3048:56–62). By 31 August, however, the news had reached him (Ep 3049:176–81), and on that same day he was able to dispatch a copy of Ecclesiastes to Piotr Tomicki (Ep 3049:206–8). This is in accord with Erasmus’ prediction in Ep 3035:18–20 that it would be published ‘around the first of September.’ With the exception of a few small details, the translation is that of the late James L.P. Butrica, revised by Alexander Dalzell and published in cwe 67 242– 6. Frederick J. McGinness’ notes have been revised and expanded to suit the context of the correspondence.

to the illustrious prince and most reverend prelate christoph von stadion, bishop of augsburg, from erasmus of rotterdam, greeting Experience has taught me, dear Christoph, glory of the prelates of this age, that it was no empty maxim that the ancient oracles handed down to us 5 when they said: ‘Pledge your word, and ruin is close behind.’1 Several years ago I promised a work on preaching.2 To tell the truth, I was not serious, and did not really mean it. Later, people seriously demanded what I had not seriously promised. So not having the leisure to do what was being asked of me, I began jotting down a few notes at random for future use in case I found the 10 will and the opportunity to tackle the subject. I did not proceed carefully and systematically, but sporadically, as something happened to come to mind. Later, when the demands became even more insistent, I began to collect my notes, which by this time were not just scattered, but torn and musty. When I examined them, my mind recoiled more and more from the project, though 15 even earlier I had always had certain secret misgivings. I realized that the *****

3036 1 Adagia i vi 97 2 For the long and complicated history, beginning c 1519, of the genesis, publication, and early editions of the Ecclesiastes see pages 83–92 of Frederick J. McGinness’ introductory note to the text in cwe 67.

3036  To Christoph von Stadion  1535

325

subject was vast and complex and that, if treated with the necessary care, it would result in an immense volume.3 Moreover, the present times being what they are, such a work would not be free of spiteful criticism. But when the demands continued without end, I put pen to paper against my better judgment, since I did not want anyone to think that I had reneged on a promise. When nothing worked out well, I rejected my first attempts. Time after time and at long intervals I took up the abandoned work to see if my interest could be rekindled. I fixed my mind on the task with chains as strong as those with which Virgil’s Aristaeus bound Proteus,4 but his efforts succeeded and mine did not. I kept hoping in the course of this long procrastination that someone would appear to relieve me of this responsibility, especially when I considered the rich harvest of talent that this age is producing and the great interest in printing new works. When no one appeared who was prepared to take over my role, and every day the numerous appeals, both spoken and written, grew more clamorous – now with an unmistakable undercurrent of reproach – I proceeded, almost against Minerva’s will,5 to put together a draft, which, though rough and disorganized, would prove that I did not lack the will to fulfil my promise, even if my abilities failed to match my intentions. However, even this I was not permitted to complete without interruptions. First ill health, then other responsibilities intervened to compel me to put aside the work, and it was only with difficulty and after long intervals that I was able to resume what I had begun. This explains what the learned reader will perhaps detect: gaps, repetitions, arguments that are incomplete or out of place. Someone will say, ‘Why did you not make a final revision and correct what displeased you?’ To be quite frank, I could not face going over such a massive work again, for it was only with difficulty that I accomplished this much with my health growing weaker every day. No one would find it easy to believe how desperately I longed in my soul to put aside these labours and withdraw into a world of peace and calm, and for the rest of my life (and what remains could easily lie in the palm of a small hand or within a closed fist) to speak only to him who cried out long ago and whose voice remains *****

3 In lb the work comprises 333 folio columns; in as d it fills two full volumes (iv-1 and 2) with a total of more than 800 pages; and in cwe 67–8 it occupies more than 850 pages (not counting the long introduction). 4 Cf Virgil Georgics 4.387–452, where Aristaeus binds with chains the wise but slippery Proteus to force him to answer his questions. 5 Adagia i i 42

20

25

30

35

40

45

Title-page of Ecclesiastae sive de ratione concionandi libri iv (Basel: Froben, August 1535) Universitätsbibliothek Freiburg

3036  To Christoph von Stadion  1535

327

the same today, ‘Come unto me all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’6 For in this troubled, not to say tumultuous, age, amid the many vexations that these times inflict on everyone and all the personal problems that come with age and failing health, there is no place where my spirit finds more rest and contentment than in this converse with the divine. When these thoughts occur to me, I feel more confident that the fair-minded reader will treat kindly what I offer now, such as it is. I do not make this appeal to you, most honoured bishop, for I know you are a man of such generosity of spirit that you always turn a blind and friendly eye to the failings of your friend Erasmus, and whenever my powers prove inadequate to the task, take the will for the deed. I have divided the whole subject into four books. In the first I dem­ onstrate the dignity of the office and what qualities the preacher ought to possess. In the second and third books I apply the principles taught by rhetoricians, dialecticians, and theologians to the practice of preaching. The fourth is a sort of catalogue, showing the preacher what ideas he should look for in Scripture and in what passages he will find them. However, with this I have done no more than point the studious reader in the right direction; otherwise the subject could not be fitted into a single short volume. This rough sketch (for this is what I would prefer to call it rather than a work in the proper sense of the term) I had almost decided to dedicate to John Fisher, bishop of Rochester, a man of outstanding piety and learning, with whom I had enjoyed a long and close friendship, though I had made no promise to him but merely turned over the possibility silently in my mind. He, more than anyone else, encouraged me by letter to take up this task, remarking that in the celebrated university of Cambridge, where he was permanent warden – the title they use is ‘chancellor’ – he was founding three colleges that would graduate theologians who were not so much armed for the battle of words as trained for the sober preaching of the word of God. He himself possessed a special grace of speech, which had long ago endeared him to the paternal grandmother of King Henry, who now rules over England.7 God had given her a mind far above a woman’s. While other princesses generally provide rich legacies for the building of monasteries (doing so, I fear, more out of pride than godliness), she, while she was still alive and in good health, had devoted herself enthusiastically to the holiest cause of *****

6 Matt 11:28 7 Henry viii’s paternal grandmother was Lady Margaret Beaufort (1443–1509), the mother of Henry vii.

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

3036  To Christoph von Stadion  1535

328

all, and was so little concerned with the breath of popular favour8 that her actions were almost kept a secret. In several places, whenever she found men capable of passing on to the people the philosophy of the gospel, she arranged for them to be appointed at a generous salary, and for this same purpose she gave Bishop John a huge sum of money, all of which this most honourable man spent on the training of preachers or on providing comfort for the needy, and far from taking anything for himself, he added liberally from his own resources. Here were a noble and saintly woman and a bishop of exemplary godliness who rightly thought that nothing was more crucial for improving the behaviour of the people than to have qualified preachers to scatter the seed of gospel teaching.9 How is it that in many hearts Christ languishes, or indeed is dead? How is it that so much that is pagan passes under the name of Christ, if not from a dearth of faithful preachers? It seemed to me that even the people of Italy (to say nothing of their princes) could be taught to live a godly life, were it not for a lack of teachers. But these matters must wait for a more appropriate time. Now to continue what I began, when the bishop of Rochester was taken from me by a painful stroke of fate,10 it seemed right to me to launch this work, such as it is, under the happy auspices of your name, for your extraordinary compassion, more than anything else, is a consolation to me for the heavy loss of friends. When merchandise is lost in a shipwreck, there is weeping. But is there any merchandise so precious to be compared with a good friend? Could anything be more cruel than this recent tempest that has robbed me of  so many distinguished friends, first William Warham, archbishop of Canterbury,11 then recently William Mountjoy,12 the bishop of Rochester, and Thomas More, who was lord chancellor of his country,13 a man whose heart was purer than the snow, and whose like England had never seen before nor is likely to see again, and who, in addition to all this, was the father of a *****

8 Horace Odes 3.2.19; Virgil Aeneid 6.816 9 For the collaboration of Lady Margaret and Fisher in the training of preachers, see James K. McConica English Humanists and Reformation Politics under Henry viii and Edward vi (Oxford 1965) 778–80. 10 See n13 below. 11 The death of Warham, who had befriended him and provided him with his English livings, elicited from Erasmus several deeply felt tributes; see Epp 2726:35–57, 2758:35–78, 2776:28–51. 12 Ep 3025 n6 13 Cf Ep 2948 n2. John Fisher, bishop of Rochester, was executed on 22 June 1535. More was executed on 6 July 1535.

85

90

95

100

105

110

3036  To Christoph von Stadion  1535

329

remarkably gifted family.14 For so great a loss two things in particular ease my sorrow: first the reflection that we shall soon be reunited with Christ in a happier world, and then the thought of the remarkable band of friends that Augsburg has given me. You are first in rank among these, and by far the dearest of my friends, unless the great Johann Paumgartner wants to take up the challenge.15 Next to him is Anton Fugger, the world of learning’s most generous supporter.16 This is like a rope with three strands, which Solomon says is not easily broken.17 But it becomes stronger still if we add Johann Koler,18 who, like a fourth strand wound around the other three, makes the combination absolutely indestructible. Your kindness does not of course guarantee that I shall not grieve, but it prevents me from succumbing to my grief. I must pray to God that he will keep safe for me such a precious treasure. As for my hopes for the work, if it fails to win the approval of the learned world, my example may perhaps inspire some better scholar to accomplish what I wanted to accomplish, and to produce, not just a rough sketch, but a work that is complete in every way, so that at last the Lord will send more true labourers into his harvest.19 For just as, in the words of that amusing old proverb, ‘many can goad an ox, but few can plough,’20 so, by the same token, it is easy to train a speaker to address the people, but more difficult to find men to spread the word of God sincerely, fervently, and faithfully. It is a gift of God that the seed sown by faithful ministers springs up. The world seems to have been in labour with Christ for a long time, but should he be truly formed in our souls, then, by a multitude of signs, the pure root of the heart21 will be revealed. For the gospel is not just words, nor, as Flaccus says, is a forest merely firewood,22 but whenever the seed of the living word has been received into good earth, it brings forth abundant fruit,23 and as it grows it offers varied evidence of the inner purity of the mind. The people become ***** 14 For the encomium of More written in response to the news of his resignation as lord chancellor in 16 May 1532, see Ep 2750. 15 For Johann (ii) Paumgartner, see Ep 2603 introduction. 16 For Fugger, see Ep 2145 introduction. 17 Eccles 4:12 18 Ep 2947 introduction 19 Matt 9:38; Luke 10:2 20 Adagia i vii 9 21 The image recalls Rom 11:16, ‘and if the root is holy, so are the branches.’ 22 Horace Epistles 1.6.32: ‘Do you think virtue is a mere word and a forest only firewood?’ 23 Cf Mark 4:26–9.

115

120

125

130

135

3036  To Christoph von Stadion  1535

330

more obedient to the government, more respectful of the laws, more desirous of peace, more averse to war. There is more harmony in the home, greater 140 trust and honesty, and a stronger abhorrence of adultery. The husband becomes more gentle towards his wife, the wife more respectful of her husband. Children obey their parents with more trepidation, serfs obey their masters more willingly, domestic servants are more prompt in performing their duties.24 Craftsmen and employees do their work more conscientiously. 145 Businessmen do to no one what they would not like done to themselves.25 To sum it up in a word, everyone becomes more eager to serve and slower to take revenge or do an injury, less greedy and more thoughtful. In those whose behaviour does not show these qualities, but rather the opposite, it is to be feared that the good seed has not yet settled in their hearts. 150 But I must stop preaching so you may have time to read my Preacher, if, that is, you will think it worth the attention of your eyes and ears. Farewell. Basel, 6 August in the year 1535 since the birth of Christ 3037 / From Conradus Goclenius

[Louvain], 10 August 1535

This letter was first published by Allen on the basis of the autograph in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (Goclenii epistolae 9). Erasmus’ answer is Ep 3052. For Goclenius, see Ep 2998 introduction.

Cordial greetings. I received your two letters,1 Erasmus my honoured friend, the main point of which was that I should send you someone to act as your servant.2 The first was delivered by Lieven’s courier,3 who seems to have given no grounds for criticism. Since I knew from your letters that you had given the same commission to others, I chose to give them the gratification 5 of doing you a kindness rather than subject myself to the uncertainties of chance, whose outcome is often other than one would wish. Your second ***** 24 This ideal of family life is based on Eph 5:22–6:9 and Col 3:17–24. 25 Cf Matt 7:12; Luke 6:31. 3037 1 Not extant. Between Ep 2876 (7 November 1533) and Ep 3052 (2 September 1535) there are no extant letters from Erasmus to Goclenius, and only one, Ep 2998 (15 February 1535), from Goclenius to Erasmus. 2 Goclenius responded by recommending Lambert Coomans, with whom Erasmus expressed himself well pleased; see Ep 3052:21 with n13. 3 Lieven Algoet (Ep 3028 n2)

3037  From Conradus Goclenius  1535

331

letter was delivered by a bookseller from Louvain, who had received it from someone in Antwerp. When I learned from it that no servant had appeared at your door so far, I began to look around diligently and in earnest, so that your request would not go unanswered through any lack of effort on my part. I believe I have found a young man who is prepared to comply with all the wishes and commands of a master. I think he is the sort of person you particularly want, since you write that you are not interested in a good scholar but in someone who will be faithful and obedient. Some good men whose reliability I can vouch for, including Andreas Balenus,4 professor of Hebrew, attest that he is excellently qualified for this sort of appointment and that he has had long experience in attending to the needs of those of advanced years and frail health. He has proved his dedication by long and faithful service to another elderly man,5 whom he served with complete satisfaction for two full years. However, in an uncertain matter like this I cannot and ought not to guarantee what the outcome will be. But if he does not come up to your expectations, you can always send him away if you so decide. I have come to no arrangement with him but have left the situation completely open. To encourage him to undertake the journey, I have supplied him with money for his travel expenses so that he can return here or go home if by chance you have already found another servant to suit you. It would have been no trouble to find someone more learned in Greek and Hebrew, but this man seemed to us to be better qualified for the present position. But if, as your last letter suggests, you are still of the opinion that you need not just a single servant but servants, there is a young Hollander here now with an excellent command of Greek and Latin,6 who would not refuse to assist you in your work. I shall await your decision on this, and am ready to devote all my efforts to satisfying your wishes. *****





4 Andreas van Gennep of Balen, called Balenus (c 1484–1568), was a physician as well as a Hebraist. In February 1532 he succeeded Jan van Campen as professor of Hebrew at the Collegium Trilingue in Louvain (cf Ep 2998 n15) and won wide recognition for the excellence of his teaching. 5 Cardinal Willem van Enckenvoirt (1464–1534), a native of Brabant, studied canon and civil law at Rome and subsequently rose steadily in papal service, where he faithfully represented the interests of the Hapsburg government of the Netherlands. Among the many rewards for his services was his appointment as bishop of Utrecht in 1529. Returning to Rome in 1532 after a visit to the Netherlands, he took with him Lambert Coomans, who remained with him until his death in 1534. 6 Unidentified

10

15

20

25

30

3037  From Conradus Goclenius  1535

332

Enough on the servant question. As for what has been happening here, you will easily discover all our news from the servant I am sending.7 Here are the main points: This year our university has suffered the loss of several of its most eminent members. April took from us Master Jan of Meerbeke, formerly president of our Busleyden college;8 June took Nicolas Coppin,9 who has been succeeded as dean by Ruard of Enkhuizen,10 and in the prebend, as it is called, by Dr Jan Driedo of Turnhout. But fate did not allow the latter to long enjoy his position, for he too, on the fourth of August, was taken from the human scene.11 Jacobus Latomus was persuaded to leave Cambrai by the stipend of the prebend.12 So from now on theology will be in the hands of two very close friends, Ruard and Latomus. Meanwhile the sects are not on the decline, although in many places they are keeping quiet out of fear. With the capture of Münster the virus of a most poisonous society has been contained rather than eliminated by the awful punishment meted out to them.13 Although the Anabaptists have cooled somewhat, Sacramentarians are everywhere.14 Your Quirinus Hagius has attempted to stir up deep hostility towards you among several of the leading men in Holland.15 At a large dinner party, at which Vincent, Colster, and Joost Sasbout were present,16 when the conversation turned to the lamentable decline of religion, he had the audacity to assert that you were

*****

7 Ie Lambert Coomans; cf n2 above. 8 Jan Stercke of Meerbeke (Ep 1322 introduction), first president of the Collegium Trilingue, founded by Jérôme de Busleyden (1516–17). He retired as president of the college in January 1526 and died on 5 April 1535. 9 Nicolas Coppin (Ep 1162 n18) canon (1514) and later (from 1519) dean of St Peter’s at Louvain, as well as leading member of the faculty of theology. He died on 16 June 1535. 10 Ruard Tapper of Enkhuizen (1487–1559), from 1526 canon of St Peter’s and professor of theology, succeeded Coppin as dean of St Peter’s. 11 For Driedo, professor of theology at Louvain, see Epp 1127a n11, 1163 n3. 12 Latomus (Ep 934:4n) succeeded Driedo as canon of St Peter’s and professor of theology, and remained in Louvain for the rest of his life. 13 Münster fell to the besieging army on 24 June 1535. 14 ‘Sacramentarian’ was a common epithet for those who, like Huldrych Zwingli and Johannes Oecolampadius, rejected the doctrine of the Real Presence in both its Catholic and its Lutheran forms. 15 For Quirinus Hagius, see Ep 2940 n6. 16 See Epp 2819 introduction (Vincent Cornelissen van Mierop), 2800 introduction (Abel van Colster), 2645 introduction (Joost Sasbout).

35

40

45

50

3037  From Conradus Goclenius  1535

333

always in agreement with Oecolampadius.17 Everyone thought that remark absurd, especially since you have made your position clear in more than one place, so he added the venomous comment that no one could know your views except members of your household who hear you speaking freely and that your true beliefs could not be known from books, which are made to fit the occasion. However, he said, you would soon teach openly what you think privately; in fact you have already taught such things, as is clear from a careful examination of your writings, especially the De sarcienda con­ cordia.18 This is the report I got from your friend Nicolaas Kan,19 and it pained me greatly. When passing this way sixteen days ago, he asked me to write on his behalf and tell you of Quirinus’ wicked behaviour so that, if you thought fit, you could apply a suitable remedy to the wound that he has inflicted on you without your knowing. Frans van der Dilft, after being abandoned by his doctors and mourned by all his friends and all but buried in his grave last winter, somehow managed to recover in the spring, and not just to recover but on the twentieth of July to marry a young woman with an annual dowry of close to two thousand florins.20 But perhaps you have heard of this from the man himself. I have not sent this young man to Schets to inquire if he wanted anything sent to you,21 since three days ago at Brussels Master Olahus and Lieven showed me a letter that Schets had sent them in which he indicated that he was about to send a business agent of his to Basel and was planning to write to you and that he would look after any letters of theirs.22 They accepted this offer because they did not have enough time to complete a letter in my presence, since Queen Mary was on the point of setting out with the whole ***** 17 Among friends Erasmus had indeed observed that but for the authority of the church, from which he could not dissent, he would side with Oecolampadius on the Real Presence; see Ep 1893:62–6 with n22. (Allen notes that in the margin of the Basel manuscript there is a comment that may be in the hand of Erasmus: os diaboli mendax ‘the lying mouth of the devil.’) 18 See cwe 65 206–11, where n401 deals with the subject of the preceding note. 19 For Kan, see Ep 1832 introduction. 20 On Dilft’s illness and recovery, cf Ep 2998 n18. It was a profitable match indeed: 2,000 Rhenish florins were equivalent to £491 13s 4d groot Flemish or the annual wage income of fifty-six Antwerp master masons/carpenters (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). 21 For the young man, see n7 above. 22 The letter from Schets to Erasmus was presumably Ep 3042. No letters of this date from Nicolaus Olahus or Lieven Algoet are extant.

55

60

65

70

75

3037  From Conradus Goclenius  1535

334

a­ pparatus of her court to meet Eleanor, queen of France.23 The plan is for a meeting at Cambrai. It is said that this is just a courtesy visit, undertaken to maintain the sisterly good will between them. Some people are of the opinion, however, that it would have been better if the money that will be lavished on an extravagant show had been saved for the necessary expenses of the state or the support of the campaign against the pirate Aenobarbus and the Africans,24 especially since a victorious outcome is still uncertain. But the wishes of the queen won out over the counsel of others. There is almost no one among the courtiers who would not choose to win favour by grovelling rather than stir up animosity by telling the truth. The emperor arrived in Africa on the eighteenth of June, and having pitched camp in the ruins of ancient Carthage, began a land and sea blockade of the entry to a shallow lake that lies between Tunis and the African sea, a distance of twelve miles. They call this place ‘La Goulette.’25 They believe that if it is taken, there will be nothing to oppose the expansion of the emperor’s authority in Africa. This was the report from Carthage at the beginning of July. Every day we wait for better news. On the second of July Thomas More was beheaded in Britain.26 At his trial and execution he bore himself with the same fearlessness as Socrates did long ago when condemned by the cruel decree of the Athenian senate.27 A few days earlier the bishop of Rochester was put to death;28 nothing had inflamed the king’s anger more furiously against him than that he had been raised by the pope to the rank of cardinal.29 But there is something else you ***** 23 Eleanor of Austria (1498–1558) was the elder sister of Charles v. Following the death of her first husband, Manuel i of Portugal, in 1521, she was, in the interest of imperial politics, married to Francis i of France. Caught in the middle of the perennial and deadly quarrels between her brother and her husband, she did her best at peacemaking. This episode of negotiation with her sister Mary of Hungary, regent of the Netherlands, was an example of such efforts. 24 Aenobarbus is a variant for Barbarossa; both words mean ‘red-beard,’ used to refer to the pirate and Ottoman admiral Khair ad-Din, who was defending Tunis against the attack by Emperor Charles; see the following paragraph and Ep 2997 n22. 25 In Latin usage, the African sea was that part of the Mediterranean that separates the North African coast from Sicily and Sardinia. La Goulette (Latin Goleta) is the modern Halq al-Wadi. 26 Actually on 6 July 27 Socrates was tried in 399 bc, not by an Athenian ‘senate,’ but by a popular jury. 28 22 June 1535 29 Early in 1535 the new pope, Paul iii, made Fisher (already in prison) a cardinal, an action that provoked (or was used to excuse) his execution; see Scarisbrick 328.

80

85

90

95

100

3037  From Conradus Goclenius  1535

335

should hear, something of unprecedented savagery. Rochester’s head was placed on a stake and exhibited for several days to be seen by everyone, but it is said that not only did it not putrefy, but it even looked much more venerable. When that rumour became widespread, the head was quickly removed. And to prevent any fuss being made over More’s head that might throw the people into a state of superstitious excitement, let me tell you of an outrageous act that surpasses everything. The drama of Thyestes was repeated,30 and More’s head, after it had been boiled for a long time to soften it and to make it decompose more quickly, was impaled on a spear. There were three charges against him: he refused to swear, according to the formula of Luther, that the pope has no authority in ecclesiastical matters, but that the king of England is head of the English church; that the recent marriage had been properly entered into, and the former rightly repudiated;31 on the third point, a letter written to the bishop of Rochester, which stated that he would go first or accompany him in dying bravely for the truth, for he was ready to give up life itself for the truth, was presented in evidence. He was asserting that he had done what they alleged and that he was right to do it. So by the sentence of the judges an excellent man met his end in the way I have described. When I know more, I shall tell you everything. A Thomas Theobald was here with me, whom I suspect of being a spy on behalf of the king.32 He told me that Thomas Bedyll has received your pension and sent it on to you, and that there is no danger that you will suffer any loss there.33 If anything else happens here, I shall send a letter by the merchants on their way to Frankfurt.34 ***** 30 In Seneca’s tragedy of the same name Thyestes of Mycenae unwittingly consumes the cooked flesh of his two sons when it is served to him by his brother and rival Atreus. 31 Ie that the first marriage to Catherine of Aragon had been illegitimate and that the marriage to Anne Boleyn was right and proper 32 Thomas Theobald (d 1550) was the godson of Thomas Boleyn, earl of Wiltshire and father of Queen Anne Boleyn. For a decade or more, starting in 1530, he combined his pursuit of studies on the continent with the provision of political intelligence to Boleyn, Archbishop Cranmer, and Thomas Bedyll (for whom see following note). In Ep 3061:34–5 Goclenius identifies Theobald as the source of his information about the death of Thomas More. 33 As secretary to Archbishop William Warham, Thomas Bedyll (Ep 387) had been responsible for the payment of Erasmus’ English pension and, thanks to his close association with both Warham’s successor, Thomas Cranmer, and Thomas Cromwell, principal secretary to Henry viii, he continued to be so; see Epp 3042:45, 3052:18, 3058, 3104:22–3, 3107:2, 3108:2–3. 34 Ie to the autumn book fair

105

110

115

120

125

3037  From Conradus Goclenius  1535

336

So look after yourself. St Lawrence’s day 1535 Yours, Conradus Goclenius To the most learned exponent of all the noble arts, Master Erasmus of Rotterdam. In Basel 3038 / From Anselmus Ephorinus

130

Rome, 16 August 1535

This letter was first published in Fecht 856, and (following Fecht) in lb iii /2 1771 Appendix epistolarum no 379). The autograph is in the Rehdinger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 11). For Anselmus Ephorinus and his relationship with Erasmus, see Ep 2539 introduction. He had arrived in Rome in May 1535, where he would remain until his return to Poland in 1537. This is the last surviving letter in his correspondence with Erasmus.

It is a great pleasure and a duty, most learned Erasmus, to congratulate you on the notice the supreme pontiff has taken of your excellence, and the concern and appreciation he has shown.1 He now recognizes what a task it is to preserve the church, how strong are the contemporary forces that affect it, how diverse their character, how uncertain the outcome. There are no stron- 5 ger pillars, none more suited to such a structure, than those that have been refined over many years by an immense effort and a variety of skills. But I congratulate you even more that nothing has happened to you contrary to our expectations. For all of us here have been most attentive to your interests, repeatedly making recommendations and applying pressure,2 so that you 10 would realize the force and strength of the affection your friends have for you. So let this be reckoned to your eternal praise, and may God, who has given you such a patron to elevate you in rank, be pleased to preserve him for you and grant him a long and fruitful life that he may accomplish yet greater things. 15

*****



3038 1 Pope Paul iii had just bestowed on Erasmus the provostship of Deventer; see Epp 3033–4. 2 Ephorinus had a talent for opaque prose. Text and meaning are uncertain here.

3039  From Petrus Merbelius  1535

337

A short time ago I sent you various notes on that glorious victory of the emperor in Africa.3 Here now is a sketch of Tunis and the siege.4 Farewell, and do not forget us. Rome, 16 August 1535 Your Highness’ most devoted friend Anselmus 20 3039 / From Petrus Merbelius

Milan, 16 August 1535

This letter was first published as Ep 223 in Förstemann / Günther. The autograph was in the Burscher Collection of the University Library at Leipzig (Ep 1254 introduction). For Petrus Merbelius see Ep 3005 introduction.

to his friend roterodamus, greeting Although, most reverend father, I wrote you on the twelfth of this month about the successful outcome at Tunis – my letter,1 I am sure, will reach you soon – yet when the bearer of this present letter came along, I thought it wrong that he should visit you without having a note from me. I did not 5 want to conceal from you the news we received today from Rome that Cardinal de’ Medici departed this life at Itri.2 No one doubts that he was carried off by poison, and they say that Alessandro Vitelli was responsible for the poisoning. It is he who controls Alessandro, duke of Florence. Work out 10 the rest for yourself.3 *****



3 The letter with the enclosed notes is not extant. For the emperor’s victory see Ep 2997 n22. 4 The word translated as ‘sketch’ is figura. Cf Ep 3104:63–4: ‘Anselmus Ephorinus had sent [me] from Rome a depiction [picturam] of La Goulette.’ The document was apparently a plan or map of the area and its defences. 3039 1 Not extant 2 Ippolito de’ Medici (Ep 2713 n4) died at Itri on 10 August 1535, on his way to Naples. 3 Ippolito had hoped to be made the first duke of Florence when the Medici were restored to power in 1529 by Pope Clement vii (in league with Emperor Charles V), but the pope chose Ippolito’s cousin (and reputedly Clement’s natural son) Alessandro de’ Medici instead, whereupon Ippolito became the focus of opposition to Alessandro. The condottiere Alessandro Vitelli (1500–54) was Alessandro de’ Medici’s captain of the guard. Rumours that Ippolito had been poisoned were rife at the time (see also Ep 3059:22–4) but most historians now attribute the sudden death to natural causes.

3039  From Petrus Merbelius  1535

338

The situation of the cardinal of Ravenna is beginning to look more hopeful. He will atone for whatever sin he has committed with a fine.4 The cardinal-bishop of Paris has put in at the City.5 He is on a secret mission from his king and is having discussions with the pope.6 Meanwhile I have heard nothing from our friend Gumppenberg.7 Do take good care of yourself and 15 continue to love me. From Milan, 16 August 1535 Yours unto death, Petrus Merbelius To the distinguished theologian, the most worthy Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, my beloved and revered friend. At Freiburg im Breisgau 20 3040 / From Tielmannus Gravius

Cologne, 17 August 1535

This letter, minus the address in lines 52–4, was first published by Franz Wächter in the Zeitschrift des bergischen Geschichtsvereins 30 (1894) 202–4. The autograph is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 79). For Tielmannus Gravius see Ep 2990 introduction. It is clear that he wrote two letters to Erasmus on the same day, this private one about the misbehaviour of his son Bernardus, and a second one (Ep 3041) dealing with public matters.

Cordial greetings. Although at no time have I ever had the slightest inclination to distrust a letter from you, Erasmus, my patron and mentor, the glory and ornament of the literary world, most respected of mortals, yet, with the passage of time, as I came to understand the remarks you made on more than one occasion about the wild and dissolute life that my son Bernardus chose 5 to lead in Freiburg,1 the more thoroughly and tenderly do I cherish and *****



4 See Ep 3011 n8. 5 The verb applicare, used of ships docking, indicates that the cardinal (see following note) had arrived at Rome by ship. 6 In June 1535 Francis i sent Jean Du Bellay (1498–1560), bishop of Paris and newly created cardinal, to Rome to express his devotion to the Holy See but also to dissuade Pope Paul iii from pursuing his attempt to convoke a general council, an undertaking that Francis believed would only increase the power of the emperor. See Knecht 275; Pastor 11 72. Du Bellay arrived in Rome on 2 August 1535 (Ep 3047:61–2). 7 For Ambrosius von Gumppenberg see Ep 3015 introduction.



3040 1 See Ep 2893 introduction.



3040  From Tielmannus Gravius  1535

339

a­ dmire every day the personal letters that you sent me, which I count among my most sacred and treasured possessions. From the copies I have attached of the three letters that Johannes Emmeus wrote to me concerning Bernardus you will see what strange tales he had to tell.2 It did not give me much pleasure to discover that my son was more interested in the goings-on at drinking parties, banquets, and taverns than in the gardens of the Muses. For what else am I to infer from the large debt he has accumulated, a debt that I have no doubt was incurred unnecessarily? May God pardon those whose influence drove him to lead such a dissolute life, if that is what happened. I cannot yet persuade myself that when my son was with you he possessed such an evil character that, prompted solely by his own nature, he spurned authority, neglected his studies, and adopted a path that is unworthy of a young man and a pupil of yours. What parent, when he hears such a horrible report about his son, whom he sent to the university as a place that deals in good (and I underline ‘good’) arts, can be so strong and confident in mind that he is not troubled and upset by such news. I cannot easily express to you the pain and torment that I have suffered silently and kept within the walls of my bedroom, but a man of your good sense can readily gauge what I feel. But what should I do now? How, and in what way, shall I respond to the letters from Emmeus, which are so contradictory and swing back and forth between such different judgments? Everything he writes is inconsistent, imprecise, ambiguous, and so obviously premeditated that I am convinced the story does not hold together. Dull-witted and unsophisticated I may be, but the contradictions and inconsistencies in Emmeus’ letters convey to me a whiff of fakery. No one, after a first hearing of this story, will persuade me that I should respond at once to his unsubstantiated letter by taking some concrete action rather than reaching for my pen. For he must first explain to me, item by item, in a detailed account for what use or purpose he lent money to my son, and for what books or purchases my son has remained indebted to other creditors, and he should document other legitimate expenses so that I would not suspect sensible and intelligent men of the sort of imprecision that is a mark of a hesitant and vacillating mind. I have put this matter before your Excellency, incomparable patron, at greater length than I should in the hope that when you see me driven in *****

2 The Freiburg printer Johannes Faber Emmeus, from whom Bernardus had borrowed money to pay his debts. As far as we know, the letters from Emmeus to Gravius are not extant.

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

3040  From Tielmannus Gravius  1535

340

different directions by Emmeus’ letters, you will see the need to share with me some sound and helpful advice so that I may reply to those painful letters in a pleasant and friendly manner and with some chance of success. Bernardus, whom I have questioned carefully on this matter, does not 45 dare to give an account of each item as it happened, perhaps out of embarrassment or overcome by fear. Farewell. At the celebrated city of Cologne, 17 August in the year of our Lord 1535 Your worship’s humble servant, Tielmannus Gravius, secretary to the 50 cathedral church of Cologne To the great Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, unquestionably the foremost exponent of theology and humane letters, his mentor and incomparable patron 3041 / From Tielmannus Gravius

Cologne, 17 August 1535

This letter was first published as Ep 224 in Förstemann / Günther. The autograph was in the Burscher Collection of the University Library at Leipzig (Ep 1254 introduction). Tielmannus writes in response to two letters no longer ­extant (see lines 1–11) but evidently written after Erasmus’ return to Basel (see lines 19–28), which took place in late May (see Ep 3025 n9).

Cordial greetings. Erasmus, dearest of men, my master and patron, I deeply appreciate the devotion and affection that you show for me by so frequently sending me letters written in your own hand. I only wish the Muses were a good deal more favourable to me so that I could reply, if not with equal, at least with some competence and facility. But many like me have to be content 5 to live according to this dictum of the comic dramatist: ‘to live as best we can, since we cannot live as we would like.’1 All your letters have been dutifully delivered, the earlier, however, not by Rienck the Frisian, doctor of laws,2 whom you mention by name, but by someone else, a citizen of Basel, a goldsmith,3 I believe, who is known to me by sight and who has often brought 10 me letters from you that he had received from Froben. He set out for Antwerp, on business I think, intending, as he said, to return here after two weeks. ***** 3041 1 Terence Andria 805; cf Adagia i viii 43. 2 See Ep 3022 n5. 3 See Ep 3042 n1.

3041  From Tielmannus Gravius  1535

341

I cannot easily say how truly happy I am that now at last after repeated encouragement from me and many others, you have grown warmer to the notion of completing your work on preaching.4 It will be received with wide acclaim and with deep feelings of awe and respect by all men of learning and sound judgment. I happily applaud your decision to join Froben so that, if there is need of your assistance when the presses are running at a feverish speed, you will be available without delay.5 I see that you dislike the climate of Freiburg, since so far it has treated you more roughly than Basel’s weather did in the past. But if you intend to make this change of residence permanent, it will not be without some material loss because of the magnificent house that you acquired in Freiburg.6 But it is better to lose one’s property than one’s health. The loss of a house, whatever the cause or accident that brought it about, can be made good elsewhere, but the body with which nature has endowed you, weak, as it is, and subject to many infirmities, when once it has begun to struggle with illness, is not so easily restored to its former vigour. For this reason I hope you will take the greatest care of your health. Münster in Westphalia, that hapless haven of the Anabaptists, has been taken by storm and left in complete disarray. This was brought about when a deserter sowed the seeds of its ruin.7 He realized that their fate was sealed through lack of supplies and that they must die of famine unless they opened a way by the sword or placated the enemy by surrender. So being anxious to secure his own safety, he looked out for a suitable time and place, and one night he slipped out of the city. He had the consent of the king, whom he told that, once outside the walls, he would explore what would be to the advantage and benefit of the city as a whole. He made his way to the enemy camp. As soon as he came near the camp and was almost within a stone’s throw of it, he gave the military signal requesting admission to a conference, which *****



4 Erasmus had been back at work on the Ecclesiastes since the autumn of 1534 (Ep 2979:2–3 with n2), and by May 1535 it had gone to the printers (Ep 3016:28), by which time Erasmus had returned to Basel for the stated purpose of seeing the work through the press (Ep 3030:24–5). 5 Erasmus had ‘joined Froben’ in the sense that he had returned to Basel and was living in Froben’s house. Cf preceding note. 6 For the sale of the house in Freiburg, see Epp 3056, 3059. 7 In Ep 3031:119–25, Konrad Heresbach speaks of two deserters, Heinrich Gresbeck and Hans Eck von der Langenstrate. But the description (lines 65–6 below) of the deserter as ‘the key-bearer’ of the Anabaptist ‘king,’ Jan of Leiden (Ep 2957 n20), indicates that Eck, one of King Jan’s bodyguards, is the one referred to here. Gresbeck had no such proximity to the king.

15

20

25

30

35

3041  From Tielmannus Gravius  1535

342

was not denied him. So bursting into a torrent of words, he said, ‘Honest sirs, famed for your knowledge of the ways of war, in these past few days I have silently turned over in my mind how gravely I have erred against military law, for although I have long been bound by an oath of fealty to your bishop,8 without being compelled by any argument or pressure to act as I did, I entirely forgot my religious obligations and the honour of a soldier and disgracefully defected to the enemy, who are infidels, sectarians, men who through the impurity of their lives have abandoned all morality and godliness. You, fine soldiers that you are, are well aware of the penalty I ought to suffer for having committed such an offence. Nevertheless, if you and the bishop together will choose to perform a work of mercy towards me, and not rage against me with the sword but offer me a complete and genuine pardon for the offence I have committed against my military oath, I shall provide you with a sound plan by which the city should within a few days fall under your control and the control of the bishop.’ No one rejected his proposal; on the contrary it was enthusiastically embraced by everyone. Soon he was brought to the bishop. Falling on his knees as a suppliant before him, he told the same tale as you have just heard, and here again the plan was enthusiastically received by the bishop and those in control. What happened then? At once preparations were begun for the anticipated assault. From the defensive positions, which were seven in number, thirty-five men were chosen by lot to join the deserter and prepare the way. This was begun on the feast of the birth of John the Baptist,9 at the eleventh hour of the night, at which time the deserter had said that he would return. So secretly crossing ditches and earthworks they climbed the walls and found all the watchmen they came upon buried in a deep sleep, and strangled them. The deserter, who was the king’s key-bearer, ran by himself to the man who performed this office in his absence and demanded the surrender of the keys to himself, which was done. He returned to his men, whom he found in a state of great excitement. These thirty-five were soon followed by three hundred under one standard, who had proceeded by the same route as themselves. The rest of the army, as was agreed among the combatants, followed immediately with the intention of entering through the gate that the traitor had opened. At this point the three hundred, along with the few others already mentioned, raised a loud cry and first took possession of the principal church, where the bigger guns were placed; then they occupied the town square, leaving the Anabaptists no *****

8 Franz von Waldeck 9 24 June 1535

40

45

50

55

60

65

70

75

3041  From Tielmannus Gravius  1535

343

opportunity to fight back. Our men fought boldly: each performed his duty like a good soldier or a good officer. The whole population was subjected to a savage attack; even after three or four days the savagery continued against many who were hiding in the most remote corners of their homes. In the heat of battle no time was given to the attackers to reflect on what they were doing or where the forces were that they had left in the camp. These, when they came up to the city, saw that the portcullis had been lowered, a chance action on the part of some scorpion who had secreted himself in a hidden spot above the door.10 So they suspected that their allies who were inside the city had been tricked and betrayed. Inside the city the battle lasted from eleven o’clock at night until nine on the following morning. Finally, when our men were exhausted by the long engagement and saw before them the shining prospect of victory, they sent several men to hurry and open the gate. The standard-bearer climbed onto the wall and, raising his flag, called in a loud voice to those in the camp that they should hurry, that victory was close at hand. They all ran in great haste, as thick as a swarm of bees pouring out of its hive in a great cloud. They made a savage rush upon the houses, where a large part of the Anabaptists were still hiding. Violent attacks on women were confined to the first action during the night, mainly against those taking part in the defence. The uglier women were chased away, the more beautiful were detained, perhaps for the satisfaction of lust – you know what soldiers are like. The king was captured, as was Knipperdolling, who was his principal lieutenant, a man born and brought up in Münster.11 During the siege he kept with him not just a single wife, but several, as well as his children. As I have heard from a number of people, he was from his earliest years a person of fierce temperament, formed and fashioned by nature to be a constant troublemaker. The king had around fifteen wives,12 and it was a similar story with all the others, each having more or fewer wives in accordance with his rank, or influence, or distinction, or the magnificence of his fortune. I do not know what sort of punishment will be exacted from these two. Certainly they deserve an uncommon penalty as a warning to others not to attempt any similar offence in the future. They are still in prison, thought not likely to be there long. Bernhard Rothmann, who was the propagator of the Anabap­ tist sect in Münster, was found neither among the corpses, nor, it is said, ***** 10 A ‘scorpion’ in the sense of someone who lurks in a hidden place, ready to ­attack; cf Adagia i iv 34: ‘Under every stone sleeps a scorpion.’ 11 Ep 3031a n35 12 Cf Ep 3031:193–4.

80

85

90

95

100

105

3041  From Tielmannus Gravius  1535

344

anywhere else.13 They say that the scoundrel slipped away by means of the black arts in which the common people say he was a skilled practitioner. Different people tell different stories, from time to time changing their opinion. Between the cavalry and the infantry there was a lot of dissension and disagreement over the division of the spoils. This ill-begotten quarrel was eventually settled by the authority of the princes. The infantry soldiers received, each according to his proper portion, eighteen gold florins of Emden in addition to his regular pay;14 how much the cavalry will get is not yet fixed, but less, I think, than the infantry. The greater part of the rank-and-file troops were dismissed with warm expressions of friendship and taken over by the duke of Holstein.15 The bishop reserved for himself no more than eight hundred men in the city. Today he has labourers from the country who are digging in that part of the city where the fortifications are most impressive for the purpose of erecting a defensive tower. A few days ago a meeting of the princes, or a ‘diet,’ as they call it, took place in the town of Neuss,16 attended by our archbishop,17 the duke of Cleves, etc along with his son,18 and the bishop of Münster.19 They debated how and by what means religion in Münster, which had been completely stamped out, should be revived and how the general condition of the city, which had fallen into such disarray, should be restored to its former state and vigour. Had not our archbishop and the duke of Cleves faced up to the Anabaptists with such energy, there would be nothing here to see but the wretched spectacle of that abhorrent sect. The fact that several princes and powers and cities and imperial states finally came to the aid of the bishop of Münster with financial help must be credited to one man alone, our archbishop, who, by devoting himself day and night to the cause for as long as he saw that the goad of necessity demanded action, convinced them to take part. This is a summary of events at Münster. To relate everything would be a long task. ***** 13 For Berhard Rothmann, see Ep 2957 nn14, 16. 14 The bonus was equivalent to £4 8s 6d groot Flemish, about half the annual wage income of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). On Emden florins (gulden), see Ep 3031 n26. 15 See n20 below. 16 For the conference at Neuss, which took place on 15 July 1535, see Kerssenbrock / Mackay 706. 17 Hermann von Wied, archbishop of Cologne 18 John iii of Jülich-Cleves and his son William v 19 Franz von Waldeck

110

115

120

125

130

135

3041  From Tielmannus Gravius  1535

345

Several days ago the people of Lübeck fought without success against the duke of Holstein.20 In the conflict they lost as many infantrymen as serve 140 under nine standards. Also around three hundred horsemen were killed, among whom were the count of Tecklenburg, a capitular canon of our cathedral here, and another count, von Hoya, as well as several other noblemen, not less than forty, as we learn from a persistent and credible rumour.21 At the same time they also lost at sea about eight large ships fitted with many guns 145 and the sort of battle equipment that is needed in a naval engagement.22 I have not yet been initiated into holy orders. But I do have a small and insignificant benefice in our church at Cologne, which I obtained two years ago.23 If I were not deterred by the wretchedness of the times and the behaviour of many who with calculated malice wish for the well-being of priests 150 while at the same time wanting their condition to be as miserable as possible, I would perhaps have already attached myself to this order. Now these people obstinately and zealously undermine the gratifications of the priesthood and discourage me from adopting this way of life; the result is that I am still ***** 20 In 1533 King Frederick i of Denmark, who was also the duke of SchleswigHolstein, died and was succeeded by his Lutheran son Christian. In Denmark this unleashed a bitter war of succession in which the Danish towns sought the restoration of the imprisoned King Christian ii, whom Frederick i had displaced in 1523 (Ep 2570 n14). Lübeck, hoping to re-establish its preeminence in the trade of the Baltic (cf Ep 2798 n12), entered the fray on the side of the forces opposed to Christian, who on 11 June 1535 won a decisive victory over them at Assens on the Danish island of Fyn (Fünen). In July 1536 Christian managed to take Copenhagen, where in August 1537 he was crowned King Christian iii. He promptly introduced the Reformation and made Lutheranism the established church of Denmark. 21 Little is known of Nikolaus von Tecklenburg (a county west of Osnabrück). Before becoming involved in the Danish conflict he had served in the army that laid siege to Münster. Johann von Hoya (a territory on the Weser in Lower Saxony), who had served Christian ii of Denmark until his deposition in 1523, quickly entered the service of Gustavus Vasa i of Sweden, married his sister, and was richly rewarded with honours and estates. In 1534, however, he accepted command of the army sent by Lübeck in support of the rebellion against Sweden’s ally, Christian iii of Denmark, with the result indicated in the preceding note. 22 This was at the battle of Bornholm (a Danish island off the south coast of Sweden) which took place on 8 June 1535. The fleet of Lübeck and the Hanseatic League was defeated by a Swedish-Danish-Prussian fleet. 23 Gravius had been married and had eight children, but was now apparently widowed and thus able to contemplate taking holy orders.

3041  From Tielmannus Gravius  1535

346

of two minds, stuck, so to speak, in the mud.24 If in your wisdom you will give me some good advice that would point either towards embracing or rejecting the priesthood, taking into consideration both my well-being and my happiness, I shall count it a great and important service. This Gaspar whom you commended to me in such a friendly and affectionate manner will be treated by me with the same favour and friendship as if he were related to me by ties of blood.25 I received the young man courteously and sent him away in a friendly manner, but with this stipulation, that he should return as often as he wished and use my efforts and interest and assistance for what your Worship desired. I have attended to the delivery of your letter to Heresbach,26 who today is with the younger prince at the court in Düsseldorf. He sends the packet of letters attached to this.27 The miserable fate of the bishop of Rochester and of Thomas More is deeply distressing.28 I am sure that you have either read about this in a letter or that Rumour, which is usually quick to convey sad news, has winged its way to you. The bishop of Rochester used a walking-stick when he was being led to the place of execution. The heads of both men were hung up on poles on London bridge as a spectacle for the people. It is not safe to ask anywhere in the kingdom why those good men suffered the death penalty. The same savagery was exercised against about fifteen Carthusians, some of whom were burned at the stake and the rest executed.29 These events were related to me by Arnold Birckmann, who was in England when they happened and was a witness to some of it.30 Greet Hieronymus Froben most cordially on my behalf.31 Best wishes to you, my patron and thrice-great teacher. From Cologne, on 17 August in the year of our Lord 1535 ***** 24 Adagia i ii 81 25 Possibly Gaspar Schets (Ep 2897 introduction) 26 For this letter, not extant, which Heresbach received on 22 July 1535, see Ep 3031 introduction. 27 For this packet of letters, sent on 29 July, see Bouterwek 9 n4. 28 See 3036 n13. 29 On 4 May 1535 three members of the London Charterhouse were executed; on 19 June three more. During 1537 a further eleven were either executed or died of starvation in prison. 30 Arnold Birckmann of Cologne (Ep 2573 n20), whose flourishing business as a bookseller had a branch in London that he visited from time to time 31 See n5 above.

155

160

165

170

175

180

3042  From Erasmus Schets  1535

347

Your Worship’s most devoted servant, Tielmannus Gravius, alias von Graben To the illustrious and easily the foremost high priest of letters of this age, Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, his ever respected patron 185 3042 / From Erasmus Schets

Antwerp, 17 August 1535

This letter, which answers Epp 3025 and 3028, was first published by Allen. The autograph is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (Scheti epistolae 32).

† Cordial greetings. The bearer of this letter brought me one from you,1 along with several others, which I immediately passed on to the people here for whom they were intended. Lieven Panagathus came to visit me.2 He indicated to me that you had changed your attitude towards him. I tried, however, to determine what his 5 attitude to you might have been. Since he did not show himself other than devoted to you, and made his excuses over Clauthus (who, you rather suspect, had been turned against you by this man), I did not delay giving him the hundred Carolines that you asked me to give him on this condition,3 and I accepted his acknowledgment that he had received them or, if you prefer, 10 his quittance.

*****

3042 1 The letter was Ep 3028, but the references to Maruffo (line 12) and Barbier (lines 28–31) indicate that Schets had also received Ep 3025. The bearer of Ep 3028 is described in that letter (line 22) as a ‘merchant’ planning to return to Basel. It seems that on the way to Antwerp he delivered the letter to Tielmannus Gravius, not extant, that is answered by Ep 3041. Gravius describes him (Ep 3041:9–12) as a citizen of Basel, supposedly a goldsmith, whom he recognizes by sight because he had often delivered letters to him from Erasmus, and who was on his way to Antwerp, whence he planned to return to Basel in two weeks. As a matter of fact, however, the merchant in question did not deliver this letter, the last paragraph of which (lines 57–60 below) is a postscript indicating that he failed to return as promised and that Schets employed a different one (cf Ep 3037:73–7 with n22). 2 For this form of the surname of Lieven Algoet, see Ep 3028 n2. 3 For the change of attitude and the money, see Ep 3028:1–7 with nn3–4.

3042  From Erasmus Schets  1535

348

Maruffo of Genoa, who visited you on his way home from England,4 reported on the wretched situation of More and the bishop of Rochester, but it was soon to get much worse. Both were later beheaded because of the king’s anger. I have not yet been told what their offence was; no one writes from England or would dare to write. It seems to me that our world, like those of the past, has no shortage of butchers. May the Lord count the innocence and suffering of such men an acceptable offering to himself. About your English annuity, I understand that you are reluctant to trouble Ambassador Chapuys, and that you consider that task to be more appropriate for Aldridge, who attends the court.5 If this is your view, write to Aldridge and ask him to undertake this responsibility on your behalf and tell him to hand over anything he receives to the Spaniard Astudillo,6 to whom I too will write to mention Aldridge and to ask him to seek the support of Chapuys when the situation demands it. In this way it will be possible for you to recover your annuity without trouble or expense – though you seem to be close to despair over these English revenues. I sent your letter to Barbier.7 It was carried by a friend, who delivered it in good faith. I added a letter, asking him to write back. But he is becoming deaf, like someone who has no taste for a fair settlement. But I shall continue to badger him with more and more letters until he replies and clears himself. I do not understand the remark in your letter about works dedicated to the king of Portugal’s father-in-law.8 I do not know the king’s father-in-law; he has a brother, the infante, a noble and erudite man who is a good friend of Damião’s. If because of him and at Damião’s instigation you have dedicated and sent some work to him, I am not aware of it. It pains me to think that you have been robbed there by bandits. The publication of your Art of Preaching, as you say in your letter, has brought you to Basel, but, as I understand, with serious consequences for your health.9 I would like to think you will have a useful rest for both body and mind and better health. Since the Lord has decided that you cannot be moved or endure the journey, you must settle in the spot in which the Lord has placed you, not perhaps without a purpose. *****

4 See Ep 3025:4–5 with n4. 5 See Ep 3028:11–13. 6 Ep 2997 n14 7 See Ep 3025:15–18. 8 For the explanation of Schets’ confusion, see Ep 3028 n8. 9 See Ep 3028:18–20.

15

20

25

30

35

40

3043  To Damião de Gois  1535

349

While I was writing this, a letter arrived for me from Alvaro de Astudillo in England, who writes that he has received from Bedyll on your account thirty-eight nobles and a tenth part of a noble. In exchange for these he gave me one hundred and three florins and seven stuivers, which I have added to your account deposited with me.10 At the same time Astudillo sent these letters which I am sending you with this of mine. I think they come from Ambassador Chapuys. There is a report here that the emperor is waging a successful campaign in Africa and that after gaining control of the almost impregnable mouth of the bay of Tunis, which they call La Goulette, he has set up his camp under the walls of the city, which, they say, can easily be taken.11 May God favour his endeavour and at the same time bring about a complete and glorious victory! I had intended to send this to you a fortnight ago by the courier who brought your letter, but when he did not return here as he had promised, my letter was delayed. I am sending it to the Frankfurt fair so that it will reach you by the hand of Froben.12 I do not think it could be send in any safer way. Farewell, my dear Master Erasmus From Antwerp, 17 August 1535 Yours truly and sincerely, Erasmus Schets † To Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, a man supreme in learning and wisdom. In Freiburg 3043 / To Damião de Gois

Basel, 18 August 1535

This letter was first published in the epistolary appendix to De puritate taber­ naculi 107–12. For Damião de Gois, now in Italy pursuing further study, see Ep 2963 introduction.

***** 10 For Thomas Bedyll see Ep 3037 n33. The angel-noble was valued in 1535 at 90d sterling, so the remittance deposited with Alvaro de Astudillo amounted to £14 4s 9d sterling, equivalent to two and a half year’s wages of an Oxford master mason at 6d sterling per day and a year of 230 days (cwe 12 650 Table 3, 688 Table 11). Schets obtained a very favourable exchange of £25 7s 7d groot Flemish, the equivalent of just under three years’ wage income of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). 11 See Ep 2997 n22. 12 Ie the autumn book fair, at which Hieronymus Froben or his agent would be present. Cf n1 above.

45

50

55

60

65

3043  To Damião de Gois  1535

350

erasmus of rotterdam to the illustrious damião de gois of portugal, greeting Here is my reply to the several parts of your very long letter,1 but it will be brief and in a series of disconnected notes. From your last letter, written on 14 July, which reached me from Augsburg, I infer that you received the one I 5 sent to Padua after you had already departed thence.2 Lukas Rem, a most cultivated man, has, as his friends tell me, suffered a stroke, leaving one side of his body paralysed, though his speech, which had also been affected, has now been restored. I hope the situation is less serious than the reports. He has been most reliable in sending on my letters.3 10 Though driven out of Freiburg, you have no need to worry: you have exchanged Germany for Italy and Erasmus for Bembo and Bonamico,4 a happier exchange than Diomedes made when he got gold for bronze.5 From a letter of Jorge Coelho I see that your servant, whose reliability I rather doubted, has done his duty in delivering the letters.6 I am surprised 15 that Resende does not write.7 I suspect that some splendid distinction has fallen his way. Coelho is put out by the long letter I wrote Resende, while he himself received a very short one.8 I seem to have offended both, one by my long wordy letter and the other by a comparatively brief one. *****





3043 1 Not extant. Between Epp 2826 (20 June 1533) and 3078 (22 December 1535) no letters from Gois to Erasmus have survived. 2 Probably Ep 3019 3 For Lukas Rem and his role in forwarding Erasmus’ letters, see Ep 2987 n1. He never fully recovered from the stroke and died in September 1541. 4 See Epp 2958 introduction (Bembo), 1720 n10 (Lazzaro Bonamico). 5 The story of the exchange by Diomedes (or Diomede) of his bronze armour for Glaucon’s gold, told in Homer Iliad 6.234–6, is summarized and interpreted at length in Adagia i ii 1. ‘Exchange between Diomede and Glaucus’ was proverbial for an exchange of something less valuable for something worth more. 6 The letters to Coelho and Resende mentioned in lines 17–19 below. For the servant and Erasmus’ doubts about him, see Ep 3019:8–11 with nn3–4. Jorge Coelho (d 1563) was a Portuguese humanist and poet closely associated with Damião de Gois and André de Resende (see following note). Like them, he was an admirer of Erasmus. In later years he became secretary to Henry, archbishop of Braga (1512–80), who at the end of his life ruled briefly (1578–80) as the cardinal-king of Portugal. See Allen’s note at his line 12. 7 For André de Resende, now tutor in the household of John iii of Portugal, see Ep 2500 introduction. 8 Neither letter is extant.

3043  To Damião de Gois  1535

351

I wish the Lord would be pleased to call me to his rest away from this mad world. The long life that you wish for me is the last thing I want. If my writings have helped someone to lead a godly life, I am glad. For fame I care nothing: I only wish I were not burdened with it. I wonder what is causing this dizziness in a young man like you.9 Italy has outstanding physicians, by whose advice you could rid yourself of this problem. You should be careful about concentrated reading, especially after lunch and dinner. Instead of reading, what about having a conversation with learned men? You are afraid of winter in temperate Italy. How would you manage if you lived among the Lapps?10 If you are seriously worried, rush back here to the hot stoves; you will then be as hot as you wish. I will even give you the gift of the house I have in Freiburg. I am still in Basel on account of the publication of my Preacher, and I very much doubt whether I should return to Freiburg; much can be said for, and much against. Because of his uncommon learning and his honest character, Gelenius deserves a more comfortable income, though I would hardly dare to wish him riches. What is the danger you were talking about?11 That he should become more slack in promoting the cause of letters? Penury has driven many men to hard work. Your suggestion that I should revise and polish my works is friendly advice, but pointless, even if it were not too late. I am by nature an improviser and dreadfully lazy about revising. And you know how difficult it is to fight against nature, especially for an old man. Then it is also the case that I did not write for Italian readers, but for bone-headed Dutchmen and unsophisticated Germans, and in an age that was not so blessed as ours. Moreover, some subjects do not lend themselves to a carefully polished style. Marcus Tullius’ famous box of fragrances is not suited to works that have been written to teach or that deal with religious subjects.12 In the first class come the Adages, in the latter the Paraphrases, the Annotations, and many others, where if you attempted to apply the brilliance of Tullian style, they would somehow lose their effectiveness for readers with a passionate concern for true godliness, who are looking for the fervour of the spirit, not the lure of language. ***** 9 See Epp 3019:20–1, 3078:44–5. 10 An allusion to Gois’ campaign to secure more humane treatment for the Lapplanders; see Ep 2826:32–64. 11 Gois had perhaps written in his ‘very long letter’ something related to Erasmus’ comments in Ep 3019:24–30 on the edition of Pliny that Gelenius had dedicated to Gois. 12 Cicero used the Greek word myrothecia ‘box of fragrances’ in a humorous reference to the flourishes of his grand manner; see Ad Atticum 2.1.

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

3043  To Damião de Gois  1535

352

That heavenly philosophy, just as it has its own wisdom, so it has its own eloquence. Things of the spirit require a style of their own. Who, I ask you, is set on fire for godliness by Lactantius?13 But there is no more polished prose than his. You would imagine you were listening to a Christian Cicero, although Cicero does not deal with Scripture, but crosses swords with pagans. Melanchthon himself in his commentaries on the Epistle to the Romans deliberately lowers the tone of his style, since in this work he wishes to appear above all as a theologian.14 In the three volumes that he produced on the same epistle Jacopo Sadoleto, the great glory of this age, wrote in a wonderfully brilliant style with a command of language that was totally Ciceronian, yet he did not lack the warmth that befits a Christian bishop.15 Such a work coming from such a man could not fail to win the approval of all good men. I fear, however, that for many people the very brilliance of the style tended to blunt the edge of his appeal for godliness.16 Need I mention Longueil, whose whole ambition was to replicate Cicero, nor was he unsuccessful in the attempt?17 Yet how uncharacteristically lifeless he is in his polemical works attacking the teachings of Luther!18 What do you think would have been the result if, instead of engaging in controversy, he had explained the mysteries of Holy Scripture? Premature death has begrudged him to the scholarly world,19 but many seem to begrudge the distinction of his name to our native Holland. Indeed he nearly experienced what happened to Homer long ago, whose place of birth is said to have been contested by seven cities. On the one hand the French claim Longueil for themselves, on the other Mechelen asserts he is theirs, while in fact he was a pure, out and out Hollander, born of ***** 13 Lactantius (c 240–c 320) wrote in a deliberately Ciceronian style in his attempt to commend the truths of Christianity to men of letters. 14 Concerning Erasmus’ view of Melanchthon as a writer, cf Ciceronianus cwe 28 427. For his somewhat jaundiced opinion of the content of Melanchthon’s Commentarii in epistolam Pauli ad Romanos (1532), see Ep 2818:63–70. 15 In Pauli Epistolam ad Romanos commentariorum libri tres (Lyon: Sebastianus Gryphius 1535) 16 Theologians in both Paris and Rome objected that Sadoleto conceded far too much to the views of the reformers; see Ep 3076 n7. 17 For Christophe de Longueil, the Ciceronian par excellence, see Ep 914 introduction, and cf Ep 1948 introduction. 18 In 1520, at the request of Pope Leo x, Longueil wrote an Oratio ad Lutheranos quosdam iam damnatos, which Erasmus in 1525 described as ‘a wonderfully polished oration against Luther’ (Ep 1597:22–3, where the title of the oration is not given). 19 He died in 1522 in his mid-thirties.

55

60

65

70

3043  To Damião de Gois  1535

353

a Dutch father in a celebrated Dutch city the beauty of whose gardens gave it the name Schoonhoven. No one should pounce on me for saying this, for my information comes from his paternal uncle, Pierre de Longueil, a man of great learning.20 I did not think I should permit Holland to have this distinction snatched from it. It puts Longueil’s fame in a brighter light that someone born in that region turned out to be so brilliant. But this is by the way. I return to my argument. You be the judge, my dear Damião: is it fair when some people demand that I write better than I am able? Italy too had writers whose work lacked that ultimate fine polish: Petrarch, Poggio, Guarini, Filelfo, Leonardo and Francesco of Arezzo,21 and many others whom we read indulgently, overlooking their faults. And these are the people who make no concessions to the Dutch? If we turn up our noses at everyone who is unlike Marcus Tullius, who, I ask, will be left to us? The purity of Ciceronian style delights me immensely when I encounter it in others; for myself, I neither spurn it nor fret about achieving it. If I find an error in my work, especially if it concerns moral conduct or religion, I carefully correct it; as for my future fame throughout the world or the verdict of posterity, it is for the Lord to look to this. But however that may be, your advice was most gratifying to me, for I know it came from the heart of a good friend. I hope that you, by your association with very learned men, will succeed in acquiring that polish which you urge me to attain. If I did not see you willingly running to gain that prize, I would not hesitate to urge you on, so that you might add this distinction as a precious gem to the long and glorious line of your ancestry, and be, if not the first, at least among the first to win this palm for your native Portugal, which flourishes more and more gloriously every day. I received the letters that Baer carried.22 The earlier one, written in Rome, I have not received, nor the one that Baer tells me he sent at the same ***** 20 Born at Mechelen in Brabant, Longueil was on his father’s side member of a distinguished Norman family. Erasmus’ attempt to claim him for Holland is a compliment to him but an unfounded one. No biographer has accepted as valid the supposed testimony of Pierre de Longueil (d after 1484), Erasmus’ contacts with whom had to have been decades earlier and perhaps poorly remembered. 21 Ie Leonardo Bruni and Francesco Griffolini, both of Arezzo 22 Ludwig Baer had presumably encountered Gois at Padua in the latter part of June 1535, on his way home to Freiburg from Rome. (For Baer’s journey to Rome and back see Ep 3011 introduction and n6.) Baer carried from Padua letters from Gois (though not the one to which Erasmus is replying here, written after Gois had reached Augsburg) as well as from Lazzaro Bonamico and Pietro Bembo; see lines 103–4 below.

75

80

85

90

95

100

3043  To Damião de Gois  1535

354

time. The way is long, and ‘there’s many a slip ‘twixt the cup and the lip.’23 Baer did not deliver, but sent on to me, a letter from Bembo, to which I have not replied, and another from Lazzaro Bonamico.24 For I have not yet spoken with Baer. Bembo’s letter does not call for a reply. I have no time at present to 105 reply to Lazzaro, whose letter delighted me greatly. Before now I loved the man for his great erudition, now he has become more dear to me because of the welcome he has given you. There is much talk here about the situation in Africa.25 I am afraid Africa will sooner bring us something new than something happy.26 Such rumours 110 I do not take seriously.27 Meanwhile all of Lower Germany is being destroyed by the Anabaptists. Münster has been taken by storm. If the report is true, everyone over twelve years of age has been killed.28 The king of France is inviting the nobles who fled out of fear to return.29 He has in mind a more moderate policy. He has invited Melanchthon to a conference; he, however, 115 has not yet set out.30 Plague is raging in Wittenberg, at Augsburg also. It is *****





23 Adagia i v i 24 The letter from Bembo is Ep 3026; that from Bonamico is not extant. 25 Ie the campaign of Charles v to retake Tunis from the Ottomans (Ep 2997 n22) 26 See Adagia iii vii 10, ‘Africa always produces something novel,’ said by Pliny (Historia naturalis 8.42) of the supposed tendency of Africa to generate monsters through the interbreeding of different species. 27 Erasmus was sceptical of the value of the emperor’s campaign in North Africa, believing that his proper concern was with disorders in Germany; see Ep 3049:144–7. 28 Cf Ep 3049:137–9. The news of the capture of Münster on 25 June 1535 had reached Erasmus in Konrad Heresbach’s letter of 28 July 1535 (Ep 3031), but that letter makes no mention of the extreme cruelties indicated here. The source of Erasmus’ information may have been the letter of Johann von Vlatten, not extant, mentioned by Heresbach in Ep 3031:247. 29 With the Edict of Coucy (16 July 1535) Francis i brought to an end the religious persecution that had broken out in the wake of the so-called affair of the placards in 1534 (Ep 2983 n10). Prisoners in jail were released and amnesty was offered to all exiles (except for ‘Sacramentarians,’ ie deniers of the Real Presence) who would abjure their errors within six months. The immediate aim was to mollify the German Lutheran princes, with whom he was seeking a political alliance. See Knecht 391–2. 30 On the very day the Edict of Coucy was issued, a royal messenger set out with a formal invitation to Philippus Melanchthon to take part in a conference with the theologians of the University of Paris for the purpose of exploring the prospects for confessional reunion. But the Paris theologians wanted no part of a discussion with heretics, and on 17 August 1535 Melanchthon was rescued from participation in the potentially embarrassing undertaking by the elector

3044  To the Reader  [1535]

355

beginning to creep into Strasbourg. The king of England is venting his wrath on several monks.31 He has kept the bishop of Rochester and Thomas More in prison for some time now. That report is only too true. Men arriving from Brabant say that both have suffered the ultimate penalty. I hope this rumour 120 is false.32 Farewell. Give my special good wishes to Bembo and Bonamico and, if the chance arises, also to Celio Calcagnini, an old friend.33 Basel, 18 August 1535 3044 / To the Reader

[Basel, end of August 1535]

This is a letter to the reader prefixed to the list of Errata found on the last page of the Ecclesiastes (Ep 3036 introduction).

erasmus of rotterdam to the reader, greeting Many authors like to blame their errors on the work of the printers. But here I frankly confess that almost all the errors in this work must be attributed either to my amanuensis or to me.1 It is true that I was present during the printing, but because of my poor health I was unable to make a final revision, 5 especially since the need to correct certain pages often coincided with the hours that had to be devoted to sleep or to the care of my poor body. There was, however, no need for my help, since that task was vigilantly carried out

*****

of Saxony, who denied him permission to travel to France. See Knecht 392–3. Meanwhile, Henry viii had repeatedly requested that Melanchthon head a Saxon delegation to England to conclude an Anglo-Lutheran doctrinal concord. But not until 1538 was a German delegation dispatched to England, without the participation of Melanchthon. See Scarisbrick 402. 31 Six Carthusians had been executed before the execution of either Fisher or More; see Ep 3041 n29. 32 On 24 August Erasmus still did not know for sure that Fisher and More had been executed (Ep 3048:56–62), but at some point before 31 August the news reached him (Ep 3049:176–81). 33 For Bembo and Bonamico cf nn22, 24 above; for Calcagnini see Ep 2869 introduction.

3044 1 The amanuensis was Gilbert Cousin (Ep 2985 introduction).

3044  To the Reader  [1535]

356

by Sigismundus Gelenius,2 a man with a well wiped nose.3 But when I had the leisure to read over some of the printed pages, I discovered several places 10 that had slipped through my revision. There is not a huge number of these if you take into consideration the great length of the work, very few, if you discount trivial errors. I thought I should add a note here to this effect. 3045 / From Henricus Glareanus

Freiburg, [late August 1535]

This letter was first published in Heinrich Schreiber Heinrich Loriti Glareanus (Freiburg 1837) 77–8 n190, from a copy of the original autograph, then at Basel, that had been supplied to him. As Allen notes, the Basel original was sold in 1841 and is now in the Bibliothèque de la Société de l’histoire du protestantisme français at Paris. It is not possible to date the letter precisely. It was clearly written after Erasmus left Freiburg in late May 1535 (Ep 3025 n9) but before his books and other goods had been moved to Basel at the beginning of September (see Ep 3051). It is possible that it was the news of Schmotzer’s fire (lines 3–4 below) that caused Erasmus to send Bonifacius Amerbach to Freiburg to see to the removal of his books. Bonifacius spent ‘more than two days’ in Freiburg (Ep 3055:22–3) doing so. For Henricus Glareanus, the preeminent Swiss humanist of the day, much admired by Erasmus, see Ep 440. In 1529 Glareanus, who had lived at Basel since 1514, joined Erasmus in moving to Freiburg, where he would remain for the rest of his life as a professor of poetry.

to erasmus of rotterdam from glareanus, greeting Everything is fine here, but we had an emergency, though it was not too serious. The stable where Master Schmotzer kept his horses burst into flames at ten o’clock when it was already dark.1 The theologian’s servant soon realized what was happening and ran from your house to mine and to the theolo- 5 gian’s.2 We were on the scene at once. It was a huge fire, and the wind drove *****

2 Ep 1702 n1 3 Ie a man of keen and exquisite judgment; see Adagia  ii viii 59, citing Horace Satires 1.4.8.



3045 1 Georg Schmotzer (Ep 1922), until 1527 professor of law at Freiburg, since 1525 an imperial councillor at Ensisheim in Alsace 2 ‘The theologian’ was Ludwig Baer (Ep 3011) who, like Erasmus, had abandoned Basel for Freiburg in 1529; see Ep 2550 n2.



3046  To Piotr Kmita  1535

357

every burst of flame in the direction of Crusius’ house, which overlooks yours.3 But,  thanks be to God, everything was soon under control. Our Margarete kept a good look-out.4 Doctors Sebastian, Amelius, and Martin all offered their help, but we did not need them.5 The theologian and I were the 10 only people who entered your library to see if everything was safe. But there were other people in the lower hall. I wanted you to know this so that you would not be frightened by some vague rumour from the brainless fools we have nowadays. I was also under orders from the theologian. 15 Farewell. Freiburg You will recognize the hand. To Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, greatest of theologians 3046 / To Piotr Kmita

Basel, 20 August 1535

This letter was first published in the epistolary appendix to De puritate taber­ naculi (Basel: Froben 1535) 113–114. Born into a powerful dynasty of southern Poland, Piotr Kmita (1477–1553) spent his youth at the court of Emperor Maximilian i. Returning to Poland in 1518, he joined the court of King Sigismund i, where, thanks to his military and political skills, he advanced rapidly in authority and influence. In May 1529 he was appointed grand marshal of the realm, and the salutation of the letter includes several other items from the list of offices he accumulated. He favoured good relations with France in opposition to the Hapsburgs, and, in the effort to prevent a Hapsburg takeover of Hungary, he supported John Zápolyai against Ferdinand of Austria and opposed war with Turkey. The possessor of vast estates, on which he founded churches, he also maintained an opulent court at the castle of Wiśnicz near Cracow, where humanists and other men of learning found patronage and where his rich library included at least some titles by Erasmus.

*****



3 Erasmus’ house ‘zum Kind Jesu’ was at Schiffstrasse 7. The house at Schiffstrasse 3 bore the name ‘zur Krause,’ and the municipal records show that at some point between 1560 and 1565 it belonged to one Georg Kruss. See cebr i 370–1 under ‘Crusius.’ 4 Margarete Büsslin, Erasmus’ difficult but invaluable housekeeper (Ep 2735 n25) 5 All three were professors at the university at Freiburg. Sebastian Derrer (d 1541) was the successor of Udalricus Zasius in the faculty of law. Georgius Amelius (d 1541), professor of canon law, is the only one of the three known to have had personal relations with Erasmus (Ep 2096). Martin Kügelin (d 1539) was professor of theology.

3046  To Piotr Kmita  1535

358

desiderius erasmus of rotterdam to the magnificent lord piotr kmita, count of wiśnicz, castellan of sandomierz, general prefect of cracow, voivode of szepes, przemyśl and kolno, grand marshal of the kingdom of poland, greeting Although, most noble sir, it is not in my nature or character, nor is it a regular practice of mine, to initiate a correspondence with those to whom I have not been invited to write, yet I have been prodded into doing so by two trusted and reliable friends, Justus Decius (whom you know),1 and Sigismundus Gelenius, a fine scholar and a man with nothing shallow in his nature.2 Since they had many good things to say both about your splendid qualities and the kind and friendly feelings that you have for me, I thought that I should not be so anxious to avoid the charge of impropriety as to incur a charge of ingratitude. Impropriety is generally excused on many counts, but ingratitude admits of no excuse. So I decided that in this letter I should try to wipe away my blushes and congratulate you on the many excellent qualities of intellect with which you have been so richly endowed by the generosity of the supreme being, the author of all things; indeed your intellectual endowments almost cast into the shade those so-called blessings of fortune, excellent though these are. I also wish to thank you for your willing support of me and to promise – and this alone I can do – to return your feelings. No possession is more precious than a true friend. Since from time to time death or some other tragedy robs us of a friend, which in my opinion is the most grievous loss of all, I believe that far from considering it right to neglect those who voluntarily invite our friendship, we should even go out of our way to repair so great a loss. Some time ago the elderly and distinguished Master Krzysztof Szydłowiecki was taken from us, to my very great sorrow.3 One could have wished for nothing more true and pure than his heart. I am told that you are very similar to him both in rank and in natural endowment; so if you will be pleased to take his place, I shall feel the loss of Krzysztof less deeply, and I in turn will do my best to demonstrate, if not by my services, at least by my good will and my readiness to show you every respect, that I acknowledge you as a great friend.

*****

3046 1 Ep 1393 introduction 2 Ep 3000:6–9 with n1. 3 Szydłowiecki (Ep 1593), close adviser to King Sigismund i and patron of humanist scholars, died on 30 December 1532.

5

10

15

20

25

30

3047  From Ambrosius von Gumppenberg  1535

359

I have been rather brief not only because I am torn in different directions by a variety of obligations, but because I am doubtful if this letter will ever reach your hands. An immense distance separates Switzerland and Poland, 35 and it is a rare thing to find a courier one can trust. It is my wish, distinguished sir, that you and all who are dear to you may enjoy every success. Basel, 20 August 1535 3047 / From Ambrosius von Gumppenberg

Rome, 21 August 1535

This letter was first published as Ep 225 in Förstemann / Günther. The manuscript, in a secretary’s hand but signed by Gumppenberg, was in the Burscher Collection of the University Library at Leipzig (Ep 1254 introduction). The papal breves (Epp 3033–4) that Gumppenberg had forwarded to Erasmus are dated 1 August and 5 August. It is not clear why this letter of explanation was written so much later. It is the last surviving letter in the correspondence between Erasmus and Gumppenberg.

Greetings, excellent Erasmus. In the past few days I have written to your Lordship about the death of Johann Ingenwinkel,1 who passed away at the apostolic see, and I told you how strongly I was pressing his Holiness on your behalf to confer on you the benefices made vacant by the death of the said Johann. I finally obtained the provostship of the church at Deventer, 5 which his Holiness has conferred on you and for which he has made provision. This provostship, some say, has an annual value of fifteen hundred ducats after deducting the liabilities.2 I would be happy to know it had half of this estimate. I am sure you will be pleased with this turn of events, especially since the provostship is situated in your native land and place of birth 10 and since it is calculated that any provost there is worth more than a bishop here. In addition to all this, it has a beautiful residence, and there is the fact that the pope on his own initiative conferred it on you in preference to all the others who were angling for it, as you will see more clearly from a letter of his Holiness. It has been addressed to you in the form of a breve and 15

*****

3047 1 The letter is not extant. For Ingenwinkel see Ep 3033 n1. 2 A highly attractive benefice, equivalent to £500 groot Flemish or the annual wage income of fifty-seven Antwerp master masons/carpenters (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). But see Ep 3033 n2.

3047  From Ambrosius von Gumppenberg  1535

360

prepared in two copies.3 I am sending one to Milan and another to Augsburg,4 so that it may be delivered to you as rapidly as possible when it arrives. Now it is up to you to express your undying thanks to his Holiness and to hold and retain his devotion and favour towards you. He promised me that he intended to prepare for you a bull of provision sealed in lead and to send it to you at once. You have the heart and mind of his Holiness well disposed towards you; he has written a breve on your behalf to her most serene Majesty, Queen Mary, regent of Flanders, urging her in the meantime to keep and hold the said provostship free from all intrusion.5 I have dispatched this breve also in two copies, one of which went to you and the other to her most serene Majesty by the hand of the most reverend and illustrious George of Austria, bishop of Bressanone, who is living in the court of the said queen, and I have commended your present case to him.6 I know that he will intercede on your behalf with her most serene Majesty with the greatest fervour and assiduity and in the most solicitous manner possible. He is most favourably disposed to you, and day and night he has your books and writings in his hands. He has also great influence over the queen. So do not hesitate to write to him – you will find this will be to your benefit. Now I have nothing else to inform you of, and I move on to my next letter. But if there is anything else, you will learn it from the provost of Chur and from Petrus Merbelius, secretary to the duke.7 I wish you all the best and send you my compliments. Rome, 21 August 1535 The cardinal archbishop of Bari died on 16 July just past.8 The cardinal of the title of Santi Quattro spent this summer in Florence, intending to return to Rome next month.9 Nikolaus von Schönberg, archbishop of Capua, now cardinal of the title of St Sixtus, loves you very much and says that he wants to promote your interests wherever he can; he is a man of few words, learned and fair minded, and the leading figure in the College.10 And Johann *****

3 Ep 3033 4 Evidently via Petrus Merbelius and Johann Koler; see lines 35–6 below. 5 Ep 3034 6 For George of Austria, see Ep 1938 introduction. 7 The provost of Chur was Johann Koler of Augsburg (Ep 2947 introduction). For Petrus Merbelius, secretary to the duke of Milan, see Ep 3005 introduction. 8 Estéban Gabriel Merino (Ep 3011 n15), who actually died on 28 July 1535 9 Antonio Pucci (Ep 3011 n4) 10 Nikolaus von Schönberg (Ep 1466 n28), archbishop of Capua, who was raised to the rank of cardinal on 21 May 1535; cf Ep 3066:23.

20

25

30

35

40

3047  From Ambrosius von Gumppenberg  1535

361

Albrecht Lucretius, his secretary, a young man around twenty-four years old, who is considered here in Rome as occupying the first place among theologians for his exceptional learning, knows Chaldean, Hebrew, and Greek.11 He too is very fond of you. Above all the bastard son of the king of Portugal12 is working with the greatest effort13 on your behalf to influence his Holiness so that you may obtain the red hat.14 So please do not fail to write at length to him, for he will be very useful to you. Dr Franciscus Rupilius sent you on another occasion a sketch of the character of this Portuguese scholar.15 There are, in addition, his Holiness’ secretary Blosius, and his substitute Pier Paolo Gualtieri,16 men of great learning and distinction and devoted admirers of yours. Nothing could give them greater pleasure than to be greeted by you in a letter. If you do that, they will be triumphant with joy, and it will be of advantage to you also. Pietro Corsi says that he intends to respond to you a second time,17 but I believe he will do nothing unless prodded by others, who consider him a fool and treat him as such. On the second day of this month the bishop of Paris entered the city of Rome for the first time as a cardinal to attend a public consistory.18 He was the first to be noticed using the term ‘deprivation’ against the king of England for executing the cardinal-bishop of Rochester.19 They say that the king of ***** 11 Johann Albrecht Widmanstetter (Ep 2614 introduction), who used the surname Lucretius 12 Dom Martinho of Portugal (Ep 1681 n12) was actually the natural son of Dom Afonso, prince of Portugal, and brother of King John iii, who made him his ambassador to the papal court in Rome in 1525. Following the sack of Rome in 1527, Clement vii made Dom Martinho his legate for Portugal, but in 1532 he returned to Rome and remained there until 1535. A learned man who had studied at Paris, he was a devoted Erasmian who during his years in Rome had close relations with a number of cardinals friendly to Erasmus, including Jacopo Sadoleto and Pietro Bembo. 13 Literally ‘with hands and feet’ (Adagia i iv 15) 14 Cf Ep 3052:34–9. 15 The letter containing this description is not extant. For Rupilius see Ep 3007 introduction. 16 See Epp 3021 n1 (Blosius), 3024 introduction (Gualtieri). 17 One concludes that Erasmus’ Responsio to Corsi’s Defensio had reached Rome (see Ep 3032 introduction). 18 See Ep 3039 n6. 19 ‘Deprivation’ (deprivatio) was the usual term for removal from an ecclesiastical office. John Fisher, bishop of Rochester, was executed on 22 June 1535, shortly after having been appointed to the college of cardinals by Paul iii (Ep 3037 n29).

45

50

55

60

3047  From Ambrosius von Gumppenberg  1535

362

France wishes to declare the king of England a public enemy, and that he wants to occupy his cities and territories in the border lands. This is how one recognizes one’s friends! It is reported as certain that the emperor, after storming the city of Tunis in Africa, has also captured the pirate Barbarossa and is holding him alive in his hands.20 He will now pay the penalty for his piracy. Because of his capture, ten thousand Christian captives have now been set free. And the king of Tunis, who favours the imperial side, has also handed over to the emperor twelve thousand Christian captives, who have all been freed; as many as possible have come to Rome. May God grant the emperor victory in all things, and to all of us may he impart his grace. It is also reported as certain that the emperor will spend the winter here in Rome and in Naples,21 and that at the beginning of spring he will sail on a private mission to Constantinople. I would like to learn from you whether, if here at Rome the pope made honourable provision for you, you would be willing to come here at his expense. For he has a great desire to see you. Reply as quickly as possible. Farewell again. Yours, Ambrosius von Gumppenberg, signed in his own hand To the excellent Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, provost of Deventer, and his most respected master. In the Breisgau 3048 / To Bartholomaeus Latomus

Basel, 24 August 1535

This letter, Erasmus’ answer to Ep 3029, was first published in the epistolary appendix to De puritate tabernaculi (Basel: Froben 1536) 80–4.

desiderius erasmus to bartholomaeus latomus, greeting A few days ago I received a letter from Paul iii exhibiting throughout a remarkable benevolence and filled with the most complimentary pronouncements about me.1 Yet I swear I got more pleasure from that letter of yours, to ***** It was the pope who sought the help of Francis i in deposing Henry, but Francis replied that it was up to the emperor to avenge the wrong done to his aunt, Catherine. See Knecht 275. 20 This was a false report. 21 Charles arrived in Naples on 25 November 1535 and in Rome on 5 April 1536. See Ep 3007 n18.

3048 1 Ep 3033

65

70

75

80

85

3048  To Bartholomaeus Latomus  1535

363

which I am now replying, though laconically and with what I might call gnomic brevity. A friendship, my dear Latomus, that is formed by transitory events and in circumstances over which chance exercises control is likely to cool and die when the situation changes. But my friendship with you did not arise from physical beauty, or wealth, or rank but from your learning, friendliness, and purity of character. As these are true and enduring parts of a man, so they produce an enduring friendship. And now that you are more richly endowed with those very qualities that I loved in you in the past, it is natural that my regard for you should increase also. Believe me, you have no need to excuse your silence. It has never been my habit to use this ordinary courtesy as a gauge with which to evaluate my special friends. And would it not be impertinent of me to find something lacking in you when you with equal justification might make the same charge against me? I liked your oration very much, although the copy delivered to me was damaged.2 In fact I have never read anything of yours that I did not find very appealing, for I discovered there a mind that was ardent without vehemence, frank without rudeness, friendly without obsequiousness, noble without arrogance. I have always venerated Budé for his great learning and his outstanding services to the cause of letters, although some people have tried to cast a sort of cloud over our friendship. Now I value him all the more since he has acted in such a friendly manner to promote your honour and advantage.3 What the heads of colleges are doing is nothing new.4 They fear losing any of their emoluments, which for many is their only interest. You would hardly credit the manoeuvres they adopted at Louvain to prevent the acceptance of the College of the Three Tongues. Since I played an active part in that event, I stirred up a lot of resentment against me.5 The teaching of languages began to be introduced at Tournai, but the University of Louvain and the Franciscans who live at Tournai did not rest until this initiative was abandoned.6 The house built for this purpose looked over the Franciscans’ garden. Hence those tears.7 I am delighted that you have successfully sustained

*****



2 See Ep 3029 n3. 3 See Ep 3029:22–38. 4 See Ep 3029:32–5. 5 See Ep 691 introduction. 6 For the ultimately unsuccessful attempt to establish a Collegium Bilingue at Tournai for the humanist study of Greek and Latin, see Ep 1237 n8. 7 Adagia i iii 68

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

3048  To Bartholomaeus Latomus  1535

364

the first attacks of this viper,8 and I have no doubt that the future will be more favourable. Meanwhile, when you are still of an age that is capable of work, I think you would be wise to store up what may comfortably support a peaceful old age. As for me, if I count up my years, I have lived a long life; if I take into account how much time was spent in struggling with fevers, the stone, and gout, I have not lived long. But we must bear with patience whatever our Lord and Master has sent us, whose will no one can resist and who alone knows what is good for us.9 When you console me by talking about the glory of a name that will never die in generations to come,10 I find your friendly intentions not unpleasing. But such celebrity does not interest me at all, nor do I worry about the plaudits of posterity. The one thing that I want and desire is to leave this world in peace with Christ. Many French nobles had taken refuge here through fear of the wintry storm; they are now being called back.11 ‘The lion will roar,’ said the prophet, ‘Who will not be afraid?’12 A like terror for an unlike cause has seized the minds of the English. A number of monks have suffered the ultimate penalty, among whom was a certain Brigittine, who was dragged over the ground and then hanged, after which his heart was torn out and cut into four pieces.13 A persistent and plausible rumour is circulating here that when the king discovered that the bishop of Rochester had been appointed a cardinal by Paul iii, he was led out of prison earlier than expected and beheaded.14 In this way the king awarded him the red hat. It is all too true that Thomas More is in prison and his resources have been taken into the royal exchequer. It is said that he too has paid the ultimate penalty, but I am not yet certain of this.15 I wish he had never got involved in that dangerous business and had left the theological issue to the theologians. All my other friends who used to *****



8 The reference is clearly to Latomus’ survival of the attacks described in his letter; see n4 above. 9 An allusion to 1 Sam 3:18; cf Ep 2955 n4. 10 See Ep 3029:48–55. 11 Ie French nobles recalled to France by the Edict of Coucy (Ep 3043 n29) 12 Amos 3:8 13 Educated at Cambridge (bachelor of divinity 1513), Richard Reynolds joined the Brigittine monastery at Syon and became a celebrated theologian, highly praised for his piety and learning, which included mastery of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. One of his good friends was Thomas More. For his obstinate refusal to acknowledge the royal supremacy he was executed on 4 May 1535. 14 Cf Ep 3037 n29. 15 Certainty would arrive in the next few days; see Ep3049:176–81.

40

45

50

55

60

3048  To Bartholomaeus Latomus  1535

365

honour me from time to time with their letters and gifts are now afraid to write or send anything. Nor do they receive anything from anyone, as though a scorpion sleeps under every stone.16 The pope now seems to be seriously interested in a council. But I do not see how it will be assembled, given the bitter dissension among the princes and the regions. All of Lower Germany has been badly infected by the Anabaptists, and in Upper Germany they are ignored.17 They flood into here in great numbers, some on their way to Italy. The emperor is attacking La Goulette.18 In my opinion there is more danger from the Anabaptists. I do not believe that France is completely free of this filth. But they speak softly there for fear of the cudgel.19 You know that Münster the capital of Westphalia has been taken by storm.20 In Amsterdam there is dangerous unrest in the city.21 And you are aware, I believe, that your countryman Vianden has been carried off by the plague in Tournai, a wonderfully learned man, twice married, and the father of several children.22 My Ecclesiastes has come out;23 I only wish it appeared under better auspices. For the subject has never attracted me. That was an amusing joke of yours about girls who sometimes receive in fun what they are forced to give up in pain, and you express the wish that I make this sort of joke more often.24 But it also happens to girls that what they have received in fun they are sometimes compelled to abort or to die in giving birth. I feared this second alternative; it was the former that happened. I do not intend to make a similar joke in future. Here is some news about my situation that will make you laugh. On the advice of Ludwig Baer, an eminent theologian, I had written to Paul iii.25 Before the pope unsealed the letter, he spoke about me in the most flattering ***** 16 Adagia i iv 34 17 Cf Ep 3049:140–3. In the 1530s, and for some time thereafter, Anabaptists and other religious dissidents who were not perceived to be a threat to the peace and stability of the community were left unmolested by the magistrates. This was notably the case in Strasbourg. 18 See Epp 2997 n22, 3049 n32. 19 Anabaptism had no significant presence in France as it was then constituted (ie without Alsace). 20 On 25 June 1535 21 Amsterdam was the centre of revolutionary Anabaptism in the Netherlands; cf Ep 2998 n5. 22 He had died before 25 February 1535; see Ep 2998 n17. 23 See Ep 3036. 24 See Ep 3029:73–7, and cf Ep 3049:53–6. 25 Ep 2988

65

70

75

80

85

3048  To Bartholomaeus Latomus  1535

366

terms. He had decided to appoint a number of scholars to the cardinalate in preparation for a future council, and the name of Erasmus had come up. But certain difficulties stood in the way: my health, which was inadequate to perform the duties, and my modest income. It is said that there is a decree banning from that office those whose annual income is less than three thousand ducats. Now they have set about loading me down with provostships so that with the proper income I may be presented with the red hat.26 ‘A party-frock for the cat,’ as the saying goes!27 I have a friend in Rome who is the prime mover in this.28 I have warned him, but in vain, and written him more than one letter to say that I do not care for benefices and annuities, that I live one day at a time, every day expecting death and sometimes longing for it, so dreadful are the torments I suffer periodically.29 It is hardly safe for me to step out of the bedroom; even to take an ass’s glance out the window is not safe.30 My poor fragile and emaciated body cannot stand a puff of air unless it is burning hot. And in this condition they want to thrust me into a campaign for provostships and cardinals’ hats. It is most gratifying, however, that the supreme pontiff has made this mistake about me and feels so warmly towards me. I have been more long-winded than I intended. I would gladly pardon you for the length of your letter if you committed this sin frequently! Do let me know where the boy is living whom I commended to you.31 Please address a kindly word to him from time to time. He has a father who is a most cultivated man; he himself has a fine character. Farewell. Basel, 24 August 1535 3049 / To Piotr Tomicki

Basel, 31 August 1535

This letter, Erasmus’ answer to Ep 3014, was first published in the epistolary appendix to De puritate tabernaculi (Basel: Froben 1536) 63–72. Tomicki’s reply is Ep 3066.

*****



26 See Ep 3007 n3. 27 Adagia i ii 72 28 Ambrosius von Gumppenberg; see Ep 3047. 29 The letters are not extant. 30 Ie not even a sideways glance out the window to see what is happening; see Adagia i iii 64. 31 The boy is unidentified; cf Ep 3029 n17.

90

95

100

105

110

3049  To Piotr Tomicki  1535

367

desiderius erasmus of rotterdam to the most reverend piotr tomicki, bishop of cracow, vice-chancellor of the kingdom of poland, greeting Your letter is so learned and eloquent, my lord bishop, that it quite discourages me from replying. But at the same time it shows such generosity that I am not afraid to reply even in this extemporaneous manner; this is almost an invariable practice with me, and so, by writing much and quickly, I have taught myself to write badly. There is no need to thank me for the love and veneration that I have for your Lordship – I would be more of a barbarian than the whole tribe of Scythians if I did not love with all my heart a man endowed with such outstanding qualities and blessed with Fortune’s most splendid gifts and with a rare and singular modesty. You call friendship your favour towards me and my reverence for you, which either lowers you greatly or greatly raises me up. It is compliment enough for me to be numbered among your humble clients. You show the same modesty when you compare all your work with mine. It is a case of the ant and the camel, as the Greek proverb has it.1 Nor do you simply make a comparison: you also give the higher place to Erasmus in all those things that are of the greatest importance. I only wish that from my works something of value might emerge, especially of value for the encouragement of godliness! I am not concerned about the immortality of my name, though a good man should not be indifferent to his reputation. But the judgments of men are changeable. Then again, has there ever been an age as turbulent as this? How dissonant are the voices within the same choir! How out of step their movements! So in these days anyone who aspires to bring his work into the light of day simply cannot avoid exposing himself to the wounding tongues of a host of critics, so that, as Paul expresses it, ‘by honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report,’ one must press on to that which is right.2 Had I known what celebrity is, I would have done everything in my power to ensure that no one outside my household knew of Erasmus. Now it is too late for me to accept the advice of Epicurus: ‘live unnoticed.’3 But this is the wisdom of Epimetheus, to be wise too late,4 so all ***** 3049 1 Adagia i v 47, referring to things that are exceptionally unequal 2 2 Cor 6:8 3 Greek in the text; an Epicurean slogan not found in the extant remains of Epicurus’ work, but well attested; see Plutarch Moralia 1128A–30E. Cf Adagia II x 50. 4 Epimetheus means ‘Afterthought.’ In Hesiod Works and Days 85 he is the brother of Prometheus ‘Forethought’; see Adagia i i 31.

5

10

15

20

25

30

3049  To Piotr Tomicki  1535

368

that is left to me is to pray with all my heart that I may leave this world in the favour of Christ. These labours in which you think I willingly engage I have long been eager to abandon. But I am drawn back partly by necessity and partly by the unscrupulous demands of others. Necessity compels me to take my writings back to the anvil,5 for they are generally extemporary and have been rushed into print without proper care, and I am unable to restrain the printers from constantly producing my merest trifles, even those written to amuse a child. Sometimes for the sake of profit they issue under my name works written by others. There are two kinds of people who solicit my work. Some press me for personal reasons, like printers who are looking for new books to make a profit for themselves. Then there are those who have done me a kindness and demand a topic that they believe will prove advantageous to the common good; or if they have done nothing for me they are people of such authority that their requests constitute a command. To this class belong my little book dedicated to Christoph, bishop of Basel, On the Mercy of the Lord;6 my commentary on one of the Psalms dedicated to the bishop of Lincoln,7 and another to Thurzo, bishop of Olomouc;8 and two further books, one on the Creed for the earl of Wiltshire,9 and another on a Christian death.10 But I get greater pressure from those who argue as though a promise were a legal document, signed and sealed. Among works belonging to this category is the Ecclesiastes, which we are now publishing in earnest though it was not seriously promised. We are experiencing what happens to some young girls, who receive in fun what they are compelled to deliver in pain.12 I do not know who will find this work congenial; certainly I have found no subject less congenial.13 *****

5 Adagia i v 92 6 De immensa Dei misericordia (Ep 1474) 7 John Longland, to whom he dedicated the commentary on Ps 4 (Ep 1535) 8 Stanislaus Thurzo, to whom the commentary on Ps 38 (Vulgate) is dedicated (Ep 2608) 9 Explanatio symboli (Ep 2772), dedicated to Thomas Boleyn 10 De praeparatione ad mortem (Ep 2884), also dedicated to Boleyn 11 Ep 3036 12 Cf Ep 3048:79–86. 13 This sentence defies literal translation. It contains a pun on the word genius, which means (among other things) both one’s tutelary deity or guardian angel and the innate ability of a person, his genius, wit, talent, temperament. Erasmus says, ‘I do not know who will be the genius (guardian angel, patron) of this work; my genius (talent, temperament) could imagine nothing less appealing.’

35

40

45

50

55

3049  To Piotr Tomicki  1535

369

I  preferred, however, to toss the dice14 rather than appear to have made a promise in bad faith. But what are my efforts compared with your enormous labours? For with your learning, counsel, honesty, grace, wisdom, and authority you do an outstanding service to king, country, and the Polish church and gain great praise from every corner. So although we are of a similar age, there is a vast difference between an old age crowned by every kind of honour and a withered old age exposed to all the darts of envy, not to say a horse’s old age or a donkey’s.15 If the new year has restored your Excellency to your former vigour, that is reason for us to give thanks to Christ. It treated me so roughly up to the fifteenth of May that, worn out by almost constant pain, I sought a change of climate (for in cases of serious illness doctors generally fall back on this sheet anchor16 in the hope of mitigating the disease or at least obtaining relief from pain in death). I was taken in a ladies’ carriage17 to Basel, a city not without distinction or beauty, whose hospitality I had enjoyed for several years. There, in expectation of my return, a room had been prepared to my taste and set up in a manner that they knew would be convenient for me.18 At that time the Ecclesiastes had to be printed, which, since it was unfinished and full of gaps, could not have been completed if I had not been present.19 This city, which I had left almost seven years ago when it was in a state of increasing turmoil,20 I found very peaceful and showing every indication of a settled and sober way of life. I am well aware that there are differences of opinion and that many men are by temperament too ready to rush into suspecting the worst. I think, however, that with my age, my experience, and my learning (such as it is) I have reached the point where it is safe for me to live anywhere. I did not crawl out of the nest with the intention of settling permanently in Basel unless forced to leave by an overwhelming necessity. At this point it was my plan, if my bold move proved unsuccessful, to return to Freiburg to

*****



14 Ie risk everything (Adagia i iv 32) 15 Ie a degraded and useless old age; see Adagia ii i 32, and cf Adagia ii viii 13. 16 Ie last resort (Adagia i i 24) 17 For ‘carriage’ Erasmus uses the rare word arcera, meaning a covered carriage prepared for the sick or elderly and containing a bed. Cf Ep 3028:18 with n9. 18 The room was in the home of Hieronymus Froben. 19 Cf Ep 3030:24–5. 20 For Erasmus’ move from Basel to Freiburg in 1529 see cwe 15 xi–xiii.

60

65

70

75

80

85

3049  To Piotr Tomicki  1535

370

the quite splendid house I had purchased there,21 which I had painstakingly arranged to suit my requirements and fitted out with comfortable furniture. But if a change of climate proved helpful, I was thinking of a move from here to either Brabant or Burgundy.22 Besides many other reasons for going to Brabant there is the attraction of the imperial court, and the resumption of my salary if I should return.23 Some time ago when I had decided on moving to Besançon, the emperor Charles wrote letters to the council and clergy there, commending me warmly to them.24 Moreover, whenever I am deprived of the wine of Burgundy, I soon become dangerously ill.25 This can be imported here, but only at a high price, which might be overlooked if it did not reach us with much of it drained by thieving carters or spoiled by mixing. At Freiburg there is a ‘university’ (as they call it)26 that is in the first rank and distinguished in every branch of learning. Moreover it is a pleasure to live in a realm governed by King Ferdinand, whose special favour I have experienced on many occasions. But I have always thought the weather there inimical to my health;27 even the house itself, elegant though it is, has raised some doubts. Here I feel considerably less unwell, for I have lost all hope of being really well, in this life at least. Ever since childhood I have suffered from a weak constitution, composed, as the doctors say, of a very loose ***** 21 ‘Success,’ it seems, would have been a dramatic improvement in Erasmus’ health thanks to the move away from Freiburg, the climate of which he had always found unfavourable to his health (cf lines 102–3 below). 22 The change of climate produced some improvement, but evidently not enough for Erasmus to revive his earlier effort to move to Brabant or Besançon (lines 92–4 below). See Ep 3062 n2. 23 Ie the resumption of the payment of his imperial pension, which both Margaret of Austria and Mary of Hungary, regents of the Netherlands, had made conditional on Erasmus’ return 24 The letter to the city council is Ep 2553; that to the clergy is not extant but is mentioned in Ep 2733:7–10. 25 See Ep 2870 n1. 26 This seems to indicate that the use of universitas (short for universitas magistro­ rum et scholarium ‘the community of masters and scholars’) to mean ‘university’ in the modern sense was something of a novelty. Erasmus customarily used the word academia. 27 Cf Ep 3054:2–3, where Erasmus mentions the weather as a possible cause of his bad health. Like many in his day, Erasmus was inclined to attribute changes in his health to the weather; see ‘Erasmus’ Illnesses in His Final Years (1533–6)’ cwe 20 335–8.

90

95

100

105

3049  To Piotr Tomicki  1535

371

texture and so more subject to harm from the weather. But the natural vigour of manhood partly disregarded and partly overcame these disadvantages. Now that years of drudgery and, much worse than that, a long series of deadly and painful attacks of the stone, followed by excruciating pains in my joints have undermined my constitution and left me nothing but skin and bone, it is natural that, with my poor body becoming more and more emaciated every day, I am more easily affected by unfavourable weather. So, you see, I am becoming ‘heavenly,’ feeling better or worse with every change of the heavens.28 But troubles that cannot last long are easier to bear. I was greatly tickled by your learned and apt reference to Roscius the actor, who changed the rhythm of his flute with advancing years.29 How I wish that, to some extent at least, I might be in the church what Roscius was in the theatre! What reason persuaded him to do, however, necessity has taught me. Here is the difference between you and me. Your friends discourage you from undertaking excessive burdens so that for as long a time as possible you may be useful to the state, which you serve so well. My friends, however, are constantly pushing me into new exertions despite my protests and refusals. In any case your advice, or rather your words of comfort, have been most gratifying to me, and as a result I shall take more thought for my health from now on, and whatever afflictions lie ahead, I shall bear in a more contented spirit. What you tell me about Hieronym Łaski is gratifying, for up to this point the breath of rumour brought all kinds of reports that he had been beheaded along with General Gritti.30 Much is written about the emperor’s victories and many rumours circulate, which, to use a Homeric term, are not all ἀνεμώλια [windy, groundless].31 The people in many parts of the imperial realm are showing their public jubilation by lighting bonfires. This happened also at Rome. The pope, however, refused to act unless informed by a letter written by Charles to him personally. There is a persistent rumour that La Goulette on the ruins of ancient Carthage has been taken, and I believe the

*****

28 Ie with every change of the weather. Erasmus is playing with the several meanings of caelum (‘the sky,’ ‘heaven,’ ‘the heavens,’ ‘the weather’) and caelestis ­(‘celestial,’ ‘heavenly,’ ‘divine’). 29 See Ep 3014:32–4 with n4. 30 Alvise Gritti was lieutenant-general of the kingdom of Hungary. For his death see Ep 2971 n11. 31 Homer uses the word fairly often in the metaphorical sense indicated here. See, for example, Odyssey 11.464, where it is used with reference to idle gossip.

110

115

120

125

130

135

3049  To Piotr Tomicki  1535

372

story is true.32 The rest is doubtful.33 Here I have no good news to convey. There are outbursts of the plague in many German cities.34 The town of Münster in Westphalia, which the Anabaptists had occupied, was taken by force and all the males over twelve years of age were put to death.35 This pestilence has been severely checked, however, rather than eradicated. The 140 Anabaptists from Holland are swarming into these parts, and they make no secret of their beliefs. They are tolerated and ignored if they cause no disturbance.36 How far this will go, the Lord only knows. The hearts of kings are in the hand of God,37 and I pray that what our Charles is doing may with Christ’s help turn out well. In the opinion of many, however, he would have 145 done better if, rather than attacking La Goulette, he had defended Lower Germany from these corrupting influences. The problem is no longer confined to battles of words.38 But the double-dippers advance with sword and slaughter.39 They take hold of cities by treachery, deception, and violence, force the unwilling into their sect by murder and brutality, create new kings 150 and queens, and establish new laws to satisfy their passions.40 The right reverend Johannes Fabri, bishop of Vienna, councillor to king Ferdinand, wrote me a month ago to say that an ambassador from the Turks ***** 32 See Ep 2997 n22. La Goulette was taken on 14 July; Tunis fell on 21 July. On 2  August the news of the taking of Tunis reached Rome, and on the following day this was confirmed in a letter from the emperor, whereupon the pope ordered fireworks and displays of thanksgiving throughout the States of the Church; see Pastor 11 227–8, 230–1. 33 Cf Ep 3043 n27. 34 1535 was a plague year in Germany. To escape it the University of Wittenberg, for example, had to relocate to Jena for several months (late July–early December); see mbw Epp 1591–1683. References to the plague in Strasbourg and Zürich are found in the correspondence of Heinrich Bullinger for July– September 1535; see Heinrich Bullinger Werke Abteilung 2 Briefwechsel (Zürich 1974–5) Epp 613:26, 630:6–8, 637:23–6, 642:16–18, 645:18–19. The list of places affected could easily be extended. 35 Münster fell to the besiegers on 25 June 1535. 36 See Ep 3048:69–70 with n17. 37 Cf Prov 21:1. 38 For ‘battles of words’ Erasmus uses the Greek word λογομαχία, taken from 1 Tim 6:4. 39 ‘Double-dippers’ translates the Greek word δίβαφοι, meaning wool that was dipped twice in dye to produce a richer colour. Here is it used pejoratively for Anabaptists, ie ‘rebaptizers.’ 40 This is Erasmus’ brief summary of the events at Münster in 1533–5; see Epp 3031, 3031a.

3049  To Piotr Tomicki  1535

373

had arrived to meet Ferdinand, and that a second had arrived a little later from the voivode; and though it was not yet certain, he suspected they were discussing peace.41 This is something that the king greatly favours, and wisely so, given the present state of Germany and Hungary. Our age has nothing more saintly or humane than this prince. I hope that some day the Lord will grant him success commensurate with his virtues so that he may accomplish for the benefit of mankind all that he desires. He is said to have received with great honour the landgrave of Hessen, who restored the duke of Württemberg to his duchy.42 Around the thirteenth of August two sisters, Mary, former queen of Hungary, and the queen of France were making preparations for a meeting in Cambrai.43 We shall see what this petty senate will produce. I hope its decrees will be more beneficial than those made by that earlier one at Rome presided over by the mother of Heliogabalus.44 Last winter in Paris savage punishments were meted out to certain people who had stirred up a great agitation, threatening the king if he would not stop persecuting the word of God (for that is how these people speak), and putting up placards everywhere even on the royal apartments. Almost twenty-four have been put to death by various means of execution. Many fled out of fear, among whom not a few were of noble families. The king has now become more lenient and has recalled several of them, restoring their property and, so the story goes, allowing them freedom of belief providing they do not attack the constitution of the state. It is said that the king of England and Paul iii are responsible for this moderating tendency.45 You will discover from a fragment of a letter that I am sending you what has happened in England to

*****

41 See Ep 3017:11–19. 42 For the reconquest, in May 1534, of the duchy of Württemberg, which since 1522 had been under the rule of Ferdinand of Austria, and the restoration of the hereditary ruler, Duke Ulrich, by an army raised by Philip of Hessen, see Ep 2940 n5. Following the conclusion of the treaty confirming Ulrich in the possession of his duchy (June 1534), Landgrave Philip visited King Ferdinand at Vienna and offered his support in the war against the Turks. 43 See Ep 3037 n23. 44 It is recorded that Julia Soaemias, mother of Emperor Heliogabalus (reigned 218–22) convened on the Quirinal a senatulus ‘a little senate’ in which its members, all women, discussed various matters concerning female dress and deportment (Historia Augusta, Life of Heliogabalus 4). 45 For these developments, see Ep 3043 n29. As observed there, Francis’ motive was desire for a political agreement with the German Lutherans.

155

160

165

170

175

3049  To Piotr Tomicki  1535

374

the bishop of Rochester and to Thomas More,46 two men whose like for piety and goodness England has never seen before. I feel that, with the death of More, I too have died, to such extent were we what Pythagoras calls one soul in two bodies.47 But such are the tides in human affairs. But all these serious matters are too depressing. Let me tell you now something that will make you laugh. Paul i i i decided, in anticipation of a future council, to appoint several cardinals, men of exceptional learning, among whom the name of Erasmus was also put forward, like blue pimpernel among vegetables.48 But there were certain obstacles, among which stood out the slimness of my income. Besides, there was my advanced age and my health, which is ill suited to undertaking the business of the church. So now they are scouting around to see how they could load me down with provostships despite my protests and absolute refusals and my determination to go on refusing. Is a poor creature like me, living one day at a time, to take up a quarrel with idle, violent, and wealthy opponents so that I may die a rich man? I am sending you the breve from the pope,49 whose intentions I gladly embrace. But this ox will not submit to that saddle.50 The cardinal’s hat was presented to the bishop of Rochester in prison, but he had already decided to die. I wish every success to your king, who in his wisdom is a great lover of peace; he deserves to have better neighbours.51 The gift that you were kind ***** 46 The fragment was apparently the passage in Conradus Goclenius’ letter of 10 August describing the deaths of Thomas More and John Fisher (Ep 3037:97– 121). The source of Goclenius’ information was Thomas Theobald (Ep 3037 n32). Erasmus sent the same fragment to Johannes Cochlaeus, who published it at the end of his Antiqua et insignis Epistola Nicolai Pape i (Leipzig; Melchior Lotter 1536) under the title Passio Episcopi Roffensis et Tome Mori per C.G. de­ scripta. See Allen’s introduction to Ep 3037. 47 The concept of one soul in two bodies, a commonplace in Greek and Latin literature, goes back at least to Pythagoras; see Cicero De amicitia 92, and cf De officiis 1.56. 48 See Adagia i vii 21: Etiam corchorus inter olera ‘Blue pimpernel too is a vegetable,’ said of ‘worthless men who are anxious to be thought of as of some importance. For blue pimpernel is a kind of greenstuff very little thought of.’ 49 Ep 3033 50 See Adagia i vi 71. 51 During his reign King Sigismund i was much preoccupied with armed threats from the Tatars, the Moldavians, the Muscovites, and the Turks, and the conflict between the Hapsburgs and the Turks in Hungary was the cause of much anxiety.

180

185

190

195

3050  From Johann Koler  1535

375

enough to send, and which was neither sought nor expected, was delivered in good faith.52 Your letter, so erudite and so friendly, even if it had arrived 200 without a gift, would have counted as a magnificent gift. Nor has any letter of yours ever reached me that did not bring the greatest comfort to my mind. Students of magic tell us that it is characteristic of evil spirits to bring fear and depression, while good spirits bring joy and sparkle. It is no surprise, then, if your writings bring happiness and dispel all sorrow, since they come 205 from a great and truly Christian spirit. I would gladly have sent you a copy of the Ecclesiastes,53 if anyone had been willing to accept such a heavy burden. I shall depend on businessmen to take it to you. Since I could not compete with your letter in elegance, I have compensated for what I lack in eloquence by my verbosity. May the Lord long keep you safe, most reverend bishop. 210 Basel, 31 August 1535 3050 / From Johann Koler

Augsburg, 31 August 1535

This letter, which evidently answers one or more no longer extant, was first published as Ep 227 in Förstemann / Günther. The autograph was in the Burscher Collection of the University Library at Leipzig (Ep 1254 introduction). For Koler see Ep 2947 introduction. This is the last surviving letter in his correspondence with Erasmus.

Cordial greetings. I knew that you would not be greatly pleased by Ambrosius von Gumppenberg’s campaign,1 and I indicated this to him some time ago in no uncertain terms. But he had convinced himself that he possessed a far deeper understanding of your heart and mind. I gave in to him, uncertain whether you had changed your plans. Rupilius informed me in his last letter 5 that the pope had conferred on you the provostship of Deventer – not without some advice from your supporters – on the ground that this would probably suit you best, and he added that he had written to congratulate you.2 If you really have received something that suits you, I am very pleased. But ***** 52 The gift has not been identified. 53 For the Ecclesiastes see Ep 3036. This is the first indication that the work was in print before 31 August.

3050 1 For Erasmus’ impatience with Gumppenberg see Ep 3007:1–6 with n3, 32–3 with n9. 2 The letter is not extant.

3050  From Johann Koler  1535

376

if it has turned out otherwise, you have my sympathy. I know that you do not chase after these insubstantial honours, even less do you desire them. But Gumppenberg is a man of strong enthusiasms and restless temperament, who is known to me inside and out,3 better perhaps than to anyone else. For a long time now I have scented what lies behind his enthusiasm for you, and I did not conceal my opinion from you on another occasion.4 He is not concerned as much about you as he is about serving his own ends. If you reflect on this carefully, you will soon realize that I am not led astray by a false opinion. I sent the right reverend bishop Christoph advance notice that you have dedicated your Ecclesiastes to him.5 I know that this will please him greatly. I would have preferred to tell him in person, but I am held a prisoner at home. I have had shackles, collars, fetters, gyves fastened upon me, the worst of torturers, causing me excruciating pain for almost a fortnight. But I hope I shall soon shake them off and get free. I had a bad attack of gout while my courier was with you.6 The day before yesterday I ventured to step out again; before that I was carried in a sedan chair like the pope.7 I am delighted with your Response, which you dedicated to me.8 I am much obliged to Gilbert for suggesting to you that you should do this.9 I shall endeavour to discharge my obligation to him, which will cause me no difficulty if I can find a reliable courier going in your direction. As for you, I do not see how I can make a satisfactory return for the great love and affection you have shown for me. Your generosity far outstrips my means, so that I am an insolvent debtor. The best I can do is what hopeless debtors generally do, take flight or declare bankruptcy. But, rather than do this, I shall put myself entirely at your service, so that whereas I was gradually becoming your property by prescriptive right, I shall now be formally and legally transferred *****



3 Literally ‘inwardly and in the buff’ (Adagia i ix 89) 4 See Ep 2993:92–7. 5 Ep 3036 6 We take this to mean that the attack occurred while the courier who had delivered a letter from Koler to Erasmus at Basel was waiting for the latter’s reply. 7 Writing on 12 February 1536 (Ep 3095:37–8) Erasmus tells Gilbert Cousin in Nozeroy that he has received a letter from Koler in which he complains of an attack of gout. It seems unlikely that the present letter, written at Augsburg at the end of August, would not have reached Basel before the middle of October, when Cousin left Basel to return to Nozeroy. More likely there was a later letter that has not survived. Cf Ep 3095 n12. 8 The Responsio ad Petri Cursii defensionem, which took the form of a letter to Koler (Ep 3032) 9 Gilbert Cousin, Erasmus’ secretary; cf Ep 3032 introduction.

10

15

20

25

30

35

3050  From Johann Koler  1535

377

absolutely to your control,10 so that you can decide what you wish to do with me, even to deciding matters of life and death. For if I hand over all I possess (which is the last thing you need), I shall still feel that I have not given satisfaction. In any case everything I own is, and must be, at your disposal. Paumgartner has left because of a suspicion of the plague,11 and I have sent on your letter and your Precationes for daily prayer.12 I do not know if this courier will bring you a letter from him. But I have indeed indicated to Paumgartner that the courier will be travelling on to Freiburg, and that for this reason I am holding him back for a day in case he should wish to write to you.13 It is said that, after conquering Africa and gaining a signal victory over the Barbarians,14 the emperor has returned to Sicily,15 though he left his fleet and army in Africa, which he supplemented with additional troops from Germany. He has also arranged, it is said, for the provision of supplies. What his purpose is in keeping such large forces is still uncertain here. Some think they are intended for Thrace, others for Egypt, some for Syria. The outcome will soon reveal what the emperor has had in mind all along. Your letter to Gumppenberg and to the Portuguese ambassador I sent off immediately to Rome.16 They will reach there quickly. The day before yesterday there was a report of the death of Lukas Rem,17 who had also left because of the plague, but I discovered that the report was false. I made arrangements for your letter to be taken to Padua.18 Finally, I pray you may always be safe and well, dear Erasmus, my most revered master. Farewell. ***** 10 Koler uses the language of the law of property. The distinction is between property held via prescriptive right, that is, a right sanctioned by long usage or custom (usus) and property acquired via a formal process of conveyance (manicipium). 11 For 1535 as a plague year see Ep 3049 n34. Johann (ii) Paumgartner (Ep 2603 introduction) frequently abandoned the city for one of his rural estates. 12 For the Precationes aliquot novae, dedicated to Paumgartner’s son David, see Ep 2994. 13 Neither Erasmus’ letter to Paumgartner (lines 41–2 above) nor Paumgartner’s reply (if any) is extant. 14 The Latin is victoria contra Barbaros, which we take to be wordplay on the name of the pirate Barbarossa (Khair ad-Din), whose forces Emperor Charles defeated in the summer of 1535; see Ep 2997 n22. 15 For the emperor’s itinerary following his victory at Tunis, see Ep 3007 n18. 16 For the Portuguese ambassador, see Ep 3047 n12. Neither letter is extant. 17 Ep 2987 n1 18 The letter (to whom is unknown) is not extant.

40

45

50

55

60

3050  From Johann Koler  1535

378

In haste from Augsburg, on the last day of August 1535 You will recognize the hand of your very own Koler. Deliver this to Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, theologian. In Basel 3050a / To Bonifacius Amerbach

[Basel, after August 1535]

This letter (= ak Ep 1975) was first published as Ep 51 in the Epistolae familiares. The autograph is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (an iii 15 94). The only indication of date is the reference in line 4 to Lambert Coomans, who was in Erasmus’ service at Basel from the end of August 1535 (Ep 3052 n13). Allen published the letter as Ep 3097, next to Ep 3098, which was written on paper bearing the same watermark, and assigned the conjectural date ‘c February 1536.’ By contrast, the ak editor, Alfred Hartmann, took the more cautious approach of assigning the date ‘after August 1535.’

Greetings, best of porridge-makers!1 It would be extremely rude of me not to feel deeply gratified by your concern for me. But it would be rude of me to allow you to go on wasting your time and money on this kind of assistance. I do not like any kind of porridge. Farewell. I am replying on behalf of Lambert, for he did not have time to reply. 5 Your Erasmus of Rotterdam 3051 / From Bonifacius Amerbach

Freiburg, 1 September 1535

This letter (= ak Ep 1976) was first published as Ep 134 in Enthoven. The autograph is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 8). It was clearly written during Bonifacius’ visit to Freiburg to arrange the shipment of Erasmus’ library to him at Basel. The decision to do this may have been prompted by the fire referred to in Ep 3045. Most of Erasmus’ furniture appears to have been sold in Freiburg (Ep 3059:2–3).

Cordial greeting, Master Erasmus, my distinguished friend. Because I was very much afraid that the carriage hired by Hieronymus to bring your effects *****

3050a 1 The word for ‘porridge-maker’ is pultifex, an invention of Erasmus (from puls, pultis ‘porridge’). It appears that Bonifacius had taken to carrying or sending porridge from his own kitchen to Erasmus in his quarters in the house of Hieronymus Froben.

3052  To Conradus Goclenius  1535

379

to Basel might not be able to hold and convey them,1 I happened to meet Trübelmann a short time ago and entrusted him with a container and case full of books which, I think, had been well packed, and also a small container 5 in which there were some cones of sugar.2 Farewell. 1 September at Freiburg in the year 1535 We made an agreement with Trübelmann that seventeen batzens be paid for his services.3 This did not seem too much, but you may think differently. Yours affectionately, Bonifacius Amerbach 10 To Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, ornament of the true theology and of all fine learning, my excellent patron 3052 / To Conradus Goclenius

Basel, 2 September 1535

This letter, Erasmus’ answer to Ep 3037, was first published in the Vita Erasmi 132. Goclenius’ reply is Ep 3061.

erasmus of rotterdam to conradus goclenius, master of both languages Your pupil, the Austrian Balthasar,1 says that he proposes to send his servant to Louvain. I have entrusted him with a letter to you and an unsealed one to Joost Sasbout, so that, if you agree, you may have it sent on to him.2 Don’t be 5

*****





3051 1 Hieronymus is Hieronymus Froben, in whose house at Basel Erasmus was now living. 2 For Georg Trübelmann, frequently mentioned as a messenger between Basel and Freiburg, see Ep 2554 n1. 3 Equivalent to 67d groot Flemish, slightly more than one Rhenish florin and equivalent to a week’s wage of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13) 3052 1 In 1529, Balthasar von Künring (d 1547), member of a noble family of Upper Austria, entered the Collegium Trilingue at Louvain, where Conradus Goclenius supervised his studies. He left Louvain in March 1532 and spent a year or more in Paris. In 1535 he was registered at the University of Bologna. Returning from Italy, he visited Erasmus at Basel. See also Ep 3061 n2. 2 The letter to Sasbout (for whom see Ep 2645 introduction) is not extant. Erasmus absent-mindedly repeats the instructions about the letter to him in lines 19–20 below.

3052  To Conradus Goclenius  1535

380

deceived: Kan is no more trustworthy than the demented Hagius.3 Whatever poison he drew from Alaard4 he poured into Hagius’ bosom, a snake’s gift to a viper. He did the same to that rascal Polyphemus.5 I wonder where he had come from and where he was heading on the occasion when he visited you. Quirinus Talesius too was infected by his conversations with Hagius and in 10 turn poured his poison into the other man’s bosom.6 For Hagius never kept silent, nor was he able to. I suspect that he also turned Karel Uutenhove against me at Ghent, for he never writes, though he used to contact me frequently by letter.7 Dilft does not write, nor do I believe him quite frank with me,8 nor Morillon either; he has not written a word since he went back to Spain.9 15 I feel somewhat better here. So perhaps I shall hibernate here, then next spring, God willing, go to neighbouring Burgundy.10 What Theobald *****







3 Erasmus’ affection for his former famulus Nicolaas Kan (Ep 1832 introduction) went sour when he learned that Kan had visited the hated Gerard Geldenhou­ wer at Strasbourg (Ep 2356:1–33), and despite Kan’s apology, the former good feeling was never restored (Ep 2484:7–9). For Quirinus Hagius, who had studied at Louvain at the same time as Kan and succeeded him in Erasmus’ service, only quickly to be dismissed as a ‘viper’ and a ‘monster,’ see Ep 2940 n6. For Goclenius’ response to Erasmus’ comments on both of them see Ep 3061:43–9. 4 Alaard of Amsterdam (Ep 433 introduction), who lived at Louvain, incurred Erasmus’ anger with the unauthorized publication of the Paraphrasis in Elegan­ tias Vallae (Epp 2259a introduction, 2260:70–134, 2412:1–8). 5 Felix Rex, known as Polyphemus (Ep 2130 introduction), whose period of service to Erasmus overlapped with that of Kan (see n3 above) 6 Quirinus Talesius (Ep 1966 introduction) was Erasmus’ much praised famulus from perhaps as early as 1524 until 1531, when his father recalled him to the Netherlands and he became pensionary of his hometown of Haarlem. Erasmus gave no sign of regretting his departure. Indeed, he soon accused him of behaving ‘like a scoundrel’ on more than one occasion with respect to errands connected with the Courtrai pension (Ep 2530:30–4). Despite a friendly letter congratulating Talesius on his marriage and his plans for legal study in France (Ep 2735), Erasmus’ suspicions persisted, as this letter testifies. 7 None of the letters to Erasmus from Karel Uutenhove of Ghent (Ep 2001 n7) has survived, but we know that the two men exchanged letters as recently as the winter / spring of 1533; see Ep 2799:2–3 with n1. Erasmus wrote again in May 1535; see Ep 3019:10. 8 The last surviving letter from Frans van der Dilft is Ep 2904 of 11 February 1534. As Goclenius points out in his reply to this letter, Dilft’s silence was owing to ‘long illness, domestic cares, and … legal disputes’ (Ep 3061:50–3). 9 The last extant letter from Guy Morillon, one of Charles v’s secretaries, is Ep 2083 of 6 January 1529. Erasmus’ last letter to him is Ep 2965 of 30 August 1534. 10 Ie to Besançon (see Ep 3062 n2)

3052  To Conradus Goclenius  1535

381

told you about Bedyll’s having sent me the pension, consider it whistling in the wind.11 I am sending an unsealed letter to Sasbout so that you may forward it to him, if it seems appropriate.12 Farewell. 20 13 The man Lambert, whom you sent me, suits me well. I had already obtained someone else, a man from Antwerp.14 I shall have three here until Gilbert leaves – he has now been made a canon.15 I have reached an agreement with neither of my new servants. If I need the one you recommend,16 I shall let you know. I am grateful for your assistance. I have a false friend in 25 Freiburg,17 who has made it impossible for me to acquire an honest servant, male or female. I shall give you his name another time, so you can be on your guard. In a week perhaps I shall send you a messenger of my own.

***** 11 See Ep 3037:123–5. 12 Cf lines 4–5 with n2 above. 13 Erasmus’ new famulus, Lambert Coomans, chosen and sent to Erasmus by Goclenius; see Ep 3037:2–3, 12–29, where he is described without being named. A native of Turnhout in Brabant, Coomans (d 1583) was at Louvain in 1532, apparently as amanuensis to Andreas Balenus (Ep 3037 n4), who recommended him to Cardinal Willem van Enckenvoirt (Ep 3037 n5), who took him to Rome. On Enckenvoirt’s death in 1534 Coomans returned to Louvain, and in August of the following year had entered Erasmus’ service as his last famulus. After the departure of Gilbert Cousin from Erasmus’ service (see n15 below), Coomans assumed the functions of nurse and secretary (Epp 3104:14–16, 3115:50–2, 3122:16–17). Greatly pleased with him, Erasmus bequeathed to him the sum of two hundred gold florins; see ‘Erasmus’ Last Will’ 594:20–1 below. Following Erasmus’ death, Coomans undertook a journey to the Netherlands on behalf of the executors of Erasmus’ will (ak Epp 2052:13–15, 2056:25–6 with n4). That errand completed, his duties at Basel ended, and he returned to Louvain, where he lived in Balenus’ house and apparently studied at the Collegium Trilingue. At some point after 1537 he returned to his native Turnhout, where he became canon of the chapter of St Peter’s and in 1559 was elected dean. There is no independent confirmation of his claim that Erasmus died in his arms, commending himself to the Blessed Virgin. 14 Unidentified, but see Ep 3115 n1. 15 Gilbert Cousin (Ep 2985 introduction) left Erasmus’ service in October 1535 (Ep 3062) and by spring had settled in his native Nozeroy (Ep 3068, 3080), where he had obtained a canonry. 16 Ie the young Hollander with the excellent command of Greek and Latin mentioned in Ep 3037:31–2 17 Possibly, as Allen suggests, Henricus Glareanus (see Epp 3054:14–17, 3055); if so, it would be but one more name added to the already long list of friends unjustly charged with betrayal; see nn3–8 above.

3052  To Conradus Goclenius  1535

382

Aleandro has once more issued a hysterical volume, under the name of Dolet,18 in which he takes revenge on More, whom he knew to be in prison, 30 and on Villanovanus, who died a beggar.19 And someone as self-assured as More he represents as speaking timidly. The Fury at Rome so inflamed Corsi that he wrote an attack on me.20 Something is being printed in Milan.21 The Roman party is trying to burden me with an income, whether I want it or not, so that I can become a cardinal, for that has been seriously 35 mooted. The pope is very favourably disposed to me, and six cardinals along with the Portuguese ambassador are working hard on my behalf. But I have written that I shall accept neither benefices nor annuities.22 I am sending you the breve from the pope.23 Farewell. 2 September 1535 40 Give my greetings to Rescius and to the professor of Hebrew.24 Your student Balthasar von Künring visited me here.25 He seemed a very agreeable young man, a fine Latinist, and very fond of you. 3053 / From Cornelius Grapheus

Antwerp, 2 September 1535

This letter was first published as Ep 135 in Enthoven. The autograph, address sheet missing, is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 78).

***** 18 The Dialogus de imitatione Ciceroniana of Etienne Dolet, which, like Julius Caesar Scaliger’s Oratio pro Cicerone contra Erasmum, Erasmus blamed on Girolamo Aleandro; see Ep 3005 n5. 19 The interlocutors in Dolet’s Dialogus are Thomas More and Simon Villanovanus. After studying civil law at Pavia, Villanovanus (1495–1530) arrived at Padua in 1521, where he was befriended by the eminent Ciceronian Christophe de Longueil (Ep 1948 introduction), whom he succeeded as unofficial professor of rhetoric in 1522, and became a celebrated Ciceronian in his own right. He was Dolet’s teacher in the years 1527–30. 20 Pietro Corsi’s Defensio pro Italia ad Erasmum Roterodamum, which Erasmus believed had been written at the behest of Aleandro; see Epp 3032:381–2 with n77, 3127:45–7, 50–1. 21 Probably the Bellum civile inter Ciceronianos et Erasmicos (Ep 3064 n1) 22 See Ep 3007 n3. 23 Ep 3033 24 For Rutgerus Rescius, professor of Greek at the Collegium Trilingue, see Ep 1882 introduction. The professor of Hebrew is Andreas Balenus (Ep 3037 n4; cf n13 above). 25 See n1 above.

3053  From Cornelius Grapheus  1535

383

Cordial greetings. I am sending you, excellent Erasmus, the book by Nikolaus of Herborn. No harm has come to Hillen on account of it, although he feared it might.1 It is said that the work has been reprinted in Paris and is being widely promoted by the monks. Herborn is dead: his death, they say, took place in Savoy.2 Johannes Clauthus was commended to me most warmly by Master Jan Huysman,3 formerly pastor of the greater church in Antwerp,4 now principal priest of the church at Edingen,5 a man whose many excellent qualities are admired by all. I am sending you his letter, written in his own hand.6 He wrote a second letter on the same subject, but much longer, which I do not have at hand (I put it somewhere, but I don’t know where), in which he paints Clauthus’ character in such attractive colours that there is no one who would not fervently demand such a servant for himself. No blame should be laid on Lieven, whom you suspect.7 Recently, when I was at the court, he spoke about Erasmus in nothing but the most complimentary language. Nor is there any reason to reproach me, since I naturally relied on the authority of the person who was so warm in his commendation. He recommended Clauthus to me not just by letter, but also face to face and at considerable length. Nor should we fault this person for commending him, for it could be the case that he was completely unaware that Clauthus, as you put it, favoured all the sects.8 I showed your letter, in which you make it clear that you did not want anyone who was connected with any sect, both to him and to Clauthus. Clauthus represented himself to me as the sort of person you wanted, and perhaps he made the same assertion to his advocate. ***** 3053 1 Nikolaus Ferber of Herborn’s Enarrationes evangeliorum per sacrum quadragesi­ mae tempus occurrentium, attacking Erasmus as a forerunner of the Reformation, was published at Antwerp by Michaël Hillen in 1533. Erasmus made repeated attempts to have the work banned by the authorities. See Ep 2896 n8. 2 He died on 4 April 1535 at Toulouse. 3 For Johannes Clauthus, whom Grapheus had recommended to Erasmus as a suitable famulus, see Ep 2955 n8. As for Jan Huysman, all that is known of him is found in this letter. 4 The collegiate church of Notre Dame 5 Grapheus calls him Angiensis prefectus ecclesiae. (Edingen, the name given the town in cebr, is the Dutch form of Enghien, a Walloon town in Hainault, on the border with Walloon Brabant and Flemish Brabant, ie on the boundary between French and Dutch speakers in what is present-day Belgium.) 6 The letter is not extant. 7 See Ep 3028 n4. 8 See Ep 2997:62–3.

5

10

15

20

3053  From Cornelius Grapheus  1535

384

Dear Erasmus, as far as my part in this is concerned, I would like you 25 to be assured that I am, and always will be, the same person you have always known me to be. If I have been rather slow in replying to your letter, Herborn’s book is the reason, for it was only with difficulty that I was able eventually to obtain it through a friend. The work is not on sale here, nor can it be sold here, since it has been banned by the queen.9 30 Farewell Erasmus, the most cherished by far of all my friends, and please believe me that this is said from the heart. Antwerp, 2 September 1535 C. Grapheus 3054 / To Henricus Glareanus

[Basel], 6 September 1535

These three fragments were first published by Heinrich Schreiber Heinrich Loriti Glareanus; seine Freunde und seine Zeit (Freiburg 1837) 78 n191, 79 n192, 80 n195. Schreiber, who specified the date 6 September 1535, says of each extract that it comes from an unedited letter, but he gives no more precise indication of his source. On pages 77–8 n190, on the other hand, Schreiber printed the text of Ep 3045, indicating as his source a transcript of the original in ‘the great collection of letters in the Stadtbibliothek at Basel.’ The source for these fragments may well be the same, though the Allen editors could not find them at Basel. Concerning the extract on page 79, Schreiber comments that it appears to be from the last letter of Glareanus to Erasmus and that it is answered by Ep 3055.

… I, my dear Glareanus, would rather live even among the Turks than endure the excruciating pains I experienced at Freiburg, whether the cause was the weather or bad medical treatment.1 Those who grieve at my departure grieve with me, except that my grief is greater. Those who are angry should remember that it was never my intention to spend the rest of my life in 5 Freiburg, and that I lived there at my own expense, without being a burden to anyone. I have no complaint about the council or the university or the citizens. I pray that all will go well with them. There are other matters which should not be committed to a letter.

*****

9 For the steps undertaken to prohibit the book, see Epp 2912:18–36, 2915:40–8.

3054 1 See Ep 2940 n2.

3055  From Henricus Glareanus  1535

385

… As far as religion goes, I have not changed one iota. No mortal man has 10 talked to me about the new doctrines, nor have I given anyone hope that I would respond.2 A council is being arranged. I await its announcement. … I ask this one thing, that you do not encourage her to move in a worse direction.3 For many a year I have counted you as one of my dearest friends, and if I have been of little use to you, it has been through lack of opportunity, 15 not lack of will. On my side at least a change of residence will in no way lessen our friendship. Enough about the housekeeper, about whom you made no reply in your letter,4 being too busy, I imagine.5 3055 / From Henricus Glareanus

Freiburg, 10 September 1535

Lines 27–45 of this letter, Glareanus’ reply to Ep 3054, were published in Fecht 829–30, and then (following Fecht) in lb i i i /2 1771 Appendix epistolarum no 380). The first publication of the complete text was that in Enthoven Ep 136. The autograph is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 75).

to desiderius erasmus from glareanus, greeting The matters which you commissioned me to settle with Margarete, dearest Erasmus, I have dealt with conscientiously in the presence of Dr Bonifacius, and without departing by a finger’s breadth from the sense of your letter as *****



2 It appears that shortly after Erasmus’ arrival in Basel Osvaldus Myconius, the successor of Johannes Oecolampadius as leader of the church in the city, saw a sheet from the Ecclesiastes in which Erasmus described the Eucharist in traditional Catholic language. He complained to the burgomaster, Jakob Meyer, who demanded changes in the text. Bonifacius Amerbach, fearing that Erasmus would take offence and leave Basel once again, sought the intervention of the Strasbourg reformer Wolfgang Capito, who promised to write to the burgomaster urging him against disturbing the peace of the church with such doctrinaire rigidity. Meyer and Myconius appear to have followed this advice. See Theophilus Burckhardt-Biedermann Bonifacius Amerbach und die Reformation (Basel 1894) 108–9 and Epp 108–9. 3 The reference (cf line 16 below) is evidently to Margarete Büsslin, Erasmus’ housekeeper in Freiburg (Ep 3045 n4). Ep 3059:2–5 indicates that Erasmus made a financial settlement with her in order to avoid possible legal action. 4 Presumably Ep 3045 5 See Glareanus’ exasperated response to this in Ep 3055:2–26.

3055  From Henricus Glareanus  1535

386

I understood it,1 and Margarete has agreed to everything in the presence of the same witness. If I did not write to you at that time, it was because I thought it unnecessary, since Bonifacius, who enjoyed the complete trust not only of me but also of your own generous heart, was present. So I was not a little upset by your letter, in which you express doubts about the execution of your orders. This feeling prompted me to visit Margarete immediately and to question her on the whole agreement once more. She calmly gave assurance on all points. She said she had willingly given an accounting of everything to Gilbert.2 She did not remember anything about Basel, though she may have said that if she had to go there on some other errand, she would visit you and bring her greetings. I have no doubt that if you inquire of Amerbach, he will testify that I transacted the business with Margarete in his presence and in accordance with your document. It was Gilbert’s idea that since she had looked after your property so attentively, she should be allowed to remain in the house until Christmas. I did not object, since I knew from your letter that you approved. If you had wanted her out immediately, you would have indicated as much, and Gilbert would have paid the money. What arrangement was made with her later (for Master Amerbach, and Gilbert too, stayed on for more than two days) I did not trouble to find out, for I had no doubts about the honesty of both men. I did my duty faithfully, as it was right for me to do. If there are others who tell you a different story, let them tell it however they wish. I know that I am innocent in this matter. It also troubles me that in three letters now you urge me to have regard for our long-standing friendship.3 My dearest Erasmus, I have no doubts about your friendship, so it is only fair, I think, for you to have no doubts about mine, and this I beg you most ardently to do. If I do not reply, it is the pressure of work that prevents me from doing so. My sorrow at your departure is caused by my affection for you. Still, up to the present I have defended you and am continuing to defend you to the best of my ability, but you know what the world here is like. It matters little to me where you are, provided that you are well, but to be parted from such a friend cannot but be painful to me. My fears about the place where you are living are not matters to put in a letter.4 *****

3055 1 The letter is not extant. The text reads literally ‘by a nail’s breadth’ (Adagia i v 6). 2 Gilbert Cousin, Erasmus’ secretary (Ep 2985 introduction) 3 The only one of these letters to survive is the fragmented Ep 3054. 4 Ie fears about Basel, which was not on the list of approved places for orthodox Catholics

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

3056  To Ludwig Baer  1535

387

We hear that the emperor, after his victories in Africa, is now on his way back to Italy.5 There is a recurring rumour that Ferdinand is now feared even by the Turks. 40 Keep well and continue to love me. Freiburg im Breisgau, 10 September in the year 1535 since the birth of Christ Pardon this awkward scribble; I am so overwhelmed with business that I could scarcely write this. 45 To the eminent and distinguished Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, a friend who is like a father 3056 / To Ludwig Baer

Basel, 12 September 1535

This letter, which answers one no longer extant, was first published by Otto Clemen in the Zentralblatt für Bibliothekswesen 38 (1921) 100–1, on the basis of the autograph in the August Kestner Museum in Hannover. For Ludwig Baer see Ep 3011 introduction.

Cordial greetings. A few days ago I sent my own courier to Augsburg, and the printers sent some books to Milan.1 Now I have no one, unless someone happens to turn up. I shall be delighted if my house is taken over by the person you mention, who is noble not just by reason of his birth.2 For I am fixed in my resolve not to return to Freiburg. If a deal could be made with him, 5 there would be no need to put the house up for sale. I purchased the house for 624 gold florins tested and also selected with regard to their quality.3 I discovered that it had been badly cared for throughout. You can estimate what I spent on flooring, on new glass windows, on repairs everywhere. If he pays me in ready money and in coins of the same quality that I spent, and if 10 for the repairs he raises the 24 to 50,4 the house is his and with my good wishes. If this seems too much, I will accept a reduction of 26 from the cost of *****

5 Emperor Charles arrived at Naples on 25 November 1535, but rumour had put his arrival at a much earlier date; see Ep 3007 n18.



3056 1 Presumably copies of the Ecclesiastes (Ep 3036) 2 Identified in Ep 3059:5–6 as Peter Reich; see n3 in that letter. 3 In Ep 2512:10–11 Erasmus put the price at ‘almost eight hundred gold florins’; in Ep 2530:1 at seven hundred florins. Erasmus deemed the price he had paid extortionate; see Epp 2517:29–30, 2528:53–4, 2534:26–7. 4 Ie if he raises the original price of 624 florins to 650



3056  To Ludwig Baer  1535

388

repairs and will be content with the 624. I think no one will raise difficulties on account of regress; the mention of ready money will put off those who stipulated the right of regress.5 I give to you and to your brother Franz Baer 15 full authority to transact this business by the attached power of attorney,6 on which I have impressed the personal seal of my ring. I am sending you two letters sent from the emperor’s ambassador in England,7 so that you may have a reliable account of the martyrdom of the bishop of Rochester and More,8 and Reginald [Pole],9 a noble and most 20 learned man. Farewell. Basel, 12 September 1535 Erasmus of Rotterdam, in my own hand To the Reverend Doctor Ludwig Baer, theologian, canon of Basel. In Freiburg 25 3057 / From Vincenzo Mitelli

Brescia, 13 September 1535

This letter was first published as Ep 137 in Enthoven. The manuscript, presumably autograph, with the address sheet missing, is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 107). Vincenzo Mitelli (documented 1532–71) was a poet active in his native city of Brescia. Among his published works was an epic poem, not highly esteemed by posterity, celebrating the Christian victory at the battle of Lepanto in 1571.

*****





5 It appears that parties involved in arranging the terms of sale had stipulated the inclusion of a clause allowing the seller, under certain circumstances, to exercise the right of regress (ius regressus), ie the legal right to return to the property. 6 For Franz (i) Baer see Ep 2153 n7. 7 The letters from Eustache Chapuys (Ep 2798 introduction) are not extant. They are presumably the letters forwarded to Erasmus by Erasmus Schets on 17 August (Ep 3042:48–51). 8 John Fisher, executed on 22 June 1535, and Thomas More, executed on 6 July 1535 9 The manuscript says ‘Reginaldus Polus,’ which is a strange lapse indeed. Reginald Pole (Ep 1627 introduction) was at this time living in Italy (cf Ep 3076:22–3) and had not yet incurred the wrath of Henry viii. The intended reference is to Richard Reynolds, the Latin form of whose surname was ‘Reginaldus’ (Ep 3048 n13).

3057  From Vincenzo Mitelli  1535

389

vincenzo mitelli to erasmus of rotterdam, greeting Since Petrus Antonius the bookseller,1 who has just delivered this letter to you, was going to Basel to purchase books, I thought you would not find it altogether displeasing, nor would it be inappropriate in view of my regard for you, if I scribbled down something for him to take to you. I wanted you to know that here too there are not a few people who are well disposed to you and who admire your wide erudition and your intellectual integrity, which are brilliantly evident in the many excellent works you have released. I myself am not the least among these admirers of yours, nor is Bartolomeo Mascara, a man who combines great learning with modesty and has a profound respect for all fine scholars, of whom he is a most discriminating judge.2 In conversation with these men or in talking to others, whenever your name was mentioned (always in the most complimentary terms, as you would expect from devotees and admirers of yours), we thought that what was most deserving of praise was the fact that, not content with having firmly secured the immortality of your name by bringing into the world one or two examples of your genius, you have continued to bring forth a host of works, for you wish to be of use to the whole human race; not all of these works, I admit, were perfectly finished, but we thought them so until you gave them the final polish and showed that what might seem to others to lack nothing was not perfect by your standards. Now it is universally believed, and rightly so, that you should be placed alongside such men as Didymus, Origen, Chrysostom, Varro, Augustine, and all those other prolific geniuses of the past.3 *****



3057 1 Possibly the Petrus Antonius who was established as a bookseller at Frankfurt am Main in the 1550s and documented as a customer of the press of Froben and Episcopius at Basel. He may have been related to other booksellers with the surname Antonius who are known to have been active in England and Paris in the period 1501–21. 2 Bartolomeo Mascara (documented 1532–5) taught grammar at the cathedral school in Brescia. In 1532 he published (Brescia: Ludovico Britannico) an Italian translation of Aesop’s fables. 3 The point here is to place Erasmus in the company of great authors with a prolific output. Allen and Gerlo identify Didymus as the fourth-century Alexandrian theologian, but Mitelli may well have had in mind the famous Didymus ‘Copper Guts’ (Alexandria, first century bc), who was said to have written up to four thousand volumes. That Didymus was not a Christian author, but neither was Marcus Terentius Varro, a Roman antiquarian of the first century bc, whose output was prodigious.

5

10

15

20

3057  From Vincenzo Mitelli  1535

390

I have often thought it significant that while you have produced so many books on such different themes, like a prolific father with many children, yet in all of them the same fine image of their father can be seen, and none seems to have a different parentage, but all closely resemble you, that is, they are extremely learned and full of the fruit of wisdom. From time to time we are struck by this remarkable fact, that although you have many enemies and many who are jealous of the praise you receive, you have demolished all of them so forcefully and so easily that they appear not to have reckoned on the sort of man they had to deal with, while you have won much additional acclaim from the encounter. Later, when they realized that after every conflict you always emerged the stronger, they moderated their attacks. So now, from what we are told here, everything is progressing well for you through the actions of all your admirers and especially of the supreme pontiff, whose good will towards you has been the subject here of ever-increasing comment.4 We hope the report turns out to be as true as it is thrilling for us to hear. Farewell. Brescia, 13 September 1535 3058 / From Thomas Bedyll

London, 14 September [1535]

This letter was first published as Ep 138 in Enthoven. The autograph is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 19). It is surely one of the letters from England forwarded via Strasbourg by Erasmus Schets with his letter of 26 October (see Ep 3067:3–4). Not until 15–16 March 1536 did Erasmus write to Thomas Cromwell and John Longland thanking them for the gifts to him announced in lines 12–22 of this letter (see Epp 3107:1–6, 3108:1–3). At about the same time he wrote to Schets mentioning the gift from Cromwell (see Ep 3119:16–17). One concludes that this letter was stuck in Strasbourg for some time, but it reached Basel no later than 11 March 1536; see Ep 3104:19–24. For Thomas Bedyll see Ep 3037 n33.

Cordial greetings. Most learned Erasmus, I have sent on to you all that I have been able to scrape together of your pensions, making use of the bank of the

*****



4 Mitelli and his friends had evidently heard rumours of the supposed intention of Pope Paul iii to appoint Erasmus to the college of cardinals; see Ep 3007 n3.

25

30

35

40

3058  From Thomas Bedyll  [1535]

391

Spaniard Alvaro de Astudillo.1 In both pensions there has been an unfortunate complication; in one the pensioner, after rotting in prison for more than a year, was condemned to death by parliament for high treason, but later saved thanks to the merciful intervention of the prince. This has caused you no small loss, since all the man’s property was confiscated. In the other case the payer denies that he is obliged to pay you anything, since he never consented to the decision about payment.2 In this affair the most reverend archbishop of Canterbury and the illustrious Cromwell have promised their assistance, for the man is required to make the payment he owes. Meanwhile the archbishop with his characteristic generosity has given you, in our money, six pounds, thirteen shillings, and four pence. Cromwell, who is strongly on your side and on every occasion shows himself the most enthusiastic defender of your reputation, has made you a gift of twenty angels. You will receive this sum through the bank of the said Alvaro, to whom I handed over five pounds on an earlier occasion, the gift of the bishop of Lincoln;3 I believe this was already delivered to you some time ago. Please thank these men for their generosity and let them know when the money is received; commend yourself especially to the most illustrious Thomas Cromwell, a particular friend who has served your interests very well and who, next to the king, is the most powerful man in England today. From me expect the continuing obligation of a friend, which I shall discharge faithfully at every opportunity. May you keep well and flourish for a long time. From London, 14 September Yours, Thomas Bedyll

*****



3058 1 Ep 2997 n14 2 For these two cases of default in payment, see Ep 2996 n4. 3 In Ep 3067:7–12 Schets reports that Alvaro de Astudillo had received on Erasmus’ behalf 42½ nobles at the very favourable exchange of 113 (Rhenish) florins and 13 stuivers. Though Astudillo failed to indicate the source of the monies (Ep 3067:35), they were clearly the gifts from Thomas Cranmer (archbishop of Canterbury), Thomas Cromwell (principal secretary to King Henry viii), and John Longland (bishop of Lincoln) referred to here. Cromwell’s gift of twenty angel-nobles amounted to £7 10s 0d sterling. Combined with Cranmer’s gift of £6 13s 4d and Longland’s of £5 0s 0d, the total received by Alvaro de Astudillo was £19 3s 4d sterling, just over three years’ wage income of an Oxford master mason (cwe 12 650 Table 3, 688 Table 11).

5

10

15

20

25

3059  To Ludwig Baer  1535 3059 / To Ludwig Baer

392 Basel, 21 September 1535

This letter was first published in the Epistolae universae page 1115. For Ludwig Baer see Ep 3011 introduction.

erasmus of rotterdam to ludwig baer, greeting I sent you a power of attorney giving you authority to sell the house.1 Now I am sending my man Gilbert to sell the furniture and dismiss the housekeeper with a generous settlement, for to avoid a lawsuit by a financial settlement is pure gain.2 If the eminent Master Peter Reich remains of the same opinion, nothing prevents his moving in whenever he wishes.3 When I consider all the honours that have been bestowed on him and remember the enthusiasm with which you pleaded his case with me by letter, there is nothing I want to change: I even count myself lucky that my house will serve such an honourable master and will be shared by such a close friend as you. I would not want to boast of actions I am taking willingly, but I would not hesitate to swear that I spent upwards of one hundred florins on stoves, windows, flooring, and on the repair of roofs and doors. But the workmen and the tribune treated me as a stranger.4 Please tell the treasurer that in the room where my books were kept there are whole, unused bricks under some planks, if he happens to want them.5 I am all the more ready to extricate myself from the house with ready money, even at some financial loss, because I cling on here, feeling like a sailor stranded by the tide who throws out the anchor and waits for the tide to turn. I imagine that this image is scarcely comprehensible to you, for I am not aware that you have ever had any contact with the sea.

*****



3059 1 Ep 3056:15–17 2 For the matter of the housekeeper, see Ep 3054 n3. 3 For Peter Reich, canon of the cathedral of Basel, who moved with the cathedral chapter to Freiburg in 1529, see Ep 2539 n7. He is the unnamed prospective purchaser mentioned in Ep 3056:3–4. 4 It is not clear what Erasmus means by the word tribunus, a term he had otherwise used as the equivalent of Oberzunftmeister, the title of the highest official in the city after the burgomaster; see Ep 2158 n9. Would he have taken an interest in the repairs in Erasmus’ house? Or perhaps this is just a case of inflated rhetoric for the man in charge of the workmen. 5 The reference is to Peter Reich (n3 above), who had been the custos (treasurer) of the Basel cathedral chapter since its relocation to Freiburg.

5

10

15

20

3060  From Viglius Zuichemus  1535

393

You had written that the most reverent doctor Pucci was not at Rome.6 I hope his situation is free from danger. I do not think that the rumour that was spread around about Cardinal de’ Medici has anything to do with him; perhaps it was plague that drove him away.7 I pray the distinguished treasurer will have a successful move.8 I wish every joy in Christ to you and to 25 Franz, your brother and special friend.9 Basel, the feast of St Matthew 1535 3060 / From Viglius Zuichemus

Speyer, 22 September 1535

This letter was first published in Van Heussen 116, on the basis of a copy in the University Library at Ghent (ms 476). The first published version based on the original letter, an autograph that was in the Burscher Collection of the University Library at Leipzig (Ep 1254 introduction), was Ep 228 in Förstemann / Günther. For Viglius Zuichemus see Ep 2957 introduction.

Cordial greetings. My incomparable mentor and patron, your letter was delivered to me at Cologne by my kinsman Rienck,1 when I passed that way on my return from Westphalia to Worms with the representatives of my bishop to the scheduled diet.2 When it was dissolved, I moved at once to Speyer and was free to begin my work as an assessor.3 When you rejoice at my rescue 5 *****



6 This statement is not found in any extant letter from Baer. 7 Erasmus had apparently heard some rumour that Antonio Cardinal Pucci (Ep 860 introduction) was involved in the death, allegedly by poison, of Ippolito de’ Medici (cf Ep 3039 nn2–3). 8 Ie Peter Reich (n5 above) 9 Ep 3056 n6 3060 1 Rienck van Burmania (Ep 3022 n5). The letter he delivered is not extant. 2 At the beginning of April 1535 Viglius had gone to Worms as one of the representatives of Franz von Waldeck, bishop of Münster, at a meeting of imperial estates aimed at securing support for the bishop’s siege of the city; see Ep 2999:47–50. Three and one-half months later, he returned to Worms to attend the imperial diet that was convened on 15 July 1535 to deal with ‘the complete eradication of Anabaptism’ and the remuneration of the bishop for the costs he had incurred in the siege of Münster. Since so few estates were present, the diet could take no action beyond arranging for the convocation of a new diet on 1 November. See Kerssenbrock / Mackay 706. 3 See Ep 3022 n4.

3060  From Viglius Zuichemus  1535

394

from the turmoil of the Anabaptists I happily recognize your long-standing benevolence towards me. Although when I was there I faced a lot of danger and discomfort, as is generally the fate of those who follow the camp, nevertheless, one day it will give me much pleasure to look back on these experiences.4 When I first emerged from the university, a callow youth with no experience of public affairs, I was given a great opportunity there to test myself in the responsibilities that fall to men of our profession and character.5 I gained experience from taking part in many legations and from the varied and demanding business of my bishop, and I acquired some skill and familiarity with the vernacular and with civic and public affairs. Meanwhile, with God’s help and the support of the emperor, I was invited to take up the eminently prestigious and lucrative position in which I have begun to be engaged here. However, my bishop was for a long time opposed to it, not taking the loss of my services lightly. This is the reason why I have arrived here rather late. The turmoil caused by the Anabaptists among our people seems to have calmed down after the final capture of the city. That petty little king of ours,6 along with several of the leading men of the sect, are still alive – they are being held for some spectacular punishment.7 I am sending you a little book On Vengeance, published in Münster last year,8 which will allow you to judge all the other fantastic doctrines of our Anabaptists – always supposing that you have time to read such nonsense. Andreas von Könneritz is in very good health and prays that everything is going well with his dear Erasmus.9 He and I are united not so much by our shared responsibilities as by our respect and affection for you, our incomparable patron. Speyer has no one more devoted to the name of Erasmus than the two of us. Farewell. Speyer, 22 September 1535 Your most devoted Viglius Zuichemus To the divine restorer of the true theology and of all good letters, Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, his incomparable mentor and patron *****

4 A reminiscence of Virgil Aeneid 1.203, but Aeneas, the speaker in Virgil, adds ‘perhaps’ and omits ‘much.’ 5 ‘There’ was Dülmen, where Viglius resided as presiding judge of the bishop’s high court; see Ep 3022 n3. 6 Jan of Leiden (Ep 2957 n20) 7 They would be executed in January 1536. 8 Bernhard Rothmann’s Van der Wrake unde Straffe des Babilonischen Grüwels ([Münster], December 1534), an explicit appeal to take up arms in defence of the Anabaptist theocracy at Münster. For Rothmann see Ep 2957 nn14, 16. 9 For Andreas von Könneritz, since 1531 representative of ducal Saxony at the Imperial Supreme Court (Reichskammergericht), see Ep 2274 introduction.

10

15

20

25

30

3061/ From Conradus Goclenius  1535 3061/ From Conradus Goclenius

395 Louvain, 28 September 1535

This letter, Goclenius’ reply to Ep 3052, was first published by Allen. The autograph in in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms Goclenii epistolae 10).

Cordial greetings. Balthasar von Künring, as was promised to you, sent his own messenger to me with your letter.1 I was exceedingly happy that through your generosity he had obtained what he wanted, partly for his sake, since he deserves everyone’s support, and partly because he thinks my name was of some value to him, unaccompanied by any written commendation. Nothing more flattering could happen to me than that. You will find both of us most grateful and very conscious of our debt.2 I am sure that my good will towards you needs no testimony, for I have always thought of you as a father, and it is to you that I owe all the improvements in my fortunes. From Balthasar I can warrant the same devotion, all that one expects from a kindly and grateful heart. He ordered the same courier whom he sent to me to go from here to Basel with our letters so that he could convince you of his diligence in looking after your correspondence. The courier will continue on from Basel to Vienna. So if you have any business with King Ferdinand, you may make use of this same courier, and you will also have there3 my dear Balthasar, who will not let pass any opportunity to be of service. I am happy that Lambert is proving satisfactory and I hope he will continue to be so.4 But what delighted me most of all was the news that your standing with Paul iii is no less than your divine virtues have earned. And although your mind rises above both honours and riches and does not go hunting for such things, it is nevertheless of great importance to learning and *****



3061 1 See Ep 3052:3–5. 2 Goclenius here expresses his thanks to Erasmus for help rendered to a former student at the Collegium Trilingue in Louvain, Balthasar von Künring (Ep 3052 n1). During a brief residence in Italy Künring had married after obtaining a papal dispensation, dated 13 July 1535, removing the obstacle of a prohibited degree of kinship. On his return from Italy he visited Erasmus at Basel (late August 1535) and then, in his desire to consult jurists on the subject of his marriage, visited Udalricus Zasius at Freiburg, evidently carrying a recommendation from Erasmus. Through Zasius he obtained from the Freiburg faculty of law (September 1535) a formal opinion affirming the validity of papal dispensations. See ak Epp 1974 nn1–2, 1981 n1. 3 Ie in Basel 4 See Ep 3052:21.

5

10

15

20

3061/ From Conradus Goclenius  1535

396

liberal studies that such men, even against their will, are carried off to the heights, though their virtue is greater than any prize. Rumour, however, had anticipated your letter, spreading the news that action had already been taken at Rome to increase your income, which you indicate will happen in the future.5 It is said that the pope has transferred to you a very great part of the benefices held by Ingenwinkel.6 There is mention also, among other things, of the provostship of Xanten,7 which has a very rich income and which we reckon you have every chance of obtaining because of the great favour in which you are held by the duke of Cleves. And since as prince he rules over that place, he will not permit you to be harassed by your enemies.8 But we await more definite information from you. I lately reported to you in a letter that the trial of Thomas More has taken place, at which he was condemned to death. I related the story in the order in which a certain Thomas Theobald told it to me.9 Meanwhile a more exact account has reached this court. Of this letter I am sending you a copy.10 I wrote to you about the treatment of the dead man’s head, which went beyond even the customary English barbarity; now in case you imagine that I added this without due care, our friend Cornelis de Schepper has told the same story, confirming it as an absolute certainty.11 I shall see that the letter for Joost Sasbout is delivered,12 lest the claims of your detractor have left any lingering suspicions among the people there, who, I understood, were deeply offended.13 What you tell me about Kan is surprising.14 If he was not well disposed towards you, he did an excellent job at hiding the canker in his heart. Between him and Hagius there seemed to be a truceless war,15 so fierce was the attack he made on him. When I asked him *****

5 See Ep 3052:34–8. 6 Specifically, the provostship of Deventer; see Ep 3033 n1. 7 Another of Ingenwinkel’s accumulation of provostships; see Ep 3033 n1. 8 Xanten was not included with Deventer in the pope’s grant, nor did Erasmus receive it from the duke of Cleves. 9 See Ep 3037:97–123. 10 It is not extant. 11 For Schepper, see Ep 1747 n23. If, as the context seems to indicate, Schepper was the author of ‘the more exact account’ mentioned in lines 35–6, it can hardly have been the account of someone close to the events. 12 The unsealed letter that Erasmus left to the discretion of Goclenius to deliver or not: see Ep 3052:4–5. 13 Ep 3052:6 suggests the likelihood of Quirinus Hagius, but there is no clue to the nature of the offence or to the identity of those offended. 14 See Ep 3052:6–9. 15 Ie ‘endless, ruthless, and irreconcilable’ conflict (Adagia iii iii 84)

25

30

35

40

45

3062  To Louis de Vers  1535

397

where he had come from and where he was going, Kan replied that he had been given leave to absent himself for a month or two at his convenience from the patriarchal oversight of his convent.16 Meanwhile he wanted to visit some old friends in Brabant and Flanders. I think Dilft’s attitude to you is 50 quite proper, but a long illness, domestic cares, and especially legal disputes arising (as often happens) from a first marriage have troubled him greatly and continue to do so.17 I think the emperor’s victories in Africa are well known where you are. In summary: after fighting his way through the entrance to the bay of 55 Carthage, he drove out Barbarossa, who had claims on the kingdom, and got control of Tunis, a royal city, and on clearly established terms restored the former king, whom Barbarossa had robbed of his kingdom.18 He then sailed off to Sicily, thence to Naples, with the intention of proceeding to Rome to proclaim a council.19 May God grant him a happy outcome. My very best 60 wishes to you. Louvain, 28 September 1535 Your Conradus Goclenius, for what he is worth To the eminent Master Erasmus of Rotterdam. In Basel 3062 / To Louis de Vers

Basel, 7 October 1535

This letter was first published in the Epistolae universae page 1115. For Louis de Vers, kinsman of Erasmus’ famulus Gilbert Cousin (Ep 2985 introduction) and abbot of two Cistercian houses in the Franche-Comté, see Ep 2889 introduction.

erasmus of rotterdam to louis, abbot of mont-sainte-marie and la charité, greeting Most reverend sir, I hoped that Gilbert, the recipient of your generous protection and up to the present my secretary,1 would be staying with me right through until next spring so that we might set out for Burgundy together 5 ***** 16 Erasmus uses the word gynaeseum, which in ancient Greece and Rome meant the part of a house set aside as women’s quarters. After leaving Erasmus’ service, taking holy orders, and settling in Amsterdam, Kan functioned not only as a parish priest but as administrator of a convent of Ursuline nuns. 17 Cf Ep 3052:14. 18 See Ep 2997 n22. 19 See Ep 3007 n18.

3062 1 See Ep 3052 n15.

3062  To Louis de Vers  1535

398

with the swallow.2 He was not averse to the idea, but his love for his parents, who wanted or feared something, I know not what, compelled him to return to his family. Since his reason for doing so sprang from his affection, I thought it better to yield to his wishes rather than consider my own advantage. How far he has progressed in his learning, you in your wisdom 10 will judge. From my modest resources, meagre though they are, I treated him generously enough so that I think he will not complain of meanness; at the same time I was always ready to serve his interests wherever an occasion presented itself. Age and temperament call him to greater things. For me nothing remains except a steady decline from day to day. 15 I received from your generous self two barrels of wine,3 for which I thank you, and I shall always be conscious of the favour you have done me, if I have no opportunity to return it. You will learn the rest of our news from *****



2 For the swallow as the harbinger of spring (or early summer) see Adagia i vii 94. In the summer of 1534 Erasmus had apparently made up his mind to return to Brabant to end his days there, and in the last week of July he was on the verge of departing when poor health forced a postponement; see Epp 2820 introduction, 2850. In a letter written after Erasmus’ death, Bonifacius Amerbach states that when Erasmus returned to Basel in the spring of 1535, his intention was to go from there to Brabant (Ep 3141:88–97). But if that was still Erasmus’ stated intention at the time, the evidence of the surviving correspondence is that he soon abandoned it in favour of moving to Besançon. That city in Burgundy (the Hapsburg Franche-Comté) had always been in his mind as an alternative to Brabant (see Ep 2759 n3). The attack on him by Nikolaus Ferber in 1534 (Ep 2896 n8), though quickly dealt with by the authorities (Epp 2912:18–36, 2915:40–8), seems to have revived and prolonged his uneasiness about returning to Brabant with its hostile theologians; see Ep 3053:1–5, 3100:87–94. The letters of 1535–6 give no hint of any further thought of returning to the Low Countries; only in Ep 3049:89–92 is it even mentioned as a possible alternative to Besançon. In this letter, as in Ep 3063, the move to Besançon is treated as something that can be taken for granted, and the thought of settling there persists in the letters; see Epp 3063:6–7, 3075:10–11, 3084:11–13, 3102:4–7, 3103:6–7, 3104:42–3. In Ep 3130:25–31 Erasmus makes clear to Conradus Goclenius, his best friend in Brabant, that if he ever leaves Basel it will be to go to Besançon, not Brabant. From the present letter, as well as from some of the others, it is clear that, in addition to its other advantages (relatively short distance from Basel, ample supply of Burgundian wine), Besançon offered the possibility of regaining the services of Erasmus’ sorely missed secretary, Gilbert Cousin, who had returned to his native Burgundy (Ep 3052 n15). 3 One of these arrived in good condition, but the other had gone bad; see Ep 3095:12–20.

3063  To Léonard de Gruyères  1535

399

your kinsman.4 May the Lord keep your Reverence safe and well. Please accept my most respectful greetings. 20 Basel, 7 October 1535 3063 / To Léonard de Gruyères

Basel, 12 October 1535

This letter was first published in the Epistolae universae pages 1115–16. For Léonard de Gruyères, chief judge of the diocesan court at Besançon, see Epp 1534, 2139. His reply is Ep 3075.

erasmus of rotterdam to léonard de gruyères, official of besançon, greeting It gave me great pleasure to receive the news that you had returned home from your ambassadorship, for I had certain apprehensions.1 As for me, I have left the nest, something that could scarcely have been thought possible. 5 I took flight here with the intention of flying on to your part of the world when I recovered my strength.2 But a blustery September compelled me to cast anchor here. I must wait for the swallow.3 The supreme pontiff means to cover me with gold whether I wish it or not. Already he has conferred on me the provostship of Deventer, pushing 10 aside all the harpies on his own initiative.4 It is my resolve that even if he offers me ten provostships, I shall not accept one. I have already written often to this effect to my Roman friends who are organizing this.5 Should I, who must die soon, agree to take on the baggage that I have always refused? I shall entrust a copy of my Preacher to Gilbert Cousin, if he can shoulder such 15 a heavy load.6 From him you can find out much that I do not have time to *****

4 The Latin text reads cognosces e tuo cognato, in which cognato is a pun on cognatus (kinsman) and Cognatus (Gilbert’s surname).



3063 1 Gruyères was at this time Charles v’s diplomatic representative to the Swiss cantons. As is apparent from Ep 3075, he had not yet left his post in Switzerland (and would not do so until 1536). 2 For Erasmus’ return to Basel from Freiburg see Ep 3025 n9; for his intention to move from there to Besançon see Ep 3062 n2. 3 Ie for spring (Adagia i vii 94) 4 For harpies see Ep 2997 n12. 5 See Ep 3007 n3. 6 For the Ecclesiastes see Ep 3036. For Gilbert Cousin see Ep 2985 introduction.



3063  To Léonard de Gruyères  1535

400

write – about Ludwig Baer,7 the new martyrs, etc.8 May the Lord keep you safe and well. Basel, 12 October 1535 3064 / To [Francesco ii Sforza]

Basel, 16 October 1535

This letter was first published by Allen. The manuscript, an autograph rough draft, is in the Royal Library at Copenhagen (ms gks 95 Fol, folio 247). The person addressed is obviously Francesco ii (or Francesco Maria) Sforza, duke of Milan, whose death on 1 November 1535 would be reported to Erasmus in Ep 3070:12–14.

I would have preferred, most illustrious prince, to initiate a correspondence with you on a more agreeable subject. But this is the subject that fate has given me: perhaps a kindlier fortune will present me with a happier theme. There are among you certain shady philologists who call themselves Cicero­ nians, though they are anything but. They think it amusing, in works that are 5 simply libellous and mad, to mock certain people, me in particular, whom they stupidly imagine to be an enemy of Cicero. Lately there was printed in Milan a book with the title The Civil War between the Ciceronians and the Erasmians, which was packed full of scurrilous abuse and downright lies.1 Their actions are all the more outrageous because they go unpunished, and 10 they will grow worse until they end in a manifest and fanatical frenzy if not checked by a show of the stick. In the end these people will fly at the heads of the princes, if their boldness is encouraged by impunity. *****

7 Ep 3011 8 Presumably John Fisher, Thomas More, and others executed in England for refusal to accept the Act of Succession; see Ep 3041:168–75.



3064 1 No copy of the ‘Bellum civile inter Ciceronianos et Erasmicos,’ first mentioned in Ep 3019:51–2, is known to have survived. If in fact it was printed, as Erasmus here says, then the Milanese authorities must have been completely successful in suppressing it. The author was probably Gaudenzio Merula (1500–55), at the time a teacher in Milan, who is chiefly remembered for his De Gallorum Cisalpinorum antiquitate et origine (1536). The list of Merula’s published works in Lazaro Agostino Cotta Museo Novarese (Milan: Ghisolfi 1701) 133–5 includes as item ix on page 134 the following note: ‘Scripsit etiam Bellum Erasmianum [He also wrote the Bellum Erasmianum].’ It is difficult to imagine what ‘Bellum Erasmianum’ could refer to other than the object of Erasmus’ complaint here.

3065  To [Jakob Sturm?]  1535

401

I know that in your wisdom you would like your realm to be free from such excesses, which in the end develop into sedition. These little things, I imagine, escape you, occupied as you are with more serious matters. They are indeed trifling matters, but, as Horace says, ‘these trifles lead to serious consequences.’2 There is no need for a new law to punish these men. To write defamatory libels is prohibited by natural law, by universal law, and by imperial law. They forge letters with my name on them as though they had been written by me.3 These people regard this as a sport, when it is clearly criminal forgery, even punishable as a capital offence. Perhaps this seems too unimportant to be taken notice of because their actions are taken against Erasmus. But they will go on from this to attack illustrious men. I shall not boast of my service to the public interest or to the Christian faith, but this poor Dutchman was appointed by the emperor as one of his councillors,4 and King Ferdinand, both in conversation and in letters, is not ashamed to call me his mentor,5 and even the supreme pontiff has actually judged me worthy of being honoured with the greatest distinctions.6 But supposing that I, like the Megarians, were a man of no account,7 still it redounds to the honour and peace of your realm to check the effrontery of nobodies like these. May the Lord keep your illustrious Highness safe and well. Basel, 16 October 1535 3065 / To [Jakob Sturm?]

Basel, 23 October 1535

This letter was first published by Gustav C. Knod in the Zeitschrift für Kirchenge­ schichte 14 (1893) 129–31, from the autograph in the Uffenbach-Wolf Collection of the Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Hamburg (ms Supellex epistolica Uffenbachii et Wolfiorum Fol 1 135). Because the address sheet is missing, it is impossible to know for sure who the person addressed was. Both Knod and Allen conjectured that the most likely recipient was Jakob Sturm (Ep 2510 introduction), whom Erasmus had known since 1514 and who was the only leader of the Reformation at Strasbourg with whom he had maintained cordial relations. From 1528 Sturm was the president of the city-council committee that

*****

2 Horace Ars poetica 451 3 A clear reference to the spurious letter to Pietro Corsi; see Ep 3028:26–8 with n14. 4 See Ep 370:18n. 5 See Ep 2130:58–62. 6 See Ep 3007 n3. 7 See Ep 3032 n95.

15

20

25

30

3065  To [Jakob Sturm?]  1535

402

dealt with ecclesiastical preferments, which would make him the appropriate addressee of a letter in support of someone who wanted his appointment to such a position confirmed (see lines 13–17 of the text). Another member of the committee was Nikolaus Kniebis, to whom some other letters in the UffenbachWolf Collection are addressed. But, as Allen observes, there is nothing to connect Kniebis to Erasmus and make him the likely recipient of a letter so familiar in tone. (If the attribution to Sturm is correct, then Ep 2510 is not the only surviving letter between Sturm and Erasmus, as is stated in the introduction to that letter.)

Master Ludwig Baer seems to have convinced himself that I have considerable influence with you.1 If he is mistaken in this, his error should nevertheless reflect well on both of us, since it shows that he is greatly impressed by your generosity towards your friends, and it is not entirely negative about my qualities too, since you, a man of exacting judgment, have thought me 5 worthy of your friendship. But there can be no argument about my present dilemma, for I am so obliged to Baer by the many services he has done me that it would not be right for me to refuse him any request, while on the other hand I am bound to you by so many kindnesses that it is outrageous for me to ask for anything further. But I have good reason to hope that respect for 10 the name of Baer will weigh more with you than my commendation. You know that that whole family has goodness and integrity in its blood.2 But not to delay you with a long preamble, let me put the matter before you in a word or two. Ludwig Baer, by virtue of an order of the supreme pontiff,3 accepted on behalf of his nephew Franz Baer, the son of his brother 15 Franz,4 a prebend and canonry of the collegiate church of Young St Peter,5 made vacant in Strasbourg by the death of the incumbent. The young man has passed his twentieth year, shows considerable promise as a scholar, and *****

3065 1 For Ludwig Baer see Ep 3011 introduction. 2 Baer was from an old family of Lower Alsace. Apart from that, we cannot say what the basis might have been for the degree of familiarity suggested here. 3 This would have been arranged during Baer’s recent visit to Rome; see Ep 3011:21–3. 4 For Franz (i) Baer see Ep 2153 n7; for his son, Franz (ii) Baer (d 1580), see n6 below. 5 The Young Church of St Peter, known simply as Young St Peter (Jung Sankt Peter), was so called to distinguish it from Old St Peter’s church, a much earlier foundation.

3066  From Piotr Tomicki  1535

403

possesses a character that one might say was born for virtue.6 The man who gives a benefit to a worthy recipient receives a benefit by his gift. I hear, how- 20 ever, there are certain obstacles that prevent the said young man from taking possession.7 If there is anything you can do in this matter to assist Ludwig Baer, you see how many good men you will bind to yourself by this helpful act. If not, I hope you will be indulgent towards my presumption, for it was not greed that taught me this brashness, but the desire to oblige my friends. 25 I hope that you and all who are dear to you are in the best of health. Basel, 23 October 1535 Erasmus of Rotterdam, in my own hand 3066 / From Piotr Tomicki

Cracow, 25 October 1535

First published by Allen, this is Tomicki’s reply to Ep 3049. The original letter is described by Allen as ‘a fair copy, made by a secretary, signed and addressed by another contemporary hand (not Tomiczki), folded as though for dispatch, but not sent.’ It is in the Zamoyski Collection of the Polish National Library at Warsaw (ms b n b o z 2053 vol 19 no 2312). In the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel there is a copy in the hand of Stanislaus Hosius, another royal secretary, that was sent to Erasmus on 9 August 1536 by Jan Antonin, Tomicki’s personal physician (ms Variorum epistolae ad Erasmum, folios 20–5). In forwarding the letter, Antonin states that Tomicki wrote the letter the day before he died (29 October, so in fact four days before he died), when he was too weak to sign it, that his executors had thought it improper to send it following the death of the author, but that he was sending it because it was such clear evidence of Tomicki’s good will (see Ep 3137:28–35). The first printed version of the letter was that of Franciscus Richardus Goezius in Otium Varsaviense

*****



6 Franz (ii) Baer is known to have been registered at the universities of Basel (1527), Freiburg (1529), and Heidelberg (1538), where he studied law. Writing to the Strasbourg city council in support of the appointment of young Franz to the canonry in question Ludwig Baer described him as young man just over twenty who had spent some years at Paris, acquired a substantial knowledge of Latin and Italian (welsch), and aspired to go to Italy to take a doctorate in both laws (the letter was published by Gustav Knod, pages 131–2, as an appendix to this letter; see introduction above). 7 Strasbourg had long since officially adopted the Reformation, and Young St Peter had been an evangelical church since 1524. In his letter to the city council (see preceding note) Ludwig Baer indicated that the provost and chapter had stated that they had no objection to the appointment of young Franz if the city magistrates permitted it. The response of the magistrates is not known.

3066  From Piotr Tomicki  1535

404

(Wrocław: Johann Jakob Korn 1755) 47–54. The first to print the letter from the original was Wierzbowski i 328–31 (no 480).

Your delightful and wonderfully elegant letter, even if it seemed to have something of Socratic irony about it, brought me more pleasure than one could imagine. I was pleased to learn all the news that you sent me, but one item was not just pleasing but absolutely thrilling, the report that Paul iii, of all the pontiffs that this age has seen the one who is truly supreme, whose practice it has been to select for the college of eminent fathers those who excel in virtue and learning and in every other way, has considered appointing you also to the same college.1 My dear Erasmus, when your letter was delivered to me, I was suffering from a most serious illness, more serious than one can say, but on reading that letter I felt greatly relieved and revived. But after I reached the place in my reading where you describe the great honour that the supreme pontiff wished to confer on you, I leaped with joy and, forgetting all about my serious illness, I felt I was completely restored to my former good health, perhaps because I love and esteem you – and rightly so – for your vast learning, or perhaps because I regard it as of paramount importance for the reestablishment of Christendom (which now, to our sorrow, has been seriously shaken and almost torn from its foundations) that such high honours be conferred on you and men like you, for then the church will have, not just in word but in reality, such adamantine hinges as no mad violence could wrench apart.2 When this past summer the news came to me that John, bishop of Rochester (who suffered the ultimate penalty as a result of the honour conferred on him),3 Gasparo Contarini,4 *****

3066 1 See Ep 3049:182–94. 2 The Latin for ‘adamantine hinges’ is cardines adamantinos, which plays on the word cardo, -inis ‘pivot-hinge,’ ‘axis,’ ‘turning point’ as the origin of cardinalis ‘cardinal,’ a uniquely important priest. 3 Paul iii’s appointment of John Fisher to the sacred college so angered Henry viii that he ordered the immediate execution of the imprisoned bishop (Ep 3037 n29). 4 Gasparo Contarini (1483–1542) of Venice was still a layman, though with important theological writings to his credit, when in May 1535 Paul iii appointed him to the college of cardinals. Eager to heal the schism in the church caused by the Reformation, he was a leader of Catholic reform and of moderation and conciliation in dealing with the Protestant reformers. In 1536 he chaired the commission that prepared the Consilium de emendanda ecclesia, which was unsparing in its identification of the abuses needing reform. He subsequently participated

5

10

15

20

3066  From Piotr Tomicki  1535

405

Girolamo Ghinucci,5 the archbishop of Capua,6 Jacopo Simonetta,7 and several other men of remarkable learning and integrity, had been raised by Paul iii to the cardinalate, I could hardly contain myself (for it is hard to keep si- 25 lent in joy no less than in sorrow) – I wanted not just to write a letter lauding this action of the pope, but to urge his royal Majesty to do the same.8 We were delighted beyond measure that men of such great worth were recognized in such a striking manner. *****









in reforms of the curia and in the preparation for the general council that would eventually convene at Trent (1545). In 1541 he attended as papal legate the Diet of Regensburg, where Catholic and Lutheran delegations (the latter headed by Philippus Melanchthon) reached an agreement on the doctrine of justification (never ratified by Rome) but found no consensus on the Eucharist and other matters. After Contarini’s death, leadership at Rome passed increasingly to the conservative opponents of any concessions to the Protestants, and they would eventually prevail at the Council of Trent. Contarini and Erasmus held many views in common, but there is no evidence that they ever met or corresponded. 5 Girolamo Ghinucci of Siena (d 1541) rose in papal service under Julius ii and Leo x, who in 1518 entrusted him with the preliminary investigation of Martin Luther. Sent to England as papal nuncio in 1520, he spent much of the next decade on diplomatic assignments in the service of Henry viii, who in 1522 made him bishop of Worcester. During 1530 he was in charge of obtaining the favourable opinion of Italian universities on the divorce. When Henry broke with Rome in 1534, Ghinucci was deprived of the see of Worcester and returned to papal service. Raised to the cardinalate May 1535, he served on a variety of reform commissions and committees planning for a council, earning a reputation as a conservative hostile to all departures from tradition. Among other things, he opposed the foundation of the Jesuit order because of their novel ideas on asceticism. 6 Nikolaus von Schönberg (Ep 3047 n10). At the time of his appointment to the college of cardinals in May 1535 Schönberg was already in poor health, and he died in September 1537, before he could play a significant role in Paul iii’s plans for reform. 7 Trained in civil and canon law at Padua and Pavia, Jacopo Simonetta of Milan (c 1475–1539) became a papal advocate under Julius ii. Clement vii drew on his legal expertise in the divorce case of Henry viii, and the decision in favour of Queen Catherine (March 1534) was largely due to Simonetta’s cogent presentation of the case in consistory. Raised to the cardinalate in May 1535, he was closely associated with the reform of the curia and the attempts to convene a reform council. An admirer of Erasmus, he was much esteemed by the reforming cardinals Jacopo Sadoleto (Ep 1511 introduction) and Reginald Pole (Ep 1627 introduction). 8 King Sigismund i

3066  From Piotr Tomicki  1535

406

If at that time we had received any reliable information about you too, such is our love for you, my dear Erasmus, that his royal Majesty and I myself would have written to Paul iii to express our thanks for his determination to honour and promote you. This, of course, may still be done. But before the day on which your letter was delivered, we had not received even the faintest inkling of the pope’s generous feelings for you, of his intention to confer the cardinal’s hat on you, something you yourself did not expect. The only news we had received was that through the generosity of the pope you had been honoured with the provostship of Deventer.9 This in itself was a great source of joy to us. But what are you telling me, my dear Erasmus? Are you intending to reject a cardinal’s hat? Are you determined to dig in your heels to prevent these honours and resources, which would provide you with the means of exercising your talents, from being conferred on you, a distinction that you never imagined even in your dreams? Please permit us to say to you just what we think. Though we profess to be counted among those who not only praise your wisdom and learning but also admire it, we can find no argument to approve this plan of yours, which seems to us to be out of keeping with your intelligence and high-mindedness. For what reason have you for rejecting this advance in rank and fortune? You say that you are a mere creature of a day. Well then, what are the rest of mortals? Is there anyone who could promise himself for certain that he would live longer than those tiny creatures in the river Bug to which Nature has allowed no more than a single day of life?10 Granted, old men cannot live long. But young men too may die suddenly. Nor is there anyone in the prime of life with so strong and solid a physique that he can promise himself that he will see tomorrow, since no one knows what the late evening brings.11 So since that heavy rock of Tantalus hangs over the necks of all men equally, and no one can know when it will fall and crush him,12 shall we all hesitate to become involved in ***** 9 Epp 3033–4 10 In the expression translated above as ‘creature of the day’ Tomicki uses the Greek word for a mayfly (τὸ ἡμερόβιον). Here too, in the reference to tiny creatures in the river Bug (fluvius Hypanis) in ancient Sarmatia (present-day Ukraine), the reference is to the short-lived mayfly. See Aristotle Historia ­animalium 522b; Aelian De natura animalium 5.43; Cicero Tusculan Disputations 1.94; Pliny Naturalis historia 11.120. 11 Adagia i vii 5, citing Virgil Georgics 1.461 12 Tantalus, king of Lydia, son of Jupiter by a nymph, was, for crimes variously described in the sources, tormented with punishments that also varied in the telling. According to one tradition, he was made to sit under a huge stone hung at some distance over his head and ready to fall at any moment.

30

35

40

45

50

55

3066  From Piotr Tomicki  1535

407

the affairs of the commonwealth, to fill honourable positions in it, and to take part in its management, because we do not know whether we shall live for a day, or even for a single hour, or a fraction of an hour? Consider, my dear Erasmus, what will be the result if the problems that seem to bother you deterred everyone else from undertaking great things. What if you thought that only those who could expect to live a long life should be honoured with distinctions and handed the reins of government, and thus the management of the commonwealth would be restricted to the impetuosity of youth? If they held the key, what the commonwealth would be like is a question I would rather leave for you to decide than spell out in my own words. The fact that good judgment acquired from long and deep experience is characteristic of this stage of life is not, in our opinion, the only reason why the old are preferred to the young for the management of public affairs; but it is also of no small significance that the nearer men see themselves to the time when they must leave the temporary lodgings of the body for that eternal home and give an account before a stern judge of the life they have led and what they had done in it, the less likely they are to commit any action for which, if they were challenged, they could not give an account. So perhaps for this reason those who already have one foot in Charon’s skiff are judged especially suited and fitting to receive the greatest honours;13 nor could age be a satisfactory excuse that would justify anyone in thinking that honours and responsibilities should be refused. So, my dear Erasmus, we think there will be no one who will accept this excuse of yours. Nor should you avoid the honour of the cardinalate because you believe you have little time left to live, since it is possible you may have a longer life than you imagine, and if it turns out otherwise (which God forbid), what matters, I think, is not how long you fulfil the role of cardinal, but how well. If heaven would allow you even a year to enjoy this high office, I have no doubt a much greater benefit would accrue to Christendom from that than from many others who have held that same distinction for many years. But perhaps you fear the scrannel twittering of spiteful critics, Lutherans in particular. Dear Erasmus, it is the fate of kings to be ill spoken of when you have acted nobly.14 In fact, in the opinion of the wisest men, to be maligned by evil critics is judged the highest compliment. No one’s reputation or dignity can be damaged by the jibes of a worthless profligate; rather it is cast in ***** 13 Charon was the boatman who carried the souls of the dead across the rivers Styx and Acheron into the underworld. 14 A saying attributed to Alexander the Great by Plutarch and others; see Apophthegmata 4.68 cwe 37 357.

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

3066  From Piotr Tomicki  1535

408

a brighter light. A man with your experience should not depend on the opinion of anyone else; you should stand by your own judgment, not that of others. If you know you have acted properly, and your misguided critics interpret your action differently, you should be content with your own conscience and not keep looking outside like some borrowed ox.15 But if you feel that you cannot be completely indifferent to what people say about you and what your future reputation will be, we do not see why you should not rather fear the silent thoughts and suspicions of those who side with us, that is with the Roman church. It is true that you have never abandoned the fellowship of godly men and have submitted all your writings to the scrutiny of the Catholic church, yet by following your own judgment and almost dismissing outright the principle followed by Solon,16 you have given many people the impression that you take a middle position, since neither do you believe that you ought to defend the tenets of the Roman church tooth and nail nor do you think that the teaching of those who have rebelled against it should be completely demolished. So by holding that one should not even smash their fire shovels but only scatter and spread out the fire as it comes from the other side, you have caused some to suspect that your sympathies lie with the Lutherans rather than the Roman church. If now you reject this honour which the supreme pontiff has just offered you, that widespread suspicion will be confirmed. They will think that you despise this great distinction and regard it as of no significance or that you shrink from accepting it so as not to be forced to descend into the arena with the Lutherans. The first reaction they will judge the result of excessive pride and the second of a mean and abject character. They will say that both are a sure sign and proof of a secret conspiracy between you and the Lutherans, nor will they allow any argument to shift them from this opinion. Several years have passed since I remember reading in a little book of yours that you repented of a decision you had made not to concern yourself with improving your fortunes or your status, for if you were placed in some exalted position you would not be such an inviting target for any carping critic who came along.17 Just think, a God-given opportunity has been offered ***** 15 Ie someone who in strange company does not get the treatment he thinks he deserves and wishes he were home among his own; see Adagia i x 62. 16 When Solon was asked by the tyrant Pisistratus what gave him the courage to oppose his tyranny, he answered ‘my advanced years,’ meaning that for him old age was a source of boldness ‘because he did not have much life left even if no one killed him’; Apophthegmata 7.20 cwe 38 770. 17 Reference unidentified

95

100

105

110

115

120

3066  From Piotr Tomicki  1535

409

you to free yourself easily from the contempt of the most contemptible of men and to obtain the highest honours as though at the wave of a magic wand. Such an opportunity, it seems to me, should be embraced with outstretched hands (as the saying goes),18 since even for the survival of your writings I think it important that posterity understand the tribute paid to your labours, a tribute you earned long ago. From this all will be quick to conclude that they should not dismiss the brilliant monuments of such a genius, for the wisest and truest judge of a man’s learning, character, and services thought it deserving of the highest eminence for that very reason. I know there is a story that the noble Cato recommended to someone that he too should promise money to the electors when he saw evil men with their evil tricks fighting like gladiators to secure a path to the consulship and making plans to destroy the republic.19 But if you had to intrigue and canvass for this honour, I would not dare to advise you to do so and at your age to act like a fool, even if it were for the common good. It is not permitted to us Christians to strive after honours; by the same token it is not permissible for us, if we have Christian charity, to refuse honours when they are offered. So since he who called you by his own free choice is the appointed head of the church whom it is wrong to disobey, take care that, in failing in obedience you may appear to have refused, not the supreme pontiff Paul iii, but the Holy Spirit. For I do not think it likely that Paul iii could have entertained the idea of appointing you to the college of cardinals without the prompting and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. If you think that a high-minded man should despise wealth, property, power, and honours, we do not argue. But we believe it possible that someone may reject these blessings of fortune not because he thinks it wrong to covet them, but because he seeks to avoid the trouble, fears the perils without which it is impossible to gain these positions or to retain them with honour when they have been gained. We are told that Demosthenes liked to say, for good reason, that if young men knew what trouble, what dangers hung over those who enter political life, they would hurl themselves headlong from a high cliff rather take any part in it.20 If through fear of such perils a man shied away from playing an honoured part ***** 18 Adagia ii ix 54 19 Cato is said to have approved of bribing the electorate in an attempt to frustrate Julius Caesar’s plans for the consulship in 60 bc; see Suetonius Divus Iulius 19.1. ‘To fight like gladiators’ was to fight to the death (Adagia i iii 76, citing Terence Phormio 964). 20 See Apophthegmata 4.360 cwe 37 449.

125

130

135

140

145

150

155

3066  From Piotr Tomicki  1535

410

in the commonwealth, I would consider that he had no real understanding of what true courage is. Moreover I am convinced that to condemn something you have not yet obtained is no great matter. But I judge a man to be great and consider him blessed with a lofty and noble mind if when he has reached those heights that are a man’s truest test and that someone has described as ‘incentives to evil,’21 he is still not so thrown off balance that he abandons the familiar pattern of his life, but amid the splendour of his success preserves the even tenor of his ways and retains the same convictions, ‘having those things,’ according to the teaching of Paul, ‘as though he did not have them.’22 It is easy for anyone to give rules on how to lead one’s life for those who are set in a high and distinguished position and are abundantly provided with all the blessings of fortune. But to live by the rules when you have been placed in such a fortunate position and not to swerve from the obligations of one’s office seems to be very difficult indeed. So do not hesitate to put yourself to the test. They say political power reveals the man.23 Heretofore you have instructed popes, cardinals, Christian kings, and princes on how they should conduct themselves. You too must rise now into their place, for God is calling you there. Put yourself forward as a living model for them. Strive to put your precepts into practice. Rescue Christendom, which is on the point of collapse, and you will make your name immortal and will receive from Almighty God that reward which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has risen into the heart of man.24 The warmer our feelings for you, my dear Erasmus, the more we are prompted by our love to urge you not to refuse the cardinal’s hat. But this letter has grown longer than I intended at the start, so I must omit many arguments and sound the retreat. I beg you to put the kindest construction possible on our boldness in pressing you at such great length when a wise and learned man like you knows full well what ought to be done. At least we have acted out of the abundance of our love for you and for Christendom, whose situation would be vastly improved if we could persuade you to do as we advise. So if we have erred, put it down partly to our love, and partly to your generosity, which has taught us to treat you in an even more familiar manner than perhaps we ought. Cracow, 25 October 1535 To the most learned Erasmus, provost of Deventer, a very dear friend *****

21 Ovid Metamorphoses 1.140 22 2 Cor 6:10; cf also 1 Cor 7:29–32. 23 Adagia i x 76 24 Cf 1 Cor 2:9.

160

165

170

175

180

185

190

3067  From Erasmus Schets  1535 3067 / From Erasmus Schets

411 Antwerp, 26 October 1535

This letter was first published by Allen. The autograph is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms Scheti epistolae 33).

† Greetings. I last wrote to you in August,1 my dearest Master Erasmus, and I sent you several letters which I had received from England to be forwarded to you. Here are some others that I received with the same charge.2 So as not to fail in my duty I am directing these to Strasbourg.3 I hope they will reach you soon. I wrote at that time to tell you the sums I had received from England during that month to be applied to your account. Alvaro de Astudillo has now indicated from England that he has received in your name forty-two and one half nobles in current money, which he has exchanged for me into one hundred thirteen florins and thirteen stuivers in our currency.4 These have been added to the rest of your money that I am keeping, and will be kept safe until you tell me what you want done with the accumulated sum. Grapheus wrote to you and sent some papers that you had demanded of him.5 I sent everything on to my Gaspar in Frankfurt just as he had entrusted them to me.6 He was at the fair,7 and I entrusted him with giving the papers to Froben, in whose possession I think they will reach you safely. Your Ecclesiastes, the Preacher has arrived.8 I think that many readers who belong to this profession will be stunned by its piercing light. I hope they will judge themselves conscientiously by what they see there and provide for their Christian flock what the dignity of the office demands in a more honest manner than seems to have been the case generally. As people are often mistaken in the opinions they hold, so many who think me on more friendly and intimate terms with you than I have earned keep asking me whether the rumour flying about that you have been *****

3067 1 Ep 3042 2 Among them was Ep 3058. 3 Cf Epp 2955:1-2, 2992:2–4. 4 See Ep 3058 n3. For Astudillo, see Ep 2997 n14. 5 See Ep 3053. 6 For Erasmus Schets’ son Gaspar, see Ep 2897 introduction. 7 Ie the autumn book fair 8 Ep 3036

5

10

15

20

3067  From Erasmus Schets  1535

412

honoured with a cardinal’s hat is true or not.9 There is nothing I can say by 25 way of response except that I do not know and do not believe it, unless perhaps because of the prompting of your own conscience or pressure from kings you are resigning yourself to the loss of your remaining leisure and have accepted that calling in the cause of religious tranquillity and the peace of the universal church. If there is anything in this, please let me know so 30 that I may have something to satisfy these many friendly inquiries. Farewell and best wishes, my dear Master Erasmus. From Antwerp, 26 October 1535 Yours sincerely, Erasmus Schets Astudillo did not say in his letter from whom he received this money. 35 At least he sent me these letters to be forwarded to you. He supposes they will make clear to you from whom the money comes and so there is no need to signify this.10 † To the erudite Master Erasmus of Rotterdam. In Freiburg 3067a / To Bonifacius Amerbach

[Basel, after 22 October 1535]

This letter, unknown to Allen, came to light in 1950 among unsorted papers of Bonifacius Amerbach in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (Autographa lit. e) and was first published by Alfred Hartmann as ak Ep 1990. On 22 October, Peter Reich (Ep 3059 n3), the purchaser of Erasmus’ house at Freiburg (Ep 3056), wrote to Bonifacius Amerbach complaining that a number of cabinets and wardrobes that he deemed an integral part of the house had been removed and sold and requesting that they be returned (ak Ep 1989). Erasmus here supplies Bonifacius with material for a response. The date is as precise as it can be.

[ …]1 emphatically and with a sincere expression on his face that he would rather lose thirty crowns than cheat someone of three plappards, etc.2 There ***** 9 See Ep 3007 n3. 10 The donors were Thomas Cranmer, Thomas Cromwell, and John Longland; see Ep 3058:12–18.

3067a 1 The beginning of the letter is missing. It might have begun with something like ‘An honest man would say …’ 2 For plappards see Ep 1543 n2. Thirty écus au soleil (commonly called ‘crowns’) were equivalent to £9 10s 0d groot flemish or just over the annual wage income

3067a  To Bonifacius Amerbach  [1535]

413

was no need to mention the six florins.3 He has the document with my signature. I had instructed Gilbert,4 both by word of mouth and in writing, to make him a present of this if a problem arose. When on his return he was 5 reprimanded for having given nothing, he offered as an excuse the absence of his Reverence,5 adding some difficulty also about the chaplain.6 The shutters on the windows in the heated room on the upper floor seemed to me shoddy workmanship, serving no purpose, so I removed them and put them to other uses. That took place three years ago. The owner of a 10 house can move objects even if fixed to the wall, although this is not permissible during the period of the sale and transfer. In the upstairs heated room there were three cupboards fixed to the wall, one of which I moved to the room in which I slept.7 The cupboard in the kitchen I bought new when living in the Villinger house and when I moved, I took it with me.8 It was no 15 more fastened to the wall than bookcases are.

*****

of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter. Three plappards were worth 7d groot Flemish, 2d less than a day’s wage of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). In other words, an honest man would forego a year’s wage rather than cheat someone of a day’s pay. 3 In his letter to Bonifacius (ak Ep 1989:3–8), Reich says that the price of the house had been agreed but for six florins, which he would have gladly surrendered had it not been for the matter of the furnishings that had been removed from the house and sold. The coins were presumably Rhenish florins; the sum was equivalent to £1 9s 6d groot Flemish, about forty days’ wage income of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). 4 Gilbert Cousin (Ep 2985 introduction), whom Erasmus had sent to Freiburg ‘to sell the furniture’ (Ep 3059:2–3) 5 Ie Peter Reich 6 Probably Johannes Sutor Bollanus (1496–1552), chaplain at the Freiburg minster and president of the Collegium Sapientiae (ak Epp 1990 n1, 2067 n2), though what his interest in this matter would be is not clear 7 For ‘cupboard,’ here and in the following sentence, Erasmus uses the word promptarium (literally ‘storeroom’) to refer to storage cabinets or cupboards. 8 The Villinger house was the house ‘zum Walfisch,’ in which Erasmus lived from April 1529 to September 1531, when he moved to the newly purchased house ‘zum Kind Jesu’ (see Ep 2462 introduction). The cupboard in the kitchen (promp­ tarium in culina) was among the wooden items (lignea) sold at Freiburg after Erasmus’ departure and the sale of his house; see Major 45.

3067a  To Bonifacius Amerbach  [1535]

414

If my housekeeper removed anything illegally and in opposition to my wishes, I have succeeded in calming down the Jews with three batzen.9 I have given the secretary three florins for the document of sale.10 3068 / From Gilbert Cousin

[Nozeroy], 2 November [1535]

This letter was first published in the Cognati opuscula 55–7, then in the Cognati epistolae 296–7. Cousin had left Basel around 15 October, carrying Epp 3062–3 with him, to return to his hometown of Nozeroy, still planning to rejoin Erasmus in Basel at some point (Ep 3052 n15). This letter appears to have been written after his arrival in Nozeroy, where he encountered difficulties that are not clearly described. As of 12 February 1536, neither this letter nor Ep 3080 had reached Erasmus; see Ep 3095 n3. The Allen editors, to whom both letters appeared to have the character of rhetorical compositions rather than personal letters, wonder if they were ever sent, at least in their current form (cf Ep 3104 n3). There is, however, some indication that Erasmus may eventually have seen this letter; see n3 below.

gilbert cousin of nozeroy to the incomparable master erasmus of rotterdam, jewel among all the erudite theologians of our age, his much respected patron, greeting I have now grown accustomed to lamenting my bad luck in silence, dear Erasmus, matchless glory of our age, for after that wonderful association that 5 allowed me to be constantly in your presence, I have hurled myself by my own choice into a host of varied and extraordinary disasters. When I was with

*****

9 In other words, with 12d groot Flemish, little more than a day’s wage of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). There is nothing about this in Peter Reich’s letter of complaint (see introduction above). The housekeeper, Margarete Büsslin, who had threatened legal action, received a generous financial settlement (see Ep 3055). But it is not at all clear who would have had to be calmed down because of her alleged removal of items from the house. Actual Jews are not likely to have been involved; there had been no Jewish community in Basel since the end of the fourteenth century. It is thus probable that ‘Jew’ is used here as a pejorative description of people who drive a hard bargain. But the meaning remains unclear. 10 Presumably Rhenish florins; the sum was equivalent to 14s 9d groot Flemish, about twenty days’ wage income of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13).

3068  From Gilbert Cousin  [1535]

415

you, no mortal was happier than I. Now I am inclined to believe that there is no one more unhappy, not so much because I have fallen on the rocky Scylla of this earthly life as that I am deprived of your learned company.1 Although there was nothing more enjoyable than this and nothing more flattering, I was snatched away by some evil genius that envied my good fortune. It happens commonly enough that when inexperienced persons like me enjoy a happy experience, we do not appreciate it; only when we have no chance of recovering our loss do we think back on our former state. I very deeply regret that this is becoming true of me. Whenever I recall (and I constantly do so) your great generosity to me, which I never adequately recognized, every memory makes me repent not just of my course of action, but almost of my whole existence. I see men with a greater claim to learning than myself ready to face all the perils of a journey in order to see  Erasmus and counting themselves truly blessed if you consider them worthy of your conversation or your friendship. And I, who had been appointed a member of your household, where I could look upon your face, hear your precious words, with which, like a second Pericles, you leave your mark on all who listen to you,2 and was privileged to hear you discoursing on Christian and other themes with the consummate authority of a great man and a prince in the world of letters – I, wretch that I am, leave all this behind, abandoning what the worthiest of men would pay any price to possess. What a hapless and truly miserable creature I am, hauled back home and dumped in the world’s prison house. I shall eternally curse these legal difficulties and curse those who were responsible for my thoughtlessly leaving a society that brought me every sort of happiness and seemed to promise me the acquisition of great honour.3 But what could one do? ‘Opportunity is long in

***** 3068 1 For the proverbial expression about escaping the whirlpools of Charybdis only to fall onto the rocks of Scylla, see Adagia i v 4. 2 Eupolis Demoi 6 3 The words litium tricis, literally ‘the complexities of the litigation,’ indicate legal difficulties of some sort, but nowhere is their nature made clear. In Ep 3122:8– 9 Erasmus uses the same words in describing Cousin’s situation to François Bonvalot. In Epp 3062:6–9 and 3104:20–30 Cousin’s parents are presented as partially responsible for the situation. It seems that they did not want him to return to Basel. On 8 February 1535 Cousin had written to Bonifacius Amerbach that his parents wanted him to return to Nozeroy but that he could not bear to leave Erasmus (ak Ep 1906).

10

15

20

25

30

3068  From Gilbert Cousin  [1535]

416

the forelock, but bald behind.’4 Opportunity is offered once, then snatched from our midst. My misfortune has brought me to the point where I must ac- 35 cept the painful consequences. Since there is no way out, I shall patiently nurse this sorrow on my own. Meanwhile Erasmus, most learned of men, with your usual courtesy spare a thought for your protégé, who is so totally bound to you that if ever he were master of his own destiny, he would put it all in your hands. I want to be and to be known as your creature. Nor will anything please 40 me more than to know that you would make such use of my services that everyone would see that you had total control over me. Farewell, most blessed of men, glory and ornament of our age, great and erudite Erasmus. In haste, on the morrow of All Saints 3069 / From Paul Volz

Strasbourg, 4 November 1535

This letter was first published as Ep 229 in Förstemann / Günther. The autograph was in the Burscher Collection of the University Library at Leipzig (Ep 1254 introduction). For Paul Volz, the Benedictine abbot whose conversion to the Reformation did not disturb the friendship between him and Erasmus, see Ep 2616 n7.

Cordial greetings. I was thrilled, my dearest Erasmus, to receive your brief letter along with the Ecclesiastes, which you sent me as a gift.1 Even without this I would have known your feelings towards me. It was sent at just the proper time, for nothing that one loves comes late.2 I am grateful to you and I thank you warmly for it and for your other kindnesses to me, and will in 5 return do what I rightly can on your behalf. I send you my sympathy, dear Erasmus, over the death of your friends, illustrious friends too, though it may rather be a matter for rejoicing that both went to their death bravely in defence of the right.3 That a certain Etienne Dolet has made such an impudent and all-encompassing attack on your life 10 and teaching would perhaps be a better reason for my sympathy if we did not *****

4 Because the back of the goddess Opportunity’s head was bald, it was too late to seize her after she had run past (Adagia i vii 70).



3069 1 The letter is not extant. For the Ecclesiastes, see Ep 3036. 2 One supposes that in the letter accompanying the book Erasmus had made apologies for the much-delayed publication of a long-promised book. 3 John Fisher and Thomas More; see Ep 2948 n2.



3069  From Paul Volz  1535

417

know that when a Dares attacks an Entellus he will soon pay the penalty for his presumption.4 You, like your Terminus, will yield to no one,5 and without doubt will teach this bold fellow that he has spent his precious time badly in slandering an old man and (I say it without flattery) one who has rendered 15 outstanding service to all mankind, past, present, and future.6 Now you are fighting a war to the finish with these beasts, when you might perhaps devote your energies to better causes, and I could more confidently expect the little scholarly gift with which you promise to honour me at another time.7 Our friend Sapidus has composed a poem against this enemy of yours.8 20 If Froben does not have it yet, he will have it whenever he wishes. But I think Georg Ulricher has already sent it.9 I sent as rapidly as I could the four accounts of the death of More10 addressed to our Beatus Rhenanus.11 Farewell dear friend in Christ; let us pray the Lord to deliver us from evil. Amen. *****











4 In the fifth book of the Aeneid (lines 362–484) Dares, a bold and arrogant fighter, is defeated in a brutal boxing match by the older and more reluctant Entellus (cf Adagia iii i 69). In his Dialogus de imitatione Ciceroniana Dolet had ridiculed Erasmus as ‘toothless old food for worms.’ Erasmus, who blamed the work on Girolamo Aleandro, refused to respond. See Ep 3005 n5. 5 On the Terminus seal, see Ep 3028 n13. 6 Though Erasmus himself did not respond to Dolet (see n4 above), others planned to do so. On 5 November 1535 Philippus Melanchthon wrote to Joachim Camerarius that he would arrange for someone to write a reply to Dolet (mbw Ep 1659 §3). On 12 May 1536 Melanchthon assured Erasmus that the work had been written by a student (Ep 3120:57–62), but it was never published. 7 Erasmus had evidently promised to dedicate a future work to Volz. He did not live to fulfil his promise, but a few months before his death he did send Volz a gilded silver cup (Ep 3114:1–4). He also made generous provision for Volz in his last will; see 595:23 below. 8 For Johannes Sapidus (Johann Witz), humanist poet and renowned schoolteacher, first at Sélestat and then at Strasbourg, see Ep 323. As was the case with Volz, his adherence to the Reformation did not disturb his long-standing friendship with Erasmus. His poem against Dolet seems to have disappeared without a trace. 9 Georg Ulricher, the Strasbourg publisher (Ep 2312 n2) 10 The Allen editors could not explain this reference, which seemed to them to imply the existence of four different accounts of the death of More. Gerlo, by contrast, suggests plausibly that the reference is probably to four copies of the Expositio fidelis de morte Thomae Mori (see 601–18 below) that had gone via Volz to Beatus for forwarding to others. 11 Both Förstemann / Günther and Allen have Battus Rhenanus. ‘Battus’ could be a slip of the pen for Beatus, but it could also be the result of adding, for reasons unknown, the Latin ending -us to the German form of Beatus, which at the time

3069  From Paul Volz  1535

418

Strasbourg, 4 November 1535 25 Your friend Paul Volz, abbot, meaning ‘beneath’12 To the venerable Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, most learned doctor of sacred letters, dearest brother and friend in Christ, resident in Basel 3070 / From Petrus Merbelius

Milan, 9 November 1535

This letter, Merbeliuis’ answer to Ep 3005, was first published as Ep 230 in Förstemann / Günther. The autograph was in the Burscher Collection of the University Library at Leipzig (Ep 1254 introduction).

Greetings, dearest Erasmus. Someone unknown to me (an Italian, however) recently delivered the letter that you had addressed to Laurentia and me on 18 March. If it was rather late in arriving, it was nonetheless most welcome, as always. The courier told me that you had sent with him a copy of your Precationes for me,1 which a thief, a companion on the journey, had stolen from 5 him along with his travel money. The copy that you had sent for Gumppenberg was safe, he said; he gave it to me along with your letter and asked me to send it on to Rome.2 I did so gladly, for he told me that he had changed his plan about going to Rome. I liked your Precationes very much. If you send it again, you will please me greatly. The plan you suggest in your letter is most wise 10 and proper. In this way your petty critics will be silently demolished.

***** was Batt (in modern German it is Beat). In a letter of 8 May 1516, written in German, the Alsatian humanist Jakob Wimpfeling refers to Beatus Rhenanus as Batt Rÿnauw (Reinau); see Jakob Wimpfeling Briefwechsel (= vols iii/1 and 2 of Jacobi Wimpfelingi Opera selecta ed Otto Herding et al [Munich 1965-90] 3 vols) iii/2 800 (no 364). Information and reference kindly supplied by Amy Nelson Burnett. 12 The Latin is abbass [an unusual spelling of abbas], id est plus infra, meaning literally ‘abbot, that is lower.’ Did Volz perhaps mean something like ‘far below [you]’ as a compliment to Erasmus? But if so, where did he get that meaning of abbas? It could be a pun on the Italian word abbasso (‘down below’) but that seems a bit far-fetched for someone who, as far as is known, never set foot in Italy.

3070 1 The Precationes aliquot novae, the preface to which, Ep 2994, is dated 13 February 1535 2 The letter is not extant; nor is the gift acknowledged in any of Gumppenberg’s surviving letters to Erasmus.

3071  From Viglius Zuichemus  1535

419

I have no doubt you have heard of the death of my prince, the duke of Milan,3 whose passing causes me more grief than I can say. On the first day of November around midnight that excellent duke left this world for a better. There is no one who does not bitterly mourn his death, but hardly anyone is more upset than I. For twenty years I have handled his private affairs. It is not a prince but a father I have lost. He had placed great trust in my loyalty to him. But what good does it do to keep on mentioning his death, except to increase the pain? I know his loss is irreparable. So I have thought it the better course to bear all things patiently that Fate ordains. But there is one thing that distresses me greatly: I have passed the flower of my youth, I have grown old, I have spent my personal resources, disasters have prevented me from receiving remuneration for past services, and now this dreadful, premature, and unexpected death has robbed and deprived me of everything. Unless the emperor out of pity shows concern for me, I do not know what to say. I wait in hope and expectation.4 This is what I wanted to write in my grief. Meanwhile, most worthy Erasmus, try to keep well, and continue to love me as you have always done. Nothing would be more welcome than some words of consolation from you. Farewell again and keep well. From Milan, 9 November 1535 Your most obedient servant, Petrus Merbelius To the most brilliant of theologians Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, best of fathers. In Freiburg im Breisgau 3071 / From Viglius Zuichemus

Speyer, 17 November 1535

This letter was first published in Van Heussen 116–17, and then as Ep 231 in Förstemann / Günther. The autograph was in the Burscher Collection of the University Library at Leipzig (Ep 1254 introduction).

Cordial greetings. Your letters, venerable master, I shall send on to Tielmannus Gravius and to Heresbach by the first available courier.1 If I had received them a little earlier, I could have given them to Karl Harst, who was sent by *****

3 Francesco Maria Sforza, who died on 1 November (Ep 3064 introduction) 4 Merbelius was indeed retained in the emperor’s service in Milan as his secretary and assured of appropriate compensation; Ep 3091:29–32.



3071 1 The letters are not extant. The letter to Tielmannus Gravius was presumably the one answered by Epp 3040–1; that to Konrad Heresbach may have answered Ep 3031.

15

20

25

30

3071  From Viglius Zuichemus  1535

420

the duke of Cleves to the diet that was held recently at Worms.2 Even in prison the king of Zion retains his fierce and regal temper and never ceases to prophesy a dire fate for us.3 Some of the princes are not very pleased that he has been kept alive thus far, and it was recently decreed at Worms that he should be dispatched as soon as possible. There were various opinions about the nature of the punishment to be meted out. Some favoured sewing him into a sack, as is done with parricides, and throwing him into the Ems; others thought he should be badly beaten and smeared with honey and then shut up in an iron cage and raised aloft with a swarm of bees let loose on top of him; others thought a white-hot crown should be placed on his head. In the end responsibility was given to certain of the representatives of the princes and of the imperial states to consider and decide, in consultation with the bishop of Münster, what punishments should be imposed on the Anabaptist prisoners and to settle other matters arising out of the recent war.4 Many thought that the city of Münster should be razed to the ground. But a milder view, that only the strongholds built by the Anabaptists should be torn down, prevailed. There was a long debate also on the religious question. The representatives of the duke of Saxony and of some of the other princes wanted the new evangelists to be admitted.5 But it was concluded in accordance with a decision of an earlier diet that there should be no innovation in matters of religion; the Saxons and others, however, protested against that decision in their usual manner.6 All good men must grieve at the death of More.7 But since he had been committed to prison for life, even if his death is generally thought to have *****



2 Karl Harst, Erasmus’ former famulus (1524–5), since 1530 in the service of Duke John iii of Cleves; see Ep 2231 n4. For the imperial diet at Worms, which convened on 1 November 1535, see Kerssenbrock / Mackay 708–11. 3 The ‘king of Zion’ was Jan of Leiden (Ep 2957 n20). 4 For the execution of the Anabaptist leaders see Ep 3031a:731–7. 5 The duke of Saxony in question would have been John Frederick, the Lutheran elector of Ernestine Saxony, not his kinsman (and patron of Erasmus) the Catholic Duke George of Albertine Saxony. 6 The reference could be to any of several diets, but the most obvious reference would be to the Diet of Speyer in 1529, at which the evangelical estates entered a formal protest against the hostile recess of the Catholic majority, thus being labelled ‘the protesting estates,’ or ‘protestants’ for short. But the hostile recess was renewed at the Diet of Augsburg in 1530, and the Protestants renewed their protest. 7 Ep 2948 n2

5

10

15

20

25

3072  From Conradus Pellicanus  1535

421

been undeserved since it was motivated by revenge, he must surely have preferred an honourable and celebrated death to a long imprisonment. A friend recently wrote me from Rome to say that you had been presented by Pope Paul with a rich benefice but that it was not yet known what your attitude would be to receiving it.8 However, he said, the pope is also promising you a cardinal’s hat, if you do not despise his apostolic favour.9 I would congratulate you on this if I did not know that you have always ­despised decorations of this sort. The emperor has been stuck at Palermo for some time, delayed by the affairs of the Sicilians. However, he is expected in Naples, where, it is said, the dukes of Savoy, Mantua, and Ferrara are going to meet him.10 Farewell, distinguished sir. I have not yet conveyed your greetings to Master Andreas von Könne­ ritz because the courier delivered your letter to me at nightfall and planned to leave early in the morning. But be assured that Könneritz is very fond of you and will be delighted to receive your greetings. I have no doubt he will be happy to approve my sending you in return more than a thousand greetings on his behalf.11 Speyer, 17 November 1535 Your most devoted friend Viglius Zuichemus To the greatest and most excellent restorer of the true theology and of all good letters, Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, incomparable guide and mentor 3072 / From Conradus Pellicanus

Zürich, 18 November 1535

This letter was first published as Ep 130 in Enthoven. The autograph is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 118). For Conradus Pellicanus and his stormy relationship with Erasmus, see Epp 1637, 1737, 1792a introductions. The principal bone of contention was the claim of Pellicanus that he (like other members of the Zwinglian camp) had derived his denial of the Real Presence in the Eucharist directly from Erasmus. There had now been unbroken silence between them since March 1527. This awkwardly written but heartfelt letter paved the way for a reconciliation. On 20 June 1536,

*****

8 For the conferral of the provostship of Deventer, see Epp 3033–4. The identity of Viglius’ informant is not known. 9 See Ep 2988 introduction. 10 He arrived in Naples on 25 November 1535; see Ep 3007 n18. 11 For Könneritz, see Ep 3060 n9.

30

35

40

45

3072  From Conradus Pellicanus  1535

422

three weeks before Erasmus’ death, Pellicanus, on his way back to Zürich from Strasbourg, was able to have a friendly visit with him in Basel (ak Ep 2546:31–6 with n5).

I hope, most learned Erasmus, you will take in good part this long silence of mine, which has lasted up to the present, since in the interval you have not needed a letter from me. But I beg you with all my heart not to imagine that this silence is the result of any bitterness or ill will on my part. I felt ashamed of the awkwardness of my style and thought it grated on you. I also believed that you were very angry with me and had been influenced by a judgment on me based on reports that were neither balanced nor few in number; most of all you thought that on abandoning the papistical order, I had changed my attitude completely. As a result you seemed to recoil both from an exchange of letters and from my physical presence and to think that you had nothing to gain from honouring me with your friendship. Whether this was the case or not, my excellent Erasmus, I beg you to believe that during all this period I have never lost any of my love and respect for you; in fact I have always been delighted when I heard your praises sung in our circle and equally grieved if I heard anyone speak falsely about your work or character. Although I understood that you were offended by me without, I believed, any real fault on my part, I now want you to believe this about me (which I profess before God who sees all things): that I am not conscious of having made a change for the worse by my putting aside the cowl; that I never spent an hour against my will in the Minorite order, being convinced from boyhood that this way of life was pleasing to God; and even today I would not like to have missed living there and being nurtured there in my youth, in the company of men who were certainly honest and God-fearing, and in hatred of all iniquity. In fact I believe today that there was no better order under the papistical regime.1 But after I experienced the providence of God around me and had changed the habit but not my mind in so far as it affected my zeal to live a godly life, I declare that here too I have never, even for an instant, repented *****

3072 1 Still in his teens, Pellicanus had become a Franciscan and had pursued his humanist studies as a member of the order. Made warden of the Franciscan house at Basel in 1519, he allowed it to become a centre of propaganda for the Reformation. This was not unusual: many of the first generation of evangelical preachers were members of the preaching orders.

5

10

15

20

25

3072  From Conradus Pellicanus  1535

423

of my present state, since I have no doubt that it is pleasing to the Lord; on the contrary I feel it is a way of life that is truly religious and conducive to salvation. In this state of mind I am prepared at any hour when the Lord calls me to yield to nature and to this same God in the sure hope of eternal felicity through the grace of God in Christ the Lord, whose clemency I feel around me at all times and in every circumstance. I have been given a most blessed opportunity to employ myself in the study of sacred texts and, being sound in mind and body, I am not letting the opportunity pass.2 I have an annual income from a canonry, which satisfies all my wants. My good wife attends to all domestic responsibilities without any trouble on my part.3 Scarcely once a year I examine the stocks of wine and wheat, which supply all that is needed for myself and the others. The Lord has given me a son Samuel, now in his eighth year, and a little daughter now in her seventh, beautiful children who promise well.4 I devoted my first three years to the Hebrew commentators, so that now for the third time I have no difficulty in giving each day a lecture based on the Hebrew books of the Bible. We are now conducting our third course on Leviticus. Through the grace of God we have been given Theodorus,5 an incredibly gifted young man, not yet thirty years old, as a replacement for Zwingli, whose reading, in my opinion, was less scholarly, though in piety and eloquence6 it surpassed the best that Theodorus could do; for our new *****





2 At Zürich Pellicanus taught Greek and Hebrew and was one of the most important contributors to the Zürich translation of the Bible, which appeared in instalments from 1525 to 1531. 3 Anna Fries of Zürich, whom he married in August 1526, died in 1536. In January 1537, unable to get on without someone to look after ‘domestic responsibilities,’ he married Elisabeth Kalb, his former servant. 4 The daughter’s name was Elisabeth. Born in August 1528, she died in July 1537. The son, born in June 1527, was educated at Basel, became a schoolteacher in Zürich and Winterthur, fathered eleven children, and died of the plague in 1564. 5 Theodorus Bibliander (d 1564) of Bischofszell in the Thurgau was educated at Zürich and Basel, acquiring a formidable knowledge of Semitic and other languages. In November 1531 he succeeded Huldrych Zwingli as professor of Old Testament. Among his works were a Hebrew grammar (Zürich: Christoph Froschauer 1535) and a controversial first edition of a twelfth-century Latin translation of the Qur’an (Basel: Johannes Oporinus 1543). 6 The Latin text reads excellit pietate et eruditione ‘excels in piety and scholarship,’ which cannot be right since it contradicts the preceding statement. For erudi­ tione ‘scholarship’ Pellicanus may have intended some such word as elocutione ‘expression.’

30

35

40

45

3072  From Conradus Pellicanus  1535

424

colleague is totally devoted to teaching, while Zwingli was occupied with many tasks, preaching and writing and so forth. If you have seen The Prophet Nahum,7 I know you will judge that what I am saying is true. Then for several months each year I lecture on Hebrew grammar, and I do so on my own initiative. In the time that remains, when I had some free time, I began on my own to make some notes for a second course dealing with matters neglected by Zwingli in his teaching, though I believe they are essential. Under God’s guidance I have made such progress that I am surprised at my own success: five years ago no one could have expected any such thing of me.8 There is also a rather slapdash and unsophisticated work, not worth the attention of the scholarly reader.9 But since the number of the unlearned is everywhere greater, this explains why more copies are being sold. As a result within a month the printer has begun a second edition similar to the first. I would like you to read the excuse I make for my temerity in the prologue to the first volume.10 The criticisms of the fifth volume which you made in your Ecclesiastes folio 376 (you see I have read the whole book!) with its attack on my entire project does not upset me, for I understand that you have read nothing in that book, otherwise you would have seen that what I wrote was different from what you think.11 *****



7 Propheta Nahuym iuxta Veritatem Hebraicam, Latine redditus … adjecta exegesi … (Zürich: Christoph Froschauer, July 1534), one of the fruits of Bibliander’s lectures on the minor prophets 8 The grammar of this sentence is awkward and confused, but the general meaning seems clear enough. For potuerim, the last word in the sentence, it is necessary to read potuerint. 9 Pellicanus’ Commentaria Bibliorum, a commentary on the entire Bible in seven volumes (Zürich: Christoph Froschauer 1532–9). Volumes i–iv deal with the canonical Old Testament; volume v, published in 1535, deals with the Apocrypha (cf n11 below); and volumes vi–vii deal with the New Testament. The aim was to provide simple country pastors having little or no knowledge of the biblical languages with the basis for preaching on all the books of the Bible. 10 The passage in question is found on folios a5 verso–6 recto in the 1533 Froschauer reprint of volume i. 11 Pellicanus is nowhere mentioned by name in the Ecclesiastes. But on page 376 of the first edition Erasmus refers to some ‘extremely naive persons [who] try to make the authority of all [books of the Bible, including the Apocrypha] equal and strive to convince us that even the third and fourth books of Ezra … were written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that the book entitled Wisdom … was written by Solomon …’ (cwe 68 968). Pellicanus evidently took this as aimed at his volume v (see n9 above) and concluded that Erasmus had not actually read it.

50

55

60

65

3072  From Conradus Pellicanus  1535

425

In the place of my old monks I now have friends and close acquaintances, worthy men, distinguished by reputation and material success, who are proving more pleasant and useful. In short, amid all the many benefits that God has conferred on me I desire nothing but to show a proper gratitude to our Lord God, to respond to his many gifts in no unworthy or grudging fashion, and to be able and willing, through the outpouring of his mercy, to  bear a harsher future (if such is destined to be my lot), while I continue to thank the Lord, who at a late hour thought fit to hire me for the cultivation of his vineyard and to use my services for his glory, he who performs all things in all persons. May the Lord long keep you with us for his glory and the advancement of his church. It was for this that he wanted you to produce your studies of the New Testament, the special gem among all your writings, which, with all your other works, will ensure that you will be remembered with respect through all the ages to come. Everything you have done is learned and eloquent, but in my opinion the godly tone of the Paraphrases places them above all the rest. Finally, most venerable Erasmus, I beg you to consider all that has been said and written and done as though it had never happened. You have accused me of lack of judgment, which I acknowledge to be true, but I do not admit, even in the slightest degree, to any fault in my religious observance or to any neglect of the faith. I regret that some of your writings contain attacks on me.12 But I regret it for your sake, not just for mine, for I had prepared myself well enough for this. I want you, with the experience of age, to join me in reviving our former friendship and to embrace me, as you once did, as ‘your dear friend in the Lord.’ I, like you, wish that he will not scorn me, but will take me in and recognize me as his humble servant, not for any merits of my own, which are as nothing, but through his grace, which suffices for both of us. I shall love you with all my heart as long as I live and I pray constantly, and will never cease to pray, that in heaven you will be cherished and glorified by our common Lord. Please interpret this hurried letter of mine in a generous and friendly spirit. When I understand that it did not displease you, I shall follow it with others. I wish you a long and happy life in the Lord, my dear Erasmus. Zürich, 18 November 1535 Your friend, as he once was, Conradus Pellicanus To the most celebrated and erudite theologian Master Erasmus of Rotterdam ***** 12 A reference, it seems, to the Opus epistolarum, in which Erasmus published several angry letters to Pellicanus (Epp 1637, 1640, 1792a) vehemently denying that their views of the Eucharist were identical

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

3073  From Christoph von Stadion  1535 3073 / From Christoph von Stadion

426

Dillingen, 27 November 1535

This letter, Stadion’s acknowledgment of the dedication to him of the Ecclesiastes (Ep 3036), was first published by Allen. The autograph is in the Uffenbach-Wolf Collection of the Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Hamburg (ms Supellex epistolica Uffenbachii et Wolfiorum, Fol 4 23).

Cordial greetings. So far as it has been possible given the time at my disposal, I have scanned rather than read the recently published books of your How to Preach, dear Erasmus, and I have found nothing in them to criticize.1 They show and explain what the requirements are for a preacher, what modesty and piety he should possess, and what method he should follow to make his listeners more eager to learn. Could there have been any lesson more holy, or more useful, or indeed more necessary for this generation? If ordinary people have become so lukewarm in their faith, it is the lack of good preachers, in my opinion, that is principally to blame. It seemed to me, however, that there was one thing that needed to be said. When in the first book, on folio 41, you write, among other things, ‘There are certain powerful men today who, not unlike Herod, mock Christ and his teaching,’2 you ought to have added ‘Just as Herod, on account of Herodias, had the saintly and innocent John the Baptist beheaded, so the king of England, for the sake of his concubine, beheaded More and the bishop of Rochester, two men of the greatest integrity.’3 What a cold-blooded deed that was, the like of which our age had not previously heard! When I read the story of these new martyrs, I could not hold back my tears or control my grief, and although I had not met either More or the bishop of Rochester, I sincerely wished them well for that special nobility which won them the praise of all. I have no doubt they have received the martyr’s crown. The emperor is still stuck in Sicily, and it is uncertain whether he will make for Italy or Spain, though it is thought he will go to Italy because of the death of the duke of Milan.4 *****

3073 1 The full title of the Ecclesiastes (Ep 3036) announces that it is in four books: Ecclesiastae sive de ratione concionandi libri iv. 2 cwe 67 365 3 Ep 2948 n2 4 Charles had made it to Naples from Sicily on 25 November (Ep 3007 n18). The duke of Milan had died on 1 November (Ep 3064 introduction).

5

10

15

20

3073  From Christoph von Stadion  1535

427

I have no news of the pope except, it is said, he is making every attempt to enrich his relatives.5 King Ferdinand is singing his old refrain, ‘Silver and gold have I none.’6 In spite of this ‘he saved others, himself he cannot save,’7 or does not wish to. The plague here is not too serious.8 Every day it grows less, though it flares up in many places. There is little hope of a council because of disagreements among the princes.9 The papal ambassador has written to me on this and other things, as you can see from the attached sheet.10 Not to seem completely ungrateful, I am sending seventy crowns for you and ten for your secretary Gilbert.11 I have nothing further to say now except that I pray to Christ in my daily prayers that he will long keep you safe and well for our sake and for the common good of Christendom. From our castle at Dillingen, 27 November [15]35 Your friend Christoph, bishop of Augsburg To the illustrious theologian Erasmus of Rotterdam, his friend and mentor, in Basel

*****



5 On the nepotism of Paul iii cf Ep 2998 n13. 6 Acts 3:6 7 Mark 15:31; Luke 23:35 8 On 1535 as a plague year see Ep 3049 n34. 9 Francis i in particular, though he paid lip service to the idea, was opposed to a council, fearing that the project, if it succeeded in reuniting Germany, would enhance the power and prestige of his rival Charles v. He also feared that it might curb royal influence in the French church. See Pastor 11 71–3. 10 The sheet has not survived. The papal ambassador, Pier Paolo Vergerio (Ep 2825 introduction), was at this time on his first nunciature to Germany, where he was attempting to win support for the proposed council; cf Ep 3020:24–5. 11 Most likely écus au soleil (‘crowns’). The gifts were worth £22 3s 4d and £3 3s 4d groot Flemish respectively, equivalent to two and a half years and eightyfour days’ wages of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). The gift to Gilbert Cousin had been expected. When Cousin left Basel (Ep 3052 n15), Erasmus gave him ten florins, on the understanding that he would recoup that amount from the sum to be sent by Stadion. Cousin’s acknowledgment of this arrangement is found in an autograph receipt, dated 13 October 1535, in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (Erasmuslade d 5 folio 15).

25

30

35

40

3074  From Johann Georg Hörmann  1535 3074 / From Johann Georg Hörmann

428

Speyer, 11 December 1535

This letter was first published as Ep 232 in Förstemann / Günther. The autograph, which was in the Burscher Collection of the University Library at Leipzig (Ep 1254 introduction), was the manuscript with the latest date in that col­ lection. For Johann Georg Hörmann, son of the Augsburg patrician Georg Hörmann, who had accompanied his tutor, Viglius Zuichemus, to Italy and had now joined him at Speyer, where he was an assessor at the Imperial Supreme Court (Reichskammergericht) at Speyer, see Ep 2716 n46.

Greeting. Recently, Master Erasmus, immortal glory of the world of letters, when I was recalled from Italy and had returned to our family home, my excellent and devoted father began a long and serious discussion with me about my life and my plans for the future and questioned me most carefully about education and about my studies and what I had gained in the time that had passed, and in particular whether, after the two letters I sent you in recent years,1 I had maintained your good will, windproof and watertight.2 When I confessed openly and honestly that for too many months now I had failed in my duty to write, he began, out of his fatherly concern for me, to scold me gravely and to reproach me for my negligence, since after requesting a letter from you, a rare and most precious gift, I had given no thought at all as to how I might retain your good will by my good offices. I tried to excuse my silence on many grounds, but, as the saying goes, I was talking to the deaf and reopening a closed subject.3 In short, it appeared to me that there was no way to placate my father except to promise that I would write to you again, and that unless I did this soon, I would not continue to enjoy my father’s good will. Since all laws, human and divine, require me to obey him, I hope you will put it down to my feelings for my father rather than to any lack of consideration on my part that I am interrupting your busy life with my unnecessary and pointless letter. It was finally decided in accordance with the advice of my father and my former teacher Master Viglius that I should go to Speyer and apply myself to the study of the law. For apart from the fact that to go there is the aim *****

3074 1 Not extant 2 A legal expression ‘describing things that have been completed and well cared for and in which nothing has been overlooked’ (Adagia iv v 37) 3 Adagia i iv 87 (‘talking to the deaf’), i iv 70 (‘reopening a closed subject’)

5

10

15

20

3075  From Léonard de Gruyères  [1535]

429

of all who are interested in the law, it seemed that I had a great opportunity to learn the practical side of law from my teacher Master Viglius, who holds the office of assessor there. After this, by gaining some honourable civil appointment, I would be able to recuperate the large sums that my father had expended on my education and lay up some savings for my future. So a few days ago I arrived in Speyer, and as among my first duties I decided to write to you to satisfy the wishes of my father. There were several serious considerations that deterred me from writing to you earlier and forced me on a number of occasions to check my pen as soon as I had taken it up: first, I was afraid to address you, the most learned man of our age, in my uncultivated and clumsy style; then, I was not unaware of the many heavy obligations that roll in upon you every day. When I cited these and many other arguments in answer to my father, I could never budge him from his demand, and in the end his authority won out over my reasoning. So for the present I have no other justification for writing except to explain the reasons for my silence and to testify in this letter of mine to the great affection that my father has for you. So, kind sir, I beg and implore you that, with that same generosity that you manifest towards everyone, you cast an indulgent eye on this letter of mine.4 Farewell, matchless glory of our age. Speyer, 11 December 1535 Your most respectful admirer, Johann Georg Hörmann, signed this in his own hand. To the most learned and eloquent father of good letters Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, his incomparable master. In Basel 3075 / From Léonard de Gruyères

Sursee, 12 December [1535]

This letter, Gruyères’ answer to Ep 3063, was first published as Ep 140 in Enthoven. The manuscript, in a secretary’s hand but signed by Gruyères, who also added the postscript (lines 42–4), is in the Rehdiger Collection of the Uni­ versity Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 94). This and Ep 2401a are the only two letters from Gruyères to Erasmus to have survived.

*****



4 Erasmus appears to have sent a courteous reply (see Ep 3117:1–4), but the letter is not extant.

25

30

35

40

45

3075  From Léonard de Gruyères  [1535]

430

Cordial greetings. I received two letters from you in succession,1 most honourable Master Erasmus, one sent on from Besançon, the other brought here from Basel. Both were a great delight to me not only for the elegance of your style (which is known the world over) but also because the letters themselves showed in bold relief the warm heart of a true friend. The person who told you that I had completed my mission and was living at home was mistaken;2 perhaps he too was misled by an error in identity, for the man who is acting as my substitute is also generally called ‘the official.’3 You write that you have dropped anchor for the winter in Basel and will set out for Besançon in the spring.4 I approve the plan but on this condition that, even if I am absent, you will take up residence in my house and make use of all my belongings as you wish just as if they were your own.5 The deputy I mentioned has been left in the house;6 he is a young man but well educated and of good character who has the same high respect for you that all good men feel, so I think you will get on well together. I also approve of your refusal to accept the provostship of Deventer, for it does not do justice to your abilities and merits.7 You should expect greater things to come your way unless, as you write, at this point in your life you have no heart to take on burdens of this sort. Every day I await my courier from Burgundy with your Ecclesiastes, for which I thank you from the bottom of my heart.8 I asked for it to be sent on to me and I am really looking forward to its arrival with great expectation. I have no doubt that, like all your writings, it combines a polished style with the gravity suited to the subject and will be of great benefit to all studious and truly pious readers. *****



3075 1 Only Ep 3063 survives; for some indication of the content of the other see n9 below. 2 See Ep 3063:1–2. 3 The reference is to Pierre Richardot (Ep 2880 introduction), who was the official (chief judge) of the archidiaconal court, while Gruyères was official of the archiepiscopal court at Besançon. It appears that Richardot filled in for Gruyères during his absence in Switzerland; see Ep 3102:1–4 with n2. 4 See Ep 3063:4–7. 5 On 20 October 1535 Gruyères had already written to Erasmus offering the use of his house in Besançon; see Ep 3102:4–7. 6 See n3 above. 7 See Ep 3063:9–12. 8 See Ep 3063:15–16.

5

10

15

20

25

3075  From Léonard de Gruyères  [1535]

431

There is no reason for you to feel uncertain about Bonvalot.9 The report you received that he is in Besançon was accurate, for he was there and is there now. I know that he was delighted by your book of Apophthegms.10 The emperor, enriched and enhanced by the duchy of Milan, will soon arrive there to settle the affairs of the principality for the common good of Christendom and the peace of Italy, as his Majesty wrote to me in a letter posted at Cosenza in Calabria on the ninth of November.11 There are high hopes respecting the calling of a council, for the pope and the college of cardinals manifest strong enthusiasm for it.12 There is a rumour coming from a not insignificant source that the Turkish tyrant has had a second unsuccessful encounter with the king of Persia and has perished in the rout, but more reliable information is awaited.13 I have no other news worth knowing to send to you. Farewell again, most learned Master Erasmus, and continue to love me as you do. From Sursee, 12 December I conveyed your greetings to my colleague Master Panizzone,14 who in turn greets your Excellency and hopes and prays for your good health and a long life. Your Excellency’s most devoted servant Léonard, official of Besançon To the illustrious and most honourable Master Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, theologian and most respected friend

*****







9 François Bonvalot (Ep 3103 introduction) is not mentioned in Ep 3063. It seems that in the missing letter (see n1 above) Erasmus expressed some concern that he might not be in Besançon to receive the letter and gift sent to him; see following note. 10 The gift of the Apophthegmata and the letter that accompanied it, delivered by Gilbert Cousin (Ep 2985 introduction), are acknowledged in Ep 3103. 11 Francesco Maria Sforza, whom Charles had installed as duke of Milan, died without heirs on 1 November 1535 (Ep 3064 introduction). News of this reached Charles v in Naples (see Bradford 501), but he did not immediately set out for Milan as indicated here. See Ep 3121 n1. 12 Ep 3011 n12 13 On the conflict in question see Ep 3007 n19. The rumour that Suleiman i (d 1556) had perished was false. 14 Giovanni Domenico Panizzone (documented 1531–48), secretary to Francesco Maria Sforza (see n11 above), often visited the Swiss cantons as his diplomatic representative, a function that he continued to perform for Charles v’s governor after the death of the duke.

30

35

40

45

3076  To Damião de Gois  1535 3076 / To Damião de Gois

432 Basel, 15 December 1535

This letter was first published in the Vita Erasmi 134. For Damião de Gois see Ep 2963 introduction. Gois’ reply to this letter (and to Ep 3077) is Ep 3085.

erasmus of rotterdam to the noble damião de gois, cordial greetings Dear friend, the page I am adding to my letter will give you a better reason than I would wish for offering my excuses to those great men of letters, Bembo, Bonamico, and Celio, whom I look up to and admire with all my 5 heart.1 I received your letter through the good offices of Lukas Rem,2 but it arrived later, on the fifteenth of December; it was not his fault but the fault of the courier. I cannot be greatly surprised at Resende.3 Let’s think no more of this boorish and ungrateful fellow!4 My Ecclesiastes is, I think, now on sale where 10 you are. Two thousand six hundred copies were printed. Now it is being reissued in a smaller format.5 As for the commentaries of Sadoleto, I foresaw that such things would happen. I wrote him a letter giving him my advice – to the extent that one can give advice to so great a bishop.6 He spent enormous labour on this work. I hear it is not even approved by the Sorbonne.7 15 *****

3076 1 The ‘page’ is Ep 3077. See Epp 2958 introduction (Pietro Bembo), 1720 n10 (Lazzaro Bonamico), and 2869 introduction (Celio Calcagnini). 2 The letter is not extant. Gois mentions it in Ep 3078:1. For Lukas Rem see Ep 2987 n1. 3 Erasmus had asked Gois for news of André de Resende in Ep 2914:11–20. He had written to Resende via Gois’ servant, but had apparently still not received an answer; see Ep 3043:15–16. 4 There is no further reference to him in the correspondence. 5 For the first edition see Ep 3036; the second would appear in 1536, published by Froben at Basel. 6 The letter is not extant. The reference is to Sadoleto’s commentary on Romans, which was published in 1535; see Ep 2816 nn2–4. 7 In the spring of 1534 Sadoleto, worried by the advice of Erasmus and others that conservative theologians would not like so thoroughly humanist a work, sent a copy of the complete manuscript of his commentary to the Paris faculty of theology. They had not yet rendered their judgment before the book was published at Lyon early in 1535. The faculty eventually expressed its disapproval and insisted on the clarification of some passages. More serious was the reaction in Rome, where Tommaso Badia, the master of the sacred palace (the pope’s official theologian, who oversaw censorship), banned the work, objecting that

3077  To Damião de Gois  [1535]

433

I  would have wished for better luck for the good and learned Gelenius. I could hardly have hoped for wealth, but now penury has driven him to respectable labours.8 The young man whom you recommend has not yet visited me.9 I shall see to it that he receives his letter. Gilbert has left me. Now he is going to sing the mass as a canon.10 I sold my house and disposed of my 20 furniture with no great profit to myself, but it was not a total disaster.11 I do not understand Italian, but I shall have Pole’s translation translat12 ed. In return I am sending you a narrative that seems authentic.13 People returning from England who were present at these events assure us that there is nothing false in it, except that fewer Carthusians were put to death.14 25 I wanted to go on at greater length, my dearest friend, but you could hardly credit how difficult it has been to accomplish this much.15 Farewell. Give my good wishes to my friends. Basel, 15 December 1535 3077 / To Damião de Gois

[Basel, c 15 December 1535]

This letter was first published in the Vita Erasmi 133. In his reply to Ep 3076 Gois says (Ep 3085:1–4): ‘I ruined with my tears the sheet you sent me with its sad news. I tell you this so that you may understand how upset your friends are

*****



Sadoleto had no formal training as a theologian, that he ignored the scholastic theologians, and that he was guilty of errors on the subject of grace and human merit. At the cost of adding two pages of amplifications, Sadoleto secured approval for a revised edition published at Lyon in 1536. See Paul F. Grendler ‘Italian Biblical Humanism and the Papacy, 1515–1535’ in Biblical Humanism and Scholasticism in the Age of Erasmus ed Erika Rummel (Leiden / Boston 2008) 227–76, here 268–70. 8 Sigmundus Gelenius had dedicated to Damião his Annotations for the 1535 Froben edition of Pliny (Ep 3019 n10). 9 Unidentified; in Ep 3085:15–16 Gois reports that the young man has become a canon at Mainz. 10 Gilbert Cousin had secured for himself a canonry in his home town of Nozeroy and had left Erasmus’ service; see Ep 3052 n15. 11 See Epp 3056:6–17, 3059:1–20. 12 Reginald Pole (Ep 1627 introduction) was at this time living in Italy, where Damião may have met him. Pole seems to have translated into Italian some account, probably in English, of the executions of John Fisher and Thomas More. 13 Presumably the Expositio fidelis (see 601–18 below) 14 See Ep 3041:174–6 with n29. 15 Because of his gout; see Ep 2940 n2.

3077  To Damião de Gois  [1535]

434

about the pain affecting the tip of your spine, which has now been added to your earlier trouble.’ The direct reference to lines 7–10 below makes clear that this letter is in fact the ‘page’ that Erasmus had enclosed with Ep 3076 (see lines 3–4 of that letter). As Allen suggests, the text, though here addressed individually, was probably something prepared for the information of Erasmus’ correspondents generally. It is noteworthy that except for Ep 3076, no letter written by Erasmus in 1535 is extant after 23 October (Ep 3065), with the possible exception of Ep 3067a (after 22 October). Such a gap cannot be an accident; it was clearly the result of Erasmus’ illness.

erasmus of rotterdam to the most noble damião de gois of portugal, a man brilliantly endowed with every kind of virtue, cordial greetings For more than a month now I have been tied constantly to my bed with a pain that is almost unbelievable and certainly intolerable, nor is there any 5 hope of recovering my former health, given that winter is upon us. I do not dread death, rather I wish for it if I am pleasing in the eyes of the Lord. To my old malady, which regularly returns at intervals,1 is added an ulceration on the bottom of the spine, where I am compelled to put my weight whether I sit or lie. There is no remedy for this most cruel affliction because I must al- 10 ways lie on the very spot where the pain is. If only these torments were tolerable! But he is the Lord.2 Let him cut or burn me in this world, provided he spares me throughout eternity.’3 3078 / From Damião de Gois

Padua, 22 December 1535

This letter was first published by Allen. The original letter, in a secretary’s hand, but with the final lines and signature (lines 48–50) in Gois’ hand, is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (Erasmuslade d 5 folios 8–9). Missing, however, from the original letter are the Latin verses in lines 51–80; these Allen found in an eighteenth-century copy in the Basel library (g2 ii 67).

*****



3077 1 See Ep 2940 n2. 2 An allusion to 1 Sam 3:18; cf Ep 2955 n4. 3 Cf Ep 3108:7–8. In an earlier letter Erasmus identifies essentially the same sentence as a quotation from St Augustine, an attribution not easily verified; see Ep 2892:128–30 with n23.

3078  From Damião de Gois  1535

435

Cordial greetings. Some time ago I sent you a letter through merchants working for Lukas Rem,1 but I fear it did not reach you, partly because the plague is still raging in Augsburg, but more importantly because I hear that the same Lukas Rem has gone to the warm springs because of a stroke. Along with the letter itself I sent an account of the penalty inflicted on Thomas More.2 If you received it, please do let me know. Included with yours were letters for Bonifacius Amerbach, Froben, Herwagen, Sigismundus, and Gilbert.3 If these have not yet reached them, I should at least like them to know that I have not been negligent in replying. I have no good reason for writing at present except that I want to know about your health. I consider this a matter of the greatest importance for many reasons (which I suppress here in the interests of brevity and especially since it will be necessary to speak of them in another place and at another time). So if it will not be too much of a burden, do let me know about your health and how you are situated. Here we have no news other than reports about our emperor and the emperor of the Turks. Our emperor, we hear, is expected in Rome after the feast of the Nativity. I am sending you an account in Italian of his entry into Naples along with several Latin poems exhibited in his honour.4 As for the Turkish emperor, there is really grim news for the Turks and for those who favour the Turkish empire. Laden with a great quantity of spoils and booty, he had decided to return home from Tauris.5 He began the journey, but made slow progress since the size of his army, the amount of equipment they carried, and their terror of the enemy, robbed them of the advantages of haste. Then on the thirteenth of October at the first watch fifteen thousand selected troops of the Persian army burst into his camp. Forty thousand Turks were lost; four thousand were carried off into slavery. A great number of the Persians who had been reduced to the miserable condition of prisoners of war were given their liberty, restored, as it were, from exile. The Turk himself, along with the remnant of his army, could *****

3078 1 Lukas Rem; see Ep 2987:1 with n1. The letter is not extant, but is answered by Ep 3076. 2 Possibly the account that Reginald Pole translated into Italian; see Ep 3076 n12. 3 Johann Herwagen (Ep 3030 n1), Sigismundus Gelenius (Ep 1702 n1), and Gilbert Cousin (Ep 2985 introduction) 4 Charles entered Naples on 25 November 1535; see Ep 3007 n18. The enclosure describing his entry has been lost from both the original letter and the copy (see introduction above). The verses, authorship unknown, are below in lines 51–80. 5 Tauris was the name of the Crimea in antiquity.

5

10

15

20

25

3078  From Damião de Gois  1535

436

only manage to secure his safety by flight and with the loss of all his engines of war. This is as true as an oracle of Apollo.6 I am sending you the enclosed brief account of the death of the bishop of Rochester, which I obtained from an English friend.7 So steadfast was he even at this critical moment when he was being led to execution that along the way he replied to a monk’s question with an interpretation of a passage from the sacred writings of the New Testament by which the man had long been perplexed. He explained this in such a way that all the bystanders thought they were listening to an angel from heaven. Your Preacher is now available here;8 it is a work that is worthy of you, on which you have laboured for so long with good cause. I have given this letter to Johann Georg Paumgartner, the son of Johann Paumgartner, who is a close friend of mine.9 I hope he will make sure it is delivered to you with greater care. He is a fine, intelligent young man and worthy of your support. I suffer constantly from severe attacks of dizziness, and I cannot adapt to either cold or heat when the dizziness is present.10 As I see it, I shall always have to migrate with the cranes. Farewell and let me know how you are. Padua, 22 December 1535 That I do not write in my own hand is due to my illness, which hardly allowed me to complete the first draft. Farewell again. I am, as you know, your Damião de Gois poems mentioned in the letter 11 Hercules never passed the pillars that bear his name, The Caesars were unaware of the New World. But this Caesar of ours, this other Hercules *****



6 Ie unquestionably true (Adagia i vii 89). Cf Ep 3007:88–92, which may be a report of the same alleged defeat of Suleiman at the hands of the Persians. But if so, the date would have to be 13 October 1534. We have found no evidence that any such event ever took place; see Ep 3007 n19. 7 The brief account is Ep 3079. 8 Ep 3036 9 For Johann (ii) Paumgartner and his son Johann Georg, see Ep 2603 introduction. 10 See Epp 3019:20–1, 3043:24. 11 The five verses are written in various metres, namely (in order) iambic senarius, elegiac couplet, elegiac couplet, elegiac couplet, hendecasyllabics. The verses celebrate Charles v’s victory in North Africa (Ep 2997 n22) and predict future successes in pushing Christian power into the eastern Mediterranean.

30

35

40

45

50

3079  To Damião de Gois from an Englishman  [1535]

437

Tames Afric’s monsters by his victories And travels far beyond the pillars of Hercules Bringing the new world under his control. Let every Hercules and Caesar now Yield pride of place.

55

Again: Lately in Europe you were our mighty Caesar Now you are mightier still in Africa, Soon you will come from Asia, I believe, The mightiest Caesar of them all.

60

Again: Surrounded by the arms of Spain By German arms and those of Italy You can go nowhere, Caesar, That you do not conquer.

65

Again: The double-headed eagle on one side Looks to the west, the other to the east. The one is Caesar’s, the other will be soon.

70

Again: For so many enemy soldiers slain So many cities captured, so many ships, You have deserved to win as many crowns; But one alone you, Caesar, wish to win A crown for saving from captivity So many thousands of our citizens. 3079 / To Damião de Gois from an Englishman [1535] First published by Allen, this is the account of the death of John Fisher that Gois included with Ep 3078. The manuscript is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (Erasmuslade d 5 folio 12). The author is unnamed, but his English nationality is revealed in lines 28–30 (‘I pity my country…’).

You press me strongly to write a somewhat fuller account of the death of the bishop of Rochester. See how highly I regard you! Today I acquired a better understanding of what happened. You are aware, I think, of the practices that

75

80

3079  To Damião de Gois from an Englishman  [1535]

438

take precedence over the laws in our courts. Twelve men, generally neither learned nor wise, sometimes unfit to render judgment even in a case involving the life of a shrewmouse, are appointed to deal with every case, whoever the accused may be. But since defendants are allowed the privilege of rejecting from among the twelve any about whom they have suspicions, the bishop of Rochester, when the twelve men were present, was asked if he was unwilling that any of those should pass judgment against him. To which he replied, ‘I would wish no one to pass judgment against me unless he knew that I deserved it.’ ‘So,’ said the chancellor,1 ‘you think none of these men should be rejected?’ ‘I think,’ he said, ‘that all of them should be advised that it is not safe to condemn an innocent man to please the king, and that everyone should look to his own soul in every situation, especially when he is about to pronounce judgment against another. I see no reason why I should fear these men, for I have always lived in accordance with the law of my God and have constantly been the author of good counsel for our king.’ ‘This is not what is wanted from you now,’ said the chancellor. ‘You are being summoned so that you may understand what our laws require, not so that you may explain at great length the reason for your counsels.’ ‘Do you mean,’ the bishop asked, ‘that I must submit without defending my case? Then “take him and judge him according to your law.”‘2 You remember, dear Damião, that this man had not taken his own case seriously, but was concerned greatly by the cause of Christ. He wanted to argue the case, refusing no adversary, taking no thought for his life, but thinking only of his faith. But the chancellor said that the case had gone on long enough; now, unless he wished to recant, the matter should proceed to judgment. I pity my country, I am ashamed of it that twelve men were found within one island to condemn such a man to death. The judge pronounced sentence, that he be taken to the tower, led out thence with the executioner carrying the axe before him, and finally that his head be severed from his neck. You know the rest, how the indecent haste of the executioners did not prevent him from doing a kindly service for a monk. He who was constantly engaged in the study of the sacred texts remained at the point of death their interpreter.3

*****

3079 1 Thomas Audley, the successor of Thomas More as lord chancellor 2 John 18:31 3 See Ep 3078:32–8.

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

3080  From Gilbert Cousin  153[5] 3080 / From Gilbert Cousin

439 Nozeroy, 24 December 153[5]

This letter was first published in Cognati opuscula 57–62, and then in Cognati epistolae 297–8. Both texts misprint the year-date as 1536. The Allen editors deemed this letter, like Ep 3068, to be ‘not much more than a rhetorical exercise’ that ‘might have been written at any date,’ and doubt that it was ever sent; see Ep 3068 introduction.

gilbert cousin of nozeroy to master erasmus of rotterdam, supreme theologian, prince of every branch of learning, his most respected patron and mentor, greeting Erasmus, glory of the world of learning, those who have once learned to hide their blushes do many embarrassing things.1 I fear that I too may appear to be acting shamelessly when I repeatedly bother a great scholar like you with my inanities. But what are you to do with one who loves you? You must take this temerity of mine in good part, since there are so many things that prompt me to write, even against my better judgment. First of all there is your incomparable learning, which so captivates me that for all my lack of eloquence and my ordinariness I do not blush to write to you, the prince of learning. Then I am influenced by the grandeur of your language and driven by an inner compulsion – to say nothing of having lived with you for some six years. For as it is said about the Gallic deity Ogmius that he draws everyone to himself by fine golden chains attached from his mouth to the ears of men,2 so all your words bind and hold us, planting a dart in the mind and leaving it there, inspiring everyone with the greatest affection and admiration for you unless he is harder than the Marpesian rocks.3 A few days ago you provided us with an excellent illustration of this from people to whom the gospel is either unknown or is distorted in order to lend support to private prejudices. Genuine interpreters of the gospel are unknown to them, Erasmus is unknown, only the Bartolos and learned doctors

*****



3080 1 Cf Adagia i viii 47. 2 Ogmius was a Celtic deity whom Lucian (Heracles 1–6) identified with Hercules as a god of eloquence. 3 Marpessus was a mountain on the island of Paros, one of the Cyclades, from which was quarried the famous Parian marble.

5

10

15

20

3080  From Gilbert Cousin  153[5]

440

of that kidney have authority with them.4 Even the more enlightened among them believe that the foundations of the Christian faith rest on such people.5 Then lo and behold! I arrive with copies of your Ecclesiastes and Enchiridion for my private use, but not, I think, without the plan and will of heaven.6 Some of these people, not the least distinguished on the register of jurists and physicians, had no sooner sampled these writings than they were all carried away with such enthusiasm that it looked as though they had lost their wits. They valued nothing more highly than these works of yours as they turned the pages by night and by day.7 That Circe changed men into beasts was no more remarkable than your turning beasts (if I may use such an expression) into men.8 Those who before this swore only by the likes of Bartolo, Baldo, Mesuë, Averroes, Vigo, Lyra, and Scotus9 now, under your inspiration, if they do not pay exclusive attention to the gospel, at least make it the primary object of their concern. They consider themselves blessed because of you, for you have pointed out the true path by which one may ascend to Christ and have saved them from falling prey to a common error while Christendom collapses around them. They do not just take up your Ecclesiastes but learn it by heart, and no day glides past without the Paraphrases or the Enchiridion claiming their time. I only wish their example were followed by others, for there are excellent men who could be won over. I foresee this happening as your works become known among us, and the world, by some stroke of destiny, begins to thirst for the teaching of the gospel. Anyone who is not captivated by your great learning, which bears not so much the stamp of Cicero by its eloquence as that of Christ by its fervour, and won over by all the other lessons that you bring from the very mouth of the gospel itself, anyone who is not changed by these things and does not put on the new man is either a *****

4 To humanists, the name of the eminent fourteenth-century scholar of Roman law Bartolo da Sassoferrato (cf n9 below), symbolized arid, technical learning expressed in inelegant, nonclassical Latin. 5 The language is unclear, but Cousin seems to be referring to the members of the chapter at Nozeroy, which he had recently joined. 6 Virgil Aeneid 5.56 7 Cf Horace Ars poetica 269. 8 For Circe and her transformations see Ep 3031a n80. 9 This list is a strikingly odd mixture of medieval Italian jurists (Bartolo da Sassoferrato, Baldo degli Ubaldi) and theologians (John Duns Scotus, Nicholas of Lyra) with an eighth-century Arab physician (Mesuë / Masawaiyh), a twelfthcentury Iberian Muslim commentator on Aristotle (Averroes), and Vigo (whom we have not been able to identify).

25

30

35

40

45

3080  From Gilbert Cousin  153[5]

441

blockhead or cares nothing for his eternal salvation and has deliberately handed over control of his life to the Scylla of this world.10 So blessings on you, Erasmus, foremost champion of the learning of salvation. That the study of the true theology is alive again all men attribute to you; that it has been purged of error they recognize as due to you; and they are grateful that they are being restored to bear better fruit. Good men everywhere profess that they owe to you all that need be known and practised ­for the salvation of the soul. You will be less surprised by my persistence in writing to you if you realize how men who do not know you personally but only through your writings are drawn to love you – and it is no shallow love either. How much stronger is the love I owe to you not just for your learning but also for your humanity, a love that was deepened by daily contact. Nor is it at all surprising if, somewhat out of character, I am driven to write to you by such a strong desire that perhaps it makes me take more for granted than your dignity allows or is becoming for me. But put this down to the affection and respect I have for you. And perhaps you will be more indulgent, since I would not let the devotion of these good and learned men be hidden from you. Please God I may soon be given a similar excuse for writing! For nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see your venerable spirit recognized by everyone as it deserves; not only do I recognize it as such, I accord it constant respect and reverence. There is a general belief that you alone in our age were born for the advancement of humane learning, for is there anything among disciplines vital for our salvation that has not been restored to its former majesty because of you, is there any profession that does not acknowledge the help it has received from you? You are the great restorer not just of learning but of human souls. So go, good Erasmus, wherever your virtue calls you. May you never be deflected from your purpose as a writer by the stammering voices of those doting fools who are attacking you from both sides. You are too great a man to be bothered by nonsense of this sort. You are well aware that no distinguished enterprise is ever free from hostility. Let these men act like madmen and compound the sacred and the profane. Let others play the fool and attribute an inordinate importance to their petty ***** 10 Scylla was the six-headed monster who lurked in a cave on a cliff on the other side of the narrow strait from the deadly whirlpool known as Charybdis. She would throw out her necks to seize whatever food was to be found, including sailors passing through the strait.

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

3080  From Gilbert Cousin  153[5]

442

regulations. You have entered upon the middle way, that is, the way of truth. You have shown what needs to be done with such good sense and propriety that your opinion is approved enthusiastically by all right-thinking people. Among the countless witnesses to this I have one who is perhaps without equal, the most reverend François Bonvalot, lord abbot of Saint-Vincent,11 a man without reproach (ἀμύμων ‘blameless’12 as the Greeks would say), someone who is not unknown to you. There is no one among us more learned or more free from prejudice. The more he stands out among us for his own qualities, the more he is recognized as a devoted admirer of your teaching and of yourself. Just imagine the look on his face, the eloquence with which he praises your virtues, approves of your purpose, places you on a pedestal, and counts you as chief among the rare glories of our age! I do not want you to think that I am planning to embark upon an encomium of your virtues (the burden would be out of place and too heavy for my strength to bear), so I return to where I started. I beg you to think of me as your humble servant, bound to you by the closest of ties. If with your usual kindness you will continue to think of me in this way, you have already made me very happy. Since I have no doubt that you will do this, I beg you earnestly to convince yourself that among all who are devoted to you – and they are beyond number – there is no one from whom you could expect more, taking into account my devotion and my middling abilities. For nothing is too hard or too difficult if, as the poet says,13 I can accomplish it, and if it is accomplished, you will never find me unresponsive to your requests. So continue, as you are doing, to return the affection of your most devoted servant, and do not cease to honour him with your favour, as you have been accustomed to do. I have written this extempore, so be kind to my silly nonsense. The distinguished theologians François Symard and Pierre Richardot send you their best wishes.14 Give my special regards to Master Bonifacius Amerbach, that charming friend of yours and of humane learning, Hieronymus Froben, *****

11 Ep 3103 introduction 12 This is a standard epithet in Homer for distinguished persons. 13 Homer Iliad 14.196, 18.427; Odyssey 5.90, cited in Greek 14 For Pierre Richardot see Ep 3102. François Symard (d 1554) of Mondon in the Franche-Comté was educated at Paris, where he received a doctorate in theology in 1526. In 1531 Charles v made him a canon of Besançon, and in 1533, having won a reputation as a learned theologian and excellent preacher, he was made the suffragan of the bishop, Antoine de Vergy.

85

90

95

100

105

110

3082  From Jean de Boyssoné  [1536]

443

Nicolaus Episcopius, Sigismundus Gelenius, and Simon Grynaeus.15 May Christ, our Lord and Saviour, on whose help alone we call, keep you safe and well for a long time to come so that you may spread the true theology. 115 16 Nozeroy, Christmas Eve 1536 3081/ To Christoph Eschenfelder

Basel, 2 January 1536

This is the Peroratio at the end (page 56) of De puritate tabernaculi, which was dedicated to Eschenfelder (Ep 3086). It is not at all clear why this ‘peroration’ is dated twenty-five days earlier than the dedicatory epistle (27 January 1536).

Here is what you asked for, dear Christoph, my beloved friend in Christ.1 I send it as a pledge of our friendship, a paltry thing indeed as far as my own poor efforts are concerned, but in sending it, I have given a wise man the chance to grow in wisdom; for with the splendid gifts you possess and the stimulus provided by my little commentary, the words of the prophet will lift 5 your thoughts to a higher realm. May the Lord keep you safe, together with your good wife and dear children. Given at Basel, 2 January in the year 1536 after the birth of Christ 3082 / From Jean de Boyssoné

Toulouse, 23 January [1536]

This letter was first published as Ep 311 in Enthoven. The autograph is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 39). The year-date is supplied by the reference to the letter in Ep 3094:37–8. Jean de Boyssoné (d 1558), humanist, lawyer, and poet, was educated in civil and canon law at the University of Toulouse and by 1526 had succeeded to the chair in law at that institution. He took minor orders but was not ordained. His legal erudition, his Ciceronian eloquence, and his friendship with people of controversial views (like the poet Clément Marot) attracted the hostile attention

***** 15 See Epp 1714 introduction (Nicolaus Episcopius), 1702 n1 (Sigismundus Gelenius), and 2433 introduction (Simon Grynaeus). 16 On the year-date see the introduction above.

3081 1 In Ep 3003 Eschenfelder had asked Erasmus to write an exposition of Psalm 127 (Vulgate) and dedicate it to him. Erasmus responded to this request, not with an exposition of Psalm 127 but with De puritate tabernaculi, which is an exposition of Psalm 14 (Vulgate); see Ep 3086.

3082  From Jean de Boyssoné  [1536]

444

of the authorities in Toulouse. In 1532 he was charged with heresy, imprisoned, forced to recant his errors publicly before the Inquisition, and subjected to a heavy fine and the confiscation of his property. In 1534, after time spent travelling in Italy, he was able to resume his chair at Toulouse, but he continued to be a controversial figure, frequently in trouble with the authorities, both secular and ecclesiastical, wherever he found employment. For further details, see cebr i 181–2. As this letter indicates, Boyssoné was an admirer of Erasmus, one of several in Toulouse.

jean de boyssoné to desiderius erasmus of rotterdam, greeting Jacobus Omphalius, a man, as you know, deeply learned in both languages and in both kinds of law and a devoted friend both to you and to me, has asked me to send you something in the way of a letter.1 As I pondered this, I was full of doubt, but in the end what won me over was the brilliance of your name and the incredible good will towards me of the person who made the request. But I could not think how to start. About events in France your friends write to you very frequently and are most happy to do so; as for our city, I prefer you to hear about it from others rather than from me. Omphalius has a good understanding of the character, actions, and lives of our people. That leaves me with the civil law, in which I take delight and to which I am completely devoted. But I cannot readily gauge what I am achieving; for just as there are few in this age who are prepared to treat legal studies with the respect they deserve, so it is a rare student who is willing to give his singleminded attention to a systematic study of the law. How I wish we had many students of the calibre we recognized in Jacobus Omphalius when recently, in response to our questions, he spoke at length about the law.2 Believe me, jurisprudence would find an honoured place and there would be more men skilled in the law than ruined by it.3 *****



3082 1 For Omphalius, who on 1 December 1535 had completed a doctorate in both laws at Toulouse, see Ep 3094 introduction. 2 It is unclear from the Latin what sort of speech this was. But the reference to ‘our questions’ suggest that it was somehow connected with the examinations leading to the conferral of the law degree referred to in the preceding note. Cf Ep 3094: 9–14. 3 Boyssoné here indulges himself in a rather strained pun on iuris peritus ‘skilled in the law’ and iuris perditus ‘destroyed by the law.’

5

10

15

20

3083  From Nicolas Bérault  [1536]

445

I hear that the jurist Zasius is there with you and that the two of you are living close to one another.4 I must congratulate you on this yoking together of learning, this linking of intelligence, since no association can be more gratifying than that of equals. For when two men live peacefully together, old with old, scholar with scholar, like with like, good with good, what could be 25 more delightful or more gratifying than that? Once I was tied in a close bond of friendship and hospitality with Zasius’ son, Joachim, who at that time was secretary to the duke of Savoy.5 May Almighty God grant that we may see both of you flourishing for a long time to come to the profit of all lovers of learning. Please give my special greetings to Zasius, with whom I am linked 30 by the similarity of our professional interests. Meanwhile look after your health and continue to love me. Toulouse, 23 January 3083 / From Nicolas Bérault

Toulouse, 14 January [1536]

This letter was first published as Ep 142 in Enthoven. The autograph, address sheet missing, is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 22). For Nicolas Bérault, whom Erasmus had meet in France in 1506, see Ep 925 introduction. The year-date is supplied by the reference to the letter in Ep 3094:37.

nicolas bérault to erasmus, greeting I had arrived in Toulouse in the entourage of the archbishop of Toulouse, cardinal of Châtillon, my great and wonderful patron,1 and was already *****

4 Udalricus Zasius had in fact died in Freiburg on 24 November 1535. 5 See Ep 2020 n1.



3083 1 Odet de Coligny (1517–71), whose tutor Bérault had been, pursued a brilliant career in the church. Though never ordained a priest (he took only minor orders), he was made cardinal in 1533, archbishop of Toulouse in 1534, and bishop of Beauvais in 1535, not to mention a long list of other offices and preferments. His mansion at Paris was a centre of the cultural world of French arts and letters. He attended the Council of Trent in 1545 and was appointed grand inquisitor by the pope in 1557. But in 1561 he became a Calvinist (Huguenot), which caused him to be struck from the list of cardinals but not to be removed from his two sees. In 1564 he married his mistress. In 1567 he donned armour and fought bravely in the battle of St Denis. He also represented the Huguenot cause on important diplomatic missions. In England he was warmly received

3083  From Nicolas Bérault  [1536]

446

­ reparing to return to our part of France when there appeared at my resip dence the excellent Jacobus Omphalius, recently appointed to the guild of lawyers at Toulouse.2 He persuaded me to write a note to you and give it to his servant, who is setting off in your direction. I could not but accede at once to the request of this learned and courteous man, especially since for some time I had been on the lookout for a reliable messenger to take a brief letter of mine to you. I had not written a word to you for all of three years, although I was very eager to do so and would have done so if circumstances had been different.3 For you must not imagine, Erasmus my excellent and learned friend, that anything could give me more pleasure than a frequent exchange of letters with you, if that were possible. How I wish that the business and turmoil of my life at court, into which fate has plunged me for the coming year, would allow me, not just to write to you daily, but even to make haste to revisit my dear Erasmus, the scourge and slayer of so many monsters, a man now famous and celebrated throughout the world for the many books he has published, which are monuments to his memory, trophies erected and dedicated to his name. But I know you will forgive me for this long silence, and I trust that I shall receive more and more frequent letters from you in future. This is not just a wish on my part, but an entreaty and an urgent request! I was feeling badly this morning when Omphalius arrived at my house, and so I was unable at that point to promise him a longer letter. Now I feel much worse, all because of the south winds which are a constant and serious problem throughout the region of Aquitaine and Narbonne. Farewell. Jean de Pins, bishop of Rieux, sends you his best wishes.4 Toulouse, 24 January 3084 / To Léonard de Gruyères

Basel, 24 January 1536

This letter, Erasmus’ answer to Ep 3075, was first published by Allen. The manuscript, a copy, is in the Bibliothèque municipale at Besançon (ms 1145 folio 185 verso).

*****



by Elizabeth i, but was poisoned by a servant on the eve of his return to France in 1571. His more famous brother, Gaspard de Coligny, admiral of France, perished in the St Bartholomew’s Eve massacre in 1572. 2 See Ep 3082 n1. 3 No letter of Bérault to Erasmus later than Ep 994 (1 July 1519) is extant. The most recent letter from Erasmus to Bérault is Ep 1284, the dedicatory letter of the 1522 edition of De conscribendis epistolis. 4 For Jean de Pins see Ep 2969 introduction.

5

10

15

20

25

3084  To Léonard de Gruyères  1536

447

erasmus of rotterdam to the official of the archbishop of besançon Cordial greetings. This winter is treating me more cruelly than usual and keeping me perpetually tied to my bed and tortured by dreadful suffering.1 However winter itself is not so hard on me as the tactless fussing of some of my visitors, who do not allow me to attend to my health.2 Amid these vexations your letter brought me great comfort. I am afraid the emperor may call you away to Italy, for it is thought that he will stay there longer, which I think would be more advantageous, and also safer, than another dangerous battle over the rubble of La Goulette.3 I would like to move to Besançon when it is convenient for you; but I have not yet reached that stage of shamelessness that, even if you were absent, I would want to pollute your house with such a guest. My illness involves intolerable and excruciating pain and it recurs from time to time for even the slightest reason. But before I leave here, I shall arrange a comfortable nest for myself in Besançon and engage a housekeeper so as not to be a nuisance to anyone.4 I am not receiving any pension,5 but I have seen to it that I need not fear any shortage of money for several years and will have no cause to trouble my friends. I hope, most generous of friends, that your Excellency is flourishing. Basel, 24 January ad 1536

*****





3084 1 See Ep 3077. 2 The most tiresome of these appears to have been the one designated as ‘N’ in Ep 3095:29. 3 For Erasmus’ reservations about Charles v’s campaign in North Africa, see Ep 3043 n27. 4 The Latin word translated as ‘housekeeper’ is famula, the feminine form of the word for ‘servant’ (famulus). Allen suggests that this was possibly a slip of the pen, but famula is the word that Erasmus had used to describe his housekeeper in Freiburg, Margarete Büsslin; see Ep 3054:17. 5 Erasmus was in fact still receiving his pensions from his livings in England and from the one at Courtrai. It was his imperial pension that had been suspended and would resume only on his return to Brabant. Allen suggests plausibly that solvitur (am [not] receiving) should be read as solvetur (shall [not] be receiving), meaning that if he moves to Besançon rather than Brabant, his imperial pension will not be restored.

5

10

15

20

3085  From Damião de Gois  1536 3085 / From Damião de Gois

448 Padua, 26 January 1536

This letter, Gois’ reply to Epp 3076–7, was first published in Fecht 856–8, and then, following Fecht, in lb i i i/2 1771–2 Appendix epistolarum no 381. The autograph is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 77).

Greetings. I ruined with my tears the sheet you sent me with its sad news.1 I tell you this so that you may understand how upset your friends are about the pain affecting the tip of your spine, which has now been added to your earlier trouble.2 But since Christ, who does nothing without cause, is requiring you to expiate your sins through pain and suffering in this world, it must be accepted with a good grace, especially in your case, since God has graciously imparted to you such a vast store of learning. Bembo and Bonamico send their greetings and accept your explanation. So too will Celio when he learns about your health.3 As you know, he is at Ferrara. Your Ecclesiastes is available here, as I wrote in my last letter,4 and is bringing you many compliments. I saw the piece you wrote in answer to Corsi when I was with Lazzaro Bonamico,5 who, although he finds no pleasure in matters of this sort, praised that work highly and read it with great enjoyment. To hell with Gilbert and his canonry if he left you against your will!6 I know he was useful to you. The young man whom I recommended to you has been made a canon of Mainz and is residing there.7 I am happy that you have sold the house in Freiburg and disposed of your furniture on favourable terms,8 something that is not usually the case. I must thank you for sending the account of Thomas More’s death.9 I was very glad to have it. Your friends – and you have many learned friends here with whom I am on familiar terms – are wondering why you do not write something to commemorate the death of so dear and intimate a friend. Some say that the mention you *****

3085 1 Ep 3077 2 Ep 3077:7–9 3 Erasmus had asked Gois to make his excuses to these three for not having written to them; Ep 3076:3–6. 4 Ep 3078:38–9 5 The response to Pietro Corsi is Ep 3032. 6 See Ep 3076:19–20. 7 See Ep 3076:18–19. 8 See Ep 3076:20–1. 9 See Ep 3076:23.

5

10

15

20

3085  From Damião de Gois  1536

449

make of him and of the bishop of Rochester in the prologue to the Ecclesiastes does not do justice to such great men.10 They say you should have gone on at greater length on such a worthy subject. You know what you intend to do: I offer my advice, as a friend should. I am gripped with such affection for you that I want your work to remain undiminished and unimpaired in all respects. So I have often pondered the possibility – indeed every day I turn the matter over in my mind – of collecting and printing all your works at my expense after your death, if God will grant me time enough to do so. If I am to carry out this task with greater accuracy, I believe it would be greatly in your interest to write out for me a catalogue of all your writings in order, both secular and ecclesiastical.11 If there are some books that you would like suppressed or printed separately, you could signify this also. And since there is no one who does not wish to make a name for himself, I am fired with an incredible ambition to write your biography, something I could not do without the assistance of some learned, indeed very learned person. I should want to write your biography in such a manner that not only would your life be held up for the admiration of posterity, but posterity would also admire the very texture and fabric of the writing. This, I believe, will at least not dishonour your name. I would place the account of your life at the head of your writings.12 And since you are still alive, I would like to ask this of you as a favour, that you consent to provide me with a summary account of your life from the beginning, or if you prefer to write a succinct and comprehensive account yourself and hand it to me, that will commend it much more to posterity. If you take the trouble to do this, I shall not be ungrateful; and if you decide to grant me my request and believe that it would be better to discuss it with me face to face, I myself will visit you in May or June, or earlier if that seems preferable.13 Please do not hesitate to write frankly to me because you are ***** 10 See Ep 3036:106–12. 11 Gois would presumably have known of the Catalogus lucubrationum of 1523/4 (Ep 1341a), and perhaps also the ‘List of All the Works of Erasmus of Rotterdam’ that was published with De bello Turcico in 1530 (Ep 2283). What he would have needed from Erasmus was an updated list of works. In a letter no longer extant but referred to in Ep 3132:34–7, Erasmus indicated his willingness to supply one. In the end, however, it was Bonifacius Amerbach and Hieronymus Froben who arranged for the publication of the needed list: Catalogi duo operum Des. Erasmi Roterodami ab ipso conscripti et digesti (see Ep 3141 introduction). 12 Though he approved of the idea of a new catalogue of his works, Erasmus declined to participate in the preparation of a biography; see Ep 3132:38–40. 13 Gois made it as far as Nürnberg in July 1536, but abandoned plans to go on to Basel because of rumours of ‘war in Switzerland’; see Ep 3132:8–30 with n2.

25

30

35

40

45

50

3085  From Damião de Gois  1536

450

worried about my ability to meet the cost of the journey. The amount will not be greater than I spend here every day. Even if it were greater, it would still be a pleasure, since it would be done for my beloved Erasmus, for whom there is nothing that I would not do. I have one final request, that no one should know anything about this. If the project is put into effect, I would not 55 like any explanation of the plan to be revealed to anyone. I remember that Gilbert showed me a map of Switzerland on parchment, which had been carefully drawn by hand. He said it belonged to you. It may be an impudence on my part, but since I know it is of no use to you, I would like you to give it to me and to send it with Bebel.14 If you do so, this will be 60 another in the long list of your services to me. Or if for the reasons I mentioned above you would like me to go to you, you could hold on to it until I arrive and hand it over in person. If there is someone in Basel who knows how to produce such things, I shall have it copied so as not to rob you of it. Farewell, and write back as soon as you can. Farewell again, my beloved master. 65 Padua, on the morrow of the Conversion of Paul in the year 1536 Yours sincerely, Damião de Gois, in my own hand To Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam. In Basel 3086 / To Christoph Eschenfelder

Basel, 27 January 1536

This is the prefatory letter to Erasmus’ last work, De puritate tabernaculi sive ec­ clesiae christianae (Basel: Froben 1536); cf Ep 3081introduction. At the end of the book Erasmus added (pages 57–121) Aliquot epistolae selectae … nunc primum aeditae, the last collection of his letters that he himself undertook.

on the purity of the christian church by desiderius erasmus of rotterdam for christoph eschenfelder, customs officer at boppard Christ called Matthew from the receipt of customs to the service of the gospel.1 You, dear Christoph, have brought Christ and the gospel into the cus- 5 tom house itself, for while you are dealing with the business of your earthly ***** 14 Johann Bebel, the Basel printer who in the years 1533–6 often journeyed to and from Italy. Gois presumably wanted the map for the journey from Padua to Basel. In Ep 3132:73–5 the matter comes up again, seemingly because he wanted the map for the journey from Nürnberg to Padua.

3086 1 Matt 9:9

3087  To King Ferdinand  1536

451

ruler, you always have among the documents of your worldly office some of those little books that draw your mind up towards the heavenly philosophy.2 You wish to do justice to your name, in other words, to make your actions live up to your name so that you are no longer a Chrysophorus,3 as are most men in your profession, but a Christophorus.4 You certainly have little in common with those who think that Christ is only to be found in monasteries, for he is more present to all than the sun itself, since he brings light to the whole world. There is a place for Christ also in the courts of princes, in army camps, and in naval ships, as long as there is a godly spirit there. You love me in Christ not just more than I deserve but even almost more than you should; yet for one of your loving nature it is not enough if I return your love in equal measure: you wish to have a permanent pledge of our friendship to allow you to imagine that Erasmus is with you and to alleviate your longing for him in his absence. You make it clear that your wish can be fulfilled if I send you one of the Psalms together with a commentary on it.5 I did not want to make excuses, first because you are such a dear friend, and second because your request is a pious one and not difficult to carry out. I hope you will consider this gift not just as a piece of paper from Erasmus’ meagre resources, but as a precious jewel sent from the world of the Holy Spirit, a jewel not to be worn on the finger, but stored in your heart. I cannot remember whether you specified a particular psalm – your letter is buried beneath a pile of ­papers6 – so I have chosen the first one that came to hand. Farewell. Basel, 27 January 1536 3087 / To King Ferdinand

Basel, 27 January 1536

This letter to Ferdinand of Austria, written at the request of the Basel city council, was first published by Allen on the basis of the autograph rough draft in the Royal Library at Copenhagen (ms g k s 95 Fol, folio 179). In a letter no longer extant Erasmus wrote in the same connection to Bernhard von Cles (see Ep 3095:3–5), who responded with Ep 3110.

*****

2 In the account of his first meeting with Eschenfelder in 1518 Erasmus writes that ‘on his desk all among the customs forms lay the works of Erasmus’ (Ep 867:55–6). 3 Ie ‘bearer of gold’ 4 Ie ‘bearer of Christ’ 5 Cf Ep 3003:10–17. 6 Ep 3003

10

15

20

25

3087  To King Ferdinand  1536

452

Ferdinand, glory of the monarchs of our time, the worthy council of the city of Basel seems to have a flattering opinion of me, since it asks me to promote the cause of its ambassadors in a letter to your Majesty, imagining that my commendation will have some weight with you. Certainly I have had much evidence heretofore of your unmerited and spontaneous favour towards me. 5 I trust, however, that Basel will thank you more for the remarkable goodness of your nature, which sends no one away from your presence disappointed, than for my commendation, and will speak of your generosity, which no one who has ever requested anything from your Majesty fails to mention. I could not deny this service to the council, since for many a year I have enjoyed the 10 welcome hospitality of this famous city, and lately when for imperative ­reasons I returned here,1 they received me with great courtesy. I wish what all good men wish for you, that your fortune may match your virtues, so that you may be able to accomplish for humanity all that you desire. 15 Basel, 27 January 1536 3088 / From Georg Hörmann

Schwaz, 29 January 1536

This letter was first published as Ep 144 in Enthoven. The autograph, address sheet missing, is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 86). For Georg Hörmann, relative by marriage of Anton Fugger, prominent member of the Fugger firm, and father of Johann Georg Hörmann (Epp 3074, 3117), see Ep 2716 n46.

Master Erasmus, matchless glory of the literary world, because of something in my nature or the fact that I have dedicated my eldest son to the study of letters and have enrolled him at very great expense in the most celebrated schools, I have come to venerate all scholarly and learned men, among whom you are undoubtedly supreme. Nevertheless it pains me greatly that I am 5 unable to enjoy the society of learned men to the extent that I wish, frustrated, as I am, by the unintellectual nature of my work. It is my ardent wish that my son should have the opportunity that I myself lack. So when I persuaded you to address a letter to him,1 I thought your kindness would act as *****

3087 1 See Ep 3025 n9.



3088 1 Neither Hörmann’s letter of persuasion nor Erasmus’ letter to his son is extant.

3088  From Georg Hörmann  1536

453

a ­considerable spur to his studies. When I called him back from Italy, I questioned him on several matters concerning his education and asked if he had made any response to your gesture of good will. His answer could not but displease me, since by failing to write he had done nothing to strengthen your regard for him. And although he had no shortage of excuses to defend his silence, I refused to be mollified unless he wrote to you again.2 So if perhaps the reasons he gives for his silence seem to you more weighty than my reasons for urging him to write, I beg you to pardon him, if only for my sake. At least you cannot fault me for thinking that this is a most effective way to encourage his studies. I cannot help bothering you once more on the subject of my motto, about which I wrote to you earlier.3 Although I received from you several solutions rather than one, all of which were most attractive and for which I am most grateful, they do not quite satisfy what was in my mind. What I want is made clear enough both in the emblem and in the vernacular wording. But I would like it translated into Latin in a phrase equally brief and bearing the same sense. The motto in German is Dienend verzer ich mich [In serving I waste away]. I illustrate the meaning pictorially by a candle in a candlestick – the candle is burning and is half consumed. I want to convey the meaning that just as the candle, in giving light for the benefit of men and providing a service, consumes itself, so I, in serving my patrons and good friends night and day, exhaust my health and strength and, like the candle, gradually use them up. Some people have translated the phrase as Fungendo consumor [by performing I am consumed], but others think this lacks elegance, and I do not like it myself. And so I am asking you yet again to grant my request and indicate to me how the motto should be expressed properly and clearly in Latin. There is nothing you could do for me now that would please me more. In return, if there is anything you would like me to do for you, my assistance, which I have always given most readily to friends and to worthy men, is at your command. May God keep you safe and well. Schwaz,4 29 January 1536 Yours sincerely, Georg Hörmann, in his own hand

*****

2 Johann Georg had in the meantime written Ep 3074 to Erasmus. Erasmus answered both that letter and this one (see Ep 3117:1–6), but neither reply has survived. 3 The letter is not extant. 4 Schwaz, in the lower Inn valley near Innsbruck, where the Fuggers owned ­richly productive silver mines

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

3089  To Andrzej Krzycki  1536 3089 / To Andrzej Krzycki

454 Basel, 1 February 1536

This letter was first published in the epistolary appendix to De puritate taber­ naculi (Basel: Froben 1536) 57–9. For Andrzej Krzycki see Ep 1629 introduction.

to the most honoured prelate Andrzej krzycki, archbishop of gniezno, from erasmus of rotterdam, greeting There has been some interruption in our exchange of letters,1 but none in our mutual good will. I am well aware of the heavy load of business that weighs upon your Reverence, and you, I believe, know how poor my health is, which has put an end to almost all my scholarly activity. But since I have learned in letters from my friends that the very reverend Piotr, bishop of Cracow, has been taken from the human scene and at the same time you have been made archbishop of Gniezno,2 I now have a double reason compelling me to sound two different notes, one high, one low, at the same time.3 And just as Jupiter combined the contents of two jars,4 so I must mix some sadness into a joyous letter. You I must congratulate, for you have been raised by your excellent merits to a great height so that your godly character may shine more widely and more brightly as though from a loftier tower. On the other hand I can only join in your tears and mourn a loss that you and I share, you because you have lost one joined to you most closely by ties of blood,5 and more closely still in the generosity of your spirits, and I because I am bereft of a friend, a patron, and a comforter. I can scarcely put into words how much comfort and how much joy his letters brought me. Perhaps it would be right to mourn also the loss that all Poland has suffered. For when will such a bishop be found for the church again, or such a councillor for the king, or such a chancellor for the realm? How many excellent gifts, how many heroic virtues were heaped upon that man by the goodness of Almighty God! You might say it was done by God for the public benefit of men. How solid, how profound was his learning, how fervent his *****

3089 1 Only one letter of Krzycki to Erasmus survives, Ep 1652. The most recent of the extant letters from Erasmus to Krzycki is Ep 2375 of 1 September 1530. 2 Piotr Tomicki (Ep 3014), bishop of Cracow, died on 29 October 1535; cf Ep 3066 introduction. 3 This is conveyed by one word in Greek, μαγαδίζειν, which means ‘to play on a pipe that can sound simultaneously a high and a low note’; see Adagia IV vi 58. 4 For the two jars of Zeus from which he dispenses both good and ill for men see Homer Iliad 24.527, and cf Adagia I viii 66. 5 Krzycki was the son of Tomicki’s sister.

5

10

15

20

25

3090  From Eustache Chapuys  1536

455

zeal for the Holy Scriptures, how percipient his judgment, how rare his skill in the conduct of affairs! Finally, with such exceptional gifts of heaven, with such a high and lofty position, what charming manners the man had, what modesty completely devoid of pride! And, as I read in letters, a death worthy of such a life came to him. He died peacefully among the sacred writings that he loved. He breathed his last before any of those who attended on him realized it. You could say that he did not die, but fell asleep. When I reflect on this, I am ashamed of my tears. It would be more appropriate to congratulate that thrice-blessed soul, for now he is reaping in the presence of Christ the rich harvest that he sowed so well in this life. But these things will be recounted more properly by you, and it will be by your trumpet that the glory of this most saintly prelate will be sounded. You are a far better artist, and you have a deeper knowledge and acquaintance with all the virtues of the man. ‘Scarcely a whispered breath of his renown has wafted through to us.’6 I do not doubt that, given your devotion to him and the skill of your brush, you will paint for us the man in all his colours. This will have no small effect in stimulating the good morals of all if the fragrance of his outstanding goodness reaches as many people as possible. Moreover, it is safe to laud those who have departed this life since it brings no danger of arrogance to the person praised and no suspicion of flattery to the one who praises. We have simply tried to offer the fragrance of a brief tribute. May the Lord keep your most reverend Excellency safe. Basel, 1 February 1536 3090 / From Eustache Chapuys

London, 1 February 1536

This letter was first published as Ep 145 in Enthoven. The autograph, address sheet missing, is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 49). For Chapuys, imperial ambassador to England, see Ep 2798 introduction.

Cordial greetings. The letter you sent me from Basel on 28 November,1 dear Erasmus, my generous friend, was passed on to me around 29 December by *****

6 Virgil Aeneid 7.646



3090 1 The letter is not extant. Schets had forwarded a letter from Chapuys to Erasmus on 17 August 1535; see Ep 3042:48–50. This was presumably the letter answered on 28 November 1535.

30

35

40

45

3090  From Eustache Chapuys  1536

456

Schets through a servant of mine whom I happened to have sent at that time to the court in Brabant. If I try to put down in writing the pleasure I had in reading it, my efforts will be in vain and you will not come within many parasangs of understanding the delight I felt.2 There is one thing I would like to make you believe and believe unreservedly, indeed I fervently hope that you are convinced of it already, that Eustache, whatever his rank may be, or will be in the future, is your devoted friend, a friend entirely at your command, and that it is unreasonable of you to be so embarrassed when you talk to me about recovering your pension, as though this problem would be, to use your own words, beneath my dignity.3 Let’s hear no more of such talk, my dear Erasmus. Treat me as a close friend and I assure you that you will not find me reluctant or even tardy, provided a suitable opportunity arises. Even if you had not drawn my attention to the matter, I was already busy on your behalf and, unless I am mistaken, would even have reached some settlement if Canterbury had not been absent from the palace for several months at this time. However, I have not been asleep in the interval but have kept a careful watch, partly on my own and partly through my staff, all of whom (especially those who have some education) are great admirers and supporters of yours. As soon as Canterbury returns, I hope to discuss the matter seriously with him and I trust I shall be successful. How he behaves in other circumstances is his business; certainly in his feelings towards you he seems straightforward and friendly. Whenever I mention your name to him, he replies in a way that gives me no reason so far to suspect him of duplicity. The outcome will make the situation clear. We shall continue as best we can to work zealously on your behalf and even, if we succeed, to win your approval. Meanwhile be content, even cheerful – so far as that wretched illness of yours will allow. I would not venture to say how much Wiltshire liked your book On Death.4 But this I will say: many good men were comforted by that book and now face death more courageously, many have met it more resolutely, many *****



2 A parasang was a Persian unit of distance, probably about three miles; see Adagia ii iii 82. Apart from its use in ancient historical narratives, the word was reserved for literary contexts such as this. 3 For Erasmus’ reluctance to appeal to Chapuys for help with the collection of his pension from the archbishop of Canterbury, see Epp 3025:12–14, 3028:11–13, 3042:19–25, and cf Ep 3119:19–21. The current archbishop was Thomas Cranmer (Ep 2961 n42). 4 De praeparatione ad mortem, dedicated to Thomas Boleyn, earl of Wiltshire; see Ep 2884 introduction.

5

10

15

20

25

30

3090  From Eustache Chapuys  1536

457

even have embraced it ‘with open arms,’5 as the saying goes. Among whom I must count in the first place that glorious and immortal paragon of conjugal loyalty, whose shadow would be worth two thousand Wiltshires, the most serene Lady Catherine, queen of England, who on the day following Epiphany at last happily exchanged this wretched and tragic life for a blessed immortality with Christ.6 If you realized, my dear Erasmus, the steadfastness, the energy, the composure she showed after the many injustices, the many insults that not even a common working woman should have to bear, you would not repent of your effort even if Wiltshire does not give you a farthing in return,7 since it is to win souls, not to make a financial profit, that you gladly invest your writings with Christ. You may not be aware that this most serene queen spent the greater part of her last summer in reading and turning the pages of that work of yours, while at the same time happily keeping all your other works at hand. You would find many who are wonderfully strong and brave until they arrive, so to speak, at the moment of truth, but this most serene queen acted, up to her last breath, like an athlete, so that you could not fail to recognize that she had been in training all along for this last encounter. So in her death she produced a more faithful likeness of your book than any artist has ever achieved in painting his model. This should be a great consolation to us, who have loved her not so much as a queen but more as a saint worthy of heaven and destined to dwell there. As for myself, I have felt, and still feel, a most grievous sorrow at the death of so great a lady (and I would be duller than a lump of lead if I did not feel it). Yet after reflecting on the universal law of our mortality, which makes this evil (if death really is an evil) the same for all, whether we are kings or poor farmers,8 and after such a Christian death, which Paul says should not cause us to grieve as the pagans do,9 it is some consolation to my spirit to reflect that after a full two years I at last gained my coveted ambition to approach her, so that a few days before she ceased to be with us, it was possible for me to bring my greetings in person.

*****



5 Adagia ii ix 54 6 7 January 1536 7 Boleyn had given Erasmus fifty gold crowns for the Explanatio symboli (Ep 2824:20–3). There is no record of what, if anything, he gave Erasmus in return for De praeparatione. 8 Horace Odes 2.14.11–12 9 1 Thess 4:13

35

40

45

50

55

60

3090  From Eustache Chapuys  1536

458

She was living in a castle about sixty miles north of London,10 in an unlovely and marshy place which, to put it bluntly, was completely inappropriate for so great a princess. She desperately wished, and with good reason, to exchange this dungeon for a healthier home closer to London, and on the eve of Epiphany – she was to die on the day following Epiphany – I made a hasty journey to see the king on her behalf. But oh, how inscrutable are the ways of the Lord, how impenetrable the depths in which his plans are concealed!11 We were planning a better place on earth, but he meanwhile had taken pity on his servant, pitied her many hardships and tribulations, and suddenly moved her into his eternal dwelling, where she would enjoy perpetual peace, first for the soul and later also for the body, no longer exposed to the blows of fortune, where she would join the company of all the blessed spirits and among them those in particular who had been forced to lay down their lives for her cause, that is, for the cause of truth. She looks back on this not without the most bitter sorrow, for she had no greater fear than that more innocent blood would be shed while she lived on. God took her away, I say, doubtless so that, as the sage puts it, wickedness would not alter her understanding.12 For our most merciful Father did not wish to compensate his beloved daughter for all her past trials with a temporary, not to say, dangerous reward while we transported this fragile and crumbling vessel from one place to another.13 You must be content with this reflection on the departure of this most serene lady. I only wish I could command that glorious eloquence which you possess. Indeed in any encomium of distinguished women, the queen would hold first place, if I could have my way. I would pull out all the stops to sound her praise,14 to which no eloquence can ever do full justice. I know that besides the death of this saintly woman, you are mourning also for other friends, Warham, the bishop of Rochester, More, and Mount­ joy among them.15 But I would make a fool of myself if I attempted to outdo you as a comforter, since you are an avowed expert here who, like some great general, have armed everyone to face death provided they do not throw away their weapons. Let me put a few words in your ear concerning *****

10 Kimbolton; see Ep 2915:15–16 with n6. 11 Cf Rom 11:33. 12 Wisd 4:11 13 For the image of the earthen vessel cf 2 Cor 4:7. 14 Literally ‘praise her with full and open pipes’; cf Adagia i v 96. 15 See Epp 3036 n11, 2948 n2, 3025:4–11.

65

70

75

80

85

90

3091  From Petrus Merbelius  1536

459

Mountjoy. If you knew how his reputation and his fortunes had begun to totter for several months before his death, you would be happy that his wealth passed entire and undiminished to his son Charles and his other children and that Mountjoy himself died without a stain on his character. If you knew how things look here, you would say and feel the same as I. But let us leave this to the care of heaven! But what am I doing? I see that the compliment you paid me right at the head of your letter has now fallen victim to my excessive verbosity, for you said that you admire my good sense in writing rarely and circumspectly. Let me tell you the truth, my good Erasmus. If I were not concerned about your work and your studies, and if it were not so rare to find people to whom one could entrust a letter safely and confidently, you would be in danger of being swamped. Meanwhile you, with your usual good nature, may call this plan of mine, such as it is, by any name you choose. Farewell, glory without equal of learning and the learned. London, 1 February 1536 Your devoted Eustache Chapuys, ambassador of the emperor 3091 / From Petrus Merbelius

95

100

105

110

Milan, 2 February 1536

This letter was first published as Ep 146 in Enthoven. The autograph is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 106). For Petrus Merbelius see Ep 3005 introduction.

Cordial greetings. I am naturally very curious to know, Erasmus, my excellent Maecenas, where the letter you posted on the day after Martinmas has been hiding all this time,1 for it was delivered to me, along with a small packet for Gumppenberg, only on January 16. Without delay I sent on your letter to Gumppenberg,2 adding one of my own, to which I await his reply. I did 5 know that Ambrosius had sent me the diplomas.3 He had written subsequently to say that he had passed on copies of them, but they never arrived here. You write that we must not have a very high opinion of you if we judged you the sort of person who would do battle with those shady ruffians

***** 3091 1 The letter, dated 12 November 1535, is not extant. 2 Not extant 3 Ie the papal breves, Epp 3033–4

3091  From Petrus Merbelius  1536

460

and respond to their silly nonsense.4 You have a better and more sensible plan, which I can only praise. For nothing is accomplished except to drive these people to greater madness. It is enough that the name of Erasmus wins the approval of serious persons everywhere and will never suffer injury. So let these traitors spew out whatever they wish. I owe you undying thanks for your generosity in saying you would be happy to do all you can for my relative.5 I know of course that you did not do this for him alone, but for me too. When you tell me that, if God spares you until the summer, you will move to Brabant, travelling either by the Rhine or through Besançon, the thought of your departure makes me very sad. It will be more tolerable, however, if I learn that this is happening for your own good. I hope that when you are further away from us, you will become closer and will hold us more tightly in your thoughts. You would not wish to deprive us of your kindness and of the happiness you bring. I believe my letter about the prince’s death has already been delivered to you. I await your reply.6 Meanwhile I send my most respectful greetings. Do take care of yourself as best you can, and continue to love me. From Milan on the second of February 1536 Your most devoted and lifelong friend Petrus Merbelius I was unwilling to keep this quiet. The emperor has taken to heart the service I gave to my most illustrious duke Q7and has graciously decided that I should remain in the duchy of Milan as his secretary. He promised to reward my services appropriately, which he will see to on his arrival in Milan.8 Laurentia is ill.9 I have not seen the man for a long time. To the most honourable Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, distinguished theologian and best of fathers. In Basel

*****



4 Julius Caesar Scaliger (Ep 2564 n2) and Etienne Dolet (Ep 3005 n5), to neither of whom he responded 5 Unidentified 6 Francesco Maria Sforza, duke of Milan, died on 1 November 1535. Merbelius reported the death to Erasmus in Ep 3070; cf Ep 3064. Erasmus’ reply, if there was one, is not extant. 7 The reference is obviously to the deceased duke (see preceding note), but ‘Q’ makes no sense whatever. It is presumably a failed attempt at an abbreviation, but we have no idea what it might have been. 8 Cf Ep 3070:25–6. 9 For Johannes Baptista Laurentia, see Ep 3005 introduction.

10

15

20

25

30

35

3093  To the Reader  [1536] 3092 / To Charles Blount

461 Basel, 9 February 1536

This is the preface to the last edition of the Adagia published in Erasmus’ lifetime (Basel: Froben and Episcopius, March 1536). The editions of 1528 and 1533 had been dedicated jointly to William Blount, fourth Baron Mountjoy, and his son Charles, the fifth baron; see Ep 2726 introduction and n1. Now, the father having died in November 1534, the dedication is to Charles alone. The volume contained only five new adages.

desiderius erasmus of rotterdam to charles mountjoy Dear Charles, my honourable young friend, by the death of your distinguished father William Mountjoy, you have lost a most loving parent and I a patron and most constant friend. So now it is only right that you who came into part of your inheritance during his lifetime should now succeed in toto to that good 5 will which your father showed me and should take over alone the protection of the book that was dedicated to both of you together. In this your father will in some manner live on in you. It is right to mourn his death more moderately in that he died at the normally appointed age,1 his reputation undiminished, and all his affairs settled happily and in accordance with his wishes. 10 Farewell. On the ninth day of February in the year 1536 from the Nativity 3093 / To the Reader

[Basel, c February 1536]

This is a postscript found on page 1086 of the March 1536 edition of the Adagia (see Ep 3092). Hence the approximate date assigned.

desiderius erasmus of rotterdam to the reader, greeting In the proverb Dimidium plus toto ‘The half is more than the whole’ the following words are to be deleted: ‘Suidas cites from Marinus’ down to ‘And so kings, etc.’1 They are an intrusion and have nothing to do with this passage.2 *****

3092 1 He was fifty-six at the time of his death.



3093 1 Ie down to but not including the sentence beginning ‘And so kings’ in Adagia i ix 95. This is made clear in lines 11–13 below. 2 The words were inserted in the edition of 1526 and not removed until that of 1540. The cwe text omits them; see cwe 32 229 with n12.



3093  To the Reader  [1536]

462

I had a secretary who took delight in secretly weaving into my work something of his own.3 I cited that passage from Suidas in the proverb Principium dimidium totius ‘Well begun is half done,’ where it fits.4 But he, either through ignorance or forgetfulness, included the same passage in this most inappropriate place. And what is more absurd, although there I had translated ἀρχή as ‘beginning,’ he translated it as ‘principate,’5 which is completely inappropriate in this context. Further he failed to notice that a coherent text is interrupted by this inappropriate insertion. For ‘And so kings, etc’ fits the preceding quotation from Hesiod.6 I ask you, reader, is this the work of a secretary or a forger? Is there a drunkard or an imbecile who would write anything more foolish? I do not say these things merely on suspicion. I have caught his chicanery in other places when I was going over the text and was struck by the incongruence of what had been inserted. Because this was added to the copy secretly, I could not detect it, and it would have escaped our notice forever, if a corrector, puzzled by the passage, had not drawn it to our attention. But since I did not read the whole adage, the version has been corrected only in this edition. This whole patch, however, must be torn out since it does not fit the context at all. I only hope the fellow has not played the same trick in other places. If he had been a deadly enemy, could he have done anything more unkind than, by such additions, to hold me up to the mockery of learned men? Farewell. 3094 / From Jacobus Omphalius

Toulouse, 10 February 1536

This letter was first published by Dr Franz Wachter in Zeitschrift des bergischen Geschichtsvereins 30 (1894) 211–12. The autograph, address sheet missing, is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 116). For Jacobus Omphalius, who, after studies at Louvain and teaching for a time at Paris, had gone to Toulouse in 1533 to study law, see Ep 2311 n14. Although there is scant evidence of it in the surviving correspondence, Erasmus and Omphalius appear to have had a cordial relationship marked by at least the occasional exchange of friendly letters. In 1532, for example, Omphalius, at

*****

3 In 1526 Erasmus had as his secretary Quirinus Talesius (Ep 1966 introduction) and possibly also Nicolaas Kan (Ep 1832 introduction). 4 Adagia i ii 39; see cwe 31 181. 5 The Greek word ἀρχή can mean both ‘beginning’ (principium) and ‘rule,’ ‘principate.’ 6 See the passage cited in n1 above.

5

10

15

20

25

3094  From Jacobus Omphalius  1536

463

Erasmus’ request, assisted him in his attempt to secure the suppression of Julius Caesar Scaliger’s Oratio contra Erasmum (Ep 2635:3–8).

Greetings. In this exalted retreat for my studies it has always been my fondest wish that those who were responsible for my taking up the study of the law would remain to support me when I had obtained the distinction I had long aspired to. Now, on the first of December I was, by the will and unanimous consent of the doctors, enrolled in the college of jurists. On that day, besides all the other kindly congratulations that distinguished people heaped upon me, I received an exceptional tribute, something that had not been heard of within living memory, from those who profess the study of both laws with great acclaim in our schools. There was no one at my disputations who did not bear flattering testimony to the excellence of my public responses to questions of law, praising both my intellect and my learning;1 and the praise which has historically been given to several individuals was publicly assigned to me alone in order that the record of my achievement might shine out the more brightly. As is only proper, I value this great honour very highly because it seems to have been conferred on me by men of the greatest distinction with no thought of future benefit, but simply out of a spontaneous and genuine act of will and a great concern for excellence. I have read with great delight your vigorous and robust rejoinder to that mad tirade2 from Pietro Corsi.3 The empty hostility of spiteful critics lies tattered and prostrate under the wonderful brilliance of your mind, your great good sense and moderation. Now I am determined to devote the remaining course of my life and every impulse of my heart to maintaining and defending your dignity, so that, although I cannot display an equal good will and concern for you, at least it may be clear that I wished to show you all the good will I can and to render to you all possible assistance, all faithful and devoted service. For although the bitterness of fortune has deprived me of the power to show an adequate appreciation of the benefit you conferred on me,4 it will not also lessen the force of my veneration for you, since of ­necessity *****

3094 1 Cf Ep 3082:16–18. 2 Reading furias for the ferias of the text 3 See Ep 3032. 4 Cf lines 32–3 with n5 below. It is not made clear what the benefit or assistance was that Erasmus had rendered. But at Paris, and probably also in Louvain, Omphalius had been associated closely with friends of Erasmus, and one can

5

10

15

20

25

3094  From Jacobus Omphalius  1536

464

it is incumbent on me to do what I can so that all good men may understand 30 that all distinctions both of life and of rank are due ultimately to you. I beg you earnestly in view of my exceptional veneration for you that you continue, as you have begun, to assist me in my plans.5 Here is a request I scarcely dare to ask, that if I seem to you to be someone who has allied himself completely with your principles and conformed to your wishes, you will 35 send me at least one letter to ensure the immortality of my name.6 Letters are being written to you by Nicolas Bérault, Jean de Boyssoné, doctor of civil law,7 and the celebrated Jean Sabunyer, a man of great authority and influence at the court of king Francis of France. If you think it proper, you should write back to him.8 40 Farewell. Toulouse, 10 February 1536 Your Honour’s servant Jacobus Omphalius of Andernach 3095 / To Gilbert Cousin

Basel, 12 February 1536

This letter was first published in the Epistolae universae pages 1113–14.

erasmus of rotterdam to gilbert cousin, canon of nozeroy in burgundy, greeting Lately I got someone from your family to take a brief letter to you.1 At the time I was compelled, while lying in bed, to write to King Ferdinand and to *****







easily imagine his having received friendly advice and encouragement from Erasmus himself, who may even have been among those who encouraged him to study law (cf lines 1–4 above). 5 Cf lines 27–9 above. 6 Since Erasmus had already written to Omphalius, the point of this request is not clear. We know that by the end of 1536 Omphalius had returned to Germany by way of Paris in search of employment, and that in October the archbishop of Cologne, Hermann von Wied, had appointed him assessor at the Imperial Supreme Court (Reichskammergericht) at Speyer. It may be that at this point Omphalius already foresaw the need for letters of recommendation, or perhaps just a single letter of praise addressed by Erasmus to Jacobus Omphalius, lld. 7 Bérault wrote Ep 3083, and Boyssoné Ep 3082. The letters seem to have no purpose other than to please Omphalius by expressing good will towards Erasmus. 8 No one has succeeded in identifying the ‘celebrated’ Jean Sabunyer (Sabonier). No exchange of letters between Erasmus and any such person is known to have occurred. 3095 1 The family member is unidentified. The letter is not extant, but it was written at about the same time as Ep 3087 (see following note).

3095  To Gilbert Cousin  1536

465

the cardinal of Trent on behalf of the Basel city council.2 You had not sent a letter with your relative nor given him any message. He gave as an excuse the fact that he had set out for Basel unexpectedly. Fiddle faddle! I suspect you had some reason for being reluctant to write. He said you had written a month ago.3 Twaddle! The excuse given by the printer who was staying with you was that there was no time to write.4 However, he struck a hopeful note, saying that you intended to come this way at Easter and would see that some good wine was delivered to me.5 You remember that when we tasted the two casks from the abbot,6 one was cloudy and lacked fire and flavour.7 You had placed this next to the cask from the official,8 as being better than the rest. But after we opened it, we found it had a good colour, but, because of the cask, it had lost all fire or flavour except that of a badly spoiled wine. I have no idea what the carriers put into it; certainly this cask has to be poured out into the street. We opened the second cask from the abbot and found the wine to be of good quality and very pleasant to the taste, and I have no doubt that the other cask had been similar. May Jupiter send those wine-thieves to their destruction!9 I would be willing to pay even forty florins to have another cask arrive in the condition in which it was sent.10 It would have been enough and more than enough for a whole year. If you are willing to oblige me in this matter, your effort will not be wasted. This winter has treated me badly. Around the first of November it greeted me harshly with the first frost. I had not recovered from this when the onset of a windstorm laid me low. I had begun to regain my health after this with no trace of pain, no cold in the head, and my stomach becoming stronger every day, when suddenly N came on a visit after dinner and kept me sitting *****

2 The letter to King Ferdinand is Ep 3087 (27 January 1536); that to Bernard von Cles is not extant. It is not known what the Basel council wanted from Ferdinand. 3 Ep 3104:12–14 seems to indicate that Cousin had not in fact communicated with Erasmus since leaving Basel. If Epp 3068 and 3080 had actually been sent, neither one had yet reached Erasmus. 4 The printer is unidentified. 5 Easter in 1536 fell on 16 April. 6 Louis de Vers (Ep 2889 introduction) 7 Cf Ep 3062:16–18. 8 Léonard de Gruyéres (Ep 3063 introduction) 9 For wine-thieves Erasmus has oinokleptas (Greek in the text), a word not found in the dictionaries. It may be a humorous coinage by Erasmus. 10 If Rhenish florins, a sum equivalent to £9 17s 8d groot Flemish, a little more than the annual wage income of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13)

5

10

15

20

25

3095  To Gilbert Cousin  1536

466

by the fire for three hours while he argued about the dogmas of the faith.11 The strain and sitting at the fireside brought back the whole problem, for both are very harmful to me. He was set to go on till nightfall. I interrupted the discussion and sent him away, but soon I began to feel my head filled with annoying vapours, there was a nasty ringing in both ears, followed by vomiting. Now these harrowing pains are gone, but generally I keep to my bed except for three hours around lunch and the same at dinnertime. Recently I had a letter from Koler; he too wrote from his bed because of a painful attack of gout.12 Our Breisgau theologian complains similarly in a letter that he suffered such torments that he hoped for death.13 The husband of Amerbach’s sister is affected by a similar disease, though otherwise a strong and healthy man.14 In Poland we have lost Piotr Tomicki, bishop of Cracow,15 who, along with a most reassuring letter, had sent me thirty ducats.16 Farewell, and preserve the friendship that we pledged to one another at our parting. The rest can wait until we meet. Hieronymus Froben, Bonifacius Amerbach, and your friend Sigismundus Gelenius send their greetings.17 Basel, 12 February 1536 3096 / From Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda

Rome, 13 February 1536

This letter, the last from Sepulveda to Erasmus still extant, was first published in the Sepulvedae epistolae folios 18 verso–22 verso. It appears to have been evoked

***** 11 ‘N’ is unidentified. 12 No letter from Johann Koler later than Ep 3050 (31 August 1535) survives. In that letter he complains of an attack of gout, but does not say that he was writing from his bed. It is, moreover, unlikely that a letter written at Augsburg at the end of August would not have arrived before Cousin left Basel at the end of October, much less as late as February of the following year. Cf Ep 3050 n7. 13 The theologian was Ludwig Baer (Ep 3011 introduction); the letter is not extant. 14 In 1506 the spice merchant Jakob Rechberger (d 1542) married Margarete Amerbach, Bonifacius’ sister. The bride’s family initially opposed the marriage, so the couple eloped, but within a few years the bride’s father and husband had reconciled, and henceforth the two families had excellent relations with one another. 15 He died on 29 October 1535. 16 See Ep 3014:77–81, where the amount of the ‘small gift’ is not specified. Thirty ducats were equivalent to £10 0s 0d groot Flemish, slightly more than the annual wage income of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). 17 For Gelenius see Ep 1702 n1.

30

35

40

45

3096  From Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda  1536

467

by the appearance of the 1535 edition of Erasmus’ Novum testamentum (see n3 below). Whether it answers Ep 2951, or whether that had already been done in a letter no longer extant, is not clear.

juan ginés de sepúlveda to master erasmus of rotterdam, cordial greetings You can gauge the enormous delight I take in our epistolary conversations, especially those dealing with scholarly matters, from the fact that I make even trivial little questions the subject of my letters to you – if anything can be called trivial that helps our understanding of a difficult and obscure passage of Holy Scripture. You, like the erudite and godly man you are, have tried hard to provide a solution not just by producing a new translation but by adding notes, or rather a full-scale commentary. Moreover it is clear to me that you keep on worrying over the problem, altering or expanding your citations, if you find anything on your own or receive a better or a more appropriate suggestion from learned friends. I had written to you about that ambiguous passage in the Epistle to the Galatians concerning Mount Sinai and Jerusalem,1 and told you how I thought the passage should be interpreted and explained. You not only wrote back to approve my opinion,2 but in your recently published commentary,3 I was delighted to observe that you gave it preference over all other explanations. So we must understand that when Paul says of Sinai that it is ‘close to’ [συστοιχεῖν] present-day Jerusalem, he does not mean that the two places are contiguous, for we know they are separated by a great distance, but that they belong to the same order and significance.4 This interpretation is appropriate and closer to the meaning of the Greek word.

***** 3096 1 Gal 4:25 2 For the exchange between Sepúlveda and Erasmus on this subject, see Epp 2873:34–74, 2905:18–33, 2938:27–36, 2951:16–21. 3 Ie in the fifth and final edition of the New Testament (Basel: Froben 1535). It is worthy of note that nowhere else in Erasmus’ correspondence is there any reference to the appearance of this edition. The printing, already under way in July 1534, had been delayed by lack of paper; see Ep 2961:24–6. 4 The Latin is ‘eiusdem ordinis atque rationis.’ Cf Ep 2873:64–73, where the language is similar and Sepúlveda makes his point in greater detail. He wanted the Latin phrase here cited, or some equivalent of it, to be the proper translation of the Greek word in question.

5

10

15

20

3096  From Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda  1536

468

But I wonder why it is that, after gladly accepting this interpretation and supporting it with additional commentary, you did not adjust your translation of the Latin text to fit the sense, but preferred to keep the ambiguous and metaphorical confinis est rather than use the proper term, which does not involve any ambiguity,5 especially since you yourself are not normally the least bit hesitant about departing from the traditional version and had already departed from tradition in this same passage by changing a word.6 While on that occasion it was a word of Paul’s that gave me material for my letter, now another passage, this time from the Gospels, has provided me with the subject of my present letter; I shall set out my opinion, which, so far as I know, differs from the old commentators as well as from more recent ones, and then I shall ask for your discriminating judgment. It is written in the seventh chapter of Mark’s Gospel: ‘Moses said, “Honour your father and your mother,” and “he that shall curse father or mother, dying let him die.” But you say: “If a man shall say to his father or mother Corban, that is, whatsoever gift is from me shall profit you”‘7 These are the words of Christ criticizing the Pharisees for their greed, for they distorted the law of God, toning it down and applying to it a self-serving interpretation. This passage, as you know, is so opaque and so hidden in a heavy pall of smoke that it greatly baffled Jerome, Augustine, Theophylact, and other brilliant men, each devising a different solution, ingenious to be sure, and not inconsistent with true doctrine, but in some cases beside the point and in others at variance with the language of the Gospel. It would be pointless, I believe, to cite these interpretations, especially to you, since you are familiar with all of them, and in your commentary you have cleverly noted, what is absolutely true, that in the Gospel narrative the principal verb is

*****

5 All of Erasmus’ editions of the New Testament offer the reading confinis est ‘related to’ in place of the Vulgate’s coniunctus est ‘borders on.’ To Erasmus, confinis est meant both ‘related to’ and ‘in the same class’ (see Ep 2951 n3). 6 Ie in his revised Latin translation Erasmus had changed coniunctus to confinis; see preceding note. 7 Mark 7:10–11. Sepúlveda’s citation of this obscure passage adheres closely to the Vulgate text, but with his own punctuation, which we have followed in the translation. See lines 71–9 below for further discussion of the meaning of ‘Corban.’ The commandment to honour one’s father and mother (the fourth of the Ten Commandments in the reckoning of Catholics and Lutherans) is found in Exod 20:12 and Deut 5:16. The sentence of death on those who curse their parents is found in Exod 21:17.

25

30

35

40

45

3096  From Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda  1536

469

missing, giving rise to this variety of explanations, which is strong proof that they do not offer a satisfactory account of the passage.8 Recently when I was turning these problems over in my mind and had begun to worry over the passage and give it my full attention, I began to have an inkling of a solution which, if true, as I think it is, since it gains greatly in probability by the preceding and adjoining words, will give a plain sense to the passage and fit the context perfectly. For I suspect that the words ‘If a man shall say to his father or mother’ [si dixerit homo patri vel matri] have the sense ‘if a man shall speak against his father or mother’ [si dixerit homo in patrem vel matrem], that is, ‘if he shall curse [maledixerit] his father or mother.’ That this expression is not inconsistent with Hebrew usage is illustrated by the following verse from Psalm 70: ‘Because my enemies said [dixerunt] to me,’9 that is, ‘cursed me’ [maledixerunt]. So these words are a repetition of the first phrase in the divine law, which was being perverted by the Pharisees. When this is established the meaning of the words that follow will fit comfortably with those that preceded, so that for the later phrase ‘dying let him die’ the Pharisees substituted ‘a Corban from me will be advantageous to you,’ that is, ‘when I act as priest and intercessor, any gift you offer in the temple will be to your benefit in that you will receive pardon for the contempt you showed to your father.’ So, according to this self-serving interpretation of the Pharisees, the capital penalty that divine law had prescribed for this shameful offence could be avoided by offering a small gift to the priests. For the word ‘Corban,’ as Mark himself interpreted it, means any gift offered to the temple or to the priests. The word is still used in this sense in present-day Hebrew. So according to the Pharisees wicked children could neglect the care and respect owed to their parents without fear of the punishment prescribed by the law of God. For this is how Mark continues ‘and you suffer him no more to do anything for his father or mother,’ just as Matthew, who had handed down almost the same message in chapter 15, expressed it more clearly in these words ‘and he will not honour his father or his mother.’10

*****

8 This difficult passage, as well the various explanations offered for it, is the subject of Erasmus’ lengthy annotation to the parallel passage in Matthew 15:4–5; see lb vi 81f–83d. The annotation in Mark 7 (lb vi 179f) refers the reader back to that in Matthew 15. 9 Ps 70:10 (Vulgate) 10 Matt 15:6 (Vulgate)

50

55

60

65

70

75

3096  From Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda  1536

470

So the sense of the whole passage will be: ‘Divine law has laid it down that anyone who has cursed his father or mother shall die the death. You Pharisees, in a perversion of this law, say that if a man has spoken against his father or his mother, that is, has cursed them, any gift offered in the temple when I as a priest intercede before God will be to his advantage, that is, will obtain pardon for his crime and be free from punishment.11 God wished the duty of children to their parents to be so holy that those who neglected it should fear not only the immediate penalty from the authorities, which they might avoid, but the slower wrath of God, which no one can elude. For just as, by the law of God, as found in Exodus 20[:12], honour shown to one’s parents is rewarded with length of days, so it must follow that ill treatment of them is punished with shortness of life. This fear, which was specially designed to hold children to their duty, was removed by the Pharisees through a perverse interpretation of the law. These thoughts, which seem to clarify and explain a passage that was thought most complicated and obscure, came into my mind. Now it remains for you with your customary generosity and intellectual honesty to examine the passage more carefully, to compare this suggestion of mine with those of others, and to be good enough to write back to me, giving me your own view and telling me what weight you think should be given to mine. We have easily won the approval of certain learned and sensible men for our interpretation. Nevertheless your authority will count for more with us, one way or the other, so that, relying on your support and weighty judgment, we shall either persist in our opinion or realize that even now a better solution must be sought. Farewell. Rome, 13 February 1536 3097 / To Bonifacius Amerbach We have adopted Alfred Hartmann’s redating of this letter to ‘after August 1535.’ It now appears as Ep 3050a.

***** 11 In the words of the Allen editors (at line 32 of their text), ‘Sepulveda’s exposition of the passage [Mark 7:12–13] is not a happy illustration of his critical power.’ The interpretation offered by modern biblical scholars is reflected in the rsv text: ‘But you [Pharisees] say “If a man tells his father or his mother, What you would have gained from me is Corban” (that is, given to God [but retained for private use]) – then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God [ie the commandment to honour one’s parents] through your tradition …’

80

85

90

95

100

105

3099  To the Reader  [1536] 3098 / To Bonifacius Amerbach

471 [Basel, 14 February 1536]

This letter (= ak Ep 2009) was first published as Ep 6 in the Epistolae familiares. The manuscript is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms a n i i 15 67].

Greetings. Assuming it would be proper to do this on a feast day, the will has been written out. If the notary is available, I can easily collect the others.1 At two o’clock or soon after four. There is no need to hurry, but now, at any rate, I am feeling well. How I shall feel later I do not know. Farewell. 5 To Master Amerbach 3099 / To the Reader

[Basel, c 20 February 1536]

In March 1536 the first edition of Juan Luis Vives’ De conscribendis epistolis libel­ lus vere aureus was published at Basel by the firm of Thomas Platter and Balthasar Lasius. To this was added Eiusdem argumenti D. Erasmi Roterodami compendium ab ipso autore denuo recognitum, a reprint of the unauthorized edition of the Conficiendarum epistolarum formula published by Michaël Hillen at Antwerp in 1521, omitting, however, the two letters of Pliny that were used to fill the empty pages at the end of that volume. Taken over from Hillen’s edition, however, was the prefatory letter to Petrus Paludanus of which Erasmus complains in lines 12–13 below. At the end of the volume (folio 58 verso), in place of the two letters of Pliny, Platter and Lasius placed this letter to the reader. It seems that Erasmus may not actually have written the letter for their volume, or else that he was poorly informed about its actual content. Otherwise he would not have complained (lines 13–15) of the letter to Petrus Fabricius, which was not included in Hillen’s edition or in that of Platter and Lasius. In Ep 3100:22–9 Erasmus says that he saw it in an (unidentified) edition published at Lyon.

*****



3098 1 Erasmus wrote out his final will on 12 February 1536 and affixed his seal to it (see ‘Erasmus’ Last Will’ 591–6 below). A notary was required for the purpose of verification. The first feast day after 12 February was St Valentine’s Day, 14 February, which is the date found on the notarized copy of the will; see Epistolae familiares 124.

3099  To the Reader  [1536]

472

erasmus of rotterdam to the reader, greeting I cannot stop the hands of the printers, but I shall do what I can; that is, dear reader, I shall not allow you to be deceived. This little work has been excerpted in truncated form from a hastily written commentary that I completed over a couple of days forty years ago,1 but it was a private document 5 for one person, a beginner’s treatise for a beginner, a dull work for a dull student.2 Who the perpetrator is, I can easily guess, even without a sieve.3 Out of respect I shall not name him.4 Several things he cut out, some things he added on his own, and some he distorted out of ignorance, as, for example when he corrupted Quem cui 10 commendes to Qualem commendes through not recognizing the elegant idiom.5 He added an old preface, but with a change of name, for I am acquainted with nobody called Petrus Paludanus.6 He attached a letter of his own to somebody called Fabricius,7 in which there is not a word of mine, nor can one imagine anything more tasteless. 15 So be warned! I have done my duty. Reader, farewell. *****



3099 1 The Formula, the earliest version of what Erasmus would in 1522, after much revision and expansion, publish as De conscribendis epistolis, was written in Paris before the turn of the century. In Ep 1284:10–11 Erasmus says that the preparatory reading for the Formula and the writing of it together took less than three weeks. 2 The work was written for Erasmus’ English pupil Robert Fisher, who took it with him when he departed for Italy; see Epp 62 and 71. 3 For the ancient practice of divination by a sieve, see Adagia i x 8. 4 See n6 below. 5 The reference is to Horace Epistles 1.18.76, where qualem is the reading adopted by modern editors. Qualem is found in Hillen’s text (b2), but the Platter and Lasius text reads quem cui. 6 See ‘The Letter to Petrus Paludanus’ introductory note 598 below. 7 As noted in the introduction above, the letter to Fabricius is not found in the editions of Hillen or Platter and Lasius. In Ep 3100:22–3 Erasmus says that he saw it in an edition of the Formula that was published in Lyon at an unspecified date (and is not now known to exist). The only known version of it is in an edition of the Formula published by Adam Petri at Basel in 1521, a copy of which is in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. The author, who calls himself ‘your Hugualdus,’ has been identified as the Basel scholar Ulrich Hugwald (1496–1571) who at the time was working as a private tutor and as a corrector at Petri’s press. An enthusiast for grammar and rhetoric, he subsequently (from 1535) taught at Basel’s Latin school, and in 1540 he was the headmaster. In 1541 he joined the faculty of arts at the university, where he taught grammar and Aristotelian ethics and was several times dean. The addressee of his letter, Petrus Fabricius, has not been identified and may well have been fictitious.

3100  To Friendly Readers  1536 3100 / To Friendly Readers

473 Basel, 20 February 1536

This is the valedictory letter found on pages 117–21 of De puritate (Epp 3081, 3086 introductions), at the end of the letters that Erasmus appended to that volume. The autograph, bearing the red chalk marks used by the printer in preparing the volume, is in the Royal Library at Copenhagen (ms gks 95 Fol, folio 160).

desiderius erasmus to friendly readers, greeting These past few days I thought it wise to examine the disorganized piles of paper that I possess, partly to find the two or three letters that I wished to have published and partly to get rid of those that others might perhaps be tempted to publish after my death or even while I am still alive, for there are people who would stop at nothing if it would bring them a profit, however small it might be, or a scrap of fame, which they put ahead of honour and friendship. Not everything is written with a view to publication. When I was young, I amused myself by composing a few pieces as an exercise in writing. I dictated some pieces for others as I walked about, with publication the last thing on my mind. Some pieces I wrote for slow-witted pupils. To this latter class belong the Colloquies that a certain Hollonius obtained from I know not where (for I never kept a copy by me) and sold at a high price to Johann Froben, claiming that there were other printers who wanted to buy them.1 Such is the appetite for purchasing them. In the same class is the Paraphrase of the Elegantiae,2 which appeared, to my complete surprise, with a silly title, although I had not provided one; the material, moreover, had been arranged in alphabetical order, thus throwing into confusion the whole scheme. Finally they made a fair number of insertions that are as silly as they are stupid, which even as a child I could not have brought myself to dictate to another child. Lately I saw a little book On Composing Letters,3 printed in Lyon with the following salutation ‘Erasmus to Petrus Paludanus, greeting.’4 But no mortal man of that name is known to me. When I read the book, I discovered ***** 3100 1 Lambertus Hollonius (Ep 904), who in 1518 supplied the manuscript for Froben’s unauthorized first edition of the Colloquia (Ep 909 introduction) 2 For this unauthorized 1529 edition of Erasmus’ Paraphrasis in Elegantias Laurentii Vallae see Ep 2260:70–121. For the authorized 1531 edition see Ep 2416. 3 The Conficiendarum epistolarum formula; see Ep 3099 introduction. 4 See ‘The Letter to Petrus Paludanus’ 597–9 below.

5

10

15

20

3100  To Friendly Readers  1536

474

what an insolent theft had taken place. Once long ago I had rushed off in two days a book On Composing Letters for an English pupil who was plainly a thick-headed fool.5 From it he made a selection and included some pieces of his own. He added a long-winded and utterly dreary letter, not a word of which was mine, nor had it anything to do with the subject.6 If he had published the work under his own name without extraneous material, it would have been more supportable, but he sought to profit from the use of my name. Furthermore, I know that there are also others who preserve some of the educational writings of my youth. A chest that I have just now examined had once contained a great number of pages written for a young man in a hand that differs greatly from the one I use at present. I discovered that every single sheet had been removed, and I can guess where they are lurking now.7 People make light of literary theft, but this is no less shameful than clothiers excusing the theft of cloth, carriers the theft of wine, bakers the theft of flour, or other workers, each with his own line of argument, excusing the theft of his own property. But let us suppose that it is a small fault to break into someone else’s escritoire and steal what was meant to be kept hidden. Does it seem a pardonable offence to print what was not intended for publication, bringing shame on another’s name and ruining the work by stitching on some ignorant patches of one’s own? I do not know how others feel, but I could bear it more lightly, and have done so more than once, if they stole money from my coffers. But those who steal are taken out to be crucified. These other thieves are called ‘scholars.’ I believe that such ‘scholars’ should not be choked to death by the noose but should perish in the way Thurinus did – by the smoke from their burning papers.8 What a host of crimes are *****



5 Robert Fisher; see Ep 3099:6–7 with n2. 6 The letter to Fabricius; see Ep 3099:13–15 with n7. 7 In 1508 Erasmus had deposited with Richard Pace at Ferrara the manuscripts of a number of his early, still unpublished writings. Pace in turn left the papers behind in Rome. See Epp 211:53n, 1110:41–6, 1210:17–18, 1227:3–6, 39–41. These manuscripts soon passed into the hands of Pace’s friend William Thale (Ep 1224 introduction), who used them to publish an unauthorized edition of De ratione studii at Paris (Ep 66 introduction). Also left in the care of Pace and never recovered were the manuscripts of the Antibarbari (Ep 1110 introduction) and De copia verborum (Ep 260 introduction), both of which Erasmus had to write anew for publication. 8 According to Adagia i iii 41 corrupt courtiers who pretended to be able to procure the favour of the great in return for bribes were said ‘to sell smoke.’ In his life of Alexander Severus, Aelius Lampridius tells the story of Thurinus

25

30

35

40

45

50

3100  To Friendly Readers  1536

475

involved in this one action – theft, sacrilege, falsehood, libel, perfidy! Is there anything these people will not have the audacity to do once I am dead, when they act like this while I am alive? I only wish they would keep their impudent hands off the classics. The Venetian press gave us Pompeius Festus in a dreadfully corrupted form.9 I do not blame Aldus. It was his usual practice to entrust such work to some schoolmaster. Several years ago the thought often entered my mind to go through my papers and burn whatever was not intended for publication. But while I kept putting off my plan because of various responsibilities, others anticipated me. May it do them no good! The works of mine that I publish myself bring me enough embarrassment without these people publishing any silly scribble of mine that I did not intend for publication. When I discovered among my letters many from almost every monarch in the world, and from dukes, cardinals, bishops, and popes, as well as from men of great learning, all written in the most affectionate terms, I decided to publish a small selection to show what sort of drinking companions I have – for this is how some people talk who think it smart to indulge in scurrilous name-calling. I chose only those that I noticed were their own composition and written in their own hand, omitting anything produced by a secretary. For several years I had not bothered to keep a copy of my own letters, partly because I did not have enough secretaries to write out everything, and partly because I have many letters to reply to and therefore am compelled to compose off the cuff, even sometimes to dictate. I also felt ashamed of the earlier editions. Finally, I believe that those who keep their letters to be published after their death are wise. Moreover, letters written on some artificial theme to parade one’s learning are not, in my opinion, letters at all, because they are completely devoid of any feeling. But among those that are written in all sincerity, you are not likely to find many addressed to a single person that can be read by all without causing offence to somebody. Cardinal Cajetanus *****



Verconius, whose punishment for ‘selling smoke’ was to be tied to a stake and suffocated by the smoke from a fire of burning straw and damp wood. To fit the tale to the present context, Erasmus makes it ‘the smoke from their [own] burning papers.’ 9 The reference is to Niccolò Perotti’s Cornucopiae sive linguae Latinae commentarii, which, in the editions published by Aldus at Venice (1513, 1517, and 1527) included Sexti Pompeii Festi xix librorum fragmenta. Erasmus owned a copy of one of those editions, and an earlier unidentifiable one as well. See Van Gulik 383–4 no 286 and 433 no 384. The Adagia of 1533 included ‘a remarkable number of new references to … Pompeius Festus …’ (Van Gulik 384 no 286).

55

60

65

70

75

3100  To Friendly Readers  1536

476

wrote to me several times. I wanted to include his last letter, but it has not come to hand.10 In my last letter to him I complained about the critics who treated my On Concord unfairly.11 Pope Clement read it, for it is always more interesting to read letters addressed to others than those addressed to oneself, since the former seem the more reliable. The pope asked if he had read the work. Cajetanus said he had. The pope asked if he approved of it. He replied ‘I see nothing wrong there.’ The pope received this reply with great enthusiasm.12 When he came to the passage where I complain about Nikolaus of Herborn,13 commissary-general for this side of the Alps, he immediately summoned the master of the sacred palace and asked if he himself had appointed any such person as a commissary. He replied that he had not.14 So it was clear that the pope too did not approve of Herborn’s scurrilous behaviour and that the magnificent title in which he took such pride had been given him by the Franciscan fathers, not by the pope.15 In searching through my papers, I was reminded of the human condition by the fact that among so many letters, written for the most part within the last ten years, so few came to hand whose authors were still alive. Man is but a bubble.16 And I wanted you to be aware of this, gentle reader, so that you would not jump to the conclusion that something with my name affixed to it must be mine or imagine that no one is well disposed to Erasmus except a few of his boon companions. Farewell. Basel, 20 February 1536 ***** 10 The entire extant correspondence between Erasmus and Cajetanus consists of Ep 2690. The cardinal’s last letter, referred to here, is the one included with Ep 2935 by Giovanni Danieli; see lines 10–12 of that letter. 11 The letter is not extant. For the treatise De sarcienda concordia ecclesiae, see Ep 2852. 12 This account of the contents of the letter agrees substantially with that in Ep 2935:5–10. 13 For Nikolaus Ferber of Herborn, his attack on Erasmus, and Erasmus’ angry reaction, see Ep 2896 n8. 14 The master of the sacred palace, always a Dominican, was the pope’s personal theologian. From 1529 to 1542 the master of the sacred palace was Tommaso Badia (see Ep 3076 n7). 15 The title-page of Ferber’s book clearly identifies him as Ordinis Minorum reg­ ularis observantiae Generali Commissario Cismontano ‘Cisalpine CommissaryGeneral of the Order of Friars Minor of the Regular Observance.’ There was no claim of a papal title. 16 Adagia ii iii 48

80

85

90

95

100

3101  From Pierre Vitré  153[6] 3101 / From Pierre Vitré

477 Paris, 20 February 153[6]

This letter was first published as Ep 131 in Enthoven. The manuscript, apparently autograph, with the address sheet missing, is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 150). Erasmus’ answer (Ep 3106) indicates that the year-date in the manuscript has to be interpreted as 1536 rather than 1535. For Pierre Vitré, an old friend from Erasmus’ time in Paris, with whom Erasmus had had no correspondence since 1518 (Ep 817), see Ep 66 introduction. This letter answers one no longer extant (see lines 101–2). With that letter Erasmus had enclosed one to Germain de Brie asking him to intercede on Vitré’s behalf with Jean Du Bellay, cardinal-bishop of Paris (lines 105–8). Vitré was clearly living in poverty, subsisting on the entirely inadequate income from a benefice (lines 84–6). Erasmus was sufficiently touched by Vitré’s circumstances that in his final will he left him a bequest of 150 crowns (see ‘Erasmus’ Last Will’ 591–6 below), a step plainly hinted at in Ep 3106:14–15.

to master erasmus, a man of great and wide learning, from pierre vitré, greeting I always hoped that the time would come, most keenly missed teacher,1 when I could demonstrate, at least by letter, my love and affection for you and not appear unworthy and ungrateful for the great honours you have conferred 5 on me. Such an intention was deeply fixed in my mind. Every day I made an attempt and constantly sought the opportunity and, more importantly, the inspiration to write something that, if it did not do you justice, would not seem absurd because of my feeble abilities. But then while I procrastinated, time flowed by, my youth was passed, and now it almost seems as if ‘illness 10 and bleak old age are stealing upon me.’2 So I, who was once deeply ashamed to write anything to you that was less than perfect because of my lack of learning, and afraid that I would not match your expectations of me or what you said of me in your recommendations,3 am now compelled to write in whatever way I can if I want to escape a charge of ingratitude. I am greatly 15 *****

3101 1 The Latin for ‘most keenly missed teacher’ is desideratissime preceptor, a play on Erasmus’ name ‘Desiderius.’ It occurs again in line 100. 2 Virgil Georgics 3.67 3 In 1518 Erasmus agreed to recommend Vitré to Etienne Poncher, bishop of Paris, and presumably did so; see Ep 779.

3101  From Pierre Vitré  153[6]

478

embarrassed that because of my foolish dithering I have let slip my best years and must now strive above my powers and beyond my abilities. This has been the main or only reason that has always deterred me from making the attempt whenever I girded myself up for action: I was ashamed of my abilities and lacked any confidence in myself. Since I see that this situation will stubbornly persist and never leave me – for at this period of my life I cannot hope for any improvement in my intellect or that my days will be free from care – I have decided to blurt out into your private ear whatever comes into my mouth, preferring (if it does not upset you) to be inopportune or lacking in tact and good taste rather than incur the charge of ingratitude. For I hope that a man of your generous feelings, even if I deserve it, will not turn away from your friend Vitré, for whose spiritual health and learning (such as it is) you are responsible, especially since it was not negligence or forgetfulness that caused my failure to write to you but simply embarrassment. If this has often deterred others, men of considerable sophistication too, this makes it all the more appropriate for you to pardon my lack of refinement. As God is my witness, I swear that what frightened me was that not uncommon possibility – which you have complained of more than once – that some trifling production of mine might be made public, since there are always wastrels who are ready to rush into print, for better or for worse, anything they get their hands on. If that occurred, you would certainly be highly annoyed with me, and I would bring disgrace upon you and would lose the good opinion that men have of me, which is based not on my own work but on your letters to me. I preferred, in our common interest, to keep my ignorance hidden rather than become the subject of public gossip. I do not deny that I have failed to write to you for a long time, yet I have not lived all this time without a thought of you. Rather, you are with me constantly night and day. I can no more separate myself from your writings and our delightful exchanges than I could be separated from my own spirit. It is not possible for me to gaze upon your person face to face, yet at least I can always turn the pages of your writings, in which your spirit is alive and well, and in all my comings and goings, I carry around with me a portrait of your head and body which I obtained as a souvenir of you, and which I show to everyone without hesitation.4 Some people may think that there is little value in this, but when I quietly contemplate your silent picture, *****

4 Possibly but not necessarily the medallion made by Quinten Metsys in 1519 (cwe 7 260)

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

3101  From Pierre Vitré  153[6]

479

I am fired with a stronger desire for excellence, and I think back to your persuasive powers and your divine encouragement to study the humanities. If I had not then been rather reluctant to take your advice, I would perhaps have achieved by now some success in humane learning. Far from ascribing this to vanity, all who admire your inspired writings consider me fortunate and truly blessed to have had the good fortune to live with you for a time and enjoy a close association with you. If the stars would favour me a second time and allow me to see you in person and to talk with you, I would gladly accept such a bargain even at the cost of my life. Would that I had the power and the ability to do justice, even in part, to such a favour and such generosity! I would make sure, abundantly sure, that you would have no cause to complain of having taught me and provided me with such kindly advice, all to no purpose. And you would not need to trouble yourself with responding to jealous rivals, should any appear, or lose so much time from divine philosophy. I would hurl these infidels (for what milder name should I use for those who lash out against men of God?) into the depths of chaos along with their smears and insults. Yet it is better that such men perish from their own poison: there is no need for another to take up the fight. Given my age, however, it is vain to hope for such eloquence and learning. Now that the better part of my life has almost slipped past already, let me at least dedicate what remains to your honour. I promise reverently and with all my heart that my spirit, as long as it lives – and I have no doubt it will live forever – shall pray continually to immortal God for your salvation and your honour. And if somehow the gods grant me some greater blessing, it shall all be spent on your glory and your undying honour through all of time. May the merciful giver and defender of life make these things come to pass! If you ask about the activities in which I have been involved during this period that has just gone by or what in particular I plan to do from now on, I have been immersed in the affairs of the reverend archbishop of Tours and have been away from Paris for the whole of three years.5 If from time to time I was permitted to return to my scholarly interests, this was never for a continuous, solid, and fruitful period of study: I was always on call for service or business. And yet during all this time Fortune never smiled kindly on me, for

*****



5 Antoine de La Barre (d 1547), since 1528 archbishop of Tours. What Vitré’s duties were in his service is not clear.

55

60

65

70

75

80

3101  From Pierre Vitré  153[6]

480

besides a tiny living of thirty écus or thereabouts,6 absolutely nothing has come my way. So now at last, wishing to arrange some free time for my studies and to seek again the favour of the Muses (if this could possibly be agreed upon by both parties), I have decided as soon as I am free to see if I could perhaps translate your Moria into my native tongue. For this work seemed to me to surpass all the others in wit and elegance and to deserve to be translated into every language. It is true that it has already been translated into our vernacular by someone else, but it seems somehow to fall short of the liveliness of the Latin. The author will have no cause to be angry unless I misconstrue a passage that he has understood more correctly and produce a less satisfactory version.7 So I shall willingly risk my reputation on this and if you permit me or do not have a better idea, I shall try at last to see what my shoulders will or will not bear.8 I only hope that Apollo will breathe favourably on my efforts.9 I am not singing ‘a song unbidden,’10 for, if I remember correctly, you once commissioned me to take this on. And one must obey a teacher’s orders! Cordial greetings, most keenly missed teacher!11 The most courteous and learned Montanus delivered to me the letter you wrote in your own hand on 31 January.12 I cannot express in words the great joy it brought me, although at the end, where you speak about your dissolution,13 you brought a flood of tears to my eyes. I only hope that this does not happen while I am still alive. You state that you had enclosed with *****



6 A poor living indeed: thirty écus au soleil were equivalent to £9 10s 0d groot Flemish, little more than the annual wage income of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). 7 An anonymous French translation of the Moria had been published at Paris in August 1520: De la declamation de louenges de follie (Pierre Vidoue for Gallio du Pré). Three years earlier Joris van Halewijn (Ep 641 introduction) had made a French translation that appears to have circulated for some time in manuscript before disappearing without a trace. Modern scholarship has rejected the identification of Halewijn’s translation with that published by Vidoue. Here, however, Vitré assumes that there was only one earlier French translation and that its author was still alive (Halewijn died in 1536/7). See Ep 1115 introduction. 8 Horace Ars poetica 39–41. No translation by Vitré was ever published. 9 Apollo in his capacity as god of poetry 10 Virgil Eclogues 6.9 11 See n1 above. 12 For Philippus Montanus see Ep 2065, the only letter in the correspondence between him and Erasmus that has survived. 13 The word translated as ‘dissolution’ is resolutio, which is found in the Vulgate text of 2 Tim 4:6, where Paul says that the time of his ‘dissolution’ (Douay) or ‘departure’ (most other English translations) has come.

85

90

95

100

105

3101  From Pierre Vitré  153[6]

481

mine a letter for Germain de Brie, asking him to commend me to the bishop of Paris,14 but I have received absolutely nothing about that, nor has Brie indicated to me that he had received anything. Perhaps this occurred as a result of my carelessness, for I ought to have asked him whether he might assist me concerning a certain benefice in regard to which I am involved in a dispute with the servant of the bishop’s vicar that is before the courts. But now, as I am sure you know, our bishop is away. Brie too keeps to the country and rarely comes to the city. So I do not ask you to write anything at present. If it is necessary, I shall let you know when I have more free time. I thought I had been relieved of the stone, but around Christmas I was afflicted by an even greater pain than before. My doctor, however, does not assert plainly that it is the stone, but that the cause is certain thick humours that restrict the stream. I do not know what it is, for I have never had any experience with this kind of illness. But for about a year now after an emission of urine I have felt a pain in the duct or passage, especially around the neck and tip of the channel itself. It does not always affect me in the same way, differing according to the seasons, more severe when the weather is stormy and there is a wind blowing from the north, and less severe when the sky is clear. If you know of some remedy, do send it to me when you are better.15 What you wrote at the end of your letter about the time approaching for your dissolution pained me more than my illness. I bear my physical pain as cheerfully and contentedly as I can because I must, but this pain in my heart I cannot bear at all because of my love for you. Rather I weep pitiably, am tormented night and day, and wish to die and to set out with you to join that company of souls whose judge is Christ; he will reward us according to our deserts and we shall live with him forever. This I have written in haste while Montanus, my very dear friend, points out to me that the courier is in a hurry. If my words are somewhat lacking in elegance, I know you will pardon your Vitré, as is your way. Now I can no more be silent before you than I can forget myself. Indeed nothing troubles me more at present than the fact that I have earlier failed to perform my duty. If my prayers to immortal God and his saints have any avail, I shall beg them constantly to restore you, if not to your former health, at least to the point where you could satisfy the wishes of your friends. O ruler of the ***** 14 The letter to Brie (for whom see Ep 2021 introduction) is not extant. The bishop of Paris, who was also an influential diplomat in the service of Francis i, was Jean Du Bellay (1498–1560). 15 See Ep 3106:7–8.

110

115

120

125

130

135

3101  From Pierre Vitré  153[6]

482

heavens, why have you not added to this man’s mind and spirit the eternal 140 years he deserves as you have done for his writings? Farewell, my teacher. I shall write to you later, at greater length no doubt.16 Farewell again. Master Montanus has given me some notes on dealing with the problem of the stone. I believe they came from you. Nevertheless, if you have a remedy, don’t for that reason fail to send it to me. 145 From Navarre, 20 February 153517 P. Vitré, truly and sincerely yours 3102 / From Pierre Richardot

Besançon, 24 February 1536

This letter was first published as Ep 148 in Enthoven. The autograph is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 127). For Pierre Richardot, official and chief judge of the archidiaconal court and canon at Besançon, see Ep 2880 introduction.

Cordial greetings. Erasmus, beacon of eloquence, the letter that you wrote out of your exceptional kindness was delivered by our friend Etienne Desprez.1 For a bundle of letters came into Etienne’s hand, since it had not been sent to me by name.2 I also received and read the letter from my master, the official, which he had sent to you from Lucerne on 29 October, indicating 5 that his house and all his belongings were at your disposal so that you could rightfully claim them as your own.3 Everyone, I am sure, would regard it as a sensible plan on my master’s part to offer himself and his property so

*****

16 No further letters from Vitré are extant. 17 On the year-date see the introduction above.



3102 1 For Etienne Desprez see Ep 3115 introduction. 2 It is clear from the postscript (lines 31–3) that Erasmus had not written to Richardot himself. The letter in question must have been Ep 3063 (12 October 1535) to Léonard de Gruyères, who was chief judge (official) of the archiepiscopal court at Besançon. The bundle including it was apparently addressed simply to ‘the official,’ without a name, and was directed to Richardot, who functioned as ‘official’ in the absence of Gruyères and was also known by that title; see Ep 3075:6–9 with n3. 3 The letter written by Gruyères before he received Ep 3063 is not extant; see Ep 3075:1–3. Ep 3075:10–13 repeats the offer of the use of Gruyères’ house.

3102  From Pierre Richardot  1536

483

generously to such a great man as you and will consider it a happy arrangement for him if you accept what he is offering. As for me, I would dearly wish to be in a position at least to lend you a helping hand or do you a service if I could not offer you some beneficial arrangement. I would consider myself greatly and exceptionally blessed, if on some small occasion you were to summon me with a command and I could respond by doing you a service. Etienne shared with me the letter to him in which you mention an agent of the abbot’s, whom Etienne and I obviously cannot identify unless you add the name of the abbot.4 Meanwhile we shall try again to identify the man. But so that the carrier does not depart empty-handed, Master Bonvalot the treasurer, who is delighted and grateful at having received a letter from you,5 has informed us that he will send you by a carrier a cask of wine, the best that he has. I myself shall do likewise on behalf of my master. The cask to be sent will be got ready under my supervision. You will learn the rest of our news from Etienne, in particular that we discussed the old wine and how it turned out to be unsuitable because it could scarcely survive the move.6 So as not to hold up any longer your inexhaustible eloquence with my shameless mumbling,7 it is enough for me to indicate in my clumsy and barbarous manner what needs to be said in reply to your letter. So farewell, beacon of eloquence. Besançon, 24 February 1536 Pierre Richardot, your most obedient servant So that you may know my name and lineage, I am that Pierre Richardot to whom two years ago you wrote an amusing letter about lice and the burning of a witch.8 You wanted to teach me, I believe, not to be such a poor hand at writing. I have the copy of the Preacher you sent to my master.9 As soon as a courier is available, I shall send it to him. To Desiderius Erasmus, without doubt the prince of eloquence and his respected mentor. At Basel *****



4 The abbot, as is clear from Ep 3115:58–9, was Louis de Vers (Ep 2889). Ep 3095:12–13 (to Gilbert Cousin) mentions two casks of wine sent to Erasmus by the abbot. It appears that he had written to Desprez on the same subject at about the same time. 5 Not extant, answered by Ep 3103; see Ep 3103 introduction. 6 See Ep 2895:33–7. 7 Ie in order not to distract Erasmus from his writing 8 Ep 2880 9 Cf Ep 3063:15. For the Ecclesiastes see Ep 3036.

10

15

20

25

30

35

3103  From François Bonvalot  153[6] 3103 / From François Bonvalot

484

Besançon, 25 February 153[6]

For François Bonvalot, treasurer of the chapter at Besançon, see Ep 1534 n10. This letter, clearly the answer to one no longer extant, was first published as Ep 122 in Enthoven. The autograph, address sheet missing, is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University of Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 34). Though the manuscript clearly indicates the year-date as 1535, the actual date has to be 1536. In Ep 3075:27–9 (12 December 1535) Léonard de Gruyères assures Erasmus that Bonvalot had received the letter written about 12 October 1535 and the accompanying gift copy of the Apophthegmata. The present letter from Bonvalot acknowledges receipt of the gift. It also indicates that he is sending Erasmus a cask of Burgundy wine, evidently the one referred to in Ep 3102:18–21 of 24 February 1536. In the present letter, moreover, Erasmus’ move to Besançon is taken as a settled matter, which was not the case in February 1535. Only in the autumn of 1535, when the departure of Gilbert Cousin to his native Burgundy became inevitable, did Erasmus finally decide to move to Besançon (see Ep 3062 n2).

Cordial greetings, most learned Erasmus. It is no secret to me that you are in no way indebted to me, unless you wish to take into account my affection for you. And if you wish to be my debtor, I greatly desire to earn this honour first. There is no reason why you should offer your gratitude to one who has done nothing to deserve it. 5 I am sorry that the inclement winter weather has postponed your plans to move here. However, I hope and pray that the severity of winter may be assuaged by the pleasantness of the coming spring and summer – and to our advantage. Meantime you will have no shortage of Burgundy to enjoy where you are. But be careful to entrust it to reliable carriers. Otherwise the result 10 will be that because of mishandling by the carrier the wine will make you ill, for, as it happens, this year’s wine is not quite ready. Finally, do not offer money to one who has plenty, though insufficient to discharge his indebtedness to you. Believe me that the delight I derived from your Apophthegms, which you sent me as a gift through your secretary Gilbert,1 will be greater 15 than the amount of Burgundy I am sending. Farewell, most learned sir! From Besançon, 25 February 15352 Yours sincerely, François Bonvalot *****

3103 1 Gilbert Cousin; cf Ep 3104:13–14. 2 On the year-date see the introduction above.

3104  To Gilbert Cousin  1536 3104 / To Gilbert Cousin

485 Basel, 11 March 1536

This letter was first published in the Epistolae universae pages 1114–15.

erasmus of rotterdam to gilbert cousin of nozeroy, greeting The letter you sent on 19 February I received on 28 February,1 from which I see that my subsequent letter had not yet been delivered. It was a fairly longwinded letter, which I sent by the public courier of this city to Etienne 5 Desprez, to be forwarded by him to you.2 I hope you have received it by now. Now to your letter, briefly. I accept the excuse you give for your silence, but without pleasure. I would have preferred that my suspicions had been true, that, in a kind of intoxication brought on by the success of your affairs, you had forgotten about me. However, the affection you have shown for me 10 has given me much pleasure, though there is little joy in the regrets you have about the way things have turned out. I love you for the care with which you delivered my books and letters at Besançon, as I have now discovered from their letters.3 I am sincerely sorry about Lagnier’s misfortunes.4 I thank you for your warning about Lambelin.5 15 *****





3104 1 Not extant. It presumably answered the letter referred to in Ep 3095:3–5 as having been written at the same time as the letter to King Ferdinand (Ep 3087), ie c 27 January 1536. 2 Since it was sent by the public courier of Basel, this second letter must be that mentioned by Etienne Desprez as delivered to Cousin at Besançon c 28 March; see Ep 3115:48–50. The present letter reached Besançon on 5 April and was forwarded by Desprez to Cousin at Nozeroy; see Ep 3115:5–8, 54–7. 3 Epp 3075 (from Gruyères) and 3103 (from Bonvalot). Erasmus’ letters to them were entrusted to Cousin when he left Basel. It seems that until the letter of 19  February, which this letter answers, reached Erasmus on 28 February, he had not heard from Cousin at all since his departure from Basel in late October (cf Ep 3095:5–9). This suggests that the Allen editors may well have been right in their view that Epp 3068 and 3080 were more ‘rhetorical exercises’ than ­letters and probably had never been sent. In this connection it is noteworthy that in Ep 3080 Cousin twice apologizes (lines 5–7, 61–4) for bothering Erasmus with his too frequent letters. 4 For Simon Lagnier, who had once sent Erasmus an unexpected gift of wine, see Ep 2881 introduction. For his ‘misfortunes,’ see Ep 3115:59–60. 5 For Jean Lambelin, secretary of the city council of Besançon, see Ep 2733 introduction, and cf Ep 3115:69–70.

3104  To Gilbert Cousin  1536

486

Old friends are dying off, new ones must be found to take their place. In Poland Piotr Tomicki, bishop of Cracow, has passed away, Zasius in Freiburg.6 In England they have all been removed by death or muzzled by fear. Those responsible for my pensions make excuses, but unexpectedly, the king’s secretary, Thomas Cromwell, whose authority is second only to that of the king, sent me for some reason a gift of twenty angels, Canterbury sent eighteen, Lincoln fifteen; none of these, however, wrote a letter. Only Bedyll had the courage to write,7 along with Eustache, the imperial ambassador, who was more outspoken than perhaps was wise.8 I believe that the English have not yet seen the preface to our Ecclesiastes.9 They have Edward Fox, bishop of Hereford, as their ambassador in Germany.10 Now to matters that concern you. If my company is as beneficial to you as you maintain it is in language that is more courteous than convincing, you should know that it is still available to you. I have engaged no one except Lambert, a young man of excellent character and most helpful to me for nursing care.11 After this interruption in our friendship we shall be more dear to each other. There will be less work for you, and it is my intention now to receive you as a friend, and you will find me considerably more generous. If anything happens to me, as happens to all mortal men, I shall have taken care to provide you with a not inconsiderable portion. So see what your ­parents *****





6 See Epp 3095:41–2 (Tomicki), 3082 n4 (Zasius). 7 For all these gifts see Ep 3058 n3. Erasmus slightly underestimates the value of the gifts. 8 The letter from Eustache Chapuys is not extant. It cannot be Ep 3090, since in that letter he announces the death of Catherine of Aragon, and in Ep 3109:5–6 Erasmus still believes the rumour of her death to be false. 9 The preface included a brief tribute to the memory of John Fisher, bishop of Rochester, and Thomas More, former chancellor, both of whom had been executed in the summer of 1535 at the order of Henry viii for their refusal to accept the Act of Supremacy. Erasmus’ disapproval was clear though unspoken. See Ep 3036:106–12. 10 This is the only reference to Edward Fox (c 1496–1538) in Erasmus’ correspondence. Educated at King’s College, Cambridge, he was made provost of the college in 1528, by which time he had been secretary to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, almoner to Henry viii, and had acquired a doctorate in theology. He was from the beginning deeply involved as vigorous advocate in the matter of the king’s divorce and the royal supremacy. In 1535 he was made bishop of Hereford and undertook an embassy to Germany in search of theological harmony with the Lutheran divines in Wittenberg and elsewhere, who had almost unanimously rejected the divorce. See Scarisbrick 400–2. 11 Lambert Coomans (Ep 3052 n13)

20

25

30

35

3104  To Gilbert Cousin  1536

487

and other responsibilities will permit. Your parents are acting in their own interest, not in yours. They are looking for a column on which their tottering house may lean. This is generally how ordinary parents feel. They push one of their children towards the cowl or the priesthood, convinced that everything will be well with them if they dedicate someone to God who can pray for them. But in so doing they may create for themselves someone who will curse them. You will spend the best years of your life in these sordid pursuits; even if everything were to turn out as you wish, I would still advise you to break away from your parents. They want to control you forever and do not remember why children are called liberi.12 It is right that respect and affection should be unending, but the same does not apply to control. You see how those who are used to being prized most highly now labour under a burden of hostility. If your mind is disposed to this kind of obligation, then obey your spirit. But if it shrinks from it before you reach the proper age and you cannot or do not wish to return to our common dwelling, you could find sufficient leisure for your studies with Damião de Gois. If a recommendation from me would be of use to you either with him or with others, you should know that it will always be available. If you resigned your prebend on condition that the person to whom you gave it should pay you sixty crowns for the next six years and should be free from payment thereafter, with the sum so raised you could have free time for your studies.13 Meanwhile some more suitable future would beckon. If you come here, I would like you to come soon. I am thinking about your native Burgundy, but greatly fear that my health will keep me tied here.14 I enjoyed reading the letter from Odoni and Fileno that was addressed to you but was all about me.15 Scaliger has again spewed out some sort of ***** 12 The Latin word for ‘children’ in relation to their parents. It was interpreted as the plural of the adjective liber ‘free,’ a derivation explained in various ways by classical authors. 13 Presumably écus au soleil (‘crowns’), so that the buyout would cost Cousin’s successor 360 crowns over six years, a sum equivalent to £114 16s 8d groot Flemish or the annual wage income of thirteen Antwerp master masons/carpenters (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). 14 Cf Ep 3122:15–17, where Erasmus says that if he moves to Besançon he will need the services of Cousin because of his knowledge of French. But in the same letter (lines 7–8) he also states that, regardless of location, he wants Cousin to return to him. 15 For Giovanni Angelo Odoni and Fileno Lunardi, see Ep 3002 introduction and n4. The letter in question may be that found in Cognati epistolae 313–14, though there is more in it about Julius Caesar Scaliger (see following sentence) than about Erasmus.

40

45

50

55

60

3104  To Gilbert Cousin  1536

488

book about me,16 as has Pietro Corsi.17 I have read neither. I thank you for your little presents, and will return the favour when an opportunity arises.18 We had figs here a month ago from Lyon. Anselmus Ephorinus had sent from Rome a depiction of La Goulette.19 I have given you a straightforward account of my feelings for you along 65 with my honest advice. The rest is a matter for your own judgment, which I hope the Lord will direct to the most beneficial result. As for me, you will find me in all ways your true friend. Farewell. Basel, 11 March 1536 The enclosed letter to you from Philippus Montanus I found in a jar 70 while I was rummaging through my papers.20 I have been deathly ill for the past ten days with looseness of the bowels. I have sent this letter twice, since I was uncertain if the first copy was delivered. Farewell. 3105 / From Bernhard von Cles

Naples, 12 March 1536

This letter, Cles’ reply to one now lost, was first published by Allen. The autograph is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (Erasmuslade d 5 folios 7–7a). For Berhard von Cles, see Ep 2941.

My venerable, excellent, and beloved friend, we had already left the City,1 summoned here by his imperial Majesty (we left on 28 February),2 when we received the letter you sent us on 30 December.3 So there will be no reason to be surprised at the tardiness of our response, since the one thing necessarily follows from the other. The same letter brought the most distressing news that 5 ***** 16 Julius Caesar Scaliger had already written his second Oratio contra Erasmum, but it would not appear in print until the end of 1536, after Erasmus’ death; see Ep 3005 n11. 17 See Ep 3032. Nothing is known of a renewed attack on Erasmus by Corsi. 18 Perhaps some medicinal preserved fruits like those that Cousin offered to send Erasmus in Ep 3123:130–3. 19 Cf Ep 3038:16–17. 20 The letter is not extant. For Montanus, see Ep 2065 introduction.

3105 1 Ie Rome. It is not known why Cles was there at the time. 2 The emperor was in Naples from 2 November 1535 to 26 March 1536, when he set out for Rome (Ep 3007 n18). 3 Not extant

3106  To Pierre Vitré  1536

489

for more than a month now you have been afflicted with the excruciating torments of gout.4 We pray for better things so that you may visit us some time in our own country, and not just pay us a visit, but live there at your pleasure and receive from us the attentions that would be a fitting expression of our good will towards you. That would be for us the most gratifying experience 10 imaginable.5 With regard to the books, the opinion we expressed was that we should be told only which books have been accurately printed and what they are like (since there are different printers) and finally what is the final price at which individual copies are being sold. When we got an answer, then we 15 would soon decide what response we wished to make to your letter both with regard to payment and to the transmission of the books.6 From Naples, 12 March 1536 Bernhard von Cles, priest of the Roman church and cardinal of Trent To the venerable, excellent, and dearly beloved Master Erasmus of 20 Rotterdam, doctor of sacred theology. In Basel 3106 / To Pierre Vitré

Basel, 13 March 1536

This letter, Erasmus’ answer to Ep 3101, was first published by Allen. The manuscript, a copy found in an eighteenth-century collection concerning the history of Burgundy, is in the Bibliothèque nationale at Paris (ms Moreau 850 folio 73 verso).

a letter of erasmus of rotterdam to the excellent pierre vitré at the college of navarre Cordial greetings. I ask you, my dear Vitré, what does this life hold for me that I should wish it to be longer? I have lived beyond my allotted span. What remains is nothing but labour and sorrow.1 Pray rather that Christ in 5 his mercy will receive me into his kingdom.

*****



4 See Ep 2940 n2. 5 This is the repetition of an offer made several times in the past; see Ep 2941 n5. 6 Judging by Ep 3110:4–6, it seems that Cles had made inquiries about the publishers and the prices of some of Erasmus’ books.

3106 1 Ps 90 (89 Vulgate):10

3106  To Pierre Vitré  1536

490

What I wrote about the stone, I wrote for you.2 Now I am sending the prescribed powder.3 I am surprised that you, who have the most expert doctors in Paris, are seeking a cure also from the Germans, whose remedy for all diseases is a hot bath. Against the thick swelling the body needs to be forti- 10 fied by drugs, then purged with a chickpea soup. A sensible regime will do the rest. Light red wines would suit you, the least earthy. Besides the gout I have been weakened now for more than twelve days by diarrhea, my stomach rejecting any kind of food.4 Take care that you don’t anticipate me by dying, for that perhaps would not be to your interest.5 15 Farewell. Basel, 13 March 1536 Erasmus of Rotterdam, with my ailing hand 3107 / To Thomas Cromwell

Basel, 15 March 1536

This letter was first published by Allen. The original letter, in a secretary’s hand save for the signature and the words that follow it, is in the British Library (ms Cotton, Vitell. b . xiv folio 259). The abrupt beginning, without any of the courtesies required when addressing a great personage, indicates that the first page (or more) of the letter is missing. Little is known of the early years of Thomas Cromwell (c 1485–1540). Born in Putney in humble circumstances, he left England while still in his teens to travel in mainland Europe, particularly Italy and the Low Countries, becoming fluent in both Italian and French and establishing close contacts in the merchant communities that conducted trade with England. He also acquired a good knowledge of Latin and could thus read the works of Erasmus, through whom he acquired his enduring enthusiasm for evangelical reform of church and society. Somehow, somewhere he also acquired a knowledge of English law, for by 1516 he was in London, handling the legal affairs of merchant clients. In 1523 he sat in the House of Commons. In 1524, via connections that cannot

*****

2 This may have been part of the missing letter that Vitré answered with Ep 3101. 3 This responds to Ep 3101:115–25, where Vitré complains of the stone and asks Erasmus to send a remedy if he has one. 4 See Ep 2940 n2. 5 Ie he would not receive the legacy left him by Erasmus in his will; see ‘Erasmus’ Last Will’ 594:18 below.

Thomas Cromwell Hans Holbein the Younger Frick Museum, New York

3107  To Thomas Cromwell  1536

492

be precisely identified, he entered the service of the lord chancellor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, in which capacity he became intimately involved in the suppression of twenty-nine small religious houses, the wealth of which was diverted to the support of the cardinal’s school at Ipswich and his new college at Oxford. Cromwell remained loyal to Wolsey after the latter’s fall from royal favour in 1529 but somehow managed to retain the good will of the king, who made him a royal councillor in 1531. He rose rapidly in influence and rank, acquiring a long list of titles, including those of principal secretary to the king (1534) and lord privy seal (1536), although his power derived more from his influence over the king than from any particular office. Together with his friend Thomas Cranmer, from 1533 the new archbishop of Canterbury, he was the leader of the majority faction of English Erasmians who, in contrast to the minority led by Thomas More, John Fisher, and others, gave their support to King Henry in his great dispute with the papacy over the validity of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Cromwell was the mastermind behind the procurement, through the agency of Parliament, of Henry’s divorce from Queen Catherine, the separation of the English church from Rome, and the royal supremacy. It was also he, as the royal ‘vice-gerent in spirituals,’ who set in motion the visitations that culminated in the dissolution of the English monasteries. At the same time, Cromwell quietly promoted the academic, ecclesiastical, and political careers of men who, like him, were directly influenced by the continental reformers (particularly those of Switzerland), adroitly managing to do so without attracting the hostile notice of King Henry. Resentment at Cromwell’s influence on the king, as well as his patronage of those suspected of heresy, was a major cause of the conservative rebellion in the north of England known as the Pilgrimage of Grace (1536–7). At that stage King Henry refused the demands of the rebels that he dismiss his chief minister, but in 1540 Cromwell, having earned the king’s wrath by arranging the disastrous marriage to Anne of Cleves, was sent to the Tower and beheaded. The evangelical cause that he had fostered, however, did not perish with him. The religious settlement achieved by Edward v i and Elizabeth i was put in place by men who had emerged from the evangelical circles around Cromwell and who shared his genuine commitment to a Protestant Christianity nourished by the continuing influence of Erasmus. See Diarmaid MacCulloch Thomas Cromwell: A Revolutionary Life (New York 2011); see also Scarisbrick chapters 10–11; James Kelsey McConica English Humanists and Reformation Politics under Henry viii and Edward vi (Oxford 1965) chapters 5 and 6.

I thought myself enormously fortunate when I discovered in letters from Chapuys and Bedyll that you, a man of great rank and influence among your

3108  To [John Longland]  1536

493

own people, are a true supporter of my interests.1 Almost beyond anything I could have expected, twenty angels arrived as a result of your generosity.2 The gift was most gratifying, but much more gratifying was the willing dis- 5 position of your most generous heart. The pastor of Aldington paid half of the pension last year, promising to pay the whole amount in the following years, but this year he paid nothing at all. He gives some calamity as an excuse, but I think it unfair that, since I was not responsible, I should have to pay the penalty. The other denies that he consented to a payment, although 10 he paid it several times when Archbishop Warham was alive.3 Here your authority, even a word or two from you, could be most helpful.4 May the Lord support and prosper you in all things. Basel, 15 March 1536 Erasmus of Rotterdam. I signed this with difficulty on account of gout. 15 To the eminent Master Thomas Cromwell 3108 / To [John Longland]

Basel, 16 March 1536

This letter was first published by Allen. The manuscript, an autograph rough draft, is in the Royal Library at Copenhagen (ms gks 95 Fol, folio 178). John Longland, bishop of Lincoln (Ep 1535 introduction), is identified as the recipient on the basis of the reference to Thomas Bedyll’s letter in lines 2–3.

Cordial greetings. In such a turmoil of events I am glad and grateful that you have not forgotten Erasmus. For Master Thomas Bedyll writes that you have sent a gift of five pounds sterling.1 My health bothers me more and more every day, so that now I am compelled to give up not just the exhausting projects of the past but any kind of activity at all, for I am almost perpetu- 5 ally bedridden. I suffer excruciating pains and there is serious damage to my *****

3107 1 See Ep 3058 (from Bedyll):13–15. The imperial ambassador in England, Eustache Chapuys, does not appear to have mentioned Cromwell in any surviving letter. He may have done so in the missing letter mentioned in Ep 3104:23–4. 2 Ep 3058:15–16 3 On the matter of Erasmus’ English pensions, see Ep 3028:8–10 with n5. 4 Cf Ep 3009 n6.



3108 1 Ep 3058:17–18

3108  To [John Longland]  1536

494

stomach, which rejects every kind of food.2 But he is the Lord,3 who cuts and burns so that he may spare us for all eternity.4 I write briefly and in someone else’s hand, for my right hand has long been crippled with gout. May Christ protect you, my dearly respected friend. 10 Basel, 16 March 1536 3109 / [To Léonard de Gruyères]

Basel, 16 March 1536

This letter was first published by Allen. The manuscript, an autograph rough draft, is in the Royal Library at Copenhagen (ms gks 95 Fol, folio 178). In his preliminary survey of the correspondence, P.S. Allen thought this letter had been written to Eustache Chapuys, the imperial ambassador to England, but the Allen editors rejected that attribution for the good reasons that they summarize at length in their introduction to this letter. Their principal grounds for identifying Gruyères as the most like recipient have been incorporated into the notes below.

Cordial greetings. I am not concerned about the travel money, for I have already completed my life’s journey. My wish for you is that you have such good fortune that you could afford to be generous to Erasmus, for you deserve the greatest success. But your friendly good will is all I need now.1 There is a rumour abroad here that Catherine, the old queen, is dead, 5 but I suspect it is untrue.2 We have lost Mountjoy, who was sparing in generosity but most constant in friendship. What his son will be like, I do not know.3 My health deteriorates every day and my strength is failing. I am now in the last scene of the last act.4 May the Lord be pleased to bring about a 10 good ending. *****

2 See Ep 2940 n2. 3 An allusion to 1 Sam 3:18; cf Ep 2955 n4. 4 See Ep 3077 n3.



3109 1 In anticipation of Erasmus’ expected move to Besançon, Gruyères had offered to place his house in Besançon at Erasmus’ disposal; see Ep 3075:10–13. 2 Ep 3090, in which Eustache Chapuys announces her death (lines 36–8), had evidently not yet reached Erasmus. 3 Erasmus had written to the son, politely suggesting that he continue the support that had been offered by his father (Ep 3092). 4 See Ep 2940 n2.



3110  From Bernhard von Cles  1536

495

This is all in answer to your letter,5 briefly for two reasons: first, since gout has seized my right hand, I am forced to dictate (and this greatly upsets my stomach); and second, I am not sure if you have changed your location and have been summoned to Italy by the emperor,6 for your letter suggested 15 that you expected this.7 If you travel this way, you will see your friend Erasmus dying. Farewell. Basel 16 March 1536 3110 / From Bernhard von Cles

Naples, 16 March 1536

This letter was first published by Allen. The surviving manuscript is an eighteenth-century copy in the Anecdota Erasmiana collection in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms g 2 ii 67 fol 66).

My venerable, excellent and beloved friend. The letter you sent on 26 January was delivered to me the day before yesterday.1 Since it contained almost the same content as your previous one, to which I had replied,2 the same response will suffice, since it dealt with the same question. I thought I should add this, that while I was indeed interested in purchasing books, I was even 5 more concerned about your own good health, for just as when your health was vigorous and secure, there was no lack of books for us, indeed books that were as numerous as they were admirable, so too in the future there might be no shortage to fill and adorn a library, provided that you yourself were up to it. So God grant we shall hear that Erasmus is completely free 10 from his excruciating pain and that his physical strength has been made equal to the strength of his intellect. This would certainly give us the greatest pleasure. *****



5 The only recent letter from Gruyères still extant is Ep 3075. 6 The text actually says ‘called back to Italy’ (revocatus in Italiam). But there is no evidence that Gruyères was ever in Italy. He was currently acting as the emperor’s representative to the Swiss cantons (Ep 3063 n1), and the emperor was in Italy at this time (Ep 3007 n18). In Ep 3084:7–8, Erasmus expresses the fear that the emperor will ‘call [Gruyères] away to Italy,’ using the word avoco rather than revoco. We judge that to be the intended meaning here. 7 Erasmus may have read this into lines 30–3 of Ep 3075.



3110 1 The letter is not extant. 2 The letter, which Cles answered with Ep 3105, is not extant.

3110  From Bernhard von Cles  1536

496

His royal Majesty informed me of the case presented by the people of Basel.3 I shall do everything I can to support them, if only for your sake, and 15 the services I would have performed if I had been present in the court I shall not neglect because I am absent, so that we win approval for our commendation, not condemnation. Finally, with regard to the statement you appended to both your letters, that holding a council would only be valuable if it took place when these 20 dreadful wars had died down, no sensible person would disagree.4 God grant that relief may come at last to his Christian church. From Naples, 16 March 1536 3111 / From Conradus Goclenius

[Louvain], 21 March 1536

This letter was first published by Allen. The autograph is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms Goclenii epistolae 11). Erasmus’ reply is Ep 3130.

Cordial greetings. I comfort myself here for the infrequency of your letters by frequent reading of your works, by which you not only help the present age but will bring joy and profit to all ages so long as writing in Latin survives. You would, however, double my joy if you maintained our usual rate of corresponding. I would not, however, have the heart to ask this of you, since 5 over the years you have heaped every blessing on me, even beyond my prayers. So it is for me, at every place and time, to remember what I owe you and to take your silence in good part, which I believe is not the result of any ill feelings of yours towards me. You could, perhaps with more justice, launch this accusation against me if couriers had been available who would have 10 made it possible for me to write or if anything at all had happened here to justify hiring a courier. Neither of these was the case. In my personal affairs I have discovered, to my great discomfiture, the truth of the prophecy that you once sent me in a letter that was like a leaf from the Sibyl.1 For when I was predicting victory over the canons of 15 *****

3 Erasmus had written to both King Ferdinand and Cles in support of the Basel city council; see Ep 3095:3–4. 4 The ‘dreadful wars’ between Charles v and Francis i, in abeyance since the Peace of Cambrai in 1529, were about to resume; see Ep 3121 n1. 3111 1 The letter is not extant. The Cumaean Sibyl was said to write her prophecies on palm leaves; see Servius on Aeneid 3.444.

3111  From Conradus Goclenius  1536

497

Antwerp,2 you advised me not to be too confident. You said that people like that, even when laid low, would continue to press their adversaries and to stitch on a fox’s skin wherever a lion’s skin did not reach.3 I do not know if there was ever a more striking example than the one provided by my adversaries: ‘Long is the tale of wrong / Long its devious course, but I shall trace the story’s salient points.’4 As soon as they were defeated at the first trial and condemned to accept my claim, and had by then learned from the judicial discussion my entire legal position, which contained certain reservations contrary to their accusation, and since it was possible for them in accordance with the rules of litigation to summon me to court for another trial, they resorted to this trick. Pretending that the earlier papal bull, which they had used in the earlier trial where the verdict was given in my favour, did not exist, they obtained another bull on the same subject from a Roman shop, which very cleverly weakened and damaged my whole case. And since, once a matter has been decided, the canons do not allow a decision already won to be overturned, they devised this trickery to conceal their crime. This second diploma, which was presented to the court only in the eighth year of the lawsuit, had the same day and year as the former one, so that it appeared not to be a new ruling but an old one that had been obtained some time ago. This development had me not a little worried, since if I went to court, my adversaries would without doubt have been in the stronger position, for the second bull left me without a case. On the advice of my friends, who recognized the dishonesty that posed a threat to every kind of law, I revealed the situation in the council of Brussels,5 and pleaded for them to come to my assistance at this time and establish in this case an example that would make this sort of imposture absolutely illegal, for, I argued, no judgment will stand in future if a case that has been settled could be weakened and destroyed by fraud and lies. The council *****



2 In April 1525 Goclenius was appointed canon of Our Lady’s in Antwerp, but the appointment was contested by a rival candidate who had the backing of the curia. The result was a lawsuit that dragged on for eleven years; see Epp 1994a n17, 2352:344–50, 2552 n5, 2573:58–65, 2587:40–6, 2644:6–7, 2785:81–3, 2851:56– 62, and cf Ep 3130:8–20. Lines 15–159 of the present letter are Goclenius’ account of the successful outcome of the case. 3 Ie when something cannot be gained by force, guile is called for (Adagia iii v 81) 4 Virgil Aeneid 1.341–2 5 Goclenius writes Senatus Bruxellensis, which usually means ‘city council of Brussels,’ and seems to mean something other than the Consilium Brabantinum ‘council of Brabant,’ which he refers to further on (lines 61–2).

20

25

30

35

40

3111  From Conradus Goclenius  1536

498

judged the case to be worth their notice; so, acting on behalf of the emperor because they considered that it was a public offence contrary to the lex Cornelia on forgery,6 they gave me the support of the proctor of the treasury, who had the authority to impose a penalty for an offence, since it was not possible for me to demand anything beyond the rejection of the second diploma. When called into court, my adversary did not dare to show his face. Instead he abandoned the case and fled for refuge to the archbishop of Palermo and to the emperor’s privy council,7 making many accusations against me. And since he has the wherewithal to be generous and a reputation for outdoing everyone in lavishness, he easily obtained the prince’s approval and the abolition of the judgment won by me. This facile judgment of the privy council surprised everyone, learned and unlearned alike, since by this argument every form of judgment would be undermined and parties would be condemned without a hearing. Yet no one dared to utter a word against a greater power, only Adolf van der Noot, chancellor of Brabant, a man distinguished by his concern for justice, appeared in my distress like a deus ex machina.8 For after informing the leading men in the council of Brabant concerning the matter, he finally persuaded the whole body not to permit justice and the laws to be crushed in such a blatant manner. So on the authority of the council of Brabant the chancellor himself, along with the fiscal advocate Pieter van Waelem,9 was sent to the queen’s council to warn the archbishop of Palermo and the other councillors of the same order what an absurd course, against both law and custom, my adversary had demanded of them and they had taken against me. On the other side it was argued that the emperor was free to give to anyone he wished or to pardon any offence, for his authority ought not to be made to conform by any individual or by the council of Brabant. The chancellor argued in reply that this dispute was not about the liberty or the liberality of the emperor, but about the law of parties. The emperor could give what belonged to the *****

6 The lex Cornelia dealt with several forms of falsification, including forgery; see Codex Iustinianus 9.22. 7 Jean (ii) de Carondelet (Ep 1276), archbishop of Palermo, principal counsellor of Queen Mary, regent of the Netherlands, and president of her privy council 8 Adolf van der Noot (1486–1543), studied at Louvain and Bologna, where he acquired a doctorate in both laws. In 1512 he became a member of the council of Brabant, and in 1532 he was made chancellor of Brabant. 9 Pieter van Waelem (d 1567), licentiate in law, was appointed fiscal advocate of the council of Brabant in 1528.

45

50

55

60

65

70

3111  From Conradus Goclenius  1536

499

emperor and pardon offences against himself or his treasury, but had no authority over the rights of a third party or the parties to a dispute. I am unable to report clearly on what else was said, for although the chancellor had wanted me to be present at this discussion also, the archbishop of Palermo, who was offended and in a seething rage over the chancellor’s words, put up with me only to this point and then ordered me to leave the council. However, I discovered from the outcome that the archbishop and his flock were not only not mollified, but had become increasingly exasperated. For at the dictation and at the request of my adversary a letter hostile to me was written and signed by the queen, for they had drawn her too over to their side. There was now nothing to prevent your friend Goclenius from perishing like the proverbial bean at the end of the row,10 except that there was as yet no seal of validation. The power to validate with the seal does not lie with the privy council (especially not in Brabant, which so far has not recognized superior judges), but by custom it is the chancellor who is the chief keeper of the seal. A letter was sent to him, requesting him to validate the decision of the queen and the privy council with his seal. He referred the matter again to his council, who with one voice said the request should be denied. The archbishop of Palermo reacted violently and angrily, as did his colleagues. This drawing out of the process led the queen to the point where she sent out a sharply worded attack on the chancellor, in which she warned him of her indignation and that of the emperor, threatening him with the loss of his office if he did not obey immediately. Here one could see the integrity of this fine man, who like ‘the guardian and unbending servant of true virtue’11 was unmoved by so many terrifying threats, but refused absolutely to do anything contrary to his oath and the truth. The same view was taken by the whole council of Brussels, which the queen also forbade to hear my case. While I was stuck in these ruts, there shone a beam of light that seemed to come from heaven. Fortunately about the same time there arrived in Brussels the illustrious countess Mencia, marchioness of Zenete, wife of the count of Nassau, a woman of exceptional character, who spends the greater part of her life in reading Latin literature and is a very great admirer of yours and of all who are known for their distinction in learning.12 She summoned ***** 10 Ie ‘exposed to all kinds of harm from everyone’ (Adagia iv iv 72) 11 Horace Epistles 1.1.17 12 Mencia de Mendoza (documented 1525–41), daughter and heiress of Rodrigo, marquis of Zenete, received an excellent humanist education and for her accomplishments earned the praise of Juan Luis Vives in De institutione feminae

75

80

85

90

95

100

105

3111  From Conradus Goclenius  1536

500

to her Master Gilles de Busleyden and asked all about you so meticulously that no lover could have shown more concern.13 So when Busleyden said that he had no relatively recent letter, he mentioned that I was there and that from me she could perhaps receive a more knowledgeable report. Without delay she asked me to be summoned, and once again all our talk was about you. When we got round to discussing my situation (for she wanted to know about that too), I mentioned the wrongs I suffered and the turmoil into which my case had been brought. On learning this tale, she showed a fine example of her generous spirit. After sharing the story with her husband, she attempted to mollify the archbishop of Palermo and the others who were intent on crushing my case. When she realized that their attitude was becoming increasingly violent and no hope of improvement remained, she persuaded her husband, the count of Nassau, that, at a meeting of the nobility that had been announced to take place in Brussels, he should present the supplication I had submitted to the queen, which was comprehensive and made clear to everyone the injury that had been done me, which was so dreadful that the chancellor could not be induced or bullied by any threats to approve the treatment inflicted on me. The supplication was presented to universal admiration. The archbishop of Palermo was asked to explain his actions; he replied that he had defended the authority of the emperor, and did so at the urging of conscience, against which no one should ever act. As hostility worsened and obduracy increased, the queen, who was already beginning to suspect chicanery, decided that both councils, that of Brabant and the privy council, should be heard again in her presence, since she wished to look more closely and more thoroughly at a case that had given rise to so much conflict. This intervention was as pleasing to the Brabanters as it was unwelcome to their adversaries, who preferred to win by means of influence and edicts rather than conduct the case through argument and the ***** christianae (book 1 chapter 4). In 1524, having inherited her father’s rich estates, she married Henry iii, count of Nassau-Dillenburg (Ep 2977 n7), and from 1529 resided with him much of the time in the Low Countries, particularly at Breda. An ardent admirer of Erasmus, she happened to be resident in Louvain in 1536 while Goclenius was engaged in his litigation over the prebend at Antwerp. As this letter indicates, her intervention in the case was instrumental in Goclenius’ final victory. 13 Gilles de Busleyden (Ep 686), brother of Erasmus’ friend Jérôme de Busleyden (founder of the Collegium Trilingue at Louvain) and president of the Chambre des comptes

110

115

120

125

130

135

3111  From Conradus Goclenius  1536

501

laws. No one, however, had the courage to oppose this decree openly. It seemed clear enough that their plan was to ensure that the meeting of the council did not take place until after the departure of the count of Nassau and the other nobles whom the countess had already drawn over completely to my side. Suspecting this from the postponements that had been drawn out for a whole month, she began to ask the queen more frequently to put an end to the business. This took place on the sixth of March. On this day the queen convoked both councils and ordered the chancellor to explain why he refused his seal. Not to delay you, he defended my case so successfully that the queen made unmistakable signs and observations by which my adversaries understood that she had changed her attitude. For in the middle of the argument, when someone insisted that the authority of the emperor should not be constrained or, so to speak, reduced in rank, she said, ‘It does not seem to me that the authority of the emperor is being reduced in rank if wrongful acts are prohibited.’ When the speaker replied that she had not fully understood the issue, she said, ‘On the contrary, I think I understand sheer fraud well enough, and afterwards I shall take care not to be so ready to approve edicts aimed against chancellors.’ When tempers on both sides were becoming heated, rising from disagreement almost to the point of vituperation, the queen reserved the hearing of the case to herself alone, making no decision for either party. After an interval of several days she gave her decision: that I was free, notwithstanding any acts or decrees of the privy council, to call my adversary to court and for the council of Brabant to make a judgment as the nature of the case may seem to require. So after this long and correspondingly violent storm I look once more upon the calm.14 If I have written you a rather long-winded letter, it is not just to let you see that your protégé is gradually emerging from his former troubles but to encourage you to lend a helping hand so that success may come more readily. It would be a great help if you sent a letter to the chancellor, who has a very high regard for you, and show him how much you appreciate what he has done in my case for the honour of learning, and beg him, since it is within his power to restore me to a quiet life, not to let me linger long before the tribunal to the great detriment of my case.15 I know that he will try to do this even unasked, but I am sure he will hurry all the more if encouraged and spurred on by a letter from you. It is also in your interest to write to the countess, for by doing so you will wonderfully increase her good will ***** 14 Goclenius quotes in Greek from Aristophanes Frogs 304; cf Adagia ii ii 5. 15 Erasmus complied with Ep 3124; cf Ep 3130:2–6.

140

145

150

155

160

165

170

3111  From Conradus Goclenius  1536

502

towards you, which was never lukewarm,16 as I clearly understood from her conversation, and you too would have discovered if Frans van der Dilft, who had arranged to travel to join the emperor,17 had not been kept at home by rumours of war.18 He had decided to send you a real letter, not just a formal 175 note, but this necessarily has now been put off until another time. Busleyden and Rescius send their fondest greetings.19 After the theologians stopped acting like fools, not to say madmen, the lawyers caused our college a fair amount of trouble.20 Rescius began to lecture on the Greek Institutes of Civil Law.21 At this outrage the jurists were so incensed that a 180 certain Jean Lobel, an ass among the Cumaeans,22 who is at present rector of the university, threatened Rutgerus with excommunication by the Furies, and ordered him to desist from this diabolical activity; at the same time he would deprive him of all the honours and privileges of the university if he continued to interpret an author from whom more heresies are likely to 185 emerge than Greeks from the Trojan horse or heretics from the Saxon bull.23 ***** 16 In Ep 3130:22–4 Erasmus says that he could not write the requested letter ­because he did not know where the marchioness resided. 17 Dilft (Ep 1663 introduction), who had spent much of 1531–3 in Spain and won the regard of the emperor, had been preparing to rejoin the imperial court, which at this time was in Italy (Ep 3007 n18). 18 Probably rumours of the renewed conflict between Charles v and Francis i (Ep 3121 n1) 19 See n13 above (Busleyden); Ep 3052 n24 (Rutgerus Rescius). 20 ‘Our college,’ was the Collegium Trilingue, long the object of the hostility of the Louvain theologians. 21 Ie on the Greek translation of the Institutes, doubtless in the edition published by Viglius Zuichemus at Basel (Ep 2810 n33). Rescius lectured on the text as professor of Greek in the Collegium Trilingue, not as a professor in the faculty of law. Erasmus thought that Rescius had shown poor judgment in his choice of texts; see Ep 3130:35–40. 22 Said of ‘men who achieve some appointment which they do not deserve … and thereby … become arrogant and boastful’ (Adagia i vii 12). It derives from the story of the ass at Cumae that dressed up, for a time with success, as a lion (Adagia i iii 66). 23 The Saxon bull was Martin Luther. Little is known of Jean Lobel of Boulogne (d 1544), except that he was appointed professor of canon law at Louvain in 1532 and that he was rector of the university at the time of Rescius’ attempt to use Greek legal texts in his lectures at the Collegium Trilingue. A theological conservative as well as a defender of the prerogatives of the established faculties against the recently founded college, Lobel appears to have mixed accusations of heresy and threats of excommunication by the theologians (‘the Furies’) into his assertion of faculty prerogatives against Rescius.

3111  From Conradus Goclenius  1536

503

The theologians are pouring cold water on this action,24 thinking perhaps that if the jurists are successful in preventing us from lecturing in the college on civil law, the path would be easier for them to prevent us dealing with sacred texts, and if they obtained nothing else, they would at the least have completely put an end to Hebrew. For what is a professor of Hebrew to discuss if (as our jurists say) it is wrong for them to lecture on any book that properly belongs to any of the so-called five faculties? But I think this will soon die down of its own accord. And Busleyden has sent a letter to the university, which has had some effect on the mindless folly of the jurists. I shall write and tell you how it all ends.25 In one particular during these past months I fell into error, not through malice but through innocence. When Balthasar von Künring of Austria sent on your letter to me,26 he included various little volumes that he thought I would enjoy, among these a gilded copy of your Prayers.27 Since there was no mention of that work in your letter, and since it was included with a gift of books from him, I thought that Balthasar had sent it as a gift to me. When another friend, who was visiting me recently, asked to have it as a token of friendship, I yielded readily. Afterwards I learned from Lieven that the book had been sent to him so that he could present it to Paumgartner in your name.28 But my repentance was too late. It might have been possible to recover it from my friend if Lieven had not indicated that Paumgartner had left our court and returned to Germany. It was my fault, not Balthasar’s, nor do I ask you to pardon me if you have ever found me guilty of any deceitful or treacherous act, or will find me so in the future. Pieter van Montfoort of Haarlem is being held in the public prison in The Hague.29 He faces the serious charge of conspiracy with certain Anabaptists ***** 24 Ie helping it along. Romans poured cold water on racehorses to make them run faster; see Adagia i x 51. 25 If the letter was written, it did not survive. This is Goclenius’ last extant letter to Erasmus. 26 See Ep 3061:1–2. 27 Precationes aliquot novae (Ep 2994) 28 Johann (iii) Paumgartner (Ep 2879 n22), who since 1533 had attended the court of Queen Mary in the Netherlands, where he would have met Lieven Algoet, secretary to the queen and friend of Erasmus (Ep 3028 n2). Paumgartner had recently returned to Augsburg to become active in the family business. 29 For Pieter van Montfoort see Ep 2389 introduction. When the Anabaptists gained control of Münster, the Burgundian court authorized Montfoort to undertake negotiations with them with the aim of winning the town for Charles v. In the belief that Montfoort had granted free passage at Münster to the very

190

195

200

205

210

3111  From Conradus Goclenius  1536

504

and of disloyalty to the emperor, whom he shamefully deceived after receiving a large sum of money. He promised that by his efforts Münster would fall into the emperor’s hands. Every day he reported back from the king30 a lot of 215 information that seemed to point in that direction. Meanwhile he obtained authority to permit free passage to the Anabaptists, pretending that they were coming and going. Afterwards it was discovered that the people who had tried to murder the citizens of Amsterdam were the very ones to whom he had given freedom to meet him there to overthrow the government. 220 Besides, when the king of the Anabaptists was about to die he could not be forced, even under torture, to recognize the name of Montfoort, with whom, however, he used to say that he was on very close terms and further that they had met about handing over Münster to the control of the emperor. This is the gist of the accusations against him; how they will turn out I do not know. 225 Here there is nothing but rumours of wars.31 And so farewell, 21 March 1536 Your friend Conradus Goclenius To the illustrious Master Erasmus of Rotterdam. In Basel 3112 / From Tiedemann Giese

Frombork, 28 March 1536

This letter was first published in Das gelahrte Preussen iv 35–49, and then in Miaskowski pages 348–53. The autograph is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 73). Erasmus’ reply is Ep 3126. Tiedemann Giese of Gdansk (1480–1550) studied at Leipzig (ba 1495, ma 1498). In 1504 he became a canon of Warmia at Frombork, where he resided for most of his adult life. At this point he was chancellor and custos of the Warmia chapter (ie the manager of its properties). In 1538 he succeeded Johannes Dantiscus (Ep 2563a introduction) as bishop of Chełmno, and in 1549 he succeeded Dantiscus as bishop of Warmia (cf n24 below). Though he could never bring himself to side with the Protestants, he did profess a liberal theology and in 1536 sought the friendship of Philippus Melanchthon (mbw Ep 1713). In an unpublished work that is now lost he defended the heliocentric theory of his

***** people who staged the Anabaptist takeover of the city hall at Amsterdam on 10 May 1535, and that he was in collusion with them, he was charged with treason and imprisoned at The Hague. He was sentenced to death by the council of Holland, but in March 1537 he was pardoned by Charles v. 30 Jan of Leiden, the ‘king of the Anabaptists’ (line 221 below); see Ep 2957 n20. 31 See n18 above.

3112  From Tiedemann Giese  1535

505

close friend and fellow canon at Frombork, Nicolaus Copernicus, reportedly pointing out that Erasmus had somewhere expressed a favourable view of Copernicus. The present letter accompanied a copy of the manuscript of Giese’s last work, ‘De regno Christi,’ which remained unfinished.

I know that you too, venerable Erasmus, are of the opinion that, among the evils that beat upon this century of ours, if not the first, at least among the first, is that the church, which ought to stand as a model of concord, is so divided in itself that no people, no religion, no faction is more disunited, not even that conspiracy of the human race that built an enormous tower and ended when there arose a distinction of languages, causing a remarkable division of the world.1 Although the Holy Spirit compensated for this calamitous breach of unity by giving us a new gift of tongues that was peculiar to Christians2 and called upon all the nations of the world to share one evangelical voice, is there anyone who does not believe that Christendom has relapsed into the old divisions, into a confusion that is twice as bad as that of Babylon, in which not only are Greeks divided from Latins, Georgians from Jacobites,3 Muscovites from Romans, but even within the one Western world we see a single province, a single nation, a single city arguing noisily among its own people over the dogmas of the faith. Scholastic theologians differ among themselves, fighting with those who value the old theology above the more modern, while both are mocked by those new arrivals who call themselves evangelicals. These no more agree among themselves than with the other side, so that not infrequently you will find within the walls of a single small town, even within the walls of a single house, people divided into three or more parties and engaged in a desperate battle over the principal articles of the faith. I, as much as anyone, have always feared this deadly Allecto lurking in the sheepfold of Christ, and I suspect that every conflict arising in the church *****

3112 1 Gen 11:1–9 2 1 Cor 1:5 seems the most relevant here. 3 The church in Georgia, the origins of which go back at least to the fourth century, accepted the decree of the Council of Chalcedon (451) affirming the view already expressed by the fourth-century Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople that the incarnate Christ had two natures, human and divine. The church in Syria, however, rejected this view in favour of Monophysitism, which said that Christ had but one, divine, nature. The Syrian Monophysites were called Jacobites after their putative founder, the sixth-century monk Jacobus Baradeus.

5

10

15

20

3112  From Tiedemann Giese  1535

506

has been caused by her viperous hair.4 It was this fear that drove me to avoid contentious argument and to seek a retreat in which I could pursue my own inquiries and test my powers to discover whether, by an examination of at least the main passages dealing with the philosophy of Christ, I might become a spiritual interpreter of the grace of God. These thoughts brought me to the point where, although I always deferred to the doctrine and authority of the church and of Scripture, I ventured with my own resources to tackle a subject that was perhaps beyond my powers – although with my zeal to find the truth it did not seem irreligious to attempt to develop the subject in three fair-sized books. In doing this, even if my labours have not lacked a discriminating judgment, yet when I observe that at this time there is practically no sect in the evangelical arena that does not have its distinguished defenders whose learning and industry outstrip my modest abilities by a wide margin, I am still bold enough to trust in my own hard work rather than put myself at the mercy of their squabbling critics. Far be it from me to claim that I have reached the goal of certitude in doctrine. But I believe that through this foray into the field of learning I have come to realize that I have little trust in others and least of all in myself and am still stuck in shallow waters,5 and so I must appeal to the mercy of God that he will raise up for me a strong teacher who would be willing to examine the ideas in my writing, to test them on the anvil, lifting me up when I fall, instructing me when I am ignorant, or setting me on my feet when I stumble. For such assistance I believe I am entitled to call upon any brother who professes to be a member of the body of Christ, yet if I had a choice, I would prefer to have Erasmus alone over any number of leading experts. But up to this point my respect for you has held me back from asking for your help in this matter. I have always considered that you should not be disturbed without good reason. Then there is the matter of your declining years, long since entitling you to retirement, and the claims of higher scholarship to which alone you must devote your remaining strength. Besides, there are your daily occupations and the almost unendurable hustle of people seeking advice, making demands, conveying greetings, sending letter after letter, and lodging complaints, and disturbing you in a thousand other ways. I shall appear more demanding, even perhaps more shameless than all these, *****

4 Allecto is the name of one of the three Erinyes of Greek mythology, known to the Romans as ‘the Furies.’ Allecto, who like all three Furies had snakes for hair, was associated particularly with anger and revenge. 5 Adagia iv iii 70

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

3112  From Tiedemann Giese  1535

507

since I am not seeking your ideas, as the others are, but obtruding my own, bringing a volume that would wear out ten Cyclopes and cause their veins to swell.6 But, distinguished sir, all these things simply add to the praises heaped upon you, for even amid the present difficulties in your life you are given no respite from the responsibilities that arise from your genius, which long ago has challenged the world to come to you. I, who may be said to live under a different sky, separated from you by more than a hundred parasangs,7 would be as happy to be some part of your title to distinction as I have serious reasons to require it. Since this is the only, or the principal, reason why I am writing to you, that I may avoid the shoals of controversy and the pitfalls of subtle argument and rest on the level ground of plain Scripture and pure evangelical teaching, to whose judgment should I appeal but yours if I wish to discover how far I have succeeded? For during all your life nothing has been more important to you than this. It seems that God has fashioned in you a tongue and a heart to restore holy learning and the gospel itself to its proper brilliance and purity and to call a rebellious world back to a concern for moderation and harmony and to a life that is worthy of Christ. Then when I am looking for someone to assess the value of my work, to whom should I turn but the one to whom I owe whatever can be called satisfactory in me, whether in learning or in honourable studies? If I have anything, I confess that I have drawn it from your writings, which once grabbed hold of me and still hold me so that I would more readily be deprived of fire and water than forbidden to read what you have written. Even if you turn me down, I shall consider myself as much your disciple as those who live with you in your home and hang on your lips every day, while you instruct them and engage them in argument. Do you want me to say what I learned from you, as my teacher? Godliness, modesty, gentleness, that one should treat conscientiously all the obligations of charity, that one should not rush to an opinion, that one should never depart from the considered judgment of the church, that Christ alone should be sought in Scripture, that innocence should be prized, that one should approve what is true and tested, and others things of this sort, for if you should happen to find in my writing something that is false, I would not want you to be able to complain about me in the way St Jerome did about an encomium from Rufinus.8 I have testified in the preface to my *****

6 For the Cyclopes, see n17 below. 7 See Ep 3090 n2. 8 In Contra Rufinum 1.1 Jerome complains that Rufinus’ praise in the preface to his translation of Origen’s De principiis was insincere.

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

3112  From Tiedemann Giese  1535

508

book that whatever merit my work may have should be counted to the merits of Christ alone, and I have explained what my purpose was in writing; I repeated this in the procleticus9 that I appended to the end of the work for no other reason than to fortify myself in advance against those critics who object to anything that is novel. For the sharp tooth of such people is used not only against you and those like you, but also provokes and lures beetles and nobodies like us to join battle. But to return to the point at issue, you understand, excellent Erasmus, what, with fear and embarrassment, I am asking from such a busy man as you, what my heart is desperately eager to get from so great a man as you, and what you yourself, born for the glory of learning and holding this noble calling from God, owe to a brother who is placing in your confidence his very self, his ambitions, and his conscience. You must understand what threats you face from the anger of God if you close the bowels of charity towards a suppliant who needs your help and what gossip will haunt you if you refuse assistance in this region of ours where you are famous above all for this, that you are the least haughty of men and are always not just ready and willing to assist those who court your friendship or want you as a teacher, but even to show no signs of malice towards critics and detractors. Think of that passage in your writings by which you are bound. These are your words, Erasmus: ‘Let any friend come forward to whom I have refused my faithful counsel or my help if at any time the situation seriously required it.’10 Will those who read these and similar statements in your works not be justified in saying ‘Either confirm this picture that you have drawn of yourself or allow people to say that you are not what you profess to be’? Of course the problems of age and health and a life overwhelmed by the burden of work do not permit you to do what you wish. It is nothing new for us to be worried over your health; yet so far God in his mercy towards us has kept you strong enough to bear even the most daunting labours. This is something that you share with several learned men; we believe that in nurturing such talents, the power of divine grace is promoting the progress of mankind. Besides, it is thought that activity is even stimulated and enhanced by illness, and we read that there have been people who not even in their final hour have given up their intellectual activity. I would be less willing to excuse you on the basis of age, since you are still a long way from equalling the years of some very *****

9 procleticus is Latinized Greek for ‘challenge,’ here presumably a challenge to scholars to take issue with anything in Giese’s ‘De regno Christi.’ 10 Allen could not identify; neither can we.

95

100

105

110

115

120

125

3112  From Tiedemann Giese  1535

509

d­istinguished men: Plato, Democritus, Chrysippus, Pythagoras, Carneades, Isocrates, Cleanthes, Sophocles, the elder Cato himself, and among people of our kind Jerome and Augustine, whom you rival in natural ability. All these, by their involvement in learning, gave evidence of possessing a youthful mind. You cannot attribute this simply to chance, for in the opinion of Valerius,11 when the bodies of learned men grow old, vigorous activity helps the mind to retain the bloom of youth. I do not doubt that this too is the gift of divine providence. At this time in your life I would like you to have less cause to complain about the burden of work, if your happiness and our respect for you allowed it. This problem admits a very honourable solution if you neglect those gnats that are always disturbing your peace, assist the studies only of those who agree with you, and share yourself only with those who seek advice on how to achieve a Christian peace. Indeed you yourself have planned on taking the wooden sword in your old age (as I read in one of your letters), so you cannot raise as an objection the iniquity of your attackers or your decision to retire.12 In sending this book to you in the hope of having your friendly assessment and criticism, it was not my intention to cause you trouble or involve you in a quarrel with anyone; so much so that if, on reading it, you find some other aim than a search for Christ, I would willingly condemn the book and assign my nightly labours to perdition. If you approve my enterprise, if you think it right to spend some effort on works of this kind, if you are on the side of learning and of Christ (and I know this is your greatest wish), I, as a disciple of Christ, beg you not to reject me when I flee to you and to those special gifts of yours, which you have received from God so that you can share them with others. So you will not reject me if, bracing yourself against disgust, you will bring your wise judgment and critical powers to bear upon everything in the book that I am sending you, and if you weigh and examine those passages especially that seem too involved, too compressed, or perhaps unfair, and report to me anything that is unacceptable to Catholic belief or could be made to adhere to it only with some difficulty, and anything that, in your judgment, should be refashioned or toned down or amplified or explained. ***** 11 See Valerius Maximus 8.7, where one finds the examples of vigorous age cited above. 12 Roman gladiators were presented with a wooden sword on their retirement, so ‘taking the wooden sword’ became a proverbial expression for retiring (Adagia i ix 24). Erasmus had expressed his intention to retire in these words in a letter to Julius Pflug that is no longer extant. Pflug referred to it in his reply, which was published with De sarcienda ecclesiae concordia (Ep 2806:23).

130

135

140

145

150

155

3112  From Tiedemann Giese  1535

510

For no one, I think, will find fault with ideas and arguments that are reverent and plausible when the author is searching for a true understanding of genuine Christian belief, even if there is little evidence of a streak of genius or refinement of language, for I seek no praise on that account. As regards this present undertaking, I admit that in my writing I have acted in the spirit of the proverbs ‘to learn to dance by dancing’13 and ‘I shall play the flute because I cannot learn to play the lyre.’14 I wish I were so beloved by Christ that through his inspiration you would, at your discretion, kindly eliminate, correct, revise any passages, not just concerning dogma but other matters as well, that call for the censor’s pencil, provided they are worthy of having you as their Aristarchus.15 Indeed I give you total control, I rest so entirely on your judgment that if you think fit, you may even mark everything for revision or consign it to the waters of Lethe,16 provided it does not trouble you first to play the part of a too-exacting judge. I know that when you look over this Iliad the labour will seem immense and too great for one who is occupied and concerned with better things. But in the iron mines of the Chalybes Vulcan had helpers with whom he shared the work, ‘Brontes and Steropes and the naked Pyracmon.’17 In a gentler sphere of activity the preacher of the gospel had his Timothy, his Titus, his Silas, his Tychicus, his Epaphras.18 I am sure that you too have among your household staff well-educated young men who are certainly no fools, and who promptly fulfil any assignment given them by you, their teacher. With the relief provided by their assistance you will easily complete the task I am bringing to your workshop. I bring it not because I think it worthy material for your anvil, which is used only to

*****

13 Source unidentified; not in the Adagia 14 Adagia ii iii 44 15 Aristarchus (second century bc), the celebrated Alexandrian critic of Homer and of many other Greek writers 16 The river in Hades, the drinking of whose waters caused its drinkers to forget the past 17 A line cited verbatim from Virgil Aeneid 8.425. The Chalybes, a people living on the southeastern shore of the Black Sea, were credited with the invention of steel. In the Hesiodic version of the legend, Brontes, Steropes, and Pyracmon are the three Cyclopes, monstrous one-eyed creatures whose special task is to make thunderbolts. Vulcan was the god of metalworking and the forge. 18 A list of the helpers of the apostle Paul. To Timothy and Titus Paul addressed Epistles. Silas accompanied him on his second missionary journey; see especially Acts 15–18. For Tychicus see Eph 6:21, and for Epaphras Col 1:7, 4:12.

160

165

170

175

180

3112  From Tiedemann Giese  1535

511

make splendid and distinguished work, but because you should consider me not unworthy of having my request granted; if I ask it without a great deal of confidence, it is, at least in my opinion, a pardonable request. At any rate this much cannot be denied, that my work, if not born under a lucky star, still has significance because of its subject matter, and, as is clear from the result, has been produced by great effort and hard work, and may perhaps help to stimulate sharper minds to treat this topic with a more illuminating intelligence. Moreover my reason for addressing you seems to me considerably stronger than that which motivates those self-seeking climbers who pursue you with little verses and wheedling compliments or others who, with more persistence than discretion, abuse your friendship (as you yourself complain) by troubling you with trivial matters or insidious gossip. I do not consider my labours especially complete or distinguished, so what I want is a critic, not a patron; I am not looking for your ‘bravos’ but rather for your asterisks.19 Nor have I dared to dedicate the work to you, though there is no one to whom I would more gladly do so. I merely offer it to you, held back by the awareness of my insignificance. Besides, there was no lack of people to whom I owed this favour.20 There was my master, Sigismund, the most serene king of Poland, inferior to none of the great princes, who showed how generously he felt towards me by naming me to the highest honours.21 There was his most illustrious son, who recalls his father not just in name and in the glory of his regal crown, but also in his manly virtue and the high regard felt for his character, and who has also inherited his father’s patronage of me.22 Then there was also Piotr, bishop of Cracow, whom fate has lately taken from us, a man who will justly be celebrated by generations yet to come, and who was most ready to do me honour.23 I depended so greatly on his influence that I felt that half of my life is buried with him. There was my bishop, the most reverend Moritz, bishop of Warmia, a priest of exceptional wisdom and distinction, who not only by the ties of blood but for many other reasons too is like a father to me.24 There were many other eminent men who, *****

19 Asterisks, ie little stars, were used to indicate errors in a document. 20 Ie the favour of a dedication 21 Sigismund i 22 Sigismund ii Augustus 23 Piotr Tomicki (Ep 3000) 24 Moritz Ferber of Gdansk (1471–1537), since 1523 bishop of Warmia. In 1532 he had wanted to make his kinsman and protégé Giese his coadjutor, but under pressure from the crown had to appoint Johannes Dantiscus instead. When in

185

190

195

200

205

210

3112  From Tiedemann Giese  1535

512

if I had been able to produce some respectable work on my own, would have shown me in return their generous support. You, my dear Erasmus, will have honoured me and my work abundantly if you judge what I have offered you worthy of your pruning axe. Not only will you relieve me from my fears, but you will also guide my conscience into harbour: for it is the honest truth that a single blink from you will be worth more to me than seven Demostheneses.25 It was a good omen from the Muses that, when I was preparing this, I found someone to send to you, this young man, Eberhard Rogge, who is a natural scholar born for learning and the Graces.26 Not even the Rhamnusian maiden herself could have found anyone more fitting, and not just because of the family ties that join us together.27 Not only will he be useful in looking after my business with you, perhaps even to some extent helping it along, but because of his singular modesty and uncommon learning, you will, I am sure, find him so congenial that, if you put him to the test, you could not wish for a better choice or anyone more to your liking to join your household. For some time he has been so fired by the glory of your name and your authority that if he never saw you or knew you at close quarters, he would consider that he had made no progress at all in learning, that he had never lived. So I want, if I am able, to find a place for him in your affection, not just for his sake but for mine also, so that I may have someone to pour water on your hands for my sake and whom you could embrace in serving you in my place. ***** 1538 Dantiscus became bishop of Warmia, Giese succeeded him as bishop of Chełmno, and when Dantiscus died in 1549, Giese succeeded him as bishop of Warmia. 25 Demosthenes, the greatest of Greek orators, cited as the supreme model of elegant and persuasive argument 26 Eberhard Rogge of Gdansk matriculated at the University of Wittenberg in 1521 (aav 108a) and remained in friendly contact with Philippus Melanchthon until 1559. By 1537 he had settled in Chełmno, where at some point he became burgomaster. Meanwhile, in May 1536, when Rogge passed through Wittenberg on his way to Basel, Melanchthon entrusted to him a letter to Erasmus (Ep 3120). Rogge was already carrying the present letter from Giese to Erasmus. It is not clear what the family ties were that bound Rogge to Giese. Rogge had a nephew, also named Eberhard, who matriculated at Wittenberg in 1555 (aav 310b). In 1559 Erasmus praised him in his last surviving letter to the uncle (mbw Ep 8940 §2). cebr iii 168 mistakenly identifies the younger Rogge as the carrier of the letters to Basel in 1536. 27 The reference is to the goddess Nemesis, whose principal shrine was in Rhamnus (Attica). Usually treated as a goddess of retribution, here her role seems to be as a controller of destiny.

215

220

225

230

3113  Johannes Sinapius  1536

513

Have no fear that I am sending you some travelling vagabond. No one could have persuaded me to commend this man to Erasmus if I did not know that he was born in an honourable station and has always won the praise of good men for his integrity. As for his education, you will imagine that it was excellent when you realize that from a tender age until his adolescence he has enjoyed private instruction from Melanchthon, a man whom you too regard highly. He was treated by him as though he were his own son and dedicated to the Muses. From him he learned that no one can achieve greatness in the humanities unless under your patronage. Since he has decided to devote his whole life to these things, not only do I commend him to you with all the enthusiasm I possess, but I offer him and present him to you, and I shall consider any benefit you confer on him as intended for me. He himself will report to you some other news that I have entrusted to him. Farewell, Erasmus, deserving of my eternal veneration. At Warmia in Prussia at the mouth of the Vistula, 28 March 1536 Tiedemann Giese To the venerable and truly great Erasmus of Rotterdam, prince of letters 3113 / From Johannes Sinapius

235

240

245

250

Ferrara, 3 April 1536

This letter was first published as Ep 150 in Enthoven. The autograph is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 137). For Johannes Sinapius see Ep 2956.

Cordial greetings. When I recall what a high opinion you always held of that excellent old man, Manardo, my beloved teacher and my host, to whom you once recommended me so warmly by letter and to whom, in letters addressed to me, you often asked me to convey your most affectionate greetings,1 I thought that I should not leave you ignorant of the fact that on 5 the eighth of March Almighty God took him from this life at the age of seventy-four. It has been a very painful loss for me and especially for all students of medicine. If I wished to give you a proper account of the merits of the man and his distinguished services in our profession, my letter would 10 have no end. *****

3113 1 See Ep 2956:10–17.

3113  Johannes Sinapius  1536

514

As for what is going on at present in Italy, you will hear the whole story better in person from this young man from Aalst,2 who is a highly experienced surgeon and is most anxious to see you. Celio Calcagnini and Antonio Lúcio of Portugal, a physician, send you their greetings,3 as does the illustrious count Antoine de Pons, who holds 15 pride of place among the leading figures of our ducal court.4 During recent months he sent you a letter to be delivered, along with one of mine, by Gisbertus Longolius.5 My good wishes to you, who deserve an even longer life than Nestor’s. From Ferrara, 3 April 1536 20 Your most devoted servant J. Sinapius, physician To the excellent and illustrious Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, his ever respected mentor and patron *****





2 Unidentified 3 For Celio Calcagnini see Ep 2869 introduction. Antonio Lúcio of Evora (documented 1525–36) studied medicine at Evora with the French physician Pierre Brissot (for whom see Ep 1407 n30) and later (probably 1527–8) served as physician to Renée of France, duchess of Ferrara. In July 1533 he was living with Sinapius at Ferrara, and he is probably the physician mentioned in Ep 2956:26 as the author of a letter to which Erasmus promised to respond. 4 Antoine de Pons (1510–86), count of Marennes and baron of Oléron, joined the court of Francis i as a child and by early manhood had become a gentleman of the chamber. In 1534 he married Anne de Parthenay, daughter of Madame de Soubise, the principal French confidante of Countess Renée of Ferrara and as such much resented by Count Ercole ii d’Este. After Soubise was forced to leave Ferrara (March 1536), Pons became the chief adviser to Duchess Renée, and was suspected of being little more than a French agent. Eventually (1544) the hostility of Duke Ercole forced Pons and his wife to flee Ferrara in disgrace. Back in France, where Anne de Parthenay soon died, Pons married an ardent Catholic, Marie de Montchenu, and distinguished himself as a persecutor of Huguenots, against whom he led his own troops in the wars of religion. 5 Gisbertus Longolius of Utrecht (1507–43) studied at Cologne. His first publication was an annotated edition of Erasmus’ De civilitate (Cologne: J. Gymnich 1530) which, revised and enlarged in 1531, was enormously successful (cf cwe 25 272). He subsequently went to Ferrara to study medicine. The intended visit to Erasmus on his way back north (probably in the autumn of 1535) is not otherwise documented, and the two letters he was to deliver are not extant. After serving briefly (until about 1537) as town physician and headmaster at Deventer, he became professor of medicine at Cologne and personal physician to Archbishop Hermann von Wied. A much respected scholar and pedagogue, Longolius published a number of editions of classical authors, but today he is remembered primarily as the editor-annotator of De civilitate.

3114  From Paul Volz  1536 3114 / From Paul Volz

515 Strasbourg, 12 April 1536

The complete text of this letter was first published as Ep 153 in Enthoven. Six lines of it (28–32) were published in Fecht 838 and, following Fecht, in lb iii/2 1773 Appendix epistolarum no 382. The autograph is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University of Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 162).

Cordial greetings. Although the thanks I expressed to you for such a valuable, not to say rare, cup may seem to you superfluous or even foolish, dear Erasmus, I am, and will continue to be grateful as long as I live and am well enough to do so,1 since, without my having done you any good turn, you 5 have now thought fit for the second time to honour me with your gifts.2 3 When I showed Sapidus the mistake, at first he laughed and was surprised at an old man with such a well-wiped nose;4 then, far from being upset at your calling this to his attention, he expressed his thanks.5 Soon thereafter he rummaged through the papers in his library and consulted his books. He found that about ten years ago, in a poem of his, he had written 10 symphonia with an ω, that is, with a long medial syllable, but that now he has been misled by two dictionaries, one Greek (believe it or not!) and the Latin

*****



3114 1 The gift was a gilded silver cup, which Volz received on 8 February 1536; see bre Ep 293 (page 418), and cf bre Ep 298 (page 422), 307 (page 440). 2 The first gift was a copy of the Ecclesiastes; see Ep 3069:1–2. 3 Ie the mistake in Sapidus’ poem about the cup; see nn5–7 below. 4 Ie a man of keen and exquisite judgment; see Adagia  ii viii 59, citing Horace Satires 1.4.8. 5 Johannes Sapidus (Ep 3069 n8), who had been rector of the Latin school at Sélestat, was now (since 1526) director of the new Latin school at Strasbourg. He had written a poem on the cup (see n1 above) given to Volz by Erasmus. In March Volz informed Beatus Rhenanus that he was sending a copy of the poem to Erasmus along with a letter; see bre Ep 293 (page 418 with n2). This was presumably the letter in which Volz had first expressed his thanks for the cup. Erasmus replied with a letter, now lost, in which he noted the ‘mistake’ referred to here. Volz mentions the letter in question in a letter to Beatus Rhenanus of 1 December 1536, noting that it was in the hand of someone else but signed by Erasmus ‘with sick hand’; see bre Ep 307 (page 441). The text of the poem was published in Catalogi duo operum D. Erasmi Roterodami (Basel: Froben and Episcopius 1537) 108–9. It is also found in lb i, among the prefatory Epitaphia in laudem Erasmi (which has no pagination).

3114  From Paul Volz  1536

516

dictionary of Calepino, both of which have an omicron.6 He showed me the evidence so that I could see it for myself. So he has substituted harmonia for symphonia.7 As for the other two lines that seem to trouble you because of the vultures, he has recast them as follows: Sic duo vos unus, tu pauper egensque, serena et / ille tibi, potuit quod dare, fronte dedit;8 or if you prefer to keep the hexameter as it is and continue with the pentameter as follows: dat, dare quod potuit, fronte nitente tibi.9 He hopes that both passages are now satisfactory and begs you to accept them with a good grace, for ‘sometimes the good Homer nods,’10 and no man is wise at every hour of the day.11 You say that you could not refrain from laughing while reading that part of my letter in which I say that I feel afraid because of the hostility of Fortune; well, it brought a smile to my face too, although my fear was not entirely vain, for those who have chosen to work for an increase in their annual stipend now want to convince me of certain external observations as though security was to be found in them. This has offended several people, not just me. I would explain it more clearly if I were present.12 Furthermore a monk who has a sister in the convent where I preach has contrived a long slanderous letter to me, writing in the address ‘To Paul Volz, secret debaucher and timorous preacher to the nuns of St Nicolas in Undis.’ Then he calls me ‘pitiable,’ ‘senseless,’ etc. The rest I pass over, lest I add to your existing burden of worries. Farewell, dearest Erasmus. Let us pray for one another that we may die in the Lord and attain salvation. *****



6 Ie a short ‘o.’ The Greek dictionary was probably that of Aldus, Dictionarium Graeco-Latinum copiosissimum secundum ordinem alphabeticum, the first edition of which appeared at Venice in 1497. For Ambrogio Calepino’s Dictionarium of classical Latin, first published in 1502, see Ep 1725 n3. 7 In the poem about the cup Sapidus had initially and mistakenly used sympho­ nia, the long ‘o’ of which ruined the metre of the line in question. The substitution of harmonia with its short ‘o’ solved the problem. 8 Literally ‘You two are one: you are poor and needy, he has given you with unruffled brow what he could’ 9 This version of the second line means ‘He gives you with shining brow what he could give.’ 10 Horace Ars poetica 359 11 Adagia ii iv 29 12 The reference remains unclear, though in bre Ep 93 Volz reports that his stipend had been increased by 22 aurei from 30 aurei. If by aurei Volz means Rhenish florins, the stipend of fifty-two aurei was equivalent to £12 7s 8d groot Flemish or one and a half times the annual wage income of an Antwerp master mason/ carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13).

15

20

25

30

3115  From Etienne Desprez  1536

517

12 April 1536 35 T. Paul Volz, abbot He changed the beginning of the penultimate pentameter as follows: Esse duos unum vos, etc.13 For personal delivery to his dear friend Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, a man to be revered for his piety, his learning, and his great age. 40 In Basel 3115 / From Etienne Desprez

Besançon, 12 April 1536

This letter was first published as Ep 152 in Enthoven. The manuscript, written by a secretary and signed by Desprez, is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 124). For Desprez, rector of the school at Besançon, see Ep 2140 introduction.

Cordial greetings. Dear sir, venerable on many accounts, I owe you my undying gratitude for condescending to write to me in your own hand and in such a friendly manner and for entrusting me, your most devoted servant, with the business of acquiring wine. I hope that my success will match the pleasure I have in serving you. The courier, whose name is Augustine,1 brought 5 me your most welcome letter on 5 April, along with other letters of yours to be passed on to the treasurer,2 the great official’s vicar,3 and your friend Gilbert.4 But the treasurer was away, for he always has more business at Dole, where during the past few days there has been an imperial Burgundian diet.5 I have had your letter sent on to him by personal courier. But because of the 10 press of business he has not been able to reply more quickly. So your man Augustine was compelled to wait for his arrival. He returned from Dole on ***** 13 This change is found in the Catalogi duo (see n5 above) 109.

3115 1 Possibly the man from Antwerp mentioned in Ep 3052:21–2 as the servant he had engaged before Lambert Coomans entered his service. Of the letters that he delivered, only that to Gilbert Cousin (Ep 3104) has survived. 2 François Bonvalot (Ep 3103 introduction); his reply (not extant) was answered by Ep 3122. 3 Pierre Richardot; see Ep 3102 n2. 4 See n1 above. 5 The Latin is Burgundionum imperialium comitia, which we take to mean a diet or assembly of the estates of the Franche-Comté.

3115  From Etienne Desprez  1536

518

the day after Palm Sunday,6 bringing a generous supply of wines, so that Augustine himself and I and many of your other faithful supporters could taste it. In the end this cask was chosen to suit your preferred colour and taste. It was filled to the top, all the labels were cut off, the opening at the top of the cask was carefully sealed with a generous amount of plaster. The treasurer has promised to write. The official’s vicar is sending a cask of the kind we chose. Both casks were carefully packed. If they are spoiled on the journey (the good Dionysus forbid!),7 the fault will be with this Augustine, whom I instructed in his duty. If it goes bad at home, it will be because your servants do not know how to look after a good Burgundy. The aforementioned vicar has received your letter and the bundle of papers, to which he will reply.8 I would like to add this: when the casks are placed and set up in your house, if you open each of them at a hole bored near the bottom and withdraw the contents of a drinking glass, the wine will be clearer next summer. We had great trouble finding a courier here who would agree to travel to Basel even for a high fee. They have lots of excuses: one man does not know the German language and so hates the Germans; another is engaged in farming, which is early here; another has scruples about leaving his native soil as Easter approaches.9 Nor can one find a two-horse carriage that will hold two casks. In the end this was the only driver we found, but the price was high. We made an agreement with him, on Augustine’s authority, for a fee of six couronnes au soleil.10 After much argument back and forth we could not get a lower price; otherwise Augustine would have returned empty-handed. The name Augustine troubled me because you had given that assignment to Petrus a Cochleari,11 who merely greeted me in passing with these words: ‘Augustine here is Master Erasmus’ servant; I am going directly to Salins.’

*****



6 10 April 1536 7 Dionysus was the Greek god of wine. 8 The letter to Richardot is not extant, nor is Richardot’s answer, if any; and the nature of the ‘bunch of papers’ is unknown. 9 16 April 1536 10 A very high price: six écus au soleil (‘crowns’) were equivalent to £1 18s 0d groot Flemish or fifty days’ wages of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). 11 Unidentified

15

20

25

30

35

40

3115  From Etienne Desprez  1536

519

While I was dictating this, the treasurer,12 who yesterday had promised to write, sent his servant to say that his master had received a letter from the emperor to which he was obliged to reply, and so wished me to send Erasmus his warm regards. Master Gilbert was here a fortnight ago, and from his conversation, which clearly revealed his considerable learning and his deep affection for you, I understood that he will set out for you immediately after the coming Easter with a consignment of wine that he knows is to your taste.13 When he was here, I gave him your letter, which the one-eyed courier from Basel had delivered to me.14 I do not know whether Master Gilbert has replied. On the first of April last I received from the Porrentruy courier a letter from your secretary Lambert along with a bundle of letters to be sent to Master Gilbert.15 I looked after this carefully and with pleasure with the assistance of a man from Nozeroy, a neighbour and friend of Master Gilbert’s. So I sent on to the same Gilbert the letter brought here by Augustine.16 So none of your letters to Gilbert remain here with me; otherwise I would send them by my personal messenger. The abbot of the monasteries of La Charité and Mont-Sainte-Marie has not been seen anywhere.17 Master Simon Lagnier and his ailing wife are confined to bed by a wretched illness.18 My dear sir, I have chosen this admirable maxim for my motto: ‘The half is greater than the whole.’19 I would like to have the benefit of your most excellent and inventive genius20 about having it engraved with a small, witty, ***** 12 See n2 above. 13 See Ep 3095:10–12. It seems that this intended visit at Easter did not take place. In Ep 3118 of 7 May 1535 Cousin makes no mention of it and says (lines 16– 17) ‘expect me around the first of October.’ No other reference to such a visit is found. 14 See Ep 3104 n2. 15 The letter from Lambert Coomans is not extant, and nothing is known of the bundle of letters. 16 Ep 3104 17 Louis de Vers (Ep 3062) 18 See Ep 3104 n4. 19 It seems that the new edition of the Adagia (Ep 3092) had reached Besançon, and that Desprez had been inspired by the postscript ‘To the Reader’ (Ep 3093:1) to choose the proverb in question as his motto. 20 Literally ‘excellent and inventive Minerva,’ which turns on its head the usual proverb ‘with a stupid or crass Minerva’ (Adagia i i 37), the goddess Minerva being the embodiment of wisdom and good judgment

45

50

55

60

3115  From Etienne Desprez  1536

520

and learned device on my signet ring. I beseech you, may your Muse – for what can she not do? – deign to consider this matter and advise me on what she thinks is appropriate. But it is time to conclude and to stop offending you with this rough jumble of words, a random effusion rather than an orderly composition. Master Jean Lambelin,21 secretary, the most learned of the people at Besançon, a relative and friend of mine and a great supporter of yours, to whom I have frequently passed on your greetings (and I usually share your letters with him), sends in return his cordial greetings to you, whose eminence in learning knows no equal. At Besançon, on the Wednesday before Easter 1536 May you be blessed in our Lord God, my most venerable master, and may he preserve you beyond your allotted portion with powers of mind and body unimpaired. Etienne Desprez, yours most sincerely, on whom you can confidently rely for all the attentions of a good servant To Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, the most learned and eloquent of theologians, his most respected mentor, resident in the famous city of Basel 3116 / From Viglius Zuichemus

Speyer, 15 April 1536

This letter was first published in Van Heussen 117. The surviving manuscript, a late sixteenth-century copy, is in the University Library at Ghent (ms 479 page 39). Allen’s text adheres closely to that of Van Heussen. For Viglius Zuichemus, now living in Speyer as an assessor at the Imperial Supreme Court (Reichskam­ mergericht), see Ep 2957. This is the last surviving letter in the correspondence between Viglius and Erasmus.

to erasmus of rotterdam Since I have nothing but trivial commonplaces to write about, I am sending you a fragment of a letter from someone else in which a friend from Münster sent me an account of the tragic end of the so-called king of the Anabaptists.1 ***** 21 Ep 3104 n5

3116 1 The friend is unidentified and the fragment of his letter is lost. The ‘king of the Anabaptists’ was Jan of Leiden (Ep 2957 n20), who was executed in January 1536.

65

70

75

80

3116  From Viglius Zuichemus  1536

521

Since earlier I told you much about his actions,2 I could hardly hide from you this final act. Holland is still gravely troubled by this affliction,3 and punishments meted out daily have no effect on the wretched and ignorant throng. Surely an angry God must have sent this plague upon us. I am now living very comfortably in Speyer – though cases before the courts keep me busier than I would wish and leave me very little time for my former interests. My present labours are rewarded, however, with a fairly large salary and provide me with savings for the future, so that at some time I shall have enough free time to be able to resume my interrupted studies. In the meantime I want to build up my library with the best and most admired books. Although I already possess almost all your works, I have recently arranged with Nicolaus Episcopius to send me in elegant copies everything of yours ever published by the Froben press that is listed in the catalogue that you produced.4 However, most learned Erasmus, since you have enriched the world of letters not only with your own compositions but by publishing many of the ancient authors, in first or corrected editions or by providing a commentary, I would love to ask you to take the trouble to indicate to me or to Episcopius everything that belongs in this category – assuming that you could find some extra leisure or could rob a little time from your more serious studies. For in purchasing other authors and creating a library, I would gladly accept your recommendation and your choice. In this way I would obtain everything ever published by you, whether your own work or works written by others. By this kind act you will give me greater pleasure than you could imagine, at least for the present. Anything you would like me to do for you or that I thought would please you, I shall faithfully carry out in return. Farewell, eternal and incomparable glory of letters. Speyer, on the eve of Easter in the year 1536

*****



2 In Epp 2957, 2999, 3060, 3071 3 Cf Ep 2956 n26. 4 Erasmus had produced both the Catalogus lucubrationum of 1523/4 (Ep 1341a) and the ‘List of All the Works of Erasmus of Rotterdam’ that in 1530 was ­appended to Ep 2283, which in turn was printed at the end of De bello Turcico (Ep 2285). Nicolaus Episcopius (Ep 1714) was the brother-in-law and business partner of Hieronymus Froben.

5

10

15

20

25

30

3117  From Johann Georg Hörmann  1536 3117 / From Johann Georg Hörmann

522

Speyer, 18 April 1536

This letter was first published as Ep 154 in Enthoven. The autograph is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 87). For Johann Georg Hörmann, see Ep 3074 introduction.

Greeting. My best wishes to you, the matchless glory of our age. The courtesy with which you received the letter that I sent you, after a long silence and in obedience to the wishes of my father,1 was not only a great delight to me but, I have no doubt, will give the greatest pleasure to my father; he will think it a wonderful fulfilment of his desire, since you were good enough to respond to the letters from both of us.2 Since he regards a letter from you as more precious than any pearl or precious stone, it was a kind act on your part to send it to me, so that I, by joining mine to yours, could gain some favour for myself with him. Moreover, the greater his desire to have a letter from you, the more anxious he is to offer you some service in return, something that would give you pleasure. Understanding that there is absolutely nothing I could do to deserve the kindness you have shown me, I continue to urge my father to show his gratitude to you on behalf of both of us. Recently I have resumed my association with Master Viglius, so that the person by whom I was trained in the knowledge of the laws will now also be my instructor in the practice of the courts.3 Master Andreas von Könneritz received with great affection your greetings, which I had sent him by letter, and in return he prays you will have every happiness and success.4 May Almighty God long keep you safe and well, for you are a pillar of the humanities like no other. Speyer, 18 April 1536 Your most devoted Johann Georg Hörmann To the most erudite and eloquent father of good letters, Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, his incomparable master. In Basel

*****

3117 1 Johann Georg’s letter is Ep 3074. The wishes of his father, Georg Hörmann, are expressed in Ep 3088. 2 Erasmus’ replies to both letters are lost. 3 See Ep 3074 introduction. 4 For Könneritz see Ep 3060 n9.

5

10

15

20

3118  From Gilbert Cousin  1536 3118 / From Gilbert Cousin

523 Nozeroy, 7 May 1536

This letter was first published by Allen (where the editors mistakenly label it a response to Ep 3104). The manuscript, in Cousin’s hand, is found on the verso of the title-leaf of a fascicle in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms aa i 93) containing annotations by Cousin aimed (as the title indicates) at clarifying obscure passages, correcting faulty ones, and examining various readings in Erasmus’ Adagia. The letter was doubtless written in response to receiving a copy of the new edition of the Adagia published by Froben in March 1536 (Ep 3092). Neither the immediate nor the long-range goal of the exercise is clear, but it seems evident that Cousin aspired to the role of helper in the preparation of future editions.

gilbert cousin of nozeroy to the most excellent scholar master erasmus of rotterdam, his greatly respected mentor and patron, greeting I came across this in your Adages, my most learned master. If I discover, as no doubt I will, that you approve, I shall do what I can so that you will want to 5 use my help in other cases as well, indeed will feel obliged to do so. For I think there is hardly anyone in the whole world who loves you as much as I do. I shall send you some other comments on your Apophthegms and your annotations on Seneca,1 which perhaps you will find agreeable and not entirely contemptible. So now look on my efforts with a kindly eye, and con- 10 tinue to love me, for I am wholly yours, that is, I depend entirely on your judgment. Here I am engaged in those studies that are most relevant for the understanding of religion, and I can think of nothing more important than these. Already I have written a commentary on Psalms 13, 50, 53, and 115.2 Give my best regards to Masters Bonifacius Amerbach, Hieronymus 15 Froben, and Nicolaus Episcopius. Farewell, and expect me around the first of October.3 Nozeroy, 7 May 1536 *****

3118 1 A new edition of Seneca was in preparation and would be published at Basel (Johann Herwagen, July 1537) under the title Opera per Erasmum emendata; see Ep 3135:1–2. 2 The text of the commentary, with a dedicatory letter to Philibert de Rye dated 1 January 1555, is found in Gilberti Cognati Nozereni opera multifarii argumenti 3 vols in 1 (Basel: Heinrich Petri 1562) ii 88–137. 3 For Cousin’s projected return to Basel see Ep 3123 introduction.

3119  From Erasmus Schets  1536 3119 / From Erasmus Schets

524 Antwerp, 8 May 1536

This letter was first published by Allen. The autograph is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms Scheti epistolae 31). For Erasmus Schets see Ep 2944 introduction. Erasmus’ reply is Ep 3125.

† Cordial greetings. I received your letter from the Frankfurt fair along with several others,1 which I promptly dispatched to England to the ambassador, Master Eustache Chapuys.2 The situation there seems to have changed, for, strange to say, they write that the queen, along with her father, uncle, and brother, has been thrown into the Tower on the orders of the king. They also 5 mention the shocking cause, which I am almost ashamed to write about. They say that in her great desire to become pregnant she slept adulterously with her brother, and that her father and mother and practically her whole family were aware of her action, intended to provide the kingdom with offspring of their blood.3 The people cried out that a pyre should be erected and 10 that the deed be punished by fire. The shape of these events is something to be admired. For in this way the dark shadow caused by the king’s error could be dispelled so that he could see how he had been led astray. As a result of the reversal in the situation there, it is possible that your pension will return 15 to its former schedule of payments. You write that you are baffled why Cromwell gave you a gift of twenty angels.4 I hear that he is a good and honest man who is sympathetic to scholars *****



3119 1 The letter to Schets is not extant. The other letters included Ep 3107–8 and probably one to Charles Blount with a copy of the new edition of the Adagia (Ep 3092). 2 For Chapuys see Ep 3090 introduction. 3 Determined to be rid of Anne Boleyn, who had not delivered a healthy male heir, and to be free to marry her already-picked successor Jane Seymour, Henry viii set up a commission (April 1536) to find grounds for dissolving his marriage to her. The commission quickly brought charges that Anne had committed adultery with several courtiers, including her brother, and argued that this amounted to treason. Anne, her brother, and several courtiers were arrested and put on trial. Anne, who denied the charges to the end, was beheaded on 19 May. Meanwhile, two days earlier, a court presided over by Archbishop Cranmer had found grounds to declare void the marriage between Anne and Henry. See Scarisbrick 348–50. 4 See Ep 3107.

3119  From Erasmus Schets  1536

525

and devoted to you; perhaps he wanted to aid you with this gift because of the loss of your other pensions in England.5 Ambassador Eustache,6 who is now held in high regard by the king, will be able to exercise his influence with him to save and recover your pensions. Whatever I receive, I note down, and similarly with anything I pay out. It would be good if you did the same. I am not acquainted with Maarten Lips, to whom you ask me to give forty caroli in your name.7 I wrote to Goclenius to say that if he knows where the man lives, he should tell him about the money and let him know that it is here with me. Or if Goclenius wishes, I could send the caroli to him so that he could present them or send them to Maarten, and Maarten could enjoy your gift. Frightening signs of war now flash across the sky, and the bitter hatred between our warmongering monarchs is generally at the boil.8 God knows what the outcome will be. Before putting it to the test, the Frenchman thought at first that the Turk was on his side, but they say that the Turkish leader has been captured again by the Sophy of the Persians,9 so that Babylon is lost and almost the whole of Assyria has fallen again. They add that the English king, because of the change in his circumstances, is turning his attention elsewhere.10 Gelderland too, now that his wife is pregnant, is standing by his pact with the emperor.11 May God direct all things for the best.

*****





5 There had been disruptions in the payment and collection of Erasmus’ English pensions, but they had not been ‘lost.’ See Ep 2996 n4. 6 Chapuys (n2 above). For his help in the matter of Erasmus’ English livings see Ep 2998 n3. 7 For Lips see Ep 2566 introduction. Erasmus had written to Lips and to Goclenius at the same time that he wrote to Schets; see Ep 3130:33–4. Forty Carolus florins were equivalent to £7 0s 0d groot Flemish or about six months’ wages of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). 8 On the resumption of warfare between Francis i and Charles v see Ep 3121 n1. 9 ‘Sophy’ was the title of the ruler of the Safavid dynasty of Persia. For the wars at this time between the Ottomans of Turkey and the Safavids of Persia, and for the rumoured defeat of Suleiman, see Ep 3007 n19. 10 The meaning here is obscure. 11 Karel van Egmond, duke of Gelderland, was a client of France, with whose aid he managed to maintain the independence of his duchy from Hapsburg Burgundy. He died childless in 1538, and by previous agreement, succession to the duchy went to William v of Cleves. Not until 1543 would Charles v succeed in forcing William to cede Gelderland to him.

20

25

30

35

3119  From Erasmus Schets  1536

526

If there is anything to be told about the coming council, announced to take place at Mantua in a year, I would be glad to have your opinion.12 Farewell, my dearest Master Erasmus, and best wishes from my be- 40 loved wife and son.13 Farewell again. From Antwerp, 8 May 1536 From your devoted friend Erasmus Schets † To Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, a man of consummate learning and a special friend. 45 At Basel in the Froben house 3120 / From Philippus Melanchthon

[Leipzig], 12 May [1536]

This letter (= mbw Ep 1735) was first published in cr 3 68–70 (no 1421) from the autograph in the University Library at Strasbourg that was later destroyed in the German bombardment of 1870. Erasmus’ reply is Ep 3127. The two letters constitute the final exchange in the correspondence between him and Melanchthon. Writing to Melanchthon in October 1534 Erasmus had complained (Ep 2970:20–7) of the Epistolae Amsdorfii et Lutheri de Erasmo Roterodamo (see Ep 2918 introduction), hoping, as he later put it (Ep 3127:11–12), that Melanchthon was not ‘so closely tied to Luther’ as to approve of the two Epistolae. But when he read the introductory letter (mbw Ep 1555) to the new edition (1535) of Melanchthon’s Loci communes theologici, Erasmus detected in it evidence that the Witten­berger was annoyed at his complaint about Amsdorf and Luther. In the preface, Melanchthon elaborates the need for a theological method that deals with the essential elements of dogma clearly, precisely, and unambiguously, free of the scepticism that suspends judgment and yields uncertainty (mbw Ep 1555 §§1.1, 3.1). Although this is expressed in moderate language and without mentioning him by name, Erasmus perceived in it, with considerable justification, the same damning criticism of him as a mere ‘sceptic,’ devoid of a valid approach to theology, that Luther had hurled at him in De servo arbitrio and, with even greater ­ferocity, in the Epistola de Erasmo Roterodamo (cf Ep 3127:8–14). In a letter now lost, Erasmus conveyed his suspicions and his displeasure to Melanchthon. In

***** 12 In negotiations at Rome in April 1536, pope and emperor reached agreement to summon a council that was supposed to convene in Mantua on 23 May 1537. The summons was duly issued (2 June 1536) but the council did not come to pass; see Pastor 11 77–80, 255–6. 13 For Schets’ son Gaspar, see Ep 2897 introduction. For an example of the kindnesses of Schets’ wife to Erasmus, see Epp 2897:14–20, 2924:1–2.

Philippus Melanchthon Lucas Cranach, 1532 Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Munich

3120  From Philippus Melanchthon  [1536]

528

the present letter Melanchthon attempts to reassure Erasmus of his good will, and the success of the attempt is recorded in Ep 3127. The exchange, in letters not intended for publication, is conducted with the subtlety, calculated courtesy, and well-intentioned insincerity that was characteristic of relations between the two and that preserved and extended their unwillingness to attack one another by name in public. At the same time, however, it left untouched the fundamental disagreement between them on the proper approach to theology.

Greeting. Although you argue with me in your last letter,1 what pleased me about it was the fact that you yourself have revealed your suspicions to me, and I consider this as evidence of your exceptional kindness, especially since in the letter itself there are evident marks of your deep good will towards me. Although I want to secure your approval, I shall not indulge in a lengthy 5 justification, for from this letter of mine a man of your supreme good sense will quickly understand my position, and such, I believe, is your generosity of spirit that you will readily allow yourself to be reassured. So first of all I appeal to your own nature, for since you are a man of penetrating judgment, you can easily imagine who are the main targets of 10 my criticism in the Loci.2 For I do not admire or feel any sympathy for the illogicalities and vulgar paradoxes of our people, and I strive in many issues of dogma to use mild and soothing language – and not without danger to myself.3 For I have almost reached that point in my life where I cannot expect to be pardoned if I fail to bring to the treatment of these matters considerably 15 more care and attention than before. But if I soften my words, I do so not to find fault, for that is completely foreign to my nature, but to be helpful to the inexperienced (if any such read my work).4 Nowhere have I intended to *****





3120 1 Not extant 2 The Loci communes theologici (Theological Commonplaces), Melanchthon’s systematic and immensely influential elaboration of the principal themes of Luther­ an theology, was published in four Latin editions: 1521, 1535, 1543, and 1559. As noted above in the introduction, the edition of 1535 is the one referred to here. 3 This sentence is written in Greek, a common method for keeping sensitive content a secret from nosy letter carriers. Melanchthon often expressed privately his disapproval of the vituperative or otherwise inept rhetoric in publications of his Wittenberg colleagues (including Luther) or their allies; cf n10 below. 4 The Allen editors argue that ‘some such word as parum must be inserted into this sentence so that it will read ‘But if I do not soften my words …’ But this misses the point that Melanchthon habitually used mild language to deliver scathing criticism, that Erasmus could see through this, and that he was irritated by it.

3120  From Philippus Melanchthon  [1536]

529

attack you, whose judgment I greatly admire and whose good will I value highly.5 You see that I borrow certain things from you even in making judgments on matters of doctrine. Nor am I so stupidly doctrinaire as to wish to stir up more controversy for myself. I see how much public discord there is. Those who strive to fan the flames by constantly stirring up new quarrels are, to say no more, very different from me and are acting contrary to what the good of the church demands. And when I talk about sceptics, you know well enough what I mean. In articles of faith, in promises and threats,6 I seek clear assent, as you do too. If there are controversies that go beyond Scripture, in such cases I too prefer to suspend judgment in the manner of the Academy.7 Even now I cannot see anything here that is in conflict with your own position. My purpose has been to indicate that one should not applaud dubious and silly ideas, but should seek doctrine that is sound and helpful in promoting morals and piety. Then I state again and again that I am neither an author nor a supporter of new doctrines. But I have gathered the common teaching of the faith in as honest a manner as I can, offering no defence of unconventional ideas, even those of our own side. It would be a tedious task to review the reasons that compelled me, despite my reluctance, to collect and publish those loci, though at this particular moment, when there is such a confusion of opinions, I believe it is not a useless exercise to write down in a moderate manner and publish some methods of approach or summary accounts that indicate the various areas of ecclesiastical doctrine. Since I said at the beginning that I would willingly follow the judgment of learned men on these topics,8 it is clear enough that I am not setting up *****







See Timothy J. Wengert ‘Famous Last Words: The Final Epistolary Exchange Between Erasmus of Rotterdam and Philip Melanchthon in 1536’ Erasmus of Rotterdam Society Yearbook 25 (2005) 18–38, here 30. 5 Melanchthon had frequently attacked Erasmus, though almost always without naming him. See Timotny J. Wengert Human Freedom, Christian Righteousness: Philip Melanchthon’s Exegetical Dispute with Erasmus of Rotterdam (New York / Oxford 1998) passim. 6 Ie divine promises and threats, which corresponds to the contrast between law and gospel in Lutheran theology 7 ‘Suspension of judgment’ (epoche) was a defining feature of all the sceptical schools of Greek philosophy. Melanchthon refers here to the sceptics of the socalled ‘New Academy,’ led by Arcesilaus (315–240 bc) and Carneades (214–129 bc). 8 See mbw Ep 1555 §§1.2, 2.1.

20

25

30

35

40

3120  From Philippus Melanchthon  [1536]

530

laws for others so that they will defend opinions that they find repulsive. Here you have my brief and straightforward justification. I shall add a ‘deprecation’ in the manner of the rhetoricians.9 I could produce many unimpeachable witnesses to my respect for you. For not only do I venerate you for the force of your intellect, your excellent teaching, and your sound character, but in passing judgment on many controversial issues I gladly join my opinion to yours. So I ask you to abandon the hostile suspicions that you hold about me and convince yourself of the high value that I place on your authority and influence. As for what I thought about the attacks on you that were published here, I say nothing now, not just because of personal obligations but also because of my strong disapproval, since such writings are useless to the common good. Nor have I ever concealed my opinion on this.10 A student here has produced, with my help, a dialogue against Dolet.11 Even if Dolet deserved not just to be upbraided verbally, but, like Zoilus, to be thrown headlong from a rock for his extreme insolence,12 yet I think that students can usefully spend their energies in refuting him, for in collecting your praises, they must record many things from every discipline and from a variety of literary styles. This letter will be delivered to you by a young man of uncommon civility,13 who is well known to Grynaeus and Gelenius.14 He has wanted to visit you and present his greetings. You will pardon this honourable feeling of his. Apart from this he will not be any trouble to you. Please give him a note for me to let me know that you are reconciled to me. 12 May. I wish you every happiness. Philippus Melanchthon To the illustrious Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, his greatly respected patron *****

9 The Latin deprecatio is a rhetorical term, indicating an appeal for clemency or leniency in sentencing an offender. 10 Melanchthon had been ‘displeased’ by Luther’s Epistola, told him so (cwe 78 407 n64; cf wa-Br 7 79:1–8), and may well have talked him out of his intention to renew the attack. 11 See Ep 3069 n6. 12 Various stories are told of the death of Zoilus (for whom see Ep 3002 n11); for the report that he was thrown from a rock see Suidas z 130.3. 13 Eberhard Rogge (Ep 3112 n26) 14 See Epp 2433 introduction (Simon Grynaeus), Ep 1702 n1 (Sigismundus Gelenius).

45

50

55

60

65

70

3121  From Marcin Słap D ą brówski  1536 3121 / From Marcin Słap Dąbrówski

531 Rome, 13 May 1536

This letter was first published by Kazimierz Miaskowski in Pamiętnik Literacki 13 (1914–15) 73–4. The autograph is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (Erasmuslade d 5 folios 13–14). For Marcin Słap, who was in Rome following a period of study at Padua, see Ep 2351 introduction. It seems that the letter did not reach Basel until after Erasmus’ death on 12 July (ak Ep 2041:13 with n2).

Greeting. I thought it would have been scarcely decent, most excellent sir, if I had allowed so reliable a man to leave without a letter of mine for you, although no subject for writing presented itself to me except that I might address you as my patron and benefactor and in this way, so to speak, pay you a visit. Absolutely no news reaches us now in Rome that is not at the same time 5 available to you in a better and fuller form since you are closer to the turmoil between the Christian princes.1 Moreover, on the second day of Easter, after the customary ceremonies were completed, the emperor delivered before the pope in the college of cardinals an eloquent and serious speech describing the injury that had been done him, or rather the whole of Christendom, by the 10 *****

3121 1 On 1 November 1535 the duke of Milan, Francesco Maria Sforza (Ep 3064) died without leaving a male heir. Francis i of France thereupon reasserted his old claim (abandoned in the Peace of Cambrai in 1529) to rule Milan by hereditary right. Emperor Charles, who as feudal suzerain of Milan had in his gift the investiture with it, turned aside Francis’ proposal that the duchy be given to his second son Henry, duke of Orléans (the future Henry ii), but did not rule out giving it to Francis’ third son, Charles, duke of Angoulême (because of his greater distance from succession to the French throne). In January 1536, while the question of who would rule Milan was still up in the air, Francis, again asserting that what he claimed was lawfully his, invaded the duchy of Savoy, the conquest of which was completed in March. He carefully avoided crossing the border into Milan, lest he give the emperor a casus belli, but he had equipped himself with a bargaining chip in negotiations with the emperor over the future of Milan or, failing that, the base for a new invasion of Milan. Diplomatic efforts at a peaceful settlement (see following notes) having failed, there was by the spring of 1536 an undeclared state of war between Francis and Charles. Open warfare broke out on 25 July when the emperor invaded Provence. In the ensuing conflict both monarchs bankrupted themselves without gaining anything of substance. The three-months’ truce signed on 16 November 1537, and subsequently extended to 1 June 1538, led to the conclusion in that month of a ten-year truce based on the status quo. See Knecht 277–88, 291–2.

3121  From Marcin Słap D ą brówski  1536

532

Frenchman.2 This was so successful that he caused the hearts of all to love and admire him, especially when he said that his mind was made up and that he had prepared his men for war against the Turks and begged them to support peace between him and the king on the very fair terms that he proposed rather than be advocates of war. So a legate from the pope was sent off with all speed to the French king.3 But since this could not be carried out before the savage fury of the French was already escalating in Savoy, the emperor could not turn a deaf ear to the cries of the wretched people who were begging for help every day more insistently. So he delegated responsibility to the pope and the cardinals,4 and since no reply was expected from the adversary, he departed for Milan on the eighteenth of April with a very powerful army of Spanish troops. Seven days later the cardinal of Lorraine rushed to see him;5 he asserted that the king could not be induced to make peace on any terms unless the emperor first restored everything he held in Italy.6 This demand seemed fair to no one, so the pope decided to treat with the French king a second time through his nuncios in the hope that the king might be willing to propose terms that were at least milder, thus making it easier to arrange a peace between the two men. A reply to this proposal is expected by the twentieth of this month.7 If the king shows himself more amenable in this regard, the pope accompanied by his senior staff will leave for Bologna so that, by being on the spot, he might more quickly arrange a peace between these great princes.8 *****





2 On 17 April 1536, twelve days after arriving in Rome (cf Ep 3007 n18), Emperor Charles delivered a speech before the pope and the cardinals in which he offered a detailed defence of the justice of his conduct in the entire history of his conflict with King Francis and made French withdrawal from Savoy the essential precondition of any negotiations. See Knecht 278–9, Pastor 11 247–52. 3 See n5 below. 4 Presumably, responsibility for negotiating with Francis 5 The language here is unclear, but it seems that the Jean, cardinal of Lorraine (Ep 1319 n11) and a loyal servant of Francis i, was the papal envoy mentioned in lines 15–16 above. 6 This meeting between the cardinal and the emperor took place on 24 April at Siena; see Knecht 279. 7 May. On 11 May Francis issued a reply to the emperor’s speech of 17 April (n2 above), claiming that his invasion of Savoy had contravened neither any treaty with the emperor nor any rights possessed by him, and professing his willingness to submit the entire matter to papal arbitration. He also caused a vehement protest against the emperor to be read to the pope and cardinals at the Vatican and refused to make peace at the price of evacuating Savoy. See Pastor 11 257–8. 8 On this see Pastor 11 256–7.

15

20

25

30

3122  To François Bonvalot  1536

533

On the other hand the Turk is organizing an expedition against Hungary.9 Among us two armies are being enlisted, one against the Muscovites, the other against the Wallachians. Master Hieronim Łaski has been placed in charge of one of these.10 Unless God turns his face towards us, 35 what can we expect for Christendom except universal ruin? May Almighty God long preserve your Excellency. Rome, 13 May 1536 Your devoted servant, Marcin Słap Dąbrówski of Poland To the celebrated Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, prince of theologians, 40 most kindly mentor and patron 3122 / To François Bonvalot

Basel, 17 May 1536

This letter, Erasmus’ answer to a letter not extant, was first published in the Epistolae universae pages 1114–15. For François Bonvalot, treasurer of the chapter at Besançon, see Ep 3103 introduction.

erasmus of rotterdam to françois bonvalot, treasurer I want to thank you for sending me such a fine wine.1 But since it is the mark of a generous spirit who feels greatly in someone’s debt to wish to be indebted even more, I beg you to add one further kindness to the many you have done me in the past, something that will be the most gratifying of all. 5 Old age grows more oppressive every day, illness presses upon me more painfully. I desperately need the assistance of Gilbert Cousin, who lived with me for many years and is familiar with all my ways. But as I hear, he is entangled in some sort of legal difficulties,2 from which, with your help, he could easily extricate himself. He will accept any kind of settlement provided it has 10 some semblance of justice. The official, Pierre Richardot,3 will be useful here if advised by you and if he will present your defence before the ­parlement *****

9 We have no information about a Turkish expedition against Hungary at this time. 10 For Hieronim Łaski, who in 1536 entered the service of King Ferdinand, see Ep 3014 n7. We have found no evidence of his leadership of either army.

3122 1 The gift referred to in Ep 3115:12–15. There had been a similar gift in February; see Ep 3102:18–22. 2 See Ep 3068 n3. 3 Ep 3102 introduction

3122  To François Bonvalot  1536

534

of Dole. Believe me, there is no danger here from the sects. No one has uttered a nasty word against me, nor would I want to have in my house anyone who had been infected by the new doctrines. But if God will grant me the 15 strength to move to Besançon, Gilbert will be absolutely necessary to me, for my other servant knows no French.4 If you will prove yourself my friend in this case as you have always done hitherto, you will greatly tighten the ties of friendship between us which have long bound us so closely in the past. I am surprised that two Franciscans have so much power in Dole.5 The 20 Colloquies are sold and printed in Paris, while they are banished from Dole. People, whether learned or not, who say that they contain something heretical are lying. Anyone who reads my Declarationes will see this clearly.6 May the Lord, distinguished sir, keep you safe and well. Basel, 17 May 1536 25 3123 / From Gilbert Cousin

[Nozeroy? c end of May 1536]

This letter was first published in the Cognati opuscula 63–9, and then, in a slightly corrected text, in the Cognati epistolae 298–300. In neither volume is there any indication of the place or date. Allen based the conjectural dating on the following considerations. Cousin left Basel towards the end of October 1535. He wrote letters to Erasmus on 2 November (Ep 3068) and 24 December (Ep 3080). If these letters were actually sent (which Allen thought doubtful), they had not been delivered as late as 12 February 1536. Erasmus had written to Cousin c 27 January 1536 (Ep 3095 nn1–2), but on 12 February he wrote again to complain of Cousin’s silence, refusing to take seriously the claim of Cousin’s relative, who would carry Ep 3095 to him, that Cousin had written a month earlier, but taking hope from a subsequent report that Cousin would visit him around Easter (Ep 3095:10–12; cf Ep 3115:47–8). On the same day on which he wrote his letter of complaint to Cousin (12 February 1536), Erasmus drew up his third and final will (see 591–6 below), in which there is no mention of Cousin. On 28  February Erasmus received a letter (not extant) from Cousin answering, not  Erasmus’ letter of 12 February but, apparently, the letter of 27 January (Ep 3104:3–4). Erasmus replied on 11 March in a letter expressing the wish that Cousin would return to his service and hinting that, if he did so, he would be

*****

4 For the contemplated move to Besançon see Ep 3062 n2. The other servant was Lambert Coomans (Ep 3052 n13). 5 The two Franciscans have not been identified. 6 See cwe 82 269–326.

3123  From Gilbert Cousin  [1536]

535

remembered in the will (Ep 3104:27–35). That letter was delivered to Cousin on 5 April (Ep 3115:5–8). On 7 May Cousin wrote to Erasmus (Ep 3118), sending to him some annotations on the Adagia and concluding with the words ‘expect me around the first of October.’ From this it seems that the matter of the return to Erasmus’ service had been settled, and it also seems clear that this had been done in person rather than by letter. The present letter indicates (lines 122–3 below) that at some point between 11 March (Ep 3104) and 7 May (Ep 3118) Cousin had paid a visit to Erasmus in Basel, probably around Easter, 16 April 1536 (Ep 3115:45–8). On 17 May Erasmus wrote to François Bonvalot, requesting his support in clearing the way for Cousin’s return to Basel (Ep 3122). It seems likely that the same messenger who carried the letter to Bonvalot delivered the one to Cousin (not extant) that he answered with this one. And yet, at least at the moment of writing this letter, Cousin was still irresolute, torn between the desire to join Erasmus in Basel and the obligation he felt to stay in Nozeroy and serve his homeland (lines 59–66 below). Erasmus’ death on 12 July 1536 intervened before this dilemma could be resolved.

gilbert cousin of nozeroy to master erasmus of rotterdam, greatest of theologians, restorer and orna ment of all fine learning, his incomparable patron, greeting I could find no words to describe how much genuine pleasure your letter 5 brought me,1 my excellent master and incomparable patron, since in it you demonstrate a kind of paternal love for me, and as long as I live I shall continue to look up to you as a father. Mindful of your advice, I shall take care not to offer any opportunity to those who hate both good letters and Christian godliness to do me an injury. At least I am keeping myself free 10 from any faction; I hate the language of controversy, and I only want to be thought of as a disciple of Christ. I shall commend myself by pious services and a blameless character, devoting all my thoughts and interests to the divine and heavenly texts, for by no other or better way can we bid these Zoiluses go hang, who would rather express their resentment over the best 15 models than imitate them.2 Nor, I am told, have these lordly beggars and haters of the Muses found any other fault with me, even when I was away, than that of being your servant, and of being a most spirited champion and *****

3123 1 The letter is not extant. 2 For Zoilus see Ep 3002 n11.

3123  From Gilbert Cousin  [1536]

536

herald of the virtues and accomplishments with which God has plenteously endowed you above all other men, and of being too fond of you – and that, whether they like it or not, is something I shall continue to be as long as I live and have the blessing of Christ, for whose glory all your holy and exhausting labours are directed. I am told that some of these people are posted in a sort of ambush to listen for any unusually free or casual word that might fall from my lips and report it to those in authority. But I shall be very much on my guard. For I now recognize that the saying of the comic poet that ‘truth gives rise to hatred’3 is becoming more relevant everywhere as each hour passes. I shall strive with all my powers to cultivate the proper sort of learning as far as I am able and with the gifts that God has given me, and I shall not provide any excuse for anyone to choke off the crop that has now begun to grow luxuriantly in our Burgundy, even if certain people, born without the blessing of Mercury,4 should try hard to uproot it. But these people, who are ever alert for a chance to do harm, are exerting themselves in vain, for the armies of the learned are resisting vigorously, not by provocation, but by showing to the best advantage the treasures they possess. God is indeed wonderful and kind. The more fiercely the opposing party runs about calling loudly for the total eradication and destruction of all literary studies, which are the ornament of our time, the more luxuriantly and abundantly they burst forth. Now almost everywhere schoolmasters are teaching Greek, a result that galls these benighted and illiterate boors. The dean of the chapter here, Master Jean Tornond, a doctor of civil and canon law, whose intelligence, sincerity, and learning I have often mentioned to you in glowing terms, is devoting whatever time he can spare from unavoidable obligations to learning Greek.5 Neither the difficulty of the undertaking nor his age holds him back. He prefers to gain knowledge late in his life rather than not at all. And is there any age that is too late to learn? The work of the Corniers *****

3 Terence Andria 69 (cf Adagia ii ix 53) 4 In astrology, Mercury (in keeping with his attributes of cleverness and shrewdness) is a symbol of the intellect, of reason, and learning. 5 Jean Tornond (d August 1547), doctor of both laws, canon of Nozeroy and (since 1525) dean of the chapter. In 1537 he was haled before the Parlement of Dole on charges of heresy. The case dragged on until 1540, when the emperor’s court in the Netherlands dismissed the charges. In 1546 Tornond moved to Besançon, where he was admitted as a canon and appointed official (chief judge) of the archiepiscopal court.

20

25

30

35

40

45

3123  From Gilbert Cousin  [1536]

537

as teachers is progressing admirably, even beyond our expectations.6 They have a school with a very high enrolment. They too are hated by the beggars.7 But they carry out their duties here conscientiously and prudently with great profit to their young students. Léonard de Gruyères, François Bonvalot, abbot of Saint-Vincent, the two chief luminaries of our church,8 and all the other priests of Besançon, as well as almost all the parlementaires of Dole have taken upon themselves the defence of the humanities with remarkable enthusiasm and have shown themselves to be dauntless champions. Master Jacques Dussin, provost of St Anatole at Salins,9 is now preaching Christ amid great acclaim. His eloquence equals or surpasses that of all the mendicants and parasites. As for my own situation, it is not clear what more I should say. To be quite frank, I am now at the crossroads in reaching a decision.10 What may I not hope for here, what have I not to fear if I go to Basel? What indeed is sound in either place? ‘There are sins both inside and outside the walls of Ilium.’11 While I have made no decision yet about what I should do, I cannot deny that I rather favour my own country as being my first obligation, that is, if we believe Plato, who teaches that we are born not just for ourselves but for our country also.12 What is this I hear? Have Scaliger and Corsi, driven by the Furies, again spewed out on you some of that poisonous hatred that festers in their hearts? It will be the sensible course for you to despise their piffling criticisms, as you *****



6 ‘Corniers’ is written in Greek characters. The reference is to Jean and Aimé Cornier (documented 1536–50). In 1537 Jean, who was headmaster of the school at Nozeroy, was called before the Parlement of Dole on charges of heresy. Released on bail, he chose not to await further proceedings and is last found teaching in the newly founded college at Lausanne (1540–5). Aimé was schoolmaster (1541–4) at Montbéliard, a French-speaking county ruled by the German-speaking, Lutheran (since 1534) dukes of Württemberg. Driven from there because of his Calvinist views, he lived briefly in Neuchâtel and then spent his final years (1546–50) in Geneva, where John Calvin entrusted him with the directorship of the school that eventually became the Collège de Genève. 7 Greek in the text, meaning the Franciscans 8 See Epp 3063 introduction (Gruyères), 3103 introduction (Bonvalot). 9 Jacques Dussin (documented 1530–42) was the much admired teacher of Viglius Zuichemus at Dole (1526). From 1534 to 1536 he was provost of the chapter of St Anatole at Salins (Salins-les-Bains). Little more is known of him. 10 Adagia i ii 48 11 Horace Epistles 1.2.16 12 Plato Crito 50c–52a

50

55

60

65

3123  From Gilbert Cousin  [1536]

538

are doing. You should not convey immortality on these Hermodoruses,13 who through the responses composed by Erasmus wish to achieve a fame they could not acquire from their own efforts. Believe me, those scoundrels are disparaging you as vehemently as Vigilantius attacked Jerome.14 You should adopt an attitude that is worthy of you and shoo away these flies with contempt. Everywhere in the world among excellent men and fine scholars you are too great a man, most illustrious Erasmus, to be knocked down from the high position you have acquired by spiteful idiots like these. It is the noblest lions, says the writer, who are barked at by dogs in the lamplight.15 You have this in common with all the princes and famous men and great public benefactors in every age, namely, that virtue has always had envy as its companion. Our age would recognize what you could do in the world of learning and what you have accomplished if we were not, by some law of nature, more ready to praise what we hear than what we see and did not react to the present with envy and to the past with veneration. But posterity will sing your praises in full-throated chorus. Not many days ago a good friend of mine who is a great supporter of yours wrote from Lyon to tell me that Doulophanes has suffered from a headache for more than a year.16 That the story is true I am quite convinced by the book he published recently,17 for it does not show even a grain of evidence for a sound head or a sound brain. Rubbish of this sort you should dismiss with contempt. Some day, if I have any authority, I shall stand by you and fight

*****

13 For Julius Caesar Scaliger and Pietro Corsi see Epp 2564 n2 and 3007 n15. For Hermodorus as the prototype of a man who has nothing to offer but the words of others see Adagia ii vi 100. 14 Because Vigilantius’ attack on Jerome (for following Origen on some points) is not extant, and given that Jerome’s response in Contra Vigilantium is seen as violently polemical, one would expect to find here ‘as Jerome attacked Vigilantius.’ By reversing this, Cousin has, perhaps out of tact, equated Erasmus with Jerome rather than with Vigilantius. 15 Cf Ep 2943 n4. We have had no more success than Allen did in tracking down this quotation. 16 Cousin uses the Greek adjective Doulophanes ‘slavelike’ as a pun on the surname of Etienne Dolet (Ep 3005 n5). Cousin’s informant in Lyon has not been identified, nor has the accuracy of this report on the state of Dolet’s health in 1535–6 been confirmed. He had indeed been seriously ill on his arrival in Lyon on 1 August 1534. 17 Clearly the Dialogus de imitatione Ciceroniana (Ep 3005 n5)

70

75

80

85

90

3123  From Gilbert Cousin  [1536]

539

valiantly on your behalf. But I am not yet a Troilus and am no match for these people, who are more formidable than Achilles if you consider the cruelty of their hearts.18 I come now, my dear and wonderful patron, to the last page of your letter, which shocked me more than I can easily explain. Are you so crushed by the deaths of your patron the archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas More, John Fisher, bishop of Rochester, William Mountjoy, and the rest of your friends that you believe the pain to be incurable?19 Are you afraid that you will accompany them because of the pact you made to be their companions in death?20 Away, my dear master, with such forebodings! Pacts of this sort have no significance. God forbid that they should! Should not other remedies for your pain be sought? But is there anyone who could show you more effective and helpful cures than those that you yourself have at your disposal, familiar as you are with the inner mysteries of philosophy and theology? I do not doubt that at any hour of the day you are ready for the call of the Lord, and I would not deny that by the publication of your works you have erected a monument that could not be destroyed, as the poet says,21 by the countless passage of the years or the flight of time. As for the blessings of fortune that providence has bestowed on you, if I am not mistaken, you have long ago made provision for these in your will, buttressed by imperial and papal privileges,22 so that your property will not fall into the hands of robbers but will be distributed in accordance with your own wishes.23 And yet your death will never be or feel anything but premature and distressing to

*****

18 Troilus, the youngest son of King Priam of Troy, is portrayed in the Iliad as a fully trained warrior. He was killed at Troy by Achilles. 19 William Warham, archbishop of Canterbury, died on 22 August 1532; John Fisher and Thomas More were executed on 22 June and 6 July 1535 respectively; William Blount, fourth Baron Mountjoy, died on 8 November 1534. 20 Cousin uses the Greek phrase τῶν συναποθνησκόντων, meaning literally ‘of men dying together.’ For Erasmus’ use of this expression in remembering Warham see Ep 2726:39–41. 21 Horace Odes 3.30.1–5 22 The papal breve of 8 July 1525 authorizing Erasmus to dispose of his property by will is Ep 1588. The letter patent of 20 May 1530 containing imperial authorization is Ep 2318. 23 Without a will, his property might well have been claimed by the abbot of Erasmus’ home monastery at Steyn. For Erasmus’ third and last will see 591–6 below.

95

100

105

110

3123  From Gilbert Cousin  [1536]

540

scholars and to scholarship, indeed to good men everywhere. As Pliny rightly says, ‘those who abandon themselves to pleasure and live for the day lose every day their reasons for living.’24 But for those who think of posterity and extend the memory of themselves by their works, for them there is no death that is not sudden, for it always interrupts some work in progress. But I have been persuaded, dear Erasmus my beloved father, that there is as yet no such cause for fear, for I believe that for several years I had not seen you in such a lively and healthy state as I witnessed recently when I visited you to pay my respects.25 So do look after yourself. No one knows better than you how our human destiny must be borne, what allowance we should make for our feelings towards our loved ones. It was you who taught me this very lesson when I was mourning the death of my uncles, the excellent Désiré Morel, official to the archdeacon of Besançon,26 and of Master Pierre Daguet.27 Forgive my rudeness if, out of my great concern for you, I continue to remind you of what you know. Recently one of the pharmacists arrived in Besançon with a jar of chebulic myrobalan – if you are still interested in this (for unless I am mistaken, in the year just past you had written to Italy for it). He also has a jar of citric preserves, as they call it.28 I would like to be informed at frequent intervals (if this would not be too much trouble) what would be suited to you now that your health is better. If we hear that you have recovered, we shall have to give the courier a gift for bringing such good news. No message would be more agreeable to our ears or would give us more pleasure. Father and mother send their most respectful greetings. The young Burgundians who were with me in Freiburg do the same.29 I commend myself to you most earnestly, my honoured teacher, and thank you for all the assistance you have given

*****

24 Pliny Epistles 5.5.4 25 Ie the visit at Easter 1536; see introduction above. 26 For Désiré Morel see Ep 1534 n11. 27 Mentioned only in this letter, Pierre Daguet was either an uncle or a great-uncle of Cousin, whose mother was a Jeanne Daguet of Orgelet. 28 These lines are taken almost verbatim from Ep 2740:18–21 (Bonifacius Amerbach to Erasmus): ‘Recently one of the pharmacists brought here a vial of chebulic myrobalan. If you still like it – unless I am mistaken, in recent years you sent Karl to Venice to get some – please let me know. The same pharmacist brought a container of citric preserves (for that is what they call it).’ 29 Identified by Allen (plausibly but without conclusive evidence) as Jean Matal of Poligny (d 1597) and Sébastien Rosier of Nozeroy, both close friends of Cousin

115

120

125

130

135

140

3124  To [Adolf van der Noot]  1536

541

me. If it is not inconvenient for you to do so, give my greetings to Master Bonifacius Amerbach, Sigismundus Gelenius, Hieronymus Froben, Nicolaus Episcopius, and Johann Herwagen.30 Farewell. 3124 / To [Adolf van der Noot]

Basel, 29 May 1536

This letter was first published in the Vita Erasmi 108. The contents of the letter so closely match Conradus Goclenius’ account in Ep 3111:59–75 of the intervention of Adolf van der Noot, chancellor of Brabant, in the case of Goclenius’ claim to a prebend at Antwerp that the identification of Van der Noot as the recipient seems beyond doubt.

erasmus of rotterdam to a certain councillor, greeting All good men, distinguished sir, are greatly in your debt on account of your public service, for since you were established in your present high position you have always controlled the fabric of events with a steady hand. The main duties of an honest judge are to check evil men and to defend good men from 5 injustice at the hands of the wicked. But I am also indebted to you personally for your earlier assistance in the action taken by Goclenius to obtain a fair verdict, and later you attempted in the same spirit to save him from a manifest injustice. Quarrels of this sort are initiated by the harpies in Rome,1 so that neither in France, nor in Scotland, nor with us can anyone receive a 10 benefice without undergoing several years of litigation. I dearly wish the English would reach agreement with the pope. Yet long ago they wisely took measures to prevent the Roman curia from stirring up trouble in their country.2 Even if there had been some particular weakness in Goclenius’ case, ***** 30 Since moving from Freiburg back to Basel, Erasmus had been living in the house of the publisher Hieronymus Froben (Ep 3041 n5). All the others mentioned, except Amerbach, were involved in one way or another in publishing at Basel; see Epp 2945 introduction (Herwagen and Episcopius) and 3001 n1 (Gelenius).

3124 1 For harpies see Ep 2997 n12. 2 By the Statute of Praemunire enacted by the English Parliament in the reign of Richard ii (1392), it became illegal to appeal a case from an English court to the pope if the king objected, or otherwise to elevate papal authority over that of the king in England. This principle was reaffirmed by the Act in Restraint of Appeals in the reign of Henry viii (1533).

3124  To [Adolf van der Noot]  1536

542

nevertheless, as one who by his learning assists and adorns the emperor’s 15 realm he deserved to be supported by the favour of the judge. But since his case is patently just, it is a shame that such a man is called away from his public duties to this sort of performance, causing a loss to education, not to mention the damage done to the prestige that your council has always enjoyed in Brabant. I hope that by now Goclenius has been restored, with the 20 help of good men, to his peaceful and studious life. If this has not occurred, I beg you most urgently to continue to show him that consideration which you have shown thus far. By this service you will bind to yourself all those who favour liberal studies or who support the authority of your council. I shall say nothing about myself, who for a long time now have been your devoted 25 servant. Farewell. Basel, 29 May 1536 3125 / To Erasmus Schets

Basel, 1 June 1536

This letter, Erasmus’ answer to Ep 3119, was first published by Allen. The autograph is in the Bodleian Library at Oxford (ms Lat Misc c 20 folio 71).

Greetings. What you write about events in England is monstrous.1 I only wish these things had been revealed before those good men were put to death. I beg you most strongly to see that this packet of letters is delivered to Goclenius as early as possible – if necessary, at my expense. It contains some- 5 thing important.2 I am sending my accounts to you so that you can see if they tally with yours.3 If an opportunity arises, I would like to know if this letter is delivered to you; I am sending it by some Genoese businessmen, who will be able to 10 take your reply.4 I wish you and all who are most dear to you every blessing and success. *****

3125 1 See Ep 3119:3–11. 2 The packet presumably contained Ep 3124. What else it might have contained is not known. There are no extant letters remaining that might have been sent at this time by that route. 3 Presumably a list of the monies held by Schets on Erasmus’ account. In Ep 2793:18–21 Erasmus had asked Schets for a statement of accounts. 4 The Genoese businessmen have not been identified. Schets’ reply, if there was one, is not extant.

3127  To Philippus Melanchthon  1536

543

Basel, 1 June 1536 Erasmus of Rotterdam, in an infirm hand To the excellent Master Erasmus Schets. In Antwerp 3126 / To Tiedemann Giese

Basel, 6 June 1536

This letter, Erasmus’ reply to Ep 3112, was published ‘ex autographo’ in Unschul­ dige Nachrichten von alten und neuen theologischen Sachen, Büchern, Uhrkunden, Controversien, Veränderungen, Anmerckungen, Vorschläge u.d.g. ed Valentin Ernst Löscher (Leipzig: J.F. Braun 1719) 934–5. It was subsequently published in Das gelahrte Preussen iv 50–1, and from that source by Miaskowski page 354. The autograph has not survived.

Cordial greetings. Your letter, which was so full of wit and learning, has made it especially painful for me to be unable to satisfy your request.1 Your friend Eberhard will report to you the state I am in,2 being almost constantly confined to bed and in such weakened condition that I must forego absolutely all scholarly pursuits, without which, even if I were well, life would 5 have no joy for me. So, gentle sir, even if you accept no excuse, at least you will pardon a dying man. Farewell. Basel, 6 June 1536 Your Erasmus of Rotterdam, written with an infirm hand 10 To the most honourable Master Tiedemann Giese, in Prussia 3127 / To Philippus Melanchthon

Basel, 6 June 1536

This letter (= mbw Ep 1730), Erasmus’ reply to Ep 3120, was first published in cr 3 96–8 (no 1435) on the basis of a ‘carelessly made’ sixteenth-century copy in the Forschungsbibliothek Gotha (ms Chart a 401 folios 96 verso–98 recto). Allen also made use of two seventeenth-century copies, the more important of which was a copy of the autograph (‘Ex manu et chirographo D. Erasmi Roterod.’) in the Staatsbibliothek München (ms clm 2106 folios 77 verso–78 verso).

*****

3126 1 Giese had sent Erasmus a manuscript of his (never-finished) work ‘De regno Christi,’ and Ep 3112 is essentially a long-winded request that he read and comment on it. 2 Eberhard Rogge (Ep 3112 n26)

3127  To Philippus Melanchthon  1536

544

to the excellent and learned philippus melanchthon, greeting It pleased me greatly that, by writing so promptly, you have quickly dispelled the little cloud of suspicion that had lately hung over our friendship, though I had formed no hostility towards you and was more perplexed than indignant.1 I am not the sort of person who on account of some small offence turns from a friend into an enemy. It is now, I believe, my responsibility to act so as to secure your pardon for my suspicion. Luther is always hurling abuse at me because, while I have produced a mass of publications, I have not pointed the world in any specific direction on account of my scepticism over the dogmas of the faith.2 Also in my last letter to you I had attacked Amsdorf in the hope that you are not so closely tied to Luther.3 I suspected that it was these things that provoked your anger. Nor could I imagine to whom that passage in your preface applied if not to me. But whatever suspicion I felt, you could dispel it with a word or two. I do not object to ‘methods,’ nor am I upset by moderation or even by correction.4 But since you have published the Loci so many times,5 it would have been more seemly not to dissemble in your preface but to explain to the reader why you thought certain things should be treated in a different way. Anyone who sets out rules for the catholic faith takes on himself a huge burden, for if he is not consistent in treating them, his authority crumbles in everything, especially with hostile and illdisposed critics, to whom a man’s solemn declaration matters less than the result it produces. For the thing itself has its own face and language. Bucer, in the preface to his response to the bishop of Avranches,6 makes many splendid promises, which I would certainly like to have seen fulfilled, ***** 3127 1 See Ep 3120 introduction. 2 The charge levelled against Erasmus by Luther in De servo arbitrio and the Epistola de Erasmo Roterodamo. Erasmus had suspected Melanchthon of seconding that criticism in the preface to the Loci communes theologici of 1535 (mbw Ep 1555 §3.1). 3 This cannot refer to the most recent letter to Melanchthon, ie the one not extant answered by Ep 3120; it must, rather, refer to Ep 2970:20–5. 4 The language here is ambiguous, but in the light of what follows, correctio seems to mean ‘correction’ in the sense of the correction or improvement of a previously published work, ie the first edition of the Loci. Erasmus finds Melanchthon guilty of inconsistency, but in what regard he does not say. 5 The edition of 1535 was only the second, though the first edition of 1521 had been reprinted with additions in 1522. 6 See Ep 2972 n5.

5

10

15

20

25

3127  To Philippus Melanchthon  1536

545

but in the work the things promised are not particularly apparent. He testifies that he disagrees with none of the Doctors of the church, not even the more recent ones, at least the more sensible among them. In this class he places Thomas Aquinas, and on the same page clearly condemns monastic vows, in this at least disagreeing with Thomas. The bishop of Avranches had said that the body of Christ is present in the Eucharist, but not in a bodily form. From this Bucer infers that there is a wide agreement between them. You, he says, deny that it is present corporally, while we say that it is present spiritually.7 Avranches has said that it does not exist corporally in the sense that it does not exist with the dimensions of the body, or, as the scholastics say, not ‘quantitatively,’ nevertheless he believes that the substance of the body is truly present. In your writings, many of which I find very agreeable, I would sometimes like to see a little more caution. Frequently you touch so lightly on the outlines of a subject that you appear to disregard interpretations that might come into the mind of an intelligent reader. If anything has been printed where you are except the Epistola of Luther and the dialogue of Corvinus, I know nothing of it.8 As for the dialogue that a certain person has prepared against Dolet – I had almost called him Dung9 – you must be the judge.10 It seems to me that with ranting troublemakers of this kind there is no more suitable kind of revenge than silence. There is an Italian,11 well educated but thoroughly wicked and impetuous, who incites others to attack me, but no harm can come to me from them, for they have no influence or reputation. From Italy he set Scaliger and Dolet against me.12 In Milan he has Merula, who, however, did not have the courage to append his name.13 At Rome he has Pietro Corsi, a poor mass-priest, whose stupidity amuses the Roman party.14 And now Catharinus has published a book in Paris, which appears by its title to be aimed at Cardinal Cajetanus,

*****



7 ‘We’ here are Bucer and his fellow Evangelicals. 8 For the Dissertatio of Corvinus, see Ep 2993 n17. 9 A pun on Doletum and oletum ‘excrement,’ ‘dung’ that cannot be duplicated in English 10 For the dialogue (never published) against Dolet by a student of Melanchthon’s, see Ep 3120:57. 11 Girolamo Aleandro 12 Ep 3005 n5 13 See Ep 3064 n1. 14 See Epp 3032:381–2 with n77, 3052:29–33.

30

35

40

45

50

3127  To Philippus Melanchthon  1536

546

but is virulent throughout in its attacks on me.15 This is a new faction that is ­spreading more widely everyday. There is no doubt that they are instruments in the hands of Satan, who would prefer to see everybody a Ciceronian 55 rather than a Christian.16 Many thank me because from my writings, such as they are, they receive some spark of godliness. Satan, hating this little gain for Christ, inspires these people to attack me. Meanwhile I borrow the words of David when he was pelted with stones and with abuse that was harder than any stone: ‘The Lord has commanded them to curse me; perhaps he will 60 take pity on me.’17 I have poured out all this in confidence, knowing that you will not readily unburden yourself of it. I saw Eberhard, a young man of fine character, with pleasure.18 Farewell. Basel, 6 June 1536 Erasmus of Rotterdam 65 To the godly and learned Philippus Melanchthon 3128 / From Tielmannus Gravius

Cologne, 22 June 1536

This letter was first published by Allen. The manuscript, in a secretary’s hand, is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (Erasmuslade d 5 folios 16–17). Gravius (Ep 2990) is evidently answering a letter from Erasmus (not extant) proposing to dedicate his edition of Origen to Hermann von Wied, archbishop of Cologne (Ep 1976). Erasmus did not live to complete the project, though he managed to leave behind a brief preface for one part of it (Ep 3131).

Cordial greetings. At this moment in time, dear Erasmus, my learned and affectionate friend, I am beset by important and difficult responsibilities; so the situation itself demands that my response to you be rather brief.

***** 15 The reference is to Lancellotto de’ Politi of Siena (1484–1553), who adopted the name Ambrosius Catharinus Politus when he entered the Dominican order (c 1517). His earliest publications (1520/21) were defences of the Catholic faith against Luther. In 1536, during a period of residence in France, he published at Paris (S. de Colines) Annotationes in excerpta quaedam … cardinalis Cajetani, which contained a sharp attack on Erasmus as a prominent source of Luther’s heresies. 16 A reiteration of Erasmus’ familiar charge that the Italian Ciceronians were fundamentally pagan; see Ep 1717 n2. 17 Cf 2 Sam 16:5–12. 18 See Ep 3120 n13.

3128  From Tielmannus Gravius  1536

547

I have just received your Worship’s letter from Brabant.1 Every argument has convinced me that the Origen should be dedicated to our archbishop. You will not be conferring an honour on an ungrateful recipient. Whatever the nature of the work, it will be to our prince the most gratifying gesture possible. As for his title, our common style is as follows: ‘To the most reverend father in Christ, and most illustrious prince, Master Hermann, archbishop of the holy diocese of Cologne, arch-chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire for Italy, prince elector, duke of Westphalia and Engern, legatus natus2 and most vigilant administrator of the diocese of Paderborn, my Lord, etc.’3 As for his lineage or, if you prefer, his family, and the fine qualities with which our most reverend lord has been endowed, here is the story: he is a count of the celebrated and renowned, not to say brilliant and noble, family of Wied and a lord of the illustrious and noble families of Runkel and Isenberg. So far as I have discovered from personal experience, he is a man of great courtesy and benevolence towards all good and learned men; he shows remarkable clemency and compassion in dealing with his Grace’s subjects and considerable generosity towards the worthy and deserving. Scarcely any of the other German princes can stand comparison with him in his grandeur and magnificence. As regards his knowledge of letters, there is nothing I can say that would call for any special or particular commendation except that he has a great and exceptional devotion to learning; in fact, in his occasional moments of leisure I have found him an attentive reader of the best authors, especially those who have tried to elucidate sacred writings, such as Augustine and Jerome, not to mention other names for the moment. That this prince is not especially familiar with good letters is not a mark of laziness or a dull mind, but must, I think, be attributed to the lack of teachers and the shortcomings of the times. Farewell, my beloved Erasmus, and love your friend Tielmannus as he loves you. Please give our friend Froben my special greetings.4 *****

3128 1 Not extant; probably sent via Erasmus Schets 2 Ie papal legate ex officio as bishop of a diocese, not by virtue of special appointment 3 Beatus Rhenanus, who completed the edition of Origen, used this exact title in the dedicatory letter to it. 4 Hieronymus Froben

5

10

15

20

25

30

3128  From Tielmannus Gravius  1536

548

From Cologne in exceptional haste, with scarcely enough time to reread 35 my letter, written by one of my copyists acting as secretary 22 June in the year 1536 since the delivery of the Virgin Tielmannus Gravius, yours for what he is worth To the most accomplished scholar in every branch of learning, Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, beloved master and the dearest patron a mortal man 40 could have 3129 / From Johann (ii) Paumgartner

Augsburg, 25 June 1536

This letter was first published in lb i i i /2 1773 Appendix epistolarum no 383. The original letter, in a secretary’s hand and signed by Paumgartner, is in the Rehdiger Collection of the University Library at Wrocław (ms Rehd 254 117). For Johann (i i) Paumgartner see Ep 2603 introduction.

Most excellent sir, etc, I received your letter, informing me that the cup I sent has reached you.1 There was no necessity to thank me so meticulously, for I owe more to you for the great service you have done me, and I am totally in your debt.2 There is no cause to value the thing itself, which is of no great merit; rather embrace the heart that is always ready to serve you. You say 5 there is no point in conferring a benefit on an old man. But I am the kind of person who loves not only his old friends, but even those whom fate has removed from this world, whom I take great delight in remembering. Zasius, as you know, was a dear friend of mine.3 Since his death I have been making it possible for his son Johann Ulrich to steep himself in the liberal arts at Padua 10 at my expense, especially because his physical resemblance to his father is

***** 3129 1 The letter is not extant. This was the second cup given to Erasmus by Paum­ gartner. For the first cup, see Ep 2809:8–11. 2 The ‘great service’ appears to have been the publication of the panegyric of Paumgartner in the form of a letter addressed to Juan de Vergara, Ep 2879 (19 November 1533), that was published with De praeparatione ad mortem (c January 1534). On 30 January 1534 Paumgartner sent Erasmus a gift of wine (Ep 2900), and after some delay caused by his travels, sent promises of another gift (Epp 2939, 2947), presumably the cup mentioned above in lines 1–2. 3 The renowned jurist Udalricus Zasius, professor of law at Freiburg, had died on 24 November 1535. It was through Zasius that Paumgartner had originally approached Erasmus (Epp 2602, 2603:1–24).

3130  To Conradus Goclenius  1536

549

closer, I am told, than that of the other children.4 If it is right to serve friends who have departed this life, how much more should I seek to please you who are alive though now advanced in years? I am yours for whatever I am worth and shall be yours as long as I live. 15 Best wishes. From Augsburg, 25 June 1536 Yours sincerely, Johann Paumgartner of Paumgarten To the undisputed prince of all theologians and the restorer of good letters, Master Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, his most respected master 3130 / To Conradus Goclenius

Basel, 28 June 1536

This letter, Erasmus’ answer to Ep 3111, was first published in the Vita Erasmi 136–7. Written two weeks before Erasmus’ death on 12 July 1536, it is (assuming that Ep 3131 had been written earlier) the final letter in the correspondence written by Erasmus himself.

erasmus of rotterdam to conradus goclenius, greeting Write to the chancellor, you say, as if I live in Mechelen.1 Here scarcely anyone to whom I could entrust a letter turns up within four weeks, if anyone turns up at all. If your letter had gone to the fair, I could have replied through the fair. Now when will this letter reach you? I hope that in the meantime 5

*****

4 Johann Ulrich Zasius (1521–70), the son of the elder Zasius and his second wife, enrolled at the University of Freiburg in 1534, and then in 1536 commenced the study of law at Padua under the sponsorship of Paumgartner. Two years later he was sent back to Germany for neglecting his studies. He took his doctorate in law at Freiburg in 1542, but his appointment as professor of law at Basel (1543– 4) was terminated when he refused to abandon his Catholic faith. In the financial difficulties that ensued, he pawned his father’s books and papers (1545) to Bonifacius Amerbach, through whom the papers (with many Erasmian items) eventually passed into the permanent collection of the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel. In 1546 he entered the service of King Ferdinand, whom he served as an all-purpose emissary, and in that capacity supported church reform at the Council of Trent. In the service of Ferdinand’s successor, Emperor Maximilian ii (1564–76), Johann Ulrich rose to the rank of imperial vice-chancellor and was ennobled as Zasius zum Rabenstein.



3130 1 See Ep 3111:164–8. The reference is to Adolf van der Noot, chancellor of Brabant (Ep 3111 n8).

3130  To Conradus Goclenius  1536

550

your case will have reached a happy conclusion. I did, however, write.2 When your letter was delivered to me, I was more seriously ill than I have ever been in my life; for several days I could not even read.3 I never liked that business of the Antwerp prebend. But after you were successful, I believed there was nothing in which you would not succeed. If this too turns out well, my advice would still be that you should separate yourself from that gang, given some reasonable settlement. If you are not resident, there will not be much in the way of income; if you are resident, you will have to live in a plague-­ ridden place, be responsible for banquets, and waste whole days in the chapter arguing and quarrelling. If you should fall into straitened circumstances, remember that my money is at your disposal. I suspect that the architect of these outrages is the same person who is suborning the Scaligers and Dolets and Merulas to attack me.4 It is not enough for this fellow with his Jewish vindictiveness to attack me unless he also attacks my friends.5 More is attacked in a furious dialogue of Dolet’s.6 He has someone at Liège to pour oil on the fire, and he encourages him in his wickedness.7 A Spaniard had written to commend the lady of Nassau, who is coming here.8 You suggest that I write to her, though I do not know where she is.9 You indicated that she was about to leave. If you had known my situation well, you ought to have replied to her that I had had to leave Freiburg on account of my health and planned to move to Besançon when I finished the Ecclesiastes, lest I not be in the jurisdiction of the emperor.10 But my failing health has compelled me to spend the winter here. Although I am among very good friends in this place, such as I did not have in Freiburg, nevertheless, on account of the differences in religious belief, I should prefer to end my life elsewhere. I only wish Brabant were closer. I am not sure if it was diplomatic of me to commend your case to the chancellor, on account of the *****

2 Ep 3124 3 See Ep 2940 n2. 4 Girolamo Aleandro; see Ep 3127:45–51. 5 For Erasmus’ attribution of Jewish ancestry to Aleandro see Ep 1166:93–4 with n24. 6 See Ep 3052 nn18–19. 7 Possibly Erard de la Marck (Ep 738), whose chancellor Aleandro had once been (Ep 381:12–14). In 1520 Aleandro, as papal legate, supervised the burning of Luther’s books at Liège (Ep 1157:5–8). 8 The Spaniard is not identified. The ‘lady of Nassau’ is clearly Mencia de Mendoza (Ep 3111 n12), though there is no evidence that she ever undertook a trip to Basel. 9 See Ep 3111 n16. 10 At this time Besançon was still part of the Hapsburg Franche-Comté.

10

15

20

25

30

3131  To the Reader  [1536]

551

archbishop of Palermo, whom it is unwise to alienate.11 I think you got the letters that I sent at the last fair to you, Rutgerus, Andreas, Lips, and Schets.12 Why was it necessary for Rutgerus to lecture on the Institutes in Greek,13 35 translated from the Latin? It would have been more expedient to lecture on Demosthenes, or Lucian (if there are any decent passages in him), or on tragedies with their many grave maxims, or other authors of that sort from which one can learn to appreciate the elegance of the Greek language. But he concentrates entirely on profit, and is doing serious harm to the college.14 Farewell. 40 Basel, 28 June 1536 Erasmus of Rotterdam, with his ailing hand 3131 / To the Reader

Basel, [1536]

For his first edition of Fragmentum commentariorum Origenis in evangelium secun­ dum Matthaeum (Basel: Froben 1527) Erasmus supplied Ep 1844, addressed to Nikolaus von Diesbach, as the preface. For the complete edition of Origen published by Froben at Basel in September 1536, Erasmus supplied the Fragmentum with this much shorter preface, the final two paragraphs of which duplicate (in slightly altered form) lines 58–78 of Ep 1844.

desiderius erasmus of rotterdam to the pious reader, greeting Given the tremendous shipwreck that affected so many volumes of Origen,1 it might perhaps seem silly to lament the loss of a single fragment, as if someone who had lost a ship laden with precious merchandise should mourn the 5 loss of a strip of cloth. As for my own feelings on the matter, while I cannot but be pained by such a serious loss, I grieve even more deeply at the loss of his writings on the New Testament, where, in order to explain obscure passages, ***** 11 Jean (ii) de Carondelet, Mary of Hungary’s chief adviser, had taken umbrage at the support of Chancellor van der Noot (cf n1 above) for Goclenius; see Ep 3111:75–81. 12 Rutgerus Rescius (Ep 3052 n24), Andreas Balenus (Ep 3037 n4), Maarten Lips (Ep 3119 n7), and Erasmus Schets. Andreas is unidentified. None of the letters survive. Schets answered his with Ep 3119. 13 See Ep 3111:179–80. 14 Ie the Collegium Trilingue

3131 1 Origen was a prolific writer, but many of his works have perished, and most of those that survive are only fragments or else Latin translations.

3131  To the Reader  [1536]

552

there was not the same need to seek help from the Hebrew or take refuge so frequently in dubious allegories. Origen is always on fire, but nowhere is he more ardent than when he deals with the deeds and sayings of Christ. Among the evangelists none, at least in my opinion, has more fully comprehended the whole life and teaching of the Redeemer than Matthew, and since he was the first to write, he has earned the foremost praise.2 For the rest, not only the titles of the Greek commentaries but also their subject matter show that this is the kind of work that is divided into sections, whatever the reason some unknown person cut it up into homilies, for nowhere here do you see the traditional conclusion to a homily, which always ends with a doxology, sometimes with the addition of a short prayer. It is evident from the titles in the Greek manuscript that ten sections are missing from the commentaries that have come down to us in a mutilated form; from this manuscript we have added an eleventh and part of the twelfth. I wish we could have restored the whole work from a complete manuscript for the benefit of scholars. It would certainly have been well worth reading. We are placing at the head a page or two corresponding to the section that we possessed in translation,3 and that for two reasons, first to establish that what I have added belongs to the work that we received in a mutilated form; second to allow the reader to gauge from this sample, such as it is, how much freedom the translator, whoever he was, has allowed himself. I admit that his identity is uncertain because of the loss of the preface, but it is a probable conjecture that it was Rufinus. For Jerome does not recognize this work, and the liberties taken by the translator point to Rufinus, whose work lacks fidelity to the text rather than learning or eloquence.4 The principal merit, however, of a translator, even more than an historian, is fidelity. Farewell. 3132 / From Damião de Gois

Nürnberg, 15 July 1536

This letter, written three days after Erasmus’ death, was first published by Allen. The autograph is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (Erasmuslade d 5 folios 10–11). On the address-page Bonifacius Amerbach noted that the letter, sent via Beatus Rhenanus, had been delivered on 23 August.

*****

2 Modern biblical scholarship assigns chronological priority to the Gospel according to Mark, even though it is placed second in the New Testament. 3 Ie a couple of pages from the Greek original 4 Rufinus of Aquileia (c 345–410) translated into Latin a number of Origen’s works, but the Matthew fragment in question here is not listed among them. For Erasmus’ low opinion of Rufinus as a translator see Ep 2564 n4.

10

15

20

25

30

3132  From Damião de Gois  1536

553

Cordial greetings. I do not know if anyone could imagine a more painful or distressing situation than, after facing the many hardships and hazards of a journey, to be prevented from reaching one’s destination when it is there in front of the door. My beloved Erasmus, I have now made the journey about which I have often written to you, and since I had passed through all the cities of Germany except Nürnberg, I decided to visit it before going to see you, so that after concluding my business with you, which was the object of my journey, I could return directly to Italy at the beginning of the autumn.1 I finally got here, where there is so much talk about the war in Switzerland that it has terrified not just those who were planning to go there but even those who were unwilling to set foot outside hearth and home.2 Nevertheless, I would not have hesitated to proceed with my plan if the rumours had been vague, as is the case more often than not with rumours. But the people from whom I received all this information and much more added that a certain Master de Rous of Arras,3 from the staff of the emperor’s household, whom I know very well, had collected a force of twenty thousand men at Worms and Ulm, with which, along with the Burgundian troops, he will set out from Burgundy for Switzerland if the Swiss send help to the French, for it is asserted that they have already sent thirty thousand men there. This, I understand, has caused serious disturbances where you live. In spite of what I was hearing, I still wanted to proceed with my plan. My friends here begged and implored me in the name of God not to do so, saying that there were soldiers not just in Burgundy but also in the Breisgau and in Alsace. As a result there is no route by which one could reach Basel except at very great ***** 3132 1 Writing to Erasmus from Padua on 26 January 1536 (Ep 3085:27–56), Gois had proposed that after Erasmus’ death he would undertake to collect and publish, at his own expense, an edition of all of Erasmus’ works that would have as its preface a biography of Erasmus written by Gois (unless Erasmus wanted to write it himself). Towards this end he proposed to visit Erasmus at Basel in May or June and asked him in the meantime to prepare a catalogue of his works. 2 ‘War in Switzerland’ is misleading. The only actual warfare in Switzerland in 1536 was the conquest of the Pays de Vaud by Bern, a conflict that had been successfully concluded by the end of March and did not in any case block the road from Nürnberg to Basel. The balance of this paragraph suggests that the rumours Gois heard had more to do with Charles v’s raising of troops for his new war against Francis i (Ep 3121 n1). Areas of recruitment and troop movement would presumably have included the Hapsburg Breisgau and Burgundy. All the same, Gois’ fear of travelling to Basel from Nürnberg, and of returning to Italy by that route, seems less well-grounded than he appears to have believed. 3 Unidentified

5

10

15

20

3132  From Damião de Gois  1536

554

peril, especially for a foreigner, for a foreigner always seems to be suspected by everyone, especially if he has possessions of which he could be relieved. Possessions are always a target, particularly for soldiers, since they, as a class, are generally far from wealthy. Influenced by these warnings and suggestions, I postponed my visit to you, something, as God knows, that I deeply regret. However, if I am unable now to enjoy the company of such a dear and warm-hearted friend, let us console ourselves during this absence with our mutual love and the union in which Christ has joined us so closely together, and let us compensate for this loss by our letters. In your last letter, my most honoured master, to which I replied very briefly from Padua,4 believing that I would soon be on my way to you, you wrote that you were willing to put in order for me the catalogue of your writings, for which I am most grateful. If you do so, you will produce something worthy of yourself and helpful to posterity. As for your reluctance to write about your life, there is no reason why you should commit everything to writing. Write those things that will do you honour and pass over the rest. You could develop the account of your life and character and touch lightly on your family.5 It will be in your interest to undertake this effort, since I have no doubt that after you have reached your appointed hour many of your friends, and of your enemies too, will set about writing a detailed account of your life. If some of these writings went beyond what is decent or appropriate, we could eclipse them with the account that you left to me, composed with the art and embellishments that you have always employed in all your other works. As I wrote to you earlier, I shall place this account of your life, along with a catalogue of your writings, at the beginning of your works, which I shall arrange to have printed at my expense. These, my dear Erasmus, are my thoughts on this matter. It is possible that you, with your vast knowledge, may have a better idea. Whatever you decide, provided it is in your interest, will please me greatly. If, however, you arrange things so that some modest share of glory falls to your Damião, that will be a characteristically generous act. You know how warm is my affection for you. At Ingolstadt, where I spent a couple of days, I heard from student friends of mine with whom I had earlier had a close association that there *****

4 Erasmus’ letter is not extant; Gois’ reply to it is Ep 3085. 5 This reflects Erasmus’ unwillingness to deal with the delicate matter of his illegitimate birth.

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

3133  From Daniel Stiebar  [1536]

555

were some self-important doctors of theology who are making strange statements about you to the people and to their students, from the lecturer’s podium, in coteries, and in private conversations.6 They say that you moved to Basel to be better able to embrace the Zwinglian sect, to which, they add, you have always belonged, saying many other things that it would be tedious to relate. I wanted to meet them to explain how unsympathetic you are to the sects and to point out their own stupidity and folly. I was unable to do so, since on account of the vacations, which had then begun, they had departed for the country. However, I begged all my friends to advise these people not to continue with this madness, for they know that Erasmus is quite different from what they proclaim. I do not doubt that Germany and a good part of Christendom have many people who would make the same charge. I leave it to your good sense to decide whether one should speak out against them. Could you please send me a map of Switzerland, if you can obtain one.7 It will be very useful. In three or four days I shall go directly from here to Padua. You could write; your letter will find me there. Farewell and continue to love me. Be assured that there is nothing I desire more than to see my dear Erasmus again. I still hope that, with God’s help, that will come to pass. Again farewell. Nürnberg, 15 July 1536 Yours sincerely, Damião de Gois To Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, in Basel 3133 / From Daniel Stiebar

[Würzburg, July–August 1536]

This letter was first published by Allen. The manuscript, a copy in the hand of Joachim Camerarius (Ep 1501), a close friend of Stiebar (Ep 2942), is in the Staatsbibliothek München (ms Cod Lat 10357 154). The letter bears no date. But the reference (lines 9–10) to the French king being under attack from the emperor indicates a date no earlier than 25 July 1536, when the emperor’s armies initiated hostilities against France (Ep 3121 n1).

*****



6 Their number would presumably have included Johann Maier of Eck (Epp 386:95n, 769). 7 Cf Ep 3085:57–60 with n14.

60

65

70

75

80

3133  From Daniel Stiebar  [1536]

556

to erasmus. as from stiebar 1 Even if there is nothing for me to write about, I still want to maintain my old practice of sending you an occasional letter. I am often worried about you and your situation. I hope and wish that your move has turned out successfully and that you have no reason to regret it.2 Many people were surprised, but I did not consider it anything unusual, since I believed you were always happy and content when you lived in Basel. The report from England is so frightening that it could arouse pity even in their enemies.3 I need not tell you that the French king is under attack from the emperor, since from where you are the sound of the army’s cannons may almost be heard.4 Amid such terrible upheavals I feel greatly worried myself, and I think you must be even more worried because of your advanced years and your deep desire for a tranquil life, something you so richly deserve. Even if you feel secure in the present circumstances, one must be troubled by the horrendous nature of the reports. I must tell you that every day my prince becomes more attached to me, a fact which, I am convinced, will please you.5 But this also imposes new burdens on me, which may turn out to be useful to someone of my age – I hope it will also be helpful to my reputation. The prince admires you and looks up to you and venerates you with all his heart. Farewell, and if you wish, send me something by way of a letter. I shall look out for it with eager expectation. 3134 / [From Heinrich Stromer?] to Johannes Cochlaeus [Basel, c July 1536] For this letter Allen and the Allen editors consulted a total of six manuscripts, one each in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, and Vienna, and two in Gotha. The manuscript in the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin was an original letter in an unknown hand, clearly addressed to Johannes Cochlaeus (Ep 3001) but with no indication of the name of the writer. (Allen did not indicate the manuscript number, and the Staatsbibliothek cannot now find it.) A seventeenth-century copy in the Forschungsbibliothek Gotha (ms Chart b 187 folio 270) names

*****

3133 1 ‘As from Stiebar’ is in Greek. 2 Ie the move back to Basel from Freiburg (Ep 3025 n9) 3 On this see Ep 3119:3–11. 4 This is a major exaggeration; cf the fears of Damião de Gois in Ep 3132. 5 The prince was Konrad von Thüngen, bishop of Würzburg (Ep 1124).

5

10

15

20

3134  to Johannes Cochlaeus  [1536]

557

Heinrich Stromer (Ep 578) as the author and Georgius Spalatinus (Ep 501) as the addressee. An­other copy (c 1540) at Gotha (ms Chart b 16 folio 250) names Spalatinus as the recipient, as does one in Hamburg (ms Uffenbach-Wolf 45 413 ivo nh page 12). The Hamburg copy does not name the author; but the one at Gotha names Bonifacius Amerbach. As the Allen editors point out, the attribution to Amerbach must be dismissed on grounds of internal evidence: Amerbach cannot, for example, be supposed to have seen Erasmus’ book collection only twice (lines 12–13); nor did he need Froben to tell him about the sale of Erasmus’ books to Jan Łaski (lines 13–14). On the other hand, the designation of Heinrich Stromer as the likely author is open to serious doubt. Stromer lived in Leipzig, and there is no evidence that he was on a visit to Basel at the time of Erasmus’ death. In the absence, however, of a better suggestion, Allen’s tentative identification has been allowed to stand. More readily accepted is the suggestion that the letter, whoever wrote it, was in the nature of a circular, addressed to Cochlaeus, Spalatinus, and others, passing on the news of Erasmus’ death. The earliest version of the letter to be published was that of P.F.X. de Ram in the Bulletin de l’Académie royale des sciences et belles-lettres de Bruxelles 9 (1842) 469–71, using the copy in the Austrian National Library (ms n exci o l 445 page 52). The first of the Gotha manuscripts mentioned above was published in Horawitz i i 36–7. Both versions indicate Basel as the place of writing.

Master Erasmus was recently taken ill with dysentery and died on the eleventh of July at the age of seventy-two.1 Whatever property he left he has willed in part for the use and benefit of poor students and in part as an endowment to provide an honourable settlement for indigent unmarried girls.2 Some people say that he left around seven thousand gold pieces, perhaps 5 more.3 I remember hearing from his own mouth when he was still alive that it was the duty of a wise and prudent man to prepare for the future by saving *****

3134 1 He died in the night of 11–12 July (cf Ep 3135:12–14); 12 July is the date usually given as that of his death. Even if one accepts 1466 as his birth date, he was not yet quite seventy. 2 This is correct. See ‘Erasmus’ Last Will’ 596:46–50 below. 3 If Rhenish florins, this sum represented £1,220 16s 8d groot Flemish, equivalent to the annual wages of 198 Antwerp master masons/carpenters (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). This is a fairly accurate estimate of the total value of Erasmus’ estate; see ‘Erasmus’ Last Will’ 592–3 below.

3134  to Johannes Cochlaeus  [1536]

558

a sum of money in good times, presumably in order to be able to bear more easily whatever blow or stroke of fortune might assail him. Aided by the generosity of so many great men, he had certainly amassed such a sum for himself, which he has now left behind with instructions that it be used for these most noble causes. His precious collection of books, which I had the opportunity to see twice, he willed to a wealthy patron, to whom, as Froben told me, he had promised it several years earlier.4 He left a veritable royal collection of gold and silver cups, and in addition a substantial pile of gold coins, some worth twenty ducats, some ten, some three.5 This most learned of men was completely immersed in restoring the Greek text of Origen, to which he was so devoted that, even as the violence of the disease bore down increasingly upon him, he would not give up until death itself struck the pen from his hand.6 As he left this world, his last words, repeated over and over again with laboured breath, were evidence of a truly Christian spirit, ‘O Jesu, son of God, have pity on me, I shall sing of the mercies and judgment of the Lord.’7 As he spoke these words, the silence of death descended upon him. A funeral was arranged according to the rites of the Christian church, with a glorious and magnificent interment in a prominent position in the cathedral. There came to the funeral the various orders of senatorial rank8 and all the leading figures of the whole commonwealth of Basel. All those in Basel with a wide knowledge and a deep interest in learning and in morals were consumed with bitter grief and paid tribute by their presence to the dead man. To Master Johannes Cochlaeus, theologian and canon of Meissen 3135 / From Johann Herwagen to Beatus Rhenanus

Basel, 17 July 1536

For this letter the Allen editors duplicated, with small corrections, the text in bre Ep 296 (pages 420–1). There is a manuscript in the Bibliothèque humaniste at Sélestat (ms 107), which the Allen editors did not examine.

*****



4 For the sale of Erasmus’ books to the Polish nobleman Jan Łaski, see Ep 2780. 5 Major 41–2, 553–5 6 The edition, in two folio volumes, was published in September 1536 by Froben and Episcopius: Origenis Adamantii opera, latine, studio et labore D. Erasmi partim versa, partim recognita. For Erasmus’ preoccupation with the project in the final months of his life, see Ep 3141:213–16. 7 The concluding phrase is from Ps 101 (100 Vulgate):1. 8 Ie those qualified to serve on the city’s governing bodies

10

15

20

25

30

3135  From Johann Herwagen to Beatus Rhenanus  1536 559 Greeting. I am sending you, my dearest Beatus, a copy of Lucius Annaeus Seneca, printed by us.1 Because of the dearth of good manuscripts you cannot restore it to its original splendour, but you can skip through it so that, if some monstrosity has crept in through our fault or has entered the text earlier, you could, with your sharp judgment, remove it and at the same time indicate if there are any places that could be set up in a more elegant and ­attractive manner. About the Christian poets, I have made no decision except to act on your advice and to do what the republic of letters in its wisdom demands and our slender resources permit.2 I would like you to write to Peutinger’s son and ask him to be good enough to lend us his Arator.3 On the day following my arrival in Basel in the evening Master Erasmus of Rotterdam passed from life to death, that is on 11 July around twelve o’clock at night. He suffered (as you know) from various ailments; these and finally dysentery caused his death. Every lover of learning, one of the two burgomasters, and a considerable number of the city councillors took part in the funeral procession to the spot chosen for his burial in the cathedral, formerly dedicated to the Holy Virgin. A brief address was delivered there by Myconius,4 touching on a considerable part of Erasmus’ achievements. On the coming Tuesday (the day chosen by the council) the customary memorial address will be delivered.5 On 23 August, God willing, we shall sing a hymeneal for our Erasmus.6 I hope you will join us in honouring him. You will get more information than can be given in a letter. Farewell. In haste. *****





3135 1 What Herwagen sent to Beatus was evidently a copy of the edition of the Annaei Senecae Opera that he and Froben had published in 1529; see Ep 2091 (where neither Allen nor cwe notes Herwagen’s share in the publication). The new revised edition, Annaei Senecae Opera per Erasmum emendata, was published by Herwagen at Basel in March 1537. 2 Herwagen’s project of an edition of the Christian poets was never completed. 3 It is not at all clear why Herwagen would want Beatus to write to one of Konrad Peutinger’s sons, since Peutinger himself was still alive and in possession of the desired manuscript, that of the De actibus apostolorum by the sixth-century Christian poet Arator. Beatus sent his request to Peutinger senior on 14 October 1536, and the manuscript was sent off to him on 24 October 1536; see Konrad Peutingers Briefwechsel ed Erich König (Munich 1923) Epp 292–3. 4 Osvaldus Myconius (Ep 861), leader of the Evangelical church at Basel 5 20 July 6 This is a puzzling choice of words: a ‘hymeneal’ (hymenaeus) was a wedding hymn. Did he perhaps mean a Te Deum? Or is this perhaps an allusion to Jesus’ description of the kingdom of heaven as similar to a wedding feast (Matt 22:1–14)?

5

10

15

20

3135  From Johann Herwagen to Beatus Rhenanus  1536 560 Basel, 17 July 1536 Yours, as always, Johann Herwagen 25 To the most learned Master Beatus Rhenanus, his worshipful mentor and patron. In Sélestat 3136 / From Tielmannus Gravius to Erasmus Schets Cologne, 1 August 1536 This letter was first published by P.F.X. de Ram in the Bulletin de l’Académie royale des sciences et belles-lettres de Bruxelles 9 (1842) 472–3. The manuscript, written and signed in the same secretary’s hand as Ep 3128, is in the British Library (ms Add 38512 folio 94).

Cordial greetings. I have no doubt, my most courteous friend Schets, that the news which, as I am told, has spread through almost the whole of Germany, has reached you too, namely that envious Fate has taken from our midst our dear Erasmus; a greater or more brilliant man Germany has never had, or perhaps never will have. It has been my experience that rumours of this sort more often than not turn out to be entirely false, but this rumour (alas!) is all too true, as is clear from the letter that Froben sent me, whose contents, at his request, I willingly transcribe. It goes as follows. ‘We have received your last letter addressed to the most excellent Master Erasmus.1 At that time Master Erasmus was so gravely ill that he could not even read the letter himself nor abide to hear it read. A short time later, on 12 July, after incredible suffering from a constant flux of the bowels for more than eighteen days, just after midnight he surrendered his soul to God. His death is a great loss to Christendom and a great sorrow to everyone, etc.’ Here you have, my dear Schets, part of Froben’s letter, not indeed a happy tale, but, as the saying goes, a depressing dispatch.2 So try to be strong and brave of heart. This is not the place to tell how much pain and sorrow this man’s death has brought me. I feel it deeply. Farewell. Written rapidly and in haste and without looking over what I have written. *****

3136 1 Ep 3128 2 Literally ‘a sad scytale,’ a scytale being a coded message conveyed by means of a wooden dowel around which was rolled a leather strip. For the origin of the phrase see Adagia ii ii 1, and cf Ep 2418 n1 (where the matter is discussed without reference to the adage).

5

10

15

20

3137  From Jan Antonin  1536

561

From Cologne, 1 August 1536 Yours most sincerely, for what little he is worth, Tielmannus Gravius von Graben To the man of rare erudition Master Erasmus Schets, merchant banker of Antwerp, lord and true friend 25 3137 / From Jan Antonin

Cracow, 9 August 1536

This letter was first published by Allen. The autograph is in the Bibliothèque municipale at Nantes (ms 674 23). For Jan Antonin, personal physician to King Sigismund i of Poland, see Ep 1602 introduction.

With my greetings and compliments. Although you are in very poor health, good sir, you nevertheless continue to write to me,1 your humble protégé, despite the awful torture of your gout,2 and to sign the letter with your own most holy fingers. This shows the incredible affection that your Excellency has for me. So I thank you and feel an undying gratitude to your Excellency. 5 What a barbarian I am! How shall I excuse my silence? But I know this, that it is not your way to pass judgment on your proven friends if they neglect the common courtesy of sending a letter, especially when there is no serious matter to write about. I have allowed you to learn from others about the deaths and misfortunes of princes and of great and worthy patrons who deserve our 10 respect.3 I was reluctant to address you, since you are heavily occupied with a host of important matters. And since this poor body of yours responds poorly to the art of medicine, it pains me greatly to fail you and not be able to help you, a man who deserves to live forever. But God will bring a happier outcome in his own good time. 15 4 My brother-in-law Josephus has returned. He shows evidence of a cultivated mind, not common in a young man. I am now handing on the torch to him. If you ask how I am and what I am doing, I am well – except that, in *****

3137 1 No letter of Erasmus to Antonin later than Ep 2176 (9 June 1529) is extant, but Erasmus probably wrote to him at the same time as he wrote Ep 3049 to Piotr Tomicki (31 August 1535). 2 See Ep 2940 n2. 3 This would refer in particular to the death of Piotr Tomicki on 29 October 1535. See Ep 3066 introduction. 4 Josephus Tectander, who had just returned from a visit to Basel; see Ep 3138 introduction.

3137  From Jan Antonin  1536

562

continuing to treat a large number of patients, I considerably impair my physical strength, which is in any case weak. I have said ‘Farewell’ to the court. Every day I call upon the Lord and confess to him my errors and omissions, and when I am at peace, I train my daughters, my most precious possessions, to lead a godly life. I have been deeply affected by the faithful account of the death of Thomas More;5 it has led me to reflect how happily Diogenes lived in his shell and how remarkable was the philosophy of Democritus.6 I cannot tell you how much pleasure I got from that precious gem of yours On the Purity of the Christian Church.7 On the day before our bishop, Piotr Tomicki, departed this world,8 a letter was written to your Excellency to persuade you to accept the cardinal’s hat.9 But because the violence of his illness did not permit the bishop to sign it at that time, it seemed to the executors (as they are called) that it would be improper to send it to your Excellency after the writer’s death. But because it shows so clearly the good will that our illustrious bishop had for you when he was alive, I thought it improper to refuse to send it. So I am sending it to your Excellency. Georg Werner, councillor to King Ferdinand and master of the Hungarian treasury,10 is always urging me to impress on you his exceptional regard for your Excellency. This is no empty statement: he gets great pleasure from your books and reveres and admires you greatly. If some time, at my invitation, you could put together a letter for him, it will not be for nothing. My dear *****



5 Doubtless the Expositio fidelis (601–18 below) 6 Diogenes the Cynic (c 412–c 321 bc), who made a virtue of poverty and was indifferent to creature comforts, is reported to have used as his home a large jar of the type used to store wine or grain. The ethical teaching of the philosopher Democritus (fifth-century bc) emphasized that human beings should achieve ‘cheerfulness’ via moderation and wisdom, recognize the limitations of human life, and not let the fear of death spoil their lives. 7 De puritate tabernaculi (Ep 3086) 8 See n3 above. 9 Ep 3066 10 Georg Werner of Paczkow (d 1557) studied at Cracow but settled in Hungary (1519) and subsequently became a loyal servant of King Ferdinand, who ­rewarded him with offices and properties and by this time had made him royal vice-treasurer. All the while he maintained his contacts in Cracow, where some of his Latin poems and other writings were published. In 1527 Erasmus returned greetings from him communicated in a letter from Jan Antonin (Ep 1916:23–7).

20

25

30

35

40

3138  From Josephus Tectander  1536

563

wife and my daughters send your Excellency their best wishes. May the Lord God keep your most reverend Excellency safe and well. Cracow, 9 August 1536 Your most reverend Excellency’s devoted servant Jan Antonin, physician 45 To the reverend and most distinguished Master Erasmus of Rotterdam, his best and greatest patron. In Basel 3138 / From Josephus Tectander

Cracow, 16 August 1536

This letter was first published by Kazimierz von Miaskowski in Pamiętnik literacki 13 (1914–15) 75–6. The autograph is in the Bibliothèque municipale at Nantes (ms 674 225). This is the last-surviving, clearly dated letter to Erasmus in the correspondence. Josephus Tectander of Cracow (c 1507–c 1545) attended the University of Cracow (1527–34), studying both arts and medicine, and then in 1534 he went abroad to complete his medical studies, receiving his doctorate at Ferrara in that same year. By the middle of 1535 he was back in Cracow, lecturing at the university. Shortly after Christmas that year he left for Basel, where he was cordially received by the publisher Johann Bebel, for whom he did some translating of Galen, and remained until the following spring. He was able to visit Erasmus, to whom he wrote this letter to inform him of his safe return to Cracow. At some point along the way he had become the brother-in-law of Jan Antonin (Ep 3137:16). Back in Cracow, Tectander became the personal physician to Piotr Kmita (Ep 3046 introduction) and also provided medical services to the court of Queen Bona Sforza.

Greetings. Distinguished sir, I am well aware that after the mountain of work you have completed and the many literary triumphs you have won nothing could happen to you that would please you more than if some means could be found that would allow you to refresh your weary mind and live in peace without upheavals or disturbances of any kind; and yet, whether driven by 5 some involuntary impulse or inspired by an incredible desire to show my respect for you, I have worked up my courage to interrupt you with this insipid letter of mine, even though you are still trying to cope with so many competing, and important, obligations. But so great have been your services to me that everyone would rightly charge me with ingratitude if I passed 10 them over in silence. With the generosity that you show to everyone, you thought me worthy to share frequently in the conversation of your household, and when I was leaving, you gave me letters of recommendation to

3138  From Josephus Tectander  1536

564

important people.1 Indeed I have relied on these to gain ready access to the great, and whatever I ask of them I obtain without trouble. For such a blessing I cannot adequately express my thanks, much less return the kindness. But I assure you that I feel and always shall feel the greatest sense of devotion and gratitude to you. We read in Homer of how many who served in Troy in those days frequently boasted, when they fought in single combat, that they were the sons of this or that great hero.2 I consider it as a special mark of pride and as evidence of my good fortune, first that I emerged from your delightful company as a more respected person, and second that every day I enjoy a more delightful existence at home as a result of your special commendation. But enough on this subject. There is nothing happening among us that is clearly worth recording. And perhaps our news would always disappoint those who hoped to hear or see something better. Your devoted friend Jan Antonin would certainly have told you of the rumours circulating here about Justus Ludovicus,3 but he has been called away by a sick friend and is now absent from Cracow and so, I imagine, is ignorant of what has taken place here. The situation is as follows: lately Justus chose to live at one of his estates, situated about seven days’ journey from us; he had left for the nearest village to inspect a copper mine when he was taken prisoner by a declared enemy of the king of Poland, who, with the support of a gang of bandits, had organized an ambush to catch him at that moment. But, as we now know for certain, no further threat of danger or harm hangs over Justus from this incident, for the enemy is about to restore him willingly to his people on condition that the losses inflicted on them by men from the kingdom of Poland are somehow made good.4 I wanted to report this to you in case someone should write to you and by exaggerating the truth make you more anxious than you need be about the misfortune suffered by your friend. Whatever happens next I shall report to you fully as it evolves. For the present I pray only that you continue, as you have begun, to regard me always as one your protégés. I wish you every happiness, my, and the whole world’s, tower of strength. *****



3138 1 The letters are not extant. 2 As, for example, Diomedes, who invokes the exploits of his father Tydeus at Iliad 10.285–91 prior to entering the fray. But Tectander may be thinking of how frequently Homeric heroes identified themselves with a patronymic, such as Ajax, son of Telamon. 3 Justus Ludovicus Decius (Epp 1341a n210, 2960–1) 4 We have no further information on this incident.

15

20

25

30

35

40

3139  From Fridericus Nausea to King Ferdinand  1536

565

Cracow, 16 August 1536 Your most devoted friend Josephus Tectander of Cracow To the illustrious and most honoured Master Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, best of patrons by far. In Basel

45

3139 / From Fridericus Nausea to King Ferdinand Mainz, 18 August 1536 This is the dedicatory letter in Nausea’s In Erasmum Roterdamum Monodia (Cologne: Johann Gymnich 1536) a2 recto–a5 recto. For Nausea, since 1534 court preacher at the court of King Ferdinand, see Ep 1577 introduction. It is not clear what he was doing in Mainz at this time.

to the most august caesar ferdinand, 1 his most kindly patron, from fridericus nausea, with the grace of almighty god Among so many truly royal and manifestly imperial qualities, Ferdinand, Caesar and thrice-excellent king,2 by which we recognize in you a monarch 5 born to rule and an outstanding prince, it is by no means the least that in living up to the example of your distinguished ancestors, almost all of whom, both on your father’s and your mother’s side, were great and glorious kings and emperors, you continue to foster and protect truly learned and scholarly men as though this were a hereditary and regal prerogative. This is so clearly 10 the mark of a king that, almost from the creation of the world, all the greatest kings and emperors have not just encouraged scholars and learned men, but have wanted to have them nearby as their close advisers and to exalt them with honours and rich rewards of every kind, for it has not escaped them that ***** 3139 1 The Latin here is Augustissimo Caesari Ferdinando, which one would ordinarily translate as ‘Most August Emperor Ferdinand.’ But Ferdinand of Austria, brother of Emperor Charles v, was still almost twenty-two years away from becoming emperor. He had, however, been elected ‘king of the Romans’ in 1531, which meant that he was now heir apparent to the emperorship. In Roman history from the time of Emperor Hadrian, Caesar came to be used of the heir to the throne as well as to the reigning emperor. That is presumably what Nausea had in mind here and in lines 4–5 of the text. 2 On the title ‘Caesar,’ see the preceding note. The ‘thrice’ in ‘thrice-excellent king’ can be read as a synonym for ‘most’ or ‘exceptionally’ (as in the expression ‘thrice blessed’), but it is perhaps best read literally to mean ‘three times,’ in reference to Ferdinand’s status as king of Bohemia, king of Hungary, and king of the Romans.

3139  From Fridericus Nausea to King Ferdinand  1536

566

genuine scholars and learned men are by far the most important element in a commonwealth and that nothing stands out more brilliantly in any commonwealth or provides it with more stability or greater comfort in adversity than to be richly endowed with good and learned men. For the commonwealth is defined no less by its virtue and learning than by its power and influence, and it is then truly blessed when either philosophers reign or kings philosophize3 – or at any rate it cherishes and encourages philosophers and learned men. It was with this in mind that Pharaoh, king of Egypt, long ago cultivated Abraham and Joseph,4 Nebuchadnezzar encouraged Daniel,5 Hezekiah Isaiah,6 David Nathan and Gad,7 Ptolemy Philadelphus the seventy translators of the biblical story,8 Philip and his son Alexander the Great Aristotle,9 the emperor Augustus Virgil and Horace,10 Trajan Pliny the Younger and Juvenal,11 and your grandfather, the great emperor Maximilian,12 who never disappointed, kept with him, among others, the theologian Gregor Reisch and the poet and mathematician Johannes Stabius.13 I pass over for the present other kings and emperors, foremost among whom are the excellent and truly gentle princes Titus Vespasianus and Theodosius. Titus was greatly attached to good and learned men, showing his affection by heaping upon them honours and distinctions, so much so that in the end he could deny them nothing. When asked by someone in conversation whether he thought that the Empire could fulfil all that he had promised, they say that he replied *****



3 Cf Plato Republic 5.473c–d. 4 For Abraham see Genesis 11:10–20; for Joseph, Genesis 41. 5 Daniel 2 6 Isaiah chapters 37–9 7 2 Chron 29:25 8 The Septuagint, the ancient translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek that was traditionally attributed to seventy-two translators, was also traditionally said to have been commissioned by Ptolemy ii Philadelphus of Egypt (reigned 285–246 bc). 9 Philip  ii of Macedon (reigned 382–336 bc) and his son Alexander the Great (reigned 356–323 bc), who was educated by Aristotle 10 Augustus, the first of the Roman emperors (reigned 27 bc–ad 14) 11 Trajan, emperor 98–117 12 Holy Roman Emperor 1493–1519 13 For Gregor Reisch, see Ep 308 introduction. From 1510 he was consultant and confessor to Emperor Maximilian i, whose final confession he heard in 1519. From 1497 Johannes Stabius (Ep 409:28n) was professor of mathematics at Vienna, and from 1503 he was court historian to Emperor Maximilian.

15

20

25

30

35

3139  From Fridericus Nausea to King Ferdinand  1536

567

only that it was not right that anyone should leave the presence of the emperor dejected.14 The other, that is Theodosius,15 so strongly favoured learned and scholarly men and supported them with such regal generosity that he was upset if any educated man failed to approach him, promising rewards to any cultivated man and fulfilling that promise too. He used to say of anyone who had not approached him that ‘a shrinking virtue that did not present itself to be approved was imputing to himself its own humility and dismal obscurity.’16 You, Ferdinand Caesar, greatest of rulers and best of all kings and princes, will surely be thought most like Theodosius in the high and lasting renown you are winning through your great generosity towards scholars of true and pious learning, for you alone among all the princes of our time seem to have earned a sort of legal right to have it said of you by all truly learned men what the satirist said of the excellent emperor Trajan: ‘All hope and encouragement to learning rest in Caesar; for he alone has had regard for the Muses saddened by these times.’17 You are aiding scholars so generously, particularly Catholic scholars, with your grace and godliness and influence that, under you alone, most munificent of princes, humane learning and the study of theology, which have recently been revived, are preserving their spirit and their life. While your royal liberality has sustained many scholars (who in the future will not be spoken of without praise for you as well as for themselves), never to be forgotten and everlasting proof of your patronage will be the great Erasmus of Rotterdam of glorious memory, who has recently died and who, in those final days while he was still alive, supported by your special favour and influence (to which I can personally attest) stood firm against every slanderous attack and protected the general welfare and usefulness of the Catholic church. Your sacred Majesty conferred on him in support of his teaching incontrovertibly greater gifts and higher honours than any Ptolemy or Dionysius or Philip or Alexander or any more liberal

*****

14 For the generosity of Titus (emperor 79–81) to artists and men of letters see Suetonius Divus Titus 8. 15 Theodosius i, or Theodosius the Great (emperor 379–95) was a pious Christian under whose auspices the Council of Chalcedon (387) revised the Nicene Creed (325), giving it its present form and making it the defining document of the ­official Christianity of the Empire. 16 Pacatus Panegyricus Theodosio 17; see xii Panegyrici latini ed R.A.B. Mynors (Oxford 1964) 95. 17 Juvenal Satires 7.1–3

40

45

50

55

60

3139  From Fridericus Nausea to King Ferdinand  1536

568

king or emperor ever conferred on any learned man.18 Hence your sacred Majesty is earning no less genuine praise and undying glory among future generations throughout the world than the great Erasmus of Rotterdam himself has earned for his invaluable studies and personal qualities. We must all admit that we owe to your sacred Majesty as great a debt of gratitude as we owe to Erasmus. The extent of the debt that we owe to both of you will be shown somewhat more tersely in our Monodia,19 in which for all who profess the Christian faith I have expressed, in a protreptic manner,20 the sorrow we feel at the death of the great Erasmus of Rotterdam of glorious memory. I have wanted in the name of everyone to dedicate this work especially to your royal Majesty, most humbly begging you to accept it graciously. I could not make it a more finished piece because of the incredible pain I suffered, partly from an illness that delayed my progress and partly as a result of the grievous death of Erasmus himself. I cannot say how deeply I was upset by the letter from the most reverend and honourable father Johannes Fabri, bishop of Vienna and your sacred Majesty’s most learned and faithful counsellor, arriving as it did at a time when I was then suffering from other troubles. In the letter this man of pious learning and learned piety told his friend Nausea of the death of Erasmus, a message already conveyed by others. When I heard of the death of the great Erasmus of Rotterdam himself, I was so shocked that even my hand seemed unable to perform its function when I tried to write what I wished to say. I was so shocked at that time by the death of Erasmus that, had I not realized that it had been natural and preordained, I might almost have begun to complain of this act of God and of nature for taking from the world such a great light, so great an ornament not just of one city but of the whole world, and the unique glory of our age. In the death of this one man the study of good letters, the understanding of the world, and the integrity of morals suffered a great eclipse. For as your inviolable Majesty knows, in our great Erasmus mastery of languages and knowledge of all things human and ***** 18 Ptolemy i Soter of Egypt, 367–282 bc (patron of the geometer Euclid); Dionyius ii of Syracuse, c 397–343 bc (who invited Plato to visit him); Philip ii of Macedon, reigned 359–336 bc, and his son Alexander iii ‘the Great,’ 356–323 bc (both patrons of Aristotle) 19 A ‘monody’ is a hymn sung by a single voice. The word came to have the meaning ‘elegy,’and was used both of prose and verse memorial tributes. Nausea’s Monodia in Erasmum is a prose work. 20 Ie hortatory

65

70

75

80

85

90

3140  From Eustache Chapuys to Erasmus Schets  1536

569

­ ivine were joined with holiness of life, so that it seemed that in one single 95 d human being all the best scholars who had ever lived had come alive again. This perhaps your sacred Majesty will be pleased to see in our Monodia which follows. I fondly hope it will be outdone by others who have more talent and eloquence and leisure than I. Erasmus was a saintly man, and if all men praise him equally, we shall all fail to do justice to his merits and his greatness, like 100 those who view the sun simultaneously, for even if one sees more or less than another, everyone fails to see it as it really is. I await with great anticipation your sacred Majesty’s verdict on it. May your Majesty have all the success you would wish and may you long flourish for the benefit of us all. From Mainz, 18 August in the year of our salvation 1536 105 3140 / From Eustache Chapuys to Erasmus Schets

London, 23 September 1536

This letter was first published by P.F.X. de Ram in Bulletin de l’Académie royale des sciences et belles-lettres de Bruxelles 9 (1842) 473–4. The autograph is in the Bodleian Library at Oxford (ms Lat Misc c 20 folio 76). For Chapuys see Ep 3090 introduction.

You show your pious and generous nature, my dear Schets, when you remember so lovingly our dear Erasmus, the incomparable Erasmus, even when he is no longer with us. It is not for nothing that all good men mourn the departure of so great a man. But to tell you my honest opinion, I have not yet made up my mind whether one should grieve or be glad. One should congratulate that truly excellent and saintly old man that, after a long struggle with illness, after unremitting battles with evil men (who are harder to bear than any illness) he is free at last to be with his beloved Jesus, whose spirit through all his life he breathed so ardently in his heart and with pen and voice. And if there is anything to grieve about – and indeed there is much – then we must grieve that we have been robbed of so great a light. Yet perhaps it would be more Christian to give thanks to the most merciful Lord for having allowed us to borrow this great man for such a long time. While he lived, I was filled with a deep desire to meet him face to face, if only my obligations had made that possible. But since it is now not possible, for what time remains to me I shall endeavour to come closer to the better part of the man by reading every day from the great works he has left us, and I shall gladly encourage others to do the same. Farewell, excellent Erasmus. London, 23 September 1536 Yours sincerely for what he is worth, Eustache Chapuys To the most honourable and faithful Erasmus Schets. In Antwerp

5

10

15

20

3141  From Bonifacius Amerbach  1537

570

3141 / From Bonifacius Amerbach to Johann (ii) Paumgartner Basel, 1 February 1537 This letter (= ak Ep 2113) is the preface to Catalogi duo operum Des. Erasmi Roterodami ab ipso conscripti et digesti (Basel: Froben 1537) 3–12. The ‘two catalogues’ included in the volume were corrected and updated editions of the Catalogus lucubrationum of 1524 (= Ep 1341a ) on pages 13–75; and the ‘List of All the Works of Erasmus of Rotterdam’ that had been appended to a letter to Hector Boece in March 1530 (Ep 2283) on pages 75–84. These lists, again revised, were then placed among the preliminary matter in volume i of the Basel Opera omnia of 1540. As Bonifacius makes clear in the preface (lines 154–7), his aim in publishing the Catalogi duo was to ensure that those interested in acquiring and reading Erasmus’ works would have a complete and accurate list of the works that were genuine and legitimate. One such interested person was the Nürnberg merchant and banker Johann (ii) Paumgartner (Ep 3129). In September 1536, Paumgartner wrote to Bonifacius asking him to send a complete set of Erasmus’ works as well as a copy of his will (ak Ep 2066:11–20). On 9 February 1537 Paumgartner, having received the books, wrote to Bonifacius again, ordering three more sets of Erasmus’ works, so that each of his four sons could have one (ak Ep 2115:1–11). Meanwhile, Bonifacius had decided to dedicate the Catalogi duo to Paumgartner. He was a rich man whose friendship and patronage Erasmus had cultivated; it would be useful to associate his name with the project of providing scholars with an accurate accounting of Erasmus’ publications (lines 194–8); and there seems also to have been a hope that Paumgartner would make a substantial contribution to the cost of publishing the Basel Opera. On that latter score, however, Bonifacius and his colleagues in the project were to be disappointed (ak Epp 2123 n1, 2156:31–7).

to the noble and most honoured master johann paumgartner of paumgarten from bonifacius amerbach, greeting Among the instructions you had given me, noble and most honoured sir, was a request to obtain for you all the writings of Desiderius Erasmus of 5 Rotterdam,1 which you began to collect after his death, a rare treasure by one of the truly great scholars within human memory. I willingly agreed, since *****

3141 1 In ak Ep 2066; see introduction above.

3141  From Bonifacius Amerbach  1537

571

your striking qualities have earned you my cooperation and also because of the regard that the whole scholarly community has for you and the enormous debt that they owe you as a patron of every branch of learning. I regret, however, that I have not been able to complete all of your request as I would have liked, for I am missing quite a few volumes in spite of having scoured the shops of all the booksellers here. It was a splendid plan of yours, after this great man ceased to be part of this world, to set him before your eyes through his surviving works and make him truly a familiar presence. It is through these that he will speak not just to us, but to future generations, which will be taught by him in all good disciplines, especially the disciplines of theology. For it is in his writings that the better part of the man survives, which is as superior to the visible body as the mind is the nobler part of the person, a fact that no sane man has ever denied. ‘Speak,’ said that famous philosopher to the young man, ‘so that I can see you,’2 teaching us that it is not from a man’s face or image that he should be judged, but from his conversation. The extent of the damage done to humane learning by this man’s death and the seriousness of the wound to the Christian faith are more easily conceived in the mind than explained accurately in words, for he seemed to have been born to aid these causes and to restore them to their former state. Was there any branch of learning that he did not advance by his studies? Was there any period in a man’s life that he did not wish to provide for through his labours? He became a child again for the sake of children, he tried to assist the middle-aged and the elderly, adapting himself with wonderful skill to everyone’s age and capacity. If it was believed by the ancients that mortal men are most like the gods when they act benevolently, will it not be said of Erasmus that he was like the gods, given the number and extent of his benefactions towards all? Certainly it is remarkable that he could have so consistently maintained this perpetual service to everyone. Some people with the increasing burden of years lose some of their intellectual powers and find the blessings of a good memory failing, others become totally incapable of enduring hard work, especially the work of the mind. Erasmus, despite his advanced years and his very poor health (for at the end arthritis was added to his long-standing trouble with the stone),3 stubbornly refused in *****

2 Socrates; see Apophthegmata 3.70 cwe 37 242–3. 3 Bonifacius here calls ‘arthritis’ (morbus articularis) what Erasmus himself usually referred to as ‘gout’ (podagra). Both terms are justified in the sense that Erasmus suffered from (among other things) what modern medicine refers to as ‘acute gouty arthritis. See Ep 2940 n2.

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

3141  From Bonifacius Amerbach  1537

572

spite of everything to relax his efforts on behalf of humane learning and religion. So as an old man he outdid the young, as a sick man he surpassed the healthy, continuing to possess a lively mind, an exceptional memory, and an extraordinary capacity for work. Yet although this good man had no other aim than to serve the public good, he could not escape spies and detractors. But we should not be greatly surprised at this, since for many generations envy has fought against any noble enterprise, taking no notice of the humble and always launching its attack upon the heights and upon any talent that was shared in common with the most outstanding men in every age. For has anyone more gifted than the common run of men ever escaped his tormentor? Did any of the ancients whose works are now read with the greatest admiration not suffer the same fate? It is natural, says Velleius,4 to be freer with our praise for what we hear than for what we see; we respond to the present with hostility and the past with veneration, and we think ourselves overwhelmed by the present and instructed by the past. At the same time there have been some who thought that such rare abilities as his deserved the highest respect, and these were no ordinary people, but the masters of the world, and not people of average education, but the leading scholars of our time. He became a councillor to the invincible emperor Charles.5 The most serene prince Ferdinand has given every evidence of his favour towards him.6 Consider too the magnificent terms on which he was invited by Francis, the most Christian king of France, to settle there,7 and the affectionate invitation from the illustrious king Henry to return to England and take up residence wherever he wished.8 I need not mention Popes Leo and Clement: it was surely through their support that he stood up to the machinations of some of his traducers.9 Recently he would have discovered how generous Paul, the third of that name, would have been *****

4 Velleius Paterculus 2:92 5 See Ep 370:18n. 6 On too many occasions to be listed; cf Epp 3049:100–2, 3087. 7 Ep 1375 8 Ep 697:75–8 9 Pope Leo x accepted the dedication of the first edition of Erasmus’ New Testament and, although the work attracted furious criticism from conservative theologians, bestowed his blessings on the second edition (Ep 864). Leo’s successor, Clement vii, who displayed his favour in many ways, silenced Erasmus’ obstinate opponent Diego López Zúñiga (Epp 1431–3, 1488), and ordered another hostile critic, Nicolaas Baechem, to desist from his slanders (Epp 1467:11– 12, 1589, 1589a).

45

50

55

60

65

3141  From Bonifacius Amerbach  1537

573

to him, had he not preferred to live a private life, to attend to himself and his studies, and to put a higher value on the good opinion of the pope than on rich benefices and great honours.10 What else could he do that would not be a sign of greed, this man who was generous towards the poor and towards students, who had no ambition for great honours, who was independent and had no interest or desire for private property. Yet the support he received from the most learned men of our age is too apparent from the letters that passed between them to be concealed. Let us say simply that he was praised, if not by all, at least by the great, if not by all and sundry, at least by those who are themselves esteemed and honoured. I wish he could have been present at the ecumenical council, which, as we know, has now been announced.11 He would have made no small contribution to extinguishing the fires of dissent by his fine intelligence, his remarkable judgment, and his extensive reading in the commentaries of the old theologians. But our Saviour Christ decided otherwise. You want to know more about his death, but there is no reason why you should ask for more from me after the clear and elegant account composed by the distinguished and erudite Master Beatus Rhenanus as a preface to the Origen, which provides a faithful record of the whole story.12 However I would not like you to think that I am reluctant to oblige you, so here are some brief remarks. After repeated invitations to return home from her illus­ trious Majesty Queen Mary, sister of the emperor Charles, and from the court of Brabant, Erasmus began to think about Lower Germany,13 not, I believe, as a result of this flattering appeal, but through love of his native land, for we know, as Cicero says, that that much-travelled Homeric hero preferred over every kingdom his native Ithaca, which clings, as Cicero says, like a tiny nest to a rocky peak.14 With that in mind he had his effects moved here from Freiburg in the Breisgau,15 so that at the first opportunity, when he had finished the Ecclesiastes (for that was the principal reason for his return to ***** 10 See Ep 3007 n3. 11 See Ep 3119 n12. 12 The reference is to the brief sketch of Erasmus’ life that Beatus Rhenanus included in his dedicatory letter for the edition of Origen published in September 1536 (Basel: Froben and Episcopius). The sketch can be found in Allen i 52–6. 13 ‘Lower Germany’ (Germania inferior), ie the Netherlands. For Erasmus’ unrealized intention to return to his native land see Ep 2820 introduction. 14 Cicero De oratore 1.44.196 15 Ep 3051 introduction

70

75

80

85

90

95

3141  From Bonifacius Amerbach  1537

574

Basel),16 they could be taken down the river Rhine to Brabant.17 But his plan to set out was interrupted by arthritis,18 which affected him in the autumn so severely that from that time he never or rarely left his bed. You could have witnessed the remarkable endurance and scarcely credible patience of the man amid these excruciating pains for, set up in bed, he wrote a little volume On the Purity of the Tabernacle,19 so that even a period marked by constant agony might not pass, as they say, ‘without doing a stroke.’20 In addition he edited Origen and supplied the text with explanatory notes,21 and would have added an apologia against this great man’s critics if dysentery had not carried off his poor, and by now thoroughly exhausted, body. Nothing unforeseen or unexpected happened to him, for he said frequently that he had finished his work and that nothing lay before him except his imminent death. How splendidly he behaved in that last crisis in a human life, when he was about to breathe his last! What a fine example he showed of Christian patience: all his feelings were centred on Christ, so that there was nothing on his lips but the sweet name of Jesus, praying at times for his mercy, at times that he would take pity on him, at times that he would bring his life to an end. With these holy words, around midnight on 11 July, after a long travail with dysentery for more than twenty days, he gave up his soul to his Saviour, on whom he had called so often from the bottom of his heart. I have discovered the truth of the common saying that death bears the stamp of the life that has gone before.22 We have seen how the death of this most honourable of men mirrored his life. He lived a most saintly life and he died a most saintly death. And in his will he left behind him a no less striking testament to his life and death – if we leave out of account his godly writings. He had written a will four months before he died,23 having equipped himself with official documents from pope Clement vii, the emperor Charles, and ***** 16 See Ep 3025 n9. 17 Erasmus’ own most recently expressed intention was to move from Basel to Besançon if his health permitted; see Ep 3062:3–6 with n2. It is not clear why Bonifacius would avoid mentioning that here. 18 See n3 above. 19 Epp 3081, 3086 20 See Adagia  i iv 12, which explains the origin of the still familiar expression ‘I haven’t done a stroke [of work] today.’ 21 Cf n12 above. 22 We are unable to identify the proverb. 23 Actually five months, on 12 February 1536; see the introductory note to the will 592 below.

100

105

110

115

120

3141  From Bonifacius Amerbach  1537

575

the city of Basel.24 In it he appointed me his trustee,25 and charged me with responsibility for distributing all his wealth, with the exception of certain legacies, for the use of poor men incapacitated by age or illness, young women whose poverty threatened to prove ruinous to their chastity, and students and any others who seemed worthy of help. To assist me in carrying out his saintly wishes, he associated with me, with the title of executors, Hieronymus Froben and Nicolaus Episcopius, men of proven good faith. In my role as a good trustee I have no greater desire, in executing the last wishes of this excellent man, than to complete the task well within the time limits defined by Roman law. Nor have I any intention of making a claim on the basis of the senatus consulta of Pegasus and Trebellius.26 Far from it, in fact. From the amount left to me by name I have returned a considerable portion to be allotted to similar pious ends, believing that I correctly understood the wishes of the testator on how a good trustee should act and thinking it was right to have made some contribution from the trustee’s portion, so that the benefaction could extend further in the support of these good causes.27 So I am now establishing a charitable fund, from which a number of promising youths can ***** 24 For these documents see ‘Erasmus’ Last Will’ 594 n1 below. 25 Bonifacius uses the word haeres, which is usually translated as ‘heir,’ but the intended meaning is ‘trustee.’ The will of 1527 describes Bonifacius as haeres seu fideicommisarius ‘heir or trustee’; see Allen vi 503:6. Associated with Bonifacius in the execution of Erasmus’ will were two executores ‘executors.’ See the following sentence. 26 For Pegasus see Justinian Institutiones 2.23; for Trebellius see Digest 48.10. Pega­ sus and Trebellius were consuls who introduced a resolution into the Roman senate concerning the role of testamentary trustees. The legislation of Pegasus of ad 70/71 sought to improve on Trebellius’ of 56, and among other provisions allowed a trustee to keep for himself one quarter of the amount he had received as a fiduciary trust. 27 In a deed of gift dated 8 April 1534 (text in Ep 2855 introduction) Erasmus had entrusted to Bonifacius the sum of 1,600 gold florins, one-third of which, 533 florins, was to be his free and clear, the rest for designated charitable purposes. After Erasmus’ death, Bonifacius kept only 200 of the gold florins for himself and donated the remaining 333 to the charitable purposes indicated by Erasmus. See Carl Roth ‘Das Legatum Erasmianum’ in Gedenkschrift zum 400. Todestage des Erasmus von Rotterdam (Basel 1936) 282–98, here 283. Cf ‘Erasmus’ Last Will’ 596:39 with n16 below. The portion of the gift kept by Bonifacius was equivalent to £49 3s 4d groot Flemish or the annual wage income of just under six Antwerp master masons/carpenters; the balance donated to charity £81 17s 3d groot Flemish, nine and a half times the annual wage income of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13).

125

130

135

140

3141  From Bonifacius Amerbach  1537

576

be aided in their studies.28 It seems appropriate, I believe, that since the property left in the will is derived from intellectual activity, some portion of it should return to advancing the cause of learning, always preserving the charitable funds that are to be distributed individually to the poor every year. The executors are ready to carry out all these things, and the eminent councillors of Basel promise their assistance. I must not pass over in silence the generosity of the latter, nor the outstanding services of the professors of our most learned university. Along with the students who carried Erasmus’ body on their shoulders at the head of the procession, they omitted nothing in the performance of the funeral rites and other matters that might attest to their respect for this great pillar of learning. Now I return to the problem of acquiring books for you: I have sent to Strasbourg, in accordance with the instructions I received, all that I found available for sale. The rest you will find recorded in these two lists.29 My reason for producing the lists once more was simply to identify the genuine works of Erasmus for your benefit and, under the title of your name, for the benefit of all good men. Slanderous criticism has always been prevalent; even among the ancients it caused trouble for their most brilliant men. Yet I do not know if there has ever been an age in which this practice was more likely to go unpunished or if in the whole history of mankind anyone has suffered more than Erasmus. It is no secret how often, when he was still alive, he was compelled to defend his published work against such attacks, and now that he is dead, it appears from the prefaces to the books presented at the latest Frankfurt fair that the attacks will be no milder. If in accordance with the Cornelian law the use of a false name or cognomen is controlled by the imposition of a penalty,30 what would be a proper penalty for anyone who not only deceives the reader by a false title-page, but also blackens the name of an honest man by attaching it to the work of someone else, making it odious in some other region?31 A heavier penalty should be imposed when ***** 28 On the establishment of this fund see ‘Erasmus’ Last Will’ 592 and 596:46–50 below. 29 He means the two catalogues (Catalogi duo) of the title. 30 For the Cornelian law on ‘falsifications’ see Digest 48:10. 31 The reference is to a small volume published at Haguenau (Valentin Kobian) in September 1536: D. Erasmi Rotherodami in sanctissimorum martirum Rofensis Episcopi, ac Thomae Mori, iam pridem in Anglia pro Christiana veritate constanter de­ fensa, innocenter passorum, Heroicum Carmen tam elegans quam lectu dignissimum, etc. The first item in the volume is D. Erasmi Roterodami carmen heroicum in mortem Thomae Mori (a iii recto–a iv verso), in which the vengeance of heaven is called down on the head of Henry viii for the execution of Thomas More. The real

145

150

155

160

165

3141  From Bonifacius Amerbach  1537

577

the name of someone who has died is attached to a work, for he is not able to quell the hatred that has been stirred up. At one time it was counted among the pagans a crime; nothing, in fact, was considered more unworthy of an honourable man than to speak ill of the dead since this amounted, as the proverb says, to wrestling with a ghost.32 Now among Christians, who profess the virtue of charity, it is considered a joke if the reputation even of the dead is ruined by fictitious libels. What an age we live in! What a moral quagmire! And what the devil can one say about the permissiveness of Christian magistrates who connive at this wholesale licence to banish books? Nor are they any better who search indiscriminately through the writings of others for something that might win them approval for their own reckless ideas by appealing to the prior judgment of some great man. The jurist Celsus thought that it was improper to give a response or a judgment without full examination of the law in question.33 In a similar vein it would be the mark of a man lacking integrity and probity to pull some lines out of context from the middle part of a disquisition and to display them as someone’s opinion on matters of faith before an uninformed throng – lines that he would be well aware had been explained and clarified at greater length elsewhere. If the kindness that one Christian should show to a fellow Christian is so abandoned, what will survive unimpaired even in the commentaries of the old theologians? Nothing, even if expressed with circumspection, with reverence, and, I would add, with piety, would not be exposed to captious accusations. For is there anything at all that malevolence and the delight in malicious criticism do not attempt and achieve? So, distinguished sir, under the distinction of your name I wish to advise good and honest men everywhere in the world that all the works of Erasmus that he left behind after a life of service to learning and religion are

***** author of the poem was the Dutch neo-Latin poet Johannes Secundus (b 1511), who at the time of the publication of the volume had just died (24 September 1536). Secundus’ brother, Hadrianus Maurus, soon republished the poem under the title Naenia in mortem Th. Mori (Louvain: S. van Zassen, December 1536), accusing the editor of the Haguenau volume of literary piracy. Meanwhile, Hieronymus Froben worried that the offence caused by the Haguenau volume in England would be detrimental to the sale of Erasmus’ works in that country. See Cornelis Reedijk The Poems of Desiderius Erasmus (Leiden 1956) 396–7; ak Ep 2069 n3. 32 Wrestling with ghosts ‘is said of those who heap blame on the dead: nothing could be more unworthy of an honourable man’ (Adagia i ii 53). 33 Digest 1.3.24 (a close echo of Celsus’ words)

170

175

180

185

190

195

3141  From Bonifacius Amerbach  1537

578

found in these two catalogues produced by him while he was still living in the world, to which I have added other works completed later, for such was his good will towards me that I was well acquainted with his affairs. If anything hereafter is published under his name, everyone should know that it is spurious and illegitimate, in fact that it is a pure and absolute imposture created by his detractors. I want to say this as solemnly as I can, so that this man who has done such signal service to religion shall not continue, through the malice of his detractors, to have such a poor reputation even among pious people or appear to have taught one thing when he was alive and another after his death, something completely alien to his character. Nor has that empty rumour escaped me, put about by I know not whom, that after his death certain documents will appear in which he will set out freely his own opinion on matters of faith, as if he had not already done this freely, that is, with the proper modesty and reverence, in the works that he published over the years, in which he bequeathed his genuine opinion to the world. I swear, as I hope for God’s mercy, that he abided by that same opinion up to the very end of his life, nor has any offspring of his genius survived his death except his revision of Origen, on which he was working at the time of his death, now published by the Froben press and made available to the public at the last fair.34 Need I say more? There is no reason why anyone should expect any further work from this incomparable scholar than those listed in these catalogues, works, to put it in a word, which are a delight to the truly great and godly scholars of our time and which will bring the greatest pleasure to posterity also. May you take great pleasure in them, dear Paumgartner, kindest of men, whose many virtues have won unstinted praise. Farewell. Basel, 1 February 1537 Inscription on the monument in the holy cathedral of the famous city of Basel The inscription below is that which in 1538 was placed on the column next to Erasmus’ grave in the cathedral at Basel. There is a facsimile of it in Major, plate 31. Well before the placing of the monument, the text of the inscription was printed, with the heading given it here, on page 117 of the Catalogi duo.

*****

34 See n12 above.

200

205

210

215

220

3141  From Bonifacius Amerbach  1537

579

to our saviour christ, greeting For Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, by every measure a very great man, whose incomparable learning in every branch of study, joined with equal good sense, posterity will admire and praise. Bonifacius Amerbach, Hieronymus Froben, Nicolaus Episcopius, his heirs, named as trustees of his last will, have placed this stone in honour of their great patron, not to ensure his memory, which he himself has made immortal by his published writings, but to mark the place where his mortal body lies. For he will never die, as long as the world will stand, but will speak to learned men in every land. He died on 12 July, already seventy, in the year after the birth of Christ 1536.

5

10

15

20

This page intentionally left blank

THE SPURIOUS LETTER TO PIETRO CORSI

introductory note

582

This letter was first published in the Vita Erasmi 124–9. It was subsequently published by Pieter Burman in Marquardi Gudii et doctorum virorum ad eum epistolae … (Utrecht: François Halma and Willem van de Water 1697) 148–51, on the basis of a manuscript copy in the Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfen­ büttel (ms Gud Lat 4317). The Allen editors, who did not see the actual manuscript, based their text on Burman’s, with variants in the Vita Erasmi and other early editions, including lb, noted in the apparatus. Both Paulus Merula (Vita Erasmi) and Burman included the letter in their collections in the evident belief that the letter was genuinely by Erasmus. But in order to do so they had to be unaware of the easily available testimony of both Pietro Corsi and Erasmus himself that the letter was spurious. Erasmus mentions the letter in Ep 3016:18–23. Informing Julius Pflug that he has received a copy of Pietro Corsi’s Defensio pro Italia contra Erasmum, he reports that people in Rome are egging Corsi on ‘so that they can have a laugh. They have also concocted a letter, purporting to have been written by me to Pietro Corsi, in which I plead with him not to publish his Defence.’ In his Responsio to Corsi (Ep 3032:605–15) Erasmus gives a detailed account of the origin of the letter: [The people behind Corsi] forged a long letter full of scurrilous nonsense, pretending that it was written to Pietro Corsi by me. They distributed it throughout the city in many copies, alleging falsely that I had ordered this to be done. They imitated my handwriting and also my style. In it they show Erasmus on his knees to Corsi, begging him to suppress his response and promising in the next printing to correct whatever has offended him. Corsi recognized the deception, but he is wrong on one point, for he thinks the letter was fabricated in my interest by a friend of mine called Calvus, whereas the work itself speaks clearly that it was concocted by my enemies and by the same people (if I am not mistaken) who encouraged Corsi to tackle this subject.

Erasmus had good sources in Rome, so there is no reason to doubt the accuracy of his story. Moreover, some of the details are confirmed by Corsi himself on folio ki recto–verso of his Defensio (Ep 3007 n15), which (as he points out) was already in print when the supposed letter of Erasmus reached him. Corsi writes: That Myconian baldpate [calvus] of yours, Erasmus, and (by some chance) another Calvus, not of Myconos but (shamefully!) an Italian, have brought it about that the serious and unspeakable wrongs that we have endured seem even more serious and more unspeakable. On the one hand, in explaining ‘Myconian baldpate’ you planned with craftiness and ill intent to put it persuasively in the

the spurious letter to pietro corsi 583 minds of posterity that we [Italians] were cowards while your countrymen were brave [see n12 below]; on the other hand, this Calvus, now no longer an Italian but a German (and clearly an associate of yours, secretly subscribing to your cause) has not only wickedly and nefariously brought forth his own cause, but also most foolishly proclaimed yours as well (although he had in no way wished to do so). For at one and the same go he ineptly imitated your hand and produced a letter (which he pretended was being sent to me by you) that was vacuous, crude, and full of self-contradiction. The aim of this crafty fellow and some crafty friends of his was to persuade me that I should not publish this Defensio of mine that had already been published and that I, an Italian, should not try to heal, out of a sense of duty and with calmness (and especially without injuring you in return with verbal abuse), the wounds of cowardice that you, a German, so unjustly inflicted on Italians.

From this is it clear that Corsi knew the letter was a forgery, but also that he seems to have taken it as a serious attempt to come to Erasmus’ aid. There is no indication that he took it for what it was, namely, a jest, a parody of Erasmus’ style and manner. The identity of the author and his associates remains a mystery. For Erasmus’ initial Iudicium in response to the Corsi’s Defensio, see Ep 3015; for his full-scale Responsio ad Petri Cursii defensionem see Ep 3032.

the spurious letter to pietro corsi  1535 The Spurious Letter to Pietro Corsi

584

Freiburg, 9 January 1535

erasmus of rotterdam to the most learned and distinguished father pietro corsi, the most celebrated rhetorician in the roman academy and a special friend, greeting When the most reverend father in Christ, archbishop Matthäus, cardinal of the title of Sant’ Angelo, returned to Germany from Rome,1 there was nothing I desired more than to learn from his companions, with some of whom, to quote the proverb, I have eaten more than a hundred pecks of salt,2 if there was any reasonable chance of resolving the conflicts and restoring peace within the Christian church, and for that reason I sent a letter at once to a leading figure in his court, a very dear friend of mine, and asked him to relieve me of that nagging worry. I was, as the saying goes, between the altar and the knife,3 tossed back and forth between hope and fear; and I was afraid that the public interest would be totally neglected because of personal animosities. As soon as he opened the letter and recognized my hand, which had long been familiar to his eyes, he ran immediately to the cardinal and announced that there was a letter from Erasmus. On hearing this, the cardinal smiled sweetly and said, ‘This is wonderful news, that Erasmus is paying us a visit by letter, for I think it is a year since I saw even a stroke of the pen from him.’ So not to drag out my story, he ordered the letter to be read aloud, and when it was finished, I was greatly praised because of the concern I had shown to pacify religious feeling. Then in a packed hall within the palace he made a truly regal proclamation worthy of such a prince, that there was nothing anywhere in his possession that he would be unwilling to share with learned men; and he added many things about me that out of modesty I think it wise to omit.

*****





1 Matthäus Lang, since 1512 cardinal-deacon of the church of Sant’ Angelo in Pescheria in Rome, and since 1519 archbishop of Salzburg. In October 1534 he participated in the conclave that elected Pope Paul iii. 2 Ie ‘I know them very well and trust them completely’; see Adagia ii i 14, which indicates that one peck of salt will suffice. Erasmus had never had good relations with Lang (cf Ep 1512:8–18), nor is there evidence that he had trusted contacts at Lang’s court. 3 Literally ‘between the shrine and the stone’ (used as a sacrificial instrument), said of people driven to the greatest danger; see Adagia i i 15.

5

10

15

20

25

the spurious letter to pietro corsi  1535 585 But this one point I cannot pass over, namely, that he decided to hand over to me as a souvenir of his feelings for me a gold cup with highly artistic engraving, which he happened to be showing to his companions; he wanted to demonstrate how much he appreciated the concerns that I expressed. I was so delighted with the gift because of its artistic quality, which clearly would have done justice to a Phidias,4 that I promised in the presence of my learned and clever boon companions, who were present at the time (including Beatus Rhenanus and Henricus Glareanus, the former devoted to history and the latter to poetry, which is a thirsty art) that I would use no other cup, whether I was taking medicine for the stone or drinking something to quench my thirst. For the cover, which just below the rim had a rounded figure of Aesculapius,5 seemed to have been designed for the purpose of taking medicine. The cup itself, which could hold a considerable amount, had Satyrs leaping around with a tipsy Bacchus in the centre. As heaven is my witness, it was such an elegant object that from now on I might very well think the works of Praxiteles to be very poor stuff.6 But all this is beside the point. When he read my letter, he ordered that a reply be sent to me that Pope Paul iii, immediately after his election, had made a promise to him and to the most reverend father in Christ, the lord bishop Bernhard, cardinal of Trent,7 that he would call together a council so that the innumerable evils affecting Germany could be uprooted and eradicated; that it remained for them to encourage learned and intelligent men throughout Germany to be ready to assist the cause of religion. The most illustrious prelate, clearly counting me as more than a mere cipher, chose to name me first. However, he did not wish to commit me without warning me about the shameless behaviour of certain people he had heard about in Rome who were ready to attack my reputation and tear it apart with teeth like Theon’s.8 This most wise prince, whose fame might almost have been assured by this action alone, did this so that I could wipe away the stain that had been placed on my character before making myself ready for this serious task. *****

4 The fourth-century bc sculptor, painter, and architect, generally considered the greatest sculptor of ancient Greece 5 Aesculapius was the Greek god of healing. 6 Praxiteles, a fourth-century sculptor, was one of the greatest of Greek artists. 7 Bernhard von Cles (Ep 2941) 8 Theon was a scandalously abusive critic mentioned by Horace in his Epistles. ‘To be gnawed with Theon’s tooth’ was to be the victim of malicious and slanderous attacks; see Adagia ii ii 55.

30

35

40

45

50

55

the spurious letter to pietro corsi  1535

586

I was not unaware that there were people in Rome who were viciously attacking my reputation, yet I never could have dreamed that there existed anywhere someone who would fasten on me such a manifestly false charge as I hear has been done by you. They tell me that you are twisting some trivial misprint, caused by the carelessness of the typesetters, into a shameful charge against me and that you attack me in thunderous prose and malign poor Erasmus so venomously, as he sweats over his sacred studies, that every marketplace, every church, every crossroads, every dinner party rings with no other topic than Erasmus the heretic who deserves to be punished in hundreds of the bulls of Phalaris.9 When I heard this, I at first felt surprised, then struck dumb, then numbed that you had been induced to make yourself known to me only by means of this outrageous charge, for I had never heard your name in any other context. So, my dear Pietro, I beg and beseech you by the bowels of Christ to consider with me the great danger in which we find ourselves, the flood of heresies, the upheavals of war, the flames of dissent that engulf the Christian world. Let us put an end to these awful calumnies – a thousand such criticisms could be made against the most scrupulous and holy Doctors of the church. But, to come at last to the nub of the matter, what outrage have I committed by describing Attalus as ‘unwarlike’ when Hecataeus, writing against Dionysius, calls him ‘unfit for war or battle’?10 Must I pay the penalty for an error made by the carelessness of the printers? If I were not to be banished forever to Anticyra for trying to rob Italy of its glory as the most warlike of all nations,11 at any rate it might have been thought that I had lost my memory if I failed to remember that the writings of both Greeks and Romans are all filled with the most lavish tributes to Italy, especially for its distinction in

*****



9 Phalaris was tyrant of Acragas (modern Agrigento in Sicily) in the sixth century bc who was said to have roasted his victims in a brazen bull. 10 Hecataeus of Miletus, the early (sixth century) Greek historian, was a real person, as was Dionysius of Miletus, but he never wrote such a work, and if he had, he would not have so described anyone named Attalus. There is a fairly long list of persons known to history as Attalus, the most ancient of which was centuries younger than Hecataeus. 11 Two Greek towns have the name Anticyra, both of which were known for the plant hellebore, reputed to be a cure for madness. So ‘let him take ship to the Anticyras’ became proverbial for saying that someone was mentally deranged. See Adagia i viii 51–2.

60

65

70

75

80

the spurious letter to pietro corsi  1535 587 literature and in war. But my mind can testify that I have not now, and never had, any suspicion of doing an injury since I have no clear memory where in my writings I made these remarks about the Attali, and it is likely that I would never have been able to recall it if my secretary had not remembered that there was something like this in the proverb Myconius calvus.12 I realized at once that in this passage the typesetters, to whom the word Attalus was not familiar, had changed it to Italus. Oh, if only such melodramas did not happen to me every day! Recently, when in the middle of a printing job the workmen had complained that I had not yet given them their bonuses, one man, who was more aggressive than the rest, stood up and threatened to teach me a lesson if I did not pay, and the old lag carried out his threat so effectively that I would gladly have paid three hundred gold pieces to avoid the humiliation. In my Widow, which I had dedicated to the most serene queen of Hungary, in praising a very pious woman for, among other things, her generosity towards the poor, I added these words: ‘And she had always used such a mind as became a woman of her character.’ That scoundrel, seeing that here was an opportunity for revenge, changed mente ‘mind’ into mentula ‘penis,’ and a thousand copies were printed with this text.13 Is it surprising then that someone like that, whether by mistake or consciously and deliberately, introduced this other error? At all events one thing is clear, that in my manuscript I wrote Attalus. By some mysterious stroke of fate, this word has twice already caused me a lot of trouble. I was criticized by the theologians at Louvain for having changed Italia to Attalia in Acts 14 on the authority of the Greek manuscripts.14 So on this pretext they branded me as something close to a heretic since I was denying that Paul ever reached Italy, as if almost the whole Acts of the Apostles does not make this clear. So now again because the copyists have turned Attalus into Italus entirely without my knowledge, a new war has been declared by you against me, and what is more, a war, as they say, without a truce.15 I believe that Ate, the goddess of calamitous disaster, who, as

***** 12 Cf Ep 3007 n16. In Adagia ii i 7 (Myconius calvus ‘Myconian baldpate’) Erasmus had given Italus bellax ‘a brave / warlike Italian’ as an example of a contradiction in terms. 13 This is pure fiction; it never happened. 14 Acts 14:25, where the correct reading, also in the Vulgate, is ‘Attalia,’ the ancient name of Antalya, a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey 15 Ie ‘endless, ruthless, and irreconcilable’; see Adagia iii iii 84.

85

90

95

100

105

110

the spurious letter to pietro corsi  1535

588

Homer says, ‘flits through the heads of men,’16 has scarcely ever shown herself more hostile to me than in this word ‘Attalia,’ a word related verbally to herself, a word to be feared even for its sound. But, my dearest brother, I want to warn you against falling into a pit of this sort for, if you do, whether by your own judgment or at the prompting of others, you will almost always reap more trouble than renown. If you choose this path to win glory, you will simply make yourself a complete laughing stock to others. You ought to respond to those who are damaging your reputation in your own circle and trying to eclipse it, for I discovered later that you have an Archilochus whom fury has armed with his own iambics to damage your reputation.17 You should spend more effort in destroying him than in attacking Erasmus, an old man already of an age to be thrown off the bridge,18 who has experienced so many troubles and is now no more than an ass among monkeys,19 though not without a spark of life. Those, on the other hand, who are insulting me are like dogs in the manger who, with their resentful barking, drive the cattle away from the hay that they themselves do not eat.20 But if I discover – and I do not expect this – that you are publishing even the briefest attack on me, you will find, if I am not mistaken, that the seventyyear-old Erasmus is not entirely devoid of teeth and claws. But if (as I hope) you act modestly, I shall even thank you for having warned me about the carelessness of the printers. My Chiliads have been augmented by many groups of ten, though not yet reaching the hundred mark.21 I shall recall these

*****

16 Iliad 19.93 17 Cf Horace Ars poetica 79, where the Greek poet Archilochus is credited with the invention of the iambic metre for poems of invective. It was common practice for Roman poets to circulate verses for and against one another. We are not, however, able to identify Corsi’s furious Archilochus, armed with iambics, assuming that he was real and not fictional. 18 Ie to be consigned to idleness and barred from all occupations. Romans who reached the age of sixty were no longer eligible to vote and were driven from the bridge leading to the voting place; see Adagia i v 37. 19 Ie a dull fellow among insolently satirical people who mock him with impunity; see Adagia i v 41. 20 Adagia i x 13 21 The final edition of the Adagia (Adagiorum chiliades) to be published in Erasmus’ lifetime would not appear until March 1536, with only five new adages; see Ep 3092 introduction. The writer seems to be indicating that there was still time to correct the error in the adage that had caused offence.

115

120

125

130

the spurious letter to pietro corsi  1535 589 from the presses and make sure the spelling is changed, for if precautions are not taken, I might be caused a lot of trouble. It only remains for us to take care 135 that liberal studies do not gain an evil reputation among the ignorant because of these pointless quarrels. Unless we stop wrangling over trifles, our quarrels will be settled by the common mob not just with rotten eggs but with chains to control our madness. May Almighty God guide us to receive his grace with humility of spirit so that with his help we may be able to destroy 140 the wicked enemies of the church. Farewell, and on my behalf urge those distinguished men Ginés de Sepúlveda and Augustinus Eugubinus22 to shore up a tottering world by their learning rather than acting like a Pantalobus.23 Freiburg im Breisgau, 9 January 1535 I am sending one or two copies of this letter to several of my friends in 145 the City,24 so that those who have been alienated from me by your accusation may be quickly and readily convinced of my innocence.

*****

22 Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda (Ep 2951) and Agostino Steuco (Ep 2465 introduction), two men whom Erasmus cordially disliked, both of whom were in Rome at this time 23 Pantalobus was a worthless character and parasite mentioned by Horace in Satires 1.8.11. Erasmus had used a slight variant of it, Pantalabus, as his abusive name for Luis de Carvajal; see Ep 2110 n10. 24 The Latin, amicis meis urbanis, can mean ‘to my cultivated friends.’ But urbanus can mean ‘of or pertaining to the City,’ ie Rome, which seems appropriate here. It is possible that the author is playing on both meanings.

This page intentionally left blank

ERASMUS’ LAST WILL

INTRODUCTORY note

592

This document was first published in the Epistola familiares 121–4. The autograph is in the Öffentliche Bibliothek of the University of Basel (ms an iii 15 96). Erasmus made his first will in Basel in June 1527 (cwe 12 538–50). On 26 November 1533, at his home in Freiburg, he made and signed a second will, no copy of which survives (ak Ep 1775 n1). His third and final will he drew up in Basel on 12 February 1536, exactly five months before his death. The most noteworthy difference between the two surviving wills is found in Erasmus’ instructions for the disposition of the cash residue. The 1527 document included elaborate provision for the publication of the Opera omnia. Whatever money was left over from the costs of that project was to be used for ‘worthy causes’ like scholarships for promising young men and dowries for young women (see cwe 12 542:36–547:114). By contrast the 1536 will makes no mention whatever of the publication of Erasmus’ works. Be­ fore he drew up the second will in 1533 Erasmus had decided to drop that project; see Ep 2754:10–11.) Instead the new will provides that the entire residue of the estate is to be used for the kind of worthy causes mentioned in 1527 (see lines 46–50 below). This was done (see following paragraph). At the same time, however, Bonifacius Amerbach, in collaboration with Beatus Rhenanus (who had been named an executor of the first will, though not of the last one), decided to give effect to the plan for the publication of Erasmus’ works outlined in the first will (Ep 2754 n8). The result was the Basel edition of the Opera omnia published by Froben and Episcopius in 1540. Immediately following Erasmus’ burial on 18 July 1536, his will was opened and read by the city clerk and notary. On 22 July another notary made a complete inventory of all Erasmus’ money and goods (text in Major 52–70). To the money and goods in Basel were added the money held for Erasmus in Antwerp by Erasmus Schets (see lines 45–6 below). After the payment of all outstanding claims, the sum in the hands of Bonifacius and the two Basel executors amounted to 5,000 florins. This sum was invested in a loan to the duchy of Württemberg that yielded an annual income of 250 florins. The greater part of this sum became a fund to provide scholarships for students at the University of Basel (in theology, law, and medicine); the rest went into a fund devoted to the assistance of the poor. For this, and for the subsequent history of the funds, which in the case of the one for students, stretched well into the nineteenth century and beyond, see Carl Roth ‘Das Legatum Erasmianum’ in Gedenkschrift zum 400. Todestage des Erasmus von Rotterdam (Basel 1936) 282–98, here 282–3. Not included in the sum of 5,000 florins at the disposal of the Basel executors, and not subject to their authority, were the 1,960 florins that Erasmus had deposited with Conradus Goclenius in Brabant (see lines 43–5 below

ERASMUS’ LAST WILL 593 and ‘The Donation to Goclenius’ cwe 20 303–33). If one adds to that the approximately 1,100 florins in bequests, including the 200 florins accepted by Bonifacius of the 533 given to him by separate deed (see n16 below), Erasmus’ total worth at the time of his death (not counting the difficult-to-estimate value of the cups, rings, and similar items listed in the inventory) was at least 8,000 florins. In terms of Rhenish florins, this amounts to £1,966 13s 4d groot Flemish, an astonishing sum, equivalent to the annual wage income of some 227 Antwerp master masons/carpenters (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). In an essay appended to cwe 12 (638–41 and 697 Table 17), John Munro estimated that Erasmus’ income in 1526 was equivalent to the annual wages of eighty-two Antwerp master masons, remarking that ‘for this most eminent scholar (one-time professor of divinity and of Greek at Cambridge) [it was] a truly golden age,’ a judgment we can only echo in light of the total value of the humanist’s estate.

erasmus’ last will

594

in the name of the holy trinity I, Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, relying on documents from the emperor, the supreme pontiff, and the magnificent council of the famous city of Basel,1 by this document, written in my own hand, create a new version of my last will, which I desire to be considered valid and binding, and to cancel any previous testamentary provision. First, being certain that I have no legitimate heir, I appoint the distinguished Master Bonifacius Amerbach as trustee of all my property and Hiero­ nymus Froben and Nicolaus Episcopius as my executors.2 I sold my library some time ago to Master Jan Łaski of Poland, on terms set out in the document agreed between us dealing with this contract: the books will not be handed over unless he pays to the trustee the sum of two hundred florins.3 If he abandons the agreement or dies before me, the trustee should be free to dispose of the books as he wishes. I bequeath to Master Ludwig Baer a gold hourglass; to Beatus Rhenanus a gold spoon with a gold fork;4 to M. Pierre Vitré one hundred and fifty gold crowns; the same to Philippus Montanus;5 to my servant Lambert,6 if he is with me at the time of my death, two h ­ undred gold florins unless I pay him this sum while I am still alive;

*****





1 For the papal and imperial documents see Ep 3123 n22. The licence from the Basel council is printed in Ludwig Sieber Das Testament des Erasmus vom 22. Januar. 1527 (Basel 1889) 13–17. 2 Cf Ep 3141 n25. 3 Presumably Rhenish florins, equivalent to £49 3s 4d groot Flemish or the annual wage income of just under six Antwerp master masons/carpenters (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). See Epp 2780:8–16, 2862:32–61, 2911:10–11. 4 The hourglass and the spoon with fork were a gift from Krzysztof Szydłowiecki; see Ep 1752:9 with n1, Major 56 n25. For Ludwig Baer see Ep 3011. 5 Most likely écus au soleil (‘crowns’); fifty crowns were equivalent to £19 8s 8d groot Flemish or just under two years’ wage income of an Antwerp master mason/ carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). See Epp 3101 (Vitré) and 2065 (Montanus). 6 Lambert Coomans (Ep 3052 n13). If Rhenish florins, the bequest was generous, equivalent to £49 3s 4d groot Flemish, the annual wage income of just under six Antwerp master masons/carpenters, and, incidentally, the price Łaski paid for Erasmus’ library (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13).

5

10

15

20

erasmus’ last will 595 to Master Johannes Brisgoicus a silver decanter;7 to Master Paul Volz one hundred gold florins;8 to Sigismundus Gelenius one hundred and fifty ducats;9 to Johannes Erasmius Froben, two rings, one of which does not have a gem, 25 the other has a greenish gem called ‘turquoise’ by the French;10 to Hieronymus Froben I bequeath all my clothes and all my household woollens and linens, and all wooden furnishings, and besides a cup with the insignia of the cardinal-archbishop of Mainz;11 to his wife a little ring with an image of a woman looking backwards;12 30 to Nicolaus Episcopius a cup with a cover, with lines engraved on the foot of the cup;13 to his wife two rings, one with a diamond, the other with a smaller turquoise;14 to Master Conradus Goclenius a silver cup which has an image of Fortune on the cover.15 35 If any legatee should die in the meantime, decision about his legacy should rest with the trustee.

*****



7 For Brisgoicus see Ep 2156; for the decanter, a gift from Hieronim Łaski, see Major 61 n52. 8 If Rhenish florins, the bequest was equivalent to £24 11s 8d groot Flemish, almost three years’ wage income of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 648, 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). For Volz see Ep 3069. 9 A sum equivalent to £50 0s 0d groot Flemish, about six years’ wage income of an Antwerp master mason/carpenter (cwe 12 650 Table 3, 691 Table 13). For Gelenius see Ep 1702 n1. 10 For Erasmius Froben see Ep 2229; for the rings see Major 52 with nn58, 60 on page 62. 11 For the inventories of Erasmus’ household goods (April 1534, July 1536) see Major 41–7, 52–3; for the cup see Major 53 with n26 on page 56. 12 A gift from Thomas More; see Major 38–9 with n9. 13 The gift of Anton Fugger; see Ep 2192:58–61 with n9, Major 53 with n30 on page 57. 14 Major 54 with n60 on page 62 (the turquoise ring) and n63 on page 63 (the diamond ring, a gift from Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggi) 15 A gift from Duke William v of Cleves; see Ep 2234:17–20 with n4, Major 53 with n45 on page 60.

erasmus’ last will

596

The trustee, besides what I designated for him in a separate deed,16 will receive for himself any other cups or rings or similar objects as well as special coins such as the Portuguese cruzados, medals with the face of the king of 40 Poland and of Seweryn Boner, and other things of this sort. And also all double and quadruple ducats.17 The trustee will leave with Conradus Goclenius the money deposited with him to be distributed in Brabant in the manner that I ordered him to follow.18 If anything remains with Erasmus Schets, the trustee will demand it from him.19 This money and everything else that re- 45 mains he will distribute as he thinks fit and after consultation with the executors for the use of poor people rendered infirm by age or health and to young women preparing for marriage, and to young men of high promise – in brief to anyone they judge worthy of assistance. This my last will; to better establish its validity I have written it in my 50 own hand and have affixed the personal seal of my ring, Terminus,20 at Basel in the house of Hieronymus Froben on the twelfth day of February in the year of our Lord one thousand, five hundred, and thirty-six.

*****

16 The 533 gold florins given to him in a deed of 8 April 1534, only 200 florins of which he kept for himself; see Ep 3141 n27. 17 See Major 53–4, with nn27–44, 46–51, 53–6 on pp 56–62 (cups); Major 54–5 with nn59, 62, 64–7 on pages 62–3 (rings); Major 54–5 with nn68–81 on pages 64–6 (coins and medals). On the coins with the images of King Sigismund i of Poland and Seweryn Boner, cf Ep 3010 n3. 18 For the money deposited with Goclenius and the litigation that arose from it, see Ep 2863 and ‘The Donation to Goclenius’ cwe 20 303–33. 19 In ak Ep 2052:10–18 Erasmus Schets rendered account to Bonifacius for the monies on deposit with him, the residue of which, after the payment of authorized disbursements, was 680 gold German florins. 20 On the Terminus seal, see Ep 3028 n13.

T H E L E T T E R T O P E T R U S PA L U D A N U S

introductory note

598

In a letter of c March 1521 (Ep 1193:3–9) Erasmus complained that an unknown person had published a book on the method of letter writing, naming him as the author. To this he added that he had never heard of anyone named Petrus Paludanus. The reference is clearly to one of several pirated editions of an early version of the work that Erasmus himself would in 1522 publish as De conscribendis epistolis (Ep 1284). Bearing the title Conficiendarum epistola­ rum formula, the editions in question included a prefatory letter addressed to one Petrus Paludanus. In February 1536, faced with new reprints of the Formula with the letter to Paludanus as preface, Erasmus protested once again that he had never known such a person; see Epp 3099:12–13, 3100:23–4. Paludanus, if he ever existed, has not been identified. But the letter to him has been identified as a free rewriting of Ep 71 to Robert Fisher, the pupil for whom the original version of the treatise had been written at Paris c 1498. The letter to Fisher served as the preface to another unauthorized edition of the work, the Libellus de conscribendis epistolis, the publication of which by John Siberch at Cambridge in October 1521 prompted Erasmus to prepare and publish the much revised and expanded De conscribendis epistolis. The final two sentences of the letter to Paludanus are an independent addition, and the sentence preceding them is a clumsy abbreviation of the final two sentences of the letter to Fisher. Surviving copies of the Formula with the letter to Paludanus are rare, and it is impossible to determine for sure which one was the first edition, or even if the first one has survived. The earliest edition that the Allen editors could find for use in preparing their text was that published by Michaël Hillen at Antwerp in 1521. But several others had already been published in  1520. We have been able to identify two at Leipzig (Wolfgang Stöckel, Valentin Schumann) and one at Erfurt (Matthäus Maler), but there were surely more. In January 1521 the Formula was published at Cologne (Konrad Kaiser). Any or all of these could have been the occasion of Erasmus’ complaint in Ep 1193.

the letter to petrus paludanus 599 desiderius erasmus of rotterdam to peter paludanus, greeting You have got the better of me at last, my most kindly friend P. You have given me a reason to write to you, something you have sought time and time again. But think now of the barrage of misguided criticism I have opened up 5 for myself by complying with your wishes. What, I ask you, will my detractors say, or rather what will they not say, when they see that I have had the audacity to tackle a subject that has been dealt with so carefully and knowledgeably by many? ‘Do you want,’ they will say, ‘to unravel Penelope’s web?’1 Coming after so many authors, you must either say the same thing or 10 something worse, and of these alternatives one is superfluous and the other pernicious. Although there is much that I could say in reply, I make just this one point, that I shall not tread closely in the footsteps of anyone who has written on this subject before. So accept this very brief and compendious formula for letter writing and keep in mind this one thing, that the piece is 15 short not just of words but of art as well. Farewell. Give my best wishes to our common friends.

*****



1 Ie ‘take up a useless task, and then undo what one has done’ (Adagia i iv 42)

This page intentionally left blank

EXPOSITIO FIDELIS

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

602

This letter was first printed in 1535, under the title Expositio fidelis de morte D. Thomae Mori et quorundam aliorum insignium virorum in Anglia. The type used indicates that the printer was Hieronymus Froben, in whose house Erasmus was then living. The letter purports to be addressed by ‘P.M.,’ writing from Paris on 23 July 1535, to ‘Caspar Agrip[pinus].’ In 1563 Nicolaus Episcopius republished the letter at Basel on pages 511–30 of Thomae Mori Lucubrationes, under the title Epistola de morte D. Thomae Mori et Episcopi Roffensis, insignium virorum in Anglia. The text is virtually identical to that of 1535, but this time around the letter purports to have been written by ‘G. Courinus Nucerinus’ to ‘Phil[ippus] Mont[anus].’ ‘Courinus Nocerinus’ is a pseudonym that Gilbert Cousin of Nozeroy / Gilbertus Cognatus Nocerinus (Ep 2985) is known to have employed on several occasions (see Gilmont 394–6). Philippus Montanus (Ep 2065) was a good friend of Erasmus in Paris. It is altogether unlikely that a letter from Paris would have been written by Cousin rather than Montanus. All the same, one can agree with the Allen editors that the heading can be taken as evidence that Episcopius, Froben’s long-time partner and Erasmus’ friend, had reason to believe that the ‘P.M.’ of the 1535 edition was Philippus Montanus and that Cousin, who was still in Erasmus’ service at Basel until the end of October 1535, was somehow involved in the original publication of the letter. Unfortunately, the surviving evidence is such that one cannot extract a clear account of the genesis of the Expositio or its authorship. This is what we know. Some jumped immediately to the conclusion that Erasmus was the author. On 13 October 1535, for example, the Basel printer Johannes Oporinus sent to Thomas Blarer (Ep 1341a n430) in Constance a copy of the Expositio, stating that in it Erasmus, ‘without giving his name, describes the death of Thomas More’ (see Briefwechsel der Brüder Ambrosius und Thomas Blaurer, 1509– 1548 ed Traugott Schiess, 2 vols [Freiburg i. Br. 1908–12] i 749). Erasmus himself neither claimed nor conceded authorship, but he clearly approved of the Expositio and encouraged people to read it. On 15 December 1535, he sent a copy of the book to Damião de Gois, expressing, with minor reservations, his belief in the general accuracy of the narrative (Ep 3076:23–5). This makes it difficult to avoid the conclusion that Erasmus was very likely the instigator of Froben’s publication of the letter. And if Erasmus was involved, his trusted secretary at the time, Gilbert Cousin, must also have been involved in some way. Indeed, many have taken at face value the attribution of authorship to him in the 1563 reprint (see, for example, Smith 417; Hitchcock 255). But that leaves unexplained the role of ‘P.M.,’ to whom authorship was attributed in 1535. Was ‘P.M.’ really Philippus Montanus, and did he write the letter? Careful examination of the letter itself yields no clear answer to that question. Not counting the introductory lines 1–28, the letter falls into three ­distinct parts.

expositio fidelis 603 The first part, lines 29–206, is an account of the trial and death of Thomas More. As the author himself says (lines 12–14, 207–8) the account is drawn in the main from a newsletter written in French and widely circulated in Paris within days of More’s execution. Indeed, except for a few small additions and omissions, this part of the letter is a Latin translation of the Discours sur le procez et execution de Thomas Morus, chancellier d’Angleterre, eight manuscripts of which survive in the Bibliothèque nationale (text in Hitchcock 254–66.) The author of the letter, who is presumably the translator, disclaims knowledge of the identity of the author of the newsletter (lines 208–9) and denies as well any personal knowledge of the events described in it (lines 12–14; cf 209–10). The second part of the letter (lines 207–84) is an account of the execution of John Fisher, bishop of Rochester, and several Carthusians. The writer states that the account is drawn in part from letters sent to him by friends and in part from hearsay. In sending the book to Gois, Erasmus says that the section on the Carthusians exaggerates the number executed (Ep 3076:23–5). The third part of the letter (lines 285–465) consists of the author’s moral and political reflections on the events he has described. (The Allen editors judge the quality of this section to be so poor as to preclude any thought of Erasmus as the author.) Some of the content of the letter, particularly the section concerning the Paris newsletter, is consistent with what we know about Philippus Montanus. He lived in Paris, was a good friend of Erasmus, and was often the source of reliable reports on events in France (for example, the trial and execution of Louis de Berquin; see Ep 2188:35–7). Montanus could easily have produced a Latin translation of the French newsletter and sent it to Erasmus (or he could have sent a copy of the French text to be translated by Cousin). There are indeed those who point to Montanus as a more likely author than either Erasmus or Cousin (for example, Gilmont 396). But there are reasons for scepticism. The author tells us (lines 232–3) that he had been in England with Cardinal Campeggi and that he and More were friends who had shared many conversations (lines 415–16, 443–4). That does not correspond to what is known of the biography of Montanus. The putative addressee of the letter, Caspar Agrippinus, is unidentified. At the very end of the letter he is asked to send information about the doings of ‘the king of Zion,’ ie Jan of Leiden (Ep 2957 n20), which would place Agrippinus at some location in Germany not too far removed from Münster. This too, seems unconnected with what is known of Montanus. All in all, while it seems entirely possible that Montanus supplied from Paris material used in the composition of the Expositio, the designation of him as its sole author is highly doubtful. What to make of this mass of sparse, contradictory, and deliberately obscure evidence is anyone’s guess. Ours is that the Expositio fidelis is a

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

604

document, the contents of which Erasmus wanted to be circulated, though not under his name; that it appears to be a composite of several sources pieced together at Basel, probably by Gilbert Cousin, under the supervision of Erasmus; and that Philippus Montanus was at most only one of several sources of the material used.

expositio fidelis 605 p.m. to caspar agrippinus, greeting Since according to Pythagoras everything should be shared in common, Euripides rightly inferred that sorrows too should be shared among friends.1 So, my very dear friend, you will receive from a friend a far from happy report, one that all good men will weep over with tears of every kind, although I imagine that rumour has already reached you ahead of us and told you of the deaths of some eminent Englishmen, in particular that of Thomas More. While he lived, he was a famous baron of that kingdom and their supreme judge, called by them ‘chancellor.’ There is no higher office in that country with the exception of the monarch, and so when he goes forth, a golden sceptre with an imperial crown on top is carried on one side of him and on the other a book.2 The account I am going to give is taken in part from hearsay, and in part from a newsletter written in French,3 for I have witnessed none of these events. Before I begin, I shall describe briefly the site of the city of London. The town is narrow in depth but has spread to such an extent along the river Thames that it seems endless; this, apparently, is the origin of its name, for in Flanders areas that are close to the sea are called ‘dunes.’ Similarly, Lugdunum [Lyon] in France seems to mean something like ‘long banks.’ At the east end London has a well-fortified castle, which the kings use from time to time, known to the ordinary people as the Tower. But noblemen too are held there, or other persons of eminent rank who are thought to have offended against the king’s majesty. At the other extreme to the west there is a monastery of Benedictines, popularly known as Westminster. Close to this is the king’s palace, an ancient structure, but one in which the kings now take little delight.4 Joined to the palace is a most spacious hall, unsupported by any columns, in which the judges sit.5 Both buildings border on the river so that boats can come and go.

*****

1 Adagia i i 1, citing both Pythagoras and Euripides 2 For the sceptre with crown, the book, and their symbolism, see Ep 2750:41–4. 3 See n6 below. 4 The palace of Westminster was no longer much in use as a royal residence. Henry had moved to the Palace of Whitehall, taken from the disgraced cardinal Wolsey. 5 An apparent reference to Westminster Hall, the roof of which was originally supported by pillars. In 1394 Richard ii ordered the installation of a hammerbeam roof, thus eliminating the pillars and creating a huge, undivided floor space. It was in Westminster Hall that Thomas More stood trial.

5

10

15

20

25

expositio fidelis

606

After Thomas More had been held a prisoner in the fortress for many months,6 he was taken on the first of July in the year of our Lord 1535 to what is now called the Court to answer a capital charge before a tribunal of judges chosen by the king. The defendant made the lengthy journey supporting himself on a staff, since his body had been weakened by a serious illness contracted in prison, but nevertheless showing no signs of agitation on his face. First the articles of the indictment made out against him were read. Then the chancellor who had succeeded More and the duke of Norfolk addressed the defendant in the following manner.7 ‘You see, Master More (for this is how they address people of middling rank),8 that you have gravely offended against the king’s majesty. Nevertheless we hope that if you come to your senses and abjure your obstinate views, in which you have shamelessly persisted thus far, you will obtain pardon from the king’s mercy.’ To this More replied, ‘My lords, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your great good will towards me; I ask of God only this, that he will be pleased to confirm me in the opinion that I now hold so that I may persevere in it up to my death. When I consider how long and serious are the articles that are laid upon me, I fear that neither my mind, nor my memory, nor my powers of speech may suffice to answer to all of them, especially since I have been held in prison so long that, as a result of a grave illness, I have suffered such weakness of body as even still affects me.’ Then by order of the judges a chair was brought to him on which he might sit. When he had seated himself, he continued the speech that he had already begun, in this manner: ‘With regard to the first article, which tries to show my ill will towards the king in the matter of his second marriage, I confess frankly that I have always opposed his most serene Majesty. It is not my intention to say anything further on this matter than what I have always said heretofore, following the prompting of my conscience, as a result of which I neither would nor ought to conceal the truth from my prince. Nor on this point is there any intent of treason. Rather, had I not done so, particularly in an affair of such importance, on which my reputation, the honour of the prince, and the peace of the kingdom depended, then I would truly be, as I *****



6 From this point on, down through line 206, the writer’s account of the trial and execution of More is a translation of the newsletter, written in French, that was circulating in Paris within a few days of More’s death. For details see the introduction above. 7 The new chancellor was Sir Thomas Audley; the duke of Norfolk was Thomas Howard (1473–1554), uncle of Henry viii’s fifth wife, Catherine Howard. 8 This parenthesis is not in the newsletter.

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

expositio fidelis 607 am charged with being, an evil subject and a perfidious traitor. For my offence, if indeed it is an offence, I have paid dearly, been deprived of all my property, and condemned to prison without term, in which I have now been detained for all of fifteen months. But passing over these matters, I shall reply only to the principal charge. The basis of the charge against me is that I have incurred the penalty for violation of the act that was promulgated at the recent parliament when I was already in prison, as though with malice of mind I have treacherously and traitorously detracted from his royal Majesty’s fame and honour, and the dignity that had been given him by the said act, namely, that he was declared there to be, under Jesus Christ, the supreme head of the English church. First I shall reply to the charge against me that, when asked my opinion about the act, I had been unwilling to say anything to the king’s secretary and his Majesty’s venerable parliament other than that I was already dead to the world, and was no longer worried about matters of that sort, but was meditating only on the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. I say that I cannot be condemned to death for my silence by this constitution of yours, for neither your act nor any laws in the world can condemn anyone to death for silence, but only for something he has said or an action he has taken, for God alone judges our secrets.’ At this the king’s attorney interrupted to say, ‘But such silence is clear evidence of malice in your heart respecting the said statute. For every true and faithful subject of his royal Majesty, if asked about the aforementioned statute, is required and obliged to reply categorically without any dissimulation that the king’s statute is good, just, and holy.’ To which More said, ‘If what is said in the laws is true, that one who remains silent seems to give consent, my silence rather confirms than repudiates your statute. As to what you say, that every faithful subject is required to give a direct answer if he is asked, etc, I reply that every faithful subject has a greater obligation to God, to his conscience, and to his soul than to anything else in this world, particularly if a conscience such as mine causes no offence or sedition to his lord. For I tell you as a certainty that I have never revealed my conscience in this affair to any mortal man. ‘I come now to the second article in my indictment, in which I am accused of having worked and plotted against the said statute by writing to the bishop of Rochester eight pairs of letters whereby I turned him against the statute. I would greatly wish to have these letters produced and read out, so that they would either convict me or set me free. But since, as you claim, they were burned by the bishop, I shall be glad to inform you of their contents. In some of them we discussed our private affairs, as might be expected in view of our long and intimate friendship. One contained a reply to a letter of the bishop in which he wanted to know what and how I had replied to your

65

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

expositio fidelis

608

statute. I wrote back simply that I had now made peace with my conscience and that he should do so with his. I swear to you at the peril of my soul and with God as my witness that I had written nothing else in those letters. For these reasons I cannot be condemned to death by the provisions of your statute. ‘There remains the third article, where it is said that, when I was being examined about your statute, I said that it was like a two-edged sword, since anyone who would consent to it would lose his soul, and if he opposed it, he would lose his body. Since, as you say, the bishop of Rochester made the same reply, you conclude that we belonged to the same conspiracy. To this I reply that I never said anything except conditionally, that is, if the edict were like a two-edged sword, how could anyone avoid falling into one peril or the other? This was my response. How the bishop replied I do not know. If his answer agreed with mine, that did not happen as a result of a conspiracy, but rather from a similarity in our temperaments and education. In short, you must take it as a certainty that I never said anything maliciously against your edict, but it could be the case that this was maliciously reported to the king’s good grace.’ After this, in accordance with the custom of this nation, twelve men were called by one of the ushers, to whom the charges were handed over so that they could consult about them and after consultation make a judgment and pronounce whether Thomas More had maliciously opposed the aforementioned edict of the king or not. After having retired for a quarter of an hour, they returned to the princes and judges-delegate and pronounced their verdict ‘Killim,’9 that is, ‘He deserves to die.’ Soon thereafter the sentence was pronounced by the lord chancellor in accordance with the general sense of the new enactment. When this had taken place, Thomas More began to speak as follows. ‘Since I have been condemned – by what right God knows – I want to speak more freely what I feel about your statute, so that I may unburden my conscience. First I say that for seven years now I have devoted my mind to the study of this case, but up to the present I have found nowhere in any of the *****

9 ‘Killim’ (ie ‘kill him’?) is a curious mistake for the ‘Gylti’ found in the surviving French manuscripts of the newsletter. It is not a misprint. The same mistake occurs in one of the German translations of the French text made at the time, which suggests that the German translator and the author of the Expositio ­fidelis were using the same manuscript (or related manuscripts) now lost. See Hitchcock 256, 263.

105

110

115

120

125

130

expositio fidelis 609 Doctors approved by the church that a layman or, as they say, a secular person can or should be head of the spiritual or ecclesiastical realm.’ Here the chancellor, interrupting More’s discourse said, ‘Master More, do you wish to be considered wiser and a man of a higher conscience than all the bishops, all the nobility, and indeed the whole kingdom?’ To which More replied, ‘My Lord Chancellor, for one bishop you have on your side I have many hundreds of holy and orthodox bishops who agree with me, and for your single parliament, the nature of which God knows, I have all the general councils that have been held for a thousand years, and for your one kingdom I have France and all the kingdoms of Christendom.’ Here the duke of Norfolk broke in and said, ‘Now, More, your malice is abundantly clear.’ To which More said, ‘Milord’ (for so the English address persons of distinguished rank),10 ‘as God is my witness, who alone searches the hearts of men, it is not from malice that I say these things; rather necessity compels me to unburden my conscience. And I say this also, that your statute was improperly made, for you professed and bound yourself by an oath that you would never do anything against the holy church, which through the whole Christian world is one and whole and indivisible, nor do we by ourselves have any authority to make a law without the consent of other Christians or to establish a council against the unity and concord of Christendom. It does not escape me why I have been condemned by you – it is because I was never willing to consent in the matter of the king’s new marriage. I trust that, just as Paul persecuted Stephen unto death,11 yet these two are now united in heaven, so we who are divided in this world may, through the goodness and mercy of God, be united in harmony in the world to come and joined in perfect love. Relying on this hope, I pray God that he will preserve you along with the king and that he will be pleased to give him good counsellors.’ After this Thomas More was brought back to the Tower. On the way there occurred a spectacle more heart-rending than the condemnation itself. Margaret, More’s eldest daughter, a woman of exceptional charm and beauty combined with great dignity, who closely resembled her father in judgment, intelligence, character, and learning, hurled herself through the crowd and past the weapons of the guards until she reached her father. Although she was a woman and by nature exceptionally shy, her uncontrollable grief had banished all her timidity and reserve when she heard that in the Court her father had been condemned to death. This incident occurred before More ***** 10 This parenthesis is not in the newsletter. 11 Acts 7:58, 8:1, 22:20

135

140

145

150

155

160

165

expositio fidelis

610

entered the gate of the Tower. She rushed to her dear father’s neck and held him for a long time in a close embrace. But all this time she could not utter even a single word. ‘Small worries,’ said the tragic poet, ‘find words, great worries are speechless.’12 This sight moved the guards, even the toughest of them. So, with their permission, More consoled his daughter with these words: ‘Margaret, be patient and do not torment yourself any further, for this is the will of God. You have long known the secrets of my heart.’ Then he kissed her, the usual signal in that country when someone is dismissed. But after moving ten or twelve paces, she ran back again and, embracing her father, clung once more around his neck, but so great was her grief that she could find no words. Her father said nothing to her, but his tears burst forth without, however, betraying on his face any lessening of his determination. Nor did he say anything to her as his final message except that she should pray God for the soul of her father.13 This struggle of conflicting emotions drew tears from the eyes of many in the crowd. Even among the guards, a tough and fierce class of men, there were some who could not restrain their tears. Nor is this any surprise, for family affection is such a strong force that it moves even the fiercest beasts. Anyone could recognize in his own heart what a terrible battering the heart of Thomas More suffered at that time, for no one had a deeper attachment to all the members of his family than he. But he loved his daughter most of all for the special qualities she possessed. I think that the courage with which More accepted the sentence of death or even the executioner’s axe is less remarkable than that he was able to overcome his devotion to his family. I do not doubt that the sword of grief wounded More’s heart more cruelly than the executioner’s axe that severed his neck. On the following Wednesday, that is on the seventh of July, he was led forth to the green in front of the Tower. It is the custom there that those to be executed are allowed to address the people from the scaffold. But More said very few words, only begging those who were present to pray God for him in this world and promising in return to pray for them in the other world. Then he exhorted them and begged them urgently to pray to God for the king, that he would be pleased to give him good counsel. He bore witness that he died a good and faithful servant of the king, and of God most of all.14 ***** 12 Seneca Phaedra 607 13 The rest of this paragraph has no parallel in the text of the newsletter. 14 The following two sentences are the translator’s additions to the text of the newsletter.

170

175

180

185

190

195

200

expositio fidelis 611 Having said this, he kneeled down with steady countenance and placed his head in position to receive the axe, while a deep groan arose from the multitude. For he was greatly loved by all good people. The story I have told thus far is found, for the most part, in a newsletter circulating in Paris and widely distributed. Whoever wrote it seems to have been present at the event. What I shall report now, I obtained in part from letters sent me by my friends and in part from hearsay. A few days earlier, that is on 17 June, John Fisher, bishop of Rochester, who had showed himself a true bishop by the holiness and austerity of his life, by administering the sacraments, by his diligent instruction both by word and pen, and lastly by his wonderful generosity to the needy and his kindness to students, was led out from the said Tower, in which he was held prisoner. He was taken to the Court (which, as I said before, is close to Westminster) by a large contingent of armed guards. The journey was made partly by ship and partly by horse because of the fragile state of his poor body, brought on by age and worsened by the discomforts of prison, although he had always caused severe damage to his health by fasts, vigils, study, hardship, and tears. He was not unaware of the outcome of this investigation; nevertheless he showed no trepidation but obeyed those who were calling him to the tribunal with a calm and almost joyful expression. There in accordance with the procedure of the country which I described before, he was found guilty on a capital charge, the penalty to take place at a time determined by the king. I suspect this was added in the hope that he could be moved from his purpose by the hope of pardon or fear of the penalty. The kind of death inflicted on a number of Carthusians was horrible and shocking. It is said that they were fifteen in all, though I can hardly bring myself to believe this. Included with the Carthusians was the Brigittine monk Reynolds, a man of angelic features and angelic character and possessed of sound judgment, as I discovered through the conversations I had with him when I was in England in the company of Cardinal Campeggi.15 I knew none of the Carthusians. They say some of them were dragged through the street, then hanged, and their intestines cut out while they were still breathing. Some, we are told, were also burned in the fire, but all showed incredible resolve. Rumour always adds something to tragic events, but if it tells the truth in this case, it appears that the intention of those carrying out the king’s wishes is to deter others by the monstrous nature of the punishments. For it ***** 15 Lorenzo Cardinal Campeggi was twice papal legate in England, 1518–19, 1528–9.

205

210

215

220

225

230

235

expositio fidelis

612

was not difficult to foresee that many people would disapprove of the new statute, especially the clergy and those devoted to the religious life. But I return to the bishop of Rochester. After he had been sentenced to such a horrible death and was being brought back to the Tower surrounded by armed guards, on reaching the door, he turned to the guards with a calm and happy expression and said, ‘Good men, I am most grateful to you for the service you have done me in escorting me to and fro.’ You would have said that the man was returning from a delightful and enjoyable dinner party, so happy was his expression. With every physical gesture he showed a kind of joy, so far as the natural dignity of the man allowed. No one could fail to see that this most saintly man, now so close to the harbour, was longing with all his heart for that blessed peace. Nor was death long delayed. On 22 June he was led out to a patch of level ground, which the English people call Tower Hill, where he briefly addressed the crowd, his expression not just composed, but even animated. First he prayed for a blessing on the king and the kingdom. Then in an ardent but not lengthy prayer he commended himself to the mercy of God. As he did so, he kneeled down and received the axe on his thin and weary neck. In England executioners do not cut the neck with the sword, but when the condemned man kneels on a block prepared for that purpose, they sever the head with an axe. One can easily judge for oneself the anguish felt by pious and godly men who had seen the spirit of Christ working in their shepherd when they witnessed this scene. As for his having been given a milder penalty than the judgment of the court threatened, some people believe that this arose from fear that if this old man with his exhausted body had been dragged over such a long distance in a cart or on a hurdle, he would have expired on his own.16 I suspect that because of the opposition to this horrendous kind of death, the king altered the sentence as a result of the terror inspired by the savage nature of the penalty. There are also those who hold that the execution was moved forward because the Roman pontiff Paul ***** 16 The original sentence of the court was: ‘You shall be … drawne through the city to the place of execution at Tybourne, where your body shall be hanged by the neck, and cut down half alive and thrown to the ground; your bowels shall be taken out of your body before your face whilst you are yet alive; your head shall be smitten off, and your body divided into four quarters, to be set up where the King shall appoint, and God have mercy upon your soule.’ See John Lewis The Life of Dr. John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester in the Reign of Henry viii 2 vols (London 1855) ii 188. The same sentence, almost verbatim, was imposed on Thomas More. See Treason and Libel ed Donald Serrell Thomas (London 1972) 40. Both were commuted by the king to beheading in the Tower.

240

245

250

255

260

265

expositio fidelis 613 iii had appointed Fisher a cardinal in recognition of his outstanding scholarship and piety.17 I have discovered from the letters of friends that a rumour has circulated in Lower Germany that when, in accordance with custom, the bishop of Rochester’s head was displayed on London bridge, not only did it not shrivel up, but it began to look younger and increasingly resembled the living person; in fact many believed that it actually began to speak, as we read has happened in the case of certain martyrs. That fact or rumour, when it began to circulate widely, was quashed and buried, for a credulous people often cause a great disturbance as a result of some trivial occurrence. Fearing that this might happen with the head of More, it was cooked in boiling water before it was displayed to give it a more ghastly appearance.18 These and many other things of a like character are reported from Flanders, the closest point to Britain. Others may believe them if they choose. I only wish that an account of the fate of the bishop of Rochester had reached us here like that written about More. From the replies given by More it is very clear that he had made up his mind to die rather than recant his opinions. All those who were put to death before More seem to have made the same decision. I believe that More and the bishop of Rochester were also influenced by the fact that for men who are well born, highly educated, and greatly respected, detention in prison does not really give them life, but only a more lingering and bitter death. If I had been a counsellor to the king, I would have tried to persuade him, so far as my poor wits allowed, that, with his customary clemency and all those other virtues that thus far have made his name welcome and beloved among all nations, he should refrain from any action against those great luminaries of Britain who are known throughout the whole world, or at least that he be content with a milder penalty. On the other side, if those who have perished had taken me into their counsel, I would have urged them not to stand openly against the rising storm. The anger of kings is a violent force, which, if you resist it unwisely, leads to greater upheavals. Fierce horses, like thunder claps, are not calmed by force but by gentle clucking sounds made by the tongue.19 Sailors do not struggle against a wild storm, but by coming to rest or changing course, they await better weather. Time heals many things that no force could ***** 17 Ep 3037 n29 18 Cf Ep 3037:109–11. 19 Pliny Naturalis historia 28.25 cites the strange practice of clucking with the tongue as a way of ‘worshipping the thunder.’

270

275

280

285

290

295

300

expositio fidelis

614

correct. Human affairs are always in a state of flux, but whenever some extraordinary or fatal change occurs, many run into danger by not giving way before the storm. When Julius Caesar opened the door to tyranny, and when the Triumvirs,20 by joining forces, seized control of the world, all the most celebrated men, of whom Marcus Tullius was one, perished.21 Those who serve monarchs must keep some things back from them, so that if they cannot obtain what they feel is the best course, they may at least moderate to some extent the princes’ ambitions. Someone may say, ‘One must die for the truth.’ But not for any and every truth. If a tyrant commands you, ‘Either deny Christ or place your neck on the block,’ one must offer one’s neck. But it is one thing to be silent and another to deny on oath. If it is right to conceal that you are a Christian without a grave scandal, then it would have been much more defensible to remain silent in this case. But it is foolish of me to argue about such high matters, for I have never been privy to the councils of kings. So on this whole question I leave judgment to others. But one thing is clear: those men, if they have sinned at all, have not sinned against the king from any malice, but have gone astray because of a plain and honest conscience. They had this deep conviction, a conviction planted firmly in their hearts, that the principle they were upholding was holy, pious, honourable for the king, and salutary for the kingdom. This is evident in that none of them claimed the kingdom or tried to claim it for another, nor had they stirred up rebellion or collected forces; not a word fell from their lips that smacked of hatred or conspiracy. They were ready to be silent if that had been permitted them, they met death patiently and calmly, praying only for the good of the king and the kingdom. Even in dreadful crimes a pure and honest conscience and a mind eager not to injure but to serve excuse a great part of the offence. Moreover, great virtue and exceptional learning are held in honour even among savage peoples. The title of ‘philosopher’ stood to Plato’s benefit in Aegina, when, according to the law of the state, he was to be put to death.22 Diogenes escaped punishment when he penetrated into the camp of Philip of Macedon, to whom he had come as a spy,23 when he freely reproached the king for insanity since, not being content with his own kingdom, he was running the risk of losing everything. Not only did he escape punishment, ***** 20 The triumvirate of Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian (Augustus), created, with sweeping powers, in 43 bc, led to the absolutist government of the empire. 21 Cicero was murdered in 43 bc on the initiative of Antony. 22 Diogenes Laertius 3.19 23 Diogenes Laertius 6.43

305

310

315

320

325

330

335

expositio fidelis 615 but he was sent away with a gift, simply because he was a philosopher. Just as the generosity of monarchs towards the learned brings them great renown, so harsh treatment makes them abhorrent. I speak principally about those who have won fame among all nations by their writings and whose memory seems likely to be cherished by future generations. Who now does not execrate Antony, who put Cicero to the sword?24 Who does not detest Nero for killing Seneca?25 And Octavius Caesar lost no small part of his popularity by banishing Ovid to live among the Getae.26 It is not at all my intention in saying these things to compare a Christian king with heathen princes or to pronounce on a subject whose circumstances I do not know, which would be rash even if there were no danger involved. Rather, I wanted to show the arguments I would have used to try to persuade the king that by sparing men already destined for immortality by virtue of their piety and learning he would be consulting his own reputation also. Clemency in powerful rulers is always likely to be applauded, but it brings the loudest applause when it is given to distinguished men who have served their country well. ‘Every country is a homeland to the brave,’27 and exile has often turned out well for brave and famous men. Execution generates deep resentment. When Louis xii, king of France, having obtained the throne, was preparing to divorce the daughter of King Louis xi, whose name (if I am not mistaken) was Mary,28 his action displeased some worthy men, among whom were Jan Standonck and his student Thomas.29 All they had done was to say in a sermon that one should pray to God to grant the king good counsel. Anything said before the people is liable to cause sedition, and these men had offended against the king’s edict. Nevertheless the king merely ordered them to leave the country and did not rob them of any of their resources. And he recalled them when he had completed the business at hand. By showing *****

24 See n21 above. 25 Nero forced Seneca to commit suicide in ad 65; see Tacitus Annals 15.64. 26 Ovid was banished by Augustus to Tomis on the Black Sea in ad 43. 27 Ovid Fasti 1.493 28 Louis xii (1462–1515) was married to Jeanne de France (not ‘Mary’), but in 1498, before becoming king, he divorced her in order to marry Anne de Bretagne. The divorce, though sanctioned by the pope, was bitterly opposed in some quarters. 29 In 1499, both Jan Standonck (d 1504), regent of the Collège de Montaigu at Paris, and Thomas Warnet of Cambrai (documented 1499–1517), Standonck’s associate at the Collège, were exiled from France (Standonck until 1500, Warnet until 1503) in consequence of their public denunciation of Louis xii’s divorce and remarriage.

340

345

350

355

360

expositio fidelis

616

such moderation the king served his own cause and avoided serious unpopularity, for both men were theologians and both were commended by their reputation for godliness. But the death of Thomas More is deplored even by those whose legislation he strenuously opposed. Such was the warmth, the graciousness, and the generosity of the man. What person, even of moderate learning, did he send away without a gift? Or was anyone so alien that he did not try to help? Many men show favour only to their own, the French to the French, Germans to Germans, Scots to Scots; but he was friendly towards the Irish, Germans, French, Scythians, and Indians. This natural kindness fixed More so deeply in the minds of all that they mourned his death like that of a father or a brother. I myself have seen the tears of many who had not seen More or been affected by any kindness on his part. And from me too, as I write these things, tears gush forth against my will and despite my efforts to fight against them. What do we think our Erasmus must now feel, who was bound to More in such a close friendship that they seemed, in the words of Pythagoras, to be one soul in two bodies.30 I am terribly afraid that that good old man will die with his beloved More, if he is still among the living. Some would console us with the thought that those who have ended their lives with such a death should not be mourned, but we should rather count them happy. This, I admit, is some considerable comfort in our grief. But I would have wished that More’s life had been preserved both for the sake of scholars everywhere and most of all for the sake of his family. He left behind a numerous and highly intellectual family: a son, the youngest of his children, already married and the father of children; three daughters, all married and the mothers of children, all educated and beautifully trained under their father’s guidance to follow the philosophy of Christ; and a faithful wife, now an old woman, from whom, however, he had had no children. All these women along with their husbands, sons, and daughters he supported in one house, where reigned such godliness and harmony as one would not easily find in communities of monks and nuns. I ask you, good sir, to think of the grief, the tears, the wailing, the sorrows that are devastating that whole family. How many fine souls were injured by the axe that cut off the head of More! Many people are bewildered and want to know what great crime was committed by this man who was always thought to possess a guileless character. I find it hard to give them any clear answer, though one can make a guess partly from the articles of the indictment of More and his response and partly from letters sent to me by friends and from common gossip. The king, ***** 30 Cicero De officiis 1.56, De amicitia 92

365

370

375

380

385

390

395

expositio fidelis 617 as everybody knows, had been working for several years to get a divorce from the queen, who was the maternal aunt of the emperor Charles. More, seeing how things would turn out, voluntarily resigned from the office of chancellor, giving various excuses, so that he would not be forced to carry out a business he did not approve. He was a man of such a deeply religious temperament as to come closer to superstition than to godlessness.31 So he reflected: ‘As a private citizen I could live in peace; that is impossible for a chancellor who is the mouthpiece of the king.’ He realized that he would be forced to condemn many whom he judged to be good men; that the outcome of such a great matter was uncertain on account of the power of the clergy and the traditional ruthlessness of that nation towards its kings. If any such thing had arisen, the chancellor would have been the first victim. If More had asked my advice I would have urged him, since he possessed such a scrupulously religious conscience, not to take up this great office. For it is hardly possible for one who is engaged in the lofty affairs of princes to observe justice to the letter in great as well as little things. When men congratulate me on having a friend like that placed at the very pinnacle of power, I usually reply that I will not congratulate him on his promotion in rank until he himself bids me do so. In such circumstances I always feel some premonition of trouble. Nor, I think, did it escape the notice of the king why More resigned his office, however he may have hidden his feelings, for Homer tells us that it is characteristic of kings to bury an insult in their hearts until, long afterwards, an opportunity arises to take revenge.32 Meanwhile the king, being increasingly angered by threats and thunderbolts from Clement vii, began to think, in a manner traditional in that country, how to free the kingdom from the authority of the Roman pontiff and claim for himself supreme control over both spheres. When he realized that a great number of people were appalled by this course of action, to prevent a rebellion from breaking out he promulgated an edict that anyone who did not abjure the authority of the Roman pontiff or who disapproved of the new marriage would be judged guilty of a capital offence. This edict, however, was not promulgated until More and the bishop of Rochester had already been taken into custody. Rochester always granted supreme authority to the Roman see and had fought against the divorce, even writing books on the subject, but at a time when it was still possible to offer advice. More wrote nothing, but in keeping with the office he held he tried to influence the king ***** 31 This line is taken from Erasmus’ letter to Fabri (Ep 2750:117–19). For the problem of chronology see Hitchcock 256. 32 Iliad 1.79–82

400

405

410

415

420

425

430

expositio fidelis

618

in a direction that he thought pleasing to God, safe for the king, and salutary for the kingdom. He enjoyed a close friendship with the bishop of Rochester. The estate belonging to More was not far from Richmond. In that area and close to the king’s palace were two monasteries that were extremely wealthy and, more importantly, followed a strict discipline, one belonging to the Carthusians, the other to the Brigittines. I could easily imagine that these men may have influenced More to defend the cause of the church, but I shall never believe that he himself would have blurted out anything that smacked of rebellion, for from my frequent conversations with him I observed the man’s admirable caution. I have hardly found any other Englishman who loved his prince as wholeheartedly or wished him well with as deep sincerity as did he. Whence, then, this tumult? It is a terrible thing, a conscience that is more afraid of offending God than of facing death. Perhaps he was led astray by persuasive argument. Yet I wonder if a man like him was influenced by feeble arguments to set his mind so firmly on such a course. He preferred to suffer himself than to do to others what would have been necessary had he continued in the office he held. Many men pitied the old queen, a woman of singular piety, not just because, having long enjoyed a position of great dignity, she had now been reduced by the divorce to a position where she could neither enjoy the man with whom she had lived so long nor marry another because of the ruling issued by Clement, and must observe, doubtless with the deepest distress, such men being murdered for her sake. God knows what the outcome of this tragedy will be. It is generally agreed that the death of St Thomas of Acre brought a very great increase in wealth and influence to the church in England.33 He who, by his inscrutable will, guides the affairs of men will in his goodness turn all these things to his own glory. So much I have been able to learn from the newsletter, from hearsay, and from the letters of friends. If I find a more reliable account, I shall share it with you. In return please let me know what the king of Zion is doing along with his prophets and his rebaptized followers, about whom some strange stories are circulating here, whether true or not, I do not know.34 In Paris, 23 July 1535 ***** 33 The reference must be to St Thomas of Canterbury, to whose murder the death of More was already being compared. ‘Thomas of Acre’ may perhaps indicate some connection with the Order of Knights Hospitaller of St Thomas (of Canterbury) at Acre. 34 Jan of Leiden (Ep 2957 n20), the leader of the Anabaptist revolution in Münster, which had already been defeated on 24 June 1535

435

440

445

450

455

460

465

ADDENDA TO EARLIER VOLUMES

856a  To Johannes Sapidus  1518 856a / To Johannes Sapidus

620 Basel, 12 August 1518

This letter, evidently the reply to one no longer extant, was first published, together with a German translation and a detailed commentary, in Bruehl 243–50. The manuscript, a copy in an unknown hand, was found on the endpaper of a volume of sixteenth-century imprints in the archiepiscopal library of Kalocsa in Hungary. Bruehl had at his disposal a photocopy of the document provided to him in 1978 by the National Széchényi Library in Budapest, but he did not manage to obtain an exact description or the call number of the volume from which it came. The date places the letter between Epp 856 and 857 (cwe 6). The notes below make liberal use of the information in Bruehl’s commentary. For Johannes Sapidus see Ep 323 (where he is called by his German name, Johann Witz).

erasmus to his f riend sapidus, greetings This disease attacks me so often and has such a grip on me that I must certainly take flight even though I am unwilling to leave my work.1 Apart from the first eight days the illness has never let go of me. There is no reason for Wimpfeling to have suspicions about his Oratio; 5 it was taken from me before I could read it.2 *****



856a 1 For the illness that plagued Erasmus during his visit to Basel in 1518 and on his return journey to the Netherlands, see Ep 847:7n. The ‘work’ in question was the preparation of the second edition of the New Testament, published by Froben at Basel in 1519; see Ep 864 introduction. 2 For Jakob Wimpfeling, who, together with Sapidus and Paul Volz (n6 below) was a member of the humanist sodality at Sélestat, see Ep 224 introduction. Concerning the Oratio, cf Ep 858:643–4, where Erasmus says jokingly to Volz, ‘Tell Wimpfeling to get his shining armour ready, to do battle shortly with the Turks.’ In his note on that passage Peter Bietenholz correctly identifies it as a reference to the oratiuncula de moribus Helveciorum ‘little oration on the nature of the Swiss,’ addressed to Emperor Maximilian i, that Wimpfeling, in a letter of 11 May 1518 (ak Ep 615), had offered to Bruno and Basilius Amerbach and Johann Froben for publication at Basel. The gist of the work, as described by Sapidus himself, was that the Swiss should cease their struggle for independence from the Empire and join with it and the other European powers in a crusade against the Turks. From the present letter it appears that Wimpfeling had expressed to Sapidus or another friend in Sélestat the fear that Erasmus had read the oration and disapproved of it. One suspects that Erasmus had indeed been shown the oration and that, given his vehement disapproval of crusades (cf Ep 858:85–138) and his negative view of the Swiss as warriors and

856a  To JOHANNES SAPIDUS  1518

621

There is word that Hoogstraten is not well received in Cologne;3 there is also news that Faber has died.4 The former gives me some pleasure, the latter causes me distress.5 Please give my greetings to the abbot, a man of a most kindly nature 10 and a true and exceptional Christian.6 Farewell to you, my dearest Sapidus, as well as to your beloved children and your very fine wife.7 *****











mercenaries (cf Ep 855:4n), he had commented negatively on it. In view of his great admiration for Wimpfeling, however, Erasmus here avoids direct confrontation with him by denying that he had been able to read the work. 3 The Dominican friar of Cologne, Jacob of Hoogstraten (Ep 290:11n), was the chief inquisitor of the archbishoprics of Mainz, Trier, and Cologne, and the principal leader of the Cologne Dominicans in their prosecution of the Christian Hebraist Johann Reuchlin over his opposition to the destruction of Jewish books. In 1518 opposition to Hoogstraten from Reuchlin’s defenders was so fierce that his fellow Cologne Dominicans distanced themselves from him and for a time he went in search of a more hospitable place to live (visiting Louvain, for example, where he had studied). See Epp 849:21–2 with 22n, 877:32–5, 889:42–6, 1030:21–4. 4 Although there are several ‘Fabers’ in Erasmus’ correspondence, this is clearly a reference to the great French exponent of humanistic reform, Jacques Lefèvre d’Etaples (Faber Stapulensis; see Ep 315 introduction), with whom Sapidus had studied in Paris. (For a detailed summary of the evidence on this point see Bruehl 248.) In 1516–17 Erasmus had received reports that Lefèvre was in poor health (Epp 445:33–52, 460:19, 493:495–500, 531:635–9), but he had also received the encouraging news that Lefèvre was ‘a little stronger’ (Ep 531:639–40). It is not known who reported the ‘news’ of Lefèvre’s death at this point (he died in 1536). 5 By the summer of 1517 Erasmus had become involved in an unfortunate controversy with Lefèvre, his friend since at least 1511, over the meaning of Hebrews 2:7. Erasmus, resenting what he felt amounted to a charge of blasphemy from Lefèvre, defended his interpretation in the Apologia ad Iacobum Stapulensem (September 1517) as well as in other publications and in letters; see Epp 597:37n, 44n; 721 introduction. The dispute came to a close in June–July 1518 when Erasmus, learning that Lefèvre regretted having annoyed him and was not going to publish a reply to the Apologia (Ep 849:15–17), declared that he would have nothing more to say in criticism of his ‘old friend,’ and that ‘now my attitude towards him is such that it will be extremely painful to me if anyone thinks worse of Lefèvre because of me’ (Ep 855:52–63). 6 Paul Volz (Ep 368 introduction), Benedictine abbot and member of the humanist literary sodality at Sélestat. It was to him that Erasmus addressed Ep 858, which served as the introduction to the important second edition (1518) of the Enchiridion militis christiani. 7 In Ep 391a:56–7 Erasmus calls her Margaret (Margarita), ‘more precious than any pearl (margarita).’

856a  To JOHANNES SAPIDUS  1518

622

I am well, though not as well as I would wish, but as well as I can be.8 Basel, 12 August 1518 Erasmus of Rotterdam 1447a / To [Bonifacius Amerbach?]

[Basel, c middle of May 1524]

This fragment of a letter, with no indication of the date or the addressee, was clearly intended to accompany a copy of a draft of the still unpublished De libero arbitrio. Now lost, the fragment was still in existence in 1786, when Christian Gottlieb Schmidt (1755–1827), a Saxon clergyman on an extended visit to Switzerland in 1786–7, came across it in the University Library at Basel. Pleased by the seeming evidence that Erasmus himself had not taken his treatise against Luther seriously except as an attempt to placate ‘the Catholic party,’ Schmidt made a copy of the fragment and subsequently included it in the manuscript of his account of the visit to Switzerland. In 1935 portions of that manuscript (still in the possession of Schmidt’s descendants) were published under the title Ein alter Reisebericht über Basel in the Sonntagsbeilage (Sunday Supplement) of the Basel National-Zeitung volume 16, nos 581 and 590. The fragment is found on page 2 of no 581. On that basis, Beat Jenny, editor of the Amerbach correspondence (ak), published the fragment, with a long introduction, as ak Ep 958a in volume ix-1 xcv–xcvii (‘Nachtrag zu Band ii’). In 1985 the entire text of Schmidt’s journal of his visit to Switzerland was published under the title Von der Schweiz: Journal meiner Reise vom 5. Julius 1786 bis den 7. August 1787 ed Theodor and Hanni Salfinger (Bern and Stuttgart). Schmidt’s account of his encounter with the Erasmus fragment is on page 194. Meanwhile, a French translation of the fragment, based on the ak text, had appeared in 1984 in Gerlo xii 7. The text of the fragment bears a striking resemblance to Ep 1419, which is undated but clearly addressed to Erasmus’ favourite adviser on theological matters, Ludwig Baer, requesting his opinion of a draft of De libero arbitrio. Schmidt identified Bonifacius Amerbach as the intended recipient in this case. There is no conclusive proof of this, but Jenny, arguing that Schmidt most likely found the fragment among other Amerbachiana, judged Amerbach to be the most likely addressee. As for the date, the similarity to Ep 1419 strongly suggests that the two letters were written at approximately the same time. Both Allen and cwe have dated Ep 1419 at c February 1524, the month when Erasmus reported to Pope Clement vii that he was at work on a book on free will against Luther (see Ep 1418:57–9). As Jenny points out, however, if Bonifacius Amerbach is in fact the addressee, February 1524 seems too early a date for this fragment: it was not

*****

8 Cf Adagia i viii 43, citing Terence Andria 805.

15

2518a  To Helius Eobanus Hessus  1531

623

until the end of April or early to mid-May 1524 that Amerbach returned to Basel from his years of legal study in France. Jenny therefore assigned ‘c middle of May 1524’ as the conjectural date of the fragment. It is possible that Ep 1419, too, should be dated somewhat later in the period of Erasmus’ labours on De libero arbitrio, which was published in August 1524. But this, too, is pure speculation. Under the circumstances, with no certainty possible, and with nothing important riding on a more precise dating of either letter, we have left Ep 1419 with the date already assigned to it. At the same time, we have accepted Jenny’s conjectural dating of the fragment and have placed it between Ep 1447 and Ep 1448 (cwe 10).

I send you this trifling work of mine on free will. I have wasted three days working through it again – in utter boredom. Yet I would not wish it to go into circulation.1 2518a / To Helius Eobanus Hessus

Freiburg, 11 August 1531

This letter was first published, together with a German translation and a detailed commentary, in Bruehl 250–8. The manuscript, a copy in an unknown hand, is in the University Library at Marburg (ms 287 folios 5 verso–6 verso). In 1983 Jean-Claude Margolin had already called attention to the existence of the manuscript (Bibliothèque d’Humanisme et Renaissance 45 52 n29), and in 1984 an annotated French translation of it was published in Gerlo xii 8–10. The date places the letter between Epp 2518 and 2519 (cwe 18). The notes below include much information from Bruehl’s commentary. For Helius Eobanus Hessus, the humanist poet at this time teaching at the St Aegidius Gymnasium in Nürnberg, see Ep 874.

erasmus to eobanus hessus, prince of eloquence and learning, greetings I have replied to both of your letters,1 the one in which you voiced complaints against me,2 and the one that Anselm the Pole delivered and which was more conciliatory than the earlier one.3 5 ***** 1447a 1 For a chronology of the genesis of De libero arbitrio, see cwe 10 xv–xviii.

2518a 1 Erasmus’ replies are extant (see nn2–3 below), but Eobanus’ letters are not. 2 Answered with Ep 2446 3 Anselmus Ephorinus (Ep 2539 introduction) arrived in Freiburg in April 1531 bearing the letter from Eobanus to which Ep 2495 is the response.

2518a to helius eobanus hessus  1531

624 

I have read the Epitaphia; I liked them very much,4 especially those that were the product of your talents.5 I have only dipped into the Libellus medicinae,6 which Anselm delivered to me while I was in the middle of ­moving house.7 I have yet to see anything that matches your rich poetic talent here. 10 If you are gripped by any desire to hear what we are doing here, be assured that no animal has ever been more wretched than Erasmus is at the present. Instead of being a worshipper of the Muses I have become a bidder, a purchaser, a guarantor. I come and I go, I deal with masons, carpenters, metalworkers, glassmakers. In short, life was never more horrible and, to my 15 mind, Diogenes was never wiser than when he took refuge in a barrel.8 For the purchase of the house and repairs to it I have paid out seven hundred and fifty florins in ready cash.9 And that is still not an end to it. And yet, trust me, the splurging of money is the least part of my troubles. I am quite disgusted with myself; I have been dragged into these wretched circumstances through 20 the trickery of certain individuals.10

*****







4 This repeats what Erasmus had already said in Ep 2495:37–8, where he refers to the work by its correct title Epicedia (Funeral Odes). 5 This appears to be a slighting reference to the Epitaphia epigrammata of Joachim Camerarius, which were published with Eobanus’ Epicedia. Cf Ep 2495:38–9, which may also be a dismissive comment about Camerarius’ Epitaphia as compared to those of Eobanus. For Camerarius, Eobanus’ colleague at the St Aegidius Gymnasium in Nürnberg, see Ep 1501. 6 A reference to Eobanus’ little volume of medical verse, Bonae valetudinis con­ servandae praecepta, one of the items in which was Medicinae laus per Eobanum Hessum ex Erasmo versu reddita, Eobanus’ metrical version of Erasmus’ Encomium medicinae. The first edition, published at Erfurt in 1524, was reprinted at Strasbourg in 1530. The reference here is presumably to the second edition, which was published at Nürnberg in 1531 (Johann Petreius). 7 Erasmus spent the summer of 1531 purchasing and preparing for occupation the new house in Freiburg into which he would move at the end of September. For the move and the circumstances that made it necessary, see Ep 2462 introduction. As the following paragraph indicates, the experience sorely tried Erasmus’ patience. 8 For this entire paragraph cf Ep 2518:25–37 with n4 (on Diogenes and his barrel). 9 Erasmus’ estimates of the cost of the house and the needed repairs vary considerably; see Ep 2530:1–2 with n1. 10 Ie the heirs of Jakob Villinger, the owner of the house in Freiburg originally put at Erasmus’ disposal in 1529. In June 1531, wanting the house for their own use, they ordered Erasmus to vacate it; see cwe 18 xiv.

2518a to helius eobanus hessus  1531 625 I am surprised that no fruit of your studies has arrived here. Willibald’s Latin translation of Gregory of Nazianzus is being printed,11 but the printer’s copy was full of errors, especially the part that was the work of an amanuensis. I have provided it with a preface;12 the main reason for doing so is that I understand that Eck has very maliciously spread it about that, among many 25 other things, Willibald had gone mad before his death. However, I understand from the letters of friends who were with him when he died that he passed away peacefully.13 Give Joachim my warmest greetings.14 30 I did not wish this man, whom I came across by chance, to come to you without a letter. Farewell. At Freiburg, the day after the feast of St Lawrence 1531 Erasmus of Rotterdam, your friend thanks to you, in his own hand 35

*****

11 At the time of his death in December 1530 Willibald Pirckheimer (Ep 318 introduction) had produced Latin translations of a series of works by the fourthcentury Greek church Father Gregory of Nazianzus. They were published posthumously by Froben at Basel in September 1531 under the title D. Gregorii Nazianzeni Orationes xxx, Bilibaldo Pirckheimero interprete. 12 Ep 2493 13 Pirckheimer’s initial (but soon abandoned) support for Luther had earned him the wrath of Luther’s relentless foe, Johann Maier of Eck (Ep 769 introduction), with severe but short-lived consequences; see 2493 n6. It is not known what justification Erasmus may have had at this time for suspecting Eck of having made malicious comments about Pirckheimer’s death, but in Ep 2493:42–6 he strongly emphasized that Pirckheimer’s mind had been clear to the end and that he had died peacefully. 14 Joachim Camerarius; see n5 above.

This page intentionally left blank

TABLE O F CO RRESPON DE NT S WORK S FREQ UENTLY CI T E D SHO RT-TITLE FO RM S FO R ERASMUS’ WOR K S CO RRIGENDA F OR EARLIER VOLUM E S IN DEX

TABLE O F C O R R E SP OND E NT S 2940 To Bonifacius Amerbach  Freiburg, 4 June 1534 2941 From Bernhard von Cles  Prague, 4 June 1534 2942 From Daniel Stiebar  Würzburg, 5 June 1534 2943 From Bonifacius Amerbach  [Basel, c 9 June 1534] 2944 To Erasmus Schets  Freiburg, 11 June 1534 2945 From Johann Herwagen  Basel, 13 June 1534 2946 To Bonifacius Amerbach  Freiburg, 14 June 1534 2947 From Johann Koler  [Augsburg], 24 June 1534 2948 From Nicolaus Olahus  Brussels, 25 June 1534 2949 From Christoph Gering  [Augsburg], 26 June 1534 2950 From James v of Scotland  Holyrood, 1 July 1534 2951 To Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda  Freiburg, 3 July 1534 2952 From Bonifacius Amerbach  [Basel, c 19 July 1534] 2953 From Johann Koler  Augsburg, 25 July 1534 2954 From Udalricus Zasius  [Freiburg], 27 July 1534 2955 To Erasmus Schets  Freiburg, 30 July 1534 2956 To Johannes Sinapius  Freiburg, 31 July 1534 2957 From Viglius Zuichemus  Dülmen, 12 August 1534 2958 To Pietro Bembo  Freiburg, 16 August 1534 2959 From Primo de’ Conti  Como, 20 August 1534 2960 From Justus Ludovicus Decius  Cracow, 21 August 1534 2961 To Justus Ludovicus Decius  Freiburg, 22 August 1534 2962 From Viglius Zuichemus  Dülmen, 22 August 1534 2963 To Damião de Gois  [Freiburg], 25 August [1534] 2964 From Giambattista Egnazio  Venice, 30 August 1534 2965 To Guy Morillon  Freiburg, 30 August 1534 2966 From Ambrosius Pelargus  Trier, 1 September 1534 2966a From Bonifacius Amerbach Basel, 2 September 1534 2967 From Bonifacius Amerbach  Basel, 16 September 1534 2968 To Johann von Metzenhausen  Freiburg, 27 September 1534 2969 From Jean de Pins  [Toulouse, c October 1534] 2970 To Philippus Melanchthon  Freiburg, 6 October 1534 2971 To Jacopo Sadoleto  Freiburg, 31 October 1534 2972 From Bonifacius Amerbach  [Basel, November 1534] 2973 From Jacopo Sadoleto  Carpentras, 1 November 1534 2974 From Pierre Du Chastel  Metz, 4 November 1534 2975 From Pietro Bembo  Padua, 11 November 1534 2976 To Jean de Pins  Freiburg, 13 November 1534 2977 From Johann von Botzheim  Überlingen, 20 November 1534 2978 From Bonifacius Amerbach  Basel, 22 November 1534 2979 To Johannes Cochlaeus  [Freiburg], 24 November 1534 2980 To Bonifacius Amerbach  [Freiburg], 28 November 1534 2981 To Erasmus Schets  [Freiburg], 6 December 1534 2982 From Jacopo Sadoleto  Carpentras, 9 December 1534 2983 From Johann Koler  Augsburg, 10 December 1534 2984 From Konrad Nyder  Koblenz, 20 December 1534

2 4 4 6 8 10 13 14 19 21 21 23 27 27 32 32 34 38 49 50 51 52 63 64 66 67 69 72 73 74 76 76 78 80 82 83 84 85 86 88 89 89 90 91 93 98

table of correspondents 629 2985 From Gilbert Cousin  [Nozeroy, c end of December 1534] 2986 To Georgius Loxanus  Freiburg, 1534 2987 To Damião de Gois  Freiburg, 11 January [1535] 2988 To Pope Paul iii  Freiburg, 23 January 1535 2989 From Christoph Gering  Augsburg, 28 January 1535 2989a From Bonifacius Amerbach  [Basel, c 4 February 1535] 2990 From Tielmannus Gravius  Cologne, 3 February 1535 2991 This letter has been redated to c 21 February [1535] and appears as Ep 2997b below. 2992 From Erasmus Schets Antwerp, 6 February 1535 2992a To Bonifacius Amerbach [Freiburg], 8 February [1535] 2993 From Johann Koler  Augsburg, 8 February 1535 2994 To David Paumgartner  Freiburg, 13 February 1535 2995 To David Paumgartner  [Freiburg, c 13 February 1535] 2995a From Bonifacius Amerbach  [Basel, c 8 February 1535] 2996 To Bonifacius Amerbach  [Freiburg], 18 February [1535] 2997 To Erasmus Schets  Freiburg, 21 February [1535] 2997a To Bonifacius Amerbach  Freiburg, 21 February [1535] 2997b From Bonifacius Amerbach  Basel, c 21 February [1535] 2998 From Conradus Goclenius  Louvain, 25 February 1535 2999 From Viglius Zuichemus  Dülmen, 26 February 1535 3000 To Piotr Tomicki  Freiburg, 28 February 1535 3001 To Johannes Cochlaeus  [Freiburg, c March 1535] 3002 From Giovanni Angelo Odoni  Strasbourg, [c March] 1535 3003 From Christoph Eschenfelder  Boppard, 12 March 1535 3004 From Johann Rinck  Cologne, 16 March 1535 3005 To Petrus Merbelius and Johannes Baptista Laurentia  Freiburg, 18 March 1535 3006 From Johannes Caesarius  Cologne, 29 March [1535] 3007 From Franciscus Rupilius  Rome, 29 March 1535 3008 From Luigi Spinola  Genoa, 6 April 1535 3009 From Erasmus Schets  Antwerp, 12 April 1535 3010 From Seweryn Boner  Cracow, 12 April 1535 3011 From Ludwig Baer  Rome, 14 April 1535 3012 To Bonifacius Amerbach  Freiburg, 16 April [1535] 3013 From Bonifacius Amerbach  Basel, 20 April 1535 3014 From Piotr Tomicki  Bodzentyn, 26 April 1535 3015 To Ambrosius von Gumppenberg  [Freiburg, c May 1535] 3016 To Julius Pflug  Freiburg, 7 May 1535 3017 From Johannes Fabri  Vienna, 15 May 1535 3018 To Jean de Pins  Freiburg, 19 May 1535 3019 To Damião de Gois  Freiburg, 21 May 1535 3020 From Caspar Hedio  Strasbourg, 24 May 1535 3021 From Pope Paul iii  Rome, 31 May 1535 3022 From Hector van Hoxwier  Pavia, 1 June 1535 3023 From Ambrosius von Gumppenberg  Rome, 1 June 1535 3024 From Pier Paolo Gualtieri  Rome, 1 June [1535] 3025 To Erasmus Schets  Basel, 18 June 1535

100 101 102 103 108 109 111 113 114 115 120 121 122 123 124 130 131 132 135 137 141 142 182 183 186 190 191 196 207 210 211 214 215 216 219 224 226 227 228 232 235 237 239 240 241

table of correspondents 3026 From Pietro Bembo  Padua, 20 June 1535 3027 From Petr Bechyně Bassano, 24 June 1535 3028 To Erasmus Schets  Basel, 28 June 1535 3029 From Bartholomaeus Latomus  Paris, 29 June 1535 3030 To Leonhard von Eck  Basel, 30 June 1535 3031 From Konrad Heresbach  Düsseldorf, 28 July 1535 3031a From Konrad Heresbach  Düsseldorf, 1534–6 3032 To Johann Koler  Basel, [c August] 1535 3033 From Pope Paul iii  Rome, 1 August 1535 3034 From Pope Paul iii to Mary of Hungary  Rome, 5 August 1535 3035 To Leonhard von Eck  Basel, 5 August 1535 3036 To Christoph von Stadion  Basel, 6 August 1535 3037 From Conradus Goclenius  [Louvain], 10 August 1535 3038 From Anselmus Ephorinus  Rome, 16 August 1535 3039 From Petrus Merbelius  Milan, 16 August 1535 3040 From Tielmannus Gravius  Cologne, 17 August 1535 3041 From Tielmannus Gravius  Cologne, 17 August 1535 3042 From Erasmus Schets  Antwerp, 17 August 1535 3043 To Damião de Gois  Basel, 18 August 1535 3044 To the Reader  [Basel, end of August 1535] 3045 From Henricus Glareanus  Freiburg, [late August 1535] 3046 To Piotr Kmita  Basel, 20 August 1535 3047 From Ambrosius von Gumppenberg  Rome, 21 August 1535 3048 To Bartholomaeus Latomus  Basel, 24 August 1535 3049 To Piotr Tomicki  Basel, 31 August 1535 3050 From Johann Koler  Augsburg, 31 August 1535 3050a To Bonifacius Amerbach  [Basel, after August 1535] 3051 From Bonifacius Amerbach  Freiburg, 1 September 1535 3052 To Conradus Goclenius  Basel, 2 September 1535 3053 From Cornelius Grapheus  Antwerp, 2 September 1535 3054 To Henricus Glareanus  [Basel], 6 September 1535 3055 From Henricus Glareanus  Freiburg, 10 September 1535 3056 To Ludwig Baer  Basel, 12 September 1535 3057 From Vincenzo Mitelli  Brescia, 13 September 1535 3058 From Thomas Bedyll  London, 14 September [1535] 3059 To Ludwig Baer  Basel, 21 September 1535 3060 From Viglius Zuichemus  Speyer, 22 September 1535 3061 From Conradus Goclenius  Louvain, 28 September 1535 3062 To Louis de Vers  Basel, 7 October 1535 3063 To Léonard de Gruyères  Basel, 12 October 1535 3064 To [Francesco ii Sforza]  Basel, 16 October 1535 3065 To [Jakob Sturm?]  Basel, 23 October 1535 3066 From Piotr Tomicki  Cracow, 25 October 1535 3067 From Erasmus Schets  Antwerp, 26 October 1535 3067a To Bonifacius Amerbach  [Basel, after 22 October 1535] 3068 From Gilbert Cousin  [Nozeroy], 2 November [1535] 3069 From Paul Volz  Strasbourg, 4 November 1535 3070 From Petrus Merbelius  Milan, 9 November 1535

630 242 243 244 246 250 252 263 296 320 322 323 324 330 336 337 338 340 347 349 355 356 357 359 362 366 375 378 378 379 382 384 385 387 388 390 392 393 395 397 399 400 401 403 411 412 414 416 418

table of correspondents 631 3071 3072 3073 3074 3075 3076 3077 3078 3079 3080 3081 3082 3083 3084 3085 3086 3087 3088 3089 3090 3091 3092 3093 3094 3095 3096 3097 3098 3099 3100 3101 3102 3103 3104 3105 3106 3107 3108 3109 3110 3111 3112 3113 3114 3115 3116 3117

From Viglius Zuichemus  Speyer, 17 November 1535 From Conradus Pellicanus  Zürich, 18 November 1535 From Christoph von Stadion  Dillingen, 27 November 1535 From Johann Georg Hörmann  Speyer, 11 December 1535 From Léonard de Gruyères  Sursee, 12 December [1535] To Damião de Gois  Basel, 15 December 1535 To Damião de Gois  [Basel, c 15 December 1535] From Damião de Gois  Padua, 22 December 1535 To Damião de Gois from an Englishman [1535] From Gilbert Cousin  Nozeroy, 24 December 153[5] To Christoph Eschenfelder  Basel, 2 January 1536 From Jean de Boyssoné  Toulouse, 23 January [1536] From Nicolas Bérault  Toulouse, 14 January [1536] To Léonard de Gruyères  Basel, 24 January 1536 From Damião de Gois  Padua, 26 January 1536 To Christoph Eschenfelder  Basel, 27 January 1536 To King Ferdinand  Basel, 27 January 1536 From Georg Hörmann  Schwaz, 29 January 1536 To Andrzej Krzycki  Basel, 1 February 1536 From Eustache Chapuys  London, 1 February 1536 From Petrus Merbelius  Milan, 2 February 1536 To Charles Blount  Basel, 9 February 1536 To the Reader  [Basel, c February 1536] From Jacobus Omphalius  Toulouse, 10 February 1536 To Gilbert Cousin  Basel, 12 February 1536 From Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda  Rome, 13 February 1536 This letter has been redated to ‘after August 1535’ and appears as Ep 3050a. To Bonifacius Amerbach  [Basel, 14 February 1536] To the Reader  [Basel, 20 February 1536] To Friendly Readers  Basel, 20 February 1536 From Pierre Vitré  Paris, 20 February 153[6] From Pierre Richardot  Besançon, 24 February 1536 From François Bonvalot  Besançon, 25 February 153[6] To Gilbert Cousin  Basel, 11 March 1536 From Bernhard von Cles  Naples, 12 March 1536 To Pierre Vitré  Basel, 13 March 1536 To Thomas Cromwell  Basel, 15 March 1536 To [John Longland]  Basel, 16 March 1536 [To Léonard de Gruyères]  Basel, 16 March 1536 From Bernhard von Cles  Naples, 16 March 1536 From Conradus Goclenius  [Louvain], 21 March 1536 From Tiedemann Giese  Frombork, 28 March 1536 From Johannes Sinapius  Ferrara, 3 April 1536 From Paul Volz  Strasbourg, 12 April 1536 From Etienne Desprez  Besançon, 12 April 1536 From Viglius Zuichemus  Speyer, 15 April 1536 From Johann Georg Hörmann  Speyer, 18 April 1536

419 421 426 428 429 432 433 434 437 439 443 443 445 446 448 450 451 452 454 455 459 461 461 462 464 466 471 471 473 477 482 484 485 488 489 490 493 494 495 496 504 513 515 517 520 522

table of correspondents 3118 From Gilbert Cousin  Nozeroy, 7 May 1536 3119 From Erasmus Schets  Antwerp, 8 May 1536 3120 From Philippus Melanchthon  [Leipzig], 12 May [1536] 3121 From Marcin Słap Dąbrówski  Rome, 13 May 1536 3122 To François Bonvalot  Basel, 17 May 1536 3123 From Gilbert Cousin  [Nozeroy? c end of May 1536] 3124 To [Adolf van der Noot]  Basel, 29 May 1536 3125 To Erasmus Schets  Basel, 1 June 1536 3126 To Tiedemann Giese  Basel, 6 June 1536 3127 To Philippus Melanchthon  Basel, 6 June 1536 3128 From Tielmannus Gravius  Cologne, 22 June 1536 3129 From Johann (ii) Paumgartner  Augsburg, 25 June 1536 3130 To Conradus Goclenius  Basel, 28 June 1536 3131 To the Reader  Basel, [1536] 3132 From Damião de Gois  Nürnberg, 15 July 1536 3133 From Daniel Stiebar  [Würzburg, July–August 1536] 3134 [From Heinrich Stromer?] to Johannes Cochlaeus  [Basel, c July 1536] 3135 From Johann Herwagen to Beatus Rhenanus  Basel, 17 July 1536 3136 From Tielmannus Gravius to Erasmus Schets  Cologne, 1 August 1536 3137 From Jan Antonin  Cracow, 9 August 1536 3138 From Josephus Tectander  Cracow, 16 August 1536 3139 From Fridericus Nausea to King Ferdinand  Mainz, 18 August 1536 3140 From Eustache Chapuys to Erasmus Schets  London, 23 September 1536 3141 From Bonifacius Amerbach to Johann (ii) Paumgartner  Basel, 1 February 1537

632 523 524 526 531 533 534 541 542 543 543 546 548 549 551 552 555 556 558 560 561 563 565 569 570

WORK S FR E Q U E N TLY C I T E D aav

Album Academiae Vitebergensis ab a. Ch. mdii usque ad a. mdlx ed Karl Eduard Förstemann (Leipzig 1841)

ak

Die Amerbach Korrespondenz ed Alfred Hartmann and B.R. Jenny (Basel 1942–  )

Allen

Opus epistolarum Des. Erasmi Roterodami ed P.S. Allen, H.M. Allen, and H.W. Garrod (Oxford 1906–58) 11 vols and index

Analecta Belgica

C.P. Hoynck van Papendrecht Analecta Belgica (The Hague 1743) 3 vols in 6

asd

Opera omnia Desiderii Erasmi Roterodami (Amsterdam 1969–  )

Bellaria

Ambrosius Pelargus Bellaria epistolarum Erasmi Rot. et Ambrosii Pelargi vicissim missarum (Cologne: H. Fuchs 1539)

Bouterwek

Karl Wilhelm Bouterwek Conradi Heresbachii historia factionis excidiique Monasteriensis (Elberfeld 1866)

Bradford

Correspondence of the Emperor Charles v and His Ambassadors at the Courts of England and France … Together With the Emperor’s Itinerary from 1519–1531 ed William Bradford (London 1850)

bre

Briefwechsel des Beatus Rhenanus ed Adalbert Horawitz and Karl Hartfelder (Leipzig 1886; repr Hildesheim 1966)

Brendle

Franz Brendle Dynastie, Reich und Reformation: Die württem­ bergischen Herzöge Ulrich and Christoph, die Habsburger und Frankreich (Stuttgart 1998)

Bruehl

C.M. Bruehl, ‘Zwei unbekannte Briefe von Erasmus,’ Quaerendo 16/4 (1986) 243–58

cebr

Contemporaries of Erasmus: A Biographical Register of the Renaissance and Reformation ed Peter G. Bietenholz and Thomas B. Deutscher (Toronto 1985–7) 3 vols

Cognati epistolae

Epistolae aliquot Gilberti Cognati Nozereni et amicorum = pages 295–322 in vol i of Gilberti Cognati Nozereni opera multifarii argumenti (Basel: Heinrich Petri 1562) 3 vols in 1

Cognati opuscula

Gilberti Cognati Nozereni quaedam opuscula perquam erudita & lepida (Basel: Johannes Oporinus 1547)

works frequently cited

634

cr

Philippi Melanchthonis opera quae supersunt omnia ed C.G. Bretschneider et al Corpus reformatorum 1–28 (Halle 1834–60; repr 1963)

cwe

Collected Works of Erasmus (Toronto 1974–  )

Das gelahrte Preussen

Das gelahrte Preussen oder monathlicher Ausszug aus neuen und alten, gedruckten und ungedruckten, grossen und kleinen preussischen Schriften (Thorn [Toruń]: Johann Nicolai 1772–4) 4 vols

Enthoven

Briefe an Desiderius Erasmus von Rotterdam ed L.K. Enthoven (Strasbourg 1906)

Epistolae familiares

Des. Erasmi Roterodami ad Bonif. Amerbachium: cum nonnullis aliis ad Erasmum spectantibus (Basel 1779)

Epistolae floridae

Des. Erasmi Roterodami epistolarum floridarum liber unus antehac nunquam excusus (Basel: J. Herwagen, September 1531)

Epistolae universae

Des. Erasmi Rot. Operum tertius tomus epistolas complectens universas (Basel: Froben 1540)

Fecht

Johannes Fecht Historiae ecclesiasticae seculi a. n. c. xvi supplementum (Durlach: Martin Müller 1684)

Förstemann / Günther Briefe an Desiderius Erasmus von Rotterdam ed. J. Förstemann and O. Günther, x x v ii. Beiheft zum Zentralblatt für Bibliothekwesen (Leipzig 1904) Gerlo

La correspondance d’Érasme traduite et annotée d’apres l’Opus epistolarum de P.S. Allen, H.M. Allen, et H.W. Garrod ed and trans Alois Gerlo and Paul Foriers (Brussels 1967–84) 12 vols

Gilmont

Jean-François Gilmont ‘Gilbert Cousin et Jean Crespin’ in Syntagmata: Essays on Neo-Latin Literature in Honour of Monique Mund-Dopchie and Gilbert Tournoy (Leuven 2009) 385–99

Gresbeck / Mackay

False Prophets and Teachers: Henry Gresbeck’s Account of the Anabaptist Kingdom of Münster tr and ann Christopher S. Mackay (Kirksville, mo [2016])

Greschat

Martin Greschat Martin Bucer: A Reformer and His Times trans Stephen E. Buckwalter (Louisville / London 2004)

Hitchcock

The Life and Death of S[i]r Thomas Moore … by Nicholas Harpsfield ed Elsie Vaughan Hitchcock (London 1932)

works frequently cited 635 Horawitz

Erasmiana ed Adalbert Horawitz, Sitzungsberichte der phil.-hist. Classe der kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften (Vienna 1878, 1880, 1883, 1885) 4 vols

Ipolyi

Oláh Miklós Levelezése ed Arnold Ipolyi, Monumenta Hungariae historica: Diplomataria xxv (Budapest 1875)

Kerssenbrock/Mackay Hermann von Kerssenbrock Narrative of the Anabaptist Madness: The Overthrow of Münster, the Famous Metropolis of Westphalia tr and ann Christopher S. Mackay (Leiden 2007) Klüpfel

Urkunden zur Geschichte des Schwäbischen Bundes, zweiter Theil 1507–1533 ed Karl Klüpfel (Stuttgart 1853)

Knecht

R.J. Knecht Francis i (Cambridge 1982)

Krahn

Cornelius Krahn Dutch Anabaptism: Origin, Spread, Life, and Thought (The Hague 1968)

lb

Desiderii Erasmi opera omnia ed J. Leclerc (Leiden 1703–6; repr 1961–2) 10 vols

Leidinger

Johannes Turmair’s, gennant Aventinus, sämmtliche Werke ed Georg Leidinger, 6 vols (Munich 1881–1908)

Major

Emil Major Erasmus von Rotterdam, no 1 in the series Virorum illustrium reliquiae (Basel 1927)

mbw

Melanchthons Briefwechsel, kritische und kommentierte Gesamtausgabe ed Heinz Scheible et al (Stuttgart-Bad Canstatt 1977–  ) 34 vols to date. The edition is published in two series: Regesten (vols 1–13 in print); and Texte (vols t 1–t 21 in print). The letter numbers are the same in both series. In both series, the letters have identical sub-sections marked by numbers in brackets.

Miaskowski

Casimir von Miaskowski ‘Erasmiana. Beiträge zur Korrespondenz des Erasmus von Rotterdam mit Polen. Teil ii’ Jahrbuch für Philosophie und spekulative Theologie xv (1901) 195–226, 307–60

oer

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation ed Hans J. Hillerbrand et al (New York / Oxford 1996) 4 vols

Opus epistolarum

Opus epistolarum Des. Erasmi Roterodami per autorem diligenter recognitum et adjectis innumeris novis fere ad trientem auctum (Basel: Froben, Herwagen, and Episcopius 1529)

works frequently cited

636

Pastor

Ludwig von Pastor The History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages ed and trans R.F. Kerr et al, 6th ed (London 1938–53) 40 vols

pg

Patrologiae cursus completus … series Graeca ed J.-P. Migne (Paris 1857–66; repr Turnhout) 161 vols. Indexes F. Cavallera (Paris 1912); T. Hopfner (Paris 1928–36) 2 vols

pl

Patrologiae cursus completus … series Latina ed J.-P. Migne, 1st ed (Paris 1844–55, 1862–5; repr Turnhout) 217 vols plus 4 vols indexes

Roth Augs Ref

Friedrich Roth Augsburgs Reformationsgeschichte (Munich 1901–11) 4 vols

Scarisbrick

J.J. Scarisbrick, Henry viii (Berkeley and Los Angeles 1968)

Sepulvedae epistolae

Io. Genesii Sepulvedae … Epistolarum libri septem in quibus cum alia multa quae legantur dignissima traduntur, tum varii loci graviorum doctrinarum eruditissime et elegantissime tractantur ed Juan J. Valverde Abril (Salamanca: J.M. de Terranova and J. Archario 1557)

Sieber

Ludwig Sieber Das Mobiliar des Erasmus: Verzeichnis vom 10. April 1534 (Basel 1891)

Smith

Preserved Smith Erasmus: A Study of His Life, Ideals, and Place in History (New York 1923; repr New York 1962)

Van Gulik

Egbertus van Gulik Erasmus and His Books ed James K. McConica and Johannes Trapman (Toronto / Buffalo / London 2018)

Van Heussen

Historia episcopatuum foederati Belgii ed Hugo Frans van Heussen ii/4: Historia, seu notitia episcopatus leovardiensis (Leiden: Vermey 1719)

Vita Erasmi

Paulus Merula Vita Desiderii Erasmi … Additi sunt Epistolarum ipsius Libri duo … (Leiden: Thomas Basson 1607)

vze

Viglii ab Aytta Zuichemi Epistolae selectae = Analecta Belgica ii/1

wa-Br

D. Martin Luthers Werke: Briefwechsel (Weimar 1930–78) 12 vols

Wierzbowski

Teodor Wierzbowski, Materyały do dziejów piśmiennictwa polskiego i biografii pisarzów polskich (Warsaw 1900) 2 vols

SHORT- T I T L E FO R M S F OR E R AS MUS ’ W OR KS Titles following colons are longer versions of the same, or are alternative titles. Items entirely enclosed in square brackets are of doubtful authorship. For abbreviations, see Works Frequently Cited. Acta: Academiae Lovaniensis contra Lutherum  Opuscula / CWE 71 Adagia: Adagiorum chiliades 1508, etc (Adagiorum collectanea for the primitive form, when required)  LB II / ASD II-1–9 / CWE 30–6 Admonitio adversus mendacium: Admonitio adversus mendacium et obtrectationem  LB X / CWE 78 Annotationes in Novum Testamentum  LB VI / ASD VI-5–10 / CWE 51–60 Antibarbari  LB X / ASD I-1 / CWE 23 Apologia: D. Erasmi Roterodami apologia  lb vi / cwe 41 Apologia ad annotationes Stunicae: Apologia respondens ad ea quae Iacobus Lopis Stunica taxaverat in prima duntaxat Novi Testamenti aeditione  LB IX / ASD IX-2 Apologia ad Caranzam: Apologia ad Sanctium Caranzam, or Apologia de tribus locis, or Responsio ad annotationem Stunicae … a Sanctio Caranza defensam  LB IX / ASD IX-8 Apologia ad Fabrum: Apologia ad Iacobum Fabrum Stapulensem  LB IX / ASD IX-3 / CWE 83 Apologia ad prodromon Stunicae  LB IX / ASD IX-8 Apologia ad Stunicae conclusiones  LB IX / ASD IX-8 Apologia adversus monachos: Apologia adversus monachos quosdam Hispanos (Loca quaedam emendata in second edition, 1529)  LB IX Apologia adversus Petrum Sutorem: Apologia adversus debacchationes Petri Sutoris  LB IX Apologia adversus rhapsodias Alberti Pii: Apologia ad viginti et quattuor libros A. Pii  LB IX / ASD IX-6 / CWE 84 Apologia adversus Stunicae Blasphemiae: Apologia adversus libellum Stunicae cui titulum fecit Blasphemiae et impietates Erasmi  LB IX / ASD IX-8 Apologia contra Latomi dialogum: Apologia contra Iacobi Latomi dialogum de tribus linguis  LB IX / CWE 71 Apologia de ‘In principio erat sermo’: Apologia palam refellens quorundam seditiosos clamores apud populum ac magnates quo in evangelio Ioannis verterit ‘In principio erat sermo’ (1520a); Apologia de ‘In principio erat sermo’ (1520b)  LB IX / CWE 73 Apologia de laude matrimonii: Apologia pro declamatione de laude matrimonii  LB IX / CWE 71 Apologia de loco ‘Omnes quidem’: Apologia de loco taxato in publica professione per Nicolaum Ecmondanum theologum et Carmelitanum Lovanii ‘Omnes quidem resurgemus’  LB IX / CWE 73 Apologia qua respondet invectivis Lei: Apologia qua respondet duabus invectivis Eduardi Lei  Opuscula / ASD IX-4 / CWE 72 Apophthegmata  LB IV / ASD IV-4 / CWE 37–8 Appendix de scriptis Clichtovei  LB IX / CWE 83 Appendix respondens ad Sutorem: Appendix respondens ad quaedam Antapologiae Petri Sutoris  LB IX

short-title forms for erasmus’ works

638

Argumenta: Argumenta in omnes epistolas apostolicas nova (with Paraphrases) Axiomata pro causa Lutheri: Axiomata pro causa Martini Lutheri  Opuscula / CWE 71 Brevissima scholia: In Elenchum Alberti Pii brevissima scholia per eundem Erasmum Roterodamum  ASD IX-6 / CWE 84 Carmina  LB I, IV, V, VIII / ASD I-7 / CWE 85–6 Catalogus lucubrationum  LB I / CWE 9 (Ep 1341A) Christiani hominis institutum, carmen  lb v / asd i-7 / cwe 85−6 Ciceronianus: Dialogus Ciceronianus  LB I / ASD I-2 / CWE 28 Colloquia  LB I / ASD I-3 / CWE 39–40 Compendium vitae  Allen i / CWE 4 Conflictus: Conflictus Thaliae et Barbariei  LB I / ASD I-8 [Consilium: Consilium cuiusdam ex animo cupientis esse consultum]  Opuscula / CWE 71 Contra morosos: Capita argumentorum contra morosos quosdam ac indoctos  lb vi / cwe 41 De bello Turcico: Utilissima consultatio de bello Turcis inferendo, et obiter enarratus psalmus 28  LB V / ASD V-3 / CWE 64 De civilitate: De civilitate morum puerilium  LB I / ASD I-8 / CWE 25 Declamatio de morte  LB IV / asd i-2 / cwe 25 Declamatiuncula  LB IV / ASD IV-7 Declarationes ad censuras Lutetiae vulgatas: Declarationes ad censuras Lutetiae vulgatas sub nomine facultatis theologiae Parisiensis  LB IX / ASD IX-7 / CWE 82 De concordia: De sarcienda ecclesiae concordia, or De amabili ecclesiae concordia (on Psalm 83)  LB V / ASD V-3 / CWE 65 De conscribendis epistolis  LB I / ASD I-2 / CWE 25 De constructione: De constructione octo partium orationis, or Syntaxis  LB I / ASD I-4 De contemptu mundi: Epistola de contemptu mundi  LB V / ASD V-1 / CWE 66 De copia: De duplici copia verborum ac rerum  LB I / ASD I-6 / CWE 24 De delectu ciborum scholia  ASD IX-1 / CWE 73 De esu carnium: Epistola apologetica ad Christophorum episcopum Basiliensem de interdicto esu carnium (published with scholia in a 1532 edition but not in the 1540 Opera)  LB IX / ASD IX-1 / CWE 73 De immensa Dei misericordia: Concio de immensa Dei misericordia  LB V / ASD V-7 / CWE 70 De libero arbitrio: De libero arbitrio diatribe  LB IX / CWE 76 De philosophia evangelica  LB VI / CWE 41 De praeparatione: De praeparatione ad mortem  LB V / ASD V-1 / CWE 70 De pueris instituendis: De pueris statim ac liberaliter instituendis  LB I / ASD I-2 / CWE 26 De puero Iesu: Concio de puero Iesu  LB V / ASD V-7 / CWE 29 De puritate tabernaculi: Enarratio psalmi 14 qui est de puritate tabernaculi sive ecclesiae christianae  LB V / ASD V-2 / CWE 65 De ratione studii  LB I / ASD I-2 / CWE 24

short-title forms for erasmus’ works 639 De recta pronuntiatione: De recta latini graecique sermonis pronuntiatione  LB I / ASD I-4 / CWE 26 De taedio Iesu: Disputatiuncula de taedio, pavore, tristicia Iesu  LB V/ ASD V-7 / CWE 70 Detectio praestigiarum: Detectio praestigiarum cuiusdam libelli Germanice scripti  LB X / ASD IX-1 / CWE 78 De vidua christiana  LB V / ASD V-6 / CWE 66 De virtute amplectenda: Oratio de virtute amplectenda  LB V / CWE 29 [Dialogus bilinguium ac trilinguium: Chonradi Nastadiensis dialogus bilinguium ac trilinguium]  Opuscula / CWE 7 Dilutio: Dilutio eorum quae Iodocus Clichtoveus scripsit adversus declamationem suasoriam matrimonii  Dilutio eorum quae Iodocus Clichtoveus scripsit ed Émile V. Telle (Paris 1968) / CWE 83 Divinationes ad notata Bedae: Divinationes ad notata per Bedam de Paraphrasi Erasmi in Matthaeum, et primo de duabus praemissis epistolis  LB IX / ASD IX-5 Ecclesiastes: Ecclesiastes sive de ratione concionandi  LB V / ASD V-4–5 / CWE 67–8 Elenchus in censuras Bedae: In N. Bedae censuras erroneas elenchus  LB IX / ASD IX-5 Enchiridion: Enchiridion militis christiani  LB V / ASD V-8 / CWE 66 Encomium matrimonii (in De conscribendis epistolis) Encomium medicinae: Declamatio in laudem artis medicae  LB I / ASD I-4 / CWE 29 Epistola ad Dorpium  LB IX / CWE 3 (Ep 337) / CWE 71 Epistola ad fratres Inferioris Germaniae: Responsio ad fratres Germaniae Inferioris ad epistolam apologeticam incerto autore proditam  LB X / ASD IX-1 / CWE 78 Epistola ad gracculos: Epistola ad quosdam impudentissimos gracculos  LB X / CWE 16 (Ep 2275) Epistola apologetica adversus Stunicam  LB IX / ASD IX-8 / CWE 15 (Ep 2172) Epistola apologetica de Termino  LB X / CWE 14 (Ep 2018) Epistola consolatoria: Epistola consolatoria virginibus sacris, or Epistola consolatoria in adversis  LB V / ASD IV-7 / CWE 69 Epistola contra pseudevangelicos: Epistola contra quosdam qui se falso iactant evangelicos  LB X / ASD IX-1 / CWE 78 Euripidis Hecuba  LB I / ASD I-1 Euripidis Iphigenia in Aulide  LB I / ASD I-1 Exomologesis: Exomologesis sive modus confitendi  LB V / ASD V-8 / CWE 67 Explanatio symboli: Explanatio symboli apostolorum sive catechismus  LB V / ASD V-1 / CWE 70 Ex Plutarcho versa  LB IV / ASD IV-2 Formula: Conficiendarum epistolarum formula (see De conscribendis epistolis) Hyperaspistes  LB X / CWE 76–7 In Nucem Ovidii commentarius  LB I / ASD I-1 / CWE 29 In Prudentium: Commentarius in duos hymnos Prudentii  LB V / ASD V-7 / CWE 29 In psalmum 1: Enarratio primi psalmi, ‘Beatus vir,’ iuxta tropologiam potissimum LB V / ASD V-2 / CWE 63

short-title forms for erasmus’ works

640

In psalmum 2: Commentarius in psalmum 2, ‘Quare fremuerunt gentes?’  LB V / ASD V-2 / CWE 63 In psalmum 3: Paraphrasis in tertium psalmum, ‘Domine quid multiplicate’  LB V / ASD V-2 / CWE 63 In psalmum 4: In psalmum quartum concio  LB V / ASD V-2 / CWE 63 In psalmum 22: In psalmum 22 enarratio triplex  LB V / ASD V-2 / CWE 64 In psalmum 33: Enarratio psalmi 33  LB V / ASD V-3 / CWE 64 In psalmum 38: Enarratio psalmi 38  LB V / ASD V-3 / CWE 65 In psalmum 85: Concionalis interpretatio, plena pietatis, in psalmum 85  LB V / ASD V-3 / CWE 64 Institutio christiani matrimonii  LB V / ASD V-6 / CWE 69 Institutio principis christiani  LB IV/ ASD IV-1 / CWE 27 Julius exclusus: Dialogus Julius exclusus e coelis  Opuscula ASD I-8 / CWE 27 Lingua  LB IV / ASD IV-1a / CWE 29 Liturgia Virginis Matris: Virginis Matris apud Lauretum cultae liturgia  LB V / ASD V-1 / CWE 69 Loca quaedam emendata: Loca quaedam in aliquot Erasmi lucubrationibus per ipsum emendata (see Apologia adversus monachos) Luciani dialogi  LB I / ASD I-1 Manifesta mendacia  ASD IX-4 / CWE 71 Methodus (see Ratio) Modus orandi Deum  LB V / ASD V-1 / CWE 70 Moria: Moriae encomium  LB IV / ASD IV-3 / CWE 27 Notatiunculae: Notatiunculae quaedam extemporales ad naenias Bedaicas, or Responsio ad notulas Bedaicas  LB IX / ASD IX-5 Novum Testamentum: Novum instrumentum 1516; Novum Testamentum 1519 and later (Greek and Latin editions and Latin only editions)  LB VI / ASD VI-2, 3, 4 Obsecratio ad Virginem Mariam: Obsecratio sive oratio ad Virginem Mariam in rebus adversis, or Obsecratio ad Virginem Matrem Mariam in rebus adversis  LB V / CWE 69 Oratio de pace: Oratio de pace et discordia  LB VIII / ASD IV-7 Oratio funebris: Oratio funebris in funere Bertae de Heyen  LB VIII / asd iv-7 / CWE 29 Paean Virgini Matri: Paean Virgini Matri dicendus  LB V / CWE 69 Panegyricus: Panegyricus ad Philippum Austriae ducem  LB IV / ASD IV-1 / CWE 27 Parabolae: Parabolae sive similia  LB I / ASD I-5 / CWE 23 Paraclesis LB V, VI / ASD V-7 / CWE 41 Paraphrasis in Elegantias Vallae: Paraphrasis in Elegantias Laurentii Vallae  LB I / ASD I-4 Paraphrasis in Matthaeum, etc  LB VII / ASD VII-1−6 / CWE 42–50 Peregrinatio apostolorum: Peregrinatio apostolorum Petri et Pauli  LB VI, VII / CWE 41

short-title forms for erasmus’ works 641 Precatio ad Virginis filium Iesum  LB V / CWE 69 Precatio dominica  LB V / CWE 69 Precationes: Precationes aliquot novae  LB V / CWE 69 Precatio pro pace ecclesiae: Precatio ad Dominum Iesum pro pace ecclesiae  LB IV, V / CWE 69 Prologus supputationis: Prologus in supputationem calumniarum Natalis Bedae (1526), or Prologus supputationis errorum in censuris Bedae (1527)  LB IX / ASD IX-5 Purgatio adversus epistolam Lutheri: Purgatio adversus epistolam non sobriam Martini Lutheri  LB X / ASD IX-1 / CWE 78 Querela pacis  LB IV / ASD IV-2 / CWE 27 Ratio: Ratio seu Methodus compendio perveniendi ad veram theologiam (Methodus for the shorter version originally published in the Novum instrumentum of 1516)  LB V, VI / CWE 41 Responsio ad annotationes Lei: Responsio ad annotationes Eduardi Lei  LB IX / ASD IX-4 / CWE 72 Responsio ad Collationes: Responsio ad Collationes cuiusdam iuvenis gerontodidascali  LB IX / CWE 73 Responsio ad disputationem de divortio: Responsio ad disputationem cuiusdam Phimostomi de divortio  LB IX / ASD IX-4 / CWE 83 Responsio ad epistolam Alberti Pii: Responsio ad epistolam paraeneticam Alberti Pii, or Responsio ad exhortationem Pii  LB IX / ASD IX-6 / CWE 84 Responsio ad notulas Bedaicas (see Notatiunculae) Responsio ad Petri Cursii defensionem: Epistola de apologia Cursii  LB X / CWE 21 (Ep 3032) Responsio adversus febricitantis cuiusdam libellum  LB X Spongia: Spongia adversus aspergines Hutteni  LB X / ASD IX-1 / CWE 78 Supputatio: Supputatio errorum in censuris Bedae  LB IX Supputationes: Supputationes errorum in censuris Natalis Bedae: contains Supputatio and reprints of Prologus supputationis; Divinationes ad notata Bedae; Elenchus in censuras Bedae; Appendix respondens ad Sutorem; Appendix de scriptis Clithovei  LB IX / ASD IX-5 Tyrannicida: Tyrannicida, declamatio Lucianicae respondens  LB I / ASD I-1 / CWE 29 Virginis et martyris comparatio  LB V / ASD V-7 / CWE 69 Vita Hieronymi: Vita divi Hieronymi Stridonensis  Opuscula / asd viii-1/ CWE 61

CORR I GE N D A FO R E AR L I E R V OL UME S

cwe 2 Page 360 (Index), under Bruni: for ‘63 ... 63’ read ‘65 ... 65’ cwe 5 Page 446n (Index), under Erasmus, original works, Paraphrasis ad Romanos, dispersal of copies: insert ‘217’ cwe 6 page 422, cwe 7 page 445, cwe 8 page 471, cwe 9 page 467, cwe 10 page 486, cwe 11 page 410, cwe 12 page 710, cwe 13 page 529 (Short Title Forms), under Epistola ad gracculos: for ‘imprudentissimos’ read ‘impudentissimos’ cwe 7 page 446, cwe 8 page 472, cwe 9 page 468 (Short Title Forms), under Purgatio: for ‘lb ix’ read ‘lb x’ cwe 14 Page 488 (Short Title Forms), under Prologus supputationis: for ‘1527’ read ‘1526’ cwe 15 Page 218, Ep 2156 introduction, line 2: for ‘Brisigoicus’ read ‘Brisgoicus’ Page 396 (Index), under Erasmus, original works, Colloquia: for ‘376n’ read ‘375n’ Page 402 (Index), under Switzerland: for ‘369’ read ‘368’ cwe 16 Page xi (Preface) n2: for ‘2215 n10’ read ‘2215 n11’ cwe 17 Page 376 (Short Title Forms), under De constructione: for ‘asd i4’ read ‘asd i-4’ Page 377 (Short Title Forms), under Epistola ad gracculos: for ‘imprudentissimos’ read ‘impudentissimos’ Page 378 (Short Title Forms): for ‘[]ulius exclusus’ read ‘[Julius exclusus’ Page 379 (Short Title Forms): under Responsio ad annotationes Lei: for ‘annotations’ read ‘annotationes’ cwe 18 Page 41, Ep 2493, n6, last line: for ‘August 1531’ read ‘August 1521’

corrigenda for earlier volumes 643 Page 406 (Short Title Forms), under Epistola ad gracculos: for ‘imprudentissimos’ read ‘impudentissimos’ Page 422 (Index), under Warham, Erasmus’ pensions from: read ‘48n, 186n’ Page 422 (Index), under Wrocław: for ‘291n’ read ‘219n’ cwe 19 Page 46, Ep 2654 introduction, line 1: for ‘chancellor’ read ‘vice-chancellor’ cwe 20 Page 65, Ep 2824 heading: for ‘29 June’ read ‘19 June’; delete the year-date at the end of the letter (line 27) Page 135, Ep 2861 introduction: According to information supplied by the manuscript division of the National Library of Poland, the manuscript, identified by Allen as a rough draft, is in fact a nearly contemporary copy. Moreover, a letter dated 25 August 1535 cannot have been sent from Cracow. From the end of July to the middle of September Tomicki was living in the episcopal residence at Kielce, more than seventy miles from Cracow. Page 336 (‘Erasmus’ Illnesses in His Final Years’), first paragraph, second sentence, read: ‘In conformity with the then prevailing view that illness is caused by external influences that disrupt the balance among the bodily humours, he attributed the pain in his feet, hands, and other joints to unfavourable weather, and almost always referred to it as ‘gout.‘ Page 340 (Table of Correspondents), under Ep 2824: for ‘29 June’ read ‘19 June’ Page 354 (Index), insert: ‘Aquinas. See Thomas Aquinas, St’ Page 363 (Index), insert: Thomas Aquinas, St 162

This page intentionally left blank

Index

Accolti, Benedetto, cardinal of Ravenna  213n Adrian vi, pope  56 Aesculapius  585 Africa, Africans  148, 196, 222n, 299, 334, 337, 349, 354, 362, 377, 387, 397, 436n, 437, 447n. See also Tunis, Charles v’s siege of Agricola, Rodolphus  202, 311 Alaard of Amsterdam  380n Alciati, Andrea, professor of law at Pavia  74, 80n, 81, 88, 89, 102, 107, 167n, 187, 237, 239, 319n Aldridge, Robert  245, 348 Aldus. See Manuzio, Aldo Aleandro, Girolamo, cardinal and papal legate  xxi, 63, 66n, 108, 134, 181n, 189n, 256, 305, 311n, 317n, 320n, 382, 417n, 545n, 550n Alexander the Great  173n, 300, 407n, 566 Algoet, Lieven, Erasmus’ former famulus  90n, 114n, 127n, 244n, 330n, 333n, 347n, 503 Al-Hasan. See Hasan ben Muhammad, alAlviano, Bartolomeo d’  310, 311 Ambrose, St  148 Amelius, Georgius  357n Amerbach, Basilius  3, 8, 620n Amerbach, Bonifacius, professor of law at Basel and trustee of Erasmus’ will  xxv–xxvi, 10n, 12, 78n, 79, 82n, 91n, 93, 100n, 103n, 211n, 242n, 256n, 385, 386, 398n, 415n, 435, 442, 444n, 466, 523, 540n, 541, 549n, 552n, 557n, 579, 592, 594; and the publication of the

Catalogi duo of Erasmus’ works  xxv– xxvi, 576, 577–8 – letters from  6–8, 27, 72–3, 73–4, 80–1, 88–9, 109–11, 114–15, 122–3, 131, 215–16, 378–9 – letters to  2–3, 13–14, 89–90, 123–4, 130, 214–15, 378, 412–14, 470–1, 622–3 – letter to Johann (ii) Paumgartner from  570–8 Amerbach, Margarete  466n Amsdorf, Nikolaus von  77, 526n, 544 Amsterdam  xxv, 133n, 286, 365, 397n, 504 Anabaptists, Anabaptism  xv–xvii, 37n, 41–2, 45–6n, 59–60, 62n, 68, 77, 90, 94n, 95, 96, 112, 114, 127, 135–7, 139, 185, 250n, 267n, 275–8, 281–2, 287, 294–5, 332, 365, 372, 393n, 503–4; Erasmus’ opinion of xv–xvi. See also Münster, Anabaptist kingdom of Anacharsis  302 Andrelini, Fausto  25n Anthony of Egypt, St  176n Antonin, Jan  52, 62, 403n, 564 – letter from  561–3 Antonius, Petrus  389 Antwerp  36, 91n, 133, 331, 340, 347, 381, 383, 497, 500n, 517n, 541n, 550, 592 Apollinaris  277n Aquinas. See Thomas Aquinas, St Areopagites  161 Ariosto, Ludovico  161 Aristotle, Aristotelians  82n, 300, 301, 406, 440n, 472n, 566, 568n

index Artolf, Hieronymus  123n Astudillo, Alvaro de  127n, 208, 348, 349, 391, 411, 412 Athanasius, St  26 Audley, Thomas  438n, 606 Augsburg  15n, 16n, 17, 29–31, 32, 59, 93n, 94n, 97n, 102n, 118n, 119, 305, 329, 350, 353n, 354, 360, 376n, 387, 435, 460n, 503n Augsburg, Diet of (1530)  66n, 87n, 420n Augsburg Confession  59n, 95n Augustine, courier  517–18, 519 Augustine of Hippo, St  54, 121, 148, 151, 158, 170n, 171, 389, 434n, 468, 509, 547 Augustus (Octavian Augustus), emperor  159n, 166n, 196n, 312, 566, 614 Aulus Gellius  307 Austria  xvi, 117n, 379n Aventinus, Johannes  151, 323; works: Annales ducum boiarae/Bayrischer Chronik 251n Germania illustrata/ Zeitbuch über ganz Teutschland 251n, 323n Averroes  440n Baden (Aargau)  65n, 77 Baechem, Nicolaas (known as Egmondanus)  266 Baer, Franz (i)  388, 402 Baer, Franz (ii)  403n Baer, Ludwig  72, 103n, 108, 141n, 142, 192n, 193, 228, 231, 232, 235, 236, 239n, 240, 242, 243, 244, 297n, 353–4, 356n, 365, 400, 402, 403, 406n, 594, 622n – letter from  211–14 – letters to  387–8, 392–3 Baldo degli Ubaldi  177n, 440n Balenus, Andreas, professor of Hebrew at the Collegium Trilingue in Louvain  331, 381n, 382n, 551n Bar Cochba. See Cochba, Simon bar Barbaro, Ermolao  230n, 306 Barbier, Pierre, dean of Tournai  55, 56–7, 68, 129, 242, 347n, 348 Barre, Antoine de la, archbishop of Tours  479n Bartolo da Sassoferrato  177n, 440n

646 Basel  xxv, 3n, 13n, 35n, 50n, 61, 69, 72n, 73n, 81n, 83n, 88n, 99n, 100n, 106n, 115n, 119, 123n, 125n, 135n, 138n, 141n, 143n, 193n, 215n, 235, 239n, 251n, 253, 295n, 315n, 333, 340, 347n, 376n, 378n, 379, 381n, 385, 386, 389, 390n, 392n, 395, 403n, 414n, 415n, 422n, 427n, 449n, 450, 451n, 452, 455, 465, 466n, 472n, 485n, 496n, 502n, 512n, 518, 519, 534n, 535n, 537, 541n, 549n, 550n, 553, 556, 557n, 558, 559, 561n, 563n, 573–4, 575, 576, 578n, 592, 602n, 604, 620n, 623; Erasmus moves back to xxiv, 242n, 246n, 252n, 341n, 348, 351, 356n, 369–70, 398n, 399n, 430, 555 Basilides  170 Beatus Rhenanus  xxv, 229n, 305n, 417, 418n, 515n, 547n, 552n, 573, 585, 592, 594 – letter from Johann Herwagen to  558–60 Beaufort, Lady Margaret 327n Bebel, Johann  36, 450, 563n Bechyně, Petr – letter from  243–4 Béda, Noël, syndic of the Paris faculty of theology  60, 61n, 249 Bede, St 24 Bedyll, Thomas  335, 349, 381, 486, 492, 493 – letter from 390–1 Bembo, Pietro  25n, 60n, 101n, 103, 167, 187, 243n, 307, 350, 353n, 354, 355, 361n, 432, 448 – letter from  84–5 – letters to  49–50, 242–3 Bérault, Nicolas  464 – letter from  445–6 Bergamo  307 Bernard of Clairvaux, St  158, 165 Beroaldo, Filippo (ii)  306 Besançon  440n, 520, 533n, 536, 537, 540; Erasmus plans to move to xxiv, 242, 370, 380n, 398n, 399, 430, 447, 482–3, 484, 485, 487n, 494n, 534, 550, 574n Bibliander, Theodorus  423n; Propheta Nahuym iuxta Veritatem Hebraicam,

index 647 Latine redditus … adjecta exegesi … 424n Birckmann, Arnold  346 Blarer, Thomas 65, 602n Blount, Charles, fifth Baron Mountjoy  524n – letter to  461 Blount, William, fourth Baron Mountjoy  xxviiin, 242, 304, 305n, 328, 458–9, 461, 494, 539 Boccaccio, Giovanni  163 Boleyn, Anne, queen of England  xviii, 19n, 29n, 139n, 245n, 335n, 524n Boleyn, Thomas, earl of Wiltshire  245n, 335n, 368n, 456n Bollandus, Johannes Sutor  413n Bologna  41n, 62, 65, 87n, 142n, 143n, 144n, 166, 167, 175, 176n, 177, 182, 228, 230n, 243n, 305, 306, 379n, 498n, 532 Bombace, Paolo  65, 167, 228, 305 Bonamico, Lazzaro  103n, 350, 353n, 354, 355, 432, 448 Boner, Seweryn  5, 62, 63n, 596 – letter from  210–11 Bonvalot, François  415n, 431, 442, 483, 485n, 511n, 535n, 537 – letter from  484 – letter to  533–4 Botzheim, Johann von  102, 214, 229 – letter from  86–8 Bourbon, Charles iii, duke of  228, 310 Boyssoné, Jean de  464n – letter from  443–5 Brabant  xxvn, 2n, 33, 45n, 55, 62, 92n, 229, 242, 256, 306, 315, 321n, 331n, 353n, 355, 370, 381n, 383n, 397, 447, 456, 460, 497, 498, 499, 500, 501, 541n, 542, 547, 549n, 550, 573, 574, 592, 596; Erasmus abandons plans to return to  xxiv, 398n Bracciolini, Poggio  353 Bressanone  193, 213 Brigittines  618 Brisgoicus, Johannes  595 Bruni, Leonardo  353n Brussels  xvi, xxi, 134, 229, 337, 497, 499, 500

Bucer, Martin  59n, 81, 93, 94n, 95, 142–3n, 167n, 232n, 544, 545; Defensio … adversus … criminationem R.P. Roberti episcopi Abrincensis  81 Budé, Guillaume  167n, 247, 363 Burgundy  75n, 370, 380, 397, 398n, 430, 484n, 487n, 528n, 536, 553; Erasmus’ need for the wines of  370, 484n, 578 Burmania, Rienck van  239n, 244n, 393n Buschius, Hermannus  48, 61, 62n, 86, 271 Busleyden, Gilles de  500, 502, 503 Busleyden, Jérôme de  332n, 500n Büsslin, Margarete  357n, 385n, 385–6, 414n, 441n Caesar, Julius  168n, 614 Caesarius, Johannes – letter from  190–1 Calcagnini, Celio  36, 167n, 355, 432n, 514 Calvus (Francesco Giulio Calvo)  319n, 582–3 Cambrai  332, 334, 373, 615n; Peace of (1529)  xvi, 491n, 531n Camillo, Giulio  305 Camillus, Marcus Furius  311 Cammingha, Haio  48 Campeggi, Lorenzo Cardinal  213, 595n, 601, 611 Campen, Jan van  63, 134, 331n Capito, Wolfgang  95n, 145n, 180, 181n, 385n Carinus, Ludovicus  13 Carneades  509 Carondelet, Jean (ii) de, archbishop of Palermo  55n, 498n, 551n Carpentras  73, 78n Carthusians  xix, 13, 45n, 97n, 190, 346, 355n, 433, 603, 611, 618 Castro, Alvaro de  127n Castro, Luis de  127n, 208 Cato the Elder  25, 168, 181, 266, 409, 509 Cerinthus  170 Chapuys, Eustache, imperial ambassador to England  113n, 127, 132n, 135n, 207, 208, 242, 245n, 388n, 486, 493n, 494n, 524, 525

index – letter from  455–9 – letter to Erasmus Schets from  569 Charles v, Holy Roman Emperor, king of Spain, duke of Burgundy  xiii, xvii, xviii, 2, 3n, 17, 33, 34, 36, 37, 42n, 55, 59, 67n, 68, 69, 87, 95n, 96, 97, 104n, 117, 119, 127, 129, 130, 132, 134n, 135n, 140, 145n, 182n, 186n, 195, 196, 205n, 208, 209, 213, 214n, 219, 227, 233, 256, 281, 300n, 309n, 310n, 334, 337, 338n, 349, 362, 365, 370, 371, 372, 377n, 380n, 387, 388, 394, 397, 399n, 401, 419, 421, 426n, 427n, 431, 435, 436n, 442n, 447, 459, 460, 488, 495, 498, 500, 501–2, 502n, 503n, 504, 525, 526n, 531, 532, 553n, 555n, 556, 572, 573, 574, 594, 617. See also Tunis, Charles v’s siege of Christian, duke of Schleswig-Holstein  344, 345n Chrysippus  509 Cibo, Caterina, duchess of Camerino  74, 134n Cicero, Ciceronians  xxi, 10n, 12, 155n, 161n, 168, 181, 187, 230–1, 300n, 306, 307, 313, 314, 351, 352, 400, 440, 573–4, 614, 615 Clauthus, Johannes, Erasmus’ servantmessenger  32n, 33, 89, 90, 96n, 113–14, 124–7, 132, 207, 245, 257, 383 Cleanthes  509 Clement vii, pope  57n, 78n, 134n, 139, 161, 168n, 236n, 303n, 337n, 361n, 405n, 572n, 574, 617, 622n Cles, Bernhard von, cardinal-bishop of Trent, chancellor to Ferdinand of Austria – letters from  4, 488–9, 495–6 Cochba, Simon bar  269n Cochlaeus, Johannes, secretary and chaplain to Duke George of Saxony  22n, 184, 185, 374n; works: Antiqua et insignis Epistola Nicolai Pape i  142n, 374n; De matrimonio serenissimi Regis Angliae Henrici Octavi  141n; Scopa Ioannis Cochlaei Germani in Araneas Ricardi Morysini Angli  141n

648 – letters to  89, 141–2 – letter [from Heinrich Stromer?] to  556–8 Coelho, Jorge  229n, 350 Coligny, Odet de, archbishop of Toulouse  445n Cologne  xvi, xx, 36, 41, 43, 44n, 46, 72n, 112n, 113n, 175, 183n, 257n, 265n, 283, 286n, 345, 393, 514n, 621 Constance  65, 95, 602n Contarini, Gasparo Cardinal  404 Conti, Primo de’  102 – letter from  50–1 Coomans, Lambert, Erasmus’ servant  330n, 331n, 332n, 378n, 381n, 486n, 517n, 519n, 534n, 594n Coppin, Nicolas  332 Cordoba  25 Cornier, Jean and Aimé  537n Corsi, Pietro  xxi–xxii, 159n, 165n, 194n, 220n, 221, 222–4, 225, 231n, 246n, 296–320 (text of Erasmus’ Responsio to Corsi’s Defensio),  361, 382, 401n, 448, 463, 488, 537–8, 545; Defensio pro Italia ad Erasmum Roterodamum  xxii, 159n, 194n, 220n, 382n – spurious letter of Erasmus to  581–9 Corvinus, Antonius,  119n, 271, 545 Cosenza  431 Courtrai, Erasmus’ annuity from  56, 129n, 380n, 447n Cousin, Gilbert, Erasmus’ famulus  xxii, 78n, 80, 91n, 103n, 126n, 137n, 143n, 151n, 231n, 241n, 296n, 323n, 355n, 376n, 381n, 386n, 397n, 398n, 399, 413n, 427n, 431n, 433n, 435n, 483n, 484n, 517n, 519n, 533, 602, 603, 604 – letters from  100–1, 414–16, 439–43, 523, 534–41 – letters to  464–6, 485–8 Cranmer, Thomas, archbishop of Canterbury  57n, 58 (illustration), 125n, 335n, 391n, 412n, 456n, 492n, 524n Cromwell, Thomas, principal secretary to Henry viii  90n, 124n, 126n, 141n, 207, 335n, 390n, 301, 412n, 486, 490–2n, 491 (illustration), 524

index 649 – letter to  493–4 Crusius (Georg Kruss)  357n Cunctator, Fabius  155n, 300 Cyprian, St  158, 165n Cyril of Alexandria, St  26

– letter from  83–4 Dülmen  xvi, 38n, 48, 62, 135n, 238n, 271, 295n, 296n, 394n; Treaty of  44n Dusentschuer, Johann  283n Dussin, Jacques  537

Dąbrowski, Marcin Słap – letter from  531–3 Daguet, Pierre  540 Dante Alighieri  163 Dantiscus, Johannes, bishop of Chełmno  53n, 89n, 134n, 504n, 511n Davidts, Maarten  134, 135n, 208, 229 Decius, Justus Lodovicus  211n, 232, 358, 564n – letter from  51–2 – letter to  52–63 Democritus  509, 562 Demosthenes  7n, 10n, 314, 409, 512, 551 Derrer, Sebastian  357n Desprez, Etienne  482, 483n, 485 – letter from  517–20 Deventer  136, 280, 514n; pope bestows on Erasmus provostship of  xix, 192n, 321, 322, 336, 359n, 375, 396n, 399, 406, 421n, 430 Didymus  389 Dilft, Frans van der  135, 229, 333, 380, 502 Diogenes  562, 614, 624 Dionysius ii of Syracuse  568n Dionysius of Miletus  586n Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite  190 Dole  517, 534, 536n, 537 Dolet, Etienne  xxi, 187–9, 188 (illustration), 190, 231, 256n, 382, 416–17, 460n, 530, 538n, 545; Dialogus de imitatione Ciceroniana  xxi, 187n, 190n, 382n, 417n, 538n Donatus  298, 301 Donauwörth  116, 117n Doria, Andrea  87, 96, 120n, 196n, 205 Doria, Filippo  196 Driedo, Jan  332 Dryander, Johannes  99 Du Bellay, Jean, cardinal-bishop of Paris  338n, 477n, 481n Du Chastel, Pierre

Ebionites  170 Eck, Johann Maier of  305n, 555n, 625 Eck, Leonhard von, chancellor of Bavaria – letters to  250–2, 323 Eck von der Langenstrate, Hans  259n, 341n Edingen (Enghien)  383 Egmond, Karel van, duke of Gelderland  525n Egmondanus. See Baechem, Nicolaas Egnazio, Giambattista  77, 167, 305 – letter from  66–7 Eleanor of Austria, queen of France  334 Enckenvoirt, Cardinal Willem van  331n, 381n England, the English  xviii–xix, 4n, 33, 34, 54, 57, 59, 68, 89n, 90, 96, 98n, 123, 124–5, 126, 127, 132n, 135n, 142, 198, 199, 207–8, 233, 241, 242, 245n, 304, 305, 306, 328, 335, 346, 348, 349, 355n, 364, 373–4, 388, 389n, 390n, 391, 396, 400n, 405n, 411, 433, 436, 437n, 445n, 447n, 472n, 486, 490n, 492n, 493n, 524, 525, 541, 542, 556, 572, 577n, 603, 605, 607, 611, 612, 618 Eobanus Hessus, Helius – letter to  623–5 Ephorinus, Anselmus  31, 35n, 62n, 65, 75, 98n, 99, 130, 175, 176, 210n, 488, 623n – letter from  336–7 Episcopius, Nicolaus, Basel printer  xxv, 10n, 12n, 389n, 443, 521, 523, 541, 575, 579, 594, 595, 602 Erasmus, last will of  xxv, 211n, 417n, 539n, 579, 591–6 (text) Erasmus, original works – Adagia  xxii, xxiii, 6, 7, 9, 12, 14, 28, 35, 43, 44, 48, 54, 64, 67, 70, 71, 73, 79, 81, 82, 83, 86, 88, 115, 118, 119, 133, 138, 141, 142, 146, 154, 160, 161, 163,

index

– –

– – – – – – – – – – – – –

164, 167, 168, 169, 171, 174, 175, 178, 184, 194, 197, 201, 202, 204, 214, 217, 218, 221, 224, 229, 230, 238, 242, 248, 256, 257, 266, 267, 270, 275, 277, 278, 283, 289, 296, 297, 298, 299, 303, 306, 313, 314, 315, 317, 318, 324, 325, 329, 340, 343, 346, 350, 354, 356, 361, 363, 365, 366, 367, 368, 369, 374, 376, 386, 396, 398, 399, 406, 408, 409, 410, 415, 416, 417, 428, 436, 439, 454, 456, 457, 458, 461, 462, 472, 474, 475, 476, 497, 499, 501, 502, 503, 506, 509, 510, 515, 516, 519, 523, 524, 535, 536, 537, 538, 560, 574, 577, 584, 585, 586, 587, 588, 599, 605, 622 Apophthegmata  7n, 167, 407n, 409n, 431, 489, 523, 571 Catalogi duo operum Des. Erasmi Roterodami ab ipso conscripti et digesti  xxv–xxvi, 449n, 515n, 517n, 570n, 576, 577–8 Catalogus lucubrationum  xxv, 449n, 531n, 570n Ciceronianus  xxi, 63, 157n, 187n, 189n, 194n, 231n, 306, 307n, 352n Colloquia  121n, 144, 166, 167, 176n, 200, 306n, 473, 534 Compendium rhetorices  103n, 229n Conficiendarum epistolarum formula. See De conscribendis epistolis De bello Turcico  309n, 449n, 521n De conscribendis epistolis  167, 446n, 471n, 472n, 473n, 474, 598 De copia verborum  xxiii, 10n, 11n, 12, 167n, 474n De immensa Dei misericordia  368n De praeparatione ad mortem  51n, 53n, 245n, 368n, 456n, 457n, 548n De puritate tabernaculi  xxiii, 183n, 443n, 450n, 473n, 562, 574 De sarcienda ecclesiae concordia  xvin, 82n, 119n, 333, 476n, 509n Ecclesiastes  xviii, xix, xxiii, xxiv, 16n, 54, 89, 98n, 112, 149, 186, 192, 226, 230, 234, 242n, 249, 252, 255, 323, 324n, 326 (illustration), 341n, 348, 355n, 365, 368, 369, 375, 376, 385, 387,

650 399, 411, 424, 426n, 430, 432, 440, 448, 449, 483, 486, 515n, 550, 573 – Enchiridion  166, 178, 187n, 198n, 200, 440, 621n – Exomologesis  187n – Explanatio symboli  245n, 368n, 457n – Institutio christianae matrimonii  141n – Iudicium de apologia Petri Cursii  xxii, 194n, 219n, 220–4 (text), 297n, 583n – Liturgia Virginis Matris  166 – Modus orandi deum  121n – Moriae encomium  201, 480 – Opera omnia (Basel 1540) xxv, 592 – Parabolae  16 – Paraclesis  177n – Paraphrases in Novum Testamentum  xxiii, 10n, 12n, 144, 351, 425, 440 – Paraphrasis in Elegantias Vallae  473 – Precationes aliquot novae  xxiii, 120n, 121n, 224, 377, 418, 503n – Purgatio adversus epistolam Lutheri  xx, 4n, 17, 18, 54n, 77n, 223n, 318n – Ratio seu methodus  144n, 177n – Responsio ad Petri Cursii Defensionem  xxii, 296–320 (text), 361n, 376, 583 Erasmus, editions and translations – Cicero De officiis  25n – Fragmentum commentariorum Origenis in evangelium secundum Mattheum, 557n – Novum Testamentum  xxiii, 23, 54, 144, 150n, 177n, 351, 467n, 468n, 512n, 620n – Origen Opera  xxiii, 546n, 547, 551–2, 558, 573, 574, 578 – Seneca Opera  523, 559n Eschenfelder, Christoph  99 – letter from  182–3 – letters to  443, 450–1 Expositio fidelis, account of the trial and death of Thomas More and John Fisher  605–18; authorship of  602–4; contents of  603. See also under Fisher, John; More, Thomas Faber Emmeus, Johannes  10n, 339 Fabri, Johannes, bishop of Vienna  372, 568, 617n

index 651 – letter from  226–7 Fabricius, Petrus  472, 474n Ferber, Moritz, bishop of Warmia  511–12n Ferber, Nikolaus, Franciscan of Cologne  xx–xxi, 9n, 37n, 62n, 383n, 398n, 476n; Enarrationes evangeliorum per sacrum quadragesimae tempus occurren­ tium xxn, 9n, 383n Ferdinand of Hapsburg, archduke of Austria, king of Bohemia and Hungary, king of the Romans  xiv, 2, 4n, 15–16, 20n, 59, 80n, 87, 95, 101n, 117n, 118, 119n, 129, 137n, 140, 218–19, 244n, 357n, 370, 372–3, 387, 395, 401, 427, 454, 465n, 496n, 533n, 544n, 562, 572 – letter to  451–2 – letter from Fridericus Nausea to  565–9 Ferrara  35n, 36n, 75n, 98n, 144n, 180, 189, 243n, 421, 448, 474n, 514n, 563n Fieschi, Battista  167 Filelfo, Francesco  353 Filonardi, Ennio, bishop of Veroli  99n, 108n, 192n, 212n Fisher, John, bishop of Rochester xxiv, 327, 449, 492n; imprisonment, trial, and execution of  xviii, xix, 19, 57, 59n, 68, 96, 123, 124n, 127, 132n, 139, 233n, 241, 255n, 324n, 328, 334, 335, 346, 348, 353, 355, 361, 364, 374, 388, 400n, 404, 416n, 426, 433n, 436, 437, 438, 458, 486n, 539, 603, 611–13, 617, 618 Fisher, Robert  472n, 474n, 598 Flanders  280, 315, 397, 605, 617 Florence  74n, 161, 303n, 307, 360 Foliatus, Augustinus  36n Fortiguerra, Scipione  305 Fox, Edward  486 France, the French  xviii, 50, 56, 74, 80, 81n, 96n, 97, 148, 161, 162n, 169n, 172, 198, 205n, 233, 247, 249, 250, 311n, 315, 352, 355n, 357n, 364, 365, 380n, 383n, 427n, 444, 445n, 446, 514n, 525n, 541, 546n, 553, 595, 603, 605, 609, 615n, 616, 623

Francis i, king of France  xvii–xviii, 61n, 83n, 87, 95, 97, 104, 119, 130, 139, 205n, 219, 245n, 334n, 338n, 354n, 362n, 373n, 427n, 464, 481n, 496n, 502n, 514n, 525n, 531n, 532, 533n, 555n, 572 Franciscans  33, 34, 37n, 55, 97n, 363, 534, 537n Frankfurt am Main  389n, 411; book fairs at  5, 51, 132n, 207, 264, 265n, 335, 349, 524, 576 Freiburg im Breisgau  xxv, 9n, 13n, 20, 32n, 35n, 38n, 50n, 51, 64n, 65n, 66n, 69, 72, 83n, 84, 88n, 97n, 98n, 99n, 101n, 102n, 110n, 118, 129n, 135n, 143n, 144n, 212n, 213n, 215n, 228n, 235n, 239n, 240n, 241n, 242, 243n, 247n, 264n, 295n, 315n, 338, 339n, 341, 350, 351, 353n, 356n, 357n, 378, 381, 385n, 392n, 395n, 403, 412n, 413n, 445n, 447n, 448, 480, 540, 541n, 548n, 549n, 556n, 573, 592, 602, 623n, 624n; Erasmus’ decision to move away from  xxiv, 369–71, 384, 387–8, 399n, 550. See also Basel, Erasmus moves back to Fries, Anna  423n Friesland  xv, 41, 42, 45, 48, 112, 136, 239n, 280, 284n Froben, Erasmius  11n, 88, 215 Froben, Hieronymus, publisher at Basel  xxiv, xxv, 10n, 11, 12n, 17, 31, 35–6, 73, 76, 84–5, 86, 110, 111, 115, 215n, 246, 263, 340, 341, 346, 349, 369n, 378n, 379n, 411, 417, 442, 449n, 466, 521n, 523, 541, 557n, 558, 559n, 560, 575, 577n, 579, 594, 595, 602 Froben, Johann, publisher at Basel  10n, 11n, 215, 251, 476 Fuchs, Leonhard  3n, 7n, 13n Fugger, Anton  16, 17n, 31, 33n, 53, 98, 116, 118, 329, 452n, 595n Fugger firm  208, 453n Gelenius, Sigismundus  73n, 138, 229–30, 231, 351, 356, 358, 433, 443, 466, 530, 541, 595

index Genoa  196n, 198n, 205n, 241, 307, 348 George, duke of Saxony  15, 16n, 225, 420n George of Austria, bishop of Bressanone  360 Gering, Christoph – letters from  21, 108–9 Germans  37, 67, 97, 222, 249, 304, 310, 320, 351, 490, 518, 616 Germany (Holy Roman Empire)  xiii, xiv, xv, xvi, xvii, xviii, 2n, 5, 8, 15, 16, 21, 43, 46, 48, 50n, 57, 59, 66n, 67, 68, 77, 81n, 90, 91n, 95n, 102n, 117, 132, 161, 172, 182, 183, 198, 224, 251, 266, 283, 286, 300, 309n, 310, 315, 318, 323n, 350, 354n, 372n, 373, 377, 427n, 486, 503, 542, 549n, 553, 555, 560, 584, 585, 603, 620n Ghent  380 Ghinucci, Girolamo Cardinal  405 Giese, Tiedemann – letter from  504–13 – letter to  543 Giles of Viterbo (Egidio Antonini)  305 Gillis, Pieter  229 Glareanus, Henricus  50, 72, 381n, 585 – letters from  356–7, 385–7 – letter to  384–5 Goclenius, Conradus, professor of Latin at the Collegium Triligue in Louvain  xxvn, 25, 208, 321n, 374n, 398n, 525, 541–2, 592–3, 595, 596 – letters from  132–5, 330–6, 395–7, 496–504 – letters to  379–82, 549–51 Gogreve, Johann, chancellor of JülichCleves  263, 265 Gois, Damião de, Portuguese diplomat and humanist  9, 27n, 32n, 33, 49, 50n, 76–7, 85, 87n, 125, 126, 242n, 321, 348, 487, 556n, 602 – letters from  434–7, 448–50, 552–5 – letters to  64–5, 102–3, 228–32, 349–55, 432–3, 433–4 – letter from an Englishman to  437–8 Grapheus, Cornelius  90, 91, 125, 245n, 411 – letter from  382–4

652 Gravius, Bernardus  338n, 339, 340 Gravius, Tielmannus  xvi, 38n, 239n, 252n, 253, 347n, 419 – letters from  111–13, 338–40, 340–7, 546–8 – letter to Erasmus Schets from  560–1 Greece  xvii, 24, 130n, 152, 302n, 312, 397n, 585n Gresbeck, Heinrich  259n, 341n Griffolini, Francesco  353n Gritti, Alvise  80, 371 Groningen  112n, 136, 137 Gruyères, Léonard de  465n, 482n, 484n, 485n, 537 – letter from  429–31 – letters to  399–400, 446–7, 494–5 Grynaeus, Simon  65, 73–4, 99, 125, 443, 530 Gualtieri, Pier Paolo  361 – letter from  240–1 Guarini, Guarino  353 Gumppenberg, Ambrosius von, curial official and papal diplomat  xix, xx, 119, 120, 191–2, 193, 194–5, 212, 213, 214, 225, 240, 297n, 320n, 321n, 322n, 338, 366n, 375, 376, 377, 418, 459 – letters from  239–40, 359–62 – letter to  219–24 Hannibal  155n, 300, 311, 312n Harst, Karl  419–20 Hasan ben Muhammad, al-, caliph of Tunis  xvii, 129n Hecataeus  586 Hedio, Caspar  241n – letter from  232–5 Heidelberg  61, 98n, 403n Held, Matthias  17, 195n Henry iii, duke of Nassau-Dillenburg  87n, 499, 500n, 501 Henry viii, king of England  xviii, 19n, 29n, 57n, 83n, 139n, 141n, 207n, 245n, 305n, 327, 335n, 350n, 355n, 362n, 388n, 391n, 404n, 405n, 486n, 492n, 524n, 541n, 572, 576n, 605n, 606n Heraclius, emperor  269 Herborn, Nikolaus. See Ferber, Nikolaus

index 653 Heresbach, Konrad, counsellor to the duke of Jülich-Cleves  xvi, 38n, 60n, 254 (illustration), 341n, 346, 354n, 419 – letters from  252–63, 263–96 Herwagen, Johann, Basel publisher  27, 86n, 215n, 251–2, 435, 541 – letter from  10–12 – letter to Beatus Rhenanus from  558–60 Hesiod  234, 462 Hilary of Poitiers, St  148 Hillen, Michaël, Antwerp publisher  20, 91, 383 Hofmann, Melchior  xv, 45n, 185n, 267n, 268 (illustration), 270n, 277n Holland xv, 41, 45, 114, 133, 136, 139, 250, 280 Hollonius, Lambertus  473n Homer  63n, 131n, 133n, 146n, 169n, 182n, 202n, 249, 255, 258, 260n, 282n, 289, 294, 299, 311n, 350n, 352, 371, 442, 454n, 510n, 516, 564, 573, 588, 617 Hondt, Jan de  56n, 57n Hoogstraten, Jacob of, Dominican of Cologne  621 Horace  7n, 8n, 18n, 69n, 159n, 164n, 178n, 179n, 201n, 202n, 222, 248n, 299, 306, 312, 328n, 329n, 401, 440n, 452n, 472n, 480n, 499n, 515n, 516n, 537n, 539n, 560, 585n, 588n, 589n Hörmann, Georg – letter from  452–3 Hörmann, Johann Georg – letters from  428–9, 522 Howard, Thomas, duke of Norfolk  606n Hoxwier, Hector van  80n, 81 – letter from  237–9 Hungary  xiv, 20, 80, 129, 140, 218, 357n, 371n, 373, 374n, 533, 562n, 620n Huysman, Jan  383 Ingenwinkel, Johann  321, 322, 359, 396 Inghirami, Tommaso (known as Phaedra or Phaedrus) 305 Isocrates  266, 509

James v, king of Scotland – letter from  21–2 Jan of Dokkum  41 Jan of Leiden  xv, xvi, 38n, 45n, 46, 47 (illustration), 112n, 140n, 253, 256n, 259n, 261n, 263n, 267n, 270n, 274n, 276n, 277n, 278n, 283n, 284, 293n, 341n, 394n, 420n  504n, 520n, 603n, 618n Jerome, St  23n, 24, 26, 148, 151, 156n, 158, 165, 172, 176, 278n, 468, 507, 509, 538, 547, 552 Joham, Konrad  33, 81n, 113 John iii, duke of Jülich-Cleves  38n, 46n, 253n, 255n, 264n, 344n, 420n John iii, king of Portugal  102n, 245n, 350n, 361n John Chrysostom, St  14, 16, 102n, 147, 148, 151, 158, 232, 389 John Frederick, elector of Saxony  16n, 283n, 420n Josephus, Flavius  76n, 86, 287 Jülich-Cleves  xv, xvi, 45n, 46, 112, 255n, 257n, 264n, 282, 296n, 344, 396, 420 Juvenal  566 Kadan, Peace of  xiv, 3n, 16n, 68n, 95n Kan, Nicolaas  333, 380, 396, 397, 462n Keispreister, Cornelius  45n Khair ad-Din Pasha (called Barbarossa), sultan of Algiers and grand admiral of the Ottoman fleet  xvii, 128 (illustration), 129n, 140n, 334n, 377n Klopreis, Johann  45n, 112n Kmita, Piotr  563n – letter to  357–9 Knipperdolling, Bernhard  261, 272, 273 (illustration), 276n, 285–6, 289, 293, 343 Koblenz  75, 98n, 99, 283n Koler, Johann, canon of St Moritz in Augsburg  xiv, xxii, 5n, 21n, 77n, 102n, 192, 194, 329, 360n, 466 – letters from  14–19, 27–31, 93–8, 115–20, 375–8 – letter to  296–320 (= Responsio ad Petri Cursii defensionem) Könneritz, Andreas von  394, 421, 522

index Koroni  74 Krechting, Bernhard  293n Krechting, Heinrich  284n, 292 Krzycki, Andrzej, archbishop of Gniezno  62 – letter to  454–5 Kügelin, Martin  357n Künring, Balthasar von  379n, 395, 503 Lachner, Gertrud  10n, 215n, 257n Lactantius  352 Lagnier, Simon  485n, 519 La Goulette (Halq al-Wadi) 334, 337n, 349, 365, 371, 372, 447, 485. See also Tunis, Charles v’s siege of Lalaing, Antoine de, count of Hoogstraten  55n Lambelin, Jean  485n, 520 Lando, Ortensio  230–1n, 307n; Cicero relegatus et Cicero revocatus  187n, 231n Lang, Matthäus, cardinal-archbishop of Salzburg  15n, 16n, 116n, 584 Łaski, Hieronim  218n, 533, 595n Łaski, Jan  558n Latomus, Bartholomeus – letter from  245–50 – letter to  362–6 Latomus, Jacobus  332 Laurentia, Johannes Baptista  186n, 418, 460 – letter to Laurentia and Petrus Merbelius  186–9 Le Clerc, Nicolas  60 Lefèvre d’Etaples, Jacques  25, 621n Leiden  46n, 274, 284 Leo x, pope  168n, 233n, 303n, 306n, 352n, 405n, 572n Leoni, Ambrogio  167 Leoniceno, Niccolò  167 Liège  286, 550 Liguria  198 Lips, Maarten  525, 551 Livy  49, 85, 181, 222 Lobel, Jean  502 Logau, Georg von  31n, 63, 189 Longland, John, bishop of Lincoln  54n, 368n, 390n, 391n, 412n, 486 – letter to  493–4

654 Longolius, Gisbertus  514 Longueil, Christophe de  187n, 352–3, 382n Longueil, Pierre de  353 Lorraine, Antoine, duke of  311n Lorraine, Claude, duke of  311n Lorraine, Jean, cardinal of  311n, 532 Louis, duke of Bavaria  15, 16n Louis xi, king of France  615 Louis xii, king of France  615 Louvain  12n, 35, 84, 135n, 215n, 319n, 331, 380n, 381n, 395n, 462n, 463n, 498n, 500n, 502n, 587, 621n; Collegium Trilingue at  25n, 88n, 134n, 331n, 332n, 363, 379n, 500n Lower Germany. See Netherlands Loxanus, Georgius – letter to  101 Lübeck  345 Lucerne  482 Lucian  138, 163, 274, 315, 317, 439n, 551 Lucio, Antonio  36n, 514 Lucretius, Albrecht. See Widmanstetter, Johann Albrecht Lunardi, Fileno  35n, 143, 144n, 232n, 487n Luther, Martin  xv, xx, 4, 9, 17, 18, 36, 37, 53, 54n, 59, 77, 86, 94, 119n, 134, 149n, 167n, 184–5, 223, 231, 281, 318, 335, 352, 405, 502n, 526n, 528n, 530, 544, 545, 546n, 550n, 620n, 622n, 625n; works: De servo arbitrio xx, 526n, 544n; Epistola de Erasmo Roterodamo  xx, 4n, 7n, 223n, 530n, 544n, 545; Von der Winkelmesse und Pfaffenweihe  4n, 139n Lutherans, Lutheranism  xiv, xv, 16, 20, 22, 38n, 43, 44, 45n, 53, 59, 61, 62n, 81, 86, 87, 93n, 94n, 95, 117n, 119, 143, 163n, 187n, 249, 271n, 281, 305n, 332n, 341n, 345n, 354n, 355n, 373n, 405n, 407, 408, 420n, 468n, 486n, 537n Lyon  72n, 81, 83n, 92n, 187, 198n, 199, 214n, 432n, 433n, 471n, 472n, 473, 488, 538, 605 Lyra, Nicholas of  440n

index 655 Maastricht  46n, 133 Machiavelli, Niccolò  161 Maffei, Mario  303n Maggi, Vincenzo  167 Manardo, Giovanni  35, 36, 75, 90n, 99, 167, 513 Manichaeus  170, 171n Mantua  133n, 526 Manuzio, Aldo (commonly called Aldus)  31n, 167, 223n, 305, 475, 516n Marcion  170, 276, 277n Marck, Erard de la, cardinal of Liège 55n, 550n Mark, county of  286 Marseille  78 Martinho of Portugal  361n Maruffo, Raffaele  241, 341n, 348 Mary of Austria, queen of Hungary, regent of the Netherlands  19n, 20n, 55, 114n, 244n, 333–4, 360, 370n, 373, 495n, 503n, 551n, 573 – letter from Pope Paul iii to  322 Mascara, Bartolomeo  389 Master, Richard  124n, 129n Matal, Jean  540n Mathijszoon, Jan  xv, 38n, 39 (illustration), 46n, 261n, 267n, 270n, 276n Maximilian i, emperor  145n, 310n, 357n, 566, 620n Medici, Cardinal Ippolito (ii) de’  74, 337, 393 Medici, Catherine de’  78n Melanchthon, Philippus  xx, 18, 53n, 65, 66n, 79, 81n, 95n, 318n, 352, 354, 405n, 417n, 504n, 512n, 513, 527 ­(illustration); works: Commentarii in epistolam Pauli ad Romanos  352n; Loci communes theologici  528n, 544n – letter from  526–30 – letters to  76–8, 543–6 Melchiorites xv, 185 Mendoza, Cardinal Inigo López de  23n Mendoza, Mencia de, countess of Nassau-Dillenburg  499, 550n Merbelius, Petrus  xviii, 360 – letters from  337–8, 418–19, 459–60

– letter to Merbelius and Johannes Baptista Laurentia  186–9 Merino, Esteban Gabriel Cardinal  214n, 360n Merula, Gaudenzio  400n, 545, 550; ­putative author of ‘Bellum civile ­inter Ciceronianos et Erasmicos’  xviii, 231n, 382n, 400n Mesuë (Massawaiyh) 440n Metzenhausen, Johann von, archbishopelector of Trier  70n, 98n, 99n Milan  xvii, xviii, 50n, 74, 168, 186n, 198n, 230n, 243, 319n, 360, 362, 387, 400, 419n, 431, 460, 531n, 532, 545 Mitelli, Vincenzo – letter from  388–90 Molendino, Johannes de  56n Montanus, Montanists  270 Montanus, Philippus  480n, 481, 482, 488, 594, 602, 603, 604 Monteza, Baptista  132n Montfoort, Pieter de  503–4 More, Thomas, former lord chancellor of England  142, 202, 438, 492, 550, 595; trial, imprisonment, and execution of  xviii, xix, 19, 28–9, 30, 33, 37–8, 57, 59n, 69, 96, 98, 123, 124n, 127, 131, 132n, 139, 233n, 241, 255n, 324n, 328–9, 334, 335n, 346, 348, 355, 364, 373–4, 382, 388, 396, 400n, 416n, 417n, 430–1, 426, 433n, 435, 458, 486n, 539, 562, 576n, 602, 603, 606–11, 613, 616–18 Morel, Désiré  540 Morillon, Guy  380 – letter to  67–9 Morison, Richard  141, 142; Apomaxis calumniarum  141n, 142n Muhammad  269, 274, 279 Münster  48, 62, 603; Anabaptist kingdom of  xiv–xvii, 37–8, 40–8, 60, 64, 74, 87n, 112–13, 132–3, 136, 137n, 139–40, 238n, 252–96, 332, 341–4, 345n, 354, 365, 372, 393n, 420, 504, 520, 618n Myconius, Osvaldus  385n, 559 Nachtgall, Ottmar  97, 118 Naples  xvi, 168, 195, 337n, 362, 387n, 397, 421, 426n, 431n, 435, 488n

index Nausea, Fridericus – letter to King Ferdinand from  505–9 Netherlands (Lower Germany)  xv, xvi, xviii, 8n, 19n, 25n, 35n, 37, 38n, 42n, 59, 64, 68, 114n, 133n, 135, 139, 195n, 229n, 286, 295n, 315n, 331, 354, 365, 372, 380n, 381n, 536n, 571n, 573, 578n, 613, 620n Neuenburg am Rhein  3n, 7n, 13n Neuss  253, 344 Noot, Adolf van der, chancellor of Brabant  498, 549n, 551n – letter to  541–2 Novatian  277 Nozeroy  100n, 376n, 387n, 414n, 415n, 433n, 440n, 485n, 519, 535n, 536n, 537n, 540n, 602 Nürnberg  52n, 117n, 449n, 450n, 553, 570n, 623n, 624n Nyder, Konrad  74n, 75, 183n – letter from  98–100 Odoni, Cesare  176n Odoni, Giovanni Angelo  35n, 192n, 196n, 232, 234, 241n, 487 – letter from  142–82 Oecolampadius, Johannes, leader of the Reformation at Basel  270n, 332n, 333, 385n Olahus, Nicolaus, secretary to to Queen Mary of Hungary, regent of the Netherlands  333 – letter from  19–21 Omphalius, Jacobus  444, 446 Origen  xxiii, 151, 158, 389, 507n, 538n, 546n, 547, 551, 552, 558, 573, 574, 578 Otto Henry, count Palatine of Neuburg  15, 16n Overijssel  42 Ovid  105n, 410n, 615 Padua  9n, 49, 50n, 62n, 64n, 65, 85, 102n, 116, 134n, 162n, 169n, 175, 176, 187n, 191n, 228n, 230n, 243, 295n, 305n, 350, 353n, 377, 382n, 405n, 450n, 531n, 548, 549n, 553n, 554, 555 Palermo  421 Palladius, Blosius  236n, 240n, 361

656 Paludanus, Petrus  471n, 472, 473, 598 – letter to  599 Panaetius  190n Panizzone, Giovanni  431n Paris  25n, 53, 96, 116n, 187n, 189, 199n, 249n, 251n, 304, 317, 361n, 371, 379n, 383, 389, 403n, 442n, 445n, 462n, 463n, 464n, 472n, 474n, 477n, 479, 480n, 490, 534, 545, 546n, 598, 602, 603, 606n, 611, 615n, 621n Paris, faculty of theology (Paris theologians)  60, 249n, 352n, 354n, 432n Parmentier, Michel  81 Paul i, pope  133 Paul ii, pope  133 Paul iii, pope  xxii, 80 96, 105 (illustration), 106, 133n, 134n, 140, 168, 192n, 193n, 212, 213n, 224n, 230, 233n, 243n, 250n, 309, 334n, 336n, 338n, 361n, 362, 364, 365, 373, 374, 390n, 395, 404, 405; rumoured intent to make Erasmus a cardinal  xix–xx, 192n – letters from  235–6, 320–1 – letter to  103–8 – letter to Mary of Hungary from  322 Paumgartner, David  224n – letters to  120–1, 121–2 Paumgartner, Johann (ii)  xxvi, 14, 17, 21, 31, 53, 93, 97, 109, 116, 118, 193, 224, 225n, 329, 377, 436 – letter from  548–9 – letter from Bonifacius Amerbach to  570–8 Paumgartner, Johann (iii)  503n Paumgartner, Johann Georg  436 Pelagius  170 Pelargus, Ambrosius, Dominican of Trier  74n, 75, 77 – letter from  69–72 Pellicanus, Conradus  421–5; Commentaria Bibliorum  424n – letter from  421–5 Pellicanus, Elisabeth  423n Pellicanus, Samuel  423n Persius  94n Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca)  161n, 162, 163n, 353

index 657 Pflug, Julius, counsellor to Duke George of Saxony  220n, 509n, 582 – letter to  224–6 Phaedra (or Phaedrus), Tommaso. See Inghirami, Tommaso Phalaris, tyrant of Acragas  278, 586 Phidias  206, 585 Philip, landgrave of Hessen  xiii–xiv, xv, 2–3n, 15–16n, 20n, 34n, 44, 45n, 68n, 117n, 271, 373. See also Württemberg, reconquest of Philip of Macedon  567, 568n, 614 Phormio  311, 312n Pins, Jean de, bishop of Rieux  446 – letter from  76 – letters to  85–6, 227–8 Pio, Alberto, prince of Carpi  169n, 223n, 306, 307 Pirckheimer, Willibald  625n Plato  266, 276, 507, 537, 566n, 568n, 614 Plautus  30n, 94n, 184n Pliny the Elder  222n, 229–30, 231, 307, 318, 351n, 354n, 433n, 613n Pliny the Younger  181n, 197n, 285n, 307, 471n, 540, 560 Plutarch  222 Poland  52n, 62n, 134n, 232, 233, 336n, 357n, 359, 454, 466, 481, 533, 564, 594 Pole, Reginald Cardinal  388n, 405n, 433n, 435n Politi, Lancelotto de’ (known as Ambrosius Catharinus Politus)  545, 546n Poliziano, Angelo  306 Pompeius Festus  475 Pons, Antoine de  514 Portugal  9n, 65n, 102, 229, 334n, 348n, 350n, 353, 361n, 514 Prague  16 Praxiteles  585 Probus, emperor  312 Provence  xvii, 531n Ptolemy Philadelphus  566 Ptolemy Soter  568n Pucci, Antonio Cardinal  108, 192n, 212n, 360n, 393n Pythagoras  184, 296n, 374, 509, 605, 616

Quintilian  204, 302n, 306, 307 Quirinus Hagius, Erasmus’ servantmessenger  3n, 9n, 13n, 18n, 86n, 332, 333, 380, 396n Quirinus Talesius  13n, 380, 462 Regensburg  193, 213, 251n, 405n Regio, Raffaele  305n Regius, Urbanus  305n Reich, Peter  387n, 392, 393n, 412n, 413n, 414n Reisch, Gregor  566 Rem, Aegedius  116n Rem, Lukas  102, 116, 228, 350, 377, 432, 435 Rennenberg, Counts Hermann and Kaspar von  264 Resch, Konrad, 81n Rescius, Rutgerus, professor of Greek at the Collegium Trilingue in Louvain  382, 502, 551n Resende, André de  229n, 350, 432 Rex, Felix (nicknamed Polyphemus)  380 Reynolds, Richard, Brigittine at Syon  364n, 388n, 611 Rhodes  87, 178 Richardot, Pierre  430n, 442, 517n, 518n, 533 – letter from  482–3 Rinck, Johann – letter from  183–6 Riquinus, Simon  72n Rivieren, Eustachius van der  36n Rogge, Eberhard  512, 530n, 543n Rol, Hendrik  45, 133n Rome  xvii, xix, xxii, 17n, 18, 23n, 25, 36n, 56, 63, 65n, 96, 103n, 104n, 106, 134, 135, 141n, 148n, 152, 155n, 162, 163n, 168, 181n, 189, 191n, 192n, 193, 194, 195n, 199n, 211n, 212n, 213, 219n, 220, 221n, 224, 225, 228, 230, 231, 233n, 235n, 236n, 240n, 242, 243, 246, 297, 298, 303n, 304, 305, 306n, 307, 308, 309, 310, 331n, 336n, 337n, 338n, 352n, 353, 360, 361, 362, 366, 371, 372n, 373, 377, 381, 382, 393, 396, 397, 381, 382, 393, 396, 397, 402n, 435,

index 474n, 488, 492n, 527n, 531, 532n, 541, 545, 582, 584, 585, 586, 589n Rosier, Sebastien  540n Rothmann, Bernhard  xv, 44–5, 48, 62n, 261, 271n, 272, 282n, 289, 292, 343, 344n; Van der Wrake unde Straffe des Babilonischen Grüwels  394n Roussel, Gérard  60n, 61 Rufinus of Aquilea  507, 552 Rupilius, Franciscus  17, 97, 213, 224, 225n, 319n, 361, 375 – letter from  191–6 Sabinus, Georgius  66, 77 Sadoleto, Jacopo, cardinal-bishop of Carpentras  2n, 33n, 72, 73n, 78, 81, 88, 89, 165n, 167, 187, 214, 215, 216n, 397, 352, 361n, 405n; In Epistolam Pauli ad Romanos commentariorum libri tres  73n, 75n, 83n, 92n, 214n, 432–3n – letters from  82–3, 91–3 – letter to  78–80 Sadoleto, Paolo  78n Sallust  222, 307 Sapidus, Johannes  417, 515, 516n – letter to  620–2 Sasbout, Joost  332, 379, 381, 396 Savoy  xvii, 77, 363, 421, 445, 531n, 532 Saxony  5, 22n, 95, 257n, 355n Scaliger, Julius Caesar  xxi, 36, 169n, 186n, 187n, 189, 231, 256n, 382n, 460n, 463n, 487–8, 537, 538n, 545, 550; works: Oratio pro Cicerone contra Erasmum xxi, 187n, 282n, 463n; Contra Desid. Erasmum Roterodamum Oratio ii  186n, 231n, 488n Schaffhausen  65, 77 Schenck von Tautenburg, Georg  42, 280 Schepper, Cornelis de  396 Schets, Erasmus, Antwerp banker and manager of Erasmus’ financial affairs in England and the Netherlands  102n, 123n, 132, 135n, 228, 229n, 239n, 333, 388n, 390n, 391n, 455n, 456, 541n, 551, 592, 596 – letters from  113–14, 207–9, 347–9, 411–12, 524–6

658 – letters to  8–10, 32–4, 90–1, 124–30, 241–2, 244–6, 542–3 – letter from Eustache Chapuys to  569 – letter from Tielmannus Gravius to  560–1 Schets, Gaspar  346n, 526n Schmotzer, Georg  356 Schoenmaker, Harmen  112n, 136n, 137n Schönberg, Nikolaus von, archbishop of Capua  360, 405n Schwaz  453 Scipio Aemilianus  190n Scipio Africanos  311 Scotland  541 Scotus, John Duns  440n Scythia, Scythians  17, 22, 230, 289, 299, 301–2, 311, 312, 313, 367, 616 Seneca  29, 300, 307, 523, 559, 610n, 615 Sepúlveda, Juan Ginés de  225, 589; Democrates primus, seu de convenien­ tia militaris disciplinae cum christiana religione  225n Seville  208–9 Sforza, Francesco ii (Francesco Maria), duke of Milan  xvii–xviii, 180n, 419n, 426, 421n, 461n, 531n – letter to  400–1 Sicily  xvii, 24n, 195n, 196, 278n, 334n, 377, 397, 421, 426, 586n Sigismund i, king of Poland  211n, 219n, 357n, 358n, 374n, 405n, 511, 561n, 596n Sigismund ii Augustus, king of Poland  511 Simandris, Desiderius de  101 Simonetta, Jacopo Cardinal  405 Sinapius, Johannes  180 – letter from  513–14 – letter to  34–8 Soest  286 Solon  408 Sophocles  509 Spain  xiv, xvii, 17, 18, 34, 67, 87n, 96, 119, 129n, 172, 182n, 198, 380, 426, 437, 502n Sperulo, Francesco  305–6

index 659 Speyer  48n, 112, 238n, 296n, 393, 394, 428, 429, 464, 520n, 521; Diet of (1529) 281n, 420n Spinola, Gian Luigi  167 – letter from  196–206 Spinola, Pasquale  199n Spinola, Stefano  198n Stabius, Johannes  566 Stadion, Christoph von, bishop of Augsburg  xxii, 15n, 18n, 59n, 78n, 116n, 255n – letter from  426–7 – letter to  324–30 Standonck, Jan  615 Stercke of Meerbeke, Jan  332n Stesichorus  303 Steuco, Agostino  37n, 62, 211n, 589n Stiebar, Daniel, canon at Würzburg – letters from  4–6, 555–6 Stokesley, John, bishop of London  57, 69n Strasbourg  10n, 14n, 28, 33, 44n, 45n, 81, 91n, 95n, 106n, 108n, 109n, 110n, 113, 115n, 119, 143n, 144n, 167n, 181n, 192n, 208, 232n, 251n, 267n, 355, 365n, 372n, 380n, 385n, 390n, 401n, 402, 403n, 411, 417n, 422n, 515n, 576 Stromer, Heinrich  557n – letter from (?) to Johannes Cochlaeus  556–9 Sturm, Jakob  401–2n – letter to (?)  401–3 Suidas  461–2 Suleiman i, Turkish sultan  80n, 195–6n, 218, 219, 227n, 233n, 431n, 435, 436n, 525n Swabian League  xiii–xiv, 2n, 15n, 117n Switzerland, the Swiss  222, 304, 359, 399n, 450, 553, 555 Symard, François  442 Szydłowiecki, Krzysztof  358, 594n Tacitus  307 Tapper of Enkhuizen, Ruard  332n Tectander, Josephus  561n – letter from  563–5 Terence  63n, 210, 221, 302n, 340n, 536n, 622n

Theobald, Thomas  335, 374n, 380–1, 396 Theoderici, Vincentius  36n Theodosius i, emperor  269, 566, 567 Theon  585 Theophylact  24, 26, 468 Thomas Aquinas, St  545 Thomas of Canterbury, St  618n Thüngen, Konrad von, bishop of Würzburg  5n, 556n Thurzo, Stanislaus, bishop of Olomouc  229n, 368 Tilbeck, Herman  284n Titus, empepror  566 Tomicki, Piotr, bishop of Cracow  xiv, 52n, 62, 321n, 324n, 454n, 466, 486, 511n, 561n, 562 – letters from  216–19, 403–10 – letters to  137–40, 366–75 Tornond, Jean  536 Toulouse  445, 446, 462n Tournai  55, 56, 135, 363, 365 Tovar, Bernardino  68 Trajan, emperor  566, 567 Trent  4n, 405n; Council of  xix, 50n, 104, 213n, 405n, 445n, 549n Trier  69, 70, 72n, 74n, 75n, 182n, 283n, 621n Trübelmann, Georg  379 Tunis, Charles v’s siege of  xvii, 87n, 90n, 129n, 140n, 195n, 196, 206n, 208n, 334n, 337, 349, 354n, 362, 372n, 377n, 397n Turks, Turkey, Ottoman Empire  xvii, 17, 74, 80, 87, 87n, 134n, 195, 205n, 206, 227, 233, 235, 299n, 309n, 357n, 372–3, 374n, 384, 387, 435, 525, 532, 533, 587n, 621n Ulrich, duke of Württemberg  xiii, xiv, 2–3n, 15–16n, 34n, 59, 87n, 117n, 139n, 371n. See also Württemberg, reconquest of Ulricher, Georg  417 Urbino,  134 Utrecht  42n, 286, 321, 514n Uutenhove, Karel  228–9, 380

index Valentinus, Valentinians  270, 277n Varro  307, 389 Venice  63, 134, 168, 305, 310, 315n, 317n, 540n Vergara, Juan de  68, 548n Vergerio, Pier Paolo  233n, 427n Vers, Louis de  465n, 483n, 519n – letter to  397–9 Vianden, Melchior of  135, 229, 365 Vigili, Fabio  321 Vio, Tommaso de, Cardinal Cajetanus  xix, 475–6, 545 Virgil  11n, 18, 51n, 128n, 154n, 175n, 178n, 180n, 190n, 233–4, 299n, 301, 318, 325, 328n, 394n, 440n, 455n, 477n, 480n, 497n, 510n, 566 Vitelli, Alessandro  337 Vitré, Pierre  594 – letter from  477–82 – letter to  489–90 Vives, Juan Luis  34, 54, 59n, 68, 69n, 471n; works: De conscribendis epistolis libellus vere aureus  471n; De institu­ tione feminae christianae  499n Vlatten, Johann von, vice-chancellor of Jülich-Cleves  60n, 263, 265, 354n Waelem, Pieter van  498 Waldeck, Franz von, bishop of Münster and Osnabrück  xiv, 38n, 40 (illustration), 41n, 44n, 46n, 137n, 259n, 267, 272n, 283n, 342n, 344n, 392n Wandscherer, Elisabeth  286n Warham, William, archbishop of Canterbury  xviii, 33n, 57n, 124n, 126n, 127n, 241, 326, 335n, 458n, 493, 539n; Erasmus’ livings from  xviii– xix, 8, 33, 57, 124, 126n, 127–9, 132n, 207, 241n, 245n, 328n, 381, 390–1, 447, 456, 486, 493, 524–5 Warnet, Thomas  615n Weidolt, Wilhelm  52n Weissenhorn  16 Werner, Georg  562 Wesel  46n, 112, 116 Westphalia  37, 42n, 60, 62n, 113n, 238n, 259n, 341, 365, 372, 393, 542 Widmanstetter, Johann Albrecht  361n

660 Wied, Friedrich von  43n Wied, Hermann, archbishop of Cologne  43n, 46n, 113n, 344n, 464n, 514n, 546n, 547 William v, duke of Jülich-Cleves  252n, 253n, 264n, 344n, 525n, 595n William of Gellone, St  176n Wimpfeling, Jakob  418n, 620 Winmann, Nikolaus  87 Wittenberg  44n, 66n, 106n, 354, 372n, 486, 512n, 528n Wittenberg Concord  59n, 81n, 95n Witzel, Georg  142 Wolfe, Reyner  125n Worms  137, 393, 420, 553 Württemberg  537n, 597; reconquest of  xiii–xiv, 2–3n, 5n, 8n, 15–16, 20n, 34n, 59, 68n, 87n, 117n, 139, 173, 373n Xanten  396 Zápolyai, John, Ferdinand of Austria’s rival for the kingship of Hungary  80n, 218n, 227n, 357n Zasius, Joachim  445 Zasius, Johann Ulrich  549 Zasius, Udalricus, professor of law at Freiburg  88n, 93, 110n, 116, 226, 247n, 357n, 395n, 445, 486, 548 – letter from  32 Zoilus  146, 173, 530, 535 Zuichemus, Viglius, judge in the episcopal court at Dülmen, assessor at the Reichskammergericht in Speyer  xvi, 35, 60n, 62n, 195, 238, 239n, 295, 296n, 428–9, 502n, 522, 531n – letters from  38–49, 63–4, 135–7, 393–4, 419–21, 520–1 Zúñiga, Diego López  23n, 24, 25, 266, 572n; Annotationes contra Jacobum Fabrum  25n Zwingli, Huldrych  35, 44, 270n, 332n, 423, 424 Zwinglians (Sacramentarians, Swiss and Alsatian Evangelicals)  28, 44, 59, 81, 93n, 94n, 95n, 139, 185, 270, 281, 254n, 345n, 421n Zwolle 42

The design of the collected works of erasmus was created by allan fleming 1929–1977 for the University of Toronto Press