Part 7 (1/2)

For his living other books had to serve He had a sufficient nuh the profit which the authorAldus at Venice, Erasmus had returned to the publisher who had printed for him as early as 1505--Josse Badius, of Brabant, who, at Paris, had established the Ascensian Press (called after his native place, assche) and who, a scholar himself, rivalled Aldus in point of the accuracy of his editions of the classics At the time when Erased Badius with a new edition, still to be revised, of the _Adagia_ Why the _Moria_ was published by another, we cannot tell; perhaps Badius did not like it at first Froia_ he pro work, the alterations and preface of which he was still waiting for Erasround, for everyone knew that he, Badius, was preparing the new edition Yet a ru reprinted So there was some hurry to finish it, he wrote to Erasmus in May 1512

Badius, meanwhile, had much more work of Erasmus in hand, or on approval: the _Copia_, which, shortly afterwards, was published by him; the _Moria_, of which, at the same tiues by Lucian; the Euripides and Seneca translations, which were to follow He hoped to add Jeroreed upon a copy-fee of fifteen guilders; for Jeroive the sanment 'Ah, you will say, what a very senius, industry, knowledge and labour be requited, but the Gods will requite you and your own virtue will be the finest reward You have already deserved exceedingly well of Greek and Roman literature; you will in this same way deserve well of sacred and divine, and you will help your little Badius, who has a nus besides his daily trade'

Eras Badius's letter But he accepted the proposal readily He pro for the press and, on 5 January 1513, he finished, in London, the preface to the revised _Adagia_, for which Badius aiting But then soent who acted as a mediator with authors for several publishers in Gerne, took the revised copy of the _Adagia_ with the preface entrusted to him by Erasmus to hand over to Badius, not to Paris, but to Basle, to Johannes Froben, who had just, without Erasmus's leave, reprinted the Venetian edition! Erasnant at this mistake or perfidy, but it is only too clear that he did not regret it Six e to Basle, to enter with that same Froben into those most cordial relations by which their names are united Beatus Rhenanus, afterwards, made no secret of the fact that a connection with the house of Froben, then still called Amerbach and Froben, had seeia_ being reprinted

Without conclusive proofs of his complicity, we do not like to accuse Erash his attitude is curious, to say the least But we do want to conified tone in which Badius, who held strict notions, as those tiht, replied, when Berckman afterwards had come to offer him a sort of explanation of the case He declares hih Erasmus had, since that ti a new edition of the _Copia_ at Strassburg 'If, however, it is agreeable to your interests and honour, I shall suffer it, and that with equanimity' Their relations were not broken off In all this we should not lose sight of the fact that publishi+ng at that time was yet a quite new commercial phenomenon and that new commercial forms and relations of trade are wont to be characterized by uncertainty, confusion and lack of established business radually became irksome to Erasmus 'For some months already', he writes to A a true snail's life, staying at hoone for fear of the plague, but even when they are all here, it is lonely' The cost of sustenance is unbearable and he makes noa nest for himself, he is resolved to fly away, he does not knohere 'If to no other end, to die elsewhere'

Added to the stress of circuain, and attacks of his kidney-trouble, there came the state of hich depressed and alarlish raid on France, long prepared, took place In co-operation with Maxiate and compelled Therouanne to surrender, and afterwards Tournay Meanwhile the Scotch invaded England, to be decisively beaten near Flodden Their king, Jaether with his natural son, Eras companion in Italy, Alexander, Archbishop of Saint Andrews

Croith martial fame, Henry VIII returned in November to meet his parliament Erasmus did not share the universal joy and enthusiastic adue, threatened by robbers; we drink wine of the worst (because there is no import from France), but, _io triumphe!_ we are the conquerors of the world!'

His deep aversion to the clamour of war, and all it represented, stimulated Erasmus's satirical faculties It is true that he flattered the English national pride by an epigraate, but soon he went deeper He remembered hoar had impeded his movements in Italy; how the entry of the pope-conqueror, Julius II, into Bologna had outraged his feelings 'The high priest Julius wages war, conquers, triumphs and truly plays the part of Julius (Caesar)' he had written then Pope Julius, he thought, had been the cause of all the wars spreading inning of the year 1513

And in the deepest secrecy, between his work on the New Testae on thethe masterly satire, entitled _Julius exclusus_, in which the Pope appears in all his glory before the gate of the Heavenly Paradise to plead his cause and find himself excluded The the similar in the witty Cain fable, by which, at one time, he had cheered a dinner-party at Oxford?

But that was an innocent jest to which his pious fellow-guests had listened with pleasure To the satire about the defunct Pope ladly listen, but Erasmus had to be careful about it

The folly of all the world ht be ridiculed, but not the worldly propensities of the recently deceased Pope Therefore, though he helped in circulating copies of the manuscript, Erasmus did his utmost, for the rest of his life, to preserve its anonymity, and when it was universally known and had appeared in print, and he was presumed to be the author, he always cautiously denied the fact; although he was careful to use such terms as to avoid a formal denial The first edition of the _Julius_ was published at Basle, not by Froben, Erasmus's ordinary publisher, but by Cratander, probably in the year 1518

Erasainst warfare had not been satisfied by writing the _Julius_ In March 1514, no longer at Cae, but in London, he wrote a letter to his foren, in which he enlarges upon the folly of waging war Would that a Christian peace were concluded between Christian princes! Perhaps the abbot h his influence with the youthful Charles V and especially with his grandfather Maximilian Erased the spirit of England He would like to return to his native country if the prince would procure him the means to live there in peace It is a remarkable fact and of true Eras up his personal interests with his sincere indignation at the atrocities disgracing a man and a Christian 'The war has suddenly altered the spirit of this island The cost of living rises every day and generosity decreases Through lack of wine I nearly perished by gravel, contracted by taking bad stuff We are confined in this island, more than ever, so that even letters are not carried abroad'

This was the first of Erase _Dulce belluia_ edition of 1515, published by Froben and afterwards also printed separately Hereafter we shall follow up this line of Erash the suland and France, Erasland He sent his trunks to Antwerp, to his friend Peter Gilles and prepared to go to the Netherlands, after a short visit to Mountjoy at the castle of Hammes near Calais Shortly before his departure from London he had a curious intervieith a papal diplo in the cause of peace, Count Canossa, at Ammonius's house on the Thames Ammonius passed him off on Erasmus as a merchant After the meal the Italian sounded hiht be the first in place instead of living alone a a barbarous nation Erasreatest nu whom he would be content with the huland, which had favoured him so Some days later, in the first half of July 1514, he was on the other side of the Channel On three land, but he lived there no more

[Illustration: XIII JOHANNES FROBEN, 1522-3

Reproduced by gracious permission of HM The Queen]

[Illustration: XIV THE PRINTER'S EMBLEM OF JOHANNES FROBEN]

CHAPTER XI

A LIGHT OF THEOLOGY

1514-16

On the way to success and satisfaction--His Prior calls him back to Steyn--He refuses to comply--First journey to Basle: 1514-16--Cordial welcome in Germany--Johannes Froben--Editions of Jerome and the New Testament--A Councillor to Prince Charles: _Institutio Principis Christiani_, 1515--Definitive dispensation from Monastic Vows: 1517--Fame--Eras as an art--Its dangers--A glorious age at hand

Erasmus had, as was usual with hiiven out that he was going to Roe Probably he had already determined to try his fortune in the Netherlands; not in Holland, but in the neighbourhood of the princely court in Brabant The chief object of his journey, however, was to visit Froben's printing-office at Basle, personally to supervise the publication of the nu them the material for his chosen task, the New Testament and Jeroy, which he had long felt to be his life-work It is easy thus to i he discovered that his hand-bag, containing the manuscripts, was found to have been taken on board another shi+p He felt bereft, having lost the labour of so reat, he writes, as only parents can feel at the loss of their children