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PREFACE ix
their copy of the rare printed edition of the letter to
Servatius.
Amongst individuals, in addition to those already mentioned,
my thanks are due primarily to Mr. Ingram Bywater, Regius
Professor of Greek in this University, who has given me most
generous support and guidance, and who in reading through
all my proofs has allowed me to profit continually by his
large store of learning; to Mr. Robinson Ellis, Corpus Professor
of Latin, who has frequently aided me in tracing quotations
and determining readings; to Mr. C. Cannan, Secretary to
the Clarendon Press, and Mr. H. S. Milford, Assistant Secretary,
for the most valuable practical assistance; to Mr. R. L. Poole,
Fellow of Magdalen College, for advice in technical matters
and for many useful suggestions ; nor would I fail to mention
the encouragement afforded by the late Bishop of Oxford,
Dr. Stubbs, sometime Regius Professor of Modern History,
and by the late Dr. Fowler, President of my own college.
To Mr. Frederic Seebohm of Hitchin, the author of The
Oxford Reformers, I am indebted for the loan of books from
his rich collection. My kind friends, MM. Ferdinand Vander
Haeghen and R. Vanden Berghe of the Ghent University
Library, have from the first given me invaluable assistance,
and besides lending me books have allowed me the freest
use of the unpublished materials and register of letters pre¬
pared for their great Bibliotheca Erasmiana ; without which
work this undertaking would have been infinitely more
difficult to carry through, and indeed scarcely possible.
Dr. P. C. Molhuysen of the University Library at Leiden,
himself a student of this period, has repeatedly rendered me
laborious service, and has shown himself untiring in his efforts
to contribute anything that might further my researches. It
is a matter of great regret to me that I can only offer a tribute
to the memory of my friend Joseph Gény, the devoted curator
of Beatus Rhenanus’ library at Schlettstadt, who on many
visits was unsparing of his time in laying its treasures before
me, and of his palaeographical skill in aiding me to interpret
them. Dr. Bernoulli, Librarian of the University Library
at Basle, has been most courteous in enabling me to explore
the splendid store of Erasmiana and Amerbachiana under
his care. M. Louis Thuasne, the learned editor of Burchard
and Gaguin, and M. Joseph Delcourt have rendered me fre¬