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TO ANDREW AMMONIUS 547 1513] Lusimus et nos pridem in fugam Gallorum, sed Musis et Apolline nullo; carmen ad te misimus: non potest nisi semel esse molestum, cum sit breuissimum. Qui te meis onerauit literis, haud fecit ex animi mei sententia: ipse literas ad omneis efflagitarat, iactans sese nusquam non iturum ac tantum non vniuersam lustraturum Angliam. Si dabitur commoditas, redde: sin minus, coniicito vel in ignem potius quam vt eo graueris officio. De literis quas me negabam accepisse, nihil addubitabam ; tamen lucro fuisse tuam suspicionem gaudeo. Neque enim mediocre solatium adferunt tuae literae, praesertim in tanto rerum taedio. Includimur pestilentia, obsidemur latrociniis, pro vino bibimus vappam et si quid vappa deterius, truncatur census. Io triumphe; sic ouamus orbis victores. Carmen tuum et hic passim rapitur, transcribitur, ac laudatur ab omnibus vt eruditum et ingeniosum. In negocio Prouerbiorum pessime sum acceptus ab istis bibliopolis. Quidam ea formulis excudit Basileae, sed ita imitatus aeditionem Aldinam vt parum attentis eadem videri possit. Commiseram exemplar emendatum ac locupletatum Francisco, qui libros ferme omnes solitus est huc importare, vt vel Badio vel ex illius sententia committeret alii. Is bonus vir recta Basileam deportauit, ei in manus dedit qui iam excuderat, vt haec tum demum aedat cum sua diuendiderit, hoc est post decennium. Complures item libellos ex Plutarcho ac Luciano versos commiseram Badio tradendos, vt superioribus quos habet adiungeret ; et hos illi, vti suspicor, tradidit, vtque plures mittam rogat. En Sicambricam fidem; sed est quo me vlciscar. Seruatum est Adagiorum exemplar, et quidem aliquanto copiosius eo quod ille abstulit. Cretissabimus cum Cretensi. 149. census E : sensus Lond. 153. Basileae F: Tubingae F Corrig. 155. exemplar] Cf. Ep. 219. 3 n. 138. Lusimus] The fourteen verses Francisco] Berckman; Ep. 258.14 n. here alluded to are printed in E at the end of this letter; but not in later editions, as they had been included in Erasmus’ Epigrammata from March 1518 (Basle, Froben) onwards with the title ‘In fugam Gallorum insequentibus Anglis apud Morinum, AN. M.D.XIII.’ Musis] Mart. 2. 89. 3. 153. Basileae] The Froben edition of the Chiliades Adagiorum (August 1513) is here referred to. Of. iv. 247 seq., where no concealment is attempted. The correction Tubingae, made for obvious reasons, is impossible, since Anshelm's Tübingen edition was not published till March 1514. Both were reprints of the Aldine edition (Ep. 211). 154. Commiseram] At some date between Epp. 264, 5. 157. Basileam] Unaltered in spite of the correction above; but Berckman would probably have communicated with Anshelm through Frankfort. 158. tum demum] Froben’s next edition of the Chiliades appeared in 1515, under Erasmus’ supervision ; cf. Ep. 269. 159. Plutarcho] Cf. Epp. 264. 25 and 272. 160. Luciano] For the delay in this edition see Ep. 261 introd. 162. fidem] The complacent tone in which the mishap is narrated suggests that Erasmus by this time did not regret the transference to a printer with greater resources than Badius ; or even that he had connived at Berckman’s ‘ breach of faith.’ 4 40 145 150 ox n 160
