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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, prae¬
sertim in tanto rerum taedio. Includimur pestilentia, obsidemur
latrociniis, pro vino bibimus vappam et si quid vappa deterius, trun¬
catur 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 diuen¬
diderit, 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 be¬
tween 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 Berck¬
man’s ‘ breach of faith.’
4
40
145
150
ox
n
160