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1514 | TO SERVATIUS ROGERUS 571
alicui episcopo me potius adiungerem, addens se nosse et animum
meum et suorum fraterculorum mores; nam iis vtebatur verbis
lingua vernacula. Et in hoc vitae genere in quo sum, video quae
fugiam, sed quid potius sequar non video. 170
Nune restat vt de ornatu quoque tibi satisfaciam. Semper
antehac vsus sum cultu canonicorum, et ab Episcopo Traiectino,
cum essem Louanii, impetraui vt sine scrupulo yterer scapulari
lineo pro veste linea integra, et capitio nigro pro pallio nigro,
juxta morem Lutetiorum. Cum autem adirem Italiam videremque 175
toto itinere canonicos nigra veste vti cum scapulari, ne quid
offenderem nouitate cultus, veste nigra illic vti coepi cum
scapulari, Postea pestis orta est Bononiae, et illie qui curant
peste laborantes linteum album ex humero pendens ex more
gestant; hi congressus hominum fugitant. Itaque cum die 180
quodam doctum amicum viserem, quidam nebulones eductis
gladiis parabant me inuadere, et fecissent, ni matrona quaedam
admonuisset ecclesiasticum me esse. Altero item die cum
Thesaurarii filios adirem, vndique cum fustibus in me concur¬
rerunt, et pessimis clamoribus adorti sunt. Itaque a bonis viris 185
admonitus occultaui scapulare, et impetraui veniam a Pontifice
Tulio secundo vt ornatu religionis vterer aut non vterer, vt mihi
yisum esset, modo haberem vestem sacerdotalem ; et si quid
ante peccatum esset ea in re, iis litteris id totum condonauit. In
Italia ergo perseueraui in veste sacerdotali, ne mutatio esset 190
alicui scandalo. Postquam autem in Angliam redii, decreui meo
168. et aBd: ac y. 169. Et... 170. fugiam om. y. 170. quid y: quos a:
quod £. 172. sum om. y. 174. capitio Byd: caputio a. nigro om. ay post
pallio. 175. Lutetiorum Byò : Lutesiorum a. adirem 85 : abirem a.
176. nigra aBy : magna È. vti add. y. 179. humero ay: humeris 88.
pendens aò: dependens y. 180. hifyé: Hiia. congressus aßð: congressum
y. 182. et fecissent £: fecissent aô : fecissentque y. 183. admonuisset By5:
admonuissent a. item aßð: autem y. 184. vndique aßy : vtrinque ð cum
add. dò. 185. etom. B. adorti sunt add. y. 186. Pontifice om. ò. 187. secundo
Po ana i y. aut yò: an a. 189. iis ay : iis, aliter iisdem £: om. ò. id
om. ay?ò. 190. in om. ò. 191. Postquam a85: Posteaquam y. autem om. ay.
meo yò: me a.
178. Bononiae] Cf. iv. 112 seq. and
Lond. xxiv. 5, LB. App. 442.
184. Thesaurarii] Cf. Ep. 2or. 2 n.
186. veniam] This dispensation was
probably obtained in 1507. The plague
which occasioned it perhaps broke out
in the spring of that year, since there
is no allusion to it in the letters of
135 nn.). In ll. 189, 90 infra Erasmus
shows that he enjoyed liberty in the
matter for some while before leaving
Italy. See also Ep. 226. ron. For
the subsequent dispensation obtained
from Leo x in 1516-7 see Vischer,
Brasmiana, section iii.
197. Angliam] The Apologia referred
the preceding or following autumn.
Beatus Rhenanus (iv. 131-8) seems to
imply that it was obtained before
Erasmus went to Venice; though in
his own mind he doubted whether
any formal document had been actually
received from Julius (iv. 132 and
to inii. 134 n., f°. ¢, shows that English
Austin canons, when not domiciled in
houses of their order, had ceased to
wear the strict habit. At that time
Erasmus was resenting the necessity
which had constrained himinEngland;
cf. Horawitz, Erasmus undM. Lipsius, p.23.