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ERASMUS’ EARLY LIFE 581
at Emmerich ; for Agricola’s letter™ to him, written from Groningen
on 20 Sept. 1480, hardly admits of the supposition that Hegius was
then at Deventer, since in that case the two friends must have met
when Agricola passed through on his embassies to Brussels”, and
Hegius would not have come to Groningen in search of him during
his absence. Also the Arnold, ‘presbyter et philosophus,’ to whom
Agricola sends greetings through Hegius, is probably Arnold de
Hildesheim, who was at one time master of the school at Groningen”,
and afterwards held a similar position at Emmerich”. All this is
in agreement with the Compendium Vitae, which indicates that Hegius
was not at Deventer when Erasmus first went there ®,
As to the meeting with Agricola certainty is not to be attained.
Erasmus’ estimate of his age quoted above cannot be correct, if 1466
is rightly taken for his birth-year; for Agricola did not return from
Italy until 1479. But between 1480 and 1484 Agricola probably
passed through Deventer many times on his way to and from
Groningen. He mentions a visit” in Oct. 1480; and in April
1484 he was staying there, perhaps with Hegius® in the house of
the printer, Richard Paffraet®. From the close connexion which
existed in Erasmus’ mind between Hegius and Agricola, whom he
frequently mentions together”, there is some ground for supposing
that it was on this occasion that he saw the great scholar, whom
he afterwards regarded as the teacher of his own master. A bucolic
poem by Erasmus, entitled Pamphilus, was published by Alard of
Amsterdam at Leiden in 1538, with the statement that it was
written when Erasmus was ‘perquam adolescens’ and was studying
under Hegius at Deventer. It is printed also by Leclere*® from
a manuscript formerly possessed by Peter Scriverius**, with the
addition that Erasmus was ‘natus annos quatuordecim ° at the time.
From the part which Alard took in collecting and publishing
Agricola’s papers”, it is possible that this was a poem presented
to Agricola on this visit” and preserved by him; but Alard also
had in his keeping in 1516 the ‘tyrocinia’ of Erasmus and William
Herman”, a description which suits well with the contents of
Scriverius’ manuscript.
Soest, of Hegius being headmaster at
Deventer (Agric.? p. 177) as though it
were a new thing.
EA 0 FAO,
25 Agric. 11, and Agric. p. 183.
26 See the preface to Liber’s Famil.
Epist. Compendium (p. 106), which is
dedicated to him.
2 Butzbach, p. 240.
28 ii.ggn. The description of Hegius
in Adag. 1181 as ‘primus pueritiae
meae doctor’ is not to be pressed.
» Agric.’ 11; wrongly dated 1481 by
Hartfelder. N
80 Agric.? p. 177. The ‘Magister
Gerardus Gaudensis’ who is men¬
tioned there by Agricola as visiting
him at this time at Deventer and
negotiating with him about a com¬
mentary on Vergil is possibly Erasmus’
father, but the name occurs too fre¬
quently at Gouda to allow of any
certain inference.
81 Reichling in Pick’s Monatsschrift,
1877, p. 290.
5° e, g. in Adag. 339, where it seems
to be suggested that Erasmus was at
Deventer when he read Agricola’s
letter of 1 Nov. (1482), probably as
printed in Agricola’s translation of
Plato's Amiochus, Louvain, John of
Westphalia, c. 1483 (Campbell, r420,
Copinger, 4768).
83 LB, viii. 561.
# See p. 46.
% See EHR. Apr. 1906,
3 For Melanchthon’s attribution to
Agricola of the prophecy of Erasmus’
future greatness see iy. 25 n.
T LB. App. 66.