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597] TO THOMAS MORE 5
sollicitus essem quibus verbis illi gratias agerem, ille vltra quin¬
quaginta scutatos Gallicos addidit, nec vlla ratione licuit excusare.
Dispeream si quid habet hec etas cum eo viro conferendum. Petrus
Aegidius haud satis prospera valetudine etiamnum est ; sepe relabitur
et timet nescio quid, quod diuino magis quam scio, quod sane nolim
accidere. Vxor illius a reditu meo ex Anglia abortiuit, opinor mariti
periculo expauefacta.
Louanium commigraui totus, cum theologis aliquot menses acturus,
qui me satis benigne acceperint. Pensionis partem de suo soluit
Cancellarius, hoc est ducentos florenos, eam pecuniam arte quadam
reparaturus. Centum adhue expecto: sed quis hance numerabit
omnibus digressis? Cancellarius supremis verbis iussit me optimo
esse animo. Destinauit, vt intelligo, mihi episcopatum. Adeo facilius
est istis episcopum facere quam promissam pecuniam soluere.
Faber amicus haud admodum amice mecum egit in proxima editione
Epistolarum Apostolicarum ; odiosius enim tuetur suam sententiam,
arrodens etiam nonnulla que ad ipsius causam nihil attinebant. Ilico
23. aboruit MS. 28. expecto LB: ex pacto MS.
20. Disperiam MS.
33. enim scripsi: etiam MS.
attinebat MS.
18. vltra] ‘In addition to his ser¬
vices with the New Testament’ ; not
supra, as in Ep. 296. 126, 129. But
perhaps vlro should be read; for
Erasmus habitually lays great stress
on the spontaneity of gifts made to
him; cf. 1. pp. 42-5, Epp. 295. 23-5,
296. 126-30.
quinquaginta] Probably the sum
mentioned in Ep. 651 as received by
Erasmus at Bruges.
26. Pensionis] as Councillor; cf.
Ep. 565. 12 n. The amount now due
to Erasmus was 300 florins (cf. Epp.
628. 49, 695. 36), of which Le Sauvage
advanced him 200 at Ghent (cf. Ep.
621.9n.,11). The third hundred was
sent by Barbirius from Lille (Ep. 621)
after collection of money due from
some Spanish agent; and reached
Erasmus at Louvain through de Mar¬
ques between 17 July (Ep. 608. 7) and
c. 1 Aug. (Ep. 616. 1; cf. Epp. 651,
695); but this ineluded 65 from his
pension at Courtray (Epp. 613, 621).
30. episcopatum] Of. Ep. 475. 4 n.
32. Faber] In the Nouum Instru¬
mentum Erasmus had criticized some
remarks made by Faber on Hebr. 2 in
his Commentaries on the Epistles,
Paris, H. Stephanus, c. 25 Dec. 1512.
In his second edition, Paris, F. Reg¬
mault, 1517, which reached Erasmus
just at this time (cf. Epp. 731, 755;
and Apol. ad Iac. Fabrum, LB. ix. 17 4),
Faber had replied at length, ff. 182 y°—
185 v°; and though he had spoken of
Erasmus with the utmost admiration
and affection, testifying his desire to
seek only the truth and to avoid all
offence, he unfortunately allowed him¬
self (f. 183) to describe one of Erasmus’
opinions as impious. ‘Hunc ser¬
monem, Christum scilicet non paulu¬
lum imminutum fuisse a Deo, immo
infra abiectissimos etiam homines,
animose refutabimus tanquam impium
et Christo Deoque indignissimum.’
Erasmus replied hotly with an Apologia,
dated 5 Aug. 1517, resenting the charge
of blasphemy and deploring the pub¬
licity of the controversy, which would
cause the foes of advanced theology to
rejoice ; and in the notes, completed
23 Aug. 1518, to the second edition of
the New Testament (Ep. 864) he re¬
capitulated his rejoinder under fifty¬
seven heads (pp. 494-500), protesting
with undiminished warmth against
the accusation of blasphemy. Faber
did not pursue the matter further.
Erasmus’ note and Faber’s rejoin¬
der are reprinted at the end of the
first edition of the Apologia, Louvain,
Th. Martens, s.a. (Aug. 1517). See
BEr’.
20