ery sure of his ground, for everyone knew that he,
Badius, was preparing the new edition. Yet a rumour reached him that in
Germany the Aldine edition was being reprinted. So there was some hurry
to finish it, he wrote to Erasmus in May 1512.

Badius, meanwhile, had much more work of Erasmus in hand, or on
approval: the _Copia_, which, shortly afterwards, was published by him;
the _Moria_, of which, at the same time, a new edition, the fifth,
already had appeared; the dialogues by Lucian; the Euripides and Seneca
translations, which were to follow. He hoped to add Jerome's letters to
these. For the _Adagia_ they had agreed upon a copy-fee of fifteen
guilders; for Jerome's letters Badius was willing to give the same sum
and as much again for the rest of the consignment. 'Ah, you will say,
what a very small sum! I own that by no remuneration could your genius,
industry, knowledge and labour be requited, but the gods will requite
you and your own virtue will be the finest reward. You have already
deserved exceedingly well of Greek and Roman literature; you will in
this same way deserve well of sacred and divine, and you will help your
little Badius, who has a numerous family and no earnings besides his
daily trade.'

Erasmus must have smiled ruefully on receiving Badius's letter. But he
accepted the proposal readily. He promised to prepare everything for the
press and, on 5 January 1513, he finished, in London, the preface to the
revised _Adagia_, for which Badius was waiting. But then something
happened. An agent who acted as a mediator with authors for several
publishers in Germany and France, one Francis Berckman, of Cologne, took
the revised copy of the _Adagia_ with the preface entrusted to him by
Erasmus to hand over to Badius, not to Paris, but to Basle, to Johannes
Froben, who had just, without Erasmus's leave, reprinted the Venetian
edition! Erasmus pretended to be indignant at this mistake or perfidy,
but it is only too clear that he did not regret it. Six months later he
betook himself with bag and baggage to Basle, to enter with that same
Froben into those most cordial relations by which their names are
united. Beatus Rhenanus, afterwards, made no secret of the fact that a
connection with the house of Froben, then still called Amerbach and
Froben, had seemed attractive to Erasmus ever since he had heard of the
_Adagia_ being reprinted.

Without conclusive proofs of his complicity, we do not like to accuse
Era