ched Basle in the second half of
August 1514. There such pleasures of fame awaited him as he had never
yet tasted. The German humanists hailed him as the light of the
world--in letters, receptions and banquets. They were more solemn and
enthusiastic than Erasmus had found the scholars of France, England and
Italy, to say nothing of his compatriots; and they applauded him
emphatically as being a German himself and an ornament of Germany. At
his first meeting with Froben, Erasmus permitted himself the pleasure of
a jocular deception: he pretended to be a friend and agent of himself,
to enjoy to the full the joy of being recognized. The German environment
was rather to his mind: '_My_ Germany, which to my regret and shame I
got to know so late'.

Soon the work for which he had come was in full swing. He was in his
element once more, as he had been at Venice six years before: working
hard in a large printing-office, surrounded by scholars, who heaped upon
him homage and kindness in those rare moments of leisure which he
permitted himself. 'I move in a most agreeable Museon: so many men of
learning, and of such exceptional learning!'

Some translations of the lesser works of Plutarch were published by
Froben in August. The _Adagia_ was passing through the press again with
corrections and additions, and the preface which was originally destined
for Badius. At the same time Dirck Maertensz, at Louvain, was also at
work for Erasmus, who had, on passing through the town, entrusted him
with a collection of easy Latin texts; also M. Schuerer at Strassburg,
who prepared the _Parabolae sive similia_ for him. For Froben, too,
Erasmus was engaged on a Seneca, which appeared in 1515, together with a
work on Latin construction. But Jerome and the New Testament remained
his chief occupation.

Jerome's works had been Erasmus's love in early youth, especially his
letters. The plan of preparing a correct edition of the great Father of
the Church was conceived in 1500, if not earlier, and he had worked at
it ever since, at intervals. In 1513 he writes to Ammonius: 'My
enthusiasm for emending and annotating Jerome is such that I feel as
though inspired by some god. I have almost completely emended him
already by collating many old manuscripts. And this I do at incredibly
great expense.' In 1512 he negotiated with Badius about an edition of
the letters. Froben's partner, Johannes Amerbach, who died before
Erasmus's arrival, had been engaged