mind, which, in spite of all its breadth and acuteness, did not tend to
penetrate deeply into philosophical or dogmatic speculations. For it was
not only scholasticism that repelled him; the youthful Platonism and the
rejuvenated Aristotelianism taught by Lefevre d'Etaples also failed to
attract him. For the present he remained a humanist of aesthetic bias,
with the substratum of a biblical and moral disposition, resting mainly
on the study of his favourite Jerome. For a long time to come Erasmus
considered himself, and also introduced himself, as a poet and an
orator, by which latter term he meant what we call a man of letters.

Immediately on arriving at Paris he must have sought contact with the
headquarters of literary humanism. The obscure Dutch regular introduced
himself in a long letter (not preserved) full of eulogy, accompanied by
a much-laboured poem, to the general, not only of the Trinitarians but,
at the same time, of Parisian humanists, Robert Gaguin. The great man
answered very obligingly: 'From your lyrical specimen I conclude that
you are a scholar; my friendship is at your disposal; do not be so
profuse in your praise, that looks like flattery'. The correspondence
had hardly begun when Erasmus found a splendid opportunity to render
this illustrious personage a service and, at the same time, in the
shadow of his name, make himself known to the reading public. The matter
is also of importance because it affords us an opportunity, for the
first time, to notice the connection that is always found between
Erasmus's career as a man of letters and a scholar and the technical
conditions of the youthful art of printing.

Gaguin was an all-round man and his Latin text-book of the history of
France, _De origine et gestis Francorum Compendium_, was just being
printed. It was the first specimen of humanistic historiography in
France. The printer had finished his work on 30 September 1495, but of
the 136 leaves, two remained blank. This was not permissible according
to the notions of that time. Gaguin was ill and could not help matters.
By judicious spacing the compositor managed to fill up folio 135 with a
poem by Gaguin, the colophon and two panegyrics by Faustus Andrelinus
and another humanist. Even then there was need of matter, and Erasmus
dashed into the breach and furnished a long commendatory letter,
completely filling the superfluous blank space of folio 136.[2] In this
way his name and style suddenly beca