ecenas he now
calls him) set Standonck to dog him in Paris.

Much bitterness there is in the letters of this period. Erasmus is
suspicious, irritable, exacting, sometimes rude in writing to his
friends. He cannot bear William Hermans any longer because of his
epicureanism and his lack of energy, to which he, Erasmus, certainly was
a stranger. But what grieves us most is the way he speaks to honest
Batt. He is highly praised, certainly. Erasmus promises to make him
immortal, too. But how offended he is, when Batt cannot at once comply
with his imperious demands. How almost shameless are his instructions as
to what Batt is to tell the Lady of Veere, in order to solicit her
favour for Erasmus. And how meagre the expressions of his sorrow, when
the faithful Batt is taken from him by death in the first half of 1502.

It is as if Erasmus had revenged himself on Batt for having been obliged
to reveal himself to his true friend in need more completely than he
cared to appear to anyone; or for having disavowed to Anna of Borselen
his fundamental convictions, his most refined taste, for the sake of a
meagre gratuity. He has paid homage to her in that ponderous Burgundian
style with which dynasties in the Netherlands were familiar, and which
must have been hateful to him. He has flattered her formal piety. 'I
send you a few prayers, by means of which you could, as by incantations,
call down, even against her will, from Heaven, so to say, not the moon,
but her who gave birth to the sun of justice.'

Did you smile your delicate smile, O author of the _Colloquies_, while
writing this? So much the worse for you.

FOOTNOTES:

[3] Allen No. 103.17. Cf. _Chr. Matrim. inst._ LB. V. 678 and _Cent
nouvelles_ 2.63, 'ung baiser, dont les dames et demoiselles du dit pays
d'Angleterre sont assez liberales de l'accorder'.

CHAPTER V

ERASMUS AS A HUMANIST

Significance of the _Adagia_ and similar works of later
years--Erasmus as a divulger of classical culture--
Latin--Estrangement from Holland--Erasmus as a
Netherlander

Meanwhile renown came to Erasmus as the fruit of those literary studies
which, as he said, had ceased to be dear to him. In 1500 that work
appeared which Erasmus had written after his misfortune at Dover, and
had dedicated to Mountjoy, the _Adagiorum Collectanea_. It was a
collection of about eight hundred proverbial sayings drawn from the
Latin authors of antiquity and elucidated for the use