ters, Caesar's Civil War,
Persius and Suetonius. (We must remember that in those days a man's
quotations were culled from his memory, not from a dictionary or
concordance.) He goes on: 'About forming words by analogy, I rarely
allow myself to invent words which are not in the best authors, but
still perhaps I might use Socratitas, Platonitas, entitas, though
Valla I am sure would object. After all one must be free, when there
is necessity. Cicero, without any need, used Pietas and Lentulitas;
and Pollio talks of Livy's Patauinitas.' Other words explained are
tignum, asser, [Greek: dioikesis]; and then Agricola proceeds to
correct a number of mistakes in Hegius' letter. Rather delicate work
it might seem; but there is such good humour between them that, though
the corrections extend to some length, it all ends pleasantly.

4. HEGIUS TO AGRICOLA; from Deventer, 17 Dec. <1484>.

After apologies for not having written for a long while, he proceeds:

'You ask how my school is doing. Well, it is full again now;
but in summer the numbers rather fell off. The plague which
killed twenty of the boys, drove many others away, and
doubtless kept some from coming to us at all.

'Thank you for translating Lucian's Micyllus. I am sure that
all of us who read it, will be greatly pleased with it. As soon
as it comes, I will have it printed. If I may, I should much
like to ask you for an abridgement of your book on Dialectic:
it would be very valuable to students. I understand that you
have translated Isocrates' Education of Princes. If I had it
here, I would expound it to my pupils. For some of them, no
doubt, will be princes some day and have to govern.

'I have been reading Valla's book on the True Good, and have
become quite an Epicurean, estimating all things in terms of
pleasure. Also it has persuaded me that each virtue has its
contrary vice, rather than two vices as its extremes. I should
like to know whether the authorities at Heidelberg have
abandoned their Marsilius[6] on the question of universals, or
whether they still stick to him.'

[6] Of Inghen, first Rector of Heidelberg University (1386),
the author of the _Parua Logicalia_.

5. AGRICOLA TO HEGIUS; from Worms, Tuesday <January 1485>, in reply.

After thanks and personalities he writes:

'Certainly you shall have the Lucian, and I will dedicate