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Principally From His Epistles
By
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The selections in this volume are taken mainly from the Letters ofErasmus. Latin was to him a living language; and the easystraightforwardness with which he addresses himself to what he has tosay, whether in narrating the events of every-day life or in developingmore serious themes, makes his works suitable reading for beginners. Tothe rapidity with which he invariably wrote is due a certain laxity,principally in the use of moods and tenses; and his spelling is that ofthe Renaissance. These matters I have brought to some extent intoconformity with classical usage; and in a few other ways also I havetaken necessary liberties with the text.
In the choice of passages I have been guided for the most part by adesire to illustrate through them English life at a period of exceptionalinterest in our history. There has never been wanting a succession ofpersons who concerned themselves to chronicle the deeds of kings and thefortunes of war; but history only becomes intelligible when we can placethese exalted events in their right setting by understanding what menboth small and great were doing and thinking in their private lives. ToErasmus we owe much intimate knowledge of the age in which he lived; andof none of his contemporaries has he given us more vivid pictures than ofthe great Englishmen, Henry VIII, Colet, More, and many others, whom hedelighted to claim as friends.
With this purpose in view I have thought it best to confine thehistorical commentary within a narrow compass in the scenes which are notdrawn from England; and to leave unillustrated many distinguished names,due appreciation of which would have overloaded the notes and confusedthe reader.
The vocabulary is intended to include all words not to be found in Dr.Lewis's Elementary Latin Dictionary, with the exception of (1) thosewhich with the necessary modification have become English, (2) classicalwords used for modern counterparts without possibility of confusion, e.g. templum for church; (3) diminutives—a mode of expression whichboth Erasmus and modern writers use very freely—as to the origin ofwhich there can be no doubt.
Mr. Kenneth Forbes of St. John's College has kindly gone through thewhole of the text with me, and has given me the benefit of his longexperience as a teacher. I am also obliged to him for most valuableassistance in the preparation of the notes.
LONGWALL, COTTAGE, OXFORD. June 1908.
In a second edition I have been able to incorporate a few of thecorrections and suggestions made by reviewers and friends. My thanks areespecially due to the Warden of Wadham and to Mr. Hugo Sharpley, headmaster of Richmond Grammar School, Yorks.
23 MERTON STREET, OXFORD. June 1, 1918.
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V. A VISIT TO COURT (I. p. 6 : i. p. 201)