he could exclaim, in the language of Horace: “I have erected a monument more durable than brass." Luther wrote him, in appreciation of his labors: "The Lord has been at work in you, that the light of Holy Scripture might begin to shine in that Germany where for so many years, alas! it was not only stifled but extinct."

A BITTER CONTROVERSY.-In the year 1510 there began in Germany a long and acrimonious controversy about Hebrew literature, in which Reuchlin became a prominent figure. A baptized Jewish rabbi, John Pfefferkorn, with the zeal of a proselyte, appealed to the Emperor Maximilian to have all Jewish books, except the Bible, destroyed. Reuchlin, having been asked to give his opinion, advised the destruction of only such books as were written against Christianity. "The best way," he added, "to convert the Israelites would be to establish two professors of the Hebrew language in each university, who should teach theologians to read the Bible in Hebrew, and thus refute the Jewish doctors." This attitude brought upon Reuchlin a most virulent attack from the Dominican friars of Cologne. The controversy became general. The friends of learning naturally rallied to the support of the great Hebrew scholar; and after a conflict of nine years, the pope, to whom the case had been appealed, decided in Reuchlin's favor.

During this controversy Erasmus wrote to Cardinal Raphael: “In supporting Reuchlin, you will earn the gratitude of every man of letters in Germany. It is to him. really that Germany owes such knowledge as it has of Greek and Hebrew. He is a learned, accomplished man, respected by the Emperor, honored among his own people, and blameless in life and character. All Europe is crying shame that so excellent a person should be harassed by a detestable

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persecution, and all for a matter as absurd as the ass's shadow of the proverb. The princes are at peace again. Why should men of education and knowledge be still stabbing each other with poisoned pens?"

C. Erasmus

BIOGRAPHICAL.-Erasmus, born in Rotterdam in 1467, was perhaps the acutest scholar of his day. In his youth he gave promise of the eminence he afterward attained. His teacher at Deventer, who belonged to the Brethren of the Common Life, once enthusiastically embraced him with these words: "You will one day attain the highest summits of knowledge." In his youth Erasmus was persuaded to become an Augustinian monk; but finding conventual life entirely unfitted to his tastes and character, he was released by the Bishop of Cambray, and sent to the University of Paris. To eke out his meager allowance he took pupils in Greek, the elements of which he had acquired by private study. "I have given up my whole soul to Greek learning," and as soon as I get any money I shall buy he wrote, Greek books, and then I shall buy some clothes."

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At various times he visited England, France, Germany, and Italy, and everywhere his wit, learning, and fame secured him a cordial reception. In 1497 he went to England, where he met Thomas More, then a young man of twenty, heard Colet lecture at Oxford, and admired the learning of Linacre and Grocyn-all, like himself, enthusiastic humanists. "I have found in Oxford," he wrote, so much polish and learning that now I hardly care about going to Italy at all, save for the sake of having been there. When I listen to my friend Colet, it seems like listening to Plato himself. Who does not wonder at the wide

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range of Grocyn's knowledge? What can be more searching, deep, and refined than the judgment of Linacre? When did nature mold a temper more gentle, endearing, and happy than the temper of Thomas More?" Later he became, for a brief period, a lecturer on Greek at the University of Cambridge. Henry VIII, of England, was his friend and patron; and among his acquaintances were Pope Julius II and Leo X.

CHIEF WORKS.-Among his best known works is the Encomium Moria, or the Praise of Folly. It is a satire upon various classes of society. But of still more importance was Erasmus's edition of the Greek New Testament, accompanied with a Latin translation and notes. "It is my desire," he said in the preface, "to lead back that cold dispute about words called theology to its real fountain. Would to God that this work may bear as much fruit to Christianity as it has cost me toil and application." This work, which appeared in 1516, helped to make Europe acquainted with the Gospel as it was preached by Christ and his apostles.

PEDAGOGY.-An enthusiastic student of the ancient classics, the pedagogical views of Erasmus do not differ materially from those of Plutarch, Quintilian, and Seneca. What he has written on education appears at times a mere paraphrase of these ancient educators. Among his educational writings may be mentioned the Adages (1500), The Order of Studies (1512), The Education of a Christian Prince (1516), and The Institution of Christian Marriage (1526). He dwelt upon the importance of early domestic training, during which the soil should be prepared for subsequent instruction. The health of children should be carefully attended to through proper food and clothing, healthful rooms, and merry companionships. By

means of plays the Greek and Roman alphabets might be learned, and through appropriate training the virtues of reverence and obedience should be developed.

INTELLECTUAL CULTURE.-Formal instruction should not begin before the seventh year. Much care should be exercised in the choice of a teacher, whose efficiency concerned not only the welfare of the child but also the welfare of the state. He reproached parents for taking more pains in the selection of a hostler than in the employment of a teacher for their children. Not only the learning of the teacher, but especially his character should be considered. During the first years of instruction private tutors seemed to Erasmus preferable to large monastic schools. In the latter the danger of moral contamination appeared to him too great, and the labors of the teacher too much divided.

As a genuine humanist, Erasmus insisted that the knowledge of words should precede the knowledge of things. Greek and Latin grammar should be studied together, for these two languages contained almost everything that is worth knowing. The rules of grammar should be few in number and restricted to what is most important; for skill in language is best acquired through conversation and reading. When a sufficient foundation in language had been laid, the pupil should turn to the study of things; and the sources of science Erasmus found in the writings of the ancient Greeks. Especial attention, he urged, should be given to the cultivation of the memory, through which the results of learning are made available. There are three principal aids to memory, namely, a right understanding of the subject, a proper order of thought, and a careful noting of distinctions. He recommended the study of geography, history, and natural science, not for their

own sake, but as necessary adjuncts in understanding and explaining the classics.

IMITATION OF CICERO.-Erasmus valued thought more than style, and inveighed against the superficial imitation of Cicero then prevalent. He laughed at the verbal trifling of the grammarians, and the insignificant quibblings of the philosophers. "You are charged," he said to the Ciceronians, "with a very difficult task; for, besides the errors of language that have escaped Cicero, the copyists have sown his works with a multitude of mistakes, and many of the writings attributed to this author are not authentic. Finally, his verses translated from the Greek are worth nothing. And you would imitate all that, the good and the bad, the authentic and the non-authentic! Certainly, your imitation is very superficial; it is unworthy of your master. Your imitation is servile, cold, and dead, without life, without movement, without feeling; it is an apishness in which one discovers none of the virtues that have made the glory of Cicero, such as his happy inspiration, the intelligent disposition of his subjects, the wisdom with which he treats each subject, his large acquaintance with men and affairs, and his ability to move those who hear him. These are what should be imitated in Cicero; and, in order to imitate him, we must, like him, identify ourselves with the age in which we live, that we may be able to adapt our language to it; otherwise, our speech has no longer that seal of reality which animated the discourse of Cicero."

METHOD IN TEACHING.-Erasmus favored a mild discipline; praise and rewards, he said, accomplish more than threats and blows. The business of the teacher was to help his pupils, and not to display his own learning. Too much talk on his part was a hindrance rather than a help.

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