CHAPTER IV FINAL DISPENSATION FROM LEO X Bound for England, he had left Basle where he had so long toiled on the New Testament and St. Jerome, and had arrived at Antwerp. It had been intimated to him by several that the Chancellor of Burgundy, John LeSauvage, whom we have already mentioned, was meditating more kindnesses towards him, and that it would be advisable for him to cultivate this powerful official by every means possible. He consequently proceeded to put this wise advice into effect, and announced himself as about to pay him a visit at the earliest moment. This elicited from the Chancellor the following direct proposition: Hail, Erasmus, most learned of men. You will do well to betake yourself hither [Brussels] at the first available opportunity; for, if you are sure that you will remain in this country, and here in laudable leisure will live quietly and comfortably (something which you have not been able to do anywhere else without great difficulty), I will cause at once to be conferred upon you a prebend or canonry at Courtrai. Nor will that be the only thing which you may expect from the established generosity and certain anticipation of our lord, his Catholic Majesty. Farewell, from Brussels, July 8, 1516.1 This was certainly something tangible, and he hastened to fulfil the Chancellor's wishes in the matter. But, having once secured the benefice, he did as he had done with the Aldington benefice, that is, he exchanged it for a pension to be paid him out of the income of this prebend. We have already explained that he was forced to do these things on account of the illegitimacy of his birth, which prevented him from holding benefices. The second inducement which the Chancellor held out to him to make him settle down in his own country turned out to be the offer of a bishopric, to which Charles V had nominated him. This, as it chanced, was not in the gift of Charles, but pertained solely to the Pope. On learning this fact, Charles had letters written to the Pope begging him to ratify the nomination. This furnished Erasmus some food for thought, as he had just sent Pope Leo a request which, if granted, would give him more real pleasure than a thousand bishoprics. Ammonius, whom he had made cognizant of the secret of his birth, and who had arranged all the needful preliminaries through his countryman and patron Sylvester Gigli, Bishop of Worcester, and English agent of the papal court resident in Rome, had been mainly instrumental in persuad1 Eras. Ep. 436. ing Erasmus to rid himself of his ecclesiastical disabilities once and for all. He had dwelt on the fact that Gigli continued to assure him of the great pleasure that the Pope had derived from Erasmus' works, and that Leo entertained the best dispositions towards him, going on to say that now was the time for him to make his appeal to the Pope. But the secret that Erasmus had guarded in his heart of hearts for so many years he could not nor would not entrust to paper; so we find him running over to England that he might speak with Ammonius, and that together, and without other interference, they might advance this great business. What these difficulties were that weighed on him so heavily we have already alluded to in more than one place. First there was the disability caused by the fact of his illegitimate birth, which prevented him from canonically receiving any benefice whatsoever in the Church. Then there was the fact that he had been elevated to the priesthood, which is forbidden by canon law to this class of unfortunates. Also, his besetting fear that some day he might be forced to resume his obligations to his Order gave him not a moment's peace of mind, and now was the opportunity offered him to accomplish these several objects. After speaking with Ammonius on arriving in England, and devising with him the measures to be pursued, he went to spend a few days with friends, but on his return found that Ammonius had been summoned to join the retinue of the king, who had gone hunting probably for a week. Erasmus chafed at this delay but could not help himself; so he wrote Ammonius as follows: I trust this hunting will be as lucky for you as it is unlucky for me; for, in the first place, it takes away the king from me, and, besides that, it has prevented my access to the Cardinal for some days. Moreover, I was about to captivate Ursewick with a present of my New Testament, and was intending to ask him for the horse which he had promised me by letter. When I expect to meet him on Monday, he has, conveniently for himself, gone off hunting, not to return for a week, and so that tunny-fish has escaped me. Lastly, the hunting has snatched you from me, so that I shall have to commit to writing the matters about which I wished to speak with you. Please sign the letter which I have written to the Pope about my boyhood. To me it seems very poorly phrased; so, if you think it can be improved, go over it anew, and describe the affair more carefully, adding this to your other kindnesses. I leave my welfare in your keeping. I cannot urge you more earnestly, for I trust you entirely; nor do I promise you a magnificent recompense in return, since I prefer to express my thanks in deeds, not words, if I shall be able. And I feel sure the matter we are engaged in will succeed, not only because it is in the hands of a man most dear to me, but also that it is in charge of Ammonius, who is most lucky in my affairs. Farewell. c. August 14, 1516. It is evidently probable that the Bishop of Utrecht had not been informed of this disqualification before he ordained Erasmus. This was the Grunnius letter on pages 9 sqq. of Vol. I. So behold Erasmus and Ammonius putting their heads together and drafting in unexceptional Latin, first, a letter to Pope Leo aimed to clear the way and bespeak his favor; and second, a letter to the Apostolic secretary whom he styles Lambert Grunnius; but that is a fictitious name, possibly Sadoleti being the one addressed. This latter document, which purports to give an account of a young boy too early immured in a monastery against his will, and which thinly veils his own history, we have already given at the beginning of our work. The letter to Leo we will now reproduce in part: Most Holy Father. I shall consider myself extremely fortunate if your Holiness will only pardon my temerity and persistence in that I have dared to trouble with my letter your Pontifical Highness, and, what is still more august, the incomparable eminence of Leo. But I perceive that my audacity has turned out most fortunately for me, since your more than paternal kindness has surpassed both my hopes and my desires, as you have sent me two Briefs, in one of which you distinguish me and my writings by the most ample and honorable testimony, and in the other you commend me to His Royal Majesty [Henry VIII] no less lovingly than earnestly. To have merited the approbation of the Eternal Deity is the supreme honor, but of a surety I deem it next to this to have been approved by the praises of the Supreme Pontiff, and all the more so that it is the praise of Leo, that is, of him who adorns the highest position among mortals with every sort of virtue and learning. Had these Briefs been delivered to me earlier, when I was staying at Basle, no perils of the roads would have availed to deter me from hastening to your blessed feet. But now that I have returned to my own country, increasing years somewhat weigh on me, the kindness of my Prince retains me, and the remarkable affection of my fellowcountrymen towards me holds me here. Moreover, the most illustrious Prince Charles, His Catholic Majesty, the incomparable luminary and ornament of this age, in whose realms I was born and by whose father Philip I was formerly not only known but appreciated, has most generously invited me to come back here in consideration of an annual salary, something which I was neither seeking nor expecting; and, when I had scarcely returned, he gave me a benefice as ample as it was honorable. Now I have ascertained in ways that are unmistakable how much of the early favor to me on the part of his most serene highness the King of England, how much good will for me on the part of the Cardinal of York, and how much affection for me on the part of the Archbishop of Canterbury, are due to the commendation of your Holiness. This was the more pleasing to me, and of more avail with them, in that it was not extorted by my entreaties, but was given by you of your own accord. During my researches in the Vatican Library, Cardinal Ehrle was kind enough to look up this matter of Lambert Grunnius, and was unable to find any trace of such a name among those of the Apostolic scribes and secretaries of that time. 6 See Vol. I, pp. 9 sqq. Yet, while I perceive that I owe so much to your Holiness, I eagerly desire to owe you more. Yes, it will especially delight me to receive all of my good fortune and the sum of my happiness from Leo alone. It is my design that some part of my felicity shall be willingly attributed to yourself. What that is, the reverend father in Christ, the Bishop of Worcester, permanent legate of the allunconquered King of England at your Holiness's court, will explain to you personally, and Andreas Ammonius, your Holiness's nuncio in England, will elucidate by letter. In which matter I do not doubt that I shall experience that goodness which the generosity of your nature towards me (in which you resemble especially Christ whose vice-regent you most deservedly are) as well as the learning of your Holiness promise in addition; and particularly since it is an affair of that sort which pertains not so much to my own dignity, to which you are openly favorable, as to the public benefit of the world for whose interests you are watchful. For the obtaining of this favor I could have made use of the commendation of the highest kings, but I preferred to owe to your kindness alone whatever of favor there is in it. Now, although I know that this service is greater than can be repaid by any efforts of man, and the greatness of your rank is such that it needs thanks from no one, yet it shall be my duty to strive with hands and feet that you shall not seem to have conferred so excellent a benefaction on a man either entirely unworthy, little mindful, or little grateful... Farewell, your Holiness, whom may the great Christ preserve unharmed as long as possible for the restoring and spreading of His religion, and for assisting the affairs of mortals. London, August 9, 1516.' At the same time Ammonius, in his capacity of papal nuncio, wrote Pope Leo to the following effect: 7 Most Holy Father. For a considerable time now nothing has occurred that seemed to me to require that I should write to your Holiness, pinnacle of the human race. Now I seem to have a good cause which emboldens me to do so in order that I may render Erasmus, already especially esteemed by your Holiness on account of his erudition, still more estimable in your sight, a thing which I think ought to be done by all who are lovers of learning, to the end that he may be able to devote himself with a serener mind to literature, and your eternal Holiness may have such a priest most devoted to your Highness, not that your Highness can be exalted by any man's praises, but because your Highness can be no better propitiated by any other offering than by the praise of a priest, pure in heart, and in his natural qualities especially close to God. And this confidence in my hopes arises from the benignity of your eminent Holiness, who are accustomed to lend willing ears to the prayers of even the lowly, and to favor learning not alone by your countenance, but by gold and silver. But it is not money that Erasmus seeks, Eras. Ep. 446. but only that you will gratify him with a dispensation, which, although it is an unusual thing that he asks, I deem him most worthy of on account of the fact that he is a rare genius, and so the favor would be lacking in value to him were it not a rare one. His reverend lordship the Bishop of Worcester will explain more fully at the feet of your Holiness both his appeal and my own." After being on the anxious seat for several weeks without hearing a word from Rome, Erasmus, who had returned to Brabant, finally received a letter from Ammonius which gave him great hopes. The reference to his having come to life again in this letter is explained by the fact that rumors of his death had recently been prevalent in Rome: Ammonius to Erasmus. Bearing another sealed letter for you, the nuncio from Rome arrived with a letter from the Bishop of Worcester, who sends you his best regards, commending himself to you, and saying that you have come to life again at Rome, for you had been long mourned as dead. About your own affairs he writes that the Pontiff gladly read both your letter and mine, and heard your petition, but had deferred the matter until his return. To obtain a mental rest he has gone more than sixty miles from Rome, whither he is said to be about to return, however, on the fifth of November. The Bishop of Worcester is sure that he will obtain everything you ask for, but has to placate the Datary with a sop so that he will not snarl too much, but for what reason he does not state. But I have written to him [the Bishop], not to mind the expense, and that I will at once pay here whatever he may incur there. Therefore there is no reason to fear any delay; only wait until about the last of November or a little later, and you shall have your wish. Farewell. London, October 22, 1516. The old adage, "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick," was most true in the present instance, since Erasmus never ceased for a moment to importune Ammonius for news from Rome: Ill luck attend this absence of the Pope which has delayed my happiness. Believe me, dear Ammonius, now have I let go my anchor, now is every die cast. If it shall turn out contrary to my wishes, I am done for. If it succeeds, I shall owe it all to your kindness and that of the Bishop of Worcester; but, if not, I shall recognize therein my familiar and too well-known evil genius. 10 A month after this time Ammonius heard from the Bishop of Worcester, and hastened to inform Erasmus that the Pope was wonderfully well disposed towards him. The Bishop writes to tell what the Pope has in mind to do for Erasmus, but is uncertain that what the Pontiff offers will meet Erasmus' wishes. Hence he writes for categorical instructions on how to proceed, and what specifically to ask for. He suggests that Erasmus write to the Pope more in detail, and promises that he will second the missive with all his influence.11 From Erasmus' 8 Ibid, 466. 11 Ibid., 498. 9 • Ibid., 479. 10 Ibid., 483. |