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the middle ages, on points of not much greater importance, will perceive it to be hardly a caricature :—

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"When I first set out for the Court of Rome, you told me I ought to write to you often, and to lay before you theological questions, which you would solve better than the courtiers here. I now therefore beg your decision, regarding the situation of one, who on a Friday, or other fast day, has eaten an egg with a chicken in it. A friend of mine and I were lately sitting at an inn, and eating eggs, I opened one and saw that there was a young chicken in it. So I showed it my companion, and he said eat it as fast as you can, lest the landlord should see it: if he does, you will have to pay him for a pullet, for it is the custom here to pay for whatever is set upon the table, and they take nothing back. If he sees there is a young pullet in the egg, he will say, Pay me for a pullet! for he reckons a small one just the same as a large one.' I immediately ate up egg and the chicken in it, and then all of a sudden I recollected it was Friday, and said to my companion, you have made me commit a mortal sin in eating meat on a fast day.' But he said it was not a mortal sin, and that it did not even amount to a venial sin; for that the chicken was not considered as any thing more than an egg, till it was hatched, So it is,' said he,' with cheese, in which there are a great many maggots, and so with cherries, peas, and beans, and many other things which are nevertheless eaten on fast days, and even on the Vigils of the Apostles. And the landlords are great rogues for saying they are meat, which they do to get more money.' Then I went away, and mused upon it, and, by Heaven, Master Ortuinus, I am much troubled thereon, and know not how it becometh me to act. If I go to advise with one of the people about the Court, I know they have no conscience. It seems to me that these chickens in eggs are meat, because the substance is formed and fashioned into an animal body, and has the vital principle; and the case of maggots in cheese, &c. does not apply, for maggots are considered as fish, as I have heard from a Physician who was an excellent naturalist. I beseech you most earnestly to answer and advise me touching the question proposed; for if you hold it to be a mortal sin, I wish to procure absolution before I leave for Germany. You must know too that our master (of arts,) Jacobus de Hochstrat, has got a thousand florins, and it is my opinion that he will win his cause, and that the devil will confound that John Reuchlin, and all other poets and jurists who are against the church of Christ, that is, against the Theologians on whom the church is founded." &c.

* "Cum priusquam ambularem ad Curiam, dixistis mihi, quod sæpe debeo vobis scribere, & aliquando debeo dirigere aliquas quæstiones Theologicales ad vos, tunc vultis mihi eas solvere, melius, quam Curtisani Romæ : ergo nunc quæro dominationem vestram, quid tenetis de eo, quando unus in die Veneris, id est, feria sexta, vel alias quando est jejunium, comedit ovum, & est pullus intus. quia nuper in Campo Floræ sedimus in uno hospitio, & fecimus collationem, &

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The ignorance of the learned opposers of the revival of classical literature is thus handled; the reader will observe, that the writer has only made himself the owner of a Latin version of Homer.

"Most excellent sir, as you are disposed to oblige me and do me kindness, I am desirous of doing all I can in return. You said to me when we parted, Oh Peter, when you get to Rome, see if there be any new books, and send me some.' Here then I send you one just printed, and as you are a poet, I think you may derive advantage from it; for I lately heard from a Notary, who ought to know all these things, that this book is the fountain of poetry, and that the author, who is called Homer, is the father of all poets, and he said there was another Homer in Greek; then I answered, what have I to do with Greek? the Latin one is better, for I want to send it to Germany to M. Ortuinus, who has no idea of these Greek fancies.'

comedimus ova, & ego aperiens ovum, vidi quod juvenis pullus est in eo. ostendi socio meo. tunc ipse dixit: Comedatis cito antequam hospes videt, quia quando videt, tunc oportet ei dare unum Carlinum vel Julium pro gallina, quia est hic consuetudo, quod quando hospes ponit aliquid ad tabulam, tunc oportet solvere, quia non volunt recipere. Et si videt, quod juvenis gallina est in ovo, ipse dicit: Solvatis mihi etiam gallinam. quia computat parvam sicut magnam. Et ego statim bibi ovum, & simul illum pullum intus, & postea cogitavi, quod fuit dies Veneris, & dixi socio meo, vos fecistis, quod feci peccatum mortale, comedendo carnes in feriis sextis. Et dixit ipse, quod non est peccatum mortale, imo non est peccatum veniale, quia ille pullaster non reputatur aliter quam ovum, donec est natus, & dixit mihi, quod est sicut de caseis, in quibus aliquando sunt vermes, & in cerasis & in pisis & fabis recentibus, sed tamen comedantur in sextis feriis, & etiam in vigiliis Apostolorum. Hospites autem ita sunt pultroni, quod dicunt, quod sunt carnes, ut habeant plus pecuniam. Tunc ego abivi, & cogitavi super: Et per Deum, magister Ortuine, ego sum multum turbatus, & nescio quo debeo me regere. Si vellem libenter consilium quærere ab uno Curtisano, tunc scio, quod non habent bonas conscientias. videtur mihi, quod istæ juvenes gallinæ in ovis sunt carnes, quia materia est jam formata & figurata in membra & corpus animalis, & habet animam vitalem. aliud est de vermibus in caseis & aliis, quia vermes reputantur pro piscibus. sicut ego audivi ab uno medico, qui est valde Physicus. Ego rogo vos multum cordialiter, quatenus velitis mihi respondere ad propositam quæstionem. Quia si tenetis quod est peccatum mortale, tunc volo hic acquirere unam absolutionem, antequam vado ad Almaniam. Etiam debetis scire quod Magister noster Jacobus de Hochstraten acquisivit mille florenos, & Banco, & credo quod lucrabit causam, & diabolus confundet illum Joannem Reuchlin, & alios Poetas & Juristas, quia volunt esse contra Ecclesiam Dei, id est, contra Theologos, in quibus est fundata Ecclesia, ut Christus dixit: Tu es Petrus, & super hanc petram ædificabo Ecclesiam meam. Et commendo vos Domino Deo. Valete. Datum in urbe Romana."

Then I asked him what there was in the book, and he said it treats of some men who are called Greeks, who fought with other men who are called Trojans, of whom indeed I had heard before. Now these Trojans had a great city, and the Greeks besieged it full ten years. Then the Trojans sometimes sallied out and fought with them in good earnest, and they killed one another in a wonderful manner, so that the plain swam with blood, and there was a certain water that was stained with it and it was so red that it flowed like a stream of blood: and a shout was heard in the sky, and a certain man threw a stone which twelve men could not lift, and a horse spoke and prophesied : But I don't believe a word of such things, for they seem to me to be impossible, but I don't know how far the book is authentic. Pray write to me about it, and let me know what you think. Farewell: written from Rome."

" #

The contumelies to which the supporters of the Pfefferhorn cause found themselves exposed on carrying their complaints to the Court of Rome, often supply matter for bitter irony. The following specimen ends with an admirable display of university learning.

"Dilectionem fraternalem loco salutis, honorabilis vir. Secundum quod reliqui vobiscum, quod volo vobis notificare singula, &

"Vir eximie, secundum quod estis mihi naturaliter inclinatus & multum favetis mihi, ego etiam volo vobis facere possibilia. Dixistis mihi autem: O Petre, quando venitis Romam, videte an sunt novi libri, & mittatis mihi aliquos. Ecce habetis unum novum librum, qui est hic impressus, et quia estis Poeta, credo, quod potestis vos multum ex illo meliorare. Quia audivi hic in audientia ab uno Notario, qui debet esse perfectus in tali arte, quod iste liber est fons Poetriæ, & auctor eius, qui vocatur Homerus, est pater omnium Poetarum. & dixit, quod est adhuc alius Homerus in Græco. Tunc dixi: quid mihi cum Græco? Ille Latinus est melior; quia volo eum in Almaniam mittere M. Ortuino, qui non curat illas Græcas fantasias. Et interrogavi eum, quid continetur in tali libro? Respondit, quod tractat de quibusdam viris, qui vocantur Græci qui bellaverunt cum aliis viris, qui vocantur Trojani, quos etiam audivi prius nominari. Et isti Trojani habuerunt unam magnam civitatem, & illi Græci posuerunt se ante civitatem, & jacuerunt ibi bene decem annos. Tunc Trojani aliquando exiverunt ad eos, & percusserunt se realiter cum ipsis, & interfecerunt se mirabiliter ad invicem, ita quod totus campus sanguinavit, & fuit ibi quædam aqua, quæ fuit colorata per sanguinem, & fuit per totum rubicata, ita quod fluxit sicut si esset sanguis: & clamor audiebatur in cœlo, & unus projecit unum lapidem, quem duodecim viri non possent elevare, & unus equus incepit loqui, & prophetizavit. Sed non credo talia, quia videntur mihi impossibilia, & tamen nescio, an talis liber est multum autenticus: Rogo, scribatis mihi de eo, & faciatis me cognoscere, quod tenetis. Et cum hoc valete. Datum Romæ."

scribere quomodo sto, scire debetis, quod nunc fui per duos menses in urbe Roma, & non possum habere Patronum. Unus auditor Romæ voluit me suscipere. tunc fui lætus, & dixi: Bene est, Domine; sed magnificentia vestra velit mihi dicere, quid debeo facere. Respondit quod debeo esse in stabulo, & unum mulum servare in ordine, dando ei comedere & bibere, & strigilando & mundificando. Et quando ipse vult equitare, quod sit paratus, & habeat frenum & sellum & omnia. Et postea debeo currere cum eo ad audientiam, & iterum ad domum. Ego dixi, quod non est pro me, quia sum Magister artium Colon. & non possum talia facere. Respondit ipse: Si non vis facere, tuum damnum. et sic credo, quod volo iterum ad patriam. Deberem strigilare mulum, & purgare stabulum, ego potius vellem, quod diabolus auferret illum mulum cum stabulo. Etiam credo quod esset contra statuta Universitatis nostræ : quia Magister debet se tenere sicut Magister. & esset magnum scandalum Universitatis, quod Magister Coloniensis deberet facere talia. Ego volo redire in patriam propter honorem Universitatis. etiam alias non placet mihi Roma, quia Copistæ & Curtisani sunt ita superbi, quod non creditis. Unus heri incepit disputare mecum, dicens: Quid est Magister? Respondi: est persona qualificata, promota & graduata in septem artibus liberalibus, præcedente examine magistrali, privilegiata, quod potest portare annulum aureum & sericum sub cappa, habens se ad suos discipulos sicut Rex ad suum populum. Et Magister dicitur quatuor modis: Uno modo a magis & ter, quia Magister ter magis debet scire, quam simplex persona. Secundo dicitur a magis & terreo, quia Magister debet esse terribilis in conspectu suorum discipulorum. Tertio a magis & therom, id est, status, quia Magister in suo statu debet esse major, quam sui discipuli. Quarto a magis & sedere, quia Magister debet esse major in sua sede, quam aliquis suorum discipulorum. Tunc ille interrogavit, quis est author? Respondi, quod legi in Vade mecum. Statim ipse voluit reprehendere illum librum, & dixit, quod non est autenticus. Respondi, tu vis reprehendere illos antiquos, & tamen tu non scis melius. Ego neminem vidi Coloniæ reprehendere talem librum. Non habes verecundiam? et cum indignatione magna recessi ab eo. Et ergo notetis, quod volo redire in Almaniam, quia ibi Magistri sunt Domini, & merito. Probo per Evangelium : quia Christus etiam vocavit se Magistrum, & non Doctorem, dicens : Vos vocatis me Magister & Dominus, & bene dicitis, sum etenim. Sed non possum plus scribere, quia pro nunc non habeo amplius papyrum, & est longum ad Campum Flora. Valete. Datum in Romana Curia."

The trade of Indulgencies does not escape several jokes. The effect which would be produced upon a man's purgatorial state, by the purchase money for an indulgence being stolen, was a new point, though it seems hard that the purchaser should not be insured from the time of completing his contract.

"As you are always desirous to hear news, it is time for me to write, though I grieve to say the news is not good: you must know

that the Friars, Preachers here, had a great many indulgencies which they had procured at a great expense from Rome, and they had made a good deal of money by them. Then, one night, there came a thief who broke into the church, and stole more than three hundred florins. These zealous brothers, who are strongly attached to the Christian faith, were much vexed at this, and lodged their complaint against the thief. But the citizens sent every where, and could no where find him, for he was gone off with the money. Now this was a great crime, for such things should not be done with the Papal indulgencies, and in a holy place too. However, he is excommunicated wherever he is. The men who had bought absolution and paid their money think now that they are not absolved, but, mum for that! They are just as well absolved, as if the Friars had the money in the chest still."

The syllogistic reasoning of these wiseacres is well applied in a letter from "Magister noster Bartolomæus Kuckuk."

"There is a jurist here, called Martin Groningen, a Doctor, who thinks very highly of himself, and is about to translate the Speculum Oculare (one of Reuchlin's tracts in the controversy.) Some speak very highly of him, so I asked them what it is he knows more than other people? Then they said he is a good Greek scholar; so that you see he is not worth notice, for Greek is not of the essence of the Holy Scripture. And I don't believe that he knows one point in the Book of Sentences, or that he could make a syllogism in Baroco or Celarent, for he knows nothing of logic. He lately called me an ass; then I said to him, if you are so bold, dispute with me; my proposition is, that you are an ass, first thus, whatever carries burthens is an ass; you carry burdens; ergo, you are an ass. I prove my minor because you carry a book, and it was true, for he was carrying a book against our Master Jacobus de Hochstrat, which J. Questenberg gave him to study. Then he was not cunning enough to deny my major; if he had I could not have proved that: but I am sure he knows nothing of logic. So I said to him, My good doctor, you want to interfere in theological matters, which are quite out of your line; let me per

"Sicut semper cupivistis à me habere novitates, jam est tempus, quod debeo & possum vobis nova scribere, quamvis doleo, quia non sunt bona. Sciatis quod fratres de ordine Prædicatorum, habuerunt hic indulgentias, quas impetraverunt in Curia Romana magnis expensis, & collegerunt etiam satis magnam pecuniam: tunc de nocte venit quidam fur in Ecclesiam, & accepit plus quam trecentos florenos, & furatus est eos, & isti fratres zelosi, & in fide Christiana valde bene affectionati, tristes fuerunt, & conqueruntur de illo fure. Sed cives miserunt undique, & non possunt reperire eum, quia aufugit, & habet secum pecuniam. Et est magna nequitia, quod hoc debet fieri in indulgentiis Papalibus, & in loco sacro. ipse est excommunicatus, sit ubi sit. Homines qui sunt absoluti & dederunt pecuniam suam ad illam cistam, nunc putant, quod non sunt absoluti, sed nihil est: ipsi sunt ita bene absoluti, ut si fratres Prædicatores haberent adhuc pecuniam suam."

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