Page:Luther's correspondence and other contemporary letters 1521-1530.djvu/270

 theologians who had already appropriated the glory of learn- ing and had granted me only that of rhetoric. I should never have satisfied them unless I had revelled in railing and abuse, had filled the world with tumult and raged against Luther with my pen as much as they burned with hatred of him. They tried to make it appear that I had at first agreed with Luther and would now recant. For this was their proposition, ''You have written in behalf of Luther; now write against him." It was a fair condition ; first I was to lie about myself and then put my pen at the service of certain peevish and crazy fel- lows, who were, besides, my own bitterest enemies, which they will never cease to be until they cease to hate letters. This they will do "at the Greek calends,"* as the saying is. Unless I had defended all their positions, I should have in- curred their enmity; I know that kind of men. What else, then, was Erasmus to be, except their executioner? Nor is there any doubt, either, that it would at once have had the same result that we now see; all who favored Luther — and there are many everywhere who do favor him — would either cease to be our friends, or, as I have already found in the case of many of my intimates, they would be turned from friends into bitter enemies. There is no part of the world where my writings have not made me many friends, and I thought myself sufficiently happy in having them, no matter how slender was my fortune. This dearest of all possessions was not lightly to be thrown away, especially since the con- sequence would be that I should put myself defenceless and without the help of friends, at the disposal of men who hate letters, or rather should offer myself to be torn in pieces by both parties.

You will comfort me on this point by saying that I should have the protection of the Popes and the Emperor; but will they save me when they cannot by the use of force prevent themselves from being the target of whole books of slanders and accusations? So far as wealth is concerned, I have enough to feed this poor body, and one who would give honors to a man in my health and of my age would be putting, I do not say a pack-saddle on an ox, but a load on an old, broken-

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