'From Hammes Castle, near Calais, 9th July, 1514.'[484]
[Sidenote: Visits the Abbot of St. Bertin.]
This bold letter written, Erasmus took leave of his host, and hastened to repay by a short embrace the kindness of another friend, the Abbot of St. Bertin.[485] After a two days' halt to accomplish this object, he again mounted his horse, and, followed by his servant and baggage, set his face resolutely towards Basle: cheered in spirit by the marks of friendship received during the past few days, and anxious to reach his journey's end that he might set about his work.
But all haste is not good speed. As he approached the city of Ghent, while he chanced to be turning _one_ way to speak to his servant, his horse took fright at something lying on the road, and turned round the _other_ way, severely straining thereby Erasmus's back.
It was with the greatest difficulty and torture that he reached Ghent. There he lay for some days motionless on his back at the inn, unable to stand upright, and fearing the worst. By degrees, however, he again became able to move, and to write an amusing account of his adventure to Lord Mountjoy;[486] telling him that he had vowed to St. Paul that, if restored to health, he would complete the Commentaries he was writing on the Epistle to the Romans; and adding that he was already so much better that he hoped ere long to proceed another stage to Antwerp. Antwerp was accordingly reached in due course, and from thence he was able to pursue his journey.
At Louvain he prepared for publication a collection of stray pieces, including amongst them the '_Institutes of a Christian Man_,' written by Colet for his school in English prose, and turned into Latin verse by Erasmus. In the letter prefixed to the collection[487] he spoke of Colet as a man '_than whom, in my opinion, the kingdom of England has not another more pious, or who more truly knows Christ_.'[488] Two editions of this volume were published at Cologne in the course of a few months by different typographers.[489]
At Maintz he appears to have halted a while, and he afterwards informed Colet[490] that 'much was made of him there.' That it was so may be readily conjectured, for it was at Maintz that the Court of Inquisition had sat in the autumn of the previous year, which, had it not been for the timely interference of the Archbishop of Maintz, would have condemned the aged Reuchlin as a heretic. In this city Erasmus would probably fall in with many of Reuchlin's friends, and as the matter was now pending the decision of the authorities at Rome, they may well have tried to secure his influence with the Pope, to whom he was personally known. Be this as it may, from the date of his visit to Maintz, Erasmus seems not only never to have lost an opportunity of supporting the cause of Reuchlin at Rome or elsewhere, but also to have himself secured the friendship and regard of Reuchlin's protector, the archbishop.[491]