Erasmus
Home

Erasmus' letter of September 1518, describes his journey from Basel to Louvain. The Latin text is taken from P.S. Allen, "Opus Epistolarum Des. Erasmi Roterodami", Vol. III. Oxford University Press, 1913. Re-issued 1992.

His first day of travel took him north along the Rhine from Basle to Breisach.

Erasmus to Beatus Rhenanus, greetings.

Listen, Beatus, to the whole tragi-comedy of my journey. I was leaving Basle feeling rather delicate and poorly, as you know, since I had not yet re-accustomed myself to the fresh air, having hidden at home for so long and been busy there with continual labours. The voyage was not unpleasant, except that around midday, the heat was rather troublesome. We dined at Breisach and never more disagreeably. The smell was deadly and with the smell came the more serious problem of flies. We sat idly at the table for more than half an hour while, no doubt, they prepared their own food. In the end, there was nothing served up which could be eaten; dirty gruels, dumplings, salt-fish which had been reheated more than once - absolutely revolting. I did not go to visit Gallinarius. The man who told me that he was in the grip of a fever added something funny. That Franciscan theologian, with whom I had been in dispute, had pawned holy vessels under his own jurisdiction. What a Scotist subtlety! At night, we were thrown into a dull village, whose name it neither pleased me to learn, nor if I knew it, would I wish to disclose it. That place was almost the death of me! We dined in a small basement where I think there was a motley collection of more than sixty people, and that at almost ten o'clock. What stench, what clamour, especially when they had grown heated on wine! However, we had to sit idle there until their clocks showed the time for dinner.

The next days' travel took Erasmus on to Strasbourg and then by road to Speyer (Spires).

Early in the morning while it was still dark, we were driven out of our blankets by the shouting of sailors. Without having had any dinner or sleep, I went on board ship. We reached Strasbourg before lunch at about nine o'clock. There we were more pleasantly received, especially with Schurer supplying the wine. Some of our associates were there and soon they all came to greet us but no one was more attentive than Gerbuilerius. Gebuilerius and Rudalphingius did not want me to be charged, which is not new for them. From there, we hired horses as far as Speyers; we did not see a trace of a soldier although atrocious rumours had spread. My English horse gave out completely and scarcely reached Speyer; that criminal smith had so handled him that both his ears were burnt with red-hot metal. At Speyer, I stealthily retreated from the inn and took up with my friend Maternus who lived next door. The dean there, a learned and cultured man, entertained us both pleasantly and politely for two days. Here by good fortune, we found Hermanus Buschius.

The next stage of his journey took Erasmus by carriage from Speyer to Worms and Mainz, and then by boat to Boppard and Coblenz. Speyer (Spires) is in the bottom right of the map and Coblenz is in the top left.

From there [Speyer], I rode by carriage to Worms and from here on again to Mainz. By chance, there happened to be riding in the same carriage a certain secretary of the emperor called Ulrich Farnbul. With incredible eagerness, he was attentive to me throughout the whole journey, then at Mainz, he would not allow me to go to the inn, but dragged me off to the house of one of the canons; when I was leaving, he escorted me to the ship. The voyage was not unpleasant, except it was rather long, due to the lack of enthusiasm of the sailors. And indeed, the stench of the horses was offensive. My companions on the first day, as a courtesy to me, were Johannes Longicampianus, a professor a long time ago at Louvain and a certain lawyer friend of his. There was a Westphalian canon from St. Victor in Mainz, Master Johannes, a very pleasant and cheerful man.

When we arrived at Boppard, we took a walk down by the river bank while the boat was being searched; I do not know who recognised me and betrayed me to the customs official. The customs officer, unless I am mistaken, is called Christopher Cinicampius, commonly Eschenfelder. I can scarcely say how the man jumped for joy. He dragged me off to his own house. There on his desk, amongst the customs forms, were lying the little books of Erasmus. He declared himself blessed, called his children, called his wife and called all of his friends. Meanwhile, he sent two tankards of wine to the complaining sailors, and when there was more bawling, he sent a second two, promising that when they returned, he would remit the tax of those who had brought him such a man. From here, out of goodwill, we were accompanied as far as Coblenz by Master Johannes Flaminius, the overseer of a house of nuns there, and a man of angelic purity, of judicious and sober mind and of uncommon learning. At Coblenz, Master Matthias, an official of the bishop, took us to his own home - he was a young man but of mature character; he was precise and skilled in Latin and an expert lawyer. There we had a merry dinner.

Erasmus then travelled by boat to Bonn and Cologne and by horse to Bedburg. Bedburg is marked with an "x".

At Bonn, the canon left us, avoiding the city of Cologne. I wanted to avoid it myself but my servant had gone on ahead with the horses and there was no one on board ship to whom I could safely entrust the task of recalling him; I distrusted the sailors. And so, early on Sunday morning, before six, we arrived at Cologne, now with the weather foul. I entered an inn and entrusted the task of hiring a carriage to the servants there and ordered food to be prepared for ten o'clock. I heard mass and lunch was delayed. There was no luck with the carriage. I tried to hire a horse for mine were useless. Nothing worked. I perceived what it was. It was an attempt to keep me there. I immediately ordered my horses to be harnessed, a bag to be placed on one and the second to be committed to the innkeeper. With my lame horse, I reached the Count of Neuenahr; this however was a journey of five hours. That took me to Bedburg.

Here at the Count's, I remained most peacefully for five days with so much tranquillity and ease that I got round to a good part of my analysis for I had taken that part of the New Testament with me. Would that you knew the man, my Beatus. He is young but with a rare wisdom, more marked than in age; he speaks little but Homer declares that about Menelaus; he speaks sagaciously, from the depth of his heart, without ostentation and is learned in more than one branch of study; he is completely honest and an ideal friend. Already I was feeling strong and a little bit more robust and indeed that pleased me very much; and I was hoping that as I was well I could visit the bishop of Liege and return quickly to my friends in Brabant. What dinners, what joyful greetings, what discussions I was promising to myself. I had decided if the autumn proved mild, to go to England and now to accept that which the king had so many times offered. But the hopes of mortals are treacherous! What sudden and unlooked for reversals in human affairs! From so many dreams of happiness, I was hurled down into complete disaster.

Erasmus next travelled in a two-horsed coach to Aachen.

By now a coach had been hired for the following day. The Count, not wanting to say goodbye to me before nightfall, said then that he would see me before my departure early in the morning. On that night, a fierce storm of wind got up, which had made its first appearance the day before. I got up after midnight anyway to write down some notes for the Count; and since it was now seven o'clock and there was no sign of the Count, I ordered him to be roused. He came and shy and bashful as he is, he asked whether it was still my intention to leave in such disagreeable weather; he said that he was afraid for me. Then, my Beatus, I do not know if Jupiter or some other evil spirit deprived me not of half my wits, as Hesiod says but my entire good sense; for it had taken away half my reason, since I had entrusted myself to Cologne. And would that either the count had warned his his friend more keenly or I had more obedient to his diffident and friendly warnings. Fate seized me in its power. What else can I say? I mounted an uncovered carriage with
 "the wind blowing as much as when on the mountain heights it breaks the trembling oaks."
 There was a south wind which breathes nothing except complete pestilence. I seemed to be properly protected by my clothes but it still pierced me with its violence. By nightfall, drizzle succeeded it, more troublesome than the wind which brought it. I reached Aachen rather tired due to the jolting of the carriage, which with the rocks strewn on the road was so grievous for me that I would have much preferred to have ridden a lame horse. Here, I was carried off from the inn to the house of the cantor by a certain canon to whom the count had commended me. There, as is the custom, there were several canons dining. The scantiest of lunches had sharpened my stomach; but there was nothing here except carp, and that cold. I filled myself up. When late in the night (for we had dined rather late) the meal was lengthened by conversation, I excused myself and went to bed because I had slept little the night before. I was dragged off the next day to the Vice-Provost's house for it was his turn to have people for dinner. There was no fish except eels - undoubtedly it was the weather to blame since he is usually a splendid host - I filled myself up with a piece of fish hardened in the wind which the Germans call stockfish after the stick with which it is beaten; although I am pleased enough with this sort of thing, I discovered that part of it was still raw. After lunch, since the weather was filthy, I went to an inn. I ordered the fire to be set going. The canon, a most cultivated man, chatted to me for almost an hour and a half. Meanwhile, something disagreeable rose up in my stomach. Since it persisted, I sent him away, went to the latrine and cleared out my belly. But before I had eased my stomach, I put my finger into my mouth not once but twice: that brought up a piece of raw fish and nothing else except that came up. After vomiting, I went to lie down, though I did not so much sleep as rest, with no pain either in my head or in my body. Then I came to an agreement with the coachman about my bags and was invited again to dinner. I made an excuse but it was no use. I knew that my stomach would tolerate nothing except warm possets, for the same thing had happened at Basle, when one night, I was not able to bear the pain in my stomach on account of some phlegm, and I relieved my stomach in the same way; it was a month before my stomach could comfortably manage food again. Then there was a sumptuous spread but of no use to me. When I had warmed my stomach with a posset, I took myself home; for I was sleeping at the cantor's house. I went outside; there my unfed body shuddered awfully at the night's weather. It was a ghastly night.

Erasmus travelled on horseback to Maastricht and Tongres.

The next morning, when I had drunk some warm ale again and had a few morsels of bread, I climbed up onto the horse which was sick and lame and riding it was all the more difficult. Now I had been so weakened that it would have been more suitable to have been warm in bed than sitting on a horse. However, that district is rather primitive, with little convenience or civilisation, and it would hardly have been useful to have been well there, to say nothing of being ill. I much preferred to make my escape. The annoyance of the sickness drove out the danger of robbers (for it is very high there) or at any rate the fear of them.

Now when I was in Basle, and while accustomed to scratching the parts next to the groin to provoke a bowel movement, I had grazed the skin high up under my left hip-bone by scratching too sharply. The same thing happened on the right side of my groin but there there was no pain or irritation. This spot under the left hip was easily agravated by my two days' riding when I travelled from Strasbourg to Speyer, but so that I could only feel it if I sat down too roughly. This sore was exacerbated by that recent riding because that part pressed on the horse, so that the whole area became inflamed. Moreover, there was a swelling on the left side of my groin, but since the swelling moved around, it was just short of painful. Added to this, highup on the left groin, a certain hard lump appeared, increasing gradually, but without any pain or irritation. Further, I was making my way on horseback without protecting these parts enough from the wind.

Having finished this section of four miles, I reached Maastricht. There when I had warmed my stomach with a posset as best I could, I mounted my horse again and went to Tongres. That town was three miles off. This last piece of riding was by far the most serious for me. The awkward gait of the horse twisted my kidneys extraordinarily. I proceeded more tolerably by foot, but I was afraid of the exertion and there was a danger that we might have to spend the night in the fields; it was with such incredible torture of my whole body that I reached Tongres. Now on account of not eating and with exertion added to lack of food the muscles of my body had become so weak that I could neither stand nor walk properly. I used my tongue - which was still healthy - to disguise the severity of my illness. Here I warmed my stomach with a light ale posset and went to bed.

Erasmus travelled on horseback and by carriage to St. Trond and then by carriage to Louvain.

In the morning, I ordered a covered carriage to be hired. It seemed to me on account of the hard stones better to sit on the horse until we reached an earthern road. I mounted the larger horse because this one would go more suitably over the rocks and with surer feet. Scarcely had I mounted and come into contact with the cold weather when I felt a dizziness arise and I called for a cloak. Soon, however, a fainting fit followed. I had actually to be roused by a touch of the hand. Then my Johannes and the others standing by allowed me to come to of my own accord as I sat on the horse. When I had come to, I climbed into the carriage. A little after, I felt my bowels about to move; I climbed down, shifted the load, and some colour and liveliness returned. We were now in the vicintiy of the town of St. Trond. Again I mounted the horse, lest I be observed riding sick in the carriage. Again, coming into contact with the evening air, I felt ill but just short of fainting. I offered double the price to the coachman to drive me the next day as far as Tirlemont. That town is six miles from St. Trond. He accepted this arrangement. Here the host, who was known to me, told me how annoyed the Bishop of Liege was, because I had gone away to making for Basle without greeting him. After I had warmed my stomach with a posset, I went to bed. It was a really awful night, especially on account of the pain from the ulcer on my left hip; what is more, some bleeding from it troubled me and corrupted and congealed. Here by chance, I obtained a four-horsed carriage, which went to Louvain, now six miles away, and I threw myself into it. I was driven with the most incredible disturbance which was almost intolerable to me, but nonetheless, that day at seven o'clock, we reached Louvain.

It was not my intent to seek out my rooms there, both because I suspected evrything to be cold there and because if there were a rumour of plague about me in the place, I did not want to commit myself to injuring the peace of the college. I turned to Dirk the printer, so honest a friend that I would be happy with him alone if the matter were to suit me. That night, unknown to me, a huge ulcer had burst and by that stage the pain had calmed down. The next day, I called a surgeon. He applied a poultice. Then a third ulcer appeared on my back, which my servant had caused at St. Trond, for while annointing me with rose oil due to my sore kidneys, he had rubbed my side rather hard with a calloused finger. Afterwards that spot became irritated. A lump even swelled up under quickly under my right breast; in fact, it stopped just short of an ulcer and disappeared of its own accord. As he was going away, the surgeon secretly told Dirk and my servant that it was the plague: he would indeed send poultices, but he would not come himself to see me. I sent my water to the doctors and they said that there was no trace of disease; I consulted others and they declared the same thing. I sent for a Jewish physician and going by the evidence of my water, he wished that his body could be such a healthy one as mine. When the surgeon did not appear on the next day or the day after, I asked Dirk the reason. He made some sort of excuse. But I suspected something and said,
 "What, does he think it is the plague?"
 "Yes, that's it," he replied, "He firmly states that you have three buboes."
 I laughed a lot and did not entertain any thought of the plague.

After a few days, the father of the surgeon came, inspected me, formed the same opinion and declared to my face that it was definitely the plague. Not even he was able to persuade me. I secretly sent for another surgeon of great reputation. This man examined me and indeed, as he was rather a boorish man, he said,
 "I would not be afraid to go to bed with you, and if you were a woman, to have sex with you as well.
 Another Jewish man thought the same. I summoned a certain doctor of whom they speak very highly in Louvain, for here god doctors are quite rare. I asked if there was a sign of anything bad in my urine; he said not. I told him about the ulcers, adding those arguments which led me to conclude that it was not the plague. There were no new ulcers and they did not arise of their own accord. The lumps in the beginning moved their position; that one in the groin always did so. There was no fever, no sign of a headache except on account of the jolting [of the road]; there was no sleepiness, the roof of my mouth was always very healthy; I did not suffer from vomiting, except that which I had induced and there was nothing brought up except fish. With that load off it, my stomach settled; when then, it rejected food, it was for reasons peculiar to it. There was no sign of the plague in my water. He listened to the rest boldly enough, but when I mentioned the sores, I realised that the man was thoroughly afraid. I gave the doctor a gold crown and he promised that after dinner, he would return to see me. Terrified by my speech, he sent his servant. I threw up the whole matter, and angry with doctors, I commended myself to Christ the physician.

My stomach recovered within three days, when I had consumed some diced chicken and a ladleful of Beaune wine. Immediately I returned to my studies and disposed of the work which was needing to be done on the New Testament. After seventeen days, the black, dead flesh shed itself from my ulcers, which is what the surgeons said would happen. That lump which was in my left groin had swollen, though it was not painful, and that frightened me a lot. For my mind began to entertain the ridiculous suspicion, and would that I were wrong, that it had been brought about by contact with my horse. For once or twice, I had struck off flies settling on the ulcer with my bare hand and then by chance, had handled that place on my body, either while making water or putting on clothes. In fact, the surgeon firmly instructed me to put my mind at ease about this. Now the lump is softer and less swollen, but it has not, however, changed its location. The sores are out of danger and the lump on my right breast has vanished of its own accord.

At Dirk's house, I spent almost four weeks recovering in my room. Not more than once did I go to celebrate mass in the nearest church; I was not yet strong enough. If it was the plague, I drove off the plague with work, trouble and hardiness of mind; since time and again, a great part of disease is one's idea of it. From my arrival, I declared that no one should come to me, unless called for expressly, lest I should be a source of fear to anyone or lest anyone should be troublesome to me through their sense of duty. However, Dorp burst in first of all, and soon Atensis. Marcus Laurinus and Paschasius Berselius who were there everyday, took away a large part of my illness with their delightful company.

My Beatus, who would believe that this poor body, delicate and also now feeble with age, after so many labours on my journeys and after so many exertions in my studies, would withstand such illness? For you know how seriously I had suffered a little while ago in Basle, and not just on a single occasion. I harboured some suspicion that this year would be fatal to me: to such a degree did one bad event follow another, and each one more serious. Indeed, even when I was striving hard then against great illness, I was I was feeling such, that I was neither tormented by a longing to live nor agitated by fear of death. In Christ alone rested my whole hope, from whom I asked nothing except that he should give me that which he judged most useful. Previously, as a young man, as I recall, even just the name of death to make me shudder. Certainly, I have become less afraid of death with the advance of age, and I do not measure people's happiness by their longeveity. I have passed my fiftieth year; since I out of so many should have done, when so few attain it, I cannot rightly complain that I have not lived long enough. Then if this is pertinent to the subject, there is now a monument ready by which I shall show to posterity that I have lived. And perhaps from the funeral pile, just as the poets say, envy will grow silent and glory will shine out all the more: although it is not fitting for the mind of a Christian to be concerned with human glory; would that the glory touches us, that we are approved of by Christ. Farewell, my dearest Beatus. You can find out the rest from my letter to Capito. Louvain 1518.

Translated by Ealasaid Gilfillan. 02.04

Erasmus
Home