Erasmus
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Erasmus to Wolfgang Lachner and Johann Froben, his printers, August 1517. The Latin text is taken from P.S. Allen, "Opus Epistolarum Des. Erasmi Roterodami", Vol. III. Oxford University Press, 1913. Re-issued 1992.

Erasmus sends greetings to Lachner and Froben.

I send the first book of Theodorus [Theodorus of Gaza's Greek grammar] corrected and the second one. If you still have many copies of the first edition, add a sheet on which you note the errata and bind it with the second book. I am sending you meanwhile what has been added to the Proverbs. I have not yet spoken with Franz since receiving your letter. And in your letter, you do not give an estimate for the value of my copy. Here, there is no source of income and there are the heaviest expenses. I would not like to be a trouble to you, however, if I scratch your back, then you ought to scratch mine [lit. one hand ought to rub the other]. When Froben sees the copy prepared, he does not weigh up all my work properly; rather, he looks only at how many printed pages there are. I trust to your cordiality in everything; that is what I have experienced up till now.
I had already written that the Hermogenes Rhetoric, which you sent from Frankfurt, has been delivered to me. I saw the works of Gregory Nazianzen printed in Greek, I think by Aldus, not those poems but the prose, in the form of a handbook. Please have them sent to me from the book fair. Likewise a Greek copy of Strabo, a Greek copy of Aristides, also Plutarch's Lives in Greek, and the complete Bible in Greek, printed by Aldus, or his father-in-law Asulanus, also the little book by Wolfgang Faber on Hebrew annotations. Work out the price of the books you buy for me and the value of the copy I have sent to you, and if there is anything owing to you which you want back, it will be given to Franz. For there is the old saying, amongst good people, business should be done fairly.

Translated by Ealasaid Gilfillan. 04.04

Erasmus
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