]> Colloquia familiaria: a selection Jennifer K. Nelson Lexington, KY Stoa Consortium
Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures 1055 Patterson Office Tower University of Kentucky Lexington, KY 40506-0027 url:mailto:jnels2@uky.edu
2003-12-18 Erasmus, Desiderius, d. 1536 Desiderii Erasmi Roterodami colloquia familiaria et encomium moriae ad optimarum editionum fidem diligenter emendata, cum succincta difficiliorum explanatione Ed. stereotypa Lipsiae sumptibus Ottonis Holtze 1867-1872 771 p. (2 vols) ; 15 cm.

Editorial notes in the Holtze edition have not been reproduced

Original punctuation conventions in the Holtze edition have been retained as much as possible

Hyphenated words that appear at the end of the line in the Holtze edition have been reformed

Italics are recorded without interpretation

 Library of Congress Subject Headings Library of Congress Classification Latin Ancient Greek Dialogues, Latin (Medieval and modern) Folly -- Early works to 1800 2003-12-18 ed Jennifer K. Nelson expanded TEI header to include more information, e.g. LC subject headings and LC classification 2003-08-25 markup and content creation Jennifer Nelson composed introductions and glosses for selected texts Colloquia familiaria Introduction to the Colloquia familiaria

Erasmus' Colloquies first appeared in print in November of 1518, published under the full title Familiarum colloquiorum formulae, et alia quaedam per Des. Erasmum Roterodamum. The publisher, Johann Froben, was targeting the brief 80-page booklet at people who wanted to learn to speak Latin quickly.Craig R. Thompson, The Colloquies of Erasmus (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965) p. xxiii. The collection of formulae contained various ways of greeting people with differing levels of formality; ways of wishing people well in various situations; phrases for how to take leave of people, how to inquire after people's health, and so forth.

Their author, however, was not happy to see the Familiarum colloquiorum formulae come off the presses, as he had neither authorized their publication, nor had any hand in overseeing their final contents. Never intended for public consumption, the formulae were born out of sets of exercises that Erasmus had prepared for his pupils while supporting himself as a tutor during his studies at the University of Paris.Ibid., p. xxii.

Erasmus was about 29 years old when he first moved to Paris in 1495, with the intention of obtaining the degree of doctor of theology. Although he had the academic preparation—and certainly the native intelligence—to achieve such a goal, Erasmus experienced a number of setbacks during his sojourn there that prevented his plan from ever coming to fruition.Johann Huizinga, Erasmus and the Age of Reformation (New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1957; originally published in 1924) p. 22. In fact, Erasmus thereafter generally looked back on his years in Paris as a period of frustration, exasperation and struggle.Ibid., p. 22.

The difficulties Erasmus suffered in Paris were of both an intellectual and physical nature. From an intellectual standpoint, he was frustrated by the scholastic approach to theology that was dominant at the University of Paris at that time. Favoring intellectual simplicity, purity, and what Huizinga calls "reasonableness," Erasmus experienced the lectures at Paris as "hair-splitting, sophistical quibbling, which made men into quarrelsome pseudo-scholars..."Cornelis Augustijn (quoting Erasmus), Erasmus: His Life, Works and Influence (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1991), p. 28. Believing that the student of theology should encounter the Holy Scriptures first-hand—not filtered through overly-academic disputations—Erasmus advocated a return to the sources, which could only be accomplished through the thorough study of Latin and Greek via the texts of Classical authors.

From a physical standpoint, Erasmus' years in Paris were colored by uncomfortable accommodations and constant financial worries. When he first arrived there, he boarded at the Collège de Montaigu, run by John Standonck of Mechlin, a man known for his strictness and austerity. Augustijn describes how the students at the hostel were given horrible lodging and food, and were even humiliated and beaten.Ibid., p. 26. Erasmus ended up leaving there before the year was up, but the wretched conditions at the college made a lasting impression on him.

What is more, financial troubles continually hounded him. Before he left for Paris, it was agreed that Erasmus would receive a stipend while at the university from his former employer, the Bishop of Cambray. The money was not enough, however, to cover his expenses—an experience with which many college students can sympathize—so Erasmus found himself in the position of having to supplement his income by tutoring the sons of noble or wealthy bourgeois families.Ibid., p. 26. Among his students were Christian and Henry Northoff of Luebeck, and Augustine Vincent. It was for them that Erasmus prepared sets of simple Latin exercises that Thompson rightly compares to those encountered by students of modern languages today. In fact, Craig Thompson calls our attention to the fact that the principal speakers in the early Formulae are named Christian, Augustine and Erasmus, certainly after himself and these pupils.Thompson, p. xxii.

The Formulae begin with a brief statement about the importance of greeting people for fostering good will and maintaining friendships, and then provides the student with extensive vocabulary for greeting members of his family, his beloved, his betters, and even people he's not particularly fond of. Following that, Erasmus proposes many different ways to wish people well in various contexts: upon encountering a pregnant woman, at dinner, when someone has just sneezed, when someone is leaving on a trip, and so forth. The final part of the Formulae is made up of brief dialogues that build on the vocabulary and phrases in the first two parts, so the student can practice what he has learned in context.

Erasmus would continue writing at length about his views on education, but already in these early Formulae we see the seeds of what would become a more fully-developed approach.Erasmus' educational works include De pueris statim ac liberaliter instituendis, De recta latini graecique sermonis pronuntiatione dialogus, and De conscribendis epistolis. Please see the introduction to Monitoria paedagogica for a fuller discussion on Erasmus' thoughts on pedagogy. As J. K. Sowards explains, Erasmus believed that children should be taught to master Latin and Greek via the texts of Ancient authors, but that their command of these languages should ultimately lead them to a greater understanding of the Holy Scriptures and the Christian tradition.J. K. Sowards, Collected Works of Erasmus, vol. 25; (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1985) p. xvi. In order to master these languages, it was important for children to be able to speak and write them proficiently, not just read them. To this end, Erasmus put great stock in vocabulary-building exercises including ample synonyms and turns of phrase. He also believed that education should be fun, and that teachers should incorporate frequent game-playing into their lessons.

When Erasmus left Paris in 1499 and was no longer tutoring young boys in Latin, he had no more use of the little exercise book and apparently didn't even keep a copy of it. But his student Augustine Vincent did hold onto a copy, which eventually made its way into the hands of the publisher Johann Froben in 1518.Craig Thompson, p. xxii.

Although, as mentioned above, Erasmus was initially irked by the publication of the Familiarum colloquiorum formulae, the overwhelming success of the book must have placated him and spurred him on, because he ended up not only writing a preface for a 1519 reprinting of the book, but intermittently edited and added to it up until 1533.Ibid., p. xxiii. In fact, by 1533 at least 16 editions of the Colloquia had been published.Thompson defines an "edition" as "a printing that added a significant amount of new or corrected material by Erasmus," not just a reprint that "added or omitted any material whatever" (The Colloquies of Erasmus, p. xxiv.

Perhaps the biggest change the Formulae underwent on its journey towards what we now know as the Colloquia familiaria is the addition of long, fully-developed dialogues, the first of which appeared in the March 1522 edition.Ibid., p. xxv. In fact, no new formulae were included after 1522. Thompson writes that Erasmus probably realized the potential for the dialogue form as a medium for him to write more or less freely on on a wide variety of topics that interested him. Ibid., p. xxxi. Indeed, the introduction of the dialogues transformed Erasmus' work from a phrasebook to a source of coherent compositions on a variety of sacred and profane topics that could be used as models for spoken and written Latin, and would appeal not only to schoolboys, but to serious Latin students of all ages.Ibid., xxv.

General note about orthography:

Students of Classical Latin will notice that many familiar words are spelled somewhat differently in this text. The spelling in this edition of Erasmus' Colloquia follows the conventions of medieval Latin, when orthography was not standardized and was often reflective either of local pronunciation, or of the ignorance of the scribe as to correct Classical spelling rules.Please see Alison Goddard Elliot's grammatical introduction to Medieval Latin, 2nd ed., K. P. Harrington, ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997) pp. 1-2 Some specific instances of spelling changes the student will encounter in these texts are as follows:

Reduction of diphthongs: both ae and oe become e. Examples: scaena = scena; coepisti = cepisti. Consonant reduction: immo = imo. Increase in the value of some long vowels: Example: the adverb hic = heic; omnes = omneis. Consonant substitution: c (k) = qu. Example: the adverbial cum introducing a clause = quum (N.B. the preposition cum retains its Classical spelling). The letter x (and cs, cxs, xs) is written s and vice versa: expectabam = exspectabam. The letter h is inserted in the middle of words: istuc = isthuc. Salutandi formulae In primo congressu

Non temere docet quidam, ut salutemus libenter. Comis enim et blanda salutatio saepe conciliat amicitiam, inimicitiam diluit: certe mutuam benevolentiam alit augetque. Quidam usque adeo DemeaeDemea is a harsh and stingy character from Terence's comedy, the Adelfoe.sunt, ingenioque agresti, ut vix salutati resalutent.

Nonnullis hoc vitii conciliavit educatio verius, quam natura.

Urbanitatis est, salutare obvios, aut eos, qui nos adeunt, aut quos adimus ipsi colloquendi gratia. Item operis aliquid agentes, coenantes, oscitantes, singultientes, sternutantes, tussientes. In ructu crepituve ventris salutare, hominis est plus satis urbani.

Sed incivilius etiam, eum salutare, qui reddit urinam, aut alvum exonerat.

Salve pater, salve matercula, salve mi frater, salve praeceptor observande, salve multum, mi patrue, salve dulcissime nepos.

Urbanum est, addere cognationis aut affinitatis titulum, nisi quum habent aliquid odii: tum enim praestat abuti minus quidem propriis, sed plausibilioribus: veluti, quum novercam salutamus matrem; privignum, filium; vitricum, patrem; sororis maritum, fratrem; fratris uxorem, sororem. Idem in aetatis aut officiorum titulis faciendum. Gratius enim fuerit, si senem patrem, aut virum eximium salutes, quam aetatis cognomine; etiamsi olim honoris causa dicebatur, ὦ γέρον."Hail, Old Sir". From the Greek γέρων, -ontos, o( , "old man". Salve praefecte, salve tribune. Non autem, salve caligarie, aut calcearie. Salve adolescens, salve iuvenis. Senes ignotos adolescentes filiorum cognomento salutant, adolescentes vicissim illos patres aut dominos.

Blandior salutatio inter amantes

Salve

mea Corneliolamea vitamea luxmeum deliciummeum suaviummel meummea voluptas unicameum corculummea spesmeum solatiummeum decus

Honoris gratia, aut secus

Salve here. Ohe, salve tu quoque, bone vir. Salve vir ornatissime, clarissime. Salve etiam atque etiam, literarum decus. Salve plurimum, amicorum optime. Salve mi Maecenas.Maecenas was a famous statesman, courtier, and patron of literature of the Augustan Age in Rome. Salve patrone singularis. Salve vir spectatissime. Salve unicum huius aetatis ornamentum. Salve Germaniae delicium. Salvete, quotquot estis, una salute omnes. Salvete pariter omnes. Salvete belli homunculi. Salve congerro lepidissime. Salve vini pernicies.Resp.. Salve et tu gurges, helluoque placentarum. Salve multum, virtutis omnis antistes.Resp.. Salve tantundem totius probitatis exemplar. Salve anicula annos nata quindecim.Resp.. Salve puella annorum octoginta. Bene sit tibi cum tuo calvitio.Resp.. Bene tibi cum lacero naso. Ut salutaris, ita resalutaberis. Si male dixeris peius audies. Salve iterum atque iterum.Resp.. Et tu salve perpetuum. Salve plus millies.Resp.. Equidem malim salvere semel. Salve, quantum vis.Resp.. Et tu quantum mereris. Salvere te iubeo. Quid si nolim? Equidem aegrotare malim, quam tua salute salvere.

Salva sit tua

SanctitasAmplitudoCelsitudoMaiestasBeatitudoSublimitas

magis vulgo recepta sunt, quam probata doctis.

In tertia persona

Sapidus Erasmo suo salutem dicit.Johannes Sapidus (i.e. Johann Witz) was a schoolmaster in Selestat and Strasbourg, and a good friend of Erasmus.

Sapidus Beatum suum plurima salute impertit.Beatus Rheanus, also a native of Selestat and another of Erasmus' good friends.

Alia forma

Salvus sis, Crito. Bene tibi sit, vir optime.Resp. Et tibi melius. Pax tibi, frater, Christiana salutatio est, a Iudaeis profecta,Gen. 43:23; Judg. 6:23, 19:20; 1 Sam. 25:6. neque tamen repudianda. Similis est, Bona vita. Ave praeceptor.Resp. Equidem malim habere, quam avere.A pun on the words Ave ("hello" or "goodbye"), habere ("to have") and avere ("to desire"). Χαῖρε."Hail" in Greek.Resp. Memento te Basileae esse, non Athenis.Resp. Cur tu igitur audes Romane loqui, quum Romae non sis?

 Bene precandi formulae

Gravidae

Faxit Deus ut feliciter parias: ut maritum pulchra prole facias parentem. Faxit illa virgo mater, ut feliciter fias mater. Precor, ut hic tumor uteri feliciter subsidat. Velint superi, ut non maiore molestia elabatur, quam illapsum est, quidquid est hoc oneris, quod gestas. Donet tibi Deus felix puerperium.

Convivis

Sit felix convivium. Bene sit universo coetui. Precor omnia laeta vobis omnibus. Deus bene fortunet vestrum convivium.

Sternutanti

Sit faustum ac felix. Servet te Deus. Sit salutiferum. Bene vertat Deus.

 Vale, in digressu

Valete omnes. Bene vale. Cura, ut quam rectissime valeas. Valetudinem tuam cura diligenter. Iubeo te bene valere. Iam me tempus alio vocat, tu valebis. Valeto quam optime. Vale pancratice aut si mavis athletice. Vale, ut dignus es. Vale ut meritus. In hoc biduum valebis. Si me dimittis, valebis in crastinum. Num quid vis? Est aliud quod me velis? Resp. Nihil, nisi ut prospere valeas. Da operam, ut sis prospera valetudine. Age curam valetudinis tuae. Habe curam salutis tuae. Fac ut proximo congressu te laetum ac nitidum videamus. Iubeo te curare cuticulam."Live well," "pamper yourself". Cura, ut sit mens sana in corpore sano. Da operam, ut totus valeas, tum corpore, tum animo. Resp. Dabitur quidem opera. Valebis tu quoque. Tibi vicissim precor prosperam valetudinem.

 Alia

Personae

Georgius Livinus Ge.

Valesne?

 Li.

Contemplare vultum.

 Ge.

Quin potius lotium iubes? An me putas medicum? Non rogo, quid valeas; nam facies ipsa loquitur, te belleIn later Latin the adjective bellus, -a, -um ("pretty," "nice") comes to replace pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum ("beautiful"), hence this adverb belle instead of the more Classical pulchre. valere: sed quomodo tibi placeas.

 Li.

Corpus quidem belle habet, sed animo male est.

 Ge.

At non valet, qui isthac parte laborat.

 Li.

Sic res habent meae: corpus valet, sed aegrotat crumena.

 Ge.

Facile isti morbo medebitur mater. Ut valuisti usque?

 Li.

Varie, ut sunt res mortalium.

 Ge.

Satin' recte vales? Salvane res? Satin' salvae res? Fuistine semper prospera valetudine?

 Li.

Prosperrima, gratia superis. Ego Dei beneficio perpetuo bellissime valui. Semper prospera valetudine sum usus. Hactenus bona valetudine fui, fausta, incolumi, felici, prospera, secunda, integra, basilica, athletica, pancratica valetudine.

 Ge.

Faxint superi, ut isthuc sit perpetuum ac proprium. Laetus isthuc audio. Voluptatem mihi nuntias. Est isthuc mihi auditu perquam iucundum. Sermonem istum ex te audire supra modum gaudeo. Isthuc haut invitus audio. Oppido laetor, isthuc audire ex te. Ut idem semper facias, opto. Ut ad istum modum quam diutissime valeas, opto. Tibi gratulor, mihi gaudeo. Gratia superis. Gratiam habeo superis.

 Li.

Equidem pulchre valeo, si tu vales.

 Ge.

Nihil interim molestiae fuit?

 Li.

Nihil, nisi quod vestra consuetudine frui non licuit.

 Ge.

Quo pacto vales?

 Li.

Recte, pulchre, belle, perbelle, bellissime, perpulchre, feliciter, commode, minime male. Valeo, ut volo potius, quam ut mereor, basilice, pancratice, athletice.

 Ge.

Exspectabam, ut diceres etiam, taurice.

 Male valere

Personae

Georgius Livinus Ge.

Rectene vales?

 Li.

Vellem quidem. Non admodum ex sententia. Equidem utcunque valeo. Sic satis. Valeo ut possum, quando, ut volo, non licet. Ut soleo. Ita, ut superis visum est, Non optime sane. Sic, ut antehac peius nunquam. Valeo, ut solitus sum.. Valeo, ut solent, quibus, cum medicis res est

 Ge.

Ut vales?

 Li.

Secus quam vellem.

 Ge.

Qua valetudine es?

 Li.

Haud sane commoda, incommoda, perquam incommoda, infelici, parum prospera, parum secunda, mala, adversa, infausta, imbecilli, dubia, mediocri, vix mediocri, longe alia, quam vellem, tolerabili, qualem optem hostibus meis.

 Ge.

Rem mihi sane quam acerbam narras. Prohibeant superi. Avertat Deus. Bona verba. Hic cupiam, te vanum esse. Bono sis animo oportet. Forti infractoque sis animo. Multum iuvat animus in re mala bonus. Fulciendus est animus spe fortunae secundioris. Quid morbi est? Quod mali genus est? Quis te morbus habet? Quo morbo teneris? Quid habes morbi? Quis te tenet morbus?

 Li.

Nescio, et hoc laboro periculosius.

 Ge.

Verum. Nam ad sanitatem gradus est, novisse morbum. Nullosne consuluisti medicos?

 Li.

Et quidem permultos.

 Ge.

Quid respondent?

 Li.

Id, quod advocati Demiphoni apud Comicum:From Terence's Phormio, Act 2, Sc. 4. alius negat, alius ait, alius deliberandum censet. In hoc consentiunt omnes, me miserum esse.

 Ge.

Quam pridem habet te hoc mali? Diu est, quod teneris isto morbo? Quantum temporis est, quod te malum hoc corripuit?

 Li.

Dies plus minus viginti. Ferme mensis est. Iam tertius est mensis. Mihi quidem seculum videtur, quod aegrotare coepi.

 Ge.

Adnitendum censeo, ne morbus fiat familiaris.

 Li.

Iam nimium assuevit.

 Ge.

Num est hydrops?

 Li.

Negant.

 Ge.

Num dysenteria?

 Li.

Non arbitror.

 Ge.

Num febris?

 Li.

Opinor febris esse speciem, sed novam, ut nunc novi subinde morbi exoriuntur, antehac incogniti.

 Ge.

At plus satis erat veterum.

 Li.

Ita visum est naturae nimium novercae.

 Ge.

Quoto die recurrit dolor?

 Li.

Quoto die, narras? imo quotidie: saepius, quam Euripus.A reference to the strait between Boeotia and Euboea, where the tides fluctuated frequently.

 Ge.

Papae! malum abominandum. Unde contraxisti morbum? Unde suspicaris, hoc esse collectum mali?

 Li.

Ex inedia.

 Ge.

At non soles usque adeo superstitiosus esse, ut te ieiunio maceres.

 Li.

Non erat religio, sed inopia.

 Ge.

Quaenam?

 Li.

Quia non dabatur cibus. E frigore natum arbitror. E putribus ovis morbum ortum suspicor. E vino plus satis diluto. E crudis malis contracta est stomachi cruditas.

 Ge.

Vide, ne ex immodico aut intempestivo studio conciliaris hoc mali, aut ex potatione largiore, aut Venere parum moderata.I.e., immoderate sexual activity. Quin accersis medicum?

 Li.

Timeo, ne citius morbum augeat, quam adimat. Metuo, ne pro remedio det venenum.

 Ge.

Deligendus est igitur, cui tuto fidas.

 Li.

Si moriendum est, malo semel mori, quam tot pharmacis excarnificatus.

 Ge.

Fac igitur, ut ipse tibi sis medicus. Si diffidis homini medico, precor, ut sit tibi medici vice Deus. Sunt, qui tecti cuculla Dominicali aut Franciscana revaluerunt.

 Li.

Idem fortassis evenisset, si lenonis pallio tecti fuissent. Verum ista diffidenti nihil conducunt.

 Ge.

Fide igitur, ut reviviscas. Alii morbo levati sunt, nuncupatis alicui divo votis.

 Li.

At ego cum divis non paciscor.

 Ge.

Proinde tu vel a Christo, cui fidis, pete sanitatis beneficium.

 Li.

At ego, an beneficium sit, nescio.

 Ge.

An non beneficium est, liberari morbo?

 Li.

Nonnunquam mori felicius est. Ab illo nihil peto, nisi ut, quod scit optimum esse, mihi largiatur.

 Ge.

Sume, quod alvum deiiciat.

 Li.

Iam sua sponte cita est.

 Ge.

Ciendus est alvus, movendus est alvus.

 Li.

Imo sistendus est magis; nam plus satis profluit.

 Domestica confabulatio Introduction to Domestica confabulatio

Albeit brief, the dialogue between Aegidius and Leonardus serves as an excellent bridge between the Formulae and the later dialogues. It looks backwards to the Formulae because it includes ways of expressing gladness at running into old friends (Imo boni amici nulla est apud me satietas. Imo quo crebrius venies, hoc mihi venies gratior) and wishing someone well in parting (Precor, ut bene vertat omnibus), as well as illustrating Erasmus' penchant for the copia verborum—in other words, helping students build vocabulary and linguistic flexibility by including in these exchanges different ways of expressing a single idea. For example, when Leonardus asks Aegidius if his daughter is not of marriageable age, he states his question in a number of different ways in succession: Atqui, ni fallor, iamdudum nubilis est. Iamdudum est apta viro, matura coniugio. Iampridem est tempestiva viro. Aegidius responds in kind, revealing the age of his daughter in no less than three ways: Quidni, annum egressa iam decimum septimum? Annum iam agens undevigesimum. Annos nata decem et octo. The purpose of this is to give pupils ways of modifying the dialogues each time they read them by choosing different phrases.

Although this technique of repetition situates this dialogue firmly within the early editions of the Colloquia, the themes contained within the dialogue itself simultaneously project us forward because we see the seeds of topics that will continue to come up—and are expanded on—in the later dialogues. In fact, the dialogue that comes most to mind when reading this exchange is the Virgo μισόγαμος (included in the present collection) and Virgo poenitens (not included as of yet). The two men's opposition to Aegedius's daughter joining a convent in this brief exchange, however, is mild in comparison to the severe—yet colorful—accusations of corruption and hypocrisy that the character Eubulus hurls against monks and nuns in the later dialogue in his attempt to convince the young Catharina not to join a convent. While Aegidius merely refers to monks as kidnappers intent on luring his child away (novi...istos plagiarios), Eubulus is far harsher, calling them illos crassos, semper distentos monachos, and warning Catharina that it will be harder to protect her virginity inside the convent than in her own home.

Besides providing the reader an example of a concrete topic that is merely touched upon in the formulae, and then expanded to provide the substance for no fewer than two dialogues in the Colloquia, this exchange between Aegidius and Leonardus also provides us a window into themes that recur throughout Erasmus' corpus. One, of course, is his dislike for the cloistered life. Another theme is his rejection of scholastic theology in which he received instruction while studying in Paris.Please see the general introduction to the Colloquia familiaria for a more detailed discussion of Erasmus' sojourn in Paris. In this dialogue, these opinions are uttered by Aegidius in response to Leonardus' inquiry about his sons. Whereas the eldest son is married, minimum ablegavi Lutetiam...ut Magister nobis redeat stultior, quam exierat.

Although this dialogue is the shortest one included in this collection, and belongs to the original "phrasebook" version of a text intended to instruct people in daily conversation, it nevertheless surprises us when we start to unpack its layers. In doing so we discover that themes that are seemingly glossed over in the quick back-and-forth exchange turn out to be of fundamental importance—as well as often great sources of frustration—to its author, who addresses them in countless works and letters throughout his life.

 Domestica confabulatio

Personae

Aegidius Leonardus Ae.

Quo noster Leonardus?

 Le.

Ad te ibam.

 Ae.

Istud quidem facis insolens.

 Le.

Quam ob rem?

 Ae.

Quia iam annus est, quod nos non inviseris.

 Le.

Malo in hanc peccare partem, ut desiderer, quam ut obtundam.

 Ae.

Imo boni amici nulla est apud me satietas. Imo quo crebrius venies, hoc mihi venies gratior.

 Le.

Quid interim agitur domi tuae?

 Ae.

Multa sane, quae nolim.

 Le.

Non miror. Sed iamne peperit uxor?

 Ae.

Iamdudum, et quidem gemellos.

 Le.

Quid ego audio?

 Ae.

Sic res habet: atque illi iam denuo tumet uterus.

 Le.

Isthoc pacto solet augeri familia.

 Ae.

Sed utinam fortuna sic augeret pecuniam, ut uxor familiam.

 Le.

Iamne elocasti filiam?

 Ae.

Nondum.

 Le.

Vide, ne parum tutum sit, virginem tam grandem detinere domi. Quaerendus est gener aliquis.

 Ae.

Nihil opus. Iam proci complures illam ambiunt sponsam.

 Le.

Quid igitur superest, nisi ut e multis deligas, qui tibi maxime sit accommodus?

 Ae.

Omnes eiusmodi sunt, ut nesciam, quem cui praeferam: sed abhorret a nuptiis filia.

 Le.

Quid ais? Atqui, ni fallor, iamdudum nubilis est. Iamdudum est apta viro, matura coniugio. Iampridem est tempestiva viro.

 Ae.

Quidni, annum egressa iam decimum septimum? Annum iam agens undevigesimum. Annos nata decem et octo.

 Le.

Cur abhorret igitur a matrimonio?

 Ae.

Ait, se velle Christo nubere.

 Le.

Sane multas habet ille sponsas. An malo genio nupsit, quae caste vivit cum marito?

 Ae.

Mihi quidem non videtur.

 Le.

Quis Deus hunc affectum afflavit filiae?

 Ae.

Nescio, sed abduci ab hoc proposito nullis rationibus potest.

 Le.

Vide, ne sint incantatores, qui instigent et allectent.

 Ae.

Novi ego istos plagiarios. Sedulo arceo hoc hominum genus ab aedibus meis.

 Le.

Quid igitur est in animo? Morem geres animo puellae?

 Ae.

Equidem obluctabor, quoad licebit. Nihil non experiar, quo mutem illius sententiam. Quod si pertendet, ut coepit, non pugnabo cum illius animo, ne forte videar θεομαχεῖνto be "fighting with the gods". vel potius μοναχομαχεῖνto be "fighting with the monks".

 Le.

Religiose tu quidem loqueris. Sed etiam atque etiam fac explores virginis constantiam, ne post facti poeniteat, quum mutare non erit integrum.

 Ae.

Equidem adnitar pro mea virili.

 Le.

Quid rerum gerunt filii?

 Ae.

Natu maximus iamdudum maritus est, brevi pater futurus. Minimum ablegavi Lutetiam.Paris; also called Lutetia Parisiorum. Nam hic nihil aliud, quam ludebat.

 Le.

Quid eo?

 Ae.

Ut MagisterMaster of Arts or professor. Paris was the most important university in Europe at that time for the study of theology. nobis redeat stultior, quam exierat.

 Le.

Bona verba.

 Ae.

Medius iam coepit initiari sacris.Aegidius' middle son is taking vows to become a priest.

 Le.

Precor, ut bene vertat omnibus.

 Questions about the text Where was Leonardus going when he ran into Aegidius? Why is Aegidius a bit upset with Leonardus? Does he forgive him? Why? What news does Aegidius report from home? Does Aegidius have a large family or a small one? What can we infer from the text? How old is Aegidius' daughter? Why is Aegidius concerned about his daughter? Why is he opposed to her wishes? Does Aegidius have sons as well? What are they sons doing? Does he approve of one of his sons' lives more than the other? Which son is he more concerned about? Pair up with a partner and act out a chance meeting. You can either use phrases from this text, or any other phrases of greeting from the formulae Monitoria paedagogica Introduction to Monitoria paedagogica

Stand up straight. Uncover your head if you pass an elderly person, magistrate, priest, doctor or any other man of dignity. When addressed, pay attention; don't let your mind wander but maintain a respectful gaze, always looking at the person you're talking to. Don't shift from one foot to the other. Don't scratch your head or dig out your ears. Don't talk too fast, mutter or stammer, but utter your words distinctly and articulately. Address people by their proper title. Always act in a manner appropriate to your age.Paraphrases taken from Craig R. Thompson's translation in The Colloquies of Erasmus (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965) p. 20-21. These are among the lessons in manners imparted to a young boy by his paedagogus in this brief dialogue, one of the first colloquia to appear in the 1522 edition of the Colloquia familiaria.

Of particular note in this dialogue between a schoolmaster and his pupil is that almost the entire substance of the exchange is concerned with the boy's manners. A brief nod to schoolwork is made at the very end when the teacher commands Adito nunc libros tuos, after the boy has asked if there's anything else he should do, but other than that the paedagogus is chiefly concerned with improving his pupil's general comportment.

To the modern audience it may seem strange that a teacher would instruct a pupil as much in manners and proper etiquette as in academic subjects, for we tend to view the former as something we are taught at home. Erasmus, however, viewed training in manners as an inherent part of a person's overall education. In fact, in his introduction to Erasmus' treatises on education, J. K. Sowards describes Erasmus as a "thoroughgoing believer in good habits," who sees decent social and personal behavior as the very foundation upon which education itself rests.J. K. Sowards, Collected Works of Erasmus, vol. 25 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1985) p. xxiv.

The present dialogue provides us only a sampling of Erasmus' views on education. Not only did he hold strong opinions about what constitutes correct behavior, and about the best ways to instill such behavior in children—ideas that he expanded on in his work De civilitate morum puerilium—he also devoted a great deal of time to developing his theories on the schooling of the young. The core of his educational works includes De pueris statim ac liberaliter instituendis, De recta latini graecique sermonis pronuntiatione dialogus, and De conscribendis epistolis.

We are not told exactly how old the boy is in this dialogue, but because he is referred to as a puer, he is likely no older than thirteen. This is consistent with Erasmus' general theory of education, as he believed strongly that it was important that children start their schooling at an early age when their minds still are uncorrupted and free from distractions, and before they learn "indolence, gluttony, and self-indulgence from the pampering of well-meaning mothers and nurses..." Sowards, p. xxvi-xxvii. His patent concern with providing children a solid moral foundation in order that they not fall prey in later life to laziness, greed and selfishness stems from his conviction that one of the chief purposes of education is to produce future philosophers and statesmen, which in turn will lead to the betterment of society as a whole.Ibid., p. xxvii.

In this, Erasmus is typical of many other humanist educators. In his introduction to Humanist Educational Treatises, Craig Kallendorf explains that humanist theories on education developed as a reaction against the medieval scholastic approach to schooling that prepared men for specific careers, generally in medicine, law and theology, via a utilitarian, pre-professional curriculum. Renaissance humanists, by contrast, believed that the purpose of education was not to train youths for a specific profession, but to prepare them for their ultimate responsibilities to society. Craig Kallendorf, Humanist Educational Treatises (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2002) p. vii. To achieve this end, they advocated a curriculum based primarily on the canonical works of Classical literature, as "they were letters that made you morally better and more civilized."Sowards., p. xxxii.

A true humanist, Erasmus also believed that children should be schooled primarily in Classical languages and literature, that they should learn how to speak, read and write both Latin and Greek proficiently while still young. Indeed, the importance Erasmus puts on good diction is evident in this dialogue when the teacher admonishes: Quum loqueris, cave ne praecipites sermonem, aut haesites lingua, aut palato immurmures, sed distincte, clare, articulate consuescito proferre verba tua. But what is also clear from this text is that, even before the child is schooled in books, he must first learn how to act appropriately and behave in a manner befitting a respectful, upright member of society.

 Monitoria paedagogica

Personae

Paedagogus Puer Pae.

Tu mihi videre non in aula natus, sed in caula, adeo moribus es agrestibus. Puerum ingenuum decent ingenui mores. Quoties alloquitur te quispiam, cui debes honorem, compone te in rectum corporis statum, aperi caput.I.e. "take off your hat," "uncover your head". Vultus sit nec tristis, nec torvus, nec impudens, nec protervus, nec instabilis, sed hilari modestia temperatus: oculi verecundi, semper intenti in eum, cui loqueris: iuncti pedes, quietae manus. Nec vacilles alternis tibiis, nec sint gesticulosae manus, nec mordeto labrum, nec scabito caput, nec fodito aures. Vestis item ad decorum componatur, ut totus cultus, vultus, gestus et habitus corporis ingenuam modestiam et verecundam indolem prae se ferat.

 Pu.

Quid si mediter?

 Pae.

Fac.

 Pu.

Siccine satis?

 Pae.

Nondum.

 Pu.

Quid si sic?

 Pae.

Propemodum.

 Pu.

Quid si sic?

 Pae.

Hem satis est; isthuc tene, ne sis inepte loquax aut praeceps. Nec vagetur animus interim, sed sis attentus, quid ille dicat. Si quid erit respondendum, id facito paucis ac prudenter, subinde praefatus honorem, nonnunquam et addito cognomento, honoris gratia: atque identidem modice flectas alterum genu, praesertim ubi responsum absolveris. Nec abeas, nisi praefatus veniam, aut ab ipso dimissus. Nunc age, specimen aliquod huius rei nobis praebe. Quantum temporis abfuisti a maternis aedibus?

 Pu.

Iam sex ferme menses.

 Pae.

Addendum erat, domine.

 Pu.

Iam sex ferme menses, domine.

 Pae.

Non tangeris desiderio matris?

 Pu.

Nonnunquam sane.

 Pae.

Cupis eam revisere?

 Pu.

Cupio, domine, si id pace liceat tua.

 Pae.

Nunc flectendum erat genu. Bene habet. Sic pergito. Quum loqueris, cave ne praecipites sermonem, aut haesites lingua, aut palato immurmures, sed distincte, clare, articulate consuescito proferre verba tua. Si quem praeteribis natu grandem, magistratum, sacerdotem, doctorem, aut alioqui virum gravem, memento aperire caput, nec pigeat inflectere genu. Itidem facito, quum praeteribis aedem sacram, aut imaginem crucis. In convivio sic te praebebis hilarem, ut semper memineris, quid deceat aetatem tuam: postremus omnium admoveto manum patinae. Si quid datur lautius, recusato modeste: si instabitur, accipe, et age gratias: mox decerpta portiuncula, quod reliquum est, illi reddito, aut alicui proxime accumbenti. Si quis praebibet, hilariter illi bene precator,Fut. imp. form of the deponent verb, precor, precari. sed ipse bibito modice. Si non sitis, tamen admoveto cyathum labiis. Arride loquentibus: ipse ne quid loquaris, nisi rogatus. Si quid obscoeni dicetur, ne arride, sed compone vultum, quasi non intelligas. Ne cui obtrectato, ne cui temet anteponito, ne tua iactato, ne aliena despicito. Esto comis, etiam erga tenuis fortunae sodales. Neminem deferto. Ne sis lingua futili. Ita fiet, ut sine invidia laudem invenias, et amicos pares. Si videris, convivium esse prolixius, precatus veniam, ac salutatis convivis, subducito te a mensa. Vide, ut horum memineris.

 Pu.

Dabitur opera, mi praeceptor. Numquid aliud vis?A question found frequently in Roman comedy, especially when taking leave of someone (examples).

 Pae.

Adito nunc libros tuos.

 Pu.

Fiet.

 Questions about the text Name three things the boy is told to do when addressed by someone of high status. What are three things he should not do? When the boy is required to speak, what does his teacher say specifically about his diction? What is the boy told to do when he passes a church? When he is offered food at a party, what should he do? Should he stay up late at the party? Does the boy live with his parents? How do you know? Where do you think he lives? What's your opinion about the teacher? Does he seem like a nice or an unkind person? What do you think of the lessons the boy is getting? Make up your own dialogue between a grownup and a child, where the grownup is trying to teach the child good manners (be sure to act out the expressions and gestures!) Make up your own dialogue between two children, talking about a lesson in manners they just got from their teacher. Virgo <foreign lang="greek">μισόγαμος</foreign> Introduction to Virgo <foreign lang="greek">μισόγαμος</foreign>

This dialogue between Eubulus and Catharina, first published in 1523, The dialogue was originally printed without a title; the first time it appeared under the title Virgo μισόγαμος was in the 1529 edition. tackles the issue of whether a young girl of seventeen should be permitted to join a convent. As we have discussed elsewhere, this topic was touched upon in the exchange between Leonardus and his friend Aegidius (Domestica confabulatio), whose eighteen year-old daughter, much to his dismay, abhorret a nuptiis. In the present dialogue we hear one such young girl present her own case for wanting—against her parents' wishes—to enter a holy order of nuns. Eubulus, her interlocutor (and presumably her suitor), thinks this is a horrible idea and does his level best to try and cure her of istum fatalem affectum.

What strikes the reader of this dialogue initially are the harsh accusations of debauchery Eubulus hurls against men and women of the cloth. Not only does he portray monks as gluttonous drunkards (semper cibo distentos), describing even the prior of the particular order Catharina wishes to join as et aetate, et vino, et natura delirus, but he also insists that her virginity will be better protected by living at home with her parents rather than inside a convent. Eubulus does not mince his words when he informs Catharina that priests are not called "Fathers" for nothing, and that even nuns engage in sexual activity amongst themselves (quae mores aemulentur Sapphus).

After reading such unequivocal statements about moral corruption among people of the cloth, it is not surprising that Erasmus got himself into more than a bit of trouble with his Colloquies, especially since they were meant to be used in schools to teach young boys good Latin prose. But the book that was once a fairly innocuous collection of phrases for greeting and taking leave of people had become, with the addition of longer dialogues on a wide range of topics, more a vehicle by which Erasmus expressed social criticism.Erika Rummel (editor), Erasmus on Women (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996) p. 25. The issues Erasmus chose to spotlight in the Colloquies were so controversial, however, that the faculty of theology at Paris in the mid-1530s ended up condemning the book as containing "Lutheran" ideas, and in 1564 a decision was made at the Council of Trent to place the book on the Index of Prohibited Books.Ibid., p. 25. Erasmus might argue that, because he is using the dialogue form, it is hard to pin this particular opinion on him because his characters are arguing both sides of the case. This would be a bit disingenuous, however, since he argues the same points in countless letters and treatises; not to mention the fact that the character who holds these opinions in this dialogue is named Eubulus, from the Greek εὐ βουλή, meaning "good council."

It is easy to see why talk of drunken priests and lesbian nuns would not go over very well with Church officials. Perhaps even more controversial, however, are the other reasons Eubulus gives for why Catharina should not join a convent. When Catharina pours her heart out to Eubulus, telling him what a wonderful impression the shining faces of the nuns had made on her when she was a child (placebant virgines vultibus nitentibus, videbantur angelae), he counters that she has been deceived by falsa imaginatione, and that the sense of piety felt by people within an order is deceptive, based mainly on caeremoniis sane quam speciosis. He also warns Catharina that she will have to give up most of the freedom she presently enjoys and succumb to a life of rigid rules, where nothing is done unless ex praescripto. Because he admires her character so much, Eubulus is convinced that she would live a more spiritually fulfilling life by finding a husband (him) who shares her moral convictions, and creating her own spiritual community at home as a wife and mother: tuaeque domi novum instituas collegium, cuius maritus agat patrem, tu matrem.Craig Thompson explains that Erasmus did regard true celibacy as highly laudable and without question the purest of lifestyles, but he believed that it was unrealistic, demanding and rarely achieved, and thus marriage was the most workable solution for most people. Craig R. Thompson, Colloquies, from The Collected Works of Erasmus (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997) pp. 279-280.

Erasmus was not the first to characterize monks, nuns and priests as gluttons, drunkards and worse. Moreover, charges of this nature can be interpreted as being levied against the weakness of the individual. The other criticisms Eubulus puts forth call into question foundations of Church doctrine and place Eubulus—and by extension Erasmus, according to his critics—squarely in the Lutheran camp: that religious life had become bogged down with rituals and superstitious practices that, in and of themselves, are meaningless, and, as Eubulus himself says, per se nihil faciunt ad pietatem; and that the celibate life is not inherently morally superior to marriage.

Eubulus is equally convinced that, in taking vows, Catharina would be giving up her freedom to experience spirituality in her own way. Non omnia conducunt omnibus, he tells her, and reminds her that at home she has her own room where she is free to read, pray and sing hymns whenever she wants, but she is also at liberty to go out and attend church services, or seek out conversation with learned ladies and men for her own moral betterment. He maintains that these things—ex quibus praecipuus est profectus ad veram pietatem—will be lost to her once she takes her vows. In sum, the arguments outlined above demonstrate Eubulus' concern that Catharina not be drawn in by a deceptive appearance of piety, and that she not be so quick to give up her liberty to commune with God as she chooses.

The controversial nature of his arguments notwithstanding, the reader must bear in mind that Eubulus is a suitor, whose primary goal is to persuade the object of his desire to choose marriage over the cloistered life. Because of this, it is reasonable to suppose that the statements he makes are not to be taken at face value, but are calculated to shock her, and thus to win her over to his way of thinking. But Eubulus is not the only speaker in this dialogue, and we would be remiss if we did not examine this debate also from Catharina's point of view. Paradoxically, however, even though she is the interlocutor advocating the pro-monastic position, it seems unlikely that her words would placate the reader already put off by the over-arching anti-clerical theme of this dialogue.

Indeed, what seems to be absent from Catharina's pleas for understanding of—and sympathy towards—her strong desire to join a convent is a genuine feeling of religious conviction. When pressed about why she wants to become a nun, she does not express a desire to give herself wholly over to Christ because of her deep belief in Christian values and teachings. Instead, her reasons boil down to this: that she was enchanted as a child by the bright and shining faces of the nuns, by the smells of insence, and by the sight of the blooming gardens of the cloister; and that she is afraid that her virginity will be compromised if she stays at home. When asked by Eubulus why she doesn't feel safe living with her parents, she confesses that she is disturbed by the numerous dinner parties her parents hold there, during which she is often subjected to hearing conversations not suitable to maiden ears, and presumably approached by men not unaware of her beauty: ...aliquoties fit, ut osculum negare non possim.

What might make young Catharina's uninspired defense of her wish to become a nun even more glaring to Erasmus' contemporaries is the stark contrast between the depth of her her religious conviction and that of her saint namesake, St. Catherine of Alexandria. The similarities between our Catharina and St. Catherine would likely not have been lost on readers familiar with the Legenda aurea of Jacobus de Voragine, or other popular saints' lives circulating at that time: both young women are around the same age (seventeen or eighteen), both are from well-to-do families, both are said to have been educated in the liberales disciplinas, and both have suitors who are trying to dissuade them from their chosen life-path.

To be sure, the motivations of the respective suitors—the Christian Eubulus and persecutor of Christians, Emperor Maximinus—cannot be compared; nevertheless, it is telling to contrast the sincerity and efficacy of the two Catherines as they attempt to persuade their critics not only of their own commitment to their chosen life, but of the ultimate righteousness of that choice. On the one hand we have St. Catherine, legendary for her sharp intellect and ability to communicate her faith in such a way that she not only remains unharmed by her enemies, but also converts most of them to Christianity (...haec autem puella, in qua spiritus Dei loquitur, sic nos in admirationem convertit, ut contra Christum aliquid dicere aut omnino nesciamus aut penitus formidemus. On the other we have our Catharina, who hardly gets a word in edgewise in the presence of the loquacious Eubulus, and whose rather superficial reasoning in defense of her position causes her to pale in comparison with the eponymous saint both in terms of rhetorical deftness and piety.

Although it quite possibly irked Erasmus' contemporaries that a character named intentionally after a famously talented orator-saint was unable to win her interlocutor over to her side, it would not be fair to dismiss our Catharina out of hand. Despite the fact that she is no match for Eubulus' powers of persuasion, Erasmus nevertheless presents the contemporary reader with the portrait of a young, pretty, educated, charming, enthusiastic woman (whether she is misguided remains to be seen), who seems to enjoy a great deal of freedom to explore her spirituality and is not shy about advocating for herself and what she wants.

 Virgo μισόγαμος

Personae

Eubulus Catharina Eu.

Gaudeo, tandem finitam esse coenam, ut liceat hac frui deambulatione, qua nihil amoenius.

 Ca.

Et me iam taedebat sessionis.

 Eu.

Quam vernat, quam arridet undique mundus! Haec nimirum est illius adolescentia.

 Ca.

Sic est.

 Eu.

At cur tuum ver non aeque arridet?

 Ca.

Quam ob rem?

 Eu.

Quia subtristis es.

 Ca.

An videor alio vultu quam soleo?

 Eu.

Vis ostendam te tibi?

 Ca.

Maxime.

 Eu.

Vides hanc rosam sub imminentem noctem foliis contractioribus?

 Ca.

Video. Quid tum postea?

 Eu.

Talis est vultus tuus.

 Ca.

Bella collatio.

 Eu.

Si mihi parum credis, in hoc fonticulo contemplare te ipsam. Quid sibi tandem volebant, et inter coenandum, tam crebra suspiria?

 Ca.

Desine percunctari, quod tua non refert scire.

 Eu.

Imo mea refert maxime, qui non possum esse hilaris, nisi te quoque videam hilarem. Ecce autem iterum suspirium, hui quam ex imo pectore ductum!

 Ca.

Est quod angat animum, sed effari non est tutum.

 Eu.

Mihi non dices, qui te cariorem habeo sorore propria? Mea Catharina, ne verere, quidquid est rei; tuto depones his auribus.

 Ca.

Ut tuto dicam, vereor ne frustra dicam non auxiliaturo.

 Eu.

Qui scis? Si non re ipsa, fortassis consilio consolandoque iuvero.

 Ca.

Non possum eloqui.

 Eu.

Quid istuc est rei? odisti me?

 Ca.

Sic odi, ut mihi minus carus sit meus germanus: et tamen animus non fert ut eloquar.

 Eu.

Fateberis igitur, si divinaro? Quid tergiversaris? Promitte, alioqui non omittam urgere.

 Ca.

Age promitto.

 Eu.

Prorsus ego non video, quid tibi desit ad summam felicitatem.

 Ca.

Utinam vera praedicares!

 Eu.

Primum adest ipse flos aetatis. Nam, nisi fallor, agis annum iam decimum septimum.

 Ca.

Sic est.

 Eu.

Nondum igitur, ut opinor, discruciat te metus senectae.

 Ca.

Nihil minus.

 Eu.

Adest forma nulla parte non felix; est et istud praecipuum Dei donum.

 Ca.

De forma, qualisqualis est, nec glorior, nec queror.

 Eu.

Tum color et habitudo corporis indicat, te esse prospera valetudine, nisi quid est morbi occultioris.

 Ca.

Nihil istiusmodi, gratia Deo.

 Eu.

Fama est integra.

 Ca.

Ita confido.

 Eu.

Adest ingenium isto dignum corpore, felicissimum, et quale mihi optem ad liberales disciplinas.The liberal arts referrs to the standard course of study at medieval universities, consisting of the trivium (dialectic, grammar, rhetoric) and the quadrivium (arithmetic, music, geometry and astronomy). These subjects were meant to provide students with the basic tools of learning.

 Ca.

Si quod est, Dei munus est.

 Eu.

Nec deest morum amabilis gratia, quam in felicissimis etiam formis non raro desideramus.

 Ca.

Optarim equidem mores me dignos.

 Eu.

Multorum animos deiicit generis infelicitas: tibi parentes sunt et bene nati, et probi, et re lauta, et tui amantissimi.

 Ca.

Hinc nihil queror.

 Eu.

Quid multis? Ego mihi ex omnibus puellis, quas habet haec regio, non delegerim aliam sponsam, quam te, si quod sidus mihi prosperum affulgeret.

 Ca.

Nec ego deligerem alium sponsum, si placeret ullum coniugium.

 Eu.

Et tamen magnum quiddam esse debet, quod sic discruciat animum tuum.

 Ca.

Est omnino non leve.

 Eu.

Non aegre feres, si divinem?

 Ca.

Iam pollicita sum.

 Eu.

Expertus novi, quanta crux sit amor. Age fatere; nunc promisisti.

 Ca.

Amor est in causa, sed non eius generis, cuius tu suspicare.

 Eu.

Quod genus tu mihi narras?

 Ca.

Divina.

 Eu.

Equidem consumpsi omnem divinationem meam. Et tamen non omittam hanc manum, donec extorsero quid sit.

 Ca.

Ut violentus es!

 Eu.

Depone in sinum meum, quidquid isthuc est curae.

 Ca.

Quando sic urges, dicam. Iam inde a teneris annis me mirus quidam affectus habebat.

 Eu.

Quis, obsecro?

 Ca.

Ut adiungerer collegio sacrarum virginum.

 Eu.

Ut fieres monacha?

 Ca.

Sic habet.

 Eu.

Hem, pro thesauro carbones.Eubulus suggests that Catharina is giving up the rich treasure of marriage for lumps of coal.

 Ca.

Quid ais Eubule?

 Eu.

Nihil, mea lux; tussiebam: sed perge dicere.

 Ca.

Huic animo meo semper pertinacissime restitere parentes.

 Eu.

Audio.

 Ca.

Ego contra precibus, blanditiis, lacrymis oppugnabam parentum pietatem.

 Eu.

Res mira.

 Ca.

Tandem quum ego nullum facerem finem orandi, obsecrandi, obtestandi, lacrymandi, polliciti sunt, ubi pervenissem ad annum decimum septimum, sese obtemperaturos voluntati meae, si modo tum idem perstaret animus. Venit is annus, manet idem animus, parentes tamen contra promissum pernegant: hoc est, quod discruciat animum meum. Aperui morbum meum: tu nunc medicum age, si quid potes.

 Eu.

Primum illud dabo consilium, suavissima virgo, ut modereris affectibus tuis, et si id non continget, quod vis, id velis quod possis.

 Ca.

Emoriar, nisi, quod volo, assequar.

 Eu.

Et unde cepisti istum fatalem affectum?

 Ca.

Olim admodum puella ducta sum in quoddam virginum collegium. Circumducebamur, ostendebantur omnia: placebant virgines vultibus nitentibus, videbantur angelae: in templo nitebant omnia, atque etiam fragrabant, nitebant horti cultissimi. Quid multis? nihil non arridebat, quocunque vertebam oculos. Accedebant ad haec blandissima virginum colloquia. Unam atque alteram illic reperi, quicum olim infantula lusitare consuevi. Ex eo tempore coepit animus ardere eius vitae desiderio.

 Eu.

Non sum improbaturus sacrarum virginum institutum: quamquam non omnia conducunt omnibus: sed habita tui genii ratione, quem mihi videor ex vultu moribusque tuis collegisse, suaserim, ut nubas marito tui simili, tuaeque domi novum instituas collegium, cuius maritus agat patrem, tu matrem.

 Ca.

Emoriar citius, quam virginitatis propositum deseram.

 Eu.

Res est egregia virginitas, si pura sit: sed nihil necesse est, ut hac gratia dedas te in collegium, unde non possis postea eximi. Licet apud parentes virginitatem tueri tuam.

 Ca.

Licet, at non perinde tuto.

 Eu.

Imo, ut ego arbitror, aliquanto tutius, quam apud illos crassos, semper cibo distentos monachos. Nec enim castrati sunt, ne tu sis insciens. Patres vocantur, ac frequenter efficiunt, ut hoc nomen vere competat in ipsos. Olim nusquam virgines honestius vivebant, quam apud parentes; nec alium habebant patrem, quam Episcopum. Sed obsecro, dic mihi, quod tibi collegium ex omnibus delegisti, cui te addicas in servitutem?

 Ca.

Chrysercium.A fictional name for a monastic order.

 Eu.

Agnosco, aedibus paternis vicinum.

 Ca.

Recte.

 Eu.

Atque pulchre novi totum hoc sodalitium, dignum vero, ob quod patrem ac matrem et cognatam tibi honestamque familiam repudies! Nam ille patriarcha iam pridem et aetate, et vino, et natura delirus est, nec illi quidquam iam sapit praeter vinum. Habet duos sodales se dignos, Ioannem et Iodocum. Quorum Ioannes, ut fortasse vir malus non est, ita nihil habet viri, praeter barbam; eruditionis ne pilum quidem, prudentiae non multo plus; Iodocus adeo stupidus est, ut, nisi veste sacra commendaretur, obambularet publicitus in cuculla fatui cum auriculis ac tintinnabulis.

 Ca.

Mihi videntur viri boni.

 Eu.

Melius istos novi, quam tu, mea Catharina. Isti fortasse sunt tibi patroni apud parentes, ut effciant te proselytamSomeone who leaves a former life to join a holy order. suam.

 Ca.

Iodocus maxime favet.

 Eu.

O fautorem! sed fac, istic nunc esse viros doctos ac bonos, cras erunt indocti ac mali; et quicunque obtigerint, tibi erunt ferendi.

 Ca.

Offendunt me in aedibus paternis crebra convivia; nec semper virginea sunt, quae illic dicuntur inter coniugatos. Et aliquoties fit, ut osculum negare non possim.

 Eu.

Qui vitare studet quidquid offendit, is e vita migret oportet. Ita sunt aures assuefaciendae, ut audiant omnia, nec tamen nisi bona transmittant in animum. Parentes, opinor, permittunt tibi cubiculum peculiare.One's own room.

 Ca.

Maxime.

 Eu.

Eo te subducas licebit, si quod convivium acciderit turbulentius: et dum illi potant ac nugantur, tu confabulare cum sponso tuo Christo; ora, psalle, gratias age. Non te inquinabit domus paterna; sed tu reddes eam puriorem.

 Ca.

Attamen tutius est esse in sodalitio virginum.

 Eu.

Non improbo castum sodalitium, nolim tamen te falli falsa imaginatione. Ubi illic versata fueris aliquamdiu, ubi propius inspexeris, fortassis non perinde nitebunt omnia, ut tibi quondam nitere videbantur. Nec omnes virgines sunt, mihi crede, quae velum habent.

 Ca.

Bona verba.

 Eu.

Imo bona verba sunt, quae vera sunt: nisi fortasse elogium, quod nos hactenus iudicavimus esse Virgini matri proprium, ad plures transiit, ut dicantur et a partu virgines.

 Ca.

Abominor.

 Eu.

Quin insuper, nec alioqui inter illas virgines sunt omnia virginea.

 Ca.

Non? Quam ob rem, obsecro?

 Eu.

Quia plures inveniuntur, quae mores aemulentur Sapphus, quam quae referant ingenium.

 Ca.

Istuc quid sit, non satis intelligo.

 Eu.

Atque ideo haec verba facio, ne quando intelligas, mea Catharina.

 Ca.

Attamen animus eo fertur: atque hinc colligo hunc spiritum a Deo proficisci, quod tot iam annis perseverat, et in dies fit acrior.

 Eu.

Imo mihi hoc nomine suspectus est iste tuus spiritus, quod sic repugnant optimi parentes. Afflasset et illorum animos Deus, si pium esset quod moliris. Sed istum spiritum hausisti ex illis nitoribus, quos admodum puella vidisti, ex blandis virginum alloquiis, ex affectu erga veteres sodales, ex cultu sacro, ex caeremoniis sane quam speciosis, ex improbis hortatibus stultorum monachorum, et qui in hoc te venantur, ut largius potent. Sciunt patrem esse liberalem ac benignum: aut illum habebunt convivam, sed hac lege, ut secum adferat vinum, quod decem strenuis potoribus sat sit: aut ipsi potabunt apud illum. Quare tibi fuerim auctor, ne quid novi tentes invitis parentibus, in quorum potestate nos Deus esse voluit.

 Ca.

In hoc negotio pium est contemnere patrem et matrem.

 Eu.

Christi caussa pium est alicubi negligere patrem et matrem: neque enim pie faciat, qui Christianus patrem ethnicum,A non-Christian. cuius omne vitae praesidium pendeat a filio, deserat, sinatque perire fame. Si nondum esses professa Christum in Baptismo, et parentes vetarent te baptisari, pie faceres, si Christum praeferres impiis parentibus. Aut si nunc parentes adigerent ad impietatem aut turpitudinem, contemnenda esset illorum auctoritas. Sed quid hoc ad collegium? Et domi Christum habes. Natura dictat, Deus approbat, Paulus hortatur,Eph. 6:1; Col. 3:20. leges humanae sanciunt, ut filii obediant parentibus; et tu te subduces ab auctoritate parentum optimorum, ut pro vero patre, te dedas factitio, et pro vera matre, tibi adsciscas alienam: aut potius, ut pro parentibus tibi dominos ac dominas adsciscas? Nam parentibus ita es obnoxia, ut tamen te liberam esse velint. Unde et liberiI.e. "free-born," as opposed to servi ("slaves"). vocantur filiifamilias, quod absint a conditione servorum. Nunc te pro libera tendis ultro servam reddere. Christiana clementia maxima ex parte submovit omnem illam veterum servitutem, nisi quod in paucis regionibus adhuc resident vestigia.Craig Thompson notes that this is a reference to Venice where Moors were still sold like cattle during Erasmus' time (CWE, p. 298). At inventum est sub praetextu religionis novum servitutis genus, ut nunc sane in plerisque monasteriis vivitur. Nihil ibi licebit, nisi ex praescripto; quidquid obvenerit tibi, illis accrescet: si quo pedem moveris, retraheris e fuga, perinde quasi parentem veneno necaveris. Quoque sit evidentior servitus, commutant vestem, quam dedere parentes,Eubulus is referring to the practice of people who, upon joining an order, give up their everyday clothes to don monastic robes both as an outward sign of commitment to their new life, and in order to identify themselves with a certain order. et ad exemplum priscum eorum, qui olim servos essent mercati, commutant nomen in baptismo inditum; ac pro Petro sive Ioanne, vocant Franciscum aut Dominicum, aut Thomam. Petrus dedit nomen Christo, et Dominico initiandus vocatur Thomas. Si militaris servus abiiciat vestem a domino datam, videtur abdicasse dominum; et nos applaudimus illi, qui vestem accipit, quam Christus omnium dominus non dedit: et ob hanc mutatam gravius punitur, quam si centies abiiciat vestem imperatoris ac domini sui, quae est mentis innocentia.

 Ca.

Atqui hoc ipsum aiunt eximii meriti, si quis se sponte dedit in hanc servitutem.

 Eu.

Ista vero doctrina pharisaica est. Paulus contra docet, ut qui liber vocatus sit, ne velit fieri servus, sed potius operam det, ut fiat liber.1 Cor. 7:21-3. The Pharisees are associated with strict adherence to Old Testament laws, whereas Paul represents New Testament laws. Atque hoc infelicior est servitus, quod pluribus dominis tibi serviendum sit, quod plerumque stultis et improbis, quod incertis, ac subinde novis. Illud mihi responde. Emancipant te leges a iure parentum?

 Ca.

Nequaquam.

 Eu.

Licetne igitur tibi emere aut vendere fundum invitis parentibus?

 Ca.

Minime.

 Eu.

Unde igitur tibi ius, ut te ipsam dedas nescio quibus, invitis parentibus? An non tu illis carissima, maximeque propria es possessio?

 Ca.

In negotio pietatis cessant naturae leges.

 Eu.

Negotium pietatis potissimum agitur in baptismo: heic tantum agitur de veste mutanda, deque genere vitae, quod per se neque bonum est, neque malum. Iam illud mihi considera, quantum commoditatum simul amittas cum libertate. Nunc tibi liberum est in tuo cubiculo legere, orare, psallere, quantum et quando gratum est animo tuo. Quod si taedet cubiculi, licet audire cantiones ecclesiasticas, adesse sacris, audire sacras conciones: et si quam videris matronam, aut virginem egregie probam, ex eius colloquio fieri meliorem: si quem virum insigni probitate praeditum, ex eo discere, quod te reddat meliorem: licebit et concionatorem deligere, qui purissime Christum doceat. Has res omneis ex quibus praecipuus est profectus ad veram pietatem, amittis semel addicta collegio.

 Ca.

Sed interim non ero monacha.

 Eu.

Adhuc te movent nomina? Rem ipsam perpendito. Illi iactant obedientiam. Num ea laus tibi deerit, si obedias parentibus tuis, quibus Deus iubet obediri? si Episcopo tuo, et pastori tuo? Num paupertatis, quum in parentum manibus sint omnia? Quamquam olim in sacris virginibus praecipue laudabatur a sanctis viris liberalitas in pauperes: eam praestare non poterant, si nihil possidebant. Porro castitati tuae nihil decedet, etiam si vivas apud parentes. Quid igitur superest? Velum, linea vestis ex intima versa in extimam, caeremoniae quaedam, quae per se nihil faciunt ad pietatem, neque quemquam commendant oculis Christi, qui spectat animi puritatem.

 Ca.

Nova praedicas.

 Eu.

Sed verissima. Quum non sis emancipata a iure parentum, quum tibi ius non sit vendendi vestem aut agrum, quo modo tibi ius facis dedendi te in servitutem alienam?

 Ca.

Ius parentum, ut aiunt, non impedit ingressum religionis.

 Eu.

In baptismo nonne professa es religionem?

 Ca.

Sum.

 Eu.

Nonne religiosi sunt quicunque sequuntur praecepta Christi?

 Ca.

Maxime.

 Eu.

Quae est igitur ista nova religio, quae facit irritum, quod et naturae lex sanxit, et vetus lex docuit, et Evangelica lex comprobavit, et Apostolica doctrina confirmavit? Isthuc decretum non est a Deo proditum, sed in monachorum senatu repertum. Sic definiunt quidam, et matrimonium esse ratum, quod insciis, aut etiam invitis parentibus inter puerum et puellam per verba de praesenti (sic enim illi loquuntur) contractum est. Atqui istud dogma, nec naturae sensus approbat, nec veterum leges, nec Moyses ipse, nec Evangelica aut Apostolica doctrina.

 Ca.

An igitur putas mihi non esse fas nubere Christo, nisi comprobantibus parentibus?

 Eu.

Iam, inquam, nupsisti Christo, et illi nupsimus omnes. Quae bis nubit eidem viro? Tantum agitur de loco, de veste, de caeremoniis. Ob has res non arbitror esse contemnendum ius parentum. Et videndum est, ne, dum paras nubere Christo, nubas aliis.

 Ca.

At isti praedicant nihil esse sanctius, quam heic contemnere parentes.

 Eu.

Ab istis igitur doctoribusDoctors of theology who study and interpret the Scriptures. exige, ut proferant aliquem e sacris libris locum, qui hoc doceat: quod si non poterunt, iubeto eos ebibere calicem vini Belnensis;Belna refers to a town in the Burgundy region of France that was famous for its excellent wine. hoc poterunt. Ab impiis parentibus ad Christum confugere pietatis est. Sed a piis ad monachismum, hoc est, (quod non raro usu venit) a probis ad improbos, quae, rogo, pietas est? Quamquam et olim ad Christum a paganismo conversus, idololatris parentibus debebat obsequium, quatenus citra pietatis iacturam fieri poterat.

 Ca.

Damnas igitur hoc totum vitae institutum?

 Eu.

Nequaquam. Verum quemadmodum nemini suadere velim, ut, quae se in hoc vitae genus coniecit, luctetur emergere: ita non dubitem hortari puellas omneis, praesertim indolis generosae, ne se temere eo praecipitent, unde post sese non possint explicare, praesertim quum in ipsis collegiis saepe gravius periclitetur virginitas, ac domi praestare valeas, quidquid ibi praestatur.

 Ca.

Urges tu quidem multis ac magnis argumentis; tamen hic affectus meus eximi non potest.

 Eu.

Si non persuadeo, quod tamen optarim, saltem illud fac memineris, Eubulum monuisse. Interim pro meo in te amore precor, ut tuus iste affectus felicior sit meo consilio.

 Questions about the text What is the main disagreement between Eubulus and Catharina? What does Catharina want more than anything else? Why does Catharina say she wants this? Who is preventing her from obtaining her wish? Whose side does Eubulus take? Name at least three reasons Eubulus puts forth to try and dissuade Catharina from her chosen course of action. What do you think of these reasons? Who do you agree with? If you were Eubulus, what other reasons might you give Catharina? If you were Catharina, what else might you say to convince Eubulus to agree with you? Diversoria Introduction to Diversoria

While the other dialogues in the present collection provide us an insight into Erasmus' intellectual and spiritual life—his views on education, his opinions about the monastic life and what it means to commune with God, his thoughts about the role of women in society, his views on marriage, and so forth—Diversoria, on the other hand, lets us see a very concrete and everyday side of the famous humanist.

In this dialogue, first published in 1523, the characters Bertulphus and Gulielmus compare their experiences as guests at hotels in France (specifically in Lyon) and in Germany (we are not told the particular city). What emerges from this dialogue is a stark contrast between the lively, entertaining and hospitable French innkeepers, who cater to their guests' every need, and the no-frills, businesslike and rather cold treatment guests receive at the hands of the German pandochei.

At the beginning of the dialogue, Bertulphus wonders at the fact that people stay two or three days in Lyon, because, when he travels, his goal is generally to get to his destination as quickly as possible. Gulielmus explains to him that, on the contrary, the inns there have such a siren-like draw that non poterant avelli socii Ulyssis. Next follows a description of the utmost in hospitality: guests being welcomed and embraced like family; an innkeeper's wife who entertains the travelers with jokes and delightful conversation; jovial, pretty young women who spirit away the guests' dirty clothes and bring them back clean; delicious food—and all at very reasonable prices.

Bertulphus (presumably a German) confesses that, while all of this sounds very nice, and squares with what he knows about the Gallicae gentis humanitatem, he prefers the way inns are run in Germany. He explains to Gulielmus that he finds the German way of providing hospitality more manly: mihi magis arrident Germaniae mores, utpote masculi. From the humorous description he then launches into, it is clear that the hospitality is more "manly" because guests are subjected to conditions which only the very tough could withstand. This dialogue satirizes the conditions at the German inn, where no one is pampered; where scores of people from all walks of life (and in varying states of health) are crammed together, sweaty and dirty, into one hot room; where there is only one sitting for the evening meal, so no one can eat until all the other guests have arrived—sometimes not until nine or ten at night; and where, if anyone complains, he is told: si non placet, quaere tibi aliud diversorium.

A frequent traveler himself, Erasmus had ample opportunity to experience how guests were treated in inns around Europe. Before this letter was published, Erasmus had lived in Paris, had traveled twice to England, once to Italy, and had made frequent trips to cities in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. Describing him as "a frequent traveler and a fastidious guest," Craig Thompson notes how Erasmus often complained about the inns where he stayed. Craig R. Thompson's introduction to Diversoria in The Collected Works of Erasmus (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997), p. 368. In a famous letter to Beatus Rheanus written in 1518, Erasmus narrates totam itineris mei tragicocomoediam, describing in detail a journey from Basel to Louvain during which he got little sleep, ate very badly, got caught in terrible weather, and ended up getting quite sick.Ep. 867, CWE, v. 6, p. 113-126.

That Erasmus found the conditions sub-par at many of the places he stayed, however, should not lead us to generalize about the cleanliness or the hospitality (or lack thereof) at European inns during his time. This is evident in the dialogue itself, as Craig Thompson points out, when the character Bertulphus criticizes a particular experience he had, but is careful not to make a sweeping statement about all German inns: An ubique sit eadem tractandi ratio, nescio: quod ego vidi, narrabo.Ibid., p. 368. Moreover, Thompson notes in his introduction to this dialogue that there are ample and conflicting accounts of European inns from sixteenth-century travelers, many of whom had not-so-great experiences in France, but quite enjoyed their stays in Switzerland and Bavaria.Ibid., p. 368.

Besides providing an example of at least one person's opinion of the state of the Renaissance hospitality industry, this dialogue also lets us get a glimpse of a more personal side of Erasmus. Indeed, contributing to Erasmus' fastidiousness as a guest is the fact that he suffered from poor health most of his life. Because of his delicate constitution, he was sensitive to cold, was careful about what he ate, functioned best when able to maintain very regular sleeping habits, and loathed close, stuffy quarters—such as the hypocausta described in the present dialogue—where germs could easily spread.Johan Huizinga, Erasmus and the Age of Reformation (New York: Harper Brothers, 1957; first printed in 1924), p. 117-118.

Having said this, however, the reader must bear in mind that, although Erasmus did not enjoy excellent health, he was not unique in his concern with disease and the spreading of infection. Since the time of the Black Death of 1347-1352, Europeans had to contend with regular outbreaks of the plague for the next three and a half centuries. In fact, A. Lynn Martin writes that the plague was present somewhere in Europe during almost every year from 1347 to 1670.A. Lynn Martin, Plague?: Jesuit Accounts of Epidemic Disease in the 16th Century (Missouri: Sixteenth Century Journal Publishers, 1994) p. 7.

This concern with the spread of disease and infection is reflected in the present dialogue when, for example, Gulielmus responds with horror at Bertulphus' description of the over-heated hypocaustum packed full of sweaty travelers: Atqui mihi nihil videtur esse pericolosius, quam tam multos haurire eundem vaporem.... He is concerned primarily with syphilis (referred to as scabies Hispanica or Gallica), but also uses the more general term pestilentia. Fear of contagion caused people to take concrete measures to avoid the spread of germs. An example from our dialogue is the closing of the thermae publicae (like the ones at Brabantos), out of fear that the plague could be spread through water.Thompson, footnote, p. 378. In the famous letter to Beatus Rheanus (mentioned above), Erasmus writes that he had to avoid Cologne on his journey to Louvain because of an outbreak of the plague there. There are also many accounts of families or groups of people fleeing to the countryside to avoid the crowded urban areas until the wave of contagion had passed.

Because of its matter-of-fact topic, this amusing dialogue lets us eavesdrop on a very authentic-sounding conversation between a Frenchman and a German interested in comparing their cultures, contrasting their experiences, and sharing variously their praise and concern for certain practices of their day. It also serves the student of Latin by providing a rich vocabulary for discussing different cities and countries, describing people from different walks of life, describing clothing, food, different parts of the house, and—for better or worse—personal hygiene, various and sundry bodily functions and disease.

 Diversoria

Personae

Bertulphus Gulielmus Be.

Cur ita visum est plerisque, biduum aut triduum commorari Lugduni?Lyon, a city in France. Ego semel iter ingressus, non conquiesco, donec pervenero, quo constitui.

 Gu.

Imo ego admiror, quemquam illinc avelli posse.

 Be.

Quam ob rem tandem?

 Gu.

Quia illic locus est, unde non poterant avelli socii Ulyssis, illic Sirenes.Homer Odyssey, 12:165-200. Nemo domi suae tractatur melius, quam illic in pandocheo.Inn; a synonym of diversorium.

 Be.

Quid fit?

 Gu.

Ad mensam semper adstabat aliqua mulier, quae convivium exhilararet facetiis ac leporibus. Et est illic mira formarum felicitas. Primum adibat materfamilias, quae salutabat, iubens nos hilares esse, et, quod apponeretur, boni consulere. Huic succedebat filia, mulier elegans, moribus ac lingua adeo festivis, ut possit vel ipsum Catonem exhilarare.A reference to Cato the Elder, who was known, among other things, for his frugality, austerity and purity of morals. Nec confabulantur ut cum hospitibus ignotis, sed veluti cum olim notis ac familiaribus.

 Be.

Agnosco Gallicae gentis humanitatem.

 Gu.

Quoniam autem illae non poterant adesse perpetuo, quod essent obeunda munia domestica, reliquique convivae consalutandi, continenter adstabat puellula quaedam ad omneis iocos instructa: una satis erat omnium iaculis excipiendis: haec sustinebat fabulam, donec rediret filia. Nam mater erat natu grandior.

 Be.

Sed qualis erat tandem apparatus? Nam fabulis non expletur venter.

 Gu.

Profecto lautus, ut ego mirer, illos tam vili posse accipere hospites. Rursus peracto convivio, lepidis fabulis alunt hominem, ne quid obrepat taedii. Mihi videbar domi esse, non peregre.

 Be.

Quid in cubiculis?

 Gu.

Illic nusquam non aderant aliquot puellae, ridentes, lascivientes, lusitantes: ultro rogabant, si quid haberemus vestium sordidarum: eas lavabant, ac lotas reddebant. Quid multis? Nihil illic vidimus praeter puellas ac mulieres, nisi in stabulo: quamquam et huc frequenter irrumpebant puellae. Abeuntes complectuntur, tantoque affectu dimittunt, ac si fratres essent omnes, aut propinquae cognationis.

 Be.

Fortassis isti mores decent Gallos; mihi magis arrident Germanicae mores, utpote masculi.

 Gu.

Mihi nunquam contigit videre Germaniam: quare te quaeso, ne gravere commemorare, quibus modis accipiant hospitem.

 Be.

An ubique sit eadem tractandi ratio, nescio: quod ego vidi, narrabo. Advenientem nemo salutat, ne videatur ambire hospitem. Id enim sordidum et abiectum existimant, et indignum Germanica severitate. Ubi diu inclamaveris, tandem aliquis per fenestellam aestuariiI.e., "hot house" or "stove room" where the stove was located. (nam in his degunt fere usque ad solstitium aestivuum) profert caput, non aliter quam e testa prospicit testudo. Is rogandus est, an liceat illic diversari. Si non renuit, intelligis dari locum. Rogantibus ubi sit stabulum, mota manu commonstrat. Illic licet tibi tuum equum tractare tuo more. Nullus enim famulus manum admovet. Si celebrius est diversorium, ibi famulus commonstrat stabulum, atque etiam locum equo minime commodum. Nam commodiora servat venturis, praesertim nobilibus. Si quid causseris, statim audis: Si non placet, quaere aliud diversorium. Foenum in urbibus aegre ac perparce praebent, nec multo minoris vendunt, quam ipsam avenam. Ubi consultum est equo, totus commigras in hypocaustum,Like the aestuarium, this is the "stove room". cum ocreis,Leggings made of mixed metal, worn by by hunters. sarcinis, luto; id est unum omnibus commune.

 Gu.

Apud Gallos designant cubicula, ubi sese exuant, extergant, calfaciant, aut quiescant etiam, si libeat.

 Be.

Heic nihil tale. In hypocausto exuis ocreas; induis calceos; mutas, si voles, indusium; vestes pluvia madidas suspendis iuxta hypocaustum; ipse te admoves, ut sicceris. Est et aqua parata, si libeat lavare manus, sed ita munda plerumque, ut tibi post alia quaerenda sit aqua, qua lotionem eam abluas.

 Gu.

Laudo viros nullis deliciis effoeminatos.

 Be.

Quod si tu appuleris ad horam a meridie quartam, non coenabis tamen ante nonam, nonnunquam et decimam.

 Gu.

Quam ob rem?

 Be.

Nihil apparant nisi videant omnes, ut eadem opera ministretur omnibus.

 Gu.

Quaerunt compendium.In other words, serving everyone together may not provide the best experience for the guest, but it is more cost-effective for the innkeeper.

 Be.

Tenes. Itaque frequenter in idem hypocaustum conveniunt octoginta aut nonaginta, pedites, equites, negotiatores, nautae, aurigae, agricolae, pueri, foeminae, sani, aegroti.

 Gu.

Isthuc vere coenobium est.

 Be.

Alius ibi pectit caput, alius abstergit sudorem, alius repurgat perones, aut ocreas, alius eructat allium. Quid multis? Ibi linguarum ac personarum non minor est confusio, quam olim in turri Babel. Quod si quem conspexerint peregrinae gentis, qui cultu dignitatis nonnihil prae se ferat, in hunc intenti sunt omnes defixis oculis, contemplantes, quasi novum aliquod animantis genus adductum sit ex Africa; adeo ut postea quam accubuerint, reflexo in tergum vultu, continenter aspiciant, nec dimoveant oculos, cibi immemores.

 Gu.

Romae, Lutetiae ac Venetiae nemo quidquam miratur.

 Be.

Nefas est interim tibi quidquam petere. Ubi iam multa est vespera, nec sperantur plures adventuri, prodit famulus senex, barba cana, tonso capite, vultu torvo, sordido vestitu.

 Gu.

Tales oportebat Cardinalibus Romanis esse a poculis.

 Be.

Is circumactis oculis tacitus dinumerat, quot sint in hypocausto: quo plures adesse videt, hoc vehementius accenditur hypocaustum, etiamsi alioqui sol aestu sit molestus. Haec apud illos praecipua pars est bonae tractationis, si sudore diffluant omnes. Si quis non assuetus vapori, aperiat rimam fenestrae, ne praefocetur, protinus audit: Claude. Si respondeas: Non fero, audis: Quaere igitur alid diversorium.

 Gu.

Atqui mihi nihil videtur esse periculosius, quam tam multos haurire eundem vaporem, maxime resoluto corpore, atque heic capere cibum, et horas complures commorari. Iam enim omitto ructus alliatos, et ventris flatum, halitus putres: multi sunt, qui morbis occultis laborant, nec ullus morbus non habet suum contagium. Certe plerique scabiem habent Hispanicam, sive, ut quidam vocant, Gallicam,Venerial disease, probably syphilis. quum sit omnium nationum communis. Ab his opinor non multo minus esse periculi, quam a leprosis. Iam tu divina, quantum discriminis sit in pestilentia.

 Be.

Sunt viri fortes, ista rident ac negligunt.

 Gu.

Sed interim multorum periculo fortes sunt.

 Be.

Quid facias? Sic assueverunt: et constantis est animi, non discedere ab instituto.

 Gu.

Atqui ante annos viginti quinque nihil receptius erat apud Brabantos, quam thermae publicae: eae nunc frigent ubique. Scabies enim nova docuit nos abstinere.

 Be.

Sed audi cetera. Post redit ille barbatus Ganymedes,A humorous comparison between the old, grumpy inkeeper and Ganymede, the cup-bearer to Zeus, who was carried off by the gods because of his youth and beauty. ac linteis insternit mensas, quot putat esse satis illi numero. Sed o Deum immortalem, quam non Milesiis!Linen of exceptional quality. Cannabea diceres ex antennis detracta. Destinavit enim unicuique mensae convivas ut minimum octo. Iam quibus est notus mos patrius, accumbunt, ubi cuique libitum fuerit. Nullum enim discrimen inter pauperem et divitem, inter herum ac famulum.

 Gu.

Haec est illa vetus aequalitas, quam nunc e vita submovit tyrannis. Sic opinor vixisse Christum cum suis discipulis.

 Be.

Postquam accubuerunt omnes, rursum prodit torvus ille Gaymedes, ac denuo dinumerat sua sodalitia: mox reversus apponit singulis pinacium ligneum, et cochleare ex eodem argento factum, deinde cyathum vitreum: aliquanto post, panem: eum sibi quisque per otium repurgat, dum coquuntur pultes. Ita nonnunquam sedetur ferme horae spatio.

 Gu.

Nullus hospitum interim efflagitat cibum?

 Be.

Nullus, cui notum sit regionis ingenium. Tandem apponitur vinum, Deus bone, quam non fumosum! Non aliud oportebat bibere Sophistas;Students of logic and philosophy. tanta est subtilitas et acrimonia. Quod si quis hospes, etiam oblata privatim pecunia, roget, ut aliunde paretur aliud vini genus, primum dissimulant, sed eo vultu, quasi interfecturi: si urgeas, respondent: Heic diversati sunt tot Comites et Marchiones, neque quisquam questus est de vino meo: si non placet, quaere tibi aliud diversorium. Solos enim nobiles suae gentis habent pro hominibus, et horum insignia nusquam non ostentant. Iam igitur habent offam, quam obiiciant latranti stomacho: mox magna pompa veniunt disci. Primus ferme habet offas panis madefactas iure carnium, aut, si dies est pisculentus,A day when no meat is eaten, customarily Friday for Catholics. iure leguminum. Deinde aliud ius, post aliquid carnium recoctarum, aut salsamentorum recalfactorum. Rursus pultis aliquid, mox aliquid solidioris cibi, donec probe domito stomacho apponant carnes assas aut pisces elixos, quos non possis omnino contemnere: sed heic parci sunt, et subito tollunt. Hoc pacto totum convivium temperant, quemadmodum solent actores fabularum, qui scenis admiscent choros; ita isti alternis miscent offas ac pultes. Curant autem, ut extremus actus sit optimus.

 Gu.

Et hoc est boni poëtae.Cicero Ad Quintum fratrem, 1.1.46.

 Be.

Porro piaculum sit, si quis interim dicat: Tolle hunc discum; nemo vescitur. Desidendum est usque ad praescriptum spatium, quod illi clepsydris, ut opinor, metiuntur. Tandem prodit ille barbatus, aut pandocheus ipse, vestitu minimum a famulis differens; rogat, ecquid animi nobis sit? Mox adfertur vinum aliquod generosius. Amant autem eos, qui bibunt largius, quum nihilo plus solvat ille, qui plurimum hauserint vini, quam qui minimum.

 Gu.

Mirum gentis ingenium.

 Be.

Quum nonnunquam sint, qui duplo plus absumant in vino, quam solvant pro convivio. Sed antequam finiam hoc convivium, dictu mirum, quis sit ibi strepitus ac vocum tumultus, postquam omnes coeperunt incalescere potu. Quid multis? Surda omnia. Admiscent se frequenter ficti moriones; quo genere hominum quum nullum sit magis detestandum, tamen vix credas, quantopere delectentur Germani: illi cantu, garritu, clamore, saltatione, pulsu faciunt, ut hypocaustum videatur corruiturum, neque quisquam alterum audiat loquentem. At interea videntur sibi suaviter vivere: atque illic desidendum est volenti nolenti usque ad multam noctem.

 Gu.

Nunc tandem absolve convivium. Nam me quoque taedet tam prolixi.

 Be.

Faciam. Tandem sublato caseo, qui vix illis placet, nisi putris ac vermibus scatens, prodit ille barbatus, adferens secum pinacium escarium, in quo creta pinxit aliquot circulos ac semicirculos:The innkeeper makes marks with chalk to keep track of how much the guests have eaten and drunk. id deponit in mensa, tacitus interim ac tristis; CharontemThe ferryman of the Styx who kept close track of who owed him payment for passage across the river. quempiam diceres. Qui agnoscunt picturam deponunt pecuniam, deinde alius, atque alius, donec expleatur pinacium. Deinde notatis qui deposuerunt, supputat tacitus: si nihil desit, annuit capite.

 Gu.

Quid si supersit?

 Be.

Fortasse redderet, et faciunt hoc nonnunquam.

 Gu.

Nemo reclamat iniquae rationi?

 Be.

Nemo qui sapit. Nam protinus audiret: Quid tu es hominis? Nihilo plus solves quam alii.

 Gu.

Liberum hominum genus narras.

 Be.

Quod si quis ex itinere lassus cupiat mox a coena petere lectum, iubetur exspectare, donec ceteri quoque eant cubitum.

 Gu.

Videor mihi videre civitatem Platonicam.

 Be.

Tum suus cuique nidus ostenditur, et vere nihil aliud quam cubiculum: tantum enim ibi lecti sunt, et praeterea nihil quo utaris, aut quod fureris.

 Gu.

Illic mundities est?

 Be.

Eadem quae in convivio; lintea forte lota ante menses sex.

 Gu.

Quid interim sit de equis?

 Be.

Ad eandem disciplinam tractantur, ad quem homines.

 Gu.

Sed est eadem ubique tractatio?

 Be.

Alicubi civilior est, alicubi durior quam narravi: verum in genere talis est.

 Gu.

Quid si ego tibi nunc narrem, quibus modis hospites tractentur in ea parte Italiae quam LongobardiamLombardy. vocant; rursus in Hispania; deinde in Anglia, et in WaliaWales? Nam Angli partim Gallicos, partim Germanicos mores obtinent, ut ex his duabus gentibus mixti. Wali se praedicat αὐτόχθοναςNative Britons. Anglos.

 Be.

Quaeso te, ut narres. Nam mihi nunquam contigit eas adire.

 Gu.

In praesentia non est otium. Nam nauta iussit, adessem ad horam tertiam, nisi vellem relinqui, et habet sarcinulam: alias dabitur oportunitas ad satietatem usque garriendi.

 Questions about the text Who had a pleasant stay at an inn? Who had an unpleasant one? Describe the speaker's experience at the inn in Lyon. What did he like about the hospitality he received? Name at least three negative things about the German inn. Who else was staying at the German inn? Name at least three specific professions or types of people mentioned in the dialogue. Why are the speakers concerned about the number of people packed into one room and the lack of ventilation? Describe the food served at the German inn. Where else has Gulielmus traveled? Describe a negative experience you have had either at a hotel or as a guest at someone's house. You can talk either about the way you were treated or about the food you ate there—or both. Divide into groups of 5 or 6. Two of you will be innkeepers and the rest guests. The innkeepers' goal is to make the guests' stay as unpleasant as possible. Devise ways to do this and then act out a scene with the guests reacting. Change roles and repeat the activity, this time making the guests' stay an extraordinarily pleasant one. Abbatis et eruditae Introduction to Abbatis et eruditae

This dialogue, usually known in English as The Abbot and the Learned Lady,From Craig R. Thompson's translation in The Colloquies of Erasmus (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1965) and reprinted in the Collected Works of Erasmus (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997). first appeared in the 1524 edition of the Colloquia familiaria. It presents a lively debate between an abbot who is more drawn to the pleasures of sleep, money and dinner parties than to intellectual endeavor, and an educated matron who tries in vain to convince him that wisdom gained from study contributes more to one's quality of life than do earthly, hedonistic pursuits.

The conversation between Antronius and Magdalia addresses many issues we find in other dialogues in the present collection: Erasmus' criticism of clerics—so dominant a theme in Virgo μισόγαμος and in the exchange between Aegidius and Leonardus—is evident in the ridiculous character of Antronius; like Catharina in Virgo μισόγαμος, Magdalia is a strong, spirited, educated woman who more than holds her own in defending her beliefs to her skeptical interlocutor. For this discussion, however, we will examine this dialogue in conjunction with Monitoria paedagogica, because of the insight it provides into Erasmus' views on the education of women.

The lady herself, Magdalia, is a paragon of learning: She is eager to improve her mind; she is able to debate the importance of education, and how it is wisdom that separates humans from animals; she defends her love of books to the abbot who believes instead that fusus et colus sunt arma muliebria; and she prefers Latin and Greek authors to vernacular ones, ut quotidie confabule(tur) cum tot auctoribus tam facundis, tam eruditis, tam sapientibus, tam fidis consultoribus.

In fact, in his article "Erasmus and the Education of Women," J. K. Sowards points to this dialogue to illustrate that "Erasmus was genuinely impressed with genuinely learned women."J. K. Sowards, "Erasmus and the Education of Women," Sixteenth Century Journal, XIII, No. 4 (1982), p. 80. He discusses at length a few of the women whose learning Erasmus respected, particularly those the character Magdalia mentions by name in this dialogue. When Antronius grumbles that women are not cut out for intellectual pursuits (...nec literae [conveniunt] mulieri), Magdalia informs him that, on the contrary, the ranks of educated women are growing: Sunt in Hispania , sunt in Italia adprime nobiles, quae cum quovis viro queant contendere: sunt in Anglia Moricae, sunt in Germania Bilibaldicae et BlaurericaeSowards and Thompson agree that the character Magdalia is probably based on Margaret Roper, Thomas More's eldest daughter. For an examination of who might be the Italian and Spanish women Erasmus is referring to, as well as who the Pirckheimer and Blauerer girls were, see Sowards, "Erasmus and the Education of women," pp. 80-84.

Although the depiction of Magdalia is quite sympathetic, and it is clear from this dialogue that Erasmus favors the education of girls as well as boys, it would be a mistake to conclude that he considered boys and girls equal, or that he thought that equal care should be given to their respective academic preparation. In fact, the theories on education he develops in such works as De civilitate morum puerilium, De pueris statim ac liberaliter instituendis, De recta latini graecique sermonis pronuntiatione dialogus, and De conscribendis epistolis, are all concerned specifically with the education of boys. As J. K. Sowards notes, the education of girls and women is not even mentioned.Ibid., p. 77.

There is agreement among scholars that this difference in moment and approach to the education of boys and girls can be explained in light of Erasmus' (and by extension the humanists') views on the purpose of education.See Thompson's introduction to Abbatis et eruditae in CWE, vol. 39, p. 500; J. K. Sowards, p. 87; Erika Rummel's introduction to Erasmus on Women (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996), pp. 8-9. Whereas Erasmus believed that boys were "the seed-beds from which will appear senators, magistrates, doctors, abbots, bishops, popes and emperors,"Quotation from De recta pronuntiatione, cited by Sowards, p. 87. and that the purpose of education was to prepare them for their ultimate responsibilities to society, Craig Kallendorf, Humanist Educational Treatises (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2002) p. vii. his conception of women—regardless of their level of education—never went beyond their traditional roles as daughters, wives, mothers, nuns and widows.

So what was, according to Erasmus, the purpose of educating girls? An examination of the present dialogue can provide us with at least a partial answer to that question. First of all, Magdalia advocates learning for the general enjoyment of life, equating sapere et suaviter vivere. She also maintains that wisdom is a requirement for a woman in order to administrare rem domesticam (et) erudire liberos. Reading the Scriptures, of course, is another important application of education. What is more, she considers herself fortunate to have a husband who encourages her studies, and believes that her learning actually contributes to their marital bliss: Nam et illum mihi, et me illi cariorem reddit eruditio.

Besides providing women the knowledge they need to run their households and oversee their children's education more effectively, enabling them to read the Scriptures in greater depth, providing them a source of enjoyment and contributing to a deeper intellectual connection between them and their husbands, there is another more important purpose Erasmus sees for ensuring the education of girls: as Erika Rummel so succinctly puts it, Erasmus believes in educating women "to keep them out of trouble." Rummel, p. 9. Indeed, Margaret L. King explains that, because of the importance placed on chastity within the economic and social system of the Renaissance, the suspicion that a daughter was not a virgin could bring down the honor of an entire family. This is largely because chastity "assured future husbands of the purity of their line, the legitimacy of their heirs, and the reputation of their family".Margaret L. King, Women of the Renaissance (Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1991) p. 29 Because an untainted reputation facilitated the negotiation of a marriage that could be mutually advantageous to both families, guarding their chastity was not only job one of the maidens themselves, but also of their parents.Ibid., p. 29 Erasmus believed that education played an important part in this because it kept girls' minds from being idle. Instilling good values in young women through education, as well as the capacity for good reason, was one of the best ways for parents to hedge against their daughters' falling prey to improper sexual advances.

Returning from the larger question of the education of women to a more specific examination of the character Magdalia, however, there is yet another important role she plays besides being the embodiment of the ideal learned lady. As much as the dialogue focuses on Magdalia's wisdom, it also underscores the ignorance of the abbot Antronius, who is rendered even more ridiculous and spiritually empty in comparison to her. In fact, Erika Rummel maintains that Magdalia's character is "introduced for shock value rather than as an exemplary character," Rummel, p. 174. whose purpose it is to shame Antronius rather than to advocate the education of her sex.

Indeed, it is evident from the conclusion of the dialogue that Magdalia's praise of various learned women is meant more as a cautionary tale than as a celebration of the advancement of women. When she warns Antronius that, if he and men like him aren't careful, res eo tandem evadet, ut concionemur in templis; occupabimus mitras vestras, she does not imply that this would be a good thing—in fact, quite the opposite. She views the present state where women are better educated than men as a sign that the world is not as it should be (inverti mundi scenam), and her implicit message to Antronius is: you'd better do something about it—quick. Knowing Erasmus' feelings about clerics, however, one wonders if he believes they would be up to the task of righting the topsy-turvy world.

 Abbatis et eruditae

Personae

Antronius Magdalia An.

Quam heic ego supellectilem video?

 Ma.

An non elegantem?

 An.

Nescio quam elegantem; certe parum decoram et puellae et matronae.

 Ma.

Quam ob rem?

 An.

Quia librorum plena sunt omnia.

 Ma.

Tu, tantus natu, tum abbas et aulicus, nunquam vidisti libros in aedibus heroinarum?

 An.

Vidi, sed Gallice scriptos: heic video Graecos et Latinos.

 Ma.

An soli Gallice scripti libri docent sapientiam?

 An.

Sed decet hoc heroinas, ut habeant quo delectent otium.

 Ma.

An solis heroinis licet sapere et suaviter vivere?

 An.

Male connectis, sapere et suaviter vivere: non est muliebre sapere: heroinarum est suaviter vivere.

 Ma.

Nonne omnium est bene vivere?

 An.

Opinor.

 Ma.

Qui potest autem suaviter vivere, qui non vivat bene?

 An.

Imo qui potest suaviter vivere, qui vivat bene?

 Ma.

Ergo tu probas eos, qui vivunt male, modo suaviter?

 An.

Arbitror illos bene vivere, qui vivunt suaviter.

 Ma.

Sed ista suavitas unde proficiscitur? e rebus extrariis, an ex animo?

 An.

E rebus extrariis.

 Ma.

O subtilem abbatem, sed crassum philosophum! Dic mihi, quibus rebus tu metiris suavitatem?

 An.

Somno, conviviis, libertate faciendi quae velis, pecunia, honoribus.

 Ma.

Verum, si istis rebus Deus addiderit sapientiam, num vives suaviter?

 An.

Quid appellas sapientiam?

 Ma.

Hoc est, si intelligeres hominem non esse felicem, nisi bonis animi; opes, honores, genus neque feliciorem reddere neque meliorem.

 An.

Valeat ista quidem sapientia.

 Ma.

Quid si mihi suavius sit legere bonum auctorem, quam tibi venari, potare, aut ludere aleam; non videbor tibi suaviter vivere?

 An.

Ego non viverem.

 Ma.

Non quaero, quid tibi sit suavissimum, sed quid deberet esse suave.

 An.

Ego nolim meos monachos frequentes esse in libris.Antronius does not want monks in his charge spending a lot of time reading.

 Ma.

At meus maritus hoc maxime probat. Sed quam ob rem tandem non probas hoc in monachis tuis?

 An.

Quoniam experior illos minus morigeros: responsant ex Decretis, ex Decretalibus, ex Petro, ex Paulo.Per Craig R. Thompson's note, this is a possible reference to two medieval commentators on canon law, Baldo degli Ubaldi and Paul de Castro. However, Thompson further notes that the humor lies in the association of these commentators with Saints Peter and Paul, and in Antronius' dismissing them all as writers he doesn't want to waste his time on (CWE, p. 510).

 Ma.

Imperas igitur quae pugnant cum Petro et Paulo?

 An.

Quid illi doceant, nescio: sed tamen non amo monachum responsatorem: neque velim quenquam meorum plus sapere, quam ego sapiam.

 Ma.

Istud ita vitari possit, si tu des operam, ut quam plurimum sapias.

 An.

Non est otium.

 Ma.

Qui sic?

 An.

Quia non vacat.

 Ma.

Non vacat sapere?

 An.

Non.

 Ma.

Quid obstat?

 An.

Prolixae preces, cura rei domesticae, venatus, equi, cultus aulae.Court functions.

 Ma.

Itane ista tibi sunt potiora sapientia?

 An.

Nobis sic usu venit.

 Ma.

Iam illud mihi dicito, si quis Iupiter hanc potestatem tibi daret, ut posses et monachos tuos et te ipsum vertere in quodcumque animal velles, an illos in porcos verteres, te ipsum in equum?

 An.

Nequaquam.

 Ma.

Atqui sic vitares, ne quis plus te uno saperet.

 An.

Mea non magni referret, quod genus animantis essent monachi, modo ipse essem homo.

 Ma.

An hominem esse censes, qui nec sapiat nec velit sapere?

 An.

Mihi sapio.

 Ma.

Et sibi sapiunt sues.

 An.

Videre mihi sophistria quaepiam; ita argutaris.

 Ma.

Non dicam quid tu mihi videaris. Sed cur haec displicet supellex?

 An.

Quia fusus et colus sunt arma muliebria.

 Ma.

Nonne matronae est,administrare rem domesticam, erudire liberos?

 An.

Est.

 Ma.

An rem tantam existimas administrari posse sine sapientia?

 An.

Non arbitror.

 Ma.

At hanc sapientiam docent me libri.

 An.

Ego domi habeo sexaginta duos monachos; tamen nullum librum reperies in meo cubiculo.

 Ma.

Bene itaque prospectum est monachis illis.

 An.

Feram libros, non fero Latinos.

 Ma.

Quapropter?

 An.

Quia non convenit ea lingua foeminis.

 Ma.

Exspecto caussam.

 An.

Quia parum facit ad tuendam illarum pudicitiam.

 Ma.

Ergo nugacissimis fabulis pleni libri Gallice scripti faciunt ad pudicitiam?

 An.

Aliud est.

 Ma.

Dic istud, quidquid est, aperte.

 An.

Tutiores sunt a sacerdotibus, si nesciant Latine.

 Ma.

Imo isthinc minimum est periculi vestra opera; quandoquidem hoc agitis sedulo, ne sciatis Latine.

 An.

Vulgus ita sentit, quia rarum et insolitum est, foeminam scire Latine.

 Ma.

Quid mihi citas vulgum, pessimum bene gerendae rei auctorem? Quid mihi consuetudinem, omnium malarum rerum magistram? Optimis assuescendum: ita fiet solitum, quod erat insolitum: et suave fiet, quod erat insuave; fiet decorum quod videbatur indecorum.

 An.

Audio.

 Ma.

Nonne decorum est, foeminam in Germania natam discere Gallice?

 An.

Maxime.

 Ma.

Quam ob rem?

 An.

Ut loquatur cum his, qui sciunt Gallice.

 Ma.

Et mihi putas indecorum, si discam Latine, ut quotidie confabuler cum tot auctoribus, tam facundis, tam eruditis, tam sapientibus, tam fidis consultoribus.

 An.

Libri adimunt multum cerebri foeminis, quum alioqui parum illis supersit.

 Ma.

Quantum vobis supersit, nescio; certe mihi quantulumcunque est, malim in bonis studiis consumere, quam in precibus sine mente dictis, in pernoctibus conviviis, in exhauriendis capacibus pateris.

 An.

Librorum familiaritas parit insaniam.

 Ma.

An colloquia combibonum, scurrarum et sannionum tibi non pariunt insaniam?

 An.

Imo depellunt taedium.

 Ma.

Qui fiat igitur, ut tam amoeni confabulones mihi pariant insaniam?

 An.

Sic aiunt.

 Ma.

At aliud ipsa loquitur res. Quanto plures videmus, quibus immodica potatio, et intempestiva convivia, quibus temulenta pervigilia, quibus impotentes affectus pepererunt insaniam!

 An.

Ego sane nollem uxorem doctam.

 Ma.

At ego mihi gratulor, cui contigerit maritus tui dissimilis. Nam et illum mihi, et me illi cariorem reddit eruditio.

 An.

Immensis laboribus comparatur eruditio, ac post moriendum est.

 Ma.

Dic mihi, vir egregie, si cras tibi moriendum esset, utrum malles mori stultior an sapientior?

 An.

Si citra laborem contingeret sapientia.

 Ma.

Sed nihil homini citra laborem contingit in hac vita: et tamen quicquid paratum est, quantisvis laboribus comparatum est, heic relinquendum est; cur pigeat nos in re omnium pretiosissima sumere laboris aliquid, cuius fructus nos in alteram quoque vitam comitatur?

 An.

Frequenter audivi vulgo dici, foeminam sapientem bis stultam esse.

 Ma.

Isthuc quidem dici solet, sed a stultis. Foemina quae vere sapit, non videtur sibi sapere; contra, quae quum nihil sapiat, sibi videtur sapere, ea demum bis stulta est.

 An.

Nescio quomodo fit, ut quemadmodum clitellae non conveniunt bovi, ita nec literae mulieri.

 Ma.

Atqui negare non potes, quin magis quadrent clitellae bovi, quam mitra asino aut sui. Quid sentis de Virgine matre?

 An.

Optime.

 Ma.

Nonne versabatur in libris?

 An.

Versabatur; at non in istis.

 Ma.

Quid igitur legebat?

 An.

Horas canonicas.

 Ma.

Ad quem usum?

 An.

Ordinis Benedictini.

 Ma.

Sit ita sane. Quid Paula et Eustochium?St. Paula and her daughter St. Eustochium, from a Roman patrician family, became devout Catholics and followed Jerome to Palestine in 385.<