shown in his career, under very great pressure from various quarters, a clear-headed, well-balanced and courageous independence of opinion and of action that was most exceptional at a time when theological partisanship was bitter to the point of ferocity. It is also to be borne in mind that when, through the satisfactory management of his literary undertakings on the part, first of Aldus, and later and most importantly, of his good friend Froben, Erasmus began to secure from his writings an assured income, the disagreeable subsidy suggestions disappear from his correspondence, although he is still very ready to accept _honoraria_ from appreciative friends. It is certainly not a little to the credit of both Erasmus and his publisher, that there is no single instance in the long correspondence of an application to Froben for moneys, either as “advances” or as loans, or a single complaint about inadequacy of payments. In fact, as specified later, Erasmus criticises Froben for undue liberality to himself. The first journey to Italy would probably not have been undertaken (or at least not at that time) if it had not been for the friendly help of the Lady of Vere. Froude doubtless, however, sacrifices (and not for the first time) accuracy of statement to dramatic antithesis when he writes: “Without Mæcenas we might have had no _Odes_ or _Satires_ from Horace; without the Duke of Lerma we should have had no _Don Quixote_; without the Duke of Weimar we might have had no _Faust_; without the Lady of Vere there would have been no _New Testament_, no _Moriæ_, no _Colloquies_.” This is a kind of _reductio ad absurdum_, an attempt to make the production of men of creative power depend upon, instead of being merely furthered by, the help of their patrons. But Froude probably does not mean to be taken seriously. He goes on to say: “The patronage system may not be the best, but it is better than leaving genius to be smothered or debased by misery, and when genius is taught that life depends on pleasing the readers at the shilling book-stalls, it may be smothered that way too, for all that I can see to the contrary.”[98] It is not easy to understand to what book-stall influences Froude refers, although we can recall certain strictures of Freeman to the effect that Froude himself attempted to debase history to the level of the readers of “shilling shockers.”