Froude's _Life and Letters_[14] illustrates the author's familiar qualities,--his remarkable distinctness of view and his complete indifference to accuracy of detail. [14] Froude, James Anthony, _Life and Letters of Erasmus_; lectures delivered at Oxford, 1893-94. London and New York, 1894. Samuel Knight's _Life_,[15] 1726, is still readable. It deals chiefly with the relations of Erasmus to England, and gives a great deal of "curious information" about persons incidentally connected with him. [15] Knight, Samuel, _The Life of Erasmus_. Cambridge, 1726. With many valuable documents. Other works likely to be of interest to the reader and student are: Altmeyer, J. J., _Les précurseurs de la Réforme aux Pays-bas_. Brussels, 1886. _Érasme et les hommes de son temps_, vol. i., pp. 258-343. Amiel, Émile, _Un Libre-penseur du XVI siècle: Érasme_. Paris, 1889. Burigny, J. L. de, _Vie d'Érasme_. 2 vols. Paris, 1757. Butler, Charles, _Life of Erasmus_. London, 1825. Feugère, Gaston, _Érasme,--Étude sur sa vie et ses ouvrages_. Paris, 1874. Hartfelder, Karl, _D. Erasmus von Rotterdam und die Päpste seiner Zeit_; in Raumer's _Historisches Taschenbuch_, 1891. Hartfelder, Karl, _Friedrich der Weise und D. Erasmus von Rotterdam_; in _Zeitschrift für vergleichende Literaturgeschichte_, etc., new series, iv., 1891. Janssen, Joh., _Geschichte des Deutschen Volkes seit dem Ausgang des Mittelalters_. Freiburg, 1879, and in repeated editions. On Erasmus in vol. ii. Kämmel, H., _Erasmus in Deventer_; in _Jahrbücher für classische Philologie_, vol. cx. Müller, Adolph, _Leben des Erasmus_. Hamburg, 1828. Nolhac, Pierre de, _Érasme en Italie; étude sur un épisode de la Renaissance avec douze lettres inédites d'Érasme_. Paris, 1888. Pennington, A. R., _The Life of Erasmus_. London, 1875. Richter, Arthur, _Erasmus-Studien_. Dresden, 1891. Seebohm, Frederic, _The Oxford Reformers of 1498: Colet, Erasmus, More_. London, 1867; 3d ed., 1887. Staehelin, R., _Erasmus' Stellung zur Reformation_. Basel, 1873. Stichart, F. O., _Erasmus von Rotterdam, Seine Stellung zu der Kirche und zu den kirchlichen Bewegungen seiner Zeit_. Leipzig, 1870. Woltmann, A., _Holbein und seine Zeit_. Leipzig, 1866-68, 2 parts; 2d ed., 1874-76, 2 vols. English translation, _Holbein and his Time_. London, 1872. DESIDERIUS ERASMUS DESIDERIUS ERASMUS CHAPTER I SCHOOL AND MONASTERY 1467-1490 In a letter[16] written by Erasmus, in 1520, to Peter Manius occurs a passage so characteristic of the writer that one can hardly have a better introduction to the study of his life. Manius had urged him to declare frankly that he was not a Frenchman but a German, in order that Germany might not be defrauded of so great a glory. Erasmus replies: [16] iii.¹, 582-C.