An incident of the year 1524 well illustrates the temper of Erasmus at the time and also the decline in regard for him on the Lutheran side. A certain Scotch printer at Strassburg had published some writing of Hutten against Erasmus, probably the _Expostulatio_, with offensive illustrations, and in a second edition had added an invective by another author, in which "whatever one blackguard could say of another" was said of Erasmus. What touched him especially was that he was called a traitor to the Gospel, and charged with having been hired for money to fight against it, and moreover was accused of being ready to be pulled in any direction by the chance of a crumb of bread. Erasmus wrote two very angry letters[150] to the magistrates of Strassburg asking them to punish the printer, and defending himself in his usual fashion from these charges. [150] iii.¹, 793, 804. Evidently nothing was done about it, for some time later Erasmus wrote to Caspar Hedio, one of the Lutheran preachers at Strassburg,[151] complaining of this neglect. His suggestions about the way to treat an offending printer are amusing. [151] iii.¹, 844. "You say this Scotchman has a wife and little children. Would that be thought an excuse if he should break open my money-chest and steal my gold? I should say not; and yet he has done a thing far worse than that. Or perhaps you think I care less for my reputation than for my money. If he can't feed his children, let him go a-begging. 'That would be a shame,' you say. Well, aren't such actions as this a shame? Let him prostitute his wife and snore away with watchful nose over his cups. 'Horrible,' you say. And yet what he has done is more horrible still. There is no law to punish with death a man who prostitutes his wife; but everyone approves capital punishment for those who publish slanderous writings." CHAPTER X DOCTRINAL OPPOSITION TO THE REFORMATION--FREEDOM OF THE WILL--THE EUCHARIST--THE "SPIRIT" 1523-1527 There can be no doubt that Erasmus was urged from many sides to write something decisive against the Lutheran party. He held back as long as he could, partly, we may be sure, from real sympathy with the chief purpose of the reform and partly from a dread of committing himself to, he knew not precisely what. To estimate his position aright we must bear in mind that the real meaning of the reform party was developing year by year, taking on ever new aspects as one interest after another came to be connected with the original kernel of opposition. So far as outward things were concerned Erasmus was barred from many lines of attack by his own damning record. In these matters he could only indulge in vague exhortations to moderation and in voluminous, but not very convincing, apologies.