The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-10-28
n.

translates hi accounts of Dean Colet and of Sir
Thomas More. The former we pass over, be-
cause Colet is well-nigh forgotten. 1t is other
wise with More, of whom q portrait is sketched
In a letter to Ulrich Won Hutton, who subse-
auently was to threaten to carry Luther of
by force from Worms IL the Emperor's safe
conduct were not observed. Won Hutton, or a
group OF anonymous friends of his, were Just
producing the "Epistole Obscurorum Virorum'
as q caricature of the monks. The satire was
as gross as Rabelsis', and Erasmus said
that, though he was not particular, the
coarseness disguised him, and he disowned
not only all share in the work. but all interest In
It. sir Thomas More, on the other hand, ardent
Catholic rs he was. loathed the monks as a dis
grace TO the Church, and frankly confessed
himself delighted with tho "Epistolm." Won
Hutton was anxious to know more Of this Eng
lish admirer. and wrote to Erasmus for q de-
s~cription Of him. The task" Erasmus said,
lis not an easy one, for not every one under
stands More. He Is of middle height, we'll
shaped, complexion pale. without n touch Of
color in It, save when the skin fushes. The
hair Is black. shot with yellow, or yellow shot
with black beard scanty, eyes gray with dark
spots-an eye supposed in England TO In
dictate genius. and to be never found ex-
cept in remarkable men. Tho expression is
pleasant and cordial. easily passing into n smile,
ana he has tne quickest sense OI ne TlulCulOus
Of any man I ever met. The right shoulder is
rather higher than the left, the result Of a trick
in walking, not from physical defect. The rest
Is In keeping. The only sign OF rusticity Is in
the hands. From childhood he has been care
less OF appearance, hut he has still the charm
which / remember when ! first knew him. His
health Is good, though not robust, and he Is
likely TO be long-lived. He Is careless in what
he eats. l never saw a man more 80. He is a
water dr!nker. His food is beef, fresh or salt.
bread, milk, fruit, and especially eggs. His
voice is low and unmusical, though he loves
music. but 1t is clear and penetrating.
He articulates slowly and distinctly, and
never hesitates." Erasmus goes on to tell
us that his friend More dresses plainly;
no silks or velvets or gold chains. He has
no concern for ceremony, accepts none from
others. and shows little himself. He holds
forms and courtesies unworthy of a man of sense.
and, for that reason. has hitherto kept clear OF
the Court. . . . He is a true friend. When
he finds a man to be of the wrong sort, he lets
him drop, but no enjoys nothing so much rs the
society OF those who suit him, and whose charac-
ter he approves. Gambling OF all kinds. balls.
dice. and such like he detests. None of that sort
are to he found about him. In short, he is the
best type of companion. His talk is charming,
full of fun. but never scurrilous or malicious.
lie used to act plays when young; wit
delights him though at his own expense;
he writes smart epigrams: he set me on
my EncOripr MOrtr tho Praise Of Folly. II
was like setting a camel to dance, but he can
make fun OF anything. He is wise with the wise.
and jests with f~ools-with women especially. and
his wife among them. . Hc had his love
affairs when young, but none that compromised
him; lie was entertained by the girls running
after him. He studied hard, also. at that time,
at ErnaL and rlflngnnhv His father yynnfpd
him To work at English law, but he did not like
IL. The law In England is the high road to fame
and fortune. ard many peerages have risen out
of that profession. More had no taste that way,
nature having designed him for better things.
Nevertheless, after drinking deep in literature he
did make himself a lawyer, and an excellent one.
No opinion Is sought more eagerly than his, or
more highly paid for. He worked at divinity
besides, and lectured to large audiences on
Augustine's DE Civitate Del" Priests and old
men were not ashamed to learn from him. His
original wish was TO be a priest himself. He
gave It up because he fell in love, and he thought
a chaste husband was better than q prohigate
clerk. The wife that he chose was a very young
lady, well connected, but wholly uneducated,
who had been brought up In the country with
her parents. Thus he was able to shape her
character after his own fashion. He taught her
books. he taught her music, and formed her into
q companion for his life. Unhappily she was
taken from him by death before her time. She
bore him several children; a few months after he
had buried her he married a widow 10 take care
OF them. This lady, he often said with a laugh,
was neither young nor pretty; but she was q
good manager. and he lived as pleasantly with
her as II she had been the loveliest OF maidens.
He rules her with Jokes and caresses better than
most husbands do with sternness and authority,
and though she has a sharp tongue and Is a
thrifty housekecper. he has made her learn harp,
cithern, and guitar and practise before him
every day" Erasmus proceeds to speak OF his
friends literary work. He has written . diA-
lOgue defending Plnto's community OF wives.
He has answered Lucian's Tyrannicida. His
Utopia was written to indicate the dangers which
threatened the English commonwealth. The
second part was written first, the other was
added Afterward. You can trace a difference in
the style. lie has a fine intellect and an excel
lent memory; all arranged and
pigeonholed 10 DO ready for use. He Is SO ready
in argumen that he can puzzle the best divine
on their own subjects. Colet, a good judge on
such points, says More has more genius than
any man in England. He is religious, but with
out superstition. He has his hours for prayer,
but he uses no forms and prays out Of his heart.
He will talk with his friends about q life to
come. and you can see that he means 1t and has
real hopes" Froude recalls the fact that the
subject of this picture had built himself q
house on the Thames at Chelsea. which
was Of moderate and unpretentious di-
mansions. with a garden leading down to the
river, not far from where Carlyle's statue
now stands. The life there. as Erasmus else
where says, was like the life in Plato's Academy,
and there Erasmus was a permanent guest
whenever he was in London. No two men ever
suited each other better, their intellectual diff
ferences only serving 10 give interest 10 their
conversation. while both had that peculiar
humor which means at bottom the power OF
seeing things as they really are, undisguised BY
conventional wrappings, More's mind Was free
and noble. As We nave seen, Erasmus told Hut
ten that he was without superstition. AT an
other time, however, he allowed that there was
a vein Of Il, and that vein, as the sky blaekened
with the storm OF the Reformation, swelled aud
turned him into a prosecutor. Men who have been
themselves refoFnsFs are the least tolerant when