360] 
schools, revive the laws of criti- 
cism, treat every subject with elo. 
quence and delicacy ; sometimes 
emulate the ancients, often imitate 
them, and never copy them. As to 
his morals, they had the poor merit 
of being ‘tegular. Inthe nobler part 
of his charaéter 1 find him 
very deficient, A parasite of. all 
the great men of his time, he was 
neither ashamed to magnify their 
charaéiers by the lowest adulation, 
nor to debase his own by the most 
impudent solicitations, to obtain 
presents which very often he did 
net want. ‘The adventure of Ep- 
pendorf is another proof how much 
dearer his money was to him than 
his character, Notwithstanding 
these faults, never man enjoyed a 
greater personal consideration. All 
the scholars, and all the princes of 
Europe, looked upon him as an 
eracie. Even Charies the Fifth and 
Francis the First agreed ‘in this. 
If, we inquire why. this happened 
to him rather than to some other 
great men of a merit equal, and 
perhaps superior to Erasmus, we 
roust say that it was owing to the 
time when he hved; when the 
world, awaking from ‘ sleep of a 
thousand years, all orders of men 
applied themselves to letters with 
an enthusiasm which produced in 
them the highest esteem and vene- 
ration for one of their principal 
restorers. Besides, as the general 
attention, from piety, from curio- 
sity, from vanity, and from in- 
terest, was diregted towards the re- 
ligious disputes, .a great divine 
was the fashionable charatter, and 
all parties endeavoured to attract 
or to preserve him. © But to which 
of those parties did. Erasmus ad- 
here ? His writings, and even his 
condut, were olten equivocal, 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 
1796. 
The catholics claim him, though 
they acknowledge that he was of- 
ten indiscreet. Le Clerc challenges 
him for the Protestants, though he 
blames him for not professing what 
he knew to have been the truth; 
and attributes his reserve solely to 
timidity and self-interest. Eras- 
mus has certainly exposed all the 
grosser superstitions of the Romish 
worship to the ridicule of the pub. 
lic; and had his free opinion been 
taken, I believe he was a’protestant 
upon most of the contested points. 
But many other motives might re- 
strain him froma declaration. - He 
was always persuaded, that any 
speculative truths were dearly pur- 
chased at the expence of practical 
virtue and public peace.» Besides, 
many considerations might make 
him balance as‘to those truths ; 
prejudices of education, the au- 
thority of the fathers,-and a na- 
tural inclination to scepticism. - 
Add to this, that really disapprov- 
ing many things in the protestant 
communion, though more: in the 
Romish, by remaining in the loose 
situation of a man who was un. 
willing to quit the religion of his 
ancestors, he could blame many 
things in it with freedom ; where- 
as, had he deserted it, he must 
either have set up a standard him- 
self, or else have enlisted blindly 
under that of Luther or Acolam. 
padius. It is surprizing that Eras- 
mus, who could see through much 
more plausible fables, believed 
firmly in witchcraft. : 
Anecdotes of the late Dr. Fames Fordyce. 
Fromm the European Magazine. 
THIS gentleman was one of the 
twenty children, by one wife, of 
Provost Fordyce, of Aberdeen. He 
received his education at the Maz 
rischal 
