De Gulden Passer. Jaargang 74

[p. 111]

Balthasar Moretus's sojourn in Louvain^*
J. de Landtsheer

Almost every source about the education of Balthasar Moretus, third son of Johannes Moretus and Martine Plantin, and the time he spent in Louvain as a member of the contubernium, the household of Justus Lipsius, mentions a period of two years, from October 1592 to the spring of 1594¹. Furthermore, the reason for Balthasar's premature departure remains obscure; most authors hint without further explanation at a clash between pupil and tutor or suggest that Balthasar seriously misbehaved. However, a careful examination of some primary sources preserved in the archives of the Museum Plantin Moretus, along with some letters from Justus Lipsius to his former pupil or to his father, clearly shows that Balthasar's career as a student at Louvain University was limited to only a few months, from October 1592 to the end of January 1593, when his father called him back home because he seemed physically unfit to cope with the demands of academic life.

In this contribution I not only hope to prove this point, but I will also publish some hitherto unedited letters and try to elucidate the so-called ‘mystery’ around Balthasar's departure from Louvain.

* I am grateful to T. Van Houdt for commenting on an earlier draft. Also, I would like to thank M. Laureys and T. Tunberg for correcting my English.

1 See e.g. BN (= Biographie Nationale, Brussels 1866-1986) 15,256; NBW (= Nationaal Biografisch Woordenboek, Brussels 1964) 5,620; M. Rooses, Le Musée Plantin-Moretus. Contenant la vie et l'oeuvre de Christophe Plantin et ses successeurs, les Moretus, ainsi que la description du musée et des collections qu'il renferme, Antwerp 1914, 273-275; M. Sabbe, De humanistische opleiding van Plantins Kleinkinderen, in: De Moretussen en hun kring, Antwerp 1928, 5-26; L. Voet, The Golden Compasses: a history and evaluation of the printing and publishing activities of the Officina Plantiniana at Antwerp, Amsterdam [etc.] 1969-1972, 202-207. Only A. Gerlo - H.D.L. Vervliet, La correspondance de Juste Lipse conservée au Musée Plantin-Moretus, Antwerp 1967, 44, 1; 286 gave the right period; yet they did not point out the discrepancy in time as found in the abovementioned sources.

[p. 112]

1. Balthasar's stay in Louvain

Balthasar Moretus, although born with a serious handicap - his right side was partly paralysed - showed himself a promising and talented boy. His father hoped he would be able to establish his son at the Officina Plantiniana as a corrector, as he explained in a letter to Benito Arias Montano². When the boy was eighteen, his father sent him to Louvain, where he was accepted as a commensalis, a member of the household, by Justus Lipsius, the well-known scholar who had reestablished himself in that city only two months before.

From the moment he left home, Balthasar kept in touch with his parents. As the six letters he sent them have already been edited by A. Gerlo and H.D.L. Vervliet³, there is no need to reprint them here. They are written quite neatly, in carefully polished Latin and presumably read by Lipsius, who in one letter pointed out an error in the use of tenses. Now and then, he inserts some quotations from the Bible or from Latin authors. As to their content, however, they show a rather young and naive mind, eager to please his parents and to be ‘a good boy’, sometimes very moralising, who also had a clear notion of the works edited or planned by the Officina Plantiniana.

On October 8, 1592, Balthasar left Antwerp by ship. Weather conditions, however, were so calm that the boat had to be rowed and the company had to spend the night on board in Willebroek, a small village near Mechelen. Balthasar complains that he hardly slept that night: the bed was hard, there was not enough space, one of his companions kept snoring. When arriving in Mechelen the next day, the carriage that should have carried him to Louvain had already left, so he had to delay another night, this time in Mechelen before finally arriving in Louvain⁴.

2 Cf. a letter dated October 18, 1590 (MPM, Arch. 10, f. 285).

3 Cf. A. Gerlo - H.D.L. Vervliet, La correspondance..., 286-294 (= documents 35-40 and 42), further on referred to as GVd with the number of the document.

4 Cf. GVd, 35-36, letters from October 10, and 16 (= MPM, Arch. 89, f. 13-14 and 3-4).

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A fortnight later, on November 2, Balthasar wrote again as follows⁵: the letter from home had comforted him; together with his brother Melchior he went to visit the librarian Sassen and talked about the books that Moretus was printing. They had a party on Lipsius's birthday; could his father give him some more details about his own day and year of birth? Furthermore, he asked his father to send him a copy of Homer's Ilias, of Demosthenes's Olynthiaca and of Pindar, all of them, if possible, with a blank page inserted; it would be a great help in his study of Greek. Lipsius had entrusted to him the transcription of his De Cruce and imposed him a time schedule⁶; he has his own room now and some repositories for his books (asseres).

The next letter⁷ can be dated more accurately. Gerlo-Vervliet proposed the end of November. However, as Balthasar mentioned that Lipsius was preparing his courses in proximam septimanam (for the next week), we can assume that the letter was written about November 24, for Lipsius held his Oratio at Louvain University on this day and intended to start his lessons a week later⁸. In the letter, Balthasar told his father that he would be reading Caesar and Florus with Lipsius and that he would attend the Greek lessons as soon as his copy of Pindar was available. In the rest of the letter he mentioned other works he had ordered to be bound or had bought or received, with a profusion of excuses for the expenses he imposed on his father. For the first time he mentioned he was suffering from a headache.

His next letter, written on November 30, dealt with the same themes: some more books he wanted to buy or had acquired, the succes of Lipsius with the students. He also mentioned having discussed with another student, Jan Bernaerts, the publication of his booklet⁹.

5 Cf. GVd, 37 (= MPM, Arch. 89, f. 17-18).

6 Cf. GVd, 21 (= MPM, Arch. 1150^a, f. 22-22v).

7 Cf. GVd, 22 (= MPM, Arch. 89, f. 9-12).

8 Cf. ILE V (= Iusti Lipsi Epistolae, pars V: 1592, ed. J. de Landtsheer-J. Kluyskens, Brussels 1991), 92 11 24 H, 5-6.

9 Jan Bernaerts (1568-1601), historiographer and editor of Statius (1595), became acquainted with Lipsius while studying Law at Louvain University. Cf. BN 2,273-274. The discussion was about Bernaerts's first publication, De utilitate legendae historiae libri duo, edited by the Officina Plantiniana in 1593. Cf. also ILE V, 92 09 06 (introd.) about the year of the editio princeps.

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From then on, Balthasar seemed to have been suffering from an unspecified illness, ‘in morbo nescio quo fui, uti opinor, iam per mensem’, as he formulated it at the end of December¹⁰. At the beginning of January, when offering his parents his New Year's wishes, he complained once more about his poor physical condition, that was also afflicting his mind and his spirit:

‘[Ego]..., cui et corporis firma valetudo et mentis sanitas hactenus defuere,... Omnia hic mihi videntur alia a morbo. Caussa huius morbi quae sit, nescio...’
‘[I]..., missing physical strenght and mental health,... Everything here seems me different because of my illness. Whatever its cause may be, I don't know,...¹¹

This was the last letter Balthasar wrote from Louvain.

In the meantime, Lipsius was very concerned about the health of his friend's son; he called upon his colleague Adrianus Romanus¹², mathematician and doctor, to cure Balthasar. Romanus's correspondence¹³ offers us some more details about the patient, for in January 1593 he wrote twice to Johannes Moretus about the condition of his son. In the first letter, dated January 7, he pointed out that the lingering of the illness was due to Balthasar's stubbornness:

‘Is bene satis iam valeret, si cerebro esset firmior. Malum hoc facile tolli potuisset, si modo aeger se nobis praebuisset obedientem.’
‘He would already feel much better, if his mind was stronger. It would have been easy to cure him, if only he had been obedient to us when ill.’¹⁴.

10 ‘I have been suffering from I do not know what illness, as I presume, for over a month now.’ Cf. GVd, 40 (= MPM, Arch. 89, f. 5-6); in the margin Lipsius added errat in tempore, wrong tense, as indeed the present perfect fui should have been the imperfect eram.

11 Cf. GVd, 42 (= MPM, Arch. 89, f. 19-20), undated but without doubt written on the occasion of New Year.

12 Adrianus Romanus (van Roomen) (1561-1615) studied Medicine in Cologne and Louvain, where he taught medicine and mathematics from about 1586 until the end of 1592. About March 20, 1593 he went to Würzburg University, where he was invited to teach medicine. Cf. BN 19,848-888.

13 Cf. P. Bockstaele, The Correspondence of Adriaan van Roomen, in: Lias, 3, 1976, 85-129; 249-299. Corrections and additions, 1594-1615, in: Lias, 19, 1992, 3-20.

14 Cf. Bockstaele, 99.

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Furthermore, he assured Moretus that Lipsius and his wife were treating Balthasar as if he were their own child and insisted that he should come himself to Louvain. Three days later, he warned Moretus that Balthasar's condition was growing worse, as he refused to take whatever medicine Romanus prescribed. The presence of Moretus was absolutely necessary, for he could try to make his son more reasonable¹⁵.

Even Melchior Moretus, Balthasar's elder brother, who was also studying in Louvain but not as a member of Lipsius's household, warned his father that Balthasar refused to take any medicine:

‘Petiit D[ominus] I[ustus] Lipsius ut, dilecte pater, ad fratrem Baltha[sa]rem (si saltem venturus non sis) quid scriberes eumque moneres ut pareat in sumendis potionibus et in iis, quae praescribuntur ac praecipiuntur ei servando. Hac enim in parte difficilis est’.
‘Dear Father, Master Justus Lipsius has asked that you, if you should not come, write a few words to Balthasar and admonish him to be obedient and take his potions and everything else that is been prescribed and ordered for his health.’¹⁶

At the end of January 1593, Johannes Moretus indeed spent a few days at Louvain, as is confirmed by several documents. On January 29, when he returned home, Lipsius wrote to his friend and confident, the Jesuit Martinus Antonius Delrio¹⁷, and excused himself for his long silence:

‘Sunt caussae: morbus Moreti filii, quem scis mihi fuisse a manu. In gravem enim et periculosum incidit, qui me et familiam non sollicitos solum habuit, sed occupatos. Pater deinde evocatus accessit, dies aliquot haesit; hodie abiit et cum illo silentium nostrum.’
‘I have my reasons: the illness of Moretus's son, who was my secretary, as you know. His condition was serious and perilous; my family and I were not only very concerned, but he kept us quite busy. His father, when called, came

15 Cf. Bockstaele, 100.

16 Cf. GVd, 41 (= MPM, Arch. 86, f. 413).

17 About Martinus Antonius Delrio, cf. BN 5, 476-491.

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and stayed for a few days. He left us today and with him our silence.’¹⁸

From a letter to the Antwerp bishop Laevinus Torrentius¹⁹, we also know that Moretus sr. left on the 29^th. Furthermore, Johannes noted in his accountbook the amount he had paid to Lipsius's wife Anna van den Calstere while in Louvain:

‘Pour aultant que estant a Louvain faisant compte avec mad[emoisel]le Lipsius...’
‘Account made with mrs. Lipsius when in Louvain...’²⁰

18 Cf. ILE VI (= Iusti Lipsi Epistolae, pars VI: 1593, ed. J. de Landtsheer, Brussels 1994), 93 01 29 D, 2-6.

19 Cf. ILE VI, 93 01 29 T².

20 Cf. GVd, 31,109-110 (= MPM, Arch. 21, f. 132). This item is added immediately after the amounts for the rent of Balthasar's room and the expenses for the doctor and some remedies, so there can be no doubt about the year.

2. The recovery

2.1. Farewell to Louvain

On February 10, 1593 Lipsius addressed another letter to Johannes Moretus, now back in Antwerp,²¹ to tell him that he met his son Melchior, who did not look very well either. There is not a word about Balthasar, what may seem rather strange if the boy, whose condition was so grave a forthnight before, was still living with Lipsius. So we may presume that in the meantime Balthasar had left Louvain, probably in the company of his father, as his condition did not allow him to travel alone. This hypothesis is supported by the account book Johannes Moretus and Lipsius kept, as will be explained further on²².

On May 30, 1593 Lipsius wrote once more to Johannes Moretus in Antwerp as follows: he had received a letter from Balthasar and sent him an answer; Johannes had to read it and make out whether he would pass it to his son:

‘Epistola fuit qualem legisti: ridicula, non tamen inepta, et in qua iudicii et memoriae certae notae. Quod rescrip-

21 Cf. ILE VI, 93 02 10 M.

22 Cf. infra, 2.3. The evidence of the accounts.

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si, tu leges et an dari conveniat, praesens iudicabis.’
‘The letter was as you have read it: ridiculous, but not stupid, and with some judgement and remembrance in it. You can read my answer and make up your mind whether it should be given to him.’²³

When examinating Lipsius's kind and carefully chosen words to Balthasar, it becomes clear that his former pupil was still not entirely recovered:

‘Mi Morete, quem quasi filium amavi atque amo, accepi litteras tuas sane laetus, quia nunciabant meliorem valetudinem tuam. Quam aeternus ille Deus, qui dare coepit, magis magisque instauret, opto et precibus eum rogo. Id quoque fiet, si tu mentem ad illum flectes, sed cum modo et reverentia, nec assidue in rerum etiam caelestium meditatione verseris. Nam mens nostra non semper attollenda est, nec corpusculi huius imbecillitas id ferat. Iterum dico, serva modum, et parentibus tuis ac medicis morigerum te praesta, cum in aliis, tum in iis, quae ad confirmationem sanitatis facere etiam videbuntur. Certe, ut scribis et agnoscis, gravis te morbus habuit, eoque is paulatim totus pellendus est et tollendus, ut tum denique possis Deo servire, parentibus tuis et tibi utilis esse...’
‘My dear Moretus, whom I loved and love as if you were my son, I have received your letter with gladness, for it announced me your recovery. I wish and pray the everlasting Lord, who granted this to you, to restore it more and more. And this will happen, if only you will turn your mind to Him, albeit with temperance and reverence, for you don't have to spent your time with perpetual meditation, not even about religious themes. Actually, we must not always raise our minds, nor can our poor weak body tolerate this. I repeat it once more: keep measure and show yourself complying to your parents and your doctors, especially in everything concerning your recovery. You certainly were severely ill, as you write and know, hence by little and little you have to banish and to remo-

23 Cf. ILE VI, 93 05 30 M¹. Unfortunately Balthasar's letter has been lost.

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ve your disease completely, and finally you will be able to serve the Lord and be profitable to your parents as to yourself.’²⁴

Both letters, however, prove quite clearly that in May 1593 Balthasar Moretus had left Louvain and was still recovering in Antwerp.

24 Cf. ILE VI, 93 05 30 M².

2.2. Back to normal life

Two hitherto unpublished documents dating from 1594 - a letter from Justus Lipsius to Paulus Monelia dated January 30, 1594²⁵ and another one addressed by Balthasar to his father on February 5, 1594²⁶ - clearly show that Balthasar had now completely recovered, that he was living in Antwerp and assisting his father with the editional work in the Officiana Plantiniana. Monelia²⁷, a promising young jurist of Italian origin but living in Antwerp, had asked Lipsius for his opinion about a treatise he was to publish. Lipsius approved of the project, at the same time admonishing his correspondent to go through it again, with the assistance, however, of Balthasar Moretus:

‘Praefationem itaque legi et remitto hoc monito, ut cum Balthazaro nostro relegas tua et interpungas ad usum typographici [sic].’
‘So I have read the Introduction and send it back with this remark however, that you should go through it once more with the aid of our dear Balthasar, and punctuate according to the usage of the textcomposer.’

Some days later, whilst Johannes spent a few days with his family in Rijsel, the city where he was born, on occasion of a marriage, Balthasar was occupying himself with the Plantin Presses and informed his father about some letters that had arrived.

25 Cf. Leiden, Univ. Bibl., ms. Lips. 3(12), f. 22, soon to be published as ILE 94 01 30 M in the seventh volume of Lipsius's correspondence.

26 MPM, Arch. 89, f. 15-16.

27 About Paulus Monelia, cf. ILE VI, 93 11 05 M.

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‘Dilecte plurimum Pater,
S[alutem] P[lurimam]. Etsi quod scriberem vix haberem, et te de omnibus rebus a Matre, tum ab aliis certiorem fieri non dubitarem, silere tamen nolui, quod meam quamvis de minima re epistolam non omnino ingratam tibi fore crederem. Pridie quam abieras a D[omino] Delrio litteras accepimus una cum indiculis, ut scis, libri sui. Placet ei character tertiae partis et est quem optabat. Tum etiam laudat correctores industriae, quod in hac parte operam diligentem dederint erroribus cavendis. Ante biduum a D[omino] Lipsio allatae nobis litterae cum prioribus foliis libri sui inscriptis amicis, sed mandat ut differamus distribuere ad octiduum, donec sua exemplaria compacta acceperit et miserit Bruxellas ad Ordines. Scripsi ad illum heri me credere iam ad manus suas illa devenisse. Porro ille de mittendis ad Caesaream aulam exemplaribus nobis innuit, quae debentur ex pacto Privilegii. Subdubitat etiam num Senatui Antverpiensi et Bruxellensi duo aut tria sint danda, quia pars sunt Ordinum. Cetera tu coram cognosces; neque enim festinant.
Frater Melchior huc appulit inexpectatus, sed gratus. Credo vos valere cum fratre Joanne et redituros spero huc incolumes, quod ab Omnipotenti Deo indies precor. Vale, Parens optime, et patruum fratremque a me saluta. Avunculo etiam isthic, amitae, omnibusque cognatis ac praesertim cognatae iam nuptae salutes dicito. Antverpiae, V Febr[uarii] 1594. Tui amantissimus filius Balthasar Moretus. [Adress:] Ornatissimo viro Ioanni Moreto, Patri suo plurimum dilecto. Insulas.’
‘Dearest Father,
Although there is not much for me to write and I am not doubting mother and the others will keep you informed about everything, I would not remain silent, for I believe that my letter, albeit about something less important, would not be unwelcome to you. The day before you left,

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we had a letter from Master Delrio which, as you know, included the Indices to his book²⁸. He is pleased with the typeface of the third part, that is entirely as he wished. He also praises the industriousness of the proofreaders who in that part spent much care to evade mistakes²⁹. Two days ago, a letter from Master Lipsius was brought to us³⁰, together with the title-pages of his book³¹ dedicated to his friends³², but he requires us to postpone the distribution for a week, until he has received his copies and sent them to Brussels, to the Council of Brabant³³. I answered him yesterday that I presumed they had already arrived in Louvain. Furthermore, he made a suggestion to us about sending some copies to the Emperor's Court, as

28 Delrio's Syntagma Tragicum in partes tres; the first volume, with parts 1 and 2 was due to appear at the end of 1593; the second volume, that contained the third part and the Indices to the entire work, was to appear about October 1594, as is proved by Moretus's sales catalogue (MPM, Ms. 39, f. 13) and by an unedited letter dated on October 7, 1594 (cf. MPM, Arch. 81, f. 299-300); here Delrio thanks Moretus for the six free copies he sent him.

29 The Officina Plantiniana was very famous for its careful and accurate editions.

30 This letter has not been preserved; neither has Balthasar's reply.

31 The work referred to is De Cruce Libri III ad sacram profanamque historiam utiles. Una cum Notis, Antwerp 1593. The date of issue of the editio princeps has been put forward in time; in Moretus' sales catalogue both the first edition and the second are mentioned in the year 1594, cf. MPM, Ms. 39, f. 13.

32 One of those front pages with a handwritten dedication from Lipsius still exists at the Antwerp Museum Plantin-Moretus, cat.nr. A 308. It is the copy he offered to Jan Brant, secretary of Antwerp and future father-in-law of Peter Paul Rubens. On the bottom margin, Lipsius noted: ‘Cl[arissimo] V[iro] Ioh[anni] Brantio Graphiario Antverpiae amicitiae caussa I[ustus] Lipsius misi.’ The right upper corner shows the signature of Philip Rubens, brother of the painter and one of Lipsius's commensales, so we can presume Brant offered his copy to the young humanist. In the ample correspondence of Lipsius, we find some letters he wrote to accompany his present, dated January 30 or the first days of February 1594. Among the names: the Antwerp Bishop Laevinus Torrentius and his nephew, Jan Lievens, Prince Bishop Ernest from Liège, Johannes Saracenus (Jean Sarazin), Abbott of St.-Vaast in Arras, some leaders of the government in Brussels,...

33 Johannes Moretus's account with Lipsius gives us some information about the distribution of the De Cruce: in Antwerp alone 41 copies were sent to friends and acquaintances all over the city. Cf. GVd, 32, p. 276-277 (= MPM, Arch. 21, f. 223).

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is requested in the Privilege³⁴. He is in doubt about presenting two or three books to the Council of Antwerp and Brussels, who are members of the Council of Brabant. About the other items you will learn as soon as you are here; there is nothing urgent.
My brother Melchior did arrive here yesterday quite unexspected, but not unwelcome! I hope that you are all right, together with my brother Joannes and I hope you will safely return, as I implore the Lord every day. Farewell, dearest father, and give my compliments to my uncle and my brother. Please say hello to my other uncle and my aunt, and all the family, especially the newly wed. Antwerp, the 5^th of February 1594.
Your most loving son, Balthasar.
[Adress:] To the illustrious Ioannes Moretus, my dearest father. Rijsel.’

Another proof that Balthasar was again his usual self, taking an interest in literature and poetry, can be found in Lipsius's De Cruce. Whenever a humanist was preparing a new work, his friends used to write a poem to praise the author's talents and merits or to win his goodwill. Among the liminary poetry in the De Cruce there is a tribute from Balthasar written in hendecasyllables³⁵.

34 On August 1, 1592 the Habsburg emperor Rudolph II granted Lipsius a privilege protecting the edition of his works in his dominions for a period of thirty years. About the privilege, cf. e.g. ILE V, 92 01 07, 4; 92 09 02,... The document still exists, cf. MPM, Arch., Priv. 1179, 277.

35 Cf. De Cruce, f. b3. We will not discuss here the literary merits of Balthasar's poem (non omnia possumus omnes); anyway, the quality certainly is not different from other verses he wrote on similar occasions.

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‘In clar[issimi] viri
Iusti Lipsi
De Cruce libros.

 

Lipsi, Palladiae decus coronae,

 

Lipsi, delicium novem Sororum

 

Quo nec est melior benigniorque:

 

Iam loquax nimium, nec aequa lingua,

 

Quae, vah, artibus abrogare sanctam

 

Virtutem solet ac politiori

 

Doctrinae, reprimetur illa, nam tu,

 

Qui doctissimus unus es virorum,

 

Unus es simul optimus virorum.

 

Est curae pietas, et ipsa virtus,

 

Hac doctrina velut politur auro.

 

Testes de Cruce sunto tres Libelli,

 

Docti, Iupiter, et pii libelli.

 

Coniunctam, bone lector, hic videre

 

Virtutem licet eruditioni.

Balthasar Moretus I[ohannis] F[ilius]’

Lipsius, jewel on Minerva's³⁶ crown,
Lipsius, the Nine Sisters's³⁷ delight,
Kinder or better than whom there is none,
Blabbering tongue and unequal language,
used, alas!, to repeal holy virtue
from arts and smoother knowledge,
will be restrained by you, for you,
who are absolutely the most learned of men,
are also the most excellent of men.

36 Minerva or Pallas Athena as the goddess and protector of wisdom and arts.

37 With ‘the Nine Sisters’ Balthasar is referring to the nine Muses, daughters from Jove and Mnemosyne.

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You take good care of piety, and virtue itself

 

shines by your knowledge as if out of gold.

 

May your three books De Cruce here be a testimony,

 

Learned books, by Jove, and pious ones.

 

You can find here, dear reader,

 

virtue united with erudition.

As De Cruce was brought out near the end of January 1594, this implies that Balthasar was able to reach for his quill to compose some Latin verses some time before the end of 1593. Later on, in an answer to Moretus dated September 12, 1594, Lipsius expressed his joy:

‘Gaudeo Balthasarem nostrum talem esse qualem scribis, quod ego quoque ex litteris eius video, constanter et bono iudicio scriptis.’
‘I am very happy that our dear Balthasar is carrying on as you tell me, a fact I also deduce out of his letters, written with solid common sense.’³⁸

38 Cf. GV 30, r. 19-21 (= ILE 94 09 12, soon to be published in the seventh volume of Lipsius' correspondence). Unfortunately, Balthasar's letters are lost.

2.3. The evidence of the accounts

Furthermore, a closer examination of the abovementioned financial settlement between Moretus and Lipsius may also confirm our hypothesis, as well as reveal the reason for the erroneous interpretation put forth by earlier scholars.

For the period between June 1591 and April 1594, Johannes noted the following items on Lipsius's credit³⁹:

-	Pour aultant quil avoit payé pour la compte de la pour Balthasar 5 florins. For what he paid on account over there for Balthasar 5 florins.
-	Pour Balthasar jusques a Noel 30 florins et sa rente 50 fl.

39 Cf. GVd, 31, p. 275-276 (= MPM, Arch. 21, f. 132); we will only mention the items relevant to our problem.

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	For Balthasar until Christmas, 30 florins and his interests 50 fl.
-	Item pour Balthasar depuis Noel p[our] Janvier 12 florins y compris les menutes oubliées. Also for Balthasar since Christmas for January 12 florins, some small forgotten expenses included.
-	Pour ce que pouvoit estre oublie en ce que estoit desbourse pour mon fils Balthasar val[eur] 9 fl. 8 1/2 st. For everything that could be forgotten and that has been paid for my son Balthasar an amount of 9 fl. 8 1/2 st.

Until April 10, 1594, he only entered five times the sum of 50 florins for some non specified interests paid out to Lipsius, the same rent as he added when first paying for Balthasar's rooms.

Because the page was full, he referred to f. 223⁴⁰, which covers a period between January 1594 and March 1595. Here he noted on Lipsius's credit:

-	pour rente exspirante ad. 10 Julii 1594 50 florins.
-	for the interest exspiring on July 10, 1594, 50 florins.
-	Item exposuit pro filio pour despens debourse et aultres menutes de quelques mois chez Schellekens flor. XLVII st. XIII val[eur] voor syn selfs costen gedaen.

He also spent out of his own pocket 47 flor. 13 st. for my son to cover expenses and other small costs for a few months with Schellekens.

So, in his first account touching on a period when both Melchior and Balthasar certainly lived in Louvain, but not in the same place, Johannes Moretus always referred to ‘my son Balthasar’ or ‘Balthasar’, whereas in the middle of 1594, we are confronted with the mere ‘my son’, whose expenses were forwarded by Lipsius to a further unknown ‘Schellekens’. Taking into account the aforementioned unedited letters from Lipsius to Monelia and from Balthasar to his father, which prove that Balthasar was living and working in the Plantin Presses in Antwerp since January 1594,

40 Cf. GVd, 32, p. 278.

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we can assume that the ‘my son’ from 1594 is a reference not to Balthasar, but to his elder brother Melchior, who at that time was still studying in Louvain. We presume that M. Rooses and others who examined Johannes Moretus's accounts after him, took it for granted that ‘my son’ still referred to Balthasar, unacquainted as they were with the information offered by the correspondence of both the Moretusses and Lipsius. Maybe they even interpreted the interests, paid out every three months to Lipsius, as the bill Lipsius sent for Balthasar's lodgings. Anyway, a rent that would equal almost a third of Lipsius's earnings as a professor, would be quite unreasonable.

An objection that Balthasar could have returned to Louvain in the course of 1594 after his recovery could be countered by taking into account the still unedited correspondence from Melchior Moretus with his family. For the period between January 5 and July 9, 1594 we found eight letters he wrote to both his brothers, Balthasar and Joannes jr., or to Balthasar alone⁴¹. Always the destination is Antwerp. In a letter of March 15 he even mentioned:

‘Amicos hic, frater Balthasar, tuo nomine salutavi; te resalutant et gaudent te firma frui valetudine.’
‘I said hello to our friends here in your name, my brother Balthasar; they send you their compliments and rejoice in your good health’.

On the other hand, another of Lipsius's letters to Moretus written in October 1594⁴², shows that the Louvain scholar, although Melchior was no member of his household, nevertheless felt responsible for his friend's son. The young Moretus had to visit Lipsius regularly and to discuss with him the progress of his studies and his further plans. This suggests that now and then Lipsius forwarded him a certain amount of money he needed to cover his expenses.

41 Cf. MPM, Arch. 89, 473-474 (January 5); 485-486 (March 15); 487-488 (April 27); 489-490 (April 19); 491-492 (May 1); 495-496 (May 3); 497-498 (June 2); 499-500 (July 9). We hope to edit this correspondence in a few years.

42 Cf. GV 31 (= ILE 94 10 10). In this letter Lipsius informs Johannes about his son's ambition to become a Jesuit, a wish he had not yet dared to tell his parents.

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3. Two undated Dutch letters from Balthasar

To conclude this study about the short period before Balthasar Moretus settled down definitively in Antwerp and became gradually fully occupied with the Plantin Presses, two more letters need to be considered⁴³. Both of them are written - or rather scribbled down - in Dutch by a repentent Balthasar who apparently was then living in Antwerp, albeit not with his parents, so that he compares himself twice to the prodigal son. The tone tends to be childish and bears witness to a rather unbalanced mind.

Although both letters are undated, it seems reasonable to situate them within a strictly limited period, considering their subject. In the first, unpublished letter Balthasar is referring to his ‘disobedience’ due to illness; he is very ashamed about his misbehaviour and implores his parents to forgive him and accept him back home.

‘Eersaeme ende seer wel beminde Vader ende Moeder.
Ist dat sake dat ick soo grootelyck tegen u heb misdaen, dat ick niet weerdich en ben u te comen besuecken, princepalyck op de kermissetijdt, soo bid ick ootmoedelyck dat u believe mij te vergeven de ongehoorsaemheyt in myn sieckte, de welcke waerachtich voor Godt geen sonde en is. Nochtans heb ick daerom dicwils ghesuecht. Den almoegenden Godt spreckt deur den prophet: “Ist dat den sondaer een suecht om synen sonden, ick en sal syn sonden niet meer gedachtich wesen”; hoe lanck sal ick suechten ende ghy die aertsche vaders syt, en sult niet vergeven? Den verloren son als hij soo grootelyck voor Godt ende synen Vader hadt gesondicht, nochtans heeft hy nae dat hy hem bekerde in ghenade ontfanghen gheweest⁴⁴. Wanneer salt wesen dat ghy liden my sult ontfangen in u huys? Aengaende van my, ick beloeve U L[ie-

43 MPM, Arch. 89, f. 1 (in 4^o)- 2 (in f^o).

44 Cf. Vulg. Lc. 15, 11-32.

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den] alle ghehoorsaemheyt te toonen, ghelyck ick altydt metter waerheyt heb ghedaen.
Soo dan, beminde Vader en Moeder, bidde ick seer hertelyck dat U L[ieden] my believe in enaede te ontfanghen ende in u huys, ende beloeve daer op dat ick U L[ieden] nimmermeer rebel en sal vallen, maer doen dat ghy ghebiet ende laten dat ghy verbiet. Hiermede blyft den Heere bevolen, die U wilt verleenen salicheyt aen ziele ende lichaem.
Uwen beminden sone Baltahsar Mourentorf.’

The answer seems to have been positive, for in the second letter⁴⁵, he is very eager to agree to his parents' conditions. He assures them that he will do as he is told; he will assist his father in the printing business, will never go out without telling them, in one word he will become a rare and most perfect example of obedience. He prefers the reconciliation to be ‘today, rather then tomorrow’, so that he can prepare himself to confession and Holy Communion. He will also hold an ‘oration’, so as to eliminate all criticism against himself or even against Lipsius. With his parents' permission, he announces that he will arrive the following noon.

Eersaeme ende seer wel beminde Vader ende Moeder.
Ick heb verstaen dat U L[ieden] belieft my thuys te nemen, ter conditien dat ick U L[ieden] belove alle gehoorsaemheyt in alle saken, hoedanich dat sy soude mogen wesen. Het welcke ick gheerne belove, ende oock gheerne sal volbrengen, want ick deur dese deucht niet alleen U L[ieden], maer oock Godt den almoegenden Vader can behagen, ende ick weet daeren boven dat ick schier oft morgen sulckx van myn kinders sal ontfangen, als ghy liden van my het ontfangen.

45 Although this letter has already been published by Sabbe, op. cit., 21-22, we will reprint this text as the transcription of the Dutch is not always accurate.

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Daerom, beminde Vader ende Moeder, belove ick U L[ieden] met een groote vasticheyt ende versekeringe dat ick altemal sal volbrengen, daer ick U can mede behagen, ende laten daer ick u mede souwe mishagen.
In den eersten, ter gesetter tydt sal ick maken in den winckel te wesen ende doen daer al dat U L[ieden] my sal gebien. Ten tweeden en sal ick niet utgaen sonder u lidens consent, tsy veere oft by. Ten derden sal ick nu te meerder gehoorsaem wesen, hoe dat ick u te meer rebel heb gevallen in myn sieckte ende sal gelyc het behoorlyck is, swygen van al dat in myn sieckte soude mogen geschiet syn, ut non sopitos⁴⁶ suscitem ignes.
Soo dan, beminde Vader en Moeder, bid ick u seer ootmoedelyck dat ghy liden mij oock wilt in genade ontfangen, gelyck den verloren son, als hy hem bekeerde, ontfangen is gheweest van synen vader. Iae, ist dat u believe, liever nu dan morgen op dat ick my gereet make tot de biechte ende theylych Sacrament te ontfangen, het welck ick nauwelickx binnen een jaer heb ghedaen, ende oock tot een oratie, de welcke daerom sueck te eer te hebben, op dat ick sommige den mont stoppe, die my blammeren, iae oock mijn heer Lipsium mede. Zou synder alreede die my berispen eer dat sy weten iet van mijn gheleertheyt, maer ick verstroot my hier in, dat ick sien dat die gheleerste mannen met my tselfste moeten lyden.
[[Hier mede]], Aengaende van oratien te hebben, heeft my geraden de geestelycheyt ende namentlyck pater Berganie. Hiermede recommander ick my seer aen u goede gratie, biddende Godt dat hy u liden wilt verleenen salicheyt aen ziele ende lichaem.
T'Antwerpen. Uwen onderdanigen sone Balthasar Mourentorf.
Ick bidde u dan, beminde Vader ende Moeder, dat u believe my thuys te laten comen voor den noen met mynen weert Jacop ende sr. Rogier te noenmael. Soo en hoeft het meysen my niet meer entwat te brengen.

46 Balthasar quotes Verg. Aen. 5,743; Sabbe reads the non-existing word soritos.

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Siet hier een antwoorde tegen die my benyden sonder reden.
[Adres:] Aen synen eersamen ende seer wel beminde Vader, Jan Mourentorf, ende Moeder, Martina Plantin. T'Antwerpen.

The circumstances discussed in those letters seem to point to August 1593 as the date of composition. As to the year, the reference to a long lasting disease, rebellious behaviour and disobedience seem to refer to the same symptoms as discussed above in the letters from Adrianus Romanus and Melchior, dated January 1593.

So, I assume that the alarmed Moretus went to Louvain and, when he realised Balthasar's condition, took him home. Even there it took some time before Balthasar proved more reasonable and allowed himself to be cured; some details even clearly show that for a while Balthasar had to leave his family and that his parents flatly refused to see him.

The turning point came in August, as is suggested by the first letter in Dutch, where Balthasar complains about not being allowed to visit his parents on the occasion of the fair⁴⁷. Even after four centuries, the Antwerp fair is still held on August 15! So around that time, Balthasar longed for his home; he confessed his guilt, showed repentence and tried to get his parents to forgive and forget everything. Since several sources dating from January 1594 and afterwards confirm both Balthasar's growing interest in the Plantin Presses and the fact that his father seemed to trust him as his assistant, I am inclined to date these letters to August 1593.

Faculteit Letteren

K.U. Leuven

Blijde-Inkomststraat 21

B-3000 Leuven

47 Cf. r. 2-3.