Page:History of the German people at the close of the Middle Ages vol1.djvu/82

70 HISTORY OF THE GERMAN PEOPLE his coffin with weeping and lamentation. He left nothing but his books and his clothes behind him. It has been said that the Germans may well be proud of the learned piety, singular modesty, and fruitful energy of Hegius ; for, at a time when Italy could boast of so many brilliant scholars, he was the solitary ray that illumined the beginning of classical culture in the Fatherland. But Hegius was by no means an isolated example in this respect amongst the learned professors of his time. His fundamental prin- ciple, ' All learning gained at the expense of religion is only pernicious,' was adhered to by nearly all those teachers who either laboured contemporaneously with him as promoters of classical studies, or continued the work as his pupils and disciples. Many of these, such as the Westphalians Eudolph von Langen, Ludwig Dringenberg, Conrad Goclenius, Tilmann Kamener, Joseph Horlenius, won great esteem in popular educa- tion and science. Amongst the German principalities, Westphalia undeniably took the lead in care for edu- cation. ' No other race of mortal men,' wrote Erasmus once to Sir Thomas More, ' deserves such praise for its perseverance in labour, for its believing spirit, for its moral purity, for its simple cleverness, and its clever simplicity as the Westphalians.' 'Such abundant grace has been poured out over this land,' says Werner Eolewink, ' that when once it has received the Faith it has never fallen back. Nowhere do we read of any school of heretics spring- ing up there. Whether with regard to religious faith or purity of morals, it will always be found that West- phalia, by the grace of God, has ever been abundantly supplied. In the labour of the hand as in the preach-