Page:Lives of British Physicians.djvu/23

LINACRE. have long been enjoyed by him ; but he probably continued his instruction of the Spanish princess for many years. The Infanta, we know, instead of returning to her father, Ferdinand, was con- tracted, after the death of his elder brother, to Prince Henry, and lived long enough to regret the mercenary pohcy of the king, who, it is said, was induced to form this ill-omened alliance, by his unwillingness to return Catharine's dowry, amounting to two hundred thousand ducats. The reputation of Linacre, employed as a court physician, continued to increase, and in the reign of Henry VHI. he appears to have stood above all rivalship at the head of his profession. Be- sides his medical skill, his attainments as a scholar must have mainly contributed to his eminence ; for the countenance given to letters by Henry VIII. and his ministers, rendered learning fashionable in England. Erasmus speaks, with great satisfac- tion, of the general regard shown at this time in Britain by the nobility and gentry to men of knowledge. Writing to one of his correspondents from Brussels — Literature," says he, " would triumph here also, if we had in this country a prince like the king of England, who, well in- formed himself, and of an acute understanding, openly protects men of letters ; besides the Cardi- nal of York (Wolsey) encourages, by every means in his power, a love of letters, as also does the Reverend the Cardinal Campeggio, who is himself an excellent and most learned man. The palace of the king of England," he concludes, " contains more men of erudition than any academy." Linacre employed the wealth and influence,