Volume 1 of 2. The facts as they have been left to us by Erasmus, and which Mr. Mangan has here gathered together in compact form, give us an Erasmus far different from this imagined one. In presenting this study of the life and activities of Erasmus to the public, the author realizes that it differs in many respects from the conventional biography of him to which we have become accustomed. This has been less a matter of intent than a direct consequence of the plan which Mangan followed throughout the work: of having him speak for himself always, rather than attempting to interpret his at times so kaleidoscopic mind.