De discrimine adulatorio et amici (MS Add.6858)

In 1513, while he was at Cambridge, the great humanist scholar Erasmus dedicated to Henry VIII his translation from Greek into Latin of Plutarch's De discrimine adulatoris et amici (How to tell a flatterer from a friend). Written by a professional scribe, this manuscript is almost certainly a presentation copy. In the dedicatory letter Erasmus expressed his hope that the treatise would be useful to the King and it is likely he was trying to warn Henry against following the advice of flattering councillors who had advocated the war against France. Henry apparently at first forgot about the gift but later on paid Erasmus sixty angels as a reward.