ther dissatisfied with Bruno, who as a Paris graduate had begun to
play the fine gentleman, and was spending his money handsomely, as
other young men have been known to do. The vigorous, straightforward
old printer had made the money himself by steady hard work, and he had
no intention of letting his son take life too easily. So he wrote him
a piece of his mind, in fine, forcible Latin.

JOHN AMORBACH TO HIS ELDEST SON, BRUNO, IN PARIS: from Basle, 23 July
1507.

'I cannot imagine, Bruno, what you do, to spend so much
money.[22] You took with you 7 crowns; and supposing that you
spent 2, or at the outside 3, on your journey, you must have
had 4 left--unless perhaps you paid for your companion, which I
did not tell you to do. Very likely his father has more money
than I have, but does not give it to him; no more do I give you
money to pay for other people. It is quite enough for me to
support you and your brothers, indeed more than enough.

Then, directly you reached Paris, you received 12 crowns from
John Watensne. Also you had 9 for your horse, as you say in
your letter. Also 9 more from John Watensne, which I paid to
Wolfgang Lachner at the Easter fair at Frankfort; also 15 at
midsummer. Add these together and you will see that you have
had 52 crowns in 9 months.

Perhaps you imagine that money comes to me anyhow. You know
that for the last two years I have not been printing. We are
living upon capital, the whole lot of us.[23] I have to provide
for my household.[24] I have to provide for your brother Basil,
and for Boniface, whom I have sent to Schlettstadt. I ought,
too, to do something for your sister: for several sober and
honourable men are at me about her, and I do not like to be
unfair towards her. So just remember that you are not the only
one.

You may take it for sure that I cannot, and will not, give you
more than 22 or 23 crowns a year, or at the most 24. If you can
live on that at Paris, well: I will undertake to let you have
it for some years. But if it is not enough, come home and I
will feed you at my table. Think it over and let me know by the
next messenger: or else come yourself.

I have been told on good authority that in the town (lodgings,
as opposed to a college) one can live quite decently on 16 or
at most 20 crowns: also that