702 ERARD ERASMUS accuracy of thus employing several decimals, in cases where the process by which the result has been obtained is liable to errors of con- siderable magnitude, was long since pointed out by Erdmann, who called attention to the fact that no greater or lesser number of deci- mals ought to be given than the experiment justifies. All tables of equivalents heretofore published are more or less defective from neg- lect of this truth. The equivalent numbers have been thoroughly investigated and revised by Dumas, who has again brought forward and upheld Prout's theory, which, owing to the vigorous opposition of Berzelius, had found but few supporters of late years. Most of the equivalents thus far studied by Dumas are simple multiples of tbat of hydrogen. To this rule there are, however, several exceptions; among which some are multiples of one half, while others are multiples of one quarter of an equivalent of hydrogen. It is still a subject of discussion whether the equivalents of several of the elements should not be regarded as twice, or that of oth,ers as one half of those ordinarily admitted. This change would greatly simplify certain portions of chemical science, and many chemists habitually employ equivalents thus modified. ERARD, Sebastien, a French manufacturer of musical instruments, born in Strasburg, April 5, 1752, died in Passy near Paris, Aug. 5, 1831. He went to Paris at the age of 16, and ap- prenticed himself to a maker of harpsichords. He soon acquired great reputation for skill, was dismissed by his master from jealousy, had a workshop fitted up for him in the hotel of the duchess de Villeroi, and here in 1780 constructed his first pianoforte, an instrument which, though invented a number of years pre- viously, and in use in Germany and England, was then almost unknown in France. In con- nection with his brother Jean Baptiste, he soon after established a manufactory of piano- fortes in Paris, which gradually became the first in Europe. During the revolutionary period the brothers firard went to England, and estab- lished a manufactory of pianos and harps in London ; but in 1796 Sebastien returned to Paris. He constructed the first grand pianos with single action ever made in Paris ; in 1808 he much improved the mechanism of the in- strument, and in 1823 completed his inventions in this department by the production of his grand piano with repeating movement. Among his many other inventions was his celebrated double-action harp. The celebrity which his instruments gained remains undiminished, and rard pianos are still unsurpassed for roundness, fulness, and beauty of tone. He was succeeded in the firm by his nephew JEAN BAPTISTE OE- PHEE PIERRE, born in Paris in 1794, died in Passy, Aug. 3, 1855. He possessed much of the inventive skill of his uncle; published in 1849 Notice sur les pianos d'&rard en Epagne, en Italic, en Suisse, en Russie, &c. ; and rebuilt in 1850 the organ constructed by Sebastien Erard in the Tuileries, which had been de- stroyed during the revolution of 1830. His death is said to have been caused by grief at the injury done to his estate at Passy by the construction of a railway. ERASMUS, Desiderius, a Dutch theological and classical scholar and writer, born in Rotter- dam, Oct. 28, 1467, died in Basel, July 12, 1536. He was the natural son of Gerard Praet and Margaret, the daughter of a physician of Sevenbergen. He himself received the name of Gerard, but afterward assumed its Latin synonyme Desiderius, the Greek translation of which ('Epdcr//<of) furnished his surname. He was sent first to the school of Gouda, and afterward to the cathedral at Utrecht to .be- come one of the choir boys. At the age of nine he was transferred to the monastic school at Deventer, where he studied the classics. In 1480 both his parents died, and his tutors sent him to the school of Romboldus at Bois-le-Duc, that he might fit himself for the priesthood. For some years he resisted their wishes, and neglected the studies which they arranged for him ; but in 1486 he was persuaded by a friend who had just come back from Italy to embrace a life so free from excitement and so favorable to study, and entered the convent of Stein near Gouda. The discipline was not strict. Erasmus was allowed to study other than theological treatises, and his reputation as a classical scholar was soon widely spread. In 1492 he was selected as a companion by the bishop of Cambrai, and was ordained to the priesthood. Erasmus remained with his patron at Cambrai five years, when he went to study at the college of Montaigu in Paris, where he supported himself by taking pupils. His stud- ies were interrupted by serious sickness, which left in him the seeds of a malady from which he suifered all the rest of his life. Among his numerous pupils was a young English noble- man, William Blount, Lord Montjoy, by whom he was promised a pension of 100 crowns if he would take up his residence in England. His two years' stay in that country was made pleasant by the attentions of the nobility and the friendship of the most eminent English scholars. He was presented at court, studied at Cambridge and Oxford, became the associate of More and Colet, and acquired a thorough knowl- edge of Greek. For several years after his return from England he led an unsettled life, teaching in various cities of France and Hol- land, translating the ancient classics, investiga- ting the text of the Scriptures, and increasing his acquaintance with the scholars of Europe. In 1505 he again visited England, and received from Cambridge the degree of bachelor in theology. The presents received in England made it possible for him to visit Italy, where his stay lasted nearly three years. At Turin the degree of doctor of theology was conferred upon him. In Venice he resided with the famous printer Aldus Manutius while his col- lection of "Adages" was in press. In Rome
