eyes to discern the greatness of Hobbes, whom the Dean considered no
better than a Deist or an Atheist. The Dean therefore calmly altered
all that Wood had written of the Philosopher of Malmesbury, and so
maligned Hobbes that the old man, meeting the King in Pall Mall,
begged leave to reply in his own defence. Charles allowed the
dispute to go on, and Hobbes hit Fell rather hard. The Dean retorted
with the famous expression about irritabile illud et vanissimum
Malmesburiense animal. This controversy amused Oxford, but bred bad
feeling between Antony Wood and Dick Peers, the translator of his
work, and the tool of the Dean of Ch. Ch. Prideaux (Letters to John
Ellis; Camden Society, 1875) describes the battles in city taverns
between author and translator:


"I suppose that you have heard of the continuall feuds, and often
battles, between the author and the translator; they had a skirmish
at Sol Hardeing [keeper of a tavern in All Saints' parish], another
at the printeing house [the Sheldonian theatre], and several other
places."


From the record of these combats, we learn that the recluse Antony
was a man of his hands:


"As Peers always cometh off with a bloody nose or a black eye, he was
a long time afraid to goe annywhere where he might chance to meet his
too powerful adversary, for fear of another drubbing, till he was
pro-proctor, and now Woods (sic) is as much afraid to meet him, least
he should exercise his authority upon him. And although he be a good