=The Cabinet.=
OUTLINE OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Condemn the daies of elders great or small,
And then blurre out the course of present tyme:
Cast one age down, and so doe orethrow all,
And burne the bookes of printed prose or ryme:
Who shall beleeve he rules, or she doth reign,
In tyme to come, if writers loose their paine
The pen records tyme past and present both:
Skill brings foorth bookes, and bookes is nurse to troth.
CHURCHYARD'S _Worthiness of Wales_
p. 18, edit. 1776.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
=The Cabinet.=
OUTLINE OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Tout autour oiseaulx voletoient
Et si tres-doulcement chantoient,
Qu'il n'est cueur qui n'ent fust ioyeulx.
Et en chantant en l'air montoient
Et puis l'un l'autre surmontoient
A l'estriuee a qui mieulx mieulx.
Le temps n'estoit mie mieulx.
De bleu estoient vestuz les cieux,
Et le beau Soleil cler luisoit.
Violettes croissoient par lieux
Et tout faisoit ses deuoirs tieux
Comme nature le duisoit.
OEUVRES DE CHARTIER, Paris, 1617, 4to. p. 594.
Such is the lively description of a spring morning, in the opening of
Alain Chartier's "_Livre des quatre dames_;" and, excepting the
violets, such description conveyed a pretty accurate idea of the
scenery which presented itself, from the cabinet window, to the eyes
of Lysander and Philemon.
PHIL. How delightful, my dear friend, are the objects which we have
before our eyes, within and without doors! The freshness of the
morning air, of which we have just been partaking in yonder field, was
hardly more reviving to my senses than is the sight of this exquisite
cabinet of bibliographical works, adorned with small busts and
whole-length figures from the antique! You see these precious books
are bound chiefly in Morocco, or Russia leather: and the greater part
of them appear to be printed upon _large paper_.
LYSAND. Our friend makes these books a sort of hobby-horse, and
perhaps indulges his vanity in them to excess. They are undoubtedly
useful in their way.
PHIL. You are averse then to the study of bibliography?
LYSAND. By no means. I have already told you of my passion for books,
and cannot, therefore, dislike bibliography. I think, with Lambinet,
that the greater part of bibliographical works are sufficiently dry
and soporific:[95] but I am not insensible to the utility, and even
entertainment, which may result from a proper cultivation of
it--although both De Bure and Peignot appear to me to have gone
greatly beyond the mark, in lauding this study as "one of the most
attractive and vast pursuits in which the human mind can be
engaged."[96]
[Footnote 95: _Recherches, &c., sur l'Origine de
l'Imprimerie_: Introd. p. x. Lambinet adds very justly,
"L'art consiste à les rendre supportables par des objets
variés de littérature, de critique, d'anecdotes," &c.]
[Footnote 96: See the "Discours sur la Science
Bibliographique," &c., in the eighth volume of De Bure's
_Bibl. Instruct._ and Peignot's _Dictionnaire Raisonné de
Biblilolgie_, [Transcriber's Note: Bibliologie] vol. i. p.
50. The passage, in the former authority, beginning "Sans
cesse"--p. xvj.--would almost warm the benumbed heart of a
thorough-bred mathematician, and induce him to exchange his
Euclid for De Bure!!]
PHIL. But to know what books are valuable and what are worthless;
their intrinsic and extrinsic merits; their rarity, beauty, and
particularities of various kinds; and the estimation in which they are
consequently held by knowing men--these things add a zest to the
gratification we feel in even looking upon and handling certain
volumes.
LYSAND. It is true, my good Philemon; because knowledge upon any
subject, however trivial, is more gratifying than total ignorance; and
even if we could cut and string cherry-stones, like Cowper's rustic
boy, it would be better than brushing them aside, without knowing that
they could be converted to such a purpose. Hence I am always pleased
with Le Long's reply to the caustic question of Father Malebranche,
when the latter asked him, "how he could be so foolish as to take such
pains about settling the date of a book, or making himself master of
trivial points of philosophy!"--"Truth is so delightful," replied Le
Long, "even in the most trivial matters, that we must neglect nothing
to discover her." This reply, to a man who was writing, or had
written, an essay upon truth was admirable. Mons. A.G. CAMUS, a good
scholar, and an elegant bibliographer, [of whom you will see some
account in "_Les Siecles Litteraires de la France_,"] has, I think,
placed the study of bibliography in a just point of view; and to his
observations, in the first volume of the "_Memoires de l'Institut
National_," I must refer you.[97]
[Footnote 97: Lysander had probably the following passage
more particularly in recollection; which, it must be
confessed, bears sufficiently hard upon fanciful and
ostentatious collectors of books. "[Il y a] deux sortes de
connoissance des livres: l'une qui se renferme presque
uniquement dans les dehors et la forme du livre, pour
apprécier, d'après sa date, d'après la caractère de
l'impression, d'après certaines notes, quelquefois seulement
d'après une erreur typographique, les qualités qui le font
ranger dans la classe des livres rares où curieux, et qui
fixent sa valeur pecuniaire: l'autre genre de connoissance
consiste à savoir quels sont les livres les plus propres à
instruire, ceux où les sujets sont le plus clairement
présentés et le plus profondement discutés; les ouvrages à
l'aide desquels il est possible de saisir l'origine de la
science, de la suivre dans ses développemens, d'atteindre le
point actuel de la perfection. Sans doute il seroit
avantageux que ces deux genres de connoisances fussent
toujours réunis: l'expérience montre qu'ils le sont
rairement; l'expérience montre encore que le premier des
deux genres a été plus cultivé que le second. Nous
possédons, sur l'indication des livres curieux et rares, sur
les antiquités et les bijoux litteraires, si l'on me permet
d'employer cette expression, des instructions meilleures que
nous n'en avons sur les livres propres à instruire
foncièrement des sciences. En recherchant la cause de cette
difference, on la trouvera peut-être dans la passion que des
hommes riches et vains ont montrée pour posséder des livres
sans être en état de les lire. Il a fallu créer pour eux une
sorte de bibliotheque composée d'objets qui, sous la forme
exterieure de livres, ne fussent réellement que des raretés,
des objets de curiosité, qu'on ne lit pas, mais que tantôt
on regarde avec complaisance, tantôt en montre avec
ostentation; et comme après cela c'est presque toujours le
goût des personnes en état de récompenser qui dirige le but
des travailleurs, on ne doit pas être surpris qu'on se soit
plus occupé d'indiquer aux hommes riches dont je parle, des
raretés à acquérir, ou de vanter celles qu'ils avoient
rassemblées, que de faciliter, par des indications utiles,
les travaux des hommes studieux dont on n'attendoit aucune
récompense." _Memoires de l'Institut_, vol. i. 664. See also
the similar remarks of Jardé, in the "Précis sur les
Bibliotheques," prefixed to Fournier's _Dict. portatif de
Bibliographie_, edit. 1809.
Something like the same animadversions may be found in a
useful book printed nearly two centuries before: "Non enim
cogitant quales ipsi, sed qualibus induti vestibus sint, et
quanta pompa rerum fortunæque præfulgeant--sunt enim omnino
ridiculi, qui in nuda librorum quantumvis selectissimorum
multitudine gloriantur, et inde doctos sese atque admirandos
esse persuadent." Draudius: _Bibliotheca Classica_, ed.
1611. Epist. ad. Lect. Spizelius has also a good passage
upon the subject, in his description of Book-Gluttons
("Helluones Librorum"): "cum immensa pené librorum sit
multitudo et varietas, fieri non potest, quin eorum opibus
ditescere desiderans (hæres), non assiduam longamque
lectionem adhibeat." _Infelix Literatus_, p. 296, edit.
1680, 8vo.]
PHIL. I may want time, and probably inclination, to read these
observations: and, at any rate, I should be better pleased with your
analysis of them.
LYSAND. That would lead me into a wide field indeed; and, besides, our
friend--who I see walking hastily up the garden--is impatient for his
breakfast; 'tis better, therefore, that we satisfy just now an
appetite of a different kind.
PHIL. But you promise to renew the subject afterwards?
LYSAND. I will make no such promise. If our facetious friend LISARDO,
who is expected shortly to join us, should happen to direct our
attention and the discourse to the sale of MALVOLIO'S busts and
statues, what favourable opportunity do you suppose could present
itself for handling so unpromising a subject as bibliography?
PHIL. Well, well, let us hope he will not come: or, if he does, let us
take care to carry the point by a majority of votes. I hear the gate
bell ring: 'tis Lisardo, surely!
Three minutes afterwards, Lisardo and myself, who met in the passage
from opposite doors, entered the Cabinet. Mutual greetings succeeded:
and, after a hearty breakfast, the conversation was more
systematically renewed.
LIS. I am quite anxious to give you a description of the fine things
which were sold at Malvolio's mansion yesterday! Amongst colossal
Minervas, and pigmy fauns and satyrs, a magnificent set of books, in
ten or twelve folio volumes (I forget the precise number) in Morocco
binding, was to be disposed of.
LYSAND. The Clementine and Florentine museums?
LIS. No indeed--a much less interesting work. A catalogue of the
manuscripts and printed books in the library of the French king, Louis
the fifteenth. It was odd enough to see such a work in such a sale!
PHIL. You did not probably bid ten guineas for it, Lisardo?
LIS. Not ten shillings. What should I do with such books? You know I
have a mortal aversion to them, and to every thing connected with
bibliographical learning.
PHIL. That arises, I presume, from your profound knowledge of the
subject; and, hence, finding it, as Solomon found most pursuits,
"vanity of vanities, and vexation of spirit."
LIS. Not so, truly! I have taken an aversion to it from mere whim and
fancy: or rather from downright ignorance.
PHIL. But I suppose you would not object to be set right upon any
subject of which you are ignorant or misinformed? You don't mean to
sport _hereditary_ aversions, or hereditary attachments?
LIS. Why, perhaps, something of the kind. My father, who was the best
creature upon earth, happened to come into the possession of a huge
heap of catalogues of private collections, as well as of booksellers'
books--and I remember, on a certain fifth of November, when my little
hands could scarcely grasp the lamplighter's link that he bade me set
fire to them, and shout forth--"Long live the King!"--ever since I
have held them in sovereign contempt.
PHIL. I love the king too well to suppose that his life could have
been lengthened by any such barbarous act. You were absolutely a
little Chi Ho-am-ti, or Omar![98] Perhaps you were not aware that his
majesty is in possession of many valuable books, which are described
with great care and accuracy in some of these very catalogues.
[Footnote 98: Pope, in his Dunciad, has treated the
conflagration of the two great ancient libraries, with his
usual poetical skill:
"Far eastward cast thine eye, from whence the sun
And orient Science their bright course begun:
One god-like monarch all that pride confounds,
He, whose long wall the wandering Tartar bounds;
Heavens! what a pile! whole ages perish there,
And one bright blaze turns Learning into air.
Thence to the south extend thy gladden'd eyes;
There rival flames with equal glory rise,
From shelves to shelves see greedy Vulcan roll,
And lick up all their PHYSIC OF THE SOUL."
"Chi Ho-am-ti, Emperor of China, the same who built the
great wall between China and Tartary, destroyed all the
books and learned men of that empire."
"The caliph, Omar I. having conquered Egypt, caused his
general to burn the Ptolemean library, on the gates of which
was this inscription: '[Greek: PSYCHÊS IATREION]:'
'THE PHYSIC OF THE SOUL.'" Warburton's note. The last editor
of Pope's works, (vol. v. 214.) might have referred us to
the very ingenious observations of Gibbon, upon the
probability of this latter event: see his "_Decline and Fall
of the Roman Empire_," vol. ix. 440, &c.]
LIS. The act, upon reflection, was no doubt sufficiently foolish. But
why so warm upon the subject?
LYSAND. Let me defend Philemon; or at least account for his zeal. Just
before you came in, he was leading me to give him some account of the
RISE AND PROGRESS OF BIBLIOGRAPHY; and was fearful that, from your
noted aversion to the subject, you would soon cut asunder the thread
of our conversation.
LIS. If you can convert me to be an admirer of such a subject, or even
to endure it, you will work wonders; and, unless you promise to do so,
I know not whether I shall suffer you to begin.
PHIL. Begin, my dear Lysander. A mind disposed to listen attentively
is sometimes half converted. O, how I shall rejoice to see this
bibliographical incendiary going about to buy up copies of the very
works which he has destroyed! Listen, I entreat you, Lisardo.
LIS. I am all attention; for I see the clouds gathering in the south,
and a gloomy, if not a showery, mid-day, promises to darken this
beauteous morning. 'Twill not be possible to attend the antiques at
Malvolio's sale.
LYSAND. Whether the sun shine, or the showers fall, I will make an
attempt--not to convert, but to state simple truths: provided you
"lend me your ears."
PHIL. And our hearts too. Begin: for the birds drop their notes, and
the outlines of the distant landscape are already dimmed by the
drizzling rain.
LYSAND. You call upon me as formally as the shepherds call upon one
another to sing in Virgil's eclogues. But I will do my best.
It is gratifying to the English nation--whatever may have been
the strictures of foreigners[99] upon the paucity of their
bibliographico-literary works in the 16th century--that the earliest
printed volume upon the love and advantages of book-collecting was the
_Philobiblion_[100] of RICHARD DE BURY; who was bishop of Durham at
the close of the 14th century, and tutor to Edward III. I will at
present say nothing about the merits and demerits of this short
treatise; only I may be permitted to observe, with satisfaction, that
the head of the same see, at the present day, has given many proofs of
his attachment to those studies, and of his reward of such merit as
attracted the notice of his illustrious predecessor. It is with pain
that I am compelled to avow the paucity of publications, in our own
country, of a nature similar to the _Philobiblion_ of De Bury, even
for two centuries after it was composed; but while Leland was making
his library-tour, under the auspices of that capricious tyrant Henry
VIII., many works were planned _abroad_, which greatly facilitated the
researches of the learned.
[Footnote 99: "Anglica gens longe fuit negligentior in
consignandis ingeniorum monumentis; nihil enim ab illis
prodiit, quod mereatur nominari, cum tamen sint extentque
pene innumera ingeniossimæ gentis in omnibus doctrinis
scripta, prodeantque quotidie, tam Latina, quam vernacula
lingua, plura," Morhof: _Polyhist. Literar._ vol. i. 205,
edit. 1747.
Reimmannus carries his strictures, upon the jealousy of
foreigners at the success of the Germans in bibliography,
with a high hand: "Ringantur Itali, nasum incurvent Galli,
supercilium adducant Hispani, scita cavilla serant Britanni,
frendeant, spument, bacchentur ii omnes, qui præstantiam
MUSARUM GERMANICARUM limis oculis aspiciunt," &c.--"hoc
tamen certum, firmum, ratum, et inconcussum est, GERMANOS
primos fuisse in Rep. Literaria, qui Indices Librorum
Generales, Speciales et Specialissimos conficere, &c. annisi
sunt."--A little further, however, he speaks respectfully of
our James, Hyde, and Bernhard. See his ably-written _Bibl.
Acroamatica_, pp. 1, 6.]
[Footnote 100: "_Sive de Amore Librorum._" The first
edition, hitherto so acknowledged, of this entertaining
work, was printed at Spires, by John and Conrad Hist, in
1483, 4to., a book of great rarity--according to Clement,
vol. v. 435; Bauer (_Suppl. Bibl. Libr. Rarior_, pt. i.
276); Maichelius, p. 127; and Morhof, vol. i. 187. Mons. De
La Serna Santander has assigned the date of 1473 to this
edition: see his _Dict. Bibliog. Chois._ vol. ii. 257,--but,
above all, consult Clement--to whom Panzer, vol. iii. p. 22,
very properly refers his readers. And yet some of Clement's
authorities do not exactly bear him out in the
identification of this impression. Mattaire, vol. i. 449,
does not appear to have ever seen a copy of it: but, what is
rather extraordinary, Count Macarty has a copy of a Cologne
edition in 4to., of the date of 1473. No other edition of it
is known to have been printed till the year 1500; when two
impressions of this date were published at Paris, in 4to.:
the one by Philip for Petit, of which both Clement and
Fabricius (_Bibl. Med. et Inf. Ætat._ vol. i. 842, &c.) were
ignorant; but of which, a copy, according to Panzer, vol.
ii. 336, should seem to be in the public library at
Gottingen; the other, by Badius Ascensius, is somewhat more
commonly known. A century elapsed before this work was
deemed deserving of republication; when the country that had
given birth to, and the university that had directed the
studies of, its illustrious author, put forth an inelegant
reprint of it in 4to. 1599--from which some excerpts will be
found in the ensuing pages--but in the meantime the reader
may consult the title-page account of Herbert, vol. iii. p.
1408. Of none of these latter editions were the sharp eyes
of Clement ever blessed with a sight of a copy! See his
_Bibl. Curcuse_, &c. vol. v. 438.
The 17th century made some atonement for the negligence of
the past, in regard to RICHARD DE BURY. At Frankfort his
_Philobiblion_ was reprinted, with "a Century of
Philological Letters," collected by Goldastus, in 1610,
8vo--and this same work appeared again, at Leipsic, in 1674,
8vo. At length the famous Schmidt put forth an edition, with
some new pieces, "typis et sumtibus Georgii Wolffgangii
Hammii, Acad. Typog. 1703," 4to. Of this latter edition,
neither Maichelius nor the last editor of Morhof take
notice. It may be worth while adding that the subscription
in red ink, which Fabricius (_ibid._) notices as being
subjoined to a vellum MS. of this work, in his own
possession--and which states that it was finished at
Auckland, in the year 1343, in the 58th of its author, and
at the close of the 11th year of his episcopacy--may be
found, in substance, in Hearne's edition of Leland's
_Collectanea_, vol. ii. 385, edit. 1774.]
Among the men who first helped to clear away the rubbish that impeded
the progress of the student, was the learned and modest CONRAD GESNER;
at once a scholar, a philosopher, and a bibliographer: and upon whom
Julius Scaliger, Theodore Beza, and De Thou, have pronounced noble
eulogiums.[101] His _Bibliotheca Universalis_ was the first thing,
since the discovery of the art of printing, which enabled the curious
to become acquainted with the works of preceding authors: thus
kindling, by the light of such a lamp, the fire of emulation among his
contemporaries and successors. I do not pretend to say that the
_Bibliotheca_ of Gesner is any thing like perfect, even as far as it
goes: but, considering that the author had to work with his own
materials alone, and that the degree of fame and profit attached to
such a publication was purely speculative, he undoubtedly merits the
thanks of posterity for having completed it even in the manner in
which it has come down to us. Consider Gesner as the father of
bibliography; and if, at the sale of Malvolio's busts, there be one of
this great man, purchase it, good Lisardo, and place it over the
portico of your library.
[Footnote 101: His _Bibliotheca_, or _Catalogus Universalis,
&c._, was first printed in a handsome folio volume at
Zurich, 1545. Lycosthyne put forth a wretched abridgement of
this work, which was printed by the learned Oporinus, in
4to., 1551. Robert Constantine, the lexicographer, also
abridged and published it in 1555, Paris, 8vo.; and William
Canter is said by Labbe to have written notes upon Simler's
edition, which Baillet took for granted to be in existence,
and laments not to have seen them; but he is properly
corrected by De La Monnoye, who reminds us that it was a
mere report, which Labbe gave as he found it. I never saw
Simler's own editions of his excellent abridgement and
enlargement of it in 1555 and 1574; but Frisius published
it, with great improvements, in 1583, fol., adding many
articles, and abridging and omitting many others. Although
this latter edition be called the _edit. opt._ it will be
evident that the _editio originalis_ is yet a desideratum in
every bibliographical collection. Nor indeed does Frisius's
edition take away the necessity of consulting a supplement
to Gesner, which appeared at the end of the _Bibliothéque
Françoise_ of Du Verdier, 1584. It may be worth stating that
Hallevordius's _Bibliotheca Curiòsa_, 1656, 1687, 4to., is
little better than a supplement to the preceding work.
The _Pandects_ of Gesner, 1548, fol. are also well worth the
bibliographer's notice. Each of the 20 books, of which the
volume is composed, is preceded by an interesting dedicatory
epistle to some eminent printer of day. Consult Baillet's
_Jugemens des Savans_, vol. ii. p. 11. _Bibl. Creven._ vol.
v. p. 278; upon this latter work more particularly; and
Morhof's _Polyhistor. Literar._ vol. i. 197, and Vogt's
_Catalog. Libr. Rarior._, p. 164: upon the former. Although
the _Dictionnaire Historique_, published at Caen, in 1789,
notices the botanical and lexicographical works of Gesner,
it has omitted to mention these Pandects: which however, are
uncommon.]
LIS. All this is very well. Proceed with the patriarchal age of your
beloved bibliography.
LYSAND. I was about resuming, with observing that our BALE speedily
imitated the example of Gesner, in putting forth his _Britanniæ
Scriptores_;[102] the materials of the greater part of which were
supplied by Leland. This work is undoubtedly necessary to every
Englishman, but its errors are manifold. Let me now introduce to your
notice the little work of FLORIAN TREFLER, published in 1560;[103]
also the first thing in its kind, and intimately connected with our
present subject. The learned, it is true, were not much pleased with
it; but it afforded a rough outline upon which Naudæus afterwards
worked, and produced, as you will find, a more pleasing and perfect
picture. A few years after this, appeared the _Erotemata_ of MICHAEL
NEANDER;[104] in the long and learned preface to which, and in the
catalogue of his and of Melancthon's works subjoined, some brilliant
hints of a bibliographical nature were thrown out, quite sufficient to
inflame the lover of book-anecdotes with a desire of seeing a work
perfected according to such a plan: but Neander was unwilling, or
unable, to put his design into execution. Bibliography, however, now
began to make rather a rapid progress; and, in France, the ancient
writers of history and poetry seemed to live again in the
_Bibliotheque Françoise_ of LA CROIX DU MAINE and DU VERDIER.[105] Nor
were the contemporaneous similar efforts of CARDONA to be despised: a
man, indeed, skilled in various erudition, and distinguished for his
unabating perseverance in examining all the MSS. and printed books
that came in his way. The manner, slight as it was, in which
Cardona[106] mentioned the Vatican library, aroused the patriotic
ardor of PANSA; who published his _Bibliotheca Vaticana_, in the
Italian language, in the year 1590; and in the subsequent year
appeared the rival production of ANGELUS ROCCHA, written in Latin,
under the same title.[107] The magnificent establishment of the
VATICAN PRESS, under the auspices of Pope Sixtus V. and Clement VIII.
and under the typographical direction of the grandson of Aldus,[108]
called forth these publications--which might, however, have been
executed with more splendour and credit.
[Footnote 102: The first edition of this work, under the
title of "_Illustrium maioris Britanniæ Scriptorum, hoc est,
Anglæ, Cambriæ, ac Scotiæ summarium, in quasnam centurias
divisum, &c._," was printed at Ipswich, in 1548, 4to.,
containing three supposed portraits of Bale, and a spurious
one of Wicliffe. Of the half length portrait of Bale, upon a
single leaf, as noticed by Herbert, vol. iii. 1457, I have
doubts about its appearance in all the copies. The above
work was again published at Basil, by Opornius, in 1559,
fol., greatly enlarged and corrected, with a magnificent
half length portrait of Bale, from which the one in a
subsequent part of this work was either copied on a reduced
scale, or of which it was the prototype. His majesty has
perhaps the finest copy of this last edition of Bale's
_Scriptores Britanniæ_, in existence.]
[Footnote 103: "Les Savans n'ont nullemont été satisfaits des
règles prescrites par FLORIAN TREFFER (Trefler) le premièr
dont on connoisse un écrit sur ce sujet [de la disposition
des livres dans une bibliothèque]. Sa méthode de classer les
livres fut imprimée à Augsbourg en 1560." Camus: _Memoires
de l'Institut_. vol. i. 646. The title is "Methodus
Ordinandi Bibliothecam," Augustæ, 1560. The extreme rarity
of this book does not appear to have arisen from its
utility--if the authority quoted by Vogt, p. 857, edit.
1793, may be credited. Bauer repeats Vogt's account; and
Teisser, Morhof, and Baillet, overlook the work.]
[Footnote 104: It would appear, from Morhof, that NEANDER
meditated the publication of a work similar to the
_Pandects_ of Gesner; which would, in all probability, have
greatly excelled it. The "_Erotemata Græcæ Linguæ_" was
published at Basil in 1565, 8vo. Consult _Polyhist. Liter._
vol. i. 199: _Jugemens des Savans_, vol. iii. art. 887, but
more particularly Niceron's _Memoires des Hommes Illustres_,
vol. xxx. In regard to Neander, Vogt has given the title at
length (a sufficiently tempting one!) calling the work "very
rare," and the preface of Neander (which is twice the length
of the work) "curious and erudite." See his _Catalog.
Libror. Rarior._, p. 614, edit. 1793.]
[Footnote 105: LA CROIX DU MAINE'S book appeared toward the
end of the year 1584; and that of his coadjutor, ANTHONY
VERDIER, in the beginning of the subsequent year. They are
both in folio, and are usually bound in one volume. Of these
works, the first is the rarest and best executed; but the
very excellent edition of both of them, by DE LA MONNOYE and
JUVIGNY, in six volumes, 4to., 1772, which has realized the
patriotic wishes of Baillet, leaves nothing to be desired in
the old editions--and these are accordingly dropping fast
into annihilation. It would appear from an advertisement of
De Bure, subjoined to his catalogue of Count Macarty's
books, 1779, 8vo., that there were then remaining only
eleven copies of this new edition upon LARGE PAPER, which
were sold for one hundred and twenty livres. Claude Verdier,
son of Antony, who published a supplement to Gesner's
Bibliotheca, and a "_Censio auctorum omnium veterum et
recentiorum_," affected to censure his father's work, and
declared that nothing but parental respect could have
induced him to consent to its publication--but consult the
_Jugemens des Savans_, vol. ii. 87-8, upon Claude's filial
affection; and Morhof's _Polyhist. Literar._, vol. i., 176,
concerning the "Censio," &c.--"misere," exclaims Morhof,
"ille corvos deludit hiantes: nam ubi censuram suam exercet,
manifestum hominis phrenesin facile deprehendas!" The
ancient editions are well described in _Bibl. Creven._, vol.
v., 277-8, edit. 1776--but more particularly by De Bure,
nos. 6020-1. A copy of the ancient edition was sold at
West's sale for 2_l._ 15_s._ See _Bibl. West._, No. 934.]
[Footnote 106: JOHN BAPTIST CARDONA, a learned and
industrious writer, and bishop of Tortosa, published a
quarto volume at Tarracona, in 1537, 4to.--comprehending the
following four pieces: 1. _De regia Sancti Lamentii
Bibliotheca_: 2. _De Bibliothecis_ (_Ex Fulvio Ursino_,) et
_De Bibliotheca Vaticana (ex Omphrii Schedis)_: 3. _De
Expurgandis hæreticorum propriis nominibus_: 4. _De
Dipthycis_. Of these, the first, in which he treats of
collecting all manner of useful books, and having able
librarians, and in which he strongly exhorts Philip II. to
put the Escurial library into good order, is the most
valuable to the bibliographer. Vogt, p. 224, gives us two
authorities to shew the rarity of this book; and Baillet
refers us to the _Bibliotheca Hispana_ of Antonio.]
[Footnote 107: MUTIUS PANZA'S work, under the title of
_Ragionamenti della Libraria Vaticana_, Rome, 1590, 4to.,
and ANGELUS ROCCHA'S, that of _Bibliotheca Apostolica
Vaticana, Rome_, 1591, 4to., relate rather to the ornaments
of architecture and painting, than to a useful and critical
analysis, or a numbered catalogue, of the books within the
Vatican library. The authors of both are accused by Morhof
of introducing quite extraneous and uninteresting matter.
Roccha's book, however, is worth possessing, as it is
frequently quoted by bibliographers. How far it may be
"Liber valde quidem rarus," as Vogt intimates, I will not
pretend to determine. It has a plate of the Vatican Library,
and another of St. Peter's Cathedral. The reader may
consult, also, the _Jugemens des Savans_, vol. ii., p. 141.
My copy of this work, purchased at the sale of Dr. Heath's
books, has a few pasted printed slips in the margins--some
of them sufficiently curious.]
[Footnote 108: Consult Renouard's _L'Imprimerie des Alde_,
vol. ii., 122, &c. One of the grandest works which ever
issued from the Vatican press, under the superintendence of
Aldus, was the vulgate bible of Pope Sixtus V., 1590, fol.,
the copies of which, upon LARGE PAPER, are sufficiently well
known and coveted. A very pleasing and satisfactory account
of this publication will be found in the _Horæ Biblicæ_ of
Mr. Charles Butler, a gentleman who has long and justly
maintained the rare character of a profound lawyer, an
elegant scholar, and a well-versed antiquary and
philologist.]
Let us here not forget that the celebrated LIPSIUS condescended to
direct his talents to the subject of libraries; and his very name, as
Baillet justly remarks, "is sufficient to secure respect for his
work," however slender it may be.[109] We now approach, with the
mention of Lipsius, the opening of the 17th century; a period
singularly fertile in bibliographical productions. I will not pretend
to describe, minutely, even the leading authors in this department.
The works of PUTEANUS can be only slightly alluded to, in order to
notice the more copious and valuable ones of POSSEVINUS and of
SCHOTTUS;[110] men who were ornaments to their country, and whose
literary and bibliographical publications have secured to them the
gratitude of posterity. While the labours of these authors were
enriching the republic of literature, and kindling all around a love
of valuable and curious books, the _Bibliotheca Historica_ of
BOLDUANUS, and the _Bibliotheca Classica_ of DRAUDIUS[111] highly
gratified the generality of readers, and enabled the student to
select, with greater care and safety, such editions of authors as were
deserving of a place in their libraries.
[Footnote 109: LIPSIUS published his _Syntagma de
Bibliothecis_, at Antwerp, in 1603, 4to., "in quo de ritibus
variis et antiquitatibus circa rem bibliothecariam agitur."
An improved edition of it, by Maderus, was printed at
Helmstadt, in 1666, 4to., with other curious bibliographical
opuscula. A third edition of it was put forth by Schmid, at
the same place, in 1702, 4to. Consult Morhof. _Poly. Lit._,
vol. i., 188.]
[Footnote 110: "Scripsit et ERYCIUS PUTEANUS librum _De Usu
Bibliothecæ et quidem speciatim Bibliothecæ Ambrosianæ
Mediol._, in 8vo., 1606, editum, aliumque, cui titulus
_Auspicia Bibliothecæ Lovaniensis_, an. 1639, in 4to."
Morhof. "It is true," says Baillet, "that this Puteanus
passed for a gossipping sort of writer, and for a great
maker of little books, but he was, notwithstanding, a very
clever fellow." _Jugemens des Savans_, vol. ii., 150. In the
_Bibl. Crev._, vol. v., 311, will be found one of his
letters, never before published. He died in 1646. POSSEVINUS
published a _Bibliotheca selecta_ and _Apparatus sacer_--of
the former of which, the Cologne edition of 1607, folio, and
of the latter, that of 1608, are esteemed the most complete.
The first work is considered by Morhof as less valuable than
the second. The "_Apparatus_" he designates as a book of
rather extraordinary merit and utility. Of the author of
both these treatises, some have extolled his talents to the
skies, others have depreciated them in proportion. His
literary character, however, upon the whole, places him in
the first class of bibliographers. Consult the _Polyhist.
Literar._, vol. i., 175. He was one of the earliest
bibliographers who attacked the depraved taste of the
Italian printers in adopting licentious capital-initial
letters. Catherinot, in his _Art d'imprimer_, p. 3, makes
the same complaint: so Baillet informs us, vol. i., pt. i.,
p. 13, edit. 1725: vol. iii., pt. 1, p. 78. SCHOTTUS'S work,
_de Bibl. claris Hispaniæ viris, France_, 1608, 4to., is
forgotten in the splendour of Antonio's similar production;
but it had great merit in its day. _Jugemens des Savans_,
vol. ii., pt. 1, 132, edit. 1725.]
[Footnote 111: BOLDUANUS published a _Theological_ (Jenæ,
1614) and _Philosophico Philological_ (Jenæ, 1616), as well
as an _Historical_ (Lipsiæ, 1620), library; but the latter
work has the pre-eminence. Yet the author lived at too great
a distance, wanting the requisite materials, and took his
account chiefly from the Frankfort catalogues--some of which
were sufficiently erroneous. _Polyhist. Literar._ vol. i.,
199. See also the very excellent historical catalogue,
comprehending the 1st chap. of Meusel's new edition of
Struvius's _Bibl. Histor._, vol. i., p. 26. DRAUDIUS'S work
is more distinguished for its arrangement than for its
execution in detail. It was very useful, however, at the
period when it was published. My edition is of the date of
1611, 4to.: but a second appeared at Frankfort, in 1625,
4to.]
The name of DU CHESNE can never be pronounced by a sensible Frenchman
without emotions of gratitude. His _Bibliotheca Historiarum Galliæ_
first published in the year 1627, 8vo.--although more immediately
useful to foreigners than to ourselves, is nevertheless worth
mentioning. Morhof, if I recollect aright, supposes there was a still
later edition; but he probably confused with this work the _Series
Auctorum, &c. de Francorum Historia_;[112] of which two handsome folio
editions were published by Cramoisy. French writers of bibliographical
eminence now begin to crowd fast upon us.
[Footnote 112: The reader will find a good account of some
of the scarcer works of Du Chesne in Vogt's _Catalog.
Libror. Rarior._, p. 248, &c., and of the life and literary
labours of this illustrious man in the 7th volume of
Niceron's _Memoires des Hommes Illustres_.]
LIS. But what becomes of the English, Spanish, and Italian
bibliographers all this while?
LYSAND. The reproach of Morhof is I fear too just; namely that,
although we had produced some of the most learned, ingenious, and able
men in Europe--lovers and patrons of literature--yet our librarians,
or university scholars, were too lazy to acquaint the world with the
treasures which were contained in the several libraries around
them.[113] You cannot expect a field-marshal, or a statesman in
office, or a nobleman, or a rich man of extensive connections,
immersed in occupations both pressing and unavoidable--doggedly to set
down to a _Catalogue Raisonné_ of his books, or to an analysis of the
different branches of literature--while his presence is demanded in
the field, in the cabinet, or in the senate--or while all his bells,
at home, from the massive outer gate to the retired boudoir, are torn
to pieces with ringing and jingling at the annunciation of
visitors--you cannot, I say, my good Lisardo, call upon a person, thus
occupied, to produce--or expect from him, in a situation thus
harassed, the production of--any solid bibliographical publication;
but you have surely a right to expect that librarians, or scholars,
who spend the greater part of their time in public libraries, will
vouchsafe to apply their talents in a way which may be an honour to
their patrons, and of service to their country.[114] Not to walk with
folded arms from one extremity of a long room (of 120 feet) to
another, and stop at every window to gaze on an industrious gardener,
or watch the slow progress of a melancholy crow "making wing to the
rooky wood," nor yet, in winter, to sit or stand inflexibly before the
fire, with a duodecimo jest book or novel in their hands--but to look
around and catch, from the sight of so much wisdom and so much worth,
a portion of that laudable emulation with which the Gesners, the
Baillets, and the Le Longs were inspired; to hold intimate
acquaintance with the illustrious dead; to speak to them without the
fear of contradiction; to exclaim over their beauties without the
dread of ridicule, or of censure; to thank them for what they have
done in transporting us to other times, and introducing us to other
worlds; and constantly to feel a deep and unchangeable conviction of
the necessity of doing all the good in our power, and in our way, for
the benefit of those who are to survive us!
[Footnote 113: See the note at p. 29, ante. "It is a pity,"
says Morhof, "that the _Dutch_ had such little curiosity
about the literary history of their country--but the
_English_ were yet more negligent and incurious."--And yet,
Germany, France, and Italy, had already abounded with
treasures of this kind!!]
[Footnote 114: Senebier, who put forth a very useful and
elegantly printed catalogue of the MSS. in the public
library of Geneva, 1779, 8vo., has the following
observations upon this subject--which I introduce with a
necessary proviso, or caution, that _now-a-days_ his
reproaches cannot affect us. We are making ample amends for
past negligence; for, to notice no others, the labours of
those gentlemen who preside over the BRITISH MUSEUM
abundantly prove our present industry. Thus speaks Senebier:
'Ill sembleroit d'abord étonnant qu'on ait tant tradé à
composer le Catalogue des Manuscripts de la Bibliothéque de
Genéve; mais on peut faire plus raisonnablement ce reproche
aux Bibliothécaires bien payés et uniquement occupés de leur
vocation, qui sont les dépositaires de tant de collections
précieuses qu'on voit en Italie, en France, en Allemagne, et
en Angleterre; ils le mériteront d'autant mieux, qu'ils
privent le public des piéces plus précieuses, et qu'ils ont
plusieurs aids intelligens qui peuvent les dispenser de la
partie le plus méchanique et la plus ennuyeuse de ce
travail,' &c.]
PHIL. Hear him, hear him![115]
[Footnote 115: This mode of exclamation or expression, like
that of _cheering_ (vide p. 20, ante) is also peculiar to
our own country; and it is uttered by both friend and foe.
Thus, in the senate, when a speaker upon one side of the
question happens to put an argument in a strong point of
view, those of the same party or mode of thinking
exclaim--_hear him, hear him!_ And if he should happen to
state any thing that may favour the views, or the mode of
thinking, of his opponents, these latter also take advantage
of his eloquence, and exclaim, _hear him, hear him!_ Happy
the man whom friend and foe alike delight to hear!]
LIS. But what is become, in the while, of the English, Italian, and
Spanish bibliographers--in the seventeenth century?
LYSAND. I beg pardon for the digression; but the less we say of these,
during this period, the better; and yet you must permit me to
recommend to you the work of PITSEUS, our countryman, which grows
scarcer every day.[116] We left off, I think, with the mention of Du
Chesne's works. Just about this time came forth the elegant little
work of NAUDÆUS;[117] which I advise you both to purchase, as it will
cost you but a few shillings, and of the aspect of which you may
inform yourselves by taking it down from yonder shelf. Quickly
afterwards CLAUDE CLEMENT, "haud passibus æquis," put forth his
_Bibliothecæ tam privatæ quam publicæ[118] extructio_, &c.; a work,
condemned by the best bibliographical judges. But the splendour of
almost every preceding bibliographer's reputation was eclipsed by that
arising from the extensive and excellent publications of LOUIS
JACOB;[119] a name at which, if we except those of Fabricius and
Muratori, diligence itself stands amazed; and concerning whose life
and labours it is to be regretted that we have not more extended
details. The harsh and caustic manner in which Labbe and Morhof have
treated the works of GADDIUS,[120] induce me only to mention his name,
and to warn you against looking for much corn in a barn choked with
chaff. We now approach the close of the seventeenth century; when,
stopping for a few minutes only, to pay our respects to CINELLI,
CONRINGIUS, and LOMEIER,[121] we must advance to do homage to the more
illustrious names of Labbe, Lambecius, and Baillet; not forgetting,
however, the equally respectable ones of Antonio and Lipenius.
[Footnote 116: Pitseus's work "_De Rebus Anglicis_," Paris,
1619, 4to., vol. i., was written in opposition to Bale's
(vid. p. 31, ante). The author was a learned Roman Catholic;
but did not live to publish the second volume. I was glad to
give Mr. Ford, of Manchester, 1_l._ 16_s._ for a stained and
badly bound copy of it.]
[Footnote 117: "GABRIELE NAUDÆO nemo vixit suo tempore
[Greek: empeirias] Bibliothecariæ peritior:" _Polyhist.
Liter._, vol. i., 187. "Naudæi scripta omnia et singula
præstantissima sunt," Vogt, p. 611. "Les ouvrages de Naudé
firent oublier ce qui les avoient précédé." Camus, _Mem. de
l'Institut._, vol. i., 646. After these eulogies, who will
refuse this author's "_Avis pour dresser une Bibliothéque_,
Paris, 1627, 1644, 8vo." a place upon his shelf? Unluckily,
it rarely comes across the search of the keenest collector.
The other, yet scarcer, productions of Naudé will be found
well described in Vogt's _Catalog. Libror. Rarior._, p. 610.
The reader of ancient politics may rejoice in the possession
of what is called, the "_Mascurat_"--and "_Considerations
politiques_"--concerning which Vogt is gloriously diffuse;
and Peignot (who has copied from him, without
acknowledgement--_Bibliogr. Curieuse_, pp. 49, 50,) may as
well be consulted. But the bibliographer will prefer the
"_Additions à l'Histoire de Louis XI._," 1630, 8vo., and
agree with Mailchelius that a work so uncommon and so
curious "ought to be reprinted." See the latter's amusing
little book "_De Præcipuis Bibliothecis Parisiensibus_," pp.
66, 67, &c. Naudæus was librarian to the famous Cardinal
Mazarin, the great Mæcenas of his day; whose library,
consisting of upwards of forty thousand volumes, was the
most beautiful and extensive one which France had then ever
seen. Its enthusiastic librarian, whom I must be allowed to
call a very wonderful bibliomaniac, made constant journeys,
and entered into a perpetual correspondence, relating to
books and literary curiosities. He died at Abbeville in
1653, in his 53rd year, on returning from Sweden, where the
famous Christian had invited him. Naudæus's "_Avis, &c._",
[ut supr.] was translated by Chaline; but his "_Avis à
Nosseigneurs du Parlement, &c._" 1652, 4to.--upon the sale
of the Cardinal's library--and his "_Remise de la
Bihliothéque_ [Transcriber's Note: Bibliothèque] [Du
Cardinal] _entre le mains de M. Tubeuf_, 1651," are much
scarcer productions. A few of these particulars are gathered
from Peignot's _Dict. de la Bibliolologie_ [Transcriber's
Note: Bibliologie], vol. ii., p. 1--consult also his _Dict.
Portatif de Bibliographie_, p. v. In the former work I
expected a copious piece of biography; yet, short as it is,
Peignot has subjoined a curious note from Naudé's
"_Considerations politiques_"--in which the author had the
hardihood to defend the massacre upon St. Bartholomew's day,
by one of the strangest modes of reasoning ever adopted by a
rational being.]
[Footnote 118: This work, in four books, was published at
Lyons, 1635, 4to. If it be not quite "Much ado about
nothing"--it exhibits, at least, a great waste of ink and
paper. Morhof seems to seize with avidity Baillet's lively
sentence of condemnation--"Il y a trop de babil et trop de
ce que nous appellons _fatras_," &c.]
[Footnote 119: Le Pere LOUYS JACOB published his "_Traicté
des plus belles Bibliothéques publiques et particulières,
qui ont esté, et qui sont à présents dans le monde_," at
Paris, in 1644--again in 1655, 8vo.--in which he first
brought together the scattered notices relating to
libraries, especially to modern ones. His work is well worth
consultation; although Baillet and Morhof do not speak in
direct terms of praise concerning it--and the latter seems a
little angry at his giving the preference to the Parisian
libraries over those of other countries. It must be
remembered that this was published as an unfinished
production: as such, the author's curiosity and research are
highly to be commended. I have read the greater part of it
with considerable satisfaction. The same person meditated
the execution of a vast work in four folio volumes--called
"_La Bibliothéque universelle de tous les Autheurs de
France, qui ont escrits en quelque sorte de sciences et de
langues_"--which, in fact, was completed in 1638: but, on
the death of the author it does not appear what became of
it. Jacob also gave an account of books as they were
published at Paris, and in other parts of France, from the
year 1643 to 1650; which was printed under the title of
_Bibliographia Parisina_, Paris, 1651, 4to. Consult
_Polyhist. Liter._, vol. i., pp. 189, 202: _Bibl. Creven._,
vol. v., pp. 281, 287. _Jugemens des Savans_, vol. ii., p.
151.]
[Footnote 120: He published a work entitled "_De
scriptoribus non-ecclesiasticis_," 1648, vol. i., 1649, vol.
ii., folio: in which his opinions upon authors are given in
the most jejune and rash manner. His other works, which
would form a little library, are reviewed by Leti with
sufficient severity: but the poor man was crack brained! And
yet some curious and uncommon things, gleaned from MSS.
which had probably never been unrolled or opened since their
execution, are to be found in this "Sciolum Florentinum," as
Labbe calls him. Consult the _Polyhist. Literar._, vol. i.,
p. 175.]
[Footnote 121: Magliabechi put CINELLI upon publishing his
BIBLIOTHECA VOLANTE, 1677, 8vo., a pretty work, with a happy
title!--being an indiscriminate account of some rare books
which the author picked up in his travels, or saw in
libraries. It was republished, with valuable additions, by
Sancassani, at Venice, in 1734, 4to. See _Cat. de Lomenie_,
No. 2563. Works of this sort form the ANA of
bibliography! CONRINGIUS compiled a charming bibliographical
work, in an epistolary form, under the title of _Bibliotheca
Augusta_; which was published at Helmstadt, in 1661,
4to.--being an account of the library of the Duke of
Brunswick, in the castle of Wolfenbuttle. Two thousand
manuscripts, and one hundred and sixteen thousand printed
volumes, were then contained in this celebrated collection.
Happy the owner of such treasures--happy the man who
describes them! LOMEIER'S, or Lomejer's "_De Bibliothecis
Liber singularis_," Ultraj, 1669-1680, 8vo., is considered
by Baillet among the best works upon the subject of ancient
and modern libraries. From this book, Le Sieur LE GALLOIS
stole the most valuable part of his materials for his
"_Traité des plus belles Bibliothéques de l'Europe_," 1685,
1697--12mo.: the title at full length (a sufficiently
imposing one!) may be seen in _Bibé. Crevenn._, vol. v., p.
281; upon this latter treatise, Morhof cuttingly
remarks--"Magnos ille titulus strepitus facit: sed pro
thesauris carbones." _Polyhist. Literar._, vol. i., p. 191.
See also "_Jugemens des Savans_," vol. ii., p. 152. Gallois
dispatches the English libraries in little more than a page.
I possess the second edition of Lomeier's book (1680--with
both its title pages), which is the last and best--and an
interesting little volume it is! The celebrated Grævius used
to speak very favourably of this work.]
LIS. Pray discuss their works, or merits, _seriatim_, as the judges
call it; for I feel overwhelmed at the stringing together of such
trisyllabic names. These gentlemen, as well as almost every one of
their predecessors, are strangers to me; and you know my bashfulness
and confusion in such sort of company.
LYSAND. I hope to make you better acquainted with them after a slight
introduction, and so rid you of such an uncomfortable diffidence. Let
us begin with LABBE,[122] who died in the year 1667, and in the
sixtieth of his own age; a man of wonderful memory and of as wonderful
application--whose whole life, according to his biographers, was
consumed in gathering flowers from his predecessors, and thence
weaving such a chaplet for his own brows as was never to know decay.
His _Nova Bibliotheca_, and _Bibliotheca Bibliothecarum
Manuscriptorum_, are the principal works which endear his memory to
bibliographers. More learned than Labbe was LAMBECIUS;[123] whose
_Commentarii de Bibliotheca Cæsareâ-Vindobonensis_, with Nesselius's
supplement to the same, [1696, 2 vols. fol.] and Kollarius's new
edition of both, form one of the most curious and important, as well
as elaborate, productions in the annals of literature and
bibliography. Less extensive, but more select, valuable, and accurate,
in its choice and execution of objects, is the _Bibliotheca Hispana
Vetus et Nova_ of Nicholas ANTONIO;[124] the first, and the best,
bibliographical work which Spain, notwithstanding her fine palaces and
libraries, has ever produced. If neither Philemon nor yourself,
Lisardo, possess this latter work [and I do not see it upon the
shelves of this cabinet], seek for it with avidity; and do not fear
the pistoles which the purchase of it may cost you. LIPENIUS[125] now
claims a moment's notice; of whose _Bibliotheca Realis_ Morhof is
inclined to speak more favourably than other critics. 'Tis in six
volumes; and it appeared from the years 1679 to 1685 inclusive. Not
inferior to either of the preceding authors in taste, erudition, and
the number and importance of his works, was ADRIEN BAILLET;[126] the
simple pastor of Lardiéres, and latterly the learned and
indefatigable librarian of Lamoignon. His _Jugemens des Savans_,
edited by De la Monnoye, is one of those works with which no man, fond
of typographical and bibliographical pursuits, can comfortably
dispense. I had nearly forgotten to warn you against the capricious
works of BEUGHEM; a man, nevertheless, of wonderful mental elasticity;
but for ever planning schemes too vast and too visionary for the
human powers to execute.[127]
[Footnote 122: "Vir, qui in texendis catalogis totam pene
vitam consumpsit." "Homo ad Lexica et Catalogos conficiendos
a naturâ factus." Such is Morhof's account of LABBE; who, in
the works above-mentioned, in the text, has obtained an
unperishable reputation as a bibliographer. The _Bibliotheca
Bibliothecarum_, thick duodecimo, or crown octavo, has run
through several impressions; of which the Leipsic edit. of
1682, is as good as any; but TEISSER, in his work under the
same title, 1686, 4to., has greatly excelled Labbe's
production, as well by his corrections of errata as by his
additions of some hundreds of authors. The _Bibliotheca
Nummaria_ is another of Labbe's well-known performances: in
the first part of which he gives an account of those who
have written concerning medals--in the second part, of those
who have publishe [Transcriber's Note: published] separate
accounts of coins, weights, and measures. This is usually
appended to the preceding work, and is so published by
Teisser. The _Mantissa Suppellectilis_ was an unfinished
production; and the _Specimen novæ Bibliothecæ
Manuscriptorum Librorum_, Paris, 1653, 4to., is too
imperfectly executed for the exercise of rigid criticism;
although Baillet calls it 'useful and curious.' Consult the
_Polyhist. Literar._, vol. i., 197, 203: and _Jugemens des
Savans_, vol. ii., pt. 1, p. 24, edit. 1725. A list of
Labbe's works, finished, unfinished, and projected, was
published at Paris, in 1656 and 1662. He was joint editor
with Cossart of that tremendously voluminous work--the
"Collectio Maxima Conciliorum"--1672, 18 volumes, folio.]
[Footnote 123: LAMBECIUS died at, one may almost say, the
premature age of 52: and the above work (in eight folio
volumes), which was left unfinished in consequence, (being
published between the years 1665-79 inclusive) gives us a
magnificent idea of what its author would have accomplished
[see particularly Reimanni _Bibl. Acroamatica_, p. 51] had
it pleased Providence to prolong so valuable an existence.
It was originally sold for 24 _imperiali_; but at the
commencement of the 18th century for not less than 80
_thaleri_, and a copy of it was scarcely ever to be met
with. Two reasons have been assigned for its great rarity,
and especially for that of the 8th volume; the one, that
Lambecius's heir, impatient at the slow sale of the work,
sold many copies of it to the keepers of herb-stalls: the
other, that, when the author was lying on his death-bed, his
servant maid, at the suggestion and from the stinginess of
the same heir, burnt many copies of this eighth volume
[which had recently left the press] to light the fire in the
chamber. This intelligence I glean from Vogt, p. 495: it had
escaped Baillet and Morhof. But consult De Bure, vol. vi.,
Nos. 6004-5. Reimannus published a _Bibliotheca
Acroamatica_, Hanov., 1712, 8vo., which is both an
entertaining volume and a useful compendium of Lambecius's
immense work. But in the years 1766-82, KOLLARIUS published
a new and improved edition of the entire commentaries, in
six folio volumes; embodying in this gigantic undertaking
the remarks which were scattered in his "_Analecta
Monumentorum omnis ævi Vindobonensia_," in two folio
volumes, 1761. A posthumous work of Kollarius, as a
supplement to his new edition of Lambecius's Commentaries,
was published in one folio volume, 1790. A complete set of
these volumes of Kollarius's bibliographical labours,
relating to the Vienna library, was in Serna Santander's
catalogue, vol. iv., no. 6291, as well as in Krohn's: in
which latter [nos. 3554, 3562] there are some useful
notices. See my account of M. Denis: post. Critics have
accused these "Commentaries concerning the MSS. in the
imperial library at Vienna," as containing a great deal of
rambling and desultory matter; but the vast erudition,
minute research, and unabateable diligence of its author,
will for ever secure to him the voice of public praise, as
loud and as hearty as he has received it from his abridger
Reimannus. In these volumes appeared the first account of
the Psalter, printed at Mentz in 1457, which was mistaken by
Lambecius for a MS. The reader will forgive my referring him
to a little essay upon this and the subsequent Psalters,
printed at Mentz, in 1459, 1490, &c., which was published by
me in the 2nd volume of the _Athenæum_, p. 360, 490.]
[Footnote 124: Morhof considers the labours of ANTONIO as
models of composition in their way. His grand work began to
be published in 1672, 2 vols., folio--being the _Bibliotheca
Hispana Nova_: this was succeeded, in 1696, by the
_Bibliotheca Hispana Antiqua_--in two folio volumes: the
prefaces and indexes contain every thing to satisfy the
hearts of Spanish Literati. A new edition of the first work
was published at Madrid, in 1783, 2 vols., folio; and of the
latter work, in 1788, 2 vols., folio.--These recent editions
are very rarely to be met with in our own country: abroad,
they seem to have materially lowered the prices of the
ancient ones, which had become excessively scarce. See
_Polyhist Literar._, vol. i., 203-4: _Dictionn. Bibliogr._,
vol. iv., p. 22: and _Mem. de l'Inst._, vol. i., 651. Let us
here not forget the learned Michael CASIRI'S _Bibliotheca
Arabico-Hispana Escorialensis_, published in two superb
folio volumes at Madrid in 1760. All these useful and
splendid works place the Spaniards upon a high footing with
their fellow-labourers in the same respectable career. De La
Serna Santander tells us that Casiri's work is dear, and
highly respected by the Literati. See _Cap. de Santander_,
vol iv., no. 6296.]
[Footnote 125: The _Bibliotheca Realis_, &c., of LIPENIUS
contains an account of works published in the departments of
_Jurisprudence_, _Medicine_, _Philosophy_, and _Theology_:
of these, the _Bibliotheca Theologica_, et _Philosophica_,
are considered by Morhof as the best executed. The _Bibl.
Juridica_ was, however, republished at Leipsic in two folio
volumes, 1757, with considerable additions. This latter is
the last Leipsic reprint of it. Saxius notices only the
re-impressions of 1720, 1736, 1742. See his _Onomast. Lit._,
vol. v., 588. I will just notice the _Bibliotheca Vetus et
Recens_ of KOENIGIUS, 1678, folio--as chart-makers notice
shoals--to be avoided. I had long thrown it out of my own
collection before I read its condemnation by Morhof. Perhaps
the following account of certain works, which appear to have
escaped the recollection of Lysander, may not be
unacceptable. In the year 1653, Father RAYNAUD, whose
lucubrations fill 20 folio volumes, published a quarto
volume at Lyons, under the title of "_Erotemata de malis ac
bonis Libris, deque justa aut injusta eorum conditione_;"
which he borowed [Transcriber's Note: borrowed] in part from
the "_Theotimus, seu de tollendis et expurgandis malis
libris_," (Paris, 1549, 8vo.) of Gabriel PUHTHERB. Of these
two works, if [Transcriber's Note: it] were difficult to
determine which is preferable. The bibliographer need not
deeply lament the want of either: consult the _Polyhist.
Literar._, vol. i., 177. In the year 1670, VOGLER published
a very sensible "_Universalis in notitiam cujusque generis
bonorum Scriptorum Introductio_"--of this work two
subsequent editions, one in 1691, the other in 1700, 4to.,
were published at Helmstadt. The last is the best; but the
second, to him who has neither, is also worth purchasing.
The seven dissertations "_De Libris legendis_" of BARTHOLIN,
Hafniæ, 1676, 8vo., are deserving of a good coat and a front
row in the bibliographer's cabinet. "Parvæ quidem molis
liberest, sed in quo quasi constipata sunt utilissima de
libris monita et notitiæ ad multas disciplinas utiles." So
speaks Morhof.]
[Footnote 126: ADRIEN BAILLET was the eldest of seven
children born in a second marriage. His parents were in
moderate circumstances: but Adrien very shortly displaying a
love of study and of book-collecting, no means, compatible
with their situation, were left untried by his parents to
gratify the wishes of so promising a child. From his
earliest youth, he had a strong predilection for the church;
and as a classical and appropriate education was then easily
to be procured in France, he went from school to college,
and at seventeen years of age had amassed, in two fair sized
volumes, a quantity of extracts from clever works; which,
perhaps having Beza's example in his mind, he entitled
_Juvenilia_. His masters saw and applauded his diligence;
and a rest of only five hours each night, during two years
and a half of this youthful period, afforded Baillet such
opportunities of acquiring knowledge as rarely fall to the
lot of a young man. This habit of short repose had not
forsaken him in his riper years: "he considered and treated
his body as an insolent enemy, which required constant
subjection; he would not suffer it to rest more than five
hours each night; he recruited it with only one meal a
day--drank no wine--never came near the fire--and walked out
but once a week." The consequence of this absurd regime was
that Baillet had ulcers in his legs, an erysipelatous
affection over his body, and was, in other respects,
afflicted as sedentary men usually are, who are glued to
their seats from morn till night, never mix in society, and
rarely breathe the pure air of heaven. These maladies
shortened the days of Baillet; after he had faithfully
served the LAMOIGNONS as a librarian of unparalleled
diligence and sagacity; leaving behind him a "_Catalogue des
Matieres_," in 35 volumes folio. "All the curious used to
come and see this catalogue: many bishops and magistrates
requested to have either copies or abridgments of it." When
Baillet was dragged, by his friend M. Hermant, from his
obscure vicarage of Lardiéres, to be Lamoignon's librarian,
he seems to have been beside himself for joy.--"I want a man
of such and such qualities," said Lamoignon.--"I will bring
one exactly to suit you," replied Hermant--"but you must put
up with a diseased and repulsive exterior."--"Nous avons
besoin de fond," said the sensible patron, "la forme ne
m'embarasse point; l'air de ce pays, et un grain de sel
discret, fera le reste: il en trouvera ici." Baillet came,
and his biographer tells us that Lamoignon and Hermant
"furent ravis de le voir." To the eternal honour of the
family in which he resided, the crazy body and nervous mind
of Baillet met with the tenderest treatment. Madame
Lamoignon and her son (the latter, a thorough bred
bibliomaniac; who, under the auspices of his master, soon
eclipsed the book celebrity of his father) always took a
pleasure in anticipating his wishes, soothing his
irritabilities, promoting his views, and speaking loudly and
constantly of the virtues of his head and heart. The last
moments of Baillet were marked with true Christian piety and
fortitude; and his last breath breathed a blessing upon his
benefactors. He died A.D. 1706, ætatis 56. Rest his ashes in
peace!--and come we now to his bibliographical publications.
His "_Jugemens des Savans_," was first published in 1685,
&c., in nine duodecimo volumes. Two other similar volumes of
_Anti Baillet_ succeeded it. The success and profits of this
work were very considerable. In the year 1722, a new edition
of it in seven volumes, quarto, was undertaken and completed
by De La Monnoye, with notes by the editor, and additions of
the original author. The "Anti Baillet" formed the 8th
volume. In the year 1725, De La Monnoye's edition, with his
notes placed under the text--the corrections and additions
incorporated--and two volumes of fresh matter, including the
Anti Baillet--was republished at Amsterdam, in eight
duodecimo volumes, forming 16 parts, and being, in every
respect, the best edition of the _Jugemens des Savans_. The
curious, however, should obtain the portrait of Baillet
prefixed to the edition of 1722; as the copy of it in the
latter edition is a most wretched performance. These
particulars, perhaps a little too long and tedious, are
gleaned from the "Abregé" de la Vie de Baillet, printed in
the two last editions of the work just described.]
[Footnote 127: It will not be necessary to notice _all_ the
multifarious productions, in MS. and in print, of this
indefatigable bibliographer; who had cut out work enough for
the lives of ten men, each succeeding the other, and well
employed from morn 'till even, to execute. This is
Marchand's round criticism: _Dict. Hist._ vol. i., p. 100.
Beughem's _Incunabula Typographica_, 1688, 12mo., is both
jejune and grossly erroneous. The "_Bibliographia Eruditorum
Critico-Curiosa_," 1689, 1701, 4 vols., 12mo., being an
alphabetical account of writers--extracts from whom are in
the public literary Journals of Europe from 1665 to
1700--with the title of their works--is Beughem's best
production, and if each volume had not had a separate
alphabet, and contained additions upon additions, the work
would have proved highly useful. His "_Gallia Euridita_,"
Amst., 1683, 12mo., is miserably perplexing. In addition to
Marchand, consult the _Polyhist. Literar._ of Morhof, vol.
i., p. 179; and the note therein subjoined. See also "_Bibl.
Creven._," vol. v., p. 298: _Cat. de Santander_, vol. iv.,
nos. 6273-4: 6281-2.]
PHIL. You have at length reached the close of the 17th century; but my
limited knowledge of bibliographical literature supplies me with the
recollection of two names which you have passed over: I mean, THOMAS
BLOUNT and ANTONY-A-WOOD. There is surely something in these authors
relating to editions of the works of the learned.
LYSAND. You have anticipated me in the mention of these names. I had
not forgotten them. With the former,[128] I have no very intimate
acquaintance; but of the latter I could talk in commendation till
dinner time. Be sure, my good Lisardo, that you obtain _both_ editions
of the _Athenæ Oxoniensis_.[129]
[Footnote 128: Sir Thomas Pope Blount's "_Censura
Celebriorum Authorum_," Londini, 1690, folio, is
unquestionably a learned work--the production of a rural and
retired life--"Umbraticam enim vitam et ab omni strepitu
remotam semper in delitiis habui,"--says its author, in the
preface. It treats chiefly of the most learned men, and
sparingly of the English. His "_Remarks upon Poetry_,"
Lond., 1694, 4to. (in English) is more frequently read and
referred to. It is a pity that he had not left out the whole
of what relates to the Greek and Latin, and confined himself
entirely to the English, poets. A life of Sir Thomas Pope
Blount will be found in the new edition of the _Biographia
Britannica_.]
[Footnote 129: The first, and, what Hearne over and over
again calls the genuine edition of the _Athenæ Oxoniensis_,
was published in two folio volumes, 1691, 1692. That a
_third_ volume was intended by the author himself may be
seen from Hearne's remarks in his _Thom. Caii. Vind. Antiq.
Oxon._, vol. i., p. xliii. For the character of the work
consult his _Rob. de Avesb._, pp. xxvi, xxxiii. After the
lapse of nearly half a century, it was judged expedient to
give a new edition of these valuable biographical memoirs;
and Dr. Tanner, afterwards bishop of St. Asaph, was selected
to be the editor of it. It was well known that Wood had not
only made large corrections to his own printed text, but had
written nearly _500_ new lives--his MS. of both being
preserved in the Ashmolean Museum. This new edition,
therefore, had every claim to public notice. When it
appeared, it was soon discovered to be a corrupt and garbled
performance; and that the genuine text of Wood, as well in
his correctness of the old, as in his compositions of the
new, lives, had been most capriciously copied. Dr. Tanner,
to defend himself, declared that Tonson "would never let him
see one sheet as they printed it." This was sufficiently
infamous for the bookseller; but the editor ought surely to
have abandoned a publication thus faithlessly conducted, or
to have entered his caveat in the preface, when it did
appear, that he would not be answerable for the authenticity
of the materials: neither of which were done. He wrote,
however, an exculpatory letter to Archbishop Wake, which the
reader may see at length in Mr. Beloe's _Anecdotes of
Literature_, vol. ii., p. 304. Consult the life of the
author in Mr. Gutch's valuable reprint of Wood's "_History
and Antiquities of the University of Oxford_," 1792, 4to., 2
vols.: also, Freytag's _Analect. Literar._, vol. ii., 1105.
I have great pleasure in closing this note, by observing
that Mr. Philip Bliss, of St. John's College, Oxford, is
busily engaged in giving us, what we shall all be glad to
hail, a new and faithful edition of Wood's text of the
_Athenæ Oxoniensis_, in five or six quarto volumes.]
We have now reached the boundaries of the 17th century, and are just
entering upon the one which is past: and yet I have omitted to mention
the very admirable _Polyhistor. Literarius_ of MORHOF:[130] a work by
which I have been in a great measure guided in the opinions pronounced
upon the bibliographers already introduced to you. This work, under a
somewhat better form, and with a few necessary omissions and
additions, one could wish to see translated into our own language. The
name of MAITTAIRE strikes us with admiration and respect at the very
opening of the 18th century. His elaborate _Annales Typographici_ have
secured him the respect of posterity.[131] LE LONG, whose pursuits
were chiefly biblical and historical, was his contemporary; an able,
sedulous, and learned bibliographer. His whole soul was in his
library; and he never spared the most painful toil in order to
accomplish the various objects of his inquiry.[132] And here, my dear
friends, let me pay a proper tribute of respect to the memory of an
eminently learned and laborious scholar and bibliographer: I mean JOHN
ALBERT FABRICIUS. His labours[133] shed a lustre upon the scholastic
annals of the 18th century; for he opened, as it were, the gates of
literature to the inquiring student; inviting him to enter the field
and contemplate the diversity and beauty of the several flowers which
grew therein--telling him by whom they were planted, and explaining
how their growth and luxuriancy were to be regulated. There are few
instructors to whom we owe so much; none to whom we are more indebted.
Let his works, therefore, have a handsome binding, and a conspicuous
place in your libraries: for happy is that man who has them at hand to
facilitate his inquiries, or to solve his doubts. While Fabricius was
thus laudably exercising his great talents in the cause of ancient
literature, the illustrious name of LEIBNITZ[134] appeared as author
of a work of essential utility to the historian and bibliographer. I
allude to his _Scriptores Rerum Brunwicensium_, which has received a
well pointed compliment from the polished pen of Gibbon. After the
successful labours of Fabricius and Leibnitz, we may notice those of
STRUVIUS! whose _Historical Library_[135] should be in every
philological collection.
[Footnote 130: DANIEL GEORGE MORHOF, professor of poetry,
eloquence, and history, was librarian of the University of
Khiel. He published various works, but the above--the best
edition of which is of the date of 1747--is by far the most
learned and useful--"liber non sua laude privandus; cum
primus fere fuerit Morhofius qui hanc amoeniorum literarum
partem in meliorum redigerit." _Vogt._, pref. ix., edit.
1793. Its leading error is the want of method. His
"_Princeps Medicus_," 1665, 4to., is a very singular
dissertation upon the cure of the evil by the royal touch;
in the efficacy of which the author appears to have
believed. His "_Epistola de scypho vitreo per sonum humanæ
vocis rupto_," Kiloni, 1703, 4to.--which was occasioned by a
wine merchant of Amsterdam breaking a wine-glass by the
strength of his voice--is said to be full of curious matter.
Morhof died A.D. 1691, in his 53rd year: beloved by all who
knew the excellent and amiable qualities of his head and
heart. He was so laborious that he wrote during his meals.
His motto, chosen by himself,--PIETATE, CANDORE, PRUDENTIA,
should never be lost sight of by bibliomaniacs! His library
was large and select. These particulars are gleaned from the
_Dict. Historique_, Caen, 1789, vol. vi., p. 350.]
[Footnote 131: A compendious account of MAITTAIRE will be
found in the third edition of my _Introduction to the
Knowledge of rare and valuable Editions of the Greek and
Latin Classics_, vol. i., p. 148. See too Mr. Beloe's
_Anecdotes of Literature, &c._, vol iii., p. ix. The various
volumes of his _Annales Typographici_ are well described in
the _Bibl. Crevenn._, vol. v. p. 287. To these may be added,
in the bibliographical department, his _Historia
Stephanorum, vitas ipsorum ac libros complectens_, 1709,
8vo.--and the _Historia Typographorum aliquot Parisiensium
vitas et libros complectens_, 1717, 8vo.--Of these two
latter works, (which, from a contemporaneous catalogue, I
find were originally published at 4_s._ the common paper,)
Mr. T. Grenville has beautiful copies upon LARGE PAPER. The
books are rare in any shape. The principal merit of
Maittaire's _Annales Typographici_ consists in a great deal
of curious matter detailed in the notes; but the absence of
the "lucidus ordo" renders the perusal of these fatiguing
and unsatisfactory. The author brought a full and
well-informed mind to the task he undertook--but he wanted
taste and precision in the arrangement of his materials. The
eye wanders over a vast indigested mass; and information,
when it is to be acquired with excessive toil, is,
comparatively, seldom acquired. Panzer has adopted an
infinitely better plan, on the model of Orlandi; and if his
materials had been _printed_ with the same beauty with which
they appear to have been composed, and his annals had
descended to as late a period as those of Maittaire, his
work must have made us eventually forget that of his
predecessor. The bibliographer is, no doubt, aware that of
Maittaire's first volume there are two editions: why the
author did not reprint, in the second edition (1733), the
fac-simile of the epigram and epistle of Lascar prefixed to
the edition of the Anthology, 1496, and the Disquisition
concerning the ancient editions of Quintilian (both of which
were in the first edition of 1719), is absolutely
inexplicable. Maittaire was sharply attacked for this
absurdity, in the "Catalogus Auctorum," of the "_Annus
Tertius Sæcularis Inv. Art. Typog._," Harlem, 1741, 8vo., p.
11. "Rara certe Librum augendi methodus! (exclaims the
author) Satis patet auctorem hoc eo fecisse concilio, ut et
primæ et secundæ Libri sui editioni pretium suum constaret,
et una æque ac altera Lectoribus necessaria esset." Copies
of the Typographical Antiquities by Maittaire, upon LARGE
PAPER, are now exceedingly scarce. The work, in this shape,
has a noble appearance. While Maittaire was publishing his
Typographical Annals, ORLANDI put forth a similar work under
the title of "_Origine e Progressi della Stampa o sia dell'
Arte Impressoria, e Notizie dell' Opere stampate dall' Anno
1462, sino all' Anno 1500_." Bologna, 1722, 4to. Of this
work, which is rather a compendious account of the several
books published in the period above specified, there are
copies upon strong WRITING PAPER--which the curious prefer.
Although I have a long time considered it as superseded by
the labours of Maittaire and Panzer, yet I will not withhold
from the reader the following critique: "Cet ouvrage doit
presque nécessairement être annexé à celui de Maittaire à
cause de plusieurs notices et recherches, qui le rendent
fort curieux et intéressant." _Bibl. Crevenn._, vol. v.,
286-7. As we are upon publications treating of Typography,
we may notice the "_Annalium Typographicorum selecta quædam
capita_," Hamb., 1740, 4to., of LACKMAN; and HIRSCHIUS'S
supplement to the typographical labours of his
predecessors--in the "_Librorum ab Anno I. usque ad Annum L.
Sec. xvi. Typis exscriptorum ex Libraria quadam
supellectile, Norimbergæ collecta et observata, Millenarius
I._" &c. Noriberg, 1746, 4to. About this period was
published a very curious, and now uncommon, octavo volume,
of about 250 pages, by SEIZ; called "_Annus Tertius
Sæcularis Inventæ Artis Typographicæ_," Harlem, 1741--with
several very interesting cuts relating to Coster, the
supposed inventor of the art of printing. It is a little
strange that Lysander, in the above account of eminent
typographical writers, should omit to mention
CHEVILLIER--whose _L'Origine de l'Imprimerie de Paris, &c._,
1694, 4to., is a work of great merit, and is generally found
upon every bibliographer's shelf. Baillet had supplied him
with a pretty strong outline, in his short account of
Parisian printers. All the copies of Chevillier's book,
which I have seen, are printed upon what is called Foxey
paper. I believe there are none upon LARGE PAPER. We may
just notice LA CAILLE'S _Histoire de l'Imprimerie et de la
Librarie_, 1689, 4to., as a work full of errors. In order
that nothing may be wanting to complete the typographical
collection of the curious, let the "portraits of booksellers
and printers, from ancient times to our own," published at
Nuremberg, in 1726, folio--and "the Devices and Emblems" of
the same, published at the same place, in 1730, folio, be
procured, if possible. The Latin titles of these two latter
works, both by SCHOLTZIUS, will be found in the _Bibl.
Crevenn._ vol. v. 281. Renouard mentions the last in his
"_Annales de l'Imprimerie des Alde_," vol. ii. p. 63.
Meanwhile the _Monumenta Typographica_ of WOLFIUS, Hamb.,
1740, 2 vols., 8vo., embraces a number of curious and
scattered dissertations upon this interesting and valuable
art. It may be obtained for 8_s._ or 10_s._ at present! The
_Amoenitatus [Transcriber's Note: Amoenitates]
Literariæ, &c._, of SCHELHORN had like to have been passed
over. It was published in 14 small octavo volumes, at
Frankfort and Leipsic, from the year 1725 to 1731 inclusive.
The _Amoenitates Historiæ Ecclesiasticæ et Literariæ_, of
the same person, and published at the same place in two
octavo volumes, 1738, should accompany the foregoing work.
Both are scarce and sought after in this country. In the
former there are some curious dissertations, with cuts, upon
early printed books. Concerning the most ancient edition of
the Latin Bibles, Schelhorn put forth an express treatise,
which was published at Ulm in 1760, 4to. This latter work is
very desirable to the curious in biblical researches, as one
meets with constant mention of Schelhorn's bible. Let me not
omit ZAPF'S _Annales Typographiæ Augustanæ_, Aug. Vindel.,
1778; which was republished, with copious additions, at
Augsbourg, in two parts, 1786, 4to.--but unluckily, this
latter is printed in the German language. Upon Spanish
Typography (a very interesting subject), there is a
dissertation by Raymond Diosdado Caballero, entitled "_De
Prima Typographiæ Hispanicæ Ætate Specimen_," Rome, 1793,
4to.]
[Footnote 132: From the Latin life of LE LONG, prefixed to
his _Bibliotheca Sacra_, we learn that he was an adept in
most languages, ancient and modern; and that "in that part
of literature connected with BIBLIOGRAPHY (Typographorum et
Librorum Historia), he retained every thing so correctly in
his memory that he yielded to few literary men, certainly to
no bookseller." Of the early years of such a man it is a
pity that we have not a better account. His _Bibliotheca
Sacra_, Paris, 1725, folio, has been republished by MASCH
and BOERNER, in four volumes, 4to., 1778, and enriched with
copious and valuable additions. This latter work is quite
unrivalled: no young or old theologian, who takes any
interest in the various editions of the Holy Scriptures, in
almost all languages, can possibly dispense with such a fund
of sacred literature. The _Bibliothéque Historique de la
France_, 1719, folio, by the same learned and industrious
bibliographer, has met with a fate equally fortunate.
FONTETTE republished it in 1768, in five folio volumes, and
has immortalized himself and his predecessor by one of the
most useful and splendid productions that ever issued from
the press. De Bure used to sell copies of it upon LARGE
PAPER, in sheets, for 258 livres: according to the
advertisement subjoined to his catalogue of Count Macarty's
books in 1779, 8vo. The presses of England, which groan too
much beneath the weight of ephemeral travels and trumpery
novels, are doomed, I fear, long to continue strangers to
such works of national utility.]