-2. .2 34 
 
 
 
ERECTING OF A LIBRARY 
 
INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 Concerning Eredling of a 
 
 LIBRARY: 
 
 Prefented to My LORD 
 
 The PRESIDENT 
 
 De MESME. 
 
 BY 
 
 GABRIEL NAUDEUS,P. 
 
 And now Interpreted 
 
 BY 
 
 Jo. EVELYN, Efquire. 
 
 CAMER ID G , 
 
 Printed for Houghton, Mifflin & Company, 
 
 at the Riverfide Prefs, 
 
 l 903. 
 
Ill 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 GABRIEL NAUDE, the author of 
 "Advispour DreJJer une Biblio- 
 theque," was a medical ftudent of twenty- 
 two, in Paris, when Prejident Henri de 
 Mefmes made him his librarian in 1622. 
 He had already gained repute asfcholar 
 and bibliophile. He foon returned to his 
 medical Jludies ; but his librarian/hip 
 under de Mefmes hadjhown him where 
 his tq/tes and talents lay, and determined 
 his career. The " Advis " was written 
 and printed in 1627 tofave the labour of 
 writing out the many copies ajkedfor by 
 his friends, of his opinions and advice on 
 books and libraries. It is an indifpenfa- 
 ble document in the hijtory of the Maza- 
 
 rin 
 
Introduction 
 
 rin library, for, as Sainte-Beuve Jays, 
 that library has " thefeal o/* Naude over 
 it all." It embodies, in fat, the very 
 fpirit of Naude; itforecafts his career; 
 itfuggejls by its many allujions the young 
 mans learning ; and above all, it fets 
 forth the principles its brilliant author 
 was to follow twenty years later, firft in 
 building, next in making " open to all the 
 world, without excluding a living foul,' 9 
 the great library of Cardinal Mazarin. 
 {^ Naude completed his medical Jiudies 
 with honour, was librarian fuccejjively to 
 Cardinals Bagni & Barberini in Italy, 
 was recalled to Paris by Richelieu jujl 
 before the latter s death, and at forty- 
 two was engaged by Mazarin to form his 
 library. For Jive years he vijited the book 
 markets of Europe and gathered treafures, 
 
 and, 
 
Introduction 
 
 and, as Sainte Eeuvefays, " attained the 
 accompli/hment of the dream and the la- 
 bour of his whole life.' 9 Naude died on his 
 way home from ajbortftay in Stockholm, 
 where he was librarian to Queen Chrif- 
 tina, at Abbeville, July 29, 1653. Gui 
 Patin, his moft intimate friend, defcribes 
 him as tall and fpare, and lithe in his 
 movements. Patin, with others, te/ttfies 
 that he w as wife,far-feeing 9 and of well- 
 balanced mind ; and that he led a chq/te 
 and fober life. He wrote much in both 
 French and Latin . Of himfelf he f aid, in 
 his " Refined Politics," " I have addreff'd 
 my f elf to the Mufes, without being too 
 much enamour 9 d of them ; I was pleqf'd 
 with my Studies, but not too much ad- 
 diStedto them ; Ipaff'd through a Courfe 
 of Scholqftick Philofophy, without med- 
 dling 
 
Introduction 
 
 dling with the contentious part of it, and 
 through that of the Ancient and Mod- 
 erns, without being partial to any SeSl. 
 . . . Pedantry might have gained fome- 
 thing upon my Behaviour and Carriage, 
 during f even or eight Tears that IJtaidin 
 the Colleges, but lean ajfure myjelf that 
 it obtained no Advantage overmyfpirit. " 
 { The "Advis " appeared in an edition 
 revifed by the author in 1 644 . It has been 
 feveral times reprinted in French, and 
 once in Latin . The tranflation here given 
 is that of John Evelyn, and is referred to 
 more than once in the better known " Di- 
 ary." Under the date, November 16, 
 1661, occurs the entry : " I prefentedmy 
 tranflation of' Naudaeus concerning Li- 
 braries' to my Lord Chancellour, but it was 
 miferablyfalfe printed; " and another en- 
 try 
 
Introduction vii 
 
 try a few days later defcribes the vote of 
 thanks from "our philofophic affembly," 
 in recognition of "the honourable men- 
 tion I made of them by the name of Royal 
 Society " in the dedication to " my Tra- 
 duStion of Naudeus "as " too great an 
 honour for a trifle." This " TraduEtion," 
 to life Evelyn's quaint word, has been 
 here followed exaffily, with the exception 
 of a few obvious typographical errors. 
 
 JOHN COTTON DANA. 
 
IX 
 
 To the Right Honourable EDWARD, 
 Earl of CLARENDON, Vijcount CORN- 
 BERY, Baron HTDE of HYNDON ; 
 Lord High Chancellour of England, 
 Chancellour of the Univerfity of Ox- 
 ford, and one of the Lords of His 
 Majefties Privy Council. 
 
 MT LORD, 
 
 I HAVE had fo great a thirft to tefti- 
 fie to your Lordfhip, and to publifh 
 to the World the extraordinary Zeal 
 which I have for your fervice ; that pre- 
 tending to fo little merit of my own, and 
 yet having fo many obligations upon 
 me, I am to be excuf 'd, if in making 
 ufe of anothers Labours to accomplifh 
 my deiign, I take occafion by this Ded- 
 ication, 
 
x Dedication 
 
 ication, to declare to the world, how 
 immenfe your favours are, and how 
 prone I am to acknowledge them to the 
 utmoft of my Talents : And perhaps it 
 will be more acceptable to your Lord- 
 fhip, that I exprefs this rather by put- 
 ting an excellent Authour into your 
 hands (of which I pretend onelyto have 
 been the Interpreter] than, whilft that 
 learned perfon difcourfes fo well of ex- 
 cellent Books, to have multiplied the 
 number of the ill-ones, byfome produc- 
 tion of my own. I have made choice 
 (my Lord) of this Argument to pre- 
 fent to your Honour, becaufe I efteem 
 it the mod appofite, and the moft be- 
 coming, as it has an afpe6lto your Lord- 
 fhips nobleft Character, which is to be as 
 well L. Chancellour of the moft famous 
 
 Univerjity 
 
Dedication xi 
 
 Univerfity of the World, as L. High 
 Chancellour of England; and, becaufe 
 I think, worthily to prefide over Men 
 of Letters, is a greater dignity than to 
 be born to the name of Empire ; fo, as 
 what was faid of the great Themiftius 
 in the Epigramm, may with equal truth 
 be applied to your Lordfhip in all the 
 glorious fteps which you have afcended 
 v\)v yap aw /carets, That you were 
 never lefs than now you are; efpecially, 
 fince your Lordfhips Titles are not fo 
 much the produ6t of your Fortune, as 
 the effeft of your Merits; verifying by 
 your univerfal knowledge, the Rank 
 you hold over the Learned Republique, 
 as well as over the Political; which is, 
 in fumm, to be the greateft and moft ac- 
 complifh'd Mini/ter, that this Nation has 
 
 ever 
 
Dedication 
 
 ever celebrated. But in nothing does 
 this appear more confpicuous, and for 
 which your Lordfhip has greater caufe 
 to rejoice in, then that God hasenlight- 
 n'd your great Mind, with a fervour fo 
 much becoming it in the promoting and 
 encouraging of the ROYAL SOCIE- 
 TY; which is in one word, to have dared 
 a nobler thing, than has been donethefe 
 fifty Ages and more, that the Knowledge 
 of Caiifes,a.nd the Nature of Things have 
 layn concealed from us ; and that the 
 World has continued, without once hav- 
 ing aflum'd the Courage and Refolu- 
 tion, which our Illuftrious Prince, and 
 your Lordfhip, have fhewed in eftablifh- 
 ing, and cultivating a Defign fo worthy, 
 and perfe6live of Humane Felicity, as 
 far, at leaft, as in this life men may hope 
 
 to 
 
Dedication xiii 
 
 to attain it. My Lord, This is your Hon- 
 our, and this is truely to fix and to merit 
 it. For let men talk what they pleafe 
 of the Laurells of Conquerours,the Ti- 
 tles of great men, illuftrious and am- 
 ple Pofterity ; all the pleafures of the 
 lower fenfes how exalted foever by the 
 effe6ls of Opulence, & Fortune; which 
 make indeed a great noife, and ftir for 
 the time ; and, whilft the World is in 
 the Paroxyfme, bear much before them; 
 dazling the eyes of the Vulgar, & flat- 
 tering the weaker difcernements; They 
 arrive not to the leaft perceptible de- 
 gree of that Dignity, and true honour 
 which a man may raife to himfelf by 
 noble and virtuous A6lions; Becaufe 
 there is nothing folid in them, they laft 
 but for a moment, in their ufing lan- 
 
 guifh 
 
xiv Dedication 
 
 guifh and expire. He that would lay a 
 Foundation of true & permanent Hon- 
 our, that would place it beyond the reach 
 of Envy, muft qualifie it with fomething 
 more noble and intelleftual, and which 
 is not obnoxious to the common vicif- 
 fitudes ; becaufe, by whatever circum- 
 ftances fuch a worthy Defign may hap- 
 pen to be difcompof 'd, it will neverthe- 
 lefs be celebrated as long as Virtue 
 fhall have an Advocate here ; and when 
 the World fhall become fo deprav'd, 
 that there is nothing fincere remaining 
 in it, God himfelf will remunerate it 
 hereafter. If the Soveraignes and Pu- 
 iflances of the Earth (having fated 
 themfelves with their Triumphs over 
 Men and Provinces, enlarged their Do- 
 minions, and eftablifh'd their eftates) 
 
 would 
 
Dedication 
 
 would one day think (as our glorious 
 Prince has begun to them) of extend- 
 ing, and amplifying the Bounds & Em- 
 pire of real Philofophy, in purfuite of 
 thofe Magnalia Nature, to the glory 
 and contemplation of the Maker, and 
 the univerfal benefit of Mankind; how 
 happy would fuch Princes be, how for- 
 tunate their People ! And truely this has 
 made me frequently to confider, where- 
 in the felicity of that great Monarch con- 
 fifted, whofe heart was fo enlarged with 
 knowledge, improv'd to the good of his 
 Subje6ls, where filver was as the ftones 
 of the ftreets for abundance, and the 
 conveniences of life fo generally afflu- 
 ent: Certainly it is by fuch a Defign as 
 our own Solomon, and your Lord/hip, is 
 about to favour, that even We may 
 
 hope 
 
xvi Dedication 
 
 hope for thofe glorious times again, & 
 by which the publique health may be 
 confirm 'd, our Lives produced, know- 
 ledge and converfation improved, and 
 joy and contentednefs become as uni- 
 verfal as the Air which gives us breath : 
 For my Lord, what can be more glori- 
 ous, and worthy a Prince, to which God 
 himfelf has faid, Dixi, Dii eftis, I have 
 J aid ye are Gods, then by this means to 
 aid, and to comfort Mankind, which is 
 environ'd with fuch variety of Miferies ? 
 And to emancipate, & redeem the reft, 
 who by the utmoft of their endeavours 
 afpire to more happinefs, to be freed 
 from the Preffures,Errours and infinite 
 Miftakes which they fall into, for want 
 of Experiences, and competent fubfid- 
 iaries to eflay them. But to accomplifh 
 
 this, 
 
Dedication xvii 
 
 this, my Lord, There is certainly no- 
 thing more expedient, than in purfuite 
 of that ftupendious Idea of your Illuftri- 
 ous Predecefjbr, to fet upon a Defign no 
 way beneath that of his Solomons Houfe; 
 which, however lofty, and to appear- 
 ance Romantic, has yet in it nothing of 
 Impoffible to be effected, not onely con- 
 fidering it as Himfelf has fomewhere 
 defin'd the Qualifications, but as your 
 Lord/hip has defign'd the Inftruments 
 (and may in time, the Materials} as all 
 the World muft needs acknowledge, 
 that fhall but caft an eye over the Cat- 
 alogue of fuch as have already devoted 
 themfelves; Becaufe (but for the mif- 
 take which they made in honouring me 
 with their fuffrages) I fhould not blufh 
 to pronounce the Royal-Society furnifh'd 
 
 with 
 
xviii Dedication 
 
 with an Affembly as accomplifh'd for 
 that noble and great Attempt, as Eu- 
 rope, or the whole World befides, has 
 any to produce ; And that, my Lord, 
 becaufe it does not confift of a Company 
 of Pedants, & fuperficial perfons ; but 
 of Gentlemen, and Refined Spirits that 
 are univerfally Learn'd, that are Read, 
 TravelVd, Experiencd and Stout; in 
 fumm, my Lord, fuch as becomes your 
 Honour to cherifh, and our Prince to 
 glory in. Thefe are the Perfons, my 
 Lord, that without the leaft of fordid, 
 and felf intereft, do fupplicate the con- 
 tinuance of your Lordfhips Prote6lion, 
 and by your Influences to put them into 
 a farther capacity to proceed in that glo- 
 rious Work of Reftoring the Sciences, 
 Interpreting Nature, unfolding the ob- 
 
 ftrufities 
 
Dedication *ix 
 
 ftrufities of Arts, for the Recovery of 
 the Loft; Inventing, and Augmenting 
 of new and ufeful Things, & for what- 
 foever elfe is in the Dominion of infe- 
 riour Agents. For my own part, my 
 Lord, I profefs it, that were it in my 
 power to choofe, I had rather be the 
 Author of one good and beneficial In- 
 vention, than to have been Julius Cte- 
 far, or the great Alexander himfelf; & 
 do range the Names of a Gilbert, a Ba- 
 con, a Harvey, a Guttemberge, Columbus, 
 Goia, Metius, Janellus, Thyco, Galileo 
 (not to mention Hippocrates, Proclus, 
 Hieron, Archimedes, Ctejibes, Boetius, & 
 what more of the Antients) who gave 
 us the Ufe of the Load-ftone, Taught us 
 the Art of Printing; found out the Circu- 
 lation of the Blood, detected new Worlds, 
 
 invented 
 
xx Dedication 
 
 invented the Telefcope, and other opti- 
 call GlaffeSy Engines and Automates, a- 
 mongft the Heroes, whom they Dejfi'd, 
 and placed above the Stars; becaufe 
 they were the Authors of ten thoufand 
 more worthy Things, than thofe who 
 had never been named but for their 
 blood-fhed and cruelty, pride and pro- 
 digious lufts ; nor would any memory 
 of them have been preferv'd from ob- 
 livion, but for the Pens of fuch great 
 GeniuJ's & learned men, of whom fome 
 of them did the leaft deferve. The no- 
 ble Verulam your Lordfhips Predecef- 
 for, as he out-ftripp'd all who went be- 
 fore him ; fo is he celebrated as far as 
 knowledge has any Empire ; and (mau- 
 gre the frowardnefs of his latter For- 
 tune) the Learned rife up at the found 
 
 of 
 
Dedication 
 
 of his very Name ; And for what is all 
 this ? But his great and fhining endea- 
 vours to advance the excellency of 
 mens Spirits, cultivate humane Induftry, 
 and raife an Amphitheatre of Wifdom, 
 without which this publique Soul of his 
 had flept as much negle6led and forgot- 
 ten, as thofe who onely became great by 
 their power, & perifh'd with it. All this 
 your Lordfhip knows ; and therefore as 
 your Education has been amongft the 
 moft refin'd, you burn with a defire to 
 improve it alfo amongft others ; fo that 
 the Chancellours of France fhall not for 
 ever bear away the Reputation of hav- 
 ing rendred that Spot the envy of Eu- 
 rope, for being Fautors and Macenaf's 
 to fo many rare Witts, and laudable So- 
 cieties, as are amongft that Mercurial 
 
 people 
 
Dedication 
 
 people ; fince there is that left for your 
 Lord/hip and our Nation, which is as far 
 beyond the polifhingof Phrafes, & cul- 
 tivating Language, as Heaven is fupe- 
 riour to Earth, & Things are better than 
 Words; Though even thofe alfo will not 
 be negle6led in their due Time & Or- 
 der: But it is prodigious onely to eon- 
 fider, how long thefe fhells have been 
 plai'd with, & pleafed the World; That 
 after fo many Revolutions, in which 
 Learning has been feen as it were at its 
 higheft Afcendent, there never yet ap- 
 peared any man of Power, who pof- 
 feff'd a Soul big enough, & judgement 
 fuitable, to ere<5l fome confiderable 
 Foundation for Practical Philofophers, & 
 for the Aflembling of fuch whofe united, 
 and affiduous Endeavours, might pen- 
 etrate 
 
Dedication xxiii 
 
 etrate beyond the Walls of what is yet 
 difcover'd, or receiv'd upon truft 
 
 Atque omne immenjum peragrarent 
 mente, animoque 
 
 That might redeem the World from the 
 Infolency of fo many Errours as we 
 find by daily experience will not abide 
 the Teft, and yet retain their Tyranny ; 
 and that by the credit onely & addrefs 
 of thofe many Fencing- Schools which 
 have been built (not to name them Col- 
 ledges} and endow'd in all our Univer- 
 Jities : I fpeak not here of thofe rever- 
 end, and renouned Societies which con- 
 verfe with Theologie, cultivate the Laws, 
 Municipal, or Forreign ; But, I deplore 
 with juft indignation, the fupine negle6l 
 of the Other, amongft fuch numbers as 
 
 are 
 
xxiv Dedication 
 
 are fet apart for empty, and lefle fruit- 
 ful Speculations ; efpecially, fince I find 
 the pretences of fo many fober & qual- 
 ified perfons as have deplor'd this ef- 
 fe6l, fo very reafonable, and fo emi- 
 nently beneficial. Butwhy dol abound? 
 Your Lord/hip who is already pofleff'd 
 with all this, is not to be inftru6led, with- 
 out prefumption & impertinence, which 
 cannot be the leaft defign of this Epiftle; 
 fince thofe who know both your Lord- 
 fhips affe6lion, and inclination to pro- 
 mote fo glorious a Work, know alfo, 
 that there is none more able to make it 
 attain to its defired prote6lion. And this 
 is, my Lord, worthily to confult your 
 Fame, & to eternize your Name in the 
 World amongft the Good & the Virtu- 
 ous; which will make you live not onely 
 
 in 
 
Dedication xxv 
 
 in the Mouths & Pens, but in the Hearts 
 of gallant Perfons, and fuch as beft fkill 
 to make Eftimates of the Favours you 
 fhall confer upon them ; becaufe they 
 feek it not out of private advantage, 
 fordid purpofes, or artificially ; but to 
 the ends propof 'd ; The enlargement 
 of real knowledge, and for the publique 
 benefit; in fum, my Lord, for the moft 
 ufeful and nobleft eflfe<5ls, and for the 
 Glory of God. And thus, my Lord, I 
 have taken the boldnefs in prefenting 
 your Honour with this little Difcourfe 
 of Books and Libraries, to put thefe Re- 
 fle6lions of mine into your Lordfhips 
 hands ; Becaufe, as having my felf the 
 honour to have fome Relation to that 
 AJJembly, who make thefe their pre- 
 tences to conciliate your Efteem, I 
 
 think 
 
xxvi Dedication 
 
 think my felf obliged to acknowledge 
 with them likewife, your Lordfhips fa- 
 vourable Reception of their late Ad- 
 drejjes; and becaufe I am for fo many 
 other obligations in particular, to pub- 
 lilh to the world, how perfe<5lly I am, 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Tour mo/t humble, and mo/t 
 obliged Servant, 
 ]. EVELYN. 
 
 Instru6lions 
 
XXV11 
 
 Inftru6lions concerning Ere6ling of a 
 Library, prefented to my Lord the 
 Prefident De Mefme, by Gabr. Nau- 
 deus P. 
 
 TO THE READER 
 
 THIS Advice occajion'd by a cer- 
 tain difpute, which was fome 
 monethsjince controverted in his Library , 
 who was thenpleaf'd to accept of it, had 
 never been drawn out of the duft of my 
 ftudy, and expof'd to the Light; till not 
 finding my f elf able to render a better, or 
 more fpeedy fatisfaStion to the curiofity 
 of many of my Friends, who defired 
 Copies of it, I at loft refolv 'd to print it : 
 as well that it might deliver me from the 
 charge and inconveniency of the Tran- 
 
 fcribers, 
 
xxviii To the Reader 
 
 fcriberSy as for my natural propenfity to 
 oblige the publique ; zvhom, if this Ad- 
 vice be not worthy tofatisfie, it may yet 
 ferve as a Guide at leaft to thofe who de- 
 Jire tofurnifh the world with better ', that 
 it may no longer be deprived of a piece 
 which feems wanting to its felicity ; and, 
 for which refpeffi alone I have beenjirjl 
 conflraind to break the Yce, and trace the 
 way curforily for thofe who may render 
 it more perfpicuous at their leafure; This 
 if you Jhall accept , IJhall have caufe to 
 acknowledge your civility, & good will; 
 Ifotherwife, IJhall, at leaft, requejt you 
 to excufe my faults, and thofe of the 
 Printer. 
 
 A Table 
 
XXIX 
 
 A Table of the principal Matter s, 
 treated of in thefe InftruElions. 
 
 CHAP, i . One ought to be curious 
 in ere6ling of Libraries, and why? 
 Chap. 2. How to inform ones felf, and 
 
 what we are to know concerning 
 
 the ere<5ling of a Library. 
 Chap. 3. The Number of Books which 
 
 are requifite. 
 Chap.^. Of what quality and condition 
 
 they ought to be. 
 Chap. 5. By what expedients they may 
 
 be procured. 
 Chap. 6. The difpofition of the Place 
 
 where they fhould be kept. 
 Chap. 7. The Orders which it is requi- 
 fite to affign them. 
 
 Chap. 
 
XXX 
 
 A Table 
 
 Chap. 8. Of the Ornament and Deco- 
 ration neceffarily to be obferved. 
 
 Chap. 9. What ought to be the principal 
 Scope, and end of fuch a Library. 
 
 In 
 
XXXI 
 
 In primum Jlruenda ordinatim Biblio- 
 theca: AuEtorem, Gabr. Naudaeum. 
 
 Epigramma. 
 
 Compofuiffe Libros^promptum & trivia le cuique eft ; 
 Librorum Auttores compofuijfe, Tuum eft. 
 
 EJUSDEM LUSUS. 
 
 Bibliotheca licet tot fts Naudaee librorum, 
 
 Cufa heec non tamen eft Bibliotheca tua. 
 Non etenim veluti plantam parit altera planta^ 
 
 Bibliotbecam aliam Bibliotheca parit. 
 Si tamen ifta Tua eft^ mihi credito non nifi mon- 
 ftrum eft, 
 
 Cum Bibliothecam aliam Bibliotheca parit. 
 At monftrum ejfe negas ; quod doff a lutetia laudat : 
 
 Ergo divints fabrica mentis erit. 
 Non divum eft, inquis, humana conditum ab arte : 
 
 Die ergo tua tu Bibliotheca quid eft ? 
 
 J. C. FREY, Doft. Medic. & Philofoph. 
 in Academia Paris. Decanus. 
 
 JANUS 
 
XXX11 
 
 ' JANUS C^CILIUS FREY. 
 
 Invia ad artes & Scientias. Pars 4. 
 praecepta continet ordinandi Biblio 
 thecas. 
 
 SCRIPSIT AUREUM NUPER DE HAC 
 RE LIBELLUM GALLUM GABRIEL 
 NAUD^EUS. EGO FAUCIS REM DIFFI- 
 CILLIMAM ORDINATIM PROFERAM. 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS 
 
INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 Concerning Ereting 
 of a Library, /V*/#ta/ 
 to My Lord the Prefi- 
 dent DE MESME. 
 
 .... Juvat immemorata ferentem 
 Ingenuis oculifq; legi,manibufq; teneri. 
 
 MT LORD, 
 
 SUPPOSE it will not ap- 
 pear unreafonable, that I 
 give the Title & Quality 
 of a thing unheard of to 
 this Difcourfe, which I 
 prefent you with as much aflfeftion, as 
 your favour, & the fervice which I owe 
 you, oblige me to do: fince it is certain, 
 
 that 
 
2 Erecting of 
 
 that amongft the almoft infinite number 
 which have to this day taken the Pen in 
 hand, there never arrived any yet ( to my 
 knowledge) upon whofe advice a man 
 might regulate himfelf concerning the 
 choice of Books, the means of procuring 
 them, and how they fhould be difpof 'd 
 of, that they might appear with profit 
 and honour in a fair & Sumptuous Bib- 
 liotheque. 
 
 C,For though we have indeed the Coun- 
 fell which is given us by John Baptift 
 Cardon, Bifhop of Tortofa, touching the 
 ere6ling and entertainment of the Roy- 
 al Library of the Efcurial ; yet he hath 
 fo lightly pafled over this fubje6l, that 
 though we did not efteem it as good 
 as nothing, yet at leaft ought it not to 
 retard the happy defigne of thofe who 
 
 would 
 
a Library 3 
 
 would undertake to impart fome great- 
 er light and dire<5lions to others, upon 
 hope, that if they fucceed no better, the 
 difficulty of the Enterprife will not ren- 
 der them lefle excufable then him, and 
 exempt from all fort of blame and re- 
 proch. 
 
 C,As true it is, that it is not every 
 mans Talent to acquit himfelf happily 
 in this affair, and that the pains and the 
 difficulty which there is in acquiring a 
 fuperficial knowledge only of all the 
 Arts and Sciences, to deliver ones felf 
 from the fervitude & flavery of certain 
 opinions, which make us fpeak & gov- 
 ern all things according to our Fancy, 
 and to judge difcreetly, and without 
 paffion, of the merit and quality of Au- 
 thors ; are difficulties more than fuffi- 
 
 cient 
 
4 Erecting of 
 
 cient to perfwade us, that what Jujtus 
 Lipfius elegantly fpake, and much to 
 the purpofe, of two other forts of per- 
 fons, may be truly verified of a Library- 
 keeper: Confulesfiunt quotannis,&novi 
 Proconfules : Solus aut Rex aut Poeta 
 non quotannis nafcitur. 
 CL And if I, my Lord, affume the bold- 
 neffe to prefent you thefe Memoires & 
 Inftrudlions ; it is not, that I fo much 
 value and efteem my own Judgment, 
 as to interpofe it in an affair of fo much 
 difficulty ; or that I am fo far tranfported 
 with felf-love to imagine there is that 
 in me, which is fo rarely to be encoun- 
 tred amongft others : But the great af- 
 fe<5lion which I have to perform a thing 
 which may be acceptable to you, is the 
 folecaufe which excites me to joyn the 
 
 common 
 
a Library 
 
 common fentiments of divers perfons, 
 Learned, and extreamly verfed in the 
 knowledge of Books, & the feveral ex- 
 pedients pra6lifed by the moft famous 
 Bibliothecaries, to that which the little 
 Induftry & Experience I have my felf 
 obtained, may together furnifh me with- 
 all ; that I may with this Advice, re- 
 prefent unto you the Precepts and the 
 means on which it is neceflary to reg- 
 ulate ones felf, and attain a fortunate 
 fuccefle in this noble and generous en- 
 terprife. 
 
 C[And therefore, my Lord, after I have 
 made it my moft humble requeft, that 
 you would rather attribute this tedious 
 difcourfe to the candor and fincerity of 
 my affeftion, then to the leaft prefump- 
 tion of being capable to acquit my felf 
 
 "of 
 
6 Erecting of 
 
 of it more worthily then another; I (hall 
 freely tell you, that unlefle your de- 
 fignes be to equall the Vatican Library, 
 or the Ambrofiane of Cardinal Borro- 
 meus, you have already fufficient to give 
 your minde repofe, to be fatisfied, and 
 contented in pofleffing fuch a quantity 
 of Books, and fo rarely chofen, that 
 though it be not arrived to thofe dimen- 
 fions, it is yet more than fufficient, not 
 only to ferve your particular content- 
 ment, and the curiofity of your Friends ; 
 but to conferve likewife the reputation 
 of being one of the moft confiderable, 
 and beft furnifhed Libraries of France ; 
 fince you there enjoy all the Principals 
 in the chief Faculties, and a very great 
 number of others, which may minifter 
 to the various rencontres of particular 
 
 and 
 
a Library 7 
 
 and lefs obvious fubje6ls. But if your 
 Ambition be to render your name il- 
 luftrious by that of your Bibliotheque, 
 & to joyn this expedient alfo to thofe 
 which on all occafions you praftife by 
 the Eloquence of your Difcourfes, the 
 Solidity of your Judgment, & the glory 
 of the nobleft Dignities and Magiftra- 
 tures which you have fo fuccefsfully 
 borne, to render an eternal Luftre to 
 your Memory, and affure you whilft 
 you live, that you may with eafe difin- 
 velopeyour felf from the innumerable 
 volumes and Scrowles of Ages, to live 
 and be famous in the Memories of men ; 
 it will then be needfull to augment, and 
 every day to perfeft what you have fo 
 happily begun; and infenfibly to give 
 fuch, and fo advantageous a Progrefs to 
 
 your 
 
8 Erecting of 
 
 your Library, that it may become as 
 unparallePd as your felf, without equal ; 
 and as fair, perfe6t and accomplifh'd, 
 as it can be made by the Induftry of 
 thofe, who never effe6l any thing with- 
 out fome fpot and imperfe6lion. Adeo 
 nihil eft ab omniparte beatum. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
a Library 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 One ought to be curious in ereSling of 
 Libraries, and why ? 
 
 ND now, my Lord, fmce all the 
 difficulty of this Defigne confifts, 
 in that (being able to execute it with 
 facility) Tou think fit to undertake it. 
 It will be requifite, that, before we arrive 
 at thofe Precepts which may ferve to 
 put it in execution, we firft deduce, 
 & explain the reafons which are moft 
 likely to perfwade You, that it is to 
 Your advantage, and that You ought 
 by no means to negleft it. For not to 
 go far from the nature of this Enter- 
 prife, common fence will informe us, 
 
 that 
 
10 Erecting of 
 
 that it is a thing altogether laudable, 
 generous, and worthy of a courage 
 which breathes nothing but Immortal- 
 ity, to draw out of oblivion, conferve, & 
 ere6l (like another Pompey] all thefe 
 Images, not of the Bodies, but of the 
 Minds of fo many gallant men, as have 
 neither fpared their time, nor their In- 
 duftry, to tranfmit to us the moft lively 
 features and reprefentations of whatfo- 
 ever was moft excellent & confpicuous 
 in them. And this is alfo a thing which 
 the younger Pliny (who was none of 
 the leaft ambitious amongft theRomans) 
 would feem particularly to encourage 
 us in, by that handfome expreffion in 
 the firft of his Epiftles ; Mihi pulchrum 
 in primis videtur, non pati occidere qui- 
 bus aternitas debetur: fince this curious 
 
 paflage, 
 
a Library n 
 
 paflage, not trivial & vulgar, may le- 
 gitimately pafs for one of thofe lucky 
 prefages, of which Cardan fpeaks in his 
 Chapter de Jignis eximice potentia; for 
 that being extraordinary, difficult, and 
 of great expence, it can no wayes be 
 effe6led without giving every man oc- 
 cafion to fpeak well of it, and with Ad- 
 miration, as it were, of him who puts 
 it in Execution : Exiftimatio autem & 
 opinio (fayes the fame Author) rerum 
 humanarum regince funt. And in ear- 
 neft, if we finde it not ftrange that Deme- 
 trius made a fhew and Parade of his Ar- 
 tillery, vaft and prodigious Machines ; 
 Alexander the Great of his manner of 
 encamping; the Kings of JEgypt of their 
 Pyramides; nay Solomon of his Temple, 
 and others of the like : fince Tiberius 
 
 well 
 
12 Erecting of 
 
 well obferves it in Tacitus, cateris mor- 
 talibus in eo flare con/ilia quidjibi con- 
 ducere putent, principum diverfam ejje 
 fortem, quibus omnia ad famam diri- 
 genda : How much ought we then to 
 efteem of thofe, who have never fought 
 after thefe fuperfluous inventions, and, 
 for the moft part, unprofitable; well 
 judging and believing, that there was 
 no expedient more honeft and affur'd, 
 to acquire a great reputation amongft 
 the people, than in eredling of fair & 
 magnificent Libraries, to devote and 
 confecrate them afterward to the ufe 
 of the Publick ? As true is it, that this 
 Enterprife did never abufe nor deceive 
 thofe who knew how to manage it well, 
 and that it has ever been judg'd of fuch 
 confequence, that not only particular 
 
 perfons 
 
a Library 13 
 
 perfons have made it fuccefleful to their 
 own advantage, as Richard de Bury, Bef- 
 farion 9 Vincentim Pinelli, Sirlettus, Hen- 
 ry de Mefme your Grandfather of moft 
 happy memory, the Englifh Knight 
 Bodley, the late Prefident Thuanus, and 
 a world of others ; but that even the moft 
 ambitious would ftill make ufe of this, to 
 crown and to perfe6l all their glorious 
 atchievements, as with the Key-ftone of 
 the Arch, which adds luftre & ornament 
 to all the reft of the Edifice. And I pro- 
 duce no other proofs and teftimonies of 
 what I fay, than thofe great Kings of 
 JEgypt, & ofPergamus, Xerxes, Auguf- 
 tus, Lucullus, Charlemain, Alphonfus of 
 Arragon, Matth. Corvinus,& that great 
 Prince Francis the Firft, who have all 
 of them had a particular aflfe<5tion, and 
 
 fought 
 
14 Erecting of 
 
 fought (amongft the almoft infinite 
 number of Monarchs and Potentates, 
 which have alfo pra<5lif d this Strata- 
 gem ) to amafs great numbers of Books, 
 and ere<5l moft curious and well fur- 
 nifht Libraries : not that they flood in 
 need of other fubje6ls of recommenda- 
 tion and Fame, as having acquired fuffi- 
 cient by the Triumphs of their great & 
 fignal Vi6lories ; but becaufe they were 
 not ignorant, that thofe perfons, quibus 
 fola mentem animofque perurit gloria, 
 fhould negleft nothing which may eaf- 
 ily elevate them to the fupream and 
 Sovereign degree of efteem & reputa- 
 tion. And truly, fhould one enquire of 
 Seneca, what are to be the a6lions of 
 thefe gallant and puiflant GeniuJ's, 
 which feem not to have been fent into 
 
 the 
 
a Library 15 
 
 the world but to do Miracles, he would 
 certainly anfwer us 9 Neminemexcel/iin- 
 genii virum humilia deleStant &fordida, 
 magnarum rerumjpedes adje vocal & 
 allicit. And therfore, my Lord, it feems 
 very much to the purpofe, fince you 
 govern & prefide in all fignal A6lions, 
 that you never content your felf with a 
 Mediocrity in things which are good & 
 laudable; and fince you have nothing 
 of mean & vulgar, that you fhould alfo 
 cherifh, above all others, the honour 
 and reputation of poflefling a Biblio- 
 theque, the moft perfe6l, the beft fur- 
 nifh'd and maintained of your time. In 
 fine, if thefe Arguments have not power 
 fufficient to difpofe you to this Enter- 
 prife, I am at leaft perfwaded, That of 
 your particular fatisfa<5tion will of it felf 
 
 be 
 
16 Erecting of 
 
 be fufficiently capable to make you re- 
 folve upon it : For if it be poffible in this 
 world to attain any fovereign good, any 
 perfedl and accomplifht felicity, I be- 
 lieve that there were certainly none 
 more defireable than the fruitful enter- 
 tainment, and moft agreeable divertife- 
 ment which might be receivedfrom fuch 
 a Library by a learned man, & who were 
 not fo curious in having Books, ut illi 
 Jint ccenationum ornamenta, quam ut 
 Jludiorum injtrumenta, fince from that 
 alone he might with reafon name him- 
 felf Cofmopolitan, or Habitant of the 
 Univerfe ; that he might know all, fee 
 all, & be ignorant of nothing. Briefly, 
 feeing he is abfolute Mafter of this Con- 
 tentment, that he might manage it after 
 his own fancie, enjoy it when he would, 
 
 quit 
 
a Library 17 
 
 quit it when he pleaf 'd, entertain him- 
 felf in it at his liberty ; and that with- 
 out contradi6lion, without travail, and 
 without pains, he may inftru6l himfelf, 
 and learn the exa<5left particulars 
 
 Of all that is, that was, and that may be 
 In Earth, thefarthejl Heavens, and the 
 Sea. \ 
 
 I fhall only adde then, for the refult of 
 all thefe reafons, and of many other; 
 that it is eafier for you to conceive, than 
 'tis for any other to exprefle it, that I 
 pretend not hereby to engage you in a 
 fuperfluous & extraordinary expence, 
 as being not at all of their opinion, who 
 think Gold and Silver the principal 
 nerves of a Library, and who perfwade 
 themfelves, (efteeming Books only by 
 
 the 
 
18 
 
 Erecting of 
 
 the price they coft) that there is nothing 
 good to be had but what is dearly pur- 
 chafed. Yet, neither is it my defigne 
 to perfwade you, that fo great a provi- 
 fion can be made with a fhut purfe, and 
 without coft; very well knowing that 
 the faying of Plautus is as true on this 
 occafion, as in many others, Necejfe eft 
 facere fumptum qui qucerit lucrum: but 
 to let you fee by this prefent Difcourfe, 
 that there are an infinity of other expe- 
 dients, which a man may make ufe of 
 with a great deal more facility and lefle 
 expence, to attain at laft,the fcope which 
 I propofe to you. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
a Library 19 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 How to inform ones J elf \ and what we 
 
 ought to know concerning the eretf- 
 
 ing of a Library. 
 
 A MONGST thefe now, my Lord, I 
 y \ conceive there are none more 
 profitable & neceffary, than to be firft 
 well inftru6ted ones felf, before we ad- 
 vance on this enterprife, concerning the 
 order, and the method which we ought 
 precifely to obferve to accomplifh its 
 end. And this may be eflfe6ted by two 
 means, fufficiently eafie & fecure. The 
 Firft is, to take the counfel & advice of 
 fuch as are able to give it, concert & ani- 
 mate us viva voce: fuppofing that they 
 
 are 
 
Erecting of 
 
 are capable to do it; men of Letters, 
 fober and judicious, and who by being 
 thus qualified, are able to fpeak to the 
 purpofe, difcourfe & reafon well upon 
 every fubje6l; or for that they alfo are 
 purfuing the fame Enterprife with the 
 efteem & reputation of better fuccefie, 
 and to proceed therein with more in- 
 duftry, precaution, and judgment than 
 others do ; fuch as are at prefent MM. 
 de Fontenay, Hale, du Puis, Rzber, des 
 Cordes, and Moreau, whofe examples 
 one cannot erre in following; fince 
 according to the faying of Pliny the 
 younger : Stultiffimum effet ad imitan- 
 dum, non optima quceque Jibi proponere: 
 & for what concerns you in particular, 
 the variety of their procedures may 
 continually furnifh you with fome new 
 
 addrefle 
 
a Library si 
 
 addreffe and light, which will not be, 
 perad venture, unferviceable to the pro- 
 grefle and advancement of your Li- 
 brary ; by the choice of good Books, 
 and of whatfoever is the moft curious 
 in every one of theirs. The Second is, 
 to confult, & diligently to colle6l thofe 
 few Precepts that maybe deduc'd from 
 the Books of fome Authors, who have 
 written but fleightly upon this matter ; 
 as for inftance, The Counfel of Baptifta 
 Cardonius 9 the Philobiblion ofRichardus 
 de Bury, the life of Vincentius Pinelli, 
 the Books of PoJJevine, de cultura inge- 
 niorum, of that which Lipjius has made 
 concerning Libraries, and of all the 
 feveral Tables, Indexes , and Catalogues; 
 and govern ones felf by the greateft 
 & moft renowned Bibliotheques which 
 
 were 
 
Erecting of 
 
 were ever ere<5led : fince to purfue the 
 advice & precept of Cardan, His max- 
 ime in unaquaque re credendum eft, qui 
 ultimum de fe experimentum dederint. 
 In order to this, you muft by no means 
 omit, and negle6l to caufe to be tran- 
 fcrib'd all the Catalogues, not only of 
 the great and moft famous Libraries, 
 whether ancient or modern, publike or 
 private, with us, or amongft ftrangers ; 
 but alfoof the Studies & Cabinets, which 
 for not being much known, or vifited, 
 remain buried in perpetual filence : A 
 thing which will no way appear ftrange, 
 if we confider four or five principal rea- 
 fons, which have caufed me to eftablifh 
 this propofition. The firft whereof is, 
 That a man can do nothing in imitation 
 of other Libraries, unlefle by the means 
 
 "of 
 
a Library 23 
 
 of their Catalogues he have knowledge 
 of what they contain. The fecond, For 
 that they are abletoinftru&us concern- 
 ing the Books themfelves,the place, the 
 time, and the form of their Impreffion. 
 The third, Becaufe that a minde which 
 is generous and nobly born, fhould have 
 a defire and an ambition to aflemble, as 
 in one heap, whatfoever the others pof- 
 fefle in particular, ut quce divifa beatos 
 efficiunt, infe mixtafluant. The fourth, 
 For that by this means, one may fome- 
 times do a friend fervice and pleafure ; 
 and when we cannot furnifh him with 
 the Book he is in queft of, fhew and 
 dire<5l him to the place where he may 
 finde fome Copie, a thing very feafible 
 by the afliftance of thefe Catalogues. 
 Finally, Becaufe it is altogether impof- 
 
 fible, 
 
24 Erecting of 
 
 fible, that we fhould by our own induf- 
 try, learn, and know the qualities of 
 fo vaft a number of Books, as it's re- 
 quifite to have, it is not without rea- 
 fon, that we follow the judgments of the 
 moft intelligent and beft verfed in this 
 particular, and then to deduce this In- 
 ference; Since thefe Books have been 
 collected and purchaf 'd by fuch and 
 fuch, there is reafon to believe, they 
 deferv'd it for fome circumftance un- 
 known to us : And in effe6l, I may truly 
 fay, that for the fpace of two or three 
 years, that I have had the honour to 
 meet fometimes with M. de F. amongft 
 the Book-fellers, I have frequently feen 
 him buy Books fo old, ill bound, and 
 wretchedly printed, that I could not 
 chufe, but fmile and wonder together, 
 
 till 
 
a Library 25 
 
 till that he being afterwards pleaf 'd to 
 tell me the caufe and the circumftances 
 for which he purchaf 'd them ; his rea- 
 fons feemed to be fo pertinent, that I 
 fhall never otherwife think, but that he 
 is a perfon the beft verfed in the know- 
 ledge of Books, and difcourfes of them 
 with more experience and judgment, 
 than any man whatfoever, not only in 
 France, but in all the world befides. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
26 Erecting of 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 The Number of Books which are requifite. 
 
 THE firft Difficulty having been 
 thus deduced & explain'd,that 
 which ought to follow and approach us 
 neereft, obliges us to enquire, if it be to 
 purpofe to make any great provifion of 
 Books, to render thereby our Library 
 famous, if not by the quality of them, 
 yet atleaft by the unparalleFd and pro- 
 digious quantity of its Volumes ? For it 
 is certainly the opinion of very many, 
 that Books are like to the Laws & Sen- 
 tences of the Jurifconfults, which (as 
 one fayes ) aftimantur pondere & quali- 
 tate, non numero; & that it appertains 
 
 to 
 
a Library 27 
 
 to him only, to difcourfe handfomely 
 upon any point of Learning, who is leaft 
 converfant in the feveral Readings of 
 thofe Authors which have written upon 
 it: and really, it feems that thofe gal- 
 lant Precepts, & Moral Ad vertifements 
 of Seneca, Paretur Librorum quantum 
 fatis ejt,nihil in apparatum: Onerat dif- 
 centem turba,non inftruit, multoque fa- 
 tius eftpauciste auSloribus tradere; quam 
 err are per multos. Quum legere non pof- 
 Jis quantum habeas, fat eft te habere 
 quantum legas, and divers other like it, 
 which he gives us in five or fix places 
 of his Works, may in fome meafure 
 favour, and fortifie this opinion, by the 
 authority of fo great a Perfon : But if 
 we would entirely fubvert it, to eftab- 
 lifh our own as the moft probable, we 
 
 need 
 
28 Erecting of 
 
 need only fix our felves upon the great 
 difference which there is between the 
 Induftry of a particular man, and the 
 Ambition of him who would appear 
 confpicuous by the Fame of his Biblio- 
 theque : or 'twixt him that alone defires 
 to fatisfie himfelf, & him that only feeks 
 to gratifie and oblige thePublique. For 
 certain it is, that all thefe precedent 
 reafons point only to the Inftruftion of 
 thofe who would judicioufly, and with 
 order & method, make fome progrefs 
 in the Faculty which they purfue; or 
 rather, to the condemnation of thofe 
 that Ihewthemfelves fufficiently know- 
 ing, & pretend to great abilities, albeit 
 they no more difcern this vaft heap of 
 Books, which they have already aflem- 
 bled, then did thofe crooked perfons 
 
 "(to 
 
a Library 29 
 
 (to whom King Alphonfus was wont to 
 compare them ) that huge bunch which 
 they carried behind their Back; which 
 is really very feafonably reproch'd by 
 Seneca, in the places before alledged; 
 & in plainer terms yet, where he fayes, 
 Quo mihi innumerabiles libros &Biblio- 
 thecas, quarum dominus vix tola vitajua 
 indices perlegit? As by that Epigram 
 alfo which Aujonius fo handfomly ad- 
 dreffes ad Philomufum. 
 
 Emptis quod libris tibi Bibliotheca re- 
 
 ferta ejl, 
 Dotfum & Grammaticum te Philo- 
 
 mufe putas? 
 Hoc genere et chordas, et pletra,et bar- 
 
 bita conde, 
 Omnia mercatus,cras Ciiharcedus eris; 
 
 That 
 
30 Erecting of 
 
 That thou with Books thy Library haft 
 
 fill'd, 
 Think'ft thou thy felf learn'd, and in 
 
 Grammar fkilPd? 
 Then ftor'd with Strings, Lutes, Fiddle- 
 
 fticks now bought; 
 To morrow thou Mufitian may'ft be 
 
 thought. 
 
 <[But you, my Lord, who have the re- 
 putation of knowing more then can be 
 taught you, and who deprive your felf 
 of all fort of contentments, to enjoy, & 
 plunge your felf, as it were, in theplea- 
 fure which you take in courting good 
 Authors ; to you it is that it properly at- 
 tains, to poffefs aBibliotheque, themoft 
 auguft, and ample, that hath ever been 
 ere6ted: to the end it may never be faid 
 
 hereafter, 
 
a Library 31 
 
 hereafter, that it was only for want of a 
 little care which you might have had, 
 that you did not beftowthis Piece upon 
 the Publique; and of your felf, that all 
 the a6lions of your life had not furpaffed 
 the moft heroick exploits of the moft 
 illuftrious perfons. And therefore I 
 fhall ever think itextreamly neceffary, 
 to colle6l for this purpofe all forts of 
 Books, (under fuch precautions, yet, as 
 I fhall eftablifh) feeing a Library which 
 is ere<5led for the publick benefit ought 
 to be univerfal, but which it can never 
 be, unleffe it comprehend all the prin- 
 cipal Authors that have written upon the 
 great diverfity of particular Subjects, & 
 chiefly upon all the Arts & Sciences ; of 
 which, if one had but confidered the vaft 
 numbers which are in the Panepiftemon 
 
 of 
 
Erecting of 
 
 ofAngelus Politianus 9 or in any other ex- 
 a6l Catalogue lately compiled : I do not 
 at all doubt, but that you will be ready 
 to judge by the huge quantity of Books 
 ( which we ordinarily meet with in Li- 
 braries ) in ten or twelve of them, what 
 number you ought to provide, to fatif- 
 fie the curiofity of the Readers upon 
 all that remains. And therefore I do 
 nothing wonder, that Ptolemy King of 
 JEgypt did not for this purpofe colle6l 
 one hundred thoufand Volumes, as Ce- 
 drenus will have it ; not four hundred 
 thoufand, as Seneca reports ; not five 
 hundred thoufand as Jojephus afiures 
 us ; but feven hundred thoufand, as wit- 
 nefle, & accord, Aulus Gellius, Ammia- 
 nus Marcellinus, Sabellicus Volaterran. 
 Or that Eumenes the fon of Attains had 
 
 collected 
 
a Library 33 
 
 collected two hundred thoufand; Con- 
 ftantine a hundred and twenty thou- 
 fand : Sammonicus ( Preceptor to the 
 Emperour Gordian the younger )fixty 
 two thoufand. Epaphroditus, a fimple 
 Grammarian only, thirty thoufand. And 
 that Richard of Bury, Monjieur de Thou, 
 and Sir Tho. Bodley have made fo rare 
 a pro vifion, that the Catalogues only of 
 either of their Libraries do amount to a 
 juft Volume. For certainly there is no- 
 thing which renders a Library more re- 
 commendable, then when every man 
 findes in it that which he is in fearch of, 
 and could no where elfe encounter ; this 
 being a perfect Maxime, That there is 
 no Book whatfoever, be it never fo bad 
 or decried, but may in time be fought for 
 by fome perfon or other; fince accord- 
 ing 
 
34 Erecting of 
 
 t 
 
 ing to that of the Satyrift, 
 
 Mille hominumfpecies, & rerum dif color 
 
 ujus, 
 Vellefuumcuiqueeft>nec voto vivitur uno. 
 
 And that it is commonly amongft Read- 
 ers as it was with Horace's three Guefts, 
 
 Pofcentes vario nimium diverf a potato. 
 
 There being no better refemblance of 
 Libraries, then to the Meadow of Sen- 
 eca, where every living creature findes 
 that which is moft proper for them : 
 Bosherbam, Cants leporem, Ciconia lacer- 
 tuih. And befides, we are to believe, that 
 every man who feeks for a Book, judges 
 it to be good ; and conceiving it to be fo, 
 without finding it, is forced toefteem it 
 curious and very rare ; fo that coming 
 
 at 
 
a Library 35 
 
 at laft to encounter it in fome Library, 
 he eafily thinks, that the Owner of it 
 knew it as well as himfelf : and that he 
 bought it upon the fame account that 
 excited him to fearch after it ; and in 
 purfuit of this, conceives an incompar- 
 able efteem both of the Owner, and of 
 the Library ; which coming afterwards 
 to be publifhed, there will be need but of 
 few like encounters, joyn'd to the com- 
 mon opinion of the Vulgar, Cui magna 
 pro bonisfunt, to fatisfie & recompence 
 a man that accounts it never fo little 
 honour and glory in all his expences & 
 pains. Andbefides,fhould one enter into 
 the confideration of times, of places, & 
 new inventions, no man of Judgement 
 can doubt, but that it is much eafier at 
 prefent,to procure thoufands of Books, 
 
 then 
 
36 Erecting of 
 
 then it was for the Antients to get hun- 
 dreds ; and that by confequent, it would 
 be an eternal fhame and reproch in us, 
 to come beneath them in this particular, 
 which we may furmount with fo much 
 advantage and facility. Finally, as the 
 quality of Books does extreamly aug- 
 ment the efteem of a Library amongft 
 thofe who have the means, and the lea- 
 fure tounderftand it; fo muftit needs be 
 acknowledged, that the fole quantity of 
 them brings it into luftre, & reputation, 
 as well amongft Strangers and Travel- 
 lers, as amongft many others, who have 
 neither the time, nor the conveniencyof 
 exa<5lly turningthem over in particular ; 
 as may eafily be judged by the prodi- 
 gious number of Volumes, that there 
 muft needs be an infinity of good ones, 
 
 fignal, 
 
a Library 37 
 
 fignal, and remarkable. Howbeit, nei- 
 ther to abandon this infinite quantity 
 without a definition, nor to put thofe 
 that are curious out of hopes of being 
 able to accomplifh, and finifh fo fair an 
 enterprife ; it would, me thinks, be very 
 expedient to do like thofe Phyfitians, 
 who prefcribe the quantity of Drugs ac- 
 cording to their qualities ; & to affirm, 
 that a man can never fail in collecting 
 all thofe which fhall have the qualities 
 & conditions requifite & fit to be placed 
 in a Library. Which that you may dif- 
 cern, one muft be carefull to take with 
 him divers Theorems, and precautions; 
 which may with more facility be re- 
 duc'd to practice as opportunity hap- 
 pens, by thofe who have the routine, & 
 are verf 'd in Books, and who judge of 
 
 aft 
 
3 8 Erecting of 
 
 all things maturely & without paffion, 
 then poffibly be deduced, and couch'd 
 in writing, feeing they are almoft infi- 
 nite ; and that, to fpeak ingenuoufly, 
 fome of them combat the mod vulgar 
 opinions, and maintain Paradoxes. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
a Library 39 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Of what Quality and Condition Books 
 ought to be. 
 
 I WILL now fay notwithftanding, 
 that to omit nothing which may 
 ferve us for a Guide, & in this Difqui- 
 fition, that the prime Rule which one 
 ought to obferve, is, in the firft place 
 to furnifh a Library with all the chief 
 & principal Authors, as well antient as 
 modern, chofen of the beft Editions, in 
 grofs,or in parcels, & accompanied with 
 their moft learned, & beft Interpreters, 
 & Commentators, which are to be found 
 in every Facultie ; not forgeting thofe 
 which are lefle vulgar, and by confe- 
 
 quent 
 
40 Erecting of 
 
 quent more curious : As for Example, 
 with the feveral Bibles, the Fathers, & 
 the Councels, for the grofs of Theology : 
 with Lyra, Hugo, Toftatus, Salmeron, for 
 the poiitive: with S. Thomas, Occhus, 
 Durandus, Peter Lombard, Henricus 
 Magnus, Alexander of Hales, JEgidius 
 Romanus, Albertus magnus, Aureolus, 
 Burleus, Capreolus, Major, Vafques, Sua- 
 rez, for the Scholiaftick: with the Body 
 of the Courts Civil and Canon Laws ; 
 with Baldus, Bartholus, Cujas, Alciat, 
 du Moulin for the Law : with Hippoc- 
 rates, Galen, Paulus Mginetus, Oriba- 
 Jius, TEtius, Trallian,Avicen, Avenzoar, 
 Fernelius, for Phyfick : Ptolomy, Firmi- 
 cus, Holy, Cardan, Stoflerus, Gauricus, 
 JunStinus, for Aftrologie : Halhazen, 
 Vitellio, Bacon, Aguillonius, for the 
 
 Opticks : 
 
a Library 41 
 
 Opticks: Diophantes, Boetius, Jordan, 
 Tartaglia, Silifcus, Lucus de Burgo, 
 Villefranc for Arithmetick : Artemido- 
 rus, Apomazar, Sinejius, Cardonius, for 
 Dreams : And fo with all the other, 
 which it would be too long, and trou- 
 blefome, to fpecifie and enumerate pre- 
 cifely. 
 
 Cjn the fecond place; To procure all 
 the old and new Authors that are wor- 
 thy of confideration, in their proper Lan- 
 guages, and particular Idioms : The Bi- 
 bles and Rabbies in Hebrew; the Fathers 
 in Greek & Latine ; Avicenne in Arabick ; 
 Bocacio, Dantes, Petrarch, in Italian ; 
 together with their beft Verfions,Ldtfm, 
 French, or fuch as are to be found : 
 Thefe laft being for the ufe of many 
 perfons who have not the knowledge of 
 
 forrein 
 
42 Erecting of 
 
 forrein Tongues; &the former, for that 
 it is very expedient to have the fources 
 whence fo many ftreams do glide in 
 their natural chanels without art or dif- 
 guife; and that we ordinarily meet with 
 a more certain efficacy, and richnefs of 
 conception, in thofe that cannot retain 
 & conferve their luftre fave in their na- 
 tive languages, as Pictures do their col- 
 ours in proper lights : not to fpeak of 
 the neceffity alfo which one may have 
 for the verification of Texts & paflages 
 ordinarily controverted, or dubious. 
 C. Thirdly, Such Authors as have beft 
 handled the parts of any Science or Fac- 
 ulty, whatever it be : As Bellarmine for 
 Controverfies, Tolet, and Navarr 9 Caes 
 of Confcience, Vejalius Anatomie, Afdtf- 
 thiolus the Hiftory of Plants, Gefner & 
 
 Aldrovandus 
 
a Library 43 
 
 Aldrovandus that of Animals, Rondole- 
 tius and Salvianus that of Fifties, Vico- 
 mercatus that of Meteors, &c. 
 C. In the fourth place, All thofe that 
 have heft commented, or explained any 
 Author or Book in particular; as Pere- 
 rius upon Genejis; Villalpandus, Eze- 
 chiel; Maldonat, the Gofpels; Monlorius 
 and Zabarella the Analyticks; Scaliger, 
 Theophrq/tusHiRoYy of Plants; Proclus, 
 & Marfilius Ficinus upon Plato ; Alex- 
 ander, & Themiftius upon Arijtotle; Flu- 
 rancius Rivaultius, Archimedes; Theon 
 and Campanus 9 Euclide; Cardan, Ptolo- 
 mie : And this fhould be obferved in all 
 forts of Books and Treatifes, antient or 
 modern, who have met with Commen- 
 tators and Interpreters. 
 f^Next, all that have written & made 
 
 Books 
 
44 Erecting of 
 
 Books and Trails upon any particular 
 fubjeft ; be it concerning the Species or 
 Individuals,^ Sanchez, whohath amply 
 treateddematrimonio: SainStes & Perron 
 of the Euchari/t; Gilbertus of theLoad- 
 ftone ; Maier, de volucri arborea ; Scortia, 
 Vendelinus, and Nugarola concerning 
 the Nile : the fame to be underftood of 
 all forts of particular Treatifes in mat- 
 ter of Law, Divinity, Hiftory, Medicine, 
 and what ever elfe there may be : with 
 this difcretion neverthelefle, that he 
 which moft approches to the profeffion 
 which he purfues, be preferred before 
 any other. 
 
 ^Moreover, All fuch as have written 
 moftfucceffefully aga.mfta.ny Science, or 
 that have oppof 'd it with moft Learning 
 and animofity ( howbeit without chang- 
 ing 
 
Library 
 
 45 
 
 ing the principles ) againft the Books of 
 fome of the moft famous and renowned 
 Authors. And therefore one muft not 
 forget Sextus Empiricus, Sanchez, and 
 Agrippa, who have profeffedly endeav- 
 oured to fubvert all the Sciences: Pi- 
 cus Mirandula, who has fo learnedly re- 
 futed the Aftrologers : Eugubinus, that 
 has dafhed the impiety of the Salmones, 
 & irreligious : Morifotus, that has over- 
 thrown the abufe of Chymifts : Scaliger, 
 who has fo fortunately oppof 'd Cardan, 
 as that he is at prefent in fome part of 
 Germany more followed then Anftotle 
 himfelf : Cafaubon,who durft attaque the 
 Annals of that great Cardinal Baronius : 
 ArgenteriuSy who hath taken Galen to 
 tafke : Thomas Erq/lus, who has fo per- 
 tinently refuted Paracelfus : Carpenter, 
 
 who 
 
46 Erecting of 
 
 who has fo rigoroufly oppof 'd Ramus: 
 and finally, all thofe that haveexercif 'd 
 themfelves in the like confli<5ls, & that 
 are folinkttogether, that it were as great 
 an error to read them feparately, as to 
 judge and underftand one party without 
 the other, or one Contrary without his 
 Antagonift. 
 
 '{[.Neither are you to omit all thofe 
 which have innovated or chang'd any 
 thing in the Sciences; for it is properly 
 to flatter the flavery, and imbecillity of 
 our wit, to conceal the fmall knowledge 
 which we have of thefe Authors, under 
 the difdain which we ought to have, be- 
 caufe they oppofe the Antients, and for 
 that they have learnedly examined what 
 others were ufed to receive, as by Tra- 
 dition : And therefore, feeing of late 
 
 more 
 
a Library 47 
 
 more than thirty or fourty Authors of 
 reputation have declared themfelves 
 againft Ariftotle; that Copernicus, Kep- 
 ler, Galiltfus, have quite altered Aftron- 
 omie ; Paracelfus, Severinus the Dane, 
 Du Chefne, & Crollius, Phyfick : & that 
 divers others have introduced new Prin- 
 ciples, and have eftablifhed ftrange & 
 unheard of Ratiocination upon them, & 
 fuch as were never forefeen : I affirm, 
 that all thefe Authors are very requi- 
 fite in a Library, fince according to the 
 common Saying, 
 
 Eft quoque cunStarum novitas gratif- 
 fima rerum; 
 
 and (not to infift upon fo weak a rea- 
 fon) that it is certain, the knowledge of 
 thefe Books is fo expedient, & frugifer- 
 
 ous 
 
48 Erecting of 
 
 ous to him who knows how to make 
 reflection, and draw profit from all that 
 he fees, that it will furnifh him with a 
 million of ad vantages, and new concep- 
 tions ; which being received in a fpirit 
 that is docile, univerfal, and difingag'd 
 from all interefts, 
 
 NulliiisaddiStusjurare in verba Magiftri, 
 
 they make him fpeak to the purpofe 
 upon all fubje<5ls, cure the admiration 
 which is a perfe6l figne of our weak- 
 neffe, & enables one to difcourfe upon 
 whatfoever prefents it felf with a great 
 deal more judgment, experience, and 
 refolution, then ordinarily many per- 
 fons of letters and merit are ufed to do. 
 C.One fhould like wife have thisconfid- 
 eration in the choice of Books, to fee 
 
 whether 
 
a Library 49 
 
 whether they be the firft that have been 
 compofed upon the matter on which 
 they treat. Since 'tis with mens Learn- 
 ing, as with water, which is never more 
 fair, pure, and limpid, then at its fource; 
 All the Invention comeing from the 
 Firft, and the Imitation with repetition 
 from others: as 'tis eafy to perceive that 
 Reuchlin who firft writ of the Hebrew 
 Tongue, and the Cabal ; Budeus of the 
 Greek, and of Coyns; Bodinus of a Re- 
 publique ; Codes of Phyfiognomie ; Pe- 
 ter Lombard, S. Thomas, of Scholaftical 
 Divinity, have done better than thofe 
 many others, which ingag'd themfelves 
 in writing fince them. 
 { Moreover ought one alfo to take no- 
 tice, whether the Subje6ls of which they 
 treat be trifling or lefs vulgar ; curious or 
 
 negligent; 
 
50 Erecting of 
 
 negligent ; fpinie or facil ; feeing what 
 we ufed to fay of all things elfe that be 
 not common, may be fo appofitely ap- 
 ply ed to curious new Books; 
 
 Rara juvant, primisjic major gratia po- 
 
 mis, 
 Hibernce pretiumfic meruere rofce. 
 
 CL Under the notion then of this pre- 
 cept we (hould open our Libraries, and 
 receive them therein, who firft wrote of 
 Subje6ls the leaft known, and that have 
 not been treated of before, unlefs in 
 Fragments, and very imperfe6lly; as 
 Licetus, who hath written defpontaneo 
 viventium ortu, de lucernis antiquorum ; 
 Tagliacotius, how to repair a decayed 
 Nofe ; Libavius & Goclinus of the Mag- 
 netickOyntment ; Secondly, All curious 
 
 and 
 
a Library 51 
 
 and not vulgar Authors ; fuch as are the 
 books of Cardan, Pomponacius, Brunus, 
 and all thofe who write concerning the 
 Caball, Artificial Memory, the Lullian 
 Art, the Philofophers Stone, Divinations, 
 and the like matters. For, though the 
 greateft part of them teach nothing but 
 vain and unprofitable things, and that I 
 hold them but as Humbling blocks to 
 all thofe who amufe themfelves upon 
 them, yet not withftanding that one may 
 have wherwithalto content the weaker 
 wits, as well as the ftrong; and at the 
 leaft fatisfie thofe who defire to fee them, 
 to refute them, one fhould colle6l thofe 
 which have treated on them, albeit they 
 ought to be accounted amongft the reft 
 of the Books in the Library, but as Ser- 
 pents and Vipers are amongft other liv- 
 ing 
 
52 Erecting of 
 
 ing Creatures; like Cockle in a Field 
 of good wheat; like Thorns amongft 
 the Rofes: and all this in imitation of 
 the world, where thefe unprofitable 
 and dangerous things accomplifh the 
 Mafter-piece, and the Fabrick of that 
 goodly compofition. 
 <L And this Maxime fhould lead us to 
 another of no lefs confequence, which 
 is, not to negle6t the works of the prin- 
 cipal Herejiarchs or Fautors of new Re- 
 ligions different from ours, more com- 
 mon, & revered, as more juft & veritable: 
 For it is very likely, fince the firft of 
 them, (not to fpeak of the new ones) 
 have been chofen, and drawn out from 
 amongft the moft learned perfonages of 
 the precedent Age, who by I know not 
 what Fancie, and exceffi ve love to nov- 
 elty, 
 
a Library 53 
 
 elty, did quit their Cafjbcks, & the Ban- 
 ner of the Church, to enroll themfelves 
 under that of Luther and Calvine; and 
 that thofe of the prefent time are not 
 admitted to the exercife of their Minif- 
 try till after a long and fevere Examen 
 in the three Tongues of the Holy Scrip- 
 ture, and the chief points of Philofophy 
 and Divinity: There is a great deal of 
 likelihood, I fay, that excepting the 
 paflages controverted, they may fome- 
 times hit very luckily upon others, as 
 in many indifferent Treatifes they have 
 done, on which they often travail with 
 a great deal of Induftry and Felicity. 
 And therefore, fmce it is neceflary that 
 our Do6lors fhould finde them in fome 
 places to refute them; fmce M. de T. 
 has made it no difficulty to colle6l them; 
 
 that 
 
54 Erecting of 
 
 that the antient Fathers & Do6lors had 
 them, that divers religious perfons pre- 
 ferved them in their Libraries; that we 
 make it no Scruple to have a Thalmud 
 or an Alcoran, which belch a thoufand 
 Blafphemies againft Jefus Chrift, and 
 our Religion, infinitely more danger- 
 ous than thefe : that God permits us to 
 make profit of our enemies, and ac- 
 cording to that of the Palmift,Salutem 
 ex inimicis no/Iris, &demanu omnium qui 
 oderunt nos; that they are prejudicial 
 but to them onely, who deftitute of a 
 right condu<5l, fuffer themfelves to be 
 tranfported with the firft puff of wind 
 that blows. 
 
 CAnd to conclude in a word, fince the 
 intention which determines all our ac- 
 tions to good or evil, is neither vitious 
 
 nor 
 
a Library 55 
 
 nor cauterifed, I conceive it no extrav- 
 agance or danger at all, to have in a Li- 
 brary (under caution neverthelefs of a 
 licenfe & permiffion from thofeto whom 
 it appertains ) all the Works of the moft 
 learned and famous Hereticks, fuch as 
 have been, and divers others of lefler 
 confequence, Quos fama obfcura recon- 
 dit. 
 
 C.This alfo ought to be retained as a 
 Maxime, that all the bodies and aflfem- 
 blies of feveral Authours writing upon 
 the fame fubje<5l; fuch as are the Thai- 
 mud, the Councels, the Biblotheques of 
 the Fathers, Thefaurus Criticus, Scrip- 
 tores Germanici, Turcici, Hifpanici, Gal- 
 lid, Catalogus teftium veritatis, Monar- 
 chia Imperil, Opus magnum de Balneis, 
 Authores Gyneciorum, De Morbo Nea- 
 
 politano, 
 
56 Erecting of 
 
 politano, Rhetores antiqui, Grammatici 
 Veteres 9 Oratores Grcecice, Flores DoSto- 
 rum, Corpus Poetarum, and all thofe 
 which contain fuch like Collections, 
 ought of neceffity to be put into Libra- 
 ries ; forafmuch as they fave us, firft of 
 all, the labour of fearching an infinity of 
 Books extreamly curious and rare: and 
 fecondly, becaufe they fpare abundance 
 pf other, and make room in a Library. 
 Thirdly, for that they handfomly com- 
 prehend in one Volume, what wefhould 
 be otherwife long in fearching with a 
 great deal of pains, & in divers places ; 
 and finally, becaufe they are lefs expen- 
 five, they being nothing fo chargeable 
 to purchafe as they would be,fhould one 
 buy feparately all the Authours which 
 they contain. I hold it alfo for a tenent 
 
 as 
 
a Library 57 
 
 as neceffary as any of the precedent, 
 that one Ihould draw out & make elec- 
 tion from amongft the great number 
 of thofe who have written, & do daily 
 write, thofe who appear as an Eagle in 
 the Clouds, and as a Star twinkling and 
 moft refulgent in the midftof obfcurity; 
 I mean thofe great Witts, which are not 
 of the common alloy ; 
 
 Quorumque ex ore prof ufo 
 Omnis pojteritas latices in dogmata duett; 
 
 C, And of whom one may make ufe, as 
 of Matters the moft expert in the know- 
 ledge of all things, and of their works 
 as of a Seminarie, perfe6lly fufficient to 
 enrich a Library not onely with all their 
 Books, but even of the leaft of their 
 Fragments, Papers 9 looje Sheets, and the 
 
 very 
 
38 Erecting of 
 
 very words which efcape them. For as 
 it would be amifs to employ the place & 
 the money in amaffing all the world, & 
 I know not what gallimauphry of cer- 
 tain vulgar and defpicable Authours; fo 
 would it be a notorious oblivion, & fault 
 unexcufable in thofewho make profef- 
 fion of having all the beft Books, to 
 negle6l any of Them; for example, of 
 Erafmus, Chiaconus, Onuphrius, Turne- 
 bus, Lipjius, Genebrard, Antonius Au- 
 gu/tinus, Cafaubon, Salmafius, Bodinus, 
 Cardan, Patricius, Scaliger, Mercurialis, 
 & others, whofe works we are to wink 
 & take, & without choice; carefull, that 
 we be not cheated in Books rampant, 
 with Authours infinitely more rude and 
 grofs: iince, as one cannot poflefs too 
 much of that which is good, and exqui- 
 
 fitely 
 
a Library 59 
 
 fitely chofen; fo neither can one have too 
 little of that which is bad, & of which we 
 have no hopes of receiving any profit or 
 utility. 
 
 C, Neither muft you forget all forts of 
 Common places, Dictionaries, Mixtures, 
 feveral LeStions, Collections of Sentences, 
 and other like Repertories; feeing it is as 
 fo much way gone, and Matter ready 
 prepared for thofe who have the induf- 
 try to ufe them with due advantage ; it 
 being certain, that there are many who 
 fpeak and write wonderfull well, who 
 have yet feen but very few Volumes, 
 befides thofe which I have mentioned ; 
 whence it is, that they commonly fay, 
 the Calepine, which they take for all 
 kind of Dictionaries, is the livelyhood 
 of the Regents; And if I fhould affirm it 
 
 "of 
 
so Erecting of 
 
 of many, even amongft the moft famous 
 perfons, it would not be without reafon, 
 fince one of the moft renound amongft 
 the laft had above fifty of them, which 
 he perpetually ftudied; and who having 
 encountred a difficult word at the firft 
 offering of the Book of Equivocals, as it 
 was prefented to him, he had recourfe 
 immediately to one of thefe DiStionaries, 
 and tranfcribed out of it above a page of 
 writing, upon the margent of the faid 
 Book, and that in prefence of a certain 
 Friend of mine and of his; to whom he 
 could not abftainfrom fay ing, that thofe 
 who fhould fee this remark, would eaf- 
 ily believe that he had fpent above two 
 dayes in compofingit; though he had in 
 truth butthe pains onely of tranfcribing 
 it: And in earneft, for my part, I efteem 
 
 thefe 
 
a Library 6l 
 
 thefe Colle6lions extreamly profitable 
 and neceflary, confidering, the brevity 
 of our life, and the multitude of things 
 which we are now obliged to know, e're 
 one can be reckoned amongft the num- 
 ber of learned men, do not permit us to 
 do all of ourfelves; befides, feeing it is 
 not granted every man, nor in all ages, 
 to have the means to labour at his own 
 coft and charges, and without borrow- 
 ing from others, what ill is there in it, I 
 pray, if thofe who are fo induftrious to 
 imitate nature, and fo to diverfifie and 
 appropriate to their fubje6l what they 
 extra<5l from others, ut etiam,Ji apparu- 
 erit unde fumptum Jit, alind tamen efje 
 quam unde fumptum eft appareat, do 
 make bold with thofe who feem not to 
 have been made but to lend, and draw 
 
 out 
 
62 Erecting of 
 
 out from the Refer vatories & Magazines 
 which are deftin'd for this purpofe : fince 
 we ordinarily fee that both Painters & 
 Architects, make excellent and incom- 
 parable pieces by the affiftance of Col- 
 ours and Materials which others grinde 
 and prepare for them. 
 C,Laftly, we fhould upon this occafion 
 reduce to pra6lice that fame Aphorifme 
 of Hippocrates, which advertifes us to 
 yield fomething to time, to place, & to 
 cuftom ; that is to fay, that fome kinde 
 of Books be fometimes in vogue & re- 
 putation in one Countrey, and not fo in 
 another; and in the prefent age, which 
 were not in the paft: it is more expedi- 
 ent to make a good provifion of thefe, 
 than of the other; or at leaft to have fuch 
 a quantity of them, as may teftifie we 
 
 comply 
 
a Library 63 
 
 comply with the times, and that we are 
 not ignorant of the mode and inclina- 
 tion of men : And hence it proceeds, that 
 we frequently find in the Libraries of 
 Rome, Naples, and Florence, abundance 
 ofPofitive Theologifts; in thofe of Milan 
 and Pavia ftore of Civil Law; in thofe 
 of Spain, and antientones of Cambridge 
 and Oxford in England, a number of 
 Scholafticks ; and in thofe of France a 
 world of Hi/lories & Controverfies. The 
 fame diverfity may be alfo obferved in 
 the fucceffion of ages, by reafon of the 
 vogue which have had the Philofophy 
 of Plato, that of Ariftotle, the Scholaf- 
 tique, the Tongues and Controverfies; 
 which have every one had their turns, 
 domineered in feveral times ; as we fee 
 that the ftudy of the Ethlcks & Politicks 
 
 ~do 
 
64 Erecting of 
 
 do at prefent employ the greateft part 
 of the moft vigorous witts of this our 
 age, whilft the weaker fort amufe them- 
 felves with FiStions and Romancies, of 
 which I fhall onely fay, what has for- 
 merly been verified by Symmacus upon 
 the like narration, Sine argumento re- 
 rum loquacitas morofa difplicet. 
 C^Thefe ordinary precepts &maximes 
 being fo amply explain'd, there remains 
 now no more to accomplifh this Title 
 of the Quality of Books, then to propofe 
 two or three others , which will undoubt- 
 edly be received as very extravagant, & 
 very fit to thwart the common & invet- 
 erate opinion which many have taken 
 up, that efteem no Authours but by their 
 number or bulk of their Volumes, and 
 judge onely of their value & merit, by 
 
 that 
 
a Library 65 
 
 that which ufes to make us defpife all 
 other things, viz. their age & caducity, 
 like that of the old man in Horace, who 
 is reprefented to us in his works ; 
 
 .... Laudator temporis ati, 
 Prafentis cenfor, cq/tigatorquefuturi: 
 
 C. The nature of thefe prepoffeffed 
 fpirits being for the moft part fo taken 
 & in love with thofe Images & antique 
 pieces, that they would not fo much as 
 look at the greateft upon any Book what- 
 ever, whofe Authour were not older than 
 the Mother of Evander, or the Grand- 
 firs of Carpentras; nor believe that time 
 could be well imployed, which was fpent 
 in reading any modern Books, fince ac- 
 cording to their maxime, they are but 
 Rapjodifts, Coppiers, or Plagiaries ,& ap- 
 proach 
 
66 Erecting of 
 
 proach in nothing to the Eloquence, the 
 learning and the noble conceptions of 
 the Antients ; to whom for this refpe6l 
 they hold themfelves as firmly united 
 as the Polypus does to the Rocks with- 
 out departing in the leaft, or from their 
 Books, or do6lrine ; & which they never 
 think to have fufficiently comprehend- 
 ed, till they have chewed them over all 
 their life time; & therefore it is nothing 
 extraordinary, if in conclufion of the 
 whole fum, and when they have fuffi- 
 ciently fweat & tired themfelves, they 
 referable that fame ignorant Marcellus, 
 who vaunted up & down in all places 
 where he came, that he had read Thud- 
 dides eight times over; to that Nonnus 
 of whom Syidas fpeaks, that he had read 
 his Demofthenes ten times without ever 
 
 being 
 
a Library 67 
 
 being able once to plead, or difcourte of 
 any thing : And to fpeak really, there is 
 nothing more apt to make a man a Ped- 
 ant, & banifh him from common fenfe, 
 then to defpife all Modern Authors, to 
 court fome few only of the Antient; as 
 if they alone were, forfooth, the fole 
 Guardians of the higheft favours that 
 the wit of man may hope for; or that 
 Nature, jealous of the honour & reputa- 
 tion of her elder fons, would to our pre- 
 judice put forth all her abilities to the 
 extreams, that fhe might Crown them 
 alone with all her graces & liberality: 
 Certainly I do not imagine that any ex- 
 cept thofe Gentlemen the Antiquaries, 
 can fatisfie themfelves with fuch Opin- 
 ions, or feed themfelves with fuch Fa- 
 bles; fince fo many frefh Inventions, 
 
 ~ "fo 
 
68 Erecting of 
 
 fo many new Opinions & Principles, fo 
 many feveral and unthought of Altera- 
 tions, fo many learned Books of famous 
 Perfonages, of new Conceptions ; and 
 finally, fo many Wonders as we daily 
 behold tofpring up, dofufficiently tefti- 
 fie, that the wits are ftronger, more po- 
 lite, and abftra<5ted than ever formerly 
 they were ; and that we may truly and 
 affuredly affirm at this prefent day, 
 
 Sumpfenwt artes hactempeftate decorem, 
 Nullaque non meliorquamprius ipfafuit. 
 
 CL Or make the fame judgement of our 
 age as Symmachus did of his own, Ha- 
 bemus fteculum virtute amicum, quo ni/i 
 optimus quifque gloriam parity hominis eft 
 culpa, non temporis. From hence we 
 may infer, that it would be a fault un- 
 pardonable 
 
a Library 69 
 
 pardonable in one who profefles toftore 
 a Library, not to place in it Piccohmini, 
 Zabbarell, Achillinus, Niphus, Pompo- 
 nacius, Licetus, Cremoninus, next the 
 old Interpreters ofAri/lotle; Alciat,Ti- 
 raqueaneus, Cujas, du Moulin, after the 
 Code and Digeft ; the fumof Alexander 
 of Hales, and Henry of Gaunt, next that 
 of S. Thomas ; Clavius, Maurolicus and 
 Vutta after Euclide and Archimedes ; 
 Montagne, Charon, Verulam, next to 
 Seneca & Plutarch ; Fernelius, Sylvius, 
 Fujthius, Cardan, next to Galen & Avi- 
 cen ; Erafmus, Cafaubon, Scaliger, Sal- 
 majius, next to Varro; Commines, Guic- 
 ciardin, Sleiden, next to Titus Livius 
 & Cornelius Tacitus ; Ariojlo, TaJJb, du 
 Bartas, next to Homer and Virgil, and 
 fo confequently of all the Modern moft 
 
 famous 
 
70 Erecting of 
 
 famous & renouned Authours; fince if 
 the capricious Boccalinihad undertaken 
 to ballance them with the Antients, he 
 had haply found a great many of them 
 more inconfiderable, and but very few 
 which do at all furpafs them. 
 CLThe fecond Maxime, & which haply 
 will not lefs feem a Paradox than the 
 firft, is dire6lly contrary to the opinion 
 of thofe who efteem of Books onely 
 as they are in price & bulk; and who 
 are much pleafed, & think themfelves 
 greatly honoured, to have Toftatus in 
 their Libraries, becaufe it is in fourteen 
 Volumes ; or a Salmeron, becaufe there 
 are eight; negle6ting in the mean time 
 to procure & furnifh themfelves with an 
 infinity of little Books, amongft which 
 there are often found fome of them fo 
 
 rarely 
 
a Library 71 
 
 rarely & learnedly compofed, that there 
 is more profit and contentment to be 
 found in reading them, than in many 
 others of thofe rude, heavy, indigefted 
 & ill polifhed maffes, for the moft part; 
 Atleaft,fo true is that faying of Seneca, 
 Non eft facile inter magna non dejipere; 
 and that which Pliny faid of one of Cic- 
 ero's Orations, M. Tullii Oratio fertur 
 optima qucemaxima, cannot be apply ed to 
 thefe monftrous and Gigantine Books ; 
 as in effe<5l it is almoft impoffible, that 
 the witt fhould alwayes remain intent 
 to thefe great works, & that the heaps 
 and grand confufion of things that one 
 would fpeak choak not the fancy, and 
 too much confound the ratiocination; 
 whereas on the contrary, that which 
 ought to make us efteem fmall Books, 
 
 which 
 
72 Erecting of 
 
 which neverthelefs treat of ferious 
 things, or of any noble & fublime fub- 
 je6l, is, that the Authour of them does 
 perfe6lly command over his fubje<5l,as 
 the Workman and Artift does over his 
 matter ; and that he may chew, conco6l, 
 digeft, polifh and form it according to 
 his fancy, then thofe vaft colle6lions of 
 fuch great&prodigious Volumes, which 
 for this caufe are often times but the 
 Panfpermia, Chaof's & AbyflTes of Con- 
 fufion; 
 
 .... rudis indigeftaque moles, 
 
 Nee quicquam niji pondus iners conge- 
 
 Jlaque eodem, 
 Non bene junStarum difcordia Jemina 
 
 rerum. 
 
 C,And hence it is that there refults a 
 
 fuccefs 
 
a Library 73 
 
 fuccefs fo unequal as may be obferved 
 between the one and the other; for 
 example, 'twixt the Satyrs of Perjius 
 and Philelphius ; the Examen of Witts 
 of Huarto, and that of Zara; the 
 Arithmetick of Ramus, and that of For- 
 cudel; Machiavels Prince, & that of 
 more than fifty other Pedants; The 
 Logick of du Moulin, & that of Vallius ; 
 The Annales of Volufius, & the Hiftory 
 of Saluft: EpiStetus Manuel, and the 
 moral Secrets of Loriotus; The works 
 of Fracaftorius, & an infinite of Phi- 
 lofophers and Phyficians; fo true is 
 that which S. Thomas has well fpoken, 
 Nufquam ars magis quant in minimis 
 tot a eft; & what Cornelius Gallus was 
 wont to promife himfelf, of his fmall 
 Elegies ; 
 
 Nee 
 
74 Erecting of 
 
 Nee minus eft nobis per pauca volumina 
 
 famce, 
 Quam quos nullafatis Bibliotheca capit. 
 
 C.But that which on this encounter 
 makes me moft to admire, is, that fuch 
 perfons fhould negleft the Works and 
 Opufcles of fome Authour whilft they 
 remain fcattered and feparated, which 
 afterwards burn with a defire to have 
 them when they are colle<5led & bound 
 together in one Volume : Such will neg- 
 Ie6l ( for example ) the Orations of James 
 Cnfrw,becaufe they are not to be found 
 Printed together, who will neverthelefs 
 be fure to have thofe of Raymondus, 
 Gallatius, Nigronius, Bencius, Perpini- 
 anus,&divers other Authours in his Li- 
 brary; not that they are better, or more 
 
 difert 
 
a Library 75 
 
 difert and eloquent than thofe of this 
 learned Scotchman; but becaufe they are 
 to be found in certain Volumes bound 
 up together: Certainly, fhould all little 
 Books be negle6led, there were no 
 reckoning to be made of the Opufcles 
 of S. Auguftin, Plutarchs Morals, the 
 Books of Galen, nor of the greateft part 
 of thofe of Erafmus, of Lipjius, Turne- 
 bus, Mazaultius, Sylvius, Calcagninus, 
 Francifcus Picus, and many like Au- 
 thours ; no more than of thirty or fourty 
 minor Authours in Phyjick & Philofo- 
 phy, the beft,and moft antient amongft 
 the Greeks ,and of divers other amongft 
 the Divines; becaufe they have all of 
 them beendivulgedfeparately, & apart, 
 one after another, and in fo fmall Vol- 
 umes, that the greateft of them do not 
 
 frequently 
 
76 Erecting of 
 
 frequently exceed half an Alphabet : & 
 therefore, fince one may unite under 
 one Cover, that which was feparate 
 in the impreffion, conjoyn with others 
 what would be loft being alone, and in 
 effe<5l we may meet an infinity of mat- 
 ters which have never been treated of 
 but in thefe little Books onely, concern- 
 ing which it may rightly be faid, as Vir- 
 gil does of Bees, 
 
 Ingentes animos angujlo in corpore ver- 
 fant; 
 
 C. It appears to me to be very expedi- 
 ent, that we fhould draw them out of 
 their Stalls and old Magazines, & from 
 all places wherever we encounterthem, 
 to bind them up with thofe which are of 
 the fame Authour, or treat of the fame 
 
 matter, 
 
a Library 77 
 
 matter, to place them afterwards in our 
 Libraries, where I aflame myfelf they 
 will make the induftry and diligence of 
 thofe Efculapiuf's to be admir'd, who 
 are fo well fkilFd to joyn and reaflem- 
 ble the fcattered & feparated members 
 of thofe poor Hippolituf's. 
 C,The third (which at firft appearance 
 one would conceive to be contrary to 
 the firft) does in particular combat the 
 opinion of thofe who are fo wedded and 
 befotted to all new Books, that they to- 
 tally negle<5t, and make no efteem, not 
 onelyof all the Antients,butof the Au- 
 thours which have had the vogue, & ap- 
 peared flourifhing and renouned fince 
 fix or feven hundred years ; that is to 
 fay, fince the age ofBoetius, Symmachus, 
 Sydonius, and Cqffiodorus, down to that 
 
 of 
 
78 Erecting of 
 
 of Picas, PolitianuSy Hermolaus, Gaza, 
 Philelphus, Pogius, and Trapezontius ; 
 fuch as are divers Philofophers, Divines, 
 Jurifconfults,PhyJitians andAftrologers, 
 who by their black and Gothick impref- 
 fions difguft our moft delicate ftudents 
 of this age, not fuffering them fo much 
 as to caft an eye upon them, but with a 
 blufh, and to the difdaining of thofe who 
 compofed them : All which properly 
 proceeds from hence, that the ages or 
 thofe witts which then appeared, have 
 had final Geniuf's and different inclina- 
 tions, not long harping upon the fame 
 firing of like ftudy or affe6tion to the 
 Sciences ; or having nothing fo affured 
 as their viciffitude or change; as in ef- 
 fe<5l we fee, that immediately after the 
 birth of the Chriftian Religion (not to 
 
 take 
 
a Library 79 
 
 take things any higher) the Philofophy 
 of Plato was univerfally followed in the 
 fchools; and the greater part of the 
 Fathers were Platonifts : and fo contin- 
 ued till Alexander Aphrodifeus gave it a 
 forceable juftle to inftal that of thePeri- 
 pateticks, & traced the way to the Greek 
 and Latine Interpreters, who were fo 
 wedded to the Explication of Anftotles 
 Text, that a man fhould yet erre in it 
 without much benefit, if the Queftions 
 & Scholajticks introduced byAbelardus 
 had not put themfelves amongst the rari- 
 ties, to domineer over all, with the great- 
 eft and moft univerfal approbation, that 
 was ever given to anything whatfoever; 
 & that for the fpace of about five or fix 
 ages, after which, the Hereticks did re- 
 cal us to the interpretation of the Holy 
 
 Scriptures, 
 
so Erecting of 
 
 Scriptures, and occafioned us to read 
 the Bible and the Holy Fathers , who had 
 continually been negle<5ledamidft thefe 
 Ergotifmes; & in purfuite whereof Con- 
 troverlie comes now in requeft as to 
 what concerns Theologie, and the Ques- 
 tionaries with the Novators, who build 
 upon new Principles, or elfe reeftablifh 
 thofe of the antients, Emptdoclts, Epi- 
 curus, Philolaus, Pythagoras, andDemoc- 
 ritus, for Philofophy. The reft of the 
 Faculties being not exempted from like 
 alterations ; amongft which, it has ever- 
 more been the cuftom of the Witts who 
 follow thefe violences and changes, as 
 the Fifh do the Tyde, to think no more 
 of what they have once quitted ; and 
 to fpeak rafhly with the Poet Calphur- 
 nius, 
 
 Vilia 
 
a Library si 
 
 Villa funt nobis quczcunque prioribus 
 
 annis 
 Vidimus, &fordet quicquid fpedtavimus 
 
 olim. 
 
 C, Infomuch as the greateft part of good 
 Authours, by this means, remain on the 
 funds, abandon 3 d& negle<5led by every 
 man ; whilft our new Cenfors or Plagi- 
 aries poflefle their places, and enrich 
 themfelves with their fpoils. And it is 
 in earneft a very ftrange and unreafon- 
 able thing, that we fhould follow & ap- 
 prove (for example) the Colledges of 
 Conimbre and Suarez in Philofophy, and 
 fhould come to negle6l the works of Al- 
 bertus Magnus, Niphus,Mgidius 9 Saxo- 
 nia, Pomponacius, Achillinus, Hervicus, 
 Durandus, Zimares, Buccaferrus, and a 
 
 number 
 
82 Erecting of 
 
 number of the like, out of which all the 
 great Books which we now follow, are 
 for the moft part compiled and tran- 
 fcribed word for word : That we fhould 
 have an incomparable efteem of Ama- 
 tus, Thrivierus, Capivaccius, Montanus, 
 Valejius, and almoft of all the modern 
 Phyfitians, & be afhamed to furnifh our 
 Libraries with Books of Hugo Senenjis, 
 Jacobus de Forlivio, Jacobus de Va- 
 lejius, Gordonus, Thomas, Dinus, and all 
 the Avicenifts, who have really followed 
 the Genius of their Age, rude and dull as 
 to what concerned the barbarity of the 
 Latine tongue ; but who have yet fo far 
 penetrated into the profundities of Phy- 
 fick, according to Cardans own confef- 
 fion, that divers of our modern for want 
 of fufficient refolution, conftancy, and 
 
 affiduity 
 
a Library 83 
 
 affiduity to purfue & imitate them, are 
 conftrained to make ufe of fome of their 
 Arguments to re veft them a la mode, & 
 make their braggs and parade, whilft 
 they themfelves dwell onely upon the 
 topps of flowers, &fuperficial language, 
 or without advancing farther. 
 
 Decerpunt flores, & fumma cacumina 
 captant. 
 
 C. What fhall we then fay, that Scaliger 
 and Cardan, two of the greateft per- 
 fonages of the laft age, consenting both 
 in the fame point concerning the pre- 
 mifes of Richard Suiflent, otherwife 
 called the Calculator, who lived within 
 thefe three hundred years, to place him 
 in the rank of ten of the rareft witts that 
 ever appeared ; whilft we are not able 
 
 to 
 
84 Erecting of 
 
 to find his works in all the moft famous 
 Libraries ? And what hope is there that 
 the SeSlators of Occham Prince of the 
 Nonunah, fhould eternally be deprived 
 of once feeing his works, as well as all 
 Philofophers, thofe of the great and re- 
 nouned Avicen ? In earneft, me thinks 
 that it is wholly for want of judgement 
 in the choyce and cognizance of Books, 
 tonegle6l all thefe Authours, which are 
 fo much the more to be fought after, 
 as they are more, and may hereafter 
 challenge the place of Manufcripts ; 
 fince we have almoft loft all hopes that 
 they fhould ever be printed. 
 C, Finally, the fourth and laft of thefe 
 Maximes concerns onely the choice & 
 ele6lion, which one ought to make of 
 Manuscripts, in oppofition of that cuf- 
 
 tome 
 
a Library 85 
 
 tome receiv'd and introduced by many, 
 from the great reputation of our prefent 
 Criticks, who have taught & accuftom'd 
 us to make more account of one Manu- 
 fcript of Virgil, Suetonius, Perjius, Ter- 
 ence, or fome others amongft the old 
 Authours, than of thofe gallant perfons 
 who have never yet been either feen,or 
 printed; as if there were any likelyhood 
 that men fhouldprefently purfuethe ca- 
 pricioufnefs, imaginations or cheats of 
 thefe modern Cenfurors and Grammari- 
 ans, which ufelefly apply the flower of 
 their age in forging of empty conjec- 
 tures, & begging the corrections of the 
 Vatican, to alter, corre6l or fupply the 
 Text of fome Authour,who hath haply 
 already confirmed the labour of ten or 
 twelve men, though one might very 
 
 eafily 
 
86 Erecting of 
 
 eafily be without it. 
 C. Or that it were not a miferable thing, 
 and worthy of commiferation to fuflfer 
 to be loft and rot amongft the hands of 
 fome ignorant poffeflbrs, the elucubra- 
 tions and labours of an infinity of great 
 perfonages, who have fweat & wrought 
 perhaps all their lives long, to impart us 
 the knowledge of fomething that was 
 never known before, or elucidated fome 
 profitable and neceflary matter; And 
 yet neverthelefs, the example of thefe 
 Cenfors have been fuch, and their au- 
 thority fo ftrong & forceable, that not- 
 withftandingthe difguft which Robortel 
 and others amongft them hath given us; 
 nay, even of thefe Manufcripts them- 
 felves ; yet have they fo far bewitched 
 the world in fearch of them, that they 
 
 are 
 
a Library 7 
 
 are the onely things now in requeft, & 
 judged worthy of being placed in our 
 Bibliotheques. 
 
 Tanta eftptenuria mentis ubique, 
 In nugas tamprona via eft! 
 
 Q And therefore, fince it is the very Ef- 
 fence of a Library, to have a great num- 
 ber of Manuscripts ; becaufe they are at 
 prefent in moft efteem, and lefs vulgar; 
 I conceive, my Lord, with refpeft to 
 your better judgement, that it would be 
 extreamly requifite for you to purfue as 
 you have begun, in furnifhing your Li- 
 brary with fuch as have been compofed 
 dearly, and full, upon any gallant fub- 
 je6l, conformable to thofe which you 
 have already made fearch of, not onely 
 here, but at Conjlantinople, and what- 
 
 foever 
 
88 
 
 Erecting of 
 
 foever is to be obtained of many other 
 Authours Antient & Modern, fpecified 
 by Neander, Cardan, Gefner, and all the 
 Catalogues of the beft Libraries; & not 
 of all thofe Copies of Books which have 
 been already printed, and which at beft 
 are onely capable to affift us with fome 
 vain and trifling conje6lures: and yet it 
 is not my intention that men fhould un- 
 dervalue and negle6l all thefe kind of 
 Books, as well knowing by the exam- 
 ple of Ptolomy, what efteem one fhould 
 alwayes have ofAutographes,or of thofe 
 two forts of Manufcripts which Robortel 
 (in relation to Criticifm} prefers before 
 all others. 
 
 C, Laftly, to clofe this point concerning 
 the quality of Books,! add, that, as well 
 concerning Books of this fort, as printed 
 
 ones, 
 
a Library 89 
 
 ones, you muft not onely obferve the 
 aforefaid circumftances, & choofe them 
 accordingly; as for inftance,bethequef- 
 tion about Bodins Republique, to infer 
 that he ought to be had, becaufe the Au- 
 thour has been the moft famous and re- 
 nouned of his age, & who amongft the 
 moderns has firft treated on this fubje<5l, 
 that the fubje6l is exceedingly necef- 
 fary, and in much requeft in the times 
 wherein we live, that the Book is com- 
 mon, tranflated into feveral tongues, & 
 printed almoft every five or fix years ; 
 but this we are alfo to obferve, viz. to 
 buy the Book, if the Authour be good, 
 though the matter it felf be but vulgar 
 & trivial; or, when the fubje6l of it is 
 difficult & little known, though the Au- 
 thour thereof be not much efteemed; & 
 
 thus 
 
90 Erecting of 
 
 thus pra6tife a World of other Rules, as 
 upon occafionwe encounter them,fmce 
 it were impoffible to reduce them to an 
 Art or Method ; which makes me con- 
 ceive fuch a man worthily to acquit him- 
 felf of fuch a charge, who has not a 
 perverted judgement, temerarious, ftuft 
 with extravagances, and preoccupied 
 with thefe childifh opinions, which ex- 
 cite many perfons to defpife & fuddenly 
 to reje<5t whatfoever is not of their own 
 gifts, as if every one were obliged to 
 govern himfelf according to the ca- 
 prices of their fantafies, or as if it were 
 not the duty of a difcreet and prudent 
 man, to difcourfe of all things indiffer- 
 ently, & never to judge according to 
 the efteem which both one or the other 
 admits of them, but rather conform- 
 able 
 
Library 
 
 able to the fentiment which we ought 
 to have in refpe6l of their proper nature 
 and ufe. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
92 Erecting of 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 By what Expedients they may be 
 procured. 
 
 HAVING now, my Lord, {hewed 
 by thefe three firft Points, what 
 one ought to purfue to inform himfelf 
 in the ere6ling of a Library; with what 
 quantity of Books it is expedient to fur- 
 nifh it, and of what quality they ought 
 to be chofen : That which now enfues, 
 is to enquire, by what means a man may 
 procure them, & what we are to do for 
 the progrefs & augmentation of them : 
 Upon all which, I fhall truly affirm, that 
 the firft precept which is to be given on 
 thisfubje6l, is, that a manftudioufly pre- 
 
 ferve 
 
a Library 93 
 
 ferve thofe which are a<5lively acquired, 
 and that he yet obtain new ones every 
 day; not fuffering any to be loft or em- 
 bezled at any hand. Tolerabilius enim 
 eft,faciliufque (fayes Seneca] non acqui- 
 rere,quam amittere, ideoque Icetiores vide- 
 bis quos nunquamfortuna rejpexit, quam 
 quos deferuit. Add, that it will never be 
 this way toaugmentmuch, if that which 
 you have colle6led with fo much pains 
 and induftry, come to be loft, & to per- 
 ifh for want of care : And therefore Ovid 
 &the wifeft men had reafon to fay, that 
 it was no lefs vertue to prefervea thing 
 well, than to acquire it fo : Nee minor ejt 
 virtus quam quarere part a tueri. 
 C.The fecond is, that we negle<5l no- 
 thing which is worth the reckoning, & 
 which may be of ufe, be it either to 
 
 our 
 
94 Erecting of 
 
 our felves or others; fuch as are Libels, 
 Placarts, Thefes, Fragments, Proofs, & 
 the like, which one ought carefully to 
 unite, and gather according to Titles, & 
 fubje<5ls of fuch they treat ; becaufe it 
 is the onely expedient to render them 
 confiderable,and fo order it, Ut qua non 
 profuntJingula,junStajuvent. Other- 
 wife, it ordinarily comes to pafs, that 
 whilft we defpife thefe little Books, 
 which appear onely as mean baubles, 
 and pieces of no confideration, we hap- 
 pen to lofe a world of rare colle<5lions, 
 and fuch as are fometimes the moft cu- 
 rious pieces of the whole Library. 
 CL The third may be deduced from the 
 means that were pra6lif 'd by Richard 
 de BuryEiihop of Durham, great Chan- 
 cellour & L. Treafurer of England, which 
 
 confifts 
 
a Library 95 
 
 confifts in publifhing & making known 
 to every body the aflfe6lion which we 
 have to Books, and the extraordinary 
 defire which we have toere6l a Library; 
 for this being once divulged and com- 
 municated, it is certain, that if he who 
 defignes it be inefficient credit and au- 
 thority to do his friends pleafure; there 
 will not be a man of them but will take 
 it for an honour to prefent him with the 
 moft curious Books that come into his 
 hands ; and that will not voluntarily ad- 
 mit him into his Study, or in thofe of 
 his friends; briefly, who will not ftrive 
 to aid and contribute to his intention all 
 that he can poffibly ? as it is very well 
 obferved by the fame Richard de Bury, 
 in thefe proper terms, which I there- 
 fore the more willingly tranfcribe, be- 
 
 caufe 
 
96 Erecting of 
 
 caufe his Book is very rare, and of the 
 number of thofe which are loft through 
 our negle<5l. Succedenttbus (fayes he) 
 profperis, Regice majejlatis confecuti no- 
 titianiy & in ipjius acceptati familia, fa- 
 cultatem fufcepimus ampliorem, ubilibet 
 vijitandipro libitu, &venandi qua/if altus 
 quojdam delicatiflimos,tumprivatas, turn 
 communes, turn regularium, tumftecula- 
 rium Bibliothecas: & a little after, Pm- 
 Jlabatur nobis aditus facilis, regalisfa- 
 voris intuitu, ad librorum latebras libere 
 perfcrutandas, amoris quippe noftrifama 
 volatilisjam ubique percrebuit, tantum- 
 que librorum & maxime veterum fere- 
 bamur cupiditate languejcere, pojje vero 
 quemlibetper quaternos facilius quamper 
 pecuniam adipifcifavorem. Quamobrem 
 cum fupradiSti Principis auStoritate fuf- 
 
 fulti 
 
a Library 97 
 
 fulti pojjemus obejje &prodeffe,proficere 
 &officerevehementertam majoribus quant 
 pujillis, affluxerunt loco Enceniorum & 
 munerum, locoque donorum &jocalium. 
 Ccenulenti quaterni, ac decrepiti Codices 
 nojtristam afpeftibus quamaffeftibus pre- 
 tioji, tune nobiliffimorum Monafteriorum 
 aperiebantur armaria, referabantur fcri- 
 nia, &ciftulcefolvebantur 9 &c. To which 
 he yet adjoyns, the feveral Voyages 
 which he madehimfelf in quality of Am- 
 baflador, & the great number of learned, 
 & curious perfons, ofwhofe labour &in- 
 duftry he made ufe of in this refearch ; 
 and what yet induces me to believe that 
 thefe pra6lifes would have fome effe<5l, 
 is, that I know a perfon, who being cu- 
 rious of Medalls, Pictures, Statues, In- 
 taglias and other Cabinet pieces, hath 
 
 collefted 
 
98 Erecting of 
 
 collected by this fole induftry, above 
 twelve hundred pounds worth, without 
 ever having difburfed four. And in ear- 
 neft, I hold it for a Maxime, that every 
 civil and good natur'd man, fhould al- 
 wayes fecond the laudable intentions 
 of his friends, provided they be not pre- 
 judicial to his own: So that he that has 
 Books, Medalls, PiStures 9 which comes 
 to him by chance, rather than out of 
 aflfe<5lion to them, may eafily be per- 
 fwaded to accommodate fuch of his 
 friends whom he knows to defire, & is 
 curious of them. I fhall willingly add to 
 this third Precept, the craft which Ma- 
 giftrates and perfons of authority may 
 pra6life, and exercife by means of their 
 dignities : but I would not more nakedly 
 explicate it, than by the fimple narra- 
 tion 
 
a Library 99 
 
 tion of the Stratagem which the Vene- 
 tians made ufe of, to obtain the beft Man- 
 ufcriptsofPinellus immediately after his 
 deceafe ; for upon the advice which they 
 had, that they were about to tranfport 
 his Library from Padua to Naples ,they 
 fuddenlydifpatched one of their Magif- 
 trates, whofeifed upon a hundred Bales 
 of Books, amongft which there were 
 fourteen of them that contain'd Manu- 
 fcripts, & two of them above four hun- 
 dred Commentaries on all the affairs of 
 Italy ; alledging for their reafons, that 
 though they had permitted the defun6l 
 Seigneur Pinelli y in regard of his condi- 
 tion, his defign, his laudable and irre- 
 proachlefs life, & principally, thefriend- 
 fhip which he ever teftified towards the 
 Republique, to have Copies of their Ar- 
 chives, 
 
ioo Erecting of 
 
 chives, & Regifters of their affairs ; yet it 
 was neither fit nor expedient for them, 
 that fuch pieces fhould come to be di- 
 vulged, difcovered and communicated 
 after his death ; whereupon at the in- 
 ftance of the Heirs and Executors of 
 the Teftament, who were powerful & au- 
 thorifed, they retained onely two hun- 
 dred of thefe Commentaries, which were 
 placed in a Chamber apart, with this in- 
 fcription, Decerpta hcec Imperio Senatus 
 e Bibliotheca Pinelliana. 
 dThe fourth is,toretrench & cut off all 
 the fuperfluous expences, which many 
 prodigally and to no purpofe beftow up- 
 on the binding and ornaments of their 
 Books, and to employ it in purchafing 
 fuch as they want, that fo they may not 
 be obnoxious to that cenfure of Seneca, 
 
 who 
 
a Library 101 
 
 who handfomly reproaches thofe, Qui- 
 bus voluminum fuorum /routes maxime 
 placent titulique; & this the rather, that 
 the binding is nothing but an accident 
 & form of appearing, without which ( at 
 leaft fo fplendid and fumptuous ) Books 
 become altogether as ufeful, commode 
 & rare ; it becoming the ignorant onely 
 to efteem a Book for its cover; feeing 
 it is not with Books, as it is with men, 
 who are onely known and refpe<5ted for 
 their robes and their clothes, fo that it 
 is a great deal better, and more necef- 
 fary, for example, to have a good quan- 
 tity of Books, well & ordinarily bound, 
 than to have a little Chamber or Cab- 
 inet full of wafhed, gilded, ruled, and 
 enriched with all manner of nicity, lux 
 and fuperfluity. 
 
 CThe 
 
102 Erecting of 
 
 fifth concerns the buying of 
 them, & that may be divided into four 
 or five Articles, fuitable to the feveral 
 expedients which maybe obferved in the 
 pra6life. Now, amongft thefe, I fhould 
 willingly fet down for the firft, the 
 fpeedieft, eafie and advantagious of all 
 the reft, that which is made by the ac- 
 quifition of fome other entire and undif- 
 fipated Library. I call it prompt, and 
 fpeedy ; becaufe thatin lefs than a dayes 
 time one may have a goodly number of 
 Books curious and learned, which one 
 fhall not be able to amafs and colle6l 
 together during a mans whole life. I 
 call it facil, becaufe one fpares both the 
 pains and the time which would be con- 
 fumed in purchafing them feparately ; 
 In fine, I name it advantagious, becaufe, 
 
 if 
 
a Library 103 
 
 if the Libraries which we buy be good 
 and curious, they ferve to augment the 
 credit and reputation of thofe who are 
 enriched by them ; whence we fee that 
 Paffemnus fo much efteems that of Car- 
 dinal de Joyeufe, for that it was com- 
 pofed of three others, one whereof had 
 beenMonfieurPitheus,&t for that all the 
 moft renouned Libraries have received 
 their augmentation in this manner ; as 
 for inftance, that of S. Mark at Venice by 
 the donation of Cardinal Beffarions; 
 that of the Efcurial by that great one 
 which Hurtado de Mendoza had col- 
 lefted; The Ambrofian of Milan,bythe 
 ninety Bales which were added to it at 
 once by that one fole naufrage & ruine 
 of Pinellis ; that of Ley den, by above 
 two hundred Manufcripts in the Ori- 
 ental 
 
104 Erecting of 
 
 ental Languages, which Scaliger be- 
 queathed to it by his Teftament; and fi- 
 nally, that ofAfcanius Colomna, by that 
 incomparable one which Cardinal Sir- 
 let tus left it ; whence I conje6lure, my 
 Lord, that yours cannot but one day 
 emerge one of the moft famous and re- 
 nouned amongft the greateft, by rea- 
 fon of that of your Fathers, which is al- 
 ready fo famous and univerfally known 
 from the relation which has been left to 
 pofterity by La Croix, Fauchet, Marjil- 
 lius, Turnebus, Pafjeratius, Lambinus, & 
 by almoft all the gallant perfons of that 
 ftrain, who have not been [unjmindfull 
 of the benefit & inftruftions which they 
 have received of them. 
 C. After all which, me thinks, the means 
 which neareft approaches to this firft, is, 
 
 to 
 
a Library 105 
 
 to rummage and often to revifite the 
 fhops of frippery Bookfellers, & the old 
 Stores and Magazines as well of Books 
 bound up, as of thofe which have fo long 
 remained in waftefheets,fo many years, 
 that there are many, not much know- 
 ing & verfed in this kind of fearch, who 
 conceive they can be of no others ufe 
 then to hinder. 
 
 toga cordylis, ne pcenula dejit olivis, 
 
 albeit we often encounter very excellent 
 Books amongft them, and that (the ex- 
 pence well managed) one may chance 
 to purchafe more for ten crowns, than 
 one can other wife buy for fourtyorfifty, 
 (hould one take them in feveral places 
 & pieces ; provided neverthelefs, a man 
 have a fufficient ftock of care and pa- 
 tience, 
 
ice Erecting of 
 
 tience, confidering that one cannot fay 
 of a Library what certain Poets faid of 
 our City, 
 
 Quo primum nata eft tempore, magna 
 fuit: 
 
 It being impoffible fo fpeedily to ac- 
 complifh a thing, of which Solomon tells 
 us there is no end ; Libros enimfaciendi 
 non erit finis; & to the finifhing where- 
 of, though Monfieur Thuanus has la- 
 boured twenty years, Pinelli fifty, and 
 divers others all their lives long, yet are 
 you not to believe, that they are arrived 
 to that utmoft perfection which were to 
 be wifhed one might attain to, in point 
 of a Library. 
 
 f^Butfince itis neceflary forthe growth 
 & augmentation of fuch a piece, to fur- 
 
 nifh 
 
a Library 107 
 
 nifh it diligently with all the new Books 
 of merit and confideration that are 
 printed in all parts of Europe; and that 
 Pinellus and the reft have for this pur- 
 pofe entertained correfpondency with 
 an infinite number of friends, ftrangers, 
 and forreign Merchants; It would be 
 very expedient, to put the fame in prac- 
 tice, or at leaft to make choice of two or 
 three rich Merchants kno wing & expe- 
 rienced in their vocation, who by their 
 various intelligences, & voyages, might 
 furnifh us with all kinds of novelties, & 
 make diligent perquifitionof what ever 
 we demand by Catalogues; which thing 
 it is not fo neceflary to pra6life for old 
 Books, forafmuch as the fureft expedi- 
 ent to ftore ones felf good cheap with 
 them, is, to feek for them indifferently 
 
 amongft 
 
Erecting of 
 
 amongft the Stationers, amongft whom 
 the length of time, & various occaiions 
 is uf 'd to difperfe and fcatter them. 
 C.I will not yet infer, for all the good 
 hulbandry which we have propofed a- 
 bove, that it is not fometimes necefiary 
 to exceed the limits of this Oeconomy, 
 to purchafe at extraordinary prices 
 fome certain Books that are very rare, 
 and which one fhall hardly get out of 
 their hands who underftand them, but 
 by this onely means. But the temper 
 which is to be obferved in this difficulty, 
 is, to confider that Libraries are neither 
 built nor efteemed but for the fervice 
 & benefit which one may receive from 
 them, and therefore one fhould negle6l 
 fuch Books & Manufcripts as are only 
 valuable in refpeft of their Antiquity, 
 
 figures, 
 
a Library 109 
 
 figures, paintings, binding, and other 
 weak confiderations ; Such as were 
 the Froijfard, which certain Merchants 
 would have fold not long fince at three 
 hundred Crowns ; The Bocace of the un- 
 fortunate Nobles, which was eftimated 
 at a hundred; The Mtffal and Bible of 
 Guinart ; the Howres, which they are 
 wont to fay was ineftimable for its curi- 
 ous figures and copartiments, The Titus 
 Livius, and other Hiftorians in Manu- 
 fcripts & painted in miniature; Chinefe 
 and Japan Books, fuch as are drawn in 
 Parchment, ftained Paper, of extream 
 fine Cotton, and with large Margents, 
 and feveral others of the like fluff; to 
 employ the great fums which they coft, 
 upon Volumes more ufeful in a Library 
 than all thefe we have mentioned, or fuch 
 
 as 
 
no Erecting of 
 
 as refemble them, which fhall never 
 make the paffionate Colle6lors of them 
 fo much efteemed, as was Ptolomeus 
 Philadelphus for giving fifteen talents 
 for the works of Euripides; Tarquinius, 
 who bought the three Books of Sibyll, 
 at as great a price as would have pur- 
 chafed all the nine ; Ariftotle, who gave 
 threefcore and twelve thoufand Sefter- 
 cies for the works of Speujippus; Plato, 
 who employed a thoufand denarii for 
 thofe ofPhilolaus; Eeffarion, who bought 
 thirty thoufand Crowns worth of Greek 
 Books; Hurtado de Mendoza, who pro- 
 cured a great Ships fraight, out of 
 the Levant; Picus Mirandula, who ex- 
 pended feven thoufand Crowns in He- 
 brew Manufcripts, Chaldean, & others; 
 & in brief, that King of France who en- 
 
a Library m 
 
 gaged his Gold & Silver Plate to have a 
 Copy of LacertiuSj a Book belonging to 
 theLibraryof the Phyfitiansof this City, 
 as it is teftified at large in the antient 
 Patent and Regifters of their Faculty. 
 C[To thefe I add, that it would be expe- 
 dient alfo to know of the Parents and 
 Heirs of feveral gallant perfons, wheth- 
 er they have not left fome Manuscripts 
 which they would part withall, feeing it 
 frequently comes to pafs, that the great- 
 eft number of them never print half of 
 their works ; being either prevented by 
 their death, or hindred by the expence, 
 the apprehenfion of many cenfures & 
 judgements, the fear of not coming well 
 off, the liberty of their difcourfe, their 
 modefty, & other the like reafons which 
 have deprived us of many Books of Pof- 
 
 tellus, 
 
us Erecting of 
 
 tellus 9 Bodin, Mar/illius, Pafferatius, 
 Maldonat, &c. whofe Manuscripts are 
 frequently lighted upon in particular 
 mens ftudies, or in Bookfellers fhops. 
 In like manner alfo ought one to know 
 from year to year, what TraSls the moft 
 learned Regents of the neighbouring 
 Univerjities are to read, as well in their 
 publique Clafles, as in particular, there- 
 by to procure Copies to be written ; & 
 by this means eafily obtain a world of 
 pieces, as good & eftimable as are many 
 Manufcripts which are dearly bought 
 for their age and antiquity ; for inftance, 
 theTreatife of the Druides of M. Mar- 
 Jillius; The Hiftory and Treatife of the 
 French Magiftrates of M. Grangier; 
 The Geography of M. Belurgey; the fun- 
 dry writings of M. M. Dautruy, Ham- 
 
 bert 9 
 
a Library 
 
 bert, Seguin, ofdu Val 9 of Artis; and in 
 a word, of the moft renouned Profef- 
 fors of all France. 
 
 C. Finally, one that had as great an af- 
 feftion for Books as the Sieur Vincen- 
 tius Pinellij may alfo, as he did, vifit the 
 Shops of thofe who often buy old Pa- 
 pers or Parchments, to fee if there no- 
 thing chance into their hands that may 
 be worthy the colle<5lion for a Library ; 
 And in truth, we fhould be much en- 
 couraged in this particular, by the ex- 
 ample ofPogius, who found Quintilian 
 upon the Counter of a Cooks Jbop, dur- 
 ing the time that he was at the Councel 
 of Conftance, as alfo by that of Papirius 
 MaJJbnius, who encountred Agobardus 
 in a Stationers fhop, who was ready to 
 cover his Books with it; & ofAfconius, 
 
 which 
 
H4 Erecting of 
 
 which has been given to us by a like 
 chance : But forafmuch, nevertheleffe, 
 that this expedient is alfo as extraordi- 
 nary as is their aflfe<5lion who make ufe 
 of it ; I fhall rather choofe to leave it to 
 their difcretion, than prefcribe it as a 
 general and neceflfary rule. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
a Library 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 The Difpojition of the place where they 
 Jhould be kept. 
 
 THIS confideration of the place 
 which ought to be made choice 
 of to corre6l and eftablifh a Library in, 
 would well take up as long a difcourfe 
 as any of the precedent, could the Pre- 
 cepts which one might give be exe- 
 cuted with as much facility, as thofe 
 which we have already deduced & ex- 
 plicated above: But, forafmuch as it 
 onely appertains to thofe who would 
 build places exprefly for this purpofe, 
 precifely to obferve all the rules & cir- 
 cumftances which depend on the Archi- 
 
 teSture, 
 
116 Erecting of 
 
 teSlure, many particularities being nec- 
 eflarily obliged to fubmit to the divers 
 fhapes of their dwellings, to place their 
 Library as conveniently as they can ; 
 and to fpeak ferioufly, I conceive it the 
 fole occafion which has perfwaded Ar- 
 chiteSls to add nothing to what Vitruvi- 
 us has faid thereupon. Howbeit, not to 
 publifhthis advice lame and imperfeft, 
 I fhall offer you my opinion in fhort, to 
 the end that every body may make ufe 
 of it according to his power, or as he 
 fhall judge it to his liking. 
 4L As to what concerns then the fitua- 
 tion, where one would build, or choofe 
 a place convenient for a Library, it 
 feems that this common faying 
 Carmina fecejjum fcribentis & otia qute- 
 runt, 
 
 would 
 
a Library 
 
 would oblige us to take it in a part of 
 the houfe the moft retired from the noife 
 & difturbance, not onely of thofe with- 
 out, but alfo of the family and domef- 
 ticks ; diftant from the ftreets, from the 
 kitchin, the common hall, & like place ; 
 to fituate it ( if poffible ) within fome fpa- 
 cious Court, or fmall Garden, where it 
 may enjoy a free light, a good & agree- 
 able profpe6t; the air pure, not near to 
 marfhes, finks or dung-hills, and the 
 whole difpofition of its edifice fo well 
 conduced and ordered, that it partici- 
 pate of no kind of indecorum or appar- 
 ent incommodity. 
 
 41. Now to accomplifh this with more 
 pleafure, & leffe pain, it will be alwayes 
 fit to place it in the middle flages, to a- 
 void the dampnefs of the ground, which 
 
 engenders 
 
us Erecting of 
 
 engenders mouldinefs, and is a certain 
 rottennefs that does ataque Books infen- 
 fibly, and that the Garrets and Cham- 
 bers above may preferve it from intem- 
 peratures of the air; as thofe whofe 
 roofs are low quickly refent the incom- 
 modity of the rain, fnow, and heats; 
 Which if there be no means eafily to 
 avoid, yet ought one at leaft to be care- 
 ful that they afcend to them by four or 
 five fteps, as I have obferved in the 
 Ambrojian at Milan ; & the higher the 
 better, and that as well in refpe6l of its 
 beauty, as to avoid the named incon- 
 veniences ; otherwife, the place being 
 humid, and ill fituated, you muft of ne- 
 ceffity have recourfe to mats or tapif- 
 tries, to line the walls withall, and to 
 the ftove or chimney, in which nothing 
 
 muft 
 
a Library 119 
 
 muftbe confumed fave wood, which will 
 burn without fmoke, to heat & dry the 
 room during the winter, and other wet 
 feafons of the year. 
 
 L But all thefe difficulties and circum- 
 ftances are nothing to thofe which are 
 to be obferved for the giving light, and 
 conveniently placing the windows of a 
 Library, as well for beingoffo great im- 
 portance, that it be fully illuminated to 
 the very fartheft corners, as in refpe<5t 
 likewife of the feveral natures of the 
 winds which ordinarily blow, & which 
 produce effe6ls as different as are their 
 qualities and the places through which 
 they pafs ; upon which, I fay, there are 
 two things to be obferved ; the firft, that 
 the tranfum and the windows of the Li- 
 brary (if they mull be through-lights) 
 
120 Erecting of 
 
 be not diametrically oppofite, unlefs 
 thofe onely which give day to fome ta- 
 ble; thatfo the lights paffingnotthrough, 
 the place be fufficiently fupplyed. The 
 fecond, that the principal overtures be 
 alwayes placed towards the Eaft, as well 
 becaufe of the early light which the Li- 
 brary may receive in the morning, as in 
 refpe<5t of the winds which fpire from 
 that quarter, which for being hot & dry 
 of nature, do wonderfully attemper the 
 air, fortifie the fenfes, fubtilize the hu- 
 mors, depure the fpirits, preferve a good 
 conftitution, corre6l the bad, & in a word, 
 are very healthy and falubrous: where- 
 as on the contrary, thofe which blow 
 from the Weft are more troublefom & 
 noxious, and the Meridional more dan- 
 gerous than all the reft, for that being 
 
 hot 
 
a Library 
 
 hot and moift they difpofe things to cor- 
 ruption, thickentheair,nourifhwormes, 
 engender vermine, foment and create 
 fickneffes, difpofing us to new ones; 
 whence that of Hippocrates, Auftri audi- 
 tum hebetantes, Caliginofi,caput gravan- 
 tes,pigri 9 diflblventes; for that they fill 
 the head with certain vapors & humidi- 
 ties which cloud the fpirits, relax the 
 nerves, obftrudl the conduits, obfufk the 
 fenfe,&render us dull & almoft unfit for 
 all forts of a6lions; Therefore, in defe6l 
 of the firft, you fhould have recourfe to 
 thefeptentrionall, and which by reafon 
 of their qualities, cold, and drye, ingen- 
 ders no humidity, and do well conferve 
 both their Books and Papers. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
122 Erecting of 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 Of the Order which it is requijite to 
 affign them. 
 
 \JU C-7 
 
 THE feventh point, and which 
 feems abfolutely neceflary to be 
 treated of after the precedent, is that of 
 the Order and Difpojition which Books 
 ought to obferve in a Library; for with- 
 out this, doubtlefs, all inquiring is to no 
 purpofe, and our labour fruitlefs ; feeing 
 Books are for no other reafon laid & re- 
 ferved in this place, but that they may be 
 ferviceable upon fuch occaiions as pre- 
 fent themfelves ; Which thing it is not- 
 withftanding impoffible to eflfe6l, unlefs 
 they be ranged, and difpofed according 
 
 to 
 
a Library 123 
 
 to the variety of theirfubje6ts,or infuch 
 other fort, as that they may eafily be 
 found,asfoon as named. I affirm, more- 
 over, that without this Order and difpo- 
 fition, be the colle6tion of Books what- 
 ever, were it of fifty thoufand Volumes, 
 it would no more merit the name of 
 a Library , than an aflembly of thirty 
 thoufand men the name of an Army, 
 unleffe they be martially in their fever- 
 al quarters, under the conduft of their 
 Chiefs and Captains ; or a vaft heap of 
 ftones and materials, that of a Palace or 
 a houfe, till they be placed and put to- 
 gether according to rule, to make a per- 
 fe<5l and accomplifhed ftru6ture. And 
 juft as we fee Nature, Qua nihil unquam 
 fine ordine meditata e/t vel effecit, does 
 govern, entertain, and conferve, by this 
 
 onely 
 
124 Erecting of 
 
 onely way, fo great a di verfity of things, 
 without the ufe whereof we could not 
 fuftain & preferve our bodies; fo ought 
 we to believe, that to entertain our 
 fpirit, it is fit that the objefts and things 
 which it makes ufe of, be in fuch fort 
 difpofed, that it may alwayes and at 
 pleafure difcern the one from the other; 
 draw, and feparate them at his fantafie, 
 without labour, without pains, without 
 confufion. Which yet it could never 
 accomplifh in the affairs of Books, if 
 one fhould range them by a defign of a 
 hundred Prefles, as la Croix du Maine 
 propofes towards the conclufion of his 
 French Bibliotheque ; or the Caprices 
 which Julius Camillus expofes in the 
 Idea of his Theatre ; and much lefs yet, 
 fhould one purfue the triple divifions 
 
 which 
 
a Library 125 
 
 which John Mabun infers from thefe 
 words of the Pfalmift, Difciplinam, bo- 
 nitatem, & fcientiam doce me y for the 
 diftribution of all forts of Books under 
 the three ClaJJes, & principal heads of 
 Morals, of the Sciences, and of Devo- 
 tion ; For as the Eele efcapes, by being 
 too hard preffed, that Artificial Memo- 
 ry fpoils and perverts the natural, and 
 that we frequently fail of accomplifhing 
 many affairs, by crouding them with 
 too many circumftances and precau- 
 tions ; fo is it certain, that it would be ex- 
 treamly difficult for any fpirit, to regu- 
 late, & accuftom itfelf to this Oecono- 
 my, which feems not to have any other 
 fcope but to torture & eternally cruci- 
 fie the Memory, under the Thorns of 
 thofe frivolous Punctilios & Chymerick 
 
 fubtilties ; 
 
126 Erecting of 
 
 fubtilties ; fo far is it from rendring us 
 the leaft aid, & verifie the faying of Ci- 
 cero, Ordo e/t maxime qui memories lu- 
 men qffert. And therefore making no 
 more efteem of an order that can onely 
 be followed by an Author, which will 
 not be underftood, I conceive that to be 
 alwayes the beft which is moft facil, the 
 leaft intricate, moft natural, pra<5lifed, & 
 which follows the Faculties of Theologie, 
 Phyjick, Jurif prudence, Mathematicks, 
 Humanity, & others, which fhould be 
 fubdivided each of them into particulars, 
 according to their feveral members, 
 which for this purpofe ought to be rea- 
 fonably well underftood by him who has 
 the charge of the Library ; as for exam- 
 ple, in Divinity, you fhould ever place 
 
 the Bibles firft, according to the order 
 
 
 
a Library 127 
 
 of the tongues,next thefe, the Councells, 
 Synods, Decrees, Canons, & all that con- 
 cerns \heEccleJiaftical constitutions; for- 
 afmuch as they retain the fecond place 
 of authority amongft us ; After thefe, 
 the Fathers, Greek & Latine ; then the 
 Commentators, Scholafticks, Mix'd Doc- 
 tors, Hiftorians, and finally, the Here- 
 tiques. In Philojophy, to begin with that 
 of Trifmegiftus as the moft antient, fol- 
 low by that of Plato, of Ariftotle, of 
 Raymondus Lullius, Ramus, and finifh 
 with the Novators, Telejius, Patricius, 
 Campanella, Verulamius, Gilbert, Jor- 
 danus Brunus, GaJJendus, BaJJbnus, Go- 
 mejius, Carpenter, Gorleus, which are the 
 principal amongft a thoufand others: 
 and fo to obferve the like in all Facul- 
 ties; with thefe cautions, feduloufly ob- 
 
 ferved : 
 
iss Erecting of 
 
 ferved: the firft, that the moft univerfal 
 & antient, do alwayes march in front ; 
 the fecond, that the Interpreters & Com- 
 mentators be placed apart, & rang'd ac- 
 cording to the order of the Books which 
 they explicate ; the third, that the par- 
 ticular Treatifes follow the rank and 
 difpofition of their matter and fubjeft, 
 in the Arts and Sciences; the fourth & 
 laft, that all Books of like argument & 
 fubje<5l be precifely reduced, and difci- 
 plin'd in their deftin'd places ; fince in 
 fo doing, the memory is fo refrefhed, 
 that it would be eafie in a moment onely 
 to find out whatever Book one would 
 choofe or defire, in a Library that were 
 as vaft as that of Ptolomy ; to eflfe6l 
 which yet with more eafe and content- 
 ment, care muft be had, that thofe Books 
 
 which 
 
a Library 
 
 which are in too fmall Volumes to be 
 bound alone, be joyned onely with fuch 
 as treat upon the like or very fame fub- 
 je6l ; and yet it were better to bind them 
 alfo {ingle, then to make fo great a con- 
 fufion in a Library as joyning them with 
 others of fubje<5ls fo extravagant and 
 wide, that a man fhould never imagine 
 to find them in fuch Companies. I 
 know well, that one may reprefent to 
 me here two notable inconveniencies, 
 which accompany this order ; viz. the 
 difficulty of handfomly reducing and 
 placing of certain mixed Books in any 
 ClaJJes or principal Faculty, and the 
 continual pains which attends the dif- 
 turbing of a Library when one is to 
 range a thirty or fourty Volumes into 
 feveral places thereof: But to this I 
 
 reply, 
 
130 Erecting of 
 
 reply, Firft, that there are but very few 
 Books but what are reducible to fome 
 order, efpecially when one has many 
 of them ; being once placed, a very 
 fleight memory will ferve to admonifh 
 one where they Hand ; and at the worft, 
 it is but to deftine a certain place to 
 martial them in altogether : And as to 
 the fecond Obje6lion, It is true, that a 
 man might avoid fome trouble by fet- 
 ting the Books loofe,or in leaving fome 
 fmall place at the extreams of the 
 fhelves, or places, where every faculty 
 ends : but it would yet, me thinks, be 
 much more advantagious, to choofe 
 fome place deftin'd for fuch Books as 
 fhould be purchafed during every fix 
 moneths, at expiration whereof they 
 fhould be ranged amongft the reft, each 
 
 in 
 
a Library 
 
 in their proper ftages; fince by this 
 means alfo they would be the better, 
 being dufted and handled twice a year; 
 And however, I conceive, that this or- 
 der being the moil pra6lifed will ever 
 be efteemed much better & eafier than 
 that of the Ambrojian Library, & fome 
 others, where all the Books are indif- 
 ferently ranged pellmejle, according to 
 the order of their Volumes and Ciflfers, 
 and onely diftinguifhed in a Catalogue, 
 wherein every piece is found under the 
 name of its Author; forafmuch as that 
 to avoid the precedent inconveniencies, 
 it draws along with it an Iliad of others, 
 to many whereof one may yet prefcribe 
 a remedy, by a Catalogue faithfully com- 
 piled according to the Claffes, and each 
 Faculty fubdivided to the moft precife 
 
 and 
 
132 Erecting of 
 
 and particular of their parts. 
 C, There now remains only Manu- 
 fcripts to be fpoken of, which cannot 
 be better placed then in fome quarter 
 of the Library, there being no occafion 
 to feparate and fequefter them from it ; 
 lince they compofe the beft part & the 
 moft curious, & efteemed ; to this add, 
 that divers eafily perfwade themfelves, 
 when they do not fee them amongft the 
 reft of the bookes, that all thofe Cham- 
 bers where we ufe to fay they are lock't 
 up, are onely imaginary, and only def- 
 tin'd to excufe fuch as indeed have none. 
 There we may fee one intire fide of the 
 Ambrojian Library which is filled with 
 nine thoufand Manuscripts , which have 
 all been aflembled by the care & dili- 
 gence of the Sieur Jovanni Antonio Ol- 
 
 giati; 
 
a Library 133 
 
 giati; And in that of M. the Prejident 
 Thuanus, there is one Chamber of the 
 fame floor with the reft, deftin'd for this 
 purpofe. And therefore, in prefcribing 
 the order which one might thence ob- 
 ferve, you muft confider that there are 
 two forts of Manuscripts, & that thofe 
 which are of a juft Volume & Bulk may 
 be martial'd as other Books are; with 
 this precaution neverthelefs, that in cafe 
 there be any of great confequence, pro- 
 hibited, and defended, they be placed 
 upon the upmoft fhelves, & without any 
 exteriour Title, that fo this may be the 
 fartheft diftant both from hand and eye, 
 & fo neither to be known nor handled 
 but at the difcretion of him which hath 
 the charge of them ; the fame which 
 ought alfo to be put in pra6lice with the 
 
 other 
 
134 
 
 Erecting of 
 
 other fort of Manuscripts which confift 
 in fheets, & fmall loofe pieces ; which 
 fhould be united by bundles & parcels 
 according to their fubje<5ls, and placed 
 upmoft of all the reft, becaufe being 
 fmall, & eafily tranfcribed, they would 
 be daily obnoxious to be taken away or 
 borrowed, if they fhould be placed in 
 any part where they might be feen & 
 handled by every one, as it frequently 
 happens to Books which lye upon dejks 
 in antient Libraries: And this isfufficient 
 to have been fpoken upon this point on 
 which there is no farther need of en- 
 larging, fince the order of Nature which 
 is alwayes uniform & like her felf, not 
 being to be exa<5lly imitated, by rea- 
 fon of the extravagancy & diversity of 
 Books, there onely remains that of Art, 
 
 which 
 
a Library 135 
 
 which every man will for the moft part 
 eftablifh according to his own fancy, 
 and as he finds beft to fuite his purpofe, 
 by his own judgement and underftand- 
 ing, as well to fatisfie himfelf, as be- 
 caufe he will not follow the tracks and 
 opinions of others. 
 
 CHAP, 
 
Erectin of 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 Of the Ornament and Decoration 
 neceffarily to be obferved. 
 
 I SHOULD willingly difpenfe with 
 this laft Confideration, to pafs to 
 that which ought to clofe and fhut up 
 thefe InftruStions, were I not advertif 'd 
 by that excellent faying of Typotius, Ig- 
 notapopulo eft & mortua pene ipf a virtus 
 fine lenocinio, to fpeak a word by the 
 way concerning the exteriour parade & 
 ornament which is requifite to a Libra- 
 ry, confidering that this fard & decora- 
 tion feems to be neceflary, fince accord- 
 ing to the faying of the fame Author, 
 Omnis apparatus bellicus, omnes machine 
 
 forenfes, 
 
a Library 137 
 
 forenfes, omnis denique fupellex domef- 
 tica, ad oftentationem comparata sunt: & 
 to fpeak truth, that which makes me 
 the more eafily excufe the paffion of 
 thofe who at prefent feek after this 
 pomp with a great deal of expence & 
 ufelefs coft, is, that the Antients have 
 therein been more prodigal than we ; 
 for let us firft of all confider, what the 
 ftru6lure & building of their Libraries 
 were ; IJidorus will tell us, that they 
 were all paved with Serpentine marble, 
 & the roof overlaid with Gold ; Boetius, 
 that the Walls were lined with Glafs & 
 Ivory ; Seneca, that the Prefles & Defks 
 were of Ebony & Cedar: If we enquire 
 what rare and exquifite pieces they put 
 into them; Both the Plinies, Sueton, 
 Martial , & Vopifcus, will teftifie through 
 
 aU 
 
Erecting of 
 
 all their works, that they fpar'd neither 
 Gold nor Silver to decore them with 
 the Images, and lively Statues of all the 
 gallant men. And finally, if you would 
 know what was the Ornament of the 
 Books ; Seneca does nothing elfe than 
 reprehend the lux and exceffive ex- 
 pences which they were at in painting, 
 gilding, limming, covering and binding, 
 with all kind of bumbaft, miniardife and 
 fuperfluity. But that we may extraft 
 fome inftru6lions from thefe diforders, 
 we ought to choofe and draw out of 
 thefe extreams that which is fo requifite 
 for a Library, that we may at no hand 
 negleft it, without avarice, nor exceed 
 without prodigality ; I fay, firft of all, 
 That as to the binding of Books, there 
 is no need of extraordinary expence ; 
 
 it 
 
a Library 139 
 
 it were better to referve that mony for 
 the purchafing of all the books of the 
 faireft and beft editions that are to be 
 found ; unlefs that to delight the eyes 
 of Spe6lators, you will caufe all the 
 backs of fuch as fhall be bound as well 
 in Rough, as in Calvejkin, or Morroccin, 
 to be gilded with filets, and fome little 
 flowers, with the name of the Authors ; 
 for which you may have recourfe to 
 the Guilder that is ufed to work for 
 the Library, as alfo to the Binder, to re- 
 pair the backs and peeled covers, re- 
 ftitch them, accommodate the tranfpofi- 
 tions, new pafte the Mapps & Figures, 
 cleanfe the fpoiled leaves, and briefly, 
 to keep all things in a condition fit for 
 the ornament of the place, and the con- 
 fer vation of the Books. 
 
 L Nor 
 
Erecting of 
 
 CNor is there any neceffity of feeking 
 for, and amaffing in a Library all thefe 
 pieces and fragments of old Statues, 
 
 Et Curios jam dimidios, humeroque mi- 
 
 norem, 
 Corvinum, & Galbam auriculis nafoque 
 
 carentem ; 
 
 It being fufficient to have good Copies 
 drawn from fuch as are moft famous in 
 the profeffion of Letters ; that thereby 
 a man may at once make judgement 
 of the wit of the Authours by their 
 Books, and by their bodies ; figure, and 
 phyfiognomy by thefe Pi6lures and 
 Images, which joyn'd to the defcription 
 which many have made of their lives, 
 may ferve, in my opinion, as a puiflant 
 fpurre to excite a generous and well- 
 born 
 
a Library 
 
 born Soul to follow their track, and to 
 continue firm and ftable in the wayes 
 and beaten paths of fome noble enter- 
 prife and refolution. 
 L Much lefs ought one to employ fo 
 much gold on the Cieling, Ivory and 
 glafs upon the Walls, the Cedar Shelves, 
 and Marble Floors, feeing this is not 
 now in ufe; nor do they now place 
 their Books upon Defks, as the antients 
 did ; but upon Shelves that hide all the 
 Walls ; but in lieu of fuch gildings and 
 adornings, one may fupply it in Math- 
 ematical Inftruments, Globes, Mapps, 
 Spheres, PiStures, Animals, Stones, and 
 other curiofities as well Artificial as 
 Natural, which are ordinarily colle6led 
 from time to time, with very little ex- 
 pence. 
 
 C Finally, 
 
142 Erecting of 
 
 CL Finally, it would be a great forget- 
 fulnefs, if after we have thus furnifht 
 a Library with all things requifite, it 
 fhould not have the Shelves garnifh'd 
 with fome fleight fearge, buckrom or 
 canvas, fitted on with nails filvered or 
 gilt, as well to preferve the Books from 
 duft, as to render a handfom ornament 
 and grace to the whole place ; and alfo, 
 fhould it be unprovided of Tables, Car- 
 pets, Seats, Brufhes, Balls of Jafper, 
 Conferves, Clocks, Pens, Paper, Ink, 
 Penneknifes, Sand, Almanacks, and 
 other fmall moveables, and fuch like 
 Inftruments, which are of fo little coft, 
 and yet fo neceflary, that there is no 
 excufe for fuch as neglecSl to make this 
 provifion. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
a Library 143 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 What ought to be the principal J cope and 
 end offuch a Library. 
 
 A<L things being in this equipage, 
 there remains nothing more for 
 the accomplifhment of this difcourfe, 
 than to know what ought to be its prin- 
 cipal end and ufe ; for to imagine that 
 after all this pains and expence, thefe 
 lights are to be fet under a Bufhel, and 
 condemn fo many brave witts to a per- 
 petual filence & folitude, is ill to under- 
 ftand the fcope of a Library 9 which nor 
 more nor lefle thanNature herfelf,P^r- 
 ditura estfrulumfui,Ji tarn magna, tarn 
 prceclara, tamfubtiliterdita 9 tarn nitida, 
 
144 Erecting of 
 
 &non unogenereformofa 9 folitudine of- 
 tenderit, fcias illam fpeStari voluifle, non 
 tantum afpicL Therefore, I fhall tell 
 you, my Lord, with as much freedom 
 as affeftion, for your fervice, That in 
 vain does a man ftrive to put in execu- 
 tion any of the forefaid Expedients, 
 or be at any notable charge for Books, 
 who has not a defign to devote and con- 
 fecrate them to the publick ufe, or de- 
 nies to communicate them to the leaft, 
 who may reap any benefit thereby ; fo 
 true is that faying of the Poet , 
 Vile latens virtus, quid enim demerfa 
 
 tenebris 
 
 Proderit 9 obfcuro velutijine remige pup- 
 pis, 
 
 Vel lyra qua reticet, vel qui non tenditur 
 arcus. 
 
a Library 145 
 
 So far was it one of the principal M ax- 
 imes of the moft fumptuous and fplen- 
 did amongft the Romans, or of thofe 
 who were moft affefted to the publique 
 good, to enrich many of thofe Libraries, 
 to bequeath & deftine them afterwards 
 to the ufe of all the learned men ; fo that 
 even according to the calculation of 
 Peterus ViStor, there were nine & twen- 
 ty at Rome, and as Palladius reports, 
 thirty feven, which were fo evident indi- 
 cations of the grandieur, magnificence, 
 & fumptuofity of the Romans, that Pan- 
 cirolus had reafon to attribute to our 
 negligence, & to range amongft thofe 
 memorable things of Antiquity, which 
 defcended not to our times, thefe af- 
 fured teftimonies of the opulency, and 
 good affe6lion of the Antients towards 
 
 thofe 
 
146 Erecting of 
 
 thofe who made profeffion of Letters ; 
 and that with fo much more reafon, as 
 that there are at prefent, as far as I 
 can underftand, none fave thofe of the 
 Knight Bodley in Oxford ; of Cardinal 
 Borromeus at Milan, of the Auguftine 
 Fryers at Rome, where one may freely 
 enter, and without difficulty; all the 
 reft, as that ofMuretus 9 Fulvius Urfinus, 
 Montalto, and the Vatican; OfMedicis, 
 and Petrus ViStor, at Florence ; of Bejfa- 
 rion, at Venice ; of St. Anthony ofPadoua; 
 of the Jacobins, at Boulogne; of the Au- 
 guftines, at Cremona ; of Cardinal Siri- 
 pandus, at Naples; of Frederick, Duke 
 of Urbin ; ofNunneJius, at Barcelona; of 
 Ximenes, at Complutum; of Ranzovius, 
 at Brandeburg; ofFoulcres, at Aujbourg; 
 and finally, the King's at S. ViStor, & 
 
 of 
 
a Library 147 
 
 of M. de T. at Paris, which are all of 
 them fair and admirable; but neither 
 open to every one, nor fo eafie of accefs, 
 as are the three precedent : for tofpeak 
 of the Ambrojian of Milan onely, and 
 fhew how (by the fame means) it fur- 
 pafies as well in greatnefs and magnifi- 
 cence, as in obliging the publique, many 
 of thofe that were even amongft the 
 Romans ; is it not a thing altogether ex- 
 traordinary, that any one may come 
 into it, almoft at all hours he will, ftay 
 as long as he pleafes, fee, read, extra6l 
 what Authors he defires, have all the 
 means & conveniences to do it, be it in 
 publique or particular, & that without 
 any other labour, than vifiting it him- 
 felf at the ordinary dayes, and hours, 
 placing himfelf in the feats deftin'd for 
 
 this 
 
148 Erecting of 
 
 this purpofe, & afking of the Bibliothe- 
 cary for thofe Books which he defires to 
 make ufe of, or of any three of his fer- 
 vants, who are well ftipendiated, & en- 
 tertain'd as well for the fervice of the 
 Library, as of all thofe who come every 
 day thither to ftudy in it. 
 C. But to regulate this liberty with ci- 
 vility, and all thofe precautions which 
 are requifite, I fuppofe it would be ex- 
 pedient to make ele<5lion & choice in 
 the firft place of fome honeft perfon, 
 learned, & well experienced in Books, 
 to give, together with the charge and 
 requifite ftipends, the title & quality of 
 Bibliothecary unto, as we fee it has been 
 pra6lif 'd in all the moft renoun'd Li- 
 braries, where divers gallant men have 
 alwayes thought themfel ves much hon- 
 oured 
 
a Library 149 
 
 cured in executing this charge, & have 
 rendred it mod illuftrious and recom- 
 mendable by their great learning and 
 capacity; as for inftance, Demetrius 
 PhaleriuSy Callimachus, Apollonius, Al- 
 exandrinus, Ariftoxenus, & Zenodotus, 
 who had the charge heretofore of that 
 of Alexandria ; Varro & Hyginus, who 
 govern'd that on Mount Palatinus at 
 Rome ; Leidratus and Agobardus, that 
 of the Ifland Barbe near Lyons under 
 Charlemaine ; Petrus Diaconus that of 
 Mount Coffin ; Platina, Eugubinus and 
 Sirlettus, that of the Vatican ; Sabellius 
 that of Venice ; Wolphius ofBqfil ; Greu- 
 ter that of Heidelburgh; Douza and 
 Paulus Merula that of Ley den, whom 
 the learned Heinjius has fucceeded ; as 
 after Budteus, GoJJelinus, & Cafaubon, 
 
150 Erecting of 
 
 M. Rigaultius does at prefent govern 
 the Bibliotheque Royal eftablifhed by 
 King Francis thejirfl, and exceedingly 
 augmented by the extream induftry & 
 diligence which he ufed. 
 C. After all which it fhall be very re- 
 quifiteto make two Catalogues of all the 
 Books contained in the Library, in one 
 whereof they fhould be fo precifely dif- 
 pof'd according to their feveral Matters 
 and Faculties, that one may fee & know 
 in the twinkling of an eye, all the Au- 
 thors which do meet there upon the 
 firft fubje6l that fhall come into ones 
 head ; and in the other, they fhould be 
 faithfully ranged and reduced under an 
 Alphabetical order of their Authours, as 
 well to avoid the buying of them twice, 
 as to know what are wanting, & fatisfie 
 
a Library 151 
 
 a number of perfons that are fometimes 
 curious of reading all the works of cer- 
 tain Authours in particular. Which be- 
 ing thus eftablifhed, the advantage to 
 be gained is in my opinion extreamly 
 important ; be it in refpe<5l to the par- 
 ticular profit which the Owner & Bib- 
 liothecary may thereby receive, or in 
 regard of the renown to be acquired 
 by their communication with every- 
 body ; that we may not be like to thofe 
 avaritious perfons, who take no felicity 
 in their riches ; or to that malicious Ser- 
 pent, who fuffered none to approach 
 and gather the fruits of the Garden of 
 Hefpendes; efpecially confidering, that 
 there is nothing eftimable, but as it be- 
 comes profitable & ufeful : & for that, 
 concerning Books in particular, they 
 
 are 
 
152 Erecting of 
 
 are like to the Man of whom Horace 
 fpeaks in one of his Epiftles, 
 
 Odifti claves & grata Jigillapudico 
 Faucis oftendigemis,&communia laudas. 
 
 However, fince it were unreafonable to 
 profane that indifcreetly which (hould 
 be managed with judgement, we ought 
 to obferve; that feeing all Libraries 
 cannot continually be fo open as the 
 Ambrojian; it were yet at leaft wife 
 permitted, that whoever had occafion 
 for it, fhould have free acceffe to the 
 Bibliothecary, whofhould introduce him 
 with the leaft delay or difficulty ; fec- 
 ondly,that thofe which were altogether 
 ftrangers, and all others that had ufe 
 onely of fome paffages, might fearch & 
 extra<5l out of all printed Books, what- 
 ever 
 
a Library 
 
 ever they flood in need of: thirdly, that 
 perfons of merit & knowledge might be 
 indulged to carry fome few ordinary 
 Books to their own Lodgings, never- 
 thelefs yet with thefe cautions, that it 
 fhould not be for above a fortnight or 
 three weeks at moft, & that the Library- 
 keeper be careful to regifter in a Book 
 deftin'd for this purpofe, & divided by 
 Letters Alphabetically, whatfoever is 
 fo lent out to one or other, together with 
 the date of the day, the form of the 
 Volume, & the place & year of its im- 
 preffion ; & all this to be subfcribed by 
 the Borrower, this to be cancel'd when 
 the Book is returned, & the day of its 
 reddition put in the margent, thereby 
 to fee how long it has been kept ; and 
 that fuch as fhall have merited by their 
 
 diligence 
 
154 Erecting of 
 
 diligence and care in conferving of 
 Books, may have others the more read- 
 ily lent to them. Affuring you, my 
 Lord, that if it fhall pleafe you to purfue 
 what you have already begun, & aug- 
 ment your Library to make this ufe of 
 it, or fome other which you fhall judge 
 to be better, you fhall obtain praifes 
 incomparable, infinite acknowledge- 
 ments, not vulgar advantages, and in 
 brief, a fatisfaftion indicible, when by 
 running over this Catalogue, you fhall 
 confider the courtefies which you have 
 done, the gallant men you have obliged, 
 the perfons which fhall have feen you, 
 the new friends & fervants which you 
 fhall have acquired, & in a word, when 
 you fhall have judged by the finger & 
 the eye, how much glory & reputation 
 
 your 
 
a Library 155 
 
 your Library fhall have produced you ; 
 Towards whofe progrefs and augmen- 
 tation, I proteft I would willingly, and 
 whilft I live, contribute all that I could 
 poffible ; as I have already taken the 
 boldnefs to render you fome teftimo- 
 nies of it by thefe Inftru6lions, which I 
 hope in time fo to polifh and augment, 
 that it fhall not blufh the publication, 
 to difcourfe & fpeak more at large on a 
 fubje<5t not hitherto treated of, & let- 
 ting the world fee, under the Title of 
 Bibliotheca Memmiana, what has been 
 fo long wifhed for, An ample & particu- 
 lar Hiftory , both of Letters & of Books ; 
 the Judgement & Cenfure of Authors, 
 the Names of the beft & moft neceffary 
 in each Faculty; the Scourge of Pla- 
 giaries, the Progrefle of the Sciences, 
 
 the 
 
156 Erecting of 
 
 the Diverfity of SeSts, the Revolutions 
 of Arts and Difciplines, the Decadence 
 of the Antient, the feveral Principles of 
 the Novators; & that Excellent Law of 
 the Pyrrhenians founded upon the igno- 
 rance of all men ; under the umbrage 
 whereof I do moft humbly, my Lord, 
 befeech you, to excufe my own, and to 
 receive thefe Render Inftrutfions, though 
 courfe and ill woven, as pledges of my 
 good will, and of that which I promife 
 to prefent you one day, with a greater 
 attendance, and better equipage. 
 
 Nunc te marmoreumpro temporefecimus, 
 
 at tu 
 Sifceturagregemfuppleverit, aureusejlo. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
a Library 157 
 
 The Copy of a Letter fent to the Learn- 
 ed, my moft honour'd and worthy 
 Friend, Dr. Barlow, D.D. Provoft 
 of Queens Colledge, and late Proto- 
 Bibliothecary of the Bodleian Libra- 
 ry in Oxford. 
 
 Reverend Sir, 
 
 "\) whatpurpofe Ihaddejigrid the 
 Copy which you were longjince 
 pleaf'd to favour me with accepting, I do 
 nowpubli/h; & by this acknowledgement 
 exprefs my obligations to you; that though 
 there was nothing of mine in what I 
 transmitted to you bejide the pleafure of 
 putting afubjeSt into Englifh, which I 
 thought might be acceptable to you; you 
 would yet honour me with Printing at 
 Oxford ; and where, Jince it was loft, it 
 
 is 
 
158 Erecting of 
 
 is here retriv'd, and by the fame hand 
 prefented again to you ; but not as a thing 
 which can in the leaft pretend to inftruSl 
 you, who not onely haveprejided over one 
 of the mojl illuftrious Libraries in the 
 World; but are alfo of your f elf (as 
 Eunapius would exprefs the merits of 
 the Sophift Longinus) /Ji/SXio^'joj ^v 
 X<>9, fcal TrepiTTdTovv /xoucretoj/ ; and to 
 whom, with no lefs reafon 9 may well be 
 apply ed what S. Hieromfaid once of 
 Origen ; Auxerunt aliorum ftudia Bib- 
 liothecas, ac per partes compleverunt : 
 unus tamen ( Barlous ) ingenii facilitate, 
 Bibliothecam unam quamvis ingentem, 
 implere potuit. JVbr do I believe that I 
 Jhall hereby inform you of a thing un- 
 known to you, by telling you that the per- 
 fon who publi/hed thefe InJlruStions, P. 
 
 Ludovicus 
 
a Library 159 
 
 Ludovicus Jacobus, a Monk, hasfet forth 
 a larger Treatife or Hiftory of the mo/t 
 famous Libraries, as well publique, as 
 particular, which have either been hereto- 
 fore, or are at prefent extant in all the 
 World; where, what he hathfpoken in 
 commendation of this Piece, & the learned 
 Authour of it ; what honourable mention 
 he makes of the Bodlean especially, & of 
 all thofe ofthefeveral Colledges in both 
 our Univerfities, cannot but extreamly 
 affeft you, and be very acceptable to all 
 thofe that delight in the progrefs & ad- 
 vancement of Learning. But Sir, I do 
 but touch it, and, after my AddreJJes to 
 my L. Chancellor, fubmit thefe papers to 
 your favourable cenfure; becaufe I know, 
 if they receive it now afecond time, they 
 will be doubly fortified; if not for the fub- 
 
 jeSt, 
 
Erecting of a Library 
 
 jet,for the great Names which compre- 
 hend them. But, if from hence alfo the 
 Gentlemen of our Nation derive fuch 
 encouragements, as may any way incite 
 them to imitate thofe gallant &renoun'd 
 Geniuf 's of our de Bury, Bodley, Cot- 
 ton, Hales ; Their Memmius, Thuanus, 
 Putean, Cordeiius, & a thoufand more 
 celebrated for their Libraries, affeStion to 
 Books, and promotement of publique de- 
 Jigns, I/ball then efteem myfelfextreamly 
 fortunate, in having contributed to fo 
 great a good ; and especially, if to this 
 alfo be added your Acceptation of thefe 
 Exprejfions of it from 
 
 Reverend Sir, 
 
 Your moft humble, and moft 
 aflfe<5lionate Servant, 
 
 J. EVELYN. 
 
Four hundred and nineteen copies of this book were 
 printed at the RIVERSIDE PRESS, Cambridge, in 
 the month of February, Mdcccciii. Of this number 
 four hundred are for sale. 
 
LENDER 
 COLL.]