Ancient Libraries and

Renaissance Humanism
The De bibliothecis of Justus Lipsius

By

Thomas Hendrickson

leiden | boston

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Ancient Libraries and Renaissance Humanism

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 Brill’s Studies in
Intellectual History
General Editor

Han van Ruler (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

Founded by

Arjo Vanderjagt

Editorial Board

C.S. Celenza ( Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore)

M. Colish (Yale University, New Haven) – J.I. Israel (Institute for Advanced Study,
Princeton) – A. Koba (University of Tokyo) – M. Mugnai (Scuola Normale
Superiore, Pisa) – W. Otten (University of Chicago)

volume 265

Brill’s Texts and Sources in

Intellectual History
General Editor

Andrew C. Fix (Lafayette College, Easton)

Editorial Board

J. Lagrée (Université de Rennes)

U. Renz (Universität Klagenfurt)
A. Uhlmann (University of Western Sydney)

volume 20

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Cover illustration: Wood inlay from the studiolo of the Palazzo Ducale of Federico da Montefeltro, designed
by Francesco di Giorgio Martini, executed in the workshop of Giuliano and Benedetto da Maiano c. 1478–82
(courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org).

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Hendrickson, Thomas, author.

Title: Ancient libraries and Renaissance humanism : the De bibliothecis of Justus
Lipsius / by Thomas Hendrickson.
Description: Leiden ; Boston : Brill, [2017] | Series: Brill's studies in intellectual
history, issn 0920-8607 ; volume 265 | Includes bibliographical references and
index.
Identifiers: lccn 2016051516 (print) | lccn 2016059227 (ebook) | isbn
9789004338166 (hardback : acid-free paper) | isbn 9789004338173 (e-book) |
isbn 9789004338173 (E-book)
Subjects: lcsh: Lipsius, Justus, 1547-1606. De bibliothecis syntagma. | Lipsius,
Justus, 1547-1606–Criticism and interpretaion. | Libraries–History–To 400. |
Humanism–Europe–History–16th century. | Renaissance. | Europe–Intellectual
life–16th century.
Classification: lcc z722 .l773 h46 2017 (print) | lcc z722 .l773 (ebook) |
ddc 027.009–dc23
lc record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016051516

Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”. See and download: brill.com/brill-typeface.

issn 0920-8607
isbn 978-90-04-33816-6 (hardback)
isbn 978-90-04-33817-3 (e-book)

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For Erin

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 Thomas Hendrickson - 978-90-04-33817-3
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Contents

Acknowledgements ix
List of Figures and Tables x
Abbreviations xi

Introduction 1
1 The De bibliothecis of Justus Lipsius 1
1.1 The significance of the De bibliothecis 1
1.2 The Need for a New Edition of Lipsius’s De bibliothecis 2
2 Lipsius Proteus: The Career of a Scholar in an Age of Strife 4
3 Library Historiography before Lipsius 6
3.1 Manuals and Legends: Library Historiography in the Ancient
World 6
3.2 Isidore of Seville: Literary Materiality and Literary Tradition in the
Monastic World 12
3.3 Library Historiography and the Humanists 14
3.3.1 Francesco Petrarch 15
3.3.2 Michael Neander 16
3.3.3 Fulvio Orsini and Melchior Guilandinus 18
3.3.4 Library Historiography and Religious Authority 19
3.4 Library Historiography and Vatican Frescoes: Rocca and Lipsius 22
4 The De bibliothecis: Title, Structure, and Purpose 24
4.1 A Note on the Title of the De bibliothecis 24
4.2 Structure and Purpose of the De bibliothecis: Making the Case for a
Public, Secular Research Library 26
5 Lipsius and his Sources 30
5.1 Ancient Sources 30
5.2 Contemporary Sources 38
6 Print History of the De bibliothecis 39
6.1 Latin Editions of the De bibliothecis 39
6.2 Translations of the De bibliothecis 50
7 Editorial Principles 52
7.1 The Text 53
7.2 Orthography 55
7.3 Accents and Punctuation in Lipsius’s Latin 55
8 A Note on the Commentary 57

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viii contents

De bibliothecis: Text and Translation 59

Full Text of the De bibliothecis 60
Epitome of Anastasius de Valle Quietis (1617) 136
Epitome of Constantius a Monte Laboris (1628) 148

Commentary on the De bibliothecis 164

Works Cited by Author and Date 305

Index of Manuscripts 320
Index of Inscriptions and Papyri 321
Index of Ancient Authors and Works 322
General Index 329

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Acknowledgements

Lipsius dreamed of a beautiful library inhabited by a vibrant community of

scholars, eating and working together. If only he could have been transported
to the American Academy in Rome or the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, the
institutions whose exchange fellowship provided the opportunity to write this
book. I am deeply in debt to both institutions: to their libraries, their scholarly
communities, and (not least) to their kitchens. I also owe thanks to the Whiting
Foundation, which provided a grant to work at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute
for Neo-Latin Studies, and to the Renaissance Society of America, whose Paul
Oskar Kristeller Grant supported research in Rome. Cairoli Fulvio Giuliani
(fig. 15), Judith McKenzie (fig. 4), Roberto Meneghini (figs. 13–14), and the
Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Roma (fig. 8) generously
granted permission to reprint images from their works.
This book could only have been brought to completion with the labor and
support of a host of friends and colleagues, to whom I am truly grateful. At the
start of this project, Frank Bezner provided much encouragement and Mark
Griffith made Klio funds available to purchase the cte software for the text. As
the work progressed I had the benefit of help from William Barton, Erin Hen-
drickson, Daniel Lansberg-Rodriguez, Trevor Murphy, S. Douglas Olson, and
Irene SanPietro, all of whom brought their varied expertise to bear on differ-
ent aspects of the manuscript. Emmett Baumgarten and Christina Hicks, my
research assistants at Furman University, provided invaluable aid. The anony-
mous readers offered many helpful suggestions. Christopher Celenza shared
advice and encouragement throughout. Dylan Sailor, my graduate adviser at
uc Berkeley, provided a wealth of suggestions, support, and encouragement,
which is especially gracious considering that I often worked on this project
when I should have been working on my dissertation. This book is dedicated
to Erin Hendrickson. We have been partners in each other’s intellectual labors,
this one included, and more importantly partners in life. She is probably the
only person happier than I am to have this book done with.

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List of Figures and Tables

Figures

1 Title Page of the (1602) First Edition of the db (digitized by Google Books) 25
2 Relationships between the db editions 45
3 Ozymandias Fresco from the Vatican Library (photo: author) 177
4 The Serapeum in the Roman Period (McKenzie 2007, figure 350; courtesy of
Judith McKenzie) 194
5 Hadrian’s Library in Athens (Sisson 1929, plate 21) 207
6 Rooms Traditionally Identified as the Pergamene Royal Library (Bohn 1885,
table 3) 215
7 Octavia’s Portico (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons: https://commons
.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plan_portique_octavie.png (last access 30.7.16)) 239
8 The Library of Palatine Apollo in the Augustan Era (Iacopi and Tedone 2005/6,
table 8; courtesy of the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di
Roma) 244
9 Twin Halls of the Post-Domitianic Palatine Apollo Library (De Gregori 1937,
figure 5) 245
10 Inscription of Antiochus, a bibliotheca latina Apollinis, from Orsini’s Imagines
1570: 105 (digitized by Google Books) 249
11 Inscription of Julius Falyx, a bibliotheca graeca palat., from Orsini’s Imagines
1570: 105 (digitized by Google Books) 250
12 Map of Libraries in Ancient Rome (adapted from Wikimedia Commons) 255
13 Temple of Peace (Meneghini and Valenzani 2007, figure 65; courtesy of Roberto
Meneghini) 258
14 Trajan’s Forum (Meneghini 2002, figure 151; courtesy of Roberto
Meneghini) 261
15 The Sanctuary of Hercules Victor at Tivoli (Giuliani 2004, table 14; courtesy of
Cairoli Fulvio Giuliani) 268
16 Pluteus from the Biblioteca Laurenziana (Clark 1901, figure 102) 293

Tables

5.1 Ancient Sources in the De bibliothecis 33

6.1 List of Latin Editions of the De bibliothecis 46
6.2 List of Translations of the De bibliothecis 52

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Abbreviations

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dia of the Neo-Latin World. 2 vols. Leiden: Brill.
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Bibliographie Lipsienne. 3 vols. Ghent: University of Ghent.
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bridge, Cambridge University Press.
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Akademie Verlag.
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toriker. 5 parts.
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FRHist Cornell, T.J., ed. 2013. The Fragments of the Roman Historians. 3 vols.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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xii abbreviations

fur Forma Urbis Romae. Stanford Digital Forma Urbis Romae Project.
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zig: Teubner.
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duzione, versione, e commento. Bologna: Pàtron.
Helm Helm, R., ed. 1956. Die Chronik des Hieronymus. Berlin: Akademie
Verlag.
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J. Schamp. 1991.) Paris: Belles Lettres.
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Athens.
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chen Literatur der Antike. 2 vols. Munich: Beck.
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Literatur der Antike. 3 vols. Munich: Beck.
Hoven Hoven, R., ed. 1999. Omnia opera Desiderii Erasmi Roterdami, ordinis
secundi tomus septimus. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
IEphesos 1979–1984. Die Inschriften von Ephesos. 8 vols. Bonn.
ig 1873—. Inscriptiones Graecae.
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jm Imhof, D. 2014. Jan Moretus and the Continuation of the Plantin Press.
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Koster Koster, W.J.W., ed. 1975. Scholia in Aristophanem i 1a: Prolegomena
de comoedia, scholia in Acharnenses, Equites, Nubes. Groningen:
Bouma’s Boekhuis.
Kühn Kühn, C.G., ed. 1821–1833. Claudii Galeni omnia opera. 20 vols. Leipzig.
(Reprinted 1964–1965. Hildesheim: Georg Olms.)
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18 books. Zurich and Munich: Artemis.

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abbreviations xiii

Lindsay Lindsay, W.M., ed. 1913. Sexti Pompei Festi de uerborum significatu
quae supersunt cum Pauli Epitome. Leipzig: Teubner. (Reprinted 1965.
Hildesheim: Georg Olms.)
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con Latinitatis Nederlandicae Medii Aeui. Leiden: Brill.
lsj Lidell, H., R. Scott, and H.S. Jones, eds. 1996. A Greek Lexicon. Oxford:
Clarendon.
ltur Steinby, E.M., ed. 1993–2000. Lexicon Topigraphicum Urbis Romae.2 6
vols. Rome.
mdai(a) Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Athenische Ab-
teilung.
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nual of the British School at Athens 56: 1–41.
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Munich: Beck.
Moutsoulas Moutsoulas, E. 1972–1973. “Τὸ ‘Περὶ μέτρων καὶ σταθμῶν’ ἔργον Ἐπι-
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xiv abbreviations

pg Migne, J.-P., et al., eds. 1857–1866. Patrologiae cursus completus, series

Graeca. 161 vols.
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Introduction

1 The De bibliothecis of Justus Lipsius

1.1 The significance of the De bibliothecis

When Justus Lipsius published the De bibliothecis (db) in 1602, he saw it as a
minor work. It was a short history of ancient libraries, which made a none-too-
subtle pitch to a local prince, whose library Lipsius hoped would be donated
to the University of Leuven. Yet the db, which was the first monograph on
library history, proved to be a seminal work, though ironically unsuccessful in
ultimately securing the prince’s library.
The db followed a long series of minor treatments of library history in
the works of the humanists. In offering a complete, self-contained history of
libraries, the db differed from these earlier works, which largely concerned
themselves with philological, topographical, or antiquarian questions. The db,
which excluded consideration of Hebrew and Christian libraries, also differed
greatly from the treatments of library history found in the polemical eccle-
siastical histories of the late-sixteenth century. While Lipsius clearly built on
humanist scholarship stretching from Petrarch to Fulvio Orsini, the db rep-
resented a substantial break from the library historiography of the preceding
centuries. This break is all the more important because the db provided a new
paradigm for libraries and library history.
The db proved to be a transformational work. Its words were written on the
walls of the Sale Paoline, added to the Vatican Library in 1610–1611 (see below
§ 3.4). It was repeatedly reprinted and translated, plagiarized and epitomized.
All the way through the end of the nineteenth century, scholars turned to
it as the ultimate foundation for any discussion of library history. In 1897,
Karl Dziatzko still more-or-less followed the structure of the db in his article
“Bibliotheken” in the Pauly-Wissowa Realencyclopädie, which succeeded the
db in becoming the chief scholarly reference-work on ancient libraries. The
success of the Pauly-Wissowa article had the paradoxical effect of enshrining
the db’s structure and assumptions while obscuring its existence. Dziatzko
explicitly cited the db, but the hundred plus years of classical scholarship that
followed referred back only to Dziatzko. Dziatzko’s article moves from ancient
libraries in the Near East and Egypt, to those of Greece, then Pergamum, then to
the earliest private and public libraries in Rome, to the public libraries of the
imperial age, and finally to libraries out in the provinces, before considering
the physical layout and furnishings of ancient libraries. This is almost exactly
the structure of the db. It is logical, to be sure, but it is a logic that Lipsius

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2 introduction

developed. In Dziatzko’s wake, a similar structure can be seen even in the

influential recent treatments of Horst Blanck’s 1992 Das Buch in der Antike and
Lionel Casson’s 2001 Libraries in the Ancient World, which are probably the most
commonly referred to resources on ancient libraries for scholars and students.
The db influenced not just subsequent library historiography, but also actual
libraries. In encouraging the prince to fund a library, Lipsius articulated a vision
of a public, secular (or at least non-sectarian), research library. This ideal library
would not serve the remunerative professions of law, theology, and medicine,
but instead the humanities. It would also include funding to give scholars the
support to take time away from teaching to dedicate themselves to research. In
the short and middle terms, Lipsius influenced Federico Borromeo’s creation of
the Ambrosiana library in Milan and the creation of museums in eighteenth-
century France.1 In the longer term, it provided the ultimate model of what we
now call a research institute.

1.2 The Need for a New Edition of Lipsius’s De bibliothecis

In the first place, a critical edition of the Latin text is needed. There are twenty-
four editions of the db, which fall into four significantly different families. An
interested reader can now find most of these editions online, but would be left
without a sense of how the text of that edition might differ from the others.2
The need for a new translation is, if anything, even more pronounced. There
is only one English-language translation, which was made by John Cotton Dana
in 1907.3 Dana, however, had a limited knowledge of Latin, and so he made
his translation based on a version of the Latin drafted by a friend, which he
then checked against Peignot’s French translation of 1800.4 The French edi-
tion, as Peignot had explained to his colleagues in the month of Thermidor of
the previous year, was the foundation of a bibliographic guide for the librari-
ans of the republic. As such, Peignot changed or excised any positive remarks
about monarchy. Given that one of the primary purposes of the db was to
encourage princes to fund libraries, Peignot’s alterations fundamentally mod-

1 On the db and the Bibliotheca Ambrosiana, see Nelles 1996: 234–235 and Ferro 2005; on the
development of the museum, see Lee 1997.
2 The Wolfenbütteler Digitale Bibliothek has now made a tei version of the Latin text that at
least shows the differences between the 1602 and 1607 editions: http://diglib.hab.de/content
.php?dir=edoc/ed000001&xml=tei-transcript.xml&xsl=tei-transcript.xsl (last access 29-07-
16). Baldi (2015) prints the Latin of the 1617 and 1628 epitome versions.
3 Further detail on the translations of the db can be found in Introduction §6.2.
4 The French translation is Peignot 1800: 1–39. Dana explains the process in his preface (1907:
23–24).

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introduction 3

ified the nature of the work. Moreover, the French and the Latin editions that
Dana used each came from different families of the text. The result is a trans-
lation that is full of omissions, errors, and hybrid readings. Even the more
recent translations, in Dutch and Spanish, provide no Latin text and only min-
imal notes.5 The very best translation, which is in Italian and provides a Latin
text and historical notes, only treats the epitomes and not the full text db
itself.6
Most importantly, a thorough historical commentary on the db is made nec-
essary by the fact that there is no longer any comprehensive book on ancient
libraries that is not now very out of date. A host of new discoveries and new per-
spectives has fundamentally changed what we know about ancient libraries.
Recent archaeological work has transformed our knowledge of the Palatine
Apollo and Temple of Peace libraries.7 A new text of Galen has been discov-
ered that details life in the libraries of second-century ad Rome.8 Scholarship
on ancient books, ancient reading practices, and the nature of ancient libraries
in general has also made huge strides.9 Moreover, there has been a growing dis-
trust of the traditional narratives of library history, which have been built on
late and anecdotal evidence that is, frankly, unreliable. New scholarship has, for
instance, dramatically rewritten the history of the great library of Alexandria.10
As a consequence, many of the works to which interested readers might turn
are outdated in both their evidence and their assumptions. It is my hope this
commentary will be thorough enough to provide a new outline of the history
of ancient libraries, and that it will be useful to classicists and archaeologists as
well as to those interested in Renaissance humanism and intellectual history
more generally.

5 The Dutch translation is Sobry 1941, which was printed together with a thorough introduc-
tion: Schmook 1941. The Spanish translation is López de Toro 1948.
6 The Italian translation of the two epitome versions is Baldi 2015.
7 New archaeology on the Palatine Apollo: Iacopi and Tedone 2005/6, Zink 2008. New
archaeology on the Temple of Peace: Tucci 2004, 2013a, and ( forthcoming); see also the
essays in the second half of Meneghini and Rea 2014.
8 Editio princeps is Boudon-Millot 2007a; more bibliography at 6n. cap. vi.
9 On ancient books: Johnson 2004. On ancient reading practices: Johnson and Parker 2009,
Johnson 2010. On ancient libraries more generally: Bagnall 2002; Nicholls 2005; Dix and
Houston 2006; Too 2010; König, Oikonomopoulou, and Woolf 2013; Hendrickson 2014 and
2016; Johnstone 2014; Houston 2014; and Meneghini and Rea 2014.
10 See 2n. cap. ii for the current state of knowledge on the library of Alexandria.

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2 Lipsius Proteus: The Career of a Scholar in an Age of Strife

Justus Lipsius was born in 1547, a year after the death of Martin Luther and not
quite twenty before the Low Countries would begin a long and bloody revolt
from Habsburg Spain. This was a world that forced people to pick sides, and
Lipsius did so—repeatedly. He had a series of perceived religious conversions
as his career took him to institutions with differing religious affiliations: first
Catholic, then Lutheran, then Catholic, then Calvinist, then Catholic (again).
Given these shifts, it is easy to see Lipsius as an opportunist. Not long after
his death a book was published called Lipsius Proteus, an allusion to the slip-
pery shape-shifter from myth.11 To avoid being pinned down, Proteus might
become a lion, a snake, a pig—just about anything. Modern scholars have still
criticized this “mobility of character,” as Jason Saunders put it (1955: 10).12 A
better perspective, perhaps, would be that amid clashes between Christians,
and amid clashes between nations, Lipsius was a Stoic whose homeland was
ancient Rome.13
Lipsius had a successful academic career that took him across Europe. He
studied first with the Jesuits in Cologne (1559–1564) and later at the University
of Leuven. At the start of his career he went to Rome for two years (1568–
1570) in the entourage of Cardinal Antoine Perrenot de Granvella.14 There he
made friends with the librarian for the collection of Alessandro Farnese, Fulvio
Orsini, whose influence on the db is so evident.15 Lipsius spent two years (1572–
1574) as Chair of History and Rhetoric at the University of Jena. The university
expected its professors to be Lutheran, and it is clear that Lipsius at least

11 Sagittarius, Thomas. 1614. Lipsius Proteus ex antro Neptuni protractus et claro soli expositus.
Frankfurt: J.J. Porsius. Proteus is most famous from the Odyssey (4.351–569), but Sagittarius
highlights the depiction of Proteus in Ovid (Met. 8.728–737). The title also plays off
Peregrinus Proteus, who was famous in the second century ad. Lucian, in his Death of
Peregrinus, painted the man as a self-promoting fraud who took up with various religious
and philosophical sects at various points in his life.
12 Saunders (1955: 1–58) provides a general overview of Lipsius’s life and works. The same
“mobility of character” that scandalized Saunders delighted Grafton (1987) in his portrait
of Lipsius.
13 De Landtsheer (2011) draws extensively on Lipsius’s correspondence to provide the most
in-depth and nuanced evaluation of the evident changes in his religious status.
14 On the influence of Lipsius’s years in Rome, see Papy 2004: 102–113. On Lipsius and
Granvella, see De Landtsheer, Sacré, and Coppens 2006: 36–70.
15 On Lipsius and Orsini, see Baldi 2013: 23–26, Papy 2004: 104–107, and De Landtsheer, Sacré,
and Coppens 2006: 87–92. For his influence on the db, see Introduction §3.3.3 and §5.1–
2.

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voiced some Lutheran sentiments in public, whatever his private beliefs.16 After
returning to Catholic Leuven and receiving a degree in law, he accepted an
appointment as Chair of History at Leiden (1578). The university was Calvinist
but tolerant, and there is actually no indication that Lipsius took up Calvinism,
although he does not seem to have been openly Catholic.17 Lipsius left Leiden
in 1591 and, after a sojourn in Liège, returned to Leuven in 1592 to take up the
Chair of History and Latin Literature. He occasionally contemplated leaving,
but ultimately stayed in Leuven until his death in 1606.
Although Lipsius’s location (and apparent religion) changed over time, his
academic production was consistent. He wrote over a dozen philological and
antiquarian works, of which the two monuments are his critical editions of
Tacitus (1575) and Seneca (1605).18 Lipsius also published volumes of his letters,
as well as a manual on letter writing, the Epistolica institutio (1591). Lipsius is
perhaps best known for his philosophical and political works, of which his
two major pieces are the De constantia (1584) and the Politica (1589).19 The
first reconciles Stoic philosophy with Christianity and develops what is now
called “Neostoicism.” The second argues that a state should have a single strong
ruler and a single mandatory religion. These positions might seem surprising
for a man who lived in a province that was rebelling against the Spanish king,
and whose religious feelings could hardly be described as convictions. Yet his
political philosophy is understandable in light of the political and religious
strife that tore through his world. It is the philosophy of a man who has seen
division lead to violence.
The db is one of Lipsius’s works on the history of Roman institutions. He had
written on the amphitheater (De amphitheatro 1584) and on Roman festivals
and gladiatorial contests (Saturnalia 1582). In 1590, Lipsius conceived of an

16 De Landtsheer (2011: 308–312) surveys the evidence for his beliefs in Jena. The Lutheran
sentiments were voiced in two speeches, a funeral oration for Duke Johann Wilhelm of
Saxony (Oratio in funere illustrissimi principis ac domini D. Ioannis Guilielmi) and an Oratio
de duplici concordia. Both were later published without his consent, the first in 1577 by
Andreas Ellinger (Jena: Donatus Richtzenhan) and the second in 1600 by Melchior Goldast
(Zurich: Rudolph Nyssenbach).
17 De Landtsheer (2011: 312–338) unearths the evidence for Lipsius’s beliefs and positions in
Leiden, much of it from his letters.
18 On Lipsius and the antiquarian tradition, see Papy 2004 (esp. 99–115).
19 He also wrote the occasional riposte to critics and detractors, like his Satyra Menippaea,
Somnium (1581), De una religione (1590), and Dispunctio notarum Miranduli codicis (1602).
After returning to Leuven later in life, he composed two works on Catholic themes, the
Diua Virgo Hallensis (1604) and Diua Sichemiensis (1605).

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ambition to write universal history of the world, focusing in particular on

the customs and institutions (both military and domestic) of various nations.
He called the project his Fax historica (Illumination of History).20 The project
proceeded piecemeal, with publications on the Roman military (De militia
Romana 1595), siege-warfare (Poliorceticon 1595), Roman marvels (Admiranda
1597), and on the vestal virgins (De Vesta et uestalibus 1603).
The db (1602) takes its place among these historical works. Most of his
writings, even the works of history and political philosophy, take the form
of a commentary: the De militia Romana, for instance, is a commentary on
Polybius. Even those works that are not ostensibly a commentary often morph
into one. Lipsius liked a rich texture of ancient quotations to expand on. The
db is a history of ancient libraries, but in a different sense it can be seen as a
commentary on passages about libraries from ancient authors. Lipsius could
sometimes weave these into a coherent history, like his treatment of the Great
Library of Alexandria in Chapter 2. Other times, it simply becomes a list of
miscellaneous quotations on a given topic, like his treatment of portraits in
libraries in Chapter 10.

3 Library Historiography before Lipsius

The first-ever book about books was probably Callimachus’s Pinakes in the
third century bc. In between Callimachus and Lipsius, library historiography
did not follow any unified line of development, but rather served different pur-
poses for different communities. At the same time, each generation did build
on the writings of the past by reading them, rewriting them, and repurposing
them. As such, it will be useful to examine how people wrote about book col-
lections over time, from the fragmentary library manuals of Antiquity to the
tendentious library histories of the Counter-Reformation.

3.1 Manuals and Legends: Library Historiography in the Ancient World

The earliest writings about books and libraries, of which we catch only the
occasional glimpse, fall roughly into two categories. The first category com-

20 On the Fax historica, see Papy 2004: 100–104 and Saunders 1955: 45–47. The term Fax histor-
ica is now also sometimes used more broadly to describe all the historical works, including
the earlier Saturnalia (1582), De amphitheatro (1584), and Leges regiae et decemuirales
(1576), as well as the De cruce (1593). The usage comes from the epitome of the histori-
cal works made in 1617, which is titled Fax historica (see §6.1 below on the print history of
the db).

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prises writings that give practical aid to the acquisition and management of
books. In this category we have only fragments and titles of works. The second
category encompasses legends and folktales about libraries, told as anecdotes
in various texts. These two categories represent two reactions to literature as
a phenomenon, or rather two different ways to digest the significance of the
world of texts. The first responds to the practical problem of how to man-
age a collection of texts. Such manuals for the management of texts, like the
Pinakes of Callimachus, necessarily also become manuals for the management
of knowledge and for the history, classification, and organization of knowledge.
In the second category are writings that react to the power of literature and use
libraries as a way to articulate ideas of political power, intellectual succession,
and religious authority. These anecdotes also betray an anxiety over the inse-
curity of texts as material objects, and consequently over the insecurity of the
power of which texts are ultimately the foundations.
Callimachus, the scholar and poet who was active in Alexandria during the
reign of Ptolemy ii Philadelphus (r. 282–246bc) and Ptolemy iii Euergetes (r.
246–222 bc), wrote a work called the Pinakes in 120 books, of which just over
two dozen fragments survive.21 These fragments suggest that Pinakes were a
kind of bibliography. They appear to have been organized by type of writer,
since we find categories such as orators, philosophers, and “All Sorts of Writers”
(this last was somehow only one book of the 120). Yet the categories may have
been conceptualized more as “those who write about x,” since we also find such
categories as “Laws.” The entries that we have include the author’s name and
some biographical information, such as the author’s teachers. These entries
also include information about the author’s works, which might include title,
quotation of first line, contents, and length (in number of lines).
The Pinakes were the first reference work on literature as a totality, and it
is as a reference work that later generations made use of them. Most of the
fragments we possess are found in disputes over the authorship of particular
works,22 or in disputes over information about specific writers.23 At 120 vol-
umes, the Pinakes would have been encyclopedic, and we can only regret that

21 The Suda (κ 227 Adler) calls the work Notices of those Distinguished in Every Sphere of Cul-
ture and What they Wrote (Πίνακες τῶν ἐν πάσῃ παιδείᾳ διαλαμψάντων καὶ ὧν συνέγραψαν).
The word pinax (plural pinakes) refers to a board, and by extension to the public notices
written and displayed on boards. It can also refer to a wooden writing tablet. The fragments
of the Pinakes can be found at fr. 429–453 Pfeiffer. For more see Krevens 2011: 121–124, Blum
1991, and Schmidt 1922.
22 E.g., Who wrote the Periegesis Asiae? ( fr. 437 Pfeiffer).
23 E.g., Who were the teachers of Eudoxus of Cnidus? ( fr. 429 Pfeiffer).

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the few surviving fragments do not allow a better understanding of the organi-
zational principles. In his third pinax on laws, Callimachus included a work by
a certain Gnathaena, who wrote a list of rules for the lovers who came to visit
her and her daughter, as a parody of those philosophers who had written such
rules for students ( fr. 433 Pfeiffer). One pinax, the one called “On All Sorts of
Writers,” includes a section titled “Dinners: those who wrote about them” (Δεῖ-
πνα ὅσοι ἔγραψαν, fr. 434 Pfeiffer).
Such a work was clearly not a catalog, or not just a catalog, but there was
a clear link between the Pinakes and the physical books themselves. Ancient
titles, for instance, were not always standard, so the quotation of a work’s first
line provided a means of identification, as did the listing of the work’s total
number of lines. Many ancient authors were homonymous, and so the listing
of an author’s teachers could serve as a personal identifier. The Pinakes were
an attempt to organize the world of literary texts, presumably those brought
together in Alexandria. The Pinakes were probably not the catalog of the library
in Alexandria, as used to be assumed, and they may even pre-date the library.24
They were, however, intimately related to ordering and organizing books as
physical objects. Other authors had written pinakes on other subjects, like
the pinakes of dramatic victors put together by Aristotle.25 Yet the Pinakes of
Callimachus bore a different relationship to their subject because they did not
just organize a world of ideas, but also a material and textual world of books.
Pergamum, like Alexandria, had a royal library in the second century bc. A
cadre of scholars worked there, and they too produced works that aimed to
organize literature both as a field of knowledge and as a collection of phys-
ical books. Scholars working in Pergamum created their own pinakes, whose
few fragments come into the historical record when ancient scholars noted dis-
agreements (over attribution of authorship, and so on) between the pinakes of
the Pergamene grammarians and those of Callimachus.26
Artemon of Cassandreia27 wrote works called “on collecting books” (περὶ
συναγωγῆς βιβλίων) and “on the use of books” (περὶ βιβλίων χρήσεως)—unless

24 As explained in the commentary for db 2, grave doubts have been cast on the traditional
narrative of the origins of the Alexandrian library, in particular by Bagnall 2002 and
Johnstone 2014, the latter of whom would date the origins of the library to the second
century bc rather than the third.
25 On Aristotle’s pinakes see Blum 1991: 20–43. Callimachus himself also wrote pinakes on
other topics (such as Attic playwrights), on which see Blum 1991: 137–150.
26 Such disputes are found at Athenaeus 8.336e, Dionysius of Halicarnassus De Dinarch. 1, De
Dinarch. 11, and Ad Amm. 4.
27 See ocd “Artemon” 2 (Trapp), re “Artemon” 18 (Wentzel), and fhg 4.342–343. He may

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these are actually references to one single work.28 In the first of the two sur-
viving fragments (Athen. 12.515e), Athenaeus writes that Artemon claimed that
the History of Lydia by Xanthus of Lydia (FGrHist 765 t5) was really written
by Dionysius Scytobrachion (FGrHist 32 t6). In the second (Athen. 15.694a),
Athenaeus records that Artemon wrote about types of songs at drinking parties.
These fragments are meager in the extreme, but they suggest similar concerns
to those found in the Pinakes: matters of authorship and the classification of
literature.
The first known Latin work on the collection of books is Varro’s three-volume
De bibliothecis, written in the mid-first century bc.29 Varro’s De bibliothecis may
have had something to do with his commission to build a public library for
Julius Caesar (Suet. Iul. 44.2), though Caesar was assassinated before the library
was built. It may also have some connection to Rome’s first completed public
library, which Asinius Pollio added to the Atrium of Liberty in the 30s bc.
Pollio, after all, gave a portrait to Varro alone among living authors (Plin. hn
7.115).
There are only two securely attested fragments of Varro’s De bibliothecis,
both preserved in Charisius, who wrote his Ars grammatica around ad 362.30
Charisius cites Varro’s use of the term gluten for glue in the phrase “he restored
it with glue and cedar oil” (glutine et cedro31 refecit). The phrase refers to the
repair of papyrus bookrolls. Individual sheets of papyrus were glued together
to form a scroll. Cedar oil was known to protect the papyrus from pests and rot,
and the tan color with which it imbued the papyrus was aesthetically prized.
The second fragment is simply Charisius’s remark that Varro used the form
uectigaliorum as opposed to uectigalium for the genitive plural of uectigal.
We may actually have more of Varro’s De bibliothecis, but here the waters
get murky. There are places where Varro is quoted on book-related matters, but
without an attribution to his De bibliothecis. One example is a note on the his-
tory of papyrus in Pliny’s Natural History (13.69–70). Pliny reported that Varro
had written about the origins and history of papyrus and other writing mate-

be the same as Artemon of Pergamum, who was active in the later second century bc:
ocd “Artemon” 3 (Trapp), FGrHist 569 (bnj 569, Pitcher), fragments and testimonia newly
edited by Broggiato (2014: 9–40).
28 For nearly all the works treated in this section, it is not clear when a given designation is
the book’s title or a description of its contents.
29 The title and number of volumes are known from Jerome Epist. 33.2 (grf p. 182).
30 Varro grf pp. 208–209.
31 The manuscript reading here is citro (“citron-wood”); on the emendation see Hendrickson
2015.

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rials (palm leaves, bark, lead, linen, wax). Varro apparently wrote that papyrus
was only discovered after Alexander the Great had founded Alexandria, and
that parchment was invented at Pergamum in response to a papyrus embargo
from Egypt, which had been instituted when the Ptolemies became jealous
of the rival library. Such a history of papyrus could easily have fit in the De
bibliothecis, but it could just as well have fit in Varro’s voluminous other writ-
ings.
It is sometimes supposed that all of Isidore of Seville’s Etymologiae 6.3, 6.5,
and 6.9–14 come from Varro, with Suetonius as an intermediary.32 It is certainly
possible. Isidore’s treatment of books and libraries in his Etymologiae included
chapters on writing materials (wax at Etym. 6.9, papyrus at 6.10, parchment at
6.11, various others at 6.14). But we should keep in mind that the only certain
connection between Isidore’s Book 6 and Varro’s De bibliothecis is in subject
matter (i.e. libraries). Suetonius does not even share that connection. The role
of Suetonius as intermediary is based on the fact that Isidore cited Suetonius
elsewhere, and on the fact that Isidore made use of Suetonius once in regard to
a book-related matter.33 As such, the temptation to use Isidore to reconstruct
Varro’s De bibliothecis must be resisted.
Whatever the nature of Varro’s De bibliothecis, works on book collecting con-
tinued to be produced through the following two hundred years. A certain
Philo, who was active in the late-first and second centuries ad, wrote twelve
volumes alternately called “On the Acquisition of a Library” (περὶ βιβλιοθήκης
κτήσεως, FGrHist 790 f52b) and “On the Acquisition and Selection of Books”
(περὶ κτήσεως καὶ ἐκλογῆς βιβλίων, FGrHist 790 t1).34 The fact that the ninth
volume was also called “On Physicians” (περὶ ἰατρῶν, FGrHist 790 f52–53) sug-
gests that this was a bio-bibliographical enterprise, perhaps arranged by type
of author (e.g., physicians) or genre (e.g., medical writings).
A certain Damophilus (perhaps of Bithynia?) wrote a work called “Lover of
Books: On Books Worth Acquiring” (φιλόβιβλος … περὶ ἀξιοκτήτων βιβλίων). He

32 As argued by Schmidt 1991 (esp. pp. 3806, 3814–3815).

33 Isidore cites Suetonius explicitly at Etym. 8.7.1, 18.2.3, and 18.6.8. At Etym. 6.14.1, Isidore
gives a definition of bibliopola that is also found in a scholiast (on Hor. ars 354), who
attributes it to Suetonius. Nelles (1994: 57–66) discusses possible sources for Isidore’s
treatment of libraries and writing materials.
34 Philo was a grammarian from Byblos: ocd “Philon” 5 (Goodman), FGrHist 790 (bnj 790,
Kaldellis and López-Ruiz), pir2 h 116, re “Herennios” 2 (Gudeman). He was a freedman of
the consul Herennius Severus: pir2 h 130, re “Herennius” 45 (Groag). Herennius Severus,
it is worth noting, asked the Younger Pliny for help in furnishing portraits for his library
(see Plin. Epist. 4.28 and db 10.5).

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was raised in Rome by Marcus Salvius Julianus, consul of ad 175, who is perhaps
to be identified with the future emperor Didius Julianus.35
A second-century ad Pergamene scholar, Telephus, wrote a work called
“Practical Bookery” (βιβλιακὴ ἐμπειρία) in three volumes.36 In those books
“he gives instruction on which books are worthy of acquisition” (διδάσκει τὰ
κτήσεως ἄξια βιβλία), according to the Suda (τ 495 Adler). Telephus at some
point moved to Rome and served as tutor to the future emperor Lucius Verus.
These fragments suggest a thriving tradition of writing about the acquisition,
organization, and maintenance of books. The fragments that we have hardly
permit any definitive conclusions, but they do suggest a few observations.
First, these works coincide with the rise of massive libraries in Alexandria,
Pergamum, and Rome. It is probably not the case that these works were aids
to organizing and maintaining these collections; however, both the works and
the libraries are manifestations of the rise of book collecting as a phenomenon.
Second, it is notable that the works were clearly tied to the physical care
of the books, such as their identification and restoration. Third, such works
were necessarily also literary histories, in that they required a commitment
to establishing who wrote what, when they wrote it, and how it should be
classified in relation to other works. The fragments do not reveal whether any of
these works included sections on the history of libraries, although we can see
elsewhere that it was a subject of interest. These works, and their fragments,
do not figure into the db or any Renaissance treatments of libraries. The works
themselves probably did not survive Antiquity, although knowledge of Varro’s
De bibliothecis survived to Jerome and possibly (indirectly) to Isidore, and
indirect knowledge of the Greek works survived into the Byzantine world to
be recorded in the tenth-century Suda.
If we look outside of the works whose chief topic was the organization of
books and literature, we see a lively tradition of anecdotes about the history
of libraries. The tyrant Pisistratus, for instance, was said to have founded a
public library in archaic Athens (see 3.2n. Libros Athenis). Ptolemy, to give
another example, jealous of the new library in Pergamum, was said to have
forbid the export of papyrus, which resulted in parchment being invented at

35 re “Damophilos” 7 (Schwartz), fhg 3.656. The Suda (δ 52 Adler) calls him a philosopher
and a sophist, who wrote many books. The “Lover of Books” is dedicated to a Lollius
Maximus (pir2 l 318). This dedication, however, may actually be for different book, which
he wrote on the life of the ancients.
36 FGrHist 505 (bnj 505, Sickinger), ocd “Telephus” 2 (Forbes), re “Telephos” 2 (Wendel). He
was a grammarian and the author of many books. He wrote grammatical and rhetorical
works, books Homer and the Greek language, as well as books on the kings of Pergamum.

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Pergamum (see 4.2n. æmulatione and 4.2n. supprimente). A multitude of such

anecdotes exist, and until recently they largely made up the fabric of the history
of ancient libraries. These anecdotes, however, are usually apocryphal and are
not good evidence for the history of libraries if taken at face value. Yet they
are an interesting development in their own right, and they shed light on how
library historiography could articulate ideas about power.37 Libraries are used
as a metaphor for ambition, political power, military dominance, and religious
authority. At the same time, these anecdotes also reveal an anxiety about the
fragility of texts. Such anecdotes stud the db, and I comment on them as they
arise.

3.2 Isidore of Seville: Literary Materiality and Literary Tradition in the

Monastic World
The status of the book underwent a definite change after Christianity’s rise
to dominance and the collapse of the Roman state in the West. The scroll, a
sign of the prestige of traditional (pagan) literature, gave way to the Christian
codex. The monumental public libraries of the Roman state disappeared, and
collections of books were instead found in monasteries and (much later) in
universities. Books took their most prominent role as part of the daily life of
the monastery, and it is this role that the contemporary historiography of the
book served.
There are several notable medieval treatments of books. Cassiodorus’s sixth-
century Institutiones, for instance, provided a framework for approaching and
managing the world of texts, a process that Nelles (1994: 37) called “the admin-
istrative normalization of the library” within a Christian, monastic setting. In
this section I will be focusing on one particular treatment: Isidore’s encyclope-
dic Etymologiae (also called the Origines), written at the start of the seventh
century ad, which is the first extant work to provide a thorough treatment of
libraries.38 This treatment takes up much of the sixth book, “On Books and
Ecclesiastical Offices” (De libris et officiis ecclesiasticis), of the twenty-volume
work. The book is kind of a literary history, but with an emphasis on the mate-

37 Too (2010: 19–49) explores how ancient narratives used libraries as a metaphor for political
and cultural power. Woolf (2013) shows how histories of libraries could articulate claims
of religious authority. Handis (2013) argues that anecdotes about the library of Alexan-
dria in Galen are used to articulate contemporary anxieties about textual fragility. Jacob
(2013) analyzes a handful of ancient anecdotes to highlight the development of different
conceptions of what constitutes a library.
38 Gellius (na 7.17) provided a very brief history of libraries, and we might speculate whether
any of the fragmentary works on book collecting included a history of libraries.

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rials relating to books and the vocabulary for them (accompanied, of course,
by etymologies). Throughout there is an overall effort to integrate the Christian
tradition and the Classical tradition. Like the ancient anecdotes about libraries,
Isidore formulates a view of intellectual succession: one that descends from
the Greeks to Romans to Christians (Woolf 2013: 2–4). Like the ancient manu-
als, Isidore put a focus on the materiality of books, which he used as a way to
structure his history of literature.
The first chapter of this sixth book is a booklist of the Old and New Testa-
ments, giving the names and rough organization of the books (Etym. 6.1). The
second chapter is an explanation of the titles of the biblical books, which often
includes a summary of the contents and the relationship between the first lines
and the content (Etym. 6.2). This chapter also deals with questions of author-
ship for the individual books. These two chapters are consistent with what we
surmise about the contents of pinakes-style works and the earlier book manu-
als.
The third chapter (Etym. 6.3), on libraries, starts with Ezra, “who restored
the library of the Old Testament” after the Babylonian Captivity. The chap-
ter proceeds to Pisistratus and Philadelphus, who were also legendary for the
editing activities associated with their libraries. This section on libraries leads
into one on translations (Etym. 6.4), starting with the Septuagint in Philadel-
phus’s Alexandria and moving forward through time to the work of Origen
and Jerome. The next two chapters list the major library owners of the Classi-
cal world (Aemilius Paullus, Lucullus, Caesar/Varro, Asinius Pollio, Etym. 6.5)39
and the Christian world (Pamphilus, Jerome, Gennadius, Etym. 6.6). Isidore
then treats prolific authors among Greeks, Romans, and Christians (Etym. 6.7).
The survey of authors is followed by a survey of genres and the terminology to
describe them (Etym. 6.8), which puts a special emphasis on interpretive works:
scholia, homilies, commentaries, and the like.
After his survey of authors and genres, Isidore surveys ancient writing mate-
rials (wax, papyrus, parchment Etym. 6.9–11),40 typical book length (Etym. 6.12),
and the terminology for books (uolumen, codex, liber, Etym. 6.13) and for copy-
ists and their tools (librarius, scriba, calamus, penna, folia, Etym. 6.14).
Isidore then explains the history of concordances of the gospels (Etym. 6.15),
the history of the ecumenical councils (Etym. 6.16), the calendar and religious

39 This chapter of Isidore is also paraphrased in Peter the Deacon (Keil 4.333), who was in
charge of library at Montecassino in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries.
40 It is this treatment of writing materials, brought in comparison with Pliny nh 13.69–70
(relating Varro’s views on parchment and papyrus), that has led to the suspicion that
Varro’s De bibliothecis was the ultimate source of Isidore’s chapter on libraries.

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holidays (Easter Etym. 6.17, others Etym. 6.18), and finally various monastic
duties (vespers, matins, and the like, Etym. 6.19).
Isidore’s treatment is part manual, part literary history, part intellectual
foundation for Christian practices and worldview. The focus on the material
aspects of books and writing would reflect the needs of monastic institutional
life, providing a kind of “handbook of professional literacy” (Nelles 1994: 54).
The focus on explaining the vocabulary for all these literary accoutrements
probably reflects the extent to which the language of Visigothic Spain had
changed from the Classical idiom. Yet Isidore’s treatment is not just an attempt
to explain how to manage the material artifacts of the literary tradition, but
also an explanation of what that literary tradition codifies. According to Isidore,
Christianity’s authority has a literary heritage, both Judeo-Christian and Clas-
sical. The material artifacts of this literary heritage must be maintained and
interpreted. Ultimately, this heritage does not just determine the rules of life
and faith but even maps out the passage of time.
Book 6 of Isidore’s Etymologiae became the definitive resource on books
up through the sixteenth century. Isidore was used as a quarry for raw source
material, but his influence can also be seen in the narratives that use libraries to
show a succession of spiritual authority (see below § 3.3.4) and in the tendency
for library history to be joined together with explanations of the terminology
of various literary accoutrements. Lipsius provides something of a break from
both traditions. His treatment undercuts the idea of spiritual succession by
leaving out Hebrew and Christian libraries entirely and by representing both
the Alexandrian library and that of Palatine Apollo as having been violently
destroyed by Christians (db 2.11 and 6.8, respectively). Lipsius does treat the
terminology of several literary accoutrements (db 9.7), but only very briefly,
and with a focus on obscure words not usually featured in such treatments (i.e.
foruli, nidi, loculamenta, plutei, cunei, armaria, pegmata).

3.3 Library Historiography and the Humanists

The historiography of the book reached a turning point with the advent of
humanism. Writings about books, and treatments of libraries specifically, be-
came much more common.41 These treatments can be found in antiquarian

41 Serrai and Palumbo (1993) provide an extensive overview of writings about libraries in
the Renaissance and Early Modern period. Nelles (1994) gives an analysis of this library
historiography. Canfora (1996) examines some of the most important examples in his
study of the various instantiations of stories about the Septuagint and the Alexandrian
library. Celenza (2004) provides a study and edition of Angelo Decembrio’s treatment
of libraries. Diego Baldi has published studies and editions of the treatments of library

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works of various sorts, such as Niccolò Perotti’s 1489 Cornucopiae, and in topo-
graphical works, like the expansions of the Notitia started by Pomponio Leto.42
Out of so many authors and works, spatial considerations make it necessary
to focus on just a few that are the most relevant to understanding the context
and contributions of Lipsius and the db: Petrarch exhibits an anxiety about
books that Lipsius will seek to counter; Michael Neander wrote a treatment
of libraries similar in scope to the db; Fulvio Orsini and Michael Guilandinus
both proved to be important sources for Lipsius; finally, Onofrio Panvinio and
the Magdeburg Centuriators highlight the role of library history in religious
polemic.

3.3.1 Francesco Petrarch

Petrarch wrote some brief remarks on the history of libraries in a letter (Fam.
3.18.), and he also touched on the subject in the dialog De librorum copia in his
De remediis utriusque fortunae (Book 1, Dial. 43).43 Petrarch took his informa-
tion from Isidore’s Etymologiae 6 as well as from the sha, which incidentally
mentions the library that Serenus Sammonicus left to Gordian the Younger
(Gord. 18.2).44 In both the letter and the dialog, Petrarch’s remarks on library
history come in the context of him expressing anxiety about the passion for
collecting books. In the letter, he seeks to excuse his own passion: “I can’t get
enough of books. And I have more, perhaps, than I ought to” (libris satiari
nequeo, et habeo plures forte quam oportet). In the dialog, a character named
Ratio (“Reason”) tries to talk sense into another named Gaudium (“Joy”), who
is delighting in his abundance of books. Books are, after all, luxury objects,
and the very act of collecting implies a fixation on books as objects, which
sits uneasily with their status as the medium of edification. In expressing this
anxiety, Petrarch draws on the younger Seneca (Tranq. 9.4–7), who mocks the
collecting of books and suggests that a library is nothing more than a preten-
tious display piece. Petrarch’s Ratio follows Seneca’s lead when he remarks:
“Just as some seek books for learning, others seek them for pleasure and show-
ing off” (ut quidam disciplinae, sic alii uoluptati et iactatiae libros quaerunt).

history found in several humanist authors: Francesco Albertini (Baldi 2010b), Andrea
Fulvio (Baldi 2014), Johannes Alexander Brassicanus (Baldi 2011a), Johann Lange and
Michael Neander (Baldi 2011b), and Fulvio Orsini (Baldi 2010a).
42 Nelles (1994: 67–100) surveys the place of library history in antiquarian and topographical
works in the Renaissance. For more details on these works and their influence on Lipsius
more specifically, see below § 5.1
43 Canfora (1996: 47–59) provides partial texts and an analysis of their sources.
44 This particular Serenus Sammonicus, and the story of his library, appear to have been
fictional (see 7.2n. Vopisco, 8.4n. Sammonicus Serenus, and 8.5n. Is moriens).

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Petrarch’s treatment of libraries was certainly influential, even if only indi-

rectly: the library of Sammonicus Serenus, otherwise so obscure, featured
repeatedly in Renaissance treatments of library history.45 (Lipsius mentions it
at db 8.4–5.) Of more importance, at least for the db, is Petrarch’s revival of
Seneca’s criticism of collecting books. One of the central concerns of the db is
to counter Seneca’s attack (see below §4.2). Here again the influence may be
indirect: Lipsius was responding to Seneca, not Petrarch. Yet it was Petrarch, a
book-lover if ever there was one, who tied together library history and the accu-
sation of vain bibliophilia. This nexus is precisely what Lipsius tries to unbind
in the db.

3.3.2 Michael Neander

Over the next two hundred years there were dozens of treatments of library
history. As noted above (Introduction §3.3), these can be found in antiquarian
works, especially topographical works and philological works. In topographi-
cal works, they have an obvious place in reconstructions of the ancient city,
which was not infrequently compared to the contemporary city.46 In philolog-
ical works, they are often found in treatments of literary materials and their
proper Latin names.47 Most authors dispatched with libraries in a few pages.
Not Michael Neander (1525–1595).48 Neander occupies a unique place in the
historiography of ancient libraries as the first to set out an extended treatment
of the topic since Isidore of Seville.
Neander studied under Philipp Melanchthon at Wittenberg and became
a school teacher in Ilfeld, where he wrote a number of textbooks. In 1565
he added a 340 page “preface” to his (otherwise quite short) Greek textbook:
Graecae linguae erotemata.49 The preface started with a history of libraries

45 Baldi (2013: 80–82) lists examples of the Renaissance treatments of libraries that include
Serenus and his library.
46 Examples of such brief treatments would include those in works like the 1510 De mira-
bilibus urbis of Francesco Albertini (text and analysis in Baldi 2010b); the 1513 Antiquaria
urbis and 1527 Antiquitates urbis of Andrea Fulvio (text and analysis in Baldi 2014); and
the various expansions of the Notitia (see Introduction §5.1 and Nelles 1994: 83–100).
47 Examples of such brief treatments would include those in works like Giovanni Tortelli’s
1453 Orthographia, Perotti’s 1489 Cornucopiae, and Polydore Virgil’s 1499 De inuentoribus
rerum (on which see Nelles 1994: 65–75); and the 1494 Lexicon de partibus aedium of
Francesco Grapaldi (see 9n. cap ix.).
48 Not to be confused with the mathematician and astronomer Michael Neander (1529–1581),
who taught at Jena while Lipsius was there (1572–1574). “Neander” is a hellenization of the
name “Neumann.”
49 The book was originally published in 1553, 1556, and again in 1561. All these editions were

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before turning to a more general survey of ancient authors and genres. The part
of the preface dealing with libraries, which took up 38 pages (i.e. 1565: 39–77),
is almost exactly the length of the db. Neander’s library history is thorough,
in many ways more thorough than the db. Neander cites more authors than
Lipsius does, and offers more information page for page. But the information
is unreliable; Neander’s treatment is chaotic and prone to error.
Neander’s general organizational structure is chronological and geographic.
He begins with ancient Hebrew libraries, then transitions to Persian libraries,
Greek libraries, Roman libraries, and more recent libraries in Italy and France.
Yet this structure is only loosely adhered to. In treating the Pergamene library,
for instance, which Neander mistakenly placed in Attica, he spent half of his
discussion on the Temple of Peace library from Flavian Rome.50 The connection
was not geographic or chronological, but rather that Galen wrote about both
of them. Such source connections are frequent and obscure the general plan.
Neander’s treatment of Hebrew libraries is notable, especially in comparison
with Isidore of Seville. Neander took an interest in the works on Cabbala by
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola and Johann Reuchlin.51 So, while Isidore of
Seville had to content himself with the traditional books of the Hebrew Bible,
Neander treated ante-diluvian libraries (1565: 40) and such works as the 70
secret Cabbalistic books of Ezra (1565: 42).
Neander’s survey of libraries was part of a broader history of literature, and it
aimed to introduce students to the writings of antiquity. He constantly focused
on what books might have been found in which library, a matter that other
authors ignored almost completely. Neander’s treatment had its strong points.
He had clearly read widely and provided an extensive collection of sources. At
the same time, Lipsius’s db is much more careful in its arrangement of material
and clear in its chronology.

published in Basel by Johannes Operin. Baldi (2011b) presents a partial text and analysis of
the section on libraries, in which he highlights Neander’s dependence on Johann Lange.
Canfora (1996: 81–87) argues that Neander’s emphasis on the Greek Septuagint translation
in Alexandria should be seen in light the religious polemics of the day, given Neander’s
Lutheranism and the Council of Trent’s affirmation of the Latin Vulgate translation as
definitive.
50 Neander 1565: 47–48 (= Baldi 2011b: 105–106). As Baldi points out, Neander lifted most of
this section, like many others, from Johann Lange. (The corresponding text from Lange
can be found at Baldi 2011b: 78–82.)
51 Neander cites both Pico (1565: 41–42) and Reuchlin (1565: 40) by name. On Cabbala and
library historiography, see Serrai and Cochetti 1988: 1–134.

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3.3.3 Fulvio Orsini and Melchior Guilandinus

The two treatments of library history that Lipsius engaged with most exten-
sively can be found in Fulvio Orsini’s (1570) Imagines et elogia uirorum illus-
trium et eruditorum ex antiquis lapidibus et nomismatibus expressa cum anno-
tationibus and Melchior Guilandinus’s (1572) Papyrus, hoc est comentarius in
tria C. Plinii Maioris de papyro capita. While it is frequently remarked on that
Lipsius made use of Orsini’s Imagines, it has not been noticed that he also took
much from Guilandinus’s Papyrus.52
Fulvio Orsini (1529–1600) was the librarian of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese,
and he also oversaw the cardinal’s extensive collection of antiquities. In the
Imagines, Orsini saw himself as working in the tradition of Varro and Atti-
cus, who had combined illustrations of famous men with short epigrams and
biographies of them.53 Orsini based his illustrations on ancient statues, inscrip-
tions, and coins found in and around Rome. Orsini’s Imagines featured a short
section on libraries under the heading a bibliothecis (1570: 102–105),54 since a
bibliotheca was the title of the workers at Rome’s public libraries. This sec-
tion comprised two parts, the first covering the libraries of ancient Rome and
the second covering the staff in charge of them. This a bibliothecis chapter
was designed to give background information for the inscriptions that Orsini
presents on page 105. The work is carefully organized and makes extensive use
of quotations from ancient sources. In fact, there is little beyond these quota-
tions and citations: the whole section is largely a list. Lipsius was a friend of
Orsini (see above §2), and it was actually during the years that Orsini was writ-
ing the Imagines (1568–1570) that Lipsius made his acquaintance in Rome. The
quotations and inscriptions that Orsini gathered together proved to be a major
resource for Lipsius and the db (Chapters 5–8).

52 The influence of Orsini has been clear since the early 1600s; the relevant passages of
Orsini’s Imagines were printed together with the db in most of the editions of the α
family (see below § 6.1). In modern times, Walker (1991: 57n.27), Nelles (1994: 132–133),
Papy (2004: 106–107, citing Bracke 86n.20), De Landtsheer (2008a: 85), and Baldi (2010a and
2013: 24–26) all highlight the influence of Orsini (1570); I am not aware of any reference to
Guilandinus (1572) in the scholarship on the db.
53 Orsini points to the models of Varro and Nepos in his preface. Neither work survives
whole. Atticus’ work is attested at Plin. hn 35.11 and Nep. Att. 18.5–6 (cf. Cic. Ad Att.
1.13.1, 1.16.15, 1.16.18); for the fragments of Varro’s Imagines, see Salvadore 1999: 86–95. I
elsewhere explore the place of Orsini’s Imagines in the historiographical traditions of the
Renaissance (Hendrickson forthcominga).
54 Baldi (2010a) provides a text and analysis of the a bibliothecis section of Orsini’s Imag-
ines.

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Another remarkably erudite, if less systematic, work is the Papyrus of Mel-

chior Guilandinus (c. 1520–1589).55 Guilandinus was a scholar of botany and
medicine, and his Papyrus was an attempt to set the record straight on a host
of matters where he believed Pliny to be in error in his treatment of papyrus
at Historia naturalis 13.68–89.56 His treatment of libraries is part of his analy-
sis of Pliny’s claim that parchment was invented at Pergamum when Ptolemy
stopped the export of papyrus. Guilandinus convincingly refuted Pliny with
evidence from Herodotus, Josephus, and others (1572: 92–94). After an excursus
on some problems of chemistry (1572: 94–98), Guilandinus gave an exposition
on libraries. First, he tackled some problems of chronology concerning the
libraries of Aristotle, the Ptolemies, and the Attalids (1572: 98–101). Second, he
set out to define a library, noting that bibliotheca could refer to a place, a book-
case, or a collection; here he also drew a distinction between a library and an
archive (1572: 101–102).57 Finally, he treated some Roman-era libraries (praising
Orsini’s Imagines) and some cases of library theft (1572: 102–105). Guilandinus’s
work was erudite and well researched, and Lipsius clearly made use of it in
Chapters 2–4, although he disagreed with several of Guilandinus’s conclusions.

3.3.4 Library Historiography and Religious Authority

The historiography of libraries played a role in the Catholic and Protestant
polemics of the late-sixteenth century.58 A major scholarly goal of the era,
for both Catholics and Protestants, was the continuation and rewriting of the
history of Christianity, in the tradition of the Historia ecclesiastica of Eusebius
and other late antique authors.59 The impetus came from the Magdeburg
Centuries, a Historia ecclesiastica from a Protestant perspective written by a
team of scholars under the guidance of Matthias Flacius Illyricus. In reaction,

55 Grafton (1979: 167–172) provides further background on Guilandinus and his Papyrus.
56 Guilandinus was joining a debate with a long history. Grafton (1979: 168) points to treat-
ments of these passages in Giorgio Merula, Cornelio Vitelli, Ermolao Barbaro, Raffaele
Maffei, Polydore Vergil, Pierio Valeriano, and Adrien Turnèbe.
57 Guilandinus was wrong on the latter point: the distinction between library and archive
seems to be modern rather than ancient (see 1.1n. Locum).
58 This section follows Nelles (1994: 156–215), who explores the role of library historiography
in the religious polemics of the late-sixteenth century and suggests that Lipsius’s db, with
its non-sectarian vision for scholarship and libraries, is a reaction to these ecclesiastical
histories. Nelles’ revised version (2002) focuses in closely on the Magdeburg Centuries,
Panvinio, and Rocca.
59 On Eusebius and other writers of ecclesiastical history, see 2.5n. Eusebius, 2.11n. Ruffin.,
2.11n. Socrates, and 2.11n. Sozomen.

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the cardinal Caesar Baronius wrote the Annales ecclesiastici. The history of
libraries was crucial to both projects, since libraries were both repositories
of important documents and at the same time symbols of continuity and
authority. In addition, even before Baronius’s Annales ecclesiastici, Onofrio
Panvinio had written a short treatment of libraries that countered the vision
of the centuriators. Following Nelles (2002), this section will briefly highlight
the treatments of library history done by the centuriators and by Onofrio
Panvinio.
The Protestant scholar Matthias Flacius Illyricus (1520–1575) organized a
team of men to write a new Historia ecclesiastica, composed of one volume for
each century of the Christian era.60 Each centuria covered certain set topics:
schisms, martyrs, and libraries (de bibliothecis), among others.61 The centuria-
tors were not concerned with the libraries and literature of Antiquity broadly
speaking, but rather with the role that Christian libraries had in the organiza-
tion, growth, and spread of Christianity. For the centuriators, libraries were a
safeguard for the transmission of God’s truth, and libraries were therefore the
basis of authority. The centuriators emphasized the accuracy and authority of
Christian libraries outside of Rome, which were attached to local churches in
the provinces.
Onofrio Panvinio (1529–1568), who (like Orsini) served Alessandro Farnese,
aimed to supersede the account of the centuriators. His treatment of libraries
made up two chapters of his De rebus antiquis memorabilibus et praestantia
Basilicae Sancti Petri Apostolorum Principis (Book 7, Ch. 6–7), both of which
were also used in his De sacrosancta basilica, baptisterio et patriarcho Latera-
nensi. Neither work has been printed in full, but several manuscripts exist, and
the chapters on libraries, De Bibliotheca Vaticana and De bibliothecariis apos-
tolicae sedis, were published together independent from those larger works.62

60 Thirteen centuries were published in the years 1559–1574. The full title is Ecclesiastica
historia, integram Ecclesiae Christi ideam, qvantvm ad Locvm, Propagationem, Persecu-
tionem, Tranquillitatem, Doctrinam, Hæreses, Ceremonias, Gubernationem, Schismata, Syn-
odos, Personas, Miracula, Martyria, Religiones extra Ecclesiam, & statum Imperij politicum
attinet, secundum singulas Centurias, perspicuo ordine complectens: singulari diligentia &
fide ex uetustissimis & optimis historicis, patribus, & alijs scriptoribus congesta: Per aliquot
studiosos & pios uiros in urbe Magdeburgica.
61 The de bibliothecis section is always in the seventh chapter of each volume, which is always
titled De Politia seu gubernatione Ecclesiae.
62 Nelles (2002: 164–165), Perini (1899: 211–213), and Mai (1843: 192–193) provide a founda-
tion for the manuscript and print history of Panvinio’s chapters on library history. The
text of these chapters on libraries was published as a single work in 1587 by Juan Bautista

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Like the centuriators, Panvinio wrote that libraries existed to preserve the
Bible and the teachings of the Church fathers. Like the centuriators, Panvinio
believed that libraries safeguarded the transmission, and therefore proved
the authority, of Christian doctrine. Panvinio, however, placed the supreme
authority in one library in particular: the Vatican. Panvinio was a continuator
of Bartolomeo Platina’s Lives of the Popes, and he drew on those and the Liber
pontificalis to argue for the continuous presence of a Roman apostolic library
undergirding the authority of the pope.
Isidore of Seville had also used the history of the book as an argument for a
succession of authority, but the contrast between Isidore on the one hand and
Panvinio and the centuriators on the other could not be stronger. Isidore was
at pains to show how the Romans were the intellectual heirs of the Greeks, and
the Christians the intellectual heirs of the Romans. For the centuriators and
Panvinio, the history of the book started with Christianity.
Lipsius had read both Panvinio’s treatment of libraries (in the edition pub-
lished by Schott) and Baronius’s Annales ecclesiastici.63 As Nelles points out,
the db provides a vision of library history that runs converse to the claims of
the ecclesiastical historians. As we will see in §4.2, the db excludes Hebrew and
Christian libraries entirely. When Christians do come up, they are criticized for
their intolerance of traditional (pagan) literature, such as when Lipsius blames
them for destroying the Serapeum library in Alexandria (db 2.11) and the Pala-
tine Apollo library in Rome (db 6.8). In the former case, Lipsius extends his

Cardona, pp. 37–49 in the book De Regia S. Lavrentii Bibliotheca, De Pontificia Vaticana,
De Expvngendis Haereticor. Propriis Nominib., De Diptychis (Terraco: P. Mey). It was then
republished in pp. 148–156 in Franciscus Schott’s (1600) Itinerarii Italiae pars secunda:
Roma, eiusque admiranda, cum diuina, tum humana (Vicentiae: P. Bertelius), and repub-
lished yet again in Mader’s De bibliothecis atque archiuis (see below §6.1). A significantly
different version exists in manuscript form, of which I have been able to inspect the copies
at the Vatican library. These include an autograph, Vat. Lat. 6115 (fol. 81r–90v), as well as Vat.
Lat. 6237 (pp. 451–456), Vat. Lat. 7010 (fol. 285v–293v), Vat. Lat. 6781 (fol. 108r–109v, 112r–116r),
Vat. Lat. 6110 (fol. 123r–132v), Chigi g iii 74 (332v–337v), and acsp g 10 (fol. 413r–419v)—this
last one has now been digitized. Another autograph of the De rebus antiquis, Vat. Lat. 6780,
is incomplete and does not include the treatment of libraries, although it does list them
in a table of contents (fol. 68v).
63 Lipsius notes his familiarity with Schott’s Itinerarium in a letter (Cent. iii ad Belgas, epist
50; 16 July 1599), as pointed out by Nelles (1994: 183–184). Lipsius commends Baronius’s
Annales ecclesiastici in another letter (Cent. misc. iii, epist. 61 = ile, xiii 00-12-03h), which
I note from Papy (1998: 262). Moreover, Lipsius’s remarks on the Serapeum suggest that
he was reacting to Baronius’s interpretation of the evidence (Nelles 1994: 168 and 1996:
232–233).

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criticism to the writers of ecclesiastical histories as well, alleging (not quite

fairly) that they praised the destruction of the Serapeum. Nelles concludes
(1994: 166):

The Vatican Library thus stood at the center of the vast Counter-Reforma-
tion historiographical and editorial programme of the second half of the
sixteenth century. The oblique ecclesiastical references in Lipsius’s De bib-
liothecis … would thus not have gone unnoticed by an early seventeenth-
century readership …

It is all the more surprising then, as we will see in the following section, that
the Vatican received the db so enthusiastically as to transform it into a cycle of
frescoes in the Sale Paoline.

3.4 Library Historiography and Vatican Frescoes: Rocca and Lipsius

When Sixtus v refurbished the Vatican Library in 1587–1589, adding the Salone
Sistino, the ideas of Isidore and Panvinio were written into the library’s very
fabric. Domenico Fontana made a cycle of frescoes in the Salone Sistino that
depicted the great libraries of the ancient world, beginning with the Hebrews
and culminating in the Vatican itself.64 The first fresco, to the left of the
entrance, depicts Moses depositing the Law in the Tabernacle; the next, first
on the south wall and labeled Bibliotheca Hebraea, depicts Ezra restoring the
Hebrew Bible; the following pair, jointly entitled Bibliotheca Babylonica, show
Daniel’s education and Darius searching for a decree of Cyrus; the next pair,
Bibliotheca Atheniensis, picture Pisistratus founding the first Greek public
library and Seleucus restoring it; then the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a pair first
depicting Ptolemy speaking with Demetrius of Phalerum and then the seventy-
two translators of the Septuagint; next the Bibliotheca Romanorum, a pair
illustrating Tarquin receiving the Sibylline books and Augustus founding the
Palatine Apollo library; the Bibliotheca Hierosolimitana, a single painting of
Alexander, student of Origen; Bibliotheca Caesariensis, a single painting with
Pamphilus, Eusebius, and Jerome; the Bibliotheca Apostolorum, with Peter as
its founder; and finally, on the west wall, the Bibliotheca Pontificum, depicting
Sixtus V. Canfora (1996: 102–103) pointed out the presence of the protome leon-
ina, a symbol of Sixtus v, in the frescoes of the Septuagint translation and the

64 For a description of the frescoes of the Salone Sistino and their bearing on library histori-
ography, see Clark 1901: 49–61, Nelles 1994: 156–166, and Canfora 1996: 89–106. On the wall
opposite the cycle of ancient libraries is a cycle of Church councils, likewise highlighting
Church tradition and authority.

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Roman library, linking together spiritual authority and the continuity of the
library. Nelles (2002: 169–173) argued that the frescoes had a dual message, one
portraying the succession of authority, and another locating that authority in
the library specifically.
In 1591, Angelo Rocca celebrated the new library by composing one of the
most intriguing, and certainly the most comprehensive, library-guides ever
written.65 Rocca provides a bibliography of all books found there, as well as
a detailed exposition of the library’s history and management. But Rocca’s
Bibliotheca Vaticana is also a history of libraries (over 400 pages), told through a
series of ecphrases of the Vatican library’s frescoes, emblems, and inscriptions.
More than a history of libraries, it is a history of language, of writing systems,
writing materials, and writers. Rocca’s Bibliotheca Vaticana is also a history of
the Church, and of the transmission of knowledge and authority.
After the Vatican frescoes were transformed into Rocca’s library history, it
appears that Lipsius’s library history was transformed into Vatican frescoes.
In 1610–1611, Paul v refurbished two halls adjoining the library, the Sale Pao-
line, with frescoes painted by Giovan Battista Ricci da Novara, following an
iconographic program designed by Baldassarre Ansidei (and perhaps Alessan-
dro Rainaldi).66 In the first hall, a cycle of ancient libraries faces a cycle of
popes improving the Vatican library. The very first fresco depicts Ozymandias
founding a library in Egypt, the second the Attalid kings and the Pergamene
Library, the third Asinius Pollio and the Atrium of Liberty, the fourth Trajan and
his library, and finally Matthias Corvinus and the library at Buda. All of these,
except Corvinus, show the influence of the db. It was Lipsius who first high-
lighted Ozymandias as a founder of libraries (Stephens 2009), and the fresco’s
painted inscription borrowed its phrasing from the db (see 1.3n. Osymanduas).
The inscription of the second fresco, the Attalid kings, reproduces the same
quotation from Vitruvius that Lipsius highlighted (see 4.3n. Reges Attalici).
The language of the inscription for the third fresco, Pollio’s Atrium of Liberty,
was likewise taken from the db (see 5.5n. orator & Senator), as was that of the

65 Rocca, Angelo (Angelus Roccha a Camerino). 1591. Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, a

Sixto v Pont. Max. in splendidiorem commodioremque locum translata. Rome: Vatican Press.
For an overview of Rocca’s massive Rocca’s Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, see Serrai 2004:
28–40. Rocca’s work was preceded by an Italian-language book on the same subject, Muzio
Pansa’s (1590) Della libreria Vaticana ragionamenti (Rome: G. Martinelli). On Rocca and
Pansa, see Serrai and Palumbo 1993: 121–186. Nelles (1994: 164–166) points out that Rocca
had helped plan the Vatican frescoes, and that Silvio Antoniano, who was helping Baronius
with his Annales ecclesiastici, wrote the inscriptions for the frescoes.
66 Cirulli (1997: 141–147) provides background on the frescoes of the Sale Paoline.

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fourth, on Trajan’s library (see 7.4n. Vlpia passim). The hall also featured por-
traits of authors, which Lipsius strongly advocated for library décor (db 10.1).67
The inscriptions from these frescoes, which had largely come from the db, were
again made into a book when they were added as an appendix to Rocca’s Bib-
liotheca Apostolica Vaticana when it was revised for an Opera omnia edition of
his works in 1719 (Rome: S. Michaelis ad Ripam).68

4 The De bibliothecis: Title, Structure, and Purpose

4.1 A Note on the Title of the De bibliothecis

The title page of the db reads: ivsti lipsi de bibliothecis syntagma, and
most previous scholarship has referred to it as the De bibliothecis syntagma.
I am not sure that it matters how we render Early Modern titles, and the
difference between De bibliothecis syntagma and De bibliothecis is in any case
minor. At the same time, since I am departing from the established custom, I
should perhaps add a brief remark about the last word and why I leave it out in
casual references.
The word syntagma is borrowed from Greek, σύνταγμα, a word whose basic
meaning was “an arrangement, something that has been put together” (σύν
+ τάσσω). Already in Antiquity, the word could have the specific sense of “a
treatise, work, book.”69 Any of these senses would suitably fit the usage in
question. Schmook suggested that word syntagma in Lipsius’s titles has the
sense of “a critical examination of a subject,” so we might translate it here as “a
treatise on libraries,” as suggested by Walker, or “a study on libraries.”70 Walker
points out that Lipsius referred to the work variously as “un petit traicté De
Bibliothecis,” a tractatus, a libellus exiguus, and a Commentarium.71

67 The second hall of the Sale Paoline does not take from Lipsius so clearly. It does feature the
libraries of Lucullus, Serenus Sammonicus, and Constantinople, all of which are found in
the db (5.2, 8.4–5, and 4.5, respectively), but those libraries are also found in many other
library histories, and the inscriptions do not quote Lipsius directly.
68 The appendix is in vol. 2, pp. 355–367; the inscriptions in question are at pp. 362–363.
69 Such is the definition from lsj “σύνταγμα” (4), which cites Diodorus Siculus 1.3, Plutarch
2.1036c, and Galen 15.490 Kühn.
70 Schmook (1941: 3–4) makes his observation on the word syntagma; Walker (1991: 58 and
1999: 244–245) suggests the word “treatise” as a translation.
71 Walker (1991: 58 and 1999: 244–245). The phrase “un petit traicté” is found in a letter to
Johannes Moretus: Letter 131 in Gerlo and Vervliet 1967 (to be published as ile xv, 02-06-
25); the words tractatus and libellus exiguus are found in a letter to Federicus Morellus:
Cent. misc. v, epist. 7 (to be published as ile xv, 02-11-27); the word Commentarium is in
db pr.1.

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figure 1 Title Page of the (1602) First Edition of the db (digitized by Google Books)

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While the full title is De bibliothecis syntagma, it makes sense to refer to it

simply as the De bibliothecis. A typical title sequence for books of this era, espe-
cially at the Plantin House, has three elements: author name (in the genitive),
the topic (in the genitive or preceded by de), and the number of books.72 One
example would be ivsti lipsi de constantia libri dvo, or, as it is usually
referred to, the De constantia. For the third element, the word liber (“book”)
might be replaced by a more specific word like libellus (“a pamphlet”) or syn-
tagma (“a study”). This third element is often omitted when modern schol-
ars refer to books of the era (outside of bibliographies, where the full title is
proper), which was evidently the practice of Lipsius himself. In a letter he sim-
ply calls the work De Bibliothecis.73 Lipsius likewise refers to it as De bibliothecis
within the work itself (db pr.1, pr.6). Thus I too refer to the work simply as the
De bibliothecis.

4.2 Structure and Purpose of the De bibliothecis: Making the Case for a
Public, Secular Research Library
The db is both a historical survey and a protreptic encouraging the funding of
libraries. Both of these aims inform the organization. After a preface in which
Lipsius praises the dedicatee, Charles of Croÿ, for his support of the Univer-
sity’s hometown of Heverlee, the bulk of the work is taken up with a historical
survey (Chapters 1–8), followed by some remarks on the furnishings of libraries
(Chapters 9–10). The work ends (Chapter 11) extoling the scholarship of Alexan-
dria and making a plea to the dedicatee (and princes in general) to follow the
example of the Ptolemies, who created and supported the famous library and
Museum. In broad terms then, the survey covers the library’s historia (db 1–
8), ornatus (db 9–10), and fructus (db 11). We can further divide the historical
survey into “foreign” nations (db 1–4) and Rome (db 5–8), and divide the fur-
nishings into general (db 9) and author portraits (db 10). The “foreign” nations
can be divided by region (Egypt, Greece, Asia), and Rome can be divided into
the early period of the city (db 5), the Augustan era in the city (db 6), the impe-
rial era in the city (db 7), and the imperial era outside of Rome (db 8).
The preface is a dedication to Charles of Croÿ. Lipsius praises Charles for
his improvements to the town of Heverlee, and for his support of libraries and
scholars, thus introducing one of the main themes of the book: that princes
ought to provide support for libraries and the scholars who work there.

72 De Landtsheer (2008c) analyzes Lipsius’s title pages.

73 Lipsius writes: “You hint that you have seen the De Bibliothecis, and enjoyed it” (significas
De Bibliothecis te vidisse, et placuisse, Cent. misc. v, epist. 7, to be published as ile xv 02-
11-27).

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table 4.2 Chapter Outline of the De bibliothecis

Preface: Charles of Croÿ as a Belgicus Lucullus

Chapter 1 Egypt: the oldest libraries
Chapter 2 Egypt: the Great Library of Alexandria
Chapter 3 Greece: famous libraries through time
Chapter 4 Asia: the Pergamene library
Chapter 5 Rome: the first libraries, private and public
Chapter 6 Rome: the Augustan public libraries
Chapter 7 Rome: the imperial public libraries in the city
Chapter 8 Roman empire: extra-urban libraries and extensive private libraries
Chapter 9 The furnishings of Roman libraries
Chapter 10 Author portraits in Roman libraries
Chapter 11 The benefits of the Museum

Charles had a large private library, and Lipsius clearly hoped that he would
leave it to the University.
The first eight chapters of the db are organized chronologically and geo-
graphically. The first chapter treats the oldest libraries in the oldest region,
which Lipsius believed to be the temple libraries of Egypt. His two examples
come from the time of Ozymandias and the time of Homer. Moving chrono-
logically forward within the same geographical area, Lipsius then explores the
famous library of Alexandria in Chapter 2. After Egypt, Lipsius proceeds to
the land with the next oldest libraries, Greece, though in order to do so he
must go backwards somewhat in time from Chapter 2. Chapter 3 covers the
libraries of Pisistratus and Polycrates of Samos (sixth century bc), Euclid (fifth
bc), and Aristotle (fourth bc), though these all precede the library of Alexan-
dria in Chapter 2. The fourth chapter moves to Asia, where Lipsius focuses on
the Pergamene library that was founded in the second century bc. Chapters 5
through 8 progress through Roman libraries chronologically, but a distinction
between public and private libraries also emerges. Lipsius begins with the earli-
est private and public libraries (second and first centuries bc) in Chapter 5, and
then the first imperial public libraries (first century ad) in Chapter 6. Chapter 7
treats public libraries in Rome throughout the rest of the imperial period, and
Chapter 8 discusses provincial public libraries and the most extensive private
libraries of the same period.
While the first eight chapters are a survey of ancient libraries, Chapters 9
and 10 are somewhat different in nature, dealing with the material culture of
ancient libraries. Chapter 9 explains what the Romans used for bookshelves,

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desks, benches and the like, as well as the proper vocabulary for them; Chap-
ter 10 explains the custom of putting author portraits in libraries.
The final chapter (db 11) is a challenge for Charles and other rulers to emulate
the Ptolemies and create a research institution. Lipsius uses the historical
exempla of the previous ten chapters to argue that princes should support
institutions that are dedicated to research rather than teaching. He holds up
the Museum in Alexandria as the ultimate model for such a research institute.74
This final chapter is one of Lipsius’s greatest contributions to the topic of
ancient libraries. Previous histories of libraries had ignored the Museum almost
entirely. Lipsius highlighted the importance of the Museum and its connection
with the library—ideas now unquestioned in library history. Lipsius’s vision of
a research institution was influential in its own right. Charles did not create
such an institution, and in fact did not even give his library to the University,
although he contemplated doing so.75 Federico Borromeo, however, did create
a research institution together with his Bibliotheca Ambrosiana, and he sought
out Lipsius’s advice in particular on the matter.76
Two aspects of Lipsius’s organization and purpose stand out as notable.77
The first regards the purpose of the work. Seneca had written that libraries were
nothing but pretentious ostentation (Tranq. 9.4–7).78 In particular, he wrote
that the kings of Alexandria built the Great Library there “not for scholarship
but for show” (non in studium, sed in spectaculum). Obviously, this is a problem
if one wants to hold up Alexandria as a model for the royal funding of libraries.
Nelles (1996) points out that a constant concern of the db is to find a way to
reconcile the royal funding of libraries with Seneca’s comments.
In defusing Seneca’s criticism of libraries, Lipsius takes a variety of ap-
proaches. In db 2.4 and 2.7, for instance, he simply takes Seneca’s words out
of context—a well-established practice among humanists. Lipsius notes that
Seneca quoted Livy as saying that the library of Alexandria was “the most noble
monument to royal splendor,” and “an outstanding specimen of the elegance

74 Papy (2002) highlights connections that Lipsius makes between Alexandria with its Mu-
seum and Heverlee with Charles’ palace in his 1605 Louanium (reprinted with Dutch
translation in Papy 2000).
75 On Charles and the fate of his library, see the commentary on the preface, in particular
pr.1n. carolo and pr.1n. Nummos.
76 On Lipsius and the creation of the Bibliotheca Ambrosiana, see Nelles 1996: 234–235, Ferro
2005, 11n. cap. xi, and 11.4n. omne genus.
77 Nelles (1996 and 2002) highlights both of these central concerns of the db.
78 Lucian’s Ignorant Book-Collector also pillories books acquired for show. The same concerns
are evident in the Renaissance (see Introduction §3.3.1).

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and enterprise of kings.”79 Lipsius leaves out that Seneca quoted Livy only
to contradict him. Instead, Lipsius calls Livy’s words “a perfect epigram on
libraries and kings” (iusto elogio in rem & Reges, db 2.7). He also emphasizes the
role that the Roman emperors played in establishing and maintaining libraries
(db 7.8). Even granting that libraries could be used for show, Lipsius suggests
that princes need glory and popularity, and he points out that founding a library
is a good way to obtain both (db 8.5, cf. db 8.1). At db 8.6 Lipsius notes Seneca’s
criticism of uneducated individuals who collect books, but then makes light of
the criticism: “Poor form, I admit. But I wish that that’s how today’s wealthy
misbehaved!” (Malè, fateor: & vtinam tamen nostri diuites sic lasciuiant!). In
Chapter 11, Lipsius takes an even bolder approach. He writes that an empty
library might indeed be “a kind of self-indulgence with liberal pretensions”
(studiosa quædam luxuria). But from that he concludes that princes should
fund not only libraries but also scholars to work there. The repurposing of
Seneca turns on its head not just Petrarch (above § 3.3.1), but the entire ancient
tradition of moralistic discourse on books.
The second notable aspect of the db is its secular, occasionally anti-religious
stance. Lipsius’s organization, which places Egypt first and excludes Hebrew
and Christian libraries entirely, is jarring in the context of Renaissance library
historiography. Panvinio and the centuriators had started their library histories
with the libraries of the Early Church. Isidore and Neander had started their
library histories with the books of the Hebrew Bible. Rocca had started with
ante-diluvian libraries that went almost all the way back to the garden of Eden.
Moreover, in Jewish and Christian traditions, the library of Alexandria had
always been best known as the site of the miraculous Septuagint translation
of the Hebrew scriptures. Lipsius’s narrative of the Septuagint translation (db
2.3) leaves out any divine element. As Nelles (2002) points out, Lipsius has
repurposed the library of Alexandria from an example of divine intervention
and scriptural authority into a model of a publicly supported research library.
In fact, religion only appears in the db as negative foil for the royal support
of libraries and literature. Whereas the frescoes of the Salone Sistino portrayed
Sixtus v as a successor to Ptolemy Philadelphus and Augustus (above § 3.4),
Lipsius claimed that the libraries of both men were destroyed by Christians.
Chapter 2 begins with Ptolemy Philadelphus, “a patron of the arts and of
writers,” who founded the Great Library (db 2.1). The chapter ends with the
Christians tearing down the library to its very foundation—an act, Lipsius

79 db 2.4: pulcherrimum regiæ opulentiæ monumentum; db 2.7: elegantiæ regum curæque

egregium.

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remarks, which “the writers of ecclesiastical history report and praise” (db 2.11).
In Chapter 6 Augustus, elsewhere described as “the prince who was the greatest
lover of the arts and of writers” (db 7.1), founds the libraries in Octavia’s Portico
and the Palatine Apollo temple. The chapter ends with Pope Gregory, “that most
holy scholar,” burning all the books in the Palatine library.80 Lipsius’s lapidary
comment on the episode is Notandum, which could be read both as “a thing to
highlight” and “a thing to censure” (db 6.8).
Those comments do not criticize Christians per se, but rather the hostility
and intolerance of some Christians towards Classical literature. At the same
time, the very structure of the db displaces the role of religion in the history of
libraries and implicitly rejects library history as a pillar of religious authority.
Lipsius was not entirely against religious intolerance, and in a sense he had
advocated for it in his Politica. That is, he had advocated a single, mandatory
religion and the persecution of non-conformists. This persecution, however,
would be limited to those who publicly stirred up trouble; private belief was not
relevant to the stability of the state. Lipsius seems to draw a distinction between
such religious intolerance and Christian interference with scholarship. He had
more than a little experience with the latter. The Calvinist theologian Theodore
Coornhert’s relentless criticism of his Politica was a major factor in Lipsius’s
departure from Leiden in 1591.81 After he returned to Catholic Leuven, he
had to change portions of his Politica to keep it off the Index of Prohibited
Books.82

5 Lipsius and his Sources

5.1 Ancient Sources

Most of the passages that Lipsius quoted as evidence came from ancient and
late antique Greek and Latin authors, but he also provided a few quotations
from later medieval and Byzantine authors. It is worth noting that Lipsius
clearly did not aim for comprehensiveness, since he did not quote all the
relevant ancient evidence of which he was aware.

80 Lipsius here quotes John of Salisbury (Policr. 2.26). The manuscripts of John are divided
on whether Gregory burned the works of “unapproved reading” (improbatae lectionis) or
“respected reading” (probatae lectionis). In Lipsius, it is the “respected” books that Gregory
burns.
81 On the controversy between Coornhert and Lipsius, see Voogt 2000: 197–227.
82 On Lipsius’s struggles with the Index, see De Landtsheer 2011: 342–344.

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Some of Lipsius’s sources could be classified as legal, epigraphic, or topo-

graphical rather than literary, although even in these cases the sources are
textual rather than based on material remains. His legal sources are the Digesta
(32.52.7), which defines the word bibliotheca, and the jurist Julius Paulus (Sen-
tentiae 3.6.51), who incidentally mentions the existence of libraries in country
estates. The passage from the Digesta had been commonly quoted in treat-
ments of library history and of writing materials going back to Niccolò Perotti’s
1489 Cornucopiae.83
Lipsius’s epigraphic sources are two epitaphs for workers in Roman libraries
(cil *6.3047 and 6.5884).84 These inscriptions, the first of which is a forgery
by Pirro Ligorio, had each already been published by Onofrio Panvinio (1558:
200), Fulvio Orsini (1570: 105), and Martin Smet (1588: fol. 103r), the last of which
Lipsius had edited. Orsini, in particular, had connected these epitaphs to library
history more generally.85
Lipsius’s topographical source is the fourth-century list of the buildings in
Rome, usually called the “regionary catalogs” (regionarii). This list survives
in two slightly different versions, called the Notitia and the Curiosum. The
catalogs list the buildings in Rome by region with an appended list by type
of building, which gives a brief remark on libraries. The Notitia records 29
libraries and the Curiosum 28 (Nordh 1949: 97). The Notitia tradition was the
first to be known in the Renaissance, and Pomponio Leto expanded it with
his own annotations, which can be seen in Vat. Lat. 3394.86 Leto’s annotations
were then printed in the Notitia’s editio princeps, which attributed the whole to
Publius Victor.87 Subsequent editors of the regionarii further expanded these
annotations throughout the Renaissance. The text of the Curiosum version was
not printed until 1742, but Fulvio Orsini owned two manuscripts of it.88 The
regionarii had been a staple of topographical research in the Renaissance, and
several treatments of library history had noted the 29 libraries listed in the

83 Perotti treats this passage of the Digesta in col. 812 of the Aldine edition: Perotti 1513. On
Perotti’s Cornucopiae and library historiography in the Renaissance, see Nelles 1994: 69–71.
On Lipsius’s treatment of it, see 1.1n. Locum.
84 For more detail on these inscriptions, see 6.6n. marmore prisco and 6.6n. In alio.
85 On the role of epigraphy in the developing historiography of libraries during the Renais-
sance, see Nelles 1994: 104–108.
86 Valentini and Zuchetti (1940: 207–258) print an edition of Leto’s annotated codex.
87 This edition was published by Aulo Giano Parrasio in 1503 or 1504 as P. Victoris De region-
ibus urbis Romae libellus aureus.
88 Nordh 1949: 3–6, Valentini and Zuchetti 1940: 74–75. The manuscripts owned by Orsini are
Vat. Lat. 3321 and Vat. Lat. 3327.

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Notitia.89 Lipsius made use of this tradition, as expanded by Pomponio Leto

(see 7.8n. vndetriginta).
One source that could have helped Lipsius, and was potentially available to
him, was the fragmentary Forma Urbis Romae (fur), also called the Severan
Marble Plan.90 The fur was a massive (18.1m × 13m) marble map of the city
dating to the early second century ad. Fragments of the fur were discovered
in 1562 and came into the collection of Alessandro Farnese, where they were
studied by Giovanni Antonio Dosio and Onofrio Panvinio. Several contempo-
rary drawings by Dosio, commissioned by Fulvio Orsini, survive in Vat. Lat. 3439
fol. 13r–23r. These drawings depict some of the structures that Lipsius notes in
the db. One drawing (fol. 14r) depicts a hemicycle labeled libertatis, which
some scholars believe to be part of the Atrium of Liberty (see 5.5n. Atrium Lib-
ertatis). Another drawing (again on 14r) depicted the Palatine Apollo library
(treated by Lipsius at db 6.4–8), although there was no label to help identify it. A
third drawing (fol. 19r) featured the Theater of Marcellus (noted by Lipsius at db
6.1), and included the helpful label [t]heatrum [m]arcelli. Finally, there
was a drawing (fol. 23r) of a large fragment with Octavia’s Portico, including the
temples of Jupiter and Juno, all of which had been labeled and all of which Lip-
sius discussed at db 6.1–3. These marbles, which were in the Farnese collection,
were known to Fulvio Orsini, and through him could have been known to Lip-
sius. However, whether or not he knew of their existence, Lipsius did not make
use of them.
Regarding Lipsius’s use of sources, three points are worth mentioning. The
first is Lipsius’s tendency to paraphrase rather than quote verbatim. This was
typical humanist practice, and had been typical in Antiquity as well. It is
so standard throughout the text that I do not note it every time it happens,
although in the commentary I do discuss those points where Lipsius’s para-
phrase has important differences from the text as we know it.
The second salient feature of Lipsius’s use of sources is more particularly
Lipsian: the texture of his work as a “prose cento,” as it is sometimes called
(e.g. Tucker 2011). Lipsius had structured some of his works, like the Politica
and the Admiranda, around a multitude of quotations from ancient authors.
This tendency is not quite as pronounced in the db, but it is still noticeable. As
noted above (§2), Lipsius’s prose cento structure is shaped by his philological

89 Nelles (1994: 83–100) traces the use of the Notitia in Renaissance discussions of library
history.
90 For more on the fur and its history in the Renaissance and after, see ct “Forma Urbis
Romae” (Connors).

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works, which took the form of commentaries. Indeed, Lipsius calls the db a
commentarium in the preface (db pr.1).
The final feature of Lipsius’s use of sources is his tendency to twist their
meaning. Like paraphrasing, this was a time-honored humanist practice, so
we should not be surprised when Lipsius selectively quotes Seneca’s attack
on libraries to make it appear that he was actually praising libraries. Some-
times Lipsius makes this twisting explicit and does so in an attempt pre-
serve an author’s accuracy. So, for instance, Tertullian wrote that the origi-
nal copies of the Septuagint could still be seen in the Serapeum library and
that such antiquity gave the documents authority. Lipsius, who believed that
the original documents were burned in Caesar’s fire, explains that what Ter-
tullian meant was that copies of the Septuagint could be seen in the Ser-
apeum and that these copies were authoritative apart from their antiquity (db
2.10).

table 5.1 Ancient Sources in the De bibliothecis

Author db location

latin
Ammianus Marcellinus
– Res gestae 22.16.12–13 2.8
Anthologia latina
– 147 Shackleton Bailey 10.8 (a β addition)
Boethius
– De cons. phil. 1.prose5.6 9.3
Cicero
– Epistulae ad Atticum 1.10.3 10.8 (a β addition)
– Epistulae ad Atticum 4.8.2 9.7
Corpus inscriptionum latinarum
– *6.3047 6.6
– 6.5884 6.6
Digesta
– 32.52.7 1.1, 9.3 (α only), 9.5
Gellius, Aulus
– Noctes Atticae 7.17.1 3.2
– Noctes Atticae 7.17.3 2.8
– Noctes Atticae 9.14.3 8.1
– Noctes Atticae 11.17.1 7.4
– Noctes Atticae 13.20.1 7.2

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tabel 5.1 Ancient Sources in the De bibliothecis (cont.)

Author db location

– Noctes Atticae 16.8.2 7.3

– Noctes Atticae 19.5.4 8.1
Hirtius, Aulus
– De bello Alexandrino 2.7 (cited, not quoted)
Horace
– Epistulae 1.3.17 (apud John Salis. Policr. 2.26) 6.8
Isidore of Seville
– Etymologiae 6.3.5 2.6
– Etymologiae 6.5.1 5.1
– Etymologiae 6.5.2 5.5
– Etymologiae 6.11.2 9.2
Jerome
– Epistulae 7.2 4.2 (cited, not quoted)
John of Salisbury
– Policraticus 2.26 6.8
Julius Caesar
– De bello ciuili 2.7 (cited, not quoted)
Julius Paulus
– Sententiae 3.6.51 8.8
Juvenal
– Saturae 2.4–5 10.4
– Saturae 2.7 10.7 (a β addition)
– scholia on Saturae 3.219 9.7
Livy
– fr. 52 Weissenborn-Müller (apud Sen. Tranq. 9.5) 2.7
Lucretius
– De rerum natura 1.27 pr.2
Martial
– Epigrammata 7.17.1–6 8.8
– Epigrammata 7.17.5 9.7
– Epigrammata 9.pr. 10.3
Orosius
– Historiae aduersus paganos 7.16.3 7.6

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Author db location

Ovid
– Tristia 3.1.59–68 6.5
– Tristia 3.1.69–70 6.3
– Tristia 3.1.71–72 5.6
Pliny the Elder
– Historia naturalis 7.115 10.3
– Historia naturalis 7.210 6.7
– Historia naturalis 13.70 4.2
– Historia naturalis 34.43 6.7
– Historia naturalis 35.9 10.4
– Historia naturalis 35.10 5.5, 10.2
– Historia naturalis 36.35 6.3 (a β addition)
– Historia naturalis 36.189 9.3 (a β addition)
Pliny the Younger
– Epistulae 2.17.8 8.8
– Epistulae 3.7.8 10.6
– Epistulae 4.28 10.5
Regionarii (also called “Publius Victor”)
– Nordh 1949: 97 7.8
Rufinus
– Historia ecclesiastica 2.23 2.11 (cited, not quoted)
Scriptores Historiae Augustae
– Hadrianus 20.2 11.9
– Gordiani Tres 18.2 8.4
– Gordiani Tres 18.3 8.5
– Diuus Aurelianus 1.10 7.4
– Diuus Aurelianus 24.7 7.4
– Tacitus 8.1 9.6
– Probus 2.1 7.2, 7.5
– Firmus 3.2 9.4
– Carus 11.3 10.6
Seneca
– De tranquillitate animi 9.5 2.4, 2.7, 8.6, 11.1
– De tranquillitate animi 9.6 9.5
– De tranquillitate animi 9.7 8.6, 10.5
– Epistulae 86.6 9.3 (a β addition)

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tabel 5.1 Ancient Sources in the De bibliothecis (cont.)

Author db location

Sidonius Apollinaris
– Epistulae 2.9.4 9.7
– Epistulae 9.16.3vv25–28 10.6
Suetonius
– De grammaticis et rhetoribus 20.2 6.6
– De grammaticis et rhetoribus 21.3 6.2
– Diuus Iulius 44.2 5.4
– Diuus Augustus 29.3 6.4
– Diuus Augustus 29.5 5.5
– Tiberius 70.2 10.5
– Diuus Claudius 42.2 11.9
– Domitianus 20 7.7
Tertullian
– Apologeticus 18.8 2.10
Vitruvius
– De architectura 7.pr.4 4.3

greek
Aelian
– see 4.2n. itemque Ælianus 4.2 (cited, not quoted)
Aelius Dionysius
– Atticae lexeis ο 4 Erbse pr.6
Athenaeus
– Deipnosophistae 1.3a 3.1
– Deipnosophistae 1.3a–b 2.2
– Deipnosophistae 1.22d 11.4
– Deipnosophistae 7.329c or 13.577b 3.3 (cited, not quoted)
– Deipnosophistae 15.677e 11.8
Cassius Dio
– Historia Romana 42.38.2 2.7 (cited, not quoted)
– Historia Romana 49.43.8 6.1
– Historia Romana 53.1.3 6.4 (cited, not quoted)
Cedrenus, Georgius
– Compendium historiarum (pg 121.325a) 2.3
– Compendium historiarum (pg 121.669c–d) 3.6

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Author db location

Diodorus Siculus
– Bibliotheca historica 1.49.3 1.3
Epiphanius
– De ponderibus et mensuris 12 (ll. 332–334 2.3
Moutsoulas)
Eusebius
– Chronicon p. 209 Helm 7.6
– Praeperatio euangelica 8.2 2.5
Eustathius
– Ad Odysseam 1379.62–66 (Stallbaum 1.2.25–29) 1.3
Galen
– De comp. med. 1 (13.362 Kühn) 7.3 (cited, not quoted)
Hecataeus of Abdera
– FrGrHist 264 f25 (apud Diod. Sic. 1.49.3) 1.3
John Lydus (?)
– see 4.2n. itemque Ælianus 4.2 (cited, not quoted)
Josephus
– Antiquitates Iudaicae 12.13 2.5
Lucian
– Aduersus indoctum 4 5.3 (cited, not quoted)
Malchus
– fr. 11 Blockley (apud Zonaras Epit. hist. 14.2, pg 3.6
134.1212b–c)
Pausanias
– Periegesis 1.18.9 3.2 (a β addition)
Philostratus
– Vitae sophistarum 1.22.3 (p. 524 Olearius) 11.3, 11.7
– Vitae sophistarum 1.25.3 (pp. 532–533 Olearius) 11.7
Plutarch
– Antonius 58 4.4
– Caesar 49 2.7 (cited, not quoted)
– Tiberius Gracchus 1 5.6 (cited, not quoted)
– Lucullus 42 5.2
– Marcellus 30 6.1
– Sulla 26 3.5, 5.3 (cited, not quoted)
Ptolemy Hephaestion
– see 1.3n. Eustat. 1.3

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tabel 5.1 Ancient Sources in the De bibliothecis (cont.)

Author db location

Socrates (Scholasticus)
– Historia ecclesiastica 5.16 2.11 (cited, not quoted)
Sozomen
– Historia ecclesiastica 7.15.2–10 2.11 (cited, not quoted)
Strabo
– Geographica 13.1.54 2.1, 3.4
– Geographica 13.4.2 4.2
– Geographica 17.1.8 11.2
– Geographica 17.1.8 and/or 17.1.10 2.10 (cited, not quoted)
The Suda
– ε 2004 Adler 8.3
– ε 2424 Adler 8.3
– τ 1184 Adler 8.2 (a β addition)
Timon of Phlius
– fr. 12 Di Marco (apud Ath. 1.22d) 11.4
Zenodotus of Mallus (?)
– see 1.3n. Naucrates and 1.3n. Eustat. 1.3
Zonaras
– Epitome historiarum 14.2 (pg 134.1212b–c) 3.6

other
The Bible
– Isaiah 40:15 9.1

5.2 Contemporary Sources

Lipsius did use more recent writers, generally without attribution. In Chapters
2–4 Lipsius clearly made use of evidence and arguments from Melchior Gui-
landinus’s 1572 Papyrus. Much of the evidence for db Chapters 5–8 had been
gathered by Fulvio Orsini in his 1570 Imagines. Lipsius also did not ignore the
scholarly editions of his day. So, for instance, while Cassius Dio used consuls to
count the years in his Roman history, Lipsius used the dates “from the founding
of the city” when he quoted Dio. These are the dates he would have found in the
margins of the 1591 Stephanus edition of Dio (see 6.1n. in actis). Elsewhere, Lip-
sius used the quotations supplied by André Dacier in the footnotes of his 1581
edition of Festus (see 5.6n. Plutarchus). Lipsius frequently made use of, and

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sometimes reacted against, the scholarly editions of Isaac Casaubon (see 3.2n.
odiosum hoc, 3.3n. inter primos, 5.6n. viros doctos, and 11.2n. Habet autem).
Lipsius only occasionally (and obliquely) lets on that he is making use of a con-
temporary work, as when he quotes Orsini (1570: 103) but refers to the source
of his knowledge as curiosi talium. I must note that while I am confident that I
have recognized and identified all the ancient sources that Lipsius used, I have
no such confidence in having identified all of his contemporary sources.

6 Print History of the De bibliothecis91

No manuscript of the db is known to survive. The print editions fall into four
different families: two families of the full text (α and β) and two families of epit-
omes (δ and ε). The α family is made up of the first edition of 1602 and the five
editions that largely reproduce its text: three are monographs and two are in
collections with the works of various authors. The β family includes the revised
edition of 1607 and the six editions that reproduce this revised version: one is
a monograph, two are in collections of various authors, and three are opera
omnia editions of Lipsius. The δ family is a single epitome, which was made
in 1617 from a text in the α family and published in an edition containing epit-
omes of several of Lipsius’s antiquarian works. The ε family is the epitome of
1628, which was enlarged by additions from a text in the β family, as well as the
nine editions that reproduce the text of that epitome. There are also four trans-
lations of the full text of the db, in French (1800), English (1907), Dutch (1941),
and Spanish (1948); there is one translation of the epitomes, into Italian (2015).

6.1 Latin Editions of the De bibliothecis

The editions in family α look more or less like the first edition, which I have
labeled a1, published in 1602 by Johannes Moretus at the Plantin House.92 Lip-
sius had a special relationship with the Officina Plantiniana, and throughout
the course of his life he published all of his works there. He worked first with

91 Schmook (1941: 34–40) gives some basic background on the print history of the db, but the
most thorough treatments have been done by Walker (1991 and 1999), and I hope to build
on them here. Walker did not have the opportunity to collate the editions, and so only had
a general sense of the interrelationships within α and β families and among the epitomes.
De Landtsheer (2008a) has added valuable data drawn from Lipsius’s correspondence, and
Baldi (2015) has taken a much closer look at the epitome traditions.
92 For all the editions treated in this section, the full title, publisher, and references to
bibliographic descriptions can be found in the below Table 6.1.

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Christopher Plantin himself, and later with Plantin’s sons-in-law Franciscus

Raphelengius in Leiden and Johannes Moretus in Antwerp.93 This first edition
was published together with the Dispunctio notarum Mirandulani codicis ad
Cornelium Tacitum, both of which Lipsius dedicated to Charles of Croÿ.94 The
Dispunctio was a fairly technical work of philology, in which Lipsius defended
himself against criticisms of his Tacitus. The two works formed a kind of pair,
in that the db was a call to fund libraries and scholars, and the Dispunctio
was a display-piece of the kind of scholarship that such funding could engen-
der.
In 1614, an anonymous printer published an unauthorized version of the
db, which I call a2.95 Aside from some minor typographical errors, this edition
followed the first one closely, except that the preface to Charles and to the
reader came after the 11 chapters of the main text rather than before them. This
printer also appended a text of Isidore’s Etymologiae 6.3, 6.5, and 6.6. Six years
later a second, and less careful, version of the same text appeared (a3), which
also placed the preface at the end and added the text of Isidore. This edition
also added the a bibliothecis text taken from Fulvio Orsini’s Imagines (1570: 102–
104), which found a place just before the Isidore. Another anonymous printer
published an edition in 1627 (a4), based on the text of a3 (as is clear from its
errors), although it did not include the passages of Fulvio Orsini.96

93 De Landtsheer (2007) traces the course of the relationship between Lipsius and the
Officina Plantiniana. See also the studies in Dusoir, De Landtsheer, and Imhof 1997.
94 Lipsius expresses a wish to have the two works joined in a letter to Johannes Moretus
(Letter 131 in Gerlo and Vervliet 1967, to be published as ile xv, 02-06-25). There is some
archival evidence that Moretus printed the two together ( jm 1.320–321, 343–344 [l-13 and
l-29]). In addition, Lipsius’s preface to the Dispunctio assumes that the two works will
be found together, since it begins “Do I dare to send to you this book as well?” (Et hunc
libellum … audeo ad te mittere?). At the end of the Dispunctio is a letter from Lipsius
to Johannes Moretus, granting him the right to print both the db and the Dispunctio,
which suggests that he expected the two to be bound together. Like the letter to Moretus
granting publication rights, the Priuilegium Caesareum itself was printed only at the
end of the Dispunctio, and not at the end of the db, which likewise suggests that the
two would be joined. Finally, a letter to Federicus Morellus suggests that Morellus was
reading the two works together: Cent. misc. v, epist. 7 (to be published as ile xv, 02-11-
27).
95 The title page lists no publisher or location, but it may have been the work of the heirs of
J. Lucius in Helmstadt, who also printed the edition of 1620 (a3), which was clearly based
on a2.
96 The printer’s mark of this edition is very similar to that of a3, and it is generally taken to
be the work of the heirs of Jacob Lucius.

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In 1666, Joachim Johannes Mader (1626–1680) compiled a book he titled De

bibliothecis atque archiuis uirorum clarissimorum, referred to here as a5. In the
address to the reader, Mader writes that his original intention was simply to
reprint Lipsius’s db and one or two other short works on libraries (that is, he
meant to produce a text like the Helmstadt editions, a2–4). He says that his
publisher convinced him to add more, and he in fact included sixteen short
works on libraries, including the passages from Isidore and Fulvio Orsini. In
1702–1705, Johann Andreas Schmidt (1652–1726) expanded Mader’s book to
three volumes (a6). Both Mader and Schmidt left out the prefatory notes to
Charles and to the reader. Although all of these works, a1–6, differ in some minor
particulars, they all contain substantially the same text of the db as the first
edition. As a family, I refer to them as α.
In 1607, the year after Lipsius’s death, Johannes Moretus released a second
edition (b1), described as ab vltima Auctoris manu. Jeannine De Landtsheer
has discovered that Lipsius actually made these revisions at the request of
Balthasar Moretus (son of Johannes) in 1603, but Moretus waited to print
a new edition until the old had nearly sold out.97 Aside from some minor
orthographical changes and the correction of a few errors, this text contained
five major differences from the first edition.98 The first change can be found at
db 3.2, where Lipsius had expressed a certainty that there were more libraries
at Athens than the famous library of Pisistratus. In b1, he adds a reference to
the library that Hadrian built there, as found in Pausanias 1.18.9. The second
change comes at db 6.3, where Lipsius had quoted Ovid to the effect that
the library of Octavia’s Portico was nearby a temple or temples. Lipsius had
originally asserted that templa in this case simply referred to places dedicated
to public use. In b1, Lipsius instead notes that the templa refers to a Temple of

97 De Landtsheer 2008a: 88–91. She found the information in the yet-to-be published corre-
spondence of Lipsius: ile xvi, 03-03-17 m and ile xvi, 03-03-21. Lipsius evidently marked
up his changes directly on a copy of the first edition, which he then sent to Moretus.
De Landtsheer (2008a: 90n.25) notes that the catalogue of Lipsius’s books after his death
includes the entry Justi Lipsi De Bibliothecis, 4, correct. (Leiden Univ. ms. Lips. 59 fol. 2r),
but that the book itself has not been found.
98 I do not note these orthographic changes, except at db 5.1, where the addition of an accent
clarifies an otherwise ambiguous phrase (hic cultus to hîc cultus). In the 1607 edition
two errors were corrected: db 6.7, where the marginal reference had originally directed
readers to the wrong chapter of Pliny, and db 9.7, where an ungrammatical Bibliotheca
was replaced by Bibliothecam. Three new errors were introduced in the 1607 edition: pr.4
has fontet for fontes, 7.4 has in Vlpiæ Bibliothecis libris for in Vlpiæ Bibliothecae libris, and
8.6 has si for sic.

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Juno that was also in Octavia’s Portico, and he gives Pliny as his source.99 The
third change comes at db 8.2, where Lipsius adds Tyrannio to the list of men
with extensive private libraries.100 A fourth change comes in his discussion of
ivory and glass in the decoration of libraries (db 9.3–5). In the 1602 edition,
Lipsius had taken a line of Boethius about decoration in ivory and glass (De
cons. phil. 1.prose5.6) to refer to the sides of bookcases. In the 1607 edition, he
instead interpreted this line as referring to the walls of the library itself, based
on evidence he had found while working on his edition of Seneca.101 The final
change is found in Chapter 10, where Lipsius added discussions about two more
quotations referring to portraits of authors (db 10.7–8).102 Lipsius died in 1606,
a year before this edition came out.
In 1613, Horatius Cardon made an opera omnia edition whose db (b2) fol-
lowed the text of b1. In 1619, the Moretus family created what they called the
tertia & ab vltima Auctoris manu edition (b3). However, aside from fixing a
few errors from b1, and introducing a few new errors, there were no signifi-
cant differences in the text. The Moretus 1637 opera omnia edition (b4) was
a major achievement. It was based on b3 but eliminated many errors, espe-
cially in the Greek quotations. The db, without its prefatory notes to Charles
and the reader, was also included in a collection of essays by Isaac Vossius, Lip-
sius, and others in 1651 (b5). This edition was based on b4, but introduced many
new errors, especially in the citations. These errors were compounded in its
second edition (b6), published in 1658. There was also an opera omnia edition
of 1675 (b7), based on the opera omnia edition of 1637 (b4). This edition was
carelessly done, and (among other errors) it leaves out the beginning of Chap-
ter 10. As a family, I refer to the editions that more or less follow the text of b1
as β.103
The third major family (δ) has only one member (d1). This edition was an
epitome made in 1617, which radically reduced the text from around 6,500
words to about 900 words. The epitome was made from a text in the α family, as
is clear from d46 and d47. The epitomator, under the pseudonym Anastasius

99 Lipsius is referring to Plin. hn 36.35. There was also a Temple of Jupiter there, as explained
in 6.3n. Templa.
100 Lipsius found the information about Tyrannio in the Suda (τ 1184 Adler).
101 The evidence consists of Plin. hn 36.189, sha Firm 3.2, and Seneca Epist. 86.6.
102 These quotations are Juv. Sat. 2.7 and Anth. Lat. 147 Shackleton Bailey.
103 Baldi (2015: 37) suspected that there was another edition with the 1607 revisions to be
found in the 1611 Omnia opera quae ad criticam proprie spectant (Antwerp: Moretus),
specifically in the copy in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Roma (7.7.k.20). That book,
however, turned out to have no edition of the db.

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de Valle Quietis,104 worked by eliminating the places where Lipsius quoted and
interpreted ancient authors, or weighed competing testimony.105 As an exam-
ple, the long discussion on the number of books in the Library of Alexandria,
db 2.4–6, is reduced to a single sentence (d8): “There were 700,000 books in
this library” (In hac bibliothecâ fuere septingenta millia librorum). Anastasius
typically kept the exact words of Lipsius but cut around them, with a result
that sometimes mischaracterized what Lipsius had written (d20). The d1 edi-
tion also includes epitomes of De militia Romana; the Poliorceton (De machi-
nis, tormentis, telis); Admiranda; De gladiatoribus; De amphitheatro; De cruce;
and De Vesta et uestalibus. In his preface, Anastasius expresses hope that the
epitome will save the reader time and money, and he stresses that he gives
a complete summation of what Lipsius had expounded at so much greater
length.
Johannes Thuilius, under the pseudonym Constantius a Monte Laboris, cre-
ated a new family (ε) in 1628 by expanding the text of d1 on the basis of a text
from the β family. This epitome roughly doubled the length of the previous
one, and Thuilius divided it into 20 paragraphs. The d1 epitome had been quite
bad stylistically: connectives were missing, sentences were disjointed, and the
whole resembled a list of notes more than a text of connected prose. The e1 epit-
ome smoothed out the text into a more continuous narrative, although there
was still the tendency to keep Lipsius’s exact words but to cut around them
to change their meaning.106 This epitome was reprinted in different editions
another nine times.107
The editors of these editions gave various justifications for the epitome. The
editions e1–2 and e6 note the savings in time and money for the reader, and

104 Anastasius de Valle Quietis is probably Johann Joachim von Rusdorf (1589–1640), although
it has been argued that the pseudonym belonged rather to Johannes Thuilius (1590–1631),
who made the revised epitome of 1628. Baldi (2015: 40, 44–45) surveys the evidence; see
also bl 1.501–505 and bb 3.969–970.
105 For more details on the working methods of the first epitome, see Baldi 2015: 40–44.
106 E.g., at e6 there is praise of Polycrates, while in the main text (db 3.1) the praise is for
Laurentius. At e10 Publius Victor testifies to the emperors’ labors on behalf of libraries,
while in the main text (db 7.7) Victor only testified to the number of libraries while Lipsius
himself speaks to the role of the emperors in saving them. For more on the changes in the
second epitome, see Baldi 2015: 44–50.
107 The text of e3 also added Lipsius’ De magistratibus, which then appeared in e4–5 and
e7–9. In e4, Antonius Thysius also added an outline of Roman topography and institutions
(entitled Roma) by Georgius Fabricius (Chemnicensis), which then appeared in e5 and
e7–9. The e8 edition adds the essays of Lipsius from the 1625 Tractatus peculiares octo, which
were kept in e9. Baldi (2015) surveys the history of the epitome traditions.

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claim that the work still communicates everything in Lipsius’s more lengthy
works, as the preface of d1 had similarly stressed. The e1 preface also stresses
the epitome’s portability: “After all, how many of you would carry the massive
volumes of Lipsius around with you when you travel? So here you go, a com-
panion for the road that won’t trouble you with his weight” (quis enim vestrûm,
qui jam forte in peregrinatione estis, ingentia Lipsii volumina undique secum cir-
cumferat? Ecce vobis hîc facundum, nec pondere molestum viæ comitem).108 The
preface of the final version of the epitome, e10, gives its purpose rather as an
aid to students, and the editor takes it for granted that anyone else would want
the full versions of Lipsius’s works.
There is one edition of the db that does not fall into any of the four fami-
lies: the db in Plantin House’s opera omnia of 1614. In Lyon, Horatius Cardon
had published an opera omnia of Lipsius’s works in 1613 (b2). Lipsius’s usual
publisher, the Plantin House, felt the need to put out their own opera omnia
as soon as possible to compete with Cardon. Instead of printing an entirely
new edition, they just stuck together all of the old copies of his works that they
had from previous print runs. As a result, some copies of the 1614 omnia opera
include the text of a1 and others include b1. There is even one copy that has the
text of b3, which was published in 1619.109 Evidently, the Plantin press contin-
ued to stitch together such opera omnia versions with a date of 1614 up until
they made a new opera omnia edition in 1637 (b4).

108 The reference to books as “companions for the road” is an allusion to Martial 1.2.2 and
14.188.
109 The bl (2.225 and 2.237) writes that the 1614 opera omnia held in the University of
Amsterdam included the b1 edition of the db. It adds that the 1614 opera omnia held in
the Royal Library at Brussels included the b3 edition of the db that the Plantin house
printed in 1619: this copy of the omnia opera was clearly assembled later than 1614,
although that is the date given in the preface. The copy of the 1614 opera omnia that I
found in Stanford’s special collections (pa 8545 .a1 1614) included the original 1602 edition
(a1).

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figure 2 Relationships between the db editions

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table 6.1 List of Latin Editions of the De bibliothecis

a1 1602. Ivsti LipsI De Bibliothecis Syntagma. 4o Antwerp: J. Moretus, Plantin Office.

Bibliographic description: bl 1.59, bb 3.900 (l-144), jm 1.320–321 (l-13).
a2 1614. Ivsti LipsI De Bibliothecis Syntagma. 8o. Anonymous. [Helmstadt: J. Lucius or
his heirs?110] Bibliographic description: bl 1.63–64, bb 3.901 (l-146).
a3 1620. Ivsti LipsI De Bibliothecis Syntagma Et Fvlvii Vrsini, eadem de re Commentatio,
Cum nonnullis Isidori de eodem argumento. Plutarchus de educat. liberorum.
Οργανον τῆς παιδείας ἡ χρῆσις τῶν βιβλίων ἐστί. 8o. Helmstadt: Heirs of J. Lucius.
Bibliographic description: bl 1.67, bb 3.902 (l-148).
a4 1627. Ivsti LipsI De Bibliothecis Syntagma. 8o. Anonymous. [Helmstadt: Heirs of
J. Lucius?]. Bibliographic description: bl 1.69, bb 3.902 (l-149).
a5 1666. Justi Lipsii De Bibliothecis Syntagma Ad Illustrissimum & Excellentissimum
Principem Carolum Ducem Croiium & Arscotanum. Pp. 1–23 (second numeration)
in De Bibliothecis atque Archivis Virorvm Clarissimorvm, quos aversa monstrat
pagina, Libelli et Commentationes. Cum Præfatione De Scriptis et Bibliothecis
Antediluvianis Edidit Joachimus Johan. Maderus. 4o. Helmstadt: H. Müller.
Bibliographic description: Serrai and Palumbo 1993: 473–477.
a6 1702. Jvsti Lipsii De Bibliothecis Syntagma Ad Illustrissimum & Excellentissimum
Principem Carolvm Ducem Croiium & Arscotanum. Pp. 1–23 (second numeration)
in first volume of De Bibliothecis atqve Archivis Virorvm Clarissimorvm Libelli et
Commentationes. Cvm Praefatione De Scriptis et Bibliothecis Antedilvvianis. Antehac
Edidit Joachimvs Joan. Maderus. Secvndam Editionem curavit i. a. s. d. 4o. Ed.
J.A. Schmidt. Helmstadt: G.-W. Hamm. Bibliographic description: Serrai and
Palumbo 1993: 477–478.

b1 1607. Ivsti LipsI De Bibliothecis Syntagma. Editio secunda, & ab vltimâ Auctoris
manu. 4o. Antwerp: J. Moretus, Plantin Office. Bibliographic description: bl
1.61–62, bb 3.900–901 (l-145), jm 1.321–322 (l-14).
b2 1613. Ivsti LipsI De Bibliothecis Syntagma. Editio secunda, & ab vltimâ Auctoris
manu. Pp. 887–899 in Opervm IvstI LipsI Tomvs ii, quae velut in partes ante sparsa,
nvnc in certas classes digesta; atqve in gratiam & vtilitatem legentium, in nouum

110 Title page lists no publisher or place, but the printer’s mark is the same as that used in a3
for the edition printed by the heirs of J. Lucius in Helmstadt.

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corpus redacta, & ii. Tomis comprehensa. Qvorum qvae hoc tomo continentvr, seriem
& originem sequens pagina Lectoris oculis subijcit. Accuratæ inspectionis & Nouae
Formae editio: nec non ad mentem Autoris typósque, Figurarum elegantiâ omni
perpolita. Folio, 2 vols. Lyon: H. Cardon. Bibliographic description: bl 2.215–224, bb
3.1018–1020 (l-405).
b3 1619. Ivsti LipsI De Bibliothecis Syntagma. Editio tertia, & ab vltimâ Auctoris manu.
4o. Antwerp: B. Moretus, Widow of J. Moretus, J. Meursius, Plantin Office.
Bibliographic description: bl 1.65–66, bb 3.901–902 (l-147).
b4 1637. Ivsti LipsI De Bibliothecis Syntagma. Pp. 623–636 in Ivsti LipsI v. c. Opera
Omnia, postremvm ab ipso avcta et recensita: nvnc primvm copioso rervm indice
illvstrata. Tomus Tertius. Folio, 4 volumes. Antwerp: B. Moretus, Plantin Office.
Bibliographic description: bl 2.241–253, bb 3.1024–1028 (l-407).
b5 1651. Justi Lipsii De Bibliothecis Syntagma. Pp. 220–254 in Ger. Joan. Vossii, et
aliorum, De Studiorum Ratione Opuscula. 8o. Utrecht: T. Ackersdyck and G. Zyll.
b6 1658. Justi Lipsii De Bibliothecis Syntagma. Pp. 231–265 in Gerardi Io. Vossy et
aliorum Dissertationes de Studiis Bene Instituendis. 8o. Utrecht: T. Ackersdyck and
G. Zyll.
b7 1675. Justi Lipsi De Bibliothecis Syntagma. Pp. 1117–1140 in Justi LipsI v. c. Opera
Omnia, postremum ab ipso aucta et recensita, nunc primum copioso rerum indice
illustrata. Tomus Tertius. 8o, 4 volumes. Wesel: A. Hoogenhuysen. Bibliographic
description: bl 2.257–261, bb 3.1028–1029 (l-408).

d1 1617. De Bibliothecis. Pp. 369–377 in Facis Historicæ Compendium, ex Justi Lipsii

Operibus cum summa diligentia et studio compositum. Opusculum omnibus,
praesertim Historicos, Politicos, & veteres scriptores legentibus, necessarium & utile.
Per Anastasium de valle Quietis. 12o. Strasbourg: Heirs of L. Zetzner. Bibliographic
description: bl 1.499–500, bb 3.969 (l-294).

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e1 [1628.111] De Bibliothecis Syntagma. Pp. 725–742 in Facis Historicæ Compendivm Ex

Iusti Lipsii Operibus Summo studio concinnatum. Opusculum ad Historicorum,
Politicorum, & veterum Scriptorum intellectum mirâ brevitate & dexteritate
conducens. Olim in Germaniâ impressum per Anastasivm a Valle Qvietis. Nunc verò
meliori ordini restitutum, emendatum, maximâ parte auctum, & primùm in Italiâ
editum, a Constantio a Monte Laboris. 16o. Padua: J. Thuilius. Bibliographic
description: bl 1.501–505, bb 3.969–970 (l-295).
e2 1629. De Bibliothecis Syntagma. Pp. 708–724 in Facis Historicæ Compendium Ex Iusti
Lipsii Operibus Summo studio concinnatum. Opusculum ad Historicorum,
Politicorum, & veterum Scriptorum intellectum mirâ brevitate & dexteritate
conducens. Olim in Germaniâ impressum Authore Anastasio à Valle Quietis. Postea à
Constantio à Monte Laboris, Meliori ordini restitutum, emendatum, maximâ parte
auctum, in Italia: nunc verò secundùm in Germaniâ, editum. 24o. Strasbourg: Heirs
of L. Zetzner. Bibliographic description: bl 1.507, bb 3.970 (l-296).
e3 1645. De Bibliothecis Syntagma. Pp. 385–393 in Roma Illustrata, sive Antiquitatum
Romanarum Breviarium. Opusculum ad instar Comentarii in Romanarum rerum
Scriptores. 12o. Leiden: F. Moiard and A. Wijngaerden. Bibliographic description: bl
2.499–500, bb 3.1066 (l-495).
e4 1650. De Bibliothecis Syntagma. Pp. 394–402 in Roma Illustrata, sive Antiqvitatum
Romanarum Breviarium. Accessit Georgii Fabricii Chemnicensis Veteris Romæ cum
nova collatio. Ex nova Recensione, Antonii Thysii jc. 12o. Leiden: A. Wijngaerden.
Bibliographic description: bl 2.501–502, bb 3.1066–1067 (l-496).
e5 1657. De Bibliothecis Syntagma. Pp. 374–382 in Roma Illvstrata, Sive Antiqvitatum
Romanarvm Breviarivm. Accessit Georgii Fabricii Chemnicensis Veteris Romæ cum
Nova collatio. Ex nova Recensione Antonii Thysii jc. Postrema Editio. 12o.
Amsterdam: L. and D. Elzevier. Bibliographic description: bl 2.503–504, bb 3.1067
(l-497).
e6 1671. De Bibliothecis Syntagma. Pp. 482–493 in Fax Historica seu Lucidissimum
operum Justi Lipsij compendium, ad historicorum, politicorum, & veterum
scriptorum intellectum, mirâ brevitate concinnatum. Et nunc recens in Gallia editum,
operâ unius Presbyteri Congreg. Oratorij Dñi Jesv. 8o. Marseilles: C. Garcin.
Bibliographic description: bl 1.509, bb 3.970–971 (l-297).

111 No date on the title page. Dedicatory epistle dates to 28 May, 1628.

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e7 1689. De Bibliothecis Syntagma. Pp. 362–370 in Roma Illustrata, sive Antiquitatum

Romanarum Breviarium. Accessit Georgii Fabricii Chemnicensis Veteris Romæ cum
Nova collatio. Ex nova Recensione Antonii Thysii j.c. 12o. Amsterdam: J. Wolters.
Bibliographic description: bl 2.505, bb 3.1067 (l-498).
e8 1692. De Bibliothecis Syntagma. Pp. 242–246 in Justi Lipsii Roma Illustrata, sive
Antiquitatum Romanarum Breviarium. Georgii Fabricii Chemnicensis Veteris Romæ
Cum Nova Collatio. Ex nova Recensione Antonii Thysii j.c. Cui Accesserunt in hâc
Editione Justi Lipsii Tractatus Peculiares, Viz. De Veterum Latinorum Scriptura. De Re
Pecuniaria. De Nominibus Romanorum. De Ritu Conviviorum. De Censura & Censu.
De Anno deque ejus diversitate item ratione intercalandi. In usum Studiosæ
Juventutis, Opus tam ad Historias, quàm Poetas, cæterosque Authores Romanos
Explicandos, Utilissimum. 8o. London: A. Swalle and T. Childe. Bibliographic
description: bl 2.507–509, bb 3.1068 (l-499).
e9 1698. De Bibliothecis Syntagma. Pp. 242–246 in Justi Lipsii Roma Illustrata, sive
Antiquitatum Romanarum Breviarum (sic). Georgii Fabricii Chemnicensis Veteris
Romæ Cum Nova Collatio. Ex nova Recensione Antonii Thysii j.c. Cui Accesserunt in
hâc Editione Justi Lipsii Tractatus Peculiares, Viz. De Veterum Latinorum Scriptura.
De Re Pecuniaria. De Nominibus Romanorum. De Ritu Conviviorum. De Censura &
Censu. De Anno deque ejus diversitate item ratione intercalandi. Cum Figuris Æneis.
In usum Studiosæ Juventutis, Opus tam ad Historias, quàm Poetas, cæterosque
Authores Romanos Explicandos, Utilissimum. 8o. London: G. Whitwood.
Bibliographic description: bl 2.511, bb 3.1068 (l-500).
e10 1741. De Bibliothecis Syntagma. Pp. 561–574 in Facis Historicæ compendium Ex Justi
Lipsii Operibus summo studio concinnatum per Joannem Thuilium Mariæmontanum
Tirolensem Humaniorum litterarum olim in gymnasio Patavino Professorem. 12o.
Venice: S. Occhi. Bibliographic description: bl 1.511, bb 3.971 (l-298).

No Family

1614. Exact title and page numbers vary; edition made from old unsold works.
Different copies included different verions of the db, specifically a1, b1, and b3. In
Ivsti LipsI v.c. Opera Omnia, septem tomis distincta, postremùm aucta & recognita.
Tomus iii (secunda pars). 4o, 5 tomes in 9 volumes. Antwerp: Widow and sons of
J. Moretus, Plantin Office. Bibliographic description: bl 2.225–239, bb 3.1020–1024
(l-406).

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6.2 Translations of the De bibliothecis

Gabriel Peignot (1767–1849) translated the db into French and included it at
the start of his 400-page Manuel bibliographique, published in 1800. Peignot
was a pioneer in the field of bibliography, and his Manuel bibliographique
aimed to give librarians historical background as well as practical trade-craft.
Peignot believed that the librarian should not just know the prices and value of
books, but also their history.112 He wrote that most works treating the history of
libraries had copied from the db, sometimes without citing it, and so he wanted
to reproduce it in its entirety at the start of his own work.113 Peignot also added
brief historical notes to his translation, with information (including price)
about the best editions of the various authors from whom Lipsius quoted.
Peignot also updated the quotations themselves on the basis of these newer
editions. Peignot made his translation from a text in the α family (probably
a1), from which he excised the prefaces. Peignot was a staunch republican, and
he also excised or altered the positive references to aristocracy and monarchy
found in the text.
John Cotton Dana (1856–1929), the librarian at the Free Public Library in
Newark, New Jersey, published his English translation as an independent
monograph in 1907. Dana appears to have had limited Latin, given his approach
to translation. Dana asked Isabel McD. Howell, who also worked at the library,
to make an initial translation from the Latin, which he then revised with
the help of another librarian (William Warner Bishop) and by making use of
Peignot’s French translation.114 As it happens, Howell made her translation
from the 1607 edition (b1), while Peignot’s translation came from a text in the
α family. To make matters worse, Dana was unaware that Peignot had also
changed Lipsius’s quotations of ancient authors by using modern editions to
update them. The resulting translation is rather hybrid. In addition, Dana’s
translation lacks notes, though he would have found good ones in Peignot, and
he even left out the marginal citations from Lipsius’s Latin text.
Charles Sobry made his Dutch translation in 1941, which was printed to-
gether with a detailed introduction by G. Schmook in the journal De Gulden
Passer. Sobry based his translation on the 1607 edition (b1) and included numer-
ous short notes. Sobry’s translation is also something of a commentary on
Peignot, since he put brackets around parts of the text that Peignot had left out.
Sobry adds notes differentiating those parts omitted because Peignot worked
from a text of the α family from those omitted for other reasons.

112 Peignot 1800: i–ii.

113 Peignot 1800: pref. vi.
114 Dana explains his method in his preface (1907: 23–24).

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José López de Toro (1898–1972) made a Spanish translation of the db, which
he published as a monograph in 1948. López de Toro was a librarian in the
Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid. His translation, based on the second edition as
found in the 1613 Omnia opera (b2), included an introduction to the life and
works of Lipsius as well as short historical and bibliographical notes on the
text.
Diego Baldi has recently made an Italian translation of the epitomes, d1 and
e1, which he published as an article in the journal Teca. Baldi includes a Latin
text and historical notes, as well as a substantial introduction and analysis.
As a final note on translations, I must address the possibility that there was
an earlier Spanish translation by Diego de Arce. Arce wrote a work entitled De
las librerías,115 which he composed over the Christmas holidays of 1607; the date
of the dedicatory epistle is New Year’s Day, 1608. It was dedicated to Juan de
Acevedo, and Arce hoped that he would publish it.116 Acevedo died within the
year, and it was not published until 1888.117 López de Toro and Walker portray
the De las librerías of Diego de Arce as a translation of the db, though they
both note that Arce’s work revised and expanded significantly on what Lipsius
wrote.118 In fact, Arce’s work is so different from the db that it does not make
sense to speak of it as a translation, or even an adaptation, but as an entirely
new and discrete creation.119 Arce himself certainly believed that he was creat-
ing a new work. He made clear in the preface that he drew not only on Lipsius,
but also on many other writers about libraries, such as Francesco Albertini,
Onofrio Panvinio, Fulvio Orsini, Jacob Middendorp, Francesco Patrizi, Pedro

115 The full title is De las librerías: de su antigüedad y provecho: de su sitio y ornato: de la esti-
mación que de ellas deven hazer las Repúblicas; y de la obligación que los Príncipes, así
seglares como eclasiásticos, tienen de fundarlas, aumentarlas y conservarlas: al Illustmo.
Señor Don Joan de Azebedo Patriarcha del nuevo mundo e Inquisidor General en la Monar-
chia de Filippo iii, Rey de España.
116 See Meseguer Fernández (1972: 15), who notes that even if Acevedo had not died so soon,
he would not likely have had the resources to see it to press.
117 The autograph of this work is in Madrid’s Biblioteca Nacional, ms. 17568. A later copy, from
1701, is also housed in the Biblioteca Nacional as ms. 9525 and has now been digitized.
The editio princeps, published by the Bibioteca Nacional in 1888, was based on a different
manuscript there, ms. Bb-222, which I have not been able to find. I have also been unable
to find the manuscript in the Biblioteca Universidad Salamanca (ms. 453), noted by Walker
(1999: 241n.35 and 246).
118 López de Toro (1948: xvii–xviii) and Walker (1991: 58 and 61; 1999: 241–242, 246).
119 Nelles (1994: 211n.115) correctly noted that Arce’s work was not a translation but a distinct
work.

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table 6.2 List of Translations of the De bibliothecis

Peignot, Gabriel. 1800. “Traité des bibliothèques anciennes traduit du latin de Juste
Lipse,” pp. 1–39 in his Manuel bibliographique; ou Essai sur les Bibliothèques
anciennes et modernes, et sur la connaissance des livres, des formats, des éditions;
sur la manière de composer une bibliothèque choisie, classée méthodiquement, et sur
les principaux ouvrages à consulter dans chaque partie de l’enseignment des Ecoles
centrales: le tout suivi de plusiers notices bibliographiques, instructives et curieuses.
Paris: Peignot.
Dana, John Cotton. 1907. A Brief Outline of the History of Libraries by Justus Lipsius.
Chicago: McClurg.
Sobry, Charles. 1941. “Justus Lipsius: De Bibliothecis Syntagma uit het Latijn in het
Nederlandsch vertaald,” De Gulden Passer 19: 57–98; printed with G. Schmook,
“Inleiding tot de door Dr. C. Sobry bezorgde vertaling van Justus Lipsius’ ‘De
Bibliothecis Syntagma’.” De Gulden Passer 19: 1–56.
López de Toro, José. 1948. Justo Lipsio. Las bibliotecas en la antigüedad. Estudio,
traducción, prólogo, y notas. Valencia: Castalia.
Baldi, Diego. 2015. “De Bibliothecis Syntagma di Giusto Lipsio. Il Compendium di
Anastasius de Valle Quietis e la Descriptio di Constantius a Monte Laboris.” Teca 7:
31–68.

Gregorio, Juan Bautista Cardona, Angelo Rocca, and Muzio Pansa.120 If any
more evidence were needed, Arce quotes Lipsius by name in the text (e.g. “Dice
Lipsio …,” 1888: 27), which he would hardly do in a translation, but which makes
sense in a history based on Lipsius and others.

7 Editorial Principles

Editors of Classical Latin texts have developed a number of typographical

conventions regarding orthography, punctuation, and presentation of the text.
These conventions, such as standardized spelling and modern punctuation,
are resorted to because we generally have no idea how an author might have
spelled or punctuated a given text.121 Editors of Neo-Latin texts, on the other

120 Arce 1888: v–vii. Many of these authors are treated above, Introduction §3.3.
121 We do sometimes have ancient papyri that bear witness these texts, and papyrological
publications carefully note orthographic matters. These papyri, however, are generally not
contemporary with their authors and are almost never autographs.

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hand, are often fortunate enough to have access to an author’s autograph

manuscript or to print editions produced with the author’s collaboration. In
such cases, it is somewhat puzzling why editors of Neo-Latin texts would freely
take up the conventions that editors of Classical Latin texts have resorted to
out of desperation. Yet this is the most common practice for critical editions of
Neo-Latin texts, which usually at least modernize the punctuation and remove
the diacritics.122
Individual cases will vary, and there can be good reason for taking up the
standardizing conventions. Making a critical edition that blends the readings
of various witnesses, for instance, may require some standardization. Standard-
izing can also improve readability. In the case of the db, however, I see no
compelling reason to standardize. Lipsius certainly put thought into his orthog-
raphy and punctuation, and so it seems foolish to cast these aside unless they
present a real obstacle for the reader. As such, I have kept Lipsius’s orthography,
punctuation, and diacritical marks, which I explain below (§ 7.2–3).
Most of the editions of the db have been digitized and can be found online,
so it does not seem necessary to attempt a diplomatic edition or provide a
facsimile. In addition, a facsimile would not easily allow a presentation of the
variant readings of the different editions. I hope that readers will not find the
spelling and punctuation too difficult, and I suspect that some readers may
even find the diacritical marks helpful.
In the mise-en-page, I have made a few changes for the sake of improved
readability. The chapters of the db were unbroken blocks of text, and I have
introduced numbered paragraphs to make cross-referencing more effective
and make the train of thought easier to follow. I also set out quotations as
their own text blocks, which helps to bring out the texture of the work. These
quotations are also italicized, as they were in the original.

7.1 The Text

The difficulty in putting together a text of Lipsius’s db is not one of establishing
the original state of the text—we have the first edition—but rather it is a
challenge of how to present the text as it changed over its various editions. As
outlined above (§6.1), the db exists in four significantly different families: two
were the product of Lipsius himself (α and β), and two were later epitomes (δ
and ε). The two epitome families are so radically different from the full text,

122 Of course, other approaches are followed as well, and there are increasing possibilities
of digitally representing a text. For general background to the scholarly discussion, see
benlw “Editing Neo-Latin Texts” 959–962 (Deneire).

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and from each other, that it would have been confusing and misleading to put
them in a single critical apparatus. My solution has been to create one version
of the full text, which presents the readings of the α and β families, and to create
separate texts for each of the epitome families (δ and ε).
For my version of the full text I follow b1, aside from correcting a few
typographical errors.123 I follow b1 because it contains the revisions that Lipsius
had decided to make. In the five places where b1 has major differences from a1
(detailed above in §6.1), I note the differences in the apparatus.
In the apparatus I also print the more minor variants from within the α and
β families—that is to say, from a2–6 and b2–7. I do not print all variants, the vast
majority of which are obvious errors or insignificant changes in punctuation. I
do, however, print those variants that both change the meaning of the text and
would likely not have been recognized as errors. I also provide an apparatus
fontium to make clear the ultimate source of Lipsius’s quotations and citations.
I believe it is worthwhile to record the readings of the epitomes (and all the
later editions) because the legacy of the work is not just what Lipsius wrote,
but what his readers read. The two epitomes are so radically different from the
main text, and from each other, that there was no hope of putting them in the
apparatus. Rather, I have decided to print them each individually. In the case of
the first epitome tradition (δ), I simply use the text of the only edition (d1).124 In
the case of the second epitome tradition (ε), I print the text of its first edition
(e1), and use the apparatus to list significant differences in the subsequent nine
editions (e2–10). As in the full text, I only print those variants that change the
meaning of the text and would likely not have been recognized as errors. I do
not provide a separate apparatus fontium for the epitomes, but each epitome
chapter is provided with a reference back to the corresponding chapter of the
db, which should make clear both its sources and how it differs from the full
text.

123 The errors I correct are the following: at pr.4 the word fontet is corrected to fontes
(the reading of a1); at 1.3 Vlyéssam is corrected to Vlysséam (the reading of b3, which I
follow because the word had also been misprinted in a1); at 3.2 Jouis is corrected to Iouis
(in keeping with the orthography b1 uses throughout); at 7.4 Bibliothecis is corrected to
Bibliothecæ (the reading of a1); at 8.6 si is corrected to sic (the reading of a1).
124 The d1 edition has three minor errors, which I correct: at d7 Idem is corrected to idem, at
d48 the comma after distincta is corrected to a period, and at d57 Alexandri is corrected
to Alexandrini.

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7.2 Orthography
In orthographic matters, I have mainly followed the practices of the revised
1607 edition (b1), since that is the edition whose text is presented.125 This
edition only rarely differs from the spelling used in modern editions of Classical
Latin texts,126 except in that the letter [u] is written ⟨v⟩ word-initially and
⟨u⟩ elsewhere (e.g., vtrum), and [i] is written ⟨j⟩ if it follows another ⟨i⟩ (e.g.
consillij). I have also kept the ligatures ⟨æ⟩, ⟨œ⟩, and ⟨&⟩, although I do spell out
fully letters abbreviated in b1, which occasionally reads -ū for -um, -ē for -em,
and -q; for -que.
For the texts of the two epitomes, I have followed the orthography of their
first editions, both of which are characterized by ⟨j⟩ for consonantal [i] and ⟨v⟩
for consonantal [u]. The first epitome (d1) was broken into sixty-two indented,
sentence-long paragraphs, and I have simply numbered these (calling them d1,
d2, d3, etc., to distinguish them from the chapter numbers of the main text).
The second epitome (e1) was broken into 20 longer paragraphs, which I have
also kept (numbering them e1, e2, e3, etc.).

7.3 Accents and Punctuation in Lipsius’s Latin

The punctuation of Early Modern texts can seem haphazard. Semicolons
abound in numbers unimaginable today. Part of the disparity is that while
today’s punctuation communicates grammar, Early Modern punctuation com-
municates diction. In contemporary English practice, periods separate com-
plete sentences; semicolons join closely related independent clauses; commas
join coordinated independent clauses and subordinate clauses; colons set up
lists or interjections. In Early Modern practice, each of the above-mentioned
punctuation marks simply indicate a pause of a different length. The comma
indicates the shortest pause, the semicolon a slightly longer one, the colon
slightly longer than that, and the period longest of all.127 Since Lipsius’s punc-
tuation is easily intelligible and communicates how he thought his text should
be read, I have kept it unaltered in the Latin text rather than modernizing it.
I have also kept Lipsius’s diacritical marks: the acute, grave, and circumflex
accents. The accents suggest that Latin, like Greek, had a pitch accent that

125 These orthographic practices were fairly standard for Neo-Latin works, see benlw
“Orthography of Neo-Latin” 1122–1124 (Minkova). Outside of the text of the db and quota-
tions of it, I follow a standard orthography for Classical Latin.
126 Imo for immo, caussa for causa, and millia for milia are the most commonly found non-
standard spellings. One also finds fæmina for femina (db 1.3), quemdam for quendam (db
11.8), eumdem for eundem (db 4.3), epistola for epistula (db 4.2, 10.5).
127 Lipsius details his usage of punctuation in a letter on the subject: Cent. misc. iii, epist. 39.

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56 introduction

could rise, fall, or rise and then fall in a given syllable. Such a belief, while
incorrect, was voiced by the ancient Romans themselves and continued to be
maintained by many scholars into the twentieth century.128 Yet the conventions
of accent marks in early print books have more to do with the exigencies of
using a dead language than with theories of Latin phonology. In the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries, accent marks worked largely to clarify words that
could be ambiguous.129
An accent mark could be used to distinguish adverbs from nouns, adverbs
from prepositions, or conjunctions from prepositions. So, for example,

– maximé (adv.) and maxime (voc./sn./masc.)

– póst (adv.) and post (prep.)
– cúm (conj.) and cum (prep.)

In all of the above cases, the accent is word-final, no matter what syllable the
stress accent would have fallen on. In accordance with the rules of Greek accen-
tuation, the word-final acute accent becomes grave unless it ends a sentence or
is followed by an enclitic.
A circumflex accent might distinguish two grammatical possibilities for the
same word, e.g. Senecâ (abl.) and Seneca (nom.).130 Note that the circumflex
does not fall where the stress accent would have fallen, but rather marks out a
long vowel in the same way that a macron does now. A circumflex on the penult
could distinguish the third person plural in the perfect tense (e.g. voluêre) from
the infinitive (e.g. voluere).131
Not all accents served to distinguish homographs. The prepositions a (from
ab) and e (from ex) regularly received accents, though there was no possible
confusion with any other word. Here we see instead the influence of epigraphy,

128 Lindsay (1894: 148–154) discusses views of the ancient Roman grammarians on the Latin
accent. Lipsius likewise discusses accents in Latin and Greek in chapters 17–21 of his 1586
De recta pronuntiatione.
129 For a thorough study of the development and usage of accent marks in sixteenth and
seventeenth-century Latin, see Steenbakkers 1994: 71–102.
130 Lipsius principally uses the circumflex to distinguish the ablative from the nominative
in the first declension. In the epitome traditions, a circumflex also distinguishes the
genitive from the nominative in the fourth declension, e.g. fructûs (gen.) and fructus
(nom.). In chapter five of his 1586 De recta pronuntiatione, Lipsius writes that he uses the
circumflex to mark long vowels in words that are otherwise homographs, in accordance
with Quintilian’s recommendation for the use of the apex (Inst. orat. 1.7.2–3).
131 The epitome tradition also regularly used cirumflex accents to indicate syncopated verb
forms, like conflagrâsse for conflagrauisse.

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introduction 57

since ancient inscriptions sometimes featured the preposition a with an apex:

⟨Á⟩. Latinized Greek words, like Muséum (μουσεῖον), received an accent. Words
with enclitics also could receive an accent (e.g., magnósque), though here
again there was no possible confusion with other words. In this case, the
accent actually seems to mark where the stress accent would have fallen, since
the extra syllable of the enclitic causes the stress accent to fall on the new
penultimate syllable, if that syllable is heavy.

8 A Note on the Commentary

The purpose of the commentary is to provide readers with historical back-

ground on the ancient libraries treated by Lipsius. I focus on the primary evi-
dence, whether literary, epigraphical, or archaeological. For ancient authors
and works, I generally use the abbreviations from the ocd. I sometimes use
other abbreviations, especially for specific editions of texts, and these are listed
in the Abbreviations at pages xi to xiv. I also direct readers to secondary litera-
ture for topics they might like to explore in greater depth. In referring readers to
secondary treatments, my goal has been to be selective rather than exhaustive.
I generally follow the author/date system of citation, but for reference works I
use abbreviations, which are expanded in the Abbreviations section.
In an ideal world, I would also like to have treated comprehensively in the
commentary the ways in which the db differed from other contemporary treat-
ments on ancient libraries, as well as the areas in which the db had an especially
important influence on subsequent treatments. As work progressed, it became
clear that such an approach would make the commentary impossibly long, and
that such information would be difficult to present in a useful format. So, while
I do cover how Lipsius differed from his contemporaries and how he influenced
future generations, I limit the coverage to a few important points. It is my hope,
however, that this commentary will still prove useful to those interested in
other Renaissance and Early Modern treatments of ancient libraries, since Lip-
sius presents most of the then-known evidence for ancient Roman and Greek
libraries. So, if readers should run into, say, a Renaissance text that mentions the
Palatine Apollo library, or that quotes Strabo (Geog. 13.1.54) about the library of
Aristotle, they should (with the help of the indices and Table 5.1) find useful
background in the commentary. It is also my hope that the commentary will
be a helpful resource for classicists and archaeologists. Since the commentary
treats the majority of presently known evidence for ancient libraries, it should
prove useful even for those scholars whose interest is only in ancient libraries
rather than their Renaissance reception.

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58 introduction

The commentary does not treat Lipsius’s language and style, except for a few
points where the meaning is obscure.132 Lipsius’s Latin is remarkably Classical,
but readers new to Neo-Latin will perhaps appreciate a quick overview of his
deviations from the Classical norms. In vocabulary, Lipsius was comfortable
allowing a few post-Classical words when there was not a good Classical word
available, like Typographia for “printing” (db 1.2) and Heroum (gen. pl.) for
“lords” (db pr.1). The post-Classical inconspectio “oversight” (db 4.3) might have
(comically) been an oversight, and it should be noted that Lipsius sometimes
uses item almost with a sense of et. As to syntax, Lipsius has a strong tendency to
use the dative of agent rather than ab + ablative for the agent of a passive verb.
This tendency is commonly found in other writers of Neo-Latin as well. There
are two points where Lipsius uses ab + abl. to express “apart from” or “without,”
but these are explained in the commentary (2.7n. absque, 2.10n. ab antiquo).
Lipsius sometimes uses the post-Classical uos as an honorific to address his
dedicatee (e.g. db 5.2), but he more typically uses tu (e.g. db pr.1–5, 8.5, 10.1,
11.9).

132 For analysis of Lipsius’s style, see Tunberg 1999 and Deneire 2012b. Indeed, since the
commentary is focused on the historical background of the libraries treated by Lipsius,
readers will find much more about ancient libraries than about Justus Lipsius. While
regrettable, this was unavoidable given the limitations of space and scope.

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De bibliothecis: Text and Translation

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pr.1 ILLmo ET EXCELLmo
PRINCIPI
CAROLO
DVCI CROIIO ET ARSCHOTANO,
PRINCIPI S. IMPERII, 5
EQVITI AVREI VELLERIS.

Hoc De Bibiliothecis quod scripsi, Illvstrissime Princeps, ipsum ire ad

te ambiebat, vix me mittente. Quis nescit te eximium inter Belgij proceres
esse, qui harum rerum elegantiâ & studio capiatur? Itaque cùm alia artium
veterum instruis & adornas, tum Nummos & Bibliothecas maximè: de quibus 10
istis Commentarium hunc concepi & digessi, non voce sed facto tuo inci-
tatus. qui vidi quàm magnorum illorum Regum siue Heroum exempla, in
conquirendis aut propagandis talibus, æmuleris & assequare.

pr.2 Assequare, inquam: quid mirum? omnia magna & ampla in te, aut iuxta te:
quem Deus, Natura, Fortuna 15

Omnibus ornatum voluêre excellere rebus.

Stirpem tuam video? à regibus est. Opes? pænè regiæ. Animum? planè
regius: & quid nisi altum ac magnificum illo concipis, factis promis? Ad
longinqua non eo: vna Hevria tua, huic vrbi in ore atque oculis, fidem facit,
quàm nihil nisi stirpe, opibus, animo isto dignum cogites ac patres. 20

pr.3 Quæ tua ibi opera? ingenio cum ingenio loci pugnas ac superas, ardua in
plana, hæc in ardua deducis: sed omnia ad normam & decorem dirigis:
alter, vt verbo dicam, Belgicvs Lvcvllvs. Non indignare, Illvstrissime
Princeps, cum illo componi: verâ æstimatione, inter raros magnósque fuit:
bellis victoriísque in florente ætate celebris: & mox inclinante, ad quietem 25
& ad se inclinauit, id est animum & studia coluit, atque opes in præsentium
ac posterorum delectationem siue vsum impendit. Ab illo Bibliothecarum

16 Lucr. drn 1.27

14 quid] om. b7

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 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation 61

TO THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS AND EXCELLENT

PRINCE:
CHARLES
DUKE OF CROY AND ARSCHOT,
PRINCE OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE,
KNIGHT OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE.

pr.1 This Book on Libraries that I’ve written, Most Illustrious Prince, would
surely have made its way to you even without my sending it. Is there anyone
who does not know that you are exceptional among the leading men of
the Low Countries? (At least anyone with some capacity for good taste and
devotion in regard to such things as this.) In keeping with your support and
promotion of many ancient arts, and particularly coins and libraries, I’ve
planned and arranged this commentary on the latter specifically, inspired
not merely by your words but by your deeds. I have seen how you rival and
ultimately rank among the examples of those great and illustrious kings and
lords in seeking out and encouraging such things.

pr.2 Indeed, I say “rank among,” and what is surprising about that? Everything in
you and about you is great and eminent. God, Nature, and Fortune

have desired that you be outstanding in all things.

Should I look at your ancestry? It derives from kings. Your wealth? Practically
royal. Your intellect? Clearly royal. Does your mind ever devise or your deeds
produce anything that is not towering and magnificent? I will not go far
afield: your Heverlee alone, right beneath the eyes of this city, proves that
you design and deliver nothing except what is worthy of your ancestry, your
wealth, and your intellect.

pr.3 What are your works there? Your nature is fighting against the nature of
the place—and winning. You flatten hills and raise up hills in the flats, yet
arrange everything in accordance with the truest standards of beauty. You
are, to sum it up in a phrase, a new Lucullus, of the Low Countries. Don’t be
insulted at the comparison, Most Illustrious Prince. If judged fairly, he was
among the few greats. In the flower of his youth he was noted for repeated
military victories. Then, as his years turned, he turned towards peace and
towards himself—that is to say, he cultivated his mind and his studies. In
addition, he used his wealth for the enjoyment, or benefit, of his contempo-
raries and of future generations. He was responsible for the most outstand-

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 62 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation

Romæ præcipuum exemplum; ab illo eruditi in sermone, mensâ, domo

habiti; ab illo denique Prætoria & amœnitates structæ, quæ & Principes
rei Romanæ postea frui vtique æstimarunt. Tu, inquam, noster Princeps
imitaris. Nam in caligine hac rerum temporúmque, patriæ & Regi operâ
laudabiliter nauatâ, copijs triumphísque ductis; vergente iam æuo, portum 5
hunc quietis & te respicis, & ab externis ad interna, id est verè bona, reducis.

pr.4 Inter varios autem secessus, Hevriam, Academiæ nostræ hoc suburbanum,
eligis: & eam magnificis, vt dixi, operibus, quid nisi in artium ingeniorúmque
præcipuè vsum, adornas? Audeo dicere. tua illa ædificia, ambulacra, horti,
fontes, arboreta, nobis structa aut sata: & non solùm qui nunc sunt, fruuntur, 10
id est transeunt, adeunt, ineunt: sed & qui venturi, facient: venturi autem,
vel huius oblectationis deinceps, non Louanij solius, caussâ. Omitto alia &
interiora, quæ augendo vel ornando huic Athenæo cogitas: magnifica & te
Principe digna, sed in tempore magis promenda.

pr.5 O igitur curæ & quietis felicem! perseuera. & istâ te, illâ nos pasce, cum 15
æterno bono tuo simul & famâ. Nos certè, qui publicè loquimur aut scri-
bimus, id est famæ quidam præcones, cælo tuum nomen feremus: ipsum te
Deus inferet, iustus arbiter & munerator meritorum. Voueo Illvstrissime
Princeps

æternùm tuus 20
I. Lipsivs.
Louanij, xii. Kal. Iul. Ꝏ.IƆCII.

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 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation 63

ing example of libraries at Rome. Scholarly men populated his conversa-

tions, his table, his home. He built a palace and pleasure parks, which the
emperors later judged worthy of being enjoyed by all the people of Rome. I
declare that you, our Prince, are following his example. For in those recent
dark times and dark circumstances, you achieved glorious accomplishments
for the fatherland and the King, leading troops and winning triumphs. Now
that old age approaches, you glance at this harbor of rest and at yourself, and
you turn from external to internal (that is to say, true) goods.

pr.4 Moreover, amongst various possible havens, you choose to retire to this sub-
urb, Heverlee, home of our university. You are furnishing it with magnif-
icent works, as I’ve mentioned, and for what reason except for the bene-
fit of the arts and of writers especially? Let me be so bold as to say this:
those grand buildings of yours, the colonnades, the gardens, the fountains,
and the groves—it is for us that they have all been built and planted. And
they bring enjoyment not just to those here now—whoever passes by them,
approaches them, enters them—but they will continue to bring enjoyment
to those who will come in the future. And people will indeed come. Travelers
will henceforth come not just for Leuven but for the enchantment here. I will
leave out the other, more internal improvements, which you have planned
for this university to enlarge and enrich it. They are magnificent and worthy
of a Prince like you—but will be brought to light later.

pr.5 So let us celebrate the labor and the respite! Keep it up, and feast yourself
on the respite (and us on labor), to your eternal benefit and glory. Certainly
those of us who speak or write publicly, we heralds of your reputation, so
to speak, will usher your name to heaven. As for you yourself, you will be
raised up into heaven by God, the just judge and rewarder of merit. I hereby
dedicate this book to you, Most Illustrious Prince.

Eternally yours,
J. Lipsius
Leuven, June 20, 1602.

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 AD LECTOREM.

pr.6 Breve hoc De Bibliothecis, id est libris, habes: quid nobis dignius, qui libros
nec per assiduè tractamus? Etsi reuerà *οὐδ’ ὄναρ hoc cogitaram, nisi me Principis viri,
somnium. cui dicatum iuimus, in hac re studium excitasset. Atque hos tales in bonis altís-
que consilijs confirmare aut & inflammare, optimo publico censeo equidem 5
fieri. Quàm pauci magnatum se eò dant? quàm ad pristinas sordes & tenebras
omnia videntur ire? Quàm etiam, spretis antiquis & veris, noua quædam hodie
procudunt doctrinarum! quibus illud iure dixeris:

Prompta *Ὁδοῦ παρούσης τὴν ἀτραπὸν ζητέεις.

viâ &
patente,
Viderint. nos prisca adhæremus: & vtiliter sæpè (ita confido) eruimis, digeri- 10
quæris
semitam. mus, illustramus. Faue tu, bonæ mentis lector.

9 Ael. Dionysius Att. Lex. ο 4 Erbse

4 hos] hoc a3–4 8 producunt b2

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 TO THE READER

pr.6 You have before you a short work On Libraries, that is to say, on books. What
subject could be worthier for those of us who constantly use them? In all hon-
esty, *οὐδ’ ὄναρ would I have contemplated writing this, had not the interest of not even in
the Prince, to whom I proceeded to dedicate this work, aroused my own inter- dreams.
est in the subject. For my part, I judge it to be the best thing for the public that
men such as him encourage and support those who have valuable and noble
projects. How do so few great men dedicate themselves to this? How does every-
thing seem to regress to its former squalid darkness? How can men strive to
forge certain new sciences today even while rejecting what is old and true? To
such men you might rightly say:

*Ὁδοῦ παρούσης τὴν ἀτραπὸν ζητέεις. Although a

road lies
open and
Let them see to it then. We will stick to what is ancient. It will prove beneficial, I
ready
trust, that we unearth, display, and illuminate such things. I hope you approve, before you,
dear reader, and look kindly on the endeavor. you look for
a side-path.

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 capvt i.

Bibliotheca, & Libraria, quid? Reges veteres habuisse, atque illos Ægypti.

1.1 Bibliotheca tria significat, Locum, Armarium, Libros. Græca vox Lati-
nis in vsum etiam venit, & quamquam Librariam dicunt, tamen magis est
eâ voce tabernam capi, in quâ venales libri exstant. Sed Bibliothecarum 5
res vetus, &, nisi fallor, cum ipsis litteris adinuenta. Nam simul ac scire &
sapere natum est, mox etiam scribere: & istud esse cum fructu non potuit,
nisi vt libri adseruarentur & disponerentur, ad præsentium & posterorum
vsum.

1.2 Priuata primùm ea cura, & quisque sibi suisque struebat: postmodum Reges 10
& Dynastæ vsurparunt, nec in vsum solùm, sed ambitionem aut splendo-
rem. Sanè multos congerere, vix fuit priuati hominis aut census: cùm tarda &
impendiosa descriptio esset: donec vtilissima hæc Typographia rem in com-
pendium misit.

1.3 Qui primus Regum illustrem habuit (quod memoria seruet) is fuit Osyman- 15
duas, Ægypti. qui inter alia operum præclara,

Sacram Bibliothecam struxit, & in eius fronte præscripsit, ψυχῆς ἰατρεῖον:

animi medica officina.

Lib. i. Ita Diodorus. & quamquam ille inter veteres Regum fuerit, non tamen dubito
exemplum, si non ipsam rem, mansisse, & in Ægypto Bibliothecas semper 20
aliquas exinde exstitisse: idq́ ue in templis præcipuè, & sacerdotum curâ.
Eustat. in Multa argumento, tum & illud de Homero: quem Naucrates quidam plagij
Præfat. accusat, & in Ægyptum cùm venisset, libros repperisse Phantasiæ fæminæ,
Odyss.

3 Locum Armarium Libros] Digesta 32.52.7 17–18 Diod. Sic. Bibl. 1.49.3 (= Hec. Abd. FGrHist
264 f25) 22–68.2 quem … Vulcani] Eust. Od. 1379.62–66 (= 2.25–29 Stallbaum i)

4 post tamen add. verisimile b5–6 8 post disponerentur add. & b3–7 22 quidam] quidem
b3–7

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 chapter one

What are a bibliotheca and a libraria? That the ancient kings had them, and
in particular the famous kings of Egypt.

1.1 The word bibliotheca refers to three things: a library, a bookcase, and a
collection of books. The word is Greek but came into use in Latin too. Latin
does have the word libraria, but that actually refers to a shop with books for
sale. The library is an ancient institution, and—if I am not mistaken—one
as old as writing itself. Once knowledge and wisdom came into the world,
writing followed soon after. And writing could not have been useful unless
books were preserved and organized for present and future use.

1.2 At first libraries were the work of private individuals: something one would
build solely for oneself and one’s family and friends. Kings and rulers soon
followed suit—not only to use them, but also for status and glory. Obviously,
the collection of a large number of books was scarcely possible for a pri-
vate individual (or his finances) to accomplish, since copying a book was
slow and expensive work until the printing press simplified things most use-
fully.

1.3 The first king to have a famous library (so far as memory preserves) was
Ozymandias of Egypt. He built, among other famous works,

a sacred library, and on its façade had it written ψυχῆς ἰατρεῖον: a hos-
pital for the soul.

So says Diodorus. Although Ozymandias was among the most ancient of Book 1
kings, there is no doubt that the precedent of building libraries survived,
even if that particular library did not, and that in Egypt some libraries always
existed from then on, particularly in temples under the care of priests. There
is much evidence, including the following story about Homer: A certain
Naucrates accused Homer of plagiarism, saying that he had come to Egypt Eustathius
and discovered the books of a woman named Phantasia, who had written Pref. Od.

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68 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation

quæ Iliadem atque Vlysséam scripserit, & Memphi in templo deposuerit Vul-
cani. Homerum igitur vidisse, sibi adscripsisse, & edidisse. Quæ in viro, opi-
nor, falsa, rem tamen & morem firmant.

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CHAPTER ONE 69

the Iliad and Odyssey, and had deposited them at Memphis in the temple of
Vulcan. He alleged that Homer found these books, pretended they were his
own, and published them. I believe that the story is wrong about Homer, but
nevertheless it confirms the existence and tradition of libraries in temples.

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 cap. ii.

Alexandrina Bibliotheca, cui Philadelphus primus & præcipuus auctor.

Varietas & numerus ibi librorum. Combusta, & iterùm instaurata.

2.1 Sed reliquæ ibi in obscuro sunt, Ptolomæi Philadelphi Regis in magnâ luce
& laude fuit. Is Ptolomæi Lagi filius, secundus eo nomine & stirpe Ægypti 5
regum: artium & ingeniorum cultor, & quod adhæret, librorum. Itaque Ale-
xandriæ ingentem Bibliothecam composuit: instructione & exemplo Aristo-
telis adiutus, imò & ipsis eius libris. Nam Aristoteles, vt pòst dicam, copiâ &
Lib. i. dilectu insignem Bibliothecam adornauerat. de quâ Strabo:

Ἀριστοτέλης πρῶτος, ὧν ἴσμεν, συναγαγὼν βιβλία, καὶ διδάξας τοὺς ἐν 10

Αἰγύπτῳ βασιλέας βιβλιοθήκης σύνταξιν:

Aristoteles primus, quos norîmus, collector librorum fuit, & reges in

Ægypto docuit Bibliothecæ structuram.

2.2 Quæ tamen cautè & cum sua interpretatione legenda: nec enim vel primus
omnino fuit; & certè æuo anterior, docere Philadelphum hunc non potuit, 15
Lib. i. nisi, vt dixi, exemplo. Hoc fortasse verum, quod Athenæo scriptum:

Aristotelem, Theophrasto libros reliquisse, hunc Neleo. à quo eos merca-

tus Ptolomæus, cum ijs quos Athenis & Rhodi coëmerat, omnes in pul-
chram Alexandriam transferri curauit.

Etsi alij tamen dissentiunt, vt in loco dicam. 20

2.3 Sed Bibliothecam igitur ille vndique, & omne genus libris, instruxit: etiam
sacris, & è Iudæâ petitis. Nam cùm aures eius fama tetigisset Hebrææ sapien-

10–11 Strabo Geog. 13.1.54 16 vt dixi] supra 2.1 17–19 Ath. Deip. 1.3a–b 20 in loco dicam]
infra 3.4–5

8 imò & ipsis] imò ipsis a4–6

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 chapter two

The Library of Alexandria, of which Philadelphus was the first and principal
founder. The variety and number of books there. It burned, and was restored
again.

2.1 Yet the other libraries there remain unknown, although the library of King
Ptolemy Philadelphus was widely known and praised. He was the son of
Ptolemy son of Lagus, the second of that name and that dynasty the kings of
Egypt. He was a patron of the arts and of writers, and, consequently, of books.
Philadelphus created a massive library at Alexandria, aided by the teachings
and example of Aristotle, and even by his actual books. For Aristotle, as I
will explain later, established a library distinguished by its abundance and
selection. About this library Strabo writes: Book 1

Ἀριστοτέλης πρῶτος, ὧν ἴσμεν, συναγαγὼν βιβλία, καὶ διδάξας τοὺς ἐν

Αἰγύπτῳ βασιλέας βιβλιοθήκης σύνταξιν:

Aristotle was the first collector of books, whom I know of, and he taught
the kings of Egypt how to create a library.

2.2 Nevertheless, you must read this cautiously and with its explanation. You
see, Aristotle was not the very first, and in addition he unquestionably
preceded Philadelphus by a generation, and so could not have taught him
directly (except, as I said, by example). Perhaps what Athenaeus wrote was
true: Book 1

that Aristotle had left his books to Theophrastus, and he to Neleus. Pto-
lemy purchased the books from Neleus, and he ensured that they, along
with those he bought at Athens and Rhodes, all were taken to lovely
Alexandria.

Others disagree, however, as I will explain at the appropriate point.

2.3 Ptolemy, in any case, built up his library with books from everywhere and
of every kind, even sacred books, including some from Judea. When the

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 72 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation

tiæ, misit qui libros deposcerent, & idoneos simul homines conduxit, qui
in Græcam linguam verterent, communi omnium vsui. Ea interpretatio est,
quam Septuaginta, à numero scilicet qui operam dederunt, dicunt. Id eue-
De ponder. nisse anno eius regni xvii. Epiphanius tradidit, Olympiade cxxvii. Præerat
& mensur. Bibliothecæ, vir scriptis & factis illustris, Demetrius Phalereus, exsul à suis 5
Athenis: & quem rex benignè habitum ad hæc & maiora ministeria admo-
uit. Idémque à Chaldæis, Ægyptijs, Romanis etiam libros petiuit, & pariter in
Lib. xxii. linguam Græcam transfundi curauit. De quibus Georgium Cedrenum capio:

Philadelphus libros Sacros, Chaldaicos, Ægyptios, & Romanos, aliósque

diuersilingues in Græcam omnes conuerti curauit, in vniuersum ad cen- 10
tum millia voluminum: quæ omnia in bibliothecis suis Alexandriæ repo-
suit.

2.4 Duo noto, & curam peregrinos libros vertendi, vtilem meo animo, & vobis
Principibvs etiamnunc vsurpandam: & numerum librorum, grandem
satis, sed non pro vero, si de vniuersis capiamus. Quod abnuo, & Cedreni 15
mentem de conuersis tantùm esse arbitror: atque ipsos primogenios Græcos,
longè superasse. Hoc alij scriptores dixerint, qui valdè adaugent. vt Seneca
De noster:
Tranquil.
cap. ix.
Quadringenta millia librorum Alexandriæ arserunt, pulcherrimum
regiæ opulentiæ monumentum. 20

2.5 Sanè pulcherrimum, & supra gemmas omnes vel aurum: sed quanto pul-
chrius, si vberius? Nam nec is Senecæ numerus ex vero satis, & ad Septin-
xii. Antiq. genta millia redigendus. Iosephus doceat, qui tradit
cap. ii. &
Euseb. De
Demetrium (illum Præfectum, de quo dixi) aliquando interrogatum
præpar. lib.
viii. ex à Philadelpho, quot millia librorum iam haberet? respondisse, ducenta 25
Aristeâ. millia admodum, sed sperare breui ad quingenta.

3–4 Epiph. De pond. et mens. 12 (ll. 332–334 Moutsoulas) 9–12 Cedr. pg 121.325a (= 289.17–
23 Bekker i) 19–20 Sen. Tranq. 9.5 23 in marg. Euseb.] Praep. Evang. 8.2 24–26 Joseph. aj
12.13

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 CHAPTER TWO 73

reputation of Hebrew wisdom had reached his ears, he sent messengers

to demand the books and employed men to translate them into Greek so
that they would be accessible to everyone. The result is the translation that
they call the Septuagint, evidently from the number of men who worked
on it. Epiphanius records that this happened in the 17th year of his reign, On Weights
which fell during the 127th Olympiad. In charge of the library was a man and Meas.
famous for both his writings and his deeds, Demetrius of Phalerum, who
was in exile from his native Athens. The king treated him generously and
gave him this responsibility and other even greater ones. Philadelphus also
sought books from the Chaldeans, the Egyptians, and even the Romans, and
likewise had them translated into Greek. Regarding these I quote George
Cedrenus: Book 22

Philadelphus had the holy books, Chaldean books, Egyptian books,

Roman books, and others, which were all in different languages, trans-
lated into Greek. Their total number was 100,000 volumes, and he depos-
ited them all in his library at Alexandria.

2.4 I would highlight two things. The first is this enterprise of translating foreign
books—a useful enterprise, in my opinion, and one that should be taken
up even now by you princes. The second is the number of books given,
which was quite large but could not have been the actual number, if we are
counting the whole in total. The sum is inaccurate, and I suspect that it was
Cedrenus’ estimate only of the books in translation, and that those originally
in Greek far surpassed that number. Other writers, who put the count far
higher, would agree—as our Seneca does: On
Tranquil.
ch. 9
400,000 books burned at Alexandria—they had been the most noble mon-
ument to royal splendor.

2.5 The most noble indeed, and beyond all gems or gold. But how much more
noble if it were more extensive? For even Seneca’s number is actually not
enough, and must be corrected to 700,000. Let Josephus enlighten us, when Ant. 12
he reports that ch. 2; and
Euseb.
Prep.
Demetrius (the man that we mentioned was in charge of the library) Book 8,
was once asked by Philadelphus how many books he now had. He re- from
sponded that there were just about 200,000, but that he hoped soon to Aristeas
reach 500,000.

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 74 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation

2.6 Vides, quàm auxerit: sed quanto magis posteà, atque etiam alij Reges? Pro-
Lib. vi. cap. fectò ad Septingenta millia venerunt, Agellio disertim scribente:
vlt.
Ingens numerus librorum in Ægypto à Ptolomæis regibus vel conquisitus
(emptione) vel confectus (descriptione) est, ad millia fermè voluminum
septingenta. 5

Idem Ammianus, verbis statim dandis: idem Isidorus, sed emendandus:

Septuaginta millia librorum Alexandriæ, Philadelfi temporibus, inuenta

sunt.

Scribendum, inquam, septingenta.

2.7 O thesaurum, sed in re æternâ non æternum! Nam totum hoc, quidquid fuit 10
librorum, bello ciuili Pompeiano perijt, cùm Cæsar in ipsâ vrbe Alexandriâ
bellum cum incolis gereret, & tuitionis suæ caussâ ignem in naues misisset;
qui & vicina naualibus, ipsámque Bibliothecam comprehendit & absumpsit.
Triste fatum, & Cæsari (etsi absque destinatâ culpâ) pudendum! itaque
nec ipse in tertio Ciuilium, nec Hirtius deinde meminêre: alij tamen; vt 15
Plutarchus, Dio, etiam Liuius, vti ex Senecâ facile est haurire. Nam post
superiora illa verba, addit:

Alius laudauerit, vt Liuius, qui elegantiæ regum curæque egregium id

opus ait fuisse.

Sunt ipsa Liuij verba, vbi de hoc incendio: & iusto elogio in rem & Reges. 20

2.8
Sed de hoc tristi igne etiam Ammianus:
Lib. xxii.

Inter templa eminet Serapéum, in quo Bibliothecæ fuerunt inæstimabiles;

& loquitur monumentorum veterum concinens fides, septingenta volumi-
num millia, Ptolomæis regibus vigilijs intentis composita, bello Alexan-
drino, dum diripitur ciuitas, sub Dictatore Cæsare conflagrasse. 25

3–5 Gell. na 7.17.3 6 verbis statim dandis] infra 2.8 7–8 Isid. Etym. 6.3.5 16 Plutarchus]
Caes. 49 ‖ Dio] Cass. Dio Hist. 42.38.2 18–19 Sen. Tranq. 9.5 (= Liv. fr. 52 Weissenborn-
Müller) 22–25 Amm. Marc. Res Gest. 22.16.12–13

21 in marg. xxii] xi a4–6

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 CHAPTER TWO 75

2.6 You see how greatly Philadelphus increased the number—but by how much
more did he do so after that point, and later kings as well? In fact, they
reached all the way to 700,000, as Gellius expressly writes: Book 6
final ch.
A huge number of books was either sought (by purchase) or made (by
copying) by the Ptolemaic kings in Egypt, reaching a total of almost
700,000 volumes.

Ammianus says the same in a statement I’ll give shortly; likewise Isidore,
though he must be emended:

70,000 books could be found in Alexandria in the time of Philadelphus.

It should read 700,000, in my opinion.

2.7 What a treasure of eternal riches! But eternally it would not last. For the total,
whatever it was, was destroyed in the civil war with Pompey. When Caesar
battled in the city of Alexandria against its inhabitants, he set fire to the ships
for the sake of his own safety. The flames caught hold of the areas near the
shipyards and of the library itself, which they consumed completely. A sad
fate, and one for which Caesar should be ashamed (though the fault was
unintended). That’s why he himself did not make note of it in the third book
of his Civil War, nor would Hirtius later on. Other writers did, however, like
Plutarch, Dio, and even Livy, as we can easily gather from Seneca. After the
words quoted above Seneca added:

Another man might praise it as Livy did, when he said that it was an
outstanding specimen of the elegance and enterprise of kings.

Those are Livy’s own words about the fire, and they make a perfect epigram
on libraries and kings.

2.8 Ammianus also writes about this sad fire: Book 22

The Serapeum stood out among the temples, and it held innumerable
bookcases. Ancient chronicles, which are unanimous and creditable, state
that while the city was being sacked during the Alexandrian War, 700,000
volumes, which had been collected through the relentless efforts of the
Ptolemaic kings, were consumed in flame under Caesar as dictator.

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 76 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation

Lib. vi. Ipse in direptione euenisse vult: itemque Agellius.

Ea omnia volumina, inquit, bello priore Alexandrino (ad discrimen eius,

quod sub Antonio) dum diripitur ciuitas, non sponte neque operâ con-
sultâ, sed à militibus fortè auxiliarijs incensa sunt.

2.9 Excusat verò ipse non Cæsarem tantùm (quo quid librorum aut ingenio- 5
rum amantius?) sed Romanos milites, & culpam hanc ad exteros auxiliares
ablegat. Ceterùm de direptione, non ita Plutarchus aut Dio: quos est videre.
Hic igitur finis nobilis Bibliothecæ, Olympiade clxxxiii: cùm vix ccxxiiii.
annos fuisset.

2.10 Etsi reuixit tamen, non eadem (quî id potuit?) sed consimilis, & eodem 10
loci, id est in Serapéo, collocanda. Auctor reperandi Cleopatra, illa amoribus
Antonij famosa: quæ ab eo in auspicium & velut fundamentum operis impe-
trauit Bibliothecam Attalicam siue Pergamenam. Itaque totam cùm dono
cepisset, & transferri curasset, iterùm adornata auctáque est, & Christiano-
Apolog. rum etiam temporibus, in vitâ & famâ fuit. Tertullianus: 15
cap. xviii.
Hodie, apud Serapéum, Ptolomæi Bibliothecæ, cum ipsis Hebraicis litte-
ris, exhibentur.

Nota, apud Serapéum iterùm fuisse, id est in eius porticibus: atque id vici-
num portui & naualibus, ex Strabone alijsq́ ue discas. Nota, & Ptolomæi
Bibliothecas dici: etsi reuera non illæ iam essent, sed consimiles, & primo- 20
genij illi Hebraici libri, vnáque lxx. interpretatio, flammâ perijssent. Tamen
ecce, tanta auctoritas & fides ab antiquo eius Bibliothecæ, vt Tertullianus
gentiles eò aduocet aut amandet.

2.11 Credo stetisse, quamdiu ipsum Serapéum, immensæ molis & stupendi arti-
ficij templum: quod Christiani denique, Theodosij maioris imperio, vt arcem 25
superstitionis, demoliti à fundo sunt, Ecclesiasticis scriptoribus traditum &
Ruffin. ii. laudatum.
cap. xxiii.
itemq́ ue
Socrates &
Sozomen.
alij.
2–4 Gell. na 7.17.3 16–17 Tert. Apol. 18.8 19 Strabone] Geog. 17.1.8 et 17.1.10 26–27
Ecclesiasticis … laudatum] Ruf. Hist. eccl. 2.23 Socr. Hist. eccl. 5.16 Sozom. Hist. eccl. 7.15.2–10

3 quod] quo a4–6

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 CHAPTER TWO 77

He himself wishes this to be the result of the sack, as does Gellius, who says: Book 6

While the city was being sacked in the earlier Alexandrian war (to dif-
ferentiate from the one in the time of Antony) all those volumes were
burned not by Caesar’s will or design, but by his auxiliary troops through
chance.

2.9 He actually excuses not only Caesar (after all, did anyone love books or
writers more than Caesar?) but also the Roman soldiers, placing the blame
on the foreign auxiliaries. But Plutarch and Dio, who may be consulted on
the matter, write that the fire did not start during the sack. This, then, was the
end of the famous library, during the 183rd Olympiad, when it had existed for
almost 224 years.

2.10 Yet the library came to life again—not the exact same one (how could that
have happened?) but a very similar one, and it must have been located in the
same place: the Serapeum. The author of the restoration was Cleopatra, the
one famous because of her affair with Antony. She asked him for the Attalid
(or Pergamene) library as the inauguration and foundation, so to speak, of
the new work. Once she had received the whole as a gift and arranged its
transport, it was again enriched and enlarged, and even in Christian times it
was famous and thriving. Tertullian writes: Apolog.
ch. 18
Even now at the Serapeum, the library of Ptolemy together with the actual
Hebrew writings, is on display.

Take note that it was again in the Serapeum, that is to say, in the porticoes
of the Serapeum. This was near the port and the shipyards, as you can learn
from Strabo and others. Take note also that it is called the library of Ptolemy,
although it was not actually that famous library but a very similar one, and
although the original Hebrew books together with the Septuagint translation
had been lost in the fire. Nevertheless, the authority and reliability of that
library—apart from its antiquity—was so great that Tertullian would still
summon or sent off non-Christians there.

2.11 I believe that it existed as long as the Serapeum itself—a temple of immense Ruffin. 2
size and stunning craftsmanship. In the end, it was the Christians who tore ch. 23;
likewise
it down to its foundations during the reign of Theodosius the Elder, on the Socrates,
grounds that it was a citadel of superstition. The affair is reported on and Sozomen,
praised by the writers of ecclesiastical histories. and others

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 cap. iii.

Græcæ Bibliothecæ. Pisistrati & Aristotelis præcipuæ, itémque Byzantina.

3.1 Atqve ista de Ægypti Bibliothecis repperi, pauca & parua fortasse de multis
& magnis. Sed æuum scilicet absorpsit: quod & in Græciæ Bibliothecis liceat
accusare. De quibus nobilioribus, strictim Athenæus: vbi Laurentium suum 5
Lib. i ita in hoc studio parandorum librorum dilaudat, vt dicat eum,

Polycratem Samium, Pisistratum tyrannum, Euclidem Atheniensem,

Nicocratem Cyprium, Euripidem poëtam, Aristotelem philosophum supe-
rasse.

3.2 Et de omnibus istis singillatim non habeo dicere: nisi de Pisistrato, cui & 10
laudem primi auctoris in hoc studio Agellius adscripsit. Et sanè Polycrates
Lib. vi. æuo ferè concurrit. Sed Agellij verba:

Libros Athenis disciplinarum liberalium, publicè ad legendum præben-

dos, primus posuisse dicitur Pisistratus tyrannus.

Magnus vir (odiosum hoc modò cognomen tolle) & cui Homerum etiam 15
digestum & correctum numquam soluturi debemus. Adeò Critica hæc cura
olim Principum, imò Regum, fuit. Ea Bibliotheca ab ipsis deinde Athenien-
sibus variè aucta, donec spoliauit & auexit Xerxes, Athenarum potitus. Sed
Olymp. eosdem, *multis pòst annis, Seleucus Nicanor, Syriæ rex, liberaliter remit-
cxvii. tendos Athenas curauit, donauitq́ ue. Et mansisse deinde ad Sullæ tempora, 20
qui & ipse Athenas cepit, diripuit, afflixit: posteà tamen instauratam, iustè
opinor. quomodo enim mater artium, sine instrumento hoc librorum? Imò
plures ibi Bibliothecæ posteà:

7–9 Ath. Deip. 1.3a 13–14 Gell. na 7.17.1

2 præcipuè b5–6 10 de Pisistrato] Pisistrato a4–6 19 in marg. cxvii] 17 b5–6 22–80.3 Imò …
scriptum add. β : nihil habet α

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 chapter three

Greek Libraries, especially those of Pisistratus and Aristotle, and also a

Byzantine Library.

3.1 My findings about the libraries of Egypt are perhaps few and trivial in
comparison with the libraries themselves, which were numerous and grand.
But of course the passage of time has swallowed up much information. The
passage of time may also be blamed in the case of Greek libraries. Athenaeus
writes briefly concerning the more famous of these when he gives great
praise to his friend Larensius on his enthusiasm for collecting books. He
claims that he Book 1

has surpassed Polycrates of Samos, Pisistratus the Tyrant, Euclid of Ath-

ens, Nicocrates of Cyprus, Euripides the poet, and Aristotle the philoso-
pher.

3.2 I don’t have much to say about each of those men individually, except for
Pisistratus, whom Gellius honors as the first founder of a library. (And,
it is worth noting, Polycrates was from about the same era.) Yet Gellius
writes: Book 6

They say that the tyrant Pisistratus was the first to make literature pub-
licly available to be read in Athens.

He was a great man (just subtract the repellent epithet), and we could never
repay what we owe him for organizing and editing the books Homer. The
fact that he did so himself shows how great a concern literary criticism once
was for princes—even for kings. The Athenians themselves then enlarged
this library in various ways until Xerxes despoiled it and hauled it off with
him when he gained control of Athens. *Many years later Seleucus Nicanor, in the 117th
king of Syria, generously had those same books returned to Athens as a gift. I Olympiad
have reason to believe that they remained there until the time of Sulla, who
himself took Athens, sacked it, and razed it—yet I also believe the library
was afterwards restored. After all, how could Athens have been the mother
of the arts without the assistance of books? On the contrary, there were many
libraries there afterwards. Pausanias wrote that

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 80 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation

& Hadrianus Imp. Iouis Panellenij ædem Athenis struxit, & in eâ Biblio-
thecam,

Pausaniæ scriptum.

3.3 Sed de Euclide, quod ait Athenæus: hunc Archontem fuisse, inter primos eius
magistratus comperior: nec vltrà. 5

3.4 De Aristotele autem, Strabo magnificè in verbis, quæ suprà dedi: & addidi
ex Athenæo, Bibliothecam eius tandem ad Ptolomæos Reges venisse: etsi
Lib. xiii. Strabo atque alij videantur negare. Nam ille ita:

Libros Aristotelis, qui ad Neleum venissent, ad posteros deinde transmis-

sos, ineruditos homines; & qui sub clauibus eos, sine vsu vllo habuissent. 10
Denique sub terram conditos, à blattis & tineis vitiatos, tandem Apelli-
coni Teio magnâ pecuniâ addictos fuisse. Qui erosos lacerosq́ ue describi,
vulgari, etsi parum bonâ fide aut iudicio curasset. Eo autem mortuo, Sul-
lam Athenis potitum, eosdem libros suos fecisse, Romam misisse, ibíque
Tyrannionem Grammaticum ijs vsum, atque (vt fama est) intercidisse, 15
aut inuertisse.

3.5 Quibus similia aut eadem Plutarchus, in Sullâ. Quæ si vera, quomodo ad
Philadelphum à Neleo venerint, Athenæo suprà assertum? Nisi fortè (atque
ego arbitror) ipsos quidem Aristotelis libros, ab illo, inquam, scriptos Neleus
tenuerit, posterisq́ ue transmiserit, vt peculiarem thesaurum: at reliquam 20
vim alienorum scriptorum, vendiderit Philadelpho.

3.6 Neque memoratu digna alia de Græciæ Bibliothecis legere memini: &
Romani haud dubiè pleraque talia ad se transduxerunt, Græciâ iam potiti:
nisi placet Byzantinam his accensere, quæ Principum æuo fuit. Nam Zona-
ras & Cedrenus tradunt, Basilisci imperio, 25

1–2 Paus. Perieg. 1.18.9 4 hunc Archontem fuisse] Ath. Deip. 7.329c et 13.577b 6 quæ suprà
dedi] supra 2.1 7 Bibliothecam … venisse] Ath. Deip. 1.3a–b (supra 2.2) 9–16 Strabo Geog.
13.1.54 17 Plut. Sull. 26

8 in marg. xiii] 42 b5–6 12 describi] discribi b5–6

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 CHAPTER THREE 81

Emperor Hadrian built a temple to Panhellenic Jupiter at Athens, and in

it a library.

3.3 About Euclid I have found only what Athenaeus said: that he was an archon,
among the first holders of that magistracy. Nothing more.

3.4 About Aristotle, on the other hand, we find the (somewhat exaggerated)
words of Strabo, as I quoted above. I also added Athenaeus’s tale that Aris-
totle’s library eventually came into the hands of the Ptolemaic kings—
although Strabo and some other authorities seem to deny this. Strabo writes: Book 13

that the books of Aristotle, which had come to Neleus, later went to Neleus’
descendants, who were uneducated men. They kept them locked up with-
out making any use of them. Then the books were stored underground,
damaged by bookworms and insects, and finally sold to Apellicon of Teos
for a great fortune. He had the books copied, tattered and mangled as
they were, and published with little fidelity or acumen. When Apellicon
died and Sulla took control of Athens, he took the books for his own and
sent them to Rome where Tyrannio the grammaticus made use of them
and (rumor has it) tampered with or rearranged them.

3.5 Plutarch says the same or similar things in his Sulla. But if they are true, how
did the books come to Philadelphus from Neleus, as asserted by Athenaeus
above? Unless perhaps it happened (and I think it did) that Neleus kept
those books of Aristotle that were written by the man himself and gave them
to his descendants as an heirloom. Then he sold the remaining, substantial
quantity of books by other writers to Philadelphus.

3.6 I do not recall reading anything else noteworthy about the libraries of
Greece. Undoubtedly the Romans brought many such libraries back home
with them once they took control of Greece. Perhaps we should add here the
Library of Constantinople, which existed in the imperial period. Zonaras and
Cedrenus say that during the reign of Basiliscus

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82 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation

Bibliothecam ibi conflagrasse, in quâ centum viginti millia librorum es-

sent recondita: inter ea Draconis intestinum, cxx. pedes longum, cui
aureis litteris Homeri Ilias atque Odysséa fuerint inscripta.

Etsi hæc Thraciæ propriè, non Græciæ attribuenda.

1–3 Cedr. pg 121.669c–d (= 161.6–10 Bekker i) Zonar. Epit. hist. 14.2 (= pg 134.1212b–c = Malch.
fr. 11 Blockley)

4 propriæ a5–6

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CHAPTER THREE 83

a library burned there, in which there had been stored 120,000 books.
Among them was a scroll made from the gut of a snake, 120 feet long, on
which the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer had been written in golden letters.

Yet this library should properly be attributed to Thrace, not to Greece.

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 cap. iiii.

Attalica Bibliotheca, cui Eumenes auctor. Plinij & Vitruuij aliqua hîc fortè
inconsiderantia. Quanta, & quàm diu fuerit.

4.1 Sicvt & Attalica siue Pergamena, Asiæ: quæ proxima claritate ab illâ Ale-
xandrinâ fuit. Nam Attalici Reges, è paruis progressi, cùm societate opi- 5
busq́ ue Romanis creuissent: sedem regni Pergamum variè, tum & Bibliothe-
cis, exornarunt.
4.2
Eumenem, Attali Regis filium, auctorem huic rei Strabo prodidit:
Lib. xiii.

Eumenes, inquit, vrbem instruxit, & donarijs ac Bibliothecis, vti nunc est,
eleganter excoluit. 10

Lib. xiii. Et Plinius. qui scribit,

cap. xi.
æmulatione circa Bibliothecas Regum, Ptolomæi & Eumenis, suppri-
mente chartas Ptolomæo, membranas Pergami, vt Varro auctor est, reper-
tas.

Cui paria Hieronymus, in Epistolâ ad Chromatium, itemq́ ue Ælianus tradi- 15

derunt: sed Attalum, pro Eumene, nominantes. Enimuerò de neutro horum
satis conuenit, si tempora examinas: quoniam isti posteriores Philadelpho,
toto ferè sæculo, fuerunt. Quomodo igitur, quod Plinius ait, æmulatio inter
eos? Nisi hoc subuenit, Ptolomæum simpliciter nominari: qui alius à Phi-
ladelpho esse potuit, & Ptolomæus Quintus, cognomento Epiphanes, cum 20
Eumene vixit. Atque ille fortasse (quamquam de insigni eius studio in Biblio-
thecas nihil proditum) chartam suppressit, inuidiâ, ne alter veterem illam
nouâ suâ æquaret.

9–10 Strabo Geog. 13.4.2 12–14 Plin. hn 13.70 15 Hieronymus] Jer. Epist. 7.2

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 chapter four

The Attalid Library, of which Eumenes was the founder. There happens to be
some carelessness here in Pliny and Vitruvius. How large it was, and how long
it lasted.

4.1 It is likewise the case that the Attalid (or Pergamene) library would properly
be attributed to Asia. It was second in renown only to the great library
of Alexandria. The Attalid kings, having sprung from humble beginnings,
grew strong through an alliance with Rome (and through Roman wealth).
They beautified Pergamum, the seat of their kingdom, in many ways, but in
particular with libraries.

4.2 Strabo has reported that Eumenes, the son of King Attalus, was the source
of this project. Book 13

Eumenes, he said, built up the city and adorned it elegantly with temples
and libraries, as it is now.

Pliny concurs. He writes, Book 13

ch. 11
when there was a rivalry between King Ptolemy and King Eumenes over
their libraries, parchment was invented at Pergamum because Ptolemy
had suppressed the export of papyrus—so Varro tells us.

Jerome recounted something similar in a letter to Chromatius, and likewise

Aelian, though both of them wrote Attalus instead of Eumenes. In fact
neither of these is satisfactory if you consider the dates. Both men were later
than Philadelphus by almost a century, so how could there have been a rivalry
(as Pliny puts it) between them? Unless perhaps it will help us that they
simply call the Egyptian king Ptolemy, and so could have been referring to
a Ptolemy other than Philadelphus. It may also help that Ptolemy the Fifth,
also called Epiphanes, lived at the same time as Eumenes. Perhaps it was he
who suppressed the papyrus (although there is no evidence that he had any
special interest in libraries), and did so resenting that another king would
rival his venerable old library with some new one.

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 86 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation

4.3
Sed error siue inconspectio clarior in Vitruuio, qui his verbis scripsit :
Lib. vii.
initio.
Reges Attalici, magnis Philologiæ dulcedinibus inducti, cùm egregiam
Pergami Bibliothecam, ad communem delectionem, instituissent: tunc
item Ptolomæus, infinito zelo cupiditatisq́ ue studio incitatus, non minori-
bus industrijs, ad eumdem modum, contenderat Alexandriæ comparare. 5

Quid? vt Attalici reges ante Alexandrinos in hoc studio? vt exemplum ardo-

remque isti ab ijs sumpserint? Imò verò contrà fuit, & peregerant iam, cùm
nec illi cogitarent. Nisi & hîc placet de posteriore aliquo Ptolomæo adducere
& velare, sed velare.

4.4 Ceterùm Bibliotheca hæc nec copiâ, nec æuo, Alexandrinam æquauit. Nam 10
de vtroque isto Plutarchus scribit, Antonium iii. virum, fascinatum amori-
In M. Anto- bus Cleopatræ,
nio.
χαρίσασθαι μὲν αὐτῇ τὰς ἐκ Περγάμου βιβλιοθήκας, ἐν αἷς εἴκοσι μυριάδες
βιβλίων ἁπλῶν ἦσαν:

gratificatum ei Bibliothecam Pergami, in quâ essent ducenta millia sin- 15

gularium librorum,

id est voluminum. Hoc enim opinor ἁπλὰ βιβλία dici, cùm in vno volumine
plures sæpè libri: quos non vult in numerum hunc venire.

4.5 Ergo ea ipsa statim post Alexandrinam perijt, sed in eâ vixit: an & in loco
suo reuixit? Certè Strabonis suprà verba si attendis, significant: cùm ait, Vti 20
nunc est, excoluit. Quando nunc? Strabonis scribentis, id est, Tiberij æuo. Vt
appareat, aut reuectam ab Augusto victore esse, qui pleraque irrita Antonij
fecit; aut certè exscriptam iterùm, & instauratam. De quo, præter suspicari,
non equidem dicam.

2–5 Vitr. De arch. 7.pr.4 13–14 Plut. Ant. 58

1 scripsit] inscripsit b3–7 4 cupiditatisq́ ue] capiditatísque b2 9 sed velare] om. a5–6

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 CHAPTER FOUR 87

4.3 But the mistake (or oversight) is even more evident in Vitruvius, who wrote: Book 7
pref.
When the Attalid kings, attracted by the great pleasures of philology,
established an outstanding library at Pergamum as a public amenity,
then Ptolemy too, with boundless envy and goaded by eager desire, la-
bored with no less energy to furnish a library of the same stature at
Alexandria.

Could it be that the Attalid kings preceded the Alexandrian kings in found-
ing a library? Could it be that it was the Alexandrian kings who followed
the precedent and passion of the Attalids? On the contrary, it was the other
way around. The Alexandrian kings had already completed their library long
before the Attalid kings had even dreamed of one. Perhaps here too we might
postulate some later Ptolemy and paper over the problem—but this simply
papers over the problem.

4.4 In addition, the Attalid library equalled the Ptolemaic library neither in its
abundance nor in its age. We know this because regarding the size, Plutarch
writes that Antony the Triumvir, under the spell of his love for Cleopatra, In the
Antony
χαρίσασθαι μὲν αὐτῇ τὰς ἐκ Περγάμου βιβλιοθήκας, ἐν αἷς εἴκοσι μυριάδες
βιβλίων ἁπλῶν ἦσαν:

in order to gratify her, gave her the library of Pergamum, in which there
were 200,000 individual books,

that is, scrolls—for I think that this is what ἁπλὰ βιβλία means, since there
were often multiple books in a single scroll, and Plutarch did not mean for
all of those books to count towards the total.

4.5 Therefore the Pergamene library ceased to exist just after the Alexandrian
library did, and yet lived on within it. Or did it come to life again in its own
location? Certainly this is what the above words of Strabo mean, if you pay
close attention. When he says, he adorned it elegantly, as it is now, what does
he mean by now? Strabo must mean in the time that he himself was writing,
that is, in the age of Tiberius. As such, it would appear that Augustus brought
the library back to Pergamum following his victory, in the same way that he
undid most of Antony’s acts. At the very least the books were copied out
again and in that way the library restored. As to which of the scenarios was
the case, apart from speculating, I myself could not say.

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 cap. v.

Romanæ Bibliothecæ, priuatæ: & prima publica Asinij Pollionis.

5.1 Atqve hæ Bibliothecæ, quas memoratu dignas apud exteros repperi: venia-
mus ad Romanas, situ & æuo magis propinquas. Satis enim tarda ibi hæc
cura aut studium, apud Martis non Musarum proles: etsi, cum bono Deo, 5
hîc quoque cultus & elegantia denique inualuit, paruis primò initijs, vt solet.
Isidori notatio est:

Romam primus librorum copiam aduexit Æmilius Paullus, Perse Mace-

donum rege deuicto: deinde Lucullus è Ponticâ prædâ.

Duos nominat, qui libros aduexêre, sed publici vsus aut iuris non prorsus 10
fecêre.

5.2 Et de Æmilio, haud vltrà legi: de Lucullo, Plutarchus vbertim.

Laudanda eius impensa, inquit, & studium in libris. Nam & multos, &
eleganter scriptos, conquisiuit: eosque vt liberaliter parauit, ita etiam
vtendos dedit. Patebant enim omnibus Bibliothecæ, & in porticus adiec- 15
tas atque exedras Græci præsertim recipiebantur: qui velut ad Musarum
ædem eò ventitabant, tempusq́ ue inter se iucundè traducebant, ab alijs
curis liberi. Sæpè & ipse cum ijs versabatur, & philologis se immiscebat,
ad has porticus & ambulationes veniens.

Ex quibus vides, Illvstrissime Princeps, velut publicas fuisse has Biblio- 20

thecas, & quamquam ius mancipiumq́ ue sibi retineret, vsum tamen eruditis
concessisse: quod & benignè vos facere soletis.

8–9 Isid. Etym. 6.5.1 13–19 Plut. Luc. 42

6 hîc β : hic α

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 chapter five

Roman libraries: private ones; and the first public library, that of Asinius
Pollio.

5.1 So those are the libraries meriting mention that I have uncovered among
foreign nations. Let us now come to Roman libraries, which are closer to
us in location and time. The interest in, and passion for, libraries arose
relatively late among the Romans, who were the offspring of Mars after all,
and not of the Muses. Yet through God’s benevolence, sophistication and
elegance eventually blossomed here too, though from small beginnings (as
is generally the case). Isidore notes:

Aemilius Paullus first brought a collection of books to Rome, which he did

after he had defeated Perseus, king of the Macedonians; then Lucullus,
from his Pontic plunder.

Here Isidore names two men who brought books to Rome, but they did not
turn them over entirely to public use or ownership.

5.2 About Aemilius I have hardly read anything more; about Lucullus, Plutarch
goes on at length:

His expenditures and passion for his books are to be commended. He

sought many beautifully written books, and he allowed them to be used
with the same liberality with which he had acquired them. For his libraries
lay open to all, and the adjacent porticoes and exedras received the Greeks
in particular. Greeks would come again and again, as if into a Shrine of
the Muses, and would spend time together pleasantly among themselves,
free from their other obligations. Lucullus himself often spent his time
among them and mingled with the philologists, coming into the porticoes
and walkways.

From these words you can see, Most Illustrious Prince, that this arrange-
ment functioned much like a public library. Although he kept its title and
ownership to himself, he granted access to scholars, just as you are so gener-
ously accustomed to do.

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 90 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation

5.3 At verò tertium etiam his duobus licebat addere, Cornelium Sullam, posteà
Dictatorem: qui è Græciâ Athenisq́ ue magnam librorum vim traduxit, &
Aduersus Romæ deposuit ac disposuit: quod, præter Plutarchum, *Lucianus etiam
indoctum. scripsit.

5.4 Tamen his omnibus verè Publica Bibliotheca nondum structa: quam cogita- 5
tionem primus magnanimus & magnificus ille Iulius Cæsar concepit, ac, nisi
fata interpellassent, effecisset. Suetonius de eo:

Destinabat Bibliothecas Græcas & Latinas, quàm maximas posset, publi-

care, datâ M. Varroni curâ comparandarum ac dirigendarum.

O rem magni animi, atque item consilij! Nam quis in orbe terrarum huic 10
curæ aptior M. illo Varrone, doctissimo inter Græcos Latinosq́ ue?

5.5 Sed destinauit Cæsar, non perfecit: Augustus, adoptione filius, inter alia
ornamenta vrbis & imperij, hoc quoque plurifariàm adiunxit. Nam eo inui-
tante atque incitante, Asinius Pollio, orator & Senator nobilis, (Suetonio
narrante) Atrium Libertatis exstruxit, atque in eo Bibliothecam publicauit. 15
Isidorus:

Primus Romæ Bibliothecas publicauit Pollio, Græcas Latinasque, additis

auctorum imaginibus, in Atrio, quod de manubiis magnificentissimum
instruxerat.

Lib. De manubijs, inquit: nempe Dalmatarum, quos vicit. Item Plinius: 20

xxxiiii.
cap. ii.
Asinius Pollio, primus Bibliothecam dicando, ingenia hominum rem pu-
blicam fecit.

5.6 In Atrio Libertatis fuisse, id est in monte Auentino, ex istis constat: quod
tamen instructum aut reparatum ab eo magis dixerim, quàm exstructum.
Nam iamdiu antè id fuisse, & quidem à Tib. Graccho, patre Gracchorum, 25
Plutarchus atque alij scriptores dicunt. Itaque ipse refecit, & ad hunc vsum
iii. Trist. splendidè concinnauit. De eo Ouidius capiendus:
eleg. i.

2–3 Plut. Sull. 26 Lucian Ind. 4 8–9 Suet. Iul. 44.2 15 Suet. Aug. 29.5 17–19 Isid. Etym. 6.5.2
21–22 Plin. hn 35.10 26 Plutarchus] Ti. Gracch. 1

21 ingenia] ingenio a2 a4–6

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 CHAPTER FIVE 91

5.3 But it was possible to add also a third figure to the two above: Cornelius Sulla,
who was later Dictator. He took a massive collection of books from Greece
and Athens to Rome, where he deposited and organized them. In addition
to Plutarch, *Lucian also wrote about this fact. Against an
Ignorant
Book
5.4 Nevertheless, by all these men a truly public library had not yet been built. It
Collector
was Julius Caesar, the magnanimous and magnificent, who first conceived
of such a scheme. He would have completed it too, if the fates had not
intervened. Suetonius writes:

He was intending to make public the largest Greek and Latin libraries
possible, and put Varro in charge of acquiring and organizing them.

This was truly the work of a great mind, and likewise of great planning. After
all, who in all the world was more fit for the job than the famous Marcus
Varro, the greatest scholar among the Greeks and Romans?

5.5 But though Caesar planned it, he did not complete it. It was Augustus, his son
by adoption, who added this too among his many other embellishments to
the city and the empire in many places. At his invitation and urging, Asinius
Pollio, an orator and noble senator, erected the Atrium of Liberty (as Suetonius
tells it), and set up a public library in it. Isidore:

Pollio made the first public library at Rome, with Greek and Latin collec-
tions and portraits of the authors. He put it in the atrium that he had built
up most magnificently from his spoils.

He says from his spoils, and this must be from the Dalmatians, whom he
conquered. Likewise Pliny: Book 35
ch. 2
Asinius Pollio is the first man to make the genius of men public property
by dedicating a library.

5.6 We know from Isidore and Pliny that it was in the Atrium of Liberty, that is,
on the Aventine Hill. And I ought to emphasize that it was built up or rebuilt
by him, rather than simply built from scratch. Plutarch and other writers say
that it had already existed, indeed from the time of Tiberius Gracchus, father
of the Gracchi. So Pollio restored it, and harmonized it splendidly to its new
purpose. Ovid must be understood to be writing about this: 3rd Trist.
elegy 1

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92 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation

Nec me, quæ doctis patuerunt prima libellis,

Atria Libertas tangere passa sua est.

Non enim viros doctos audio, qui hæc ad λέσχην, siue conuentum poëtarum,
ducunt. Palàm libellus conqueritur, non receptum se in Bibliothecam Asinij,
quæ prima patuit, siue publicata est, doctis libris. 5

1–2 Ovid Trist. 3.1.71–72

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CHAPTER FIVE 93

Nor did Liberty allow me to touch her atrium,

which first lay open for learned books.

For I disagree with the scholars who take the term atrium here to refer to a
λέσχην, or meeting place of poets. The little book complains unambiguously
that it was not received into the library of Asinius Pollio, the first which lay
open, or was made public, for learned books.

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 cap. vi.

Augusti, Octauia; itémque Palatina. Præfecti & custodes ijs.

6.1 Atqve hæc igitur sub Augusto prima Publica fuit: duæ mox aliæ, ab ipso.
Prior, Octauia: quam sororis suæ memoriæ & nomini dedicauit. De eâ Dio
Lib. xlix. Cassius, in actis anni dccxxi. 5

Augustus Porticus & Bibliothecas, à sororis nomine Octauias dictas, ex-

struxit.

In Etsi Plutarchus tamen in ipsam Octauiam transscribere hoc opus videtur:

Marcello.
Εἰς δὲ τιμὴν αὐτοῦ (Μαρκέλλου) καὶ μνήμην Ὀκταβία μὲν ἡ μήτηρ τὴν
βιβλιοθήκην ἀνέθηκεν, Καίσαρ δὲ θέατρον, ἀναγράψας Μαρκέλλου: 10

In honorem ac memoriam defuncti Marcelli mater Octauia Bibliothecam

dedicauit, Cæsar Augustus Theatrum, Marcelli nomine inscriptum.

Falli Plutarchum opinor: quia Dionis quidem notatio totis decem annis
citerior est Marcelli morte. Atque addit, ex Dalmatarum manubijs opera
ea structa: miro concursu, vt prima atque altera Bibliotheca genti Barbaræ 15
debeantur.

6.2 De hac & Suetonius, in Melisso Grammatico:

Citò manumissus, Augusto etiam insinuatus est, quòd eleganter curam

ordinandarum Bibliothecarum in Octauiæ porticu suscepit.

Nota, in ipsâ Porticu fuisse: quomodo? superiore eius parte, vti arbitror, tutò 20
& decorè: cùm inferior ambulationi modò esset.

6–7 Cass. Dio Hist. 49.43.8 9–10 Plut. Marc. 30 18–19 Suet. dgr 21.3

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 chapter six

The Libraries of Augustus: the Octavian Library and the Palatine Library.
Their managers and custodians.

6.1 So the first public library arose in the time of Augustus, and two others soon
followed, which Augustus built himself. The first of these was the Octavian
library, which he dedicated in the name and memory of his sister. In his
account of the events of the 721st year of the city, Dio Cassius wrote about Book 49
this library:

Augustus built porticoes and a library, both called “Octavian” after his
sister.

Yet Plutarch seems to attribute the complex to Octavia herself: In the

Marcellus
Εἰς δὲ τιμὴν αὐτοῦ (Μαρκέλλου) καὶ μνήμην Ὀκταβία μὲν ἡ μήτηρ τὴν
βιβλιοθήκην ἀνέθηκεν, Καίσαρ δὲ θέατρον, ἀναγράψας Μαρκέλλου:

In honor and memory of the deceased Marcellus, his mother Octavia

dedicated a library, and Augustus Caesar a theater, inscribed with the
name of Marcellus.

Here, I think Plutarch is wrong, since Dio’s notice puts the construction a
whole ten years before the death of Marcellus. Dio adds that the complex
was built from the Dalmatian spoils. It is a miraculous coincidence that the
first and second libraries of Rome are owed to a barbarian nation.

6.2 In regard to this library, Suetonius also writes in Melissus the Grammaticus:

He was soon freed, and became close to Augustus too, because he executed
with sophistication the job of arranging the libraries of Octavia’s Portico.

Note that the library was in the portico itself. How would that have worked?
The library was located safely and elegantly in its upper storey, I think, since
the lower would be used only for walking.

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 96 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation

6.3
De hac Ouidius item sensit:
iii. Trist.
eleg. i.
Altera templa peto, vicino iuncta theatro:
Hæc quoque erant pedibus non adeunda meis.

Nam & ab hac Bibliothecâ spretum se libellus queritur: & locum vbi fuerit,
designat. Quem? vicinum Theatro Marcelli. Templa autem dicit, quia in hac 5
Porticu Iunonis ædes fuit, & nobiles in eâ statuæ: quod Plinius dicet.

6.4 Altera porrò ab eodem Augusto Bibliotheca est, Palatina, à loco dicta: quia
Cap. xxix. in ipso Palatio. Suetonius:

Templum Apollinis in eâ parte Palatinæ domus excitauit, quam fulmine

ictam desiderari à Deo haruspices responderant. Additæ Porticus, cum 10
Bibliothecâ Latinâ Græcáque.

Id factum anno Vrbis dccxxvi. vt ex Dionis liii. initio discas.

6.5 Itaque temporum ordinem in Bibliothecis recensendis Ouidius secutus est,

cùm primò Asiniam, tum Octauiam, denique istam Palatinam sic adnum-
erat: 15

Inde timore pari gradibus sublimia celsis

Ducor ad intonsi candida templa Dei.
Signa peregrinis vbi sunt alterna columnis,
Belides, & stricto barbarus ense pater.
Quæq́ ue viri docto veteres fecêre nouiq́ ue 20
Pectore, lecturis inspicienda patent.
Quærebam fratres, exceptis scilicet illis,
Quos suus optaret non genuisse pater:
Quærentem frustrà, custos, & sedibus illis
Præpositus, sancto iussit abire loco. 25

2–3 Ovid Trist. 3.1.69–70 6 Plinius] hn 36.35 9–11 Suet. Aug. 29.3 12 Cass. Dio Hist. 53.1.3
16–25 Ovid Trist. 3.1.59–68

5–6 Templa … dicet β : Nam quòd Templa appellat, nihil est: & Loca intellegit tantum, publico
vsui consecrata. Etsi in templis, aut iuxtà, sæpè fuisse, alia ostendunt: sed hîc tale non legi α

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 CHAPTER SIX 97

6.3 Ovid also knew about this library: 3rd Trist.

elegy 1
I make my way to other temples, joined to a nearby theater:
These temples also could not be approached by my feet.

His book of poetry complains about being rejected by this library too, and
in doing so reveals where it was. Where? Near the Theater of Marcellus. He
says temples because inside the portico was a Temple of Juno, which held
some famous statues, as Pliny informs us.

6.4 The same emperor soon built a second library, which was called the Palatine
Library after its location, since it was right on the Palatine Hill. Suetonius
writes: Ch. 29

He erected a temple of Apollo in that part of his Palatine home which,

having been struck by lightning, the haruspices had declared was desired
by the god. Porticoes were added on with a Latin and Greek library.

That happened in the 726th year of the city, as you can learn from the
beginning of Dio’s 53rd book.

6.5 So Ovid followed chronological order in reviewing the libraries when he

enumerated first the Asinian, then the Octavian, then finally the Palatine
library, as follows:

From there with equal fear I am led up to the gleaming temple / of the
unshorn god, lofty on its high steps, / where there are statues alternating
with foreign columns: / the Belides, and their barbarian father with his
sword drawn. / Whatever the scholarly intellects of ancient or modern
men have created, / lay open to be viewed by those who come to read. /
I was looking for my brothers, obviously except those ones, / whose own
father wishes he had not begotten them. / While I searched in vain, the
custodian in charge of that place ordered me to depart from the holy
grounds.

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 98 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation

6.6 Præter alia, ostendit & Præpositum siue Custodem huic loco fuisse: quem
Suetonius facit C. Iulium Higinum. Is in Grammaticis celebris, præfuit, vt
inquit, Palatinæ Bibliothecæ; nec eò secius plurimos docuit. Imò seorsim
Græca custodem suum habuit, & Latina. In marmore prisco:

antiochvs. ti. clavdI. caesaris. a. bibliotheca. latina. 5

apollinis.

In alio:

c. ivlivs. falyx. a. bibliotheca. graeca. palat.

Et similes alibi inscriptiones.

6.7
Huius Bibliothecæ meminit & Plinius: 10
Lib.
xxxiiii.
cap. vii. Videmus Apollinem in Bibliothecâ templi Augusti Thuscanicum, quin-
quaginta pedum à pollice.

Etsi possis referre etiam ad Vespasiani Augusti Bibliothecam, quæ in Pacis

Lib. vii. templo fuit. Apertiùs de Palatinâ, idem Plinius alibi:
cap. lviii.
Veteres Græcas litteras fuisse easdem pænè, quæ nunc sunt Latinæ, indi- 15
cio erit Delphica tabula antiqui æris, quæ est hodie in Palatio, dono Prin-
cipum Mineruæ dicata, in Bibliothecâ.

6.8 Hanc diutissimè Romæ mansisse, inducor credere verbis Io. Sarisberiensis,
Lib. ii. De qui scribit:
nug. Cur.
Doctorem sanctissimum illum Gregorium, non modò Mathesim pepulisse 20
ab Aulâ, sed vt traditur à maioribus, incendio dedisse probatæ lectionis

Scripta, Palatinus quæcumque recepit Apollo.

2–3 Suet. dgr 20.2 5–6 cil 6.5884 8 cil *6.3047 11–12 Plin. hn 34.43 15–17 Plin. hn
7.210 20–100.2 John of Salis. Policr. 2.26 22 Hor. Epist. 1.3.17

10 in marg. cap. vii β : cap. xxvii α

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 CHAPTER SIX 99

6.6 Aside from the other things, the above shows that there was a manager
or custodian for the place. Suetonius gives the man’s name as Gaius Julius
Hyginus. Hyginus, famous among grammarians, was in charge, as Suetonius
says, of the Palatine Library, and nonetheless he taught quite a few people.
Actually, the Greek library separately had its own custodian, as did the Latin.
On an ancient marble is the inscription:

antiochus, slave of tiberius claudius caesar, of the

latin library of apollo.

On another:

gaius julius falyx, of the palatine greek library.

And there are similar inscriptions elsewhere.

6.7 Pliny also mentions this library: Book 34

ch. 7
We see a Tuscan Apollo in the library of Augustus’s temple, measuring
fifty feet high.

Though this could also refer to the library of Vespasian Augustus, which was
in the Temple of Peace. The same Pliny elsewhere makes a clearer reference
to the Palatine Library: Book 7
ch. 58
As evidence that the ancient letters of Greek were almost the same as the
letters of Latin are now, there is a Delphic tablet of ancient bronze. It is
now in the library on the Palatine, dedicated as a gift of the princes to
Minerva.

6.8 I am inclined to believe that this library survived at Rome for a very long
time, in view of the report of John of Salisbury, who writes that: Book 2 On
the Trif. of
Cour.
That most holy scholar, the famous Gregory, not only banned astrology
from the court but, as has been passed down from our ancestors, he also
burned

“The writings, whatever Palatine Apollo has received”

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100 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation

In quibus erant præcipua, quæ cælestium mentem, & superiorum ora-

cula hominibus videbantur reuelare.

Notandum.

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CHAPTER SIX 101

of respected books. Particularly among them were those that seemed to

reveal to mortals the intent of celestial bodies and the oracles of divine
beings.

This is an incident worth highlighting.

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 cap. vii.

Tiberij, Traiani, Vespasiani, item Capitolina: aliæ ignotæ.

7.1 Ab Augusto igitur, artium ingeniorumq́ ue amantissimo Principe, duæ istæ

fuerunt. quid ab alijs? aliæ. Videtur enim certamen in hac re Principum
fuisse, & velut contendisse de palmâ. 5

7.2 Ecce Tiberius statim ab Augusto, in ipso Palatio etiam struxit, eâ parte quâ
Viam Sacram spectat. Nam illîc Tiberij domum fuisse, curiosi talium hodie
Lib. xiii. autumant: & in domo eius hæc locatur. Ab Agellio :
cap. xviii.
Cùm in domus Tiberianæ Bibliothecâ sederemus, ego & Apollinaris.

In Probo. A Vopisco item: 10

qui vsum se scribit libris è Bibliothecâ Vlpiâ, item ex domo Tiberianâ.

7.3 Videtur & Vespasianus deinde struxisse, & adiunxisse templo Pacis. de quâ
Lib. xvi. Agellius:
cap. viii.
Commentarium L. Ælij, qui Varronis magister fuit, studiosè quæsiuimus,
eumq́ ue in Pacis Bibliothecâ repertum legimus. 15

Lib. i. Meminitq́ ue & Galenus, De composit. medicamentorum.

7.4
Fuit item à Traiano alia. de quâ etiam Agellius:
Lib. ii. cap.
xxvii.
Sedentibus fortè nobis in Bibliothecâ templi Traiani.

9 Gell. na 13.20.1 11 sha Prob. 2.1 14–15 Gell. na 16.8.2 16 Galenus] 13.362 Kühn 18 Gell.
na 11.17.1

2 Capitolinæ b5–6

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 chapter seven

The Libraries of Tiberius, Trajan, and Vespasian, and also a Capitoline

library; others unknown.

7.1 So then, those two libraries were established by Augustus, an emperor who
was the greatest lover of the arts and of writers. What libraries were built by
others? Others. There seems to have been a contest among the emperors on
this point, almost as if they were competing for a prize.

7.2 Consider Tiberius, successor of Augustus. He also built a library right on the
Palatine, on the part of the hill overlooking the Sacred Way. You see, that’s
where the Tiberian House was, according to those who study such matters,
and the library is located in his house. From Gellius: Book 13
ch. 18
When Apollinaris and I were sitting in the library of the Tiberian House
…

Likewise from Vopiscus, who writes: In the

Probus
that he himself used the books from the Ulpian Library, and likewise from
the Tiberian House.

7.3 Vespasian too, it seems, then built a library, which he added to the Temple of
Peace. On this we have Gellius: Book 16
ch. 8
I eagerly set out to find a commentary by Lucius Aelius, Varro’s teacher,
and read it once I had found it in the Library of Peace.

Galen also mentions it in On the Composition of Medicines. Book 1

7.4 Trajan built another library. About this one Gellius also gives evidence: Book 2
ch. 27
When we happened to be sitting in the library of the Temple of Trajan …

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 104 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation

Atque est eadem, quæ à gentili Principis eius nomine, Vlpia passim nomi-
In natur. Vopiscus:
Aureliano.
Hæc ego à grauibus viris comperi, & in Vlpiæ Bibliothecæ libris relegi.

Iterumq́ ue:

Et si his contentus non fueris, lectites Græcos, linteos etiam libros requiras, 5
quos Vlpia tibi Bibliotheca, cùm volueris, ministrabit.

7.5 Hanc in foro Traiani initiò fuisse, vbi Principis eius alia opera, facilè per-
suadeor: sed æuo mutasse, & translatam in collem Viminalem, ad ornandas
Diocletiani Thermas, (an ab ipso Diocletiano?) Vopiscus inducit.

Vsus sum, inquit, præcipuè libris ex Bibliothecâ Vlpiâ, ætate meâ Thermis 10
Diocletianis.

Cùm disertè de suâ dicit, ostendit igitur, aliâ ætate aliter fuisse.

7.6 Reperio & Capitolinam, in vrbe. de quâ Eusebius, in rebus Commodi Impe-
ratoris:

In Capitolium fulmen ruit, & magnâ inflammatione factâ, Bibliothecam, 15

& vicinas quasque ædes, concremauit.

Lib. vii. Vberiùs hoc ipsum ita Orosius:

cap. xvi.
Flagitia regis pœna vrbis insequitur. Nam fulmine Capitolium ictum, ex
quo facta inflammatio Bibliothecam illam, maiorum studio curáque
compositam, ædésque alias iuxtà sitas, rapaci turbine concremauit. 20

3 sha Aurel. 24.7 5–6 sha Aurel. 1.10 10–11 sha Prob. 2.1 15–16 Euseb. Chron. p. 209 Helm
18–20 Oros. Hist. adu. pag. 7.16.3 (cf. John of Salis. Policr. 2.8.19)

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 CHAPTER SEVEN 105

This is the same library, by the way, that is sometimes called the Ulpian
Library, taking its name from the emperor’s clan name. Vopiscus writes: In the
Aurelian
I have learned these things from serious men, and I have read of them in
the books of the Ulpian Library.

And again:

And if you are not satisfied with these, you could read over the Greek
books—you could even request the linen books—which the Ulpian Li-
brary will provide whenever you desire.

7.5 I am easily persuaded that this library was originally in the Forum of Trajan,
where the other monuments of that emperor were. But Vopiscus leads me
to believe that the location changed in time, and that the library was taken
to the Viminal Hill in order to adorn the Baths of Diocletian (perhaps by
Diocletian himself?).

I chiefly used, he says, the books from the Ulpian Library, which in my day
are in the Baths of Diocletian.

Because he so clearly distinguishes his own time, he shows that it was other-
wise in another time.

7.6 I have also discovered a Capitoline Library in the city. In recounting the
events reign of Emperor Commodus, Eusebius writes this about the library:

Lightning crashed down onto the Capitoline, and a great conflagration

arose. The fire completely consumed the library and the surrounding
buildings.

Orosius writes at greater length on the same subject as follows: Book 7

ch. 16
The punishment of the city followed fast on the crimes of the king. The
Capitoline was struck with lightning and a conflagration arose. The fire
consumed in an all-devouring whirlwind the famous library, built by
the great effort and care of our ancestors, and other buildings situated
nearby.

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 106 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation

7.7 Quis tamen eius auctor? adserere haud liceat, diuinare libeat, Domitianum
fuisse. Nam ille, seruatus olim in Capitolio, templum ibi Princeps struxit:
quid si & hanc Bibliothecam? Etsi nemo tradidit, qui nunc exstant: Sueto-
Cap. xx. nius hoc tantùm de eo vniversè:

Bibliothecas incendio absumptas impensissimè reparari curauit, exem- 5

plaribus vndique petitis, missisq́ ue Alexandriam, qui describerent emen-
daréntque.

Vbi obserues, etiamtunc illam Alexandrinam velut originem & matricem

aliarum habitam, & has corruptas ex eâ iterùm refectas & adornatas.

7.8 Amplius, Principum studio ab interitu vindicatas: quod nisi fuisset, quo- 10
modo tam multæ illæ ad P. Victoris, id est Constantini æuum, venissent?
Nam ille sic inter singularia vrbis notat:

Bibliothecæ publicæ, vndetriginta. ex ijs præcipuæ duæ, Palatina & Vlpia.

Heu, quàm etiam à memoriâ perierunt! nam ex illis xxix. vix septem indu-
stria nostra indagare potuit, & nomina saltem ab obliuione vindicare. 15

5–7 Suet. Dom. 20 13 Bibliothecæ publicæ vndetriginta] Regionarii Nordh 1949: 97

6 describerent] discriberent b5–6 8 etiamtunc] etiumtum b5–6 13 vndetriginta ex ijs. b4

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 CHAPTER SEVEN 107

7.7 Yet who was the founder of this library? Although we can hardly assert it, we
can happily guess that it was Domitian. He was saved once on the Capitoline
Hill, and so as emperor built a temple there. What if he added a library too?
Yet no one has recorded it, of those whose works are extant, and Suetonius
only says this about him generally: Ch. 20

He had the libraries that were destroyed by fire restored at very great ex-
pense. Exemplars for copies were sought from everywhere, and men were
sent to Alexandria to make copies and corrections.

You might here observe that even at that time the great Alexandrian library
was thought of as the origin and broodmare of all the others. When these
libraries were damaged, it was from her that they were again restored and
refurbished.

7.8 Notice further that it was because of the efforts of the emperors that those
libraries were saved from ruin. If that had not happened, how could so
many libraries have survived to the time of Publius Victor in the age of
Constantine? He notes among the marvels of the city:

Public libraries: twenty-nine; two among them especially outstanding: the

Palatine and the Ulpian.

Can you believe how they have been lost even to memory? Out of those 29
my own research has barely been able to track down seven, whose names (at
least) it has been possible to rescue from oblivion.

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 cap. iix.

Tiburtina, & quædam etiam Priuatorum vberiores. Habebant in Balneis,

atque item in agris.

8.1 Plvres, inquam, Publicas non eruo: non quidem in vrbe. iuxta eam, Tiburi,
Lib. ix. cap. etiam vnam. De quâ Agellius: 5
xiiii.
Meminimus in Tiburti Bibliothecâ inuenire nos in eodem Claudij libro
scriptum.

Lib. xix. Iterumq́ ue:

cap. v.
Promit è Bibliothecâ Tiburti, quæ tunc in Herculis templo instructa satis
commodè erat. 10

Hîc & alibi de Templis adnotes, & ferè iuxta ea aut in illis fuisse. Quídni,
sacra illa ingeniorum opera, in locis sacratis? Fortassis autem Hadrianus
Imp. illam Tibure instruxit, quem eo loco & secessu impensè delectatum
constat, variaq́ ue & ampla inædificasse. Etsi mihi certum, alijs municipijs
colonijsq́ ue Bibliothecas sparsas fuisse, æquè atque artium istum cultum. 15
Sed & priuatim viri diuites, vsus & famæ caussâ, sibi pararunt: & nobiles ex
ijs quasdam.

8.2 Sicut Tyrannio Grammaticus, Sullæ temporibus: qui tria millia librorum pos-
sedit.

8.3 Sicut Epaphroditus Chæronéus, item Grammaticus professione. quem Suidas 20

tradit,

6–7 Gell. na 9.14.3 9–10 Gell. na 19.5.4 18 tria millia librorum] Suda τ 1184 Adler

5 in marg. cap. xiiii.] cap. 45 b5–6 18–19 Sicut … possedit add. β : nihil habet α 20
Epaphroditus Chæronéus item β : ille Epaphroditus Chæronéus α

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 chapter eight

A library at Tivoli, and also some quite extensive private libraries. The
Romans had them in baths, and also in country estates.

8.1 I have not unearthed any more public libraries, at least not in Rome. Near the
city, in Tivoli, I did find one more, however. On this library Gellius writes: Book 9
ch. 14
I recall that in the library at Tivoli we found it written in the same book of
Claudius.

And again: Book 19

ch. 5
He took it out of the library at Tivoli, which at that time had been set up
quite conveniently in the Temple of Hercules.

Here (and elsewhere) you might notice concerning temples that libraries
were usually in or next to them. Why not house the sacred works of writers
in sacred spaces? Perhaps it was Emperor Hadrian who built that library at
Tivoli. After all, it is known that he took enormous pleasure in that area as
a retreat, erecting many kinds of magnificent buildings there. And yet, I am
quite convinced that there were libraries scattered in many other cities and
towns, and that such cultivation of the arts was widespread. Rich men had
also furnished themselves private libraries—both for their own use and to
enhance their reputation. Some of these libraries were quite notable.

8.2 One such case was Tyrannio the grammaticus, in the time of Sulla, who
owned 3,000 books.

8.3 Another was Epaphroditus of Chaeronea, likewise a grammaticus by profes-

sion. Suidas records

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 110 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation

sub Nerone ad Neruam Romæ vixisse: & adsiduè libros ementem, vsque
ad triginta millia collegisse, optimorum quidem & selectorum.

Laudo hoc vltimum: nec tam copiam quæri, quàm bonitatem, cum dilectu.
Optarim hunc fuisse, qui Epictetum, apicem veræ Philosophiæ, in seruis
habuerit: & æuum consentit: sed titulus & munus vitæ dissentit, cùm iste 5
Grammaticus fuerit, alter è custodibus corporum Neronis, eodem Suidâ pro-
dente.

8.4 Sed quisquis iste, superauit eum Sammonicus Serenus in hoc studio: qui
Bibliothecam habuit, in quâ sexagintaduo millia librorum censebantur.

8.5 Is moriens eam reliquit Gordiano minori, qui gustauit Imperium: Capitolino 10
traditum, cum hoc elogio:

Quod Gordianum quidem ad cælvm tvlit. siquidem tantæ Biblio-

Legi thecæ copiâ & splendore donatus, in famam *hominum litteratorum
malim: decorè peruenit.
hominum,
litterato-
rum ore Vide Illvstrissime Princeps, quàm hæc cura gratiam famamq́ ue pariat, 15
peruenit. vobis magnis insatiabiliter parandam.

8.6 Atque hi, aut pauci alij, proditi sunt insigniores Bibliothecas habuisse. plures
tamen fuêre: & Seneca commune hoc studium iamtunc suo æuo ostendit, &
damnat. Damnat. quare?

De Non enim in studium, inquit, sed in spectaculum comparabant. sicut 20

Tranquil. plerisque ignaris etiam seruilium litterarum, libri non studiorum instru-
ca. ix.
menta, sed cænationum ornamenta sunt.

Et mox addit:

1–2 sub … selectorum] Suda ε 2004 Adler 6 custodibus corporum Neronis] Suda ε 2424
Adler 9 sha Gord. 18.2 12–14 sha Gord. 18.3 20–22 Sen. Tranq. 9.5

10 Imperium Capitolino b2 12 tantæ] tanta b7 13–14 *hominum litteratorum decorè]

*hominum ore litteratorum decorè a4–6 14 decorè] decore b7

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 CHAPTER EIGHT 111

that he lived at Rome from the time of Nero to the time of Nerva, and was
constantly buying books; that he collected up to 30,000 of them, which
were actually of the best, most select kind.

I applaud that last part, that he did not seek quantity so much as quality,
collecting discerningly. I wish I could say that this was the Epaphroditus
who had among his slaves Epictetus, a man who was the pinnacle of true
philosophy. The era is right, but his title and profession are not. You see, this
Epaphroditus was a grammaticus, but the other Epaphroditus was one of the
bodyguards of Nero, as that same Suidas reports.

8.4 Sammonicus Serenus outdid that Epaphroditus, whoever he was, in the gath-
ering of books. He had a library in which there were numbered 62,000 books.

8.5 Upon his death, he left his library to Gordian the Younger, briefly emperor.
Capitolinus passed down that fact along with the following epigram:

As for Gordian, he was immortalized because, endowed with the glorious

abundance of such a library, he rightly achieved fame among *schol-
ars. I prefer the
reading he
achieved
See then, Most Illustrious Prince, how a library produces gratitude and
fame
fame, which great men such as yourself must strive with insatiable hunger among
to secure. men
through the
8.6 And so the above men, and perhaps a few others as well, are reputed to words of
the
have possessed quite excellent libraries. Yet there were more, and Seneca scholars.
shows that they were already common in his era—a thing he condemns. He
condemns. Why?

For they were furnishing libraries, he says, not for study but for show. On
To many men, for instance, who are ingorant even of the servile arts, Tranquil.
ch. 9
books are not the instruments of erudition but rather the ornaments of
the dining room.

And shortly after he adds:

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 112 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation

Apud desidiosissimos ergo videbis, quidquid orationum historiarúmque

est, & tecto tenus exstructa loculamenta. Iam enim inter balnearia &
thermas, Bibliotheca quoque, vt necessarium domus instrumentum,
expolitur.

Malè, fateor: & vtinam tamen nostri diuites sic lasciuiant! semper cum alieno 5
aliquo, si non suo, vsu & bono.

8.7 Obseruare autem hîc est de Balneis & Thermis etiam: sicut suprà notauimus,
illam Vlpiam in Diocletiani Thermis dicatam. Cur autem ibi? credo, quia
corpori curando otiosè tunc vacabant: & igitur occasio erat legendi aliquid,
hominibus aliâs occupatis, vel audiendi. 10

8.8 Enimuerò etiam in Villis & Prætorijs passim habebant: ab eâdem hac, otij &
vacationis ibi, caussâ. Ad quem morem Pauli Icti responsum dirigitur:

Fundo legato libros quoque & Bibliothecas, quæ in eodem fundo sunt,
legato contineri.

Lib. ii. Plinius de suâ villâ: 15

epist. xvii.
Parieti, in Bibliothecæ speciem, armarium inseritur.

Martialis, alterius cuiusdam Iulij Martialis, villaticam Bibliothecam com-

Lib. vii. mendat:

Ruris Bibliotheca delicati,

Vicinam videt vnde lector vrbem, 20
Inter carmina sanctiora siquis
Lasciuæ fuerit locus Thaliæ,
Hos nido licet inseras vel imo,
Septem quos tibi misimus libellos.

1–4 Sen. Tranq. 9.7 7 suprà notauimus] supra 7.5 13–14 Julius Paulus Sent. 3.6.51 (cf. Digesta
33.7.12.34) 16 Plin. Epist. 2.17.8 19–24 Mart. Ep. 7.17.1–6

20 videt vnde] vnde videt a5–6

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 CHAPTER EIGHT 113

Among men of the laziest sort, therefore, you will see everything that
exists of speeches and histories, and bookcases built up to the ceiling. Now
in between the baths and the hot baths, a library is also flaunted as a
necessary provision for the home.

Poor form, I admit. And yet, if only our rich men misbehaved in the same
way! A library is always of good use to someone, if not to oneself.

8.7 In addition, here we may also observe what he says about baths and hot baths
as well. As we noted above, the famous Ulpian Library was given over to
the Baths of Diocletian. Why there? It seems to me that while bathing there
would be time at rest for the care of the body, so there would also have been
the opportunity to read something for people too busy at other times, or at
least to listen.

8.8 The Romans even had libraries here and there in villas and country palaces
for the same reason: the leisure and free time available there. A response of
Paulus the Jurisconsult is directed to this custom:

When an estate is bequeathed, the books and bookcases that are in that
estate are encompassed by the bequest.

Pliny writes about his own villa: Book 2

epist. 17
a bookcase is built into the wall in the likeness of a library.

Martial commends the villa library of a certain other Julius Martial: Book 7

O library of an exquisite country house,

Whence the reader beholds the nearby city,
If there is any place among your rather sacred poems
For my lascivious Thalia,
May you stick into a compartment, even the lowest one,
These seven little books, which I have sent to you.

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 cap. ix.

Ornatus Bibliothecarum, ebore & vitro. Armaria, & Foruli, & Plutei, & Cunei.

9.1 Peregi de Bibliothecis: & produxi, quas æuum quidem non subduxit. Vt
rem dicam, paucas è multis: & stillicidium de situlâ, veteri verbo: tamen vel
hæc satis ad stimulum, & exemplum. An & addam aliquid de ornatu earum 5
siue instructo? fiat.

9.2 In Isidoro lego:

Peritiores architectos neque aurea lacunaria ponenda in Bibliothecis pu-

tasse: neque pauimenta alia, quàm è Carystio marmore. quòd auri fulgor
hebetet, & Carystij viriditas, reficiat oculos. 10

Bono hoc iudicio iste, siue à quo hausit. Nam de fulgore, certum est &
mihi compertum, intentioni & stilo officere: sicut de virore, liquet oculis
recreandis esse.

9.3 Boëtius hoc amplius in Consolatione suggerit:

comptos ebore & vitro parietes fuisse. 15

Quid, parietes laterales? non ergo Armaria aut Plutei ad parietes (neque
enim conspicuus sic ille ornatus fuisset) sed in medio disposita, vt hodie
quoque publicæ ferè Bibliothecæ vsurpant. Sanè Vitra olim in quadras,

4 stillicidium de situlâ] Isaiah 40:15 8–10 Isid. Etym. 6.11.2 15 Boeth. De cons. phil. 1.prose5.6

16–116.19 Quid … aptantur β : Quomodo ebore? nempe vt ipsa Armaria siue Loculi, fuerint
eburna. Luxus an elegantia veterum ita habuit: & in Legum libris hodieq́ ue legimus: Biblio-
theca aliâs Locum significat, aliâs Armarium. sicut cùm dicimus, Eboream Bibliothecam emit
(l. lii. §. sed si Biblioth. De Legat. iii.). Armaria igitur ex ebore: sed Vitrum cui rei? Opinor,
ipsa Armaria antrorsus & in fronta clausa vitro fuisse: vt & à sordibus libri immunes præsta-
rentur, & tamen nobiles ac conspicui per vitrum aduentoribus essent. Nos etiam in Armariis
quibusdam, vbi sacra aut eorum reliquiæ, vsurpamus α

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 chapter nine

The decoration of libraries, with ivory and glass. Armaria, and Foruli, and
Plutei, and Cunei.

9.1 I have now completed the part about specific libraries and presented those
that time has not entirely obscured. As I may say of the matter, they are few
out of many, and a drop in the bucket, as the old saying goes. Nevertheless,
even these few are enough of an inspiration and an example. Shall I also add
something about their décor and furnishing? So be it.

9.2 I read in Isidore:

that the more experienced architects have thought golden ceiling-tiles

ought not be installed in libraries, nor that there ought to be any tiles
except of Carystian marble. The glint of gold blinds the eyes, but the green
of Carystian marble refreshes them.

Isidore was a man of good judgment in this (him, or the man from whom
he gathered his information). As to the glint of gold, I can certainly confirm
myself that it is an obstacle to concentration and to composition. Likewise
concerning the green: it has a restorative effect on vision.

9.3 Boethius adds further in his Consolation:

that the walls were elegant in ivory and glass.

Is this a reference to the walls of the library? In that case, the bookcases
and the desks must not have been arranged along the side walls (where they
would obscure the embellishments) but rather placed in the middle of the
room, as is the case today in most public libraries. In those days they would
decorate walls with glass divided into squares, circles, ovals, and rhombuses,

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 116 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation

orbes, oua, aut rhombos distincta parietes ornabant, non aliter quàm mar-
moreæ crustæ: sæpiùs tamen cameras, & lacunar. Ita enim Plinius, libro
xxxvi.

Pulsa ex humo pauimenta in cameras transiêre, è vitro: nouitium & hoc

inuentum. 5

Nouitium ita, vt tamen esset Neronis & Senecæ æuo. Nam vt de re vulgatâ
Seneca, epist. lxxxvi. de Balneis:

Nisi vitro absconditur camera:

atque ibi me vide.

9.4 Tamen in parietibus etiam fuisse, præter Boëtium, Vopiscus ostendit, in 10

Firmo:

Nam & vitreis quadraturis, bitumine alijsq́ ue medicamentis insertis, do-

mum induxisse perhibetur.

Bitumen autem hîc ad committendum nectendumq́ ue parieti accipio inser-

tum, non ad ipsas quadras iungendas: quas decorè magis ebur (vt in Boëtio) 15
distinxit.

9.5 Atque id etiam in Armarijs ipsis fuit: vnde Eborea Bibliotheca in Pandectis
De legum: & in Senecâ,
Tranquil.
ca. ix.
Armaria cedro atque ebore aptantur.

9.6 Armaria autem fuisse in Bibliothecis, res & hodierna vsio demonstrant: sed 20
addo, numeris suis distincta. Ita Vopiscus:

Habet Bibliotheca Vlpia in Armario sexto librum elephantinum.

Elephantinum. an ex ebore, an in corio elephanti perscriptum?

4–5 Plin. hn 36.189 8 Sen. Epist. 86.6 9 me vide] Lips. Omnia opera Sen. 1605: 556 12–13
sha Firm. 3.2 17 Eborea Bibliotheca] Digesta 32.52.7 19 Sen. Tranq. 9.6 22 sha Tac. 8.1

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 CHAPTER NINE 117

just as they did with marble encrustations. Quite often they even decorated
barrel vaults and tiled-ceilings that way. Thus Pliny in book 36:

Such tiles, banished from the ground, have gone into barrel vaults, where
they are made from glass. This is also a new invention.

A new invention, but new to the extent that it went back only so far as the age
of Nero and Seneca. Seneca actually remarked that it had already become
common, in his letter 86 “On Baths”:

Unless the vault is covered in glass …

And on that passage see my commentary.

9.4 Besides Boethius, Vopiscus also shows that there was glass on walls, in his
Firmus:

He is said to have overlayed his house with squares of glass with an

application of pitch and other elements.

In my understanding, the pitch here is applied to plant the glass onto the
wall and bind it, not to join the squares to each other. Ivory instead elegantly
serves the latter purpose (as in Boethius).

9.5 Ivory also adorned the bookcases themselves, which is why we find an ivory
bookcase in the Pandects of the laws. We also find it in Seneca, On
Tranquil.
ch. 9
Bookcases are fitted out with cedar and ivory.

9.6 Moreover, common sense and modern practice also show that there were
bookcases in libraries—but I might add that the bookcases were arranged
by number. Thus Vopiscus writes:

The Ulpian Library has an elephantine book in the sixth bookcase.

But does “elephantine” mean “of ivory” or “written out on elephant hide”?

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 118 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation

9.7 Vetus Scholiastes Iuuenalis, in illud:

Hic libros dabit & forulos.] Armaria, inquit, Bibliothecam.

Etsi propriè, opinor, Foruli, ipsi nidi, vt cum Martiale dicam, librorum, siue
cum Senecâ, distincta loculamenta. Sidonius & hæc & alia in Bibliothecis
Lib. ii. collocat: 5
epist. ix.
Hîc libri affatim in promptu. videre te crederes aut Grammaticales Plu-
teos, aut Athenæi Cuneos, aut Armaria exstructa Bibliopolarum.

Pluteos, id est tabulas inclinatas transuersim, quibus libri legendi impone-

rentur: Cuneos, scamnorum seriem, vt in Athenæo, sic digestam: Armaria
Lib. i. autem plena & alta, quæ dixi. Ea Pegmata Cicero ad Atticum videtur appel- 10
lasse.

2 Schol. ad Juv. Sat. 3.219 3 nidi] Mart. Ep. 7.17.5 4 loculamenta] Sen. Tranq. 9.7 6–7 Sid.
Apoll. Epist. 2.9.4 10 Pegmata] Cic. Ad Att. 4.8.2

3 Etsi] Et a6

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 CHAPTER NINE 119

9.7 The old scholiast of Juvenal makes a comment on the phrase, He will give
books and “foruli”. He explains foruli as “cupboards, a bookcase.”

Although in my opinion, foruli are properly actual pigeon-holes for the

books, as I might say with Martial, or individual cases, as I might say with
Seneca. Sidonius places both these and other things in libraries: Book 2
epist. 9
Here there are plenty of books at hand. You would think that you were
seeing the desks (plutei) of the grammarians, or the wedges (cunei) of
an auditorium, or the towering bookcases (armaria) of the booksellers.

Plutei: that is, boards turned cross-wise and raised at an incline, on which
books might be placed to be read. Cunei: a series of benches, arranged as
if in an auditorium. Armaria: bookcases both capacious and tall, as I have
said. Cicero seems to have called them pegmata in his correspondence with Book 1
Atticus.

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 cap. x.

Imagines in ijs doctorum, laudabili more: cui origo ab Asinio.

10.1 Sed vel præcipuus ornatus, & imitandus, meo iudicio, nondum hodie imi-
tatus, sunt Imagines siue & Statuæ doctorum, quas vnà cum libris dispone-
bant. Nónne pulchrum, & suaue oculis ac cogitationi fuit? Naturâ trahimur 5
ad simulacra & effigies magnorum virorum noscendas, & illa corpora, siue
hospitia, quibus cælestis se animus inclusit: ecce hîc erat. Homeri, Hippo-
cratis, Aristotelis, Pindari, Virgilij, Ciceronis, & alia scripta videres aut libares
oculis: vnà etiam imaginem scriptoris adiunctam. Iterùm repeto, pulchrum:
&, te Illvstrissime præëunte, cur non vsurpamus? 10

10.2 Romanum hoc inuentum videtur: ne omnia bella ad Græciam referantur: &
Lib. xxxv. Plinius inclinat.
cap. ii.
Nullum maius (inquit pulcherrimâ gnomâ) felicitatis specimen arbitror,
quàm semper omnes scire cupere, qualis fuerit aliquis. Asinij Pollionis hoc
Romæ inuentum, qui primus Bibliothecam dicando, ingenia hominum 15
rem publicam fecit. An priores cœperint Alexandriæ & Pergami Reges,
qui Bibliothecas magno certamine instituêre, non facilè dixerim.

10.3 Itaque Asinius videtur auctor. qui etiam (eodem Plinio prodente) M. Varro-
Lib. vii. nis,
cap. xxx.
in Bibliothecâ, quæ prima in vrbe (absurdè in orbe alij) publicata est, 20
vnius viuentis posuit imaginem.

Quod tamen & alijs posteà, indulgentiâ an iudicio, datum video: & nomina-
Præfat. lib. tim Martiali poëtæ. qui gloriatur, quòd
ix.

13–17 Plin. hn 35.10 20–21 Plin. hn 7.115

1–4 cap. x. Imagines in ijs … siue] deest b7

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 chapter ten

Portraits of scholars in libraries: a laudable custom. Its origin stems from

Asinius Pollio.

10.1 But the main type of decoration (and one that in my opinion ought to be
imitated, although we presently have yet to do so) would be the portraits and
statues of learned men, which the Romans used to display alongside their
books. Was it not noble? Was it not pleasant to look at and to contemplate?
By nature we desire to see depictions and images of great men, and the bod-
ies (or rather temporary abodes) in which their heavenly minds enveloped
themselves. Look! Here he is! Homer, Hippocrates, Aristotle, Pindar, Virgil,
Cicero, and others—you would see their writings or savor the sight of them:
there with them was the image of each. I repeat: it is a noble thing. With you
in the lead, Most Illustrious Prince, why do we not take up the practice?

10.2 This appears to be a Roman invention (all beautiful things need not be Greek
in origin), as Pliny is inclined to say: Book 35
ch. 2
I believe that there is no greater example of good fortune (he says in a
noble axiom) than that all people always desire to know what someone
was like. At Rome this was the invention of Asinius Pollio, who was the
first to make the genius of men public property by dedicating a library. I
could not easily say whether the kings of Alexandria and Pergamum, who
competed fiercely with each other in the foundation of libraries, began the
custom first.

10.3 So Asinius Pollio seems to be the originator of this practice. The same Pliny
informs us: Book 7
ch. 30
In the library, the first public one in the city (others read in the world,
which would be ridiculous), Pollio put up the portrait of only one living
man: Marcus Varro.

Yet I see that this honor was later granted also to others, whether as a matter
of flattery or of taste, and specifically to the poet Martial. He boasts because Pref.
book 9

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 122 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation

Stertinius imaginem eius ponere in Bibliothecâ suâ voluerit.

10.4
Sed plerumque mortuorum, & quos famæ consensus iam sacrasset. Plinius:
Lib. xxxv.
cap. ii.
Non est prætereundum & nouitium inuentum. siquidem non solùm ex
auro argentóve, aut certè ex ære, in Bibliothecis dicantur illi, quorum
immortales animæ in ijsdem locis loquuntur; quinimò etiam quæ 5
non sunt, finguntur, pariúntque desideria non traditi vultus.

Appellat nouitium, id est Pollionis, inuentum. ostendit mortuorum, & è me-

tallo plurimùm fuisse: sed addo etiam è gypso, in priuatis (pro cuiusque
scilicet copiâ) Bibliothecis. Iuuenalis:

—quamquam plena omnia gypso 10

Chrysippi inuenias.

10.5 Imò & in tabulis, opinor, imagines fuêre: & fortasse in librorum fronte picturâ
De etiam expressæ. Seneca:
Tranquill.
Ista exquisita, & cum imaginibus suis descripta sacrorum opera ingenio-
rum. 15

Cap. lxx. Suetonius in Tiberio:

Scripta eorum & imagines, publicis Bibliothecis, inter veteres & receptos
auctores, dedicauit.

Plinius in Epistolis:

Herennius Seuerus, vir doctissimus, magni æstimat in Bibliothecâ suâ 20

ponere imagines Cornelij Nepotis, & Titi Attici.

Itaque vtrumque, & Statuæ & Imagines fuêre.

1 Mart. Ep. 9.pr. 3–6 Plin. hn 35.9 10–11 Juv. Sat. 2.4–5 14–15 Sen. Tranq. 9.7 17–18 Suet.
Tib. 70.2 20–21 Plin. Epist. 4.28

2 in marg. Lib. xxxv.] Lib. 31 b5–6 16 in marg. Cap. lxx.] Cap. 73 b6

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 CHAPTER TEN 123

Stertinius desired to set up his portrait in his library.

10.4 But portraits were generally of those who were both deceased and whom the
consensus of fame had already sanctified. Pliny writes: Book 35
ch. 2
We should not pass by a new custom too. In libraries people dedicate
portraits (if not of gold or silver, then at least of bronze) of famous men,
men whose immortal souls speak to us in those same places. In fact, faces
are even invented for those men whose looks are not known, and features
not even passed down to us provoke a sense of longing.

He calls it a new custom (that is, founded by Pollio). Pliny shows that the por-
traits were of the deceased, and were made for the most part out of precious
metals. Yet I would add that there were also portraits made of plaster in pri-
vate libraries (obviously in accordance with one’s means). Juvenal writes:

—although you’ll find all of them full

of plaster busts of Chrysippus.

10.5 In fact, I think that there were portraits painted on tablets as well, and
perhaps even illuminated on the fronts of books. Seneca writes: On
Tranquil.
Those works of sacred genius, exquisitely copied out with the authors’
portraits.

And Suetonius in his Tiberius: Ch. 70

He dedicated their writings and portraits in the public libraries among

the ancient and established authors.

In his Epistles, Pliny writes:

Herennius Severus, a most scholarly man, thinks it worth the world to put
up portraits of Cornelius Nepos and Titus Atticus in his library.

So there were both things: statues and portraits.

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 124 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation

10.6 Plinius idem, de Silio Italico:

Plures ijsdem in locis villas possidebat. multum vbique librorum, multum

statuarum, multum imaginum: quas non habebat modò, verumetiam
venerabatur. Virgilij ante omnes.

Vopiscus, de Numeriano: 5

Huius oratio tantum habuisse fertur eloquentiæ, vt illi statua, non quasi
Cæsari, sed quasi Rhetori decerneretur, ponenda in Bibliothecâ Vlpiâ, cui
subscriptum est:
nvmeriano. cæsari. oratori. temporibvs. svis. potentis-
simo. 10

Sed & Sidonius sibi ibidem positam, iure gloriatur:

Cùm meis poni statuam perennem

Nerua Traianus titulis videret,
Inter auctores vtriusque fixam,
Bibliothecæ. 15

Significat, & in Græcâ & Latinâ Bibliothecâ, statuam se habuisse.

10.7 Ceterùm minores illæ imagines siue statuæ pluteis plerumque impositæ
videntur, ante suos quæque libros. Iuuenalis:

Et iubet archetypos Pluteum seruare Cleanthas.

10.8 Veteris distichi ea mens, quod Imagini tali Virgilianæ subscriptum fuit: 20

Lucis damna nihil tanto nocuêre poëtæ.

Quem præsentat honos carminis & Plutei.

2–4 Plin. Epist. 3.7.8 6–10 sha Car. 11.3 12–15 Sid. Apoll. Epist. 9.16.3vv25–28 19 Juv. Sat.
2.7 21–22 Anth. Lat. 147 Shackleton Bailey

11 gloriatur? a5–6 17–126.3 Ceterùm … sigillis add. β : nihil habet α 21 tanto] tanta b3–4 b7

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 CHAPTER TEN 125

10.6 The same Pliny writes about Silius Italicus:

He used to own many villas in those same areas. And he had everywhere
many books, many statues, and many portraits, which he not only pos-
sessed but even worshipped: the portrait of Virgil before all others.

Vopiscus writes about Numerianus:

His speech was thought to be so eloquent, that a statue was decreed of

him not in his guise as Caesar, but as an orator. It was to be set up in the
Bibliotheca Ulpia, with the placard reading:

for numerian caesar,

the most powerful orator of his day.

Sidonius also rightly boasts of having a statue of himself in the same place:

When Nerva Trajan saw

An eternal statue set up with my epigrams
Fixed among the authors of both
Libraries.

He means that he had a statue in both the Greek and Latin libraries.

10.7 Miniature portraits and statues seem to have often been placed on desks,
each in front of one’s own books. Juvenal writes:

And he bids a true-to-life Cleanthes to watch over the desk.

10.8 That is the meaning of the old distich, written below the portrait of Virgil:

Loss of life can do no harm to so great a poet,

Whom the honor of a poem and a desk put on show.

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126 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation

Significat, videri viuere, qui in libris & imagine viuit. Inde & Sigilla Plu-
tealia apud Ciceronem, ad Atticum. Nam iamtunc Bibliothecas exornabant
Deorum, si non auctorum sigillis.

1–2 Sigilla Plutealia] Cic. Ad Att. 1.10.3

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CHAPTER TEN 127

It means that he seems to be alive, he who lives on in books and a portrait.

This is also the source of the phrase desk statuettes in Cicero’s letters to
Atticus. Already at that point they used to decorate libraries with statuettes
of gods, if not of authors.

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 cap. xi.

In occasione de Muséo Alexandrino. docti viri ibi habiti atque aliti, in

publicum bonum. Reges aut Imperatores ei curabant.

11.1
Et plura equidem super Bibliothecis, quæ *ἀξιόλογα sint, non habeo: vnum
digna dici.
etiam, quod ad earum fructum. Nam si solæ eæ, aut rarus aduentor, si 5
homines, inquam, non sunt qui frequentent & euoluant: quò ista congeries?
& quid nisi studiosa quædam luxuria sint, vt Seneca appellat?

11.2 Prouiderunt hoc quoque Alexandrini Reges: & vnà cum illis Muséum (ita
dixerunt, quasi Musarum ædem) exstruxerunt, in quo fas esset Musis ope-
rari, à ceteris rebus feriatos. Imò & à vitæ victúsque curis vacuos: cùm ali- 10
menta ijs hîc è publico darentur. Præclarum institutum! quod vnus Strabo
Lib. xvii. optimè describit:

Τῶν δὲ βασιλείων μέρος ἐστὶ καὶ τὸ Μουσεῖον, ἔχον περίπατον καὶ ἐξέδραν,
καὶ οἶκον μέγαν, ἐν ᾧ τὸ συσσίτιον τῶν μετεχόντων τοῦ Μουσείου φιλολόγων
ἀνδρῶν. Ἔστι δὲ τῇ συνόδῳ ταύτῃ καὶ χρήματα κοινὰ, καὶ ἱερεὺς ὁ ἐπὶ τῷ 15
Μουσείῳ τεταγμένος, τότε μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν βασιλέων, νυνὶ δ’ ὑπὸ Καίσαρος:

Pars etiam Regiæ est Muséum, quod ambulationi & sessui loca habet, &
magnam vnam domum, in quâ conuiuunt & comedunt vnà, qui Muséi
consortes sunt, litterati viri. Habet autem hoc collegium & pecuniam siue
vectigalia in commune, & Sacerdotem item, qui Muséo præest, olim à 20
Regibus, nunc à Cæsare constituendum.

11.3 Primùm ait, Regiæ siue Aulæ partem fuisse. Scilicet adnecti sibi & iungi
voluerunt Reges, vt in propinquo & promptu essent eruditi isti, cum quibus
dissererent, cùm libitum, animo docendo, & pascendo. Habuit Porticus &
Exedras: illas exercitio corporis magis; has animi, & vbi considentes alterca- 25

7 studiosa … luxuria] Sen. Tranq. 9.5 13–16 Strabo Geog. 17.1.8

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 chapter eleven

On the motive behind the Alexandrian Museum. Scholars were given room
and board there for the common good. Kings and emperors used to oversee it.

11.1 For my part, I do not have much more on the topic of libraries that is
*ἀξιόλογα. But I do want to bring up one thing more—it concerns their worth
benefit. If libraries are deserted, or see only the rare visitor, and there are not saying
people who gather there to read, then what is the point of such a stockpile?
Then what is it except some kind of scholarly extravagance, as Seneca calls
it?

11.2 The Alexandrian kings also foresaw this problem, and so in addition to
the famous library they built the Museum (so they called it, as if a Temple
of the Muses), where it would be possible to busy oneself with the Muses
unencumbered by other concerns. Here the scholars were even free from the
cares of life and livelihood, since they received food at public expense. Now
there’s a noble institution! Strabo in particular describes it most excellently: Book 17

Τῶν δὲ βασιλείων μέρος ἐστὶ καὶ τὸ Μουσεῖον, ἔχον περίπατον καὶ ἐξέδραν,
καὶ οἶκον μέγαν, ἐν ᾧ τὸ συσσίτιον τῶν μετεχόντων τοῦ Μουσείου φιλολόγων
ἀνδρῶν. Ἔστι δὲ τῇ συνόδῳ ταύτῃ καὶ χρήματα κοινὰ, καὶ ἱερεὺς ὁ ἐπὶ τῷ
Μουσείῳ τεταγμένος, τότε μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν βασιλέων, νυνὶ δ’ ὑπὸ Καίσαρος:

The Museum is part of the Palace, and it has places for walking and
sitting. There is also a large house in which the learned men, the Fellows of
the Museum, live and eat together. The association has money or income
in common, and also a priest in charge of the Museum. The priest had to
be chosen by the kings in former days, but now by Caesar.

11.3 First off, he says that it was part of the palace, or court. The kings naturally
wanted it joined closely to their persons so that they would have near at hand
the kind of erudite men with whom they could converse, when they wanted,
and so educate and nourish their own intellects. The Museum had porticoes
and exedras—the former for the exercise mostly of the body and the latter

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rentur & conferrent. Fuit & Domus, vbi communis ijs victus & mensa: quod sic
In vitâ etiam Philostratus expressit, de Dionysio: quem in Muséum receptum scribit,
Dionysij additq́ ue:
Milesij.

τὸ δὲ Μουσεῖον τράπεζα Αἰγυπτία ξυγκαλοῦσα τοὺς ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ ἐλλογί-

μους: 5

Muséum autem est Ægyptia mensa, quæ conuocat omnes in vniuersâ

terrâ litteratos.

11.4 Verba pensitari cupio. omnes ex omni terrâ: & viden’ numerum, nec rem
tenuem & parui impendij fuisse? Quod & Timon Sillographus indicat, etsi
more & instituto suo carpens: 10

Πολλοὶ μὲν βόσκονται ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ πολυφύλῳ

Βιβλιακοὶ χαρακεῖται, ἀπείριτα δηριόωντες,
Μουσέων ἐν ταλάρῳ.

Permulti pascuntur in Ægypto populosâ

Pugnantes libris, ac semper digladiantes 15
Musarum in caueâ.

Lib. i. Nam, explicante Athenæo,

τὸ Μουσεῖον τάλαρόν που φησὶν, ἐπισκώπτων τοὺς ἐν αὐτῷ τρεφομένους

φιλοσόφους, ὅτι ὥσπερ ἐν πανάγρῳ τινὶ σιτοῦνται, καθάπερ οἱ πολυτιμότα-
τοι ὄρνιθες: 20

Muséum dixit Caueam, irridens Philosophos qui in eo alebantur, velut

pretiosæ quædam aues.

Iste Philsophos nominat, sed Strabo vniversè ἐλλογίμους ἄνδρας dixit, littera-
tos doctósque viros: & omne genus haud dubiè receptum.

4–5 Philostr. Vit. soph. 1.22.3 (= p. 524 Olearius) 11–13 Ath. Deip. 1.22d (= Timon fr. 12 Di
Marco) 18–20 Ath. Deip. 1.22d

8 viden’] videmus b5–6

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 CHAPTER ELEVEN 131

of the mind, because there they could sit and debate or confer. There was
also a house, where they lived and ate together—which is how Philostratus
expresses it regarding Dionysius. He writes that Dionysius was accepted into In the Life
the Museum, and he adds: of
Dionysius
of Miletus
τὸ δὲ Μουσεῖον τράπεζα Αἰγυπτία ξυγκαλοῦσα τοὺς ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ ἐλλογί-
μους:

The Museum is an Egyptian boarding house that summons together all

men of letters from the whole earth.

11.4 Think over the words carefully: all from the whole earth. Do you see the
scale? And that it was neither a meager institution nor one of small expense?
Timon the Satirist suggests the same thing, although mockingly, as was his
customary method:

Πολλοὶ μὲν βόσκονται ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ πολυφύλῳ

Βιβλιακοὶ χαρακεῖται, ἀπείριτα δηριόωντες
Μουσέων ἐν ταλάρῳ.

Plenty are pastured in populous Egypt

Battling with books, and endlessly dueling
In the birdcage of the Muses.

In explanation Athenaeus writes: Book 1

τὸ Μουσεῖον τάλαρόν που φησὶν, ἐπισκώπτων τοὺς ἐν αὐτῷ τρεφομένους

φιλοσόφους, ὅτι ὥσπερ ἐν πανάγρῳ τινὶ σιτοῦνται, καθάπερ οἱ πολυτιμότα-
τοι ὄρνιθες:

He called the Museum a birdcage, mocking the philosophers who were fed
there as if they were some kind of exotic birds.

Athenaeus calls them philosophers, but Strabo says more generally ἐλλο-
γίμους ἄνδρας, scholars and men of letters. Every sort was undoubtedly ac-
cepted.

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11.5 Sed viros ait: non ergo pueros aut iuuenes, & qui velut in spem studiorum
(hodie solitum) educarentur. Non. quin istud velut præmium eruditis, &
quies quædam honesta fuit: haud aliter quàm Athenis, benè de rep. meritis
victus erat in Prytanéo. Vbi estis Principes? & quos vrit aut excitat honestus
æmulandi ignis? 5

11.6 Sed pergit Strabo, & Sacerdotem præficit, Regum aut Cæsarum dilectu.
Magna igitur dignitas, & quæ ab ipso Cæsare conferenda.

11.7 Sed quid, quòd ipsa ibi loca idem Cæsar adsignaret? Ita enim Philostratus,
de Dionysio Sophistâ:

Ἀδριανὸς σατράπην αὐτὸν ἀπέφηνεν οὐκ ὀλίγων ἐθνῶν. κατέλεξε δὲ τοῖς 10

δημοσίᾳ ἱππεύουσι, καὶ τοῖς ἐν τῷ Μουσείῳ σιτουμένοις:

Hadrianus Imp. Satrapam siue Præfectum eum constituit non exiguarum

gentium: & adscripsit inter eos qui publicè equo veherentur: itémque qui
in Muséo alerentur.

Iterùm, de Polemone: 15

Κατέλεξε δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ τῷ τοῦ Μουσείου κύκλῳ ἐς τὴν Αἰγυπτίαν σίτησιν:

Allegit eum (Hadrianus) & Muséi conuentui, ad Ægyptiam mensam.

11.8 Sed notem ibi vocem κύκλῳ, circulo (etsi ego Conuentui reddidi:) quâ signi-
ficari arbitror, in orbem rem iuisse, & quosdam allectos tempestiuè, & in
antecessum: id est, priusquam locus vacuus etiam esset. Sed spes susten- 20
tabat, & ordine succedebant, qui sic adscripti: vt hodie in beneficiorum
collatione Principes quidam vsurpant. Athenæus denique huius donationis
Lib. xv. à Principe etiam meminit: vbi ait Pancratem quemdam poëtam, ingeniosè
Hadriano adulatum de Antinoo suo: atque ille, inquit,

10–11 Philostr. Vit. soph. 1.22.3 (p. 524 Olearius) 16 Philostr. Vit. soph. 1.25.3 (pp. 532–533
Olearius)

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 CHAPTER ELEVEN 133

11.5 He says men, and therefore not boys or youths—those who would come
in the hopes of an education, as is the custom today. On the contrary. The
Museum was itself a reward for the erudite, and a kind of noble retirement.
It was no different from at Athens, where those who had done well by the city
were fed at the Prytaneum. Where are you, princes? Where are you whom
the honorable fire of rivalry burns and inspires?

11.6 But Strabo continues. He puts a priest in charge, selected by kings or by

Caesars. That means it was a great honor, since it had to be conferred by
Caesar himself.

11.7 But what of the fact that Caesar actually appointed all the positions there?
That’s what Philostratus said concerning Dionysius the Sophist:

Ἀδριανὸς σατράπην αὐτὸν ἀπέφηνεν οὐκ ὀλίγων ἐθνῶν. κατέλεξε δὲ τοῖς

δημοσίᾳ ἱππεύουσι καὶ τοῖς ἐν τῷ Μουσείῳ σιτουμένοις:

The Emperor Hadrian set him up as a satrap or executive over many

nations. He designated who among them might be carried by horse at
public expense, and likewise those who were to be fed at the Museum.

And in addition he says about Polemo:

Κατέλεξε δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ τῷ τοῦ Μουσείου κύκλῳ ἐς τὴν Αἰγυπτίαν σίτησιν:

He (Hadrian) appointed him to the society at the Museum, at the Egyp-

tian boardinghouse.

11.8 I might note here the expression κύκλῳ, circle (although I’ve rendered it as
society) by which I think he means that the institution had cyclical terms
and that certain men would be appointed at fixed times in advance (that
is, even before a particular slot became open). Until then their hope would
keep them going, and those who had been appointed would succeed each
other in order, a practice that some princes today have taken up in conferring
benefits. Finally, Athenaeus too makes note of this grant from the Emperor, Book 15
when he says that Pancrates, a certain poet, flattered Hadrian quite cleverly
on the subject of his dear Antinoos. Then Hadrian, he said,

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ἡσθεὶς τῇ εὑρέσει, τὴν ἐν Μουσείῳ σίτησιν αὐτῷ ἔχειν ἐχαρίσατο:

delectatus inuentiunculâ, cibum in Muséo illi gratificatus est.

11.9 Atque hæc Strabo alijq́ ue super loco & instituto: licet addere, non vacuam
omnino aut otiosam ibi vitam vixisse (quî possent viri bono publico nati?)
sed aut scripsisse, aut disseruisse, & recitasse. Ita Spartianus tradit, 5

Hadrianum Alexandriæ in Muséo multas quæstiones Professoribus pro-

posuisse, aut propositas dissoluisse.

Cap. xlii. Adde Suetonium, in Claudio: qui & Muséum hoc, altero addito, adauxit: vt
certi libri ibi quotannis recitarentur. Desino

Dvx Illvstrissime. & te è magnis, ad omnia magna natum, hortor viam 10

hanc veræ laudis porrò insistere, & libris litterísque propagandis, æternitati
tuum nomen consecrare.

1 Ath. Deip. 15.677e 6–7 sha Hadr. 20.2 8 Suet. Claud. 42.2

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ἡσθεὶς τῇ εὑρέσει, τὴν ἐν Μουσείῳ σίτησιν αὐτῷ ἔχειν ἐχαρίσατο:

delighted with his little creation, gave him food in the Museum to thank
him.

11.9 Strabo and others say all this about the place and the institution. We can add
that life there was not remotely unoccupied or leisurely (how could that have
been possible for men born for the public good?). Instead they either wrote
or debated, and gaving readings of their works. Thus Spartianus records,

that at the Museum in Alexandria, Hadrian put forward many puzzles to

the professors, and solved those put forward to him.

See also Suetonius, who writes in his Claudius, that he enlarged the Museum, Ch. 42
adding a second one, so that certain books could be recited there annually.
I conclude.

Most Illustrious Duke: I urge you too, who were born from greatness and
born for all greatness, to embark upon this path to true praise and, through
advancing books and literature, to sanctify your name forever.

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 DE BIBLIOTHECIS.

d1 (< 1.1) Bibliotheca tria notat, Locum, Armarium, Libros. Græca vox, Latinis in
usum etiam venit, & quamquam Librariam dicunt, tamen magis est eâ voce
tabernam capi, in quâ venales libri exstant.

d2 (< 1.2) Privata primùm ea cura, & quisque sibi suisq́ ue struebat: postmodum 5
Reges & Dynastæ usurparunt, nec in usum solùm, sed ambitionem & splen-
dorem.

d3 (< 1.3) Qui primus Regum illustrem habuit is fuit Osymanduas Ægypti; & in
fronte præscripsit: Animi medicæ officina: posteà semper in Ægypto aliquæ
exstiterunt, idq́ ue in templis præcipuè, & sacerdotum curâ. 10

d4 (< 2.1) Ptolomæus Philadelphus Alexandriæ ingentem Bibliothecam compo-

suit: instructione & exemplo adjutus Aristotelis, imò & ipsis ejus libris.

d5 (< 2.3) Libros sacros etiam ex Iudæa petiit, ideoque in Græcam linguam per
Septuaginta Interpretes Biblia vertere curavit.

d6 (< 2.3) Bibliothecæ præerat, Demetrius Phalereus exsul à suis Athenis. 15

d7 (< 2.3) A Chaldæis, Ægyptiis, Romanis etiam idem Philadelphus libros petiit,
& pariter in linguam Græcam transfundi curavit.

d8 (< 2.4–6) In hac bibliothecâ fuere septingenta millia librorum.

d9 (< 2.7) Sed periit incendio bello civili Pompejano, cùm Cæsar in ipsâ Vrbe
Alexandriâ bellum cum incolis gereret, & tuitionis suæ caussâ ignem in 20
naves misisset; qui & vicina navalibus, ipsamq́ ue bibliothecam comprehen-
dit & absumpsit.

d10 (< 2.9) Vix annos ccxxiv. hæc bibliotheca fuit, absumpta incendio olym-
piade clxxiii.

d11 (< 2.10–11) Cleopatra restauravit eodem loci, nempe in porticibus Serapéi, 25
quod templum fuit stupendi artificii.

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 ON LIBRARIES

d1 (< 1.1) The word bibliotheca designates three things: a library, a bookcase, and
a collection of books. The word is Greek, but came into use in Latin too. Latin
does have the word libraria, but that actually refers to a shop with books for
sale.

d2 (< 1.2) At first libraries were the work of private individuals, something one
would build solely for oneself and one’s friends and family. Kings and rulers
soon followed suit—not only to use them, but also for status and glory.

d3 (< 1.3) The first king to have a famous library was Ozymandias of Egypt. On its
façade he had it written: A Hospital for the Soul. Some libraries always existed
in Egypt from then on, particularly in temples under the care of priests.

d4 (< 2.1) Ptolemy Philadelphus created a massive library at Alexandria, aided

by the teachings and example of Aristotle, and even by his actual books.

d5 (< 2.3) He even sought holy books from Judea, and so had the Bible translated
into Greek by 70 translators.

d6 (< 2.3) In charge of the library was Demetrius of Phalerum, who was in exile
from his native Athens.

d7 (< 2.3) Philadelphus also sought books from the Chaldeans, the Egyptians,
and even the Romans, and he likewise had them translated into Greek.

d8 (< 2.4–6) There were 700,000 books in this library.

d9 (< 2.7) It was destroyed in the civil war with Pompey. When Caesar battled in
the city of Alexandria against its inhabitants, he set fire to the ships for the
sake of his own safety. The flames caught hold of the areas near the shipyards
and of the library itself, which they consumed completely.

d10 (< 2.9) This library had existed for almost 224 years when it was destroyed by
fire in the 173rd Olympiad.

d11 (< 2.10–11) Cleopatra rebuilt the library in the same place, specifically the
porticoes of the Serapeum, which was a temple of stunning craftsmanship.

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d12 (< 3.2) Polycrates, apud Græcos bibliothecam instruxit: post eum Pysistratus:
ea variè deinde ab Atheniensibus aucta fuit, donec spoliavit & avexit Xerxes
Athenarum potitus.

d13 (< 3.2) Sed multis annis post Seleucus Nicanor, Syriæ Rex liberaliter Athenas
remittendam curavit. 5

d14 (< 3.2) Mansit usque ad Sullæ tempora, qui & ipse Athenas cepit, dirupit,
afflixit.

d15 (< 3.6) Byzantina bibliotheca Principum ævo celebris: in quâ centum viginti
millia librorum erant recondita: inter ea Draconis intestinum cxx. pedes
longum, cui aureis litteris, Homeri Ilias atque Odyssea fuerint inscripta. 10

d16 (< 3.6) Conflagravit Basilici imperio.

d17 (< 4.1) Attalica sive Pergamena bibliotheca, in Asiâ, proxima est claritate ab
illâ Alexandrinâ.

d18 (< 4.2, 4.4) Eumenes ejus auctor fuit, & in Pergamo, regni sede constituit: in
eâ librorum singularium ducenta millia. 15

d19 (< 5.1) Tarda Romæ cura aut studium instruendarum bibliothecarum.

d20 (< 5.2) Lucullus primus publicas bibliothecas instituit, sed mancipium jus-
q́ ue sibi retinuit, usum tamen viris eruditis concessit.

d21 (< 5.3) Sulla etiam è Græciâ Athenisq́ ue magnam librorum vim traduxit, &
Romæ deposuit ac disposuit. 20

d22 (< 5.4) Tamen verè Publica Bibliotheca nondum structa: quam cogitationem
primus Cæsar concepit, ac nisi fata interpellassent, effecisset: M. Varronem
huic rei destinavit.

d23 (< 5.5) Postea, Augusto invitante atque incitante Asinius Pollio, orator &
Senator, Atrium Libertatis exstruxit, atque in eo bibliothecam publicavit. 25

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d12 (< 3.2) Among the Greeks, Polycrates built a library, and Pisistratus after him.
The Athenians themselves then enlarged this library in various ways until
Xerxes despoiled it and hauled it off with him when he gained control of
Athens.

d13 (< 3.2) Many years later Seleucus Nicanor, king of Syria, generously had it
returned to Athens.

d14 (< 3.2) There it remained until the time of Sulla, who himself took Athens,
sacked it, and razed it.

d15 (< 3.6) In the imperial period there was a famous library in Constantinople,
which stored 120,000 books. Among them was a scroll made from the skin
of a snake, 120 feet long, on which the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer had been
written in golden letters.

d16 (< 3.6) It burned in the reign of Basiliscus.

d17 (< 4.1) The Attalid (or Pergamene) library, in Asia, is second in renown only
to the great library of Alexandria.

d18 (< 4.2, 4.4) Eumenes was the source of this project, and he set it up in
Pergamum, the seat of his kingdom. The library held 200,000 individual
books.

d19 (< 5.1) The interest in, and passion for, building libraries arose late in Rome.

d20 (< 5.2) Lucullus established the first public library, but he kept its ownership
and title to himself, although he granted access to scholars.

d21 (< 5.3) Sulla too took a massive collection of books from Greece and Athens
to Rome, where he deposited and organized them.

d22 (< 5.4) Nevertheless, a truly public library had not yet been built. Caesar first
conceived of such a scheme. He would have completed it too, if the fates had
not intervened. He appointed Marcus Varro to lead the project.

d23 (< 5.5) Afterwards, at the invitation and urging of Augustus, Asinius Pollio, an
orator and senator, erected the Atrium of Liberty, and set up public a library
in it.

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d24 (< 6.1) Post hanc duæ mox aliæ ab Augusto institutæ.

d25 (< 6.1) Prior, Octavia, quam sororis suæ memoriæ & nomini dedicavit.

d26 (< 6.2) Fuit in superiore parte Porticus; cum inferior ambulationi modo
fuisset.

d27 (< 6.4) Altera Palatina, à loco dicta, quia in ipso Palatio. 5

d28 (< 6.6) Huic Custodes & Præpositi erant.

d29 (< 6.6) Græca Palatina, suum habebat Custodem, ut & Latina suum.

d30 (< 7.2) Tiberius in ipso Palatino etiam struxit Bibliothecam, eâ parte qua
Viam Sacram spectat.

d31 (< 7.2) Nam illic Tiberii domus fuit, & in domo ejus hæc collocata. 10

d32 (< 7.3) Vespasianus etiam struxit, & adjunxit Templo Pacis.

d33 (< 7.4) Fuit item à Trajano alia, quæ à gentili ejus nomine Vlpia dicta.

d34 (< 7.5) Hæc in foro Trajani initio fuit, ubi Principis ejus opera alia: sed deinde
translata fuit in collem Viminalem, ad ornandas Diocletiani Thermas.

d35 (< 7.6–7) Fuit & alia Bibliotheca Capitolina, in Capitolio, instituta, ut videtur, 15
à Domitiano; conflagravit fulmine, sub Commodo.

d36 (< 7.8) Sub Constantini ævum Bibliothecæ publicæ undetriginta erant, ex iis
præcipuæ duæ, Palatina & Vlpia.

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d24 (< 6.1) After that one, Augustus soon built two others.

d25 (< 6.1) The first of these was the Octavian library, which he dedicated in the
name and memory of his sister.

d26 (< 6.2) It was in the upper storey of the portico, since the lower would have
been used only for walking.

d27 (< 6.4) The second was the Palatine library, named after its location, since it
was right on the Palatine Hill.

d28 (< 6.6) This library had custodians and managers.

d29 (< 6.6) The Palatine Greek library had its own custodian, as did the Latin
too.

d30 (< 7.2) Tiberius also built a library on the Palatine itself, on the part of the
hill overlooking the Sacred Way.

d31 (< 7.2) You see, that’s where the Tiberian House was, and the library was
located in his house.

d32 (< 7.3) Vespasian also built a library, which he added to the Temple of
Peace.

d33 (< 7.4) Trajan built another library, which was called the “Ulpian Library”
taking its name from his clan name.

d34 (< 7.5) This library was originally in the Forum of Trajan, where his other
monuments were. Later it was taken to the Viminal Hill in order to adorn
the Baths of Diocletian.

d35 (< 7.6–7) There was also a Capitoline Library, built on the Capitoline Hill,
apparently by Domitian. Struck by lightning, it perished in flames during
the reign of Commodus.

d36 (< 7.8) In the age of Constantine there were 29 public libraries, two among
them especially outstanding, the Palatine and the Ulpian.

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d37 (< 8.1) Tiburti etiam bibliotheca publica fuit, in Herculis templo. Fortassis
eam Hadrianus Tyburi instruxit, quem eo loco & secessu impensè delecta-
tum constat, variaque & ampla inædificasse.

d38 (< 8.1) Sed & privatim viri divites, usus & famæ caussâ, sibi pararunt; &
nobiles ex iis quasdam. 5

d39 (< 8.3) Sicut Epaphroditus Chæronéus Grammaticus usque ad triginta millia
collegit optimorum quidem & selectorum librorum.

d40 (< 8.4) Eum superavit Sammonicus Serenus, qui bibliothecam habuit, in quâ
sexaginta duo millia librorum.

d41 (< 8.5) Is moriens eam Gordiano minori, qui imperium gustavit, reliquit. 10

d42 (< 8.6) Senecæ ævo non in studium sed spectaculum comparabant: & libri
non studiorum instrumenta, sed coenationum ornamenta erant.

d43 (< 8.7) Observare autem est bibliothecas etiam habuisse, in Balneis & Ther-
mis, quia corpori curando otiosè tunc vacabant, & igitur occasio erat legendi
aliquid, hominibus aliâs occupatis, vel audiendi. 15

d44 (< 8.8) Enim verò etiam in Villis & Prætoriis habebant: ab eadem hac, otii, &
vacationis ibi, caussa.

d45 (< 9.3) Bibliothecarum parietes, ebore, & vitro, ornatos, & comptos legimus.

d46 (< α9.3–5) Ipsa Armaria sive loculi fuerunt eburna: & antrorsus & in fronte
clausa vitro: ut & à sordibus libri immunes præstarentur, & tamen nobiles 20
ac conspicui per vitrum adventoribus essent.

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d37 (< 8.1) At Tivoli there was also a public library, which was in the temple
of Hercules. Perhaps it was Emperor Hadrian who built the one at Tivoli.
After all, it is known that he took enormous pleaure in that area as a retreat,
erecting many kinds of magnificent buildings there.

d38 (< 8.1) Rich men also furnished themselves private libraries—both for their
own use and to enhance their reputation. Some of these libraries were quite
notable.

d39 (< 8.3) One such case was Epaphroditus of Chaeronea, the grammaticus,
who collected up to 30,000 books, which were actually of the best, most
select kind.

d40 (< 8.4) Sammonicus Serenus outdid him, gathering a library in which there
were 62,000 books.

d41 (< 8.5) Upon his death he left his library to Gordian the Younger, briefly
emperor.

d42 (< 8.6) In the age of Seneca, men furnished libraries not for study, but
for show. The books were not the instruments of erudition but rather the
ornaments of the dining-room.

d43 (< 8.7) In addition, here we may observe that they even had libraries in baths
and hot baths. While bathing there would be time at rest for the care of the
body, so there would also have been the opportunity to read something for
people too busy at other times, or at least to listen.

d44 (< 8.8) The Romans even had libraries in villas and country palaces, and for
the same reason: the leisure and free time available there.

d45 (< 9.3) We read that the walls of libraries were elegantly decorated with ivory
and glass.

d46 (< α9.3–5) The bookcases and cupboards were themselves of ivory, and were
closed off in front with glass. That way the books would stand in no danger
of getting dirty, but yet would still be beautiful and visible to visitors through
the glass.

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d47 (< α9.3–5) Nos etiam in Armariis quibusdam, ubi sacra, aut eorum reliqiæ,
usurpamus.

d48 (< 9.6) Hæc armaria numeris fuerunt distincta.

d49 (< 9.7) Pegmata vocat hæc Cicero.

d50 (< 9.7) Foruli in bibliotheca, sunt ipsi nidi, ut vocat Martialis, librorum, sive, 5
ut Seneca, distincta loculamenta.

d51 (< 9.7) Plutei, sunt tabulæ inclinatæ transversim, quibus libri legendi impo-
nebantur. Cunei, scamnorum series.

d52 (< 10.1) Sed præcipuus ornatus bibliothecarum, sunt imagines sive & statuæ
doctorum virorum, quas unà cum libris disponebant. 10

d53 (< 10.3) Asinius Pollio hujus inventi auctor, qui etiam unius viventis M. Var-
ronis posuit in bibliothecâ imaginem.

d54 (< 10.4) Sed plerumque mortuorum, & quos famæ consensus jam sacrasset,
imagines in bibliothecas posuere.

d55 (< 10.4) E metallo tales imagines plurimùm fuerunt, etiam è gypso in privatis, 15
(pro cujusque scilicet copia) Bibliothecis.

d56 (< 10.5) Imò & in tabulis imagines fuêre: & fortasse in librorum fronte picturâ
etiam expressæ.

d57 (< 11.2) Alexandrini Reges etiam Muséum exstruxerunt, in quo fas esset
Musis operari, à ceteris rebus feriatos. 20

d58 (< 11.pr.) Nam docti viri ibi habiti atque aliti, in publicum bonum.

d59 (< 11.3) Muséum autem pars fuit Regiæ, quæ porticus & Exedras: illas exerci-
tio corporis magis; has animi, & ubi considentes altercarentur & conferrent,
habuit.

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d47 (< α9.3–5) We in modern times follow suit in certain cabinets, where there
are holy objects or their relics.

d48 (< 9.6) These cabinets were arranged by number.

d49 (< 9.7) Cicero calls these “pegmata.”

d50 (< 9.7) Foruli in the library are “pigeon-holes” for books, as Martial calls them;
or individual “cases,” as in Seneca.

d51 (< 9.7) Plutei are boards turned cross-wise and raised at an incline, on which
books were placed in order to be read. Cunei, a series of benches.

d52 (< 10.1) But the main type of decoration for the library is the portraits or
statues of learned men, which the Romans used to display alongside their
books.

d53 (< 10.3) Asinius Pollio is the source of this practice. He also put the portrait
of only one living man in his library: Varro.

d54 (< 10.4) But for the most part they set up portraits of the deceased in libraries,
and of those whom the consensus of fame had already sanctified.

d55 (< 10.4) Such portraits were for the most part made of precious metals, but in
private libraries also of plaster (obviously in accordance with one’s means).

d56 (< 10.5) In fact, there were portraits painted on tablets as well, and perhaps
even some illuminated on the fronts of books.

d57 (< 11.2) The Alexandrian kings also built a Museum, where it was possible to
busy onself with the Muses unencumbered by other concerns.

d58 (< 11.pr.) For scholars were given room and board there, for the common
good.

d59 (< 11.3) In fact, the Museum was part of the palace, which also had porticoes
and exedras. The former was for the exercise mostly of the body and the
latter of the mind, because there they could sit and debate or confer.

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d60 (< 11.3) In eo & domus erat, in quâ omnibus ex omni terra litteratis communis
victus & mensa fuit.

d61 (< 11.2, 11.6) Habebat & hoc collegium pecuniam sive vectigalia in commune,
& Sacerdotem, qui Muséo præerat, Regum aut Cæsarum dilectu constituen-
dum. 5

d62 (< 11.9) Non vacuam omninò, aut otiosam ibi vitam vixerunt, sed aut scrip-
serunt, aut disseruerunt, aut recitarunt.

FINIS.

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d60 (< 11.3) There was also a house in it, where they lived and ate together: all the
men of letters from every land.

d61 (< 11.2, 11.6) Their association also had money, or rather income in common.
It also had a priest in charge of the Museum, appointed at the selection of
kings or Caesars.

d62 (< 11.9) Life there was not remotely unoccupied or leisurely. Instead they
either wrote, or debated, or gave readings of their works.

THE END

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 DE BIBLIOTHECIS SYNTAGMA.

e1
(< 1.1) Bibliotheca tria significat, Locum, Armarium, Libros. Græca vox,
Nomen.
Latinis in usum etiam venit; & quamquam Librariam dicunt, tamen magis
est eâ voce tabernam capi, in quâ venales libri exstant.

Bibliothecarum Origo.
e2
(< 1.1–2) Bibliothecarum res vetus, & nisi fallor, cum ipsis libris adinventa. 5
Origo.
Nam simul ac scire & sapere natum est, mox etiam scribere: & istud esse cum
fructu non potuit, nisi ut libri adservarentur & disponerentur ad præsen-
tium & posterorum usum. Privata primùm ea cura, & quisque sibi suísque
struebat. Postmodum Reges & Dynastæ usurpârunt, nec ad usum solùm, sed
ambitionem aut splendorem. Sanè multos congerere, vix fuit privati homi- 10
nis aut censûs, cùm tarda & impendiosa descriptio esset; donec utilissima
hæc Typographia rem in compendium misit.

Bibliothecæ in Ægypto.
e3
(< 1.3–2.1) Qui primus Regum illustrem habuit, is fuit Osymanduas Ægypti,
Qui primus
struxit. qui inter alia opera præclara, Sacram Bibliothecam struxit, & in ejus fronte
præscriptsit, ψυχῆς ἰατρεῖον, Animi medica officina. Et quamquam ille inter 15
veteres Regum fuerit, non tamen dubium, exemplum, si non ipsam rem
mansisse, & in Ægypto Bibliothecas semper aliquas exinde exstitisse: ídque
in templis præcipuè, & sacerdotum curâ. Sed reliquæ ibi in obscuro, Ptolo-
mæi Philadelphi Regis in magnâ luce & laude fuit. Is Ptolomæi Lagi filius,
secundus eo nomine & stirpe Ægypti Regum, artium & ingeniorum cultor, & 20
quod adhæret, librorum.
e4
(< 2.1, 2.3, 2.6–7, 2.9) Itaque Alexandriæ ingentem Bibliothecam composuit,
Bibliotheca
Philadel- instructione & exemplo Aristotelis adjutus, imò & ipsis ejus libris. Sed &
phi. sacris, & è Iudæâ petitis libris instruxit. Nam cùm aures ejus fama tetigisset

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e1 (< 1.1) The word bibliotheca refers to three things: a library, a bookcase, and a The Name.
collection of books. The word is Greek, but came into use in Latin too. Latin
does have the word libraria, but that actually refers to a shop with books for
sale.

The Origin of Libraries

e2 (< 1.1–2) The library is an ancient institution and—if I am not mistaken— Origin.
one as old as books themselves. Once knowledge and wisdom came into the
world, writing followed soon after. And writing could not have been useful
unless books were preserved and organized for contemporary and future
use. At first libraries were the work of private individuals: something one
would build for oneself and one’s family and friends. Kings and rulers soon
followed suit—not only to use them, but also for status and glory. Obviously,
the collection of a large number of books was scarcely possible for a private
individual (or his finances) to accomplish, since copying a book was slow
and expensive work until the printing press simplified things most usefully.

Libraries in Egypt

e3 (< 1.3–2.1) The first king to have a famous library was Ozymandias of Egypt. The First to
He built, among other famous works, a sacred library, and on its facade Build One.
had it written ψυχῆς ἰατρεῖον, A Hospital for the Soul. Although Ozymandias
was among the most ancient of kings, there is no doubt that the precedent
of building libraries survived, even if that particular library itself did not,
and that in Egypt there have always been some libraries from then on—
particularly in temples under the care of the priests. Yet the other libraries
there remain unknown, although the library of King Ptolemy Philadelphus
was widely known and praised. He was the son of Ptolemy son of Lagus, the
second of that name and that dynasty of the kings of Egypt. He was a patron
of the arts and of writers and, consequently, of books.

e4 (< 2.1, 2.3, 2.6–7, 2.9) So he created a massive library at Alexandria, aided by The Library
the teachings and example of Aristotle, and even by his actual books. But of Philadel-
phus.
he built the library and even sought sacred books, and books from Judea.

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Hebrææ sapientiæ, misit qui libros deposcerent, & idoneos simul homines
conduxit, qui in Græcam linguam verterent, communi omnium usui. Ea
interpretatio est, quam Septuaginta, à numero scilicet, qui operam dede-
runt, dicunt. Præerat Bibliothecæ vir scriptis & factis illustris, Demetrius
Phalereus, exsul à suis Athenis, & quem Rex benignè habitum ad hæc & 5
majora ministeria admovit. Idémque à Chaldæis, Ægyptiis, Romanis etiam
libros petivit, & pariter in linguam Græcam transfundi curavit. Numerus
librorum ad 700000. pervenit, Agellio teste. O thesaurum, sed in re æternâ
non æternum! Nam totum hoc, quidquid fuit librorum, bello civili Pompe-
jano periit, cùm Cæsar in ipsâ urbe Alexandriâ bellum cum incolis gereret, & 10
tuitionis suæ causâ ignem in naves misisset, qui & vicina navalibus, ipsam-
que Bibliothecam comprehendit & absumpsit. Triste fatum, & Cæsari (etsi
absque destinatâ culpâ) pudendum! Hic igitur finis nobilis Bibliothecæ fuit,
Olympiade 183. cùm vix 224. annos stetisset.
e5
(< 2.10–11) Revixit tamen, non eadem (quî id potuit?) sed consimilis, & 15
Bibliotheca
Cleopatræ. eodem loci, id est, in Serapeo collocanda. Auctor reperandi Cleopatra, illa
amoribus Antonii famosa: quæ ab eo in auspicium & velut fundamentum
operis impetravit Bibliothecam Attalicam sive Pergamenam. Itaque totam
cùm dono accepisset, & transferri curâsset, iterum adornata auctáque est, &
Christianorum etiam temporibus in vitâ & famâ fuit, in porticibus Serapei, 20
loco portui vicino: videturque stetisse, quamdiu ipsum Serapeum, immensæ
molis & artificii stupendi templum: quod Christiani denique Theodosii
majoris imperio, ut arcem superstitionis, demoliti à fundo sunt.

Bibliothecæ apud Græcos.

e6
(< 3.1–2, 2.1, 3.4, 3.6) Apud Græcos nobiliores Bibliothecas strictim tan-
Græcorum
Biblio- git Athenæus, & Polycratem in hoc studio parandorum librorum dilaudat. 25
thecæ. Agellius Pisistrato tyranno laudem primi auctoris in hoc studio adscripsit.
Magnus vir (odiosum hoc modò cognomen tolle) & cui Homerum etiam

18 impetravit] imperavit e6

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When the reputation of Hebrew wisdom had reached his ears, he sent men
to demand the books and employed men to translate them into Greek so
that they would be accessible to everyone. The result is the translation they
call the Septuagint, evidently from the number of men who worked on it.
In charge of the library was a man famous for both his writings and his
deeds, Demetrius of Phalerum, who was in exile from his native Athens.
The king treated him generously and gave him this responsibility and other
even greater ones. He also sought books from the Chaldeans, the Egyptians,
and even the Romans, and likewise had them translated into Greek. The
number of books reached 700,000, according to the testimony of Gellius.
What a treasure of eternal riches! But eternally it would not last. For the
total, whatever it was, was destroyed in the civil war with Pompey. When
Caesar battled in the city of Alexandria against its inhabitants, he set fire
to the ships for the sake of his own safety. The flames also caught hold of
the areas near the shipyards and the the library itself, which they consumed
entirely. A sad fate! And one that Caesar should be ashamed of, though the
fault was unintended. This, then, was the end of the famous library, in the
183rd Olympiad, when it had stood for almost 224 years.

e5 (< 2.10–11) Yet the library came to life again—not the same one (how could The Library
that have happened?) but a very similar one and located in the same place: of
Cleopatra.
the Serapeum. The author of the restoration was Cleopatra, the one famous
because of her affair with Antony. She asked him for the Attalid (or Perga-
mene) library as the inauguration and foundation, so to speak, of the new
work. Once she had received the whole as a gift and had arranged its trans-
port, it was again enriched and enlarged. It was thriving and famous even
in Christian times, in the porticoes of the Serapeum, located near the port.
The library appears to have stood as long as the Serapeum itself—a temple
of immense size and stunning craftsmanship. In the end, it was the Chris-
tians who tore it down to its foundations during the reign of Theodosius the
Elder, on the grounds that it was a citadel of superstition.

Libraries among the Greeks

e6 (< 3.1–2, 2.1, 3.4, 3.6) Among the Greeks, Athenaeus touches briefly on some Libraries of
of the more famous libraries and gives great praise to Polycrates on his the Greeks.
enthusiasm for collecting books. Gellius honors Pisistratus the Tyrant as the
first founder of a library. He was a great man (just subtract the repellent epi-
thet), and we could never repay what we owe him for organizing and editing

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digestum & correctum nunquam soluturi debemus. Adeò Critica hæc cura
olim Principum, imò Regum fuit. Ea Bibliotheca ab ipsis deinde Athenien-
sibus variè aucta, donec spoliavit & avexit Xerxes, Athenarum potitus. Sed
multis pòst annis Seleucus Nicanor, Syriæ Rex, liberaliter remittendam Athe-
nas curavit, donavítque. Et mansisse deinde ad Syllæ tempora, qui & ipse 5
Athenas cepit, diripuit, afflixit: posteà tamen instauratam, justè opinor; quo-
modo enim mater artium sine instrumento hoc librorum? Imò plures ibi
Bibliothecæ posteà. De Aristotele magnificè Strabo, eum copiâ & dilectu
insignem Bibliothecam adornâsse: quam tandem ad Ptolomæos Reges
venisse, scribit Athenæus. Neque memoratu digna alia de Græciæ Bibliothe- 10
cis leguntur: Romani haud dubiè pleraque talia ad se traduxerunt, Græciâ
jam potiti; nisi placet Byzantinam his accensere, quæ Principum ævo fuit; in
quâ 120000. librorum conflagrârunt; inter ea draconis intestinum 120. pedes
longum, cui aureis literis Homeri Ilias atque Odyssea fuerint inscripta. Etsi
hæc Thraciæ propriè, non Græciæ attribuenda. 15

Bibliotheca in Asiâ.
e7
Bibliotheca
(< 4.1–2, 4.4) Attalica sive Pergamena proxima claritate ab illâ Alexandrinâ
Asiæ. fuit. Nam Attalici Reges è parvis progressi, cùm societate opibúsque Romanis
crevissent, sedem regni Pergamum variè, tum & Bibliothecis, exornârunt.
Eumenes, Attali Regis filius, hujus rei auctor. In hac Pergamenâ fuerunt
librorum singularium 200000. 20

Bibliothecæ in Vrbe.
e8
(< 5.1–6) Veniamus ad Romanas Bibliothecas, situ & ævo magis propinquas.
Bibliothecæ
Romanæ. Satis enim tarda ibi hæc cura aut studium, apud Martis, non Musarum pro-
lem: etsi, cum bono Deo, parvis primò initiis, ut solet. Isidorus duos nominat,

15 propriè] prorie e3 potius e4–5, 7–9

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the books Homer. The fact that he did so himself shows how great a con-
cern literary criticism once was for princes—even for kings. The Athenians
themselves then enriched this library in various ways until Xerxes despoiled
it and hauled it off with him when he gained control of Athens. Many years
later Seleucus Nicanor, king of Syria, generously had it returned to Athens as
a gift. I have reason to believe that it remained there until the time of Sulla,
who himself took Athens, sacked it, and razed it—yet I also believe that the
library was afterwards restored. After all, how could Athens be the mother
of the arts without the assistance of books? On the contrary, there were later
many libraries there afterwards. As for Aristotle, Strabo writes superbly that
he furnished a library distinguished for its abundance and selection. The
library eventually came into the hands of the Ptolemaic kings, according
to Athenaeus. There is no other noteworthy evidence about the libraries of
Greece. Undoubtedly the Romans brought many such libraries back home
with them once the took control of Greece. Perhaps we should add to the
above the Library of Constantinople which existed in the imperial period.
It burned together with its 120,000 books. Among them was a scroll made
from the skin of a snake, 120 feet long, on which the Iliad and Odyssey of
Homer had been written in golden letters. Yet this library should properly
be attributed to Thrace, not to Greece.

A Library in Asia

e7 (< 4.1–2, 4.4) The Attalid (or Pergamene) library was second in renown A Library in
only to the great library of Alexandria. The Attalid kings, having sprung Asia.
from humble beginnings, grew strong through an allience with Rome (and
through Roman wealth). They beautified Pergamum, the seat of their king-
dom, in many ways, but in particular with libraries. Eumenes, the son of King
Attalus, was the source of this project. In this Pergamene library there were
200,000 individual books.

Libraries in the City

e8 (< 5.1–6) Let us now come to Roman libraries, which are closer to us in Roman
location and time. The interest in, and passion for, libraries arose relatively Libraries.
late among the Romans, who were the offspring of Mars after all, and not of
the Muses. Yet it did arise (through God’s benevolence), though from small
beginnings (as is generally the case). Isidore names two men who brought

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qui libros aduexêre, sed publici usûs aut juris non prorsus fecêre; Æmilium
Paulum, & Lucullum: quorum iste, quamquam jus mancipiúmque sibi reti-
neret, usum tamen eruditis concessit. Cornelius Sylla, posteà Dictator, è
Græciâ Athenísque magnam librorum vim traduxit, & Romæ deposuit &
disposuit. Tamen verè publica Bibliotheca nondum structa: quam cogitatio- 5
nem primus magnanimus ille & magnificus Iulius Cæsar concepit, ac nisi
fata interpellâssent, effecisset, datâ M. Varroni curâ comparandorum & diri-
gendorum librorum. Sed destinavit Cæsar, non perfecit. Augustus, adoptione
filius, inter alia ornamenta urbis & imperii, hoc quoque plurifariam adjunxit.
Asiniæ. Nam eo invitante atque incitante, Asinius Pollio, Orator & Senator nobilis, de 10
manubiis Dalmatarum, atrium Libertatis in monte Aventino exstruxit, atque
in eo Bibliothecam publicavit.
e9
Octavia.
(< 6.1–4, 6.6, 7.1) Post hanc duæ mox aliæ ab ipso Augusto institutæ. Prior
Octavia, quam sororis suæ memoriæ & nomini dedicavit, in superiore Por-
ticûs parte, tutò & decorè, cùm inferior ambulationi modò esset: in quâ 15
Palatina. Iunonis ædes, & nobiles statuæ quoque fuerunt. Altera Palatina, à loco dicta,
quia in ipso Palatio. Præter alia, præpositus sive Custos huic loco fuit C.
Iulius Hyginus, in Grammaticis celebris. Imò seorsim Græca custodem suum
habuit, & Latina. Ab Augusto igitur artium, ingeniorúmque amantissimo
Principe duæ istæ fuerunt. 20

e10 (< 7.1–8) Ab aliis deinde aliæ, & videtur certamen in hac re Principum fuisse,
Palatina à & velut contendisse de palmâ. Ecce Tiberius statim ab Augusto in ipso Pala-
Tiberio. tio etiam struxit, eâ parte, quâ viam Sacram spectat: nam illic Tiberii domum
fuisse curiosi talium hodie autumant, & in domo ejus hæc locatur. Videtur &
Vlpia. Vespasianus deinde struxisse, & adjunxisse templo Pacis. Fuit item à Trajano 25
alia, quæ à gentili ejus nomine, Vlpia passim nominatur. Hæc in foro Tra-
jani initio fuit, ubi Principis ejus alia opera; sed ævo mutavit, & translata est
Capitolina. in collem Viminalem, ad ornandas Diocletiani Thermas. Fuit & Capitolina
in Vrbe, instituta (ut divinare licet) à Domitiano. Nam ille servatus olim in
Capitolio, templum ibi Princeps struxit, quid si & hanc Bibliothecam? Con- 30

7–8 dirigendorum] digerendorum e3–5, 7–9 15 tutò] toto e7–9

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books to Rome, but they did not turn them over entirely to public use or
ownership: Aemilius Paullus and Lucullus. The latter of whom, although he
kept the title and ownership to himself, granted access to scholars. Cornelius
Sulla, who was later dictator, brought a massive collection of books from
Greece and Athens to Rome, where he deposited them and organized them.
Nevertheless, a truly public library had not yet been built. Julius Caesar, the
magnanimous and magnificent, first conceived of such a scheme. He would
have completed it too, if the fates had not intervened, since he put Varro in
charge of acquiring and organizing the books. Caesar conceived the project,
but he did not live to complete it. It was Augustus, his son by adoption, who
added this too among his many other embellishments to the city and the
empire in many places. At his invitation and urging, Asinius Pollio, a noble Of the
orator and senator, erected the Atrium of Liberty on the Aventine Hill from Asinian
Library.
the spoils of his Dalmation campaign and set up a public library in it.

e9 (< 6.1–4, 6.6, 7.1) Soon after that one, Augustus himself founded two other The
libraries. The first of these was the Octavian Library, which he dedicated in Octavian
Library.
the name and memory of his sister. It was located safely and elegantly on the
upper storey of the portico, since the lower would be used only for walking.
There was a temple of Juno in the portico and some famous statues. The The
second was the Palatine Library, named after its location, since it was right on Palatine
Library.
the Palatine Hill. Among other things, there was a manager or custodian for
the place: Julius Hyginus, famous among grammarians. Actually, the Greek
library separately had its own custodian, as did the Latin. So then, those two
libraries were established by Augustus, an emperor who was the greatest
lover of the arts and of writers.

e10 (< 7.1–8) Other emperors built other libraries, and there seems to have been
a contest among them on this point, almost as if they were competing for
a prize. Consider Tiberius, successor of Augustus. He also built a library on The
the Palatine Hill, on the part overlooking the Sacred Way. You see, that is Palatine
Library of
where the Tiberian House was, according to those who study such matters,
Tiberius.
and the library was located in his house. Vespasian too, it seems, then built a
library, which he added to the Temple of Peace. Trajan built another library, The Ulpian
which is sometimes called the Ulpian Library, taking its name from his clan Library.
name. It was originally in the Forum of Trajan, where the other monuments
of that emperor were, but the location changed in time, and the library
was taken to the Viminal Hill to adorn the Baths of Diocletian. There was The
also a Capitoline Library in the city, established by Domitian (as one can Capitoline
Library.
guess). He was saved on the Capitoline Hill, and so as emperor built a temple

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flagravit sub Commodo, fulmine tacta. Sub ævum Constantini Bibliothecas

publicas in Vrbe 29. fuisse, Principum studio ab interitu vindicatas, testatur
P. Victor: ex iis præcipuæ duæ, Palatina & Vlpia. Heu quàm memoriâ perie-
runt! nam ex illis 29. vix 7. industria nostra indagare potuit, & nomina saltem
ab oblivione vindicare. 5

Bibliothecæ extra Vrbem.

e11
Tiburtina
(< 8.1) Iuxta Vrbem etiam Tiburti publica fuit Bibliotheca, in Herculis tem-
Bibliotheca. plo satis commodè structa (ferè juxta templa, aut in illis Bibliothecæ: quídni,
sacra illa ingeniorum opera in locis sacratis?) Fortassis eam Hadrianus Impe-
rator Tibure instruxit, quem eo loco & secessu impensè delectatum constat,
variáque & ampla inædificâsse. Etsi in aliis municipiis coloniísque Biblio- 10
thecas sparsas fuisse, æquè atque artium istum cultum, mihi certum est.

Bibliothecæ Privatorum.
e12
(< 8.1–5) Sed & privatim viri divites, usûs & famæ causâ, sibi parârunt, &
Privatorum
Biblio- nobiles ex iis quasdam. Sicut Tyrannio Grammaticus, Syllæ temporibus, qui
thecæ. 3000. librorum possedit. Sicut Epaphroditus Chæroneus, item Grammaticus
professione, qui usque ad 30000. optimorum quidem & selectorum librorum 15
collegit. Superavit eum Sammonicus Serenus in hoc studio, qui Bibliothe-
cam habuit, in quâ 62000. librorum censebantur. Is moriens eam reliquit
Gordiano minori, qui gustavit Imperium.

e13 (< 8.6) Atque hi, aut pauci alii proditi sunt insigniores Bibliothecas habuisse:
plures tamen fuêre, & Seneca commune hoc studium jam tunc suo ævo 20
ostendit & damnat. Damnat:

3 duæ] datæ e6 ‖ quàm etiam à memoriâ e5, 7–9

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 A TREATISE ON LIBRARIES 157

there. What if he built added a library too? It perished in flames during

the time of Commodus, stuck by lightning. In the age of Constantine there
were 29 public libraries, saved from ruin by the efforts of the emperors, as
Publius Victor informs us. Two among them were especially outstanding,
the Palatine and Ulpian. Can you believe how they have been lost from
memory! Out of those 29, my own research has barely been able to track
down seven, whose names (at least) it has been possible to rescue from
oblivion.

Libraries beyond the City

e11 (< 8.1) Near the city, in Tivoli, there was also a public library, built quite The Library
conveniently in a temple of Hercules. (Libraries were usually in or next at Tivoli.
to temples. Why not house the sacred works of writers in sacred spaces?)
Perhaps it was Emperor Hadrian who built the library in Tivoli. After all, it
is known that he took enormous delight in the place as a retreat, erecting
many kinds of magnificent buildings there. And yet, I am quite convinced
that there were libraries scattered through many other cities and towns, and
and that such a cultivation of the arts was widespread.

Libraries of Private Citizens

e12 (< 8.1–5) Rich men had also furnished themselves private libraries, both Libraries of
for their own use and to enhance their reputation. Some of these libraries private
citizens.
were quite notable. One such was the case with Tyrannio the grammaticus,
in the time of Sulla, who owned 3,000 books. Another was Epaphroditus
of Chaeronea, likewise a grammaticus by profession, who collected up to
30,000 books—which were actually of the best, most select kind. Sammoni-
cus Serenus outdid him in the gathering of books. He had a library in which
there were numbered 62,000 books. Upon his death, he left his library to Gor-
dian the Younger, briefly emperor.

e13 (< 8.6) And so the above men, and perhaps a few others, are reputed to
have possessed quite excellent libraries. Yet there were more, and Seneca
shows that they were already common in his era—a thing he condemns. He
condemns it in the following terms:

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Non enim in studium, inquit, sed in spectaculum comparabant: sicut

plerisque ignaris etiam servilium literarum, libri non studiorum instru-
menta, sed cœnationum ornamenta sunt.
e14
(< 8.7–8, 8.6) Observandum, Bibliothecas etiam in Balneis & Thermis
Bibliothecæ
cur in habuisse: quia corpori curando otiosè tunc vacabant; & igitur occasio erat 5
Thermis. legendi aliquid, hominibus aliâs occupatis, vel audiendi: Enimverò etiam
in Villis & Prætoriis passim habebant, ab eâdem hac, otii & vacationis ibi,
causâ. Vtinam nostri divites sic lasciviant! semper cum alieno aliquo, si non
suo, usu & bono.

De Armariis Bibliothecarum.
e15
(< 9.3) Parietes in Bibliothecis ebore & vitro comptos fuisse, suggerit Boëtius. 10
Ornatus
Bibliothe- Non ergo Armaria & Plutei ad parietes laterales (neque enim conspicuus
carum. sic ille ornatus fuisset) sed in medio disposita, ut hodie quoque publicæ
ferè Bibliothecæ usurpant. Sanè vitra olim in quadras, orbes, ova, aut rhom-
bos distincta parietes ornabant, non aliter quàm marmoreæ crustæ; sæpiùs
tamen cameras & lacunar. 15

e16
Armaria.
(< 9.7) De Armariis Vetus Scholiastes Iuvenalis, in illud:

Hic libros dabit & forulos.] Armaria, inquit, Bibliothecam.

Foruli. Etsi propriè, opinor, Foruli, ipsi nidi, ut cum Martiale dicam, librorum, sive
cum Senecâ, distincta loculamenta. Sidonius & hæc & alia in Bibliothecis
collocat: 20

Plutei. Hîc libri affatim in promptu: videre te crederes aut Grammaticales Plu-
Cunei. teos, aut Athenæi Cuneos, aut Armaria exstructa Bibliopolarum.

Pluteos, id est, tabulas inclinatas transversim, quibus libri legendi impo-

nerentur. Cuneos, scamnorum seriem, ut in Athenæo, digestam. Armaria
Pegmata. autem plena & alta, ea Pegmata videtur appellâsse Cicero ad Atticum. 25

13 Sanè] Sæpe e3–5, 7–9 17 Bibliothecam] ad Bibliothecam e3–5, 7–9 18 Etsi] Et e4–5, 7–9

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 A TREATISE ON LIBRARIES 159

They were furnishing libraries not for study but for show. To many men, for
instance, ignorant even of the servile arts, books are not the instruments
of erudition but rather the ornaments of the dining room.

e14 (< 8.7–8, 8.6) It must be noted here that there were even libraries in baths and Why there
hot baths. While bathing there would be time at rest for the care of the body, were
Libraries in
so there would also have been the opportunity to read something for people
Baths.
too busy at other times, or at least to listen. In fact, they even had libraries
here and there in their villas and country palaces for the same reason: the
leisure and free time available there. I wish that that’s how today’s wealthy
misbehaved! A library is always of good use to someone, if not to oneself.

On the Bookcases of Libraries

e15 (< 9.3) Boethius adds that the walls were elegant in ivory and glass. In that The
case, the bookcases and desks must not have been arranged along the side Decoration
of Libraries.
walls (where they would obscure the embellishments) but rather placed in
the middle of the room, as is the case today in most public libraries. In those
days they would decorate walls with glass divided into squares, circles, ovals,
and rhombuses, just like they did with marble encrustations. Quite often
they even decorated barrel vaults and tiled-ceilings that way.

e16 (< 9.7) On bookcases the old scholiast on Juvenal comments on the phrase, Bookcases.
He will give books and foruli. He explains foruli as “cabinets, a bookcase.”
Although in my opinion, foruli are properly pigeon-holes for books, as Foruli.
I might say with Martial, or individual cases, as I might say with Seneca.
Sidonius places both these and other things in libraries:

Here there are plenty of books at hand. You would think that you were
Plutei.
seeing the desks (plutei) of the grammarians, or the wedges (cunei) of Cunei.
an auditorium, or the towering bookcases (armaria) of the booksellers.

Plutei, that is, boards placed crosswise and raised at an incline, on which
books were be placed to be read. Cunei, a series of benches arranged as if
they were in an auditorium. Armaria, bookcases both capacious and tall.
Cicero seems to have called them pegmata in his letters to Atticus. Pegmata.

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Imagines in Bibliothecis.
e17
(< 10.1–5, 10.7–8) Præcipuus ornatus fuerunt Bibliothecarum Imagines & Sta-
Statuæ in
Bibliothe- tuæ doctorum, quas unâ cum libris disponebant. Nónne pulchrum, & suave
cis. oculis ac cogitationi? Naturâ trahimur ad simulacra & effigies magnorum
virorum noscendas, & illa corpora sive hospitia, quibus se cælestis animus
inclusit: ecce hîc erat. Romanum hoc inventum videtur, ne omnia bella ad 5
Auctor
Græciam referantur. Plinius Asinium Pollionem facit auctorem, quem etiam
Asinius
Pollio. M. Varronis, unius viventis imaginem in Bibliothecâ posuisse, idem refert.
Quod tamen & aliis posteà, indulgentiâ an judicio, datum video. Alioquin
Imagines.
plerumque mortuorum, & quos famæ consensus jam sacrâsset, imagines ibi
posuerunt. E metallo ut plurimùm; sed etiam è gypso in privatis Bibliothe- 10
cis, pro cujusque scilicet copiâ. Imò & in tabulis imagines fuêre: & fortasse in
librorum fronte picturâ etiam expressæ. Itaque utrumque & Statuæ, & Ima-
gines fuêre. Cæterùm minores illæ imagines sive statuæ pluteis plerumque
impositæ videntur, ante suos quæque libros. Inde & Sigilla plutealia apud
Ciceronem. Nam jam tunc Bibliothecas exornabant Deorum, si non Aucto- 15
rum sigillis.

De Museo Alexandrino.
e18
Musei
(< 11.1–2) Sed si Bibliothecæ solæ, aut rarus adventor; si homines, inquam,
utilitas. non sunt qui frequentent & evolvant, quò ista congeries? & quid nisi studiosa
quædam luxuria sint? Providerunt hoc quoque Alexandrini Reges, & unâ
cum illis Museum (ita dixerunt, quasi Musarum ædem) exstruxerunt, in quo 20
fas esset Musis operari, à cæteris rebus feriatos. Imò & à vitæ victûsque curis
vacuos, cùm alimenta iis hîc è publico darentur.
e19
(< 11.2–3, 11.6) Fuit id Regiæ sive Aulæ pars; scilicet adnecti & jungi sibi vol-
Vicinum
Regiæ. uerunt Reges, ut in propinquo & promptu essent eruditi isti, cum quibus
dissererent, cùm libitum, animo docendo & pascendo. Habuit Porticus & 25
Exedras: illas exercitio corporis magis; has animi, & ubi considentes alter-
Domus carentur & conferrent. Fuit & domus, ubi omnibus ex omni terrâ literatis
Communis.

7 idem] item e10 12 picturâ] picturæ e4–5, 7–9

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 A TREATISE ON LIBRARIES 161

Portraits in Libraries

e17 (< 10.1–5, 10.7–8) The main type of decoration in libraries was the portraits Statues in
and statues of learned men, which the Romans used to display alongside Libraries.
their books. Was it not noble? Was it not pleasant to look at and to con-
template? By nature we desire to see depictions and images of great men,
and the bodies (or rather temporary abodes) in which their heavenly minds
enveloped themselves. Look! Here he is! This appears to be a Roman inven-
tion (all beautiful things need not be Greek in origin). Pliny says Asinius Originator:
Pollio was the originator of this practice, and also says that he had set up in Asinius
Pollio.
his library a portrait of only one living man: Varro. Yet I see that this honor
was later granted also to others, whether as a matter of flattery or taste.
Otherwise portraits were generally of those who were both deceased and Portraits.
whom the consensus of fame had already sanctified. They were made for
the most part out of precious metals, but could also be of plaster in private
libraries (obviously in accordance with one’s means). In fact, there were por-
traits painted on tablets as well, and perhaps also illuminated on the fronts
of books. Miniature portraits and statues seem to have often been placed
on desks, each in front of each one’s own books. Hence we also find the term
desk statuettes in Cicero. Already at that point they used to decorate libraries
with statuettes of gods, if not of authors.

On the Museum of Alexandria

e18 (< 11.1–2) But if libraries are deserted, or see only the rare visitor, and there The
are not people who gather there to read, then what is the point of such Usefulness
of a
a stockpile? Then what is it except some kind of scholarly extravagance?
Museum.
The Alexandrian kings also foresaw this problem, and in addition to the
famous library they built the Museum (so they called it, as if a Temple of
the Muses), where it would be possible to busy onself with with the Muses,
unencumbered by other concerns. Here the scholars were even free from the
cares of life and livelihood, since they received food at public expense.

e19 (< 11.2–3, 11.6) It was part of the palace or court. The kings naturally wanted Near the
it to be joined closely to their persons so they could have near at hand the Palace.
kind of erudite men with whom they could converse, when they wanted,
and so educate and nourish their own intellects. The Museum had porticoes
and exedras: the former for the exercise mostly of the body, the latter of A Shared
the mind, because there they could sit and debate or confer. There was House.

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 162 De bibliothecis: Text and Translation

receptis communis victus & mensa. Habuit hoc Collegium & pecuniam sive
vectigalia in commune; & sacerdotem item, qui præesset Museo, Regum
aut Cæsarum dilectu constituendum. Magna igitur dignitas, & quæ ab ipso
Cæsare conferenda.
e20
(< 11.9) Addere licet, non vacuam omnino aut otiosam ibi vitam vixisse 5
Occupatio-
nes (quî possent viri bono publico nati?) sed aut scripsisse, aut disseruisse, &
literato- recitâsse. Claudius Imperator Museum hoc altero addito adauxit, ut certi
rum. libri ibi quotannis recitarentur.

FINIS.

6–7 disseruisse & recitâsse e3–4

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 A TREATISE ON LIBRARIES 163

also a house in it, where they lived and ate together: all the men of letters
from all the land. The Museum also had an association and money or income
in common. A priest was in charge of the Museum, appointed at the selec-
tion of kings or Caesars. This means it was a great honor, since it had to be
conferred by Caesar himself.

e20 (< 11.9) We might add that life there was not remotely unoccupied or leisurely What the
(how would that have been possible for men born for the public good?). Scholars
Did.
Instead, they either wrote, or debated, and gave readings of their works.
The emperor Claudius enlarged this Museum, adding a second one, so that
certain books could be recited there annually.

THE END

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Commentary on the De bibliothecis

Preface

In his historical studies, Lipsius aimed to provide guidance for his contem-
poraries and not just information about the past. The db, while a history of
the library as an institution, also gives a rationale for and exhortation to the
funding of libraries and the scholars to work there. The preface consists of
two addresses: one to the dedicatee, Charles of Croÿ (db pr.1–5),1 and a much
shorter one to the reader (db pr.6).2 Charles of Croÿ built a palace in Hever-
lee, home to the Old University of Leuven, and made many improvements to
the surrounding area. Lipsius compliments Charles on his scholarly interests,
as well as on his ancestry, wealth, and intellect. He compares Charles to the
Roman general Lucullus. Lucullus had an impressive military career and cre-
ated a private library to which he granted wide access. Lucullus was also famous
for his self-indulgence and lavish lifestyle—associations Lipsius counters by
highlighting rather Lucullus’s distinguished military career followed by (what
Lipsius portrays as) an enlightened retirement. The preface is an expression
of gratitude to Charles and also an attempt to spur other rulers to follow his
example in providing public funds for scholarship.
In the address to the reader, Lipsius again commends the role of rulers in
encouraging scholarship, and affirms that Charles of Croÿ really did inspire the
work. He expresses exasperation that few rulers provide such support, and he
complains of scholars who ignore antiquity.
Charles had an extraordinary library himself, and Lipsius had it in mind
that Charles might donate it to the University, which had no great library to
speak of.3 After Lipsius died, Charles did make arrangements with Erycius
Puteanus, Lipsius’s student, to give the library to the University, but the plans
fell through. Although Charles never did build the library and research institute

1 This letter to Charles will be published as ile xv, 02-06-20. Deneire 2012a provides an anal-
ysis of this letter and the others that Lipsius dedicates to members of the House of Habs-
burg.
2 Such a double dedication was standard practice for Lipsius, see benlw “Letters of Dedication”
1034–1036 (Verbeke and De Landtsheer). On Lipsius’s letters of dedication more generally,
including a table of all dedicatory letters, see De Landtsheer 2008b.
3 Lipsius writes to Jan Moretus of dedicating the work to Charles to encourage him to found a
library: Car luij il faict estat de dresser une belle librairie, et le fault inciter (Letter 131 in Gerlo
and Vervliet 1967, to be published as ile xv, 02-06-25).

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commentary on the de bibliothecis pr.1 165

Lipsius dreamed of, Federico Borromeo took up the project in his Bibliotheca
Ambrosiana within Lipsius’s lifetime.4
Subsequent editions of the db frequently left out the preface. It does not
appear in the Mader/Schmidt editions (a5–6), the Utrecht editions (b5–6), or any
of the epitome editions. It is moved to the end of the work in the Helmstadt
editions (a2–4). Peignot omitted the preface in his French translation of 1800,
expressing contempt for its flattery of the aristocracy.5 Dana’s English trans-
lation of 1907, made partly on the basis of the French, omits the address to
Charles but includes the address to the reader. The omission of the preface is
partly a function of the new uses to which the db was put. Most subsequent
editions of the full text were practical works of history and library science,
while the epitomes served the needs of students. There is an irony in that Lip-
sius’s goal in writing the db seems not so much to have been the creation of
a major work of scholarship as the inducement of a wealthy donor to fund a
library.6

pr.1 Lipsius dedicates the work to Charles of Croÿ, whose support of the arts
and interest in libraries is commended.

carolo/charles: Charles of Croÿ (1560–1612) was the son of Jeanne of

Hallewyn (1544–1581) and Philippe of Croÿ (1526–1595). He was also the ded-
icatee of Lipsius’s 1602 Dispunctio notarum Mirandulani codicis ad Cornelium
Tacitum (Antwerp: J. Moretus), which Lipsius conceived of as a kind of pair
with the db.7 Lipsius later dedicated his 1605 Louanium (Antwerp: J. Moretus)
to Charles as well.8 Charles studied at Leuven under Cornelius Valerius, as had
Lipsius himself,9 and his memoirs were published posthumously.10

4 See Nelles 1996: 234–235, Ferro 2005, and 11n. cap. xi.
5 Peignot writes (1800: xi): “We saw fit to leave out the dedicatory epistle, which contains
nothing but insipid flattery of the prince” (nous avons cru devoir supprimer l’épitre dédica-
toire, qui ne contient que de fades adulations pour le prince).
6 Such is the essence of his remarks about the work to Jan Moretus in Letter 131 in Gerlo and
Vervliet 1967 (to be published as ile xv, 02-06-25).
7 See Introduction 6.1.
8 The Louanium has been reprinted in a facsimile edition, with Dutch translation and notes,
by Papy (2000). See also Papy 2002.
9 On Lipsius and Cornelius Valerius, see De Landtsheer, Sacré, and Coppens 2006: 28–35.
10 The memoires are in De Reiffenberg 1845. On Charles’s life, see also Schmook 1941: 17–20.

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166 commentary on the de bibliothecis pr.2

dvci croiio et arschotano/duke of croy and arschot: Henry iv

of France created Charles Duke of Croÿ in 1598. Charles inherited the title Duke
of Arschot from his father, as he did the title Prince of Chimay.

eqviti avrei velleris/knight of the golden fleece: A special

chivalric order, earned through military service. Philip ii of Spain made Charles
Order of the Golden Fleece in 1599. On his military career see below pr.3n. in
caligine.

Nummos & Bibliothecas/coins and libraries: George of Hallewyn (Georgius

Haloinus, c. 1470–1536/7), Charles’s great-grandfather, had gathered a large
library at Comines on the border of modern Belgium and France. George
was a friend of Erasmus and made a French translation of In Praise of Folly.11
Charles inherited this library and enlarged it until it had well over 3,000 books
and manuscripts.12 The library was dispersed by sale after Charles’s death in
1612.
Charles also had an impressive numismatic collection of perhaps as many as
18,000 coins and medals, which were sold along with his library after his death.13

pr.2 Lipsius compliments the ancestry, wealth, and intellect of Charles. He

praises the benefactions at Heverlee in particular.

Omnibus ornatum voluêre excellere rebus/have desired that you be outstand-

ing in all things: The quotation is from Lucretius’s dedication of the De rerum
natura to his patron, Gaius Memmius (drn 1.24–27).14 In Lucretius, it is Venus
who wishes Memmius’s success. Epicureanism advocates withdrawing from

11 Erasmus makes reference to the translation in his two extant letters to George (Epist. 641
and 1115). Erasmus also commended George’s literary endeavors in a letter to Thomas More
(Epist. 1220).
12 In his will Charles ordered an inventory to be drawn up, and the inventory became the
basis of a sales catalog when his books were auctioned. This catalog has recently been
rediscovered by Christian Coppens, who published an analysis in 2008. The catalog has
3,105 entries, but these may not be complete; the catalog also claims 6,000 books for the
sale. See also Van Evan 1852 and Schmook 1941: 28–34.
13 On the numismatic collection of Charles see Serrure 1847: 15–18, 432–433 and Coppens
2008. The collection was published in De Bie 1615. On Renaissance numismatic collections
more generally see benlw “Coins and Medals” 940–945 (Sacré).
14 ocd “Memmius (2) (re 8), Gaius” (Cadoux and Seager).

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commentary on the de bibliothecis pr.3 167

military and political life to pursue the study of philosophy in a pleasant locale,
which makes the allusion to Lucretius here an apt one. Lipsius alters the line
slightly but keeps the hexameter.

Hevria/Heverlee: Lipsius elsewhere explains that Heuria is the newer, synco-

pated version of the name Heuerlea.15 In the same place he gives a historical
outline of Heverlee and a description of Charles’s works there. Papy (2002: 58)
points out that in Lipsius’s description, he connects Heverlee to Alexandria and
the Museum (cf. db 11 and 11.6n. Sacerdotem).

pr.3 Charles is compared to Lucullus (c. 118–56bc), whose successful mili-

tary career was followed by the creation of a library where he hosted
scholars.

ingenio cum ingenio loci pugnas ac superas/Your nature is fighting against

the nature of the place—and winning: Extravagant private building projects
were a source of criticism in the ancient world, especially when they appeared
to defy nature.16 Plutarch, who was Lipsius’s main source on Lucullus, censured
his building projects. Lipsius presents them rather as a sign of power and
effectiveness.

lvcvllvs/Lucullus: Lucius Licinius Lucullus (c. 118–56bc) led successful mil-

itary campaigns during the Third Mithridatic War in the late 70s and early
60s bc.17 Lucullus nearly brought the war to a close before being superseded
in command by Pompey. Upon returning home, political enemies18 forced
him into retirement from public life, where he used the spoils of his wars to
fund a lavish lifestyle, including spectacular private building projects. Lucul-
lus had an interest in philosophy and particularly favored the Old Academy as
propounded by Antiochus of Ascalon (Plut. Luc. 42.3). Cicero used Lucullus
represent the views of the Old Academy in the first edition of his Academ-
ica.19

15 Book 3 Ch. 10 of Lipsius’s 1605 Louanium (= Papy 2000).

16 On private building projects and the rhetoric of immorality, see Edwards 1993: 137–172.
17 ocd “Licinius (re 104) Lucullus (2), Lucius” (Badian). Lucullus also wrote a work in Greek
on the Social War, in which he served under Sulla, see FRHist 23 (Smith).
18 Among these political enemies was Gaius Memmius, the dedicatee of Lucretius’De rerum
natura.
19 Specifically, in the second book of the first edition of the Academica. This book was some-

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Lipsius was not the first to use Lucullus as an exemplar of library patronage:
Johann Lange had used Lucullus in his 1556 Epistola medicinalis to encour-
age Ottheinrich of Wyttelsbach in his founding of Heidelberg’s Bibliotheca
Palatina.20

Non indignare/Don’t be insulted: Lucullus was proverbially prodigal. Lipsius

twists the account of Plutarch (Luc. 39) to portray him as a noble patron of the
arts rather than as a man squandering a fortune on self-indulgence.

bellis victoriísque in florente ætate celebris: & mox inclinante, ad quietem &
ad se inclinauit/In the flower of his youth he was noted for repeated military
victories. Then, as his years turned, he turned towards peace and towards
himself: Lipsius paraphrases (and twists) Plutarch Luc. 39.1: “In the life of
Lucullus, just like in Old Comedy, one reads first of political and military affairs,
then later of drinking and dinners and basically rioting and torch-races and all
kinds of childishness” (Ἔστι δ’ οὖν τοῦ Λευκόλλου βίου καθάπερ ἀρχαίας κωμῳδίας
ἀναγνῶναι τὰ μὲν πρῶτα πολιτείας καὶ στρατηγίας, τὰ δ’ ὕστερα πότους καὶ δεῖπνα
καὶ μονονουχὶ κώμους καὶ λαμπάδας καὶ παιδιὰν ἅπασαν).

Bibliothecarum Romæ præcipuum exemplum/the most outstanding exam-

ple of libraries at Rome: On the library of Lucullus see 5.1n. Deinde Lucullus.

ab illo eruditi in sermone, mensâ, domo habiti/Scholarly men populated

his conversations, his table, his home: Plutarch had remarked on Lucullus’s
custom of speaking with, feeding, and hosting scholars (Luc. 42)—a practice
to which Lipsius exhorts princes in Chapter 11 in particular.

Principes rei Romanæ postea frui vtique æstimarunt/the emperors later

judged worthy of being enjoyed by all the people of Rome: As Lipsius would
have known from his source, Plut. Luc. 39, the Gardens of Lucullus were the
emperors’ private property.

times called the Lucullus (e.g. at Plut. Luc. 42.4), and now goes by the name Academica
priora. In the second edition of this book, which does not survive, Cicero replaced Lucul-
lus with Varro.
20 Baldi (2011b: 58–61 and 2013: 38–43) points out Lange’s use of Lucullus and explores some
possible political motivations. Baldi (2011b: 63–98) presents a text of the letter.

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commentary on the de bibliothecis pr.4 169

in caligine hac rerum temporúmque/in those recent dark times and dark cir-
cumstances: A reference to the Eighty Years’ War (1568–1648), which ultimately
resulted in Dutch independence from the Habsburgs. After fighting on the side
of the rebelling Dutch, Charles returned his allegiance to Habsburg Spain in
1585 and fought for the Spanish king, Philip ii.

pr.4 Lipsius praises the benefactions of Charles at Heverlee.

Academiæ nostræ/our university: A reference to the Old University of Leuven

(1425–1797). Lipsius describes the structure of the University in Book Three of
his Louanium, Ch. 1–5 (= Papy 2000). He describes the grounds in Chapters 9–10
of the same book.
The term “Academy” (Ἀκαδήμεια/Ἀκαδημία) originally referred to a public
sanctuary outside of Athens, which took its name from the hero Hecademus.
The sanctuary was large, roughly 450×300m, and included places to exercise
(gymnasia).21 Plato taught students in the gymnasia, as did other sophists.
The Academy may have come into existence as a sanctuary as early as the
sixth century bc, but probably did not have any monumental, built structures
until the late-fifth or early-fourth century bc. It seems to have remained a
recognizable locale into Late Antiquity.22
Cicero named one of the peristyle gardens in his Tusculan villa his Academia,
and he furnished it with a library and other accoutrements of a gymnasium
(see 5.2n. Bibliothecae), as Lipsius would have known from Cicero’s Letters to
Atticus, which he cites in db 9.7. Lipsius himself used the word academia exclu-
sively to mean “school,”23 and did not mention Plato’s Academy, nor Cicero’s,
in his history of academiae in Book 3 Ch. 6–7 of Louanium.24

21 For some typical architectural features of ancient gymnasia see 2.1n. Ἀριστοτέλης.
22 For more on the location and grounds of Academy, see Travlos 1971: 42–51, Glucker 1978:
226–255, and Caruso 2013. I argue elsewhere (Hendrickson 2014: 379n.34) that it is prob-
ably misguided to look for signs of Plato’s library among the archaeological remains
there.
23 E.g. “the public school, which we are accustomed to call the Academy”publicam Scholam,
quam Academiam solemus appellare (Louanium Book 3 Ch. 1). For other uses of the term
academia in the Renaissance and Early Modern period, see nlw “academia” (Pade) and
ct “Academy” (Celenza).
24 It might be relevant that Middendorp 1567 had thoroughly treated these topics already.
On Middendorp’s work and its relationship to library historiography, see Nelles 1994: 194–
210.

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170 commentary on the de bibliothecis pr.5

illa ædificia, ambulacra, horti, fontes, arboreta/those grand buildings of

yours, the colonnades, the gardens, the fountains, and the groves: Lipsius lists
the same improvements (aedificia, uias, hortos, fontes, arboreta) in the dedica-
tion of his 1605 Louanium (= Papy 2000) to Charles.

Athenæo/university: An athenaeum is a “temple of Athena,” cf. Museum as

“temple of the Muses.” The original Athenaeum was a “school of liberal arts”
(ludus ingenuarum artium) founded in Rome by Hadrian around the year ad 135
(Aur. Victor Caes. 14.3).25 Throughout Late Antiquity it was the site of poetic
and rhetorical performances.26 New excavations at the edge of Piazza Venezia
in Rome have discovered a group of Hadrianic auditoriums that could be the
site of the Athenaeum.27 Another possible location for the Athenaeum is in the
building adjacent to S. Maria Antiqua on the northwest foot of the Palatine,
though some identify that structure as the Tiberian House library (see 7.2n.
Tiberius).
In the present instance, Athenaeum is an equivalent of Academia (“univer-
sity”), as often in Renaissance Latin.28 There was also a building at Heverlee
called the Athenaeum, which had an auditorium where Lipsius taught (Loua-
nium Book 3 Ch. 4).

pr.5 An added enticement to the support of the writers: they will write in
praise of you. A point Lipsius also makes at db 8.5.

pr.6 Ad Lectorem Lipsius again extols the role of princes in encouraging the
arts. He also criticizes writers who ignore classical antiquity.

Ὁδοῦ παρούσης τὴν ἀτραπὸν ζητέεις: An old saying. Lipsius likely found it in
Erasmus’s Adagia (3102 Hoven). Erasmus writes that it is “a suitable quip to
use on shirkers, since they seek diversions to avoid the work in front of them”

25 ltur “Athenaeum” (Coarelli), tll “Athenaeum” 2 (Diel).

26 E.g. Cass. Dio 73(74).17; Porph. ad Hor. Epist. 2.2.94; sha Pert. 11.3, Alex. Seu. 35.2, Gord. 3.4;
Jer. In Gal. 3pr., Epist. 66.9; Sidonius Epist. 2.9.4, 9.14.2, 4.8.5, 9.9.13.
27 Egidi 2010. Rea (2014: 145–147) casts some doubt on the identification. She points out that
Sidonius Apollinaris describes the seating there as “wedges,” like the seating blocks in a
curved theater (see 9.7n. Cuneos), while the newly discovered Hadrianic auditoriums have
straight rows of benches.
28 nlw “athenaeum” (Ramminger).

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 1 171

(conueniet adagium in tergiuersatores, qui quo praesens negocium suffugiant,

diuerticula captant). Erasmas cites Eustathius on the Odyssey,29 although a
version of the axiom appeared as early as Aristophanes (pcg iii.2 fr. 47). In
the apparatus fontium, I cite Aelius Dionysius’s Attic Nouns (ο 4 Erbse), which
is likely Eustathius’s ultimate source.

Chapter One

capvt i/chapter one: The db is occasionally concerned with philological

matters, and in particular with defining Latin words whose meaning was either
obscure (see Ch. 9) or had changed significantly since the time of Classical
Latin. Lipsius begins by defining the words bibliotheca and libraria (db 1.1). He
then suggests a plausible development for early libraries: that book collections
must have existed practically as long as writing has, and that the modest
collections of individuals must have preceded the grander collections of kings
(db 1.1–2).
This line of development stands in contrast with other contemporary ideas
about the origins of libraries, which instead stressed the holy books of the
Hebrews (Introduction §3.3–4). Angelo Rocca traced the origins of writing
to Seth, the son of Adam, and ante-diluvian libraries (Rocca 1591: 383–384).
Michael Neander also began with the Hebrew Scriptures (1565: 37–39), which
is what Isidore of Seville had also done (Etym. 6.1–3). Onofrio Panvinio and
the Protestant centuriators saw the origins of libraries almost exclusively in
terms of the libraries of the early Christian Church (Nelles 2002). The db
is striking in its avoidance of biblical topics, and is unique in starting with
Egypt.
Lipsius organized his history of libraries geographically and chronologically.
The story begins in Egypt with some libraries of great antiquity. Even more
novel than this structure is the anecdotes that make up the meat of the chapter:
the library of Ozymandias in Thebes and Homer’s plagiarism from a library
in Memphis (db 1.3).30 Neither of these stories seems to have been terribly
well known before Lipsius—at the very least they did not figure prominently
in other discussions of library history. The story about Homer is an obvious

29 Eust. Od. 1738.53–54 (= 46.10–11 Stallbaum i.2). The axiom is also attested in Eust. Il. 1163.43
(= 257.19 Van der Valk iv), Suda ο 48 Adler, and Phot. Lexicon s.v. ὁδοῦ.
30 The latter, I argue below (1.3n. Eustat.), is a previously unknown fragment of Zenodotus
of Mallus.

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172 commentary on the de bibliothecis 1.1

invention, but the story about Ozymandias points to the existence (now better
known) of temple libraries in Egypt (see 1.3n. Sacram Bibliothecam and 1.3n.
in templis).
Although Lipsius was unaware of it, there were even earlier textual col-
lections in the Near East, some containing thousands of texts on cuneiform
tablets. Particularly notable are the Assyrian and Babylonian libraries of the
first millennium bc—the most famous of which is the library of Assurbanipal
in Nineveh (c. 669–630bc).31 These collections included legal and administra-
tive texts, religious texts (rituals, omens, and divination), and literary texts (like
the Epic of Gilgamesh).
Finally, it is worth noting Lipsius’s contradictory presuppositions about
libraries. On the one hand, he states that libraries must have existed nearly
as long as writing itself, since a library is nothing more than a collection of
writings (db 1.1). Such a definition would include what we now call archives.32
At the same time, the db as a whole betrays the assumption that a library
is a collection of literary and scholarly texts gathered to support reading for
research, teaching, and leisure—much closer to our modern definition of a
library. Neither perspective seems to furnish an entirely valid description of
ancient libraries, and in fact no one perspective likely could. Libraries were
physical, social, and intellectual institutions that varied widely over place and
time.

1.1 A bibliotheca is a “library;” a libraria is a “bookstore.” Book collections

must have existed as long as the invention of writing.

Locum, Armarium, Libros/a library, a bookcase, and a collection of books: The

ultimate source for this definition is the early third-century ad jurist Ulpian
(Digesta 32.52.7):

Nerva said quite elegantly that it was a matter of what the person making
the will intended. Sometimes bibliotheca means a place, like “I’m going
to the bibliotheca;” other times a bookcase, like when we say “he bought
an ivory bibliotheca;” other times it means books, like when we say that
someone bought a bibliotheca.

31 Robson (2013) gives an overview of these collections, which have been found in houses as
well as temples and palaces.
32 Melchior Guilandinus (1572: 101), by contrast, did separate out libraries, which he called

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 1.1 173

Eleganter Nerua ait interesse id quod testator senserit: nam et locum

significari “bibliothecam eo”: alias armarium, sicuti dicimus “eboream
bibliothecam emit”: alias libros, sicuti dicimus bibliothecam emisse.

Lipsius’s proximate source is probably Melchior Guilandinus, who writes: “In

fact, the jurisconsults also teach that bibliotheca refers to a library, a bookcase,
and a collection of books” (Quin et Iurisconsulti docent bibliothecam significare
et locum, et armarium, et libros).33 Though Lipsius here follows Guilandinus
almost word for word, he does seem to have consulted the jurists directly, since
he quotes more extensively than what is found in Guilandinus below at db 8.8
and 9.3–5α.
Lipsius and Guilandinus were not the first to introduce this passage of the
Digesta into discussions of book history. Niccolò Perotti had done so in his
influential Cornucopiae, published in 1489, and it became a commonplace in
Renaissance discussions of books, libraries, and writing materials.34
Lipsius omitted a different significant ancient definition, which is found in
Paul the Deacon’s eighth-century excerpts of the second-century ad author
Pompeius Festus (p. 31 Lindsay): “Both among the Greeks and among us, a
library refers to a large number of books on its own as well as the place itself in
which the books are stored” (bibliothecae apud Graecos et apud nos tam libro-
rum magnus per se numerus quam locus ipse in quo libri collocati sunt, appel-
latur).
In Classical Latin, the word bibliotheca35 was not used solely in reference
to collections of literary works, but also for mixed literary and documentary
collections.36 There does not seem to have been an entirely separate word for
an “archive,” although tablularium could be used to refer to a storeroom of
tablets,37 and Pliny writes (hn 35.7) that in Roman houses the tablinum used to

bibliothecae ad eruditionem, from archives, which he called bibliothecae ad rem nummer-

ariam.
33 Guilandinus 1572: 102. Roman law also treats libraries at Dig. 18.1.50, 30.41.9, 32.52.3,
33.7.12.34, and Jul. Paul. Sent. 3.6.51. On Roman law and the history of the book, see Spal-
lone 2008.
34 Perotti treats this passage of the Digesta in col. 812 of the Aldine edition: Perotti 1513. On
Perotti’s Cornucopiae and library historiography in the Renaissance, see Nelles 1994: 69–71.
35 The tll entry “bibliotheca” (Ihm), though now out of date, especially in regards to
inscriptions, still provides the best collection of quotations.
36 For instance, the Palatine Apollo library contained books of civil law (see 6.4n. Palatina)
and Trajan’s library included “decrees of the praetors” (see 7.4n. Fuit item). It is possible,
although not certain, that the Atrium of Liberty library contained the legal and adminis-
trative texts that were there before the library was built (see 5.5n. Atrium Libertatis).
37 See old “tabularium” 2.

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174 commentary on the de bibliothecis 1.1

be the room where records and documents were stored.38 On other words for
“library” see below 1.1n. Græca vox and 1.1n. Librariam.

Græca vox/The word is Greek: Greek βιβλιοθήκη (also written βυβλιοθήκη) is

quite literally “a place to put books.” The Greek word can also refer to a place,
a bookcase, or a collection of books. It can refer to documentary collections
(“archives”) as well as literary ones. The first instance of the word is attributed to
Cratinus the Younger (fourth century bc) by Julius Pollux, who wrote at the end
of the second century ad.39 The word does not appear again (with the possible
exception of Hecataeus’s Aegyptiaca, see 1.3n. Osymanduas) until the second
century bc, when it is widely attested in inscriptions and papyri as well as in
literature.40
Lipsius does not say anything about the etymology of the Greek word. Isidore
of Seville (whom Lipsius quotes at db 2.6, 5.1, 5.5, 9.2) had written (Etym. 6.3.1):
“bibliotheca takes its name from the Greek, since βιβλίων means “of books” and
θήκη means “a storeroom”” (bibliotheca a graeco nomen accipit, ab eo quod ibi
recondantur libri. Nam βιβλίων librorum, θήκη repositio interpretatur).
Other Greek words and phrases for “library” did exist. The most common
was ἀποθήκη βιβλίων (“a storeroom of books”), but one also finds ἀρχεῖον, βιβλι-
οφυλάκιον, and γραμματοφυλάκιον, among others.41

Librariam/the word libraria: In Classical Latin, the adjective librarius, -a, -

um was used to describe people or things related to books, such as a scribe
or a book-dealer (for people) or a bookcase (for things). The use of libraria
to refer to a bookshop, attested in the second century ad,42 probably comes
from the phrase taberna libraria, attested in the first century bc.43 By the
Middle Ages, the word libraria could indicate a library specifically.44 The neuter
librarium could likewise refer to a library.45 The word bibliotheca also continued

38 Festus (p. 490 Lindsay) writes that the tablinum is where magistrates used to keep state
records during their terms of service; on the location and use of the tablinum in the Roman
house see also Leach 2004: 26–28.
39 Pollux Onomasticon 7.211 (= pcg iv Crat. Iun. fr. 11).
40 On the early use and development of the word βιβλιοθήκη, see Hendrickson 2014: 387–393.
41 For a brief overview of such words see Coqueugniot 2013a: 3–4.
42 Gell. na 5.4.1, na 13.31.1.
43 Cic. Phil. 2.21.
44 E.g. Du Cange “libraria”; llnma “libraria” 1.
45 E.g. ngml “librarium”; llnma “librarium” 1. This usage goes back to the classical period,
see tll “librarius” 1 ib (Collassero).

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 1.2 175

to be used in Medieval Latin,46 and the words appear to have become entirely
interchangeable by the Renaissance.47 In 1494, Francesco Grapaldi simply gives
libraria as a Latin equivalent of bibliotheca.48 The confusion persists, and even
in Lomeier’s De bibliothecis (1669: 1) one finds the following definition: “The
Latin word for ‘library’ is libraria” (Latine libraria dicitur).
Other words for “library” also occur, particularly in post-Classical Latin.
Onofrio Panvinio notes that the Lives of the Popes use the words bibliothecae,
archiuia, and scrinia interchangeably.49

venales libri exstant/books for sale: Lipsius takes the phrasing from Martial
1.2.5 (ubi sim venalis), in which Martial directs readers to a shop where his books
can be found.

1.2 These collections were initially the work of individuals, and later of
kings.

Reges & Dynastæ/Kings and rulers: That rulers should maintain libraries and
scholars is a major theme of the db. Lipsius wrote the db in part to urge Charles
of Croÿ (and other princes) to fund libraries and the scholars who work there,
as he makes clear in the preface and Chapter 11.
Guilandinus (1572: 103) suggested that the earliest libraries were the work “of
kings and princes” (regum et principum), and Rocca (1591: 41) wrote that they
were founded “by kings … and emperors” (a Regibus … et Imperatoribus). A few
lines later, Rocca also pointed out the importance of libraries “before the art of
printing had been invented” (antequam Typographica ars fuisset inuenta). The
similarity suggests a familiarity, although a coincidence is possible.

nec in vsum solùm/not only to use them: A loose paraphrase of Sen. Tranq. 9.5:
“they [sc. kings] had furnished libraries not for study, but for showing off” (non
in studium, sed in spectaculum comparauerant [sc. reges]). Lipsius’s addition of

46 mlw “bibliotheca.”
47 E.g., Panciroli’s Rerum memorabilium (1599: 111) has a chapter on libraries entitled De
librariis siue bibliothecis. On Panciroli’s work more generally in the context of library
history, see Nelles 1994: 100–109.
48 Part ii Ch. 9: “In Latin, it’s called libraria on account of the books” (A libris Latini Librariam
uocant). On Grapaldi’s work in the context of library history, see 9n. cap. ix.
49 Panvinio quoted in Schott 1600: 148–149. On Panvinio’s work in the context of library
history, see Introduction § 3.3.4.

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solum makes for a less pessimistic stance on royal libraries than Seneca had
expressed. Seneca’s words loom large over the db, and Lipsius’s challenge in
the work is to find some way counter them and present a positive picture of
royal support for libraries.50

1.3 Egypt held the earliest libraries. Ozymandias was the first king to found
one. Evidence for the antiquity of libraries in Egypt is furnished by a
story in which Homer visits one.

Osymanduas/Ozymandias: Also known as Ramses ii (r. 1279–1213bc). In

ancient Greek literature he appears only in Hecataeus, as quoted by Diodorus.
Stephens (2009) showed that it was Lipsius who picked up on the role of Ozy-
mandias in library history—he is not mentioned in other Renaissance histories
of libraries51—and that following Lipsius, Ozymandias was known primarily as
a library benefactor up until the time of Shelley’s famous poem, which charac-
terized him rather as a hubristic despot.
To build on Stephens (2009), I would point out that it is a mark of the
significance of the db that in frescoes of Sixtus v’s Vatican Library, painted in
1587–1588 by Domenico Fontana, Ozymandias is entirely absent; in Paul v’s
addition of the Sale Paoline in 1610–1611, however, Ozymandias has the first
fresco in the series of library-founders.52

Sacram Bibliothecam/a sacred library: Lipsius takes the story from Diodorus
Siculus (1.49.3), a writer of the first century bc: “Next is the sacred library, on
which it is written: ‘A Place of Healing for the Soul’ ” (ἑξῆς δ’ ὑπάρχειν τὴν ἱερὰν
βιβλιοθήκην, ἐφ’ ἧς ἐπιγεγράφθαι “ψυχῆς ἰατρεῖον”). Diodorus was paraphrasing
Hecataeus of Abdera (FGrHist 264 f25), a historian who visited Egypt during
the reign of Ptolemy i Soter (r. 305–283bc). The words are in indirect statement,
and so we are left in doubt as to whether Hecataeus himself actually used the
word βιβλιοθήκη. If Diodorus quoted Hecataeus directly on the word βιβλιοθή-
κην, it would be the second earliest recorded instance (for the earliest see 1.1n.
Græca vox).

50 A point highlighted by Nelles 1996. For more on Lipsius’ strategies for countering Seneca
see Introduction § 4.2.
51 About halfway through Neander’s treatment of libraries he does briefly mention (1565: 48
= Baldi 2011b: 106–107) the sacred library as found in Diodorus, but he does not mention
Ozymandias.
52 On the db’s influence on the Sale Paoline, see Introduction §3.4, 4.3n. Reges Attalici, 5.5n.
orator & Senator, and 7.4n. Vlpia passim.

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 1.3 177

figure 3 Ozymandias fresco from the Vatican Library (photo: author.) Pope Paul v added the
Sale Paoline to the Vatican Library in 1610–1611. The first fresco in the series of library-
founders is Ozymandias. The inscription beneath the fresco, with phrasing taken
from Lipsius, reads “Ozymandias, king of Egypt, builds a famous library, and on its
façade he writes ψυχῆς ἰατρεῖον, a hospital for the soul” (osymandvas
aegypti rex illvstrem bibliothecam constrvit et in eivs fronte
ψυχησ ιατρειον medica officina animi praescribit).

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In the account of Hecataeus, the library was in the mausoleum of Ozyman-

dias (Ramses ii). Some remains of this Ramesseum have been found in the The-
ban necropolis.53 It is not clear exactly what Hecataeus meant by “library”—
probably a room housing books off the colonnade that was mentioned just
before the library, although it has been argued that he was referring rather to
shelves along the walls of the colonnade.54
Diodorus notes that there were images all around of the Egyptian gods and
of the pharaoh bringing them gifts. This library then may have held a collection
of sacred or ritual texts. The obvious suspects are the Egyptian funerary texts.55
The earliest ones consisting of spells to help the deceased (like the Book of
the Dead), but later ones comprise detailed descriptions of the afterlife (like
the various Books of the Netherworld). These texts were painted or inscribed
on tomb walls going back to the Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom, with the
earliest ones appearing in the fifth dynasty (Wenis), c. 2520–2360 bc. By the
time of Ramses ii (c. 1303–1213bc), these texts were written on papyri as well
as painted and inscribed on walls, and such a collection of texts could well be
what Hecataeus was referring to as the “sacred library.”
A second possibility is that Hecataeus was referring to a “House of Life”
(Pr-Ankh)—what we now call a “temple library.”56 These temple libraries are
attested as early as c. 1550 bc, comfortably before the time of Ramses ii. The
only example with well-preserved remains is the temple library from Tebtunis,
which was abandoned in the third century ad. The Tebtunis library contained
cultic texts (ritual manuals and reference works of priestly knowledge), scien-
tific literature (medical texts and divination manuals), and narrative literature
(largely a kind of history).57

ψυχῆς ἰατρεῖον: “A Place of Healing for the Soul.” The phrase is also used to
describe prayer in an anonymous homily formerly attributed to John Chrysos-
tom.58 Lipsius also uses the quotation in a letter from 1601 to Dionysius Villerius,
in which he asks about Dionysius’s library (ile xiv, 01-12-17 v).

medica officina/a hospital: Stephanus’s Thesaurus graecae linguae

defines ἰατρεῖον in almost precisely the same way: Medici … officina. Poggio

53 Canfora (1989: 147–160) discusses the excavations and possible locations of the library.
54 So Canfora 1989: 77–80, 147–160.
55 For background on the Egyptian funerary texts, see Hornung 1999.
56 On Egyptian temple libraries, see Ryholt 2013, Haikal 2008, and Gardiner 1938.
57 Ryholt 2013 goes into detail on the Tebtunis library and the types of text there.
58 De oratione (pg 62.737).

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 1.3 179

Bracciolini, by contrast, rendered this phrase as animi medicamentum in his

translation of Diodorus (published 1472),59 which is also how Lipsius rendered
it in his letter to Dionysius Villerius (ile xiv, 01-12-17 v.). Neander (1565: 48)
rendered it as medicamentum animae.

Diodorus/Diodorus: Diodorus Siculus, an author of the first century bc, wrote

a universal history in forty books, called the Library (Βιβλιοθήκη), of which
fifteen survive.60 Diodorus had been to Egypt, but in this passage he is para-
phrasing Hecataeus of Abdera (see 1.3n. Sacram Bibliothecam).

in templis/in temples: On Egyptian temple libraries see above 1.3n. Sacram

Bibliothecam. Our knowledge of temple libraries is now bolstered by papyro-
logical and archaeological finds, not to mention the decipherment of hiero-
glyphics. Lipsius would have had little to base his belief on other than refer-
ences in Greek and Roman literature like the passage of Eustathius that follows.

Naucrates/Naucrates: There was a Homeric critic named Naucrates of Ery-

thria, who was mentioned elsewhere by Eustathius and Stephanus of Byzan-
tium61—not to be confused with the Naucrates of Erythria who was an orator
and a student of Isocrates in the fourth century bc. I suspect that the present
Naucrates is the one otherwise known from a Virgil scholion,62 which states
that a man named Naucrates was an interlocutor in a lost dialogue on Homeric
matters by Zenodotus of Mallus.63 This dialogue was also known to Eustathius
and to a scholiast on Homer,64 and I believe that here we have an otherwise
unknown fragment of it.

Eustat. in Præfat. Odyss/Eustathius pref. Od: Eustathius wrote his commen-

tary on Homer in the twelfth century.65 The passage in question runs as follows
(1379.62–66 = 2.25–29 Stallbaum i):

59 This is at fol. 18v in the edition of c. 1520, entitled Diodorus Siculus (Paris: Jehan).
60 ocd “Diodorus” 3 (Sacks).
61 Eust. 267.2 (= 407.24 Van der Valk i); Stephanus of Byz. Ethnika s.v. Ἐρυθραί. Cf. re “Nau-
krates” 2 (Alexander) and 3 (Wendel).
62 Scholia Veronensia on Verg. Aen. 10.738, which dates to the fifth century ad.
63 On Zenodotus see Broggiato 2014: 107–118, re “Zenodotus” 4 (Nickau), and Pusch 1890:
126–134, 149–160.
64 Eust. 1014.60–63 (= 728.7–10 Van der Valk iii); Schol. t on Il. 15.262.
65 ocd “Eustathius” (Lockwood and Browning).

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180 commentary on the de bibliothecis 1.3

They say that a certain Naucrates told the following story: a woman from
Memphis named Phantasia, daughter of Nicarchus, was a prophetess of
Sophia. She wrote about the war in Troy and the wanderings of Odysseus,
and deposited the books in a shrine of Hephaestus in Memphis. The poet
Homer came there and took copies from one of the sacred scribes, and
from there he composed the Iliad and Odyssey.

φασὶ γὰρ Ναυκράτην τινὰ ἱστορῆσαι, ὡς ἄρα Φαντασία γυνὴ Μεμφῆτις, σοφίας
ὑποφῆτις, Νικάρχου θυγάτηρ, συντάξασα τόν τε ἐν Ἰλιάδι πόλεμον καὶ τὴν
Ὀδυσσέως πλάνην, ἀπέδοτο τὰς βίβλους εἰς τὸ κατὰ Μέμφιν τοῦ Ἡφαίστου
ἄδυτον. ἔνθα τὸν ποιητὴν ἐλθόντα, λαβεῖν παρά τινος τῶν ἱερογραμματέων
ἀντίγραφα, κἀκεῖθεν συντάξαι τὴν Ἰλιάδα καὶ τὴν Ὀδύσσειαν.

The same story is told in Photius’s ninth-century ad Bibliotheca.66 Photius does

not mention Naucrates, but he adds a name for the sacred scribe who gave
the texts to Homer: Φάνης (Phanes “Revelation”), or perhaps Φάντης (Phantes
“Revealer”). Photius had found the anecdote in a work called the Strange
History (Καινὴ ἱστορία), written by Ptolemy Hephaestion in the early second
century ad.67 Ptolemy’s source was probably Zenodotus of Mallus, as I argue
at greater length elsewhere.68
On this anecdote’s subsequent history (after Lipsius), see Stephens 2009:
s159–s161.

Memphi in templo deposuerit Vulcani/deposited them at Memphis in the tem-

ple of Vulcan: Memphis had a large temple for the god Ptah, whom the Greeks
identified with Hephaestus.69 The great temple of Ptah was said to have been
founded by Min, the first pharaoh (Herod. 2.99.4). According to Diogenes Laer-
tius (pref.2), “the Egyptians claimed that Hephaestus originated philosophy,
and that its leaders were his priests and prophets” (Αἰγύπτιοι … Ἥφαιστον …
ἄρξαι φιλοσοφίας, ἧς τοὺς προεστῶτας ἱερέας εἶναι καὶ προφήτας).

66 Phot. Bibl. cod. 190 (= 66 Henry iii).

67 re “Ptolemaios” 77 (Dihle).
68 Hendrickson ( forthcomingb). For the other fragments of Zenodotus of Mallus, see Brog-
giato 2014: 107–140.
69 ocd “Ptah” (Thompson).

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 2 181

Chapter Two

cap. ii/chapter two: Lipsius has decided to stay in Egypt, continuing on

in the same region as Chapter 1, despite the fact that the events of Chapter 3
largely fall in between the time of Homer (treated at the end of Chapter 1) and
Ptolemy Philadelphus (start of Chapter 2). This follows his general scheme of a
geographical organization, which proceeds chronologically within each region.
This arrangement also gives a more immediate introduction to the library of
Alexandria, which was both famous in antiquity and important to Lipsius’s
emphasis on library patronage by royalty. For Lipsius, the Museum is the very
model of how a library is supposed to work: a publicly funded institution that
supports scholars who conduct research there. (He goes more in depth into the
matter in Chapter 11.)
The Great Library of Alexandria was the most famous library in Antiquity.
Lipsius writes that it was founded by Ptolemy Philadelphus (under the influ-
ence of Aristotle), that it contained over 700,000 volumes, was burned acci-
dentally by Julius Caesar, restored, and finally destroyed by the Christians. This
narrative, which is still largely dominant today, has recently faced skepticism
because of the lateness and unreliability of the sources, among other reasons.70
Lipsius believed that the Great Library was in the Serapeum, and here mod-
ern scholarship would say that he is mistaken: the Great Library was in the
Brucheum, and a smaller library was in the Serapeum. Below I will suggest that
Lipsius may have been correct: that the Great Library may have been moved to
the Serapeum, or at least that by Late Antiquity the Serapeum was believed to
be the Great Library, whether there was any real continuity or not.
Ptolemy Philadelphus and the library of Alexandria had been taken as exem-
plary throughout the Renaissance. Luciano Canfora shows that Pope Nicholas v
portrayed himself as a new Philadelphus founding a new Alexandrian library
in his creation of a library at the Vatican in the early 1450s, and that Sixtus v
likewise depicted himself as a successor to Philadelphus in his creation of a
new Vatican Library building in the late 1580s.71 Philadelphus’s legendary spon-
soring of the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek was also
central to the Christian biblical tradition. The seventy-two scholars commis-
sioned by Philadelphus were said to have miraculously made identical trans-
lations while working independently, which proved the divine sanction of the

70 Bagnall (2002) first raised questions about the traditional narrative, and Johnstone (2014)
has argued that it is almost entirely fictional.
71 Canfora 1996: 61–70 and 89–106.

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182 commentary on the de bibliothecis 2.1

translation. Moreover, Isidore (and some of his successors) portrayed the trans-
lation into Greek, and ultimately into Latin, as indicative of ancient literature
and scholarship passing from Greeks to Romans and then Christians (Woolf
2013: 2–4).
In light of these traditions about the Septuagint and the uses to which
they were put in the Renaissance, Lipsius gives an account that is strikingly
secular, and even somewhat hostile to Church tradition. He leaves out any
divine agency from the Septuagint story, and he explicitly blames over-zealous
Christians for destroying the Great Library. While Isidore, Nicholas v, and
Sixtus v had portrayed Christianity as inheriting the legacy of Philadelphus and
the Great Library, Lipsius instead portrayed Christianity as destroying it.
Lipsius did make use of his contemporaries, and this chapter in particular
bears the marks of Melchior Guilandinus’s treatment of Aristotle, Philadel-
phus, and the Great Library.72

Philadelphus primus/Philadelphus was the first: Ptolemy ii Philadelphus (r.

282–246 bc) is remembered as the founder of the library in some of the earliest
accounts of it, like pseudo-Aristaeus, who wrote in the second century bc. In
the second century ad, Plutarch made Philadelphus’s father, Ptolemy i Soter (r.
305–283 bc), the founder of the Museum.73 Later in the same century Irenaeus
wrote that Ptolemy Soter had founded the library.74 Plutarch and Irenaeus
are probably mistaken. However, the tradition that Demetrius of Phalerum (a
contemporary of Soter) was in charge of the library has led some scholars to
believe Soter was the original founder (see 2.3n. Demetrius). More likely the
involvement of Demetrius was a fiction of pseudo-Aristeas.75

2.1 Ptolemy Philadelphus founded the Great Library of Alexandria under

the influence of Aristotle.

Is Ptolomæi Lagi filius, secundus eo nomine & stirpe Ægypti regum: artium &
ingeniorum cultor … Alexandriæ ingentem Bibliothecam composuit/He was
the son of Ptolemy son of Lagus, the second of that name and that dynasty
of the kings of Egypt. He was a patron of the arts and of writers … (Philadel-
phus) created a massive library at Alexandria: A paraphrase of Epiphanius

72 Guilandinus 1572: 62, 86, 99–101.

73 Plut. Non posse suauiter uiui secundum Epicurum 13 (Mor. 1095d).
74 Adu. haer. 3.21.2 (= Euseb. Hist. eccl. 5.8.11).
75 Here see esp. Bagnall 2002.

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De pond. et mens. 9 (ll. 256–259 Moutsoulas): Ὁ γὰρ μετὰ τὸν πρῶτον Πτολε-
μαῖον, δεύτερος βασιλεύσας Ἀλεξανδρείας Πτολεμαῖος, ὁ ἐπικληθεὶς Φιλάδελφος, ὡς
προείρηται, φιλόκαλός τις ἀνὴρ καὶ φιλόλογος γεγένηται, ὅστις βιβλιοθήκην κατα-
σκευάσας ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῆς Ἀλεξάνδρου πόλεως.

ipsis eius libris/his actual books: There is a story in Athenaeus that some of
Aristotle’s books were eventually sold to Philadelphus (see db 3.4–5).

copiâ & dilectu/abundance and selection: The “selectness” of the books is

crucial for Lipsius (see, e.g., db 8.3). Lipsius wants to show that the library of
Alexandria, and by extension royal libraries in general, was not just for show, as
Seneca complains.

Lib. i/Book 1: Strabo 13.1.54. The Lib. i is a mistake, probably anticipating the
Lib. i of Athenaeus just below at db 2.2.

Strabo/Strabo: Strabo (c. 64bc–c. ad24) wrote his extant, seventeen-book

Geography during the reign of Augustus (r. 27bc–14 ad) and completed it early
in the reign of Tiberius (r. 14–37ad).76

Ἀριστοτέλης πρῶτος … βιβλιοθήκης σύνταξιν: Lipsius quotes only the relevant

parts of a much longer sentence.
The contents of Aristotle’s library can only be surmised from the authors
he quoted, and even here he would not have owned the books of every author
he mentions.77 As to the location and layout of his library, nothing is known.
Aristotle taught at the Lyceum just outside Athens, which was a public sanc-
tuary and gymnasium, just like the Academy (see above pr.4n. Academiæ).
Aristotle would not have kept his books in the Lyceum, which was public prop-
erty. In fact, he was only one of many men who taught there.78 In addition, our
knowledge of the physical layout of the Lyceum itself in the fourth century bc
is scanty.79 In general, a gymnasium complex might include a running track
and space for wrestling (palaestra), as well as places for disrobing, oiling, and
bathing. The open spaces of the track and the palaestra might be enclosed by

76 ocd “Strabo” (Purcell). On the translations and commentaries for Strabo in the Renais-
sance, see ctc 2.225–233 (Diller and Kristeller).
77 Barnes 1984: 2467–2470 provides an index of authors in his Complete Works of Aristotle.
78 Lynch 1972: 45–46 gives a list of evidence on others who taught in the Lyceum in the fourth
century bc.
79 Lynch 1972: 9–31 outlines what is known.

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a covered walkway, and the rooms for disrobing and the like often lined the
outside of the walkway. Another common feature was the exedra, a large room
with benches that opened up on one side onto the walkway.80 However, we can
only speculate how such elements might have been laid out in the Lyceum of
the fourth century bc.
After Aristotle’s death in 322bc, Demetrius of Phalerum gave a piece of land
abutting the Lyceum to Theophrastus (Diog. Laert. 5.39), who succeeded Aris-
totle as head of the Peripatetics. Presumably many of the Peripatetic activities
took place there as well. Theophrastus, who died in 287/6bc, gives much infor-
mation about the Lyceum and his adjoining land in his will.81 As for the library,
it was rumored to have an adventurous afterlife, which Lipsius treats at db 3.4.

2.2 Aristotle could not have taught Philadelphus, except by example. It is

also possible that Philadelphus purchased Aristotle’s library. Lipsius’s
interpretation aims to find a way for both Athenaeus and Strabo to be
correct.

nec … primus omnino/not the very first: Lipsius believed the first library was
founded by Ramses ii (see db 1.3).

æuo anterior/preceded … by a generation: Aristotle lived 384–322bc, Phila-

delphus 309–246 bc. Lipsius was not the first to have noticed the discrepancy.
Melchior Guilandinus had commented on the problem in his Papyrus (1572:
99–101), and Lipsius appears to be familiar with Guilandinus’s treatment. Gui-
landinus concluded that Strabo was simply mistaken.

Athenæo/Athenaeus: Athenaeus wrote his extant, fifteen-book Learned Ban-

queters (Δειπνοσοφισταί) in the late-second or early-third century ad.82

Aristotelem, Theophrasto libros reliquisse/that Aristotle had left his books to

Theophrastus: Theophrastus (c. 371–287/6bc) was the head of the Peripatetic
school after Aristotle.83

80 See Delorme 1960: 374–394 and Wacker 2007: 349–351 for more on these typical gymna-
sium elements, and ocd “gymnasium” (Tomlinson) on the gymnasium more generally.
81 The will of Theophrastus is recorded in Diog. Laert. 5.51–57; for an analysis see Lynch 1972:
99–102.
82 ocd “Athenaeus” 1 (Edwards, Browning, and Wilson).
83 ocd “Theophrastus” (Sharples). Fragments of Theophrastus at Fortenbaugh et al. 1992. On

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Aristotle’s will is preserved in Diogenes Laertius (5.11–16), and it includes

no mention of books. This is a contrast with the wills of the future heads of
Aristotle’s school: Theophrastus, Strato, and Lyco (whose wills are preserved at
Diog. Laert. 5.51–57, 5.61–64, and 5.69–74 respectively). It is also a contrast with
the will of Epicurus (preserved at Diog. Laert. 10.16–21). Although Diogenes
Laertius was active about 500 years later than Aristotle, the will is probably
authentic.84

hunc Neleo/he to Neleus: At Theophrastus’s death in 287/6bc, he left all his

books to Neleus,85 as attested in his will (Diog. Laert. 5.52).

Etsi alij tamen dissentiunt/Others disagree, however: Specifically, Plutarch

(Sulla 26) and Strabo (13.1.54), according to whom Neleus took the books with
him to Skepsis and left them to his heirs. Athenaeus elsewhere, quoting the
early first-century bc writer Posidonius, also gives a version that agrees with the
accounts of Strabo and Plutarch.86 Lipsius treats these accounts at db 3.4–5.

2.3 Philadelphus sought books of all kinds and from every nation. He had
the Hebrew Bible translated into Greek, a version called the Septuagint
from the number of scholars who worked on it. Lipsius gives a much
more secular rendition of the story than one finds in his contempo-
raries.

Septuaginta … qui operam dederunt/the Septuagint … who worked on it:

The account stems ultimately from the Letter to Philocrates of pseudo-Aristeas,
which purports to be from to be the time of Philadelphus but was almost cer-
tainly written in the second century bc.87 Some of Lipsius’s contemporaries
had already started to have doubts about the letter’s authenticity as a docu-
ment from the era of Philadelphus.88 Pseudo-Aristeas wrote that 72 scholars

translations and commentaries for Theophrastus in the Renaissance, see ctc 2.239–322
(Schmitt).
84 Gottschalk 1972: 314–317 discusses the legal, linguistic, and other arguments in support of
the authenticity of the Peripatetic wills preserved in Diogenes Laertius.
85 re “Neleus” 4 (Von Fritz), paa 707350.
86 Ath. 5.214d (= FGrHist 87 f36 = fr. 253 Edelstein-Kidd).
87 ocd “Aristeas, Letter of” (Rajak). Canfora (1996) examines manifestations of the Aristeas
story in Renaissance treatments of library history.
88 Hadas 1951: 84.

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186 commentary on the de bibliothecis 2.3

worked on a translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. Philo of Alexandria (De Mos.

2.37–44) added that the translators worked independently, but all miraculously
came up with word-for-word the same translation—a sign of its divine inspira-
tion. Philo may have found the story in pseudo-Aristeas, but he also may have
known of it from other sources.89

Id euenisse anno eius regni xvii/that this happened in the 17th year of his
reign: The seventeenth year of Philadelphus’s reign was 269 bc. Epiphanius
had in fact put the Septuagint translation in the seventh (ζʹ), rather than
seventeenth (ιζʹ), year of Philadelphus’s reign.90 This phrase is missing from
the two existing print editions in Lipsius’s day: the editio princeps of the Greek
text (Basel: J. Operinus, 1544) and the first Latin translation (Basel: J. Cornarius,
1543).91 Thus Lipsius was either working from a manuscript or, perhaps more
likely, from a quotation of Epiphanius made by someone else who was working
from a manuscript.

Epiphanius/Epiphanius: Epiphanius (c. 315–403ad) was bishop of Salamis.92

His On Measures and Weights (Περὶ μέτρων καὶ σταθμῶν) is a major source on
Greek translations of the Hebrew Bible.

Olympiade cxxvii/the 127th Olympiad: The 127th Olympiad spanned the

years 272–69bc. The Olympiad is not found in Epiphanius and might be Lip-
sius’s own calculation, or the calculation of a chronographer at Lipsius’s dis-
posal. Eusebius’s Chron., by contrast, puts the translation in the 124th Olympiad
(p. 129 Helm). Counting years bc (or ante Christum) was not common until later
in the seventeenth century.

Demetrius Phalereus/Demetrius of Phalerum: Demetrius (c. 350–280bc) was

an Athenian and a student of Theophrastus (cf. 2.1n. Ἀριστοτέλης).93 He ruled

89 On the Septuagint translation, see odcc “Septuagint” and hgl 2.1100–1115 (Böhm). On the
development of the Septuagint legend after pseudo-Aristeas, see Hadas 1951: 73–84.
90 Epiph. De pond. et mens. 12 (= ll. 332–334 Moutsoulas).
91 Both Operinus and Cornarius were working from the same manuscript. On the manu-
script tradition of Epiphanius, see Moutsoulas 1987 and Dean 1935: 3–6. The Patrologia
Graeca, which reprints Denis Pétau’s 1622 text, also omits this line (pg 43.256b–c).
92 odcc “Epiphanius, St.”
93 ocd “Demetrius” 3 (Bosworth), re “Demetrios” 85 (Martini), and paa 312150. For testimonia
about Demetrius and the Library of Alexandria, see Fortenbaugh and Schütrumpf 2000:
110–127. A work attributed to Demetrius was known in the Renaissance, on which see hgl

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 2.3 187

Athens on behalf of the Macedonian king Cassander, but was overthrown and
went into exile, eventually winding up at the court of Ptolemy i Soter in 297 bc.
The role of Demetrius in creating the library is disputed, and may be entirely fic-
titious. He is first mentioned in connection with the library by pseudo-Aristeas
(Ad Phil. 9–11 and passim; see also 2n. Philadelphus primus and 2.3n. Septuag-
inta). Pseudo-Aristeas wrote that Demetrius was in charge of the library under
Ptolemy ii Philadelphus, yet Demetrius arrived during the time of Ptolemy i
Soter, and Philadelphus exiled him upon ascension. This contradiction has
caused some to argue that the library must have actually been started under
Soter, which is unlikely (see above 2n. Philadelphus primus). The account of
pseudo-Aristeas is full of fictions, and its evidence on the early library cannot
be trusted.
Demetrius is important because he has been thought to provide a link
between the Lyceum and the Museum. Many have wanted to draw such a
connection, whether it be institutional or architectural. In fact, those looking
for either kind of connection are likely to be disappointed. Regarding institu-
tional continuity, Wilamowitz proposed the idea, influentially expanded on
in English by Fraser, that Plato’s Academy (and later the Lyceum) was legally
incorporated as a religious order: brotherhood (thiasos) of the Muses.94 In turn,
they suggest that such a history accounts for the Alexandrian Museum as a reli-
gious and intellectual institution. As Lynch argued, the “thiasos of the Muses” is
a red herring.95 The philosophical schools of Plato and Aristotle (or Theophras-
tus) were not incorporated as any kind of legal bodies. It seems clear that the
intellectual activities of the Peripatetics were influential on the scholarship of
Alexandria, but there is no kind of institutional continuity.
Christian Callmer went further to argue that Demetrius modeled the library
of Alexandria on Aristotle’s school not only as an intellectual institution but
also as a physical institution.96 Callmer saw similarities in the Alexandrian
Museum as described in Strabo (17.1.8), and the Lyceum as described in Theo-
phrastus’s will (Diog. Laert. 5.51–57). However, Strabo describes the Museum
as it existed over two hundred years after its creation, and Theophrastus’s will
describes the Lyceum only as it existed 20 years after Demetrius left Athens.
Moreover, the architectural similarities that Callmer pointed out were

2.866–868 (Wiater) and ctc 2.27–41 (Weinberg). Lipsius translated a portion of this work
in pp. 37–44 of his 1591 Epistolica institutio (Leiden: Raphelengius).
94 Wilamowitz 1881: 279–288; Fraser 1972: 1. 312–316.
95 Lynch 1972: 108–127.
96 Callmer 1944, which has had an outsized influence on nearly all subsequent scholarship
on the architecture of ancient libraries, as I argue elsewhere (Hendrickson 2014: 373–387).

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extremely common architectural elements (namely, the existence of rooms

adjoining a portico). Simply put, there is no evidence to support the idea
that the Alexandrian library was modeled architecturally on the Lyceum. As
tempting as it is to see Demetrius bringing ideas about libraries and scholarly
societies from the Lyceum to Alexandria, almost none of the particulars can
withstand scrutiny.

Lib. xxii/Book 22: The number is mistaken. Lipsius is probably anticipating

the Ammianus Marcellinus quotation at db 2.8.

Georgium Cedrenum/George Cedrenus: Cedrenus was a historian from the

late-eleventh or early-twelfth centuries, who wrote a universal history called
the Compendium Historiarum (Σύνοψις ἱστοριῶν).97 Lipsius would have had
available the 1566 edition with a Latin translation made by Guilielmus Xylan-
der, Georgii Cedreni Annales, siue historiae ab exordio mundi ad Isacium Com-
nenum usque compendium (Basel: J. Operinus), in which this passage is at p. 136.

2.4 Lipsius commends the royal patronage of translations and notes that
Cedrenus’s 100,000 volumes is too low—Seneca puts the number at
400,000.

peregrinos libros vertendi/translating foreign books: Philadelphus was an

exemplar not just as a founder of a library, but as a patron of scholarship. Pope
Nicholas v (r. 1447–1455) aimed to imitate Philadelphus in commissioning the
translation of Greek works to Latin as part of his establishment of a library at
the Vatican.98

numerum librorum/the number of books: Ancient sources placed the num-

ber of books in the library anywhere between 40,000 and 700,000 volumes,
as we will see shortly. The only notable estimate Lipsius leaves out is that of
the Byzantine scholar John Tzetzes, who gives 42,800 books for the “external
library” and 490,000 for the “internal library” (p. 32 Koster).99

97 odb “Kedrenos, George” (Kazhdan), gbl § 152.

98 Canfora (1996: 61–70) gathers a variety of evidence on Nicholas v taking Philadelphus as
a model.
99 On the distinction between the “external” and “internal” libraries, see below 2.8n. Ser-
apéum. The source of Tzetzes’s information is not known, but the once-prevalent view
that he was quoting Callimachus has proved untenable (Fraser 1972: 2.474).

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Even the lowest number (40,000) is probably too high. As Roger Bagnall
points out, there are about 625 authors whom we know to have existed by
the end of the third century bc—though there are surely some who left no
trace anywhere.100 Even if we assume a high average output, say 50 volumes
each, we would only get 31,250 volumes. More likely the average output was a
fraction of that. We have to factor for multiple copies of many works, but this
still leaves us closest to the lowest number (40,000). Cf. 3.6n. centum viginti
millia.

Seneca noster/our Seneca: Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca,

c. 4 bc–ad 65) was an author, a Stoic philosopher, and an adviser to the emperor
Nero.101 The words “our Seneca” have several layers of meaning here. Since
Antiquity, it had been common for Latin writers to refer to other famous Latin
writers as “our So-and-So,” as opposed to “So-and-So from the Greeks.” More-
over, Christian authors also sometimes claimed Seneca as one of their own,
on the basis of his apocryphal correspondence with the apostle Paul.102 The
noster had a particular meaning for Lipsius, since he was both working on a
major edition of Seneca and was more generally a proponent Seneca’s Sto-
icism.103

Quadringenta/400,000: The manuscript tradition reads quadraginta millia

(40,000), as Lipsius well knew. The number quadringenta millia (400,000) was
an emendation by Pincianus, who followed the 400,000 given in Orosius’s
version of the story (Hist. 6.15.31), though there too a very early (c. ad 600)
manuscript reads 40,000.

pulcherrimum regiæ opulentiæ monumentum/the most noble monument to

royal splendor: Lipsius takes this quotation out of context. Seneca quotes Livy
as saying that the library was “the most beautiful monument to royal splendor,”
but goes on himself to say “yet it was not sophistication or diligence, but
rather scholarly luxury—and not even scholarly, since they had built it not
for scholarship but for display” (non fuit elegantia illud aut cura, sed studiosa

100 Bagnall 2002: 352–353.

101 ocd “Annaeus Seneca (2), Lucius” (Reynolds, Griffin, and Fantham).
102 On Seneca’s legacy from Antiquity to the Renaissance, see ct “Seneca the Younger” (Mor-
ford).
103 On Lipsius and Stoicism see Saunders 1955 and Morford 1991. Lipsius’s edition of Seneca
was published in 1605: L. Annaei Senecae philosophi opera, quae extant omnia (Antwerp:
J. Moretus).

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luxuria, immo ne studiosa quidem, quoniam non in studium sed in spectaculum

comparauerant).104

2.5 Even Seneca’s 400,000 is too low. Josephus puts it at 700,000.

Iosephus/Josephus: Flavius Josephus (c. ad37–100) was a Judean political

leader captured by the future emperor Vespasian in ad 67; he became an ad-
viser to the Flavians, who gave him Roman citizenship, and wrote several major
historical works in Greek.105

Eusebius/Eusebius: Eusebius (c. ad 260–339), bishop of Caesarea, was an im-

portant Christian author whose works included a Church history in ten books,
the Historia ecclesiastica (Ἐκκλησιαστικὴ ἱστορία), and a defense of Christian-
ity against traditional philosophy in fifteen books, the Praeparatio euangelica
(Εὐαγγελικὴ προπαρασκευή).106

ex Aristeâ/from Aristeas: This is the Letter to Philocrates of pseudo-Aristeas

is quoted extensively by Josephus (Ant. Iud. 12.12–118) and Eusebius (Praep.
Euang. 8.2–5). On the letter see also 2.3n. Septuaginta.

2.6 Gellius, Ammianus, and Isidore (if emended) also put the number at
700,000.

Agellio/Gellius: Aulus Gellius, the second-century ad antiquarian.107 Because

the traditional abbreviation for Aulus is the letter ⟨A⟩, it was possible to inter-
pret the name agellivs as either “Agellius” or “A. Gellius.” It was only in the
seventeenth century that “Aulus Gellius” came to be the predominant interpre-
tation of the name.108

104 Cf. Introduction § 4.2 on Lipsius’s strategies for dealing with Seneca’s hostility to libraries
expressed in Tranq. 9.4–7.
105 ocd “Josephus” (Smallwood and Rajak).
106 ocd “Eusebius” (Cameron).
107 ocd “Gellius, Aulus” (Holford-Strevens), ct “Gellius, Aulus” (Holford-Strevens), Holford-
Strevens 2003, and hll § 408 (Sallmann and Schmidt).
108 For the evidence supporting each interpretation of the name, see Holford-Strevens 2003:
11n.1.

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 2.7 191

Lib. vi/Book 6: Attic Nights 7.17.3. Early print editions of Gellius, like most
manuscripts, reversed the order of books six and seven of the Noctes Atticae.109

septingenta/700,000: Some manuscripts of Gellius give septuaginta milia

(70,000). Lipsius favors the highest possible number. In doing so he makes the
case that the Ptolemies spared no expense on their library, and that contempo-
rary princes should do likewise.

Ammianus/Ammianus: Ammianus Marcellinus (c. ad 330–390) wrote a his-

tory of the Roman Empire in thirty-one books, of which the first thirteen have
been lost.110

Isidorus/Isidore: Isidore, bishop of Seville (c. 600–636), wrote a twenty-volume

encyclopedia, of which the sixth book treated books and libraries.111

2.7 Caesar accidentally destroyed the library by fire during the siege of
Alexandria.

bello ciuili Pompeiano/the civil war with Pompey: The civil war ran from 49–
46 bc.

ignem in naues misisset … Bibliothecam comprehendit & absumpsit/set fire

to the ships … (the flames) caught hold … of the library itself, which they
consumed completely: Whether or not Caesar accidentally burned down the
library of Alexandria is a question that is still unresolved. Strabo does not
mention the fire in his description of the Museum (17.1.8), even though he
visited Alexandria only two decades after it would have happened (c. 24–
20 bc). However, he does not mention the library either. The earliest report
of the destruction of the library by fire is in a fragment of Livy preserved
in Seneca (Tranq. 9.5). The account in Cassius Dio (42.38) has been read as
indicating that it was not the library itself that burned down, but only an
ancillary storehouse of books.112 Galen claimed that the Ptolemy iii Euergetes
(r. 246–222bc) confiscated all books from incoming ships, made copies of
them, and gave the copies back to their owners (17a.606 Kühn), so it could

109 On the manuscript and print history of Gellius, see Holford-Strevens 2003: 333–353.
110 ocd “Ammianus Marcellinus” (Matthews).
111 ocd “Isidorus” 2 (Wood) and Introduction § 3.2.
112 Canfora 1989: 132–136 is a good example of this perspective.

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192 commentary on the de bibliothecis 2.7

be these “books from the ships” that burned. On the other hand, there is no
indication that such a practice continued into the first century bc, if it ever
actually took place.113 To take a different perspective, Bagnall suggests that
there may not have been much of a library left by the time of Caesar, given
the lifespan of a papyrus role and the massive effort that would have been
necessary to copy all the original books.114

etsi absque destinatâ culpâ/though the fault was unintended: abs here means
“apart from” or “without.” In Classical Latin, this generally only happened if
the prepositional phrase was dependent on an adjective like uacuus.115 In post-
Classical Latin, this usage occurred independently of adjectives, in particular
under the influence of Grecisms (i.e., ab replacing ἀπό) from the Vulgate.116

ipse in tertio Ciuilium/he himself … in the third book of his Civil War: In
bc 3.111, Caesar describes setting fire to Pompey’s ships, including those in the
shipyards, but he does not mention the fire spreading.

Hirtius/Hirtius: Aulus Hirtius, an officer of Caesar who wrote the eighth book
of Caesar’s Bellum Gallicum.117 The work that narrated Caesar’s time in Alexan-
dria, the Bellum Alexandrinum, is of uncertain authorship, but Suetonius re-
cords (Iul. 56.1) that some thought it was also work of Hirtius. Suetonius adds
that others attributed it to Gaius Oppius.118

alij/Other writers: In addition to the authors that he specifically names (Plu-

tarch, Dio, and Livy), Lipsius is probably referring to the passages of Ammianus
Marcellinus and Gellius that he quotes at db 2.8. We could add that Orosius
(Hist. 6.15.31) also mentions the destruction of the library in this fire, but he
was clearly working from Seneca (Tranq. 9.5). Lucan (10.498–505) and Florus
(Epit. Liu. 2.13.59) also write about the fire, but they do not mention the library.

Plutarchus, Dio, etiam Liuius/Plutarch, Dio, and even Livy: Plutarch (Lu-
cius(?) Mestrius Plutarchus) of Chaeronea was a biographer from the late-first

113 Handis 2013 suggests that Galen’s anecdotes about the Library of Alexandria are better
read as reflecting second-century ad interests than third-century bc practices.
114 Bagnall 2002: 358–359.
115 tll “a/ab/abs” i.d.3 (Lommatzsch).
116 tll “a/ab/abs” recentiora iii.f (Lommatzsch). See also the medieval “Philoxenus” glossary,
where abs is glossed as “ἀπό, χωρίς” (Gloss. Lat. 2.139).
117 ocd “Hirtius Aulus” (Chilver), re “Hirtius” 2 (Vonder Mühll).
118 On Gaius Oppius, see FRHist 40 (Smith and Cornell).

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 2.8 193

and early-second centuries ad; Cassius Dio was a senator who wrote an eighty-
book history (now partially extant) from the founding of Rome to his own era
of the early-third century ad; Livy (Titus Livius) was an Augustan-era historian
who wrote a 142-book history (partially extant) of Rome from the founding to
his own day.119

Alius laudauerit, vt Liuius, qui elegantiæ regum curæque egregium id opus ait
fuisse/Another man might praise it, as Livy did, when he said that it was an
outstanding specimen of the elegance and enterprise of kings: Lipsius does
not let on that Seneca strongly disagreed with Livy’s assessment (see 2.3n.
pulcherrimum). Livy was reputed to have had Pompeian leanings (Tac. Ann.
4.34.3), which could have colored his take on the library and the consequences
of Caesar’s fire.

2.8 The accounts of the fire by Ammianus and Gellius.

Ammianus/Ammianus: See above 2.6n. Ammianus.

Serapéum/Serapeum: Originally built by Ptolemy iii Euergetes i (r. 246–

221 bc), the Serapeum temple was destroyed by fire in ad 181, then rebuilt and
enlarged before ad215/6.120 The rebuilt Serapeum was destroyed by Christians
in ad391 (see 2.11n. Christiani).
The Serapeum consisted of a temple with a courtyard surrounded by a colon-
nade (fig. 4). The books were probably kept in the rooms along the colonnade,
at least in the fourth century ad, as suggested by Aphthonius (Progymnasmata
12).
It is generally assumed that the Serapeum library, like the Serapeum tem-
ple, was the work of Ptolemy iii Euergetes (r. 246–222 bc). I argue elsewhere
(Hendrickson 2016) that while Euergetes certainly built the Serapeum tem-
ple, the library was added much later, perhaps during the Severan rebuilding
of the Serapeum in the 190s and early 200s ad. The evidence for the tradi-
tional interpretations is the following: inscriptions from the Serapeum temple’s

119 ocd “Plutarch” (Russell), on his reception in the Renaissance see ct “Plutarch” (Lamber-
ton) and Pade 2007; ocd “Cassius Dio” (Rich) and 6.1n. in actis; ocd “Livy” (Briscoe), on his
reception in the Renaissance see ct “Livy” (Ridley) and ctc 2.331–348, 3.445–449 (McDon-
ald).
120 For more on the Serapeum see McKenzie 2007: 195–203.

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194 commentary on the de bibliothecis 2.8

figure 4 The Serapeum in the Roman Period (McKenzie 2007, 350; courtesy of Judith
McKenzie). According to Aphthonius (Progymnasmata 12), the books in the Roman-
era Serapeum were kept in the rooms along the colonnade, which surrounded the
Temple of Serapis.

foundation declare that it was built by Euergetes,121 the bishop Epiphanius

writes that the Serapeum library was a “smaller” library than the one in the
Brucheum (De mens. et pond. 11),122 and the Byzantine writer John Tzetzes wrote
about a large “inner” and small “outer” library (evidently using Callimachus
as evidence).123 My objection to the traditional interpretation stems from the
fact that further work on the texts of Epiphanius and Tzetzes has shown that
Epiphanius did not call the Serapeum “smaller” and Tzetzes did not claim
Callimachus as a source.124 There is no positive evidence to suggest that Euer-

121 For the inscriptions, see Rowe 1946: 5–10.

122 According to the text in Patrologia Graeca (43.256b).
123 According to the text of Kaibel (1899: 31).
124 As is clear from new editions of the texts: Moutsoulas (ll. 324–327) for Epiphanius and
Koster (p. 32) for Tzetzes.

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 2.8 195

getes built the library. Moreover, Strabo, who visited Alexandria in the 20s bc,
writes of the Serapeum as a place abandoned and near ruin (17.1.10), and so
it may be that the library there was established after his time. The earliest
mention of the Serapeum library comes in Tertullian (Apol. 18.8), who claims
that the original copies of the Septuagint are there together with the whole of
Ptolemy Philadelphus’s library. Tertullian clearly believed that the Serapeum
library was “the” library of Alexandria. Ammianus Marcellinus likewise saw
the Serapeum library as the Great Library, as did others in Late Antiquity.125 A
confused passage of Orosius (6.15.31) may allude to the Serapeum as a successor
library and give a defense for its destruction. He tells the story of Caesar burning
the Great Library and remarks that even if the Christians did destroy any
libraries in temples, Caesar’s fire means that it was not the original books that
burned, but some later rivals of the “old original books” (pristinas studiorum
curas). It is easier to believe, he writes, that such later copies were plundered
than that there was some other library that included the pre-Caesarian books
in it. He seems to be saying that the Serapeum library was the Great Library’s
successor (as Epiphanius indicates) rather than the Great Library itself (as
Tertullian indicates).
If the Serapeum library was the successor to the Great Library, it may have
been built after Caesar’s fire in 48 bc, or after Strabo’s visit to Alexandria,
although just about any time before Tertullian’s Apologeticus is possible.126
The final destruction of the Serapeum temple and library at the hands of
Christian mobs occurred in ad391 (see 2.11n. Christiani denique).

in quo Bibliothecæ/it held … bookcases: Seyfarth’s Teubner reads in quo duo bib-
liothecae, an emendation for the ungrammatical manuscript reading in quod
uero bibliothecae.127 Under this emendation, Ammianus either mistakenly puts
both libraries in the Serapeum, or the in quo is a vague reference to Alexandria
in general rather than to the Serapeum specifically. Neither possibility is espe-
cially attractive. Lipsius paraphrases heavily here, but he also may have been
using the 1533 edition of Mariangelo Accorso, which reads in quo uero biblio-
thecae.128 This last reading is probably to be preferred.

125 Amm. Marc. 22.16.12–13 (cf. 2.8n. in quo Bibliothecæ). The others include John Chrysostom
Adu. Iud. 1.6 (pg 48.851) and Filaster On Heresies 142.7–8 (pl 12.1278).
126 On possible dates for the Apologeticus see 2.10n. Hodie apud Serapéum.
127 On the possibilities see Den Boeft et al. 1995: 299–300 and Hendrickson 2016.
128 Ammianvs Marcellinvs a Mariangelo Accvrsio mendis quinque millibus purgatus, et Libris
quinque auctus ultimis, nunc primum ab eodem inuentis (Augsburg: Otmar).

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196 commentary on the de bibliothecis 2.9

Ammianus, and Lipsius, therefore, put the Great Library in the Serapeum.
They are usually considered to be mistaken on this matter, but see above 2.8n.
Serapéum.

Agellius/Gellius: See 2.6n. Agellio.

ad discrimen eius/to differentiate from the one: Syntactically strained. The

ad expresses purpose (which would normally be followed by a gerund), and
the eius is an objective genitive. Literally, “for the differentiation of that one
which happened under Antony.”

2.9 Gellius puts the blame for the fire on foreign auxiliaries and Ammianus
is vague about the matter. They are contradicted by Plutarch and Cas-
sius Dio, who clearly make Caesar the source of the fire.

Plutarchus aut Dio/Plutarch and Dio: See 2.7n. Plutarchus, Dio.

Olympiade clxxxiii/the 183rd Olympiad: The 183rd Olympiad spanned the

years 48–45 bc.

vix ccxxiiii. annos/almost 224 years: Lipsius seems to have come up with
this very specific number by counting the difference between the Olympiad in
which the library burned (the 183rd) and that in which he put the Septuagint
translation at db 2.3 (the 127th). The difference is 56 Olympiads, or 224 years.
The actual date of the fire was 48bc, not 45 bc, as Lipsius’s computation at
db 2.3 would have it.

2.10 Cleopatra rebuilt the library, which then lasted until Christian times.

Cleopatra … Pergamenam/Cleopatra … Pergamene: The story of Antony giv-

ing Cleopatra the Pergamene library is reported by Plutarch (Ant. 58), who him-
self believed it to be a slanderous rumor. Lipsius returns to the story at db 4.4.

vitâ & famâ/famous and thriving: The library of Alexandria continued to be

a major center of learning, and Lipsius returns to it in the final chapter of the
db.129

129 On the library of Alexandria and its scholars after 48bc, see Hatzimichali 2013.

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 2.10 197

Tertullianus/Tertullian: Tertullian (c. ad160–240) was an early Christian au-

thor who lived in Carthage.130

Hodie apud Serapéum, Ptolomæi Bibliothecæ, cum ipsis Hebraicis litteris,

exhibentur/Even now at the Serapeum, the library of Ptolemy together with the
actual Hebrew writings, is on display: Tertullian equates the Serapeum library
with the Great Library. The Apologeticus has been traditionally dated to ad 197,
and certainly falls within the reign of Septimius Severus (r. ad 193–211).131 The
Serapeum was destroyed in a fire in ad181, and rebuilt at some point before
ad 215/6.132 Tertullian may have relied on out-of-date information and have
had no idea that the Serapeum had been destroyed in ad 181. It is also pos-
sible that the Serapeum had already been rebuilt, but that seems less likely
in light of the fact that Tertullian is highlighting the antiquity of the books
there.

in eius porticibus/in the porticoes: Lipsius is likely making this statement

on the basis of Strabo’s mention of porticoes in the gymnasium next to the
Serapeum (17.1.10). Lipsius may also have in mind Plutarch’s description of
Lucullus’s library (Luc. 42) and Strabo’s description of the Alexandrian Museum
(17.1.8). Based on what we know of the architecture of the site, he is probably
correct (see 2.8n. Serapéum).

vicinum portui/near the port: Strabo writes the Museum was in a part of the
palace near to the port (17.1.8), and his description of Alexandria at 17.1.10 starts
from the port and soon moves to the Serapeum.

Strabone/Strabo: See 2.1n. Strabo.

alijsq́ ue/and others: Lipsius may be referring to the authors who describe the
fire passing from the port to the library (see above db 2.7–8 and 2.7n. alij).

ab antiquo eius/apart from its antiquity: In fact, Tertullian says exactly the
opposite. He writes that the library is authoritative exactly because of its antiq-
uity.133 Caesar Baronius, citing the fire of ad181 and the fire under Julius Caesar
(which he presumed to be in the Serapeum), suggested that Tertullian was

130 ocd “Tertullian (Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus)” (Honoré), hll §474 (Tränkle).
131 Tertullian remarks on a recent action taken by Severus at Apol. 4.8.
132 On the dates see McKenzie 2007: 195–196.
133 Apol. 19.1: “The utmost antiquity validates the unquestioned authority of those books. Even

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198 commentary on the de bibliothecis 2.11

lying.134 Lipsius mischaracterizes the quotation of Tertullian in order to pro-

tect its veracity. Lipsius also used ab to mean “apart from” at db 2.7 (see 2.7n.
absque).

2.11 Christians ultimately destroyed the Serapeum, and its library, during
the reign of Theodosius.

immensæ molis & stupedi artitificij templum/a temple of immense size and
stunning craftsmanship: The language is essentially that of Sozomen (Hist.
eccl. 7.15.3): ναὸς δὲ ἦν οὗτος κάλλει καὶ μεγέθει ἐμφανέστατος.

Christiani denique, Theodosij maioris imperio, vt arcem superstitionis,

demoliti à fundo sunt/it was the Christians who tore it down to its founda-
tions during the reign of Theodosius the Elder, on the grounds that it was
a citadel of superstition: The patriarch Theophilus obtained permission from
Theodosius i (r. ad379–395) to demolish all pagan temples in Alexandria in
ad 391.135 Yet if Lipsius was wrong about the Serapeum being the Great Library
of Alexandria, then the fate of the Great Library is uncertain.136 It is possible
that it disappeared in the time of Caesar, whether by fire or neglect (see 2.7n.
ignem). Ammianus Marcellinus writes (22.16.15) that the Brucheum, where
Epiphanius had located the library (see above 2.8n. Serapéum), was destroyed
by Emperor Aurelian in ad 272.
Lipsius was unaware of the Arab traditions about the destruction of the
library, which put its end in ad 642. These traditions only began to circulate
in the thirteenth century. The first appearance arose in a brief notice by Abd
al-Latif al-Baghdadi, and then in a longer version in Jamal al-Din ibn al-Qifti’s
History of Wise Men. In Ibn al-Qifti’s version, a Coptic priest called John the
Grammarian asked Amr ibn al-As, who had recently conquered Alexandria, for

among you (sc. non-Christians), it is practically an article of faith to assert reliability based
on antiquity” (primam instrumentis istis auctoritatem summa antiquitas uindicat. Apud
uos quoque religionis est instar, fidem de temporibus adserere).
134 Baronius Annales ecclesiastici 2.364. Nelles (1994: 168 and 1996: 232–233) points out the
contrast in the treatments of the Serapeum in Lipsius and Baronius, who had likened
Theodosius to Ptolemy Philadelphus (5.386).
135 On the Serapeum’s destruction and the building of a church there, see McKenzie 2007:
245–246.
136 I provide a longer exposition of possible dates for the end of the library in Hendrickson
2016.

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the books in the royal treasury. Ibn al-As asked permission from the Calif, Umar,
who said that if the books agreed with the Qurʾan they were superfluous, and if
they disagreed they were harmful, so either way they should be destroyed. Amr
ibn al-As sent them to be fuel for the bathhouses of Alexandria. The story is
600 years later than the events it narrates, and some parts are clearly fictional:
John the Grammarian (i.e. John Philopponus) lived a hundred years before the
story took place. It is now suspected that the story was invented in the late 12th
century to defend and give some precedent to Saladin, who had sold off the
books of the Fatimid libraries.137

arcem superstitionis/a citadel of superstition: Rufinus wrote that the non-

Christians “fled to the temple as if to a kind of fortress” (ad templum quasi ad
arcem quandam refugiebant, Hist. eccl. 2.22), but he was speaking of its use for
actual, physical defense in a time of civil strife.

Ecclesiasticis scriptoribus traditum & laudatum/the affair is reported on and

praised by the writers of ecclesiastical histories: According to the ecclesiasti-
cal historians, some of the last holdouts in the Serapeum were philosophers
and grammarians. As Nelles (1994: 145–146) points out, however, the ecclesi-
astical historians do not actually mention the library at all, which makes Lip-
sius’s statement all the more tendentious. It is striking that Lipsius presents the
Library of Alexandria as an example of intolerant Christians as destroying the
learning of Antiquity (see also db 6.8, which also uses similar language). Ear-
lier library histories, like those of Isidore, Panvinio, and Rocca, had highlighted
Alexandria as a key point of authorization in the Christian tradition: the fres-
coes of the Vatican Library portray Demetrius and Philadelphus as antecedents
(Introduction §3.2, §3.3.4, and §3.4).
Lipsius himself faced Christian critics, particularly because of his Politica
(see Introduction §4.2). The Calvinist theologian Theodore Coornhert blasted
the Politica on the grounds that the work advocated persecution and the Inqui-
sition.138 Catholic authorities also found parts of the Politica objectionable, and
throughout the 1590s Lipsius struggled to keep it off the Index of Prohibited
Books.139

Ruffin. ii cap. xxiii/Rufin. 2 ch. 23: Rufinus (c. ad 345–411) made numerous
translations of Greek patristic works into Latin, among them Eusebius’s His-

137 Abdou Qassem 2008 and Lewis 2008.

138 On Lipsius’s controversy with Coornhert, see Voogt 2000: 197–227.
139 On Lipsius’s struggles with the Index, see De Landtsheer 2011: 342–344.

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toria ecclesiastica.140 Rufinus also provided a continuation of Eusebius, adding

two books on more recent events. As a result, this passage is sometimes cited as
11.23 (taking into account the nine books of Eusebius) rather than 2.23. Rufinus
was writing just ten years after the destruction of the Serapeum.

Socrates/Socrates: Socrates Scholasticus (c. ad 380–450), like Rufinus, made a

continuation of Eusebius’s Historia ecclesiastica, in seven books.141

Sozomen/Sozomen: Sozomen, writing in the early-fifth century, made a con-

tinuation of Eusebius’s Historia ecclesiastica, as had Rufinus and Socrates Scho-
lasticus.142

alij/others: The story is also found in the ecclesiastical history of Theodoret of

Cyrus (Hist. eccl. 5.22). Apart from the writers of ecclesiastical history, others
also report on the destruction of the Serapeum, including Eunapius Vit. Soph.
6.11; Augustine De diuinatione daemonorum 1 (pl 40.581); and John of Nikiu
Chron. 78.45 and 83.38.

Chapter Three

cap. iii/chapter three: In this chapter Lipsius largely fills out Athenaeus’s
list of famous library-founders among the Greeks (with some help from Gellius
and Strabo). The db started in Egypt in the first chapter, and moved forward
in time within Egypt in the second. In this chapter, which focuses on Greece,
Lipsius actually moves back in time to Pisistratus (db 3.2) in the sixth century
bc and Aristotle (db 3.4) in the fourth, both of whom precede the events of
Chapter 2, which begin in the third century bc.
The library of Pisistratus is an invention of later sources, but the idea of it
nevertheless loomed large in later traditions about book history. As for Aristo-
tle, there were conflicting traditions about his library, which he was said to have
left to Theophrastus, and Theophrastus to Neleus. Did Neleus take them back
with him to Scepsis, or did he sell them to Ptolemy Philadelphus? Lipsius tries
to reconcile the traditions by suggesting that Neleus sold to Philadelphus the
books that Aristotle owned, but kept for himself the books Aristotle had writ-

140 odcc “Rufinus, Tyrannius or Turranius.” See also above 2.5n. Eusebius.
141 odcc “Socrates.”
142 odcc “Sozomen.”

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ten (db 3.5)—a suggestion still entertained by many today. It is notable that
the libraries in this chapter are known for the most part from fictional stories
of succession, with the exceptions of Hadrian’s Library in Athens at db 3.2 and
the library in Constantinople at db 3.6.143 This is at least in part because there
were not many libraries, at least many public libraries, until the Roman period.
Heads of philosophical schools, like Theophrastus and Epicurus, certainly
had book collections, but these were their own private property and they do not
seem to have had any specific, built location.144 In the fourth-through-second
centuries bc, the ephebic education systems of the Greek world increasingly
included the liberal arts in addition to physical and military training. Still, it
is only in the second century bc that we find evidence of libraries in gymna-
sia, and these do not seem have had distinct architectural settings (see 3.2n.
plures ibi). The first non-gymnasium public library that we find in Athens is
from around ad 100 (see 3.2n. plures ibi) and should be seen in the context
of municipal library construction as a form of civic benefaction by promi-
nent individuals, which was common throughout the Roman world (see 8.1n.
municipijs).
Lipsius is not concerned with archives in the Greek world, but a brief word
might be in order. In Athens, state archives were housed in the Metroön,
starting in the late fifth century bc.145 In addition to public documents, private
contracts and wills were also deposited there. Archives existed in other cities as
well, although they are not as well understood as the Metroön.146 In Egypt, we
find repeated references to municipal archives in the second and first centuries
bc and into the Roman period.147
The anecdotes that Lipsius treats in this chapter were well known and
figure prominently in contemporary accounts of library history. Lipsius’s main
contributions to the discussion are his reconciliation of the differing accounts
of where Aristotle’s library ended up (db 3.5), and his mistaken conflation of
the libraries of Pisistratus and Aristotle (see 3.2n. Sullæ tempora).

143 The first of these, Hadrian’s Library, was only added in the 1607 edition.
144 See above 2.1n. Ἀριστοτέλης, 2.2n. Aristotelem, Theophrasto, and Hendrickson 2014: 393–
399.
145 On the Metroön, see Sickinger 1999: 105–187.
146 On archives in the Greek world more generally, see Coqueugniot 2013a and Davies 2003.
147 For a brief overview of the evidence for municipal archives in Ptolemaic Egypt, see Hen-
drickson 2014: 392; for a fuller treatment of archives in the Roman period, see Burkhalter
1990.

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3.1 Athenaeus lists the owners of famous libraries in Greece.

quod & in Græciæ Bibliothecis liceat accusare/the passage of time may also
be blamed in the case of Greek libraries: Lipsius is surprised by the lack of
evidence, but recent scholarship has suggested that there were no libraries, or
at any rate no public libraries, in Athens before the second century bc.148

quibus nobilioribus/the more famous of these: We know of several other

individuals who owned or collected books in ancient Greece. In addition to
those mentioned here by Lipsius, there is evidence for books owned by Plato,
Speusippus, Demosthenes, Euthydemus, Neleus, Theophrastus, Strato, Apel-
licon of Teos, Antipater, and Proclus.149 Athenaeus’s list also included the
kings of Pergamum, which Lipsius omits in his paraphrase. Lipsius treats the
Pergamene library in Chapter 4.

Athenæus/Athenaeus: See 2.2n. Athenæo.

Laurentium/Larensius: Larensius is the host of the dinner party depicted in

Athenaeus’s Deipnosophistae, and he may be the Publius Livius Larensis known
from cil 6.2126 (= ils 2932) and sha Comm. 20.1.150

Polycratem Samium/Polycrates of Samos: Polycrates was tyrant of Samos in

the sixth century bc (c. 535–522bc).151 Strabo (14.1.16) writes that the poet
Anacreon lived with Polycrates and that his poems were full of references to the
tyrant. Athenaeus (12.540e) writes that Polycrates and the poet Alcman were
rivals for the love of a young man. Such references to his relationships with
poets would seem to be at the bottom of why Athenaeus listed him as a book
collector.

Pisistratum tyrannum/Pisistratus the Tyrant: Pisistratus was tyrant of Athens

during the sixth century bc.152 The traditions about his library are late inven-
tions, see below 3.2n. Libros Athenis.

148 On the early history of libraries in Greece, see Johnstone 2014 and Hendrickson 2014.
149 The evidence is collected at test. 54–88 Platthy.
150 re “Livius” 22 (Stein).
151 ocd “Polycrates” 1 (Thomas).
152 ocd “Pisistratus” (Thomas).

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Euclidem Atheniensem/Euclid of Athens: Nothing is known about this Euclid.

Lipsius identifies him as the eponymous archon of 403/402bc, which is possi-
ble but not certain (see below 3.3n. de Euclide).

Nicocratem Cyprium/Nicocrates of Cyprus: Nicocrates of Cyprus is otherwise

unknown. A writer named Nicocrates was known to have written works “On
Boeotia” and “On the Contest at Helicon.”153

Euripidem poëtam/Euripides the poet: This is Euripides, the famous trage-

dian.154 Already in the late fifth century bc Aristophanes (Ran. 943, 1409) had
mocked Euripides in regard to his love of books, which is probably how he
ended up on Athenaeus’s list.

Aristotelem philosophum/Aristotle the philosopher: Aristotle (384–322bc)

presumably owned books, although we know almost nothing about what books
he may have had or where he kept them, since he would not have kept them in
the Lyceum gymnasium (see 2.1n. Ἀριστοτέλης). Aristotle’s will does not men-
tion any books (see 2.2n. Aristotelem, Theophrasto). In later traditions, Aris-
totle’s library became the subject of legend. Some said it ultimately came into
the hands of Ptolemy Philadelphus (a tradition Lipsius notes at db 2.2); others
said it ultimately came to Sulla, who brought it to Rome (as Lipsius notes at db
3.4). Lipsius himself attempts to reconcile the two traditions at db 3.5.

3.2 Gellius tells the legend of the library of Pisistratus. Xerxes was said to
have stolen it when he sacked Athens. Seleucus Nicanor returned it as
a gift.

Agellius/Gellius: See 2.6n. Agellio.

æuo ferè concurrit/from about the same era: Both were tyrants in the middle-
to-late sixth century bc.

Libros Athenis … Pisistratus tyrannus/They say that … in Athens: The assertion

that Pisistratus founded a library, as recorded in Gellius and Athenaeus, prob-
ably stems from traditions about Pisistratus editing the works of Homer and

153 FGrHist 376, re “Nikokrates” 3 (Wendel).

154 ocd “Euripides” (Gould).

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Hesiod.155 These traditions, in turn, probably go back to the pseudo-Platonic

Hipparch. (228b–c), which states that Pisistratus’s son Hipparchus brought
the Homeric poems to Athens, and that he invited the poets Anacreon and
Simonides there. Hipparchus also allegedly arranged competitions for the
recitation of Homer in relay, implying the presence of a fixed text (Hipparch.
228b). Pisistratus (or Hipparchus) may well have possessed some books
(though poetry was largely oral in the sixth century bc), but the idea of Pisi-
stratus as the founder of a library is anachronistic. Be that as it may, his status
as a library-founder is recalled numerous times thereafter.156

odiosum hoc modò cognomen tolle/just subtract the repellent epithet: The
Greek τύραννος originally referred simply to a monarch or absolute ruler, and
Latin tyrannus could mean the same. Already in the first century bc, however,
the Latin tyrannus could also indicate a ruler who was characterized as cruel or
oppressive.
Lipsius calls this simply a cognomen, or “surname,” but the Greek reads
rather “Pisistratus, who ruled the Athenians” (Πεισίστρατον τὸν Ἀθηναίων τυραν-
νήσαντα). Here Lipsius may show the influence of Casaubon. The facing Latin
translation in Casaubon’s edition of Athenaeus reads Pisistratum tyrannum
Atheniensium, which might have encouraged Lipsius to read the phrase as a
title.157 Lipsius more clearly follows the translation in Casaubon’s edition of
Strabo in db 11.2 (see 11.2n. Habet autem) and otherwise uses or reacts to
Casaubon’s work elsewhere (see 3.3n. inter primos and 5.6n. viros doctos).

Ea Bibliotheca ab ipsis deinde Atheniensibus … Athenas curauit, donauit-

q́ ue/The Athenians themselves … returned to Athens as a gift: A paraphrase
of Gellius na 7.17.1–2. The story is fantastic, but gives a good sense of how
stories about the theft and transfer of libraries could articulate ideas military
and cultural power.158

155 E.g. Cic. De orat. 3.137 and Plut. Thes. 20, who attributes his information to Hereas the
Megarian (FGrHist 486).
156 E.g., Tertullian Apol. 18, Jerome Epist. 34, Isid. Etym. 6.3.3–5, and John Tzetzes (p. 30, 33
Koster). On Pisistratus as a kind of metaphorical father for the idea of the library, see Too
2010: 20–24.
157 P. 3a in Casaubon, Isaac. 1597. Athenaei Deipnosophistarum libri xv. [Heidelberg]: J. Com-
melinus. The translation included in Casaubon’s edition is that of Jacques Daléchamps.
158 On ancient narratives about libraries as articulations of how cultural authority could be
(re)appropriated, see Too 2010: 19–49.

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Xerxes, Athenarum potitus/Xerxes … when he gained control of Athens: The

Persian king Xerxes sacked Athens in 480bc.

multis pòst annis/Many years later: Lipsius puts this in the 117th Olympiad,
312–309 bc. He is probably taking the date from Eusebius’s Chronicle (p. 126
Helm), which lists the phrase Seleucus Nicanor regnauit under the 117th Olym-
piad.

Seleucus Nicanor, Syriæ rex/Seleucus Nicanor, king of Syria: Gellius appears

to mean Seleucus i Nicator (358–281 bc), whose name was also sometimes given
as Nicanor.159 He was a general of Alexander the Great and the founder of the
Seleucid dynasty.

Sullæ tempora/the time of Sulla: Sulla (c. 138–78bc) was in Athens around
87–85 bc. Lipsius has conflated the library of the Pisistratus with the library
of Aristotle, which Sulla took from Athens (see below db 3.4). The mistake
was picked up and repeated by later scholars relying on Lipsius.160 Lipsius also
treats Sulla’s library at db 5.3.

plures ibi/many libraries there: Epigraphic and archaeological evidence yields

two more libraries than Lipsius knew of. The first was in the Ptolemaeum Gym-
nasium.161 Beginning in 116/5 bc, graduating classes of ephebes gave a hundred
books to the Ptolemaeum Gymnasium every year, and we have some of the
inscriptions recording these gifts.162 This library would presumably have been
educational and would have been public in the sense that ephebic education
compulsory for all citizen males.
The second library is from around ad100, and an inscription records that it
was dedicated by a certain Flavius Pantaenus, who was the head of a philosoph-
ical school.163 The archaeological remains are just south of the Stoa of Attalus.

159 Other examples of “Nicanor” for “Nicator” at re “Seleukos” 2 (Stëhelin), col. 1233.
160 E.g., p. 210 in Figrelius (Gripenhjelm), Emundus. 1656. De statuis illustrium Romanorum.
Stockholm: J. Jansson.
161 On libraries, gymnasia, and education, see Scholz 2007, Brenk 2007, and Caruso 2014: 61–
65. Nothing is known for certain about the specific layout of the Ptolemaeum Gymnasium,
but Miller 1995: 202–208 has suggested a location. For some typical architectural features
of ancient gymnasia see 2.1n. Ἀριστοτέλης.
162 For bibliography and analysis of these inscriptions, see Johnstone 2014: 355–356.
163 The inscription was first published in translation by Shear (Hesperia 1935 (4) pp. 330–332)
and then with a Greek text by Meritt (Hesperia 1946 (15) p. 233 no. 64). For more on the

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The library consists in the main of three rooms opening onto an internal por-
tico. These three rooms are likely where the books were stored. Statues of the
Iliad and Odyssey personified were also found outside the library.

Hadrianus Imp. Iouis Panellenij ædem Athenis struxit, & in eâ Bibliothecam/

Emperor Hadrian built a temple to Panhellenic Jupiter at Athens, and in it a
library: Lipsius added this citation in the b1 (1607) edition.
Hadrian built this library in ad 132.164 Pausanias does not locate the library
in the temple of Zeus, but simply lists both among Hadrian’s monuments in
Athens—although the language is not terribly clear. Pausanias also mentions
a hundred columns of Phrygian marble in its stoa, as well as a golden roof and
paintings.
A complex north of the Roman Agora is traditionally identified as the site of
this library (fig. 5). This complex (roughly 125m × 75m) comprises a courtyard
enclosed by a portico with exedras. The east end of this complex contained
a suite of rooms. The central room is thought to be the library itself on the
basis of the niches (for bookshelves) framed by columns, and on the basis of
the podium lining the walls—both of which were common features of Roman
public libraries.165 The complex as a whole strongly resembles the Temple of
Peace, which also boasted a major library (see 7.3n. templo Pacis). The building
suffered severe damage in ad 267 and saw some renovation in the early fifth
century ad.

3.3 Nothing more is known about the Euclid who owned a famous library.

de Euclide … hunc Archontem fuisse/About Euclid … that he was an archon:

Classical Athens appointed nine archons every year to oversee a variety of
civil and judicial duties.166 It is not certain that this Euclid is the same as
the archon. However, Euclid the archon of 403/402bc was responsible for a
measure officially replacing the old Attic alphabet with the Ionic alphabet in all

Pantaenus Library, see Nicholls 2005: 276–279, Johnson 1984: 25–30, and Thompson and
Wycherley 1972: 114–116 (plates 62–63 show the dedicatory inscription and the statues of
the personified Iliad and Odyssey). On Pantaenus himself see Oliver 1979.
164 Eusebius notes its construction at Chron. p. 282.16 Helm. On the site see Sisson 1929,
Travlos 1971: 244–252, and Willers 1990: 14–21. On the library see Johnson 1984: 74–77 and
Nicholls 2005: 279–282.
165 On common features of Roman-era public libraries see 5n. Romanæ.
166 ocd “Archontes” (Gomme and Rhodes).

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figure 5 Hadrian’s Library in Athens (Sisson 1929, plate 21). In the suite of rooms at the top of
the drawing, the library was probably in the central room (measuring 23.25m ×
15.75 m), which has niches for bookcases. The full complex is roughly 125m × 75m.

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208 commentary on the de bibliothecis 3.4

public inscriptions.167 The spelling reform may have been enough to find him
a place on Athenaeus’s list.

Athenæus/Athenaeus: See 2.2n. Athenæo.

inter primos eius magistratus/among the first holders of that magistracy:

There had been archons in Athens since the seventh century bc, but Lipsius
might mean the first to hold the office after the restoration of the Athenian
democracy in 403bc. Lipsius evidently found this identification of Euclid as
the archon in Casaubon’s Animaduersiones, where he writes: “Euclid, who is
named among the most ancient collectors of the furnishings of a library, was
an archon at Athens not much after the creation of that kind of magistracy”
(Euclides, qui inter antiquissimos suppellectilis librariae collectores nominatur,
Archon fuit Athenis non multo post institutum id genus magistratus).168

3.4 Strabo recounts the story that Neleus inherited the library of Aristotle
and took it back with him to Scepsis. His descendants took poor care
of them, and ultimately sold them to Apellicon. Sulla took them from
Apellicon and published them with the help of Tyrannio.

Strabo/Strabo: See 2.1n. Strabo.

Athenæo/Athenaeus: See 2.2n. Athenæo.

Libros Aristotelis … intercidisse, aut inuertisse/that the books of Aristotle …

tampered with or rearranged them: The reliability of this story (greatly abbre-
viated by Lipsius) is much debated. Against its accuracy is the fact that Aristo-
tle’s will does not leave his books to Theophrastus, nor to anyone (Diog. Laert.
5.11–16). More troublingly, Strabo tells this story to explain the decline the of
Peripatetic school after Theophrastus: the school (without its library) could
no longer engage in the most serious research. Yet subsequent Peripatetics,
and others in the Hellenistic world, do appear to have had access to Aristo-
tle and Theophrastus’s works.169 In favor of the story’s accuracy is that Strabo

167 ocd “Euclides” 2 (Ehrenberg and Rhodes), paa 435935.

168 Casaubon, Isaac. 1600. Animaduersiones in Athenaei Dipnosophistas libri xv. Paris: A. De
Harsy. This quotation is from Book 1 Ch. 2, which is page 6 in the edition of 1600.
169 Barnes 1997: 12–16 provides various examples.

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had heard Tyrannio lecture (12.3.16), and so he could have had good information
about the books. Posidonius had also written that Apellicon bought the library
of Aristotle.170 A commonly accepted proposition is that Apellicon (or whoever
sold him the books) invented their history to inflate their value.
This story has played an important role in Aristotelian scholarship because
of the assumption that the books referred to in the story are the esoteric works:
those for the internal use of the school specifically, which largely make up
the extant Aristotelian corpus. Aristonicus of Rhodes drew up an edition of
the works of Aristotle based on the texts that Tyrannio made available, and
it is often assumed that this edition is the basis of the corpus of Aristotle’s
works as we now know them—although there is good reason to doubt this.171
A different line of inquiry has been the exploration of this story as a narrative
of intellectual succession and the changing nature of the library.172

Neleum/Neleus: See 2.2n. hunc Neleo.

sine vsu vllo/without making any use of them: This statement is an addition
of Lipsius; Strabo had written rather that they were “not stored carefully” (οὐδ’
ἐπιμελῶς κείμενα). An important aspect of the db is Lipsius’s emphasis that a
library should be used, which builds his case for the funding of scholars and
guards against Seneca’s accusation about libraries that are used for pretentious
display (see Introduction §4.2).

sub terram conditos/were stored underground: Lipsius leaves out Strabo’s ex-
planation for why the heirs of Neleus hid the books: they wanted to keep them
from the greedy hands of the Pergamene kings. The rivalry for books between
the Ptolemies and the Attalids was legendary, and they were said to have
resorted to dubious methods in their search for books (see 4.2n. æmulatione).

Apelliconi Teio/Apellicon of Teos: Apellicon173 was involved with the Peri-

patetic school in Athens and with the Athenian revolt against Rome. The revolt
was led by the Peripatetic scholarch Athenion and took place during the First
Mithridatic War (89–85 bc). Strabo writes (13.1.54) that Apellicon was a “bib-
liophile rather than a philosopher” (φιλόβιβλος μᾶλλον ἢ φιλόσοφος), and both

170 Ath. 5.214d = FGrHist 87 f36 = fr. 253 Edelstein-Kidd. Posidonius lived c. 135–51 bc, and so
he would have been a contemporary of Apellicon and Sulla.
171 Barnes 1997, who provides a thorough analysis of this passage and its implications.
172 E.g. Too 2010: 24–31 and Jacob 2013: 66–74.
173 re “Apellikon” 1 (Dziatzko), paa 140490.

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Strabo and Plutarch write that Sulla seized his library during the Mithridatic
war.174 Strabo and Plutarch may have taken their information from Posido-
nius, who had only negative things to say about Apellicon.175 He writes that
Apellicon not only bought the books of Aristotle (among many other old vol-
umes), but that he also stole ancient records from the Metroön (the Athenian
state archive). He got caught and fled the country. Athenion invited Apellicon
back to Athens, made him a citizen, and sent him to plunder the temples in
Delos. According to Posidonius, the expedition failed due to Apellicon’s lack of
military competence, and Apellicon himself only escaped through a cowardly
flight.

Sullam/Sulla: On the library after it came into Sulla’s possession, see db 5.3.

Tyrannionem/Tyrannio: Tyrannio was Greek scholar, whom Lucullus took to

Rome as a prisoner after sacking his native Amisus in 72bc.176 He was soon
freed by Licinius Murena. Tyrannio was a student of the grammarian Dionysius
Thrax, and he wrote works on grammatical and metrical topics.177 At Rome he
helped Cicero with his library at Antium and helped Cicero’s brother Quintus
when he sought to enlarge his Greek collection.178 Lipsius treats this same
Tyrannio at db 8.2.

3.5 Lipsius suggests that Neleus kept the books actually written by Aristotle
for himself, and only sold to Philadelphus those that Aristotle merely
owned.

Plutarchus/Plutarch: See 2.7n. Plutarchus.

Athenæo/Athenaeus: See 2.2n. Athenæo.

quomodo ad Philadelphum … Athenæo suprà assertum/how did the books

come to Philadelphus … as asserted by Athenaeus: In fact, Athenaeus suggests
two fates for Aristotle’s library. At 1.3a–b he wrote that the Neleus sold the

174 Strabo 13.1.54, Plut. Sulla 26.

175 Ath. 5.214e–215b = FGrHist 87 f36 = fr. 253 Edelstein-Kidd.
176 ocd “Tyrannio” 1 (Forbes, Browning, and Wilson), re “Tyrannion” 2 (Wendel).
177 Fragments and testimonia at Haas 1977.
178 Tyrannio helping Cicero with his library at Antium: Cic. Ad Att. 4.4a.1 and 4.8.2. Tyrannio
helping Quintus Cicero expand his Greek library: Cic. Ad Q Fr. 3.4.5 and 3.5.6.

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books to Ptolemy Philadelphus and at 5.214e he suggested that they ultimately

came to Apellicon and Sulla. As usual, Lipsius looks for a way for his sources
to be accurate, even when they are in contradiction with each other.179 It has
also been suggested that the two traditions are the result of two local claims
for authority, originating in the libraries in Athens and Alexandria.180 Each
place would have wanted its own collection of Peripatetic works to be the most
authentic.

3.6 A library in Constantinople that boasted a 120-foot long snakeskin edi-

tion of Homer, written in gold.

Romani haud dubiè pleraque talia ad se transduxerunt, Græciâ iam potiti/

Undoubtedly the Romans brought many such libraries back home with them
once they took control of Greece: Lipsius bases his assumption at least partly
on the examples Aemilius Paullus and Lucullus, whom he treats at db 5.1–
2 (cf. db 5.5, 6.1). The idea of books as the spoils of war has captured the
imagination of modern scholars, but there is some reason for doubt (see 6.1n.
miro concursu).

Principum æuo/in the imperial period: The first reference to this library is
from the time of Constantius ii (r. ad 337–361).181 In ad 357, Themistius wrote
that Constantius ii had just instituted a scriptorium of sorts for the copying of
literary, oratorical, and philosophical works scattered in private libraries (Or.
4.59c–60c). It is implied that the resulting collection of manuscripts would be
public. The library was certainly in existence in ad 361/2, when the emperor
Julian was reported to have donated both books and a new library building
(Zosim. Hist. nou. 3.11.3). Zosimus located the library “in the king’s stoa” (ἐν
τῇ βασιλέως στοᾷ); both Cedrenus and Zonaras put it in the “so-called basil-
ica” (ἐν τῇ καλουμένῃ βασιλικῇ/ κατὰ τὴν κεκλημένην βασιλικήν). In ad 372 the
emperor Valens fixed the number of Greek book-workers at four and Latin at
three (Codex Theod. 14.9.2). The fire occurred in ad 475. Zonaras notes that the
fire is also recorded by Malchus ( fr. 11 Blockley). Malchus himself lived in Con-
stantinople at the time of the fire, and his account is also noted in the Suda (μ
120 Adler).

179 Canfora (2002) has revived Lipsius’s interpretation of this matter.

180 Barnes 1997: 7.
181 For more on this library see Wendel 1942 (= 1974: 46–63).

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Zonaras/Zonaras: Johannes Zonaras, active in the twelfth century, wrote var-

ious works, including a universal history; among his sources was Cassius Dio,
and he is responsible for much of the Dio that is preserved.182

Cedrenus/Cedrenus: See 2.3n. Georgium Cedrenum.

Basilisci imperio/during the reign of Basiliscus: Emperor Flavius Basiliscus

ruled ad475–476.183

centum viginti millia librorum/120,000 books: The number is probably too

high, but it is not impossible. As a comparison, most monastic libraries of the
Middle Ages had several dozen books, and the largest had several hundred. The
private library in the Villa of the Papyri had over a thousand rolls when Vesuvius
erupted in ad79.184 The library of the Ptolemaeum Gymnasium received 100
new books a year at least through the years 117/6bc to 41/40 bc (see above 3.2n.
plures ibi), suggesting a number in the thousands even if many were lost to
wear and tear. The Great Library of Alexandria likely had tens of thousands
of books, but probably not hundreds of thousands (see above 2.4n. numerum
librorum).
Themistius makes clear that the books were being copied from scratch
(Or. 4.59d–60c), that is to say, the library did not start by purchasing books
or acquiring them as gifts—although it is recorded that the emperor Julian
donated books to the library at one point (Zosim. Hist. nou. 3.11.3). The policy of
copying new books for the library seems to have continued, and Valens set the
number of copyists at seven, plus attendants (Codex Theod. 14.9.2). The move
suggests that the number of copyists had previously been lower. Even assuming
an average of seven copyists working throughout the 120 or so years of the
library’s existence, those seven would have to produce around 1,000 books a
year, or 143 each, to reach the number 120,000. Of course, gifts would lower our
per-scribe average, but loss to theft and the damage of general use would raise
it. And, it should be noted that the Codex Theodosianus makes clear that these
scribes would spend at least part of their time repairing and restoring old books,
rather than copying new ones. Thus the number 120,000 is probably (much) too
high, but would have been possible if there were either more scribes or more
gifts than we know of. It is also at least a little suspicious that the library had
120,000 books and a scroll 120 feet long.

182 ocd “Zonaras, Johannes” (Momigliano).

183 odb “Basiliskos” (Gregory).
184 On the library in the Villa of the Papyri, see Sider 2005 and Houston 2014: 87–129.

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Draconis intestinum/the gut of a snake: The Greek is δράκοντος ἔντερον. Liter-

ally the ἔντερον is the intestine, but it can also be used for the stomach area
more generally.185 Presumably this is what Cedrenus and Zonaras had in mind.

cxx. pedes longum/120 feet long: Such a scroll would have to have been made
out of many snakes, but there is a tradition in a fragment of Livy (recorded in
Val. Max. 1.8.ext.19) about a monstrous snake in Africa, whose hide (120 feet
long) was sent to Rome.
There was no standard length for a scroll in the ancient world, but most
Greek literary scrolls seem to have been between 3–15 m in length.186 Scrolls
could be much longer, and one Egyptian Book of the Dead scroll exceeds 40 m,
though this was a funerary offering rather than a book for everyday reading.187
A scroll of 120 Roman feet (c. 35.52m) would be long, but not impossibly long,
especially for a book not meant for everyday use.

Chapter Four

cap. iiii/chapter four: The db now moves from Greece to Asia. The sole
topic is the royal library of Pergamum, which was famous for its rivalry with
the Great Library of Alexandria. Lipsius is chiefly concerned with establishing
its chronology—perhaps a predictable consequence of the fact that his sources
are scanty (Strabo, Pliny the Elder, Vitruvius) and disagree amongst themselves
about who founded the library and when.
The rivalry between Alexandria and Pergamum is noted in many of the
Renaissance historical sketches of libraries. Lipsius’s main contributions to the
debate are a novel way reconciling the chronological disagreements among
Pliny and Jerome (db 4.2) and the suggestion that Augustus returned the
library to Pergamum after Antony had given it to Cleopatra in Alexandria (db
4.5).
There were two other libraries in Pergamum, unknown to Lipsius, for which
we have archaeological and epigraphic evidence. The first is a gymnasium
library, attested in the second century bc (on which see below 4.2n. Bibliothe-
cis). The second arose during the time of Hadrian in a healing center called the

185 lsj “ἔντερον.”

186 Johnson 2004: 143–152.
187 Bülow-Jacobsen 2009: 21.

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Asclepieion.188 An inscription records that Flavia Melitine added a library to

the already existing Asclepieion.189 The room identified as a library is rectan-
gular, about 16.5m × 18.5m. It has niches to hold bookcases and a large central
apse with a statue of Hadrian. Like the library of Pantaenus, the Flavia Melitine
library should be seen in the context of libraries as civic benefactions during
the Roman Empire (see 8.1n. municipijs).
Outside of Pergamum proper, we hear of three Greek book collections (it
might go too far to say “libraries”) that Lipsius also might have classed with
Asia, although they were strictly speaking outside the Roman province of Asia:

1. Heraclea Pontica: A Greek writer of the first century bc, Mnemon of

Heraclea, claimed that the fourth-century bc tyrant Clearchus founded
a library in Heraclea Pontica (FGrHist 434 f1). The story is probably just
an elaboration of typical “tyrant” behavior, which included the funding of
the arts and libraries (see db 3.1–2).
2. Antioch: The Suda (ε 3801 Adler) reports that Antiochus the Great (r.
222–187 bc) put the poet Euphorion in charge of “the public library”
in Antioch. This evidence is somewhat dubious, since it comes over a
millennium after the fact and since the Suda has a tendency to declare
poets to be in charge of various libraries.
3. Pontus: Mithridates vi, king of Pontus, was said to have a collection of
medical texts, which Pompey brought to Rome and had translated after
defeating Mithridates in 63bc (Plin. hn 25.5–7).

There is no evidence that any of these were large collections like Alexandria
and Pergamum, or that they were in monumental library buildings like the
libraries of the Roman period. There were many other libraries in Asia in
the Roman period, but I suspect Lipsius would have classed those with the
provincial “libraries beyond the city” in Chapter 8 (see 8.1n. municipijs).

188 On the Aesclepieion Library see Nicholls 2005: 283–285 and Caruso 2014: 68–69. Caruso
also points out libraries in the Asclepieia in Epidaurus and Cos.
189 Habicht 1969: 84–85 (no. 38), cf. 29–30 (no. 6).

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figure 6 Rooms Traditionally Identified as the Pergamene Royal Library (Bohn 1885, table 3).
The remnants of a podium can be seen in the large room on the right. The three
adjacent rooms are also labeled “Bibliothek” on the supposition that the large room
could not hold all the books of the Pergamene library. The rooms open onto the upper
level of a colonnade (labeled “Nord Stoa”).

4.1 As Pergamum grew in wealth and power, it built a library second only
to the Great Library in Alexandria.

Attalica siue Pergamena/the Attalid (or Pergamene) library: Called Attalica

after the Attalid dynasty, or Pergamena from Pergamum, the city of its home.
The Attalids took control of Pergamum c. 302bc and allied with Rome in the
second century bc, which was the era of the Pergamene Library.190
An area on the Pergamene acropolis (fig. 6) was identified as the royal library
in the early 1880s, partly on the basis of Lipsius’s comments at db 6.2 (about
a library on the upper floor of a portico) and db 8.1 (about the tendency of
libraries to be found near temples).191 More recently, this identification has
been called into doubt.192 Essentially, the identification largely rested on a

190 ocd “Pergamum” (Spawforth and Roueché).

191 Conze (1884) and Bohn (1885: 56–71) explain the identification.
192 Coqueugniot (2013b) gives a summary of the debate.

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podium that ran around the walls, which it was believed could have held
bookshelves. Since the room was not large enough to hold the 200,000 books
mentioned by Plutarch (Ant. 58), it was assumed that the adjacent rooms must
have held books as well. It was soon realized that the podium more likely held
statues, and so it was proposed that the large room must have been analogous
to the oikos megas in Strabo’s description of the museum (17.1.8), and that
the books were only in the adjacent rooms.193 Yet if the podium did not hold
bookshelves, there is really no basis for identifying the complex as a library
at all.194 Much of twentieth-century scholarship on Greek libraries, and in
particular on their architectural form, was based on the identification of this
building as a library, and now has to be rethought (Hendrickson 2014).

4.2 Eumenes founded the library, though some credit Attalus. Parchment
was invented at Pergamum when a jealous Ptolemy forbid the export of
papyrus.

Strabo/Strabo: See 2.1n. Strabo.

Eumenes … eleganter excoluit/Eumenes … adorned it elegantly: Eumenes ii

(ruled c. 197–158bc) was responsible for the creation of the monumental Per-
gamene acropolis in the first half of the second century bc.195

donarijs/with temples: A post-Classical word that can refer to gifts or tem-

ples.196 The Greek reads ἀναθήματα, which means “dedications.” The Greek
could indicate temples, but also statues, stelae, or other types of votives.

Bibliothecis/libraries: The plural can refer to the stacks (bibliothecae) of a

single library, or to multiple libraries. Apart from the royal library, we also have
inscriptional evidence of a library whose date is uncertain, although there is
no evidence about whether this was the result of a royal initiative.197 One of
the inscriptions was found in a gymnasium, and there has been an attempt to

193 re “Bibliotheken” col. 415 (Dziatzko). Strabo’s description is quoted by Lipsius below at db
11.2.
194 Realized by Johnson (1984: 44–61) and Mielsch (1995).
195 ocd “Eumenes” 2 (Errington).
196 nlw “donarium” (Ramminger).
197 Inscriptions at mdai(a) 33 (1908) no. 4 (pp. 383–384) and no. 41 (p. 409); see also Johnstone
2014: 356.

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pin down a location for the gymnasium library by looking for niches that could
hold bookshelves.198 Niches, however, can hold any number items, and so the
identification is speculative.

Plinius/Pliny: Gaius Plinius Secundus (ad23–79), known as Pliny the Elder,

is most famous for his extant, 37-book encyclopedia, the Historia naturalis.199
Pliny’s work was a flashpoint of controversy in the sixteenth century, as human-
ists debated his veracity on a number of points.200 His treatment of the papyrus
plant and its manufacture as a writing material (hn 13.74–82) is still a crucial,
if problematic, source for our knowledge of papyrus in Antiquity.201

æmulatione circa Bibliothecas/a rivalry … over their libraries: The Pergamene

Library was perhaps most famous for its rivalry with Alexandria. In addition
to the passages discussed by Lipsius (i.e. Vitr. 7.pr.4, Plin. hn 13.70, Plut. Ant.
58), the rivalry also figures in Galen, who wrote that it spurred the creation of
all kinds of forged books, since each of the kings was eagerly paying top dollar
for anything that seemed old or rare.202 Galen also wrote (17a.606 Kühn) that
Ptolemy iii Euergetes became so greedy for books that he confiscated every
book from all ships that landed at Alexandria. He had them copied out on
new papyrus and then gave the copies to the owners, keeping the originals for
himself. Galen adds (17a.607–608 Kühn) that Euergetes was so determined to
collect old books that he paid a deposit of 15 talents of silver to borrow the
official state copies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides from Athens. At
great expense he copied them out on the finest papyrus, but then sent only
the copies back to Athens, keeping the originals and forfeiting his deposit.
The Suda (α 3936 Adler) tells a garbled story in which a Ptolemy kills his own
librarian rather than letting him go to Pergamum (see 4.2n. de insigni). These
rivalry-narratives have been read as using libraries to articulate the struggle for

198 Hoepfner (2002b) tries to fix the location of this library within the gymnasium. On
gymnasium libraries see 3n. cap. iii and 3.2n. plures ibi.
199 ocd “Pliny” 1 (Purcell) and FRHist 80 (Levick).
200 Grafton 2001: 1–10 gives some background to this debate. On Pliny’s reception in the
Renaissance, see ct “Pliny the Elder” (Beagon); on Renaissance editions and commen-
taries, see ctc 4.297–422 (Nauert).
201 For an analysis of Pliny’s description of papyrus-manufacture, see Bülow-Jacobsen 2009:
5–8. On papyrus more generally, see Lewis 1974.
202 Galen 15.105 and 15.109 Kühn (= Comm. in Hipp. de nat. hom. 1.42 and 2.pref.). Forged works
resulting from the royal rivalry are also noted by some commentators on Aristotle (full
quotations at Fraser 1972: 2.481–482).

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power and cultural authority, and to articulate anxieties about contemporary

concerns about libraries: forged copies, the fragility and quality of the books
themselves, and the difficulty of finding a given text within a library.203

supprimente chartas Ptolomæo, membranas Pergami, vt Varro auctor est,

repertas/parchment was invented at Pergamum because Ptolemy had sup-
pressed the export of papyrus—so Varro tells us: This passage comes from a
discussion of writing materials in Pliny (hn 13.68–70), in which he attributes
his information to Varro (grf pp. 312–314). It is possible that Pliny is taking his
material from Varro’s three books De bibliothecis (grf pp. 182, 208–209), though
the possibility really rests on nothing more than the fact that Pliny is writing
about libraries and citing Varro’s name.204 The anecdote had a long afterlife
(see 4.2n. itemque Ælianus).
It is worth noting that Varro is mistaken on this point, because parchment
most definitely predates the Attalids, although the Latin term pergamena mem-
bra for parchment suggests that Pergamum was associated with the product.205
The story was already doubted in the sixteenth century by, e.g., Melchior Gui-
landinus (1572: 92) and Angelo Rocca (1591: 380), who were aware of the fact
that Herodotus (5.58) claimed that the Ionians wrote on skins before the intro-
duction of papyrus to the Greek world.

Varro/Varro: Marcus Terentius Varro (116–27bc) was a statesman and a prolific

scholar during the Late Republic.206 Julius Caesar tasked him with overseeing
his intended public library (Suet. Iul. 44.2 and 5.4n. Iulius Cæsar), and Varro
wrote three books De bibliothecis (grf pp. 182, 208–209 and Introduction § 3.1).
He also had an extensive private library of his own (see 5n. cap. v).

itemq́ ue Ælianus/and likewise Aelian: This anecdote is not among the known
remains of Claudius Aelianus (c. ad165/70–230/5) or any other Aelianus.207
Lipsius appears to have found this information in Guilandinus’s Papyrus (1572:
98–99), since he reworks Guilandinus’s explanation that all Attalid kings could

203 Power and cultural authority, Too 2010: 19–49; contemporary concerns about libraries,
Handis 2013.
204 For more details, see Introduction § 3.1.
205 For the suggestion that Pergamum may have had some role in introducing parchment to
Rome, see Johnson 1970. On ancient writing materials in general see Bülow-Jacobsen 2009.
206 ocd “Terentius Varro, Marcus” (Kaster) and FRHist 52 (Drummond). On editions and
commentaries for Varro in the Renaissance, see ctc 4.451–500 (Brown).
207 For the known fragments of Aelian, see Domingo-Forasté 1994.

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be called Attalus. The attribution of this story to Aelian was widespread in the
sixteenth century and seems to go back to Ermolao Barbaro’s 1493 Castigationes
Plinianae et Pomponii Melae.208 Barbaro’s direct quotation of the author whom
he refers to as “Aelian” reveals that it is actually the sixth-century author John
Lydus (De mens. 1.28).

posteriores Philadelpho, toto ferè sæculo/Both men were later than Philadel-
phus by almost a century: Ptolemy Philadelphus ruled 282–246bc; Attalus i
ruled 241–197 bc; Eumenes ii ruled c. 197–158bc.

Nisi hoc subuenit/Unless perhaps it will help us that: Lipsius looks for a way
for Pliny (and Varro) to be not mistaken, though that would be the simplest
solution. Melchior Guilandinus (1572: 98–99) also discussed the problem and
suggested that all Attalid kings could be called Attalus, just as all Egyptian kings
could be called Ptolomaeus. Lipsius takes Guilandinus’s suggestion in reverse,
suggesting that the Ptolemy was not Philadelphus but Epiphanes.

Ptolomæus Quintus, cognomento Epiphanes/Ptolemy the Fifth, also called

Epiphanes: Ptolemy v Epiphanes reigned c. 205–180 bc. It is also possible that
Varro had in mind the Attalid king Eumenes i, who ruled roughly 263–241bc.
The Pergamene Library dates to the time of the second Eumenes, but Varro may
simply have been wrong.

de insigni eius studio in Bibliothecas nihil proditum/no evidence that he had

any special interest in libraries: Lipsius is not quite right about there being
no evidence for Epiphanes being interested in the Great Library. Following
the passage quoted by Lipsius just below (db 4.3), Vitruvius adds an anecdote
about how a certain Ptolemy put Aristophanes of Byzantium in charge of the
library (7.pr.4–7; cf. 2n. cap. ii), and by Lipsius’s logic this Ptolemy would have
been Epiphanes (though Vitruvius names him as Philadelphus, which cannot
be right). Epiphanes may also have been the Ptolemy reputed to have jailed a
librarian to keep him from going to Pergamum, although the story is confused
in the extreme.209

208 I used 1493 Roman edition of Eucharius Argenteus Germanus, which does not number
folios. One can, however, find the quotation in question in his treatment of this passage
of Pliny’s Book 13 under the lemma Mox et priuata linteis confici caepta aut ceris. There is
also a modern edition of Barbaro, Pozzi 1973–1979, and this passage is at vol. 2, pp. 708–
709.
209 The Suda (α 3936 Adler) identifies this librarian as a comic-playwright named Aristony-

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4.3 Vitruvius wrongly states that the Pergamene library was first, and that
the Ptolemies in Alexandria created their library as a rival.

Vitruuio/Vitruvius: Vitruvius was an Augustan-era author best known for his

extant, ten-book De architectura.210 The preface of his seventh book addressed
the role of writing in the history of knowledge, in which he highlighted the cre-
ation of the Pergamene Library and told an anecdote about how Aristophanes
of Byzantium became the librarian of the Alexandrian Library (7.pr.4–7).

Reges Attalici … instituissent/When the Attalid kings … established: Here we

have another example of Lipsius’s influence on the Vatican Library. Whereas
the Salone Sistino, whose frescoes were painted in 1587–1588, did not include
the Attalid kings, the Sale Paoline, whose frescoes were painted in 1610–1611,
included the Attalid kings just after Ozymandias and bore an inscription giving
this quotation from Vitruvius.211

posteriore aliquo Ptolomæo/some later Ptolemy: Vitruvius did not have some
other Ptolemy in mind, and he actually named the Ptolemy in question as
Philadelphus just below the passage that Lipsius quoted (7.pr.9). Vitruvius was
probably just mistaken.

mus. Since Aristonymus is not otherwise known to have been head of the library, the name
is usually assumed to be a mistake for Aristophanes (of Byzantium). There are problems
with that assumption, however, since the Suda claims that he was librarian after Apollo-
nius, but Aristophanes is thought to have succeeded Eratosthenes (see 11.6n. Sacerdotem).
The Suda also dates the story to the reign of Ptolemy iv Philopator (c. 221–205bc), whom
it claims reigned directly after Philadelphus (282–246bc). The Suda was also wrong about
Philopator’s reign overlapping with a Eumenes in Pergamum. In fact, it may be the case
that the story is not about Aristophanes at all, but about Ptolemy viii Euergetes ii and
Aristarchus of Samothrace. Euergetes ii persecuted the members of the museum in 145 bc,
and Aristarchus escaped, though not to Pergamum (see 11.2n. Muséum).
210 ocd “Vitruvius (Pol(l)io)” (Tomlinson and Vallance). On his reception in the Renaissance,
see ct “Vitruvius and the Classical Orders” (Beltramini); on Renaissance editions and
commentaries, see ctc 3.399–409 (Ciapponi).
211 On the db’s influence on the Sale Paoline, see Introduction §3.4, 1.3n. Osymanduas, 5.5n.
orator & Senator, and 7.4n. Vlpia passim.

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 4.4 221

4.4 Mark Antony gives the Pergamene library to Cleopatra.

Plutarchus/Plutarch: See 2.7n. Plutarchus.

βιβλίων ἁπλῶν: The basic meaning of the Greek βιβλίον is a papyrus scroll.212
The word came to refer metonymically not just to the material object but to
what was written on it: an author’s work (if it fills one roll) or a portion of
that work (if it fills several rolls). The adjective ἁπλόος could mean “single” (as
opposed to “double”) or “simple” (as opposed to “mixed”).213 The latter would
seem to be the case here.
The phrase ἁπλῶν … βίβλων is also found in John Tzetzes (p. 32 Koster),
who gave two categories of books in his count of the books in the Library of
Alexandria: he writes that there were 400,000 “mixed” (συμμιγῶν) and 90,000
“single and unmixed books” (ἁπλῶν δὲ καὶ ἀμιγῶν βίβλων).214 Presumably the
“mixed” books are those rolls with more than one author or work in them, while
the “unmixed” are those with a single work in a single scroll.215

gratificatum ei Bibliothecam Pergami, in quâ essent ducenta millia singular-

ium librorum/in order to gratify her, he gave her the library of Pergamum, in
which there were 200,000 individual books: Plutarch ascribes this story to a cer-
tain Calvisius, a friend of Octavian, and makes clear that he himself believed it
was a rumor invented to embarrass Antony in Rome.

Bibliothecam Pergami/the library of Pergamum: The Greek gives the plural,

but this could still either mean “the Library of Pergamum” or “the libraries of
Pergamum.” Certainly the context indicates that Calvisius is referring to the
royal library.

ducenta millia/200,000: The number is most likely far too high. It is not clear
how Calvisius might have known the actual number of books in the Pergamene
Library, and Plutarch (at least) is convinced that he was lying anyways. The
number would be higher than the total in the Great Library of Alexandria (see
2.4n. numerum librorum) and higher than in the library of Constantinople in
the fifth century ad (see 3.6n. centum viginti millia librorum).

212 lsj βιβλίον (cf. βύβλος).

213 lsj ἁπλόος i and iii.
214 It is unlikely that the phrase in Tzetzes goes back to Callimachus (third century bc), as
was once believed, see Fraser (1972: 2.474) and 2.4n. numerum librorum.
215 For an overview of the ideas see Fraser 1972: 1.328–329 and 2.485–486.

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id est voluminum/that is, scrolls: Like the Greek βιβλίον, the basic meaning
of the Latin liber is a papyrus scroll.216 It too came to refer metonymically not
just to the material object but to what was written on it: an author’s work or a
portion of that work. Thus Lipsius uses the term uolumen (“roll”), which only
refers to the physical object, as a clarification.217
Lipsius notes that there could be several “books” (libri) in one “roll” (uolu-
men). There are also cases where one an extremely long liber later had to be
divided into two uolumina.218 In addition, there was no standard length for
a scroll.219 It was common to sell blank rolls comprising 20 sheets of papyrus
as initial material for making a bookroll. But these rolls could be cut to fit the
length of the work, or extended by gluing on more sheets of papyrus. The papy-
rological evidence suggests that such custom fitting was common, and that a
liber would generally (though by no means always) be coextensive with a uol-
umen. Roman law suggests the same. The Digesta (32.52.1) states that in a will,
a liber shall be equivalent to a uolumen.220

ἁπλὰ βιβλία: Lipsius has made an error in changing the phrase into the accusa-
tive: it should be ἁπλῶ βιβλία.

4.5 Lipsius suggests that Augustus returned the books to Pergamum, or at

least had copies made of them and sent to Pergamum.

Strabonis/Strabo: See 2.1n. Strabo.

Tiberij æuo/in the age of Tiberius: Tiberius (Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus)
ruled ad14–37.221

reuectam ab Augusto/Augustus brought the library back: A fanciful solution,

and unnecessary if the library never left Pergamum in the first place. It is

216 tll “liber” ii (Kamptz).

217 old “uolumen” 1.
218 Pliny (Epist. 3.5.5) notes that his uncle wrote three books on rhetoric that were so long that
they had to be written out on six rolls; this seems to be an exception.
219 On the length of scrolls and their division into books, see Johnson 2004: 143–155.
220 Given the seeming propensity of books that are coterminous with their rolls, it is curi-
ous that Tzetzes claims the reverse: a more than 4:1 propensity for rolls with multiple
books.
221 ocd “Tiberius” (Balsdon and Levick).

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another example of Lipsius’s working assumption that his ancient sources are
necessarily correct, and so he must find a way to reconcile them.
Little is known about the ultimate fate of the royal library at Pergamum.
Whether or not Calvisius was lying, his remark suggests that there was still
a royal library there during the triumviral period. Aelian referred to a certain
second-century ad grammarian as “the critic from the Museum of Pergamum”
(ὁ κριτικὸς ὁ ἐκ τοῦ Μυσίου Περγάμου),222 but this institution does not neces-
sarily imply a connection with the old royal library. Galen talks about sending
copies of all of his books to be deposited “in a public library” (ἐν βιβλιοθήκῃ
δημοσίᾳ) in his native Pergamum in ad193 (De ind. 21), but he could be thinking
of another library, like the Flavia Melitine library, which was part of a healing
sanctuary.

Chapter Five

cap. v/chapter five: Chapter 5 marks a major structural turning point in

the db: Lipsius turns from “foreign” libraries (Ch. 1–4) to Roman libraries (Ch. 5–
8). The chapter covers some notable early private libraries (Aemilius Paullus,
Lucullus, Sulla), the public library planned by Julius Caesar, and the first public
library, which Asinius Pollio built in the Atrium of Liberty. Here Lipsius makes
use of the citations collected in Orsini 1570: 102, which he will continue to use
throughout Chapters 5–8.
Several notable private libraries that Lipsius left out include those of Cicero,
his brother Quintus, Atticus, and Varro. We know the most about Cicero’s
libraries.223 In the 67–66bc he asked Atticus, who was then in Greece, for help
in acquiring a library for the “Academy” in one of the peristyles of his Tusculan
villa.224 He also had a library in his “Lyceum” in a different peristyle there (De
diu. 2.8), and a library at his Tusculan villa is mentioned at Top. 1.1. Cicero
also inherited the library of Servius Claudius in 60bc.225 After Cicero’s return
from exile, he needed to fix up the library in his villa at Antium. Cicero may
(or may not) have acquired the library of Sulla’s son Faustus (see above 5.3n.

222 Nat. Anim. 10.42 (= FGrHist 505 f3); see also ocd “Telephus” 2 (Forbes). This scholar,
Telephus, wrote a work on collecting books (see Introduction §3.1).
223 On Cicero’s library see Dix 1986: 98–179, on its acquisition Dix 2013, on its contents Pütz
1925. See also FRHist 39 (Drummond) and grf pp. 417–421.
224 Ad Att. 1.4.3, 1.7, 1.10.4, 1.11.3. On Roman private libraries in evoked gymnasia, see below
5.2n. Bibliothecæ.
225 Ad Att. 1.20.7, 2.1.12.

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Cornelium Sullam). Cicero also wrote of sending some books to his Tusculan
villa in 47 bc.226 Dionysius, one of Cicero’s slaves, stole a good number of the
books when he escaped in 46 bc.227 Cicero’s brother Quintus had (at least) a
Greek library.228
Titus Pomponius, called Atticus because of his long residence in Greece,
seems to have had a library that was large and of extremely high quality.229
Nepos wrote (Att. 13.3–4) that Atticus trained his slaves to be scribes and book-
workers, and we know that he sent a two of them to help Cicero repair his
own library.230 Cicero borrowed books from Atticus on multiple occasions.231
In the second century ad, the “books of Atticus” were legendary for their high
quality.232 They were lost in ad 192, when a fire destroyed the Palatine Apollo
Library where they had apparently been kept together (see 6.4n. Palatina).
Atticus’s heir was his son-in-law Agrippa, who may have inherited the books
and in turn given them to the Palatine Apollo Library.
Marcus Terentius Varro, whose own works comprised over 600 books, pre-
sumably had a substantial library.233 When Cicero was planning to visit with
him and talk philosophy in 46 bc, he wrote (Cic. Ad fam. 9.4): “if you have a
garden in your library, we’ll have everything we need” (si hortum in bibliotheca
habes, nihil deerit). The garden suggests that the library is off a peristyle, in the
style of the evoked gymnasium (on which see 5.2n. Bibliothecæ). Varro was pro-
scribed by Antony in 43bc. He managed to live, but his library was plundered
(Gell. na 3.10.17).

Romanæ Bibliothecæ, priuatæ, & prima publica/Roman libraries: private

ones, and the first public library: The terms “public” and “private” need some
qualification here. There were libraries in homes, but the Roman home could

226 Ad fam. 16.18.3, 16.20.

227 Ad fam. 13.77.3, 5.9.2, 5.11.3.
228 Noted in Cic. Ad Q fr. 3.4.5 and 3.5.6. On Quintus more generally ocd “Tullius Cicero
(1), Quintus” (Basldon and Griffin), and as a literary figure FRHist a37 (Drummond and
Rich).
229 On Atticus generally see ocd “Pomponius Atticus, Titus” (Badian) and as a literary figure
FRHist 33 (Drummond).
230 As is clear from Cic. Ad. Att. 4.4a.1, 4.5.4, 4.8.2.
231 Cic. Ad Att. 2.4.1, 2.20.6, 2.22.7, 6.3.10, 8.11.7, 13.32.2, 12.6.2, 13.8, 13.4.3, 13.39.2, and 13.48.2.
232 For discussion see Nicholls 2011: 131–133 and Boudon-Millot and Jouanna 2010: 50–52. The
books are noted at Luc. Adu. ind. 2 and 24; Galen De ind. 13 and in his commentary on
Plato Tim. 77c (Schröder 1934: 13).
233 On Varro, see 4.2n. Varro.

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be a very public place. There were state libraries, but under the empire the state
was functionally the property of a single individual.
In Latin, private libraries (those in houses and villas) were referred to with
the unmarked word bibliotheca.234 There is no distinct architectural form for a
Roman private library, although Plutarch’s description of the library of Lucul-
lus, quoted by Lipsius at db 5.2, has frequently been taken as normative.235
Libraries in the Roman house were not purpose-built, and presumably one
could move bookcases into nearly any room. As noted below, literary sources
tended to associate them with evoked gymnasia in peristyle gardens (see 5.2n.
Bibliothecæ). The peristyle is a relatively private area of the home, in contrast
to the atrium, where clients and low-status guests may congregate.
The unmarked word bibliotheca can also refer to a public library.236 But
unlike private libraries, there are times when public libraries are marked specif-
ically as a bibliotheca publica.237 There are also noteworthy instances of peo-
ple saying that a library has been “made public” (“nationalized”?).238 There
have been different interpretations of what was “public” about these “public
libraries.”
Keith Dix (1994) points out that public libraries were portrayed rhetorically
as a public amenity, although there is no mention of anyone except highly polit-
ically connected individuals using them. This would presumably be an accident
of our sources, who are predominantly politically-connected elites. William
Johnson (2013) argues that the sociality of elite reading culture suggests that
elite individuals actually preferred private libraries, though they might have
used public ones to find particularly rare or old items. Matthew Nicholls (2013)
points out that public libraries were monumentally huge and were built in
high-traffic areas: they were meant to handle crowds, whether those crowds

234 E.g. Cic. Top. 1.1, De diu. 2.8, De fin. 3.2, Ad Att. 4.5, Ad Fam. 7.23, 7.28, 9.4; Vitr. 1.2.7, 6.4.1,
6.5.2, 6.7.3; Sen. Tranq. 9.4, 9.7; Petr. 48.4; Mart. Ep. 7.17, 9.pr., 14.190; Plin. Epist. 4.28. The
only instance of the phrase priuata bibliotheca is in the title of a position procurator
rationum summarum bibliothecarum priuatarum Augusti (cil 6.2132), which seems to
refer to the emperor’s private accounts.
235 The tendency began with Conze 1884 and Dziatzko’s “Bibliotheken” article in the re. More
recent scholarship has been more cautious.
236 E.g. Vitr. 7.pr.4, 7; Plin. hn 7.210, 13.70; Mart. Ep. 12.pr.; Tac. Dial. 21; Plin. Epist. 1.8.2, 10.81.7;
Suet. dgr 21.3, Iul. 56.7, Aug. 29.3, Dom. 20.1; Apul. Flor. 18.34.32; Iren. Adu. haer. 3.21.2.
237 E.g. Scrib. Larg. Comp. 97; Suet. Tib. 70.2; Apul. Apol. 91.
238 Plin. hn 7.115 (bibliotheca … publicata), hn 35.10 (bibliothecam dicando ingenia hominum
rem publicam fecit); Suet. Iul. 44.2 (bibliothecas … publicare); Isid. Etym. 6.5.2 (bibliothecas
publicauit).

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were looking for books, attending recitations, or participating in the other kinds
of public events. Richard Neudecker (2004, 2013) argues that public libraries,
which he believes also contained legal texts and documentary records, were
part of a radical program of publicatio. This radical program had the aim of pro-
viding the public with access to privileged texts that could advance their inter-
ests legally (through the documentary texts) and allow them to develop cultural
capital (through the literary texts). George Houston (2002) has approached the
question from a different angle. Were the libraries really the property of the
people? He examines the evidence of the slave and freed staff of the public
libraries, and shows that the slaves were those from the emperor’s domestic
staff rather than those who worked on other public services (like roads): pub-
lic libraries were the emperor’s possessions, made (somewhat) available to the
public.
As to the architectural form of public libraries in the Roman era, there are
certainly a few common features:239 tall niches for bookshelves, which would
be separated by columns that might support a balcony for an upper level of
bookshelves; a low podium, sometimes reached by a few steps, would run along
the length of the walls giving, or perhaps restricting, access to the bookcases.240
Such halls also typically have a large, central apsidal space for an over-life sized
statue. However, none of these features are unique to libraries, and not every
library has all of them. Consequently it is an uncertain business to identify
libraries without an inscription or strong topographical evidence.241 It has been
commonly assumed that another characteristic of the Roman public library
was twin halls for Greek and Latin collections, although Nicholls (2010) has
shown that the evidence is deceptively thin.
On public libraries in the Renaissance, see 9.3n. vt hodie.

239 De Gregori (1937) first articulated these common features.

240 The traditional interpretation has been that you climb up onto the podium to reach the
books in their cases. Nicholls (2005: 50, 57–59) has argued that the whole point of the
podiums might have been to separate the bookcases out from the crowds in these very
public spaces. Perhaps in that case the podium would be restricted to library-workers
retrieving books.
241 As pointed out by Nicholls (2005: 303–304) at the start of his discussion of disputed library
identifications.

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 5.1 227

5.1 Early Roman private libraries: Aemilius Paullus in particular.

hîc quoque cultus/sophistication … here too: The b1 (1607) edition added the
circumflex accent to clarify that this is “here too” rather than “this sophis-
tication too.” The 1607 edition added a number of accent marks, but this is
the only case where it served to differentiate two equally plausible alterna-
tives.

Isidori/Isidore: See 2.6n. Isidorus.

Romam primus librorum copiam aduexit Æmilius Paullus, Perse Macedonum

rege deuicto/Aemilius Paullus first brought a collection of books to Rome,
which he did after he had defeated Perseus, king of the Macedonians: Lucius
Aemilius Paullus242 defeated King Perseus at Pydna in 168 bc, ending the Third
Macedonian War. Plutarch writes (Aem. Paul. 28.6) that Paullus “allowed his
sons to take only the books of the king, since they were lovers of literature”
(μόνα τὰ βιβλία τοῦ βασιλέως φιλογραμματοῦσι τοῖς υἱέσιν ἐπέτρεψεν ἐξελέσθαι).
Steven Johnstone (2014: 381–382) has shown that the ultimate source of this
information, Polybius (18.35.4–5), made no mention of any books: the story
Aemilius Paullus bringing the first library to Rome is a fiction.
Based on this quotation from Isidore, Francesco Albertini had posited a
massive, monumental library in Rome (the Bibliotheca Paulli), which Andrea
Fulvio then conflated with the library in Octavia’s Portico (treated by Lipsius in
db 6.1–3), and this confusion persisted in successive Renaissance treatments of
libraries in the sixteenth century.243

deinde Lucullus è Ponticâ prædâ/then Lucullus, from his Pontic plunder:

Lucullus won an immense amount of wealth in his military campaigns against
Mithridates during the late 70s and early 60s bc.244 Isidore clearly believed that
Lucullus took the books as plunder, but the comments in Plutarch’s Lucullus
39–42 (on which Isidore’s account seems to be ultimately based) actually sug-
gest that Lucullus bought his books with the wealth gained from his plunder.245

242 ocd “Aemilius Paullus (2), Lucius” (Briscoe) and hll §177.2 (Suerbaum).
243 Baldi (2013: 34–36) highlights how Albertini and Fulvio’s interpretations influenced sub-
sequent treatments of library of Aemilius Paullus.
244 On Lucullus see pr.3n. lvcvllvs. On the library of Lucullus, see Dix 2000.
245 Plutarch uses Luc. 39–42 to contrast the ways that Lucullus used his wealth shamefully
(39–41) and the ways that he used it honorably (42). At the transition between the
two, Plutarch writes (Luc. 41.7–42.1): “So those are the things that he used his wealth

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228 commentary on the de bibliothecis 5.2

Mithridates may well have had a library. He certainly had books, but Lucullus
was not the one to get a hold of them. Pliny the Elder notes that Pompey seized
an abundance of medical books from Mithridates had them translated into
Latin by his freedman Pompeius Lenaeus (hn 25.5–7). Cicero’s lost Hortensius
was set in Lucullus’s library, and there are some indications from the fragments
that it contained works of philosophy, history, rhetoric, tragedy, comedy, and
lyric poetry.246
It is generally assumed that the library was in Lucullus’s Tusculan villa
because in the De finibus (3.7–10), Cicero writes of visiting the library of Lucul-
lus’s son there—presumably he had inherited it. Yet his library could just as
easily have been in the Gardens of Lucullus in Rome.247 The library’s subse-
quent fate is unknown, but the Gardens of Lucullus eventually wound up in
imperial hands (Tac. Ann. 11.1–3; Plut. Luc. 39.2). A very few remains of the Gar-
dens of Lucullus have been found on the grounds of the Villa Medici and the
convent Trinità dei Monti.248

5.2 Plutarch on the library of Lucullus. Lipsius holds up Lucullus as a model

for Charles, his dedicatee, and for other princes.

Plutarchus/Plutarch: See 2.7n. Plutarchus.

Bibliothecæ, & in porticus adiectas atque exedras/libraries … and the adjacent

porticoes and exedras: There was a fashion among Romans to use a house or
villa’s central peristyle garden to evoke a Greek gymnasium, and the above
elements (porticoes, exedras) suggest that Plutarch envisions the library of
Lucullus as part of such an evoked gymnasium.249 The Roman peristyle garden
already was already similar in form to a palaestra (wrestling space) surrounded
by a peripatos (colonnade), a combination that was common to gymnasia. A

arrogantly on. But his furnishing a library is worthy of respect and esteem” (εἰς ταῦτα
μὲν οὖν ὑβριστικῶς ἐχρῆτο τῷ πλούτῳ. σπουδῆς δ’ ἄξια καὶ λόγου τὰ περὶ τὴν τῶν βιβλίων
κατασκευήν). On the difference between e praeda and ex manubiis, see 5.5n. Dalmatarum.
246 See fr. 2, 8, 10–15, 21 Grilli and the discussion at Dix 2000: 444–446. It should, however, be
kept in mind that the Hortensius was a fictional dialogue, not a library catalog.
247 Lucullus may have had book collections in both his Tusculan villa and his gardens in Rome.
Book collections could certainly be moved (even within a home).
248 ltur “Horti Lucullani” (Broise and Jolivet).
249 On evoked gymnasia in villas see also Wallace-Hadrill 2008: 170–175 and Leach 2004: 34–
40. On common architectural features of ancient gymnasia see 2.1n. Ἀριστοτέλης.

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 5.2 229

gymnasium might further be evoked through décor (e.g. herms and athlete
statues) and even through the kinds of activities carried out there.
Our best source for villa libraries is Cicero, who wrote about his own in vari-
ous places. He repeatedly asked Atticus for help acquiring a library and herms
for his “Academy,” as he called one of the peristyle gardens in his Tusculan
villa.250 At other times he wrote that he was especially eager to evoke the atmo-
sphere of a gymnasium.251 The same Tusculan villa had a “Lyceum,” and Cicero
also had a peristyle garden in his Palatine home that he referred to as a “palaes-
tra,” and likewise in his inherited home in Arpinum.252 The phenomenon is not
limited to Cicero, and Varro even complains that “nowadays” one gymnasium
per villa is scarcely enough for some people (Rust. 2.1.2).

Musarum ædem/Shrine of the Muses: Lipsius makes a telling alteration to

the passage here. Plutarch actually likens the library of Lucullus to “some
kind of hotel of the Muses” (Μουσῶν τι καταγώγιον), by which he means that
Lucullus hosted many Greeks who were traveling. Lipsius instead portrays it as
a Museum, of the kind which he encourages Charles to fund in db 11.

velut publicas/much like a public library: As is clear from the prefatory letter
to Charles, Lipsius intends Lucullus to serve as a kind of model, and so he
highlights the accessibility of Lucullus’s library to scholars. The 1617 epitome
renders this simply as “Lucullus was the first to establish a public library” (d20),
which is fixed in the 1628 epitome (e8).

quod & benignè vos facere soletis/just as you are so generously accustomed
to do: Charles does seem to have granted access to a number of scholars and
writers, including the poets Alexandre Bosquet, de Mons, Jean and Jacques de
Loys, de Douai, and the genealogist Jean Scohier (Van Evan 1852: 386).
This is a rare place in which Lipsius employs the post-Classical honorific
plural vos (cf. db pr.1–5, 8.5, 10.1, 11.9).

250 Ad Att. 1.7, 1.10.3–4, 1.11.3. Cf. pr.4 Academiæ.

251 Ad Att. 1.3.2, 1.4.3, 1.6.2, 1.7, 1.8.2, 1.9.2, 1.10.3–4, 1.11.3.
252 Tusculan villa: De diu. 2.8; Palatine: Ad Att. 2.4.7; Arpinum: Leg. 2.1.3.

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230 commentary on the de bibliothecis 5.3

5.3 The library of Sulla, which he had taken from Apellicon (as explained
at db 3.4).

Cornelium Sullam/Cornelius Sulla: Lucius Cornelius Sulla sacked Athens in

85 bc after it had revolted during the First Mithridatic War.253 Sulla seized
the library of Apellicon, which was believed to include the famous library of
Aristotle and Theophrastus that the heirs of Neleus had buried at Scepsis.254
The grammarian Tyrannio apparently did some work editing the books (Strabo
13.1.54), and Andronicus of Rhodes further edited and published them (Plut.
Sulla 26).
Cicero writes (Ad Att. 4.10) of visiting the library of Sulla’s son Faustus in
55 bc, and it has been suspected that Faustus inherited his father’s library,
which Cicero then visited. In an alternative interpretation of the passage, it is
suggested that Cicero bought the library of Faustus Sulla at a public auction,
where he is reported to have bought all of Faustus Sulla’s other properties—
though this suggestion has some problems of chronology.255

Plutarchum/Plutarch: See 2.7n. Plutarchus.

Lucianus/Lucian: Lucian of Samosata was a major author in the so-called Sec-

ond Sophistic of the second century ad.256 His monologue Aduersus indoc-
tum (Πρὸς τὸν ἀπαίδευτον καὶ πολλὰ βιβλία ὠνούμενον) mocks the pretension
of buying expensive books, but also the pretension of mocking that preten-
sion.257

253 On Sulla, ocd “Cornelius Sulla Felix, Lucius” (Badian); on his library, see Dix 1986: 16–
71. Sulla himself was a writer, composing memoirs that were finished by his freedman
Epicadus, see hll § 173 (Suerbaum) and FRHist 22 (Smith).
254 Strabo 13.1.54, Plutarch Sulla 26, Lucian Adu. ind. 4. On Aristotle’s library see 3.1n. Aris-
totelem poëtam and 3.4n. Libros Aristotelis.
255 Cicero buying Sulla’s property: Plut. Cic. 27; Mor. 205c (Reg. et imp. apopth. Cic. 13). Prob-
lems with chronology discussed at Tutrone 2013: 164–165.
256 ocd “Lucian” (Edwards, Browning, Anderson, and Bowie); on his reception in the Renais-
sance, ct “Lucian” (Marsh) and Introduction § 3.3.1 and §4.2.
257 For an analysis of Lucian’s Ignorant Book-Collector as it regards reading culture in ancient
Rome, see Johnson 2010: 158–170.

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5.4 Julius Caesar plans the first public library and appoints Varro to the task
of its creation.

Iulius Cæsar concepit/Julius Caesar … conceived: The only evidence for this
library is the passage of Suetonius (Iul. 44.2) quoted here by Lipsius. The project
may have been influenced by Caesar’s time in Alexandria and, as Lipsius notes,
it was not complete at the time of his death in 44 bc.258 In fact, construction
may not have even begun at that point.
We can only speculate about the degree to which Varro’s lost De bibliothecis
in three books (grf pp. 182, 208–209) might have had something to do with the
foundation of the library.259

Suetonius/Suetonius: Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (c. ad 70–130) wrote biogra-

phies, such as the extant Lives of the Caesars and On Grammarians and Rhetori-
cians, as well as a host of other scholarly works, of which only fragments sur-
vive.260 According to an inscription discovered in Africa (ae 1953 no. 73), Sue-
tonius held the imperial administrative offices of a studiis, ab epistulis, and
a bibliothecis—the last of which would have put him in charge of all public
libraries in Rome.261

publicare/to make public: On the suggestion that this should be taken as “na-
tionalize,” see above 5n. Romanæ.

M. Varroni/Varro: See 4.2n. Varro.

258 On Caesar’s planned library, see Dix and Houston 2006: 673–675; on previous Renaissance
treatments of this library, see Baldi 2013: 49–51. Aside from Caesar’s extant De bello ciuile
and De bello Gallico, he also wrote grammatical works (grf pp. 143–157).
259 On Varro’s De bibliothecis see also 4.2n. supprimente and Introduction §3.1.
260 ocd “Suetonius” (Bradley) and hll § 404 (Sallman and Schmidt); on his reception in the
Renaissance, see ct “Suetonius” (Bowersock); on his influence on Renaissance biography,
see Hendrickson ( forthcominga).
261 On the position a bibliothecis (“library commissioner”), see Bowie 2013: 244–259 and
Houston 2014: 234–246.

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232 commentary on the de bibliothecis 5.5

5.5 Caesar dies before he can accomplish his plans. Augustus urges Asinius
Pollio to build a public library. He establishes it in the Atrium of Liberty.

eo inuitante atque incitante/At his invitation and urging: There is no evi-

dence that Octavian/Augustus ever encouraged Asinius Pollio, a supporter of
Antony, to build a library, although this is seemingly what Suetonius suggests in
Aug. 29.4–5. The possible location of the Atrium of Liberty in Caesar’s Forum
(see 5.5n. Atrium Libertatis) and the bust of Varro displayed there (Plin. hn
7.115) have led to the suspicion that Pollio was, in some sense, trying to build
the library that Caesar had intended.

Asinius Pollio/Asinius Pollio: Gaius Asinius Pollio (76bc–ad 4) was a states-

man and a supporter of Julius Caesar and then Mark Antony in the civil wars
of the Late Republic; he was also a major historian, although his writings only
survive in fragments.262

orator & Senator nobilis/an orator and noble senator: In the Sale Paoline,
added to the Vatican library in 1610–1611, the third fresco in the series of library-
founders is Asinius Pollio. The description below this fresco refers to Asinius
Pollio, orator et senator nobilis, suggesting that Lipsius was the source of the
language, as had been the case in the first two frescoes of the cycle as well.263

Suetonio/Suetonius: See 5.4n. Suetonius.

Atrium Libertatis exstruxit/erected the Atrium of Liberty: The Atrium of Lib-

erty is referred to as being in existence as early as 212 bc (Livy 25.7.12). From an
early date, the Atrium of Liberty housed documentary and legal texts, including
bronze tablets of the laws (Festus p. 277 Lindsay),264 census and manumis-
sion records (Livy 43.16.3), and records of land ownership (Gran. Licin. 28.35–
36). Asinius Pollio renovated the building and added a library at some point
between his victory over the Parthini in 39 bc and the dedication of Augustus’s
Palatine library in 28bc.265 Nothing is known about its architecture, and even

262 ocd “Asinius Pollio, Gaius” (McDonald and Spawforth), FRHist 56 (Drummond), and pir2
a 1241.
263 On the db’s influence on the Sale Paoline, see Introduction §3.4, 1.3n. Osymanduas, 4.3n.
Reges Attalici, and 7.4n. Vlpia passim.
264 Festus ascribes his information to Cato’s speech De auguribus, in which Cicero notes that
many laws were destroyed by fire there, including one about the Vestal Virgins.
265 On the Atrium of Liberty library, see Dix and Houston 2006: 675–680; on the building

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 5.5 233

its location is a matter of debate. The Atrium of Liberty is usually placed at

the northwestern edge of Caesar’s Forum because of a remark by Cicero (Ad
Att. 4.16.8) about buying land for Caesar “to widen the forum and extend it
all the way to the Atrium of Liberty” (ut forum laxaremus et usque ad atrium
Libertatis explicaremus). There are also fragments of the fur that have liber-
tatis inscribed in one of the hemicycles of the Bibliotheca Ulpia ( fr. 29bcd
fur).266 Thus it was thought that Pollio’s library was incorporated into the Tra-
jan’s library. After all, Trajan’s Forum expanded into Caesar’s Forum in the early
second century ad (fig. 12). But Cicero’s letter does not well fit the time and
location of Caesar’s Forum, and the libertatis on the fur fragment depict-
ing the Basilica Ulpia is not in the hemicycle that overlaps with Caesar’s Forum,
but rather in the opposite hemicycle. In consequence, Purcell has suggested
that the Atrium of Liberty was not adjacent to Caesar’s Forum but rather in the
building now known as the Tabularium at the west end of the Roman Forum
(fig. 12).267
It is unclear whether state documents continued to be stored in the Atrium
of Liberty once it became a public library. If they were, it might suggest that
the first Roman public library had a goal of public access to legal information
as well as to literature, and that Roman public libraries in general may have
also served as archives.268 The Atrium of Liberty also seems to have housed
Pollio’s impressive collection of Greek statuary, as well as portraits of authors,
which Lipsius will note presently.269 Pollio is credited by the Elder Seneca with
the establishment of public recitations of literature (Contr. 4.pr.2), which also
might have taken place there, even if Pollio was not really the originator of the
practice.
The library’s subsequent fate depends on where it was located. If it was in
the Tabularium building on the Capitoline, it could have been damaged or
destroyed by the fires there in ad 69 (Tac. Hist. 3.69–71) and ad 80 (Cass. Dio
66.24.1–2). It could even be the otherwise unknown library on the Capitoline
destroyed by fire at the end of the second century (see db 7.6). If the library was
on Caesar’s Forum, it could have been incorporated into the Trajan’s library as
outlined above.

itself, see Purcell 1993 and ltur “Atrium Libertatis” (Coarelli); on previous Renaissance
treatments of the library, see Baldi 2013: 51–56.
266 This fragment was among those found in 1562 near the Basilica of Saints Cosmas and
Damian, and drawn by Giovanni Antonio Dosio in Vat. Lat. 3439, fol. 14r (see Introduction
§ 5.1).
267 Purcell 1993.
268 Neudecker 2004 and 2013.
269 On the Greek statuary there, see esp. Plin. hn 36.23–24, 25, 33–34.

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234 commentary on the de bibliothecis 5.5

Isidorus/Isidore: See 2.6n. Isidorus.

Primus Romæ Bibliothecas publicauit/made the first public library at Rome:

On the suggestion that this should be taken as “nationalized,” see above 5n.
Romanæ.

additis auctorum imaginibus/and portraits of the authors: Author portraits

were a defining feature of Roman public libraries, and Lipsius dedicates the
entirety of Chapter 10 to them.

Dalmatarum/the Dalmatians: Pollio won a triumph for his victory over the
Parthini (on the eastern coast of the Adriatic) in 39 bc. The phrase de (or ex)
manubiis was commonly used to describe structures funded by the profit of
plunder, and does not suggest that the library itself was composed of books
taken as plunder,270 although Lipsius himself seems to understand it that way
(cf. 3.6n. Romani and 6.1n. miro).

Plinius/Pliny: Pliny the Elder, see 4.2n. Plinius.

Lib. xxxiiii/Book 34: This is probably just a mistake; it should be “Book 35.”
The first book of Pliny’s Historia naturalis is a summarium, a list of contents,
and was sometimes broken up and distributed throughout the work in man-
uscripts, which would change the numeration of the remaining books. Most
early print editions, however, printed the summarium as Book 1 (Doody 2010:
96–99).

bibliothecam dicando, ingenia hominum rem publicam fecit/to make the

genius of men public property by dedicating a library: The placement of the
comma suggests that Lipsius takes bibliothecam as the object of dicando. A dif-
ferent way to read the quotation would be to take bibliothecam as the object
of fecit and ingenia as the object of dicando, which would yield “by making
a dedication of the works of genius, he was the first to make a library public
property.”

270 On the distinction, see Gell. na 13.25.

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 5.6 235

5.6 Pollio did not build the Atrium of Liberty, which had existed for hun-
dreds of years on the Aventine; he merely restored it and added the
library.

in monte Auentino/on the Aventine Hill: Pollio’s Atrium of Liberty was not
on the Aventine, but Livy records (24.16.19) that there was a Temple of Liberty
(Aedes Libertatis) on the Aventine built by Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus,271
consul in 238bc. Paul the Deacon’s epitome of Festus (p. 108 Lindsay) also
records a Temple of Liberty on the Aventine (Libertatis templum in Auentino
fuerat constructum). The temple on the Aventine had a painting added by his
son, also named Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus,272 in 214 bc (Livy 24.16.19).
This temple may be the same as the Temple of Jupiter Libertas (Aedes Iouis
Libertatis) noted in Augustus’s Res Gestae 19.273

Tib. Graccho, patre Gracchorum/Tiberius Gracchus, father of the Gracchi:

Lipsius has confused this Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (re 53),274 who was
a consul in 177bc, with his grandfather of the same name (re 50), who was
consul in 238bc (see 5.6n. in monte Auentino). This Tiberius Gracchus (re 53)
was the father of Tiberius and Gaius, the famous tribunes and social reformers
who were killed in 133 and 121 bc, respectively.275 See below 5.6n. Plutarchus
atque alij.

Plutarchus atque alij scriptores/Plutarch and other writers: Plutarch only

mentions that the father of the Gracchi was named Tiberius Gracchus (Tib.
Gracch. 1.1); he makes no mention of the Atrium of Liberty. Livy writes (24.16.19)
of a Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus whose father founded the Temple of Liberty
on the Aventine. Festus (p. 108 Lindsay) notes the existence of a Temple of
Liberty (templum Libertatis) on the Aventine.
I suspect that Lipsius used Dacier’s edition of Festus, where Dacier (citing
Livy 24.16.19) writes this about the Temple of Liberty on the Aventine (p. 210):
“Founded and dedicated by the father of Tib. Gracchus” (A patre Tib. Gracchi

271 re “Sempronius” 50 (Münzer).

272 ocd “Sempronius (re 51) Gracchus (1), Tiberius” (Badian).
273 ltur “Iuppiter Libertas, Aedes” (Andreussi).
274 ocd “Sempronius (re 53) Gracchus (2), Tiberius” (Badian).
275 For the famous Gracchi, see ocd “Sempronius (re 54) Gracchus (3), Tiberius” (Ba-
dian), ocd “Sempronius (re 47) Gracchus, Gaius” (Badian), and hll §180 (Suer-
baum).

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236 commentary on the de bibliothecis 5.6

et conditum et dedicatum).276 Lipsius knew from Plutarch (Tib. Gracch. 1.1) that
the father of the famous tribune Tiberius Gracchus (re 54) was also named
Tiberius Gracchus (re 53). Lipsius seems to have assumed that Dacier must
have meant the famous Tiberius Gracchus (re 54), and hence he wrote that
the temple was founded by Tiberius Gracchus, father of the Gracchi.277 In fact
Livy (and perhaps Dacier) was referring to a different father and son named
Tiberius Gracchus: the great-grandfather (re 50) and great-uncle (re 51) of the
famous Gracchi. The mistake is understandable.

Ouidius/Ovid: Publius Ovidius Naso (34bc–ad 17) was a major poet, relegated
to Tomis on the Black Sea by Augustus in ad8.278 The Tristia (“Sorrows”) are
five books of elegies that he wrote in exile.

Nec me … sua est/Nor did Liberty … learned books: The speaker of the poem
is Ovid’s book of poetry, which is successively denied entry to Rome’s three
(at the time) public libraries: the Atrium of Liberty, the Palatine Apollo, and
Octavia’s Portico. Ovid’s Tristia were written around ad 9–12. The meter is
elegiac couplets.

viros doctos/scholars: A reference to Isaac Casaubon and his Animaduersiones

on Suetonius (Aug. 29), which glosses the term Atrium Libertatis with the
following: “Learned men gathered there as if at a clubhouse” (Eo docti tanquam
ad λέσχην conueniebant).279

conuentum poëtarum/meeting place of poets: Lipsius here denies that Ovid

is referring to the collegium poetarum, a place noted in Val. Max. 3.7.11.280
Valerius Maximus wrote that when Julius Caesar Strabo entered the collegium
poetarum, the poet Accius did not rise in respect because he considered his
own dignity as a literary figure equal to that of the great politician. Lipsius

276 Dacier, André (Andreas Dacerius). 1581. Sext. Pompei Festi et Mar. Verrei Flacci de significatu
uerborum libri xx. Lambertus Roulland.
277 “Gracchi” here meaning the famous tribunes: Tiberius (re 54) and Gaius (re 47).
278 ocd “Ovid” (Hinds); on his reception in the Renaissance, see ct “Ovid” (Brown).
279 Casaubon published his Animaduersiones in his 1596 edition of Suetonius: C. Suetoni
Tranquilli de xii Caesaribus libri octo. Geneva: J. Chouët. In that edition, this particular
note is on p. 99 (the pages in the Animaduersiones are numbered separately from the text
of Suetonius).
280 On the collegium poetarum, see Horsfall 1976.

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published notes on Valerius Maximus in 1585, but he did not comment there
on the collegium poetarum.281
The location of the collegium poetarum is a matter of debate. There is some
indication that it first met in the late third century bc in a temple of Minerva on
the Aventine.282 The collegium may have later moved to the Temple of Hercules
of the Muses, where the poet Accius set up a statue of himself.283 The Temple
of Hercules of the Muses, founded in 189 bc, was just adjacent to the place that
would become Octavia’s Portico.284 Nicholls (2005: 31–42) has made the case
that the collegium poetarum may have moved there after the foundation of the
library (on the library see 6.1n. Prior).

Asinij/Asinius Pollio: See 5.5n. Asinius Pollio.

Chapter Six

cap. vi/chapter six: An overview of two Augustan-era libraries: the library

in Octavia’s Portico, whose construction Lipsius puts in 33 bc (he is probably a
decade or so early), and the Palatine Apollo Library, dedicated in 28 bc. Lipsius
includes information about their dates, location, structure, management, and a
few of the art objects found within. Fulvio Orsini had already gathered together
many of the quotations in his brief overview on Roman libraries and the men
who ran them (1570: 102–105). Lipsius draws on Orsini, but he uses his own
judgment and frequently expands on or disagrees with Orsini’s conclusions.
Orsini’s influence is most apparent in the inclusion of inscriptions that testify
to the workers in the libraries (db 6.6).
There has been a flood of new information about the Palatine Apollo Library
over the last decade. Galen’s De indolentia, rediscovered in 2005, treated the
fire that swept through Rome in ad192 and destroyed, among other things, the
Palatine Apollo Library.285 The text incidentally adds a good deal of detail about
the library (see 6.4n. Palatina), as well as about the libraries in the Temple

281 The notes are appended to Stephanus Pighius’s edition: Valerii Maximi dictorum facto-
rumque memorabilium libri ix, item breues notae Iusti Lipsi ad eundem scriptorem (Ant-
werp: C. Plantin). Pighius does not comment on the collegium poetarum, either.
282 Festus p. 446 Lindsay (cf. Livy 27.37.7).
283 Plin. hn 34.19, cf. Porph. on Hor. Serm. 1.10.38, Porph. and Ps-Acron on Hor. Ep. 2.2.90.
284 ltur “Hercules Musarum, Aedes” (Viscogliosi).
285 Editio princeps is Boudon-Millot 2007a. Other notable editions include Kotzia and Soti-
roudis 2010, Boudon-Millot and Jouanna 2010 (with French translation), Vegetti 2013 (Ital-

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238 commentary on the de bibliothecis 6.1

of Peace (see 7.4n. templo Pacis) and the House of Tiberius (see 7.2n. Tiberij
domum). New archaeological work on the site of the library has enriched our
understanding of the entire precinct of Apollo in which the library was found,
and how the library and precinct changed over time.286

6.1 The library in Octavia’s Portico. Lipsius addresses conflicting evidence

in Cassius Dio and Plutarch about who built it, and when.

Prior, Octauia/The first of these was the Octavian library: This library was in
the structure originally called the Porticus Metelli, built in 147 bc (Vell. 1.11.3).287
The portico was renovated, and the library established, at some point between
33 bc and 11 bc (see 6.1n. Falli Plutarchum). From then on it was called the
Porticus Octauiae (“Octavia’s Portico”).288 The portico surrounded the temples
of Jupiter and Juno, which can be seen on one of the fur fragments discovered
in 1562 and drawn by Giovanni Antonio Dosio in Vat. Lat. 3439, fol. 23r (see
Introduction §5.1).289
The back ends of the temples form an apsidal structure, which is probably
the place known as the curia (or schola) Octauiae.290 This curia was probably
inaugurated as a templum, since the Senate met there in 7 bc (Cass. Dio 55.8.1).
There are some indications that the library in Octavia’s Portico was home to,
or at least used by, the collegium poetarum.291 The placement of the temples
and curia is secure, but our evidence (the marble fragments) are missing just
beyond the curia, leaving the place of the library a matter of speculation. The
structure had an extensive collection of statuary in marble and bronze, as well
as paintings, not to mention the works of art in the temples of Jupiter and
Juno.292

ian), and Nutton 2013 (English). Some highlights of this new material can be found in Tucci
2008 and Nicholls 2011.
286 Iacopi and Tedone 2005/6.
287 On the building see ltur “Porticus Octauiae” (Viscogliosi); on the library, see Dix and
Houston 2006: 685–688; on some possible activities there, see Nicholls 2005: 31–42; on
previous Renaissance treatments of the library, see Baldi 2013: 56–59.
288 Not to be confused with the Porticus Octauia (the Octavian Portico), which was near the
Circus Flaminius and the Theater of Pompey (ltur “Porticus Octauia” [Viscogliosi]).
289 The temples of Jupiter and Juno are named at Plin. hn 36.35, 36.42–43.
290 Curia Octauiae: Plin. hn 36.28; Schola Octauiae: Plin. hn 35.114, 36.22, 36.29.
291 Nicholls 2005: 31–42; see also 5.6n. conuentum poëtarum.
292 Statues: Vell. 1.11.4; Plin. hn 34.31, 36.15, 36.22, 36.24, 36.28, 36.29. Paintings: Plin. hn 35.114,
35.139. Other works of art: see 6.3n. Templa.

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 6.1 239

figure 7 Octavia’s Portico (courtesy of Wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/

wiki/File:Plan_portique_octavie.png (last access 30.7.16)). The Temple of Juno is on
the left, Jupiter on the right. This reconstructed plan of Octavia’s Portico is based
partly on the fur fragments, which break off just above the “curia,” making the
location of the library a matter of speculation.

A fire destroyed Octavia’s Portico (and its library) in ad 80 (Cass. Dio 66.24.2).
Domitian may have rebuilt it in the same year, when he was reported to have
restored some unspecified “libraries destroyed by fire” (Suet. Dom. 20). The
portico was again burned and again rebuilt in ad203 by Septimius Severus and
Caracalla.293 The library, however, is never mentioned again.

Dio Cassius/Dio Cassius: See 2.7n. Plutarchus, Dio.

293 As explained on an inscription (cil 6.1034).

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240 commentary on the de bibliothecis 6.1

in actis anni dccxxi/In his account of the events of the 721st year of the
city: 33 bc, counting from the mythical founding of Rome in 753bc. Dates, as
counted from the founding of the city, were included in the margins of the
1592 Stephanus edition of Cassius Dio;294 Dio himself designated years by their
consuls.

Plutarchus/Plutarch: See 2.7n. Plutarchus.

Octauiam/Octavia: Octavia (d. 11 bc), sister of Augustus, was a major public

figure.295

defuncti Marcelli/the deceased Marcellus: Marcus Claudius Marcellus (42–

23 bc), the son Augustus’s sister Octavia.296

Falli Plutarchum opinor/I think Plutarch is wrong: The problem has never
been satisfactorily resolved. It is possible that the portico itself was first reno-
vated and then the library added later. The library might also have been built
before the death of Marcellus but dedicated to his memory afterwards, like the
Theater of Marcellus (see 6.3n. vicinum). A rededication might help explain
the disagreement between Cassius Dio and Plutarch over who built the portico,
to whom it was dedicated, and when. In any case, the very earliest date would
be after 33bc (the year of the campaign against the Dalmatians) and the latest
11 bc (when Octavia died). Lipsius favors the earliest possible date; Orsini had
put the library of Octavia’s Portico after the library of Palatine Apollo (1570: 103),
which seems to be more likely.

ex Dalmatarum manubijs/from the Dalmation spoils: See 5.5n. Dalmatarum.

miro concursu, vt prima atque altera Bibliotheca genti barbaræ debeantur/It

is a miraculous coincidence that the first and second libraries of Rome
are owed to a barbarian nation: It is not really so remarkable, since most
Roman public building was funded from the plunder of military campaigns. It
is possible that Lipsius misunderstood his sources and thought that the books
themselves were taken as plunder, as when Aemilius Paullus was said to have

294 Dionis Cassii Romanarum historiarum libri xxv. H. Stephanus (with the Latin translation
of Guilielmus Xylander).
295 ocd “Octavia” 2 (Richardson and Cadoux) and pir2 o 66.
296 ocd “Claudius (re 230) Marcellus (5), Marcus” (Momigliano, Cornell, and Badian).

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 6.2 241

allowed his sons to take the books of King Perseus (though this story now
appears a fiction, see 5.1n. Romam), or when Sulla seized the library of Apelli-
con (see 5.3n. Cornelium Sullam). Lucullus and Asinius Pollio, however, merely
funded their libraries with plunder (see 5.1n. Deinde Lucullus and 5.5n. Dal-
matarum), which is also the case here.
Fedeli influentially argued that the very existence of libraries in Rome had
its origins in the practice of taking books as plunder, and others have similarly
explored the consequences of the idea of books as plunder.297 Given that this
does not seem to have been the case with Aemilius Paullus, Lucullus, or Pollio,
the paradigm needs to be reconsidered.

6.2 Suetonius on the library in Octavia’s Portico: Augustus put Melissus in

charge.

Suetonius/Suetonius: See 5.4n. Suetonius.

Melisso Grammatico/Melissus the Grammaticus: Suetonius (dgr 21) writes

that Melissus (Gaius Maecenas Melissus) was born free in Spoleto but exposed
by his parents.298 He was found, raised as a slave, educated, and ultimately
given to Augustus’s ally Maecenas as a grammaticus. Although his mother later
tried to claim him as free, he preferred to stay in the service of Maecenas, who
ultimately manumitted him. In addition to his work organizing the library of
Octavia’s Portico, he wrote 150 books of jokes (Ineptiae) as well as dramas and
works on grammar and natural history.
We also have inscriptions from some of the slave and freedman staff of the
library.299 Their titles are usually a bibliotheca Latina or a bibliotheca Graeca,
suggesting that the books were divided and had their own staffs—though this
does not entail discrete halls or buildings.300 On library staff and directors in
Rome, see 6.6n. custodem.

297 Fedeli 1988: 31–33; see also Neudecker 2004, though he explicitly includes libraries merely
funded from plunder, and Too 2010: 40–44.
298 On his life and works see Kaster 1995: 214–222, re “Melissus” (Wessner), pir2 m 38, grf
pp. 537–540.
299 cil 6.2347 (= cil 6.4431 = ils 1971), cil 6.4433, cil 6.4435, cil 6.2349 (= cil 6.5192 = ils
1970), cil 6.2348 (= ils 1972). For more on the a bibliotheca inscriptions, and on Melissus
and his staff, see Houston 2002 and 2014: 222–224.
300 Nicholls 2010.

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superiore eius parte/its upper storey: There is no evidence to support Lipsius’s

contention that the libraries were in the upper floor. More likely, the libraries
opened onto the portico, as was the case for the Palatine Apollo Library (6.4n.
Palatina), the Temple of Peace Library (7.3n. templo Pacis), and Hadrian’s
Library in Athens (3.2n. Bibliothecam).
Lipsius’s conjecture was a factor in Alexander Conze’s consequential identi-
fication of the Pergamene Library in the upper-floor portico of the Pergamene
acropolis in 1884 (see 4n.1 Attalica).

6.3 Ovid on the library in Octavia’s Portico: it was near the Theater of
Marcellus.

Ouidius/Ovid: See 5.6n. Ouidius.

pedibus non adeunda meis/could not be approached by my feet: A play on the

metrical feet of the poem and the fact that the book of poetry itself is imagined
to be walking around Rome (see 5.6n. Nec me). The “other” (altera) refers to
the fact that the book has just sought entry to the library at the Palatine Apollo
temple, a passage that Lipsius quotes below at db 6.5

vicinum Theatro Marcelli/Near the Theater of Marcellus: The wording sug-

gests Lipsius may have been aware of Festus’s comment (p. 188 Lindsay) that
Octavia’s Portico was “quite near the Theater of Marcellus” (theatro Marcelli
propriorem).
Julius Caesar had planned a theater to rival the Theater of Pompey, but it was
not built until 17bc, in the reign of Augustus.301 It was dedicated to Augustus’s
nephew Marcellus in 13bc (Cass. Dio 54.26.1) or 11bc (Plin. hn 8.65).

Templa autem dicit/He says temples: The original (1602) edition read:

You see, he calls them temples, but that is completely irrelevant. He

understands temples only to mean places dedicated to public use. Other
evidence shows that there were often libraries in or near temples, but
that’s not how I take this passage.

301 On the building see ltur “Theatrum Marcelli” (Ciancio Rossetto).

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 6.4 243

Nam quòd Templa appellat, nihil est: & Loca intellegit tantum, publico
vsui consecrata. Etsi in templis, aut iuxtà, saepè fuisse, alia ostendunt: sed
hîc tale non legi.

After the 1602 publication of the first edition (a1), Lipsius apparently noticed
Pliny hn 36.35, which mentions the Temple of Juno. There were actually two
temples, as is clear from hn 36.42, Vell. 1.11.3, and the Severan Marble Plan ( fr.
31 fur); even the passage that Lipsius was looking at noted a “Jupiter in the next
temple” (Iouem, qui est in proxima aede). Lipsius returns to the phenomenon of
libraries in temples at db 8.1.

nobiles in eâ statuæ/which held some famous statues: The famous statues

include two of Juno, made by the artists Dionysius and Polycles; there was
also a Venus by Philiscus and several works by Praxiteles (Plin. hn 36.35).
Pliny elsewhere writes that when the temple was built, the statues that were
intended to go into the temple of Juno were accidentally carried into the temple
of Jupiter. It was decided that this was a sign of the gods’ preference, and so the
temple of Juno likewise had the cult that would have belonged in the temple of
Jupiter (hn 36.43).

Plinius/Pliny: Pliny the Elder, see 4.2n. Plinius.

6.4 The Palatine Apollo library, founded in 28 bc.

Palatina/the Palatine Library: One of Rome’s most important libraries (on

its date see 6.4n. anno), and the setting of Lipsius’s 1581 Satyra Menippaea,
Somnium (Antwerp: Plantin).302 The library hosted literary recitations, but also
held meetings of the Senate and other official business during the reigns of
Augustus and Tiberius.303

302 On the building complex, see ltur “Apollo Palatinus” (Gros) and Iacopi and Tedone
2005/6. On the library itself, see Dix and Houston 2006: 680–685. On Lipsius’s treatment
of the library, see Maggio 2016; on Lipsius’s treatment as compared with previous Renais-
sance treatments of the library, see Baldi 2013: 59–66.
303 Literary recitations: Hor. Epist. 2.2.92–105, Acron on Hor. Serm. 1.10.38, Plin. Epist. 1.13.3,
Juv. 7.36–37. Senate meetings and embassies: Suet. Aug. 29.3; P.Oxy. 2435. 31–36; Josephus
Bellum Iud. 2.82; Tac. Ann. 2.37; Cass. Dio 58.9.3. The library must have been inaugurated
as a templum, which was a prerequisite for the Senate to meet there.

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244 commentary on the de bibliothecis 6.4

figure 8 The Library of Palatine Apollo in the Augustan Era (Iacopi and Tedone 2005/6,
table 8; courtesy of the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Roma).
Augustus’s Temple of the Apollo is at the center-top of the plan. The single hall of the
library is on the bottom right, opening onto the colonnade of the Danaids.

The library was part of a precinct surrounding a Temple of Apollo, which

was connected to Augustus’s home. Figure 8 shows the placement of the library
in the precinct. The library itself was originally a single apsidal hall. Columns
alternated with niches that presumably held wooden bookshelves. A stepped
podium along the interior walls gave access to the books. Among the books, we
know there were works of poetry,304 oratory,305 and civil law.306 The Palatine
Apollo library was also the location of several famous unique manuscripts:
Aristarchus’s Homer, Panaetius’s Plato, and the collections (celebrated for their
beauty and accuracy) referred to as the Callinian, Atticinian, and Peducinian
books—together with autograph manuscripts of many grammarians, orators,
doctors, and philosophers (Galen De ind. 13).

304 Hor. Epist. 1.3.15–20 and 2.1.214–218, Ovid Trist. 3.1.59–72, and Mart. Ep. 5.5.
305 Fronto Ad M. Caes. 4.5.
306 Schol. on Juv. 1.128.

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 6.4 245

figure 9 Twin Halls of the Post-Domitianic Palatine Apollo Library (De Gregori 1937, figure 5)

The library was rebuilt by Domitian as part of his construction of the Flavian
Palace, and he added a second apsidal hall adjacent to the first, visible on the
Severan Marble Plan fragments found in 1562 and drawn by Giovanni Antonio
Dosio (Vat. Lat. 3439 fol. 14r). Nothing on this fragment, however, would have
made it easily identifiable as the library (see Introduction § 5.1).
Each hall was 19.5m deep and 17m wide. The foundations of these halls can
still be seen, as can the stepped podium that ran around their walls. At the
end of the apse of one hall was a statue of Apollo that was reported to look
suspiciously like Augustus.307 Above the columns were clipeate portraits of lit-
erary figures, or at least of public figures with some literary accomplishments.
During the reign of Tiberius the halls were said to include portraits of Horten-
sius and Augustus.308 There were also portraits of Germanicus and his father
Drusus flanking the statue of Apollo.309 The precinct of Apollo more generally
was home to a series of herms in the likeness of Danaids and to a large amount
of various kinds of art objects, including sculpture, bronze lamps made to look
like apples hanging from trees, and a chest of gems.310

307 Acron on Hor. Epist. 1.3.17; Servius on Ecl. 4.10.

308 Tac. Ann. 2.37.
309 Attested in Tac. Ann. 2.83 and the fragments of the Lex Valeria Aurelia, at Crawford 1996
no. 37–38.
310 Danaid herms: Prop. 2.31.3–4, Ovid Trist. 3.1.60–61, and 6.5n. Belides; sculpture: Plin. hn
36.13, 36.24, 36.25, 36.31; bronze lamps: Plin. hn 34.14; chest of gems: Plin. hn 37.11.

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246 commentary on the de bibliothecis 6.4

The library, which included many unique manuscripts and appears to have
been a major research center, burned in the fire of ad 192.311 Galen (13.362
Kühn) mentions the fire in a passage that Orsini cited but did not quote (1570:
103), but Lipsius does not appear to have followed up on it. In Galen’s newly
rediscovered De indolentia, the fire is dealt with at much greater length.
There is no clear indication that the library was rebuilt. A fire in ad 363
destroyed a Temple of Apollo on the Palatine and almost destroyed the
Sibylline Books (Amm. Marc. 23.3.3), which Suetonius had also asserted were
kept there (Aug. 31.1). Yet this more likely refers to the main temple in the
precinct and not to the library (though it too had been inaugurated as a tem-
plum).

in ipso Palatio/right on the Palatine: Palatium was the word for the Palatine
Hill, but could also mean “palace.” I translated this as “right on the Palatine Hill,”
but it could just as easily be “right in the palace.”

Suetonius/Suetonius: See 5.4n. Suetonius.

Bibliothecâ Latinâ Græcáque/a Latin and Greek library: Augustus built the
Palatine library with only one hall, suggesting that Suetonius is referring only
to the two kinds of literature and not to two distinct architectural spaces. The
library did have a second hall in Suetonius’s time, so it could also be the case
that he was mistaken.312

anno Vrbis dccxxvi/in the 726th year of the city: 28 bc. See 6.1n. in actis. The
future Augustus had vowed to build the temple after defeating Sextus Pompey
in the battle of Naulochus in 36bc.313

ex Dionis liii. initio/from the beginning of Dio’s 53rd book: Cass. Dio 53.1.3:
“He completed and dedicated the Temple of Apollo on the Palatine, the sacred
district around it, and the libraries” (τό τε Ἀπολλώνιον τὸ ἐν τῷ Παλατίῳ καὶ τὸ
τεμένισμα τὸ περὶ αὐτό, τάς τε ἀποθήκας βιβλίων, ἐξεποίησε καὶ καθιέρωσε). On
Dio see 2.7n. Plutarchus, Dio.

311 Tucci (2013b: 246–250) suggests that the fire did not actually reach the monumental library
halls of Palatine Apollo, but rather other storehouses of books on the Palatine.
312 On the question of twin halls for Latin and Greek collections in Roman libraries, see
Nicholls 2010. On the architectural development of the Palatine Apollo library see 6.4n.
Palatina.
313 Vell. 2.81.3, Cass. Dio 49.15.5.

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 6.5 247

6.5 Ovid on the first three public libraries in Rome.

temporum ordinem/chronological order: Lipsius seems to have made a care-

less mistake here: Ovid’s libellus went first to the Palatine Apollo library (Trist.
3.1.59–68), then to Octavia’s Portico (Trist. 3.1.69–70), then to the Atrium of Lib-
erty (Trist. 3.1.71–72). Lipsius is also probably wrong about the actual chronol-
ogy of the libraries. The Atrium of Liberty library was certainly built first, some-
time in the years 39–28 bc (see 5.5n. Atrium Libertatis). The Palatine Apollo
library, built 28 bc (see 6.4n. anno), likely preceded the library of Octavia’s Por-
tico, built sometime in the years between 33–11 bc (see 6.1n. Falli Plutarchum).

Ouidius/Ovid: See 5.6n. Ouidius.

intonsi candida templa Dei/the gleaming temple of the unshorn god: A ref-
erence to the main Palatine Apollo temple.314 The white Luna marble of the
temple would have shone brightly. Apollo is called “unshorn” because of his
long hair.

peregrinis … columnis/ foreign columns: The columns were Numidian (giallo

antico) yellow marble (Prop. 2.31.1–4).

Belides/the Belides: These mythological figures are better known as the

Danaids, the fifty daughters of Danaus.315 They killed their husbands and were
punished in Tartarus by having to carry water jugs in a vain attempt to fill a
perforated tub. The term “Belides” alludes to their grandfather, Belus. These
statues are also mentioned in Propertius (2.31.3–4). Three black marble (nero
antico) hip-herms have been found near the library and can be seen in the Pala-
tine Antiquarium.316 A few other fragments of hip-herms, which appear to be
from the same series, have also been found in red (rosso antico) marble (Tomei
2005/6).

fratres/brothers: Ovid’s other books. The exceptions would be those books that
were partially responsible for Augustus’s decision to relegate Ovid to Tomis
in ad 8. Ovid had written elsewhere that he was banished for “a poem and a
mistake,” (carmen et error, Trist. 2.207). The poem is generally taken to be the
Ars amatoria.

314 For recent archaeological work on this temple, see Zink 2008.
315 ocd “Danaus and the Danaids” (Brown) and limc “Danaides” (Keuls).
316 Palatine Antiquarium no. 1048, 1053, 1056.

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248 commentary on the de bibliothecis 6.6

6.6 The managers of the Greek and Latin collections, as attested by inscrip-
tions.

Præpositum siue Custodem/manager or custodian: In the Vatican Library,

there was a distinction between the praefectus (or bibliothecarius) and a custos.
Starting with Sixtus iv, the praefectus was in charge of the library and was
assisted by two custodes.317

Suetonius/Suetonius: See 5.4n. Suetonius.

C. Iulium Higinum/Gaius Julius Hyginus: Gaius Julius Hyginus.318 Suetonius

adds that Hyginus, a freedman of Augustus, was from Spain (or Alexandria,
some said). Suetonius also writes that he was a student of Cornelius Alexander
Polyhistor, and that he was a friend of Ovid and of the historian Clodius
Licinius. We know of various grammatical and historical works by the man.

custodem suum/its own custodian: Actually, the quantity of a bibliotheca

inscriptions suggests that each public library had multiple slave and freed
workers in this position at any one time. We also have several examples of an
“overseer of the library” (uilicus a bybliothece),319 a “physician of the libraries”
(medicus a bybliothecis),320 and a “master of the library” (magister a biblio-
theca)321—although the authenticity of this last inscription is dubious (Henzen
1878: 632).
Hyginus, like Melissus above at db 6.2, was a library director, whereas the a
bibliotheca inscriptions mark those who worked on the library staff.322 Lipsius
was unaware of the difference. Regarding the staff, who were generally slaves
or freedmen of the emperor, our evidence is limited to a few dozen men from
the Julio-Claudian period.323 As to the directors, we know of 15 men from the

317 These positions are discussed by Onofrio Panvinio (quoted in Schott 1600: 153–155; see
Introduction § 3.3.4). Panvinio’s treatment is the source of Rocca 1591: 54–56.
318 On his life and works see ocd “Hyginus (1), Gaius Julius” (Fordyce and Spawforth), FRHist
63 (Levick and Cornell), Kaster 1995: 205–214, re “Iulius” 278 (Diehl and Tolkiehn), pir2
i 357, and grf pp. 525–537.
319 cil 14.196 (= ils 1590); cil 6.2347 (= cil 6.4431 = ils 1971); and perhaps cil 6.8679 and cil
6.8744.
320 cil 6.8907.
321 cil 6.963 (= cil 6.964 = ilmn 1.635).
322 For an overview on library directors and staff, see Nicholls 2005: 229–244 and Houston
2014: 217–252.
323 On the slave and freed staff of the imperial libraries, see Houston 2002.

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 6.6 249

figure 10 Inscription of Antiochus, a bibliotheca latina Apollinis,

from Orsini’s Imagines 1570: 105 (digitized by Google
Books)

time of Augustus to the mid-third century ad.324 This position came to take
the official name of procurator bibliothecarum during the reign of Claudius. The
position could also be called a bibliothecis. While the early directors were slaves
and freedmen, like Hyginus and Melissus, the procurator of libraries came to
be filled by equestrians, like Suetonius, at some point before the reign of Trajan.

marmore prisco/an ancient marble: The marble is a funerary inscription (cil

6.5884) that Antiochus made for his wife, Sulpicia Thallusa. The name indi-
cates that Antiochus was a slave of the emperor Claudius (r. ad 41–54). The
inscription had also appeared together with the one Lipsius is about to quote in
Onofrio Panvinio’s Reipublicae romanae (1558: 200), Fulvio Orsini’s 1570 Imag-
ines (fig. 10), and Martin Smet’s Inscriptionum antiquarum liber (1588: fol. 103r),
which was edited by Lipsius (see Introduction §5.1).

In alio/On another: Another funerary inscription (cil *6.3047) from a colum-

barium. The inscription is extant and can be seen in the Naples National
Archaeological Museum (ilmn 1.641), though it is thought to be a forgery by
Pirro Ligorio.325 It is one of a number of inscriptions with job titles collected

324 On the library directors, see Bowie 2013: 244–259 and Bruce 1983.
325 Henzen 1878: 641–642. On Ligorio’s forgeries, see Stenhouse 2005: 80–93.

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250 commentary on the de bibliothecis 6.7

figure 11 Inscription of Julius Falyx, a bibliotheca graeca palat.,

from Orsini’s Imagines 1570: 105 (digitized by Google
Books)

by Pio da Carpi, and perhaps sold to him by Ligorio.326 The inscription had
also appeared together with the previous one in Panvinio (1558: 200), Orsini
(fig. 11), and Smet (1588: fol. 103r), where the name is misspelled, or emended,
as felix.327

similes alibi inscriptiones/similar inscriptions elsewhere: Lipsius is presum-

ably referring to those published by Orsini (1570: 105). There are about two
dozen a bibliotheca inscriptions that are believed to be genuine.328 Aside from
those quoted here, three of the inscriptions are from the Apollo library specif-
ically.329

6.7 Pliny mentions a large Apollo and an ancient inscription dedicated in

the library of Augustus.

Plinius/Pliny: Pliny the Elder, see 4.2n. Plinius.

cap. vii/ch. 7: Lipsius corrected the mistaken chapter number in the b1 (1607)
edition. He had originally given it as 27.

326 On this collection, see Wrede 1999.

327 For the full list of manuscripts and editions it appeared in, see the bibliography at cil
*6.3047.
328 On these see Houston 2002.
329 cil 6.5189, cil 6.5188 (= ils 1589), and cil 6.5191.

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 6.7 251

templi Augusti/Augustus’s temple: Here Lipsius is mistaken (as Orsini had

been too, at 1570: 103). Pliny is actually referring to the Temple of the Divine
Augustus (also called the Templum Nouum, see fig. 12), not to the Temple
of Apollo that Augustus built on the Palatine.330 The Temple of the Divine
Augustus was decreed by the Senate in ad 14, built by Tiberius and Livia,331
and then dedicated by Caligula in ad 37.332 If the temple’s library could hold
a statue fifty Roman feet high (14.8m), it must have been enormous.
The statue in question is the Apollo Temenites that Suetonius says Tiberius
brought from Syracuse (Tib. 74); this may be the same Apollo Temenites that
Cicero accused Verres of trying to steal (In Verr. 2.4.119). The temple also had
a painting of the hero Hyacinthus by Nicias, which Augustus had taken from
Alexandria (Plin. hn 35.131). The library was most likely located in between the
Capitoline and Palatine hills (and closer to the latter).

in Pacis templo/in the Temple of Peace: On this library see 7.3n. templo Pacis.

Veteres Græcas litteras fuisse easdem pænè, quæ nunc sunt Latinæ/the ancient
letters of Greek were almost the same as the letters of Latin are now: Pliny
is more-or-less correct. The Roman alphabet is derived ultimately (through
Etruscan) from a West Greek alphabet, with which it shared more similarities
than with the Greek alphabet common in Pliny’s day.333

Delphica tabula/a Delphic tablet: Mayhoff’s Teubner leaves out tabula, which
is lacking in many manuscripts and seems to be a mistaken marginal clarifica-
tion. A Delphica is a three-legged table.

in Bibliothecâ/in the library: Mayhoff’s Teubner brackets in bibliotheca for

deletion. Mayhoff believed that the principum here were Titus and Vespasian
(r. ad69–79), and that the Palatine Apollo library had been destroyed in a
fire in ad64 (Tac. Ann. 15.39; Cass. Dio 62.18.2) and not rebuilt until ad 80
(Suet. Dom. 20), which would make the presence of a dedication in the library
impossible.334 Yet the library was probably not destroyed in the fire of ad 64, so
the excision is unnecessary.

330 On the library in the Temple of the Divine Augustus, see Dix and Houston 2006: 688–690.
On the building see ltur “Augustus, Diuus, Templum (Nouum); Aedes” (Torelli).
331 Cass. Dio 56.46.3, 57.10.2.
332 Cass. Dio 59.7.1; Suet. Calig. 21.
333 On the Roman alphabet, see Bonfante 1996; on the Greek, Threatte 1996.
334 Beagon (2005: 466–467) explains Mayhoff’s decision.

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252 commentary on the de bibliothecis 6.8

6.8 John of Salisbury writes that Pope Gregory the Great burned the books
of the Palatine Apollo library.

Io. Sarisberiensis/John of Salisbury: John of Salisbury335 (c. 1115–1180) is one of

the only post-Antique Latin writers that Lipsius quotes directly.

Lib ii. De nug. Cur/Book 2 On theTrif. of Cour: The full title is State Governance;
or, On the Trifles of Courtiers and the Footsteps of Philosophers (Policraticus
siue de nugis curialium et uestigiis philosophorum). Lipsius paraphrases his
quotation (as usual), omitting a phrase of post-Classical Latin and putting the
whole into indirect statement.

illum Gregorium/the famous Gregory: Gregory i (the Great), pope ad 590–

604.336 The library had been destroyed by fire in ad 192, and it is not clear that
it was even rebuilt before the fire of ad363 (see 6.4n. Palatina), much less that
it was again restored and survived until the late-sixth century. John of Salisbury
was probably using the quotation of Horace to add a literary flourish to his
account of Gregory’s hostility to astrology and to certain books.

probatæ lectionis/of respected books: It is worth noting that modern critical

editions read that Gregory burnt books of reprobatae (“condemned”) reading,
rather than probatae (“respected”) reading. Both readings are found in the Pol-
icraticus’s manuscript tradition, but Lipsius has probably chosen the better
reading. Gregory elsewhere (Reg. Epist. 11.54) scolds a bishop for teaching clas-
sical literature.
Lipsius also criticizes the hostile reception on the part of the late antique and
early medieval Church to classical literature at db 2.11 (and see Introduction
§3.3.4 and §4.2).

Scripta, Palatinus quæcumque recepit Apollo/“The writings, whatever Pala-

tine Apollo has received”: Horace (Epist. 1.3.17) advises a friend to avoid relying
too heavily for inspiration on the resources of the Palatine Apollo library, at
the risk coming off as derivative. Lipsius takes the opportunity to use John of
Salisbury to criticize Christian intolerance for Classical learning.

335 odcc “John of Salisbury.”

336 odcc “Gregory i, St.”

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 7.1 253

Chapter Seven

cap. vii/chapter seven: In Chapter 7 Lipsius surveys the post-Augustan

public libraries of the city of Rome. The chapter is organized chronologically
by the emperors who founded each library: Tiberius (db 7.2), Vespasian (db
7.3), and Trajan (db 7.4–5). Lipsius then notes a library of unknown origins on
the Capitoline Hill, which he speculates may have been founded by Domitian
(db 7.6–8). The chapter is framed by remarks that highlight how eagerly the
Roman emperors supported libraries (db 7.1) and the great results that their
efforts achieved (db 7.8).
Lipsius made use of the quotations gathered by Fulvio Orsini (1570: 103–
104), as he did in all of Chapters 5–8. Lipsius’s exclusion of Christian libraries is
notable, since these had been a primary focus of library histories from the late
sixteenth century (Introduction §3.3.4).

7.1 Other emperors sought to out-do each other in establishing libraries.

Ab Augusto igitur, artium ingeniorumq́ ue amantissimo Principe/by Augus-

tus, an emperor who was the greatest lover of the arts and of writers: In
addition to Augustus’s support for libraries and to the literary flourishing that
occurred during his reign, he was also a writer himself. Augustus wrote many
prose works (Suet. Aug. 85.1), including a rebuttal to Brutus’s Cato, an exhor-
tation to philosophy, an autobiography in 13 books, and his Res gestae.337 He
also wrote poetry, including a hexameter Sicilia, a few light epigrams, and an
unfinished tragedy, his Ajax (Suet. Aug. 85.2).

contendisse de palmâ/competing for a prize: Here and at db 8.5 Lipsius

portrays the construction of libraries as a positive manifestation of competitive
display, which is another tactic to counter Seneca’s criticism of libraries useless
display (see Introduction §4.2).

337 There are new editions of his Res gestae (Cooley 2009) and of the fragments of his auto-
biography (Powell and Smith 2010); see also FRHist 60 (Smith). On his literary proclivities
in general, see Suet. Aug. 84–89.

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254 commentary on the de bibliothecis 7.2

7.2 Tiberius built a library in the Tiberian House on the Palatine.

Tiberius/Tiberius: Tiberius (Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus) ruled ad 14–37.338

Tiberius did not build the Tiberian House library (see 7.2n. Tiberij domum),
but he did build the library in the Temple of the Divine Augustus (see 6.7n. tem-
pli Augusti). He also insisted that the works and portraits of the poets Parthe-
nius, Rhianus, and Euphorion be placed in all libraries (Suet. Tib. 70.2, quoted
at db 10.5). Tiberius put a director over all libraries, a certain Tiberius Julius
Pappus, whom we know from his epitaph (cil 6.41266 = ae 1960 no. 26).339

Viam Sacram/the Sacred Way: The Sacred Way ran along the northeastern side
of the Palatine Hill and into the forum.340

Tiberij domum/Tiberian House: Tiberius likely did not in fact establish the
library in the Tiberian House, which is not attested until over a hundred years
after his death.341 Tiberius did own a house in the area mentioned by Lipsius,
but it was only later built up into the structure known as the Tiberian House
(Domus Tiberiana, fig. 12).342 The location of the library is not known, but one
suggestion is the room with niches adjoining the hall that later became the
church of Santa Maria Antiqua.343 As to contents, Gellius writes of finding
a book there by a certain Marcus Cato Nepos, whose identity was a matter
of dispute (na 13.20.1). The dispute was settled (na 13.20.17) with the help of
some books that were there: funeral speeches (laudationes funebres) and a
commentary on the Porcius family. Marcus Aurelius writes about two speeches
of Cato the Younger, which he had taken from the Palatine Apollo library
(Fronto Epist. 4.5). He jokes that Fronto will have to bribe the librarian of the
Tiberian House library to get copies for himself. The sha claims to be using
documents from the Tiberian House library in the late third century (Prob. 2.1),

338 ocd “Tiberius” (Balsdon and Levick).

339 For more on the directors of the libraries in Rome see 6.6n. custodem suum. On Tiberius
and the libraries of Rome see Houston 2008.
340 ltur “Sacra Via” (Coarelli).
341 The earliest reference to the Tiberian House library is in ad142/3 (Fronto Epist. 4.5).
342 On the Tiberian House see ltur “Domus Tiberiana” (Krause). On the library there see Dix
and Houston 2006: 690–691; on previous Renaissance treatments of the library, see Baldi
2013: 66–68.
343 E.g. Tucci 2008 and 2013b: 248–249. This building, however, was not damaged by the fire
that seems to have destroyed the library there. Nutton 2013: 58–61 outlines the difficulties
with the identification.

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figure 12 Map of Libraries in Ancient Rome (adapted from Wikimedia Commons). This map is
out of date with respect to buildings (notice, for instance, the lack of a portico for the
Palatine Apollo library), but it gives a good sense of the locations of the various
libraries in Rome. Those locations are as follows, a: Atrium of Liberty (location if in
Tabularium), b: Atrium of Liberty (location if off Caesar’s Forum), c: Palatine Apollo
twin halls, d: Octavia’s Portico, e: Temple of the Divine Augustus (possible location),
f: Suite of rooms in the Temple of Peace, g: Trajan’s library, h: Tiberian House

but the library probably no longer existed at that point (on reasons to doubt
the sha see 7.2n. Vopisco).
The ultimate fate of the library hinges on the interpretation of a corrupt
and controversial passage in the new Galen (De ind. 18–19).344 Galen refers
to a library whose books were already in a terrible condition in the mid-
second century ad, due to the abuse of users and the marshy location. The
books were “now” (ad192) totally useless. This library might be that of the
Tiberian House, or it might be a library in Antium. The question hinges largely
on whether a manuscript reading of ταδεναντια should be rendered as τὰ
δ’ἐναντίως/τινὰ δ’ἐναντία (“those/some on the other hand”) or τὰ δ’ἐν Ἀντίῳ

344 For a short overview of the problems with this passage, see Nutton 2013: 100–106.

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(“those in Antium”).345 In addition, there is some question as to whether the

library of the Tiberian House was destroyed in the fire of ad 192. Galen writes
that the fire ravaged “storerooms” (ἀποθῆκαι) in the Temple of Peace, along the
Sacred Way, on the Palatine, and in the Tiberian House; in the next breath he
mentions the library in the Tiberian House. Since libraries were sometimes
referred to as “storerooms of books” (ἀποθῆκαι βιβλίων), the initial assumption
of scholars was that the library of the Tiberian House must have burned in
the fire as well, although Tucci has argued against the supposition.346 So, the
library might have been damaged by users and climate, perhaps to the point
of becoming useless, by the middle of the second century. Whether or not that
was the case, it might also have been damaged or destroyed by fire at the end
of the second century.

curiosi talium/those who study such matters: Lipsius is referring to Fulvio

Orsini, and almost quoting him word for word. Orsini wrote (1570: 103): “The
Tiberian House is on the part of the Palatine Hill that looks out at the Sacred
Way and the Temple of Peace” (Tiberii autem domus in ea Palatini montis parte
fuit, quae iam Sacram, & Pacis templum respicit). Orsini cited the fact that
lead water pipes had been found in that area, then the gardens of Cardinal
Alessandro Farnese, labeled Tiberii Caes. Imp.

Agellio/Gellius: See 2.6n. Agellio.

Cùm in domus Tiberianæ Bibliothecâ sederemus, ego & Apollinaris/When

Apollinaris and I were sitting in the library of the Tiberian House: Gaius Sulpi-
cius Apollinaris was Gellius’s teacher.347 Among his works were grammatical
writings and the metrical summaries that survive with the plays of Terence.
In the present anecdote, Apollinaris and some other friends happen upon a
book by a certain Marcus Cato Nepos. A debate over his identity ensues in
which Apollinaris corrects an unknown young man and gives a disquisition on
the Porcius Cato family. An examination of some funeral orations (laudationes
funebres) and a commentary on the Porcius Cato family (librum commentarium
de familia Porcia) proves Apollinaris correct. Gellius’s anecdote paints a lively

345 Arguing that the library ruined by neglect was in the Tiberian House is Tucci 2008, 2009,
and 2013b; that the library in question was rather at Antium is Jones 2009, Stramaglia 2011,
and Rothschild and Thompson 2012.
346 Tucci 2013a: 291–300 and 2013b: 246–250.
347 ocd “Sulpicius Apollinaris” (Brown), re “Sulpicius” 22 (Wessner), Holford-Strevens 2003:
83–86, hll § 436 (Schmidt), and pir2 s 984.

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picture of the Tiberian House library, where friends might sit and debate liter-
ary matters with each other and with strangers.

Vopisco/Vopiscus: Flavius Vopiscus is one of the writers collectively known as

the Scriptores Historiae Augustae (sha), along with Aelius Spartianus, Julius
Capitolinus, Vulcacius Gallicanus, Aelius Lampridius, and Trebellius Pollio.348
The sha purports to be a group of six writers during the reigns of Diocletian
and Constantine, but since the 1880s it has been argued that they are much
more likely to be a single writer in the middle or end of the fourth century ad.
Lipsius relied heavily on the evidence of the sha, but scholars are now more
inclined to see it as a work of fictional history.349 The sha seems to invent both
people and documents, so their evidence about libraries and library owners is
dubious.
In the present instance, it was probably the case that the Tiberian House
library no longer existed when the sha wrote. It was likely destroyed either by
fire or neglect by the end of the second century ad (see 7.2n. Tiberij domum).

Bibliothecâ Vlpiâ/the Ulpian Library: See below 7.4n. Fuit item.

7.3 Vespasian built a library in the Temple of Peace.

Vespasianus/Vespasian: Vespasian (Titus Flavius Vespasianus) ruled ad 69–

79; he took power during the turbulent time after the death of Nero and was
succeeded by his sons Titus (r. 79–81) and Domitian (r. 81–96).350

templo Pacis/the Temple of Peace: The Temple of Peace was built by Vespasian
in ad 71–75 from the spoils of the sack of Jerusalem.351 The complex comprised
a large enclosure, with outer dimensions of roughly 135 m × 145 m.352 In the
center of the courtyard was a series of six elongated pools surrounded by
gardens (fig. 13). Three sides of the courtyard were colonnades (with exedras
protruding out of the complex). The fourth side (on the se) comprised a
suite of five rectangular rooms, of which the central room would have been

348 ocd “Historia Augusta” (Matthews).

349 See, e.g., Syme 1971.
350 ocd “Vespasian” (Chilver and Levick).
351 Cass. Dio 65.15.1; Suet. Vesp. 9; Joseph. Bell. Iud. 7.5.7; Aur. Vict. Caes. 9.7, Epit. 8.8.
352 On the Temple of Peace see ltur “Pax, Templum” (Coarelli), Meneghini and Rea 2014:
242–341, and Tucci ( forthcoming).

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figure 13 Temple of Peace (Meneghini and Valenzani 2007, figure 65; courtesy of Roberto
Meneghini). This reconstruction shows the enclosure in the Temple of Peace. The
view faces the suites on the se side; the room with the library would be on the viewer’s
right.

the temple proper. The similarity of design between this complex, Octavia’s
Portico (see 6.1n. Prior), and especially Hadrian’s Library at Athens (see 3.2n.
Bibliothecam) is notable.353 The library itself was presumably in one or more
of the rooms on the se side.354 If the analogy with Hadrian’s Library holds, it
would be in the central room, which had dimensions of 26 m × 19m. A more
likely candidate is the southernmost room of the suite, which had several
niches that could have housed bookshelves. Pier Luigi Tucci has recently shown
that the niches in this room were an addition subsequent to the original
construction, though still using Flavian construction techniques, which means
that the library may actually have been added by Domitian.355 The room is
now the crypt of the Basilica of Saints Cosmas and Damian. The temple also

353 Tucci (2013a: 286–291) also points out the similarity with the Palatine Apollo library.
354 On the library see Dix and Houston 2006: 691–693 and Tucci 2013a; on previous Renais-
sance treatments of the library, see Baldi 2013: 68–70.
355 Tucci 2013a: 278–285.

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abutted the Vicus Sandalarius, which had most of Rome’s bookstores.356 As to

contents, we know of some grammatical and philosophical works there (see
7.3.n. Commentarium).
Galen writes that the Temple of Peace was a haunt for doctors, and he may
have given a demonstration in one of its auditoriums using a supply of books on
anatomy there (19.21–22 Kühn).357 He rented a storeroom in the nearby Horrea
Piperataria, presumably in part to take advantage of the medical, grammatical,
and philosophical texts there.358 The sha (Trig. Tyr. 31.10) also writes about
intellectuals gathering there, although the sha is ever dubious and the library
may not have still existed at that time (see 7.2n. Vopisco). The art collection
was especially renowned, and included pieces taken from Nero’s Golden House
(Plin. hn 34.84).359 The library was destroyed in ad 192 by the same fire that
destroyed the libraries on the Palatine.360 The Severans rebuilt the hall (and the
niches), and the se room went through a series of changes before becoming a
church in ad527.361

Agellius/Gellius: See 2.6n. Agellio.

Commentarium L. Ælij/a commentary by Lucius Aelius: Lucius Aelius Stilo,

also called Lucius Aelius Praeconinus, was a grammarian of the late-second and
early-first centuries bc who wrote on linguistic, philosophical, and antiquarian
matters.362 Here Lipsius corrects Orsini (1570: 103), who had written Laelius
for L. Aelius. Gellius is referring to Aelius’s commentarius de proloquiis, which
treats Stoic dialectic. Gellius wrote that the book seemed to be Aelius’s personal

356 Mart. 1.2.8; Gell. 18.4.1; Gal. De libr. propr. 1–2 (19.8–9 Kühn) and De progn. 4 (14.620
Kühn). The nearby Argiletum also had bookshops (Mart. 1.3.1, 1.117.9–10). On the book
trade in Rome, see White 2009 and Johnson 2004: 157–160; on the street see ltur “Vicus
Sandalarius” (Coarelli).
357 Galen’s De libris propriis has received two new editions: Boudon-Millot 2007b and Vegetti
2013. See also doctors and patients gathering there at Gal. 8.495 Kühn (De pulsuum
differentiis 1.1).
358 Nicholls 2011: 125–130.
359 A list of the paintings and sculptures (in bronze and marble) can be found in Coarelli’s
article in the ltur “Pax, Templum.”
360 The fire is remembered at Galen De Ind. 18, 13.362 Kühn, 19.19 Kühn, 14.66 Kühn; Herodian
1.14.2; Cass. Dio 72.24.1–2.
361 On the history of the Temple of Peace through the middle ages see Tucci 2004.
362 On his life and works see ocd “Aelius, Lucius” (Kaster), Kaster 1995: 68–70 and 72–78, re
“Aelius” 144 (Goetz), re suppl. i col. 15 (Goetz), and hll §192 (Suerbaum); for his fragments
see grf pp. 51–76.

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260 commentary on the de bibliothecis 7.4

notes, rather than a work geared towards explicating the topic for others. The
implication is that this is an autograph copy. It is worth noting that many of
the works we hear about in Rome’s public libraries are rare or autograph works
(e.g., see 6.4n. Palatina), although it could simply be such works are simply
more likely to be mentioned. Gellius elsewhere (na 5.21.9–15; grf p. 458) writes
about a book of letters by Sinnius Capito in the Temple of Peace library, and
there too he suggests it is a unique manuscript. Gellius cites Capito because
he addressed whether one should use the form plura or pluria and laid out the
grammatical principles on which the decision rested.

Galenus/Galen: Claudius Galenus (ad 129–216) was one of the foremost doc-
tors in the Roman world, and he wrote on a host of medical, grammatical,
and philosophical topics.363 Many of the well-known anecdotes about the
library of Alexandria are known only from Galen, and his newly rediscovered
De indolentia is one of the most important sources on libraries in the city of
Rome.364
I suspect Lipsius had not actually read this bit of Galen (13.362 Kühn), which
gives the helpful topographical information that the library was next to the
Vicus Sandalarius; it also mentions the library’s destruction by fire.

7.4 Trajan also built a library.

Fuit item à Traiano alia/Trajan built another library: Trajan ruled ad 98–
117.365 Trajan’s library was in his massive forum complex, inaugurated in ad 112
(see figs. 12 and 14).366 The library halls are on either side of Trajan’s Column,
each measuring 20.1m × 27.1m.367 Only the southwestern hall has been exca-
vated. A line of Sidonius Apollinaris (quoted by Lipsius at db 10.6) may suggest
that one hall was Greek and the other Latin, although such an arrangement
for Roman libraries was probably less common than has usually been assumed
(Nicholls 2010). Running along the walls is a podium about .9 m high and 1 m
deep, which is reached by two stairs. This podium supported columns, which

363 ocd “Galen” (Edelstein and Nutton). On his post-Classical legacy, see ct “Galen” (Rütten).
364 On Galen and anecdotes about the library of Alexandria, see Handis 2013; on the De
indolentia see 6n. cap. vi.
365 ocd “Trajan (Marcus Ulpius Traianus)” (Campbell).
366 On the complex see ltur “Forum Traiani” (Packer).
367 On the library see Dix and Houston 2006: 695–699 and Nicholls 2005: 43–91 and Appen-
dix i; on previous Renaissance treatments of the library, see Baldi 2013: 70–75.

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figure 14 Trajan’s Forum and Library (Meneghini 2002, figure 151; courtesy of Roberto
Meneghini). a: The halls of Trajan’s library, with his column in between them, b:
the Basilica Ulpia, c: the open space of Trajan’s Forum

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framed niches that presumably held the bookcases.368 There was probably
also at least one upper level of niches, but reconstructions of the upper levels
differ greatly. The sides of the library halls nearest to Trajan’s Column opened
up to serve as entrances. On the each of the far ends of the library halls
(opposite Trajan’s Column), there were aedicula large enough for over-life sized
statues.
Aside from this passage of Gellius and a brief note in Cass. Dio (68[69].16.3),
we only hear about Trajan’s library in the problematic sha (see 7.2n. Vopisco).
In the case of Gellius, he wrote that he chanced upon the edicts of the ancient
praetors (edicta ueterum praetorum) while he was looking for something else.
The sha wrote of finding various kinds of government documents in Trajan’s
libraries,369 but the sha’s tendency to invent sources has cast doubt on these
reports. If the Atrium of Liberty was torn down to make room for Trajan’s
Forum, his library might have incorporated the collection of Atrium of Liberty’s
library, but the location and fate of the Atrium of Liberty are a matter of
dispute (see 5.5n. Atrium Libertatis). Although the evidence of the sha and
the possible connection with the Atrium of Liberty are not strong grounds for
building a case for anything, they both could suggest a library with a substantial
role in legal and political administration. The passage of Gellius (a rare bit
of good evidence) suggests the same, and it is notable that the libraries were
adjacent to the law courts.
Trajan was buried under his famous column, making the library in effect his
funeral monument. Trajan was neither the first nor the last to do this. Pliny
the Younger (Epist. 10.81.7) had told Trajan about Dio Chrysostom using the
library he had built in Prusa as a funeral monument, and the library of Celsus
in Ephesus, completed in ad 135, served as Celsus’s final resting place (cf. 8.1n.
municipijs).
We also know of statues in Trajan’s Forum and in his library, and their
inscriptions have been gathered together and recently studied (Chenault 2012).
They suggest that in the late second, fourth, and fifth centuries, all the men
honored there were senators.370 Almost all from the fourth and fifth centuries
were praised for their literary abilities (Chenault 2012: 110–112). The praise for
literary abilities may seem pro forma for the Roman elite, but there are a few
senators who are relatively low ranking and undistinguished apart from their
literary fame: the poet Claudian is one such example (Chenault 2012: 110–112). In

368 On typical architectural features of Roman public libraries, see 5n. Romanæ.
369 sha Aur. 1.7, 1.10, 8.1, 24.7; Tac. 8.1; Prob. 2.1; Car. 11.3.
370 Chenault 2012: 108–110, 118–122. There is little evidence before Marcus Aurelius and no
record for the practice in the third century.

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most cases, it is not possible to know where in Trajan’s Forum these statues were
located, but at least some would have been in the library (see 10.6n. Numeriano
and 10.6n. Sidonius).
Trajan’s library survived longer than any other major library is known to
have. While the Palatine Apollo, Temple of Peace, and House of Tiberius li-
braries were likely gone by c. ad200, Trajan’s library continued to exist into the
fifth century ad. The last reference we have is from Sidonius Apollinaris, who
received a statue there in ad456 (see 10.6n. Sidonius).

Agellius/Gellius: See 2.6n. Agellio.

Sedentibus fortè nobis/When we happened to be sitting: In this anecdote, Gel-

lius happens upon some edicts of the ancient praetors and finds an unfamiliar
archaic word: retanda. A discussion ensues with a friend who also happens
to be sitting in the library, and who recalled seeing the word discussed in an
etymological work by Gavius Bassus (grf p. 487). The anecdote shares simi-
lar characteristics with the one he told about the Tiberian House library at db
7.2.

in Bibliothecâ templi Traiani/in the library of the Temple of Trajan: It is pos-

sible that the library itself was inaugurated as a templum, as was the case with
the Palatine Apollo library and the library in Octavia’s Portico (see 6.1n. Prior
and 6.4n. Palatina). More generally, the phrase seems to refer to a library in a
temple’s precinct; see, e.g., in Pacis bibliotheca (Gell. 16.8.2). It might be the case
that the inscriptions reading a bibliotheca Apollinis are short for a bibliotheca
templi Apollinis (see 6.6n. similes).
The libraries in the Temple of the Divine Augustus (see 6.7n. templi Augusti)
and the Temple of Hercules Victor in Tivoli (see 8.1n. Tiburi) are referred to
with the following phrases: in bibliotheca templi Augusti (Plin. hn 34.43), in
bibliotheca templi noui (Suet. Tib. 74.1), bibliotheca … in Herculis templo (Gell.
19.5.4). These cases also seem to refer to libraries in a temple’s precinct rather
than libraries which had themselves been inaugurated as temples.

Vlpia passim nominatur/sometimes called the Ulpian Library: So-called at

sha Aurel. 1.7, 1.10, 8.1, 24.7, Tac. 8.1, Prob. 2.1, Car. 11.3. It is called the bibliothecae
Traiani in two inscriptions (cil 6.9446 and cil 14.5352).
In the Sale Paoline, added to the Vatican library in 1610–1611, the fourth fresco
in the series of library-founders is Trajan. The description below this fresco,
though short, makes a point to note that his library “was called Ulpian” (vlpia
appellata est). The phrase is not necessarily drawn from Lipsius, since the

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fact was commonly known, but given that the first three frescoes took language
from Lipsius, this one might be doing so as well.371

Vopiscus/Vopiscus: See 7.2n. Vopisco.

linteos etiam libros/even … the linen books: Linen books did exist in the ancient
world, but the sha likely fabricated this reference.372

7.5 Trajan’s library was originally in his forum, but was later moved to the
Baths of Diocletian.

in foro Traiani/in the Forum of Trajan: See 7.4n. Fuit item.

Diocletiani Thermas/the Baths of Diocletian: The sha is generally distrusted

on this point, and there is a reference to the library still existing in the Forum of
Trajan during the fifth century ad (see 10.6n. Sidonius). The Baths of Diocletian
were built in ad298–305.373 On libraries in baths see db 8.7.

ipso Diocletiano/Diocletian himself: Diocletian (Gaius Aurelius Valerius Dio-

cletianus) ruled ad 284–305.374

Vopiscus/Vopiscus: See 7.2n. Vopisco.

7.6 Eusebius and Orosius attest a Capitoline library.

Capitolinam/a Capitoline Library: We do not otherwise know about a library

on the Capitoline, unless Purcell is right that the Atrium of Liberty library
was in fact in the building now called the Tabularium (see 5.5n. Atrium Lib-
ertatis).375

371 On the db’s influence on the Sale Paoline, see Introduction §3.4, 1.3n. Osymanduas, 4.3n.
Reges Attalici, and 5.5n. orator & Senator.
372 See, e.g., Dix and Houston 2006: 696–697 and 7.2n. Vopisco. On writing materials in the
ancient world, see Bülow-Jacobsen 2009.
373 On the Baths of Diocletian, see ltur “Thermae Diocletiani” (Candilio).
374 ocd “Diocletian” (Davis).
375 On the possibilities for the Capitoline library, see Dix and Houston 2006: 700. On previous
Renaissance treatments of the library, see Baldi 2013: 75–77. For an overview of the debate

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Eusebius/Eusebius: See 2.5n. Eusebius. Lipsius refers here to Eusebius’s Chron-

icle, in two books; the second book, quoted here (p. 209 Helm), is preserved in
a Latin translation made by Jerome.

Commodi Imperatoris/Emperor Commodus: Commodus (Lucius Aurelius

Commodus) ruled ad 180–192.376

Orosius/Orosius: Paulus Orosius was a contemporary of Augustine and Jerome

who wrote a history of Rome in seven books (Historiae aduersum paganos).377

7.7 Lipsius speculates that Domitian built the Capitoline library.

adserere haud liceat, diuinare libeat, Domitianum fuisse/Although we can

hardly assert it, we can happily guess that it was Domitian: Whether or not
Domitian (r. ad 81–96) was involved with this Capitoline library, which Lipsius
admits is speculative, he does seem to have been actively involved in the
libraries of Rome. He added a second hall to the Palatine Apollo library (see
6.4n. Palatina) and may have been responsible for establishing the Temple
of Peace library (see 7.3n. templo Pacis). He also likely rebuilt the library in
Octavia’s Portico (see 6.1n. Prior).

seruatus olim in Capitolio, templum ibi Princeps struxit/He was saved once
on the Capitoline Hill, and so as emperor built a temple there: Suetonius
(Dom. 1) writes that Domitian hid in the Capitolium (here presumably the
temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus) at one point during the civil war that
brought his father to power in ad 69. Suetonius adds (Dom. 5) that Domitian
later rebuilt the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, and also established a
new temple there on the Capitoline: the temple of Jupiter Guardian.378

Suetonius/Suetonius: See 5.4n. Suetonius.

over the founder and location of the Capitoline library in the wake of Lipsius, see Nelles
1994: 110–130.
376 ocd “Commodus, Lucius Aurelius” (Birley).
377 odcc “Orosius.”
378 ltur “Iuppiter Conseruator” (Reusser).

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7.8 The emperors took care to protect the libraries, of which there were
ultimately 29.

Principum studio/the efforts of the emperors: Lipsius takes the opportunity

to highlight the benefits of royal patronage for libraries, a major theme of the
db.

P. Victoris/ Publius Victor: Lipsius is referring to a fourth-century list of the

buildings in Rome, the regionarii (see Introduction § 5.1).

Constantini æuum/ the age of Constantine: Constantine (Flavius Valerius

Constantinus) ruled ad 306–333.379 The exact date of the regionarii is not
certain, but the fourth century is correct.

vndetriginta/twenty-nine: The catalogs themselves simply list Bibliothecae

xxviii (in the tradition called Curiosum) or Bibliothecae xxviiii (in the tra-
dition called Notitia). The ex iis praecipuae duae, Palatina & Vlpia is a later
addition that goes back to Pomponio Leto.380
The 29 (or 28) libraries of the regionarii are still a mystery. Lipsius had
some information about seven libraries: those of the Atrium of Liberty (db
5.5–6), Octavia’s Portico (db 6.1–3), Palatine Apollo (db 6.4–8), the Tiberian
House (db 7.2), the Temple of Peace (db 7.3), the Forum of Trajan (db 7.4–
5), and an unnamed library on the Capitoline (db 7.6–7). Aside from those
Lipsius knew, we also hear of a library near the Pantheon built around the
ad 220s by Julius Africanus (P.Oxy. 412. 63–68)381 and the library in the Temple
of the Divine Augustus (see 6.7n. templi Augusti). There is speculation that
there were libraries in the Baths of Trajan, the Baths of Caracalla, and the
Baths of Diocletian (on which see 8.7n. Balneis and 7.5n. Diocletiani). There
is also a reference to reading in the Baths of Titus (Gell. na 3.1.1), which could
conceivably indicate a library there. Even if all these are to be counted, we do
not even reach half of the number from the regionarii. On top of that, most
of these libraries probably or certainly did not survive into the fourth century,
if they even existed at all. The most likely possibility is that the regionarii are
simply wrong, but it has been argued that the number is correct and that many

379 ocd “Constantine i, ‘the Great’ ” (Davis).

380 Leto’s addition can be seen in Vat. Lat. 3394 fol. 17r, and in the text published in Valentini
and Zuchetti (1940: 251).
381 On the Pantheon library, see Dix and Houston 2006: 699–700.

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libraries are unknown simply because they served a different public than the
text-producing elite (Balensiefen 2011).

Chapter Eight

cap. iix/chapter eight: Lipsius now moves to public libraries outside the
city of Rome (db 8.1) and to private libraries of the imperial era (db 8.2–6). The
latter topic provides a connection to libraries in villas and baths, which make
up the final part of the chapter (db 8.7–8). Lipsius revised this chapter for his
second edition (b1) by adding db 8.2 on Tyrannio.
The influence of Orsini (1570: 102–105) is evident, as it was in Chapters 5–7.
Lipsius also missed some things he might have known about, like the library
Pliny dedicated at Comum.382 As in Chapter 7, Lipsius’s exclusion of Christian
libraries is particularly marked. Some of the largest libraries of Late Antiquity
were Christian, like the libraries of Origen and Pamphilus in Caesarea.383 The
library of Caesarea was especially important in the library histories found in
the ecclesiastical historians of the sixteenth century (Nelles 2002: 170–171).
Our picture of provincial municipal libraries has changed significantly since
Lipsius’s day. Archaeological and inscriptional evidence has yielded a wealth
of examples that Lipsius could not have dreamed of (see 8.1n. municipijs). A
better understanding of the sha has also cast doubt on the existence of the
libraries of Serenus Sammonicus and Gordian the Younger (see 8.4n. Sammon-
icus and 8.5n. Is moriens). As for libraries in the great public baths, which
Lipsius remarks on, the debate over their existence is still unresolved (see 8.7n.
Balneis).

8.1 A public library in Tivoli, which was perhaps the work of Hadrian.

Tiburi, etiam vnam/in Tivoli, I did find one more: These references in Gellius
(na 9.14.3, 19.5.4) are our only sources for this library. This temple of Hercules
is in the massive Sanctuary of Hercules Victor, a large commercial center
that dates back to the second century bc (fig. 15).384 Although the sanctuary

382 Plin. Epist. 1.8; cf. cil 5.5262 (= ils 2927). Pliny’s library at Comum was known to Neander
(1565: 51).
383 On the libraries of Origen and Pamphilus in Caesarea, see Cavallo 1988b.
384 On the Sanctuary of Hercules Victor, see Coarelli 2011. On previous Renaissance treatments
of the library, see Baldi 2013: 77–78.

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268 commentary on the de bibliothecis 8.1

figure 15 The Sanctuary of Hercules Victor at Tivoli (Giuliani 2004, table 14; courtesy of Cairoli
Fulvio Giuliani)

itself is relatively well preserved, there are no remains that clearly belong to
a library. When the library was established, it was probably incorporated into
the structures already existing. We know that Augustus used to frequent this
temple (Suet. Aug. 72, 82), and that there were also Augustan poets who had
villas in this region (Marzano 2007: 95). The library is unlikely to predate the
public libraries of the Augustan era, and its creation probably falls in the first
or early second century ad. Indeed, as Lipsius writes, it may have something to
do with Hadrian.
It is worth noting that Ferrari (1999) argued that there was a library in the
Lower Complex of the Sanctuary of Fortuna at Palestrina, which was a struc-
ture much like the Sanctuary of Hercules at Tivoli. The identification, however,
is highly dubious. It rests on supposed similarities with other Roman libraries,
such as the presence of niches, double halls for Greek and Latin collections, and
a central apse.385 Yet the niches in the Lower Complex were far too shallow to
hold bookcases (18cm deep; those at the Palatine Apollo library, by way of com-

385 For reasons to distrust the existence of the “Greek library” as an architectural form, see
Hendrickson 2014. On typical architectural features of public libraries in the Roman era,
see 5n. Romanæ.

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parison are 60cm deep). Double halls are attested only for the Palatine Apollo
library (after Domitian’s addition of a second hall) and Trajan’s library, both
of which post-date the construction of the Lower Complex by over 200 years.
Finally, the apse is really a grotto, whose floor is the Nile Mosaic. It is entirely
unlike the central apses of other public libraries, which held over-sized statues.

Agellius/Gellius: See 2.6n. Agellio.

eodem Claudij libro/in the same book of Claudius: Gellius is referring to Anna-
les by the early first century bc historian Quintus Claudius Quadrigarius.386
Gellius is interested in this book of Quadrigarius because it provided evidence
that the genitive of facies was originally also facies, before it was analogized to
faciei. He writes of searching out old manuscripts of Quadrigarius and finding
some with the genitive facies erased and faciei written over it. He even found
one manuscript with both facies and faciei attested in the same book (eodem
libro), which he found in the Temple of Hercules. Thus the book would have
been a rare one, and probably copied out long before the library itself was
established.

quæ tunc in Herculis templo instructa satis commodè erat/which at that time
had been set up quite conveniently in the Temple of Hercules: The tunc may
indicate the library was a new addition.
Gellius writes that he and his friends were drinking melted snow, but that
one of them, a Peripatetic, chastised them and warned that it was bad for the
health. When this failed to stop them, the Peripatetic went to the library in the
Temple of Hercules and brought back a book of Aristotle that supported his
point ( fr. 214 Rose).

Hîc & alibi de Templis adnotes/Here (and elsewhere) you might notice con-
cerning temples: The “elsewhere” is db 1.3, 2.8, 2.10–11, 4.2, 6.3–5, 6.7–8, and
7.3–4. This remark is also notable because it seems to be one of the factors
behind the (mistaken) identification of the Pergamene library in the 1880s (see
4.1n. Attalica).
Lipsius is right about the connection with temples, and the phenomenon is
still not entirely understood. One possibility is that temples had traditionally
been storehouses for precious items, and so it would make sense to include

386 ocd “Claudius (re 308) Quadrigarius, Quintus” (McDonald and Seager), FRHist 24 f18–19,
cf. f6 (Briscoe).

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270 commentary on the de bibliothecis 8.1

books among them. Another line of reasoning stresses the way that temple
libraries served to project the power of the emperors (and other library bene-
factors) by blending the cultural authority of literature with the divine sanction
of temples.387

sacra illa ingeniorum opera/the sacred works of writers: Lipsius seems to have
no scruple in calling the works of non-Christian writers “sacred works.” Indeed,
he evidently liked thinking of the university at Leuven as a Temple of the Muses
and Minerva, where he himself would be the high priest.388

Hadrianus Imp./Emperor Hadrian: Hadrian (Publius Aelius Hadrianus) ruled

ad 117–138.389

variaq́ ue & ampla inædificasse/erecting many kinds of magnificent build-

ings: Hadrian’s famous villa came to light during the late fifteenth century and
was the site of much exploration and investigation. In the villa itself, several
rooms have been identified as possible libraries on the basis niches.390 How-
ever, a niche can hold any number of things (e.g., a statue, shelving, etc.), and
none of these suggestions have proved compelling.

municipijs colonijsq́ ue/cities and towns: Lipsius is right about the prevalence
of municipal libraries. He seems to have missed several that he might have
found literary references to: the library Pliny dedicated in his native Comum,391
the library Dio Chrysostom dedicated in his native Prusa,392 a public library in
Corinth,393 in Patrae,394 in Smyrna,395 in Carthage,396 and in Sabratha.397
In addition, there are many that we know from inscriptions and/or archaeo-
logical remains. The only comprehensive account of the provincial libraries of

387 Neudecker 2004 and 2013; Balensiefen 2011.

388 As he remarks in his 1605 Louanium (Book 3 Ch. 1), cf. 11.6n. Sacerdotem.
389 ocd “Hadrian (Publius Aelius (re 64) Hadrianus)” (Birley), hll §406.1 (Sallman).
390 Bruce (1986: 526–535) runs through the possibilities.
391 Plin. Epist. 1.8; dedicatory inscription at cil 5.5262 (= ils 2927); see also Dix 1996.
392 Plin. Epist. 10.81.
393 [Dio Chrys.] Orat. 37.8. The “Southeast Building” in the Corinthian forum has been put
forward as a possible location (White 2005: 77–84).
394 Gell. na 18.9.
395 Strabo 14.1.37.
396 Apul. Flor. 18. Archaeological remains have been identified as a library, but the identifica-
tion is disputed (Nicholls 2005: 307–310).
397 Apul. Apol. 90–91.

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the Roman Empire is Nicholls 2005: 269–335 and his Appendix iv. In addition to
those named above, Nicholls lists secure evidence for libraries in the following
cities: Dertona, Volsinii, Suessa Arunca, Dyrrachium, Philippi, Delphi, Epidau-
rus, the Pantaenus library at Athens (see 3.2n. plures ibi), Hadrian’s library at
Athens (see 3.2n. Hadrianus), the Flavia Melitine library in Pergamum (see
4n. cap. iiii), Ephesus, Nysa, Aphrodisias, Mylasa, Cos, Rhodes, Halicarnassus,
Sagalassos, Soli in Cyprus, Aelia Capitolina, and Timgad. There are also a few
libraries whose identification, based only on archaeological remains, is dubi-
ous or entirely unlikely: Cremna, Side, Nîmes, and Palestrina.398

8.2 Tyrannio owned 3,000 books.

Sicut … possedit/One such case … 3,000 books: This is one of the additions that
Lipsius made to his revised edition of 1607 (b1). Lipsius may have mistaken the
number, which is given as 30,000 in the Suda (τ 1184 Adler).
This Tyrannio is the same Tyrannio who worked on the Aristotelian books in
Sulla’s library and helped Cicero and his brother with their libraries (see 3.4n
Tyrannionem and 5n. cap. v).

8.3 Epaphroditus owned 30,000 books.

Epaphroditus Chæronéus/Epaphroditus of Chaeronea: Epaphroditus was a

slave from childhood, raised in the house of the Alexandrian scholar Archias.399
Fulvio Orsini (1570: 92) identified him with Marcus Mettius Epaphroditus,
known from a statue with an inscription reading M. Mettius Epaphroditus gram-
maticus graecus.400 Among his works are commentaries on Homer, Hesiod, and
Callimachus, as well as a grammatical work. His library is also noted at a differ-
ent point in the Suda (α 1895 Adler).

398 The disputed identifications at Cremna, Side, and Nîmes are discussed at Nicholls 2005:
303–315. For the disputed identification at Palestrina, see 8.1n. Tiburi.
399 On his life and works see ocd “Epaphroditus” 2 (Lockwood and Wilson), re “Epaphrodi-
tos” 5 (Cohn), pir2 m 563, and Braswell and Billerbeck 2008. On previous Renaissance
treatments of his library, see Baldi 2013: 78–80.
400 The statue is now in Palazzo Altieri, and the inscription is cil 6.9454 (= ils 7769). The
identification has been challenged but seems secure (Braswell and Billerbeck 2008: 75–77).

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Suidas/Suidas: A tenth-century encyclopedic and lexicographical work.401 The

earliest citations of the work cite the name as Suidas (Σουίδας), as if it were the
name of a man. The manuscripts themselves give the name as “the Suda” (ἡ
Σοῦδα), Byzantine Greek for “the fortress.” Humanists tended to use the former
designation, which was preferred until within the last century.

sub Nerone/the time of Nero: Nero ruled ad 54–68.402

ad Neruam/to the time of Nerva: Nerva ruled ad 96–98.403

optimorum quidem & selectorum/of the best, most select kind: The Suda actu-
ally writes that the books were “serious and recondite” (σπουδαίων καὶ ἀνακεχω-
ρηκότων).404 See also 2.1n. copiâ & dilectu.

Epictetum, apicem veræ Philosophiæ/Epictetus … the pinnacle of true phi-

losophy: Epictetus was a freed slave and Stoic philosopher in the late first and
early second centuries ad.405 Among the Stoics, only Seneca has more surviv-
ing writings. Lipsius himself was a proponent of Stoicism.406

custodibus corporum Neronis/the bodyguards of Nero: The Suda appears mis-

taken on this point. The Epaphroditus who owned Epictetus was a freedman of
Nero, but he was not a bodyguard. He served as Nero’s a libellis and ultimately
helped him commit suicide.407

401 On the Suda in general, see ocd “Suda” (Browning) and ct “Suda” (Zecchini).
402 ocd “Nero (Nero Claudius Caesar, re Suppl. 3, ‘Domitius’ 29)” (Charlesworth, Chilver, and
Griffin).
403 ocd “Nerva, Marcus Cocceius (re 16)” (Campbell).
404 On the interpretation of the unusual word ἀνακεχωρηκότων, see Braswell and Billerbeck
2008: 70.
405 On Epictetus see ocd “Epictetus” (Inwood) and Long 2002. On his reception in the Renais-
sance, see ct “Epictetus” (Sellars). For translations and commentaries in the Renaissance,
see ctc 9.1–54 (Boter).
406 On Lipsius and Stoicism, see Saunders 1955 and Morford 1991.
407 On his life see ocd “Epaphroditus” 1 (Momigliano and Griffin) and re “Epaphroditos” 4
(Stein).

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8.4 Serenus Sammonicus had 62,000 books.

Sammonicus Serenus/Sammonicus Serenus: Serenus Sammonicus had been

a famous literary figure of the Severan era and was probably a tutor to Cara-
calla and Geta.408 The library is almost certainly fictitious (see below 8.5n. Is
moriens).

8.5 Serenus Sammonicus leaves these books to Emperor Gordian the Youn-
ger.

Is moriens/Upon his death: In fact, the sha passage is a little more complex
than Lipsius’s paraphrase. In the passage, Serenus Sammonicus had an epony-
mous son, and it was this son (having inherited his father’s library) who left it
in turn to Gordian the Younger. The sha create several fictional sons of famous
fathers, and this appears to be one of them.409 If the son is fictional, the library
presumably is as well.410

Gordiano minori, qui gustauit Imperium/Gordian the Younger, briefly em-

peror: Gordian the Younger was made co-emperor by his father Gordian411
when the latter revolted against Maximinus in ad 238. Both Gordians died
within a few weeks.

Capitolino/Capitolinus: Another of the sha writers, see above 7.2n. Vopisco.

8.6 Seneca condemns those who buy books for show.

Seneca/Seneca: See 2.4n. Seneca noster.

Damnat/He condemns: In Roman elite ideology, liberal studies were thought

to be a sign of self-cultivation and a mark of elite status, whereas spending on

408 ocd “Serenus Sammonicus” (Kaster), re “Sammonicus” (Funaioli) and re “Serenus” 6

(Kind), pir2 s 164, and Champlin 1981.
409 Syme 1971: 10–11, 184. Cf. pir2 s 165.
410 Despite its actual non-existence, this library featured frequently in Renaissance treat-
ments of ancient libraries, starting with Petrarch (see Introduction §3.3.1). On previous
Renaissance treatments of his library, see Baldi 2013: 80–82.
411 ocd “Gordian i (Marcus Antonius (re 61) Gordianus Sempronianus Romanus)” (Drinkwa-
ter).

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luxury goods could be castigated as self-indulgence and seen as the mark of a

low nature. Hence Seneca expresses worry about the lowborn purchasing the
trappings of erudition. Paul Nelles has suggested that alleviating this concern
is one of the primary purposes of the db.412 Lipsius mentions the possibility of
building libraries for show at db 1.2, and he twists Seneca’s words to avoid the
imputation that royal libraries are pretentious display pieces at db 2.4. Cleverly,
in Chapter 11 Lipsius uses the potential criticism of libraries as show pieces to
argue for royal support for libraries and scholars: if princes fund scholars to
work in their libraries, then the library itself is hardly an empty vanity. In this
section, Lipsius instead makes light of the criticism, and suggests that libraries
are always good for someone, if not for the owner.

seruilium litterarum/the servile arts: Modern critical editions read puerilium

litterarum (the conjecture of Madvig). The conjecture is plausible, as one finds
pueriles … litterae in Augustine (Contra Cresc. 3.75.87), and there are some sim-
ilar phrases with puerilis together with institutio, grammatica, and doctrina.413
Yet even if pueriles litterae were in fact a common phrase in Seneca’s time, the
emendation to puerilium makes the phrase lose the free/slave contrast that
Seneca emphasizes throughout the passage. Lipsius himself, in his edition of
Seneca (1605: 158), explained that the phrase seruiles litterae (“the servile arts”)
is meant to be a joking contrast with liberales litterae (“the liberal arts”).

cænationum/dining room: Romans frequently projected anxieties about

wealth onto dining practices. The word cenatio generally designated an espe-
cially large dining hall, and so here might suggest excess.414

balnearia & thermas/the baths and the hot baths: Seneca seems to have in
mind a part of the home furnished as a gymnasium (see 5.2n. Bibliothecæ).

8.7 Libraries in baths.

Balneis & Thermis/baths and hot baths: There is great controversy over wheth-
er or not there were libraries in Rome’s monumental public baths. The remark
of the sha that Trajan’s library was moved to the Baths of Diocletian is generally

412 Nelles 1996; see also Introduction § 3.3.1 and § 4.2.

413 tll “puerilis” ii.a.1.a.α (Spoth).
414 On the cenatio and its connotations, see Leach 2004: 46–47.

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dismissed as fiction (see 7.5n. Diocletiani). Libraries have been identified in the
Baths of Trajan and the Baths of Caracalla based on features similar to other
Roman public libraries (i.e., niches and a podium along the wall that could
provide access to them).415 In addition, Gellius makes a remark about reading
in the Baths of Titus (na 3.1.1), and we have the epitaph of a slave whose position
was overseer of the Greek library of the baths.416
The argument against the idea of libraries in baths is that the ones identified
archaeologically are implausible: the niches would be far too high to function
as bookshelves, and the podiums are more likely a row of seats.417 A reference
to someone reading in the baths is hardly proof of a library there, and the
inscription is ambiguous since it could refer to two different positions, one as
library attendant and one as bath attendant (Houston 1996).
The argument in favor of libraries in the imperial baths is that literary activ-
ities are certainly consistent with the general cultural activities of the baths,
which were really multi-purpose recreation centers.418 Indeed, Greek gymna-
sia included libraries and baths, and the Roman imperial baths seem to have
developed out of these Greek gymnasia. The architecture is not so implausible:
the high niches were not inaccessible, and could provide a measure of secu-
rity by limiting access to the books. The likelihood of the podiums functioning
as benches is also consistent with the kind of activities we might expect in
libraries, such as reading, debating, and listening to recitations.

illam Vlpiam/the famous Ulpian Library: See 7.4n. Fuit item and 7.4n. Vlpia.

Diocletiani Thermis/the Baths of Diocletian: See 7.5n. Diocletiani Thermas.

8.8 Libraries in villas and country estates.

Villis & Prætorijs/villas and country palaces: At villas in particular, literature

was part of the ideal of a cultured retreat. We hear of libraries at Cicero’s villas
(see 5n. cap. v) and at Pliny’s (db 8.8). There was no architecturally distinct
form for private libraries (see 5n. Romanæ), and none have been convincingly

415 On common features of public libraries in the Roman era, see 5n. Romanæ.
416 cil 6.8679, cf. Houston 1996.
417 The argument against libraries in baths is made most forcefully by Dix and Houston (2006:
701–706).
418 The argument in favor of libraries in baths is made most forcefully by Nicholls (2005: 92–
126).

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identified in villas, with the exception of the Villa of the Papyri, buried in the
eruption of Vesuvius, where over 1,000 scrolls were found.419 The villa was likely
owned by Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus in the mid-first century bc, but
we have no indication of who may have owned it at the time of the eruption
in ad79. Even there, the books were found in multiple locations, and it is not
certain that the room with the most books (traditionally labeled “the library”)
was the room in which they were usually housed, if indeed they even had a
usual location. There was also a library in the imperial villa at Antium, which
is known from inscriptions (see 7.2n. Tiberij domum).

Pauli icti/Paulus the Jurisconsult: Julius Paulus was a jurisconsult of the late
second and early third centuries ad.420 Spallone (2008) analyzes the evidence
of Roman law as it regards book history.

Plinius de suâ villâ/Pliny writes about his own villa: Pliny the Younger (Gaius
Plinius Caecilius Secundus; c. ad61–112) was a statesman and author.421 He
founded a public library in his native Comum (see 8.1n. municipijs).
Pliny had more than one villa, and in this letter (Epist. 2.17) he is describing
his Laurentian villa near modern Castel Fusano. He also had several villas near
Lake Como (Epist. 9.7) and one at Tifernum (Epist. 5.6), whose remains might
have been identified in San Giustino on the basis of brick stamps (Braconi and
Uroz Saez 1999).

Parieti in Bibliothecæ speciem, armarium inseritur/a bookcase built into the

wall in the likeness of a library: Pliny seems to be speaking of a niche in the
wall with a bookcase built in. The same is described at Dig. 30.41.9. Such niches
were characteristic of Roman public libraries (see 5n. Romanæ).

Martialis/Martial: Martial was a poet of the late first century ad known for his
epigrams.422 These lines come from a poem (7.17) that would have accompa-

419 On the library of the Villa of the Papyri, see Sider 2005 and Houston 2014: 87–129; on the
new excavations there see Zarmakoupi 2010.
420 ocd “Iulius (re 382) Paulus” (Honoré), hll § 423 (Liebs), and pir2 i 453.
421 ocd “Pliny (2) the Younger” (Sherwin-White and Price). On the reception of Pliny and
his villas in the Renaissance, see ct “Pliny the Younger” (Du Prey); on editions and
commentaries of Pliny in the Renaissance, ctc 9.73–152 (Ciapponi).
422 ocd “Martial (Marcus Valerius (re 233) Martialis)” (Citroni). On his post-Classical recep-
tion, see ct “Martial” (Crane and Goodrich); on editions of Martial in the Renaissance, see
ctc 4.249–296 (Hausmann).

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nied some books given to his friend, Julius Martial. The poem is an apostrophe
to Julius Martial’s library. The meter here is hendecasyllabic.

Iulij Martialis/Julius Martial: Julius Martialis was a friend of the poet Martial
and appeared frequently in his epigrams.423

villaticam Bibliothecam/the villa library: The villa was on the ridge of the
Ianiculum (Mart. 4.64), which is not the modern Gianicolo but rather Monte
Mario (Moreno Soldevila 2006: 436–437).

Vicinam videt vnde lector vrbem/Whence the reader beholds the nearby city:
A reference to the villa’s spectacular views of Rome, also commented on by
Martial in 4.64.

Lasciuæ … Thaliæ/my lascivious Thalia: A reference to Martial’s humorous,

and sometimes obscene, poetry. Thalia was one of the nine Muses, and was
associated with comic poetry.424

nido/compartment: A nidus is literally a “nest,” which might suggest something

like a chest or drawer, or perhaps a shelf inside a cabinet. Martial also used nidus
in reference to a place to keep books at Ep. 1.117.15.

Septem quos tibi misimus libellos/These seven little books, which I have sent
to you: The following line, not quoted by Lipsius, makes clear that the poem
comes with a copy of Martial’s poetry corrected by the author himself (auctoris
calamo sui notatos). The seven books could be the first seven books of Martial’s
epigrams, but the line has been interpreted in various ways.425

Chapter Nine

cap. ix/chapter nine: Chapter 9 marks another major turning point in the
structure of the work. The history of ancient libraries, ordered geographically

423 re “Iulius” 343 (Lieben) and pir2 i 411.

424 Galán Vioque (2002: 138) gives an overview of Thalia’s place in ancient poetry, and in
Martial in particular. See also re “Thaleia, Thalia” 1 (Lesky) and limc “Mousa Mousai”
(Queyrel).
425 Galán Vioque (2002: 139–140) surveys the various interpretations of what these “seven
books” are.

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and chronologically in Chapters 1–8, gives way to an account of their furnish-

ings (ornatus) in Chapters 9–10. These chapters are an account of how libraries
were furnished in the ancient world and at the same time how they should
be furnished in the contemporary world. Lipsius also includes a brief lexico-
graphical treatment of some words related to libraries (db 9.7). Aside from the
bookcases themselves, the other furnishings that Lipsius mentions (desks and
benches) are not actually attested in libraries, and we have very little idea how
libraries were furnished and how people might have worked in them.
Two interesting comparanda for this chapter are Francesco Grapaldi’s 1494
Lexicon of the Parts of the House and Angelo Rocca’s 1591 Vatican Library.426 Gra-
paldi gives a short history of libraries and then defines some of the same words
Lipsius treats ( foruli, pluteus, armarium), as well as a host of others (e.g., liber,
charta, membrana, schedae, pugillaris, etc.). Whereas Lipsius briefly defines
and illustrates the words, Grapaldi gives a history of the objects themselves.
Grapaldi also puts more of a focus on their contemporary application (e.g.,
charta as “paper” rather than as “papyrus,” how it is made, and differences in
various cities). Despite the fact that it is a chapter titled bibliotheca, Grapaldi
does not treat the decor of libraries—a subject in which Lipsius shows more
interest. Rocca’s Vatican Library is a description (over 400 pages) of the Vatican
library, as newly refurbished by Sixtus v in 1587–1589 (see Introduction § 3.4).
Rocca focuses on the paintings, emblems, and inscriptions, which he uses to
tell an ecphrastic history of writing, libraries, and Church councils. Rocca says
very little about the library furnishings apart from what was on the walls, but he
too has section that gives a history writing implements (1591: 377–382). Rocca
begins this history with the sons of Seth (grandsons of Adam) and continues
on through the era of the printing press.
In comparison with Grapaldi and Rocca, Lipsius’s account of the ornatus
of libraries is remarkably brief. While he shares an interest in defining some
of these furnishings, Lipsius avoids writing materials themselves altogether,
which had been treated frequently and in depth by other Renaissance authors.
His emphasis on portraits of authors, treated in Chapter 10, will be a complete
innovation.
Chapter 9 saw a major change between the first and second editions of the
db. In db 9.3, Lipsius quotes Boethius as describing the walls of a bibliotheca as
being “elegant in ivory and glass.” The word bibliotheca can refer to a bookcase,
which is how Lipsius originally took this quotation, since a bookcase might

426 Grapaldus, Franciscus Marius. 1494. Lexicon de partibus aedium. Parma: Angelo Ugoleto.
Grapaldi’s bibliotheca treatment is the ninth chapter of Part ii.

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have a glass front to offer protection to the books while keeping them visible.
Following his work on Seneca, Lipsius changed his mind and suggested that the
bibliotheca was a library after all, and that Boethius was referring to decorative
glass tiles joined by ivory on the walls of the library hall (db 9.3–5).

9.1 The decor of libraries.

stillicidium de situlâ/a drop in the bucket: This is not the phrasing of the
Clementine Vulgate. Lipsius typically paraphrases his quotations, but it might
be worth noting that this wording is found in Tertullian.427

stimulum, & exemplum/an inspiration and an example: A reminder that

Lipsius’s purpose is not just historical but protreptic.

9.2 Isidore recommends green marble for tiles, and the avoidance of gold.

Isidoro/Isidore: See 2.6n. Isidorus.

pauimenta/tiles: The term pauimentum here seems to refer to marble inlay as

tiling on floors or walls. Below (db 9.3) it will refer more specifically to mosaic
tiles.

Carystio marmore/Carystian marble: Carystian marble (cipollino) is charac-

terized by wavy dark-green striations across a greenish-white background.

siue à quo hausit/or the man from whom he gathered his information: Lipsius
suggests that Isidore is taking this suggestion from a particular source. Some
argue that Isidore based Etym. 6.3, 6.5, and 6.9–14 on Suetonius, and Suetonius
in turn on Varro.428

9.3–5 is an addition of the 1607 (b1) edition. Lipsius made the change based
on his work on Seneca (1605: 556), which he cites specifically. A translation
of the 1602 (a1) version reads:

427 Tert. Praescr. 8.9; phrased differently in Tert. Fug. 2.6, Iud. 1.3, Marc. iv 25.11, and Paen. 4.3.
428 See Schmidt 1991 and Introduction § 3.1.

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Boethius adds further in his Consolation: that the walls were elegant in ivory
and glass. How so in ivory? Evidently the cabinets or chests were ivory.
Such was the luxury, or elegance, of the ancients. In the books of the laws
we find even today: “Bibliotheca” sometimes means a library, other times a
cabinet, as when we say “He bought an ivory bibliotheca” (Book 52 § “But
if libr.” On Bequests 3). So there were cabinets of ivory, but what was the
glass for? I think that the cabinet would have had its face closed off in front
with glass so that the books would stand in no danger of getting dirty, but
yet would still be beautiful and visible to visitors through the glass. We in
modern times follow suit in certain cabinets, where there are holy objects
or their relics.

Boëtius hoc amplius in Consolatione suggerit: comptos ebore & vitro pari-
etes fuisse. Quomodo ebore? nempe vt ipsa Armaria siue Loculi, fuerint
eburna. Luxus an elegantia veterum ita habuit: & in Legum libris hodie-
que legimus: Bibliotheca aliâs Locum significat, aliâs Armarium. sicut cùm
dicimus, Eboream Bibliothecam emit (l. lii. §. sed si Biblioth. De Legat.
iii.). Armaria igitur ex ebore: sed Vitrum cui rei? Opinor, ipsa Armaria
antrorsus & in fronta clausa vitro fuisse: vt & à sordibus libri immunes
præstarentur, & tamen nobiles ac conspicui per vitrum aduentoribus
essent. Nos etiam in Armariis quibusdam, vbi sacra aut eorum reliquiæ,
vsurpamus.

9.3 Library walls were decorated with glass.

Boëtius/Boethius: Boethius (c. ad480–524) was a statesman and author who

wrote the Consolation of Philosophy (De consolatione philsophiae) in prison
before his execution by Theodoric.429

in medio disposta/placed in the middle: Libraries throughout the Middle Ages

and Renaissance typically had desks and bookshelves perpendicular to the
walls; the first major library with bookshelves along the walls was the Escorial
library in Spain, built by Philipp ii in the years 1563–1584 (Clark 1901: 265–
269).

429 ocd “Boethius, Anicius Manlius Severinus” (Barnish and Barker); on his medieval and
Renaissance reception, see ct “Boethius” (Nauta).

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vt hodie quoque publicæ ferè Bibliothecæ vsurpant/as is the case today in

most public libraries: By the early 1600s, Petrarch’s dream of creating a public
library had long been realized in major cities across Europe.430
As was the case with ancient libraries, the word “public” needs to be scruti-
nized (see 5n. Romanæ). A library could be “public” in that it was owned by the
state or the head of the state, like the library of Alfonso of Aragon in Naples.431
It might also be “public” in that it was open and accessible to the whole com-
munity, like the Bibliotheca Angelica in Rome.432

Plinius/Pliny: Pliny the Elder, see 4.2n. Plinius.

Neronis & Senecæ æuo/the age of Nero and Seneca: Roughly the middle of
the first century. Nero lived ad 37–68 and ruled 54–68; Seneca lived c. ad 1–65.

Seneca/Seneca: See 2.4n. Seneca.

me vide/see my commentary: In his 1605 edition of Seneca (p. 556) Lipsius

refers readers to the quotations from Pliny (hn 36.189) and the sha (Firm. 3.2)
that he quotes here in db 9.3–4, as well as to a quotation from Statius (Silu.
1.5.42).
Given that this citation of himself does not add much, and given that it
comes in a posthumous edition, it is possible that the atque ibi me vide was
a note to the publishers not meant to go into the text.433

9.4 The glass was set into the wall with bitumen, and glass design elements
were joined with ivory.

Boëtium/Boethius: See 9.3n. Boëtius.

Vopiscus/Vopiscus: See 7.2n. Vopisco.

430 On the development of public libraries in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, see
Gargan 1988 and Celenza 2004: 44–52. On libraries throughout the Renaissance and Early
Modern period, see Clark 1901: 193–290.
431 On Alfonso’s library in Naples, see Petrucci 1988.
432 On the Bibliotheca Angelica, which Angelo Rocca founded in Rome in the early 1600s, see
Serrai 2004: 54–74.
433 Lipsius communicated his revisions to the publishers by marking up a copy of the 1602
edition and sending it to them (see Introduction § 6.1).

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282 commentary on the de bibliothecis 9.5

9.5 The same was done with the bookshelves themselves.

Senecâ/Seneca: See 2.4n. Seneca.

cedro/cedar: Modern critical editions emend this to citro. Citron-wood (citrus)

was a luxury material, used especially to make tables and furniture. Cedar
(cedrus) oil was used to coat papyrus rolls, since the oil protected them with
its fungicidal and pesticidal properties.434 Given that Seneca is here castigating
luxury, citro is a better reading than cedro. In Lipsius’s edition of Seneca (1605:
158), he gives a very different version of this passage, which leaves out the
words armaria cedro altogether: “trying to capture a name in marble and ivory”
(nomen marmore atque ebore captanti), in reference to the fame one might
achieve for his library.

9.6 Libraries had bookcases, which were numbered.

numeris suis distincta/the bookcases were arranged by number: This is an-

other instance in which the sha is suspected of inventing evidence (see 7.2n.
Vopisco). However, even if this “sixth bookcase in Trajan’s library” is an inven-
tion of the sha, it may suggest that bookcases were numbered in some libraries.
We do not have any firm evidence on how the bookcases in Roman libraries
were organized. The organization of the books themselves is similarly un-
clear.435 There seems to have been a division of books into Greek and Latin
collections, to judge by the fact that they had different staffs (see 6.2n. Melisso).
It also seems to be the case that at least some books were kept together based on
who commissioned them, to judge by the fact that the Atticinian, Callinian, and
Peducinian books remained as discrete collections in the imperial libraries (see
6.4n. Palatina). Such an organizational scheme makes sense in a world where
the quality of readings in a work depends on the care put into their manufac-
ture.

Vopiscus/Vopiscus: See 7.2n. Vopisco.

434 On cedar, citron-wood, and ancient books see Hendrickson 2015.

435 Nicholls (2005: 144–152) outlines the possibilities for organization and cataloguing. Hous-
ton (2014: 180–216) covers what is known about the storage spaces.

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 9.7 283

librum elephantinum/an elephantine book: Again, this particular book is prob-

ably an invention of the sha (see 7.2n. Vopisco). However, ivory writing tablets
did exist in antiquity (e.g., Dig. 32.52.pr.).
Other Renaissance readers had suggested that this librum elephantinum re-
ferred to an extremely large book, a possibility mocked by Guilandinus in his
Papyrus (1572: 54–55).

9.7 Library terminology: foruli, nidi, loculamenta, plutei, cunei, and arma-
ria.

Vetus Scholiastes Iuuenalis/The old scholiast of Juvenal: Juvenal was a Roman

satirist from the early second century ad.436 The old scholia on Juvenal go back
to c. ad400 and were available in some of the many print editions of Juvenal
in the Renaissance, starting with Giorgio Valla’s 1486 edition in Venice.437 Valla
wrote that his scholia came from “Probus,” but already in 1489 Poliziano (Misc.
33) knew this could not be the famous Valerius Probus, who lived under Nero.
Lipsius’s “old scholiast” may be a way to refer to this “Probus.”438

Etsi/Although: The a6 edition reading of Et could potentially be a rare case of

contamination from the epitome tradition, which had that reading in e4–5 and
e7–9 (see below e16). It could also be a simple mistake.

Foruli/ foruli: A rare word, foruli (found only in plural) is only attested one
other time in Antiquity, when Suetonius writes that Augustus deposited the
Sibylline books in two golden foruli below the base of the “Palatine Apollo”
(Aug. 31). The medieval glossaries define foruli as an armarium uel locus libro-
rum (Gloss. Lat. v 163.15) and as armaria uel loculi in quibus libri collocantur
(Gloss. Lat. v 501.34). The word is a diminutive of forus, a “hollow,” as for a sec-
tion of seating in the circus, the place where rowers sit in a boat, the cells of
bees in a hive, or a cup for playing dice.439

436 ocd “Juvenal (Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis)” (Braund).

437 For the old scholia of Juvenal, see Wessner 1931; for the later scholia, see Grazzini 2011. For
the editions and commentaries on Juvenal in the Renaissance, see ctc 1.175–238 (Sanford)
and 2.425–426 (Kristeller).
438 Lipsius need not have taken the line directly from Valla’s “Probus,” which at this line of
Juvenal reads loculos librorum siue armaria siue bibliothecam. Another version of the old
scholia was printed in Pithou’s 1585 edition of Juvenal (Paris: R. Stephanus), which at this
line notes armariam (sic) siue bibliothecam.
439 tll “2forus” (Vollmer).

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284 commentary on the de bibliothecis 9.7

nidi/pigeon-holes: See 8.8n. nido.

Martiale/Martial: See 8.8n. Martialis.

Senecâ/Seneca: See 2.4n. Seneca.

loculamenta/cases: A loculamentum is a container, suggestive of a cavity with

an opening on one side.440 Elsewhere it is used of pigeon-holes (Colum. 8.8.3,
8.9.3), the cells of bees in a hive (Colum. 9.12.2), the socket of a tooth (Chiron
543, Veg. Mulom. 2.32), the mouth (buccula) of a military scorpion (Vitr. 10.10.3),
and a fitting into which a piece of machinery might be placed (Vitr. 10.9.2).

Sidonius/Sidonius: Sidonius Apollinaris was a statesman and author of the

fifth century ad.441 He also received the honor of a statue in Trajan’s library
(see 10.6n. Sidonius).

Pluteos/desks: A pluteus (neut. pluteum also attested) can refer to a wall or

board, and from there to a tablet, or a desk/table, or a shelf on a wall.442
Lipsius takes it to refer to the inclined writing surface of a desk, a meaning that
was common in the Renaissance. Figure 16 shows the plutei of the Laurentian
library in Florence.
A pluteus could also refer to an armarium (“cabinet”). In response to Juv.
2.7 (quoted by Lipsius at db 10.7), the old scholia gloss the word pluteus as an
armarium; the later scholia write “the armarium is called a pluteum because
of the planks that are laid out there” (pluteum uocatur armarium a plancis
quae illic sternuntur). Such a reading would be consistent with Anth. Lat. 147
Shackleton Bailey, quoted by Lipsius at db 10.8 (cf. 10.7n. minores).

Athenæi/of an auditorium: cf. pr.4n. Athenæo.

Cuneos, scamnorum seriem /a series of benches: The word cuneus is literally

a “wedge.” The word was commonly used of sections of benches in the theater
(e.g., Vitr. 5.6). Sidonius elsewhere refers to the “wedged benches” (subsellia
cuneata) of the Athenaeum (Epist. 9.14.2). Cf. pr.4n. Athenæo.

440 tll “loculamentum” (Heus). The word loculi is also used as a bookcase in Mart. Ep. 14.12
and 14.13; loculi is used for loculamenta at db d46.
441 ocd “Sidonius Apollinaris (Gaius Sollius Modestus Apollinaris Sidonius)” (Harries).
442 tll “pluteus pluteum” (Spoth).

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Armaria/bookcases: An armarium is a cabinet with shelving. Lipsius has taken

it for granted from the start (db 1.1) that readers will know the word armar-
ium, which one finds much more commonly than foruli, nidi, loculamenta, or
pegmata.

Pegmata/pegmata: Pegmata is the plural of the Greek πῆγμα, which can refer
to anything fastened or fixed together. So far as I know, it is only used for a
bookcase by Cicero, and only in this one place (Ad Att. 4.8.2).

Lib i/Book 1: Ad Att. 4.8.2. Lipsius is mistaken about which book of letters the
quotation is found in.

Chapter Ten

cap. x/chapter ten: Lipsius shows a particular interest in the portraits of

authors. He begins the chapter with a protreptic to his dedicatee, Charles of
Croÿ, urging him to follow the example of the ancients in this matter (db 10.1).
He then traces the origins of the practice (db 10.2–3) and points out the fact
that portraits were generally of the deceased (db 10.4). He next outlines the
materials used in such portraits (db 10.5). At the end, the chapter becomes an
undigested string of quotations on the topic (db 10.6–8). Sections 10.7 and 10.8
are an addition of the revised 1607 (b1) edition of the db.
Author portraits do seem to have been a characteristic feature of Roman
libraries.443 The custom goes back to the Atrium of Liberty library, as Lipsius
notes at db 10.2–3. We also know of clipeate (“shield”) portraits in silver or
bronze at the tops of the columns inside the Palatine Apollo library (see 6.4.n.
Palatina). Trajan’s library featured bronze statues in the round, including the
statue of Sidonius Apollinaris noted by Lipsius below at db 10.6 (see also
7.4n. Fuit item). In private libraries, we know of portraits, especially herms,
of philosophers in peristyle gardens, if not in the bibliotheca itself. The herms
would seem to be a way to evoke the atmosphere of a Greek gymnasium (see
5.2n. Bibliothecæ). The portraits of authors in public libraries stood in as a kind
of visual metonymy for the books, a way to make a monumental display of
literature (Petrain 2013). The selection of authors for the (necessarily limited)

443 On portraits of authors and other wisdom figures in general, see Zanker 1995; on portraits
in libraries, see Petrain 2013 and Spinola 2014.

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286 commentary on the de bibliothecis 10.1

number of portraits in any library also articulated a canon, and controversies

over which authors should receive a portrait were common.
The focus on portraits in libraries is one of Lipsius’s innovations on the topic
of library furnishings. Other works of library historiography either do not men-
tion them at all, or only note the portraits in the Atrium of Liberty library as
attested in Pliny. The absence is particularly glaring (in hindsight) in Grapaldi
and Rocca’s treatments of the furnishings in libraries. At the same time, Lip-
sius was not alone in his interest in the portraits of authors. He no doubt took
inspiration from his friend Fulvio Orsini’s 1570 Imagines, although he does not
mention all the passages that Orsini notes in his preface. Orsini, reviving a
genre started by Varro and Atticus, gave short biographical sketches of famous
Romans, together with images of them known from coins, inscriptions, herms,
and other statuary.444 Lipsius had a particular interest in a bust that (at the
time) was believed to be Seneca, which is visible in the “Four Philosophers”
painting of Lipsius by Rubens.445 Lipsius’s treatment was influential both on
ancient scholarship and on practices in actual libraries. As just one exam-
ple, Figrelius’s 1656 De statuis illustrium Romanorum borrows heavily (both
acknowledged and unacknowledged) from Lipsius’s db.446 Nelles (1994: 144)
also points out that the Ambrosiana, the Bodleian, and the Mazarine libraries
did contain such portraits, perhaps under the influence of Lipsius. To this list
we can add the Sale Paoline, added to the Vatican library in 1610–1611, which
also featured author portraits.

10.1 The custom of portraits or statues of authors in libraries.

Imagines siue & Statuæ/portraits and statues: An imago can refer to various
types of portraits. A statua is a free-standing statue.

444 Atticus’s work is attested at Plin. hn 35.11 and Nep. Att. 18.5–6 (cf. Cic. Ad Att. 1.13.1, 1.16.15,
1.16.18); for the fragments of Varro’s Imagines, see Salvadore 1999: 86–95. On Renaissance
attempts to recreate this genre, see Hendrickson ( forthcominga).
445 Morford 1991: 3–13. The original bust, in the possession of Fulvio Orsini, had been (erro-
neously) identified by Orsini as Seneca, (no. 131) in Théodore Galle’s 1598 Illvstrivm imag-
ines ex antiqvis marmoribvs nomismatib. et gemmis expressae qvae extant Romae maior
pars apvd Fvlvivm Vrsinvm (Antwerp: Galle at Plantin House). On the bust itself see also
Prinz 1973.
446 Figrelius (Gripenhjelm), Emundus. 1656. De statuis illustrium Romanorvm liber singularis.
Stockholm: J. Jansson. Chapter 24 treats portraits in libraries.

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 10.3 287

vnà cum libris/alongside their books: Lipsius suggests that the portrait of the
author would be placed together with his or (in very rare cases) her books. The
evidence is dubious. Seneca (Tranq. 9.7) may suggest as much, but he may be
speaking rather about author portraits in books (see 10.5n. descripta). Martial
writes an epigram to go under his portrait in Stertinius’s library (Mart. Ep. 9.pr,
see db 10.3), but the epigram is clearly meant to be painted or inscribed below
the portrait.

10.2 The custom began in Rome.

Plinius/Pliny: Pliny the Elder, see 4.2n. Plinius.

Asinij Pollionis hoc Romæ inuentum/At Rome this was the invention of Asinius
Pollio: On Pollio see 5.5n. Asinius Pollio; on his library in the Atrium of Liberty,
see 5.5n. Atrium Libertatis.

Pergami Reges/the kings of … Pergamum: Inscribed statue bases of authors

were found in Pergamum on the acropolis, including ones of Alcaeus, Hero-
dotus, and Timotheus of Miletus (Lorenz 1965: 3–4). However, the identifica-
tion of the library there is probably mistaken (see 4.1n. Attalica).

10.3 Pollio, who began the custom, included a portrait of Varro while he was
still living—an honor granted to a few others later.

Asinius/Asinius: See 5.5n. Asinius Pollio.

eodem Plinio/The same Pliny: Pliny the Elder, see 4.2n. Plinius.

M. Varronis/Marcus Varro: On Varro, see 4.2n. Varro. This signal honor for
Varro, who had been charged with building Caesar’s library, has suggested
to some that Pollio saw himself as carrying out Caesar’s design (see 5.5n. eo
inuitante). Varro, however, was one of the most famous scholars of the age, so
we cannot read too much into it.

alijs posteà, indulgentiâ an iudicio, datum video/I see that this honor was
later granted also to others, whether as a matter of flattery or of taste: Spinola
(2014) surveys other portraits in libraries.

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288 commentary on the de bibliothecis 10.4

Martiali poëtæ/the poet Martial: See 8.8n. Martialis. The phrase that Lipsius
quotes comes from the preface of Book 9, in which Martial provides verses to
go beneath his bust in Stertinius’s library.447

Stertinius/Stertinius: Probably Lucius Stertinius Avitus, consul in ad 92.448

Stertinius’s colleague for the year was Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus,
whose children built the Celsus library in Ephesus to house his remains.449

10.4 Pliny shows that portraits were usually of the deceased and made of
precious metals, although Juvenal shows that they could also be of
plaster.

plerumque mortuorum/generally of those who were … deceased: Lipsius

is right that portraits in libraries were largely of the deceased. As Lipsius
supposes, this probably has something to do with the canonical status of those
represented by portraits in libraries: it is an honor not accorded to many among
the living. There may also have been a conceptual association between portraits
in libraries and imagines maiorum, the wax masks of ancestors that aristocratic
Romans kept in their atriums and brought out during funerals.450

Plinius/Pliny: Pliny the Elder, see 4.2n. Plinius.

non traditi vultus/ features not even passed down: Modern critical editions
read non traditos uultus. It is a choice between whether the faces, although not
passed down, produce a sense of longing, or whether the sense of longing itself
produces the faces, although they were not passed down. In the context of the
passage, the latter seems more likely, and Pliny gives the example of Homer. It is
remarkable that Pliny, at least, is aware that contemporary portraits of Homer
are invented rather than true likenesses.

Pollionis/Pollio: See 5.5n. Asinius Pollio.

Iuuenalis/Juvenal: See 9.7n. Vetus Scholiastes.

447 On this preface and the accompanying verses, see Henriksén 2012: 1–10.
448 re “Stertinius” 12 (Groag) and pir2 s 907.
449 On the Celsus library see 8.1n. municipijs and 7.4n. Fuit item.
450 On aristocratic Roman ancestor masks, see Flower 1996.

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Chrysippi/Chrysippus: Chrysippus (c. 280–207 bc) was an early Stoic and the
third scholarch of the school.451 Busts of philosophers do seem to be common,
in private libraries in particular. In Juvenal, the portrait of the philosopher is
contrasted with the ignorant person who owns it. It is probably not a contrast
that Lipsius himself would want to emphasize.
A small bust of the stoic philosopher Chrysippus has also been found near
the library in the Temple of Peace (Spinola 2014: 65).

10.5 There were both statues and portraits. The latter were painted on tab-
lets and (perhaps) on the books themselves.

Seneca/Seneca: See 2.4n. Seneca.

descripta/copied out: Most modern critical editions read discripta (“arranged”)

rather than descripta (“copied out”), although either is possible. The former
would suggest that author portraits were arranged next to the authors’ works,
the latter would imply portraits illustrated in the works themselves.
There are two other examples of author portraits illustrated in books. Mar-
tial (Ep. 14.186) describes a codex of Virgil with his image on the first page.
Martial also mocks (Ep. 10.99) the way that a certain Julius Rufus’s face looks
“in his satires,” which could be a portrait drawn into a scroll or codex.452

Suetonius/Suetonius: See 5.4n. Suetonius.

scripta eorum & imagines/their writings and portraits: Suetonius is referring

to the Hellenistic poets Euphorion, Rhianus, and Parthenius. He adds that
Tiberius also wrote Greek poetry imitating their style. Euphorion of Chalcis was
a scholar and poet of the third century bc, who was later said to be the director
of the public library at Antioch (Suda ε 3801 Adler).453 Rhianus of Crete was also
a scholar and poet of the same era.454 Among other things, he made an edition
of Homer and wrote epic poetry as well as epigrams. Parthenius of Nicaea was

451 ocd “Chrysippus” (Annas and Schofield), hgl 2.433–436 (Erler), and re “Chrysippos” 14
(Von Arnim); fragments at svf vol. 2 and vol. 3.3–205.
452 “If Socrates had had a Roman face, it would have looked like the face Julius Rufus has in his
satires” (Si Romana forent haec Socratis ora, fuissent / Iulius in Saturis qualia Rufus habet).
Socrates’ face was proverbially ugly.
453 ocd “Euphorion” 2 (Williams) and hgl 2.109–115 (Meyer).
454 ocd “Rhianus” (Williams) and hgl 2.175–179 (Meyer).

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290 commentary on the de bibliothecis 10.5

taken to Rome as a slave in the early/middle first century bc and later set free.455
He wrote elegies, poems on mythological themes, and a (surviving) prose work
on the content of various erotic myths. All three were associated with the poetic
aesthetics of Callimachus, and with scholarly activities in addition to poetic
ones.456

veteres & receptos auctores/the ancient and established authors: There is sim-
ilar phrasing among other descriptions of portraits in libraries,457 which sug-
gests that the portraits in libraries served to articulate a canon of approved and
outstanding authors (Petrain 2013: 344–345).

Plinius/Pliny: Pliny the Younger, see 8.8n. Plinius.

Herennius Seuerus/Herennius Severus: Probably the Herennius Severus who

was a consul under Hadrian.458 Herennius Severus the consul was the patron of
Herennius Philo, a grammarian from Byblos, who wrote a twelve-volume work
alternately called “On the Acquisition of a Library” (περὶ βιβλιοθήκης κτήσεως)
and “On the Acquisition and Selection of Books” (περὶ κτήσεως καὶ ἐκλογῆς
βιβλίων).459

imagines/portraits: The rest of the letter makes clear that Pliny is referring to
painted portraits.

Cornelij Nepotis, & Titi Attici/Cornelius Nepos and Titus Atticus: The first man
is the biographer Cornelius Nepos; Lipsius makes the second man Cicero’s
friend Titus Pomponius Atticus.460 The second name is confused in the man-
uscripts, and there is reason to doubt it could be Atticus. Pliny calls the two
figures “fellow countrymen,” but Nepos is from Transpadane Gaul and Atticus

455 ocd “Parthenius” (Williams) and hgl 2.149–152 (Meyer).

456 For more on these three poets and their relationship to Tiberius, see Houston 2008: 255–
259.
457 Similar phrases include the following: uirorum illustris ingeni (in Lex Valeria Aurelia,
Crawford 1996 no. 37), auctores eloquentiae (Tac. Ann. 2.83), ueteres … scriptores (Tac. Ann.
2.83).
458 pir2 h 130, re “Herennius” 45 (Groag).
459 ocd “Philon” 5 (Goodman), pir2 h 116, re “Herennios” 2 (Gudeman), FGrHist 790 t1 f52–35
(bnj 790, Kaldellis and López-Ruiz). See also Introduction §3.1.
460 On Nepos and Atticus as historians, see the introductions of FRHist 45 (Briscoe and
Drummond) and 33 (Drummond), respectively.

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 10.6 291

from Rome. Two ninth-century manuscripts read Titi Cati, and so modern
critical editions have settled on Titus Catius. There was a first-century bc
Epicurean philosopher Catius who had family from Transpadane Gaul.461

10.6 References to the practice in Pliny, sha (Vopiscus), and Sidonius Apol-
linaris.

Plinius idem/The same Pliny: Pliny the Younger, see 8.8n. Plinius.

Silio Italico/Silius Italicus: Silius Italicus (c. ad26–102) was a statesman and
poet, whose epic seventeen-book Punica is extant.462

multum vbique librorum, multum statuarum, multum imaginum/everywhere

many books, many statues, and many portraits: Pliny does not seem to be writ-
ing about a library, but rather about the general abundance of books and stat-
ues and portraits prevailing in Silius Italicus’s villas in general. In the sentence
preceding this quotation, Pliny calls Silius Italicus “a lover of beauty” (φιλόκα-
λος).

Vopiscus/Vopiscus: See 7.2n. Vopisco.

Numeriano/Numerian: Emperor ad 282–284.463 According to the sha, Nume-

rian was famous for his declamations and had “surpassed all the poets of his
time,” including Olympius Nemesianus and Aurelius Apollinaris (Car. 11.1–2).
This particular statue may be an invention of the sha, but such honorific stat-
ues did exist in the forum and library of Trajan in the fourth and fifth centuries
in particular.464 These statues were uniformly of senators, but it is notable that
some of these senators, like the poet Claudian, were more prominent as literary
figures than as political figures.465

461 ocd “Catius, Titus” (Griffin) and re “Catius” 1 (Von Arnim). Another possibility is the poet
Silius Italicus, whose full name was Tiberius Catius Silius Italicus; but the praenomen does
seem to be Titus and not Tiberius (Sherwin-White 1966: 307).
462 ocd “Silius (re 17) Italicus, Tiberius Catius Asconius” (Feeney). For editions and commen-
taries of his work in the Renaissance, see ctc 3.341–398 (Bassett, Delz, and Dunston).
463 ocd “Numerianus, Marcus Aurelius” (Mattingly, Warmington, and Drinkwater).
464 For a study of these statues, see Chenault 2012.
465 Chenault 2012: 110–112.

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Sidonius/Sidonius: See 9.7n. Sidonius. Although Sidonius Apollinaris eventu-

ally published poems and letters, his statue came in the wake of his panegyric
to Emperor Avitus in ad 456 (the panegyric is his Poem 7). He also notes the
statue at Poems 8.7–10.

10.7 Statuettes and small portraits were put on desks.

minores illæ imagines siue statuæ pluteis plerumque impositæ videntur/

Miniature portraits and statues seem to have often been placed on desks: It
is not quite clear what Lipsius is imagining here. The pluteus, as he describes
it at db 9.7, is a desk with a writing surface raised at an incline. Such a desk
could only hold books and a statuette if, like the plutei of the Laurentian library
in Florence, they had a compartment below the writing surface to hold books
and a horizontal ledge above the writing surface that could hold a statuette (see
fig. 16).466 A pluteus could also be a shelf or a cabinet (see 9.7n. Pluteos), which
could easily accommodate books and a statuette. Several miniature busts were
recovered in the Villa of the Papyri, although these were not necessarily for
bookshelves or desks.467

Iuuenalis/Juvenal: See 9.7n. Vetus Scholiastes.

archetypos/true-to-life: An ἀρχέτυπος is a “first struck” mold, hence old and

original. Thus it is an authentic likeness.468 In this line of Juvenal, the authen-
ticity of the portrait is contrasted with the hypocrisy of its owner. Fronti nulla
fides, Juvenal adds, “Don’t trust appearances.”

Cleanthas/Cleanthes: Cleanthes (331–232bc) was another early Stoic and the

second scholarch of the school (cf. 10.4n. Chrysippi).469 Again, the contrast in
Juvenal is between the moralizing philosopher and the immoral owner of his
bust.

466 Clark (1901: 193–199) shows that such an arrangement, which he calls the “lectern system,”
dates at least to the library at Cesena from 1452.
467 Mattusch (2005: 289–296) gives full descriptions of these miniature busts, which include
Epicurus, Hermarchus, Demosthenes, Zeno, and Livia (or Agrippina?).
468 tll “archetypos archetypus” (Diehl).
469 ocd “Cleanthes” (Annas and Schofield), hgl 2.431–433 (Erler), and re “Kleanthes” 2 (Von
Arnim); fragments at svf 1.103–139.

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 10.8 293

figure 16 Pluteus from the Biblioteca Laurenziana (Clark 1901, figure 102)

10.8 That practice explains an old saying found on portraits of Virgil, and an
expression in one of Cicero’s letters.

Veteris distichi/the old distich: The lines come from the Codex Salamasius
(Par. Lat. 10318) of the eighth or ninth century. They were frequently printed
beneath portraits of Virgil in early print editions of his work.

Sigilla Plutealia/desk statuettes: The reading in modern critical editions is

rather sigillata putealia: “terracotta adornments for a well.”

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Deorum … sigillis/statuettes of gods: Lipsius seems to be thinking of another

poem from the Codex Salamasius (see 10.8n. Veteris), which mentions a stat-
uette of Jupiter on a pluteus (Anth. Lat. 128 Shackleton Bailey).

Chapter Eleven

cap. xi/chapter eleven: Chapter 11 is the final division in the db. Chapters
1–8 covered the history of libraries (historia), Chapters 9–10 their decor (orna-
tus). In Chapter 11 Lipsius extols their benefits ( fructus). Lipsius focuses the
chapter around the Museum of Alexandria, which had gone unmentioned in
Chapter 2. He presents it as a model scholarly institution: scholars live there
at public expense (db 11.3); they are drawn from all over the world (db 11.4);
they are free from teaching responsibilities (db 11.5) and owe their membership
to a prestigious appointment (db 11.7–8). The idea of a scholarly institution is
an ingenious response to Seneca’s criticism of libraries as pretentious display
pieces: to assure that a library is not just for show, one should fund not only
libraries but scholars to work there (see 11.1n. studiosa). The Museum had not
received much attention in previous histories of the library, and Lipsius’s treat-
ment of the Museum is one of the most original contributions of the db to
library historiography.
Before Lipsius, a museum was more likely to refer to a place housing a
collection of intellectually interesting objects.470 Paolo Giovio (1482/3–1552),
for instance, built a villa with a room depicting the Muses, which he called his
museum, and which contained his extensive portrait collection (Zimmerman
1995: 159–162). Samuel Quiccheberg (1529–1567) wrote of musea as places to
keep collections in his 1565 Inscriptiones vel titvli theatri amplissimi (Munich:
A. Berg).471 Lipsius’s dream of a museum as a research center would become
a reality in Federico Borromeo’s Bibliotheca Ambrosiana. Borromeo was an
admirer of Lipsius, and the db is partly behind the library and collegium put
together by Borromeo in Milan.472 When Borromeo wrote to Lipsius to inform
him of the enterprise and ask his opinion, Lipsius responded:473

470 For a brief history of museums, see ct “museum” (Findlen).

471 Quiccheberg’s Inscriptiones has now translated by Meadow and Robertson (2013).
472 For the influence of Lipsius on Borromeo’s Bibliotheca Ambrosiana in Milan, see Nelles
1996: 234–235 and Ferro 2005.
473 Cent. misc. v epist. 88, Dec. 23, 1605 (= Ferro 2005: 347–348).

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I suspected you had a library in mind, and that it would be both discrimi-
nating and vast. But you’re also adding a Collegium, and a new kind of Col-
legium, where it is not youths who are nurtured, but adults, and those who
have already proven themselves capable of aiding and instructing oth-
ers through their writings, their advice, and their eloquence. Of course, I
voiced my approval for such an institute long ago in my writings. In fact,
to that end I gave some testimony publicly when I praised and explained
the Museum of Alexandria. For the Museum only admitted and supported
men who had performed noble service for the republic of letters, or those
who were about to do so.

De Bibliotheca suspicabar, eaque selecta et simul copiosa: sed addis etiam

Collegium, atque id noui generis, in quo non iuuenes, sed grandiores alan-
tur, et qui facti aptique iam sint scriptis, consilio, voce alios iuuare vel
docere. Sane iamdiu est cum hoc institutum apud me approbo: atque
adeo publice aliquod testimonium dedi, in laudando et aperiendo Museo
Alexandrino. Nam et illud viros admisit tantum et habuit, vel bene meri-
tos iam de republica litteraria, vel merituros.

Borromeo was not the only one to take inspiration from the db. In particular,
Lipsius’s vision of the Museum eventually blossomed into the two famous
Museums of revolutionary France: the Museum des artes (later the Louvre) and
the Museum d’histoire naturelle (Lee 1997).
Our knowledge of the actual Museum of Alexandria, as it was for the library,
is somewhat hazy. The name suggests a physical place: a shrine to the Muses.
The earliest description of the Museum comes in Strabo, who visited Alexan-
dria during the 20’s bc. Strabo presents the Museum not just as a physical
place but also as a scholarly society, with official members and funds, and
with a priest at its head. None of these necessarily existed during the sup-
posed heyday of the Museum in the third and early second centuries bc, when
Alexandria was home to some of the greatest thinkers and writers of the era.
After 145bc, the scholars were dispersed and the Museum was never again the
same center of scholarship, although it kept its prestige through the Roman
era.

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11.1 On the benefits of libraries: if they do not have users then they are
simply display pieces.

studiosa quædam luxuria/some kind of scholarly extravagance: Seneca had

criticized libraries as ostentation: a pretense to learning, which was available
to anyone with money (see Introduction §3.3.1 and § 4.2, and 8.6n. Damnat).
Lipsius has deftly manipulated this passage of Seneca. In db 2.4, Lipsius quoted
Livy (as quoted by Seneca) praising the library of Alexandria. Lipsius left out
the fact that Seneca actually disagreed with Livy, and rather saw the library as
being “not for study, but for show” (non in studium, sed in spectaculum, Tranq.
9.5). At db 8.6, Lipsius ignored the reference to the library of Alexandria and
presented Seneca as criticizing those owners of private libraries who buy books
for showing off. In the present passage, Lipsius again brings up Seneca’s criti-
cism of libraries, but he uses it to make the case that princes should not only
support libraries, but also support scholars who would use the library. Reading
only Lipsius, we would miss entirely Seneca’s criticism of the library at Alexan-
dria. Lipsius takes Seneca’s criticism of libraries (including royal libraries) and
turns it into a case in support of royal support for libraries and scholars.

Seneca/Seneca: See 2.4n. Seneca.

11.2 For that reason, the Ptolemaic kings created the Museum.

Muséum/Museum: Strabo’s reference to the Museum is among the earliest, and

is the only one to describe it; a few earlier references do exist, but they give
very little information. The very first mention is in Hero(n)das, who listed the
Museum (Μουσῇον) among the glories of Alexandria in his third-century bc
mimes (Mim. 1.31). Around the same time, Timon of Phlius mocked the scholars
at the Museum in one of his silloi (see below db 11.4). Callimachus wrote a
work entitled Museum (Μουσεῖον), but nothing beyond the title is known.474 In
Strabo’s era, a grammarian named Aristonicus wrote a work “On the Museum
at Alexandria” (περὶ τοῦ ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ Μουσείου).475 The relationship between
the Museum and the library is not as clear as it could be: they were both
physical places (or one place?), and the Museum was also a scholarly society

474 Title attested in Suda κ 227 Adler (= fr. 412 Pfeiffer).

475 FGrHist 53 f2 (bnj 53, Dowden); he also wrote grammatical works, see ocd “Aristonicus”
2 (Forbes and Browning), re “Aristonikos” 17 (Cohn), and Hatzimichali 2013: 178.

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whose members (presumably) made use of the library. Later sources certainly
assume that the library and Museum were associated institutions: Athenaeus,
for instance, wrote specifically that Philadelphus established the library for the
Museum.476
Strictly speaking, a museum was a shrine to the Muses. Theophrastus men-
tions a museum at the Lyceum in his will (Diog. Laert. 5.51), and there also
seems to have been a museum at the Academy (Diog. Laert. 4.1), or perhaps
in Plato’s private garden (Diog. Laert. 4.19). Much has been made of this con-
nection, but it is probably a coincidence: many places had musea (see above
2.3n. Demetrius Phalereus).477
As for the physical layout of the Museum, we know nothing about it for the
roughly 250 years of its existence before the time of Strabo. Strabo’s description
specifically notes a colonnade (περίπατον) and an exedra (ἐξέδραν), both of
which are elements typical of (but not exclusive to) gymnasia, and so may have
seemed fitting for an intellectual institution.478 Strabo’s description does not
mention a library. Suetonius (Claud. 42.2) wrote that the emperor Claudius
added a new eponymous Museum to the old one in Alexandria, where his
histories could be read “as if in an auditorium” (uelut in auditorio). Suetonius,
then, seems to have thought of the Museum a large exedra, where there would
be benches surrounding a central place for a speaker.
The Museum was not just a physical place but also an intellectual institution,
with specific funds, official members who ate there, and a priest at its head.
There is no way to know how far back this institutional framework went. It
is often assumed that many of the major figures at the Museum during the
Hellenistic era held the role of priest and head librarian, but there are some
reasons for doubt (see 11.6n. Sacerdotem).
In the third and early second centuries bc, Alexandria was the home of the
greatest scholars and poets of the age, including Zenodotus of Ephesus, Calli-
machus, Apollonius Rhodius, Eratosthenes of Cyrene, Aristophanes of Byzan-
tium, and Aristarchus of Samothrace. These men are presumed to be members
of the Museum, since it is clear from Timon of Phlius that scholars worked
there. They engaged in textual criticism and editing, as well as a host of gram-

476 Athenaeus 5.203e: “As for (Philadelphus’s) enormous collection of books and how he
provisioned his library and how he established it for the Museum, why should I even
mention it? Everyone already knows!” (περὶ δὲ βιβλίων πλήθους καὶ βιβλιοθηκῶν κατασκευῆς
καὶ τῆς εἰς τὸ Μουσεῖον συναγωγῆς τί δεῖ καὶ λέγειν, πᾶσι τούτων ὄντων κατὰ μνήμην;)
477 For other musea see re “mouseion” (Müller-Graupa), cols. 797–801.
478 On typical elements of Greek gymnasia, see 2.1n. Ἀριστοτέλης.

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298 commentary on the de bibliothecis 11.2

matical, geographical, and mathematical studies.479 Ptolemy viii Euergetes ii

killed or dispersed most of the members of the Museum in 145/4 bc after they
failed to support his rebellion.480 The Museum was evidently revived before
the time of Strabo.481 In the Roman era, we know the names of many members
of the Museum, who lived there “eating for free, and without taxes” (to use the
formula associated with membership, see 11.4n. Philosophos). These men were
by and large not intellectuals or writers of the highest caliber. Yet scholarship
did continue to be produced there, although it was more geared towards pre-
serving the accomplishments of the past than advancing them (Hatzimichali
2013).
The Museum as a physical place seems unlikely to have survived the destruc-
tion of the Brucheum around ad272 (see 2.11n. Christiani). It may have sur-
vived as an institution, however, since the Suda records that a certain Theon,
father of Hypatia, was a member of the Museum in the late fourth century.482

Strabo/Strabo: See 2.1n. Strabo.

Habet autem hoc collegium … à Caesare constituendum/The association has

… by Caesar: Lipsius’s translations rarely follow other Latin translations avail-
able. Here, however, he follows almost word-for-word Xylander’s translation,
which was included in Casaubon’s 1587 edition (p. 546): Hoc collegium publice
pecunias habet & sacerdotem, qui museo praeest, olim a regibus, nunc a Caesare
constituendum.483

479 On the scholarship associated with the Museum see Pfeiffer 1968: 87–233 and Fraser 1972:
1.317–319.
480 Ath. 5.184c (= Menecles FGrHist 270 f9 = Andron FGrHist 246 f1), cf. Just. Epit. 38.8.3.
481 On the Museum in the Roman era, see 11.4n. Philosophos, 11.6n. Sacerdotem and re
“mouseion” (Müller-Graupa), cols. 816–820.
482 Suda θ 205 Adler. See also ocd “Theon” 4 (Toomer) and re “Theon” 15 (Ziegler). Later,
in the fifth to seventh centuries, there is literary and archaeological evidence for an
educational institution that was called the Precinct of the Muses (see McKenzie 2007: 209–
220 and Rea 2014: 149–153).
483 Casaubon, Isaac. 1587. Strabonis rerum geographicarum libri xvii. [Geneva]: Eustathius
Vignon Artebat.

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 11.4 299

11.3 It was part of the court, and its chief features were places to work and
exercise, and a place for the scholars there to eat together at public
expense.

Philostratus/Philostratus: A third-century ad author who wrote, among other

things, a Lives of the Sophists about the period he called the “Second Sophis-
tic.”484

Dionysio/Dionysius: This is Dionysius of Miletus,485 a traveling lecturer and

figure in the so-called Second Sophistic.

11.4 The large number of scholars (clear from many sources) must have
been an expensive undertaking.

Timon Sillographus/Timon the Satirist: Timon of Phlius was a Skeptic who

lived c. 320–230bc.486 His hexameter Silloi ridiculed various philosophers.

Athenæo/Athenaeus: See 2.2n. Athenæo.

Philosophos/philosophers: Athenaeus was familiar with the scholarship of

Alexandria, and so it would be natural if he meant “philosophers” to refer
to the men engaged in philological activity in general, and not philosophy
specifically.487 However, we know from inscriptions and papyri that many
non-scholars were granted the privilege of “eating at the Museum and not
paying taxes” in the first three centuries ad.488 These men were also called
“philosophers,” which appears to be part of the set honorific describing the
privilege: “one of the philosophers who eat at the Museum and not do not pay
taxes” (τῶν ἐν τῷ Μουσείῳ σιτουμένων φιλοσόφων ἀτελῶν). That is not to say that
they had no literary talent or pretensions. Increasingly during the High Empire,
literary ability was seen as an integral part of elite status. It is unsurprising then,

484 ocd “Philostrati” (Edwards, Browning, Anderson, and Bowie); Bowie and Elsner 2009.
485 re “Dionysios” 126 (Schmid), pir2 d 105.
486 ocd “Timon (2) of Phlius” (Striker), hgl 2.84–87 (Meyer), and re “Timon” 13 (Nestle). See
also Clayman 2009; fragments in Di Marco.
487 There might have been some philosophical activity there too, at least at a later period, see
Di Marco’s commentary on Timon fr.12 (1989: 141–142).
488 For a list see Lewis 1963 and Fraser 1972: 2.470–471.

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300 commentary on the de bibliothecis 11.4

that literary honors were among the package of awards available even to those
elites whose primary accomplishments were not literary.

Strabo/Strabo: A careless mistake by Lipsius; it was Philostratus who had called

the men ἐλλογίμους (above db 11.3). Strabo had referred to them as φιλολόγων
ἀνδρῶν (above db 11.2).

omne genus/Every sort: Nelles has suggested that this “every sort” should be
taken as a reference to different philosophical sects, which would, by exten-
sion, be a prescription that a Museum should be non-sectarian.489 Lipsius is
certainly critical of Christian interference with scholarship (see, e.g., db 2.11,
db 6.8, and Introduction §4.2). On the other hand, in the context of the pas-
sage, the “every sort” appears to be not about different philosophical sects, but
rather different types of scholars (both philosophers and men of letters more
broadly). It may be that Lipsius has in mind scholars of the humanities, as
opposed to those of theology, law, and medicine. He spells out this desire in
greater detail in a letter to Federico Borromeo, in which he advises Borromeo
on what kind of men to admit to his new Collegium:490

And yet for your institute, although those grand fields of Theology, Juris-
prudence, and Medicine would seem to be the most important, I would
choose few from the first two and none from the last. They already receive
grand enough remuneration and respect, and get plenty of encourage-
ment. The same cannot be said for the study of languages and literature,
nor of Philosophy. They truly are food for the soul, and they provide fun-
damental assistance for, or perhaps I should say the foundation of, those
grand fields. Those are the fields that I would urge you to take a good look
at. They are neglected elsewhere, and what will be the outcome? Barbar-
ity and darkness.

Atqui huic rei, etsi grandiores illæ scientiæ principatum tenere videantur,
Theologia, Iurisprudentia, Medicina: tamen paucos e prioribus eligam,
nullos ex vltima, quia vulgo satis grande pretium vel æstimatio iis est,
et commodis excitantur. At non idem in linguarum litterarumque scien-
tia, non item Philosophiæ, quarum artium, quæ vere pabula animorum
sunt, et grauiorum item illarum adiumenta vel fundamenta, suadeam

489 Nelles 1994: 148 and 1996: 233–234; see also Baldi 2013: 90–91.
490 Cent. misc. v epist. 88, Dec. 23, 1605 (= Ferro 2005: 347–348).

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 11.6 301

rationem et adspectum maxime te habere. Negliguntur passim: et quis

exitus erit? Barbaries et tenebræ.

11.5 The Museum was not a school to teach youths, but a place for well-
deserving scholars to work in peace.

Prytanéo/Prytaneum: There were prytanea in many Greek cities, although the

best-known one was at Athens. A prytaneum housed the hearth of Hestia, the
symbolic hearth of the city. The prytaneum was also a place where foreign digni-
taries and certain outstanding citizens were invited to eat at public expense.491
Lipsius’s phrasing suggests that he has in mind Cicero’s explanation of the
Athenian prytaneum in De orat. 1.232. Plutarch had also described the library
of Lucullus as a prytaneum at Luc. 42, which Lipsius quoted at db 5.2 (although
Lipsius left out the part about the prytaneum).

11.6 Strabo also writes of a priest in charge of the Museum, appointed by the
king or by Caesar.

Strabo/Strabo: See 2.1n. Strabo.

Sacerdotem/priest: In Book 3 Ch. 1 of Lipsius’s 1605 Louanium (= Papy 2000),

one the interlocutors refers to Lipsius himself as the University’s sacerdos of
Muse and Minerva.
Just as scholarship on the library of Alexandria has taken a radical shift
towards skepticism (or away from credulity), so has scholarship on the priest
of the Museum.492 Until recently, scholars had a fairly well established list of
the heads of the library, and these men were also assumed to have been the
priests of the Museum:493 Zenodotus of Ephesus (c. 285–270bc), Apollonius
Rhodius (c. 270–245bc), Eratosthenes of Cyrene (c. 245–204/01bc), Aristo-
phanes of Byzantium (c. 204/01–189/86bc), Apollonius the eidographos (c. 189/

491 On prytanea in the Greek world, see Miller 1978.

492 The change in scholarship is largely the work of Bagnall 2002 and Johnstone 2014 (see also
2n. cap. ii), to which I am also making some contribution (Hendrickson 2016). Murray
(2012) provides a major re-thinking of the evidence for the heads of the library.
493 For a traditional account of the head librarians, see Fraser 1972: 1.330–334. The dates here
are from Fraser 1972: 1.316 and 1.333.

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302 commentary on the de bibliothecis 11.6

86–175 bc), and Aristarchus of Samothrace (c. 175–145bc), and Cydas “from the
spearmen” (ἐκ τῶν λογχοφ[ό]ρων). Some would also list Demetrius of Phalerum
and Callimachus as heads of the library.
This list is essentially a composite of three sources: the Suda, John Tzetzes,
and most importantly a second-century ad papyrus (P.Oxy. 1241) containing
a list that has usually been seen as a list of head librarians in the Ptolemaic
period.494 Murray (2012), however, has shown that the list on the papyrus is
faulty in the extreme, and in any case is just a list of grammarians associated
with Alexandria rather than a list of the heads of the library. The Suda and John
Tzetzes are very late (tenth and twelfth centuries, respectively), and they give a
host of contradictory information on the matter. Moreover, no source records
the figures on the list as being priests of the Museum. The words to describe
them vary. The papyrus simply says that each one “succeeded” (δ[ι]εδέξατο)
the others. The Suda reports that Zenodotus “was in charge of the library
in Alexandria” (τῶν ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ βιβλιοθηκῶν προὔστη, ζ 74 Adler) and that
of Apollonius Rhodius was a successor “in being in charge of the library in
Alexandria” (ἐν τῇ προστασίᾳ τῆς ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ βιβλιοθήκης, α 3419 Adler). John
Tzetzes also mentions an order of “succession in office” (p. 33 Koster), and in
addition he uses the word “librarian” (βιβλιοφύλαξ, p. 22 Koster). Strabo is in
fact the only source to mention a priest.
There is contemporary evidence for two heads of the library and museum
later in the Ptolemaic period. An inscription from 166–145 bc names a certain
Chrysermus as “manager of the Museum” (ἐπιστάτην τοῦ Μουσείου).495 In 88 bc,
another inscription notes an Onesander of Paphos, “in charge of the Great
Library in Alexandria” (τεταγμένον δε [ἐπὶ τῆς ἐν Ἀ]λεξανδρείᾳ μεγάλης βυβλιοθή-
κης).496 In the Roman period, an inscription records Tiberius Claudius Balbillus
as being supra mu[s]eu[m] e[t ab Alexandri]na bybliothece (ae 1924 no. 78).497
Balbillus had served Claudius as praefectus fabrum and served Nero as pre-
fect of Egypt. We also hear of Julius Vestinus, “manager of the Museum, and
head of the Greek and Latin libraries of Rome.”498 Vestinus also held the posts
of a studiis and ab epistulis Graecis under Hadrian. The Suda notes that Vesti-
nus authored a handful of lexicographical works, but little else is known about

494 For more on this papyrus, see also Van Rossum-Steenbeek 1998: 137–139, 322–327.
495 ogis 104 (= Samama no. 111).
496 ogis 172 (= Mitford no. 110).
497 ocd “Claudius (re 82 and Suppl. v) Balbillus, Tiberius” (Scullard and Levick), pir2 c 813,
Pflaum 1960: 1.34–41 (no. 15).
498 ig 14.1085 (= ogis 679): ἐπιστάτῃ τοῦ Μουσείου καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἐν Ῥώμῃ βιβλιοθηκῶν Ῥωμαικῶν
τε καὶ Ἑλληνικῶν.

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commentary on the de bibliothecis 11.8 303

him.499 Vestinus is one of several men whom we know to have been in charge
of the libraries in Rome, and we can only speculate whether the others were
also head of the Museum and the library in Alexandria.500

11.7 In fact, all of the scholars there were appointed by Caesar himself.

Philostratus/Philostratus: See 11.3n. Philostratus.

Dionysio/Dionysius: See 11.3n. Dionysio.

Satrapam siue Præfectum/satrap or executive: An inscription describes Diony-

sius as an ἐπίτροπος τοῦ Σεβαστοῦ, an imperial procurator (IEphesos vii.1
no. 3047).501 Imperial procurators served in numerous roles, including as gov-
ernors of minor provinces.

de Polemone/about Polemo: Marcus Antonius Polemo, c. ad 88–144.502 He was

a major figure in the so-called Second Sophistic. He gave declamations (two
survive) and also wrote a book on physiognomy.

Hadrianus/Hadrian: See 8.1n. Hadrianus Imp.

11.8 Appointments to the Museum were set in advance.

Athenæus/Athenaeus: See 2.2n. Athenæo.

Pancratem/Pancrates: Pancrates was a poet of Alexandria in the time of Ha-

drian.503 Lipsius abridges the story considerably from Athenaeus. Pancrates

499 Suda ο 835 Adler. For more on Vestinus see Bowie 2013: 253–255, pir2 i 623, and Pflaum
1960: 1.245–247 (no. 105).
500 On those in charge of the libraries in Rome, see above 2.6n. custodem and Bowie 2013:
244–260.
501 Civiletti (2002: 463) points out a different inscription that mentions a man “from the
procurators who eat in the Museum” (ἀπὸ τῶν ἐπιτρόπων τῶν ἐν Μουσείῳ σειτουμένων),
which can be found at Lemerle 1935: 131.
502 ocd “Polemon” 4 (Russel), re “Polemon” 10 (Stegemann), pir2 a 862, and Gleason 1995:
21–54. Declamations in Reader 1996; physiognomy in Swain 2007.
503 re “Pankrates” 5 (Stoessl); fragments at Heitsch 1961: 51–55.

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304 commentary on the de bibliothecis 11.9

proposed naming a flower after Hadrian’s young lover, Antinous. It is the idea of
naming the flower after Antinous that delighted Hadrian. Pancrates wanted to
name the flower, which was red, after Antinous in honor of the blood of a lion
that Hadrian had recently killed. Even Athenaeus’s story leaves out a crucial
detail, that Pancrates presented the idea in the form of a poem, which gives
more of a justification for the inclusion of Pancrates in the Museum.504

Hadriano/Hadrian: See 8.1n. Hadrianus Imp.

11.9 Life at the Museum was not idle, but rather full of scholarly activity.

Strabo/Strabo: See 2.1n. Strabo.

Spartianus/Spartianus: One of the writers of the sha (see 7.2n. Vopisco). This
story may be true, but may be inspired by remarks in Suetonius (Tib. 70.3) about
Tiberius, who also liked to quiz grammarians.

Hadrianum/Hadrian: See 8.1n. Hadrianus Imp.

Suetonium/Suetonius: See 5.4n. Suetonius.

altero addito/adding a second one: In Lipsius’s paraphrase, he leaves out that

this new Museum was named after Claudius.

certi libri/certain books: As it happens, these “certain books” are the books
that Claudius himself had written, as Suetonius makes clear. They include eight
books of Carthaginian history and twenty of Etruscan history, both in Greek
(Suet. Claud. 42.2). Claudius had also written books on recent Roman history, in
addition to an autobiography in eight books and a defense of Cicero in response
to Asinius Gallus (Suet. Claud. 41). This passage of Suetonius suggests both the
new and the old Museums could function “just like a recitation hall” (uelut in
auditorio). The Carthaginian history was to be read in one Museum and the
Etruscan history in the other, both on fixed days each year.

504 About 40 lines of the poem survive on papyrus, see Heitsch 1961: 52–54.

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Index of Manuscripts

Arch. Cap. S. Pietro g 10 (Vatican) 21n62 Par. Lat. 10318 293

Bibl. Nacional (Madrid) ms. Bb-222 51n117 Vat. Lat. 3321 31n88
Bibl. Nacional (Madrid) ms. 9525 51n117 Vat. Lat. 3327 31n88
Bibl. Nacional (Madrid) ms. 17568 51n117 Vat. Lat. 3394 31, 266n380
Bibl. Univ. Salamanca ms. 453 51n117 Vat. Lat. 3439 32, 233n266, 238, 245
Vat. Lat. 6110 21n62
Chigi g iii 74 (Vatican) 21n62 Vat. Lat. 6115 21n62
Vat. Lat. 6237 21n62
Leiden Univ. ms. Lips. 59 41n97 Vat. Lat. 6781 21n62
Vat. Lat. 7010 21n62

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Index of Inscriptions and Papyri

ae 6.8907 248n320
1924 no. 78 302 6.9446 263
1953 no. 73 231 6.9454 (= ils 7769) 271n400
6.41266 (= ae 1960 no. 26)
cil 254
5.5262 (= ils 2927) 267n382, 270n391 14.196 (= ils 1590) 248n319
6.963 (= cil 6.964 = ilmn 1.635) 14.5352 263
248n321
6.1034 239 Hesperia
6.2126 (= ils 2932) 202 1935 pp. 330–332 205n163
6.2132 225n234 1946 p. 233 205n163
6.2347 (= cil 6.4431 = ils 1971)
241n299, 248n319 IEphesus
6.2348 (= ils 1972) 241n299 vii.1 no. 3047 303
6.2349 (= cil 6.5192 = ils 1970)
241n299 ogis
6.4433 241n299 104 (= Samama no. 111) 302n495
6.4435 241n299 172 (= Mitford no. 110) 302n496
6.5188 (= ils 1589) 250n329 679 (= ig 14.1085) 302n498
6.5189 250n329
6.5191 250n329 P.Oxy.
6.5884 31, 98–99, 249 412 266
*6.3047 (= ilmn 1.641) 31, 98–99, 249–250 1241 302
6.8679 248n319, 275n416 2435 243n303
6.8744 248n319

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Index of Ancient Authors and Works

This index lists the passages cited in the Introduction and the Commentary. The passages cited
in the db itself are listed on Table 5.1 (pages 33–38).

Aelian 12.515e 9
Nat. Anim. 10.42 223n222 12.540e 202
15.694a 9
Aelius Dionysius
Att. Lex. ο 4 Erbse 171 Augustine
Contra Cresc. 3.75.87 274
Ammianus Marcellinus De diuinatione daemonorum 1 (pl 40.581)
Res gestae 200
22.16.12–13 195n125
22.26.15 198 Augustus
23.3.3 246 Res Gestae 19 235

Anthologia Latina Aurelius Victor

128 Shackleton Bailey Caes.
294 9.7 257n351
147 Shackleton Bailey 14.3 170
42n102, 284 Epit. 8.8 257n351

Aphthonius Callimachus
Progymnasmata 12 194 Pinakes
fr. 429–453 Pfeiffer 7–8
Apuleius fr. 429 Pfeiffer 7n23
Apol. 91 225n237, 270n397 fr. 433 Pfeiffer 8
Flor. 18.34.32 225n236, 270n396 fr. 434 Pfeiffer 8
fr. 437 Pfeiffer 7n22
Aristaeus (pseudo)
Ad Phil. 9–11 187 Cassius Dio
Hist.
Aristophanes 42.38 191
pcg iii.2 fr. 47 171 49.15.5 246n313
Ran. 943 and 1409 203 53.1.3 246
54.26.1 242
Aristotle 55.8.1 238
fr. 214 Rose 269 56.46.3 251n331
57.10.2 251n331
Athenaeus 58.9.3 243n303
Deip. 59.7.1 251n332
1.3a–b 210 62.18.2 251
5.184c 298n480 65.15.1 257n351
5.203e 297n476 66.24.1–2 233, 239
5.214d 209n170, 210n175 68.16.3 262
5.214e 211 72.24.1–2 259n360
8.336e 8n26 73.17 170n26

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index of ancient authors and works 323

Cicero 3.137 204n155

Ad Att. Hortensius fr. 2, 8, 10–15, 21 Grilli
1.3.2 229n251 228n246
1.4.3 223n224, 229n251 In Verr. 2.4.119 251
1.6.2 229n251 Leg. 2.1.3 229n252
1.7 223n224, 229n250, Phil. 2.21 174n43
229n251 Top. 1.1 225n234
1.10 223n224, 229n250,
229n251 Codex Theodosianus
1.11.3 223n224, 229n250, 14.9.2 211, 212
229n251
1.13.1 18n53, 286n444 Columella
1.16.15 18n53, 286n444 Rust. 8.8.3, 8.9.3, 9.12.2 284
1.16.18 18n53, 286n444
1.20.7 223n225 Digesta
2.1.12 223n225 18.1.50 173n33
2.4 224n231, 229n252 30.41.9 173n33, 276
2.20.6 224n231 32.52.1 222
2.22.7 224n231 32.52.3 173n33
4.4a.1 210n178, 224n230 32.52.7 172–173
4.5 224n230, 225n234 33.7.12.34 173n33
4.8.2 210n178, 224n230, 285
4.16.8 233 [Dio Chrysostom]
6.3.10 224n231 Orat. 37.8 270n393
8.11.7 224n231
12.6.2 224n231 Diodorus Siculus
13.4.3 224n231 Bibl. 1.49.3 176–178
13.8 224n231
13.32.2 224n231 Diogenes Laertius
13.39.2 224n231 Vit. Phil.
13.48.2 224n231 pref. 2 180
Ad Fam. 4.1 297
5.11.3 224n227 4.19 297
5.9.2 224n227 5.11–16 185, 208
7.23 225n234 5.51–57 185, 187, 297
7.28 225n234 5.61–64 185
9.4 224, 225n234 5.69–74 185
13.77.3 224n227 10.16–21 185
16.18.3 224n226
16.20 224n226 Dionysius of Halicarnassus
Ad q Fr. Ad Amm. 4 8n26
3.4.5 210n178, 224n228 De Dinarch.
3.5.6 210n178, 224n228 1 8n26
De diu. 2.8 225n234, 229n252 11 8n26
De fin.
3.2 225n234 Epiphanius
3.7–10 228 De pond. et mens.
De orat. 9 182–183
1.232 301 11 194

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Erasmus 14.66 Kühn 259n360

Adagia 3102 Hoven 170–171 14.620 Kühn 259n356
15.105 and 109 Kühn 217n202
Eunapius 15.490 Kühn 24n69
Vit. Soph. 6.11 200 17a.606 Kühn 191, 217
17a.607–608 Kühn 217
Eusebius 19.8–9 Kühn 259n356
Chron. 19.19 Kühn 259n360
p. 126 Helm 205 19.21–22 Kühn 259
p. 129 Helm 186 De ind.
p. 209 Helm 265 13 224n232, 244
p. 282 Helm 206n164 18–19 255, 259n360
Hist. eccl. 5.8.11 182n74 21 223
Praep. euang. 8.2–5 190
Gellius, Aulus
Eustathius na
Ad Il. 3.1.1 266, 275
267.2 (= 407.24 Van der Valk i) 3.10.17 224
179n61 5.4.1 174n42
1163.43 (= 257.19 Van der Valk i) 5.21.9–15 260
171n29 7.17 12n38, 204
Ad Odyss. 8.14.1 259n356
1379.62–66 (= 2.25–29 Stallbaum i) 9.14.3 267
179–180 13.25 234n270
1738.53–54 (= 46.10–11 Stallbaum i) 13.20.1 254
171n29 13.20.17 254
13.31.1 174n42
Festus 16.8.2 263
De uerb. sign. 18.9 270n394
p. 31 Lindsay 173 19.5.4 263, 267
p. 108 Lindsay 235
p. 188 Lindsay 242 Gloss. Lat. v
p. 277 Lindsay 232 p. 163.15 283
p. 446 Lindsay 237n282 p. 501.34 283
p. 490 Lindsay 174n38
Granius Licinianus 28.35–36
Filaster 232
De Haer. 142.7–8 (pl 12.1278)
195n125 Herodian
Hist. 1.14.2 259n360
Florus
Epit. Liu. 2.13.59 192 Herodotus
Hist.
Fronto 2.99.4 180
Ad M. Caes. 4.5 244n305, 254 5.58 218

Galen Hero(n)das
8.495 Kühn 259n357 Mim.
13.362 Kühn 246, 259n360, 260 1.31 296

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Horace Julius Paulus

Epist. Sent. 3.6.51 31, 173n33
1.13.15–20 244n304, 252
2.1.214–218 244n304 Julius Pollux
2.2.92–105 243n303 Onomast. 7.211 174n39
Serm. 1.10.38 237n283
Schol. on Serm. 1.10.38 243n303 Justinus
Schol. on Ars 354 10n33 Epit. 38.8.3 298n480
Schol. on Epist. 1.3.17 245n307
Porph. on Epist. 2.2.94 170n26 Juvenal
Schol. on Ep. 2.2.90 237n283 Schol. ad 1.128 244n306
Sat.
Irenaeus 2.7 42n102, 284
Adu. haer. 3.21.2 182n74, 225n236 7.36–37 243n303

Isidore of Seville Livy

Etym. 24.16.19 235
6.1–3 171 25.7.12 232
6.1–19 12–14, 15, 204n156 27.37.7 237n282
6.3.1 174 43.16.3 232
6.5.2 225n238
8.7.1 10n33 Lucan
18.2.3 10n33 bc 10.498–505 192
18.6.8 10n33
Lucian
Jerome Adu. ind.
Epist. 2 224n232
33.2 9n29 4 230n254
34 204n156 24 224n232
66.9 170n26
In Gal. 3pr. 170n26 Malchus
fr. 11 Blockley 211
John Chrysostom
Adu. Iud. 1.6 (pg 48.851) 195n125 Martial
De orat. (pg 62.737) 178n58 Ep.
1.2.2 44n108
John of Nikiu 1.2.5 175
Chron. 78.45 and 83.38 200 1.2.8 259n356
1.117.15 277
Josephus 4.64 277
Ant. Iud. 12.12–118 190 5.5 244n304
Bell. Iud. 7.17 225n234, 276
2.82 243n303 9.pr. 225n234, 287
7.5.7 257n351 10.99 289
12.pr. 225n236
Julius Caesar 14.186 289
bc 3.111 192 14.188 44n108
14.190 225n234

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Nepos 35.11 18n53, 286n444

Att. 35.23–34 233n269
13.3–4 224 35.114 238n290, 238n292
18.5–6 18n53, 286n444 35.131 251
35.139 238n292
Orosius 36.13 245n310
Hist. adu. pag. 6.15.31 192, 195 36.15 238n292
36.22 238n290, 238n292
Ovid 36.24 238n292, 245n310
Trist. 36.25 245n310
2.207 247 36.28 238n290, 238n292
3.1.59–72 244n304, 245n310, 36.29 238n290, 238n292
247 36.31 245n310
36.35 42n99, 238n289, 243
Pausanias 36.42–43 238n289, 243
Periegesis 1.18.9 41 36.189 42n101, 281
37.11 245n310
Petronius
Sat. 48.4 225n234 Pliny the Younger
Epist.
Philo of Alexandria 1.8 225n236, 267n382,
De Mos. 2.37–44 186 270n391
1.13.3 243n303
Photius 2.17 276
Bibliotheca cod. 190 180n66 3.5.5 222n218
Lexicon s.v. ὁδοῦ 171 4.28 10n34, 225n234
5.6 276
Plato 9.7 276
Tim. 77c 224n232 10.81.7 225n236, 262,
270n392
[Plato]
Hipparch. 228b–c 204 Plutarch
Aem. Paul. 28 227
Pliny the Elder Ant. 58 196, 216, 217
hn Cic. 27 230n255
7.115 9, 225n238 Luc.
7.210 225n236 39 168, 228
8.65 242 39–42 227
13.69–70 9, 18–19, 217, 218, 42 167, 168, 197, 301
225n236 Moralia
13.74–82 217 205c 230n255
25.5–7 228 1095d 182n73
34.14 245n310 Sulla 26 185, 210n174, 230n254
34.19 237n283 Thes. 20 204n155
34.31 238n292 Tib. Gracch. 1.1 235, 236
34.43 263
34.84 259 Polybius
35.7 173–174 18.35.4–5 227
35.10 225n238

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Propertius Sozomen
2.31.1–4 245n310, 247 Hist. eccl. 7.15.3 198

Quintilian Statius
Inst. orat. 1.7.2–3 56n130 Siluae 1.5.42 281

Rufinus Stephanus of Byz.

Hist. eccl. 2.22 199 Ethnika s.v. Ἐρυθραί 179n61

Scribonius Largus Strabo

Comp. 97 225n237 Geog.
12.3.16 209
Seneca the Elder 13.1.54 185, 209–210, 230n254
Contr. 4.pr.2 233 14.1.16 202
14.1.37 270n395
Seneca the Younger 17.1.8 187, 197, 216
Epist. 86.6 42n101 17.1.10 195, 197
Tranq.
9.4–7 15, 28 Suda
9.4 225n234 α 1895 Adler 271
9.5 175–176, 191, 192, α 3419 Adler 302
296 α 3936 Adler 217, 219n209
9.7 225n234, 287 δ 52 Adler 11n35
ε 3801 Adler 214, 289
sha (Scriptores Historiae Augustae) ζ 74 Adler 302
Alex. Seu. 35.2 170n26 θ 205 Adler 298n482
Aur. 1.7, 1.10, 8.1, 24.7 262n369, 263 κ 227 Adler 7n21, 296n474
Car. τ 1184 Adler 42n100, 271
11.1–2 291 μ 120 Adler 211
11.3 262n369, 263 ο 48 Adler 171
Gord. ο 835 Adler 303n499
3.4 170n26
18.2 15 Suetonius
Firm. 3.2 42n101, 281 dgr 21 225n236
Pert. 11.3 170n26 Iul.
Prob. 2.1 254, 262n369, 263 44 9, 218, 225n238, 231
Tac. 8.1 262n369, 263 56 192, 225n236
Trig. Tyr. 31.10 259 Aug.
29 225n236, 236,
Sidonius Apollinaris 243n303
Epist. 31 246, 283
2.9.4 170n26 72 268
4.5.8 170n26 82 268
9.9.13 170n26 85 253
9.14.2 170n26, 284 Tib.
Poems 70 225n237, 254,
7 292 304
8.7–10 292 74 251
Calig. 21 251n332

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328 index of ancient authors and works

Claud. p. 32 Koster 188, 194n124, 221

41 304 p. 33 Koster 204n156, 302
42 297, 304
Vesp. 9 257n351 Valerius Maximus
Dom. Fact. ac dict.
1 265 1.8.ext.19 213
5 265 3.7.11 236
20 225n236, 239, 251
Varro
Tacitus De bibl. (grf pp. 182, 208–209)
Ann. 9, 218, 231
2.37 243n303, 245n308 Rust. 2.1.2 229
2.83 245n309, 290n457
11.1–3 228 Vegetius
15.39 251 Mulom. 2.32 284
Dial. 21 225n236
Hist. 3.69–71 233 Velleius Paterculus
1.11.3 238, 243
Tertullian 2.81.3 246n313
Apol.
4.8 197n131 Virgil
18 195, 204n156 Scholia Veronensia ad Aen. 10.738
19.1 197n133 179n62
Fug. 2.6 279n427 Servius on Ecl. 4.10 245n307
Iud. 1.3 279n427
Marc. iv 25.11 279n427 Vitruvius
Paen. 4.3 279n427 De arch.
Praescr. 8.9 279n427 1.2.7 225n234
5.6 284
Themistius 6.4.1 225n234
Or. 4.59c–60c 211, 212 6.5.2 225n234
6.7.3 225n234
Theodoret of Cyrus 7.pr.4 217, 219, 220, 225n236
Hist. eccl. 5.22 200 7.pr.7 225n236
10.9.2 284
Tzetzes, John 10.10.3 284
Prol. comm.
p. 22 Koster 302 Zosimus
p. 30 Koster 204n156, 302 Hist. nou. 3.11.3 211, 212

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General Index

a bibliotheca (library staff) 18, 241, 248–250, Egyptian 201

263 Mader/Schmidt De bibliothecis atque
a bibliothecis (library director) 231, 249, 254 archiuis 21n62, 41, 165
academy 62, 169, 183, 187, 223, 229, 297 Argiletum 259n356
Accius 236 armarium 66, 118–119, 284, 285
Accorso, Mariangelo 195 Aristaeus (pseudo) 182, 187, 190
Aelian 84–85, 218–219 Aristarchus of Samothrace 220n209, 297,
Aelius Dionysius 171 302
Aelius Praeconinus Aristonicus of Rhodes 209
see Aelius Stilo Aristophanes (comic playwright) 171
Aelius Stilo 102–103, 259 Aristophanes of Byzantium 219, 220, 297,
Aemilius Paullus 13, 88–89, 211, 223, 227, 240 301–302
Aeschylus 217 Aristotle 200–201, 203
Albertini, Francesco 15n41, 16n46, 51, 227 extant corpus 209
Alcman 202 influence on Library of Alexandria 70–
Alexandria, Library of 70–77, 106–107, 181– 71, 183–185, 187
200 library of 80–81, 183–185, 208–210,
confusion with Serapeum 181, 195–196 230
destruction 74–77, 191–193 on the list of Athenaeus 78–79
influence of Aristotle 70–71, 184–185, 187 pinakes of 8
number of books 72–75, 188–191, 221 Artemon of Cassandreia 8
Alfonso of Aragon 281 Asclepieion library 214
Ambrosiana Library 28, 165, 286, 294–295, Asinius Pollio 9, 120–121, 232–234, 241
300 Assurbanipal 172
Ammianus Marcellinus 191, 195–196, 198 Athenaeum 62, 118, 170, 284
Anacreon 202, 204 Athenaeus 183, 184, 200, 202
ancestor masks 288 Casaubon’s edition 204, 208
Angelica Library 281 list of famous library-owners 78–81, 202–
Ansidei, Baldassarre 23 203
ante-diluvian libraries 17, 29, 171 Atrium of Liberty library 90–93, 232–237
Antinous 132–133, 304 depicted on fur 32, 233
Antioch, public library 214, 289 fresco of 23, 232
Antiochus (library worker) 98–99, 249 relation to Trajan’s Library 262
antiquarian 5, 14–15, 16, 39, 259 Attalid library
Antium 210, 223, 255–256, 276 see Pergamene Library
Antony, Mark 76–77, 86–87, 196, 213, 221, 224 Atticus, T. Pomponius 18, 122–123, 224, 229,
Apellicon of Teos 80–81, 202, 208, 209, 211, 244, 290
230, 241 Augustus (emperor) 86–87, 90–91, 94–101,
ἁπλόος 221 253
Apollonius of Rhodes 297, 301–302 Aurelian (emperor) 198
ἀποθήκη βιβλίων 174, 246, 256 Aventine Hill 90–91, 235, 237
Arce, Diego de 51–52
archives Baldi, Diego, translation of the db 3, 51, 52
Athenian 201, 210 Barbaro, Ermolao 19n56, 219
distinction from library 19, 172, 173, 174, Baronius, Caesar 20–21, 23n65, 197
233 Basiliscus (emperor) 212

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Baths of Caracalla 275 Capitolinus

Baths of Diocletian 104–105, 112–113, 264, see sha
275 Caracalla (emperor) 239, 273
Baths of Titus 275 Cardon, Horatius 42, 44
Baths of Trajan 275 Cardona, Juan Bautista 20n62, 52
Belides Carthage library 270
see Danaids Casaubon, Isaac 38, 204, 208, 236, 298
bibliography 7, 10, 23, 50 see also Athenaeus and Strabo
βιβλίον 221 Cassiodorus 12
bibliophilia 10, 15–16, 209 Cassius Dio 38, 191, 192–193, 212, 240
bibliotheca 19, 66, 172–175, 216–217, 225 (and Catius, Titus 290
passim) Cato the Younger 254
βιβλιοθήκη 174 cedar oil 9, 282
Bibliotheca Ambrosiana Cedrenus, George 188, 211, 213
see Ambrosiana Library Celsus Library 262, 288
Bibliotheca Angelica Cesena library 292n466
see Angelica Library Charisius 9
Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana Charles of Croÿ 26–28, 40, 42, 60–63, 164–
see Vatican Library 170, 229
Bibliotheca Laurentiana Chrysermus 302
see Laurentian Library Chrysippus 122–123, 289
Bibliotheca Paulli 227 Cicero, Marcus Tullius 169, 210, 223, 228, 229,
Bibliotheca Ulpia 230
see Trajan’s Library Cicero, Quintus Tullius 224
Bodleian Library 286 Claudian 262, 291
Boethius 280 Claudius (emperor) 134–135, 304
book forgery Claudius Balbillus, Tib. 302
see forgery Cleanthes 124–125, 292
books as plunder 90–91, 94–95, 211, 227–228, Clearchus 214
234, 240–241 Cleopatra 76–77, 86–87, 196, 213
books, Atticinian, Callinian, and Peducinian Codex Salamasius 293, 294
244, 282 coins 18, 60–61, 166
books, destruction by fire 74–75, 98–101, collegium poetarum 236–237, 238
104–105, 252 Comum library 267, 270, 276
book theft 19, 191, 217, 224 Constantinople library 24n67, 80–83, 211–
book trade 259n356 213
Borromeo, Federico 28, 165, 294–295, 300 Constantius ii (emperor) 211
Bracciolini, Poggio 178–179 Coornhert, Theodore 30, 199
Brassanicus, Johannes Alexander 15n41 Cornelius Nepos 122–123, 290
Brucheum 198, 298 Cornelius Valerius 165
Buda library 23 Cosmas and Damian (church in Rome)
233n266, 258
Cabbala 17 cuneus 118–119, 284
Caesarea 13, 22, 267 Curiosum
Callimachus 6–8, 194, 271, 290, 296, 297, see Regionary catalogs
302
Calvinism 4, 5 Dacier, André 38, 235
Capitoline Hill 233 Daléchamps, Jacques 204n157
Capitoline Library 104–107, 264–265 Damophilus of Bithynia 10–11

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Dana, John Cotton 2, 50, 52 Falyx

Danaids 96–97, 245 see Julius Falyx
Decembrio, Angelo 14n Farnese, Alessandro (cardinal) 4, 18, 20, 32,
Demetrius of Phalerum 22, 72–73, 182, 186– 256
188, 199, 302 Festus 38, 173
Demosthenes 202 Figrelius, Emundus 205n160, 286
Didius Julianus (emperor) 11 Flaccius, Matthias (Illyricus) 19–20
Dio Chrysostom 262, 270 Flavia Melitine 214, 223, 271
Diodorus Siculus 179 Fontana, Domenico 22–23, 176
Dionysius of Miletus 130–133, 299, 303 forgery 31, 217, 218
Dionysius Thrax 210 foruli 118–119, 283
Domitian (emperor) 245 Forum of Caesar 233
founder of Capitoline library 106–107 Forum of Trajan 233
founder of Temple of Peace library 258 Forum Romanum 233
patron of libraries 265 Fronto 254
Domus Tiberiana Fulvio, Andrea 15n41, 16n46, 227
see Tiberian House library fur
Dosio, Giovanni Antonio 32, 233n266, 238, see Severan Marble Plan
245
Galen 191, 260
ecclesiastical history 19–22, 30, 190, 199–200, Gavius Bassus 263
267 Gellius, Aulus 190–191
Egyptian libraries 26–27, 66–69, 171–180 Germanicus 245
of Ozymandias 66–67, 176–180 Giovio, Paolo 294
of Tebtunis 178 Gordian the Younger (emperor) 15, 110–111,
see also Alexandria, Library of 273
see also Serapeum Grapaldi, Francesco 16n47, 175, 278, 286
elephantinus (liber) 116, 283 Gregorio, Pedro 51–52
Epaphroditus 108–109, 271, 272 Gregory, the Great (pope) 30, 98–99, 252
Ephesus 262, 271 Guilandinus, Melchior 18–19, 38, 173, 175, 182,
Epictetus 110–111, 272 184, 218, 219, 283
Epicurus/Epicureanism 166, 185, 201, gymnasium (Greek) 169, 183–184, 201, 203,
292n467 228, 285
epigraphy gymnasium libraries 201, 205, 213, 216, 275
see inscriptions
Epiphanius 182, 186, 194, 198 Hadrian (emperor) 108–109, 132–135, 170,
Erasmus 166, 170–171 270, 304
Eratosthenes 297, 301–302 Hadrian’s library (Athens) 41, 206–207, 271
Escorial Library 280 Hadrian’s Villa library 270
Euclid 78–81, 203, 206–208 Hebrew books/libraries 13, 14, 17, 21, 22, 29,
Eumenes i (king) 219 70–73, 76–77, 171
Eumenes ii (king) 84–85, 216 Hecataeus of Abdera 176–179
Euphorion 214, 289 Heraclea Pontica library 214
Euripides 78–79, 203, 217 Hercules of the Muses (temple) 237
Eusebius 19, 21, 22, 186, 199, 265 Hercules Victor library 108–109, 263, 267–
Eustathius 171 269
Euthydemus 202 Herennius Philo
Ezra 13, 17, 22 see Philo of Byblos
Herennius Severus 10n34, 122–123, 290

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Heuria Lange, Johann 15n, 17n49, 17n50, 168

see Heverlee Laurentian Library 284, 292–293
Heverlee 26, 60–63, 164, 167 Leiden 5, 30
Hirtius, Aulus 74–75, 192 Leto, Pomponio 15, 31–32, 266
Homer 27, 171, 181, 203, 271, 288 Leuven 4–5, 30, 62–63, 164, 165, 169
copied out on snakeskin 82–83 liber 64, 66, 222
edited by Pisistratus 78–79 libraria 66, 174–175
plagiarism accusation 66–69, 179– librarians
180 as priests of the Muses 297, 301–302
Hortensius 245 bribery of 254
Hyginus 98–99, 248 incarceration of 219
Hypatia 298 slavery of 248–250, 275
libraries
Ibn al-As, Amr 198 décor 114–119
Ibn al-Qifti, Jamal al-Din 198 destruction of 191–193, 259
imagines maiorum as funeral monuments 262
see ancestor masks as metaphors 11–12, 204
Index of Prohibited Books 30, 199 in baths 112–113, 267, 274–275
inscriptions organization 282
evidence for gymnasium libraries 205, slave staff 248–250, 275
213, 216 rivalry 84–87, 120–121, 213, 217
evidence for Latin orthography 56 Ligorio, Pirro 31, 249
evidence for libraries in baths 275 linen books 104–105, 264
evidence for library workers 248–250 Lipsius (works)
evidence for municipal libraries 267, 271 Admiranda 6, 32, 43
evidence for the Museum 299, 301–302 De amphitheatro 5, 6n, 43
source material for Lipsius 31, 98–99 De constantia 5, 26
source material for Orsini 18 De cruce 6n, 43
Irenaeus 182 De magistratibus 43n107
Isidore of Seville 10, 12–14, 15, 17, 21, 29, 40– De militia Romana 6, 43
41, 171, 182, 191, 199, 227 De recta pronuntiatione 56n128
De una religione 5n19
Jena 4 De Vesta et uestalibus 6, 43
Jerome 13, 22 Dispunctio notarum Miranduli codicis
John Chrysostom 178 5n19, 40, 165
John of Salisbury 30n80, 252 Diua Sichemiensis 5n19
John Philoponus 198 Diua Virgo Hallensis 5n19
Josephus 190 Epistolica institutio 5, 187n93
Julian (emperor) 211, 212 Fax historica 6, 42–44
Julius Africanus 266 Leges regiae et decemuirales 6n
Julius Caesar 181 Louanium 165, 167n15, 169, 170, 270n388,
fire in Alexandria 74–77, 191–198 301
founder of first public library 9, 218, 231 Poliorceton 6, 43
Julius Falyx 98–99, 250 Politica 5, 30, 32, 199
Julius Martial 277 Saturnalia 5, 6n, 43
Julius Pappus, Tib. 254 Satyra Menippea, Somnium 5n19, 243
Julius Paulus 31, 276 Seneca edition 5, 42, 189, 274, 281, 282
Julius Vestinus 302 Smet’s Inscriptiones antiquae edition 31,
Juvenal 283 249

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Tacitus edition 5, 40, 165 Pergamene 223

Tractatus peculiares 43n107 priest of 132–133, 301–302
Valerius Maximus notes 237 relationship to library 296
Livy 189, 191, 192–193 Strabo’s description 191, 197
loculamentum 284
Lollius Maximus 11n35 Naucrates 66–67, 179
Lomeier, Johannes 175 Neander, Michael 15n, 16–17, 29, 171, 179,
López de Toro, José 3, 51, 52 267n382
Louvre 295 Neleus 70–71, 80–81, 185, 200, 202, 209, 210,
Lucian 4n11, 28n78, 230 230
Lucius Verus (emperor) 11 Nepos, Cornelius 18n53, 290
Lucretius 166–167 Nerva (emperor) 172–173
Lucullus 88–89, 164, 167–168, 211, 227–228, nidus 112, 118, 277
241 Nicholas v (pope) 181–182, 188
as a model for Charles of Croÿ 60–63 Nicocrates of Cyprus 78–79, 203
fresco of 24n67 Notitia
gardens of 168, 228 see Regionary catalogs
his library as a prytaneum 301 Numerian (emperor) 124–125, 291
Lutheran 4–5, 17n49
Lyceum 183–184, 187, 203, 223, 229 Octavia 240
Lyco (Peripatetic) 185 Octavia’s Portico, library 94–97, 238–243
(and passim)
Mader, Joachim Johannes 41, 165 confusion with library of Aemilius Paullus
Maffei, Raffaele 19n56 227
Magdeburg Centuries 19–20 depiction on fur 32, 238
Malchus 211 location added to b1 41–42
Marcellus 94–95, 240 Onesander of Paphos 302
Marcus Aurelius (emperor) 254 Origen 13, 22, 267
Maria Antiqua (church in Rome) 170, 254 Orosius 265
Martial 276 Orsini, Fulvio 4, 15n41, 31–32, 38–39
Mazarine Library 286 Imagines/a bibliothecis 18, 223, 237, 240,
Medical texts 10, 214, 259, 260 246, 249–250, 251, 256, 259, 267, 271,
Melanchthon, Philipp 16 286
Melissus 94–95, 241 influence on Diego de Arce 51
Memphis 180 a bibliothecis published with the db 18,
Merula, Giorgio 19n56 40–41
Metroön 201, 210 orthography 53, 55–57
Middendorp, Jacob 51, 169n24 Ovid 236
Mithridates 214, 227–228 exile 247
monastic libraries 12, 212 on Octavia’s Portico 41, 242
Monte Laboris, Constantius a on Palatine Apollo 247
see Thuilius, Johannes on Proteus 4n11
Moretus, Johannes 24n71, 39–40, 41 Ozymandias 23, 27, 66–67, 171–172, 176–
Municipal libraries 108–109, 267, 270 178
museum 26–28, 167, 181, 182, 187
Alexandrian 128–135, 294–304 Palatine Apollo Library 96–101, 237–238,
Claudian addition 304 243–252 (and passim)
Early Modern 294 confusion with Temple of Div. Augustus
in reference to Lucullus’s library 229 library 251

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contents 244 philology, pleasure of 86–87

destruction 21, 98–101, 246, 251, 252 Philo of Alexandria 186
foundation 30, 96–97 Philo of Byblos 10, 290
fresco of 22 Philostratus 299
new archaeological evidence 238 Photius 180
new Galen on 237, 246 Pico della Mirandola, Giovanni 17
staff 248–250 pinakes 7–9, 13
Palatine Hill 96–97, 102–103, 170, 246, Pisistratus 11, 22, 27, 41, 78–79, 200, 202, 203–
256 204, 205
Palatine Library (Heidelberg) 168 Plantin House 39–40, 44
Palazzo Altieri 271n400 Platina, Bartolomeo 21
Palestrina 268, 271 Plato 169, 187, 202
Pamphilus 13, 22, 267 Pliny the Elder 42, 213, 217, 234
Panciroli, Guido 175 Pliny the Younger 267, 270, 277
Pancrates 132–135, 303–304 Plutarch 167–168, 182, 185, 192–193, 196, 210,
Pansa, Muzio 23n65 240
Pantaenus library 205, 214, 271 pluteus 118–119, 284, 292–294
Pantheon library 266 Polemo 303
Panvinio, Onofrio 19–22, 29, 31–32, 51, 171, Poliziano 283
175, 199, 249–250 Polycrates of Samos 43n106, 78–79, 202
papyrus Polydore Vergil 16n47, 19n56
evidence for orthography 52n121 Pompey the Great 74–75, 191, 214, 228
evidence for the Museum 299, 301–302 Porticus Octauiae
origins recounted in Pliny and Varro 9– see Octavia’s Portico, library
10, 218 portraits of authors 26–27, 90–91, 120–127,
treated by Melchior Guilandinus 18– 232, 233, 234, 245, 254, 285–294
19 Posidonius 185, 209
scroll material 9, 217, 221, 222, 282 Praxiteles 243
parchment 19, 218 private libraries 112–113, 223–226, 275
Parthenius 289 procurator bibliothecarum
Patrae library 270 see a bibliothecis (library director)
Patrizi, Francesco 51 prytaneum 132–133, 301
Paul the Deacon 173 Ptah, temple of 180
Paul v (pope) 23, 176 Ptolemy Hephaestion 180
Pausanias 206 Ptolemy (unspecified)
pegmata 118–119, 285 forbidding export of papyrus 11–12, 19,
Peignot, Gabriel 2, 50, 165 84–85
Pergamene Library 84–87, 213–223, 269 Ptolemy i Soter 70–71, 176, 182, 187
archaeological evidence 215 Ptolemy ii Philadelphus 7, 22, 29, 70–72,
fresco of 23, 220 181–183, 186, 187
in Neander 17 confusion with Epiphanes 84–85, 219
number of books 86–87, 221 inspiration for Nicholas v 188
portraits in 287 inspiration for Sixtus v 199
Perotti, Niccolò 15, 16n47, 31, 173 making Aristophanes librarian 219, 220
Perrenot de Granvella, Antoine (cardinal) receiving books of Aristotle 70–71, 80–81,
4 203
Persian libraries 17 Ptolemy iii Euergetes 7, 191, 193–195, 217
Peter the Deacon 13n39 Ptolemy iv Philopator 220n209
Petrarch, Francesco 15–16, 29, 281 Ptolemy v Epiphanes 84–85, 219

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Ptolemy viii Euergetes ii 220n209, 298 Serenus Sammonicus 110–111, 267, 273
public libraries 202, 206, 219 in Petrarch 15–16
architectural form 226 Vatican fresco 24n67
Asinius Pollio as first founder 90–91 Severan Marble Plan 32, 233, 238, 239
distinction from private 224–226 Severus, Septimius (emperor) 197, 239
Julius Caesar as first founder 90–91 sha (Scriptores historiae augustae)
Lucullus as first founder 229 identity 257
Pisistratus as founder 11 in Petrarch 15
Renaissance 281 Sidonius Apollinaris 118–119, 124–125, 260,
Roman 88–109 263, 284, 292
Publius Victor 31, 43n106, 106–107 Silius Italicus 291
Puteanus, Erycius 164 Simonides 204
Sinnius Capito 260
Quadrigarius 269 Sixtus iv (pope) 248
Quiccheberg, Samuel 294 Sixtus v (pope) 22–23, 29, 176, 181–182,
278
Rainaldi, Alessandro 23 Smet, Martin 31, 249–250
Regionary catalogs 15, 31, 266 Sobry, Charles, translation of the db 3, 50,
Reuchlin, Johann 17 52
Rhianus 289 Socrates (Scholasticus) 200
Ricci, Giovan Battista (da Novara) 23 Sophocles 217
Rocca, Angelo 19n58, 23–24, 29, 171, 175, 199, Sozomen 200
218, 278, 286 Spartianus 304
Roman law 31, 172–173, 276, 280 see also sha
Rufinus 199 Statues 18, 96–97, 122–123, 205n160, 206,
233, 237, 245, 251, 262, 284, 285–
Sacred Way 102–103, 254, 256 294
Saladin 199 Stertinius Avitus, Lucius 122–123, 288
Sale Paoline 23–24, 176, 220, 232, 263, 286 Stoicism 5, 189, 259, 272, 289, 292
Salone Sistino 22–23, 220 Strabo 183, 185, 187
Schmidt, Johann Andreas 41, 165 Casaubon’s edition 204, 298
Schott, Franciscus 21 story of Aristotle’s library 208–210
scroll length 213, 222 source for Pergamene Library 213
scroll (papyrus) 221, 222 Strato (Peripatetic) 185, 202
scroll (snakeskin) 82–83, 213 Suda 11, 214, 220n209, 272
Seleucus Nicanor 78–79, 205 Suetonius
Seneca (the Younger) career and writings 231, 249
influence on Lipsius 28–29, 273–274, preservation of Varro’s De bibl. 10
296 Suidas
influence on Petrarch 15–16 see Suda
portrait 286 Sulla 78–81, 203, 205, 223, 230, 241
term “Our Seneca” 189 Sulpicius Apollinaris 256
Septuagint 14n, 22, 33, 76–77, 181, 185–186 Sybilline 22, 246, 283
and religious polemics 17n49
translation in Alexandria 29, 70–73 tablinum 173–174
Serapeum 21–22, 33, 76–77, 193–200 tabularium 173, 233, 264
confusion with Great Library 181, 195– Telephus of Pergamum 11, 223n222
196, 197 temple libraries 66–69, 108–109, 178, 179,
destruction 76–77, 195 242–243, 263, 269–270

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Temple of the Divine Augustus Library 98– Varro 218

99, 251, 263 De bibliothecis 9, 11, 218, 231
Temple of Peace Library 98–99, 102–103, Imagines 18, 286n444
206, 257–259 influence on Fulvio Orsini 18n53
Tertullian 33, 195, 197–198 library of 224
Thalia 112–113, 277 portrait of 120–121, 232, 287
Theater of Marcellus 32, 94–97, 242 student of Aelius Stilo 102–103
Theodosius i (emperor) 198 Vatican Library
Theophilus (patriarch) 198 historiography 20–22
Theophrastus 70–71, 184–185, 187, 200–202, frescoes 22–24, 176–177, 199, 220, 232,
208, 230 263, 286
Thuilius, Johannes 43 founding 181
Thysius, Antonius 43n107 Vespasian (emperor) 102–103, 190, 257
Tiberian House library 102–103, 170, 254– Via Sacra
257 see Sacred Way
Tiberius (emperor) 222, 254, 289 Victor, Publius 266
Timgad 271 Vicus Sandalarius 259, 260
Timon of Phlius 130–131, 296–297, 299 villa libraries 112–113, 229, 275–277
Tivoli 108–109, 263 Villa of the Papyri 212, 276
topography 15, 16, 31, 43n107 Villerius, Dionysius 178, 179
Tortelli, Giovanni 16n47 Viminal Hill 104–105
Trajan’s Library 102–105, 260–264 Vitelli, Cornelio 19n56
depicted on fur 233 Vitruvius 23, 213, 220
fresco of 23, 263 uolumen 222
organization 282 Vopiscus 257
Turnèbe, Adrien 19n56 see also sha
typographia 58, 66, 175 Vossius, Isaac 42
Tyrannio 41, 80–81, 108–109, 209, 210, 230,
267, 271 writing materials 9–10, 12, 13, 23, 31, 104–105,
Tzetzes, John 188, 194 264, 278, 283

Ulpian 172 Xerxes 78–79, 205

Xylander, Guilielmus 188, 298
Valens (emperor) 211, 212
Valeriano, Pierio 19n56 Zenodotus of Ephesus 297, 301–302
Valla, Giorgio 283 Zenodotus of Mallus 179–180
Valle Quietis, Anastasius de (J.J. von Rusdorf?) Zonaras 211, 212, 213
42–43 Zosimus 211

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