Y M u a n Rea din R i f i the Ab f r f rr o ng g , el e n bey o G otta e a ta See page 1 3 T H E W O R L D O F

B O O K S

I N C L A S S I

A N T I Q U I

H . L P I N N E R

A . I W. S ] T H O F F L E I D E N

M C M X L V I I I F m s r I M P R E S S I O N : D E C E M B E R 1 948

S E C O N D I M P R E S S I O N : S E P T E M B E R 1 949 N E N N . D S I R S T A L Y U W I LL .

a m o d e s t t ok e n

o f e s t e e m a n d gr a ti t u d e A C K N O W L E D G M E N T

I cannot all ow this book to go to press without acknowledging

r. F F r. my indebtedness to M reddy reund and M Louis A . de Pinna for their valuable assistance and to the Ashmolean Museum in

x l n he ma e al the e c n O ford for supp yi g t t ri for r produ tio s . C O N T E N T S

L I T E R A RY E V ID E N C E A N D PA PY RUS D I S C O V

A N D A C S CR O LLS P R C H M E N T O D I C E S . T H E G R E E K B O O K T R A D E R O M A N P U B LIS H E RS B O O KS H O PS I N A T H E NS A N D R O M E

L B N D B AN CI E N T I R A RI E S A I B LI O P H I L ES . S O U R C E R E F E R E N C ES

L I S T O F I L L US T R A T I O N S

Y A R AD OUNG M N E ING , Relief in the Abbey of Grottaferrata Frontispiece B R L A OOK OLLS IN A IBR RY ,

- - SO called Neumagen Relief.

GI R A BA RL E DING ON A LCONY , Mural Painting from Pompeii OPENED BOOK ROLL

S L OF W A AND B R L TILL IFE RITING MATERI LS OOK OL S , Mural Painting from Herculaneum R W MA EADING O N , Mural Painting f rom Pompeii MA C m e R . O N OUPLE , Po p ii

THE R F CASTOR TEMPLE IN OMAN ORUM .

OF R me PORTICUS OCTAVIA , o V A L A R me ATIC N IBR RY , o L Fa a e Rec n c n IBRARY IN EPHESUS , c d ( o stru tio )

BA U A THE F M SILICA LPI IN TRA!AN ORU , Exterior (Reconstruction)

B L A U R me e en S a e ASI IC LPIA , o (Pr s t t t )

BA n e ec n c n O e 55 U R . SILICA LPIA , I t rior ( o stru tio ) pp osit WE R E I T N O T F O R B O O K S

H U M A N C U L T U R E

WO U L D P A S S I N T O O B L I V I O N

A S Q U I C K L Y

A S M A N H I M S E L F

A T I T P L I N Y , N U R A L H S O R Y

X I I I . L I T E R A R Y E V I D E N C E

A N D P A P Y R U S D I S C O V E R I E S

NO Greek or Roman author has left behind a com plete account Ofthe production and distribution Ofbooks in ancient times . Only occasional scraps Of information are found scattered here and there over the whole field Of classical literature . These are augmented by remarks in the writings o f the Fathers of the Church and of some Of their successors in the early Middle Ages . It is Often difficult to understand these casual indications for the reason that they assume as common knowledge just those Obscurities which we are trying to probe . Aristo P X phanes , lato and enophon could not have guessed that their works would be used to reconstruct the organ isa i n - t o m . N Of the book trade in their ti e or could Cicero ,

Horace or Martial . Thus we have a mosaic pieced together out Ofthe most

out varied fragments , and incomplete at that , with both lines and detail Often uncertain and disturbing gaps

For examining the construction and appearance Of

9 LI T ER A RY EVID ENCE AN D P A PY RUS DISCOV ERIES

n ancient books , we are not confi ed to the few relevant t passages in litera ure . Their appearance is preserved not

Of S only in a great many works art , such as tatues , reliefs ,

al Of vases and mur s , but also in thousands original ll f a O or . copies , course more less damaged These are the

- o f so called Papyrus discoveries . Most them belong to the sphere of Greek culture and they far outweigh the meagre literary indications , which throw specially little n in f light o books the time o the Greeks . In the year 1 752 a library was excavated in the villa of the Pison es in Herculan eum which with Pompeii was f 7 A D . buried in the great eruption O Mt . Vesuvius in 9 In the course Of time some charred scrolls were s N l di covered there . Most Of them are now in the ationa

Library in Naples . Ofthe rest a few have found their way into the Bodleian Library in Oxford . Some of these

Of ffi suc charred cylinders have been , in spite di culties , cessfully unrolled and made readable . Among them are Copies which can be taken as typical examples Of the classical book . Papyri had been found from time to time in Egypt on

e previous occasions , but the last fifty years have s en a

Of real ! ood Of them . Amongst them are the remains many books which were in favour with the Gree k popu

P Graeco lation at the time of the tolemies , and the

Roman population during the Roman Empire . This represents a period from the beginning Of the third cen

1 0 LIT ERARY EVIDENCE AN D P APY RUS DISCO VERI ES

B C . al tury to the decline Of classic antiquity . These

treasures , most Ofwhich are now in the British Museum ,

for had lain buried under desert sand thousands ofyears . Some came to light where they had been thrown as rubbish in baskets on to the refuse- heaps outside the towns , some had been used for wrapping up corpses , and Others had been put into graves in accordance with an age- Old custom Of burying the dead together with their

o f favourite book . By no means all these Egyptian papyri , even when their contents are literary , are books made for sale to the public . Many can be recognized as privately made copies .

1 1 S C R O L L S A N D

P A R C H M E N T C O D I C E S

The raw material of the classical book was the Papyrus

E . P roll , imported from gypt In ancient times the apyrus reed grew almost solely in Egypt—whence it has now

on completely disappeared . The Arabs their voyage o f s t conque t first in roduced it into Sicily , where its graceful

’ reed still arrests the traveller s eye near Syracuse . The use of Papyrus as writing-material is a very early Egyptian discovery which classical antiquity had to bor

to row record its thoughts and intellectual achievements , as it borrowed so many other things from the culture of N the land of the ile . The manufacture o f scroll from reed is described in

‘ ’ l P E N al detai by liny the lder in his atur History , which may be likened to an encyclopaedia . The process is com

an d f u plicated di fic lt , and for this reason papyrus was dear in ancient times , far dearer than good paper today . The papyrus industry was o f considerable importance in

In o f the export trade o f Egypt . the time the Roman

Empire it seems to have been an imperial monopoly . A

1 2 S CRO LLS AN D PARCH M EN T CO DICES receipt for the delivery o f the stamps required by law was

Tebtunis found among the Papyri . It is recorded that the

Emperor Pirmus (third century A D . ) boasted that he could keep a whole army on the proceeds of the revenue from the papyrus trade . This , however , may perhaps be taken to mean that he had himself acquired large papy

- rus factories . In any case , huge quantities of the material were used in imperial Rome : entire cargoes of it were shipped in bales and it was kept in special storehouses

h orr a har aria ( e c t ) . Iuven al in his first satire calls the papyrus book short lived , and in fact it is only in the dry climate of the desert that papyrus fragments could have lasted to the present day . In more humid climates the life of the material is limited : the ancients considered a papyrus roll l two hundred years o d a rarity . The decay of the delicate material is accelerated by handling and by constant rolling and unrolling . Moths are another source of dan i ger since , accord ng to Lucian , they love taking up residence in books . Horace complains in jest that the unaesthetic moths will devour his work . In Greece the use of books in roll form can be traced back at least to the beginning of the fifth century B C . From this time onward we come across them in works o f

as f on art , such the magnificent attic relie a tomb in the

of f abbey Grotta errata near Rome , which portrays a boy n in the act of readi g .

1 3 S CRO LLS AN D PARCH M EN T CODICES

Throughout the classical period the papyrus roll remained the vehicle of Greek literature ; when Greece was o f subjugated , the Romans in the course the second century B C . also adopted it . In imperial Rome various kinds of papyrus were to be

ui one al had , disting shed from another in v ue and quality .

‘ ’ was al A s t Livi Cl i d . The best c led Imperial ( ugu a , a , au a)

‘ ’ Already Catullus Speaks of Royal (charta e regia e ) as a de qe brand . Egyptian factories delivered the rolls ready for use in various Shapes and sizes . For scientific

was works a larger format preferred , for poetry a smaller one . Large rolls were not in favour because of the danger

‘ ’ f llirna o . r Ca tearing them A g eat book is a great evil ,

S o f chus is reported to have said . From the ize the s P originals di covered and from data in liny , the usual

e 30 Size of the rolls seems to have b en about feet long ,

9 or 1 0 . n and inches wide Such a roll , bei g about two

n c one . i ches thi k , could be comfortably held in hand

Writing on both sides of the papyrus is rare . The outside is left blank . The whole length of the inner side is divided into parallel columns corresponding to our

n pages and even having the same name (p agi a) . The text begins on the left and the columns succeed one

U another from left to right with a margin at the pper , f lower and lateral edge o each page . The breadth of a

written column averages about three inches . For verse

the length of the lines naturally depends on the metre .

1 4 S CRO LLS AN D PARCH M EN T CODICES Good specimens are written very regularly and give the

f o f impression o print . The area the written surface approximates to that of the modern octavo , which is the generally accepted standard size . Not more than two books o f the Iliad would occupy

‘ ’ a roll . Long works were divided into books , each occupying a roll . just as a modern reader expects each

of volume a work to end at an appropriate point , so the

o f classical reader expected this at the end each roll .

Shorter works were arranged several to a roll . Ancient books were written in a remarkably fine script which the publishing houses developed . Words are mostly spaced apart in Latin books but not in Greek ones .

There is not much punctuation . There are no chapters this is the reason why ancient writers only cite a book when quoting , which is vague by modern standards .

al mus Writing was done with a reed (c a ) , which was

S pointed and split with a pecial penknife . Ink was made

. C from natural dyes It is rich as hinese ink , and gleams

. R jet black to this day The omans wrote titles , and

sometimes headings , in red ink . They also used special

instruments , such as ruler and compasses , to keep the

S - of length and spacing of lines even . A till life the

he etc . to et r various writing materials (calamus , inkwell , ) g

- al with book rolls , can be seen among the mur s of Her

culaneum N al , which are now housed in the ation N Museum in aples .

1 5 S CRO LLS AND P ARCH M EN T CODICES

Illustrated books seem to have been nothing out of

di . al be the or nary Mathematic works , to understood ,

d . P nee ed explanatory figures Two apyrus fragments ,

E . di P parts of uclid , contain drawings Accor ng to liny , the Greeks made a practice o f illustrating ph armacolo

ical g books with coloured pictures ofthe plants described . P The Romans decorated biographies with portraits . liny declares it a brilliant idea for the learned Varro to have

‘ ’ illustrated his great work of portraiture Imagin es (also

‘ ’ known as He bdomade s ) with 700 pictures of outstand

‘ immort ing personalities , thereby giving them both

’ ality and omnipresence . The production of this unique work emphatically an edition for the general public

as merits special attention . How it w possible to make as many copies of such a richly illus trated book without s recour e to mechanical reproduction , remains a problem .

Great authors , Vergil for instance , had their books prefaced by a portrait o f themselves . The ti tle o f the book is not al ways mentioned on the

O is scroll itself. ccasionally it found at the beginning ,

is on more often at the end . It , however , marked a little parchment label fixed to the outside of the scroll . In the Britis h Museum there is a papyrus fragment of the lyric

o f l poet Bacchylides , the label which is stil preserved ‘ i ’ with the inscription Bak c hy lido u Dithy rambo . On the frescoes of Herculaneum labels can be seen hanging out of the rolls .

1 6

S CRO LLS AN D PARCH M EN T CODICES has be - to for re . to rolled back , be ready use A graceful P N M u mural painting from ompeii , now in the aples seum , shows a young woman in a yellow chiton and

n so green tu ic , who is deeply absorbed in her book that

She has She forgotten to roll up the pages has read , and leaves them hanging down .

o f P The subject another fresco , also from ompeii and now N al in aples , is a blonde beauty standing on a b cony ,

e u dr ssed in a light green garment nder a red mantle , and looking at a book sheholds ope n in both hands . The visitor to the Vatican will be familiar with the statue o f the comedy-writer Poseidippus reclining on a

has chair . He is holding in his right hand a roll he just

finished reading .

AS on a rule a scroll a statue characterizes a poet ,

or on writer , scholar orator , but many antique figures it is only a modern addition . Throughout the classical period till the end of the f u was . third cent ry A D . the papyrus roll supreme A ter that time it was replaced by parchment . This writing

al was materi , made from animal Skins , by no means unknown during the papyrus age . It was known early

P to in classical times . liny relates that , according the P antiquarian Varro , parchment was discovered in erga

mon a l E . , actu l y as a substitute for gyptian papyrus

- P E i hanes E 205 1 82 B . C . tolemy p p , King of gypt , is said

of r to have forbidden the export papy us , a measure

1 8 S CRO LLS AN D P A RCH M EN T CODICES

E of P directed against umenes II , King ergamon , whose capital possessed a library which he was bringing into close competition with the famous libraries o f Alexan P dria . It was probably at ergamon that parchment — known long before as a writing- material was first used l for books , and especia ly for books in the customary roll

al form . The parchment roll could only be a transition

S of tage in the development the book , as it is too heavy

- and difficult to handle . For this reason the codex form with its separate leaves appeared . From this the modern book developed . No mention of the parchment book is made in litera ture prior to the second hal f of the first century of the — f 1 4 . . o . al 40 0 A D Christian era Marti ( ) knows it ,

especially in a miniature format for travelling , for school

for editions and anthologies , in short , uses to which

tough parchment is better suited than delicate papyrus . It is obvious that such editions are n ot ordinary books

S on from the tress laid , each time , the fact that they are

‘ ’ n l i o vel um ( n me mbranis) . Parchment was more lasting f u and cheaper than papyrus , but only with great di fic lty k gained an assured position in the boo trade . Pliny describes the manufacture of papyrus down to the

smallest detail , but devotes not a line to the making of

‘ for vellum . His beautiful epigram , that were it not ul books , human culture wo d pass into oblivion as quickly as man himself is expressly confined to the papyrus roll

1 9 S CRO LLS AN D P A RCH M EN T CODICES

h rta - (c a ) . All ancient book production being entirely centred round this light , elegant form , there was a prejudice against the clumsy vellum book . The great

who physician Galen worked in the second century A . D .

o f on was the opinion , medical grounds , that vellum ,

S with its hine , strains and tires the eyes more than f papyrus , which does not re lect light . The jurist Ulpian , 22 D . 9 A . who died in , examined from the legal stand poin t the question o f whether parchment codices are to

ar be treated as books at all when a libr yis bequeathed .

r In the case of papy us rolls he assumes this as obvious . It was precise ly for legal works and records that the advantages of the vellum codex eventually won appre cia n tio . These volumes had to resist the wear and tear n of bei g referred to again and again . They had to be

as al o f . cheap , they were bought by men in every w k life For the same reasons the early Church preferred the codex for religious works . This form became so charac teristic o f u E Christian literat re that in gypt , the home o f r of papy us , codices were even made papyrus instead f o . the usual vellum In pagan literature , on the other

n ha d , the papyrus roll unquestionably took first place l f unti the ourth century A . D . Yet even here the vellum

as codex gained more and more ground . Its victory w the more rapid owing to considerable improvements in the

f o f manu acture the newer material , which had already

D . reached a high standard in the third century A . The

20 ir R i B M ur i i fr ii G l ead ng on a alcony , al Pa nt ng om Pompe See page 1 7 Opened Book Roll See page 1 4 S CRO LLS AN D PARCH M EN T CODICES young Emperor M axirninius studied from a Homer

on . u written in golden ink purple vellum This l xury , to

of the sorrow the Fathers of the Church , appeared also

- in religi ous works . A well known example is the Codex

Ar enteus S on - g ( ilver writing cherry coloured vellum) , which is kept in Upsala . In the fourth century the task o f re-writing the whole of classical literature on vellum was begun . AS early as the year 372 an edict of Valentinian speaks o f the em ployment in libraries of a staff of writers for producing codices . The so - called old manuscripts (palimpsests) which are treasured in the great modern libraries (the Vatican in

Laurentiana Rome , in Florence , the British Museum , etc . ) are not originals dating from classical antiquity , but are private copies written by the monks for their monas ter u y libraries d ring the Middle Ages . In the peaceful seclusion of the monasteries a small part o f the literature of the ancients survived the wreck of the classical world . From antiquity itself we have inherited only fragments which cannot be compared in scope or importance with

of the treasures the monasteries .

21 T H E

G R E E K B O O K - T R A D E

The more the literature o f a people flourishes and the

o f wider the circle authors and readers extends , the less contact is there between the creator o f a work and those

. of interested in it In place the audience comes the reader , and in place o f the home - made copy comes the com

mercial —in reproduction other words the book . The

bookseller t akes his place be tween author and public .

- as The book trade is old as the book itself.

was l At first the bookseller , to put it anachronistical y ,

u al l one . O manufact rer , publisher and retailer in nly the

growth of literary output and a soaring trade in books , brought a division of labour : the separation o f the

publisher , who in antiquity also looked after the

s r dis production of the book , f om the retailer , who tributed the books o f the various publishers to the

reader . This divis ion is not to be found in the Greek book

on has trade . Very scant information books come down to us ; and when here and there the silence is broken the

22

T H E G REEK B O O K - T RADE

‘ ’ ’ : ne Hercules I ll take this o .

‘ ’ ’ : Linos Let me see what it s about .

‘ ’ : Hercules A cookery book , as the title shows .

‘ ’ Aristophanes in his Frogs several times speaks o f

as books with a touch of sarcasm , if they were a craze

‘ of l E just at the height popu arity . He jests : veryone reads books these days for the s a ke of this so - called

’ education . Dionysius of Halicarn assos quotes a remark o f Aris totle S , that in Athens the peeches of famous orators are sold in their hundreds . He is clearly talking of current reading matter . So Athens was by that time a noted market for books as one would expect from the high

Standard already attained by Greek culture .

’ The attitude o f an author of Plato s importance Shows ho w little developed was the publishing business . In the Phaedo he speaks with disdain of the value of writings and gives unconditional preference to the more expres

out sive and vigorous word of mouth . He only lent his manuscripts for copying to a narrow circle o f pupils and

out fri ends . The few copies in circulation used to be hired by their owners for high fees .

C When private opies were required , calligraphers were to be had whose trade it was to copy books . Enterprising copyists kept in Stock works which were in great demand . If they were able to put up enough capital they employed a S taff of skilled scribes in their factories . Thus began a

24 T H E G REEK BO OK - T RADE

al S re publishing ervice , primitive and restricted though

I t was . Nothing is known of the relations between the Greek author and his publisher . Nowhere is any indication

’ o f found of the payment author s fees , nowhere the slightest hint of a Copyright protection . From the exten sive plagiarism found even among the greatest authors it is evident that the creator of a work had no exclusive

‘ ’ of of right in it . In the Frogs Aristophanes , accusations the appropriation o f literary matter are made against each other by Aeschylus and Euripides . In commentaries

‘ ’ ‘ ’ on the Knights and Clouds of Aristophanes he is himself reproached with wholesale plunderings from

Cratinus u olis P ellius E . G and p lato , according to , is attacked in a satirical poem by Timon , the reason being that he has acquired at the high price of denarii £ 1 80 P (about gold) , some manuscripts of hilolaus , a

‘ ’ ll of P from w hich S fo ower ythagoras , to crape together

o f his whole wisdom . A similar version this story is told by Diogenes LaertiUs : for 40 Alexandrian silver min a e £750 P (about gold) lato bought , from the possessions of P the deceased hilolaus , three books written by the

‘ ’ f s Tirnaeu . latter , and rom them pieced together his The same kind of thing is reported of other great

s writers , and can by no means be carelessly waved a ide as legend . The reproduction and distribution of their creations

25 T H E G REEK B O O K - T R A DE

no brought financial gain to the authors . It can only — — have been ideal istic including perhaps political motives which prompted them to publish .

of The founding the famous library in Alexandria ,

300 B . C . about , brought about a great increase in the volume of Greek book production . The library and the schools of learning attached to it drew many students from all parts of the Hellenic world to Alexandria which became the new centre of Greek learning and culture .

This circumstance , with the excellent material at hand in the library , made the town the metropolis of the

- f Greek book trade . All possible proofs of a lourishing

r ul book indust y are encountered , among them pop ar

collections of editions of the classics , anthologies , pro

of - verbs , digests , and a whole mass light reading matter P of little value . roduction and sales grew to great pro

at of as al o f portions , often the cost quality , is typic a ’ f sellers market . Strabo speaks o worthless editions full of ! n errors , which ooded the market in Alexa dria and

one n later in Rome . Among papyrus fragments fi ds tasteful and carefully corrected editions of masterpieces and other writings side by Side with badly written and unreliable almanacs containing laudatory or disparaging bon s mo ts from plays about the fair sex . In order to obtain a good idea of the extent of the

- nl Greek book trade one must remember that , o y a tiny

e o f has part , ev n of the masterpieces Greek literature ,

26 T H E G REEK BO OK - T RA DE

o f survived , and that the number lost works is many

o f times the number those that have come down to us . As a matter of interest it may also be mentioned that

on the Greeks had the greatest variety ofbooks cookery ,

horsebreedin gastrology , angling and g, as the accounts f o Athenaeus Show . What books were popular favourites ! To a degree the literary part o f the papyrus discoveries reflects the tastes o f their time . The papyri actually originate from Egyptian

al o f provinci towns , but the level culture and thought in the various hellenistic lands of the Mediterranean outside the great centres of culture—would seem to reveal ff no outstanding di erences . Charles Henry Oldfather uses the papyrus fragments a s material for research on Greco - Roman civilisation in

‘ -Rom Egypt . ( The Greek Literary Texts from Greco

’

E 1 923 . gypt , Madison , University of Wisconsin Studies)

r r He gives a complete su vey of literary papy i , excepting

e t s . school editions (pp . 80 e q) Editions of Homer retrieved from the sands o f the

desert seem inexhaustible . Discoveries hardly ever fail to 1 33 or O . 9 yield a scrap from the Iliad the dyssey By , fragments from the Iliad numbered 3 1 5 as against 80

’ from the Odyssey . Homer s works were the common property of all Hellenes and therefore spread wherever

Hellenes lived . Fragments from the Iliad represent nearly

o ne - of half of all literary finds , and their lay out is often

27 T H E G REEK B O OK - T R ADE

unusual beauty . Fragments of the Odyssey lag a long

. N D way behind the Iliad ext to Homer , emosthenes protagonist of lost freedom— occupies the foremost posi tion ; he was particularly widely read at the time of the f o E . O Roman occupation gypt n the other hand , inter est in Euripides who was one o f the most popular

B . C . authors for three centuries , gradually diminished . Menander and Plato continued to be favoured by the Thu general public at all times . They are followed by cy dides X o P , enoph n , Isocrates , Hesiod , indar , Sophocles ,

s Herodotu , Aristophanes , Sappho , Theocritus and Bac

h li s c de . y , in that order Aristotle is hardly represented ,

all the towering Aeschylus not at .

was This list shows that the classical tradition , with

o f some concessions to the taste the day , preferred , and that modern literature was very neglected . It bears l S witness to a re atively high tandard of education , to the surprisingly wide distribution o f books and thus to the immense extent and influence o f the book trade . No conclusions about general taste can be drawn from the books found in Herculaneum . Those that have been successfully deciphered appear to be part of a com pletely one- sided philosophical library of epicurean

of . works , a personal hobby their owner The public burning of books is unfortunately not an

f 4 1 1 B C . invention o modern barbarism . In the year

28 S i Lif f Wri i M ri a nd B k R t ll e o t ng ate als oo olls , M ur i fr H r u u S 1 5 al Paint ng om e c lane m . ee page R di W M ur i i fr ii ea ng oman , al Pa nt ng om Pompe See page 1 7

R O M A N P U B L I S H E R S

A fter the subjugation of Greece , Rome fell under the

f o f magic in luence Hellenic culture . Great quantities of

f as Greek books lowed into Rome , originally booty .

to Soon Greek booksellers also came Rome . They were publishers and retailers in one . Publishing concerns soon showed signs o f organized manufacture . In order to be able to deal with the work of

d on al repro uction quickly and a large sc e , the publishers

l af S kept a specia ly trained St f. For this job laves were l employed , usua ly Greeks as far as we can judge from names known to us . They were much sought after and f expensive . A whole Sta f of such copyists represented a considerable capital outlay . Horace directs his wit at the prices paid by connoisseurs for slaves who ‘ have a smat

’ to tering of Greek . According Seneca sesterces

‘ (about gold) used to be paid for a s ervus litera

’ s as tu . Slaves were even educated calligraphers from childhood . Though enslaved , they were paid for their

al work . Wages were , however , low , especi ly under the

30 RO M AN PUBLIS H ERS

f . o early emperors Later on , the rates pay were better . The Emperor Diocletian in an edict fixes the maximum price for 1 00 lines o f the finest writin g at 25 denarii (5% gold pence) ; for a lower standard the rate was

- S 20 denarii . Female laves were also said to be experienced and skilful copyists , just as women today have proved

‘ their worth as compositors . Commercial reproduction was done in such a way

C that a number of opyists worked at the same time .

- Whether the subject matter was dictated , which is like l or y , whether the original was shared between them , ul is not certain . A well organized publishing firm co d in a few days put on the market hundreds of copies of a new book .

S - o f In pite of mass production and low rates pay , the

o f f costs manu acture were still considerable . The chief reason for this was the high capital outlay which had to l N be invested in ski led labour . o wonder the publishers insisted on rapid work so as to use available time to the best advantage ! But the result of hastening the tempo was that careless errors frequently crept into the work of of — the copyists . The complaints authors and no less — ’ of readers about copyists nonsensical mistakes are end less . Cicero is so indignant at this that he speaks of ‘ ll ’ books fu of lies . When a Latin book swarms with errors , this is to be explained by the fact that the Copyists were Greeks who had an imperfect command

31 RO M AN PUBLI S H ERS

n ofthe foreign la guage . Cicero complains to his brother

‘ for I no longer know where to turn Latin books , the

’ Copies on the market are so slovenly . Conscientious publishers sought to put a check to this

evil by employing special readers for correcting . Papyrus

fragments with subsequent corrections have survived . Authors attached a high value to carefully corrected

Copies of their works . Cicero forbade his publisher and fri end Atticus to put in Circulation uncorrected copies of ‘ i ’ D Fin bus . his discourse e Atticus was very generous . He

even had additional corrections made for Cicero , which the latter requested at the last moment because he had

made a mistake . The author himself looked through

presentation copies for patrons or special friends . N ot only authors , however , but also purchasers of

. W n books , insisted on correct editions hen buyi g old or

rare books , experts (grammarians) were called in for

advice . Since the copyists sometimes left out parts of the

of text through carelessness or laziness , the number lines was checked against a standard copy and noted down in

the book under examination . Such numberings are to be

as found in the Herculaneum papyri . They also served a basis for the calculation of the copyist ’ s pay and the

retail price . There are a few vague indications of the number of

books published in one edition . Pliny the Younger in one

place mentions an edition numbering This book ,

32 R C u e ii oman o pl , Pompe See page 1 8 C T astor emple in the Roman Forum See page 47 RO M AN PUBLISHERS

as n however , seems to have been distributed a gift o ly to fri ends and acquaintances and was probably what we

today call a private edition . Much information can be gained from a letter in which Cicero asks his publisher Atticus to make some corrections subsequent to com

letion of p the books , but even here it is not possible to give exact figures . The work in question is the well

of was At known defence Ligarius , which published by ti cus . Cicero had made an awkward mistake about some

as one mentioned in the speech . When this w brought to his notice he asked Atticus to have the name crossed out

Pharn aces in every copy , this to be done by the copyists ,

Sal vius . Antaeus and , expressly mentioned in the letter If three specially chosen copyists were needed to under

a take such slight alteration , then the edition produced must have been large indeed . Various authors record that successful works were sold n ot only in Rome itself but al so in all the provinces of E al . the Roman mpire , which so points to large editions Of Varro ’ s great illustrated biographical work Pliny says that it was circulated to the furthest corners of the

i his on earth . Horace s proud that poems are read the

of banks the Bosphorus , in Gaul , Spain , Africa , and other parts of the great Empire . He prophesies that the

‘ ’ ‘ Ars Poetica will be a universal best-seller : Such a book ll ’ P wi traverse the seas . ropertius boasts that his name is famed even up in the cold countries ofthe North . Ovid

33 R O M AN PUBLISHERS

‘ consoles himself in exile with : What I write goes from

’ ‘ E or ast to West throughout the world , again I am the

’ most widely read author in the world . Later Martial

of his asserts the same of himself in one epigrams , and in other he says ‘ my books are in the hands ofevery m

’ ‘ : In in Rome . In yet another he says the beautiful town of Vienne (Dauphine) I am read by young men and old

’ al and even ladies . Large quantities ofbooks were so sold to the numerous public libraries , to be found even in small towns , and to the bibliophiles with their extensive

n collections . Such a keen demand could ot have been l satisfied by sma l editions . Exact records were kept o f all books sold and all presentation copies given away . Atticus , at least , had h this done in is Shops .

was The book trade , therefore , quite considerable in extent . In spite of this it can hardly be assumed that publishers fixed the number of copies in an edition

as beforehand , is done today . At first they must have issued only a limited number in the case of an unknown

irn ression author , in order to judge what p the book created . A guide to public interest could be gained from recitals which since imperial days had become customary , f pre erably in public places . Horace pokes fun at the habit o f poets reciting their verses to the bathers in the ther

’ ma e of . P , much to the discomfort the latter In etronius

of r Satyricon , that matchless novel adventu e and vulgar

34

RO M A N PU B LI SHERS

Since he had made such a brilliant success of selling the f Defence o Ligarius . There is not a word to suggest that Cicero had any share in the proceeds or received any

al of profit from the s e the work . .

In the Augustan period , the brothers Sosii became immortal through their greatest author , Horace .

A . D . Tr hon In the second half of the first century , yp stands out as the foremost publisher . He seems to have published most of the works of Martial who was a bes t

’ seller throughout the world . Quintilian s Rhetoric was

s . u al o published by him In a preface to this book , Q in

‘ tilian addresses him as the effective author : Day by day you urge me finally to commence preparations for

’ publishing my work on eloquence . The publisher should

’ be the author s adviser and helper , in ancient Rome no

o f less than today . At the end the prefatory letter Quin

‘ ’ r h tilian places his work in the hands o f his T yp on . A letter of this kind shows a real understanding based o n trust between the author and his publisher . Not a S ingle unfriendly word by an author against a

of publisher is to be found in the whole ancient literature , not even in the satirists and epigrammatists who are otherwise so biting . So the authors must have been well satisfied by the way in which their affairs were managed . This does not prevent them from occasionally pointing out with a malicious smile the excellent business their publishers do with their works . Horace draws an ironical

36 RO M AN PU B LISHERS contrast in relation to a work that promises to be a

‘ public success : This is a book through which the Sosii

’ his i f ( publishers) w ll earn money , and the author ame .

of so Martial , always short money , is irritated by the profit the publisher draws from his works , that it becomes

‘ a favourite subject for his epigrams : The gentle reader can buy a fine volume comprising all my Xeniae

al to o for four sesterces . Actu ly four is many . Two would

An be enough . d even then my publisher would get a

’ al — handsome rake off. If this is to be taken liter ly and it has never been doubted—then the publisher must have reckoned on more than profit . The modern pub lisher may well look back regretfully to the good old times ! The Xeniae of Martial mentioned above make up the

of 1 27 thirteenth book of his epigrams . This consists

274 400 . headings and verses , that is about lines The 4 i 1 1 e . selling price is sesterces , . gold pence , without taking into consideration the higher purchasing power

of money in ancient times . According to Martial , the first book of the epigrams was sold for 5 denarii (4 shil

3 e lings p nce) , at least in a fine edition . In the Opinion

of n ot the poet this is at all cheap . By modern standards 1 1 9 it is extremely expensive . The book contains epi

800 . grams , altogether about lines Five denarii are more than one would spend today on a good Copy o f all the 1 4 f o . one books Martial If, however , takes into account

37 RO M AN PUBLISHERS

’ the purchasing power of the denarius in Martial s day — (about 2 Shillings 6 pence) then the price of the Xeniae in modern money would be twelve S hillings and six pence . No wonder that a trade which allowed of such huge profits also attracted men who had no real interest

r . in literatu e This explains why Lucian , who lived in the

A . D . a of second century , spe ks certain booksellers with

al contempt . He c ls them uncouth as barbarians and Opines that they had no idea o f the contents ofthe books h they published . But even he as a good word for two

: Callinus publishers mentioned by name for , whose beautiful editions , and Atticus , whose careful editions , were sought after in the whole world .

al While the publishers amassed earthly we th , the l authors of Rome , no less than their col eagues in Greece , had to content themselves with what juvenal calls

‘ ’ empty fame . It never occurred to the ancient authors to

i as make their work pay with the help of their publ shers , is invariably done today .

r s Copy ight protection i unknown even to Roman law , al though this covers every other eventuality o f life to the

smallest detail . At any rate , not the slightest hint of it is to be found in the legal writings or indeed in any of the

i o f l terature of antiquity . In spite frequently recurring complaints abo ut the plunder of their works and misuse

o f their name , the ancient writers nowhere mention

whether or how they could protect themselves . This

38 RO M AN PUBLIS H ERS

omission and the silence of the jurists allow of no other explanation than that the law gave no help against such

inroads on intellectual property .

‘ Cicero wrote to Atticus : IS it your desire to publish my work against my will ! Even Hermodorus never did

’ o f P that . (This was a pupil lato , who carried on a lively

of trade , infamous throughout antiquity , in the works

‘

s . N s a his ma ter ) ow Cicero did not y , if you publish my work against the author ’ s wish you are offending against

’ al al the copyright law , but he appe s to his friend on ethic l grounds . Legal argument wou d have come easier to an

advocate like Cicero . Martial complains that his work is pirated by all sorts o f people and that his famous name serves as an adver

tisement for worthless imitations . He compares pla — giarism with robbery but he does not threaten to take legal proceedings . The actual word plagiarism was

l i ria s originated by Martial . Under Roman law p ag a

4 1 . D . 8 5 9 stands for robber , the kidnapper ( ig , ; Cod ,

‘ s l ia In epigram I . 53 Martial call the literary thief p ag

’ ri h us . The metaphor as become accepted in the language

of every cultured nation .

Quintilian Shared the lot of many modern professors . Students copied down his lectures and published them

behind his back . He found himself compelled to publish

an edition himself, a thing he had not originally intended

‘ nl to do . In his foreword he writes : The youngsters o y

39 RO M AN PU B LISHERS

’ — did it out of regard for me but not a word about a

breach of law . Galen had such unpleasant experiences with plagia

rists and booksellers that he published , quite apart from

on his innumerable works medicine , a few articles about

n AS o f their curious doi gs . a matter principle he had long ceased to publish the results of his examinations of

patients . His notes were copied by others and made

public , partly under false names . He had no choice but to bring out an authentic edition himself and thus make

the incorrect copies worthless . Saint Hieronymus complains in a letter that ‘ as soon

!

as . he wrote anything , friend and foe hurried to publish it These are only a few examples of impotent outbursts l against such intel ectual thefts . It is significant that not one of the authors complains about the lack of legal protection .

one In spite of this , would expect the authors to have some kind of agreement by which they would receive a share of the profits made through the sale oftheir work

so . by the publishers . Yet even that was not Cicero Shows great delight over the great sale of his f speech in defence o Ligarius . But the suggestion that he n had an i terest in the proceeds is unjust . He makes no

of nor mention it , is there anywhere else in his volu minous correspondence with Atticus , where financial s matters are frequently discussed , the lightest evidence

40 RO M AN PUBLISHERS

O for supposing that he shared in the profits . n the

ff to contrary , he actually o ers help with the cost of

of one f publication o his works . The majority of authors belonged to the highest

o f or n circles society , the patricians the fi ancial aristo cracy . Noble Romans used to write only on subjects O connected in some way with their occupations . f what

’ n al i ll i terest were an author s roy ties to men l ke Su a ,

l or - Lucul us , Sallust , Caesar the author emperors like e Marcus Aur lius , men who had many millions at their disposal ! But even the poets who in general belonged to

not on a less wealthy class , could rely payment from their publishers . Horace longed not for advance pay ments and percentages , but for a patron , whom he later

il for found in Maecenas . Verg too had him to thank his

financial independence . By republican times the poet f u enjoyed the favours o the great . The sarcastic S lla gave an honorarium to a bad poet who had sung h is praises in a piece of effusive bombast but on condition that he would never write anything again .

‘ ’ The Thebais of the po et Statius aroused the greatest m ad iration at its public readings , but it brought him in nothing . He had to earn his living by writing scenarios for m - anto irnes . p Martial , a best seller the world over , is eternally beggin g money from his rich friends and com plaining about the services required by patrons . When he leaves Rome for his native Spain after 34 years of the

4 1 R O M AN P U B LI SHERS

P highest literary triumphs , his friend liny has to pay his fare . He says resignedly , that he does not care whether

‘ his books are successful or not : What do I get out of it !

’ ’ My finances don t benefit . This was why he looked for rich patrons , and why he lowered himself to despicable flatteries to the emperor who now and then lent a

‘ helping hand : I ask for nothing more than a place where

’ I can lay myself down to rest . P ‘ w Martial , juvenal and liny are all agreed that riting

’ poetry brings renown and nothing else . Tacitus does

‘ not even allow this : Versifying brings neither honour

E 0 nor money . ven the fame which poets h pe for as the sole reward for their troubles is given less to them than to public speakers

al o f The out and out s e original manuscripts , clearly for the free disposal o f the purchaser was known to the

Romans as to the Greeks before them . Two such sales are

. P reported According to Suetonius , the learned ompilius Andronicus had to dispose of one of his own manu scripts for sesterces gold) to get some ready money . Pliny the Younger relates that his grandfather was offered sesterces gold) for his great

l . co lection o f excerpts . Neither buyer was a publisher Authors have also been known to sell their work to others for the express purpose of publication

’ on under the buyer s name . Martial pours scorn Gallus

c two and Luper us , poets of doubtful reputation ,

42

RO M AN P U B LISHERS

’ all schools , is not included in Martial s list at . It gives

of instead Cicero , the martyr republican Rome , Livy its

O M etamor historian , and the graceful vid with the

h ses p o . As gifts for more exacting readers Martial

’ M enander s P suggests comedy Thais , ropertius , Sallust ,

ul a ullus The Tib lus and C t . only modern writer mentioned

P . n is Lucan , author of the harsalia In the accompanyi g epigram Martial says that many schools of thought do

o f not approve this poet , but that the booksellers are ,

of on account of the enormous sales of his works , quite l a different Opinion . The old distinction between popu ar

taste and literary worth . u With very successf l authors , enterprising publishers

sh of do not seem to have fought y even fakes . They — labe lled obscure works with a famous name and these

s l s ! a imitation are in part Sti l ailing under a false g today , even where the sagacity o f philologists has discovered

the substitution .

! While there are no reports of attacks on the freedom

o f of literature by the State in the time the democracy , the arbitrary power ofthe despots ofimperial times made

life bitter for authors and publishers , to put it mildly .

s Augu tus , friend and patron of poets though he was ,

originated this practice . He had two thousand books

confiscated and publicly burnt , a bad example even for ! most recent generations His successor Tiberius , who

himself displayed literary leanings , did not even spare

44 RO M AN PUBLIS H ERS

the lives of objectionable authors and their publishers . Suetonius reports of him

‘ A poet was charged with having slandered Agamem

non in a tragedy , and a historian with having called f Brutus and Cassius the last o the Romans . The writers were at once put to death and their works destroyed , although they had been read with approval in public f ’ some years before in the presence of Augustus himsel .

Tacitus , a reliable chronicler , confirms this and remarks that Tibe rius took the verses o f the tragedy as being directed against himself and his mother . The mad Domitian seized on the slightest shadow of

s . an excu e to rage against books , authors and publishers

‘ ’ By decree o f the Senate he ordered public burnings o f

books which had aroused his resentment , had the writers

C beaten to death , and the publishers and opyists cruci

O see fied. ne can that in all ages tyrants have directed their malicious fury against works of the mind and their

creators , and that there have always been creatures

ready to hide their outrages under a cloak of legality . Tacitus shows up the complete futility o f any kind of police censorship by two sentences which he weaves into ‘ ff his description of these horrors . Through indi erence

one allows a thing to fall into oblivion , through bitter

’ ‘ ness one gi ves it recognition ; and again : As long as

was there danger attached to it , men sought to obtain the banned books and read them ; as soon as they could

’ be had without trouble , they were forgotten .

45 B O O K S H O P S I N

A T H E N S A N D R O M E

Bookshops in Athens are first mentioned by the

o f writers comedies in about 430 B C . According to Pollux they speak of booths where books are exhibited for sale . Other information on the subject is very scanty . The phil osopher ! eno is stranded at Athens after a

S hipwreck , strolls around the harbour district , finds a bookshop and goes in . Alexander the Great , a passionate

o f lover books , gives instructions for the purchase in s E Athens ofworks by Aeschylu , Sophocles , uripides , and also poems and historical works . It is even possible that reading rooms or lending libraries existed . Diogenes

’ La ertius mentions that Plato s writings could be referred

for to a fee . In Rome there were bookshops at least as early as

’ ’ Cicero s and Catullus s time . They were situated in the best and busiest shopping districts and were meeting

for l places scholars and bibliophi es . We know of a f number o bookshops in the time of the Empire . It may

al of all interest lovers of Rome to rec l their sites . First

46 B O OKSH O PS I N ATH ENS AN D RO M E

’ 80 51 1 there is the business house ofthe brothers , Horace s

Verturnnus . old of publishers It lies by and janus , places worship to be found quite near the Forum , close behind the picturesque ruin of the temple ofCastor with its three

Corinthian columns . If we go across the Forum from here to the ancient f o . D little round church S Cosmas and amian , we come P to the ruins of the Templum acis built by Vespasian .

’ one of al Secundus , Marti s publishers , settled down in its immediate vicinity . A few hundred steps in the direction o f o f the Capitol , and we find ourselves at the site Cae

’ sar s Forum , from which once upon a time the great

Ar iletum thoroughfare g led up to the Esquiline . The publisher Atrectus had Opened up his business in this

S road , and in its ide streets were more bookshops . On their entrances and pillars hung lists of available

o f books marked with names authors and titles , espe

i l r c al y the latest . Appa ently they also had display cab inets containing specimen extracts from the newest

o f . books , to excite the curiosity the public Most enter

’ taining is Martial s reply to someone who asked him for

‘ ’ a presentation copy : Near Caesar s Forum is a bookshop

where both doors are plastered with advertisements .

of These display the titles books in stock , and you only

s . need ca t a glance at the list . Go in and ask for my book — — The owner his name is Atrectus will be extremely pleased to get a fine copy of Martial out of his first

47 B O O KSHO PS I N ATH EN S AN D RO M E

’ or s n econd shelf and let you have it for five de aru. Gellius states that Roman booksellers also used to

l o f a low inspection rare or val uable books for a fee . Beside the booksellers there were also ‘ Bouquinistes ’ who sold their wares cheap in pillared halls or in the lli S . Ge us treets In the harbour at Brindisi , bought a whole

heap of old Greek tomes for a song . Altogether it al most seems as if unsuccessful books used to be palmed on

the provinces . Horace in a witty apostrophe to his new

book alludes to the possibility of this fate overtaking it . There were also first-class bo okshops in the larger l provincial towns . P iny the Younger wonders at the bookshops in Lyons and is overjoyed that his books are

s sold there . Sidoniu Apollinaris is able to tell of great s purcha es made by a friend of his at a Rheims bookshop .

’ One branch of the retailer s trade was the sale of rare

l v . o d books . This brought e il practices with it New books were stored with corn to give them an artificial yellow l appearance of age , in order to give them a high se ling

Libanius l : value . The orator reports a ridicu ous fake the allegedly original manuscript o f the Odyssey was put up for sale .

o f - Rome remained the centre the book trade until , and

e . even after , the d cline of the ancient world Sulpicius

‘ ’ Severus (400 A . D . ) relates that his book Vita S . Martini was brought to Rome for its first appearance and that publishers and booksellers all over the world were pleased

48 r i u f O vi R Po t c s o cta a , ome See page 54 V ti Libr r R a can a y , ome See page 56

A N C I E N T L I B R A R I E S A N D B I B L I O P H I L E S

Only very little incoherent information is available

o f about libraries in the golden age Greek Literature . The first great collections o f books are attributed to Poly

s s P s s crate , the ruler of Samo , and i istratu , the Athenian P s s tyrant . i i tratus is said to have thrown his collection s open for public use , and the Athenians themselve seem to have added to it . More reliable are reports of the existence of libraries in 40 B 0 . C . s . E Athens after , all private one The poet uri

t of pides owned a good collec ion this kind , and the malicious Aristophanes doesn ’ t miss this Opportunity to make fun of this hobby of the playwright for whom he had little esteem . — — Aristotle as well as many lesser men is mentioned as

to be ing a keen collector . He is said have paid three attic Talents gold) for a few writings which the philo

of Sopher Speusippus left at his death . The library Aristotle was not only remarkable for its extent ; it was also the first library to be designed and arranged on a definite plan . It became the example upon which the great libraries of Alexandria were later construct ed . It is difficult to imagine how Aristotle could have written

50 ANCI ENT LIBRARIES AN D BIBLIO PHILES

what he did without the continuous use of a scientifically

o f ordered library , for his works included every branch

knowledge known at the time . There is a gap in the picture until we hear of a great public library founded by the Emperor Hadrian in

. as P Athens It w famous throughout antiquity . aus anias marvels at its unsurpassed splendour , characteristic of

o f the taste this architecturally minded sovereign . Gold

o f and alabaster glittered from the ceiling the great hall .

Wonderful frescoes decorated the walls . Everywhere

S S o f tood tatues great writers of prose and verse . Quite considerable remains of the building can still be seen in im Aeolus Street in Athens . They make an imposing pression . In the Hellenic States public libraries had already been founded in the third century B C . The dynasties of the Diadochs in Egypt and Asia Minor surrounded their

of courts with the whole splendour Greek culture , and even sought to surpass each other in the excellence and opulence of their libraries . The most famous of all the ancient libraries is the one which was founded by Ptolemy I in Al exandria (about 300 It served as an example for all the later libra i of . ts ries , especially those Rome It owes inception not

: was only to idealistic , but also to political motives it to be a means o f hellenizing the land of the Nile . This explains the remarkable fact that the literature of the

5 1 AN CI EN T LI B RARIES AN D B I B LIO PHILES country in which the library was built was not repre sented in it at all . The library consisted of two separate

S al ections , the greater being housed in the roy palace and the lesser in the temple of Serapis . It was headed by

. E important scholars and writers ven the Roman , whose eyes had become surfeited with luxury , found its pomp astounding and comparable only to the Roman Capitol

ulius 47 itself. When I Caesar captured Alexandria in f B . C . o , in the course of the fighting a considerable part

a the materi l was burnt . The complete collection before the disaster was said by Ammianus Marcellinus and Gel lius to comprise books . This number does not seem exaggerated when one takes into account three things : the library contained the whole of Greek Lite rature , of which it is known that by far the largest part has not survived . The dimensions of a scroll are small Homer alone took Up at least 24 scrolls for the Iliad and the Odyssey . And lastly Alexandria had several copies

as . of most works , is usual in the great modern libraries Estimates of the number of books in the Alexandrian

Gellius r collections vary . Apart from the highest figu e is given by Ammianus Marcellinus and is based on thor ough investigations . No less a man than Gibbon vouches for the reliability and accuracy ofthis chronicler .

To of make good the loss the burnt volumes , Antony later presented Cleopatra with books taken from the library of the Kings of Pergamon .

52 ANCIENT LI BRARIES AN D BIBLIO PHILES

F ad i Library in Ephesus . ac e (Recons t ruc t on) The treasures lodged in the temple of Serapis were

D . fin ally destroyed in the year 29 1 A . when the first

’ Christians razed t his pagan sanctum . It is an old wives tale that the Calif Omar set fire to this library . On the contrary , it is an established fact that we have the Arabs to thank for the survival of many Greek works . The library of Pergamon was founded as a rival to

53 AN CIEN T LI BR A RI ES AN D BIBLIO PH ILE S

tu Alexandria about a cen ry after it . Its ruins have been excavated on the Acropolis o f Pergamon and identified while the libraries of Alexandria have vanished from the f face o the earth . In Rome as in Greece the establishment of private f libraries preceded the founding o public collections . The great quantities of books which victoriousgenerals like

Aemilius P ul aullus , S la and Lucullus brought to Rome

as booty called for the foundation ofpublic libraries . The collections o f books which Sulla had plundered were

son inherited by his Faustus ; and Cicero , his guest while

i C to stay ng at umae , writes Atticus that he is browsing u in the library ofthe Imperator . Luc llus , whom posterity

f for unjustly remembers chie ly his culinary proclivities , owned a choice collection of books which he very generously made available to scholars and others who

r as were interested . Another g eat book lover w Cicero

S —on own who pent much money his confession , too — much upon the satisfaction o f his passion . He had large libraries in his villa in Tusculum as well as in his villas

Anti in um and Cumae . It seems that a library had already become a necessary part o f the house of a b distinguished Roman . It very quickly ecame a fashion able luxury . Caesar was the first to plan a public library in Rome ; but an untimely death prevented him from carrying out his idea . The honour due for its execution goes to the

54 B i i U i E x ri r R ru i as l ca lp a , te o ( econst ct on) See page 55 Basilica Ulpia in the Trajan Foru

B i i U i I ri r as l ca lp a , nte o (Reconstruc tion) See page 55 AN CI EN T LIBR A RI ES AN D BI B LI O PH ILES

- and Asinius P noble minded general statesman ollio , who founded a public library in 39 B C . out o f the booty of

al For r i his D matian campaign . the fi st t me I t contained

Latin works as well as Greek . This library was overshadowed by the two great col lections which Augustus founded one on the Pal atine f and the other in the Portico o Octavia . The Palatine Library was joined to the grandiose temple of Apollo f f which Augustus consecrated a ter the battle o Actium . A part o f its treasure of books was lost in a fire at the time o f Commodus (about 200 and the rest in a

fire in 363 A . D . Temple and Library are among the few classical buildings on the Palatine of which no traces

on have been found . It is thought to have been Situated the corner of the hill opposite the arch of Constantine .

P O was The other library , in the ortico of ctavia , completely destroyed in a fire in the reign o f Titus . A few columns and a portico near the theatre ofMarcellus is all that remains today of the great buildings . There are al so i mportant ruins Still extant of the library set up by Tiberius in the temple o f Augustus . In the early middle ages the building was converted into f o . ar the Church S M ia Antiqua , which lies near the

o f Temple Castor in the Forum . The one which survived longest was the Biblioteca

on . Ulpia , built by Trajan his forum It was mentioned

of as late as the fifth century . It consisted a Greek and a

55 AN CIEN T LI BR A RI ES AND BI B LIO PH ILES

Roman section in two separate buildings . Between them

’ Trajan s Column was erected . Ruins of the masonry can

still be seen . According to the regional census of Constantine in 2 . f 350 A D . 8 o there were then public libraries in Rome ,

which we know the names of eight . In the provinces too there were public collections o f

. P books , even in the smaller towns liny the Younger founded one in his native town Como and invested

llius . Ge capital for its maintenance tells of a library ,

‘ ’ quite comprehensive in both languages , in Tivoli , where

many distinguished Romans spent the summer . This

was a lending library , whereas ancient collections in general seem to have been for reading on the premises

only .

be As far as can judged from ruins , the great public

libraries had a Great Hall , which probably served as a

- reading room . This was lavishly equipped with coloured

marble , alabaster and precious metals , and there was no

lack o f frescoes and excessive plastic decoration . Cassio

dorus even tells o f artificial lighting of great brightness .

Isidore mentions shelves of cedarwood and ebony . The

- on store rooms , the other hand , where there were any

l . . at all , were bad y kept The scrolls lay on open shelves

The parchment labels with the titles hung out . Codices

and , in Alexandria , even scrolls were kept in chests . A good idea of the general appearance o f a big ancient

56 ANCIEN T LI B R A RI ES AN D BIBLI O PHILES readin g-room can be obtained from the Great Hall of the Vatican Library . In imperial times a real bibliomania developed in the higher circles of Roman society and those who aspired to it . No country house was without its luxurious

. was n v i h s library Since it the thing to do , the ou eaux r c e

all bought themselves books enough to panel their walls .

‘ ’ This type o f uneducated book collector is the prey of many satirists .

‘ ’ Petronius in the feast of Trirn alchio relates how this common p a rven u boasts to his guests that he has two

. e of libraries , a Greek and a Latin one S neca talks men who buy books by the thousand , but are the inferiors of their own servants in matters of culture : they have hardly read as much as the titles o f their books in their whole lives ; they only consider these as ornaments ; they treat a library as just another modern convenience , like a decent bathroom . Lucian writes an invective against

o f this sort of booklover . He makes fun collectors who

o f n gloat over the fact possessi g books , without having

o f the least understanding them , and compares them

’ with the donkey who doesn t even prick up his ears at the sound of music . Their library is nothing but a play ground for mice , a home for moths and a terror for the

own . servants , to use his words The only ancient library which has been discovered is the one which was excavated at Herculaneum and con

57 ANCIENT LI B RARIES AND B IBLIO PHILES

ine as ta d the charred scrolls . It w a tiny room with

a remains of shelves around the w lls . The shelves were

decorated with wood inlays . In the middle Stood a

reading table . This little library cannot of course be taken as a typical example o f the Roman luxury-libraries

which were , on the contrary , not a whit behind the

public libraries in magnificence . The countless fine collections of books which survived till the fifth century of the Christian era have vanished without a trace . The invasions of the Germanic tribes buried them in the general collapse of ancient

58 S O U R C E R E F E R E N C E S

a e 1 2 : a an t man act e A T H l . an t P g P pyrus d i s uf ur ] THEOPHR S US , ist p . 1 I 8 3 S AB 1 5 . e ne e . N a V , , ; TR O XVII , , (Ed M i k , p PLI IUS , N t . 6 TEETUN THE IS . 1 H t I 8 s . a t 2 0 . is . X II , q; PAPYRI , P r II , p

h F a e 1 3 T e w P m Sc . H t . M : . I R US 2 P g ords of ir us] rip t is Aug , III , ;

UVENAL I 1 8 . I ,

ll . I 83 e a at . H t an 86 Ag of P pyrus ro s] PLINIUS , N is X II , d ; QUIN indoc tos 1 7 T A 4 3 L . H t 9 . 20 1 2 ILI N IX , , ; UCIAN , Adv ; ORACE , Ep is I , , .

1 4 ll a e : S ! e a r a . H . 77 an 78 P g i of P py us ro s] PLINIUS , N t ist XIII , d ; Eth mol V 1 0 an 1 2 1 e t . 52 5 ISIDORUS , y I , d VI , , ; Dig s s XXXII , , ; CA 6 TULL . XXII , . ’ l h h n 1 K i l be l . Cal mac w e ae . a Vo i us ords] At us III , (Ed ) ( I , p . 5 1 II 6 an emen a a e t . 7 A TIAL V 2 Arr g t of p g ] PLINIUS , Ep is III , , ; M R , ; 6 UVENAL I . I ,

1 5 : h D OD a e t n t e text I OR 1 1 . P g Dis ributio of ] XVI , , W n mate al T 38 PERsrUs 1 2 C L V 28 1 2 riti g ri ] MAR IAL XIV , ; III , ; E SUS , , Dar m r 1 ET . 2 a H 7 e be . 5 . . 1 5 S U ON (Ed g, p , PLINIUS , N t ist XVI , ; . ViteIIi s 2 nn 8 E th l mo . 1 4 1 . u I a] . I ; TAC TUS , A V , ; IS DORUS , y VI , , Ink 1 - I TRUV 0 I I . . 4 1 43 V . a H ] VII , ; PL N US , N t ist XXXV , ; OVID ,

. l 7 TIAL I 2 1 1 . Trist I , , ; MAR II , , The mural paintings from Herculaneum reproduced in the Real M e B n c a l - 7 2 f W n 1 824 5 1 C . W. H LB a us o orbo i o , N po i , I , ; E IG , d ma l e e de Cam a nie ns Le ! 1 868 4 1 2 . g p , ip ig , p . sq

a e 1 6 : ll t a n I at H t 8 V 1 1 P g I us r tio s] PLIN US , N . is . XXV , ; XXX , ; MAR T A 1 86 t n 6 A S . e I L XIV , ; ENECA , Ep is , p ri . IX , ; OXYRHYNCHUS P PERS ,

l . Vo . 58 F 6 l . Vo . . 9 I , p ; AYUM PAPERS , IX , p l l i 4 26 83 e an e La el He c l x n i 1 82 . Vo . O o Tit s d Tit b s] r . I , ( ) pp , , 1 06 S Fra m H er l 1 . ; . c u . . 80 239 COTT , g pp , ; OXYRHYNCH PAPERS , ol 8 1 V . 1 7 . 1 . C 09 8 2 . , p ICERO , Ad Att . IV , , ; OVID , Trist I , , 1 l l o . an 09 ; A T A 2 1 1 T A V 57 . Kaibe V d M R I L III , , ; A HEN EUS I , (Ed , I , p .

59 S O U R C E RE F EREN CES

a e 1 7 : a e u c ll CAT L I 2 an II 8 . P g M k p of s ro s] U L , d XX ,

1 8 : 2 T BULL - a e H . 20 I 1 1 0 1 2 V P g ORACE , Ep ist I , , ; III , , ; O ID , Trist . I 1 8 an 1 1 T 2 8 2 , ; 9 9 1 5 I 72 S T , d MAR IAL III , , ; IV , , ; V , ; VI I , ; TA IUS , S l 7 L m 4 1 n s ae V 9 e e c . c n . an i oc to . d i v I , , ; UCIAN , D r o d d Adv , 7 1 6 P ra t an H o . t . 8 S I d ; POR HYRIUS , Ad Ep is XIV , ; IDON US APOL N LI ARIS 8 . , Ep ist . XVI , le c e 66 1 1 an 2 1 0 TI BU L I 1 L . 1 0 Purp ov rs] MARTIAL I , , d III , , ; II , , ; L a UCIAN ubi sup r .

H l n t he bookroll L Ima . 9 an in 6 The . doc tos 1 . o di g ] UCIAN , g d Adv Pompeiian Mural Paintings reproduced in the work Le Pitture ’ h r I 7 - l an c e E c o a no a l 1 57 59 o . 0 l d V . 3 5 an Vo . V ti , N po i , IV , p d , 25 p . 3 .

1 : h 7 a e a c men a . H I 9 . 0 P g P r t] PLINIUS , N t ist X II , ; ISIDORUS , E th m l 1 1 1 F EP An ti ita t s . o . OS HUS u e nd 2 1 1 y VI , , ; LAVIUS I , q I XII , , ; IA 2 an XIV 1 84 1 86 1 88 0 G K ehne 1 9 . MART L , I , d , , , , ; ALEN , Ed u , 6 l II 30 o . I . 776 ol . . an e V V 52 r. XVIII , p d , p ; Dig sts XXXII , p

Law Co The odos . I 4 3 . d . books] , ,

h s I E th m l 1 L 1 3 . a e 20 : C an e a e S o . I P g ri ti it r tur ] I DORUS , y V , ,

M n . 4 I V . u IS le a chmen UL . CA . a ax m n Purp P r t] I PITOLIN , it i i [ ;

1 1 4 Pra e f. O . ll . 1 c . V H n m Va DORUS , , I , , ; IERONYMUS , i [ bu (Ed

’ ‘

H miI ob . CHRYSOS I OM US o . . l . n n Vo . IX , p , i j XXXIII , (Ed Mo t

a n Vol . V I . f uco II , p

h s 2 . o T e odo . The e c Valent n an n C d . IV 9 di t of i i i X , , l h an e n cla cal te a e n a c men S . H Tr sf rri g ssi i r tur o to p r t] IERONYMUS , llarsi 1 1 1 illus tribus a d R c m . Va 25 an e V usti u , (Edit , ) d D iris ll B F 1 895 . 1 . e n e 1 3 . C . (Ed A r oui i , r iburg , p

d 6 a e 23 : T l 26 XE M emora b. 1 4 ; P g PLA O , Ap o ogy ; NOPHON , I , , K i l l F be Vo . . AE 57 . a ATHEN US IV , (Ed I , p ARISTOPHANES , rogs ,

Verses 52 and 1 1 45 .

a e H I c a e 1 8 274 . . HA . 24 : . P g DIONYS . ALIC so r t s ; PHAEDRUS sq DION L ll 25 . . e c m . e . e me G e e D o p v rb , p ito (Ed o r , p

Vol . 1 11 n men w e ST I 1 54 . e ne e Appoi t t of rit rs] RABO XI I , , ; (Ed M i k , , p .

a e 25 : F Ve e 939 S ch l n Kn h Ve e 1 29 P g rogs , rs ; o io to ig ts , rs s h l l P 4 . L . an 528 GELLI US 1 7 1 an 5 C . T III a d ; III , , d ; DIO AER , V , i o us

60

S O URCE REF ERENCES

C t . 40 1 44 3 an 8 2 at ICERO , Ad A t XII , , ; XIII , , d IV , , ; PLINIUS , N .

H . 1 1 GELLI US 1 1 7 C t 4 ; . 1 3 l 7 ist XXXV , III , , ; ICERO , Ad At , , ; , ; 1 0 4 1 2 4 l ; 1 a nd 3 3 1 6 3 . , , ; II , , II , , ; XII , , ; XII , ,

S h L : 2 1 . a e 36 eec a . 1 2 1 3 P g p for ig rius] Ad Att XIII , , ; XV , ,

So H A . 2 2 e ca 0 345 . sii] OR CE , Ep ist I , , ; Ars p o ti TRYP HON A T 72 2 I 3 Ins titution es ] M R IAL IV , , ; XI I , ; QUINTILIAN , ,

ra m . Ep ist . p e

a e 37 : H P e ca 4 A A 6 3 5 TI 3 1 1 7 1 . P g ORACE , Ars o ti ; M R L XIII , ; I , ,

L in t 2 4 24 a e 38 : . doc . . P g UCIAN , Adv , ,

3 ‘ 66 1 a e 9 : C . 2 1 4 AL I 52 9 P g ICERO , Ad Att XIII , , ; MARTI , , , ; I , , ; 1 00 . X ,

a e 40 : T I ns titutiones P em m a M arc ell um 7 P g QUIN ILIAN , , roo iu d . 6 1 . l 7 7 822 l . h . 1 . 80 5 Vo 9 1 0 Galen . K e n Vo 9 , Ed u , , pp , , ; , pp , ,

1 3 7 4 P a mma hi m . l . Va 1 1 50 S . H a c u , , , ; IERONYMUS , Ep ist d , Ed la . 49 C . 1 2 2 1 3 1 ; 25 3 rsi No ; ICERO , Ad Att XIII , , ; XV , , XIII , , ;

6 l n 7 . V . . 35 H Sa t . V ta a a a Ha en ORACE , II , ; i irgi i Dur ti , Ed g , p

ll P r h . a e 4 1 . S a C ro c a 25 P g About u ] ICERO , A i , S a UV ENAL 82 87 T A 76 ; 30 ; 13 ; About t tius] j VII , ; MAR I L , I , II , v , 74 7 3 1 6 X , , ; XI , , i i E 2 1 H s ne S a n U . I II . jour y to p ] PLINI S , p ,

a e 42 : Gl the nl ewa the e 23 an 36 ; P g ory o y r rd of po t] IUVENAL VII , d

US a . TACIT , Or tor IX N h S ETO e G a mm . e t e . I . U . D r r t V II 7 I . 5 1 . PLIN US , Ep ist III , ,

TI C t 6 3 1 3 1 . A L 46 . ; , , M R A XII , ; ICERO , Ad At XII , , XIII

a e 43 : Sec n T 1 2 5 . P g u dus] MAR IAL , , A trectus T 1 1 7 1 3 . ] MAR IAL I , ,

B a 1 83 . ooks s gifts] MARTIAL XIV , sq 1 4 2 c a H 1 6 . S h l h . 9 ; , , , ; oo ut ors] ORACE , Ep ist II , , PLINIUS Ep ist II

T n V II 227 SUETON . e amm . I I . 8 5 ; QUIN LIAN , st I , , ; IUVENAL , D gr

e 6 a t 24 5 . e t h . 1 S . 1 r t ; MACROBIUS , , ,

a e 44 : F e e T A 53 an 1 00 I TI A In t . P g org ri s] MAR I L I , d X , ; QU N LI N , s

2 24 GELLI US 2 24 . VIII , , ; VII , ,

SUETON 3 1 . Augustus] , Augustus

62 S OURCE REF ERENCES

e SUETON e 6 1 IT Anna V ; I . 34 39 Tib rius] , Tib rius TAC US , IV , ; I , ;

50 . XIV ,

a e 4 : m an S UETON m an 1 T c a 5 , 0 ; l 2 P g Do iti ] Do iti TACI US , Agri o ; k 47 n ma n . POLLUX , O o sti o IX ,

L ! n . a e 46 : ! C . A . e 3 P g ENO] DIO ERT VII , o , l n lexan e the G ea exa e 8 . A d r r t] PLUTARCH , A d r

L . . la to Loan fee for books] DIO C . AERT III P 39 .

a e 47 C 1 4 an 55 C Ph l : B h ; . 9 2 1 P g ooks ops] ATULL , d ICERO , i II , , ;

H 20 1 . ORACE , Ep ist . I , ,

Sec n 7 . u dus] MARTIAL I , 2,

AT RECTUS A 1 1 7 1 0 . MARTI L] I , ,

he eale GELLI US 4 1 ; G . . K ehn Ot r book d rs] XVIII , , ALEN Ed u ,

9 GELLI US 3 5 . XIX , ; II , , 4 7 1 7 ELL S m . 3 3 G IU e e c . H e e ca S Post rs , t ] ORACE , r I , , ; Ars p o ti ; v , 4 1 1 1 7 1 0- 1 7 S AT S l ae I v 9 1 1 GELLI US , ; MARTIAL I , , ; T i v , , ;

I 5 1 1 . XVI I , ,

a e 4 : B n e GELLI US 4 1 H t 20 1 8 . 3 P g ouqui ist s] IX , , ; ORACE , Ep is I , , ; 1 1 2 7 SI D . . 1 . PLINIUS , Ep ist . IX , , ; APOLL , Ep ist IX , , B l l T ad ac ce ea e n o d DI O CHRYS OS Or. pr ti s of d rs i books] XXI , 1 2 B ol . . e V . , (Ed ud II , p

4 . l S al . I Ca Ha m S 23 l . ULPICIUS EVERUS , Di , , , (Ed r , p

4 : B i . l a e 9 e a mn a G e L n n 1 843 Vol . P g EDA , Op r o , Ed i s , o do , IV

a e 50 : l c a e an Pisistratos GELLI US 1 7 1 P g Po y r t s d ] VII , , ; ATHENAEUS 4 K i . l bel o . a V . I , (Ed I , p D TH 4 A F 1 447 . EURIPI ES] A ENAEUS I , ; RISTOPHANES , rogs , sq r l ST e e RAEO 1 54 GELLI US 1 7 3 4 . A istot s] XIII , , ; III , , ; ATHENAEUS I ,

51 : a e I ca 1 8 9 . P g PAUSAN AS , Atti I , ,

a e 52 : Alexan a S 1 54 an 1 8 T P g dri ] TRABO XIII , , d XVII , , ; PLU ARCH , M n a c . n . 58 S e an an m 5 D1 0 C ; . r A to ENECA , d tr q i i IX , ; ASSIUS XXXXII 38 ; GELLI US 1 7 3 I 1 6 , VII , , ; AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS XX I , , 2 1 and 1 3 .

53 a e : e am n a H t 7 AB 4 2 . . . I 0 S P g P rg o ] PLINIUS , N t is X II , ; TR O XIII , , Aemilius a ll A e m l] P a . 28 . . u P u us] PLUTARCH , 63 S O U R GB REF ERENCES

S lla T S lla 26 C tt 1 1 B . 0 S u ] PLU ARCH , u ; ICERO , Ad A IV , , ; TRA O XIII ,

4 2 S u 95 3 . , ; ALLUST , j g , , L ll L ll 42 c TA c Eth m 5 1 . u u us] PLU RCH , u u us ; ISIDORUS , y . VI , , 4 3 7 0 4 6 C ce t . 1 4 1 1 4 3 1 i ro] Ad At I , , ; I , ; I , , ; II , , ; II , , ; IV , , ; IV ,

8 2 3 . , ; V ,

a e 54 : B c llect n n a e h e t 7 P g ook o io s i priv t ous s] PLINIUS , Ep is . III , .

Cae a SUETON Cae a 44 . s r] , s r ini s ll 1 1 5 s As u a . H t . 1 0 23 . Po io] PLINIUS , N t is VII , ; XXXV , ; XXXVI , q; h m E t . 5 2 . ISIDORUS , y VI , , n E 1 7 l B li heca P ala a H A . I 3 an Sch a I ib ot ti ] OR CE , p , , d o i ; PL NIUS , 2 1 E 0 F . S T N at H . VII . ; , 5 UE O . 29 D1 0 N ist , RONTO p IV , ; Augustus , ; C 53 1 3 nnal e 7 an M A 3 38 AM . SSIUS , , ; TACITUS , A s II , d ; MARCELL ,

II 3 3 . XXI , , P c Oc ta viae T M a cell 30 SUETON e amm orti us ] PLU ARCH , r us ; , D gr . h 2 1 D1 0 43 66 24 et CA . e t . 49 r ; SSIUS , , ,

E 74 4 a e 55 : e SU N Tib. I I a H t I TO . . 3 P g Tib rius] , ; PL N US , N t is XXX V , ;

M A T A 3 7 . R I L XII , , l 8 6 A l B l heca a DI O C . 5 1 H a e an U . u V ib iot p i ] ASS , ; ist g , it Aur i . I 24 OPI SCU a P 2 1 E I 8 V S V S . . . 25 , , ; , it robi , ; IDON APOLL p X , ; ELL U 1 8 2 GELLI US Ca men 8 8 G I S 7 1 N . r , ; XI , , ; PLI IUS , Ep ist I , , ;

I 5 4 V I 9 5 . X X , , ; X II , ,

l Ti l 4 N . 70 . 3 F I a e 56 : a c ec a n SUETON l) . an Ca P g P sti d or tio ] , d ig ; L ,

a . H 9 . N t ist . XXXV , Anc ent Rea in R m R LF LANCI ANI n c ent R me i d g oo ] ODO O , , A i o ,

1 . p . 95

a e 57 : a e l a e n c n e a e S e t an P g Priv t ibr ri s i ou try st t s] ENECA , D r q .

8 TI 1 7 . an m 7 U t . 7 i i IX , ; PLINI S , Ep is III , , ; MAR AL VII ,

B n e H A e I 29 1 3 . 48 4 UVEN AL I I ook s obb ry] OR CE , Od s , , , ; PETRON , ; I , 4 27 6 L 4 7 . s e an an . an t A S . , q. ; ENECA , D tr q IX , , d Ep is , ; UCI N ,

m fam. m 7 in 8 20 28 Crc o x 7 3 . . doc t . 4 1 7 1 Adv , , , , ; , Ad , , L n I x 6 x a e e a . an . at L S . u ury ibr ri s] ENECA , D tr q , ; PLINIUS , N Torani H . V 4 9 A TIAL I X n ct n . us . ist XXX , , ; M R , ; I trodu io

This book is composed in Romulus type and printed by

h f in Le h F iedlaender A. W. Sijt o f iden to t e design of Henri r

n he ea M i t y r MC XLVIII . A special edition has been numbered by hand

and is not for sale .