the library-第13章

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hich　contained　representations　of　saints　and　of　the　persons　of　the　Trinity；　and　the　monk　Lazarus；　a　famous　artist；　was　cruelly　tortured　for　his　skill　in　illuminating　sacred　works。　　The　art　was　decaying　in　Western　Europe　when　Charlemagne　sought　for　painters　of　MSS。　in　England　and　Ireland；　where　the　monks；　in　their　monasteries；　had　developed　a　style　with　original　qualities。　　The　library　of　Corpus　Christi　at　Cambridge；　contains　some　of　the　earliest　and　most　beautiful　of　extant　English　MSS。　　These　parchments；　stained　purple　or　violet；　and　inscribed　with　characters　of　gold；　are　too　often　beyond　the　reach　of　the　amateur　for　whom　we　write。　　The　MSS。　which　he　can　hope　to　acquire　are　neither　very　early　nor　very　sumptuous；　and；　as　a　rule；　MSS。　of　secular　books　are　apt　to　be　out　of　his　reach。

Yet　a　collection　of　MSS。　has　this　great　advantage　over　a　collection　of　printed　books；　that　every　item　in　it　is　absolutely　unique；　no　two　MSS。　being　ever　really　the　same。　　This　circumstance　alone　would　entitle　a　good　collection　of　MSS。　to　very　high　consideration　on　the　part　of　book…collectors。　　But；　in　addition　to　the　great　expense　of　such　a　collection；　there　is　another　and　even　more　serious　drawback。　It　is　sometimes　impossible；　and　is　often　extremely　difficult；　to　tell　whether　a　MS。　is　perfect　or　not。

This　difficulty　can　only　be　got　over　by　an　amount　of　learning　on　the　part　of　the　collector　to　which；　unfortunately；　he　is　too　often　a　stranger。　　On　the　other　hand；　the　advantages　of　collecting　MSS。　are　sometimes　very　great。

In　addition　to　the　pleasurea　pleasure　at　once　literary　and　artisticwhich　the　study　of　illuminated　MSS。　affords；　there　is　the　certainty　that；　as　years　go　on；　the　value　of　such　a　collection　increases　in　a　proportion　altogether　marvellous。

I　will　take　two　examples　to　prove　this　point。　　Some　years　ago　an　eminent　collector　gave　the　price　of　30　pounds　for　a　small　French　book　of　Hours；　painted　in　grisaille。　　It　was　in　a　country　town　that　he　met　with　this　treasure；　for　a　treasure　he　considered　the　book；　in　spite　of　its　being　of　the　very　latest　school　of　illumination。　　When　his　collection　was　dispersed　a　few　years　ago　this　one　book　fetched　260　pounds。

In　the　celebrated　Perkins　sale；　in　1873；　a　magnificent　early　MS。；　part　of　which　was　written　in　gold　on　a　purple　ground；　and　which　was　dated　in　the　catalogue　〃ninth　or　tenth　century；〃　but　was　in　reality　of　the　end　of　the　tenth　or　beginning　of　the　eleventh；　was　sold　for　565　pounds　to　a　dealer。　　It　found　its　way　into　Mr。　Bragge's　collection；　at　what　price　I　do　not　know；　and　was　resold；　three　years　later；　for　780　pounds。

Any　person　desirous　of　making　a　collection　of　illuminated　MSS。；　should　study　seriously　for　some　time　at　the　British　Museum；　or　some　such　place；　until　he　is　thoroughly　acquainted　（1）　with　the　styles　of　writing　in　use　in　the　Middle　Ages；　so　that　he　can　at　a　glance　make　a　fairly　accurate　estimate　of　the　age　of　the　book　submitted　to　him；　and　（2）　with　the　proper　means　of　collating　the　several　kinds　of　service…books；　which；　in　nine　cases　out　of　ten；　were　those　chosen　for　illumination。

A　knowledge　of　the　styles　of　writing　can　be　acquired　at　second　hand　in　a　book　lately　published　by　Mr。　Charles　Trice　Martin；　F。S。A。；　being　a　new　edition　of　〃Astle's　Progress　of　Writing。〃　　Still　better；　of　course；　is　the　actual　inspection　and　comparison　of　books　to　which　a　date　can　be　with　some　degree　of　certainty　assigned。

It　is　very　common　for　the　age　of　a　book　to　be　misstated　in　the　catalogues　of　sales；　for　the　simple　reason　that　the　older　the　writing；　the　plainer；　in　all　probability；　it　is。　　Let　the　student　compare　writing　of　the　twelfth　century　with　that　of　the　sixteenth；　and　he　will　be　able　to　judge　at　once　of　the　truth　of　this　assertion。　I　had　once　the　good　fortune　to　〃pick　up〃　a　small　Testament　of　the　early　part　of　the　twelfth　century；　if　not　older；　which　was　catalogued　as　belonging　to　the　fifteenth；　a　date　which　would　have　made　it　of　very　moderate　value。

With　regard　to　the　second　point；　the　collation　of　MSS。；　I　fear　there　is　no　royal　road　to　knowing　whether　a　book　is　perfect　or　imperfect。　In　some　cases　the　catchwords　remain　at　the　foot　of　the　pages。　　It　is　then　of　course　easy　to　see　if　a　page　is　lost；　but　where　no　such　clue　is　given　the　student's　only　chance　is　to　be　fully　acquainted　with　what　a　book　OUGHT　to　contain。　　He　can　only　do　this　when　he　has　a　knowledge　of　the　different　kinds　of　service…books　which　were　in　use；　and　of　their　most　usual　contents。

I　am　indebted　to　a　paper；　read　by　the　late　Sir　William　Tite　at　a　meeting　of　the　Society　of　Antiquaries；　for　the　collation　of　〃Books　of　Hours；〃　but　there　are　many　kinds　of　MSS。　besides　these；　and　it　is　well　to　know　something　of　them。　　The　Horae；　or　Books　of　Hours；　were　the　latest　development　of　the　service…books　used　at　an　earlier　period。　　They　cannot；　in　fact；　be　strictly　called　service…books；　being　intended　only　for　private　devotion。　　But　in　the　thirteenth　century　and　before　it；　Psalters　were　in　use　for　this　purpose；　and　the　collation　of　a　Psalter　is　in　truth　more　important　than　that　of　a　Book　of　Hours。　　It　will　be　well　for　a　student；　therefore；　to　begin　with　Psalters；　as　he　can　then　get　up　the　Hours　in　their　elementary　form。　　I　subjoin　a　bibliographical　account　of　both　kinds　of　MSS。　　In　the　famous　Exhibition　at　the　Burlington　Club　in　1874；　a　number　of　volumes　was　arranged　to　show　how　persistent　one　type　of　the　age　could　be。　　The　form　of　the　decorations；　and　the　arrangement　of　the　figures　in　borders；　once　invented；　was　fixed　for　generations。　　In　a　Psalter　of　the　thirteenth　century　there　was；　under　the　month　of　January　in　the　calendar；　a　picture　of　a　grotesque　little　figure　warming　himself　at　a　stove。　　The　hearth　below；　the　chimney…pot　above；　on　which　a　stork　was　feeding　her　brood；　with　the　intermediate　chimney　shaft　used　as　a　border；　looked　like　a　scientific　preparation　from　the　interior　anatomy　of　a　house　of　the　period。　　In　one　of　the　latest　of　the　MSS。　exhibited　on　that　occasion　was　the　self…same　design　again。　　The　little　man　was　no　longer　a　grotesque；　and　the　picture　had　all　the　high　finish　and　completeness　in　drawing　that　we　might　expect　in　the　workmanship　of　a　contemporary　of　Van　Eyck。　There　was　a　full　series　of　intermediate　books；　showing　the　gradual　growth　of　the　picture。

With　regard　to　chronology；　it　may　be　roughly　asserted　that　the　earliest　books　which　occur　are　Psalters　of　the　thirteenth　century。　Next　to　them　come　Bibles；　of　which　an　enormous　issue　took　place　before　the　middle　of　the　fourteenth　century。　　These　are　followed　by　an　endless　series　of　books　of　Hours；　which；　as　the　sixteenth　century　is　reached；　appear　in　several　vernacular　languages。　　Those　in　English；　being　both　very　rare　and　of　great　importance　in　liturgical　history；　are　of　a　value　altogether　out　of　proportion　to　the　beauty　of　their　illuminations。　　Side　by　side　with　this　succession　are　the　Evangelistina；　which；　like　the　example　mentioned　above；　are　of　the　highest　merit；　beauty；　and　value；　followed　by　sermons　and　homilies；　and　the　Breviary；　which　itself　shows　signs　of　growth　as　the　years　go　on。　　The　real　Missal；　with　which　all　illuminated　books　used　to　be　confounded；　is　of　rare　occurrence；　but　I　have　given　a　collation　of　it　also。　　Besides　these　devotional　or　religious　books；　I　must　mention　chronicles　and　romances；　and　the　semi…religious　and　moral　allegories；　such　as　the　〃Pelerinage　de　l'Ame；〃　which　is　said　to　have　given　Bunyan　the　machinery　of　the　〃Pilgrim's　Progress。〃　　Chaucer's　and　Gower's　poetry　exists　in　many　MSS。；　as　does　the　〃Polychronicon〃　of　Higden；　but；　as　a　rule；　the　mediaeval　chronicles　are　of　single　origin；　and　were　not　copied。　　To　collate　MSS。　of　these　kinds　is　quite　impossible；　unless　by　carefully　reading　them；　and　seeing　that　the　pages　run　on　without　break。

I　should　advise　the　young　collector　who　wishes　to　make　sure　of　success　not　to　be　too　catholic　in　his　tastes　at　first；　but　to　confine　his　attention　to　a　single　period　and　a　single　school。　　I　should　also　advise　him　to　make　from　time　to　time　a　careful　catalogue　of　what　he　buys；　and　to　preserve　it　even　after　he　has　weeded　out　certain　items。　　He　will　then　be　able　to　make　a　clear　comparative　estimate　of　the　importance　and　value　of　his　collection；　and　by　studying　one　species　at　a　time；　to　b