Chapter II · Classical Manuscripts written with Pen and Ink.

To return now to classical forms of manuscripts, it appears to have been a long time before the book or codex form of manuscript was extended from the wood and ivory tablets to writings on parchment or paper.

The roll form of MS. The codex form.

The roll form of MS.It seems probable that throughout the Greek period manuscripts on paper or vellum were usually, if not always, in the shape of a long roll; and that it was not till about the beginning of the Roman Empire that leaves of parchment or paper were sometimes cut up into pages and bound together in the form of the older tablets. The codex form.During the first two or three centuries of the Empire, manuscripts were produced in both of these forms—the codex and the volumen; but the roll form was by far the commoner, almost till the transference of the seat of government to Byzantium.

The roll form of book is the one shown in many of the wall paintings of Pompeii; but on some sarcophagi reliefs of the second century A.D. books both of the roll and the codex shape are represented^[9].

Writing with a pen.

Writing with a pen.Having given some account of the various classical forms of manuscript in which the writing is incised with a sharp stilus, we will now pass on to the other chief forms of manuscript which were written with a pen and with ink or other pigment.

Books of the dead.

Books of the dead.Manuscripts on papyrus; the oldest existing examples of this class are the so-called Rituals of the Dead found in the tombs of Egypt, especially in those of the Theban dynasties; the oldest of these date as far back as the sixteenth or fifteenth century B.C.^[10]

They are executed with a reed pen in hieroglyphic writing on long rolls of papyrus, and are copiously illuminated with painted miniatures illustrating the subject of the text, drawn with much spirit and coloured in a very finely decorative way. Immense numbers of these Egyptian illuminated manuscripts still exist in a more or less fragmentary condition. One of the most perfect of these is the Book of the Dead of Ani, a royal scribe, dating from the fourteenth century B.C., now in the British Museum. An excellent facsimile of the whole of this fine illuminated manuscript has been edited by Dr Budge and published by the Trustees of the British Museum in 1890.

Egyptian psalter.

Egyptian psalter.Manuscripts of this important class are not very accurately described as Rituals of the Dead; as Dr Budge points out they really consist of collections of psalms or sacred hymns which vary considerably in different manuscripts.

They appear to have been written in large numbers and kept in stock by the Egyptian undertakers ready for purchasers. Blank spaces were left for the name and titles of the dead person for whom they were bought.

Thus we find that the names are often filled in carelessly by another hand than that of the writer of the manuscript, and some examples exist in which the spaces for the name are still left blank.

Another of the finest and most complete of the funereal papyri is preserved in the Museum in Turin; see Pierret, Le livre des Morts des anciens Egyptiens, Paris, 1882.

Use of papyrus. Existing Greek MSS.

Use of papyrus.Papyrus seems to have been used for manuscripts more than any other substance both by the Greeks from the sixth century B.C. and by the Romans down to the time of the later Empire. Some very valuable Greek manuscripts on papyrus are preserved in the British Museum; among them the most important for their early date are some fragments of Homer's Iliad of the third or second century B.C. Existing Greek MSS.Another papyrus manuscript in the same collection dating from the first century B.C. contains four Orations of the Athenian Orator Hyperides, a contemporary and rival of Demosthenes. In the last few years the important discovery has been made that in certain late tombs in Egypt, dating from the Roman period, the mummied bodies are packed in their coffins with large quantities of what was considered waste paper. This packing in some cases has been found to consist of papyrus manuscripts, some of which are of great importance. In this way the newly discovered treatise by Aristotle on the Political Constitution of Athens, and the Mimes of Herondas were saved from destruction by being used as inner wrappings for a coffin of about the year 100 A.D.^[11]

Other important manuscripts may yet be found, now that careful search is being made in this direction.

Herculaneum library.

Herculaneum library.Unfortunately the large library of manuscripts, consisting of nearly 1800 papyrus rolls, which was discovered about the middle of the last century in the lava-buried town of Herculaneum, has not as yet been found to contain any works of much value or interest. These rolls are all charred by the heat of the lava, which overwhelmed the town, and the work of unrolling and deciphering the brittle carbonized paper necessarily goes on very slowly. The owner of this library appears to have been an enthusiastic student of the Epicurean philosophy in its later development, and his books are mainly dull, pedantic treatises on the various sciences such as mathematics, music and the like, treated from the Epicurean point of view, or rather from that of the Graeco-Roman followers of Epicurus.

Papyrus rolls.

Papyrus rolls.All these manuscripts appear to be of about the same date, not many years older, that is, than the year 79 A.D., when the eruption of Vesuvius overwhelmed Herculaneum and Pompeii in the same catastrophe. They are written in fine bold uncial characters without illumination or ornament of any kind on rolls of papyrus nine or ten inches in breadth. In their present burnt and shrunken condition the rolls average about two inches in diameter, but they were probably larger than that in their original state; see Palaeo. Soc. Pl. 151, 152; the other published 'facsimiles' of the Herculaneum manuscripts are not perfectly trustworthy.

Herodotus on MSS.

Herodotus on MSS.In the time of Herodotus (c. 460 B.C.) papyrus paper (βιβλία or χάρται)^[12] appears to have been used by the Greeks almost to the exclusion of parchment or other kinds of skin. In his interesting section on the introduction of the art of writing into Greece by the Phoenicians, Herodotus (v. 58) remarks that the Ionians in old times used to call papyrus rolls διφθέραι or "parchment," because they had once been in the habit of using skins of sheep or goats for manuscripts, at a time when papyrus paper was not to be had; and, Herodotus goes on to say, "Barbarians even now are accustomed to write their manuscripts on parchment."

Use of parchment.

Use of parchment.Manuscripts on parchment; this old use of parchment for manuscripts was again introduced among the Greeks by Eumenes II., king of Pergamus from 197 to 159 B.C. At this time men had forgotten that parchment had ever been used for books, and so Varro, quoted by Pliny (Hist. Nat. XIII. 70), tells us that Eumenes invented this use of parchment; the real fact being that he re-introduced an old custom, and stimulated the careful preparation of parchment for the sake of the great library which he was anxious to make the most important collection of manuscripts in the world.

Pergamena.

Pergamena.Varro tells us that he was driven to this use of parchment by the jealousy of the Egyptian King Ptolemy Epiphanes, whose enormous library at Alexandria was the only existing rival to the Pergamene collection. One of the Greek names for parchment, Pergamena, was derived from the fact of its being so largely made for the Pergamene Kings Eumenes and Attalus, both of whom were not only great patrons of literature and collectors of ancient manuscripts, but were also enthusiastic buyers of pictures, statues, rich textiles and works of art of every class. The other word for parchment used for manuscripts is membrana.

Linen MSS.

Linen MSS.Manuscripts on linen; in ancient Egypt hieroglyphic manuscripts with sacred hymns and portions of the so-called Ritual of the Dead were frequently written with a reed pen on fine linen. These manuscripts, which are often found among the mummy wrappings of burials under the Theban Dynasties, are usually illustrated with pen drawings in outline, not painted miniatures like those on the papyrus rolls. These drawings are executed with much spirit and with a beautiful, clean, certain touch.

Early MSS. in Italy.

Early MSS. in Italy.The early Italian races, Latins, Samnites and others, appear to have used linen very frequently for their manuscript records and sacred books. Among the public records mentioned by Livy as having once been preserved with the Archives in the Capitoline Temple of Juno Moneta were some of these early linen manuscripts (libri lintei); see Liv. IV. 7, 13, 20. Livy also (X. 38) describes an ancient manuscript, containing an account of the ritual customs of the Samnites, as a liber vetus linteus. In historic times, however, papyrus and parchment appear to have superseded linen in ancient Rome.

Inscribed potsherds.

Inscribed potsherds.Ostraka Manuscripts. For ephemeral purposes, such as tradesmen's accounts and other business matters, writing was often done with a pen and ink on broken fragments of pottery (ὄστρακα). An enormous number of these inscribed potsherds, mostly dating from the Ptolemaic period, have been found in Egypt, and especially on the little island of Elephantine in the Nile a short distance below the first cataract.

Among the Greeks too, writing on potsherds was very common; especially when the Athenian tribes met in the Agora to record their votes for the exile of some unpopular citizen, whence is derived the term ostracism (ὀστρακισμός).

The word liber as meaning a book is supposed to be derived from a primitive custom of writing on the smooth inner bark of some tree, such as the birch, which supplies a fine silky substance, not at all unsuited for manuscripts.

MSS. on leaves.

MSS. on leaves.The large broad leaves of some varieties of the palm tree have also been used for manuscript purposes, more especially among the inhabitants of India and Ceylon. In early times the questions asked of the Oracle of the Pythian Apollo at Delphi were said to have been written on leaves of the laurel plant. Pali manuscripts in Ceylon are even now frequently written on palm-leaves; and we have the evidence of Pliny that this custom once existed among some of the ancient classical races: see Hist. Nat. XIII. 69, "Ante non fuisse chartarum usum, in palmarum foliis primo scriptitatum; deinde quarundam arborum libris. Postea publica monumenta plumbeis voluminibus, mox et privata linteis confici coepta aut ceris. Pugillarium enim usum fuisse etiam ante Trojana tempora invenimus apud Homerum." In this passage Pliny gives a list of all the chief materials that had been used for manuscripts in ancient times, the leaves and bark of trees, plates of lead, linen cloth and waxed tablets, he then goes on to describe at considerable length the methods of making paper from the pith of the papyrus plant; see page 22.

Greek libraries.

Greek libraries.Ancient libraries; among the Greeks and Romans of the historic period books do not appear to have been either rare or costly as they were during the greater part of the mediaeval period.

In the time of Alexander, the latter part of the fourth century B.C., large libraries had already been formed by wealthy lovers of literature, and in the second century B.C. the rival libraries of Ptolemy Epiphanes at Alexandria and of King Eumenes II. at Pergamus were said to have contained between them nearly a million volumes.

Roman libraries.

Roman libraries.Among the Romans of the Empire books were no less common. The owner of the above mentioned library at Herculaneum, consisting of nearly 1800 rolls or volumes, does not appear to have been a man of exceptional wealth; his house was small and his surroundings simple in character.

The great libraries of Rome.

The great libraries of Rome.As early as the reign of Augustus, Rome possessed several large public libraries (bibliothecae). The first of these was instituted in 37 B.C. by Asinius Pollio both for Greek and Latin manuscripts. The second was the Bibliotheca Octaviae founded by Augustus in the Campus Martius in honour of his sister. The third was the magnificent double library of Apollo Palatinus, which Augustus built on the Palatine Hill. The fourth, also on the Palatine, the Bibliotheca Tiberiana was founded by Tiberius. The fifth was built by Vespasian as part of the group of buildings in his new Forum Pacis. The sixth and largest of all was the double library, for Greek and Latin books built by Trajan in his Forum close to the Basilica Ulpia. To some extent a classification of subjects was adopted in these great public libraries, one being mainly legal, another for ancient history, a third for state papers and modern records, but this classification appears to have been only partially adhered to.

Parish libraries.

Parish libraries.In addition to these state libraries, Rome also possessed a large number of smaller "parish libraries" in the separate vici, and the total number, given in the Regionary catalogues as existing in the time of Constantine, is enormous; see Séraud, Les livres dans l'antiquité.

Library fittings.

Library fittings.With regard to the arrangement and fittings of Roman libraries, the usual method appears to have been this. Cupboards (armaria), fitted with shelves to receive the rolls or codices and closed by doors, were placed against the walls all round the room. These armaria were usually rather low, not more than from four to five feet in height, and on them were placed busts of famous authors; while the wall-space above the bookcases was decorated with similar portrait reliefs or paintings designed to fill panels or circular medallions.

Library decorations.

Library decorations.Pliny (Hist. Nat. XXXV. 9), speaks of it being a new fashion in his time to adorn the walls of libraries with ideal portraits of ancient writers, such as Homer, executed in gold, silver or bronze relief.

The public library of Asinius Pollio was, Pliny says, decorated with portraits, but whether the great libraries of Pergamus and Alexandria were ornamented in this way, Pliny is unable to say. Magnificent medallion portraits in gold and silver were fixed round the walls of the two great libraries of Apollo on the Palatine Hill, and probably in the other still larger public libraries which were founded by subsequent Emperors.

Recent discovery. Authors' busts.

Recent discovery.The ordinary private libraries of Rome were decorated in a similar way, but with reliefs of less costly materials. A very interesting example of this has recently been discovered and then destroyed on the Esquiline hill in Rome. The house in which this library was discovered was one of no very exceptional size or splendour. The bibliotheca itself consisted of a handsome room; the lower part of its walls, against which the armaria fitted, was left quite plain. Above that the walls were divided into square panels by small fluted pilasters, Authors' busts.and in the centre of each space there was, or had been, a medallion relief-portrait about two feet in diameter enclosed in a moulded frame. All this was executed in fine, hard marble-dust stucco (opus albarium or marmoreum).

The names of the authors whose portraits had filled the medallions were written in red upon the frames. Only one was legible—APOLLONIVS THYAN.... No doubt the works of Apollonius of Thyana were kept in the armarium below the bust.

The library at Herculaneum, which contained the famous papyrus rolls, was a much smaller room. Besides the bookcases all round the walls, it had also an isolated armarium in the centre of the room; and this, no doubt, was a usual arrangement.

The room at Herculaneum was so small that there can only have been just enough space to walk between the central bookcase and the armaria ranged all round against the wall.

Closed bookcases.

Closed bookcases.As the Comm. Lanciani has pointed out (Ancient Rome, p. 195), it is interesting to note that the ancient Roman method of arranging books in low, closed cupboards is still preserved in the great library of the Vatican in Rome; which is unlike most existing libraries in the fact that on first entering no one would guess that it was a library, not a single book being visible.

Of the ancient armaria themselves no example now exists. They were of wood, and therefore, of course, perishable. But we may, I think, argue from analogy, that the doors of the cupboards were richly ornamented with painted decorations, thus forming an elaborate dado or podium below the row of portrait reliefs which occupied the upper part of the walls.

Booksellers' quarter.

Booksellers' quarter.The principal quarter in Rome for the shops of booksellers (bibliopolae or librarii) appears to have been the Argiletum, which (in Imperial times) was an important street running into the Forum Romanum between the Curia and the Basilica Aemilia; see Mart. I. 3, 117^[13].

For ancient manuscripts or autograph works of famous authors large prices were often paid. Aristotle is said to have given three talents (about £750) for an autograph manuscript of Speusippus, and a manuscript of Virgil's second book of the Aeneid, thought to be the author's own copy, sold for twenty aurei, more than £20 in modern value; see Aul. Gell. III. 17, and II. 3.

Cost of new books. Slave scribes.

Cost of new books.But ordinary copies of newly published works, even by popular authors, appear to have been but little more expensive than books of this class are at the present day. The publisher and bookseller Tryphon could sell Martial's first book of Epigrams at a profit for two denarii—barely two shillings in modern value; see Mart. XIII. 3. It may seem strange that written manuscripts should not have been much more costly than printed books, but when one considers how they were produced the reason is evident. Slave scribes.Atticus, the Sosii and other chief publishers of Rome owned a large number of slaves who were trained to be neat and rapid scribes. Fifty or a hundred of these slaves could write from the dictation of one reader, and thus a small edition of a new volume of Horace's Odes or Martial's Epigrams could be produced with great rapidity and at very small cost^[14].

Little capital would be required for the education of the slave-scribes, and when once they were taught, the cost of their labour would be little more than the small amount of food which was necessary to keep them alive and in working order.

Cicero (Att. II. 4) speaks of the publisher Atticus selling manuscripts produced in this way by slave labour on a large scale.

Librarii.

Librarii.The name librarius was given not only to the booksellers, but also to slave librarians, and to scribes, the latter being sometimes distinguished by the name scriptores librarii. Librarii antiquarii were writers who were specially skilled in copying ancient manuscripts. The word scriba commonly denotes a secretary rather than what we should now call a scribe.

In Athens a class of booksellers, βιβλιογράφοι, appears to have existed as early as the fifth century B.C.; see Poll. VII. 211. The name βιβλιοπῶλαι was subsequently used, and adopted by the Romans.