ROMAN LIBRARIES
As early as 146 B.C. at the end of the Punic wars, the collections of Carthage were distributed by the Senate to the minor kings of Africa. The Senate, however, retained 28 volumes of Mago's works for translation into Latin—(Pliny. Hist. 18:3), which points certainly to a non-archival public collection. The Carthaginians, it may be said in passing, also had well kept public archives at this time (Liv. 30:38). After 168 Aemilius Paulus brought the royal Macedonian library of Perseus to Rome and his example was followed by Sulla who brought the library of Apellicon, which included that of Aristotle. Lucullus, too, brought literary spoils from Asia. Although some of these appear in private ownership later, they witness at least to the quantities of books brought to Rome as spoils of war and in consequence of military visits to other regions. Lucullus' library was a public library as to use but not as to ownership.
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