BOO
BOO
prcfrnt in the civil wars they defcribe: Xenophon having an employment in the Spartan ftate, has treated excellently of that commonwealth ; and Amelot de la Houffaye by living long at Venice, was enabled to explain the fecrets of their policy : Camden wrote annals of the affairs of his own time ; Thuanus had correfpondences with the beft writers in every country ; and Puffendorf had accefs to the public ar- chives. So, in practical divinity, more regard is due to thofe who have actually difcharged the office of paftors than to others; and in literary matters, we give credit to thofe who have the direction of libraries, y. The time or age wherein the author lived may give fome light ; every age having, according to Barclay, its peculiar genius and ex- cellency b . — *Vtd, Barth. de lib. legend. Dif. 2. p. 45. b Stray, lib. tit. c. 5. §. 3. p. 390. Budd. Dif. de criter. boni Ubri, §. 7. p. 7. Heuman. Confp. Reipub. Liter, p. 152.
- Struv. lib. cit. §. 4. p. 393. d Mifc. Lipf. T. 3. p. 287.
' Struv. lib. cit. §. 5.^. 396. fiq. Baill. c. 10. p.yfi. f Bail]. c. a. p. 378. Barth. Dif. 2. p. 43. feq. Struv. §. 6. 1 Id. ibtd. p . 45. h Struv. Hb. cit. §. 15. p. 430. feq. & 404. feq. Baill. c. 1. p. 121. feq. Heuman. Via ad Hi]}, Liter, c. 7.
§■ 7- P> 35 6 -
Some judge by the bulk or fize of books ; following the gram- marian Callimachus's rule, that every great book is of courfe an ill one, (aya. $j|3a»v, fisytt tuauv x : a fingle leaf of the Si- byl, was doubtlefs preferable to the vaft annals of Volufius : yet Pliny's obfervation will neverthelefs hold true, that " a " good book is fo much the better by how much it is bigger." Bonus liber melior eji quifque quo major b . Martial gives us a remedy againft the largenefs of a book, where that is the only complaint : read but a little of it.
Si nimius videar, feraque coronide longus Efe liber, legita pauca, libellus ero. Yet is the fmallnefs of a book, a real prefumption in its fa- vour : he muft be a poor author who cannot furnifii a pam- phlet, or loofe fheet with things curious, and written with fpirit : but to fupport the fame through a volume in folio, requires other-guife funds. In reality, in large books it is allowed a man to be fometimes dull : a heavy preamble is expected, and a ferics of words of courfe, ere you come to the bufinefs ; in the profecution of which many nodding places are likewife allowed ; but fmaller pieces are indulged none of thefe privileges : they muft immediately fall into their fubject, and treat every part of it in a lively manner : the matter muft be thrown clofe together, and either be new in itfelf, or in the turn which is given it. — Were the beft authors of volumes in form retailed to the public piece- meal, we fhould complain of many flat expreffions, trivial obfer vat ions, beaten topics, and common thoughts, which paf3 well enough off in the lump c . — ■ Vid. Barth lib. cit. diff. 3. p. 62. feqq. h Plin. Epifl. 20. /. I. c Ad dif. in Spcfiat. N° 124.
See further concerning books, in the writers on literary hifto- ry, libraries, ftudies, learning, arts and fciences ; more efpe- cially in Salden a , Bartholin b , Hodanus c , Sacchinus A , Bail- let c , Buddeus f , Saalbach % Putherbeus h , Raynaud \ Schuf- ner k , Lauffer ', Schwartzius m , Crenius ", and others, who have written treatifes exprefs concerning books. — * Chrift. Li- berius, i. e. Gul. Saldenus, fafrxtotpiJua, Jive de libris fcriben- dis & legendis. Ultra j. 1681. 12°. & Amrtel. 1688. 8°. Struv. Introd. ad Hijl. Liter, c. 5. §. 21. p. 454. b Th. Bar- tholini de libris legendis. 1678. 8°. & Francof. 1711. 12°. Struv. he. cit. c Jo. Fred. Hodanni Dijfert. de libris legen- dis. Hannov. 1705. 8°. Struv. loc. cit. d Fr. Sacchini de Ratione Ubros cum prof eclu legendi. Lipf. 1711. 12°. ' Baillet 'Jugemens dc-s Scavans fur les principaux ouvrages des auteurs. T. 1. f Car. Frid. Buddeus, de criteriis boni Ubri. Jen. 1714. % Chr. Saalbach Schediafma de libris veterum. Gryphis. 1705. 4 . Fabric, Bibl. Ant. c. 19. §. 7. p. 607. Reimm. Idea Syjl. Aniiq. Liter, p. 229. feqq. h Gab. Putherbeus de tollen- dis y expurgandls malts libris. Par. 1549. 8°. Struv. lib. cit. c. 8. p. 694, feqq. ' Theoph. Raynaud Erotemata de bonis ac inalis libris. Lugd. 1653. 4 . Morhof. Polybijl. Liter. I. 1. c. 16. «. 28. p. 177. K Schufner Diff. Acad, de multt'tudine Librorum. Jense. 1702. 4 . ' Lauffer Dijf. adverf. Nimiam Librorum multitudinem. Vid. Jour, des Scav. T. 75. p. 572, " Chr. Got. Schwartzius de Ornamcntis librorum apud vete- res. Lipf. 1705 & 1707. Reimm. Idea Syjl. Antiq. p. 335. n Tho. Crenius de libris fcriptorum opttmis tsf utilijjimis. Lugd. Bat. 1704. 8°. an extract of which is given in Acl. Erud. Lipf. an. 1704. p. 526. feq.
Ccnfors of Books. ? ^.^ CCensor.
Privileges of Books. $ ^Privilege.
Common place Book.7 & h . k cCommon Place.
Text Book. J JText.
Book, is alfo ufed for a part or divifton of a volume, or large work. See Section, c9V.
In this fenfe we fay the book of Genefis, the firft book of Kings, the five books of Mofes, &c. — The Digeft is con- tained in fifty books, the Code in twelve books. Books are ufually fub-divided into chapters, fometimes into fe&ions, or paragraphs : accurate writers quote chapter and book. See Chapter, &c. •
Buok, is alfo ufed for a lift or catalogue of perfons names. —
Such among the ancients were the cenforial books, Ubri cenfi. rii; being tables or regifters containing the names of all thofe who were cenfed or taxed under Auguftus. Tertullian allures us, that our Saviour's name was found in the cenfo- rial books of Auguftus. — Vid. Tertul. adv. Marcion. I. 4. c. 7. De unfit Augujli quem tejlem fidelijjimum Dominica vativitatis Rmam archive cujhdiant. fid. Lomei de Biblioth. p 104 Pitifc. L. Jnt. T. 2. p. 84. See alfo Census. BOOK-SELLER, a profefled trader in books ; whether he print them himfelf, or procure them to be printed by others, for fale. See Book.
Bookfellen, among us, are the fame with bibliopoU, amone the anci?nts, whofe office was diftinft from that of librarii See Li B R A R 1 1. Petty dealers, or venders of fmall warel like our pubhfhers, were more particularly denominated li- bcllioaes ; whence Statius,— it cap/a miferi libillionis.—Vid Stat. Sylv. 1. 4. Carm. 9. v. 21. Fabr. The/, p. 1395. Authors frequently complain of the arts of backfillers': lord Shaftefbury gives the procefs of a literary controverfy blown up by bookfellers b . The publication of books depends much on the tafte and difpofition of bookfellers : among the German writers we find perpetual complaints of the difficulty of pro- curing bookfellers ; many are forced to travel to the book-fiirs at Francfort, or Leipfic, to find bookfellers to undertake the impreffion of their works : at Rome, the Argiletum was the mart of books, as Paul's Church-yard, or Fleetftreet among us : whence that of Martial e ,
Argiletanas mavis habitare tabemas,
Cum tibi, pane liber, firinia nojlra vacent. » Vid. Schoettg. diff. de librar. & bibliop. Saleng. mem. de liter. T. 1. p. 174. "Characl. T. 3. p. 10. feqq. Item p. 15. fas. Item p. 27. ' Vid. Martial. Epig. l.\.ep. 4. v. I. The fairs of Francfort and Leipfic are famous for the refort of bookfellers, not only from all parts of the empire, but Hol- land, Flanders, &c. They have each their (hop or ware- houfe, over which is inferibed the name of fome celebrated backfiller of former times ; officina Eheviriana, Frabeniana, Morelliana, Janfoniana, &c. A like conceit has taken fome London bookfellers, to inferibe over their door, bibliopolium, as if people could not know a fliop to be a baokfeller's without a. Latin name. Even ftall-men dignify their ftand with biblio- polium ; and Moorfields may probably, ere long, be furround- ed with bibliapclia.
Formerly, the offices of backfillers and printers were united in the fame perfons ". See Pr iht e r. — Labbe " gives a lift of learned bookfellers ; moft of whom were alfo authors. — Of late days, bookfellers have drawn their bufinefs into lefs com- pafs, and leaving the labour of compofing books to one fet of perfons, and that of printing them to another, content themfelves with the gainful part ; thus miniftring to the re- public of letters not with the head, or the hand, but the purfe only. In which refpeft, not to mention fome of our own bookfellers, the Vander Aa's at Leyden, Gleditfch's and Fritfch's at Leipfic, Mortier's and Wetftein's at Amfterdam, and Halma's at Utrecht % though much below the Stephens's, Aldus's, Vafcofan's, Frobenius's, and Morel's, have never- thelefs acquired a juft fame.— 'Vid. Struv. Introd. in ruth. Rei Literar. c. II. §. 15. p. 930. Thurman. Bibl. Acad, p. 56. feq. b Labbe Biblioth. Biblioth. p. 233. ' Struv. lib. cit. §. 38. p. 953.
The chief fcience of bookfellers, is the CCTuoyiw,*, or know- ledge of books ; we mean of the titles, different editions, prices and fcarcity of books, without regard to their con- tents, or qualities, otherwife than as thefe affeft the fale of them.— Vid. Struv. Introd. in notit. Rei Literar. c. 1. §. 1. p. I. feq. Lang. Injl. Stud. Theol. c. 1. memb. 2. p. 98. feq. See alfo the article Book.
An acquaintance with the bookfellers marks or figns, fre- quently exprcfled on the title-pages of their books, is of fome ufe ; by reafon many books, efpecially in the laft century, have no other defignation either of printer, backfiller, or even city. — The anchor then, is the mark of Rapheleegius at Ley- den, and the fame with a dolphin twilled round it, of the Manutii at Venice and Rome ; the Arion denotes a book printed by Oporinus at Bafil; the caducous, or pegafus, by the Wechelius's at Paris and Francfort; the cranes, by Cramoify ; the campafs, by Plantin at Antwerp : the foun- tain, by Vafcofan at Paris ; the fp here in a balance, by Jan- fon or Blaew, at Amfterdam ; the lilly, by the Junta's at Venice, Florence, Lyons and Rome ; the mulberry-tree, by Morel at Paris ; the olive-tree, by the Stephens's at Paris and Geneva, and the Elzevirs at Amfterdam and Leyden ; the bird between two firpents, by the Frobenius's at Bafil ; the truth, by the Commelins at Heidelberg and Paris ; the Sa- turn, byColinaeus; the printing-prefs, by Badius Afcenfius, i3V. — Vid. Baill. Jugem. des Scav. T. 1. P. 2. p. 91. feqq. Bookfellers are a kind of agents, or curators in the republic letters: in many places, they are ranked among the members of univerfities, and entitled to the privileges of ftudents ; as at Tubingen, Salifburg, and Paris », where they have always been diftinguifhed from the vulgar and mechanical traders, and exempted from divers taxes and impofitions laid on other companies b . — " Vid. Fritfch. diff. de bibliop. c. 7. §. I. feqq. b Savar. D. com. T. 2. p. 535. feq. vol. Libraire.
The
