The New Student's Reference Work/Alexandrian Library

Alexandrian Library, probably the largest collection of books ever gathered before the invention of printing. It was founded by Ptolemy I and Ptolemy II, of Egypt, and contained books in all languages. It was housed in two buildings, the Museum and the Serapeum. The number of volumes was said to be seven hundred thousand, but this would not amount to as much as a modern library of printed books of the same number, because at that time all books were written, and each part of a book was called a volume. Thus the Iliad, which now makes one volume, was then twenty-four volumes. Students came to this library from all parts of the world to study. When Julius Cæsar besieged Alexandria, a large part of the library was burned. Mark Antony, however, presented a new collection to Cleopatra from Pergamus, and the library went on increasing for four centuries, till the Serapeum was destroyed by command of the Emperor Theodosius. The library was again re-established, but was burned a second time, about 640 A. D., when the Arabs conquered the city. The story is told that the Arab caliph, Omar, when asked to preserve the library, said: "If these writings of the Greeks agree with the Koran, they are useless and need not be preserved; if they disagree, they are pernicious and ought to be destroyed." So they were used to heat the four thousand baths of the city, and such was their number that six month were barely sufficient to use up the precious fuel.