Book contents
- Frontmatter
- PREFACE
- Contents
- LIBRARIES, AND THE FOUNDERS OF LIBRARIES
- CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY.—THE ANCIENT LIBRARIES OF EGYPT, OF JUDÆA, OF GREECE, AND OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
- CHAPTER II INTRODUCTORY. — MEDIÆVAL AND MODERN LIBRARIES. — ANTICIPATORY SURVEY OF THE SUBJECT, IN GENERAL
- CHAPTER III OF SOME LIBRARIES OF MONASTERIES ABROAD
- CHAPTER IV OF SOME LIBRARIES OF MONASTERIES AT HOME
- CHAPTER V CONCERNING THE LIBRARIES OF SOME FAMOUS AUTHORS, OF VARIOUS PERIODS
- CHAPTER VI CONCERNING THE LIBRARIES OF SOME CELEBRATED MONARCHS AND ROYAL PERSONAGES, OF VARIOUS PERIODS
- CHAPTER VII HISTORY OF THE OLD ROYAL LIBRARY OF THE KINGS OF ENGLAND
- CHAPTER VIII HISTORY OF THE STATE PAPER OFFICE
- CHAPTER IX HISTORY OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF THE REALM, IN THEIR EARLY PERIOD OF GROWTH AND SEPARATE CUSTODY
- CHAPTER X THE LIFE OF THOMAS PARKER, EARL OF MACCLESFIELD.—THE LIFE OF NICHOLAS JOSEPH FOUCAULT.—HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE LIBRARY AT SHIRBURN CASTLE IN OXFORDSHIRE
- CHAPTER XI THE LIFE OF CHARLES SPENCER, THIRD EARL OF SUNDERLAND. — HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE LIBRARY AT BLENHEIM PALACE
- CHAPTER XII THE PUBLIC LIFE OF GEORGE JOHN, SECOND EARL SPENCER.—HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE SPENCER LIBRARY AT ALTHORP
- APPENDIX A LIST AND DESCRIPTION OF EXTANT CATALOGUES OF ENGLISH MONASTIC LIBRARIES, DISTINGUISHING THE UNPRINTED FROM THE PRINTED
- APPENDIX B NOTE ON THE LIBRARY OF KING EDWARD THE SIXTH
- APPENDIX C SUMMARY CLASSIFICATION AND SYNOPTICAL VIEW OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF THE REALM
- Plate section
CHAPTER VI - CONCERNING THE LIBRARIES OF SOME CELEBRATED MONARCHS AND ROYAL PERSONAGES, OF VARIOUS PERIODS
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 November 2010
- Frontmatter
- PREFACE
- Contents
- LIBRARIES, AND THE FOUNDERS OF LIBRARIES
- CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY.—THE ANCIENT LIBRARIES OF EGYPT, OF JUDÆA, OF GREECE, AND OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
- CHAPTER II INTRODUCTORY. — MEDIÆVAL AND MODERN LIBRARIES. — ANTICIPATORY SURVEY OF THE SUBJECT, IN GENERAL
- CHAPTER III OF SOME LIBRARIES OF MONASTERIES ABROAD
- CHAPTER IV OF SOME LIBRARIES OF MONASTERIES AT HOME
- CHAPTER V CONCERNING THE LIBRARIES OF SOME FAMOUS AUTHORS, OF VARIOUS PERIODS
- CHAPTER VI CONCERNING THE LIBRARIES OF SOME CELEBRATED MONARCHS AND ROYAL PERSONAGES, OF VARIOUS PERIODS
- CHAPTER VII HISTORY OF THE OLD ROYAL LIBRARY OF THE KINGS OF ENGLAND
- CHAPTER VIII HISTORY OF THE STATE PAPER OFFICE
- CHAPTER IX HISTORY OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF THE REALM, IN THEIR EARLY PERIOD OF GROWTH AND SEPARATE CUSTODY
- CHAPTER X THE LIFE OF THOMAS PARKER, EARL OF MACCLESFIELD.—THE LIFE OF NICHOLAS JOSEPH FOUCAULT.—HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE LIBRARY AT SHIRBURN CASTLE IN OXFORDSHIRE
- CHAPTER XI THE LIFE OF CHARLES SPENCER, THIRD EARL OF SUNDERLAND. — HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE LIBRARY AT BLENHEIM PALACE
- CHAPTER XII THE PUBLIC LIFE OF GEORGE JOHN, SECOND EARL SPENCER.—HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE SPENCER LIBRARY AT ALTHORP
- APPENDIX A LIST AND DESCRIPTION OF EXTANT CATALOGUES OF ENGLISH MONASTIC LIBRARIES, DISTINGUISHING THE UNPRINTED FROM THE PRINTED
- APPENDIX B NOTE ON THE LIBRARY OF KING EDWARD THE SIXTH
- APPENDIX C SUMMARY CLASSIFICATION AND SYNOPTICAL VIEW OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF THE REALM
- Plate section
Summary
Nor stony tower, nor walls of beaten brass,
Nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron,
Can be [obstructive] to the strength, of spirit.
Julius Cæsar, I, 3.……………………Let me not live,
After my flame lacks oil, to be the snuff
Of younger spirits, whose apprehensive senses
All but new things disdain ; whose judgments are
Mere fathers of their garments ; whose constancies
Expire before their fashions.………………
All's Well that ends Well, I, 3.In this chapter I group together some collections remarkable in their day, but more from the character and fortunes of their owners than from their actual contents. Many adventitious circumstances serve to heighten our interest in particular books; none, I suppose, more prominently, or more naturally, than their known influence over famous men in their formative period; or their known value in solacing the dark days of those who have fallen from power, or from a lofty station, into the depths of adversity. It can never, I imagine, be other than matter of enduring interest to know the books that have charmed—whether in youth or in maturity, in the flood or in the ebb of fortune—the men who, for a season, have seemed to “bestride tbe narrow world, like a Colossus.” One memorable instance conjoins both kinds of attraction. But, first of all, we will glance at some instances of a minor order.
Among the royal personages of France, Charles V, his son Charles VI (prior to the time of his mental aberration), and the Consort of that prince, Isabel of Bavaria, seem to be the earliest who took delight in gathering books.
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- Libraries and Founders of Libraries , pp. 101 - 142Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010