Peters Epistle_ in
letters of gold.' He begged all his friends to send him books as a
refreshment in the wilderness. Bishop Daniel is asked for the
_Prophecies_ 'written very large.' Bishop Lulla is to send a cosmography
and a volume of poems. He applies to one Archbishop for the works of
Bede, 'who is the lamp of the Church,' and to the other for the Pope's
_Answers to Augustine_, which cannot be found in the Roman bookshops.
Boniface was Primate of Germany; but he resigned his high office to work
among the rude tribes of Friesland. We learn that he carried some of his
choicest books with him on his last ill-fated expedition, when the meadow
and the river-banks were strewn with the glittering service-books after
the murder of the Saint and his companions.
Egbert of York set up a large library in the Minster. Alcuin took charge
of it after his friend's death, and composed a versified catalogue, of
such merit as the nature of the task allowed. 'Here you may trace the
footsteps of the Fathers; here you meet the clear-souled Aristotle and
Tully of the mighty tongue; here Basil and Fulgentius shine, and
Cassiodorus and John of the Golden Mouth.' As Alcuin was returning from
book-buying at Rome he met Charles the Great at Parma. The Emperor
persuaded the traveller to enter his service, and they succeeded by their
joint efforts in producing a wonderful revival of literature. The Emperor
had a fine private collection of MSS. adorned in the Anglo-Frankish
style; and he established a public library, containing the works of the
Fathers, 'so that the poorest student might find a place at the banquet
of learning.
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