At Rome he
bought books by the fathom; he skimmed the German shelves, and passed
over into England to relieve the islanders of their riches. At Lyons he
met Marshal Villeroi, who gave him a great portion of the books which
Cardinal de Tournon had bequeathed to the Jesuits. We trace the result
of his travels in his description of the libraries of Europe. Certain
subjects, as he said, are in vogue at particular places, and we ought
always to notice the book-fashions to show our respect for the feelings
of mankind. 'For positive science we go to Rome or Florence or Naples,
and for jurisprudence to Paris or Milan; France supplies us with history;
and if we wanted scholastic lore we might go to Spain, or the colleges of
Oxford and Cambridge.'
In 1647 the Mazarine Library contained about 45,000 volumes, and Naude in
his joy proclaimed it as the eighth wonder of the world. The Parisians
appeared to be delighted with the superb Lomenie MSS. and the crowd of
bright volumes in the Cardinal's ordinary livery. But in 1651 the
Parliament got the upper hand of the 'Red Tyrant' in one of the unmeaning
struggles of the Wars of the Fronde; the property of Mazarin was
confiscated for a time, and the library was put up for sale. The list of
Commissioners included the respectable names of Alexandre Petau and
Pierre Pithou; yet we are assured that the auction resembled a massacre,
and that hardly any obstacle was placed in the way of the most impudent
thefts.
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