342 The Literary Treasures of Longleat. 
most carefully attended to, and were all, by the order of their present 
owner, placed in proper hands in London, and now stand secure for 
many generations to come. Not to weary you with too minute 
detail, I will name a few of the most important among them. The 
Bible in English, after the translation usually ascribed to John 
Wiclif, 15th century ; a large thick folio, pure vellum, 398 pages; 
a fine and valuable MS. written in a plain Gothic hand, profusely 
ornamented with initial letters in blue and minium.~ It contains 
the whole of the Old and New Testaments, beginning with the 
prefatory epistle of St. Jerome, addressed to “ Brother Ambrose.” 
It once belonged to Sir Henry Spelman. ‘ The Homilies of Origen 
on the Old Testament,” a very fine folio volume in vellum of 146 
leaves. A Latin psalter of the fourteenth century with initial 
letters. Another noble volume of the twelfth century, the works of 
Zacharias of Chrysopolis. I need scarcely remind you that on the 
breaking up of the monasteries the fine old MSS. which had been 
written and preserved in their libraries met with very rough usage. 
They were converted into covers of copy books, used for strong 
backing in binding of printed books ; indeed for all sorts of purposes. 
I have found several at Longleat scribbled over by persons trying 
their pens or drawing caricatures. And in this particular volume of 
Zacharias of Chrysopolis there is on one page a farm bailifl’s account 
—William Hayman’s account for bullucks, 12 May, 35 Henry 
VIIL” Next is a “ Liber Pontificalis” of thirteenth century, con- 
taining the forms of certain services used in consecration of churches 
or cemeteries, in the office of matrimony, benediction of rings, ap- 
pointment of abbesses, and the like. “The Life of Christ,” by 
Bonaventure, Bishop of Albania and Cardinal, translated into 
English by John Morton ; fifteenth century. This is a very inter- 
esting MS., in the quaintest English possible, and intended, as the 
preface says, “‘ for folk of simple understanding : children that haven 
nede to be fedde with mylke of light doctrine, and not with sad meat 
of great clergy and high contemplation.” The spelling and words 
are very curious. The teaching of St. John, it says, was given as 
“treacle”? against the venom of “ dyverse heretykes ;” and instead 
of being called the Redeemer, our Lord is spoken of as the “agen- 

