irpl. THREE LUMINARIES OF THE' ROMANS. I39 



expreffion, perhaps not a fingle word in the whole 

 book that is not to be found in the writings of Cicero. 

 It is written a good deal in the manner of the pieces 

 called Centos, but without the incoherence ufual in 

 fuch pieces, this being in an eafy and flowing flyle, and 

 I dare fay, there never was, and perhaps never will be 

 a Cento of fuch length, and on matters of fuch im- 

 portance, in which the excerpts from the original author 

 are inferted with fo much propriety. 



I am perfuaded that he mull have been able to re- 

 peat by memory the v/hole works of Cicero, as it is 

 icarcely poffible that the life of one man could fuffice 

 to compofe fo large a work by turning over the leaves 

 of the book to find the various expreffion and i^ijfimn 

 njerba fuited to the various occafions on which they 

 could be properly ufed. For "this purpofe he mult 

 have had them all trcafured up in his mind, from 

 which, as from a rich ftore-houfe, he could take out 

 each particular, according as he found occafion. 



Some few notes, well worth reading, are interfperfed 

 by Bellenden. As no authors are mentioned in the book, 

 but only referred to in the margin, I cannot precifely 

 determine who are the' other two befides Cicero, who 

 are entitled the Ltanitmries of the Romans^ unlefs they 

 be Plutarch and Ovid, to wh®m he often refers, and 

 particularly to the Fiijli of the latter. 



Tha fate of this book has been extraordinary. Bel- 

 lenden lived in the Court of James the firft of .Britain, 

 and is faid, in the title page, to have been Supplicium /:- 

 bellonnn mag'ijler ; after his deatji the MS. fell into the 

 hands of one Toujfa'ins du Bray, who printed it at Paris, 

 and dedicated it to our K. Charles the fecond, in the 

 year 1663. He would probably keep fome few copies, 

 but tranfmitted the red, faid to have been a thoufand, 

 to Loniion. Tiie fiilp, on board which they were put, 

 WIS wrecked on the paflagc, and only four or five cd- 

 pi>;s, fent by other conveyances, ever reached Britain. 

 One of iliem was iii tlic h inds of ^ gentl'^man in Lon- 

 R 2 



