VI 



PRIMITIVE BOOKS 



IN considering the work of ancient scribes, one is met 

 at the outset with the curious fact that it is some- 

 what difficult to say just what constitutes a book. 

 We may assume, however, for the present purpose, that 

 a book is any written or printed document, more exten- 

 sive than a mere letter, intended to convey information 

 from one person to another. Our first concern will be 

 with the primitive types of books. Making a very bold 

 and general classification, there may be said to be five 

 of these, namely, first, the papyrus roll, as used by 

 the early Egyptians; second, the tablet of baked clay; 

 third, the prism or cylinder of the same material, used 

 by the Babylonians and Assyrians; fourth, the palm- 

 leaf type, as employed by the Hindus and their followers 

 of the Far East; fifth, folded books. 



It is perhaps impossible to say with certainty which 

 of these types is the most primitive. The oldest books 

 in existence are, doubtless, those' of the Babylonians; 

 but the great permanency of these is explained by the 

 material of which they are composed, and it does not 

 follow that they were necessarily the first books to be 

 made. We know that the Egyptians employed a papyrus 

 roll from the earliest historical periods, and that the 

 Hindus made their palm-leaf books at a very early 



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