% APPENDIX. 



in very early days directly from Egypt. Numa, too, who live J 

 300 years before Alexander, is faid; to have left a number 

 of books wrote on the papyrus,, which a long time after his 

 death were found at Kome. 



All this might very well be ; the writers of thofe early 

 ages were but few, and thofe that then were, had all of 

 them, more or iefs v conneetion by their learning: with Egypt; 

 it was to them only Egypt was known, and if they learned to 

 write there, it was not improbable, that from thence too they 

 adopted, the materials moil commodious for writing, upon^ 



With Arifto tie began the ■ firff arrangement of a library. 

 Alexander's conquer!,; and the building of Alexandria, laid 

 epen Egypt, its trade and learning, to the world. Papyrus 

 then, or the paper made from it, was the only materials 

 made ufe of for wiiting upon. A violent defire of amaliing 

 books, and a library, immediately followed, which we may 

 £afely attribute to the example, fet by Ariftotle.. 



The Ptolemies, and the kings of Pergamus, contended 

 who mould make the largeft collection.. The Ptolemies,, 

 mailers of Egypt and of the papyrus, availed themfelves of 

 this monopoly to hinder the multiplication of books in 

 Greece. The other princes probably fmuggled this plant, 

 and propagated it wherever it would grow out of Egypt. And, 

 Eumenes king of Pergamus fet about bringing to perfection 

 the manufacture of parchment, which, long before, the Icv. 

 nians hadufed from the fcarchy of paper ; for whatever re- 

 femblance there might be in names, or whatever may be 

 Inferred from them, writing upon ikins or parchment was.-, 

 2 imichi 



