The thirteenth Booke of 



the hammer, and driven out in length and breadth. After this manner was that Paper madG, G 

 wherein were written the bookes and records of thetwo Gracchr,, Tderm^nd Caim^ with their 

 owne hands, long agoe:thc whichlfawinthehoiifeof Pompomm Seamdm ^i^nohlccmztnoi 

 Rome,and a renowmed Poetjalraott two hundred yeares after their death. As for the writings of 

 Ciceroni Augujlm late Empcrour of famous mcmorie^ and of Vtrgtll^ wee daily fee and handle 

 ihem^by the meancs of Paper fo good and durable. 



Chap. xiii. 

 ^ of the bookes of liitma^ 



WE find many eiiamples in ftories, which very diredly and mightily doe teftifie ggainft j| 

 O^yarro^^s touchingPapcrs.For 0/f/«* ^«OT/»4(amoftfaithfullandauncientwri- 

 ufsmtHs, ter) in the fourth book of his Annalcs,hath reported^That one^C».T erentim a (cribc 



or publick NotariCjas he digged and delved in a ground which he had neare to laniculum, light 

 uponachiftj wherein lay the bodie of Numa^ fometimc king of Rome. Lithe fame alio were 

 found the bookes of the faid king. And(as he 3ffirmeth)this happened in that yeare,when Pnh^ 

 Comdipis thefonne of £«f/^,furnamedc^'/^^^^,and (JW.iB<r^//^fonne oi^intm^ furnamed 

 Pdmphtm^ were Confuls of Rome : betweene which time and the raigne of Nima^ by juft com- 

 putation are reckoned 535^ yeeres.He faith moreover,That thofe books were made of the Paper 

 abovenamed.The greater wonder it was, how fuch kind of bookes iTiould iaft fo longjcfpecially 

 within the earth,and not putrifie ?The thing therefore being loftrange, and in manner miracu- 

 louSjthat Paper fhould continue all that time, Ithinkeit not amiflTe to fctdowne the very words I 

 of Hemina himfelfe,as he delivereth them..The world made a wonder(quoth he)how thole books 

 could poflibly endure fo many yeares ? but the partie who found them yeelded this reafbn:Thac 

 within tik faid coffer about the middeft of itjiherc was a flone foure*fquare,Iapped all about and 

 bound every way with [waxej candles m manner of a Icrecloth : upon which ftone, the forcfaid 

 books were laid : andtheiforeit was(as hefuppofed)thatthey did not rot-Moreover^ihe books 

 alfo were embaulmed with the rofin or oile of Cedar, which might be a good reafon in his con- 

 ceiT,thai the moths came not to them.Now thefe books contained thePhilofophie and doctrine 

 of Pythagoras randforthatthey treated ofthatPhilofophicaiiargumentjburnttheywerCjby or- . 

 der from ,^^ettlim the Pretour for that time being. Tiie fame itorie in effed doth C,Pijo Cen- 

 forinm (a man who had been Cenfor)report in the firft booke of his Commentaries : howbeit, K 

 he fetteth downe their number withalh and laith they were foureteene in all, whereof feven trea- 

 ted of the Poniificall law, and matters of religion i and as many difcouifed of Pyth.igor ad his 

 Philofophie,ButT»^//>rf»«tf in the thirteenth booke of the Annalcs affirmeth, That they were 

 the decretals onely of Numaf and contained his ordinances.A.s for F4rro hinl{elfe,he wriieth in 

 the fift booke of Humane Antiquities, that they were in all but twelve. And t^ntuis in bis ie- 

 cond booke leporteth, That two of them were written in Latine, and contained the Pontificiali 

 divinitie and church-matters : and other twaine penned in Greeke, were full of precepts in Phi- 

 loibphie^He alfo affirmeth in his third booke/or what caufe the faidbookes by venue of a pub- 

 licke decree were conlumed with fire.But all Hilioriographers agree in this, That one of the St- 

 tyls brought unto T arquin;u6 the prowd three books; of which, two were burnt by her own felfe: 

 and the third likewife periflied with firejtogether with the.G.apitoUjdiiring the troubles of Silk, 

 Over and befides,c>^«r/J»^//,aman who had ben thrice Conliili of Romejhath left upon record, 

 that of late,while he was lord governour of Lycia,hee red in a certaine temple an Epiftle written 

 by prince Sarpedon in Paperjand bearing date from Troy. And I wonder therather at this,if fo 

 bcthat when Homer lived and wrate hisPoeme, there was noland of ^gypt as now there is : or 

 whyjin cafe there was fuch ufe of Paper then, himfelfe fhould write, liatin the very fame Lycia^ 

 Bellerophon had writing tables given him to deliver astouching his ownedeath, and not rather 

 letters mifTivc written in Paper ? Welljhowfoever that bcc^this is certaine5that there is a fcarfitic 

 otherwhiksof Paper alfo^ aswellasof other commodiiie&:andthiscaneorreedPapyrusdoih |^ 

 many times fai|e. For not long fincc, even in thedaies oiTthmm theEmpcror,in a dearth and 

 want of Paper, there were commillionexs deputed arid appointed by the Senate of Rome, for 

 the difpenfing and diilriburion of it among the people : otherwife there had been a great muti- 



