(1997 ) 
; during fk Life or Reign ol Tuch a perfon. Efpeciallyif 
that Succeffion be afterwards continued by a more recem 
Hand, or that there be two fuch Succeffions, as of Kwgs 
and Bijkops^ and the laft of each happen to be Cotempora- 
ries. Other Obfervations I have made from Uijiorkal Notes 
and Ecclefiafiical Tables^- in feme Books, At other times I 
hght upon fome Authentic Charter ox OrigindWrHlng^m the 
fame Hand with fuch a Book as I have remembred to have 
formerly feen, but without any guefs at the Age of ir. 
The Age of the Charter being known, that of the Book h 
then known alfo for I never enterrain'd any Notion, or 
relied upon any Obfervation, but asl found it confirmy by 
the Suffrage of concurring Circiimftances, and fufEcient 
Authorityv 
But even in Dates^ I have found that a man ought to . 
be very Cautious 3 for fome have been altered hj later 
Hands, for corrupt and bafe'Ends. Some are fo worded, 
as when one thinks that the time they men tion, is the 
time when the MS. was finifli'd by the Copifte, ox'Book- 
miter 5 it is meant only as to the time when the Author 
finifh*d his Compolition; Other Books are Pojhdated that 
they might be accounted New. Of this laft kind, is a 
Greek MS. I faw in the Uriiverfity Library at Cmhridg^^ 
which, as appears by a written Annotation therein, v/as 
bought fuch a year at Komey for fb much 3 and yet the Date 
pretends that the Book was written at Rome in fuch a year, 
which happens to be two years after it was bought and 
paid for. The Reafon of thefe P^/Z-Di^/ej- was, becaufe, 
Ijefore Printing came up, a Book was by how much the 
Newer^ by fo much the more Valualk. An old Book might 
be bought for an old Song^ ( as we fay ) but he that tran- 
fcribed a frefh Copy muft be paid for his pains. And 
therefore, I have found in fome Catalogues of the MSS. 
formerly extant in om AhhcyLihrariesy that when they 
faid fuch a Book was Liber Pet us ^ they would often add, 
inuiilk 5 but Lih^r Nqvhs was Mtidns^ Hegmtcr fcripr 
tus. 
