1800] Dr. Hager’s Detection of the Forgery of the Books of Livy, 13% 
ently lucrative; in confequence a letter 
arrived from Africa, purporting that at 
Fez they poffeffed another, butfar more 
complete, copy of the Code; and the king 
of Naples immediately ordered the fum of 
ene thoufand ounces to be paid towards 
defraying the expences of the voyage thi- 
ther as foon as it fliould be determined 
upon. This literary expedition, however, 
did not take place: indeed there was no 
neceflity for it, as the new abbate had fo 
many punétual correfpondents in feveral 
places of the African continent. And 
though his inquiries were feemingly at- 
tended with various difficulties, he re- 
ceived from thence as many extracts and 
copies of papers as he deemed requifite for 
his hiftory ; he even contrived, through 
the medium of his corretponding friends, to 
obtain a new collection of ftate-papers 
relative tothe Norman period of the hiftory 
of Sicily ; in fhort, he could get whatever 
he was afked for. His tranflations were 
continued without interruption, fo as to 
enable the archbifhop Airoldi, at the ex- 
pence of two thoufand ounces, to print the 
Godice diplomatico di Sicilia fotto tl governo 
degli Arabi, in four volumes in quarto, 
containing the occurrences from the year 
827 down to 1039.. “wo more volumes 
are ready for the’prefs : for why fhould he 
not fatisfy his readers with a complete 
relation of events during the Arabic period 
up to its-very laft year, having commenced 
the recital from the very firft? But alas ! 
after the cataftrophe which overtook the 
adroit tranflator, thofe two remaining 
volumes were never printed. 
The fame addrefs which Vella evinced 
in procuring or at leaft turning to profit the 
pretended materials for his work, was 
difplayed by him in fecuring thofe which 
really exifted. It was neceflary that what 
he had ftyled the Original Code at the Ab- 
bey of St. Martin, fhould be totally dif- 
suifed fo as to treat of Sicily, rather than 
of Mahomet, to whom its contents mani- 
feftly related. Vella beftowed feveral 
weeks labour in dishguring the whole ma- 
pulcript, altering page for page, line for 
line, nay, word for word, with numberlefs 
dots, ftrokes, and flourifhes, fo effectually, 
that the characters exhibited an appear- 
ance entirely different from their original 
fhape, by which means {carcely any of the 
firft traits could be decyphered. Of the 
text thas transformed, fac-/imiles, repre- 
feniing the title and the firft page of the 
work, are engraved in the firft volume of 
the Codice diplomatico. ‘The learning of 
the man who could. read and expiain tuch 
\ 
writing, excited aftonifhment, and difputes 
arofe as to the {pecies of Arabic characters, 
under which thofe grotefque {crawls were 
to be clafled. 
The public feemed determined to look 
upon every part of this tranfaction as mi- 
raculous, and thus were willing to impofe 
upon thenifelves: hence, likewife, the 
paper on which the Code is written, and 
which is of the common fort, being manu- 
fagtured of linen rags, became a fubject of 
controverfy ; many afferted it to be paper 
of Samarcand, and to be made of filk ; 
forme pronounced it cotton, and others in- 
fitted that its fubftance’ was drawn from 
bamboo. The five fac fimiles of the 
Papal letters, inferted in Part II. of the 
firft volume, page 244—261, are abfolute 
fictions, no paflages being found in the 
disfigured Code, trom which they could be 
faid to be copied : they prefent nothing to 
the view but random ftrokes and wanton 
flourifhes, infomuch that feveral cha- 
racters, which undoubtedly were meant for 
letters, appear five or fix times in immedi- 
ate fucceffion. Notwithitanding, foreign 
literati, apprehenfive of remaining in the 
back-ground with their learning, affirmed 
that, by unremitting exertion, they had 
been fo happy as to decypher thole five 
leaves, when, to their amazement, they 
had found every fyllable of the original to 
correfpond exaétly with Vella’s tranflation. 
Affuredly no one will doubt of their exer- 
tions, fince Vella himfelf complained that 
by intenfe labour he had become blind 
of one eye, however found it externally 
appeared to be ; for which reafon the late 
Pope, in a letter dated 1790 (wide Codice 
dipl. vol, iii. part 1. towards the end) 
condoled with and exhorted him to relax 
{omewhat in his efforts. In order more 
effectually to difguife the original cha- 
racters, but efpecially to foften the glaring 
contraft produced by the frefhnefs of the 
ink and minium, which he had employed 
in writing his interfperfed {crawls, he 
perfuaded the good monks that fuch a 
treafure could not poffibly be too much 
fheltered from the influence of the atmo- 
{phere ; confe.uently he had every leat of 
it oneither fide carefully glued over with 
gold-beaters’-fkin, which was done, as 
may be fuppofed, at the expence of the 
abbey. And finally, what no doubt was 
the fafeft methed of fucceeding, he never 
returned the Code, notwithftanding the 
repeated folicitations of the librarian of 
the abbey. Thus no perfon could obtain 
a view of it, and an enforced injunétion of 
government was neceflary to make it come ° 
forth 


