But in the intellectual torpor that abounded, and in the pall of almost universal ignorance that overcast the civilized world—under which there were princes and kings who could not even read—it is unreasonable to suppose, notwithstanding the feeble intellectual flickerings that lingered, that there was any very considerable demand for literature during a long period of time, or for a large portion of the "Dark Ages." It was the fact, as says Hallam, the historian of this period, that "a cloud of ignorance overspread the whole face of the Church, hardly broken by a few glimmering lights, who owe much of their distinction to the surrounding darkness." And he portrays at length the gross darkness that enveloped the people, both clergy and laity.[63] In an age when scarcely anybody could write or even read, when learning had well-nigh disappeared under the pall of ignorance, we may easily believe that books were neither extensively made nor highly valued. To again quote from Hallam: "If it be demanded by what cause it happened that a few sparks of ancient learning survived throughout this long winter, we can only ascribe their preservation to the establishment of Christianity. Religion alone made a bridge, as it were, across this chaos and has linked the two periods of ancient and modern civilization." Similar is the testimony of Mr. George H. Putnam: "In the centuries which elapsed between the downfall of the Roman Empire and the invention of printing, the centers of intellectual activities and of scholarly interests were undoubtedly the churches and the monasteries, and it is probable that if it had not been for the educational work done by the priests and monks, and for the interest taken by them (however inadequately and ignorantly) in the literature of the past, the fragments of this literature which have been preserved for to-day would have been much less considerable and more fragmentary than they are. As I understand history, the literary interests of the world owe very much to the fostering care given to them by the Church, or by certain portions of the Church, during the troublous centuries of the early Middle Ages. Throughout these centuries the Church not only supplied a standard of morality, but kept in existence whatever intellectual life there was."[64]
[XVII]
THE LITERARY PREËMINENCE OF ALEXANDRIA
The fact that, for hundreds of years, Alexandria held the preëminence as the center and source of literary achievement—down to the culmination of her distinguishing history in 642 A. D.—will not blind our eyes to the recognition of the earlier and narrower centers and sources of intellectual activity. The fact must not be overlooked that, long before the imperial City was founded at the northern extremity of Egypt in 332 B. C., there were other important centers of learning and well-known depositories of written records.
Perhaps the very earliest extensive depository of written documents of any character which have survived for millenniums of years was at ancient Nippur, in the region of Babylon and between the Euphrates and the Tigris. This Nippur, or the modern Nuffar, is spoken of in the old Sumerian legends as the oldest city of the earth, and the influence of which has been felt by all classes of Babylonian peoples for fully four thousand years. Through explorations, patiently and hazardously prosecuted—at Nippur and elsewhere in Babylonia—a long-forgotten world has slowly risen from its sealed entombment for multiplied centuries into resurrection life and reality. The Babylonian Expedition, organized and equipped for the purpose by the University of Pennsylvania, has carried on a succession of expeditions, with some interruptions, from 1889, forward, on the site of this ancient forgotten city. As part results of its excavations, there have been unearthed, not only temple walls with their contents of sarcophagi, bas-relief, vases, playthings, weapons, objects and ornaments in gold, silver, bronze, iron, clay, and stone, together with human bones, but also more than 32,000 cuneiform tablets. These tablets, the first-fruits of the vast literary deposits of this ancient city, are of a manifold character and consist of syllabaries, letters, chronological lists, historical fragments, religious texts, and the like. The tablets already examined indicate the probable value of many of these records from that far-off age. The oldest of them, according to Professor Hilprecht, have an antiquity of about 2800 years B. C.,—one particular fragment, containing a part of the deluge story more ancient by a thousand years than any yet found, antedates Abraham's leaving Ur of the Chaldees full two hundred years. The story as inscribed thereon, being deciphered by Professor Hilprecht, not only tallies with the Bible record but adds minute details and clarifies in some particulars the inspired narrative contained in Genesis.[65] The newspapers of the time of this "find" contain this account of the difficulty in the way of the tablet's decipherment: "Because of its long period in the earth the tablet was incrusted with crystals of nitre, which filled up the characters of the ancient text. Besides, the clay was in a state of decomposition and exceedingly difficult to handle without destroying the tablet and losing the precious writing on it. For weeks Professor Hilprecht worked several hours a day to remove the crystals and to put the tablet into a state in which it could be deciphered. Then he set about the work of translating the writing."
The chief library of ancient Assyria—and the one of which we have the most definite knowledge—was that of Assur-bani-pal at Nineveh. This distinguished king of Assyria, successor of Sargon, Sennacherib, and Esar-haddon, and the conqueror of Babylon, greatly enlarged the library of which his predecessors had made beginnings, bringing into it the plundered books of Babylonia and otherwise greatly developing its resources. The date of this library at Nineveh is fixed at about 670 B. C., and is accredited to have contained in its archives more than thirty thousand tablets and a large collection of hexagonal and octagonal cylinders, seals, and other valuable archæological treasures, including clay sarcophagi. Assur-bani-pal sent his scribes to copy the vocabularies of foreigners wherever accessible and added thus to the treasures of his library by the extensive transcription of tablets and cylinders. Professor Sayce tells us that "a whole army of scribes were employed in it, busily engaged in writing and editing old texts." In the library, too, the study of the Accadian tongue was revived and the language and literature of the primitive progenitors of the Assyrio-Babylonians was written, not only with Babylonian translations but also with their Assyrian equivalents. Sir Henry Layard, as long ago as in 1850, in the course of his explorations unearthed on the site of this old library more than twenty thousand clay tablets, which were brought, later, to the British Museum. It was estimated that as many more tablets remained as had been carried away. These tablets vary in dimensions, the largest measuring from nine inches by six and a half while the smallest in some cases are not more than an inch long and with but one or two lines of writing on them. These tablets are covered over with cuneiform characters. These characters are so small on some of the cylinders and tablets that, according to Professor George Rawlinson, five or six lines have been traced within the space of an inch. The delicate character of the writing on some of the tablets has led some of the archæologists to conclude that the inscriptions thereon must have been written with the aid of a magnifying glass;—indeed, a magnifying lens of crystal, now exhibited in the British Museum, was found on the site of this library at Nineveh. These tablets, like those at Nippur, cover a wide range of subjects: historical, mythological, linguistic, mathematical, geographical, and astronomical.
The next in point of time among the great libraries of the ancient world was that at Pergamos in Asia Minor. Eumenes II. (197-159 B. C.) and other kings of Pergamos established a library in this city of ancient Mysia in which was stored a vast collection of manuscript books, approximating 200,000 rolls, written on papyrus and parchment. This library at Pergamos flourished for a period of one hundred and fifty years, or from its establishment on until it was given to Cleopatra by Antony, and transferred by his authority to Alexandria in order to replace one of the libraries which was said to have been destroyed by fire in the wars of Cæsar; and so, thenceforward, became incorporated in the Alexandrian Library and shared its fateful history.
The city of Alexandria, located on the delta of the Nile, became—and remained for centuries both prior to and after the Christian Era had begun—preëminent among the cities of the age we are considering, as a literary center and source of intellectual virility. Grecian literature and learning flourished there under the patronage of the Ptolemies; and there, under Ptolemy I. (Ptolemy "Soter") at about 300 B. C., was begun the Alexandrian Library and Museum, the largest, most valuable, and the most renowned of all ancient libraries. While the Alexandrian Library was begun under the rule of Ptolemy "Soter," a general of Alexander the Great, it was during the reign of his son and successor, Ptolemy Philadelphus, that the Library took on organized proportions and greatly augmented resources. Ptolemy Philadelphus sent to all parts of Egypt, Greece, and Asia to secure the most valuable books; no exertions nor expense were spared to enrich and enlarge the collection in the Library; and he left, it is said, 100,000 volumes therein. Staffs of copyists were gathered in the Museum and search was continually made throughout Greece and Asia Minor for copies and duplicates of existing rolls. Extravagant prices were paid for books by the librarians (page [30]) and thus a steady flow of literature was turned toward Alexandria from all parts of the then civilized world. The Library further grew, during the Ptolemaic Dynasty, and, as augmented by the collection of books from Pergamos, to the vast proportions of 700,000 books (all, of course, in manuscript) in this proud Capital on the Nile.
We must ever bear it in mind, however, while considering the large number of books treasured in the Alexandrian Library, or in any other ancient collection, that a manuscript roll—the common form of most ancient books—was generally written on one side of the parchment or papyrus only and therefore could contain at most only one-half the amount of matter embraced within a book of leaves and pages.