The arms which Gilles Ménage had stamped on his bookbindings (d’argent, au sautoir d’azur chargé d’un soleil du premier) were also placed on the ex-libris prepared by the Jesuits, to be placed in the books left to them by Ménage. The plate is less elaborate than that of Bishop Huet, but is equally interesting. Ménage was born on August 15, 1613, and displayed an intense love of books from his earliest youth, and what was somewhat remarkable, he inserted the date on which he acquired each book on the title page. Although a great scholar, he possessed little originality; his own most important work was his Dictionnaire Etymologique, whilst that which has best preserved his memory amongst general readers is the curious collection entitled, “Menagiana: ou les Bons Mots et Remarques Critiques, Historiques, Morales et d’Erudition, de M. Ménage. Recueillies par ses Amis.” This is indeed a mine of information; it contains much valuable ore in the shape of epigrams, parodies, and anecdotes, but great labour is required to separate the gold from the quartz. Here is the poem “Le Fameux La Galisse,” which Goldsmith imitated, and here, too, is the famous saying of Ménage, “La première chose qu’on doit faire,” so often quoted on book-plates. Ménage died July 23, 1692, which year is given on the Jesuits’ book-plate.
To assist in identifying ecclesiastical ex-libris, it must here be mentioned that they carry the head-dresses peculiar to the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, which are to be distinguished as follows:
Cardinal.—A red hat having a wide, flat brim, with a cord on each side, from which hang five rows of red tassels.
Archbishop.—A hat similar in shape to that of a cardinal, but green in colour, with a cord on each side, from which hang four rows of green tassels.
Bishop.—The same hat as an archbishop, but with only three rows of green tassels.
Abbé.—A black hat, with a cord on each side, from which hang two rows of black tassels.