face to his Spanish Bibliotheque. The fire began June the 7th, and lafted fifteen fucceffive days, as Los SANTOS relates. FAXARDO'S MSS. were all burnt, except the Alcoran, and fome few others.

YET ftill a great number of Oriental MSS. and particularly Arabic, remain there. And to speak of the Arabic only, there are in the ESCURIAL Library above 200 Arabic Grammarians, many more Rhetoricians, Orators, Poets, &c. MICHAEL CASIRI, a Syrian, the Royal Librarian, hath printed a catalogue of these, of which only the first volume is published. The title of it is, SPECIMEN BIBLIOTHECA REGIE, ARABICO-HISPANÆ, ESCORIALENSIS; the first sheet of which I now send you, which I received from the King's Confeffor. When this work comes out, the republic of Letters will know what vast treasures lie hid in that monastery. So that the words of Mafter LEO, related by ANT. PEREZ, will feem almoft prophetic; who faid, that "the ESCURIAL collection of books would become hereafter a "noble monument of royal magnificence; but that it would not "be a library, but a fepulchre.'

MANY learned men have complained loudly of this burying books alive, if I may be allowed the expreffion. MARIANA, in his tract de Rege et Regis inftitutione, Lib. III. Cap. 9. fays, "The ESCURIAL Library is built over the Veftibulum, in length " 185 feet, and 30 feet broad: it contains many Greek MSS. "moft of them of a venerable antiquity, which were brought "from all parts of EUROPE in great abundance. These trea"fures, which are more valuable than gold, deserve to have a "freer access of the learned, to infpect and examine them. For, "what advantage can be derived to the public from fuch captives "as thefe, imprisoned as it were by royal authority?"

I pafs over the complaints of others. Monfieur BAUTRU, when he came into SPAIN, and had feen the ESCURIAL Library, went to the King, and talked with his Majesty about it; and faid, among other things, that the Librarian of the ESCURIAL was a very fit man to be entrusted with fuch a royal treasure.

Why

Why fo fays the King. Becaufe, replied BAUTRU, as it is plain he has ftole none of the books, you may be fure he will never diminish your Majefty's treasure.

THE collecting thofe books together, was, in one respect, very providential; for, where would they have been now, if they had not been preserved there? They are of no great use indeed, because the custody of them is given to a fet of illiterate monks, who, as DEAN MARTI faid, envy others what they make no use of themselves. JOHN BAPTIST CARDONA, Bishop of DERTOSA, when he wrote to PHILIP II. concerning this library, advised him "to chufe a Librarian for it, who was well skilled in "the Latin and Greek tongues, and who fhould know thoroughly the claffical writers; for, as to the Hebrew and Ori"ental tongues, your Majefty may eafily procure Rabbins for that purpofe. There are now at ROME fome Rabbins, who are "converted to Christianity, men of piety and learning, fuch as "ANDREW, JULLIUS, and PAULLUS, men of note there. Your

Majesty must likewise fend for a PERSIAN, and a TURK, and "fo on for each foreign language.-There is now living one "STEPHANUS, brought up in SOLYMAN'S Court, and a great "favourite of his. This man, who commanded two gallies, "was taken in an engagement at fea, and is now fupported by a penfion from the king at NAPLES. He would be a very proper perfon, and would certainly be of more ufe to your Majefty, "than to the King of NAPLES, for his fingular knowledge of "Turkish affairs."No one would certainly fay, that the ESCURIAL Library was of no ufe in the time of MONTANUS, who was Librarian there. But fuch men as he are still wanting, to make that collection truly useful.

THE Hebrew and Arabic MSS. in SPAIN are written either on Parchment, or on Paper; the antiquity of which latter you may gather from an Inftrument, ftill preferved in the Chamber of Royal Archives at BARCELONA. This inftrument was drawn in 1178, and, from the nearness of the two periods, I conjecture, that this fine Spanish writing-paper was made at the famous SA

TABIS, afterwards called XATIVA, and now SAN PHILIPPE *, The GEOGRAPHUS NUBIENSIS, who wrote about the year 1150, or perhaps a little before, fays, "SETABIS is a most beautiful city, and its environs are fo delightful, as to be made a pro"verb of; they make their paper of a moft incomparable fine"ness.”—It is no wonder this city fhould be fo celebrated for its Paper Fabric, for CATULLUS has taken notice of its fine handkerchiefs, the Sudaria Sataba, as he calls them: And PLINY tells us, Lino Satabi tertia in Europa dabatur palma. SILIUS ITALICUS too, and GRATIAN, have fung its praises.

FROM MSS. the tranfition to Medals is very eafy. Count MIGAZZI, now Archbishop of VIENNA, when he was at MADRID, Ambaffador to the court of SPAIN, obtained, by my means, 320 Silver Coins, 11 Brafs Coins, and one Gold Coin, all of them Arabic monies, ftruck in SPAIN, and in good preservation: The interpretation of thefe, if published, would be a new thing, and highly acceptable to the learned.

You will not be permitted to collate any of our MSS. without the King's leave. We have, befides, no Spaniard able enough to affift DAVID CLEMENS in collating an Oriental MSS. but CASIRI, and he has no leifure for it.

From OLIVA, in VALENTIA, December 23d, 1758.

*This city, which is fo often mentioned by the Roman poets and writers, was in VALENCIA, and stood on the banks of the river XUCAR: It was very finely built, and the fituation of it was delightful. Unfortunately it declared, in the year 1706, for the Arch-duke CHARLES. The year following, the Count D'ASFELDT befieged and took it, and put all the inhabitants to the fword that bore arms; few escaped but women and children. The citadel capitulated foon after, where they made 800 English prifoners of war. PHILIP ordered the city to be razed and levelléd with the ground, and, on the spot where it ftood, they erected a column, with this infcription-"HERE WAS ONCE A CITY NAMED XATIVA, WHICH, AS A PUNISHMENT FOR ITS TREASON, AND ITS REVOLT AGAINST ITS KING AND COUNTRY, HAS BEEN LEVELLED EVEN TO THE GROUND. In the year 1707,

they rebuilt, by PHILIP's order, a new city on the fame spot, and it is now called SAN PHILIPPE.

LETTER XVIII.

An EPISTLE written by DoN GREGORIO MAYANS, to the late SIR BENJAMIN KEENE, containing a full Account of the COMPLUTENSIAN POLYGLOTT, &c. &c.

MAY

Y it please your EXCELLENCY! You having hinted to me, that you defired fome information concerning the COMPLUTENSIAN BIBLE, and those MSS. which the learned editors of that work made ufe of, if they were any where now in being, I fhall endeavour to give your Excellency all the intelligence on that point in my power.

*

DON ALVARO GOMEZ, who wrote the Life of Cardinal XIMENES, fays, "That XIMENES, fearing left the facred myfte"ries of our religion fhould fuffer fome detriment, from the Scriptures being ill understood, began moft timely to be apprehenfive, left the Spaniards fhould become entire ftrangers, and totally unacquainted with the books of THE OLD AND NEW "TESTAMENT."

66

+DON ANTONIO DE LEBRIXA tells us, in the preface to his Apologia, how defpifed and neglected the knowledge of the learned languages was at that time, and how little the profeffors of them were efteemed. This ftate of ignorance continued to the ti. e. ANTONIUS NEBRISSENSIS.

Book II. p. 36, 38.

days of MONTANUS, and MARIANA*, and I wish it did not continue now.

GOMEZ adds, "That XIMENES, therefore, (in imitation of "the great ORIGEN, who with amazing diligence put together "all the tranflations of the Bible then extant, and united them "in those famed HEXAPLA) ordered an edition of the Bible to "be fet on foot, to remedy this evil. In that edition, the books " of the Old Teftament are divided into three columns. In the "first column is placed the Hebrew, in the middle the Vulgate, " in the third the LXX. and its tranflation. At the bottom of "the page is placed the Chaldee Paraphrafe, with its Latin tranf"lation.- But the New Teftament has the most correct Greek "text poffible, with the Vulgate. In the laft volume is added a

dictionary of Hebrew words and phrafes, admired by the skil"ful in that language. This addition was much wanted in fome "Bibles, through the carelefnefs of those who kept them, and "was a great detriment to the reader. This undertaking of "Cardinal XIMENES was highly laborious, magnificent, and "great; it not only required a man of his eminence, but of his "abilities likewife, to furmount all the difficulties which at"tended fuch a work: He therefore fent for men of letters, "well skilled in the Greek and Latin languages, to affift him. "These were, firft, DEMETRIUS CRETENSIS, by birth a "Greek, whom AUBERTUS MIRAEUS tells us †, XIMENES had "fent for out of ITALY, by offering a large premium. Secondly, ANTO. of LEBRIXA: It was owing to this man's fole ad"vice, that XIMENES undertook an edition of that Complutenfian "Bible, as ANTO. tells us in his Apologia, which is a very valu"able work. In that you will fee the envy and ill will which "this great reviver of Spanish learning experienced, for his en"deavours to make it flourish in the univerfity of SALAMANCA. "In the beginning of his book, he thus addreffes the Cardinal.

"MAY it please your Eminence! I am in doubt, whether my genius did not owe me a grudge, when it prompted me to

* See B. A. MONT. on JosUA, and MARIANA's Defence of the Vulgate, Chap. 8: 26. &c. + Scriptor. Sæculi XVI. Cap. 45. P. 140. Sf 2 "think