MANUALE

Typographiú omni antiquius, nulli uspiam Librorum insertum Catalogo.

EXIGUUS liber est, muliebri creber in usu,
Per se qui dici bibliotheca potest.
Copia verborum non est, sed copia rerum;
Copia (quod nemo deneget) utilior.
Rubris consuitur pannis; fors texitur auro;

Bis sexta ad summum pagina claudit opus.
Nil habet a tergo titulive aut nominis; intus

Thesauros artis servat, et intus opes: Intus opes, qua nympha sinu pulcherrima gestet, Quas nive candidior tractet ametque manus, Quando instrumentum præsens sibi postulat usus, Majusve, aut operis pro ratione, minus. Et genere et modulo diversa habet arma, gradatim Digesta, ad numeros attenuata suos. Primum enchiridii folium majuscula profert, Qualia quæ blæso est lumine poscat anus. Quod sequitur folium, matronis arma ministrat, Dicere quæ magnis proximiora licet. Tertium,item quartum, quintumque minuscula supplet Sed non ejusdem singula quæque loci. Disposita ordinibus certis, discrimina servant; Que sibi conveniant, seligat unde nurus.

Ultima quæ restant quæ multa minutula nympha
Dicit, sunt sexti divitæ folii.

Quantillo in spatio doctrina O quanta latescit!

Quam tamen obscuram vix brevitate voces.
Non est interpres, non est commentarius ullus,
Aut index; tam sunt omnia perspicua.
Ætatem ad quamvis, ad captum ita fingitur omnem,
Ut nihil auxilii postulet inde liber.
Millia librorum numerat perplura; nec ullum
Bodlæi huic jactat bibliotheca parem.
Millia Cæsareo numerat quoque munere Granta,
Hæc tamen est inter millia tale nihil.

Non est, non istis author de millibus unus,
Cui tanta ingenii vis, vel acumen, inest.

A MANUAL,

More ancient than the Art of Printing, and not to be found in any Catalogue.

THERE is a book, which we may call

(Its excellence is such)

Alone a library, tho' small;

The ladies thumb it much.

Words none, things num'rous it contains:
And, things with words compar'd,

Who needs be told, that has his brains,

Which merits most regard?

Ofttimes its leaves of scarlet hue
A golden edging boast;
And open'd, it displays to view
Twelve pages at the most.

Nor name, nor title, stamp'd behind,
Adorns its outer part;

But all within 'tis richly lin'd,
A magazine of art.

The whitest hands that secret hoard
Oft visit: and the fair

Preserve it in their bosoms stor❜d,
As with a miser's care.

Thence implements of ev'ry size,
And form'd for various use,
(They need but to consult their eyes)
They readily produce.

The largest and the longest kind

Possess the foremost page,

A sort most needed by the blind,
Or nearly such from age.

The full-charg'd leaf, which next ensues, Presents in bright array,

The smaller sort, which matrons use,
Not quite so blind as they.

The third, the fourth, the fifth supply What their occasions ask, Who with a more discerning eye

Perform a nicer task.

But still with regular decrease
From size to size they fall,
In ev'ry leaf grow less and less;
The last are least of all.

O! what a fund of genius, pent
In narrow space, is here!
This volume's method and intent

How luminous and clear!

It leaves no reader at a loss

Or pos'd, whoever reads:

No commentator's tedious gloss,
Nor even index needs.

Search Bodley's many thousands o'er!
No book is treasur'd there,

Nor yet in Granta's num'rous store
That may with this compare.

No!-Rival none in either host

Of this was ever seen,

Or, that contents could justly boast,

So brilliant and so keen.

ENIGMA.

PARVULA res, et acu minor est, et ineptior usu:
Quotque dies annus, tot tibi drachma dabit.
Sed licet exigui pretii minimique valoris,
Ecce, quot artificum postulat illa manus.
Unius in primis cura est conflare metallum ;
In longa alterius ducere fila labor.

Tertius in partes resecat, quartusque resectum
Perpolit ad modulos attenuatque datos.
Est quinti tornare caput, quod sextus adaptet;
Septimus in punctum cudit et exacuit.
His tandem auxiliis ita res procedit, ut omnes
Ad numeros ingens perficiatur opus.

Quæ tanti ingenii, quæ tanti est summa laboris ?
Si mihi respondes Edipe, tota tua est,