ur multitudine librorum_,[182]
and possessed more books than all the bishops put together, an assertion
which requires some modification, and must not be too strictly regarded,
for book collecting at that time was becoming a favorite pursuit; still
the language of Chambre is expressive, and clearly proves how extensive
must have been his libraries, one of which he formed in each of his
various palaces, _diversis maneriis_. So engrossed was that worthy bishop
with the passion of book collecting, that his dormitory was strewed
_jucebant_ with them, in every nook and corner choice volumes were
scattered, so that it was almost impossible for any person to enter
without placing his feet upon some book.[183] He kept in regular
employment no small assemblage of antiquaries, scribes, bookbinders,
correctors, illuminators, and all such persons who were capable of being
useful in the service of books, _librorum servitiis utiliter_.[184]

During his retirement he wrote a book, from the perusal of which the
bibliomaniac will obtain a full measure of delight and instruction. It is
a faithful record of the life and experience of this bibliophile of the
olden time. He tells us how he collected his vellum treasures--his
"crackling tomes" so rich in illuminations and calligraphic art!--how he
preserved them, and how he would have others read them. Costly indeed
must have been the book gems he amassed together; for foreign countries,
as well as the scribes at home, yielded ample means to augment his
stores, and were incessantly employed in searching for rarities which his
heart yearned to possess. He completed his Philobiblon at his palace at
Auckland on the 24th of January, 1344.[185]

We learn from the prologue to this rare and charming little volume how
true and genuine a bibliomaniac was Richard de Bury, for he tells us
there, that a vehement love _amor excitet_ of books had so powerfully
seized all the faculties of his mind, that dismissing all other
avocations, he had applied the ardor of his thoughts to the acquisition
of books. Expense to him was quite an afterthought, and he begrudged no
amount to possess a volume of rarity or antiquity. Wisdom, he says, is an
infinite treasure _infinitus thesaurus_, the value of which, in his
opinion, was beyond all things; for how, he asks, can the sum be too
great which purchases such vast delight. We cannot admire the purity of
his Latin so much as the enthusiasm which pervades it; but in th