lar) was the chief entertainment of his time. He
was not only an expert bookseller, but a very conscientious
good man; and when he threw up his trade, Europe had no
small loss of him. Our Doctor, at one lift, bought of him a
whole set of Greek Classics in folio, of the best editions.
This sunk his stock at that time; but afterwards, for many
years of his life, all that he could (as they say) rap or
run, went the same way. But the progress was small; for such
a library as he desired, compared with what the pittance of
his stock would purchase, allowing many years to the
gathering, was of desperate expectation. He was early
sensible of a great disadvantage to him in his studies, by
the not having a good library in his reach; and he used to
say that a man could not be a scholar at the second-hand:
meaning, that learning is to be had from the original
authors, and not from any quotations, or accounts in other
books, for men gather with divers views, and, according to
their several capacities, often perfunctorily, and almost
always imperfectly: and through such slight reading, a
student may know somewhat, but not judge of either author or
subject. He used to say _an old author could not be
unprofitable_; for although in their proper time they had
little or no esteem, yet, in after times, they served to
interpret words, customs, and other matters, found obscure
in other books; of which A. Gellius is an apt instance. He
courted, as a fond lover, all _best editions, fairest
character, best bound and preserved_. If the subject was in
his favour (as the Classics) he cared not how many of them
he had, even of the same edition, if he thought it among the
best, either _better bound_, _squarer cut_, _neater covers_,
or some such qualification caught him. He delighted in the
small editions of the Classics, by Seb. Gryphius; and divers
of his acquaintance, meeting with any of them, bought and
brought them to him, which he accepted as choice presents,
although perhaps he had one or two of them before. He said
that the _black italic_ character agreed with his eye sight
(which he accounted but weak) better than any other print,
the old Elzevir not excepted, whereof the characters seemed
to him more blind and confused than those of the other.
Con