nce of
their art; and, as it were, reading in the most distant ages of the
future the literary good and evil which they may produce, force a
triumph from the pure devotion to truth, in spite of all the disgusts
which their professional tasks involve; still patiently enduring the
heavy chains which bind down those who give themselves up to this
pursuit, with a passion which resembles heroism.

"The catalogues of _bibliotheques fixes_ (or critical, historical, and
classified accounts of writers) have engendered that enormous swarm of
bibliographical errors, which have spread their roots, in greater or
less quantities, in all our bibliographers." He has here furnished a
long list, which I shall preserve in the note.[234]

The list, though curious, is by no means complete. Such are the men of
whom the Abbe Rive speaks with more respect than his accustomed
courtesy. "If such," says he, "cannot escape from errors, who shall? I
have only marked them out to prove the importance of bibliographical
history. A writer of this sort must occupy himself with more regard for
his reputation than his own profit, and yield himself up entirely to the
study of books."

The mere knowledge of books, which has been called an erudition of
title-pages, may be sufficient to occupy the life of some; and while the
wits and "the million" are ridiculing these hunters of editions, who
force their passage through secluded spots, as well as course in the
open fields, it will be found that this art of book-knowledge may turn
out to be a very philosophical pursuit, and that men of great name have
devoted themselves to labours more frequently contemned than
comprehended. Apostolo Zeno, a poet, a critic, and a true man of
letters, considered it as no small portion of his glory to have
annotated Fontanini, who, himself an eminent prelate, had passed his
life in forming his _Bibliotheca Italiana_. Zeno did not consider that
to correct errors and to enrich by information this catalogue of Italian
writers was a mean task. The enthusiasm of the Abbe Rive considered
bibliography as a sublime pursuit, exclaiming on Zeno's commentary on
Fontanini--"He chained together the knowledge of whole generations for
posterity, and he read in future ages."

There are few things by which we can so well trace the history of the
human mind as by a classed catalogue, with dates of the first
publication of books; even the relative prices of books at different
periods, their d