Philadelphus likewise collected books from the Chaldeans, the Egyptians, and even from the Romans, and had them translated into Greek. I quote Georgius Cedrenus, who says, “Philadelphus had the sacred books of the Chaldeans, Egyptians, and Romans, as well as some in other languages, to the number of a hundred thousand volumes, translated into Greek, and placed them in his library at Alexandria.” I note especially two things in this quotation: first, the diligence shown in translating into the common tongue books in foreign languages,--a very useful custom in my opinion and one which should be adopted to-day by you, O Princes; and second, the statement as to the number of books. This number is very large, it is true, but not large enough if it is meant to include all the books in the library. I think it was not so meant; but that Cedrenus had in mind only the translations, and that the works in the original Greek far surpassed the number of translations. Other writers who have mentioned this library say it was much larger than Cedrenus says it was. Our friend Seneca reports that four hundred thousand volumes, a most precious monument of royal munificence, perished in the flames. Most precious, indeed; beyond all gold or rarest gems! How much more precious if their number had been greater still! And greater in fact it was. This number of Seneca’s falls short of the truth, and must be extended to seven hundred thousand. Let Josephus tell us. He says that Demetrius, the librarian I have mentioned, was once asked by Philadelphus how many books he had in the library, and replied that he had two hundred thousand volumes, and hoped soon to have five hundred thousand. So you see how the library grew under his hands; then consider how much larger it must have grown to be in later years, under other kings, successors of Philadelphus. A. Gellius frankly says that the number rose to seven hundred thousand. To quote him exactly, “A prodigious number of books was collected, either by purchase or by copying, by the Ptolemaic kings of Egypt, nearly seven hundred thousand volumes.” Ammianus, from whom I shall quote shortly, says the same, and Isidore also, if his words be properly emended. “In Alexandria, in the days of Philadelphus, there were,” he says, “seventy thousand books.” I think that he should have said seven hundred thousand. A precious treasure! But, alas, though it was the offspring of man’s immortal spirit it was not itself immortal! For all this vast store of books, whatever their number may have been, perished in the flames. Caesar, in the civil war with Pompey, fought with the Alexandrians in the city itself. He set fire to the ships for his own protection; from the ships the flames spread to houses near the harbour, then to the library itself, and consumed it utterly.