Annals of the Bodleian Library, Oxford, A.D. 1598-A.D. 1867: With a Preliminary Notice of the earlier Library founded in the Fourteenth CenturyMacray, William Dunn
History
Annals of the Bodleian Library, Oxford, A.D. 1598-A.D. 1867: With a Preliminary Notice of the earlier Library founded in the Fourteenth Century
Macray, William Dunn
Bodleian Library
In the list of donors occur Sir Christopher Heydon, Sir Jerome Horsey
(whose gift includes a MS. of the Gospels in Russian, and rolls
containing forms of letters, &c., in the autograph of the Czar Ivan
Basilides), Sir Ralph Winwood (17 Greek MSS.), Robert Barker the
printer, and Sir Henry Wotton (a MS. of the Koran).
[38] Wood MS. F. 27.
A.D. 1605.
The bust of Bodley, which is seen in the large room, was sent by
Sackville, Earl of Dorset, the Chancellor of the University. It
attracted the notice of King James upon his entering the Library on the
fourth day of his visit to Oxford in August of this year, who, upon
reading its inscription, indulged in the very mild pun that the Founder
should rather be called Sir Thomas Godly than Bodly[39]. And, looking on
the well-filled cases, he said he had often had proof from the
University of the fruits of talent and ability, but had never before
seen the garden where those fruits grew and whence they were gathered.
He examined various MSS. of the Holy Scriptures, and especially of the
old English version, as well as of the Ethiopic, on the authority of
which, 'more suo, summo cum judicio disceptavit.' Then, taking up
Gaguinus' treatise _De Puritate Conceptionis Virg. Mar._, printed at
Paris in 1498, he remarked that the author had so written about purity
as if he wished that it should only be found on the title of his book;
and said it had often been his desire that such objectionable writings
(especially on religious subjects) could be altogether suppressed rather
than be tolerated to the corruption of minds and manners. He admitted,
however, that probably there was no disadvantage from their being stored
up in collections of this kind. Moved to a wonderful temper of
liberality, the king then offered to present from all the libraries of
the royal palaces whatsoever precious and rare books Sir T. Bodley, on
examination, might choose to carry away; and promised that the grant
should be made under seal, lest any hindrance should arise. It
appears[40] that this (somewhat hasty) grant was actually passed under
the Privy Seal about the beginning of November in the same year, and
that Bodley expected to carry off a great many MSS. from Whitehall.
Probably the full execution of his intentions was hindered, as he
himself appears to have suspected might happen; at any rate, there is
very little in the Library that tells of having come from the royal
collections, except a few folio editions of the Fathers which once were
in the possession of Hen. VIII, as his arms stamped upon the covers
testify[41], and three or four MSS. which bear like evidence of having
belonged to James I. Upon leaving the room, after spending considerable
time in its examination, the king exclaimed that were he not King James
he would be an University man; and that, were it his fate at any time to
be a captive, he would wish to be shut up, could he but have the choice,
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