The book as distinguished from the roll began to be popular in the first Christian century. It had certain very great advantages. The rolls were never very long and long compositions or collections of compositions necessarily ran to many volumes. They were not easy to refer to as they had to be unrolled and then rolled up again whenever any passage was to be consulted. They were made of a material which was not durable in any but the very driest of climates. The book on the other hand, while heavy, could contain a very great amount of material in a single volume, could be easily referred to, and was made of much more durable material. For this reason the book form was used for legal documents and other purposes where ease of reference was particularly desired. The growth of the Christian church especially stimulated the substitution of the book for the roll. Christianity, unlike any of the religions with which it came into contact, except Judaism, was a book religion. The Christian was constantly referring to his scriptures for argument with his adversary as well as for his own edification and he wanted to be able to find his favorite passages readily. The conservatism of the Jew prevented his changing the roll form of his scriptures. The Pagan adhered to the rolls with their associations of classic culture. The final passing out of the roll and victory of the book are contemporary with the victory of Christianity over Paganism and its adoption as the religion of the empire. [Illustration: Byzantine Binding of about 1000 A.D. (The plate is metal and the decorations are enamel and jewels.)] CHAPTER IV _Making the Manuscripts_