DE TRIBUS IMPOSTORIBUS, A. D. 1230. THE THREE IMPOSTORS TRANSLATED (with Notes and Comments) FROM A FRENCH MANUSCRIPT OF THE WORK WRITTEN IN THE YEAR 1716, WITH A DISSERTATION ON THE ORIGINAL TREATISE AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE VARIOUS EDITIONS BY ALCOFRIBAS NASIER, THE LATER. PRIVATELY PRINTED FOR THE SUBSCRIBERS. 1904. AN INDEX EXPURGATORIUS. The man who marks or leaves with pages bent The volume that some trusting friend has lent, Or keeps it over long, or scruples not To let its due returning be forgot; The man who guards his books with miser's care, And does not joy to lend them, and to share; The man whose shelves are dust begrimed and few, Who reads when he has nothing else to do; The man who raves of classic writers, but Is found to keep them with their leaves uncut; The man who looks on literature as news, And gets his culture from the book reviews; Who loves not fair, clean type, and margins wide-- Or loves these better than the thought inside; Who buys his books to decorate the shelf, Or gives a book he has not read himself; Who reads from priggish motives, or for looks, Or any reason save the love of books-- Great Lord, who judgest sins of all degrees, Is there no little private hell for these? Edition 352 copies. 12 on large paper. INTRODUCTION. This pamphlet in its present form is the result of an inquiry into the characters represented in a historical grade of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, and the probability of their having existed at the date mentioned in the said grade. Few appeared to have any very clear notion of the relation of the characters to the period--Frederick II. being confounded with his grand-father, Frederick Barbarossa--and the date of the supposed foundation of the Order of Teutonic Knights, 1190, being placed as the date of the papacy of Oronata, otherwise Honorius III. Inquiry being made of one in authority as to the facts in the case--he being supposed to know--elicited the reply that the matter had been called to his attention some months previous by an investigator--now deceased--but the matter had been dropped. It was also surmised by the same authority that an error might have been made by one of the committee having ritualistic matter in charge--but he, having also been gathered to his fathers, was not available for evidence.