LĬBER

( βιβλίον ), a book. The most common material on which books were written by the Greeks and Romans, was the thin coats or rind ( liber , whence the Latin name for a book) of the Egyptian papyrus. This plant was called by the Egyptians Byblos ( βύβλος ), whence the Greeks derived their name for a book ( βιβλίον ). The papyrus-tree grows in swamps to the height of ten feet and more, and paper ( charta ) was prepared from the thin coats or pellicles which surround the plant. Next to the papyrus, parchment ( membrana ) was the most common material for writing upon. It is said to have been invented by Eumenes II. king of Pergamus, in consequence of the prohibition of the export of papyrus from Egypt by Ptolemy Epiphanes. It is probable, however, that Eumenes introduced only some improvement in the manufacture of parchment, as Hero dot us mentions writing on skins as common in his time, and says that the Ionians had been accustomed to give the name of skins ( διφθέραι ) to books. The ancients wrote usually on only one side of the paper or parchment. The back of the paper, instead of being written upon, was usually stained with saffron colour or the cedrus, which produced a yellow colour. As paper and parchment were dear, it was frequently the custom to erase or wash out writing of little importance, and to write upon the paper or parchment again, which was then called Palimpsest us ( παλιμψήστος ). The paper or parchment was joined together so as to form one sheet, and when the work was finished, it was rolled on a staff, whence it was called a volumen ; and hence we have the expre ion evolvere librum . When an author divided a work into several books, it was usual to include only one book in a volume or roll, so that there was generally the same number of volumes as of books. In the papyri rolls found at Herculaneum, the stick on which the papyrus is rolled does not project from the papyrus, but is concealed by it. Usually, however, there were balls or bo es, ornamented or painted, called umbilici or cornua , which were fastened at each end of the stick and projected from the papyrus. The ends of the roll were carefully cut, polished with pumice-stone and coloured black; they were called the geminae frontes . The way in which a book was held while reading is shown in the following cut, taken from a painting at Herculaneum. To protect the roll from injury it was frequently put into a parchment case, which was stained with a purple colour or with the yellow of the Lutum. The title of the book ( titulus , index ) was written on a small strip of papyrus or parchment with a light red colour ( coccum or minium ). IMG:6459379820872971714_ill238b.jpg: Book held by a crowned Poet. (From a Painting at Herculaneum.)