Prophets in Christianity

The brook, if any exist, is now far below the surface.

We passed the Garden of Gethsemane, skirted the southern slope of the Mount of Olives, hastened past the filthy hovels of the little village of Bethany, crowned by the so-called Castle of Lazarus, probably the remains of a pre-crusading Benedictine convent, and finally, about seven o'clock, pulled up at what is known as the Inn of the Apostles' Fountain, just such a building as a child might draw upon a slate.

As this is the only well between Bethany and Jericho, it may be safely assumed that the Apostles, coming up to Jerusalem, would drink here, though it is to be hoped that it was less contaminated than at present, for even the careless natives strain the water through a sieve before allowing their animals to drink, though nevertheless they still acquire leeches, as the bleeding mouths of the camels and donkeys one meets along the road frequently betray.

The spot has been marked by a succession of buildings, a little white dome over the well, and some hewn stones and the ruins of an aqueduct in the hill across the road being all that now remain of its old dignity.

Passing the Khan of the Good Samaritan, a modern inn and curiosity shop, at which you can at your leisure renew a certain man's experiences, we paused at the top of the last hill before descending towards the Jordan Valley.

And in 1471, when books had become much more common, no less a person than the King of France, desiring to borrow some Arabian medical works from the Faculty of Medicine at Paris, had not only to deposit some costly plate as security, but to find a nobleman to act as surety with him for the return of the books, under pain of a heavy forfeit many of the great monastic libraries owed their origin to the liberality of one donor usually an ecclesiastic among other libraries destroyed by the danes was the fine collection of books at wearmouth monastery made by benedict the first english book collector who was so eager in the cause of books that he is said to have made no less than five journeys to rome in order to search for them part of his library was given to the abbey at jarrow and shared the same fate as the books at wearmouth one of the earliest english libraries was that of christ church i e the cathedral at canterbury On the authority of the Canterbury Book, a 15th century manuscript preserved at Cambridge, this library began with the nine books said to have been brought from Rome by St. Augustine.

These nine books were a Bible in two volumes, a Psalter, a book of Gospels, the lives of the Apostles, the lives of the Martyrs, and an exposition of the Gospels and Epistles.

this collection was enriched by the magnificent scriptural and classical volumes brought from the continent by archbishop theodore in the seventh century under archbishop cinchley in the fifteenth century this library was provided with a dwelling of its own built over the priors chapel and containing sixteen bookcases of four shelves each at this time a catalogue was already in existence made by prior estry at the end of the thirteenth or beginning of the fourteenth century and records about three thousand volumes the monastery of st mary's at york owned a library which was founded by archbishop egbert egbert's pupil alcuin whom charlemagne charged with the care of the educational interests of his empire soon after taking up his residence at st martin's at tours desired the emperor to send to britain for those books which we so much need thus transplanting into france the flowers of britain that the garden of paradise may not be confined to york but may send some of its scions to tours richard de bury the famous old book collector or bibliomaniac to whom reference has already been made bequeathed his books which outnumbered all other collections in this country to the university of oxford where they were housed in durham college which he had endowed he has left an interesting account of how he gathered his treasures which may fitly be quoted here aided by royal favor he tells us we acquired a most ample facility of visiting at pleasure and of hunting as it were some of the most delightful coverts the public and private libraries of both the regulars and the seculars then the cabinets of the most notable monasteries were opened cases were unlocked caskets were unclasped and astonished volumes which had slumbered for long ages in their sepulchres were roused up and those that lay hid in dark places were overwhelmed with the new light thus the sacred vessels of science came into the power of our disposal some being given some sold and not a few being lent for a time the embassies with which he was charged by edward the third gave him opportunity for hunting continental coverts also what a rush of the flood of pleasure rejoiced our hearts as often as we visited paris the paradise of the world there in very deed with an open treasury and untied purse-strings we scattered money with a light heart and redeemed inestimable books with dirt and dust richard de bury also furthered his collection by making friends of the mendicant friars and allured them with the most familiar affability into a devotion to his person and having allured cherished them for the love of god with munificent liberality the affability and liberality of the good bishop attained their object and the devoted friars went about everywhere searching and finding and whenever he visited them placed the treasures of their houses at his disposal although the mendicant orders were originally forbidden property of any kind this rule was afterwards greatly relaxed especially as regards books and in richard de bury's time the friars had amassed large libraries and were well known as keen collectors In France, it was not an uncommon practice for a monastery to levy a tax on its members or its dependent houses for the increase of its library, and in several houses it was customary for a novice to present writing materials at his entry, and a book at the conclusion of his novitiate.

As early as the close of the eleventh century, Marquardt, Abbey of Corvey in North Germany made it a rule that every novice on making his profession should add a book to the library.