The World of Books in Classical Antiquity by H. L. Pinner was published by the Dutch publisher A. W. Sijthoff (Leiden) in
The first
chapter is preceded by a famous quotation from Plinius (known in English as
Pliny):
“Were it not for books, human culture would pass into oblivion as quickly as man himself.”
“Were it not for books, human culture would pass into oblivion as quickly as man himself.”
The text is
divided into six chapters. Here is the table of contents:
# 1:
Literary Evidence and Papyrus Discoveries
# 2:
Scrolls and Parchment Codices
# 3: The
Greek Book Trade
# 4: Roman
Publishers
# 5:
Bookshops in Athens Rome
# 6:
Ancient Libraries and Bibliophiles
At the end
of the book there is a section with references to ancient (primary) sources
used by the author. But there is no bibliography with modern (secondary)
sources, and there is no index. Perhaps we do not need an index for a book
which has less than 100 pages.
There are
fourteen illustrations, all in black-and-white: twelve photos and two drawings.
Pinner has
some good observations and he makes some good points. Here are three examples:
(1) In chapter
four - “Roman Publishers” - he mentions a letter from Cicero Cicero
“Near Caesar’s Forum is
a bookshop where both doors are plastered with advertisements… Go in and ask
for my book. The owner – his name is Atrectus – will be extremely pleased to
get a fine copy of Martial out of his first or second shelf and let you have it
for five denarii.”
“Petronius in the ‘feast of Trimalchio’ relates how this
common parvenu boasts to his guests that he has two libraries, a Greek and a
Latin one. Seneca talks of men who buy books by the thousand, but are the
inferiors of their own servants in matters of culture: they have hardly read as
much as the titles of the books in their whole lives; they only consider these
as ornaments; they treat a library as just another modern convenience, like a
decent bathroom.”
Pinner’s
account is interesting, but not without flaws. Perhaps the most important flaw
is that his account is too short, only 64 pages plus the illustrations on separate plates, which
means that some aspects of the general topic are given a rather superficial
treatment, for instance his presentation of the library of Alexandria
(pp. 26 and 51-52); and while the library in Ephesus
In
addition, there are some awkward and perplexing blunders: on page 56 he
mentions a fire “at the time of Commodus (about 200 AD).” But this emperor
ruled 180-192. On the next page he mentions “the regional census of Constantine
In spite of
these flaws it seems Pinner’s account was a source of inspiration to Lionel Casson
when he wrote his book Libraries in the Ancient World some fifty years later.
Let me explain:
Three
illustrations found in Pinner’s book are also found in Casson’s book:
** A young
man reading – Casson 22 // Pinner frontispiece
** Book
rolls stacked on a shelf – Casson 39 // Pinner 17
** A
Pompeian couple – Casson 126 // Pinner plate facing 32
Two ancient
anecdotes told in Pinner’s book are also told in Casson’s book:
**
Socrates says the works of Anaxagoras can be bought for a drachma – Casson 27
// Pinner 23
** Linus (or
Linos) invites Hercules (or Heracles) to pick a book for himself in the library
– Casson 28 // Pinner 23-24
I think
Casson used The World of Books in Classical Antiquity, as well as James
Westfall Thompson, Ancient Libraries (1940, 1962), but he decided not to
mention any of them. Why? A likely explanation can be found in his preface
which begins with these words:
“This book
is the first full-scale study of libraries in the ancient world.”
Casson could
have written:
“This book is the first full-scale study of libraries in the ancient world to be published for half a century.”
Apparently, this was not good enough for him; he wished to use the phrase he had used in his old book, Travel in the ancient world (HC 1974, PB 1994):
“This book is the first full-scale treatment, in any language, of travel in the ancient world.”
“This book is the first full-scale study of libraries in the ancient world to be published for half a century.”
Apparently, this was not good enough for him; he wished to use the phrase he had used in his old book, Travel in the ancient world (HC 1974, PB 1994):
“This book is the first full-scale treatment, in any language, of travel in the ancient world.”
If Pinner’s
and Thompson’s books had been mentioned, their titles would have revealed the
truth and refuted the false statement in the preface.
The World
of Books in Classical Antiquity is not a great book: it is too short and
it has several flaws, but it does not deserve to be ignored. If you use this
book and borrow some ideas from it, I think you should be honest and say so.
Pinner deserves
to be remembered, and so does Thompson: they were among the first modern
scholars to cover the world of books in classical antiquity.
Book rolls stacked on a shelf.
The so-called Neumagen-relief. From Pinner, page 17.
A Pompeiian couple.
From Pinner, plate facing page 32.
Girl on a balcony. Mural painting from Pompeii.
From Pinner, plate facing page 20.
Still life of writing materials and a book roll.
Mural painting from Herculaneum.
From Pinner, plate facing page 28.
Woman holding a scroll in her hands.
Mural painting from Pompeii.
From Pinner, plate facing page 29.
A reconstruction drawing of Basilica Ulpia in Rome.
Trajan's column is flanked by two libraries:
one for Greek books, and one for Latin books.
From Pinner, plate facing page 56.
* * *
From Pinner, plate facing page 20.
Still life of writing materials and a book roll.
Mural painting from Herculaneum.
From Pinner, plate facing page 28.
Woman holding a scroll in her hands.
Mural painting from Pompeii.
From Pinner, plate facing page 29.
A reconstruction drawing of Basilica Ulpia in Rome.
Trajan's column is flanked by two libraries:
one for Greek books, and one for Latin books.
From Pinner, plate facing page 56.
* * *
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