the borrower to send back an Aldine copy of the epic—
πέμψον έπισταμένως, δύνασαι γάρ,
ὥς κε μάλ᾿ ἀσκηθὴϛ ἣν πατρίδα γαῖαν ἵκηται.[1]
Mr. William Blades, in his pleasant volume, "The Enemies of Books" (Trübner), makes no account of the book-thief or biblioklept. "If they injure the owners," says Mr. Blades, with real tolerance, "they do no harm to the books themselves, by merely transferring them from one set of book-shelves to another." This sentence has naturally caused us to reflect on the ethical character of the biblioklept. He is not always a bad man. In old times, when language had its delicacies, and moralists were not devoid of sensibility, the French did not say "un voleur de livres," but "un chipeur de livres;" as the papers call lady shoplifters "kleptomaniacs." There are distinctions. M. Jules Janin mentions a great Parisian bookseller who had an amiable weakness. He was a bibliokleptomaniac. His first motion when he saw a book within reach was to put it in his pocket. Every one knew his habit, and when a volume was lost at a sale the auctioneer duly announced it, and knocked it down to the enthusiast, who regularly paid the price. When
- ↑ "Send him back carefully, for you can if you like, that all unharmed he may return to his own place."
