his right stands his nephew, Cardinal Pietro Riario,
and before him, his head turned towards the Pope, to whom he seems to be
speaking, another nephew, Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, afterwards Pope
Julius the Second. At the feet of the Pope kneels Bartolommeo Platina, the
newly appointed Librarian, who is pointing with the forefinger of his
right hand to the inscription below the fresco. Behind Platina are two
young men with chains of office round their necks. The inscription, said
to have been written by Platina himself, is as follows:

TEMPLA, DOMUM EXPOSITIS[378], VICOS, FORA, MOENIA, PONTES,
VIRGINEAM TRIVII QUOD REPARARIS AQUAM,
PRISCA LICET NAUTIS STATUAS DARE MUNERA PORTUS,
ET VATICANUM CINGERE, SIXTE, JUGUM,
PLUS TAMEN URBS DEBET; NAM QUAE SQUALORE LATEBAT
CERNITUR IN CELEBRI BIBLIOTHECA LOCO.

The fresco is now in the Vatican picture-gallery. It was transferred to
canvas soon after 1815, when the present gallery was formed, and has
suffered a good deal from what is called restoration[379].

The decoration of the Greek Library is not alluded to in the
Accounts[380]; but it is easy to see that the lunettes have been
ornamented on the same system as those of the Latin Library, but without
figures; for their decoration still exists, though much damaged by time
and damp. Below the lunettes the walls are covered with whitewash, under
which some decoration is evidently concealed. The whitewash has peeled off
in some places, and colour is beginning to make its appearance.

The _Bibliotheca secreta_ is 20 ft. wide by 38 ft. 6 in. long. It is
lighted by a single window in the north wall (fig. 98, F), of the same
size and shape as the rest. The light is sufficient, even under present
conditions.

The fourth and last room--spoken of in 1480 as "that addition which our
Master lately made"--is 29 ft. wide by 40 ft. 6 in. long. It is at present
lighted by only a single window in the north wall (fig. 98, G), and is
very gloomy. But in former days, before Julius II. (1503-1513) built the
_Cortile di San Damaso_, it had another window in the middle of the east
wall (_ibid._, H), where there is now a door. Nothing certain can be made
out about its decoration.

It is much to be regretted that so little is said about the glazing of the
windows throughout the Library. Great care was evidently bestowed upon
them, and the engagement of foreign artists, with the purchase of glass at
Venice, are proofs t