yourself to Sisyphus. Mazzuchelli began 'Gli
Scrittori d'Italia,' but succeeded in finishing only the first two
letters of the alphabet. The temptation to leave behind us some great
work by which our name will become in time a household word, is doubtless
a great one; but gigantic though our _magnum opus_ may be in our own
estimation, it does not follow that others will set a like value upon
it, or, indeed, upon the labours of its author. Jean de la Haye, the
preacher in ordinary to Anne of Austria, published his _Biblia maxima_ in
nineteen folio volumes; but, says the bibliographer, 'no part of it is
esteemed except the _Prolegomena_, and even they are too diffuse.' Louis
Barbier gained the confidence of the Duke of Orleans by his great tact
(which probably amounted to servility) and skill in repeating the tales
of Rabelais. Mazarin appointed him Bishop of Langres for having betrayed
his master. When he died in 1670, he left a hundred crowns to whoever
would write an epitaph worthy of him. So Bernard de la Monnoye wrote the
following:

'Ci git un tres grand personnage,
Qui fut d'un illustre lignage,
Qui posseda mille vertus,
Qui ne trompa jamais, qui fut toujours fort sage,
Je n'en dirai pas d'avantage,
C'est trop mentir pour cent ecus.'

But whether Bernard got the legacy history does not relate.

It is astonishing, however, what can be accomplished in this direction by
diligence. Le Clerc, not content with having produced a 'Bibliotheque
Universelle et Historique,' laboured till he had given to the world a
'Bibliotheque Choisie' and a 'Bibliotheque Ancienne et Moderne,' in all
eighty-two duodecimo volumes! Beausobre and L'Enfant compiled a
'Bibliotheque Germanique,' comprising the period 1720-40; and published
it in fifty volumes. Baillet's 'Catalogue des Matieres' occupies
thirty-five folio volumes. But of course all these were mere lists and
criticisms of books, not detailed bibliographies of carefully collated
works.

It is a great gift, this gift of 'finding time.' 'When I see how much
Varro wrote,' says St. Augustine in his 'De Civitate Dei,' 'I marvel much
that ever he had any leisure to read; and when I perceive how many things
he read, I marvel more that ever he had any leisure to write.' The
creation of opportunity is no lesser gift. 'A wise man,' says Bacon,
'will make more opportunities than he finds.' Tomaso de Andrada, a
Portuguese Jesuit, wrote his _magnum opus_ in a d