Rutland herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1823-1847, 1838-11-20
NUMBER 4S
fF''" 'As is't nSHbo II hs ~ Y Rss,sr.
ORIGIN OF papa

7od Wood. The Dccsiogue. a. all know. ~ase En-.
k''''H On tables of stone. Nor VAS the custom ef
m'Ni"g Use 81 tbs maternal confined 10 The Jews,
ibe D'c'As.s The Afundeian mstbies lestty u,,s
." 'he habit NJ engraving on stone. not onl, NOM.
"o'ia' insctiFuons. bot edicir. tf,Ai,os. h,.torcsl.
ana "iher o'cnia. hrAss was also used. The
piactcos" ~ engraving on these substances prevail.
co. Dot only m Greece but 10 Egypt, ADD smorg
'ho ratV inhabitants Of Italy. Ths laws Of So
"" !" "'"Il t'em. were engnven both on btsss
aud ou wood, Ter there se suthont,es for both.
i"'s' o. NE ISoi'e Tales among he Romans.
~Af some # ths Old writer's sfhim, eoto enRrs,en
on 'Iabs Of Dad. They appear, houe,srlr ne,
originally. yet very carly. 10 have been engraysn
on "rsts, Winch vas not. h~owsyes. leu.6 to he a..
cure against injury Of The elements, for when tho
'1pIiol' 10 which they were kept. was struck by
'fh'n,og, tie plates are reported to have been
melted.
The Works and Days Of Hosiod. a poem. de-
posliod 10 the temple Of the MUSES.. was wrl,en.
's rausnhius, ~he processes TO spesk from occulsr
evidence, informs vs., on plates Of lead. Other in
stances Of Tie uso Of tne tame material are on To-
cord.
wooden iable's were also in frequent use. Tho
ancient ''hnese employed them and according TO
I"ny' 'hey were IN use among the Greeks before
NE tine at Homer. These we're usually thin pic
'es oil wood made smooth cad highly polished. AT
hfsi ihe bare wood was written upon, b. means Of
a style, an 'nfttnmen. We shall presently describe.
They were afterwards coycrtd with waS. Thtro
wuxcn tablets IN consequence Of The facility of e.
r"sinp or Altering what was written upon them,
continued IN usc, among The Homaur long orer
So''tr substances were introduced. aud tho Whiting
amer II was h%hished, II intended To be Preserved.
Was transferred TO paper ot parchment.
hese ia"'ets were used by the Roman onys Of
sch"o'' ihey met. however, have been some.
what clamsy. If there was any ground in fact for
the accident introduced IN one Of the comedies Of
Planlos, OF a schuolmustcr who hed h.s acad sros-
en- with one of thom by a refractory pupil.
Ihey were sometimes fastened together forming
a book, called by The Romans code1. from it's resem-
blnhce To The trunk Of n tree divided into bosfds,
term which was Afterwards retained TO designate n
DOCK OF manuscript OF any sort, and particularly a
c"Utol"h "i Iu"s hence our modern term, cote.
The cdlcts Of the Roman senate, magistrates,
aud enpe'ors, were written on plates of IVORY.
Bot stone. metals, wood, and the harder sub.
stances: MS We may readily conceive, would often
be found announcement 10 use. HLd might not olsays
be OF hand when wanted. A cheaper material wo'd
be sought, aud one more easily obtained. Leaves
were IN very ommon use for the reception of wiz
ung, IN different nations, particularly IN The east,
where nature throws up a vigorous growth prodi-
gOl Of foliage. The Egypiiuus wrote on leaves OF
tho palm, and the same material ls now in nee IN
many purs Of the oriental World. The "StLylluc
Lesyes' are familiar 10 all. And we stll spcnk Of
the leaves of a book. a pbraseology which obvious
y had It's origin IN the very primitive custom of
writing on the leaves # plsnls and trees. Tho
use Of leaves vas ~mme by the circum-
stance, that they required little preparation to IT
them for the office to which they were appropriate.
. tI and tbrv txeTa orr. t,t.r.1, ,I...T. 900
10, 10 a rude and pristine staie of society. Linen,
too, was Used in very ancient times. ana specimens
Of writing 90 this material are ETH found, in good
Prcscr'atIon, III The envelopes Of Egyptian mum
mics.
The bark Of trees VAS afterwards employed, ns
lees pstishabie Than leaves. The use Of It Us n
material Tor Writing upon. has been common Ia ev-
cry feglon Of the globe. and siil continues in sew
oral pars of ASIA. The inner bark aas selected
as bcet suited TO The object, cbiled by he Romans
bJer, whence the Latin name for book, and our
modern term Library. The Romans generally made
use Of The linden, Or tel tree, for thls purpose.
Se'ofol specimens Of writing on bark are stlll
preserved % The collections Of The curious. Some
Of these are from The MslsbGr coast. There IL 10
one Of the Libraries IN England, 0 letter Of an In-
dian Na6o6. on a piece Of bark two yards N length,
ana richly ornamenlcd with gold. Some Scandi-
'"F'f fE'N f''''Nf ~ w 0Hiht hfo titA OK
isn't. Aud d library wss not long since discover
Ell 20 Rossls, among the Caiuuck IaftGrs. consist .
lng Of books composed Of long strips Of thick
b'th vanished, lie Snung teivg White on 4 block
ground.
OR Saxon ancestors too. made use Of bsrk. pen-
orally 'hst Of the beech, The wood Of vh.eh YES
used for writing tablets 20 he m.ddle ages. .nstesd
Of that uf tho box Or eitfou. which asc en- p'oyed
by lbe Romans. Prom boo. the Saxon wor5 for
beech, Dc derived probably osr English Hot5 book.
Tho zee of bark, however. came Ia time 10 be.
30 o greet measure. suprrseded by that Of he pa
pyruz Of Egypt. From pspyrBs cones cor Eng.
Dob @ofd pepper. The O a msf,by plsni, 3 ysue-
y Of rofL. not coafae5 10 Tie backs Of The Nile.
a. ~gs once supposed. Il uses from a large
creeping root and stitins tbs be- ght Il several fsei,
Lsw"g Z riqm 81 c itsnge.sr shape. with q large
tuitcd head. The plant wss exceedingly ussfol
for other purposes han thst Of msking paper.
PROM Tie .owey Psri 4eIs formed drinking eops !:
other parts more nerble. served Tor The RIBS Of
5osis a. others acre manufactured iato cloth,
sails, ropes, picss for lamps. and s,Disf suscles !,
AID the root wts c~onYsried Into hsi.