LIBRA´RII
LIBRA´RII slaves who were employed for writing or
copying in any way, and sometimes also the readers or reciters (
ANAGNOSTAE) were included
under this name (Orelli, 2872). They must be distinguished from the
Scribae publici, who were freemen [
SCRIBA], and also from the
booksellers, who were also called
librarii (see
under LINER). The slaves to whom this name of
librarii was given may be divided into
three classes:--
1.
Librarii who were employed in copying books,
called Scriptores Librarii by Horace (
Ars Poet. 354): these
librarii were also called
antiquarii, or, more
correctly, the
antiquarii were a special class
of
librarii who were skilled in reading and
copying ancient MSS. (see Isid.
Orig. 6.14; Cod. Theod. 4.8,
2; Auson.
Ep. 16; and Becker-Göll,
Gallus, 2.423). The name
librarii was also given to the slaves who had charge of
libraries, and to those who made up the book-rolls, more properly called
glutinatores (
Cic.
Att. 4.4).
2.
Librarii a studiis were slaves who were
employed by their masters when studying to make extracts from books,
&c. (Orelli,
Inscr. 719;
Suet.
Cl. 28;
Cic. Fam. 16.2. 1). To
this class the
notarii, or short-hand writers,
belonged, who could write down rapidly whatever their masters dictated to
them. (
Plin. Ep. 2.5; Martial,
14.208.) [
NOTARII]
3.
Librarii ab epistolis, whose principal duty
was to write letters from their master's dictation. (Orelli,
Inscr. 2437, 2997, &c.) To this class belonged the
slaves called
ad munum, a manu, or
amanuenses. [
AMANUENSIS] (See also Marquardt,
Privatleben, 151, and Becker-Göll,
l.c.）
[
W.S] [
G.E.M]
