Bibles And Other, Early Printed Books.

many of the latter half of the 15 th century , one of the oldest being" Thomas Aquinas Secunda ( pars ) Secundra partis . Editio Prineeps . Printed b y P . Schoiffher , Mayence , 1467 . This is a series of Theological and Metaphysical disquisitions of which the ' Prima pars ' was

first published ( printed ) in 1461 . It was for writing a defence of this and other works of Thomas Aquinas that Henry YIII . received from Pope Leo . X . the title of ' Defender of the Eaith . ' "

Another description of this work says , — " Theological work in Latin of Thomas Aquinas—printed at Moguntia ( Mayence on the Rhine ) , by P . Schceffer , 1467 , about 12 years after the invention of printing . Eirst book with date was printed 1457 . " The title ( outside ) of another old book is "S .

Avgvstm de civitafc . Dei 1468 . " By the -way , I may observe that the margin of the 1467 Thomas Aquinas work is very broad ; If in . at top , 2 f in . at side , and SJin . at bottom . lie has a Bull of Pope Innocent XI , dated 16 S 2 , with the leaden seal Bulla , from which the document

is named ; this "seal" is a piece of lead l | in . in diameter and i 0 of an inch thick ; it has upon it in raised letters " _( - INNOCENTVS PAPA XL , " and on the obverse an erect Latin cross between two heads facing each other , and , above cross , four letters , three of them being T A E , the second letter is illegible . A red and yellow cord goes right up

through centre of lead and thereby suspends the " seal" to the parchment ; the parchment is 23 Jin . broad and 17 in . deep . The 1537 Matthew ' s Bible frontispiece has some interesting sketches on it ; such as Death prostrate on the ground with the end of a cross banner pole stuck through his belly ; beside this is a large cross upon

"which Christ is suspended , while two preachers are directing the attention of a man to it ; alongside the large cross is the lamb carrying a banner with a cross on it . There are other biblical sketches scattered over the page ; the whole , however , is simply Christian and illustrative , nothing Masonic about it .

There is one Bible , the title-page of which I have no doubt would gladden the eyes of Bro . Melville . The central composition is pseudo-heraldic ( not Masonic ) , while the border has a collection of figures of different saints ; the description of it says , "Latin Bible . —Printed at Lyons 152 S . This is the first modern translation from the Hebrew and the first

Scriptures divided into verses . It was executed by Pagninus , a learned Italian monk , born 1466—died 1536 . The work occupied him 25 years- Though differing materially from the Yulgate , it was patronized by the Popes Adrian YL , Clement YLL , and Leo X . " The 1528 Bible has the original title . They seem not to have been so much afraid of

learned Bibles , it being common Bibles ( i . e ., Bibles in the popular language ) that are dangerous . ^ A London Bible , printed by Robert Barker in 1607 , has a fine frontispiece . The shields of the 12 tribes suspended with their emblems before their tents on the one sideand fi of the 12 apostles the

, gures upon other , around centre , a man or angel , and eagle at top and a lion and bull at bottom , signifying the four evangelists , while at foot is Christ treading grapes in a wine-press , & e . I examined the plates and cuts of a great many

Bibles And Other, Early Printed Books.

old—i . e ., previous to 1717 more especially—Bibles , and saw some illustrative of the Biblical narrative , some heraldic or pseudo-heraldic , and some that would now be considered indecent ;* one architectural frontispiece ( date 1640 ) consisted of a doorway with the two Corinthian columns on each sideandafter

, , examining them all , I can therefore ease Bro . Melville ' s mind as to Masonry losing anything particular had " these expensive productions '' been altogether lost . ( To be continued . ' )

Masonic Notes And Queries.

MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES .

THE KEYS IDENTIFIED ( p . 62 ) . Here we are again ! Another Masonic Light (?) appears in the person of Bro . W . N . Crawford , who , as he gives out , having discovered " the keys , " boldly proceeds to open the door so that his benighted brethren may have the privilege of viewing the light .

I read his Identification of his Keys , but , lo!— 'twas but a dream ! . An airy unsubstantial thing , a mere will o' the wisp to lead unthinking or simple brethren astray . Of course I do not expect Bro . Crawford to he able to explain what he does not know himself , but I see no reason why he should parade his ignorance in the columns of the Maqazine .

If he really desires to' enlighten us anent the triple tau , the tiara , or the keys , we are obliged to him for his wish , only he must be done with mysterious trifling and use the proper means . Suppose he tells us the date of the earliest known reference to , or extant opecimen of the triple tau ? When that is

given , we will be better able to speculate about or to understand its meaning . Although Bro . C . 's article is headed " The Keys Identified , " it will be found that said article " identifies " or explains nothing ! I may be allowed to state that the possession of " the key " in ancient

times was the emblem of power . However , as I do not desire to take the work of " identification " out of Bro . Crawford ' s hands , I shall say nothing further upon emblems at present , rather desiring to afford him another chance of giving us something sensible . — W . P . BUCHAN .

PREEMASONEY AiVD THE POPE . When did his Holiness the Pope first pay his compliments to Freemasonry ? A little bird whispersafter it had left its cradle and was beginning to walk ; and since then ( 173 S ) it has become quite customary for the Head of the Church to pay his devoirs , like

a gallant knight , to our Lady . —LToni soit qiti mat y pense . Even his squire , poor fellow , has been fascinated by her beauty , and , "like master like man , " has been caught casting " sheep ' s eyes" at her ; but he must remember his proper place , or he will most assuredly get packed off to the lower regions to pay his respects to the Qullenawry fraternity . —PICTUS .