梵蒂岡圖書館

The VaTican Library— The 1）aTTic of WesTern ciViLizaTion

We’re about to visit a place few people have seen first-hand， the Vatican Library， a vast collection of historic treasures beyond compare， founded over five centuries ago， when Europe was coming out of the Dark Ages， a period of so-called Humanism， when the Catholic Church was open to new ideas in philosophy， science and the human spirit. It’s the Pope’s library， but it contains much more than just church documents. There are manuscripts going back nearly 2，000 years of music and math， warfare and exploration， even cook books and love letters. The library is closed to the public， a place for scholars only.

Timothy Janz （Curator）： There’s about two million printed books.

Reporter： Two million printed books.

And inside the library the past surrounded us as we were shown the magnificent building and its riches.

Timothy： This is the 2）Urbino Bible.

For instance， this spectacular Bible， 3）commissioned in 1476， by the Duke of Urbino.

Timothy： He wanted to have a very fancy Bible…

Reporter： And he got one.

Timothy： …and this is what he got.

Library 4）curator Timothy Janz tells us the Bible took years to make by hand， letter by letter， picture by picture.

Timothy： …decorated with real gold…

It’s just one of the library’s 80，000 handwritten manuscripts from the ages before the printing press. Add to that those two million or so printed books， Christian and 5）pagan， sacred and 6）profane， in virtually every language known to man.

There are thousands of prints and drawings， windows on the past， and a huge collection of ancient coins. This was the money of Palestine 2，000 years ago， including the kind of silver coins Judas was said to have been paid to betray Christ.

Here is a map of the world， drawn 50 years before Columbus， at its edge the towers of paradise. And an immediate best-seller， Columbus’description of his voyage to the New World， published in 1493.

Reporter： In a certain way the library is kind of the attic of Western civilization.

Michael Collins （Irish Priest）： That’s so true， and it’s like many attics. You know， you put things up all the time； you keep on pushing over boxes to make space for more things.

Reporter： Is there anyone， any single person， who really knows what the library holds？

Michael： Nobody knows exactly what’s there， because it will be impossible for the human brain to understand， to remember the titles， who wrote it， when they were written.

Its Great Hall， essentially unchanged over the centuries， is a picture 7）gallery of 8）antiquity， saints， philosophers， and 9）depictions of the great libraries of the pre-Christian world， Babylon， Athens， Alexandria， a shrine to learning， and to books.

Here， some 10）devotional music commissioned by Pope Leo X， and the text of the Christmas Mass used at the altar by Alexander VI； both manuscripts five centuries old， written on 11）parchment， treated animal skin.

You might find drawings of a German 12）jousting tournament in 1481. Or an old cookbook telling us that Roman “foodies” in the 4th century dined on chicken， veal， seafood， pancakes in milk， and whipped pear cake. Or， from an 11th century 13）treatise on the art of war， a 14）Byzantine soldier 15）brandishing a flame-thrower， something the Greeks invented 1，500 years earlier. Or Henry VIII’s lover letters to 16）Anne Boleyn.

The library’s most valued documents go back almost 2，000 years， nearly to the time of Saint Peter， the first Pope， whose tomb lies beneath the 17）basilica that bears his name.

With our tour nearly over， it seemed as if the library’s collection had come to life in the streets of “18）the eternal city.” Leaving the library， we thought there’s something…something almost magical to be 19）immersed in this place， to breathe the air， and touch the hand of history.

我們將要參觀一個很少人有機會親眼看過的地方——梵蒂岡圖書館，其無與倫比的豐富館藏都是歷史瑰寶。梵蒂岡圖書館創建于五個多世紀前，當時，歐洲剛剛走出它的“黑暗時代”，處于所謂的人文主義運動時期；那個時期的天主教會樂于接納哲學、科學，以及人文精神等領域的新思想。這里是教皇的圖書館，但里面收藏的并不僅僅是教會文獻。這里有近兩千年前的音樂、數學、戰爭、探險等方面的手抄本，甚至還有烹飪書和情書。這個圖書館不對公眾開放，只供學者使用。

蒂莫西·詹慈（管理員）：這里有大概兩百萬本印刷書籍。

記者：兩百萬本。

我們身在圖書館，參觀這座富麗堂皇的建筑和里面的豐富藏品，感受著濃厚的歷史氛圍。

蒂莫西：這本是烏爾比諾《圣經》。

比如說，這本令人驚嘆的《圣經》是1476年由烏爾比諾公爵委托制作的。

蒂莫西：他當時想要一本超級漂亮的《圣經》……

記者：于是他得到了一本漂亮的《圣經》。

蒂莫西：……這就是他得到的成品。

圖書館管理員蒂莫西·詹慈告訴我們，這本《圣經》是純手工制作，一個字母一個字母地抄寫，一張插圖一張插圖地繪制，花費了數年時間。

蒂莫西：……用真金裝飾……

這座圖書館里擁有印刷機出現以前完成的八萬本手抄本，這本《圣經》只不過是其中之一。此外，這里還有大約兩百萬本印刷書籍，既有關于基督教的內容，也有非基督教的內容，既有宣揚宗教神圣不可侵犯的書籍，也有褻瀆神靈的內容，基本上涵蓋了人類已知的所有語種。