Page:A Brief Outline of the Histories of Libraries.djvu/42

36 note later, had a library which was remarkable for the number and excellence of its books. Speaking of this library, Strabo says that Aristotle was the first private collector of books of whom we have any knowledge, and that he taught the kings of Egypt the principles of classification. This passage from Strabo, however, must be read with care and be properly interpreted; for Aristotle was by no means the first to form a library, and as he lived before the time of Philadelphus, he could not have taught him, save as I have said, by example. Perhaps what Athenaeus says is true, that Aristotle left his books to Theophrastus, he to Neleus, and that from the latter