Page:Historic printing types, a lecture read before the Grolier club of New York, January 25, 1885, with additions and new illustrations; by De Vinne, Theodore Low, 1828-1914; Grolier Club.djvu/97

 TO THE MESSIEURS ELZEVIR, PUBLISHERS AND PRINTERS AT LEYDEN. IAM indebted to you, and more so, perhaps, than you imagine. The honor of Roman citizenship is even less than the benefit you have conferred on me. For what do you think was this honor in comparison with that of being placed in the ranks with your authors ? It is to rank with the consuls and senators of Rome ; it is to be made fellow with the Sallusts and Ciceros ! What glory it is to rightfully say, I am a member of this immortal republic ! I have been received in the society of the demi-gods ! Practically, we live together at Leyden under the same roof. Thanks to your kindness, I am sometimes facing Pliny, sometimes by the side of Seneca ; at other times I am placed above Tacitus or Livy. Although I have but a small place there, it is as good as any : I do not leave it but to be at my ease, and to please myself in this delightful company. To say the least, all of me is there, however small the place I occupy. Homer, our patriarch, has been much more crowded than I am : he who lodged him in a shell was a more penurious manager than you have been of the accommodation you provided. Whether your art is shown in large or in small books, it is always to your credit as an artisan. There are workmen who have won fame by making pyramids and colossal figures. And there are others who are celebrated for their rings and seals. Does not his- tory speak with esteem of a four-horse chariot which a fly could cover with its wings? As this is well known as perfection in workmanship is most frequently conceded to the skillful handling of materials, and not to their prodigal use I have no right to com- plain that you have put me in a small volume. Although I am not published in folio, I am none the less, gentlemen, Your very humble and obliged servant, [Written 1651.] BALZAC. The Elzevir or xvnth century style. Prom the foundry of Gustave Mayeur, Paris. 93