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Rh zeal of his librarian. His generals abroad were charged to be on the lookout for choice volumes, and rulers and envoys knew that the gift of a rare book or an ancient manuscript was a powerful ally in gaining the favour of the great Cardinal.

Much has been said of Naudé's system of buying books. His plan was to take them in the gross by weight, not stopping to examine volume by volume. He disposed of the duplicates afterwards, often buying them for his own library, which was of considerable size and value. Rossi, describing his descent upon a bookshop, says that often, seeing a large accumulation of books,