Anthony Grafton, ed. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1993. (Published in association with the Library of Congress and the Vatican Library.) 216 colt pls. + xxvi + 323 pp. $55.

Written to accompany a Library of Congress exhibition of rare manuscripts and books on loan for the first time from the Vatican, this splendid volume offers eloquent commentaries on the cultural significance of displayed items, and sumptuous color reproductions (now available, incidentally, for computer viewing in "MOSAIC"). Taken together, its eight essays demonstrate the range of cultural pursuits of Renaissance Roman intellectuals. Originally conceived by Pope Nicholas V (1447-1455), the Vatican Library was established as a public library for the common convenience of the learned by Sixtus IV (1471-1484). It has since grown to 75,000 manuscripts and approximately two million books and periodicals.

Two opening essays, by Anthony Grafton and James Hankins respectively, are models of concision and cogent synthesis. Grafton explains the Renaissance...