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The author of the words ‘Sweet Mrs. Lucy Cooke’ on the back endleaf of this book is unknown, but may have been trying the married form of a sweetheart's name. The inscription could also express a yearning for a woman who was already married. The unknown author may also have written the following tantalising fragment on the title page: ‘And if my pen it had beene better I would...’. There are no other marks or annotations in this compendium of scientific knowledge.

Citation:
Hermolaus Barbarus, Compendium scientiae naturalis, ex Aristotele et aliis philosophis collectum (Lausanne, 1579),
Marsh's Library Exhibits,
accessed December 6, 2025,
https://www.marshlibrary.ie/digi/items/show/582