Editing Liber Memorialis (section)

==Description==
The book is dedicated to a Macrinus, who may have been the [[Macrinus|emperor]] who reigned 217–218, but that name was not uncommon, and it seems more likely he was simply a young man with a thirst for universal knowledge, which the book was compiled to satisfy.

The book's object and scope are indicated in its dedication:
{{Blockquote|Since you desire to know everything, I have written this 'book of notes,' that you may learn of what the universe and its elements consist, what the world contains, and what the human race has done.}}

The ''Liber Memorialis'' seems to have been intended as a [[textbook]] to be learned by heart. This little work, in fifty chapters, gives a sketch of [[cosmography]], [[geography]], [[mythology]] (Chapters I-X), and history (Chapters X to end). The historical portion, dealing mainly with the [[Roman Republic|republican]] period, is untrustworthy and the text in many places corrupt; the earlier chapters are more valuable, and contain some interesting information.

Chapter VIII (''Miracula Mundi'') contains the following, the only reference by an ancient writer to the famous sculptures of the [[Pergamon Altar]], which were discovered in 1871, excavated in 1878, and are now in [[Berlin]]:

{{quote|At Pergamum there is a great marble [[altar]], {{convert|40|ft|m}} high, with colossal sculptures, representing a battle of the [[giant (mythology)|giants]]}}