DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1311#0267
226 THE GREAT EXHIBITION
bringing art-knowledge within the reach of all, the government may do much, but the
public must do more; it must depend for success on the co-operation of all. It is a
movement that may not be delayed; we must be up and stirring, if we would not that
England, in the midst of her material greatness, become a byword and a reproach
. amongst nations."
CHAPTER XXXI.
PRINTING.—JVom the Juries' Heporta.
INVENTION OF PRINTING—ITS EARLY HISTORY IN GERMANY, FRANCE, AND ITALY—ITS INTRO-
DUCTION INTO ENS-LAND—GREAT IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ART—APPLEGATH AND COWPER----
VAST INCREASE IN BOOETS----NEWSPAPERS----THE " TIMES"----AUSTRIA----PRUSSIA — SAXONY-—
ITALY—THE VATICAN—ENGLAND—CAXTON—BULMER—BENSLEY—WHITTINGHAM, ETC., ETC.
—CHEOMOTYPY—PRINTING IN GOLD—PRINTING IN FRANCE, ETC., ETC.
After the interval of four centuries, the date of the Great Exhibition of the world's
industry was coincident with the anniversary of that of the invention of printing. It
seemed as if all nations were assembled in the capital of England to celebrate the
centennial birthday of the press—the most powerful instrument of their civilization. It is
by the aid of printing that different nations have imparted to each other their thoughts
and their feelings, and have received in some degree a combined existence. "Without
this marvellous bond, they would have been left to the ignorance and prejudices which
foster nations' warfare, and could never have presented this admirable display of universal
harmony and of general emulation. When we consider the great costliness of manu-
scripts at a former period, the difficulty of procuring them, and all the benefits of which
society was devoid before the discovery of printing, every friend of study and of exalted
intellectual speculations should deem himself fortunate in living at a period when so many
stores of instruction are placed within the reach of all.
In every age, and in all countries, printing denotes the state of civilization, of which
books are the reflex, and the history of the human mind is written in the progress of
bibliography. Thus the first printed books of Germany were almost all devoted to
theology and scholastic philosophy, while at Paris ancient literature occupied an equal
rank with theology; thus, also at Rome, where the remembrance of ancient literature
maintained a still stronger empire, printing, under the guidance of the bishops of
Aleria and Teramo, principally reproduced the master-pieces of classic times. In
France, however, under the influence of the chivalrous reign of Erancis I., a great
number of works upon chivalry soon appeared, and the desire of becoming acquainted with
narratives so much in conformity with the prevailing taste, was one cause of the introduc-
tion of printing into England. Of the sixty-two works printed in England by Caxton,
those upon theology do not amount to ten, the remainder being devoted to chivalry, to
history more or less romantic, to literature, and to manners and customs. Without
expatiating upon this subject, we will confine ourselves to observing that, at the
period when the pope founded at Rome the celebrated printing-office for the "Propaga-
tion of the Faith/' there was no corresponding activity on the subject in London; and,
that, at the present day, whilst the great printing establishment of the " Propaganda"
remains inactive, England, every year, sends forth to the world a million of Bibles and
.New Testaments.
bringing art-knowledge within the reach of all, the government may do much, but the
public must do more; it must depend for success on the co-operation of all. It is a
movement that may not be delayed; we must be up and stirring, if we would not that
England, in the midst of her material greatness, become a byword and a reproach
. amongst nations."
CHAPTER XXXI.
PRINTING.—JVom the Juries' Heporta.
INVENTION OF PRINTING—ITS EARLY HISTORY IN GERMANY, FRANCE, AND ITALY—ITS INTRO-
DUCTION INTO ENS-LAND—GREAT IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ART—APPLEGATH AND COWPER----
VAST INCREASE IN BOOETS----NEWSPAPERS----THE " TIMES"----AUSTRIA----PRUSSIA — SAXONY-—
ITALY—THE VATICAN—ENGLAND—CAXTON—BULMER—BENSLEY—WHITTINGHAM, ETC., ETC.
—CHEOMOTYPY—PRINTING IN GOLD—PRINTING IN FRANCE, ETC., ETC.
After the interval of four centuries, the date of the Great Exhibition of the world's
industry was coincident with the anniversary of that of the invention of printing. It
seemed as if all nations were assembled in the capital of England to celebrate the
centennial birthday of the press—the most powerful instrument of their civilization. It is
by the aid of printing that different nations have imparted to each other their thoughts
and their feelings, and have received in some degree a combined existence. "Without
this marvellous bond, they would have been left to the ignorance and prejudices which
foster nations' warfare, and could never have presented this admirable display of universal
harmony and of general emulation. When we consider the great costliness of manu-
scripts at a former period, the difficulty of procuring them, and all the benefits of which
society was devoid before the discovery of printing, every friend of study and of exalted
intellectual speculations should deem himself fortunate in living at a period when so many
stores of instruction are placed within the reach of all.
In every age, and in all countries, printing denotes the state of civilization, of which
books are the reflex, and the history of the human mind is written in the progress of
bibliography. Thus the first printed books of Germany were almost all devoted to
theology and scholastic philosophy, while at Paris ancient literature occupied an equal
rank with theology; thus, also at Rome, where the remembrance of ancient literature
maintained a still stronger empire, printing, under the guidance of the bishops of
Aleria and Teramo, principally reproduced the master-pieces of classic times. In
France, however, under the influence of the chivalrous reign of Erancis I., a great
number of works upon chivalry soon appeared, and the desire of becoming acquainted with
narratives so much in conformity with the prevailing taste, was one cause of the introduc-
tion of printing into England. Of the sixty-two works printed in England by Caxton,
those upon theology do not amount to ten, the remainder being devoted to chivalry, to
history more or less romantic, to literature, and to manners and customs. Without
expatiating upon this subject, we will confine ourselves to observing that, at the
period when the pope founded at Rome the celebrated printing-office for the "Propaga-
tion of the Faith/' there was no corresponding activity on the subject in London; and,
that, at the present day, whilst the great printing establishment of the " Propaganda"
remains inactive, England, every year, sends forth to the world a million of Bibles and
.New Testaments.