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Theart of writing is one of great antiquity. At first, it consisted of what are calledhieroglyphics—which are pictures of objects, or signs and symbols of objects, or figures, expressing words to the ear. The ancient Egyptians, the Chinese, and the Mexican Indians, all appear to have hit upon this hieroglyphical mode of writing.
The invention of letters, for spelling words, was of later date; and the writing of them was later still. The first writing was probably upon stone, and was used, doubtless, to record great events upon national monuments, as pyramids, obelisks, temples, and other structures. As the art grew more familiar, it was practised upon wood, ivory, metals, and leaves.
The leaves of thepapyrus, from which paper takes its name, afterwards came into use, and for a long time were employed for books, letters, &c., as we use paper. The papyrus is a water plant, the root being always immersed in water. It grows eight or ten feet high, with a stout naked stalk: the leaves are eight in number, sword-shaped, andtwo feet long. They grow abundantly along the marshy borders of the Nile, and in some parts of Sicily. It is still used in the countries where it grows, for sail-cloth and cordage, and sometimes for wearing apparel. Of the stems, closely woven together, basket-fashion, boats are made.
The manufacture of the papyrus into paper appears to have been of ancient date. The skin of the leaves, only, was used. This, which was usually a foot wide, was taken off, by some process, and several layers were pressed together, having been dampened by the water of the Nile. Thus a texture as thick as parchment was formed. It was made into rolls, for books. The city of Alexandria, in Egypt, carried on a large manufacture of this kind of paper, and derived great wealth from it. The making of paper, from cotton and linen rags, did not supersede the papyrus paper till the eleventh century.
Writing was the chief means by which knowledge could be recorded and diffused. Tradition could carry down events for a few generations, but these soon became blended with fictions; and with the destruction of a nation, its traditional records vanished. The art of writing, therefore, was clearly of the utmost importance; and the means of making it cheap and easy were cultivated with care. In the time of our Savior it had become very common, and well educated persons, throughout the vast extent of the Roman empire, were so far acquainted with it as to be able to write letters. Still, nine persons in ten could not write, and consequently, a class of persons, called scribes, made it their profession to write. These scribes were constantly applied to, to write letters and documents of various kinds. If a lover wished to address his mistress, he applied to the professed writers. This trade is still followed in countries where education is confined to a few persons.
As society advanced, and great poets, historians and philosophers arose, the desire of possessing their works, of course, began to prevail. Accordingly, the scribes were called upon not only to prepare business papers, but to make books. These, for many centuries, were only written by the pen. Until the invention of the art of printing, every page, every letter of a book, must be traced with the quill. The making of a single book was therefore a work of great labor. None but skilful and practised writers could pretend to write books. It was a trade, which demanded careful training. Until the invention of printing it required about four years, of close and severe labor, to make a single Bible! A Bible, five hundred years ago, was worth a house and farm of fifty acres! Now you can buy one, and a far better one, for fifty cents! This change is the effect of an invention of which I am now going to speak.
The art of printing, in some form, appears to have existed for ages. Engravings were made on wood, and stamped on brick, at least four thousand years ago, as appears by fragments found among the ruins of Babylon, and Thebes in Egypt. This art of wood engraving, and taking impressions therefrom, was lost for centuries, but was revived, and at the time of the invention of printing, was in common use, for coarse purposes—especially for stamping figures upon playing cards.
This art of wood engraving and printing therefrom, was employed sometimes in lieu of writing; the letters were cut on the wood, and in the print these were white, with a black ground. This process is still in use, for the covers of books, labels, &c., and is calledxylographicprinting. It is said to have been invented by the Japanese, and wasin use in China as long ago as the year 1100 B. C., about the time of king David.
But still, the idea of making separate types, one for each letter, and printing books from them, had not been started. This was undertaken by John Gutenberg, a native of Mentz, in Germany. He appears to have been occupied with it in the year 1436. He then lived at Strasburg, in France, and here for several years he secretly but industriously pursued his experiments.
In 1444, he removed to his native city, and taking one John Faust into partnership with him, he succeeded in printing several works. They soon separated, however: Gutenberg gave up the business, and Faust pursued it. The latter has sometimes been considered the inventor of the art of printing, but it belongs fairly to Gutenberg. In 1555, the “forty-two line Bible” was produced, and was so called because each column consisted of forty-two lines.
Faust soon produced several editions of the Bible. He went to Paris, about this time, and it seemed so impossible, even to the monks, who were educated men, that he could make so many Bibles by human means, that they adopted the idea that he was in league with the devil. It is a curious fact, that most good inventions, of ancient times, were supposed to be produced by the help of the sable fiend. Certain it is that the charge of sorcery was so laid upon Faust that he was obliged to fly for his life.
We may here add, that the art of printing, which has done more for mankind than any other human art, not only thus brought the life of one of its first and ablest promoters into danger, but it has been the special object of persecution from the day of its invention to the present time. We shall pursue this subject in another number.