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HISTORY OF PRINTING.
capital of Lithuania, and has a bishop's sec, a castle, a royal palace, and an university erected so early as 1570.
1517. The first act of open hostility against the Church of Rome, by Martin Luther, was in this year, bj' affixing to the gate of the church of Wittemberg twenty-four propositions relating to the sale of indulgences. Two years had not elapsed, from the time of Luther's first appear- ance against indulgences, before his writings found theirway into Italy. In aletter, addressed to the reformer, by John Froben, the celebrated printer at Basil, the following information is conveyed : — Blasius Salmonius, a bookseller at Leipsic, presented me, at the last Franckfort fair, witn several treatises composed by you, which being approved by all learned men, I imme- diately put to the press, and sent six hundred copies to France and Spain. They are sold at Paris, and read and approved of even by the Sorbonists, as my friends have assured me. Several learned men there have said, that they for a long time have wished to see such freedom in those who treat divine things. Calvas also, a bookseller of Paris, a learned man, and addicted to the muses, has carried a great part of the im- pression into Italy. He promises to send epi- grams written in praise of you by all the learned in Italy; such favour have you gained to your- self, and the cause of Christ by your constancy, courage, and dexterity." Under the date of Sep- tember 19, 1520.
Burchard Schenk, a German nobleman, writes to Spalatinus, chaplain to the elector of Saxony: " According to your request, I have read the books of Martin Luther, and I can assure you, that he has been much esteemed in this place for some time past. But the common saying is, Lei him beware of the Pope! Upwards of two months ago ten copies of his books were brought here and inimediately purchased j before I had heard of them ; but in the beginning of this month, a mandate from the pope and patriarch of Venice arrived, prohibiting them ; and a strict search being instituted among the booksellers, one perfect copy was found and seized. I had endeavoured to purchase that copy, but the book- seller durst not dispose of it."
In the year 1519, Charles V. was elected em- peror. In 1520, the disputes had proceeded so far, and the boldness of Luther had so much in- creased, that Leo X. thought it proper to issue his bull in condemnation of forty-one proposi- tions, which Luther had published subsequently to the former. In the same year he addressed to the Pope his book on Christian Liberty ; a work which was censured by the universities. He was at length excommunicated by the Pope; in return for which he wrote against "the execrable Bull of Antichrist." " Tney excom- municate me," said he ; "I excommunicate them. Let us break their " bonds in sunder, and cast their yoke from ofi" our necks." His next proceeding was to compose and publish a defence of the condemned articles.
The faculty of divines of the university of
Paris, afler many meetings held in the Sorbonne, drew up a cemure of the heresies of Luther. It was solemnly proclaimed, in a general assembly held on the 15th of April, 1521 ; and Jodacas Badius one of the sworn printers, in virtue of his oath of obedience, was enjoined to print it with fidelity and exactness; all others of the profession being interdicted from interfering with the impression ot sale, under pain of deprivation of their privileges. In the exacerbation pro- duced, more especially by the reformation, the right of censure, became in the hands of bigotry and ignorance, an engine of tyranny and of per- secution. The doctors of the Sorbonne were the first to enter into the discussion of the Lutherian proposition ; and they commenced with this sen- timent in their preamble, " That flames, rather than reasoning, ought to be employed against the arrogance of Luther." By virtue of this condemnation, the parliament caused Luther's books to be burned in the porch of Notre Dame. — During a series of years, the Sorbonne were engaged in repressing Lutheran propositions. The heterodox were never tired of writing, the Sorbonne of censuring, and the parliament of sanctioning informations against distributors of heretical books now forgotten; and which, if left unnoticed, might never have acquired cele- brity.
In consequence of the bull of iuther's con- demnation, his writings were publicly burnt at Rome. Luther, by way of reprisals, destroyed the decretals, and in particular the bull by which he had been condemned, with all the works of the anti-reformers, in a public fire behind the walls of Wittemberg. This is said to have taken place on the 10th of December, 1521.
1518. The emperor Maximilian granted a privilege to Peter SchoefTer, the grandson of Faust, which is inserted at the end of Lwy printed by him, for the sole nower of printing that author for ten years ; ana for six years, to all the other books he should print thereafter, in consideration of Faust having invented the are of printing. This must certainly be considered the first privilege granted to a printer. Signed, Jac Spiegel.
1519. Bachmeister remarks that one of the first books printed in the Russian or Slavonian language was the Pentateuch, in 4to, and printed at Prague, on good paper, in beautiful Cyrilliao characters, and with few or no abbreviations. There is a preface to each book ; and a sum- mary of contents to each chapter. The chapters are not divided into verses. The whole is adorned with wood-cuts, capitals, and vignettes. It was translated into the Slavonian language by Francis Scorino, a physician.
Dr. Cotton, however, observes, that this had been preceded by some other parts of scripture, in the year 1517 and 1518.
In 1487 a Bohemian version of tfte Psalter, and in the following year the first edition of the Bohemian bible, were executed in the city of Prague, and a copy of the latter is preserved in the public library of its university.
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