436
HISTORY OF PRINTING.
booki, aett, proelam. ^e. — ^for all manner of books touching the comm. law.
For Lat. Greek and Hebr. — for dietionariet — for grammari — for accidenees — for the Crus- cro$t-row — for school-books generally.
For maps and charts — for maps, charts, and plots of England and Wales — for all manner of oooks or tables, toiiching cosmography, geography, or topography.
For music — for ruled paper for music, for songs.
For almanacs — ^for almanacs and brief chroni- cles — ^for single books.
And lastly, when entireties were all exhausted, by exclusive patents for things printed on one side of a sheet or of any part of a sheet of paper — By the charter to the Comp. of Stationers — ^by taxes upon the Universities; and, to close the whole, by a sweetener to authors of a lease for years of their own works.
Not but that indulgences of some sort were requisite in the infancy of the art " when there were but few books and few printers within this realm who could well exercise and occupy the science and art of printing; but these were granted upon good consideration, the encourage- ment of a newly-invented 'feat,' which opened the hidden mine of knowledge to a besotted world, yet were they few, and to endure but a short time." GraftotCs patent was for three years only, for the printing of Coverdale's bible, afterwards they became numerous as briefs for fire and water, high winds, hail storms, and thunder showers ; tenants at rack-rent and bur- thened with numerous poor, and for any other sundries which packed seeund. artem mar be strained to the dam. of £1000 and three-half- pence, and bring grist to the Ch. and Staff.
AVhen the people began to emerge out of darkness into light, and to show a desire for instruction, they were soon taught to pay for their curiosity by these shameml patents, by which the most necessary books were monopo- lized, and first of all those which should first of all have been privileged.
But these patents and monopolies produced mussitations and grumblings and a petition from the inferior printers to the privy council against them ; setting forth that they were contrary to law, and that no such ought to be granted, — and they affirmed that they might and would, (and so indeed they did too) print any lawful book, notwithstanding any commandment of the queen. The house of commons took the matter into con- sideration, and the patentees, the richer printers, making a virtue of necessity, deemed it expedi- ent to toss a cade to the whule, and to yield to the Comp. of Stat, in 1583 certain books towards the relief and maintenance of the poorer. Here's a list of some : —
By Barker the queen's printer, — The TV. Test. the paraphr. of Erasm. — the 2 vols, of homilies — the articles of religion.
The Queen^s injunctions. — all pro templis,a.nd to be purchased by every parish in the kingdom ; but mark, it was the profit only of the N. T. which Barker relinquished, with a proviso that
he printed them himselfe; and i*ith anoths proviso that he retained some for secret services, yet this was in the time of Q. Eliz. and these books the beginning of the reformation scarce then completed.
Tottel, the law printer, had more in him of the wisdom of the serpent; he kept his law books to himself, and yielded Dr. Wilson wpim usurie, and the sonnets of th' earle of Sttrrey.
The Warden, — an almanack to be stuck «• walls. Another — Calvin upon Daniel, TTie prac- tice of prelates, and The image of God. Another — Agrtppa of the vanilie of seteruxs, and Sent- entite pueriles. Another, — TTie art of rhetorie. The courtier. The flower of friendship, and TXe image of idlenesse.
But most of them with r^trictions and reser- vations yielded unwillingly the remainder in fee of a squeezed orange; for romo homini ; with- out a metaphor !
Many other examples might be g^ven, bat we content ourselves for the present, because we are all acquainted with the plunder, and take leave of the sixteenth century, a period compriong events, which, whether we regard their influence upon literature, arts, and policy, or their effects in the diffusion of truths justly merits to be con- sidered as the most important century which has elapsed since the era of Christianity. During this century it will be perceived that the press had made rapid strides to the attainment of that liberty which is the inherent right of man ; but much was left to be done, and though the abut- ment was but laid in the lifteenth century, the structure was left to be perfected in our own day. During the sixteenth century, both at home and abroad, despotism would not acknowledge the infant press : shackles and persecution, fines and confiscation were still the lot of those who dared to utter sentiments inimical to power; but, says a modern writer, " whoever has attentively meditated on the progress of the human race, cannot fail to discern that there is now a spirit of inquiry amongst men, which nothing can stop or even materially control. Reproach and oblo- quy, threats and persecution, will be in vain. They may embitter opposition and engender violence, but they cannot abate the keenness of research. There is a silent march of thought, which no power can arrest, and which is not difficult to foresee, will be marked by important events. Mankind were never before in the atu- atinn in which they now stand. The press has been operating upon them for several centuries, with an influence scarcely perceptible at its com- mencement, but by daily becoming more palp- able, and acquiring accelerated force, it is rousing the intellect of nations; and happy will it be for them, if there be no rash interterence with the natural progress of knowledge ; and if by a judicious and gradual adaptation of their insti- tutions to the inevitable changes of opinion, they are saved from those convulsions which the pride, prejudices, and obstinacy of a few may occasion to the whole." — Essays on the formation of Opinions.
