PLANTS
149
PLANTS
40) with the prototypographer, Robert iMac^ II at
Caen. At an early age he had already learned Latin
and shown a pronounced taste for scientific books.
After a short residence in Paris, he went to Antwerp
(154S-9), where he opened a book-bindery and soon
became famous for his beautiful inlaid bindings and
book covers. In 155.5 he opened his publishing house
which, notwithstanding keen competition, soon pros-
pered. Within five years, he attained the highest
rank among typographers of his time, surpassing his
rivals in the Netherlands by the perfection, beauty,
and number of his publications. In 1562, charged
with holding intercourse with two religious reformers
(Niclaes and Barrefelt), he was obUged to flee from
Antwerp. He succeeded, however, in dissipating the
suspicions against him, and it was only after two cen-
turies that his relations with the Familists, or "Fa-
mille de la Charitfi" came to light, and also that he
printed the works of Barrefelt and other heretics.
In 1563, having returned to Antwerp, Plantin formed
business associations with prominent citizens with
whom he conducted a printing establishment for
three years. In 1566 we first hear of Plantin's scheme
to reprint the Polyglot Bible of Cardinal Ximenes.
His beautiful proofs secured the support of King
Philip II, and the eight volumes of the "Bibha
Regia" were completed in 1573 (see Polyglot
Bibles). Immediately after the king appointed him
Royal Architypographer, in charge of the printing of
the newly-edited brex-iaries, missals, psalters, and
other liturgical texts which were sent to Spain in
great numbers at the expense of the king. Plantin
also published many new editions of the classics,
works on jurisprudence, and the "Index Expurgato-
rius". Wars stopped the execution of the king's or-
ders for the new Liturgical formularies; but Plantin
had, long before, obtained privileges for this work
from Rome. This exclusive privilege, possessed by
Plantin's successors for two hundred years, became a
source of great profit and balanced the extensive losses
incurred by the " Biblia Regia". In 1583, leaving
his business at Antwerp to his two nephews, Moretus
and Raphelingen, Plantin settled in Leyden, where he
conducted a second-hand book store and a small
printing office with three presses, but sought prin-
cipally for quiet and the restoration of his failing
health. In 15S5 Raphelingen took charge of the
printing office at Leyden, and Plantin returned to
Antwerp, where, until his death, he endeavoured by
the sale of his Bible to indemnify himself for the loss
of the twenty thousand florins which the king still
owed him. These losses were finally made good after
his death.
The extensive character of Plantin's undertakings is shown by the fact that between 1555 and 1589 he
pubhshed over sixteen hundred works, eighty-three
in 1575 alone. His press room at this time contained
twenty-two presses. His editions, as a rule, consisted
of from twelve to fifteen hundred copies, in some cases
considerably more; thus thirty-nine hundred copies
of his Hebrew Bible were published. His emblem
shows a hand reaching out of the clouds holding a
pair of compasses; one point is fixed, the other marks
a line. The motto is "Lahore et Constantia". He
was justly considered the first typographer of his time.
Moreover, money was not his only object. He thor-
oughly appreciated the ethical side of his profession,
as is proved by his publishing useful works, excelling
in scientific value and artistic worth. The astonishing
number of his publications, the extreme care which he
devoted to the simplest as well as to the greatest of
his publications, the monumental character of a whole
•series of his books, his good taste in their adornment,
his correct judgment in the choice of subjects to be
pubhshed, and his success in gaining the sympathy of
his assistants prove that his fame was well deserved.
There is but one blot on Plantin's reputation, his rela-
tions with the "Famille de la Charite", which can
only be explained as due to the unsettled conditions
of the times. His Antwerp business remained in the
possession of his second daughter, Martina, wife of
Johannes Moerentorf (Latinized Moretus), who was
his assistant for manj* years. Their son, Balthasar,
a friend of Rubens in his youth, was the most famous
of the Moretus name, and a worthy successor to his
grandfather. After the death of Balthasar in 1641,
his heirs made a great fortune out of their monopoly
of Liturgical books. Unfortunately they abandoned
almost entirely the publication of scientific books. It
was only at the beginning of 1800 that the privilege
ceased in consequence of the decree of the King of
Spain, forbidding the importation of foreign books and
this practically put an end to the printing house of
Plantin. In 1867, after three hundred and twelve
years, the firm of Plantin ceased to exist. The City
of Antwerp and the Government of Belgium in 1876
purchased from the last owner, Edward Moretus, all
the buildings, as well as the printing house with its
appurtenances and collections for 1,200,000 florins.
The entire plant was converted into the Plantin-
Moretus Museum.
RoosES, Christophe Plantin (Anvers, 1882, 2nded., 1897); Idem, Corresp. de P. (Ghent, 1884 sq.); Idem, ie Musee P.-Morelua (Brussels, 1S94).
Heinrich Wilh. Wallau.
Plants in the Bible. — When Moses spoke to the people about t he Land of Promise, he described it as a "land of hills and plains" (Deut., xi, 11), "a good land, of brooks and of waters, and of fountains: in the plains of which and the hills deep rivers break out :
