Part 11

He was, it is true, aided by two of his old office workmen,--Martin and Hanau; but his _stucke_ was nevertheless inferior in finish to that which Schoeffer devised. He would not, however, relinquish his enterprise on that account, but proceeded to print the “Balbus de Janua.”

“Why not print more Bibles?” asked Martin Duttlinger in 1457, after they had issued the “Balbus de Janua.”

“My Bibles are being printed by others!” replied the inventor, sadly. “This care is taken from me; but I have the satisfaction of knowing that it will be done as I planned it. I selected the vellum. How many journeys I made to the manufacturer to insure a good article! How I criticised and experimented with it until I succeeded in getting a smooth, fine texture! The ink, too, what a labor it cost me! And the regularity of setting up the page,--it was long before we attained it. The cutting of the type occupied us a long time until we found the method of casting it; and now, with the help of punches, we can make the same elegant type. Why should I seek to issue another edition of the Bible, when my own is publishing? I cannot compete as a salesman with Faust; and the present Bible which is printing is as really my own as another could be.”

“But will you not at least publish a Psalter?”

“Not at present,” replied Gutenberg; “this which Faust and Schoeffer are issuing has been in press four years. When they thrust me from the firm, the type was in readiness, and a portion of it was set up. Two years and a half we had lavished skill and money upon it. This also I must consider mainly my own, as I planned to issue it, and superintended the work. Others reap my harvest; but they cannot destroy the peace and satisfaction I enjoy in the consciousness of having been the instrument of doing good.” Thus did the truly great man put by all selfish considerations.

However, he continued to print various other works, among which were the “Donatus,” the “Catholicon,” “Speculum Sacerdotum,” “Celebratio Missarum,” and others.

There is on record a curious deed, or grant of property, which gives quite an inkling of his affairs in 1459, when his brother Friele was associated with him as a successful publisher.

This legal instrument is as follows:--

“We, Henne (John) Gutenberg and Friele Gutenberg, brothers, do affirm and publicly declare by these presents, and make known to all, that with the advice and consent of our dear cousins, John and Friele and Perdiman Gensfleisch, brothers, of Mentz, we have renounced and do renounce by these presents, for us and for our heirs, simply, totally, and at once, without fraud and deceit, all the property which has passed by means of our sister Hebele to the Convent of St. Claire of Mentz, in which she has become a nun; whether the said property has come to it on the part of our father, Henne Gensfliesch, who gave it himself, or in whatever manner the property may have come to it, whether in grain, ready money, furniture, jewels, or whatever it may be, that the respectable nuns, the abbess and sisters of the said convent, have received in common or individually, or other persons of the convent, from the said Hebele, be it little or much.... And as to the books which I, the said Henne (John), have given to the library of the convent, they are to remain there always and forever; and I, the said Henne, propose also to give in future to the library of the said convent, for the use of the present and future nuns, for their religious worship, either for reading or chanting, or in whatever manner they may wish to make use of them according to the rules of their order, _all_ [that is, copies of _all_] _the books which I, the said Henne, have printed up to this hour, or which I shall hereafter print, in such quantities as they may wish to make use of_; and for this the said abbess, the successors, and nuns of the said Convent of St. Claire have declared and promised to acquit me and my heirs of the claim which my sister Hebele had to sixty florins which I and my brother Friele had promised to pay and deliver to the said Hebele as her portion and share arising from the house which Henne (John) our father assigned to him for his share, in virtue of the writings which were drawn up thereupon, without fraud and deceit. And in order that this may be observed by us, and by our heirs, steadfastly and to its full extent, we have given the said nuns and their convent and order these present writings, sealed with our seals. Signed and delivered the year of the birth of J. C. 1459, on the day of St. Margaret.”[4]

[4] Lamartine refers to an act of donating, made by Gutenberg to his sister Hebele, nun in the Convent of St. Claire at Mentz, by which he put her in possession of the religious books _which he had printed at Strasbourg_, and made her the promise of sending her successively all those which should issue from his press.

Although it is evident from this deed that Gutenberg was at this time successfully established in printing again by means of a further division of his father’s estate, and by the aid of his friends, yet it also appears that his works were not remunerative. Comparatively few books were called for,--not only the books, but the market for them, had to be made; and this, when we consider the competition of such a firm as Faust and Schoeffer, was no light affair. The worthy Syndic stood nobly by him, and his friends were kind and appreciative, or he had accomplished much less after the breaking up of his favorite projects at the Zum Jungen.

But a sad and deeply afflictive event overtook him, which again threw his affairs into confusion. This was the sudden death of his beloved Anna, who left his side with an angel’s smile and words of triumph for the endless life. The unexpected blow completely unnerved him for a long time; and even when the healing hand of time soothed the wound, he had no heart to go on with an art with which she was so intimately associated.

Friele sympathized most deeply in his sorrow, and at length advised a change of scene and occupation as antidotes to his grief. Accordingly he sold out his printing materials to the Syndic, Conrad Humery, after some eight years’ practicing of his art in the new firm.

But he was not allowed to be forsaken in his old age. From letters patent, dated January 17, 1465, we learn that he was invited to enter the service of the Elector Adolphus of Nassau, as one of his band of gentlemen pensioners, with a handsome salary. Thus did he honorably retire from the practice of his loved art, secure in the thought that although it had cost him much tribulation, yet it was firmly established in doing its beneficent mission to the world.

This was three years after the city of Mentz was sacked and plundered by Count Adolphus; and while others were broken up in their avocations and forced to flee, he was spared from such a fate, and was promoted to his own appropriate honorable place in his native city.

Thus peacefully and in useful duties did he go down the vale of life, until February 24, 1468, when he quitted this earthly scene, let us trust for the happier employments of the better world. His death seems like the calm, unclouded setting of the sun, after a tempestuous day.

Some one has said that genius, in its general sense, is universal; a possession belonging to all men, in some degree. Its greatest achievement is not in a great poem or painting, or any other work of art, but in a great life; and the strong heart and stout hands are its most miraculous organs. He who, by the majestic dignity of his daily walk, gives the beauty of truth to common life, is a great genius,--because he illustrates and sets forth, in its noblest form, virtue and true worth.

So Gutenberg, after he had done the will of God, and had been led on to perfect the most glorious invention under the sun, had need of patience. The Heavenly Father would not permit so chosen a son to become perverted by unmingled prosperity.

Hence he suffered him to be disappointed, and the patient hero was evidently blessed by his trials. He became, if never before, that which so few attain, “commander of himself;” and this, according to a wise author, is no small triumph. “He that ruleth his spirit is better than he that taketh a city.”

Several trying lawsuits diversified the eventful life of Gutenberg. They were grievous and harrowing to his sensitive feelings, but subserve a good purpose to posterity, giving many well-authenticated facts respecting him, which otherwise would have been lost. Little did he think, while passing through these fiery ordeals, that he was by them really inscribing the deeds of his life on the scroll of fame. We moderns, seizing upon each item in the law records as a choice morsel of literary history, are prone to forget that they were made at the sacrifice of the peace and comfort of the inventor.

Especially was the writ of the notary public, summoning Gutenberg to the parlor of the Barefoot Friars, a crushing event. It came when he was just on the point of realizing his fondest hopes,--when the Bible was printed, and almost ready to be issued from the press. By this process of law, he was under the necessity of mortgaging his printing materials to Faust; this shows that his large private fortune had been previously expended in experiments, and that thus he had fallen into the clutches of his more wealthy partner.

Because the great invention failed to bring in money as soon as the firm had hoped, Faust must needs take the law on Gutenberg, seizing his printing materials, wrought out with so much thought and toil. The presses, the plan of which had been for years ripening in his brain, and to secure the making of which cost him so much money, were no longer his; neither was the type which he invented at such an expense of time, effort, and money, nor yet the illuminated letters designed under his eye. Yes, the very initial letters used by Gutenberg and his firm, in works executed between 1450 and 1455, were also used by Faust and Schoeffer in the Psalter of 1457 and 1459. After so much effort almost in vain, what wonder if Gutenberg had become disheartened, and yielded to despair! Far from that. His indefatigable spirit knew no rest; many floods could not quench the fire of his perseverance; he started again, laid the foundations, and successfully wrought in new printing rooms, his Bible and his Psalter meanwhile being printed by other hands.

But there were certain considerations which alleviated the poignancy of Gutenberg’s disappointment. He had the consolation of knowing that he had designed the enterprise of publishing the Bible, and that he had carried it successfully to its termination. And now, with the magnanimity of a great soul, he was willing that others should circulate it. Besides, he had at times a hope that he should yet have justice done him. It was as true then as now that a man may be disappointed in his greatest hopes in life, without, on that account, becoming unhappy; for, as one has said, “There is no other actual misfortune except this only, _not to have God for our friend_.”

And this art of printing, which had been such a trial and triumph, such a grief and a joy, was destined to embalm his name and the memory of his life infinitely more than if all the conquests of world-renowned warriors were his.

XIX.

Faust and Schoeffer’s Success.--More Books issued.--An Eventful Year.--Greek Type.--Struck by the Plague.--The Parisians, and Faust’s Descendants.--Schoeffer’s Death.--Testimony to Gutenberg.--Extension of the Art.--Piety and Chess.--Education in the Olden Time.--Unveiling the Statue.

To return to Faust and Schoeffer. After the lawsuit, as we have seen, they mostly ignored the existence and services of Gutenberg. Soon after the memorable separation, Faust went to Paris as before related, the sales of Bibles in Germany alone being so limited as to bring in but small returns for the money invested. It was evidently necessary to take extraordinary measures to meet the emergency. In Faust’s cool, business-like view, everything would be lost, unless some speedy and marked success was attained. His experiments resulted better even than he had anticipated; and returning flush with money, the printing rooms soon presented a scene of unwonted activity. The “Litterariæ Indulgentiæ,” with which Schoeffer and his journeymen had busied themselves during Faust’s absence, was urged through the press and into the market.

“What a difference a little money makes!” said Faust, as he saw how well the book was selling. “We must hasten to finish the Psalter.”

This was ready for purchasers by August 1457. It was in the highest style of the printing art of the age, and could not be excelled. As Faust and Schoeffer gazed on its beautiful pages, how could they forget the inventor who designed the publishing of the work, and labored with them in executing it full thirty long painstaking months! Yet they uttered few words of acknowledgment. For two years they were occupied in striking off, binding, embellishing, and selling the Psalter, with the additional labor of casting a new fount of type. While Schoeffer and his assistants were engaged in this absorbing toil, Faust again visited Paris to dispose of the Psalter. By this means he replenished, once more, the treasury of the firm, and returning about the time the new fount was finished, they printed the “Durandi.”

The next year, 1460, the “Constitutiones” appeared, and in 1462 a new edition of the Latin Bible. This last was the eventful year in which the city of Mentz was taken, sacked, and plundered by the Elector Adolphus of Nassau. Such was the confusion and distraction occasioned by this unlooked-for event, that almost all business was suspended. The journeyman printers, being suddenly thrown out of employment, fled panic-stricken to other countries; and considering themselves freed from their oath, the great secret of thirty years was spread abroad.

Faust and Schoeffer, left almost alone in their printing rooms, effected little for some time. At length Schoeffer’s busy brain hit upon something new in printing; and with his usual patience and assiduity he fell to casting a fount of Greek type, and in 1465, some little time after Gutenberg had retired from his art, issued “Cicero de Officiis,” using the new Greek type. On occasion of printing anything of special importance, Faust continued to visit Paris, then the chief seat of learning; and so great a work as this of Cicero in Greek would of course be welcomed with avidity by the professors and students in the University. As soon as possible, therefore, he hastened to that city, furnished with a good supply of the much-coveted volume. This was early in 1466. He was received with enthusiasm; for such had been the reputation of the previous works circulated by him in the French metropolis, that he had a large circle of admiring patrons and friends. But alas for the uncertainty of earthly things! while yet in the midst of success and gratulation, he was seized with the plague, and died after an illness of a few hours! The Parisians were loud in their expressions of grief, and a large concourse gathered at his funeral. The learned men and nobility of the city assembled; distinguished honors were paid him; and the sequel was, that in commemoration of the signal services he had rendered them, they continued a generous pecuniary reward to his descendants.

The dreadful shock occasioned by the death of his father-in-law, deeply affected Schoeffer. May we not suppose that in his loneliness and affliction, he sought a reconciliation with his old master, Gutenberg? There is, indeed, evidence that this was the case; and we are permitted to infer that the breach was healed, suitable acknowledgments being made by Schoeffer, as he plainly saw that the mortgage act which made Faust master of Gutenberg’s property, did not include his genius. In later years he frankly confessed as much to Trithemius, Abbot of Spanheim Monastery, a celebrated scholar and author. Says this writer, after mentioning that he had his information from the mouth of Peter Schoeffer, the inventor of cast metal types:--

“About this time that wonderful and almost incredible art of printing and characterizing books, was thought of and invented by John Gutenberg, a citizen of Mentz.”

Then follows some of the main particulars of the invention on which we have already dwelt. He also mentions that “Gutenberg spent all his substance in quest of the art, and met with such insuperable difficulties, that, in despair, he had nearly given up all hopes of success, till he was assisted by the liberality of Faust, and by his brother’s skill in the city of Mentz.”

Schoeffer, having associated with him Conrad Henliff, nobly presided over the interests of the great art after Gutenberg’s death, diligently issuing elegant editions of various books. His last work was a new impression of his master’s superb Bible in 1502, in which year he died, after laboring thirty-five or thirty-six years as a printer. His monogram is connected with Faust’s; and, as we have mentioned, some suppose this also to have been the device of Gutenberg.

The name of Schoeffer means shepherd; and well did the thoughtful care, caution, and ingenuity of this man aid in watching over the young art, that needed such vigilant cherishing to bring it to maturity. He was once Gutenberg’s right-hand man, next to him in genius in devising, and, despite his doubtful course afterwards in leaving him, was an honor and a blessing to his country. His son John succeeded him in his office, and later still his grandson John chose the same employment.

Of Costar, little can be said. Some even suppose that no such person ever existed; while others incline to confer on him honors which he never earned. It is certain that he did not reach the idea of movable types. He died in 1440, when Gutenberg had been familiar with their use for years.

The capture of Mentz, in 1462, was the means of carrying the knowledge of the art of printing to Hamburg, Cologne, Strasbourg, Augsburg, and other cities; and in a short time books were issued from many places. Twenty-four different works appeared between 1460 and 1470; in the latter year two of Faust’s workmen commenced printing in Paris. Also, in 1470, the art was practiced in Venice. Cennini, a goldsmith, established printing at Florence; and so industrious were the Italians that they printed between 1470 and 1480 twelve hundred and ninety-seven books, two hundred and thirty-four of which were editions of ancient authors. Presses were also established in the Low Countries, at Utrecht, Louraine, Basle, and at Buda in Hungary; and, indeed, in the course of a few years, every town of any importance possessed its printing-office, so that books were greatly multiplied.

Several women of France early distinguished themselves in prosecuting the art of printing. Prominent among them was Charlotte Guillard, 1490-1540, the widow of Berthold Rambolt, who for fifty years kept several presses at work, and printed a great number of large and very correct editions, both in Latin and Greek. Her best impressions were issued after she became a widow the second time,--the Bible, the Fathers, and the works of St. Gregory in two volumes, which were so accurate as to contain only three faults. In brief, her fame as a printer was so extensively known that the learned Lewis Lippeman, Bishop of Verona, selected her to print his “Catena in Genesim.” With the accomplishment of this, he was so well satisfied, that, after assisting at the Council of Trent, he went on purpose to Paris to return thanks to her, and also gave her his second volume to print, the “Catena in Exodum,” which she performed with like precision and elegance.

Elfield was more especially noted for its productions in printing, since Henry and Nicholas Becktermange, successors of Gutenberg, there wrought at his presses and other printing apparatus, which were the latest efforts in the art. Says Dibdin, “The works of these men are greatly sought after by the curious, as they afford much proof by collation of the genuineness of the works attributed to their great predecessor.”

The first English printer was William Caxton, mercer, or merchant, who became acquainted with the art while engaged in mercantile pursuits in Germany. Returning to England, he established the printing-press at Westminster Abbey, in 1480. Although somewhat advanced in years when he commenced, yet such was his industry and perseverance that he translated and printed, in ten years, no less than twenty-five octavo volumes. These were mostly useful literary and religious works, but did not indicate high culture in England. The last work he issued, and on which he was engaged when overtaken by death, was “The Art and Craft to know well how to Die.”

After the death of Caxton, Wynken de Worde, his partner, continued to print in his office, living in his house at Westminster, and styling himself “Printer to Margaret, etc., the King’s Grandame.” He printed the Acts of Parliament with the Royal Arms, also many Latin and English books; in forty years over four hundred volumes.

It is not known that he printed any Greek works, yet he made many improvements in the art of printing. His first care was to cut a new set of punches; he sunk these into matrices, and cast several sorts of printing letters, afterwards used in his books. He was the first English printer who introduced the Roman letter into England, using it to mark striking thoughts. His type was remarkable for its precision, and for a long time was not excelled.

The art of printing was not long in extending to other places in England besides London. It was started in Oxford in 1480, also at St. Albans in the same year, and many other places, among which were York, Canterbury, Worcester, Ipswich, and Norwich. The “Common Prayer” was printed in Dublin by Humphrey Powell, in quarto, black letter, in 1551. Before and after that period the authors of Ireland had their works printed abroad.

“Euclid’s Geometry,” the first work in Latin printed with diagrams, was issued from the press of Randolt, at Venice, 1482. Aldus also printed the works of Virgil there, in Italic types, in 1501, the first attempt at producing cheap books.

Blaeu, who assisted Tycho Brahe in making his mathematical instruments, effected great improvements in the printing-press. He made nine presses, and named them after the nine Muses. His fame soon reached England, where his excellent printing machines were soon after introduced.

Aldus Manutius, of Venice, during a career of twenty-six years in the employment of printing, produced editions of nearly all the Greek and Roman authors then known to exist. He was also the author of several works of learning,--grammars and dictionaries of the Greek and Latin languages, the last forming a folio volume, the first that had ever been prepared.