The first written languages. Out of this come literacy, democracy, philosophy, and the origins of the sequential-logical method that still holds sway. Cutting Up the World 4. The Church uses power to keep ideas in check, until, through the Arabic transmission of Greek texts, the spread of knowledge resumes. Fit to Print Movable type gives access to information to many who have been denied it.
Printing spreads throughout Europe like no other invention.
The Church realizes that the new medium can strengthen its hold on the population and issues Bible after Bible. Printing, like other gifts of the axemaker, proves double-edged. Enhanced access to books carries with it enhanced access to other knowledge, which will eventually form the most serious challenge to the Church. New worlds are seen under the microscope as well as with the sailing ship. As the full force of the Scientific Revolution take's effect, the cutting edge of innovation becomes sharper and more finely honed than ever before.