The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1879-01-23
BIBLICAL CURIosITIEs.
Book and Manuscripts fesoffhe OIden
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Among the relics OF thaS@olden ,tiIae
there are preserved biblical curi0siliesI
which deserve a passing petice. We
remember examining many years ago,
in.CoEpus Ohtisti- college, Cambridge, a
Ftinespecinnen-c f the eBiblia Pauperum,"
of which a few copies only are to be
found in the present day in very rare
collections. It consists OF ruGe plates
representing sculpture figures and ins1
cidents, with 3 few Latin ssentences ex..
! planatory of the subjects. The work is
printed from wooden blocks an the way
in which playing-eards were n1anufsc-
tured-s cariOussart, whiohsWas applied
to the production of books of a religious
character, such as the Speculum
Humane vSalFatonis,p These Ebloelk
books, Mra HalIam cohsidefs, were exc
cuted in the lew countries but probably
some Of them nund 4heir'Ray into Rng-
land at an early period. 9hey belong to
Ithe first half Aof- tbesf fteenth century
and were precursors of nobler pro-
ductions, whose appearance in the
latter half of the same century
mark a memorable era in the
history of mankind. Mr.. Horne, in his
L" Introduction" described the "Biblia
Pauperum as deriving its name from
its being catechism of the bible for the
common People,s%who we're enabled to,
obtain it fora low price 5, but it could
be Of little use to such persons, who can
not be supposed to, have been able to
read latin when so few could read their
own. language. 1t seems much more,
likely that The volume took its name
| from the franciscan friars, the chief
preachers of the day, who styled themN
selves gpaupers, the, volume probably
being a sort OF textbook to aid them in
their nninistrations, 2 These imperfect
specimens of printing were soon sue
ceeded by productions which filed jtbe
world with wonder.
Let the reader imagine himself IN the
city of Mentz, in the middle of the fif
teenth century. That ,thoughtfuI man
now pacing the banks ofehe Rhine, and
then entering his own habitatiOn in some
obscure street, tolls in a'secret apartment
where no one save an assistant at his un-
krownscraft is allowed to enter. He
perseveres until volumes appear, all
marvelousIy alike, displaying gracefully
formed letters such as rival the fairest
specimens of penmanship. The magic
manuscripts increase in number. No
scriptOrium could multiply them so fast.
Men marvel and think there must be
witchcraf5in This business. The work
man is Gutenberg, and his house is his
first printing Office. The whole of a
portion of the scriptures was certainly
the first bookof a considerable size which
Issued from the press. The earliest
bearing a date, is the beautiful psaIteI
by Fust & Schoffer, in 1457, of which 8
sumptuous copy, printed on vellum,
adOrns the royal library at Windsor
But Latin bible, with the prologue Of
St. Jerome, printed probably by Gut
, tenberg at Mentz between 1850 and
, 1855, and commonly called the Mazarir
bible, on the very slight ground of copy
having been found in Cardinal Mszarin's
library, is considered the earliest offspring
E of the noble invention; andwe may
: see,", exclaims Mr.. Hallam, this vener
r able and splendid volume leading u, the
e crowded nyriads Of its follower. and i'm
!, ploring, as were, blessing on the new
b art by dedioating its fruits to the ser
vice of Heaven" As was natural, earl,
n types for printing were formed on tht
= model of writing characters, and henc,
T the earliestbibles and psalters in German
presented letters such as had been uset
by seribesiR nissals and other religion
books; but when Gerrasn printers wen
to reside at the famous monastery O
Subiaco, near Rome, they cut punche
in imitation of the letters used in Italy
a Thus printed books SO much resemble,
d manuscripts that they were sometime
e mistaken for them and even until yer,
e lately a copy of the Mazarin or Gutten
1t berg bibles preserved at Lambeth palace
2, passed as the work of scribe instead G
l. the work of printer.