The Penn's Grove record., 1882-01-21
Book Making.
DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS.

49, " AaSN -
BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS.
An Account Of Ancient writing-some o
the Methods in Use-Pspyrus, Parch-
ments, Cotton, Rags, Linen,
Printing.
Toward the close OF the fifteenth
century, Johann Gutenberg invented
the art of printing. But long before
genius helped the world to this useful
and now indispensable art, men were
given to literary pursuits. Indeed, il
would be an error to suppose that they
were not-an error akin to that into
which many, otherwise, welEiuformed
people fall, when they charge that,
until the first printing press was set
up in Copenhagen, in 1893, the world
was buried in deep ignorance. Lit
erary enlightenment was the father of
books, and of the printing press; and
and the richest literary treasures of to-
day %autedate, by thousands Of years,
the pages and the volumes containing
the golden secrets that delight, whilst
entertaining, our better Ii e.
The art of printing was simply a
change in the style of literary produc.
ton. Centuries before Gutenberg and
Faust saw the light, books were made
and read, and all the word, from the
beginning, rejoiced in men of Liter a.
ture, since men first conceived the
i ca of preserving hist )ricaI data.
Three Thousand Years Ago.
In Assyria, as long ago as the above
record, evidences of a high civiiiza-
ton are to be found, and the ancient
cities of Ninevah and Babylon are
memorable, not only for the preaching
of the prophet, and the luxury of
Assuerus, but i likewise for the polite
ness, the culture, the literary excel
lence of their schools, and the
advanced state to which they carried
the education of their citizens. Some
idea of the books of this long ago"
may be derived from a discovery, a
few years since, of the library of AS
surbanipal, King of AssyrIa, who, &C
cording t. the best authoriti es, reigned
in that country 700 before Christ.
The books of this library were made of
clay, ranging all the way from one to
nine iRches long. In them, or all
over them, were inscribed characters,
in many instances so small that it re-
quired the use of a powerful micro
scope to decipher them.
By patient research, a key was at
length obtained to the i~nscrutable con
tents of these books, and by this means
their information was imported to the
world. 1t was found that they con
tanned important records, tables OF as
tronomy and chronology, treatises on
religion, grammar and language, works
on science, the laws and customs of
different peoples, their method of
worship, their laws concerning sacri-
flee, and many important memoranda
discoursing on literature. These char
acters or inscriI tons, it appears, were
stamped from engraved blocks which
important fact shows that numerous
copies must have been made, that the
people understood their nature, their
their value and use, and had
to them as aids to memory and for
reference.
The literature of China dates more
than 8 800 years before the Christian
era. For centuries, the Chinese made
use of bamboo tablets to construct
their books, afterward employing, in
their use, a soft brush, with which
thew painted the different letters or
characters and in the end, bamboo,
with a more advanced knowledge,
gave way to silk but even this took
place 800 years before Christ. A good
aut ,ority places the boz ks in the
Imperial library OF China, more than
1000 years ago, at 1882 volumes, of
which 868 treated of medicine and
2,52s treated of msthe matics, and
more than one adept in the printers
craft may be surprised, to-day, on
reading that printing as an art, in
| China, was invented tsward the close
| of the sixth century, or nearly 900
years before it became known in
Europe.
The Paper of the Anoients
The make up of ancient books was
of papyrus. The Romans, according
to the different uses for which it was
employed, gave it different names /:
| the Hieratic or sacred, so called on ac-
count of its being used in books rela-
| ting to religion the Livian, called
after Livia, wife of Augustus; Empo-
retic, used in business relation the
Fanniac and, lastly, the Lencotic, the
coarsest kind of papyrus. The Egyp-
lions made paper from papyrus, and
likewise employed the roots of this
valuable plant as fuel. Again, it is re-
lated that by the use of this material
they const. ucted light boats, in which
they believed themselves secure from
danger, as the Goddess Isis had once
employed one on the Nile, the croco-
dies fleeing in advance of the divin-
ity, or posturing in submission,
according to the legend, as she passed.
Papyrus was in use 1000 years before
Your era. Writing on this material
was introduced in Greece at a very
early period.
The Egyptians made paper, and
formed the leaves of their books, after
the follow ng manner: Removing
the bark of the plant OF tree, they
made thin slices of the spongy part,
and then dipped them in the Nile.
They afterward Joined two pieces to-
gether in reverse direction, or length
wise and crosswise. Joining a number
together, they succeeded in forming
consistency OF paper, and these in
turn. after being duly dried and