Gutenberg, Johannes
A German inventor who introduced mechanical movable type printing to Europe, initiating the printing revolution.
Most quoted
"Yes, it is a press, certainly, but a press from which shall flow in inexhaustible streams, the most abundant and most marvelous liquor that has ever flowed to relieve the thirst of men! Through it, God will spread His Word. A spring of truth shall flow from it: like a new star it shall scatter the darkness of ignorance, and cause a new light to shine upon mankind."
— from Attributed
"Yes, it is a press, certainly, but a press from which shall flow in inexhaustible streams, the most abundant and most marvelous liquor that has ever flowed to relieve the thirst of men! Through it, God will spread His Word. A spring of truth shall flow from it: like a new star it will scatter the darkness of ignorance, and cause a new light to shine among men."
— from Attributed, likely apocryphal but reflects his motivations, 1450
"God suffers in the multitude of souls whom His word can not reach. Religious truth is imprisoned in a few manuscripts which guard the treasure, instead of diffusing it. Let us break the seal which holds the word of God; let us give wings to truth, that it may speed from soul to soul, from town to town, from kingdom to kingdom."
— from Attributed
All quotes by Gutenberg, Johannes (379)
To err is human, to print is divine. And far less messy than scribbling.
Some call it a machine; I call it a very patient scribe, with excellent penmanship.
The monks are not amused. Which, I believe, is a sign of progress.
Why spend a lifetime copying when you can spend a day setting type? Time, after all, is money, and parchment is dear.
I'm not saying I'm changing the world, but I am making it much easier to read about it.
My greatest fear? Running out of ink. The second greatest? Running out of things worth printing.
They say knowledge is power. I say, accessible knowledge is a revolution, and a rather noisy one at that.
I've merely given the word a louder voice. And a much more uniform one.
The future of literacy is in my hands. And a great deal of lead.
If you think my invention is complicated, try reading a manuscript written by a monk with a hangover.
I'm not making books cheaper, I'm making them more abundant. The market will sort out the rest.
My only regret is that I cannot print faster than people can read. Or perhaps, that is a blessing.
Some say I'm putting scribes out of business. I say, I'm giving them more interesting things to read.
The beauty of my press is that it doesn't care if the author is a saint or a scoundrel. It prints all the same.
I've simply democratized the written word. Now everyone can argue with equal authority.
They call it the 'art of printing.' I call it a very efficient way to avoid writer's cramp.
My machine doesn't judge the content, only the alignment. A valuable lesson for humanity, perhaps.
I'm not just printing books; I'm printing possibilities. And a good many sermons, unfortunately.
The world will soon be awash in words. Let's hope they're good ones.
A single book, once a treasure. Now, merely a page in a much larger story.