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)
Let there be light, and there was light—through the printed word.
The pen is mightier than the sword, but the printing press is mightier than them both.
One man with a new idea can change the world; one man with a printing press can change it forever.
The key to wisdom is knowledge, and the key to knowledge is the printed book.
My invention is not for profit, but for the glory of God and the enlightenment of man.
The greatest invention in the world is the art of invention itself.
What we think, we can print; what we print, we can spread; what we spread, can change the world.
The printed word is the mirror of the soul of a civilization.
With movable type, I have made thoughts immortal and ideas contagious.
The press is the greatest weapon against tyranny and ignorance.
An army of 26 lead soldiers can conquer the world without firing a shot.
The true purpose of my work is to multiply the voices of truth.
Knowledge, once imprisoned in manuscripts, is now set free.
Every printed book is a seed that may grow into a forest of ideas.
I have not merely made a machine; I have forged a key to unlock the human mind.
The light of knowledge shall no longer be a candle in a few hands, but a sun for all.
Printing is the art of preserving thought and making it travel through time and space.
My press is a humble servant, but its offspring will be kings and prophets.
The world was silent; I gave it a voice.
One idea, printed, can become the property of all mankind.