Page:A dictionary of printers and printing.djvu/270

 SIXTEENTH CENTURY.

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which God gave onto Abraham and Sara his wyfe, be geven unto you, moost nacyons prynce, with your deaiest jost wyfe and moost vertnous piync^se quene Jane. Amen. — ^Thia dedica- tion is thus subscribed, '

Your grace's bumble snbjecte and daylye ontour, Myles Covenlale."

In this dedication he tells his majesty that " The blynd bishop of Rome no more knew what he did when he gare him this title, de- fender of the &ith, than the Jewish bishop, Capyfaas, when he prophesied that it was better to put Christ to death, than that all the people ihonld perish : that the pope gare him this title because his highness suffer^ his bishops to borne God's word, the root of faith, and to persecute the lovers and ministers of it, where m e»ery deed he prophecyed, that by the righte- ous administration oi his grace the faith should be so defended, that God's word, the mother of faith, should have its free course thorow all christendome, but especially in hb grace's realme : that his grace in very deed should defende the faith, yea even the true faith of Christ, no dieames, no fables, no heresye, no npistical inventions, but the uncomipt faith of God's most holy word; which, to set forth, his highness with his most honourable council ap- plied all studie and endeavour."

He also takes notice of the intolerable injuries done unto God, to all princes, and the common- alities of all christian realms, since " they who should be only the ministers of God's word be- came Lords of the world, and thrust the true and just princes out of their rooms." This he im- putes to " the ignorance of the scripture of God, and to the light of God's word being extinct, and God's law being clean shut up, depressed, cast aside,and put out of remembrance." But he adds, that ^ By the king's most righteous administra- tion it was now found again; and that his ma- jesty, like another Josia, commanded straitly, that the law of God should be read and taught unto all the people."

The following extract is from a little manu- script Mamiel of DetoHom, which, according to the tradition of the family in which it is pre- served, was the present of queen Anne Bofeyn to her maids of honour : — " Grante us, most mercyfal father, this one of the greatest gyftes that ever thowe gavest to mankjmde, the know- ledge of thie holy wille and gladde tidinges of oure saluation, this greate while oppressed with the tjrrannye of thy adversary of Rome and his fautors, and kepte close undre his Latvne Lettres, and now at length promulgate, publyshed, and sette at lybertye by the grace poured into the

• CofiM of \Ubaf Oovetdale's venlon of the BMt tn praamd in tlu followliic libraries, viz., of the British museum and 8lon college, in London ) of iit cnce the ueiibisbop of Cantertmry, at Lambeth; in tflk pabllc Bbrary, at Osmhrirtte : in the Hhrary at all sonl'a ooUece, and In tlte Bodleian ubrarjr, at Cambridfe; and in ue Uhcarr of the baptist ocademr at Bristol.

aot Icnown to exist) was ottmA in a trade catalone, ltS7, for M\* 18s.
 * A bagment of this BUlt (an entireljr periisct copy Is

harte of thy supreme power our prince, as all kinges hartes be in thie hande, as in the olde lawe dydest use lyke mercye to thie people of Israeli by thie hie instrument, the good king Josia, which restored the temple decayed to his former beawtie, abolyshed all worshippynge of images and ydolatrye, and sette abrode the lawe by the space of many hundred yeres befor clean oute of remembraunce."

1536. Died, Jooocvs Badius, sumamed AscENsius, one of the most eminent printers of this century, or that France ever produced. He was a Fleming, a native of Asc, (in argo Bruzellensi,) whence he was denominated Ascen- sius. He is supposed to have been born anno 1492, to have received the rudiments of his education in a religious house at Ghent: and after continuing bis studies at Brussels to have visited Ferrara, where he became a scholar of Baptista Guarino. He afterwards became a professor of humanity, as some accounts say, at Paris, but according to others, at Lyons; where he read public lectures upon the Latin poets. At the last mentioned city Badius commenced his typographical career as a corrector of the press in the establishment of Jean Treschel, a German, cupu itipendiu utebatw," as Guagin said : but probably this employment was not m- compatible with the duties of his literary profes- sorship. After the death of Treschel, he mar- ried his daughter Thelif, and removed to Paris.

He became so great a proficient in the art of printing, that the learned Robert Gaguin, general of the Trinitarian order, who was per- fectly well acquainted with his merit, wrote a letter to him, desiring he would undertake the printing of his works. This, with some other invitations of the learned, brought Badius to Paris about 1499, where he designed to teach the Greek tongue, and where his last endeavour, after he had Uimished himself with fine Roman characters, was to explode the old gothic; both in his works and by his example. Accordingly, he printed the Philohiblion of that great en- courager of learning, Richard Bury, lord high chanMllor of England, bishop of Durham, and founder of the Oxford library, towards the middle of the 14th century; which book was sent to him by Dr. Bureau, bishop of Cisteron, and confessor to the French king, m order to be printed by him, which was in ItMX). The name of Ascensius first occurs as a printer in a hook of the year 1497.

Badius was no less skilful in restoring corrupt manuscripts, than carefiil in printing them with the greatest accuracy; so that some of his ermttu have contained but five words. In printing the work of any living author, he always followed the copy exactly; and he informs us in his pre- face to his edition of Angelui Politianiu, that he endeavoured to imitate the laudable diligence of Aldus Manutius, and to print from his copies with the utmost exactness. This made not only the learned very ambitious to have their works printed by him, but the most eminent booksellers of Paris courted his acquaintance, and endea-

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