Praise requires more Talent in the Writer than Abuse 130 Pretended Piety Pretty and Handsome Pride of Learning 18 NOCTES ATTICE. Anecdotes of Early Printing. When printing first commenced, the most laborious part, the correction of proof sheets, was undertaken by persons conspicuous by their rank and erudition, and dignified by their stations, viz. cardinals, judges, and other eminent lawyers. The printers, in early editions, used to mark their books by some particular device, or a copy of verses, recommending the edition for its accuracy. In a volume with the title, the 'Pragmatic Sanction,' printed 1507, the following lines are printed in the end of the book, by Andrew Brocard, printer, Paris: Stet liber hic, donec fluctus formica marinos IMITATED. Till an ant shall drink up the whole sea, May this volume continue to be For type and correctness renown'd. Melanges d'Histoire et de Literature, à Fouen, MDVII. |