moveable types

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I have been struggling with the meaning of the following paragraph. Could anybody give me a hand?

He who first shortened the labour of copyists by device of moveable types was disbanding hired armies, and cashiering most Kings and Senates, and creating a whole new democratic world; he had invented the art of printing.

Your help is appreciated. :o

Mei

[John D]

Hi, Mei227 :) .

I am not a teacher, just someone who has been using English language for a long time.

The person who invented block letter printing put thousands of people, (copyists), out of work.

Printers were more independant than the copyists and did not depend on the Crown or the government, as the majority of copyists did.

Printers could say what they wished using printed sheets, not words that the Crown or government would have them write. This eventually led to a more democratic society.


Hope this helps.

[mei]

Hi, John, thank you very much for your help.

mei

[John D]

Hi again Mei :) .

I could only interpret the sentence because I had previous knowledge of what the invention of printing did for "ordinary" people.

I hope my explanation was not too hard to understand.

Keep smiling.

:P .