the art of painting

[mei]

Hi,

I am struggling with the following paragraph. Could anybody explain it for me ? Thank you.

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.

Mei

 

[Tdol]

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.

It's a rather strange sentence, but it means that the person who invented moveable types for printing was changing the world, making it more democratic and bringing an end to hired armies, etc.