This century saw the invention of printing which has been declared the most important And the most perilous discovery in the annals of history. Printing blocks for the making of playing cards and of certain pious pictures had i been in use during the later Middle Ages. On these were cut some lines of text and from this to the making of whole pages in this way was but a step and a number of books were printed in this fashion in the first half of the 15th century. The next step was the invention of movable letters and this was accomplished very probably by John Guttenburg (1400-68) of Mainz in Germany. The oldest printed book from movable types was a Latin Bible issued by Guttenburg and Faust at Mainz about 1455. Before the close of the century, there were presses everywhere. Italy particularly took up the new art with the greatest enthusiasm and Venice alone had some two hundred printing presses before 1500. The most important chapter in the history of printing is the story of Aldus Manutius (1450-1515) who established the Aldine Press. He published some magnificent editions of the classical authors, securing as editors some of the great scholars of the time. The most beautiful printed books ever issued were produced during this first half century of printing. When William Mor ris in-England in the last generation of the 19th century wanted to restore printing to the art that it had been, from the mere cheap handi craft that it had become,' he went back to take as models for his work some of the beautiful printed editions of the later 15th century. It was a time too, of beautiful bindings, so that books fitted admirably into the charming in teriors that were being made at this time. The first half of the century had seen the making of beautiful illuminated books so that the printers had fine models before them and it is not surprising to hear that when a great book collector of the time was asked to purchase printed books, he scornfully refused to add any made to the beautiful col lection of hand-made books that had been his life's devotion. Books were extremely valu able and even printed books were very dear, so that in libraries to which any number of people were admitted, books were chained to the shelves, quite as in our time we lock up ex pensive editions.
The 15th century continued that striking evolution of education which had marked the 14th. Altogether 18 universities were founded in the 14th century, and some 29 in the 15th. Saint Andrew's in Scotland is a type of the University foundation of the time. It was es tablished by Bishop Wardlaw in 1411, but he was very proud to announce to the masters and students that his authority for doing so came from the Pope, and when the university had completed its first year a formal Papal Bull of erection was issued. The practice, in a word, was not unlike that in effect in our time, schools being required to do some work and a report as to their efficiency and the need for them being demanded before formal recognition by authorities. Glasgow followed Saint An drew's in 1454, and Aberdeen received its charter 1477. Altogether some 80 universities, for there is some dispute as to whether certain institutions deserve the name of university or not, had been founded before the 16th century.
No less than seven universities were founded in Germany in the .second half of the century, and this fact alone shows how deep was the interest in things intellectual at this time. They are Greifswald (1456) • Basel and Freiburg (1460) ; Ingolstadt (1472) • Treves (1473), and Tubingen and Mainz (1477). As Wittenberg was founded in 1502 and Frankfort-on-the-Oder in 1506 no less than nine universities were estab lished in Germany in these 50 years. The en dowments of these came in the order of im portance from the clergy, the princes, nobles and burghers, though even the poorer classes and those living on the land were sufficiently interested' in education to leave legacies for the benefit of needy students which did much to encourage the educational movement.
As the Renaissance advanced, the Greek classics were read not only for their value as literature but also for their.content in science. The result was a reawakening of interest in the physical sciences which was destined to produce important results. The study of Ptolemy aroused an interest in mathematics and astron omy, while the issue of Galen in the original re awakened attention to clinical medicine. Piir bach at Vienna (1423-61) and Jdhann Muller (1436-76) known as Regiomontanus after the fashion of Latinizing the names of scholars at that time, devoted themselves to the study. of Ptolemy, and though both died in early middle life, their names have been deservedly re membered. The most important personality in the scientific development of the time was Nicholas of Cusa, a fellow student at the Uni versity of Padua of Toscanelli who influenced Columbus so much. The attitude of the Church toward science at the time is well illustrated by the fact that Cusanus as he is called was made Bishop of Brixen, Apostolic Delegate to Ger many and finally Cardinal. Cantor in his 'History of Mathematics' devotes a score of pages to Nicholas. His ideas in astronomy are well represented by his declarations that the earth was not the centre of the universe; that it moved in the heavens as the other stars, and could not be absolutely at rest. His thoughts with regard to the constitution of the sun are surprising anticipations of modern ideas. He suggested the correction of the calendar and the use of laboratory methods hi the study of dis ease that give him a place in the history of medicine. Cusanus' best known work is his We Docta (On Learned Ignor ance )— in which he points out how many things there are which people think they know that are not so.
The curiosity of men was aroused, and astronomy !received an impetus which was to culminate in the career of Copernicus, who was 27 before the century closed. The physical science of the time came in geography. The Portuguese proved hardy navigators and under the inspiration of Prince Henry the Navigator (1309-1460) penetrated farther and farther into the mysterious seas to the south of them baring the secrets of the African coast. In 1448 the Azores were discovered. About the middle of the century, the Guinea coast was explored and some of the black men carried to Portugal as slaves, creating the negro problem as well as the slave trade. The explorations continued be cause it was hoped to find a trade route to the Indies. It was not until 1486 that Bartholomew Diaz reached the southern part of Africa which he called the Cape of Good Hope, because at last the road to India lay open. The extreme length to which Africa extended made the jour ney long and rounding the Cape was dangerous, and so with the idea that the earth was only half the size it really is, Christopher Columbus, a native of Genoa, proposed to travel westward. After his scheme had been rejected as visionary by a number of governments, Columbus finally obtained the help of Isabella and rediscovered the Western Hemisphere 1492. He thought he had reached some part of the Indies hence I the name West Indies and the term Indians. Up to his death he probably never knew that he had really found a New World. Amerigo Vespucci a few years later reached the Con tinent and described it in a widely read book and the Western Hemisphere was named America for him. In 1498 the Portuguese reached India proper by the African route and founded the Indian Empire. This led to dis location of the eastern trade from, Venice to Portugal.