Читать книгу A Brief History of Printing in England. A Short History of Printing in England from Caxton to the Present Time онлайн

9 страница из 17

In the field of literature his work was different from that of almost any other printer of his time. He printed no Bibles. Latin Bibles could easily be imported from the continent, probably cheaper than he could print them. English Bibles were not permitted to be printed unless the English translation had been made before the appearance of Wickliffe’s Bible in 1380. There were translations into English before Wickliffe, as well as a considerable number of later date, but with the loose and uncertain dating of manuscripts the printing of an English Bible was altogether a more risky proposition than Caxton cared to undertake. He printed no works on theology. There was no demand for theology in English, and theology in Latin and Greek could be cheaply imported. Moreover, although Caxton was a profoundly religious man and a perfectly loyal son of the Church, he appears to have had no personal interest in theology whatever. For similar reasons he printed no edition of the Fathers and only two volumes of the classics. He left all of these matters to the importers.