Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow by Irina Reyfman (top 10 novels of all time .txt) 📕

sex into whose hands the books of sacred scripture fall? When the text of Holy Gospel or the Epistles of the Apostle Paul are read, every intelligent person will admit that there are in them many scribal additions and corrections.

“What has been said by us is well known. What should we think about what is found in the writings of the Catholic church that depends on the strictest scrutiny? We can give many examples but for our purpose the aforesaid is already sufficient.

“Given that the origin of this art, to speak the truth, appeared miraculously in our famous city of Mainz, and presently continues in it, corrected and enhanced, it is right that we take its dignity under our protection. For our duty is to preserve the Holy Scriptures in a state of uncorrupted purity. Having discussed in this manner the errors and presumption of brazen and wicked people, and desiring as much as we can, with the help of God, of Whom this is about, to warn them and to put a halt to each and every one them, clerical and civilian subject of our region and on those who trade outside its boundaries, no matter their rank and station, herewith we order all that no work in any science, art, or branch of learning, being translated from the Greek, Latin, or another language into German, or already existing in translation with a change only of title or anything else, may be distributed or sold, openly or clandestinely, forthrightly or in a secret manner, if it does not possess before printing or after printing before publication, clear permission to be printed or published as granted by our most esteemed, exalted, and noble doctors and masters of the university, that is: in our city of Mainz permission from Johannes Bertram von Naumburg in the matter of theology; from Alexander Diethrich in jurisprudence; from Theoderich von Meschede in the medical sciences; and from Andreas Oehler in letters, those doctors and masters selected for this purpose in our city of Erfurt. [We declare that no work] … can be distributed or sold … also in the city of Frankfurt if these books published for sale have not been vetted and confirmed by an esteemed and dear to us master of theology and one or two doctors and licentiates, who have been maintained on an annual salary by the Council of the same city.100

“If anyone should scorn this, our curatorial decree, or give advice, help, or support against our order in person or through another, he will thereby subject himself not only to excommunication but also to having confiscated these books and will pay one hundred gold gilders in fine into our treasury. And let no one without special decree dare to infringe this resolution. Granted in the Castle of St. Martin in our city of Mainz with our seal affixed. In the month of January, on the fourth day of the year 1486.”

Once again Berthold on the manner in which to discharge censorship: In the year 1486 Berthold etc. To the most honored, learned, and in Christ dear to us J. Bertram (Doctor of Theology), A. Diethrich (Doctor of Law), F. de Meschede (Doctor of Medicine), and A. Oehler (Master of Letters) we bid greeting and attention to the attached below.

“Being informed of deceptions and forgeries having been perpetrated by some translators and printers of scholarship, and being anxious to preempt them and willing if possible to head them off, we decree that nobody in our diocese and region shall dare to translate books into the German language, print or distribute printed matter, until such compositions or books have been inspected by you in our city of Mainz and, concerning the subject matter itself, they will not appear until confirmed by you in translation and for sale in accordance with the aforenoted decree.

“Firmly trusting in your reasonableness and prudence, we entrust to you that: when compositions or books designated for translation, printing, or sale shall be brought to you, you will review their contents and should it prove not easy to perceive their true meaning, or if they are able to engender mistakes and temptations or to offend against purity of morals, then reject them; while those you freely release will have to be signed at the end in your own hand, namely, by two of you that it will thereby be clear that these books were reviewed and approved by you. You render to our Lord and state valuable and useful service. Granted in the Palace of St. Martin. 10 January 1486.”

While reviewing this law, new at the time, we find that it favored prohibition so that few books were published in the German language. Put differently, the people remained perpetually in ignorance. Censorship, it seems, did not extend to compositions written in Latin. For those already knowledgeable in the Latin language, it seemed, were already protected from error, impermeable to it, and what they read they understood clearly and accurately.* And thus the clergy wanted that only their allies in power were to be enlightened, so that the people would consider learning to be of divine origin beyond their comprehension and would not dare touch it. And so what was devised to confine the truth and enlightenment within the strictest boundaries, devised by a mistrusting power for its own might, devised for the continuation of ignorance and benightedness, now in days of science and philosophy, when reason has shaken off the shackles of superstition alien to it, when truth gleams in a hundred guises stronger and stronger, when the source of learning flows through the furthest branches of society, when the efforts of governments expedite the destruction of error and the opening of paths for reason to reach the truth unimpeded, this shameful monastic invention emanating from a trembling power is now accepted everywhere, has taken root, and is considered a good bulwark against error. Raving ones! look around, you strive to prop up truth with falsehood, you wish to