Volume 2 — CHAPTER IV. (continued 2)

Robert Estienne had not thus far classed himself with the Protestants, but the persistent and ignorant hostility shown by the Catholics of the Paris University to his efforts in behalf of scholarly literature, and the fact that the principal interest in his undertakings had come from the liberals and the Reformers, had doubtless had the effect of bringing him into close sympathy with the Protestants, and particularly with the followers of Calvin. In 1552, at the time of Robert’s arrival in Geneva, Calvin was probably at the height of his influence. Servetus, whose medical treatises had been published in Paris, printed at Vienne, in 1553, his Christianity Restored, the work which was the more immediate cause of his persecution. Escaping from the French Inquisition, Servetus took refuge in Geneva, and there, in the latter part of 1553, was burned at the stake, under the instructions of Calvin. To a man like Robert Estienne, who was seeking for a place where the production of good literature could be carried on freed from the blighting interference of ecclesiastical bigotry, the death of Servetus may well have served as a warning that Protestant Geneva was no more ready than was Catholic Paris to tolerate free speech or a free press.

Robert had found it necessary, in order to gain time to prepare for his escape, to temporise with his censors, and to go through the form of submitting to their authority. Their indignation when they found that he had given them the slip was very keen, and according to Beza, the divines went to the point of burning him in effigy.[18] At the time of Estienne’s arrival in Geneva, Switzerland had become a place of refuge for Protestant heretics from various parts of Europe, and the exiles were chiefly attracted either to Zurich, as the headquarters of the followers of Zwingli, or to Geneva, as the home of Calvin. A little later, the groups in those cities from Italy, France, and South Germany were added to by a number of divines and scholars from England, whence they had been driven by the persecution under Queen Mary. Among the sojourners from Italy were Lelius and Faustus Socinus (uncle and nephew) from Siena, whose name afterwards gave a designation to the group of Arians known as Socinians. The nephew was, later, active in diffusing Socinianism in Poland, where, however, it failed to secure any lasting foundation. The inscription on his tomb, in Warsaw, is said to read as follows:

One may recall in this connection the description given by Lowell of that later vigorous Protestant, Theodore Parker: “He was so ultra-Cinian, he shocked the Socinians.”

There came also from Italy, Bernardus Ochinus, of Siena, and the more famous Peter Martyr (Vermilius), from Florence, the latter having, however, more recently been lecturing in Oxford, where he had been suspended from his lectureship on the accession of Queen Mary. A companion to Martyr was John Jewell, also from Oxford, who, later, became a bishop. Names like the above will give an impression of the character of the circle in which Estienne now found himself. It was not only for the scholar a personal gratification to be thrown into association with intellectual leaders skilled in critical and theological learning, but it must also have been of no little service for the reorganisation of his publishing business to have at hand a group of advisers and of editors who would have a keen personal interest in a large proportion at least of his scholarly undertakings.

The following titles of the more important publications issued by Robert after the establishment of the Geneva Press will give an impression of the general direction taken by his business.

1552. “Ad Censuras Theologorum Parisiensium, quibus Biblia a Roberto Stephano Typographo Regio excusa calumniose notarunt, ejusdem Roberti Stephani Responsio.” The “Response” was also printed in French.

In his “Histoire Critique du Nouveau Testament,” Father Simon, a good Catholic authority, has entered into a minute examination of the points at issue between Robert and his accusers, and his decisions are almost uniformly in favour of the publisher.[20]

1553. “La Bible,” in folio.

“Catéchisme,” by Jean Calvin.

“La Forme des Prières Ecclésiastiques.”

With these were a number of other devotional and doctrinal treatises printed under the immediate direction of Calvin. These treatises, being planned for popular circulation, were largely printed in French, and the Geneva list includes, in fact, a much larger proportion of works in the vernacular than had been issued in Paris.

1554. “In Genesin Commentarius Calvini.”

“Exposition Continuelle sur les Evangiles.”

“Ambrosii Calepini Dictionarium.”

“Defensio Orthodoxæ Fidei de Sacra Trinitate, contra prodigiosos errores Michælis Serveti Hispani, ubi ostenditur hæreticos jure gladii cœrcendos esse, et nominatim de homine hoc tam impio justi et merito sumptum Genevæ fuisse Supplicium, per Johannem Calvinum.”

“De Hæreticis a Civili Magistratu puniendis Libellus, Theodori Bezæ.”

It is somewhat to be wondered at that Robert, fresh from harassing persecution in Paris, should have been willing to place his imprint upon this argument of Calvin as to the rightfulness of the punishment of Servetus, and upon the companion treatise which the zeal of Beza had prompted him to compose in defence of the right of the civil magistrate to punish heretics. Assuming that by this time Estienne had thrown in his lot entirely with the Calvinists, it is nevertheless to be borne in mind that the record and the utterances of the man had heretofore shown him to be a consistent advocate of intellectual liberty. Even after his sojourn in Geneva, there is on record no utterance of Robert’s which is not in accord with this view of his own personal predilections. Robert had, moreover, always taken such high ground as to publishing responsibility, that he cannot escape being held accountable for the approval implied in the association of his imprint with these zealous defences of an act that must always remain a serious blot on the history of Protestantism.

1555. “Concordantiæ Bibliorum utriusque Testamenti.”

“Calvinus in Acta Apostolorum.”

1556-57. “Commentaries (in Latin) on the New Testament, and on the five Prophets, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonas.”

“Liber Psalmorum Davidis.”

“Dictionnaire des Mots François tournés en Latin.”

1558. “Phrases Hebraicæ.”

“Adagiorum chiliades quatuor, cum sesquicenturia Erasmi, cum H. Stephani animadversionibus.” Folio.

This edition of the famous “Adagia” of Erasmus, first published in 1500, contained the latest revisions of the author. After the death of Erasmus, which had occurred in 1536, his works fell into the public domain and were reprinted by any publishers who were interested in them. This edition of Robert Estienne contained the first work as an editor and commentator of his son Henry.

1559. This was the last year of Robert’s typographical labours.

The more important impressions were:

“Kimhi in Habacuc, recognitus a Vatablo.”

“De Cœna Domini plana et perspicua tractatio in qua Joachimi Westphali calumniæ postremum editæ refelluntur, Theodoro Beza auctore.” 8vo.

“Calvini Commentarii in quinque libros Mosis.” Folio.

“Glossæ in tres Evangelistas, cum Calvini Commentariis, adjecto seorsim Johanne.” Folio.

“Harmonia ex tribus Evangelistis, adjuncto seorsim Johanne, cum Calvini Commentariis.” Folio.

“Le Nouveau Testament, revu et corrigé sur le Grec par l’avis des Ministres de Genève.”

“Calvini Institutio Christianæ Religionis, in libros quatuor nunc primum digesta, certisque capitibus distincta.” Folio.

The Institutes is the great work of Calvin, and is possibly the most important intellectual production of the Reformation. This edition of Robert Estienne’s contained the final revision of the author, and was given by the author to the public as the édition définitive. The publication of this authoritative edition of a book which belongs to the distinctive literature not only of the sixteenth century but of the world’s history, was a fitting undertaking with which to close the labours of the great publisher.

Robert Estienne died in the latter part of this year 1559, having continued actively engaged in the work of his printing-office until within a few weeks of his death. In the same year occurred the death of Henry II., the French King, which was occasioned by a wound received in a tournament. By Robert’s will, the bulk of his property, including the printing-office and publishing business in Geneva, was left to his son Henry, who had for some years been actively associated in its management, and who had inherited a full measure of his father’s scholarly interests and business capacity. The second son, Robert, who had remained in Paris as a printer, was, according to Maittaire, disinherited, possibly because he had thrown in his lot with the extreme Catholics of the Sorbonne.

Thuanus ascribes to Robert Estienne the praise of excelling in judgment and in technical skill and elegance such masters of the typographical art as Aldus and Froben. Without lessening the praise justly belonging to Estienne, it must be remembered in any comparison of his publications with those of Aldus, that the work of the latter was carried on fifty years earlier, when it was necessary to do much more creative work in organising book-making appliances, and when the difficulties in the way of distributing books were still greater than those with which Estienne had to contend. Thuanus is on firmer ground when he asserts that more real lustre and glory were reflected upon the reign of Francis I. by the genius and exertions of this single individual than by all the achievements of that monarch, whether in peace or in war. Scævola Sammasthanus speaks of Estienne as Typographus solertissimus et splendidissimus, and Gesner, in inscribing to him the fifth book of his Pandects, terms him entre les Imprimeurs et Libraires ce qu’est le soleil entre les étoiles.

The exceptional personal erudition of Robert Estienne, the distinctive importance of his publishing undertakings, the zeal evinced by him from the beginning of his career for the advancement of learning and for critical scholarship, and the courageous fight made by him against the assumption of the bigoted divines of the Sorbonne of the right to exercise censorship over a literature of the very language of which they were for the most part ignorant, constitute the grounds for my selection of him as the most worthy representative of the printer-publishers of France of the sixteenth century, and for presenting with some little detail the chief incidents of his career. While the early memoirs give pretty full information concerning the literary side of Estienne’s publishing undertakings and present also the history of his long series of contests in behalf of the freedom of the Press, the records of the business details of his enterprises are scanty and inadequate. We have no such information as has been preserved in the account books of Aldus, Koberger, and Plantin, showing the cost of the production of his books, or the amounts paid to editors and authors. The extent of the financial aid extended to Robert by the wise liberality of King Francis is also not clearly specified, although we can realise how important in many ways this royal assistance must have been, and especially in connection with the use of the great fonts of Greek type for the making of which the King had paid. We know that he was the only one of the pioneer printers who secured any intelligent and effective co-operation from a royal treasury, and we know also that important as this co-operation was, it was in the end more than offset by the disastrous antagonism of the ecclesiastics of the Sorbonne, whose persistency finally triumphed over both king and printer.

Information is also wanting as to the channels which were available for the distribution of the books when made, and concerning the methods employed for their sale. It is, in fact, very difficult to understand how, during a period of frequent war, when communications were irregular and travel was difficult not only between France and the adjoining states, but throughout the kingdom itself, it could have proved practicable to secure a remunerative sale for costly works of such special character as the majority of those issued by Estienne. The difficulty must have been considerable even in making known to scholars throughout Europe the fact of the publication of the books, and after the orders were received, there remained the task of making the deliveries and of collecting the payments. It is further to be borne in mind that the adverse influence of the divines of the Sorbonne must have hampered materially the demand from university and ecclesiastical centres for the editions of the Scriptures and for all the works possessing any theological character, while it was the case that of the Bibles at least, the sale was absolutely blocked for several long periods. Notwithstanding all the difficulties and obstacles, Estienne must have succeeded in building up throughout Europe a remunerative demand for his publications, for at the time of his migration from France he was reputed to be a man of means, and even after all the losses and expenses attending the sudden closing of his concern in Paris and its re-establishment in Geneva, he was able, a few years later, to leave to his son a business on an assured foundation, and resources for carrying it on. An important part of these resources consisted in a great collection of texts, both printed and in manuscript, and in a comprehensive and valuable library. The career of Robert Estienne was assuredly both distinctive and honourable, and the services rendered by him to the cause of scholarly literature fairly entitle him to the name of the Aldus of France.

Some years after Robert’s death, the charge was made by some of his old-time opponents that he had wrongfully carried away to Geneva certain of the matrices of the Greek type which belonged to the Imprimerie Royale of Paris, and of which he had the use as Printer to the King. According to Le Clerc, Robert took with him not the matrices, but the punches (les poinçons des matrices) of certain of the Greek fonts which had been made for the Imprimerie Royale, but this theory does not accord with the final history. It seems certainly to have been the case that the type used by Robert’s son Henry for Greek books issued by him in Geneva after the death of his father, was identical with that of the royal Greek characters which had been made for King Francis under Robert’s supervision. Greswell is of opinion that the charge was well founded, but he points out certain considerations which probably influenced Robert’s action, and which seemed to him (as they seemed to Maittaire) to constitute, in some measure at least, a justification for such action. Robert left Paris hurriedly, and it could in any case have been no easy task to arrange for the transportation of the material of his printing-office and publishing concern without attracting the attention of his enemies in the Sorbonne.

1. If information had been given to King Henry concerning the preparations of the printer, the removal would doubtless have been forbidden. If Robert had taken pains to deposit the matrices in the chamber of accounts (where the punches of the three fonts were preserved in boxes lined with velvet),[21] he would at once have betrayed his plans for removal.

2. The removal of this set of matrices does not appear to have excited any sensation whatsoever, either at the time of Robert’s departure or at any later period; nor do we hear of any impediment being caused through the want of them to the business of the future Impressores Regii.

3. At the time of Robert’s departure, the royal treasury was greatly in arrears to Robert, not merely for the King’s promised remuneration of his losses, which the malevolence of the divines had intercepted, but also for the stipend due to him as regius typographus. He may, therefore, have believed himself to be warranted in retaining the set of matrices either as an offset or as a pledge.[22]

4. Chevillier, and others of the authorities of the time, writing from the Catholic point of view, while very indignant with Robert for having induced two monarchs to give to him, “an outrageous Calvinist heretic,” the post of royal printer, make no mention of this accusation, while they would certainly have been very ready, if they had before them any evidence of such a theft, to include it among the sins of the heretical printer.

M. de Guignes finds evidence that under the reign of Louis XIII. certain of the divines of the Sorbonne, who had in preparation a new edition of the Greek Fathers, presented a petition to that prince requesting that the Greek matrices might be repurchased from Geneva, and that, in consequence of this petition, the King, in May, 1619, directed the sum of three thousand livres to be paid for them to Paul Estienne, the grandson of Robert, and that the matrices were brought back to the royal printing-house.

In the same essay, M. de Guignes mentions that in the year 1700, the University of Cambridge requested the Government (that of Louis XIV.) to favour it with a cast or font of the Greek characters of Francis I., then known by the name of “the King’s Greek.” The matter was referred to the French Academy, which expressed its willingness to send the font, under the condition that in all works in which the characters were used, there should be placed at the bottom of the title-page, after the usual subscription Typis Academicis, the words Characteribus Græcis e Typographeo regio Parisiensi. To this stipulation, however, the curators of the Cambridge University

Press were not willing to consent, and the negotiation therefore fell through. The incident indicates that after the lapse of a century and a half, the Greek type planned by Estienne was still considered to excel fonts of later workmanship.