Numbers.
67


The  expense  of  this  great  undertaking  was  of  course  very  great ;
and  partly  to  reduce  the  cost  of  production,  and  partly  to  place  copies
of  the  books  he  printed  within  the  reach  of  poor  scholars,  Aldus
employed  the  artist  Giovanni  de  Bologna  to  design  for  him  a  new  and
compressed  type  which  would  enable  him  to  print  nearly  two  pages  in
the  same  space  as  one.  From  the  country  of  its  birth  this  letter  has
ever  since  been  known  as  Italic.  Its  elegant  shape  has  been  much,
perhaps  too  much,  admired.  The  appearance  is  somewhat  marred  by
the  invariable  use  of  Roman  capitals,  which,  throughout  a  page  of
Italic,  is  certainly  not  agreeable  to  the  eye.
THE    MEDAL  OF   ALDUS.
The  fame  of  Aldus's  printing-office  soon  spread  throughout  Europe,
and  his  little  pocket  editions  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  classics  were
esteemed  as  much  for  the  beauty  of  their  dress  as  for  the  accuracy  of
their  text.  The  visits  of  the  curious,  as  well  as  of  the  learned,  became
at  last  so  troublesome  that  Aldus  placed  the  following  notice  over  the
chief  entrance:  "Whoever  you  are  that  wish  to  see  Aldus,  be  brief;
and  when  business  is  finished  go  away  ;  unless  indeed  you  are  able  and
willing:  to  assist  him  as  Hercules  did  Atlas  in  his  need:  and  even  then
remember  that  whoever  gains  here  a  footing  must  work  hard  and
with  perseverance."


68  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing.
Aldus  himself  took  no  relaxation ;  scarcely  would  he  afford  himself
any  sleep  until  fatigue  compelled  him  to  rest.  He  died  in  15 15,  the
King  of  Printers,  with  an  immortal  halo  surrounding  him.
