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The Chosen text for this caption was The Law and Equity of the Gospel. or the Goodness of our Lord as a Legislator written by Thomas Pierce, D.D., "Chaplain in Ordinary to his Majesty and Dean of Sarum." Published in 1686 by S. Roycroft for Robert Clavell at the Peacock in St. Paul's Church-yard, it details how written holy texts should be read and applied to life through sermons or lectures. There are 706 pages in the original publication of the book, and the book at Washington State University does contain a few unique elements.
Printed on paper in 1686, the book font is outstandingly easy to read. The script is a large and clear printed text. Each page of print has two rows and columns printed on the page. The top row consists of the chapter's title or the topic of discussion, and the smaller column contains the page number. Row two of the table includes a thin blank column in which cites to the Bible or religious texts are written, this column also leaves plenty of room and blank space for reader notes to be added. The last cell of the two by two tables that make up a majority of the book is the largest. It contains all of the actual text. The book is written so that it can be read aloud, as the next word of an upcoming page is printed on its own line at the bottom of each previous.
If under display, page one would make an excellent showcase. This is page one of the actual book, as opposed the prefix (which is numbered in Roman Numerals). There are a few reasons this spread should be displayed. First, it shows how well the pages are structured throughout the entire book, as well as how neat and legible the font is. It also gives an example of the double rule-border that the text is housed in. This spread would also display the Errata that are used to correct spellings in the book, and change the way the words should be read aloud. For instance, one of these changes notes a word to be pronounced as "dear" as opposed to the author written "deer," which is among the few notes given in the Errata.
This book is actually quite rare. Only eight copies are known in libraries across the world, and four of the copies reside within the United States. Aside from the copy located at Washington State University, the others can be found in the following places; Duke University Library, Harvard University Houghton Library, and Trinity College in Hartford. The other four can be found in Ireland, the Netherlands, and two in the United Kingdom, where the book was originally printed. The copy at the Washington State University Library contains a few noteworthy additions as well. The word "Imprimatur" is signed inside, meaning that it under Roman Catholic standards, the book is non blasphemous. There are references handwritten references in some of the margins as well. The book also includes advertisements for other books the distributor was selling at the time.
Pierce's work in this publication relates to numerous topics and essays we've read over the duration of this course. Walter Ong's essay on "Orality and Literacy" is a good example. Pierce wrote The Law and Equity of the Gospel. or the Goodness of our Lord as a Legislator for distribution, however its end result is a sermon that is to be spoken aloud. This relates directly too many of the topics Ong discuess about the relationship between literacy and orality. When thoughts are only passed on by memory, many of the fine details can be lost, but when this is written and changed "[f]rom memory to written records" Pierce can have his sermon in entirety read without changes. This is noted in the fact that each page has the first word of the next page in a separate line at the bottom in order to aid in reading without pauses. The book itself is literacy, it is written and printed to be distributed, but from that the audience takes away the oral word of the gospel as Pierce sees it.
In relation to the communication circuit, this book fits well with the readers. If no one needed to hear the "word of the gospel" and have it related to legislature, there would have been on reason for Pierce to copy his gospels and sermons into a book to further spread this word. The readers would be priests and other holy men, and perhaps on the rare occasion a plain reader, but it was basically designed to be read aloud to a listening audience.
Works Referenced:
Ong, Walter. The Book History Reader. Ed. David Finkelstein and Alistair McCleery. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2006. 135-146.
"Washington State University Griffin." WSU Libraries. 28 Sept. 2007 <http://griffin.wsu.edu/search/?searchtype=o&searcharg=32713235&searchscope=5&SORT=D&extended=0&SUBMIT=Search&searchlimits=&searchorigarg=o32713235>.
"The Law and Equity of the Gospel; or, the Goodness of Our Lord as a Legislator" WorldCat. 28 Sept. 2007 <http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/32713235&referer=brief_results>.