Home Preparation for National Talent Search Examination (NTSE)/ Olympiad
Chapter : 4. Print Culture and The Modern World
Tremble, therefore, tyrants of the world !
(a) "Tremble, therefore, tyrants of the world !" (i) It came to be believed by mid-eighteenth century that the books were a means of spreading progress and enlightenment. (ii) Many believed that books would liberate society form the tyranny and despotism and herald a time when reason and intellect would rule. (iii) Louise Sebastien Mercier, a French novelist of 18th century believed that : "The printing press is the most powerful engine of progress and public opinion is the force that will sweep despotism away." Heroes in Mercier's novels were transformed by act of reading, they became enlightened man. He believed power of print would destroy despotism.