Profit motive

Most of us, if we think about it at all, probably assume the Bible was first book printed by Johannes Gutenberg for religious reasons. Not true, says Simon Winchester in Knowing What We Know. Gutenberg printed the Bible first for financial reasons. He needed to make as much money as possible to recoup his expenses. That meant printing a book that someone would actually buy.

"What the Gutenberg publishing house was bent on creating during its three years of intense work was a book designed primarily for those who would pay for it," Winchester writes.

Before moveable type made printed books possible in large numbers, there was little reason for most people to learn how to read. Literacy was a gift enjoyed by few, mostly the elite and especially those within the Church. And these were the people with enough money to buy books. Winchester says the first printed Bibles cost the equivalent of $30,000 in today's money.

Just as important, Gutenberg needed to maximize income by selling his book beyond Germany. Why would people in France or other countries in Europe pay for a book printed in German? And there wouldn't be enough customers in Germany to make a book printed in German profitable.

But members of the clergy throughout Europe could read Latin, making a Latin Bible the ideal choice for the first book printed with moveable type.

"Thus did Johannes Gutenberg follow a rule that applies to this day: the books most likely to make money are the books that get published," Winchester says. And all these centuries later, Bibles continue to make money for publishers.