GRYPHIUS (Sebastian), a celebrated printer of Lyons in France, was a German, and born at Suabia near Augsburg in 1494. He restored the art of printing at Lyons, which was before exceedingly corrupted; and the great number of books printed by him are valued by the connoisseurs. He printed many books in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, with new and very beautiful types; and his editions are no less accurate than beautiful. The reason is, that he was a very learned man, and perfectly versed in the languages of such books as he undertook to print. Thus a certain epigrammatist has observed, that Robert Stephens was a very good corrector, Colineus a very good printer, but that Gryphius was both an able printer and corrector. This is the epigram:
"Inter tot numerum libros qui cadere, tres sunt
"Infernes: laqueus cetera turba favos
"Cassiger Stephanus, sculpsit Colineus, utramque
"Gryphius edocta mente manique facit."
He died 1556, in his 63d year: and his trade was carried on honourably in the same city by his son, Anthony Gryphius. One of the most beautiful books of Sebastian Gryphius is a Latin Bible: it was printed 1550,
with the largest types that had then been seen, in 2 vols Gryphites folio.