Oprah Winfrey: So today on Oprah, we are here to find out who is most enlightened. We will be trying to differentiate who is most enlightened by interviewing each of the following people by using �The Dating Game�. Bachelor number one is Johannes Gutenberg, bachelor number 2 is Nicolaus Copernicus, bachelor number 3 Leonardo DaVinci.
Oprah: Bachelor #1, how was your childhood?
Bachelor #1: It has been about 600 years since I was born. My childhood was a mystery to many people. People throughout history after me created the printing press wondered why I was driven to form the printing press. My father was a metalworker who had some connections to the mint in Mainz, and it was probably in my father's shop that I learned about metal casting and the use of punches. I was born in Mainz, Germany under Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg. My merchant father�s name was Friele Gensfleisch zur Laden and later added �zum Gutenburg� because I grew up in the nieghborhood by that name. During my childhood, printing was know as �Schwarze Kunst� in German.
Oprah: Bachelor #2, what was your family life like?
Bachelor #2: I have a family of merchants and municipal officials. I'm
the youngest of four. My mother came from a prominent family and my
father was a successful merchant. Unfortunately though, when I was ten
years old my father, a wealthy businessman and copper trader, died. When he
died my brothers and sister were left to my mother's brother, Lucas
Watzenrode. My uncle who was a bishop, planned for me to learn the study
of canon law. My brother Andreas became canon in Frauenburg. My sister,
Barbara, became a Benedictine nun and my other sister, Katharina,
married a businessman and city councilor, Barthel Gertner. So i gess i have
a pretty big family with lots of wealth. I know all you ladies out
there like wealth.
Oprah: Bachelor #3: What was your professional life like?
Bachelor #3: In 1477, I left Verrocchio and headed to Milan in search for more money. I created a place in Milan and I worked for the Duke of Milan. The Duke kept me in business by making me create paintings of festivals and courts throughout Milan. Also I had to design weapons, machinery, and buildings for the Duke. I had drawings of tanks, submarines, and other various combat vehicles. My ideas and interests were so broad that most of the time I never finished my works of art. I was usually out studying science and nature itself, or I would lock myself away in my workshop and cut up corpses to study the body. In Milan, I had plenty of work to do and I was constantly going places whether I had to be a mechanical engineer or just an artist.
Oprah: This question is for all of the bachelors. What were your golden years like?
Bachelor #1: I have been declared the man of the millennium and my invention of the printing press has been named the best invention of mankind. This is the most prominent award that I could receive because having an invention that is considered the best of all mankind is the greatest award that I could receive. There can be no doubt that the printing press has had an enormous impact on the development of human communication and therefore human history. Many articles have been written about me in the international press to correspond with the six hundredth anniversary of my birth�coming together as it does with the bring in of a new millennium. Despite somewhat exaggerated attempts to depict me as the man of the second millennium, one can reasonably describe me as �one among many� who made a huge contribution to human progress. The invention of movable type press, which made possible the mass printing of the Bible, shook the foundations of the Church.
Oprah: What about you bachelor #2?
Bachelor #2: I believe that I have accomplished a lot of things. I'm
often called the founder of modern astronomy. I forever changed the place
of man in the cosmos. I also challenged the church to lead the way to a
reform in thinking. I did so by disproving a theory of the heavens that
had existed for almost 14 centuries, established by Charles Ptolemy in
250 AD. I discovered that "The Earth was not the centre of the cosmos,
but rather one celestial body among many, as it became subject to
mathematical description." I also discovered the behavior of the planets is
caused by the Earth's daily rotation on its axis and yearly revolution
around the sun.My influence was brought up in the minds of men for
years, perhaps because my theories were not fully understood until many
years later. Finally, I had a theory published that went against Catholic
Church authority. The Church allowed the circulation of the manuscript.
Yes, I believe I'm the greatest enlighter here so far.
Oprah: What about you bachelor #3?
Bachelor #3: During the Golden Years, I accomplished my greatest works of art such as the Mona Lisa in 1503. On July 9, 1504, I was sent a letter telling me that my father, Ser Piero, was dead. In 1513, I worked in Rome, doing the Pope�s projects that needed to be done. I continued my studies of human anatomy and physiology, but eventually the Pope forbid me to dissect anymore bodies. Once Medici died, I was offered the title of Premier Painter and Engineer and Architect from the King by Francis I in France. Soon after, I suffered from paralysis in my right hand, but that didn�t stop me from drawing and teaching.
Oprah: That�s all the time we have for today, thank you for visiting us! Everyone in the audience gets a free DaVinci painting and an Escalade even though you�re paying for all of it! On tomorrow�s episode, we will continue this game on who is the most Enlightened. Thank you!