"A History of Reading" by Alberto Manguel

Interesting, isn't it, that in Alberto Manguel's The Silent Reader, the folks most involved in the responsibilities of reading in early Christian days were also responsible for the establishment of religious doctrine, beliefs and custom. Could I say that the men of the church, skilled in reading scriptura continua, were also representative of the religious metaphor of sole authority, of Jesus as the "only" son of God? In other words, a consolidation of power, through transcription of reading that demanded particular skills held by few.
This power was clearly threatened when the transcription rules shifted towards ease in reading punctuation, facilitating the reader's interior activity of engaging with the material while reading; earlier, readers gave oral enunciation of rhetorical and religious ideas. So, when silent reading became easier, the individual's internal engagement with the text threatened the church's monolithic authority as solitary source of God's word. Eventually, other interpretations came about, as reading became more internal, less public. An interesting tension between public and private uses of reading.