The evolution of a true periodical press was slow, but once this principle was established it was only a matter of time before printers would perceive that the public was also interested in the world of scholarship. As readership increased, it was clear that the tone, language, and content of journals implied that journalists defined their audience under a new form of Republic of Letters: either those who took an active role by writing and instructing others, or those who contented themselves with reading books and following the debates in the journals. Formerly the domain of "les savants" and "érudits," the Republic of Letters now became the province of "les curieux."