The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31 924029271 91 9 -A " ny H 3 F'Jl L S oui "JfT. ^^^&]LlilS'lFm TH^ET fTlbiuRY THE ENGLISH BIBLE EXTENDING FROM THE EARLIEST SAXON TRANSLATIONS TO THE PRESENT ANGLO-AMERICAN REVISION ; WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE PROTESTANT RELIGION AND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. BLACKFORD CONDIT. A. S. BARNES & COMPANY, NEW YORK AND CHICAGO. I882. Kg Copyright^ 1881, by A.S. Barnes &' Co. A 5-^ 6 (^5" BLKCTKOTYPED BY SMITH & MoDOUGAL, es Beolcaian St., N. Y. \X>\)OBt Interest in ti)e JJrogrcss of iIjcbc Pages lliis been starcelg less ilian mg oron Cf)i5 Oolume is affectionately Jnscti&eD. PREFACE. THE following chapters had their origin in the desire to trace the influence of the Bible upon the English language. Dr. Noah Webster, in the preface to his "Amended Bible," 1838, says: « The language of the Bible has no inconsiderable influence in forming and preserying our National language." A slight acquaintance with the subject showed that this influence could not be understood without tracing back the history to the earliest Saxon and English translations. All praise is due to King James' revisers for their wisdom in approving as well as improving the labors of previous translators. Their design was not to make a new translation " nor yet to make of a bad one a good one, but to make a good one better, or out of many good ones, one prin- cipal good one." Our English Bible of to-day, therefore, comprises in itself the labors of the best scholars during a period of two and a half centuries, together with a correspond- ing growth of the English language. In the Louvre gallery at Paris the history of painting is illustrated by grouping the pictures on the walls in chrono- logical order. Something of this plan may be found in the Vi PKEEACB. following pages by way of illustrating the history of the English language. Specimens of the various Saxon and English versions of the Scriptures have been inserted in chronological order, and in their original spelling. All quo- tations from early English! authorities are given literally as to wording and orthography, and in each case, so far as practi- cable, preference has been given to the earliest editions. Another agreeable surprise in this investigation, was the important part the Anglo-Saxon language has played in the struggle between Protestantism and Eomanism, before as well as since the Norman Conquest. The ascendancy of the Latin tongue meant practically the ascendancy of Eome not only in language and literature, but in religion and politics. It was the struggle of a David with a Goliath. And the victory was all the more remarkable because incidental. At the first the Reformers did not perceive the intimate relation between language and religion. Hopeless ignorance of the Latin on the part of the people was reason enough for translating the Scriptures into Englisli. But afterward they learned that the Latin language was the stronghold of the Eomish Church. The Latin tongue was imperial by birth, and seemed destined through its connection with victorious Rome to become the universal language. It was stately and magnificent, and in its movement it had something of the pomp and pride of a victorious Roman legion. Possibly it may be too much to affirm that the Latin, into which the Bible had for very many years been translated, exerted a powerful influence in Roman- izing the Christian Church, since so little is known of the inner workings of that sad history. But we are safe in stat- ing that leading bishops in the very beginning as well as in PREFACE. Vll the after development of the Eoman Catholic Church, found the Latin language adapted to their ambitious purposes. Consequently when in after years their deep-laid plans were endangered by Vernacular versions of the Holy Scriptures, they erected their Latin barriers around both Bible and Church, and pronounced it heresy to translate or read the Bible save in the Latin tongue now chosen and ordained to-be the sacred language of the Church. Pagan Eome failed in carry- ing out her ideal of Universal Empire, but Papal Eome, clothed with the same imperial language and inspired with the same imperial ideal, hoped to succeed. She still has faith in her destiny notwithstanding serious checks upon her ppwer. The first of these checks was in the domain of lan- guage through Vernacular Versions of the Bible, which marks the rise and progress of Protestantism in its struggle with E'jmanism. Litimately connected with the religious stands the literary element in this conflict of languages. At the period of the Norman Conquest the Saxon tongue had a hard struggle for mere existence. It was driven from the court and palace, but it took refuge around the firesides of the peasantry. The Latin tongue even down to the Elizabethan age was the literary language. But during this same period the English language had become a power, and by its inherent vitality was already the giant that succeeding centuries have proved it to be. And prominent among the causes which lie at the foundation of this victory of the English over the Latin tongue we must recognize the fact of early translations of the Scriptures into the language of the people. The design of the following chapters was not to treat this subject at large, VIU P K E F A C E , but in giving an account of the several translations to- note in- cidentally the literary influence of these versions. In order to bring down the history of English translations to the present time, an extended account will be found in the following pages, of various public and private attempts to- wards translations and revisions since that of King James' Bible, 1611. The great majority of these efforts were by private individuals and consequently of no special impor- tance. There were other attempts made by public authority, and hence of greater significance. By far the most important of these, is the Anglo-American revision undertaken by the authority of the Convocation of Canterbury and with the e.x- press design of superseding King James' version. Whether it will accomplish this design must remain, for the present at least, an open question. It must be confessed, however, that in the history of English translations no version ever attracted so wide-spread expectation. And then it carries with it the recommendation of the most profound English and American scholarship — a scholarship in every way com- petent to deal with original authorities and to make the best use of all critical helps. While this is true of the New Testament revisers whose labors have just closed, it is equally true of the Old Testament revisers whose labors will not be completed for some three years to come. At the expense of burdening the page with foot-notes, care has been taken to give credit to all authorities quoted — ^an honest though laborious mode of acknowledging indebtedness. The historic field of English Bible translations has been sadly neglected by Church historians. Fox, the martyrologist, is PREFACE. IX an honorable exception. The early Black Letter editions of his "Acts and Monuments,'' are mines of wealth in the rich mass of facts he has brought together including original documents bearing upon the external history of the English Bible. Eev. John Lewis was the original pioneer in this special field ; and in every bibliographical list, chronologically, his work must stand first. Lewis' "History of English Translations of the Bible " was first' published as an introduc- tion to Wyclifife's " Translation of the New Testament," 1731. The work was issued separately in 1739. He crowded so much into so small a space, to the general reader his account seems heavy ; but to the searcher for facts his work, though not reliable- in every particular, is most invaluable. Ander- son's " Annals of the Bible " have been seyerely criticised, and yet they render most acceptable service in honoring the memory of the ever-memorable William Tyndale. The work was first published in 1845, in two octavo volumes. The ear- liest editions were burdened with extended sketches of the civil history of the times, which interfered seriously with the simple narrative. These sketches were afterwards omitted in the revised edition put forth by his nephew in 1863. "A General View of the History of the English Bible," by Canon Westcott, pubhshed in 1868 and 1873, together with the two noble volumes by Dr. Eadie, entitled, " The English Bible ; an External and Critical History of the Various English Trans- lations of the Scriptures," 1876, leave scarcely anything to be desired in the way of an extensive and critical account oJ English translations of the Holy Scriptures. My thanks are hereby extended to the Librarians of tho following Libraries— Boston Public, Boston Athenaeum, Har- X PREFACE. vard College, Watkinson, Wabash College, and Lane Semi- nary, for special favors. My personal acknowledgments are also due to many friends for aid and encouragement, but to none more than to my friend and former teacher, Prof. George E. Day, D.D., of New Haven, Conn. BLACKFOED CONDIT. Tbkbb Haute, Nov., 1881. CONTENTS CHAPTEE I. SAXON AND ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF THE SCRIPTITRES BEFORE THE TIME OF WYCLIFFE, A. d. 597-1324. PAGE CUBISTLANITT AS FIRST INTKODUCED AMONG THE SaXONS.— ROME NOT AB YET OP- POSED TO THE Bible in the Language of the People.— Colm an and Wil- FRiTEt.— The Whitbt Synod.— C^dmon.—Bede's Account of. — C^dmon's Paraphrase. — Specimen. — Guthlac's Psalter. — Specimen. — Aldhelm, "the Good Author." — His Version op the Psalms.— Bede.—Alcuin.— In- vasion OF THE Danes.— King Alfred.— Extent of his Bible Translations. —Specimen. — Saxon Versions or the Four Gospels.— Specimen.— -^lfeic. —His Heptateuch.— Specimen.— Close of tee Saxon Period.— Saxon Lan- guage IN relation to the Norman Conquest.— The Beginning of the Eng- lish Language and its Literature.— A New Era of Bible Translations. ^ —The Ormulum.— Specimen.— Sowle Hele.— Schorham's Version of the Psalms.- Probably the Earliest Prose Version.— Spbcimen.—Richard Rolle's Version of the Psalms.— Specimen.— Early English:.- Vernacu- lar Versions of the Bible, a Protestant Idea.— The Way prepared for John Wyclipfe 17 CHAPTER II. WYCLIFFE AND THE WYCLIFFITE VERSIONS, a.d. 1380. Bikth of John de Wtcltffe.— His Education.— Civil and Canon Law. — Mo- nastic Orders. — WYCLiFFE'a Attack UPON the Mendicants. — Church and State.— Wycliffb defends the Parliament.— Wtcliffe at Bruges.— His Lectures on Divinity. — Wyclipfe before the Council.— His Defense. — John Ball and Wat Tyler. —Wtcliffe as a Reformer. — At Lutter- worth.— He Translates the Bible.- Latin Language and Roman Catholic Church.— RoMiPH Hatred of the English Bible.— Earlier and Later Texts of the Wtcliffite Versions. —Wtcliffe and Hereford.- Speci- mens OF the Earlier Text. — John Purvey. — The Author of the Later Text.— '* Wtcliffe's Glosser."— Specimens op the Later Text. — FORSHALL AND MaDDEN'S WtCLIFFITE VERSIONS, 1850. — THB BiSHOP'S 1 CONTENTS. PAGE Registebs. — MiNUscEiPTa OP Single Books of the Bible. — Antiquated FoKMB AND Obsolete Words.— Wtclifpe's Superior Rendebings.— Exam- ples. — Relation of Vernacular Versions op the Bible to Language and Literature.— Influence of Wtcliffite Versions upon Religion and Lan- guage.— Character OF Wtcliffb.— Wyclifpb and Chauceb. — Death op John Wtoliffb. — HisEpitaph 63 CHAPTER III. TYNBALB AND HIS TRANSLATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, A. d. 1525. Revival of Learning in the Fifteenth Centurt.— Printinq introduced into England.— Gbeek and Latin New Testament of Eeasmus. -Opposed bt Romish Priests.— Bishop Standish Appeals to the JSjng and Queen.— The Wat prepabed for the New Testament in English.— William Ttndale. — Removes to Cambbidgb. — Acts as Tutor in the Family op Sir John Walsh. —Ttndale in London. — Departs to Hambubgh. — Cologne.— Worms. — Printing of the Fibst English Testaments.- Hanseatio Ships convey THEM to London.— English Testaments concealed in Thomas Garrett's House. — "Diligent Search" instituted. — New Testament Distbibutobs ARRESTED. — BURNING OF NeW TESTAMENTS. — StoBY OF ANTHONT DALABER. — Bishop Tonstal AT Antwerp. — The Search for Ttndale.— "Bitter Days of Persecution."- Mabttbdom of John Feyth.— Ttndale*s Revised New Testament, 1534.— Examples by Wat of Compabison. — Specimens of Tyn- DALE^B Tbanslation.— With Spelling Modebnized. — The English Lan- guage op this Period. — Ttndalb's Relation to Wyclifpb. — Latinisms. — Examples. —Familiar Expressions.- Examples. — Obsolete Words.- Ab- OHAio Forms.— Old English Idioms.— Tynd alb's Second Revision, 1535.— His Translations of Portions op the Old Testament.— Ttndaxe's Be- TRATAL AND ArBEST.— HiS LeTTER FROM PRISON. — TrIAL AND MABTTKDOM. — His Character and Life Work at CHAPTER IV. COVBEDALE'S BIBLE, a. b. 1535. The New Tebtaiteiit op ERiSMtja. — Ebligious AwAKENma. — Societt op "Chkistian Bkodebs."— TnrDAiB's New Testaments.— Priob BTroKiHQ- HAM'a Sermon.— HuQH Latimbr's Ahswee Mthbs Covbrdai-e.— A Pnpn. of Dr. Baknbs.— His Stmpatht with Latqieb and Bilnet.— Hevivai. at Bcm- BTEDE. — Gospel Meetings.— Coterdale before the Bishops.— Is with- DBAWN from Public Notice — Enters upon the Work of Tkanblattng the Bible.— Ceomwbll's Pateonaoe —Council called —Hbnkt vm. peebidbb. — Opposition to the Scbiptuees in English.— Latimbe's Letter to the Kejq.— Demand of the People fob the Bible in English.— Cbanmee'b ef- forts UNBUCCESSFUL,- CoVBEDALE'S BiBLB.— The DEDICATION.— CboMWELL'S Injunctions.- Bishops in Council.- Covekdale as a Teanslatoe.— IIib Veebion of the Psalmb and Peophetic Books.— Specimens.— In Original AND Modern Spelling — Quaintness in Style — Familiabitt in Expees- CONTENTS. Xlll PAGE 8I0N. — ABCHAXC FOBHS AND OBSOLETE WOBDS.— HOMISH OPPOSITION.— " ENG- LISH BiELEBS."— The Diglott New Testament.— Cothrdalb in England. — Arrangements for a New Translation. — Matthewe'b Bible appears in England 139 CHAPTEE V. MATTHEWE'S BIBLE, a.D. 1537. Contusion in the Accounts of toe Setbral Editions of the English Bible, — Origin of the Name of Matthewe's Bible.— John Rogers. —His iNTiMAcr WITH Ttndalb.— Editor of Matthewe's Bible. — This Bible Printed at Antwerp.— Introduced into England by Grafton.— Cranmer' a Zeal for its Ciboulation.— Cromwell's Proclamation.- His Injunctions.— Romish Opposition.— Occasions of Offense.— This Version the Basis of subse- quent Revisions. —Title. —Prefatory Matter.— Taverner's Bible.— Pref- atory Matter.— This Revision instigated by the Pbintees.- Taverner a Scholar and Lay Preacher.— Second Edition of the New Testament.— The Edition of 1549.— "In Sundry Partes."- Beckb's Taverner, 1551.— Petyt and Redman's Edition of Matthewe'b Biblb, 1540. — Becke's Matthewe, 1549.— Specimens of the Translation.- Reprint of Matthewe's Bible by Hyll and Reynolds.- "Faultily Done."— Nycolas Hill's Edi- tion, 1551.— Specimens. — Nicknamed the "Bug Bible."— ANewEnteepeise projected 172 CHAPTEE VI. BIBLES OF THE LARGEST VOLUME, a. d. 1540. Cromwell's Bible.— Edited by Myles Coverdalb. — Grafton and Whitb- CHURCH IN Paris.- Letters to Cromwell. — Threatened by the Papists. — Printers and Pbessbs brought over to London.— First Edition published April, 1539. — Holbein's Pbontispiece. —Prefatory Matter.— Specimens of the Translation.— Condemnation of Lambert.- Cranmer against the "Bloody Six Articles."— Monastic Houses dissolved.— Henry VIH. fa- vors THE Scriptures in English.— Cranmer' s Bible, 1540.— Prologue.— Edited by Coverdalb. — " Supplementart Clauses." — Changes not al- ways Improvements.— Examples — Character of Cromwell.— November Edition of the Great Biblb. — Convocation, 1542.— Gardiner's Scheme for A Latinized English Bible.- List of Latin Words to be Retained. — Cran- mer's Successful Opposition. — Latin Language and Latin Church. — Latin the Language op Literature.— English Language at this Period. — Pbkbboution.— Rbign of Edward VI.— Sir John Cheke's Translation of Portion op New Testament. ^His Purism.- Orthography. — Specimens op HIS Translation.— English Language growing in Importance.— Roger Abcham.— His " Toxophelus" and "Scholb Master."— Progress of Biblb Truth during the Reign op Edward VI. — Retaliations against the Prot- estants during the Reign of Queen Mary. — Persecution and the Gene- van Bible 190 XIV CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII. THE GENEVAN BIBLE, a.d. 1560. PAGE William Whittingham.— His Revision of the New Testament, 1557.— Veese Divisions.— Oeiginality of Whit ting ham's Veraion.— Specimens.— Pbot- ESTANTS op GENEVA.- ThE GENEVAN BiELE, 1560. —DEDICATION.— ADDRESS TO THE Reader.— Not an Independent Translation.— Specimens from O. T. — An Improvement on Preceding Translations.— The Genevan Bible and the Puritans.— Chief Characteristics. —Marginal Notes.— Excessive Use OF Commentaries.— How to bead the Bible.— "■Mappes."—Wood-ctits. — Extended Circulation of the Genevan Bible.— Its Saxon Language. — English Versions of the Bible and the English Language.— Influence of Pagan Rome upon Literature and Social Life.— Ltlt's " New-fangled English.— Literakt Influence of the Genevan Bible. — English Lan- guage at this Period. — Religious and Social Influence of the English Bible. — Antiquated and Obsolete Terms.— Examples.-Titlb-page of the New Testament of 1560.— Specimens op the Translation.- Lawrence Tomson's Revision op N. T., 1576.— His Rendeeing op the Greek Article. — Examples.— Enlargement of the English Vocaeulabt.— New Words NOT Traceable to the Rheims Version. — Examples. — Annotations.- Ex- CEEPTS FEOM ToMSON'S N. T. — POPULARITY OP THE GENEVAN VERSION. — OPPO- SITION BY English Bishops.— A New Version proposed bt Archbishop Parker. — Genevan and Authorized Versions 2S4 CHAPTER VIII. THE BISHOP'S BIBLE, a. u. 1568. Queen ELizABETn'a Reign. — Order in the State and Uniformity in the Church.— EccLESiASTioAi. Parttism.— Evanqelicai, Spirit among Clergt AND People.— Manners and Morals.— Sabbath Reform. — Influenoe of THE English Bible.- Parker's Plan for a New Revision.- Rules Pre- scribed. — Co-operation op the Bishops. — Why cai.lfd the Bishop's Bible. —Title-page.— Prkfaoe.— The Revision based upon Ceanmer's Bible, 1540.— But few Changes in the O. T.— Examples. — Specimens op the Translation. - Scholaeship op the N. T.— Collation showing Changes POE THE Better.— Specimen of the Translation.— Affectation in Lan- guage. —Resisted BY THE Revisers op this Bible.— Commonplace Words AND Phrases.— Collation op.— Explanatory Phrases. —Examples.— Latcj- isMS.— Examples.— Obsolete Words.— Examples.— Vulgar Terms avoided. —Passages to be Omitted in Public Reading.— Marginal Notes.— Circu- lation Limited.— This Version a Link ln the Chain of Authorized Re- vision.— Romish Hatred.— Pulke's Reply to Martin.— Myles Coveedale. —His Life and Labors.— His Death, 1569 < CONTENTS. XV CHAPTER TX. EHEIMS NEW TESTAMENT, A. d. 1582. DOUAY BIBLE, a. d. 1609. PAGE Reasons for Publishing the Douat Bible. — Gebgobt Martin the Chief Translator.— The New Testament first Frinted.— Title-page. — Pre- face.— Fulke's Eefijtation— Why Translated from the Vulgate.— Un- TBANSLiTED WoRDS.— EXAMPLES.- DaRK PhRASES.— EXAMPLES.— SPECIMENS OF THE Translation.— Latinized English. — Examples.— Rhemish Version AND Scripture Vocabulary. — Illustrations.— S a xonisms,— Examples.— An Untruthful Translation.— Papistical Notes.— Collation of. — Cart- wright's Confutation. — The Controverst. — The Old Testament. — Trans- lated FROM THE Vulgate.— Rival Editions of the Vulgate.— Clementine Edition, 1593, adopted.— Title-page.—Limited Circulation.- The Latin Text the Foundation of the Wtoliffite Versions.— The Vulgate the Source of Early Religious Knowledge. —Influence of the Vulgate upon English Theological Speech.— Examples. — Office of the Wtc- LiFFiTE Versions. Nart's Translation of the N. T— His Design.— Dr. Wetham's Version, 1730-33.— Dr. Challoner's Revised Edition op Douat Bible, 1749-50.— Specimens.— Dr. Murray's Edition, 1825. — Conformed to THE Authorized Version. — Dr. Lingard's Four Gospels. — Tendency to Liberality among Modern Catholic Revisers. — The Roman Catholic Bible of To-day not that of 1609-1635.— Its Circulation among American Catholics 2i;5 CHAPTER X. THE AUTHORIZED VERSION, A.D. 1611. Accession of James I.— Hampton Court Conference.— A New Translation RBaoLVED upon.— Committees Appointed.— Their Eminence for Scholar- ship.— Rules FOR their Guidance— Title-page.— Dedication.— Preface. — Opposition to the New Translation.— Hugh Broughton.— Dh. Gill. — "Authorized Version." — ''King James' Bible."— The Bishop's Bible the Basis of the Revision.— Latin Versions Accessible.— Recent Vernacular Versions.- Hebrew Bibles Extant.— Soncine and Bomberg's. — Complu- TENSIAN AND ANTWERP POLYGLOTTS.— TeXT OF ERASMUS.— ThTRD EDITION OF Stevens.— Test of Beza. — " Textus Receptus." — Relation op King James' Bible to previous English Versions.- Changes for the Better.— Some- times for the Worse.— Illustrations. — Greek Article. — Examples.- Single Greek Word translated by Several English Words.— Examples. —Several Greek Words by Single English Word.— Examples.— Pcnc tu a- TiON.— Examples. — Saxon Element of our Language re-established in King Jambs' Bible. — Literary Influence. — The Bible the Book of the Household.— Words in ation.— "Latin Derivatives displaced by Saxon Words.— Milton.— Shakespeare.-Religious Influence.— Typographical Errors.— Illustr AT IONS.— Corrupted Bibles.— Corrected Editions.— He- BRAi.iMS.— Old English Idioms. — Examples.— Archaisms. — Obsolete Words. — Examples.- Relation of the English Bible to Textual Criticism.— .XTl COKTENTS. PAGE Earliest Greek MSS. — CoiiATioN op Facts, and Seconi) Thoughts of BiBLicAx Scholars.— Eesitlts of Textttal Cktticism in its Application to ouB English Bible. — Bxakples. — Doubtful Passages. — Integrity of our .English Bible. — Yet a Revised Edition desiraelb.— The Anglo-American Ebvibion now in fbogbess 334 CHAPTEE XI. REVI8I0NS AND TRANSLATIONS SINCE a. D. 1611. Deuand for a Revision of King James' Bible— Early Attempts.— Proposals BY Henry Jessey and Prof. Rowe, 3650-55. — Resolutions in the Long Par- liament, 1653-58.— Era of the Restoration.— Its Underlying Pkinciples. —King James' Bible firmly Established. — "Tide of Glowing Panbgt- Bic."— Influence, Literary and Religious, of King James' Bible. — Mace's Version of the N. T.— " A Doughty Translation. '"■ — Purver's Transla- tion, 1764.— Undertaken for the Society of Friends. — Harwood's N. T., 1768.— Its " Elegance " in Language.— Blaney's Edition of thr Bible, 1769. — A corrected English Text.— Dr. Lowth's Translation of Ibatah, 1778. — Dr. Geddes' Translation op Parts of the O. T., 1780-97.^Dr. George Campbell's Four- Gospels, 1789.— Wakefield's Translation of N. T., 1791.— Unitarian.— Dr. Newcome's N. T., 1796. — Scarlett's Version, 1798.— Favors the Doctrine op Universalism.— McEba's Ebvibion op the Bible, 1799.— Improved Version of the N. T.,1808. — Unitarian.— Bellamy's New Translation, 1818-1821.— Alexander Campbell's Version of N. T., 1826.— Noah Webster's '* Amended Bible," 1833.— Rodolphus Dickinson's *■■ Elegant Translation" of the N. T., 1838. — Its Fashionable Language. —Alexander's Revision op the Pentateuch, 1833.— Indelicate Words AND Phrases corrected. — American Bible Society Revision, 1851.— A Standard Copt adopted.— Public Dissatisfaction.- Standard Revoked, 1858.~ExAMPLES OF Changes proposed. — Critical Revision of the Gospel of John, etc., by Five Clergymen, 1857.— Sawyer's N. T., 1858.— American Bible Union Revision, 1850-1860. — Revision by Convocation of Canter- bury.— Begun IN 1870.— English Old and New Testament Companies.- Rules Adopted.— Scholarship and Catholicity of the English Revisers. —Formation of American Companies, 1871. — Constitution Adopted.— Changes in American Companies. — ^Progress of the Work.— The Revision International and Interdenominational. — The Unanswerable Ques- tion.— Publication AND Reception op the Revised Version. — Title-page and Prefatory Matter. — Treatment of Debatable Passages. — Correct Treatment of Greek Tenses. — Improvements from an Amended Greek Text. — Translation of Greek Articles and Prepositions. —Improvements from Displacing Obsolete Words.- Language op the Revised Version. New Words Introduced. — The American Appendix , gai CHAPTER I. SAXON AND ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES, BEFORE THE TIME OF WTCLIFFE. A. D. 597-1324 CHEISTIANITY was first introduced among the Anglo- Saxons by Eoman missionaries in the year 597.^ These "strangers from Rome" landed on the island of Thanet. They immediately sent word to King Ethelbert that they came to declare the glad tidings of the Grospel. The king, through his Christian wife. Bertha, and Bishop Luidhard, the pre- cursor of Augustine, had heard of the Gospel, yet, being suspicious of strangers, he met them in the open air, lest they should impose upon him by their magic. At his bidding, they approached in an orderly procession, bearing a silver cross, also an image of the Saviour painted on a board, and singing the litany. After listening to the address of Augus- tine, the king answered : " Your words and promises are very fair, but as they are new to us, and of uncertain import, I cannot approve of them so far as to forsake that which I have so long followed with the whole English nation. But because you are come from far into my kingdom, and, as I conceive, are desirous to impart to us those things which you believe to be true, and most beneficial, we will not molest you, but give you favorable entertainment, and take care to supply you with ' The date of the first introduction of Christianity into Britain is quite another question. The general impression prevails that it was planted as early as the first century. But Thomas Wright, in his Celt, Roman and Baxon, asserts that Christianity could not have been established at so early a period, since " among such an immense num- ber of altars and inscriptions of temples, and with so many hundreds of Roman sepulchres and graves as have been opened in this country, (Eng- land), we find not a single trace of the religion of the Gospel," p. 353. 18 SAXON AND ENGLISH VEESIONS. [CHAP. I. your necessary sustenance ; nor do we forbid you to preach and gain as many as you can to your religion."^ Augustine brought with him a Latin Bible, in two volumes, which is said to have been extant in the time of James I. ; a Psalter with the creed and several Latin hymns ; two copies of the Gospels ; another Psalter with hymns ; a book of Legends of the Sufferings of the Apostles ; another volume of Martyrology ; an Exposition of the Gospels and Epistles ; and Gregory's Pastoral Oare.^ Bede, in enumerating a variety of articles sent by Pope Gregory to his missionaries in Britain, mentions: "many books." ^ But, however well Augustine .may have been furnished for his enterprise, and however fair may have been his promises, the Christianity planted by him and his followers among the Saxons, was a Latin Christianity. "It was a compound," says Sharon Turner, "of doctrines, ritual, discipline, and polity, derived partly from the Scrip- tures, partly from tradition, partly from the decisions and orders of former councils and popes, and partly from popular customs and superstitions, which had been permitted to inter- mix themselves."* It was a Christianity that, from the first, was marked by pious frauds and feigned miracles. It is re- lated of Laurentius, the successor of Augustine, when he was about to quit Britain on account of the Saxons relapsing into idolatry, that "in the dead of night, the blessed Prince of the Apostles appeared to him, and scourging him a long time with apostolical severity, asked of him, * why he should forsake the flock which he had committed to him ? ' , . . . Lauren- tius, the servant of Christ, being excited by these words and stripes, the very next morning repaired to the king, and tak- ing off his garment, showed the scars of the stripes which he had received. The king, astonished, asked, 'Who had pre- sumed to give such stripes to so great a man ?' And was ' Bede's Ecclesiastical Mistory, p. 38, Bohn's ed. Sliaron Turner gives tliis in the original Saxon. See Hist. Anglo-Saxons, I., 330, note. 2 Ibid, p. 88, note. See also Turner, Hist. A. 8., I., 333, note. 3 Ibid, p. 54. ^ History of th} Angh-Saxons, I, 331. London, 1823. 616.J ROME AS YET NOT OPPOSED TO THE BIBLE. 19 much frightened when he heard that the bishop had suffered so much at the hands of the Apostle of Christ for his salvation." * This pious fraud was successful. King Eadbald was converted and baptized. He renounced his idolatry,.and sought in every way to promote the interests of the Church. But though it was a Latin Christianity introduced among the Anglo-Saxons, it was not the thoroughly Romanized Chris- tianity of later times. There was as yet no claim by the papacy to infallibility; nor was there any prohibition on the part of either pope or council against the right of the people to have the Holy Scriptures in their own language. Not until the Council of Thoulouse, 1239, was there any such restraint, when it was shamefully enacted : "We forbid that Laymen be permitted tohave the books of the Old and New Testaments; unless some out of Devotion desire to have the Psalter or Breviary for Divine OfiBces, and the Hours of the Blessed Virgin ; but even these, they may not have in the Vulgar Tongue."^ The Roman hierarchy, up to the time of Inno- cent III., the beginning of the thirteenth century, entertained no serious designs against the Scriptures translated into the language of the people. "It is remarkable," says Neandor, "that Pope Innocent the Third was originally inclined rather to encourage than to suppress the reading of the Bible by the laity, till, influenced by the principles of the church theocracy, of which he was the representative, he was led, by the conse- quences growing out of that tendency, to contend against it." ^ There was a lurking danger in Vernacular versions of the Scriptures which the hierarchy did not at first apprehend. But from the time of Innocent III. its Romish policy was^ settled. The enactment of the Council of Thoulouse shall henceforth be rigidly enforced. As yet, however, the Bible was regarded " as furnishing the best means of nourishment for the souL, and the surest remedy for all the disorders of the soul."* ' Bede's Ecclesiastical History , p. 79, Bohn's ed., London, 1871. ' Neander's Church History, IV., 334, note. Boston, 1853. « Ibid, p. 331. . ■> Tbid, p. 823. 30 SAXON AND ENGLISH VBESIONS. [CHAP. I. At this time even popes rejoiced that the Bible, by means of translations, found its way among the people. This was especially true of Gregory the Great, who was so zealous in the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons. "The Sckiptukes," said he, "are infinitely elevated above all other instructions; they instruct us in the truth ; they call us to heaven ; they change the heart of him who reads them The sweetness and con- descension of the Holy Scriptures comfort the weak and im- perfect ; their obscurity exercises the strong. They seem to expand and rise in proportion as those who read them rise and increase in knowledge. Understood by the most illiterate, they are always new to the most learned." i It was this same Gregory who compared the Scriptures " to a river, in some places so shallow, that a lamb might easily pass through them ; in others so deep, that an elephant might be drowned in them." ' To hearty eulogy, Gregory added exhortation to the reading and study of the Scriptures. To a physician he wrote : "Study, meditate, the words of your Creator, that from them you may learn what is in the heart of God towards you, and that your soul may be inflamed with the most ardent desires after celestial and eternal good."^ Such sentiments, however, could not have been shared by his missionaries in Britain, otherwise they would have translated, at least, portions of the Bible into the Saxon language. But they depended more upon rites and ceremonies, than upon the Bible, for success in converting the Saxons. But to understand the relation of Christianity to the uncon- verted Saxons, we must take into the account the influences brought to bear upon them by the Irish Church. Previous to the conquest of Britain by the Saxons, Christianity had been carried into Ireland, where it was received with enthusiasm. "The science and Biblical knowledge which fled from the Continent took refuge in famous schools which made Durrow and Armagh the universities of the "West Patrick, the first ' Townley's BMical Literature, I., 310, 211. •^ Ibid, p. 810. 3 jTjj^ _ p 211. 664.] THE WHITBY COUllfCIL. 21 missionary of the island, had not been half a century dead when Irish Christianity flung itself with a fiery zeal into battle with the mass of heathenism which was rolling in upon the Christian world For a time it seemed as if the course of the world's history was to be changed, as if the older Celtic race that Eoman and German had swept before them had turned to the moral conquest of their conquerors, as if Celtic and not Latin Christianity was to mould the destinies of the Churches of the West."^ In the year 565, Columba, a native of Ireland, founded the monastery of lona, on an island of the same name,^ oflf the west coast of Scotland. In this abbey Oswald, king of the Northumbrians, was educated ; and through his influence Culdee missionaries were sent to preach among the Saxons. Bishop Aidan was the most noted of these missionaries. He founded the monastery of Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, off the northeast coast of Northumbria, about the year 636. Aidan, according to Bede, was "a man of sin- gular meekness, piety, and moderation." He was zealous in preaching the Gospel, and for this purpose traveled on foot from place to place. Even before he had learned the lan- guage, "it was most delightful,'' says Bede, "to see the king interpreting for him when he spake publicly to the people." Besides Lindisfarne other monasteries were founded. Among these was Streaneshalch, afterwards called Whitby, founded by Abbess Hilda on the east coast of Deira. This monastery is celebrated as the place where the synod was held to decide the vexed questions of- the tonsure,' and the time of Easter. Hitherto the monks of Lindisfarne, and other re- ligious houses whose ecclesiastical relations were with lona, ' Green's Short History of the English People, p. 58. New York, 1877. ' The ancient name was Mi, or /, or Aai, which was Latinized into Hyona, or lona. Compare Bede's Ecclesiastical History, p. 113, note. Bohn's edition. ' The Romans shaved the crown of the head and considered the circle of hair left as a figure of the crown of thorns worn by the Saviour. The Scots shaved only the front of the head in the form of a crescent. Compare Lingard's History of England, I., 100. Boston, 1853. 22 SAXOK AND ENGLISH VEESIONS. [CHAP. I. followed the usages of loua rather than of Eome. The con- troversy ran high between the opposing parties, until Oswy, king of the Northumbrians, determined to call a council to meet at Whitby, to decide their differences. This council con- vened in 664. Bishop Colman, the successor of Aidan, sup- ported the usages of lona; while Abbot Wilfrith plead for the usages of Rome. The former appealed to the authority of Columba, the latter to that of St. Peter. In the course of the debate, Wilfrith quoted Matt. xvi. 18 : Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church ; and the gates of hell shall n'ot prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the ' keys of the kingdom of heaven. Upon which the king said : " Is it true, Colman, that these words were spoken to Peter by our Lord ?" He answered : " It is true, King ! " Then says he, " Can you show any such power given to your Columba ? " Coleman answered, "None." Then added the king: "Do you both agree that these words were principally directed to Peter, and that the keys of heaven were given to him by our Lord ? " They both answered, " We do." This ended the dis- cussion ; the king and all present determined henceforth to conform to the authority and ritual of Rome.^ But previous to the meeting of this synod, there arose one whose name gave stiU greater notoriety to this monastery. It was none other than Csedmon, the cowherd of Whitby, whose name is honored in ancient literary annals, as the singer of the first great English song. So in tracing the history of Saxon versions of the Bible, the paraphrase of Csedmon stands chronologically at the head of the list. Bede's ac- count of Caedmon partakes something of a monastic tinge, yet it is the original source of our information concerning him. Bede declares in substance that Csedmon belonged to the monastery of Whitby, then under the rule of Abbess Hilda, as a cowherd, whose business it was to look after the horses and cattle. He was no singer, and when at entertain- ' See this controversy fully treated of in Bede's Ecclesiastical History, pp. 153-160. Bohn's edition. 680.] C^DMON, THE COWHEED OF WHITBY. 33 ments the harp, in turn, was passed to him, he would rise from the table and go home. On one such occasion, after retiring to rest in the stable where he had charge of the horses, " a person appeared to him in his sleep, and saluting him by his name, said, ' Oaedmon, sing some song to me.' He answered, ' I cannot sing; for that was the reason I left the entertain- ment, and retired to this place, because I could not sing.' The other who talked to him, replied, ' However you shall sing.' 'What shall I sing ? ' rejoined he. ' Sing the beginning of created beings,' said the other. Hereupon he presently began to sing verses to the praise of God which he had' never heard."! In the morning he informed the steward, his superior, of his dream, and of the gift he had received ; whereupon he was conducted to the abbess, where, in the presence of learned men, he related his dream, together with the verses composed in his sleep. They immediately con- cluded " that heavenly grace had been conferred upon him by our Lord. They expounded to him a passage in holy writ, either historical or doctrinal, ordering him, if he could, to put the same in verse." Eeturning the next morning he gave it to them in most excellent verse. By the order of the abbess he was instructed "to quit the secular habit, and take upon him the monastic life."^ They taught him the principal facts of the Old and New Testaments, which in turu lie put into poetic phraseology. " He sang the creation of the world, the origin of man, and all the history of Genesis; and made many verses on the departure of the children of Israel out of Egypt, and their entering into the land of promise, with many other histories from holy writ ; the in- carnation, passion, resurrection of our Lord, and his ascension into heaven ; the commg of the Holy Ghost, and the preaching of the apostles; also the terror of future judgment, .... the pains of hell and the delights of heaven." ^ By which he sought to turn men from the love of vice to the love of virtue. He died in the year 680. ' Bede's Ec. Mist., p. 217. = lUd, pp. 218-319, a Ihid, p. 319. j84 SAXON AND ENGLISH VEKSIONS. [CHAP. 1. The metrical paraphrase of Csedmon though not to be ranked as a translation, holds an important place in the his- tory of Anglo-Saxon versions, as being the first attempt to set forth any portion of the Scriptures in the Saxon tongue. The following fragment, preserved in Alfred's Saxon version of Bede's Ecclesiastical History, is a paraphrase of the first verse of the first chapter of Geaesis. A comparison with the translation will show that while the Saxon language of the seventh century is to us an unknown tongue, yet our present English is deeply embedded in its Saxon original. Sharon Turner pronounces this to be the most ancient piece of Anglo-Saxon poetry that we possess.^ Now we should praise Nu we sceolan heiigean Trhe Guardian of the heavenly Heafon rices weard ; kingdom ; The mighty Creator, Metodes mihte. And the thoughts of his mind, And his mod gethanc, Glorious Father of his works ! Weorc wuldor fseder ! As he, of every glory Swa he wuldres gehwaes Eternal Lord 1 Ece drihten ! Established the beginning ; Ord onstealde ; So he first shaped He aerest gescop The earth for the children of Eorthan beamum men, And the heav'us for its canopy. Heofon to rofe. Holy Creator ! Halig scyppend ! The middle region, Tha middan geard. The Guardian of Mankind, Mon cynnes weard. The eternal Lord, Ece drihtne. Afterwards made ^fter teode The ground for men. Firum foldan; Almighty Euler ! Frea Almitig ! Csedmon made no change in the form of Saxon verse. His style is the same as that of the old Saxon war song, which by its energy and force was suited to the spirit of Old Testament ' Turner's History of Anglo-Saxons, III., 260. Caedmon's poem waa published by Junius in 1655 ; and by Benjamin Thorpe in 1832. In the above transcript the Saxon characters give place to Roman letters. 680.] c^dmon's paeaphease. 25 history. "The temper of Caedmon," says Green, "brings him near to the early fire and passion of the Hebrew, as the history of his time brought him near to the old Bible history with its fights and wanderings.'' ^ The following extracts are from Sharon Turner, who refers them to the original Csedmon in opposition to Warton and others who would assign to them a much later date. In re- ferring to this paraphrase Mr. Turner says : " It was printed by Junius as the work of the ancient Caedmon .... It treats on the first part of the subjects which Bede mentions to have been the topics of the elder Caedmon ; but it is pre- sumed by Hickes not to be so ancient as. the poet mentioned by Bede. I confess that I am not satisfied that Hickes is right in referring it to any other author than the person to whom Junius ascribes it." ' The following soliloquy of Satan illustrates the bold fancy of the poet, and not unfrequently re- minds us of the grandeur so peculiar to Milton's descrip- tions : ^ Why should I contend ? strong companions I I cannot have who will not deceive me any creature for my superior ! in this contention. I may with my hands Warriors of hardy mind I so many wonders work ! they have chosen me and I must have great power for their superior ; to acquire a more godlike illustrious soldiers ! stool, with such, indeed, higher in the heavens ! one may take counsel I Yet why should I with such folk sue for his grace ? may seize a station I or bend to him My earnest friends they are, with any obedience ? faithful in the effusions of their I may be mind. a god, as he is. I may, as their leader. Stand by me, govern in this kingdom. ' For an estimate of Caedmon as a poe^ see Green's Short History of the English People, p. 63. New York, 1877. Also Taine's Literature, I., 48. New York, 1874. " History of the Anglo Saxons, III., dO%. London, 1823. ' IHd, pp. S13, 314. 26 SAXON AND ENGLISH VERSIONS. [CHAP. I. So I think it not right, nor need I flatter any one, as if to any gods a god inferior. I will no longer remain his subject. After the defeat of Satan and his followers, the poet thus graphically descrihes their fall and abode in the lower regions : * The fiend, with all his fol- .... lowers, fell then out of heaven ; during the space of three nights and days ; the angels from heaven into hell ; and them all the Lord turned into devils ; because that they his deed and word would not reverence. They suffer the punishment of their battle against their Euler ; The fierce torrents of fire in the midst of hell : brands and broad flames ; so likewise bitter smoke, vapour and darkness. One other extract will suffice, taken from another of Satan's speeches.^ Is this the narrow place, unlike, indeed, to the others which we before knew, high in heaven's kingdom, that my Master puts me in ? He hath not done us right, that he hath filled us with fire to the bottom of this hot hell, and taken away heaven's king- dom. This is to me the greatest sor- row, that Adam shall, he that was made of earth, my strong like stool possess. He is to be thus happy, while we sufler punishment ; misery in this hell ! Oh that I had free the power of my hands, and might for a time be out ; for one winter's space, I and my army I but iron bonds lay around me ! knots of chains press me down ! I am kingdomless 1 hell's fetters History of the Anylo-Saama, III., p. 314. ' Ibid, 315. 725.] GUTHLAC'S PSALTER. 27 hold me so hard, above and beneath ; so fast encompass me ! I never saw • Here are mighty flames A more hateful landscape. Guthlac, the first Saxon anchoret at Croyland, flourished in the early part of the eighth century. He is reputed to have made an Anglo-Saxon version of the Latin Psalter, At least there is an ancient Psalter preserved in the British Museum among the Cotton MSS,* which is said to have " well-grounded pretensions " as being one of the books sent by Pope Gregory the Great to Augustine in Britain. The original text is Latin, and "is written in that thin, light hand which characterises MSS. penned in Italy." ^ This Psalter contains an interlinear Saxon translation, but by whom it was done remains a matter of doubt. And yet from its antiquity it is referred by com- mon consent to Guthlac. Moreover, during the reign of Henry VIIL there was in the Croyland Abbey Library an ancient copy of the Psalter in Saxon, which was kept as a rehc and called St. Guthlac's Psalter. John Lambert's testi- mony is, however, that this translation was made by a Saxon king and copied by Guthlac* The twenty-second Psalm is here transcribed, with the characters peculiar to the Saxon changed to ordinary letters.* Pb. XXII. 1. dryht receth me & ne wiht me wonu blth 8. in stowe leswe ther mec ge-steathelade ofer water ge- reodnisse a-ledde mec 3. sawle mine ge-cerde ge-laedde me ofer stige rehtwis- nisse fore noman his 4. weotud-lice & thsehe ic gonge in midle scuan deathes ne on-dredu ic yfel for-thon thu mid -me erth, gerd thin & cryc thin hie me froefrende werun 5. thu gearwades in ge-sihthe minre biod with him tha swencath mec thu faettades in ele heafud min, & drync thinne in - drencende swithe frea - berht is ' Edited by Stevenson for the Surtees Society, 1843. ' Baber's Preface to Wydiffe's N. T., p. Iviii. London, 1810. ' See his answer to Article 36, in Foxe's Acts and Monuments, p. 1273. * Anglo-Saxon and Early English Psalter. By Rev. J. Stevens, Sur- tees Society. Boston Athenaeum Library. 28 SAXON AKD ENGLISH VERSIONS. [CHAP. I. Ps. XXli. 6. & mU-heortniss thin efter - fylgeth mec alluin degum , lifes mines tliaet ic in-eardie in huse drylif in lenger dega Bishop Aldhelm was by birth a West Saxon, and was related to King Ina. In 675 he was made Abbot of Malmsbury. He composed both Latin and Saxon yerse, and is described by Bede as one " most learned in all respects, for he had a clean style, and was, as I have said, wonderful for ecclesiastical and libefal erudition." ^ In his own day he was renowned as : The man skilled in books ; The good author Aldhelm, the noble poet. He was also In the country of the Anglo-Saxons, A bishop in Britain.^ Besides his notable tract on the Praise of Virginity, Aldhelm composed a number of songs in which passages of Scripture were " ingeniously interspersed " ; and being skilled in music, he sang them standing on a bridge, surrounded by crowds of people. He afterwards became Bishop of Sherborne, and about the year 706 translated the Psalter into Saxon. By some this Torsion is thought to have been lost during the incursions of the Danes ; but by others, that a copy of it was found in the Eoyal Library at Paris, at the beginning of this century.' The following miracles were attributed to Aldhelm, which in- dicate the credulity of the age and also as well the reputed piety of the man. It is recorded that " a beam of wood was once lengthened by his prayers" ; also that "the ruins of the church he built, though open to the skies, were never wet with rain during the worst weather " ; also that " oue of his gar- ments, when at Eome, once raised itself high in the air, and was kept there a while, self-suspended " ; and that " a child, ' Ecclesiastical History, pp 267, 368. Bohn's ed. = Turner's mat. Anglo-Saxons, III., 337. Transcribed from Wanley's Catalogue, p. 110. ' Edited by Thorpe. Libei- Psalmorvm, &c. 700,] INFLUENCE OF LATIN CULTUEE. 29 nine days old, at his command, once spake to clear the calum- niated pope from the imputation of being its father." ' Aldhelm may be regarded as an illustration of the fact of Latin culture, at this period, on the character not only of in- dividuals, but of the nation at large. He was a native Saxon, but educated as a Eoman. As an author his genius remained Saxon, though his language was Latin. As a learned bishop, he appreciated the art and culture of Eome, yet he did not forget his Saxon simplicity and the love of his native tongue. Somewhat so Eoman civilization touched upon the Saxon people. The Saxons, when they first invaded Britain, despised the Latin culture of the Britons ; but afterwards they were influ- enced both by their manners and speech. " I believe, indeed," says Mr. Wright, " that when the Angles and Saxons came into Britain, they found the people talking not a Celtic dialect, but Latin, and hence when they formed the English language, the foreign words introduced into it were not Celtic but Latin." ^ A very small class of words are thought to have been intro- duced at this early period, though Celtic Latin, into Saxon English. As examples we have cester, a common ending of the names of English towns, describing them as fortified, from the Latin castrum, a fortified camp. The word coin, is another common ending of the names of towns, describing them as originally settled by a colony. This is doubtless derived from the Latin colonia.^ Again, in this coming of Augustine, Anglo-Saxon genius resists Eoman influences. Ecclesiastically, there is introduced the form of worship with its language and art culture, and Saxon character is influenced ; but the efiect is only external. Had it been otherwise, it is probable that the descendants of the Saxons to-day would have been Latin, both in their religion and language. ' Turner's History of the Anglo-Saxons, III., 376. ' Wright's {Thos.) The Oelt, The Eoman and The Saxon, p. 460. Lon- don, 1875. 3 Compare Marsh's {O. P.) English Language and Literature, p. 60. New York, 1860. 30 SAXON AND ENGLISH VBESIONS. [CHAP. L It is claimed that the Venerable Bede, -who lived in the early part of the eighth century, translated the whole Bible into English. " For if worldli clerkis," says the author of the pro- logue to the Wyclifle Bible, " loken wel here (their) croniclis aud bokis, thei shulden fynde, that Bede translatide the bible, and expounide myche in Saxon, that was English." ^ Lewis, in quoting Poxe's dedication of his work to the Queen, says : "that our countryman Bede did translate the whole Bible in the Saxon tongue a little before his departure." But the probabilities are that Bede's translations were confined to the Lord's Prayer, select passages from several books of the Bible, and the Gospel of John.^ The last is justly regarded as the earliest effort to translate the Bible into Saxon. This work of Bede, with his other literary labors, were accomplished at the monastery of Jarrow. " The region in which this monastery was situated " (in the time of Bede), says Eadie, " was quiet, lone, and thinly peopled," (but) "is now planted with a forest of furnaces, throwing out fire and smoke, and soiled with unsightly mounds of cinders and igneous refuse, while the din of heavy hammers is ever resounding, as great iron vessels are built in succession, by swart and busy myriads." ^ Hallam bestows merited praise, when he declares that "the Venerable Bede, as he was afterwards styled, early in the eighth century, surpasses every other name of our ancient literary annals ; and, though little more than a dihgent com- piler from older writers, may perhaps be reckoned superior to any man whom the world then possessed."* Bede's most celebrated work is his Ecclesiastical History. He was a great student of the Scriptures. He possessed some knowledge of the Greek and Hebrew languages, and employed much of his ' Forshall and Madden's edition, I., 59. Oxford, 1850. This Pro- logue dates back to the close of the fourteenth century. ^ Dr. Marshall's judgment is that Bede's Translation of John's Oospd is preserved in Parker's edition of the Four Saxon Gospels, published in 1571. " mstory of the English Bible, I., 11. New York, 1874. * Introdvction to the lAterature of Europe, I., 39. 806.J INVASION OF THE DANES. 31 time in writing Biblical commentaries. In a letter to Egbert, Archbishop of York, he wrote: "Above all things avoid iree- less discourse and apply yourself to the Holy Scriptures, appoint presbyters in each village, to instruct and administer the sacraments : and let them be studious that every one of them may learn, by heart, the Greed and the Lord's Prayer ; and that, if they do not understand Latin, they may repeat them in their own tongue, I have translated them into Eng- lish, for the benefit of ignorant presbyters." * Bede died on the 37th of May, 735, at the age of fifty-nine years, having spent his whole life in the same monastery. Though celebrated as a scholar, and warmly urged by the pope to visit Eome, it does not appear that he ever left England. Such scholars as Aldhelm, Bede, and Alcuin, gave to Eng- land, at this period, a reputation throughout Europe as a seat of learning. Alcuin was a disciple of Bede, and was distin- guished as a poet, scholar, and teacher. In 780 he was in- vited by the Emperor Charlemagne to his court, where, among other duties imposed upon him, was that of correcting the current Latin Bible, "which through the negligence and ignorance of transcribers had in many cases become wholly unintelligible." ^ But even before the death of Alcuin, 806, learning in England began to fall into neglect. The incursion of the Danes in their barbarous warfare, rolled back the tide of civilization three and a half centuries. In their first invasion they ravaged the country with fire and sword, sparing neither sex nor age, leaving nothing in their savage war-path but famine and distress. And when, in years after, they came to conquer that they might occupy the country, their barbarities were, if possible, more cruel. "From this period," says Turner, "language cannot describe their devastations. It can only repeat the words plunder, murder, rape, famine and distress. It can only enumerate towns, villages, churches and ' Milner's Ghurch History, p. 432. Edinburgh, 1843. ' Neander's Church History, III , 155. Boston, 1854. 32 SAXON AND ENGLISH VERSIONS. [CHAP. I. monasteries, harvests and libraries, ransacked and burnt." i The following sad picture of the times was drawn by a contemporary Saxon bishop : " We perpetually pay them (the Danes) tribute, and they ravage us daily. They ravage, burn, spoil and plunder, and carry ofl our property to their ships. Very often they seize the wives and daughters of our thanes and- cruelly violate them before the great chieftain's face Soldiers, famine, flames and effusion of blood abound on every side The poor men are sorely seduced and cruelly betrayed, are sold far out of this land to foreign slavery The right of freedom is taken away ; the rights of the servile are narrowed, and the right of charity is diminished." * This terrible state of affairs continued for over three-fourths of a century, till King Alfred came to the throne ; who for months after his accession was compelled to contend with the invading Danes. But singularly enough, " when the wild burst of the storm was over, land, people, government reappeared unchanged, the Danes sank quickly into the mass of those around them. Nowhere over Europe was the fight so fierce, because nowhere else were the combatants men of one blood and one speech. But just for this reason the fusion of the Northmen with their foes was nowhere so peaceful and so complete." * With the accession of Alfred, in the year 871, light again breaks upon the page of English history. King Alfred is justly celebrated as a statesman, warrior, scholar and Christian man. He had a care for the intellectual and religious as well as for the political interests of his people. It has been claimed that Alfred translated the whole Bible into the vernacular of the people. But a serious objection to this is, that no manuscript of any such translation is extant. As has been suggested, " the selections which he made for his own use appear to have ' History of the Anglo-Saxons, I., 505. 2 Ibid, II., pp. 331, 333, note. ■• Green's Short History of English People, p. 78. New York, 1877. 871.] KIKG ALFRED'S TKANSLATION. 33 been confounded with a general translation." ^ The probable extent of Alfred's translations are selections from, different books of the Bible, particularly the Psalms. Very early testimony in respect to this, is found in the prologue to Wycliflfe's Bible, which was written about the year 1380. It reads: "KingAlured that foundide Oxenford, translatide in hise laste dales the bigynning of the Sauter into Saxon, and wolde more if he hadde lyued lengere." ^ He translated the Ten Commandments and placed them at the head of the laws of his kingdom. The following is transcribed from Wilkins' Leges Saxonica,^ as a specimen of Alfred's work and the language of his time. The Saxon characters are changed to Eoman to make the text more intelligible. Ex. XX. 1. Drihten wsea sprecende thaes word to-Moyse, & thus cwseth ; Ic earn Drihten thin God. Ic the ut gelaedde of .^gypta londe, & of heora theowdome ; Ne lufa thu othre fremde godas ofer me : 3. Ne minne naman ne cig thu on idelnesse, forthon the thu ne hist uuscyldig with me, Tif thu on idelnesse cigst minne naman. 3. Gemiue th thu gehalgle thone reste daeg ; wyrceath eow syx dagas, & nou tham seofothan restath eow, thu & thin gunu, & thine dohter, & thin theowe, & thine \pylne, & thin weorcnyten, & se cuma the bith binnan thinan durum ; Fortham on syx dagum Cryst geworhte heofenas, & eorthan, eses, & ealle gesceafta the on him synd, & hine gereste on thone seofothan dsege ; & forthon Drihten hine gehalgode : 4. Ara thinum feeder and thinre meder tha the Drihten sealde the, th thu sy thy leng libbende on eorthan; 5. Ne slea thu: 6. Ne stala thu : 7. Ne lige thu dearhunga: 8. Ne saege thu lease gewitnesse with thinum nehstan: 9. Ne wilna thu thines nehstan yrf es with unrihte : 10. Ne wyrc thu the gyldene godas oththe seolfrene. ' Turner's History of tlie Anglo-Saxons, II., 96. ' Forshall and Madden's edition, I., 59. Oxford, 1850. ' Prom a copy in the Watkinson Library, Hartford, Conn. London, 1731. 34 SAXON AND ENGLISH VERSIONS. [CHAP. I. The following is a word for word translation of the above : Ex. XX. 1. Lord was speaking this word to Moses, and thus saitli; I am Lord thy God. 1 thee out led of Egypt land, and of their thralldom ; Not love thou other strange gods beside me : 2. Not my name not utter thou in vain, for that thou not art guiltless with me, if thou in vain utterest my name. 3. Be mindful that thou hallowest the rest day, wort ye six days ; and on the seventli rest ye, thou and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man servant, and thy maid servant, and thy cattle, and (those) who come who shall be within thy gate. For in six days Christ created heavens, and earth, seas, and all creatures that in th^m are, and him rested on the seventh day. And therefore God him (it) hallowed. 4. Honor thy father and thy mother whom the Lord hast given thee, that thou may be therefore long living on earth. 5. Not kill thou. 6. Not steal thou. 7. Not commit thou adultery. 8. Not say thou false witness against thy neighbor. 9. Not desire thou thy neighbor's inheritance with un. righteousness. 10. Not make thou the golden gods or silver (gods). The language of Alfred's time was the old Saxon. When in the guise of a minstrel he entered the Danish camp his language did not betray him. ^ As a literary and spoken language the Saxon, at this period, attained its highest per- fection. Its literature comprised works in poetry, history and science, either in original works or in translations.' The Franks and the Normans, though they became conquerors and lords of the soil, lost their language and nationality, but the Saxons retained both of these as did no other Teutonic race. There is so much confusion as to the dates of Saxon manuscripts, that it is diflBcult to determine how early Bible truth was disseminated in Vernacular versions among the ^ Though this story may be nothing more than a pleasant legend as some suppose, all that is claimed in the above reference is verisimilitude. ' Schlegel's History of Literature, p. 168. Bohn's edition, 1873. .750-950.] SAXON VERSIONS OF THE FOUK GOSPELS. 35 people. But from the fact that learning was confined to the few, even in the days of Aldhelm and Bede, there could have been but little demand for Saxon versions of the Bible — a demand which would almost confine itself to such presbyters as were ignorant of the Latin language. The Anglo-Saxon versions of the Four Gospels may be referred to the age of Alfred ; though the manuscripts differ widely in their prob- able dates, ranging as they do all the way from the time of Bede to that of the Norman Conquest. The earliest of these versions' have been published several times ; first, under the superintendence of Archbishop Parker, by Foxe the martyr- ologist, in 1571. They were printed in Saxon type, and ac- companied by the English version of the Bishop's Bible. On account of the inaccuracies both in the transcribing and printing of this volume, it was revised and republished by Junius in connection with Dr. Marshall in 1638-1665. These Four Gospels were again published by Benjamin Thorpe in 1843 ; by Bosworth in 1865 ; and more recently by Skeat. These Saxon Gospels were originally translated from the Latin, either of the Old Italic, or of the Vulgate. In the work of translation they found many words in the Latin, for which the Saxon had no equivalent; but instead of adopting the Latin words, so Jealous were the translators for their native speech, that they coined new words, for their transla- tion. In referring to the purity in language of these Saxon Gospels, Marsh says that while our common Bible is com- paratively free from Latinisms yet it adopted a large number of Latin words, whereas the Anglo-Saxon employed instead native words framed for this special purpose. " Thus for prophet, we have w i t e g a, a wise or knowing man ; for scribe, b o c e r e, book-man ; for sepulchre, b y r g e n, whence our word hury, and the word barrow in the sense of funeral-mound ; ' Six of these original manuscripts are still in existence. One of the earliest is preserved in Corpus Christl College, Cambridge ; the others among the Cotton MSS., British Museum. 36 SAXON AND ENGLISH VERSIONS. [CHAP. I. for centurion, b u n d r e d-m an; for baptize, f u 1 1 i a n ; for synagogue, gesomnung, congregation; for resurrection, SBrist, uprising; for disciple, leorningcniht, learning- youth ; for treasure, g ol d-h o r d ; for pharisee, sunder- h a 1 g a, over-holy." * As a specimen of the translation of the Anglo-Saxon Gospels the Lord's prayer is here transcribed.^ Matt. VI. 9 Fffider tire thu the eart on heofonum, ei thin nama gehalgod : 10. To-becume thin rice ; gewurthe thin willa on eorthan Bwa swa on heofonum : 11. Urne daeghwamlican hlaf syle us to-dffig : 12. And forgyf us ure gyltas, swa swa we forgyfath urum gyltendum : 13. And ne gelsed thu us on costnunge ac alys us of yfle Sothlice. To this period belongs also another Saxon version of the Gospels known as the Durham Book, St. Guthbert's Gospels, or Lindisfarne Gospels. The original Latin manuscript dates about the year 680. The text is in a good state of preserva- tion. It is written in a round Eoman letter, and is the work of Eadfrid, a monk of Lindisfarne, and after the Latin version of Jerome. This volume was highly ornamented with gold and precious stones, and decorated with illumina- tions of most elaborate workmanship. The book was first deposited in the church of Lindisfarne, but when the mon- astery was ravaged by the Danes, 793, it is said that the monks, in making their escape with it, let it fall into the sea in their passage to the main land. The book was recovered and placed in the monastery of Chester, where it remained for two hundred years, when it was transferred to the mon- astery of Durham. Here the monks, on account of its re- covery from the sea, pretended that it possessed miraculous powers, and thus imposed upon the ignorance and credulity ' Lectures on English Language, p. 199. New York and London, 1860. ' Oothic and Anglo-Saxon Gospels. By Rev. Joseph Bosworth, Vol. I. London, 1865. Prom a copy in the Boston Athenaeum Library. 750-950.] SAXOK VERSIONS OF THE FOUR GOSPELS. 37 of the people, deriviug therefrom a considerable revenfle for the monastery. The ornaments that remain are, " pictures of the Evangelists, prefixed to their respective Gospels; many capital letters beautifully illuminated ; and four tessellated tablets, each most laboriously executed and containing a fanciful design of the cross painted with a rich variety of brilliant body colors." ' This manuscript is regarded as the finest specimen of Saxon calligraphy and decoration extant. But that which gives special interest to this Latin manu- script, is its interlinear Saxon translation made by Aldred, a priest. There is some difference of opinion as to the date of the translation. It is thought by some to belong to the earlier part of the eighth century ; and by others to the middle of the tenth century. This confusion arises, in part, from the fact of there being more than one priest bearing the name of Aldred. The learned Wanley assigns the translation to the time of Alfred. The original manuscript is still pre- served among the Cotton MSS. in the British Museum. The translation was written in red ink, which is now much faded. As a specimen of this translation the Lord's prayer is here inserted.* Matt. VI. 9-13. Fader usaer thu arth or thu bist in heofnii or in heofnas sie gehalgad noma thin ; tocymetli rio thin ; sie willo thin suae is in heofne and in eortho ; hlaf userne of wistlic sel us todsBg ; & f'gef us scylda usra suae woe f gefon scyldgum usum ; & ne inlsed usih in costunge ah gefrig usich from yfle. Another celebrated Saxon version of the Gospels which dates back to the tenth century, and possibly to the age of Alfred, is preserved in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, and is known as the Eush worth Gloss. ^ It contains the four Gospels in Latin written by an Irish scribe named Macreogol, in a ' Townley's Biblical Literature, I., 233. London, 1821. ' Anglo-Saxon Gospels, Surtees Society, Vol. XXVIII., 1854. Wat- kinson Library, Hartford, Conn. ■' So called from the fact that it belonged formerly to John Rush- worth, Esq., and was presented by him to the Bodleian Library in the middle of the seventeenth century. 38 SAXON AND ENGLISH VEE_SI0N3. [CHAP. I. large hand similar to that of the Durham Book, with an interlinear Saxon translation. At the end of Matthew's Gospel is added : " Farmen Presbyter thas boc thus gleosode." Also at the close we find: "The min bructie gibidde fore Owun the thas boc gloesede Fsrmen thaem preoste aet Harawada." That is: "He that of mine profiteth bead (pray) he for Owen that this book glossed, and Farman the priest at Harewood." » From which we may conclude that this Saxon translation was the joint production of Farmen and Owen. After this there follows in Latin text: " Macregol delineated this gospel, whoever hath read and understood its recital, pray he for Macregol the writer." During the middle ages, when the multiplication of books depended upon copyists, these subscriptions were common. Besides a certain degree of meritoriousness was attached to the act of copying particularly the Holy Scriptures. In the way of correctness every thing depended upon the copyist, and hence authors were wont to express their anxiety, as did -lElfric when he wrote: " I pray now if any one will write this book, that he make it well from this example, because 1 would not yet bring into it any error through false writers. It will be then his fault, not mine. The un-writer doth much evil if he will not rectify his mistake."^ The ornaments of this volume of the Gospels consists in "delineations of the four Evangelists, and divers colored initial letters." The translation of Matthew is thought to have been an independent translation, while the other Gospels are supposed to be transcripts of the Durham Book. The Lord's prayer is here given as a specimen.* Matt. VI. 9. Feeder ure tliu the in heofunum earth beo gehalgad thin noma. 10. cume to thin rice weorthe thin willa swaswaon heofune swilce on eorthe, ' Baber's Preface. Wycliffe's N. T., p. ix. London, 1810. ^ Turner's History of the Anglo-Saxons, III., 400. London, 1823. ' Anglo-Saxon Oospels, Surtees Society, Vol. XXVIII., 1854. Watkin- Bon Library, Hartford, Conn. 975.] ^LFEIC'S HEPTATEUCH. 39 Matt. VI. 11. hlaf userne or ure daeghwEemlicu or in stondenlioe sel iia 12. & forlet us ure scylde swa swa we ec forleten thae the scyldigat with us. 13. & ne gelaet us gelaede in costongae ah gelese us of yfie. .^Ifric was a Saxon abbot, who lived at the close of the . tenth century. He was eminent for his piety, learning, and the abundance of his Biblical labors. He " Englished " a large portion of the Old Testament, and was the first to make accessible to Saxon readers the historical books of the Bible. The list of his translations includes the Pentateuch,* Joshua, Judges,^ parts of the books of Kings, Esther, Job, Judith, and the whole of Maccabees. The chief sources of informa- tion respecting ^Ifric, are his prefaces, dedications, and homihes. These last he composed an'd distributed among the priests to be read from their pulpits. Many of his transla- tions were undertaken at the instigation of others; but he protests that he labored not for the gratification of kings and ealdormen alone, but " for the edification of the simple, who know only this (Saxon) speech ; — ' We have therefore put it not into obscure words, but into simple English, that it may easier reach the heart of those who read or hear it.' " ' The Saxon Church was episcopal in form but evangelical in spirit. It was even Puritan in its tendency, since King Alfred took the Bible as the foundation of his laws. The Bible was not only translated into "simple English," but the people were exhorted to read it. In other words the religious life of the Saxons was founded on a knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. A single extract from one of .lElfric's homilies will show the high estimation put upon the truths of the Bible: "Whoever would be one with God," lie wrote, " must often pray, and often read the Holy Scriptures. ' Genesis together with the other books are incomplete. ^ The Heptateuch together with parts of Job and Judith were pub- lished in 1698, by Thwaites ; and recently by Qreiner in his Library of Anglo-Saxon Prose. ■> Turner's History of the Anglo-Saxons, III., 471, note. 40 SAXON AND ENGLISH VEESIONS. [CHAP. I. For when we pray, we speak to God; and when we read the Bible, God speaks to us. The reading of the Scriptures produces a two-fold advantage to the reader: It. renders him wiser, by informing his mind ; and also leads him from the vanities of the world to the love of God, Happy is he then, who reads the Scriptures, if he convert the words into actions. The whole of the Scriptures are written for our salvation, and by them we obtain a knowledge of the truth."! For the specimen of ^Ifric's translation given helow, the reader is indebted to the kindness of F. J. Child, Professor of Anglo-Saxon in Harvard College, who by request tran- scribed it from ^Ifric's Heptateuch,'' and at the same time changed the characters peculiarly Saxon into English letters. Ex. XX. 1. God spraec thus : 2. Ic eom Drihten thin God. ...... 4 Ne wire thu the agrafene Qodas. 5. Ne ne wurtha. Ic wrece fsedera nnriht wienysse on bearnum. 6. And ic do mildheortnysse tham the me lufiath, and mine bebodu healdath. 7. Ne nem thu Drihtnes naman on ydel ; ne byth unscyldlg Be the his naman on ydel nemth. 8. Gebalga thone restedseg. 9. Wire six dagas ealle thine weorc. 10. Se seofotha ya Drihtnes restedseg thines Godes ; ne wire thu nan weorc on tham dsege, ne nan tbara the mid the beo. 11. On six dagon God geworhte heofenan and eorthan and sse and ealle tha thing the on him synd, and reste thy seofothan dsege, and gehalgode hyne. 13. Arwurtha feeder and modor. 13. Ne sleh thu. 14. Ne synga thu. 15. Ne stel thu. 16. Ne beo thu on liesre gewitnysse ongen thinne nehstan. ' Townley's Biblical Literature, I., 341. London, 1831. " From a copy in Harvard College Library, edited by Thwaites. 1086-71.] AN-CIENT SAXOK AKD MODERN ENGLISH. 41 17. Ne wilna thu thinea nehstan buses, ne thu Ms wjfes, ne his wyeles, ne his wylne, ne his oxan, ne his assan, ne nan thara thinga the his synd. With .^Ifric closes the Saxon period of Bible versions. Critically these Saxon translations are not without their im- portance, since they were made from early Latin versions while yet in their comparative purity.* But as a matter of fact these ancient Saxon have no special relation to succeeding English versions. And this is traceable to the fact of the Norman Conquest, which proved a fearful epoch in the history of the language, in that it so wrought upon the Saxon that it soon became almost an unknown tongue. It is a singular fact in the history of the Anglo-Saxons, that while they resisted the influences of Eome, first through the per- son of the Early Britons, and afterwards through that of the Eoman missionaries under Augustine, yet when Roman influences came through the Teutonic Normans, the Saxon in his language, religion, laws and manners, succumbed to the conquerors; and yet only for a season, for in the end the Saxon obtained the ascendency. The language, therefore, of the Anglo-Saxon and his descendants, though more or less tinged by Latinisms is still Saxon. The language of our Saxon forefathers may be to us an unknown tongue, yet their speech is still our heart language, our mother tongue. The tree of modern English, in its body and main branches, is a Saxon tree. Cuttings from other languages may have been grafted into it, from time to time, yet the sap which gives them their vitality is Saxon sap. By a wonderful energy and inherent capacity the Saxon tongue has showed itself able to appropriate words from other languages, and thus adapt itself to the wants of the Anglo-Saxon race though it has be- come widespread and highly cultured. So that while modern Anglo-Saxon versions of the Bible cannot be said to touch ^ " Both Mill and Tischendorf refer to Anglo-Saxon versions of the Scriptures in connection with textual criticism." Eadie's History of the English Bible, I., 17, note. 43 ■ SAXON AND ENGLISH VERSIONS. [CHAP. I. visibly upon ancient Saxon versions, yet the real life and ex- cellency of modern versions arise from an inseparable relation existing in the oneness of the language and genius of the race. While it is correct in the main, to regard the period of the Norman Conquest as the turning point in the history of the Saxon tongue, yet for years previous to this, causes had been silently at work, which had much to do with the final result. "In the year 652," says Warton, "it was the common practice of the Anglo-Saxons to send their youth to the monasteries of France for education." ^ This custom prevailed for years, and became very common in the days of Edward the Confessor. He came to the English throne in 1043, but remained Norman both in his sympathies and speech. From the first " he set Norman families in the highest posts in Church and State." As a natural result the French language and customs were adopted by the English court. But back of all this, both as to time and influence, there was a marked superiority in Norman literature, architecture and tradesmanship, a superi- ority in general culture, which was appreciated and appro- priated by the Saxons. And thus the way for the Norman Conquest was prepared, which completed what had already been done. At first "William took quiet possession of the throne, desir- ing to reign not as a conqueror but as a king. No changes were made either in the laws or customs. It is even said, that the king attempted, though without success, to learn the English tongue, that " he might administer justice, person- ally, to the suiters in his court." But this quiet was soon broken. In the revolt of the people, the true "character of the king was revealed. He swore an oath of revenge, and fulfilled it most cruelly with fire and sword. Foxe, in describ- ing this change in policy, says : " He chaunged the whole state of the gouernaunce of this comen weale ; and ordeyned new lawes at his owne pleasure, profitable to him selfe, but ' History of English Poetry, I., 3. London, 1774. 1175.] SURVIVAL OF THE SAXON TONGUE. 43 greuous and hurtful! to the people." * In ecclesiastical^ffairs the king's tyranny was especially felt. Saxon bishops were removed and foreigners put in their places. So degraded be- came the Saxon name that it was regarded as a reproach to be called an EngUshman. The language was despised, and was driven from the court, castle and pulpit. Children at school were forbidden the use of their native tongue and in- structed in the knowledge of the Norman only. For a season it seemed as though the nationality of the people would be swallowed up. William the Conqueror and his descendants for four generations were not Englishmen.^ But if the language was driven from the court of the king and the castles of the barons, it took refuge around the fire- sides of the peasants. And if civil and religious liberty seemed to have been banished the country, yet the love of liberty still lived in the hearts of the people. During these days of darkness it is impossible to trace the intricate conflict of race and language, and tell where and when the elements of each coalesced. Yet results show, there was such a coming together that new elements were formed whose chief characteristics, both as to race and language, were Saxon and not Norman. During this long night of a century and a half, broad foundations were laid in the departments of language, religion and government, upon which the Anglo-Saxon race arose anew. The survival of the Saxon language, is seen in the Brut of Layamon, a poem written in Semi-Saxon in the latter part of the twelfth century.^ Eor although it com- ' Acts and Monum,ents, p. 323, folio, 1596. " " This apayringe of the birthe tonge is by cause of tweye thinges ; oon is for children in scole, agenes the usage and maner of alle other naciouns, beth compelled for to leve her owne langage, and for to con- strewe her lessouns and her thingis a Frensche, and haveth siththe that the Normans come first into England. Also gentil mennes children beth ytaugt for to speke Prensche, from the tyme that thei beth rokked in her cradel, and kunneth speke and playe with a childes broche." As cited by Tyrwhitt in preface to Chaucer's Works, 1. , 17. London, 1798. ' Compare Marsh's Origin and EMory of English Language, p. 156. New Tork, 1863. 44 SAXOIf AKD ENGLISH VERSIONS. [CHAP. I. prises more than thirty thousand lines, yet it is said to con- tain "less than fifty Norman words." With the Brut of Layamon begins the new English literature. Again the re- vival of the Saxon love of freedom is seen in the Great Charter so reluctantly signed by King John in 1215, in which English liberty finds no mean origin. Although this Charter was but the embodiment of the principles of freedom already existing in the written and in the unwritten law of England.^ With the thirteenth century the history of modern England begins. Upon these early foundations the descendants of the Saxons have ever since built. All English speakihg peoples are interested in these facts, for had the Saxons been sub- jugated permanently, our language would have been Romance, and our religion Roman Catholic. Prominent among the causes which underlaid this victorious struggle of Saxou over Norman, was the inherent character of the Saxon. By nature he was strong, courageous and independent. Saxon character was remarkable for its simplicity and seriousness. A disposition which Mr. Taiue declares predisposed him to Christianity " with its gloom, its aversion to sensual and reck- less living, its inclination for the serious and sublime." * Be- sides, Mr. Taine is inclined to ridicule this serious and Hebraic spirit which he finds to be common both to the Bible and to Saxon character. Such derision is not to be wondered at, since the essence of this spirit is so antagonistic to French ideals. And yet this constitutional seriousness is a tower of strength to individuals and nations of Saxon descent. With this new historical period, which began a hundred and fifty years after the Norman Conquest, there arose not ' " But in itself," says Green, " the Charter was no novelty, nor did it claim to establish any new constitutional principles The Great Charter marks the transition from the age of traditional rights to the age of written legislation, of Parliaments and Statutes, which was soon to come." Short History of English People, p. 153. New York, 1877. 2 English Literature, I., 44. New York, 1874. 1200-50.] THE OKMULUM. 45 only a new era of Anglo-Saxon literature, but also of •Bible translations. If the old Saxon versions began with the metrical paraphrase of CsBdmon, the new English versions begin with the poetical paraphrase of Ormin. This work, ac- cording to Tyrwhitt, belongs to the middle of the thirteenth centui-y. But according to Dr. White, it belongs to the first rather than the middle of the century. Although this para- phrase, like that of Csedmon, is not to be ranked as a transla- tion, yet it deserves attention as the first attempt in this new period, to render the Scriptures into the vernacular of the people. The Ormulum, which takes its name from the au- thor, is a metrical paraphrase of selections from Gospel his- tories ; or as Dr. White describes it, a series of Homilies in an imperfect state, composed in metre without alliteration, and, except in a few cases, also without rhyme ; the subject of the Homilies being supplied by those portions of the New Testa- ment which were read in the daily service of the Church." ' There remains but a single manuscript of the Ormulum, which is preserved in the Bodleian Library. "It is a folio volume, consisting of ninety parchment leaves, besides twenty-nine others inserted, upon which the poetry is written in double columns .... and without division into verses."^ The Ormulum was edited by Dr. White in two vols. 8vo, 1853, from the Bodleian manuscript. Thomas Tyrwhitt was the first to point out the metrical character of the Ormulum.^ The following is inserted as a specimen in which the Saxon characters give place to English letters.* Affterr thatt tatt te Laferrd Crist After that that the Lord Christ Wass cumenn oflf Bgyppte was come from Egypt ' Craik's English Literature and Language, I., 213. New York, 1863. ' IMd, p. 311. ' Chaucer's Works, Litroduction, I., 40. Oxford, 1795. * Marsh's English Language and Literature, pp. 180, 185. New York, 1862. 46 SAXON AND ENGLISH VERSIONS. [CHAP. I. Inntill tlie land off Galileo, into the land of Galilee, Till Nazaraethegs cheastre, to Nazaretli'B town, Thseraffterr seggth the Goddspellboc Thereafter saith the Goepelbook And siththenn o thatt yer thatt Crist And afterwards in the year that ChriBt Wass off twellf winnterr elde was of twelve winters age Theyy comenn inntill Gerrsalsem they come into Jemsalem Att teyyre Passkemesse, at their Passover, & Jesu Crist wass thser withth hemm and Jesus Christ was there with them & affterr thatt te tid wass gau and after that the time was gone Theyy wenndenn fra the temmple, they wended from the temple, An dayyes gang till efenn, a day's journey till evening, & ta theyy misatenn theyyre child, and then they missed their child, & teyy tha wendenn efft onngaen and they then turned back again thatt dere child to sekenn, that dear child to seek, & teyy himm o the thridde dayy and they him on the third day thser fundenn i the temmple there found in the temple Bitwenenn thatt Judisskenn flocc among the Jewish flock Thatt laeredd wass o boke ; that learned was in bookj 1175.] SOWLB HELE. 47 & he tha gede forth withth hemm . and he then went forth with them & dide hemm heore wille, and did them their will, & wass withth hemm till thatt he wass and was with them till that he was Off thrittig winnterr elde. of thirty winters age. During this period and even earlier, a number of Scripture paraphrases were produced. The most remarkable is that which is '■■ cald in Latyn tonge, 8alus Animce," and in English tongue, Sowle Hele. The manuscript of this version is pre- served in the Bodleian Library, and was the gift of Edward Vernon. It is a translation of the Old and New Testaments into verse, and is supposed to have been made before the year 1200. The manuscript is highly illuminated. The following is inserted as a specimen of this paraphrase.' Our ladi and hire suster stoden under the roode, And seint John and Marie Magdaleyn with wel sori moode ; Vr ladi bi heold hire ewete son i brouht in gret pjne, Ffor monnes gultes nouthen her and nothing for myne, Marie weop wel sore and bitter teres leet, The teres f ullen uppon the ston doun at hire feet. Alas, my son, for serwe wel off seide heo Nabbe iche bote the one that hongust on the treo ; So ful icham of serwe, as any wommon may beo. That ischal my deore child in all this pyne iseo ; How schal I sone deore, how hast I yougt liven withouten the, Nusti nevere of serwe nougt sone, what seyst you me ? Then spake Jhesus wordus gode to his modur dere, Ther he heng uppon the roode here I the take a fere. That trewliche scbal serve ye, thin own cosin Jon, The while that you alyve beo among all thi son ; Ich the hote John, he seide, you wite hire both day and niht That the Gywes hire son ne don hire non uu riht. The earliest English prose version of any portion of the ' Warton's History of English Poetry, I., 19. London, 1774. 48 SAXON AND ENGLISH VERSIONS. [CHAP. I. Scriptures was that of the Psalms, by William de Schorham, Vicar of Chart-Sutton, near Leeds, iu Kent. He was admit- ted to this vicarage in 1320. The manuscript, therefore, be- longs to the earlier half of the fourteenth century. The ver- sion is attributed to Schorham, principally on the ground that in several parts of the manuscript ''the welfare of his soul is commended to the prayers of the devout reader." The trans- lation is pronounced to be, for the most part, " faithful and literal, except that the words of the gloss are frequently sub- stituted for those of the text." The following is transcribed as a specimen of the translation. * Ps. XXII. Our Lord gouerneth me, and nothyng shal defailen to me ; iu the stede of pasture, he sett me ther. lie norissed me vp water of fyllynge ; he turned my soule fram the fende. lie lad me vp the bistiges of rigtfulness ; for his name. For yif that ich haue gon amiddes of the shadowe of deth ; Y shal nougt douten iuels, for thou art wyth me. Thy discipline and thyn amendyng ; comforted me. Thou madest radi grace in my sight ; ogayns hem that trublen me. Thou makest fatt myn heued wyth mercy; andmydrynke raakand drunken ys ful clere. And thy merci shal folwen me ; alle daies of mi lif . And that ich wonne in the hous of our Lord ; in lengthe of daies. During this same period, but a few years later, appeared Eichard Eolle's version of the Psalms. He was chantry priest at Hampole, and was often called the hermit of Hampole. He died in 1349. " The business of whose life," says Baber, " was devotion, and whose amusement was study." ^ In his prologue Hampole gives some account of the Psalms, and describes them as comprehending "al the elde and newe Testa- ment and teching pleynly al of it, and the Misteries of the ' Preface. Forshall and Maddon's Wydiffite Versions, I., iv. ' Preface. Wycliffe's New Testament. Saber's ed., p. Ixvi London, 1810. 1349.] kolle's vebsion of the psalms. 49 trynyte and Christ's iuoarnation." At the close of the. pro- logue, he says : " In this werke, I seke no straunge Ynglys, bot lightest and communest, and swilk that is most like unto the Latjne ; so that thai that knowes noght the Latyne be the Ynglys may come to many Latyne wordis. In the translacione I felogh the letter als - mekille as I may, and thor I fyne no proper Ynglys, I felogh the wit of the wordis In the ex- powning I felogh holi Doctors." ' The following Psalm corres- ponds with number XXIII. of our version. It was transcribed by Mr. Baber from a manuscript of the British Museum, and is here inserted as a specimen of Hampole's version.^ Ps. XXII. Our lord frouemetti me and nothyng to me shal wants ; stede of pasture thar lie me sette. In tlie water of the hetyng forth he me brougte ; my soule he turuyde. He ladde me on the streetis of rygtwisnesse for his name. For win ylf 1 hadde goo in myddil of the shadewe of deeth ; I shal not dreede yueles, for thou art with me. Thi geerde and thi staf ; thei haue coumfortld me. Thou hast greythid in my sygt a bord ; agens hem that angryn me. Thou fattide mine heued in oyle ; and my chalys drunkenyng what is cleer. And tlii mercy shal folewe me ; in alle the dayes of my lyf. And that I wone in the hous of oure lord in the lengthe of dayes. Besides the above there are other extant manuscripts bear- ing the name of the hermit of Hampole. One of these is in the Bodleian, and the other in the Sydney College Library. The Sydney manuscript is regarded as the oldest, and is proba- bly the original. The Bodleian manuscript has prefixed to it some verses which give an account of the original version made by Kichard EoUe about a hundred years before. These verses state that he made the translation at the instigation of ' Preface. Wycliflfe's New Testament. Saber's ed., p. Ixvi. London, 1810. ' Hid, p. Ixvii. 3 50 SAXON AND ENGLISH VERSIONS, [CHAP. I. one Margaret Kirkby, and that the original manuscript at that time, 1422, was preserved in the nunnery of Hampole, where it was chained to the tomb of EoUe ; also that the evil Lollards had copied the same, and in their comments had engrafted upon it their heretical opinions. The following is a short ex- tract which comprises some of these particulars : * Tlierfore a wortby holy mau, cald Rycliard Hampole, Whom the Lord, that all thingus can, leryd My on his scole, Glosed the Sauter that sues here, in Englysch tong sykerly. At a worthy recluse prayer, cald dame Merget Kyrkby. This same Sauter in all degre, is the self in sothnes. That lygt at Hampole in surte, at Richards own berynes, That he wrote with his hondes, to dame Merget Kyrkby, And ther it lygt in cheyn bondes, in the same nonery. In Yorkshyre this nonery ys, who so desires it to know, Hym thar no way go omys, ....... Copyed has this Sauter ben, of yuel men of Lollardry, And afturward hit has bene sene, ympyd in with eresy. And sclaundrld foule this holy man, with her wykked waryed wyles, Ilier fantam hath made mony a son, thoro the fend that fele begiles. In translating the Scriptures a decided preference was given, during this early period, to the book of Psalms. Thera was in the combined spiritual teaching and poetical flow of the Psalms that which both pleased and met the religious wants of the people. Other portions of the Scriptures were translated by those " among the clergy who were studious of the spiritual welfare of the flock over which they were appointed " ; espe- cially such portions " as the church in its service brought more immediately into pubhc notice."' The following be- longs to this period, or somewhat earlier, and is taken from '• Specimens of Early English," edited by Morris and Skeat.' ' Preface. Forshall and Madden's Wycliffite Versions, I., v. Oxford, 1850. '■= Baber's Preface. WyclifFe's N. 7'., p. Ixvii. ' Part II., p. 105. Oxford, 1873. The Saxon changed to English characters. 1350.] SPECIMENS OF EARLY ENGLISH. 51 Matt. VI. 9-13. Vader oure thet art ine heuenes, y-halged by thi name, cominde thi riche. y- wortlie tlii wil, as ine heuene ; and ine erthe. bread oure echedayes ; gef ous to day. and uorlet ous oure yeldinges ; ase and "we uorleteth oure yelderes. and ne ous led naght ; into uondinge, ac vri ous vram queade. (evil.)' guo by hit. The specimens given below are from a maniiseript of the New Testament supposed to belong to the fourteenth century, and not far from the time of Hampole, though the language seems to indicate a much later date. Lewis makes special mention of the English of this version, as that spoken after the Conquest, though he fixes upon no definite period. The manuscript comprises the Gospels of Mark and Luke, and the Epistles of St. PauLi Mart I. 7. And he prechyde sayande, a stalworther thane T schs^l come eftar me of whom I am not wortlii downfallande, or knelande, to louse the thwonge of his Chawcers. VI. 23. When the Doughtyr of that Herodias was in-comyn and had tomblyde and pleside to Hnrowde, and also to the sittande at mete, the kynge says to the wench. XII. 1. A man made a vynere, and he made aboute a hegge, and grose a lake & byggede a tower. 38. Be se ware of the scrybes whylke wille go in Btolis and be haylsede in the market and for to sit in synagogis in the fyrste chayers. Luke II. 7. . . . and layde hym in a cratche ; for to him was no place in the dyversory. Among the evidences that this manuscript belongs to the age of Hampole is that the comments upon it are very like those he made upon the Psalter. But the language, as before suggested, places it later in the century. If so, its place is nearer to WyclifEe than to Hampole. Thus far, in tracing the history of Saxon and English ver- sions, we have found that translations confine themselves, for the most part, to single portions or books of the Bible. Not- ' History of Translations of Eng. BMe, p. 16. London, 1739. 53 SAXON AND ENGLISH VERSIONS. [CHAP. I. with standing this, as historic monuments these early versions are of the highest importance, illustrating as they do the Eng- lish language in its Saxon origin. They further show that the evangelical idea prevailed, which sought to have the Holy Scriptures in the language of the people. Indeed, this was the only thought of the Christian Church until the beginning of the thirteenth century, when it became a distinctive Prot- estant idea, in opposition to the Eoman Catholic decree of the Council of Thoulouse— a decree which required little or no authority to enforce, on account of the intellectual darkness of the people. But from the latter half of the fourteenth century, the translation of the whole Bible and the reading of the same, became living questions. For already there had begun an intellectual awakening : Edward the Third reigned, Man- deville traveled, and Chaucer wrote. In a word, the way was prepared for the Protestant labors of John Wycliffe, the sworn enemy of priestcraft, the translator of the Bible, and the fore- runner of the Eeformation of the sixteenth century. CHAPTER II. WTCLIPFE AND THE WYCLIFFITE VERSIONS. A. D. 1334-1525. JOHN WYCLIPPE was born in 1324,i in a village "cauUid Wiclif," from which he received his family name. But little is known of his early boyhood. Although doubts have been thrown upon the date of his entering Queen's College, and upon the statement of his removal to Merton College, yet we are safe in accepting the fact of his early connection with the University of Oxford. In many respects the age was favorable for education. Schools were established for youth, not only at Oxford and Cambridge, but in every borough. However, a significant sign of the times was, that no person could act in the capacity of a school teacher unless licensed by a priest.^ Wycliffe studied at Ox- ford as a student, he also taught there as a professor. In fol- lowing the example of his predecessor Grosstete, who, in the previous century, resisted the arbitrary will of the pope in his disposal of Church benefices, Wycliffe possessed superior ad- vantages, drew a keener sword, and maintained a more suc- cessful struggle against the inroads of the papacy. If, like Kichard of Armagh, Wycliffe contended with the Mendicant orders, he sought not like that good bishop to reform them, but to exterminate them. Again, if like Geoffrey Chaucer, Wycliffe had confidence in his native tongue, and by his writings helped to give the English language a fixed place in literature, yet, unlike Chaucer, he gave to his age not works of poetry but the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. ' The probable date of his birth. ' Vaughan's Tracts and Treatises of Wydiffe. Introduction, p. iii. London, 1845. 54 THE WTCLIFFITE VEESION^S. [CHAP. 11. Wycliffe was a master of the accepted learning of his times. He especially gave himself to the study of the civil and canon law. The former was a system of jurispradence which had descended from the times of the Roman Empire, and even of the Eepuhlic. It was feudal in its characteristics, and most unfavorable to the liberties of the people. "However wise it may have been," says Vaughan, "in some of its provisions as relating to questions between man and man, it was in every way unfavorable to liberty as between sovereign and subject, "i The latter, the canon law, was made up of the decrees of councils and popes. It was supreme in all ecclesiastical mat- ters, and not unfrequently it infringed upon the civil power.^ The temporal power of the papacy was both strenuously as- serted and denied in the time of Wycliffe. The writings of Wycliffe show how zealously he embraced the cause of civil ' Vaughan's Tracts and Treatises of Wycliffe. Introduction, p. vi. ^ The following are a few selected tenets of the canon law which show the assumptions and fearful power of the Romish Church : I. Princes' laws, if they be against the canons and decrees of the bishop of Rome, be of no force nor strength. II. The see of Rome hath neither spot nor wrinkle in it, nor can- not err. III. The bishop of Rome may excommunicate emperors and princes, depose them from their states, and assoil (absolve) their sub- jects from their oath of obedience to them, and so constrain them to rebellion. IV. The bishop of Rome may open and shut heaven unto men. V. The bishop of Rome may give authority to arrest men, and im- prison them in manacles and fetters. VI. The bishop of Rome may compel princes to receive Ms legates. VII. The clergy ought to give no oath of fidelity to their temporal governors, except they have temporalities of them. VIII. Kings and princes ought not to set bishops beneath them, but reverently to rise against them, and assign them an honor- able seat by them. IX. He is [no] manslayer which slayeth a man which is excommuni- cate. (The no is " wanting in the C. C. C. MS.") See Cran- mer's Writings and Letters, pp. 68-75. Parker Soc. edition, 1846. 1300.] wycliffe's opposition to the mendicants. 55 freedom in its struggle -with ecclesiastical tyranny. Ne»t to the mastery of the civil and canon law, Wycliffe distinguished himself in the study of the philosophy of his times. This was the old system of Scholasticism, which had been recently revived by the renowned Ockhara. Wycliffe, though naturally practical in his tendencies, was gifted with a speculative mind, and was thus fitted to wield the scholastic sword in the con- flict with his opponents. By his book on the Reality of Uni- versal Conceptions " he had created," says Neander, " an important epoch extending into the fifteenth century." ^ His writings on subjects purely religious show how much he was influenced by this scholastic method. But Wycliffe, unlike other prominent school-men, made the Scriptures the supreme authority in all disputes, and insisted on their being inter- preted in accordance with their plain meaning, in opposition to the "sentences of the Doctors, or the philosophy of Aristotle." 2 The life of Wycliffe was one of conflict. As early as the year 1360, he distinguished himself as an opponent of the Mendicant friars. It is an evidence both of his ability and courage, that, single-handed, he dared to attack a Monastic order of such power and authority in the Romish Church. Two of these orders, the Dominican and Franciscan, ruled the Roman Catholic Church throughout Europe for nearly three centuries, with an absolute sway. And that too against the united influence of prelates and princes. These two orders were to the Romish Church and to the world, before the Reformation, what the Jesuits have been since that time.' Devoting themselves to the interests of the papacy, they en- joyed peculiar immunities. They trampled upon the rights of the regular clergy and ignored their authority. By the ' Ghureh History, V., 135. Boston, 1854. ' Singularly enough Scholasticism made Aristotle the interpreter of St. Paul. ' Warton's HHory of English Poetry, I., 391. London, 1774. 56 THE WYCIilFFITE VEKSIONS. [CHAP. II. sole condition of professed poverty, they assumed to them- selves all riches. They begged for bread, yet lived in luxury. They professed to be the humblest of the humble, yet exalted themselves above kings. Though a servant of servants, yet they claimed that the dignity of the friar was above that of the bishop. " For they say," says Wycliffe, " that each bishop and priest may lawfully leave then- first dignity, and after be a friar ; but when he is once a friar, he may in no manner leave that, and live as a bishop, or a priest, by the form of the Gospel." 1 By their zeal and show of piety, they grew in au- thority among the people ; and so infatuated did many become that they regarded the very garments of the friars as possessing miraculous powers ; and hence " made it an essential part of their last wills, that their carcasses after death should be wrapped in ragged Dominican or Franciscan habits, and in- terred among the Mendicants,"" in the belief that they might the more readily obtain mercy in the day of judgment if they should appear thus associated with these friars. The occasion of Wycliffe's first attack upon the friars was their successful attempt to entice the students from Oxford into their convent schools. To such an extent were they suc- cessful, that parents refused to trust their children at the Uni- versity, lest they should be inveigled by the monks into their convents. In this contest Wycliffe appeared in behalf of the University, and dealt heavy blows against the friars. As a reward for his services, as well as in testimony of his ability, the mastership of Balliol College was bestowed upon him by the University in 1361. ^ Wycliffe's opposition to the friars did not stop here. But from the pulpit and by his pen he at- tacked the very foundations of the Order, showing up the un- lawfulness of their begging and the baseness of their religious pretensions. For all this the people were prepared, for the land was burdened by these abuses as by a curse. ' Tracts and Treatises, p. 319. London, 1845. * Mosheim's Church History, I., p. 390. New York, 1851. ' Baber's Preface. Wycliflfe's New Testament, p. xl. London, 1810. 1369.] CHURCH AND STATE. - 57 At the same time Wycliffe, with a supreme regard for right, stood in readiness tti defend it, in the State as well as in the Church, against the demands of the hierarchy. And the opportunity soon presented itself. In 1365 Urban V. revived the papal claim of tribute of a thousand marks, with arrears that had occurred since 1333, "as a feudal acknowledgment for the sovereignty of England and Ireland." ' Edward III. refused the demand and referred the matter to his Parliament. The Parliament decided to resist by every means possible this proposed usurpation. About this time, there appeared an anonymous pamphlet, which maintained that the sovereignty of England had been forfeited to the pope by the failure to pay the annual tribute. And Vaughan justly remarks, " We may judge of the celebrity of Wycliffe at this time, from the fact that he is called\upon by name (in this tract) to show the fallacy of these opinions." ^ The challenge was promptly ac- cepted. Wycliffe's reply, which he put in the form of a debate in the House of Lords, took strong grounds against this claim, also against the ecclesiastical theory of the Middle Ages, that the State is but the child of the Church, consequently that kings are but vassals of the pope. This reply of Wycliffe is interesting, indicating as it does the intelligence of the age, since the arguments he puts into the mouths of his speakers are supposed to be their own sentiments. It shows, too, the in- trepidity and disinterestedness of Wycliffe, in that just at this time his own preferment is subject to the good will of the pope. Wycliffe had received the appointment of Warden of Canterbury Hall in 1365, which was superseded by Archbishop Langton in 1367. The appeal of this question to Rome was as yet undecided. But notwithstanding this, Wycliffe, in this reply, boldly opposes papal assumptions, and thus imperiled his private interests at Rome."^ ' Wycliffe's Tracts and Treatises. Intro., p. xviii. London, 1845. " Ibid, p. xix. ' The appeal was lost. The pope confirmed the sentence against Wycliffe in the year 1370. Compare Milman'a Latin Christianity, VII., p. 365. New York, 1874. 58 THE WTCLIFFITE VBKSIOlfS. [CHAP. II. Day by day Wycliflfe used greater plainness of speech in por- traying the scandalous conduct of the friars. He was equally plain in showing up the arbitrary interference of the papacy in conferring church ofEices upon foreigners, many of whom were wholly unfitted for such positions. Such an appointment was that of Louis Beaumont as .Bishop of Durham. This Beaumont was an illiterate French nobleman. He is reputed to have been so ignorant that he was unable to read the bulls announced at his consecration. In his attempt, it is said that he stumbled at the word metropoliiiccB. After trying in Tain to pronounce it, he said in French, "Suppose that said." Again, when he came to the words, in mnigmate, he called out, as before : " By St. Louis, it could be no gentleman who wrote^ this stuff."! Frequent remonstrances by the English Crown against this gross usurpation effected but little. The celebrated acts of Parliament against provisors, in 1350, and of praemunire, in 1353, the former of which wrested from the papacy the right of disposing of all benefices, and the latter Tindicated " the right of the State of England to prohibit the admission or the execution of all Papal Bulls or Briefs within the realm"' — these acts, however bold and salutary, had become virtually dead letters. Eomish spoliation was now greater than ever before. Hence, to save the property of the whole realm from being swallowed up by the hierarchy, embassies were sent out in 1373 and 1374, to treat with the pope and his nuncios, and remonstrate still further against papal " reservation of bene- fices in the Anglican Church." ' Wyclifife was a member of the latter commission, which met at Bruges and sat for two years, but accomplished comparatively nothing. The insight, however, which "Wycliffe gained during the sittings of this commission into the spirit and policy of Eome, doubtless ' Townley's Biblical Literature, II., p. 3. London, 1821. * Milman's Xa*j)i CAm lUd, p. 34. 3 Cited by D'Aubigne's Hist, nf Bef., V., 91. N. D., New York. 62 THE WTCLIFFITE VEBSI0N3. [CHAP. II. eyes of the Church. There had ah-eady grown up a fixed re- lation between the Latin language and the Romish Church. So mutual had become this relation that they must stand or fall together. Moreover, if Romanism is one with the Latin, equally true is it that Protestantism is one with the Teutonic tongue. The conflict, therefore, between these two world-wide forces became largely one of language. Hence Wyclifife's de- sire to give the Holy Scriptures to the people in their own language, and to deprive the Church of Rome of one of its chief sources of superstitious reverence. Hence also the violent opposition of the Romish Church to English versions of the Bible. The Gospel, said the papists, is the peculiar property of the Church " which Christ had entrusted with the Clergy and Doctors of the Church, that they might minister it to the Laity and weaker sort according to the exigency of the times." But now they bewailed the fact that through WyclifEe's translation, the Church was robbed of its " Evan- gelical Pearl," which was now cast out "and trodden under foot of swine," and that by this means, "the Gospel was made vulgar, and laid more open to the Laity and even to women who could read, than it used to be to the most learned of the Clergy." ' These words of Knyghton, a canon of Leicester, and a cotemporary with Wycliffe, have been quoted often and deserve to be set forth again and again, since they show what has been the spirit of Rome from the first, in with- holding the Bible from the people. The English version of the Bible by Wyclifie was such an offense, that a bill was introduced into the House of Lords in 1390, to suppress it. In the course of the debate the Duke of Lancaster is reported to have said : " We will not be the dregs of all ; seeing other Nations have the Law of GOD, which is the Law of our Faith, written in their own Language That he would maintain our having the Law in our own tongue against those, whoever they should be, who ' Lewis' Hintory of English Translations of tlie Bible, p. 31. Lon- don, 1739. 1415. J EOmSH HATRED OF THE BIBLE IN ENGLISH. 63 first brought in the Bill." He was sustained by others,' and finally the "Bill was thrown out of the House." ^ Soon after the death of WyclifEe, the papists in their wrath sought to prohibit further translations of the Bible, and to destroy those already made. The constitution of Arundel, which Foxe calls " a cruel constitution," ordained in solemn council at Oxford in 1408, among other decrees, " that no man here- after by his owne authoritie, translate any text of the Scripture into English, or any other tongue by way of a boke, libell, or treatise ; and that no man read any such boke, libell or treatise, now lately set forth in the tyme of John Wyclifie, or sithens, or hereafter to be set forth, iu parte or in whole, privily or appertly ; upon payne of the greater excommuni- cation, until the sayd translation be allowed by the ordinary of the place, or (if the case so require) by the councell prouinciall : He that shall do contrary to this shall hkewiso be punished as a fauourer of errour and heresie."^ In the year 1389 the followers of WyclifEe separated themselves from the Romish Church, and in their public services used not only the Scriptures in English, but also the breviary, missils and primer. Hence the alarm and severe action of this council, which as an instrument of terror was held suspended over the heads of all who dared to translate, or even read, the Holy Scriptures in English. But instead of intimidating the Lollards and banishing their heretical opinions, their numbers were multiplied and their courage increased. So enraged was the archbishop on account of the spread of LoUardism, " that he solicited the Pope to grant him the privilege of burning the remains of Wycliffc." This fiendish request was not then granted ; but in a few years afterwards the council of Constance, 1415, condemned Wycliffe as a heretic, and decreed the " burning of hi^ books, also the exhuming and burning of his bones, if they might be discovered and known from the bodies of other ' Lewis' History of English Translationa of the Bible, p. 28. ' Acts and Monuments, p. 637. Black Lstter copy, 1596. 64 THE WTCLIFFITE VERSIONS. [CHAP. II. faithful people." But even this sentence was not executed until some thirteen years after, when, by the order of the pope, the grave was opened and the bones burnt and the ashes cast into the brook called the Swift. We have WyclifEe's testimony concerning the bitter hatred of the papists of the Scriptures in English. In one of his homilies he writes: "And algates (always) they dyspysen that men sbulden knowe Cryste's lyfe, for thenue prestes schulden schome (be ashamed) of hyre lyves, and specially these hye prestes, for thei reverseu crist bothe in worde and in dede. And herfore on (one) gret byschop of englelond, as men sayen, is yuel payed (pleased) that Godde's lawe is written in englysche to lewede (ignorant) men." * Again in Wycliffe's Wickett we read : " They say it is heresy to speak of the holy scripture in English, and so they would condemn the Holy Ghost that gave it in tongues to the apostles of Christ."^ And in his tract written to expose the friars he says : " And thus tbey pursue priests both to bren (burn) them and the Gospel of Christ written in English." ' In respect to the English version of the Bible made in the time of Wycliffe, friend and foe concur in attributing the translation to Wycliffe. And while it is difiicult to determine with certainty his share in the work, there is no question but that its accomplishment must be traced to his zeal, encourage- ment, and devotion. That there should be obscurity as to the exact date of the enterprise, and to the persons engaged in it, is by no means surprising, since it was undertaken in times of danger and persecution. The principal data, upon which to base an opinion regarding the time of the translation, must be found in the writings of Wycliflfe, in which he defends the right of the people to the Scriptures in English, both as indi- cating his interest in the work and the opposition against it. And further, as intimating that the New Testament in whole ' Ijewis' History of English Translations of the Bible, p. 33. » Tracts and Treatises of Wycliffe, i\ 375; » IU(J, p. 247. 1380. J EARLIBK AND LATEK TEXTS. 65 or in part had already been set forth. Tracts of Wyclifife^on- taining such references are frequent after the year 1378. The year 1380 is the accepted date of the Wycliflfe versions, and is probably the nearest approximation that can be made to the true date. It has long been understood by those who have had to do with the WycUfife MSS. that there were evidences of an earlier and a later version, and that probably one was but the revision of the other. And yet great confusion has existed as to which was the earlier aud which the later version. The question, however, has been most satisfactorily settled by the admirable edition of the Wycliffite versions by Porshall and Madden, 1850.' In their preface they give the credit to Henry Whar- ton as the one who first determined the respective authorships and dates of the two versions. Wharton assigned the earlier to Wycliffe, and the later version to the author of the General Prologue. Dr. Waterland rejected this theory, and took as the earlier that which in fact was the later version. Lewis, who edited the New Testament of Wyeliffe, unfortunately adopted the opinions of Waterland, and Mr. Baber followed his example. But in the examination of a large number of manuscripts, tliese last editors found one or two manuscripts containing a part of one and a part of another text, and that the earlier text occupied the first place. Again, they found fewer of the earlier MSS. extant ; also, that the language of the earlier MSS. was somewhat more antiquated, and the style more involved.^ But the chief evidence is found in the Gen- era] Prologue, where it speaks of " the English bible latetrans- latid." ^ From which we may infer not only an earlier version, but also that the author of this Prologue was the author of the later version. While it is now generally accepted that the earlier text of the New Testament is that of Wyeliffe, there are evidences ' Preface, Wycliffite Fe)'Jiiom«, by Forshall and Madden, I., p. xxi. Ox- ford, 1850. ' IhiA, p. xxii. ' lUd, Prologue, p. 58. 66 THE WTCUFFITE VERSIONS. [CHAP. 11. that go to show that the earlier text of the Old Testament is the work of Nicholas ds Hereford, who was a coadjutor of Wyc- liffe, and a prominent leader of the Lollard party. His name is intimately associated with those of Wycliffe, Reppington, and others, who were denounced as base heretics. In 1382, on the 18th of May, Hereford was summoned before the Synod of Preaching Friars, in London, for trial, and at aa adjourned meeting in July he was excommunicated. He ap- pealed from this sentence to Rome, where he was thrown into prison. Obtaining his release he returned to England, only to be again imprisoned; but in 1387 he was at liberty, and engaged in disseminating Lollard opinions.^ The original copy of this Hereford manuscript of the Old Testament is preserved in the Bodleian Library, and is "corrected throughout by a contemporary hand." There is also a second copy in the same Library which contains at the end a note, in a different hand, and in paler ink, which assigns by name this version to Here- ford. Both of the manuscripts end with Baruch iii., 30.' This abrupt ending, together with Hereford's apprehension in 1382, form a coincidence which so far helps to confirm the fact of authorship as rightly belonging to him. Moreover, from this break in the third chapter of Baruch, the translation is by another hand, which is judged to be that of Wycliffe. One of the grounds of this judgment is, that certain words of the text have a uniform rendering with the same words in the earlier text of the New Testament, while these same words are rendered differently in the portion of the Old Testament as- signed to Hereford. 3 In respect to the earlier version then, the New Testament text, and that portion of the Old Testa- ment which follows Baruch iii., 30, is the work of Wycliffe. The following excerpts are from Forshall and Madden's Wyc- liffits versions, and are here inserted as specimens: Matt. VI. 9-13. Forsothe thus ye shulen preyen, Oure fadir that art in heuenes, halwid be thi name ; thi kyngdom cumme to; '*be ' Preface, Wydiffite Versions, by Forshall and Madden, I., p. ■x.ya.. ,note. ' ^^^' P- ^"'- ' lUd, p. xviii., rwte. 1380.] wtcliffe's choice of wokds. 67 thi wille doa as in heuen and in ertbe; gif to vs this day oure breed ouer other substaunce ; and forgeue to vs our dettis, as we forgeue to oure dettours ; and leede vs nat in to temtacioun, but delyuere vs fro yuel. ''Amen, that is, ^so be it. 1 Cor. XIII. 1-13, If I speke with tungjs of men and aungels, 'sothli I haue not charite, I am maad as bras sownnynge, or a sym- bal tyukynge. And if I schal haue prophesye, and bane knowun alle mysteries, and al kunnynge, ^or science, and if I schal haue al feith, so that I '*bere ouere hillis, yro o place to another, forsoth if I ''schal not ''haue charite, I am nogt. And if I schal departe alle my goodis into metis of pore men, and if I schal bytake my body, so that I brenne, forsothe if I ''schal not haue charite, it profitith to me no thing. Charite is pa- cient, it is benygne, Vr of good mil, charite enuyeth not, it doth not gyle, it is not inblowyu ^with pride, it is not ambi- cious, ^or coueitovs of worschipis, it sekith not tho thingis that ben her owne, it is not stirid to wraththe, it thenkith not yuel, it ioyeth not in vrickednesse, forsoth it ioyeth togidere to treuthe ; it sufFrith alle thingis, it bileueth alle thingis, it hopitli alle thingis, it susteyneth alle thingis, Charite fallith not down, where prophecyes schulen be voydid, ether lan- gagis schulen ceesse, ether science schal be distroyed. Forsoth of party we lian knowen, and of party we prophesieu ; forsothe whanne that schal come that is perfyt, that thing that is of party, schal be avoydid. Whanne I was a litil child, I spak as a litil child, I undirstood as a litil child, I thougte as a litil child ; forsoth whanne I was maad man, I auoydide tho thingis that weren of a litil child. Forsoth we seen now by a myrour in a derknesse, tlianne forsothe face to face ; now I knowe of party, Whanne forsoth I schal knowe, as I am knowyn. Now forsothe dwellen feith, hope, and charite, thes thre ; for- soth the mooste of thes is charite. The above extracts show but iu part the excellencies of ■Wycliflfe as a translator. There is a marked simplicity in his phraseology which has been peculiar ever since to English ver- sions of the Scriptures. It is true that the English language at that period was favorable in the " simplicity of its vocabu- lary and verbal combinations," which corresponded in these particulars to the Greek and Hebrew of the original text. Then Wycliffe's ideal in the choice of words was to adapt the Scriptures to the common people ; and though he translated 68 THE WYCLIFFITB VEBSIOXS. [CHAP. II. from the Latin Vulgate he-did not follow it literally either as to the order or the form of its words. Hereford, on the contrary, was a literal translator. He fol- lowed closely the order of the Latin text in his desire to make a correct translation. He introduced many Latinisms; and yet so comparatively free was he from them that Mr. Marsh refers to him as a resuscitator "of obsolete Anglo-Saxon forms." Marsh further suggests that Hereford .might have been familiar with an Anglo-Saxon version of a part at least of the Bible.i This is no unimportant point in the history of English translation, since, if ib can be established, our English Bible of to-day may be traced back, with scarcely a broken link, to its Saxon origin. While there can be no question in regard to the fact that when the Wycliffite versions were first circu- lated there was no other English version extant, yet may there not have been a copy or copies of ^Ifrio's Heptateuch not only in existence but accessible to such scholars as Wycliffe and Hereford ? In assuming an affirmative answer to this ques- tion there is involved nothing improbable, since the Hepta- teuch is assigned to the first quarter of the eleventh century; the period therefore intervening from ^Ifric to Wycliffe would be less than three hundred and fifty years. A very old tract, written about the year 1400, mentions "a Bible possessed by one Wering, of London, which had been seen by many, and seemed two hundred years old."^ If any depend- ence can be placed upon the presumed age of this Bible, it must have been not only a very early version, but possibly a copy of ^Ifric's Heptateuch. The following specimens are here inserted from the earlier version attributed to Hereford : ^ Gen. XXII. 1-19. Affyr that tbes thingls wereu doon, God temtide Abraham, and seide to hym, Abraham I Abraham I He an- sweride, I am nygh. He seide to hym, Tak thin oonlie gotun sone, whom thow louest, Ysaac, and go into the loond of ' English Language and Literature, p. 360. New York, 1863. = Preface, Forshall and Madden's Wycliffite Versions, I., p. xxi., note. ' Ibid. Extracts from, in loco. , 1383.] HEKEFORD'S TRANSLATIOIf. 69 visioun, and tliere offre hym into sacrifice al brent, vpgn oon of the hillis whiche I shal shewe to thee. Thanne Abraham on the nyght with rysynge, dighte his asse, ledynge with hym two yong men, and Ysaac his sone ; and when he had hewid his wode into brent sacrifice, he gede to the place which com- aundide hym God. And the thrid day, the eyen hened vp, he sawe a place ^a feer ; and seide to his child ren, Abydith here ■with the asse, I and the child vnto thidir goynge, aftir that we hann onowryd, we shulen com agen to yow. And he toke the wode of the sacrifice, and putte vpon Ysaac, his sone ; he forsothe bare in his hondis fier, and a swerd. And whanne thei two geden to gideris, seide Ysaac to his fadlr. My fadir I And he answeride. What wilt thow, sone? Lol he seith, fier and wode, where is the sacrifice of that that shal be brent ? Abraham seide, God shal puruey to hym, my sone, the sacri- fice of that that shal be brent. Thanne thei geden togider, and comen to the place whom God shewide to hym, in the which he bildide an auter, and aboue made the wode ; and whan he had bomidun Ysaac, his sone, he putte hym in the auter, vpon the heep of wode. And he strawghte his honde, and toke the swerd, that he myght ofEre his sone. And loo ! the aungel of the Lord fro heuene cryede, seiynge, Abraham ! Abraham I The which answeride, I am nygh. And he seide to hym, Strecche thow not thin bond out vpon the child, and do not eny thing to hym ; now I haue knowun that thow dredist God, and thow hast not sparid to thin one goten son for me. And the aungel of the Lord clepide Abraham eftsonys fro heuene, seiynge, Bi my sylf I swore, seith the Lord, for thow hast do this thing, and thow hast not sparid to thin oon gotun sone for me, I shal blis to thee, and I shal multiply thi seed as sterns of heuene, and as grauel that is in the brenk of the see ; thy seed shal weeld the gatis of his enemyes ; and al folk of the erthe shal be blessid in thi seed, for thow hast obeishid to my vols. And Abraham turnyde agen to his children, and gede to Bersabee togider, and he dwellide there. Compare the following, which is also a specimen of the ear- lier version of Hereford, with the translations of the same by Schorham and Hampole, inserted above.' The numbering of the Psalms, in the Wycliffe versions, follows the Latin Vulgate, ' Sec pa^es 48, 49, above. 70 THE WYCLIFFITE VERSIONS. [CHAP. II. which, with the Septuagint, differs from the Hebrew Bible. Consequently, Number XXII. here corresponds with Number XXIII. of our present English Bible, which, in its numbering, follows the Hebrew: ' Ps. XXII. 1-6. The Lord gouerneth me, and no thing to me shal lacke ; in the place of leswe where he me ful sette. Ouer watir of fulfilling he nurshide me ; my soule he conuertide. He broghte douu me vpon the sties of rightwisnesse ; for his name. For whi and if I shal go in the myddel of the shadewe of deth ; I shal not dreden euelis, for thou art with me. Thy gerde and thy staf ; tho han confortid me. Thou hast maad redi in thi sighte a bord ; agen hem that truhlyu me. Thou hast myche fattid in oile myn hed ; and my chalis makende ful drunken, how right cler it is. And thi mercy shal vnder- folewe me ; alle the dayis of my lif. And that I dwelle in the hous of the Lord ; in to the lengthe of dayis. The later version, by John Purvey, is in part a revision, and in part a new translation. The date of the work is vari- ously estimated, some ascribing it to the year 1388, others putting it as late as 1396. The former is probably nearer the correct date.^ In the New Testament, and that portion of the Old Testament translated by Wycliffe, few changes compara- tively were made; but in that part of the Old Testament attributed to Hereford the changes are more marked. Before ' The Septuagint and Vulgate join the IX. and X. Psalms, thereby making the X. to correspond with the XI. of the Hebrew Bible ; and so on to the CXIV. of the Hebrew, where the Septuagint and the Vulgate unite two Psalms into one, that i.s, the CXIV. and CXV. of the Hebrew, so that in the Septuagint and Vulgate the CXIV. corresponds with the CXVI. of the Hebrew Bible. But as the Septuagint and Vulgate end the CXIV. Psalm with the ninth verse, and number the remaining portion ns the CXV. Psalm, in numbering they are only one behind the Hebrew Bible till they come to the CXLVII., which they divide at the twelfth verse, thereby making the CXLVIII. Psalm to correspond as to number in each of the three versions. So also in W^yc^iffe's version, and that of our Authorized version ; the former of which follows the Vulgate, and the latter the Hebrew numbering. • Forshall and Madden's Wyclifflt:i Versions, Preface, pp. xsili., sxiv. 1388.] JOHJS^ PURVEY, "WYCLIFFE'S OLOSSEE." 71 entering upon the work of revision. Purvey states that he made a new Latin text by first gathering " manie elde biblis ... .to make oo (one) Latyn bible sumdel trewe."^ He then compared it with the glosses of learned commentators, and '•■ speciali Lire on the elde testament, tliat helpide ful myche in this werk ; the thridde tyme to counseile with elde gj-ama- riens, and elde dyuynis of harde wordis, and harde sentencis. The iiij tyme to translate as cleerli as he coude to the sentence, and to haue manie gode felawis and knnnynge at the correcting of the translacioun."^ From this we learn that he had fellow-helpers, and that he sought to make thorough work. John Purvey was a leader in the Lollard party after the death of Wycliffe. He was learned and eloquent, and was an able defender of the Wycliffite doctrines. Knyghton describes him as being intimately associated with Wycliffe, and a boarder in his house.' Falling into the hands of Archbishop Arundel, he was imprisoned and forced to abjure, after which he was promoted by that wily bishop. But it was all in vain, for Purvey coming again to his right mind relapsed into his former opinions, and was again deprived of his liberty, and probably died in prison. Thomas Walden, though an enemy of the Lollards, graphically describes John Purvey as "the Library of the Lollards and Wiclif's Glosser, an eloquent Divine, and famous for his Skill in the Law."^ The question settled that John Purvey is the author of the General prologue of the WyclifBte versions; the fact is thereby established that he is the author of the later version. ^ But so soon was this revision undertaken after the first was set forth ; and as it was done by one who was familiarly styled, " Wyclifie's Glosser ; " by one who was a boarder in his house ; by these and other facts put together, we are constrained to ' ForabaJl and Madden's Oeneral Prologue, p. 57. . ' Ibid, p. 57. •'' Lewis' History of Englisli Translations of the Bible, p. 34. * Ibid, p. 35. ' See the several steps by whicli this conclusion is reached in the Preface to the 'Wydi^t! Versionn, p. 25. Forshall and Madden's ed. , 1850. 72 THE WTCLIFFITE VERSIONS. [CHAP. 11. believe that in its origin at least, this later version was largely- due to Joha Wycliflfe. Though it is true, that he could not have witnessed much of its progress, as he died in 1384. The following is inserted for the sake of comparison, from the later version, though it but imperfectly illustrates the im- provements made by Purvey. Gen. XXII. 1-19. And after that these thingis -weren don, God assaiede Abraham, and seide to hym, Abraham! Abraham! He answerde, Y am present. God seide to him. Take thi ^sone oon gendrid, whom thou louest, Ysaac ; and go into the lond of visioun, and offre thou hym there in to brent sacri- fice, on oon of the hillis whiche T schal schewe to thee. Therfor Abraham roos by night, and sadlide his asse, and ledde with hym twey yonge men, and Ysaac his sone ; and whanne he hadde hewe trees in to brent sacrifice, he gede to the place which God hadde comaundid to liim. Forsothe in the thridde dai he reiside hise iyen, and seiy a place afer ; and he seide to hiss children. Abide ye here with the asse, Y and the child schulen go tbidur ; and after that we han wor- schipid, we schulen tume agen to you. And he took the trees of brent sacrifice, and puttide on Ysaac his sone : forsothe he bar fier, and swerd in hise hondis. And whanne thei tweyne geden togidere, Isaac seide to his fadir. My fadir I And he answerde. What wolt thou sone ? He seide, Lo I fier and trees, where is the beeste of brent sacrifice ? Abraham seide. My sone, God schal puruey to hym the beeste of brent sacri- fice. Therfore thei geden togidere, and camen to the place which God hadde schewid to hym, in which place Abraham bildide an auter, and dresside trees aboue ; and whanne he hadde bounde togidere Ysaac, his sone, he puttide Ysaac in the auter, on the heep of trees. And he helde forth his hond, and took the swerd to sacrifice his sone. And lo ! an aungel of the Lord criede fro heuene, and seide, Abraham I Abra- ham ! Which answerde, I am present. And the aunge! seide to hym, Holde thou not forth thin honde on the child, nether do thou ony thing to him ; now Y haue knowe that thou dredist God, and sparidist not thin oon gendrid sone for me. ... . . Forsothe the aungel of t!ie Lorde clepide Abraham the secounde tyme for heuene, and seide, The Lord seith, Y haue swore hi my silf, for thou hast dj this thing, and hast not sperid thin oon gendrid for 1850.] FOESHALL AND MADDEN'S EDITION. 73 me, T schal blesse thee, and Y schal multiplie thi s^d as the sterris of heueue, and as grauel which is in the brynk of the see ; thi seed shal gete the gatis of hise enemyes ; and alle the folkis of erthe schulen be blessid in thi seed, for thou obeiedist to my vois. Abraham turnede agen to hise children, and thei zeden to Bersabee togidere, and he dwellide there. Forshall and Madden's noble volumes i from which the aboTe was taken, render accessible a mine of wealth hereto- fore closed except to a favored few. A mine rich in speci- mens not only of the earliest English Scripture versions, but of the English language of the fourteenth century. This edition was published in 1850, and furnished for the first time the Wyclifflte versions of the whole Bible in print. The later version of the New Testament was published by J. Lewis in 1731 ; which was reprinted by H. H. Baber in 1810. Again this later version was published by the Messrs. Bagster in the English Hexapla, 1841, from a manuscript now in the collection of the earl of Ashburnham. The earlier version was not printed till 1848, when it was published by Mr. Lea Wilson. The Song of Solomon was the only portion of the Old Testament of the Wycliffite versions published previous to 1850. This was printed by Dr. Adam Clarke in his Com- mentary, 1810-1825.^ The Me3srs. Forshall and Madden in preparing their edition of the Wycliffite versions, examined over a hundred and fifty manuscripts. In giving an account of their work they say: "The texts have been printed from the MSS. with scrupulous exactness ;" that four copies were selected in the earlier version, and the text formed from these, was collated with nineteen other manuscripts. For the later text one manuscript was followed, but it was compared ' " The Hilly Bible, with the ApocrypJid', Books in the Earliest English Versions, by John Wycliffe and his Followers. With the General Pro- logue ; also with an invalnab'.e Preface arid Glossary, 4 vols. 4to. Edited by Rev. Josiah Forshall, and Sir Frederic Madden. Oxford, 1850. ^ Jbid, I., Preface, p. 1, rtote. 4 7-t THE WYCLIFFIIE VE11SI0X3. [CHAP. II. with "no less than thirty-four other copies." * The majority of the manuscripts examined by these editors were transcribed about the year 1420 ; while some date as early as 1390. From the large number of the Wyclifl&te MSS. still pre- served in the public and private libraries of Great Britain, it is evident that the later manuscripts soon displaced the earlier ones. It is likewise evident that this Manuscript English Bible of Wycliffe enjoyed a wide circulation, notwitbstandiug the fiery persecution waged against its friends. A dark page in the history of these times was recorded by Foxe when he published extracts from the Bishop's Registers, which were filled with the names of the accused, with an account of the cru^el penalties inflicted upon them. Margery Backster was accused on the ground of inviting Joan Clififeland, her maid, to come to her chamber " to hear her husbande reade the lawe of Christ vnto them, which law is written in a booke that her husbande was wont to reade to her by night, and that her husbande is well learned in the Christian verity." ^ The ac- cusation against Richard Fletcher reads : " A most perfect doctour in that sect, and can very well and perfectly expounde the Holy Scriptures, and hath a booke of the new law in English." ' Those thus accused were forced to abjure their opinions, or sufEtr imprisonment or some humiliating pen- ance. Notwithstanding all this, the people during these evil times, eagerly sought and read the Scriptures. To meet this demand manuscripts were transcribed containing separate books, particularly those of the New Testament. "These, because writing was dear and expensive," says Lewis, "and copies therefore of the whole New Testament not easy to be purchased by the generality of Dr. Wiclif's followers, were often written in small Volumes. One of these little books in > Tbid, I., p. 34. ^ In 1429, Nicholas Eelward was accused for possessing a New Tes- tament which he bought in London for 4 marks and xl. pence ; equal to £2 16s. 8d., or about fourteen dollars in American money. Compare Poxe's Acts and Mon., p. 788, folio edition, 1590. « Ib:d, p. 788. 1400.] ANTIQUATED FORMS AND OBSOLETE WORDS. 75 2i° I have; it contains St. John's Gospel, the Epistles of ^S'^. James, St. Peter, St. John, St. Jude, and the Apocalyps." ' By reference to the Bishop's Kegisters it will appear that these little books were numerous, as they are often specified as being found upon the persons of those accused. Some- times the Gospels are spoken of either separately, or together ; or it is the book of Acts, or the Epistle of James, or the Apocalypse that is specified. It appears also from these Kegisters, that many of those who possessed these little volumes were either servants or tradesmen. And it is not an unfair inference to suppose that there were those who were both able and willing to bear the expense of copying the manuscripts for distribution among the people. In these WyclifBte versions, which are now five hundred years old, there are, as we might expect, antiquated forms of speech, peculiarities in spelling, and obsolete words, which unite in making the printed page somewhat obscure. And yet it is quite noticeable that when the spelling is modernized, so simple is the style and Biblical the phraseology, that the text is easily read and understood, though a certain quaint- ness remains. The following list will illustrate how words most familiar become strange through their orthography, and consequently obscure the text: Asaught, assault ; eeris, ears ; earwj/s, earnest ; felougli, follow; fend, fiend; ^es^is, guests ; hole, whole ; hoo, who ; icJie, each ; iye, eye ; kilden, killed ; ligi/ng, lying; maad, ina.de ; meest, most; nogt, nought ; noi- ther, neither ; oo, one; oost, host; pmvme, palm ; pite, piety;' jone, pray; sclioon, %\\xm. ; thennis, thence ; ty things, tidings; unpesible, unpeaceable ; waast, waste ; wolun, will ; ynough, enough. The above were selected from the glossary attached to Mr. Baber's edition of " WyclifEe's New Testament," printed in 1810. A glance at this glossary shows also a large number of words, at that time considered obsolete or strange, which are ' Eiatory of Translations of Eng. Bible, p. 39. 1739. 76 THE WYCLIFFITE TEESIOIfS. [CHAP. II. now familiar ; which argues incidentally, that we are draw- ing nearer in knowledge and use of language, to the age of Wycliflfe and Chaucer. There are, however, in the WyclifiBte versions many obsolete words, which divide themselves into two classes ; those that have changed their meaning, but not their form, and those that have changed both form and mean- ing. In the first class we have such words as catel, substance or goods; castel, town or village; cofyns, baskets; departe, divide ; lecJiis, physicians ; opyniovn, rumor ; sad, firm, and sadnesse, firmness or steadfastness ; oppresse, stop ; clarified, glorified ; tent, attention, heed ; tree, wood ; bitake, deliver ; galbe, lie ; all of which may be found below in their several connections.^ Matt. IX. 35. And Jhesus compaside aboute alle citees and caateh. X. 35. Sothely Y cam to departe a man ^geins Lis fadir. XIV. 20. . . twelue cofyns ful. XXIV. 9. Thenne thei schulen Intake yaxi''va to tribulacioun and thei schulen slee you. Mark XIII. 7. Sotbli whanne ye schulen heere batels and opyniouns of bateils, drede ye not. Luke VI. 48. . . . for it was foundid on a sad stoon. VIII. 43. . . which hadde spendid al hir eatel in to leehis, nether myghte be curid of ony. XI. 53. . . . and oppresse bis mouth '*of many thingis. John XV. 8. In this thing my fadir is clarified. Gal. I. 20. . . bifore God for I lye not, ^or gaWe not. I. Tim. IV. 16. Tak tent to thi silf and doctryn. II. Tim. II. 20. But in a greet hous ben not oneli vessels of gold and of siluer, but also of tree and of erthe.^ II. Pet. III. 17. . . . bi errour of vnwijse men, falle awey fro youre owne sadnesse. In the second class, which is made up of words obsolete both in form and meaning, we have such examples as aisel, vinegar; areWt^e, reckoned ; anentis, mth.; cJiawcers, &hoe&; clepe, call ; contakes, reproaches ; dyteris, writers ; eft-soone, 'These examples ars from the Earlier version, See Forshall and Madden's ed. in loco. ' This from the Later vers-'on. Ibid, in loco. 1400.] INFLUENCE UPON SUBSEQUENT THANSLATIONS. 77 again; egre, sour or sharp; faage, flatter; grees, steps or stairs ; Jieriynge, praising ; herbore, lodging ; hestis, commands, though the word lives in behest j hyne, laborer ; kitte, cut ; hnytchis, bundles; lepis, baskets; mawmetis, idols; querne, mill ; rewme, kingdom ; rochet, cloak ; scot, payment, though it lives in scot-free ; sotheli, truly ; thilke, that ; thral, servant or slave, though the word lives in thralldom ; wed. a pledge, though it lives in wedding; wonne, custom; this change, however, is only in form, as it is the same as wont; woot, know. While the Wycliffite versions were translated from the Latin Vulgate, and in many instances may be obscure, yet not a few passages might be cited to show the possible influence of these versions upon subsequent translations. Passages also are not wanting which show a superiority in rendering over more re- cent translations. Something of this superiority and influence will appear in the following passages from Porshall and Mad- den's Wycliflite versions: Matt. VII. 14. 'E.ow streit is the gate arid nar ewe the weye,i^aaX\ed.ith. to lijf, and Hhere ben fewe that fynden it.' This reading is followed by Tyndale and the A. V. XTI. 23. And Petre took hym, and bigau to blame him, and seide, Fer be it fro thee, Lord; this thing schal not be to thee.^ The Genevan version reads : Master, looke to thy self; and in Tyndale's version the read- ing is : Matter, famr thy selfe. The A. V. reads after Wycliffe ■ Be it farre from thee Lord. John III. 3. . . Treuli, treuli, I seye to thee, no but a man schal be bom agen, he may not se the kyngdom of God.' Tyndale reads : except a man be boren u, newe ; while the Genevan version has : begotten againe. The A. V. follows Wycliffe. Though pos- sibly Tyndale furnishes the preferable reading. rV. 33. But the our cometh, and now it is, whanne trewe worschiperis schulen worschipe the fader in spirit and treuthe ; forwhi and thefadir sekith suche, that ' Earlier version. ' Later version. ' Earlier version. 78 THE WTCLIFFITE VEKSIONS [CHAP. II. John IV. 23. schulen worschipe him." This is followed hj the A. V. But Tyndale has : requyreth such ; and is followed by the Genevan version. Rom. VIII. 15. . . . but ye han taken the spirit of adopcioun of sone.s.^ This is followed by Tyndale, the Ge- nevan version, and the A. V. But in common with Wycliffe, they are all indebted to the Vulgate. XII. 1. . . that ye gyue youre bodies a lyuynge sacri- fic3.' This is followed by the A. V. But Tyndale renders : aquicke sacrifice ; which is adoptsd by the Genevan version. I. Cor. II. 10. . . . the dspe thingis of God.* Tyndale translates : the hottome of God's secretes. WycliflFe's rendering is followed by the A. V. X. 16. The cuppe ofUessynge Hhe which we Uessen. This is followed by Tyndale, also by the Genevan and the Authorized versions. II. Cor. VI. 14. . . or what /e^owsc^ip of light to derknessis? This rendering is adopted by the A. V. Tyndale has : company ; and is followed by the Genevan version. The Vulgate has : soeietas, showing that in this instance Wycliffe was not indebted to the Vulgate. VIII. 1. But, britheren, we maken kno wiin to you the grace of God. This reading is preferable to that of Tyndale, who translates : 1 do you to wit brethren ; and is followed by the Genevan and Authorized versions. In the time of Tyndale and even when our present translation was made, the word do was used in the sense of make, and to wit in the sense of to know ; hence the phrase at the time was intelligi- ble though now obsolete. James I. 5 and vpbraydith not. This was fol- lowed by the Authorized version. Tyndale trans- lates ; and casteth no man in the teth ; which is followed by the Genevan version. The above passages and others that might be added, look ' Earlier version. ^ Earlier and Latin versions. " Later version. ' This with the remaining examples, belongs in common to both versions. 1514.] LITERARY INFLUENCE OF BIBLE VERSIONS. 79 very much as though there was an intimate relation hetVeen the WycliflBte versions and subsequent transhitions of the New Testament. But as this is questionable the matter will come up for consideration in another connection.' There is an important relation existing between Ver- nacular versions of the Scriptures and the languages into which they are translated. So marked is this influence where such translation is made, that it constitutes an epoch in the literary and in the religious history of a people. " The trans- lation of the Bible into Latin," says Schlegel, " created nn epoch altogether new in that language, constituting a late and, in some instances, a rich after-crop of Latin literature." ^ When Jerome in the fourth century translated the Bible into Latin, he little knew the religious authority, power, and dignity he thereby was bestowing upon the Latin tongue. He endowed it not only with a religious but a literary in- fluence that is felt to this day. What is true of the Latin is hkewise true of the German language. Luther's translation of the Bible lies at the founda- tion of German literature as well as the Keformation of the sixteenth century. Schlegel speaks with authority when he says: "It is remarkable that no other modem tongue has adopted so many Biblical terms and phrases, and introduced them into common language. My own opinion quite coin- cides with that of the critics who hold this circumstance to be most felicitous, to which I think I am justified in ascribing some portion of that continuous intellectual energy, life and simplicity, which preeminently characterize the. diction of our most distinguished German Writers." ' Now what Latin and German versions did for their respec- tive languages, English versions of the Bible have 'done for the English tongue. It was a bold stroke on the part of • See on pages 136, 137, below. ' History of Literature, p. Ii2. Bohn's edition. London, 1873. ' lUd, p. 839. 80 THE WTCLIFFITE VEESIOIfS. [CHAP. II. WyclifEe to set forth the Scriptures in the language of the people, but the results far exceeded his fondest expectations. In all simplicity he thought to give the word of God to his own age, but in fact he laid the foundation for the Reforma- tion in England, and for the permanence and excellence of the English language. To vmderstand the influence of the Wycliffite manuscript versions upon the religion of those times, as well as years afterwards, we hare but to trace the history of the Lollards from the age of WyclifEe to that of Tyndale. For in this history of almost a century and a half, we shall find that the religious life of the persecuted Lollards was based upon these Wycliffite versions of the Holy Scriptures. Even in the closing years of this period, in the reign of Henry VIIL, it was adjudged a crime to read or possess the Scriptures in the English tongue. One of the charges against Eichard Hunn, who sujBTered martyrdom in 1514, was "the kepyng diuers Englishe bookes, prohibited and dampned by the law ; as the Apocalips in Englishe, Epistles and Gospels in Englishe, Wickleflfe's dampnable workes, and other bookes conteyning infinite errours, in the whiche hee hath bene long tyme accustomed to read, teach, and study dayly." i So in the case of James Brewster, who was burned at the stake in 1511. One of the items against him was the " hauing a certaine litle booke of Scripture in Englishe of an old writyng almost worne for age, whose name is not there expressed." ^ Like- wise William Swetyng, who suffered martyrdom with Brewster, was charged with " having much conference with one Wil- liam Man of Boxstede, in a booke, which was called Mathewe." ^ These Wycliffite versions are the visible links which connect the Eeformation of the sixteenth with that of the fourteenth century. " WicklifEe is the greatest English reformer/' says D'Aubigne, " he was in truth the first re- former of Christendom, and Ho him, under God, Britain is indebted for the honor of being the foremost in the attack ' Foxe'a Acts and Monuments, -p. 931, 1596. ° Ibid, p. 944. 3 /jjj^^ p 944 1365.] REVIVAL OF THE TEUTONIC ELEMENT IN SPEECH. 81 upon the theocratic system of Gregory VII. The work sf the Waldenses, excellent as it was, cannot be compared to his. If Luther and Calvin are the fathers of the Keformation, Wickliflfe is its grandfather." ^ Yea, so long as Protestantism means, separation between Church and State, hatred of spiritual hierarchies, the love of Jesus Christ in the heart, and the love of his word in the language of the people, the name of John Wycliffe will stand the first among its founders, and the chief among its supporters. If there was in the time of Wycliffe a revival of the Teu- tonic in opposition to the Latin in religion, so there was in language. And if the influence of the former reached for- ward into the centuries, even into the sixteenth century, so likewise did the influence of the latter. And in both cases the influences were kept alive and extended by means of these old, brown, and much used manuscripts of the Wyc- lifBte versions. True, Wycliffe wrote much in Latin. It was the learned language of his times, and he used it in addressing the learned. But in addressing the people, whether in writ- ing or speaking or in translating the Bible, he used the language of the people. The reign of Edward III. was a transition period, to which may be traced a new beginning of intellectual life and activity. It was this Edward who enacted, about the year 1362, that the English language should be restored to the courts, that is, ."that all pleas .... in any courts whatsoever, .... shall be pleaded, showed, defended, answered, debated, and judged, in the English tongue." The reason for this action was assigned in the preamble that, " the French tongue was too much unknown." ^ This was a grand step in advance, favoring the people's rights, for as yet the French was the polite language, but not understood by the mass of the people. Trevisa, who wrote in 1385, records that ' History of the Beformation of the Sixteenth Century, V. , 104. Am. Tr. Soc. edition. ^ The original statute was in old French. See History En.gUsh Lan- g^tage ; Appendix, p. cxxxiv.; Johnson and ToAA's English Dictionary, I. London, 1818. 82 THE WTCLIFFITi: VERSIONS. [CHAP. II. in his day : " in alle the gramer scoles of Englond children leveth Frensch and construeth and lerneth an Englisch, and haveth therby avauntage in oon side and desavauntage in another." ' The advantage, according to Trevisa, was that they learned their lessons more easily ; and the disadvantage was that they acquired no French. He further adds: "also gentel men haveth now mych ylefte for to teche her (their) children Frensch."^ The name of John Cornwaile, "a maistre of grammer," who introduced this innovation, de- serves to be held in grateful remembrance by all lovers of the English tongue. Sir John Maundeville, 1356, wrote his travels in Latin. But afterwards he translated them into English, to the end, as he says in his prologue, " that every man of my nation may understand it; and that lords and knights and other noble and worthy men that know Latin but little, and have been beyond the sea, may know and un- derstand, if I err from defect of memory, and may redress it and amend it." ^ The Teutonic leaven has been at work, though we may not be able to trace it, so gradual has been the intellectual im- provement of the people. Langland, the author of Piers' Ploughman's Vision and Creed, which were written about the year 1365, was not a " precursor of WyclifiPe," though in spirit and feeling he was a reformer. In his poem, which is highly allegorical, and sometimes very plain and practical, he mourns the abuses of the Church, rebukes the religious orders, and ridicules the palpable weaknesses of the friars. The fat friar he describes as — ^ A greet chorl and a grym, growen as a tonne, With a face so fat, as a ful bleddere, Blowen bretful of breth, and a bagge Longed. ' Tyrwhitt's Essay on the Language and Versification of Chaucer. Chaucer's Works, Preface, p. 17. Oxford, 1798. ' Ibid, p. 17. ' Sir John Maundeville's Travels, p. 129, Bohn's ed. London, 1848. * Warton's History of English Poetry, I., 305. London, 1714. 1375.] CHAKACTBR OF WTCLIFFE. 83 On bothen his cbekes, and his chyn, with a chol (jole) loUede So greet a gos ey, groweu al of grece, That al wagged his fleish, as a quick (quag) mire. " The people who could listen with delight to such strains were far advanced," says Milman, " towards a revolt from Latin Christianity." ^ Langland adopted the alliterative form of Saxon poetry. His language is largely Saxon, though inter- spersed with Norman words, some of which were already a part and parcel of the language, while others " appear like strangers." His Latin words seem to have been drawn di- rectly from the Vulgate.^ What is true of Langland in respect to language is true also of WyclifEe. They both wrote for the people. Chaucer in his ■writings sought to please the court, and yet, to his endaring fame, preferred '' to show his fanta^ sies in such wordes as we learneden of our darnes tongues." And as a matter of fact, after an etymological comparison by actual count. Marsh declares that "Chaucer's vocabulary is more purely Anglo-Saxon than that of Langland." ^ Though WyclifEe's language was no purer than that of these cotempo- rary poets ; and though he did no more than they to fix the language in its then- English mould, yet we must attribute to him the greater influence, since, in addition to his writings he translated the Holy Scriptures, which became the book of the household. A book most sacredly kept and religiously read; a book whose teachings were treasured up in the hearts of parents and taught to their children. And all this not for a single generation, but for generations even to the beginning of the sixteenth century. This chapter would be incomplete without a few words respecting the character of John Wycliffe. It is painful to witness the low estimate put upon the man and the reformer ' History of Latin Christianity, VIII., 384. New York, 1874. ' Ibid. p. 378. ' Lectures on the English Language, p. 124. New York, 1860. 84 THE WTCLIFFITE VEESIOXS. [CHAP. II. by some Church historians. From several paragraphs of Mil- ner's Church History, one is led to think that there is some- thing dark and inexplicable hanging over Wycliffe's character; yet in other paragi-aphs he does him full justice. Evidently Milner, in his attempt to be impartial, has gone to the other extreme. He confesses that the character of no other public man had given him so much trouble in forming his estimate as that of WyclifEe. We are indebted to the enemies of Wyc- lifle for much of our information concerning him, and it may be that Mr. Milner suffered their testimony to bias his judg- ment. In some degree the same is true of Mosheim. He failed, however, to make the character of Wycliffe a subject of careful study. Consequently, he expresses himself, if not carelessly, at least unsatisfactorily. But it remained for Nean- der, the prince of Church historians, to do justice to Wycliffe's character. In seeking, however, to set forth the facts concern- ing Huss and the Hussite movement, that it was independent of Wycliffe's influence, his statements are very fair, though not altogether convincing. The more, however, the history of the age is searched into, and the public acts of Wycliffe scanned, the better his character will be understood, and the nobler it will appear. This was doubtless the experience of D'Aubigne in writing the history of the Reformation, and with an honest pen he drew the character of John Wycliffe. It is refreshing likewise to read Milman's chapter on Wycliffe in his History of Latin Christianity. Yet even Milman, with all his high appreciation, declares that as a reformer Wycliffe was prema- ture. That he possessed the power to pull down but not to build up. True, Wycliffe spent the greater part of his hfe in breaking down the barriers and clearing away political as well as religious rubbish; and of his success in these particulars let his enemies bear witness. But this was only a part of bis work, for it was he who set in motion a positive evangelistic movement, which flowed like a majestic river, growing deeper if not wider, and forming a grand channel for the Reformation of the sixteenth century. Intellectually Wycliffe stood first among his cotemporaries. 1380.] CHAEACTEK OF WYCLIFFE. 85 His superiority was acknowledged by both Parliameiif and University. Even the pope felt his power. Of Wycliffe's moral character there is but one opinion, and that is, that it was irreproachable. A member of a brilliant but sensual court, whose chief head set the worst possible example of im- morality, yet Wyclifife was untainted. He was there as chaplain of Edward III., and commanded the respect and reverence of all. It would be gratifying to know more of the social life of Wycliffe. History never wearies of placing him before us as a warrior steel-clad and mounted for battle. We see him always in public, never in private ; even in his own writings he is reticent respecting himself. Was there no retirement for him? Was there never a smile upon that sad countenance? His face so narrow and pale, yet beneficent ; how different from the round ruddy face of Luther. In many respects how different from Luther. The one is like a Gothic castle, with commanding towers and high walls, without any signs of life; while the other is like an ordinary dwelling, with its interior every-day life activities all exposed to view. We have no table- talk of Wycliffe. It is only by inference that we know that he hud a home. Notwithstanding this, Wycliffe had his friends. At the court of Edward III. he met with Chaucer, and in him doubtless found a genial spirit. Wycliffe was Chaucer's ideal of a good priest, and doubtless Chaucer had the parson of Lutterworth in mind when he wrote i^ A good man tlier was of religioun, That was a poure Persone of a toun : But riclie he was of holy thought and werk. He was also a lerned man, a clerk, That Cristes gospel trewely wolde preche. His parishens devoutly wolde he teche. Benigue he was — and wonder diligent, And in adversite ful patient : Wide was his parish, and houses fer asonder, But he ne left nought for no rain ne thonder, ' The Canterbury Talen, I., 20, 21, Tyrwhitt's ed. Oxford, 1798. 84 THE WYCLIFFITE VERSION'S. [CHAP. II. by some Church historians. From several paragraphs of Mil- ner's Church History, one is led to think that there is some- thing dark and inexpHcable hanging over WyclifEe's character; yet in other paragraphs he does him full justice. Evidently Milner, in his attempt to be impartial, has gone to the other extreme. He confesses that the character of no other public man had given him so much trouble in forming his estimate as that of WyclifiEe. We are indebted to the enemies of Wyc- lifEe for much of our information concerning him, and it may be that Mr. Milner suffered their testimony to bias his judg- ment. In some degree the same is true of Mosheim. He failed, however, to make the character of WyclifiFe a subject of careful study. Consequently, he expresses himself, if not carelessly, at least unsatisfactorily. But it remained for Nean- der, the prince of Church historians, to do justice to Wycliffe's character. In seeking, however, to set forth the facts concern- ing Huss and the Hussite movement, that it was independent of Wycliffe's influence, his statements are very fair, though not altogether convincing. The more, however, the history of the age is searched into, and the public acts of Wycliffe scanned, the better his character will be understood, and the nobler it will appear. This was doubtless the experience of D'Aubigne in writing the history of the Eeformation, and with an honest pen he drew the character of John Wycliffe. It is refreshing likewise to read Milman's chapter on Wycliffe in his History of Latin Christianity. Yet even Milman, with all his high appreciation, declares that as a reformer Wycliffe was prema- ture. That he possessed the power to pull down but not to build up. True, Wycliffe spent the greater part of his life in breaking down the barriers and clearing away political as well as religious rubbish; and of his success in these particulars let his enemies bear witness. But this was only a part of his work, for it was he who set in motion a positive evangelistic movement, which flowed like a majestic river, growing deeper if not wider, and forming a gi-and channel for the Eeformation of the sixteenth century. Intellectually Wycliffe stood first among his cotemporaries. 1380.] CHAKACTEK OF WYCLIFFE. 85 His superiority was ackuowledgedby both. Parliament and University. Even the pope felt his power. Of Wycliffe's moral character there is but one opinion, and that is, that it was irreproachable. A member of a brilliant but sensual court, whose chief head set the worst possible example of im- morality, yet Wycliflfe was untainted. He was there as chaplain of Edward HI., and commanded the respect and reverence of all. It would be gratifying to know more of the social hfe of Wycliffe. History never wearies of placing him before us as a warrior steel-clad and mounted for battle. We see him always in public, never in private ; even ia his own writings he is reticent respecting himself. Was there no retirement for him? Was there never a smile upon that sad countenance? His face so narrow and pale, yet beneficent; how different from the round ruddy face of Luther. In many respects how different from Luther. The one is like a Gothic castle, with commanding towers and high walls, without any signs of life; while the other is like an ordinary dwelling, with its interior every-day life activities all exposed to view. We have no table- talk of Wycliffe. It is only by inference that we know that he had a home. Notwithstanding this, Wycliffe had his friends. At the court of Edward III. he met with Chaucer, and in him doubtless found a genial spirit. Wycliffe was Chaucer's ideal of a good priest, and doubtless Chaucer had the parson of Lutterworth in mind when he wrote: ^ A good man tlier was of religioun , That was a poure Pbksone of a toun : But riche he was of holy thought and werk. He was also a lerned man, a clerk, That Cristes gospel trewely wolde preche. His parishens devoutly wolde he teche. Benigne he was — and wonder diligent. And in adversits ful patient : Wide was h.is parish, and houses fer asonder, But he ne left nought for no rain ne thonder, ■The Canterbury Tales, I., 20. 21, Tyrwhitt's ed. Oxford, 1798. 8G THE WTCLIFFITE VERSIONS. [CHAP. II. In sikenesse and in mischief to visite Tlie ferrest in his parish, moche and lite. Upon his fete, and in his hand a staf. This noble ensample to his shepe he yaf, That first hs wrought, and afterward he taught. He sette not his benefice to hire, And lette his shepe acombred in the mire, And ran unto London, unto Seint Poules, To selien him a chanterie for soules, Or with a brotherhede to be withold : But dwelt at home, and kepte wel his fold, So that the wolf no made it not miscarie. He was a shepherd, and no mercenarie. And though he holy were, and vertuous. He was to sinful men not dispitous (angry), Nr of his speche dangerous (sparing), ne digne (proud), But in his teching discrete and benigne. To drawen folk to heven, with faireuesse. By good ensample, was his besinesse : A bettor preest I trowe that nowlier non is. He waited after no pompe ne reverence, Ne maked him no spiced conscience. But Cristes lore, and his apostles twelve. He taught, but first he f ol wed it himsel ve. If Wycliffa was Chaucer's ideal of a good parson, doubtless Chaucer was Wycliffe's ideal of a good poet. Chaucer sang to please the ear of a pleasure-loying court ; he sang also to please the ear of a gospel-loving Wycliflfe. Chaucer dealt heavy blows against the friars. The religious influence of Chaucer's poe- try in the reform movement of his time has been too little appreciated. Among his political friends WyclifEe numbered such men as the Duke of Lancaster. But it was at his parish at Lutterworth, where, surrouuded by his parishioners and by learned men in his own house and at his own table, fellow- laborers with himself in translating the Scriptures and preach- ing the Gospel, notable men who afterwards became leaders 1384.] wycliffe's death. 87 in the Lollard party which Wydiffe founded, among thesi he found true sympathy and a lasting friendship. But with all this, at Lutterworth, we have only his fervent words addressed through his tracts and sermons to the public, consequently nothing of his private conversations or feelings. As we have no particulars of Wycliffe's private life, so wo have scarcely any of his death. We are told that while ad- ministering the Lord's Supper in the chapel at Lutterworth he was seized with paralysis, which " deprived him at once of utterance, if not of consciousness." * ' This was on the twenty- ninth, or, more probably, the thirtieth day of December, 1384, and in two days afterwards his devout spirit returned to God who gave it. If we would know of the excessive hatred heaped upon the head of Wycliffe, and of the debt of gratitude his friends in every age owe to his memory, we have only to read the following account of his death, written by the hand of an enemy : " On the day of St. Thomas the martyr, .... Decem- ber 39, John Wyclif, the organ of the Devil, the enemy of the Church, the confusion of the common people, the idol of heretics, the looking-glass of hypocrites, the encourager of schism, the sower of hatred, and the maker of lies, when he designed, aa it is reported, to belch out accusations and blas- phemies against St. Thomas in the sermon he had prepared for that day, was suddenly struck by the judgment of God, and had all his limbs seized with palsy, ... his tongue was speechless, .... shewing plainly that the curse which God had thundered forth against Cain was also inflicted on him."^ However great the dishonor and indignity intended by his enemies, these words, from the standpoint of his friends, must ever be regarded, considering their source, as a most honorable epitaph. ' Vaughan's Tract) and Treatises of Wyckliffe, p. xciii. London, 1845. ' Lewie' Life of Dr. John Wycliffe, pp. 123, 134. Oxford, 1820. CHAPTER III. TTNDALE, AND HIS TRANSLATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. A. D. 1525. IN the time of WyclifEe, England held an enviable position among the nations of Europe. The Teutonic love of free- dom here first came to the surface ; but it was stifled so far as human effort could avail, and then followed a period of more than a century of intellectual darkness. In Italy and Ger- many there arose with the art of printing an intellectual awakening. The Greek and Latin languages were cultivated. Under Pope Nicolas V., 1447-1454, the city of Eome became more literary than religious. "He seemed determined," says Milman, " to eurich the West with all that survived of Grecian literature."! Besides, his efforts were not confined to the classics, but embraced the writings of the Church fathers. He even went so far as to authorize the execution of a new Latin version of the Bible from the Hebrew and Greek. Pope Nicolas was not aware of the fire he was kindling, nor the distance to which its light and heat would penetrate. He did not dream of the intimate relation of the revival of learning with Vernacular versions of the Holy Scriptures and the Kefor- mation of the sixteenth century. Printing was introduced into England by William Caxton about the year 1474, and its influence was soon felt. A Latin translation of Aristotle's Ethics was among the first issues from the Caxton press. It is said that Cornelius Vitelli, an educated Italian, came to Oxford in 1488, and not only taught in the University but became the instructor of William Grocyn. However this may be, Grocyn, though a reputed Greek scholar, ' History of Latin Christianity, VIII., 133. New York, 1874. 1&16.] CHARACTER OF SIR THOMAS MORE. 89 quitted his lectureship of Divinity and went to Italy to per- fect his knowledge of the Greek language, and after remaining three years returned and taught Greek in Exeter College, Ox- ford. He introduced a new pronunciation, and so popularized the study that it gave rise to the two factions in the Univer- sity known as the Greeks and Trojans, who bore the most violent animosities towards each other. But the day has dawned, and learning is in the highest repute. The first visit of Erasmus to England was in 1497. He praises not only Grocyn, but Colet, Linacre, and More. He says that he found in England "a treasure of old books," and the highest appre- ciation of learning.! In such estimation was learning held at this time that even Henry VIII. sighed for it, and was ready to turn from the pursuits of pleasure, and the labors of diplo- macy, for its sake. His words were : " Ah ! how I should like to be a scholar." Not only did Henry VIII. sigh for learning, and Cardinal Woolsey affect it; but there were some who really possessed it. As yet, however, the revival of learning is only intellectual. The single' example of Dr. Thomas Linacre, whom Erasmus praises so highly, illustrates this fact. He was president of the College of Physicians, and a reputed scholar. Late in life he changed his profession to that of Divinity, yet so ignorant was he of the Scriptures, that after he was ordained as a priest he took up the New Testament, and after reading the fifth and sixth chapters of Matthew's Gospel, he threw down the book, exclaiming: "Either this is not the Gospel, or we are not Christians."^ Another remarkable example was that of Sir Thomas More, a man of superior ability and attainments, an acknowledged wit, a safe counselor, a just judge, a friend and a defender of Greek learning, a Christian man, and yet withal an extreme papist, opposing with all his might and official power- the progress of the Keformation and the circula- tion of the Vernacular Scriptures. The character of More, ns ' Hallam's Literature of Europe, I., 341. New York, 1874. " lawoXej'a Illustrations of Biblical Literature,ll.,lQ5. London, 1821. 90 TTNDALE'S TRANSLATION OF THE N. T. [CHAP. III. a papist and a persecufcoi-, is the more difficult to understand in the light of his great sincerity and Christian simplicity, and still more when we consider his previous Uberal sentiments. He was a decided friend of the New learning so long as it confined itself to the classics, though at first he openly de- fended the New Testament of Erasmus. He was in sympathy with the author of the Praise of Folly, and must have enjoyed his sarcastic thrusts at the Monastic orders, since Erasmus was his guest when he wrote this book. Then the liberal opinions of More are distinctly revealed in his Utopia. " In that short but extraordinary Book," says Burnet, " he gave his Mind full Scope, and considered Mankind and Religion with the Free- dom that became the true Philosopher. By many Hints it is very easy to collect, what his Thoughts were of Religion, of the Constitutions, and of the Church, and of the Clergy at that time. "1 But in all how changed. Those who have attempted to delineate the character of Sir Thomas More have been in doubt whether to represent him as " a foolish wise man, or a wise foolish man." But learning the most extensive and profound is not an end in itself, but a means to a higher end. And the end at this time was religious reformation. And it is the learned name of Erasmus which links this intellectual movement with tlie Holy Scriptures and the Protestant Reformation. This grand end, and his noble contribution to it, is well described by himself when he says : " A spiritual temple must be raised in desolate Christendom, the mighty in the world will contribute towards it their ivory, their marble, and their gold ; I, who am poor and humble, ofier the foundation stone.'' This foundation- stone was none other than his Greek and Latin New Testa- ment. And well might he thus designate it, since it was the Scriptures, and only the Scriptures, that could form a substan- ' The first edition of the Utopia contained many passages ridiculing the folly and ill-nature of the friars, which were left out of later editions. See Burnet's History of the Beformafion, III., 29. 1715. 1516.] GREEK AND LATIS TESTAMENT OF EBASMUS. 91 tial foundation for the building up of the faith of a Eeformed Christianity. The Greek Testament of Erasmus was collated from all the MSS. he could obtain. The text thus formed he printed together with a Latin translation. It appeared at Basle in 1516, and was the first Greek New Testament pub- lished in print.' Transported across the channel, it was re- ceived into England with enthusiasm, and was ofiered for sale in the book-stalls of London, Oxford, and Cambridge. The friends of the New learning were delighted, but the hierarchy was alarmed. " The priests saw the danger," says D'Aubigne, "and by a skilful manoeuvre, instead of finding fault with the Greek Testament, attacked the translation and the translator." ^ They cried out : " He has corrected the Vulgate, and puts himself in the place of St. Jerome Look here ! this book calls upon men to repent, instead of requiring them, as the Vulgate does, to do penance." ^ Notwithstanding this opposi- tion, edition after edition was called for, and accordingly it was reprinted in 1519, 1523, 1527, and 1535. This Greek and Latin Testament of Erasmus was a preparatory step towards a Vernacular version of the New Testament ; and this was his desire. In his preface he says: "I differ exceedingly from those who object to the Scriptures being translated into the vernacular tongues, and read by the illiterate; as if Christ had taught so obscurely, that none could understand him but a few theologians ; or as if the Christian religion depended upon being kept secret. The mysteries of kings ought, per- haps, to be concealed, but the mystery of Christ strenuously urges publication And I wish that the Scriptures might be translated into all languages, . . . (that) the husbandman might ' The Gomplutenaian Polyglott of Cardinal Ximenes did not appear till 1533, though the New lestament was printed iu 1514, and the Old Testa- ment in 1517. But the consent of the pope for their publication was not granted till 1530. See Hallam's Literature of Europe, I., 292. New York, 1874. ' History of the Reformation, V., 155, Am. Tr. Soc. edition. New York. N. D. > Ibid, p. 155. 92 TlfDALE'S TRAN^SLATION OF THE' N". T. [CHAP. III. repeat them at his plough, the weaver sing them at his loom. . . . Letters, written by those we love and esteem, are pre- served and prized, ... and yet there are thousands of Chris- tians who . . . never once, in the whole of their life, read the books containing the Gospels and Epistles." * The wish of Erasmus was fulfilled, but not through his direct agency. The storm of opposition gathered as he did "not anticipate. From a literary standpoint he thought to harmonize the conflicting elements and gradually reform the abuses of the papacy. Erasmus was a professed papist, yet a leader in the party of the New learning up to a certain point. He was friendly to the work of Keformation under Luther, yet was unwilling to break with the pope. He sought a mid- dle course, which proved displeasing to both extremes. He called Luther his dear friend and brother, and at the same time wrote flattering letters to the pope. And yet neither Wycliffe or Luther sent forth such broadsides of wit and sar- casm against the Eomish priests. But Erasmus was not a reformer. He had no taste for martyrdom. He could retreat from the storm of battle he had helped to raise, but he could not fight; and in 1517 he was compelled so to do. His Greek Testament, however, remained notwithstanding the attempts to banish it the kingdom. Archbishop Lee, from a professed friend of Erasmus became his open enemy, and was inde- fatigable in his efforts to prepare " a prison for Erasmus, (and) the fire for the Holy Scriptures." ^ But while the enemy raged his New Testament was eagerly sought after, and as eagerly read. Another attack was made by Bishop Standish. Single-handed, and with more zeal than knowledge, he made a desperate attack. From the pulpit of St. Paul's Cathedral he appealed to the mayor and corporation of London. In the midst of his sermon he cried out: "Away with these new translations or else the religion of Jesus Christ is threatened ' Townley's Biblical Literature, II., 265. London, 1821. ' " If we do not stop this leak," said Lee in referring to Erasmus' New Testament, " it will sink the ship." — D'Aubigne's History of the Uefor- mation, V,, 159. 1516.] THE APPEAL OF BISHOP STANDISH. 93 with utter ruin My lord, magistrates of the city, and oiti- zens all, fly to the succour of religion." * This empty harangue was a failure ; but he will appeal to the king. The story is told by Erasmus himself, and the scene was worthy of his pen. The royal family, with invited guests, were in the midst of a social rejoicing when the good bishop, making his way through the gay crowd, prostrated himself before the king and queen. All were amazed, and wondered what the old bishop could mean. "Great king," he cried, "your ancestors who have reigned over this island, and yours, great queen, who have governed Aragon, were always distinguished by their zeal for the Church. Show yourselves worthy of your forefathers. Times full of danger are come upon us, a book has just ap- peared, and been published too by Erasmus ! it is such a book that, if you close not your kingdom against it, it is all over with the religion of Christ among us." The bishop ceased for a moment, and then raising his eyes and hands towards heaven, exclaimed in a sorrowful tone : " Christ ! Son of God ! save thy spouse !.... for no man cometh to her help." The bishop acted his part well; Henry VIII. was embarrassed, and Queen Catherine was deeply affected ; and had the scene closed here, the appeal possibly might not have been in vain. But the chief actor, thinking that he had won the judgment of the king and the sympathy of the queen, waited that he might depart in triumph. But the scene changes ; that which was just now so serious becomes most ludicrous. Sir Thomas More, the friend of Erasmus, and a great admirer of his Latin translation of the Greek Testament, was present, and breaking the silence calmly inquired: '-What are the heresies this book is likely to engender ? " The bishop, seeking to keep up the dramatic dignity of the scene, " with the forefinger of his right hand, touching successively the fingers of his left," enumerated one, by one the heresies ; " First, this book," he said, " destroys the resurrection ; secondly, it annuls the sacrament of mar- riage ; thirdly, it abolishes the mass." Then, uplifting his ' TfAxihigae's H'story of the Reformation, Y., 171,173 94 TYNDALE'3 THANSLATION OF THE N. T. [CHAP. Ill, thumb and two fingers, " he showed them to the assembly with a look of triumph." But the friends of learning called for " the proof, the proof." The poor old man, still full of cour- age and elated by success, attempts the proofs, but they are so weak that his friends blush for him. Henry VIII. in disgust turns away. The bishop, greatly chagrined, withdraws.^ The New learning triumphs, and in its triumph Protestantism and the New Testament of Erasmus rejoice. But this Greek and Latin Testament was but a preparatory step to something better. It must needs be translated into the language of the people. This was the desire of Erasmus, but the purpose of Tyndale. A purpose not to be fulfilled excepting through opposition, danger, exile and final martyr- dom. The story of Tyndale's life and of his translation of the New Testament into English, is one. There were succes- sive steps in the life of John Wyclifife, which both fitted and unfitted him for the work of translating the Bible. How long he meditated the design we do not know ; but he did not exe- cute it till the close of his eventful life. It was otherwise with William Tyndale. The purpose to translate the Holy Scrip- tures was the one purpose and the one work of his life. No name in the whole history of Vernacular versions deserves such prominence as that of William Tyndale. Our common English Bible of to-day is so largely indebted to Tyndale's translation that all who love their English Bible will unite in honoring the memory of William Tyndale, who suffered ex- patriation and martyrdom for the sake of giving to his countrymen the New Testament in their own tongue. William Tyndale was born, most probably, in 1484, in Gloucestershire, in the village of North Nibley. The obscurity which hangs over the family relations of Tyndale, arises from the fact, that he lived in times of persecution, and hence his reticence lest he should involve his relations in his own troubles. He was early sent to Oxford, and studied ' D'Aubigne's History of tlie Reformation, V., 173, 173. 1514. J TYNDALE AT CAMBEIDGE. 95 grammar, logic and philosophy in Magdalene Hall. Fq^e, the martyrologist and chief biographer of Tyndale, records that Tyndale was brought up in the University of Oxford, that he increased in the knowledge of tongues, and other liberal arts, and especially in the knowledge of the Scriptures. Also that he privately read lectures in Divinity to the students, and instructed them in the Holy Scriptures. But "spying hys tyme," he removed to the University of Cambridge.' Tyndale's motive for going to Cambridge is not known. Some conjecture that it was on account of his liberal opinions ; while others, with more reason, perhaps, suppose that it was his desire to study Greek under Erasmus, who about this time, 1509-1514, Was professor of Greek at Cambridge.^ But the New Testament of Erasmus was shortly to do a greater work for the students of Cambridge than Erasmus himself. Thomas Bikiey, a young Cambridge doctor, read it, at first, more for the elegance of its Latinity than for its religious teaching. But when at length his eyes fell upon the words : This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners ; of whom I am chief. His heart was touched. "I also am like Paul," he cried, " and more than Paul the greatest of sinners ! But Christ saves sinners I see it all, my vigils, my fasts, my pilgrimages, my purchase of masses and indulgences were destroying instead of saving me."^ Tyndale met with Bilney. They opened the New Testament together. They also read it to their fellow students. Here also Tyndale met with John Fryth, who already was distinguished for his scholarship and integrity of life. Fryth, through the influence of Tyndale, became a converted man, and afterwards became his associate in the work of translation. Fryth was well read in mathe- matics, Bilney in the canon law, and Tyndale in the learned ' Acts and Monuments, p. 1334. » Fuller's Church History of Britain. History of the University of Cambridge, p. 87. London, 1655. Fuller in this connection says, that Erasmus also " took upon him the Divinity Professors place." 3 D'Aubigne's History of the Reformation, V., 16.3, 164. 90 ttndale's translation of the n. t. [chap. hi. languages. These three young men associated themselves to- gether, and strengthened each other's hands in the work of reading the New Testament and preaching the Gospel of repentance to their fellow stndents. After Tyndale's departure from Cambridge we next hear of him as a tutor in the family of Sir John Walsh, of Gloucester- shire. " This Gentleman," says Foxe, "as hee kept a good ordinarie commonly at his table, there resorted to hym many times sondry Abbots, Deanes, Archdeacons, with other diuers Doctors and great beneficed men ; who there together with M. Tyndall sittyng at the same table, did use many tymes to enter communication and talke of learned men, as of Luther and of Erasmus. Also diuers other controuersies and questions upon the Scripture. ' And when as they at any tyme did varye from Tyndall in opinions and judgement, he would shewe them the booke and lay playnly before them the opeu and manifest places of the Scriptures, to confute their erours, and to confirme his sayinges. And thus continued they for a certain season, reasonynge and contending together diuers and sundry tymes, till at length they waxed wery, and bare a secret grudge in their hartes agaynst hym." ' Poxe enters minutely into the history of Tyndale's life while he remained in the family of Sir J. Walsh. At first, through the influence of Lady Walsh, the family inclined to the views of the learned and rich doctors, for there were among them those that could spend their three hundred pounds, a very large sum, since in modern values it stands as one to fifteen, and it was not reasonable, according to her protest, that she should listen to Tyndale, a poor tutor, in preference to these rich doctors. However, after Tyndale hail translated the Enchiridion of Erasmus, a book which exposed the ceremonial observances of the Romish Church, he gave it to Sir John and his lady to read. The book had the desired infiuence. The family became more friendly to Tyndale, and more estranged from the Eomish doctors. Whereupon the ' Acts and Monuments, p. 1325. 1518.] TTKDALE IN THE FAMILY OF SIR J. WALSH. 97 latter were enraged, and " began to grudge and storme against Tyndall, rayling agaynst hym in ale houses and other places." ' They finally accused Tyndale secretly before the chancellor. Tyndale's oflfense was that of driving them from the well filled tables of Sir John, and that he was a zealous preacher " about the town of Bristol, and in the said town in the common place called St. Austin's Green." When Tyndale was brought before the chancellor, though nothing was proved against him, yet the chancellor " threatened hym greuously, reuilyng and ratyng hym as though hee had been a dogge." ' Foxe further relates a conversation, which occurred at this time, between Tyndale and a certain learned divine, who in anger burst forth, saying : " We were better to be without Gods law than the Popes." Tyndale with spirit replied: "I defle the Pope and air hys lawes ; " and further added: "if God spared hym life, ere many yeares he would cause a boy that driueth the plough to know more of the Scripture, then he did."s There is no positive evidence that Tyndale began the work of translating the New Testament while at the house of Walsh ; but he has left words on record which show his state of mind at this period. He says : " Which thing only moved me to translate the 'New Testament. Because I had perceived by experience, how that it was impossible to establish the lay- people in any truth, except the scripture were plainly laid be- fore their eyes in their mother-tongue, that they might see the process, order, and meaning of the text ; for else, what- soever truth is taught them, these enemies of all truth quench it again."* He labored much in preaching the Gospel while he stayed at this manor house, and it is to these labors, doubt- less, he referred, when he wrote : " While I am sowing in one place, the enemy ravages the field I have just left. Oh, if Christians possessed the Holy Scriptures in their own tongue ' Acts and Monuments, p. 1225. ' Ibid, p. 1225. » Ibid, p. 1225. * Tyndale's Works, I., 394. Parker Soc. ed. Cambridge, 1848. 98 TYNDALE'S translation 6F the N. T. [chap. III. they could of themselves withstand these sophists." The rage of the priests increased, and as Foxe relates, Tyndale came to Sir John and said: "I perceaue I shall not bee suffered tt) tarye long hire in this countrey, neither shal you be hable, though you would, to kepe me out of the handes of the spir- itualitie, and also what displeasure might grow thereby to you by kepyng me."' Thus driven away, Tyndale came to London, hoping to find a patron in Bishop Tonstal, since he remembered that Tonstal was highly extolled by Erasmus for his great learning. So long as the revival of learning confined itself to classic litera- ture, Tonstal, like Sir Thomas More, was a friend of the move- ment ; but since it was opening wide the door of Protestant- ism, he was no longer its friend. Consequently, in his house there was no place for Tyndale, though as an evidence of liis scholarship Tyndale had sent him an oration of Isocrates which he had translated from the Greek into English.' But in Humphrey Monmouth, whom Foxe describes as "a right godly and .sincere alderman of London," Tyndale found a friend and supporter, who received him into his own house for the space of six months. Here, doubtless, Tyndale applied himself to the work of translation. Monmouth's testimony respecting Tyndale, while he abode in his house, was that "he lyued lyke a good Priest, studying both night and day." ^ But the eye of the persecutor followed him to London. It is now the close of the year 1533. Tyndale has been in London almost a year, and can remain no longer. He says : '' I . . . . saw things whereof I defer to speak at this time, and under- stood at the last, not only that there was no room in my lord of London's palace to translate the New Testament, but also tiiat there was no place to do it in all England, as experience doth now openly declare." ^ ' Acts and Mon., p. 1325. » Tyndale's Works, I., 395. ' Foxe's Acts and Monuments, p. 1133. ' Tyndale's Works, I., 396. Parker Society edition. Cambridge, 1818. 1524-5.] TYNDALE AT HAMBURGH. 99 Probably by Monmouth's advice, and certainly by hisiaid,' Tyndale crossed the sea to Hamburgh, that he might carry out his purpose of translating the New Testament. He landed at Hamburgh in May, 1534, and found the city in a state of great excitement. The burghers were united in opposition to all political usurpations, but they were divided as to their re- ligious opinions. For three or four years the Reformation under Luther had been steadily advancing in Hamburgh. Here Tyndale found friends ; and, assisted by his " faithful companion," he proceeded with the work of translation. And when this friend was called away ,2 he was aided by William Roye, " a friar observant of the Franciscan order at Green- wich." Tyndale describes him as '' a man somewhat crafty, when he cometh unto new acquaintance Nevertheless, I suffered all things till that was ended, which I could not do alone without one, both to write and to help me to compare the texts together. When that was ended, I took my leave, and bade him farewell for our two lives, (and as men say) a day longer." 8 During Tyndale's short stay in Hamburgh, it is very possible that he finished the translations of the Gos- pels of Matthew and Mark, which he printed separately ; and that one or both of these made up the " little book " that Humphrey Monmouth confessed to have received from Tyn- dale in 1524.'' Tyndale remained in Hamburgh till the begin- ning of the next year. That he went from here to Wittem- burgh to confer with Luther, though asserted by Foxe, is very questionable. Sir Thomas More and other papists were anxious to make it appear that Tyndale was confederate with ' Humphrey MoniDOuth gave him an exhibition or annuity of ten pounds, sufficient, at this time, for the maintenance of a single man. The amount in present values would be about $750. Lewis' History of Eng. Translations, p. 75. ^ Supposed to be his college associate, John Fryth, who afterwards suftered martyrdom at the stake in Smithfield. Or possibly the person meant may be George Joy. 2 Tyndale's Works, I., 37, 38. ■• Anderson's Annala of the English Bible, p, 29. Loudon, 1863 100 TTNDALE'S TKANSLATION op the N'. T. [chap. III. Luther, hence the importance of this visit, and yet there is no positive evidence of it.^ Leaving Hamburgh, Tyndale with Eoye arrived at Cologne in April, 1525. Cologne ofEered superior advantages for print- ing. The celebrated printers, Quentel and the Byrcmans were established here. But the city was one of the strongholds of the papacy. The Protestant movement had reached Cologne, but the principal efEect had been to stir up a violent opposi- tion to the Eeformation. Tyndale, aware of this, takes ob- scure lodgings. When his manuscript was ready for the press, he was cautious in arranging with the printers for an edition of three thousand copies. The printing began in secret, and page after page was worked off from the press. Tyndale is overjoyed. But further disappointment awaits him. John Cochlaeus, a violent opposer of the Reformation, was at Co- logne. He had dealings with Tyndale's printers. They met over the winecup, and Cochleeus learns from them what they would not have revealed in their sober moments — that two Englishmen, skilled in the languages, were concealed in the city for the purpose of superintending the printing the New Testament in English, and that four score pages in quarto had already been struck off. Cochlaeus took immediate steps to inform the public authorities, and through an order from the senate the press was stopped. He likewise, by letters, warned Henry VIII. and his councilors, and directed them to give orders at every seaport to prevent the introduction of the baneful merchandise.^ Anticipating any further action of the senate, Tyndale hastens to the printers, and securing his manuscript and the pages already printed, escapes the net of the fowler by fleeing the city. We next hear of Tyndale at Worms, where, without further opposition, he succeeds in his long cherished design. Two editions of his translation, an octavo and a quarto, were printed here, in the closing months of 1535. There has been much confusion as to the correct 1 Anderson's Annnla of tTie SnglisJiBible.pv. 24:,Z5,^G. London,1862. 2 Ibid, p. 33. 1535-6.] THE QUAKTO AND OCTAVO EDITIONS. 101 date, though the year 1536 has been heretofore generally ac- cepted as correct. " The first time," says Strype, " the Holy Scripture was printed in English was about the Year 1536. And that was only the New Testament translated by Tyndal." ^ Le Long refers to the year 1536 as the positive date of the quarto edition. But Mr. Anderson thinks he makes a mistake of a whole year.^ The introduction of these Testa- ments into England in the spring of 1536 would seem to favor the close of the year 1535 as the true date. If possible, authorities have been more divided in respect to the place, than to the date, of printing these New Testaments. Some favor Wittemburgh, others Antwerp, while others more correctly fix upon Worms as the place of printing. This con- fusion arises from the fact that the books were published with- out either the name of the author, the place, or the date of the issue. Again, it has been an open question as to which was first printed, the quarto or the octavo edition. Mr. Offer, however, seems to have settled this question, quite satisfac- torily, in favor of the octavo edition. The explanation seems to be, that while Tyndale intended the quarto edition should be the first printed, and so the work was actually begun at Cologne, yet, because it was interrupted and the English authorities were instructed particularly as to the character of the book issuing from the press at Cologne, he changed the form to an octavo, leaving out the prologues and glosses.^ And yet, from some unknown reason, the quarto volumes, though last from the press, appeared in England quite as soon as those of the octavo edition, and were the first condemned by the public authorities, since the books that were condemned con- tained " prefaces and other pestylente gloses in the margentes." This appears in the reply of Henry VIII. to Luther, in which he charges Luther with being " in deuyce with one or two leude persons (referring to Tyndale and Eoye) borne in this our ' Memorials of Arc/ibishop Cranmer, p. 81. London, 1694. ' Anderson's Annals, p. 43. ' Ibid, p. 39. 103 TTNDALE'S translation of the N. T. [chap. III. realme, for the translatyng of the New testament in to Eng- lysshe, as well with many corruptions of that holy text, as certayne prefaces, and other pestylente gloses in the margentes, for the aduauncement and settyng forthe of his adbomynable heresyes, .... In the aduoydynge wherof, we of our especiall tendre zeale .... determyned the sayd and yntrue translatyons to be brenned, with further sharppe correction and punissh- ment against the kepars and reders of the same."^ So hot were the fires kindled by the king's "tendre zeal" that no entire copy of the quarto edition escaped the flames, so far as has been found. The only relic extant, contains the prologue to Matthew's Gospel, also a portion of the same Gospel, extending from the first chapter to the twelfth -verse of the twenty-second chapter, inclusive. And it seems that this escaped by being bound up with a quarto tract of CEcolampadius. In this way it remained concealed for three hundred years; when it was discovered accidentally, and identified as a part of Tyndale's New Testament.^ This fragment is now preserved in the Grenville collection in the British Museum ; and has been photo-lithographed and re- printed in facsimile, both text and prologue, by Edward Arber. Of the octavo edition, there remains but one perfect copy,5 which is most sacredly preserved in the library of the Baptist College, Bristol. Another, though imperfect, may be found in the library of St. Paul's Cathedral, London.* The history of the Bristol copy may be traced back for a century or more, when it was in the Harleian library of Lord Oxford. Mr. John Murray, his collector, secured it, and as a reward, twenty pounds a year was settled upon him for life. On the ' As cited in Arber'a Preface. Plioto-lithographed Fragment of Tyndale's N. T., p. 49. London, 1871. This letter of Henry VIII. was in answer to Luther's published letter to him, which was received in March, 1526. '' Anderson's Annals, pp. 36, 37. * The title page is gone. ' Arber's Preface, Photo-Uthogrcophed Fragment of Tyndale's N. T., p. 5. 1535-6.] THE QUABTO AND OCTAVO EDITIONS. 103 death of Lord Oxford, 1741, Mr. Thomas Osborne purchased his library, and not being aware of the value of this volfimo, sold it to Mr. Ames for fifteen shillings. In 1760, when the Ames' books were sold, this New Testament brought fourteen guineas and a half. The volume contains the following note : "N.B. This choice book was purchased at Mr. Langford's sale, (Mr. Ames' books) 13th May, 1760, by me John Whyte ; and on the 13th of May, 1776, I sold it to the Rev. Dr. Clif- ford for twenty guineas, the price first paid for it by the late Lord Oxford." * Dr. Gifford bequeathed it to the Bristol Library iu 1784. The English merchants abroad who had to do with the in- troduction of these newly printed Testaments into England, were aware that the public authorities had been warned by Cochlseus, and of the consequent difficulties to be overcome. But notwithstanding the impending dangers, five Hanseatic merchants took the precious books into their ships, and sailed for London. They expected to find the enemy on guard, but instead, the way was open and the books were landed and safely conveyed to the Merchants' warehouse in Thames Street.' If the enemy slept, the friends of the Bible were awake and expectant. Not only in London, but in Oxford and Cambridge, they anxiously awaited the coming of the newly printed English Testaments. The soil was prepared for the seed. For almost a hundred and fifty years this preparation had been going forward : so intimately allied was the close of the fourteenth with the beginning of the sixteenth century. The name of John WyclifEe was still fresh in the minds and hearts of his friends; neither was it forgotten by his enemies, for they still kept alive the fires of persecution so early kindled against his followers. Then these Lollards, or Broders in Christ, still preserved and read the old brown manuscripts of Wycliffe's New Testament. They were familiar also with religious tracts of his writing. Besides all this ' Anderson's Annals of the English Bible, p. 41. London, 1862. ' D'Aubigne's History of the Reformation, V., 264. 104 TTNDALB'S translation^ of the N. T. [chap. III. there was a more recent preparation which began with the revival of learning, and the publishing of Erasmus' Greek and Latin Testament. A movement which influenced the educated, not excepting those of the Universities. Finally, by way of preparation, the influence of Luther must not be forgotten, which was beginning to sweep like a great wave over England. Thus the way was fully prepared, and from the first the people received these newly printed Testaments joyfully, but, from necessity, secretly. The first distributer of these Testaments was Thomas Garret, curate of Honey Lane, London. He was a plain man, timid in disposition, but bold in faith, whose preaching was an ofiense to the hierarchy but a joy to the people. From the Merchants' warehouse these New Testaments were taken to the house of Garret. Other places of deposit were afterwards found, but the " dark corners " of Garret's house were the first hiding places of these lights, which must soon light up all England. So there were others who afterwards engaged, at the risk of personal liberty, in distributing, by sale, these precious volumes, yet, as the story comes to us, Thomas Garret was the first to do, and the first to suffer. The books came into his possession, probably in the early part of the year 1526. He proceeds cautiously in his work, selling to priest and laymen alike, but in every case with a special charge: "that they wold kepe yt close." How the good news must have spread among these Broders in Christ that a printed New Testament in English could be bought of Thomas Garret, in Honey Lane, near Cheapside, "in the smal or biggest volume, for vii. or \\n. grotes a pece." ^ ' Robert Necton in his confession (made probably at London in 1528) says : "Vicar Constantyne at diners tymes, had of this respondent about XV. or xvi. of the New Testaments of the biggest .... That about the same tyme, he sold fyve of the said New Testaments to Sir William Furboshore synging man, in Stowmarket, in Suffolk, for vii or viii grotes a pece [2s. 4d. or 3s. 8d., equal to £1 15s. Od. or £3 Os. Od. now]." Ac- cordingly the oitavo copy would be worth in present values in American money $8.75, and the quarto, $10.00. Compare Arbor's Preface, p. 43. 1536.] THE BUKNING OF KEW TESTAMENTS. 105 They loved their old brown manuscripts of "the iiii Evan- gelistes and certayn Epistles of Peter and Poule in Englishe," but now these are little regarded in comparison with this New Testament in print with its "cleyner Englishe." ^ While Thomas Garret, Father Hacker and others are diligent in distributing these Testaments in London, Cam- bridge, and other places, the hierarchy is on the alert. It has examined these books and has determined to condemn them, and all such persons as have to do with them. Bishop Tonstal, by the advice of Cardinal Wolsey, sent forth an injunction to the archdeacons of his diocese, under date of October 24, 1526, for the calling in of New Testaments translated by Tyndale ; enjoining, " that within xxx dayes space .... under payne of excommunication and incurryng the suspicion of heresie, they do bryng in and really deliuer unto our vicare generall, all and singular such bokes as conteyne the translation of the new Testament in the Englishe tongue." ^ About this time, in October or November, 1526, Bishop Tonstal preached a sermon at Paul's Cross, in which he told the people that there were three thousand errors in the trans- lation. It was on this occasion, according to Arber, "that Tyndale's New Testaments were first officially denounced, and publicly iurnt. " ' But that the people were not convinced ' John Tyball in his deposition made in April, 1528, says : " that at Mychaelmasse last past was twelve monethe, this respo'ndent and Thomas Hilles came to London to Frear Barons, .... to buy a New Testament in Englishe The sayd Thomas Hilles, and this re- spondent shewyd the Frear Barons of certayne old bookes that they had ; as of iiii Evangelistes, and certyne Epistles of Peter and Poule in Englishe. Which bookes the sayd Frear dyd little regard, and made a twyte of it, and sayd, A poynt for them, for they be not to be regarded toward the new printed Testament in Englishe. For it is of more cleyner Englishe. And then the sayd Frear Barons delyverid to them the sayd New Testament in Englyshe; for which they paydiiis. iid. ■ (£1 12s. 6d.) and desyred them that they wold kepe yt close." Arber's Preface, p. 46. ' Foxe's Acts and Monuments, p. 1157. ' Arber's Preface, p. 49. 106 TYNDALE'S TKANSLATION OF THE N. T. [CHAP. III. by Tonstal's assertions, we have the testimony of John Lam- bert, who suffered martyrdom two years afterward, that he was at " Paules Crosse when the new Testament Imprinted of late beyond the Sea, was first forefended ; (forbidden ;) and truely my harte lamented greatly to heare a great man preachyng agaynst it, which shewed forth certaine thynges that he noted for hideous errors to be in it, that I, yea and not I, but lykewise did many other thincke verely to be none."i But if now the New Testaments of Tyndale are burned, for every book thus destroyed hundreds of others will arise from its ashes. Already Dutch printers have taken up the work of printing English Testaments as a commercial enterprise. Christopher Endhoven printed an edition in 1527, at Antwerp; two other editions by Euremond followed in 1528, so that English Testaments becaine plentier and cheaper. The years 1527 and 1528 were remarkable for the large number of New Testaments imported into England. The authorities were perplexed. They decided to purchase all the books printed and thus stop their circulation. Ac- cordingly Archbishop VVarham sent forth his agents; and royal letters were sent to Hacket, the English envoy on the continent', to use every endeavor to get possession of English Testaments. So very successful were the archbishop's agents, that he lacked funds for their extensive purchases. Bishop Nix, in reply to the archbishop's letter soliciting aid, says: "Surely in myne opynion you have done therein a gracious and blessed dede. " And that the "holle charge and coste" should not fall upon the archbishop, he contributed ten marks as his share, a sum equal to about five hundred dollars in present values. But the inquisitors are not satisfied with books, they must have men. These Bible readers and New Testament distrib- uters must be arrested and severely dealt with. In the diocese ' Foie's Acts and Monuments, p. 1373. Tlie above is a part of his answer to the QGth article, viz.: " Whether I beleue that the heades or rulers by necessity of saluation, are bounde to geue unto the people, holy Scrii)ture in theyr mother language ? " 1526-8.] PERSECUTION OF MASTER GARRET. 107 of London, and about Colchester, and other parts of ^ssex, these brethren were holding secret meetings for instructing "one another out of God's word."' And all this must be stopped. To do it a strict visitation was ordered. Tonstal in his wrath commanded that parties accused should be forced not only to criminate themselves but to implicate others. The Public Registers are filled with these cruel depositions. During this visitation, in the early part of the year 1527, Father Hacker, alias Ebb, a notable Lollard and Bible reader and teacher, who for the past six years had been going from house to house, reading and expounding the Scriptures, was arrested and compelled upon his oath to discover many of his friends and followers. A long list of the names of those thus detected, and the accusation against them, is recorded by Strype.^ In 1528, persecution began in earnest. Wolsey's agents abroad are instructed to search out and arrest Tradale the chief doer in all this mischievous work. At homo the prisons are already filled to the full with those whose only crime is that of reading the New Testament in English. As a striking picture of the times, exhibiting both the rage of the Romish Church and the fierceness of the State, the story of Thomas Garret's sufEeriugs, as told by Anthony Dalaber, is most graphic and interesting. The facts were written out by Dalaber from memory in 1562, by the request of Mr. Foxe, who inserted them in the early editions of his Acts and Monuments. The story as given below is abridged from Foxe, and the spelling modernized : " I, Anthony Dalaber, then scholar at Albqrne Hall, who had books of M (aster) Garret, had been in my country, in Dorset- shire, at Stalbridge, where I had a brother Parson of that Parish, who was very desirous to have a Curate out of Oxford, It was thought good among the brethren, that M(aster) Garret, changing his name, should be sent. . . .to serve him there for a time, until he might secretly from thence, convey ' Strype's Ecclesiastical Memorials of the Reformation, I., 115. Lon- don, 1816. « BM, pp. 117, 118, 119. 108 TTNDALE'S TKANSLATIOIf OE THE N. T. [CHAP. III. himself somewhither over the sea, .... So the Wednesday, in the morning before Shrovetide, M(aster) Garret departed But the Friday next, in the niglit time, he came again to Rad- leis house, .... and so after midnight .... he was apprehended and taken there in his bed, .... and deHvered over to D(octor) Cottisford, . . . .who kept him as a prisoner, in his own cham- ber. There was great joy and rejoicing among the Papists. . . . .Who immediately sent their letters in post haste unto the Cardinal to inform him of the apprehension of this notable heretic, But of all this sudden hurly burly, was I utterly ignorant. So that I knew neither of M (aster) Garret's so sud- den return, neither that he was so taken, until that afterwards, he came unto my chamber,. . . .as a man amazed, and as soon as he saw me, he said he was undone for he was taken I asked him why he went not unto my brother ? , . . . He said that after he was gone a day's journey and a half, he was so fearful, that his heart would no other, but that he must needs return again unto Oxford H-e prayed me to help convey him away, .... and told me that he would go into Wales, and thence convey himself into Germany. Then I put on him a sleeved coat of mine. He would also have had another manner of cap of me, but I had none but priest hke such as his own was. "Then kneeled us both down, and lifting up our hearts and hands to God our heavenly father, desiring him with plenty of tears, so to conduct and prosper him in his journey, that he well might escape the danger of all his enemies, to the glory of his holy name And so he departed from me, When I was gone down the stairs from my chamber, I straight- way did shut my chamber door, and went into my study, and took the New Testament into my hands, kneeled down on my knees, and with many a deep sigh and salt tear, I did with much deliberation read over the x. chapter of S. Matthew his Gospel, and with fervent prayer, I did commit unto God our dearly beloved brother Garret Also that he would endue his tender and lately bom little flock in Oxford with heavenly strength by his holy spirit that they inight be well able to Withstand to his glory all their fiery enemies. 1526.] PERSECUTION OF MASTER GARRET, 109 "This done, I. . . .went towards Friswide to speak witli that worthy martyr of God M(aster) Clarke and others, and to declare unto them what had happened that afternoon I met by the way one Master Edeu, ... .who. .. .with pitiful countenance said, We are all undone, for Master Garret was returned .... and was in prison But I told him .... that I was well assured he was now gone,. . . .how he came unto me, and how he went his way Then I went straight to Fris- wide As I then and there stood, incometh D(octor) Oot- tisford the Commissary, as fast as ever he could go, bare- headed and as pale as ashes, (I knew his grief well enough) and to the Dean he goeth, into the Quire, and talked with him very sorrowfully About the middle of the church met them D(octor) London, puffing and blustering and blowing like a hungry and greedy Lion seeking his prey, they talked together awhile, but the Commissary was much blamed of them for keeping his prisoner so negligently And it was known abroad that M (aster) Garret was escaped These Doctors departed, and sent abroad their servants and spies every where. Master Clarke. . . .came forth from the Quire, I followed him to his chamber and declared what was happened, that afternoon, of Master Garret's escape. He was glad for he knew of his foretelling I went to Alborne Hall and there lay that night. In the morning 1 went straight to- wards Glocester College to my chamber And going up the stairs, would have opened my door, but I could not in a long season do it. Whereby I perceived that my lock had been meddled with all When I came in I saw my bed all tossed and tumbled, my clothes in my press thrown down and my study door open, whereof I was much amazed, and thought verily that some search was made there that night for M(aster) Garret Now there was lying in the next chamber unto me, a monk, who as soon as he heard me,. . . .came and told me how M(aster) Garret was sought (for), .... and how every corner of my chamber was searched for M. Garret Then he told me that he was commanded to bring me as soon as I came in, unto the Prior I went with him to the said 110 TYNDALE'S TRANSLATION 0? THE N. T. [CHAP. III. Prior's chamber He asked me if M (aster) Garret were with me yesterday ? I told him yea. Then he would know where he was I told him I knew not, . . . except he were at Woodstock Whithsr when I was brought into the chapel there 1 found D(octor) Cottisford, D(octor) Higdon, . . .and D(octor) London. First, they asked what my name was. I told them that my name was Anthony Dalaber. Then, how long I had been student in the University, and I told them almost iii years Then, whether I knew M(aster) Gar- rat and how long I had known him. I told them I knew him well and had known him almost a twelvemonth. ...At the last when they could get nothing of me whereby to hurt or accuse any man, .... they all iii together brought me up a long stairs into a great chamber, .... wherein stood a great pair of very high stocks. Then M(aster) Commissary asked me for my purse and girdle, took away my money and my knives, and then they put my legs into the stocks, and so locked me fast in them ; in which I sat, my feet being almost as high as my head ; and so departed they,. , . .locking fast the chamber door Before dinner M(aster) Cottisford came up to me and requested me earnestly to tell him where M(aster) Garret was, and if I would so do, he promised me straightway to de- liver me out of prison. But I told him I could not tell where he was, no more indeed I could. Then he departed to dinner, asking me if I would cat any meat. I told him yea, right gladly. He said he would send me some. When he was gone his servants asked me divers questions, which I do not now remember, and some of them spake me fair, and some threat- ened me, calling me heretic, and so departed, locking the door fast upon me." ^ Thus far the story is related by Dalaber ; but Foxe further records, that Garret was again arrested, imprisoned, and con- victed as an heretic. Afterward he was compelled to carry a fagot in open procession from St. Mary's church to Friswide College. And all who were in the procession were commanded ' Foxe's Acta and Monuments, pp. 1363-1369. 15:28.] "A BUEiflXO OF THE WORD OF GOD." Ill to tLrow a book into the fire, iu token of repentance, as .they passed by. After this, Garret escaped the tyranny of his ene- mies by fleeing from place to place, but was hotly^pursued and at last taken. He was condemned and suffered martyrdom at the stake in Smithfield in the year 1541. i The opinion of the hierarchy now is, that if this flood of heresy is checked, the fountain heads must be dried up. Hacket, the agent ot Henry VIII., is at Antwerp with special letters for the arrest of Christopher Endhoven, whose great crime is printing New Testaments in English. But Antwerp was a free city and Endhoven a free citizen, and therefore could be heard in his own defense. Whereupon the lords of Antwerp decided " that the heresies and errors must be proved." The proof was not brought forward, and the " Margrave would proceed no further." Richard Harmau and his wife were the next victims. Failing to secure the conviction of Endhoven on the charge of heresy, they prosecuted Harman as a traitor. And on this charge, backed by royal letters, Harman and his wife were sent to prison on the 13th of July, 1528. Eichard Har- man was an English merchant, and for many years a burgher of Antwerp. One of the charges against him was that he had " received books from a German merchant (viz., New Testa- ments in English without a gloss), and sold them to an Eng- lish merchant who has had them conveyed to England." He was charged further with "sheltering suspected Lutherans;" also with "eating meat on Saturday." But such charges did not, in the judgment of Margaret and her council, sustain the accusation of being a traitor, and consequently the prisoners were discharged on the 26th of February, 1529, after suffering not only imprisonment for seven months, but a great hurt and hinderance in their business.^ The intense desire of Cardinal Wolsey was the apprehension of Tyndale and Eoye. He communicated with Hacket on this ' Foxe's Acts and Monuments, p. 1363. The more probable date of Garret's martyrdom is July 30, 1540. 2 Arber's Preface, p. 39. 113 TTNDALE'S TRANSLATION OF THE N. T. [CHAP. III. subject. He also sent a special messenger, in the person of John West, to Herman Eincke of Cologne, with orders to buy up everywhere books printed in English, and to arrest Eoye and Hitchens (Tyndale). Eincke replied : " I will endeavour in every way to arrest Eoy and Hatching, and other opponents and rebels of the king's grace and yours." ^ Failing in their attempts to stop the work of printing and importing New Testaments by persecution, the English gov- ernment sought the same end by treaty ; which stipulated that there should be the continuation of traffic for merchants be- tween the two countries, but there should be no printing or selling of any Lutheran books on either side. This treaty was signed at Carabray in 1539. Bishop Tonstal, Sir Thomas More, and the agent Hacket were the commissioners. But after all they had more confidence in tire than in treaties; for Tonstal, on his return from Cambray, stopped at Antwerp for the purpose of buying New Testaments that he might burn them. He met with Augustine Packington, a London mer- chant, and proposed to purchase all the New Testaments that remained unsold. As the story goes, Packington laid the matter before Tyndale, and the result was; "the Bishop of London had the bookes, Packington the thanks, and Tyndall had the money."' Furnished thus with the requisite means, Tyndale is said to have set about correcting his translation and having it newly printed ; so that the books came " thicke and threefolde ouer into England." The bishop perceiving this sent for Packington and said: "'How cometh this that there are so many New Testaments abroad ? You promised me that you would bye them all.' Then aunswered Packing- ton, ' Surely I bought all that was to bee had, but I perceaue they haue printed more since.... you were best to bye the stampes too, and so you shalbe sure ?' At which aunswere the Bishop smyled and so the matter ended." ^ Poxe also records in this same connection, that Sir Thomas More in his exam- Arber's Preface, p. 33. Foxe's Acta and Monuments, p. 1159. ' Ibid, p, 1153. 1530.] "A BURNING OF THE WOKD OP GOD." 113 ination of George Constantyne said : " ' There is beyoade the sea Tyndall, Joye, and a great many of you ; I know they cannot line without helpe. There are some that helpe and succour them with money, and thou being one of them, had- dest thy part thereof, and therefore knowest from whence it came. I pray thee tell me, who be they that helpe them thus ? ' ' My Lord ' quoth Constantine, ' I will tell you truly ; it is the Bishop of London that hath holpen us, for he hath bestowed among us a great deale of money upon New Testaments to burne them, and that hath bene and yet is our onely succour and comfort.' ' Now by my truth,' quoth More,'I thinke even the same, for so much I told the Byshop before he went about it.' " 1 The year 1530 brought with it changes for the worse. Car- dinal Wolsey, in whose opinion '• heresy was an error," and who by his leniency made it possible for those thus charged to recant, was degraded from his authority; while Sir Thomas More, in whose opinion "heresy was a crime," was exalted to the high seat of the chancellorship.^ And Sir Thomas as chancellor used his authority in concert with the Komish bish- ops to blot out the very name of heresy. Also the effect of the king's fierce proclamation of December 24, 1539, for the abolishing of New Testaments, and other heretical books, and for the withstanding of all who taught or preached against the dignity and ordinances of the Catholic Church, began to.be felt. "There ensued," says Foxe, "great persecution and trouble" against the poor and innocent flock of Christ." Ton- stal kindled a great fire of New Testaments in London on the 4th of May, 1530.^ But the people were indignant. They remonstrated to no effect ; but denounced it as " a burning of the Word of God." They further declared that " 'there must ' Foxe's Acts and Monuments, p. 1159. Some objections have been raisad to this story, and yet it illustrates the true state of affairs at that time. '' Sir Thomas More was made Chancellor October 26, 1529. See More's Life of Mure, p. 155, note. London, 1786. ^ Strype's Memorials of Oranmer, p. 81. The date in Strype is 1531. 114 TTNDALE'S TEANSLATIOK OF THE N. T. [CHAP. III. be a visable contrariety between that Book and the Doctrines of those who so handled it'; by which both their prejudice against the Clergy, and their desire of reading the New Tes- tament were eucreased."* Moreover, the impression abroad was that Henry VIII. was not altogether at one with the bish- ops in their war against heresy. The following extract from a letter of Bishop Nix, written on the 14th of May, 1530, reveals something of the state of feeling at least in his own diocese. The bishop in his perplexity wrote to Archbishop Warham : "I am accumbred with such as kepyth and readyth these arroneous books in English My Lord, I have done that lyeth in me for the suppression of soch persons ; but it passeth my power For diverse saith openly in my Diocess, that the Kinges Grace wold, that they shold have the said arroneous books Show this to the Kinges Grace, beseeching him to send his honorable Lettres, under his Seal, down to whom he please, in my Diocess. That they may show and publish, that it is not his pleasure, that soche bookes should be had or red ; and also punish soch as saith so And how I thought best for the suppression of soch as holdyth these arroneous opinions. For if they continue any time; I thynk they shall undoe us all But now it may be done wel in my Diocess ; For the Gentlemen and the Communality be not greatly infected ; but merchants and soch that hath their abiding not far from the Sea." 2 The hierarchy is still on the alert for the apprehension of William Tyndale. Vaughan, the English envoy and successor of Hacket, has a special commission to watch Tyndale's move- ments. In the meantime Tyndale has been engaged in trans- lating the Pentateuch, aided doubtless by his friend Fryth, who, at the persecution at Oxford, fled across the sea. These five books were printed separately, with titles and prologues ' Barnefs History of the Bef., I., 160. London, 1681. ^ Stryix's Memorials of ArcMishop Cranmer. App.,i>. 15. London, 1862. 1531.] VAUGHAN'S INTEEVIEW WITH TTNDALE. 115 to each, but without dates, excepting that of Genesis, which reads: "Emprented at Marlboro w, in the land of Hessl, by me, Hans Luft, the yere of our Lorde, M.D.XXX, the xvii dayes of Januarii."^ These books are quite rare, since there is but one complete set known, which is preserved in the Gren- ville Library, British Museum. The story, told by Foxe, of Tyndale's voyage from Antwerp to Hamburgh, with the manu- script of the newly translated Pentateuch, of his shipwreck and the loss of all his papers, and of Coverdale's connection with the work of retranslating at Hamburgh, seems to be without sufficient foundation. In January, 1531, Vaughan wrote to Cromwell : " It is un- likely to get Tyndall into England, when he daily heareth so many things from thence which feareth him."^ Again in April,'iu giving an account of an interview granted him by Tyndale in the suburbs of Antwerp, he reports Tyndale as saying, among other things : " Again, may his Grace (Henry VIII.), being a Christian prince, be so unkind to God, which hath commanded His Word to be spread throughout the world, to give more faith to wicked persuasions of men, which presuming above God's wisdom, and contrary to that which Christ expressly commandeth in His Testament, dare say, that it is not lawful for the people to have the same, in a tongue that they U7iderstand ; because the purity thereof should open men's eyes to see their wickedness? Is there more danger in the King's subjects, than in the subjects of all other Princes, which, in every of their tongues, have the same, under privilege of their sufferance ? " ^ After a lengthy interview, Vaughan adds, that Tyndale, "being something fearful of me lest I would have pursued him, and drawing also towards night, he took his leave of me, and departed from the town, and I towards the town — saying, ' I should shortly, peradventure, see him again, or if not, hear from him;' .... Hasty to pursue him I was not, because I had some likelihood to speak shortly again ' Anderson's Armala of Eng. Bible, p. 137. London, 1861. 2 Ibid, p. 151. ' Ibid, p. 153. 116 TTNDALE'S TRAifSLATION' OF THE K. T. [CHAP. III. with him ; and in pursuing him, I might perchance have failed of my purpose, and put myself in danger." ^ Vaughan wrote again to Cromwell iu May, in regard to another meeting he had with Tyndale, and reports him as saying: "If it would stand with the King's most gracious pleasure to grant only a bare text of the Scripture to be put forth among Ms people, like as is put forth among the subjects of the Emperor in these parts, and of other Christian Princes, — be it of the translation of what person soever shall please his Majesty, I shall immediately make faithful promise never to write more, nor abide two days in these parts after the same (is done) And till that time, I will abide the asperity of all chances, whatsoever shall come, and endure my life in as much pains as it is able to bear and suffer." ' It is but too evident that Cromwell's policy was by fair promises to entice Tyndale into England. But Tyndale remained unmoved in his sublime purpose to abide a stranger and a fugitive till the Scriptures were put forth in England in the language of the people. The time for this is near at hand ; but as yet the prospect is most gloomy. Eires are just now kindling in Eng- land for men as well as for New Testaments. During this fiery year, 1531, Thomas Bilney, "the sainted Bilney" as he was justly called, was the first to burn at the stake. Among the thirty-four questions which were put to him when on trial the fifteenth reads : " Whether they would haue the Masses and Gospels openly to bee read in Churches in the vulgare tongue, rather then in the Latine tongue." ^ This was the test ques- tion. It was death to answer it in the affirmative. And yet how firmly and nobly Bilney answered it. In reply he said, " hee would wishe that the Gospels and Epistles should bee read in Englishe. For I tvould (sayth Paul) rather haue v. wordes (&c. That the Church might be edified <&c. And Chri- sostome exhorteth his hearers to looke uppon bookes, that they might the better committe vnto memory, those thynges whiche ' Anderson's Annals of Eng. Bible, p. 153. London, 1863. 5 Ibid, pp. 154, 155. ' Foxe'g Acta and Monvments, p. 1136. 1531.] THE SEARCH FOE TTN0ALE. 117 they had heard. And S. Bede did translate S. lohns Gaspell into Englishe." i Richard Bayfield was the next to suffer. Against him as an heretic a long list of charges were brought, one of which was : " He being beyond the sea, bought and procured .... many bokes S treatises of sondry sorts." ^ Among these were Tyndale's New Testament and " the first boolce of Moyses, called Gene- sis." "He was," says Foxe, "beneficial to M. Tyndall and M. Fryth, for hee brought substaunce with hyni, and was their owne hande, and solde all their woorkes and the Germaines woorkes both in Fi-aunce and in England."^ Bayfield, after suffering the unprovoked yiolence of his persecutors, was led to the stake in Smithfield, in the month of November, 1531.* The Public Registers are filled with accounts, not only of those martyred, but of those who were imprisoned, put into stocks, and degraded by every indignity. " So great was the trouble of those tymes," says Eoxe, "that it would ouercharge auy storye to recite the names of all them which, .... were driuen out of the realme, or were cast out from their goodes and houses, or brought to open shame by abjuration." ^ These "bitter dales" continued during the next year. The king's mind is engrossed in the public and private aifairs of his realm, and yet he finds time to plan again for the arrest of William Tyndale. Sir Thomas Elypt, the man of letters, the friend of Sir Thomas More, and the favorite of the king, is charged with the duty of "seizing Tyndale." The enterprise failed, but the animus of Henry VIII. and his councilors is revealed. Elyot pledged his utmost diligence. " In me," he says, " there shall lack none endeavour." Again, in reference to the hopelessness of the task, he adds : " As far as I can perceive, (Tyndale) hearing of the King's diligence in the apprehension of him, he withdraweth him into such places, where he thinketh to be farthest out of danger." ^ Next to ' Foxe's Acta and Monuments, p. 1137. ^ Ibid, p. 1161. ' lUd, p. 1161. " lUd, p. 1164 =■ Ibid, p. 1190. '■ Anderson's Annah, p. 176. 118 tykdale's teanslatiok of the k. t. [chap. iir. Tyndale, the man of all others whom the hierarchy wishes just now to apprehend is John Fryth. He was a notable scholar, a friend of the New learning, an early companion of Tyndale, and his own child in the Gospel. On account of his learning he was selected by Cardinal Wolsey as one of his instructors in his new College at Oxford ; but on account of his religious opinions he was, with a notable band of sufferers,' shamefully imprisoned in the filthy cellar of that same College. He was released, however, by order of Wolsey, and, as already noted, escaped further persecution by fleeing to the continent. But for some reason not known he returned to England, and through the hatred and " deadly persecution of Sir Thomas More," he was arrested and sent to the tower. When brought before the bishop he refused to recant, and firmly subscribed to his answers these remarkable words : '• I Frith do thus thinke, and as I thinke, so bane I said, written, taught, and affirmed, and in my bookes bane published." ^ He was conse- quently delivered over to the civil authorities, conveyed by them to Smithfield, and burned at the stake, on the 4th day of July, 1533. The shameful martyrdom of this innocent man made a deep impression upon the minds of the people. The change has already set in, and the cloud of persecution is being dispersed. The enemies of the truth hate heresy still, but the power of the people is felt in the House of Commons, and henceforth all cases of persons accused for heresy were taken out of the hands of the bishops.' Persecution ceasing for a season, the demand arose anew for more New Testaments. Tyndale is now, 1534^ at the house of Thomas Poynts, an English merchant, at Antwerp. ' Chief amonj whom were M(aster) Clarke, M(aster) Sumner, M(aster) Bettes, Bayley and Goodman ; " most piked yong men of graue judge- ment and sharpe wittes, who conferring together upon the abuses of Re- ligion .... were therfore accused of heresie unto the Cardinal! and cast into a prison." See Pose's Acts and Mon., p. 1171. ' lUd, p. 1178. ' Burnet's History of the ReformatUm, I., 170, 1534.] EETISED EDITION, 1534. 119 He is busily engaged in revising liis New Testament. "The Dutch printers were preparing to put forth another edition ; and when told thiit Tyndale was about to publish his revised edition, and consequently theirs could not be sold, they re- phed : " If he prynte two thousand and we as many, what is so little a noumber for all England 9 and we will sel ours better cheap, and therefore we doubt not of the sale." ' The editors of the fourth Dutch edition employed George Joye to correct the copy. Now, about this time English exiles on the continent were expecting the publication of Tyndale's revised edition ; and when Joye's book fell into their hands, suppos- ing it to be Tyndale's New Testament, they brought it to him, with the inquiry, why certain fanciful alterations had been made. This was the fii'st intimation that Tyndale liad received, that any such book had been in preparation for the press. He was not a little irritated and hurt, that such liberties had been taken with his translation ; and in his Epistle to the Eeader, appended to the revised edition, he ad- ministered a sharp rebuke, to which Joye in reply, boastfully said : " I am not afraid to answer Master Tyndale in this matter, for all his high learning in Hebrew, Greek and Latin." ^ In this reply he paid an unintentional compliment to Tyndale's scholarship. The Dutch edition was published in August, 1534.^ In November following, Tyndale's revised edition appeared with the following title: "The New Testament dyligently corrected and compared with the Greek by WiUiam Tyndale and fynished in the yere of oure Lorde God a. M. D. & XXXIIIJ. in the moneth of November." The second title reads : " The Newe Testament imprinted at Antwerp by Marten Emperowr, Anno M. D. XXXIIIJ." The subjoined collation will show something of Tyndale's care in the work of revision. Many of the changes which he then made have come down to us in our present English ' Lewis' Eistory of Translations, p. 83. = Tyndale's Works, I., Intro., p. Ixii. Parker Soe. edition, 1848. ' " The only known copy of the edition corrected by Joye is in Mr. Grenville's bequest to the British Museum." Ibid, p. Ixi., note. 130 TYNDALE'S translation of the N. T. [chap. III. Bible, as the few examples inserted below will show. The readings from the revised edition are taken from Bagster's Hexapla, which is a reprint of the Bristol copy of 1534. The readings from the earlier edition are taken from Fry's fac- simile of the Bristol copy of Tyndale's octavo New Testa- ment, 1525-6.1 A facsimile noted for its accuracy in every particular. Matt. I. 11. Josias begat Jeconias and hys bretliren abouta the tyme of the Captivite of Babilon. Revised edition reads : . about the tyme they were caryed awaye to Babylon ; which is followed by the A. V. 13. After they wer ledd captioe to Babilon. Revised edition reads : And after they were brought to Babylon ; which is followed by the A. V. 18. Tlie byrthe off Christe was on thys wyse. When hys mother Mary was maryed vnio Joseph. Revised edi- tion has : When hys mother Mary was betrouthed to Joseph. 20. . . . behold the agell of the lord apered vnto hi in slepe sainge. Revised edition reads : . .ap- peared vnto him in a dreme. Which is followed by the A. V. 23. . . and they shall call his name Emanuel, which is as moche to saye be interpretacione as God with vs. Revised edition reads : . . which is by interpretacion, God with vs. II. 8. . . . and sent them to bethleem saynge ; when ye be conie thyder searche dyligently for the child. Revised edition reads: . . saynge ; Ooo and searche dyligently for the childe. 12. And after that they were warned in ther slepe. Revised edition reads : . . . they were warned of Ood in a dreame ; and is followed by the A. V. III. 6 knoledging their synes. Revised edition has : confessynge ; and Is followed by the A. V. 10 shalbe hewe doue. Revised edition reads: is hewen doune; and is followed by the A. V. IV, 8. . , . and shewed him al the kyngdomes of the worlde, and the beauty of them. Revised edition reads : ■ Prom copy in the Boston Public Library. 1534.] QTTAETO EDITION-, 152d. 121 and all the glorie of them ; and is followed by the A. V. 10. . . . Thou shalt worsliyp thy Lorde God. Revised edition reads : . . .the Lorde thy Ood ; and ia followed by the A. V. V. d. 'EA&sseA axe the maynteynera of pence. Revised edition has : peacemakers ; and is followed by the A. V. 16. 8e that youre light so shyne before men. Revised edition has: Let your light . . . ; and ia followed by the A. V. VI. 13. Leed vs not into temtacion, but delyvre vs ffrom yvell. Amen. Revised edition adds the doxology ; and is followed by the A. V. 28. Beholde the lyles off the felde. Revised edition has : con- sidre ; and is followed by the A. V. VII. 21 but he that fulfilleth my fathers will which ys in heven. Revised edition has: dothe ; and is followed by the A. V. 25. . . . . and bet vppon that housse, and it was not oner throwen. Revised edition reads : . '■AfeU not; and is followed by the A. V. The following is the Lord's prayer from Tyndale's quarto edition of 1525. The Grenville fragment is all that remains of this edition. The following specimen is from Arbor's Photo-lithographed facsimile. The original is in Black Letter. Matt. VI. 0-13. oure father, which art in heven, halowed be thy name. Let thy kyngdom come, Thy wyll be fulfilled, as well in erth, as hit ys in heven. Geve vs this daye our dayly breade. And forgeve vs oure treaspases, even as we forgeve them which treas- pas vs. Lede vs nott in to temtacion. but de- lyvre vs from yvell. Amen. The text of the Lord's prayer in Tyndale's octavo edition corresponds with the aboye word for word, and therefore is not inserted here. In the revised edition of 1534, the changes are unimportant, excepting the addition of the doxology as 6 122 TTNDALE'S TEANSLATION of the N. T. [chap. III. seen below. The text is taken from Bagster's reprint in the Hexapla. Matt. VI. 9-13. oure father which arte in heven, halowed be thy name. Let thy kyngdome come. Thy wyll be fulfilled, as well in erth, as it ys in heven. Geve vs this daye oure dayly breede. And forgeve vs oure treaspases, even as we forgeve oure trespacers. And leade vs not into temptacion : but delyver vs from evell. For thyne is the kingedome and the power, and the glorye for ever. Amen. The following specimens of Tyudale's translation is from the revised edition of 1534. The first is given with the spelling modernized to show at a glance the resemblance to our present version. Hom. VIII. 6-17. To be carnally minded, is death. But to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because that the fleshly mind is enmity against God : for it is not obedient to the law of God, neither can be. So then they that are given to the flesh, cannot please God. But ye are not given to the flesh, but to the spirit : if so be that 'the spirit of God dwell in you. If there be any man that hath not the spirit of Christ, the same is none of his. If Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin ; but the spirit is life for righteousness sake. Wherefore if the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from death, dwell in you : everi he that raised up Christ from death : shall quicken your mortal bodies, because that this spirit dwelleth in you. Therefore brethren we are now debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye must die. But if ye mortify the deeds of the body, by the help of the spirit, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the spirit of God ; they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage, to fear any more, but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba father. The same spirit certifieth our spirit : that we are the sons of God. If we be sons, we are also heirs, the heirs I mean 1534.] SPECIMENS FKOM THE EETISED EDITION. 123 • of God, and heirs annexed with Christ: ifjBO be that we suffer together, that we may be glorified together. 26-30. Likewise the spirit also helpeth our infirmi- ties. For we know not what to desire as we ought: but the spirit maketh intercession mightily for us with groanings which cannot be expressed with ■ tongue. And he that searcheth the hearts, know- eth what is the meaning of the spirit, for he maketh intercession for the saints according to the pleasure of God. For we know that all things work for the best unto them that love God, which also are called of purpose. For those which he knew before, he also ordained before, that they should be like fashioned unto the shape of his son, that he might be the first begotten son among many brethren. Moreover which he appointed before, them he also called. And which he called, them also he justified, which he justified, them he also glorified. The following specimen from the edition of 1534 is here given with the original spelling. I. Cor. XIII. 1-13. Though I spake with the tonges of men and angels, and yet had no love, I were even as soundinge brasse : or as a tynklynge Cymball. And though I coulde prophesy, and vnderstode all secretes, and all knowledge ; yee, yf I had all fayth so that I coulde move mountayns oute of ther places, and yet had no love, I were nothynge. And though I bestowed all my gooddes to fede the poore, and though I gave my body even that I burned, and yet had no love, it profeteth me nothinge. Love suffereth longe, and is corteous. Love envieth not. Love doth not frowardly, swelleth not dealeth not dishonestly, seketh not her awne, is not provoked to anger, thynketh not evyll, reioyseth not in iniquite : but reioyseth in the trueth, saflfreth all thynge, beleveth aU tliynges, hopeth all thynges, endureth in all thynges. Though that prophesyinge fayle, other tongues 134 TTNDALE'S TEAITSLATION of the N. T. [chap. III. shall cease, or knowledge van'ysshe awaye, yet love falleth never awaye. For oure knowledge is vnparfect, and oure prophesyinge is unperfet. But when that which is parfect is come, then that which is vnparfet shall be done awaye. When 1 was a chylde, I spake as a chylde, I vnderstode as a childe, I ymagened as a chylde. But assone as I was a man, I put awaye childesshnes. Now we se in a glasse even in a darke speakynge : but then shall we se face to face. Nowe I knowe vnparfectly : but then shall I knowe even as I am knowen. Now abideth fayth, hope, and love, even these thre ; but the chefe of these is love. The revised edition of Tyndale's New Testament, 1534, must ever stand as a monument of his originality and faith- fulness as a translator. In respect to it, he says : that he had looked it over " with all diligence and compared it unto the Greek ;" and had " weeded out many faults, which lack . of help at the beginning and oversight did sow therein." Tyndale translated directly from the Greek. He used the Latin text of Erasmus, but "frequently adheres to the original (in cases) where Erasmus departs from it." ^ He had the Vulgate before him, also Luther's translation ; hut he made a scholarly use of them. Tyndale's scholarship was not called in question by his cotemporaries. Even his euemies were inclined to magnify rather than detract from it. Buschius is reported as saying : " That the New Testament was translated by an Englishman, .... who was so learned in seven languages, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Italian, Spanish, Enghsh and French, that, whichever he spoke, you would think his native tongue."^ Sir Thomas More in his attack upon Tyndale, calls in question not his knowledge and ability, but his motives as a translator. Hence Tyndale in his answers takes up the several words complained of by More, "as by ' Hallam's Lit. of Europe. 1., 330, note. New York, 1874. ' Arber's Preface, p. 25. 1525.] THE ENGLISH OF TYNDALE'S TEANSLATION". 135 evil purpose changed," and shows that he sought to free them from a false and private interpretation. The word church, for example, Tyndale changed to congregation, meaning " the whole congregation of them that believe in Christ;" rather than, "the shaven flock of them that shore the whole world." ^ Again the word charity, he changed to love ; since as he de- clared that, "charity is no known English, in that sense which a^'fl^e requireth."^ He further says: "By this word penance they make the people understand holy deeds of their own enjoining ; " hence he changed it to repentance.^ "So now," he adds, " the cause why our prelates thus rage, and that moveth them to call M(aster) More to help, is not that they find just causes in the translation, but because they have lost their juggling and feigned terms ; wherewith Peter prophesied they should make merchandise of the people." * One of the chief excellencies which lies at the foundation of Tyndale's translation of the New Testament is the sim- plicity of its language. The English language in the time of Tyndale had arrived at what may be called the first stage of its maturity. The tendency already was against Latinized stateliness and French elegance. Sir Thomas Elyot, an ac- complished author in the reign of Henry VIII., was compli- mented by the king for his freedom from new terms taken from the French. It is recorded of Dean Colet, who died in 1519, that "he sought -to improve his English style by the study of Chaucer and the old poets." Tyndale, as he was translating for the people, studied great plainness of speech. If possible, sometimes he erred on the side of too great home- liness in the choice of language; though he nowhere affects purism in style. Besides, at this time the English language was written as it was spoken ; and in this particular it cor- responded with the state of the languages in which the Scrip- tures were first written. Tyndale, in defending English trans- lations of the Bible, says : "For the Greek tongue agreeth Tyndale's Works, III., 13. Cambridge, 1850. » Ibid, p. 20. Hid, p. 23. « Ibid, p. 24. 126 TTN^DALE'S TKAM'SLATION op the N. T. [chap. III. more with the English than with the Latin. And the prop- erties of the Hebrew tongue agreeth a thousand times more with the English than with the Latin. The manner of speak- ing is both one ; so that in a thousand places thou needest not but to translate it into the English, word for word ; when thou must seek a compass in the Latin, and yet shall have much work to translate it well-favouredly, so that it have the same grace and sweetness, sense and pure understanding with it in the Latin, and as it hath in the Hebrew. A thousand parts better may it be translated into the English than into the Latin." ^ Then Tyndale after WyclifEe has given us an unaffected Scriptural phraseology, which has stamped itself upon the several translations and revisions made since his time, the same which gives a peculiar charm to the style of our present English Bible. William Tyndale was a child of the New learning, and a true disciple of Erasmus. The New Testament of Erasmus was his constant companion. At the same time he was a Lollard in spirit and a follower of Wycliffe. He was familiar with the life and writings, of Wycliffe. He could berate Eras- mus as a flatterer, but has only words of praise for Wychffe as a preacher of repentance. He may or may not have had a copy of WyclifEe's New Testament before him when he made his translation. Tyndale's translation is in no sense " a full grown Wycliffe." The Wycliffite versions could not have been a standard for Tyndale either in translation or language, for the former was from the Vulgate, and the latter was a century and a half old. Besides, Tyndale affirms distinctly : " I had no man to counterfeit, neither was helped with Eng- lish of any that had interpreted the same or such like thing in the scripture before time."^ And yet all this does not dis- prove a certain close connection between Wycliffe and Tyn- dale. The old WyclifiSte manuscripts were common, and there is no doubt but that Tyndale was familiar with them. These were, up to this time, the only English versions extant. ' Tyndale's Works, I., 148, 149. ' Ibid, p. 390. 1535-34.] ELEGANCE OF EXPRESSION. 127 And it was customary in those times to read the Bible pinch in public as well as in private ; also to commit portions of the Scriptures to memory for the individual's own benefit, or for the sake of repeating passages thus learned in social gather- ings for the edification of others. So that largely the religious language and Scriptural phraseology of Christian men and women were derived from the Wycliffite versions. To this influence Tyndale was subject, which in itself would consti- tute an intimate though an unconscious connection between Tyndale's translation and the WycliflBte versions. Also, upon actual comparison very many well-chosen words and phrases are common to these versions, and for which they were not indebted in common to the Vulgate. It is noticeable also that many single words, now obsolete, were used in common by WyclifEe and Tyndale, and continued in good use till the time of James I., when they were introduced into the Author- ized version. This conservating influence of Bible versions upon our English tongue is most easily traced, not only from Wycliffe to Tyndale, but from Tyndale to the Authorized version, and so from 1611 to the present time. But in esti- mating the influence of Tyndale's translation upon subsequent Tersions, and particularly upon our present version, the con- clusion may be stated, that while there have been many changes both in the rendering and in the language, and many of them for the better, yet Tyndale's words, sentences, and phraseology have been to a wonderful extent retained. But while the English of Tyndale's translation is replete with the Saxon element of our language ; and while there is a tendency in a few cases to a too great familiarity in diction, yet occasipnally there is noticeable a certain elegance of ex- pression, made up of words derived from the Latin and French, and yet words which were at the time naturalized. Few if any of these terms are objectionable; but so far as they have been replaced by simpler terms, in later versions, the change has been for the better. As examples, we find in Tyndale such words as ascended, conversacion, corfifieih, conspyred. 128 TYNDALB'S TRANSLATIOJf OF THE N. T. [CHAP. III. deceased, delectation, excommunicat, executed, fame, fortuned, lauding, perceavynge, pertayned, testymonyall, recompence, respyte, suffised, vengeaunce, veritie, and vesture, which may b3 found below in their several connections : ^ Matt. II. 16. Then Herod perceamynge that he was moocked of the wyse men. The A. V. reads ; when hee saw. III. 7. . . Who hath taught you to fle from the w«- geaunce to come. The A. V. reads : wrath to come. V. 31 let hym geve her a testymonyall also of the devorcement. The Great Bible, 1539, has : a. lettre ; and the A. V. has : a vrriting of diuorcement. IX. 18. . . my doghter is euen now deceased. The A. V. has : is enen now dead. XIV. 30. And they dyd all eate, and were suffised. The A. V. has : were filled. 36. . . . that they myght touche the hemme of his vesture only. The A. V. has : his garment.' XVIII. 36. . . . Sir, geve me respyte. The A. V. has : luiue patience with me. XXIV. 6. . . and of the fame of warres. The A. V. has: rumors of warres. Both of these words, however, are from the French ; the former originally &om the Greek, and the latter from the Latin. Luke II. 3. And this taxing was . . executed. 4. And Joseph also ascended from Galile. 13. . . laud/ynge God and sayinge. V. 3. . . . one of the shippes, which perteyned to Simon. VI. 6. And it fortuned in a nother saboth also. X. 35. . . .1 will recompence the. John IX. 33. . . . had conspyred, . shuld be excom- municat. Rom. III. 7. Tf the veritie of God appere moare excellent thorow my lye. VII. 6. . . . in a newe conversacion of the sprete. VTII. 16. . . . certifieth our sprete. II Cor. XII. 10. Therefore have I delectacion in infirmities. The occasional tendency of Tyndale to the use of familiar ' The following examples are taken from Bagster's Hexapla. Lon- don, N. D. • ' Although this word garment is old English derived from the Norman French. 1525-34.] OBSOLETE WORDS. 139 words and phrases appears in the following examples; though it must be remembered that the language at this period was largely written as it was spoken. Consequently, that many terms which may now be regarded as colloquial, were then authorized by good usage : Matt. VI. 7. And when ye praye, bdble not moche. . I wyll paye it every whit. . that which God hath cuppled togedder. . shalbe eater. . swete breed. . good frydaye. . touche not the packes with one of youre fyngers. . dyd not beleve of the felowe. . and Manahen, Herode the Tetrarkes nora- felowe. . besechinge that at one tyme or another. . that one 8weU not agaynst another. . a lytle leven sowreth the whole lompe of dowe. . kepe holy daye. . which choppe and chaunge with the worde of God. Col. II. 18. Let no man make you shote at a wrong (marke). Heb. VIII. 1. Of the thynges which we have spoken.ito is thepyth. Iq the natural growth and decay to which language is sub- ject, many words in Tyndale's translation have become obso- lete ; some only in their meaning, while others have suffered both in form and meaning. In the first class, we have such words as: angle, hook; avoyd, depart; aught, owed; hy.and ly, immediately ; come, wheat or barley ; dyd on, put on ; gostly, spiritually ; knowledge, confess ; meate, food ; diseasest, troublest ; quicke, living ; scrip, small bag ; wittes, mind ; and v}ode, tree. All of which may be found below in their connections : Matt. IV. 10. Then aayde Jesus vnto hjm. Avoyd Satan. X. 9. . . . noT yet scrip towardes your iomey. XV. 37. . . . and they toke vp of the broken meate that was lefte vii baskets full. XVII. 27. . . goo to the see and cast in thyne angle : XVIII. 26. XIX, 6. XXVI. 2. 17. XXVII. 63. Luke XI. 46. John IX. 18. Acts XIII. 1. Rom. I. 10. I Cor. IV. 6. V. 6. 8. II Cor. n. 17. Maik V. 35. John VI. 31. XIX. 2. Eom. VIII. 5. X. 9. XII. 1. 3. Rev. XXII. 3. 130 TTNDALE'S TRANSLATION OF THE N. T. [CHAP. III. XVIII. 24. . .' . one was broughte vnto him, which avght him ten thousande talentis. . why diseasest thou the master eny further? . the ship was by and by at the londe whyther s they went. And they dyd on him a purple garment. . Butthey that are spirituall, are giMSZymynded. For yf thou shalt knowledge with thy mouth. . that ye make youre bodyes aquicke sacrifise. . by the renuynge of youre wittes. 3. and of ether syde of the ryver was there wode of life. The following are examples of the second class, in which the words are obsolete in form as well as in meaning : arede, prophesy ; heivreyetli, betrayeth ; closse, field ; pill, make a gain; gobbets, fragments; grece, stairs; harbourless, shelter- less ; lyvelod, land ; partlettes, handkerchiefs ; shamfastness, modesty; woot not, know not; yerwhyle, already; which are inserted below in their respective connections. Matt. XIII. 27. . . Syr sowedest not thou good seed in thy closse f XIV. 30. And they gadered vp of the gobbets that remayned. XXV. 43. I was herbourleaae, and ye lodged me not. XXVI. 70. . . .1 woot not what thou sayst. 73. . . for thy speache bewreyeth the. Mark XIV. 65. . arede vnto vs. John IX. 37. . . . I tolde you yerwhyle. Acts V. 3. . . . and kepe awaye parte of the pryce o/ the XIX. 12. . . . so that from his body, were brought vnto the sicke, napkyns or partlettes, and the diseases departed from them. XXI. 35. And when he came vnto a grece. II. Cor. XII. 17. Did I pill you by eny of them which I sent vnto you ? Though this word still lives in pillage. I. Tim. II. 9. Lykwyse also the wemen that they araye them selves in comlye aparell with shamfastness, and discrete behaveour. In Tyndale's orthography, as we might expect, archaic forms occur continually. Many of which found a place in the first edition of King James' Bible. The following will serve as 1525-34.] AN OLD EKGLISH IDIOM. 131 examples: awne, own; brent, burnt; brydde, bird; comtes, coasts; faule, fault; foihe, foot; goo, go; lowse, loose ; moe, more ; monethes, months ; noo, no ; rotte, root ; se, see ; the, thee ; then, than ; thorow, through ; ynough, aoough. One of the peculiar characteristics of Tyndale's translation is the presence of an old English idiom, in which the personal pronoun, as a nominative, follows the verb. An idiom which was adopted by subsequent versions, including that of King James' Bible. Occurring as it does constantly in the Gospels, it imparts a qnaintness to the style, which is by no means uur pleasant. Take the following as illustrations : ^ Then brought they . . . him that a lytell before was blynde. Then spake they vnto the blynde agayne. Then agayne caUed they the man that was blynde. Then tayde they to him agayne. Then rated they him. Then after that sayd he to his disciples. . sayde I not vnto the. This spake he not of him selfe. This sayde he, not that he cared for the pooer. . but therefore came lYuto this houre. . These thinges spake Jesus and departed. . Not as the worlde geveth, geve /vnto you. . therfore as the father gave me commaund- ment, even so do I. Hence forth call I you not servauntes. These thinges sayde I not vnto you at the begynninge. . And yet am /not alone. These wordeg spake Jesus. Now come I to the, and these wordes speake I in the worlde, . and for their sakes sanctify /my selfe. . of them which thou gavest me, Tuwe I not lost one. In 1535 appeared Tyndale's second revision of his trans- lation of the New Testament. In fact, during this year there ' This collation is from Tyndale's edition of 1534. See Bagster's Bex- apla* John IX. 13. 17. 24 26. 28. XI. 7. 40. 51. XII. 6. 27. 36. xrv. 27. 81. XV. 15. XVI. 4. 32. XVII. 1. 13. 19. xvm. 9. 132 TYNDALE'S TBANSLATIOIf OF THE K. T. [CHAP. III. were two issues. One of these had the monogram G. H.' (1535—1534. G. H.) attached to the second title. This is probably a genuine Tyndale, since its readings were adopted by Eogers in his Matthewe's Bible. It was doubtless selected by him as Tyndale's last and best work. Through Matthewe's Bible the readings of this edition of Tyndale passed into King James' Bible. The other issue of 1535 was doubtless a pirated edition, and is marked by a peculiar orthography. This peculiarity in spelling is explained by Mr. Offer and others as , having been adopted intentionally by Tyndale in his attempt to adapt the text to the common people, in the fulfilment of his pledge to give the New Testament to the uneducated in their own tongue.^ But a more probable explanation is, that this false orthography was the result of Flemish pronunciation of the English language. The compositor spelling from sound as the copy was read to him.^ The following are exam- ples of this peculiarity : /aether, maester, spaeke, faeyth, hoepe, moether, broether, aboede, looeld, stoene, oones, oonly, lioow, whoom, poure, tought, holly cite, cloocke, and tacken."' Tyndale's labors as a translator extended into the Old Tes- tament, and doubtless, had his life been spared, he would have completed the whole Bible. The five books of Moses were translated by him, and published separately, each with its own title-page. The books of Genesis and Numbers were printed in Black Letter, the others in Eoman character. They were a,ll bound together and reissued in 1534. The book of Jonah was translated by Tyndale in 1531, but was not reprinted. There has been some doubt as to how much of the Old Testa- ment Tyndale translated. Hall, the chronicler, claims that ' This monogram, as surmised by Mr. Stevens, " means the translator, GlUaume Hytchens, the assumed name of William Tyndale." See Ortte- logue ofGaxton Exhibition, p. 90. London, N. D. ' Offer's Memovrs of Tyndale, prefixed to N. T., p. 82. London, 1836. ' Eadie's Ilistory of English Bible, I., 334. London, 1876. ■* For a full text of these words, see Francis Pry's Bibliographical De- emption of Tyndale's New Testaments, pp. 63, 64, 65. Harvard College Library. 1534.] OLD TESTAMENT TRANSLATIONS. 133 beside the New Testament and the Pentateuch, he coni|)leted the books of Joshua, Judges^ Euth, the four books of Kings, the two books of Chronicles, Nehemiah, and the first book of Esdras, and the Prophet Jonah. But whatever Tyndale may have left behind in manuscript, he only published, besides the New Testament, the Pentateuch and the book of Jonah.i That Tyndale translated directly from the Hebrew and that he was a master of that language, there is no longer any question.^ But Tyndale's labors are drawing to a close. During the year 1534 he dwelt openly at the house of Thomas Poyntz, in Ant- werp. He had never been so free as now from the fear of his enemies. The tidings from England continued to be most .flatteriug. The New Testament party was growing daily in strength, and was headed by Queen Anne Boleyn,^ who, accord- ing to Burnet, " reigned iu the King's Heart as absolutely as he did over his Subjects."^ Next to her stood Archbishop Cranmer, whose heart, if not his hand, was always with the right ; and then Cromwell, the king's vicegerent in ecclesiastical afiairs, who though not always true, yet from the first may be reckoned among the friends of the Bible. But there was at the same time the Eomish party, strong in numbers and crafty in council ; but just now seemingly powerless and inactive. All these things were encouraging, and so flattering that they proved most disastrous to Tyndale, in that he was put off his guard, and thus subjected to the power of his enemies. The following story of his base betrayal is recorded by Foxe. The ' " A copy of Tyndale's translation of the book of Jonah was found in 1861, by Lord A. Hervey, which was reproduced iu facsimile by Mr. F. Fry, 1863." ' See the question fully argued in Eadie's Hist, of Eng. Bible, I. , 209-315. ' In recognition of her protection to the friends of the New Testa- ment, Tyndale presented her with a copy of his revised N. T., printed on vellum. This book is preserved in the British Museum, though not in the original binding. * History of the Reformation, I., 171, 172. London, 1681. 134 TYKDALE'S TRANSLATION OF THE N. T. [CHAP. III. betrayer was one Heury Philipps. Tyndale's lodgings were in the house of Poyntz, at Antwerp. He was accustomed at this time to dine, by invitation, with the English mer- chants of the city. At these social gatherings he met fre- quently with this man Philipps, who by his learning and ad- dress commended himself to the friendship of Tyndale. lu the meantime Tyndale invited him to his own lodgings, and " shewed him his bookes and other secretes of hys study, so little did Tyndall then mistrust thys traytour." Philipps' pur- pose was formed, and he set out for Brussels to visit the court. The emperor is just now engaged in a bitter controversy with Henry VIII. respectiag Lady Catherine, who is aunt to the emperor. This circumstance was favorable to the reception of Philipps, who was a representative of the Eomish party. He was successful in obtaining the Procurator General, with other officers, with whom he returned to Antwerp. "The whiche," says Poxe, " was not done with small charges and expences, from whom so euer it came." i Thereby intimating his opinion that the Eomish Church was at the bottom of this sad affair, with Philipps as its agent. Fox in further recording the particulars says : that in the absence of Poyntz from Antwerp, Philipps arranged the officers at the street door of his house, and going up to Tyndale's room, as a friend requested of him the loan of forty shillings, under the pretense of having lost his purse. "The whiche was easie," adds Foxe, "to be had of him, if he had it ; for in the wylye subtilities of thys world he was simple and unexperte." Philipps, to keep up his base show of friendly confidence, invited Tyndale to dine with him, but Tyndale declined, saying : " I am already engaged, and you shall go with me and be my geste, where you shalbe welcome." But as they went forth, Philipps pointed him out to the officers who were waiting at the door. They arrested him and took him before the Procurator General ; and thence to the castle of Vilvorde, distant some eighteen miles from Antwerp ; not ' Acta and Monuments, pp. 1237, 1238. 1536.] THE AEEEST OF TYNDALE. 135 however till they had searched his room " and sent away all that was there of M. Tyndals, as well hys bookes as other thynges." * The English merchants of Antwerp made every possible eflfort for Tyndale's release. They apphed to the Brussels court, also to the English court, and received favorable an- swers, and when Poyntz, who was especially active, was about to obtain letters authorizing the delivering up of Tyndale, the sly and wily PhiUpps frustrated all, by entering complaint against Poyntz, " that he had been a suceourer of Tyndall and was one of the same opinion." And on this charge he had him arrested. Poyntz, after suffering imprisonment some four months, escaped. But Tyndale remained in prison about a year and a half, having been arrested on the 33d or 24:th of May, 1535. ^ There is but one opinion in respect to Tyndale's seizure, that it was through the connivance of Eomish bishops. Although the English authorities pursued Tyndale, now by one agent and now by another, yet the dis- grace of his final betrayal fastens upon this Henry Philipps, with all the circumstances pointing to the mysterious hand of Eomish authority. " Tyndale was betrayed and taken," says Hall in his Chronicles, " as many said, not without the help and procurement of some bishops of the realm." Poyntz had no doubt but that the arrest of Tyndale had been made " ' by procurement out of England,' but unknown to the king's grace." ^ The year 1536 is most memorable in the history of Tyndale's life, also in the history of his translation of the New Testa- ment; for while it witnessed the binding of the translator, it likewise witnessed the unfettering of the translation. In Ant- werp the press was busy in printing edition after edition of his revised New Testament. But above all Tyndale's New Testament is this year printed in London, which constitutes an important epoch, in that it was the first printing of the ' Acta and Monuments, p. 1228. ' Ibid, p. 1329 > Edie's History of English Bible, I., 239. 136 TYNDALE'S TEANSLATION of the K. T. [chap. III. English Scriptures on English ground. This London edition was a reprint of the revised edition of 1534. It was pub- lished by Godfray, who favored the evangelical party.' Tyndale probably did not Hve to see a copy of this London Testament, but aware of its progress he must have been filled with joy, that so soon his fondest hopes would be realized. The title of this volume reads : " The Newe Testament yet ones agayne corrected by W. Tyndale : And in many places amended, where it scaped before by neglygence of the printer, Newly printed in the yere of our lorde MDXXXVL" At tlie end of the book are these words : " God saue the KTNGE AND ALL HIS WELL-WTLLEKS." The apostle Paul when a prisoner at Kome, with death staring him in the face, wrote to Timothy : Uie cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring (with thee,) and the books (but) especially the parchments.^ This request unimportant in itself, yet on account of the apostle's circum- stances, is one of great interest. So likewise the following extracts from Tyndale's letter while a prisoner at Vilvorde, have a touching interest. " Your lordship will request the procureur to be kind enough to send me from my goods, which he has in possession, a warmer cap, for I suffer ex- tremely from cold in the head, being afflicted with a perpetual catarrh, which is considerably increased in the cell. A warmer coat also, for that which I have is very thin ; also a piece of cloth to patch my leggings ; my shirts rare also worn out. He has also a woUen shirt of mine, if he will be kind enough to send it 1 wish also his permis- sion to have a candle in the evening, for it is wearisome to sit alone in the dark. But above all, I entreat and beseech your clemency to be urgent with the Procureur, that he may kindly permit me to have my Hebrew Bible, Hebrew Grammar, and Hebrew Dictionary, that I may spend my time with that ' Compare note in Westcott's Sist. Eng. Bible, p. 50. London, 1872. « 11. Tim., IV., 13. 1536.] THE CHAKACTER OF TYNDALE. 137 study. And in return, may you obtain your dearest jvish, provided always that it be consistant with the salvation of your soul." ' A commission was at last appointed for Tyndale's trial. For the law of the Low countries grunts to him at least the form of a trial. He is permitted to have an advocate, but prefers to answer for himself. The commission consisted of four doctors of Louvain, which University was only nine or ten miles from the town of Vilvorde. From the first Tyndale looked for neither justice or mercy at the hands of his enemies. " If they burn me," he said, " they shall none other thing than I look for." And so it happened even as he expected. For " at last," says Foxe, '• after much reason- ynge, when no reason would serue, although he deserued no death, bee was condemned." ^ This took place on the 10th of August, 1536. On the 6th of October Allowing, Tyndale was led forth to the place of execution. He was first chained to the stake, then strangled, and then burned. Just before his death, he cried out, "with a feruent zeal, and a loud voyce : ' Lorde open the Kyng of Englancles eyes' " ^ From the testimony of those who came in direct contact with Tyndale we may learn something of the excellence of his character. The Procurator General' declared him to be "a learned, a good, and a godly man." Foxe further records, that through the power of Tyndale's doctrine and the sincerity of his life, the jail-keeper, his daughter, and others of his house- hold, were converted to Christianity. Others in the castle, who were conversant with Tyndale while there a prisoner, are reported as saying: "That if he were not a good Christen ' Eadie's Hist. Eng. Bible, I., 211, 242. A photograph copy of this autograph letter may be found in Fry's Bibliographical Descriptinn of Tyndale's Editions of the New Testament, p. 14. " The letter has neither date nor superscription. But there is not the slightest doubt that it was written at Vilvorde and addressed to the Governor of the Castle, the Marquis of Bergen. . . .with whom Cromwell had already interceded in Tyndale's favor." ' Acts and Monuments, p. 1229. » Ihid, p. 1329. 138 TTNDALE'S TKANSLATIOK of the N. T. [chap. III. man, they could not tell whom to trust." The estimate of John Fryth, who for many years had been a most intimate friend of Tyndale, is expressed in a few words: "I am sure," he wrote, " that for hys learnyng and judgement in Scripture, he were more worthy to be promoted then all the Byshops in England."* The words of Foxe himself are: "The worthy Tertues and doynges of this blessed Martyr, who for hys payne- full trauailes, and singular zeale to his countrey, may be called in these our dayes, an Apostle of England." ^ The influence of Tyndale's life is by no means to be limited to his own age, for it has come down through the ages to the present time, and shall go on so long as the English language is spoken, and the English Scriptures are read. Yea, the influence of Wil- liam Tyndale shall be felt by every heathen nation among whom English or American missionaries labor and translate the Scriptures. But the immediate effect of his life-work was to create and in part supply a demand for the Holy Scriptures in the language of the people. ' Acts and Monuments, p. 1230. » lUd, p. 1230. CHAPTER IV. COVERDALE'S BIBLE. A. D. 1535. WHEN the New Testament of Erasmus found its way, 1516, into' the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, there was a beginning of the Eeformation in England. Learn- ing, now reviving and revived, applied itself to the Holy Scrip- tures. The study of the Greek language occasioned such opposition on the part of the papists, that Henry VIII. sent his royal letters to the University of Oxford, " to allow and encourage that study among the young men." The friends of the Old learning carried the war into the pulpit, and warned each one of their hearers with the cry: "Take care of Geeek, lest tou become an heretic ; avoid Hebrew, lest TOU BECOME LIKE Jews." ^ It is related of a certain preacher that, in a sermon before Henry VIII., "he railed violently against Greek learning and New Interpretations of the Scrip- ture After sermon, Henry sent for the divine who had preached, and appointed a solemn disputation, ...between, the preacher opposing, and Sir Thomas More defending, the use of the Greek tongue. More began with an eloquent apol- ogy But the divine instead of replying to the arguments of More, fell upon his knees, and implored pardon of the king, saying, that ' what he had done was by the impulse of the Spirit.' 'Not the Spirit of Christ,' rejoined Henry, ' but the spirit of infatuation.' The king then asked him, ' whether he had read the writings of Erasmus, against which he had de- claimed.' To this he answered in the negative 'I have read,' said he, 'something they call Moria.' {Morice Encomium, The Praise of Folly.) 'Yes,' replied Pace, 'may it please your ' Townley's Illvstrations of Biblical Literature, II., 247. London, 1821. 140 COVEEDALE'S bible. [chap. IV. highness, such a subject is fit for such a reader.' At last, the preacher .... declared that he ' was now better reconciled to the Greek tongue, because it was derived from the Hebrew.' Upon which, the king, who was amazed at the ignorance of the man, dismissed him; but with an- express charge, that he should never again preach at court." ^ At Cambridge there was the same opposition ; yet the study of the Scriptures was thought to be open to all. Erasmus, however, tells us, that one college at least, at Cambridge, for- bade the study of the New Testament. But whatever the opposition, there arose very early a true spirit of inquiry. For it was here Tyndale first met with Erasmus' New Testament. Here also John Fryth, with his knowledge of mathematics, obtained a personal knowledge of the saving power of the Gospel. Here, likewise, Thomas Bilney, troubled in spirit, when he could find no hope or comfort from the penances im- posed by the Church of Eome, purchased a New Testament, and in reading the passage, This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief, he says : " This one sen- tence, through God's instruction and inward teaching, which I did not then perceive, did so exhilarate my heart, being be- fore wounded with the guilt of my sins, and being almost in despair, that immediately I felt a marvellous comfort and quietness, insomuch that my bruised bones leapt for joy" ^ The conversion of Bilney seems to have been the beginning of a genuine revival of religion. Having found Jesus in his own experience, he was zealous in his efforts to lead others to him. Among his first converts were Thomas Arthur and Hugh Lat- imer. The latter had been a zealous papist. He was witty, sarcastic, and eloquent, and bid fair to become the successful champion of the Eomish Church against the New opinions now becoming so prevalent. But Bilney, observing his mis- guided zeal, went to his chamber and desired him to hear his ' Townley's Tllustrntions of Biblical Literature, II., pp. 248, 249. ' Anderson's AnnaXs, pp. 59, 60. London, 1862. 1536-7.] RELIGIOUS AWAKENING. 141 confession. "The hearing whereof," says Puller, " (Impfoved by God's Spirit) so wrought ou Latimer, that of almost a Per- secutour, he became a zealous Promoter of the Truth." * His " blunt preaching," as Fuller characterizes it, was remarkable for its plainness and simplicity in matter, and seriousness and fervency in manner. Dr. Kobert Barnes was another one of the converts of Bilney. After Barnes returned from the con- tinent he introduced a higher standard of learning at the University, "where by his readings, disputations and preach- ing, he became famous and mighty in the Scriptures, preach- ing ever against Bishops and Hypocrites ; and yet did not see his outward idolatry till that good Master Bilney converted him wholly unto Christ." These brethren were inspired with a true evangelical spirit. Not only did they preach to the students and those who flocked to hear them, but carried the Gospel into prisons and lazar houses of the city. Not only so, but leaving the town they travelsd from place to place, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom. Thus began a revival of true religion and Apos- tolical preaching. And from what we learn of the times, such revivul was sadly needed. The discourses pronounced by the monks and friars, says Burnet, "on the Holy-days, were rather Panagyricks on the Saint, or the vain magnifying of some of their Eeliques In Lent there was a more solemn and serious way of Preaching Yet these (discourses) generally tended to raise the value of some of the Laws of the Church, such as Abstinence at that time, Confession, with other Cor- poral Severities ; or some of the little devices, that both in- flamed a blind Devotion, and drew Money ; such as Indulgences, Pilgrimages, or the enriching the Shrines, and Eeliques of the Saints And the design of their Sermons was rather to raise a present heat, which they knew afterwards how to manage, than to work a real Reformation on their Hearers."* But the ' Church History of Britain, The History of th". University of Cam- bridge, p. 102. London, 10f).5. Also Foxe's Acts and Monuments, \t. 1903. ' History of the Reformation, I., ZV\, 317. London, 1681. 143 coverdale's bible. [chap. it. true preaching of the Gospel prevailed, and societies of " Chris- tian Broders " were formed in London, Cambridge, Oxford, and other places. Bible readers and lay preachers also, to the great horror of the spirituality, greatly aided in the spread of the New opinions. Too little is known of the labors of such men as " Old Father Hacker," who to the service of Bible reader afterwards added that of New Testament distributer. The particulars of his labors as he went from house to house, reading and expounding the Scriptures, must be left to easy conjecture, while history relates the facts of his arrest, ex- amination, and persecution by the bishop of London.* The Church in the house had existed secretly among the Lollards for more than a century, but now it began to seek a more open expression and recognition. At first these Christian brethren, like the Lollards, met in secret for conference, prayer, and reading the Scriptures, but as their numbers increased, and persecution abated, they grew more hopeful and bold. In the mean time the work received a new impetus from the introduction of Tyndale's translation of the New Testament. These newly-printed Testaments were scattered broadcast, and the people gathered them up gladly, for they contained the word of God in their own tongue. This- English Testament of Tyndale did for the common people what the Greek Testa- ment, of Erasmus had done for the Cambridge doctors. The tree of learning is now bearing its legitimate fruit. Tyndale's purpose Is realized in that the people with the New Testament in their own language may read and judge for themselves as to the truth or error of what is preached to them. Arthur and Bilaey not only go from place to place preaching, but they distribute these Testaments ; while Hugh Latimer maintains publicly from the pulpit in Cambridge: "That the Holy Scriptures ought to be read in the English Tongue of all Christen People, whether they were Priests or Lay-men."^ ' D'Aubigne's Hist, of Bef., V., 384. Also pages 104, 105, above. ' Strype's Mcmorinls of Arcltbishop Cranmer, B. III., Cli. XVIII., p. 369. London, 1694. 1539.] LATIMEB'S reply to ERIAK BUCKINGHAM. 14:3 Whereupon the papists said : " If Latimer so extol the blessings of Scripture, we must by a sermon show its dangers." The adroit Prior Buckingham is chosen to combat from the pulpit the heresy of reading the Scriptures in English. But listen to his arguments, and mark his folly. Imitating Latimer's cel- ebrated Card Sermon, and " thinkyng to make a great hand agaynst M. Latymer, brought out his Christenmas dice. Castyng there to his audience, cinque and quater; meanyng by the cinque flue places in the new Testament, and the foure Doctours by the quater, by which his cinque quater, he would proue that it was not expedient the Scripture to be in Eng- lishe, lest the ignoraunt and vulgare sort through the occasion thereof, might happely be brought in daunger to leaue their vocation, or else to runne into some inconuenience : As for ex- ample the Plowman when he heareth this in the Gospel; No man that layth his hand on the plowgh, and looheth baclce, is meete for the kingdome of God, might peraduenture hearyng this, cease from his plough. Likewise the Baker when he heareth that a litle leaueri corrupteth a whole lumpe of dow, may percase leaue our bread uuleauened, and so our bodyes shalbe unseasoned. Also the simple man, when he heareth in the Gospell : If thyne eye offends thee, plucke it out, and cast it from thee, may make him selfe blind, and so fill the world full of beggars. These with other mo, this Clerkely Friar brought out to the number of flue, to proue his purpose." ' In the afternoon of the same day, an eager throng " as well of the Uniuersitie as of the town, both Doctors and other grad- uates," gathered in the church to hear the reply of Latimer. In the course of his sermon Latimer so ridiculed the friar's " bold reasons " drawn from the improbable actions of plough- men, bakers, and " simple men," should they be permitted to read the Scriptures, that "the vanitie of the Frier might to all men appeare." Then taking up the subject of figurative lan- guage he explained its use not only in Scripture but in com- mon speech, adding that " euery speach hath his Metaphors ' Foxe's Acts and Monuments, p. 1904. 1596. 144 coveedale's bible. [chap. it. and lyke figuratiue significations, so common and vulgar to all men that the very Paynters do paynt them in walles and in houses ; As for example (saith he, lookyag towards the Friar that sat ouer agaynst hym) when they paynt a foxe preaching out of a Friars coule, none is so mad to take this to be a foxe that preacheth, but know well enough the meanynge of the matter, which is to paynt out vnto vs, what hypocrisie, craft, and subtile dissimulation lyeth hyd many times in these friers coules, willyng vs therby to beware of them. In fine. Friar Buckingham with this Sermon was so bashed, that neuer after he durst peepe out of the Pulpit agaynst M. Latymer." ^ This took place in the winter of 1539. The friars and monks were elated by Buckingham's sermon. They said : " These heretics are silenced." But after Latimer had replied, the bishops said : "We must cease to reason and apply authority. The best way to answer these Gospellers is to prevent their speaking." This counsel prevailed, and soon after Latimer was silenced by his bishop, and persecution on account of religious opinion began afresh. During these years there was a quiet student at Cambridge who was the pupil of Friar Barnes. He was carried away, as were others, with the eloquence of Latimer and Bilney. He belonged to the brotherhood of the Augustines, but was in sympathy with the reformers, and attended the assemblies at the " White Horse," where the Gospellers met for mutual help and instruction.^ This friend and pupil of Barnes was Myles Coverdale. Very little is known of his early life. The year 1488 is put down by his biographers as the date of his birth.' He was educated at Cambridge in the house of the Augustine friars, and assumed priest's orders about the year 1514. When Dr. Barnes was arrested and taken to London to answer before Cardinal Wolsey, at the close of the year 1536, Coverdale ac- ' Poxe's Acts and Monuments, p. 1904-. ' In mockery these friends of the Gospel were styled Germans, stig- matizing them as followers of Luther. 2 Mjmorials of Myles Cooerdale, p. 1. London, 1828. 1527.] THE REVIVAL AT BUMSTEDE. 145 companied him. By the decision of the Cardinal the only alternative left to Barnes was either "to abjure or burn." Strongly urged by his friends he chose the former, and by the injunction laid upon him performed a most humiliating pen- ance at St. Paul's, at which the Cardinal and his retinue at- tended in great pomp. The master fallen, the scholar took warning. It is recorded of Coverdale that from this time "he gave himself wholly up to propagating the truth of the gos- pel." * Cromwell was a friend and patron of Coverdale. As early as 1527 they met at the house of Sir Thomas More, when Cromwell advised him to enter upon the study of sacred learning ; but warned him against a too open expression of his evangelical sentiments. For, though Cromwell was in sym- pathy with the New opinions, yet he was shrewd and politic. Coverdale, acting upon the advice of his friend, gave himself to study ; but his sympathy with Bilney and Latimer in their work of preaching the Gospel, together with a report of a re- ligious meeting held in the county of Essex, drew him from his retreat. For five or six years the leaven of the Gospel had been working among the people, and with the circulation of Tyndale's translation of the New Testament the spirit of in- quiry was increased, resulting in a genuine revival of religion. In 1527, John Tyball, of Bumstede, in Essex, according to his own deposition, visited Friar Barnes in London,' and ob- tained from him a New Testament in English. He and Thomas Hilles had sought the acquaintance of Barnes, be- cause they heard that he was a good man, and " wold have his cownsel in the New Testament." Further they showed the said Barnes, that " one Sir Richard Fox, curate of Bumstede, by ther means was wel entred into ther lernyng ; & sayd, that they thowghte to gett hym hole in shorte space. " Whereupon they desired Barnes that he would write a letter ' Memorials of My'es Coverdale, pp. 11, 12. ' Barnes, after his humiliation, was sent to the Fleet, where he was confined for six months ; but afterwards he was made a free prisoner at the Augustine Friars, in London, where he received visits from his brethren. 7 146 coveedalb's bible. [chap. IV. to the curate exhorting him, " that he wold continew in that he had begon."^ The curate did so continue and with him also a grey friar of Colchester, who was another one of Tyball's converts. At this same Colchester, which was in the county of Essex, there li-ved a worthy man named John Pykas. He had received a manuscript copy of Paul's Epistles from his mother, with this advice: "lyve after the maner and way of the said Epistoles and Gospels, and not after the way that the church doth teche." Afterward he bought in Colchester a New Testament in English, and "payd for it foure shillinges,^ he kept and read it thorowghly many tymes." Having himself accepted the truth of the Gospel, he began to teach it to others, affirming : that "there is no baptysm, but of the Holy Ghost," that confession must needs be made to God, and not " made to a pryst," and that men " should pray only to God and to no saints." After hear- ing Bilney preach at Ipswich, he pronounced the sermon " most goostly and made best for his purpose and opinions, as any that ever he herd in his lyef." ^ It was this revival at Bumstede that attracted Coverdale, and he preached there in the spring of 1528. Among his hearers was an Augustine monk named Topley, who was sup- plying the place of Friar Fox in his absence. Topley had recently read Wycliffe's Wicket, a book belonging to Fox, and his mind was sore troubled. But through the public preaching and private instruction of Coverdale he found peace in believing in Jesus as his only Saviour. These " brothren in Christ," as they called themselves, held frequent Gospel meetings in private houses, also in the halls of great mansions. These Gospellers were characterized by their boldness and self assertion. They already claimed to be a Church because " we pray in common .... and that consti- tutes a Church." Latimer, Coverdale and Bilney, willingly ' Strype's Ecclesiastical Memorials, V., App. 368, 369. " Equal in modern values to about $15.00. ' Strype's Ecclesiastical Memorials, I., 133, 124, 1530.] Cromwell's patronage. 147 recognized these incomplete societies in which the members met simply as disciples. ^ The Eomish bishops watched this religious movement with great uneasiness ; and they determined to check it. Public visitations were appointed ; and the suspected and accused were severely dealt with. Among others Coverdale was ac- cused before the bishop of London. In a quiet way, how- ever, he was withdrawn from public notice. Possibly this was done through the intervention of his patron, both for the sake of safety and for his appointed work of translating the Scriptures. The whereabouts of Coverdale from 1528 to 1536, is left almost entirely to conjecture. According to Poxe, he went at the close of 1538 to Hamburgh, by appoint- ment, to aid Tyndale in translating the Pentateuch. Though the story of Poxe enters into particulars and would seem to have had some foundation, yet so far as the laboring together of Coverdale and Tyndale is concerned, the probabilities are against it. The patronage of Cromwell is against any such prearrangement. Coverdale was doubtless in sympathy with Tyndale in his work, but he was more, though not altogether, in sympathy with Cromwell and the moderate party, who favored the Bible in English, but wished the translation from the Latin to be in Eomish phrase. Constitutionally and practically Coverdale was a compromiser, and his " speciall translacyon " was undertaken as a compromise. However, " Not as a checker," he says, " not as a reprouer, or despyser of other mens translacyons." ^ Coverdale sets forth the spirit of his undertaking, when he says : " Be not thou offended therfore (good Eeader) though one call a scrybe, that another calleth a lawyer ; or elders, that another calleth father and mother ; or repentaunce, that another calleth pennaunce or amendment. For yf thou be not disceaued by ' D'Aubigne'B History of the Reformation, V., 384. Am. Tr. Soc. edition, N. D. ^ Prologue, Coverdale's Bible, p. 2. Bagster'a Reprint, London, N. D. 148 coverdale's bible. [chap. iv. mens tradicions thou shalt fynde nomore dyuersite betwene these termes then betwene foure pens and a grote. And this maner have I vsed in my translacyon, callyng it in some place pennaunce, that in another place I call repentaunce, and that not onely because the interpreters haue done so before me, but that the aduersaries of the trueth may se, how that we abhorre not this worde pennaunce (as they vntruly reporte of vs) no more then the interpreters of latyn abhorre penitere, whan they reade resipiscere. Onely our hartes desyre vnto God, is, that his people be not blynded in theyr vnderstond- yng, lest they beleue pennaunce to be ought saue a very re- pentaunce, amendment, or conuersyon vnto God, and to be an vnfayned new creature in Christ, and to lyue acordyng to his lawe. For els shall they fal in to the olde blasphemy of (Jhristes bloude, and beleue, that they them selues are able to make satisfaccion vnto God for theyr awne synnes, from the which erroure god of his mercy and plenteous goodnes pre- serue all his."^ Though Coverdale's work as a translator was undertaken as a compromise, yet he yielded nothing of his evangelical spirit, neither does he in the least compromise his conscience. For further evidence that Coverdale was under the patron- age of Cromwell, we have his letter written to Cromwell in 1531, or 1533, in which, after referring to their conversation at the house of Sir Thomas More, he adds : " Now I begyne to taste of Holy Schryptures ; .... with the godly savour of holy and awncyent Doctoures, vnto whose knowlege I can not attayne, without dyversyte of bookys Nothyng in the world I desyre, but bookys Morover as tuching my behavour (your Mastyrschypes mynde onse knowne) wyth all lowlynes I offer my self, not only to be ordred in all thynges, as schall pleyse your wysdome." ^ If the conjectured date of this letter be correct then in 1531, Coverdale was at Cambridge and entering upon the work of translating the ' Prologue, Coverdale's Bible, p. 4. ' Memorials of Coverdale, App No. 1, p. 193. London, 1838. 1530.] HENET VIII. AND THE ENGLISH BIBLE. 149 Bible. But whether at home or abroad, he labors in secret. It is an open question whether Coverdale had other patrons than Cromwell. Some have thought that Sir Thomas More was at least aware of Coverdale's enterprise. Evidently there were those who took a substantial interest in his work, since he himself declares that he was emboldened to undertake it as " other men were moved to do the cost thereof." Year by year Tyndale's New Testament made friends for the Gospel, and also stirred up the hatred of its enemies. Be- tween these two extremes there sprang up a moderate party, of which Coverdale was a leading representative. There were many curates that were well learned, who were exhorting their parishioners "to believe contrary to the Catholic faith." Bishop Mx, in May, 1530, wrote : " There is a Colledg in 0am- hridg, called Gunnel haule, of the foundation of a Bp. of Harwich. I hear of no clerk, that hath commen out lately of that Colledg, but savoryth of the frying pan, tho he speak never so holily."^ In this same letter the good bishop com- plains both of the number and boldness of these heretics and of their boast : " that the Kings pleasure is, the N. Tes- tament in English shal go forth, and men sholde have it and read it." Furthermore, that some " crakyth in the Kings name, that their false opinions shold go forth, and wil dy in the quarrel, that their ungracious opinions be true, and trusty th by Michaelmas day, there shal be more that shal beleve of thair opinion, than they that beleivyth the contrary."' The object of this letter was that he might obtain royal letters con- ferring authority to suppress by force these false opinions. There was some grounds for supposing that Henry "VIII. at this time was not altogether opposed to the circulation of the Scriptures in English, though Bishop Mx would have it otherwise. About this time a convocation was called to pronounce upon certain heretical books, including the English ' Strype's MemoriaU of Archbishop Cranmer. App., Num. XII., p. 15. ' lUd, p. 15. 150 COVEKDALE'S bible. [chap. IV. New Testament.' Bishops and learned men from the Univer- sities were summoned to the council, and each was to have the liberty " to say what his own learning and conscience could maintain and justify."^ This was a notable conference. Free- dom of speech was granted to all to utter their opinions with- out any necessity of agreeing with the majority, or fear of any blame to be imputed to them. The council met on the 34th of May, 1530, in the Star chamber, the king presiding. The leading question before the council was, whether "it was his (the king's) duetie to cawse the Scripture of God to be translated into English tonge to be communicate unto the people ; and that the prelates and also his highnes doo wronge in denying or letting (hindering) of the same ; his highnes therefor willed every man there present in the said assemble, freely and frankly to shewe and open unto him what might be proved and confirmed by Scripture and holy doctours in that behalf, to the entent that his highnes, as he there openly protestid, myght conforme himself thereunto, mynding to doo his dutie towards his people, as he wolde they shulde doo their duties towards him." But after both sides had been heard, " fynally it appered, that having of the hole Scripture in Eng- lisshe is not necessarye to cristeu men Wherein foras- muche as the kings highnes, by the advise and deliberation of his counceill. . . .thinkith in his conscience that the divulff- ing of this Scripture at this tyme in Englisshe tonge, to be committed to the people, considering such pestilente books, and so evill opynyons as be now spred amonge them, shulde rather be to their further confusion and destruction then the edification of their soules." ^ These were the views as advo- cated and decided by the Eomish party. But that they were strongly combated there can be no doubt, since further along in the report, which is from the pen of Archbishop "Warham, ' The books condemned by this council were such as, The Obedience of a Christian Man; The SuppKcatiim of Beggars ; The Matrimony oi Tyndale ; and Tyndale's New Testament. ' Memorials of Ooverdaie, p. 33. London, 1838. 3 Ibid, pp. 33-34. 1530.] THE BISHOPS IK COUNCIL. 161 we are told that "Ins highnes did there openlye saye and pro- test, that he woulde cause the Newe Testament to be by lerned men faithfully and purely translated into Englishe tonge, to the entent he might have it in his handes redy to be gevyn to his people, as he might se their manners and behavour mete, apte, and convenient to receyve the same." i From which it would seem that Henry VIII. was not unfavorable to the cir- culation of a faithful version of the New Testament. Hall, in his Chronicles, affirms that the king commanded the bishops, with the assistance of learned men from the Universities, to cause a new translation to be made. So far as known, how- ever, nothing was done.^ The proclamation which followed the decision of this coun- cil, was decidedly in the interests of the papists. In view of which Latimer wrote a bold letter to the king, which shows not only the earnest spirit of the reformer, but the conilict Cf opinion then raging. "But as concerning this matter," wrote Latimer, " other men haue shewed your grace their myndes, how necessary it is to haue the Scripture in English. The which thing also your grace hath promised by your last Proc- lamation ; the which promise I pray God that your gracious highnes may shortly performe, euen to day before to morrow. .... And so as concernynge your last proclamation prohibityng such bokes, the very true cause of it, and chief Counsellours (as men say, and of likelihode it should be) were they whose euill lining and cloked hipocrisie these bookes uttered and dis- closed. And howbeit that there were iii or iiij (in the convo- cation) that would haue had the Scripture to go forth in English, yet it happened there, as it is euermore scene, that the most part ouercometh the better, and so it might be that these men did not take this proclamation as yours, but as theirs set forth in your name."' This council of 1530, though called in the interests of the ' Memorials of Coverdale, p. 35. ' Ibid, p. 36. ' Foxe's Acts and Monuments, pp. 1916-1919. 153 cotekdale's bible. [ohap. it. spirituality, is important as showing the demand of the people for the Scriptures in their own tongue. Also it is the first time that the question of Bible translation as a matter of expedi- ency had been discussed in open council. Notwithstanding the authoritative exhortation of Archbishop Warham "that the people should decline from their arrogancy of knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures, and meekly await the movement of their superiors, making no further demands," their impatience increased. During the years 1531 and 1532, appeared Tyndale's version of the Pentateuch and the book of Jonah, which helped to create a demand for a translation of the whole Bible. In evidence of this, we have the recorded action of the convocation of 1534. " The Bishops, Abbots, Priors, of this Upper House of Convocation, of the Province of Canterbury, met together in the Chapter House of St. Paul; unanimously did consent, that the most Eeverend Father the Archbishop, should make instance in their Names to the King, that his Majesty, would vouchsafe, ... to decree, that the Scriptures should be translated into the Vulgar Tongue by some honest and learned Men, to be nominated by the King, and to be delivered unto the People according to their Learn- ing." ^ As this motion was made by Archbishop Cranmer, Strype says that they agreed upon him as the proper person to present the petition. But "they clogged it with another that the Archbishop did not so well approve," which was to the effect, that all persons having books in Enghsh, or of suspected doctrine, were warned to bring them within three months to persons to be appointed by the king, "under a certain Pain to be limited by the King."^ No immediate results can be traced to this action ; yet on account of it, this convocation holds an important place in the history of English versions of the Bible, in that the papists, now for the first time, accede to the right of the people to have the Bible in their own tongue. • Strype's Memorials of AreKbishop Cranmer, B. I., Ch. VI., p. 34. Loudon, 1694. « lUd, p. 24. 1534. J THE COKVOCATIOK OF 1534. 153 Not long after this " the Archbishop," says Strype, " whose Mind ran very much upon bringing in the free use of the Holy Scripture in English among the People, put on vigorously a Translation of it." He began with the New Testament, taking an (old) English translation, dividing it into nine or ten parts, " causing each Part to be written at large in a paper Book and then to be sent to the best Learned Bishops and others : to the intent that they should make a perfect Correction thereof." After which they were to return the same to him " by a day limited for that purpose. "^ This enterprise of Cranmer, and the readiness with which the learned bishops entered into it, attests the progress of the reformed opinions, since all the bishops, excepting one, comjjlied with the requirements of the archbishop. Even Gardiner, who so strenuously opposed in the council the resolutions relating to the translation of the Bible, diligently corrected the portion assigned to him. " Nev- ertheless I have," he wrote, "as gret cause as any man to desire rest and quiet for the helth of my body ; whereunto I thought to have entended, and to absteyne from bookes and wryting, having finished the translation of Saynt Luke and Saynt John, wherin I have spent a gret labour." ^ But Bishop Stokesley, instead of returning his portion alter correcting it as requested, wrote to the archbishop a crispish letter, in which he said : " I marvel what my Lord of Canterbury meaneth, that thus abuse th the People, in giving them liberty to read the Scriptures ; which doth nothing else but infect them with Heresy. I have bestowed never an Hour upon my Portion, nor never will. And therefore my Lord shall have this Book again, for I never will be guilty of bringing the simple People into Error." 3 During these years of conflict and ineffectual effort. Cover- dale has been at work in secret, till now at last his translation is ready for the press. It was printed abroad, probably at ' Strype's Memorials of ArcJibishop Cranmer, p. 34. ' Memorials of Myles Ooverdale, p. 48. London, 1838. ' Strype's Memorials of Cranmer, p. 84. 154 cotekdale's bible. [chap. iv. Zurich, by Christopher Froschover, in the year 1535, and finished on the fourth day of October. There are various sup- positions as to the place of printing of Coverdale's Bible. Besides Zurich, Frankfort and Antwerp put in their claims. " Indeed, most of the cities of Germany come in for their share of the honor."! The evidence, favoring any given place, is limited, for the most part, to the types or woodcuts used by a given printer at that time, with which the types and cuts of this Bible are thought to correspond. But the boldest and most unsatisfactory supposition is that of Mr. Henry Stevens, as set forth in the Caxton Catalogue, wherein he affirms that the Ooverdale Bible was printed at Antwerp, and that Jacob Van Meteren, and not Ooverdale, was the translator. Mr. Stevens publishes this assertion in somewhat of a sensational style, and with all the zest of a new discovery, confidently believing that he has cleared away all the uncertainties that have hitherto hung over the authorship of the Ooverdale Bible. But his statements fail to carry conviction with them. Dr. Moulton, in his recent " History of the English Bible," says, in opposition to the claims put forth by Mr. Stevens in favor of Van Metereu, " that the translation was by any other hand than Coverdale's we should be very slow to believe." ^ To Myles Ooverdale, therefore, must still be accredited the honor of giving to England the first translation of the whole Bible printed in English. The following is the title of a copy in the library of the Duke of Sussex, which was reprinted by Bagster, and reads: " Biblia, the Bible, that is, the holy Scripture of the Olde and New Testament, faithfully and truly translated in to Englishe, — M.D.XXXV. — S. Paul, II. Tessa., III. Praiefor vs, that the worde of God male haue fre passage, and he glorified, &cP This title occupies a small square in the middle of the page, and is inclosed by a border of woodcuts illustrating scenes both of the Old and New Testaments. The cut extending across the top of the page represents, the Fall and Redemption. The small squares on the right represent, ' Qaxton Catalogue, p. 88. London, 1877. ' Note, p. 99. 1535.] DISAGREEMENTS IN TITLES AND DEDICATIONS. 155 the Giving of the law, and Ezra reading the look of the law to the people ; and on the left, Christ showing himself afler his resurrection, and Peter preaching to the people. The cut extending across the bottom of the page, represents Henry VIII. on his throne, presenting a clasped Bible to his bishops, who kneel on his right, vthile the peers of the realm kneel on his left. On the extreme right in this cut, there is a full-length figure of King David playing on a harp, with a connecting scroll bearing an appropriate inscription ; so on the extreme left there is a corresponding full-length figure of the Apostle Paul, with a scroll bearing the inscription, I am not ashamed of the Gospell of Christ, for it is the power of God. Eo. I. Sebald Beham is the supposed author of these cuts. He was an engraver at Nuremburg and flourished about this time. His pictures, as well as his engravings, were held in the highest esteem by his co temporaries. ^ In respect to the titles of Coverdale's Bibles much has been made of the fact that in the earliest copies the title in some reads : " Faithfully and truly translated out of Douche and Latyn in to English," while in others the title reads simply : " Faithfully and truly translated into English." The specifi- cation, out of Domicile and Latyn, is pronounced by some as a " book-seUing artifice of the time, to make the work circulate better " ; by others as the honest insertion of Coverdale. The importance to be attached to this question is, that if inserted by Coverdale, it settles the question that he did not translate directly from the Hebrew. And yet Coverdale was not without some knowledge of the Hebrew, " by which he was guided at times in selecting' his renderings; but in the main his version is based on the Swiss-German version of Zwingli and Leo Juda, .... and on the Latin of Pagninus." ^ Again, there is a manifest disagreement in the dedicating prologue to Henry VIII., which in some copies specify Queen Anne "as the dearest wyfe and most virtuous pryncesse ; " while others of ' Chalmer's Biographical Dictionary. Art. — Beham {Sebatd). » Westcott" B History of the Eng. Bible, p. 169. London, 1872. 156 coveedale's bible. [chap. IV. the same date, 1535, insert the name of Queen Jane, notwith- standing the fact that she was not married to Henry till in May, 1536. Lewis seeks to explain this inconsistency by the supposition that Coverdale, hearing that Anne Boleyn was declining in the king's favor, deferred the publication till his marriage with Jane Seymour. Anderson adopts the same theory ; but it has been exploded by the showing of Mr. Pry, ' that all the dedications in which the name of Queen Jane appears are from the editions of 1537 ; which dedications were transferred to the editions of 1535-36, and that the insertion was not at that time deemed inappropriate.' The dedication extends over five quarto pages, and must have been sufficiently adulatory even for that age, while it sounds belittling to our ears. This is followed by a prologue by Myles Coverdale " vnto the Christen Eeader," which is writ- ten in a very different spirit. The prologue closes with the following exhortation : "Finally who so euer thou be, take these wordes of scripture in to thy herte, and be not only an outward hearer, but a doer therafter, and practyse thyselfe therin ; that thou mayestfele in thine hert, the swete promyses therof for thy consolacion in all trouble, and for the sure stablishinge of thy hope in Christ, and baue euer an eye to y° wordes of scripture, that yf thou be a teacher of other thou mayest be within the boundesof the trueth, or at leest though thou be but a hearer or reader of another mans doynges, thou mayest yet haue knowlege to judge all spretes, and be fre from euery erroure, to the utter destruccion of all sedicious sectes and straunge doctrynes, that the holy scrypture maye haue fre passage, and be had in reputacion, to the worshippe of the author therof, which is euen God himselfe ; to whom for his most blessed worde be glory and domynion now and euer."^ The evangelical spirit of Coverdale is not only manifest in this extract, but also throughout the whole prologue. It was- in this same spirit he executed the translation. He was grieved ' Westcott'B History of the Eng. Bible, p. 59, note. London, 1872. " Coverdale's BWe. Prologue, p. 5. 1535. 1536.] DEATH OF ASSE BOLBYN. 157 that other nations should he more plenteously supphed with the Scriptures in their own tongue than his own, "therfore whan I was instantly (urgently) requyred," he says, " though I coulde not do so well as I wolde, I thought it yet my dewtye to do my best, and that with a good wyll." i From the tenor of the dedication we may infer that Cover- dale expected a favorable reception for his translation at the hands of the king. In his extravagant comparisons, Henry VIII. becomes not only "cure Moses," to. deliver out of the darkness " of olde Egypte from the cruell handes of our spirit- uall Pharao," but a very Josiah, in whose time the word of God is found again, and who commands, " that the lawe of God shulde be redde and taught vnto all y° people." ^ The first edition of Coverdale's Bible appeared at the beginning of the year 1536, under auspices unfavorable so far as its reception was based upon the active favor of Anne Boleyn, who had now fallen into such disgrace, that her tragic end drew very near.^ The edition was issued, however, under royal sanction, but with no special privileges. Notwithstanding Coverdale's com- promises,in the rendering of certain ecclesiastical words, and the leaving out of objectionable prologues and glosses found in Tyndale, his translation met with no favor at the hands of the Eomish bishops. This appears from the fact, that in the convocation of June 9, 1536, a petition was agreed upon, to be presented to the king, for a new translation of the Bible. The ' Coverdale's Bible. Prologue, p. 1. ° Ihid, Dedication, pp. 4, 5. ■' A little before Noon, being the 19th of May, (1536\ she was brought to the scaffold, where she made a short Speech to a great company The chief of whom were the Dukes of Suffolk and Richmond, the Lord Chancellor, and Secretary CromweU, with the Lord Mayor, the Sheriffs and Aldermen of London. She said. ' she was come to die, as she was judged by the Law ; she would accuse none, nor say anything of the ground upon which she was judged.' She prayed heartily for the King ; . . . .And so she took her leave of them and the World. . . . After she had been some time in her devotions, her last words being. To Christ I com- mend my Sold ; her Head was cut off by the Hangman of Calais." "Bvlt- net'B Bist.Bef., L, 305. 158 COVEKDALB'S BIBLE. [CHAP. IV. substance of this petition was, that the king would graciously indulge his subjects of the laity the reading of the Bible in the English tongue, and that a new translation might be forth- with made. But there is no evidence that this petition was ever presented, or at least ever acted upon.* The injunction of Cromwell, issued about this time, must have referred to Coverdale's Bible, as it was at that time the only printed edi- tion extant. There is some doubt as to whether the injunc- tion was ever published, and yet it must have had- a place in the original draft. On account of the bearing of this in- junction on the history of Coverdale's Bible, it deserves no- tice. As recorded by Poxe, it is the seventh item among the injunctions " Given by the authority of the King to the clergy of his realm in the year 1536," and reads : " That euery person or proprietary of anye parish Church within this realme, shall on this side the feast of S. Peter ad vincula next comming, prouide a booke of the whole Bible, both in Laten and also in English, and laye the same in the queere for euery man that wil, to loke and read theron, and shall discourage no man from the reading of any part of the Bible either in Laten or Eng- lish, but rather comfort, exhort, and admoaish euery man to reade the same, as the very word of God, and the spirituall foode of mans soule, whereby they may the better knowe their dueties to God, to their soueraigne Lord the kyng, and theyr neyghbour, euer gentilly and charitably exhorting them, that using a sober -and a modest behauiour in the reading and inqui- sition of the true sense of the same, they do in no wyse stifly or egerlye contend or striue one with another, about the same, but referre the declaration of those places that be in contro- uersie, to the judgement of them that be better learned. "^ In the first ecclesiastical council under Henry VIII., called ' Lewis' Hut. of Eng. Translations of the Bible, p. 103. London, 1789. ' Foxe's Acts and Monuments, p. 1248. The injunction differs materi- ally from that of 1538, which favors the supposition that as an important item it belongs to the injunctions of 1536. And yet, because it does not appear in Cranmer's Register, or in Wilkins' Conci'ia, it is probable that it was never published. Compare Eadie's Eng. Bible, 1., 364, note. 1535.] MADE FKOM " SONDBTE TRANSLACIONS." 159 in 1536 for the purpose of an authoritative recognition of his divorce, as well as for settling certain articles of religious faith, the Protestants and Papists were about equally divided. Fuller quaintly says, that the instrument of divorce was subscribed to by all, " the Papists willingly, the Protestants faintly, but all publickly."! But while the bishops were contending in high council about certain articles in religion, and a new transla- tion of the Bible, the people were reading the Scriptures and forming their own religious opinions. Edward Pox, bishop of Hereford, boldly declared in this council, " that they could not by sophistical subtilties steal out of the world again the light which every man doth see The people do now know the Holy Scripture better than many of us. " ^ For ten years the people had been familiar with Tyndale's printed New Testa- ment, and for some five or six years with parts of the Old Tes- tament of Tyndale's translation, and now from the hand of Coverdale they receive the whole Bible in print. That it was favorably received by the people we have strong evidence in the fact, that the first edition was exhausted during the year 1536, and that in 1537 two editions, one in folio and the other in quarto, were published by James Nycolson of Southwark, and "Set forth with the Kynge's most gracious licence."^ Besides, there was another issue of Coverdale's Bible in 1550, which was reprinted in 1553.* As a translator Coverdale did not claim to be independent. In his prologue to. the Christian reader he says : " To helpe me herin, I haue had sondrye translacions not only in latyn but also of the Douche interpreters : whom (because of theyr synguler gyftes and speciall diligence in the Bible) I haue ben the more glad to folowe for the most parte, accordynge as I was .requyred." ° These " sondrye translacions " probably were the ' Fuller's Chvreh History of Britain , B. V. , pp. 208-213. London, 1685. ' Anderson's AnnaU, p. 256. London, 1862. ' Ibid, p. 391. * " The edition of 1550 was published in London by Andrewe Hester, with the strange misprint of: 'By Mayst. Thomas Matthewe.' " <• Coverdale's Bible, Prologue, p. 1. Bagster's Reprint, N. D. 160 coveedalb's bible. [chap. IV. Vulgate, Jerome's version, 385, 405 ; the Swiss-German or Zurich Bible, 1524, 1529 ; the Latin version of Pagninus,' translated from the Hebrew in 1518, but not printed till 1528 ; also Tyndale's New Testament, 1525; and his Pentateuch, 1530. The language of Coverdale in respect to his use of these helps is not inconsistent with his taking the Hebrew as the base of his translation. There was at least one celebrated Hebrew scholar and teacher in England as early as 1520. This was Eobert Wakefield, who was educated at Cambridge. He went abroad to study the oriental languages. In 1519 he taught Hebrew at Louvain. In a few months afterward he returned home and became chaplain to Dr. Pace. In 1530 he was made public professor of Hebrew at Oxford.' So far, then, as an opportunity for the obtaining it, there is no improbability in Coverdale's having a knowledge of the Hebrew language. And yet it is a mooted question whether or not he translated from the Hebrew. Whittaker argues in its favor, and is fol- lowed by Anderson. Eadie, after Westcott, confutes Whit- taker at great length, and asserts that Coverdale's translation of the Old Testament "is not taken at all from the original Hebrew, either professedly or in fact ; but is only a secondary translation, based chiefly on the Swiss-German or Zurich Bible." 8 But Tregelles claims that Coverdale's translation is not only based upon the Hebrew, but " that even the Hebrew edition which he used can be pointed out."^ Prom the above, and also from internal evidence,^ it is reasonable to conclude that Coverdale made use of the Hebrew, though he was " requyred to folowe for the most parte sondrye translacions." His conscientiousness as a translator cannot be called in ques- ' The version of Sanctes Pagninus was the work of twenty-five years, and has been extolled by Jews and Christians as the best Latin trans- lation ever made from the Hebrew, the translation of Jerome not ex- cepted. » Chalmer's Diet , Art. Wakefield, Rdb't, XXX., 486. London, 1816. 3 Eadie s Hist. Sag. Bible, I., 385. ■• Historic Evidence of the Authorship of the New Testament, p. 83, note. London, 1853. ^ See above, page 155. 1535.] SPECIMENS EKOM THE OLD TESTAMENT. 161 tion. " I haue nether wrested nor altered," he says, " so moch as one worde for the mayntenaunce of any maner of secte ;*but haue with a cleare conscience purely and faythfully translated this out of fyue sundry interpreters, hauynge onely the many- fest trueth of the scripture before myne eyes." ^ He had an exalted appreciation of what the Scripture would do for the people. " The onely worde of God," he says, " is the cause of all felicite And why ? because it is geuen by the inspira- cyon of God." 2 And it was this word, by whomsoever minis- tered, that he was desirous to have go forth to the people. And if he sometimes studied plainness of meaning at the ex- pense of conciseness of expression, he but followed Tyndale and his other interpreters, particularly the Zurich Bible. And yet, if possible, the style of Ooverdale is more remarkable for its simplicity than that of Tyndale. "No little of that inde- linable quality," says Eadie, " that gives popular charm to our English Bible, and has endeared it to so many generations, is owing to Coverdale." * Especially is this true of the Psalms and the Prophetical books. The English Church to this day reads in her Prayer-book, Coverdale's version of the Psalms with very few changes, and even these are for the most part verbal, so that essentially the version of 1535 is retained. Not only the English Prayer-book, but our present version of the Psalms is indebted to Coverdale for its rhythmic flow and strength of expression. As illustrating the indebtedness of our English Bible to Coverdale, as well as showing the rich- ness and simplicity of his style, take the following Psalms — the first of which is put into modem spelling : Ps. II. A. Wht do the Heathen grudge? Why do the people imagine vain things ? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers are come together, against the Lobd and against his anointed. Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yoke from us. Nevertheless, he that dwelleth in heaven, shall laugh them to scorn ; yea even the Lord himself shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak ' Coverdale's Bible. Dedication to the King, p. 5. ' Ibid, p. 4. ' History of English Bible, I., 303. 162 covEKD alb's bible. [chap. iv. unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore dis- pleasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Sion. As for me I will preach the law, whereof the Lord hath said unto me . Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. Desire of me, and I shall give thee the B. Heathen for thine inheritance. Tea the utmost parts of the world, for thy possession. Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron, and break them in pieces like an earthen vessel. Be wise now therefore (O ye kings) be warned, ye that are judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice before him with reverence. Kiss the son, lest the Lord be angry, and so ye perish from the right way. For his wrath shall be kindled shortly : blessed are all they that put their trust in him. Psalm XXII., which corresponds in number with the XXIII. Psalm of the Authorized versioa,i is here inserted with the original spelling and contractions: Ps. XXII. Thb Lordb is my shepherde, I can wante nothinge. He fedeth me in a greene pasture, ad ledeth me to a fresh water. He quickeneth my soule, and bringeth me forth in the waye of rightuousnes for his names sake. Though I shulde walke now in the valley of the shadowe of death, yet I feare no euell, for thou art with me : thy staffe & thy shepehoke coforto me. Thou preparest a table before me agaynst mine enemies : thou anoyntest my heade with oyle, & fyllest my cuppe full. Oh let thy louynge kyndnes & mercy folowe me all the dayes oflF my life, that I may dwell in the house off the Lorde for euer. The same rhythmical flow so noticeable in Coverdale's trans- lation of the Psalms is found likewise in his translation of the Prophetical books, while the style on account of the original is more stately and elevated. Take a portion of the fortieth chapter of Isaiah , with the spelling modernized, as an example : la. XL. A. Be of good cheer my people, be of good cheer (saith your God). Comfort Jerusalem, and tell her: that her travail ' In the numbering of the Psalms the Hebrew Bible and the Septua- gint version differ. Coverdale followed the Septuagint numbering, while our translations followed that of the Hebrew. Compare note on page 70 above. 1535.] SPECIMES-S FBOM THE OLD TESTAMENT. 163 is at an end, that her oflFense is pardoned, that she hath received of the Lord's hand sufficient correction 'for all her sins. A voice crieth : Prepare the way for the Loud in the Wilderness, make straight the path for our God in the desert. Let all valleys be exalted, and every moun- tain and hill be laid low. What so is crooked, let it be made straight, and let the rough, places be made plain fields. For the glory of the Lohd shall appear, and all flesh shall see it, for why, the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. The same voice spake : Now cry. And I said : What shall I cry 1 Then spake it : that all flesh is grass, and that all the beauty thereof, is as the flower of the field. When the grass is withered, the flower falleth away. Even so is the people as grass, when the breath of the Lord blow- eth upon them. Nevertheless whether the grass wither, or the flower fade away ; Yet the word of our God endur- eth for ever. Moreover the voice cried thus : Go up unto the hill (o Sion) thou that bringest good tidings ; lift up B. thy voice with power, O thou preacher Jerusalem. Lift it up without fear, and say unto the cities of Judah : Be- hold your God : behold the Lord, even the almighty shall come with power, and bear rule with his arm. Behold, he bringeth his treasure with him, and his works go be- fore him. He shall feed his flock like an herdman. He shall gather the lambs together with hia arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall kindly entreat those that bear young. The following specimens are given with the original spelling, contractions, and archaic forms retained : Is. LXI. a. The sprete of the Loedb God is with me, for y" Lordb hath anoynted me, & sent me, to preach good tydlges vnto the poore, y' I might bynde vp y" wounded hertes, y' I might preach delyaeraunce to y" captyue, & open the preson to the that are bounde : y' I might declare y acceptable yeare of the Lordb & the daye of y" avegeaunce of oure God : that I might comforte all them that are in heuy- nesse, that I might geue vnto them y' mourne in Sion, bewty in the steade of asshes, ioyful oyntmet for sigh- inge, pleasaunt raymet for an heuy mide : That they might be called excellent in rightuousnesse, a platinge of the Lordb for him to reioyce in. 164 coveedale's bible. [chap. iv. LXIII. A. What is he this, that cometh from Edom, with stayned reade clothes of Bosra : (which is so costly cloth) & cometh in so neebly with all his stregth ? I am he y' teacheth rightuousnes, & am of power to helpe. Wherfore thS is thy clothinge reade, and thy raymet like his y' tread- eth in y° wyne presse ? I haue trodde the presse my self alone, & of all people, there was not one with me. Thus haue I trode downe myne enemies iu my wrath, and set my fete vpo them in my indignacion : And their bloude sprange vpo my cloothes, & so haue I stayned all my ray- ment. For the daye of vengeauce that I haue take in honde, & the yeare of my delyuerance is come. I loked aboute me, and there was no ma to shewe me eny helpe. I fel downe, and no man helde me vp. The I helde me by myne owne arme, & my feruetnesse susteyned me. And thus haue I troden down the people in my wrath, and bathed them in my displeasure : In so moch that I haue shed their bloude vpon the earth. The above examples are of Coverdale's translating, in wtich he was independent of Tyndale. By common consent, it is understood that the portions of the Scriptures already translated by Tyndale were used by Coverdale as the basis of his translation, especially the Pentateuch and the New Testa- ment. The following specimens from Coverdale's translation of the New Testament will illustrate but imperfectly his work as a reviser, since in many instances his changes are rather for the worse than otherwise. The first example is that of the Lord's prayer, which is based upon Tyndale's version of 1534; it shows only a few verbal changes. Compare with Tyndale's version on pages 121, 133, above : Matt. VI. B O oure father which art in heauen halowed be thy name. Thy kyngdome come. Thy wyll be fulfilled vpon earth as it is in heauen. Geue vs this daye oure dayly bred. And forgeue vs oure dettes, as we also forgeue our detters. And lede vs not in to teptacion : but delyuer vs from euell. For thyne is the kyngdome, and the power, and the glorye for euer. Amen. 1535.] SPECIMENS FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT. 165 The following specimen is here inserted with the spelling modernized : Eom. VIII. A. . . . To be fleshly minded, is death : but to be ghostly minded, is life and peace. For to be fleshly minded is enmity against God, since it is not subdued unto the law of God, for it cannot also. As for them that are fleshly, they cannot please God. Howbeit, ye are not fleshly, but ghostly, if so be that the spirit of God dwell in you. But who so hath not the spirit of Christ, the same is not his. Nevertheless if Christ be in you, then is the body dead because of sin. But the spirit is life for righteousness sake. B. Wherefore if the spirit of him, that raised up Jesus from the dead, dwell in you, then shall even he also that raised up Christ from the dead, quicken your mortal bodies, because that his spirit dwelleth in you. Therefore brethren we are now debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh : for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die : but if ye mortify the deeds of the body through the spirit, ye shall live. For whosoever are led by the spirit of God, are God's children : for ye have not received the spirit of bondage to fear any more, but ye have received the spuit of adoption, whereby we ciy : Abba, dear father. The same spirit certifieth our spirit, that we are the children of God. If we be children, then are we heirs also, namely the heirs of God, and heirs annexed with Christ, if so be that we suifer together, that we may be also glori- fied together. C. . . . For the fervent longing of the creature looketh for the appearing of the children of God, because the creature is subdued unto vanity against their will, but for his will that hath subdued them upon hope. For the creature also shall be free from the bondage of corruption, unto the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that every creature groaneth, and travaileth with us in pain unto the same time. D. Likewise the spirit also helpeth our weakness ; for we know not what we should desire as we ought : 166 covbedale's bible. [chap. rv. nevertlieless the spirit itself maketh intercession miglitily for us with unoutspeakable groauings. Howbeit he that searcheth the heart, knoweth what the mind of the spirit is : for he maketh in- tercession for the saints according to the pleasure of God. But sure we are, that all things serve for the best unto them that love of God, which are called of purpose. For those whom he knew be- fore, hath he ordained also before, that they should be like fashioned unto the shape of his son, that he might be the first begotten among many brethren. As for those whom he hath ordained before, them hath he called also : and whom he hath called, them hath he also made righteous ; and whom he hath made righteous, them hath he glorified also. If in revising Tyndale, Coverdale made changes sometimes for the worse, yet more frequently they were for the better. As evidence take the following comparisons. The readings of Tyndale are from his revised edition. The verse divisions are given below for the sake of reference, though they are not found in Coverdale's Bible. Matt. III. 14. . . I haue nede to be beptysed of the. Tyndale has : I ought to be. V. 36. . . . canst not make one heer whyte or Uacke. Tyndale reads : one white heer, or hlacke. XIII. 58 because of their vribeleue. Tyndale reads : for there vnbelefes sake. XXI. 42 is become the heade stone in the corner. Tyndale reads : is set in the principal parte of the corner. John I. 14. . . . and we sawe his glory, a glory as of the onely begotten sonne of the father full of grace and trueth. Tyndale reads : . . and we sawe the glory of it, as the glory of the only be- gotten Sonne of the father, which worde was full of grace and verite. III. 15 that who so cuer beleueth in him, shulde not perishe, but haue euerlastinge life. 1535.] QUAIKTNESS AND FAMILIARITY IN EXPHESSION. 167 Tyndale reads : . . . that none tJmt be- leveth in him perisshe : but have eternall lyfe. 31- ... He that is of the earth is eaHlily. Tyndale reads : . . He that is of the erth, is of the erth. XIV. 37. . . . Let not youre hert be troubled, nether let it be afrayed. Tyndale reads : . . . Let not your hertes be greved nether /«ore ye. XT. 19. . . therfore the worlde hateth you. Tyndale has : therfore hateth you the worlde. XVIII. 38. Pilate sayde vnto him : what is the trueth ? Tyndale reads : what thinge is trueth f XIX. 2. . . . and put u. purple garment 'epon him. Tyndale has : . they dyd on him a purple garment. ' I. Tim. VI. 5. . which thynke that godlines is lucre. Tyndale reads: . . . that lucre is godlines. He is followed by the Genevan version, 1557; also by the Authorized version. But Cover- dale's rendering is better, since the meaning is, that many supposed that godliness could be used as a means of gain.'' I. John III. 24. And hereby knowe we that he abydeth in vs, euen by the sprete which he hath geuen vs. Better than Tyndale, who reads : . . . and therby we know that ther abydeth in vs of the sprete which he gai)e vs. Coverdale's language is sometimes quaint, but compara- tively, there are but few obsolete words. While he studied great plainness of speech, he sometimes descended into too great familiarity of expression, of which the following are examples : Ps. IX. 16. . . . trapped in the workes of his owne handes. 30. O LoBDB, set a scolemaster ouer them. ' In the use of dyd on, Tyndale was followed by the Great Bible, 1539, also by the Genevan version of 1557. Wycliflfe reads : diden dboute hym. In these instances the phrase is used in the sense of put on. ' Compare Alford in loco ; also Trench on Bible Revision, p. 110. 168 coverdale's bible. [chap. iv. X. 6. Tush, 1 stal neuer te cast downe. In the 11th and 12th verses, also we read : Tush, God hath forgotten. Tush, he careth not for it. XIII. 1. The foolish hodyes saye in their hertes : Tush, there is no God.' XXII. 4. Thy staffe and thy shepehohe comforte me. XXVI. 14. tary thou y= Lokdb's leysure. XXVII. 3. plucke me not awaye amonge the vngodly. 7. . . . Therfore my hert daunseth for joye. XXXII. 3. . . . yee synge lustely iinto him. XLIV. 4. Oood lucke haue thou with thine honoure. XLV. 6. The Heithen are madd, the kyngdomes make mock adoo. XLVI. 5. God is gone vp with a mery noyse. In respect to obsolete words, whole chapters may be read in Coverdale's Bible without meeting with a single example, ^ though three and a half centuries have passed since the trans- lation was made. There are such words, however, and as examples the following will suffice : iaroives, couches ; bugges, goblins ; chaftes, jaws ; cresliettes, torches ; flawe of wyjid, tempest of wind ; hantch, snatch or devour ; limid reacldnge, a favorite term with Coverdale for the act of ministering relief ; lyuelod, land; maundes, baskets ; rowneth, whispereth ; all of which may be found below in their several connections. Job XXIX. 17. I brake the chaftes of y" vnrightuous. Ps, VII. 3. Lest he hantch vp my soule like a lyon. XC. 5. So y' thou shalt not nede to be afrayed for eny bugges by night. Is. V. 9. The LOEDE of hoostes rowneth me thus. Jer. XXIV. 1. . . there stode two maundes of figes. John XVIII 3. . .he came thither with creshettes, with lan- terns and with weapens. Acts V. 3. . . . and withdrawe awaye parte of the money of the lyeelod ? 15. . . and layed them vpon beddes and barowes. VI. 1. . . . because their wyddowes were not loked vpon in the daylie liandreaahinge. XXVII. 14. But not longe after there rose agaynst their purpose a jlawe ofwynde. ' This XIII. corresponds with the XIV. Psalm of the A. V. So the XXII. with the XXIII., and so on with the remaining references. 1538.] THE DIGLOTT NEW TESTAMENT. 169 Archaic forms and coutractions abound in Coverdale's,Bible. These, together with the strange orthography, render his printed page somewhat obscure. The following are inserted as examples: ^n-, their; her, them; Ais, its; nee, nor; 2/', the; y', that; hi, him ; hogrie, hungry; Jho^ John ; lodes, lands ; Uge,\oxig; stable, stumble; the, them or then; vpo, upon; axe, ask ; rote, root ; sprete, spirit ; the, thee ; thorow, through ; twolce, twelve ; wawes, waves ; yee, yea. The circulation of Coverdale's Bible helped to awaken opposition to tlie Scriptures in English. The friends of the Bible are now in the ascendency through the Protestant ad- visers of Henry VIII. Its enemies continue to rail- from "inward malyce." They charge upon Coverdale as upon Tyndale the crime of corrupting and perverting the common Latin version. They revile all persons who possess or read the Bible in English as "heretikes," "new fangled fellowes," I "English biblers," " Coblers in diuinitie,'' and as "fellowes of the new fayth." 1 They " cry out ■^'pon vs," says Coverdale, " (because) we do not followe thys olde Latyn texte word for word. As though al were not as nye the truth to translate the scripture out of other languages, as to turne it out of the Latyn. Or as though the holy goost were not the authoure of his scripture aswell in the Hebrue, Greke, French, Dutche, and in Englysh, as in Latyn." ^ It was in part to silence these cavils and "put an end to this clamorous importunyte of euell speakers;'' and in part "to satisfye the just request of certayne your graces faytbful sub- jectes," who were friendly to a Vernacular version ; and in part also "to induce and instructe such as can but Englisho and are not learned in the Latin ;"2 that Coverdale favored an English translation of the New Testament directly from the Latin, and that it should be printed in a parallel column on the same page with the Latin. This Diglott, or Latin and English Testament, was published in 1538, at Southwarke, ' Coverdale's Memories, p. 93. « Ibid, p. 97. ' Ibid, p. 96. Q 170 COVERD alb's bible. [chap. IV. by James Nycolson. Coverdale favored this work so far as to consent that under certain conditions his own translation should be used for this purpose, and that he would " set his name to it." But when it appeared he found it " so disagree- able to his former translacion in English, .... (and) in many places both base, insensyble, and cleane contrary, not onely to the phrase of our language; but also from the vnderstondyng of the texte in latyn," ^ he was sore displeased, and imme- diately set forth a corrected" edition, which was printed in Paris by Francis Eegnault, in November of the same year. In the meanwhile Nycolson put forth another edition, partially revised and corrected, under the name of John Hollybushe, as the translator. These three editions of this Latin and English New Testament were published in the year 1538. That Coverdale had good reasons for being displeased with the first edition of the Diglott will appear even from these few examples : Matt. XXVI. B. . . beganne euery one of them to saye : LOBDE, ame I it f Coverdale reads : Syr, is it 1 ? C. . . . And the grace sayde, they went forthe in mounte Oliuete. Coverdale reads : And whan they had sayde grace. Jesus sayde vnto hym : Verily I say vnto the : That in this night before the cock syng, thou shalt denye me thryse. Coverdale reads : before the cock crowe. Mark I. A. . . . And J6hn was clothed in the heeres of a Camel. Coverdale has : Camels heer. VIII. D. . . . V7home do men saye me to be f Coverdale reads : . . . that lam f John II. A. . . . Bat thou hast kepte the good wyne /ieS^erto. Coverdale has : untyll now. After publishing his Bible in 1535, Coverdale returned to England. In 1537 he published an exposition of the twenty- second, also of the twenty-third Psalm, translated from the German of Luther. He was employed about this time by Cromwell in the affairs of State ; but his great learning and ' Coverdale's Memorials, pp. 99, 100. 1537.] A NEW ENTEEPEISE. 171 moral worth, as well as his signal success as a translalior and reviser of the English Bible, united in pointing him out as the person of all others to take the leadership in an enterprise already determined upon, which was the putting forth the Bible in another translation. This contemplated enterprise resulted in due time in the Great Bible of 1539. In the mean- while, however, another Bible, that of Thomas Matthewe, 1537, appeared ia England. It came across the sea unheralded, but was kindly received. Some account of this Bible next com- mands our attention. CHAPTER Y. MATTHEWE'S BIBLE. A. D. 1537. A BOUT this time there were three distinct v-ersions of the JL\. English Bible issued in the short space of four years; These were Coverdale's Bible, 1535, Matthewe's Bible, 1537, and Cromwell's Bible, 1539. In the accounts given of these several editions, more or less confusion has existed. Burnet complains that the facts respecting the translation of the Bible have not been preserved with " that care that the Importance of the thing required." ' Unfortunately, Burnet ti-ansmits an error in tracing a direct connection between the action of the convocation of 1536, and Cromwell's Bible of 1539. The arguments put forth in this convocation favoring the Bible in English, he says, " were so much considered by the King, that he gave order for setting about it immediately." * He further adds in this connection, " that the work was earned on at a good rate ; for three years after this it was Printed at Paris." ^ There was a petition ordered to be presented to the king, requesting that the Bible might be given to the laity in their own tongue, during the sittings of this convocation of 1536, but with no known results. The Bible printed three years after was Cromwell's Bible, which was a revision of the Bible of 1537, and though the printing was begun at Paris it was completed in London. Again, Burnet in giving an account of the Bible of 1537, says: "the Translation had been sent over to France to be printed at Paris, but upon a com- plaint made by the French Clergy, the Press was stopt and ' History of the Reformation in England, I., B. III., p. 196. London, 1681. « lUd, p. 195. 8 lUd, p. 196. 1535-39.] CONFUSION in historical accounts. 173 most of the Copies were seized on, and publickly burnt; but some Copies were conveyed out of the way, and the* Work- men and Forms were brought over to England ; where it was now finished and published." * All of which is true of the Bible of 1539, but not that of 1537. Another example of this confusion is found in Strype, who gives Archbishop Cranmer the credit of originating the translation of 1537, and hence connects it with the efforts of Cranmer towards a new trans- lation made soon after the convocation of 1534, in which the archbishop assigned certain portions of Scripture to divers learned bishops and others to be revised and corrected. And now, adds Strype, " to his inexpressible Satisfaction, he saw the Work finished. "'^ But as a matter of fact this effort of the archbishop was unsuccessful.' In another connection, Strype gives comparatively a correct account of the Bible of 1537 ; that it was " called Matthews Bible of TyndaVs and Roger's Translation, (and,) was printed by Grafton and WJiitchurcJi at Hamburgh It was done by one John Rogers, who flour- ished a great while in Germany, and was Superintendent of a Church there He added Prefaces, and Notes out of Luther; and dedicated the whole Book to King Henry, under the Name of Thomas Matthews, by an Epistle prefixed ; minding to conceal his own Name." * Still another example of this confusion is found in Froude, when in describing Coverdale's Bible, 1535, he confounds it with Matthewe's Bible, 1537. He says: "Miles Coverdale .... silently went abroad with a licence from Cromwell ; with Tyndal's help he collected and edited the scattered portions ; and in 1536, there appeared in London, published cum privilegio, and dedicated to Henry VIII. the first com- plete copy of the English Bible The canon and text- book of the new opinions — so long dreaded, so long execrated — was thenceforth to lie open in every church in England ; and ' History of the Reformation in England, p. 249. ' Memorials of ArchUshop Cranmer, B. I., ch. XV., p. 57. London, 1694. s See above on poges 153, 153. ■• lUd, p. 82. 174 • matthewe's bible. [chap. v. the clergy were ordered not to permit only, but to exhort and encourage, all men to resort to it and read."^ Possibly Kogers may have had Tyndale's help or they may have labored together in translating the Bible of 1537 ; but not so Coverdale and Tyndale. The above statement, however, is for the most part true of the Bible of 1535. So again Mr. Froude confounds the Great Bible of 1539, with the Bible of 1535, when he 'describes the frontispiece of the former as belonging to the latter ; introducing as he does the description, with the statement, that this frontispiece was " equally remarkable, and even more emphatic in the recognition of the share in the work borne by the king."^ But so far as is known Henry VIII. had no " share in the work " of producing Coverdale's Bible, not even so much as granting his royal privilege to the first edition. Though these three editions appeared so near each other as to tinie, yet in their origin they were so distinct, that there can be no excuse for historically confounding them. Thsre is, however, in the history of the Bible of 1537, an obscurity attaching itself to the name Thomas Matthewe, which the utmost discrimination and research has failed to make clear. In seeking to account for this straunge name of Thomas Matthewe being connected with the Bible, Foxe declares that : "In the translation of tMs Bible,the greatest doer was in dede William Tyndall But because the sayd William Tyndall in y« meane tyme was apprehended, .... it was thought good to them whiche had the doyng therof, to chaunge the name of William Tyndall, because that name then was odious, and to father it by a straunge name of Thomas Mathewe."' Strype adopted the same theory, adding, that Tyndale's name " then growing into ignominy, as one burnt for an Heretick, they thought it might prejudice the Book, if he should be named for the Translator thereof : and so they used a feigned Name, calling it Thomas ' History of England. III., 83. New York, 1869. » IWd, p. 85. ' Acts and Monuments, p. 1363. 1696-7. 1525-55.] JOHN ROGERS. 175 Matthews Bible." ' But -whether Thomas Matthewe was a stra-unge, ox feigned name; or whether it was an alias of John Eogers, which seems the most likely as there are some incidental proofs ; ' or whether it was the name of some in- dividual who by his means first aided the enterprise, as has been surmised ; or whether it was the name of the first printer, which seems the most unlikely supposition of all, though Hallam states it not as a supposition but as a fact ; or whether it be a, fictitious name "under which the Editor chose to appear," as Lewis thinks; whatever the relation of this name, it would seem as an act of justice, that the name of John Kogers ought to be more intimately linked with this Bible of 1537, on account of the prominent place he holds as its reviser and editor. John Rogers was educated at Cambridge, where, according to Foxe, " he profitably traueiled in good learnyng." At length he was called by the merchant adventurers at Antwerp to become their chaplain, whom he served to their " good contentation " for many years. " Knowing by the Scriptures that unlawfuU vowes may lawfully be broken," Eogers was married. He afterwards went to Wittemburg, where he in- creased not only in "Good and Godly learnyng; but in the knowledge of the Dutch toung." A congregation here was committed to his care, which he served till the time of Edward VI., when he returned to England. "A prebend in the Cathedrall church of Paules " was granted him, and the dean appointed him reader of the divinity lessons, wherein he diligently served till the time of Queen Mary, when for the crime of preaching the Gospel and upholding the doctrines ' Memorial) of Archbishop Cranmer, B. I., ch. XVI., p. 59. London, 1694. 2 In tlie condemnation of Rogers, as recorded by Foxe, he is referred to several times, as" John Eogers, Priest, nlins called Mathew.' Acts and Monuments, p. 1661. It was not uncommon in tliose bitter days of trial for good men to take upon themselves other names. Tyndale's alias was Hutchins or Hytchens. 176 maithewe's biblk [chap. v. " taught in King Edwardes daies," he was summoned before the council, by whose judgment he was commanded "as prisoner to keepe his own house ; " but afterwards by the un- charitable procurement of Bishop Boner he was removed to New Gate.i Foxe, likewise, records the particulars of his trial before the Lord Chancellor, also his sentence of condemnation, together with an account of his martyrdom, which took place at Smithfield, February 4, 1555.^ At Antwerp Rogers became intimately acquainted with Tyndale. So intimate were they, according to Foxe, " that he was engaged with Tyndall in the prayerful and most profitable labour of translatyng the Bible in to the English toung, which is intituled the translation of Thomas Matthew." Doubtless, in John Rogers, Tyndale found a friend in whom he could trust, and to whom in his extremity he could com- mit his private papers. The same morning in which Tyndale was led to the stake, " he deliuered a letter to the keeper of the Castle, which the keeper hym self brought to the house of the foresaid Pointz in Antwerpe, shortly after." This letter or package may have contained other private papers of Tyndale, or information respecting them ; or. such papers may have remained, as Foxe understood, "in the handes of the keper's daughter."* In either case take into connection the circumstance of Tyndale's letter to the procurator, in which he requested the privilege of a candle and Hebrew books,^ and the not unfair inference follows that Tyndale not only carried on his work of translation while in prison, but that the results of such labor were preserved. And as John Rogers was the editor of the Bible of 1537, it is not unreason- able to conclude, that either through the family of Poyntz, or that of the keeper of the prison, these manuscripts together with any others he may have prepared before his arrest, found their way into the hands of Rogers, who incorporated them in the Matthewe's Bible. Besides, internal evidences favor the ' Acts and Monuments, p. 1657. ^ Ibid, p. 1663-4. ' Ibid, p. 1330. * See above on page 136. 1525-37.] A EEVISION OF TTNDALE AND COVEEDALE. 177 conclusion, that this Bible was made up of Tyndale's trans- lation, not only of the New Testament and Pentateuch already in print, but also of the historical books, from Joshua to the end of II. Chronicles. Wanley's opinion, as quoted by Lewis, was that Eogers adopted Tyndale's translation, which extended to the end of II. Chronicles.' Eadie favors the same opinion and cites a few characteristic renderings in Tyndale's Pentateuch, which are found also in the historical books above mentioned. As examples we find both in the Pentateuch and the historical books such words as; timbrel, which Coverdale had rendered tabret ; also Lebanon, which Coverdale rendered Libanus ; and ephod, which in Coverdale is, overbody cofe. Again we find such phrases as. Ark of the Testament, and Ark of the Appointment of the Lord ; which in Coverdale read, Ark of the Covenant of the Lord."^ The design of Rogers in editing the Bible of 1537, was to include all that Tyndale had translated, comprising whatever may have been in manuscript as well as what had already been printed. So that the Bible as revised by Eogers is made up of the New Testament of Tyndale's translation, the edition of 1534* G. H., which was the last revision, and doubtless, in Eogers' opinion, the most accurate edition ; to- gether with the Old Testament, of Tyndale's translation, extending from Genesis to the end of II. Chronicles. The remaining portions of the Old Testament he adopted from Coverdale's Bible. It is estimated, therefore, that this Bible of 1537, comprised two-thirds of Tyndale's and one-third of Coverdale's translation. All of which passed under the re- vising hand of John Eogers. Besides, in revising and editing this Bible, Eogers was but carrying out the purpose of Tyn- dale, whose great desire was to put forth the whole Bible in English. Tyndale was a rapid worker, an indefatigable ' History of Tranalations of English BMe, p. 107. ' Compare Hist. Eng. Bible, I., 321. "No small presumption in favour of the tradition that Tyndale translated from Josh, to 2 Chron. is afforded by the fact that these books are translated, according to Tyndale's wont, from the Hebrew text." lUd, p. 830. 178 matthewe's bible. [chap. v. student, as well as a thorough scholar ; and the one work, to which he had dedicated his life, was the giving to his country- men the Holy Scriptures in their own tongue. This too was the expectation of his friends, especially after the publication of the books of the Pentateuch. In answer to some inquiries of John Fryth, his special friend, who about this time was confined in the tower of London, for the word of God, re- specting the translation of the whole Bible, concerning which, evidently Fryth had heard some rumors, Tyndale wrote: "George Joye at Candlemas being at Barrowe, printed ii leaues of Genesis in a great forme, and sent one Copy to the kyng, and another to the newe Queene, with aletter to N. for to deliuer them ; and to purchase licence, that he myght so go throughe all the Bible. Out of that is sprong the noyse of the new Bible." * To this same expectation, Cover- dale in his prologue gives expression, when he says : "Yet yf thou be feruent in thy prayer, God shal not onely sende it the in a better shappe by the mynistracyon of other that beganne it afore." Referring doubtless to Tyndale's purpose to trans- late the whole Bible, as he bad already completed the Penta- teuch and the New Testament, which Coverdale had, by revision, incorporated in his Bible of 1535. But times change and expectations come to naught. Already Wilham Tyndale, from whom Coverdale and others are expecting so much, is being hurried off to prison, from which he shall soon be led forth to be first strangled and then burned at the stake. It is a matter of conjecture when and where John Eogers set about the work of editing the Matthewe's Bible. It must have been immediately after the martyrdom of Tyndale, which occurred October 6, 1536, since the Bible appeared about the middle of the next year. This appears from the fact that ' Foxe's Acts and Monuments, p. 1331. This letter is without date. It was written probably at the close of the year 1533, or the beginniug of the year 1533, since John Fryth was brought before the bishops June 80, 1533, and suffered martyrdom July 4th of the same year. 1537.] GRAFTON AKD WHITECHUECH THE PRINTEES. 179 Cranmer's letter to Cromwell, in which he thanks hijp for soliciting and obtaining the king's consent that the Bible should be bought and read within the realm of England, was dated August 13, 1537. In addition to this, Grafton's letter to Cromwell, in which he speaks of six copies of this Bible sent as a present by the hands of his servant, bears date of August 28, 1537.^ As to the place where this Bible was printed, Strype, in his Memorials of Cranmer, fixes upon Hamburgh ; Wanley, as quoted by Lewis, decides in favor of Paris ; Lewis himself favors Marburgh. ; while Eadie, with more probability as to correctness, suggests Antwerp. This last city having been for a long season the residence of Kogers, we naturally fix upon as the place where he would publish the work. But the enterprise from first to last was kept a pro- found secret. There is no intimation whatever of the progress of this volume until completed and introduced into England by the hand of Grafton ; neither is there any intimation as to how Grafton became interested in the undertaking. The Bible itself, however, shows that the printing had gone on as far as the beginning of Isaiah, where a new title-page was introduced, indicating that Grafton and Whitechurch took up the work of printing at this point. This new title-page reads: "The Prophetes in Englishe;" which is surrounded by wood- cuts. On the reverse page is printed in large and flourished capitals, E. G. and E. W., the initials of Richard Grafton and Edward Whitechurch. The former of these initials is placed at the top, and the latter at the bottom of the page, while in the center is a large woodcut. From Grafton's letter to Cromwell it appears that he under- took the publication as a business transaction. He claims that already the charges amounted to above five hundred pounds ; a very large sum in those days, and in modern values would equal about thirty-seven thousand dollars. In this same letter he pleads with Cromwell that the edition may go forth ' Strype's Memorials of Cranmer, B. I., Ch. XV., pp. 58, 59. London, 1694. 180 matthbwb's bible. [chap. v. uBder the privy-seal, as a defense against pirated editions. He says he had already printed " fifteen hundred books com- plete," in large letter, and their sale was threatened by Dutch printers, who " wil and doth go about the printing of the same work again in a lesser letter ; to the intente that they may sel their little books better cheap than I can sel these great." Besides, he adds, that these printers would not only set forth a smaller volume, but one imperfect as to paper, ink, and cor- rection. That the printing and correcting would be done by Dutch men, who could neither speak or write good English, and that they would not "bestow twenty or forty pounds to a Learned man to take pains in it, to have it wel done.''^ On these grounds he seeks the authority of the privy-seal, with the exclusive right to print and sell these Bibles for the space of three years.^ Further, he requested that Cromwell would issue a royal injunction" to' the effect that every curate should be compelled to have one of these Bibles, and " that every Abby should have six to be layd in six several places ; " that not only the whole convent, but those who resorted thither, might hare the opportunity of reading the same.^ Previous to this, how- ever, it seems that through the influence of Cromwell and the interposition of Cranmer, Grafton had obtained the king's license, which was inserted upon the title-page in red letters, thus : "Set forth ly the Kings most gracious License.'' But as many refused to believe that the king had licensed it, he sought as above to have it go forth under the privy-seal.* The relation of Archbishop Cranmer to this Bible of 1537 is variously estimated. Mr. Anderson protests against Cranmer having the slightest connection with the enterprise, and so instead of " exerting himself for this book as Mr. Todd im- ' Strype's Memorials of Cranmer, Appendix, pp. 39, 40. ^ Lewis, in referring to this request, says that he does not find that it was ever granted. He had seen a copy of the Bible in a small thick folio, with the text and notes the same, and the initial letters of Grafton and Whitechurch omitted. Compare Hist. Eng. Translations, p. 109. ^ Strype's Memorials of Cranmer, App. , p. 40. * Ibid, p. 39. 1537.] cranmer's connection with. 181 agiued," the Bible, when first brought to him, was a " delightful surprise."^ Lewis, on the contrary, regarded Cranmer nob only as a favourer of this edition of the Bible, but as one of its chief Curators ; ' while Eadie admits the possibility of a prior hnowledge on the part of the archbishop, and a conse- quent prior understanding between him and Grafton. ^ There can be no doubt of Cranmer's personal interest and efforts in the past in procuring an acceptable translation of the Scrip- tures. This, Grafton as a shrewd business man understood, and as his enterprise was dependent upon court authority, he would naturally seek first of all the archbishop's sympathy and influence. But whatever Cranmer's previous knowledge of the enterprise may have been, there can be no doubt of his intense satisfaction when a copy of this Bible was put into his hands; neither of his personal influence to have it go forth under royal privilege, and " to be bought and read within the realm." He wrote to Cromwell, under date of August 5, 1537 : '' You shall receive by the bringer thereof a bible in English, both of a new translation, and a new print, dedicated unto the king's majesty, as farther appeareth by a pistle unto his grace in the beginning of the book, which in mine opinion is very well done, and therefore I pray your lordship to read the same. And as for the translation, so far as I have read thereof, I like it better than any other translation heretofore made ; yet not doubt- ing but that there may and will be found some fault therein, as you know no man ever did or can do so well, but it may be from time to time amended. And forasmuch as the book is dedicated unto the king's grace and also great pains and labour taken in setting forth of the same ; I pray you my lord, that you will exhibit the book unto the king's highness, and to obtain of his grace, if you can, a licence that the same may be sold and read of every person, without danger of any act, proclamation, or ordinance heretofore granted to the contrary. ' Amuds of English Bible, p. 298. 1862. » Hilt, of Eng. Translations of the Bible, p. 111. 1739. « Higtory of Eng. Bible, I., 840. 1876. 183 matthewe's bible. [chap. v. until such time as we the bishops shall set forth a better trans- lation, which I think will not be till a day after doomsday." i Cranmar's zeal for the circulation of this Bible appears from another letter to Cromwell written some nine days after the above, in which he sends his commendations and thanks, that "whereas I understand that your lordship, at my request, hath not only exhibited this bible which I sent unto you, to the king's majesty, but also hath obtained of his grace, that the same shall be allowed by his authority to be bought and read within this realm ; my lord for this your pain, taken in this behalf,! give unto you my most hearty thanks : assuring your lordship, for the contentation of my mind, you have shewed me more pleasure herein, than if you had given me a thousand pound; and I doubt not but that hereby such fruit of good knowledge shall ensue, that it shall well appear hereafter, what high and acceptable service you have done unto Gfod and the king." 2 In still another letter written fifteen days later, though it is taken up with other matters, Cranmer takes occasion to renew his thanks to Cromwell, "in the name of them all which favoureth God's word, for your diligence at this time in procuring the king's highness to set forth the said God's word and his gospel by his grace's authority. For the which act, not only the king's majesty, but also you shall have a perpetual laud and memory of all them that be now, or hereafter shall be, God's faithful people and the favourers of his word. "8 These extracts show how intensely Cranmer's mind was occupied in the setting forth of this edition of the Bible. It was therefore through the influence of Cranmer, the in- terposition of Cromwell, and the good will of Henry VIII., that the Bible of 1537 was the first to go forth with the royal privilege. Just now the times are favorable to the Reforma- tion ; and Cromwell obtains a license for a second edition of Coverdale's Bible, a thing he could not, or at least, did not do, ' Cranmer's Remains and Letters, p. 344. Parker Soo. Ed., 1846. » Ibid, p. 345. » lUd, p. 346. 1533.] HENRY Vni. AND THE ENGLISH BIBLE. 183 two years before. But what is done must be done quickly, for that which is now approved by those in authority will very soon be condemned. The relation of Henry VIII. to the Eng- lish Bible will probably never be fully understood. At first, as an enthusiastic friend of the New learning he identified him- self with the progressive party ; but afterwards, engrossed by the affairs of State, in which the friends of the Old and New learning, as contending factions, seemed to threaten the public good, he too often gave a willing ear to the wily suggestions of the papists. But now, in sympathy with one party and now with the other, he vacillates, till, with an imperious will and blind rage, he strikes off the heads of representative men of both parties. But the history of the English Bible as a whole, shows that progress in translations depended but little on the active favor of kings. The work went forward though their eyes were closed, and even under their forbidding frown. For a season, however, Tyndale's prayer at the stake seems to have been answered. Henry VIII. authorizes the Bible to be freely sold and read within his realm. Whereupon also a declaration was issued by Cromwell, " to permit and command the Bible, being translated in our Mother tongue, to be sincerely taught by us the Curates, and to be openly laid forth in every parish church : to the intent, that all his good subjects, as wel by reading therof, as by hearing the true explanation of the same, may be able to learn their duties to Almighty God and his Majesty, and every of us to charitably use other : .... his Majesty hath willed and commanded this to be declared unto you, .... that in the reading and hearing therof, first most humbly and reverently using and addressing your selves unto it, you shal have always in your remembrance and memories, that al things contained in this book is the undoubted Wil, Law, and Commandment of Almighty God, the only and streit means to know the goodnes and benefits of God towards us, and the true duty of every christen man to serve him accord- ingly And so by your good aud vertuous example to encourage your wives, children and servants to live wel and 184 MATTHEWE'S BIBLE. [CHAP. V. christianly accordingly to the rules therof. And if at any time by reading any doubt shal comen to any of you touching the sense or meaning of any part therof ye shal have recourse to such learned men, as be, or shalbe authorized to preach and dedlare the same. So that avoyding all contentions and dispu- tations in such ale houses and other places, unmeet for such conferences, and submitting your opinion to the judgments of such learned men, his Grace may wel perceive, that you use this most high benefit quietly and charitably ; without failing to use such discrete quietnes, and sober moderation in the premisses, as is aforesaid ; as you tender his Graces pleas- ure, and intend to avoyd his high indignation, and the peril and danger that may ensue to you and every of you for the contrary." ' Besides the above declaration which was sent forth in 1538, to be read by all curates, there were certain injunctions issued by Cromwell in September of the same year, bearing upon the circulation of the Bible. The first item of which reads : " That ye shall prouide on this side of the feast of N. next comming, one booke of the whole Byble of the largest volume in Eng- lishe, and the same set up in some conuenient place within the said churche that ye have cure of, whereas your parishoners may most commodiously resorte to the same and read it." Item second reads : " That ye shall discourage no man priuely nor apartly, from the reading or hearing of the said Bible, but shall expressly prouoke, stirre, and exhorte euery person to read the same, as that whiche is the very liuely word of God, that every christen person is bounden to embrace, beleue, and folow, if he loke to be saued, admonishing them neuerthe- les to auoid all contention and altercation therein, and to use an honest sobriety in the inquisition of the true sense of the same, and to referre the explication of the obscure places, to men of higher judgement in scripture."^ There is some doubt as to what Bible these injunctions ' St.rype's Memoria's of Arcliiiihnp Cranmer. App.,T[>.i2. ' Poxe's Acts and Monuments, p. 1249. 1538.] ROMISH OPPOSITION. 185 refer ; whether to that of 1537, as the date seems to indicate, or to that of 1539, as the name seems to imply. If the^ in- junctions were sent forth in 1538, which is not called in ques- tion, then the Bible of 1537, it would seem, is the only one to which they could refer. And since it was a much larger folio than that of Coverdale's Bible, it was not inappropriate to designate it as the Biile of the largest volume. Those who are influenced by the name, however, argue that these injunc- tions refer to the Bible of 1539, and though the injunctions were issued in 1538, yet "the interruption of the printing could not have been definitely foreseen." i But Coverdale and Grafton were in continual fear of interruption, and in fact the work was stopped at the close of the year 1538.^ As the date, therefore, favors the Bible of 1537, and the name is not inapplicable ; and, further, since the spirit of the injunctions is so in harmony with the request of Grafton, the mind of Cromwell and the good will of Henry VIII., it seems reason- able that these injunctions should refer to the Bible of 1537. But however favorable the auspices under which this Bible was issued, and however heartily it was welcomed by the friends of the Keformation, which Strype in describing says : "It was wonderful to see with what joy this Book of God was received, not only among the Learned sort, and those that were noted for Lovers of the Eeformation, but generally all England over among all the Vulgar and common People ; and with what greediness God's Word was read, and what resort to Places where the reading of it was. Every body that could, bought the Book, or busily read it, or got others to read it to them, if they could not themselves ; and divers more elderly People learned to read on purpose;"' and yet, for all this, the enemy was not asleep, and his opposition was as great as he dared to offer. The vicars and curates were compelled to read from their pulpits the above declaration and injunctions, but ' Westcott's History of the Eng. Bible, p. 77, note. London, 1872. ' Lewis' Hist, of Eng. Trandatians, p. 121. London, ITISO. ' Memorials of Cranmer, p. 64. London, 1694. 188 matthewe's bible. [chap. v. they read them in such a maimer, "humming and hauking thereat," that little was understood of what was read. And to counteract the influence of what was understood, " they secretly suborned certain spreaders of Rumors and false Tales. in Corners, who interpreted the Injunctions to a false sense And they bad their Parishioners, notwithstanding what they read, being compelled so to do, that they should do as they did in Times past, to live as their Fathers ; and tliat the old Fashion is the best ; and other crafty and seditious Parar bles they gave out among them." ^ So, likewise, the Bibles were placed in the churches as was commanded, and because commanded, but not in places convenient of approach; the priests and their adherents putting them where " the poor did not presume to come." Besides, the circulation of Tyndale's New Testaments and Coverdale's and Matthewe's Bibles gave rise to disputes and wrahglings in places of public resort. In- deed, since the first publication of Erasmus' Greek and Latin Testament, the ale house and the tavern had been the theatres for the abuse and derision of the Holy Scriptures by the Romish priests. So that this opposition was not new, either in its spirit or manner of manifestation. As further illustrating the spirit of the times, and that the opposition was not confined to the priests, it is related of William Maldon that when a child he was accustomed every Sunday to assemble with others at the church to listen to the reading of the New Testament. His father observing this, " once angrily fetched him away, and would have him say the Latin Mattins with him." And as often as he returned to the church to hear the reading of the Bible, his father would force him away. The boy then resolved upon learning to read, that he might read for himself, the New Testament; " which when he had by diligence effected, he and his Father's Apprentice bought the New Testament, joining their Stocks together ; and to conceal it, laid it under the Bed-straw, and read it at convenient Times." One night, in conversation ' Memoriak of Cranmer, p. 70. 1539.] cranmee's letter to lord lisle. 187 with his mother, he assured her that kneeUng to the crucifix, holding up the hands to it and knocking on the breast when it passed by in a procession, that all such adoration was idolatry " and against the Commandment of God, where he saith : Tfiou shall not make any graven Image, nor bow down to it, nor worship it." Whereupon the mother was greatly enraged, and said: " Wilt thou not worship the Cross, which was about thee when thou wert Christned, and must be laid on thee when thou art dead ? " She went out in anger and related the whole matter to her husband, who "boiling in Fury " went to his son's chamber and " like a mad Zealot, taking him by the Hair of his Head, with both his Hands, pulled him out of the Bed, and whipped him unmercifully. And when the Young Man bore his beating, as he related, with a kind of Joy, considering it was for Christ's Sake, and shed not a tear ; his Father, seeing that, was more inraged, and ran down and fetched an Halter, and put it about his Neck, saying he would hang him." But from this violence of the father he was saved by the entreaties of the mother and brother.! Notwithstanding the spirit of intolerance on the part of the papists, the times are favorable to the Eeformation, and con- sequently to the free use of the English Bible. And it is not strange, when this new liberty came in contact with the old bondage, that there should have been conflict. Hence there was complaint, that the reading of the Bible in the churches, as permitted by the injunctions, was in contempt of the divine services of the church and an hindrance thereto. In reply to such complaints, Cranmer wrote to Lord Lisle in July, 1539: "As concerning such persons as in time of divine service do read the bible, they do much abuse the king'sgrace's intent and meaning in his grace's injunctions and proclamations ; which permitteth the bible to be read, not to allure great multitudes of people together, nor thereby to interrupt the time of prayer : . . . . but that the same be done 1 Memonals of Cranmer, pp. 64, 65. 188 matihewb's bible. [chap. v. and read in time convenient, privately, for the condition and amendment of the lives both of the readers and such hearers as cannot themselves read, and not in contempt or hinderance of any divine service or laudable ceremony used in the church ; nor that any such reading should be used, ex- pounding and interpreting scriptures, unless it be by such as shall have authority to preach and read ; but that all other readers of the bible do no otherwise read thereupon, than the simple and plain text purporteth and lieth printed in the book." 1 The favorable reception of Matthewe's Bible was based upon the fact that it was the word of God clothed in the language of the people. So likewise the virulent opposition of the Eomish bishops and clergy was based upon the same fact. Besides, Cromwell in obtaining the king's license could not have perused the volume beyond the dedication, which was quite in the flattering spirit of the age, Otherwise he must have discovered to the king, that in licensing this work he would favor that which in times past he had so bitterly opposed. To the bishops of the Eomish party there was much in the prefatory matter to excite their hatred. The notes also were anti-papal, and must have greatly dis- pleased them. These notes are described as being not only textual but doctrinal and practical; some of which were original while others were gathered from various sources. As critical notes they did not veil the opinions of Tyndale, but rather presented them in an intensified form; and not unfrequently going far beyond Cranmer's views respecting Catholic doctrines and usages.^ There were prologues also which must have been equally distasteful to the Eomish clergy. Among these was Tyndale's prologue to Paul's Epistle to the Eomans. Sir Thomas More had denounced this, and before him. Dr. Eidley had " taken angry notice of it," as teaching " altogether most poisoned and abhorrable ' Remains and Letters of Arelibishop Cranmer. Parker Society edition, p. .391. « Eadie's Hist, of Eng. Bible, I., 331, 832, 333. 1538-9.] THE OCCASIONS OF OFFENSE. 189 heresies." i And yet this prologue is but a runniug com- mentary on the several chapters of the Epistle, taken up in their order, in which the meaning of the Apostle is set forth in all simplicity, and with much spiritual insight of Gospel truth. If anywhere the author makes a thrust, it is in the last chapter, where he exhorts to "beware of the traditions and doctrine of men which beguile the simple and draw them from Christ and noosel them in weak. . . .and in beg- garly ceremonies, for the intent that they would hve in fat pastures, and be in authority and be taken as Christ, yea, and above Christ, and sit in the temple of God, that is to wit, in the consciences of men, where God only, his word and his Christ, ought to sit."^ But the offense of all others, was that the Bible was made up largely from Tyndale's translation, and therefore could not but excite the hatred of the Eomish bishops. Since the denunciations of Sir Thomas More against Tyndale, the minds of the bishops, by force of circumstances, have changed in respect to the right of the people to the Scriptures in their own tongue ; but there has been no change in their hatred of Tyndale's translation. The evil spirit of the Eomish party, though curbed for a season, will by and by show itself in its dire malignity. At the present, however, court authority is on the side of a free Bible. And a variety of editions of the Scripture will soon appear, as the epoch of the so-called Great Bibles is at hand. The pre-eminence of Matthewe's Bible consists in the fact that while it was largely based upon Tyndale's translation, it became the basis of subsequent English versions, including at the last our present English Bible. The several links in the chain are traceable, since Matthewe's Bible (1537), through revision, became the Great Bible of 1539-1540; which in turn, by revision, became the Bishop's Bible of 1568 ; which again in turn, became King James' Bible of 1611. There are other ' Tyndale's Works, I., 483. " Ibid, Prologue to thi Epistle to Romans, p. 508. 190 MATTHEWE'S BIBLE. [CHAP. V. very important links, but these indicate the line of authorized succession; although the authority does not always appear, since the revisers from the first manifested great liberality and good sense in th§ use of the various helps before them. John Eogers was not only a careful editor, but an intelligent reviser, as both his text and notes indicate. In the latter he often suggests readings which he might wisely have introduced into the text. The title reads : " The Bible, which is all the Holy Scripture, in which are contayned the Olde and Newe Tes- tament, truelye and purelye translated into Englysh. By Thomas Matthewe. Esaye I. Hearken to, ye Heavens, and thou earth geaue ear ; for the Lorde speaketh. M. D. XXX VII. Set forth with the Kinges most gracyous Lycence." This edition contains an extra amount of prefatory matter. Next to the title-page follows: "A Dedication to the King"; then " A Preface to the Reader." After which are placed in order: " 1. A calender; 3. An exhortation to the study of the Holy Scripture, with the initials J. R. at the end; 3. The Summe and Content of all the holy Scripture, both of the Old and Newe Testament ; 4. A Table of the pryncypal mat- ters contayned in the Byble; 5. A description of the Kings of Juda, and what Prophets were in each reign ; 6. The Names of all the Bokes of the Byble, and the contents of the chapters of every Boke, with the nombre of the Leafie wherein the Bokes begynne ; 7. A brief rehersall of the yeares passed sence the begynnynge of the worlde unto this yeare of our Lorde M.CCCCC.XXXVII." At the close of the Old Testament are printed W. T., the initials of William Tyndale, " as if," says Lewis, " it was trans- lated all by him." At the end of the New Testament is printed : " The ende of the Newe Testament and of the whole Byble. To the honoure and prayse of God was this Byble printed and fyneshed in the yere of our Lorde God a. M.D. XXXVII." Copies of this Bible are preserved in the British Museum, Bodleian, and other English libraries. A new or rather a revised edition of Matthewe's Bible, by 1539.] TAVERNEK'S REVISION. 191 Richard Taverner, was published in 1539. Bishop Bale re- gards it almost as a new translation ; while Lewis pronounces it something between a revision and a translation, and adds that "it is a Correction of what is called Matthews's Bible wherever the Editor thought it ndedful."' The title reads: " The most sacred Bible, whiche is the Holy Scripture, con- teyning the Olde and New Testament, translated into Eng- lish, and newly recognised with great diligence after most faythful exemplars. By Richard Taverner. Harhen thou Jieven, and thou earth gyve eare, for the Lord speaketh. Esaie I. — Prynted at London in Fletestrete at the sygne of the Sonne, by John Byddell for Thomas Barthlett, Gum privilegio ad imprimendum solum. M. D. XXXIX." ^ The prefatory matter is similar to that in Matthewe's Bible, and consists of : " 1. A Dedication to the King, by Taverner ; 2. An Exhortation to the studye of the holy scripture ; 3. The summe and content of all the holye scripture;.... 4. The names of all the Bokes of the Bible, with the contents of the Chapters; 5. A briefe rehersall declarynge how long the worlde hath endured from the creation of Adam unto this present yeare of cure Lorde M. D. XXXIX ; 6. A Table to fynde manye of the chyefe and pryncypal matters conteyned in the Bible. "3 The title of the New Testament reads : " The Newe Tes- tament of our Sauyour Jesu Christ, translated into English ; and newly recognised with great diligence after moost faythful exemplars. By Rycharde Taverner. Pray for us that the worde of God may have fre passage and be gloryfied. II Tessa, iii. Prynted in the yere of oure Lorde God M. D. XXXIX."* In the make up of this volume Taverner left out the most of Rogers' notes; and in the revision of the text he made comparatively but few changes, and even these for the most part were verbal. The following have been noted as specimens: Gen. iii. 5, Ye shall be as Gods ; Rogers has : as God. Gen. ' Higtory of Translation!^ of English Bible, p. 133. London, 1739. » Jlid, p. 130. » Ibid, p. 130. * Ibid, p. 131. 193 MATTHEWE'S BIBLE. [CHAP. V. xliii. 11, a quantitie of baulmej Eogers has: a curtesye haulme. 'Num. xxiv, 19, 22, residue, and never ike less; where Rogers has : remnant, and never the later. II Kings, xxiii. 5, relief lous persons ; Eogers has : Kemurims. In the New Tes- tament, some of Taverner's phrases found their way into King James' version. The following are noted as examples : Matt. xiii. 58, because of their unbelief ; xviii. 12, ninety and nine; xxi. 17, lodged; Gal. iv. 30, / stand in doubt of you. As an illustration of Taverner's literal and forcible rendering of the Greek, we have such examples as: Matt, xxii. 6, intreated them foully ; 13, had never a word to say ; 34, stopped the Sadducees' mouths. Tavemer undertook the work of revision, according to Lewis, at .the instigation of Cromwell, or at least by his encouragement. But from Taverner's own words, in his dedication to the King, it would seem that he was Induced to enter upon it by the printers, who desired to put forth a newly corrected edition of the Bible. His own words are : " Foras- moch as the prynters herof were very desirous to have the Bible come forth as faultlesse and emendatly as the shortnes of tyme for the recognysing of the same wold require, they desyred hym, for default of a better learned, diligently to overloke and peruse the hole copy, and in case he should fynd any notable default that neded correction, to amende the same according to the true exemplars, which thing according to his talent he had gladly done."' Tavemer, since the days of Wolsey, had been a friend of the New Testament party. He was one of the Cambridge scholars whom Wolsey invited to a professorship in his new College at Oxford. " This ambitious Cardinall," says Foxe, "gathered together into that Colledge (Fryswide) whatsoeuer excellent thyng there was in the whole realme, either vestimentes, vessels or other ornaments Besides that, he also appointed unto that company all such men as were founde to excell in any kynde of learnyng and knowledge.'' After giving a list of the names of those who ' History of Translations of English Bible, \\ 132. 1551.] RICHARD TAVERNEE. 193 were chief among the number from Cambridge, he added: " to these joyne also Tauerner of Boston the good Musicfan."* Taveruer also was among those who were imprisoned for the New Testament's sake, in the fish cellar of that same College building. This was when Tyndale's New Testaments were first distributed at Oxford ; and the charge against Taverner was his " hyding of Clarkes bookes under the boardes in his schole." Taverner was not only a singer, but "in the tyme of his blyndness had made songes to popishe ditties"; and in tliis way had won upon the regard of Wolsey, who, when he heard that Taverner was suspected and in prison, ordered him to be released, "saying, that he was but a Musician."* Shortly after this Taverner entered upon the study of the law, and was admitted to the Inner-Temple, where, it is said, " hia way was to quote the Law in Greek when he read anything thereof." ' In 1534 he was taken into the service of Crom- well, who was then Secretary of State, and by his recommenda- tion was made in 1537, one of the Clerks of the Signet. Taverner held this position until the reign of Mary; though in 1541, and again in 1543, he was committed to the Tower " as a Gospeller, and for publishing the Bible." Yet he acquitted himself so well that in both instances he was soon released and restored to the King's favor.* Eichard Taverner deserves to be held in grateful remem- brance not only as a scholar, but as a layman devoting himself to the interests of the Eeformation, by revising the Scripture and preaching the Gospel. In 1552, on the accession of Ed- ward VI., Taverner was especially licensed to preach the Gos- pel throughout the king's dominions. When Mary came to the throne he was compelled to desist ; but upon the accession of Queen Elizabeth, "he resumed his preaching at Oxford and elsewhere." He was respected and honored by the queen, who besides offering him knighthood, made him high sheriil of Oxford in 1569. He died July 14, 1575, in the seven- ' Acts and Monuments, p. 1174. ' Ibid, p. 1174. ' Lewis' History of English Translations of the Bible., p. 131. * Hid. p. 132. 9 194 MATTHEWE'S BIBLE. [CHAP. V. tieth year of his age, and was buried in the chancel of the church with great solemnity." ^ A second edition of Taverner's New Testament, and possibly the whole Bible, was put forth in 1539. ^ In 1549, an edition of Tayerner's Bible was issued by Daye and Seres, in 5 vols., 12mo. Some of these volumes were not printed till 1550 and 1551. The design of printing the edition " in sundry partes," was professedly " for these pore, — that they which are not able to hie the hole, bie a part."^ There is no complete set of these volumes known.^ Becke's revision of Taverner's Bible was printed in 1551 by John Daye. Nearly the whole of the Old Testament is Taverner's, with but a few changes by Becke. The third book of Maccabees appeared in this edition for the first time. There is an imperfect copy of this Bible in the Lane Seminary Library at Cincinnati. It begins with Gen. xxxix., and ends with the Epistle to the Colossians. It contains Tyndale's prologues. The notes are printed at the end of the chapters, but are omitted till you come to the book of Job. The Old Testament is divided into three parts; the first ending with Deuteronomy, the second with Job, and the third with Malachi. Maccabees is divided into three books. The title of the New Testament reads : " The Newe Testamente of oure Savioure Jesu Christe diligently translated accordynge to y' Greke, with certayne Notes folowynge the chapters, wherein the hardest doutes are declared for y° better understandynge of the unlearned reader." That this is a Becke's Taverner appears from the rendering of Gen. xUii. 11 "take of the frutes of the land in your vessels, and carry the man a present a quantytye of batclme ; " which Tyndale and Coverdale had ren- dered a curtesy balme.- Also in 11. (or iiii) Kings, xxiii. 5, ' Chalmer's Biograpliicdl Dictionary, Art. Tmerner, p. 161. ' Cotton's list embraces this Bible, but adds in a note that "no edition of the Old Testament has been yet found." Editions of Eng. Bibles, p. 15. Oxford, 1852. * Anderson's Annals, p. 650. * Parts II. and IV. are in the British Museum Library ; III. in the Libraries of St. Paul's and Trinity College, Dublin; and IV. in the Bodleian and Lambeth Libraries, 1549.] BECKE'S EEVISION-. 193 the word kemurims of Coverdale is translated religioustper- sons. It also contains the III books of Maccabees. In 1540 an edition of Matthewe's Bible was printed at Lon- don by Thomas Petyt and Kobert Eedman. This is called by Cotton, Cranmer's Bible ; but Anderson regards it as an edition of Matthewe's Bible, from the fact that it differs from the Great Bible of Cranmer in wanting the prologue. The read- ings also, in the Psalms and elsewhere, are different. The text of the New Testament is after Erasmus, and is the same ver- sion as that printed by Eedman in 1538.* In 1549, another edition of Matthewe's Bible was printed by John Daye and W. Seres. This was Becke's revision. It contain's Matthewe's notes, and with but few changes in the text. The following is transcribed as a specimen of this version : ^ Ex. XX. A. And God spake all these wordes and sayd ; I am the Lorde thy God, which haue brought the out of the lande of Egipte and out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt haue none other Goddes in my sight. Thou shalt make the no grauen ymage neyther any simili- tude that is in heauen aboue either in the earth beneth ; or in the water that is beneth the earth. Se that thou neither bowe thy self vnto them neither serue them ; for I the Lord thy God am a gelouse God. and viset the synne of the fathers vppon the chyldreu vnto the thyrd and fourth generacion of them that hate me ; and yet shew mercye vnto thousandes among them that loue me and kepe my Commandmentes. B. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vayne, for the Lord wil not hold him giltlesse that taketh his name in vayne. Remembre the Sabbath daye that thou sanctifie it. Sixe dayes mayst thou laboure and do all that thou hast to do : but the seuenth day is the Sab- bath daye of the Lord thy God, in it thou shalt do no manor worke ; nether thou nor thy sonne, nor thy daughter, neither thy man seruaunte nor thy mayde ser- uaunte, neither thy cattel, neither yet the straunger that is within thy gates. For in sixe dayes the Lord made both ' Annals of the Eng. Bible, p. 361. ' Taken from a copy in the Boston Public Library. 196 matthewe's bible. [chap. t. Ex. XX. B. heauen and earth and the sea and all that in them is and rested the seuenth day : wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath daye and hallowed it. Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy dayes may be longe in the lande which the Lorde thy God geueth the. C. Thou Shalt not kyll. Thou shalt not breake wedlocke. Thou shalt not steals. Thou shalte beare no false witnesse agaynst thy neygboure. Thou shalt not couet thy neighbours house neither shalt couet thy neighbours wyfe, his man seruant, his mayde, his oxe, his asse or oughte that is hys. Another edition of Matthewe's Bible was published in 1549, by Hyll and Eeynolds. This was a reprint of the edition of 1537, " imprinted and fynesshed in the laste daye of Octobre in the yeare of oure Lorde God M. D. XLIX." But the work was very "faultily done." Eadie pronounces it altogether "a wretched production — the type bad and the arrangement de- void of taste and accuracy." ^ There is still another edition of Matthewe's Bible deserving notice, which was issued in folio by "Nicolas Hyll, VI May, M. D. LI." The colophon at the end of the New Testament reads : " Diligently perused and corrected and imprinted by Nicolas Hyll, dwelling in Saynct John Streete, at the coste and charges of certayn honest menne of the occupacion whose names be upon their bokes." ^ Ac- cordingly, different copies of this one edition bore severally and singly the names of the publishers, eight in all, who united together, doubtless for financial reasons, to pnt forth this edi- tion. Their names were Eobert Toye, Wm. Bonham, Abraham Veale, John Wyghte, Thomas Petyt, T. Eaynalde, J. Walley, Richard Kele.^ The condition of the copartnership seems to have been that a certain number of copies should be assigned to each individual bearing his name as the sole publisher. The following specimens are from a copy " Imprinted at London by Thomas Petyt, dwellinge in Paules churche yarde, at the • History of Englisli Bible, I., 346. ' Cotton's Editions of the English BMe, p. 37. Oxford, 1852. ' Anderson's Annals, p. 651, 1551.J SPECIMEKS OF THE TKANSLATIOK. 197 sygne of the Maydens heade. Cum gracia et privilegio ad Im- primendum solum, VI day of Maye, M. D. LI." ' Pa. XXIII. A. The Lorde is my shepherde, I can want nothynge. He fedetli me in a grene pasture and leadith me to a fresh water. He quickeneth my soule, and bringeth me forthe in the waye of ryghteousness for hys names sake. B. Though I shoulde walcke nowe in the valley of the shadowe of death, yet I feare no euyU, for thoa arte with me ; thy staffe and thy shepehoke comforte me. Thou preparest a table before me agaynste myne ene- myes : Thou annoy ntest my heade with oyle, and fyl- lest my cuppe full. Oh let thy louinge kyndnes and mercye folowe me all the dayes of my lyfe, that I may dwell in the house of the Lorde for euer. I. Cor. XIII. A. Though I spake with the tonges of men and angels, and yet had no loue, I were euen as soundinge brasse; or as a tikenlynge cymball. And thoughe I coulde prophesye, and vnderstode all secretes, and al knowledge; yea, yf I had all faythe, so that I coulde moue mountains out of their places, and yet had no loue, I were nothynge. And thoughe I be- stowed all my goodes to fede the poore, and thoughe I gaue my bodye euen that I burned, and yet had no loue, it profyteth me nothynge. B. Loue Buffreth longe and is corteous. Loue enuyeth not. Loue dothe not frowardly, swelleth not, dealeth not dishonestly, seketh not her owne, is not prouoked to angre, thyncketh not euell, rejoyseth not in iniquite ; But rejoyseth in the trueth, suffreth all thynges, be- leueth all thynges, hopeth al thynges, endureth in all thynges. Though that prophesyinge fayle, other tongues shal cease, or knowledge vanyshe awaye, yet loue falleth neuer awaye. For oure knowledge is vnperfecte, and our pro- phesyinge is vnperfecte. But when that whiche is perfecte, is come, then that whiche is vnperfecte, shall be done awaye. When I was a chylde, I spake as a chylde, X vnderstode as a chylde, I imagined as D. a chylde. But as soone as I was a man, I put awaye chyldishnes. Nowe we see in a glasse, euen in a ' Taken from a copy in Boston Public Library. 198 matthewe's bible. [ohap. t. darcke speakynge ; But then shall we see face to face. Nowe I knowe vnperfectlye ; But then shall I knowe euen as I am knowen. Nowe abydeth faythe, hope, and loue, euen these thre ; But the chiefe of these Is loue. The al)ove extract by comparison with Tyndale's revised edition of 1534 will be found to correspond with it word for word;i as we might expect, since the New Testament of Matthewe's Bible is based upon Tyndale's last revision. This edition of 1551, of Matthewe's Bible, bears the nick- name of the " Bug Bible," from the reading of Psalm xci. 5. So shalt thou not be afraid of any Bugges by nighte. Though this reading is not peculiar to this edition, as it is found in the edition of 1537 ; also in Coverdale's Bible, 1535. On account of the opposition of the bishops to the prologues and notes of the Bible of 1537, together with the desire on the part of Cromwell to put forth a Bible of a still greater volume, a new enterprise was projected soon after the first appearance of this Bible of 1537, which resulted in the publi- cation of Cromwell's Bible, 1539, which was the beginning of a series of publications known as " Great Bibles " or " Bibles of the Largest Volume." ' See above on pages 133, 134 CHAPTER VI. BIBLES OF THE LARGEST VOLUME. A. D. 1539, 1540. CEOMWELL'S Bible i is the first of a series of editions known by the comprehensive name of Bibles of the Largest Volume. These great Bibles, though issued at dif- ferent times and under different auspices, owe their origin to the enterprise of Lord Cromwell, the first fmit of which was the edition of 1539. The Bible of 1537 met with serious opposition at the hand of Eomish bishops on account of its anti-papal notes and prologues ; and while, as yet, the first edition was unsold, Cromwell resolved to publish a Bible which for size and text, should excel all previous editions.^ The work of revising and editing he put into the hands of Myles Coverdale, in whom he found not only a familiar friend, but one in whose scholarly attainments, conscientious spirit, and familiarity with the work of Bible revision, he could confide for the faithful setting forth of the Scriptures in English. Matthewe's Bible was chosen as the basis of this new Bible. Grafton and Whitechurch, the publishers of the Matthewe's Bible, were induced to lay aside that enterprise and enter upon this. Paris was chosen as the place of publi- cation, on account of the facilities offered there for procuring the most skillful printers and the best paper. That Cromwell was the leading spirit in this enterprise we ' Sometimes called Cranmer's BMe, the occasion being that Cran- mer's prologue is occasionally found in copies of this edition. But the prologue belongs originally to Cranmer's Bible, 1540, and is distinctly referred to the title-page. See Pxeface, Bagster's Hexapla, p. 27. London, N. D. 2 Coverdale's Bible, 1535, and Matthewe's Bible, 1537, were both in folio. 200 BIBLES OF TnE LARGEST VOLUME. [CHAP. VI. hare abundant eyidence in the letters 'written to him by Coverdale and Grafton from Paris. In one of these, they write : " We be entred into your worke of the Byble, wherof (accoEdynge to our moost bounden dutie) we have here sent unto your Lordship 2 ensamples ; one, in parchment, wherein ■we entende to prynt one for the Kynges Grace, and another for your Lordship ; and the second, in paper, wherof all the rest shalbe made ; trustynge that it shalbe not onlye to the glorye of God, but a synguler pleasure, also, to your good Lordship the causer therof ." ^ After stating something of their manner of proceeding, that they followed not only the Hebrew, " with the interpretacion of the Caldee, and the Greke, but we set, also, in a pryvate table, the dyrersite of redinges of all textes, with such annotacions, in another table, as shall douteles delucidate and clear the same." They further express an assurance, that "the prynt" would please him, also that the paper was of " the best sorte in France." And that they look to him, not only for means to carry on the work, acknowledging at the same time that " the charge certaynly is great," but also for " favourable letters ether to the Bysshop of Wynchester, or to some other, whome your Lordship shall thinke moost expedyent."* In another letter dated August 9, 1538, almost two months after the above, they write : " Pleaseth the same to under- stand, that your worke going forward, we thought it oure moost bounden dutie to sonde unto your Lordship certain leaves therof, specially se3nige we bad so good occasyon, by the retumynge of your beloved servaunt Sebastian. And as they are done, so will we sende your Lordship the residue, from tyme to tyme." After explaining the hands and marks introduced into the text, they add : " this (amouge other oure necessarie laboures,) is the waye that we take, in this worke ; trustynge, verely, that as God AUmightie moved youre Lord- ship, to set us unto yt, so shall it be to His glorie, and right ' Coverdale's Memorials, Letter to GromweU, June 23, 1538. App., pp. 195, 196. » Hid, p. 198. 1538.] CROMWELL, "A GREAT HELPER." 301 welcome to all them that love to serre Him, and their Prince, in true faithfull obedyence." ^ • There is still another letter extant from Grafton and Cover- dale to Cromwell bearing date of Sept. 12, of this same year, in which they bespeak the favor of Cromwell in behalf of Francis Eeynold, their host, at whose press the printing was being done. After mentioning some particulars, they add : " Yf your Lordshippe shewe him, this benifyte, we schaU not fare the worsse in the readynesse and due expedicion of this your Lordshippes worke of the Bible, which goeth well for- warde, and within few monethes, will draw to an ende." ^ After perusing these letters, or even the above extracts, there can be no doubt of the fact that Cromwell was the chief patron of this enterprise. It is noticeable that the name of Cranmer nowhere appears in this correspondence, and yet it has been very common to designate the Bible of 1539, as Cranmer's Bible. Foxe in setting forth Cromwell's connection with this Bible, says : that he procured of the kyng of Eng- land his gracious letters to the Frenche kyng, " to permit and licence a subjecte of his to imprint the Bible in Englishe, within the Universitie of Paris because paper was there more mete and more store of good workemen."' In giving a further account of this edition, he says: "the Printers whereof were the foresayd Richard Grafton, and Whytchurch whiche bare the charges. A great helper therto was the Lord Cromwell. The chiefest ouerseer was Myles Couerdale."* Grafton and Coverdale must have gone over to Paris early in the spring of 1538, since on the 23d of June they had entered fully upon the work of printing. They were en- couraged, not only by Cromwell's support, but by the license ' Coverdale's Memorials, pp. 196, 197. This letter is dated from Paris and signed by " your faithfull Oratours, Myi-es Covbrdaie, BiCHAKD Gkafton and William Gket." » lUd, p. 198. ' Strype's MemorMs of Archbishop Cranmer. The prigina] document is in the Appendix, pp. 56, 57. • Acts and Monuments, p. 1363. 302 BIBLES OF THE LAKGEST VOLUME. [CHAP. VI. of the King of France, and by the special regard of Bishop Bonner, the English Ambassador, who was instructed by Henry VIII. "that hee should ayde and assiste the doers therof in all their reasonable sutes." ^ Whereupon the bishop, either from principle or policy, was diligent in his attentions upon the work and workmen, both by visiting the place where the Bibles were being printed, and partaking of the dinners there provided at his own expense ; also insist- ing by invitations, that the workmen should dine with him at his own house. In the mean time Bonner is preferred to the bishopric of London. He is still loud in his professions towards Coverdale and Grafton and will aid their enterprise. But very soon after he gained possession of his bishopric his promises were forgotten.' But with all this encouragement Coverdale and Grafton are almost from the iirst, in daily expectation of trouble from the papal authorities of Paris. " We be dayly threatened, they wrote to Cromwell, "and looke ever to be spoken withall, as this berer can farther enforme your Lordship ; but how they will use us, as yet we knowe not." ^ The story of printing this Bible at Paris, as related by Foxe, is substan- tially correct and is worthy of being rehearsed. After the French king had given his full consent, the printers went forward with the work, when there was " a quarell picked to the printer, and he was sent for to the Inquisitors of the fayth, and there charged with certeine Articles of heresie. Then were sent for y° Englishmen, that were at y° cost and charge therof, and also such as had the correction of the same, whiche was Myles Couerdall ; but hauing some wamyng what would folowe, the sayd Englishemen posted away as fast as they could to save them eelues, leauynge behynde them all their Bibles whiche were to the number of xxv. C, called the Bibles of the great Volume, and never recouered any of them, sauyng that the Lieutenant criminall, hauyng them ' Acts and Monuments, p. 1363. » IWd, p. 1362. * Coverdale's Memorials, App., p. 196. 1539.] "CEKTEIT GODLY ANNOTACTOlfS." 203 deliuered unto him to bume, in a place of Paris (like Smith- field) called Maulbert place, was somewhat moued with couetousnes, and sold iiii great dry fattes of them to a Haberdasher to lappe in cappes, and those were bought agayn, but the rest were burned, to the great and importunate losse of those that bai-e the charge of them. But notwithstandyng the sayd losse, after they had recouered some parte of the aforesayd bookes, and were well comforted and encouraged by the Lord Cromwell, the sayd Englishemen went agayne to Paris, and there gotte the presses, letters, and seruantes of the aforesayd Printer, and brought them to London, and there they became Printers them selues, and Printed out the said Bible in London, and after that Printed sundry im- pressions of them; but yet not without great trouble and losse, for the hatred of the Bishops, namely Steuen Gardiner and his felowes, who mightly did stomacke and maligne the Printyng therof.''^ In a letter dated December 13, 1538, Coverdale sought Cromwell's advice as to whether he should proceed to print the annotations which he bad prepared. He thought it a pity that "the darck places of y° text (vpon y" which I haue allwaye set a hande) shulde so passe vndeclared." He promised to avoid all " contencious words or pryuate opynions,"^ and before printing to submit them to Bishop Bonner for his approval. The markes and handes were in- serted in several editions, but the annotations were never printed. By way of explanation Coverdale in his prologue to the Bible of 1539, says : " We have also, as ye may see, added many handes both in the margent of this Volume and also in the Text, upon the which we purposed to have made in the ende of the Byble (in a Table by themselves) certen godly annotacyons; but for so moch as yet there hath not bene sufEycient tyme mynystred to the Kynge's moost honourable councell for the ouersyght and correccyon of the sayde an- ' Acta and Monuments, p. 1362. ' Coverdale's Memorials, App., p 199. 304 BIBLES Of THE LAKGEST VOLUME. [CHAP. VI. notacioDS, we wyll therfor omyt them tyll their more con- venient leysour. Doynge now no more but beseke the, moost gentle reader, that when thou commest at soch a place where a hande doth stand, .... and thou canst not attayne to the meanynge and true knowledge of that sentence, then do not rashly presume to make any pryuate Interpretacyon therof, but submyt thy self to the judgement of those that are godly learned in Christ Jesu." ' The first edition of this Bible was published in London ia April, 1539, with the following title : " The Byble in Eng- lyshe ; that is to say, the content of all the holy Scripture bothe of the olde and newe testament, truly translated after the veryte of the Hebrue and Greke textes by the dylygent studye of dyuerse excellent learned men experte in the for- sayde tonges. Prynted by Eichard Grafton & Edward Whit- church, Cumpriuilegio ad imprimendum solum, 1539." Around this title is the celebrated frontispiece by Hans Holbein. At the top of the page, God the Father is represented in the clouds, with his arms extended in the act of blessing ; and on either side of him, are elaborate scrolls inscribed with appropriate Scripture texts; on his extreme left in the distance, Henry VIII. is represented kneeling, his crown on the ground, and the scroll indicating that he accepts the Bible as the lamp of his feet. In the center, immediately beneath, Henry VIII. sits on his throne, and is in the act of giving the Bible to the bishops on his right, also to the lords temporal on his left. The books thus presented are clasped and marked on the covers Verbum Dei. In the center and on the right of the title stands Archbishop Cranmer in the act of giving a clasped Bible to a kneeling priest; immedi- ately opposite and on the left stands Lord Cromwell with a Bible in his left hand, which he is presenting to a layman, who receives it as a representative of several others standing near him. At the bottom of the page and on the extreme ' As cited by Lewis' History of Eng. Translationa of BMe, p, 126. 1539. J THE BASIS OF THIS EEVISIOK. 205 rigLt, is represented a priest who, from his pulpit, is preaching to a concourse of people, made up of men, women and children, who fill up the foreground ; while on the left, stands a prison, through whose grated windows the prisoners look out and seem to share in the common joy; the joy of gratitude for the gift of the Bible in their own tongue, which is expressed in a multitude of scrolls bearing the inscriptions " ViVAT Eex " and " God save the King." The prefatory matter of this Bible comprises: "1. The names of all the books of the Bible; 2. The Calender; 3. An Almanach for xix years ; 4. An exhortation to the studye of the holy scripture gathered out of the Byble ; 5. Summe and content of the olde and newe testament; 6. Prologue; 7. Descriptyon of the kynges of Juda and Jerusalem ; 8. With what judgement the bokes of the Olde Testament are to be read." This Bible of 1539 went forth without a dedi- cation, which as a prominent feature distinguishes it from the previous editions of 1535 and 1537. Another character- istic is that it was without notes ; but its chief peculiarity is the additions from the Vulgate, which are inserted in the text, but in smaller type, indicating that they were not in the original text. These insertions are numerous, and are for the most part made up of single words and phrases, but in a few instances of whole verses. The basis of this revision was the Bible of 1537. The changes made were comparatively few.. The claim set up in the title that the translation was made after "the veryte of the Hebrue and Greke textes, by the dylygent studye of dyuerse excellent learned men experte in the forsayde tonges," must be understood as referring not to cotemporary fellow-helpers of Coverdale, but rather to those whose versions he consulted as interpreters. Such learned men as Erasmus, Pagninus, and Miinster. The last-named of these published a Latin version of all the books of the Old Testament, which was printed at Basil in 1534, 1546. This, with the version of Pagninus, which was the first modern translation from the Hebrew, and was considered by the Jews more correct than earlier trans- 306 BIBLES OF THE LAKGEST VOLUME. [CHAP. VI. lations, was used by Coverdale in revising the Old Testament; while the Greek Testament of Erasmus, with its Latin trans- lation, was used for the New Testament. Tlie following is a single specimen from the Great Bible of 1539.' Ps. XXIII. The Lorde is ray shepherd, therfore can I lacke nothing. He shall feede me in a grene pasture and leade me forth beside the waters of comfort. Hee shall conuerte my soule, and bryng me forth beside the pathes of righteousnes for his names sake. Ye though I walke throughe the valley of the shadow of death. I wyU feare no euyll, for thou arte wyth me, thy rod and thy staffe comforte me. Thou shalt prepare a table before me agaynste theym that trouble mee ; thou haste anointed my heade wyth oyle, and my cup shalbe full. But (thy) louing kindnes and mercy shal folowe me al the dayes of my lyfe. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for euer. The times just now are most inconsistent. The Bible is printed and freely circulated; but the friends of the Bible are again persecuted, even at the hands of their own friends. The connection of Cromwell and Cranmer with the trial and condemnation of the excellent Lambert is hard to understand. It was none other than Cromwell, "the friend of the Gospel- lers," who read the sentence of condemnation against Lam- bert. Possibly Foxe is* right in attributing this to the " ma- licious and crafty subtiltye of the Byshop of Wynchester, which desired rather that the sentence might be read by Crom- well, the (than) by any other, so that if he refused to do it, he should likewise haue incurred the lyke daunger." ^ For it is this Bishop Gardiner, and not Cromwell, who now has the ear of the King. The noble stand which Archbishop Cranmer took in the three days' debate in the convocation against the ' Prom a copy in Harvard College Library. Published by John Cay- wood, London, 1568-9. » Poxe's Acts and Monuments, pp. 1283, 1384. « Jbid, p. 1396. 1540.] THE "SIX BLOODY AKTICLES." 207 six bloody articles, reveals not only his learning and sym- pathies, but the sad fact that the Gospellers were losing* in- fluence with the king. These six articles Poxe calls " the whyp with vi strynges " ; and Puller describes them as : " Laws, bad, as penned, worse, as prosecuted, which by some Bishops extensive interpretations, were made commensurate to the whole liody of Popery." * These cruel enactments in the hands of savage bishops became a serious hinderance to the Eeformation. Henry VIII. is jealous of his reputation for orthodoxy. His words against Lambert were : " I will not be a patrone unto heretickes." But he had his supremacy to maintain as well as his orthodoxy. So that, with the Act of Supremacy in one hand, and the enactments of the Six Articles in the other, he made sad havoc in the ranks of both Papists and Protestants. So much so that many wondered "what Religion the King was of, his sword cutting on both sides, Protestants for Hereticks, and Papists for Traytors."^ Ac- cording to Puller, "a motley execution happened, 1540, in Smitlifield, three Papists hanged by the Statute for denying ' Church History of Britain, B. V., p. 330. London, 1655. These six articles in a condensed form read as follows : I. That in the Sacrament of the Altar, after consecration, there re- maineth no substance of bread or wine, but the substance of Christ, God and man. n. That the communion in both kinds is not necessary ad salutem, by the law of God, to all persons. III. That Priests may not marry by the Law of God. IV. That vows of chastity ought to be observed. V. That it is meet and necessary, that private Masses be continued and admitted in this English Church and Congregation. VI. That auricular confession is expedient and necessary and to be frequented in the Church of God as of necessity to Salvation. The penalty of denying the I. article was death by burning ; the same for denying the III. article. In case of denying the other articles, the first oflense was punishable with imprisonment, the second offense with loss of goods and death. See in full, Foxe's Acts and Monuments, pp. 1296, 1297. « Fuller's Church Hist, nf Britain, B. V., p. 335. 308 BIBLES OF THE LARGEST VOLUME. [CHAP. VI. the King's supremacy, and as many Protestants burnt at the same time and place by yertue of the six Articles, dying with more pain and no lesse patience." ^ The influence of Cromwell is fast waning, but his work is not yet done. During the year 1539 fifty-seven monasteries were dissolved, thirty-seven of which were abbeys or priories, and twenty were nunneries.^ The King was determined to break up these monastic houses, which were a disgrace to religion and a corrupting blotch on the body politic. His motives have been impugned, but the immoralities and cruel- ties brought to light by the investigation of the visitors cer- " tainly justified his course if not the manner of it. Burnet, after referring to the dissoluteness of these monks and friars, whose practices were "not fit to be spoken of," says, of a report that he had read of a visitation of a number of these houses, that the account contained "Abominations in it equal to any that were in Sodom." ^ But in respect to them, "it is better," says Cranmer, " to pass over them in silence and let the world judge of that which is well known, than with unchaste words by the expression of their unchaste life to offend chaste and godly ears.'' Henry VIII., though yielding to the influence of the bishop of Winchester and his party, is at this time not unfavorable to the circulation of the Scriptures in the English tongue. In his letters patent of November 13, 1539, he expresses a desire that the people might attain a knowledge of God's word, and grants them " the free and liberal use of the Bible in our own natural English Tongue." ^ Farther, he directs that the Lord Cromwell should have the special charge of printing the Bible for the "space of five years." ^ This proclamation was obtained through Cranmer, and is supposed to have been in favor of Grafton, who was then putting forth the Cromwell Bible of 1539. The free use of the Scriptures ' Fuller's Church Hist, of Britain, B. V., p. 335. ^ Burnet's History of the Reformation, I., B. III., p. 267. 3 lUd, p. 191. * ibid. Records, p. 186. ° Ibid, Records, p. 186. 1540.] cbanmer's bible, 1540. 309 by the people was very distasteful to Bishop Gardiner, jcho sought to influence the king against it. On a given occasion Cranmer and Gardiner met together in the presence of the king, when in conversation the bishop magnified the danger of allowing the Scriptures to be read by the people ; and in the course of his harangue, asserted that the Apostolical canons were of equal authority with the Scriptures, and appealed to Cranmer to disprove it. This the archbishop did, and hia argument was so satisfactory to the king that he sharply reproved Gardiner, by telling him that Cranmer was an old and experienced Captain, and was not to be troubled by Fresh- men and Novices."^ In the meantime Archbishop Cranmer has been arranging for a second edition of the Great Bible. In a letter to Crom- well dated November 14, 1539, he speaks of an interview with the printers, and after advising with them he had decided that copies of the Bible should be sold for 13s. 4d. ; but since it was the desire of Cromwell that they should be sold for 10s. per copy,' "though Whitechurch and his fellowes thinketh it a small price, yet they were right well contented to sell them for 10s.," provided that license should be granted to no other printer. Further he inquired concerning the prologue which he had sent for the king's perusal and approval, with the re- quest that it be delivered unto the said Whitechurch to be printed, "trusting that it shall both encourage many slow readers, and also stay the rash judgments of them that read therein."^ There had been unnecessary delay, as Cranmer manifests some anxiety as to the fate of his prologue; but he must wait five months longer, for the Bible will not appear tiU April, 1540. This delay is to be attributed to the Eomish bishops, to whom Henry VIII. had referred the whole matter. Directly bearing upon this we have the testimony of Cover- ' Burnet's History of the 'Reformation, I., B. III., p. 370. ' Equal in modern values to about $37.50. ' Cranmer's Worha, Letter cdxiv, p. 396. Parker Soc. ed., 1846. 210 BIBLES OF THE LAEGEST VOLUME. [CHAP. VI. dale, as recorded by Fulke, who says : " I my selfe and so did many hundreds beside mee, heare that reuerende Father M. Doctor Coverdale of holy and learned memorie, in a Sermon at Paules Crosse,Tpon occasion of some slanderous reports that then were raised against his translation, declare his faithfull purpose iu doing the same, which after it was finished and presented to King Henry the Eight, of famous memorie, and by him committed to diuers Bishops of that time, to peruse, of which (as I remember) Steuen Gardiner was one ; after they had kept it long in their hands, and the King was diuers times sued vnto for the publication thereof, at the last being called for by the King himselfe, they redeliuered the booke : and being demanded by the King, what was their judgement of the translation, they answered, that there were many faults therein. ' Well ' (said the King) ' but are there any heresies maintained thereby ? ' They answered, ' there were no heresies, that they could finde, maintained thereby.' ' If there be no heresies ' (said the King) ' then in God's name, let it goe abroad among our people.' " ' That this refers to Cranmer's Bible of April, 1540, appears from a statement which Coverdale makes in this immediate connection : " that he did now himselfe espie some faults which if he might reuiew it once ouer againe, as hee had done twice before, hee doubted not but to amend." ^ This twice reviewing has reference doubtless to the editions of 1539 and 1540. This second edition of the Great Bible is rightly known as Cranmei-'s Bible. It appeared in April, 1540, with the follow- ing title : " The Btble in Englishe, that is to saye, the con- tent of al the holy Scripture, both of the Olde and Newe Tes- tament, with a prologe thereinto made by the reverende father in God, Thomas, archbishop of Canterbury. — This is the Byble apoynted to the use of the Churches. Prynted by Ed- warde Whytchurche, cum privilegio ad imprimendum solum. MDXL." The colophon reads : "The ende of the Newe Tes- ' Fulke's Defense of TranMations of the Scriptures into English, f. 2. London, 1G17. « lUd, p. 3. 1540.] ckan-mer's pkologue. 211 tament ; and of the whole Byble fynished in Apryll, Ajjino MCCCOCXL. A A.hQ facta est istud." A fine copy of this Bible printed on vellum is in the British Museum. It has been rebound in three volumes. It was presented to Henry VIII. by Anthony Marler of London. On the first leaf there is the following inscription : " This book is presented unto your most excellent Highness, by your loving faithful and obedient subject and dayly oratour, Anthony Marler of London, haberdasher." i It appears that this Marler was a heavy sharer in the expense of this edition of the Bible. " It was agreed," in the privy council, " that Anthony Marler of London, merchant, might sell the bibles of the Great Bible unbound for x.5. sterling, (equal to £7 10s.) and bound, being trimmed with bullyons, for xii.s. sterling (or equal to £9)."^ The chief characteristic of this edition is that it contains the prologue of Archbishop Cranmer. The object of this pro- logue was to influence those who utterly repudiated the Scrip- tures in English ; also those who by their wrangling disputa- tions abused the reading of the Bible. "As touching the former," he says, " I would marvel much that any man should be so mad as to refuse in darkness, light ; in hunger, food; in cold, fire ; for the word of God is light, .... food, (and) fire ; . . . . save that I consider how much custom and usage may do Such is the nature of custom, that it causeth us to bear all things well and easily, wherewith we have been ac- customed, and to be offended with all things thereunto con- trary. And therefore I can well think them worthy pardon, which at the coming abroad of Scripture doubted and drew back. But such as will persist still in their wilfulness, I must needs judge, not only foolish, froward, and obstinate, but also peevish, perverse and indurate."^ In urging at length the ' Anderson's AnnoHs of Eng. Bible, p. 360. London, 1862. ' Ibid, p. 367. ° Prologue. Cranmer's Works, pp. 118-125. This prologue was re- printed as late as 1583, in a folio edition of the Genevan Bible, with the following note at the close : " I have here at the request of diuers learned 213 BIBLES OF THE LARGEST VOLUME. [CHAP. VI. value of the Scriptures for the common people, lie modestly and perhaps wisely quotes the words of Ohrysostom, whose authority the papists could not but accept. " Wherefore let us not stick to buy and provide us the bible And let us think that to be a better jewel in our house than either gold or silver For the Holy Ghost hath so ordered and attem- pered the scriptures, that in them as well publicans, fishers, and shepherds may find their edification, as great doctors their erudition." The archbishop concludes the first part of the prologue by saying : " I will here conclude and take it as a conclusion sufiiciently determined and approved, that it is convenient and good the scriptures to be read of all sorts and kinds of people, and in the vulgar tongue." ^ In the second part of the prologue the archbishop uses the authority of Gregory Nazianzen, who says: "It is not fit for every man to dispute the high questions of divinity, neither is it to be done at all times, neither in every audience must we discuss every doubt ; but we must know when, to whom, and how far we ought to enter into such matters I forbid not to read, but I forbid to reason. Neither forbid I to reason so far as it is good and godly. But I allow not that it is done out of season, and out of measure and good order The learning of a christian man ought to begin of the fear of God, to end in matters of high speculation ; and not contrarily to begin with speculation and end in fear." ^ Cranmer concludes the prologue by saying: " Every man that cometh to the read- ing of this holy book ought to bring with him first and fore- most this fear of Almighty God, and then next a firm and stable purpose to reform his own self according thereunto ; and so continue, shewing himself to be a sober and fruit- ful hearer and learner. Which if he do, he shall prove at the length weU able to teach, though not with his mouth, men set down this notable preface, as well for the godly exhortations and louing admonitions therin given, as also for the reteyning among us the memory of that excellent and worthy martyr T. C. sometimes Arch- bishop of Canterbury." ' Prologue. Cranmer's Worlc^, pp. 130-132. ' I\M, pp. 133, 124. 1540.] PUBLIC READING OF THE SCRIPXrEES. 213 yet with his living and good example, which is sure the most lively and most eflfeetuous form and manner of teach- ing." 1 In carrying out the views of Oranmer as expressed in his prologue, Henry VIII., by proclamation, issued a few weeks after the appearance of the new Bible, required all curates and parishioners of every town and parish to provide themselves with a copy of the Bible under certain penalties, to the end that the people might have free access to the same. The price also of these Bibles was fixed by the king, to prevent extortion on the part of public dealers. Bishop Bonner, in accordance with the king's order, com- manded six of these Bibles to be set up in convenient places in the church of St. Paul ; that all who came thither might have access to them.^ But much more in harmony with his feelings, the bishop posted admonition upon the pillars to which these Bibles were chained, warning against loud reading and disputing. But, as Burnet adds : " People came generally to hear the Scriptures read, and such as could and had clear voices, came often thither with great Crowds about them Nor could the People be hiudred from entring into disputes about some places, for who could hear the words of the Insti- tution of the Sacrament, Drink ye. all of it, or St. Paul's Dis- course against worship in an unknown Tongue, and not from thence be led to consider, that the People were deprived of the Cup, which by Christ's express Command was to be drank by all ; and that they were kept in a worship, to which the un- learned could not say, Amen, since they understood not what was said, either in the Collects or Hymns." ' Complaints, how- ever, were made to the king, and doubtless by his consent new advertisements were posted up, threatening to remove the Bibles from the church if they continued to abuse so high a favor.^ There were indiscretions committed, doubtless, by these Bible readers, and by those who listened to them ; but ' Prologue. Cranmer's Works, p. 124. ' Burnet's History of the Reformation, I., B. III., p. 302. ' lUd, p. 303. ■■ lUd, p. 303. 214 BIBLES OF THE LARGEST VOLUME. [CHAP. VI. they were such as would arise from the provoking opposition of the Romish party. Cranmer's part in the work of revising this edition was, according to Strype, that he " added the last Hand, mending it in diners Places with his own Pen and fixing a very ex- cellent Preface before it."' But Myles Coverdale was the cMef doer of this edition as he had been of that of 1539. The revision of April, 1540, bears the impress of Coverdale's hand, in that he introduced more changes in those portions originally translated by himself, than in the parts translated by Tyndale. His compromising spirit is also seen in his desire to make the version as acceptable as possible by intro- ducing phrases or "supplementary clauses" from the Vulgate. These were put in smaller type, also in brackets, to show that they were not in the original text. The follow- ing may be taken as illustrations : Ps. I. 4. . . but they lyke the chaffe whyche the winde scatered away (from the face of the earth) n. 11. Serue the Lorde in feare and rejoyce (unto him) wyth reuerence. 13. Kysse the sonue leste he be angry and so ye peryshe from the (ryghte) waye. VII. 11. God is a righteous Judge (strong arid pacient) and God is prouoked euery daye. XI. 4. . . . His eyes consyder (i^poore.) XIII. 6. . . (Yea I v>yU prayse the name of the Lorde the most hyest.) XIV. 3. . • . (theyr throte is an open sepulchre ; wyth theyr tongues they haue disceaued, the poyson of aspes is under theyr lyppes. Theyr mouthe is full of cursyng and bitterness; theyr feete are swift to shed bloude. Destruceion and unhappiness is in theyr wayes, and the waye of peace haue they not knowen, there is no feare of God before theyr eyes.) Acts II. 33. . . . be hath shed forth this (gifte.) 43. . . . and many wonders and signs were shewed by the Apostles, (at Jerusalem. And quick feare came vpon all men.) ' Memorials of Oranmer, p. 444. London, 1694 1540.] KEVISIONS COMPAKED. 215 rV, 35. . . . wbiche {in ilie holy gost) by the monthe of thy seniauut Dauid {our father) hast sayde. * 37. . . . gathered themseluea together (in this eitie.) V. 15. . . . {and that they might al ie delyuerred from their infirmities.) XIII. 30. But God raysed hym agayne from death {the thvrde daye^ XIV. 7. . . . {And aU the multitude was moved at their doctryne, but Paul and Barnabas taryed stUl at Lystra.) XV. 34 ... it pleased Silas to abyde there still (put Judas departed alone to Jerusalem,) 41. . . . {commaundHnge to kepe the preceptes of the Apostles and elders.) A limited comparison of Cromwell's Bible, 1539, with Cranmer's Bible, 1540, shows evidence of revision, though the changes are not always improvements. Take the follow- ing as examples : Rom. I. 6. Of whose nombre you be that are called of Jesu Christ. Cranmer's Bible has : tlie electe. 7. . . beloued of God and called sayntes. Cranmer's Bible has : sayntes by election. 9. ... I make mencyon of you allwayes in my prayers. Cranmer's Bible has : praying always. 34 . . wherfore God gaue them vp into their hertes lustes to undennes. Cranmer's Bible has : to unclennes thorow the lustes of their own heartes. 35. . . . which is blessed for euer. Amen. Cran- mer's Bible has : to be praised. 30. . . . backbiters, haters of God, doers of wronge. Cranmer's Bible has : disdayneful. IV. 34. . . . from deeth. Cranmer's Bible has : from the dead. 35. . . . and rose agayne for to justifye vs. Cran- mer's Bible has : and was raysed agayne for our justificacion. V. 9. Moch more then now {seynge we are justifyed by hys bloud) shall we be saued from wrath thorow hym. Cran- mer's Bible reads : (wee that are justified by his bloud) shal be saued from wrath through hym. 216 BIBLES OF THE LAKGEST VOLUME. [CHAP. VI. 12. . . . as &l\ men Bjnned. Cranmer's Bible has : as all wee haue synned. 15. . . . whycli was geuen l>y one man Jesus Christ. Cranmer's Bible has : of one man. VI. 14. Let not synne haue power ouer you. Cranmer's Bible reads : For dune shall not haue power ouer you. 30. . . . ye were not tinder ryghtewesnes. Cran- mer's Bible has :. . . .ye were voyde of righteousues. There were six editions of Cranmer's Bible, including those of April, July and November, 1540, and May, November and December, 1541, making, with Cromwell's Bible of 1539, seven editions of the Great Bible. The prologue of Cranmer appeared in the above named six editions ; and in every re- spect there was great similarity between them, as there was no systematic revision after the edition of April, 1540. The edition of July, 1540, is the last which contains the arms of Cromwell, as he was bebeaded July 38 of the same year. Thomas Cromwell fell a victim to the envy and jealousy of his enemies. On account of the preferments he received at the hands of the king, he was hated by the nobility, who looked upon his elevation, not so much as honor to him as injury to themselves. The clergy were exasperated at his presumption in accepting the high title and place of vicar general in spiritual matters ; and then his active part in the dissolution of abbeys made his name odious to all classes excepting Protestants. ^ Cromwell fell, as Burnet well says, " under the weight of popular Odium rather than Guilt." * "We are specially interested in the character of Lord Cromwell on account of his agency in furthering the Eeformation, and of his life-long interest in promoting the translation and circulation of the English Scriptures. He was the chief patron of Myles Coverdale in his work of putting forth the Bible of 1535. Cromwell and Cranmer vie with each other in their zeal for an English translation of the Bible, that ' Fuller's Church Mistory of Britain, B. V., p. 231. ^ Burnet's History of the Bef, I., B. III., p. 285. 1540.] THE FALL OF CROMWELL. 217 should be acceptable to the people. It was Cromwell who complied with the request of Cranmer to obtain the kftig's authority for the setting forth of Matthewe's Bible, 1537, which lies at the foundation of the several editions known as the Bible of the Greatest Volume. And as Cromwell was prominent in the issuing the first edition, so Cranmer was prominent in putting forth the second edition of these Great Bibles. Among the able men of the court of Henry VIII., Lord Cromwell was the ablest. Cranmer was more learned, Bonner more crafty, Tonstal more cunning, and Gardiner more politic, but for recognized statesmanship and native ability Thomas Cromwell surpassed them all. But high places of honor, and distinguished abilities to fill them, as well as the esteem of the king, could not shield him from the poisoned shafts of his enemies. The afEectionate regard of Cranmer for Cromwell, even after the king had turned his back upon him, must ever excite admiration. Even after Cromwell had been sent to the tower, Cranmer appealed to the king in his behalf, in which he magnified Cromwell's "diligence in the King's Service That he thought no king of England had ever such a Servant; upon that ac- count, he had loved him But if he was a Traytor, he was glad it was discovered. But he prayed God earnestly, to send the King, such a Chancellor in his stead, who could and would serve him as he had done." ' But the appeal was in vain, and Cromwell, after remaining six weeks in prison, was brought forth and beheaded at Tower Hill on the 28th day of July, 1540.^ The third edition of Cranmer's Bible which appeared in November, 1540, bears evidence on the title-page of the fall of Lord Cromwell, in that, in place of the shield, there is a significant blank. Another peculiarity of this edition is that upon the same page appear the names of Tonstal and Heath, the former of whom had been a very prominent Bible burner, and cruel persecutor of the active friends' of the English ' Burnet's History of the Bef., I., B. III., p. 277. * lUd, p. 384. 10 218 BIBLES OF THE LAKGEST VOLUME. [CHAP. TI. Bible. The explanation of this strange anomaly is that these names appear in conformity to the injunction of 1539, which forbade the printing the English Scriptures, unless examined and admitted by the king, or one of his privy council, or one of the bishops of the realm, whose name must therein be expressed. This edition of November is known as Tonstal and Heath's Bible. The title-page reads : " The Bible in Englishe, of the largest and greatest volume, audorysed and apoynted by the commaundemente of our most redoubted Frynce and soueraygne Lorde Kynge Henry the VIII., supreme head of this Ms Ghurche and Realme of England ; to be frequented and used in euery churche within this his sayd realme, accordynge to the tenour of his former injunc- tions giuen in that behalfe. Oversene and perused at the commaundmente of the Kynge's Hyghnes, by the ryght reverende fathers in God, Cuthbert (Tonstal) bysshop of Duresme, and Nicolas (Heath) bisshop of Eochester. Printed by Edwarde Whitchurch. Cum priuilegio ad imprimendum solum." The colophon at the close of the New Testament reads : " The ende of the newe Testamente and of the whole Bible, Fynyshed in November, 1540." For the most part the six editions of the Great Bible agree with each other. Yet Westcott points out hitherto an "un- observed fact, that in parts the edition of Nov. 1540 goes back from the text of April 1540 to that of 1539." i He furnishes the following examples in confirmation of the same : Is. I. 3. . . .1 haue nourished and brought vp children ; 1539 and Nov. 1540. While the editions of April and July, 1540, read : promoted. 4. . . .a frowarde generaeion, unnatural children : 1539 and Nov. 1540. The editions of April and July 1540, read : a seed of ungracious people corrupting their ways. 7. . . smdit is desolate, a,B it were mth enemies in a battle : 1539, and Nov. 1540 ; While April and July 1540, read ; . . as tJiey were subverted that are aUenatefrom the Lord. 8, . . like a besieged city, . sacrifices unto me ; 1539 i Bist, of Eng. Bible, pp. 300, 201. 1542.] BISHOP GAKDIS"EK'S SCHEMK 319 and Nov. 1540. While April and July, 1540, raad: a wasted city, . . sacrifices unto me saitJi the Lord. 12. When ye appear before me ; 1539 and Nov. 1540. While April and July, 1540, read : When ye come to appear before me. — . . . who requireth you to tread ; 1539 and Nov. 1540. While April and July 1540 read : . . who requireth this of you to tread. 13. . . sabbaths and solemn days ; 1539 and Nov. 1540. While April and July 1540 read : . . sabbaths and gathering together at the solemn days. The above examples will suffice to show that the edition of Nov. 1540, agrees with Cromwell's Bible of 1539, and conse- quently is not a reprint of the editions of April and July of the same year. And yet there is such a substantial agreement in the several editions of the Great Bible, not only with each other, but with the edition of 1537, that the friends of the Old learning, led on by Bishop Gardiner, were bitterly opposed to their circulation. Besides, these Bibles were the result of Cromwell's enterprise, and as such, must share his degradation. "The Bible," they said, "was of a traytor's setting forth, For so they report, that Thomas Crumwel, late Earl of Essex, was the chief doer, and not your highness, but as led by him." ' Accordingly there was no more Bible printing during the remaining days of Henry VIII., the last issue being the edition of the Great Bible of December, 1541. After the death of Cromwell the Eomish party came into power. They hated the Keformation and the English Bible. But they could not withstand the former, nor could they withdraw the latter from circulation. They determined, how- ever, to suppress these heretical Bibles by an authorized edition of their own. This plan was secretly resolved upon, and was ready to be laid before the Convocation of 1542. Their propo- sition seemed very fair. It was that the bishops of the realm should put forth a revised edition of the English Bible. For some half dozen years past, the work of publishing revised ' Strype's Ecclesiastical Memorials, I., 635. 1816. 320 BIBLES OF THE LARGEST VOLUME. [CHAP. VI. editions of the Holy Scriptures had. become so common, that there was nothing in this proposition to excite suspicion. But Cranmer discovered their shrewd and artful intent, which was to so pervert tlie English of the translation by introducing Latin words and phrases, that it could not be understood excepting by those who werB learned. The convocation met in February. An order came through the king, requiring the bishops and clergy to revise the translation of the New Tes- tament. On Friday, during the third session, the bishops to the number of fifteen were assigned their several tasks. Bishop Gardiner being confident, and becoming over bold by the success thus far of his plans, could not rest. He must instruct the revisers. Accordingly, in the sixth session of this convocation, he presented a list of Latin words of his own selection out of the New Testanient, and expressed his desire "that for their genuine and native meaning, and for the majesty of the matter in them contained, these words might be retained in their own nature as much as might bee; or be very fitly Englished with the least alteration."^ This list numbers about a hundred words, and as a matter of interest is here inserted.^ " Ecclesia, Pmnitentia, Pontifex, Ancilla, Gontritus, Olacausta, Justitia, Justificare, Idiota, Elementa, Baptizare, Martyr, Adorare, Dignus, Satidalium, Simplex, Tetrarcha, Sacramentum, Simulachrum, Gloria, Conjticta- tiones, Ceremonia, Mysterium, Religio, Spiritus Sand, Spi- ritus, Merces, Gonfiteor tibi, Pater, Panis prapositionis, Gommunio, Perseverare, Dilectus, Sapientia, Pietas, Pres- byter, Lites, Servus, Opera, Sacrificium, Benedidio, Humilis, Humilitas, Scientia, Gentilis, Synagoga, Ejicere, Miseri- cordia, Gomplacui, Increpare, Distrihueretiir orbis, Inculpa- tus. Senior, Conflidationes,^ Apocalypsis, Satisfadio, Con- ttntio, Conscientia, Peccatum, Peccator, Idolum, Prudentia, Prudenter, Parabola, Magnifico, Oriens, Subditus, Didragma, Hospitalitas, Episcopus, Gratia, Gharitas, Tyrannns, Concii- ■ Fuller-'s Church History of Britain, B. V., 237. ' Ibid, p. 238. ^ Ibid, p. 338. This list U taken from Fuller, repetitions and all. 1542.] QAKDINER'S DESIGNS THWARTED. 321 piscentia, Gisera, Apostolus, Apostolatus, Egenus, Stater, Societas, Zizania, mysterium, Ghristus, Conversari, Profiteer, Impositio manuum, Idololatria, Dominits, Sanctus, Confessio, Imitator, Pascha, Innumerabilis, Inenarrabilis, Infidelis, Paganus, Commilito, Virtutes, Dominationes, Throni, Po'- testates, Hostia." "Wherefore Gardiner's designe," says Fuller, "plainly ap- peared in stickling for the preserving of so many Latine words to obscure the Scripture j who, though wanting power to keep the light of the Word from shining, sought out of policy to put it into a dark Lanthorn j contrary to the constant practice of God in Scripture, levelling high hard expressions to the capacity of the meanest. For forraigu terms are alwaies brought in, like Joseph with an Interpreter. Emmanuel doth not passe without an Exposition, God with usj nor Ephatha escape, but Commented on, be thou opened : Besides, the Popish Bishop multiplied the mixture of Latine names in the Tes- tament, to teach the Laity their distance, who though admitted into the outward Gourt of common matter, were yet debarred entrance into the Holy of Holies of these mysterious expressions, reserved only for the understanding of the high Priest to pierce into them. Moreover, this made Gardiner not onely tender, but fond to have these words continued in hinde with- out Translation; because the profit of the Romish Ghurch was deeply in some of them concerned ; Witnesse the word Penance (which according to the vulgar sound, contrary to the original sense thereof) was a magazin of Will-worship, and brought in much gain to the Priests, who were desirous to keep that word, because that word kept them."^. At last the unsuspicious eyes of the honest-hearted Cran- mer were fully opened to the designs of Gardiner and his friends, and by a masterly stroke completely thwarted them. The archbishop, after obtaining the consent and authority of the king, most unexpectedly to the papists, announced to the convocation : " that it was the King's will and pleasure, that ' Fuller's Church History of Britain, B. V., p. 239. 222 BIBLES OF THE LAKGEST VOLITME. [CHAP. VI. the Translation hoth of the Old and Neiu Testament should be examined by Both Vnivebsittes."^ This met with fierce opposition on the part of the papists ; but Cranmer insisted on the King's will and pleasure, which at length prevailed, and thus an end was put to the whole affair. In this effort of Bishop Gardiner to put the Scriptures into a Latin dress, and thus render them meaningless, we recognize the old strife between the hierarchy and the people. From the time ofWycliffe, an important element in this conflict has been that of language. Chaucer's Saxon English was the rich inheritance of the people ; and it had been handed down for a century and a half, not only in Chaucer's lines, but in Wyc- liffe's English Bible. History but in part can relate the oppo- sition of the papal authorities to these Wyclifl&te versions, because they contained the Scriptures in the language of the people. And when William Tyndale, imbued with the love of the Saxon simplicity in our language, embodied this ele- ment in his translation of the New Testament, he did for the protestant religion and the common people a service beyond all praise. Eor which he and his Testament were burned in the fire. In the early part of the reign of Henry VIII. there was a revival both of religion and language. The study of classic Greek was found to be not out of harmony with the study of Saxon English. Sir Thomas Elyot advocated the study of Chaucer for the sake of his English. So also it is related of Dean Colet, a eotemporary, that he labored to improve his English style by the study of the early poets, particularly Chaucer, who was then, even as now, regarded as the father of Vernacular literature. Erasmus, though he translated the Greek New Testament into Latin, warmly favored an English version of the Scriptures. True, the Latin was not only the language of the Komish Church, but the chief corner-stone of that Church. It was the boast of Bishop Bonner that the " Latin toung should serue through the wbole world, because ' Fuller's Church History of Britain, B. V., p. 339. 1547.] LANGUAGE AND RELIGION. 223 that they should pray generally altogether in one touflg." ' This, according to Bonner, was the order in the Church, and upon the carrying out of this order depended the universality and stability of the Church. We are compelled, therefore, to recognize an inseparable relation between language and religion. The Latin language is one with the Latin Church. '• The abrogation of the Latin," says Milman, " as the exclusive language of Christian letters and arts must be inevitably and eventually the doom of Latin Christianity." ^ Latin at this period was not only the language of the Church, but of litera- ture. Erasmus wrote his " Praise of Folly " in Latin. Though first published in 1511, it was not translated into English till 1549, when it was done by the hand of Thomas Chaloner. Sir Thomas More's "Utopia" was also composed in Latin. It was published in 151G.' This was likewise translated by Chaloner, but not tiU thirty-five years after its first appearance. It was therefore a marked epoch in the history of the English language and of Protestant Christianity, when William Tyndale and Myles Coverdale translated the Bible in the vernacular of the people. So also when revised editions were multiplied and sent forth among the people, since it was a combined and sus- tained attack against the progress and stability of the Romish Church. The reign of Henry VIII., therefore, may be regarded as the summer time of the EngHsh Bible and English language. But Henry in the closing years of his reign is not the man he was at its beginning. He is now subject to other advisers. Cromwell is gone, and Cranmer, single-handed, cannot always cope with the growing influence of the Eomish party. The Parliament is now under papal control, and enacts, "that all manner of books of the Old and New Testament in English, should by the authority of this Act, clearly and utterly be abolished and extinguished, and forbidden to be kept and used in this realm, or elsewhere in any of the Kings do- ' Foxe's Acts and Monuments, p. 1763. ' History of Latin Christianity, VIII., 334. ' The earliest edition bearing a date is that of 1518, printed at Basle. See Hallam's Literature of Europe, I., 285. New York, 1874 234 BIBLES OF THE LARGEST VOLUME. [CHAP. YI. minions." * There was a provision, however, which excepted the Great Bibles, since these were published by the king's authority. This act was passed in 1543, and three years after- wards was confirmed by " a straight and hard proclamation " of the king to the effect " that from henceforth no man, wo- man, or person, of what estate, condition, or degree, so euerhee or they bee, shall after the last day of August nexte ensuyng, receaue, haue, take, or keepe in hys or their possession the text of the new Testament of Tyndals or Conerdals translation, nor of any maner of bokes printed or written in the Englishe tongue, which be or shall be set forth in the names of Frith, Tindall, Wycklefe, Joy, Eoy, Basile, Bale, Barnes, Coverdall, Toumer (or) Tracy." ^ All such hooks were to be delivered up to the authorities and to be publicly burnt; and those who refused to deliver up the books, were to be impris- oned and fined, as the council might determine. The malignant spirit of the papacy now breaks forth anew. Heresy is again punished by fire. But this violence shall con- tinue but a season. The days of Henry's rule are soon to close. After an eventful reign of almost thirty-eight years Henry VIII. died.^ He was a strong man among strong men. He was independent of, yet dependent upon, his councilors, and too often led by them. But he never forgot his supremacy either in Church or State. Ruthlessly he maintained his own will at the expense of friend and foe. He renounced papal control, but remained Catholic rather than Protestant. His sincere regard for Archbishop Cranmer he retained to the last. On his death-bed, it was Cranmer only that he wished to see. But when the archbishop was summoned, the king was speech- less, and to inquiries could only by pressure of the hand give a token of recognition and of his own religious faith. Upon the death of Henry VIII. Edward VI. ascended the throne. His reign was in every respect favorable to the ' Anderaon's Annals, pp. 378, 379. ' Poxe's Ads and Monvments, p. 1437. s January 38, 1547. 1550.] cheke's translatiok of matthew's gospel. 225 Eeformation and the English Bible. From the first the changes were sweeping and radical. The statute of the six articles and all other bloody statutes against Protestants were repealed. The communion in both kinds was restored, and the stone altars were replaced by wooden tables. Eomish ceremonies, such as the use of candles in Candlemas, ashes in Lent, and palms on Palm Sunday, were all done away with. Also all laws and canons against the marriage of priests were revoked.' Bibles of the Largest Volume were by public order set up in the churches, and vicars and curates enjoined not to discour- age those " authorized and licensed," but rather they were " to comfort and exhort " them to read the same. At the same time straightly charging, that in the reading of the Scriptures "no man should reason or contend, but quietly hear the reader." 2 Moreover, the public reading of appropriate Scrip- ture was enjoined upon vicars and curates in connection with public worship. There was freedom both to read and print the Bible ; also liberty of choice as to what version should be printed. Left to themselves, publishers would naturally seek to supply the public demand. And the results show that the people desired Kew Testaments of Tyndale's and Matthewe's versions: since out of fifty editions claimed to have been pub- lished during the short reign of Edward VI., fourteen were Bibles and thirty-six were New Testaments.' There were no new translations undertaken during this reign, unless Sir John Cheke's translation of the Gospel of Matthew, and part of the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark shall be so regarded. Cheke's translation was made about the year 1550, and remained in manuscript till 1843, when it was published by James Goodwin.^ In translating, Cheke's man- ner was the opposite of that proposed by Bishop Gardiner. " In vocabulary," says Marsh, " Cheke was a purist by princi- ple ; for in his almost only known original composition, the ' Foxe's Acts and Monuments, pp. 1489, 1492. ' Lewis' History of Translations, p. 158. ' Anderson's Annals of the Bible, p. 411. ' The manuscript is in the Library of Bennet's College, Cambridge; 226 BIBLES OF THE XAEGEST VOLUME. [CHAP. VI. Hurt of Sedition, he employs none but words which had been for centuries familiar to every intelligent Englishman." In the translation of the Gospel of Matthew " he carries his purism still farther, and introduces many Anglo-Saxon com- pounds of his own coinage." ^ His object was to avoid words derived from the Greek and Latin, on the ground that they were unintelligible to English readers. To do which he was compelled to coin not a few words, of which the following are examples : biwordes, parables ; crossed, crucified ; freschman, proselyte ; fursai, prophesy ; gain birth, regeneration ; hed- priest, chief priest ; helimp, child of the Devil ; hunderder, centurion ; moond, lunatic ; orders, traditions ; which are in- serted below in their several connections.^ The verse divisions are here introduced for the sake of reference. Matt. II. 3, 4. When K. Herod herd this, he was trebled and all Jerusalem with him and he gathered togither al y" hedprietts and scribes of y people and asked of them wheer Christ schold be bom. IV. 24. . . . or moond, or palseid, thej brought vnto him and he heeled ^em. XI. 13. For al y» p»pheets and y" law did/orsai vnto Joans tijm. XIII. 3. And he spaak vnto fevn much in biwordes and said. XV. 3. whi do y' diseipils break y' orders of y elders. XIX. 38. Jesus said vnto yem, Je y' hav folowed me in y* gain birth. XXII. 23. At y' tijm cam y' Saddoucais vnto him, who sai yeer is no gainriHng. 30. For in y' vprising noyer schal men mari nor women be maried. XXIII. 15. , . . to maak oon freschman, and y' being doon ie maak him twijs as much an helimp as iourselves. XXVII. 23. . . , let him be crossed sai yei al. Besides Cheke made changes in the mode of spelling sufficiently radical to suit the theories of modem reformers ' English Language and Literature, p. 631. New York, 1863. ' Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Translated by Sir John Cheek. London, 1843. 1550.] cheke's translation of Matthew's gospel. 227 in orthography. The following rules have been laid down as comprehending in part his system of reform.^ In all cases where the vowel a was long, he used aa and omitted the e final, as : taak, take ; prepaar, prepare ; haat, hate ; maad, made ; spaak, spake. In the same manner he used other long vowels, as : ihijn, thine ; mijn, mine ; aloon, alone ; oon, one ; moor, more ; stoon, stone. Again diphthongs were done away with, and double vowels used in their stead, as : speek, speak ; theer, their ; boot, boat ; geestes, guests ; bijlt, built. The final « was utterly abolished as being useless, as ; giv, give ; curs, curse ; cam, came. Another rule was to omit silent letters in the middle of words, as : dout, doubt ; det, debt ; faut, fault ; wold, would. Another peculiarity was the sub- stituting the letter i for y, as : iou, you ; pai, pay ; mighti, mighty ; sometimes, however, at the end of a word the double vowel ee was substituted for y, as : honestee, honesty ; extremitee, extremity. Again he gives to y the power of tU in the be- ginning, middle and end of words, as : oyer, other ; hooy, both ; yem, them. Cheke's abbreviations and contractions are not all new, hut they are so numerous as to obscure the meaning of the text. As examples we find ; pform, perform ; p°plieet, prophet ; L, Lord ; K, Kingdom. In a very few instances he makes use of Greek letters for the sake of abbreviation, as in the words : axes, aches ; raxa, raca ; Junas, Joonas ; Juatham, Jooatham.^ The following is here transcribed as a specimen of Cheke's manner in his translation : Matt. V. 1-20. And he seing y« great resort went vp into y« hil. And when he was set his discipils cam vnto him, and he opened his mouth and taught them on this wise. Happi be y beggars in sprijt, for y kingdom of heeven is theers. Happi be y* moorners, for y'' schal be comforted. ' Oogpds of Matthew and Mark. Introduction, pp. 18, 19. ' ma, pp. 30, 31. 228 BIBLES OF THE LARGEST VOLUME. [CHAP. TI. Happi be y« meek, for y«' schal enherit y" earth. Happi be y* hungri and tliursti of rightuousnes for j" schal be filled. Happi be j" pltifal, for y" schal be pitied. Happi be y cleen in liart for y«' schal see god, Happi be y peesmakers for y" schal be called godds children. Happi be y* persequuted for rightuousnea saak, for y« kingdoom. of heaven is theers. Happi be yow, when y' rebuke yow, and persequut yow, and speek al evel and lie against yow for mi cause, be glad and reiois for yo' reward in heaven is great. For so persequuted thej y« p°pheets afoor your tijm. Tow be y' salt of j* earth, if y« salt be vnsaverie wheerwith schal thinges be salted. Jt is good for none other thing, but to be throown awai, and to be trooden down bi men. Tow be y' light of y= world. A citee can not be hiden y' is set aloft on an hil, nor men burn not a light, and put it vnder a buschel but in a candelstick, and it giveth light to al y' be in y house, let yo' light soo schijn befoor men y' y*' mai see your good workes, and give glori to your father which is in heaven. _ Think not y* J cam to breek y law or y" propheets, J cam not to breek but to fulfil, truli I eai vnto yow, til heaven and erth goo awai, one iot, nor one titil Bchal not go awai from y law, til al be doon. Whosoever then breeketh con of y' lest of y*" comandments, and techeth men y" saam, he schal be called y leest in y kingdoom of heaven. But who- soever doth and techeth he schal be called greet in y kingdoom of heaven. For J sai vnto yow except your rightuousnes be moor plentiful y y Scribes and Pharisees, yow schal not enter into y kingdoom of heaven. Sir John Cheke's purism was occasioned in part by a growing tendency at that time to adopt into the language Italianisms, Frenchisms and Latinisms. A few words from Thomas Wilson's Arte of Ehetoricke, which appeared in 1553, doubtless will give a correct impression of this tendency. 1545-71.] ENGLISH LANGUAGE GKOWING IN IMPORTANCE. 239 " Among other lessons," he says, " this should first be leSrned, that we neuer affect any straunge ynkehorne termes, but to speake as is commonly receiued : Some seke so farre for outlandishe Englishe, that they forget altogether their mother's language Some farre journied gentlemen at their retume home, like as they loue to go in forrein apparel, so thei will pouder their talke with ouersea language. He that Cometh lately out of Fraunce wiU talke Frenche Englishe, and neuer blushe at the matter. Another choppes in with Eng- Ushe Italianated, and applieth the Italian phraise to our Englishe speakyng The Tnlearned or folishe phantasti- call, that smeUes but of leamyng will so Latine their tongues, that the simple cannot but wonder at their talke, and thinke surely thei speake by some reuelacion."* He gives a practical illustration of this folly, by quoting a letter written about that time, " by a Lincolneshire man for a voide benefice." The letter was addressed to the Lord Chancellor and began as follows: "Ponderyng, expendyng and reuo- lutyng with myself, your ingent afPabilitie, and ingenious capacitie, for mundane affaires, I cannot but celebrate and extoll your magnificaU dexteritie above all other. For how could you have adopted suche illustrate prerogative and dominiall superioritie, if the fecunditie of your ingenie had not been so fertile and wonderfull pregnaunt, &c." ' In the meanwhile the English language is growing in im- portance. As yet it had failed to command the confidence of authors. It was too humble and limited a medium to be intrusted with tlieir reputation. In other words the mass of the people through sheer ignorance made no demand for English books. But times are changing for the better. Eoger Ascham taught his own age the power of the English tongue. His Toxophilus and Scheie Master were important contributions to the literature of that period. And they still serve as examples of good EngUsh. And yet Ascham shared ' Warton's History of English Poetry, III., 334, 335. London, 1781. 2 lUd, note, p. 337. 230 BIBLES OF THE LARGEST VOLUME. [CHAP. VL SO much of the prejudice of his age that he offered an apology for not employing in his writings the language of the learned. " If any man would blame me," he says, " eyther for takinge such a matter in hande, or els for wrytinge it in the Englishe tongue, this aunswere I may make him, that when the best of the realme thincke it honest (honorable) for them to use, I, one of the meanest sorte, ought not to suppose it vile for me to wryte ; and thoughe to have written it in another tongue, had bene both more profitable for my study, and also more honest for my name, yet I can thinke my laboure w^ell bestowed, if with a little hindrance of my profite and name, may come any furtherance to the pleasure or commodity of the gentlemen and yomen of Englande, for whose sake I toke this matter in hand."i In noble contrast with this petty strife for reputa- tion which Ascham ev'en could not quite banish from Ms mind, there were those during all these years, who labored for the sake of the people to place the Bible in English in their hands, which has proved from the beginning a powerful agency in elevating and purifying both our language and our religion. The prevailing sentiment during the reign of Edward VI. was, that -there was not so much need of new versions as a proper understanding of the Scriptures as already translated. Hence the Paraphrase of Erasmus, recently translated, was ordered to be placed by the side of the Bible in the churches ; and vicars and curates were enjoined to possess themselves of a copy of the same, as well as of a copy of the New Testament. Public lectures or professorships were provided in the Uni- versity of Cambridge for expounding the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures. The design of these lectures was, first, to inter- pret the Scriptures according to the " Propriety of the Lan- guage," and second, to " Illustrate diificult and obscure Places and reconcile those thab seemed repugnant to one another."' Besides this the Gospel was preached to the poor. Latimer, Bradford, and Knox, with all freedom and boldness, spake ' Roger Ascham's Worhs, p. 56. London, circa, 1763. * Strype'a Memorials of Cranmer, B. II., p. 197. 1553-58.] POPISH PERSECUTION. 331 the word in its purity to the people. It is noticeable that in the counties where the doctrines of Wycliffe had been received and retained, there the Gospel was now most welcomed. Even after the accession of Mary the people thronged together to listen to such preachers as Knox, who exhorted them to per- severe in the faith they had professed.' But this harvest season was cut short soon after the death of Edward.' Ee- taliation on the Protestants now became the watchword. Popish ceremonies were again introduced, and auricular con- fession re-established. Married priests were deprived of their livings and divorced from their wives, notwithstanding the laws were in force which legalized the marriage.' The Bible was rudely torn from its place in the churches, trampled under foot, and in some instances burned. Foreigners favoring Protestantism were banished the kingdom. Many leading Protestants fled, not so much from personal fear, as from the" entreaties of their friends ; while many, both men and women, rushed into exile to escape the fury of the storm. These cruel years of Mary's reign smell of fire and blood. And " dismal were the flames that blazed out everywhere, fed with the fuel of the bodies of poor men and women, under a popish legate, and two bloody bishops."* Among the victims sacrificed during this reign were such men as Thomas Eogers, the editor and reviser of Matthewe's Bible; Hugh Latimer,^ the ad- mirable preacher and early advocate of an English translation ' McCrie's Life of Knox, p. 82. N. D. ' Edward died July 6, 1553. Mary was crowned July 19, 1553, and reigned only five years and four montlis. ' Strype's Ecclesiastical Memorials, W., 174 London, 1816. * Ibid, p. 416. ' " I cannot here omit old Father Latimeb'b Habit at this his appear- ing before the Commissioners, which was also his Habit while he re- mained a Prisoner in Oxford. He held his Hat in his Hand ; he had a Kerchief on his Head, and upon it a Night-cap or two, and a great Cap such as Townsmen used, with two broad Flaps, to button under his chin ; an old thredbare BHstow freez Gown, girded to his Body with a penny lether Girdle, at which hanged, by a long string of Leather, his Tes- tament, and his Spectacles without case hanging about his Neck upon his Breast."^Strype's Memorials of Oranmer, B. III., ch. x., p. 336. 232 BIBLES OF THE LAKGEST VOLUME. [CHAP. TI. of the Scriptures, and a constant upholder of the right of the people to possess and read the Bible in their own tongue ; and last, but first of all, Archbishop Cranmer, whose name is most intimately connected with the Reformation and the English Bible. There was no special legislation against the English Bible during this reign, neither was there any occasion, since the constitution of Arundle, against the reading of Wycliffe's trans- lation or that of any other person after his time, was in full force. There were, however, royal proclamations issued com- manding the searching for and delivering up of heretical books that they might be burned. Heresy and the English Bible were supposed to walk hand in hand ; hence, to be a friend of the English Scriptures was, in the estimation of papists, to be an enemy of the queen's laws.' The queen's council was alto- gether popish, consequently Protestants were dealt with as the worst sort of malefactors. "And things were carried in that severity," says Strype, " as though it were resolved utterly to extinguish the religion for ever in England ; for, besides the exquisite pain of burning to death, which some hundreds underwent, ' some of the professors were thrown into dungeons, ugsome holes, dark, loathsome, and stinking corners; other some lying in fetters and chains, and loaded with so many irons, that they could scarcely stir. Some tyed in the stocks with their heels upwards ; some having their legs in stocks, and their necks chained to the wall with gorgets of iron ; some standing in Skevington's gives, which were most painful engines of iron, with their bodies doubled ; some whipped and scourged, beaten with rods and buffeted with fists ; some hav- ing their hands burned with a candle to try their patience, or force them to relent ; some hunger-pined, and some miserably famished and starved. All these torments and many more, even such as cruel Phalaris could not devise worse, were prac- tised by papists, the stout, sturdy soldiers of Satan, thus de- lighting in variety of tyranny and torments upon the saints ' Foxe's Acta and Monuments, p. 1713. 1553-58.] POPISH PERSECUTION. 233 of God." 1 From such horrors hundreds took refuge abroad, and formed Christian congregations in various cities on the continent. And so it came to pass that to this Marian per- secution we are indebted indirectly for one of the most noted and best EngUsh translations of the Bible. A translation made by English exiles at Geneva, and known as the Genevan Bible, an account of which will be given in the next chapter. ' Stiype'a Eeclemastieal Memorials, IV., 415, 416. London, 1816. CHAPTER VII. THE GENEVAN BIBLE, A. D. 1560. AMONG those who came to Geneva on account of the ~l\. Marian persecution was William Whittingham. Having escaped from England, he first took refuge in Frankfort. This was in June, 1554; but on account of the troubles there, he, with other Non-conformists, removed to Geneva, which at that time was the center of Protestantism and the home of Calvin and Beza. When John Knox left Geneva for his own coun- try, Whittingham, by the advice of Calvin, took orders in the Genevan form and became Knox's successor. By common consent Whittingham bore the palm for scholarship among his brethren ; and by their counsel he undertook and com- pleted the translation of the New Testament of 1557. This work, like that of Tyndale, was by a single hand, and done in exile, but in circumstances very different, since Whittingham was surrounded by friends ready to extend sympathy and prac- tical aid. In the work of revision Whittingham availed him- self of the learning of his brethren as well as of the most ap- proved Greek helps and of translations in other tongues, " as the learned may easily iudge, both by the faithful rendering of the sentence, and also by the proprietie of the wordes, and perspecuite of the phrase." ^ The edition was in small octavo or duodecimo size, and printed by Conrad Badius, at Geneva, in Roman type, with the following title : " The Newe Testa- ment of our Lorde Jesus Christ, conferred diligently with the Greke and best approved Translations. With the arguments, as wel before the chapters as for every Boke and Epistle, also diversities of readings and most profitable annotations of aU ' Whittingham's Address to the Reader. Eadie's Eng. Bible, 11., 6. 1557.] VEKSB DIVISION'S OF N. T. 235 hard places ; Whereunto is added a copious Table. Printed by Conrad Badius. M.D.LVII." The prefatory matter is made up of an " Epistle by John Calvin," and an " Address to the Reader " by William Whittingham. At the end there is an " A Iphabetical Index to the Neio Testament," and a " Per- fect supputation of the Yeres and Time from Adam unto Christ." The revision of 1557 was the first English New Testament that divided the text into verses, with breaks according to our present manner, and marked them with figures. In this division, Whittingham followed Kobert Stevens' Greek Testa- ment of 1551, but improved upon it, in that he attached the numbers to each subdivision or verse, while the Greek Testa- ment simply placed them in the margin.' The familiar story of Eobert Stephens dividing the Greek text of the New Tes- tament into verses, while journeying on horseback from Paris to Lyons, is founded on the statement of his sou Henry in the preface to his " Concordance," published in 1594. " His father," he siiys, " finding the books of the New Testament already divided into chapters, proceeded to a further subdi- vision into verses The whole work was accomplished inter equitandum on his journey from Paris to Lyons. "^ Probably he means not literally while on horseback, but at the several inns where he stopped in making this journey. At first this labor seemed of doubtful success, but soon it met with univer- sal acceptance. There are some who attribute the invention of dividing the Scriptures, that is the Latin Bible, into sections and subsec- tions, to Steven Langton, archbishop of Canterbury, about the year 1220. But Prideaux insists that the honor belongs to Cardinal Hugo de St. Cher, who flourished about the year 1240. According to Prideaux, the chapters of our present Bibles correspond to the sections made by Hugo. These sec- tions he divided into subsections and marked them by capital ' Townley's Literature of the Bible, III., 130. ' Smith's Bible Dictionary, Art. Bible. 236 THE GENEVAN BIBLE. [CHAP. VII. letters. These divisions were designed for convenient reference by his new " Concordance," which was the first made for the Latin Bible. The verse divisions, however, were not made till about 1438-1445, when they were introduced by a Jewish Eabbi named Isaac Nathan. Eabbi Nathan being familiar with Hugo's " Latin Concordance," determined to prepare one for the Hebrew Bible. He began his work in 1438, and was some seven years in completing it. He followed Hugo in his sectional divisions, but improved upon him in the subsections, by introducing the verse divisions of the oldest Masoretic Hebrew Bibles.* He says in his preface : " As I observed that the Latin translation has each book divided into a certain number of sections and chapters, which are not in our (Hebrew) Bibles, I have therefore marked all the verses, according to their numbers, together with the number of each chapter ; I have also marked the numbers of the verses, as they exist in our (Hebrew) Bibles, for the greater facility of finding each passage referred to." This mode of indicating the verses as well as chapters was followed by Sanctes Pagninus in 1528, when he made his Latin translation of the Bible from the original Hebrew and Greek. Pagninus was followed in turn by Stevens, at least in part, in 1551.^ And as Whittingham professedly followed these authorities, it would seem from the above statements, that while the Jews are indebted to Chris- tians for the division of the text of their Bibles into chapters, Christians are indebted to the Jews for the subdivision of the chapters into verses. It has been quite common of late years to rail against the verse divisions of the Holy Scriptures. Doubtless the sense of the text has sometimes been interrupted by this artificial ' These sections or verses were called by the Jews PesvMm. " They are marked out in the Hebrew Bibles by two great points at the end of them, called from hence 8oph-Pasuk, i. e. the end of the verse.'' Pri- deaux' Connection, I., 373. = Compare Ibid, I., 373, 378. Home's Introduction, II., Ch. IV, pp. 169-173. Smith's Bible Dictionary, Art. Bible. Kitto's Cyclopedia, Art. Scripture, Boly. 1557.] WHITTINGHAM'S ANNOTATIONS. 237 system. It may possibly have given occasion also to the build- ing of " doctrinal systems upon isolated texts." And yet too often the practical benefits of easy reference, and help to the memory, and the adaptation for reading in public, have been overlooked. The divisions of chapter and verse have no Biblical authority. Neither has that of the pai-agraph, neither has that of the comma, semicolon, or period in puuctuation. They are all of human invention, and something of the same arguments produced against the former may be urged against the latter. The adoption, however, of the paragraph and at the same time retaining the chapters and the numberings of chapters and verses, is doubtless the most desirable mode of printing the text of the Bible. While this translation of 1557 is based upon the New Tes- tament version of Tyndale as contained in Matthewe's Bible, 1537, yet it is independent, and has probably greater claims to originality than any preceding English version. But that which externally characterizes this version next to its verse divisions, and words in italics which indicate that they are not in the original, is its marginal notes. These annotations are very numerous. For the design of Whittingham was to leave "nothing vnexpounded, wherby he that is anything exercised in the Scriptures of God, might justely complayn of hardenes ; and also in respect of them that haue more proffited in the same, I haue explicat all such places by the best learned inter- preters, as ether were falsely expounded by some, or els absurdely applyed by others." ^ Whittingham thus sought to commend his work not only to the learned, but the unlearned. Since the time of William Tyndale a great change has taken place in public sentiment, in respect to annotations upon the Scriptures. Annotations were now not only permitted, but were in great demand. As there was little or no preaching or public expounding of the Scriptures, each reader of the Bible must interpret for himself. Hence Whittingham sought to meet this demand. His annotations were not controversial, but practical and thoroughly Calvinistic. ' Cited by Eadie's Eist. Eng. Bible, II., pp. 6, 7. 238 THE GENEVAIf BIBLE. [CHAP. VII. The following specimens of Whittingham's translation are taken from the reprint of his New Testament in Bagster's Hexapla : Matt. VI. 9. . . . Our father which art in heauen, halowed be thy name. 10. Let thy kingdome come. Thy wil be done eueu in earth, as it is in heauen. 11. Geue vs thys day our dayly bread. 13. And forgeue our debtes, euen as we forgiue our debtera. 13. And lead vs not into tentation, but deliuer vs from euil. For thyne is the kingdome, and the power, and the glorie for euer. Amen. I. Cor. XIII. 1. Thogh I spake with the tonges of men and Angels, and haue not loue, I am euen as sounding brasse, or as a tynkling cymbal. 2. And thogh I could prophecie, and vnderstand all secretes, and all knowledge ; yea, yf I had all fayth, so that I could moue mountains out of their places, and yet had not loue, I were nothing. 3. And thogh I bestowe all my goodes tofede the poore, and thogh I gyue my body that I be burned, and yet haue not loue, it profiteth me nothing. 4. Loue suffreth long, is courteous ; loue enuieth not ; loue doth not boast it selfe, swelleth not. 5. Disdaineth nothing as vnbeseming, seketh not her owne things, is not prouoked to anger, thinketh not euil. 6. Reioyseth not In iniquitie, but reioyseth in the trueth. 7. Suffreth all thinges, beleueth all thinges, hopeth all thinges, endureth all thinges. 8. Loue doth neuer fall away, thogh that both prophe- ciinges shalbe abolished, and tongues shal cease, and learning shal vanishe away. 9. For we learne in parte, and we prophecie in part, 10. But when that which is perfect, is come, then that which is in part shalbe done away. 11. When I was a chylde, I spake as a childe, I under- stode as a chylde, I thoght as a childe, but assone as I was a man, I put away chyldesh things. 13. For now we se in a glasse, and in a darcke speakyng ; but then shed we se face to face. Now I knowe 1557.] WHITTINQHAM'S SCPEKIOK KENDEKINGS. 239 in part ; but then glial I know euen as I am knowen. 13. Now abydeth fayth, hope, and loue, euen these thre, but the chiefest of these is loue. The specific excellencies of this version may be seen in the following passages, which are superior to the renderings of our Authorized version, excepting in one or two examples in which the latter adopts the readings of the former. Matt. XXIII. 34. Ye blynde guydes, which strayne out a gnate, and Bwalow a cammel. In this reading Whittingham followed Tyndale. Our present version reads : strain at a gnat. This has been regarded as a blunder of the printers of the first edition of the A. v.; but Alford thinks that it is the correct rendering of the translators, and means " strain (out the wine) at (the occurrence of) a gnat." However this may be, tbe reading in our Bibles gives an incorrect, while that of Whittingham gives a correct, impression. XXVIIl. 14. And if this covae before . the Gouuernour, we wyl pacifie him, and saue you harmelesse. This is better than the A. V. which reads : And if this come to the Governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. The reference is to a judicial hearing, rather than to a report that might reach the frovernor.- Whittingham was the first to render this correctly, or at least to re- lieve the ambiguity, that is after Wyclifie, who reads : And if this ie herde of the justice we schulen counceil hym and make you siker (secure). Mark XI. 17. . . . Is it not wrytten. My house shalbe called the house of prayer, vnto aU nations? This is after Tyndale, but the A. V. reads ; of all nations. That Tyndale and Whittingham are correct, compare Is. Ivi. 7, to which the Saviour refers. Our Lord's indignation was aroused in part, because this profanation was of the court of the Gentiles While tbe Jews sacredly kept the Jewish parts of the temple, they cared nothing ' Alford, in loco. 240 THE GENEVAN BIBLE. [CHAP. VII. for this court, hence Jesus quotes the words of the prophet which they had done what they could to defeat.' Acts XXVII. 9. When muehe tyme was spent, and eayling was now jeoperdeous, because also tlie tyme of the Fast was now passed, Paul put them in remembrance. In this, the version of 1557 is followed by the A. V. Tyndale's version and that of the Great Bible read : because also tTuit we had OMrlonge fasted. But the argument of the apostles is better sustained by the above rendering, in that, on account of the Fast being passed, it was very late in the season to undertake so long a voyage.* Eph. IV. 18. . . because of the har denes of their harte. The A, V. has : the blindness of their heart. I. Thess. V. 32. Abstayne from all kynde of euil. The A. V. reads : all a/ppearance of evil. Alford translates every form of evil : and thinks the A. V. incorrect ; first, because the Greek word does not signify appearance as used above ; and second, because the two members of th.e sentence would not logically correspond. The exhortation is : " hold fast that which is good, and reject that which is evil."' James I. 13. Let no man say when he is tempted, that he is tempted of God ; for God cannot he tempted with euyl, nether tempteth he any man. Whittingham is the first to seize upon this reading, which is adopted by the A, V. Tyndale (1534) reads : For God tempteth not vnto evyll, nether tempteth he anie man. I. Pet. I. 17. And if so he that ye call him Father whych wythout respect of person judgeth accordyng to euery mans worke, This is preferable to the A. V. which reads:.... if ye call on the Father; in which it follows Tyndale. This translation of Whittingham is "the only one," says Trench, "which the original will bear." Alford trans- lates : And if ye call upon as your Father Him who without respect of persons judgeth, &C.'' ' Trench on the Authorized Version, p. 98. ' Ihid, in loco. ' Alford, in loco. * Ihid, in loco. 1560.] DEDICATIOK. 241 The New Testament of 1557, though excellent in itself, became a stepping-stone to a new revision of the whole Bible. Geneva at this time was not only the centre of Protestantism, but there were gathered here many eminent scholars. John Calvin had resided in Geneva since 1536 : and Theodore Beza, though a recent comer, became a permanent resident for some forty years. There were assembled here also a goodly company of French scholars, who were engaged in revising Olivetan's version of the French Bible. So likewise was gathered here a company of English exiles, made up of such men as: Myles Coverdale, John Knox, Thomas Cole, Anthony Gilby, John PuUain, Christopher Goodman, Thomas Samson, and William Whittingham. And to the associated labors of these brethren, together with the advice and co- operation of Calvin and Beza, we are indebted, for the Genevan Bible. Neither ought we to forget those in the congregation "whose hearts God hkewise touched, not to spare any charges for the furtherance of such a benefit and favor." 1 The share which these brethren had, as individuals, in the work, can not be determined. " The impression prevails that the burden fell upon three or four of them. Knox and Goodman left Geneva for Scotland in 1559 ; Coverdale, Pullain and Cole returned to England in the same year. This would leave Whittingham, Gilby and Samson to complete the work. Heretofore the translating and revising of the English Scriptures has been, for the most part, the work of single individuals ; but in this case we have an association of learned men uniting their wisdom and energies " for the space of two yeeres and more, day and night." ^ And the result is the best version since Tyndale and Coverdale made their translations. And as a translation the Genevan Bible constitutes an im- portant link between the earliest English versions and our present Authorized version. This Bible was finished on the 10th of April, 1560, and was dedicated to Queen Elizabeth in respectful but bold language. ' Preface, Genevan Bible. Lo-idon, 1595. ' Ibid. 11 243 THE GENEVAN BIBLE. [CHAP. VII. After congratulating her upon her preservation "from the mouth of lions," they express a hope that she will favor the cause of truth, and consequently urge upon her " utterly to abolish idolatry ; to root out, cut down, these weeds and im- pediments, ... in imitation of the noble Josias who destroyed not only their idols and appurtenances, but also burnt the priests' bones upon their altars, and put to death the false prophet's and sorcerers." ' In the Address to the Christian Eeader, they claim for their work, " a ripe age and cleare light," also the advantages of being surrounded by "go many godly and learned men, and such diuersities of translations in diners tongues." ^ Notwithstanding this, and also the fact, that there were among them noted Hebrew and Greek scholars, they arrogated nothing to themselves "aboue the least of their brethren " in undertaking " this great and wonderful worke." Further they protest from a good con- science "that they have in euery point and worde faith- fully rendred the text and in all hard places most syncerely expounded the same. For God is our witnes, that we haue by all means endeauoured to set foorth the puritie of the worde and right sense of the holy Ghost." ' Here follows an explanation of their manner in the work of translation. " Now as we haue chiefly obserued the sense, and laboured ' As cited by Eadie, English Bible, II., 12. London, 1876. ' In addition to the sources to which former translators had access, such as the German Zurich Bible, 1524-1539, the Latin translation of the Old Testament by Sanctes Pagninus, 1538, and the Latin version by S. MUnster, 1534-35, these revisers had Leo Juda's Latin version of the Old Testament, which was completed by Bibliander and Pellican ; this with Gaulthers revised Latin N'ew Testament of Erasmus, was published in 1544. They possessed also the Latin version of Castalio, 1551. Though Castalio used great freedom with the text, by intro- ducing classic phrases, yet his version had its influence upon later Protestant versions. But Beza's Latin version of the Greek Testament, 1556, exercised a greater influence thlin any of the other versions. Compare Westcott's Hist, of the Ehig. Bible, p. 321, Hallam's Lit. of Mir ope, I., 883. ' Preface, Genevan Bible. London, 1595. 1560.] SPECIMENS OF TRANSLATION. 343 alwayes to restore it to all integritie ; so Laue we mostreuer- ently kept the proprietie of the woordes." Further, " diuersitie of speach " they noted in the margin ; and wherever in their judgment words were added to make the sense clear, such words were " put in the text with an other kinde of letter." In respect to the verse dirisions, they say : we haue folowed the Ebrew examples, which haue so euen from the beginning distinguished them. Which thing as it is most profitable for memorie, so doth it agree with the best translations, and is most easie to finde out both by the best Concordances." * This version was not an independent translation, based as it was upon the Great Bible ; and yet in the Old Testament par- ticularly there were marks of originality and scholarship. The chief aim of the revisers seems to have been to make a verbal rendering of the original ; but " even where the changes are greatest," says Westcott, " the original foundation can still be traced, .... At the same time there is abundant evidence to shew that they were perfectly competent to deal independently with points of Hebrew scholarship ; and minute changes in expression shew that they were not indifferent to style." ' The following excerpts are here inserted as specimens of the trans- lation, and are taken from an edition of 1560." ' Ex. XX. 1. Then God spake all these wordes, saying, 3. I am the Lord thy God, which haue broht thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3. Thou shalt haue none other gods before me. 4. Thou shalt make thee no graue image, nether anie simili- tude of things that are in heauen aboue, nether that are in the earth beneth, nor that are in the waters vnder the earth. 5. Thou shalt not bowe downe to them, nether serue them ; for I am the Lord thy God, a ielous God, visiting the iniquitie of the fathers vpon the children, vpon the third generacion and vpon the fourth of them that hate me ; ' Preface, Genevan Bible. London, 1595. « History of English Bible, p. 331. London, 1873. ' From a copy in the Boston Public Library. 244 THE GEIiTEVAN BIBLE. [CHAP. Til. 6. And shewing mercie vnto thousands to them that loue me, and tepe my commandments. 7. Shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vaine ; for the Lord wil not holde him giltlesse that taketh his Name in vaine. 8. Remember the Sabbath daie to kepe it holy. 9. Sixe dales shalt thou labour, and doe all thy worke. 10. But the seuenth day is the Sabbath of y» Lord thy God ; in it thou shalt not do anie worke, thou, nor thy sone, nor thy daughter, thy man-seruant, nor thy maide, nor thy beast, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. 11. For in sixe dales the Lorde made the heauen and the earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seuenth daie ; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath daie and hallowed it. 12. Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy dales maie be prolonged vpon y" land, which the Lord thy God giueth thee. 13. Thou shalt not kill. 14. Thou shalt not commit adulterie. 15. Thou shalt not steale. 16. Thou shalt not beare false witnes against thy neigh- bour. 17. Thou shalt not couet thy neighbours house, neither shalt thou couet thy neighbours wife ; nor his man ser- uant, nor his maid, nor his oxe, nor his asse, nether any thing that is thy neighbours. Ps. XXin. 1. The Lord is my shepheard, I shall not want. 2. He maketh me to rest in grene pasture and leadeth me by the stil waters. 3. He restoreth my soule, and leadeth me in the paths of righteousnes for his Names sake. 4. Tea, thogh I shulde walke through the valley of the shadow of death, I wil feare no euil ; for thou art with me ; thy rod and thy staffe, they comfort me. 5. Thou dost prepare a table before me in the sight of mine aduersaries ; thou doest anoint mine head with oyle, and my cup runneth ouer. 6. Douteles kindnes and mercie shal follow me all the daies of my life, and I shall remaine a long season in the house of the Lorde. 1560.] EVANGELICAL PIETY. 345 The Genevan Bible was a decided advance upon al^ former translations. The accuracy of its scholarship and the plain- ness of its Saxon English commended it both to the learned and unlearned. It became more popular than any previous version. Though not printed in England for several years after it was first issued, yet it very soon became the Bible of the household ; and for more than a century and a half it maintained its place as the Bible of the people. Bom of per- secution and in exile, it was regarded as the peculiar child of Protestantism^ A lively bond of sympathy existed between the brethren at home and those at Geneva during the Marian persecution ; so that whether at home or abroad, they all suf- fered in a common cause. This fruit, therefore, of the labors of the brethren abroad was the more highly prized. For a hundred and fifty years there had been an under- current of evangelical piety, which found its purity and life in the old and well-worn manuscripts of the Wycliifite ver- sions. These Christians were unknown, yet called themselves known ; they were persecuted, yet not destroyed. In the beginning of the reign of Henry VIII. these Lollards were in hearty sympathy with the New learning and its New opinions, which were old to them, though new to others. These people were the first to welcome and distribute the New Testaments of William Tyndale, which came fresh into England from the printing presses of the continent. They welcomed not only the Scriptures in English in these newly-printed Testaments, but also the preaching of the Gospel by such men as Bilney, Barnes, Ooverdale, and Hugh Latimer. Increasing in num- bers, they increased in courage and boldness, and frequently met in town-halls and in open fields for public worship. And as they increased in numbers, they became a recognized power by the king and his councilors. In Archbishop Cranmer and Lord Cromwell they found stanch supporters. Especially prospered in the reign of Edward VI., they were persecuted in the time of Mary; but are now hopeful in the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth, and welcome with joy the un- 346 THE GENEVAN BIBLE. [CHAP. VII. episcopal Bible from Geneva. These are they who are now known as Non-conformists and Protestants— an evangelical party, who from the first have had no sympathy with empty forms and sensuous ceremonies, and who, since the trouble in Frankfort, have been known as Puritans." ^ What the Wycliffite versions therefore were to the LoUards, and the New Testaments of Tyndale to the Broders in Christ or Known men, this Genevan Bible was to these Non-con- formists or Puritans. John Knox is said to have used Tyn- dale's New Testament until the publication of the Genevan Bible, when he immediately adopted the latter. The con- venient size of this Bible was in its favor, both in respect to its price and use. Issued in a small quarto, it was quite in contrast with the folios of the Great Bible. Then it was the first edition of the Bible printed in Eoman characters, the type of former editions having been that of Old English or Black Letter. Another characteristic of this Bible was that it was the first complete English Bible in which the text was separated into verses. The revisers adopted in the New Tes- tament the verse divisions of Whittingham's version, and in the Old Testament the "Ebrew examples" were followed. Further, for the help of the reader they added the arguments for the books, also for the chapters ; likewise headings indi- cating the particular subjects on each page.^ These improve- ments had been introduced, in part, in previous revisions ; as in Coverdale's Bible, the arguments for the several chapters were placed at the beginning of each book, while the Great Bible placed them at the head of each chapter. But the headings or catch- words at the top of each page were peculiar to the Genevan Bible. In this it was followed by the Bishops' Bible, 1568, and by the Authorized version, 1611. But that which added most of all to the acceptableness of the Genevan Bible was its marginal notes. There was at this time a spirit of religious inquiry preyailing among the peo- 1 Neal's History of the Puritans, I., 68. New York, 1863. * Compare, Address to the Christian Reader, Preface, Genevan Bible. 1560.] ANNOTATIONS. 247 pie. During the Marian persecution such horrors haci been witnessed, perpetrated on account of religious opinion, and suffered for the sake of religious principle, that the questions of the hour were as to the truth of these doctrines, and the mean- ing of the Holy Scriptures. And as Queen Elizabeth's pohev developed, she became more and more opposed to the preach- ing of the Gospel, cousequently the people were dependent for instruction upon the annotations of the Holy Scriptures. Upon the accession of Queen Elizabeth high expectations were entertained by Protestants of royal fayor, and on this account undue license was taken by them ; so that partly on this ac- count, and partly on account of her aversion to the plain Gos- pel, she required Archbishop Grindal to abridge the number of preachers, and to put down the religious exercise of prophe- sying,! " urging, that it was good for the church to have few preachers, that three or four might sufQce for a county, and that the reading of the Homilies to the people was suflBcient." '' But in respect to the annotations, the author of the address to the "Christian Reader," says : "And considering how hard a thing it is to vnderstand the holy Scriptures, aud what errors, sects and heresies grow dayly for lacke of the true knowledge thereof, and how many are discouraged (as they pretend), be- cause they cannot attaiue to the true and simple meaning of the same, we haue also indeuoured both by the diligent reading of the best comentaries, and also by the conference with the godly and learned brethren, to gather briefe annotations vpon all • Tliia exercise of Prophesying consisted in explanations of certain por- tions of Scripture allotted to a given number of ministers assembled in a church for this purpose. They seem to have been large Bible classes held for mutual improvement in the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. But the liberty enjoyed was abused by some in advancing heterodox opinions, and openly declaring against the liturgy and the hierarchy ; and by others in using the occasion for arguing and disputing. But notwith- standing all this, the archbishop defended these assemblies, and believed it possible to redress the irregularities by certain rules of order. See Chalmer's Biographical Dictionary, Art. Archbishop &rindal. Also Ful- ler's Ghvrch History of Britain, B. IX., p. 136. ' Chalmer's Dictionary, Art. Orindal, p. 350. 248 THE GENEVAN BIBLE. [CHAP. VU. the hard places, aswel for the vnderstanding of such words as are obscure, and for the declaration of the text, as for the application of the same, as may most appertain to God's glory and the edification of his Church." * The notes are for the most part original, yet some were taken from Calvin and others from Beza. And while the charge of theological bias has been brought against them, a cursory examination shows that in the main they are historical and practical. And by a careful noting it has been found, that even in the Epistle to the Eomans not more than ten of the two hundred and fifty notes are " unmis- takable Calvinistic utterances." * It is worthy of remark also, that the annotations of the Genevan Bible were so highly prized by the revisers of the Bishops' Bible, that they adopted many of them word for word, though they were pubUshing a rival edition. Annotations at this period were most acceptable, and are always invaluable. But it would seem that we live in an age of Commentaries ; that the labors of good men in this direc- tion are carried to an extreme ; so much so, that the text is in danger of being swallowed up by comments. Bible reading is degenerating into Commentary reading. It were better to gd to the original source than thus to take the truth at second hand. It may be said of the Bible, as it has been said of the works of Shakespeare, that " notes are often necessary, but they are necessary evils."* In the reading of the Holy Scrip- tures, if we would "feel the highest pleasure," and attain the greatest spiritual benefit, we ought to read every book, not excepting that of Eevelation, with " utter negligence " of Com- mentaries. When the attention is fixed, the reader ought not to turn aside for critical or even practical expositions, but " read on through brightness and obscurity." In this way the mind may lay hold of the truth and the spirit feed upon it. And all this notwithstanding many obscurities, since these very obscurities may have their use. "There is," says Dr. ' Preface, Genevan Bible. ' Eadie's UUtory of English Bible, II., 28. » Dr. Johnson's Preface to Jolinson & Stevens' Shakespeare, I., 238. 1560.] CHIES CHAEACTBRISTICS. M9 Johnson, " a kind of intellectual remoteness necessajy for the comprehension of any great work in its full design and its true proportions ; a close approach shows the smaller niceties, but the beauty of the whole is discerned no longer." ^ In this Dr. Johnson was treating of Shakespeare, yet how applicable to the Holy Scriptures ; since in their ie^th, full design, and true proportions, they cannot be comprehended by the in- tellect, but must be discerned by the spirit. But whatever may be true respecting the too great use of Biblical Commen- taries in our day, there was no such abuse in the days of the Genevan Bible. The annotations of this Bible were not only at first, but so long as it was circulated, they continued to be an important element of its popularity and usefulness. Even in 1611, when the first edition of King James' Bible was printed, " Some of the Brethren," says Fuller, " were not well pleased with this Translation, suspecting that it would abate the repute of that of Geneva, with their Annotations made by English Exiles in that City, in the daies of Qu. Mary Yea, some complained, That they could not see into the sense of the Scripture for lack of the spectacles of those Geneva An- notations."^ And what is more remarkable, an edition of King James' Bible was printed in the year 1649, " with the Genevan notes, by way of pushing it into favour." This was ahout forty years after the first edition of King James' Bible was first published, and about the time it took the place that it has occupied ever since.' Besides annotations they added " Mappes of Cosmographie ....for the perfect vnderstanding and memorie of diuerse places and countrys, partly described and partly by occasion touched both in the old and New Testament." In the edition of 1560, published by Hall, at Geneva, these maps are on a small scale, covering sometimes half, at others scarcely half of the page. The first map indicates the location of the Garden of Eden, Gen. ii. 10 ; the second, The Journey of the Israelites ' Dr. Johnson's Preface to Johnson & Stevens' Shakespewre, I., 339. * Church History of Britain, B. X., p. 58. London, 1655. " Anderson's Annals of Eng. Bible, p. 661. 350 THE GBKBVAN BIBLE. [CHAP. VII. through the wilderness, Num. xxxiii. ; the third, The Land of Canaan as divided among the several tribes, Josh. xv. There is also a map of The Holy Land, as it tvas in the time of Christ. This is placed at the beginning of the New Testament. These maps are designed, though rudely, to show the physical eleva- tions of the country. In addition to the above popular characteristics of the Gene- van Bible there is one other which deserves mention, and that is the number of its illustrations. The first edition, 1560, con- tains the following : The Arhe, Gen. vii. 18 ; The Egyptians pursuing the Israelites, Ex. xiv. 9 ; The Arke of the Testimony, XXV. 10-15 ; Tlie Table of Shewe Bread, 33-30 ; The Candle sticke, 31-37 ; Tlie first Covering of the Tabernacle, xxvi. 1-6 ; The Curtaines of Qoates Haire, xxvi. 7-13 ; The Taber- wacfo, xxvi. 15-30; Tlie Altar of Burnt Off ring, xx vii. 1-8; The High Priest in his Official Robes, xxviii. 3-4; The Altar of Incense, xxx. 1-5 ; The Laver of Brasse, xxx. 18 ; The Taber- nacle with the Tents pitched around about i7. Num. i. 51-53; The Temple Uncovered, I. Kings \'i. 2 ; The Temple Covered, 31 ; The First Figure of the King's House, vii. 2 ; The Second Figure of the same House, ^\\.Z-%; The Forme of the Pillar, 15-16; The Great Caldron,2^'^&; The Forme of the Caldr one, 38-37 ; The Royal Throne of Solomon, x. 18-30; Tlie Vision of Ezekiel, Ezek. i. ; Tlie Description of the Forms of the Tem- ple, xl. These cuts are comparatively well executed. They are small, and are placed in the midst of the page opposite the verse or verses to be illustrated. The many excellencies of the Genevan Bible gave it a wide circulation. Though not printed in England till 1575, yet like the New Testament of Tyndale it was printed abroad and scattered broadcast throughout England and Scotland. So universally was this Bible accepted, that it was read from the pulpit, quoted in sermons, cited by authors, and adopted in the family. The bishops and those who stood at the head of the Universities gave their preference to this version, though many of them from their ecclesiastical connections, might justly be supposed to have been prejudiced against it. 1560.] EDITIONS ISSUED FROM 1560 TO 1603. 251 The marked superiority of the Genevan to the Bishops', as well as to the Great Bible, gave it place independent of its Free Church origin. But while it enjoyed this preeminence, the fact that it was not printed in England until fifteen years after its publication at Geneva, argues that it could not have been altogether acceptable to those in high places. It is true that Queen Elizabeth issued a patent to John Bodleigh " for the term of seven years to imprint . . . .the English Bible finished in the present year of our Lord God, a thousand, five hundred and three score." ^ Notwithstanding this, the Genevan Bible was not printed in England previous to the death of Archbishop Parker. To this fact join another quite as significant, which is, that it was often printed after his death, and there seems abundant ground for the supposition that the archbishop used his influence against it.' Hence- forth, however, the Genevan Bible was more frequently printed than any other version. It became popular, particu- larly in Scotland. It was the first Bible printed in Scotland, which was in 1576-1579.' After the issue of the Bishop's Bible in 1568, a version intended by the Episcopal authorities to supersede the Genevan Bible, the latter was by no means set aside. An estimate made by Mr. Anderson shows, that of the one hundred and thirty editions of the Bible and Testa- ment published from 1560 to 1603, ninety were of the Genevan version. And if the comparison be limited to Bibles alone, then of the eighty-five editions issued, sixty were of the ' Anderson's Annals of English Bible, p. 458. ' Bodleigh applied in 1535 for a renewal or extension of his patent ; Parker manifested a willingness to extend it, but on condition that no impression be made except by advice and authority of the bishops, which was a virtual refusal. Neal's Hist, of Puritans, I., 83. Also, Anderson's Annals of the Bible, p. 461 . London, 1862. ' " The publication of the Genevan version at Edinburgh without any change in orthography or any assimulation of the style to Scottish usage, shows that at this period, as at earlier times, the English of the south was quite intelligible to all the educated population of Scotland." Eadie's Hist. Eng. Bible, II., 48. 252 THE GENEVAN BIBLE. [CHAP. VII. Genevan version.' These facts show that there was freedom in the reign of Elizabeth for printing and circulating the Scriptures; and especially, that the people were partial to the Genevan version. A partiality which maintained even to the time of Charles I., when the Genevan Bible sank gradu- ally into disuse on account of the deservedly growing favor of the Authorized version. Mr. Anderson in referring to the wonderful survival of the Genevan Bible, says : that while the Bishops' Bible was not issued after 1611, the Genevan was printed at London in 1633, at Edinburgh in 1640, and at Amsterdam in 1644.^ So that the Genevan version was in use full thirty years and more after the publication of King James' Bible, having enjoyed the preeminence for about three-quarters of a century. This fact at this time, was something remarkable in the history of English versions, finding parallels only in the manuscript version of Wycliffe, and the printed New Testaments of Tyndale. The Wycliffite manuscripts were in use from 1380 to 1525 ; and the printed New Testaments of Tyndale's translation continued in circu- lation from 1525 to 1605, the date of the last edition as noted in Cotton's list.* The language of the Genevan version is remarkable for its Saxon simplicity. In style and diction it is one with pre- ceding translations. And in cases where the readings differ, the translators studied not only correctness of rendering, but plainness in word and terseness of expression. The dethrone- ment of papal supremacy in England by Henry VIII. was the virtual dethronement of the Latin language from its eccle- siastical and literary supremacy. It was not so understood at the time by the papists. They fondly hoped and believed that the Latin would be the universal language, because it was the sacred language of the Church. The Church would become universal, and the language would go with the Church. ' Annals of the English Bible, pp. 469, 470. ' lUd, p. fi61. ' Editions of the Bible in English, p. 57. Oxford, 1852. 1581.] CONFLICT IN LANGUAGE AND RELIGION. 353 Hence the bitter opposition to the translation of the Bible into English, which they stigmatized as treason against the Church. True, towards the close of the reign of Henry VHL, on account of circumstances, that is of the extensive circu- lation of the English Scriptures, their purposes were some- what shaken. Hence the compromise of Gardiner, in which he yields to the necessity of an English version, and yet insists that a certain class of Latin words must be retained. Against this hierarchical theory that aflBrmed the supremacy of the Latin tongue, the friends of the Bible in English have boldly, and though sometimes at great odds, successftilly contended. And though the English language steadily grew in strength and favor from the time of the Conqueror, and that largely through the fact of English versions of the Scriptures, yet even in the age of Elizabeth its foundations were not con- sidered abiding. Lord Bacon had no confidence in the vitality of the English tongue. " These modern languages," he said, " will at one time or other play the bankrupts with books." 1 The Latin had been regarded in all the past as the universal and eternal language, and the wisest among men could not as yet see it otherwise. If Dante had broken from the Latin and trusted his fame to the vulgar Italian, it was not without a struggle with himself, as well as against the advice of his friends. Boccacio, though he followed the example of Dante, questioned " whether the Divine Comedy had not been more sublime, and therefore destined to a more secure eternity in Latin." * Though the pui-pose of the Eeformers in translating the Scriptures into English was not to promote the interest of the English language, nor to break down the supremacy of the Latin, yet incidentally these were important elements in the conflict, and also among the important results soon to be reached. For even now in the reign of Elizabeth the conflict both in language and religion is not so much with the old ' Bacon's Wor/cs. Preface, I., xvi. Boston, 1861. « Milman's Latin Chriatianity, VIII., 342. New York, 1874. 254 THE GEM-EVAN BIBLE. [CHAP. VII. ecclesiastical spirit of Rome, as with the newly revived pagan spirit of Italy. Classic ideals now rule in the court and palace. Greek and Roman learning was a passion with women as well as men, and was pedantically assumed by all classes. In fashionable life every thing was tinctured by it. " When the queen paraded through a country town," says Warton, "almost every pageant was a Pantheon. When she paid a visit at the house of any of her nobihty, at entering the hall she was saluted by the Penates, and conducted to her privy- chamber by Mercury. Even the pastry-cooks were expert mythologists. At dinner, select transformation of Ovid's metamorphoses were exhibited in confectionary; and the splendid icing of an immense historic plumb-cake, was em- bossed with a delicious basso-relievo of the destruction of Troy. In the afternoon, when she condescended to walk in the garden, the lake was covered with Tritons and Nereids ; the pages of the family were converted into Wood-nymphs who peeped from every bower ; and the footmen gamboled over the lawns in the figure of Satyrs." ^ Queen Elizabeth's reign was characterized by an artificial stateliness in dress, manners, language and religion. In pageants and festivals social life ran high, while in forms and ceremonials religious life ran low. In literature there was also a corresponding sensuousness. The Italian language was fashionable at court, and was studied and afiected by all who made any pretensions to refinement. So fashionable did this rage for modern Italian become, " that it aliiiost rivalled the classical mania of the day." Fresh novels from Italy were sold in every shop. " So popular were the writers of this fascinating country that the English language was absolutely inundated with versions of the Italian poets and novelists." ' Concerning this Ascham complains when he says: " These be the enchantments of Circe brought out of Italie, to marre mens maners in Englande ; much by example of ill life, but ' History of English Poetry. III., 493. London, 1781. ' Drake's Shakespeare and his Times, I., 451. London, 1817. 1581.] NEW-FANGLED ENGLISH. 255 more by precepts of fond books, of late translated «ut of Italian into Englishe, sold in every shop in London ; com- mended by honest titles, the soner to corrupt honest maners." ^ With all this eflBlorescenee of display and affectation of man- ners there was a cori'esponding fashion of speech. John Lyly, the author of the Anatomy of Wit,^ set the fashionable world in a blaze with his new-fangled English. "All our ladies," says Blount, "were then his scoUers ; and that beau tie in court who could not parley Euphuesme, was as little re- garded as shee which now there speakes not French." ' And as it not unfrequently happens, these scollers outwitted the wit of their teacher, changing what in him was fanciful into the fantastical. They played with words for the sake of wit and brilliancy. A fair estimate of Lyly and his new English is that he was a man of much reading, good memory, and ready wit ; but ran into an excess of alliteration, antithesis, tropes, and rhetorical flourishes, playing upon words, and indulging in the use of high-sounding words for the sake of the sound, which altogether constituted a style not only arti- ficial, but sentimental, afEected, and stilted. But while this pagan spirit of classic refinement and this affectation of manners and speech appeared to permeate the body politic, yet they were but a part of it, only as an efflorescence. For underlying this gilt and glitter, there was a substratum of earnestness, soberness, and honest common sense, which formed a grand subsoil for Gospel seed sown by the hands of Eeformed husbandmen. The age of Elizabeth may be justly chargeable with folly, yet it was not destitute of wisdom. It was an age of hope and enterprise ; an age that gave to the world great men, especially in literature. True, it was an age of contradictions, as was also the character of its queen ; so that, while it gave a hearty welcome to the classic spirit of paganism, it likewise gave a hearty welcome to the humble ' Roger Ascham's Works, p. 253. London, N. D, (1761). " ' Or Romance of Euphves, which appeared in 1578-9. " Drake's Shakespeare and his Times, I., 443. 256 THE GEKEVAK BIBLE. [CHAP. VII. spirit of the Gospel. The Genevan Bible, together with pre- vious Euglish versions, was the teacher of this age both in language and religion. Yea, the commandments and precepts of the Bible were not more in opposition to the affected man- ners and free morals which prevailed, than was its plain Eng- lish to the corrupted and fantastic speech then so prevalent. The Genevan Bible was the book of the household when such men as Bacon, Kaleigh, Herbert, Hooker, Spenser, Sidney, and Shakespeare were growing into manhood. Through its general use this Bible became not only the standard of the language, but a powerful influence in withstanding the public taste, furnishing, as it did, a noble example in word and phrase of pure English. While, therefore, there was no little con- flict of opinion as to the best usage, there was a growing taste for language unaffected by Euphuisms and unadorned by foreign words. This prevailing pedantry was thoroughly ridiculed by Sir Philip Sydney in his character of Master Eombus,^ and by Shakespeare in his Holofemes, who drew out " the thread of his verbosity finer than the staple of his argument." " Besides there was a growing confidence in the permanence of the English language. Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity, together with a few other works, says Hallam, " would have been thought to require a learned dress in any other country." ^ In praise of the English language at this period. Dr. Samuel Johnson says : " If the language of theology were extracted from Hooker and the Translation of the Bible ; the terms of natural knowledge from Bacon ; the phrases of policy, war, and navigation from Ealegh ; the dialect of poetry and fiction from Spencer and Sidney ; and the diction of common life from Shakspeare, few ideas would be lost to mankind for want of English words in which they might be expressed." ^ Sir Philip Sidney showed his appreciation of the ■ Miscellaneous Works. Lady of May. A Masque, pp. 208-276. Boston, 1860. '^ Love's Labour Lost, Act IV., Scene II. Also, V., I. ^ Introduction tn Lit. of Europe, II., 55. New York, 1874. * English Diet., Preface, I., xix. London, 1818. 1560.] OBSOLETE WORDS. 257 English language when he declared that for " uttering Sweetly and properly the conceit of the mind, which is the end of speech, that hath it equally with any other tongue in the world, and is particularly happy in compositions of two or three words together, near the Greek, far beyond the Latin ; which is one of the greatest beauties can be in a language." ^ However great may have been the literary influence of the Bible, its social and religious power was still greater. "The whole temper of the nation was changed. A new conception of hfe and of man superseded the old." ^ And this was the Christian conception of social equality based upon the father- hood of God and brotherhood of man. A conception, most antagonistic to social distinctions that, in the age of Queen Elizabeth, and in every age, are so flattering to human nature, which though once denounced as narrow and Puritan, is now regarded as broad and Christian. And now that over three hundred years have passed, in opening the Genevan Bible we find its language rich and simple, and will be surprised, perhaps, with the comparative fewness of its antiquated and obsolete terms. The following may be taken as examples of words obsolete either in form or sense : cause, accusation ; chapman, merchant ; cratch, man- ger ; crime, accusation ; diseasest, troublest ; fardels, goods, or baggage ; frailes, clusters ; grennes, traps ; herberous, hos- pitable ; iakes, dung-hill ; pight, pitched ; pill, make a gain of ; plant, sole ; trade, path ; which may be found below in their several connections. I Sam. XXV. 18. Then Abigail made haste and toke two hundreth cakes .... and an hundreth frailes of raisins. II Kings XIX. 34 . . . and with the plant of my feete haue I dryed all the floods closed in. ' Miscellaneous Works. Defence of Poetry, p. 121. ' Green's (J. K.) Short Hist, of tlie English People, p. 457. New York, 1877. 258 THE GENEVAN BIBLE. [CHAP. VII. Ps. CXL. 5. . . . and set grennes for me. Prov. XXII. 6. Teach a childe in the trade of his way. Is. XXIII. 8. . . whose merchants are princes, whose chap- men (are) the nobles of the worlde. Dan. II. 5. . . .ye shall be drawen in pieces, and your houses shall be made a iaJces. Mark V. 35. . . . Thy daughter is dead ; why diseasest thou the master any further ? XV. 26. And the title of his cause was written aboue. The King op the Jettes. Luke II. 7. . . . & wrapped him in swadling clothes, and laid him in a cratch, because there was no rowme for them in the Yune. Acts XXI. Vi. And after those dayes we trussed vp our fardels, and went vp to Jerusalem. XXV. 18. Against whome when the accusers stode vp, they brought no crime of suche things as I sup- posed. II Cor. XII. 17. Did I pill you by anie of them whome I sent vnto you? Heb. VIII. 3. . . . and of the true Tabernacle which the Lord pight, and not man. I Pet. rV. 9. Be ye herberous one to another, without grudging. Other obsolete words may be found scattered through the Old and New Testaments, yet their sparseness argues the excellence of this version as to its language. And though this Bible has served its age, yet it deserves still to be prized as a storehouse of pure English. The following, as specimens of the translation, are here inserted from the first edition (1560), the title-page of which reads : " The Bible And Holy Scriptures Conteyned In the Olde and Newe Testament. Translated According to the Ebrue and Greke, and conferred With the best translations in diuerse languages. With Moste Profitable Annotations vpon all the hard places, and other things of great importance as may appeare in the Epistle to the Reader At Geneva, Printed By Rouland Hall, M.D.LX."i ' From a copy in the Boston Public Library. 1560.] SPECIMENS OF THE TRANSLATION. 259 Matt. VI. 9. After this maner therefore pray ye. Our fathar whicli art in heauen, halowed be thy Name. 10. Thy Kingdome come, Thy wil be done euen in earth as (it is) in heauen. 11. Giue vs this day our daily bread. 12. And forgiue vs our dettes, as we also forgiue our det- ters. 13. And lead vs not into tentation, but deliuer vs from euil ; for thine is the kingdome, and the power, and the glorie for euer. Amen. I. Cor. XIII. 1. Thogh I speake with the tongues of men and Angels, and haue not loue, I am (as) sounding brasse, or a tinkling cymbal. 2. And thogh I had the (gift) of prophecie, and knewe all secretes and all knowledge, yea, if I had faith, so that I colde remoue mountaines, and had not loue, I were nothing. 8. And thogh I f ede the poore with all my goods, and thogh I giue my bodie, that I be burned, and haue not loue, it profiteth me nothing. 4. Loue suffreth long ; it is bountiful ; loue enuith not ; loue doeth not boast it self; it is not puffed vp ; 6. It disdaineth not ; it seketh not her own things ; it is not prouoked to anger ; it thinketh not euil ; 6. It reioyceth not in iniquitie, but reioyceth in the trueth : 7. It suffreth all things ; it beleueth all things ; it hopeth all things ; it endureth all things. 8. Loue doeth neuer fall away, thogh that prophecynge be abolished, or the tongues cease, or knowledge vanish away. 9. For we knowe in parte, and we prophecie in parte. 10. But when that which is perfite, is come, then that which is in parte, shalbe abolished. 11. When I was a childe, I spake as a childe, I vnderstode as a childe, I thoght as a childe ; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12. For now we se through a glasse darkely ; but then {sTial we se) fece to face. Now I knowe in parte ; but then shal I knowe euen as I am knowen. 13. And now abideth faith, hope & loue, (euen) these thre ; but the chiefest of these (is) love. In 1576, Lawrence Tomson published his revision of the New Testament. On account of the high esteem in which 260 THE SENEVAN BIBLE. [CHAP. VII. this translation was beld, it was often substituted in the Gehe- yan Bible for the New Testament version of 1560. Tomson was a noted linguist, commanding as he did a knowledge of twelve languages. He was not more celebrated for his erudi- tion than for his worth of character. The title-page of his New Testament printed in 1595 in connection with the Gene- van Old Testament, reads: "The Newe testament of ovr Lord Jesvs Christ, Translated out of Greeke by Theod. Beza. Wherevnto are adioyned briefe svmmaries of Doctrine And also Short Expositions on the Phrases and Hard Places. Englished by L. Tomson. Imprinted at London, by the IDeputies of Christopher Barker. Anno 1595. Cum priui- legio." This version differs but little from that of 1560, though it claims to be founded upon the Greek Testament of Beza. As a translation it has one marked peculiarity, that of render- ing the article as a demonstrative pronoun. To illustrate this a few verses are here given from the first chapter of the Gos- pel of John : John I. 1. In the beginning was that Word, and that Word was with God, and tliat Word was God. 4 . . . and that life was the light of men. 5. And that life shineth in the darknesse. 14. And that Word was made flesh, and dwelt among vs. 20. . . . and said plainly, I am not that Christ. 31. . . . Art thou that Prophet 1 And he answered, No. This is followed by the A. V., though the margin reads : a Prophet. 89. . . . Beholde that Lambe of God. 33. . . .1 beheld thM Spirite come downe from heauen. 41. . . . We haue found thM Messiaa which is by inter- pretation that Christ. 45. . . . Jesus tliat sonue of Joseph, that was of Nazereth. 49. . . . thoii art that Sonne of God ; thou art that King of Israel. 51. . . . and the Angels of God ascending, and descend- ing, vpon that Sonne of man. This peculiarity runs through the whole New Testament. A remarkable example is that of I. John v. 13. " He that hath 1576.] ENLAKGEMENT OF THE ENGLISH VOCABULAET. 261 that Sonne, hath that life and he that hath not that Sqpne of God, hath not that Kfe." The effect in many instances is harsh, hut the peculiarity does not mar the version from its fre- quency, as the examples above might seem to indicate, since pages may be read without meeting with a single instance. The Eheims version has enjoyed a preeminence in respect to its supposed influence in the enlargement of the English vocabulary. An extended comparison, however, will show that it must share the credit of such influence with other ver- sions, and especially with this version of Lawrence Tomson. Such words as adjure, admonish, blasphemeth, discerned, hymn, parable, ransom, reprobate, and revelation, have been credited as peculiar to the Eheims, but they all appear in this version, also in others much earlier, as the following references will show: Matt. IX. 3. . . This man hlaaphemeth. This word is found also in WyclifEe, 1380, Tyndale's N. T., 1534, Great Bible, 1539, and Genevan N. T., 1557. XIII. 31. Another paraJfe he put forth vnto them. This word is common also to Wycliffe and Tyndale. It is found likewise in the Great Bible, 1539, and the Genevan N. T., 1557. Acts. XIX. 13. . . . We adjure you by Jesus, whom Paul preacheth. This word is found also in the New Testament versions of Tyndale, Great Bible, and of Geneva, 1557. Rom. I. 28. . . . God deliuercd them vp vnto a reprobate minde. This word seems to have been adopted first by this version, which was followed by the Rheims and Authorized versions. XV. 14. . . and are able to admonish one another. This word is found also in the Genevan N. T., 1560. Tyndale, 1534, and Whittingham, 1557, read : ex- horte. I. Cor. II. 14. . . . because they are spiritually discerned. This word is found likewise in Coverdale's Bible, 1535, and in the Genevan N. T., 1557 ; while the Rheims N. T., 1582, reads : spirititaMy examined, after Tyn- dale. The word is found, however, in the Rheims N. T., chapter xi. 29 ; but after the version of 1576. 263 THE GENEVAN BIBLE. [CHAP. VII. 1. Cor. XIV. 6. . . except I speake to you, either by reuelation, or by knowledge. This word is found in all pre- vious versions. Eph. V. 19. Speaking vnto your selves in psalmes, and Tiymnea, and spiritual songs. Special credit has been given to the Eheims version for its agency in introducing this word. But it is common to all previous Eng- lish versions. The Vulgate has Tiymnis, and the Greek has Tiumnois. I. Tim. 11. 6. Who gaue himselfe a ransome for all men. This word is found also in Tyndale, 1535, and 1534; Great Bible, 1539; and the Genevan N. T., 1557. The Rheims version reads, in loco : redemption. It will be remembered in this connection that Tomson's revision and the Eheims translation were published within a half dozen years of each other ; so that while the above words are found in previous translations, yet because they enter more generally into the common speech of this age, they occur much more frequently in these than in earlier English versions. For the sake of comparison the following excerpts from Tomson's version are here transcribed : Matt. VT. 9. After this maner therefore pray ye. Our father which art in heauen, halowed be thy name. 10. Thy kingdome come. Thy will bee done euen in earth, as it is in heauen. 11. Giue vs this day our dayly bread. 13. And forgiue vs our dettes, as wee also forgiue our detters. 13. And leade vs not into temptation, but deliuer vs from euill ; for thine is the kingdome, and the power, and the glory for euer. Amen. I. Cor. XIII. 1. Though I speake with the tongues of men and Angela, and haue not loue, I am as sounding brasse, oi* ft tinkling cymbal. 3. And though I had the gift of prophesie, and knew ftU secrets and all knowledge, yea, if I had all faith, so that I could remooue mountaines, and had not loue, I were nothing. 3. And though I feede the poore with all my goods, and though I giue my body, that I be burned, and hftue not loue, it profiteth me nothing. 1576.] SPECIMENS OF TOMSON'S VEKSION'. 263 4. Loue suffereth long; it is bountifull; loue,enuieth not ; loue dotli not boast it selfe ; it is not puffed vp: 5. It doth no vncomely thing ; it seeketh not her owne things ; it is not prouoked to anger ; it thinketh no euill : 6. It reioyceth not in iniquitie, but reioyceth in the trueth ; 7. It suffreth all things ; it beleeueth all things ; it hopeth all things ; it endureth all things. 8. Loue doth neuer fall away, though that prophesyings be abolished, or the tongues cease, or knowledge vanish away. 9. For we know in part, and we prophesie in part. 10. But when that which is perfect, is come, then that which is in part, shalbe abolished. 11. When I was a childe, I spake as a childe, I vnderstood as a childe, I thought as a childe ; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 13. For now we see thorow a glasse darkely ; but then sTioll we see face to face. Now I know in part ; but then shall I know euen as I am knowen. 13. And now abideth faith, hope, and loue, euen these three ; but the chiefest of these is loue. The annotations to this version in the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles, are for the most part confined to the margins, but in the Epistles, particularly to the Eomans and Corin- thians, they are quite voluminous, frequently taking up more than half the page, and are in very small type. Mr. Tomsou's design was, that every dark sentence and doubtful word " should be made so plain that all might go through with it without wandering or going astray." As seen from the title-page, he lays no claim to originality, but distinctly asserts that the expositions are taken out of the large annota- tions of Beza and others. These notes are found in all the books excepting that of Kevelation, concerning which he says: "I haue not thought good to put forth any such thing vpon the Eeuelation as I haue upon the other books." But in the edition of 1595, there is added to the book of Eevela- tion, " A briefe and learned Commentarie, Written by Franc. 364 THE GEifEVAN BIBLE. [CHAP. VII. Junius, &c." This translation of 1576 with its annotations was so acceptable, that it was printed and bound up with the Old Testament of the Genevan Bible, and published in Edinburgh by Andrew Hart, 1610. These Bibles were held in such esteem that it was considered a recommendation years after- wards, that an edition of the Bible should be conformed to that printed by Andrew Hart. The Genevan Bible, whether made up of the New Testa- ment of 1560, 1557, or that of 1576, met with unbounded popularity ; and on this very account was opposed by the bishops of the Church of England. The translation was admired by some of them, on account of its scholarship, but denounced by others as coming from Geneva. Objections were made to the preface, that it touched too severely upon ceremonies retained in the English Church service. Serious objections were raised against the marginal notes, some of which were thought to affect the Queen's prerogative, by allowing the subject under certain circumstances to resist rulers. One of these objectionable notes is upon II. Ohron. XV. 16. And King Asa deposed Maachah his mother from her regencie, because she had made an idole in a groue ; and Asa brake downe her idole, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brooke Kidron. The objectionable comment upon this reads : " And herein he shewed that he lacked zeale ; for she ought to haue dyed both by the couenant, as vers 13, and by the Law of God ; but he gaue place to foolish pitie, and would also seeme after a sort to satisfie the Lawe." Another exceptionable note was that on Exodus xix. 24. The com- ment on which passage reads : " Neither dignitie nor multitude haue auctoritie to passe the bounds, that Gods worde prescribeth." Besides the bishops urged that it was a foreign book, in that it was neither translated or printed in England. The Eoman Catholics were especially bitter in their opposition. One John Hamilton, a secular priest and a political intriguer, attacked the Genevan Bible soon after its first appearance. He impugned both the translation and the 1611.] THE GESTEVAK AND AUTHORIZED VERSIONS. 265 notes, whenever they failed to support Romish traditions con- cerning purgatory, the holy virgin, prayers for the dead, and Christ's "pretious bodie and bluid." His solemn warning was : " Therefore, I beseek you, dissaivet people, to burn your corrupt Scot's Bibles in the fire, that your sauls be not tor- mentit with the intolerable pains of the fires of hell." ' But the shrewdest and most scholarly attack was made by Gregory Martin, who was a thorough linguist, and the first among the translators of the Rheims version. His attack was against English translations in general, and the Genevan version in particular. The main charge, reiterated again and again, was that Protestant translations wilfully and intentionally cor- rupted the Holy Scriptures; that such "foule dealing," and such " partiall and false translations " were made on purpose to further heretical opinions.^ These charges were ably con- futed by William Fulke, Master of Pembroke Hall, Cam- bridge. Fulke's defense has not only outlived the charges, but by its vitality has kept them in existence.^ But the quiet move of the bishops, in which Archbishop Parker led the way, to put forth a new version, was designed to be the most effectual blow against the Genevan Bible. But in fact it proved the least hurtful. The pubhcation of the Bishops' Bible, however, constitutes an epoch in the history of English versions, and will be treated of in the next chapter. While, therefore, the Genevan Bible survived all opposition for more than three-quarters of a century, yet at last it was superseded by the Authorized version. And this was by reason of the fact that the Genevan Bible bequeathed its excellencies to the Authorized version. So that, notwith- standing, it still lives in its influence and makes the Au- thorized version what it is now and what it has been for two and a half centuries, the accepted Bible of all English speaking people. 1 Eadie's History of tlie English Bible, II., 56. London, 1876. ' Fulke's Defense of English Translations, pp. 1-54. London, 1617. ' Fbid. In which the charges are set down as well as the answers. CHAPTEK YIII. THE BISHOPS' BIBLE. A.D. 1568. THE reign of Queen Elizabeth was a transitional' period. In ecclesiastical affairs nothing was settled. The short reign of Edward VI. gave an impetus to Protestant principles which bade fair to decide the question of supremacy between the Old and New learning. A serious check, however, was given to this progress by the short but fierce reign of Queen Mary. But now the friends of the Reformation look upon the accession of Elizabeth with joy and heartfelt relief. Pro- testantism, just returned from exile, is stronger in its convic- tions and broader in its designs. Abroad it came in contact with men and ideas, and by such contact gained in self-respect; while at home it had been tried in the fire and thereby purified and made stronger. At the first the reformers were oyer confident in respect to the friendship of Elizabeth. They attempted radical changes, such as "to set up King Edward's Service, to pull down Images, and to affront the Priests."* But in this they met with an efiectual check from the qneen, who, though slow in developing her policy, soon made it evident that not even the English Church, much less the Genevan Party, had anything to expect from her by way of partial favors. Passing between the extremes of Edward and Mary, she followed the eccle- siastical policy of her royal father, thinking by a middle course to reconcile opposing parties. She insisted, however, that there should be no persecution for opinion's sake, that the consciences of all shonld be respected. The two great ideals of Queen ' Burnet's History of the Beformatton in England,, II., B. III., p. 378. London, 1683. 1559.] ELIZABETH FAVORED THE ROMISH CHURCH. 267 Elizabeth were, order in the State and uniformly in the Church. And the latter, contrary to her boasted respect for the individual's conscience, was to be enforced for the sake of the former. During the reign of Henry VIII., the Church was made the child of the State, and political considerations ruled in ecclesiastical affairs. So under Queen Elizabeth, though she refused spiritual supremacy in form and title,' yet held bishops and deans subject to her royal will. She berated them to their faces,^ and in writing to them threatened to unfrock them if they did not comply with her requests.' Dead to religious convictions, serious controversies in religion had no interest to her. "She was a child of the Italian Eenascence," says Green, "rather than of the New Learning of Colet and Erasmus ; and her attitude towards the enthu- siasm of her time, was that of Lorenzo de Medici towards Savonarola."* The Keformation in England might have been thorough and evangelical had it not been for Queen EUzabeth. There was, on the part of the leaders of the evangelical party, the requi- site spirituality, learning, and ability to have accomplished a grand work, especially since the people, weary of the Marian persecution, were so well prepared for it. But Elizabeth ignored the power of the Gospel, and having a decided distaste to Puritan simplicity, determined to hold to a part at least of the pomp and magnificence of the Eomish Church. Her ' Bumef s History of the Reformation in England, III., B. VI., p. 274. "The Queen," says Jewel, "did very Solemnly refuse to be called the Head of the Church. She thought that Title was only due to Christ." ' " ' Leave that alone,' she shouted to Dean Nowell from the royal closet, as he denounced the use of images ; ' stick to your text, Master Dean ; leave that alone.' " As cited in Green's Short History of the Eng- lish People, p. 384. New York, 1877. ' "Proud prelate," she wrote, "you know what you were before I made you what you are ! If you do not immediately comply with my request 1 will unfrock you." Cited as above, p. 383, with the shock- ing oath here omitted. < lUd, p. 381. 368 THE BISHOPS' BIBLE. [CHAP. VIII. opinion was that images were not contrary to the word of God, and that the use of them in the churches " might be a means to stir up Devotion, and that at least, it would draw all People to frequent them the more ; for the great measure of her Councils was, to unite the whole Nation unto one way of Eeligion." i And for the sake of established order, she deter- mined upon a compromise in things indifferent, to which both Papists and Protestants must submit. Elizabeth held to the vain hope that the time would come when Catholic and An- glican "could come together on some moderate common ground."^ But this forced unity only begot diversity, and this constrained order only brought forth discord. So that from the beginning the establishment of Elizabeth pleased neither of the parties. " To the ultra Protestants it was no better than Romanism ; to the Catholics or partial Catholics it was in schism from the Communion of Christendom ; while the great middle party, the common sense of the country of whom Elizabeth was the representative, were uneasy and dis- satisfied."' Ecclesiastical partyism was rife in the time of Elizabeth. The Catholics, though under ban, experienced a secret but powerful revival. Priests disguised in " serving-men's apparel " swarmed in the North. And in other parts of England, though not permitted to preach, they administered mass in private chapels and reopened the iniquities of " the spiritual courts." They maintained "the Pope's authority," and revived the ancient usages of " commuting penances for money, compound- ing for moral enormities, and grinding the widow and the orphan by their fees and extortions."* While popery, thus revived, maintained its unity. Protestantism was divided, and yet strong notwithstanding its divisions. Non-conformists grew vigorous by conflict. The Puritan was a sturdy defender of his bald and radical principles ; and had it not been for ' Burnet's History of the Beformation, U., B. III., p. 397. London, 1863. ' Froude's History of England, IX., 333. New York, 1889. » Ibid, p. 172. " Ibid, X,, 111. 1559.] THE EVANGELICAL SPIRIT PEEVAILED. 269 his deep convictions and fierce energy, the Englfeh Church party would have been swallowed up by Catholic fanaticism. In the meantime the Presbyterians became a distinct party, setting up a new ecclesiastical polity with its corresponding discipline. They became, as it were, a wheel within a wheel ; all of which gave no little offense to the State establishment. But in the midst of this party strife there existed a pure evangelical spirit among bishops and clergy, and likewise among the people. To those who had the interests of a pure Gospel at heart, the times were at least hopeful. Bishop Jewel, in his letters at the close of the year 1559, wrote : " The People were much better disposed to the Gospel, than it was apprehended they could be." At the same time he expressed his fears : " That tho' Things were begun well, they would not end so well." * Again he wrote : " We hope our Bishops shall be Pastors, Labourers, and Watchmen, .... That so being de- livered from that King-like Pomp, .... may have more Leisure to take care of Christ's Flock with due Attention."^ Ee- ferring to the exciting debates springing up at that time re- specting vestments, which he calls the " Habit of the Stage," he expresses a wish that it may be very soon done away with. Again he writes : " That the Doctrine was everywhere purely preached"; though in many places there was "too much Folly concerning Ceremonies and Masks. The Crucifix con- tinued still in the Queen's Chapel. They all spake freely against it, but till then without effect." ' He was told " that it was resolved on to have Crucifixes, of Silver or Tin, set up in all Churches ; and that such as would not obey this, would be turned out of their Bishoprics. If that was true, he would be no longer a Bishop." * In the early part of the year 1560 he again wrote : " That a Change appeared now more visably among the People. Nothing promoted it, more than the Inviting the People to Sing Psalms. That was begun in one t • ■. ' Burnet's History of the Beformcction, III., P. III., B. TI., p. 388. London, 1683. « lUd, p. 389. « lUd, p. 389. " lUd, p. 390. 370 THE BISHOPS' BIBLE. [CHAP. VIII. Churcli in London, and did quickly spread itself not only thro' the City, but in the Neighbouring Places ; Sometimes at Paul's Cross there will be 6000 People Singing together. This was very grievous to the Papists." * In morals and manners the age of Elizabeth is justly characterized by the extremes of a refined barbarism, and an overwrought civilization. Education was confined to the few ; and too often it assumed the form of affectation or pedantry. Magnificence in action, speech and dress, ruled from the queen and cortier, down to the page and most menial servant. Silk, satin and velvet, gaudy in color, and enriched with gold, adorned both gentlemen and ladies. Servants in swords and bucklers, assumed the dignity of gentlemen. It was the artificial that was esteemed. Stateliness in form and appearance was everything. Extravagance was the rule and pride the ruler. The coarse in word and deed, by the au- thority of the refined, was made respectable. Language was racked for refined and far-fetched oaths, which in the mouths of both sexes, were considered elegant. But this mask was sometimes dropped, even by the queen, when "she rated great nobles as if they were school-boys ; . . . she would break, now and then, into the gravest deliberations, to swear at her ministers like a fish wife."^ Bear-bating was among their fashionable amusements; and the Sabbath was chosen as the fittest time for such exhibitions, to which crowds flocked to witness the savage scene. Fuller refers to a spectacle of this kind, " where multitudes were gathered, .... when the scaffolding gave way, killing eight persons outright and bruising many others." Besides, it was considered a proper diversion for royal personages, even of the softer sex. "In the year 1554, while the princess Elizabeth resided at Hat- field-house, in Hertfordshire, under the custody of Sir Thomas Pope, she was visited by queen Mary. The next ' Burnet's History of the Reformation, p. 290. ^ Green's Short Eist. of the Eng. People, p. 376. New York, 1877. 1526-68.] SABBATH OBSEETANCB. 271 morning, after mass, they were entertained with»a grand exhibition of bear-bating, with which their highnesses were right well content."^ Besides bear-bating, "frayes and fights" between sword and buckler men were of common occurrence on Sundays and holidays. These quarrels were by appointment as well as by chance. " Sometimes, twenty, thirty and forty swords and bucklers, halfe against halfe," would be engaged ; and although " they made great shew of much furie, and fought often, yet seldome any man was hurt In the winter season all the high streets were much annoyed and troubled with hourly frayes."^ These "brag- ging fights " were common " untill the 20th year of Queen Elizabeth." » For the most part the manners of Ehzabeth's court were adopted by that of James I. Yet in many particulars there was an advance in public sentiment towards the close of her reign as to the character of the amusements and the time for indulging in them. The reform in Sabbath ob- servance was most remarkable. " The Lords Day, especially in Corporations began to be precisely kept, people becoming a Laio to themselves, forbearing such sports, as yet by statute permitted On this day the stoutest fencer laid down the luckier, the most skillful Archer unient his bow ; some of them were ashamed of their former pleasures, like children, which grown bigger, blushing themselves out of their rattles and whistles. Others forbear them for fear of their Superiors, and many left them oflE out of a Politick Compliance, least otherwise they should be accounted licentious."* Public opinion, however, was much at variance upon the question of Sabbath observance, some embracing it as an ancient truth in accordance with Scripture and vital piety, while others straitly opposed it " as galling men's necks with a Jewish yoak. ' Warton's History of English Poetry, II., 391. London, 1778. ' Johnson and Steven's Shakespeare, IX., note, p. 132. London, 1793. ' Ibid, p. 123. * Fuller's Church History of Britain^ B. IX., p. 227. London, 1655. 273 THE BISHOPS' BIBLE. [CHAP. VIII. against the liberty of Christians." » About the year 1595 an able defense of the Christian Sabbath was put forth by Dr. Bound, who maintained that the commandment as found in the Decalogue was a moral commandment, and therefore perpetually binding.^ The progress of this and of other moral reforms during the time of Elizabeth, are traceable directly to the influence of the English Bible. Since 1526 the New Testament has been scattered broadcast among the people. And since 1535 and 1537, there has been no lack of the Holy Scriptures in the mother tongue. To the praise of Queen Elizabeth be it said, that during her reign the people were free to print, circulate and read the Bible as their consciences dictated. There was an edition of Cranmer's Bible, 1540, published during this reign, but the Genevan Bible was in the greatest demand. Numerous editions of the New Testament of the Genevan version, also of Tyndale's translation, were printed and put into circulation. In all this the people were satisfied, but the bishops were ill at ease. Very soon after the accession of Elizabeth they set themselves about the publishing a new version of the Bible. The result of this undertaking was the Bishops' Bible of 1568. Matthew Parker, bishop of Canterbury, was the leader in this enterprise. Among his reasons for setting forth a new version was, that the copies of the Great Bible were so scarce that it was impossible to supply the churches ; notwithstand- ing, a new edition of the Great Bible was published in 1562, also in 1566.8 Another reason was that these Bibles were " very faultily printed." He might have added still another to the effect, that he hoped by putting forth a new version, to supersede the Genevan Bible, which was becoming more and more popular with the people, and which was most distasteful to the archbishop on account of its being the representative Fuller's Church History of Britain, B. IX., p. 228. ' lUd, p. 227. Andfirson's Annali of the Eng. Bible, p. 461. 1563-68. J RULES FOR THE REVISION. 373 of Puritanism and Nonconformity. Though the archbishop was a scholar, a hberal patron of learning, and a man of un- questioned piety, yet he was so thoroughly attached to the queen's policy of reducing the under clergy to one way of thinking and acting, that he had little sympathy with any thing that stood in the way of conformity to the new ec- clesiastical regulations. Parker's plan for revising the Bible was the same as that attempted by Archbishop Cranmer, in which Parker was more successful, since the clergy are now in sympathy with the English Scriptures, as they were not in Cranmer's time. The initials of the several bishops to whom the different portions or books were allotted, were printed at the close of the dis- tinctive portions assigned to each of them. These differ somewhat, and yet they agree substantially with the list in- closed in the archbishop's letter to Secretary Cecil, dated October 5, 15C8. Besides these a Mr. Lawrence is often quoted as having to do with the revision of the New Testament of this Bible. He was an eminent Greek scholar, and doubtless was often consulted. Lawrence's strictures were upon the New Testament translation of the Great Bible. These he presented to the archbishop.' Many of his emendations were adopted in the second edition of the Bishops' Bible, published in 1573. Westcott places Lawrence among the New Testament revisers. "An examination," he says, "of a difficult passage of an Epistle will prove that the reviser who corrected it was not deficient in originality and vig- orous scholarship."' In Parker's letter to Cecil, which con- tained the list of revisers, there were inclosed also the rules or directions to be followed by them, which were as follows : " First, to follow the common English translation used in the churches, and not to recede from it, hut where it varieth manifestly from the Hebrew or Greek original." • Townley's Biblical Literature, III., 180. London, 1821. 5 Westcott's History of the Eng. Bible, p. 249. 274 THE BISHOPS' BIBLE. [CHAP. VIII. " Item — To use sections and divisions in the text as Pagnine in his trans- lation useth, and for the verity of the Hebrew to foLow the said Pagnine and Miinster specially, and generally others learned in the tongues." " Item — To make no bitter notes upon any text, or yet to set down any determination in places of controversy." "Item — To note such chapters and places as contain matter of genealo- gies, or other such places, not edifying with some strike or note, that the reader may eschew them in his public reading." " Item — That all such words as sound in the old translation, to any offence of lightness or obscenity, be expressed with more convenient terms and phrases." ' In this work the Archbishop had the sympathy and co-opera- tion of his bishops. Sandys wrote : " Your Grace should much benefit the Church, in hastening forward the Bible which you have in hand ; those that we have be not only false printed but also give great offence to many by reason of the depravity in reading." Again he says: "According to your Grace's let- ter of instruction I have perused the book you sent me and with good diligence; having also in conference with some other considered of the same, in such sort, I trust, as your Grace will not mislike of. In mine opinion your Grace shall do well to make the whole Bible to be diligently surveyed by some well learned before it be put to print." ^ In May, 1566, Bishop Cox wrote : " I trust your Grace is well forward with the Bible by this time. I perceive the greatest burden will lie upon your neck, touching care and travail. I would wish that such usual words as we English people be acquainted with might stiU remain in their form and sound, so far forth as the Hebrew will well bear ; ink-born terms to be avoided. The translation of the verbs in the Psalms to be used uniformly in one tense."' Letters written by the other bishops were in the same spirit. They promised to use diligence in revising the parts assigned to them. In November, 1566, Parker intimated his design to Cecil. He wrote : "I have distributed the Bible to divers men. I am desirous, if you could spare so much leisure either ' Pa.rker'B Oorrespondence,p. 336. As cited by Eadie's fiis*. 5f&^e, II., 70. " Westcott's Mat. Eng. Bible, p. 100. » lUd, p. 101. 1568.] THE " QEACIOUS FAVOUR " NOT GRAKTBD. 275 in morning or evening, we had one Epistle of St. «Paul, St. Peter, or St. James perused by you, that ye may be one of the builders of this good work in Christ's Church." ' So far as Archbishop Parker was the prime mover in this work, the Bible is rightly designated as " Parker's Bible." Sometimes it is called " Queen Elizabeth's Bible," not from any part taken by her in furthering the enterprise, but simply on account of its being the only newly revised edition of the Bible done in England and issued during her reign. But the most significant name is that of " Bishops' Bible," so called from the active co-operation of the bishops in the work of revision. The work was begun in 1563-4, and was not completed till 1568. In presenting a bound copy to the queen, the arch- bishop wrote to Secretary Cecil, that his purpose was to offer the same in person, but ill health preventing, he begged the secretary to "present the copy with his letter, in which he wrote : " Pleaseth it your highness to accept in good part the endeavour and diligence of some of us your chaplains, my brethren the bishops, with other certain learned men, in this new edition of the Bible. I trust by comparison of divers translations put forth in your realm, will appear as well the workmanship of the printer, as the circumspection of all such as have travailed in the recognition." ^ He calls attention to the fewness of the changes, also to the general faithfulness in the work of revision, and beseeches the queen that it may have her " gracious favour, licence and protection." * In the same letter to Cecil he urges him to see " that this edition might be licensed and only commended in public reading in churches, to draw to one uniformity, it were no great cost to the most parishes, and a relief to him for his great charges sustained." ■* The queen did not accede to the request of the archbishop. She gave no sort of sanction or license for the special issue of the Bishops' Bible. John Bodleigh had received a special license for printing the Genevan Bible, but such "gracious ' Eadie's Hist. Eng. Bible, II. , 70. ' Eadie's Eng. Bible, II., 73, 74. " In the sense of revision. * Ibid, p. 74. 276 THE BISHOPS' BIBLE. [OHAP. VIII. favour " was refused Archbishop Parker. " Not till 1577 was an edition printed ' set forth by authoritie ' — ^that is, not royal, only episcopal authority." i This royal refusal is all the more remarkable when we consider the motive of the archbishop in putting forth a version of the Bible that should commend itself as the one Bible to be exclusively used in the churches, and thus to draw "to one uniformity," which was the cher-- ished idol of Queen Elizabeth. The title-pages of this Bible are noticeable for their sim- plicity. A copy of the edition of 1575, before me, wants the title-page to the Old Testament, but has separate titles attached to the books of Joshua, the Psalms, and the Apocrypha, as well as to the New Testament. The title-page prefixed to the book of Joshua consists of an engraved architectural device or border, in the centre of which are the words : " The seconde part of the Bible conteining these bookes following." The list comprises the books from Joshua to Job, inclusive. At the top of the page stands the date " 1575," and at the bottom the words " God sane the Queen." The title-page to the Psalms has the same engraved border, the words in the center of which read: "The thtrde parte of the Bible conteining these Bookes." This list comprises all the books of the Bible from the book of Psalms to that of Malachi, inclusive. The title to the Apocrypha reads : " The volume of the bookes called the Apocrypha, conteyning these bookes following." This list comprises aU the books from the third of Esdras to the second of Maccabees, inclusive. The title to the New Testament has the same border as to the design, with these words in the cen- ter : " The newe Testament of our sauiour lesus Christe, Eom. I. I am not ashamed of the Gospell of Christe, bycause it is the power of God vnto saluation to all that beleeue." The Bishops' Bible went forth ■without a dedication ; but it contained the prologue of Archbishop Cranmer and a preface by Archbishop Parker. In his preface Parker insists that the command. Search the Scriptures, "applies to every man, ' Eadie's Eng. BMe, II., 7S. 1568.] BASED UPON" CEANMER'S BIBLE. 2711 woman, or child." And to rightly obey the command, "the Scriptures must be read with an humble spirit (and) con- tinual prayer"; also with "purity of life," and with "per- petual perseverance." He also defends the Scriptures against ' ' hatred of either any Porphyrian Philosopher or Ehetorician " ; and specially against the "envy of the Komanists," who say " under subtil Pretences," that it is " a perilous matter to . translate the Text of the Holy Scripture, and therefore it cannot be wel translated." ' Eemarking on his own version, he urges not to be " offended with the diversitie of Translators, nor with the ambiguity of Translations. Since of congruence, no Offence can justly be taken for this new labour, nothing prejudicing any other Man's Judgment by this doing ; nor yet hereby pro- fessing this to be so absolute a Translation as that hereafter might follow no other that might see that which as yet was not understood." 2 He concludes with an exhortation : "Oft to call upon the Holy Spirit of God, our Heavenly Father, by the Mediation of our Lord and Saviour, with the words of the octo- nary Psalm of David,^ and to pray to Almighty God with that wise King Solomon in his very words Sapient, IX." * Cranmer's Bible, 1540, was chosen as the basis of this revi- sion. While it was the accepted version of the English Church, yet it was so inferior to the Genevan Bible that it was unac- ceptable to many who were prominent in the episcopal party. Complaints were made even before the issue of the Genevan Bible against Cranmer's version, although at the same time it was admitted that as a version it was " nearer the Hebrew than the translation usually ascribed to Jerome." = Parker's first ' Preface, as cited by Lewis' Hist. Eng. Bible, p. 343. « lUd, p. 245. * Psalm CXIX. Called the " octonary Psalm" from the fact that each of its twenty-two paragraphs which correspond to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, is made up of eight verses. It is noticeable also that the eight verses of each paragraph begin with the same Hebrew letter. * Ecdesiagtes, chap. ix. * The words of Bishop Hooper written in 1554, as cited by Eadie's Eng. BMe, 11., 66. 378 THE BISHOPS' BIBLE. [CHAP. VIII. rule for the guidance of the reyisers was: "To follow the common English translation used in the churches." This rule was specially carried out in revising the Old Testament. The following is inserted as an example in which the changes are slight, confining themselves to words and phrases : Gen. XLV. 1. Joseph could no longer refrayne before all the that stoode by him, wherfore he cryed, Cause euery man to auoyde. Cranmer's Bible reads : irynge furth all tlie men fro me. 2. And he wept aloude, and the Egyptians, and the house of Pharao hearde. Cranmer's Bible reads: so that the Egyptians, and the house of Pharao heard it. 4. And Joseph sayde vnto his brethren. Come neare to me, I praye you. These words are not in Cranmer's Bible, 1540. 5. Now therefore be not greeued herewith, ... for God dyd sende me before you, to preserue life. Cranmer's Bible has : therewith, and to aaue life. 7. Wherfore God sent me before you, to preserue you a pos- teritie in the earthe. Cranmer's Bible reads : to make prouision that ye might continue in y« earth. 8. So nowe it was not ye that sente me hyther, but God, which hath made me a father to Pharao, and Lord of all his house. Cranmer's Bible has : you, and unto. 10. And thou shalte dwell in the lande of Gosen, "and be a neyghboure vnto me." Cranmer's Bible has: and be iy me. 11. And there will I prouide thee sustenance. Cranmer's Bible has : And there wyll I make prouision for thee. 13. Therefore tell my father of all my glory in Egypt. Cran- mer's Bible has : honoure. 16. And the fame (therof) was heard in Pharao's house. Cranmer's Bible reads : And the tydynges came vnto Pharao's house. 17. . . . This doe yee, lade youre beastes, and goe {and) retovrne vnto the land of Chanaan. Cran- mer's Bible reads : get you hence vnto the land of Canaan. 18. . . . and ye shall eate the fat of the lande. Craumer has : of the fat of the lande. 19. . . . Thus.io yee. Cranmer has : this do yee. 1568.] SPECIMENS FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT. 279 20. Also " regard not your stuffe, for the good of the land of Egypt is yours. Cranmer reads : all the land of Egypt is yours. 23. . . . laden with come, and bread, and meate. Cranmer has : corne, bread and meate. 34. So sente he his brethren away, and tJiey departed; and he sayde vnto them, See that ye fall to no strife on the way. Cranmer's Bible reads : So sente he his breth- ren away, to departe ; . . . . fall not out iy the waj-. The following extracts are here inserted as specimens of the translation of the Bishops' Bible, from a copy of the edition, 1575, which is a reprint of the second edition of 1573. Gen. XXII. 1. After these sayings, God did tempt Abraham, and sayde vnto him, Abraham? Which aunswered, Here I am. 2. And he sayd. Take thy sonne, thine only sonne Isahac, whome thou louest, and get thee vnto the land Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering, vppon one of the mountaynes whiche I wiU shewe thee. 3. Then Abraham rose vp early in the morning, and sadled his Asse, and tooke two of his yong menne with him, and Isahac hys sonne, and clone wood for the burnt offering, and rose vp, and got him to the place, which God had appointed him. 4. The third day Abraha lift vp his eyes, and sawe the place a' farre of ; 5. And sayd vnto his yong men. Bide heere with the Asse, I and the ladde will goe yonder and woor- ship, and come agayne to you. 6. And Abraham tooke the wood of the burnt offering, and layde it vppon Isahac hys sonne ; but he him- selfe tooke fire in his hand, and a knife, and they wente both of them togyther. 7. Then spake Isahac vnto Abraham hys father, and sayde, My father. And he answered, Here am I, my Sonne. He sayde. See, here is fire and wood ; but where is the beast for burnt sacrifice ? 8. Abraham answered, My God vril prouide a beast for burnt sacrifice ; and so they went bath togyther. 280 THE BISHOPS' BIBLE. [CHAP. VIII. 9. Aad when they came to the place whyche God had shewed him, Abraham builte an altare ther, and dressed the wood, and hound Isahac his sonne, and layde him on the altare aboue vpon the wood. 10. And Abraham stretching foorthe hys hande, tooke the knife to haue killed hys sonne. 11. And the Angell of the Lorde called vuto him from heauen, saying, Abraham, Abraham. And he sayd, Here {am) I. 12. And he sayde, Lay not thy hand vpon the childe, ney- ther doe any thing vnto hym, for now I know that thou fearest God, and hast for my sake not spared (yea) thyne only sonne. 13. And Abraham lifting vp his eyes, looked ; and beholde, behinde (Jiym) there was a Ramme caught by the homes in a thicket ; and Abraham wet and tooke , the Ramme, and offered him vp for a burnt offering in the steede of his Sonne. 14. And Abraham called the name of the place, The Lord wil see. As it is sayde thys daye, In the Mount will the Lorde be seene. 15. And the Angell of the Lorde cried vnto Abraham from heauen the second tyme, 16. And sayde, By my selfe haue I sworne, sayth the Lorde, bycause thou hast done this thing, and hast not spared (j/ea) thine only sonne. 17. That in blessing, I will blesse thee, and in multiply- ing, I will multiplye thy seede as the starres of heauen, and as the sande whiche is vppon the sea side, and thy seede shall possesse the gates of his enimies. 18. And in thy seede shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, bycause thou hast heard my voyce. 19. So toumed Abraham againe vnto hys young men ; and they rose vp, and went together to Beer-seba, and Abraham dwelt at Beer-seba. Psalm XXni. 1. The Lorde is my sheapehearde ; therefore can I lacke nothing. 3. He shall feed me in a greene pasture ; and lead me forth besides the waters of comfort. 3. Hee shall conuert my soule ; and bring mee foorth in the pathes of righteousness, for hys names sake. 1568.] IMPORTANT VERBAL CHANGES. 281 4. Yea thoughe I walke through the valley of the shadow of death, I will feare no euill ; for thou ajt with me, thy rodde and thy stafFe comfort me. 5. Thou Shalt prepare a Table before mee, agaynst them that trouble mee ; thou hast annoynted my heade with Oyle, and my cuppe shall be full. 6. But thy louing kindnesse and mercie shall follow me all the dayes of my life ; and I will dwell in the house of the Lorde foreuer. The New Testament of the Bishops' Bible shows better scholarship and more careful work. But like the New Tes- tament of the Great Bible and all previous revisions, it is largely a reproduction of Tyndale's translation. A careful comparison will show, however, that this revision made im- portant verbal changes, some of which found their way into the Authorized version. In some instances the influence of the Genevan version is perceptible ; while in other cases, where marked improvements had been introduced in the Genevan, they were ignored by this version. For the sake of illustrations take a portion of the eighth chapter of Komans. Bom. VIII. 15. For yee haue not receyued the spirite of bondage agayne to feare ; bat ye haue receyued the spirite of adoption, whereby we crye, Abba, father. The Great Bible after Tyndale has : to feare eny moare. 16. The spirite it selfe beareth witnesse to our spirite, that we are the sonnes of God. This happy phrase ia after the Genevan and was adopted by the Au- thorized version. Tyndale and the Great Bible read : certifieth. 17. If we be sonnes, then are we also heires, the heyres of God, and ioint heyrei wyth Christ ; so that we suffer togeather, that wee may be also glorifyed togeather. Joint heirs is peculiar to the Bishops' and is followed by the Authorized version. Tyn- dale has : anexed with Christ ; and is followed by the Great Bible, also by the Genevan version. In the second clause however Tyndale reads : If sobe that we suffer togedder ; and is followed by the Great Bible, also by the A. V. 382 THE BISHOPS' BIBLE. [CHAP. VIII. 18. For I am certainely perswaded, that the afflictions of this time, are not worthy of the glory which shall be shewed vpon vs. Tyndale reads : For I sup- pose that the afflictions of thys lyfe ; and is fol- lowed by the Great Bible. 19. For the earnest expectation of the creature abydeth, looking when the sonnes of God shall appeare. This i& followed by the A. V. Tyndale has : fervent desyre ; and is followed by the Great Bible. 20. Bycause the creature is subject to vanitie not wyUing, but for hym whiche hathe subdued the same iu hope. The Great Bible has : is subdued to vanitie against ye will therof, but for his will which hath subdued y" same in hope. 21. For tfie creature it selfe shall he made free ixam. the bondage of corruption. The Great Bible has : For the same creature shalbe ddiuered from the bondage of corrupcion. 23. . . . and we our selues mourne in our selues, waging for the adoption (euen) the deliuer- ance of our body. The Great Bible reads , moame in our selu€S also, and waite for the adop- cion (of the children of God) euen for the deliuer- aunce of our bodye. 26. Likewise the spirite also helpeth our infirmities. For we knowe not what to desire as we ought ; but the spirite it selfe maketh great intercession for vs, with gronings whiche can not be expressed. The Great Bible has : maketh intercession for vs. 29. For those whiche he knewe before, he also dyd pre- destinate, that they shoulde be lyke fashioned vnto the shape of his sonne. The Great Bible reads after Tyndale : ordeined before. 30. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them also he called. The Great Bible has : whom he appointed before, them b,1so he hath called. 32. Whiche spared not hya owne sonne, but gaue hym for vs all ; howe shall he not with hym also gyue vs al things ? This is after Tyndale, and is followed by the A. V. The Great Bible reads : how can It be, y' with him 7te shoulde not geue us all thinges also. 34. . . . yea rather which is raysed again. The Great Bible has :. . . .is risen againe. 1567.] SPECIMEJS'S FEOM THE NEW TESTAMEKT. 283 35. Who shall seperate vb from the loue of Ohritt ? The Great Bible has : the loue of &od f 36. (. . . . and are counted as sheepe /or