Defense of the Translations of the Scriptures into the English Tongue, Title page – Response to preface
¶ A DEFENSE of the sincere and true Translations of the holie Scriptures into the English tong, against the manifolde cauils, friuolous quarels, and impudent slaunders of GREGORIE MARTIN, one of the readers of Popish diuinitie in the trayterous Seminarie of Rhemes.
By WILLIAM FVLKE D. in Diuinitie, and M. of Pembroke haule in Cambridge.
Wherevnto is added a briefe confutation of all such quarrels & cauils, as hauehave bene of late vttered by diuerse Papistes in their English Pamphlets, against the writings of the saide WILLIAM FVLKE.
AT LONDON: Imprinted by Henrie Bynneman. Anno. 1583.
Cum gratia & Priuilegio.
To the moste high and mightie Princesse, Elizabeth by the grace of God Queene of England, Fraunce, and Irelande, defender of the fayth, &c.
AMONG THE inestimable benefits, wherwith almightie God, hath woonderfully blessed this your Maiesties most honourable and prosperous gouernement: it is not to be numbred among the least, that vnderunder your most gratious and Christian protection, the people of your Highnes dominions, hauehave enioyed the most necessarie and comfortable reading of the holy Scriptures in their mother tongue and natiue language. Which exercise although it hath of long time, by the aduersaries of Him, that willeth the Scriptures to be searched (especially those of our nation) beene accompted little better, than an haereticall practise: And treatises hauehave bene written, praetending to shew great inconvenienceD. Standish. D. Heskins. of hauing the holie Scriptures in the vulgar tongue: Yet now at length perceiuing they can not preuaile, to bring in that dar…knesse and ignorance of Gods most sacred word, and wil therin contained, wherby their blind deuotiō the daughter of ignorance, as they them selues professe, was wont to make them rulers of the world: they also at the last are become Translators of the Newe Testament into English. In which, that I speak nothing of their insincere purpose, in leauing the pure fountaine of the original veritie, to folow the croked streame of their barbarous vulgar Latin translatiō, which (beside al other manifeste corruptions) is founde defectiue in more than an hundred places, as your Maiestie, according to the excellet knowledge in both the tongs wherwith God hath blessed you, is verie well able to iudge: And to omit euen the same Booke of their translation, pestred with so many annotations, both false and vnduetifull, by which, vnderunder colour of the authoritie of holie Scriptures, they seeke to infecte the mindes of the credulous readers, with haeretical and superstitious opinions, and to alienate their harts from yelding due obedience to your Maiestie, and your most Christian lawes concerning true Religion established: And that I may passe ouer the verie Text of their translation, obscured without anie necessarie or iust cause, with suche a multitude of so strange and vnusuall termes, as to the ignorant are no lesse difficult to vnderstande, than the Latine or Greeke it self: Yet is it not meete to be concealed, that they which neither truely, nor praecisely, hauehave translated their owne vulgare Latin, and only Authenticall text, hauehave neuerthelesse bene bolde, to set forth a seuerall Treatise, in which most slanderously and vniustly, they accuse all our English translations of the Bible, not of small imperfections and ouersightes committed through ignorance or negligence, but of no lesse than most foule dealing, in partiall & false translations, wilfull and haereticall corruptions.
Against which most leude and vntrue accusation, though easie to be iudged of, by such as be learned in the tongues, yet daungerous to disquiet the conscience of them that be ignorant in the same: I hauehave written a short and necessarie Defense. Which although not labored in words, yet in matter I hope sufficient to auoide all the aduersaries cauilles: I am most humbly to craue pardon, that I may be bolde to dedicate vntounto your most excellent Maiestie, that vnderunder whose high & Christian authoritie, your people hauehave so many yeares enioyd the reading of the holie bookes of GOD in their natiue language, to the euerlasting benefit of many thousand soules: VnderUnder the same your most gratious & roial protection, they may reade also the Defense of the syncere and faithfull translation of those Bookes, to the quieting of their consciences, and the confusion of the aduersaries of Gods truth and holie religion. By which they may be stirred vp more and more, in all duetifull obedience, not only to be thankeful vntounto your Maiestie as it becommeth them, but also to continewe their most earnest and hartie prayers to almightie God, for this your moste godlie and happie regiment ouer them, for many yeares forwarde to be prolonged.
The God of glorie, which hitherto hath aduaunced your Maiesties throne, aboue all Princes of this age, in true honour and glorie, vouchsafe to preserue the same with his dailie blessing, to the perfection of that glorious reparation of his Church, which you hauehave most happily taken in hande, to the euerlasting praise of his merciemercy, and the endelesse felicity of your Maiestie.
Your Maiesties most humble subiect and most bounden daylie orator WILLIAM FVLKE.
THE PREFACE CONTEINING FIVE SVNDRIE ABVSES or corruptions of holy Scriptures, common to all Heretikes, and agreeing specially to these of our time▪ with many other necessarie aduertisements to the reader.
MARTIN.
AS it hath bene alwaies the fashion of Heretikes to pretend Heretikes fiue vvaies specially abuse the Scriptures.Scriptures, for shew of their cause: so hath it bene also their custome and propertie to abuse the saide Scriptures many waies, in fauour of their errours.
FVLKE.
WHETHER these fiue abuses hauehave bene common to all heretikes, & whether it hath bene the fashion of all heretikes to pretende Scriptures for shewe of their cause: though I will spare nowe to enquire of, as a thing wherin learned men at the first sight may espie the great skil that Martin pretendeth to hauehave in discerning of heretikes and heresies; yet will I shew (by the grace of God) that none of these fiue abuses are committed by vsus, or our Catholike translations, & that the popish heretikes are in some sort, or other guiltie of them all.
MART. 1. One way is, to denie whole bookes thereof or… Denying certaine bookes or parts of bookes. partes of bookes, when they are euidently against them. So did (for example) Ebion all S. Paules epistles▪ Manicheus the Actes of the Apostles, Alogiani S. Iohns Gospell, Marcion many peeces of S. Lukes Gospell, and so did both these and other heretikes in other bookes, denying and allowing what they liste, as is euident by S. Irenaeus, S. Epiphanius, S. Augustine, and all antiquitie.
FVLK. 1. First we denie no one booke of the Canonicall scripture that hath bene so receaued of the Catholike church, for the space of 300. yeares, & more, as it hath bene often proued out of Eusebius, S. Ierome, and other ancient authorities: but the Papists in aduauncing Apocryphall bookes to be of equall credite with the Canonicall Scriptures, do in effect deny thē all. Besides that to adde vntounto the word of God, is as great a fault as to take away from it, the one being forbidden vnderunder as heauie a curse, as the other. Those blasphemies of Pighius & Eccius, the one calling the holy Scripture a nose of waxe and a dumbe iudge, the other terming the Gospel written, to be a blacke Gospell, and an ynkie Diuinitie, and that of Hosius acknowleging none other expresse word of God, but onelyonly this one worde Ama, or dilige, louelove thou: what other thing do they import, but a shamelesse deniall of all bookes of the holy Scripture in deede, how soeuer in worde they will seeme to admitte them.
MART. 2. An other way is, to call into question at the2 Doubting of their authoritie, and calling thē into question. least and make some doubt of the authoritie of certaine bookes of holy scriptures, therby to diminish their credite, so did Manicheus affirme of the whole new Testamēt, that it was not writtē by the Apostles: and peculiarly of S. Matthewes Gospell, that it was some other mās vnderunder his name: & therfore not of such credit, but that it might in some part be refused. So did Marcion & the Ariās deny the epistle to the Hebrues to be S. Paules. Epiph. li. 2. haer. 69. Euseb. li. 4. hist. c. 27▪ & Alogiani the Apocalypse to be S. Iohns the Euāgelist. Epiph. & August in haer. Alogianorii.
FVLK. 2. We neither doubt of the authoritie of anie certaine booke of the holy Scriptures, neither cal we any of them into question, but with due reuerence do acknowledge thē all, & eueryevery one to be of equall credit & authority, as being al inspired of god▪ giuē to the church for the building vp thereof in truth, and for the auoiding of fables, & heresies: But the Papists arrogating to their Pope, authoritie to allowe or refuse, any booke of holy Scripture, & affirming that no Scripture hath authoritie, but as it is approued by their church, do bring al bookes of the holy Scripture into doubting, & vncertaintie, with such as wil depend vpō their Pope, & popish churches authoritie: which they affirme to be aboue the holy Scriptures, saying they might as wel receaue the gospel of Nicodemus as of S. Marke, & by the same authoritie reiect the Gospell of S. Matthew, as they hauehave done the Gospel of S. Bartholomew. These blasphemous assertions although some of them would couler, or mitigate with gentle interpretations: yet their is no reasonable man but seeth, into what discredite and vncertaintie they must needes bring the authoritie of the Canonicall bookes of holy Scripture with the simple and ignorant.
MART. 3. An other way is, to expound the Scriptures2 Voluntarie expositions according to eueryevery ones fansie or heresie. after their owne priuate conceite and phantasie, not according to the approued sense of the holy auncient fathers and Catholike Church, so did Theodorus Mopsuestites (Act. Synod. 5.) affirme of all the bookes of the Prophets, and of the Psalmes, that they spake not euidently of Christ, but that the auncient fathers did voluntarily draw those sayings vntounto Christ which were spoken of other matters, so did all heretikes, that would seeme to ground their heresies vponupon Scriptures, and to auouch them by Scriptures expounded according to their owne sense and imagination.
FVLK. 3. We expound not the Scriptures after our owne priuate conceite, and fantasie: but as neere as God giueth vsus grace, according to the plaine and natural sense of the same, agreable vntounto the rule or proportiō of faith, which bene approued by the auncient fathers, and Catholike church of Christ, in al matters necessarie to eternall saluation. Not bringing a newe and straunge sense which is without the Scriptures, to seeke confirmation thereof in the Scriptures (as the manner of heretikes is rightly noted by Clemens) but out of the Scriptures thē selues seeke we the exposition of such obscure places as we find in them, being perswaded with S. Augustine, that nothing in a manner is founde out of those obscure and darke places, which may not be found to be most plaine ly spoken in other places. And as for the approued sense of the holy auncient Fathers, and Catholike Church of the eldest and purest times, if the Papists durst stand vntounto it, for the deciding of many of the most waightie controuersies, that are betweene vsus, there is no doubte, but▪ they should soone and easily be determined, as hath bene shewed in diuerse and many treatises, written against them. In which if any thing bee brought, so plainely expounding the Scripture against their popish heresies, as nothing can be more expresse nor cleare, then they are driuen to seeke newe and monstrous expositions of those Fathers interpretations: or else they answere, they are but those Fathers priuate expositions, appealing to the Catholike churches interpretation, which is nothing else but their owne priuate conceipte and fansie, hauing no recorde to proue that Catholike Churches interpretation, but the present hereticall opinions, of this late degenerated Antichristian congregation. And whē they hauehave discoursed neuer so much of the Catholike churches interpretation, they reduce and submitte all mens iudgements to the determinatiō of their Councels, & the decrees of the Councels to the approbation of their Pope, which as he is oftentimes a wicked man of life: so is he ignorant and vnlearned in the Scriptures, to whose most priuate cēsure, the holy Scriptures themselues, and al sense and exposition of them is made subiect, vnderunder colour that Christ praying for Peter, that his faith should not fayle in temptation, gaue all Popes suche a prerogatiue, that they could not erre in faith▪ though they were wicked of life, voyde of learning, ignorant in the Scriptures, destitute of the spirite of God, as is proued moste inuincibly by example of diuerse Popes, that hauehave bene heretikes, and mainteyners of such errours, as are not now in controuersie betweene vsus (least they should say we begge the principle) but of the secte of the Arrians, Monothelites, Eutychians, Saduces, and such other.
MART. 4. An other way is, to alter the very originall4. Changing some vvordes or sentences of the very originall text. Tertul. cont. Marae cio. li. …. in princ. Tertul. lib. 5. text of the holy Scripture, by adding, taking away, or changing it here and there for their purpose. So did the Arians in sundry places, and the Nestorians in the first epistle of S. Iohn, and especially Marcion, who was therefore called, Mus Ponticus, the mouse of Pontus, because he had gnawen (as it were) certaine places with his corruptions, whereof some are sayd to remaine in the Greeke text vntill this day.
FVLK. 4. The originall text of the holie Scripture we alter not, either by adding, taking away, or changing of any letter, or syllable, for any priuate purpose, which were not only a thing most wicked and sacrilegious, but also vaine, and impossible. For, seeing not only so many auncient coppies of the original text are extant in diuers places of the worlde, which we can not, if we woulde, corrupt, and that the same are multiplied by printing into so many thousande examples, wee shoulde bee rather madde than foolishe, if we did but once attempt such a matter, for maintenaunce of any of our opinions. As also it is incredible, that Marcion the mouse of Pontus, coulde corrupt all the Greeke coppies in the world, as Lindanus, of whome you borrowed that conceite, imagineth, in those places in which he is charged by Tertullian. For Marcions heresie was not so generally receiued by the Greeke Churche, that all men would yeeld vntounto him, neither was Tertullian so soūd of iudgement in the Latine Church, that whatsoeuer he iudged to be a corruption in Marcion▪ must of necessity be so taken. But if adding, and detracting from the Scripture, be proper notes of heretikes, who can purge Stephen Gardiner, & Gregorie Martine? The one for adding vntounto a the verse of the Psalme, this pronowne se, him selfe, to proue the carnall presens, citing it thus. Escam se dedit timentibus eum. He gaue himselfe to be meate▪ to them that feare him, whereas the words of the Prophet, according to the Hebrue, Greeke, and Latine are no more but▪ Escam dedit. He hath giuen meat, &c. The other in his fond booke of schisme, citing this text out of 1. Cor. 10. as many Papistes doe against the certaintie of Faith. Qui stat, videat ne cadat. He that standeth let him take heede he fall not. Whereas not only the truth of the Greeke: but euen the vulgar Latin translation hath. Qui se existimat stare, He that thinketh or supposeth that he standeth, let him take heede that he fall not. But of such additions and detractions, vsed by the Romishe rattes, farre worse than the myse of Pontus, we shall hauehave more occasion to speake hereafter.
MART. 5. Another way is, to make false translations of the Scriptures for the maintenaunce of errour and heresie: soFalse and heretical trāslation. did the Arians (as S. Hierome noteth in 26. Esa.) reade and translate Prouerb. 8. Dominus creauit me in intio viarum suarum, that is, The Lord created mein the beginning of his waies, so to make Christ the wisedom of God a mere creature.foreign, possedi…. foreign S. Augustin also lib 5. cont. Iulian. c. 2. noteth it as the interpretation of some Pelagian. Gen. 3. Fecerunt sibi vestimenta▪ for, perizómata, or campestria, that is, They made them selues garments. Whereas the word of the Scripture is, b…eeches or aprons proper and peculiar to couer the secretparts. Againe, the selfe same heretikes did read falsely Rom. 5. Regnauit mors ab Adam vsque ad Moysen etiam in eos quiAug. ep. 89. & lib. 1. de pec. mer. cap. 11. peccauerunt in similitudinem praeuaricationis Adae▪ that is. Death reigned from Adam to Moyses, euen on them that sinned after the similitude of the preuaricatiō of Adam, foreignto maintaine their heresie against originall sinne, that none were infected therewith, or subiect to death & damnation, but by sinning actually as Adam did. Thus did the old heretiks.
FVLK. 5. As touching false and hereticall translations, which is the chiefe argument of this booke, I doubt not, but by the grace of god to cleare our english translators from any wilfull corruptions, for the maintenance of any errour, or heresie: such as were those of the Arrians & Pelagians, which Gregorie Martin, as though he vttered some great peece of skill, doth so diligently expresse. I shall hauehave occasion also to shew, that the Papistes them selues of our times, maintaining their corrupt vulgar translation, against the truth of the originall textes of Greeke, and Hebrew, are most guiltie of such corruption, and falsification, whereof although they be not the first authors, yet by obstinate defending of such errors, they may proue worse than they which did first commit them. For the authors of that vulgar translation, might be deceiued, either for lacke of exact knowledge of the tongues, or by some corrupt, and vntrue copies which they followed, or else perhaps that which they had rightly translated, by fault of the writers, & negligence of the times might be peruerted: but these men frowardly iustifying all errours of that translation, howsoeuer they hauehave bene brought in, do giuegive plaine testimony, that they are not led with any cōsciēce of Gods truth, but wilfully carried with purpose of maintaining their owne errours: least if they did acknowledge the errour of the Romish church in that one point they should not bee able to defende any one iote of their heresie, whose chiefe colour is the credit and authoritie of that particular and false church, rather than any reason or argument out of the holy Scriptures, or testimonie of the most auncient Christian and Catholike church.
MART. 6. What these of our daies? is it credible that being so wel warned by the condēnation & detestation of thē, they also would be as mad and as impious as those? Heretikes (gentle Reader) be alwayes like Heretikes, and howsoeuer they differ in opinions or names, yet in this point they agree, to abuse the Scriptures for their purpose by all meanes possibly. I will but touch foure points of the fiue before mentioned, because my purpose is to stay vponupon the last onelyonly, and to discipher their corrupt translations. But if I would stand vponupon the other also, were it notThat the Protestants & Caluinists vse the foresaid fiue meanes of defacing the Scriptures. easie to shew the maner of their proceeding against the Scriptures to hauehave bene thus: to deny some whole bookes and partes of bookes, to call other some into question, to expound the rest at their pleasure, to picke quarrels to the very originall and Canonicall text, …o fester and infect the whole bodie of the Bible with cancred translations?
FVLK. 6. It is very true, that so many Heretikes as pretend the authoritie of the holy Scriptures, abuse the same to their owne destruction: and no Heretikes worse than the Antichristians, or Papistes. As partly hath bene seene already in eueryevery one of your fiue markes, & more may appeare in those foure pointes which you will handle in the Preface, because the argument of your whole booke is the fift: so that in the ende you shal be proued no wiser with your fiue pointes, than he that came forth with his fiue egges, & neuer a good of them all. But you aske, if it were not easie for you to shew (if you would stand vponupon them) that the Protestants vse all the said siue meanes of defacing the Scripture? I answer no, and that shal you see when demonstratiō is made, how vainly you hauehave laboured in the last point: which howsoeuer you would hauehave it appeare to be a sudden writing, of small trauail, by interlacing a few lines here & there, against M. Whitaker, against me, & some other: yet it is euident both by Bristowes threatning, and Campions promise, that it hath bene a work of some yeares vntounto you: wherin beside that you are beholding much to Lindanus, for diuers quarrels against Caluin, and to sir Thomas More, for many cauillations against W. Tyndals translation: there is litle worthy of so long study, and large promises, as hauehave gone before this diligent discouerie: so that if you will make the like triall in the rest, you shall finde them as hard to proue as this last.