An Answer to the Lords, Letter
AN AWNSWEAR VNTOUNTO THE RIGHTE HONORABLE THE Lordes, of the Quene of Englandes moſt honorable privy councell: Concerning an Ebrew epistle of a rarely lerned Iew, most reverent towardes the Ebrew skill of English, & endeuoring the good of all Christendome.
BY HVGH BROVGHTON
Rom. 11. 16.
yf the roote be holy the branches are alſo.
Printed at Baſil by Conradus Waldkirch the 14. of December 1597.
THE ARGVMENT OF THE EPISTLE FOLOVVING, CONTEYNED in a letter of the Ligier at Conſtantinopole, Written to a Certen gentleman.
HEre is a Iew, taking him ſelf lerned, and hearing of the good fame of N. hath invited him to make profe of his lerninge, by the due awnſwear, expected by the Iew from the ſayd N. And therfore I require your W. though as I heare he be not in london, yet to cauſe the ſame to be ſent vntounto him, and to procure awnſwear: and yf it were poſſible, to cauſe him to come hither, being as I here litle eſtemed there. I aſſure yor W. it might turne to the benifit of Chriſtendome.
Yours Barton
To the right honorable the LL. of the Quene of Englandes moſt honorable privy councell.
AN epistle of an Ebrew most plentifully Lerned in all Rabbin skill, (right honorable) came vntounto myne handes a feuv dayes agoe: after that it had bene in England, and ſene of your grace, my L. archb. and ſome others of your Lordshippes. The right vſage of the matter conteyned therin, as the ambaſsadours letters vuill shew you, what he iudgeth, may turne to the good of all Christendome. The matter being of ſo weighty importance, it toucheth her maiesty, to take care, how to deale in princely Lerned wiſdome, throughly for this caſe: that all Christendome may ſee as much done for the comon good, as the care and skill off man can afforde. Your honoures shall ſee in the letter two poinctes of request: the one touching the countenance and Charges of the Quene to ſend a ſcholer requeſted, to rule all the ſcholes of diuinity in Constantinople. This argueth ſome conference with the emperour for leaue And he should be first of high auctority at home, that should do this abroad, to the Quenes honour. The other poinct of request standeth, for performance, vponupon a ſcholers Lerning: all Ebrew skill for the tongue, & maſsorites, for comparing with clear declaration, the prophetes and apostles: and for awnſwear to all the groundes & branches of the Iewes cabala, & traditiones, how it fayleth: and what in theyr studies can be allowed. Here a Lerned awnſwearer will vndertake by ſure grammer and reaſon to ſuch a plain hart as he beareth, to make Moſes, the prophetes, the Goſpel and epistles to be as harpers folowing the Lambe on mount Sion: and will proue all places of Scripture for this concent from the purest and best Rabbines, taught from ancienter writers then are of theyr apoſtaſy: and will shew touching all theyr fables, trough theyr Bible, how for memory of phraſes or ſtories they were invented: as that: Abakuk brought Daniel a meſse of Pottage. wheras the ſentence written in great letters THE IVST SHAL LIVE BY FAITH, this for two poinctes: Iuſtice chalenged of Daniel to hauehave ſtopped the Liones mouth: and fayth, told by the king of him, made the ſaing of the amiable prophet to be the meſse of potage to him that allways maketh God the iudge. The demaund of the conſtantinopolitane Rabbin Lappeth in it a diſcourſe and declaration for all theſe poinctes: in any of which he that fayleth shall be are ſmall ſway with Iewes who will require to mete with better Lerned then them ſelues before they change religion. Hither of ordinary courſe, will be long a Cenſure of the Greke Septuagint: what they alterd to avoyd diſgrace from heathen: where they miſsed of vnskilfulnes, or vnhedineſs: where the Characters deceaued theyr eiſight, that a peece of a letter made a new Greke terme: how Bibles vnwowelled cauſed them ſometme of purpoſe to put one word for an other, oftener of errour: how in ſome of all theſe poinctes the hoy ghoſt that cannot miſse, maks the Apoſtles to beare with the worldes weakenes: requiring herein as much ebrew ksill against Grekes, as Ebrewes call for, againſt them ſelues. wherin yf Grekes be not overmatched, whoſe erroures hauehave marred all religion, they most hinder all the good that should come to Christianity. Theſe be two chief poinctes of the letter: which doe require a directe awnſwear: and wherupon ſtandeth all the hope of doing good, to the east part: that they Lerning religion from vsus in the endes of the earth, may bend all theyr force, to recompence vsus, with all good. And theſe poinctes were conteyned, in the end of the proſe, in his letter: Certen verſes of à ſonnet are the last end of an harty affection, shewing an infinite deſire to hauehave the trueth of Saluation opened from England, whēce, as he is perſuaded that may beſt be afforded. To win ſoules good, which he ſo greatly deſireth, not to win a ſacrifice, or a cow, as Homer ſpeaketh, nor yet running, as Achilles, for the life of Hector, but running for the ſoules off all the wandrnig Iewes, that they may be gathered into the shepefold of Christ. He greatly extolleth the knowledge of diuinty in England, a congregation of vnderſtanding, & of all variety of wiſdome, where Children are aboue all hope multiplied, that with aſtonishment it may be ſayd from Eſay, who hath begothen theſe to me Herein he breaketh out into reioycing that from the endes of the earth ſonges are hard, tzeby le tzaddik, the iuſt hath honour. In this, the plain dealing hart greatly reioyced, with a ſtyle lerned, from ſcriptures holy termes, not of ſo familiar tenour in the vulgar phraſe of nationes. But in ſage estimation his ſpeches wilbe perles afore any but hogges. After this entrā ce to allure recompence for his most humble good will, which any wilbe willing to recompence, that know by theyr owne feeling what hope of ſalvation is, he entreth in political ſort to Shew the groundes of his petition, vponupon what hope of promeſse he opened his deſire in this Zealous maner, & thirsty care, to drink of the waters of life, & sheweth that M. Edward (as he writeth him) Barton, gaue him all his hope: from whoſe mouth he was stirred vp. Him he termeth in most honorable termes, Atzir, that is meſsinger, faithfull to them that ſend him: the mediatour of peace, the Lord & Tiphſar. By that terme Nahum nameth the high officers of Nineveh. The ſame conſonantes make Satrap, the Lieutenantes of Perſias title. Of him he ſayth, that he aſſured him how for bright▪ clearnes in the Scriptures he should be fully ſatisfied for any queſtion touching Scripture, of the Trinity or the other noble treaſures of wiſdome the armes of the world. And vponupon his wordes he concludeth, that the gate of English Scholers being Such, the hart muſt be more eſtēed. He hath further prayſe of the Ambaſſadours worthines: & slideth thence vn to the Quenes maieſties commēdation. for which her highnes, as a defendour of the faith, in his expectation, will afford him confort & help, for the good of ſtrengthening in Christianity, both him & all of his deſire. Of her highnes he ſpeaketh Eloquentely in Ebrew termes, picked as Iewels from the brauery of ancient ſtates: yet not baſe in our language thus: Is not ſhe the mighty amonge the nationes: à princeſſ amonge the countreyes, the only quene of this world: Elizabetah, the perfect amonge the perfect, the terrible as cāpes. It is knowen in the gates of the nationes, when they ſee her, that ſhe is the princeſſe, the crowne, the honour, the diademe the overruler of the knigdome of the Romanes. Eſaw or Edom the Rabbines generally in theyr commentaries put for Rome. And that she hath in her kingdom the ſkilfull in all knowledge, for the ſiluer and gold of it: as in the golden Candelſtick, for the vſe of it: the generalles, the particulares, the knoppes, the bowles, and the floures, And he prayeth hartely that the Eternal king wold ſtrength her kingdome, with mighty influēce as was vponupon ſyr Francys Draco, a roaring lion againſt the ſauage beare that shaketh the earth, & quakech the nationes. Other matters which greatly touch the Quenes honour, & your G. my Lord Arch. to regard, are in the epistle: for which lam not of place to giuegive any intelligence to her ſacred maieſty, nor direction. Your grace in a matter of this great weight, as her highnes honours regard should be, will not neglect to ſend a meſsinger to Baſil, to hauehave a copy of the Epistle. As for the letter, I hope it is my right, and that I may kepe it for a Iewell, as M. Beza doth his Moſes of manifold languages in Ebrew character: which were in England, but required home: of which he wrote to me to Baſil, that he wold lend me them to further the translation of the Bible, with entreating me not to leaue, or geue ouer, for no croſsing of hinderance: But he will not let them goe, out of this countrey. So your g. shall hauehave with all my most humble duty, a copy of this epiſtle, for the Q. honour and ſpeches touching her: but M. Bezaes Book of two volumes is not a dearer foreign (ſo he writeth) to him, then this epistle is to me. And I wold not willingly hauehave it out of myne ownek eping. Touching the awnſweare vntounto the Lerned Rabbi, which should be in his owne tongue, and as eloquent as his owne ſtyle, and from London whether he endorced his epistle: the Ambaſſadour at Byzantium his lettre to M. Stapers tellinge that this may turne to the good of all Christendome, hath I hope kindled in your zealous wiſdome, a through care: that no contempt of furtherance in this cauſe, make the nationes about think the occaſion offred vntounto you, and neglected, to hauehave bene the extreme hinderance & blemish of Chriſtian hope for bettering through the world. Therfore modeſty forbiddeth me to chalenge any ſupertority of zeale, as once to turne my penne to exhortation, and stirring vp. And this I write not of myne owne deſire: but to ſatisfie ſuch as wold otherwiſe think, that I should, awnſwear the Iew: becauſe he writeth vntounto me. But as the Lady of Perſia kneled to Hephestio, meaning a ſupplication to Alexander: So the Iew reverencing me, looketh for an awnſwear which the whole state will allow. Now, nether modesty, nor policy ſuffreth to warre in this combat, without the Q. coutenance, preferment, & allowance Wheras the Iew inviteth into triall of lerning: yf the Q. will, all Christendome shall iudge, whether wilbe found the readier in the prophetes language: & controlment of Rabbines. Doubtles, he muſt be awnſweared. When others refuſe I am ready, after due recompence, to write, and to goe: Leauing, as Aristides, particular inuries, for the generall good.
Your Lord shippes to commaund Hugh Broughton
End of the text · Hugh Broughton, An Answer to the Lords (1597)