Examination of those Plausible Appearances in the Romish Church, Title page – To the reader
AN EXAMINATION OF THOSE PLAVSIble Appearances which seeme most to commend the Romish Church, and to preiudice the Reformed.
DISCOVERING THEM to be but meere shifts, purposely invented, to hinder an exact triall of doctrine by the Scriptures.
By Mr IOHN CAMERON.
Englished out of French.
OXFORD, Printed by Iohn Lichfield and William Turner, for Edward Forrest. Ann. Dom. 1626.
To the Reader.
COurteous Reader: for preventing mistakes, giuegive me leaue to aduertise thee, that in many passages of this book beside the running title, J hauehave vsed the word Preiudice in a sense, not very vsuall in English, make it answere to the French word Preiugè, which my Author vseth, not for an ill preconceit, as wee commonly take it, but for such a plausible appearance, as before due examination, ma… bee a probable ground for any preconceit of a thing, either good or bad. So Antiquitie is a Preiudice for the Papists, and against vsus, because that before a iudicious examination, it is a probable ground for common braines to conceiue well of their Religion, and to mistrust ours. Secondly, I hauehave not beene so superstitious in expressing my Authors word, as I hauehave obserued some translators to be: I hauehave not construed, but translated, keeping (as neere as I could) an euen course between a Pedant & a Paraphrast: For when the Originall is not to be learned by the Translation, I tbink it not only lawfull, but also conuenient to make vse of that liberty. The neglect of it, I take to be the reason, why commonly Translations are thought to tast flat in respect of the Originall. I shall not wonder if some slipps hauehave escaped mee, seeing a man may be as absurdly ouer seene by too much animaduersion, as by none, and (which is the misery of the most circumspect diligence) a man may dote as much by gazing through a thing, as by staring beside it: yet I hope there are none so grosse as that they may abuse either my Author, or his Reader.
Farwell.