The Novelty of Popery Discovered, Chapter 6
CHAPTER VI.
Of the Noveltie, of withholding the people from reading of the Scripture.
FIrst, then, omitting Testimonies of Scripture formerlie set downe, which make for this poynt, I come to the Testimonie of one of their late and famous Bishops,Espen…us in Ti…. 2 Espenceus by name, whereby hee witnesseth, That this with-holding of Scripture from the people, was neyther in the Apostles tyme, or agreeable to their doctrine, nor yet was it in the tyme of the primitiue Church, whose practise was contrarie to their now-a-dayes: his wordes then are these, It is manifest (sayeth hee) by the doctrine of the Apostle, COLOSS. 3. 16. and by the practise of the primitiue Church, that of olde, the publicke reading of the Scripture,Chrysost. Hom. 9. in Epist. ad Coloss. was permitted to people.
Whence it was that Chrysostome in his tyme, did vehementlie vrge the same vponupon his auditors, saying, I beseech you all that are Laickes, that yee get Bibles to your selues, the medicine of the soule: and if yee will not get more, get to your selues the New Testament at least. And agayne, hee sayeth,Hom. 10. in Iohan …m. What is it, then, that wee so earnestlie requyre of you, but that one of the dayes of the weeke, or at least vponupon the Sabbath day, yee would hauehave a care to reade the Gospells, which before yee come to these Sermons, ye hauehave amongst your handes at home, and that yee would frequentlie repeate the same, and diligentlie search out the meaning, and note what is cleare, and what is …bscure therein. By doing whereof, he showeth what good will redound both to him who was their teacher, and to them who were his heare…s; to wit, that hee should neede the lesse labour and paynes, to make them vnderstand the meaning of the Gospell, when at home they hauehave made the Text samiliare to themselues; and they also should thereby bee made the more sha…pe and quicke in vnderstanding, not onlie onelie to heare and perceaue what is sayde vntounto them, but also to teach others. And if anie should pleade the want of scarcitie of Bookes, hee showeth concerning this, that it were ridiculous to answere these who were rich; and as for the poore sort, hee showeth also, that it is a shame to them to want the Scripture, which can afford so great profit to them, as their soules instruction, and yet carefullie to acquire such tooles or instruments, as their severall Trades requyred, for winning their bodilie Foode: but if anie bee so poore, (sayeth hee) that by no meanes hee can acquire Bookes …o himselfe, then by the continuall reading of the Scriptures, which is in this place, hee needeth not to bee ignorant of anie thing that is therein.
Which thing made the I…suit Azortus to say,Azor. instit▪ moral l. 8. c. 28. et 26. Wee confesse, that in the tymes of Ierome, and Chrysostome, (which was 400 yeares, and aboue, after CHRIST) that the Laickes were exercysed in reading of the Scripture, because they were written in these Languages, (sayeth hee) which they did vnderstand.
Wherefore also did Theoderet affirme,Theod de cur Gra… aff…ct. l. 5. f. 51. (in the 500 yeare of God) that the Hebrew Text of the Olde Testament, was not onelie translated into the Greeke tongue, for the Grecians to reade and vnderstand,See also Bel. l. 2 de … c. 16 & vera igitur sentē tia. but also into the Latine, Aegyptian, Persian, Armenian, Scythian, and Sauromatican; and that I may speake it in one word, (sayeth hee) the Scriptures are translated into all Languages, which at this day anie Countrey what-so-ever vseth to speake: whereby it commeth to passe, that …verie where you may see, that these doctrines of sayth which we holde, (sayeth hee) are not onlie familiarlie knowne by these who are Church-men, & teachers of the people, but lyke-wyse by verie Shooe-makers, Smithes, Weavers, and all such lyke Craftsmen: yea, by all our Women, and not these onelie who bee learned, (if anie such bee) but also by poo…e Trades-women, menders of Clo…thes, serving women, and way…ing ma…des. Neyt… doe they onelie who dwell in Townes, (sayeth hee) vnderstand well these thinges, but lykewyse the Husband-men: so that you shall finde diggers of Ground, Heards-men, and setters of Plants, discoursing of the holie Trinitie, and the Creation of all thinges, and having more knowledge of the nature of man, than ever Plato or Aristotle had.
And that this also was the auncient BRITANE practise within this Ile, in the 700 yeare of GOD, Venerable Bed…, Beda lib. 3. E…cl. Hist. Aug. c. 5.who lived in the succeeding Ce…turie or there-by, in his Ecclesiasticall Storie of the English Nation, mostclea…lie do…th show…, where speaking of the lyfe of that Religious Bishop A…anu…, hee telleth vsus, that not onlie the Clergie men that were with him in companie, but also these who were Laickes, were diligentlie exercysed in reading of the Scriptures, or learning PSALMES by heart. For which ende also Cornelius Agr…ppa reporteth,Agrip pa de vanit sci. c. 100. That there was a Decree in the first Councell of Nice, that none who were able to reade, should want the Booke of the Scripture: and wherevnto ye hauehave heard how seriouslie Chrysostome did exhort his auditoures: Not-with-standing wherof, how peremptorily people are nowe forbidden, to hauehave or reade the same, let this ensuing prohibition, printed of late, and published in Spaine, testifi….
The Spanish Prohibition, of having the Bible in anie vulgar tongue, or anie wayes to reade the same, set foorth by Don Bernardo de Sandonal, i rozas, Cardinall of S. Anasia, Archbishop of Toledo, Primate of Spayne, and Inquisitor generall.
COmo la experiencia aya ensenado que de permiter se la sagrada biblia en lengua vulgar,In judice expurg. hispan excus. Madriti. 1612. regl…. 4. se signe, por la temeridad de los hombres, mas damno que pronecho, se prohibe la biblia con todas sus partes, impressa, o de mano en qualquier lengua vulgar, i assi mismo los sumarios, i compendios, aunque sean historiales, de la misma Biblia, o libros de la sagrada escritura, escritos en qualquier idioma, o lengua vulgar.
The same in English.
SEeing it is manifest by experience, if the holie Bible bee permitted in the vulgar tongue, that thorow the temeritie of men, more hurt than profit will aryse: therefore the Bible is prohibit with all the partes thereof, whether printed or written, in what-so-ever vulgar tongue it bee, as also all summaries or compends, altho they bee Historicall onelie of the sayde Bible, or bookes of holie Scripture, in what-so-ever vulgar tongue or language the same bee anie wyse written.