Bible Heaven/Bible Heaven.iso/1611_kjv/msg-kjv.06

Text File | 1994-02-11 | 5KB | 77 lines

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     THE UNWILLINGNESS OF OUR CHIEF ADVERSARIES, THAT THE
   SCRIPTURES SHOULD BE DIVULGED IN THE MOTHER TONGUE, ETC.
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     Now the Church of Rome would seem at the length to bear a motherly
affection towards her children, and to allow them the Scriptures in
their mother tongue:  but indeed it is a gift, not deserving to be
called a gift, an unprofitable gift: [Sophecles] they must first
get a licence in writing before they may use them, and to get that,
they must approve themselves to their Confessor, that is, to be such
as are, if not frozen in the dregs, yet soured with the leaven of
their superstition.  Howbeit, it seemed too much to Clement the
Eighth that there should be any Licence granted to have them in the
vulgar tongue, and therefore he overruleth and frustrateth the grant
of Pius the Fourth. [See the observation (set forth by Clemen. his
authority) upon the 4. rule of Pius the 4. his making in the index,
lib. prohib. pag. 15. ver. 5.]  So much are they afraid of the light
of the Scripture, (Lucifugae Scripturarum, as Tertulian speaketh)
that they will not trust the people with it, no not as it is set
forth by their own sworn men, no not with the Licence of their own
Bishops and Inquisitors.  Yea, so unwilling they are to communicate
the Scriptures to the people's understanding in any sort, that they
are not ashamed to confess, that we forced them to translate it into
English against their wills.  This seemeth to argue a bad cause, or
a bad conscience, or both.  Sure we are, that it is not he that hath
good gold, that is afraid to bring it to the touchstone, but he that
hath the counterfeit; [Tertul. de resur. carnis.] neither is it the
true man that shunneth the light, but the malefactor, lest his deeds
should be reproved [John 3:20]: neither is it the plaindealing Mer-
chant that is unwilling to have the weights, or the meteyard brought
in place, but he that useth deceit.  But we will let them alone for
this fault, and return to translation.

      THE SPEECHES AND REASONS, BOTH OF OUR BRETHREN,
         AND OF OUR ADVERSARIES AGAINST THIS WORK
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     Many men's mouths have been open a good while (and yet are not
stopped) with speeches about the Translation so long in hand, or
rather perusals of Translations made before:  and ask what may be
the reason, what the necessity of the employment:  Hath the Church
been deceived, say they, all this while?  Hath her sweet bread been
mingled with leaven, here silver with dross, her wine with water,
her milk with lime? (Lacte gypsum male miscetur, saith S. Ireney,)
[S. Iren. 3. lib. cap. 19.]  We hoped that we had been in the right
way, that we had the Oracles of God delivered unto us, and that
though all the world had cause to be offended and to complain, yet
that we had none.  Hath the nurse holden out the breast, and nothing
but wind in it?  Hath the bread been delivered by the fathers of the
Church, and the same proved to be lapidosus, as Seneca speaketh?
What is it to handle the word of God deceitfully, if this be not?
Thus certain brethren.  Also the adversaries of Judah and Jerusalem,
like Sanballat in Nehemiah, mock, as we hear, both the work and the
workmen, saying; "What do these weak Jews, etc. will they make the
stones whole again out of the heaps of dust which are burnt?  al-
though they build, yet if a fox go up, he shall even break down
their stony wall." [Neh 4:3]  Was their Translation good before?
Why do they now mend it?  Was it not good?  Why then was it obtruded
to the people?  Yea, why did the Catholics (meaning Popish Romanists)
always go in jeopardy, for refusing to go to hear it?  Nay, if it
must be translated into English, Catholics are fittest to do it.
They have learning, and they know when a thing is well, they can
manum de tabula.  We will answer them both briefly: and the former,
being brethren, thus, with S. Jerome, "Damnamus veteres?  Mineme,
sed post priorum studia in domo Domini quod possums laboramus."
[S. Jerome. Apolog. advers. Ruffin.]  That is, "Do we condemn the
ancient?  In no case: but after the endeavors of them that were
before us, we take the best pains we can in the house of God." As
if he said, Being provoked by the example of the learned men that
lived before my time, I have thought it my duty, to assay whether
my talent in the knowledge of the tongues, may be profitable in
any measure to God's Church, lest I should seem to laboured in
them in vain, and lest I should be thought to glory in men, (al-
though ancient,) above that which was in them.  Thus S. Jerome
may be thought to speak.

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