ILLUSTRATIONS
OF
BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
EXIIJBITING
THE HISTORY ANI) FATE
OF
THE SACRED WRITINGS,
FROM TIIE
EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE PRESENT CENTURY;
INCLUDING
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF TRANSLATORS, AND OTHER
EMINENT BIBLICAL SCHOLARS.
BY REV. JAMES TOW NLEY, D. D
VOLUME I.
PUBLISHED BY CARLTON & PHILLIPS.
200 MULBERRY-STREET.
1856.








MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
iN offering the present work to the American reader, the editor
has thought a brief notice of the author would not be out of place. The
following is taken from a Memoir published in the Wesleyan Methodist
Magazine:JAMES TOWNLEY was born of respectable parents in Manchester,
May 11th, 1774. His father, Mr. Thomas Townley, was in extensive
business. His mother, a very sensible woman, was a regular attendant
at the services of the established Church, and an occasional hearer at
the evening services in the Methodist chapel.
The care of his education was intrusted for some years to the late
Rev. David Simpson, of Macclesfield: after his death he was continued at the school of his curate, where he was instructed in some
departments of classical literature, and passed through the usual routine
of an English education.
In his twenty-second year Mr. Townley was received on probation
as a travelling preacher by the Wesleyan Methodist conference. From
this time till the year 1832, when by a failure of health he was compelled to retire, a period of six-and-thirty years, he continued, with
uniform consistency and increasing honour, to fulfil his duties as a
minister, and to occupy some of the most important offices of the connection to which he belonged.
In addition to the advantages of education, Mr. Townley had received the impulse arising from early literary associations.  While in
Manchester he had become a member of a Philological Society, originated by the late Dr. Adam Clarke; and, in common with many other
young men, was urged, by the example and exhortations of that celebrated scholar, to great diligence in the pursuit of knowledge, the fruits
of which were seen throughout his future course. His first publication of note was a volume of " Biblical Anecdotes," which appeared in
the year 1814. He had been desired by his children to preach them
a sermon oni the history of the Holy Scriptures, and on the early translations of them into different languages. As he found that they and
others were delighted with thb facts he had collected and arranged for
their information, he yielded to the further request of his family, and
prepared the volume already mentioned.
The work which next proceeded from his pen was one which procured to him considerable celebrity in the literary and religious world
1




4                   MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
Appearing about seven years after the publication of his "Biblical
Anecdotes," it affords striking evidence that he continued his diligent
researches into ecclesiastical history and sacred criticism with unabated ardour. It was entitled, " Illustrations of Biblical Literature, exhibiting the History and Fate of the Sacred Writings, from the earliest
period to the present century, including notices of translators and other
eminent Biblical scholars."
It was no small tribute to its worth, that a review of it, for the
Methodist Magazine, was written by one of the most accomplished
Biblical scholars of the age.  He thus describes it: —" These volumes
present a connected view of the history of Biblical translations from
the earliest date to the present century, and are enriched by most
copious and interesting biographical notices of the most eminent
scholars and critics, and such occasional sketches of the history of
the manners and superstitions of the darker ages, as may illustrate
the advantages to be derived from a more general dissemination of the
inspired writings."
On his visit to Ireland, as president of the conference, in the year
1830, he was congratulated by several members of the Dublin University, and the highest encomiums were pronounced on his performance.
The next contribution of Dr. Townley to the literature of his country
was a translation into English of the " More rNevochirn of Maimonides;
or, Reasons for the Law of Moses," with prefatory dissertations and
appended notes, displaying considerable acquaintance with Jewish
learning, and the results of much patient research.
Doctor Townley's last publication was an " Introduction to the critical Study of the Old and New Testaments," imbodying much of that
correct and interesting information which his peculiar taste and reading had rendered familiar to him.  This volume has been very widely
circulated, and is much admired. It is fully worthy of the piety and
talents of its author.  The book of God was his favourite study, and
the productions of his pen chiefly tended to aid those who love to follow him in tracing its interesting history, and are desirous to understand its sacred contents.
At the conference held in Sheffield, July and August, 1829, Dr.
Townley was elected to the chair; and thus received the highest
honour Methodism  confers, and the most decided proof of the confidence and love of his brethren in the ministry.
His sufferings terminated Dec. 12th, 1833, when he died in great
peace, and in the full triumph of faith, in the sixtieth year of his age.
The present work was, upon its first appearance, favourably reviewed
in several of the best periodicals in Great Britain.
New-York, September, 1842.                    GEORGE PECK.
1




PREFACE.
"THE BIBLE," said the immortal Locke, " has GOD for
its author; truth, without any mixture of error, for its
matter; and salvation for its end." These views are
cordially adopted by the author of the following volumes,
to whom it has long appeared as an indubitable fact, that
mankind are indebted to revelation for all true knowledge of God and divine things. No modification of
inert, divisible, and senseless matter, can suggest the
idea of one infinite, indivisible, self-existent Spirit, the
Creator, and Preserver, and Governor of all things:
the wisest heathen philosophers have acknowledged
themselves indebted to tradition for their purest and
most sublime notions of the Deity:-and the great sages
of antiquity sought information from Eastern sources,
by travel or inquiry.
Impressed with these sentiments, the study of the invaluable records of wisdom and grace has formed one
of the most interesting and delightful occupations of the
present writer; and the more diligently and critically he
has examined them, the more fully he has been convinced of their divine origin and inspiration. To trace
the successive history, and various fate, of these divine
writings, from the promulgation of the law, on Sinai, to
the present eventful period, has, for several. years, employed the hours which he could spare from the laborious
engagements of ministerial duty. The present work is
the result of some of those inquiries, and will, it is hoped,
1




6                      PREFACE.
supply a desideratum in sacred literature, by offering to
the reader a more comprehensive view of the progress
of Biblical translations, and of the literary and ecclesiastical history of the Holy Scriptures, than has hitherto
been presented to the public.
Numerous bibliographical and historical works, of
vrarious merit and popularity, have been published, in
which the different versions of the Scriptures, the multiplied editions of them, and their general history, have
been expressly considered, or incidentally noticed; but
so far as the author is acquainted with them, they are
more limited in their objects than the present work.
Lewis, Newcome, Johnson, Cruttwell, Gray, and Todd,
confine their inquiries to  the English translations:
Crowe's "Elenchus Scriptorum," a small, but valuable
work, now become extremely rare, -is in a great measure
superseded by more recent publications: the "Bibliotheca Sacra" of Le Long, and of his editors Boerner
and Mascb, is indispensable to the bibliographer and
Biblical student, but is chiefly, though not entirely,
restricted to bibliographical notices, and the catalogue
of the works of writers on Biblical subjects: the excellent works of De Bure, Clement, Panzer, Dibdin, Peignot,
and other similar writers, only notice Biblical publications as connected with bibliography: Adler's "Bibliotheca Biblica," though professedly a catalogue of the
editions of the Scriptures in the king of Wurtemberg's
library, is interspersed with very brief, but important
notes, relative to the editions in that collection: Father
Simon's Critical Histories, and other works, are the
productions of an original and daring genius, exhibiting
extraordinary research, and critical ability; and notwithstanding his occasional aberrations, and the publication
of more modern compilations, will always claim the
1




PREFACE.                     7
attention of the Biblical student: the works of Korthold,
Hottinger, and Sixtus Senensis, though comparatively
antiquated, have still their value: Michaelis's "Introduction to the New  Testament," translated firom  the
German by Bishop Marsh, and accompanied with his
notes, will be duly appreciated by every scholar desirous
of a critical acquaintance with the sacred writings, though
only those versions and MSS. are noticed in it which
serve to illustrate the original text: and Bishop Marsh's
controversial treatise, entitled. " A History of the Translations which have been made of the Scriptures, from
the earliest to the present Age," notwithtstanding its
brevity, will not detract front the high character of its
distinguished author: Thomson and Orme's "Historical
Sketch of the Translation and Circulation of the Scriptures," designed to illustrate the principles and import.ance of Bible societies, comprises, within a small compass, much valuable information, and is highly creditable
to the learned secretaries of the Perthshire Bible Society: Horne's "Introduction to the Critical Study of
the Bible;" Bishop Marsh's " Course of Lectures on Divinity;" Hamilton's "Introduction to the tHebrew Scriptures;" Whitaker's "Historical and Critical Inquiry into
the Interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures;" and other
similar works, though discovering extensive learning,
and exceedingly valuable for the purposes of sacred
criticism, are too cursory in their observations upon the
different versions, to preclude the necessity of a more
extensive view of Biblical translations: Archbishop
Usher's rare and erudite "Historia Dogmatica de Scripturis et Sacris Vernaculis," published after his decease,
with additions, by Dr. Henry Wharton, displays an astonishing acquaintance with ecclesiastical writers of every
age and country, and is intended to show that it was
1




8                     PREFACE.
the universal practice of the ancient Christians to read
and circulate the Holy Scriptures in the vernacular
tongues, and consequently consists, almost wholly, of
extracts and references: Walch's "Bibliotheca Theologica," though exceedingly important as a work of
reference to the theological student, affording a most
extensive catalogue of works on divinity and ecclesiastical history, gives little more than the dates, and the
names of editors of select editions of the Bible in the
original text, or vernacular translations: Dr. Adam
Clarke's "General Preface," and "Introduction to the
Gospels and Acts of the Apostles," prefixed to his commentary, display the profound learning, and sound judgment, of that eminent Oriental scholar and divine; and
will be found particularly useful, the former for the list
of the most celebrated Jewish and Christian commentators, and the critical judgment of their respective merits,
the latter for the account it contains of the origin of
the various readings, the most important Greek MSS..
and the ancient versions; they do not, however, preclude the necessity of a more detailed and general history of sacred literature: Calmet's notices of versions,
given in his "Dictionnaire de la Bible," are comparatively meagre and incomplete: Butler's "Horme Biblica"
is an inestimable little work, comprising a compendious
and elegant view of Biblical literature, but principally
restricted to the original texts and ancient versions:
and finally, the various Prolegomena of Walton, Mill,
Houbigant, and others, though profoundly learned, are
only intended to assist the theologian in his critical
inquiries, and therefore cannot supersede the attempt
of a work less critical, but more comprehensive and
historical.
In 1813, the author published a small volume entitled
I




PREFACE.                    9
"Biblical Anecdotes," which met with a favourable reception, and was noticed in some of the literary journals
with peculiar candour and liberality; another edition
being called for, the writer conceived he could not more
properly mark his grateful sense of the public approbation, than by endeavouring to render his work more
perfect, and thereby, as he hoped, more useful to the
Biblical scholar, and more worthy of general perusal.
This he has attempted in the present "Illustrations,"
which, from its embracing a range and variety of information inconsistent with the size and object of his
former publication, may be considered as a new work,
and to which he has, therefore, prefixed a title more
appropriate to the diversified nature of the subjects it
embraces.
In this work it has been the wish of the writer to
present his readers with a connected view of the history
of Biblical translations, and of the state of sacred literature, from the earliest date to the commencement of tihe
present century, with "biographical notices of eminent
Biblical scholars and critics," and such occasional
sketches of the history of the manners and superstitions
of the darker ages, as may illustrate the advantages
derivable from a more general dissemination of the
inspired writings. In such a work, various imperfections will, doubtless, be discovered by many excellent
scholars, whose profound learning, and extensive acquaintance with every part of sacred literature and criticism, would have qualified them for undertaking a similar
work with peculiar success; the author, nevertheless, is
assured, that those who are best able to appreciate the
difficulties of the work will be the first to apologize for
its defects, and to render justice to its merits.  He is,
however, free to confess, that had he contemplated the
1




10                   PREFACE.
obstacles which presented themselves to the accomplishment of his design, he should scarcely have ventured to
undertake it. With hardly a ray to guide him through
the untravelled paths of the dark ages of ignorance and
superstition, he has turned over many a ponderous tome,
hoping to meet with information suited to his subject,
and been utterly disappointed. The scantiness of biographical history, the diversity of dates, and the discordant opinions of bibliographers, increased his labour:
hours, and sometimes days, have been spent in procuring
a biographical notice, fixing a date, ascertaining the
author of a version, or reconciling the apparent contradictions of historical details, and, in some cases, without
effect. If, after all, his work prove serviceable to the
interests of the Christian religion, to which he is infinitely indebted for invaluable consolations and hopes,
and receive the approbation of the almighty Head of the
church, the author will be more than remunerated for
his labours.
It is with feelings of grateful pleasure that the writer
acknowledges the aid afforded him by several gentlemen
of literary eminence and piety; to several of whom he
is personally unknown.
The Rev. Dr. Ebenezer Henderson, with characteristic
kindness, not only permitted him to abridge the account
of Icelandic versions, given in the appendix to his " Iceland, or the Journal of a Residence in that Island," but,
on learning the nature of this work, unsolicitedly requested the committee of the British and Foreign Bible
Society to place in his hands a most valuable Manuscript
History of Danish Versions, written by himself, and presented to the library of that institution; —a request most
liberally and promptly granted.
The Rev. W. A. Thomson of Perth, one of the authors
1




PREFACE.                   11'
ot the excellent "Historical Sketch of the Translation
and Circulation of the Scriptures," favoured him with
several important communications: and by his friendly
and successful application obtained a biographical account of the late pious and Rev. James Stuart, the translator of the Gaelic New Testament, and " Notices," &c.,
relative to the editions and translations of the Gaelic
Scriptures, from Dr. Stuart, of Luss, the translator of
the Gaelic Old Testament, and the modest and learned
emulator of his father's virtues and studies.
The Rev. John Hughes, the valuable author of " Horae
Britannicae, or Studies in Ancient British Hlistory," supplied nearly the whole account of the editions of the
Welsh Bible, and of the translators and editors of that
version.
The Rev. Dr. Adam Clarke; the Rev. Thomas Hartwell Horne; W. Yates, Esq., of Miianchester; Mr. Jonathan Crowther, jun., of Frodsham; and Mr. T. J. Wood,
of Bury, Lancashire, have likewise lent occasional aid,'by valuable communications, or friendly counsel, or the
loan of rare and expensive books.
The author also records, with peculiar gratification,
the prompt and liberal replies to his inquiries, with which
he was favoured by the Rev. Dr. Milner, a Catholic prelate of distinguished eminence and learning; and the
Rev. C. Plowden, the venerable superior of the Catholic
seminary at Stoneyhurst; both of whom, but more especially the latter, manifested a generous solicitude to procure him the information he desired.
But notwithstanding the kindness of his friends, the
author must necessarily have been greatly restricted in
his opportunities of consulting the works requisite for
the completion of his design, but for the advantages
afforded by the collegiate library of his native place;
1




12                   PREFACE.
a library which is, in the fullest sense, public, and which
presents every facility of access and assistance to the
student in the prosecution of his inquiries.
In the selection of references to the works consulted,
the author has sometimes been influenced by the
authority of the works themselves, and, at others, by
their being more accessible to the junior student, who
may be desirous of pursuing the subject more extensively; but in no case has he referred to a work at the
foot of the page, which he has not either personally
examined, or acknowledged the authority to which he
was indebted. To have increased the number of references would have been easy, but it was deemed unnecessary.
The work is now presented to the public, not without
hope that the same indulgent candour which encouraged
the minor publication of the writer will be exercised toward the present volumes; and that the severity of criticism will be superseded by the plaudit of approval.
J. TOWNLEY.
Salford, Manchester, March 14th, 1821.




ILLUSTRATIONS
OF
BIBLICAL LITERATURE 
PART I.
FROM THE GIVING OF THE LAW TO THE BIRTH OF CHRIST.
CHAPTER I.
Introductory Remarks-Giving of the Law-Origin of Alphabetzcal Characters-Eulogium on Moses-Samaritan Pentateuc/h-Materials used in
Writing-Ancient Manuscripts.
A DIVINE REVELATION is indispensably necessary to man, to instruct him in the nature and perfections of the Deity; to acquaint
him with the history of his own creation; to explain to him his
moral duties, and to inform him of his future destiny: for without
a revelation, the most vigorous mind, the most cultivated undertanding must be incapable of apprehending the Infinite, of discovering the origin of man, or of deducing with certainty the acts of
devotion and morality most acceptable to Him who "dwelleth in
the light which no man can approach unto," 1 Tim. vi, 16.
During the early ages of the world, the extraordinary longevity
of mankind rendered a written revelation unnecessary. Tradition
was sufficient to transmit, with accuracy, the truths which were
revealed to the patriarchal families. Adam and Noah were connected together by Methuselah, who lived to see them both; Shem
might converse with Noah and Abraham, as Isaac did with Joseph,
with whom Amram the father of Moses was contemporary. But,
after the years of the life of man had been abridged to threescore
and ten, the rapid succession of humaitgenerations required another
mode of revelation, to prevent the obliteration of the records of the
world, and to guard against the corruption of the divine precepts by
the frequency of oral communication.*
* Clarke's Bibliographical Miscellany, vol. i, pp. 4-6.
1




14                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
The infinitely wise and gracious God condescended to the necessities of man, and favoured him with a revelation suited to the
brevity of his life. The first instance of this kind of revelation
was that of the two tables of stone, on which the DECALOGUE, or
ten commandments, was written with the finger of God. Exod.
xxxi, 18.
To this period the origin of writing has been referred by many
learned men, and Moses has been considered as instructed in the
knowledge of alphabetical characters, by divine revelation. Clemens Alexandrinus informs us, (Stromat, lib. i,) that Eupolemus
states it as a correct opinion, "that Moses was the first sophist, or
wise-man; and that he first delivered grammar or letters to the
Jews, from whom they were received by the Phenicians, and from
the Phenicians by the Greeks." And Augustin (De Civit. Dei,
lib. xviii, ch. xxxix,) asserts, that "the Hebrew  letters began
from the law given by Moses." The same opinion has been defended by several modern writers of eminent learning and ability,
especially by Gale in "The Court of the Gentiles," pt. i, b. i, ch. x.
Hartley in his " Observations on Man," pt. i, ch. iii, prop. 83. The
learned author of " Conjectural Observations on the Origin and Progress of Alphabetic Writing;" Winder in his " History of Knowledge," vol. ii, ch. i-iv. Clarke (Dr. A.) in " Remarks on the Origin of Language," inserted in his " Bibliographical Miscellany," vol.
i, and " Succession of Sacred Literature," vol. i; and Horne in his
"Introduction to the Study of Bibliography," vol. i, pt. i, ch. ii, sec.
1. This opinion has been vigorously opposed by numerous and
erudite writers, among whom Astle ranks foremost, for his elaborate defence of the human invention of alphabetical characters in
his celebrated work on the " Origin and Progress of Writing." The
arguments of Mr. Astle were, however, powerfully combated by an
able critic in the Monthly Review, (Old Series,) vol. lxxi, p. 271,
et seq.
The invention of an ALPHABET, or of a limited number of arbitrary signs, which by their varied position should express all the
variety of human sentiment and language, seems to be a discovery,
of so sublime and complicated a nature, that if not absolutely beyond the possibility of the mental energy of man to elicit, it must
necessarily demand the lapse of ages to complete its development,
and to advance it to perfection. For the ideas of all the elements
of language, or the very beginnings of every simple unarticulated
sound from which these are produced, as lines are generated by
the fluxion of a point, " must have previously existed in the mind
1




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.                   15
of the first inventor of a complete alphabet, or it would have been
impossible to determine what number of elemental characters were
requisite, to express the seeming infinite variety of complex sounds
in every language upon earth, even in thtmost ordinary conversation."* But when, it may be inquired, was such a process actually
contemplated; what were the various stages of its advancement
toward perfection; and at what period was it completed?
It is true the advocates of the mere human origin of letters, refer us to the Egyptian and Mexican hieroglyphics as to the rudiments of alphabets, and assure us that necessity, convenience, or
chance would produce abbreviated marks, and ultimately the alphabetic character and system; but in no instance do they show
us a nation carrying hieroglyphic signs to their completion in an
alphabet. The Egyptians and Mexicans never appear to have deduced letters from the symbolic figures which they were accustomed to describe, but to have continued the use of them with
unvaried similarity, through the whole period of their history.  The
Greeks and other nations, on the contrary, who made use of alphabetical characters, never spoke of them as derived from hieroglyphical delineations, but as the invention of particular persons, or
as communicated to them by their gods.
The earliest account we have of the use of alphabetical characters is among the Jews, a people certainly not remarkable for
their inventive genius, however venerable in other respects; and
the most ancient records in existence are those of Moses, their
great legislator. Prior to his day we have no certain proofs of the
practice of writing, and the most zealous supporters of the antemosaic origin of letters, can only offer plausible conjectures; but
from the period of the giving of the law, the graphic art was in constant use among the Jews wherever dispersed by conquest, persecution, or traffic. It is therefore not an improbable hypothesis,
that the knowledge of alphabetical characters was one of the benefits
conferred upon the Israelites by the Divine Being, by the instrumentality of Moses, to whom, at least the rudiments were divinely
revealed.
The advantages resulting from a knowledge of what has sometimes been called epistolic writing, to distinguish it from symboli* Conjectural Observations on the Origin and Progress of Alphabetic Writing, p.
41. Lond. 1772. 8vo.
The able mathematician Tacquet (Arithmetical TLheor., p. 517) calculates that the
various combinations of the twenty-four letters of the alphabet, without any repetition,
will amount to 620,448,401,733,239,439,360,000.-See Astle on the Origin and Progress of Writing, ch. ii, p. 20. Lond. 1803. fol.
1




16                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
cal, or hieroglyphical, are so immense, and its practice so peculiarly adapted to the state of the Jewish nation at the time of the
Mosaic legislation, as to confirm the opinion that God communicated the knowledge of letters to Moses.  " The usefulness of alphabetical characters," says a learned author, " cannot be sufficiently
estimated. Without writing, the histories of ancient times had
never reached us; and the necessary intercourses of friendship and
business must have been greatly retarded in general, and in many
cases wholly obstructed.  Without it, those living oracles which
teach the science of salvation, and make known the God of truth,
could never have existed. When God, therefore, purposed to give
a revelation of himself to mankind, is it not reasonable to suppose,
that he graciously taught them the use of alphabetical characters,
that these divine and interesting records might be handed down
from generation to generation?"*
Of the insufficiency of hieroglyphic symbols to preserve and
transmit the treasures of wisdom and science to posterity, there is
demonstrative proof in the instance of Egypt.  "We have remaining at this day," observes Michaelis, "an immense number of
Egyptian hieroglyphics, partly on stones, walls, and obelisks, and
partly too on copper plates, which have been submitted to all the
literary world: but out of them all, no mortal has hitherto elicited
one rational sentence, of the length of a single line; although from
the work of Horapollo, we know many particulars relative to the
meaning of the individual characters. The key having been once
lost, it is seemingly impossible ever to find it again. The ancient
learning of Egypt, which might include many things of supreme
importance to mankind, could never have thus irrecoverably perished, had alphabetical characters been inscribed on these monuments. For such characters may always be deciphered; and it is
a very singular phenomenon, that, when correct plates of the Palmyrene inscriptions, which several learned men had before attempted unsuccessfully to decipher, were published in "Wood's
Ruins of Palmyra," explanations were at once given by two literati, unknown to each other, namely, Mr. Swinton and the Abbe
Barthelemy. But the Egyptian hieroglyphics, of which there are
extant, not a hundred, but a thousand times as many, as of the Palmyrene monuments, will, I fear, remain undeciphered till the day
of judgment."t
* Clarke's Bibliographical Miscellany, vol. i, p. 6. Lond. 1806. 8vo.
t Michaelis' Commentaries on the Laws of Moses, translated by Alex. Smith,
D. D., vol. iv, art. 250, p. 58. Lond. 1814. 8vo.
1




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.                 17
The stones upon which the Egyptians inscribed their hieroglyphic figures, were regarded as objects of idolatrous veneration by
the ignorant multitude; and Jablonski (Pantheon Egypti, vol. v)
has shown, that the Egyptian god Thoth, denominated by other
nations Hermes, or 3lercury, and who was usually accounted the
inventor of all sciences, meant nothing more than stones with hieroglyphic symbols engraven upon them. The symbolic writing of
the Egyptians may, therefore, be reasonably supposed to have been
one source of the idolatrous worship with which the Israelites were
infected at the time of their coming out of Egypt; for even as late
as the time of Ezekiel we find an imitation of this species of idolatry common among the Jews, and described'in chap. viii, 8 —11,
of his prophecy.* To stop the progress of this idolatrous attachment to hieroglyphical monuments, the adoption of alphabetic
characters was a wise and salutary measure, and from its congeniality with the inhibitory precepts of the Mosaic law, may, with
considerable probability, be supposed to have had the same origin,
and to have been revealed to the Jewish legislator at the same time.
At what period in the life of Moses the revelation of alphabetic
characters was made to him, if we consider them of divine origin,
is not possible to decide. The author of " Conjectural Observations on the Origin and Progress of Alphabetic Writing" (pp. 13,
42) supposes it to have occurred upon the first arrival of the
Israelites before Horeb, immediately after the first defeat of the
Amalekites. Exod. xvii. Dr. A. Clarke, Hartley, Winder, and
others fix the time at the giving of the law at Sinai; for " as there
is no evidence whatever," say they, " that there was any writing in
existence before the giving of the law; and as then, God is said to
have written the decalogue with his own finger, Exod. xxxi, 18;
and as after this time writing is always mentioned, when a suitable occasion offers," that may justly be regarded as the date of the
revelation of letters to Moses.
To this latter opinion it has been objected that "alphabetic
writing must have been in use before the giving of the law at Sinai,
since Moses had been directed before that time to write an account
of the battle with Amalek in a book, and also to write the names
of the children of Israel upon the high priest's breast-plate, like
the engravings of a signet." To which it has been replied, "that
both these may refer to a picture-writing, or to some improvement
of it, whereby entire words were denoted, without being resolved
* Michaelis' Commentaries on the Laws of Moses, translated by Alex. Smith, D. D.,
vol. iv, pp. 55, 56, 59. Conject. Obser., p. 51.
VOL. I.-2




18                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
into their simple sounds. The first might also be a prophetic inti
mation to Moses, however, not understood by him when it was
given, that he should be soon enabled to write in a much more
complete manner than he or his enemies, the Egyptians, could at
present."* To which may be added, that as the engraving on signets was probably symbolical, the injunction might merely refer to
the mode of engraving in relievo, or embossing the characters.
It has also been urged against this hypothesis, that the precept
by which the Israelites were enjoined to write the words of the law
upon the door posts and gates of their houses, (Deut. xi, 20,) presents the idea of a people already well acquainted with the art of
writing. To this it is replied, that even if this or any other similar
injunction be taken literally, and not, as is more probable, figuratively, for the attention demanded by the divine laws, it must
necessarily refer to a period somewhat future, the original copy of
the law being laid up in the ark, from which transcripts must be
subsequently made. The precept itself evidently refers to the time
of their residence in the land of promise, and not to that of their
wandering in the desert and living in tents.  There would therefore be ample opportunity for certain scribes to learn the art of
alphabetic writing, and to acquire a facility in transcription, so that
if the great mass of the people had not become acquainted with
alphabetic characters before their entrance into Canaan, they might
easily be furnished by the scribes with copies of the very small
portions of the law, to be enclosed in the Mlezulzoth, and affixed to
their door-posts, or worn in their ph/ylacteries. It is even possible,
that the rabbinical legends, respecting the explanations of the law,
or Mishna given, secretly by Moses, first to Aaron, then to his sons,
and afterward to the seventy elders, might originate in the information communicated by the Jewish legislator to certain persons
selected for the purpose, and designated to the office of transcription, and graphic instruction.
But whatever may be our opinion as to the precise period of the
discovery to Moses, it must be acknowledged, that " if the knowledge of alphabetic writing was not originally communicated by
Moses to the Israelites, by whom it was imparted to the nations
around them, such is the confusion of historic evidence upon the
subject, that we are altogether at a loss to fix even the date of this
astonishing, if not divine discovery,-a discovery which, after Providence thought proper to contract the term of human life within
* Hartley's Observations on Man, vol. i, p. 314. See also Winder's Hist. of Knowledge, vol. ii, ch. iv, pp. 32-55.
I                        2*




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.                  19
the narrow boundary of seventy years, became necessary to advance
the progress of science, as well to enlighten and prepare men's
minds for the reception of revealed truths, which had been so generally perverted, as in order to prevent such a perversion of them for
the future."
" The supposition that letters, properly so called, were not first
taught by Moses, leaves us utterly ignorant of the first inventor of
them; and all that we are able to trace out from history concerning their invention, amounts to little more than some few plausible
conjectures in what country they were earliest propagated, while
the author of them is entirely unknown: and these conjectures are
supported, rather upon our knowledge of what relative height the
arts and sciences had attained in some nations above others, than
upon any credit that is due to the authority of the most ancient
writers in this particular; since whoever shall take the trouble of
inquiring into their several pretensions, will find the accounts they
have left us to be not only different from each other, but, for the
most part, inconsistent in themselves."*
The Hebrew, the Samaritan, the Syriac, to which we may add
the Greek alphabets, not to mention any other, seem to have but one
author, their respective letters following each other in the same, or
nearly the same order, having the same numeral as well as vocal
powers, and being called by similar names. Of these, the Samaritant is generally allowed to be the oldest; and the ancient characters of it to be those originally in use among the Hebrews.  In it
the decalogue probably was inscribed on the tables of stone, and
the sacred Name engraven or embossed upon the golden plate of
the mitre of the high priest. Exod. xxviii, 36. Profane writers
usually distinguished it by calling it Phenician; and from it are derived by far the greater part of the alphabets now used in different
parts of the globe. By the Jews it was continued in use till the
time of Ezra; when the Chaldee or present Hebrew character was
adopted, and the former relinquished to the Samaritans, in order,
as it is said, to render the separation between them and the Jews
more complete.[
In the early ages certain alphabetic letters had a numerical
value affixed to them, and were generally used as the signs of
numbers, as is occasionally the practice at present. Numerical
* Conjectural Observations, pp. 4, 5.  t See Plate 1.
t Walton in Bib. Polyg. Proleg. ii, iii. Hugo, De prima Scrib. Orig., cap. 3, p.
16, ed. Trozii, 1738, 8vo. Astle's Origin and Progress of Writing, ch. iv, p. 51.
Lond. 1803. fol. Hamilton's Int. to Heb. Scrip., ch. ii, pp. 32, 38. Conject. Ob. pass.
1




20                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
characters are of later date; and those which have for some centu
ries prevailed in Europe are certainly Indian. By the Indians they
were communicated to the Arabs, from whom they were introduced into Europe by the Moors.*
Nearly contemporaneous with the decalogue was the promulgation of the ceremonial law; which was transcribed by Moses, and,
with the other portions of the Pentateuch, delivered to the Israelites before his death, about 1450 years prior to the Christian era;
and about 500 preceding the age of Homer, the first and most celebrated of the Greek poets.
The character of the inspired legislator and his writings is admirably appreciated, in the following just and spirited eulogium by
a learned commentator:"Moses was in every respect a great man; for every virtue that
constitutes genuine nobility was concentred in his mind, and fully
displayed in his conduct. He ever conducted himself as a man
conscious of his own integrity, and of the guidance and protection
of God, under whose orders he constantly acted. He therefore
betrays no confusion in his views, nor indecision in his measures:
he was ever without anxiety, because he was conscious of the rec-,
titude of his motives, and that the cause which he espoused was the
cause of God; and that his power and faithfulness were pledged
for his support. His courage and fortitude were unshaken and
unconquerable, because his reliance was unremittingly fixed on the
unchangeableness of JEHOVAH. He left Egypt, having an eye " to
the recompence of reward" in another world; and never lost sight
of this grand object: he was therefore neither discouraged by difficulties, nor elated by prosperity. He, who in Egypt refused to
be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, thereby renouncing the
claim he might have had on the Egyptian throne, was never likely
to be influenced by secular views in the government of the miserable multitudes which he led out of that country. His renunciation
of the court of Pharaoh and its advantages, was the amplest proof
that lie neither sought nor expected honour or emolument in the
wilderness, among a people who had scarcely any thing but what
they received by immediate miracle from the hand of God."
"His woRKs, we may justly say, have been a kind of text-book
to almost every writer on geology, geography, chronology, astronomy, natural history, ethics, jurisprudence, political economy,
theology, poetry, and criticism, from his time to the present day.
Books, to which the choicest writers and philosophers in pagan
* Astle's Origin and Progress of Writing, ch. vii, p. 186.
1




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.               21
antiquity, have been deeply indebted; and which were the textbooks to all the prophets; —books from which the flimsy writers
against divine revelation have derived their natural religion and
all their moral excellence; —books written in all the energy and
purity of the incomparable language in which they are composed;
and finally, books, which for importance of matter, variety of information, dignity of sentiment, accuracy of facts, impartiality, simplicity, and sublimity of narration, tending to improve and ennoble
the intellect, and ameliorate the physical and moral condition of
man, have never been equalled, and can only be paralleled by the
gospel of the Son of God!"*
The five books of Moses are probably found most perfect in
what is called the Samaritan Pentateuch, from being written in
that character. Several copies of it have at different times been
obtained at Nablous and other places in the East, from the descendants of the Cuthites, and others who colonized Samaria, and embraced the Mosaic ritual, after the captivity and dispersion of the
ten tribes. 2 Kings, xvii.
Eusebius and Jerome refer to the Samaritan Pentateuch; but
from their time, no European appears to have seen it till the beginning of the seventeenth century, when Pietro Della Valle, during
his travels, obtained not only a copy of the Samaritan Pentateuch
itself, but also a translation of it into the Samaritan language.
The latter he took with him to Rome: the former he sent to
Harleus de Sancy, ambassador of France at Constantinople, and
afterward bishop of St. Malo, who presented it in 1620 to the
library of the Oratory at Paris. Johannes Morinus, a priest, and
one of the fathers of that religious house, gave a short account of
this Pentateuch in the preface to his edition of the Septuagint,
which was printed at Paris in 1628; and defended it also in
another work published in 1631; and under his inspection the
Samaritan Pentateuch, with its translation into the Samaritan language, was printed in the sixth volume of the Paris Polyglott, in
1632.t
The Samaritan Pentateuch was afterward reprinted by Bishop
Walton in the London Polyglott, and collated with other copies,
procured from the East by Archbishop Usher, who expended considerable sums annually in the purchase of manuscripts.  The
person principally employed by the archbishop to purchase Ori* Dr. Clarke's Commentary on Deuteronomy.
t Marsh's Course of Lectures on Divinity, sec. 10, p. 86, sec. 9, p. 93, pt. ii. Cambridge, 1810.
1




22                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
ental manuscripts was Mr. Thomas Davis, an English merchant
at Aleppo; who, though not a learned man, exerted himself in the
most handsome manner to fulfil the orders of his great correspondent, as the following extracts from his letters sufficiently prove.*
" The five books of Moses in the Samaritan character, I have
found by meer accident, with the rest of the Old Testament joyned
with them; but the mischief is there wants two or three leaves of
the beginning of Genesis; and as many in the Psalms."
" I sent a messenger on purpose to Mount Libanus and Tripoly,
for the Old Testament in the Syriack tongue, but he returned
without it, and brought word that there I might have one after two
months. The reason why they sent it not was, they wanted parchment to copy one of the books, and so not being perfect, did not
send it. But I pray understand that by the Syriack tongue here
they mean the Caldean. Therefore if your lordship mean and desire to have the Old Testament in Caldean, I beseech you to write
me, by the first over land, that I may provide it by the next ship;
and if your lordship will have me send it at adventures, though it
cost dear, (as it will cost ~10,) I will do my best endeavour to
send it by the first conveyance. Aleppo, Aug. 29, 1624."
"I perceive that my letter,-together with the five books of
Moses in the Samaritan character,-came in safety to your hands,
being very glad it proves so acceptable to your lordship. However, I find myself to have been abused by a Jew, who pretends to
have knowledge in that tongue, affirmingr to me, that it contained
all the Old Testament. How they read those books I have inquired, having no better means, of him, who I perceive knows no
more, if so much, than their alphabet; and to hear him read the
first two verses of Genesis, I could not, because another of those
books is not here to be had. The name of God, Jehovah, is pronounced by them, as saith he, YEHUEH. And the fift, eight, and
sixteen of these letters of their alphabet are pronounced HEI,
CHEI, EI; the CH of the eight letter must be pronounced deep in
the throat, CHEI."
"I sent to Damascus to see if I could procure the Grammar,
Chronicles, and Calender which your lordship desires, but could
not obtain any of them, there being but one poor man of the Samaritan race left in Damascus, who is not able to satisfy me in any
thing you desire; only he said there were certain books in their
language pawned to a great spahee of that city, but what they contained the poor fellow knew not. The spahee would not part with
* Parr's Life of Archbishop Usher, p. 35. Lond., 1686, fol.
1




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.                 23
them under 200 dollars, which is ~60 sterling: so I durst not
venture upon them, being ignorant of their worth. Aleppo, 16th
of January, 1625."
In 1670, the Rev. Robert Huntington, afterward bishop of
Rapho, in Ireland, was appointed chaplain to the English merchants at Aleppo, at the recommendation of the great Orientalist,
Dr. Pocock. He sailed the same year for Smyrna, and from thence
proceeded to Aleppo.
Among his friends and correspondents he numbered most of the
learned Oriental scholars of the age, who, on a variety of occasions,
acknowledged their obligations to him for the valuable MSS. he
procured for them, and the very great readiness he discovered to
obtain satisfactory answers to their various inquiries.  At his
request Dr. Pocock translated the principal parts of the English
Liturgy into Arabic. This work, as well as the Arabic translations
of the Catechism, and of Grotius on the Truth of the Christian
Religion, by the same author, and the Turkish Catechismn, by Mr.
Seaman, he was active in distributing among the Christians, and
others in the Turkish dominions.*
During eleven years' residence and travels in the East, he collected,
and transmitted to England, many rare and curious manuscripts.
Among these were three Greek MSS. of the gospels; one of
which he had obtained at Cairo; another of them from a monastery
in the Desert of Nitria; and the third at Jerusalem.  These, with
several other Coptic and Arabico-Coptic MSS. he sent to Dr.
Thomas Marshall, the editor of the Anglo-Saxon, and Maeso-Gothic
versions of the gospels. In his own possession also was a Greek
MS. of the gospels; and another of the Acts, the epistles of St.
Paul, the seven catholic, or general epistles, and the Revelation.
Both these manuscripts were afterward collated by Dr. Mill, and
supposed to be 500 years old.t
But Dr. Huntington is most generally known as the person who
engaged the Samaritans at Sichem or Nablous, to send a copy of
their Pentateuch, accompanied with a letter explanatory of their
tenets and rites, to their supposed brethren in England. In this letter expressions were used which conveyed the idea of dissimulation
having been practised by Dr. H. in order to obtain the Samaritan
Pentateuch.  "We give you notice," say they, " you that are our
brethren, children of Israel, that R. Huntington, an uncircumcised
* Twell's Life of Dr. Pocock, prefixed to Theological Works, vol. i, pas.
t Huntingtoni Epistolae, a T. Smith, p. 17. Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, p. 1, cap.
viii, pp. 267, 268.
1




24                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
man, is arrived here from Europe, and has acquainted us, that you
are a great people, composed of men pure and holy like ourselves,
and that you have sent him to desire of us a copy of the law; to
whom we would not give credit, till he had written before us some
characters of the holy language, in order to assure you that we have
the same Mosaic religion that you profess, and if we had not been
willing to oblige you, we should not have sent a copy of the law by
the hands of the uncircumcised, for that is a reproach to us. Nevertheless we have committed it to him with two other little books,
that we might not absolutely deny your request."*
This charge he repels, in a letter addressed to the celebrated
Job Ludolf, in which he communicates so much information
respecting the modern Samaritans, that I shall present the readei
with an extract from  it. It is dated the "last day of March,'
1690.
" The Samaritans, or rather the remains of the Cuthites, are so
few in number, that they are by far the smallest sect in these parts.
Even in Sichem, (now Neapolis or Nablous,) the seat of the prefect of that region, and the richest emporium of Palestine, there
are scarcely more than twenty families.  Pietro Della Valle testifies, that formerly they flourished at Damascus, where they are
now become extinct; and though they once inhabited Cairo in
considerable numbers, as their letter to Scaliger proves, and their
brethren at Sichem still boast of those who reside in Egypt, I
could find only one poor old Samaritan and his wife living at
Cairo."
"They have but one synagogue, and that nothing more than a
small, square, filthy, obscure chamber. In it are kept two copies
of the law, written on parchment, and probably about 500 years
old. They have also a form of prayer, the book of Joshua, or
rather a chronicle under that name; not indeed that which has
been praised by Scaliger, which I have never seen, but a brief one
from the creation of the world to the time of Mohammed, whom
they call the cursed. This word, however, they write in the Samaritan character, that the believers in the Alcoran may not understand it. They also possess a shorter and larger commentary on
the law. These are in Arabic;-but in their quotations from the
law, and in writing the names of their high priests, they make use
of the Samaritan characters."
"As to the very ancient copy of the law, of which they boast so
* Fleury's Manners of the Israelites, edited by Adam Clarke, LL.D. pt. iv, ch. viii,
pp. 356, 360, 8vo., 3rd. edit., Lond., 1809.
1




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.                25
much in all their epistles, as if it had been written by Abisha, the
son of Phineas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the high
priest, the report is altogether erroneous and false. For when I
passed through Sichem the second time, I inquired strictly into it;
but when I had nearly finished unrolling the book, which they professed to be it, and which was one of those I have already mentioned as being kept in their synagogue, they began to despair of
supporting their assertion; but affirmed that those words had formerly existed in their copy, but had been erased by some sacrilegious unknown hand."
"It is true, as has been told you, that many of them are secretaries to the bashaw, or collectors of the customs; an office which
they exercise in Joppa, and it is said at Gaza, similar to the Copts
in Egypt, and the Jews in the other parts of the Ottoman empire.
These are as well clothed as their circumstances will allow, especially the chief collector, Merchib ben Jacob."
" At the time I transacted the business of the tax usually demanded from the Franks,* but from which we were exempted by
an order from the vizier of Damascus, I made inquiries of Merchib ben Jacob, and four or five others who were present, respecting their nation, laws, rites, and customs. This solicitude on my
part led them in return to ask, whether any Hebrews resided in
the country from which I came? I answered in the affirmative,
believing them to mean Jews. They then handed me a piece
of paper with Samaritan characters upon it; which, when I read,
led them instantly to exclaim,' Ah! doubtless they are our brethren!' I assured them they were usually called Jews; but they still
continued to affirm,'They are indeed Israelites and Hebrews,
and our dearest brethren!' For they glory in appropriating to themselves the name of Israelites and Hebrews; hating the Jews, and
even their very name, with the most inveterate hatred."
"It cannot therefore be said with truth, that I persuaded them
that they had brethren living in England; for I expressly assured
them to the contrary. But from their extreme desire to have it so,
they were unwilling to believe me, neither could they conjecture
how it was possible for me to have learned the Samaritan letters,
except from Samaritans themselves. In particular, I never told
them that many of them lived among us, nor that they had sent me
to Sichem for a copy of their law. This, indeed, I told them, that
in order to know who or what those Hebrews were, of whom I had
* A name which the Turks, Arabs, Greeks, &c., give to all the people of the western parts of Europe.
1




26                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
spoken, it would be well for them to write out a sufficiently ample
history of their religion, especially wherein they differed from the
Jews; and at the same time to send them a copy of their law;
and in consequence of my speaking thus, one of them, who carried
a copy suspended round his neck, took it out of his bosom, and
presented it to me. It was written in small characters, and the
writing in many places considerably faded."*
This Samaritan Pentateuch was afterward presented by the
Rev. Mr. Huntington to Archbishop Marsh. It is Cod. 65 in Kennicott's Collection. The 33rd and 34th chapters of Deuteronomy
are supplied in this manuscript, which is in the duodecimo form,
by Merchib ben Jacob, before mentioned. It is also probable, that
the letter sent by the Samaritans at Sichem, to their supposed
brethren in England, is still preserved, since Dr. A. Clarket informs us, that in the year 1790 he met with an epistle in Marsh's
library, St. Patrick's, Dublin, neatly written upon paper, in a very
legible Samaritan character, directed "To the Congregation of
the Children of Israel, the Samaritans, dwelling in the City England."
The latest account of'the ancient manuscript examined by Dr.
Huntington, is in a letter from Mr. John Usgate to Mr. Swinton,
dated from Acre, and received at Oxford in August, 1734. In this
letter Mr. Usgate tells him, that he had been at Naplose the preceding February; that several families of the Samaritans then
resided there; that they had still their old MS. of the Pentateuch,
some passages of which were so effaced as to be scarce legible;
and that he had made proposals, and hoped soon to agree with
them for the purchase of it; of which he would send Mr. Swinton
notice. No such notice was received; the purchase being probably prevented by the unfortunate death of Mr. Usgate, who was
afterward cut to pieces by a party of Persians. So that this
curious  MS. seems  to  remain  still at Nablous.t   Some
curious observations relative to the situation and practices of the
Samaritans in the East, at so late a period as 1808, may be found
in the Jewish Expositor, vol. i, published in 1816.
An edition of the Hebrceo Samaritan Pentateuch, with various
readings, was published in the Hebrew character, in 1790, in an
octavo volume, by the late Dr. Blaney, Hebrew professor at
Oxford.
* Huntingtoni Epistolma. Ep. xxxiii, pp. 47-50.
t Fleury's Manners of the Israelites, pt. 4, ch. 8. p. 363.
$ Kennicott's Dissert., vol. ii, p. 541.
1




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.                  27
There also exists an Arabic version of the Samaritan Pentateuch,
written in the Samaritan character; but it has never been printed.
Some critics have supposed that there was also another version of
the Samaritan Pentateuch in Greek; but as no copy of such a version can be found, the fact has been doubted.*
In some parts of the Pentateuch, transpositions appear to have
taken place, by which the chronological order is interrupted; these
have occasioned a discussion respecting the materials upon which
the autograph of Moses, and the early transcripts of the law, were
written. Father Simon, and Dr. A. Clarke suppose, that by being
inscribed upon leaves, or portions of-bark or papyrus, the facts or
transactions which were entered upon them were very liable to be
deranged, especially as the separate pieces of Oriental writing are
not paged like our printed books, nor have any catch-words or signatures to connect the series.t But Dr. Kennicott conjectures, that
many of the first manuscripts were upon skins sewed together;
and that these transpositions were occasioned by the skins being
separated from each other, and afterward misplaced; and adduces
a singular instance of the kind, in a roll preserved in the Bodleian
library, at Oxford.t
Mr. Whiston and M. Toinard have attempted to prove similar
transpositions in the New Testament, from the same cause; but
have been successfully combated by the Rev. Jeremiah Jones, in
his " Vindication of the former part of St. Matthew's Gospel," ch.
xiv.3 The following remarks on the different substances upon
which ancient writings have been inscribed, and the various modes
by which they have been engraved or written, may serve not only
to elucidate this subject, but to illustrate many parts of the sacred
volumes.
The first writing of which we have ally certain knowledge, was,
as already observed, that of the decalogue, delivered to Moses on
Mount Sinai. This was inscribed on tables or slabs of stone;
which were written or graven on both their sides; hence some
rabbins suppose that the letters were cut through the tables, so
that they might be read on both sides, though on one side they
would appear reversed. This could not have been done, if the
* Walton in Bib. Polyg. Proleg., vol. xi, pp. 21, 22. Kennicott's Dissert., vol. ii, pp
540, 541.
t Simon. Hist. Crit. du V. T. L. i, ch. v. Clarke's Com. Numbers ix, 1.
T Kennicott's Dissert., vol. ii, pp, 342, 571.
~ Jones' New and Full Method of settling the Canonical Authority of the N. T.,
vol. iii, Oxford, 1798.
1




28                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
letters were the same with those called Hebrew now in common
use, because the close letters, such as D samech and D final mem,
could not be cut through without falling out; but if this ancient
character were the same with the Samaritan, this thorough cutting
might have been quite practicable, as there is not one close letter
in the whole Samaritan alphabet.*
On the entrance of the Israelites into the land of Canaan, the law
was commanded to be engraved on stones, that a genuine exemplar
of it might be transmitted even to the latest generation. Deut. xxvii,
1-8. Some suppose, that the writing was to be in relievo, and
that the spaces between the letters were filled up by the mortar or
cement.  "This," says Dr. A. Clarke, (comment. in loc.,) "is
quite a possible case, as the Eastern inscriptions are frequently
done in this way. There now is before me a large slab of basal
tes, two feet long, by sixteen inches wide, on which there is an
inscription in Persian, Arabic, and Tamool: in the two former,
the letters are all raised, the surface of the stone being dug out;
but the Taimool is indented: a kind of reddish paint had been
smeared over the letters, to make them more apparent.  Two
Arabic marbles in the University of Oxford have the inscriptions
in relievo, like those on the slab of basalt in my possession." We
also find in some burial grounds grave stones thus cut in relievo.
There is one of this kind on the north side of the church yard at
Northwich in Cheshire. Michaelis, however, objects to this opinion, and maintains that the law was engraved on these stones en
creux, or cut into the stones themselves; but his observations are
so novel and ingenious, that I shall give them in his own words:"Moses," says he, " commanded that the stones should be coated.
over with lime; but this command would have been quite absurd,
had his meaning only been, that the laws should be cut through this
coating; for after this unnecessary trouble, they could by no means
have been thus perpetuated with such certainty, nor have nearly so
long resisted the effects of wind and weather, as if at once en
graven in the stones themselves. Kennicott, in his Second Disser
tation on the printed Hebrew Text, p. 77, supposes that they
might have been cut out in black marble, with the letters raised,
and the hollow intervals, between the black letters, filled up with a
body of white lime, to render them more distinct and conspicuous.
But even this would not have been a good plan for eternizing
them; because lime cannot long withstand the weather, and
* Clarke's (Dr. A.) commentary on Exodus xxxii, 15.
1




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.                 29
whenever it began to fall off in any particular place, the raised
characters would, by a variety of accidents, to which writing deeply
engraved is not liable, soon be injured, and become illegible. No
one that wishes to write any thing in stone, that shall descend to
the most remote periods of time, will ever think of giving a preference to characters thus in relief. And, besides, Moses, if this was
his meaning, has expressed himself very indistinctly; for he says
not a word of the colour of stone, on which, however, the whole
idea turns."
"I rather suppose, therefore, that Moses acted in this matter
with the same view to future ages as is related of Sostratus, the
architect of the Pharos, who, while he cut the name of the king of
Egypt in the outer coat of lime, took care to engrave his own name
secretly in the stone below, in order that it might come to light in
after times, when the plaster with the king's name should have
fallen off. In like manner, Moses, in my opinion, commanded
that his laws should be cut in the stones themselves, and these
coated with a thick crust of lime, that the engraving might continue for many ages secure from all the injuries of the weather and
atmosphere; and then, when by the decay of it* covering it should,
after hundreds or thousands of years, first come to light, serve to
show to the latest posterity whether they had suffered any change.
It is by no means impossible that these stones, if again discovered,
might be found still to contain the whole engraved perfectly legible. Probably, however, this discovery, highly desirable though
it would be, both to literature and religion, being in the present
state of things, and particularly of the Mosaic law, now so long
abrogated, not indispensably necessary, is reserved for some future
age of the world."*
Similar practices were afterward adopted by other nations;
and hard substances, such as stones and metals, were generally
made use of for edicts, and matters of public notoriety; hence the
celebrated Laws of the Twelve Tables among the Romans were
so called from being written or engraved on twelve slabs, or tablets
of brass, or ivory, or oak; and hung up for public inspection.
The laws penal, civil, and ceremonial, among the Greeks, were
engraven on triangular tables of brass, which were called Cyrbes.
Trithemius asserts, that the public monuments of France were
anciently inscribed on silver.t The Rev. Dr. Claudius Buchanan,
* Michaelis' Commentaries on the Laws of Moses, translated by Alex. Smith, D. D.,
vol. i, pp. 556-558. Lond. 1814. 8vo.
t Hugo, De prima Scrib. Orig., p. 87.
1




30                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
in 1807, found the Jews in India in possession of several tablets
of brass, containing grants of privileges made to their ancestors.*
In the Asiatic Researches, particularly in vol. ix, art. 10, various
notices may be found of ancient grants and inscriptions upon tablets
or plates of brass: Gibbon also (Decline and Fall of the Rom. Emp.,
vol. viii, ch. xliv, pp. 5, 6) remarks, that in the year 1444 seven or
eight tables of brass were dug up between Cortona and Gubio;
part of them inscribed with the Etruscan character; the rest
representing the primitive state of the Pelasgic letters and language. And Capt. Percival relates, that when Raja Singa, king
of Candy, sent an embassy to the Dutch governor of Pulicat in
1636, the letter with which the ambassador was charged was
written in Arabic, on tablets of gold. Mountfaucon (Journey
through Italy, p. 287) says, that in the palace of Strozzi, at Rome,
he saw a book made of marble, the leaves of which were cut to a
wonderful thinness, so that turning them over, you might see all
the several kinds of marble, The ancient Chaldeans stamped or
engraved their astronomical observations upon bricks; and within
a few years considerable quantities of such bricks have been dug
up in the vicinity of Hilleh, the real or supposed site of the ancient
Babel. Several fac similes of the inscriptions on these bricks
are given in the Classical Journal, No. v, p. 127. Diogenes Laertius tells us concerning the Greek philosopher, Cleanthes, that
" being poor, and wanting money to buy paper, he was accustomed
to write the lectures and discourses of his master Zeno on small
shells, or bones of oxen. The Koran of Mohammed was recorded
at first, by his disciples, on palm-leaves, and the shoulder bones of
mutton; and kept in a domestic chest, by one of his wives." (Gibbon, Decline and Fall of Rom. Emp., vol. ix, chl. i, p. 258.)
According to Pliny, (lib. ix, ch. xi,) one of the most ancient
methods of writing was, upon the leaves of the palm-tree, and
afterward, upon the inner bark of trees. This mode of writing is
still common in the East. In Tanjore, and other parts of India,
the palmyra-leaf is used, on which they engrave with an iron style
or pen, and so expert are the natives, that they can write fluently
what is spoken deliberately. They do not look much at their ollas,
or leaves, while writing, the fibre of the leaf serving to guide the
pen. The aptitude of the Christian Hindoos, to copy the sermons
they hear, is particularly noticed by the Rev. Dr. C. Buchanan, in
his " Christian Researches," p. 66, where he observes, that
"while the Rev. Dr. John delivered an animated discourse in the' Percival's Account of Ceylon, ch, i, p. 3.
1




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.                31
Tamul tongue, many persons had their olias in their hands, writing the sermon in Tamul short-hand." Dr. Francis Buchanan, in
a valuable essay " On the Religion and Literature of the Burmas,"
informs us, that "in their more elegant books, the Burmas write
on sheets of ivory, or on very fine white palmyra-leaves.  The
ivory is stained black, and the margins are ornamented with gilding, while the characters are enamelled or gilded. On the palmyraleaves the characters are in general of black enamel; and the ends
of the leaves and margins are painted with flowers in various
bright colours. In their more common books, the Burmas, with
an iron style, engrave their writing on palmyra-leaves. A hole
through both ends of each leaf serves to connect the whole into a
volume, by means of two strings, which also pass through the two
wooden boards, that serve for binding. In the finer binding of
these kinds of books, the boards are lacquered, the edges of the
leaves cut smooth and gilded, and the title is written on the upper
board; tile two cords are, by a knot or jewel, secured at a little
distance from the boards, so as to prevent the book from falling to
pieces, but sufficiently distant to admit of the upper leaves being
turned back, while the lower ones are read.  The more elegant
books are in general wrapped up in silk cloth, and bound round by
a garter, in which the Burmas have the art to weave the title of the
book."*
Abeautifully written Indian manuscript now lies before me. The
characters are minute and neatly executed. They have been written or engraved so as to enter into the substance of the leaf. The
ink is black. The whole is composed of seven distinct portions ot
leaf, each portion being sixteen and a quarter inches in length and
one and a quarter in breadth, the lines running parallel to each
other from end to end of the leaf. Two holes are made in each
leaf about six inches asunder. A string passed through the holes
at each end secures the whole; but the leaves being written on
both sides must be untied before they can be read.
The Ceylonese sometimes make use of the palm-leaf, and sometimes of a kind of paper, made of bark, but most generally employ
the leaf of the talipot-tree. From these leaves, which are of immense size, they cut out slips, from a foot to a foot and a half long,
and about a couple of inches broad. These slips are smoothed,
and all excrescences pared off with a knife, and are then, without
any other preparation, ready to be used. A fine pointed steel
pencil, like a bodkin, and set in a wooden or ivory handle, is em* Asiatic Researches, vol. vi, p, 306. Lond. 8vo.
1




2q2                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
ployed to write or rather to engrave their letters, on these talipot
slips, which are very thick and tough; and in order to render the
writing distinct and permanent, they rub them over with oil mixed
with pulverized charcoal.  They afterward string several slips
together, by a piece of twine passed through them, and attach them
to a board in the same way as we file newspapers.  In those letters or despatches which were sent by the king of Candy to the
Dutch government, the writing was enclosed in leaves of beaten
gold, in the shape of a cocoa-tree leaf. This was rolled up in a
cover richly ornamented, and almost hid in a profusion of pearls
and other precious stones. The whole was enclosed in a box of
silver or ivory, which was sealed with the king's great seal.*
Diodorus Siculus (lib. ii, p. 84) affirms, that the Persians of old
wrote all their records on skins; and Herodotus, who flourished more
than five hundred and fifty years before the Christian era, informs us,
(lib. v,) that sheep skins and goat skins were made use of in
writing by the ancient Ionians.  Mr. Yeates even thinks it exceedingly probable that the very autograph of the law, written by the
hand of Moses, was upon prepared skins.t  In Exodus xxvi, 14,
we read that rams' skins, dyed red, made part of the covering for
the tabernacle; and it is a singular circumstance, that in the year
1806, Dr. Claudius Buchanan obtained from one of the synagogues
of the Black Jews,T in the interior of Malayala in India, a very ancient manuscript roll, containing the major part of the Hebrew
Scriptures, written upon goats' skins, mostly  dyed red; and
the Cabul Jews, who travel annually into the interior of China,
remarked, that in some synagogues the law is still found written
on a roll of leather; not on vellum, but on a soft, flexible leather,
made of goats' skins, and dyed red. Of the six synagogue copies
of the Pentateuch in rolls, which are all at present known in England, exclusive of those in the possession of the Jews, five are upon
skins or leather, and the other upon vellum. One of these is in
the Collegiate library at Manchester, and has never been collated.
It is written upon Basil, or brown African skins, and measures in
length one hundred and six feet, and is about twenty inches in
breadth. The letters are black and well preserved, and the whole
text is without points, accents, or marginal additions.~
* Percival's Account of Ceylon, ch. viii, pp. 205, 206.
t Yeates's Collation of an Indian Copy of the Heb. Pen., p. 2. 4to. 1812.
t The Black Jews are those who have been settled in India from time immemorial,
and assimilated in colour to the Hindoos. The White Jews are of later settlement.
(See Buchanan's " Christian Researches.")
~ See Yeates's Collation, p. 11.
I




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.                33
The skins of fishes were also sometimes employed for writing
upon; and Zonoras (Annal., lib. iii) relates, that the Iliad and
Odyssey of Homer were written upon the intestines of a serpent,
in characters of gold, forming a roll one hundred feet in length.
This singular work is said to have been consumed in the dreadful
fire which happened at Constantinople, in the fifth century, and
destroyed nearly the whole city, together with the library, containing 20,000 volumes.*
From Job xix, 24, it appears to have been usual in his day to
write or engrave upon plates of lead, which might easily be done
with a pen, or graver, or style of iron, or other hard metal.
Mountfaucon (Antiq. Expliquee, tom. ii, p. 378) assures us, that
in 1699 he bought at Rome a book entirely of lead, about four
inches long, by three inches wide. Not only the two pieces which
formed the cover, but also all the leaves, in number six, the stick
inserted into the rings which held the leaves together, the hinges,
and the nails, were all of lead, without exception. It contained
Egyptian Gnostic figures, and unintelligible writing.t
The " Works and Days" of Hesiod are also said to have been
inscribed on a leaden table, carefully preserved in the Temple of
the Muses, which, when shown to Pausanias, was almost entirely
corroded, through age. According to Pliny the public documents
were written in leaden volumes, after the use of the pugillares, or
wooden tablets, had been laid aside. Thin plates of lead, reduced
to a very great degree of tenuity by the mallet, were occasionally
used, particularly for epistolary correspondence. EAneas Poliorceticus tells us, that they were beaten with a hammer, until they
were rendered very thin and pliable; that they were sometimes
sewed up between the soles of the shoes; that even the messenger who carried them was ignorant of the circumstance; and that
while he slept, the correspondent to whom they were addressed
unsewed the shoes, read the letters, replaced others, and thus carried on a secret intercourse without suspicion.:f
It was also an ancient practice to write upon thin smooth planks
or tables of wood. Pliny says that table-books of wood were in use
before the time of Homer. The Chinese, before the invention of
paper, engraved with an iron tool upon thin boards, or upon bamboc; and in the Sloanian library at Oxford are six specimens of
* Mabillon De Re. Diplomat., 1. 1, pI 31.
t Fragments, by the editor of Calmet's Dict., No. 74.
X Drummond's Herculanensia, Diss. 7, pp. 99, 100. Lond. 4to. 1810,
VOL. I.-3




34                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Kufic or ancient Arabic writing, on boards about two feet in length,
and six inches in depth.*
The original manner of writing among the ancient Britons was
by cutting the letters with a knife upon sticks, which were most
commonly squared, and sometimes formed into three sides; consequently a single stick contained either four or three lines. (See
Ezek. xxxvii, 16.) Several sticks, with writing upon them, were
put together, forming a kind of frame, which was called peithynen
or elucidator, and was so constructed, that each stick might be
turned for the facility of reading, the end of each running out alternately on both sides of the frame.t A continuation of this mode of
writing may be found in the Runic, or log almanacks of the northern states of Europe, in which the engraving on square pieces of
wood has been continued to the present time. A late writer informs us, the Boors of (Esel, an island of the Baltic Sea, at the
entrance of the Gulf of Livonia, continue the practice of making
these rude calendars for themselves; and that they are in use likewise in the isles of Ruhn and Mohn.t Two curious specimens of
the Runic almanacks are in the collegiate library at Manchester.
Bishop Nicolson, in his " English Historical Library," (2nd edit.
fol. pt. i, p. 52,) remarks-" The Danes (as all other ancient people of the world) registered their more considerable transactions
upon rocks, or on parts of them, hewn into various shapes and
figures. On these they engraved such inscriptions as were proper
for their heathen altars, triumphal arches, sepulchral monuments,
and genealogical histories of their ancestors. Their writings of
less concern (as letters, almanacks, &c.) were engraven upon
wood: and because beech was most plentiful in Denmark, (though
fir and oak be so in Norway and Sweden,) and most commonly
employed in these services, from the word bog, which in their language is the name of that sort of wood, they and all other
northern nations have the name of book. The poorer sort used
bark; and the horns of reindeer and elks were often finely polished, and shaped into books of several leaves. Many of their old
calendars are likewise upon bones of beasts and fishes: but the
inscriptions on tapestry, bells, parchment, and paper, are of later
use."
* Astle's Origin and Progress of Writing, ch. viii, p. 201.
t Davie's Celtic Researches, p. 271. Fry's Pantographia, pp. 304, 307. See Frontispiece, fig. 1.
t Gent. Mag., vol. lxxxii, pt. i, p. 625, where there is a fac simile of the CEsel
almanack.
1                        n3*




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.                35
A singular custom still prevails at Pamber, near Basingstoke, in
Hampshire. The court-leet, holden annually for that manor, is
opened sub dio, in a small piece of ground called Lady Mead,
which belongs to the tithing man for the year. Thence an adjournment is made to a neighbouring public house. The proceedings
of the court are recorded on a piece of wood, called a tally, about
three feet long, and an inch and a half square, furnished every year
by the steward. One of these singular records was some time ago
produced in evidence in a law-suit at Winchester.* The mode of
keeping accounts by tallies, or cleft pieces of wood, in which the
notches are cut on one piece conformably to the other, one part being kept by the creditor, the other by the debtor, is still practised
in many parts of England, in particular cases. A tally continues
to be given by the exchequer to those who pay money there upon
loan; hence the origin of the teller, or tally writer of the exchequer; and also of the phrase to tally, to fit, to suit, or answer
exactly.
The Scythians also conveyed their ideas by marking, or cutting,
certain figures and a variety of lines upon splinters or billets of
wood; and among the Lacedemonians, the scytale laconica was a little round staff, which they made use of to write their secret letters. In
the Apocrypha (2 Esd. xiv, 24, 37, 44) we read of a considerable
number, that is, two hundred and four books being made of
box-wood, and written upon in the open field by certain swift writers.
Aulus Gellius (lib. ii, ch. xii) says that the ancient laws of Solon,
preserved at Athens, were cut in tablets of wood, and denominated
axones. These were quadrangular, and so contrived as to turn on
axes, and to present their contents on all sides to the eyes of the
passengers. The laws on these wooden tables, as well as those
on stone, were inscribed after the manner called boustirophedon,
that is, the first line beginning from right to left, or from left to
right, and the second in an opposite direction, as ploughmen trace
their furrows; as in the following words, copied from an inscription
on a marble, in the national museum at Paris:NEKEOENAM ZOAAT
API';TOKIAE2 NOEZEN
em decalp sullyH"
Aristocydes made me."
A somewhat similar mode of writing obtained among the ancient
Irish, by whom it was denominated cionn fa eite.
* Gent. Mag., vol. lxxx, pt. i, p. 308.
1




36                    BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
The boustrophedon writing is said to have been disused by
the Greeks, about four hundred and fifty-seven years before the
Christian era, but was in use among the Irish at a much later
period.*
It is highly probable also, that several of the prophets wrote
upon tablets of wood, or some similar substance. (See Isaiah xxx,
8; Habakkuk ii, 2.) Zecharias, the father of John the Baptist,
when required to name his son, " asked for a writing-table, and
wrote, saying, His name is John," Luke i, 63. These table-books
the Romans denominated pugillares. Smaller tablets were also
frequently in use, made of wood cut into thin slices, and finely
planed and polished.t In the year 485, during the reign of the
emperor Zeno, the remains of St. Barnabas are said to have been
found near Salamis, with a copy of the gospel of St. Matthew in
Hebrew, laid upon his breast, written with his own hand, upon
leaves of thyine-wood, a kind of wood particularly odoriferous and
valuable. (Suid. Lex. v, oviva.) Tablets of this kind were generally covered with wax, sometimes also with chalk or plaster; and
written upon with styles or bodkins.  In epistolary correspondence, they were tied together with thread, and the seal put upon
the knot. These tablets, when collected and fastened together,
composed a book, called codex or caudex, that is, a trunk, from its
resemblance to the trunk of a tree, sawed into planks; but when
they consisted of only two leaves, they were termed libri
diptychi.
Waxen tablets continued to be occasionally used till a very late
period. Du Cange cites the following lines from a French metrical romance, written about A. D. 1376.t
Les uns se prennent a eerire,
Des greffes en tables de cire;
Les autres suivent la coustume
De former lettres a la plume.
Some with the antiquated style,
On waxen tablets promptly write;
Others, with finer pen, the while
Form letters lovelier to the sight.
There are many ample and authentic records of the royal household of France, of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, still pre* Astle's Origin and Progress of Writing, ch. v, p. 68. Vallancey's Antiquity of
the Irish Language, p. 55, Dublin, 1772. 8vo.
t Horne's Introduction to Bibliography, vol. i, pp. 35-38. Astle's Origin and Progress
of Writing, ch. viii, p. 200.
$ Du Cange, v, Graphium.
1




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.                 37
served, written on waxen tablets. In the religious houses in France,
they were constantly kept for temporary notation; and for registering the capitular acts of the monasteries. Specimens of wooden tables, filled up with wax, and constructed in the fourteenth century,
were formerly preserved in several of the monastic libraries.
Some of these contained the household expences of the sovereigns,
&c., and consisted of as many as twenty pages, formed into a book
by means of parchment bands glued to the backs of the leaves.
One remaining in the abbey of St. Germaine des-prez at Paris,
recorded the expences of Philip le Bel, during a journey that he
made in the year 1307, on a visit to Pope Clement V.; a single
leaf of this table-book is exhibited  in the Nouveau traitM  de
diplomatique, tom. i, p. 468. Among the monks of St. Victor of
Paris, where the rule of silence was rigorously observed, certain
signs were enjoined to prevent the necessity of speaking; Du
Cange (v. Signa) notices many of them, and among others, those
by which they asked for the style and tablet. In an account-roll
of Winchester College for the year 1395, there is an article of disbursement, for a tablet covered with green wax, to be kept in the
chapel, for noting down with a style the respective courses of
duty alternately assigned to the officers of the choir. Shakspeare
alludes to this mode of writing, in his " Timon of Athens'"
-..." My free drift
Halts not particularly, but moves itself
In a wide sea of wax."
Even so late as A. D. 1718, several of the collegiate bodies in
France, especially the chapter of the cathedral of Rouen, retained
these tablets, for the purpose of marking the successive rotation of
the ministers of the choir.
Tables, or table-books, were sometimes made of slate, in the
form of a small portable book with leaves and clasps. Such a one
is engraved in Gesner's treatise De rerum fossilium Jiguris, &c.
Tigur. 1565, 12mo., and copied by Douce in his " Illustrations of
Shakspeare," vol. ii, p. 227. The learned author thus describes it:
Pugillaris d laminis saxi nigri fissilis, cum stylo ex eodem.  " A
table-book made of thin plates of black stone, with a style of the
same material."*
By a law among the Romans, the edicts of the senate were directed to be written on tablets of ivory, thence denominated libri
elephantini. And Pliny (lib. viii, ch. iii) says, that from want of
* Warton's Hist: of Eng. Poetry, vol. iii, p. 151, note (k.) Douce's Illustrations
of Shakspeare, vol. ii, pp. 227-229.
1




38                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
the teeth of the elephant, which are alone of ivory, they had lately
begun to saw the bones of that animal.*
Dr. Shaw (Travels, p. 194) informs us, that in Barbary the
children who are sent to school write on a smooth thin board,
slightly daubed over with whiting, which may be wiped off or renewed at pleasure, and thus learn to read, to write, and get their
lessons by heart, all at the same time. The Copts, who are employed by the great men of Egypt in keeping their accounts, &c.,
make use of a sort of pasteboard for that purpose, from which the
writing is occasionally wiped off with a wet sponge.t References
to a similar mode of writing are frequent in Scripture: see particularly Numbers v, 23; Nehemiah xiii, 14, et al.  In India it has
been the practice from time immemorial to teach children to read
by writing in sand; and from thence are derived some parts of the
present Madras and Lancasterian systems of instruction, practised
by the Rev. Dr. Bell and Mr. Lancaster.
The old Egyptians used to write on linen things which they designed should last. There is a piece of writing of this kind now
in the British Museum, which was taken out of an Egyptian
mummy; and a similar book was found in a mummy by Mr. Denon, an engraved fac simile of which may be found in his Travels.:
Livy (lib. iv, ch. vii) makes mention of linen books, as containing
information not to be found in public documents.  We find also
from  Vopiscus, that the emperor Aurelian wrote his journal or
diary in linen books.~  Suidas (Lex. v, lTor25o) reports, that at
Athens, they wrote upon the peplus, or robe of Minerva, the names
of their chief warriors. Silk also was frequently made use of in
works of value.  In the Harleian library, in the British Museum,
there is a very valuable Greek MS. of the Geoponics, written on
silken leaves, toward the close of the twelfth century.  Montfaucon mentions many works written on silk, which are preserved ill
different libraries in Italy, executed chiefly in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. In the Chigian library, at Rome, there is a MS.
on silk, containing all the prophets, with some things struck out;
and asterisks or stars, and.some H exapla readings, that is, of the
six different translations, in the margin. In the library of St. Mary,
at Florence, is the whole New Testament on silk, with the liturgy,
* Drummond's Herculanensia, p. 105. Astle's Origin'and Progress of Writing,
ubi sup.
t Harmer's Observations, by Dr. A. Clarke, vol. iii, p. 127.
X Clarke's Harmer's Observations, vol. iii, p. 132.
~ Herculanensia, p. 107.
1




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.                  39
and short martyrology: at the end of it there is written in Greek,
" By the hand of the sinner and most unworthy Mark; in the year
of the world 6840, (that is, of CHRIST 1332,) Monday, December
the 22nd;" and on the next page are several Greek alphabets.*
In the south of India they have a kind of book, called cudduttunt,
or curruttum.  It is thus composed: A slip of cotton cloth, from
eight inches to one foot in breadth, and from twelve to eighteen
feet in length, is skilfully covered with a compost of paste and
powdered charcoal, which, when completely dried, is divided into
equal parts by folding. To the two end-folds are fixed ornamented plates of wood, painted and varnished, resembling the sides of
a book. It opens at either side, and when unfolded, draws out to
the full length; and is preserved by being kept in a case of silk,
or cotton; or else by being tied with a tape, or riband. The
writing on it may be compared to that done on a slate, as the
marks made by the pencil may be rubbed out, and renewed at
pleasure.t
The bark of trees is another material which has been employed
in every age and quarter of the globe; and was called xylochartion
by the Greeks. Before the use of the papyrus became general,
the bark of the philyra, a species of the linden-tree, was frequently
made use of for writing upon; and books written on it existed in
the third century. The bark of oak was also used for the same
purpose. Hence the Latins called a book, liber, which signifies
the inner bark of a tree; and the Greeks used the word 97,otoE,
(phloios,) which also means bark.t
The use of bark for this purpose still prevails in some parts of
Asia; thus the sacred books of the Burmans are sometimes composed of thin stripes of bamboo, delicately plaited, and varnished
over in such a manner as to form a smooth and hard surface upon
a leaf of any dimensions; this surface is afterward gilt, and the
sacred letters are traced upon it in black and shining japan; the
margin is illuminated by wreaths and figures of gold on a red,
green, or black ground.~ The Battas also, one of the nations who
inhabit the island of Sumatra, form their books of the inner bark
of a certain tree: one of which, in the Batta character, is in the
Sloanian library, (No. 4726,) written in perpendicular columns, on
a long piece of bark, folded up so as to represent a book. ll
* Montiaucon's Travels through Italy, ch. xvii, p. 272; ch. xxv, p. 412.
t Gentleman's Magazine, vol. lxxxi, pt. i, p. 147.    $ Herculanensia, p. 106.
{ Horne's Introduction of Bibliography, vol. i, p. 42.
11 Horne's Introduction, &c., ubi sup.
1




40                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Of the several kinds of PAPER, used at different periods, and
manufactured from various materials, the Egyptian is unquestiona
bly the most ancient. The exact date of its discovery is unknown;
and even the place where it was first made is matter of dispute
According to Isidore, it was first made at Memphis; and accord
ing to others in Seide, or Upper Egypt. It was manufactured
from the inner films of the papyrus or biblos, a sort of flag, or bulrush, growing in the marshes of Egypt.* The outer skin being
taken off, there are next, several films or inner skins, one within
another. These, when separated from the stalk, were laid on a
table, and moistened with the glutinous waters of the Nile. They
were afterward pressed together, and dried in the sun. From this
papyrus it is, that what we now make use of to write upon hath
also the name of papyr or paper; though of quite another nature
from the ancient papyrus.  Bruce, the well-known Abyssinian
traveller, had in his possession a large and very perfect manuscript on papyrus, which had been dug up at Thebes, and which
he believed to be the only perfect one known.  "The boards,"
or covers for binding the leaves, " are,X" says he, " of papyrus root,
covered first with the coarse pieces of the paper; and then with
leather, in the same manner as it would be done now. It is a book
one would call a small folio, rather than by any other name.  The
letters are strong, deep, black, and apparently written with a reed,
as is practised by the Egyptians and Abyssinians still. It is written on both sides. I gave Dr. Woide leave to translate it, at Lord
North's request: it is a Gnostic book, full of their dreams."t The
form of the book in Mr. Bruce's possession appears to be different
from that in general use among the ancient Egyptians, for Pliny
(lib. xiii, ch. xxiii) affirms, that the books made of papyrus were
usually rolled up; and that every such roll consisted of an indefinite number of sheets, which were fastened together by glue, care
being taken always to place the best sheet of papyrus first, that
which was next in superiority second, and so in gradation to the
last, which was the worst sheet in the roll. This practice is confirmed by an ancient Egyptian MS. taken from a mummy at
Thebes, and preserved in the British Museum, which, before it
was expanded in the manner in which it is now seen, was closely
rolled up; and which, if held up to the light, will be perceived to
have the first sheet composed of a much finer piece of papyrus,
than any of the succeeding sheets. Manuscripts of this kind are
by far the most ancient manuscripts which have reached our times.
* See Frontispiece.  t Bmce's Travels, vol. vii, p. 117, et seq. 8vo. edit.
1




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.                41
The few which have been found, have been observed to lie close
to the embalmed figure, underneath the resin and bandages, which
have been employed to envelop the body.  The mummies of
distinguished persons are said to be seldom without one of these
rolls; and no mummy has been known to contain more than
two.*
Many manuscripts written upon papyrus have been found in the
ruins of Herculaneum, which was destroyed by an eruption of
Vesuvius, A. D. 79. The manuscripts thus obtained are completely calcined, though by incredible labour and patience fragments of some of them have been unrolled and copied.
Paper made of bark is said to have been anciently used for the
imperial protocols, in order to render the forging of false diplomas
more difficult. Montfaucon notices a diploma, or charter, written on bark, in the Longobardic character, about the beginning of
the eighth century, preserved in the library of Antony Capello, a
senator of Florence. It is a judgment given at Reate, about
guardianship. The parties contending are either Goths, or, as is
more likely, Lombards; the judges are Romans. It is remarkable, that the date was orginally inserted in it; but has been defaced by a mouse gnawing it, as it lay rolled up: it is, however,
one of the first charters in which the Christian computation has
been used.t The Chinese generally make their paper from the
bark of the bamboo, and other trees; but occasionally manufacture
it from other substances, as hemp, wheat, or rice straw, the cocoons of silk-worms, and even old paper. The Rev. Robert Morrison, an English Protestant missionary in China, sent out by the
London Missionary Society in 1810, has translated into the
Chinese language several portions of the Old and New Testament,
some of which, beautifully printed on paper of Chinese manufacture, have been transmitted to England.
The Japanese make an exceedingly strong paper from the morus
papyrifera sativa, or true paper-tree, by the Japanese called
kaadsit. Several other Eastern nations employ bark also in the
manufacture of paper.
A kind of paper has also been lately made of the shavings of
leather. A sheet of it now lies before me, of a reddish yellow, or
orange colour: it is exceedingly tough, and will bear ink, but is
rather greasy to the pen.
According to Montfaucon, charta bombycina, or cotton paper,
* Beloc's Anecdotes of Literature, vol. i, pp. 54-57, Lond. 1807, 8vo.
t Montfaucon's Travels through Italy, ch. iv, p. 84.
1




42                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
was discovered toward the end of the ninth, or early in the tenth
century. Casiri states paper to have been first manufactured in
Bucharia; and that the Arabs ascribe its invention to Joseph Amru,
in the year of the Hegira 88, of Christ 706. Other learned men
have thought, that we are indebted for it to the Chinese, from
whom it passed successively to the Indians, Persians, and Arabs;
and by the latter was communicated to the western nations. The
manufacture of cotton paper is said to be still carried on to considerable extent in the Levant.*
Paper, fabricated from linen rags, is now used throughout Europe, and almost every part of the world whither Europeans have
penetrated; and is a much more valuable material for writing upon
than the cotton paper. W~e are ignorant both of the inventor and
of the date of this important discovery. Dr. Prideaux delivers it
as his opinion, that linen paper was brought from the East, because
many of the Oriental manuscripts are written upon it. Mabillon
believes its invention to have been in the twelfth century. One of
the earliest specimens of paper from linen rags, which has yet
been discovered, is that in the possession of Pestel, professor in
the University of Rinteln, in Germany. It is a document, with
the seal preserved, dated A. D. 1239; and signed by Adolphus,
count of Schaumburg.t But Casiri positively affirms, that there
are many MSS. in the Escurial, both upon cotton and linen paper,
written prior to the thirteenth century. This invention appears to
have been very early introduced into England; for Dr. Prideaux
assures us, he had seen a register of some acts of John Cranden,
*'rior of Ely, made on linen paper, which bears date in the fourteenth year of King Edward II., A. D. 1320; and in the Cottonian library are said to be several writings on this kind of paper,
as early as the year 1335. The fJirst paper-mill erected in this
kingdom is said to have been at Dartford, in 1588, by M. Spilman,
a German.t  Shakspeare, however, refers it to the reign of Henry
VI., and makes Jack Cade (Henry VI., pt. ii) say, in accusation of
Lord Sands: "Whereas, before, our forefathers had no other books
but the score and the tally, thou hast caused printing to be used,
and contrary to the king, his crown, and dignity, thou hast built a
paper?-mill."  During the same reign, the head of the duke of York,
with a paper crown upon it, was placed on the walls of the city of
York.
* Horne's Introduction to Bibliography, ubi sup.
t Peignot, Essai sur Parchemin, p. 55, note. Casiri, ubi sup.
t Astle's Origin and Progress of Writing, ch. viii, p. 206.
1




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.                  43
But, although paper made from linen rags is preferable to most
other materials for writing upon, it is, nevertheless, inferior to
parchment or vellum.
Parchment is usually made of the skins of sheep and goats:
vellum, which is a finer kind of parchment, is made of the skins
of abortive, or at least of sucking calves. The invention has been
generally attributed to Eumenes, king of Pergamus;* there is,
however, reason to believe that parchment was in use long before
his reign. Josephus (Antiq., lib. xii, ch. ii) states, that the copy
of the law, presented by the seventy elders to Ptolemy Philadelphus, about 277 years before Christ, was written upon parchment
or vellumn; and excited the astonishment of the king, by the extraordinary fineness of the parchment, as well as by the artful
manner in which the different skins were sewed together, and the
exquisite execution of the writing, in letters of gold. The most
probable opinion, therefore, is, that Eumenes, son of Attalus
I., king of Pergamus, though not the inventor, introduced parchment into more general use, at the time when Ptolemy Epiphanes,
from  a wish to prevent the rivalry of other princes in amassing
books, and forming extensive libraries, prohibited the exportation
of the papyrus, or Egyptian paper.t
From  the city of Pergamus, parchment received the name of
Pergamenum, and charta Pergamena, as it did that of membrana,
from being made of the skins of animals.  The term  parchment
is a corruption of the word Pergamenum.  Vellum is derived from
the Latin vitulus, a calf.
A coarse kind of parchment or vellum has been fabricated also
from the skins of asses. A late traveller informs us, that in the
Royal library in Sweden, " there are two enormous Latin MSS.,
the vellum leaves of which are made of asses' skins, and are of an
amazing size."t
The manuscripts written on parchment, or vellum, were sometimes so large as to be obliged to be carried on the shoulder.
Melchior Adam  relates, that Paul Pfedersheimer, a converted
Jew, having lent a Hebrew MS. of the prophets, accompanied
with the Massorah, to Conrad Pellican, then a youth, and indefatigably industrious to acquire a knowledge of the Hebrew tongue;
* Pergamus, now Berg'amo, was the capital of the kingdom of that name in Asia
Minor This city is mentioned in the Revelation of St. John ii, 11. It was the birthplace of Galen.
t Peignot. Essai sur Parchmin, pp. 27-33, 41, 42.
X Carr's (Sir John) Travels round the Baltic, p. 130, 4to.
1




44                    BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Paul Scriptor, the tutor of Pellican, who was travelling with him,
assisted him on his journey, by carrying the huge manuscript,
which had the appearance of an entire calf-skin, upon his shoulder,
like a porter, from Mentz to Pfortzheiin, and from thence to Tu
bingen.*
Table-books, as they were called, made of asses' skins, or some
similar substance, were common in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries. Mr. Southey, in his "Omniana," has given a curious
description of one of them.  "It is a little book," says he, "nearly
square, being three inches wide, and something less than four in
length, bound stoutly in calf, and fastening with four strings of
broad, strong, brown tape.  The title as follows:'Writing Tables, with a Kalendar for xxiiii. yeeres, with sundrie necessarie
rules. The tables made by Robert Triplet. London. Imprinted
for the Company of Stationers.' The tables are inserted immediately after the almanack.  At first sight they appear like what
we call asses' skin, the colour being precisely the same, but the
leaves are thicker; whatever smell they may have had is lost,
and there is no gloss upon them.  It might be supposed that the
gloss had been worn off, but this is not the case, for most of the
tables have never been written on. Some of the edges being
worn, show that the middle of the leaf consists of paper; the composition is laid on with great nicety. A silver style was used,
which is sheathed in one of the covers, and which produces an impression as distinct, and as easily obliterated, as that of a black
lead pencil. The tables are interleaved with common paper."t
The ancient offices of the church were sometimes written upon
long slips of parchment, pasted together, and forming a very nar
row roll of considerable length. This was fastened at one end to
a very short staff, and rolled upon it. Such rolls were termed
kontakia, or contacia.t
The variety of substances thus made use of as materials for
writing upon, rendered it necessary to employ different INSTRU~MENTS to trace the writing.  For inscriptions on stone or metal, the
chisel and the graver were adopted: thus JOB, ch. xix.
V. 23.-0! that my words were even now written down;
0! that they were engraven on a table;
V. 24. —WVith a pen of iron upon lead!
That they were sculptured in a rock for ever!
GOOD'S TRANS.
But for writing upon boards, waxed tablets, bark, and such kinds
* M. Adami Vit. Germ. Theolog., p. 267, Francf. 1653.
t Southey's Omniamna, vol. i, pp. 133, 134.    X Du Cange, v. Contaciumn.
1




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.                             -45
ot softer substances, the style or graphium  was used.  This was
an instrument, sharp at one end, to write with, and broad at the
other, to  erase  any miswritten words; hence the phrase  vertere
stylum, to correct or blot out, was common among the Romans.
The style was sometimes made of iron, sometimes of gold, or silver, or brass, or ivory, or even of wood. The iron styles were
dangerous weapons, and were therefore prohibited by the Romans.
Suetonius relates, that Cesar seized the arm of Cassius, one of his
murderers, and pierced it with his style. He also tells us, Caligula excited the people to massacre a Roman senator with their
styles; and the emperor Claudius was so fraid  of being assassinated, that he would scarcely permit the librarii, or public writers,
to enter his presence, without the cases which contained their
styles  being  first taken  from  them.   Prudentius  (De  Coran.,
Hymn ix) thus  emphatically describes the tortures to which Cassianus* was put by his scholars, who killed him with their pugillares and styles:Innumeri circum pueri, miserabile visu,
Confossa paruis membra figebant stylis.
Unde pugillares soliti praecurrere ceras,
Scholare murmur adnotantes scripserant,
Conjiciunt alii lapides, inq: ora tabellas
Frangunt, relisa fronte lignum dissilit.
Buxa crepant cerata, genis impacta cruentis.
Rubetq: ab ictu curta tuinens pagina.
Inde alii stimulos, et acumina ferrea vibrant.
Qua parte aratis cera sulcis scribitur,
Et qua secti apices abolentur, et aequoris hirti.
Rursus nitescens innouatur area.t
O wretched sight!-unnumber'd youths around
With small, sharp styles, his painful members wound.
The tablets,-spread with wax, —for writing used.
O'er which so scholar-like they oft had mused,
They dash upon his face-(some throw rude stones!)
And cruelly break them on his bleeding bones.
The boxwood shivers, with the rapid stroke,
As lightnings rend the ancient forest oak;
And as it beats that visage mark'd with age,
Blood bathes his cheeks, and dyes the batter'd page.
* This Cassianus was a Christian schoolmaster, at Imola, the ancient Forum Cornelii, twenty-seven miles from Ravenna, in Italy. In 365 he was by order of the
emperor Julian exposed to the merciless rage of his scholars, who cruelly murdered
him.
t Sixt. Senensi Bibliotheca Sancta, lib. ii, p. 124. 4to. Col. Agr. 1616. Astle's
Origin and Progress of Writing, ch. viii, p. 207.
1




46                     BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Meanwhile, another crew, with deadliest hate,
Resume the iron to complete his fate;One end, a point, traced all the indented words
In written furrows on the waxen boards;
The other, with a broad and level face,
Shall smooth the roughness, and the lines erase,
Till the whole area is again renew'd,
The seat of other thoughts, refined or rude.These horrid tools they whet and point afresh,
For keener tortures on his martyr'd flesh.  D. M'NICHOLL.
Our Saxon ancestors appear to have sometimes used the style
without ink, when writing upon parchment or vellum: H. Wanley instances in fol. 109, and 113 b. of the Textus S. Ceddae, or
St Chad's Gospel.*  But for writing with ink, or coloured liquids,
reeds or canes, and afterward quills were employed; and sometimes pencils made of hair.
The most beautiful reeds for this purpose grew formerly in
Egypt, near Cnidus, a city and district in the province of Caria in
Asia Minor, and likewise in Armenia, and Italy. Chardin (Travels,
vol. v, p. 49) speaks of reeds which grow in the marshes of Persia, and are much sought after in the Levant.  "Their writing
pens," says he, "are made of reeds, or small hard canes, of the size
of the largest swan  quills, which they cut and slit in the same
manner as we do ours, but they give them a much longer nib."t
The Tartars and Indians still write with small reeds, bearing the
hand exceeding lightly.
Pencils made of hair are used by the Chinese for their writing:
they first liquefy their ink, and then dip their pencils into it.  The
curious large capital letters used in Italy, in the decline of the Roman empire, and until the sixteenth century, were made with hair
pencils. After the invention of printing, they were drawn by the
illuminators.kk Specimens of these are in plate viii, of Astle's
" Origin and Progress of Writing."
Quills of geese, swans, pelicans, peacocks, crows, and other
birds, have been long used in these western parts, but the exact
date of their introduction is uncertain. St. Isidore of Seville, who
died in 636, describes a pen as in use in his time. " The instruments necessary for a scribe are the reed and the pen."~  In the
same century Aldhelm wrote a short poem on a writing pen. In
* Nichols' Literary Anecdotes, vol. i, p. 541. Lond. 8vo. 1812.
t Beckmann's History of Inventions, by Johnston, vol. ii, pp. 207, 208. London,
8vo. 1797.
$ Astle's Origin and Progress of Writing, ch. viii, p. 208.
~ Isid. Hisp. Orig., lib. vi, ch. xiv.
1




BEFORE THE CIIRISTIAN ERA.                47
the eighth century writing pens are mentioned by Alcuin, after
which period, proofs of their use occur so frequently as to lplace the
matter beyond all doubt. Mabillon (De Re. Diplonmat, in Supp.,
p. 51) saw a MS. of the Gospels, which had been written in letters of gold, in the ninth century; in which the four evangelists
were represented with quills in their hands. In the twelfth century,
Peter de Clugny, who by scholastic writers is called the Venerable, and who died in 1157, wrote to a friend, exhorting him to assume the pen, instead of the plough, and transcribe the Scriptures,
instead of tilling the land.'
But notwithstanding the great advantage which quills have over
reeds, in writing, the latter seem to have continued long in use,
even with the former. Men of letters assure us, that writing reeds
were used along with quills, in the eighth century, at least in
France; and that the latter first began to be common in the ninth.
The papal acts, and those of synods appear, however, to have been
written with reeds much later. In monasteries they were retained
for text and initials; while for small writing quills were every
where employed. When the learned Reuchlin was obliged by the
cruelties of his enemies, and by famine, and the plague, to fly from
his country, and to leave behind him all his property, he was supplied with the most common necessaries by Perkheimer. Among
other articles, the latter sent to him, in the year 1520, writing materials, good paper, penknives, and, instead of peacock's feathers
which he had requested, the best swan quills; and that nothing
might be wanting, added also proper reeds, of so excellent a sort, that
Reuchlin considered them to be Egyptian or Cnidian. About the
same period Reuchlin sent three of these reeds to Erasmus, who
gratefully acknowledged the present, and expressed a wish that
when he procured more, he would send some of them to a learned
man in England, who was a common friend to both. About the
year 1433 writing quills were so scarce at Venice, that men of letters could scarcely procure them. Ambrosius Traversarius, a
monk of Camaldule, sent from Venice, to his brother, a bunch of
quills together with a letter, in which he said: " They are not the
best, but such as I received in a present. Show the whole bunch
to our friend Nicholas, that he may select a quill; for these articles are indeed scarcer in this city than at Florence." Ambrosius
also complains, that at the same period, he had scarcely any more
ink, and requested that a small vessel filled with it might be sent
to him!t
* Beckmann's Hist. of Inventions, vol. ii, pp. 216-219.
t Beckmann, vol. ii, pp. 222, 223.
1




48                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
The use of INXKS, or coloured liquids, was early known among the
ancients. Jeremiah, who flourished about six hundred years before
the Christian era, speaks of writing with ink: (ch. xxxvi, 18:)
"Then Baruch answered them; He pronounced all these words
unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book."
The term deev, used by the sacred writer, signifies blackness; as
does also the word ater, from -whence atramentum, the Latin term
for ink. But although black ink was evidently the first in use,
yet afterward inks of different colours were occasionally used.
Golden inkl was used by various nations, as may be seen in several
libraries, and the archives of churches.  Silver ink was also common in most countries.  Red, blue, green, and yellow inks, were
not uncommon.  Metallic characters were also sometimes burnished, or varnished with wax.*
Lamp black, or the black obtained from burned ivory, formed the
basis of the inks of the ancients, which was made in the sun, without the aid of fire. Red ink was obtained from vermilion, cinnabar, and carmine; purple, from  the murex, or purple fish.  (See
Pliny, Nat. Hist., lib. is, ch. lx.) Blue, yellow, and green colours,
were made from pulverized gold and silver, sulphureted, and submitted to the action of fire; and were used for ornamenting and
enriching rnanuscripts.t
Various methods were also adopted by the ancients, in order to
preserve their writings, and to facilitate the reading of them.
Those upon skins or papyrus, &c., were glued or sewed together,
and rolled up, generally on cylinders of wood, and called rolls, or
volumes, from the Latin volvendo, to roll up. To this form of the
ancient writings there are many references in Scripture. Psa. xl,
7; Jeremiah xxxvi, 2; Ezekiel ii, 9. The literal rendering of Luke
iv, 17, would be, " and unrolling- the book, he found the passage,"
&c., evidently attributing to our Lord the action of unrolling a book,
and afterward rolling it up again. Revelation vi, 14, also refers
to this mode of rolling up the ancient writings.
The cylinder, on which the writing was rolled, was named umbilicus, and was generally formed of wood, particularly ebony,
cedar, box, or cypress; sometimes also of ivory or bone. The ornaments of gold, or silver, or ivory, with which the ends were
capped, were termed cornua; and the handle, or lower end, by
which the roll was held in the hand, was probably what was in
* Hugo, De Prima Scrib. Orig., ch. viii, pp. 103-109. Astle's Origin and Progress
of Writing, ch. viii, p. 210.
t Horne's Introduction to Bibliography, vol. i, p. 140.
1




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.                 49
Alfred's time denominated, by our ancestors, the aestel. The side
of the parchment, or roll, which was written upon, was called pagina, or page, from pango to write, or compose; and as only one
side of the roll was, in general, written upon, the written side was
termed the recto, and the blank side verso, words still in use
among bibliographers.* When the volume was rolled up, the
outside was named frons, and frequently decorated with paintings:
the bands with which the roll was fastened when rolled up were
denominated lora, and were variously ornamented.t
Many of the manuscripts which have been discovered in the ruins of Herculaneum are in rolls; so are those also which have
been taken out of Egyptian mummies. The Hebrew MSS. are
written in columns, and are unrolled and read from the right hand to
the left, and usually attached to an umbilicus, or cylinder, at each
end;t many other Oriental manuscripts are unrolled perpendicularly. At present, books are seldom made to roll up in the East:
many, indeed, of the very fine Persian and Arabic MSS. are written upon a kind of thin pasteboard, like paper; and being jointed
at the back and front, fold up like pattern-cards.~
The Romans deposited their most valuable works in cases or
chests called scrinia, made of cedar-wood; they also used an oil
expressed from the cedar-tree, to preserve them from becoming
mouldy or worm-eaten.  Paintings obtained from HerculaneAm
prove, that the cases in which the rolls of writing were preserved,
were frequently circular boxes, in which the different volumes
were inserted with one of the ends downward, and a small label,
containing the titulus or title, affixed to the upper one. The
Greeks deposited their forensic, or legal instruments, in certain
brazen or earthen vessels, called Echini. (Suidas, v. EXivor.) The
two Greek versions of the Old Testament, which Origen published
in his Hexapla, and numbered five and six, he found preserved in
an earthen vessel.11 A similar mode of preserving writings was
adopted by the prophet Jereiniah, ch. xxxii, 14.  Leland, in his
Collectanea, (tom. iii, p. 137,) has the following notice: "A
writen booke of a twenty leves founde in a holow stone kyvered
with a Stone in digging for a foundation at Yvy chirch by Sarisbyri." The Roman historians affirm, that the books of Numa,
which had been buried more than five hundred years, looked, when
* Peignot, Essai sur Parchemin, pp. 93, 94.
t See Frontispiece. Hugo, De Prima Scrib. Orig., ch. xxxv, pp. 586-610.
t See Frontispiece.
6 Clarke's Harmer's Observations, vol. iii, p. 130, note by Edit.
II Calmet, Dissert. sur la forme des livres, &c.
VOL. I.-4




500                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
takenup, as if perfectly new, from having been closely surrounded
with wax candles; wax cloth being then probably unknown. The
Arabs, and other Oriental nations, are wont to wrap up their sacred
books in rich cases of brocaded silk; or some such rich materials.
There is a fine specimen of this in the library of the East India
Company in Leadenhall-street, a MS. containing the poetical
works of the king of Persia, richly adorned, and wrapped up in
costly velvet, &c., a present by himself to the governor general of
India. A mode also of binding books similar to our present one
seems to have been in use among the ancients, as may be seen in
engravings copied from drawings found in the ruins of Herculaneum.  See FRAGMENTS, by the Editor of Calmet's Dictionary.
To these ancient modes of writing, and the materials employed,
the etymology of many words now in use may be traced. Not
again to mention paper from papyrus, or volume from volvendo;
the very word BIBLE, which means, by way of eminence, the book,
is derived from the Greek word biblos, or byblos, a book, but which
originally signified the inner bark of a tree. The word book is
also derived from the Saxon boc or bocce, the beech-tree, probably
from tablets or leaves of that tree having been used for writing
upon. Hence also the term leaf, applied to a part of a book, and
the use of the word style, for a person's manner of writing.
From the view that has been given of the various modes of writ
ing at different periods, it is evident, that there is nothing inconsistent with ancient Oriental customs, either in the opinion of Dr.
Kennicott, or of Dr. A. Clarke, as to the manner in which the
transpositions in the Pentateuch have been occasioned. The same
supposition also easily accounts for the narrative of the death of
Moses forming the concluding chapter of Deuteronomy; which
probably formed originally the commencement of the book of
Joshua, from whence it was accidentally separated, and afterward
appended to the books of Moses.*
* See Dr. A. Clarke's Commentary on Deuteronomy, ch. xxxiv.
1                       4*




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.                  51
CHAPTER II.
Inspired Penmen-Malachi-Ezra-Autograph of Ezra-Jewish Dtvisions of the books of Scripture-Targums-Masora-Hebrew MSS.-First
Edition of the Hebrew Bible —Septuagint Version-Codex  VaticanusCodex Alexandrinus — Cyril Lucar-Versions of Aquila-of Theodotianof Symmachus —Hexapla-Persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes —Jewish
Academies —-Doctors —- Scribes.
THE great Jewish legislator was followed by a succession of
other writers, historical and prophetical, who with singular impartiality narrated the history of their nation; and with an originality,
sublimity and purity of doctrine and morality, which could only
have proceeded from divine inspiration, instructed and warned the
chosen people of God, through a series of ages, extending from the
decease of Moses to the time of Malachi, Ezra, and Nehemiah,
who closed the sacred canon of the Old Testament, about four
hundred years before the incarnation of the Redeemer.
MALACHII is called by the Jews, "The seal of the prophets;"
and the rabbins say, that from the time the latter prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, died, the Holy Spirit was taken away
from Israel. The outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost afterward, was therefore a full proof that the Mosaic dispensation was concluded, and that the new dispensation of the Messiah had restored the prophetical spirit, according to the promise
by Joel, ii, 28.
EZRA, who was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, is allowed,
by the universal consent of antiquity, to have been the restorer,
collector, and publisher of the canon of the Old Testament Scriptures, which had existed before only in separate parcels; and had
suffered much from  the ignorance and carelessness of transcribers.*
A  copy of the Pentateuch, purporting to be the autograph of
Ezra, was some time ago preserved in the library of the Dominicans at Bologna, in Italy. The following account is given of it by
the learned Montfaucon in his Diarium  Italicum, or Journey
through Italy: " I had long been desirous to turn over the manuscript, which I was told had been many years preserved among the
relics of St. Dominic; which at my request was courteously
granted by the Dominican fathers. But in regard that the said
jewel is locked up under two keys, one of which is kept by the
* Dr. A. Clarke's Succession of Sacred Literature,/vol. i, p. 36. Kennicott's Second
Dissertation, ch. iii, pp. 232, 248.




52                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
magistrates, and the other by the friars, they took care to have
them both brought; and produced a vast volume or roll. It is a
calf-skin, dressed and pliable, containing, not the book of Ezra, as
many give out, but the Pentateuch, in the nature of the books still
preserved in the synagogues of the Jews: I took notice of some
few marginal notes by a more modern hand. The letters have
scarce lost any thing of their blackness, which is attributed to the
skin, a mighty preserver of ink. The manuscript was presented
to the monastery by the Jews, when Aymericus was general of the
order, that is, about the beginning of the fourteenth century: an
inscription sewed in about the middle of the roll, declares it to this
effect:"' This is the roll of the law written by Ezra, the scribe, with his
own hand, when the children of the captivity under Cyrus returned
to Jerusalem, and built the second temple, which was finished in
forty-two years; and stood four hundred and twenty, that is, till
forty-two years after the passion of Christ. That this is the very
same, has been received by the constant report of ancient Jews,
who were examined in several synagogues, where it was also preserved. From ancient times, it was looked upon as such among
the Jews, from generation to generation; and as such it was received by the reverend general of the order, Aymericus, whose it
is. Such some learned Jews proved it to be, having made certain
literal experiments, in the presence of me brother Marsilius, and of
the reader Perpynian, and of brother Peter Labius. Which tokens, either are not the same, or not so perfect in older rolls, as I
have found by experience in many very ancient rolls. This roll
therefore is to be looked upon as genuine, and to be handled with
reverence, because written by so great an author; and ordered by
the Holy Ghost, after the burning of the law; given as an original
for other manuscripts; and preserved so many ages. And what is
no less, that we and the Jews believe, it was shown in the temples
on the greatest solemnities, in the presence of the Fulfiller of the
Law, God himself, and our Lord JESUS CHRnIST.'
" This appears by the character," says Montfaucon, " to have
been written in the days of Aymericus, general of the order, who
enjoyed that dignity in the year of our Lord 1308. This makes it
plain, that they are much mistaken who think there are no Hebrew
Bibles written above four hundred years ago. For it is four hundred years since this manuscript was presented to Aymericlls,
which was then looked upon as so very ancient; and though what
they say of its being written by Ezra's own hand looks like a fable,
1




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.               53
yet it cannot be denied to have been of some antiquity when presented to Aymericus."
" Besides the Latin inscription above inserted, there is one in
Hebrew, written by a skilful hand, now almost erased, (which in
English is thus:)
"' This is the Book of the Law of Moses, which was writ by
Ezra the scribe; and he read it in the sight of the multitude,
men and women; and he stood in a wooden tower,' (that is, a
pulpit.)"
This inscription is supposed to have been written at the same
time with the Latin one above mentioned; for the Jews, when
they made Aymericus that present, produced it with such a testimony of its pretended antiquity.' Dr. Kennicott doubts the fact
of its being the autograph of Ezra; he nevertheless considers it as
very ancient, and at least, not less than nine hundred years old.t
Montfaucon describes another ancient MS. Hebrew copy of the
book of Esther, in the library of the canons regular, at Bologna.
It is a roll of dressed calf-skin, very ancient, worn with using, and
appears to be older than the Pentateuch before mentioned.
Ezra having collected together all the books of which the Holy
Scriptures then consisted, disposed them in their proper order, and
divided them into three parts: the Law; the Prophets; and the Cetubin, or Hagiographa, that is, the Holy Writings. This division
our Saviour himself notices in Luke xxiv, 44, when he says,
" These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet
with you, that all things might be fulfilled which are written in
the Law, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me."
By the Psalms, he there means the whole third part called the Hagiographa; which beginning with the Psalms, was for that reason
then commonly called by that name.:
The five books of the Law are, by the Jews, divided into fiftyfour sections. One of these sections was read in the ancient Jewish synagogues every sabbath-day. The number of these sections
was fifty-four, because in their intercalated years (a month being
then added) there were fifty-four sabbaths.  Till the time of the
persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes, they read only the Law. But
then being forbid to read it any more, they substituted fifty-four
sections out of the Prophets, the reading of which they ever after
continued. When the reading of the Law was again restored by
* Montfaucon's Travels through Italy, pp. 436-438.
t Kennicott's Dissert. on Chronicles xi, &c., p. 309.
$ Prideaux's Connections, vol. ii, p. 394.




54                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
the Maccabees, the section which was read every sabbath out of the
Law served for their first lesson, and the section out of the Prophets for their second lesson. This was also the practice in the time
of the apostles; and therefore when Paul entered into the synagogue at Antioch, in Pisidia, it is said that he stood up to preach,
"after the reading of the  Law, and the Prophets," Acts
xiii, 15.
These sections were divided into verses, which the Jews called
pesukim.  This division was most likely invented by Ezra, for the
sake of the Targumists, or Chaldee interpreters. For after the
Hebrew language ceased to be the mother tongue of the Jews, and
the Chaldee grew up into use among them instead of it, (as was
the case after their return from the Babylonish captivity,) their
usage was, that in the public reading of the Law to the people, it
was read to them, first in the original Hebrew, and after that rendered by an interpreter into the Chaldee language; and this was
done period by period. Nehemiah viii, S. The Christian practice of reading two lessons in the churches, one out of the Old
Testament, and another out of the New Testament, owes its rise
to this custom of the Jews.
The TARGUMS of the Jews originated also in the necessity of
translating the Scriptures into a language understood by the people.
The word Targurn signifies the translation of a book from one
language into another, and is applied by the Jewish rabbins to the
translation of the sacred writings from  Hebrew  into any other
language, as Chaldee, Syriac, Persian, or Greek. There are
several Targums, but the two principal ones are those of Onkelos
and Jonathan. The first by Onkelos is a very literal translation of
the five books of Moses into pure Chaldee, and was probably written prior to the Christian era; the latter is also a paraphrastical
translation of all the Prophets into pure Chaldee, but not so elegant
as the former, nor written at so early a date.*
Soon after the time of Ezra, the celebrated Jewish critics called
MASORITES, or MAZORETES, began their criticisms and grammatical remarks upon the sacred text. They had their name from
the Hebrew word masar, to deliver from one to another, because
they professed to deliver the Scriptures to posterity in the state
of purity in which they were found previous to the Babylonish
captivity. To this end they not only numbered every verse, word,
and letter, but even went so far as to ascertain how often each letter
Lewis's Antiq. of Heb. Repub., vol. ii, b. 3, p. 441; vol. iv, b. 8, p. 336.
Clarke's Succession of Sarred Literature, vol. i, p. 48.
1




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.                 55
of the alphabet occurred in the whole Bible! Thus sacredly did
they watch over their records, in order to prevent every species of
corruption.*
These Jewish critics were not a society, but rather a succession
of men; and the Masora, or Masoretical criticisms, the work of
many critics and grammarians who lived at different periods from
the time of Ezra to about the year of Christ 1030, when the two
famous rabbins, Ben Asher and Ben Naphtali, flourished; since
whose time, almost all that has been done has been to copy after
them, without making any more corrections or Masoretical criticisms. These two rabbins were chief teachers, or rectors of the
great schools of the Jews, at Babylon, and in Palestine. Each
of them, we are told, laboured to produce a correct copy of the
sacred Scriptures; and their respective followers corrected theirs
by that of their master; the Eastern, or Babylonian Jews, adhering
to the copy of Ben Naphtali; the Western Jews, or those inhabiting Palestine, following that of Ben Asher. Maimonides, who
wrote about the middle of the twelfth century, says, " The copy
whereon we depend is the woil-known copy in Egypt, which contains the twenty-four books, and which was many years at Jerusalem for the purpose of correcting copies from it; and upon it all
of them depend; for Ben Asher revised it, and minutely corrected
it; and revised it many times over: and upon the same I rely in
the copy of the Law, which I have written according to his rule."t
Another copy in high estimation among the modern Jews is said
to have been corrected by R. Hillel, and for several centuries to
have been kept at Toledo, in Spain. Elias Levita, a learned
Jewish Masoretic critic of the sixteenth century, born in Germany,
and the author of several grammatical and lexicographical works,
mentions also two other celebrated copies; the Hieriuchan, or
copy brought from Jericho; and the Arabian, or one preserved at
Sinai.t
The Masoretic notes, called by the Jews the fence or hedge of
the Law, were at first written in separate rolls, but are now usually
placed in the margin, or at the top and bottom of the page, in
printed copies. Some transcribers, out of a design to decorate
their MSS., have contrived to form the marginal lines of the
* Clarke's Succession of Sacred Literature, vol. i, p. 46. WTaltoni Proleg. 8,
passim.
t Yeates' Collation, p. 29. Kennicott, Dissert. 2, pp. 451, 457.
t Waltoni Proleg. 4, sec. 10, 11. Simon. Hist. Crit. du V. T., liv. i, ch. xxii.
Kennicott, Dissert. 2, pp. 460-464.
1




56                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Masora into all sorts of fanciful devices; such as triangles, circles,
knots of various kinds, birds, beasts, &c. Such a one was presented by the emperor Maximilian I. to Reuchlin. It had originally been written for R. Aben Ezra in the twelfth century, in
extremely small characters, not lineally, but in the form of certain
animals. It is said to be still preserved in the library of the margrave of Baden.*
The first printed edition of the Masora was in Bomberg's Great
Hebrew Bible, printed at Venice in 1526, in two volumes folio,
and again in 1549, under the direction of R. Jacob Ben Chaim, a
learned Jew of Tunis. A Latin translation of his celebrated preface, written originally in the rabbinical character, may be seen
in Kennicott's Second Dissertation, pp. 229-244. The variations
of the copies of Ben Naphtali and Ben Asher are also printed in
the sixth volume of the London Polyglott.
Elias Levita, in the sixteenth century, wrote a standard work
upon the Masora, which he intituled Masoreth Ilammasoreth,
having spent twenty years in the study of it. To this work the
elder Buxtorf was under considerable obligations, in his celebrated
Tiberias, or Masoretical Commentary, which he published in 1665,
and to which he gave the title of Tiberias, from a celebrated
Jewish school or academy, which flourished at Tiberias for several
centuries. The notes affixed by the Masorites to the end of the
different books of the Hebrew Bible, ascertaining the number of
greater and smaller sections, chapters, verses, and letters, are
translated and subjoined to the respective books by the Rev. Dr.
Adam Clarke, in his valuable and learned Commentary.
The Jews still bestow extraordinary care on the copies of the
sacred writings designed for their synagogues. "It is a constant
rule with them, that whatever is considered as corrupt shall never
be used, but shall be burned, or otherwise destroyed: a book of the
Law, wanting but one letter, with one letter too much, or with an
error in one single letter, written with any thing but ink, or written
upon parchment made of the hide of an unclean animal, or on
parchment not purposely prepared for that use, or prepared by any
but an Israelite, or on skins of parchment tied together by unclean
strings, shall be holden to be corrupt; that no word shall be written, without a line first drawn on the parchment; no word written
by heart, or without having been first pronounced orally by the
writer; that before he writes the name of God, he shall wash his
* Waltoni Proleg. 8, sec. 11.




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.                57
pen; that no letter shall be joined to another; and that if the
blank parchment cannot be seen all around each letter, the roll
shall be corrupt.  There are settled rules for the length and
breadth of each sheet of parchment, and for the space to be left
between each letter, each word, and each section."* Certain letters of the more splendid and highly finished copies are ornamented with tagin, or crowns.  These are certain fine radii,
ascending from the tops of the letters, in the manner of horns,
and are said to be done in imitation of the glory Moses saw in
the divine writing delivered to him on Mount Sinai. The Codex
Malabaricus, presented to the University of Cambridge by the
Rev. Dr. C. Buchanan, and collated by Mr. Yeates, exhibits a
formation of particular letters peculiar to itself, especially the
Heth and Lamed, the former being sometimes formed with an
arched, and sometimes with an angula-r cap; and the latter having
an indented or hooked top.t
The text of the synagogue-rolls of the Pentateuch is not divided
into verses; and is also without the points of distinction, (:) called
soph-pesuk. Buxtorf, in his Tiberias, ch. xi, p. 113, quotes the
following note from Elias Levita: "It is a certain truth, and of
which there is no doubt, that this Law, which Moses set before
the Israelites, was plain; without points, and without accents, and
without any distinction of verses, even as we see it at this day:
and according to the opinion of the Cabalistic doctors, the whole
Law was as one verse, yea, and there are that say, as one word.":
Those who have not seen the rolls used in the synagogues can
have no conception of the exquisite beauty, correctness, and
equality of the writing. Some that I have seen have been equal
to any Hebrew typography, for beauty and regularity.
The first printed edition of the whole of the Hebrew Scriptures
was executed by Abraham Ben Chaim, at Soncino, in Italy, in
1488, in two vols. folio; ornamented with initial letters and words,
from engravings in wood.
A very curious copy of the Chetubin, or Hagiographa, printed
at Naples the preceding year, was presented by Dr. Pellet to the
valuable library of Eton College. It is on vellum, in two volumes
folio; and is considered as unique. Dr. Pellet supposes the whole
edition to have been destroyed, except this copy, which by singular
good fortune escaped the flames.~
* Butler's Horae Biblical, vol. i, p. 47. Oxford, 1799, 12mo.
t Yeates' Collation, &c., pp. 6, 38.  $ Yeates, ubi sup., pp. 35, 36.
~ Kennicott, Dissert. 1, p. 520; and Dissert. 2, p. 472.
1




58                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
The celebrated SEPTUAGINT, or Greek version of the Old Testament, was made in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of
Egypt, who reigned about two hundred and eighty years before
Christ. The most ancient account of this famous version is in a
treatise written in the Greek language by Aristeas, who professes
to have been an officer in the guards of the king of Egypt at the
time it was made; and is delivered by way of letter to his brother
Philocrates. The following is the substance of his narrative:"Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, wishing to establish an
extensive library at Alexandria, committed the charge of it to
Demetrius Phalereus, a noble Athenian, who collected from
various quarters twenty thousand volumes. In the course of his
inquiries after curious and valuable books, he was informed of the
LAw OF MosEs. This information he communicated to the king;
and urged the importance of a translation of it into Greek.
Ptolemy adopted measures for obtaining it; and accordingly
directed that an embassy should be sent to Eleazar, the high
priest, at Jerusalem, to request him to transmit a correct copy of
the Law, and to send a certain number of grave and learned men,
who should be capable of translating it out of Hebrew into Greek.
Aristeas, Sosibius of Tarentum, and Andreas, three noblemen of
Ptolemy's court, and persons friendly to the Jews, embraced the
opportunity for soliciting the liberation of the Jewish captives
taken prisoner by Ptolemy Soter, and still detained in slavery.
Their suit was successful, and the king ordered twenty drachmas
to be paid for each of them, whether man, woman, or child. The
sum expended in their ransom was six hundred and sixty talents,
liberating one hundred and ninety-eight thousand captives. Aristeas and Andreas were afterward commissioned to carry the official
letter from Ptolemy to Eleazar, and their embassy was accompanied with gifts for the temple, and money for the sacrifices there
offered, and the general service of the sanctuary; viz., one hundred talents; fifty talents in utensils of gold; and twenty talents
in utensils of silver, besides the precious stones with which they
were adorned, and which were of twice the value of the gold.
Their embassy succeeded; and Eleazar sent to the Egyptian king
a copy of the Law, written in letters of gold, upon skins of parchment of exquisite fineness and beauty. Six elders out of every
tribe, men of acknowledged reputation and learning, were chosen
to execute the translation, who returned to Alexandria, with the
messengers of Ptolemy. On their arrival, the seventy-two elders
were graciously received by the king, who not only expressed his
1




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.                 59
satisfaction at receiving the Law, and his astonishment at its execution, but also feasted the elders for several days, and during the
festival fully satisfied himself of their wisdom and ability, by
proving each of them by seventy-two different questions. The
seven days of feasting being ended, each of the elders received
three talents, as a mark of the royal favour; and were then conducted by Demetrius to a sumptuous habitation, prepared for them
in a retired situation in the Isle of Pharos, near Alexandria. Here
they pursued their important undertaking with the utmost diligence, daily collating their separate versions with each other, and
then dictating the approved version to Demetrius, who acted as
their scribe. In seventy-two days they completed the whole
translation, which was afterward read in the presence of the king,
who expressed his approbation in the most decided manner, and
rewarded each of the elders with three rich garments, two talents
of gold, and a cup of gold of the weight of one talent. He afterward sent them honourably back to Jerusalem, loaded with the
most valuable gifts to Eleazar the high priest; and commanded
the version itself to be lodged with the utmost care in the Alexandrian library.* Such is the account given by Aristeas. It has,
however, been called in question by many of the learned, especially
by Dr. Hody, who, in a work expressly written on the subject, has
so fully exposed the inconsistencies and anachronisms of the
author, that the history of Aristeas is now generally considered as
spurious.
But although the story, as narrated by Aristeas, is certainly in
some measure fabulous, the general fact must be allowed; since
writers prior to the Christian era, or nearly coeval with it, have
attested its truth. Aristobulus, Josephus, Philo, Clemens Alexandrinus, Justin Martyr, and Eusebiu.s, and even the Talmudical
writers, all concur in the leading facts of the history of this version.t Dr. Masch supposes that this translation was promoted by
Ptolemy, on political grounds, in order to secure the residence of
the Jews in Egypt, by preventing the necessity of a constant intercourse with Judea, for want of the Law. The specious pretence
of obtaining a copy of the Law for the library which had been
erected at Alexandria, he conjectures to have originated with
Demetrius. The transcription of the Law into the Greek charac* Hody, De Bibliorum Textibus Originalibus; Aristea Hist., pt. i, vol. xxxv, fol.
I)xon. 1705.
t See Bibliotheca Sacra, edit. Masch., pt. ii, vol. ii, in Prefat. Waltoni Bib. Polygiott, Proleg. 9. Hamilton's Introduction to the Heb. Scriptures, ch. vi.
1




60                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
ters, and the version of it into the Greek language, he considers
to have been the effect of coercion, not of choice; and the account
of Aristeas to have been written for the purpose of giving a
plausible colouring to the whole transaction.*  This opinion, if
adopted, affords a reason why the Hellenist Jews celebrated thile
translation of the Law by an annual feast, and the Jews of Palestine marked it by an annual fast.t  It is probable that only the
Law, or five books of Moses, were at first translated, and that the
other books of the Old Testament were done at different times, by
different hands, as the necessity of the case demanded, or the providence of God appointed; and being added to the books already
translated, were comprehended with them in the general term
Septuagint, or Septuagint version, so called from the number of
translators employed.t
By this translation of the Scriptures into Greek, divine Providence prepared the way for the preaching of the gospel which was
then approaching, and facilitated tile promulgation of it among
many nations, by the instrumentality of the finest, most copious,
and most correct language that was ever spoken, and which
became common to all the countries conquered by Alexander:
and to this version many of the most celebrated heathen philosophers were indebted for their most correct notions of the being and
perfections of God, as well as for their best and purest sentiments
of moral duties.~
The two most noted MSS. of the Septuagint version are the
CODEX ALEXANDRINUS and the CODEX VATICANUS. The Codex
Vaticanus, or Vatican copy, is so called from belonging to the
Vatican library, at Rome; and contains not only the Old Testament, but also the New. It is supposed to have been written in
the fifth or sixth century; and is executed in the uncial, or square
characters, (what we commonly term capitals,) without distinction
of chapters, verses, or words. Cardinal Carafa edited the first
printed edition of this MS. by order of Pope Sixtus V., in folio;
but without the New Testament. The cardinal and his associates
were employed nine years upon this edition, which was printed at
Rome, by Franciscus Zunetti, in 1587.
The Codex Alexandrinus, or Alexandrian copy, was presented
Bibliotheca Sacra, edit. Masch., ubi sup. in Prefat., p. 12.
t Hamilton's Introduction to Heb. Scriptures, ch. vi, pp. 114-117.
t Hody, De Bib. Text. Orig., lib. ii, ch. vii, ix. Owen's Inquiry into the Prcsent
State of the Septuagint Version, sec. i, pp. 2, 3.
Q Gale's Court of the Gentiles, passim.
1




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.                  61
to King Charles I. by Sir Thomas Roe, from Cyril Lucar, patriarch
of Constantinople, who accompanied the MS. with the following
note written by his own hand:" Liber iste Scriptural Sacrae Novi et Veteris Testamnzenti, prout
ex traditione habemus, est scriptus manu Theclag nobilis feeminea
Egyptice  ante mile (pro mille) et trecentos aznos circiter paulo
post concilium Niccenum.  Nomen Theclc  in fine libri erat exaratum; sed extincto Christianismo in Egypto a l1Mahometanis, et
libri una Christianorumn in similem  sunt redacti conditionen;
extinctum ergo et (lege est) Theclce nomen et laceratuln, sed memoria et traditio recens observat.
"Cyrillus Patriarcha Constantinopolitanus."
(TRANSLATION.)
"This book of the Holy Scriptures of the New and Old Testament was written, according to tradition, by the hand of Thecla, a
noble Egyptian woman, about thirteen hundred years since,* a
little after the council of Nice. The name of Thecla was formerly
written at the end of the book, but Christianity being suppressed
in Egypt by the Mohammedans, the books also of the Christians
shared the same fate. But though the name of Thecla be blotted
and torn out, yet memory and tradition continue to preserve it.
" Cyril, Patriarch of Constantinople."t
It is written on parchment, and, like all the most ancient manuscripts, in uncial characters, without distinction of chapters, verses,
or words, and originally without accents.  It consists of four
folios, three of which contain the Old Testament, and the fourth
the New Testament. It formerly belonged to the king's library,
from whence it was transferred, in 1753, to the British Museum.
A fac-simile edition of the New Testament of this MS. was published in 1786, by Dr. C. G. Woide, with types cast for that purpose, line for line, without intervals between the words, as in the
manuscript itself.  It is a splendid folio; and is accompanied
with a learned preface, containing an accurate description of the
manuscript, with an exact list of all its various readings.  In
1814, the British HIouse of Commons ordered that a fac-simile
* Cyril's note was written in the year 1628. The council of Nice was held at a
city of that name in Nicomedia, in 324. The most strenuous advocates of this MS.,
however, consider this date as too early, and it is much more probable that it is about
the same age as the Codex Vaticanus.
t Eclectic Review, vol. ii, pt. i, p. 216. Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, pt. ii, p. 651
1




62                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
edition also of the Old Testament should be executed at the
public expense. The Rev. Henry Harvey Baber, one of the
librarians of the British Museum, and editor of a beautiful edition
of " Wicliff's New Testament," printed in quarto, 1810, was appointed the editor, and has since published the book of Psalms,
for which he had issued proposals prior to his appointment; and
several other parts of it.
The tragical fate of Cyril Lucar, who presented the Alexandrian
manuscript to King Charles I., demands the tear of sympathy from
every pious and candid lover of literature and religious liberty.
A native of Crete, educated at Venice, and extensively learned, he
was successively patriarch of Alexandria and Constantinople. In
his younger days he had travelled over a considerable part of
Europe, and understood not only the Greek, Arabic, and Turkish
languages, but also the Latin and Italian. Possessing a mind
superior to the slavish condition of his country, he formed various
plans for the promotion of the common cause of Christianity, and
the particular church under his care. He collected an excellent
library, which he furnished with the choicest manuscripts; the
Alexandrian MS. was one of them. He also patronized a Greek,
named Nicodemus Metaxa, who had resided some years in England, and who having learned the art of printing, had procured a
printing-press and types from London; and employed him to print
catechisms and other books for the instruction of the Greeks in
the principles of their religion. With the same benevolent design
of aiding the interests of religion, he promoted an edition of the
New Testament in the vernacular Greek, undertaken by Maximus
Calliopolitus, at the instance of Cornelius Haga, the Dutch amrnbassador at Constantinople, and printed at Geneva in 1638, in quarto.
To this edition he wrote a preface, in which he vindicated the
propriety of translating the Scriptures into the vulgar tongues, and
the right of all persons to read them. With the utmost liberality
he also forwarded the designs of Dr. Pocock, and other learned
men, who visited Constantinople, in order to acquire a more extensive and accurate knowledge of the languages, customs, and
literature of the East.
During his travels, his inquiries had been directed to the disputes between the Romish and reformed churches; the result of
which had been an attachment to the doctrines and discipline of
the latter: he therefore now ventured upon the bold step of printing, at Constantinople, a " Confession of the faith and doctrines of
the Greek Church," dedicated to the English monarch, Charles I
1




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.               63
He also conceived the design of reforming the Greek Church, and
rendering its doctrines and ritual more Scriptural. He occasionally
attended public worship in the British ambassador's chapel, and
even undertook to be godfather to the infant son of Sir Peter
Wych, who was named Cyril, after the patriarch.
His attachment to the Reformed Church, and correspondence
with its learned members, exposed him, however, but too fatally
to the machinations of his determined enemies.  For nearly
twenty years, the Jesuits, aided by the credit and influence of the
French ambassador, perplexed and misrepresented him. In this
nefarious business his adversaries were assisted by the stratagems
of some perfidious Greeks, particularly Cyril, bishop of Berea, a
man of a dark, malignant, and violent spirit. Sometimes he was
represented as the enemy of Islamism, and his arguments in defence of the divinity of Christ as blasphemy against Mohammed;
at others, as employing the Greek press for the purpose of circulating inflammatory and seditious publications. At one time he
was deposed; at another heavily fined; but the influence of the
British government, and the exertions of its ambassadors, shielded
him from the ultimate designs of his enemies, till the fatal deed
was effected by Bairam, a bashaw, in 1638.
Bairam, being a favourite of the grand seignior, and bribed for
the purpose, took advantage of the grand vizier's absence to persuade the sultan Morad, then on his way to the siege of Bagdat,
that the death of Cyril was necessary for the safety of the state.
An order was immediately signed for his execution, and sent to
the governor of Constantinople, who apprehended and confined
him in one of the castles on the Bosphorus; and afterward, on
the 27th of June, delivered him to a band of Janizaries, to execute
the sentence of the sultan. The venerable patriarch was then
carried out to the sea, as though he was to be again banished;
but scarcely had they quitted the shore before he perceived they
intended to take away his life, and kneeling down, prayed with
great fervency and recollection; while the Turkish officers inhumanly insulted him, and, fastening the bow-string round his neck,
strangled him; then stripped him, and threw his body into the
sea, which, being driven to the shore, was buried by his friends.
The rage of his enemies pursued him to the grave, they dug up
his corpse, and again cast it into the sea: it was, however, recovered a second time, and buried in a Greek chapel, on a small
island over against the bay of Nicomedia, from whence it was
afterward brought to Constantinople, and decently interred. Such
1




64                    BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
was the end of the great and good Cyril Lucar, whose piety and
sufferings will endear his memory to distant generations!*
The valuable manuscripts which enriched the library of Cyril
were, after his death, obtained by the Dutch resident, who, fearing
the attempts of the new patriarch to recover them, sent them away
by a ship returning to Holland. The vessel arrived safely at the
intended harbour the next day; but, by the violence of an extraordinary storm, sunk there with all its cargo, and was lost. The
Alexandrian MS., so called from having been brought from Alex
andria, will remain a lasting memorial of Cyril's generosity and
piety.t
The autogroaph, or original copy of the Septuagint version, was,
most probably, consumed in the fire which destroyed the Alexandrian library, in the time of Julius Cesar, about fifty years before
the Christian era; but the translation was preserved by the numerous transcripts taken for the use of the different synagogues in
Egypt, Greece, and Italy, and which were sure to be copied with
the utmost accuracy and care.  Other copies were also taken for
the use of individuals.  The evangelists, and apostles, and primitive fathers, made their quotations from  this translation; all the
Greek churches used it; and the Latins, till the time of Jerome,
had no version of the Old Testament but what had been translated
from  it; and nearly all the older Oriental versions, as well as
several of the Wvrestern, are derived from it.
The Hellenist Jews, that is, those who spoke the Greek language,f continued the use of this version from  the time of its
formation till about one hundred years after the incarnation of our
Lord, when they began to disuse it, and formed another for themselves. For as this version grew into use among the Christians,
it grew out of credit with the Jews; and they, being pressed in
many particulars urged against them out of this version by the
Christians, resolved to make a new  one that might better serve
their purpose. The person who undertook this charge was AQUILA,
a native of Sinope, a city of Pontus.  He had been brought up
a heathen, but becoming a Christian, was excommunicated for
* Twell's Life of Dr. Edward Pocock, prefixed to his WTorks, pp. 11-13, fol. Lond.
1740. Bibliotheca Sacra, edit. Masch, pt. ii, vol. ii, sec. ii, p. 325. Account of the
Sufferings of Cyrillus Lucaris, in Arminian Magazine, vol. xiii, pp. 537, 590. Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, vol. v, pp. 248, 249, Lond. 1803, 8vo.
t Twell's Life of Dr. Pocock, p. 13.
t "E2772ve'F  sunt pagani, EX.vtwaat Judmi Grecis Bibliis in Synagogls utentes."lo. Scaiger apud Hody, De Bib. Text. Orig., p. 221.
1




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.                 65
addicting himself to magic and judicial astrology; he then turned
Jew, got himself admitted into the school of Rabbi Akiba, the
most celebrated Jewish teacher of his day, and having made considerable proficiency in Hebrew, was thought sufficient for the
translation which he undertook, and published in the year of our
Lord 128.* Of this version nothing now remains but some scattered fragments; yet it appears from these that the translation was
strictly a literal one. Dr. Geddes says, " He is an uncouth, barbarous writer, the Arias Montanus, or Malvenda of his day; who
seems to have purposely chosen a servile mode of translating, to
hide the malevolence of his views, and to make his strict adherence to the letter of the Hebrew a plausible pretext for deviating
so widely from the old version."t It is, however, to be regretted
that his translation is lost, as it would have been singularly useful,
both for discovering the state of the Hebrew text at that time, and
affording the literal meaning and etymology of many words, the
signification of which it is now difficult to ascertain. Encouraged
by the Jews, Aquila undertook and published a second edition of
his version, accompanied with a commentary, that rendered it still
more acceptable to them.
The version of Aquila was followed by that of THEODOTION,
which he published about A. D. 184. This writer is, by some,
said to have been born at Sinope, and by others, at Ephesus, and
flourished in the time of the Roman emperor Commodus. He had
been first a disciple of Tatian, then a Marcionite, and lastly an
Ebionite, or Jew. He altered, added to, or retrenched from the old
Alexandrian version, wherever he found it to differ from the Hebrew manuscripts, which the Jews had put into his hands. This
device succeeded according to his wish.  The. Jews were well
pleased with his version, because it was conformable to their ideas;
and the Christians were not offended, because it so much resembled the Septuagint. In many particular passages, and even in one
whole book, that of Daniel, they preferred it to the Septuagint itself; especially after Origen had made use of it to correct the supposed faults of the latter, in order to make it agree with what he
considered the Hebrew verity: hence it is, that much more of this
version has been preserved than of that of Aquila.t
At the close of the second, or the beginning of the third century,
* Prideaux's Connections, &c., vol. iii, pt. ii, b. i. Hody, De Bib. Text. Orig., lib.
iv, p. 573.
t Geddes' Prospectus of a New Translation, p. 27, Glasg. 1786, 4to.
[ Hody, De Bib. Text. Orig., lib. iv, pp. 579-585. Geddes' Prospectus, p. 28.
VOL. I.-5




b6                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
SYMMACHUS, a learned Samaritan, but who was become a convert
to the Ebionites, whose system was compounded of Judaism and
Christianity, published a fourth Greek translation, which was
highly esteemed by some of the ancient fathers. This work was
accomplished for the use of the Ebionite communion; the style of
it was neat and clear, and the whole translation elegant and perspicuous. Not servilely literal, like the version of Aquila; nor
altered from the Septuagint, like that of Theodotion; his version
is a kind of comment, where we often meet with some striking examples of the theology of his sect.*
Besides the Greek versions of the Old Testament, there are
three others mentioned by the ancient fathers, called the ffth,
sixth, and seventh; because their respective authors or editors are
unknown. They seem to have comprehended only, or chiefly, the
poetical books of Scripture. All these versions were collated by
the indefatigable ORIGEN, in the third century, and placed together
with the Septuagint, and the original Hebrew text, in his famous
Hexapla. In A. D. 1718, Abraham Tromm, an aged Protestant
divine of Groningen, published a most valuable CONCORDANCE to
the Septuagint, in two volumes folio; to which is annexed a Lexicon
of all the words contained in the fragments of Origen's Hexapla,
published by Father Montfaucon, in 1713, in two volumes folio.
About one hundred and twenty years after the completion of the
translation of the Law by the LXX, Antiochus Epiphanes, king of
Syria, raised a dreadful persecution against the Jews, suppressed the
sacrifices, and all the observances of the Jewish religion; polluted
the temple by the most detestable sacrifices and idolatries; carried
away the vessels of the sanctuary; and commanded the books of the
Law to be destroyed. Those who secreted any of the sacred
books were ordered to be put to death. Many of the copies of the
law were burned; others were torn to pieces, or defiled by having
the likenesses of idols painted in them. 1 Maccabees i, 56, 57; iii,
48. Mattathias, and his son Judas Maccabaeus, roused by the cruelties exercised upon their countrymen, the apostacy of many of
the Jews, and the defilement of the temple, displayed extraordinary zeal and valour in defence of their religion and liberty; and
were ultimately successful in reforming the worship of the Jews,
and re-establishing the ritual of Moses. Several copies of the Law
were recovered; and where any of them had been profaned by the
idolatrous paintings of the heathens, the paintings were defaced, and
* Dr. Owen's Enquiry into the present state of Sept. Ver., pp. 109-112. Hody,
De Bibl. Text. Orig., lib. iv, p. 586.
1                       5*




BEFORE TIIE CHRISTIAN ERA.                 6'
the copies permitted to be used. The temple-service was restored.
and the Law, as formerly, read in the synagogues; to which were
now added certain portions out of the Prophets, which first began
to be read in the synagogues, during the persecution, while the
Law was forbidden.*
The books called the APOCRYPHA, and appended to our Bibles,
are so denominated from the Greek word aTroKpvrro, (apokrupto,)
to hide, either because they are of doubtful or hidden authority; or
because in the first ages of Christianity they were not read publicly in the churches, but only permitted to be read privately at
home. Theodotion has been supposed to be the first person who
collected them together; but except by the Romish Church they
have never been admitted into the sacred canon, or collection of
authentic and inspired writings. Some of them are highly absurd,
and but little superior to the fables of the Talmnudists: such are the
stories of Bel and the Dragon; Susannah and the Elders; &c.
Others of them wear more the appearance of authenticity, as the
books of the Maccabees, especially the first of them. One of the
earliest notices of the Apocryphal writings being read in the
churches is about the end of the fourth century, in Jerome's preface
to the books written by Solomon. He observes, " that as Judith,
Tobit, and the books of Maccabees, were read in some churches,
though not received as canonical, so the books of Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus might be read for the edification of the people; but not
as authority in the doctrines of the church."t  This judgment
of Jerome has been adopted by the Church of England, in her sixth
article of religion. The popish council of Trent, on the contrary,
decreed in 1546, that several of the Apocryphal books should
by the Romish Church be received as canonical. The Apocryphal
books were rejected by the Jews, whose particular glory it was,
" that unto them were committed the oracles of God," Rom. iii, 2.
And although they frequently made the Word of God of no effect,
by the traditions of their elders, they never placed the writings of
their doctors in the canon of Scripture.  A brief view of their
academies, doctors of the law, and scribes, may not be unacceptable to the reader; nor improperly conclude this part of our " Illustrations."
The first notice we have of ACADE-MIES, or public schools among
the Jews, is in the time of the prophet Samuel, who has, with some
* 1 Maccabees ii, 48; iii, 48; iv, 52, 53, 59. Josephus, Antiq., b. xii, ch. v-vii
Millar's (of Paisley) Hist. of the Church, Works, vol. iii, pp. 349, 354.
t Bingham's Antic. of the Chris. Church, vol. vi, b. xiv, ch. iii, p. 433.




68                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
probability, been considered as the founder of the schools of the
prophets. These appear to have been places of education, where
the most hopeful young persons of the Levites, and the Nazarites
out of other tribes, were instructed in religion and morals. Over
these colleges, some venerable prophet, at first, presided, from
whose mouth the students or scholars received the inspired dictates of prophecy, and delivered them to the people, when their
president was otherwise employed. After the destruction of the
first temple, we hear nothing of the schools of the prophets; but
academies, or seminaries for instruction in the Law of Moses,
were established in various places. Over these certain doctors of
the Law presided. Gamaliel, the tutor of St. Paul, was one of
them. The Jews say, that until the time of Gamaliel, the scholars
stood while the Law was explained to them; but that afterward
they sat at the feet of the rabbi who taught them. The author of
the commentary which goes under the name of Ambrose, distinguishes the scholars into two classes: "The rabbins," says he,
"are seated on elevated chairs, the older and more learned of the
scholars are placed on benches below  them; while the junior
scholars sit upon mats, on the ground."  (Ambros. in 1 Cor. xiv.)
The scholars were expected also to hearken in silence, and pay
the utmost deference to the instructions of the master. They were
never, even in his absence, to call him by his name, but to address
him, or speak of him, by some title of honour; they were not to sit in
his presence till he bade them, nor afterward to rise without his permission; while sitting they were to behave as in the presence of a
king; and when they withdrew, they were to retire without turning
their faces from the master; when they walked with him, they were
not to step before him, nor to walk at his side, but were to follow
him  at a respectful distance.  Many other similar rules for the
conduct of the scholars may be met with in Maimonides, De studio legis, where the subject is treated at large.*
In the times preceding the publication of the Talmud, the doctors of the Law were inducted into their office, first by imposition
of hands; and then giving into the hands of the candidates the five
books of Mioses, and a key, to show them that they were at liberty
to open the mysteries of the Laws; and afterward authorizing
them to declare what was lawful, and what unlawful, by saying to
each of them, " Take thou liberty to teach what is bound, and what
* Lewis's Hebrew Antiquities, vol. i, b. ii, ch. xv. Calmet, Dissertation sur les
Ecoles des Hebreux. Maimonides, De Studio Legis, a RPob. Clavering., cap. v and vi,
Oxon. 1705, 4to.




BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.                69
is loose.' Simeon, the son of Hillel, (who is supposed to have
taken our Saviour in his arms,) is said to have been the first doctor
with a title, and he was called Rabban. From  his time, titles
caine into request, and none was more common than Rabbi.
These distinguishing titles implied mastership, doctorship, or principality, and were in respect and dignity one higher than the other.
Rabbi was a more excellent name than Rab; Rabban was more
excellent than Rabbi; and the simple name, as Haggai, Zechariah, or Malachi, was more excellent than Rabban. Rab was the
more proper title of the Babylonian doctors, Rabbi of the Judean,
and Rabban was ascribed to seven men only.* And as there were
different titles, there were also different orders of doctors. The
first and most honourable were the men of the great synagogue, who
flourished In the time of the latter prophets. Among these they
enumerate Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi; Ezra, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Zerubbabel, and Mordecai. From the time of the men of
the great synagogue to the publishing of the Mishna, they were
called Tannaim, or traditionaries; and are the Mishnical doctors,
who are said to have received the oral law, or Mishna, from the
prophets, and out of whose traditions and doctrines the Mishna was
composed. From that tine to the publication of the Babylonish Talmud, they were called Aemourain, or dictators, because they dictated the explanations or commentaries upon the Mishna, contained
in the Gemara. For about a hundred years after the publication
of the Talmud, they obtained the name of Seburaim, or opinionists,
because they only inferred opinions by disputation, and probable
arguments, from what had been before dictated, and received in
the Mishna and Gemara, and did not advance any peculiar doctrines themselves. After that, they had the appellation of Gaonim,
or sublime and excellent doctors, being so called from the excellence and sublimity of their learning. Since then, the general
name of Rabbi is that whereby their learned men are distinguished,
except that those among them who minister in their synagogues
are called Chacamim, or wise men.f
The Jewish SCRIBES were a body of the most learned men of
the nation, and generally of the tribe of Levi, who were distinguished by the title of scribes of the clergy; those who were
not of the Levitical stock being called scribes of the people; thus
* Basnage's History of the Jews, b. v, ch. v, p. 412. Lond. 1708, fol. Dr. A.
Clarke's comment. on Matthew xviii, 18. Lewis's Heb. Antiq., vol. i, b. ii, ch. xxii.
Iightfoot's Works, vol. i, Harmony, sec. 52, p. 307. Lond. 1684, fol.
t Levi's Ceremonies of the Jews, pp. 240, 246, 276, 302, 310. 8vo. Lewis, ut sup.
1




70                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
distinguishing them from such as were the private secretaries of
particular men. The business of the lay scribes was to undertake
to copy the Scriptures for any who desired it; for so great and
various is the accuracy and exactness of the Scripture text, and of
such importance that the copies should be correct, that it was
deemed improper to permit the transcription of the sacred books
by any but select transcribers. On this account, a particular order
of learned men was established among the Jews, whose office it
was to guard and preserve the purity of the text in all Bibles that
should be copied out, that no corruption might creep into the original of the sacred writings; and these were denominated scribes
of the people.  Those who were men of learning and scholastic
education were likewise employed as public notaries, in the sanhedrims and courts of justice; and as registrars in the synagogues.
The scribes, therefore, not only transcribed the books of the Law,
but wrote out the phylacteries; the mezuzoth, or sentences to be
affixed to the door-posts, bills of contracts, or divorcements; and
other matters of civil or religious concern. Out of these, it is probable that some of the most accomplished were made choice of to
attend upon the king, as his secretaries, called the king's scribes.
To qualify them for these offices, they were entered as students in
some public academy, of which there were forty-eight belonging to
the tribe of Levi; where they studied till they were accounted capable of these employments.*
The office of the scribes of the clergy was to preach in public, and to instruct the people, being the most certain and regular
interpreters and expounders of the Law in sermons; and more
constant teachers than any other of the clergy. Thus, Ezra was a
ready scribe in the Law of Moses, both for copying, and preserving pure the text of the Scripture, and also for expounding it by his
sermons. Ezra vii, 6.
* Lightfoot's Works, vol. i, p. 439. Lewis's Heb. Antiq., vol. ii, ch. xxi.
1




FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD CENTURIES.             71
PART II.
FROM THE BIRTH OF CHRIST TO THE INVENTION OF PRINTING.
CHAPTER I.
First, second, and third Centuries-Books of New Testament-Autographs
of sacred Writers-Jews in China-Syriac and Latin Versions —John Albert
Widmanstadt-William Postel-Carolus Schaaf- Vetus Italica-Thomas
Hearne-Peter Sabatier-Sahidic and Coptic Versions-Dr. C. G. WoideDr. David Wilkins —Origen-Pamphilus-Eusebius of Cesarea-LucianHesychius-Bibliomancy-Gymnnasia-Libraries-Public Readers-Persecutions-Traditores-Instances of extraordinary Memory.
IN the year of the world 4000, or 4004, JESUS, the CIIRIST,
that is, the MESSIAH, appeared among men, and became incarnate
for us men, and for our salvation. To him be glory and dominion
for ever and ever. Amen.
After the ascension of our Lord, his apostles, or disciples, or
their contemporaries, committed to writing the various books
which compose the canon of the New Testament; and which,
being written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, are an inestimable compilation of divine truths, containing the records of
human redemption.
It is not easy, perhaps it is impossible, to ascertain with exactness the different times at which the respective portions of the
New Testament were written; but the following chronological
arrangement, &c., extracted from Dr. A. Clarke's " Introduction
to the Four Gospels, and to the Acts of the Apostles," will probably prove acceptable to the reader:Chronological Arrangement of the Books of the New Testament;
the Places where written, according to Dr. Lardner; and the
enumeration of all the Books, Chapters, and Verses.
THE GOSPELS.
BooKs.   Places where written.   Time when written. Books. Chapters. Verses.
Matthew ---— Judea...-........ A.ID. 64..........1... 28... 1071
Mark. — _-Rome -                "  64............. 16.. 678
Luke. —-------- Greece. —---    "  63 or 64..... I... 24..1151
John...-....... Ephesus -........ "  68-1... 21. 880
Acts... —------  Greece...........  "  63 or 64.... 1... 28...1006
1




72                       BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
ST. PAUL'S EPISTLES.
BOOKS.      Places where written.  Time when written. Books. Chapters. Verses
I. Thessalonians.. Corinth -------- A. D. 52 ------ 1..   5 _..  89
II. Thessalonians._ Corinth.-.     "  52. —-.  1.   3...  47
Galatians -------- Corinth or Ephesus -   "  52 or 53-.    1.  6.6. 149
I. Corinthians -. — Ephesus   -     -Beginning of 56- - 1..  16... 437
I. Timothy ------ Macedonia ------ A. D. 56.. —-       1. —   6._  113
Titus ----------- Macedonia or near it - - Before the end of 56.. 1     3  46
II. Corinthians ---- Macedonia. —----- October, 57.. —--     13 _   256
Romans --------- Corinth.-....... February, 58.-...- 1  16... 434
Ephesians.. —.. Rome.-..........April,   61.   1..   6... 155
II. Timothy. —--  Rome.-....May,    61.        I. 1.. 4 ---  83
Philippians —. —- Rome..-.......-.End of  62 -- - 1..    4... 104
Colossians ------- Rome      -. —-------- End of  62....... 1.. 4... 95
Philemon... —.. Rome -----------— End of  62         -......-   1. -   25
Hebrews.        Rome or Italy ----— Spring of 63.-. 1. 13. 303
THE CATHOLIC  EPISTLES.
James ---------— Judea.-........ A. D. 61 or 62.. 1   5 --- 108
1. Peter ------  Rome —--------   "    64 -. —. 1...  5..   10,5
II. Peter -------- Rome. —---------    "    64 ----- 1.3 -   61
I. John.-...... Ephesus           "    80 -.-.-. I    5     105
II. John -------— Ephesus            Between 80 and 90.. 1 _    1. I  13
III. John. —--   Ephesus..    Between 80 and 96.  1.-.    1.I.   15
Jude ----------— Unknown               A. D. 64 or 65   1..    1        25
Apocalypse __.__ Patmos or Ephesus_. "    95 or 96.  1 - - -22 —... 405
TOTAL -....27  _. 260. — 7959
ST. MATTHEW'S  GOSPEL  is generally  allowed  to have  been
written in the Hebrew or Syro-Chaldaic language, being designed
*for the immediate use of the inhabitants of Palestine. Irenaeus,
who  lived  in the  second century, expressly says, (Adv. Steres,
lib. iii, ch. i,) that " Matthew, among the Hebrews, wrote a Gospel
in their own language, while Peter and Paul were preaching the
gospel at Rome, and founding the  church there."  Papias, the
companion of Polycarp, had still more early affirmed, that " Matthew  wrote his Gospel in the Hebrew  tongue."   " We are fools,"
says Isaac Vossius, (Praef. App. in Lib. de 70 Interpr.,) " if we
spend our time in confuting all the idle dreams which trample
upon the unanimous testimony of all antiquity, and the authority
of all churches, which conspire in assuring us that the Gospel
of St. Matthew  was originally written in the Syro-Chaldaic language."*  This Gospel was afterward translated into Greek, as we
* Those who wish to be fully acquainted with the controversy respecting the language in which St. Matthew's Gospel was originally written, may consult Marsh's
Michaelis, vol. iii, pt. i, ch. iv, sec. 3-9; Dr. Campbell's Preface to Matthew's Gospel,
1




FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD CENTURIES.               73
have it at present, in the time of the apostles; possibly by the
evangelist himself, though some say by St. James, others by
St. John; and being approved by them, has always been considered as holding the place of the original; the copies of the
Hebrew  having been early so corrupted by the Nazarenes and
Ebionites as to destroy all confidence in them.
The EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS also appears to have been
written by St. Paul in Hebrew, and afterward to have been
translated into Greek by St. Luke, according to Clement of
Alexandria, (Eusebii H. E., lib. vi, ch. xiv,) but according to
Eusebius, (H. E., lib. iii, ch. xxxviii,) by Clement of Rome.*
Cardinal Baronius, in his Annales Ecclesiastici, has attempted
to prove that St. Mark wrote his Gospel in Latin. This hypothesis, so contrary to the testimony of antiquity, is, however, universally exploded.  The arguments by which he endeavoured to
support his opinion were the subscriptions of certain Syriac
manuscripts, and the supposed autograph of St. Mark preserved
at Venice; but it is well known that no dependance can be
placed on such subscriptions in general, and in particular that the
subscriptions of a version made in the East immediately from the
Greek can be of no authority in regard to the language in which
St. Mark wrote in Rome.t
The pretended autograph of St. Mark's Gospel, kept in St.
Mark's treasury in Venice, is written upon paper made of cotton
(charta bombycina) of a faded green colour, and forms a thin
square volume, covered with plates of silver gilt. The dampness
of the place long ago rendered the writing nearly illegible, and
caused the leaves to cling together, so that they could scarcely be
separated without tearing.  The illegibility of the writing occasioned Misson, an eminent lawyer, to affirm that it was written in
Greek, but more accurate observations have proved it to be Latin,
and written in the sixth century. It was conveyed from Aquileia
to Venice in the fifteenth century. The emperor Charles IV., in
1355, obtained from Aquileia, through his brother Nicholas, the
patriarch of that city, the last eight leaves, which are kept at
Prague;t and on receipt of which a testimonial was given in
Latin, of which the following is a translation:in his excellent Translation of the Four Gospels; and Simnons Histoire Critique du
Texte du N. T., ch. v, vi, vii, viii. See also Butler's Lives of the Saints, vol. ix,
pp. 284, 285, note.    *Marsh's Michaelis, vol. iv, ch. xxiv, sec. 9-12.
t Simon, Hist. Critique du N. T., ch. xi. Marsh's Michaelis, vol. iii, ch. v, sec. 8.
Kortholtus, De variis S. S. Editionibus, cap. vii, pp. 3, 4. Kilon. 1668, 4to.; Michaelis (vol. iii, pt. i, ch. v, p. 226) says, the two quaternions, or quires,
I




74                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
"I CHARLES IV., by the grace of God king of the Romans,
always august, and king of Bohemia, saw the book of St. Mark's
Gospel, written with his own hand, entire from the beginning to
the end, in seven quires, in the custody of the patriarch of the
church of Aquileia; which book was preserved in the said
church by the blessed Hermagoras, and by the said church of
Aquileia to this day; which said blessed Hermagoras received
that book from the hands of St. Peter; and also from St. Peter,
at the request, and by the resignation of St. Mark, had the prelateship of the said church of Aquileia; of which book, upon my
request to the patriarch and chapter of the said church of Aquileia,
I obtained these two last quires of the aforesaid book; and the
other five going before them, remained in the aforesaid church;
and this I writ with my own hand, in the year of the incarnation
1355, on the eve of All Saints, the ninth of my reign."*
The fragment now  kept at Prague was published by Joseph
Dobrowsky, in 1778, in 8vo., under the title F-ragmentum Pragense Evangelii S. llMarci vulgo autographi. And from a letter
by Laurentius a Turre, printed in Blanchini's Evangeliorum
Quadruplex, pt. ii, p. 543, it appears that the manuscript of St.
Mark's Gospel was brought to Venice from Friuli, the ancient
Forum Julii, where a very ancient Latin MS., containing the Gospels of St. Matthew, St. Luke, and St. John, is still preserved;
and consequently that the twenty leaves at Venice, with the last
eight leaves at Prague, making the whole Gospel of St. Mark,
complete the Foro-julian MS., which contains the oldest copy
4f Jerome's version of the Gospels; and has been published
by Blanchini in his Evangeliorum Quadruplex, printed at Rome
in 1748.t
The claims of the Venetian MS. being disproved, it will be
granted that none of the autographa or original manuscripts of the
New Testament are now in existence, though there is evidence,
that, at least, some of them were for many years carefully preserved among the ancient Christian churches.  Tertullian, who
flourished at the close of the second, and the commencement of
contained sixteen leaves; but this is probably an error for pages, since the Baron De
la Tour remarks, in his letters inserted in Montfaucon's Journey through Italy,
(Diarium Italicum,) that a quaternion was the size of the fourth part of a sheet; two
sheets or quaternions would therefore be eight leaves or sixteen pages.
* Montfaucon's Journey through Italy, pp. 75, 76. Lond. 1712, Svo.
t Marsh's Michaelis, vol. iii, pt. i, ch. v, sec. 8. Butler's Lives of the Saints,
vol. iv, p. 272, Edinburgh, 1798, 8vo. See also Calmet, Dissert. sur l'Evangile
de S. Marc.
I




FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD CENTURIES.             75
the third century, refers to many autographa as still extant.  See
his treatise De Praescriptionibus, sec. 36.  "If you will indulge
your curiosity," says he, " and give it both a useful and extensive
range, in the affair of your salvation, be pleased to take a view of,
and run over the apostolic churches, where the chairs of the apostles do now preside in their respective places, where their authentic and original epistles, (authenticae literae,) the very images of
their voice and person, are now recited and exhibited. Do you
live in Achaia?  There is Corinth. Are you not far removed
from Macedonia? You have Philippi and Thessalonica. Are
you nigh unto Asia? There is Ephesus.  Or if you border upon
Italy, there is Rome."
Peter, an Alexandrian bishop of the fourth century, says, "The
Gospel of the evangelist John, written with his own hand, is, by
divine goodness, still preserved in the most holy church of the
Ephesians, where it is held in veneration by the believers."*
Frickius supposes that the autographa were preserved by the
primitive Christians in their archives, or tabularia saczra, and not
suffered to be generally read, lest they should be injured by the
frequent handling of the readers; and conceives that Ignatius
refers to these archives in his Epistle to the Philadelphians, sec.
8, when he says, " I have heard some persons say, If I find it not
(EV TOtc apxatotd,) or rather (ev T-ot' apxetoLc,) in the archives, I believe
it not."  Usher, Dodwell, and others have adopted the same
opinion.t The final loss of the autographs is probably to be attributed, principally, to the dreadful persecutions which raged
against the Christians in the early ages, and to the exertions of
their barbarous persecutors to destroy all their sacred books; a
loss from which has arisen the necessity of collecting and collating manuscripts of the original Greek, and of the different early
versions: a measure which has been pursued with much laudable industry and perseverance, especially in modern times, and
which has completely proved the general accuracy of our present copies.
Transcriptions of the different parts of the New Testament
were, however, very early made, and circulated among the Christian churches; and soon after the death of the apostles began to
be collected into volumes. But so cautious were the first Christians not to receive any writings as inspired without the most
* Frickii Commentatio de cura Ecclesia, Veteris circa canonem Sacrae Scripture,
cap. iv, sec. 5, p. 130, 4to. Ulm. 1728.
t Frickius, ubi sup.
1




76                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
indubitable evidence, that it was not till after a considerable lapse
of time that the Epistle to the Hebrews, the second Epistle of St.
Peter, the second and third Epistles of St. John, the Epistles of
St. James and St. Jude, and the Revelation of St. John, were
admitted into the sacred canon.
During the FIRST CENTURY a colony of Jews settled in China,
whom Bishop Walton has slightly noticed in the Prolegomena to
his Polyglot Bible; (Proleg. iii, sec. 41;) but of whom the best
account will be found in Brotier's Tacitus, vol. iii, p. 567, et seq.,
from which the subsequent statement is chiefly extracted. Gabriel Brotier obtained his information from the manuscript letters
of certain Jesuits, who were sent at the close of the seventeenth,
or commencement of the eighteenth century, by the Roman
Catholic Church, as missionaries to the Chinese nation; and who
were requested to prosecute every possible inquiry into the state,
customs, religious opinions, and sacred books of the Jews in
China.  From  these sources the celebrated editor of Tacitus
learned, that the ancestors of the present Chinese Jews settled ill
China during the dynasty of IHan, in the reign of Ming-ti, and in
the year of our Lord 73, two years before the death of Ming-ti,
and three years before the destruction of Jerusalem. They appear
to have emigrated from Persia, and to have consisted of at least
seventy sings, or families, (viz., all those who are of the same
origin, equivalent to the term "house," as made use of by the
translators of the authorized English version.) In the last century only seven families remained, amounting to about six hundred persons. For a long time after their settlement in China
their affairs were in a flourishing state, so that many became
eminent for their attainments, especially in Chinese literature;
others were dignified with the offices of state, others became
rulers of provinces, and some were even advanced to the rank of
mandarins. Their principal residences were Nimpo, Ning-hia,
Ham-tcheon, Peking, and Cai-fong-fou. The affairs of the Jews
gradually declining, many of them became the followers of Mohammed, so that the Jews of Cai-fong-fou, the capital of the province
Honan, and about one hundred and fifty leagues from Peking, are
now the only ones known and acknowledged. In the year of our
Lord 1446 their synagogue was destroyed by an inundation of the
river Ho-ang-ho; and again by fire at the commencement of the
reign of the emperor Ouan-li, who governed from A. D. 1573 to
A. D. 1620; and a third time by a flood in A. D. 1642. It was
then rebuilt, and still exists.
1




FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD CENTURIES.          77
These Jews are called by the Chinese Hoei-Hoei, a name given
to them in common with the Mohammedans; but they call themselves Tiao-Kin-Kiao, that is, the law of those who cut out the
sinews, because they cut away the sinews and veins, that they
may abstain from blood. Their synagogue is large and magnificent. The most sacred part of the synagogue is the Bethel, or
house of God. It is square on the outside, and circular within.
In this Bethel, on the top of thirteen tables, thirteen ta-kings, that
is, thirteen rolls of the Law, or Pentateuch, are placed; and each
roll is covered with silk.  At the very end of the temple or
synagogue, behind Bethel, the tables of the Law are conspicuously
written in Hebrew characters of gold; and on both sides of the
tables are repositories, in which are kept the books which the
Jews commonly use.
By the term  ta-king, which signifies the great writing, the
Chinese Jews solely designate the Pentateuch. Every ta-king is
written upon long Chinese paper, many leaves of which are glued
together, to make the paper thicker, and to cause it to turn more
readily round the central stick of the roll. Every roll contains the
whole law, without any distinction of books, chapters, or verses,
but divided into fifty-three sections. In these rolls there are no
vowel points, nor the distinctive letters of the sections, either
single or triple; and only the space of one line intervenes
between them. WVhen the Jews of China were asked why there
were no points in their ta-kings, they replied, that the Law was so
rapidly dictated by God, that Moses had not time to affix the
points. They affirm that the points were afterward added by the
doctors of the West.
A roll of the ta-king, compactly wound round its stick, is about
two feet high; its diameter rather exceeds the measure of a foot.
One of these ta-kings, being very ancient, is held in the highest
estimation.  According to the representation of the Chinese Jews
to father Ricci, the most ancient MS. of the Jews in China was
about six hundred years old, at the commencement of the seventeenth century, and therefore about eight hundred years old at
present. When the synagogue at Cai-fong-fou was burned, and
the books destroyed, in the reign of the emperor Ouan-li, this
copy of the Pentateuch was obtained from a Mohammedan, whom
the Jews met with in the city Ninghia, in the province of Chen-si.
This Mohammedan had received it from a Jew at the point of
death, in the city of Canton, who committed it to him as a
precious treasure of antiquity and religion. This roll is now held
1




78                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
in very great veneration, because their other ta-kings have been
copied from it; and because it was preserved in the second inundation, which happened in the year of our Lord 1642, of which
calamity it now bears many marks.
Among the books in their repositories are many copies of the
Law, that is, of the five books of Moses. The whole of the Law is
not contained entire in any one book; for every section completes
a book; it is therefore necessary to have fifty-three of these books
to possess the whole Law. These books are four or five inches
high, and about seven inches broad; they are written in larger
letters than the ta-kings, and seldom have more than ten lines in
a page. They consist only of a few leaves, rendered thicker by
two or three being glued together; for the Jews never size with
alum the thin paper of the Chinese, to enable them to write on
both sides of it. Each of these books has a square mark about
the middle of the first page, in which the first word of the book or
section is written, without vowel points; and which is ornamented
-with silk, or with the colours green, blue, or white. The pages
are marked at the top with the numerals, in words at full length,
in the inward, and not according to our custom, in the outward
margin. The sections of the Law are the same as in our Bibles,
except that they connect our fifty-second and fifty-third sections together; hence we reckon fifty-four sections, and they
only fifty-three.
The Jews of China are not acquainted withl our distinction of
Keri and Ketib; though in their books there are some letters
larger and some smaller than the usual size. In the books kept
in their repositories they use the vowel points and accents, as
well as some other marks of distinction peculiar to themselves;
and the number of verses of which every book or section consists
is placed at the end of it.
Besides the Law of Moses, they have other books in their repositories, which they denominate San-tso, a word sigilifying supplementary and distinct books, and which contain certain imperfect
parts of several of the historical and prophetical books; but
among them are no portions whatsoever of the books of Proverbs,
Job, the Song of Solomon, or Ecclesiastes; nor of the books of
the prophets Ezekiel, IHosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, or Malachi;
and of the book of the prophet Daniel they possess only a few
verses of the first chapter. They have also one copy, which they
greatly prize, of the two books of the Maccabees, which they
name Manthiochium, or Mathathies.  They have also in the
1




FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD CENTURIES.           79
same repositories a book of ceremonies or prayers, &c., arranged
for all the sabbaths and festivals throughout the year, almost all
of them taken from the Scriptures, and chiefly from the Psalms.
In these repositories they have, lastly, some books, ill arranged,
which they term in the Chinese language Tiang-tchang, or the
Interpreters.
These Chinese Jews are, in general, very ignorant of the
Hebrew language; for although by constant study, they, for the
most part, understand the five books of Moses, they are not so
skilful in reading their other books. They excuse their ignorance
by saying, that they have a long time ago lost their Tot-ktingpuen, or grammatical books, and that for some centuries they
have seen no Jew from Si-yu, that is to say, from the West. To
their sacred books they pay so much reverence, that they seldom
or never keep them at home, but lodge them in the repositories of
the li-pai-se, or temple; yet this apparent veneration is nothing
more than a mere superstitious practice, for whenl any one has
copied, or caused to be copied, the books of the Law, and has
placed them in the li-pai-se, he deems himself to have discharged
all the duties of religion; and sometimes never afterward makes
lis appearance in the synagogue.
In copying the sacred books the Chinese Jews esteem it an act
of impiety to make use of either Chinese pencils or Chinese ink;
for this purpose therefore they cut a reed, called bamboo, into
pens; and use very black ink, prepared after the European manner, in the beginning of the year, immllediately after the feast of
tabernacles; and which they keep with great care throughout the
year. When the Law is read in the synagogue, the roll of the
ta-king is placed in the chair of Moses, and as it is unrolled,
a Jew, covered with a blue cap, and having a cotton or fustian
cloth spread over his head, reads it aloud, or rather sings it, in a
manner similar to that of the Jews of Italy: a monitor stands
close to the reader, and corrects him when lie errs.  On the
twenty-fourth day of their seventh month they celebrate the feast
of the Law, when they carry about their thirteen manuscripts of
the ta-king in solemn procession: and on which occasion the
tchang-kiao, or ruler of the synagogue, wears a remarkable silk
scarf, of a red colour, hanging from the right shoulder, and brought
under the left, and there fixed by a knot.
Fathers Gozeni, Domege, and Gaubil, were desirous of collat
ing the Hebrew Bible, with the books of the li-pai-se, and more
especially the entire Pentateuch, with the ta-kings preserved in
I




SO                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
the Bethel of the synagogue; but the prejudiced opinions of thle
Chinese Jews always prevented their desire, since it appeared to
them impious to trust their books to men who ate black flesh, for
so they termed swine's flesh.  An expectation was indulged
some years afterward, (A. D. 1768,) by Dr. Kennicott, that
books might be obtained from the repositories, either by exchange
or money. A copy of the Hebrew Bible, printed at Amsterdam,
by Vander Hooght was offered to them, which they praised
exceedingly at first, on account of the beauty and thickness of the
paper, and the compact binding of the book; but afterward
despised it, and would not so much as supply from it the deficiencies of their own books. Money, however, had more weight with
them; and one of them named Naai-ven had already promised
that he would take his copy of the books of Joshua, Judges,
Samuel, and Kings from the li-pai-se, and sell it at a stated price.
But as soon as he had secretly conveyed it away, he was discovered, and severely reprimanded; for there is an ancient proverb
well known among them, that " lhe who sells his sacred books,
sells his God."  Another Jew, named Cao-ting, who made the
same promise, went to the ruler of the synagogue, and redemanded the books of the Law, sumptuously written, which he had
received from his uncle when at the point of death, and which he
had recently deposited in the li-pai-se; but instead of obtaining
them he was severely rebukled, and sent away with ignominy.
Thus every effort hitherto made to obtain possession of the books
of the Chinese Jews has completely failed.*
Quitting -for the present the colony of Jews in China, and again
directing our views westward, we perceive the invaluable doctrines
of Christianity rapidly extending their benign influences on every
side; so that not only transcripts of the sacred Scriptures, especially of the New Testament, are multiplied, to aid the private devotions, or the public worship of those who understand the original
tongues, but translations are made into various languages, for
the accommodation of those who cannot read the Hebrew and
Greek Scriptures, or who read them with difficulty. Within the
first two centuries of the Christian era, the whole, or parts of the
sacred writings, were translated into the Syriac and Latin, two of
the most ancient versions of the New Testament, one of which
was spread throughout Europe and the north of Africa; the other
* See the translation of the whole of G. Brotier's account of the Chinese Jews
in Jewish Expositor, vol. i. No. 3, 4, for 1816. Kennicotti Dissertatio Generalis,
p. 65, fol.
1




FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD CENTURIES.          81
propagated from Edessa to China.. This ancient Syriac translation is usually called the Peshito, or literal, or correct and faithful
version; and is thus distinguished from the more modern versions,
especially the one made under the patronage of Philoxenus, in A.
D. 508, and from him denominated the Philoxenian version. The
Rev. Dr. Claudius Buchanan, in his late tour througf British India,
to examine into the state of Christianity, was presented, by the
Syrian bishop in Argamalee, with a most valuable Syriac manuscript, which had been deposited in one of the remote churches,
near the mountains. It was supposed to have been preserved for
near a thousand years. " It contains the Old and New Testaments,
engrossed on strong vellum, in large folio, having three columns in
a page; and is written with beautiful accuracy. The character is
Estrangelo-Syriac; and the words of every book are numbered.
But the volume has suffered injury from time or neglect. In certain places the ink has been totally obliterated from the page, and
left the parchment in its state of natural whiteness: but the letters
can, in general, be distinctly traced from the impress of the pen, or
from the partial corrosion of the ink."*  It is now deposited with
other Syriac manuscripts, in the public library of the University of
Cambridge.
The Peshito version was first made known to Europe by Moses
of Marden, in Mesopotamia, a Maronite priest, who was sent by
Ignatius, patriarch of the Maronite Christians at Antioch, to pope
Julius III., to acknowledge the supremacy of the Roman pontiff;
and to obtain the printing of the Syriac New Testament, that it
might be more generally dispersed through the East. For the purpose of facilitating the latter design, he brought with him two Syriac MSS.; which appear not to have been duplicates of the whole
Syriac Testament, but two different volumes, the one containing
the Gospels, the other the Acts and the Epistles. One of them,
containing the Gospels, said to have been written at Mosul, on the
Tigris, is still preserved in the Imperial library at Vienna. For
some time no one could be found to undertake a work, which
would not only be very expensive, but also require much judgment
and care to execute correctly; but at length Albert Wvidmanstadt
who had formerly projected the same design, prevailed with the
emperor Ferdinand I. to be at the expense of an undertaking so
likely to prove advantageous to the church in general, and to the
churches of Asia in particular. The care of the impression was
committed to Widmanstadt, and Moses of Marden, who were as*+ Buchanan's Christian Researches, p. 129, Edin. 1812, 8vo.
VOL. I. —6




82                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
sisted, particularly in the formation of the matrices for the types,
by William Postel.  This edition was conmpleted, and neatly printed at Vienna, in 1555, in two volumes, 4to. It wants, however,
the two last Epistles of St. John, the second Epistle of St. Peter,
the Epistle of St. Jude, and the Revelation of St. Joln, which appear not to have been received into the sacred canon so early as the
period when the translation was first made.  A thousand copies
were printed, of which the emperor reserved to himself five hundred for sale, sent three hundred to the two Syrian patriarchs, and
made a present to Moses of two hundred copies, together with
twenty dollars; these copies Moses disposed of by sale, prior to
his return to Syria. This rare and valuable edition is considered
as a perfect pattern of the genuine Peshito.  The character of it by
Michaelis is too interesting to be omitted.  "The Peshito," says
he, "is the very best translation of the Greek Testament that I
have ever read; that of Luther, though in some respects inferior to
his translation of the Old Testament, holding the second rank.
Of all the Syriac authors with which I am acquainted, not excepting Ephrern and Bar Hebraeus, its language is the most elegant
and pure, not loaded with foreign words, like the Philoxenian version, and other later writings, and discovers the hand of a master
in rendering those passages where the two idioms deviate from
each other. It has no marks of the stiffness of a translation, but is
written with the ease and fluency of an original; and this excellence of style must be ascribed to its antiquity, and to its being
written in a city (Edessa) that was the residence of Syrian kings.
It is true that the Syriac version, like all human productions, is not
destitute of faults, and, what is not to be regarded as a blemish,
differs frequently from the modern modes of explanation: but I
know of none that is so free from error, and none that I consult
with so much confidence, in cases of difficulty and doubt."*
This version is supposed to have been made at Edessa, where
Abgarus, to whom certain spurious epistles have been ascribed, as
passing between him and Jesus Christ, reigned from the eighth
year after the birth of our Lord to the year 45.  He is also said
to have built there a Christian church, in the form of a temple,
with a row  of steps leading to the holy place; from  whence the
custom of erecting churches in the form of temples was communicated to the Christian countries in Europe. Of the translator of
this version we have no certain knowledge.  By the Syrians themselves, it has been asserted, that part of the Old Testament was
* Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, part i, sec. ii-vi, pp. 4-33, 40, 41.
1                        6*




FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD CENTURIES.           83
translated in the time of Solomon, for the use of Hiram, king of
Tyre, and the rest under Abgarus, king of Edessa, by Thaddeus,
or one of the apostles. But whoever was the translator, there is internal evidence that the Old Testament was translated subsequent to
the New, and therefore probably not translated by the same person.*
The first printed edition of the Syriac Old Testament was that
by Le Jay, in the celebrated Polyglot of Paris, in 1645. The
editors of the first printed edition of the Syriac New Testament
were, as we have already noticed, Albert Widmanstadt, Moses of
Marden, and William Postel.
JOHN ALBERT WIDMANSTADT, or WIDIMIANSTADTER, chancellor
of Germany under Ferdinand I., was a native of Nalinga, in
the district of Ulm, in the circle of Suabia. He acquired the
first rudiments of learning under George Bauler; and at thirteen
years of age began to study the Greek tongue, under the famous
Reuchlin, or Capnio, and afterward attended the lectures of James
Jonas, at Tubingen. His knowledge of the Syriac language was
obtained after his entrance upon public life, and was occasioned
by a singular occurrence, thus related in his preface to the Syriac
New Testament. Accompanying the court of Charles V. to Bologna, in 1529, he lodged in a house adjoining a monastery, where
Theseus Ambrosius, a learned and aged civilian, then resided.
One day visiting the monastery, he accidentally met a venerable
old man, whom he courteously saluted. It was'rheseus himself,
who entering into conversation with him, and learning his desires
to examine the literary treasures of the house, readily undertook to
assist him.  Having conducted Widmanstadt into the library,
Theseus opened the doors of one of the book-cases, and taking out
a Syriac MS. of the Gospels, said with a sigh, " My friend,'1
have for fifteen years devoted myself to these studies, and have
loved them hitherto without a rival. But how earnestly do I wish
that I could meet with some one of a prompt and ready genius,
who would be willing to acquire from one whose days are nearly
ended, and would transmit to others, the knowledge of a language
consecrated by the holy lips of Jesus Christ."  Widmanstadt professed himself to be ready to undertake the task, and as far as opportunity would permit him, to endeavour to fulfil the desire of thle
good old man, if he would afford him his assistance in acquiring
the language. Theseus accordingly instructed him during his stay
at Bologna, so that by indefatigable application, he soon became a
* Marsh's Michaelis, ubi sup. Calmet, Dictionnaire de la Bible;-Bible en Syriaque
Thadie. Simon, Hist. Critique du V. T., liv. ii, ch. sv.
1




84                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
proficient in the Syriac tongue, in which he was afterward perfected by Simeon, bishop of the Syrians of Mount Libanus. In 1533
he met with a copy of the Syriac Gospels, in one of the continental libraries, which he transcribed; and being at Rome, was desirous of printing it under the auspices of Pope Clement VII., but
was prevented by the decease of that pontiff. When in Italy, he
assumed the name of Johannes Lucretius.
After the death of Clement, Widmanstadt returned into Germany. On his journey, meeting with Cardinal Pole, who himself
had translated the Lamentations of Jeremiah out of Hebrew into
Latin, and who was then going as the pope's legate to England,
he was persuaded to interest himself in the printing of the Syriac
Testament. His exertions were successful, and produced the rare
and beautiful edition of 1555. He died about A. D. 1559. After
his death, his library was purchased by the duke of Bavaria.*
WILLIAM POSTEL was born of obscure parents, in the province
of Normandy.  Possessing a genius naturally suited to study, and
being ardently desirous of acquiring knowledge, lie conquered the
various difficulties which opposed themselves to his success, and
finally became one of the most eminent linguists of the sixteenth
century, and regius professor of the mathematics and languages,
in the university of Paris.
Led by desire to see the world, he quitted France, and travelled
into the East, visiting Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem, and other famous cities. While in the East, he was employed by Francis I. to procure Oriental MSS. for the Royal library, and executed his commission in a manner highly satisfactory to his royal master.
Returning to Venice, after an absence of sixteen years, he unfortunately adopted several singular and mystical opinions, which
being deemed heretical and dangerous by the magistrates, he was
obliged to escape into Germany, where he resided for some time
at the court of Ferdinand; but abjuring his errors, was permitted
to return to France. He, however, returned to his former opinions,
and by a decree of the parliament was banished to the monastery
of St. Martin, where he died at a very advanced age A. D. 1581.t
"The very best edition of the Syriac New Testament is un* Le Long. Biblioth. Sacra, ed. Masch, pt. ii, vol. i, sec. 4, pp. 74, 75. Marsh's
Michaelis, vol. ii, pt. i, ch. vii, sec. 2, pp. 8, 9. Freheri Theatrum Virorum Eruditione Clarorum, pt. i, sec. 2, p. 38. Noriberg. 1688, fol. Schelhornii Amcenitates
Literariae, tom. xiii, pp. 223-240. Francfort and Leips. 1730, 12mo.
t Freheri Theatrum Viror. Clar., pt. iv, pp. 1474, 1475. Leigh's (Edward) Trea1




FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD CENTURIES.               85
doubtedly that of Leyden, published by Schaaf in 1709, and reprinted in 1717. The very excellent Lexicon which is annexed to it
will ever retain its value, being, as far as regards the New Testament, extremely accurate and complete, and supplying in some
measure the place of a concordance."*
CAROLUS SCHAAF, who was a native of Holland, and teacher of
the Oriental languages, was assisted in the former part of this edition by the celebrated Leusden, professor of Hebrew at Utrecht,
who died in 1699, when the work was printed as far as Luke xv,
20. Schaaf died in 1729.
The old Latin translations which were made prior to the time of
Jerome have received the common denomination Vetus Italica, or
ancient Italic version. The revised translation of Jerome is distinguished by the term  Vulgate.  Dr. Mills (Proleg., p. 41, &c.)
conjectures, that a translation was made in the second century.
Augustus, who lived in the fourth century, thus states the origin of
the ancient Latin versions.  In his treatise De Doctrina Christiana,
lib. ii, cap. xi, he says, " The number of those who have translated
the Scriptures from the Hebrew into the Greek may be computed;
but the number of those who have translated the Greek into the
Latin cannot. For immediately upon the first introduction of
Christianity, if a person got possession of a Greek manuscript, and
thought he had any knowledge of the two languages, he set about
translating the Scriptures." In another part of his works, lib. ii,
cap. xv, he observes further, "in ipsis autem interpretationibus
Itala ceteris praeferatur, nam est verborum  tenacior cumperspicuitate sententice.  Among the translations themselves, the Italic
is to be preferred, because the most literal and perspicuous."t
These high terms of commendation have raised a general wish
that the Vetus Italica should be discovered and published. The
first publication of the kind was that of Flaminius Nobilius, printed
at Rome in 1588, in one volume folio, under the auspices of Sixtus V. In 1695, Dom Martianay published at Paris, in octavo,
what he supposed was the Vetus Italica of the Gospel of St. Matthew, and of the Epistle of St. James, besides the books of Job
and Judith. To these was added, in 1715, the Acts of the Apostles, printed at Oxford, in a fac-simile edition of a Greek and Latin
tise of Religion and Learning, p. 298, fol. Postelli Absconditorum e Constit. Mundi
Clavis. edit. Franc. de Monte S., pp. 110-118. Amster. 1646, 24mo.
* Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, pt. i, ch. vii, sec. 2, p. 17.
t Millii Proleg. fol. xli. Butler's Horan Biblical, vol. i, pp. 181-185. Lound. 12mo.
Mosheim's Commentaries on the Affairs of the Christians, translated by R. S. Vidal,
Esq., vol. ii, p. 33. Note. Lound. 1813, 8vo.
1




86                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
MS. of the seventh century, preserved among the Laudian MSS.
in the Bodleian library. The editor was the famous antiquary,
Thomas Hearne, who printed only one hundred and twenty copies,
by which means the edition is become extremely scarce. This
was the first fac-sinmile edition ever printed. A copy of it is in the
Collegiate library, in Manchester.
THoMAs HEARNE, M. A., the editor of this valuable edition of
the Acts of the Apostles, and the indefatigable collector and editor
of ancient books and manuscripts, particularly of our old chronicles, was the son of George Hearne, parish clerk of White Waltham, in Berkshire, in which parish he was born in 1678. Having
but little opportunity for learning, and his father being poor, he
was at an early age obliged to earn his subsistence as a daylabourer. Happily for him his abilities were discovered and fostered by Francis Cherry, Esq., in whose house he had lived as a
menial servant, but who, on perceiving his talents, placed him at
the free school of Bray, in his native county, and afterward educated him as his son. In 1695 he was entered of Edmund-hall,
Oxford. Dr. Mill, the principal of the college, soon marked the
bent of his studies, and employed him as his assistant in the
laborious task of collating MSS. for his edition of' the Greek
Testament. Dr. Grabe also availed himself of his useful talents in
transcribing and collating various old MSS. In 1699 he took his
bachelor's degree, which was soon followed by a proposal from his
tutor, Dr.White Kennet, to go to Maryland, as one of Dr. Bray's missionaries; but this proposal, not according with his views, was declined, and in a short time he obtained the situation of assistant to
Dr. Hudson, the librarian of the Bodleian library. In 1703 he took
his master's degree. In 1715 he was appointed archetypographus
of the university and esquire-beadle of the civil law. These offices
he soon after resigned, because of his objections to take the oaths
to government, being in political principles a Jacobite.  From
the same conscientious motive he refused several other advantageous preferments. The latter part of his life was devoted to
the study of antiquities, and the editing and republishing of numerous curious antiquarian works.  He died at Oxford, June 10,
1735. His taste for those researches, which formed the business
of his life, was seen at a very early period; for when he had only
attained the knowledge of the alphabet, he was continually pouring over the old tomb-stones in the church-yard. But nothing can
more correctly characterize this plain and laborious man than the
following thanksgiving found among his papers after his decease
1




FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD CENTURIES.            87
"O most gracious and merciful Lord God, wonderful in thy
providence, I return all possible thanks to thee, for the care thou
hast always taken of me. I continually meet with most signal
instances of this thy providence, and one act yesterday, when I
unexpectedly met with three old MSS., for which, in a particular
manner, I return my thanks, beseeching thee to continue the
same protection to ine, a poor, helpless sinner, and that for Jesus
Christ his sake.'*
Celebrated editions of the Old Italic were also edited by Blanchini and Sabatier.  The most important and magnificent one is
that of the four Gospels, by F. Joseph Blanchini, of Verona, a
priest of the Oratory, taken from five genuine manuscripts of this
version, or more properly from four copies of this version, one of
them containing only the corrected version of Jerome. It was
printed at the expense of John V. king of Portugal, at the instigation of Cardinal Carsini, and was published by order of Pope
Benedict XIV., who was highly valued by the Protestant as well
as by the Roman Church.  The title of this work, which consists
of two parts, forming four volumes, is, Evangeliorumi Quadrutplex
Latinee versionis antiquce, seu Italticc, nunc prinmrn   in lucert
editum  ex codicibus manuscriptis aureis, a)rgenteis, purpurels,
aliisque, plusquam millennarice cetatis sub auspiciis Joannis V.
regis fidelissinmi Lusitanice, a Josepho Blanchino. Anno Dornini
CIJ I) CCXLVIII.  The four MSS. made use of for this
edition were found at Corbie, Vercelli, Brescia, and Verona.
That from Vercelli is said to be in the hand-writing of Eusebius,
bishop of that city, and martyr.  The fifth MS., which is taken
from  Jerome's corrected edition, is the Codex Foro-juliensis.
Till Dr. Kennicott's " Collation" appeared, Blanchini's work was
considered as the most splendid that had issued from  the press
during the eighteenth century. The beauty and largeness of the
types, the great number of learned treatises, and the copper plates
with which it is ornamented, make the work so very expensive,
that it is seldom to be found in private libraries.t
While Blanchini was engaged in preparing the Evangeliorunm
Quadruplex, P. Sabatier published at Rheims, in three large
volumes folio, his Bibliorun sacrorumn Latinc versiones antiquce,
seu vetus Italica. 1743. Of which a new edition was published
in 1749-1751. To the third volume of the first edition, which
* Chalmers's Gen. Biog. Dictionary, vol. xvii, pp. 275-284.
t Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, pt. i, ch. vii, sec. 22, pp. 109, 110, &c., and ch. viii.
p. 274. Butler's Hora: Biblical, vol. i, pp. 183, 184.
1




88                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
contains the New Testament, a memoir of Sabatier is prefixed,
he having died before its completion. The following brief account
of him is extracted from it:PETER SABATIER was born at Poictiers, in France, in 1682.
At an early age he removed to Paris, where he studied in the
Mazarine College under the most celebrated professors. As soon
as lie had attained the years prescribed by the ecclesiastical laws,
he determined to assume the religious habit, and accordingly
enrolled himself under the standard of St. Benedict, and took the
vows upon him in the neighboring monastery of St. Faro, bishop
of Meaux. That he might more successfully pursue his theological studies, he entered into the congregation of St. Maur, in the
monastery of St. Germain, the scene of the labours of Mabillon,
Ruinart, and other learned men, by whose example and friendship
he was stimulated to those literary exertions which have given
celebrity to his name. His friendship for Ruinart, in particular,
led him to become first the associate with Ruinart, and after his
decease the continuator of the Annallum Benedictorum.
In 1727 he quitted Paris, and went to Rheims, where he commenced, carried on, and nearly completed his celebrated edition
of the Vetus Italica, or Italic version. This undertaking was for
some time suspended, by his being delegated to form the catalogue of the library belonging to the abbey of St. Nicasius, which
having executed in a masterly manner, and accompanied with an
excellent index, he returned to his favourite design, and pursued
the arrangement and collation of the manuscripts requisite for his
work with the most indefatigable diligence; and after having
devoted many years to this object, lie succeeded in printing the
first volurre, and preparing the other portions for the press,
from which the second volume was about to issue when the fatal
disease seized him which terminated his useful life, after an
illness of fifteen days, borne with the most pious resignation,
March 22, 1742. In stature, he was of the middle size; in conversation, affable and cheerful, sometimes enlivened by wit; his
countenance mild and open, but inclined to melancholy. Study
and prayer were his delight, prayer softening and solacing the
severity of study.*
In 1793 a fac-simile edition of a very ancient Greek and Latin
manuscript of the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles was published
in a magnificent folio at Cambridge, by Dr. Thomas Kipling.
*Bib. Sac. Latina- Versiones Antiquae, Lectori Benevolo, pp. xxviii, xxix, tom.
ii, Remis. 1743, fol.
1




FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD CENTURIES.            89
This manuscript is usually denominated the Codex Beze, from
the donor of it, or Codex Cantabrigiensis, from belonging to the
University of Cambridge. It was obtained, by the reformer Beza,
from the monastery of St. Irenmaus in Lyons, where it had lain
covered with dust for many years, till discovered during the civil
wars in 1562; and in 1581 was presented by him to the University
of Cambridge, which, in 1787, came to the resolution of printing the
whole MS. in letters of the same form and magnitude as the original hand-writing, and accordingly committed the publication of it
to Dr. Kipling.*
At a very early age of Christianity the Scriptures were translated also into the EGYPTIAN language, including the dialects both
of Upper and Lower Egypt; the former called Sahidic, the latter
Coptic. The Sahidic version is supposed to be as old as the
second century.  Several manuscripts, or rather fragments of
manuscripts, of this version, are preserved in the libraries of
Rome, Paris, Oxford, Berlin, and Venice. From  the quotations
in a Sahidic MS. in the British Museum, which contains a work
entitled Sophia, and written by Valentinus in the beginning of the
second century, Dr. Woide has endeavoured to prove, not only
that a Sahidic version of the New Testament existed in the second
century, but that there was also a translation of the Old Testament
into Sahidic, from which the author frequently quoted.t
After the learned Woide had published his fac-simile edition of
the Alexandrian MS. of the New Testament, in 1786, he engaged
in preparing for the press an edition of several fragments of the
Sahidic version, comprehending about a third part of the New
Testament, for which he had issued proposals in 1778. This
work, which lie designed as an appendix to his Alexandrian New
Testament, he intended to accompany with a Latin translation,
and a dissertation upon the antiquity and various readings of the
Sahidic version. That the publication might be as perfect as
the small resources of Egyptian learning would admit, he did not
confine himself to the Oxford MSS., and such other as might be
found in this country, but enlisted in his service one or two
scholars on the continent, who favoured him with collations; and
G. Baldwin, Esq., an English gentleman, at that time resident in
Egypt, in an official situation, sent over to him several Sahidic
MSS., which he had collected together from different parts of that
c:ountry.  The work was put to press at Oxford, under the
* Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, pt. i, ch. viii, sec. 6, pp. 236-241, pt. ii, p. 688.
t Ibid., vol. ii, pt. ii, p. 595.'1




90                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
patronage of its delegates, in the year 1788. Death, however
prevented him from bringing it to a close. At the time of his
decease the printing had advanced as far as Luke; and with a
view to the further prosecution of the work, the delegates purchased his papers, and committed them  into the hands of Dr.
Ford, the late principal of Magdalen-hall, Oxford, and professor of
Arabic in that university, who completed it in the year 1799. In
addition to the fragments of the New Testament in the Sahidic
version, and an able dissertation on the Egyptian versions, written by Woide himself, this work contains an accurate description
of the various MSS. of that dialect, which are to be found either
at Oxford or in other libraries, to which Woide and his friends
hlad access.  The collation of the Vatican MS. which is inserted
at the close of the volume, was made by Dr. Bentley.  To the
work is prefixed an elegant and learned preface, by Dr. Ford, containing some particulars concerning WToide and his studies. The
work itself forms a magnificent folio volume, bearing the following
title: Appendix ad editionern Novi Testamenti Graeci e codice
MS. Alexandrino a Carolo Godofredo T;Woide, descripti in qua
continent'ur Fragmenta Novi Testamenti, juxta interpretationein
dialecti Sztperioris _AEgypti quce Thebaidica vel Sahidica appellatur, e codicibus Oxoniensibus maxima ex parte desumpta, cunm
Dissertatione de Versione Bibliorutm  zEgyptiaca.  Quibus subjicitur codicis Vaticani Collatio.*
The Coptic version, or that in the dialect of Lower Egypt, is
probably of rather later date than the Sahidic, though not more
odern than the third, if not thi  second century. Antonius, an
illiterate Egyptian monk, who resided, in the third century, in a
monastery of Alexandria where the Sahidic was not understood, had
read the New Testament, and as he was ignorant of Greek, must
have had a translation into his native dialect. Another proof of
the early existence of a Coptic or vulgar Egyptian translation is,
that in one of the rules of Pachomilus, for the conduct of the
Egyptian monks, it is ordered, that "all persons admitted to the
order of monk, if unable to read, shall learn the letters of the A B C,
that they may be able to read and write; after which they shall learn
every day by heart some passages of Scripture." Men therefore oi
such profound ignorance would not have been able to read the Bible.
unless they had possessed a translation in their native language.t
The Coptic dialect is now become obsolete, except as it is pre
* Appendix ad Edit. N. T. ut. sup. in Prafat.
t Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, pt. ii, p. 587.
1




FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD CENTURIES.            91
served in the Scriptures and books of devotion. About the end
of the fifth century of the Hegira, the calif Walid I. prohibited
the Greek tongue throughout his whole empire, by which means
the Coptic, the characters of which are derived from the Greek,
as well as many of its words, ceased, like the other languages of
the nations subdued by the Saracens, to be a spoken language.
Niebuhr, in his Description of Arabia, p. 86, relates, that though
the Gospels are still read in the Coptic version in the public service,
it is not understood even by the priests; and that immediately after
the lessons have been read in Coptic, the same are read in Arabic,
which is the present language both of Upper and Lower Egypt.*
The only printed edition of the Coptic New Testament is the
one edited at Oxford in 1716 by Dr. David Wilkins, accompanied
with a Latin translation.  The typographical execution of the
work is beautiful. The title, which is an engraved one, is the
following:-Novum  Testamentum  A]Egyptium, vuit~o Copticum.
1Ex MSS. Bodlejanis descripsit, cue1 Vaticanis et Parisiensibus
contulit et in Latinum sern7monem convertit David ITVilkins Ecclesie Anglicanace Presbyter.  Oxonii e Theatro Sheldoniano typis
et sumptibus Academice. 1716.  It is in quarto.  The editor, in
his Prolegomena, supposes this version to have been made in the
second century, but certainly not later than the commencement of
the third century: Versionem Novi Testamenti in linguam.Egyp-!iacam primis a Christo nato seculis, scilicet vel secundo, vel tertii
initio factam  esse nullus dubito asserere.  Scriptores equidem
illius cevi alto silentio annum et auctores pii hujus operis nobis
haud detegunt, non obscuro tamen argumento ex Athanasio et
Palladio elici potest Novum  Testamentum A/Egyptium jam  circa
medium seculi tertii exstitisse.t
Dr. Wilkins also published an edition of the Coptic Pentateuch,
printed at London, by Bowyer, in 1731. The impression consisted of only two hundred copies.
Egyptian literature is so much indebted to the learned editors
of the Egyptian versions of the Scriptures, and particularly to Dr.
Woide, that the subsequent biographical notices will probably
gratify the reader. They are principally taken from Dr. Ford's
Preface to the " Fragments of the Sahidic version;" and Nichols'
"Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century," vols. i and ix.
CHARLES GODFREY WOIDE was a native of Poland. While at
the University of Leyden in 1750, he was employed in transcribing
* Butler's Horam Biblical, vol. i, p. 169. Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, pt. ii, p. 586.
t Le Long, Bibliotheca Sacra, a Masch, pt. ii, torn. i, sec. 10, p. 188.
1




92                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
the Coptic Lexicon of La Croze, formerly librarian to the king of
Prussia, at Berlin. This work he undertook at the request of the
Rev. Christian Scholtz, chaplain in ordinary to the king of Prussia,
who was engaged in completing a grammar of both the Egyptian
dialects, under the sanction of Dr. Jablonsky, his brother-in-law,
an eminent professor at Frankfort  Some time afterward he came
over to England, where his first preferment was the preachership
of the Dutch chapel in the Savoy, (succeeding the Rev. Bernard
Drimel, a native of Frankfort on the Oder, who died in June,
1770,) to which he soon after added the readership of the same
chapel. In 1773 and 1774 he was sent under the auspices of his
present majesty* to Paris, for the purpose of transcribing several
Sahidic and Memphitic MSS., where he resided about four
months.  In 1775 he revised through the Clarendon Press,
Scholtz's Lexicon.AEgyptiaco-Latinum, 4to.  He was elected
F.S.A. in 1778; and distinguished himself the same year by
publishing a Coptic and Sahidic grammar, under the following
title:- Christ. Scholtz Gramnmatica Agypti utriusquc dialecti
quam breviavit, illustravit, edidit C. G. Woide. 4to.  In 1782
Mr. Woide was appointed an assistant librarian at the British
Museum; at first, in the department of natural history; but very
soon after, in one more congenial to his studies, that of printed
books. In 1786 came out his truly valuable edition of the Alexandrian MS. of the New Testament, dedicated to the then archbishop of Canterbury; on which occasion he was introduced to
his majesty at the levee, and had the honour of presenting him
with a copy of his work.  He was this year admitted to the
honorary degree of LL.D. in the University of Oxford.  He had
before obtained the degree of D.D. from the University of Copenhagen. In 1788 he was elected F.R.S. The latter part of his
life was chiefly devoted to examining and collating the fragments
of the Sahidic version of the New Testament, and in preparing
them for the press. He also revised and corrected the Greek
quotations in Bishop Hurd's edition of Warburton's Works. On
May 6th, 1790, while at Sir Joseph Banks's with a select party of
literary friends, he was seized with an apoplectic fit; every assistance was administered to him, and he was attended by Dr. Carmichael Smith, but died the next day, at his apartments in the
British Museum. lIe left two orphan daughters, having been
bereaved some years before of Mrs. Woide, who died August
12th, 1782.
* George the Third.




FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD CENTURIES.          93
DAVID WILKINS, D.D., F. S. A., was a native of Memel, in
Prussia, and eminent as an Oriental and Saxon scholar. About
the year 1715 he was appointed by Archbishop Wake to succeed
Dr. Benjamin Ibbot as keeper of the Archiepiscopal library at
Lambeth; and in three years drew up a very curious catalogue
of all the MSS. and printed books in that valuable library in his
time, in which was incorporated the earlier catalogue of Mr. Henry
Wharton, which is still preserved. As a reward for his industry
and learning, Archbishop Wake constituted him his chaplain, collated him to several valuable livings, and, in 1720, to a prebend
of Canterbury; to which was afterward added, his grace's option
of the archdeaconry of Suffolk. Besides the Coptic New Testament and Pentateuch, he published a fine edition of Leges AngloSaxonicac ecclesiastice et civiles, fol. 1721; Seldeni Opera Omnia, 3 vols. fol. 1726; and Concilia Ml]agnac   Britanmiie, &c., 4
vols. fol. 1736. In 1725 he married the eldest daughter of Thomas Lord Fairfax, of Scotland; he died September 6th, 1745, and
was buried at Hadleigh, in Essex.
Dr. Samuel Pegge, in his Anonymiana, (cent. i, p. 22,) thus
speaks of Dr. Wilkins, with particular reference to a Polyglot
Bible projected by him:-" The late Dr. David Wilkins, prebendary of Canterbury, a man of indefatigable industry, but grievously
afflicted with the gout, had formed a design, as he told me, of
publishing a European Polyglot, in order to illustrate the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, by exhibiting, in one view,
the authorized translations of the different nations of Europe, together with the best private ones of certain particular learned men,
whereby the sense they severally put upon many of the more
difficult texts might the more commodiously appear. But, alas!
the doctor died before he had made any great advances in his
project."
The THIRD CENTURY was eminently distinguished by the learned
and critical labours of Origen, Pamphilus, Eusebius of Cesarea,
and other individuals of sincere piety and multifarious learning.
ORIGEN was born at Alexandria, in Egypt, A.D. 185. Leonidas, his father, early taught him to exercise himself in searching
the Scriptures, enjoining it upon him as a daily task to learn some
portion of them by heart, and repeat it. This laid the foundation
of an intimate acquaintance with the holy writings, and probably
of that diligent study of them for which he was afterward so
famed.
When he was seventeen years old, his father suffered martyr1




94                   BIBLICAL LITERATxURE,
dom, leaving behind a wife and six children. In his son Origen,
Leonidas found a steady encourager in the faith. Gladly would
the son have suffered with his father; and when, to prevent him,
his mother hid his clothes, he wrote a most persuasive letter, exhorting him, "Father, take heed; let not your care for us make
you change your resolution."  In his eighteenth year he was
chosen master of the catechetical, or grammar school, at Alexandria.  This situation he afterward relinquished, that he might
apply himself entirely to theological studies.  His library, containing the works of the heathen philosophers and poets, &c., he
sold to a buyer, who engaged to give him fourn oboli (about sixpence) a day: and on this he subsisted for several years, sleeping
on the floor, walking barefoot, and going almost naked; devoting
not only the day, but also the greater part of the night, to the study
of the HIoly Scriptures.
He was a most voluminous writer; but the works which have
immortalized his name are his H:EXAPILA, or Collation of the Septuagint version, which Father Montfaucon supposes must originally have made fifty volumes; and his Vindication of Christianity
against Celsus, the Epicurean philosopher.
In the collation of the Septuagint he laboured with indefatigable
industry; and having acquired a perfect knowledge of the Hebrew
tongue, and purchased from the Jews the original, (perhaps the
autograph of Ezra,) or most authentic copies of the Hebrew Scriptures; and having also obtained a correct copy of the Septuagint,
or Greek version, he transcribed them, and placed them in parallel;olumns.  In the first column was the Hebrew text in Hebrew
characters; in the second, the same text in Greek characters.  In
other columns he placed the Septuagint, and other Greek translations, particularly those of Aquila, (see p, 64,) and of Symmachus
and Theodotion, two Ebionite Christians.  The differences between the Hebrew  copies and the Septluagint were noted by
various marks.  The name HE:fxA,iLA, or Sextuple, was derived
from tile six principal Greek versions employed in the collation.
Some fragments excepted, this work has been long irrecoverably
lost.  All that could be gathered from the works of the ancients
was collected and published, A.D. 1713, by Montfaucon, in two
volumes folio.*
An ancient MS. of the book of Genesis, written in Greek capitals, was brought from  Philippi by two Greek bishops, who pre* Eusebius's History of the Church, b. vi, ch. ii, iii, xvi, xix, xxiii; b. vii, ch. i.
WValtoni Prole,. 9. Clarke's Succession of Sacred Literature, vol. i, pp. 179-182.
1




FIRST, SECOND, AND TIIIRD CENTURIES.             95
sented it to King Henry VIII., telling him, at the same time, that
tradition reported it to have been Origen's own book.  Quelen
Elizabeth gave it to Sir John Fortescue, her preceptor in Greek,
who placed it in the Cottonian library, now in the British Museum.
Archbishop Usher considered it as the oldest manuscript in the
world: and although it is impossible to ascertain whether this
book belonged to Origen or not, it is probably the oldest manuscript in England, perhaps in Europe; unless it be supposed, with
Matthai, that the copy of the Gospels preserved at Moscow is more
ancient, which is at least very doubtful.  It was almost destroyedl
oy a fire which happened in the library in the year 1731; nor is it
one of the least singular circumstances respecting this MS., that,
in consequence of the fire, the capital letters in which it is written
have been contracted from large into small capitals; and Mr. Dibdin supposes the illuminations to have undergone a similar metamorphosis.*
This manuscript contained one hundred and sixty-five folios or
leaves, and two hundred and fifty most curious paintings, twentyone fragments of which were engraved by the Society of Antiquaries of London.
Previous to the publication of the Hexapla, Origen composed
what is called the TETRAPLA, or Quadruple, containing only the
Septuagint, and the versions of Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion.  The original work, which was deposited by him, with his
other writings, in the library of Cesarea, is supposed to have
perished when that city was taken and destroyed by the Saracens,
in 653, after a siege of seven years.
ite died a natural death, in the sixty-ninth year of his age, at
Tyre, in 254, after having suffered much for the testimony of
Christ: "i  man," says Mosheim, " of vast and uncommon abilities, and the greatest luminary of the Christian world that this age
exhibited to view. Had the justness of his judgment been equal
to the immensity of his genius, the fervour of his piety, his indefatigable patience, his extensive erudition, and his other eminent
and superior talents, all encomiums must have fallen short of his
merit.  Yet, such as he was, his virtues and labours deserve the
admiration of all ages; and his name will be transmitted with
honour through the annals of time, as long as learning and genius
shall be esteemed among men."t
* Astle's Origin and Progress of gWriting, ch. v. See a fac-simile of part of it is
plate iii, fig. 3, of this work. Dibdin's Bibliog. Decameron, vol. i, p. xlviii, note.
t Mosheim's Eccles. Hist., vol. i, p. 270.




96                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
PAMPIILTS was a presbyter of Cesarea.  tie lived A. D. 294.
In him were united the philosopher and the Christian.  Of an
eminent family, and large fortune, he might have aspired to the
highest honours; but he withdrew himself from the glare of temporal grandeur, and spent his life in acts of the most disinterested
benevolence.  He was remarkable for his unfeigned regard to the
sacred writings, and for his unwearied application in whatever lihe
undertook.  A great encourager of learning and piety, lie not only
lent books, especially copies of the Scriptures, to read, but, when
he found persons well disposed, made them presents of his manuscripts, some of which were transcribed with the greatest accuracy
by his own hand. " He erected (or rather enlarged) the library at
Cesarea, which, according to Isidore of Seville, contained thirty
thousand volumes.  This collection seems to have been made
nerely for the good of the church, and to lend out to religiously
disposed people.  St. Jerome particularly mentions his collecting
books for the purpose of lending them to be read;" and " this is,
if I mistake not," says Dr. A. Clarke, " the first notice we have of
a CIRCULATING LIBRARY.T*
Of this library some traces remain even to the present day.
Maontfaucon assures us, that in the Jesuits' College, at Paris,
there is a beautiful MS. of the Prophets, in which there occurs a
note, signifying that it was transcribed from the very copy made
by Pamphilus, in which were written these words: " Transcribed
from the Hexapla, containing the translations; and corrected by
Origen's own Tetrapla, which also had emendations and scholia
in his own hand-writing.  I Eusebius added the scholia; Pamphilus and Eusebius corrected."t  The same learned writer mentions also a very ancient MS. of some of St. Paul's Epistles, preserved in the French king's library, which contains the following
note: " This book was compared with the copy in the library at
Cesarea, in the hand-writing of St. Pamphilus."t
The death of this eminent, holy, and useful man did not discredit
his life. For when a persecution was raised against the Christians,
and Urbanus, the Roman president of Cesarea, an unfeeling and
brutal man, required him to renounce his religion or his life, Pamphilus, the gentle Pamphilus, made the latter choice, and cheerfully submitted to imprisonment, to torture, and to death.  The
reflections of a late writer on the death of Pamphilus are so ap* Hieronyini Opera, tom. i, fol. 132, Basil. 1516, folio. Clarke's Succession of
Sacred Literature, vol. i, p. 227.
t Montfaucon, Prfaf. in Hex. Orig., p. 4.   t Montfaucon, Bib. Coislin., p. 262.
1




FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD CENTURIES.            97
propriate and impressive, that there can need no apology for inserting them:"When I peruse the account which Eusebius gives of the
cruelties which this gentle and amiable spirit was forced to endure, and which he, and eleven others who were put to death with
him, suffered with the most noble bravery and undaunted fortitude,
I am struck with admiration at the greatness of that power which
could raise men so much above themselves, and enable them so
completely to overcome all the weakness of humanity.  At all
times there have been men ignorant, ferocious, and brutal, who
have set death at defiance, and despised pain; but it was reserved
for Christianity to exhibit a new kind of sufferers —men who joined
cool reason to heroic resolution, and tender sensibility to inflexible
fortitude.  The tiger and the bear will always retain their own
manners; but where is he, who shall give the feelings of the lion
to the modest deer, or the gentle lamb?-THEY ONLY CAN NOBLY
SUFFER W~IIO CAN TENDERLY FEEL.  Farewell, then, excellent
Pamphilus! reluctant we leave thee, bright STAR OF HUMAN EXCELLENCE! obscure in the register of men! illustrious in the
CALENDAR OF HEAVEN! *
EUsEBIUS, bishop of Cesarea, the friend of Pamphilus, was
probably born in Cesarea about A. D. 270.  Through affection to
his friend he assumed his name, and was ever after termed EUSEBIUS PAMPIHILUS. Origen excepted, he was the most learned of
all the writers of antiquity.  He is justly styled the father of
ecclesiastical history. His most celebrated works are, his " Ecclesiastical History," " Evangelical Preparation," and " Evangelical Demonstration."  His "History" begins at the birth of our
Lord, and comes down to the defeat of Licinus.  In his " Evangelical Preparation" he refutes the errors of paganism, demonstrates the excellence of the Hebrew Scriptures, and shows that
the most eminent and learned nations, the Greeks especially,
transcribed from them whatever dignity or truth is to be met with
in their philosophy. Ilis " Evangelical I)emonstration," designed
to prove that Jesus was the Messiah, is an invaluable work.
Dr. Harwood observes, " It is a treasure of knowledge and good
sense; and contains all the arguments in favour of the credibility
and divine authority of the Christian religion that have been advanced by Chandler, Leland, Benson, Butler, Brown, and other
modern advocates of Christianity, against the I)eists."t
* Christie's Miscellanies, p. 174, printed by J. Nichols, 1789, 8vo.
t Clarke's Bibliographical Dict., vol. iii, p. 209; and Succession of Sacred LiteraVOL. I.-7




98                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
He was made bishop of Antioch A. D. 313, was present at the
council of Nice in 325, and at the council of Antioch in 331. He
was high in the favour of the emperor Constantine, and is supposed to have died about A. D. 338 or 340.
Lucian, a presbyter of Antioch, and Hesychius, an Egyptian
bishop, flourished about the same period, and are deservedly
ranked among the Biblical scholars of that age. Luci AN is generally supposed to have been born at Samosata, a celebrated city of
Syria. He lived about the year 290. Eminent for piety and extraordinary knowledge of the divine Scriptures, as well as for
polite learning, he laboured sedulously to produce a faithful and
correct edition of the Septuagint version of the Old Testament,
by collating the common Greek versions, and correcting the collation by the Hebrew.  This edition was afterward read in all the
churches from Constantinople to Antioch. The autograph of Lucian is said to have been found, in the reign of Constantine the
Great, among the Jews, secreted in a wall.  He suffered at Nicomedia, for confessing the name of Christ, in the reign of Maximin,
and was buried at Helenopolis, in Bithynia.
HEsCIurus  was bishop of a city in Egypt, about the close of the
same century. He also formed an edition of the Septuagint version, upon the same plan as that of Lucian, from copies collected
in Egypt.  To the Old Testament he added an edition of the New.
His revision of the Septuagint was received and adopted by the
churches of Egypt; so that the three editions by Origen, Lucian,
and Hesychius shared the world among them; and from one or
other of them are derived all the manuscript copies of the Septuagint that are now extant, or at least known. Hesychius obtained the crown of martyrdom in 311, during the persecution of
Dioclesian.*
But while these pious and learned men were thus indefatigably
labouring to promote the knowledge and circulation of the Holy
Scriptures, various forms of superstition were insinuating themselves into the church of God.  "Being mingled among the
heathen," the Christians "learned their works," Psalm  cvi, 35.
One of the abuses thus introduced was bibliomnancy, or divination
by the Bible.
This kind of divination was named SORTES SANCTORUMA, or
ture, vol. i, p. 265. Houtteville's Method of the principal Authors who wrote for and
against Christianity, p. 92.
* Cavei Hist. Literar., p. 108. Lond. 1688, fol. Owen's Enquiry into the present
State of the Sept. Version, p. 149.
1                         7*




FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD CENTURIES.              99
SORTES SACRXE, lots of the sainzts, or0 sacred lots; and consisted in
suddenly opening, or dipping into the Bible, and regarding the passage that first presented itself to the eye as predicting the future
lot of the inquirer.  The sortes sanctorumn succeeded the soirtes
onzoerice, and sortes Virgiliance of the pagans, among whom it
was customary to take the work of some famous poet, as Homer or
Virgil, and write out different verses on separate scrolls, and afterward
draw one of them; or else, opening the book suddenly, consider
the first verse that presented itself as a prognostication of future
events. Even the vagrant fortune-tellers among them, like some
of the gipsies of our own times, adopted this method of imposing
upon the credulity of the ignorant.  The nations of the East still
retain this practice. The late Persian usurper, Nadir Shah, twice
decided upon besieging cities by opening upon verses of the celebrated poet Hafiz.*
Superstitious as this practice was, it nevertheless gained ground
by the countenance of certain of the clergy, some of whom permitted prayers to be read in the churches for this very purpose.t
Others, however, endeavoured to suppress it, for in the council of
Vannes, held A. D. 465, it was ordained, " That whoever of the
clergy or laity should be detected in the practice of this art, should
be cast out of the communion of the church."j In 506, the council
of Agde renewed the decree; and in 578, the council of Auxerre,
among other kinds of divination, forbade the lots of the saints, as
they were called, adding, " Let all things be done in the name of
the Lord."~ But these ordinances gradually became slighted, for
we find the practice again noticed and condemned in a capitulary,
or edict of Charlemagne, in 793. In the twelfth century, this
mode of divination was adopted as a means of discovering heretical
opinions! One Peter of Thoulouse, being accused of heresy, and
having denied it upon oath, a person who stood near took up the
Gospels, on which he had sworn, and opening them suddenly, the
first words he lighted upon were those of the devil to our Saviour,
(Mark i, 24,) "cWhat have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of
Nazareth?"  Which, says the relator, agreed well with such a
heretic, "who indeed had nothing to do with Christ!!"
Francis of Assise, who founded the order of Franciscans, in
* Sir W. Jones's Works, Traitd sur la Poesie Orientale, vol. v, p. 463, 4to.
t Heinault's Chronolog. Abridgment of the Hist. of France, A. D. 506.
t S. S. Concilia, Concil. Venet. Anno Christy 465, vol. iv, p. 1057. Bingham's
Antiq. of the Chris. Church, vol. vii, b. xvi, ch. v, p. 278.
~ S. S. Concilia, vol. vii, p. 989.
11 Gataker, Of the Nature and Use of Lots, p. 330.
1




100                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
1206, says of himself that he was tempted to have a book: but as
this seemed contrary to his vow, which allowed him nothing but
coats, a cord, and hose, and, in case of necessity only, shoes; he,
after prayer, resorted to the Gospel, and meeting with that sentence,
"It is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of
heaven, but to them it is not given," Matthew xiii, 11; concluded
that he should do well enough without books, and suffered none of
his followers to have so much as a Bible, or Breviary, or Psalter!!'
Bibliomancy was also practised, not only in the common occurrences of life, and by private individuals, but by the highest dignitaries of the church, on the most public occasions, and particularly
in the election of bishops. When a bishop was to be elected, it
was customary to appoint a fast, usually for three days; afterward
the Psalms, the Epistles of St. Paul, and the Gospels were placed
on one side of the altar, and small billets, with the names of the
candidates upon them, on the other; a child or some other person
then drew one of the billets, and the candidate whose name was
upon it was declared to be duly elected. On one of these occasions, St. Euvert caused a child to be brought which had not yet
learned to speak; he then directed the infant to take up one of the
billets; the little innocent obeyed, and took up one on which the
name of St. Agnan was inscribed, who was proclaimed to be
elected by the Lord. But for the more general satisfaction of the
multitude, Euvert consulted the sacred volumes. On opening the
Psalms, hie read, "Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and
causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts."
In the Epistles of St. Paul lie found, " Other foundation can no
man lay, than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."  And in tile
Gospels he opened upon the words, " Upon this rock I will build
my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
These testimonies were accounted decisive in favour of Agnan, all
the suffrages were united, and he was placed in the episcopal chair
of Orleans, amid the acclamations of the people.t A similar mode
was pursued at the installation of abbots, and the reception of
canons.
This usage was not confined to the Latins, it was equally adopted
by the Greeks. Two facts may prove its existence, and injurious
tendency. The first is that of Caracalla, archbishop of Nicomedia,
* Gataker, Of the Nature and Use of Lots, p. 346.
t Memoires de 1' Academie des Inscriptions: Recherches Historiques sur les Sorts
appeles. Sortes sanctarum; par M. I'Abbe du Resnel, tom. xix, pp. 287, 296. Paris,
1753, 4to.
1




FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD CENTURIES.          101
who consecrated Athanasius on his nomination to the patriarchate
of Constantinople, by the emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus.
Having opened the books of the Gospels upon the words, "For
the devil and his angels;" the bishop of Nice first saw them, and
adroitly turned over the leaf to another verse, which was instantly
read aloud, "The birds of the air may come and lodge in the
branches thereof." But as this passage appeared to be irrelevant
to so grave a ceremony, that which had first presented itself, became known to the public almost insensibly. To diminish the
unpleasant impression it had produced, the people were reminded
that on a similar occasion, another archbishop of Constantinople
had accidently met with a circumstance equally inauspicious, by
lighting upon the words, " There shall be weeping and gnashing
of teeth," and yet his episcopate had neither been less happy nor
less tranquil than formerly. The historian, nevertheless, remarks,
that whatever had been the case under former archbishops, the
church of Constantinople was violently agitated by the most fatal
divisions during the patriarchate of Athanasius. The other instance
is that of the metropolitan of Chersonesus, the first prelate consecrated by Theophanes, after his translation from the metropolitan
see of Cyzicus to the patriarchate of Constantinople, and who
having received the book of the Gospels at his hands, and opened
it, according to custom, met with these words, " If the blind lead
the blind, both shall fall into the ditch," which were regarded by
the public as prognosticating evil to both the patriarch and the
metropolitan.*
The Abbe du Resnel informs us, that this custom was continued
in the cathedral of Boulogne, and at Ypres, and St. Omer, so late
as the year 1744, only with this difference, that at Boulogne the
newly chosen canon drew the lot from the Psalms, instead of the
Gospels. The late M. de Langle, bishop of Boulogne, who regarded the custom as superstitious, and perceived, that when the
new canons accidentally opened upon passages containing imprecations, or reproaches, or traits of depravity, an unmerited stigma
attached to their character, issued an order for its abrogation, in
1722. But the chapter, who claimed exemption from episcopal
jurisdiction, treated the order with contempt, and persevered in
their superstition, except, that as it had been customary to insert
in the letters of induction given to each canon the verse which had
been drawn for him, it should in future be added, that this was
done according to the ancient custom of the church of Terouanne;
* Memoires de 1'Academie des Inscriptions, tom. xix, p. 303.
1




102                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
out of' which the churches of Boulogne, Ypres, and St. Omer, had
risen, after its destruction by Charles V.  "I have in my possession," says the abbe, "one of these acts, dated in 1720, in which are
the following words: Et seczundam antiquam ecclesice llorinensis,
nunc Boloniensis consuetudinem, hunc ex psalmo sortitus est versiculum: Ipsi peribunt, tu autem perm2anes, et omnes sicut vestimzentutz  veterascent: " And according to the ancient custom of the
church of Terouanne, (now Boulogne,) this verse was drawn from
the Psalms:'They shall perish, but thou shalt endure; yea, all
of them shall wax old like a garment.' "'
Another species of bibliomancy, not very dissimilar from  the
sortes sanctorumz of the Christians, was the bath-kol, or daug'hter
of the voice, in use among the Jews.  It consisted in appealing to
the first words heard from any one, especially when reading the
Scriptures, and looking upon them as a voice fro m heaven, directing them  in the matter inquired about.  The following is an instance: Rabbi Acher, having committed many crimes, was led into
thirteen synagogues, and in each synagogue a disciple was interrogated, and the verse he read was examined.  In the first school
they read these words of Isaiah, (ch. xlviii, 22,) " There is no peace
unto the wicked:" another school read Psalm 1, 16, " Unto the
wicked God saith, What hlast thou to do to declare my statutes, or
that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?" and in all
the synagogues something of this nature was heard against Acher,
from whence it was concluded he was hated of God!t This species
of divination received its name from being supposed to succeed to
the oracular voice, delivered from the mercy-seat, when GOD was
there consulted by UnIMi and TiIUMMIMI.r, or light and perfection,
(Exodus xxviii, 30,) a term most probably used to express the
clearness and perfection of the answers which God gave to the
high priest.  The Jews have a saying among them, that the Holy
Spirit spake to the Israelites, during the tabernacle, by URIm and
THUMMIMI; under the first temple by the prophets; and under the
second temple by BATII-K.OL.T
Nearly allied to the practice of bibliomancy, was the use of the
amulets or charms, termed PERIAPTA, and PHYLACTERIA, and sometimes LIGATURAI, and LIGATIONES.  They were formed of ribands,
with sentences of Scripture written upon them, and hung about the
neck, as magical preventives of evil. They were worn by many
* Memoires de l'Academie des Inscriptions, ubi sup.
t Basnage's History of the Jews, b. iii, ch. v, p. 165, fol.
T Lewis's Antiquities of the Heb. Republic, vol. i. b. ii, ch. iii, pp. 112, 114, 198,
1




FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD CENTURIES.              103
of the Christians in the earlier ages, but considered by the wisest
and most holy of the bishops and clergy as disgraceful to religion,
and deserving the severest reprehension. Chrysostom frequently
mentions them, and always with the utmost detestation.  The
council of Laodicea, A. D. 364, can. 36, condemns those of the
clergy who pretend to make them, declaring that such phylacteries or charms are bonds and fetters to the soul; and ordering
those who wore them to be cast out of the church. And Au
gustine thus expostulates with those who used them: "When
we are afflicted with pains in our head, let us not run to enchanters, and fortune-tellers, and remedies of vanity. I mourn for
you, my brethren, for I daily find these things done.  And what
shall I do? I cannot yet persuade Christians to put their trust only
in Christ.  With what face can a soul go unto God, that has lost
the sign of Christ; and taken upon him the sign of the devil?"
Basil and Epiphanius also make similar complaints, and express
equal abhorrence of the practice.*   These phylacteries of the
Christians were most probably derived from the telphilimn, or phylacteries of the Jews.
The Jewish PHYLACTERIES were small slips of parchment or
vellum, on which certain portions of the Law were written, enclosed in cases of black calf-skin, and tied about the forehead, and
left arm.  The Jews considered them  as a divine ordinance and
founded their opinion on Exodus xiii, 9, and similar passages.
The design of them was believed to be, first, to put them in mind
of those precepts which they should constantly observe; and secondly, to procure them  reverence and respect, in the sight of the
heathen. They were afterward degraded into instruments of superstition, and used as amulets or charms, to drive away evil spirits.  Dr. Lightfoot thinks it not unlikely, that our Saviour wore
the Jewish phylacteries himself, according to the custom of the
country; and that he did not condemn the wearing of them, but the
pride and hypocrisy of the Pharisees in making them  "broad,"
and visible, to obtain fame and esteem for their devotion and piety.t
The council of Rome, under Gregory II., in A. D. 721, condemned the phylacteries of the Christians: and the council of
* Suiceri Thesaurus, vol. ii, pp. 668, 1465. Amstel. 1682, fol. Du Cange, Glossar.
sub. v, Ligaturce, and Legationes, &c. Bingham's Antiquities, &c., vol. vii, b. xvi,
ch. v, sec. vi, p. 285.
t Wagenseilii Sota., ch. ii, pp. 397, 415. Altdorf. 1674. Buxtorfii Synagog. Jud.,
ch. ix, p. 170. Edit. Basil. 1661. Lightfoot's Works, vol. ii, p. 232, fol. Wotton's
Miscellaneous Discourses, vol. i, p. 194. Fleury's Manners of the Israelites, by Dr.
A. Clarke, pt. iii, ch. vi, p. 227, note. 8vo..1




104                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Trullo ordered the makers of them to be cast out of the church,
and forbade all making and using of charms or amulets, as the relics of heathen superstition still remaining among the weaker and
baser sort of Christians.*
Happily these baneful practices were partially restrained, by the
pious and liberal endeavours of many of the early Christians to promote all useful knowledge. Accurate copies of the Holy Scriptures were everywhere multiplied, and that at such moderate
prices, as rendered them of easy purchase; while translations into
various languages were carefully published, in correct editions,
many of the more opulent members of the Christian church generously contributing a great part of their substance to the carrying
on these pious and excellent undertakings. All possible care was
taken also to accustom their children to the study of the Scriptures,
and to instruct them in the doctrines of their holy religion: and for
this purpose SCHOOLS were erected, even from the very commencement of the Christian church. But besides the ordinary schools for
children, there existed among the primitive Christians cYxMLNAsIA, or
acadenmies, in which those who aspired to be public teachers were
instructed in the different branches, both of human learning and
of sacred erudition. None of these schools, or academies, were
of more note than that which was established at Alexandria, commonly called the Catechetical School, and generally supposed to
have been erected by St. Mark. This school was rendered famous by a succession of learned doctors; for after the death of St.
Mark, Pantaenus, Clemens Alexandrinus, Origen, and many others,
taught in it the doctrines of the gospel. Similar schools were
established also at Rome, Antioch, Cesarea, Edessa, and several
other places, though not of equal reputation.t
Nor had they only schools, but at a very early period LIBRARIES,
and these not the collections of private and curious persons, but
public repositories belonging to various churches, containing
copies of the sacred writings, the works of the Christian teachers,
and also the profane authors. Alexander, who was elected bishop
of Jerusalem  about the beginning of the third century, " was
rendered illustrious by a union of virtues seemingly opposite;
remarkable for the mildness and gentleness of his general manners, he was at the same time resolute, magnanimous, and inflexible, wherever the great interests of truth were concerned. He
was twice brought before heathen magistrates, in whose pre* Bingham's Antiquities, &c., vol. vii, p. 292.
t Mosheim's Eccles. Hist., vol. i, pp. 118, 277, Lound. 8vo.
1




FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD CENTURIES.              105
sence he avowed his sentiments with undaunted freedom, for
which lie was at last thrown into prison, and died there."* To
him the church at Jerusalem was indebted for a noble library,
which he erected at that place. Eusebius found preserved in it
the letters of several learned men who had lived in former times;
and lie tells us that it furnished him with many of the materials
of his Ecclesiastical History.t Julius Africanus, a native of
Palestine, and a man of the most profound erudition, founded in
this century the library at Cesarea, which the excellent Parn
philus afterward enriched and greatly enlarged.  Jerome compares it to the libraries of Demetrius Phalereus and Pisistratus,
and informs us that Pamphilus sought all over the world for
curious books and works of genius to deposit in it; and was so
zealous for its improvement, that he wrote out for it the greatest
part of Origen's works with his own hand.  HIe adds also that this
library contained the Hebrew copy of St. Matthew's Gospel.t
The libraries formed by the early Christians were generally
placed in the churches, in which were cubicula, or rooms appropriated to the use of those who were desirous of retirement and
meditation.  These cubicula or secretaria, as they were sometimes called, were erected with the church; one being generally
placed on the right side of it, and another on the left. The sacred
writings were preserved in one of them, and the sacramental
utensils in the other. Paulinus, bishop of Nola, having erected a
church there, placed appropriate inscriptions over each of the
cubicula. Over that designed to be the repository of the sacred
Scriptures was written,
Si quem sancta tenet meditandi in lege voluntas,
Hic poterit residens sanctis intendere libris.
"If any one be desirous of meditating in the Law of
God, he may here sit down and read the holy books."
Over the room designed for the sacred utensils was inscribed,
Hic locus est veneranda penus qua conditer, et qua
Promitur alma sacri pOompa MIfinisterii.
"This is the place where the holy food is reposited, and
whence we take provision and furniture for the altar."~
* Christie's Miscellanies, p. 127.  t Hist. Eccles., lib. vi, ch. xx
t Hieronymi Catalog. Script. Eccles.. Opera, vol. i, fol. 132, Basil, 1516. Lomeier,
De Bibliothecis, ch. vii. p. 127.
Q Bingham's Antiquities, &c., vol. iii, b. viii, ch. vi, pp. 210, 211, and ch. vii, p.
226, 8vo.
1




106                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
In the third century also a distinct order of PUBLIC READERS of
the sacred Scriptures began to be generally established in the
churches. Their office was to read the Scriptures to the congregation from  the pulpitum  or reading-desk, in the body of the
church. The office was accounted an honourable one, and was
sometimes held by confessors, as those were denominated who
had avowed their attachment to the gospel in the face of the
greatest dangers, and in the presence of the enemies of Christianity.  Sometimes also young persons, who had been dedicated
to the service of God from their infancy, were permitted to
officiate as readers. The council of Carthage directs, that when
a reader is ordained the bishop shall address the people, and
declare to them the faith, and life, and talents of the candidate;
and delivering to him a copy of the Scriptures, shall say to him,
"Take this book, and be thou a READER of the WORD OF GOD,
which office if thou fulfil faithfully and profitably, thou shalt have
part with those that minister in the word of God."*
INTERPRETERS were established in the church at about the
same period, whose business it was to render one language into
another, as there was occasion, both in reading the Scriptures
and in the homilies addressed to the people. Procopius, the martyr, is said to have borne the three distinct offices of reader,
exorcist, and interpreter of the Syriac tongue, in the church of
Scythopolis. This office, however, appears to have principally
existed in those churches where the people spoke different languages, as in the churches of Palestine, where probably some used
Syriac, and others the Greek tongue; and in the churches of
Africa, where both the Latin and Punic were spoken.
Another custom observed in the ancient churches was that of
having Bibles in the vulgar tongue placed in a convenient part of
the church, for the people at their leisure to employ themselves
in reading the Scriptures before or after divine service; a practice rendered peculiarly necessary by the enormous expense of
transcribing so large a volume as the Bible prior to the invention
of printing.
To these salutary measures, wisely adopted for the diffusion of
sacred knowledge, a most formidable obstacle was presented by
the cruel persecution of Dioclesian, the Roman emperor, which
commenced in the year 303. When this emperor first assumed
the purple in A. D. 284, lie showed himself favourable to
* Bingham's Antiquities, &c., vol. ii, b. iii, ch. v, pp. 27-33.
1




FIRST, SECOND, AND TI-IIRD CENTURIES.                107
Christianity; but instigated by the heathen priesthood, and counselled by his colleague Galerius, he at length threw off the
mask, and in the nineteenth year of his reign commanded the
churches to be razed, the Bibles to be burned, those who had
borne  offices of honour to be degraded, and those of inferior
stations, if they persisted in their avowal of Christianity, to be
made slaves.  This edict was followed by others, ordaining that
all who anywhere presided in the church should be imprisoned;
and that they should by every means be compelled to sacrifice
to the heathen deities.  In one month  no fewer than seventeen
thousand  martyrs suffered death!  In the province of Egypt
alone one hundred and forty-four thousand persons died by the
violence of their persecutors; and seven hundred thousand died
through the fatigues of banishment, or of the public works to
which they were condemned!  Gildas, the most ancient British
historian we have, relates, that by this persecution of Dioclesian
"the  churches were  thrown  down, and  all the books of the
Holy Scriptures that could be found were burned in the streets,
and the chosen priests of the flock of our Lord, with the innocent
sheep, murdered, so that in some parts of the province no footsteps appeared of the Christian religion."* Our ancient chronicler, Robert of Gloucester, has left an account of this persecution
in these old rhymes:":uei enmperourcs of ionoe, floctician,
fnub an otber,.s felawu, that bet fatnlmian,
W'.ere botbt at on timne, tie on In tihe EsLt ezbe,
anb the otber In te iWesat, (ristenboom to scwcnbe,t
Jor t t lutbhert.taifrmnan  YEt ttuar: Nber sogto,
ltb  (icr1stenmerun, tbat 1e fonboe, to strong bctl)  be brogte.
lgbir:c.s be fel at a bounl, tbver nle mostc 10lI n stonbe,.Inb at the boltes, tlat 1)e nrxgte flble in env Ilonbe,
"ile bolbe lfete bent btrne eceon alnt'i  toe ~bepe strete,
anb tbo (crstenenuen allt.se, anb none o libe Icte.
5oetbtg (ola o   as 2 bore, tbEr nas for Cristntborn
in so Ittt stonb v t o so soret martitbom.
jyor tber tare in a monlet) sobentnle tl)ousant anb  mo
v mnartireb for our 3lorbe's lobe."0
The most dreadful tortures were inflicted upon those who refused to deliver up the sacred volumes to the fury of the heathen;
but every torture, and even death itself, were braved with the most
* Millar's Hist. of Propagation of Christianity, Works, vol. vii, p. 235.
t Schende, spoil, destroy.   t Luther, cruel, wicked, base.
~ Robert of Gloucester's Chronicle, by T. Hearne, p. 81. Oxford, 1724. 8vo.
1




108                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
heroic constancy by many Christian worthies, to whom the BOOK
OF GOD was more precious than life. Felix of Tibiura, in Africa,
being apprehended as a Christian, was commanded by Magnilian,
curator or civil magistrate of the city, to deliver up all books and
writings belonging to his church, that they might be burned. The
martyr replied, that it was better he himself should be burned.
This magistrate sent him to the proconsul at Carthage, by whom
he was delivered over to the prefect of the Praetorium, who was
then in Africa. This supreme officer, offended at his bold and
generous confession, commanded him to be loaded with heavier
bolts and irons, and, after he had kept him nine days in a close
dungeon, to be put on board a vessel, saying he should stand his
trial before the emperor. For four days he lay under the hatches
of the ship, between the horses' feet, without eating or drinking.
He was landed at Agragentum, in Sicily; and when brought by
the prefect as far as Venosa, in Apulia, his irons were knocked
off, and lie was again asked whether he had the Scriptures, and
would deliver them up; " I have them," said he, "but will not
part with them."  The prefect instantly condemned him to be
beheaded.  "I thank thee, O Lord," said this honest martyr,
"that I have lived fifty-six years, have preserved the Gospel, and
have preached faith and truth.  0 my Lord Jesus Christ, the God
of heaven and earth, I bow my head to be sacrificed to thee, who
livest to all eternity."'  Adopting the words of a valuable writer,t
"I judge it not amiss to distinguish this man. The preservation
of civil liberty is valuable, and the names of men who have suffered for it with integrity are recorded with honour. But how
much below the name of Felix of Tibiura should these be accounted! He is one of those heroes who have preserved to us
the precious word of God itself."  Euplius of Catana, in Sicily,
suffered in the same cause. Let his name be remembered with
honour, together with that of Felix. Being seized with the Gospels in his hand, lie was examined on the rack, "Why do you
keep the Scriptures forbidden by the emperors?" He answered,
"Because I am a Christian. Life eternal is in them; he that
gives them up loses life eternal."  When ordered away to execution, the executioners hung the book of the Gospels, which he had
with him when he was seized, about his neck, and the public crier
proclaimed before him, " This is Euplius, the Christian, an enemy' Milner's History of the Church, vol. ii, p, 18, 8vo. Butler's Lives of the Saints
Oct. 24, vol. x, p. 525.
t Rev. J. Milner, lut sup.
1




FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD CENTURIES.            109
to the gods and the emperors." He was beheaded on the 12th of
August, in the year 304.*
But all were not thus faithful; the clamours of the heathen,
who were exclaiming on every side, "Burn your Testaments,"
and the dread of torture and death, intimidated many cowardly
and perfidious spirits, who, deserting the sacred cause of Christianity, surrendered up the Holy Scriptures, and the different
moveables of the church. At Cirta, in Numidia, Paul, the bishop,
ordered a subdeacon to deliver up the treasures of the church to a
Roman officer, thus betraying his sacred charge, and violating in
the grossest manner every principle of Christian integrity.
This base and cowardly conduct met with merited indignation
from the more faithful Christians, who denominated them traditores, or traitors, and anathematized them as guilty of profane and
sacrilegious acts.  The first council of Arles, held imrediately
after this persecution, decreed that every clergyman who had betrayed the Scriptures, or any of the holy vessels, or the names of
his brethren, to the persecutors, should be deposed from his office:
and St. Austin went so far as to affirm, "that if the charge of this
crime could be made good against Cecilian, bishop of Carthage,
and those who ordained him, by the Donatists, who threw out the
reflection upon them, they should be anathematized even after
death."t In this persecution, which continued for about ten years
under Dioclesian and his successors, St. Alban, the first person
who suffered martyrdom for Christianity in England, was beheaded
at Verulam, in Hertfordshire, since called St. Albans, from the
abbey founded in memory of the martyr, A. D. 795, by Offa, king
of the Mercians.t
Eusebius, in his account of the martyrs who suffered in Palestine under this persecution, presents us with some instances
wherein those who suffered discovered the ardour of their love to
the Bible, by having committed the whole or considerable portions
of it to memory. He particularly mentions Valens, a deacon of
XElia, and John, an Egyptian. The former was an aged man, but
" one above all others conversant in the divine writings; so that,
when occasion offered, he could, from memory, repeat passages in
any part of Scripture, as exactly as if he had unfolded the book
and read them."  The latter "had been formerly bereaved of
* Butler's Lives, Aug. 12, vol. viii, p. 158.
+ Milner's History of the Church, vol. ii, p. 18. Kortholtus, De Persecutionibus
Eccles. Prim., ch. x, pp. 444, 449. Kiloni, 1689, 4to.
$ Bedse Hist. Eccles., lib. i, ch. vii.
1




110                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
sight, and was, together with the rest of the confessors, not only
maimed in one foot, but he had the heated iron thrust into his
eyes, already blind.  The transcendent perfection of his memory
was such, that he had the whole books of the sacred Scriptures
written,'not on tables of stone,' as the divine apostle says, or on
the skins of animals, or on paper, apt to be consumed by moths,
and by time; but indeed'on the fleshly tables of his heart,' so
that, whensoever he willed, he brought forth, as from a repository
of science, and repeated, either the Law of Moses, or the Prophets,
or the historical, evangelical, and apostolical parts of Scripture."*
The tenaciousness of memory exhibited by these ancient worthies is almost without parallel in ancient or modern times, except
in that prodigy of memory, the late Rev. THOMrAS  THRELKELD, of
Rochdale, Lancashire. He was a perfect living concordance to
the English Scriptures.  If three words only were mentioned,
except, perhaps, those words of mere connection which occur in
hundreds of passages, he could immediately, without hesitation,
assign the chapter and verse where they were to be found.  And,
inversely, upon mentioning the chapter and verse, he could repeat
the words.  This power of retention enabled him, with ease, "to
make himself master of many languages. Nine, or ten, it is certainly known that he read; not merely without difficulty, but with
profound and critical skill. It is affirmed, by a friend who lived
near him, and was in the habits of intimacy with him, that he was
familiarly acquainted with every language in which he had a Bible
or New Testament." After his decease I had opportunity of examining his library, and noticed Bibles, or New Testaments, in
English, Greek, Latin, Hebrew, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Welch, Dutch, Swedish, Gaelic, and Manks; besides grammars, &c., in other languages.  In the Greek Testament, his
powers of immediate reference and quotation were similar to
those he possessed in the English translation; since lie could in
a moment produce every place in which the same word occurred,
in any of its forms or affinities. In the Hebrew, with its several
dialects, he was equally, that is, most profoundly skilled; and it is
believed that his talent of immediate reference was as great here
as in the Greek, or even in the English.t
Eusebius, Of the Martyrs in Palestine, translated by Dalrymple, pp. 61, 87.
t See a sermnon preached at Rochdalc, April 13th, 1806, on occasion of the death
of the Rev. T. Threlkeld, by Thomas Barnes, D1. D.
1




FOURTH CENTURY.                      111
CHAPTER II.
FOURTH  CENTURY.
Opposition to Christianity-Constantine-Gregory the Illumznator-Councils-Chrysostom's Writings illustrative of Sacired Literature-Juhlan —Apollinarii- Valentinian —Valens-Gothic Versionz —Codex Argenteus —Francis
Junius-Dr. Thomas Marshall-George Stiernhelm-Eric Benzel-Edward
Lye- Ulphilas-Ethiopic Version-Frufmentius-Juvencus-Proha Falconia
-Epiphanus- Vulgate-Jerome.
IN the year 304, or 305, Dioclesian resigned the empire, and
Maximian, his colleague, reluctantly followed his example.  They
were succeeded by Galerius in the East, and by Constantius in
the West.  Galerius, the successor of DiQclesian, chose Maximin,
his nephew, to be his Cesar, or subordinate governor.  Maximin
inherited the savageness and the prejudices of his uncle, and was
even his superior in the arts of persecution:-" Paganism  was
expiring, and it behooved the prince of darkness to find or qualify
an agent who should dispute every inch of ground with persevering
assiduity."* Persons of quality filled the highest offices of idolatry,
pains were taken to prevent Christians from erecting places of
worship, or from following their religion in public or private; and,
incited by the example of the tyrant, all the pagans in his dominions exerted themselves to effect the ruin of the Christians, and
human ingenuity was put to the stretch to invent calumnies in
support of the kingdom of darkness. " At length," says Eusebius,
"having forged certain acts of Pilate concerning our Saviour,
which were full of all sorts of blasphemy against Christ, they
caused them, by the decree of Maximin, to be dispersed through
all the parts of his empire; commanding, by their letters, that
they should be published to all persons in every place, both in
cities and country places; and that schoolmasters should put them
into the hands of children, to be committed to memory."t  This
mode of promoting the cause of infidelity, by associating false and
vicious ideas with the names of the eminent characters mentioned
in the Scriptures, has been since followed by the Jews, in their
Toldoth Yesu, and by Voltaire and his associates, in the Talureau
Blanc, and other infamous publications.
* Milner's History of the Church.   t Eusebius, Hist. Eccles., lib. ix, cap. v.
I




112                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
By a decree of the Roman senate, CONSTANTINE, usually
styled the Great, the son of' Constantius, and a native of Britain,
being- declared First Augustus, or chief emperor, and Licinius his
associate; they, in the year 313, published an edict, in their joint
names, in favour of the Christians.  Licinius afterward persecuted
the church of Christ; Constantine and he quarrelled, and a war
soon commenced between the two princes.  Constantine was victorious, and in A. D. 324 became sole master of the empire. From
that time he professed himself a convert to the religion of Jesus,
and more than ever laboured, not only to defend the Christians,
but, after his manner, to spread Christianity itself.*  We lament,
however, that the methods he adopted savoured more of the savage
barbarity of a pagan warrior, than of the mild and persuasive disposition of a true Christian. Elmacin, or El-Makin, relates, that
as it was supposed many of the Jews had professed to be Christians, while they continued Jews in their hearts, swine's flesh was
boiled, and cut into mouthfuls, and a portion placed at the doors
of every church. All that entered were obliged to eat a piece of
the flesh.  Those that were Jews in their hearts refused; thus
they were detected, and immediately put to death.t A much wiser
method, and one more congenial with the religion he professed,
was adopted by him, when he placed Bibles in the churches, for the
use of the people. Eusebius informs us, that he himself was ordered by the emperor to provide fifty Greek Bibles, or more probably, only the principal b)ooks, at the public expense, for different
churches.  The followving is a copy of Constantine's letter to
Eusebius:
"Victor Constantinus Mllaximus Augustus, to Eusebius.
"In that city which bears our name, [Constantinople,] by the
assistance of God our Saviour's providence, a vast multitude of
men have joined themselves to the most holy church.  Whereas,
therefore, all things do there receive a very great increase, it seems
highly requisite that there should be more churches erected in that
city.  Wherefore do you most willingly receive that which I have
determined to do. For it seemed fit to signify to your prudence,
that you should order fifty copies of the Divine Scriptures, (the
provision and use whereof you know to be chiefly necessary for the
instruction of the church,) to be written on well-prepared parchment, by artificial transcribers of books, most skilful in the art of
* Eusebius's Life of Constantine. Camb. 1682. fol.
t Hottingeri Eccles. Hist., vol. i., pt. i, ch. iv, pp. 197, 198. 1651, 12mo.
1




FOURTH CEN rURY.                      113
accurate and fair writing; which (copies) must be very legible,
and easily portable, in order to their being used. Moreover, letters
are despatched away from our clemency, to the rationalist of the
dicecesis,* that he should take care for the providing of all things
necessary, in order to the finishing of the said copies. This therefore shall be the work of your diligence, to see that the written
copies be forthwith provided. You are also empowered, by the
authority of this our letter, to have the use of two public carriages,
in order to their conveyance. For by this means, those which are
transcribed fair, may most commodiously be conveyed even to our
sight; to wit, one of the deacons of your church being employed in the performance hereof.  Who, when he comes to us,
shall be made sensible of our bounty. God preserve you, dear
brother!"
This munificent order, for such it was considered, was immediately attended to, and completed; and, in the words of Eusebius,
" sent him in volumes magnificently adorned."t
A similar display of liberality was made by this prince when he
transferred the seat of his empire to Byzantium, or Constantinople,
in the year 336; for being desirous of making reparation to the
Christians for the injuries they had sustained during the reign of
his tyrannical predecessor, he commanded the most diligent search
to be made after those books which had been doomed to destruction; caused transcripts to be made of such books as had escaped
the Dioclesian persecution; added others to them, and with the
whole, formed a valuable library in the city of the imperial residence. On the death of Constantine, the number of books contained in the imperial library was six thousand nine hundred, but
in the time of Theodosius the younger, it contained one hundred
thousand. Of these, more than half were burned in the eighth
century by command of the emperor Leo III., in order to destroy
all the monuments that might be quoted in proof against his opposition to the worship of images.  In this library was deposited the
only authentic copy of the council of Nice, which was unfortunately consumed, together with a magnificent copy of the four
Gospels, bound in plates of gold, to the weight of fifteen pounds,
* DI(ECESIS, or DIOCCaSIS, was originally a civil government, composed of divers
provinces; and the kotholikon or RATIONALIST, one of the civil governors, or officers.
Hence the ecclesiastical term diocess, for the jurisdiction of a bishop, and diocesan,
applied to a bishop in relation to his clergy.
f Eusebius's Life of Constantine, lib. iv, cap. xxxvi.
VOL. 1.-S




114                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
and enriched with precious stones, which had been given by Pope
Gregory III. to the church dedicated to our Saviour.*
Early in the FOURTH century, Gregory, the apostle and bishop
of Armenia, surnamed the Illuminator, with laudable zeal obtained
the approbation of the sovereign of the country to establish schools,
or academies, in every city, and to appoint doctors and masters
over them; and published through all the cities invitations to the
inhabitants to send their children, that they might be taught the
knowledge of the Holy Scriptures.t
During this century, also, various councils were held, which
published canons considerably illustrative of the opinions and practices of the age. The council of Nice, convened by Constantine,
A. D. 325, ordained, " That no Christian should be without the
Scriptures."  The council of Antioch, held A. D. 341, decreed,
"That any person coming into the church, and only staying to hear
the Scriptures, and neither uniting in the prayers, nor partaking of
the eucharist, should be excommunicated."  The council of Laodicea, in 367, enjoined in its sixteenth canon, "That the Gospels,
with the other Scriptures, ought to be read on the sabbath-day;"
by which was meant, that in the public assemblies, which were in
that age held on the sabbath-day, as the Saturday was then usually
called, the Scriptures should be read in the same order as on the
Lord's-day, or Sunday, and not be omitted to be read. The seventeenth canon of the same council directs, "That the psalms shall
not be sung one immediately after another, but, that a lesson shall
be read after every psalm." And the fifty-ninth canon ordains,
"That psalms composed by private men, or uncanonical books,
should not be read in the church, but only the canonical books of
the Old and New Testament."t
The writings of Chrysostorn, the eloquent patriarch of Constantinople, furnish us with much additional and interesting information respecting the sacred Scriptures, during this century and the
commencement of the following; especially in those churches
which were subject to the Greek patriarch. From him we learn,
that the Scriptures, or parts of them, were very generally dispersed among the people, since he repeatedly exhorts even the
poorest of them to make the Scriptures their daily study, to read
* Horne's Introduction to Bibliography, vol. i, p. xxiii. Lomeir, De Bibliothecis,
cap. vii, sec. 2, pp. 131-134.
t Usserii Hist. Dogmat. de Scripturis, &c., p. 18. Butler's Lives of the Saints,
vol. ix, Sep. 30.: Usserii Hist. Dogmat. de Scripturis, &c., cap. vii, sec. i, pp. 193-195. Johnson's
Clergyman's Vade Mecum, vol. ii, 4th edit., Lond. 1731.
1                            48




FOURTH CENTURY.                      115
them after their usual meals, and in the hearinrL, uf their wives and
children; assuring them, that "the servant and the rustic, the
widow and the infant, might understand them." The excuses made
by some for their neglect of the sacred writings, present the monks
of that day in a favourable light, as students in the word of God:
"We have not renounced the world," said they; "we are not
monks; we have wives and children."  "Are the Scriptures then
to be read only by monks?" replies the worthy patriarch, " or are
they not still more necessary for you, as the man, who is daily exposed to danger and to wounds, stands most in need of the physician?" From  the same source we acquire the knowledge, that it
was usual for the deacons, during the reading of the lessons in the
churches, frequently to command " silence," and direct the attention of the congregation to the reader, by loud calling, " Attend!"
And for the reader, on rising to read the Scriptures, to commence
by solemnly saying, "Thus saith the Lord."  We are also informed, that it was common, especially for women and children,
to have the Gospels hung round their necks, and constantly to carry
them about with them; and that many of the rich, in their book-cases,
or studies, preserved magnificent copies of the sacred writings,
executed in the most beautiful characters, on the finest vellum.*
Complete copies of the Scriptures were, nevertheless, extremely
rare, and could seldom be obtained by any but the most affluent;
as the following circumstance, which shows the high value set upon a single copy of the Gospels, sufficiently proves. Hilarion, the
first instituter of the monastic state in the East, having embarked
at Paretonium, in Libya, with one companion, for Sicily, landed at
Pachynus, a famous promontory on the eastern side of the island,
now called Capo di Passaro. Upon landing, he offered to pay for
his passage, and that of his companion, with ea copy of thle Gospels,
which he had written in his youth with his own hand; but the
master seeing their whole stock consisted in that manuscript, and
the clothes on their backs, refused to accept of it, and generously
forgave the debt.t
In the year 361, JULIAN, the Apostate, was advanced to the ernmpire. During the reign of Constantius he had acted with the most
profound dissimulation, and so far proceeded in his hypocritical
profession of Christianity as to be ordained reader, in the church
* See the different quotations from Chrysostom's Works, in Usher's Hist. Dogmat.
de Scripturis et Sacris Vernaculis, cap. ii, pp. 33-50. Lond. 1690, 4to.
t Butler's Lives, vol. x, Oct. 21. Gibbon's Decline and Fall, vol. vi, ch. xxxvii, p.
246, 8vo.
1




116                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
of Nicomedia; but, on his accession to the throne, he threw off the
disguise, and became the avowed and active patron of paganism,
and every art that the mostrefined policy could suggest, was practised
for its advancement, and for the depression and overthrow of Christianity. To effect his purpose, he endeavoured to render the
Christians ignorant and contemptible; and with this view, forbade
the Christian professors to teach Gentile learning, "lest being furnished," says he, " with our armour, they make war upon us with
our own weapons." He also commanded, that the writings of
Christian authors should be destroyed, but that those of profane
authors should be preserved. His epistle to Ecdicius, prefect of
Egypt, respecting the library of George, of Cappadocia, the Arian
archbishop of Alexandria, so fully delineates the character of Julian, that I will present it to the reader:" To Ecdicius, Prefect of Egypt.
"Some delight in horses, some in birds, and others in wild
beasts. I, from my childhood, have always been inflamed with a
passionate love for books. I think it absurd to suffer these to fall
into the hands of wretches, whose avarice gold alone cannot satiate,
as they are also clandestinely endeavouring to pilfer these. You
will therefore oblige me extremely by collecting all the books of
George.*  He had many, I know, on philosophical and rhetorical
subjects, and many on the doctrine of the impious Galileans. All
these I would have destroyed; but lest others more valuable should
be destroyed with them, let them all be carefully examined. The
secretary of George may assist you in this disquisition, and if he
acts with fidelity, he shall be rewarded with freedom; if not, he
mnay be put to the torture.  I am not unacquainted with this library,
for when I was in Cappadocia, George lent me several books to be
transcribed, which I afterward returned to him."t
The prohibition of human learning decreed by this emperor, induced the APOLLINARII, father and son, to invent something which
might serve as a substitute for the loss. The father, a native of Alexandria, was a presbyter of the church of Laodicea, the son occupied
* George of Cappadocia was the rival of Athanasius. On the accession of Julian,
he was dragged in chains to the public prison, and at the end of twenty-four days massacred by an infuriated and superstitious mob, who forced open the prison, and after
murdering the archbishop, carried his lifeless body in triumph through the streets, on
the back of a camel.
t Duncombe's Epistles of Julian, ep. ix, pp. 17-19.
1




FOURTH CENTURY.                     117
the place of reader. Both were teachers of Grecian literature;
the father taught grammar, the son rhetoric; both were persons of
superior capacity; the son, particularly, was one of the greatest
men of his time, in learning, genius, and powers of argument; and
his answer to Porphyry is looked upon as the best defence of
Christianity sgainst paganism. To compensate for the loss of the
classical authors, from which the Christians were debarred, by the
edict of the emperor, they composed a grammar on a Christian
model, turned the books of Moses into heroic verse, paraphrased
the historical books, in imitation of the Greek tragedians; and in
the various works which they composed, adopted all the different
kinds of verse, and modes of writing, employed by the most celebrated Greek authors. The translation of the Psalms into Greek
verse, by the younger Apollinarius is still extant, and highly commended;* but how far their other writings merited the rank of
classics cannot now be ascertained, for on the death of Julian, in
363, the prohibition ceasing, Christian scholars returned to their
former studies, and the classical imitations of the Apollinarii sunk
into disuse.
JOVIAN, an avowed Christian, succeeded Julian in the empire;
and on the death of Jovian, which happened suddenly, not without
suspicion of poison, in 364 Valentinian was advanced to the purple by the suffrages of the army. Thirty days after his own elevation, he associated his brother Valens in the empire. Both were
Christians, but adopted different measures in the churches under
their respective government. In the West, Valentinian adhered to
the orthodox faith, while in the East, Valens countenanced the
Arian principles, and persecuted those who dissented from the
creed he maintained. At Edessa, the orthodox, driven from the
churches, were wont to assemble in a field. At first, Valens ordered them to be dispersed; but the resolution of a woman, who
hastened thither as on purpose to suffer martyrdom, staggered his
mind, and caused him to cease from the attempt. Afterward, he
sent the pastors of Edessa into banishment. Among those who
were conducted to Antinous, a city in Thebais, in Egypt, was one
named Protogenes. Desirous of communicating a knowledge of
the truths of the Scriptures to the inhabitants, of whom the greater
part were pagans, he commenced a school, in which he taught the
children the art of writing sifwtly, (ad celeri manu scribendum,)
and then dictated to them the Psalms of David, and suitable pas* Cavei, Historia Literaria, pp. 176, 202. Lond. 1688, fol. Milner's Hist. of the
Church of Christ, vol. ii, pp. 126, 248.




118                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
sages of the New Testament, thus rendering the instruction in
writing subservient to the multiplication of copies of the principal
portions of the Holy Scriptures, and to the more extensive spread
of the gospel.* On the other hand, Ambrose, the excellent bishop
of Milan, who died about the year 397, "admired, regretted, and
lamented, by the whole Christian world," affirms, that the Arians
corrupted the word of God, and gives us, as an instance of the
frauds practised by them, the erasure of John iv, 24, from  the
sacred volume, which he says took place at Milan, in the time of
his Arian predecessor Auxertius.t
In the reign of Valens, ULPHILAS, bishop of the Goths, immortalized his name by his Gothic translation, from the Greek, of the
whole, or a considerable part of the Scriptures. A man of superior genius and endowments, he not only laboured with unwearied
assiduity to transfuse the sublime doctrines of holy writ into a
barbarous dialect, but invented, and taught his countrymen, the
use of letters more suited to the Scriptures and a state of civilization than those of the barren Runic alphabet, to which they had
hitherto been accustomed.  Philostorgius asserts, that Ulphilas
omitted the book of Kings, from an apprehension that the martial
spirit of his nation might be roused by the relation of the Jewish
wars; but this circumstance has been controverted by several
learned men, who consider Philostorgius unworthy of credit;
Gibbon, however, remarks, that the Arianism " of Philostorgius
appears to have given him superior means of information."':
Of this important version the principal remains are contained in
the famous CODEX ARGENTEUS, or Silver Book, a MS. preserved
in the library of the University of Upsal, in Sweden.  It is impressed, or written, on very fine, thin, smooth vellum, of a quarto
form, and purple colour, though some sheets have a pale violet
hue; and has received the name of ARGENTEUS, from its silver
letters; but the three first lines of the Gospels of St. Luke and
St. Mark are impressed with golden foil, as those of St. Matthew
and St. John would most probably be found to be, were they still
in existence. When the commencement of a section, or capitulary, takes place at the beginning of the, line, the whole is distinguished by golden characters; but if in the middle, or any other
* Usserii Hist. Dogmat. de Scripturis, &c., p. 30. Milner's Hist. of the Church,
vol. ii, p. 161.
t Ibid., vol. ii, p. 236.
t Gibbon's Decline and Fall, vol. vi, ch. xxxvii, p. 269, note. Lond. 8vo. 1807.
Philostorgii Eccles. Hist., lib. ii, cap. v. Genev. 1642. 4to.
1




FOURTH CENTURY.                     119
portion, such part of a line only is thus splendidly ornamented.
The beginning of the Lord's Prayer, and the titles of the evangelists, are also illuminated in gold. Unfortunately it has suffered
several mutilations. It is supposed to have been the property of
Alaric, king of Thoulouse, whose kingdom and palace were plundered and destroyed by Chlodovic, (commonly named Clovis,) ill
the year 507; or of Amalaric, whom Childebert overcame in battle
in the year 531. For many centuries this book was preserved in
the monastery of Werden, in Westphalia, where it was discovered
in 1597 by Anthony Marillon, who extracted a few passages, which
were inserted in a "Commentary on the Gothic Alphabet," published by Bonaventura Vulcanius. Soon afterward, Arnold Mercator observed it in the same library, and transcribed a few verses,
which Gruter gave to the world in his Inscriptiones Antiquea.
When that district was ravaged by the triennial war, in the seventeenth century, it was transmitted to Prague, for security. Subsequently Count Konigsmark took this city by storm, when it came
into the possession of the Swedes, and afterward enriched the
library of Holme. After lying some time in the library of Queen
Christina, it suddenly disappeared, without any one being able to
account for the loss, and was again brought to light in the Netherlands.  Some have supposed that Isaac Vossius received it as a
present from the queen, others that he brought it away by stealth.
The latter is the more probable, since, during the confusion which
preceded Christina's abdication, he is said to have pillaged the
royal library, and carried away many rare books and MSS. The?
recollection of these literary depredations is perpetuated by a
curious collection called Furta Vossiana, still preserved in the
library at Leyden, and supposed to have been stolen by him while
in Sweden.  Puffendorf, journeying through'Holland in 1662,
found it in his possession, and purchased it for Count de la Gardie
for four hundred rix-dollars, (Coxe says two hundred and fifty
pounds,) who presented it to the royal library at Upsal, where it
now remains.*
This part of the Gothic version has been several times printed;
first at Dort, in 1665, 4to., in Gothic letters, or such as are found
in the Codex Argenteus, by Francis Junius and Thomas Marshall,
who borrowed the MS. from Vossius, and accompanied with a
" Glossary" and "Observations."  Again in Latin letters by the
* Henshall's Gothic Gospel of St. Matthew, pp. 35, 36, 44-47. Marsh's Michaelis,
vol. ii, part i, sec. 32, pp. 133, 134. Coxe's Travels in Poland, &c., vol. iv, b. vii,
ch. vi, pp. 173-180.
1




120                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
learned Stiernhelm, in 1671, at Stockholm, accompanied with the
Icelandic, the Swedish, and the Latin Vulgate. But the best edition hitherto published is the one prepared for the press by the
Swedish archbishop Benzel, who was head librarian at Upsal.
This excellent man had devoted whole years to the study of the
Codex Argenteus, but, after having taken a fresh copy, and written
a Latin translation, he died in 1743, aged seventy, before the work
was published. The task, however, was finished by the Rev. Edward Lye, to whom he had transmitted his collations and translation before his death, who prefixed a short, but valuable preface,
and a Gothic grammar. It was printed at Oxford in 1750.
The following brief notices of the editors of the Codex Argenteus may be acceptable to the reader:FRANCIS JUNIUS, or Du JON, son of Francis Junius, professor
of divinity at Leyden, and coadjutor of Tremellius in the translation of the Old Testament from the Hebrew, was born at Heidelberg in 1589.  He received the early part of his education at
Leyden, but, on the death of his father in 1602, directed his
studies to a preparation for a military life, which he had determined to embrace. The conclusion of the war, in 1609, altered
his plans; he devoted himself to literature, published some of his
father's works, and then travelled to France and England. For
thirty years he resided in England, in the family of Thomas, earl
of Arundel; and having frequent opportunities of visiting Oxford,
he applied with unwearied assiduity to the study of the Gothic
and Saxon tongues, and the various dialects derived from them.
While on a visit to the continent, to obtain more accurate information relative to the ancient Saxon language, he met with the MS.
of the Gothic version of the Scriptures, which he published, accompanied with the notes of Dr. Marshall. In 1674 he returned
into England; and in 1677 died of a fever at Windsor, aged
eighty-eight. He made a deed of gift of all his MSS. and collections to the public library of Oxford. The chief of these was his
Glossarium Gothicum, in five languages, contained in nine volumes, which Bishop Fell caused to be transcribed for the press.
The Etymologicumn Anglicanum was published in 1743, in folio,
by Edward Lye, M.A.*
TaoMAAs  MARSHALL, D.D., born at Barkby, in Leicestershire,
about 1621, was entered of Lincoln College in 1640; but, on the
breaking out of the civil wars, bore arms in defence of King
* Chalmers's Gen. Biog. Diet., vol. xix, pp. 198, 199. Lempriere's Univ. Biog.
1




FOURTH CENTURY.                   121
Charles; and was therefore, in 1645, admitted B.A. without paying fees. He afterward went to Rotterdam, and became preacher
to the English merchants there and at Dort.  In 1661 he was
made B.D., and in 1688 chosen fellow, without his solicitation or
knowledge.  In 1669 he commenced D.D., and in 1672 was
elected rector of his college. He was afterward appointed chaplain in ordinary to his majesty, and rector of Bladen; and in 1681
was installed dean of Gloucester. He died at Lincoln College
in 1685. He prefixed "An Epistle for the English reader" to
Dr. Thomas Hyde's translation into the Malayan tongue of the
Four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. Oxford, 1677.*
GEORGE STIERNHELM was a Swedish nobleman, a native of the
province of Westmania, counsellor of war, and president of the
Royal College of Antiquities of Stockholm. He flourished about
A.D. 1671.t
ERIC BENZEL, or BENZELIUS, was born in 1673, at Upsal, in
Sweden, where he began and completed his studies.  Having
travelled into Germany, England, and France, he returned to
Upsal in 1702, and was appointed librarian to the university, an
office which he held for twenty-two years.  In 1724 he was
nominated professor of divinity; and successively created bishop
of Gottenburg and Lindkioping, and archbishop of Upsal, of which
his father had previously enjoyed the dignity. The review of
Swedish books, &c., commenced by Benzel and his associates in
1720, under the title of Acta Literaria Suecice, and continued for
ten years, laid the foundation of the Royal Academy of Sciences
at Upsal. He died in 1743.:
EDWARD LYE was a learned linguist and antiquary, born at
Totness, in Devonshire, in 1704, and educated under his father,
and at Hart-Hall, (now Hertford College,) Oxford, where he took
his degree of M.A. in 1722. Having been ordained priest, he
was soon after presented to the living of Houghton-parva, in
Northamptonshire. In this retreat he gained much of his knowledge of the Anglo-Saxon language; and published Junius's
Etymologicum Anglicanum. In 1750 he became a member of
the Society of Antiquaries, and about the same time was presented
by the earl of Northampton to the vicarage of Yardley Hastings,
where he died in 1767. His great work, the " Anglo-Saxon and
Gothic Dictionary," left in manuscript at his death, was published,
* Chalmers's Gen. Biog. Diet., vol. xxi, pp. 350, 351.
t Le Long, vol. i, Index Auctor.
t Coxe's Travels, vol. iv, p. 185, note.




122                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
with two grammars, by the Rev. Owen Manning in 1772, in two
volumes folio.*
In 1763 F. A. Knittel published another fragment of the version
of Ulphilas, taken from the CODEX CAROLINUS, in the library of
WVolfenbuttel. In this library an ancient MS. is preserved written
in the eighth or ninth century, of the Origines of Isidore of Spain,
a part of which is written on vellum, on which part the version of
Ulphilas had been written in Gothic characters, accompanied with
an old Latin version, in a parallel column. Through ignorance of
its nature, the vellum leaves had been gradually torn out to serve
for coverings to other books, but, being fortunately discovered by
Knittel before the whole was destroyed, he with very great difficulty deciphered both the Gothic and the Latin, and published
them  with learned notes and essays, under the following title:Ul1philce versionzem  Got hic'unt  rontnullorun  cCapitun  epistolB
Paulit ad Romanos. This part contains only the few following
passages:-Rom. xi, 33-36; xii, 1-5, 17-21; xiii, 1-5; xiv, 920; xv, 3-13.  These fragments are also inserted at the end of
vol. 2 of Lye's " Saxon, Gothic, and Latin Dictionary."t
ULPHILAS, or WVULPHILAS, the author of this version, was a
descendant from some of the bishops who had been carried captive by the Goths, in their incursions into Asia during the
reign of Gallienus. HIe flourished in the latter part of the fourth
century. Several occurrences prove the high estimation in which
he was universally held; in particular, the various and difficult
embassies in which he was employed, and always with success.
Coming ambassador to Constantine, he was ordained first bishop
of the Christian Goths by Eusebius, of Nicomedia.  Returning to
his charge he discovered a holy zeal in his sacred office, and earnestly laboured for the conversion of the surrounding pagans.
His missionary exertions were rewarded with numerous conversions, though accompanied with no small degree of danger to
himself.  He is also said to have contributed much toward the
civilization of the barbarous people under his care.
His learning must have been extensive for the age in which he
lived.  Versed not only in the Gothic and Greek, but also in the
Latin, it was still necessary for him to possess a critical knowledge of the formation of language in general, to enable him  to
invent letters, and construct new words and sentences expressive
of the sense of the sacred Scripture, and suited to the genius of
* Chalmers, vol. xxi, pp. 9. 10.
t Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, part i, p. 136. Bibliog. Dict., vol. vi, p. 216.
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FOURTH CENTURY                       123
the langaage in which he wrote. His manners, if we judge from
circumstances, appear to have been mild and persuasive, dignified
and gentle, uniting the courtier and the Christian bishop.
Sent by Fritigern to the court of Valens, to implore aid against
Athanaric, the sovereign of the Ostrogoths, he succeeded in his
embassy; but unfortunately, was induced by Eudoxius, bishop of
Constantinople, to regard the dispute respecting Arius as a mere
verbal difference, and to communicate with the Arians, in which
he was followed by the rest of the Gothic Christians.  At length,
after a life of unwearied zeal in the cause of religion, and of
patriotic labours for the welfare of his country, he sunk into the
grave in a good old age; and "the memory of the just shall be
blessed!"*
The ETHIOPIC version also is generally supposed to have been
made during this century.  Chrysostom, who lived toward the
close of that age, in his first homily on the Gospel of John, says,
"The Syrians, the Egyptians, the Indians, the Persians, the
Ethiopians, and a multitude of other nations, having translated
this Gospel into their own languages, the barbarians have learned
to be philosophers."t
The ancient capital of ETHIOPIA, or ABYSSINIA, was Saba;
and the queen whom  the wisdom of Solomon attracted to Palestine was the sovereign of that country. The Ethiopic language,
into which the translations of the holy writings were made, and
which was denominated Gheez, is the ancient and learned language of Abyssinia, not the language now in use. The language
which it nearest resembles is the Arabic, but it differs from that,
and all the kindred languages of the East, by being written from
the left to the right hand, and expressing the vowels by determinate characters, and not by points.+   The following is
the statement of Mr. Bruce, the celebrated traveller, on the
Ethiopic Scriptures, as they exist in Abyssinia: "The Abyssinians have the Scriptures entire, as we have, and reckon the
same number of books; but they divide in another manner, at
least in private hands; few of them, from extreme poverty, being
able to purchase the whole, either of the historical or prophetical
books of the Old Testament.  The same may be said of the
* Sacror. Evang. Versio Gothica, Proefat. Benzelii, cap. viii, pp. xxx-xxxv. Oxon.
1750, 4to. Cavei Hist. Lit. Saec. iv, p. 182. Milner's History of the Church, vol.
ii, pp. 168, 240.
t Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, pt. ii, p. 611. Waltoni Proleg. xv.
t Butler's Horae Biblical, vol. i, p. 172.
1




124                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
New; for copies containing the whole of it are very scarce.
Indeed nowhere, except in churches, do you see more than the
Gospels, or the Acts of the Apostles, in one person's possession, and
it must not be an ordinary man that possesses even these. Many
books of the Old Testament are forgotten: so that it is the same
trouble to procure them even in churches, for the purpose of copying, as to consult old records long covered with rubbish."*
Mr. Bruce, on his return from  Abyssinia, in 1773, brought
a number of Ethiopic MSS., among which were the following,
said by his biographer to be in the library at Kinnaird, the family
residence.
1. The OLD TESTAMENT, in five large quarto volumes, each
about a foot in length and breadth.  These contain all the books
in our canon, except the Psalms, and several of the Apocrypha.
A book called the Prophecies of Enoch is inserted before that of
Job. The Psalms are common in Abyssinia, but by some accident Mr. Bruce had no copy of them.
2. Two copies of the GOSPELS, in four volumes, two of which
are in small quarto.
3. The ACTS OF TIlE APOSTLES, and all the EPISTLES in our
canon, with the REVELATON OF ST. JOHN, in two small quarto
volumes, uniform with the Gospels before mentioned.
4. A copy of the SONG OF SOLOMON, in the Amharic, the Falashan, the Gafat, the Agow, the Tcheretz Agow, and the Galla
languages, along with a vocabulary of these languages.t
The Ethiopic version of the Psalms, with the Song of Solomon,
were printed at Rome so early as 1513. The Psalms were reprinted in 1515 at Cologne; and again with the Song of Solomon
in the London Polyglot.  The celebrated Ethiopic scholar, Lu-:lolf, published two editions at Francfort in 1701. The one was
accompanied with a Latin translation, for the benefit of Europeans;
the other was solely Ethiopic, being destined for the use of the
natives, and was sent by the Dutch for that purpose to Abyssinia.
The only portions of the historical books of the Old Testament
which have been printed are the four first chapters of Genesis
and the book of Ruth, the former repeatedly; the latter by J. G.
Nisselius, in 1660. Of the Prophets only Joel, Jonah, Zephaniah,
and ltIalachi exist in print, of various dates, and by different
* Owen's History of the British and Foreign Bible Society, vol. ii, p. 362. Mur
ray's Account of the Life and Writings of James Bruce, Esq. Append., p. 29.
Eldinb., 1808, 4to.
t Murray's Life, &c., of James Bruce, Esq., ubi sup.
1




FOURTH CENTURY.                     125
editors.  The NEW  TESTAMENT was printed in Ethiopic at
Rome, in 1548, under the direction of three native Ethiopians,
whose names were Tesfa-Sion, Tensea-Wald, and Zaslask, and
who were all sons of Tecla Haimanot, of the Romish monastery
of Mount Libanus.  They assumed the Latin names of Petrus,
Paulus, and Bernardinzs.  This edition was afterward reprinted
in the London Polyglot, with a Latin translation by Dudley
Loftus. It has been reprinted since, with a more accurate Latin
translation by Professor Bode, at Brunswick, in 1752-1755, in
two volumes quarto. The Epistles of St. James, St. John, and
St. Jude, were printed at Leyden, in 1654, accompanied with an
Arabic translation by Theod. Petraeus.*  The ancient Ethiopic
version is generally supposed to have been made by Frumentius, who first preached Christianity in Ethiopia, in the fourth
century.
FRUMENTIUS, the apostle of Ethiope, called FREMIONAT by the
Abyssinians, was the nephew of Meropius, a philosopher of Tyre.
Meropius, undertaking a voyage to India, carried with him two of
his nephews, Frumentius and Edesius, with whose education he
was intrusted.  In the course of the voyage homeward, the vessel
touched at a certain port of the Red Sea, to take in provisions and
fresh water. The barbarians of that country, who had a little before broken their le.ague with the Romans, seized the ship, and
murdered all the passengers and crew, except the two youths, who
were studying their lessons under a tree at sonie distance.  Their
innocence and tender age moved the barbarians to compassion;
their lives were spared: and being presented to the king, who resided at Axum, then the capital of Ethiopia, but now a mean village, called Accum, he was so charmed with their wit and sprighltliness, that he not only took special care of their education, but in
a short time took them into his service, making Edesius his cupbearer, and Frumentius, who was the elder, his treasurer and secretary of state, intrusting him with all the public writings and
accounts. These offices they fulfilled with integrity and honour,
and so much to the satisfaction of their royal patron, that on his
death-bed he thanked them for their services, and gave them their
liberty.  After his decease, the queen, who was left regent for her
eldest son, entreated them to continue at court, to assist her in the
education of her son, and the government of the state. The prin* Le Long. Bib. Sacra. ed. Masch, vol. i, pt. ii, sec. 6, pp. 145-157. Marsh's
Hist. of Translations, pp. 95, 96. Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, pt. i, ch. vii, sec. 17,
and pt. ii, p. 612.'1




126                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
cipal management of affairs was committed to Frumentius, who,
by his fidelity and ability, proved the greatest support and comfort
to the queen. But the pious mind of Frumentius was not so absorbed by attention to secular business as to neglect the promotion
of Christianity; for which purpose lie engaged several Christian
merchants, who traded there, to settle in the country; and procured for them great privileges, and all the conveniences for their
religious worship; and by his own fervour and example strongly
recommended the true religion to the Ethiopians.  When the
young king, whose name was Aizan, came to age, and took the
reins of government into his own hands, the brothers resigned their
posts; but though entreated to stay, Edesius returned to Tyre, and
Frumentius to Alexandria. On his arrival at Alexandria, Frumentius related to the patriarch Athanasius his whole history, and earnestly entreated him to send missionaries to Ethiopia, not doubting but their labours would prove successful to the conversion of
that nation to Christianity.  Athanasius summoned his clergy together, and, by their unanimous advice, ordained Frumentius himself bishop of the Ethiopians. Vested with the sacred character,
Frumentius Mwent back to Axum, where he had already been distinguished by his intregrity and capacity, and had gained the esteem
and veneration of the people, by the administration of the secular
concerns of government, and by the education of their sovereign.
Eminently successful in his missionary labours, he was able to
number the sovereign, and his brother Sazan, whom he had associated in the throne, among the converts to the Christian faith;
churches were every where erected; and at length Christianity
became the avowed religion of the nation.  Constantius, the Roman emperor, laboured to bring them over to the adoption of the
principles of Arius, and strove to obtain the deposition of Frumentius, but in vain; for the difficulty of access to this region, which has
since proved prejudicial to the advancement of knowledge among
its inhabitants, was at that time a happy preservative to the infant
church, and placed the country out of the reach of his imperial
bigotry. The time of the decease of Frumentius is not exactly ascertained: the Latins commemorate him on the 27th of October;
the Greeks on the 30thl of November; but of the year we are entirely ignorant. The Abyssinians still honour him as the apostle
of the Axuimites, and place the two kings, Aizan and Sazan, or
Abreha and Atzbeha, among their saints.*
* Socrat. Scholast. Eccles. Hist., lib. i, cap. xix. Butler's Lives of the Saints, vol.
x, Oct. 27. Milner's Htistory of the Church, vol. ii, ch. vi, pp. 103, 104.
1




FOURTH CENTURY.                     1 27
The old translation of the Ethiopic Scriptures having become
nearly obsolete, by being written in the ancient and learned language of the country, attempts have been made, in more modern
times, to translate the sacred volume into the Amhareic, or vulgar
dialect of Abyssinia; particularly under the direction of M. Asselin,
the French charge d'affaires at Grand Cairo, who, in a communication to the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1814, states,
that the Amharic, as spoken at Gondar, is the prevalent dialect in
the eastern parts of Africa, which border on the equator; and
that it is through this dialect all intercourse is maintained between
the natives of Abyssinia and the Arabians and the negroes of the
interior; and concludes by informing the society, that he has transmitted to England Genesis and Exoduis in that dialect.  Baron
Silvester de Sacy, of Paris, also, in a report presented to the Royal
Institute of France, on the labours of M. Asselin, affords the following interesting information respecting the Amharic dialect:
"The language," says he, " which we commonly call Ethiopic, and
which the Abyssinians call Lisana G/leez, that is to say, the language of the kingdom, is that of the province of Tigre, to whic}l
appertained the celebrated city of Axun. It was the common
language of Abyssinia, down to the period at which Axum ceased
to be the royal residence, and when the authority passed into the
hands of the princes who spoke the Amharic dialect. The Gheez,
however, continued to be the only dialect used in public worship,
and in all acts of government; the only dialect, in short, used in
writing. Thus the Egyptians call it the lan.guage of books, while
the Amharic, as being that of the reigning family, is called the
royal language.  By the help of the Amharic, one may travel
through all the provinces of Abyssinia, notwithslanding the different idioms which they respectively use.  Before MI. Asselin, the
missionaries from the Jesuits, who resided long in Abyssinia, had
there translated different portions of the sacred Scriptures into the
Amharic language. None of these productions have reached Europe; nor is it known in what they consist, or what is become of
them."  In consequence of these, and other communications to the
British and Foreign Bible Society, a sub-committee was appointed,
of which the learned and celebrated travellers, Viscount Valentia,
and Henry Salt, Esq., were constituted members, for the purpose
of considering the best means of furnishing the Abyssinians with
the tHoly Scriptures.*
* Owen's IIist. of the Brit. and For. Bible Society, vol. ii, pp. 359-363. T'I'eifth
Report of B. and F. Bible Society, Appendix, No. xlviii.
1




128                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Reverting to the fourth century, we find a work of that age, entitled Historia Evangelica, in four books, written in good hexameter verse. It is properly the history of our Lord, as recorded in
the Four Evangelists, and expressed, as nearly as possible, in the
words of the sacred writers themselves; and is said to have been
the first attempt to deliver the evangelical history in verse. The
author, Caius Vettius Aquilinus Juvencus, was a Christian priest
and poet, born of a noble Spanish family. He flourished about
A. D. 330, and was author of several other poetical works.  The
Historia Evangelica has been several times printed, and may be
found in the Bibliotheca Patrum, tom. iv, p. 55.*
The Cento Virgilantus of Proba Falconia may also be noticed,
as an instance of the singular manner in which some of the Christians of this age pressed the heathen poets into the service of
Christianity. It is a poem of some length, the subjects of which
are the history of the creation, the deluge, and of Christ, and are
narrated in centos from Virgil. Above seven hundred lines are so
curiously selected from  the works of the Mantuan bard, and so
placed, that with the aid of titles to the different portions, the principal events of these Scripture histories are described in his words.
PROBA FALCONIA was the wife of a noble Roman, and erninently
distinguished by piety and benevolence.  The most celebrated
characters of her age valued her friendship, and honoured her in
their works. After the capture of Rome by Alaric, in 410, she
fled, having lost her husband, with her daughter Juliana, and her
grand-daughter Demetria, into Africa, where she found an asylum,
and lived upon the wreck of her fortune, honoured with the esteem
of the great Augustine.  The time of her death is uncertain.
EPIPHANIUS, a father of the Christian church, as he has been
called, is another author who claims our regard.  He was born in
Palestine, about A. D. 310.  "To qualify himself for the study
of the Holy Scriptures, he learned in his youth the Hebrew, the
Egyptian, the Syriac, the Greek, and the Latin languages." About
the year 367 he was chosen bishop of Salamis, then called Constantia, in Cyprus. His principal work appeared in 374, under
the title of Panarium, or " Box of Antidotes against all Heresies;"
in which he gives the history of twenty heresies before Christ, and
of fourscore since the promulgation of the gospel.  A commentary
on the Canticles was discovered among the MSS. in the Vatican
library, by Monsignor Foggini, prefect of the library, who pubCavei Hist. Lit. Sac. iv, pp. 150, 207. Clarke's Succession of Sacred Literature, vol. i. Turner's History of the Anglo-Saxons, vol. ii, p. 334. Lond. 1807, 4to.
1




FOURTH CENTURY.                     129
lished an accurate edition of it at Rome, in 1750, with a learned
preface. The works of Epiphanius prove him to have been a man
of extensive reading, yet credulous and superstitious; but his
writings are rendered valuable by his numerous quotations from
profane and ecclesiastical writers, known only by the fragments
which he has preserved. In his book against heresies, he says,
that the Gospel of St. John, and the Acts of the Apostles, translated into Hebrew, were kept in the treasury of the Jews at Tiberias. He died in 403, as he was returning from Constantinople
to Salamis.*
But the most eminent Biblical scholar of the fourth century was
JEROME, whose revision of the Latin version of the Bible constitutes the principal difference of the Vulgate from the old Italic.
This renowned monk was born at Stridon, now Sdrigni, a small
town upon the confines of Pannonia, Dalmatia, and Italy, near
Aquileia, about the year 331. His father, Eusebius, who was a
Christian, sent him to finish his education at Rome. In this city
he perfected his knowledge of the Latin and Greek tongues, his
native dialect being the Illyrican; read the best authors in both
languages; and made such progress in oratory, that he for some
time pleaded at the bar. While a student at Rome, he used on
Sundays to visit, with his fellow-students, the catacombs or cemeteries of the martyrs: "When a boy," says he, " I studied the
liberal arts at Rome, and was wont to make a round to visit the
tombs of the apostles and martyrs, with others of the same age and
inclinations, and often to descend into the caves which are dug
deep into the earth, and have for walls on each side the bodies of
those that are interred there."
During his residence at Rome, it was Jerome's greatest pleasure
to collect a good library, and acquaint himself with all the best
authors in different languages; and such was his thirst for knowledge, that in pursuing it, he not unfrequently forgot to take his
usual repasts. Cicero and Plautus were his chief delight. He
purchased a great many books, copied several, and procured many
to be transcribed by his friends. Being arrived at man's estate,
and desirous of improving his studies, he resolved upon travelling.
Accompanied by his friend Bonosus, he made a tour through Gaul,
where the Romans had erected several famous schools, especially
at Marseilles, Toulouse, Bourdeaux, Autun, Lyons, and Triers,
examining libraries, and collecting information from all quarters.
* Butler's lives, vol. v. May. Le Long, Biblioth. Sacr., tom. i, p. 62.
VOL.. —9




130                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
At Triers he copied St. Hilary's book "On Synods," and his
"Commentaries on the Psalms;" and while in this city experienced what he regarded as a "merciful conversion to God;" and
resolved upon following the profession of a monk, which, in his day,
meant chiefly the life of a private, recluse Christian, unfettered by
any certain rules or vows.
Having collected whatever he could meet with in Gaul to augmnent his literary treasure, he repaired to Aquilcia, where, at that
time, flourished many eminent and learned men. WVith many of
them Jerome contracted so great an intimacy that their names appear often in his writings; Cromatius, first priest, and afterward
bishop of that city, and to whom he dedicated several of his works,
was one of them; Toranius Ruffinus, famous primarily for his
friendship, and subsequently for his controversies with Jerome,
was also a monk of Aquileia.  The monastery of this city was the
first into which Jerome retired; but afterward he withdrew into
the inhospitable desert of Chalcis, in Syria, where he devoted
himself to reading and study, with immense industry. It was in
this retirement that he commenced learning the Hebrew tongue:
writing to the monk Rusticus, he says, " I became a scholar to a
monk who had been a Jew, to learn of him the Hebrew alphabet;
and after I had imost diligently studied the judicious rules of Quintilian, the copious flowing elegance of Cicero, the grave style of
Fronto, and the smoothness of Pliny, I inured myself to hissing
and broken-winded words.  What labour it cost me, what diffiiculties I went through, how often I despaired and left off, and how
I began again to learn, both I myself who felt the burden can witness, and they also who lived with me. And I thank our Lord
that I now gather sweet fruit from the bitter seed of those studies."
At length, however, wearied by the opposition of the monks of
Meletius's party, who persecuted him, because in speaking of the
divine nature, he used the word hyp ostasis; and afflicted with an
infirm state of health, he left the wilderness, after having passed
four years in it, and went to Antioch. Here he was ordained a
presbyter of the church, but would never proceed any further in
ecclesiastical dignity. Soon after his ordination he went into Palestine, and visited the principal holy places situated in different
parts of that country, but made Bethlehem his most usual residence. He had recourse to the ablest Jewish doctors, to inform
himself of all particulars relating to all the remarkable places mentioned in the sacred history; and neglected no means to perfect
himself in the knowledge of the Hebrew tongue. For this purpose
1                         9*




FOURTH CENTURY.                    131
he addressed himself to the most skilful among the Jews; one of
his masters in particular, by whose instructions he exceedingly
improved himself, spoke Hebrew with such gracefulness, true accent, and propriety of expression, that he passed among the Jewish
doctors for a true Chaldean.
About the year 380 Jerome went to Constantinople, to study
the Scriptures under Gregory Nazianzcn, who was then bishop of
that city; but upon Gregory's leaving Constantinople in 381, he
returned into Palestine, from whence lie was soon afterward called
to Rome, where he was detained by Pope Damasus as his secretary, and employed by him in writing his letters, in answering the
consultations of bishops, and in other important affairs of the
church.
Jerome soon gained at Rome universal esteem for his piety,
learning, and eloquence; and many among the nobility, clergy,
and monks, sought to be instructed by him in the Holy Scriptures.
The illustrious Paula, Marcella, and other opulent and devout
ladies, profited also by his instructions, and became proficients in
Hebrew. Marcella, Paula, Blesilla, Eustochium, he tells us, could
read and recite with equal ease, the Psalter in the Hebrew, Greek,
and Latin tongues. One of his most useful letters is that addressed
to Laeta, wife of Toxotius, Paula's son, containing rules for the
education of her infant daughter. A few sentences from it may
induce the reader to examine the epistle itself.  "Let her be
brought up," says he, " as Samuel was in the temple, and the Baptist in the desert; in utter ignorance of vanity and vice. Let her
never hear, learn, or discourse of any thing but what may conduce
to the fear of God. Let her never hear bad words; but as soon
as she can speak, let her learn some parts of the Psalms. Let her
have an alphabet of little letters, made of box or ivory, the names
of all which she must know, that she may play with them, and that
learning may be made a diversion. When a little older, let her
form each letter in wax with her finger, guided by another's hand:
then let her be invited, by prizes and presents suited to her age, to
join syllables together, and to write the names of the patriarchs
down from Adam. Let her have companions to learn with her,
that she may be spurred on by emulation, and by hearing their
praises. She is not to be scolded or brow-beaten, if slower; but
to be encouraged, that she may rejoice to surpass, and be sorry to
see herself outstripped, and behind others; not envying their progress, but rejoicing at it, and admiring it, while she reproaches her
own backwardness. Great care is to be taken that she conceive
1




132                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
no aversion to studies, lest their bitterness remain in riper years.
A master must be found for her, who is a man both of virtue and
learning; nor will a great scholar think it beneath him to teach her
the first elements of letters, as Aristotle did Alexander the Great.
That is not to be conteinned, without which nothing great can be
acquired. Care is necessary that she never learn what she will
have afterward to unlearn. The eloquence of the Gracchi derived
its perfection from the mother's elegance and purity of language;
Alexander, the conqueror of the world, could never correct the
faults in his gait and manners, which he had learned in his childhood from his master Leonidas."
After the death of Damasus, which happened in December,
A. D. 384, Jerome returned to Palestine, and retired to Bethlehem, where Paula built a monastery for him, and where she also
founded a nunnery, of which she was the governess.  Being
obliged to enlarge his monastery, he sold an estate for that
purpose, which he still had in Dalmatia; and not only enlarged
the monastery, but also erected a hospital, in which he entertained strangers; and when many fled to Bethlehem, on the plundering of Rome by Alaric the Goth, in 410, he joyfully received
them, and afforded them every possible succour and comfort. In
this retreat he continued to pursue his studies with unwearied
diligence, and though considered as a master in the Hebrew, he
applied again to a famous Jewish rabbi, called Bar-Ananias, who
for a sum of money came to teach him in the night, that he might
not offend his brethren the Jews; and with indefatigable labour
he acquired also the Chaldee and the Syriac.  Toward the end
of life the studies of Jerome were interrupted by an incursion
of barbarians, who penetrated through Egypt into Palestine;
and some time afterward by the violence and ravages of the
Pelagians, who, after the council of Diospolis, in 416, relying
upon the protection of John of Jerusalem, sent the year following
a troop of seditious banditti to Bethlehem, who set fire to all the
monasteries, and reduced them to ashes, Jerome himself escaping
with difficulty, and being obliged to retire to a strong castle.
After the storm he resumed his labours, and continued them till
near his death, which was occasioned by a fever, on the 30th of
September, A. D. 420, in the ninetieth or ninety-first year of
his age.*
* Butler's Lives, vol. ix, Sep. 30, pp. 369-412. Milner's Hist. of the Church of
Christ, vol. ii, pp. 470-472. Hody, De Bibliorem Text. Orig., lib. iii, ch. ii, pp
350, 359, 360.
t




FOURTH CENTURY.                     133
Jerome was a man of a most vigorous mind, but of a haughty
spirit, and inclined to superstition; hence his numerous controversial writings are too frequently embittered by a sarcastic severity, unworthy a character so generally excellent; and many of
his theological treatises are alloyed by the superstitious senti
ments prevalent in that age. But as a Biblical critic and translator his fame is secured, and after the lapse of fourteen hundred
years remains undiminished in its lustre.  The revisions and
translation of the Latin Scriptures constitute his most important
labours. It is probable that he was first induced to examine the
accuracy of the old Latin, or Italic version, and to collate it with
the Septuagint, from which it was a translation, by a wish to
silence the cavils of the Jews, who were constantly objecting to
the Christians that their translations were inaccurate; to which
he was further urged by the importunity of several of his friends,
and particularly of Pope Damasus, by whom also he was commissioned to undertake a critical revision of the New Testament.
At first he only marked the variations of some of the books of the
Old Testament, especially the Psalms, from  the Greek and
Hebrew, by obeluses and asterisks, after the example of Origen;
but at length, convinced of the insufficiency of the Old Latin
version, even with all his own corrections and improvements;
and having also lost the greater part of the manuscripts which
contained the revision of the Old Testament, through the treachery of a person to whom they had been intrusted, and who
either secreted or destroyed them, he seriously set about making
a new one from the best Hebrew copies he could procure. This
he accomplished at different intervals, and rather by starts than a
continued labour, in the space of fifteen years, amidst many contradictions, reproaches, and bitter invectives. The four books of
Kings were first published in the year 391; soon after followed
the Prophets, then the books of Solomon, Job, the Psalms, Ezra,
Nehemiah, Chronicles, and last of all the Octateuch, viz., the
five books of Moses, and Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, about the
year 405. His qualifications for the work, and the peculiar
advantages he possessed as a translator of the Holy Scriptures,
are thus described by a late critic*: —"His learning, whether
sacred or profane, was not less extensive than Origen's; his
judgment and taste were more correct and exquisite. He had a
perfect knowledge of the Greek and Latin languages, and was
* Geddes's Prospectus of a New Translation of the Holy Bible, pp. 46, 47.
Glasgow, 1786, 4to.
1




134                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
sufficiently versed in the Hebrew. He had correct copies of tile
Hexapla, if not the autograph itself before him. He was at no
great distance from a famous school, (Tiberias,) of Jewish rabbins,
whom he might consult as he saw occasion. He had traversed
the land with his own feet, and seen with his own eyes the principal places mentioned in sacred history.  He was acquainted
with the manners and customs of the country. He knew its
plants, its animals, and its other productions.  With all these
advantages, and his superior talents, it was impossible he should
not succeed."
The critical revision of the NEW TESTAMENT he completed in
the year 392, or a few years earlier; the four Gospels having been
published before the death of Damasus. This revision of the
New Testament, with Jerome's translation of the Old, form the
ground work of the present VULG:TE, SO far as relates to the
canonical books, except that the Psalms of the Italic version have
been retained, and several corrections introduced in other parts
from Aquila, Theodotion, and Symmachus, as well as from the
Italic. Jerome also translated the books of Judith and Tobit from
the Chaldee, which form a part of the Vulgate copy of the
Apocrypha. His revision of the Psalms is sometimes used in the
services of the Roman Catholic Church, and has received the
name of the Gallican Psalter.
It has been justly observed, "that Jerome's version had the
fate of many considerable works of genius. It had warm advocates, particularly among the truly learned; and violent enemies,
particularly among the ignorant."  Lucinius Bceticus, a noble
Spaniard, and zealously attached to the Scriptures, sent six shorthand writers or copyists from Spain to Bethlehem, in 394, to take
copies of his version, and of his other works. Sophronius, at
whose request Jerome had translated some parts of the Hebrew
Scriptures into Latin, retranslated a part of his version into
Greek; and Augustine, who at first violently opposed the translation from the Hebrew, afterward so highly approved of it, that he
extracted those passages from it which composed his Speculum
or " Mirror," a work which contained a selection of the choicest
parts of Scripture, designed for those who were too poor to
purchase, or too engaged to read the whole of the sacred writings.
Yet nearly two hundred years elapsed before this translation
received the sanction of the church, many of the contemporaries
of Jerome regarding a translation from the Hebrew as a dangerous innovation: for, strange as it may appear, the Septuagint
I




FOURTH CENTURY.                      135
version was more respected in the Latin Church than the Hebrew
original. At that time the now exploded story of seventy-two
interpreters, all translating by divine inspiration, all translating
independently, yet each of them producing the same translation,
was firmly believed in the Latin as well as the Greek Church;
and this belief, united with a hatred of the Jews and an ignorance
of the Hebrew, gave to the Septuagint version a higher rank than
to the original itself. At the close of the sixth century Pope Gregory the Great gave to Jerome's translation the sanction of papal
authority, by acknowledging that he considered it as superior to
any other of the Latin versions, and therefore made use of it himself; and in a short time after, Isidore of Seville wrote, that all
churches made use of it. In the sixteenth century the VULGATE
was declared authentic by the popish council of Trent; and continues to be the only publicly authorized version of the Roman
Catholic Church.  Most of the first European translations were
made from it.
Jerome was a rapid and voluminous writer. The translation of
Tobit was finished in one day; and the three books of Solomon
lie calls " the work of three days." And besides his revisions and
translations of the Scriptures, lie was the author of Commentaries
on the Prophets, Ecclesiastes, Matthew, and the Epistles of Paul
to the Galatians and Ephesians, Titus and Philemon; of a History of Ecclesiastical Writers; of various treatises on different
subjects, and of a number of elegant and useful epistles.* The
editio princeps, or first printed edition of his works, was edited by
Erasmus, and printed by Frobenius, at Basle, in five volumes folio,
1516. The edition of D. Vallarsius, printed at Verona in eleven
volumes, 1734-42, is usually accounted the best.  The genuine
version of Jerome, from a beautiful manuscript at Paris, was published in 1693, by D. Martianay and D. Pouget, and forms the
first volume of the Benedictine edition of his works, in five vols.
folio.t
* On the revisions, and translations, &c., of Jerome the author has principally consulted Hody, De Bibl. Text. Orig., pt. ii, cap. ii, iii, iv.; Fabricy, Titres Primitifs, vol.
i, pp. 233-237, and vol. ii, pp. 92-124; Calmet, Dissertation sur la Vulgate; Marsh's
Lectures, lec. 4.
t Bibliog. Diet., vol. iv,




136                     BIBLICAL LITERATURE.
CHAPTER III.
FIFTH  CENTURY.
Armenian Version —3fesrobe-Nonnus-Eudoxia- Thleodosius-Lectionaria-Chrysography and illuminated MSS. —Ornamented Hebrew  MSS.-'Talmuds —Karaites-Irish Letters-St. Patrick-Irish Version.
THE  translation of the Scriptures into  the ARMENIAN  tongue
was executed nearly at the same period as the Latin version of Jerome, and illustriously distinguished the commencement of the
fifth century.  For this inestimable work, which La Croze calls
"'the queen  of versions," the Armenian Church  is indebted  to
M)esrobe, or Miesrob, minister of state, and secretary to Warasdates, and Arsaces IV., kings of Armenia. By some, indeed, it
has been supposed that Chrysostomn translated the whole, or part
of the Scriptures into Armenian; but the evidence is doubtful, and
no remains of such translation now exist. The version of Mesrobe
has continued in use among the Armenians ever since it was first
made, and many illustrious instances of enlightened piety occur
in their history.
In the seventeenth century manuscript copies of the Bible
were become so scarce in Armenia, that a single copy cost one
thousand two hundred livres, or fifty pounds.   Such being the
rarity of copies of the Scriptures, a council of Armenian bishops,
assembled in 1662, resolved to call in the art of printing, of which
they had heard in Europe. For this purpose they applied first to
France; but the Roman Catholic Church having refused their request, Uscan,* minister of Erivan, the seat of the Armenian patri* USCAN, or OSGeAN, the celebrated editor of the Armenian Bible, was a minister of
the gospel at Erivan, the capital of Persian Armenia. From the Armenian pronunciation of his name, he has sometimes been erroneously designated bishop of Yuschuaranch; from the place of his residence, bishop of Erivan; and from being confounded
with Garabeid Wartabied, the editor of the Armenian psalms, in 1666, Uscan Wartabied. He was sent to Europe about the year 1662, by Agopus (Jacobus) Caractri,
patriarch of the Armenians, for the purpose of having an edition of the Armenian
Scriptures printed under his inspection. According to the commission of the patriarch,
he went to Rome, where he remained fifteen months, and then removed to Amsterdam,
where he established an Armenian press, and printed the Bible, and other works in that
tongue. His chief assistant was Solomon de Leon, a deacon, his nephew, who afterward married a young lady at Marseilles; his printers' names were Etzmiatzneus and
Sergius. In 1669 Uscan obtained permission from the king of France to establish an Armenian printing office at Marseilles, under the restriction of printing nothing contrary to
the Catholic faith. The court of Rome immediately adopted every precaution to prevent
1




FIFTH CENTURY.                          137
arch, printed the Bible at Amsterdam, in 1666, in 4to., and an
edition of the New Testament in 1668, in 8vo., which was reprinted
in 1698 in a still smaller form.  A  second edition of this Bible
was published at Constantinople in 1705, 4to., and a third at Venice
in 1733, corrected by Mehitar, a monk of the monastery of St. Lazarus, which is esteemed by the Armenians to be the most correct.
Editions of the Psalms are said to have been published at Rome,
1565; Venice, 1642; Amsterdam, 1661, 1666, 1672, 1677; Marseilles, 1673; and Constantinople, without date; though Masch
doubts whether the Amsterdam edition of 1677 ever appeared, as
the Armenian press had been removed to Marseilles prior to that
date. But notwithstanding these editions, the Armenian Scriptures
had become so scarce by the close of the eighteenth century, that
Dr. Buchanan informs us, (Christian Researches, p. 245,) that in
Persia they bore no proportion to the Armenian population, and
that in India a copy was scarcely to be purchased at any price;
and in 1813 the committee of the Russian Bible Society report,
that copies of both the editions of the Armenian Bible were become so scarce, that " they were hardly to be found anywhere,"
and that in consequence of this scarcity of the Scriptures, they had
undertaken and completed an edition of five thousand copies of the
New Testament, at the Armenian printing office of St. Petersburg,
kept by the learned and reverend archdeacon of the Armenian
Church, Joseph Joannis, every sheet of which had been examined
by Joannis, the Armenian archbishop at Astrakan, to whom the
sheets had been sent as they came out of the press.*
Dr. Buchanan, in 1811, remarks respecting the Armenians, that
"they are to be found in every principal city of Asia, are the general merchants of the East, and are in a state of constant motion
any errors being inserted in the publications printed by the Armenians of Marseilles.
A written confession of faith was demanded from Uscan, and an Armenian priest, named
John Agolp, sent to watch the press. WVhile Uscan, who was a man of great prudence, lived, the printing establishment was conducted peaceably; but after his death,
which appears to have been before A. D. 1677, several lawsuits were commenced.
These being terminated, Solomon de Leon continued the establishment, but not without considerable uneasiness, occasioned by Thomas Herabied, an Armenian priest, who
had been appointed inspector of the press, in the place of John Agolp. The printing
establishment was finally transferred to Constantinople. See Simon, Letters Choisies
vol. ii, let. 22, 23, pp. 137-166. Le Long, edit. Masch, pt. ii, vol. i, sec. 9, pp. 175
176, 179. Clement, Bibliotheque Curieuse, vol. iii, p. 428.
* Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, pt. i, sec. 18, and pt. ii, pp. 615, 616. Butler's Horn
Biblicae, vol. i, p. 173. Twelfth Report of the B. and F. Bible Society, p. 106. Le
Long, edit. Masch, pt. ii, vol. i, sec. 9, pp. 173-181
1




138                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
from Canton to Constantinople. Their general character is that
of wealthy, industrious, and enterprising people. They are settled
in all the principal places of India, where they arrived many centuries before the English. Wherever they colonize, they build
churches, and observe the solemnities of the Christian religion in
a decorous manner.  Their ecclesiastical establishment in Itindostan is more respectable than that of the English. They have
three churches in the three capitals, one at Calcutta, one at Madras,
and one at Bombay; but they have also churches in the interior
of the country. The bishop sometimes visits Calcutta; but he is
not resident there. The proper country of these Christians is Armenia, the greater part of which is subject to the Persian government; but they are scattered all over the empire, the commerce
of Persia being chiefly conducted by Armenians. Their patriarch
resides at Erivan, not far from Mount Ararat. They retain their
ancient Scripture doctrines and worship, to this day."* When the
British envoy, Sir Harford Jones, was sent to the court of Persia,
in 1808 and 1809, he was met about four miles from Ispahan by
an advanced part of the inhabitants. " First came the merchants
of the city, in number about three hundred, all in their separate
classes. Then followed a deputation from the A rmenian clergy,
composed of the bishop and chief dignitaries, in their sacerdotal
robes. They carried silken banners, on which was painted the
passion of our Saviour. The bishop, a reverend old man with a
white beard, presented the EVANGELISTS, bound in crimson velvet,
to the envoy, and proceeded on with his attendant priests, chanting
their church service."t
MvESROBE, or MIESIOB, the author of the Armenian version, was
a native of Hasecas, in the province of Taron. His father, whose
name was Vardan, caused him to be educated in the sciences and
literature of the Greeks. Early in life he was appointed secretary
to the king, and notwithstanding the unsettled and ruinous situation
of the national affairs, executed his official duties with extraordinary ability and prudence.  But being f6nd of retirement, and
desirous of devoting himself entirely to the practice of religious
duties, he retired from office, and withdrew into another province.
The vigorous mind of Mesrobe was not, however, to be satisfied
with mere monastic exercises; instead therefore of confining himself to the cell, or the desert, he successfully attempted the conversion of various idolatrous sects then subsisting in Armenia, and
* Christian Researches, pp. 242, 243.
t Morier's Journey through Persia, &c., p. 161. Lond., 1812, 4to.
1




FIFTH CENTURY.                     139
the adjacent countries.  In this arduous and pious undertaking, a
chief difficulty was the want of Armenian characters to express his
ideas in writing, and afford the people the advantage of written instruction; the Armenians having at that time no letters peculiar
to their own language, but making use either of the Persian, or
Syrian, or Greek. To remove this obstacle to the progress of the
gospel, as well as to render an essential service to the state, by
enabling the secretaries to transact their business without having
recourse, as formerly, to the Persian letters, he employed himself
assiduously to the invention of characters suited to the pronunciation and genius of his native tongue. In this project he was sanctioned by the sovereign and the bishops; and in particular by
Isaac, the great patriarch of Armenia.  To accomplish his design
he applied to most of the learned men of his day, and among others
to a Syrian bishop, called Daniel, who professed to have already
formed a set of characters suited to the Armenian tongue; but
which,.on examination, proved to be radically defective. Disappointed in his expectations of assistance, he is said to have betaken
himself to prayer, and in a vision to have seen a hand describing
on a stone certain figures, by the recollection of which, he with
Ruphan, an anchoret, who was eminently skilled in the Greek,
completed the formation of the Armenian alphabet.*
Suitable characters being invented, Mesrobe applied himself to
the translation of the sacred Scriptures, commencing with the
book of Proverbs.  This translation Isaac, the patriarch of Armenia, and he, made from the Syriac; Meruzen, a Persian general,
and an enemy to the Christians, hlaving ordered all the books
written in Greek to be destroyed, that no other letters might be
used than the Persian; and the Persian governors not permitting
even the Greeks who lived in their part of Armenia to use any
other language than the Syriac. Having completed his version
of the Scriptures, Mesrobe travelled into various provinces, and,
penetrating into Iberia and Albania, was singularly successful in
establishing schools for the instruction of youth, and, by the transcriptions furnished by his disciples and scholars, extensively diffusing the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures.
Isaac and Mesrobe engaged a second time in a translation of the
Scriptures from the Syriac, in order to render the Armenian version still more perfect. But having afterward received from the
council of Ephesus a correct copy of the Greek Bible, they cheer* For the Armenian alphabet, see plate 1.
I




140                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
fully submitted to the task of again translating what they had
translated twice before. In this last version they were assisted
by Ml/oses of Chorene, the celebrated historian, whom they sent
with others to the famous school of Alexandria to obtain more perfect knowledge of the Greek, that nothing might be wanting to the
perfection of their translation. Such being the care bestowed by
these Armenians, it is no wonder that they succeeded in their endeavours, and produced a version superior to most others.
After a life spent in unwearied exertions to promote the diffusion
of the gospel and the circulation of the Scriptures, Mesrobe died a
few months after his friend the great Isaac, in the city of Valarsapatain, in the first year of the reign of Isdegird, king of Persia,
and was honourably buried at Asacan.  Moses of Chorene, hiis
disciple and coadjutor, describes him as being " handsome in person and elegant in manners; at once free from haughtiness and
meanness; mild and benevolent in disposition; sound in judgment
and eloquent in speech; cautious and prudent, yet firm and persevering in duty; indefatigable in teaching; skilled in reproving;
patient, faithffil, and sincere in all his conduct."*
Theodoret, a Syrian bishop, who lived at the beginning of the
fifth century, speaks of the existence of other translations besides
those we have noticed; but we have no fragments of them remaining, nor any account of the translators.  His words are: "The
Hebrew books are not only translated into the language of the
Grecians, but also of the Romians, the Indians, Persians, Arnie-:,iains, Scyzhians, Sarmatians, Efgyptiatzs, and, in a word, into all
the languages that are used by any nation."t
But, notwithstanding our ignorance of some of those translations
of which Theodoret speaks, several important facts induce us to
believe that during this century considerable attention was paid to
the sacred writings.  Nonnus, a native of Panapolis, in Egypt,
who lived about A.D. 410, was the author of a Paraphrase of
St. John's Gospel, in Greek hexameter verse; a work from whence
various readings have been carefully selected by Mill, Bengel,
Wetstein, and Griesbach.  It has been frequently printed.  The
best edition is by D. Heinsius, with a Latin translation, in octavo,
printed at Leyden, 1627.
The empress Eudoxia, or Eudocia, may also be ranked among
the Biblical scholars of this age. She was the daughter of Leon* Moses Chorenensis, Hist. Armen., lib. iii, cap. xlvii, lii, liii, liv, lx, lxvii, et Pref.
Loend. 1736, 4to.
t Sixt. Senens, lib. iv. Usserii Hist. Dogmat. de Script. Vernacul., p. 53.
1




FIFTH CENTURY.                      141
tius, a Gentile philosopher, and received a learned education.
Being engaged in a lawsuit with her brothers respecting a share
in the patrimonial estate, she carried her cause personally by
appeal to Constantinople, where she obtained the friendship of
Pulcheria, sister to Theodosius II. Embracing Christianity, she
was baptized by the name of Eudoxia, or Eudocia, her former
name being Athenais; and was soon afterward married to the
emperor. Their union lasted a considerable time; but the machinations of Chrysapius creating jealousy in the emperor, Eudoxia
retired to Jerusalem, where she spent many years in erecting and
adorning churches, and relieving the poor. Cave assures us she
was afterward reconciled to the emperor, returned to Constantinople, and continued with him till his death; after which she revisited Palestine, and spent the remainder of her days in works of
piety. On her death-bed she took a solemn oath that the suspicions of Theodosius respecting her chastity were utterly groundless. She died A.D. 459.
She wrote a poetical Paraphrase of the Octateuch, or first eight
books of the Bible; and another Paraphrase, in prose, of the Prophecies of Daniel and Zechariah.  Photius says, she adhered so
sacredly to the original text in these paraphrases, neither adding
nor changing any thing, that they might justly be accounted legitimate versions of the sacred books. She also wrote the Histories
of St. Cyprian and of Justina, in heroic verse, besides a Life of
Christ, and other poetical works.
The emperor Theodosius himself, a prince of retired and literary
habits, devoted much of his time to the transcription and adorning
of the sacred books; and was so fair and elegant a writer, that he
obtained the name of Calligraphes, or " the fair writer."  In particular, he is said to have written a copy of the Gospels with his
own hand, in letters of gold, and to have devoted his days and
nights to the study of the Scriptures.* Where the sovereigns
themselves set so pious an example, the people were sure to
imitate them.  The CODEX BEZAe, or Codex Cantabrigiensis,
which is supposed to have been written during this century,t may
possibly, therefore, have been written in the reign of Theodosius.
The selection and appointment of proper lessons to be read in the
churches on all holydays, whether saints' days or others, is also
referred to this century. The Scriptures had indeed been read
* Gibbon's Roman Empire, vol. v, p. 420, 8vo. Blanchini Evangel. Quadrup., vol.
ii, part ii, fol. DxcII. Rom. fol. Cavei Hist. Lit. Saec., vol. v, p. 312.
t Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, part ii, p. 720.
1




142                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
publicly from the earliest ages of Christianity, but selections for
general devotion date their commencement only from about the
year 450, for in that year Claudianus Mamercus composed' a
Kalendar, or Lectionarium, for the church of Vienna; and Musceus, a priest of Massilia, (now Marseilles,) applied himself to
compose one for that church in 480, at the request of Bishop Venerius. Both these are now lost, and the oldest extant is the
Lectionariumn  Gatlicanum, published by Mabillon, from a manuscript which he supposed to be above a thousand years old.*
About the same time Scripture histories began to be painted upon
the walls of the churches, which Paulinus, bishop of Nola, who
first commenced the practice in the church of St. Felix, called
"the books of the ignorant."t At this period none were permitted
to sit in the time of divine service, especially during the reading
of the Scriptures5 but those who were unable to stand on account
of old age or infirmity: and so sacred were the Scriptures accounted, that even private Christians washed their hands before
they read the Bible; and in the Eastern churches lights were
carried before the Gospels when they were going to be read.
Asterius, bishop of Amasia, in Natolia, about the commencement
of this century, in his homily on Dives and Lazarus, describes
the Grecians as wearing garments with various figures upon them,
so that, walking in public, they seemed like painted walls: " You
see there lions, panthers, bears, bulls, dogs, woods, rocks, and
hunters."   Others of the more devout had Scripture histories
woven in themt: "You may there also see the marriage of Galilee
and the water-pots; the paralytic man carrying his bed upon his
shoulders; the blind man cured by being anointed with clay; the
woman with the bloody flux touching the hem of Christ's garment;
the woman who was a sinner falling at the feet of Jesus; Lazarus
returning from the sepulchre to life; Christ and all his disciples,
and all the miracles lie wrought.":  Superstitious, however, as
some of the preceding practices may appear, they sufficiently
evince the profound reverence which the Christians entertained
for the sacred writings, and the high estimation in which copies
of them would be held by those who could procure them.
Similar esteem for the inspired volumes produced those magniIBingham's Antiquities, &c., vol. vi, p. 41G6. Wheatley's Illustration of the Book
of Common Prayer, ch. iii, p. 141, folio.
+ Butler's Lives of the Saints, vol. vi, p. 310.
B Bingham's Antiquities, vol. vi, p. 427. Wheatley's Illustration, ch. iii, p. 144.
F. Combefis, Graco-Ilat. Patrumn Novum Auctarium, vol. i, pp. 2, 3. Paris, 1648, fol.




FIFTH CENTURY.                       143
ficent specimens of CHRYSOGRAPHY and of ILLUMINATION, or ornamental decorations of Biblical manuscripts, which, though founl
in writings of later ages, were most frequent in the fourth and
fifth centuries. Jerome, who lived in the fourth century, mentions
that there were in his time books written on parchment of a purple
colour, in letters of gold and silver; and that whole books were
written in large characters, such as are commonly used at the
beginning of sentences, and called lolcial, initial, or capital letters.*
In the Imperial library at Vienna there is a famnous MS. fragment
of the book of Genesis and of the Gospel of St. Luke, generally
allowed to be at least fourteen hundred years old. It is written
upon purple vellum, in letters of gold and silver, and consists of
twenty-six leaves, adorned with forty-eight pictures in water
colours.  Dr. Holmes published a copy of this MS. in 1795; and
the pictures are engraven in volume third of the catalogue of
Lambecius, printed at Vienna in 1670.t  There is also a small
fragment of a MS. of the New Testament in the Cottonian library
in the British Museum, written on papyrus, (charta iEgyptiaca,) or
on paper of a puiple colour; and Wcetstcin assures us that he himself had seen two Psalters, the one Greek, preserved in the library
of Zurich, the other Latin, kept in the monastery of St. Germain,
at Paris, both written upon purple or red parchment, or paper.+
In the history of the emperors of Constantinople, mention is
made of chrysographi, or writers in letters of gold, an employment
which appears to have been deemed honourable.  Simeon Logotheta says of the emperor Artemius, that before he came to the
empire he was a chrysographus, or writer in letters of gold; gold
letters being very early used in titles and capitals of books, and
sometimes whole books being written in letters of gold.~ D'Herbelot observes, that several of the works of the most excellent
Arab poets who flourished before the times of Mohammedanism
were called Al A'oallacat, that is, suspended, because they were
successively affixed, by way of honour, to the Caaba, or gate of
the temple of Mecca; and also Al iModhahebat, which signifies
gilded, because they were written in letters of gold upon Egyptian
paper:1] and Harmer conjectures that the 16th, 56th, 57th, 58th,
* Hieronymi Opera, in Lib. Job. Prrfat., vol. iv, fol. 10. Basil. 1506.
~ Astle's Origin and Progress of WTriting, ch. v, p. 71.
t Wetsteinii Proleg., cap. i, p. 1, et cap. ii, p. 16. Amnstel. 1730, 4to. Du Cange,
Glossar. v. "Membraneum Purpureum."
~ Montfaucon's Antiquity explained, vol. iii, ch. iv, p. 220, fol.
II D'Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orientale, p. 591. Mlaestricht, fol.
1




144                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
59th, and 70th Psalms are distinguished by the epithet MICHTAMI,
or golden, on account of their having been, on some occasion or
other, written in letters of gold, and hung up in the sanctuary, or
elsewhere.*  Among the Harleian MSS. in the British Museum
is a noble exemplar of the four Gospels, in capital letters of gold,
written in the eighth century: every page of the sacred text, consisting of two separate columns, is enclosed within a broad and
beautifully illuminated border: the pictures of the evangelists,
with their symbolic animals, are curiously painted in the front of
their respective Gospels; the initial letter of each Gospel is richly
illuminated, and so large as to fill an entire page: to the whole are
prefixed the prologues, arguments, and breviaries; two letters of
Jerome to Damasus; the canons of Eusebius; his letters to Carpian; and a capitular of the Gospels for the course of the year;
all of them written in small golden characters.t In 670, the famous
Wilfrid, among other donations for decorating the church of Rippon, ordered a copy of the four Gospels to be written for it, in
letters of the purest gold, upon leaves of parchment, pulrpled in
the ground, and coloured variously upon the surface: but that
such copies were extremely rare, especially in England, is evident
from Bede speaking of it as a kind of prodigy, unheard of before
in those days.T
The reason for thus preparing the skins of vellum or parchment,
and staining them purple, was to render the appearance of the gold
and silver letters more brilliant and splendid.  Casiri (Biblioth.
Arabico-Hispanra, p. 9) says that he had seen many instances in
which the lustre of the parchment, whether stained red or black,
was such that it reflected objects like a mirror. But this expensive
and magnificent mode of writing was appropriated chiefly to those
copies designed for princes or nobles; hence Theonas (tom. xii,
Spicil, p. 549) admonishes Lucian, the grand chamberlain, not to
permit copies to be written upon purple vellum, in gold or silver
letters, unless specially required by the prince. It was also principally confined to the transcription of the sacred books, which
were thus executed to induce the greater reverence for them.
Boniface, bishop of Mentz, the apostle of Germany, in the eighth
century, gives this intimation in his epistle to the abbess Eadburga: "I entreat you," says he, "to send me the Epistles of the
apostle St. Peter, written in letters of gold, that by exhibiting them,
* Clarke's Harmer's Observations, vol. iii, p. 150.
t Selection of curious Articles from Gent. Mag., vol. ii, p. 19.
t Whitaker's Cathedral of Cornwall, vol. i, p. 111. Lond. 1804, 4to.
1




FIFTH CENTURY.                     145
in preaching, to the eyes of the carnal, I may procure the greater
honour and reverence for the Holy Scriptures." Such was the
book of the Gospels, written in letters of gold, which Lewis the
Pious gave to the monastery of St. Medard, at Soissons, and now
in the royal library of France. Of the same kind is the book of
the Gospels belonging to the church of the Blessed Mary, at
Rheims. To which may be added the legacies of Count Everard,
who bequeathed to his son Berengarius a Psalter written with gold,
and to Adelard a Lectionary of the Epistles and Gospels, written
also with gold. Princes sometimes caused their usual books of
prayer to be written in this manner; such, for instance, is the
beautiful one written in letters of gold, upon purple vellum, bound
in ivory, and studded with gems, preserved in the celebrated Colbertine library, formerly belonging to Charles the Bald; and another very similar work, belonging to the same prince, written on
vellum, and executed in letters of gold, formerly preserved in the
Parthenon of Zurich, but now in the Imperial library. This latter
work was edited at Ingolstadt, in 1585, by Felix, bishop of Scala,
who observes, that there is also a book of the Gospels, of the age
of Charles the Bald, written in letters of gold, preserved in the
church of St. Emmeran, at Ratisbon.*
That the practice of writing with solutions of gold and silver is
a most ancient one is proved by various other instances besides
those already adduced. The copy of the sacred books sent -to
Ptolemy by the high priest Eleazar, and presented to him by the
seventy-two interpreters, was written upon the finest vellum in
letters of gold; and Matthew Paris, in his " History of the Abbey
of St. Albans," relates, that during the abbacy of Eadmer, the
ninth abbot, a number of workmen being employed to erect a
church on the site of the ancient city Verolamium, as they were
digging the foundation, they discovered the remains of an ancient
palace, and found, in a hollow part of one of the walls, several
small books and rolls, one of which, written in a language not
understood, was most beautifully ornamented with the title and
inscriptions in letters of gold. It was covered with oaken boards,
and tied with silken bands, and in a great measure retained its
pristine strength and beauty, uninjured either in its form or writing
by the length of time it had lain undiscovered. M. Paris adds,
that after much inquiry they found a learned man, but decrepit
with age, whose name was Unwoman, who understood and read
*Blanchini Evangel. Quadrup., vol. ii, part ii, fol. DXCII. See also Dibdin's Biographical Decameron, vol. i, p. xxxi. Lond. 1817, 8vo.
VOL. I. —1O




146                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
distinctly the writing both of that and of all the other books, and
from whom they learned that they were written in the language
of the ancient Britons, at the time they inhabited Warlamcestre.
They also found the Life of St. Alban, written in Latin.*
Diplomatic instruments were likewise sometimes executed in
letters of gold. " Among these," says Mabillon, " I find a charter of
Aripert, king of the Lombards, confirming the gift of the patrimonial
estate of Alpius Cottiarus, ordered to be written in letters of gold."
This is related by Paul Warnefrid, in his History of the Lombards.
Another charter, executed in a similar manner in the reign of Edgar, is mentioned by the author of the Mionasticon Anglicanum,
tom. i, p. 211. Puricellus, in his work on the antiquity of the
church of St. Ambrose, at Milan, assures us that the originals of
the charters of the kings Hugo and Lotharius were written in
golden letters; and that these, as well as other charters of different
kings and emperors, executed in characters of gold upon the skins
of fishes, are still extant among the archives of the church.t
The art of writing in letters of gold was called chrysographia.
In the royal library at Paris there is a Greek work, (formerly
No. 618,) written in the low and vulgar style of the latter ages,
bearing the title IIept Xpvaoypap'tar, in which the art of preparing
the golden liquid for writing is explained. Lambecius and Montfaucon notice other works upon the same subject; and Peignot, in
his Essai sur l'HIistoire du Parchernin et du Velin, gives several
different processes for liquefying gold, &c.T It has even been
conjectured that the celebrated Argonautic expedition was undertaken to obtain a work written on skins, containing a treatise on
the art of writing in gold letters.~
The purple colour most esteemed by the ancients, and considered as of the highest value, was of a dark cast, as deep as
bull's blood, and had a strong smell; it was restrained to the
" person and palace of the emperor; and the penalties of treason
were denounced against the ambitious subjects who dared to
usurp the prerogative of the throne. But there were also other
colours denominated purple, one of them approaching our scarlet,
another nearly violet; there was even a white colour which bore
* Blanchini, Evangel. Quadrup., ubi sup.
t Mabillon, De re Diplomatica, lib. i; viii, p. 44. Peignot, Essai sur Parchemin,
pp. 77-83.
t Blanchini, ubi sup.. Suidae Lex. v. Aepar., edit. Kuster. Chandler's Defence of the Prime Ministry
of Joseph, p. 448.
1                       10*




FIFTH CENTURY.                      147
the name of purple."* Anastasius (in AVersione Concilii vi, Actione x) calls the purple " saffron colour, or yellow." " The term
purple," says Laurentius a Turra, "is not confined to those
Codices or copies which are of a scarlet or red colour, but it is
also used to denote a violet colour, of which I have seen a very
large number; such, for instance, are two preserved in the
library of St. Germain, one of them a Latin Psalter, the other
the Gospel of St. Matthew.  The latter is written from  the
beginning to the end in most beautiful characters of gold.  I have
also seen another of the same sort, in the royal library at Naples,
(S. Joannis de Carbonaria,) and many others, the first pages of
which were of a purple or violet colour."t
Since the invention of printing this mode of writing has been
imitated, by printing upon paper of different colours. At the sale
of M. Renouard, in 1804, a Hebrew Bible without points, printed
by Plantin, at Antwerp, in 8vo., upon yellow paper, sold for
nineteen livres; a Latin Bible also was printed at Nuremberg, in
1629, on yellow  paper.  Count M'Carthy lately possessed  a
Greek New Testament, in 16mo., printed in 1587 upon lemoncoloured paper; and an Armenian New Testament, in two vols.,
12mo., printed upon blue paper.1 Some works have also been
printed in golden letters by M. Crapelet; and proposals have
been issued for an edition of Magna Charta, (from the original
MS. deposited in the British Museum,) to be executed in burnished gold letters, on royal purple satin, and on superfine vellum
paper, by the inventor, Mr. John WThitaker.~
It was not only by the chrysographic mode of writing that the
ancient Christians ornamented their manuscript copies of the
Scriptures, they also frequently embellished them, at an immense
expense, with  liniatures and other paintings, collectively termed
ILLUMINATIONS.  In the Harleian library there is deposited a
MS. of the four Gospels of St. Jerome's version, together with
his prologues, &c., the canons of Eusebius, and the parallel passages, written in letters of gold, in the tenth century.  This
manuscript is superbly illuminated, and adorned with pictures of
the following subjects, painted upon purple grounds, viz., before
the Gospel of St. Matthew, in a circle, are first, the representation
* Gibbon's Roman Empire, vol. vii, ch. xl, p. 90, 8vo. Goguet, Origine des Loix,
et des Arts, pt. ii, liv. ii, ch. ii, pp. 196-198.
+ Blanchini, ubi sup.
t Peignot, Repertoire de Bibliographies speciales., 8vo., 1810, pp. 156, 175, 178.
~ Horne's Introduction to Bibliography, vol. i, p. 225.
1




148                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
of our Saviour, sitting as enthroned, holding in his right hand the
book of the New Law, that of the Old Law lying in his lap, with
the four evangelists in the angles, kneeling; secondly, our Saviour
standing, with St. John resting his head on his bosom; thirdly,
the portrait of St. Matthew; and fourthly, the salutation of the
Virgin. Before St. Mark's Gospel are the portrait of that evangelist and the salutation of the Virgin Mary. At the beginning
of St. Luke's Gospel are his portrait and the crucifixion of our
Saviour; and before the Gospel of St. John are the picture of
that evangelist and the ascension of our Lord.* In the same rich
collection, as well as in the other principal libraries in Europe,
are many other beautifully executed and superbly illuminated
MSS. of the Gospels, Psalms, and other parts of the sacred writings, forming altogether an invaluable treasure. In Blanchini's
Evangeliarium Quadruplex, p. 2, vol. ii, fol. DXCIII, is a list of
the principal illuminated MSS. of the Scriptures, preserved in the
different European libraries.
The practice of thus illuminating manuscripts with paintings is
of the most remote date. In an ancient Egyptian MS. on papyrus, taken from a mummy at Thebes, and brought into England
by William Hamilton, Esq., and presented by him to the Britishl
Museum, the writing, which is from right to left, is divided into
five columns, the first of which is imperfect; each column is
accompanied by a drawing, which represents one or more objects
of Egyptian adoration.t  The time and patience which were
required to execute the illuminations of some manuscripts is truly
astonishing. Fifty years were sometimes employed to complete
a single volume; an evidence of which occurred at the sale of the
late Sir WM. Burrell's books, in 1796. Among these was a MS.
Bible, beautifully written on vellum, and illuminated, which had
taken the writer, Guido de Jars, half a century to execute. He
began it in his fortieth year, and did not finish it until he had
accomplished his ninetieth, in the year 1294, in the reign of
Philip the Fair, as appeared by the writer's own autograph at the
front of the book.t The art of illuminating manuscripts was
much practised by the clergy, and even by some in the highest
stations of the church, especially during the middle ages. Writers or transcribers of books first finished their part, and the
illuminators then embellished them; and in the infancy of the
* Selection of curious articles from Gent. Mag., vol. ii, p. 20.
t Beloe's Anecdotes of Literature, vol. i, pp. 54, 55.
t Lemoine's Typographical Antiquities, p. 1.




FIFTH CENTURY.                       149
art of printing the first letter of a book or chapter was frequently
left blank, for the purpose of being illuminated at the option of
the purchaser.
Gerhard Tychsen, professor of philosophy and Oriental literature, at Rostock, has attempted to furnish a rule by which to distinguish the Hebrew MSS. written and illuminated by Christians,
from those executed by Jews. He observes, that all MSS. of the
Masorah or Jewish criticisms, with figures of dragons, sphinxes,
bears, hogs, or any other of the unclean animals; all MSS. of the
Old Testament, with the Vulgate translation, or corrected to it,
or to the Septuagint version; all MSS. not written with black ink,
or in which there are words written in golden letters, or where the
words, or the margin is illuminated; and all MSS. where the
word ADONAI is written instead of the word JEHOVAH, were written by Christians, and not by Jews.* Professor Michaelis, however, warmly controverts the former part of these observations,
and affirms, "The Jewish MSS. of the Bible are often ornamented with figures of animals, plants, trees, sphinxes, &c., from
which none but a Tychsen will ever infer that these MSS. were
made not by Jews, but by monks. (See Joseph. Bell. Jud.,
v, 5, 4.-Antiq., xv, 11, 3.)  He, however, is the first man upon
the face of the earth who has entertained such an opinion i for
before he told them, mankind did not know that the monks of the
middle ages were such eminent Hebrweans; and the Jews recognise those copies of the Hebrew Scriptures that are thus bedaubed
with figures as of Jewish workmanship."t In another part of the
same work he says, " On the triumphal arch of Titus Vespasian,
we have yet extant a representation of the sacred candlestick, as
carried in his triumph, (see Reland, De Spoliis templi Hierosolymitani in Arcu Titiano Rome conspicuis, p. 6, where is given a
plate as well as a description,) the foot of which is formed of
sphinxes. In still later times we find some MSS. of the Bible
of which the large initial capital letters are ornamented with
figures of sphinxes and lions.  (See an instance on the plate
at p. 604 of Blanchini Evangeliarium  Quadruplex, p. ii, t. ii."t~)
Some beautiful specimens of ornamental Hebrew printing may
*Tentamen de variis Codicum Hebraorum Veteris Testamenti MSS. Rostock,
1772, cited in Butler's Horae Biblicae, vol. i, p. 44.
t Michaelis's Commentaries on the Laws of Moses, translated by Alexander Smith,
D. D., vol. iv, p. 54.
t Michaelis, ut sup., vol. iii, p. 225.
1 These specimens are engraved in plate 3 of the present work.
1




150                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
be seen In Dibdin's Bibliographical Decameron, vol. ii, pp.
317, 318.
The substitution of ADONAI for JEHOVAH in the Hebrew manuscripts has arisen out of the superstitious reverence of the Jews
for the TETRAGRAMMATON, or word of four letters, as it is frequently termed, from being formed of the four consonants J. H.V. H.
The name JEHOVAH imports necessary or self existence, and is
expressive of the incommunicable nature of the divine Being: on
this very account it is forbidden to be read by the Jews, who instead of it read ADONAI, or Lord, a term denoting authority or
dominion. The Septuagint also has employed the word Kyrios,
of similar import with Adonai, probably from the superstitious
opinion of the Jews; and the writers of the New Testament, who
wrote in Greek, have so far conformed to the usage of their countrymen, that they have never introduced this name into their
writings. The generality of Christian translators have in this
imitated their practice. Our own, in particular, have only in four
places of the Old Testament used the name JEHOVAH; in all other
places, which are almost innumerable, they render it THE LORD.
But, for distinction's sake, when this word corresponds to JEHOvAH, it is printed in capitals.* Still we cannot but regret that any
other word has been substituted, since many passages are thereby
obscured to the common reader which would otherwise have
clearly identified the person of the Redeemer with the INCOMMUNICABLE NAME, and shown more clearly the Godhead of the everadorable Saviour.
Origen, Jer'tme, and Eusebius, mention that in their day the
Jews wrote the name JEHOVAh, in their copies of the Scriptures,
in the ancient Samaritan characters, and not in the Chaldee or
common Hebrew letters, in order to conceal it more fiully from
other nations.t It was also in the ancient Hebrew or Samaritan
letters that the ineffable name was embossed on the gold plate of
the high priest's mitre. The modern Jews either use the word
Adonci, or express the name by circumlocution, as "The name
of four letters," " The ineffable name," &c., or else make use of
symbols, as two Yods, or (J's,) or three Yods in a circle, and
sometimes three radii or points.t They assure us, that after the
Babylonish captivity it was never pronounced but by the high
priest, and by him only once a year, on the great day of expiation,
* Campbell's Translation of the Four Gospels, Prelim. Dissert. 7.
t Calmet, Dict. de la Bible, "Jehovah."
t Maurice's Indian Antiquities, vol. i, p. 127; and vol. iv, p. 581.
l




FIFTH CENTURY.                     151
and then so as not to be heard by the people; and that after the
destruction of Jerusalem it was never pronounced, so that the true
pronunciation of it is now lost, and cannot be recovered till their
restoration to the holy city, when it will be taught them by the
Messiah. They do not even scruple to affirm, that he wvho should
know how rightly to pronounce the word would be able to work
the most stupendous miracles; that it was by pronouncing this
name that Moses slew the Egyptian; and by its being written
upon his rod that he was enabled to perform his wonders before
Pharaoh. And some of them, in the heat of opposition to Christianity, have ventured to declare that Jesus stole this name out of
the temple, secreted it, and by it wrought his miracles.*  So great
is the blindness which hath happened unto Israel!
The chief part of the doctrines and opinions of the Jews is to be
found in those voluminous compilations, THE TALMUDns. There
are two Talmuds, one called the Jerusalem Talmud, the other the
Babylonish Talmud. The Jerusalem  Talmud, compiled principally for the Jews of Palestine, was composed about A. D. 250.
The principal, or Babylonish Talmud, was begun by Rabbi Asseh,
and completed by his successors about A. D. 500. The Talmuds
are divided into two parts, the Mishna and the Gemara. The
MISHNA is the oral Law, which the Jews say GOD delivered to
Moses on Sinai, as explanatory of the written Law. These unwritten traditionary explanations were delivered, say they, by Moses
to Joshua, by Joshua to the elders, and so on to the year of Christ
150, or, according to others, 190; when Rabbi Judah Hakkadosh,
or the Holy, collected all the traditions, and committed them to
writing, that they might not be lost. These are the " traditions"
which our Saviour condemned as destructive of the law of God.
Mark vii, 7-13. The English reader who is desirous to see a
specimen of the vain and frivolous distinctions attributed to the
Father of lights by the Talmudical writers, may indulge his curiosity by perusing the translation of two of the Misnic titles, viz.,
"On the Sabbath," and "Sabbatical Mixtures, "  published by Dr.
Wotton in his " Miscellaneous Discourses relating to the Traditions
and Usages of the Scribes and Pharisees, &c.," vol. ii. The GEMARA, or Completion, as it is called, contains the commentaries
and additions of succeeding rabbins.  "The Mishna," says a
Jewish writer, "is the text, and the Gemara the comment; and
* Maimonidis More Nevochim, pt. i, ch. lxi, lxii, p. 106. Basil, 1629, 4to. Wagenseilii Tela Ignea in Lib. TOLDOS IESCHU, p. 6. Altdorf, 1681, 4to. Kennicott's Dissertation on 1 Chronicles, ch. xi, &c., p. 321.
1




152                 BIBLICAL LITERA CURE,
both together is what we call the Talmud;" a word signifying
doctrine, or teaching.*
Surenhusius published the Mishna, with a Latin translation, in
six volumes folio, at Amsterdam, in 1698.
So great is the estimation in which the TALMUD is held by the
Jews, that the rabbinical writers frequently prefer it to the SCRIPTURES! They compare "the Scriptures to water, the Mishna to
wine, and the Talmud, or Gemara, to aromatic spices."  "The
oral Law," say they, "is the foundation of the written Law;" and
they exhort their disciples to "attend rather to the words of the
scribes than to the words of the Law."  "The words of the
scribes," say they, "are lovely, above the words of the Law; for
the words of the Law are weighty and light, but the words of the
scribes are all weighty."  And again, "The words of the elders
are weightier than the words of the prophets."t But enough of
such blasphemies!
Very differently were the Talmudical collections estimated by
several popes, who, too suspicious of their baneful tendency, and
too violent in their measures, instituted processes by which immense numbers of Jewish writings were destroyed. In 1230
Gregory IX. condemned the Talmudical volumes, and ordered
them  to be burned.  In 1244 Innocent IV. adopted the same
measures. At a later period, when, by the invention of printing,
copies of the Talmud had been greatly multiplied, Julius III., by
a new edict, ordered inquiry to be made after them, and all the
copies that could be met with in all the cities of Italy to be seized
and burned, while the Jews were celebrating the feast of the
Tabernacles, in September, A.D. 1553; and, according to the
calculation of the Romish Inquisition, twelve thousand volumes
of the Talmud were committed to the flames by order of his successor, Paul IV.t
The Jerusalem Talmud was printed at Venice, by Dan. Bornberg, about the year 1523, in one volume folio; and afterward,
with marginal notes, at Cracow, in 1609.
The Babylonish Talmud has been printed several times. The
principal editions are those of Bomberg, in twelve volumes folio,
printed at Venice in 1520; and of Bebenisti, in quarto, printed at
Amsterdam in 1644.
* Levi's Rites and Ceremonies of the Jews, p. 301. Leusdeni Philologus HebraoNixtus, Diss. 12, 13, 14, 15.
t Lightfoot's Horae Heb. and Talmud., Works, vol. ii, p. 199.
t Leusdeni Philolog. Hebraeo-Mixt., Diss. 15, p. 105.
1




FIFTH CENTURY.                     153
Besides the Mishna, the Jews pretend to have received from the
divine Author of the Law another and more mystical interpretation
of it. This mystical exposition they term CABBALk, a word signifying tradition, or reception, and designed to intimate that this
mystical comment was received from GOD by Moses, who transrmitted it orally to posterity.  The 1Mishna, say they, explains the
manner in which the rites and ceremonies of the Law are to be
performed; but the Cabbala teaches the mysteries couched under
those rites and ceremonies, and hidden in the words and letters of
the Scriptures. They give as an instance the precepts relating to
phylacteries.  The Mishna teaches the materials of which they
are to be prepared, the form  in which they are to be made, and
the manner in which they are to be worn; but the Cabbala, shows
the mystical reasons of these directions, and informs them why
the slips of parchment are to be enclosed in a black calf skin, in
preference to any other colour; why the phylacteries for the head
are to be separated into four divisions; why the letters written
upon them are to be of such a particular form, &c., &c. They
divide this mystical science into thirteen different species, and, by
various transpositions, abbreviations, permutations, combinations,
and separations of words, and from the figures and numerical
powers of letters, imagine the Law sufficient to instruct the Cabbalistic adept in every art and science.* Happy would it have
been for the Christian church had the Cabbalistic doctors of the
Jews been the only interpreters of Scripture who had substituted
their own fancies for the word of God!
It is the excellent remark of one of the best Jewish writers,
and deserves the attention of every expositor of the sacred
writings, "That in explaining the Scriptures, and especially the
parables, the general scope and intention of the writer is to
be regarded, and not every word and syllable of the parable;
else the expositor will lose his time in endeavouring to explain
what is inexplicable, or make the author say many things he never
intended."t
The principal interpretations and commentaries of the Cabbalists are contained in the book ZOHIAR, said to have been written
by Rabbi Simneon Ben Jochai, who died about the year of Christ
120; but it is probably of a much later date. An edition of it was
* Menasseh Ben Israel, Conciliator, Quaest. in Exod. 50. Waltoni Proleg. 8.
Basnage's History of the Jews, b. iii, ch. x-xxvi, fol.
t Maimonidis More Nevochim in Praefat.




154                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
printed at Mantua, A. D. 1558, in quarto, and another at Cremona
in 1559, in folio.*
Dispersed by the destruction of Jerusalem and the heavy calamities that followed, the Jews, at an early period of the Christian
era, had been scattered through various countries, and associated
with nations of languages widely different from their own. Obliged
in their civil and commercial intercourse to adopt the speech of the
people among whom they dwelt, the Hebrew so far ceased to be
their vernacular tongue, that the Hellenist, and other Jews, preferred the use of the Greek and other versions, even in their synagogue service. But in the reign of the emperor Justinian, A.D.
552, there arose disputes upon the subject.  Some contended that
the Law ought to be read in a language understood by the people,
many of whom were but imperfectly acquainted with the Biblical
Hebrew. Others insisted that the language in which the Law was
originally written was sacred, and maintained that the Holy Scriptures ought not to be read in any other. The decision was referred to the emperor, who ordered that the Scriptures should be
read in the language of the country, whether Hebrew, or Greek,
or Latin, or any other. In the use of Greek versions he recommended the Septuagint, though he did not forbid the use of others.
IH-e also prohibited the use of the MISHINA, or Second Edition, as
it was called, because it did not belong to the body of the Scripture, nor had been delivered by the prophets, but was merely the
invention of men, who had nothing divine in them, and who spake
only of the earth. And lest the Archipheracites, or men of authority among the Jews, should frustrate the design of this edict,
lie denounced corporal penalties against those priests or rabbins
who should, by anathemas or other censures, endeavour to prevent
the people from reading the Scriptures.t
This dispute respecting the language in which the Law should
be read in the synagogues originated in the debates between the
Christians and Jews. The Christians pressed the Jews with
arguments in favour of Christianity, drawn from the prophecies
respecting the Messiah; and the rabbins, dreading the result of
such arguments, forbade the Scriptures to be read in any other
language than the Hebrew.  So true it is that truth courts investigation and inquiry, and rejoices in the light; while error fears
examination, and seeks for refuge in darkness! The edict of Justinian, however, was but transient in its influence; the Jews obsti* Buxtorf, De Abbreviaturis Hebraicis, p. 199; and Bibl. Rab., p. 55.
t Gothofredi Corpus Juris Civilis, Novel. 146, vol. ii, p. 580.
1




FIFTH CENTURY.                      155
nately adhered to the practice of reading the Scriptures in Hebrew
in their synagogues; a practice which still continues to be universally adopted.*
It will be easily discovered that the preceding account of the
Jews refers to the great body of them, who are denominated Rabbinists, and are thus distinguished from the Karaites, a small sect
among them who reject tradition and contend for the sufficiency of
Scripture.  One of their own writers observes,  r Trlth is known
by reason, which draws it from the prophecies. An argument is
known to be solid when it agrees with the words of a prophet;
only, some articles are too profound for the understanding. However, they are received with respect, because they were dictated
by a prophet. Could man apprehend every thing, neither the prophets nor prophecies had been necessary."t
The best account of the modern KARAITES is that which is given
by Dr. E. D. Clarke, in his " Travels into Various Countries, &c.,"
in 1800, &c., from which the following extract is made: —
"The morning after our arrival" at Baktcheserai, the capital of
the Crimea, " Colonel Richard Durant, a native of Smyrna, and an
officer in the Russian service, residing in Baktcheserai, accompanied us on horseback, to climb the steep defile leading from the
city to the Jewish colony of Dschoufoutkale,$ situate upon a
mountain, and distant about five versts. These Jews are of the
sect called Karai: they inhabit an ancient fortress, originally constructed by the Genoese, upon a very lofty precipice. Advancing
along the defile, and always ascending, we passed above the re
mains of that quarter of the city which belonged to the Greeks.
We now came to the lower verge of some steep cliffs, and beheld
upon the summit the walls of Dschoufoutkale.  In a recess upon
our right hand appeared the cemetery, or "field of dead," belonging to the Karaite Jews. Nothing can be imagined more calculated to inspire holy meditation. It is a beautiful grove, filling a
chasm of the mountains, which is rendered gloomy by the shade
of lofty trees and overhanging rocks. A winding path conducts
through this solemn scene.  Several tombs of white marble present a fine contrast to the deep green of the foliage; and female
figures, in white veils, are constantly seen offering their pious
" Basnage's History of the Jews, b. iii, ch. vi, p. 170. Lightfoot's Works, vol. ii,
p. 798.
t Basnage's History of the Jews, b. ii, ch. viii, p. 106.
t Dschoufot is a name, originally, of reproach, bestowed upon the Jews: and Kale
signifies a fortress.




156                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
lamentations over the graves. An evening or a morning visit to
the sepulchres of their departed friends constitutes, perhaps, all
the exercises of the Jewish women, as they seldom leave their
houses; in this respect their customs are similar to those of Tahtars and Turks.* The ascent from the cemetery to the fortress,
although short, is so steep that we were forced to alight from our
horses, and actually to climb to the gateway. Several slaves,
however, busied in conveying water upon the backs of asses,
passed us in their way up.  The spring which supplies them  is
below, in the defile; and a very copious reservoir, cut in the rocks
above, is prepared for the use of the colony.  As we passed the
gateway and entered the town, we were met by several of the inhabitants. Colonel Durant inquired for a Jew of his acquaintance,
one of the principal people in the place. We were conducted to
his house; and found him, at noon, sleeping on his divan.  He
rose to receive us, and presently regaled us with various sorts of
confectionary; among these were conserved leaves of roses and
preserved walnuts; we had also eggs, cheese, cold pies, and
brandy.  A messenger was despatched for the rabbi, whom  he
invited to meet us, and who soon after made his appearance
This venerable man was held in very high consideration by them
all, and with good reason; for he was exceedingly well informed,
and had passed a public examination with distinguished honour ill
Petersburgh, after being sent for expressly by the empress Catherine.  We were highly interested in their conversation, as well as
in the singular circumstance of having found one Jewish settlement, perhaps the only one upon earth, where that people exist
secluded from the rest of mankind, in the free exercise of their
ancient customs and peculiarities.t The town contains about
twelve hundred persons of both sexes, and not more than two
hundred houses.  The principal part of each dwelling belongs
to the women; but every master of a family has his own private
apartment, where he sleeps, smokes, and receives his friends.
The room wherein we were entertained was of this description:
it was filled with MSS., many in the hand-writing of our host;
* "This little Valley of Jehoshaphat is so highly valued by the Jews, that whenever the ancient Khans wished to extort from them a present, or to raise a voletntasy
contribution, it was sufficient to threaten them with the extirpation of those sacred
trees, under the plausible pretence of wanting fuel or timber."-Pallrs's Travels,
vol. ii, p. 35.
t" It seems singular that such fortresses should have been possessed by such a
people; yet, in Abyssinia, the Falasha appear similarly situated; and Jackson mentions a Jew's rock in Morocco.'?-Heber's MS. Journal.




FIFTH CENTURY.                       157
others by those of his children; and all in very beautiful Hebrew
characters. The Karaites deem it to be an act of piety to copy
the Bible, or copious commentaries upon its text, once in their
lives.  All their MS. copies of the Old Testament begin with the
book of Joshua: even the most ancient did not contain the Pentateuch. This is kept apart, not in manuscript, but in a printed
version, for the use of the schools.* In their synagogues, with
the exception of the books of Moses, every thing was in manuscript. The rabbi asked if we had any of their sect, KARAI, in
England; a question we could not answer. He said there were a
few in Holland. The etymology of their name is uncertain. The
difference between their creed and that of Jews in general, according to the information we received from the rabbi, consists in a
rejection of the Talmud; a disregard to every kind of tradition;
to all rabbinical writings or opinions; to all marginal interpolations
of the text of Scripture; and in a measure of their rule of faith
by the pure letter of the Law   They pretend to have the text of
the Old Testament in its most genuine state."
"Being desirous to possess one of their Bibles, the rabbi, who
seemed gratified by the circumstance, permitted us to purchase a
beautiful manuscript copy, written upon vellum, about four hundred
years old; but having left this volume in the Crimea, to be forwarded by way of Petersburgh, it was never afterward recovered.
It began like all the others. with the book of Joshua.
"The character of the Karaite Jews is directly opposite to that
generally attributed to their brethren in other countries, being altogether without reproach. Their honesty is proverbial in the Crimea; and the word of a Karaite is considered equal to a bond.
Almost all of them are engaged in trade or manufacture. They
observe their fasts with the most scrupulous rigour, abstaining even
from  snuff and from  smoking for twenty-four hours together.  In
the very earliest periods of Jewish history this sect separated from
the main stem: such at least is their own account: and nothing
concerning them ought to be received from rabbinists, who hold
them in detestation.  For this reason the relations of Leo of Modena, a rabbi of Venice, are not to be admitted. Their schism is
said to be as old as the return from the Babylonish captivity. They
observe extraordinary care in the education of their children, who
* " The reason given by the rabbi for the omission of the books of Moses in their
manuscript copies swas, that the Pentateuch, being in constant use for the instruction
of their children, was reserved apart, that the whole volume might not be liable to the
injuries it would thereby sustain."
1




158                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
are publicly instructed in the synagogues; and in this respect the
Tahtars are not deficient, We rarely entered any Tahtar village,
in the day time, without seeing children assembled in some public
place, receiving their instruction from  persons appointed to superintend the care of their education; reciting with audible voices
passages from the Koran, or busied in copying manuscript lessons
placed before them.  The dress of the Karaites differs little from
that worn by the Tahtars, All of them, of whatsoever age, suffer
their beards to grow, The Karaites wear also a lofty, thick, felt
cap, faced with wool: this is heavy, and keeps the head very hot.
The Turks and Armenians often do the same; and in warm
climates this precaution seemns a preservative against the dangerous
consequences resulting from obstructed perspiration, "
Returning to the occurrences of the fifth century, we remark an
event, which, from its influence upon Christian literature, deserves
to be recorded: this was, the inst7ructionl of the Irish in the use
of the Rolmanz letters, by St, Patrick, the  apostle  of Ireland.
PATRIcK was born in Scotland, near Dunbarton. In his sixteenth
year he was carried into captivity by certain barbarians, together
with many of his father's vassals and slaves, taken upon his estate.
They took him  to Ireland, then called Scotia, where he was obliged to keep cattle on the mountains, and in the forests, in hunger
and nakedness, amidst snows, rain, and ice.  Here he learned the
language and customns of the country, from whence he was afterward, by some pirates, conveyed into Gaul; and after various adventures returned a volunteer into Ireland, with a view to undertake the conversion of the barbarous natives, among whom the
worship of' idols still generally reigned, To effect his benevolent
purposes, he travelled over the whole island, and not only preached
frequently, but maintained and educated many children, and instructed the natives in the use of the Ronan letters; for, before
their conversion, the Irish were utterly unacquainted with the Latin
language, without the knowledge of which, St. Patrick considered
that his new converts would be incapable of reading the Scriptures,
the ecclesiastical offices, and other good books; and consequently
neot be able to make such a progress in learning and religion, as
was necessary to enable them to instruct the rest of their countrymen.  On the other hand, these newly converted Christians, being
well skilled in their native letters, readily became proficients in the
elements of the Latin, so that Fiec. who, prior to his conversion,
* Clarke's Travels in various countries of Europe, Asia. and Africa, pt. i, Russia,
Tahtary, and Turkey, vol. ii, oh. iv, pp. 185-194. Lond. 1816, 8vo. See also "Esxtracts of Letters from the Rev. Robert Pinkerton, &c.,"' pp. 17-20, Lond. 1817, $vo.
1




FIFTH CENTURY.                           159
had been a disciple of Dub' t' ac', arch-poet to Leogar, king of Ireland, became such a proficient that he could read the Latin Psalter
in fifteen days. General Vallancey mentions, as being in his possession, an old vellum  MS., treating of the state of the Christian
church  in Ireland, in the first century after St. Patrick's arrival,
written in Latin, and in the Irish character.
The labours of St. Patrick proved eminently successful, and
Christianity was very generally embraced throughout the island.
Fiac, one of his converts, whom he appointed bishop of the church
of Sletty, wrote a poem in his praise, containing thirty-four distiches,
which is yet extant.  In one of the verses of this poem, he says,
" He daily sang the Apocalypse, and HIymns; and the whole Psalter
he sang thrice; he preached, and baptized, and prayed; and lie
incessantly praised God." In another verse he notices that one
of his usual acts of mortification was to stand " every night in the
fountain of Slan, which was never dry, while he sang a hundred
psalms."*   He died about the year 460, at an advanced age.t
The schools of Ireland long maintained a high reputation. Camden observes, (Brit. de Hibern., p. 730,) that the English Saxons
anciently flocked to Ireland, as to the mart of sacred learning; and
this is frequently mentioned in the lives of eminent men among them.
Thus, in the life of Sulgenus, in the eighth century, we read,
Exemplo patrum, commotus atorc lcl enldi,
Ivit ad Hibernos, sophia mirabile cl7ros.
"With love of learning and examples fired,
To Ireland, famed for wisdom, he retired."
In  791, two Irishmen going into France, were there admired
for their incomparable learning, and gave birth to the two first universities in the world, namely, those of Paris and Pavia: and our
great king Alfred, in 891, listened to three learned Irishmen in
his projects for the advancement of literature. In the beginning
of the ninth century, no fewer than seven thousand students visited
the schools of Armagh; while there were three more rival colleges
in other cities, with many private seminaries in the remoter provinces.t  And Camden conjectures, that the Anglo-Saxons bor-' This superstitious practice was not confined to St. Patrick. St. Neot, the kinsman of Alfred, St. Chad, and even Aldhelm, used to chant the Psalter, standing ill
wells or springs of water. See Whitaker's Iist. of the Cathedral of Cornwvall, vol. ii.
pp. 312, 313.
t Milner's Hist. of the Church of Christ, vol. ii, p. 486. Butler's Lives of the
Saints, vol. iii, March 17, pp. 176-185. Vallancey's Grammar of the Irish Langulage,
ch. ix, pp. 146, 147; and ch. x, p. 168. Dublin, 1773, 4to.
1 Butler's Lives of the Saints, vol. v, pp. 173, 174. Note [a.] Berington's Literary
History of the Middle Ages, l. 182.
1




160                       BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
rowed their letters from the Irish, because they used the same,
or nearly the same which the Irish at this day still make use of in
writing their own language. The reader may compare the two
alphabets, by referring to plate 2 of the present volume. *
It is not improbable that about this period a translation of some
parts at least of the Scriptures was made into the Bearla Feni, or
ancient Irish tongue. General Vallancey, in his "Essay on the
Antiquity of the Irish Language," quotes a valuable old MS. in his
possession, in what he calls the Phenician dialect of the ancient
Irish, and which he supposes to be part of a copy of the Old Testament, brought to Ireland by St. Kieran, St. Aillu, St. Declan, or
St. Ibar, the precursors of St. Patrick.t This MS. contains only
the lives of the patriarchs and Moses: it is written after the manner termed Cionne fa cite, a mode of writing somewhat similar to
the Boustrophedon  of the Greeks, denoted  frequently in ancient
MSS. by this mark, OC, which implies that a sentence finishes,
and that the reader is to go to the next line, from  the end of which
he is to turn to the Cionne fa eite.
From  this old MS. the learned author of the "Essay, &c.," has
* Butler, ut sup.
t St. KIERAN, or KIARAN, called by the Britons PIRAN, was a native of Ireland,
born about A. D. 352.  At thirty years of age he went to Rome, and after receiving
fuller instruction in the principles of the Roman Catholic Church, returned to Ireland
with several companions, and made many converts to Christianity, particularly among
the inhabitants of Ossory. The Irish writers say he was ordained bishop, and established his see at Saigir. He founded a monastery for himself, and another for his
mother. Toward the close of life he passed into Cornwall, where he lived as a hermit,
and the place where he died has obtained the name of St. Pirans in the Sands. —Butler's Lives, vol. iii, p. 33.
St. AItLU, or ALBEUS, the chief patron of Munster, was converted by certain Britons,
travelled to Rome, and on his return horne became the friend and fellow-labourer of
St. Patrick.  He was the first archbishop of Munster, and fixed his seat at Emely,
now removed to Cashel. King Engus bestowed on him the isle of Arran, where he
founded a great monastery. His preaching and example appear to have rendered him
eminently successful as a Christian minister, "possessing a wonderful art," says his
biographer, " of making men not only Christians, but saints." He died in 525.-Ibid.,
vol. ix, p. 130.
St. DECLAN, first bishop of Ardmore in Ireland, was baptized by St. Colman, and
preached Christianity in his native country, a little before the arrival of St. Patrick.Ibid., vol. vii, p. 352.
St. IBAR, or IvoR, preached in Meath and Leinster, and built a monastery in Begerin, or Little Ireland, a small island on the coast of Kenselach, which was anciently
a considerable province in Leinster.  He was afterward abbot of the monastery of
Magarnoide, in Kenselach.  He is said to have been ordained bishop either at Rome,
or by St. Patrick.  His sister Mella was married to Cormac, king of Leinster.  He
died about the year 500.-Ibid., vol. iv, p. 264.
1




FIFTH CENTURY.                         161
given two extracts, which he supposes to have been designed as a
version of Genesis, &c. His translations of them are here presented to the reader.
"Buid in righam," &c.-" The queen, viz., Rebecca, hearing
this discourse, after the people were gone to hunt, she straightway
rose and went to Jacob, where he was tending his sheep. She
told him he should receive the blessing instead of the other son.
HEow shall I do that, quoth Jacob? Do this, says she; viz., kill a
kid, replied the mother, and dress it and give it to him, and then I
will sew the skin of the kid upon thy hands to resemble Esau,
for the hands of Esau are hairy. Jacob did so, and dressed the
kid, and brought with him the pottage, and presented it to his
father; and he said to him, Eat this mess. 0 son, says Isaac, you
are returned this day from hunting earlier than any former day, if
you tell the truth. At the first hunt I quickly found wherewith to
make you a mess of pottage, and that is the reason, says Jacob, I
returned so soon. Tell not a lie, says he, for thou art Jacob, and
thou art not Esau. Truly, replied he, I would not tell a lie before
thee. Stretch forth thy hands, says Isaac, that I may know thou
art Esau.  He stretched forth his hands to him, with the skin of
the kid about them; Isaac took the hand. Thou art long suspicious of me, says Jacob; I am Esau. Isaac feeling the hand said,
This is the hand of Esau, and it is the voice of Jacob," &c. Vide
Genesis xxvii.
" Therefore after Jacob had been with his father, he presented
divers gifts to Esau his brother, as the pledge of his brotherly
peace and friendship thenceforward; these are the gifts, viz., two
hundred ewes, and two hundred she-goats, and thirty camels, and
forty cows; twenty rams, twenty young bulls," as the poet has said,
"Two hundred Ewes, XX He-Goats
Two hundred She-Goats, he generously bestowed.
XX Rams without fault he gave,
XL Kine, which proudly herd together.
Twenty Bulls with massy hides,
And XXX Camels giving milk.
XX very fair She-Asses,
And XX Colts along with them.
These were the Peace Offerings to Esau,
From Jacob most sincerely given;
For having wandered from the truth,
These are the numbers of the hundreds (given.")
Vide Genesis, ch. xxxii, 13.*
* Vallancey's Essay on An. of Irish Lan., pp. 55-60. Dub. 1772. 8vo.
VOL. I. —1 




162                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
CHAPTER IV.
SIXTH CENTURY.
Theodoric the Goth —Cassiodorus-Avitus-Philoxenian Syriac VersionPhiloxenus-Mar Abba-Georgian Version-Councils of Agde, Toledo, and
Vaison-Monastery of Iona-Columba-Culdees-Baithen-Arator-Gregory the Great-Augustine-Library offirst Christian Church at Canterbury
-Codex Ephremi-Codices Rescripti-Abbreviations.
THE close of the fifth, and the commencement of the SIXTH
century, presented the singular fact of an illiterate Goth promoting the interests of literature. THEODORIC, the sovereign of the
Ostrogoths, having invaded and conquered Italy, caused himself
to be proclaimed king. By a wise and conciliatory policy he
continued his new subjects in the possession of their former laws,
which he commanded to be inviolably observed; retained the
same form of government, the same distribution of provinces, the
same magistrates and dignities; and exercised the most liberal
toleration toward those whose religious tenets differed from his
own. Educated among his own barbarous countrymen, and his
education a military one, he was extremely illiterate, and incapable of writing his own name. For the purpose of signing the
royal edicts, the four Greek letters OEOA., forming the abbreviations of his name, were cut for him  in a plate of gold, and the
plate being laid upon paper, he traced the letters with a pen.
This, however, does not detract from the real merit of Theodoric,
who, rising above the prejudices of his education, became the warm
patron of learning in others. A proof of his discriminating mind
was given in choosing for his principal adviser a man of great
learning and integrity, the celebrated Cassiodorus.  Theodoric
died in 526.*
MARCUS AURELIUS CASSIODORUS was born in Calabria, of an
illustrious family.  To his counsels Italy was indebted for its
repose, and Theodoric for his fame. He had experienced the
patronage of Odoacer; but under Theodoric had been raised to
the highest offices of the state, which he continued to administer
under his successors till the commencement of the Gothic war.
* Berington's Literary Hist. of the Middle Ages, pp. 103, 104. Beckmann's lHist.
of Inventions, vol. ii, p. 214.
1                        11*




SIXTH CENTURY.                    163
He then retired from all public employments, and in A. D. 542
built a monastery, which he provided not only with the necessaries, but also with the conveniences, and even the elegancies of life,
such as fish-ponds, baths, fountains, sun-dials, &c. In his retirement he applied himself to subjects adapted to his new calling.
He employed his monks in the meritorious labours of transcription; he was instrumental in procuring translations of Greek
authors, and he enriched his monastery with a copious collection
of books. Such of the monks as were not good scribes he employed in agriculture and gardening, which he directed them to
conduct on scientific principles. In his writings he highly commends those who laboured to procure and multiply accurate
copies of the sacred writings.  "The transcriber (antiquarius,")
says he, " inflicts as many wounds on Satan as lie produces copies." In his own monastery he neglected nothing that might
tend to the accuracy of the transcriptions of the Bible.  "For
what benefit," he inquires, " can result from a multitude of copies
that are incorrect?" And even in the copying of other MSS. he
was so strenuous with his monks to preserve the phraseology and
orthography of the most rude and obsolete writings which they
copied, that he informs us, they clamoured against him for refusing to permit them to modernize some of the works they trans
cribed, and thereby preventing the entertainment and profit they
should otherwise derive from them. In the library of his monastery he placed the Hebrew and Greek originals of the Old and
_New Testament, together with the Septuagint version, and that of
Jeromne as well as the old Italic; and took care to have correct
copies taken of them for the use of the monks; to whom he
recommended a careful comparison of the different versions, and
especially of the original text, for the solution of the difficulties
they might meet with in the perusal of the Scriptures, as well as
to ascertain, in general, the true sense of the Holy Scriptures.
He was also careful that the copies of the Scriptures, transcribed
under his direction, should be written in a uniform and fair hand;
and that the various sections and divisions into which the Bible
had been first divided by Jerome, from  the example of profane
authors, should be cautiously preserved for the accommodation
of the reader. He did more; for he hot only promoted the interests of sacred literature, by the accuracy and number of his
transcriptions of the Bible, but also illustrated the sacred writings
by the delineations of his pencil. Bede, (De Tabernaculo., lib. ii,)
who flourished about two hundred years after Cassiodorus, men1




164                     BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
tions having seen a sciographic delineation of the tabernacle,
formed from the description given by Moses in the twenty-sixth
chapter of Exodus.  This great man closed a long life of piety
and usefulness about the year 562.*   A list of his works may be
seen  in  Cave's  Historia  Literaria.   They have  been  several
times printed, but the best edition is by J. B. Garet, printed at
Rouen, in 1672, in two vols. folio.  They are also in the Bibliotheca Patrum, tom. xi, p. 1094.
About the commencement of this century ALCIMUS ECDICIUS
AVITUS, a nobleman of Gaul, and archbishop of Vienna, became
celebrated by his writings and pious and successful labours in his
episcopal office, particularly in reclaiming Gundobald, king of
Burgundy, and his son Sigismund, with others, from the errors of
Arius.  Besides other poems, he wrote one in hexameter verse, in
five books, each book being appropriated to some Biblical subject:
the first was, "Of the Origin of the World;" the second, " Of
Original Sin;" the third, " Of the Judgment of God;" the fourth,
"Of the Deluge;" and the fifth, " Of the Passing over the Red
Sea."   His poetry is said to  have  been  uncommonly  elegant
for the rude age in which he lived. I-Ie died February the 5th,
A. D. 523.t
PHILOXENUS, bishop of Hierapolis, now Pambouk, in Syria, was
another eminent character of this age. To him we owe the
Syriac version of the New Testament, called from him the Philoxenian.  This translation was made at his request, and under
his patronage, by Polycarp, his chorepiscopus, or rural bishop,J
from  the Greek, in A. D. 508.   In  616 Thomas, a native of
Harkel, in Palestine, and bishop of Germanicia, undertook a
critical revision of this version, and for this purpose visited Egypt
* Sixt. Senensi, Biblioth. Sanct., lib. iv, p. 261, Colon. Agrip. 1626, 4to. Simon's
Critical Hist. of the Versions of the N. T., pt. ii, ch. viii, x. Bibliog. Dictionary,
vol. ii, p. 138.
t Berington, ubi sup. Simondi Opuscula, vol. ii, S. Aviti Opera. Paris, 1643.
T "Those to whom the instruction and management of the surrounding countr?
churches were committed by the diocesan, were termed chorepiscopi, that is, brTf xwpa(
e7rtatcorot, "rural bishops."  Persons of this description are doubtless to be considered as having held a middle rank between the bishops and the presbyters; for to place
them on a level with the former is impossible, since they were subject to their diocesan; but, at the same time, it is manifest that they were superior in rank to presbyters, inasmuch as they were not accustomed to look up to the bishop for orders or
direction, but were invested with constant authority to teach, and in other respects to
exercise the episcopal functions." —Mosheim's Commentaries on the Affairs of the
Christians before the time of Constantine, translated by R. S. Vidal, vol. i, p. 234.
1




SIXTH CENTURY.                    165
in order to collate it with some of the best MSS. in the Alexandrian library; the various readings of which he afterward placed
in the margin of his own copy, from whence they appear to have
been transcribed by other copyists. In the twelfth century Dionysius Barsalibeus, who was bishop of Amida, now called Diarbekir, from A. D. 1166 to A. D. 1171, again revised the Philoxenian
version, and published a new edition of it. It was, however, but
little known in Europe before the middle of the last century, when
the attention of Biblical scholars was directed to it, by the excellent copies of it sent from Amida, by Mr. Palmer, to the Rev.
Gloster Ridley, minister of Poplar, near London, and afterward
prebendary of Salisbury. The learned Wetstein visited England
to examine these MSS., and in his Prolegomena, prefixed to his
valuable edition of the Greek New Testament, favoured the public with a particular description of them. A still more elaborate
account of them was given in 1761, by Mr. Ridley, who, at the
request of Professor Mlichaelis, published an excellent essay on
this version, entitled Dissertatio de Syriacarum Novi Fcoderis
versionum indole atque usu; Philoxenianamn cum Simplici e duobus pervetustis Codd. MSS. ab Amida transmisis conferente
Glocestrio Ridley. The four Gospels copied from these MSS.
were printed at Oxford in 1778, by Dr. White, professor of Arabic, who has since published the Acts of the Apostles and the
Catholic Epistles.*
PHILOXENUS, or XENAYAS, was a Persian, born in the city of
Tahal. He was of the sect of the Monophysites, and by his zeal
for the doctrines he had embraced, and his opposition to image
worship, which already greatly prevailed in the Greek Church, so
irritated his opponents that they seized every opportunity to calumniate him, and even to stigmatize him as a Manichaean. Being
advanced to the bishopric of Hierapolis, or, as it was called by the
Syrians, Mabug, he warmly espoused the cause of Severus, a
celebrated Monophysite priest, and procured him" the see of
Antioch. Having incurred the displeasure of the emperor Justin,
he was banished into Thrace, and from thence into Paphlagonia,
where his enemies cruelly murdered him, by suffocating him in a
room filled with smoke. The Monophysites place him among
their martyrs.  His death happened about A. D. 520, after
having occupied the see of Hierapolis nearly forty years.  A
list of his works is given by Asseman, in his Bibliotheca Orien* Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, pt. i, ch. vii, sec. 11, and pt. ii, pp. 568-580.
1




166                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
talis, vol. ii, pp. 23-46. Except a commentary on the Scriptures, and a translation of Syriac prayers into Arabic, they
consist chiefly of controversial treatises in defence of his peculiar
tenets.*
The Old Testament was also translated from Greek into Syriac,
by Mar Abba, about the same time as the Philoxenian version of
the New.  This MAR ABBA was mafregan, or primate of the East,
between the years 535 and 552. He was by birth a Persian,
educated in the religion of Zoroaster, without any instruction
either in Greek or Syriac; but after he was converted to Christianity he learned Syriac at Nisibis, and Greek at Edessa, from  a
Jacobite Christian, of the name of Thomas, whom  he afterward
accompanied to Alexandria, and there applied himself to making
translations.t There was also another version of the Old Testament from the Greek into Syriac, executed some years afterward
by Paulus, bishop of Tela, of Mauzalat. Scarcely a fragment
now remains of these two versions.t
Professor Adler, in his "Biblical and Critical Journey to
Rome," printed at Altona, in 1783, gives a description of a Lectiona-ilum, which he met with in the Vatican library, containing
portions of a Syriac version of the New Testament, in the dialect
spoken in Jerusalem, and which he supposes, in point of antiquity,
to hold a middle rank between the Peshito and the Philoxenian
versions.~
Asseman, in his Bibliotheca Medicea, notices an illuminated
MS. of the Syriac version of the Gospels, written A. D. 586;
and gives twenty-six plates, illustrative of the illuminations. And
in his Bibliotheca Orientalis, he mentions another MS. of the
Syriac Gospels which bears the date A. D. 548.11
At the end of the sixth, or beginning of the seventh century,
the Scriptures were also translated into the GEORGIAN language.
When Sir John Chardin visited the East, in the seventeenth century, he found this version still in use, though the language of it
was become nearly obsolete. His words are, " There is not a man
among'em," (in Mingrelia,) "that understands the Bible, or that
reads it; there being very few among'em that can read or under* Assemanni Biblioth. Orient., vol. ii, pp. 10-23. La Croze, Hlstoire du Christianisme d'Ethiopie, pp. 36-39.
t Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, pt. i, p. 53.   t Classical Journal, vol. vii, p. 196.
~ Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, pt. i, p. 75; and pt. ii, pp. 582-585.
11 Dibdin's Biographical Decameron, vol. i, p. xxxiii. Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii,
pt. i, p. 21.
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SIXTH CENTURY.                     167
stand the Georgian, which is the only language wherein they
have the Holy Scriptures written.  But as for the women, they
are not altogether so ignorant as the men; so that you shall have
some of them who will rehearse several stories of the Gospel,
which they have read and got by heart."  At the beginning of the
eighteenth century the whole of the New Testament, with a part
of the Old, consisting of the Psalms and the Prophets, were
printed at Teflis, in Georgia, by order of the prince Vaktangh.
In 1743 the whole Georgian Bible was printed at Moscow, under
the inspection of the Georgian princes, Arcil and Bacchar; and in
1815 the Moscow Auxiliary Bible Society printed an edition of
five thousand Georgian New Testaments.*
Those which have been already mentioned are the only translations of the Scriptures into the vernacular tongues which appear to have been made during the sixth century, unless we add
to them some unimportant Latin ones, designed to accompany copies in other languages, and placed in parallel columns with them,
as the Greek and Latin, and Gothic and Latin versions.t
The council of Agde, a city of France, held A. D. 506, in
which Caesarius, bishop of Arles, presided, made a number of
canons relating to discipline, one or two of which may be mentioned as referring to the Scriptures. One of these forbade auguries and divinations, and the opening of the Scriptures, with a
view to make an omen of the first words that offered, under
penalty of excommunication.  Another orders "laymen to remain
in the church till the blessing is pronounced," since it had become a practice with some persons to leave the church as soon as
the Scriptures had been read. Cwesarius one day observing some
persons going out of the church, to avoid hearing the sermon, cried
out with a loud voice, "What are you about, my children? Where
are you going? Stay, stay for the good of your souls; at the day
of judgment it will be too late to exhort you." He also frequemly
caused the church doors to De shut after the Gospel was read, in
order to prevent the impious practice.  His just and charitable
zeal at length proved successful, and his people were reclaimed.j
The council of Toledo, in Spain, held A. D. 581, enjoined that
the clergy should read the Scriptures at the hours of refreshment
*Marsh's Hist. of the Translations of the Scriptures, p. 32. Chardin's Travels
into Persia, &c., vol. i, p. 103. Lond. 1686, fol. Twelfth Report of the B. and F.
Bible Society, p. 17.
t Marsh's Michaelis. vol. ii, pt. i, pp. 133, 136.
t Milner's History of the Church of Christ, vol. iii, pp. 10, 11.
1




168                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
to exclude trifling and unnecessary conversation, and to edify and
instruct their minds.*
In 529 a council was held at Vaison, at which were present
twelve bishops, of whom Caesarius was one. They decreed,
according to the custom observed in Italy, that all country priests
should receive into their houses young men who might be readers
in the church; that they should educate them with a paternal
regard, causing them to learn the Psalms, to read the Scriptures,
and to be acquainted with the word of God; and in this way provide themselves with worthy successors.t
Of the SCHOOLS or SEMINARIES of this age, none excelled, in the
study of the Holy Scriptures, the monastery of Iona, or Icolmkill, an
island of the Hebrides, "once the luminary of the Caledonian regions," (as Dr. Johnson calls it,) " whence savage clans, and roving
barbarians, derived the benefits of knowledge, and the blessings of
religion."
COLUMBA, the founder of this monastery, was of royal extraction, and born at Gartan, in the county of Tyrconnel, in Ireland,
in the year 521. He received his education first under Cruinechan,
a devout presbyter, and afterward under Finian, bishop of Cluainiraird, or Clonard; he also spent some time with Ciaran, the founder of the monastery of Clon, upon the Shenan.  In 546 he was
advanced to the priesthood, and soon began to be celebrated for
his admirable lessons of piety, and sacred learning. About the
year 550 he founded the great monastery of Dair-Magh, now
called Durrogh, in King's county, besides several other smaller
ones. He at length turned his attention to the isles, and northern
parts of Scotland, which were still covered with darkness, and held
in the shackles of superstition, and resolved to become the apostle
of the Highlands.  Accordingly, in the year 563, or 565, " he set
out," says his biographer, " in a wicker boat, covered with hides,
accompanied by twelve of his friends and followers, and landed in
the isle of Hi, or Iona, near the confines of the Scottish and Pictish
territories."
By the preaching and virtues of Columba, many of the northern
Picts were led to embrace Christianity, who gave him the small
island on which he first landed. Here he built his monastery,
which became the chief seminary of learning at that time, perhaps
in Europe, and the nursery from which not only the monasteries
of his own island, and above three hundred churches, which he
* Bingham's Antiquities of the Christian Church, vol. ii, p. 340.
t Milner's Hist. of the Church of Christ, vol iii, p. 21.
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SIXTH CENTURY.                    169
himself had established, but also many of those in neighbouring
nations were supplied with learned divines, and able pastors. In
this seminary, which might justly have been called a missionary
college, the students spent much of their time in reading, and in
transcribing the Scriptures and sacred hymns, which Columba
was at pains should be done with the greatest care and accuracy,
in which he was surprisingly successful. Baithen, one of his disciples, requested him on one occasion to permit one of the brethren to read over, and correct a copy of the Psalter, which he had
written; Columba replied, that it had been already examined, and
that there was only one error in it, which was the want of the
vowel i, in a single instance.
The followers of Columba were called CULDEES, or Keldees, a
term, the etymon of which has exercised the ingenuity of the
learned, who have offered a variety of plausible derivations, of
which the most satisfactory are those that refer it to the religious
life they led, and consider it as equivalent to " servants or worshippers of God."  They were taught to confirm  their doctrines
by testimonies brought from the unpolluted fountain of the word
of God, and to teach that only to be the divine counsel which was
found there. To those who were under his immediate instruction,
Columba explained the difficult passages of Scripture with a happy
perspicuity and ease. In his earlier studies he seems not to have
confined himself to theology, but to have extended his inquiries
much further into the general circle of science. For his knowledge of physic, or skill in healing diseases was so great, that his
cures were often considered as miracles. And in the history, laws,
and customs of different nations he was so well versed, that he
made a principal figure in the great council held at Drimceat,
about the right of succession to the Scottish throne. But whatever
degree of knowledge and education Columba might have received
in his earlier years, he never ceased by intense study and application
to add to it. Every moment which so active and pious a life could
spare from its main business was devoted to study. Sometimes
lie heard his disciples read, and sometimes he read himself; sometimes he transcribed, and sometimes read and corrected what had
been transcribed by others. In his life we find mention made occasionally of various books of his writing and copying; Odonellus
says, not less than three hundred! And Sir William Ware (Antiq.
Hib.) mentions a MS. copy of the four Gospels of St. Jerome's
translation, adorned with silver plates, formerly preserved in the
abbey of Durrogh, and still extant, in the beginning of which is an
1




170                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
inscription, which testifies that it was written by Columba, in the
space of twelve days.
Having continued his labours in Scotland for more than thirty
years, and conscious of his approaching end, he said to his attendant Dermit, "This day is called the sabbath, that is, the day of
rest, and such will it truly be to me; for it will put an end to my
labours."  He afterward ascended a little eminence above his
monastery, where he stood, and lifting both his hands to heaven,
prayed God to bless it, and make it prosper. From thence he returned to his closet, and as he wished his usefulness to man to be
commensurate with the moments of his life, and to make a part of
his ultimate preparation for heaven, he spent some time in transcribing the Psalter.  When he came to that passage in the thirtyfourth Psalm, where it is written, " They that seek the Lord shall
not want any good thing," he said, "Here I have come to the end
of a page, and to a very proper part to stop at; for the following
words,'Come, ye children, hearken unto me; I will teach you the
fear of the Lord,' will better suit my successor than me. I will
therefore leave it to Baithen to transcribe them." He then rose
and went to evening service in the church; and after coming home,
sat down on his bed, and gave a charge to Dermit, to deliver to his
disciples, as his dying words. After this he remained silent, till
the bell was rung for vigils at midnight; when hastily rising, and
going to church, he arrived there before any other, and kneeled
down at the altar to pray. Dermit, without waiting for the lamps,
followed him, and found him in the dark, lying before the altar, in
a praying posture. When the lights were brought, it was discovered that he was dying; and though his voice had failed, he
looked round upon the monks, who had flocked to their beloved
master, and with a smile of inexpressible cheerfulness, raised his
right hand, and making a motion which he used in giving his benediction, breathed his last.  Thus died this greatandgood man, on the
9th of June, A. D. 597, and in the seventy-seventh year of his
age.*
BA ITHEN, the cousin, favourite disciple, and immediate successor of Columba, as abbot of Iona, was much renowned for his
wisdom, learning, and sanctity. In a very ancient account of his
life, it is said that no man ever saw him idle, but always engaged
in reading, praying, or working; that next to Columba, he was
* Smith's Life of St. Columba, Edin. 1798, 8vo. passim. Jamison's Historical
Account of the ancient Culdees, pp. 3-5, 29, 309. Edin. 1811, 4to. Butler's Lives of
the Saints, vol. vi, June 9th.
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SIXTHI CENTURY.                    171
deemed to be the best acquainted with the Scriptures, and to have
the greatest extent of learning on this side the Alps.*
IONA continued to be the seat of learning and piety for ages; and
many who received their education there, became zealous and successful missionaries among the idolaters, especially in the north of
Europe. In the ninth century, the Danes dislodged the monks,
and the Cluniacs were the next order that settled there; but it
would appear, that prior to that period learning had considerably
decayed among them, for it is a singular fact, that, whether it was
owing to the depredations of the Danes, or to the indifference of
the Culdees of Iona to the works of the fathers, the only book of
this description which they possessed in that century was one of the
works of Chrysostom. Many of the kings of Scotland, and Ireland,
and of the isles, were buried in the island; and in former times, it
was the place where the archives of Scotland, and many valuable old
MSS. were kept, most of which are supposed to have been destroyed
at-he Reformation; and others are said to have been carried to the
Scotch college, at Douay, in France; and such is at present the
neglected state of the island, that this once illustrious seat of ]earning and piety has now no school for education, no temple for worship,. no instructer in religion, except when visited by the parish
minister of Kilfinichin.  "The name Iona is now also quite lost
in the country, and it is always called I, (sounded like ee,) except
when the speaker would wish to lay an emphasis upon the word,
then it is called I-colum-kill."  (Stat. Ace., vol. xiv, p. 198.)
The ruins, however, are kept in better preservation than most
ruins of this sort in Scotland, by the attention of the family of
A rgyle.t'
In the sixth century, also, flourished the Latin poet ARATOR.
He was by birth a Ligurian, and his profession that of an advocate
or lawyer. Athalaric, the Gothic king, advanced him to an office
of considerable rank and confidence; but, wearied with the pomp
and anxiety attendant on the life of a courtier, he at length entered
into the church, and was chosen sub-deacon. About the year 540
he composed a metrical version of the Acts of the Apostles, in two
books; which was publicly recited in the church of St. Peter, at
Rome, before Pope Vigilius, with unbounded applause. He likewise addressed a poetical epistle to Parthenon, to whom he transmitted his Historia Apostolorum, or " Acts of the Apostles," for
* Smith's Life of St. Columba, p. 43, note.
Jamison's Historical Account of the ancient Culdees, p. 36. Encyc. Perth. Icolumkill, Iona.
1




172                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
circulation in Gaul. His poems have been several times printed.
The most noted editions are, one printed at Salamanca, in 1516,
in folio, with the notes of Arrius Mendosa, and another in the
Bibliotheca Patrum, tom. x, p. 125.*
A few years afterward, the Christian church witnessed the rare
instance of a Roman pontiff sedulously endeavouring to promote
an acquaintance with the sacred Scriptures among all ranks of
persons under his influence. GREGORY I., surnamed the Great,
had been called to the papal chair A.D. 590, in defiance of his
wishes and most determined opposition. A man of rank, of edu
cation, and of talents, he had in early life distinguished himself in
the senate, and been raised by the emperor to be prefect or
governor of Rome; but finding courts and the anxieties of magistracy unfavourable to religion, had abandoned his worldly honours
for retirement and religious pursuits. The unanimous suffrages
of the papal electors, the voice of the people, and the decision of
the civil power, at length forced him from his solitude, and obliged
him to assume the triple mitre. On his elevation he adopted the
title of "Servant of the Servants of Jesus Christ;" and distinguished hirnmself by the earnestness with which he urged the reading of the Scriptures. These he compared to a river; in some
places so shallow that a lamb might easily pass through them;
and in others so deep that an elephant might be drowned in them.
"The ScRIPTURES," said he, "are infinitely elevated above all
other instructions. They instruct us in the truth; they call us to
heaven; they change the heart of him who reads them, by producing desires more noble and excellent in their nature than what
were formerly experienced;-formerly they grovelled in -the dust,
they are now directed to eternity. The sweetness and condescension of the Holy Scriptures comfort the weak and imperfect; their
obscurity exercises the strong. Not so superficial as to induce
contempt, not so mysterious as to deserve neglect, the use of them
redoubles our attachment to them; while, assisted by the simplicity of their expressions and the depth of their mysteries, the more
we study them the more we love them. They seem to expand
and rise in proportion as those who read them rise and increase in
knowledge. Understood by the most illiterate, they are always
new to the most learned." To eulogiums on the sacred writings
Gregory united the most animated persuasions. Writing to a
physician, he represents the word of God as an epistle addressed
* Cavei Hist. Literaria, p. 410. Sixt. Senens., lib. iv, p. 247.
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SIXTH CENTURY                       173
by the Creator to his creatures; and as no one would disregard
such an honour from his prince, wherever he might be, or whatever might be his engagements, but would be eager to examine its
contents; so ought we never to neglect the epistles sent to us by
the Lord of angels and men, but, on the contrary, read them with
ardour and attention.  " Study, meditate," said he, " the words of
your Creator, that from them you may learn what is in the heart
of GoD toward you, and that your soul may be inflamed with the
most ardent desires after celestial and eternal good."  This great
man not only used persuasions, but adduced examples, and particularly referred to the conduct of a poor paralytic man, who lived
at Rome, called Servulus; who, unable himself to read, purchased
a Bible; and, by entertaining religious persons, whom he engaged
to read to him, and at other times persuading his mother to perform
the same office, had learned the Scriptures by heart; and who,
even when he came to die, discovered his love to them, by obliging
his attendants to sing psalms with him.
The last letter he ever wrote, addressed to Theodelinda, queen
of the Lombards, discovers, by the present with which it was accompanied, his value for the Scriptures.  "I send," says he, "to
the prince Adoaldus, your son, a cross, and a book of the Gospels
in a Persian box, and to your daughter three rings; desiring you
to give them these things with your own hand, to enhance the
value of the present."*
Gregory's decided opposition to persecution was scarcely less
remarkable than his love to the Scriptures. It was a maxim with
him that men should be won over to the Christian religion by
gentleness, kindness, and diligent instruction, and not by menaces
and terror.  "Conversions owing to force," says he, in one of his
letters, "are never sincere; and such as are thus converted
scarcely ever fail to return to their vomit when the force is removed that wrought their conversion."  Happy had it been for
mankind if the successors of Gregory had possessed the same
attachment to the Scriptures, and adopted the same views of
persecution!t
It was this Gregory who, zealous for the conversion of the inhabitants of BRITAIN, sent over the monk AUGUSTINE, or Austin,
with forty companions, on a mission to the Anglo-Saxons.t
* See Gregory's Works, as cited in Usserii Hist. Dogmat., pp. 92, 93. Chalmers's
Cen. Biog. Diet., vol. xvi, p. 260.
t Bower's History of the Popes, vol. ii, p. 274.
t Bedae Eccles. Hist., lib. i, ch. xxiii, and lib. ii, ch. i.




174                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Christianity, indeed, had been planted in Britain at a very early
period, either by the apostles themselves, as many have supposed,
or, according to those ancient British records, "The Triads," by
Bran or Brennus, the father of Caradoc, or Caractacus, the famous
British general; who, being taken prisoner with his son, and carried to Rome, A. D. 51 or 52, embraced Christianity, and on his
return became anxious to evangelize the country of the Silures,
or Britons, who inhabited South Wales.*  But such had been the
cruelty and persecutions of the Saxons and others, united to the
influence of pagan conquests, that, prior to the mission of Austin
and his companions, heathenism had again overspread the land,
except in WVales, Cornwall, and Cumberland, where the Britons
still retained some footing.
Austin and the other missionaries were favourably received by
Ethelbert, king of Kent, who had married Birtha, a Christian
princess of great virtue and merit; an audience was granted them
in the open air; and afterward, permission given them to use their
best endeavours to convert the people from the worship of idols,
and turn them to the true and living God. The attempt was, to a
certain extent, successful, but was disgraced by the directions received from the Roman pontiff to accommodate the ceremonies of
the Christian worship to the usages of the idolaters. Heathen
temples, where they could be obtained, were to be preferred to
churches specially erected for Christian worship, that the new
converts might not be startled by too great a change: and because
the heathens had been accustomed to sacrifice oxen to the devil,
and feast upon the sacrifices, Christians were to be allowed, on
certain festivals, to erect booths or tabernacles near the churches,
when oxen were to be killed, and the people to feast together to
the honour of God. Nay, so far was this principle of accommodation carried, that Venerable Bede, one of our oldest ecclesiastical
historians, who was born A.D. 672, assures us that there was in
the same temple one altar for the sacrifices of idolatry, and another
for the services of Christianity;t and Procopius, who lived about
the middle of the sixth century, affirms, that even human sacrifices continued to be offered by those Franks who had embraced
the Christian religion!!t
* Henry's Hist. of Great Britain, vol. i, b. i, ch. ii, sec. 2, p. 183, 8vo. Hughes's
Horma Britannica, vol. ii, ch. i, p. 19. Lond. 1819, 8vo.
t Beda-, Hist. Eccles., lib. i, ch. xxx, and lib. ii, ch. xv.
t Procopius, De Bello Gothico, b. ii, cited in Borlase's Antiquities of Cornwall,
b. ii, ch. xxiii, p. 154.
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SIXTH CENTURY.                    175
Gregory, who had been desirous to establish this mission long
before his advancement to the pontificate, neglected nothing which
he supposed would contribute to its success. That the missionaries, therefore, might perform the public duties of religion with
decency and propriety, he sent over a number of vestments, sacred
utensils, and relics, accompanied by a valuable present of books;
a present peculiarly wanted, from the impossibility of procuring
books in Britain; it being doubtful whether the pagan conquerors
had not utterly destroyed every thing of the sort, and, by the time
of the arrival of Austin, not left one book in the whole island.*
A curious account of the books belonging to thlefirst Christian
church erected at Canterbury by the monkish missionary and his
companions, is furnished by H. Wanley, in his Catalogous Librorutm
Veterum  Septentrionalium, from  the Liber Cantuarensis, preserved in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge. The following is an abridged translation of the catalogue of them:
"The GREGORIAN BIBLE, in two volumes. In the first volume
the title of the book of Genesis is written in red letters; and in
both volumes, several splendid purple and rose-coloured leaves
are inserted at the beginning of each book."'A PSALTER, called the'Psalter of Augustine,' from having
been presented to him by Gregory himself."
" The FOUR GOSPELS, denominated St. Mildred's; and of which
it is related, that a rustic, in the isle of Thanet, having sworn
falsely upon them, he was struck with blindness."
"A PSALTER, ornamented with a miniature painting of Samuel
the priest; and adorned on the outside with the image of Christ
and the four evangelists, on a plate of silver."
" T1he FOUR GOSPELS."
"A MARTYROLOGY, containing the Sufferings of the Apostles,
the Life of St. John, and the Dispute of St. Peter and St. Paul
with Simon Magus; ornamented with the image of Christ, embossed in silver."
"A MARTYROLOGY, beginning with Apollinaris, and terminating
with Simplicius, Faustinus, and Beatrice; and adorned with an
image of the divine Majesty, in silver gilt, and enriched with precious stones."
"An EXPOSITION OF TIE GOSPELS AND EPISTLES, appointed to
be read from the third Sunday after the octave of Easter, to the
fourth Sunday after the octave of Whitsunday; richly ornamented
* Bedra, Hist. Eccles., lib. i, cap. xxix. Henry's History of Great Britain, vol. iv,
h. ii, ch. iv, p. 20.




176                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
with a large beryl, set round with diamonds and other precious
stones."
"These," adds the ancient writer, " are the first-fruits of the
books belonging to the whole Anglican Church.* But it may be
remarked, that, besides these, Austin brought with him a copy of
Gregory's work on the "Pastoral Care."
Leland (De Script. Brit., pp. 299, 300) intimates that this
library was afterward considerably enlarged by the exertions of
the monkish archbishop. " Augustine," says he, "collected by his
friends in Italy many volumes both Latin and Greek, and took
care to have them sent him, all of which he left at death to his
monks, as pledges of his kindness toward them; the Greek are
lost, partly by the violence of times, partly by fire, partly, too, by
theft; but as to the Latin, written after the manner of the ancients,
in the large kind of Roman characters, these even now remain,
presenting an incredibly majestic air of antiquity in their aspect,
namely, two volumes containing the four Gospels, but in a version
different from that of the Vulgate; a Psalter, dedicated even by
Jerome himself to Damasus, the Roman pontiff, which I would
willingly believe to be the very original; besides two most elegant
Commentaries on the Psalms, which, from their too great age,
admit no reader, except one that is very keen-eyed."t  Astle, in
his " Origin and Progress of Writing," notices several of the
volumes originally belonging to this library, which are yet extant,
and of which he gives fac-similes. But that Christian library
must certainly be deemed extremely defective which contained no
more of the Old Testament than the Psalter; nor of the NewTestament more than the four Gospels, and an Exposition of
some parts of the Epistles!
The Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles, and the Apocalypse, or
Revelation, were in this age but rarely copied, and consequently
but seldom read. The four Gospels were what were chiefly
transcribed, and many persons of the most illustrious rank seem
to have possessed no other portions of the Holy Scriptures.
Gregory of Tours relates a singular occurrence that took place
toward the close of the sixth century, which illustrates this fact.
Childebert, king of Austrasia, in one of his victories over the
Goths, having obtained possession of the treasures of the church,
as a part of the spoils, found among them sixty chalices, or cups;
fifteen patens, or plates for the use of the communion; and twenty
* Hickesii Ling. Vet. Sept. Thesaurus, vol. ii, p. 172, fol.
t Whitaker's Ancient Cathedral of Cornwall, vol. ii, p. 324.
1




SIXTH CENTURY.                     177
boxes, or cases to hold the books of the Gospels, all of pure gold,
and richly ornamented with jewels. The celebrated copy of the
Gothic translation, called the CODEx ARGENTEUS, is, with some
probability, supposed to have been found in one of the cases.*
The CODEX EPHREMI, preserved in the royal library in Paris,
and which Wetstein supposes to have been written before A. D.
542, forms an exception to the general practice, being originally a
copy of the whole Greek Bible, both of the Old and New Testaments.  It is written on vellum, and is what is termed by Biblical
critics a Codex Rescrziptus, that is, a manuscript which has been
defaced, and another work written upon it on the same vellum or
parchment; and is a demonstrative proof of that scarcity of materials for writing upon which prevailed during the middle ages, and
of that barbarous ignorance which overspread Europe for several
centuries. It is called the Codex Ephremi from the fact of several
Greek works of Ephrem the Syrian having been written over the
more ancient writing of the Bible. The traces, however, of the
earlier writing are visible, and in many parts so far legible as to be
read by a person of good eyesight.t
A very valuable Codex Rescriptus was discovered about thirty
years since, by the Rev. Dr. Barrett, senior fellow of Trinity College, Dublin. While he was examining different books in the
library of that college, he accidentally met with a very ancient
Greek MS., on certain leaves of which he observed a two-fold
writing, the one ancient, and the other comparatively recent, transcribed over the former. The original writing on these leaves had
been greatly defaced, either by the injuries of time, or by art. On
close examination he found, that this ancient MS. consisted of the
three following fragments; the Prophet Isaiah, the Evangelist St.
-Matthew, and certain orations of Gregory Nazianzen. The fragment containing St. Mathew's Gospel he carefully transcribed, and
the whole has been accurately engraved in fac-simile, by the order
and at the expense of the university, presenting to the reader a
perfect resemblance of every page, line, and letter of the original.
Only sixty-four leaves remain of the original fragment of St. Matthew's Gospel, and even those are in a very mutilated state. Each
page contains one column, and the columns consist of twenty-one
lines, and sometimes, though rarely, of twenty-two or twenty-three;
the lines are nearly of equal lengths, and consist ordinarily of
eighteen or twenty letters. Dr. Barrett with great probability fixes
* Greg. Turon. Hist. Franc., lib. iii, cap. x. Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, pt. i, p. 146.
t Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, ch. viii, pt. i, sec. 6, p. 258
VOL. I. —12




178                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
its age to the sixth century. The doctor gives the following rea
sons for this opinion, which at once display his critical sagacity,
and present the reader with interesting information:1. It is written in the square or uncial character, which is that
of the most ancient MSS. and inscriptions: it began to be disused
in the seventh century, and soon afterward gave place to the small,
oblong, and inclined character, the uncial being only preserved in
the titles of books, &c.
2. It not only possesses internal marks of very high antiquity;
but is destitute of all those which characterize MSS. of a modern,
or comparatively modern date. It has neither spirits nor accents,
which, in the opinion of the learned Montfaucon, were first introduced in the seventh century: and though the writing is both
accurate and extremely elegant, yet it has no flourished or ornamented letters, which prevailed in MSS. of the ninth and following
centuries.
3. It agrees with the most ancient MSS. in its readings, &c.,
and particularly with the Codex Bezwe, and omits the doxology,
Matthew vi, 13.
4. Though the Ammonian sections are exhibited in this MS.,
the Eusebian canons usually connected with them are wanting, as
in the Cod. Cant.-yet these are found connected in MSS. which
boast the remotest antiquity, such as the Codex Ephrem: and the
Codex Alexandrinus.
5. The vellum on which this MS. is written was originally of a
purple colour, which is allowed by the best judges to be a proof of
the greatest antiquity.
6. There are evidences that the original writing on this vellum
had not been removed by art, in order to write another work in its
place, but had faded through the long lapse of timen; as there are
found in it unquestionable proofs of an attempt to retrace some of
the evanescent letters with fresh ink, previously to the rescript.
The later writing contains several tracts of some of the Greek
fathers, and is attributed by Dr. Barrett to a scribe of the thirteenth
century.*
The writers of the Codices Rescripti, or, as they were sometimes called, Codices Palimpsesti, employed various methods to
obliterate the ancient writings; sometimes they pared off the surface of the parchment or vellum MSS., sometimes they boiled them
in water; at other times discharged the ink by some chemical
* See Review of Dr. Barrett's Evangeliumn Secundum Ma:the-um, &c., in Eclectic Review, vol. iii, pt. i, p. 193.
1                          12*




SIXTH CENTURY.                       179
process, particularly by the use of quick-lime; and sometimes only
partially defaced the writing with a sponge; or where it was
already faded through age, pursued their transcriptions without
further erasure.*   These processes, so destructive to literature,
were commenced at an early period, for in the canons of the coun
cil of Trullo, held in the seventh century, we find one made expressly against this and similar practices: —Can. 68. "They that
tear, or cut the books of the Old or New Testament, or of the holy
doctors, or sell them to depravers of books, or apothecaries, or any
one who will make away with them, unless they be worn out and
useless, is excommunicated for a year: they that buy them, except
to keep, or sell again for the benefit of themselves or others, or
go about to corrupt them, let them  be excommunicated."t  Montfaucon, who was perhaps better qualified than any other man in
Europe to give an opinion on this subject, informs us, that these
destructive processes were in most frequent use in the twelfth,
thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries, and that they were seldom applied to any other material than parchment or vellum, since he had
only met with one instance in which the writing on cotton paper,
(charta bombycina,) had been effaced, that another work might be
written in its stead, although the major part of the works on parchment, which he had seen, of the twelfth and subsequent centuries,
were written upon parchment, from which some former work had
been erased.t
By this barbarous operation religion and science were equally
outraged, and the very words of God obliterated, to make way for
such writings as have yielded but little to the instruction or amelioration of posterity. For as there are always persons to be found
with whom gain is godliness, some of the wretched librarii, or
transcribers of books, scrupled not to efface even the sacred Scriptures, in order to write more modern or more popular works upon
the parchment which had contained them.  Nor was the practice
confined to the obliteration of the sacred records only; many classical works of high reputation were also sacrificed to gain or superstition. Thus, in the place probably of some of the finest writers
of antiquity, philosophers, poets, historians, and grammarians, we
* Peignot, Essai sur 1'Histoire du Parchemin, pp. 83-88.  Classical Journal, No.
xxiii. Wctstenii Proleg., ch. i, p. 8. Amstel. 1730, 4to.
t Johnson's Clergyman's Va(de Mecum, vol. i, p. 280. Wetstenii Proleg., ch. i, p. 8.
$ Montfaucon, Palaogr. Gr., lib. iii, p. 231; and lib. iv, p. 319. Memoires de l'Academie Royale des Inscriptions, &c. Dissertation sur la Papyrrs, vol. vi, p. 606
Paris, 1729, 4to.
1




180                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
have missals, confessionals, monkish rhymes, and execrable and
puerile legends. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the erasure of writing became so common in Germany, that, fearing the
use of erased parchment in public instruments might prove injurious
to the public, efficacious measures were adopted to prevent this
disorder. Accordingly the patents by which the emperors elevated
persons to the dignity of count, with power to promote imperial
notaries, usually contained the following clause: —"On condition
that they shall not employ old and erased parchment, but that
it shall be virgin, (that is, made of abortive skins,) and quite
new.*
These literary depredations were occasioned, as has been already
intimated, by that extraordinary scarcity and dearness of materials
for writing upon, which existed during several ages in most parts
of Europe. Great estates were often transferred from one owner
to another by a mere verbal agreement, and the delivery of earth
and stone before witnesses, without any written deed. Parchment,
on which nearly all their books were written, was so scarce, that
about the year 1124, one master Huglh, being appointed by the
convent of St. Edmundsbury, in Suffolk, to write and illuminate a
grand copy of the Bible for their library, could procure no parchment for this purpose in England! And in the great revenue-roll
of John Gurveys, bish6p of Winchester, A. D. 1226, there is an
item of five shillings, expended for parchment in one year; a considerable sum for such a commodity, at a period when wheat was
only from  two to three shillings a quarter, or eight bushels; and
when within a few years afterward, in 1283, we find the following
short entry in the annals of the priory of Dunstable:-" This year,
in the month of July, we sold our slave William Pyke, and received
one mark (thirteen shillings and four-pence) from the buyer."t
The scarcity and dearness of parchment were doubtless the
causes of another abuse, that of abbreviations. Under the pretext
of rendering manuscripts less voluminous, and consequently
cheaper; of economizing the time of those who were employed in
transcribing; and lastly, for the purpose of comprising several
volumes in one, abbreviations became so multiplied, especially in
the middle ages, that it requires more than common ability to understand and read them.  These abbreviations continued in use
subsequent to the invention of printing.  In Okam's Logic, printed
* Peignot, Essai sur Parchernln, p. 86.
~ Henry's History of Great Britain, vol. iv, p. 81; vol. vi, p. 306; and vol. viii, p.
340. 8vo. Warton's Hist. of Eng. Poetry, Dissert. ii, On Learning.
1




SEVENTH CENTURY.                    181
at Paris, in 1488, in folio, the words are so abbreviated as to be
almost unintelligible.  The following is a specimen: —Sic hic e
fal sm qd ad simplr a e pducibile a Deo g a e. et silr hic a n e g a
n e pducible a Do. These abbreviations are meant for the following sentence: but who could understand them? Sicut hic estfallacia secundum quid ad simpliciter. A est producibile C Deo, ergo
A est, et similiter hic: A non est, ergo A non est producibile ac Deo.
Toward the close of the fifteenth century, these abbreviations
became so frequent and excessive, both in manuscripts and printed
books, that it became necessary to procure works to explain them,
and facilitate the reading of works thus abbreviated. Of this description was a treatise by John Petit, entitled, Modus legendi abbreviaturas in utroque jure, Paris, 1498, Svo., and another printed
at Cologne, in 1582, entitled, iltodus legendi abbreviaturas passim
in jur. tam civil. quam pontifical. occurrent.*  Buxtorf also published a useful work on Hebrew  abbreviations, entitled, De abbreviaturis Hebraicis. Franeq. 1 696, 12mo.  Sertorius Ursatus's
Explanatio Notarum et Literarum, Wc., Paris, 1723, 12mo., is a
valuable little work on the Latin abbreviations. The Palacographia Graeca is well known; and the various abbreviations and
contractions of Greek words and letters which are found in inscriptions, MSS., and books, are beautifully engraved in Hodgkin's
Calligraphia Graeca et Poecilographia Grreca, small folio, Lond.
1807. These plates are published in the Classical Journal, Nos
xvii, xviii, xix, xxi.
CHAPTER V.
SEVENTH  CENTURY.
Illiteracy of Ecclesiastics-Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury-Paulicians-Caedmon —St. Cuthbert's Gospels-St. Chad's Gospels-Ina-Aidan
— Aldhelm-Dageus — Ultan —China.
THE proofs of illiterate barbarism which have been adduced in
the former chapter were only the commencements of that universal and profound ignorance which exercised its gloomy sway during the SEVENTH, and several subsequent centuries. Princes and
prelates, clergy and laity, all felt its baneful influence. The eighth
council of Toledo, in Spain, held about the year 653, found it necessary to forbid the ordination of any who were not, at least,
* Peignot, Essai sur Parchemin, pp. 89, 90.
1




182                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
acquainted with the Psalms and hymns used in the services of the
church, and with the ritual of baptism; and also to enjoin, that
those who had been ordained already, but were, through ignorance,
incapable of the duties of their office, should either voluntarily acquaint themselves with the services of the church, or be compelled
to it by their superiors.* In a former synod, held at the same
place, in 633, a canon had been made which declared, " Ignorance is the parent of error, and is therefore to be avoided, especially
by the priests, whose duty it is to minister to the people; agreeably
to the admonition of St. Paul, who enjoins the frequent reading of
the Scriptures."t Withred, king of Kent, in a charter whereby he
granted lands to the church or convent of St. Mary, at Liminge in
that county, A. D. 693, acknowledges, that being illiterate, (pro ignorantia literarum,) he had marked it with the sign of the holy
cross.t Crosses, instead of seals, were used by the ecclesiastics,
who introduced the practice of conveying property by written instruments, and this custom  prevailed invariably till the conquest,
and for near a century afterward. Archbishops and bishops were
frequently too illiterate to write their own names, and only made
their marks to the acts of councils.  Hence the phrase signing,
for subscribing to a deed, is taken from persons making the sign
of the cross, in place of their name, and proves how universal this
practice must have been formerly. In the acts of the councils of
Ephesus, and Chalcedon, many examples occur where subscriptions are to be found in this form: I, such a one, have subscribed
by the hand of such a one, because I cannot write.  And, such a
bishop having said that he could not write, I, whose name is underwritten, have subscribed for him.~  A  celebrated ecclesiastical
historianll remarks, " Nothing can equal the ignorance and darkness that reigned in this century; the most impartial and accurate
account of which will appear incredible to those who are unacquainted with the productions of this barbarous period."
Toward the close of this century the number of books was so
inconsiderable, even in the Papal library at Rome, that Pope Martin requested Sanctamond, bishop of Maestricht, if possible to supply this defect from the remotest parts of Germany.~T  But nothing
* S. S. Concil., vol. vi, Cone. Tolet. 8, p. 406.
t Usserii Hist. Dogmat. de Scripturis, p. 196.
t Antiquarian Repertory, vol. ii, pp. 131-133. Lond. 1779, 4to.
~ Du Cange, Gloss. v, C?'ux, Signurn.
11 Mosheim, Eccles. Hist., vol. ii, p. 165.
~ Warton's Hist. Eng. Poetry, vol. i, dissert. ii.
1




SEVENTH CENTURY.                    183
more completely proves the scarcity of books at this period, than
the bargain which Benedict Biscop, a monk, and founder of the
monastery of Weremouth, concluded a little before his death, A. D.
690, with Aldfred, king of Northumberland, by which the king
agreed to give an estate of eight hides of land, or as much as eight
ploughs could labour, which is said to have been eighthundred acres,
for one volume on cosmography, or the history of the world!*
This book was given, and the estate received, by Benedict's successor, the abbot Ceolfrid.
" Any remains of learning and philosophy that yet survived were,
a few particular cases excepted, to be found principally among the
Latins, in the obscure retreats of cloistered monks. The monastic
institutions prohibited the election of any abbot to the head of a
convent who was not a man of learning, or at least endowed with
a tolerable measure of the erudition of the times. The monks were
obliged to consecrate certain hours every day to reading and study:
and, that they might improve this appointment to the most advantageous purposes, there were, in most of the monasteries, stated
times marked out, at which they were to assemble, in order to
communicate to each other the fruits of their study, and to discuss
the matters upon which they had been reading. The youth also,
who were destined for the service of the church, were obliged to
prepare themselves for their ministry, by a diligent application
to study; and in this they were directed by the monks, one of
whose principal occupations it was to preside over the education
of the rising priesthood. It must, however, be acknowledged, that
all these institutions were of little use to the advancement of solid
learning, or of rational theology, because very few in these days
were acquainted with the true nature of the liberal arts and
sciences, or with the important ends which they were adapted to
serve."t
ENGLAND, it is true, was happier in this respect than the other
nations of Europe. This was principally owing to THEODORE,
archbishop of Canterbury. A native of Tarsus in Cilicia, a monk
of Rome, and originally a Greek priest, he had been consecrated
archbishop, and sent into England, by Pope Vitalian, in 668. He
was skilled in the metrical art, astronomy, arithmetic, church
music, and the Greek and Latin languages; and brought with him
what was then called and esteemed a large library, consisting of
* Henry's Hist. of Great Britain, vol. iv, b. ii, ch. iv, p. 20. Russel's Hist. of
Modern Europe, vol. i, let. 12, ip. 102.
t Mosheim, ubi sup.
1




184                3BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
copies of the Scriptures, and many Greek and Latin books; among
which were Homer, in a large volume, written on paper with most
exquisite elegance; the homilies of Chrysostom, on parchment;
the Psalter and Josephus's ITypomnesticon, all in Greek. He
was accompanied into England by ADRIAN, a Neapolitan monk,
and a native of Africa, learned in the Holy Scriptures, versed in
monastic and ecclesiastical discipline, and excellently skilled in
the Greek and Latin tongues; who having declined the honour of
the ecclesiastical primacy, in favour of his friend Theodore, had
been appointed by the pope to the abbacy of St. Austin's, at Canterbury.  They were both escorted from Rome, by BENEDICT BIscoP, a Saxon youth, a native of Northumrberland.  Theodore, in
conjunction with Adrian, expounded the Scriptures publicly, endeavoured to excite a taste for letters, by delivering lectures to the
most crowded audiences his exertions could procure; and established schools in most parts of England. These honourable
labours produced the most pleasing effects, and it is recorded by
Bede, that when he himself wrote, individuals were found among
the scholars of those learned masters to whom the Latin and
G(reek languages were as familiar as their native tongue. To account for the possibility of an African delivering lectures to an English or Saxon audience, it should be remembered that Latin was
the common language of all the ecclesiastics of the Romish Church;
-that Benedict Biscop had not only acted as interpreter, but as
teacher of the Saxon;-and that the principal hearers of Theodore
were persons engaged in ecclesiastical offices, or educating for
them.* "To his [Theodore's] memory," says a modern writer,
" we owe respect and gratitude; he brought into our island a most
invaluable library of Greekt and Latin books, with several copies
of the Scriptures, which happily survived the wreck of ages; he
planted among us the language of the Gospels, and sowed those
seeds both of divine and human learning, which, under the blessing
of Providence, have grown and flourished in our country, have exalted our religion, and consequently our morality, expanded our
minds, embellished them with science, and added to our physical
enjoyments the comforts of the arts. Those who unfortunately
cannot relish the animated, pious effusions of Chrysostom, (which,
however, would have equally served religion and virtue had they
* Bedae, Hist. Eccles., lib. iv, ch. xxi. Warton's Hist. of English Poetry, vol. i,
diss. 2. Cavei Hist. Litt., p. 464.
t "The copies of Homer, David's Psalms, and Chrysostom's Homilies, brought by
Theodore, were still extant at the beginning of the last century."
1




SEVENTH CENTURY.                      185
been less severe upon women,) may at least respect the man who
brought the e7rEa Xrepoevra of Homer to our shores."*
On the return of Benedict Biscop to Northumberland he founded
the monastery of Weremouth.  For the erection of the churci  he
procured workmen from France, who constructed it of stone, after
the Roman fashion; for before that time stone buildings were very
rare in Britain; even the church of Lindisfarne was of wood, and
covered with a thatch of straw and reeds, till Bishop Eadbert procured both the roof and the walls to be covered with sheet lead.
Benedict also brought over glaziers from France, the art of glassmaking being then unknown in Britain. The walls and roof of
the church he adorned with pictures, which he purchased at Rome,
representing the Virgin Mary, the twelve Apostles, the Gospel
history, and the visions of the Apocalypse.  He afterward added a
noble library of rare Greek and Latin works.t
While Theodore held the archiepiscopal dignity, a council was
summoned at Rome respecting the ecclesiastical affairs of Britain.
In this council it was decreed, that " bishops, and all whosoever
profess the religious life of the ecclesiastical order, shall not use
weapons, nor keep musicians of the female sex, nor any musical
concerts whatsoever, nor allow of any buffooneries or plays in their
presence. For the discipline of the holy church permits not her
faithful priests to use any of these things, but charges them to be
employed in divine offices, in making provisions for the poor, and
for the benefit of the church; especially let lessons out of the
divine oracles be always read, for the edification of the churches,
that the minds of the hearers may be fed with the divine word,
even at the very time of their bodily repast."t From the same
records we learn, that it was the practice, on holding a council, to
place a copy of the sacred Gospels in open view, in the church
where the council was held, during its deliberations; with the intention, most certainly, to intimate that all their decisions ought to
be according to the word of God.
But though the Scriptures were thus enjoined to be read in the
WEST, a singular circumstance wvhich occurred during this century, and ultimately gave rise to the sect of the PAULICIANS, gives
us reason to believe that they were already forbidden to the laity
in the EAST; and proves the extreme rarity of copies of the sacred
writings. A Syrian deacon, returning from captivity to his native
* Storer's Cathedrals of Great Britain, Canterbury, A. D. 690.
t Beda,, Hist. Eccles., lib. iii, cap. xxv. WVarton, ut sup.
$ Johnson's Collection of Eccl. Laws, &c., A. D. DCLXXIX.
1




186                BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
country, passed through Mananalis, an obscure town in the neigh
bourhood of Samosata. Here lie was entertained for some days
by an hospitable but indigent Armenian, whose name was Constantine. On leaving the place, the deacon, as a recompense for
Constantine's generosity, presented him with two manuscripts,
which he had brought with him from Syria, containing the Gospels,
and the Epistles of St. Paul. Constantine was overjoyed with the
present he had received, and resolved to study only the Gospels
and the Epistles, to the exclusion of every other work; and, from
this attachment to the writings of St. Paul, he and those who followed his example were denominated PAULICIANS.  This was
about the year 653. The narrator of these facts is Petrus Siculus,
who was sent from Rome to the Paulicians in Armenia in 870, by
the emperor Basil the Great, to negotiate for an exchange of prisoners. The intemperate language which he adopts on this occasion sufficiently discovers that, in his opinion, the Scriptures ought
to be withheld from the laity, and not be left to their indiscriminate
perusal and interpretation. He considers the resolution of Constantine as being formed by the instigation of the devil, (demone
instigante,) and his conduct as pregnant with the direst ills. The
relation which he has given of the way in which the Paulicians
spread their opinions is too curious to be omitted. SERGIUS, the
great and active promoter of their cause, became a convert to their
doctrines, as Petrus Siculus informs us, through the reasoning and
conversation of a female. "I hear, Sergius," said this advocate
for the Paulician doctrines, "that you excel in literature and knowledge; and that you are a good man in every respect. Tell me,
therefore, why you do not read the holy Gospels."  The unsuspicious youth replied, " It is not lazwful for tus profane persons to
read them, but for the priests onzly."  " You are mistaken," said
she, "for there is no respect of persons with God, who will have
all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. But
your priests, because they adulterate the word of God, and hide
the mysteries contained in the Gospels, do not read to you the
whole of the Scriptures, but only some parts, and omit others, lest
you should come to the knowledge of the truth. For in them
(Matt. vii) it is written,'Many shall say, Lord, Lord, have we not
cast out devils in thy name, and in thy name done many wonderful
works? But the King shall profess unto them, I never knew ye.'
Search and see whether it be not thus written. And who are
they, think you, to whom the Lord will say,'I never knew ye?"'
Sergius hesitating to reply, the woman proceeded: " To us there
1




SEVENTH CENTURYn                     187
is no great difficulty in explaining the words of the Gospel. There
are persons in the present day who honour the Christian life, and
appear to live piously, and by certain incantations cast out devils,
and cure diseases, and are called exorcists.  Like some we read
of in the Acts of the Apostles, they adjure those who are possessed
with devils, by Christ whom Paul preached,'Depart out of these
men,' and at the hearing of the name of Christ tile devils flee, filled
with terror."  In the same way the female Paulician continued to
quote the Scriptures, and affix her own sense to them, till she had
so far prevailed upon Sergius, that he determined to examine the
Scriptures for himself.  Having examined them, he became one
of the most zealous promoters of the Paulician sentiments; and,
like the other principal teachers who adopted names from the New
Testament, he assumed that of Tychicus.  The text of the Scriptures made use of by the Paulicians was, by the confession of their
enemies, allowed to be genuine and uncorrupted, and their doctrines consequently deduced from the pure word of God.*  With
some show of probability, it has been supposed that the Waldenses
derive their origin from these ancient defenders of the truth.
Returning to our Saxon ancestors, we find proofs still remaining
of their attachment to those Scriptures, which were thus early, in
the East, concealed from the eyes of the vulgar. Such are, for
instance, the fragments of Caedmon's poetical paraphrases of the
books of Genesis and Daniel; and the magnificent copies of St.
Cuthbert's and St. Chad's Gospels.
CAEDMON, a pious monk of Streaneshalch, or Whitby, in the
seventh century, employed his poetical genius in the composition
of a paraphrastical and metrical version of some of the most remarkable portions of sacred history. It is the earliest specimen
of Saxon poetry, and was printed by Junius, at Amsterdam, 1665,
4to. It opens with the fall of angels and the creation of the
world, and proceeds to the history of the first parents of mankind;
of the deluge, of the departure of the children of Israel from
Egypt, and their entrance into the land of promise. It recounts
also some of the actions of Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel.  IT
abounds with periphrasis and metaphor, the earliest figures and
the universal characteristics of ancient poetry.t
The following fragment, on the first verse of the book of Genesis, is preserved in Alfred's Saxon translation of Bede's Ecclesi* Maxima Biblioth. Vet. Patrum, tom. xvi, pp. 759, 761, 762.
t Bede, Hist. Eccles., lib. iv, cap. xxiv. Baber's Saxon and English Versions, prefixed to his edition of \Wicliffs New Testament. Lond. 1810, 4to.
1




188                    BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
astical History.  It is made on waking in a stall of oxen, whicli
he had been appointed to guard during the night.
Now we should praise                 Nu we sceolan herigean
The Guardian of the heavenly kingdom;   Heafon rices weard;
The mighty Creator,                  Metodes mihte
And the thoughts of his mind,        And his mod gethane
Glorious Father of his works'        Weorc wuldor faeder
As he, of every glory                Swa he wuldres gehwaes
Eternal Lord!                        Ece drihten
Established the beginning;           Ord onstealde;
So he first shaped                   He warest gescop
The earth for the children of men,   Eorthan bearnum,
And the heavens for its canopy.      Heofen to rofe
Holy Creator!                       HIalig scyppend!
The middle region,                   Tha middan geard,
The Guardian of mankind,             Mon cynnes weard,
The Eternal Lord,                    Ece drihtne!
Afterward made                       LEfter teode
The ground for men,                  Firum foldan
Almighty Ruler!*                    Frea almihtig!
Translations from other parts of Caedmon's Paraphrase, as published by Junius, are given in Sharon Turner's valuable " History
of the Anglo-Saxons," vol. ii, b. xii, ch. i, pp. 309-316.  Caedmon died in 680.
The Textus Sancti Cuthberti, or St. Cuthbert's Gospels, generally called the Durham Book, is a copy of the four Gospels in Latin,
written about A. D. 680, in the time of St. Cuthbert, by Egbert
or Eadfrid, a monk of Lindisfarne or Holy Island, with great care
and  labour.  Eadfrid  succeeded  Cuthbert in the bishopric of
Landisfarne, in 6S7, and was himself succeeded, in 721, by
Ethelwold, who held the see till his death, in 737.  The Latin
text is of extraordinary fine penmanship, in round Roman characters. The letters are in a high state of preservation, the ink
shining black as ebony.  Ethelwold ornamented the MS. at his
own cost, with golden bosses and precious stones; and with the
assistance of Bilfrid, an anchoret, decorated it with illuminations
of the most intricate and elaborate workmanship.   "To  give
additional value to this venerated monument of British antiquity,
to propagate the divine truth contained in its pages, written in an
unknown language to the natives of the country, in the vulgar
tongue, and to incorporate homely useful knowledge with splendid
decorations and  Latin literature,"*  Aldred, a priest, added an
* Turner's Hist. of the Anglo-Saxons, vol. ii, p. 278, 4to. 1807.
1




SEVENTH CENTURY.                     189
interlinear Saxon version about the time of Alfred, which is the
finest specimen of Saxon calligraphy and decoration extant.  Mr.
Henshall, who published Aldred's translation of the Gospel of St.
Matthew, says, that the Gospels were originally in separate
volumes, and that St. Matthew's Gospel was peculiarly appropriated by the writer to St. Cuthbert's minister; St. Mark's, to
the bishop of the island; St. Luke's, to the holy fraternity resident in the island; and St. John's, to God, and St. Cuthbert, for
his future salvation.
These Gospels were at first deposited in the Episcopal church
of Lindisfarne; but when this religious edifice was ruined by the
predatory Danes. in 793, the monks were obliged to leave their
abode in the holy island, and to seek for another asylum.  In
their passage to the Northumberland coast. this book of the Gospels, which they had borne away as their most revered treasure,
fell into the sea. Some historians relate, that it was three days
in the water: others say, that the tide ebbing much further than
usual, it was found upon the sands three miles from the shore.
After its recovery it was deposited in a monastery at Chester,
where it remained till the monks were again obliged by the Danes
to emigrate.  In the year 995 they settled at Durham.  The
recovery of this volume from  the destruction with which it had
been threatened by the devouring deep was an event from which
the monks of Durharm derived considerable emoluments. They
pretended that this book was endowed with miraculous powers,
and imposed upon the ignorant and credulous with great success.
It is now preserved among the Cotton MSS. in the British Museum. The ornaments of this book which now remain (for of its
gold and precious stones it has been long since plundered) are
pictures of the evangelists prefixed to their respective Gospels,
many capital letters beautifully illuminated, and four tessellated
tablets, each most laboriously executed, and containing a fanciful
design of the cross, painted with a rich variety of brilliant body
colours. The pictures of the evangelists are to be seen engraved
in Strutt's Horda Angel Cynnan, vol. iii, and there is a fac-simile
of an illuminated capital letter in Astle's " Origin and Progress of
Writing." The interlineatory version by Aldred is in red ink, but
in some places a little faded.*
A Latin copy of St. John's Gospel, which St. Cuthbert was in
*Astle's Origin and Progress of Writing, pp. 100, 101, fol. Henshall's Gothic
Gospel, pp. 53-63. Baber's Historical Account of Saxon and Eng. Versions, prefixed to Wicliff's N. T. 1810, 4to.
1




190                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
the habit of reading, was put into his coffin when he was buried,
and was afterward found in his tomb. It was said to be not long
ago in the possession of Mr. Thomas Philips, canon of Tongres,
to whom it was presented by the earl of Litchfield; and to
have been pronounced genuine by the ablest Protestant antiquarians.*
The Textus Sa1ncti Cedde, or St. Chad's Gospel, is a fine
MS. of the Latin Gospels, preserved in the church of Litchfield.
It was many years ago presented to the church of Llandaff, by
Gelhi, who gave for the purchase of it one of his best horses; and
about the year 1020, being deposited in the cathedral church of
Litchfield, was dedicated to St. Chad, the fifth bishop of that see;
the book has thence been called by his name.  This MS. was
written in England about the time of St. Cuthbert's Gospels, in the
seventh century, in (what Astell calls) the Roman-Saxoon character.  In the margin of it are several annotations in Latin and
Saxon, and some in the ancient British and Welsh, which last
Mr. Edwards Lhuyd supposes to be of about nine hundred years
standing.  A  fac-simile of the writing of this MS. is given in
Astle's " Origin and Progress of Writing.1't
The immense donation of Ina, king of the West Saxons, to the
church of Glastonbury, deserves also to be mentioned, as affording a proof of the veneration for the holy Gospels.  He caused a
chapel, or case modelled in the form of a chapel, to be formed of
silver and gold, with ornaments and vases equally gold and silver;
and placed it within the great church of G-lastonbury., delivering
two thousand six hundred and forty pounds of silver for forming
the chapel; for the altar he gave two hundred and sixty-four
pounds of gold; for the chalice and paten, ten pounds of gold; for
the censer, eight and twenty mancuses of gold; for the candlesticks, twelve pounds and a half of silver; for the coverizngs of the
books of the Gospels, twenty pounds and sixty maneuses of gold;
for the water vessels and other vases of the altar, seventeen
pounds of gold; for the basins for the offertory, eight pounds of
gold; for the vessels for the holy water, twenty pounds of silver;
for images of our Lord and the Virgin Mary, and the twelve apostles, a hundred and seventy-five pounds of silver and thirty-eight
pounds of gold, the twelve apostles being in silver, but our Lord
and the Virgin Mary in gold; the pall for the altar, and the vest
* Butler's Lives, vol. ii, Feb, 23, p. 221; and vol. iii, March 20, p. 228.
t Astle, ut sup.
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SEVENTH CENTURY.                     191
ments for the priests were also artfully interwoven on both sides
with gold and precious stones.*
AIDAN and ALDHELM flourished also during the seventh century,
and enlightened the nation by their pious labours. Aidan was a
native of Ireland, and a monk of Iona; and, on account of his
extraordinary mildness, was appointed missionary to Northumberland, where Oswald then reigned, who had requested that the Irish
sovereign and bishops would send him a bishop and assistants, by
whose means his subjects might be confirmed in the Christian
religion.  Oswald bestowed on Aidan the isle of Lindisfarne for
his episcopal seat; and was so edified by his learning and zeal,
that before the bishop could successfully speak the English language, he acted as his interpreter, and explained his sermons and
instructions to the people. In his ministerial labours Aidan was
indefatigable, travelling on foot through the rudest and Imost uncultivated parts of his newly formed diocess; constantly aiming to
communicate instruction, both to the rich and poor, to the Christian
and infidel. He was particularly studious in the Scriptures, and
not only read them himself, but obliged those who travelled or
associated with him  to spend their time either in reading the
Scriptures or learning the Psalter by heart.  He rarely would go
to the king's table, and never without taking with him one or two
of his clergy; and always after a short repast made haste away to
read, or to pray in the church, or in his cell.  I-e died on the 31st
of August, A. D. 651.t
ADHELM, or ALDHIELM, was born among the West Saxons, and
was a near relation of King Ina, but educated under Adrian, at
Canterbury. In 675, Maidulf resigned to him the abbey of
Maidulfsbury, or, corruptly, Malmsbury, in WTiltshire.  By his
means this abbey was rendered one of the Inost famous in England,
and numerous donations and privileges were granted to it by the
pope, and various kings and princes. After having held the abbacy
for about thirty years, he was chosen the first bishop of Sherborn,
in Dorsetshire.  But this dignity he did not long possess, for he
died in the fifth year of his episcopacy, while in the visitation of
his diocess at Dullinge, in Somersetshire, on the 25th of May,
709.t
This excellent bishop was one of the most learned men and best
poets of the age in which he lived.  Under Maidulf, or Maildulf,
* Whitaker's Cathedral of Cornwall, vol. ii, pp. 291, 292.
t Bedw Hist. Eccles., lib. iii, cap. iii, v. Butler's Lives of the Saints, vol. viii,
Aug. 31, pp. 569, 570.  t Ibid., vol. v, pp 329, 330.
1




192                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
who founded the abbey of Malmsbury, and supported himself by
teaching scholars, he became thoroughly versed in Greek and
Latin; and was the first of the English nation who wrote in Latin.
In a letter to his old preceptor, he expresses his love of study, and
mentions the objects to which his attention was directed: among
these we find the Roman jurisprudence, the metres of Latin
poetry, arithmetic, and astronomy.  His learning and poetic
powers he devoted to the most benevolent and pious purposes.
Before his advancement to the bishopric, and while abbot of
Malmsbury, he employed his poetic genius in a singular manner,
for the instruction of the people. Observing his barbarous countrymen to be inattentive to grave instructions, and to run home
immediately after the singing of mass, he composed a number of
little poems, ingeniously interspersed with passages of Scripture;
and having an excellent voice, and great skill in music, frequently
placed himself upon a bridge that joined the town and country, and
professing himself skilled in singing, stopped the passengers, while
he sang his poems in the sweetest manner. By this means he
gained the favour of the populace, who flocked about him, and by
so specious a mode of instruction were brought to a sense of duty,
and a knowledge of religious subjects.
Toward the close of life he translated the Psalter into Saxon;
and in his book De Vir;~initate, praises the nuns to whom he wrote
for their industry and attention in daily reading and studying the
Holy Scriptures; a practice highly deserving commendation at all
times, but particularly so at this period. For " to a nation whose
minds were so untutored in knowledge as the Anglo-Saxons, the
Jewish and Christian Scriptures must have been invaluable accessions. From these they would learn the most rational chronology
of the earth, the most correct history of the early states of the
East, the most intelligent piety, the wisest morality, and every
style of literary composition. Perhaps no other collection of human
writings can be selected, which would so much interest and benefit
a rude and ignorant people. We shall feel all their value and
importance to our ancestors if we compare them with the Edda, in
which the happiest efforts of the northern genius are deposited."*
Aldhelm's translation of the Psalms was probably lost or destroyed
through the incursions of the Danes.
This great and good man was not satisfied with only personally
promoting the knowledge of the Scriptures; he endeavoured to
engage others in the same blessed work. The copy of a letter is
* Turner's Hist. of tie Anglo-Saxonis, b. xii, p. 36u.
1




SEVENTH CENTURY.                     193
still extant, which he wrote to Ehfrid or Eadfrid, bishop of Lindisfarne, with this design. It is a curious specimen of Aldhelm's
epistolary style, and of the barbarous and monkish Latin then in
use. As a poet, King Alfred the Great declared Aldhelm to be the
best of all the Saxons, and notices one of his pieces as being universally sung in his time, near two hundred years after the decease
of its author. His poetical works which remain are: De Laude
Virginum, De Octo principalibus Vitiis, and  Enigmata.
The principal prose work of Aldhelm is his treatise in praise of
virginity. A beautifully illuminated copy of this work is preserved
in the archiepiscopal library, at Lambeth Palace. In the catalogue
of this library, published in 1812, folio, by the Rev. H. J. Todd, a
fac-simile is given of the first leaf of this MS., supposed to be,
according to Mr. Todd, of the eighth, or, according to Mr. Dibdin,
of the tenth or eleventh century, representing Aldhelm seated in a
chair, with a group of virgins standing round him, as if approving
of his work. Mr. Astle, in his " Origin and Progress of Writing,"
p. 71, has given also a specimen of the characters in which it is
written. This singular treatise contains a profusion of epithets
paraphrases, and repetitions, conveyed in long and intricate periods.
But in an age of general ignorance, his diction pleased and informed
by its magnificent exuberance. His imagery was valued for its
minuteness, because, although usually unnecessary to its subject,
yet, as these long details contained considerable information for an
uncultivated mind, and sometimes presented pictures which, if
considered by themselves, are not uninteresting, it was read with
curiosity, and praised with enthusiasm.  "It is, however, just to
his memory to say, that he was a man of genius, though of wild
and uncultivated taste. His mind was as exuberant of imagery as
Jeremy Taylor's. Many of his allusions, though fanciful, are
apposite, and some are elegant and vigorous, both in the conception
and the expression."*
DAGA2US and ULTAN, two Irish monks, deserve also to be mentioned. Dagaeus flourished in the early part of the sixth century,
and died 587. He was abbot of Inniskilling, (Inisceltraensis,) and
an eminent calligraphist; and not only wrote many books with his
own hand, but also manufactured and ornamented bindings in gold,
silver, and precious stones. Ultan was the first bishop of Ardbraccan, in Meath, in Ireland: Among his virtues, his charity has
been particularly mentioned. Ethelwolf, in a metrical epistle to
* Turner's Anglo-Saxons, vol. ii, b. xii, pp. 367, 368. Dibdin's Bibliographical
Decameron, vol. i, p. lii, note.
VOL. I.-13




194                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Egbert, at that time resident in Ireland, with a view of collecting
MSS., extols him for his talent in adorning books; Leland also
(Collect., vol. ii, p. 364) designates him as a first-rate calligraphist and illuminator; and Harpsfield says, he used to transcribe the Holy Scriptures in the most beautiful manner.*  He
died in 656.
Such were the worthies, who rose liks stars in our hemisphere,
and beamed their rays across the gloom, at a time when ignorance
and barbarism  so universally reigned, that in Britain the fair sex
were treated with indignity, and our ancestors bought their wives
as they purchased their cattle; parents exported their children to
be sold for slaves; and men were yoked in teams like oxen!t But
from such recollections we turn to the more pleasing subject
of the introduction of the Scriptures into the immense empire of
China.
From a curious monument discovered at Sighan-fu, in the
province of Xen-si, in 1625, we learn, that under the reign of the
emperor Thai-cum, about the year 637, a Christian missionary
named Olopen visited the imperial residence at Cham-ghan, or Sighan-fu.  The emperor, hearing of his arrival, sent his prime minister, and other noblemen of his court, to meet him, and after
discoursing with him on the object of his mnission, to conduct him
to the palace. The result of his interview with the emperor was
important; Fam-hiven-lim, the prime minister, one of the most
learned men in the empire, was ordered to translate the Scriptures,
brought by Olopen, into the Chinese language, and the doctrines
of the Gospel were permitted to be divulged and preached.+  Succeeding emperors, alas! pursued a different conduct; the bonzes,
or pagan priests, raised violent persecutions; the Scriptures in the
vernacular language were ultimately destroyed or lost, and for
many ages that vast empire remained without a complete copy of the
Bible, and almost without the smallest portion of the sacred writings in the Chinese tongue. Two separate translations have, however, lately been completed of the whole of the New Testament
into this most difficult language; the one at Serampore, by Dr.' Dibdin's Bibliographical Decameron, vol. i. p. cxxi, note. Butler's Lives, vol.
ix,p. 39.
t Johnson's Ecclesiastical Laws, A. D. DCII. Turner's Anglo-Saxons, vol. ii, b.
viii, ch. ix, pp. 99, 100.
X D'Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orientale, Supp., p. 165, fol. 1730. Marsh's Michaelis,
vo. iv, p. 447. Gibbon's D. & F. of the Rom. Emp., vol. viii, ch. xlvii, p. 345, note.
Moeheim's Eccles. Hist., vol. ii, pp. 151, 152.
1                         13'




EIGHTH CENTURY.                      195
Joshua Marshman, a Baptist missionary, the other at Canton, by
Dr. Robert Morrison, a missionary sent out by the London Missionary Society. They are now proceeding with the translation of
the Old Testament, notwithstanding the imperial edicts forbidding
them to be read by the natives of China.
CHAPTER VI.
E1 G  T H  CENTURY.
Arabic Version-Venerable Bede-Willibrord-BoniJace-Churches of
WVood-Willehad- Alcuin-Illiteracy —Military Ecclesiastics-Canons of
Councils-Scriptures in Saxon Characters — Fgbert's Library-Instruction
of Children.
EARLY in the EIGHTHI century, the Scriptures were translated into
ARABIC. The conquests of the Saracens, or Moors, had rendered
the Arabic common in Spain; and John, archbishop of Seville,
desirous that the people should read and understand the Holy
Scriptures, undertook a translation of them into that tongue, which
he completed about A. D. 717.* Between this and the version of
Saadias Gaon, in the tenth century, other translations probably
were made, but their exact date is not ascertainable.  "If a conjecture is allowable," says Dr. Marsh, " on a subject where history
leaves us in the dark, we may suppose that most of the Arabic
versions were made during the period that elapsed between the
conquests of the Saracens in the seventh century, and the Crusades
in the eleventh; especially about the middle of this period, when
the Syriac and the Coptic, though they had ceased to be living
languages, were still understood by men of education; and Arabic
literature, under the patronage of Al Matnon, and his successors,
had arrived at its highest pitch."t
The Arabic version found in the Tritaglot Pentateuch, preserved
in the Barberini collection at Rome, is probably one of the oldest
now extant. J. J. Bjornstahll has described this very valuable MS.
in a letter subjoined to Fabricy's Titres Priimitifs, tom. i, and a
specimen of the version has been presented to the public by And.
Christ. Hwiid, in a small work entitled, Specimen ineditee ve7rsionis Arabico Samaritance Pentateuchi e codice manuscripto
Bibliothecmc  Barberince.  RomcT. MDCCLxXX.
* Basnage, IIist. de l'Eglise, tom. i, liv. ix, cap. iv, p. 471, fol. Brerewood's Enquiries touching the Diversity of Languages, p. 237.
t Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, pt. ii, p. 600.
1




196                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
From these it appears that this important MS. was purchased at
Damascus, in 1631, for Nicholas Fabricius Peiresc, by whom it
was bequeathed to Cardinal Barberini, nephew to Pope Urban
VIII. It was transcribed at Damascus in 1227, for the use of the
public synagogue of the Samaritans in that city. It is written on
parchment, and forms one volume in large folio. Each page is
divided into three collateral columns. The Hebrawo-Samaritan occupies the column on the right, the Arabic version is in the middle,
and the Samaritan version on the left.  The Arabic version is
made from the Hebrmao-Samaritan text, to which it exactly corresponds, sentence for sentence, line for line, and, as nearly as possible, word for word. Both the versions, as well as the HebraeoSamaritan text, are in the Samaritan character. The specimen
adduced is the forty-ninth chapter of Genesis.
A translation of the Gospel of St. John into Anglo-Saxon was
made also in the eighth century, by the Venerable Bede.
BEDA, or BEDE, the great ornament of his age and country, was
born in 673. At the close of his "Ecclesiastical History," he
gives the following simple, unaffected narrative of his life:-" Born
in the territory of the same monastery," (of Weremouth, in the
kingdom of Northumberland,) " I was, by the care of my relations,
committed at seven years of age to the reverend abbot Benedict,
(Biscop) in order to be educated; and afterward to Ceolfrid. From
that period I have resided constantly in this monastery, and have
applied myself wholly to the study of the Holy Scriptures; and in
the intervals of the observance of regular discipline, and the daily
care of singing in the church, have always found it sweet to be
either learning, or teaching, or writing. In the nineteenth year of
my life I received the order of deacon, and in my thirtieth that of
priest, both by the ministry of the most reverend bishop John," (of
Beverly, bishop of Hexham,) " and the command of abbot Ceolfrid.
From the time of my receiving the office of priest to the fifty-ninth
year of my age, I have been engaged in either briefly noting from
the works of the venerable fathers, for the necessities of me and
mine, these things* on the Scriptures, or in adding some new comment to their sense and interpretation."
It has been justly remarked, that " he never knew what it was
to do nothing. He wrote on all the branches of knowledge then
cultivated in Europe. In Greek and Hebrew he had a skill very
uncommon in that barbarous age; and by his instructions and
example he raised up many scholars." A year before his death
* Alluding to the catalogue of writings which he subjoined to this narrative.
1




EIGHTH CENTURY.                           197
he wrote a letter to Ecgbright, or Egbert, archbishop of York,
which deserves to be noticed for the solid sense it exhibits,
and  the  information  it conveys.   The  following  are extracts
from it:"Above all things avoid useless discourse, and apply yourselves to the study of the HOLY SCRIPTURES, especially the Epistles
to Timothy and Titus; to Gregory's Pastoral Care, and his
Homilies on the Gospel. It is indecent for him who is dedicated
to the service of the church to give way to actions or discourse
unsuitable to his character. Have always those about you who
may assist you in temptation; be not like some bishops, who love
to have those about them that love good cheer, and divert them
with trifling and facetious conversation."
" Your diocess is too large to allow  you to go through the
whole in a year; therefore appoint presbyters in each village, to
instruct and administer the sacraments; and let them be studious,
that every one of them may learn by heart the Creed and the
Lord's Prayer; and that, if they do not understand  Latin, they
may repeat them  in their own tongue.  I have translated them
into English for the benefit of ignorant presbyters. I am told
there are many villages in our nation, in the mountainous parts,
the inhabitants of which have never seen a bishop or a pastor, and
yet they are obliged to pay their dues to the bishop."*
The high opinion which Bede entertained of a faithful minister
of the gospel, is discoverable in his Life of St. Cuthbert, written in
hexameter verse; it begins thus:"Multa suis Dominus fulgescere lumina seclis
Donavit, tetricas humanae noctis ut umbras
Lustraret divina poll de culmine flamma,
Et licet ipse Deo natus de lumine Christus
Lux sit summa, Deus sanctos quoque jure lucernae
Ecclesiam rutilare dedit, quibus igne magistro
Sensibus instet amor, sermonibus astuat ardor
Multifidos varium lychnos qui sparsit in orbem
Ut cunctum nova lux fidei face fusa sub axem
Omnia sidereis virtutibus arva repleret."
" That many lights should shine in every age,
T' illume the loathsome shades of human night
With his celestial flame, the Lord permits:
And though our light supreme is Christ divine,
Yet God has sent his saints with humbler rays
To burn within his church. With sacred fire,
* Milner's Hist. of the Church of Christ, vol. iii, pp. 134, 139.
1




* 98                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Love fills their minds, and zeal inflames their speech.
He spreads his numerous torches through the world,
That the new rays of burning faith diffused
With starry virtues, every land may fill."*
Bede died in the year 735, and the circumstances of his
death are thus described by his pupil Cuthbert, afterward abbot
of Jarrow:"About two weeks before Easter he began to be much troubled with shortness of breath, yet without pain: and thus continued, cheerful and rejoicing, giving thanks to Almighty God day
and night, nay, even every hour, till the day of our Lord's ascension. He daily read lessons to us his scholars; the rest of the
day he spent in singing psalms. The nights he passed without
sleep, yet rejoicing and giving thanks, unless when a little slumber intervened.  When he awoke he resumed his accustomed
devotions, and, with expanded hands, never ceased returning
thanks to God. Indeed, I never saw with my eyes, nor heard
with my ears, any one so diligent in his grateful devotions.  0
truly blessed man! He sang that sentence of St. Paul,'It is a
fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God;' and many
other things from the Scripture, in which he admonished us to
arouse ourselves from the sleep of the mind. He also recited
something in our English language, for he was very learned in
our songs; and putting his thoughts into English verse, he repeated it with much feeling.  For this necessary journey no one
can be more prudent than he ought to be, to think before his
going hence what of good or evil his spirit after death will be
judged worthy of. He also sang anthems, according to his and
our custom, one of which is,'  glorious King, Lord of hosts,
who triumphing this day, didst ascend above all the heavens,
leave us not orphans, but send the promise of the Father, the
Spirit of truth upon us. Alleluia.' When he came to the words
leave us not, he burst into tears, and wept much. By turns we
read, and by turns we wept; indeed, we always read in tears.
In such solemn joy we passed the fifty days. But during these
days, besides the daily lessons which he gave, and the singing of
psalms, he endeavoured to compose two works. The one was a
translation of St. John's Gospel into English, as far as where it is
said,'But what are these among so many;' the other some collection out of St. Isidore's book of Notes. On Tuesday be-fore
ascension day his breathing began to be very strongly affected,
* Turner's Hist. of the Anglo-Saxons, vol. ii, b. xii, c. iii, p. 347.
1




EIGHTH CENTURY.                    199
and a little swelling appeared in his feet. All that day he dictated
cheerfully, and sometimes said,' Make haste, I know not how
long I shall hold out; Iny Maker may take me away very soon.'
It seemed to us he knew well he was near his end. He passed
the night awake in thanksgiving.  On Wednesday morning he
ordered us to write speedily what we had begun. This being
done, we walked till the third hour, with the relics of the saints, as
the custom  of the day required. Then one of us said to him,'Most dear master, there is yet one chapter wanting. Do you
think it troublesome to be asked any more questions?' He answered,'It is no trouble, take your pen and write fast:' he did
so. But at the ninth hour he said to me,'I have some valuables
in my little chest. Run quickly, and bring all the priests of the
monastery to me.' When they canme, he distributed his small
presents to them, and exhorted each of them to attend to their
masses and prayers. They all wept when he told them  they
would see him no more; but rejoiced to hear him say,' It is now
time for me to return to Him who made me. The time of my
dissolution draws near.  I desire to be dissolved, and to be
with Christ.  Yes, my soul desires to see Christ, my King,
in his beauty.' In this manner he continued to converse cheerfully till the evening, when the pupil mentioned before said to
him,'Dear master, one sentence is still wanting.' He replied,'Write quickly.'  The young man said,'It is finished.' He
answered,'Thou hast well said, all is now finished. Hold my
head with thy hands, for I shall delight to sit at the opposite side
of the room, on the holy spot at which I have been accustomed to
pray, and where, while sitting, I can invoke my Father.' When
he was placed on the pavement of his little place, he sang,'Glory
be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,' and
expired as he uttered the last words."* Such was the happy, the
glorious conclusion of life to this first of scholars! "He was
called the wise Saxon by his contemporaries," says Dr. Henry,
"and venerable Beda by posterity; and as long as great modesty, piety, and learning, united in one character, are the
objects of veneration among mankind, the memory of Beda must
be revered."t
The study, or oratory, of this illustrious presbyter, which appears
to have been in a building erected for the purpose, and detached
* Cuthberti Epist. in Bed. Hist. a Smith, pp. 793, 794. Butler's Lives of the
Saints, vol. v, May 27.
t Henry's Hist. of Great Britain, vol. iv, p. 30.
1




200                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
from the monastery, was long preserved from destruction. Simeon,
the historical monk of Durham, who flourished in 1164, and Leland, who lived in the sixteenth century, both speak of it as remaining in their time. " Even the place," says Simeon, " is shown)
at this day where he had his little mansion of stone, and, free from
all disturbance, was accustomed to sit, to meditate, to read, to
dictate, and to write." And Leland remarks, "The oratory of
Bede is still remaining entire, a building low in its pitch, small in
its size, and vaulted in its roof; having an altar within it, but
neglected, yet bearing in the middle of its front a piece of serpentine marble, a marble of a dusky green in the ground, and of a
lively green in the spots, inlaid into the substance of it."  This,
therefore, was the altar at which Bede, equally devout and learned,
happily sensible, amid all his learning, that he derived his intellect,
and the illumination of it, from  the awful "Father of lights,"
kneeled down at his private devotions; and to which he was carried in his dying moments, and where, resting upon a rug, he
prayed, and died in the act of prayer. The very chair, too, a rude
oaken one, in which he used to sit, is still kept, carefully locked
up in the vestry of the old monastic chapel, converted into a parish
church, but recently rebuilt.*  A copy of some of St. Paul's Epistles, in the hand-writing of Bede, is also said to be preserved in
the library of Trinity College, Carmbridge.t
Several other eminent men, chiefly Englishmen, distinguished
for their zeal and love of the Scriptures, flourished about the same
period as Bede.
WILLIBRORD, the apostle of Friesland, was born in the kingdom
of Northumberland about the year 658. When he was about
thirty-three years of age, he, and eleven of his countrymen, crossed
over the sea into Holland, and laboured among the Frieslanders
with extraordinary success, till driven from the country by the
violent persecutions raised against them by the idolatrous sovereign Radbod. They then passed into Denmark, and preached
the gospel there during the life of Radbod; but at his decease
returned into Friesland, where Willibrord was ordained bishop of
Wiltenburgh, now Utrecht, by the Roman prelate.  During the
rest of his life he was indefatigable in his exertions for the conversion of the idolaters around him, and for the general spread of
divine truth. With this design he erected schools at Utrecht,
which afterward became famous; and an abbey at Epternach, near
* Whitaker's Cathedral of Cornwall, vol. ii, ch. vii, pp. 338-340.
t Hickesii Thesaurus, vol. ii, p. 241.
1




EIGHTH CENTURY.                     201
Treves, in the duchy of Luxemburgh, then a dreary waste, for the
purpose of educating missionaries. He died, in the eighty-first
year of his age, about A. D. 738.  Alcuin says, "He was of a
becoming stature, venerable in his aspect, comely in his person,
graceful, and always cheerful in his speech and countenance, wise
in his counsel, unwearied in preaching and all apostolic functions,
amid which he was careful to nourish the interior life of his soul
by assiduous prayer, singing of psalms, watching, and fasting."*
At Epternach were kept, a few years ago, two MSS. in Saxon
letters, supposed to have been brought from England by Willibrord. The one a copy of the four Gospels, which in the colophon
is said to be corrected from the original text of St. Jerome: " Prcemendavi ut potui secundum codicem de bibliotheca Eugipi praspiteri, quem ferunt fuisse S. Hieronymi, indictione vi, post consulatum Basilii vc. anno septimo decimo." The other, St. Jerome's
Martyrology, which the Bollandists have caused to be engraved in
their collection of the Lives of the Saints.  In the margin of this
calendar is written, in Willibrord's hand: "Clement WVillibrord
came from beyond the sea into France in 690; though unworthy,
was ordained by the apostolic man, Pope Sergius, in 695; is now
living in 728," &c. Another valuable MS., but probably of the
tenth century, was also preserved in the same monastery. It is a
copy of the four Gospels, written upon exquisitely beautiful vellum,
in letters of gold. The life of Jesus is represented in miniature
paintings. In the crucifixion he is clothed in raiment of a violet
colour, and nailed to the cross with four nails: the thieves also
appear clothed. The emperor Otho, and the queen Theophanu,
are represented on the cover; from which it is conjectured to have
been given to the monastery by that emperor.t
WINFRID, afterward called BONIFACE, was another of the distinguished characters of this age. He was an Englishman, born
at Kirton, in Devonshire, about the year 680. From thirteen years
of age he was educated in the monastery of Escancester, or Exeter,
under the abbot Wolphard. After he had spent some years there,
he removed to the monastery of Nutcell, in the diocess of Winchester, where he continued his studies under the learned abbot
Winbert. Here he made unusual progress in poesy, rhetoric,
history, and the knowledge of the Scriptures; and was afterward
appointed by his abbot to teach the same sciences: of which duty
* Butler's Lives, vol. ii, pp. 152-161.
+ Voyage Litteraire de deux Religieux Benedictins, tom. ii, pp. 197, 198. Paris,
1717, 4to.
1




202                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
he acquitted himself with great profit to others, at the same time
improving himself with that redoubled advantage which maturity
of years and judgment, and a diligent review of a well-digested
course of former studies, give to masters of an elevated genius.
At the age of thirty he was ordained priest, on the recommendation
of his abbot, and laboured with much zeal in preaching the word
of God. His spirit was ardent, and he longed to be employed as
a missionary in the conversion of pagans. With this design, he,
with two other monks, went over into Friesland about the year
716; but finding that circumstances rendered it impracticable, at
that time, to preach the gospel in those parts, he returned into
England, with his companions, to his monastery.
On the death of the abbot of Nutcell, the society would have
elected Winfrid in his stead, but he firmly refused to accept the
presidency; and having obtained recommendatory letters from the
bishop of Winchester, proceeded to Rome, where he obtained
from Pope Gregory II. a most ample and unlimited commission to
endeavour the conversion of infidels.
With this commission Winfrid went into Bavaria and Thuringia.
In the first country he reformed the churches; in the second he
was successful in the conversion of infidels. He afterward cooperated for three years with Willibrord, in Friesland. Willibrord
declining through age, chose Winfrid for his successor; an offer
which he declined, because the pope had enjoined him to preach
in the eastern parts of Germany, and he felt himself bound to fulfil
the injunction.  He accordingly laboured to spread the gospel
through various parts of Germany, particularly Hesse, and succeeded in erecting the standard of truth even to the confines of
Saxony; supporting himself at times by the labour of his hands,
and repeatedly being exposed to imminent danger from the fury of
the obstinate pagans.
In 732 he received the title of archbishop from Gregory III.,
who supported his mission with the same spirit as his predecessor
Gregory II. The increase of his dignity did not, however, lessen
his zeal; he still continued his pastoral care over the many churches
he had founded, held various councils with his clergy, promoted
several monastic institutions, and extended the gospel to different
barbarous and uncivilized nations. In 746 he laid the foundation
of the great abbey of Fuld, or Fulden, which continued long the
most renowned seminary of piety and learning in all that part of
the world. His principal residence he fixed at Mentz, from which
he has usually been called the archbishop of that city.
1




EIGHTHI CENTUI;P.                   203
His care for the churches, and his earnestness in the service of
God, increased with his years, so that in 755, though oppressed
with age and infirmities, and universally revered by the Christian
world, he determined to return to Friesland. HI-e therefore appointed Lullus, an Englishman, his successor as archbishop of
Mentz; and wrote to the abbot of St. Denys, to request the king
of France to be kind to him, and the other missionaries, who
were struggling with indigence and difficulties. Having settled
the affairs of his church, he went by the Rhine into Friesland,
where, assisted by Eoban, whom he had ordained bishop of Utrecllt
after the death of Willibrord, he brought great numbers of the
pagans into the pale of the church. Having appointed the eve
of Whit-sunday to confirm those whom he had baptized, he pitched
a tent on the banks of the Bordne, a river which then divided East
and West Friesland, and was waiting, in prayer, the arrival of the
new converts, wlen, instead of the friends he expected, a band of
enraged pagans, armed with shields and lances, rushed furiously
upon them, and slew Boniface and all his company, fifty-two in
number. He died exhorting his followers not to fight, but to meet
with constancy and cheerfulness a death which would be to them
the gate of light. This was in the seventy-fifth year of his age.
The barbarians, instead of the valuable booty of gold and silver
which they had expected, found nothing of any value, but books,
which they scattered about the fields and marshes. Three of these
were afterward recovered, and kept in the monastery of Fuld, or
Fulden; a Book of the Gospels, written in Boniface's own hand;
a Harmony, or Canons of the New Testament; and a book, con
taining the letter of St. Leo to Theodorus, bishop of Frejus; and
the discourse of St. Ambrose, " On the Holy Ghost," with his
treatise, De bono Mortis, or, "On the Advantage of Death."*
A collection of Boniface's letters has been preserved and published. The following extracts from them will discover his love
to the Scriptures, and his desire to promote an acquaintance with
them  in others. His epistle to the abbess Eadburga has been
already mentioned. To Nithardus he writes, "Nothing can you
search after more honourably in youth, or enjoy more comfortably
in old age, than the knowledge of Holy Scripture." To Daniel,
bishop of Winchester, he addresses a request, to send him the
Book of the Prophets, "which," says he, "the abbot Winbert,
formerly my master, left at his death, written in very distinct
* Milner's History of the Church of Christ, vol. iii, ch. iv, pp. 172-182. Butler's
Lives, vol. vi, June 5.
1




204                  BIDLICAL LITERATURE,
characters. A greater consolation in my old age I cannot receive;
for I can find no book like it in this country; and as my sight
grows weak, I cannot easily distinguish the small letters, which
are joined close together in the sacred volumes which are at present in my possession."  In other letters also he begs for books,
especially those of Bede, whom  he styles the "Lamp of the
Church."'*  Boniface's letters are all written in Latin; but, as
Verstegan justly observes, the language of the English Saxons,
and that of the inhabitants of most parts of Germany, were so
nearly the same, that, in their preaching and general intercourse,
he and his companions seem to have had no need of interpreters.t
Another celebrated missionary, in this "age of missions," was
WILLEHAD, or VILLEHAD, usually called the apostle of Saxony.
lie was an Englishman, born in Northumberland, and educated in
learning and piety.  Crossing over the sea to the continent, he
commenced his mission in Dockurn, where Boniface was murdered, about the year 772. From  Dockum, he made his way
through the country now  called Over-Yssel, and from thence to
Trentonia, or Drentia, from whence he proceeded into Wigmore,
where Bremen now stands, and was the first missionary who
passed the Elbe.  After labouring thirty-five years in his missions,
he died at a village called Bleckensee, now Plexam, in Friesland,
having been bishop of Bremen two years. Holy reading and meditation were his favourite exercises; and he usually recited the
whole Psalter every day, and frequently two or three times a day.
His attention and love to the Scriptures were discoverable in his
copying, with his own hand, the Epistles of St. Paul, besides other
books.  His cathedral at Bremen he built of wood: his successor,
Willoric, afterward rebuilt it of stone.  This mode of erecting
churches was practised in other places where architecture was at
a low ebb. Sulpicius Severus tells us, " that in the deserts of
Libya, near Cyrene, he went with a priest with whom he lodged
into a church which was made of small rods or twigs interwoven
one with another, and not much more stately and ambitious than
the priest's own house, in which a man could hardly stand upright. But the men who frequented these churches were men of
the golden age and the purest morals." (S. Sulpic. Sev. Dial. 1,
ch. ii.) Bede also informs us, that anciently there was not a stone
* Milner, Aut sutep.
i Verstegan's Restitution of Decayed Intelligence, p. 147, 4to.
t Milner's Hist. of the Church of Christ, vol. iii, pp. 187, 188. Butler's Lives,
vol. ii, Nov. 8.
1




EIGHTH CENTURY.                     205
church in all this island, but that the custom  was to build them
all of wood; so that when Bishop Ninyas built one of stone, it was
such an unusual thing, that the place was called from it Candida
Casa, Whithern, or Whitchurch.  (I1ist. Eccles., lib. iii, cap. iv.)
The church erected on the place where St. Edmund was martyred
at Bedricksworth, or Kingston, since called St. Edmundsbury, was
built after the same manner.  Trunks of large trees were sawn
lengthways in the middle, and reared up with one end fixed in the
ground, with the bark or rough side outermost.  These trunks
being made of an equal height, and set up close to one another,
and the interstices filled up with mud, formed the four walls, upon
which was raised a thatched roof. Of the low rough manner of
building in use among our ancestors, we have, or lately had, an
example still standing, in part of Greensted church, near Ongar,
in Essex.  In this church, the most ancient part, the nave or body,
was entirely composed of the trunks of large oaks split, and rough
hewed on both sides. They were set upright and close to each
other, being let into a sill at the bottom, and a plate at the top,
where they were fastened with wooden pins. "This," says Ducarel,
"was the whole of the original church, which yet remains entire,
though much corroded and worn by length of time.  It is twentynine feet nine inches long, and five feet six inches high, on the
sides, which supported the primitive roof." But perhaps nothing
more satisfactorily proves the general practice of building with
wood than the Anglo-Saxon verb commonly used when buildings
are spoken of being erected. It is getynmbrian, " to make of wood."
Where Bede says of any one that he built a monastery or a church,
Alfred, in his translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History, uses the
word getimbrade.*
But to return from this digression.-ALcuIN, called also FLACcus ALBINUS, another learned Englishman of this age, was so eminent for learning and science, that Charlemagne selected him for
his literary friend and preceptor. The place of his birth has been
disputed, but he says of himself, that he was nourished and educated at York, where he learned Latin and Greek, with the elements of the Hebrew language, and went through the sacred
studies under Egbert, and Elbert, who taught a great school in
that city, till they were successively placed in the archiepiscopal
chair. When Elbert succeeded Egbert in that dignity, in 766, he
committed to Alcuin the care of the school, and of the library be* Butler's Lives, vol. ii, pp. 336, 339. Turner's Hist. of the Anglo-Saxons, vol. ii,
p. 412. Ducarel's Anglo-Norman Antiquities, p. 100.




206                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
longi-ng to that churchi  Eadbald succeeding his uncle Elbert as
archbishop, in 780, sent Alcuin to Rome to bring over his pall.
On his return, Charlemagne met him at Pavia, and was so struck
with the wisdom of his discourse, that he earnestly requested him
to fix his residence at his court, as soon as lie had accomplished
his mission. To an invitation so flattering, Alcuin gave his consent, provided he could obtain the permission of his king and archbishop, and might be allowed to revisit his country. The requisite
permission being granted) he returned to France, where lie devoted
himself to the instruction of his royal pupil, and the general interests of religion, literature, and science; and such were his indefatigable exertions for the encouragement and dissemination of
learning, that they were not only successful in France, but greatly
contributed to the general promotion of it throughout Europe.
From the numerous possessions and jurisdictions which Alcuin
enjoyed, Elipand, a bishop of Spain, in a theological dispute with
him, took the opportunity to reproach him severely for his riches,
and the number of his vassals or slavcs, "Elipand," says lie, in
a letter to the bishop of Lyons, " objects to me, my riches,
servants and vassals, which amount to the number of twenty thousand, not reflecting that the possession of riches is vicious only
from the attachment of the heart.  It is one thing to possess the
world, and another to be possessed by the world. Some possess
riches, though perfectly disengaged from them in their hearts:
others though they enjoy none, yet love and covet them."  And it
is but justice to the character of this great man, to remark, that
these vassals belonged to the several abbeys of which the king had
compelled him to undertake the administration, that he might establish regular discipline in them, and employ the surplus of the
revenue in alms, agreeably to the intention of such foundations.
Charlemagne had also made him his general almoner, and appointed him a house for the reception of strangers. It will nevertheless serve to mark the manners of the age, to remember, that
the vassals or slaves belonging to the different abbeys " were obliged to go with their carts fifty miles or upward, whenever their
abbot commanded, and were not permitted to marry, or change
their abode, without first receiving his express consent; that they
were compelled to cultivate the land three days in the week, while
their master solely enjoyed the fruits of their industry; and that in
several instances the abbots exercised the jurisdiction of life and
death over them."
So far was the mind of the pious Alcuin from being corrupted by
1




EIGHTHI CENTURY.                     207
his prosperity, that he frequently entreated the king to permit himn
to resign those gifts, which he had only accepted upon the pressing solicitation of the sovereign.
After repeated and sincere solicitations on the part of Alcuin,
and frequent refusals from Charlemagne, he was permitted to retire to the abbey of St. Martin at Tours, as a private monk.  In
this retirement, all his studies were bent toward theology; and it
has even been affirmed, that notwithstanding his early attachment
to the classic writers, in his advanced age lie found fault with
Ricabode, archbishop of Treves, for poring over the iEneid, instead
of fixing his thoughts entirely upon the four Evangelists. Some
of the last years of his life he employed in a work of great importance, the revision of the Latin Bible.  From the carelessness of
transcribers, the copies of the Scriptures, in general use, were become exceedingly incorrect; Alcuin, therefore, at the instance of
Charlemagne, undertook to revise the Vulgate version of the Old
and New Testament, and bring it as near as possible to its original
purity.  For this purpose he examined and collated a number of
valuable MSS., and with indefatigable industry completed his laborious work so much to the satisfaction of his august patron, that it
became the authorized edition read in the churches.  Some copies
of this revision are extant, particularly too, one preserved in the
library of the fathers of the oratory, at Rome, and the other in that
of the monastery of St. Paul without the walls.  After enjoying
imperial confidence and affection in a degree seldom experienced,
he breathed his last in the abbey of St. HMartin, at T'ours, on the
19th of May, 804.  His works were published by Frobenius,
in 1777, in four volumes, 4to.*
Unfortunately, the invaluable labours of these and other pious
and learned men proved insufficient to dispel the thick darkness
which overspread the Western world at this period, extending its
influence over both clergy and laity, and producing a correspondent
laxity of morals and barbarism of manners.  Alcuin, in a letter to
Offa, king of IMercia, says, "I was ready to return into my native
country of Northumberland, loaded with presents by Charlemagne;
but, upon the intelligence I have received, I think it better to
remain where I am than venture myself in a country where no
man can enjoy security, or prosecute his studies. For, lo! their
churches are demolished by the pagans, their altars polluted with
x Card's Reign of Charlemagne, ch. iv. Lond. 1807, 8vo. Turner's Hist. of the
Anglo-Saxons, vol. ii, pp. 355, 374. Butler's TLives, vol. v, pp. 115-117. Fabricy,
Titres Primitifs, tom. ii, pp. 99, 133.




208                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
impiety, their monasteries defiled with adulteries, and the land wet
with the blood of its nobles and princes."* So great was the
ignorance of the clergy in this and several of the succeeding centuries, that instructions were given by the pope to the bishops, to
make inquiries through the parishes of their respective districts,
whether the officiating clergy could read the Gospels and Epistles
correctly, and give a literal interpretation of them. Gislemar, an
archbishop of Rheims, being called upon before his consecration
to read a portion of the Gospels, was found so shamefully ignorant
as not to understand the literal meaning of the passage.t In Germany, a certain priest was so totally unacquainted with the Latin,
the common language of the church offices, that he baptized in
the name Patri, Filia, et Spiritus Sancta; and a question arising
as to the legitimacy of the baptism, it was judged proper to refer it
to Pope Zachary for his decision.t This was the same pope who
imprisoned Virgilius for asserting the existence of the antipodes;
though Butler, in his " Lives of the Saints," vol. iii, p. 173, endeayours to prove that the error of Virgilius was that of maintaining
that there were other men under the earth, another sun and moon,
and another world; or, in other words, another race of men, who
did not descend fronm Adam, and were not redeemed by Christ;
and that this being contrary to the Scriptures, he was justly censurable.  But whether he taught the spherical form of the earth,
or the plurality of worlds, his condemnation is sufficient to prove
the low state of scientific acquirements, by even the highest dignitaries of the church.
In France, the martial spirit which prevailed during the government of Charles Miartel, the grandfather of Charlemagne, extended
its influence to the church.  "In order to acquire consideration in
the eyes of their martial prince, and to give a decisive check to
future grants of their estates to laymen, the bishops and abbots
embraced, the singular resolution of following him to battle, in the
character of soldiers: so that it became no uncommon spectacle
to behold dignified ecclesiastics, at the head of their vassals, vie
with laymen in feats of military skill and valour; while swords
adorned with precious stones, fastened to costly belts, and golden
spurs, alike characterized the dress of both."  Charlemagne, in
common with the whole nation, felt the indecency and disgrace of
a warlike clergy; and an edict was issued, which ordained that
* Henry's Hist. of Great Britain, vol. iv, p. 45.
t Enfield's Hist. of Philosophy, vol. ii, b. ii, ch. ii, p. 344. London. 8vo.
t Lomeier, De Bibliothecis, p. 153.
1




EIGHTH CENTURY.                    209
priests should not attend the army, except for the purpose of saying
mass, and administering spiritual consolation to the troops. He
likewise forbade them the use of arms, to hunt, or to keep falcons;
but declared that by these prohibitions he did not intend to diminish
the dignity or property of the bishops; but, on the contrary, their
wealth and honours should be increased in proportion to the
amendment of their lives, and their devoted attachment to their
holy calling.*  These wise regulations checked, for a while, the
military and secular appearance and conduct of the priesthood; but
the clergy gradually reassumed the laical character, so that Du
Cange informs us, the deans of many cathedrals in France entered
on their dignities habited in a surplice, girt with a sword, in boots
and gilt spurs, and a hawk on the fist. Carpentier adds, that the
treasurers of some churches, particularly that of Nivernois, claimed
the privilege of assisting at mass, or whatever festival they pleased,
without the canonical vestments, and carrying a hawk. And the
lord of Sassay held some of his lands by placing a hawk on the
high altar of the church of Evreux, while his parish priest celebrated the service, booted and spurred, to the beat of the drum
instead of the organ. We even find them sometimes conferring
the titles of secular nobility on the apostles and saints; thus St.
James was actually created a baron at Paris; and among the
many contradictions of this kind which entered into the system of
the middle ages, may be reckoned the institution, in 1181, of the
Knights Templars. This was an establishment of armed monks,
who made a vow of living, at the same time, both as anchorets and
soldiers.t Their professed object was to defend the holy places
and pilgrims from the insults of the Saracens; and to keep the
passes free for such as undertook the voyage to the Holy Land.
They were suppressed by the council of Vienne, in 1312.
The different canons promulgated by various councils and synods
in this age prove but too fully the dissolute manners of both clergy
and laity: several of these relate to crimes too abominable to be
mentioned; the reader, therefore, who wishes to pursue the subject, may consult Wilkins' Leges Anglo-Saxonica, the canons of
the different councils, and the capitulars of Charlemagne. Some
that refer to less atrocious actions shall be noticed. In the canons
or Excerptions of Ecgbright, or Egbert, framed in 740, the following is the 14th: " That none who is numbered among the priests
* Card's Reign of Charlemagne, pp. 92-97.
* Warton's Hist. of English Poetry, vol. ii, p. 345, note. Du Cange, Gloss. Lat.
v. Decanus.
VOL. I.-14




210                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
cherish the vice of drunkenness, nor force others to be drunk by
his importunity."*  The 19th enjoins, " That no priest swear an
oath, but speak all things simply, purely, truly." The 70th decrees,
"That an abbot or monk may not give freedom  to a slave of the
monastery: for it is impious that he should damage the church
who hath given nothing to it." The 147th is, " That no Christian
observe pagan superstitions, but express all manner of contempt
toward all the defilements of the Gentiles." The 154th says, "A
clerk ought not to bear arms, nor go into the wars, but rather trust
in the divine defence than in arms."  In Cuthbert's canons, made
at Cloves-hoo, in 747, it is enacted by the 20th decree, "That
bishops, by a vigilant inspection in their parishes, take care that
monasteries, as their name imports, be honest retreats for the silent
and quiet, and such as labour for God's sake; not receptacles of
ludicrous arts, of versifiers, harpers, and buffoons; but houses for
them who pray, and read, and praise God." And that " nunneries
be not places of secret rendezvous for filthy talk, junketing, drunkenness, and luxury, but habitations for such as live in continence
and sobriety, and who read and sing psalms; but let them spend
their time in reading books and singing psalms, rather than in
weaving and working party-coloured, vain-glorious apparel." By
the Legantine canons of the council of Cealchythe, A. D. 785,
can. 16th, the children of nuns are declared " spurious and illegitimate;" and in the 19th canon several superstitious and singular
practices of our ancestors are noticed; I shall therefore transcribe
the whole of it.  It is there enjoined, "That every Christian take
example by catholic men; and if any pagan rite remain, let it be
plucked up, despised, and rejected; for God created man comely
and sightly, but pagans, by the instinct of the devil, sacrifice
themselves, as Prudentius says,
Tinxit et innocuum maculis sordentibus humor.
"He seems to do an injury to the Lord, who defiles and depraves
his workmanship. If any one should undergo this blood-letting for
the sake of God, he would on that account receive great reward;
but whoever does it out of heathenish superstition, does no more
advance his salvation thereby, than the Jews do by bodily circumcision, without sincere faith."
* Archbishop Boniface observes, in his Epistles, (Epist. Bonifacii, Wilkins, 1, 93,)
"that drunkenness was so common in his time, that even the bishops, instead of
preventing, were themselves partakers in it: and not content with this, compelled
others to drink from large cups till they also became inebriated." (Sharpe's William
of Malmsbury's History, &c., b. i, ch. viii, p. 171, note.)
1                         14*




EIGHTH CENTURY.                     211
" Ye wear garments like those of the Gentiles, whom your fathers, by the help of God, drove out of the world by arms. A
wonderful stupid thing! to imitate the example of them whose
manners ye hate."
"Ye also, by a filthy custom, maim your horses, ye slit their
nostrils, fasten their ears together, make them deaf, cut off their
tails, and render yourselves hateful in not keeping them sound
when ye may."
"We have heard, also, that when you have any controversy
between yourselves, ye use sorcery, after the manner of the Gentiles, which is accounted sacrilege in these times."
"Many of you eat horse-flesh, which is done by none of the
Eastern Christians: take heed of this too. Endeavour that all
your doings be honest, and done. in the Lord."*
Other attempts were made to prevent these unchristian practices,
by injunctions to the clergy, with respect to reading the Scriptures
to the people, and instructing them in their duty.  Thus in the
"Excerptions" of Ecgbright, it is ordained, can. 3, " That on all
festivals and Lord's days, every priest preach Christ's gospel to
the people;" and, can. 6, " That every priest do with great exactness instil the Lo-'d's Prayeri and Creed into the people committed
to him, and show them to endeavour after the knowledge of the
whole religion, and the practice of Christianity." By Cuthbert's
canons it was enacted, can. 3, " That every bishop do every year
visit his parish; and call to him, at convenient places, the people
of every condition and sex, and plainly teach them who rarely hear
the word of God:" it was also decreed, can. 7, "That bishops,
abbots, and abbesses, do by all means take care, and diligently
provide that their families incessantly apply their minds to reading:
for," adds the canon, "it is sad to say how few, nowadays, do
heartily love and labour for sacred knowledge, and are willing to
take any pains in learning; but they are, from their youth up, rather
employed in divers vanities, and the affectation of vain glory; and
they rather pursue the amusements of this present unstable life,
than the assiduous study of the Holy Scriptures. Therefore let
the boys be confined and trained up in the schools to the law of
sacred knowledge, that being by this means well learned, they mav
become in all respects useful to the church of God: and let not
the rectorst be so greedy of the worldly labour [of the boys] as to
* Johnson's Collection of Eccl. Laws, Canons, &c., vol. i, An. 740, &c.
t " Rectors were the heads of religious houses, and incumbents, as we now speak
in lesser churches, who had their schools for training up voung monks and clerks, anm
1




212                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
render the house of God vile for want of spiritual adornment." In
the tenth decree of the same council they further taught, "That
priests should learn to know how to perform, according to the
lawful rites, every office belonging to their orders; and then let
them who know it not learn to construe, and explain in our own
tongue, the Creed and Lord's Prayer, and the sacred words which
are solemnly pronounced at the celebration of mass, and in the
office of baptism."  By can. 14 it was ordained, "That the Lord's
day be celebrated by all, with due veneration, and wholly separated
for divine service. And let all abbots and priests instruct the servants subject to them froln the oracles of the Holy Scripture." It
was also decreed, " That on that day, and on the great festivals, the
priests of God do often invite the people to meet in the church, to
hear the word of God, and to be often present at sacraments of the
mass, and at preaching of sermons." One of the canons of the
same council, relating to the practice of psalmody, so much in use
in the early and middle ages, offers so curious an argument in
favour of singing in an unknown tongue, that it deserves to be
transcribed.  "Psalmody," say they, "is a divine work, a great
cure, in many cases, for the souls of those who do it in spirit and
in mind. But they that sing with the voice, without the inward
meaning, may make the sound resemble something; therefore,
though a man knows not the Latin words that are sung, yet he
may devoutly apply the intention of his own heart to the things
which are at present to be asked of God, and fix them there to the
best of his power."*
A passage in Bede's Ecclesiastical History has led some writers
to suppose that during this century some portions, at least, of the
Scriptures were translated into the vernacular tongues of the different nations who inhabited Britain at this period. The words of
Bede (lib. i, cap. i) are: " Haec in praesenti juxta numerum librorum,
quibus lex divina scripta est, quinque gentium linguis unam eandemque summne veritatis et verae sublimitatis scientiam scrutatur
et confitetur, Anglorum videlicet, Britonum, Scotorum, Pictorum,
et Latinorum  qua meditatione scripturarum  caeteris omnibus est
facta communis."  " This island searches and confesses one and
the same knowledge of the highest truth, and of the true sublimity,
according to the number of books in which the divine law is written, in the language of five nations, viz., of the English, the
who obliged their scholars to bodily labour: therefore they were not here forbidden
absolutely to labour, but only so far as was inconsistent with their learning."
* Johnson's Ecclesiastical Laws, ubi sup.
1




EIGHTH CENTURY.                          213
Britons, the Scots, the Picts, and the Latins, which last has
become common to all the rest, by the meditation of the Scriptures." It must be acknowledged, however, that if any parts of the
sacred writings were then translated into these different tongues,
they were soon lost or destroyed, or neglected for the more common Latin versions, since we hear nothing of several of these
translations from any contemporary or succeeding writer. Be this
as it may, it is certain that it was customary to copy Latin and
Greek works, in Saxon characters, for the convenience of Saxon
or English readers, or learners. A MS. of the four Gospels, with
prefaces and the Canons of Eusebius, written in Saxon characters
in this century, is among the Royal Collection of MSS. in the
British Museum:* and Astle, in his "Origin and Progress of
Writing," has given fac-similes of others. A Psalter which had
belonged to Aldhelm, written after the same manner, was kept at
Malmsbury till after the Reformation.t In the Cotton library
there is a MS. [Galba, A. 18] with the Lord's prayer in the Greek
language, written in Saxon characters.  "It is probably," says
Mr. Turner, (Hist. of Anglo-Saxons, vol. ii, p. 361,) "a correct
example of the pronunciation of Greek, as introduced into England
by Adrian and Theodore, in the seventh century; but it certainly
shows, in the division of the words, how little the writer understood
of the language.  I will transcribe it, placing the original by its
side.
Pater imon oynys        Hnarep jptCv O ev rolt
uranis agiastituto onomansu-   o6pavoF a6yLaa C6ro To ovoyta Cov.
elthetu ebasilias genithito  ELE7r W, Bascrteta Cov yeveavrT
to theli mansu. os senu    To0 EX7/l/a cOV, jCf EV
uranu Keptasgis            oypavm, Kat eart rr7f y7rf.
tonartonimon. tonepiussion.    Tov aprov y}pmov, Toy E7rtovCtov,
dos simin simero Keaffi   d6o~,tLZv Grllzepov. Kat apeS
simin. to offilemata imon  futcv ra ocet2ketlUaTa 7},zOv,
oskeimis affiomen. tus      SC icat 7juetCt abte/Cv oF01
ophiletas imon Kemies      of/et2eratf F'Wv. Kait y? elininkis imas. isperas      eveyKscf i[a er'retpaamon. ala ryse imas         tov a25a pvcat iluar
aptou poniru.              a7ro rov rrov ypov.
The character which I express by the K, seems placed for Xai."t
Such instances as these must be considered as rare proofs of
attachment to literature, when transcriptions were expensive, and
* Classical Journal, No. xv, p. 150.
t Whitaker's Cathedral of Cornwall, vol. ii, p. 326, note.
t Turner's Hist. of the Anglo-Saxons, ut sup.
1




214                       BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
the most noted libraries composed of few  books.  Alcuin has left
us the following poetical catalogue of the authors in the celebrated
library of Egbert, archbishop of York; "the oldest catalogue perhaps existing in all the regions of literature, certainly the oldest
existing in England:"Illic invenies veterum vestigia Patrum,
Quidquid habet pro se Latio Romanus in orbe,
Gracia vel quidquid transmisit clara Latinis;
Hebraicus vel quod populus bibit imnbre superno,
Africa lucifluo vel quidquid lumine sparsit;
Quod pater Hieronymus, quod sensit Hilarius, atque
Ambrosius prawsul, sirnul Augustinus, et ipse
Sanctus Athanasius, quod Orosius edit avitus,
Quidquid Gregorius summus docet, et Ieo papa,
Basilius quidquid, Fulgentius atque, coruscant,
Cassiodorus item, Chrysostom atque Johannes;
Quidquid et Athelmus docuit, quid Beda Magister,
Quaa Victorinus scripsere, Boetius atque;
Historici veteres, Pompeius, Plinius ipse;
Acer Aristoteles, rhetor quoque Tullius ingens;
Quid quoque Sedulius, vel quid canit ipse Juvencus;
Alcuinus, et Clemens, Prosper, Paulinus, Arator,
Quid Fortunatus, vel quid Ilactantius edunt;
Qua Maro Virgilius, Statius, Lucanus, et auctor
Artis Grammaticae, vel quid scrips6re Magistri;
Quid Probus atque Focas, Donatus, Priscianusve,
Servius, Euticius, Pompeius, Commenianus.
Invenies alios perplures, lector, ibidem
Egregios studiis, arte et sermone magistros,
Plurima qui claro scrips6re volumina sensu:
Nomina sed quorum prasenti in carmine scribi
Longius est visum, quam plectri postulet usus."*
The following  imitation  will convey to the English  reader a
general idea of the contents of this celebrated library:" Here, duly placed on consecrated ground,
The studied works of many an age are found.
The ancient Fathers' reverend remains;
The Roman Laws, which freed a world from chains;
Whate'er of lore pass'd from immortal Greece
To Latian lands, and gain'd a rich increase;
All that blest Israel drank in showers from heaven;
Or Afric sheds, soft as the dew of even:
Jerome, the father'mong a thousand sons:
And Hilary, whose sense profusely runs.
* Alcuinus de Pontificibus, &c., quoted in Henry's Hist. of Great Britain, vol. iv,
pp. 33. 34.
1




EIGHTH CENTURY.                             215
Ambrose, who nobly guides both church and state;
Augustine, good and eminently great;
And holy Athanasius,-sacred name!
All that proclaims Orosius' learned fame.
Whate'er the lofty Gregory hath taught;
Or Leo Pontiff, good without a fault;
With all that shines illustrious in the page
Of Basil eloquent, Fulgentius sage;
And Cassiodorus, with a consul's power,
Yet eager to improve the studious hour.
And Chrysostom, whose fame immortal flies,
Whose style, whose sentiment, demand the prize.
All that Adhelmus wrote; and all that flows
From Beda's fruitful mind, in verse or prose.
Lo! Victorinus, and Boetius hold
A place for sage philosophy, of old.
Here sober History tells her ancient tale;
Pompey to charm, and Pliny, never fail.
The Stagyrite unfolds his searching page;
And Tully flames, the glory of his age.
Here you may listen to Sedulian strains;
And sweet Juvencus' lays delight the plains.
Alcuin, Paulinus, Prosper, sing, or show,
With Clemens, and Arator, all they know.
What Fortunatus and Lactantius wrote;
What Virgil pours in many a pleasing note.
Statius, and Lucan, and the polish'd sage,
Whose Art of Grammar guides a barbarous age.
In fine, whate'er th' immortal masters taught,
In all their rich variety of thought.
And as the names sound from the roll of fame,
Donatus, Focas, Priscian, Probus, claim
An honour'd place;-and Servius joins the band;
While also move with mien form'd to command
Euticius, Pompey, and Commenian, wise
In all the lore antiquity supplies.
Here, the pleased reader cannot fail to find
Other famed masters of the arts refined,
Whose numerous works, penn'd in a beauteous style,
Delight the student, and all care beguile;
Whose names, a lengthen'd and illustrious throng,
I waive at present, and conclude my song.'; D. M'NIcoLL."
Celebrated as this library was, it appears to have contained only
fourteen fathers and ecclesiastical works, ten ancient classics, including two or three modern Latin writers, six grammarians and
scholiasts, and six modern Latin poets; yet this was the library
of which Alcuin speaks in a letter to Charlemagne: " 0 that I had
1




216                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
the use of those admirable books, on all parts of learning, which I
enjoyed in my native country; collected by the industry of my
beloved master Egbert. May it please your imperial majesty, in
your great wisdom, to permit me to send some of our youth to
transcribe the most valuable books in that library, and thereby
transplant the flowers of Britain into France."*
It was also in the earlier part of this century that King Pepin of
France requested some books from the pontiff Paul I. "I have
sent to you," replied his holiness, "what books I could find." To
such a benefactor as Pepin had been to the apostolic see, the
selection, doubtless, was as munificent as good-will and gratitude
could make it: and yet the pope could procure for the sovereign
of France, and the libraries of Rome could supply, nothing more
valuable than an Anti2honale, and a Responsale, a Grammatica
Aristotelis, (a work now not known,) Dionysii Areopagitoe Libros,
Geonmetrian, Orthographian, Grammaticam, all of which were
Greek writers.t  Though it is a singular fact, that England was
regarded as so excellent a mart for books, that, as early as the
year 705, books were brought hither for sale.
But notwithstanding the scarcity of books, and the barbarous
ignorance that so generally reigned, care was taken, in many instances, to instruct even children in the knowledge of the Scriptures. Bede (Eccles. Hist., lib. iii, cap. xix) says of Furseus, that
from his very childhood he had been well acquainted with the
sacred Scriptures; and Boniface (in Vita Livini) relates of Livinus, that he was trained up in his youth by Benignus in the singing
of David's psalms and the reading of the holy Gospels, and other
divine exercises. The same is likewise noticed of Kilianus and
others; and of the virgin Bitihildis it is related, that when lying
upon her death-bed, she requested for several nights successively,
that a light might be burned, and the Holy Scriptures be read to
her4
* Henry's Hist. of Great Britain, vol. iv, p. 32.
t Berington's Literary History of the Middle Ages, b. ii, p. 124.
t Usher's Discourse of the Religion anciently professed by the Irish and British,
p. 4. Lond. 1687, 4to.




NINTH CENTURY.                    217
CHAPTER VII.
NINTH CENTURY.
Charlemagne-Rabanus Maurus —Otfrid's Harmony —  Valafrid StraboAnselm- Text and Gloss-Catenc- Commentaries3-Methodizws and CyrilSlavonian Version-Alfred the Great-Anglo-Saxon Psalter-Rushworth
Gloss.
THE close of the eighth and the comnmencement of the NINTH
century, were marked by the military prowess, magnificence, and
liberality, and even the inconsistency of the renowned CHARLEMAGNE, emperor of the West, and king of France. A monarch of
the most vigorous and comprehensive mind, and the great patron
of learning and learned men; yet so neglected in his education
that he could not write, and was forty-five years of age when he
began to study the sciences under A lcuin.  Though grossly
sensual in his pleasures, he was plain in his dress, and frugal at
his table Equally fired by the love of conquest and of science, the
Danube, the Teisse, and the Oder, on the east, and the Ebro
and the ocean, on the west, became the boundaries of his vast
dominions; and France, Germany, Dalmatia, Istria, Italy, and
part of Pannonia and Spain, obeyed his laws. Superior to the
prejudices and contempt of learning discovered by the laity of
all classes, he assembled scientific and literary men from all
parts of Europe, and "established schools in the cathedrals and
principal abbeys, for teaching writing, arithmetic, grammar, and
church music; certainly no very elevated sciences, yet considerable at a time when many dignified ecclesiastics could not subscribe the canons of those councils in which they sat as members; and when it was deemed a sufficient qualification for a
priest to be able to read the Gospels and understand the Lord's
Prayer."*
Led on by a blind and ambitious zeal for the propagation of
Christianity, Charlemagne affixed an indelible stain on his character, by frequently attempting to dragoon the pagan nations
whom he conquered into a profession of the gospel. At other
times he acted in a spirit more congenial with religion, and
laboured to promote among the clergy an attention to learning and
* Russel's Modern Europe, vol. i, pt. ii, let. 9, p. 64, 8vo.
1




218                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
the duties of their office, and to diffuse a knowledge of the Scriptures and morality among the laity. In his admonition to the
presbyters, in 804, he charges the priests to acquaint themselves
with the Scriptures, to gain right views of the doctrine of the
Trinity, to commit the whole of the Psalms and the Baptismal
Office to memory, to be ready to teach others, and to fulfil the
duties of their station to the utmost of their power.* In 805 he
confirmed the practice of reading the Scriptures publicly.  "Let
the lessons," says he, "be distinctly read in the church."t  He
also employed Paul WMarnefrid, usually called Paulus Diaconus,
or Paul the deacon, a learned monk, who had held important
offices under the Lombard kings, and who was the author of a
history of the Lombard nation, to reform the church service, and
in particular, ordered him to select from the works of the fathers,
homilies, or discourses upon the Epistles and Gospels, worthy to
be recited by the faithful in the churches of God. In this work
Paul is said to have been assisted by Alcuin.: In the council of
Tours, in which Charlemagne presided, A. D. 813, it was
ordered that every bishop should procure a book of homilies,
containing the instructions necessary for his flock, particularly
those respecting the resurrection of the dead, a future judgment,
the final dispensation of eternal rewards and punishments, and the
works to which everlasting life is promised or refused; which he
should take care to have translated into the rustic Roman or
Teutonic, (German,) that the people might more easily understand the doctrines delivered to them.  For the Franks, then
either retained the original Teutonic, or else adopted the rustic
Roman, from which the modern French is derived.~  It has also
been affirmed by different authors, that Charlemagne caused the
Scriptures themselves to be translated into the Teutonic, or vulgar dialect of the Franks; but of this there is some doubt, as
there are no copies of it now to be found, and as it does not appear that contemporary writers have mentioned any such translation. In 813 the second council of Rheims, held under his
auspices, enjoined, "That the bishops and abbots should have the
poor and indigent with them at their table; there read aloud the
sacred Scriptures, and take their food with thanksgiving and
* S. S. Concilia, tom. vii, p. 1182, edit. P. Labbei.
tIbid., tom. vii, p. 1183.
t Card's Reign of Charlemagne, p. 107. Berington's Lit. Hist. of the Middle
Ages, p. 162.
~ S. S. Concilia, Concil. Turonense III., tom. vii, p. 1263.
1




NINTH CENTURY.                           219
praise."* He directed his vigilance and circumspection equally
to the inferior as to the higher classes of the clergy, and considered in what manner their time and faculties might be most
advantageously employed; as is evident from an edict, which
ordains, that " if after the repeated admonitions of their bishop to
improve the poverty of their understandings by study, they should
still show no traces of amendment, their ignorance should not
only be punished with the loss of their office, but of whatever
ecclesiastical preferment they held." He also discovered a just
discrimination of merit in the ecclesiastics of his kingdom, and a
disposition to reward it, as is demonstrated by the following
anecdote:-Having received intelligence of the death of a bishop,
lie inquired how much of his property he had bequeathed to the
poor; the answer was, two pounds of silver; upon which a young
clerk exclaimed, "That is but a very small provision for so great
a voyage." Charlemagne, pleased with the observation, instantly
said  to  him, "Be  thou  his successor, but never forget that
expression."t
To promote the instruction of the people, and the more general
diffusion of knowledge, injunctions were issued, requiring the
bishops to make inquiry in their diocesan visitations, " Whether
the respective priests could read the Epistles and Gospels with
propriety, and particularly whether they could explain the literal
sense  of them?"   They  were  also  enjoined  to  instruct their
parishioners in the public prayers of the church, as well as in the
Lord's Prayer, that they might know what they asked from
God."t Various directions were likewise given relating to the
chanting of the Psalms, and the other parts of public worship;~ and two schools of chant established, one at Soissons,
and the  other at Metz, from  whence  the professors  of that
art were distributed  throughout the  provinces.   A  knowledge
indeed of the Roman chant, as settled by Pope Gregory the
* Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom. i, p. 373. Paris, 1723, fol. Usserii Hist. Dogmat.
p. 111, and Whartoni Auctarium, p. 457.
t Card's Reign of Charlemagne, pp. 109, 116.
t An opinion having been very generally and extensively propagated, that it was
not lawful to celebrate divine service, or to possess or read the Scriptures in any
other tongues than the Hebrew, Greek, or Latin, which were denominated sacred,
from being the three tongues in which the Saviour's title was inscribed on the cross;
the council of Frankfort, in 794, decreed, " That none ought to believe that they
were not to pray to God except in one of the three tongues; for God might be
adored in any language, and those who asked what was right would be heard whatever tongue they used in their petitions."
~ Whartoni Auctarium Hist. Dogmat. Usserii., pp. 345, 459.
1




220                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Great, often exalted its possessor to the highest preferments of
the church.*
By a capitular of 789, and by several subsequent ordinances,
the bishops were exhorted to establish two sorts of schools in
their respective diocesses.  Reading and writing were to be
taught in those established for the cultivation of the infant mind;
in the others, which were to be opened in the cathedrals and
monasteries, the arts of music, grammar, logic, and rhetoric were
acquired. The instruction afforded in these schools was ordered
to be gratuitous, and the scholars were to be treated with tenderness and affection.  The churches were to be furnished with
small libraries for their use, consisting principally of the Scriptures or ecclesiastical offices, (" ut in ecclesiis libri canonici veraces habeantur.")  The chief aim  of Charlemagne in founding
these schools was, undoubtedly, to give the clergy a greater
proficiency in their theological studies, and thus to qualify them
for a proper performance of their sacred functions; but laics also,
of every age and of every rank, were admitted into these seminaries,
that the treasures of learning might not be exclusively confined to
the teachers of religion. In the council of Toul or Savonieres, in
Lorrain, held in 859, the same decree was renewed, while it was
acknowledged and lamented that scarcely any vestige remained
of a just understanding of the divine Scriptures.t  In these institutions every study pointed toward religion; even grammar was
taught chiefly with a view  of comprehending better the Holy
Scriptures, and of transcribing them with more correctness; and
sacred music was then alone studied and commended.
Over the progress of the young scholars, Charlemagne watched
with a degree of attention not to be expected from the multiplicity
of his public concerns; and lie took great delight in examining,
with the masters, their different compositions. TIaving discovered,
upon some remarkable occasion, that the children of the poorer
classes of the people, whom lie had caused to be educated among
those of the nobles, left the latter far behind in their studies, he applauded their proficiency, and declared that his favours should be
exclusively bestowed on them. Then turning to their high-born
fellow students, he addressed them in words which evinced his fixed
determination to stimulate and reward talents, even if they should be
deduced from the lowest origin.  "It is evident," says he, "that you
rest your claims to promotion solely upon the merits of your ances* Card's Reign of Charlemagne, p. 106.
t Whartoni Auctarium, pp. 346, 347. Card's Reign of Charlemagne, pp. 102, 103.
1'




NINTH CENTURY.                    221
tors: know, therefore, that they have received their recompense, and
that the state renounces all obligations, except to those who are capable of promoting her interests and honour by their abilities."*
He likewise established an academy in his own palace. Here
the study of the Greek language was introduced, and various
sciences were cultivated, especially astronomy, rhetoric, poetry,
history, and antiquities. Each of the members in this distinguished
society assumed a literary and academic name. Alcuin assumed
the name of Horace; Angilbert, a young man of noble birth, and
eminently skilled in the composition of Greek verses, styled himself Homer; the celebrated Eginhard, secretary or chancellor of
Charlemagne, was called Kalliopus; Adalhardus, abbot of Corbie,
received the title of Augustine; Riculphus, archbishop of Mentz,
that of Dametas; Theodolphus, from his attachment to the lyrical
productions of the Greeks, obtained the name of Pindar; and
Charlemagne himself, in consequence of his decisive predilection
for ecclesiastical writings, as well as from having committed the
whole of the Psalms to memory, received the appropriate name of
David from Alcuin, who is justly regarded as the founder and president of his literary undertakings.t
In the academy just mentioned the emperor wished only to
maintain the character of a simple member; assisting at their
meetings, and discharging with zeal and promptitude all the duties
of an academician. In his more private studies he was careful to
buy up every moment, not otherwise employed, for the acquirement of knowledge. During his meals, he listened to the Holy
Scriptures, or some devotional book, which he never failed to have
read to him; probably the lives of those saints which he had ordered to be written in a small volume, and of which copies were
dispersed throughout his dominions, for the improvement and edification of his people; and a reader was constantly summoned to his
frugal supper, for the express purpose of acquainting him with the
history of his royal predecessors, that he might know how to avoid
their faults, and imitate their virtues. He had also St. Austin's
book, " On the City of God," laid every night under his pillow, to
read if he awaked. He is said to have been skilled in astronomy,
arithmetic, music, and the different branches of the mathematics;
and to have understood, though certainly not perfectly, the Latin,
Greek, Hebrew, and Syriac, besides the Slavonian, and several
other living languages. He wrote Latin verses, and even ventured
to publish a Teutonic Grammar, though defective in his know* Card, p. 156.                t Ibid., pp. 157-164.
1




222                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
ledge of composition, and incapable of expressing himself with
grammatical accuracy.*
About a year before his decease, Charlemagne resigned the empire to his son Louis, at Aix-la-Chapelle, in the presence of the
bishops, abbots, and nobles. After this important transaction he
retired from public life, and devoted himself to study, meditation,
and prayer.  In his retirement he is said to have engaged in a collation of the four Gospels with the original Greek, and the Syriac
version, in order to obtain a correct copy of the Vulgate Latin.
Le Long notices a copy or two of this collation, richly illuminated,
and still preserved in different libraries.t  The correction of the
Vulgate by Alcuin, under the auspices of this prince, has been
already mentioned. It has also been affirmed, (See Le Long,
Biblioth. Sacra, tom. i, p. 373, fol.,) that he ordered a version to
be made of the New Testament, into the Frankish, or Teutonic
tongue; but there does not appear sufficient proof to establish th(
fact. Charlemagne died January 28th, A. D. 814, after a reign of
forty-seven, or forty-eight years, in the seventy-third year of his
age.  He was interred at Aix-la-Chapelle, with all the pomp of imperial magnificence.  His body was embalmed, and deposited in a
vault, where it was seated on a throne of gold, and clothed in
imperial habits, over the sackcloth which he usually wore.  By his
side hung a sword, of which the hilt and the ornaments of the scabbard were of gold, and a pilgrim's purse, that he used to carry in
his journeys to Rome.  In his hands ble held the Book of the Gospels, written in letters of gold; his head was ornamented with a
chain of gold in the form of a diadem, in which was enclosed a
piece of the wood of the true cross; and his face was covered with
a winding-sheet. HIis sceptre and buckler, formed entirely of gold,
and which had been consecrated by Pope Leo III., were suspended before him; and his sepulchre was closed and sealed, after
being filled with various treasures and  perfumes.  A gilded
arcade was erected over the place with the following inscription:SUB 110C CONDITORIO SITUM!  EST CORbPUS KAROLI MAGNI
ATQUE ORTHODOXI IMPERATORIS, QUI REGNUM FRANCORUM NOBIL[,ITER AMPLIAVIT, ET PER ANNOS XLVII. FEJICITEiR REXIT. DECESSIT SEPTUTAGENARIUS, ANNO AB INCARNATIONE DOMINI.
DCCCXIV. INDICTIONE VII.
VT. KAL. FEBRIJARIAS.$
* Card, pp. 164-168. Butler's Ilives, vol. i, p. 406.
t Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, torn. i, pp. 237, 247. Paris, 1723, fo!.
t Memo!res de Literature, toum. iv, pp. 388, 389. Arnsterdamr 1719, 12mo
1




NINTH CENTURY.                      223
"Beneath this tomb is placed the body of the orthodox em
peror CHARLES the GREAT, who valorously extended the kingdom
of the Franks, and happily governed it sLvII years. He died a
Septuagenarian, February 23d, A. D. DCCCXIV."
In the eleventh century the tomb of Charlemagne was opened
by order of Otho III., when the body was stripped of its royal ornaments, which had not been in the least injured by the hand of
time. The Book of the Gospels, written on purple vellum, in
characters of gold, found in the sepulchre, continues to be kept at
Aix-la-Chapelle.  With this volume, the imperial sword and hunting horn were also found. The copy of the Gospels interred with.
the "illustrious" sovereign of the Franks, appears to have been
one of those executed by his order, and corrected according to the
Greek and Syriac. In the library of the church of St. Germaindes-Prez, at Paris, a Latin Bible, ill two volumes, folio, is still
kept, written on vellum, which bears the date of 814.
Lambecius has also noticed several other copies of the Scriptures, written in the time of Charlemagne, and preserved in the
Imperial library at Vienna, among which are the three following:A Latin Psalter, executed in letters of gold, by order of Charlemagne, while king of the Franks, and designed as a present to
Pope Hadrian I., as appears by the dedicatory verses composed by
the monarch himself. It is written on vellum, and forms a large
octavo volume. Another Latin Psalter, used during her life by
Hildegard, wife of Charlemagne, and after her death presented by
the emperor to the cathedral of Bremen in 788, where it was kept
for several centuries, and annually exhibited to the venerating
crowds, with the other relics deposited in that church.  A copy of
the Old and New Testament, on vellum, in folio, executed in letters of gold, and every page divided into three columns, written
under the inspection, and at the expense, of Rodon, the eleventh
abbot of the monastery of St. Vedast, in the province of Artois,
during the first year of his abbacy, A. D. 795.*
It is worthy also of remark, that Gisla, one of the daughters of
Charlemagne, and the friend of Alcuin, evinced a strong attachment to the sacred writings. In an epistle addressed by her and
Rectruda to Alcuin, and prefixed to his commentary on John, we
meet with the following passage, expressive of her high regard for
the divine word:-" After we had obtained somewhat of the de* Peignot, Repert. de Bibliograph. Speciales, p. 150. Paris, 1810, 8vo. Le Long.
Biblioth. Sacra, tom. i, pp. 236, 247, fol.,1723. Lambecii Comment. Biblioth. Vindob.,
lib. ii, ch. v, pp. 261, 295, 402.
1




224                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
lightful knowledge of' the Scriptures, in which we were aided,
venerable master, by your excellent exposition, we acknowledge
that our desire daily became more ardent for these most sacred
lessons; in which are contained the truths relating to the purification of the soul, the consolation of our mortality, and the hope of
perpetual blessedness; and in which, according to the psalmist,
the good man meditates day and night, counting the knowledge of
them better than all the riches of the world."*
The name of RABmANuS MAURUS, ode of the pupils of Alcuin.
must likewise be enrolled among the friends to Biblical literature.
He was a native of Germany, and a monk of the abbey of Fulda;
of which he was afterward elected abbot. By his learning and
piety he raised the celebrity of the seminary of Fulda; uniting
in it, as the chief teacher, the lessons of general science to the
study of the Scriptures.  "As the age of his pupils permitted, or
their abilities seemed to require, he instructed some in the rules
of grammar, others in those of rhetoric; while he conducted the
more advanced into the deeper researches of human and divine
philosophy, freely communicating whatever they wished to learn.
At the same time they were expected to commit to writing, in prose
or verse, the occurrences of the day."t
The jealousy and ingratitude of the monks, who accused him of
neglecting the temporal interests of the monastery for literary pursuits, drove him for a while to the court of Louis the Meek. After
a residence there of some months, he was raised to the see of
Mentz, which he advanced by his virtues, as he had Fulda by his
learning.t
At the request of the emperor Louis, and of his son Lothaire,
and of Freculf, the learned bishop of Lysieux, he compiled commentaries on most of the books of the sacred Scriptures, collected
principally from the Latin fathers, in a regular series from Jerome
to Bede. The deficiencies in the expositions of the fathers he supplied by his own, placing in the margin the names of the respective authors, and marking the passages most deserving attention.~
He was also the author of a Latin and Franco-Theotise glossary
of the Bible, Glossariuzn Latino- Theotiscum in tota Biblia Sacra
Veteris et Novi Testamenti; a copy of which is extant in the Imperial library at Vienna. This work is the more important because
* Vhartoni Auctarium, p. 367.
t Trithemius, quoted in Berington's Lit. Hist. of the Middle Ages, b. iii, p. 171.
t Sixt. Senensi Biblioth. Sanct., lib. iv, p. 370.
~ Sixt. Senens. ut sup.




NINTH CENTURY.                    225
it is probable that Otfrid derived assistance from it in his rhythmical " Harmony of the Gospels." Among his other works are,
" Homilies on the Epistles and Gospels;" a treatise on the invention of languages, entitled, De Inventione Linguarum ab Hebraa
usque ad Theodiscam; a Latin glossary of anatomy, Glossc
Latino-barbaricce de partibus humani corporis; "Miscellaneous
Poems;" a Martyrology; a treatise on arithmetic, De Computo; and
many controversial tracts, particularly against Gotteschalcus on
predestination. A list of his various works, both edited and inedited, is given in Cave's Historia Literaria, saec. ix.
The poems of this great man afford us instances of the barbarous taste which prevailed in that age, in the composition of Latin
poetry. Leonine verses were formed into various figures, and the
ingenuity of the writer was exercised more in the variety of the
forms than in the harmony of the verses he composed.  These
laborious trifles assumed the different figures of men, angels, birds,
quadrupeds, trees, crosses, rings, or any similar ones, according
to the pleasure or skill of the composer: an instance of which
may be found in the Bibliotheca Sancta of Sixtus Senensis, lib.
iii, p. 225.
Homely as verses of this kind must appear to the classical
reader, and whimsical as they confessedly were in their figure
they nevertheless attracted attention, and served to disseminate the
rudiments of knowledge, in an age when it required the mandate
of imperial or episcopal authority to oblige the professed teachers
of religion to acquire sufficient learning to teach their flocks the
creed and the Lord's prayer, or even to read intelligibly the usual
religious offices. At such a period not to have descended to the
capacities and barbarous prejudices of the multitude where it could
be innocently done, might, indeed, have secured the praise of elegance and taste in composition, from contemporary or succeeding
scholars; but would not have gained the plaudit of "Well done,"
from Him who " went about doing good," and whom, when on earth
the "common people heard with gladness."
Rabanus died about the year 856, with the general opinion, "that
Italy had not seen his like, nor Germany produced his equal."*
Mosheim  says, "He may be called the great light of Germany
and France, since it was from the prodigious fund of knowledge
he possessed that these nations derived principally their religious
instruction."t Rabanus, in conjunction with Haimo and Strabus,
* Trithemius, quoted in Berington's Lit. Hist. of Mid. Ages, p. 171.
t Mosheim's Eccles. Hist., vol. ii, p. 313.
VoL..- 15




226                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
is said to have engaged also in a translation of the Scriptures into
the Teutonic, or ancient German; but if such a version were actually completed, it is irrecoverably lost, not a single fragment of
it being extant. See Le Long, tom. i, p. 347.
Louis the Meek, the son and successor of Charlemagne, was,
like his father, studious in the Scriptures, and the patron of Biblical scholars. It has been said that he gave it in charge to a
learned Saxon to translate both the Old and New Testament into
the vernacular tongue of that part of his empire; this, however,
does not appear to be correct, for although there is a rhythmical
dedication to Louis, prefixed with others to the Harmony of Otfrid,
there is no evidence that the learned monk engaged in the work at
his request. Louis died in 842, and, when dying, bequeathed to
his son Lothaire his crown, his sword, and a book of the Gospels,
richly ornamented with gold and precious stones.*
A Grwaco-Latin Psalter, of the ninth century, written in a very
fair and legible hand, with the Greek in Roman characters, was
sold to the marquis of Douglas for ~110. 5s., at the late Mr. Edwards' sale, in 1815.
The LIBRI EVANGELIORUM, or Ilarmony of Otfrid, alluded to
above, was the arduous attempt of a pious and learned monk to
communicate to his rude countrymen the knowledge of the principal facts and doctrines recorded in the four Gospels. It is written in the Teutonic, or ancient German tongue, accompanied with
a Latin translation; both the versions are metrical. It has obtained the name of a Harmony from being selected from the different Gospels; and is divided into five parts, the first of which
includes the nativity and baptism of Christ, and the doctrines
taught by John the Baptist; the second relates to the calling and
instruction of his disciples, and the signs by which the Saviour
established his doctrine in thle world; the third treats of the
miracles, and proofs of the Messiahship of Christ; the fourth
treats of the perspicuity of the doctrines and miracles of Jesus,
and their reference to the Jews; the fifth records his resurrection
and ascension, and points out the solemnities of a future judgment.
Two acrostical dedications are prefixed to the work, one of them
addressed to the emperor Louis, whom he styles sovereign of
Germany, Rex Orientalium  Regnorum; the other to Solomon,
bishop of Costnitz, or Constance; these are followed by a prefatory epistle to Luidbert, archbishop of Mentz. The work itself is
divided into two columns; the one containing the Teutonic, the
Usserii Hist. Dogmat., p. 113.
1                      15*




NINTH CENTURY.                                227
other the Latin translation. In most places the passages from
which the poetic paraphrase is taken are quoted from the Vulgate,
and inserted between the columns. The following are Otfrid's
Teutonic and Latin versions of the Lord's Prayer:TEUTONIC.                                  LATIN.
"Fater unser guato                    "Pater noster bone
bist Druhtin thu gimuato              es Dominus tu gratiosus
In himilon io hoher                   In ccelis altissimis
Uuih si namo thiner                   Sanctum sit nomen tuum
Biqueme vns thinaz richi              Adveniat nobis regnum tuum
thaz hoha himilrichi                  altum illud regnum ccelorum,
Thara uuir zua io gingen              Ad id ut penetremus
ioh emmizigen thingen.                idque assiduo frequentemus.
Si uuillo thin hiar nidare,           Sit voluntas tua hic inferius
So s'er ist ufan himile.              sicut est in coelis.
In erdu hilff vns hiare               In terra juva nos hic
So thu engilon duist nu thare.        sicut angelis facis jam illc.
Thia dagalichun zuhti,                Quotidianum  panem
gib hiut vns mit ginuhti.             da hodie nobis cum satietate.
Joh follon ouh, theist mera           Atque imple etiam, quod plus est
thines selbes lera.                   tuo ipsius verbo.
Seuld bilaz uns alien                 Debitum dimitte nobis omnibus
so uuir ouh duan uuollen              quod nosquoque facere volumus
Sunta thia uuir thenken,              Peccata quaw nos cogitamus
ioh emmizigen uuirken.                et continuo operamur.
Ni firlaze unsih thin uuara           Ne derelinquat nos tuum tutamen
in thes uuidaruuerten fara            in adversarii tentamine
Thaz uuir ni missi gangen             Ut nos ne aberremus
thara ana ni gifallen,                eoque ne cadamus
Losi unsih io thanana                 Libera nos quoque abhinc
thaz uuir sin thine thegana,          ut nos simus tui famuli
Joh mit ginadon thinen                Et cum gratia tua
then uueuuon io bemiden, Amen."       Gehennam effugiamus.  Amen."'"
The prefatory epistle to Luidbert assigns the reasons for the
work, and states the difficulties Otfrid had to conquer in the prosecution of his undertaking. The following translationt will be
interesting to the Biblical and philological reader:Epistle of Otfrid the monk, to Luidbert.t
"To LUIDBERT, by divine grace, the most dignified archbishop
of the city of Mentz, OTFRID, an unworthy man, yet by devotion a
* Schilteri Thesaurus Antiquitatum  Teutonicarum, tom. i, lib. ii, cap. xxi, p. 148.
Ulmw, 1728, fol.
t For this translation I am indebted to the ingenious Mr. Jonathan Crowther, jun.,
of Frodsham, Cheshire.
+ Luidbert was advanced to the archiepiscopal see, November 21st, 863; and died
1




228                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE.
monk, and a presbyter of mean consideration, wishes always the
joy of eternal life in Christ."
"IN transmitting to your most excellent prudence the style
of this book for your approbation, I think it proper, first of
all, to explain to you the reasons for my presuming to write it,
lest, if you should not approve of it, the minds of any of the
faithful should be disposed to lay the blame of it on my presumption."
"For some time the ears of certain most excellent men had
been troubled with the sound of vain things, and their sanctity
annoyed by the obscene songs of worldly people; I was, therefore,
requested by some worthy brethren, and, especially, I was urged
by the repeated solicitations of a venerable matron named Judith,
to compose for them a part of the Gospels in Teutonic, in order
that the singing of these words might destroy the trifling of worldly
voices; and that they, being occupied with the sweetness of the
Gospels in their own language, might be able to divert their attention from the noise of vain things. To this request they added a
complaint, that whereas several of the heathen poets, as Virgil.
Lucan, Ovid, &c., had celebrated the exploits of their countrymen
in their native language, and the world abounded with their volumes; and whereas several most excellent men of our own
sect, as Juvencus, Arator, Prudentius, and many others, had in
the same way celebrated the miracles of Christ, yet I, though
possessing the same faith, and the same grace, was too indolent
to exhibit in my own language the brilliant splendour of the divine
words."
"Being, therefore, unable any longer to refuse this favour to
their importunate charity, I have at last done it for them, not from
any opinion I had of my own abilities, but because I was compelled
by the requests of the brethren. Supported by the assistance of
their prayers, I have composed a part of the Gospels in Frcancic,*
and have intermingled here and there spiritual and moral words,
in order that whoever is afraid of the difficulty of a foreign language may understand the sacred word in his own language; and
understanding the law of God in his own language, may be afraid
to deviate from it ever so little in his own mind. In the first and
last parts of this book, I have taken a middle way between the
September 7th, 889. Serarius observes. he was " a truly venerable and learned man,
wise, liberal, patient, humble, kind, and universally esteemed."-Schilteri Thesaurus,
tom. i, p. 12.
* A dialect of the Teutonic. —C.
1




NINTH CENTURY.                    229
four Evangelists, and have inserted in its proper order what one
and another has related. But in the middle, lest the reader should
be wearied with the superfluity of words, I have omitted many
things concerning the parables and miracles of Christ, and also
concerning his doctrine; this, however, I have done reluctantly,
not so much from weariness, (though I have very lately published
it,) as from the necessity before mentioned: and so I have endeavoured to write, not in regular order as I did in the beginning, but
as things occurred to my short memory. I have divided the volume
into five books, of which the first speaks of the nativity of Christ,
and ends with the baptism and doctrine of John: the second informs us how, after the call of the disciples, both by certain signs
and by his famous doctrine, he was made known to the world:
the third speaks a little of the clearness of his miracles, and of
his doctrine, as addressed to the Jews: the fourth tells in what
manner he drew near his passion, and of his own accord suffered
death for us: the fift4h gives an account of his resurrection, his
conversation afterward with his disciples, his ascension, and the
day of judgment. These, as I said before, I have divided into five
books, (though there are only four of the Evangelists,) for this
reason, because their qutadrate equality sets off* the inequality of
our five senses, and turns all the superfluities not only of our actions, but also of our thoughts, to the elevation of celestial things;
and whatever we do amiss, either as it respects our sight, smell,
feeling, taste, or hearing, we purge away the depravity in the
remembrance of the reading of these things. Let the useless
sense of sight,,then, be obscured, being illuminated by the words
of the gospel;- let not the depraved hearing be injurious to our
heart; let the smell and the taste restrain themselves from wickedness, and join themselves to the sweetness of Christ; and let the
heart be always touching, by means of the memory, these lessons
in Teutonic. But now the barbarism of this language, as it is
uncultivated and incapable of discipline, and has never been accustomed to be taken by the regular bridle of the grammatical art, so
also in many words it is difficult to be written, either because of
the combination or unknown sound of the letters. Sometimes, for
instance, it requires in sound three u's, (as I think,) the two first
consonants, and the third a vowel: sometimes I have not been able
to pronounce the sound of either a, or e,. or i, or u, and then I have
thought it best to write the Greek y; and yet even this letter cannot always be used in this language, which sometimes, in certain
* Or, perhaps, "fills up."




230                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
sounds, cannot easily be referred to any character at all. This
language also, frequently, contrary to the usage of Latinity, makes
use of the letters k and z, which grammarians will have to be
superfluous letters: the z, I judge they use in this language to represent a hissing through the teeth; and the k, for a guttural sound,
(or rather a sound in the fauces.)  Moreover, it allows too much
the figure antithesis, though not always that species of it which
teachers of grammar call synalapha, or elision; and unless those
who read are aware of this, they pronounce some words rather
awkwardly, sometimes retaining the letters as they are written,
and at other times omitting them, after the manner of the language
of the Hebrews, who are accustomed in poetry, as some say, entirely to omit and pass over some letters by way of synalepha; not
that this writing of mine is regulated by metrical exactness, but it
uniformly follows the homoioteleuton, or rhyming scheme. For
both in this and in the former reading, the words require a congruous and similar final sound; and for the sake of this congruity,
it is proper to use the figure elision, not only between two vowels,
but very often between other letters also; indeed, unless this be
done, the extension of the letters sounds very awkwardly. Now
we shall find, on close examination, that we do the very same thing
in our common conversation; for the beauty of this language requires, that those who read should use a soft and easy collision of
synalaepha, and that those who write should pay regard to the
homoioteleuton, that is, to the similar termination of words; and
sometimes the sense ought to be suspended for two, three, or four
lines, in order that the reader may better understand what the
words mean. Very often, too, the vowels i and o, and in the same
manner other vowels, are found written together; sometimes continuing distinct vowels in sound, sometimes making only one sound,
the first being taken as a consonant. Also, whereas in Latin two
negatives make an affirmative, in the usage of this language they
almost always make a stronger negative. Of this I have generally
been aware, though I have still taken care to write according to
the established mode of common conversation. Again; the idiom
of this language allowed me to regard neither number nor genders,
for sometimes I have rendered by the feminine in this language
what in the Latin was masculine; and so in the same manner I
have been obliged to confound the other genders. I have changed
the plural number for the singular, and the singular for the plural,
and have thus sometimes been found to fall into a barbarism, or
solecism. I would lay down examples of these faults in Teutonic
1




NINTH CENTURY.                        231
from this book, but I wish to avoid incurring the derision of the
reader. For, to see the uncultivated words of a rustic language
mingled with the smoothness of Latinity would certainly excite his
laughter; for this language is reckoned, as it were, a rustic one,
not having been polished by writing, nor any useful art, by our own
countrymen,* inasmuch as they do not, like many other nations,
record the history of their predecessors, nor do they set off their
exploits with a love of glory. If such a thing has ever happened,
they have preferred writing in the language of other nations, that
is, in Latin or Greek: they are careful of other languages, and are
not ashamed of the deformity of their own.  They are afraid in
other languages to transgress rule, even in a single letter, and yet
in their own make mistakes at almost every word. A most astonishing thing truly! that such great men, devoted to prudence, excelling in carefulness, supported by activity, extensive in wisdom,
famous for sanctity, should transfer all these excellences to the
glory of a foreign language, and have no use of writing in their
own! It is fit, however, that by some means or other, whether in
incorrect, or in strictly grammatical language, mankind should
praise the Author of all things, who has given them the instrument
of the tongue, to sound the word of his praise; who seeks not the
flattery of polished words, but the pious affection of our thought;
not an empty servitude, but a series of works performed with pious
diligence."
"I have taken care, therefore, to send to your sagacious prudence this book for your approbation; and because my littleness
was educated in time past by Rabanus, of venerable memory, formerly the worthy president of your place, I have commended it to
the dignity of your presidentship, and to your equal wisdom.  If it
is acceptable to the regard of your sanctity, and you judge it not
altogether to be rejected, let your authority grant, to the faithful,
permission to use it lawfully. But if it appear improper, and like
my negligence, let the same venerable and sound authority despise
it. My small humility commands the matter to be determined in
either case by your judgment.  May the Supreme Trinity and
* Otfrid denies the Teutonic language to have been polished by writing, or the
grammatical art, prior to his time; but not that it had been reduced to writing, though
in a rude and unpolished manner: for, in fact, Charlemagne had ordered the ancient
songs to be collected and committed to writing; there also existed a translation into
Teutonic of the conversation of Christ with the woman of Samaria; and a fragment
of a letter to his sister Florentina by Isidore of Spain, who flourished near two hundred
years before Otfrid.-Schilter.
1




232                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Perfect Unity deign long to preserve you safe, and in the right way
to be a universal blessing! AMEN."*
OTFRID was a native of Germany, and a monk of the monastery
of Weissenburg in Alsace, of the order of St. Benedict. He had
been the hearer, and became the disciple, of Rabanus Maurus, the
celebrated abbot of Fulda. Trithemius says, " He was profoundly
versed in the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, and extensively
acquainted with literature in general; a philosopher, a rhetorician,
and a famous poet; eloquent in speech, and excellent in disposition
His prose and poetical works were numerous, and have transmitted
his name with honour to posterity.  After the example of Charlemagne, he attempted to reduce the barbarous language of lhe ancient Germans to grammatical rule, and partially succeeded."
Besides the Liber Evangeliorum, or Harmony, he wrote a metrical paraphrase on the Psalms. A MS. containing this paraphrase, with the addition of a translation of the poetical parts of
Scripture, the Apostles' and Athanasian Creeds, and the Lord's
Prayer, is preserved in the Imperial library at Vienna. Lambecius, in his Commentarius de augustissima Bibliotheca Ccsarea
Vindobonensi, lib. ii, p. 461, has transcribed the first Psalm, and
the Lord's Prayer, from this MS., which he considers as coeval
with the author. Otfrid wrote also two tracts, on the " Last Judgment," and the " Joys of the Kingdom of Heaven," besides a book
of poems, and another of epistles.  " le composed many others,"
says Trithemius, " which arc now lost through the negligence of
those who lived in former times, or have been erased and torn by
ignorant monks."
He flourished under the emperors Louis, Lothaire, and Charles
and died about the year 870.t
The best edition of Otfrid's LIBER EVANGELIORUM, or Harmony,
is that published by Schilter in his Thesaurus Antiquitatum Teutonicarum, Ecclesiasticarum, Civiliurn, Litterarium. Ulmae, 1728,
fol., tom. i.
A Teutonic metrical version of the Gospels has been attributed,
by Beatus Rhenanus and others, to Waldo, or Valdo, bishop of
Freising; but this appears to be a mistake, and to have arisen from
the transcription of Otfrid's work, by the presbyter Sigebert, undertaken at the request of Waldo.l
* Schilteri Thes., tom. i, pp. 10-12. Maxima Biblioth. Pat., tom. xvi, pp. 764, 765.
t Vit. Otfridi, ex Catalog. J. Trithemii,-apud Schilteri Thesaurus, tom. i, Whartont
Auctarium, pp. 369, 370.
$ Usserii Hist. Dogmat., p. 125; et Whartoni Auctarium, p. 370.
1




NINTH CENTURY.                      233
Another German monk, named WVALAFRID STIABUS, or STRABO,
became celebrated during this century for his Glossa Ordinaria.
This was a Latin comment on the Bible, selected, like that of Rabanus, from the expositions and sayings of the fathers, and accompanied with the names of the respective authors; and which for
several centuries was held in universal esteem. Tlhe author, who
was a monk of Fulda, had studied under Rabanus, and been employed by him as a scribe. HIe afterward was chosen abbot of
Reichenau, in the diocess of Constanz, and died in 849.*
At a later period, ANSELM, a scholar and deacon of the church
of Laon in France, who flourished at the close of the eleventh, and
commencement of the twelfth century, invented the Glossa Interlinearis, or Interlineary Exposition, so called from being inserted
in smaller characters between the lines of the sacred text. It consists of brief explanations of difficult words, or sentences; an example is given from it in the Bibliotheca Sancta of Sixtus Senensis, lib. iii, p. 200.
The etymology and application of the terms TEXT and GLOSS
are well explained in the following remarks of a late learned antiquary.t  "There are few who are ignorant of the sense and meaning of the word TEXT, but how it grew to signify the BWORD OF GOD,
many, perhaps, would be glad to know. We have it from the Romans, who, from the similitude subsisting between spinning and
weaving, and the art of composing, both in verse and prose, applied to the latter several expressions proper to the former; hence
Horace,
-tenui deducta poemata fibo
"That fine-spun thread, with which our poem's wrought;"
EP. 2, 1. 225:
and Cicero texere orationem and contexere carmen.  Among the
latter Roman writers, TEXTUS occurs often in the sense of a piece,
or composition, and by excellence came to denote the WTORD OF
GOD, just as the general word SCRIPTURA also did. But this is not
all; the method of writing the Scriptures, (and some few other
books,) before the art of printing was invented, was thus, as I here
represent it, from an old manuscript of the New Testament, of the
Vulgate version, now before me.
* Le Long, Biblioth. Sacr., pt. ii, sec. 3, torm. iii, p. 353, edit. a Masch.
t Rev. S. Pegge, under signature of " Paul Gemsege,"-in Selection of Curious
Articles from Gent. Mag., vol. ii, p. 46.




234                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
MATTHEW VII, 23.
Et tunc confitebor illis quia
Nonnovit lux        in nullo approbavi, sed reprobavi.
tenebras I. non                                          qui operamini.
aspicit, quas si    nunquam  novi vos.                   non dicit qui
aspiceret, tene-                           dis-          operati estis
bra non essent.  cedite a me omnes qui opera-            ne tollat psqui  injudicio
quia         licet non hanon hos novit, ergo eos, qui mandata ejus custodiunt.   beatis facultatemrn  peccandi
mini iniquitateDm.                      tamen habetis
affectum.
"The sentences at the sides are the gloss; the middle, which is
in larger hand, is the text; and between the lines of that is put
the interlineary gloss, in which place a translation or version, in
some ancient manuscripts in the Cottonian and other libraries, is
sometimes inserted. The TEXT here means the WORD OF GoD, as
opposed to the gloss, both the lateral and the interlineary gloss;
and because the text was usually written, as in this manuscript, in
a very large and masterly hand, from thence a large and strong
hand of that sort came to be called text-hand. By GLOSS is meant
a commentary or exposition, generally taken out of the Latin
fathers, St. Hieronyme, St. Augustine, &c.  It is originally a
Greek word, and at first meant a single word put to explain
another, as appears from the ancient Greek and Latin glossaries,
but afterward it camne to signify any exposition or larger commentary. From hence are derived our English expressions to put a
gloss upon a thing, that is, a favourable interpretation or construction; gloss, a fair shining outside; and to glose, to flatter."
The Greek commentators of this age chiefly employed themselves in forming CATEN.E, or chains of commentaries, consisting
entirely in collections of the explications of Scripture that were
scattered up and down in the ancient writers. The more modern work of the learned Poole, entitled  Synopsis Criticorum,
in five large folio volumes, is a somewhat similar compilation,
selected with judgment, and displaying the most profound erudition.
PHOTIUS, patriarch of Constantinople, who flourished about
A. D. 870, was the most celebrated of his contemporaries; he
wrote a Catena on the book of Psalms, compiled from the writings of Athanasius, Basil, Chrysostom, &c., and a Commentary
upon the Prophets, both of which are yet extant in MS.*  He also
composed a book of Questions relating to various passages of
Scripture, entitled Amphilochia, from its having been addressed to
* Mosheim's Eccl. Hist., vol. ii, p. 325.
1




NINTH CENTURY.                      23O
Amphilochius, bishop of Cyzicum. These questions on the Bible
are, however, interspersed with others of a philosophical and literary kind; they are also extant in MS. in different public libraries.
But his most celebrated works are his Nomocanon and VMyrobiblion,
or Bibliotheca.  The Nomnocanon is a collection which includes,
under fourteen titles, all the canons acknowledged in the church,
from the times of the apostles to the seventh cocumenic council.
The Mlyrobiblion, or Library, is a review  of the works of two
hundred and eighty authors, theologians, commentators, philosophers, historians, orators, physicians, and grammarians. It was
undertaken at the request of his brother Tarasias, and composed
while he was a layman, and, as it seems, during an embassy at
the court of Bagdat. It is one of the most precious remains of
antiquity; and is the model on which the critical journals have
been formed, which, in modern times, have so much engaged the
learned of different nations, and contributed to the advancement of
literature. An interesting account of this most learned and accomplished scholar is given in Berington's " Literary History of the
Middle Ages," App. i, pp. 554-562. His MIdyrobiblion, or Library,
has been several times printed. The best edition is that of And.
Schottus, Rothom., folio, i 653.*
The propriety of explaining and illustrating the sacred Scriptures by COMMCIENTS has been very generally allowed, though the
node and extent of them have been various, at different periods.
"At first the insertion of a word or sentence in the margin, explaining some particular word in the text, appears to have constituted
the whole of the comment.  Afterward these were mingled with
the text, but with such marks as served to distinguish them from
the words they were intended to illustrate; sometimes the comment was interlined with the text; and at other times it occupied
a space at the bottom of the page."
"Ancient comments, written in all these various ways, I have
often seen," says Dr. A. Clarke, " and a Bible now lies before me,
written probably before the time of Wicliff, where the glosses are
all incorporated with the text, and only distinguished from it by a
line underneath; the line evidently added by a later hand."  The
following are specimens:33lpnre men seen, crowtnb men lmanbrcn, mesels beu maaAb tlene, beef men
beeren, beeb men rgsen agefn, yore men ben taken to ruecbinge of tbe ospetl,
or ben ntaab kcyeptrs of the gospel. Matt. xi, 5.
Qctroube tetraarecla, that is, prinee of the fourt)b larte. Luke iii, 1.
+ See also Cave's Hist. Lit. Sac., vol. ix, p. 552; and Bibliog. Dict., vol. v.
1




236                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
" Comments written in this way have given birth to multitudes
of the various readings afforded by ancient MSS., for, the notes
of distinction being omitted or neglected, the gloss was often considered as an integral part of the text, and entered accordingly by
succeeding copyists."
"This is particularly remarkable in the Vulgate, which abounds
with explanatory words and phrases, similar to those in the preceding quotations. In the Septuagint, also, traces of this custom
are easily discernible, and to this circumstance many of its various
readinrgs may be attributed."* A sketch of the principal Jewish and
Christian commentators, and their works, may be found in the
General Preface to the learned commentary of Dr. A. Clarke,
vol. i, pp. 1-23.
Directing now our inquiries to the more northern states of Europe, we learn, that in the course of the NINTH century many of
them received the Gospel, through the pious and indefatigable
labours of two Greek monks, Methodius and Cyril, brothers, and
natives of Thessalonica, descended fiom an illustrious senatorian
Roman family. CYRIL, who in early life had borne the name of
Constantine, received his education at Constantinople, and, by his
great progress in learning, obtained the surname of The Philosopher. Remarkable also for his piety and zeal, he was promoted
to the priesthood, and sent on a mission to the Chazari, a tribe of
the Turci, the most numerous and powerful nation of the Huns in
European Scythia. Already acquainted with the Slavonian, Greek,
and Latin languages, he seems to have learned also the Turcic,
which was at that time spoken by the I-Iuns, Chazari, and Tartars. After having accomplished the object of his mission, he
returned to Constantinople, absolutely refusing to accept any part
of the great presents with which the prince of the Chazari would
have honoured him.
Cyril's second mission was to the Bulgarians, a nation of the
Slavi, who had possessed themselves of the ancient Mysia and
Dacia, now Walachia, Moldavia, and part of Hungary; in this
mission his brother METIODIUS, a monk, was his chief assistant.
From Bulgaria our two missionaries passed into Moravia, being
invited thither by Rastices, who had received the crown of Moravia from Louis, king of Germany, in 846. Stridowski, in his
Sacra 1Moravice Historia, styles Cyril and Methodius the apostles
of Moravia, Upper Bohemia, Silesia, Cazaria, Croatia, Circassia,
* Dr. A. Clarke's Commentary, Gen. Pref., pp. i, ii.
1




NINTH CENTURY.                     237
Bulgaria, Bosnia, Russia, Dalmatia, Pannonia, Dacia, Carinthia,
Carniola, and almost all the Slavonian nations.*
For the more effectual promotion of the sacred work in which
they were engaged, these two indefatigable and judicious missionaries translated the Scriptures, and the Liturgy of the church, into
the Slavonian tongue. For this purpose they invented an alphabet, principally formed from the Greek capitals, and gave to each
letter of the alphabet the name of a word beginning with the letter.
These characters are usually termed, from  one of the inventors,
Cyrillian; and the alphabet, the Servian or ancient Russian.
(See plate 1.) About the year 880, Pope John VIII. addressed
an epistle to a Slavonian prince, in which he observes, "We approve of the Slavonian letters invented by the philosopher Constantine; and we order that the praises of Christ may be published
in that language. It is not contrary to the faith, to employ it in
the public prayers of the church, and in reading the Holy Scriptures.  He who made the three principal tongues, Latin, Greek
and Hebrew, made the rest also for his own glory. Nevertheless,
to show the more respect to the Gospel, let it first be read in the
Latin, and then in the Slavonian, for the sake of the people who
understand not Latin; and according to the practice of some other
churches, &c."
Of the importance of the Slavonian translation, some idea may
be formed from the various dialects of the Slavonian tongue enumerated by Reland, inhis Dissertationes lMiscell., pars iii. He has,
at the end of that work, given the Lord's Prayer in the following
dialects of the Slavonian, viz., Cyrillic, Bulg'aric, Dalmatic, Croatic, Slavonic, Bohemic, Polonic, Vandalic, Lusatic, Mluscovitic
or Russic, Carniolic, Nova-ZeTnblic, TWalachic.t  Cyril died
about A. D. 870. Methodius lived to an advanced age, but the
year of his death is uncertain.: The MS. of the Slavonian or Russian version, supposed to be
the oldest now extant, is one of the New Testament, written in the
time of the grand duke Wladimir, in the tenth century, and which
was used in the Ostrog edition of the Bible, printed in 1581, in folio,
at the expense of Constantine, prince of Volhinia, a copy of which
is in the valuable library of Earl Spencer. But the most ancient
MS. of the whole Slavonian Bible, is probably one preserved in the
* Butler's Lives, Dec. 22, vol. xii, pp. 287-300.
t Bacmeister, Essai sur la Bibliotheque, &c., de St. Petersbourg, p. 5, 1776, 8vo.
Relandi Dissert. Miscell., pt. iii, Traject. ad Rhenum, 1708, 12mo. Jortin's Remarks
on Eccl. Hist., vol. iii, p. 104. Iond. 1805, 8vo.
1




238                   BIBLICAL LITEIRATURE,
library of the Holy Synod, written in the year 1499, in the time of
the grand duke Ivan W\asiljewitsh, The oldest printed edition of
the Slavonian Scriptures, and the first book printed in the lanuagc,
is the Pentateuch, in 4to, It was translated by Francis Scorino,
a physician, and printed at Prague in 1519, on good paper, in beau
tiful Cyrillian characters, and with few or no abbreviations, The
second page of the title is ornamented, or rather disgr aced, with a
representation of angels combating with infernal spirits; above
them  the Holy Trinity, under the form  of an old man with three
faces, lifting up his hand as if to bless them, while the angels offer
him crowns.  There is a preface to each book; and a summary of
contents to each chapter.  The chapters are not divided into verses.
The whole is adorned with wood cuts, capitals, and vignettes.
Scorino was also the author of a paraphrase on Chronicles; and
of a translation of the Acts of the Apostles, which was printed at
Wilna, in 1517, in Svo,.  The famous Socinian, Budny, made use
of Scorino's version when translating the Bible into the Polish
tongue.  Methodius and Cyril translated from  the Greek of the
Septuagint; Scorino from the Vulgate Latin,*
TheJirst book printed at Moscow was the Acts and Epistles of
the Apostles, in 1654, in the time of the'czar Ivan WTasilovitsch.
The characters and paper are excellent: t he latter was probably obtained from England;  since in this undertaking, the czar applied
to those nations who were most capable of affording him  aid and
instruction in the establishment of printing in his dominions.  In
the library of the Academly of Sciences at Petersburg, a copy of
this rare edition is preserved, which a solldier found by chance, and
presented to the academy in 1730. At the end of the volume is
the following mandatel o: the czar, relating the principal circumstances that led to the printing of this edition.
"By the will of thlle FA.vIitijt, the assistance of the SON, and the
operation of the HOLY SPIRIT. —-By order of the orthodox czar and
grand duke of all the Russias, Iv XanA0 ~asilevitsch; anld bythebenediction of Macar, the lmost venerable imetropolitan of all the Russias,
many churches have been erected( in Moscow, and its environs; and
in all the cities of iussia, out chiefly in the city of Casan, and in the
country round about wh\icl hIave been lately enlightened.  These
churches the orthodox czar hai ornamented with venerable images,
sacred books, moveables, and vestments, and( otl}er tlhings belonging to public wssorship, accordinlg to the traditions and rules of the
Bacneistcr, Essai sur la libliotheque, &c., de l'Academie des Sciences de Saint
Petersbourg, pp. 9!-94. M-r1', s MTic-hael4,, vol ii, pt. ci t:b, vii, p. 154.
1




NINTH CENTURY.                     239
apostles and blessed fathers, and the ordinances of the Greek emperors of blessed memory, who have reigned at Constantinople,
Constantine the Great, Justinian, Michael, Theodore, and other
pious princes. The orthodox czar and grand duke of all the Russias commanded also the sacred books, such as the Psalms, the
Gospels, the Acts, and Epistles of the Apostles, and many others,
to be purchased at the public marts, and distributed to the
churches; but very few could be found that were correct, and fit
for use; the others being falsified and disfigured, by the ignorance
and inaccuracy of the copyists. Of this, the czar had scarcely been
informed, before he thought of the means of causing books to be
printed, in his states, similar to those in Greece, at Venice, in Phrygia, or among other nations, in order to possess more correct copies
of the sacred books; and having declared his intention to the most
venerable metropolitan of all the Russias, the holy man rejoiced
exceedingly, gave thanks to God, and assured the czar that lie
regarded the thought as a gift from Heaven.  Inquiry was accordingly made respecting the manner of printing, by order of the czar,
and under the benediction of the metropolitan, in the year of the
world 7061, (A. D. 1553,) and the thirty-first of his reign. The
orthodox czar afterward caused a house to be builded at his own
proper charge, designed for the printing; and advanced a sum out
of the public treasury to the workmen Ivan Fedor, deacon of the
church of the miraculous, Nicholas do GCostun, and Peter Tilnofeew Motislavzov, sufficient for the expenses of the printing, and
for their own support until the work should be finished.  The impression of the present book, which contains the Acts of the Apostles, the Catholic Epistles, and those of St. Paul, was begun on
the 19th of April, the anniversary of the blessed father Ivan Palevret, in the year of the world 7071, (A. 1). 1563,) and was completed on the 1st of March in the year of the world 7072, (A. D.
1564,) being the first of the ministry of the archbishop and metropolitan Athanasius; in honour of the all-powerful and quickening
Trinity of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen."*
The whole Bible, from the version of Methodius and Cyril, was
printed at Ostrog, 1581, fol., and again at Moscow, 1663, fol. The
Slavonian, or ancient Russian, is still the authorized version
of the Russian Church, though scarcely intelligible to the common
people.
Reverting to the occurrences of the ninth century, England claims
*Bacmeister, ut sup., pp. 9s-1 1.
1




240                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
our attention. ALFRED, justly surnamed the Great, a prince not
inferior in talent to Charlemagne, and infinitely his superior in
piety and suavity of manners, ascended the throne in 871. Born
when his country was involved in the most profound darkness, and
deplorable confusion; and when learning was considered rather as a
reproach than an honour to a prince, he was not taught to know
one letter from another till he was above twelve years of age, when
a book was put into his hand by a kind of accident, more than by
previous design. Judith, his step-mother, was sitting one day surrounded by her family, with a book of Saxon poetry in her hands.
As Aldhelm and Caedmon had written poems of great popularity,
it might contain some of theirs. With a happy judgment, she proposed it as a gift to him who would soonest learn to read it. The
elder princes thought the reward inadequate to the task, and retired
from the field of emulation.  But the mind of Alfred, captivated
by the prospect of information, and pleased with the beauty of the
writing, and the splendour of the illuminations, inquired if she actually intended to give it to the person who would soonest learn
it. His mother repeating the promise, with a smile of joy at the
question, he took the book, found out aninstructer, and learned to read
it; recited it to her, and received it for his reward. Religion continued the stimulus which the pleasures of poetry had first created.
He made a collection of the devout offices for tile day, with prayers.
and psalms adapted to pious meditation; and always carried this
treasure in his bosom for perpetual use.*
Difficulties were, however, thrown in the way of Alfred's acquisition of learning, which, to a mind less vigorous than his, would
have been deemed insurmountable. For not only was his kingdom
for many years the seat of war, during which he is said to have
fought in person fifty-six battles, by sea and land; but at that time
few or none among the West Saxons had any learning, or could
so much as read with propriety and ease; and when lie had attained the age of maturity, he became subject to a disease which
incessantly tormented him, and which his physicians could neither
remedy nor explore.  But his ardent thirst for knowledge surmounted every obstacle, and in 887 he obtained the happiness he
had long coveted, of leading the Latin authors in their original language; and even became a profound scholar for those times, a grammarian, a rhetorician, a philosopher, an historian, a musician, the
prince of Saxon poesy, and an excellent architect and geometrician.t
* Turner's Hist. of the Anglo-Saxons, vol. i, b. ii, ch. viii, p. 193.
t Spelman's Life of Xilfred the Great, p. 210. Oxford, 1709, 8vo.
1




NINTH CENTURY.                      241
One of the principal features of Alfred's useful life was his
ardent piety; and it forms a shining trait in his character, that an
author, who lived at the period of the Norman conquest, in mentioning some of the preceding kings with short, appropriate epithets,
names him with the simple, but expressive addition of " THE TRUTH
TELLER."  He was accustomed daily to attend divine service,
especially the eucharist; making use also of prayers and psalms
in private. He kept the established hours of prayer, being every
third hour, both night and day; and frequently entered the churches
secretly in the night for prayer, after lamenting with sighs his want
of more acquaintance with divine wisdom. He used also, with
careful solicitude, to hear the Scriptures of God from the recitations of natives, or even (if by chance any arrived from abroad) to
hear prayers equally from foreigners. Asser, the bishop of St.
David's, the friend and biographer of Alfred, speaking of his own
reception and attendance at the court of Alfred, says: "I was
honourably received in the royal city of Leonaford, and that time
staid eight months in his court. I translated and read to him whatever books he wished which were within our reach; for it was his
peculiar and perpetual custom, day and night, amid all his afflictions of mind and body, either to read books himself, or to have
them read to him by others."* Some of the last instructions of
Alfred to his son Edward have been preserved, and deserve to be
quoted for their pathetic simplicity and genuine piety, their political wisdom, and the proof which they afford of his anxiety for the
welfare of his subjects.
"Thus, quoth Alfred, worldly wealth at last cometh to the
worms, and all the glory of it to the dust, and our life is soon gone.
And though one had the rule of all this middle world, and of the
wealth in it, yet should he keep his life but a short while. All thy
happiness would but work thy misery, unless thou couldst purchase thee CHRIST. Therefore, when we lead our lives as God
hath taught us, we then best serve ourselves. For then be assured
that he will support us; for so said Solomon, that wise man; well
is he that doth good in this world, for at last he cometh where he
findeth it."
" Thus, quoth Alfred: My dear son, set thee now beside me,
and I will deliver thee true instructions. My son, I feel that my
hour is coming; my countenance is wan. My days are almost
done.  We must now part. I shall go to another world, and thou
* See Asser, as cited by Turner, in Hist. of Anglo-Saxons, vol. i, p. 293; Whitaker in Life of St. Neot, p. 161; and also Turner's Anglo-Saxons vol. i, ch. ii, p. 309.
VOL. I.-16




242                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
shalt be left alone in all my wealth. I pray thee, (for thou art my
dear child,) strive to be a father and a lord to thy people; be thou
the children's father and the widow's friend; comfort thou the
poor, and shelter the weak; and with all thy might, right that
which is wrong. And, son, govern thyself by law, then shall the
Lord love thee, and God above all things shall be thy reward.
Call thou upon him to advise thee in all thy need, and so he shall
help thee the better to compass that which thou wouldst."*
No sovereign ever studied the public interest more than Alfred.
He seems to have considered his life but as a trust, to be used for
the benefit of his people; and his plans for their welfare were intelligent and great. He fought their battles, regulated the administration of justice, compiled a body of laws, corrected the abuses of
tile realm, extended their commercial relations and knowledge by
an embassy to India, cultivated the arts and sciences, established
public seminaries for the education of youth, and was the munificent patron of religion and learning. To him Englishmen are
indebted for tile TRIAL BY JUnRY, for the foundation of their Coi,'ioN
LAW, and for the division of the kingdom into HUNDREDS and
TrYTHINGS; and the sentiment expressed by him in his will will
never be forgotten: " IT IS JUST THAT THIE ENGLISH SHOULD FOR
EVER REMAIN FREE AS THEIR OWN THOUGHTS. t
Stimulated by a laudable anxiety for the mental and moral improvement of his subjects, Alfred searched his dominions for men
of literary attainments, invited learned foreigners to his court, and
munificcntly rewarded the exertions of their talents. He also
added the powerful influence of his own example, by composing a
variety of poems, fables, and apt stories; and by translating into
the Anglo-Saxon, then the vernacular language of the kingdom,
the " Consolation of Philosophy," by Boetius, the "Histories" of
Arosius and Bede, and the " Pastorals" of Gregory. To this last
mentioned work he prefixed a prefatory epistle to Wulfsig. bishop
of London, which deserves to be transcribed; the following is
Spelman's literal translation:"_,ELFRED, king, wishleth greeting to Wulfsig, bishop, his beloved
and friendlike, and thee to know, I wish, that to me it cometh very
often in mind, what manner of wise men long ago were throughout
the English nation, both of the spiritual degree and of the temporal, and how happy the times then were among all the English,
and how the kings, which then the government had of the people,
* Spelman's Life of Elfred the Great, pp. 130, 131.
t Russell's Hist. of Modem Europe, vol. i, pp. 102, 104.
~1                     16*




NINTH CENTURY.                   243
God, and his written will obeyed, how well they behaved themselves both in war and peace; and in their home government, how
their nobleness was spread abroad, and how they prospered in
knowledge and in wisdom. Also the divine orders, how earnest
they were, as well about preaching as about learning, and about
all the services that they should do to God; and how men from
abroad, wisdom and doctrine here in this land sought, and how we
the same now must get abroad if we would have them. So dear
has learning fallen among the English nation, as that there has
been very few on this side the Humber that were able to understand the English of their service, or turn an epistle from Latin
into English: and I wot there were not many beyond the Hurmber
that could do it. There were so few as that I cannot bethink me
of one on the south side of the Thames, when I first came to reign.
God Almighty be thanked that we have ever a teacher in pulpit
now. Therefore I pray thee that thou do, (as also I believe thou
wilt,) that thou that wisdom, that God has given thee, bestow all
about on them thou canst bestow it; think what punishment shall
for this world befall us, when as neither we ourselves have loved
wisdom, nor left it to others; we have only loved the names that
we were Christians, and very few of us the duties. When I
minded all this, methought also that I saw (before all was spoiled
and burned) how all the churches throughout the English nation
stood filled with books and ornaments, and a great multitude of
God's servants; and at that time they wist very little fruit of their
books, because they could understand nothing of them, for that
they were not written in their own language. So they told us, that
our ancestors, that before us held those places loved wisdom, and
through the same got wealth, and left it to us. A man may here
yet see their swath, but we cannot inquire after it, because we
have let go both wealth and wisdom; for that we would not stoop
with our minds to the seeking of it. When I thought of all this,
then wondered I greatly that their godly wise men, that were
everywhere throughout the English nation, and had fully learned
all those books, would turn no part of them into their own language; but I then again quickly answered myself, and said, they
weened not that ever men should become so reckless, nor that
this learning would so decay, therefore they willingly let it alone,
and wot that here would be the more wisdom in the land, the more
languages that we understood. Then I called to mind how that
the L.&w was first found written in the Hebrew speech; and after
that the Greeks had learned it, then turned they it into their own!,




244                       BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
speech wholly, and also all other books. And then the Latzn
people, a little after they had learned it, they translated all through
wise interpreters into their own language; and all other Christian
people also have turned some part thereof into their own tongue.
Therefore methinketh it better, if you so think, that we also some
books, that be deemed most needful for all men to understand, into
that language turn, that we all know; and that we bring to pass
(as we easily may, with God's help, if we have quietness) that all
the youth of free-born Englishmen (such as have wealth that they
may maintain them) be committed to learning, that, while they no
other note can, they first learn well to read English writing, afterward let men further teach in the Latin tongue those that they will
further teach and have to a higher degree. When I minded how
this learning of the Latin tongue heretofore was fallen throughout
the English nation, though many skill to read English writing,
then began I, among divers and manifold businesses of this kingdom, to turn into English that book which in Latin is named Pastoralis, and in English, the HIerd-man's Book, sometimes word for
word, sometimes understanding for understanding, even as I learned
them  of Plegmond my archbishop, of Asser my bishop, and Grimbald my mass-priest, and John my mass-priest. After that I had
learned of them how I might best understand them, I turned them
into English, and will send one to each bishop's see in my kingdom: and upon each there is a style,* that is of fifty marks; and
* Various meanings have been affixed to the Saxon word.ESTEL, which is here
translated style. Mr. Wise and Dr. Pegge support the adoption of the term style, an
instrument which they conceive was chiefly designed, in the present case, for the use
of the master or teacher, to whom it might be subservient in a double capacity; that
is, both for writing, and by way of indicatoriurn orfestuca; and, supposing the books
to have been written with a pen, they apprehend the latter use accounts very well for
their being accompanied by a stylus, or style; though they affirm that waxen tablebooks were not yet grown into disuse: and in reply to the objection that these styli
could not be worth fifty mancussac apiece, or ~18 15s. of our present money, Dr.
Pegge remarks that the handles of them might be enriched, in the materials and workmanship, to almost any sum; and that the king might be desirous of exciting his
subjects, by this extraordinary act of liberality, to the love of learning; and conjectures
that a curious jewel of gold, enamelled like a bulla or amulet to hang round the neck,
circumscribed in Saxon characters, _cELFRED MEC HEHT GEWvRCAN, Alfred caused me
to be made, which was found in the Isle of Althelney, formed the handle of one of
these styli. This jewel is engraved in Hickes's Thesaurus, vol. i, p. 142. See Peggec
on the JEstel in the Archieologia, vol. ii, pp. 68-74, 4to.
Mr. Hearne and Dr. Milles controvert this translation, and observe, that the styli
were usually implements of small value, made either of iron or bone, or some such
cheap materials; that in Alfred's time vellum had taken place of waxen tablets, and
consequently pens succeeded to styles; to which Dr. Milles adds, that, supposing
1




NINTH  CENTURY.                             245
I command in God's name, that no man the style from the books,
nor the books from the minster take, seeing we know not how
long there shall be so learned bishops as now, God be thanked,
everywhere there are. Therefore I would they should always remain in their places, except the bishop will have them with him,
or that they be lent somewhither until that some other be written
out."
The last literary work in which this excellent monarch engaged
was. a translation of the Psalms of David into Anglo-Saxon, which,
however, he did not live to finish, but which was afterward completed by another hand. This translation appears to have been
part of a princely design to translate the whole of the Old and New
Testaments into the vernacular tongue, for the general benefit of
waxen tablets not to have been entirely laid aside, it was, nevertheless, very improbable
that they would have been used for so many copies of a book, when they might have
been written in a more convenient and durable manner by ink, on vellum; and the
more so as it was not usual to commit things of great importance to these tablets, but
only such as were in common and daily use; and that a stylus was superfluous, when
no addition nor alteration was to be made in the work. Mr. Hearne's idea of the
estcl, in which he is supported by Dr. Milles, is, that it was the umbilicus of the
volume on which this book was written, or rather, the two handles or knobs at the
extremities, like those affixed to our modern maps, (see frontispiece,) by the means of
which the volume was to be rolled up or opened; and on which each copy of the book
was sent to the respective cathedrals. In this sense of the word the astel was a very
proper, and indeed a necessary appendage of the book, and it adds great propriety to
the king's request, " that no one would take the aestel from the book;" which, if they
had been tempted to do, by the value of this ornament, they would have deprived the
volume, not only of its beauty, but in some measure, also, of its use. Mr. Hearne
also justifies the use of this word from Chaucer, who, in the letter of Cupide, calls a
handle a stele or stail, as it is still used in the northern parts of England" And when that man the pan hath by the stele."
He further supposes that this handle might be magnificently chased and carved, like
the jewel of Alfred, mentioned by Hickes. Dr. Milles, however, thinks there is no
necessity for such a supposition, since the value of six pounds three ounces in silver.
or the weight of seven ounces and a half in gold, might be easily worked up in forming
the umbilicus, or rather the two handles at the extremities of it, without the additional
expense of sculpture and ornament. For by these mancussaa all the ornaments and
furniture of gold among the Saxons were weighed, a mancussa weighing about sixtyeight troy grains, and equiponderant with three Saxon pennies. Dr. M. thinks that
there is no other ground for the supposition that the jewel of Alfred might have been
the top or extremity of the awstel, than that they were both the property of the same
king; and that there is no analogy between the shape of that jewel and that of a stylus or manubrium to the book, and that the weight of it, which was about one ounce
and five-eighths, does not at all coincide with the weight of the aestel.-Leland's
Itinerary, vol. vii, pp. xix-xxii. Archleologia, vol. ii, pp. 75-79.
1




246                  BIBLICAL LrTERATURE,
his subjects. The old Chronicle of Ely affirms this to have been
done; and Boston of Bury says, Toturn fete Testamentumn in
linguam Anglicanum transtulit-" He translated the whole of the
Testament into the English tongue."  Spelnan endeavours to reconcile these varying accounts by supposing that "the king began
with the most principal, and translated the New Testament first,
and that done, he set upon the Old Testament, and so as his time
served him he went on, till (as he was going through the Psalms)
his work was interrupted by his death."* But the testimonies of
Asser and William  of Malmsbury are too express to be superseded by more modern ones, unless supported by corroborating
circumstances, which, however, is not the case; on the contrary,
it is a probable conjecture, that if Alfred had completed a translation of even any detached book of the sacred volume, he would
have taken the same method to preserve and publish it for the
religious benefit of his subjects, as he did with his translation of
Gregory's Pastoral, by sending copies to every bishop's see in the
kingdom, to be kept in the cathedrals. It may be further added,
that if Alfred had translated all, or most of the books of the Bible,
there would have been little or no need for zElfric, abbot of Winchester, and others, to have undertaken the translations which he
completed in the following century. A Latin Psalter, with an in
terlineary Saxon version, formerly belonging to Alfred, and probably written by an Italian scribe, was in the possession of the late
learned antiquary, Mr. Astle, who has an engraved fac-simile of it,
in Plate XIX, No. 6, of his " Origin and Progress of Writing;"
and from which Plate IV. of this workl is copied.
This extraordinary prince; "this victorious warrior; this sagacious statesman; this friend of distress; this protector against
oppression; who, in an age of ignorance, loved literature, and
diffused it; who, in an age of superstition, could be rationally
pious; and in the station of royalty could discern his faults, and
convert them into virtues; was called away from the world on the
26th day of October, in the year 900, or 901."t He died at the
age of fifty-two, after a life, literally a life of disease. The ficus
molested him severely in his childhood. This, after many years,
disappeared; but, at the age of twenty, was replaced by another
of the most tormenting nature, probably an internal cancer. Its
seat was internal and invisible, but its agony was incessant. Such
was the dreadful anguish it perpetually produced, that if for one
* Spelman's Life of AElfred the Great, pp. 212, 213.
t Turner's History of the Anglo-Saxons, vol. i, b. iv, ch. v, p. 284.
1




NINTH CENTLURY.                   247
short hour it happened to intermit, the dread and horror of its inevitable return poisoned the little interval of ease. The skill of
his Saxon physicians was unable to detect its nature, or alleviate
its pain. Alfred had to endure it unrelieved. It is not among the
least admirable circumstances, therefore, of this great prince, that
he withstood the fiercest hostilities that ever distressed a nation,
cultivated literature, discharged his public duties, and executed al'l
his schemes for the improvement of his people, amid a perpetual
agony, so horrible, that it would have disabled a common man
from the least exertion.*
To the endeavours of Alfred to promote literature among his
subjects we probably owe the celebrated RUSHWORTII GLOSS, SO
called because it formerly belonged to John Rushworth, Esq., of
Lincoln's Inn, though it is now deposited in the Bodleian library
at Oxford. It contains the four Gospels in Latin, written in a
large hand, similar to that of the Durham-book, and probably about
the same time; and over each line of the Latin is a corresponding
one of Saxon, written in the ninth or tenth century. At the conclusion of St. Matthew's Gospel these words are added: Farmen,
presbyter, thas boc thus gleosode-" Farman, presbyter, this book
thus glossed."  And at the end of the volume: The min bruche,
gibidde fore Owun the thas boc gloesede, Farmen them preoste 6ct
Harawuda —" He that of mine profiteth, bead (pray) he for Owen,
that this book glossed, and Farman, the priest at Harewood."
After this follow, in Saxon characters, these words: AMacregol
dipinxit hoc euangelium quicumque legerit et intellegerit istam
narrationem orat pro Macreguil scriptori —" Macregol delineated
this Gospel: whoever hath read and understood its recital, pray he
for Macregol, the writer."  From the volume itself, therefore, we
are informed that the Saxon version was the joint production of
Farman and Owen, and that Macregol was the scribe, and its decorator. Its ornaments consist of delineations of the four evangelists, and divers coloured initial letters. The volume is in a small
degree imperfect, wanting a few leaves at the beginning.t
In 1807, the Rev. Samuel Henshall, A.M., rector of St. Mary,
Stratford Bow, Middlesex, published the Gospel of St. Matthew
from the Durham-book, in a work entitled "The Etymological
Organic Reasoner," and afterward published it with the Gothic
Gospel of St. Matthew, under the title of " The Gothic Gospel of
* Turner, ut sup., b. v, ch. iii, p. 331.
t Baher's Saxon and English Versions, prefixed to Wiclif's New Testament, p. 1x.
lienshall's Gothic Gospel, p. 64.
1




248                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
St. Matthew, from the Codex Argenteus of the Fourth Century;
with the corresponding English or Saxon, from the Durham-book."
1807, 8vo. In this work he has given the various readings of the
Rushworth Gloss.
CHAPTER VIII.
TENTH CENTURY.
Scarcity of Books-Feast of the Ass-Ordeal-Scrtptoria-AntiquariiCalligraphy-Bruno-Gerard de Groot — Thomas a Kempis — Value of Books
-Superb Bindings-A thelstan —Edgar's Canons- Elfric-Saxon GospelsGermnan Versions-Arabic Version-Celebrated Jews.
THE TENTH century, which presents one of the darkest periods
of the Christian era, was an age of the profoundest ignorance, and
of the most degraded superstition. Some, who filled the highest
situations in the church, could not so nmuch as read; while others,
who pretended to be better scholars, and attempted to perform the
public offices, committed the most egregious blunders. In Spain,
b)ooks were become so scarce, that one and the same copy of the
Bible, St. Jerome's epistles, and some volumes of ecclesiastical
offices and martyrologies, served several different monasteries:
and in the famous monastery of Iona there seems to have been, in
the ninth century, no other work, even of the fathers, than one of
the writings of Chrysostom. Gennadius, a Spanish bishop, by his
will, bearing date A.D. 953, bequeathed about sixteen volumes of
books to certain religious houses, with the express condition that
no abbot should be permitted to transfer them to any other place,
but that they should be kept for the monks of the monasteries
specified in the will, who should accommodate each other as much
as possible in the use of them. The will is subscribed by the king
and queen, as well as by bishops, and other persons of rank.*
Of the deplorable state of religion, and of the wretched super
stition that reigned in this and several succeeding centuries, no
other proof need be adduced than that of the Feast of the Ass,
celebrated in several churches in France, in commemoration of
the Virgin Mary's flight into Egypt. This festival was celebrated
at Beauvais, on the 14th of January. They chose a beautiful
young woman, whom they richly attired, and placed a lovely infant
* Warton's History of English Poetry, vol. i, dissert. 2. Jamieson's Historical
Account of the Ancient Culdees, p. 316. Mabillon, Annales, tom. iii, lib. xli, p. 351.
I




TENTH  CENTURY.                               249
in her arms.  She then  mounted an ass richly comparisoned, and
rode  in procession, followed  by the bishop and clergy, from  the
cathedral to  the  church  of St. Stephen, where  she was placed
near the altar, and high mass commenced.  Instead, however, of
the usual responses by the people, they were taught to imitate the
braying of the ass; and at the conclusion of the service the priest,
instead of the usual words with which he dismissed the people,
brayed three times, and the people brayed or uttered the imitative
sounds  hinham,  hinha m, hi nham,               During  the  ceremony  the
following ludicrous composition, half Latin, half French, was sung
with great vociferation, in praise of the ass:TRANSLATION.' Orientis partibus'From the country of the East
Adventavit asinus;              Came this strong and handsome beast,
Pulcher et fortissimus,         This able ass beyond compare,
Sarcinis aptissimus.            Heavy loads and packs to bear.
Hez, Sire Asnes, car chantez;    Now, Seignior Ass, a noble bray;
Belle bouche rechignez;        That beauteous mouth at large display;
Vous aurez du foin assez        Abundant food our hay-lofts yield,
Et de 1' avoine a plantez.      And oats abundant load the field
Lentus erat pedibus,            True it is, his pace is slow,
Nisi foret baculus;             Till he feel the quick'ning blow;
Et eum in clunibus              Till he feel the urging goad,
Pungeret aculeus.               On his buttock well bestow'd,
Hez, Sire Asnes, &c.            Now, Signior Ass, &c.
Hic in collibus Sichem.         He was born on Shechem's hill;
Jam nutritus sub Ruben;         In Reuben's vales he fed his fill;
Transiit per Jordanem,          He drank of Jordan's sacred stream,
Saliit in Bethlehem.            And gamboled in Bethlehem.
Hez. Sire Asnes, &c.            Now, Signior Ass, &c.
Ecce magnis auribus'!           See that broad majestic ear 
Subjugalis filius;              Born he is the yoke to wear;
Asinus egregius,                All his fellows he surpasses!
Asinorum dominus!              He's the very lord of asses!
Hez, Sire Asnes, &c.            Now, Signior Ass, &c.
Saltu vincit hinnulos,         In leaping he excels the fawn,
Damas et capreolos,             The deer, the colts upon the lawn;
Super dromedarios               Less swift the dromedaries ran.
Velox Madianeos.                Boasted of in Midian.
Hez, Sire Asnes, &c.            Now, Signior Ass, &c.
Aurum de Arabia,                Gold, from Araby the blest,
Thus et myrrham de Saba,        Seba myrrh, of myrrh the best,
Tulit in ecclesia               To the church this ass did bring;
Virtus asinaria.                We his sturdy labours sing.
Hez, Sire Asnes, &c.            Now, Signior Ass, &c.




250                     BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Dum trahit vehicula         While he draws the loaded wain,
Multa cum sarcinula.        Or many a pack, he don't complain;
Illius mandibula            With his jaws, a noble pair,
Dura terit pabula.           He doth craunch his homely fare.
Hez, Sire Asnes, &c.         Now, Signior Ass, &c.
Cum aristis hordeumr        The bearded barley and its stem,
Comedit et carduum;         And thistles, yield his fill of them;
Triticum a palea            He assists to separate,
Segregat in area.           When its thresh'd, the chaff from wheat.
Hez, Sire Asnes, &c.        Now, Signior Ass, &c.
Amen, dicas, asine,*        Amen! bray most honour'd ass,
Jam satur de gramine:        Sated now with grain and grass;
Amen, amen, itera'      Amen repeat, Amen reply,
Aspernare vetera.           And disregard antiquity."t
Hez va' hez va! hez va hez
Bialx Sire Asnes car allez;
Belle bouche car chantez."t
The final chorus, as given by Du Cange, is certainly an imitation of asinine braying; and when performed by the whole congregation must have produced a most inharmonious symphony.
M. Millin has published an account of this festival as practised
in the cathedral of Sens, in the thirteenth century. The details
are taken from  a MS. missal of that church, now  kept in the
town library, originally composed by Pierre Corbeil, archbishop
of Sens, who died June, 1222.  The MS. is said to be beautifully
written, and the cover of it to be ornamented with representations
of all the operations of vintage, and other analogous mythological
subjects.   At the time the  missal was written the ceremonies
were become entirely bacchanalian and impious.   The priests
were besmeared with lees of wine, and entered the choir dancing
and singing obscene songs; the deacons and subdeacons profaned
the altar by eating in the filthiest manner, and playing cards upon
it while the priest was celebrating mass; pieces of old shoes were
put into the censer, and burnt instead of incense; and the deacons and their companions were afterward carried through the
streets in carts, practising various indecencies. For several days
the most disgusting and extravagant actions were continued, and
riot, drunkenness, and wanton singing universally prevailed both
among clergy and laity.
Attempts were made at different periods to suppress these
sottish superstitions, but unfortunately without success. Mauri* Here he is made to bend his knees.  t Du Cange, Glossarium, v. Festum.
t Literary Panorama. vol. ii, pp. 585-588; and vol. vii, pp. 716-718.
1




TENTH CENTURY.                      251
tius, bishop of Paris, who died in 1196, laboured to abolish them,
but the missal already noticed, which appears to have been drawn
up ex officio, shows how completely he failed. In 1245, Odo,
bishop of Sens, prohibited the offensive disguises, and repressed
some of the mummeries and licentiousnesses which had become
part of this festival; but did not remove the whole, for in 1444
the Faculty of Theology, at the request of several bishops, wrote
to all the prelates and chapters to abolish this custom. It is,
-evertheless, evident by the acts of the council held in 1460, that
the grossnesses merely of this ceremony were retrenched; the
council forbids caricature habits, false and uncouth singing, and
orders, that on the precentor of the fools, as he was called on this
occasion, not more than three pails of water, at most, should be
thrown, and on the other naked men only one pail each, and that
not within the church; the other ceremonies, if practised olt of
the church, were permitted.  From  so gentle a remonstrance it
could not be expected that the festival would be materially
checked; and we are not surprised to learn that it was officially
permitted by acts of the chapter of Sens, in 1514 and 1517.
Still later permissions are found, but with gradual prohibition of
indecencies, till at length it ceased toward the end of the sixteenth
century.*
This ridiculous festival was not limited to France; Michaelis,
who supposes that annual fairs originated in the conventions of
the people for religious purposes, conjectures, that one of the
German annual fairs, denominated M3issen, from the masses formerly said at those times, owed its rise to some ceremony of this
kind.  The fair is held on the Wednesday after Easter, near
Querfurt, in the place called the Asses Meadow.t  In England
Robert Grosseteste or Greathead, bishop of Lincoln, in the eleventh century, ordered his dean and chapter to abolish the Feast
of Asses, which had been annually celebrated in Lincoln cathedral on the feast of the circumcision, on account of its licentiousness.t
The festival itself probably derives its origin from that principle
of accommodation to the manners and prejudices of the people,
which led to the adoption of rites and ceremonies in imitation of
the pagans; the coronation of the ass was a part of the ceremony' Literary Panorama, vol. ii, pp. 585-588; and vol. vii, pp. 714-719. See also
Tilliot, Memoires pour servir a l'histoire de la Fete des Foux, passim.
tMichaelis's Commentaries on the Laws of Moses, vol. iii, p. 198.
t Warton's Hist. of Eng. Poetry, vol. ii, p. 367.




252                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
of the Feast of Vesta, an honour conferred upon this quadruped
because, according to the pagan mythology, it had by its braying
saved Vesta from being ravished by the Lampsacon god.
Among other superstitious practices of this century, the trial by
ordeal is one of the most prominent. The following law of King
Athelstan is sufficiently explanatory of its nature: " As to ordeals,
we charge in the name of God, and by the precept of the archbishop, and all my bishops, that no one go into the church after the carrying in of the fire, with which the ordeal is to be heated, but the priest,
and the person to be tried. And let nine feet be measured out
from the stake to the mark, according to the length of the person's
foot who is to be tried. And if it be the water-ordeal, let it be
heated till it boils: and if it be a single accusation, let the hand be
dipped to the fist only, to take out the stone; but if the accusation
be three-fold, then let it be dipped to the elbow. And when the
ordeal is ready, let two of each party come in, to see that it be sufficiently heated, and let an equal number of both sides enter, and
stand on each side of the ordeal, along the church, and let them
all be fasting, without having been with their wives the foregoing
night; let them humble themselves at the priest's sprinkling the
holy water upon them; and let the priest give them the Holy Gospel Book, and the sign of the holy cross to be kissed. And let no
man increase the fire after the consecration is begun; but let the
iron lie in the fire till the last collect, then let it be laid on the pillar.* And let nothing be said but prayers to God that he may
reveal the truth; and let the person accused drink holy water, and
let the hand in which he is to carry the ordeal be sprinkled with it.
Let the nine measured feet be divided into three parts, containing
each three feet.  Let him place his right foot at the first mark at
the stake; at the second mark let him put his right foot foremost;
when he is come to the third, let him throw down the iron.  Let himn
speed to the holy altar, and let his hand be sealed up. On the third
day let inspection be made whether there be any filtht or not, in the
place that was sealed up.  If any one break these laws, let the ordeal be null, and a mulct of one hundred and twenty shillings be
paid to the king."T  The irrational and daringly impious practice
of the modern duellist is almost the only remaining trace of this
ancient appeal to the justice of God.
* Super staples. Some supporter made of stone or iron, from whence the person to
be tried was to take the hot iron into his hands.-Johnson.
t If there was any matter or corruption, the person was condemned as guilty: if
there was none, or the priest could see none, he was acquitted.-Johnson.: Johnson's Collection of Ecclesiastical Laws, &c., vol. ii, A. D. nccccxxv.
I




TENTHI CENTURY.                       253
But in the midst of the ignorance and superstition which so gen
erally overspread the Western world, our acknowledgments of
gratitude are due to those institutions, which, during the middle
ages, preserved literature from utter extinction in Europe. Let
our views be what they may of the general utility of monastic foundations, it is a well-known fact, that when literature was neglected
everywhere else, it found a refuge illn monasteries. In every great
abbey there was an apartment called the scRIPTORIUM, or domus
antiqua-rii, where writers were constantly employed in copying
psalters, missals, church music, and such other works as they could
obtain. The monks, in these conventual writing-rooms, were enjoined to pursue their occupations in silence; and cautiously to
avoid mistakes in grammar, or spelling, or pointing;* and in certain instances, authors prefixed to their works a solemn adjuration
to the transcribers to copy them correctly. The following ancient
one by Ireneus has been preserved: "I adjure thee who shalt
transcribe this book, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by his glorious
coming to judge the quick and the dead, that thou compare what
thou transcribest, and correct it carefully according to the copy
from which thou transcribest; and that thou also annex a copy of
this adjuration to what thou hast written."f When a number of
copies were to be made of the same work, it was usual to employ
several persons at the same time in writing it; each person, except
the writer of the first skin, began where his fellow was to leave
off.t  Sometimes the writers wrote after another person called the
dictator, who held the original, and dictated; hence the errors in the
orthography of many ancient MSS., particularly Greek ones; thus
in the very old fragments of the Greek Gospels, in the Cotton
library, written in large ancient letters of silver and gold, CIIIPAN
is written for a7-repav, KTPHNEON for Ktpvalio,; and many others.~
Musical notes intended for the choirs were also very frequently
written from dictation. Till the eleventh century, musical notes
were expressed only by letters of the alphabet, and till the fourteenth century they were expressed by large lozenge-shaped black
dots, or points placed on different lines, one above another, and
then first named ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, to which si was afterward added; and they were all expressed without any distinction
+ Du Cange, Glossarium, vol. i, Prwfat., p. iv, and vol. vi, v.'" Scriptores," and
Scriptorium." Venet. 1740, fol.
t' Eusebius's Eccles. Hist., lib. v, cap. xx.
t Astle's Origin and Progress of Writing, ch. viii, p. 192.
~ Classical Journal, No. 24, December, 1815, p. 453.
1




254                       BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
as to length of time, and without any such thing as breves, semi
breves, minims, crotchets, or quavers. The old Psalters, in many
cathedral churches, are found thus written; and in consequence
of this it was, that the scriptoria  at Gloucester, and sonme   other
places, are found so contrived as to have long ranges of seats or
benches, one beyond another, for the copyists; so that a master
or person  standing at one end, and naming each note, it might
quickly be copied out by all, naming it in succession from  one end
to the other,  Hence the Psalters were more easily copied than
any  other books; and  it is not a little remarkable, that in  the
library at Worcester there is a copy of St. Matthew's Gospel set
to music throughout, with these sort of notes.* In representations
of these scr}iptores, or writers, in the act of writing, they are drawn
with a pen in one hand, and an instrument to mark the lines with
in the other; the inkhorn, an inverted  cone, hanging on one side
of the desk,  Reeds were commonly used for writing the text and
initials, and quills for the smaller writing.t
These writing monks were sometimes distinguished by the namc
of LIBRARII, the  term   applied  to  the  common  scriptores, who
gained a livelihood by writing; but their more usual denomination
was that of ANTIQIVARI.  Isidore, of Seville, says, " The  librarii
transcribed both old and new works; the antiquarii only those that
were ancient; from whence also they derived their name."T  Swift
t1 short-hand writers obtained the name of tachygraphi; and elegant
writers that of call'g raphii.  The works executed in large uncial or
square characters were written by the latter; such for instance as
the fifty copies of the Scriptures presented by Constantine the Great
to the different churches, and the fifty copies sent by Athanasius to
Constantius:~ and in the thirteenth century the scribes in Italy
* Savage's Librarian, vol. iii, p. 36.  Lond. 1809, Svo.
t Ducarel, in his Anlglo-Normnan Antiquities, p. 28, informs us, that in the cloisters
of St. Owen, at Rouen, which appeared to be a more ancient building than the church,
he " observed some old stone desks stuck to the pillars, and designed to place books
upon;" and adds, " In the Benedictine convents it was anciently a custom, for all the
monks to assemble together itn the cloisters, at stated times in the day, and there cultivate their studies in common  some being employed in reading, while others were
engaged in transcribing books' and for this purpose it was, that these desks were
placed in the abbey cloisters."  It may also be remarked, that the ancients, prior to
the discovery of desks, wrote upon scrolls, placed upon their knees, and it is very questionable whether desks were at all in use before the seventh century.  See also Fcebrooke's British XIonachism, vol. ii, p. 179. Loend. 1802, 8vo.
t Isid. Hispal. Orig., lib. vi, cap. xiii, p. 48. Colon. Agrip. 1617. fol., Nov. Test. Gr. a hWoide, in Proofat., p. xiii.




TENTH CEN-TURY.                        255
called themselves scriptores librforum, or exemiplatores.*  It was
the duty of the librarian, who was the pircecctor of the monastery,
to provide the writing monks with the books they were to copy,
and whatever was necessary for their occupation; they were also
forbidden to write any thing without his permission;t and in some
of the great houses it was usual for the librarians to make some
benefit, by letting others have copies made of the MSS. in their
custody. The librarians were themselves generally fine writers
and illuminators.t
Besides being employed in the transcription of the Scriptures,
and ecclesiastical works, and sometimes of the classics, the monks
were the registrars of public events, of the age and succession of
the king, and of the births of the royal family: and the constitutions of the clergy in their national and provincial synods, and
(after the conquest) even acts of parliament were sent to the abbeys
to be recorded by them. Instances also appear of the pope's sending orders for certain books to be made for him; and the monks
used to transcribe the bulls of privileges, in books of a various nature, as missals, and others, as well as make marginal notes of the
affairs of their abbeys in books of history; even the Mlartryrolobgium
sometinmes contained acts of general chapters.0
Those who were engaged in the transcription of books, were
principally the novices and junior monks, but by a capitular of Aixla-Chapelle, in 789, it was ordained, that " the Gospels, Psalters,
and missals should be carefully written by monks of mature age."Il
Nuns were sometimes occupied in a similar way; but none of the
Gilbertine nuns were to write books without leave of the grand
prior, or hire or retain writers in their churches.1
CALLIGRAPHY, or the art of beautiful writing, has been considered
as having arrived at its summit of excellence in the monasteries
of Spain; though it was not confined to them, for in England the
Anglo-Saxon artists possessed eminent skill in the execution of
their books, and the character they used had the honour of giving
rise to the modern small beautiful Roman letter. But after the
Norman invasion, degeneracy of skill occasioned the MSS. subse* Histoire des Arts, &c., cited in Literary Panorama, vol. iii, No. 4. January, 1816.
+ Du Cange, Glossar., v. " Scriptores."
t Nichols's Literary Anecdotes, vol. vi, pt. i, p. 77.
6 Tanner's Notitia Monastica, by Nasmith, Pref., p. xix. Camb. 1787, fo!. Fosbrooke's British Monachism, vol. ii, pp. 177, 178.
11 Du Cange, Glossar., vol. i, Prefat., p. iv.
~ Fosbrooke, ut sup.
I




256                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
qluent to that period, to be of difficult reading. The inissals, and
other books of divine offices, were indeed curiously done, through
the extraordinary expense laid out upon works of this nature, and
in compliance with an injunction, that no books should be brought
into places of devotion which could not easily be read. Some
copies were written in a larger hand, for more aged persons; and
others illuminated with extraordinary beauty, for nuns of a superior quality, and other persons of distinction. At Godstowe there
was a common library for the use of the nuns there, well furnished
with books, many of which were in English, and divers of them
historical; such of them  as contained the lives of the holy men
and women, especially of the latter, were curiously written on vellum, and many illuminations appeared throughout, so as to draw
the nuns the more easily to follow their examples: and many of
them " were finely covered, not unlike the Kiver of the Gospell
book given to the chapel of Glastenbury, by King Ine."*
At the sale of the books belonging to the late James Edwards,
Esq., of Pall-Mall, April, 1815, among many other very valuable
MSS. were the following, thus described in the catalogue:"PSALTERIU;I GRECO-LATINUM, fol., a MS. of the ninth century.
upon vellum, written in a very fair and legible hand, with this peculiarity, the Greek is written in Roman characters."  Sold to the
marquis of Douglas for ~110 5s.
" EVANGELIA QUATUOR, Grce, fol., a magnificent MS. upon
vellum, of the tenth century, most elaborately executed. The subject of each page is designated at the top in letters of gold. This
grand MS. is in the highest preservation, and is one of the finest
Greek MS. of the Gospels extant. It is supposed to have been
one of the Imperial collection saved at the capture of Constantinople. Bound in blue velvet, with bronze-gilt medallions of the birth
of our Saviour, and the adoration of the magi, on the sides." Sold
to Mr. Payne for ~210.
"'EVANGELIA QUATUOR, Latinb, a most beautiful MS. of the
tenth century, on vellum." Sold for ~57 15s.
Michaelis, in his "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. ii,
pt. i, p. 218, notices a Greek MS., (Basileensis, b. vi, p. 27,) which
Wetstein supposes to have been written in the tenth century, and
which is held in high estimation for its critical authority. It was
given by Johannes de Ragusio to the monastery in Basil, and was
borrowed from the monks by Reuchlin or Capnio, who kept it
* Hearre's edit. Guil. Neubrig., quoted in Dibdin's Bibliomania, p. 236, note. Fosbrooke's British Monachism, vol. ii, pp. 178, 179.
1




TENTH CENTURY.                      257
during thirty years, till the time of his death.  It contains the
whole of the New Testament, except the Revelation. It is written on vellum, with small characters and accents; and is ornamented with pictures, one of which appears to be a portrait of Leo
Sapiens, and of his son Constantine Porphyrogenitus. Montfaucon
also, in his " Journey through Italy," passim, notices many valuable
MSS. of the middle ages, preserved in the different libraries of
Italy; several of which are written upon silk, others upon vellum
and purple paper, executed in the most superb manner.
Professor Tychsen, when noticing the beauty of certain MSS.,'where the letters throughout were so equal that the whole had
the appearance of print," adds, "Frequently, after reflecting on
this singular circumstance, I have been inclined to think, that the
monks, who cultivated the study of calligraphy with great eagerness, had the forms of all the letters of the alphabet impressed into
or engraved out of thin plates: that whole pages or columns of
these plates were placed under the parchment or vellum on which
it was intended to write, so that, by drawing a pencil over them,
the monks were able to produce this surprising equality of letters;
or it may have been that the shapes or forms of the letters were
first imprinted upon the parchment or vellum, and afterward filled
up."*  The celebrated CODEX ARGENTEUS, or Fragments of the
Gothic Gospels, (see p. 118,) has been supposed to have been
executed by heated metallic characters, or letters, impressed on
gold or silver foil, attached to vellum by some glutinous or resinous
cement, similar to the mode adopted by bookbinders in lettering
and ornamenting their volumes. Ihre, the learned professor of the
university of Upsal, in his Ulphilas Ilhustratus, 1752, 1755, 4to.,
and in his Preface to "Fragments of Ulphilas's Version of some
Portions of the Epistle to the Romans," 1763, 4to., has endeavoured to establish the fact, by showing that the furrows of the
letters in the Codex Argenteus are so palpably and deeply impressed, that when the vellum in every other part is highly polished
and exceeding smooth, the lines present a rough surface, to be
distinguished by the touch of the finger; and by observing that
the delineation of the letters so perfectly corresponds throughout
the whole volume, that they never vary in the least from each
other, either in size or shape.t Meerman, in his Origines Typo* Butler's Hore Biblica, tom. i, p. 46.
t The intelligent Mr. Coxe (Travels into Poland, &c., vol. iv, p. 173, 8vo.) has
offered a different opinion as to the mode of forming the letters of the Codex Argenteus. " I was convinced," says he, "from a close inspection, that each letter was
VOL. J.- 17




258                       BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
graphicae, has supported the same  opinion; and in reply to an
objection, that vellum would not admit of the application of heated
iron types so frequently repeated, has stated that he ordered his
bookbinder to stamp an entire folio of vellum, in the way that he
lettered the backs of volumes; which he effected without difficulty, and with little injury to the smoothness of its surface.* This
mode of imprinting letters with gold and silver foil has been thought
to be what the Romans denominated the encaustic art.f
Particular lands were given, or a tax levied upon the community, to furnish the writing materials for these conventual scriptoria. A noble Norman, who was a great hearer and lover of
books, (diligens auditor et amator scripturarum,) conferred upon
the abbey of St. Albans, about A.D. 1086, two parts of the tithes
of Hatfield, and certain tithes in Redburn, for the formation of
painted, and not formed, as some authors have asserted, by a hot iron upon leaves of
gold and silver." In a note he adds, " They [the letters] appeared to me to be drawn
or painted, in the same manner as the initial letters in several of the finest missals;
and not stamped, as the learned Mr. Ihre conjectures, or imprinted on the vellum with
h6t metal types, in the like manner as the bookbinders at present letter the backs of
books."
* To the works already mentioned, relating to the Gothic version of Ulphilas, may
be added, the edition of that version by M. Zahn, preacher at Delitz-sur-la-Saale, near
Weissenfels, in Saxony, printed at TWeissenfels, 1805, large 4to. The text of the
Gospels is chiefly from a corrected MS. of Chancellor Ihre's, who had meditated a
new edition of the version; but being prevented from publishing by the appearance of
Lye's edition, had presented his MS. to the celebrated Busching, at whose death it
passed into the hands of M. Heynatz, professor at Frankfort on the Oder, who communicated it to M. Zahn. The Fragments of the Epistle to the Romans are taken
from Knittel. The whole is accompanied with a completely literal interlineary Latin
translation, by Charles Frederick Fulda, formerly pastor in the dutchy of Wirtemberg,
well known for his various works on antiquities, and the genius of the German language. At the side of the text is Benzel's translation corrected by Ihre; and below
are placed critical and explanatory notes, and the various readings by M. Zahn. A
Mceso-Gothic Grammar is added by C. F. Fulda, revised, and a supplement subjoined,
by M. Zahn. Annexed to the grammar is a glossary by C. F. Fulda, corrected by
M. Reinwald, first librarian of the Ducal library of Meinungen. To the work is prefixed a preface by M. Zahn, in which he first gives a general idea of the work, and a
biographical notice of Fulda; after which follows an ample introduction, divided into
two parts; the first containing a history of the Goths and their language, drawn from
a work of Adelung's of Dresden; the second presenting a review of the life of Ul1
philas and his version, partly from a MS. of Adelung's.  M. Zahn has also prefixed
to his grammar a specimen of the Codex Argenteus, from Matt., ch. v, printed with
fac-simile types, formed under the direction of M. Steenwinkel of Harderwick, who
had projected, but not executed, a fac-simile edition.-Millin, Mag'asin Encyclopedique, tom. iii, Mai, 1806, pp. 61-68. Paris, 8vo.
t Henshall's Gothic Gospel, pp. 37-44.
1                               17*




TENTH CENTURY.                     259
volumes necessary to the church; and appointed a daily provision
of meat to be allowed the writers, lest they should be hindered in
their work. Paul, who was abbot at the time, and by whose persuasion the bequest was made, built the scriptorium, and caused
some noble volumes necessary for the church to be placed there,
written by writers selected and fetched from a distance, the copies
being furnished by Archbishop Lanfranc. By the rules of Evesham, the praecentor was obliged to find, from the tithes and lands
allotted him, enamel for all the writers of the monastery, and
parchment for briefs,* and colours for illuminating books, and necessaries for binding them.t  The scriptorium at St. Edmundsbury was endowed with two mills; and in the year 1171 the
tithes of a rectory were appropriated to the cathedral convent of
St. Swithin, at Winchester, ad libros transcribendos. For a similar purpose, ad libros faciendos, Nigel gave the monks of Ely two
churches in 1160; and Hearne (Ad Domerham, Num. iii.) has
published a grant from R. de Paston to Bronholm abbey, in Norfolk, of 12d. per annum, a rent charge on his lands, to keep their
books in repair, ad emendacionem librorum.t
The prices of the materials for writing upon, during the middle
ages, have been already noticed when treating of the Codices Rescripti, to which the following entry in the Compotus of Bolton
may be added:XC
"MCCVIII
Pro auro et cotoribus ad picturam, et pro uno missali
luminand' et ligand', XVIs."
For gold and colours, and for illuminating and binding a
missal, 16s.~
This was probably an elaborate and curious work; for sixteen
shillings was one-third more than the yearly clothing of a canon
cost, and equivalent to ~12 at present.
The transcription of books, as a monastic employment, may be
traced to an early era. In the fourth century, Martin, bishop of
Tours, built the famous abbey of Marmoutier, the most ancient
that now subsists in France, and which belongs to the congregation
of St. Maur. The place was then a desert, enclosed by a high
* A term originally signifying heads, or contents of chapters.
t Whitaker's Cathedral of Cornwall, vol. ii, ch. vii, sec. 3, pp. 352, 353.
T Warton's History of English Poetry, vol. i, dissert. 2.
~ Whitaker's History of Craven, p. 384. Lond. 1812, 4to.




260                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
steep rock on one side, and by the river Loire on the other, and
the entrance into it was only by one very narrow passage. The
bishop had a cell built of wood; several of his monks had cells
made in the same manner: but the greater part took up their dwellings in narrow holes, which they dug in the side of the rock. He
had here, in a short time, about fourscore monks: among them,
no one had any distinct property, no one was allowed to buy or
sell, as was the practice of the greater part of the monks with
regard to their sustenance and work. No art or business was
permitted among them except that of writing, to which- the younger
were deputed, while the more ancient attended to prayer and spiritual functions.*
In the sixth century, Cassiodorus retired from the toil of political engagements, erected a monastery, and employed his monks in
the meritorious labours of transcription: about the same period St.
Columba, or Columb-Kill, who founded the monastery of Iona,
directed his attention to sacred literature, and deserves to be
praised for the correctness of the copies produced by him and his
followers. In the library of Trinity College, Dublin, a copy of the
Old Testament is preserved, written by Columba, on vellum, in
the Roman character; at the beginning of which is a conveyance
of land from the king of Meath to Columba and his successors in
the abbey of Kells, written in the Irish character. The monks of
Croyland also appear to have been diligent copyists; for Ingulph
relates, that when the library of that abbey was burned in the year
1091, seven hundred volumes were consumed. Fifty-eight volumes were transcribed at Glastonbury, during the government of
one abbot, about the year 1300; and in the library of this monastery,
the richest in England, there were upward of four hundred volumes
in the year 1248.t
In the eleventh century, BRUNO, the celebrated founder of the
Carthusian monks, was one of the active promoters of knowledge,
by the attention which he paid to the multiplication of books by
transcription. He was a descendant of an ancient and honourable
family at Cologne, where he was born, about A. D. 1030. Removing to Rheims he became chancellor of that diocess, and doctor of divinity. Such was his reputation, that he was considered
the ornament of the age in which he lived, and the model of good
men. He was learned in Greek and Hebrew, and in the writings
* Butler's Lives, vol. xi, Nov. 11, p. 209.
t Vallancey's Grammar of the'Iberno-Celtic, or Irish Language, ch. ix, p. 147.
Warton's Hist. of Eng. Poetry, diss. 2.
1




TENTH CENTURY.                      261
of the fathers, particularly Ambrose and Augustine. His principal
works are, comments on the Psalter, and on St. Paul's Epistles.
After the legal deposition of Manasses, archbishop of Cologne, for
simony, Bruno was offered the vacant archbishopric, but preferred
a state of solitude. He, with six companions, withdrew into the
desert of Chartreuse, in the diocess of Greenoble, selecting a
barren plain, in a narrow valley, between two cliffs, near a rapid
torrent, surrounded with high craggy rocks, almost all the year
covered with snow; there he and his companions built an oratory,
and very small cells, at a little distance front each other, similar to
the ancient Lauras of Palestine. Such was the original of the
order of Carthusians, which took its name from this desert. The
name of Chartreuse is given to all other convents of this order,
which by some has been.corruptly called in English Charter-house,
the term now constantly applied to their ancient residence in London. The Carthusians practised uncommon austerities; buttheir
chief employment was that of copying books, by which they endeavoured to earn their subsistence, that they might not be burdensome to others; they were enjoined to keep almost continual
silence, and to speak to each other by signs. Bruno was careful
to provide for them a good library of useful and pious books. He
died in 1101. This order, notwithstanding its excessive austerities,
was at one period so extensive, that it possessed one hundred and
seventy-two convents, and five nunneries; the nunneries were all
situated in the Catholic Netherlands. By the rules of the Carthusians, the sacrist was ordered at a certain hour of the day, "to
deliver out to the monks, ink, parchment, pens, chalk, and books
to read or transcribe;" and the following remarks evince extraordinary literary ardour: "Books ought to be carefully preserved as
the everlasting food of our souls; and since we cannot preach the
word of God with our mouths, we do it by our hands, for the books
which we transcribe, are so many sermons of truth which we
deliver."*
In the fourteenth century, GERARD DE GROOT, or Gerard the
Great, instituted a society called Fratres Vitce  Communis, or
Brethren of the common life. Gerard was born at Deventer, in
the year 1340. His parents, who were wealthy, bestowed great
care upon his education, and at fifteen years of age sent him to
Paris to perfect himself in theological and philosophical studies.
* Butler's Lives, vol. x, pp. 132-150. Milner's History of the Church of Christ,
vol. iii, pp. 326, 327. D'Emillianne's Hist. of Monastical Orders, pp. 102-105. Mabil.I
Ion, Annales, tom. iii, pp. 548, 549.
1




262                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
His acquirements in general knowledge afterward procured for
him the distinctive appellation of The Great; but in the midst of
his intellectual celebrity, he debased himself by levity, luxury, and
dissipation. A private, but faithful reproof, from one of his former
fellow-students, was the occasion of an entire change in his conduct. He now became grave, devout, and exemplary; he clothed
himself in a doublet of gray, lined with hair, and retired to a monastery at Munikhuysen, where he devoted himself to prayer and
the reformation of immoral characters. Meeting with unexpected
success in this pious avocation, he instituted the fraternity before
mentioned. " One heart, one soul, one common property, influenced and supported this illustrious society; whose glory it was
that they earned their livelihood by their pen."  They were distinguished by wearing a gray coat, lined with hair next their skin.
A black cowl hung down behind as low as the waist; and whenever they went abroad, they wrapped themselves in a large mantle,
which descended to their heels. Their hair was closely cropped in a
circular manner. Dibdin, in his " Typographical Antiquities," vol.
i, p. 9, has given a representation of their dress, copied from
"Lambinet's Recherches, &c."  Successive popes confirmed and
extended their privileges; and in 1402 seven monasteries had admitted their rules, and imitated their example.* Gerard died in
1384, in the forty-fourth year of his age, and was buried in the
church of the Virgin Mary, at Deventer.t
Of all the disciples of Gerard, no one seems to have excelled the
celebrated THOMAS A KEMIPIS, either in piety, or manual skill.
This excellent man was born in a village called Chempis, or Kempis, in the diocess of Cologne, about A. D. 1380. In his youth
he studied at Deventer in the school of the " Brethren of the common life;" and in 1400 became a canon regular in the convent of
Mount St. Agnes, near Zwoll, in the province of Over-Yssel. The
sincerity of his piety, and the amiableness of his manners, caused
him to be chosen sub-prior, and afterward procurator of the monastery. He died in 1471, in the ninty-first year of his age. In
a painting near his tomb, he is represented as sitting in a chair; a
monk on his knees before him  inquires, " Thomas, where shall I,
with certainty, find true rest?" To which he replies, " Never canst
thou find certain rest but in the cell, in the Bible, and in Christ,"
(in cella, Codice, Christo.) He was the author of several works,
* Dibdin's Typographical Antiquities, vol. i, Ames's Preface, pp. 8-10, note. Lond.
1810, 4to.
t Freheri Theatrum, tom. i, pt. i, sec. 3, p. 80. Norib. 1688, fol.
1




TENTH CENTURY.                     263
the most noted of which are his Lives of Gerard de Groot, and his
successors, Dr. Florentius, and John Cacabus, or Chetel; and his
Imitation of Christ, or Christian Pattern. It has indeed been disputed whether he was the author of the last-narred work, but the
evidence preponderates in his favour. Trithemius, a German monk,
in Catalog. Virorum Illustrium, says, there were two persons of
this name, both of them regular monks, the elder of whom, who
flourished about A. D. 1410, was the author of The Imitation of
Christ; the younger lived in his own time, about A. D. 1495.*
The incomparable work of The Imitation of Christ has been translated into most European languages, and even into Chinese. As
a Biblical scribe, his immediate master, Radewyns, assures us,
that " he excelled in this department, and devoted his earnings to
the support of the common body."  He is said to have been the
copier of the Bible, in four large volumes; of a very large missal;
of some Opuscula of St. Bernard; and of several minor works.
The seventh plate in Meerman's Origines Typographicce exhibits
a specimen of works printed from his hand-writing.t A beautiful
copy of the Bible is preserved in the library of the regular canons
at Cologne, transcribed by him, as appears from the following colophon, at the end of the fifth volume:Completum  est hoc volumen Novi Testamenti anno Domini
MCCCCXXVII., in vigilia Pentacostes, per manusfratris Thomec de Kempis ad laudem Dei.t
"This volume of the New Testament was finished A. D.
MCCCCXXVII., on the eve of Pentecost, by the hand of the brother Thomas de Kempis, to the glory of God."
If this be the same Bible as that referred to before, there must
be an error in one case as to the number of volumes; but as transcription was his usual employment, it is probable that, in the course
of a long life, he transcribed more than one copy of the Scriptures.
In the middle of the fifteenth century, the " Brothers of the
common life" instituted public schools for the instruction of the
poor and ignorant. The Brabant Chronicle informs us, that in the
year 1460 the public magistrate at Brussels invited over a body of
these " Brothers" to establish schools of instruction there, and appointed colleges for their reception. Lambinet (Recherches, &c.)
says he saw at Louvain a most beautiful manuscript missal, Se
* Freheri Theatrum, tom. i, pt. i, sec. 3, pp. 92, 93.
t Dibdin's Typographical Antiquities, vol. i, p. 10.
t Voyage Litteraires de deux Religieux Benedictins, tom. ii, p. 266.
1




264                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
c-undum consuetudinem  Gallicorum, which was printed in 1481,
and had been executed by one of these " Brothers." As they had
taken St. Gregory and St. Jerome for their patrons, these scribes
were sometimes called the " Brothers of St. Gregory," or " of St.
Jerome."*
From the length of time requisite for the transcription of books,
and the immense labour bestowed upon them, the expense of
copying manuscripts was necessarily very great. This, joined to
the cost of the materials for writing upon, rendered the purchase
of books almost impossible to the poor, and persons of moderate
fortune. In the year 1174, Walter, prior of St. Swithin's at Winchester, afterward elected abbot of Westminster, purchased of the
canons of Dorchester, in Oxfordshire, St. Austin's Psalter and
Bede's Homilies, for twelve measures of barley, and a pall, on
which was embroidered in silver the history of St. Birinus converting a Saxon king.t
In the tenth century, a single copy of the Bible, and a few other
books, not exceeding sixteen in the whole, were considered as a
legacy of sufficient importance to be witnessed by the king and
queen, and several bishops; and of so great value as to be bequeathed as the common property of several monasteries:$ and in
the thirteenth century, Elizabeth, the wife of Charles Robert, king
of Hungary, mentioned two breviaries in her will, one of which
she bequeathed to her daughter-in-law, and the other to Clara von
Puker, but with this stipulation, that after her death it should belong to a monastery at Buda.~
In the Compotus of Bolton we have the following entries, which
I transcribe, with the remarks of the historian of Craven upon
them.' MCCCV.
Pro quodam Libro Sententiarum empt. XXXs."
"The Book of Sentences, by Peter Lombard, one of the most
fashionable books of school divinity in the middle age. The price
of this volume was nearly that of two good oxen. How expensive
must it have been to furnish a library with MSS.! But the canons
of Bolton did not exhaust themselves in this way. I can only discover that they purchased three books in forty years!"
* Dibdin's Typographical Antiquities, vol. i, p. 10.
t Warton's Hist. of Eng. Poetry, vol. i, diss. 2.
t Mabillon, Annales Benedict., tom. iii, lib. xli, p. 351. Lutecia-Parisiorum, 1707,
folio.
~ Beckman's Hist. of Inventions, vol. ii, p. 240.
1




TENTH CENTURY.                    265
"MCCCX.
Pro uno libro qui vocatur V' itates Theologie, VIls."
" V' itates Theologie —In the beginning of the fourteenth century, I can scarcely suppose there was a book with so profane or
so bold a title as Vanitates Theologiae; and therefore I understand
this contraction to mean either Veritates or Utilitates."
"MCCCXIII.
Pro Chroniclis apud Ebor. scribendis, XIs."
"To the care and curiosity of the religious houses it is principally owing that the Old Chronicles of our country were preserved
till the invention of printing."'
Besides the monks who were employed in the monasteries, in
copying manuscripts, there were others who were engaged in illuminating and binding them when written. Gold and azure were,
as has been already noticed, (p. 143,) the favourite colours of the
illuminators. In binding their books, some were adorned with
gold, silver, ivory, precious stones, or coloured velvet; but for
common binding they frequently used rough white sheep-skin,
with or without immense bosses of brass, pasted upon a wooden
board; and sometimes the covers were of plain wood, carved in
scroll and similar work.t About the year 790, Charlemagne
granted an unlimited right of hunting to the abbot and monks of
Sithiu, for making their gloves and girdles of the skins of the deer
they killed, and for covers for their books.: In a copy of the will
of Lady Ravensworth, the wife of Lord Fitzhugh, dated September 24th, 1427, we find the following bequests: "Also I wyl yat
my son Robert [bishop of London] have a SAUTER, covered with
rede velvet, and my doghter Margory a PRIMER, covered in rede,
and my doghter Darcy a SAUTER, covered in blew, and my doghter
Maulde Eure a PRIMER, covered in blew, and yong Elizabeth
Fitzhugh, my god-doghter, a boke covered in grene, with praiers
thereinne."~ About the year 1430, Whethamstede, the learned
and liberal abbot of St. Albans, being desirous of familiarizing the
history of his patron saint to the monks of his convent, employed
Lydgate, as it should seem, then a monk of Bury, to translate the
Latin legend of his life in English rhymes. It was placed before
the altar of the saint, which Whethamstede afterward adorned with
much magnificence, in the abbey church. He paid for the transla
* Whitaker's Hist. of Craven, pp. 388, 391, 393.
t Fosbrooke's British Monachism, vol. ii, p. 180.
t Warton, ubi sup.
~ Antiquarian Repertory, vol. iii, pp. 79, 80.
1




266                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
tion, writing, and illumination of the legend, one hundred shillings,
and expended on the binding and other exterior ornaments upward
of three pounds!"* These were immense sums to be laid out on
such a work, since, in 1426, an ox was appraised at three shillings
and four pence; a cow at two shillings and eight pence, and a
horse at three shillings.t
A tolerably correct idea may be formed of the superb manner in
which these works were bound, which were designed for the use
of the principal churches, from the following extract from an inventory of copies of the Gospels belonging to the cathedral church
of Lincoln, taken in 1536: —
" Inmprimis.  A TEXT after MATTHEW, covered with a plate,
silver and gilt, having an image of the Majesty, [that is, of the Saviour,] with the four evangelists and four angels about the said
image; having at every corner an image of a man, with divers
stones, great and small; beginning in the second less: and a transmigration, wanting divers stones and little pieces of the plate."
" Item. One other TEXT after JOHN, covered with a plate, silver
and gilt, with an image of the crucifix, Mary, and John, having
twenty-two stones of divers colours, wanting four, written in the
second less: Est qui prior me erat."t
For less valuable works a plainer style of binding was adopted.
When they were bound in thick boards, without any leather covering, it was usual to cut letters in the covers, which, in order to be
better preserved, were placed in a hollow part, as might easily be
done, when the boards were pretty thick. Scaliger also tells us
"that his grandmother had a Psalter, the cover of which was two
inches thick, in the inside of which was a kind of cupboard,
wherein was a silver crucifix, and behind it the name of Berenica
Codronia de la Scala." In such cases the crucifix was safely
guarded by a metal door with clasps.
Many books were ornamented with metal or ivory figures, and
silver or brass bosses on the outside of the cover. A Latin Psalter,
with an interlineary Saxon version, probably of the ninth century,
and preserved in the library at Stowe, is decorated, on the exterior
of the oaken boards with which it is bound, with a large brass
crucifix, about seven or eight inches in height, formerly, perhaps,
covered or washed with silver. A MS. copy of the Latin Gospels,
mentioned by Mr. Dibdin, (Decameron, vol. ii, p. 434,) is also said
* Warton's Hist. of Eng. Poetry, vol. ii, p. 53.
t Chronicon Preciosum, p. 103. London, 1707, 8vo.
t Dugdale's Monast. Anglic., vol. iii, p. 277, 2d edit., 1673, folio.
1




TENTH CENTURY.                      267
to have oaken covers, the outside of one of which was inlaid with
pieces of carved ivory: the first consists of our Saviour, with an
angel above him; the second of the Virgin with Christ in her lap,
the Virgin being represented in half length: the third is a small
whole length of Joseph with an angel above. A gilt nimbus or
glory is round the head of each, but that which encircles the Virgin
is perfect; and the compartment in which she appears (about five
inches high) is twice the size of each of the others. The draperies
throughout are good.*
Sometimes inferior writings were merely stitched in parchment
covers. Bagford (Harl MSS., No. 5910) says, that "when old
books and MSS. were done with, they were thrown under the
desks by the scribes and monks, and there lay till the binders used
them as waste parchment or vellum, to bind up with the new books
transcribed."t
But neither the writing nor the illuminating, nor even the binding of books, was the work of the subordinate monks only. Ervene, one of the teachers of Wolstan, bishop of Worcester, was
famous for caligraphy and skill in colours. To invite his pupils to
read, he made use of a Psalter and Sacramentary, whose capital
letters he had richly illuminated with gold. This was about the
year 980. Herman, one of the Norman bishops of Salisbury,
about the year 1080, condescended to write, bind, and illuminate
books.+ The Gospel written by Eadfrid, and illuminated by
Ethelwold, has been already noticed. In the thirteenth century,
when Michael Palaeologus had usurped the Greek empire, and had
had recourse to the barbarous policy of putting out the eyes of the
rightful heir, then an infant, he basely accused Arsenius, the
guardian of the emperor, and bishop of Nice in Bithynia, of certain
crimes before an assembly of priests. The venal convocation condemned and banished Arsenius to a small island of the Propontis
But, conscious of his integrity, the pious bishop bore his sufferings
with serenity and composure; and requesting that an account
might be taken of the treasure of the church, he showed that three
pieces of gold, which he had earned by transcribing psalms, were
the whole of his property.~
The reader who wishes to see the subjects of ancient illumina* Concise Hist. of Printing, p. 44. London, 1770, 8vo. Dibdin's Bibliomania, p.
158, 2d edit. Dibdin's Bibliographical Decameron, vol. ii, p. 434, note.
t Dibdin's Typographical Antiquities, vol. i. Life of Caxton, p. cxxx.
t Warton's Hist. of Eng. Poetry, diss. 2.
~ Milner's Hist. of the Church of Christ, vol. iv, ch. vi, pp. 15, 16.
1




268                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
tion and bookbinding discussed at large, may consult the Rev. T
F. Dibdin's superb and entertaining work entitled "The Bibliographical Decameron," 3 vols. 8vo., Lond. 1817, passim; and
Herman Hugo's erudite work, edited by C. H. Totz, De Prima
Scribendi Origine, et Universce rei literarice Antiquitate, Traj. ad
Rhen. 1738, 8vo.
Resuming the occurrences of the tenth century, we remark with
pleasure, that amid the general ignorance which prevailed in Europe, some faint efforts were made to dispel the shades of illiterate
barbarism, and to promote the interests of religion and learning.
Edward, the son, and Athelstan, the grandson of Alfred, were not
only the bravest, but the most intelligent princes of their age, and
the greatest patrons of learning. EDWARD, if we may believe
some of our ancient historians, was the founder or restorer of the
university of Cambridge, as his father had been of Oxford; but
the Danes, in 1010, again ruined the schools and town of Cambridge. Another proof which he gave of his regard to learning,
was that of bestowing a very liberal education on his five sons
and nine daughters, who excelled all the princes and princesses
of their age in literary accomplishments.*
ATHELSTAN, the eldest son and successor of Edward, was a
prince of uncommon learning for the age in which he lived. There
is a catalogue of his books extant, which may not be unworthy of
notice. It is in Saxon characters, in the Cotton library, (Domitian, A. 1,) in these words:"This syndon tha bec the /Ethelstanes waeran; De natura
rerum; Persius, de arte metrica; Donatum  minorem; Excerptiones de metrica arte; APOCALYPSIN; Donatum majorem; Alchuinum; Glossa super Catonemr; Libellum de grammatica arte
qui sic incipit, &c.  Sedulium..... ] 1 gerim waes Alfwoldes
preostes, Glossa super Donatum. Dialogorum."t
During his reign a law was passed, which enacted, "that if any
man made such proficiency in learning as to obtain priest's orders,
he should enjoy all the honours of a thane," or nobleman.t It has
also been asserted that this prince employed certain Jews, who
then resided in England, to translate the Old Testament out of
Hebrew into Anglo-Saxon: Leland, in his "Newe yeares Gyfte,
enlarged by Johan Bale," says, " As concernynge the Hebrue, it
* Henry's Hist. of Great Britain, vol. iv, b. ii, ch. iv, pp. 69, 70.
t Turner's Hist. of the Anglo-Saxons, vol. i, b. vi, ch. ii, p. 363, note.
t Henry's Hist. of Great Britain, vol. iv, p. 71.
1




TENTH CENTURY.                     269
is to be thought, that many were therein well learned in the dayes
of Kynge Athelstane. For at the instaunt request of his prelates,
he caused the Scriptures out of that tungue to be by certen doctours
translated into the Saxonysh or Englyshe speche, as in the Chronycles is mencyoned."* Archbishop Usher, in his Historia Dogmatica, &c., places this in the year 930. But the learned Hody,
De Bib. Text., lib. iii, p. 415, considers the fact as doubtful.
Athelstan is represented to have been a great benefactor to the
monastic institutions. He rebuilt many; and was liberal to most,
of books, ornaments, or endowments. In the Cotton library there
are two curious MSS., which were presented by him to different
religious institutions. One is a MS. of the Latin Gospels. Before
these is a page of Latin in Saxon characters, of which the first
part is- Volumen hoc Evangelii hEthelstan Anglorum basyleos, et
curagulos totius Britannice devota mente Doirobernensis cathedrce
primatui tribuit-" Athelstan, king of England, and governor of
all Britain, with a pious intention, gave this volume of the Gospels
to the cathedral church of Canterbury."  One page is occupied by
the letters LIB. in large gilt capitals, and by the rest of the first
verse in small gilt capitals, on a lilac ground. The following
verses, containing the genealogy, are in gilt capitals, on a dark
blue ground. The first verses of the three Qther Gospels are in
gilt capitals, on the uncoloured parchment. To each a painting
of the evangelist is prefixed. The rest is written in ink, without
abbreviations. In the beginning of the Gospels is a page with,
Incipit evangelium  secundum Matthceum, in large gilt capitals.
Below these words are two crosses; opposite to one is ODDA
REX, and to the other MIHTILD MATER REGIS; from
which it appears probable that it was a present from Otho of
Germany, whose name a contemporary writer spells Oddo, who
married Athelstan's sister; and from Mathilda, the empress of
Henry, and mother of Otho. It is said to have been used for the
coronation oath of our Anglo-Saxon kings, but this is doubtful.
The other MS. was presented by Athelstan to the monastery of
Bath. It contains the proceedings of the sixth synod of Constan
tinopie, in the seventh century. At the end of the MS. is a paragraph, stating that it was written in the time of Pope Sergius.
Sergius was pope in 690. Besides these MSS., there is in the
same valuable library a small sized volume, which has come down
to us as the Psalter used by Athelstan. In the beginning of it is
* Lives of Leland, Hearne, and Wood, vol. i. Oxford, 1772, 8vo.
1




270                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
a very ancient calendar, in Saxon letters, written in 703. The
rest is composed of prayers, the Latin Psalter, and several other
hymns, very handsomely written. Every psalm is begun with gilt
capitals, with a title preceding in red letters. It has several ornamental paintings.*
There were also during this century several ecclesiastical laws
or canons published, which deserve attention, as illustrative of the
state of Biblical knowledge.. Among those ascribed to King Edgar
are the following, designed, as we learn from the title, for "the
regulation of the lives of ecclesiastical persons:"
Can. 3. " That at every synod, every year, they have their books
and vestments for divine ministration, as also ink, and parchment
for [writing down] their instructions, and three days' provision."
12. "That no learned priest do reproach him  that is halflearned, but mend him, if he know how."
17. " That every Christian man diligently win his child to Christianity, and teach him the Lord's Prayer, and the Creed."
34. " That every priest take great care to have a good book, at
least a true one."
52. "That priests preach to the people every Sunday, and
always give them a good example."
64. " That no priest be a hunter, or hawker, or player at dice;
but entertain himself with his book, as becometh his order."t
In the canons drawn up by Elfric for Bishop Wulfsin, in which
the seven orders appointed in the church are defined, it is observed, that
"The lector is to read in God's church, and is ordained to
publish God's word."
" He is called the acolyth who holds the candle, or taper, at the
divine ministration, when the Gospel is read, or the housel hallowed at the altar, not as if he were to drive away the obscure
darkness, but to signify bliss by that light, to the honour of Christ,
who is our light."
"The deacon is he that ministers to the mass-priest, and places
the oblation on the altar, and reads the Gospel at the divine ministration."
By the can. 21 it is ordained that "the priest shall have the furniture for his ghostly work before he be ordained, that is, the Holy
Books, the Psalter, and the Pistol'Book, Gospel-Book, and Mass* Turner's History of the Anglo-Saxons, vol. i, p. 363.
t Johnson's Collection of Ecclesiastical Laws, &c., A, D. cDcccCLx,
1




TENTH CENTURY.                    271
Book, the Song-Book and the Hand-Book, the Kalendar, the Passional, the Penitential, and the Lesson-Book."
Of these books it may be necessary to remark, that "' the PistolBook did not contain the entire Epistles, or entire four Gospels,
but such portions of them as were assigned to be read at the altar,
at mass."
The Song-Book, sometimes called the Antiphonar, was a book
of anthems to be sung with responses.
The Mlanual, or Hand-Book, contained directions for the administration of baptism, and extreme unction; the catechism; and
the service for the dead.
The Passional was the same with the Martyrology.
The Penitential was the book which directed the priest what
penance to enjoin for every sin confessed to him.
By can. 23 it is further enjoined that "' the mass-priest, on Sundays and mass-days, shall speak the sense of the Gospel to the
people, in English, and of the Pater Noster and the Creed, as oft
as he can, for the inciting of the people to know their belief, and
retaining their Christianity. Let the teacher take heed of what
the prophet says:'They are dumb dogs, and cannot bark.' We
ought to bark and preach to laymen, lest they should be lost through
ignorance. Christ, in his Gospel, saith of unlearned teachers,'If
the blind lead the blind, they both fall into the ditch.' The teacher
is blind that hath no book-learning; and he misleads the laity
through his ignorance. Thus are you to be aware of this, as your
own duty requires."'
Among the Saxon Capitulars, translated from those of Theodulf,
bishop of Orleans, by a bishop of uncertain date, probably by Elfric, the following is the 20th: "Mass-priests ought always to
have a school of learners in their houses, and if any good man will
commit his little ones to them to be taught, they ought gladly to
accept them, and to teach them at free cost. Ye should consider
that it is written,'They that are learned shine as the brightness
of heaven; and they who persuade and instruct men to right, as
the stars for ever and ever;' yet they ought not to demand any
thing of their relations for their learning, but what they of their
own accord are willing to give."t
England had its scholars also, who befriended learning by their
countenance and example. The haughty DUNSTAN, archbishop of
Canterbury, was one of the most celebrated. Occasionally he
* Johnson's Eccles. Laws, &c., A. D. DCCCCLVfl.
t Johnson, ut sup., A. D. DCCCCXCIV.




272                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
employed himself in the transcription of books; though his more
favourite pursuits were painting and music, chemistry and mechanics, and the sublime sciences of astronomy and geometry.
But of all the Saxon scholars, a monk named ELFRIC seems to
have been the only one who attempted, by vernacular translations,
to enable his countrymen to read the Scriptures in their native
tongue. Very little is known of him accurately, except from the
prefaces and dedications of his writings.  From these we learn
that he was a mass-priest and an abbot; that he had been the
alumnus, or pupil, of Athelwold, bishop of Winchester, and that
on the death of Athelwold he was sent by Bishop Elfeage to a
monastery called Cernal, at the request of a nobleman named
Athelmer, during the reign of King zEthelred.*  From the name
of Elfric being subscribed to an authentic instrument, of the year
1001 or 1002, Cavet supposes him to have been afterward advanced to the archiepiscopal see of Canterbury. This opinion has
been generally followed.
This pious and learned Saxon partly composed and partly translated a number of homilies, which were' everywhere distributed
among the priests, and ordered to be publicly read to the people
on Sundays and holydays. In them he speaks in the highest terms
of the Holy Scriptures, and strenuously enforces the constant
reading of them. In his homily " On the Assumption of the Virgin
Miary," he observes, " If we were to say many things respecting
this festival, which are not read in the sacred Scriptures, which
were appointed by the inspiration of God, we should be like those
heretics who write falsehoods fiom their own inventions or dreams.
It is sufficient for the faithful to read and learn what is true; and
yet how very few are there who diligently search the whole Bible,
dictated by God, or published by the inspiration of his Spirit. Let
every one, therefore, whether of the clergy or laity, throw aside
those heretical falsehoods which lead the incautious to destruction;
and let him read or hear that sacred doctrine, which, if attended to,
will guide us to the kingdom of heaven." In another homily, " On
Reading the Scriptures," he thus expresses his sentiments: "Whoever would be one with God, must often pray, and often read the
Holy Scriptures. For when we pray, we speak to God; and when
we read the Bible, God speaks to us. The reading of the Scriptures produces a twofold advantage to the reader. It renders him
wiser, by informing his mind; and also leads him from the vanities
* Turner's Anglo-Saxons, vol. ii, b. xii, ch. iv, p. 404.
t Historia Litteraria, saec. x, p. 589.
1




TENTH CENTURY.                    273
of the world to the love of God. The reading of the Scriptures is
truly an honourable employment, and greatly conduces to the piurity of the soul. For as the body is nourished by natural food, so
the sublimer man, that is, the soul, is nourished by the divine sayings, according to the words of the Psalmist:'How sweet are thy
words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth.'
Happy is he, then, who reads the Scriptures, if he convert the
words into actions. The whole of the Scriptures are written for
our salvation, and by them we obtain the knowledge of the truth.
The blind man stumbles oftener than he who sees; so he who is
ignorant of the precepts of Scripture offends more frequently than
he who knows them," each of them being without guide.*  His
"Homily on Easter" was printed with an English translation by
Fox, in his " Acts and Monuments," vol. ii, pp. 450-456, ed. 1641,
folio. An edition of it, in Saxon and English, accompanied with a
part of a letter of Elfric's to Wulfsin, bishop of Sherborn, was also
published by Archbishop Parker, under the title of " A Testimonie
of Antiquitie, showing the auncient Fayth in the Church of England, touching the Sacrament of the Body and Bloude of the Lord
here publickely preached, and also receaved in the Saxons Tyme
above 600 Yeares agoe." Imprinted at London by John Daye.
It has no date.
Elfric was likewise the author of a Saxon Grammar, and Saxon
and Latin Glossary, published by Somner, at the end of his Dictionarium Saxonico-Latino Anglicanurn; Oxon, 1659, folio. In
his preface, our author observes, that he undertook this work " for
the promotion of sacred studies, especially among the young;"
and adds, " It is the duty of the servants of God, and ecclesiastical
men, to guard against such a want of zeal and learning in our day
as occurred in England but very few years ago, when not a priest
could either write or translate a Latin epistle, till Archbishop
Dunstan and Bishop Athelwold encouraged learning in the monasteries." He also wrote the lives of certain saints, and various
epistles and religious treatises; in particular, a " Compendium of
the Old and New Testament," for Siward, or Sigward, a Saxon
nobleman, published with an English version in 1638, 4to., by
William L'Isle, Esq., of Wilburgham; to which was appended
Archbishop Parker's "Testimonie of Antiquitie."t
In this " Compendium," we are informed of those parts of the
sacred volume which Elfric translated into the vernacular language. The list is as follows:* Usserii, Hist. Dogmat., pp. 378, 379.  t Idem, ut sup.
VOL. L.-1 8




274                BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
The PENTATEUCH.-The translation of Genesis is preceded by
a prefatory address to the " Ealdorman 2Ethelward," who, he tells
us, had requested him to translate it into English, as far as the history of Isaac, from which period some other person had made a
version of it before his time. The preface concludes with the following adjuration:-" If any one transcribe this book, I adjure him,
by the name of God, carefully to correct his copy by the autograph; lest by any mistake of the copier, persons should be led
into errors; the guilt of which will, nevertheless, devolve upon the
transcriber, and not upon me."*
JosHuA. —" This book," he remarks, " I turned into English for
Prince Ethelwerd."
JUDGES.
Some parts of the BooKs OF KINGS. Under the Books of Kings
were comprehended the Books of Samuel, of Kings, and of
Chronicles.
E STHER.
JOB.-All that we have of Job is probably collected from Elfric's
Homily upon the History of Job.
JUDITH.-" Englished," says he in the Compendium, "according
to my skill, for your example, that ye may also defend your country by force of arms against the invasion of a foreign host." This
was written when the Danes used to invade the land.
MACCABEES,-two books.t
These translations were made by Elfric, from the Latin, for in
his Preface to Genesis he remarks, " Nothing should be written in
the English but what is found in the Latin; nor should the order
of the words be changed, except when the Latin and English
modes of expression differ. For he who interprets, or translates
from the Latin into English, should carefully preserve the English idiom, or else those who are unacquainted with the idiom of
the Latin may be led into many errors."
It must, however, be observed, that these are not complete versions of the above-mentioned books, since the object of the translator was to furnish his countrymen with a translation of those
parts of the Scriptures only which he conceived to be most important for them to know; as for instance, in Genesis, several
parts of the tenth, twenty-second, twenty-third, twenty-sixth. and
thirty-sixth chapters are omitted; Exodus terminates with the
fourth verse of the thirty-fifth chapter; Leviticus contains only
* Usserii, Hist. Dogmat., ut sup.
t Baber's Wicliff's New Testament, p. ixiii.
1                         18*




TENTH CENTURY.                     275)
what relates to the moral law, nearly the whole of what refers to the
ceremonial being omitted. Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua,
are also incomplete; and the Book of Judges concludes with the
last verse of the sixteenth chapter. In many instances he has epitomized the history and precepts, and in others given a verbal
translation.*
The Heptateuch, the Book of Job, and the imperfect History of
Judith, were published in 1698, in 8vo., by Edward Thwaites, of
Queen's College, Oxford. The Apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus
was added to this edition.
In the library of Benet College, Cambridge, is a MS. containing
a Saxon version of the Gospels, by an unknown author. It was
writtena little before the Conquest; and appears to be a transcript
-of an older MS. The Bodleian library contains a MS. of the same
version, which bears evidence of having been written at various
timles, by different persons; and Dr. Marshall supposes, that the
Gospel of St. Matthew alone had two different translators, or interpreters. He also tells us, that in the front of a Saxon MS. of
the Gospels belonging to the public library at Cambridge, there is
written, in an old hand, in Latin and Anglo-Saxon, "This book
gave Leofric, bishop of the church of St. Peter, in Exeter, for the
use of his successors;" and that this Leofric died A. D. 1071.
or 1073.f
The Bodleian MS. belonged formerly to Matthew Parker, archbishop of Canterbury, under whose direction it was published by
John Fox, the martyrologist, in 1571, 4to., and dedicated by him
to Queen Elizabeth. The presentation copy, which was given by
Fox into the queen's own hands, is in the British Museum.  The
Gospels were printed in large Saxon types, and accompanied with
an English version, taken out of the Bishop's Bible. Being found
to be inaccurately transcribed, and incorrectly printed, they were
afterward revised by Junius, in conjunction with Dr. Marshall, and
were published with the Mceso-Gothic Fragments ascribed to U1philas, at Dordrecht, or Dort, in 1665, in 4to., and afterward reprinted at Amsterdam, in 1684. Dr. Marshall enriched the volume
with many observations upon this version, and has particularly
noticed those passages which differ from the text of the present
Latin Vulgate, but agree with the Codex Bezme; from which it is
concluded, that the Anglo-Saxon was translated from the Vetus
Italica, or old Latin version, as it stood previous to the correction
* Usserii, Hist. Dogmat., pp. 385, 387.
t Baber's Wicliff's New Testament, p. lxi. Lewis's Hist. of Translations, pp. 6, 7.
1




276                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
of it by Jerome.' Besides these editions, William L'Isle published
certain fragments of the Old and New Testament, at London, in
1638, in 4to. The Psalter was also published by the younger
Spelman, at London, in 1640, 4to., from a MS. of his father's, and
collated with three other copies. The various readings are placedl
in the margin. These translations are of uncertain dates, but are
by the learned generally referred to some part of the eighth century,
In the Cotton library is a Latin MS. of the Proverbs of Solomon,
partially glossed or translated; the Latin text of which was written
in the ninth century; and the Anglo-Saxon interlineary gloss probably in the tenth.t
It appears also that about this period the whole of the divine
offices either were performed in the vernacular tongue, or at least
were translated into it, for the benefit of the unlearned; for in the
library of Benet College, Cambridge, there is a Latin and Saxon
Missal, probably of this age, to which the following note is prefixed:-" This book was usually called the Derby-Red-Book, in
the mountainous parts of Derbyshire, where it was held in such
veneration and honour, that it was commonly believed, that whoever should forswear himself on that book would lose his senses."+
The old German, or Teutonic translation of the Psalms, and
of the Book of Job, by Notker, is of rather uncertain date, though
the evidence seems to place it at the conclusion of the tenth, or
commencement of the eleventh century.  This uncertainty has
arisen, chiefly, from the work having been attributed to different
persons of the same name, all belonging to the monastery of St.
Gall, in Switzerland, and all of them  men of learning and talents.
The first of these, surnamed Balbulus, or the stammerer, was of a
noble family, and the author of a number of hymns, some of which
are still sung in the church.  His death is placed in the year 912.
The second was skilled in medicine, excelled in the art of painting, was grave and severe in his habits, illustrious in his virtues,
and noble in his descent.  His surnames were various: in particular, from his medical knowledge, he was denominated Physicus, or
1M1edicus, the physician; from the severity of his monastic discipline, Piperis Granum, the grain of pepper; and from his skill in
painming, Pictor, or the painter.  He died about A. D. 975. The
third, who was called Labeo, from  his having thick lips, was
a man of deep piety and extensive learning, and passed into a bet* Baber's Wicliff's New Testament, ut sup. Marsh's Michaelis, vo,. ii, ch. vii, sec.
38, pt. i, p. 158, pt. ii, p. 637.
t Baber's Wicliff's New Testament, p. Ixii    t Usserii, Hist. Dogmat., p. 129.
1




TENTH CENTURY.                       277
ter world A. D. 1022. The translation of the Psalms is most
generally attributed to Notker, surnamed Labeo, who is said to
have undertaken it for the benefit of the monks under his care,
that they might understand what they sung.* The following is a
specimen of this version:PSALM I.
1. Der man ist salig, der in dero argon rat ne gegieng.
Noh an dero sundigon uuege ne stuont.
Noh an demo suhstuole ne saz.
2. Nube der ist salig, tes uuillo an Gotes eo ist, unde der dara ana
denchet tag unde naht.t
The learned Schilter has published a correct edition of this translation of the Psalms, the Book of Job being lost, in his Thesaurus
Antiquitatum  Teutonicarum, with the title, Notkeri Tertii Labeonis Psalterium: e Latino in Theotiscam  Veterem Linguam ver
sum, et Paraphrasi illustratum.  E  lManuscripto Codice pervetusto Dn. de la Loubere.  Primus eruit, et describi, dum viveret,
curavit.   Turn  interpretatione et notis ornavit lo. Schilterus.
Ulmce, 1726. It is preceded by a Critical and Historical Dissertation, by Franck.
A copy of this version was written by the younger Ekkerard, a
monk of Mentz, by order, and for the use, of the empress Cunegundis, wife of the emperor Henry II., about the year 1004. After
the decease of the emperor, the pious empress embraced the monastic life, and spent her time chiefly in reading the Holy Scriptures, either privately, or to her attendants.+
In the EAST an Arabic translation of the Scriptures was made
by R. Saadias Gaon.  Pocock, Walton, and several other Biblical
critics affirm, that he translated the whole of the Old Testament;
and Pocock assures us, that he had in his possession other portions of his translation besides the Pentateuch.~ Others, and in
particular Wolfius, have asserted, that Saadias only translated the
Pentateuch, and appeal to the Jewish writers, who notice his version of the Law; but are silent as to any translations of the other
parts of the Scriptures by him.ll  The version of Saadias is irregular, and frequently more paraphrastical than literal. The Penta* Schilteri Thesaurus, tom. i, Franckii Dissert., pp. i-xv.
t Schilteri Thesaurus, pp. 1, 3.
t Le Long, Biblioth. Sacr., p. 375. Paris, 1723, fol. Usserii, Hist. Dogmat., p. 130.
~ Pocockii Specimen Hist. Arab., p. 361. Oxon. 1650, 4to. Ibid. Praefatis variis
lect. Arab. in Waltoni Polyglott, tom. vi.-Waltoni Proleg. 14, sec. 15.
II Wolfii Biblioth. Heb., tom. i, p. 934. Hamb. and Lips. 1715, 4to.
1




278                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
teuch of this version was first printed by the Jews, at Constantinople, in the Hebrew letters, A. D. 1546, fol. It was accompanied
with the Chaldee Targum of Onkelos; the Persic version by R.
Jacob, surnamed Tawosus, or Tusius, from the city of Tus, where
there was a celebrated academy; and the Commentary of R. Salomon Jarchi, or Rashi.* It was afterward published in the Polyglotts of London and Paris.
R. SAADIAS, surnamed Gaon, or the Excellent, a title of honour
bestowed upon the more celebrated Jewish doctors during the
middle ages, was a native of Al Fiumi, in Egypt, where he was
born about A. D. 892. In 927 he was called out of Egypt by the
aechmalotarch, or prince of the Captivity, David ben Zachai, and
appointed rector, or head of the academy of Sora, with the
general superintendency of the Babylonian schools. This important office he discharged with considerable success. His first care
was to cure of their error those of his nation who held the doctrine of the transmigration of souls; an opinion prevalent among
the Persians and Arabians, and which many of the Jews had entertained prior to the time of our Saviour. In this laudable undertaking he had made some progress, notwithstanding the inveterate
prejudices of his countrymen; when an unfortunate dispute took
place between him and David, the prince of the Captivity, who had
requested him to sign a regulation he had made against the laws,
which Saadias deeming unjust, had refused. The refusal incensed
David; he upbraided Saadias with ingratitude, and sent his son to
threaten him with the loss of his head, if he did not obey his
orders. The rabbi informed his scholars of the threat he had
received, who at once mutinied against the prince, and attacking
him in a body, beat him severely. The nation followed the example of its heads, and divided into parties. The faction of Saadias
for a while prevailed; David was deposed, and his brother Joseph
proclaimed prince of the Captivity. But the authority of the newly
elected prince did not last long; for David, supported by his
friends, was soon enabled to resume the government; and Saadias
was obliged to save himself by flight. He continued in retirement
about seven years, during which time he wrote the greater part of
his works. He at length returned, that he might be reconciled to
the prince, and surviving him, enjoyed the peaceable possession of
the academy. He died A. D. 942, aged fifty. He was the author of several grammatical, and other works, besides the Arabic
* Le Long, Biblioth. Sacr., vol. i, pt. ii, sec. 5, p. 118; and sec. 7, p. 159. edit.
Masch. Bibliographical Dic., vol. i, pp. 243, 264.
1




TENTH CENTURY.                     279
translation of the Scriptures, and Commentaries on Job, Daniel,
and the Song of Solomon.* He seems also to have contributed
his part toward the Masora; for Leusden (Philolog. Heb. Diss.
22) tells us, that this laborious rabbi enumerated all the Hebrew
letters in the Old Testament, and expressed their several numbers
in a Hebrew poem.t
R. MosEs was another celebrated Jew of this age. He was
born in the East, and was taken, when on a voyage, by privateers,
and carried with his son to the coast of Spain, where he was ransomed by the Jews of Cordovia. This they did out of charity,
without any knowledge of his learning and worth. But some time
afterward, placing himself in the corner of a school or academy, as
a layman and beggar, clothed only with a sack, from which he was
called Moses clad with a sack, he argued so profoundly upon all
the questions that were proposed, that the president of the school
was filled with admiration, and yielded up his place to him. This
occasioned his appointment to the office of judge of the nation,
with a liberal salary. His honours did not, however, prevent
him from wishing to return to his native land, and to die there;
and he had already formed the resolution to quit Spain, when the
calif forbade his departure.
At the time of this event the Talmud was but very little known
in Spain, so that when any controversy arose, the synagogues sent
deputies to Bagdat, to obtain a decision. Even the prayers recited
in the Spanish synagogues on the days of affliction, and particularly on that of the expiations, were composed by Armissim, head
of one of the academies of Babylon.  The calif Hakim  was,
therefore, exceedingly glad to find that Moses clad with a sack
was capable of instructing the Jews under his government in the
knowledge of the Talmud. This led to the detention of the rabbi,
for the calif hoped by this means to prevent the deputations of his
subjects to the East, where the Abassides, the enemies of his
house, then reigned. Moses continued in possession of his judicial
authority till his decease in 997, when he was succeeded in it by
his son Enoch.
Haschem II. having ascended the throne of Cordova, not only
continued the measures adopted by his father in behalf of his Jewish subjects, but also ordered that the Talmud should be translated into Arabic. R. Joseph, the disciple of Moses, undertook this
Wolfii, Biblioth. Heb., vol. i, pp. 932-936. Fabricy, Titres Primitifs, tom. ii, pp..42. 246, 257. Basnage's Hist. of the Jews, b. vii, ch. iv, p. 601.
t Kennicott's Dissertations on the Heb. Text. diss. 2, p. 453.
1




280                    BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
great work, and very successfully accomplished it; but grew so
haughty upon it, that he could no longer bear that Enoch should be
judge of the nation in preference to himself.  This occasioned a
violent quarrel between them, in which the different synagogues
engaged; but Enoch's party being the most powerful, Joseph was
excommunicated. He appealed to the calif, but in vain. Thus
deprived of the protection he expected from the court, he left Spain
for Bagdat, where he hoped to find a retreat near the famous Hay,
head of the academies of Pheruts Shibbur, and Pundebitha, and
also prince of the Captivity;* but in this too he was disappointed,
for R. Hay gave him to understand, that he could not receive him,
because he was excommunicated by the Spanish synagogues. He
remained therefore at Damascus, where he died, without being
able to obtain a revocation of the sentence which had been pronounced against him.t
CHAPTER IX.
ELEVENTH CENTURY
Dark State of England-Marianus Scotus-Saxon NMSS.-LanfrancAnselm-Ingulph-Promotion  of Literature-France- Theodoric —IvoCorrection of Vulgate- Vernacular Translations-Latin Versions of Psalms,
called the Gallican, Roman, and Hebraic —Germany —- Willeram —-Reimbold —MSS. —-Gregory VII. —-Crusades.
THE ELEVENTH century, to which we are now advanced, presents a scene still dark and gloomy. The following anecdote will
serve to mark its character: —A considerable part of the gold and
jewels belonging to the church of Laon, in France, had been stolen. The thief could not be discovered; a general meeting of the
canons and principal citizens was therefore called.   Uncertain
what to do, they unanimously agreed to take the opinion of Anselm,
the bishop of the city, who was universally regarded as an oracle.
Anselm revolved the business in his mind, and, recollecting the
passage in the Book of Joshua, where it is related in what manner
* The princes of the Captivity, or heads of the Captivity, called also cechmalotarclhs, were the chiefs or leaders of the Jewish captives in Babylon and the East; as
the Jewish patriarchs were in Judea and the West, and were installed with great pomp
and ceremony. They conferred ordination on the heads of the synagogues, and exercised authority over all the Oriental Jews. See Lewis's Antiquities of the Hebrew Republic, vol. iii, b. vi, ch. vi; and Basnage's Hist. of the Jews, b. vi, ch. xin.
t Basnage's Hist. of the Jews, b. vii, ch. v, p. 606.
1




ELEVENTH CENTURY.                    281
a secret theft had been detected by the casting of lots; "It is my
advice," said he, "having weighed the matter most deliberately,
that you try to discover the author of this horrid crime by the ordeal of water. Let an infant be taken from each parish, and cast
into a vessel of holy water: from the child which sinks will the
guilty parish be known.  Then, from  each house of this parish
take another infant: which will show you the guilty house. You
can be no longer at a loss: throw every man and woman belonging
to the house into tubs of holy water, and guilt will be concealed io
longer."  The experiment is supposed to have succeeded, and the
thief is said to have been a person to whose care the rich ornaments
of the church had been intrusted.* —A learned writer, therefore,
justly remarks: in this "century the state of ENGLAND was superlatively wretched.  In consequence of the successful invasion of
the ferocious Danes, murder and rapine marched hand in hand
through the kingdom, with wasteful triumph.  This scene of horror and desolation was quickly abandoned by the muses, and, in the
absence of learning, religion, corrupted by repeated abuses, soon
degenerated into superstition. In these calamitous times, and for
some ages after, those who presided over that hallowed fountain
of living waters, the Scriptures, suffered them to flow with only a
niggardly stream, and that polluted."t
In 1017 Canute the Dane obtained the English throne. Among
the ecclesiastical laws issued by him, is one enjoining an acquaintance with the Lord's Prayer and Creed: " We charge that every
Christian learn to know, at the least, the right faith, and be expert
at Pater Noster, and Credo.  For with one of them the Christian
should pray to God, and with the other declare his right faith.
Christ himself first sang Pater Noster, and taught that prayer to
his disciples; and in this divine prayer are seven petitions.  He
that inwardly sings this, does his own message to God for every
necessary want, either in relation to this, or the future life. But
how can a man ever pray inwardly to God, unless he have an inward faith in him? Therefore, he hath no Christian communion in
the consecrated places of rest, after death; nor is he capable of the
housel (or eucharist) in this life, nor is he a good Christian who
will not learn it: nor can he be surety for another at baptism, much
more at the bishop's hands, (that is, confirmation,) till he have first
learned well to rehearse it."t
* Berrington's Lives of Abelard and Heloisa, b. ii, p. 59. Birmingham, 1788, 4to.
+ Baber's Wicliff's New Testament, p. lxiii.; Johnson's Ecclesiastical Laws, A. D. MXVII.
1




282                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
This law is, of itself, sufficient to prove the very low state of
religious knowledge at this period; and the information to be
gleaned from different writers, respecting the attention paid to the
Holy Scriptures, during the reign of Canute, is exceedingly scanty.
Warton mentions a Dano-Saxon Harmony of the Four Gospels,
which formerly belonged to that king, and which is still in the
Cotton library. It is adorned with paintings, and bears the title of
Evangelita IV. sermrone Danico, written by a later hand than the
Harmony itself.  The name Jesus, or Christ, is scarcely ever used
in it, but instead of it the term, Godes barn, the Son of God.* In
the British Museum a copy of the Latin Gospels is preserved,
"remarkable for having in it the signature of King Canute: with a
charter, in Saxon, confirming the privileges of the church. The
last leaf of St. John's Gospel is wanting."t And in the Cotton
library there is also a Latin Psalter, accompanied with the songs
of the Old and New Testament, the Lord's Prayer, and the Athanasian and Apostles' Creeds; to which an interlineary Saxon version is added by an anonymous hand. By a computation at the
end of the book it appears to have been written in the year
1049.t
About the middle of this century, Marianus Scotus, having left the
monastery of Dunkeld in North Britain, went to Germany, and settled at Ratisbon, where he, with several of his countrymen, taught
both sacred and profane learning, and where he founded a monastery for the Scots, in 1074; he and his companions having
acquired great reputation by their piety, zeal, and knowledge.~
From  the journal of the indefatigable and learned Humphrey
Wanley, it appears that the library of these missionaries was extant in the last century. The following are his words: " 10 August, 1720, Mr. O'Sullivan likewise acquainted me, that the library
of those learned men, who went from Ireland with Marianus Scotus, A. D. 1058, is yet remaining in some church at Ratisbon, and
has lately been seen there."Il
The disturbed state of England, by the sanguinary contests of
the Saxons, Danes, and Normans, and the frequent change of
government, were, for many years, highly detrimental to the in* Wartoni Auctarium, pp. 388, 389.
t Classical Journal, No. 15, September, 1813, p. 150.
t Usserii, Hist. Dogmat., p. 132
~ Butler's Lives, vol. ix, Sep. 5, p. 61, note.
11 Nichols's Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century, vol. i, p. 87. Lond.
1812, 8vo.
1




ELEVENTH CENTURY.                   283
terests of religion and literature; but after the conquest by William
of Normandy, letters were more cultivated, and learning began to
reillume our island, though a long time elapsed before its benignant
light beamed upon the science of theology. In the catalogue of
Saxon MSS. compiled by H. Wanley, and forming the second
volume of Hickes's Thesaurus Linguarurm Septentrionalium, we
meet with a few MSS. of the Psalter, sometimes accompanied by
the sacred songs of the Scriptures, and the hymns of the church,
apparently written about the time of the Conquest. Of the Gospels in the Normano-Saxon dialect there are only three MSS. yet
discovered to exist; the one supposed to have been written in the
reign of William the Conqueror, and the other two about the time
of IIenry II. The former of these is deposited in the public library
at Cambridge; of the latter, one is among the Hatton MSS. in the
Bodleian library, the other in the British Museum; and from the
general agreement that subsists between the texts of these MSS.,
it is very manifest that they are all transcripts of the same version.*
Saxon literature had, in fact, long been in its decline, and we may
date its fall to about one hundred years after the Conquest, when
the language had been so far changed as to have assumed that
form which entitles it to the appellation of English. "Those of
the clergy who were occupied in the pursuits of literature sought
it rather in the paths to which they were directed by interest and
ambition than by piety. Even among the few who, duly impressed
with the importance and sanctity of their vocation, were diligent to
inform themselves, that they might be better qualified to instruct
others, little could be expected from their studies which would
illuminate their own minds, or those committed to their solemn
charge; for as their reading was seldom extended beyond scraps
of Scriptural history, hideously disfigured, and incredible legends,
which were equally at variance with reason and truth, they only
produced feeble and erroneous expositions of the oracles of God,
and delivered unedifying homilies."t
The attempt of the Conqueror to introduce the use of the French
language into his newly acquired dominions, and the appointment
of Norman ecclesiastics, who were ignorant of the vernacular
tongue, to the best bishoprics and abbacies in the kingdom,
checked the diffusion of knowledge among the English laity, and
sunk the lower orders into superstitious darkness, while they served
to restrict scientific information to the clergy, and to hasten the
* Baber's Wicliff's New Testament, p. lxiv.  t Ibid.




284                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
decay of the Saxon dialect. The laws were ordered to be administered in French; and even children at school were forbidden
to read in their native language, and ordered to be instructed in
a knowledge of the Norman only. In the year 1095, Wolstan,
bishop of Worcester, was deposed by the arbitrary Normans, who
objected against him, that he was " a superannuated English idiot,
who could not speak French," though he appears to have been a
pious and diligent scholar; for it was his practice to have the
Latin Scriptures regularly read at his table, when he explained
them in English to the illiterate, and held conferences upon them
with the more learned. It is true that in some of the monasteries,
particularly at Croyland and Tavistock, founded by Saxon princes,
there were regular preceptors in the Saxon language; but this institution was suffered to remain, after the Conquest, only as a
matter of interest and necessity, since the religious could not otherwise have understood their original charters.  In the reign of
Henry II. the nobles constantly sent their children into France,
lest they should contract habits of barbarism in their speech, which
could not have been avoided in an English education. Even the
transcribers of Saxon books changed the Saxon orthography for
the Norman, and in the place of the original Saxon substituted
Norman words and phrases, a remarkable instance of which appears in a voluminous collection of Saxon Homilies, preserved in
the Bodleian library, and written about the time of Henry II. It
was afterward, by various statutes, ordered that the students of
our universities should converse either in French or Latin. But
from the declension of the power of the barons, and the prevalence
of the commons, most of whom were of English ancestry, the
native language of England again gradually gained ground; till,
in the reign of Edward III., an act of parliament was passed,
appointing all pleas and proceedings of law to be carried on in
English.*
Among the learned ecclesiastics invited into England by the
Norman William, LANFRANC stands foremost. He was a native
of Pavia, in Lornbardy, born about the year 1005, of a noble
family; studied eloquence and the laws at Bologna, and was professor of laws in his native city. This charge he resigned in order
to travel into Normandy, where he made his monastic profession
at Bec, or Bea, about the year 1042. Three years after he was
made prior, and commenced a great school in that monastery,
* Warton's History of English Poetry, vol. i, pp. 3-7. Whartoni Auctarium Hist.
Dogmat. Uss., pp. 393, 394.




ELEVENTH CENTURY.                    285
which, by his extraordinary reputation, soon became the most
famous at that time in Europe.  It is related of him, that on one
occasion, when a pedantic clerk, surrounded by a gorgeous train
of attendants, waited upon him, Lanfranc, by conversing with him,
discovered the extreme scantiness of his knowledge, and, to ridicule the ignorance of the pedant, laid a cross-row or alphabet
before him; which, however, was so.resented as to expose the
teacher to serious dangers. In 1063 he was appointed first abbot
of the monastery of St. Stephen, at Caen, by William, the founder,
then duke of Normandy. Four years after his patron had obtained
the crown of England he was called to the see of Canterbury, and
was appointed by the pope to be his legate in England. In this
high situation he exerted himself to reform the clergy and monasteries, and to promote the study of the sacred sciences, eloquence,
and grammar.* By his constitutions, in 1072, the librarian is
ordered to deliver a book to each of the religious at the beginning
of Lent: a whole year is allowed for the perusal of the book; and
at the returning Lent, those monks who had neglected to read the
books they had respectively received are commanded to prostrate
themselves before the abbot, and to supplicate his indulgence.t
He was the author of a Commentary on St. Paul's Epistles, which
has never been printed. Besides this, and some other smaller
works, he is generally considered as having been the principal
author of a Correctorium Ecclesiasticum, or critical correction of
the Old and New Testaments, and ecclesiastical writers. For,
having observed that various errors had crept into the sacred text
and the works of the fathers, chiefly through the negligence of
transcribers, he, with the assistance of his monks, carefully examined and noted the corruptions which had taken place in the
sacred Scriptures and fathers, and even in the service books of the
church. This work is said to have been held in high estimation
both in England and France. His death happened on the 28th of
May, 1089. He was buried in Christ Church, Canterbury.4
ANSELM, who succeeded Lanfiranc in the archbishopric of Canterbury, was born at Aoust, in Piedmont. In 1060 he commenced
monk, at the age of twenty-seven, at Bec, or Bea, in Normandy,
under Lanfranc. He afterward became prior of the monastery.
His progress in religious knowledge was great; but mildness and
+ Butler's Lives, vol. iv, p. 211, note. Berington's Literary History of the Middle
\ges, p. 241.
t Warton's History of English Poetry, val i, dissert. 2.
* Butler, ubi sup. Millii Proleg., p. civ.
1




286                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
charity seem to have predominated in all his views of piety. The
book commonly called Augustine's Meditations was chiefly abstracted from the writings of Anselm. At the age of forty-five
he became abbot of Bec. His old friend Lanfranc dying in 1089,
William Rufus usurped the revenues of the see of Canterbury,
and treated the monks of the place in a most barbarous manner.
For several years, the profane tyrant declared that none should
have the see while he lived; but his conscience being alarmed
during a fit of sickness, he nominated Anselm to be the successor
of Lanfranc, who with great difficulty was prevailed upon to accept
the arduous office. The king, on his recovery, resuming his tyrannical measures, the archbishop retired into Calabria with two
monks; one of whom, named Eadmer, wrote his life. On the
death of his royal persecutor he returned to England, by the
invitation of Henry I.; and although lie became the strenuous
defender of the papal authority, he seems to have been influenced
more by the popular prejudices of his day than by a spirit of ambition, which certainly formed no part of his character.  In a
national synod, held at St. Peter's, Westminster, he forbade men
to be sold as cattle, which had till then been practised. Another
instance of his humane and pious disposition given by his biographers is, that one day, as he was riding to the manor of Herse, a
hare, pursued by the hounds, ran under his horse for refuge; he
stopped, and turning to the hunters, said, " This hare reminds me
of a sinner upon the point of departing this life, surrounded with
devils, waiting for their prey." The hare starting off, he forbade
her to be pursued, and was obeyed. He died in the sixteenth year
of his archbishopric, and in the seventy-sixth of his age, on the
21st of April, A.D. 1109.
The works of Anselm are partly scholastical, partly devotional,
and demonstrate him to have been a man of genius, as well as
piety. In the list of them  we find one entitled "The Fool refuted," Liber adverstus insipientem, written against those who ridiculed, and pretended to argue against the divine inspiration of the
Scriptures.  In this treatise, the ingenuity and acuteness of this
great prelate are displayed with good effect. The archbishop was
also the real inventor of the argument, erroneously attributed to
Descartes, which undertakes to prove the existence of God from
the idea of infinite perfection, which is to be found, without exception, in every man's mind.*
* Milner's History of the Church of Christ, vol. iii, pp. 307-317. Butler's Lives,
vol. iv, April 21, pp. 210-224.
1




ELEVENTH CENTURY.                    287
INGULPH, the abbot of Croyland, an Englishman, was another
of the learned men of this age. He died in 1109. He is chiefly
celebrated for his "History of the Abbey of Croyland," in which
the reader is interested by the simple and ingenuous air of his
narrative. It furnishes all the information which the most inquisitive would wish to possess concerning the abbey, its buildings,
its various fortunes, its extensive possessions and immunities, its
treasures, its monks, its occupations, and its statutes. From this
history, however, it does not appear that any distinct period was
allotted to study by the monks of the abbey; but an account is
given of a present of forty large original volumes, of divers doctors, to the common library, and of more than a hundred smaller
copies of books on various subjects. Sometimes, also, the names
are mentioned of men said to have been "' deeply versed in every
branch of literature.'"*  As the transcripts of books multiplied, the
permission to inspect them was more liberally conceded than formerly. The historian gives us a specimen of their rules on this
point: "We forbade," says he, " under the penalty of excommunication, the lending of our books, as well the smaller without
pictures as the larger with pictures, to distant schools, without the
abbot's leave, and his certain knowledge within what time they
would be restored. As to the smaller books, as Psalteries, Donatus, Cato,'et similibus poeticis ac quaternis de cantu,' adapted to
the boys, and the relations of the monks, &c., we forbade to be
lent more than one day without leave of the prior."t  TWhen the
fire happened in 1091 which consumed this celebrated abbey, the
library contained seven hundred volumes.
The seeds of knowledge having been sown, many persons began
to contribute to the general progress of learning, by assiduously
forming LIBRARIES; and more attention was paid in the monasteries to the art of neat and correct writing, that the copies of
authors' works might not only be multiplied, but might also be
accurate. Without this happy practice, the progress of literature
must have been confined to a few individuals, because the cost of
books was enormous; and their use, in the great libraries, was
much restricted on account of their value.  Osmund, who came
over with William  the Conqueror, and had been created earl of
Dorset, and borne the highest offices of the state, having embraced
a religious life, and been chosen bishop of Sherborn, or Salisbury,
collected a noble library; and not only received with great liberality
* Berington's Literary History of the Middle Ages, b. iv, p 255.
t Turner's History of the Anglo-Saxons, vol. i, p, 410, note.
1




288                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
every ecclesiastic that was distinguished for learning, and persuaded them to reside with him, but copied and bound books with
his own hand.*  We have another "instance of an individual's
patriotic exertion in Simon of St. Albans, who, from his own taste,
maintained liberally two or three select writers in his chamber,
where he prepared, says the authority, an invaluable plenty of the
best books. He made it a rule in his monastery, that every future
abbot should always keep a good writer."t Among the other works
provided by Simon were two noble volumes, containing the Old
and New Testaments with a gloss. They were kept in a painted
press or book-case, with the other transcripts of different authors.
This was in the twelfth century.  A somewhat similar account is
given of a former abbot, of whom it is recorded that he gave to
this church twenty-eight notable volumes and eight Psalters, a
Collectary, an Epistolary, a book containing the Gospel Lessons
for the whole year, and two TEXTS, or complete volumes of the
Scriptures, ornamented with gold, and silver, and gems; besides
Ordinals, Consuetudinaries, Missals, Troparies, Collectaria, and
other books.t  The attempts of these learned ecclesiastics, aided
by the endeavours of others equally ardent in the cause of literature and science, partially succeeded, and a foundation was laid
for that diffusion of knowledge, which, after the lapse of some
centuries, produced the Reformation.
In FRANCE, ITheodoric, the learned abbot of St. Evroul, endea
voured to unite an assiduous attention to the offices of religion with
the study of the graphic art, and the diligence of the scribe. His
monks were urged to the labours of transcription by the influence
of example, and the promise of future recompense. Mabillon, the
industrious annalist of the Benedictines, relates, that in order to
add weight to his exhortations, Theodoric used to tell a legendary
tale of a deceased monk, who, being brought to the tribunal of
God, was accused, by the devils, of numerous crimes which he
had committed, but from which he was successfuilly vindicated by
the holy angels, who produced an enormous volume which had
been transcribed by him, and in which there was a single letter
more than the number of his crimes!
During the eight years that Theodoric presided over this monastery, he procured a transcription of all the books of the Old and
* Turner's Hist. of England, vol. i, pt. ii, ch. ii, p. 410. London, 1814, 4to. Butler's Lives, vol. xii, Dec. 4, pp. 73-75.
t Turner's Hist. of England, ut sup.
I Whitaker's Cathedral of Cornwall, vol. ii, p. 317.
1




ELEVENTH CENTURY.                  289
New Testaments, and of the works of Gregory the Great. The
antiquarii, or scribes of St. Evroul, became celebrated for their
skill and diligence; and the names of Berengarius, afterward
bishop of Venosa, Goscelinus, Rodulfus, Bernardus, Turchetillus,
and Richard, are mentioned with honour, as transcribers of the
works of the fathers for the library of the monastery of St. Evroul.
Theodoric himself bequeathed a Collectaneumn, or book of Collects,
a Graduale, and an Antiphonar, written with his own hand; Rodolfus, his nephew, transcribed a Missal, and the Heptateuch, or
five books of Moses, with Joshua and Judges; Hugo copied an
Exposition of Ezekiel, the Decalogue, and the first part of Gregory's Morals; and Roger, a presbyter, transcribed the third part
of the Morals, the books of Chronicles, and the books of Solomon.
The value of these labours will be best appreciated by recollecting the scarcity of books at this period, and the excessive
prices paid for them by the few who were able to purchase them.
Mabillon saw a necrology belonging to the monastery of Jumiege,
in which prayers were appointed to be offered up on the 6th of
March for those " who had made and given books on the first day
of Lent;" the day on which books were distributed to the monks
according to rule. Robert, abbot of Jumiege, and successively
bishop of London and archbishop of Canterbury, presented to his
monastery, during the time he held the bishopric of London, a
book called a Sacramentary, containing all the prayers and ceremonies practised at the celebration of the sacraments. This
present was accompanied also with various rich ornaments for the
sacred services. At the close of the book an anathema was denounced against any one who should steal the book, or any of the
ornaments of the monastery; which concluded in terms that
strongly mark the value of books, and, in the donor's views, the
preference of the book which he had given to the other articles of
his donation:-" If any one take away this book from this place
by force, or fraud, or any other way, let him suffer the loss of his
soul for what he has done; let him be blotted out of the book of
life, and not be written among the just; and let him be condemned
to the severest excommunication who shall take away any of the
vestments which I have given to this place, or the other ornaments, the silver candlesticks, or the gold from the table. Amen."*
Ivo, bishop of Chartres, who flourished about A. D. 1092. seems
to have been desirous to promote the knowledge of the Scriptures,
* Mabillon, Annales Ord. Benedict., tom. iv, pp. 461, 462, 518, 519. Lut. Paris,
1707, folio.
VOL. I. 19




290                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
both among the clergy and laity. In a discourse on the excellence
of the sacred order, delivered before the synod, we meet with some
judicious advice, addressed to those who, from their office, were
denominated Readers: " Let those," says he, " who aspire to this
degree, be well instructed in literature, that they may understand
the meaning of words, and be acquainted with the use of accents,
and read distinctly, lest their auditors should be prevented, by a
confused pronunciation, from  understanding what is read. Let
them distinguish between what is to be read affirmatively, and
what is to be read interrogatively; and carefully note the various
stops and pauses of the discourse; for where they ale neglected,
they disturb the mind, and provoke the contempt of grammarians.
i reader should consult both the heart and the ear."*
Among the more learned of the monastic orders, there were
some who saw  and deplored the corruptions which had taken
place in the copies of the Holy Scriptures, by the carelessness and
incompetency of the transcribers, and attempted to render them
more correct. William, abbot of Hirsauge, in the diocess of Spire,
was one of these enlightened and valuable men. In his monastery
there was a monk of a noble family, who had made unusual progress in sacred literature, of the name of Trheotger: this able
scholar, with another of the same fraternity equally learned, named
Haymon, he employed in correcting the Vulgate version, endeavouring to restore it to its original purity, amending the punctuation,
and forming proper divisions. The revised copy, Trithemius says,
was in his time still preserved in the library of the monastery.
Theotger was the author of a work on music, of brief notes on the
Psalms, and of sermons and epistles.t
The greater part of those studious monks who endeavoured to
increase the general stock of knowledge by their literary productions, either spent their time ill compiling the lives of saints, or
devoted their talents to writing commentaries or glosses on select
portions of the Bible, while but few were found who were willing
to employ themselves in transcribing and multiplying correct copies
of the Scriptures themselves: and even with respect to literary
pursuits in general, there was an astonishing diversity of practice
in the different orders, according to the views of their respective
founders, and the consequent tenor of the rules by which they
were governed; as well as in the different religious houses of the
* Usserii, Hist. Docmat., p. 136.
t Trithemii Chronicon Hirsaugiense, tom. i, pp. 282, 283. Monast. S. Gall., 1690,
folio. Mabillon, Annales, tom. v, p. 277.
1                           19*




ELEVENTH CENTURY.                   291
same order, according to the abilities and dispositions of the favourable or unfavourable abbots, or the leading characters of the several
fraternities. The bequests or donations of certain of the abbots of
the famous monastery of Clugni will sufficiently evince the great
dissimilarity of literary encouragement in the governors of conventual establishments: Hugo, who became abbot A. D. 1199,
and died A. D. 1207, presented several valuable gifts to the monastery, "' especially all his best books, among which was nearly
the whole of a Gloss upon the Old and New Testament." Ivo I.,
the twenty-fifth abbot, who began to govern A. D. 1257, and died
A. D. 1275, bestowed many costly gifts upon the monastery,
among others, " a Missal; the Text of the Gospels; an Epistolarium, covered with silver; a Collectary, and a large book of
Capitulars; also, an Exposition of the Gospels, to be read in the
refectory; and twenty-two books placed in the cloister, fastened
with chains."  Andruinus I., the thirty-fourth abbot, who commenced his government of the abbey A. D. 1351, was afterward
created cardinal, and died A. D. 1360: besides other donations,
he gave as " many books as were estimated at upward of two thousand francs." Lastly, John III., the forty-second abbot, who was
raised to that dignity A. D. 1456, and died A. D. 1485, was not
only princely in other gifts which he presented to his monastery,
but singularly generous in his literary donations, which prove him
to have been an extensive book collector, and a great patron of the
then newly invented art of printing, as well as what the moderns
have designated a bibliomaniac. In the list of the books given by
him to this convent are fifteen volumes on parchment, illuminated
and bound, consisting of Augustine's City of God; Vincent's Historiale Specultum, &c.; twelve other volumes on parchment,
including an Exposition of part of the New Testament, from II.
Corinthians to Hebrews, inclusive; Comestor's HiIstoria  Scho
iastica; Legenda aurea, &c.; all of which were in MS.; eightythree other volumes, on paper, mostly printed, among which were,
De Lyra's Commentary on the Old and New Testament; Turrecremata on the Psalms; S. Thomas Aquinas on Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and John; Mamotrectus, &c.*
Some attempts were however made to render the Scriptures
more generally useful, by translating select parts of them into
some of the vernacular dialects of the continent. Le Long mentions a Psalter or two, still extant, written in the old French or
* Bibliotheca Cluniacensis, pp. 1663, 1664, 1667, 1672, 1681-1684. Lutet. Paris,
1614, fol
1




292                BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Norman dialect of the eleventh century; a translation of the books
of Kings, probabiy made about the year 1080, and one of rather a
later date, of the two books of the Maccabees. The principal
translation of the Psalms into Norman-French, and one of those
referred to by Le Long, is found in a magnificent Polyglott Psalter preserved in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge. It
contains three of the most celebrated versions of the Latin Psalms,
usually called the Gallican, the Roman, and the Hebraic, with a
preface, prayer, and commentary, subjoined to each psalm. The
Gallican Latin version is accompanied with a gloss, or brief commentary; the Roman with an interlineary Normano-Saxon version; and the Hebraic with the Norman-French version. The
whole forms a large folio volume, written on vellum, and richly
illuminated and ornamented with miniatures and historical paintings, by Eadwin, a monk, who is supposed to have flourished in
the reign of Stephen, king of England, about A. D. 1136.*
The following remarks by Dr. Waterland, will elucidate the
nature of these different Latin versions: "There are four kinds of
Latin Psalters, which have passed under the names of Italic,
Roman, Gallican, and Hebraic.  The Italic Latin Psalter is of
the old translation, such as it was before St. Jerome's time. The
Roman Psalter is not very different from the old Italic. It is
nothing else but the old version, cursorily, and in part, corrected
by Jerome, in the time of Pope Damasus, A. D. 383. It has had
the name of Roman, because the use of it began the soonest, and
continued the longest, in the Roman offices. It obtained in Gaul
nearly as soon as at Rome, but was laid aside in the sixth century,
when Gregory of Tours introduced the other Psalter, since called
Gallican. The Gallican Psalter is Jerome's more correct Latin
translation, made from Origen's Hexaplar, or most correct edition
of the Greek Septuagint, filled up where the Greek was supposed
faulty, from the Hebrew; distinguished with obelisks and asterisks,
denoting the common Greek version, in those places, to be either
redundant or deficient. This more correct Psalter was drawn up
by Jerome in the year 389, and obtained first in Gaul, about the
year 580, or however not later than 595; from which circumstance
it came to have the name of Gallican, in contradistinction to the
Roman. From Gaul it passed over into England, before the year
597, and into Germany and Spain, and other countries. The popes
of Rome, though they themselves used the other Psalter, yet patiently connived at the use of this in the Western churches, and
* Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra., vol. i, p. 323, 7. Paris, 1723, fol.
1




ELEVENTH CENTURY.                     293
even in Italy; and sometimes privately authorized the use of it in
churches and monasteries; till, at length, it was publicly authorized
in the council of Trent, and introduced awhile after into Rome
itself, by Pius V. It was admitted into Britain and Ireland before
the coming of Augustine, the monk, and prevailed after, except in
the church of Canterbury, which was more immediately under the
archbishop's eye, and more conformable to the Roman offices, than
other parts of the kingdom. It has been said, (Hodius de Text.
Bibl. Orig., p. 384,) that this very Gallican Psalter is what is still
retained in the Liturgy, called the reading psalms, in contradistinction to the other psalms in our Bibles of the new translation.
But this is not strictly true; for the old translation, though it be
taken in a great measure from the Gallican, has yet many corrections from the Hebrew, (where they were thought wanting,) first
by Coverdale in 1535, and by Coverdale again in 1539, and last
of all by Tonstall and Heath in 1541; according to which edition
is the Psalter now used in the Liturgy. (Durell Eccles. Anglican.
vindic., p. 306.)  The Hebraic Latin Psalter means Jerome's own
translation, immediately from the Hebrew, made in the year 391.
This, though otherwise of great esteem, was never used in the
public church offices."*
In GERMANY, the abbot Willeram was the author of a twofold
paraphrase of the Canticles. The first of which is a rhythmical
Latin one; the other a prose one, in the old Francic or German
dialect.  The best edition of this work is by Schilter, published in
his Thesaurus Antiquitatemn Teutonicarum, tom. i.
WILLERAM was a native of Franconia. His acquaintance with
letters and philosophy was principally obtained in the schools of
Paris, from whence returning into his native country, he was
elected scholasticus of the church of Bamberg. But, notwithstanding his elevation to the ecclesiastical dignity, he continued his
former friendships and habits; till, "at length," says Trithemius,
" being convinced of the transitory nature of the vain glory of this
world, and contemning worldly things for the love of God, he put
on the habit of a monk in the monastery of Fulda; and by increasing in merit, was at last chosen abbot of Mersburg." Besides the
paraphrase on Solomon's Song, he wrote a number of sermons
and epistles. He flourished in the reign of Henry IV., about
A. D. 1080.t
* Waterland on the Athanasian Creed, pp. 112-117. Cam. 1728, 8vo.
t Trithemius in Catal. Viror. Illustr. Germ. See Schilteri Thesaurus, tom. i, in Prefat
Willerami in Cantic., &c.
1




294                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Reimbold, first abbot of Muri, in Helvetia, about A. D. 1027,
not only furnished the abbey with two bells, which he purchased
at Strasburgh; but procured also transcripts of the Bible, hymns,
homilies, and legends; the books of Homer, 2lsop's Moral Apologues, some of Ovid's poems, the Histories of Sallust, and other
valuable works. His monks, treading in his steps, established a
school, where they taught the rudiments of science.*
Montfaucon, in his Diarilum Italicum, or Travels through Italy,
notices several works written or transcribed in the eleventh century,
and deposited in the different libraries of Italy. They chiefly consist of copies of various parts of the Scriptures, of the works of the
fathers, and books of ecclesiastical offices, and lives of the saints.
Some of them have curious inscriptions.  In the duke of Modena's
library is a Psalter most elegantly written, on the front of which
is inscribed in Greek: " This book is deposited in the holy monastery, for the remission of the sins of the monk Theodosius
Xylata; let him who reads it through the Lord, praise him, and
pray for his soul."  In the library of the monastery of Mount Cassino is a MS. containing the lessons for the vigils, to which the
following note is prefixed:-" In the year of the incarnation of our
Lord, 1072, and tenth indiction, at the time when the venerable
Desiderius, the thirty-seventh abbot after the decease of our most
holy and illustrious father Benedict, presided in this venerable
monastery of Mount Cassino, where the bodies of our said holy
father and lawgiver, and of his renowned sister Scholastica, lie
honourably buried; among the other monuments of his great works,
wherein he wonderfully outdid all his predecessors, he also caused
this most beautiful book to be writ, containing the lessons that are
to be read on the vigils or eves of the principal festivals, that is, oI
the nativity of our Lord, St. Stephen, St. John the Evangelist, the
Epiphany, the Resurrection, the Ascension, and Pentecost, which
book, I, brother John of Marsicana, long since archpriest of the
church, but now the meanest servant of that holy place, did cause
to be composed at my own proper charge, for the salvation of me
and mine; and devoutly offered it to the said most holy father
Benedict, on his holy altar, on the day when I took his habit upon
me. Further praying, that if any man shall, on any pretence whatsoever, presume to take it from this holy place, he may have his
eternal mansion with those to whom CHRIST at the last judgment
shall say: Depart from me into everlasting fire, prepared for the
devil and his angels."
* Planta's Hist. of the Helvetic Confederacy, vol. i, ch. iii, p. 142. Lond. 1807, 8vo.
1




ELEVENTH CENTURY.                     295
" But whosoever you are that read these lines, fail not also to
read the distich underneath:"Hujus scriptorem libri, pie Christe, Leonem
In Libro Vitce dignaneter supplico scribe.
"Blest Saviour! in thy Book of Life divine,
May Leo's* favour'd name illustrious shine."
This MS. is accompanied with an historical painting, which
Montfaucon has caused to be engraved, representing John of
Marsicana receiving the monk's cowl from St. Benedict; and Desiderius presenting the volume to the saint.
Another MS., mentioned by the learned author of the DiariuM,
deserves to be noticed as a rare instance of the study of the sacred
writings, in an age of darkness and illiteracy. It is a handsome
volume on vellum; and contains, first, all the quotations and testimonies from the Old Testament that are to be found in the fourteen Epistles of St. Paul; and secondly, all the quotations from
profane and apocryphal writers in those epistles. It is preserved
in the library of the monastery of St. Basil, at Rome.  In the
same library there is also a Latin Bible, curiously written in this
century, on vellum, containing Genesis, to the book of Judges,
with Origen's notes in the margin; but imperfect at the beginning
and end.t
From the tranquil pursuits of the man of letters, and the solemn
stillness of the monastic library, we turn reluctantly to mark the
conduct of an imperious pontiff.  On the elevation of Hildebrand
to the pontificate, in 1073, he assumed the name of GREGORY VII.
The famous Sentences, relating to the supreme authority of the
Roman pontiffs over the universal church and the kingdoms of
the world, said to have been composed by him, and fiom him
termed the Dictates of Hildebrand, sufficiently demonstrate the
fierce impetuosity and boundless ambition of his character. The
twelfth of these dictates affirms, " That it is lawful [for the pope]
to dethrone sovereigns;" the seventeenth impiously declares, " That
no book is to be deemed canonical without his authority;" and the
twenty-seventh haughtily asserts, " That he may absolve the subjects of heretical princes (iniquorunm) from their oath of fidelity."
And although it may be disputed whether Gregory published the
Dictates in their present form, it must be granted that the greatest
part of them are repeated word for word in several places in his
* The transcriber of the book.-ED.
t Montfaucon's Travels through Italy, ch. iii, p. 44; ch. xv, p. 250; ch. xxii, p. 381.
1




296                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Epistles, and that the whole of them are characteristic of that imperious pontiff.*
In 1080, Uratislaus, the king of Bohemia, expressed a wish to
Gregory to have the offices, or prayers of the church, performed
in the SLAVONIAN tongue, at that time the common language of
the north of Europe; but the pontiff forbade it, and haughtily
replied, " I will never consent for service to be performed in the
Slavonian tongue.  It is the will of God that his word should be
}hidden, lest it should be despised if read by every one; and if, in
condescension to the weakness of the people, the contrary has been
permitted, it is a fault which ought to be corrected. The demand
of your subjects is imprudent. I shall oppose it with the authority
of St. Peter; and you ought, for the glory of God, to resist it with
all your power."t A decision very different from that of his predecessor John VIII. about A.D. 880. A request of a similar nature having been made to him, he replied by blessing God that the
Slavonian characters had been invented, thereby enabling every
man to praise the Lord in his own language; and, defending his
conduct by the example of the apostles, remarked, that he apprehended no danger from the use of the public services in the
vernacular dialect, provided that they read the Gospel in Latin
first, and then interpreted it to the people, according to the practice
of some other churches.  A different policy from that of Gregory
was also pursued by Innocent III. in 1215; for, in the council of
Lateran, held in that year, it was ordained, that if persons of different nations, speaking different languages, dwelt in the same
city, the bishop of the diocess should provide ministers for them,
capable of performing service in their respective tongues.t
But " what judgment," inquires a Catholic historian, "shall we
form of the crusades, which were more extravagant in their
origin, more contagious in their progress, more destructive in their
consequences, than all the follies which had hitherto infuriated or
depressed the human race, and which, toward the close of this
century, took forcible possession of the minds of the Western
world."~ Their object was the recovery of Jerusalem out of the
hands of the infidels.  "The scheme originated," observes the
same intelligent writer, "in the cultivated mind of Gerbert, in the
* Usserii, Gravissimae Questionis, &c., ch. v, p. 124. Lond. 1613, 4to. Mosheim's
Eccles. Hist., vol. ii, p. 492, note.
t Basnage, Hist. de l'Eglise, tom. ii, p. 1575. Rotterdam, 1699, fol.
T Basnage, ut sup.
~ Berrington's Literary History of the Middle Ages, b. iv, p. 266.
1




ELEVENTH CENTURY.                   297
first year of his pontificate; was nourished by Hildebrand; and
carried into execution by the activity of Urban II., and the eloquence of Peter the Hermit. The first army marched in 1096,
and in 1099 Jerusalem was taken."
The state of letters was necessarily affected by these wars.
They occasioned dissipation in the minds of all men, whether civil
or ecclesiastical, and a " new temper was generated, by which all
sedentary occupations were suspended, and a mark of reproach
fixed upon every undertaking which did not tend to, or was not
connected with, the peculiar military mania of the times. Schools
and convents felt the general contagion; if a few employed the
remonstrances of wisdom, they were unheeded or despised. At
the call of their prince, Duke Robert, the pupils of Bea deserted
their masters; and no eloquence gained hearers but that of the
hermit, or of popular declaimers on the same subject." Ignorance
and barbarism marked the progress of the crusaders, and literature
in every form was the object of indifference or contempt. In the
summer of 1203 they appeared before Constantinople; and spent
the following winter in the suburb of Galata. The city was taken
by storm, and suffered all the horrors of pillage and devastation.
"In order to insult the fallen city, the manners, the dress, the
customs of the Greeks were exposed to ridicule or scorn in ludicrous exhibitions; and pens, ink-stands, and paper were displayed
in the streets, as the ignoble arms or contemptible instruments of
a race of students and of scribes."*  What was the fate of some,
or many, of the Byzantine libraries, is not related. "Paper or
parchment held out no temptation to avarice; and the pilgrims,
feeling no predilection for science, particularly when locked up in
an unknown tongue, would not be solicitous to seize or purloin the
works of the learned; but we cannot doubt that many perished in
the three fires which raged in the city; and some writings of
antiquity, which are known to have existed in the twelfth century,
are now lost."t
The effects of these Holy Wars, as they were called, became
visible in a variety of forms, and the crusades may be regarded as
the date when chivalry assumed a systematic appearance; knighthood was invested with extraordinary splendours; and the science
of heraldry may be traced to Palestine. New institutions arose to
promote chivalry, at the expense of reason and propriety, and the
lay orders were expected to produce prodigies, in uniting with the
* Berrington, App. I., pp. 601, 602.  t Ibid., p. 606.




298                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
exercise of war the practice of religious duties. In every country
in Europe the Christian knight drew his sword during the celebration of mass, and held it out naked, in testimony of his readiness
to defend the faith of Christ.*
CHAPTER X.
TWELFTH CENTURY.
Waldenses-Gallican Clergy-Singular Customs-Cistercian MonksLambert of Liege-Petrus de Patis-Petrus de Riga-MlSfatthacus-Joannes
Burgundio-Peter Comestor-N-uns of the Paraclete-Sanson de Nanteuil
-Romance-Legenda Aurea —England-English MS. Versions-Adrian
IV.-Profligacy of Monks and Clergy-Religious Dramas-Biblical MSS.
-Arabic Scholars-Learned Jews.
THE circumstances under which the TWELFTH century commenced were most inauspicious. Chivalrous superstitions and
dissolute manners prevented the extensive circulation of the sacred
writings, and checked the progress of Scriptural translations. The
facts presented to the Biblical scholar are frequently unimportant
and uninteresting, except in the instance of the Waldenses, who
stood forward as the friends of Scriptural investigation and vernacular translations, amid sanguinary persecutions and unmerited
calumnies.
The WALDENSES, called also Vaudois, or Vallenses, obtained
their name from inhabiting the valleys of Piedmont, particularly
those of Lucerne and Angrogne. Sometimes they were denominated Leonists, or the poor men of Lyons, from the city of that
name; and at other times the Sabatati, or Insabatati, from the
wooden shoes which they wore, and which, in the French language, are termed sabots. From the occupation followed by great
numbers of them, the whole sect, in certain places, was called the
Sect of Weavers.
They were properly the descendants of the Cathari, or Puritans.
who arose in the church some centuries earlier than the time of
PETER VALDO, or WALDO, to whom, by a mistake originating in
the similarity of names, the rise of this sect has usually been attributed.  But, though he was not the founder of the Waldensian
churches, he became one of their most considerable friends and
* Introd. to the Literary History of the 14th and 15th Centuries, p. 169. Knox's
Liberal Education, vol. ii, p. 280, tnote.
1




TWELFTH CENTURY.                      299
benefactors; and, by his writings, his preachings, and his sufferings, defended their cause and extended their influence. He was
an opulent merchant, and citizen of Lyons.  About the year 1160
a providential event gave the first occasion to his concern for
religion. Being assembled with some of his friends, and after
supper conversing and refreshing himself among them, one of the
company fell down dead on the ground, to the amazement of all
that were present.  From that moment Waldo became a serious
inquirer after divine truth, and soon after abandoned his mercantile
occupation, distributed his wealth to the poor, and became the
teacher of the multitudes who flocked to receive his bounty or
hear his instructions. By the study of the Scriptures his mind
was enlightened, he saw and strenuously opposed many of the
errors of the Church of Rome.*  With the design, therefore, of
more effectually promoting religious knowledge, he made or procured a translation of the four Gospels, and probably of other parts
of the sacred writings, into French. Stephen de Borbone, who
died in 1261, says that Waldo, not being sufficiently learned for
the work, employed and paid Stephen de Ansa, or Ernsa, an ecclesiastic, and a noted grammarian, with another priest named
Bernard Ydros, both of Lyons, to execute the translation, in
which De Ansa dictated while Ydros wrote; and that they were
engaged also in the translation of other religious works. Stephen
de Ansa was afterward beneficed in the cathedral of Lyons, and
died by a fall from a solarium or chamber which he had erected.
Reinerius, however, an opponent of the Waldenses, who lived in
1250, says, that "being somewhat learned, he taught the people
the text of the New Testament, for which he was reproved by the
bishop:" and Matthias Illyricus, one of the Magdeburgh centuriators, or writers of the famous Ecclesiastical History, printed at
Basil in the sixteenth century, observes, " He was himself a man
of learning, as I understand from old parchments, nor was he
obliged to employ others to translate for him, as some enemies of
the truth have falsely affirmed."t
It is probably impossible to ascertain with correctness what
portions of the sacred Scriptures were at this time translated into
* Milner's History of the Church of Christ, vol. iii, pp. 437-439. Usserii, Hist.
Dogmat., pp. 145, 146. Du Cange, Glossarium, Lat. v. Sabatati. Mosheim's Eccl.
Hist., vol. iii, pp. 120-127.
t Usserii, Hist. Dogmat., pp. 146, 147. Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom. i, pp.
313, 314. Paris, 1723, folio. Usser., De Christ. Ecc. Success. et Statu, cap. viii,
p. 217.
1




300                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
French. Thuanus and Massonus say, "He caused the writings
of the prophets and apostles to be translated into the popular language, or French." Walter Mapes, who was chaplain to our
Henry II., informs us, that during the council of Lateran, held in
1179, the Waldenses presented to Pope Alexander JII. " a book
containing the text of the Psalms, with a gloss; and the greater
part of the books of both Laws," that is, of the Mosaic Law and the
Gospel. It was alleged against them as a crime that they affirmed,
"that when a preacher advanced any doctrine which he did not
prove from the Old and New Testaments, such preaching ought to
be regarded as false;" and according to Gretser, Reinerius assigns
"the translation of the Old and New Testaments into the vulgar
tongue," as one cause of the rapid increase of these early reformers.*  But whether Waldo himself entirely performed the work,
or encouraged others to do it, or, what is most probable, executed
it himself with the assistance of others, it is certain that the Christian world in the WVest were indebted to him for the first translation
of a great part, if not of the whole, of the sacred volume into
French.
Besides the French translation of the Scriptures, executed more
immediately for the disciples of Waldo, who had retired into Dauphiny, there appears to have been a translation into Waldensian,
for the use of those who inhabited the valleys of Piedmont. Leger,
who was one of their pastors for several years in the seventeenth
century, says, that although, prior to his time, they had possessed
a translation of the New Testament for several centuries, they had
not a translation of the whole of the Old Testament, but only of
certain parts of it, as Genesis, the Psalms, Proverbs, and Job.t
In 165S, a number of MSS. and other pieces, collected by Sir Samuel Morland, during the time that he resided in Geneva, for the
purpose of dispensing the bounty of the British nation to the poor
persecuted Waldenses, were presented by him to the public library
of the University of Cambridge. These papers consist altogether
of twenty-one volumes, numbered A, B, C, &c. " In the volume
F, are collected, and written on parchment, in that which is called
the Waldensian language, of a very ancient, but fair and distinct
character, the Gospel of Matthew, the first chapter of Luke, the
Gospel of John, the Acts, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians,
Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Timothy, Titus, the eleventh
* Usser., De Christ. Ecc. Success. et Statu, cap. viii, pp. 220, 234, 235. Usserii,
Hist. Dogmat., ut sup.
t Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom. i, p. 368. Paris, 1723, fol.
1




TANELFTH CENTURY.                    301
chapter of the Hebrews, with 1 and 2 Peter, the two last imper
fect."*
Le Long mentions a copy of the New Testament, in the Waldensian dialect, written by one of the Waldensian barbs or pastors,
preserved in the library of the city of Zurich. It is on parchment,
in 12mo., and is supposed to have been written after A. D. 11 00.
The poverty of the Waldenses, and the great expense of transcription, prevented the copies of the Scriptures being numerous
among them; but this deficiency was amply compensated by the
diligent perusal of those they possessed, and the extraordinary attention paid to them when publicly read. Reinerius, who was a
Roman Catholic writer, and an inquisitor, acknowledges that he
saw and heard a peasant recite the book of Job by heart; and that
there were others among them who could perfectly repeat the
whole New  Testament.t  In a book concerning their Barbs or
pastors, we have this account of their vocation: " All who are to
be ordained as pastors among us, while they are yet at home, entreat us to receive them into the ministry, and desire that we would
pray to God, that they may be rendered capable of so great a
charge.  They are to learn by heart all the chapters of St. Matthew and St. John, all the canonical Epistles, and a good part of
the writings of Solomon, David, and the Prophets. Afterward,
having exhibited proper testimonials of their learning and conversation, they are admitted as pastors by the imposition of hands."~
The way in which these excellent men disseminated their sentiments, during the dreadful persecutions which raged against them,
will be interestingly explained by the following extracts. The first
is from Reinerius, who wrote against the Waldenses, in the thirteenth century.  In his book Contra-Waidenses, cap. viii, Quomodo se ingerantfamiliaritati magnorum, he says, that it was the
practice of some of the Waldensian teachers, the more readily to
gain access to persons of rank, to carry with them a small box of
trinkets, or articles of dress; and to introduce themselves by offering their articles to sale: "Sir, will you please to buy any rings, or
seals, or trinkets? Madam, will you look at any handkerchiefs, or
pieces of needlework for veils? I can afford them cheap." If, after
" Morland's Hist. of the Churches of Piedmont, p. 98, cited in Anderson's Memorial on behalf of the native Irish, App., p. 79.
t Le Long, Bibliotheca Sacra, tom. i, p. 369.
t Reineri Liber contra Waldenses, cap. iii, vide Biblioth. Vet. Pat., tom. xiii, p.
299. Colon. Agrip. 1618, fol.
~ Milner, vol. iii, p. 461.
1




302                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
a purchase, the company ask, " Have you any thing more?" thle
salesman would reply, " 0 yes, I have commodities far more valuable than these, and I will make you a present of them, if you will
protect mc from the clergy." Security being promised, on he
would go. "' The inestimable jewel I spoke of is the Word of
God, by which he communicates his mind to men, and which inflames their hearts with love to him.'In the sixth month the
angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth:' " and so he would proceed to repeat the remaining part of
the first chapter of Luke.*  Or he tvould begin with the thirteenth
of John, and repeat the last discourse of Jesus to his disciples. If
the company should seem pleased, he would proceed to repeat the
twenty-third of Matthew: " The scribes and Pharisees sit in AMoses' seat-Wo unto you, ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against
men; for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them  that
are entering to go in. MWo unto you, ye devour widows' houses."
" And pray," should one of the company say, " against whom are
these woes denounced, think you?" -he wvould reply, " Against the
clergy and the monks.  The doctors of the Roman Church are
pompous, both in their habits and their manners, they'love the
uppermost rooms, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and to be
called Rabbi, Rabbi.' For our parts we desire no such rabbies.
They are incontinent; we live each in chastity with his own wife.
They are the rich and avaricious, of whom the Lord says,' Wo
unto you, ye rich, for ye have received your consolation;' but we,'having food and raiment, are therewith content.' They are voluptuous, and'devour widows' houses;' we only eat to be refreshed
and supported.  They fight and encourage wars, and command the
poor to be killed and burnt, in defiance of the saying,' He that
taketh the sword, shall perish by the sword.' For our parts, they
persecute us for righteousness' sake. They do nothing but eat the
bread of idleness: we work with our hands.  They monopolize
the giving of instruction, and wo be to them that take away the
key of knowledge. But among us, women teach as well as men,
and one disciple, as soon as he is informed himself, teaches
another.  Among them you can hardly find a doctor who can repeat three chapters of the New Testament by heart; but of us,
there is scarcely a man or woman who doth not retain the whole.
And because we are sincere believers in Christ, and all teach and
The reader should keep in mind, that at this time the use of the Bible was not allowed to the laity; and that vernacular translations especially were discountenanced,
and copies of the Scriptures, which were all MSS., rare and expensive.
1




TWELFTH CENTURY.                      303
enforce a holy life and conversation, these scribes and Pharisees
persecute us to death, as their predecessors did Jesus Christ."*
The second extract is from the examination of Peironetta, a
widow, before Anthony Fabri, the inquisitor general of Dauphiny,
in 1494. To the first interrogatory she answered nothing: to the
second, she said and confessed, " That about twenty-five years
ago, or thereabouts; there came to the house of Peter Fornerilus,
her husband, two strangers in gray clothes, who, as it seemed to
her, spake Italian, or the dialect of Lombardy, whom her husband
received into his house, for the love of God. That while they
were there, at night after supper, one of them began to read a
godly book, which he carried about with him, saying, that therein
were contained the Gospels, and other precepts of the Law; —and
that he would explain and preach the same in the presence of all
who were present; GoD having sent him to go up and down the
world like the apostles, to reform the Catholic faith, and to preach
to the good and simple, showing them how to worship God, and
keep his commandments."t
The following curious passage from  a MS. chronicle of the
abbey of Corvey, supposed to have been written about the beginning of the twelfth century, is singularly descriptive of the character
of these reformers, and of the mode of disseminating the knowledge of the Scriptures by the Waldensian laity, and of the extensive spread of their doctrines:" Religionenz nostram, &c."t " Laymen from Suabia, Switzerland, and Bavaria, have been wishful to render our religion and the
faith of all the Christians of the Latin Church contemptible;-men
seduced from the ancient race of simple men who inhabit the Alps
and their vicinity, and are always attached to what is ancient.
Merchants of this description from  Switzerland frequently enter
Suabia, Bavaria, and the north of Italy, who commit the Bible to
Ymemory, and despise the rites of the church, which they hold to be
novel. They forbid the worship of images, and condemn the relics
of the saints; they live upon herbs, and seldom or never eat flesh.
We therefore call them  Manichees.  There are also others who
meet them from Hungary," &c.
The general habits of this interesting people are also well de* Biblioth. Vet. Pat., tom. xiii, p. 307. Colon. Agrip. 1618. Jones' Hist. of the
WValaenses, pp. 390, 391.
t Allix's Remarks upon the Ancient Church of Piedmont, pp. 319, 322.
t Planta's Hist. of the Helvetic Confederacy, vol. i, b, i, ch. iv, pp. 179, 180.
London, 1807, 8vo.
1




304                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
scribed by that great historian Thuanus, or De Thou, an enemy
indeed to the Waldenses, though a fair and candid one. He is
describing one of the valleys inhabited by them in Dauphiny,
which is called the stony valley.  " Their clothing," he says, "is
of the skins of sheep; they have no linen. They inhabit seven
villages; their houses are constructed of flint-stone, with a flat
roof, covered with mud, which being spoiled or loosened by rain,
they smooth again with a roller. In these they live with their
cattle, separated from them, however, by a fence; they have besides two caves set apart for particular purposes, in one of which
they conceal their cattle, in the other themselves, when hunted by
their enemies. They live on milk and venison, being by constant
practice excellent marksmen. Poor as they are, they are content,
and live separate from the rest of mankind. One thing is astonishing, that persons externally so savage and rude should have so
much moral cultivation. They can all read and write. They
understand French, so far as is needful for the understanding of
the Bible, and the singing of psalms. You can scarce find a boy
among them who cannot give you an intelligible account of the
faith which they profess; in this, indeed, they resemble their brethren of the other valleys: they pay tribute with a good conscience,
and the obligation of this duty is peculiarly noted in the confession
of their faith. If by reason of the civil wars they are prevented
from doing this, they carefully set apart the sum, and at the first
opportunity pay it to the king's tax-gatherers."
From the account of Thuanus, it appears that WALDO fled into
Germany, and at last settled in Bohemia, where he ended his days
in the year 1179, or before that time.*
The practices of the Gallican clergy of the middle ages present
the most perfect contrast to the plain and modest manners of the
Waldenses. On many occasions they assumed the military habit,
and even officiated in it during the solemn services of the church;
and at other times exhibited the most disgraceful attachment to
the rude sports of the field. A custom equally indecorous prevailed in England from the early part of the reign of Edward I.
till the time of Elizabeth. This was a most singular offering of a
fat doe in winter and a buck in summer, made at the high altar of
St. Paul's church in London, by Sir William de Baude and his
family, and then to be distributed among the canons resident, in
lieu of twenty-two acres of land in Essex, formerly belonging to
the canons of this church. Weever, in his "Funerall Monu* Milner's Hist. of the Church of Christ, vol. iii, p. 455.
1




TWELFTH CENTURY.                    305
ments," has thus described it: "On the feast day of the commemoration of St. Paul, the bucke being brought up to the steps of
the high altar in Paul's church at the hour of procession, the deane
and chapter being apparelled in coapes and vestments, with garlands of roses on their heads, they sent the body of the bucke to
baking, and had the head fixed on a pole, borne before the crosse
in their procession, untill they issued out of the west dore; where
the keeper that brought it blowed the death of the bucke, and then
the horners that were about the citie presently answered him in
like manner. For the which paines they had, each man, of the
deane and chapter, foure pence in money, and their dinner; and
the keeper that brought it was allowed during his abode there, for
that service, meate, drinke, and lodging, at the deane and chapter's
charges, and five shillings in money, at his going, together with a
loafe of bread, having the picture of St. Paul upon it. There was
belonging to the church of St. Paul, for both the daies, two especiall sutes of vestments, the one embroidered with buckes, the
other with does, both given by the said Bauds.'"*
In this age of persecution and profligacy, the monasteries were
the principal asylums of sacred literature. The writings of former
ages were kept with religious care in several of the monastic libraries; and even where the general interests of science were neglected, the monks continued the employment of transcription: and
it deserves to be recorded to the honour of Manegold, the seventeenth abbot of Hirsauge, about A. D. 1157, that, while he was in
an inferior station as conductor of the singers, and keeper of the
library, he caused sixty valuable volumes to be written upon parchment, for the use of the fraternity to which he belonged.t
The Cistercian monks allotted several hours in the day to manual
labour, copying books, or sacred studies. Stephen Harding, an
Englishman of an honourable and wealthy family, received his
education in the monastery of Sherborn, in Dorsetshire, and there
laid a very solid foundation of literature and sincere piety. He
travelled into Scotland. and from thence to Paris and Rome. In
1098, he, with twenty companions, retired to Citeaux, a marshy
wilderness, five leagues from Dijon, where they founded the Cistercian order. In 1109 he was chosen the third abbot of Citeaux,
and, with the assistance of his monks, wrote during the same year
a very correct copy of the Latin Bible for the use of the monastery.
For this great work, which was equally creditable to his piety and
* Weever's Ancient Funerall Monuments, p. 603. London, 1631, folio.
t Trithemii Chronicon Hirsaugense, tom. i, p. 437.
VOL. 1.-20




306                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
his learning, he collated a number of MSS., and consulted many
learned Jews on the Hebrew text of difficult passages, and in particular on the books of Kings, in which he found the errors were
most numerous.  This most valuable MS. copy of the Bible is
preserved at Citeaux, in four volumes in folio, written on vellum.*
He died March 28th, 1134.
Clairvaux was one of the dependencies of Citeaux. It was
founded in 1115. Bernard, the son of a military nobleman, was
its first abbot. He was born at Fontaines, a castle in Burgundy,
and a lordship belonging to his father. From his infancy he was
devoted to religion and study, and made a rapid proficiency in the
learning of the times. He early formed a resolution to retire from
the world, and engaged all his brothers, and several of his friends,
in the same monastic views with himself.  He became a Cistercian, the strictest of the orders in France, and entered the monastery of Citeaux.  In this humble retirement, "I meditated," said
he, " on the word of God, and the fields and forests taught me its
secret meaning: the oaks and the beeches were my masters."
He read the Scriptures without a comment, "for their own words,"
he observes, "explain their meaning best; and in those words may
be found the real force of the truths which they convey." After
two years this extraordinary youth was translated, with the jurisdiction of an abbot, to the new establishment at Clairvaux, a barren
and neglected spot, the retreat of thieves, and, from  its state of
desolation, called the Vale of Wormwood. To encourage learning,
Bernard was careful to furnish all the monasteries subject to him
with good libraries; and several beautifully illuminated MSS.,
written in his time, are still shown at Clairvaux.  In defending
what he considered to be the truth, he had to contend with the
noted Peter Abelard, whose base seduction and subsequent treatment of Eloisa have justly branded his name with infamy. By an
abuse of the scholastic divinity, and the elation of applause and
self-confidence, Abelard was led to adopt sentiments approaching
to the Socinianism of more modern times. These opinions were
successfully combated by Bernard; and G-aufredus, one of the
writers of Bernard's life, thus expresses his gratitude: "Blessed
be God, who gave to us a better master, by whom he confuted the
ignorance of the former, and quashed his arrogance; by whom
Christ exhibited to us three special objects in his sufferings,-an
example of virtue, an incentive of love, and a sacrifice of redemp* Butler's Lives, vol. iv, Ap. 17, p. 167. Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom. i, p.
239, Paris, 1723.
1                        20*




TWELFTH CENTURY.                        307
tion."  His works which he has left behind him  are various as
they are numerous, and comprised under the principal heads of
sermons, epistles, and moral treatises. He has acquired the appellation of the mellifluous doctor.  His writings are pervaded by
devotional fervour; and the facility with which, in almost every
period, he introduces the words of Scripture, is really admirable,
and their application is seldom forced or unappropriate. In the
beginning of the year 1153 he fell into a decay, which on the 20th
of August terminated his life. He was buried at Clairvaux.*
LAMBERT of Liege, a canon regular of St. Christopher, who
died about the year 1177, is said to have translated the Acts of
the Apostles into the Romance, or vulgar French dialect.t
PETRUS, or PIERRE DE PATIS, a Frenchman, who flourished
A. D. 1200, was the author of a French paraphrastical version of
the Psalms. The following specimen of it, from a copy in the
royal library at Paris, written by a scribe called Linardin, is curious, and suggests the idea that the mode of glossing or commenting, in his day, was by appending the gloss or comment to
the preceding sentence.
" Beneure est cel home qui ne nala pas en le conseil des felons,
et ne se aresta pas en la vole des pecheors, comefist Adam quand
ii mangea la poume."
" Blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of felons,T
nor standeth in the way of sinners, as Adam did when he ate the
apple."~
PETRUS DE RIGA, canon of Rheims, who flourished under the
emperor Frederick I., was the author of a work entitled AURORA,
or the History of the Bible alleg'orized, in Latin verses, some of
which are in rhyme. The books of the sacred volume which he
turned into verse were, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Kings, the Song of Solomon, Daniel, Job, Esther, the four Gospels, and the Acts of the
Apostles; besides the apocryphal books of Tobit, Judith, and
Maccabees.  His version of Esther, in hexameter and pentameter
verses, was published at Frankfort, in 1624, by Gasper Barthius,
* Butler's Lives, vol. viii, Aug. 20. Milner, vol. iii, cent. 12. Berrington's Literary Hist. of the Middle Ages, pp. 278-284.
t Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom. i, p. 324, et Index Auctor. Paris, 1723.
t The propriety of using this term in reference to Adam is evident from its etymology; for, according to Spelman, it is derived from the Teutonic FEE, which signifies
fief, and LON, which signifies price or value, so that felony was the act by which a
vassal forfeited his estate to his lord. Spelmanni Glossar.
O Le Iong. Biblioth. Sacra, tom. i. p. 323. Paris, 1723.
1




308                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
in his Adversaria., lib. 31, cap. 15, in folio.  He also wrote Speculum  Ecclesice, and other pieces in Latin poetry.*  He died
A. D. 1209.
About the same time MATTHAUS, a presbyter of Vendasme, paraphrased the book of Tobit into Latin elegiacs from the Latin Bible
of Jerome, under the title of the Tobiad, sometimes called the
Thebaid, first printed among the Octo Mlgorales.  Wartont says
he flourished in 1170; but Sixtus Senensisl places him in the
year 1400.
JOANNES BURGUNDIO was another of the learned men of this
period, whose Biblical labours entitle him to notice. He was a
citizen of Pisa, where he sustained a high judicial office, under the
emperor Frederick I., surnamed Barbarossa.  As a scholar, he
was eminently skilled in the literature of Greece and Rome; and
attended a council at Rome in 1163, carrying with him a translation from the Greek into Latin of the Gospel of St. John made by
himself; he also acknowledged that he had translated the greater
part of the book of Genesis. Iie died A. D. 11 94.~
But besides these translations, which seem to have originated in
a desire for the dissemination of truth, there were others produced
by the chivalrous spirit which had been excited by the crusades.
The books of Kings, the Maccabees, and other historical books,
were translated into the vulgar French, under the title of Plusieurs
Battailes des Roys d'Israel en contre les Philistie??s et Assyriens,,4c., and other similar ones.  Unfortunately, however, they were
deeply tinctured with the deplorable superstition and barbarity of
the age; and the translators made no scruple of embellishing their
writings by the insertion of legendary tales and fabulous exploits
Some of these interpolated versions were composed in rhyme, to
render them popular, and easy to be sung. Il Leontius, or Leonine,
a French monk of St. Victor, at Marseilles, about the year 1135,
wrote a Latin heroic poem in twelve books, containing the " History of the Bible, from  the creation of the world, to the story of
Ruth." He was the most popular, and almost only Latin poet of
his time in France. Leonine verses, which are probably the Roman hexameters, or pentameters rhymed, but which are sometimes
* Sixt. Senensis, Biblioth. Sanct., lib. iv. Warton's Hist. of Eng. Poetry, vol. ii,
p. 167, note. Le Long, vol. ii, p. 929.
t Warton's Hist. of Eng. Poetry, vol. ii, p. 168.
t Sixt. Senens. Biblioth. Sanct., lib. iv, p. 345.
~ Le Long, Bibliotheca Sacra, tom. i, p. 309, et Index Auctor.
II Warton's Hist. of Eng. Poetry, vol. ii,. p. 107.
1




TWELFTH CENTURY.                    309
ased as a term for Latin rhymes in general, are said to have obtained their name from having been invented, and first used by
him; though some contend that Pope Leo II., a great reformer of
the chants and hymns of the church, invented this sort of verse,
about the year 680.*
One of the most celebrated works of this period was the Scholastica Historia of Peter Comestor, compiled about the year 1175,
at Paris. It was a sort of Latin breviary of the historical parts of
the Old and New Testaments, and Apocrypha, accompanied with
elaborate expositions from Josephus, and many pagan writers; and
so popular as not only to be taught in schools, but even to be publicly read in the churches.
Of this very singular and once popular work, the reader may
form some idea, by the following translation, from an early printed
copy of the work in my possession, of the prefatory epistle, and
version or gloss of Gen. iii, 1-6.
PREFATORY EPISTLE.
"To the reverend father and his lord William, by the grace of
God, archbishop of Siena, Peter, a servant of Christ, and presbyter of Troyes, prayeth a good life and happy death.
" I have been induced to undertake this work by the earnest entreaties of my brethren, who, being engaged in reading the history
of sacred Scripture in regular order, found it was made diffuse by
numerous glosses, and that it needed considerable enlargement
and explanation; and therefore urged me to compose a work to
which they might have recourse for coming at the truth of the history. In doing this, my intention has been so to direct my pen. as
not to leave the writings of the fathers, although novelty is pleasing
and delights the ear.  So beginning with the cosmography of
Moses, I have continued a small rivulet of history to the ascension of the Saviour, leaving the ocean of my stories to more skilful
hands, who may follow the usefuil and ancient, and invent new
ones. Also, from the histories of heathen writers, I have inserted
some things which fell in with the order of the times, thus making
my work like a stream, which, while it fills the creeks that it finds
in its course, at the same time continues to flow on. But as rough
style needs a polish, I have reserved that business for you, that, if
God will, this work may derive splendour from your correction, and
perpetuity from your approbation. In all things blessed be God!"
+ Warton's Hist. of Eng. Poetry, vol. i, diss. 2.




310                 BIBLIC AL LITERATURE,
VERSION OR GLoss OF GEN. III, 1, &C.
"The serpent was more subtle than all terrestrial animals, both
naturally and incidentally. Incidentally, because it was full of the
devil. For Lucifer, being banished the paradise of spirits, envied
man who was in the paradise bodies, of knowing that, if he should
make him commit transgression, he also would be banished. But
fearing to be detected by the man, he tried the woman, who was
both less prudent, and more easy to be moved to sin. And this he
did by means of the serpent; for then it was erect like man, being
afterward made prostrate by the curse; and it is said the Phareas
walks erect even to this day. He chose also, says Bede, a certain
kind of serpent, having a face resembling a virgin's, because like
things delight in their like, and moved its tongue to speak, the
serpent at that time knowing nothing of it, in the same way as he
speaks by the mouth of fanatics and those who are possessed without their knowledge.  And he said,'Why hath God commanded
you not to eat of every tree of paradise, to eat of the trees, but not
of every tree?' He put this question that from the reply to it he
might find occasion to say what he had come for: and so it happened. For, when the woman, as if in doubt, made answer:'Lest peradventure we die;' because a person in doubt is easily
moved any way, he, without taking any notice of the command,
says,'You will certainly not die; nay, but because he is unwilling
that you should resemble him in knowledge, and knows that when
you shall have eaten of this tree, you will be as gods, knowing
good and evil, he hath, as it were through envy, forbidden you.'
And the woman being lifted up and wishful to become like God,
consented."*
GUIARS DES MOULINS, a canon of Aire, translated it into French,
in 1291; and about the year 1271 it was translated into German
rhymes. Vossius says that the original was abridged by Gualter
Hunte, an English Carmelite friar, about the year 1460. There
are numerous and very sumptuous manuscripts of this work in the
British Museum. One of them, with exquisite paintings, was ordered to be written by Edward IV. at Bruges, A. D. 1470. Another
was written in 1382.  R. Simon says, that the French version of
the Scriptures, ascribed to Guiars des Moulins, is no other than
the translation of Comestor's Historia Scholastica, though it ap* Comestoris Scholastica Historia, Proleg. Epist. et Gen., cap. xxi. Basil, 1486, fol
For the translation I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. Jonathan Crowther junr.1
master of the Classical Academy, Frodsham, Cheshire.
1




TWELFTH CENTURY.                     311
pears without the glosses or interpolations.  In proof of this fact,
he quotes the following passages from the preface of a MS. copy
in the royal library at Paris:-" Because the devil every day
molests, disturbs, and pollutes the heart of men, by idleness and a
thousand snares, which he lays to entrap our hearts; never ceasing his endeavours to entice us to sin, that he may thereby draw
us into hell with him, it is the business of our clergy, and priests
of holy church, after their orisons, to employ themselves in doing
some good work. And because the devil has many times drawn
me into sin by idleness, that he may no more find me unemployed
in good works, I that am priest and canon of St. Peter's of Aire,
in the bishopric of Therovenne, by name Guiars des Moulins,
called, first of all to the praise of God, the Virgin Mary, and all the
saints; and next, to the profit of all those whom this book shall
reach; wherein (at the request of a special friend, who much desired the profit of my soul) I have translated the historical books
of the Bible. I desire all that shall read these translations, if they
find any fault therein, to take for excuse what I here protest,
viz., that I have not taken away, nor added any thing besides the
pure verity as I have found it in the Latin Bible, and the scholastical
histories; and those that will search may see that I have followed
the pure verity in these translations, word for word, as I found it
in the Latin.  I began these translations in the year of grace
1291, and finished them in the year 1294, in the month of February."
After the preface Des Moulins places a catalogue of the books of
the Bible, professing to follow the order of the Historia Scholastica, by Peter Comestor, whom  he calls master in history.  As
the Old Testament was not entire in Comestor's epitome, so he
had only a Harmony or Agreement of the Gospels, which Des
Moulins translated, commencing with the words Chi commenchent
les Evangilles en lc maniere que ii maistries en t raite en Hystoires:
" Here begin the Gospels after the manner adopted by masters in
history." The Acts of the Apostles are placed next after this Harmony; and St. Paul's Epistles supply the third place; the other
Epistles follow, Jude being placed the last.* The Historia Scholastica was first printed at Augsburg, in 1473, fol., by Gunth.
Zainer. The French translation was first published without date
or place, in two tomes, with old wood cuts, about A. D. 1487.
The glosses and legendary tales rendered Comestor's work so
pleasing to the major part of the readers, that father Simon says,
* Warton's Hist. of Eng. Poetry, vol. ii, pp. 107, 108. Simhnon's Critical Hist. of
the Versions of N. Test., pt. ii, ch. xxviii.
1




312                     BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
"The study of the Holy Scriptures was neglected, because the
Scholastical History was preferred to versions of the Bible;" and
even so late as the sixteenth century it continued to be prejudicial
in its influence, for in 1545 a French version of the whole Bible
was printed, which the same writer assures us was only a revision
of Des Moulins' translation of the Historia Scholastica.*
PETER, surnamed COMESTOR, or the Devourer, from  the avidity
with which he read or devoured the Scriptures, was a Frenchman,
born at Troyes. He became a priest in his native city, from
whence he removed to Paris, where his extraordinary talents and
learning were so fully appreciated, that he was elected chancellor
of the university.  Wearied with the anxieties of his official situation, he at length withdrew from public life, to spend his days in
retirement as a canon regular of St. Victor, in the suburbs of
Paris.   He died in 1198.  The following curious epitaph was
made on him: —
" Petrus eram, quem petra tegit dictusque Comestot
Nunc Comedor. Vivus docui, nec cesso docere
Mortuus; ut dicat, qui me videt incineratum:
Quod sumus iste fuit, erimus quandoque quod hic est."t
" I who was once called Peter, (that is, a stone,) am now covered by a stone,
(petra): and I who was once surnamed Comestor, (that is, Devourer,) am now
devoured. I taught when alive, nor do I cease to teach, though dead. For he
who beholds me reduced to ashes may say,' This man was once what we are.
now, and what he is now we soon shall be.'"
Among the Biblical students of this age, it is a curious fact that
the nuns of the Paraclete appear pre-eminent.  This convent was
erected in the forest of Nogent by Abelard, and placed under the
care of the unfortunate and deserted Eloisa, whose history demonstrably proves, that the villain who can basely betray the confidence of unsuspicious innocence will not be reluctant to desert
and treat with unfeeling indifference the wretched victim of his
brutal passions; and that the unfortunate female who deviates
from the path of virtue exposes herself to the pang of keen remorse, and the cold neglect of him  whose faithless vows induced
the irretrievable violation of her honour, and plunged her into crime
and disgrace.  The nuns of the Paraclete, with Eloisa at their
head, studied the Latin, and Greek, and Hebrew tongues, applied
them to the acquirement of a more accurate knowledge of the
* Simon, Hist. Crit. du V. T., liv. iii, cap. xi, et Hist. des Vers., pt. ii, cap. xxviii
t Cavei, Hist. Litteraria, sawc. 12, p. 682. Bibliog. Dict., vol. iii.
1




TWELFTH CENTURY.                   313
Holy Scriptures, and endeavoured, by a sedulous examination of
the original texts, to derive sacred wisdom from its purest source.
Eloisa died in 1163, when she had entered her sixty-third year;
and, for many years after her death, the nuns of the Paraclete
commemorated her learning and abilities at the feast of Whitsuntide, by performing the service of the day in Greek: a practice
which only ceased when the knowledge of the language was lost
among them.*
I know not whether it be worth observing, that about this time
a practice prevailed of forming and reducing into parchment-rolls
historical trees of the Old Testament. The invention of them has
been attributed to Peter of Poictou, a disciple of Lombard, about
the year 1170, who was desirous of aiding the poorer clergy by
this employment. The rage of genealogizing lasted for ages, and
extended to profane as well as sacred history. Roger Alban, a
Carmelite friar of London, formed the descent of Jesus Christ
from Adam, through the Levitical and regal tribes, the Jewish
patriarchs, judges, kings, prophets, and priests. A vellum roll,
supposed to be the original one, beautifully illuminated, is among
the MSS. More in the public library at Cambridge. A. pedigree
of the British kings, from Adam to Henry the Sixth, written by
the same compiler, and presented by him to the king about the
year 1450, is now in Queen's College library, at Oxford. Juliana
Barnes, a native of Roding, in Essex, prioress of Sopewell nunnery, was eminent for learning and personal accomplishments, but
employed her talents in writing treatises on hunting, hawking,
heraldry, &c. One of her tracts on " Armory," or heraldry, written about the year 1441, begins in the following curious manner:
" Of the offspring of the Gentilman Jafeth come Habraham, Moyses, Aron, and the profettys, and also the kyng of the right lyne
of Mary, of whom that Gentilman Jhesus was born, very god and
man: after his manhode kynge of the land of Jude and of Jues,
gentilman by his moder Mary, prince of cote armure."t This,
however, was the less remarkable in an age when the rank and
titles of secular nobility were sometimes conferred even on the
saints. St. James was actually created a baron at Paris. Thus
Froissart, tom. iii, cap. xxx: " Or eurent ils affection et devotion
d'aller en pelerinage au Baron Saint Jaques." And in Fabl., tom.
ii, p. 182, cited by Carpentier, sup. Lat. gloss, p. 469:* Berrington's Lives of Abelard and Heloisa, b. v, p. 258, and b. vii, pp. 395, 396.
t Warton's History of English Poetry, vol. ii, pp. 172, 177. Lempriere's Universal
Biography.
1




314                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
"Dame, dist ii, et je me veu,
Adieu, et all Baron Saint Leu,
Et s'irai au Baron Saint Jaques."*
Even the popular translations of the Scriptures were influenced
by the spirit of the times. Sanson de Nanteul, a clerical rhymer,
who lived in the reign of our Stephen, and to whom the versification of our ancient poetry is said to have been much indebted, was
the author of a translation of the Proverbs of Solomon into the
eight-syllable verse of Norman-French, with a copious " Glosse."
His plan is, to give the Latin Vulgate of a verse or more, then his
versified translation, and afterward his gloss, which is sometimes
moral, and sometimes allegorical; in this way he has rhymed
above twelve thousand lines into couplets. A copy of it, forming
a beautiful specimen of the ancient calligraphy, is among the Harleian MSS., No. 4388, in the British Museurm.  "To us," says a
competent judge, "the rhyme is the only mark of poetry in its
composition; but as a collection of didactic aphorisms in familiar
verse, it must have been an important present to the awakening
thought of the unlearned population." It was written at the request of an Anglo-Norman lady; and notwithstanding the author
classes the hearing of songs and tales among the acts of criminal
voluptuousness, he styles his work a " Romanz:""Ki ben volt estre engranz
Entendet dune a cost romanzz
Qi al loenge damne de
Et a senor al translate."t
This appellation, and that of the modern term romance, are
derived from the name given to the corrupted Latin spoken chiefly
by the Franks, after their settlement in Gaul or France. This
new language varied in different provinces, for want of a regular
standard of pronunciation and grammar.  Among its dialects in
Burgundy, it was intermixed with a great alloy of the old Burgundian language; in the southern provinces of France, the Provencal,
Languedocian, and Gascon dialects with that of the Visigoths;
and afterward that in Neustria with the Norman; so that these
dialects are at this day often not intelligible to those who speak
pure French. The Romance, or Romanciere language, began to
be formed in the eighth century; but, except in some few unimportant instances, was not made use of in writing before the eleventh age: but all who preached or read any thing before an
* Warton's History of English Poetry, vol. ii, p. 345, note.
t Turner's History of England, vol. i, pp. 444, 445.
1




TWELFTH CENTURY.                     315
audience, in which there were many who did not understand
Latin, used afterward to add, in the Romance tongue, some explication of what had been said or read ill Latin. In the eleventh
century some began to commit considerable translations to writing,
and in the succeeding century some wrote books in the Romance
language. The works thus written in the vulgar tongue were denominated romanzes or romances; and as fictitious narratives of
imaginary adventures were the first compositions committed to
writing in the vernacular dialects of France, while other writings
continued still to be published in Latin, this species of historic
fiction became distinguished by the term romance.* The general
subject of many of the early romances were the triumphs of Christianity over paganism. Many of them were written by monks or
clergymen; thus the Chronicle attributed to Turpin, or Tilpin,
archbishop of Rheims, the contemporary of Charlemagne, and
which professes to give the history of that monarch's expedition to
the Peninsula, and his destruction of idolatry, is supposed to have
been written by a canon of Barcelona about the end of the eleventh
or the commencement of the twelfth century. Another work,
similar to the Chronicle, and called Philtumena, was written by a
monk of the abbey de Grasse.  These works of fiction were diligently sought after by the inmates of the monasteries, were eagerly
read by them, and were placed in their libraries among their most
valuable treatises. In that of Croyland abbey we find Turpin's
Chronicle placed on the same shelf with Robert Tumbelay on the
Canticles, and Thomas Waleys on the Psalter.t
One of the earliest of these religious fictions was the story of
Barlaam and Josaphat, by Johannes Damascenus, or St. John of
Damascus, a monk of Syria, who lived in the eighth century, during the reign of Leo Isauricus. This work seenms to have been
written with a view of promoting a taste for monastic seclusion.
It details the successful endeavours of the hermit Barlaam to convert o the Christian faith the Indian prince Josaphat, who had
from his infancy been placed in a state of seclusion from the world,
by his idolatrous father Abenner, in order to avert the completion
of a prophecy, which fortold his desertion of idolatry, and zealous
adoption of Christianity. The style is formed on the sacred writings; and the artifice by which Barlaam is represented as gaining
e Du Cange, Glossarium, Lat. Prwafat., p. vii. Butler's Lives, vol. viii, pp. 246,
247, note; and vol. x, p. 326, note.
t Dunlop's History of Fiction, vol. i, ch. iv, pp. 312, 313, 333. Warton's History
of English Poetry, vol. iii, Diss. on the Gesta Rornanorum, p. 1xv.
1




316                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
admittance to the prince, will remind the reader of the modes of
disseminating their principles, practised by the Paulicians and
Waldenses.  The hermit who had insinuated himself into the acquaintance of an attendant, informed him, that he wished to present
to the prince a gem, which was of great price, and was endowed
with many virtues.  Under this similitude of a worldly jewel, he
typified the beauties of the Gospel; and the prince having heard
the story of the merchant, ordered him to be instantly introduced.
Barlaam having obtained admittance, premised his instructions
with a summary of sacred history, from the fall of Adam to the
resurrection of our Saviour; and having in this way excited the
attention and curiosity of Josaphat, who conjectures that this is the
jewel of the merchant, he gradually proceeds to unfold all the
mysteries, and inculcates all the doctrines of Christianity.  This
Greek romance was a great favourite during the middle ages,
" and, as Prince Josaphat is represented in it as gradually acquiring, by unaided meditation, moral notions and ideas of disease and
death, it has been considered as the origin of a fictitious work of
Avicenna, in the beginning of the eleventh century, as well as of
the celebrated Arabian story of Hai Ebn Yokdhan, written by Ebn
Tophail, a Mohammedan philosopher who lived, toward the close
of the twelfth century, in some part of the Saracenic dominions in
Spain. In a more recent period it gave rise to more than one of
the tales of Boccaccio; and became the model of that species of
spiritual fiction which was so prevalent in France during the sixteenth andi seventeenth centuries.*
A work of still greater celebrity was the Legenda Aurea of Jacobus de Vorag'ine, a dominican friar, and archbishop of Genoa, in
1292. It consists of the biography of saints, " interspersed" it is
said in the colophon of the book, " with many other beautiful and
strange relations." The Lives of the Saints were denominated
legends, from being statedly read in the churches; and this compilation received the epithet of golden, from its extraordinary popularity; or the supposed value of its contents. It was the delight
of our ancestors, during the ages which preceded the revival of
letters.  The library of no monastery was without it. Every private person who was able, purchased it; and for a long titne after
the invention of printing no work more frequently issued from the
press.t In the year 1555 the learned Claude D'Espence was
* Dunlop's Hist. of Fiction, vol. i, pp. 70-83; and vol. iii, pp. 328, 329.
t Dunlop's Hist. of Fiction, vol. iii, p. 7. C. Butler's Life of Alban Butler, prefixed
to Lives of the Saints, p. 21.
1




TWELFTH CENTURY.                     317
obliged to make a public recantation, for calling it Legenda Ferrea,
or the Iron Legend. A French translation of it was made in the
fourteenth century, by Jean de Vignay, a monk hospitaler, the
French translator of Vincent de Beauvais's famous S'peculum Historiale.  From De Vignay's version, the Legenda Aurea was converted into our language by the indefatigable Caxton, who printed
an edition of his translation, which he completed in 1483, and dedicated to William, earl of Arundel, who, while it was printing,
gave him annually a buck in surmmer, and a doe in winter. A magnificent, and perhaps the original French manuscript of this work
was sold among the duplicates of Mr. R. Heathcote's books in 1803;
said to be " near five hundred years old," and executed for the queen
of Philip de Valois. It is described as being " an immense folio
volume, perhaps the most curious work of the kind in the world;
every leaf of the finest vellum; all the capital letters illuminated
with gold, and rich colours; with upward of two hundred miniatures of the different saints, &c."  It was purchased by the duke
of Norfolk for ~64.  A copy of the English version of the same
work, printed by Caxton in 1483, in folio, was, December 24th,
1814, sold by auction at the late residence of Mr. Brassey deceased,
for ninety-three guineas!*
This excessive attachment to romantic, or legendary fiction,
proved injurious to Biblical knowledge; it increased the number of
apocryphal writings, and prevented the multiplication of copies of
the Holy Scriptures. So rare and expensive were transcripts of
the sacred writings, that when any person made a present of a copy
to a church or monastery, it was deemed a donative of such value,
that he offered it on the altar pro remedio animae sure, in order to
obtain the forgiveness of his sins. In the collegiate church of
Dreux, in France, a Latin Bible, fairly written in two volumes large
folio, is preserved, at the close of which is a Latin deed of gift.
The following is a translation of it:" Let all the sons of the church, whether present or future,
know that Thomas, Seneschall of St. Gervase hath, of his own free
will, given this Libraryt to God and the holy protomartyr Stephen,
for the remission of his own sins, and those of his wife Ermelina,
of his son Herbert, and of his daughters Margaret and Fredeburga;
the canons of the aforesaid church of the protomartyr have, therefore, conceded to them the benefits and prayers of the said church,
* Dibdin's Typographical Antiquities, vol. i, p. 190. WVarton's Hist. of Eng. Poetry, vol. ii, p. 111. Gent. Mag., April, 1815, p. 349.
t The term Bibliotheca, or Library, was frequently applied to the Bible.
1




318                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
and after their removal from this world, the regular celebration of
their anniversaries in the church, for ever.  Offered by the hand
of Thomas himself, and by the hand of his wife, on the altar of the
protomartyr Stephen, on the day of the Nativity of our Lord, in the
year of the Incarnation, one thousand one hundred and sixteen, in
the reign of the most pious and sincere worshipper of God, King
Louis the Sixth, son of King Philip tile First."*
If we turn our attention to ENGLAND, we find that the ravages
of the Danes, and the conquest of the Normans, had repressed the
ardour of Biblical pursuits, and rendered copies of the sacred
Scriptures, even in Latin, exceedingly scarce and difficult to be
obtained.  The Anglo-Saxon versions were become nearly obsolete; and the attempt of the conqueror to introduce the French
had so altered the language of the nation, that the inhabitants of
our island could understand but little of what had been the vernacular tongue of their ancestors. The Bible was consequently out
of the reach of the illiterate and the poor; and the baneful opinion
began to prevail, that the knowliedge  of the Scriptures was unnecessary, and that it was uzlzatwfiul for private Christians to read
them in their mother-tongue.  William Butler, a Franciscan friar,
went so far as to maintain, that " the prelates ought not to admit of
this, that every one should at his pleasure read the Scriptures translated into Lati'n"   4"A paradox," says Lewis, in his History of
English Translations of the Bible, "which served indeed to justify
or excuse many even of the priests of those times, who, as they
knew nothing of the Scriptures but what they found of them  in
their Portuises and Mlissals, so they were not able to read those
portions of them there with understanding; so utterly ignorant
were they even of Latin."t
If any portion of the Bible was attempted to be transferred into
the English language at this period, it appeared in a prolix paraphrase, shackled with metre, and with frequent violations of
Scripture facts. The earliest production of this kind is a paraphrase of the Gospels, and the Acts of the Apostles, preserved in
the Bodlcian library.  It is entitled Ormulum, from being written
by one Orme, or Ormin.  The style is that of Saxon poetry, without rhyme, in imitation of the most common species of the Latin
tetrameter iambic. It is in the Saxon character, but in the English
language, properly so called, in its dawn and infancy.+
* Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom. i, p. 23S. Paris, 1723, fol. Robertson's Hist. of
Charles V., vol. i, Proofs, &c., note x.  t Lewis, ut sup., p. 11.: Baber's Wicliff's New Testament, Saxon and English Versions, p. lxiv.
1




TWELFTH CENTURY.                                319
There is also in the Bodleian library a prodigious folio volume,
beautifully written on vellum, and elegantly illuminated, with this
title: "Here begynnen the tytles of the book that is cald in Latyn
tonge SALUs ANIMIE, and in Englysh tonge SOWLE-HELE."  It was
given to the library by Edward Vernon, Esq., soon after the civil
war.  Although pieces not absolutely religious are sometimes introduced, the scheme of the compiler or transcriber seems to have
been, to form a complete body of legendary and Scriptural history
in verse, or rather to collect into one view all the religious poetry
he could find. In this ponderous volume is a metrical paraphrastic
translation of the Old and New Testaments, supposed to have
been executed before the thirteenth century. Tile following paraphrase  of John  xix, 25, 26) 27) will exhibit the nature of this
curious work:"Oure ladi and hire suster stoden under the roode,
And seint John and Marie Magdaleyn with wel sori moode:
Vr ladi bi heold hire swcte son i brouht in gret pyne,
Ffor monnes gultes nouthen her and nothing for myne.
Marie weop wc.l sore and bitter teres leet,
The teres fullen uppon the ston doun at hire feet,
Alas, my son, for serwe wel off seide heo
Nabbe iche bote the one that hongust on the tree,
So ful icham of serwe, as any wommon may beo,
That ischal my deore child in all this pyne iseo:
How schal I sone deore, how hast i yougt liven withouten the,
Nusti nevere of serwe nought sone, what seyst you me?
Then spake Jhesus wordus gode to his modur dere;
Ther he heng uppon the roode here I the take a fere,
That trewliche schal serve ye thin own cosin Jon,
The while that you alyve beo among all thi fon:
Ich the hote Jon, he seide, you wite hire both day and niht
That the Gywes hire fon ne don hire non un riht.
Seint John in the stude vr ladi in to the temple norm
God to serven he hire dude sone so he thider come,
Hole and seeke heo duden good that hes founden there
Heo hire serveden to hond and foot, the lass and eke the more.
The pore folke feire heo fedde there, heo sege that hit was neode
And the seke heo brougte to bedde and met and drinke gon heom beode.
Wy at heore mihte yong and olde hire loveden bothe syke and fer
As hit was riht for alie and summe to hire servise hodden mester.
Jon hire was a trew feer, nolde nought from hire go,
He lokid hire as his ladi deore and what heo wolde hit was i do."
This sumptuous volume of religious poems was probably chained
in the cloister, or in the church, of some capital monastery, where
the novices were exercised in reciting portions from these pieces,
1




. 0                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
many of them being metrical legends or lives of saints. Legendary
poetry was sometimes sung to the harp, by the minstrels, on Sundays, instead of the romantic subjects usual at public entertainments. In the British Museum there is a set of legendary tales in
rhyme, which appear to have been solemnly pronounced by the
priest to the people on Sundays and holydays.*
In the valuable library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge,
is a poetical Biblical History, embracing the principal facts recorded in the books of Genesis and Exodus, apparently with the
one before mentioned, but written in a different, the northern dialect.  There is also in the same library a version of the Psalms in
English metre, and in the northern dialect, which must be referred
to about the same period.  It is a translation, as close as verse
will allow, of that edition of Jerome's Latin version which has
been denominated the French, or Gallican.  In the Bodleian
library, and in the Cotton MSS. at the British Museum, are copies
of this translation revised and improved, if not by the hand of the
first translator, yet by some person wcho lived in or near his time.t
Clement, canon of the order of St. Augustine, and prior of the
monastery of Lanthony or Llandennen, in Wales, who flourished
about the year 1154, compiled, in Latin, a Harmony of the Gospels. He likewise wrote a Commentary on the four Gospels, in
Latin.  His Harmony was so esteemed by Wicliff, that he translated it into English.  A very beautiful MS. of this version is in
the British Museum, Harl. MSS., 1862. The Rev. H. H. Baber,
assistant librarian, possesses another MS. copy of the fourteenth
century, in 12mo.t
About the year 1155, Nicholas Breakspear, an Englishman,
who, by a train of singular adventures, had risen from the lowest
condition to the papal dignity, under the name of Adrian IV., sent
over for the use of the English people, who were directed to commit them to memory, metrical versions of the Creed and Lord's
Prayer.  These curious proofs of the high regard of the Roman
pontiff for his countrymen are here copied from Stow's Chronicle:
THE CREED.
"I beleue in God Fadir almichty shipper of heuen and earth,
And in Jhesus Crist his onlethi son vre Louerd,
That is iuange thurch the holy ghost: bore of Mary maiden,
* Warton's Hist. of Eng. Poetry, vol. i, pp. 14, 19, 20.
-t Marton, vol. i, p. 23. Baber's Wicliff's New Testament, ubi sup.
4 Lewis's Life of Wicliff, p. 149. London, 1720, 8vo. Baber's Life of Dr. Wicliff.
p. xlix, prefixed to New Testament.
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TWELFTH  CENTURY.                         321
Tholede pine vnder Pounce Pilat, picht on rode tree, dead and yburiid,
Licht into helle, the thridde day from death arose,
Steich into heauen, sit on his fadir richt honde God almichty,
Then is cominde to deme the quikke and the dede,
I beleue in the holy ghost,
All holy chirche.
Mone of alle hallwen: forgiuenls of sine,
Fleiss vprising,
Lif withuten end, Amen."
THE LORD'S PRAYER.
"Vre fadir in heuene riche,
Thi name be haliid eueriliche,
Thou bring vs to thi michil blisce,
Thi will to wirche thu vs wisse,
Als hit is in heuene ido,
Euer in earth ben hit also,
That holi bred that lasteth ay,
Thou sendhit ous this ilke day,
Forgiue ous all that we hauith don,
Als we forgiuet vch other mon,
He let us falle in no founding,
Ak scilde us fro the foule thing, Amen."*
This singular instance of a pope of Rome deeming it necessary
to transmit to England a vernacular version of the Creed and
Pater Noster, sufficiently indicates the low state of religious information among the inferior classes of the people, and certainly is
not very creditable to the literary abilities of the Catholic clergy
of that period.
The historian of Craven has noticed a dispute which occurred
during this century between Ralph Hageth, abbot of Kirkstall, and
his monks, that will serve still further to elucidate the state of
Biblical literature. In the time of his abbacy, " a great calamity
befell the brethren from without; for Henry II., by the evil counsel of Roger de Mowbray, deseised them  of their best estate, the
grange of Micklethwaite. This occasioned great murmurs; and
the monks imputed to their abbot, not only the loss of the estate,
but of some sacred utensils and ornaments which lie had disposed
of; for in order to conciliate the king's favour, he had presented
him  with a gold chalice and a MS. of the Gospels."  "This,"
subjoins the indefatigable antiquarian, " may be added to the instances adduced of the extreme scarcity of MSS. in the middle
ages. A copy of the Gospels here accompanied a gold chalice,
* Stow's Annales, or Generall Chronicle of England, pp. 150, 151. London, 1615,
folio.
VOL. I. —21




322                    BIBLICAL IXI ERATURE,
as a propitiatory offering to a king.  I am pleased with the dissatisfaction of the monks on this account, and willing to hope they
really prized the Gospels as gold. If it was their only copy, which
is far from being improbable, their loss was indeed to be deplored."
Compare this with the following account of a contemporary fact:
"HUGo Decanus Ebor. cum  omnibus fortunis suis Fontes se
contulet.  Dives erat in libris scripturarum sanctarumr, quos multis
sibi sumptibus comparaverat.  Hic primus armariolum  de Fontibus suscitavit."  "A library in the twelfth century, collected at a
great expense, sufficed only to furnish a little closet, or perhaps
even a small chest.  It is to be supposed that as books multiplied,
and wealth increased, the library at Fountains," of which these
holy writings thus purchased and deposited there by Hugo were
the commencement, "expanded in proportion."*  It may also be
deemed worthy of notice, as illustrating the practice of the age,
that in the records of the exchequer we find an entry purporting
that in the seventeenth year of the reign of Henry II. the sheriffs
of London paid, by the king's order, " xxijs. fore gold to gild the
pGospel used in the king's chapel."t
The general manners of the age, and the too frequently depraved habits of the monks and priests, proved greatly injurious to
the cause of religion and sacred learning. The crusades were
everywhere preached, pilgrimages were undertaken, ceremonies
were multiplied, and appeals were made to the traditions of the
fathers, the opinions of doctors, and the decisions of councils,
in preference to the Scriptures.  The canons of synods and provincials exhibit the lamentable state of monkish and clerical morality.  Of these canons, some of which refer to crimes " obstinately and profligately" practised, of a nature unfit to meet the
public eye, and with which we cannot consent to pollute our
pages, the following, selected from  the acts of different English
synods, may suffice.
From. Anselm's canons passed at Westminster, A. D. 1102:Can. 9. "That priests go not to drinking bouts, nor drink
to pegs."t
Whitaker's History of Craven, p. 63. Lond. 1812, 4to.
t AMadox's Hist. and Antiq. of the Exchequer, ch. ix, p. 190. Lond. 1711, fol.
$" Such great drinkers were the Danes, who were in England in the time of Edgar,
and so much did their bad examples prevail with the English, that he, by the advice
of Dunstan, archbishop of Canterbury, put down many ale-houses, suffering only one
to be in a village, or small town; and he also further ordained, that pins or nails
should be fastened into the drinking-cups, or horns, at stated distances, and whosoever
1                          21*




TWELF TH CENTURY.                              32'
Can 27. "That none  exercise  that wicked  trade which  has
hitherto been practised in England, of selling men like beasts."
IFrom Archbishop Richard's'canons, made at London A. D.
117.5:- 
Can. 5. " Because clerks for their ignorance, incontinence, defect of birth, title, or age, despairing of [higher] orders from  their
own bishops, procure or pretend themselves to be ordained by
foreign bishops, and  so bring seals unknown to their own  diocesans; we  therefore  annul their orders,  forbidding  with  the
terror of anathema any to admit them to the exercise of their
function."
Can 11. " Let none that would appear to be clerks wear or bear
arms, but make their manners and clothes suitable to their profession; or else be degraded as. despisers of the canons, andof ecclesiastical authority."
should drink beyond those marks at one draught, should be obnoxious to a severe
punishment."-Strutt, in Brand's Observations on Popular Antiquities, App., p. 377.
"Our ancestors were formerly famous for compotation; their liquor was ale, and
one method of amusing themselves in this way was with the peg-tankard.  I had
lately one of them in my hand.  It had on the inside a row of eight pins, one above
another, from top to bottom. It held two quarts, and was a noble piece of plate, so
that there was a gill of ale, half a pint Winchester measure, between each peg. The
law was, that every person that drank was to empty the space between pin and pin,
so that the pins were so many measures to make the company all drink alike, and to
swallow the same quantity of liquor. This was a pretty sure method of making all
the company drunk, especially if it be considered that the rule was, that whoever drank
short of his pin, or beyond it, was obliged to drink again, and even as deep as to the
next pin.  And it was for this reason that, in Archbishop Anselm's canons, made in
the council of London A. D. 1102, priests are enjoined not to go to drinking bouts,
nor drink to pegs. The words are,' Ut presbyteri non eant ad potationes. nec ad
pinnas bibant.' —Wilkin's Concil. I., p. 382. M. Du Fresne, in his Gloss., v. Pinna.
cites Archbishop Anselm's canons of A. D. 1102, Nec ad pinnas bibant, and conjectures,'forte legendum pilas,' because pila, he finds, signifies sometimes taberna, a
tavern, or drinking house.  But this is a most unhappy conjecture, as the sense is so
plain and intelligible without it; and all the MSS. agree in writing pinnas; and so
Mr. Johnson, in his Collection of Ecclesiastical Laws, &c., translates the canon without scruple,'nor drink to pegs.' "-Dr. Pegg-c, under the signature of T. Row, ill
Selection of Curious Articles from Gent. Mag., vol. i, pp. 262, 263.
-William of Malmesbury, speaking of Dunstan, archbishop of Canterbury, says, " So
extremely anxious was he to preserve peace even in trivial matters, that, as his countrymen used to assemble in taverns, and, when a little elevated, quarrel as to the proportions of their liquor, he ordered gold or silver pegs to be fastened in the pots, that
while every man knew his just measure, shame would compel each, neither to take
more himself, nor oblige others to drink beyond their proportional share." —History of
Kings of England, translated by Rev. John Sharpe, M. A., b. i, ch. viii, p. 171. Lond.
1815, 4to.
1




324                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
From  Herbert Walter's canons, made at Westminster, A. D.
1200:
Can. 5. "We, following the decrees of the Lateran councils,
which are the most famous of any that have been ordained by the
modern fathers, do forbid archbishops to exceed the number of
forty or fifty men, and horses; bishops the number of twenty or
thirty, in visiting parishes: let the archdeacon be content with five
or seven; the deans under the bishops with two. And let them
not make their progress with hunting dogs, or hawks; but like
such as seek not their own, but the things of Christ."
The two following canons, both made under Archbishop Walter
Herbert, the former at York, in 1192, the latter as above, in 1200,
are highly creditable to that prelate:Can. 3. " Because the [canon or] secret part of the mass is frequently corrupted through the mistake of the writers, or the oldness
of the books, so that it cannot distinctly be read, let the archdeacons
take greater care that the canon of the mass be corrected according
to some true and approved copy."
Can. 1. "Whereas an error in divine offices endangers both the
souls and bodies of men, it is wholesomely provided by this council, that the words of the canon* be roundly and distinctly pronounced by every priest, in celebrating [mass;] and not curtailed
by a hasty, or drawn out into an immoderate length, by an affectedly slow pronunciation.  In like manner that the hours,* and all
the offices, be rehearsed plainly and distinctly, without clipping or
mangling the words: the offenders, after these admonitions, are to
be suspended, till they make just satisfaction. Saving in all things
the honour and privilege of the holy church of Rome."t
One of the popular employments and entertainments of the
ecclesiastics in the middle ages, and one of the modes adopted
by them for the instruction of the people, in the place of the Bible,
was writing and exhibiting RELIGIOUS DRAMAS: these being founded
on Scripture narratives, or designed as emblematical representations of moral qualities, were variously designated as Scripture
Plays, Miracles, and Moralities; and, from the festivals on which
they were very generally performed, Corpus Christi, and Whitsun
Plays. As the history of these religious and emblematical dramas
is connected with Biblical literature, and is but little known, the
* The canon, or secret part of the mass, is from the end of the trisagium to the
end of the consecration: the hours are certain prayers performed at stated hours of
the day.
t Johnson's Ecclesiastical Laws, vol. ii, sub ann.
1




TWELFTH CENTURY.                     325
reader will excuse the digression of an attempt to present him
with an outline of their rise, and progress, and influence; for which
I am considerably indebted to Warton's "History of English
Poetry," a work of astonishing research and information; to Ricoboni's curious " Historical and Critical Account of the Theatres in
Europe;" and to Du Tilliot's Miemoires pour servir a I'histoire de
la Fete des Foux.
The theories which have been advanced to elucidate the origin
of these theatrical exhibitions of Scripture histories are various:
one supposes them to have been first exhibited at the public marts
or fairs, held at certain periods in different parts of Europe; another conjectures that they had their rise at Constantinople; and a
third believes them to have been introduced into the West by the
pilgrims of the middle ages.
In support of the first of these theories it is remarked, that about
the eighth century trade was principally carried on by means of
fairs, which lasted several days. Charlemagne established many
great marts of this sort in France; as did William the Conqueror,
and his Norman successors, in England. The merchants, who
frequented these fairs in numerous caravans or companies, employed every art to draw the people together. They were therefore accompanied by jugglers, minstrels, and buffoons; who were
no less interested in giving their attendance, and exerting all their
skill, on these occasions. In proportion as these popular amusements were attended and encouraged, they were rendered more
seductive by numerous decorations and improvements; and the
arts of buffoonery acquired additional importance in the eyes of
the multitude. By degrees the clergy, observing that the entertainments of dancing, music, and mimicry, exhibited at these protracted annual celebrities, rendered the people less attentive to the
duties of religion, by promoting idleness and a love of festivity,
proscribed these sports, and excommunicated the performers. But
finding that no regard was paid to their censures, they changed
their plan, and determined to take these representations into their
own hands. They turned actors; and, instead of profane mummeries, presented stories taken from legends, or the Bible. This
was the origin of sacred comedy. The death of St. Catherine,
acted by the monks of St. Denis, rivalled the popularity of the
professed players.  Music was admitted into the churches, which
served as theatres for the representation of these religious farces.
The festivals among the French, called the Feast of Fools, of the
Ass, and of Innocents, at length became greater favourites, as they
1




326                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
certainly were more capricious and absurd, than the interludes of
the buffoons at the fairs.*
Another ingenious and novel theory on this subject supposes
religious plays to have originated at Constantinople, where the old
Grecian stage continued to flourish in some degree, and the tragedies of Sophocles and Euripides were represented, till the fourth
century. About that period, Gregory Nazianzen, a bishop, a poet,
and one of the fathers of the church, banished pagan plays from
the stage at Constantinople, and introduced select stories from the
Old and New Testaments. As the ancient Greek tragedy was regarded by the heathens as a religious spectacle, it is supposed that
a translation was made on the same plan, and that the chorusses
were turned into Christian hymns. Gregory wrote many sacred
dramas for this purpose, of which the only one now extant is the
tragedy called Xptarog -raoyXv, or Christ's Passion. In the prologue
it is said to be in imitation of Euripides, and that this is the first
time the Virgin Mary has been produced on the stage. The
fashion of acting spiritual dramas, in which, at first, a due degree
of method and decorum was preserved, was at length adopted from
Constantinople by the Italians; who framed, in the depth of the
dark ages, on this foundation, that barbarous species of theatrical
representation called MYSTERIES, or Sacredl Comedies, and which
were soon afterward received in France. This opinion is rendered
more probable by considering the early commercial intercourse
between Italy and Constantinople; for although the Italians, at
the time when they are supposed to have imported plays of this
nature, did not understand the Greek language, yet they could
understand, and consequently could imitate, what they saw. It
may also be further observed, in defence of this hypothesis, that
the Feast of Fools, and of the Ass, with other farces of that sort,
so common in Europe, originated at Constantinople. They were
instituted, although perhaps under other names, in the Greek
Church, about the year 990, by Theophylact, patriarch of Constantinople, probably with a better design than is imagined by the
ecclesiastical annalists, —that of weaning the minds of the people
from the pagan ceremonies, particularly the Bacchanalian and
Kalendary solemnities, by the substitution of Christian spectacles,
partaking of the same spirit of licentiousness; a principle of accommodation, however, which cannot be too severely reprehended.
The fact is recorded by Cedrenus, (Compend. Hist., p. 639,) one
* Warton's History of English Poetry, vol. ii, pp. 366, 367.




TWELFTH CENTURY,                   327
of the Byzantine historians, who flourished about the year 1050, in
the following words, "Epyov EKtcvov, K. r. 2."  " Theophylact introduced the practice, which prevails even to this day, of scandalizing
God, and the memory of his saints, on the most splendid and
popular festivals, by indecent and ridiculous songs, and enormous
shoutings, even in the midst of those sacred hymns which we
ought to offer to the divine grace with compunction of heart, for
the salvation of our souls. But he, having collected a company
of base fellows, and placing over them one Euthymius, surnamed
Casnes, whom he also appointed the superintendent of his church,
admitted into the sacred service diabolical dances, exclamations of
ribaldry, and ballads borrowed from the streets and brothels."*
But at a much earlier period than that of Theophylact, attempts
had been made to imitate the style and manner of the most elegant
Greek classics in the composition of Scriptural dramas. The
imitations of the Apollinarii in the fourth century have been already
noticed; and the fragments of a much more early and more singular specimen of a dramatical representation of sacred history are
yet preserved in the extracts from an ancient Jewtish play on the
exodus, or the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, under their
leader and prophet, -Moses.  The author was Ezekiel, a Jew.
Huetius, (Demonstrat. Evangelic., p. 99,) and Whitaker, (Origin
of Arianism, pp. 213, 214, 219,) endeavour to prove that he wrote
before the Christian era; but Warton (vol. ii, p. 372) deems it
most probable that he flourished at the close of the second century,
and composed his drama in Greek iambics, in imitation of the
Grecian stage, after the Jews had been dispersed and intermixed
with other nations. The principal characters in this piece are
Moses, Sapphora, and God speaking from the burning bush.
Moses delivers the prologue, or introduction, in a speech of sixty
lines, and his rod is turned into a serpent on the stage. Clemens
Alexandrinus, in his Stromata, and Eusebius, in his Prceparatio
Evangelica, have each preserved fragments of this writer. Portions of these extracts are copied, and translations given, in Whitaker's " Origin of Arianism." See also Corplus poetar. Gr. Tragicor. et Comicor., Genev. 1614, fol., and Poette Christian. Grceci,
Paris, 1609, 8vo.
A third hypothesis respecting the origin of the Mysteries and
Miracle-Plays is that of Menestrier and Boileau, who seem to think
that the ancient Pilgrimages introduced them into France. The
* Warton, vol. ii, pp. 368-370.




328                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
pilgrims who returned from Jerusalem and other places esteemed
holy, composed songs on their adventures; intermixing recitals of
passages in the life of Christ, descriptions of his crucifixion, of the
day of judgment, of miracles, and martyrdoms. To these tales,
which were recommended by a pathetic chant, and a variety of
gesticulations, the credulity of the multitude gave the name of
visions. These pious itinerants travelled in companies; and,
taking their stations in the most public streets, and singing with
their staves in their hands, and their hats and mantles fantastically
adorned with shells, and emblems painted in various colours,
formed a sort of theatrical spectacle. At length their performances excited the charity and compassion of some citizens of Paris,
who erected a theatre in which they might exhibit their religious
stories in a more commodious and advantageous manner, with the
addition of scenery and other decorations. At length professed
practitioners in the histrionic art were hired to perform these solemn mockeries of religion, which soon became the principal
public amusement of the people.*
A similar idea of the origin of these theatrical exhibitions is entertained by a sensible writer in a popular periodical work, who remarks, "that representations approaching as near as possible to
the facts were annually exhibited in the church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem.  These were the actions of our Saviour's sufferings:" and adds an observation by M. Millin, that in France,
"the pilgrims, after vespers, exhibited dramatic representations
upon the pavement in the open space before the doors of churches."
He then proceeds to state his own opinion of the origin of the
Moralities, &c., by saying, "it appears likely, that, in the East,
certain celebrations were instituted, in which the original action
was imitated by way of making the greater impression on the
minds of spectators: those among these spectators who had no better employment, when they got home endeavoured to effect imitations of what they had seen abroad. It may not be easy to convince such as have never seen the continent, of the interest taken
by spectators at the sight of those shows carried about in boxes,
representing the' Ecce Homo,' the crucifixion, &c., or of the attention (formerly) paid to a Chanteur de Cantiqutes, who sung his
carols with such images before him.  Those who can recollect
such sights, will think it very credible that these are traditionary
memorials of the once popular festivities; as the custom of sing* Warton, vol. ii, pp. 372, 373. Burney's History of Music, vol. ii, p. 325. Lond.
1776, 4to.
1




TWELFTH CENTURY.                     329
ing Christmas carols is almost the only remaining vestige of these
Cantiques; to which our ancestors, in the days of darkness, were
indebted for a feeble ray of knowledge."*
" On the whole," says Warton, "the Mysteries appear to have
originated among the ecclesiastics; and were most probably first
acted, at least with any degree of form, by the monks. This was
certainly the case in the English monasteries. The only persons
who could read were in the religious societies; and various other
circumstances, peculiarly arising from their situation, profession,
and institution, enabled the monks to be the sole performers of
these representations."t
The first spectacle of the kind that was ever attempted in England, at least with which we are acquainted, was exhibited under
the direction of Geoffrey, a learned Norman, who had been invited
from the university of Paris to superintend the direction of the
school of the priory of Dunstable; where he composed a play,
called the Play of Saint Catharine, which was acted by his scholars,
about A. D. 1110. Matthew Paris, who first records this anecdote,
says, that Geoffrey borrowed copes from the sacrist of the neighbouring abbey of St. Albans, to dress his characters.  He was
afterward elected abbot of that opulent rnonastery.t: In the same
century, Peter of Blois, who had been invited into England by
Henry II., employed by him as his private secretary, and made
archdeacon of Bath, congratulates his brother William, who was
an abbot, on the fame he had acquired by his tragedy of Flaura
and Marcus, and by his other theological works: and W. Fitz Stephen, a monk of Canterbury, who wrote a " Description of London" in 1190, Descript. Lond., p. 7, says, " London, for theatrical
spectacles, hath religious plays, which are representations of the
miracles which holy confessors had wrought, and of the sufferings
by which martyrs had displayed their constancy."~
In the north of Europe these dramatic exhibitions were encouraged by Albrecht, bishop of Livonia, who, after having dragooned the Livonians into a profession of Christianity, built the
town of Riga, in 1201; and afterward instituted the performance
of Scripture plays, as the means of instructing the people of his
charge in the knowledge of Biblical history. "Of the methods
employed in teaching" (by Albrecht) " history mentions only one.
* Literary Panorama, vol. vii, pp. 714, 715.
t Warton, ubi sup.
t Warton, vol. i, dissert. 2, and sec. 6, p. 236.
~ Henry's Hist. of Great Britain, vol. vi, b. iii, ch. vii, p. 375.




330                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
At Riga, in 1205, was acted a prophetic play, that is, a dramatized extract from the history of the Old and New Testaments.
The design was by this means to allure the heathen to the adoption of Christianity, partly by attaching the converts to their new
religion by sensible gratification; and partly to instruct them in the
history of it. The Livonians, baptized and unbaptized, resorted to
it in multitudes, and they were informed of the contents by an interpreter. The piece was probably in Latin. The number of
performers must have been very great, (perhaps it consisted of the
whole order, together with the chapter,) as battles and wars were
represented; for instance, from the history of Gideon, David, and
Herod. The first exhibition, however, was like to have been attended
by very serious consequences. When the Israelites, under Gideon's
command, were fighting at close quarters with the Midianites, the
heathens took it into their heads that the armed troops were brought
in under this pretence, in order to fall upon them. They, therefore, sought their safety in flight. Their mistake, however, being
explained to them, they were persuaded to return, and the play was
brought to a happy conclusion."*
The institution of the Fraternity del Gonfalone, in ITALY, in the
year 1264, proves the frequency of these Scripture plays among
the Italians at that period. In the statutes of that company, printed
at Rome, in 1584, p. 74, we find the following notice of their constitution:-" The principal design of our fraternity being to represent the Passion of Jesus Christ, we ordain, that in case the mysteries of the said passion are represented, our ancient orders shall
be observed, together with what shall be prescribed by the general
congregation." It is probable, that it was about the same time
also, that the Passion of our Lord began to be represented at the
Coliseum at Rome, where it continued to be exhibited till the sixteenth century, when it was abolished by the pope. In the year
1298, on the feast of Pentecost, and the two following holydays,
the representation of the Play of Christ, that is, of his passion,
resurrection, ascension, judgment, and the mission of the Holy
Ghost, was performed by the clergy of Civita Vecchia; and again
in 1304, the chapter of Civita Vecchia exhibited a play of the
creation of our first parents, the annunciation of the Virgin Mary,
the birth of Christ, and other passages of sacred Scripture. In a
feast made upon the Arno in 1304, a machine, representing hell,
was fixed upon the boats, and a piece acted, toward the end of
*rTooke's View of the Russian Empire, vol. i, b. ii, sec. 2, pp. 390, 391
1




TWELFTH CENTURY.                        331
which the rich man in hell was seen begging relief, in vain, of the
poor Lazarus in Abraham's bosom.*
In FRANCE, the first notice I have met with of these theatrical
exhibitions is in 1313, when Philip the Fair gave a magnificent
feast at Paris. He invited the king of England to it; and among
other diversions, the people are said to have " represented divers
shows, sometimes the joys of the blessed in heaven, and sometimes
the punishments of the damned." In 1398 the mysteries of the
passion were first represented, on a theatre at St. Maur, but were
prohibited by the provost of Paris, by an order, whereby he forbade "all the inhabitants, &c., to act or represent any play by
persons, either the lives of the saints or otherwise, without leave
of the king." The actors in these representations formed a part
of the royal household; and in order to make themselves more
agreeable to the public, erected their society into a fraternity, by
the name of " The Actors of our Saviour's Passion." Charles VI.
went to see these shows, and was so well pleased with them that
he granted the actors letters patent, dated the fourth of December,
1402. They also built the Theatre of the Hospital of the Holy
Trinity, on which, during the space of almost one hundred and
fifty years, they acted the Mysteries, or other pieces of a similar
nature, under the common title of Moralities. Francis I., by his
letters patent, dated in the month of January, 1518, confirmed all
the privileges of this fraternity.t
These religious farces were also held in high estimation in the
Greek Church, as well as in the Latin. Bertrandon de la Brocquiere, counsellor and first esquire-carver to Philip the Good, duke
of Burgundy, who visited Palestine in 1432, tells us, that when he
was at Constantinople, being desirous of witnessing the manner of
the Greeks performing divine service, he went to the church of
St. Sophia, on a day when the patriarch officiated.  " The emperor
was present, accompanied by his wife, his mother, and brother,
the despot of Morea.t  A mystery was represented, the subject of
which was, the three youths whom Nebuchadnezzar had ordered
to be thrown into the fiery furnace."~
* Riccoboni's Historical and Critical Account of the Theatres in Europe, pp. 40, 42,
43, 45, 50. Warton, vol. i, pp. 249, 250.
t Riccoboni, pp. 114, 122, 123. Warton, vol. i, p. 246.
t' "This emperor was John Palmologus II.,-his brother Demetrius, despot or
prince of the Peloponnesus,-his mother Irene, daughter to Constantine Dragases,
sovereign of a small country in Macedonia,-his wife Maria Comnenis, daughter to
Alexis, emperor of Trebisonde."
6 Travels of Bertrandon de la Brocquiere, translated by Thomas Johnes, Esq., p.
223, 8vo., 1807.
1




332                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
The composers of the Mysteries did not think the plain and
probable events of the Holy Scriptures sufficiently marvellous for
an audience who wanted only to be surprised. They frequently
selected their materials from books which had more the air of romance, particularly the legends and pseudo Gospels. They also
introduced into them the most ludicrous and licentious conversations and actions. In a mystery of the Massacre of the Holy
Innocents, part of the subject of a sacred drama given by the
English fathers at the famous council of Constance, in the year
1417, a low buffoon of Herod's court is introduced, desiring of his
lord to be dubbed a knight, that he might be properly qualified to
go on the adventure of killing the mothers of the children of
Bethlehem. This tragical business is treated with the most ridiculous levity. The good women of Bethlehem attack our knighterrant with their spinning-wheels, break his head with their distaffs,
abuse him as a coward and a disgrace to chivalry, and send him
home to Herod, as a recreant champion, with much ignominy.* In
the year 1327, a play of the Old and New Testaments was exhibited at Chester, at the expense of the different trading companies
of that city. The following is the substance and order of the
former part of the play:-God enters, creating the world; he
breathes life into Adam, leads him into Paradise, and opens his
side while sleeping. Adam and Eve appear naked, and not
ashamed; and the old serpent enters, lamenting his fall. He
converses with Eve. She eats of the forbidden fruit, and gives
part to Adam. They propose, according to the stage direction, to
make themselves subligacula a foliis, &c.; cover themselves with
leaves, and converse with God. God's curse. The serpent exit
hissing. They are driven from Paradise by four angels, and the
cherubim  with a flaming sword.  Adam  appears digging the
ground, and Eve spinning.t In the part of the same play which
refers to the entrance of Noah and his family into the ark, an
altercation takes place between him and his wife, which occupies
almost the whole of what is called the third pageaunt.  The following extract is from  Lyson's JMagna Britannia, in which it is
copied from the Harleian MSS. in the British Museum:"NOE AND HIS SHIPPE."
"Then Noe shall goe into the arke with all his familye his wife except, the arke
must be borded rounde aboute and upon the bordes all the beastes and fowles hereafter
rehearsed must be painted that there wordes may agree with the pictures."
+ Warton, vol. i, p. 242.  t Idern, vol. i, pp. 243, 244.
1




TWELFTH  CENTURY.                             333
NOE.
"Wiffe come in, why standes thou there?
Thou arte ever frowarde I dare well sweare."
NOE S WIFFE.
"Yea sir, set up your sayle
And row forth with evill haile,
For withouten faile I wille not out
Out of this towne;
But I have my gossippes every eich one,
One foote further I will not gone;
The shall not drowne by St. John,
And I may save there life;
But thou wylt let them into that cheist,
Else row forth Noe where thou list,
And get thee a new wife."
THE GOOD GOSSIPPES.
"The flood comes flitting in full fast,
One every syde that spreadeth full farr;
For feare of drowning I ame agaste,
Good gossippes let us draw neer;
And let us drinke or we departe,
For oft-tymes we have done soe,
For at a draught thou drinkes a quarte,
And soe will I doe or I goe;
Here is a pottell full of Malmeseye gode and stronge
Yt will rejoice both hart and tonge;
Though Noe thinke us never so longe,
Yet we will drinke alike."
JAPHAT.
" Mother, we pray you all together,
For we are here your owne children;
Come into the shippe for feare of the weather."
NOE'S WIFFE.
"That will I not for all your call,
But I have my gossippes all."
SEM.
"In fayth mother yet thou shalt
Whether thou wylt or not."
NOE.
"Welcome wife into this boat."
WIFE.
"Have thou that for thy note."
(et dat alapam.*
NOE.
"Ha! ha! marye; that is hott,
It is good for to be still;
* "She gives him a box on the ear."
1




334                     BIBLICAL LITERATUTRE,
A! children methinkes my beat remeves,
Our tarrying here highly me greeves;
Over the lande the water spreades,
God doe as he will."*
The Guare-mir, or Miracle-Plays of Cornwall, were interludes,
the subjects of which were taken from  Scripture, and performed
in the Cornish tongue, in places called Rounds, which were a kind
of amphitheatre, with benches, either of stone or turf. Dr. Borlase, in his "Natural History of Cornwall," has given the plan of
a very large and regular " Round," formed with the exactness of a
fortification, in the parish of Piran-sand, called Piran Round.  In
the Bodleian library there are two MSS, which contain some of
these interludes, or, as the author calls them, Ordinatlia.  The
first, on parchment, written in the fifteenth century, exhibits three
Ordinalia; the first treats of the creation of the world, the second
of the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, the third of the resurrection.  The other MS. is on paper, written by William  Jordan, in
the year 1611.  This has only one Ordinale, of the creation of the
world and the deluge,.  The first Ordinale of the creation begins
thus, (God the Father speaking:;)
(CORNLISH.)' En Tas a Nef ym Gylmyr
Formyer pub tra a vydh gwrys
Onan ha tryon yn gwyr
_En Tas, han Mab, han Spyrys.
Ha hethyn me a thesyr
Dre ou grath dalleth an Bys
Y lavaraf, ncf, ha Tyr
Formyys orthe ou brys.'
ENGLISHED.
The Father of Heaven, I the Maker,
Former of every thing that shall be made,
One, and Three, truly)
The Father, the Scn, and the Spirit.
Yes —this day it is my will
Of my especial favour to begin the world;
I have said it-Heaven and Earth
Be ye formed by my counsel."
But the poetry is the least exceptionable part of these interludes.
i. person called the Ordinary was the chief manager; every thing
was done as he prescribed, and spoken as he prompted.  The
persons of these dramas are numerous; in the first Ordinale of
the creation, no fewer than fifty-six; in the second, sixty-two; and
* Lyson's Magna Britannia, vol. ii, pt. ii, p. 595. London, 1810, 4to.
1




TWELFTH CENTIJRY.                       335in the third, sixty. Princes, patriarchs, saints, angels, (good and
bad,) and even the persons of the ever blessed Trinity, are introduced. Unity of time, action, and place is not at all attended to;
the first-mentioned play runs through a space of time from the
creation to King Solomon's building the temple, and incongruously
ordaining a bishop to keep it. It takes in also the fabulous legend
of Maximilla, in which part the actors are, a bishop, a crosierbearer, a messenger, four tormentors, the martyr, Gebal, and
Amalek.  The bishop gives to the tormentors, for putting the
martyr to death, Behethlan, Bosaneth, and all Chenary, three
places in Cornwall. King Solomon speaks the epilogue. The
audience, with a strict charge to appear early on the morrow, in
order to see the "Passion" acted, is dismissed in these words:(CORNISIH.)
"Abarath an Tas
Menstreles a' ras
Pebourgh whare
Hag ens pub dre."
ENGLISHED.' In the name of the Father,
Ye Minstrels holy,
Tune your pipes,
And let every one go to his home."5'
This may serve to give a general notion of these interludes,
which were all translated into English by lMr. John Keigwyn, of
Mousehoule, at the desire of Sir Jonathan Trelawny, Bart., bishop
of Winchester, in a literal manner, for the better understanding
the language.
Carew, in his " Survey of Cornwall," says, " for representing
it," (that is, the Guary Miracle,) "they raise an earthen amphitheatre in some open field, having the diameter of an enclosed
plane, some forty to fifty feet. The country people flock from all
sides, many miles off, to see and hear it.  For they have therein
devils and devices to delight, as well the eye as the ear."t
But whatever was the source of these exhibitions, or whatever
were the inconsistencies in the delineations of characters, it is
certain that our ancestors thought they contributed to the information and instruction of the people on the most important subjects
of religion; so that while we lament the blindness of their guides,
we must acknowledge, that where no just idea of decorum pre* Borlase's Natural Hist. of Cornwall, pp.'295-298. Oxford, 1758, folio.
t Johnson and Steevens' Shakspeare, vole vii, p. 174. Dissert. Warburton. Lond.,
1785, 8vo.
1




336                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
vailed, there would be but little sense of the ridiculous, and that
what appears to us to be the highest burlesque, would on them
make no sort of impression. That this opinion was formerly
entertained of these plays, perhaps no stronger proof can be adduced than what is afforded by a proclamation issued at Chester,
in 1533, for the Whitsun Plays, by William  Newall, clerk of the
Pentice, during the mayoralty of William  Snead:" FORASMUCH as of ould tyme not only for the augmentation and
increase of the holy catholic faith of our Saviour Jesus Christ,
and to exhort the minds of common people to good devotion, and
holsome doctrine thereof, but also for the comonwelth and prosperity of this city, a play and declaration of divers storyes of the
Bible, beginning with the creation and fall of Lucifer, and endinge
with the general judgment of the world, to be declared and played
in the Whitson weeke, was devised and made by one Sir Henry
Francis,* sometyme monke of this monasterye disolved, who obtayned and gat of Clement, the bushop of Rome, a thousand dayes
of pardon, and of the bushop of Chester, at that tyme, forty dayes
of pardon, graunted from thenceforth to every person resorting in
peaceable manner, with good devotion, to hear and see the sayd
playes, from tyme to tyme, as oft as they shall be played withirn
the sayd cittie, (and that every person or persons disturbing the
said playes in any manerwise, to be accursed by the authority of
the sayd Pope Clement's bulls, untill such tyme as he or they bee
absolved thereof;) which playes were devised to the honour of
God, by John Arnway, then maior of this citty of Chester, (about
A. D. 1328,) his brethren and whole cominalty thereof, to be
brought forth, declared and played at the coste and charges of the
craftsmen, and occupations of the said cittie; -- - wherefore Mr.
Maior, in the kings name streatly chargeth," &c.t
The clergy themselves were generally the performers in the
Mysteries and Moralities.  In the reign of Richard II. the clergy,
and the scholars of St. Paul's school, presented a petition to him,
praying his majesty "to prohibit a company of unexpert people
from presenting the History of the Old Testament, to the great
* " A marginal note" to this proclamation, " in another hand, asserts that they were
written by Randal Higden, to whom they are generally ascribed. It is probable that
Sir Henry Francis only procured the pardons mentioned in the proclamation. It is
said in a note prefixed to a copy of these (Whitsun) plays in the British Museum, Harl.
MSS., No. 2124, that Higden was thrice at Rome, before he could obtain leave of the
pope to have them represented in the English tongue."
t Lyson's Magna Britannia, vol. ii, pt. ii, p. 590.
1




TWELFTH CENTURY.                     337
prejudice of the said clergy, who have been at great charge and
expense, in order to represent it publicly, at Christmas." Dr. Burney, referring to the Northumberland Household Book, pp. 343,
345, as his authority, states that about the year 1512, the nobility,
in imitation of royalty, had, among other officers of their household,
a master of the revels, "for the overseyinge and orderinge of
Playes, and Interludes, and dressing, that is plaid in the twelve
days of Crestenmas." Of these, the gentlemen and children of the
chapel seem to have been the principal performers; for which, and
for acting upon other great festivals, they were assigned particular
rewards: " Item, my Lorde vseth to gyf yerely, when his lordeshipe is at home, in reward to them of his lordschip chappel that
doith play upon shroftewsday, at night, Xs."  And when they performed in the dramatic mysteries, such as " the play of the Nativity
at Crestenmas, or of the Resurrection upon Esturday," they were
allowed XXs.*
Other instances have already occurred, of the active part taken
by the ecclesiastics in the representation of these religious dramas;
to which may be added the relation of a performance of this nature
recorded in the old Chronique de MIetz, written by the rector of St.
Euchaire.  "The play of the Passion of our Lord," says the honest
chronicler, "was performed the 3d of July, 1437, in the plain of
Veximiel.  The rector of St. Victoire, of Metz, personated our
Lord, and would have died on the cross, had he not been relieved
by another priest, who was affixed to the cross to complete the
ceremony of the crucifixion for that time. The next day the same
rector of St. Victoire personified the Resurrection, and accomplished
his part excellently." Another priest, who was chaplain of Metrange,
personated Judas, and through failure of tile apparatus, was hung till
he was nearly dead.t The great expense of exhibiting these plays
occasioned the before-mentioned petition to Richard II. Warton
informs us, that the chaplains of Abbeville, in the year 1455, gave
four pounds ten shillings to the players of the Passion; and that
in the year 1486, at Anjou, ten pounds were paid toward supporting the charges of acting the Passion of Christ, which was reprecsented by masks, probably by persons hired for the purpose: he'
also adds from an ancient computus, that three shillings were paid
by the ministers of a church, in the year 1537, for parchment, for
writing Ludus Resurrectionis Domini.t
These dramatic spectacles were at first exhibited in the open
* Riccoboni, p. 161. Burney's Hist. of Music, vol. ii, pp. 570, 571.
t Johnson's and Steevens' Shakspeare, ubi sUp.   T Warton, vol. i, pp. 246, 247.
VOL. I.-22




338                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
air; but it afterward became customary to perform them, on different festivals, in or about the churches. In several of our old Scriptural plays, we see some of the scenes directed to be represented
cum cantut et organis, (a common rubric in the missal,) because
they were performed in a church where the choir assisted. Fontenelle (Hist. Theatr.) says, that anciently among the French,
comedies were acted after divine service, in the church-yard,
thus changing the mode of instruction.  Au sortir du Sermnzon, ces
bonnes gens alloient ac la Comedie, c'est it dir-e, qu'ils changeoint
le Sermon.  These, however, were Scriptural comedies, and they
were constantly preceded by a Benedicite, by way of prologue.
In Lainbarde's Topographical Dictionary, written about the year
1570, there is a curious passage, which so completely exposes the
burlesque and profane nature of these representations, especially
in the times immediately preceding the reformation from popery,
that I shall transcribe it for the information of the. reader:-" In
the dayes of ceremonial religion, they used at Wytney (in Oxfordshire) to set fourthe yearly in maner of a show, or interlude, the
Resurrection of our Lord, &-c. For the which purposes, and the
more lyvely heareby to exhibite to the eye the hole action of the
resurrection, the priestes garnished out certain smalle puppettes,
representing the persons of Christe, the watchmen, Marie, and
others; amongest the which, one bare the parte of a wakinge
watchman, who espiinge Christe to arise, made a contiual noyce,
like to the sound that is caused by the metynge of two styckes,
and was thereof commonly called Jack Snackeer of /lytney. The
like toye I myself, beinge then a childe, once saw in Poule's church
at London, at a feast of Whitsuntyde; wheare the comynge downe
of the Holy Gost was set forthe by a white pigion, that was let to
fly out of a hole that is yet to be sene in the mydst of the roofe of
the great ile, and by a longe censer, which desendinge out of the
same place almost to the verie grounde, was swinged up and
downe at suche a lengthe, that it reached with thone swepe almost
to the west gate of the churche, and with the other to the quyre
staires of the same; breathinge out over the whole churche and
companie a most pleasant perfume of such swete thinges as burned
therein. With the like doome shewes also, they used everie where
to furnish sondrye parts of their church service, as by their spectacles of the Nativitie, Passion, and Ascension."*
These plays were not only performed in the churches, they
were sometimes acted also on the Sunday.  In the year 1487,
* Warton, vol. ii, pp. 240, 241.
1                          22*




TWELFTH CENTURY.                      339
while Henry VII. kept his residence at the castle at Winchester,
on occasion of the birth of Prince Arthur, he was entertained, on a
Sunday, during the time of dinner, with a religious drama called
Clhristus Descensus ad Infernos, or Christ's Descent into Hell.  It
was represented by the Pueri Eleemosynarici, or choir-boys, of
Hyde abbey, and Saint Swithin's priory, two large monasteries at
Winchester. An entertainment of a similar nature was furnished,
in 1503, at the marriage of King James of Scotland, with the
Princess Margaret of England, daughter of Henry VII.  On the
first Sunday of the magnificent festival, celebrated with high splendour at Edinburgh, " after dynnar, a MORALITE was played by
master Inglyshe, and hys companyons, in the presence of the kyng
and qwene." (Leland, Coll. iii, pp. 299, 300, appendix.)  So late
as the reign of Elizabeth, and even till that of Charles I., plays
continued to be acted on Sundays by the choristers, or singing-boys
of Saint Paul's cathedral, in London, and of the royal chapel.*
The enormity of these practices was long seen and lamented by
different prelates, who attempted to prevent them. Innocent III.,
who sat in the papal chair at the commencement of the thirteenth
century, prohibited all spectacles and plays being exhibited in the
churches.  In the chapter Cum Decoream, (lib. iii, Decretal Tit. 1,
de vita et honestate Clericorvum,) he says  " Shows and theatrical
entertainments are sometimes exhibited in the churches, in which
not only the most monstrous masks are introduced, but even the
deacons, priests, and sub-deacons have the effrontery, on certain
festivals, to practise those follies and buffooneries.  We therefore
enjoin you to exterminate from your churches the custom, or rather
the disgrace and irregularity, of such spectacles and shameful
entertainments, that their impurity may no longer pollute the
honour of the church."  The council of Basil, in 1435, acknowledges that in some churches, and on certain festivals, some persons clothed themselves in the pontifical robes, put on the mitre,
held the crosier, and gave the benediction as bishops; others
habited themselves like kings and dukes; stage-plays were exhibited; and men and women danced together, attracting a crowd of
spectators, and producing the most dissolute mirth.  The council,
however, expressed its abhorrence of such disorders, and forbade
the clergy, under pain of suspension from all their ecclesiastical
revenues for three months, to permit such exhibitions in the
churches or cemeteries.
e Warton, vol. ii, p. 206; vol. i, p. 241. Tilliot, Moinoires pour servir a l'Histoire
de la Fete des Foux, pp. 55, 56, 58, 59. Lausanne et Geneve, 1751, 12mo.
1




340                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
In the register of William of Wykeham, bishop of Winclhester,
under the year 1] 384, an episcopal injunction is recited against the
exhibition of Spectula. or similar diversions, in the cemetery of
his cathedral: Canere Cantilenas, ludibriorum  Spectacular facere, saltationes et alios ludos inhonestos frequentare, choreas,
&c. (Registr., lib. iii, fol. 88.) An interdiction of a simnilar nature is found among the statutes of the synod of the church of
Liege, A. D. 1287; by which joculators or minstrels, actors and
dancers, are forbidden performing in the church, cemetery, or
portico:* " Joculatores, histriones, saltatriccs, in ecclesia, cemetorio, vel porticu, nec aliquae chorea."  (Statut. Synod. Eccles.
Leod. apud Marten.  Thesaur. Anecd., tom. iv, p. 846.) So by the
statutes of the church of Nantz, in 1405, joculators or minstrels
are prohibited exhibiting in the church and cemetery: " Mimi vel
joculatores, ad monstra larvarum in ecclesia et cemeterio." (Statut. Eccles. Nannett. apud Marten. ut sup., p. 993.)  In 1445,
Charles VII. of France ordered the masters in theology at Paris
to forbid the ministers of the collegiate churches to celebrate, at
Christmas, the FEAST OF FoOLS in their churches, where the
clergy danced in masks and antic dresses, and exhibited plusieurs mocqueries spectacles publics, de leurs corps deguisements,
farces, rigmeries, with various enormities shocking to decency.
In England, in the reign of Henry VIII., Bonner, bishop of
London, issued a proclamation to the clergy of his diocess, dated
A. 1). 1542, prohibiting " all manner of common plays, games, or
interludes, to be played, set forth, or declared within their churches,
chapels, &c." For many other similar prohibitions, see Tilliot,
Mermoires, &c., passim. But so attached were the people to these
representations, that they continued to be performed in churches
even after the Reformation; for in a pamphlet published in 1580,
entitled " The third Blast of Retrait from Plaies," &c., p. 77, the
author says, the players are " permitted to publish their mamettrie
in everie temple of God, and that throughout England." And in
the year 1603 this abuse of acting plays in churches is mentioned
ini the canon of James I., which forbids also the profanation of
churches by court-leets, &c.t
*The porticus, or portico, was not the same with what is usually called the
church-porch, but either what is now commonly called the side-aisle, or a particular
division of it, consisting of one arch with its recess, and was frequently distinguished
by the name of some saint, as Porticus Sti. Martini in St. Augustine's church at
Canterbury. See "Essays on Gothic Architecture," Bentham's Essay, pp. 28, 29.
London, 1800, 8vo.
t Warton, vol. i, pp. 240, 211, 247.
1




TWELFTH CENTURY.                       341
They were, however, not only forbidden the churches, but royal
and episcopal, and even papal authority were entirely, as we have
seen, employed to suppress them. In France, the procureur
general, in 1541, presented a request, in the name of the king, to
the parliament, against the company established in the Hotel de
Bourgogne, for the representation of the Mysteries.  The three
principal branches of his charge against them were, that the representation of the Old Testament stories inclined the people to
Judaism; that the New Testament stories encouraged libertinism
and infidelity; and that both of them lessened the charities to the
poor. It seems that this prosecution succeeded; for in 1588 the
parliament of Paris confirmed the company in the possession of
the Hotel, but interdicted the representation of the Mysteries.*  In
Italy the representation of the Passion of our Saviour was abolished
toward the end of the pontificate of Paul the Third, about A. D.
1546 or 1549.t In England, as the Reformation gained ground,
and the Bible was permitted to be publicly read, Mysteries and
Moralities gradually yielded to the purer and more rational instruction of the Scriptures themselves, as rendered accessible to
the people by vernacular translations.  The inconsistent Henry
VIII., in the same law by which he forbade Tyndale's English
Bible, decreed that the kingdom should be purged and cleansed of
all religious plays, interludes, rhymes, ballads, and songs, which
are equally pestiferous and noysome to the peace of the church.t
The accession of Mary to the English throne revived the expectations of the Roman Catholics, and the performance of Mysteries
and Miracles became again the medium of papistical instruction,
in preference to the Bible. In the year 1556, a goodly stage-play
of the Passion of Christ was presented at the Gray Friars, in London, on Corpus Christi day,~ before the lord mayor, the privy
council, and many great estates of the realm! Strype also mentions, under the year 1557, a stage-play at the Gray Friars, of the
Passion of Christ, on the day that war was proclaimed in London
against France, and in honour of that occasion. (Eccl. Mern., vol.
iii, ch. xlix.) On Saint Olave's day, in the same year, the holyday
* Johnson and Steevens' Shakspeare, vol. vii, p. 176.
t Riccoboni, p. 41.
t STAT., Ann. 34, 35. Henr. VIII., cap. i, cited in Warton, vol. iii, pp. 202, 203.
~ The annual festival of Corpus Christi was instituted about the year 1246. The
design of it was to impress upon the minds of the people a belief of the reality of
transubstantiation. Besides a superb procession through the streets on the day of the
celebration, there was commonly a Mystery, or interlude, which sometimes lasted
eight days.
1




342                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
of the church in Silver-street, which is dedicated to that saint, was
kept with much solemnity. At eight of the clock at night began a
stage-play of goodly mnatter, being the miraculous history of the
life of that saint, which continued four hours, and was concluded
with many religious songs.* John Bale, a tolerable Latin classic,
and an eminent biographer, embraced the Reformation, and was
advanced to the bishopric of Ossory, by King Edward VI. Prior
to his conversion from popery he composed many Scriptural interludes, chiefly from incidents of the New Testament; among them
are, the Life of Saint John the Baptist, written in 1538; Christ in
his Twelfth Year; Baptism and Temptation; the Resurrection of
Lazarus; the Council of the High Priests; Simon the Leper;
Our Lord's Supper, and the Washing of the Feet of his Disciples;
Christ's Burial and Resurrection; the Passion of Christ; the
Comedy of the three Laws of Nature, Moses, and Christ, corrupted by the Sodomites, Pharisees, and Papists, printed by
Nicholas Bamburgh, in 1538, and so popular that it was reprinted
by Colwell, in 1562; God's Promises to Man, which he calls "a
Tragedie, or interlude, manyfestynge the chyefe Promises of God
unto man, in all ages, from the begynnynge of the worlde to the
deathe of Jesus Christe, a Mysterie, 1538."  Our author, in his
"Vocacyon to the Bishoprick of Ossory," informs us, that his
comedy of John the Baptist, and his tragedy of God's Promises.
were acted by the youths upon a Sunday, at the market-cross of
Kilkenny.t
In Scotland these dramatic performances continued to be occasionally exhibited, even after the Reformation; for in the records
of the Weekly Assembly of Perth there is the following entry:" July 1st, 1577. The Weekly Assembly regret that certain inhabitants of this town, against the express command of the civil
magistrate, and the prohibition delivered by the minister from the
pulpit, have played Corpus Christi play upon the sixth day of June
last, which day was wont to be called Corpus Christi day; whereby
they have offended the church of God, and dishonoured this haill
(whole) town; the said play being idolatrous and superstitious."
The Assembly ordained that the guilty persons should receive no
benefit from the church till they had showed evidence of their
repentance. A similar offence occurred soon afterward. On the
tenth of December, in the same year, usually called "Sanctoberti's eve," a very great number of persons passed through the
* Warton, vol. iii, p. 326.
t Ibid., vol. iii, p. 78. Baker's Companion to the Play-House, vol. ii.
1




TWELFTH CENTURY.                      343
town in disguised dresses, with piping and dancing, and striking a
drum. They carried in their hands burning torches. One of the
actors was clad in the devil's coat; another rode upon a horse,
which went in men's shoes. It is probable the horse and its rider
represented a part of the legendary history of the saint, who seems
to have been the patron saint made choice of by the bakers' incorporation, as the offenders were of that trade.*  In Germany, the
mystery of the Passion of our Lord was represented on the stage
at Vienna in the early part of the last century, but prohibited afterward by the archbishop, on account of the indecencies and profaneness introduced by the actors in the representation.t Riccoboni also mentions one of the Electoral cities, though without
giving the name of it, in which, speaking of his own time, he
says, " They commonly erect a theatre in the cathedral clurch on
one of the days of the holy week, representing the garden of olives,
where Christ, after returning from  prayer, found his disciples
asleep.  All this is done by living persons: and he that represents
Christ goes three times, and awakes the apostles, and as often
returns to prayer.  In a word," he adds, "we may there see a
complete image of what happened in the garden of olives."t  The
same author assures us, that on certain festivals, in Flanders, they
had chariots carrying stages through the streets, on which subjects
were represented in dumb show, taken from the Old or New Testament, or allegorical objects of piety. At Genoa, in 1690, he saw
several mysteries exhibited on the theatres erected at the corners
of the streets on Corpus Christi day; and at Naples, at the Feast
of the Holy Sacrament, they exhibited similar subjects.  The
Spanish Autos Sacrarmentales were sacred dramas, acted at certain seasons of the year, but especially at Christmas; consisting
chiefly of allegorical personages, and are still continued, or were,
till lately, in different parts of Spain. Even so late as the year
1738, we find the canons of the cathedral of Besancon, in France,
celebrating a mummery in the cloisters and church on Easter-day,
called Bergeretta, or the Song of the Shepherds:~ and in South
America the Romish Church continues its theatrical exhibitions to
the present time. Mr. Henry Koster, who visited Brazil in 1809,
thus describes the service of Good Friday at Recife: " The church
was much crowded, and the difficulty of getting in was considerable. An enormous curtain hung from the ceiling, excluding from
Scott's History of the Reformers in Scotland, pp. 186, 187.
t Riccoboni, p. 211.  T Ibid., p. 117.
Q Ibid., pp. 115, 116, 95. W\arton, vol. ii, p. 368.




344                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
the sight the whole of the principal chapel. An Italian missionary
friar of the Penha convent, with a long beard, and dressed in a
thick, dark brown cloth habit, was in the pulpit, and about to commence an extempore sermon.  After an exordium of some length,
adapted to the day, he cried out,'Behold him!' the curtain immediately dropped, and discovered an enormous cross with a fullsized wooden image of our Saviour, exceedingly well carved and
painted, and around it a number of angels represented by several
young persons, all finely decked out, and each bearing a large pair
of out-stretched wings, made of gauze; a man, dressed in a bob
wig and a pea-green robe, as St. John; and a female kneeling at
the foot of the cross, as the Magdalen, whose character, as I was
informed, seemingly that nothing might be wanting, was not the
most pure.  The friar continued, with much vehemence and much
action, his narrative of the crucifixion, and after some minutes
again cried out,' Behold, they take him down;' when four men,
habited in imitation of Roman soldiers, stepped forward. The
countenances of these persons were in part concealed by black
crape. Two of them ascended ladders placed on each side against
the cross, and one took down the board, bearing the letters
I. N. R. I. Then was removed the crown of thorns, and a white
cloth was put over, and pressed down upon the head; which was
soon taken off, and shown to the people, stained with the circular
mark of the crown in blood: this done, the nails which transfix
the hands were by degrees knocked out, and this produced a violent beating of breasts among the female part of the congregation.
A long white linen bandage was next passec under each arm-pit
of the image; the nail which secured the feet was removed; the
figure was let down very gently, and was carefully wrapped up in
a white sheet. All this was done by word of command from the
preacher.  The sermon was then quickly brought to a conclusion,
and we left the church."* (Travels in Brazil, pp. 18, 19.) In fine,
wherever the Bible is withheld from the people, the most degrading
superstitions extend their baneful influence over the minds, not
only of the uncultivated, but too generally over those also who have
enjoyed superior opportunities of mental cultivation. The circulation of the Bible produces the triumph of reason and of truth; and
where the divine word is known, and studied, and followed, its
* After this detail, we do not wonder to hear that, although almanacks, and the
Lives of the Saints, and certain books of devotion, are sold at the Benedictine convent, the Bible and Testament are not among them; and that at Pernambuco there is
neither printing-press nor bookseller.
I




TWELFTH CENTURY.                     345
benign influence will accelerate the mental and moral improvement of all ranks of society.
From the details of ignorance, superstition, and profanity, into
which we have been led by a desire to expose the insufficiency of
those modes of instruction which have been substituted for the
Scriptures, and for which we can only be excused by their intimate
connection with the history of Biblical literature, we resume with
pleasure our former subject, and proceed to present the reader
with some proofs that, amid all the disadvantages of the twelfth
century, there were various learned men who pursued their Biblical studies with good success.
In the British Museum, among the Harleian MSS., No. 5786,
is a Polyglott Psalter, written in Greek, Latin, and Arabic. The
date of it is 1153, but, from being faded, is read with difficulty.*
The learned Joseph Scaliger possessed a copy of the four Gospels,
in Arabic, written in the year of the world 6687, that is, A.D.
1179.t  An Arabic Psalter is also preserved in the library of St.
Lawrence, executed about the close of the twelfth century by
Theodulus Aben Alfathl, a Melchite deacon of Antioch. It is a
translation from the Greek version of the LXX. There is another
Arabic Psalter in the Vatican library, translated from the Greek
by a deacon named Abdallah fil. Alphadli, whom  Le Long supposes to be the same with the preceding Theodulus. This latter
copy is upon paper, in quarto.t At this period general science
was diligently pursued among the Arabians. Among the African
or Moorish Moslems we find Essachalli, a native of Sicily, celebrated for his geographical writings; and Ebn Albaithar, renowned
for medical and botanical knowledge.  In Spain were Avenzoar
and Thophail; the first deemed the rational improver of Arabian
medicine, the second the author of some admired works, and the
faithful follower of Aristotle; both of them famed as the masters
of the great Averroes, born at Corduba, and viewed by his contemporaries as a prodigy of science. In Asia flourished Gazzali, a
man of uncommon acquirements as a philosopher, a Mohammedan
theologian, a jurist, and a poet.~ Many of the learned productions
of the Mohammedan Arabians were translated into Latin by the
Christians; the high esteem in which the erudition of that people
was held, together with a desire of converting the Spanish Sara* Classical Journal, No. xvi, December, 1813, p. 453.
t Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom. i, ch. ii, p. 120. Paris, 1723.
t Ibid., p. 118, et Index Auctor., p. 584.
~ Berrington's Literary History of the Middle Ages, App. ii, pp. 671-680.
1




346                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
cens to Christianity, having excited many to study their language,
and to acquire a considerable knowledge of their doctrine. Gerhard of Crernmona, who was famous among the Italians for his
eminent skill in astronomy and physic, undertook a voyage to
Toledo, and translated several Arabian treatises.  Mirimet, a
French monk, travelled into Spain and Africa to learn geography
among the Saracens. Daniel Morlach, an Englishman, who was
extremely fond of mathematical learning, went to Toledo, and
brought from thence a considerable number of Arabian books.
Peter, abbot of Clugni, surnamed the Venerable, after having resided some time among the Spaniards, in order to make himself
master of the Arabic language, translated into Latin the Alcoran
and the Life of Mohammed.  On his arrival in Spain, he found
persons of learning from England, and other places, who were
applying themselves with extraordinary assiduity and ardour to
the study of astrology; a science which, however futile in its
nature, has, at different periods, been enthusiastically pursued by
men of considerable learning and talent in almost every nation.*
Unhappily, the subtleties of the Stagyrite, and the conjectures of
astrology, were preferred to the plain and impressive truths of the
Scriptures, and, except in the instances we have adduced, and the
Biblical labours of the Spanish Jews, but little evidence is afforded
of the study of the Bible in this age by the scholars of Arabia, or
the lovers of Arabian erudition.
The most eminent of those Jews who flourished in this century,
in Spain, were Aben Ezra, Maimonides, David Kimchi, and Solomon Jarchi.
R. ABEN EZRA was born about A. D. 1099.  He was verv
greatly esteemed for his various learning and acquirements. His
skill in different languages, and especially in the Arabic, appears
in his commentaries, particularly in his criticisms on several parts
of the book of Job. As an astronomer, his discoveries were sane
tioned by the ablest mathematicians; and as a physician, his medical knowledge was extensive. But his greatest celebrity has
arisen from his commentaries on all the books of the Old Testament. Instead of following the usual method of his predecessors, he endeavoured to exhibit the grammatical and literal sense
of the sacred Scriptures; a plan by which lie has secured the
esteem of both Jews and Gentiles. These commentaries have
been printed in the great Hebrew Bibles of Bomberg, and
Buxtorf.
+ Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, vol. iii, pp. 40, 41.
1~




TWELFTH CENTUJRY.                    347
Impelled by a thirst of learning, he spent a considerable part of
his life in visiting those countries that were renowned for science
and art. After passing through England, France, Italy, Greece,
and other countries, he expired in the Isle of Rhodes, in his
seventy-fifth year, about A. D. 1174.*
R. MosEs BEN MAIMON, better known by his abbreviated name
MAIMONIDES, was born at Cordovea in Spain, A. D. 1131. IHis
father, who sustained the office of judge, was highly respected
both by Jews and Christians, for his knowledge of jurisprudence,
and the ability and integrity with which he executed the difficult
duties of the magistracy. The education of Moses was at first
superintended by his father; and afterward intrusted to the most
learned rabbins of his country.  Possessing a mind vigorous,
penetrating, and acute, he not only made rapid progress in rabbinical literature, but excelled also in mathematical, metaphysical,
and medical sciences.  To a knowledge of the Hebrew and Arabic, he added an acquaintance with the Chaldee, and'Iurkish, and
Greek languages, besides other more modern dialects spoken in
the countries in which he resided.
At the age of twenty-three he commenced his commentaries on
the Mishna, which he completed seven years afterward in Egypt.
Dr. Pocock, in his Porta Miosis, or Mishnical Dissertations of
Maimnonides, has given the history of this work, which was written
in Arabic, and then translated into Hebrew, and from that version
was published in Latin, by Surenhusius.
The violent persecutions to which the Jews were exposed in
Spain, drove him from his native country into Egypt, where he resided during the remainder of his life. For want of other employinent, he was reduced to the necessity of trading as a jeweller;
but, embracing the opportunity of commencing a school, he soon
became famous for his learning and talents; and his instructions
were attended by numerous and respectable pupils. At length his
merit introduced him to the notice of the sultan, who appointed
him his physician, and allowed him a pension. In an epistle to his
friend R. Samuel Aben Tybbon, lie thus describes the daily occupations of his important situation:-" I generally visit the sultan
every morning; and when either lie, or his children, or wives are
attacked with any disorder, I anm detained in attendance the whole
of the day; or when any of the nobility are sick, I am ordered to
visit them. But, if nothing prevent, I repair to my own habitation
* Relandi Analecta Rabbinica, in Vit. Celeb. Rabbin., pp. 69-80. Basnage's Hist.
of the Jews, b. vii, ch. viii, pp. 625, 626, fol.
1




348                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
at noon, where I no sooner arrive, exhausted and faint with hunger,
than I find myself surrounded with a crowd of Jews and Gentiles,
nobles and peasants, judges and tax-gatherers, friends and enemies, eagerly expecting the time of my return. Alighting from my
horse, I wash my hands according to custom, and then courteously
and respectfully saluting my guests, entreat them to wait with
patience while I take some refreshment.  Dinner concluded, I
hasten to inquire into their various complaints, and to prescribe for
them the necessary medicines.  Such is the business of every day.
Frequently, indeed, it happens, that some are obliged to wait till
evening, and I continue for many hours, and even to a late hour of
the night, incessantly engaged in listening, talking, ordering, and
prescribing, till I am so overpowered with fatigue and sleep, that
I can scarcely utter a word."*
During his residence in Egypt he wrote his Yad Chazachah or
the Strong I-and, and JMoreh Nebochim or Instructer of the Perplexed.  The — rnnmln, or Strong Hand, is an excellent digest
or abridgment of all the laws and ordinances of the Talmud.  It
was printed at Soncini, in Italy, in 1490, folio, and has beeni
several times republished, particularly at Venice, in 1550, and at
Amsterdam in 1702, four volumes, folio. It is divided into fourteen titles or sections: a list of these, with the names of those
learned  men who have translated  any of them  into  Latin,
is given by Dr. Wotton in his "Miscellaneous Discourses relating to the Traditions and Usages of the Scribes and Pharisees, in our blessed Saviour Jesus Christ's time," volume ii, pp.
273-278.
The'-D1  rNTmO, or Instructor of the Perplexed, is a critical,
philosophical, and theological work, in which the author endeavours
to explain the difficult passages, phrases, parables, allegories, and
ceremonies of the Old Testament.  It is rendered particularly
valuable by an excellent exposition of the grounds and reasons of
the Mosaic Laws. An eminent Biblical critic has characterized
it as " a very curious and important work, and one of the most
rational that ever proceeded from the pen of a rabbin."t It was
written in Arabic, and tr~anslated into Hebrew with his approbation, by his friend and disciple R. Samuel Aben Tybbon.  In
1520 Justinian, bishop of Nebio, published a Latin version of this
work in folio, printed at Paris by Badius Ascensius.  The younger
Buxtorf undertook a new translation of the Hebrew into Latin,
* Buxtorf, Moreh Nevochim, in Pracfat. Basil, 1621, fol.
t Dr. Adam Clarke. See Bibliog. Diet., vol. ii, p. 87.
1




TWELFTHI CENTURY.                    349
which was printed at Basil by J. J. Genath, 1629, 4to., and to
which the translator prefixed a preface, including a biographical
account of the author.  The Hebrew, with a triple rabbinical
commentary, was printed in 1.553 at Venice, and at Jaznitz 1742.
Other editions have also been printed of this celebrated work
besides those now mentioned, but which it is needless to enumerate. About the close of the seventeenth century Dr. Thomas
Hyde issued proposals for an Arabic edition, to be accompanied
with notes and a new Latin version, a specimen of which, being
all that was ever printed, was published by Dr. Gregory Sharpe,
in the Syntagma Dissertationum  quas olim acluctor doctissimus
Thomas Hyde, S. T. P. separatim edidit, vol. alter. pp. 433-448.
Oxon., 1767, 4to.
Our great author, Maimonides, died in Egypt at the age of
seventy, and was buried in the land of Israel.  Such was the
esteem in which he was universally held, that there was a general
mourning for three whole days by the Egyptians as well as
Jews, and the year in which he died was called Lamentum Lamentabile.  "The memory of Maimonides," says Dr. Clavering, "still
flourishes, and will for ever flourish."*
R. DAVID KIMCHI was a native of Narbonne, annexed at that
period to the crown of Castile. Disputes having arisen among
the Jews respecting the MlIoreh Nebochim  of Maimonides, our
rabbi became the zealous defender of that celebrated writer, and
one of the chief instruments in terminating them in his favour, in
1232, after having been continued for forty years. These disputes
being happily brought to a conclusion, he devoted his time and
talents to the composition of various theological and grammatical
works, which have obtained considerable celebrity. His commentary on the principal books of the Old Testament, and in particular on the prophet Isaiah, is still held in high estimation, and
said to be excellent and useful.  His grammatical works have
afforded very great assistance to later Hebrew grammarians; and
the learned Sanctus Pagninus, who wrote at the commencement
of the fifteenth century, borrowed the most part of his Hebrew
Lexicon and Grammar from the writings of Kimchi. Our rabbi
had also a brother eminent for his literary accomplishments,
whose name was Moses; he was the author of a work entitled
"The Garden of Pleasure," in which he treated of the nature of
* Clavering, Mosis Maimonidis Tract. Duo. in Dissert. de Maimonide. Oxon. 1705,
4to. See also Basnage's Hist. of the Jews, b. vii, ch. viii. Lond. 1708, fol.
1




350                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
souls. It was never printed, but is preserved in MS. in the Vatican library, at Rome.*
Another eminent Jew, who flourished in the twelfth century,
was R. SOLOMON JARCHI, or ISAAKI, whose name is frequently
abbreviated into Rashi, as that of R. David Kimchi is into Radak.
He was by birth a Frenchman, being born at Troyes, in the province of Champagne, in 1105. At the age of thirty he travelled
abroad, and not only visited Italy and Greece, but penetrated to
Egypt, Palestine, Persia, Tartary, Moscovy, and other countries;
and returned through Germany to his native city after an absence
of more than five years. He wrote a commentary on the whole
of the Old Testament, but it is said to be " so completely obscure in
many places as to require a very large comment to make it intelligible."t  During his travels he made collections of the decisions
of the wise men in different Jewish academies, respecting the
difficulties to be met with in the Talmud, to the study of
which he had particularly dedicated himself.  After his return he
was accustomed to visit different Jewish universities and acadenlies, and after disputing with the professors upon various questions, to throw down secretly the decisions upon them  extracted
from his collections, but without the name of the author.  From
these papers a gloss upon the Talmud was formed, which bears
his name. He also composed a commentary on the Gemara,
which has been considered so valuable as to render him  deserving of the title of the prince of commentators.  He died
A. D. 1180, in the seventy-fifth year of his age, at Troyes, from
whence his body was conveyed to Bohemia, and buried in the
city of Prague.++
* Relandi Analecta Rabbinica, lit. Celeb. Rab., pp. 81-102. Basnage's Hist. of
the Jews, b. vii, ch. viii, pp. 620, 630.
t Dr. A. Clarke's Commentary, Gen. Pref., p. 2.
t Relandi Analect. Rab., Vit. Cel. Rab., pp. 59-69. Basnage, ut sup.
i




THIRTEENTH CENTURY.                      351
CHAPTER XI.
THIRTEENTH CENTURY.
Council of Toulouse-De Voragine-Italian and French Versions-German
and Icelandic Versions-Grosseteste —Roger Bacon-Libraries-Scarcity of
Bibles-Stationarii-MSS. oJ Scriptures-Expulsion of Jews —Biblical Pursuits-Division of the Sacred Text into Chapteirs-Stephen Langton —Hugo
de S. Caro-Academical and Monastic Liter?'ature-Jews-Louis IX.
THE century on which we are now entering is chiefly famed for
the growing celebrity of the Aristotelian philosophy; a philosophy
which furnished the polemical disputant with weapons to wage an
endless warfare with his opponents, and served to confound rather
than to enlighten and convince the controversial combatants.  We
must not, therefore, expect to meet with many Biblical students,
or to find the Scriptures in general circulation. On the contrary,
the prevalent disposition of the Roman hierarchy being amnbition,
measures were taken to prevent the laity from the indiscriminate
perusal of the word of God, and traditions, legends, and decrees
were substituted in its stead.
The infamous council of Toulouse, held in the year 1229, by
Romanus, cardinal of St. Angelo, and the pope's legate, formed
the first courts of Inquisition, and published thefirst canon which
forbade the Scriptures to the laity.  Innocent III. about the commencement of this century had commissioned certain Cistercian
monks to denounce heretics to the civil magistrate to be corporally punished; and Dominic, the celebrated Spaniard, founder of
the order of Dominicans, or Preaching Friars, had afterward received a similar commission; but it w, as in the council of Toulouse
that the Inquisition received its designation by the decree, for the
erection in every city of a council of inlqutisitors, consisting of one
priest and three laymen.*  In 1233 Gregory IX. nominated two
Dominican friars in Languedoc the first inquisitors, an office generally intrusted to that order by succeeding pontiffs.
The canon prohibiting tIhe Scriptures is couched in the following terms:Prohibemus etiam, ne libros Veteris  Testamenti aut Laici
permittantur habere: nisi forte Psalterziiu, vel breviarium pro
*Mosheim's Eccles. Hist., vol. iii, p. 26,9. Butler's Lives, vol. viii, Aug. 4
Basnage, Hist. de l'Eglise, tom. ii, liv. 24, ch. ix, p. 1429. Amsterdam, 1629, foL
1




352                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
divinis officis, aut Horas Beatce Marice, aliquis ex devotione habere velit.  Sed ne prentmissos libros habeant in vulgari translatos,
arctissime inhibemus.*
"We also forbid the laity to possess any of the books of the
Old or New Testaments, except perhaps some one out of devotion
wishes to have the Psalter or Breviary for the divine offices, or
the Hours of the Blessed Virgin. But we strictly forbid them
having any of these books translated into the vulgar tongue."
A policy similar to this of the Church of Rome is still pursued
by the idolatrous worshippers of Brahma, in Hindostan, as it was
in past ages by the priests of Egypt, the idolaters of Rome, and
many of the ancient heretical sects among the Christians; for
none but the Brahmins or sacred tribe may read the Vedas or holy
books; and none but the Khatries or military men may hear them
read, while to the other two more populous castes or tribes, the
Bhyse and the Sudra, or merchants and husbandmen, the Sastras
only, or commentaries upon the Vedas, are accessible. This interdiction is also extended to the Ranmayana, a sacred poem,
which is so highly venerated that the Sudras are not permitted to
read it. At the end of the first section of it is a promise of
benefits to those who duly read or hear it; "a Brahmin reading
it acquires learning and eloquence, a Kshettria will become a
monarch, a Vaysia will obtain vast commercial profits, and a
Sudra hearing' it will become great."t
The nefarious attempt of the council of Toulouse was happily,
however, only partial in its influence; vernacular translations were
in some instances made into different languages, and individuals
among the laity continued to read such portions of the Scriptures
as the rarity of copies, or the poverty of their circumstances, permitted them to possess. Sixtus Senensis, in his Bibliotheca Sancta,
says that James de Voragine, archbishop of Genoa, and author of a
history of that republic, translated the Old and New Testaments
into the Italian, with diligence and fidelity. And Father Simon
speaks of this translation of Voragine, as the oldest in the Italian
tongue, and remarks that the Jesuit Possevin objects to it as being
inaccurate, but that by others it has been highly esteemed; the
editor of his " Sermons" also states him to have been the first who
translated the whole Bible into the Italian language.  Le Long is,
* Labbei Sacro-Sancta Concilia, tom. ii, pt. i, p. 430.
t Moor's Hindu Pantheon, p. 189. Lond. 1810, 4to. Wrangham's Sermon on the
Translation of the Scriptures into the Oriental Languages, p. 37, note. Camb. 1807.
Tlsserii, Hist. Dogmat., cap. ix.
1




THIRTEENTH CENTURY.                    353
however, inclined to question the existence of such a version, and
offers as his reasons, the silence of Antoninus, Trithemius, Castillus, and Voragine himself in his History of Genoa; and the information of Muratori, who had consulted the celebrated Magliabechi,
that no copy of the Scriptures with the name of Voragine in the
title was to be met with in the libraries of Rome or Florence,
Modena or Milan: but as we do not think that the silence of the
authors mentioned by Le Long is sufficient to oppose to the positive evidence of such Biblical critics as Sixtus Senensis and Simon; and as we can easily suppose that the author of a history of
the Genoese republic might have been the translator of the Bible,
without introducing the notice of it in his historical work; and
since it is well known that many of the ancient translators of the
Scriptures never affixed their names to their translations, we hesitate to blot De Voragine out of the list of translators of the Bible.
It must nevertheless be acknowledged that F. Simon, in another
of his works, conjectures that the archbishop only published an
Italian translation of Comestor's Historia Scholastica, which was
then very much esteemed, and read more frequently than the text
of the Bible.*
JAMES DE VORAGINE, or Voraigne, was a native of Voragine, a
town on the sea coast, not far from Genoa. He was celebrated for
various and extensive reading, for eloquence in declamation, and
elegance in writing, especially in his native tongue. Studious in
the works of the fathers, he is said to have committed to memory
nearly the whole of the writings of Augustine.  As a writer of history, he attained at least to mediocrity; and as a Biblical scholar,
secured the praise of succeeding critics.  Agreeably to the practice of the age in which he lived, he employed a portion of his
leisure hours in the compilation of his famous Golden Legend, or
Lives of the Saints, in which he unfortunately studied entertainment at the expense of credibility, and, " in imitation of Livy, often
made the martyrs speak his own language."  He was a friar of
the order of St. Dominic, and archbishop of Genoa. He died in
1298.
Besides the works already mentioned, he was the author of Latin
Sermons for all the Sundays and Festivals in the year, and of one
hundred and sixty sermons in Latin, entitled MIariale, on the titles
* Sixt. Senens. Biblioth. Sanct., lib. iv. Simon, Histoire Critique du V. T.
Bibles en Langue Vulgaire, p. 595, 4to. Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom. i, cap. iv,
art. 2, p. 353. Paris, 1723. Simon's Critical Hist. of Versions of N. T., pt. ii, ch. xl,
p. 335.
VOL. I. —23




354                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
and virtues of the Blessed Virgin, alphabetically arranged; all
edited by Rudolph Clutius, B. D., a Dominican; and printed by
Pet. Cholin, at Mentz, 1616, 4to. He wrote also in defence
of the Dominican order; and published a book De Opusculis D.
Augustini.*
A French version of the Bible is ascribed to Guiars des Moulins,
canon of St. Peter's of Aire, who flourished in this century, but, as
we have already seen, (p. 310,) it is probable that is was merely
a translation of Comestor's Historia Scholastica.
The Albigenses, who inhabited some parts of Spain, were probably the authors of certain Spanish versions, interdicted by James
I. king of Arragon, who died in 1276; and who, by a law which
he passed, ordered, that " no one should possess the books of the
Old or New Testaments in the Romance, or vulgar tongue; and
that whoever possessed any of them, and did not bring them to the
bishop of the place, in order to be burned, should be considered as
suspected of heresy, whether they were of the clergy or laity."t
Toward the close of this century, however, Alphonsus the Wise,
king of Castile, acted with more pious liberality, by procuring a
translation of the Bible into the Castilian dialect, and rendering
it accessible to the most illiterate.  This was about A. D. 1280.t
In the Imperial library, at Vienna, there is a quarto MS. on
parchment, containing fragments of the Old and New Testaments,
in the old German tongue, chiefly in verse, and written as early as
A. D. 1210.  Goldastus, in his Rerum  Alimannicarum  Scriptorum, notices a most elegant Paraphrase of the Old Testament, in
German verse, written at the request of the emperor Conrad IV.
by Rodolph ab Ems, about A. D. 1260.~
The following extract from Petrus Undalensis, preserved by Arngrim, in his Specimen Islandice Historicunz, affords reason to believe that an Icelandic version of the Scriptures existed in the
thirteenth century, among a people who cultivated literature and
science, at a period when many other parts of Europe were sunk
in lethargy, and buried in monkish ignorance:"En Welburdig Norsk Mand, Erick Brockenhluss, som heden
vved Anno 1567. haffde Mandals leen i Befalinngh sagde vvdi
Sandhed, att haffne seet, den gandske Bibel vvdsett paa Islendske
Sixt. Senens. Biblioth. Sanct., lib. iv. Le Long, ut sup. Jacobi de Voragine Sermones Aurei. Mogunt. 1616, 4to.
t Du Cange, Glossar., v. Romanciumn. Calmet, Diet. de la Bible, Bibles Espagnoles.
X Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, p. 361.
O Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, p. 377. Usserii Hist. Dogmat., p. 152.
1                        23*




THIRTEENTH CENTURY.                  355
maal, skreffnen for 300. Aar seden, och, den forste Bogstaff i
hver Capittel vvaar forgylltt, &c."
By which we learn, that Eric Brockenhusius, governor of Mandale, in Norway, asserted, that in the year 1567 he saw a copy of
the Bible in the Icelandic tongue, which had been translated three
hundred years previous to that date; and that the initial letters of
the chapters were embellished with gold. The probability of an
attempt having been made about that time to communicate some
knowledge of the Scriptures, in the vernacular idiom, is corroborated by the Rev. Dr. Ebenezer Henderson, in the Report of his
visit to that island in 1814, for the purpose of carrying into effect
the plans of the British and Foreign Bible Society.  " Wherever
I came," says he, " the people received me with open arms, and
complained sadly of the dearth of the Scriptures. In the parish of
Kalfafell, which contains seventy souls, I found only one Bible,
besides that belonging to the church: and, what is remarkable, in
the parish of Thyckvabae Abbey, where, about the middle of the
thirteenth century, the first attempt was made to translate the
Scriptures into the vernacular language, not a single copy was
found to exist at the present day!" In his subsequent, and very interesting publication, entitled " Iceland, or a Journal of a Residence
in that Island," he has favoured the public with an historical view
of Icelandic translations, in which he remarks, that the book which
Brockenhusius saw, was, most probably, " a copy of the famous
work entitled'STIORN,' which was composed about the middle of
the thirteenth century, by Brandr Jonson, at that time abbot of
Thyckvabwe monastery, in the eastern quarter of Iceland, and afterward bishop of Holum."  This work, which was written in
1255, by order of King Magnus Haconson, who rendered himself
famous by reducing the different books of Norwegian law to one
grand code, contains a view of the sacred history from the creation to the captivity of the Jewish kings. In many places, a
literal version is given of the Vulgate text; in others, the sacred
history is paraphrased, and interspersed with legendary tales and
fancifiul interpretations; and in some, nothing more is exhibited
than a brief compendium of the contents of the Scripture accounts.
The interpretations of the text are mostly taken from the Historia
Scholastica of Peter Comestor; though considerable use is made
of the Speculum Historiale, and the writings of the fathers. Dr.
Henderson adds, " From the few documents that have been handed
down to us, relative to the state of sacred literature in Iceland,
during the reign of superstition, it would appear that copies even of
1




356                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
the Vulgate were by no means common; and the learned bishop
Jonson supposes, (Hist. Eccles. Island., tom. ii, p. 183,) even that
in many instances in which mention is made of the Holy Book
(helga boc) being used in the administration of oaths, nothing more
is meant than an image or representation of the Gospels cut ill
wood, and painted or cast in a mould; relics of which were still.
found in his time in the cathedral of Skalhollt. The Psalms of
David in Latin, however, were more frequently to be met with;
and such as were distinguishingly strict in their devotions, made
conscience of repeating a third part of the Psalter daily. The only
attempt that was made to communicate the knowledge of the divine oracles to others, seems to have been owing to the zeal of
Thorlak Runolfson, who lived in the twelfth century, and of whom
it is said in the Hungurvaka, that'he read lectures on the sacred
Scriptures;' but whether these lectures were public, and in the
vernacular language, or merely delivered to such as were designed
for the priesthood, cannot now be ascertained."*
In the Netherlands, the Waldenses turned the Scriptures into
Low Dutch rhymes, according to the custom of those ages, and in
imitation of those of the old Teutons, or Germans, who used to
record their most memorable affairs in verse. Their reasons for
this we shall give in their own words: " Dat daer in was groote
nutschap; no boerte, no fabulen, no truffe, no falserde; mer were
woerden. Dat hier endaer wel was een herde coerste, mer dat het
pit ende die soethit van goet en selicheit der in wel was te bekinnen."  "That there was great advantage in it, [the Bible,] no jests,
no fables, no trifles, no deceits, but the words of truth. That indeed there was here and there a hard crust.  But the marrow and
sweetness of what was good and holy might be easily discovered
in it."t
It has been questioned, and apparently with justice, whether
any translation of the whole Bible into English took place during
this century; for although Dr. Thomas James, in his treatise " Of
the Corruption of the Scripture," supposes that three of the MS.
Bibles preserved in the different libraries of Oxford are of this
age; they are, with more probability, referred by other critics to a
later date. Partial translations of the Bible, indeed, were made
about this time, " but they were translations of only some parts of
* Henderson's Iceland, vol. ii, Append. I, pp. 252-261. Edin. 1818, 8vo. Arngrim, Specimen Islandiae Historicum, pt. ii, Memb. 2, p. 128. Amstel. 1643, 4to.
Twelfth Report of Brit. and For. Bible Society, p. 204.
t Brandt's Hist. of the Reformation, vol. i, b. i, p. 14. Lond. 1720, fol.
1




THIRTEENTH CENTURY.                   357
the old Testament, as the Psalter, the Church Lessons and Hymns,
and of the New Testament, or rather of some of the books of it, and
seem not to have been published, but made only for the translator's
own use."* It deserves, however, to be noticed, that the learned
Dr. A. Clarke, in the General Preface to his Commentary, gives
several extracts from a glossed translation in his possession, which
he says was "written, probably, before the time of Wicliff:" and
that Sir William Thoresby, who was archbishop of York in the
fourteenth century, caused a treatise to be drawn up in English,
by a clergyman, of the name of Garryk, " in the whiche were conteyned the artycles of belefe, the vii. dedly sines, the vii. workes
of marcy, the x. commaundements, and sent them in small pagyantes to the common people, to lerne it;" and in this treatise remarks, that, " a man of London, whose name was Myringe, had a
Byble in Englyshe of Northern speche whiche was sene of many
men, and it seemed to be C. yeres old."t
But although it is not ascertained whether any complete translation of the whole Bible was made or not, it is certain that there
were some few eminent men who flourished at this period in England, and were strenuous advocates for the spread of Scriptural
knowledge. Bishop Grosseteste, and Roger Bacon, in particular,
merited the gratitude of the age in which they lived, by their opposition to papal corruptions, and their promotion of Biblical and
scientific acquirements.
ROBERT GROSSETESTE, or GROSTHEAD, seems to have been a
person of obscure parentage, and born about the year 1175, at
Stradbrook, in Suffolk. After having studied at Oxford, where he
laid the foundation of his knowledge of the Greek and Hebrew
tongues, and of the Aristotelian philosophy, he went to Paris, and
there perfected his acquaintance with the sacred tongues, and became a perfect master of the French. Here also he acquired those
stores of various learning, which not only rendered him one of the
first theologians and philosophers of the age, but subjected him to
the calumny of some of his ignorant contemporaries, who accused
him of necromancy or magic.
In 1221, the Dominicans, who, from the colour of their upper
garment, were called Black Friars, landed in this country; and
within three years were followed by the Franciscans, or Gray
* Lewis's Hist. of English Translations, p. 17. Lond. 1739, 8vo. James's Treatise
of the Corruption of Scripture, &c., pt. ii, p. 74. Lond. 1611, 4to. Baber's Historical
Account of Saxon and English Versions, p. lxviii.
t Dibdin's Typographical Antiquities, vol. iii, pp. 257, 258.
1




358                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Friars.  The university of Oxford was their favourite station,
where they soon opened their schools, and Grosseteste, from his
partiality to the Franciscans, was induced to become their first
lecturer. A curious anecdote is related of him and the superior
of the order: "The superior, who was himself void of learning,
but who gloried in the talents of his professor, was anxious to ascertain, if possible, what progress the scholars had made, and he
accordingly entered the school one day as they were rehearsing
their questions; when he found to his astonishment, that the subject
before them was, Whether there be a God?'Alas! Alas!' exclaimed the good man,'ignorant simplicity is daily gaining heaven;
while these learned disputants are arguing about the existence of
heaven's Master.'  After this he is said to have become solicitous
to turn their minds to more substantial studies."*
The exalted virtues and reputation of our divine procured him
the see of Lincoln, to which he was called in 1235. After his
election, he religiously devoted himself to the duties of his office,
and adopted vigorous measures for the reformation of abuses, and
for the instruction of the priests and people of his diocess, who
*were lamentably deficient in the first rudiments of Christian knowledge. He went through the several archdeaconries and deaneries,
called the clergy and people together, preached to the clergy, and
caused some friar of the Dominican, or Franciscan order, to deliver
lectures to the people, heard their confessions, and confirmed the
children. He enforced the duties of the clerical vocation by authoritative injunctions, by personal advice, and by a treatise written
expressly " On the Pastoral Care." One of his constitutions enjoins, " That the priests shall teach their parishioners the Decalogue," another commands " the rectors of churches, and parish
priests, diligently to instruct the youth of their respective parishes,
so that they may be able to say the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, and
the Salutation of the Blessed Virgin;" and adds, " Because it is
reported that many adults are ignorant of these things, we enjoin,
that when the laity come to confession, they be examined, whether
they know them or not; and if needful, that they be taught them by
the priests."  In his " Treatise on the Pastoral Care," he exhorts
the priest diligently to preach the word of God, which is " the food
of the soul;" and then proceeds, "If any one say, he knows not
how, the proper remedy is for him to resign his benefice; nevertheless, I can tell him of a better remedy: let every such person or
priest thoroughly learn, every week, the text alone (that is, without
* Berington's Literary Hist. of the Middle Ages, b. v, p. 364.
1




THIRTEENTH  CENTURY.                          359
gloss or comment) of the Gospel lesson appointed for the following Sunday, that he may be, at least, able to repeat the history
itself to the people.  And this, I say, that if lie understand Latin,
and will pursue this practice regularly every week, he will, most
assuredly, profit by it greatly.  But, if he be ignorant of Latin, let
him go to some one near him, who will cheerfully explain it to
him, and by this means enable him  also to teach his flock.  Thus
in one year he may repeat the Epistles for the Festivals; and in another the' Lives of the Saints.' "* To the regents in theology, ill
the university of Oxford, he wrote a pathetic letter, earnestly entreating them to lay the foundation of theological learning in the
study of the Scriptures; and to devote the morning hours to lectures on the Old and New  Testainents.  It appears also by the
following passage, quoted from his writings by the author of aln
early English translation of the Bible, that he was a decided friend
to vernacular translations of the Scriptures: "Deus voluit, ut plures interpretes S. Scripturam  transferrent, et diversae Translationes
in ecclesia essent; idcirco ut quod unus obscurids dixerat, alter
manifesti's redderet."t " It is the will of God that the Holy Scriptures should be translated by many translators, and that there
should be different translations in the church, so that what is obscurely expressed by one, may be more perspicuously translated
by another."
He  abolished the Feast of Asses, which used to be annually
celebrated in Lincoln cathedral, on the Feast of the Circumcision:
miracle plays; and the Mlaaiji Inductio, or ceremonies practised on
the first of May.f   He also forbade the archdeacons of his diocess
to permit Scot-Ales~ in their chapters and synods, and other Ludi,
or games and pastimes on holydays.  (Gratii Fascicul, tom. ii, Ep.
22, 107, pp. 314, 382, 411, 412.)
* "The Legends, or Lives of the Saints were, formerly, constantly read in churches."
t Whartoni Auctarium Hist. Dogmat., cap. ii, pp. 416-418. Henry's Hist. of Great
Britain, vol. viii, b. iv, ch. iv, p. 181. Gratii Fascic., tom. ii, Ep. 123, pp. 392, 410.
$ It was an ancient custom for the priest and people of country villages, to go in
procession to some adjoining wood, on a May-day morning, and return in a kind of
triumph, with a May-pole, boughs, flowers, garlands, and other tokens of the spring.
This May-game, or rejoicing at the coming of spring, and termed Maii Inductio, was
long observed, and traces of it still continue in some parts of England. It was derived
from the heathen Feast of Flora, the goddess of fruits and flowers, celebrated with all
manner of obscenity and lewdness, on the four last days of April, and the first of May.
-Brand's Observations on Popular Antiquities, ch. xxv, p. 283, &c. Leond. 1810, 8vo.
Tiliot, Memoires pour servir a l'histoire de la Fete des FIoux, pp. 26-32.  Lausanne et
Geneve, 1751, 12mo.
{ Scot-Ales. The nature of these compotations will be best understood by the two
1




360                      BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
He was a universal scholar, and no less conversant in polite
letters than in the most abstruse sciences. The Greek language
he cultivated and patronized beyond most of his contemporaries.
He translated  Dionysius the Areopagite, and Damascenus, into
Latin. He was also the author of the first Latin translation of
the Greek Lexicon of Suidas, at that time almost a recent compi
lation. He promoted John of Basingstoke to the archdeaconry of
Leicester, chiefly because he was a Greek scholar, and possessed
many Greek MISS., which he is said to have brought from  Athens
to England;  and  he  entertained  as a  domestic  in  his  palace
Nicholas, chaplain of the abbot of St. Alban's, surnamed Graecus,
from  his uncommon proficiency in Greek.  With the assistance
of Nicholas he translated from the Greek into Latin " The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs," which had been discovered at
Athens by Archdeacon Basingstoke, and was said to have been
translated  out of Hebrew  into  Greek  by  Chrysostom.   This
work, from the low state of criticism at that period, was regarded
as an  invaluable treasure, and  the  translator was  supposed  to
have enriched Europe with the knowledge of a valuable monuinent of sacred  antiquity.   Modern  critics  have  exposed  its
defects, and placed it in the list of spurious writings, except the
eccentric Whiston, who attempted to defend it,* and published an
following constitutions; the first by Edmund Rich, archbishop of Canterbury, A. D.
1236; the latter by Simon Langham, archbishop of Canterbury, A. D. 1367.  See
Johnson's Collection of Ecclesiastical Laws, vol. ii, sub. ann.
"6. We wholly forbid clergymen the ill practice, by which all that drink together
are obliged to equal draughts, and he carries away the credit who hath made most
drunk, and taken off the largest cups: therefore we forbid all forcing to drink: let him
that is culpable be suspended from office and benefice, according to the statutes of the
council," (of Lateran, 1216, ch. xv,) "' unless, upon admonition from his superior, he
make competent satisfaction.  WVe forbid the publication of Scot-Ales to be made by
priests. If any priest or clerk do this, or be present at Scot-Ales, let him be canonically punished."
"2.-When a multitude of men, exceeding ten in number, stay long together in
the same house for drinking sake, we declare these to be common drinking bouts.
But we mean not to comprehend travellers and strangers, and such as meet (though
in taverns) at fairs and markets, under this prohibition. Detesting those common
drinking bouts, which, by a change of name, they call Charity Scot-Ales, we charge
that the authors of such drinking bouts, and they who publicly meet at them, be publicly solemnly denounced excommunicate, till they have made competent satisfaction
for it, and have merited the benefit of absolution."  See also Du Cange, Glossar. V.
"' Scotallum."
Warton's Hist. of English Poetry, vol. i, dis. 2. Whiston's Collection of Authen-,tic Records, vol. i, pt. i, pp. 294-443. Lond. 1727, 8vo.
1




THIRTEENTH  CENTURY.                          361
English translation of it in his Collection of Authentic Records
belonging to the Old and New Testament.
Several of the bishop's popular works are in French, particularly his metrical compositions, which display a fondness for the
metre and music of the French minstrels.  His Ilanzuel de Peche,
or " Manual of Sin," is a long work, and treats of the Decalogue
and the seven deadly sins, which are illustrated with many
legendary  stories.   It was translated  into  English in 1303  by
Robert Manning, or De Brunne, with a design to be sung to the
harp at public entertainments.  His Chateau d'Amzour, or " Castle of Love," is a religious allegory, in which  the fundamental
articles of Christian  belief are  represented  under the ideas  of
chivalry.   "It has the air of a  system  of divinity written by a
Troubadour.*"   The poem  commences withl the following lines,
the sentiments  of which  are  excellent, though  the language is
antiquated:"Ki pense ben, ben peut dire;
Sanz penser ne poet suffise:
De nul bon oure commencer
Deu nos dont de ii penser
De ki, par ki, en ki, sont
Tos les biens ki font en el mond."
They are thus paraphrased in a translation made, probably, in
the reign of Edward I.:"That good thinketh, good may do,
And God wol help him thar to:
Ffor nas never good work wrougt
With oute biginninge of good thougt.
Ne never was wrougt non vuelt thyng
That vuel thougt nas the biginnyng.
God ffuder, and sone and holigoste
That alle thing on eorthe sixtt and wost,
That one God art and thrillihod,~
And threo persones in one hod,ll
Withouten end and biginninge,
To whom we ougten over alle thinge
* The Troubadours were French minstrels or poets, who chiefly flourished in
Provence, during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
t Well, good.  t Highest.  This is the explanation of the term  as given by
Warton; but there is probably an error in the first letter, and that the word ought to
be fist, settled, placed, as the following word fwost is evidently from the old verb weet,
to know.
~ Trinity.                    II Unity.
1




362                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Worschepe him with trewe love,
That kineworthe king art us above,
In whom, of whom, thorw whom beoth,
Alle the good schipes that we hire i seoth
He leve us thenche and worchen so,
That he us schylde from vre fo."*
He also began a comment on the Psalter, though he did not
live to finish it.  A list of his principal works is given in Cave's
Historia Litteraria, smc. xiii, pp. 716, 717.  Lond. 1688.
Grosseteste was the resolute opposer of the extortionary system
of the Roman court, which was at no time more severely felt;
and the disgust he entertained at the conduct of the pope, who
attempted to introduce his Italian minions into the most opulent
benefices, was discovered in the contempt with which he treated
the orders of the pontiff. Often he would indignantly cast the
papal bulls out of his hands, and absolutely refuse to comply
with them, saying, that he should be the friend of Satan if he
should commit the care of souls to foreigners. He even refused
to app-oint the nephew of Innocent himself to a canonry in the
cathedral of Lincoln, which so exasperated the pontiff, that he
violently exclaimed, " Who is this old dotard who dares to
judge my actions? By Peter and Paul, if I were not restrained
by my generosity, I would make him an example and a spectacle
to all mankind. Is not the king of England my vassal and my
slave?  And if I gave the word would he not throw him  into
prison, and load him with infamy and disgrace?"  The cardinals,
however, endeavoured to appease his resentment by representations of his own danger, and the great reputation of the bishop.
But the fury of Innocent was not to be allayed, and he pronounced
the sentence of excommunication against Grosseteste, and appointed Albert, one of his nuncios, to the bishopric of Lincoln.
The high character of the bishop rendered the thunder of the
Vatican harmless, the pope's commands were universally neglected, and the bishop continued in the quiet possession of his
dignity.t
This excellent dignitary of the church died at Buckden, in
Huntingdonshire, October 9, 1253.
ROGER BACON, the friend and contemporary of Grosseteste, was
born at Ilchester, in Somersetshire, in the year 1214. After
finishing the elementary studies of grammar and logic at Oxford,
* Warton's Hist. of English Poetry, vol. i, pp. 79, 80.
t Milner's Hist. of the Church of Christ, vol. iv, pp. 48, 51, 52. Fox's Actes and
Monuments, vol. i, pp. 405-410. Loud. 1570, fol.
1




THIRTEENTH CENTURY.                     363
he visited Paris, to attend upon the lectures of the celebrated
professors of that university.  Here he sedulously applied himself
to the knowledge of languages, history, jurisprudence, the mathematics, and medicine, completing the whole by the study of
theology.  The information which he could not obtain from living
preceptors, he dug with indefatigable industry out of the mines of
Grecian and Arabian learning.  About the year 1240, having
been admitted to the degree of Doctor, he returned to England,
and assumed the Franciscan habit, and, in the retirement of his
cell, prosecuted his studies with increasing ardour. Being chosen
to deliver lectures to the university of Ox-ford, he expended immense sums in books, and other means of perfecting his knowledge and discoveries. " In twenty years," says he, " during which
I have been particularly engaged in the study of wisdom, neglecting all vulgar attentions to money, I have expended more than two
thousand pounds in books of secrets, in a variety of experiments,
and in languages, and instruments, and tables, and other means of
obtaining the friendship of the wise, and of instructing the minds
of my hearers."*  An almost incredible sum, when the income of
a curate was but five marks, or ~3 6s. 8d.; and the salary of a judge
but ~40!t and consequently equal in efficacy to X~30,000 of our
money at present.  We are, indeed, at a loss which to applaud
most, his generous friends and patrons, who enabled him to spend
so large a sum; or the disinterestedness of the lecturer himself,
who lost sight of his own emolument in the desire for the improvement of others.  Seldom, however, has money been better employed; for in the course of his experiments, he is said to have
made a greater number of useful and surprising discoveries in
geometry, astronomy, physics, optics, mechanics, and chemistry,
than ever were made by one man, in an equal space of time.
Amongthe discoveries of this luminary of his age, are enumerated,the discovery of the exactlength of the solar year, and a method of correcting all the errors in the calendar; of the art of making readingglasses, the camera obscura, microscopes, telescopes, and various
other mathematical and astronomical instruments; ofthe composition
of gunpowder, and the nature of phosphorus; the method of making
elixirs, tinctures, solutions, and of performing many other chemical
operations; of the art of combining and employing the mechanical
powers in the construction of machines capable of producing the
* Leland. Coill. iii, 333, cited in WVhitaker's Cathedral of Cornwall, vol. ii, ch. vii,
sec. iii, p. 335.
t Chronicon Preciosum, pp. 131, 155, 156. Lond. 1707, 8vo,
1




364                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
most extraordinary effects; and of various remedies in the science
of medicine.*
But however astonishing his attainments were as a natural philosopher, it is chiefly as a divine and a promoter of Biblical knowledge that he at present claims our regard; and it will with
pleasure be discovered, that ardent as were his scientific pursuits,
they not only did not prevent his study of the Scriptures, but were
hallowed by their application to the sacred purposes of religion.
In a treatise addressed to Pope Clement, he shows the necessity
of understanding the Greek, and the Oriental languages, in order
to ascertain the true sense and reading of the Scriptures, which
he says were become miserably corrupted, chiefly through the
profound ignorance of transcribers and pseudo-critics, who frequently corrupted them by attempting injudiciously to correct them.
He also enters into a learned discussion of the translations made
use of in the Greek and Roman churches, and particularly examines the translations of Jerome; and remarks, that the one generally adopted by the Latins was one of those which were executed
by Jerome, and that it had obtained universal sanction and use on
account of its accuracy and perspicuity: " Cujus editione generaliter omnes ecclesia  utuntur, pro eo quod veracior sit in sententiis,
et clarior in verbis." Ite further inveighs against the practice of
theological lecturers, who preferred the philosophy of the schoolmen, or followers of Aristotle, to the plain truths of Scripture;
and read lectures on the Sentencest in preference to the Bible, as
one of the causes of general indifference to Biblical literature.t
In another work, addressed to the same pontiff, and designed to
obtain the papal sanction to his endeavours for a more general
acquaintance with the original languages of the sacred volume, he
undertakes to prove that the rudiments of all kinds of knowledge
are to be found in the Scriptures; and that all the sciences may
be rendered subservient to their illustration and explanation; that
all the evils then existing under Christian governments arose from
ignorance of the Scriptures; and in particular from the example
and conduct of princes and prelates. " Causa namque quare
"* Henry's History of Great Britain, vol. viii, b. iv, ch. iv, sec. 2, pp. 217-220. Enfield's Hist. of Philosophy, vol. ii, b. vii, ch. iii, pp. 376-378.
~ Peter Lombard, a French divine of the twelfth century, wrote a theological system, which he entitled Magister Sentenltiarum, " The Master of Sentences," in which
he illustrated the doctrines of the church by sentences collected from the fathers, with
select questions for disputation; a work which obtained universal authority in the
theological schools, and upon which innumerable commentaries were written.
$ Hody, De Bibliorum Text. Orig., lib. iii, pt. ii, ch. xi, pp. 419-428.
1




THIRTEENTH CENTURY.                    365
fideles non convdrtuntur ad fidem, est quia principes et prelati
eorum tenent eos in errore, et sic est in omni statu. Scilicet, infinitus est defectus in eis qui presunt nunc temporis studio et vita:
et ideo est quod subjecta multitude errat in infinitis," (c. xxviii, De
Laude Sacroe Scripturce.) He maintains the necessity of an acquaintance with the Hebrew and Greek, in order accurately to
understand the sacred writings, observing that the best translators,
and even Jerome himself, have sometimes erred; and that, during
the preceding twenty years, the major part of Biblical MSS. had
been depraved by scribes and sciolists, every one correcting according to his pleasure, and altering what he did not understand,
a practice not allowed even in common writings: " quod quilibet
corrigat pro sua voluntate, et quilibet mutat quod non intelligit;
quod non licet facere in libris poetarum." On this subject of
acquiring a knowledge of Hebrew and Greek he carries his ideas
ao far as to suppose that Christians in general ought to learn
them; and especially as they are so easy of attainment.  For he
affirms that, by the universal grammar which he has invented, a
person may learn the Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Arabic in a few
days.  "I am certain," says he, "that in less than three days* I
could teach any person of a diligent habit and retentive memory,
who would be conformable to certain rules, to read Hebrew, and
understand whatever wise and holy men have formerly said in explanation of the sacred text, or whatever relates to its correction
and explanation; and in three days more to understand the Greek,
so as not only to be able to read and understand what relates to
theology, but whatever has been written concerning philosophy,
and the Latin tongue." To the objection, that even if these languages were generally attained, common Christians would nevertheless mistake the sense of Scripture, he replies, that the fear is
groundless; but, to prevent all danger, he intends to accompany
his work with a manual, or introduction.  He proceeds earnestly
to entreat Clement not to withhold his sanction from a measure so
pregnant with numerous and great benefits as the general knowledge of the original languages of holy writ, but to promote it by
every mild and persuasive method; and concludes by predicting
the advantages that will result from the adoption of his plans. The
principal of these are, that the " Divine Office," or prayers of the
church, will be then understood by all Christians; that the " Divine
* It is probable that our learned author has adopted a definite term for an indefinite
one, expressive of a very short time; still we cannot but regret that we are not in
possession of his mode of instruction.
1




366                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Law" being more generally known, it will not be so easily corrupted; that Christians, being instructed in the sacred oracles,
will be better prepared to resist with firmness the future dangers
of antichrist; and that the law of faith and the rule of life will be
drawn from a pure and unpolluted source; to which may be added
the conversion of infidels and schismatics, and the condemnation
of those who cannot be converted. Every way, therefore, the languages are useful; every way, the knowledge of the Scriptures is
necessarTy.*
The extraordinary abilities of our learned friar gained him the
appellation of the IWonder:ful Doctor, while in their stupid admiration they ascribed his inventions to the black art. His knowledge of the Greek and Hebrexw languages was regarded as the
medium of intercourse with infernal spirits; and the suspicion was
confirmed by the circles and triangles of his mathematical productions. The brethren of his order refused to admit his works into
their libraries, and the general of the order confined him to his
cell, and prohibited him from sending any of his writings out of
his monastery, except to the pope.  He languished in confinement
for several years, till Clement TV,, to whom he had sent a copy
of his Opus 3liajus, in 1266, obtained some mitigation of his sufferings, if not his entire liberty.  But, on pretence of some suspicious novelties  in his works, he was again imprisoned by Jerome
d'Ascoli, in 1278. This second imprisonmnent continued for about
eleven or twelve years, when Jerome, who had occasioned his
condemnation, being raised to the pontifical chair, by the name of
Nicholas IV., was prevailed upon, by several noblemen, to release
him from his confinement, Though now old and infirm, his love
of science was unabated, and he continued to prosecute his studies,
by polishing his former works and composing new ones, till death
terminated his sufferings and labours about A. D. 1292.t
In an age when incarceration and contempt were the recompense
of laborious research and extensive learning, it would be absurd to
expect any thing but ignorance and the most puerile pursuits. The
following method of attempting to cure the epilepsy, recommended
by the most famous physicians of those times, correctly delineates
the manners of the. age, and fully proves the deplorable state of
science in general. "Because there are many children and others
afflicted with the epilepsy, who cannot take medicines," says John
* Whartoni Auctariurn IIist. Dogimat. J. Usserii, pp. 420-424. See also Baconi
Opus Majus, a Jebb. London, 1733, fol. et in Prafat.
t Henry's Hist. of Great Britain, vol. viii, b. iv, ch. iv. p. 218.
1




THIRTEENTH CENTURY.                        367
tie Gaddesden, in his "Medical Rose," " let the following experiment be tried, which is recommended by Constantine, Walter,
Bernard, Gilbert, and others, which I have found to be effectual,
whether the patient was a demoniac, a lunatic, or an epileptic.
When the patient and his parents have fasted three days, let them
conduct him to a church. If he be of a proper age, and in his
right senses, let him confess. Then let him hear mass on Friday,
during the fast of quatuori temporuim," (viz., March, June, September, or December,) " and also on Saturday. On Sunday let a
good and religious priest read over the head of the patient, in the
church, the Gospel which is read in September, in the time of
vintage, after the feast of the holy cross.  After this let the priest
write the same Gospel devoutly; and let the patient wear it about
his neck, and he shall be cured. The Gospel is,-This kind goeth
not out but by prayer and fasting."'?
The private libraries of many abbots afford another proof of the
depressed and neglected state of sacred literature.  Symon Gunton, in his " History of the Church of Peterburgh,"t has, with
considerable labour, collected biographical notices of many of the
abbots, and presented the reader -with lists of the books belonging
to them.  The following are selected from them:ROBERTUTS DE  LINDESEY was monk and sacristan of Burgh,
and paved his way to the abbacy by his liberality toward the
church; "for whereas the windows were before only stuffed with
stratw to keep out the weather, he beautified above thirty of them
with glasses; and his example brought the rest by degrees to the
like perfection." tHaving been abbot seven years, he died October
25th, 1222.  "He was not very rich in books; Lhis library consisted only of these few:" Numerale Magistri, WV. de Montibus, cutn aliis rebus. Tropi Magistri Petri cum
diversis summis. Sententire Petri Pretanensis. Psalterium  Glossatum. Aurora.t
Psalterium non Glossaturm. Historiale.",}
ALEXANDER DE HOLDERNESS.  H-le was first a monk, then prior,
and lastly abbot.  Having bcen abbot four years he died, Novem
ber 20th, 1226.  "These were his books:" Psalterium.  Concordantit utriulsq; TJiST. Claulstrum.Anina. Opus alterum
quod perfecit Rogerus de Ilelpston. Aurora. Pcenitentiale. Tria Breviaria. Conciliurn Lateranensi cum alliis rebus. Corrogationes Promet hei. Missale.ll"
* Henry's Hist. of Great Britain, b. iv, ch. iv, pp. 208, 209.
t Commonly written " Peterborough."
t The History of the Bible allegorized in Latin verse by Peter de Riga.
~ Gunton's Hist. of the Church of Peterburgh, pp. 27, 29. L.ondon, 1686, folio.
U Gunton, p. 29.
1




368                      BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
MARTINUS DE  RAMSEY  was  a monk  of Peterborough, and
elected abbot after the death of Alexander. He died after being
abbot six years.  " His library was but thin:" Missale. Item Missale ad Altare S. Katharinee. Capitula collecta Evangelica in
2 voluminibus ad magnum Altare."*t
WALTERUS DE S. EDMUNDO was first monk, then sacristan, and
at length abbot, in 1233. " Ilis library was copious in comparison
of his predecessors, consisting of these books:"Decretale. Aurora. Claustrunm Animae. BIBLIA.  Hexameron S. Cantuariae
versific6. Rabanus de Naturis Rerum, et Interpretationes Hebraicorumn nominum in
uno volumine. Versus M. W. de Montibus. Psalterium gloss.  Summa Magistri J.
de Cantia de Pcenitentia.  Templum Dornini cum  arte confessionum. Regula S.
Benedicti. Psalteriurn cum hyrmpnario. Item dulo Psalteria. Duo Missalia. Duo
Gradualia. Liber Evangeliorum. Liber Orationum ad magnum altare." T
WILLIELMUS DE HOTOT, or HOTOFT, being a monk of Peterborough, was chosen abbot the 6th of February, 1246. " Having
been abbot only three years, he surceased. Perhaps he had not
time enough to gather more books than these into his library:"Antissiodorensis abbreviatus. Tractatus super Canonem Missae. Templum Domini
cum aliis rebus. Libellus de diversis rebus. Missale ad altare Michaelis."ll
JOHANNIS DE CALETO.  He was elected abbot in 1249.  He is
said to have been made lord treasurer by the barons.  "His secular employments might take off his mind from books and plead for
the poorness of his library."   "This was his stock of books, as I
find from an ancient MS.:"Flores Evangeliorum. Tractatus de Theologia,  Concilium Lateranense. Templum Domini. Testamentum 12 Patriarcharum."~
But we should be unjust to the abbots of Peterborough, if we
were to suppose them  to be more indifferent to literature than their
contemporaries. The neglect of learning was nearly universal,
and the  following instances will evidence how  extensively the
scarcity of books was experienced.  In an inventory of the goods
of John de Pontissara, bishop of Winchester, contained in his
palace of Wulvesey, all the books which appear are nothing more
than  Septemdecem pecie lib/worum  de diversis Scienciis, "Fragments of seventeen books on different sciences."   This was in the
* The Missal and Capitula seem to have been lent on account of the scarcity of
books.
t Gunton, p. 30.
t Walter's library was creditable to him, and exhibits, most pleasingly, his love of
Biblical literature;-a Bible, four Psalters, the Four Gospels, and a work on Hebrew
names, were a rich treasure possessed by few or none beside!
~ Gunton, p. 33.       11 Gunton, pp. 33, 34.'I Gunton, pp. 34, 35.
1




THIRTEENTH CENTURY.                    369
year 1294. The same prelate, in the year 1299, borrowed of his
cathedral convent of St. Swithin, at Winchester, Bibliam bene
Glossatam, that is, The Bible with marginal annotations, in two
large folio volumes, but gave a bond for due return of the loan,
drawn up with great solemnity. A copy of the bond may be seen
in the " Dissertation on Learning," prefixed to the first volume of
Warton's History of English Poetry. This Bible had been bequeathed by Pontissara's predecessor, Bishop Nicholas de Ely:
and in consideration of so important a bequest, and of one hundred
marks in money, the monks founded a daily mass for the soul of
the donor. About the year 1225, Roger de Insula, dean of York,
gave several Latin Bibles to the university of Oxford, with a condition, that the students who perused them should deposite a cautionary pledge. Even the library of that university, before the
year 1300, consisted only of a few tracts, chained or kept in chests,
in the choir of St. Mary's church.* The prices of books were,
consequently, excessively high, and almost beyond the reach of the
inferior orders of the clergy, at a time when the annual allowance
of a scholar of the university was but fifty shillings.t W. de
Howton, abbot of Croxton, bequeathed to that abbey, at his death,
in 1274, "a BIBLE, in nine tomes, faire written, and excellently
well glosed by Solomon, archdeacon of Leicester, and paid for it
fiftie markes sterling," or ~33 6s. 8d.t And in a valuation of
books bequeathed to Merton College, at Oxford, before the year
1300, a Psalter, with glosses, or marginal annotations, is valued
at ten shillings; and St. Austin on Genesis, and a Conco7rdantia, or
Harmony, are each valued at the same price.~ Let it also be remembered, that every charge should be multiplied by fifteen, to bring it
to the average, or value of money at present; 1 and in some instances,:be comparative value would be still too low, as, in the instance
of the labouring men, whose pay, in 1272, was only three halfpence per day, and who must therefore have devoted the earnings
of many years to purchase a Bible.~T Whitaker, in his History of
Craven, affords the additional information, that toward the close
of the thirteenth, and at the commencement of the fourteenth cen* Warton's Hist. of English Poetry, vol. i, diss. 2.
t Chalmer's Hist. of the University of Oxford, vol. i, p. 6. Oxf. 1810, 8ro.
t Stow's Annales, p. 169. Lond. 1615, fol.
~ Warton, ubi sup.
II See Henry's Hist. of Great Britain, vol. vi, ch. vi, pp. 302-307; and vol. viii,
ch. vi, p. 352. Whitaker's Hist. of Craven, p. 404.
~ Dugdale's Warwickshire, quoted in Evang. Mag. 1807, p. 121.
VOL. I. —24




370                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
tury, the average wages of a man-servant, with meat and clothing,
were from three to five shillings only per annum; but that reapers
were paid two-pence a day; that a sheep sold for a shilling, and
thirty quarters of fossil-coal for seventeen shillings and six-pence.*
Madox, in his History of the Exchequer, says, that in 1240, the
building of two arches of London Bridge cost only twenty-five
pounds; eight pounds less than the Bible bequeathed to the abbey
of Croxton, by Abbot W. de Howton It
The booksellers of this period were called stationarii, from
their stations, or shops, a term  still in use in the English word
stationer.  They not only sold books, but many of them acquired
considerable property by lending out books to be read, at exorbitant prices, not in volumes, but in detached parts, according to
the estimation in which the author was held. In Paris, the limited
trade of these booksellers consisted principally in selling books
for those who wished to dispose of them, and furnishing a depository for them while on sale. To prevent frauds being practised
by these stationaires, as they were called, the university framed
a law, or regulation, dated Dec. 8th, 1275, by which the booksellers were obliged to take an oath every year, or, at the furthest,
every two years, or oftener if required, that they would act loyally,
and with fidelity in their employment.  By the same statute, which
was the first ever passed in the university respecting booksellers,
they were forbidden to purchase, on their own account, the books
placed in their hands, until they had been offered to sale for a
month; and were enjoined to expose them  publicly, immediately
on being lodged in their hands, with a label affixed, containing the
title and price of the book; it was also further ordered, that this
price should be received on behalf of the owner of the books, who
should allow a certain commission to the vender, which was fixed
by the university at four deniers per livre, according to the price of
the book; and if any bookseller committed fraud, he was dismissed
from his office, and the masters and scholars were prohibited trading with such persons, under pain of being deprived of all the rights
and privileges of the university. Their stalls, or portable shops,
were sometimes erected in the market-place;$ and at other times
in the parvis, or church-porch, where schools were also occasion* Whitaker's Hist. of Craven, p. 404.
t Madox's Hist. of the Exchequer, ch. x, pp. 249, 250. Loud. 1711, fol.
t The Latin term statio, sometimes means a place of public resort: see Pitisci Lex
Antiq. Roman. in voce: sometimes also a depository, [Fr. Entrepos.] See Previer
Hist. de l'Univ. de Paris, tom. ii, p. 66, note.
I                         24"




THIRTEENTH CENTURY.                    371
ally kept. Matt. Paris says, that in 1250 a poor clerk of France
was forced to drag on " a starving life in the parvis, keeping a
school, and selling petty books;" and the portal at the north end
of the cross aisle, in Rouen cathedral, is to this day called Le Portail des Libraires, or the porch of the booksellers.*  These moveable booksellers' shops may appear to us at present as insignificant
and unworthy the importance of literary traffic; but at the time of
which we are writing, they served the interests of literature, and in
an age of barbarous ignorance, promoted knowledge; nor ought
we to forget, that in the preceding century, the monks of Cottenham, near Cambridge, were obliged to hire a barn, in order to give
lectures to the students of that university. To this day markets
for MSS. are continued in the East.  Dr. E. D. Clarke, in his
"Travels in various Countries," &c., remarks, "The bazar of the
booksellers," of Constantinople, "does not contain all the works
enumerated by D' Herbelot; but there is hardly any Oriental author, whose writings, if demanded, may not be procured; although
every volume offered for sale be MS. The number of shops employed in this way, in that market and elsewhere, amounts to a
hundred: each of these contain, upon an average, five hundred
volumes; so that no less a number than fifty thousand MSS., Arabic, Persian, and Turkish, are daily exposed for sale. There are
similar MS. markets in all the Turkish cities, particularly those of
Aleppo and of Cairo."t
Tedious as was the process of transcription, several of the
public libraries of Europe contain copies of the whole or parts
of the Scriptures, especially the Psalter, written in this century.
In a copy of the whole Latin Bible, in the British Museum, the
name of the transcriber, and the date of the transcript, are thus
preserved: " Hunc librum scripsit Willielmus de Hales, Magistro
Thome de la Wile, quem vocavit Magister Radulphus de Hehharn
tunc Cancellarius Sarum: quibus Deus in hoc Saculo et in futuro
propicietur. Amen. Factus fuit liber anno 1254, ab incarnatione
Domini."
Another MS., containing the Proverbs of Solomnon, Ecclesiastes,
Canticles, and Wisdom, with Prologues, has the following anathema, not uncommon in ancient MSS., inscribed in the beginning:
* Du Cange, Glossar., v. Stationarii. Whitaker's Cathedral of Cornwall, vol. i, p. 149.
Berrington's Literary Hist. of the Middle Ages, b. v, p. 356. Crevier, Hist. de
l'Universite de Paris, tom. ii, liv. 3, pp. 66-68. Paris, 1761, 12mo.
t Berrington, at sup., p. 307. Dr. E. D. Clarke's Travels, vol. iii, pp. 65, 67. Lond.
1817, 8vo.
1




372                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
" Liber De Claustro Roffensi per Johannem Priorem: quem qui
inde alienaverit, alienatum celaverit, vel hunc titulum fraudulenter
deleverit, Anathema sit. Amen."-" This book belongs to the monastery of Rochester (given) by the prior John; if any one remove
it, or conceal it when taken away, or fraudulently deface this inscription, let him be anathema. Amen."
Le Long, in his Bibliotheca Sacra, notices several MSS. containing the Latin Bible, written during this century, particularly
one transcribed by the Premonstrants in 1263. It was made use
of by Joannes Hentenius, in an edition of the Bible printed in
1547, and also by the deputies to the council of Trent.
Godefridus de Croyland, who was elected abbot of Peterborough
in 1290 or 1299, during his abbacy entertained King Edward I.,
and also two cardinals, to one of whom, named Gaucilinus, he
presented a Psalter, curiously written with golden letters, but the
time when it was transcribed is uncertain.
Among the royal MSS. in the British Museum is a MS. Psalter,
of this century, which belonged formerly to the church of St. Botolph, and having been taken from thence, was presented to Queen
Mary by Ralph Pryne, a grocer of London, as appears by the following lines written in the first leaf:"God saue the most vertuus and nobull Quene Marys gras:
And send her to in Joye the crowne of Eyngland long tyme and spas.
Her ennimys to confunde, and hutterly to deface,
And to folo her godly proceydynges God giue us gras:
As euery subyegte ys bounde for her gras to praye
That God may preserve her body from all dangers both nyght and dayo.
God save the Quene.
Be me humbull and poor Orytur Rafe Pryne, grocer of Londoun, wyshynge your gras
prosperus helthe."*
During this century an important event took place, which, from
its intimate connection with Biblical literature, demands particular
notice. This was the expulsion of the Jews from England, and
the confiscation of their property.  From the time of William the
Conqueror the Jews had been permitted to settle in the kingdom;
and, notwithstanding the cruelties practised upon them at different
times, under various pretences, and the tyrannical exactions they
had suffered whenever the government was in want of money, they
had spread themselves in vast bodies throughout most of the cities
and capital towns in the land. In the reign of William Rufus, some
* Classical Journal, vol. viii, No. 15, pp. 150, 151. Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom.
i, cap. iv, p. 240. Paris, 1723, fol.
I




THIRTEENTH CENTURY.                  373
of the rabbins had been permitted to open a school in the university of Oxford, to instruct not only their own people, but Christian
students, in the Hebrew language and literature.  About two
hundred years after their admission by the Conqueror, they were
expelled again by Edward I., their synagogues profaned, their
libraries dispersed, their goods seized, and many of them barbarously murdered. At Huntingdon and Stamford "all their furniture came under the hammer for sale, together with their treasures
of books." These Hebrew MSS. were immediately purchased by
Gregory of Huntingdon, prior of the abbey of Ramsey, who had
been studying the Hebrew language for some time, and had been
checked in his studies by the want of Hebrew books; and who no
sooner heard of this auction, than " he hastily repaired to it from
his neighbouring monastery, well furnished with money, and readily,
at the fixed price, purchased their gold for his brass, and returned
home exceedingly well pleased. Night and day he turned over his
Hebrew volumes, until he had obtained a more intimate knowledge of the language from its fountain-head. He left also to his
fellow-priests many excellent annotations from his own pen, which
a learned posterity might read with pleasure. The catalogue of
Ramsey library makes a distinct and honourable mention of the
Hebrew books, most industriously collected by him."* Gregory
bequeathed these valuable acquisitions to his monastery about the
year 1250. At Oxford, great multitudes of the books which had
belonged to the Jews fell into the hands of Roger Bacon, or were
bought by his brethren, the Franciscan friars of that university.t
But the number of those who applied to the study of the Hebrew
tongue were so few, that the famous Roger Bacon affirmed that there
were not more than three or four persons among the Latins, in his
time, who had any knowledge of the Oriental languages; though it
must be acknowledged that, in this instance, the views of our learned
friar were too gloomy, and that, whether known to him or not, there
were others who were engaged in the study of Arabic and Hebrew
principally, to enable them more effectually to refute the antichristian writings of the Jews. On the other hand, that species
of theology known by the name of school divinity was cultivated
with uncommon ardour; and the most celebrated of the scholastic
divines were honoured with the pompous titles of profound, sublime,
wonderful, seraphic, angelic doctors. In the preceding century
the scholastic doctors had made the Scriptures the chief subject
* Leland, De Script. Brit., tom. ii, cap. cccxxiii, pp. 321, 322. Oxon, 1709, 8vo.
Warton's History of English Poetry, vol i, dissert. 2.
1




374                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
of their studies, and the text of their lectures, as some few of them
still continued to do, who for that reason were denominated Bible
divines. But in the course of this century the Holy Scriptures,
with those who studied or endeavoured to explain them, were
neglected and contemned.  The Bible doctors were slighted as
men of inferior learning and acuteness. "He who lectures on
the Sentences of Lombard," says the illustrious Roger Bacon, " is
everywhere honoured, and preferred to him who adopts the sacred
text as the subject of his lectures; for he who reads the Sentences
chooses the most convenient hour, according to his pleasure, and
obtains a companion and an apartment among the religious; while
he who reads the Bible is deprived of these advantages, and only
obtains an hour for lecturing, by begging it of the lecturer on the
Sente'nces."*
The same spirit of scholastic divinity ascended the pulpit, and
introduced a new and more artificial method of preaching. Before
this period the clergy chiefly used the modes of preaching termed
postilating and declaring.  Postillating consisted in expounding
a large portion of Scripture, sentence after sentence; a method
of instruction still practised in some foreign churches, and in the
church of Scotland, where it is called lecturing.  Declaring was
so termed, because the preacher, without naming any particular
text, declared the subject of his sermon, in words to this purpose:
"In my present sermon I design, by the grace of God, to discourse
on such or such a subject, (on the fear of God, for example,) and
on this subject I design to lay down some true and certain conclusions," &c. This last way of preaching was the most popular,
and continued in use long after this period. The new method of
preaching differed from both these ancient ones in several respects.
At the beginning of his discourse the preacher read a text out of
some book and chapter of the Old or New Testament, which had
lately been divided into chapters and verses by Archbishop Langton, or Cardinal Hugo, as the theme or subject of his sermon.
This text he divided into several parts, and the more numerous his
divisions and subdivisions the greater divine and the better preacher
was he esteemed. The younger clergy, especially, adopted this
artificial method of preaching; but others condemned it, and Roger
Bacon in particular speaks of it with contempt, and assigns a singular reason for the prevalence of it in his time: " The greatest
part of our prelates," says he, "having but little knowledge in
* Hody, De Bibliorum Text. Orig., lib. iii, cap. xi, p. 420. Henry's Hist. of Great
Britain, vol. viii, b. iv, ch. iv, pp. 180, 181.
1




THIRTEENTH CENTURY.                  375
divinity, and having been little used to preaching in their youth,
when they become bishops, and are sometimes obliged to preach,
are under a necessity of begging and borrowing the sermons of
certain novices, who have invented a new way of preaching, by
endless divisions and quibblings; in which there is neither sublimity of style nor depth of wisdom, but much childish trifling and
folly, unsuitable to the dignity of the pulpit." The opposition to
the textual mode of preaching continued for more than a century;
it at length, however, prevailed universally, and still continues to
be generally adopted.*
To this century also is to be referred the division of the sacred
text into our present chapters. The most ancient Hebrew and
Greek copies of the Old and New Testaments were written without any distinction, not only of chapters and verses, but even of
words, so that the Jews were accustomed to say, that anciently
the books of the Old Testament formed but a single pesuk, or
verse. One of the oldest of the Greek MSS. of the New Testament, in which the words are distinctly divided, is the Codex
Augiensis, so called from Augia major, the name of a monastery
at Rhenau, to which it belonged at the time of holding the council
of Basil. It is accompanied with a Latin version, and is supposed
to have been written in the ninth century. The Greek text is
written in capitals, and the Latin in Anglo-Saxon letters. The
division of the Hebrew text into chapters was made by the Jews,
in imitation of the division of the New Testament; but the division
of the Old Testament into sections and verses was much earlier in
its origin, and has been considered as coeval with Ezra. The
first division of the text of the New Testament was into ritrtoi,
titles, or larger portions, which received their denomination from
the titles or subjects of those portions being written either in the
upper or lower margin of the Greek MSS., and generally in red
ink. They were called by the Latins breves, and the table of the
contents of each brevis, which was prefixed to the copies of the
New Testament, was called breviarium. Dr. Mills supposes that
Tatian, who flourished A. D. 160, invented them for the purpose
of constructing his work, called Diatesseron, or Harmony of the
four Evangelists. From  Tertullian we learn that in his time,
about A. D. 200, the New Testament was divided into capitula,
or small chapters, called by the Greeks KtrEaaina. These chapters,
or smaller portions, were numbered on the side of the margin.
* Henry's History of Great Britain, vol. viii, pp. 182-186.
1




376                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Both these divisions are very clearly represented in the editions of
the Greek Testament by Erasmus, or in R. Stephens' edition of
1550. The chapters differ in different copies. The most celebrated and one of the most ancient divisions was that of Ammonius, a Christian philosopher, who lived at Alexandria in the third
century.  From him it had the appellation of the Ammonian Sections. Of these there are three hundred and fifty-five, and sixtyeight tituli, in the Gospel of St. Matthew. In the fourth century
Eusebius adapted to these sections his ten tables or canons, which
represent a harmony of the Gospels, and which were commonly
prefixed to the Greek MSS.  These tables may be seen in the
editions of the Greek Testament by Erasmus, in Kuster's edition
of Mills' Greek Testament, and in that of R. Stephens of 1550.
From these tables of Eusebius the marginal references were taken
that are found in many printed editions of the Greek.
Euthalius relates, that about the year 396 the Epistles of St.
Paul were divided into chapters; as were also the Acts of the
Apostles, and the Catholic or General Epistles, about the year 451.
Andreas Caesariensis, in the sixth century, or, according to others,
Andreas Cretensis, in the seventh century, divided the Apocalypse
into seventy-two chapters; and about the eleventh century (Ecumenius is said to have divided the Acts into forty capita and two
hundred and forty-seven capoitula; a division something analogous
to our chapters and verses.  The division which obtained in the
ancient Latin MSS. was different from that used by the Greeks.*
In the thirteenth century the present chapters were invented or
adopted by Archbishop Langton, or Cardinal Hugo de S. Caro.
Our early biographers, Bale, Pitts, &c., ascribe the invention to
the archbishop, but Biblical critics in general have allowed that
the cardinal was the inventor, and that it was by his example and
influence that the old division was entirely laid aside in the Latin
Church, and in Latin MSS.; although the division in present use
was not adopted in writing Greek MSS. till about the end of the
fifteenth century.t The following biographical sketches of these
two celebrated but very different characters may not be unacceptable to the reader.
STEPHEN LANGTON was by birth an Englishman. He received
* Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, pt. i, ch. viii, p. 210; and ch. xiii, p. 524; pt. ii, pp.
664, 905-908. Barrett, Evangelium secundum Matthaum, quoted in Eclectic Re.
view, vol. iii, pp. 198, 199.
t Hody, De Bibliorum Text. Orig., lib. iii, pt. ii, p. 430. Butler's Horn Biblicam
vol. i, p. 201, edit. 12mo.
1




THIRTEENTH CENTURY.                  377
his education at Paris, and became so eminent for scholastic
learning, and for his application of it, in his explications of Scripture, that he was created chancellor of the university of Paris,
canon of Paris, and dean of Rheims. Being called to Rome, he
was placed among the cardinals by Innocent III. In 1207 he
was nominated by the same pontiff to the archbishopric of Canterbury, vacant by the death of Hubert Walter, and was consecrated
by the pope himself at Viterbo. This nomination being regarded
as a usurpation of the rights of the king of England, as well as of
those of the monks of Canterbury and the bishops of the province,
met with violent resistance, especially from the king. The pope,
enraged at the disappointment, laid both the king and kingdom
under an interdict. For several years King John acted with more
than usual firmness, and refused to acknowledge the appointment
of Langton to the see of Canterbury. At length, dispirited by
opposition from the pope and foreign princes from abroad, and
from the barons and many of the clergy and people at home, he
submitted to the election of Stephen, and purchased his peace with
the Roman pontiff by a charter granted to certain prelates, and the
payment of forty thousand marks.
In 1222 the archbishop called a council at Oxford, at which a
number of constitutions were framed, from which the following
are extracted, as illustrating the practice and manners of that age:
Constit. 10. "We strictly command parish priests to feed the
people with the word of God, as God inspires them with it, lest
they be justly thought dumb dogs: and let them remember that
they who visit the sick shall be rewarded with the eternal kingdom; therefore let them cheerfully go, when sent for, to the sick."
21. "We forbid, with the terror of anathema, any one to retain
robbers in his service, for committing robberies, or knowingly to
let them dwell on his lands."
25. "Let archdeacons take care, in their visitations, that the
canon of the mass be correct, and that the priest can rightly pronounce (at least) the words of the canon and of baptism, and that
he knows the true meaning of them; and let them teach laymen
in what form they ought to baptize in case of necessity, in some
language or other."
31. " Let not clergymen that are beneficed, or in holy orders,
publicly keep concubines in their manses, (or parsonage houses,)
or have public access to them with scandal anywhere else."
36. " We decree that nuns and other religious women wear no
silk veils, nor needles of silver or gold in their veils; that neither
1




378                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
monks nor canons regular have girdles of silk, or garnished with
gold or silver; nor use burnet, (artificial brown,) or any irregular
cloth. Let the dimensions of their clothes be commensurate to
their bodies, not longer than to cover their feet, like Joseph's coat,
which came down to the ankles. Only the nuns may wear a ring,
and but one."*
On various occasions the archbishop discovered a haughty independence, particularly in his conduct toward his sovereign and the
pope.  He not only opposed the pope's legate in his exorbitant
grants of benefices, but was the principal of those peers who declared against the validity of King John's resignation of his crown
and kingdom to the see of Rome. The irritated pope excommunicated and suspended him, and reversed the election of his brother
Simon Langton, who had been chosen archbishop of York. Prior,
however, to the calling of the council at Oxford, these violent
measures appear to have been relinquished.
He was the author of commentaries on many of the books of the
Old and New Testaments, and of various other works.  He died
at Slindon, in Sussex, July, 1228, and was buried in the cathedral
at Canterbury.t
HUGO DE S. CARO, or, according to his French name, Hugues
de St. Cher, was born at Vienne, in Dauphine, and studied at
Paris, where he became a Dominican friar in 1225. He was sent
by Gregory IX. to Constantinople, to procure, if possible, a union
of the Greek and Roman Churches. On his return he was chosen
provincial of France, and, in 1245, received the dignity of cardinal
from Innocent IV., being the first of the Dominicans who obtained
that honour. In a synod held by him as the pope's legate, at
Liege, in 1246, the feast of Corpus Christi was first ordered to be
celebrated. Pope Urban IV. afterward, in 1264, fixed it on the
Thursday after the Octave of Whitsunday, commanding it to be
observed in the whole church with a solemnity equal to the four
great festivals of the year.+ But his truest honours were derived
*Johnson's Ecclesiastical Laws, &c., A. D. MccxxII.
t Cavei Hist. Lit., saec. xiii, pp. 702, 703. Fox's Actes and Monuments, vol. i,
pp. 327-334. London, 1570.
1 This festival, instituted in support of the doctrine of transubstantiation, was confirmed by different popes, and various privileges and indulgences were granted to
those who honoured it by their devotions. Thus Pope Urban, in his bull of 1264,
"To encourage the faithful to honour and celebrate this great feast, we grant to all
that do confess their sins, and are truly penitent, who shall be found in the church at
the mattins (midnight) of the said feast, one hundred days' pardon, and as many to
1




THIRTEENTH CENTURY.                       379
from his Biblical labours, which placed him in the first rank of
sacred critics and patrons of sacred literature. To him we are
indebted for the celebrated Correctorium Bibliorzim  of the Dominicans; the first Concordance of the Scriptures; a Comment on
the Old and New Testament; and most probably for the division
of the Bible into our present chapters.
The CORRECTORIUM BIBLIORUM, or Bible with various readings,
was, in 1772, in the library of the Dominicans in the college of St.
James, at Paris.  It is fairly written upon parchment, with demiGothic letters, forming four large volumes in folio. The design of
it was to introduce correct copies of the Scriptures into the public
services of the church, and into general use, instead of the shamefully corrupt and incorrect ones commonly read. For this purpose
Cardinal Hugo, aided by the authority of F. Jordan, general of the
order, caused a collation to be made of the common copies with
the oldest and most accurate that could be obtained, particularly
of those transcribed by order of Charlemagne, under the inspection
of Alcuin; and also ordered them to be compared with the original
texts. The Correctoriumz is the result of this laborious and valuable collation. The various readings of the Latin, Hebrew, and
Greek MSS. are placed in the margin, and the superfluous words
which have been inserted in the text by careless transcribers or
ignorant critics are marked by a line drawn underneath them.
This important revision of the Latin Scriptures was made about
A. D. 1236; and was succeeded by an injunction that all the
copies made use of by the order should be corrected and punctuated according to this standard. So well was this revision received
by the Dominican friars, that Humbert, another general of the
order, at a chapter general held at Paris, in 1256, forbade all the
religious of his order to make use of the corrections of the Latin
Bible which had been made at Sens, with the same design as this
by the cardinal.*  Hugo's Correctortiurn  consequently soon became general, and, till the declaration of the council of Trent, was
those who shall devoutly assist at mass," &c.-Butler's ioveable Feasts, &c., pp.
655-657. London, 1774, 8vo.
* The same Humbert, in his Expositio in Regiulam S. Aulrustini, cap. cl, after
earnestly pressing the importance of reading the Scriptures, and replying to those who
refused to read or hear them, because they despaired of understanding them, (probably
from not being in the vernacular tongue,) concludes by the following extraordinary
and superstitious sentiment: "We ought to believe that the words of Scripture,
(verba sacra) although not understood by those who read them, nevertheless possess a
power against'spiritual wickedness;' as the words of a charm against a serpent,
though not understood by the charmer himself!" See Whartoni Auctarium, p. 420.
1




380                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
considered as the standard of the Latin Scriptures, and the edi.
tions of Sixtus V. and Clement VIII., and. may be regarded as the
source of all those MSS. which, under the titles of Correctio,
Correctiones, or Correctorium Bibliez, are still to be met with in
many of the monasteries of the Dominican friars.*
The CONCORDANCE of the Latin Bible, compiled under the
direction of the cardinal, was the first work of the kind, and must
have demanded unwearied patience and indefatigable diligence;
he is accordingly said to have employed five hundred monks,t ill
selecting, and arranging in alphabetical order, all the declinable
words of the Old and New Testaments. It first appeared under
the name De Sancto Jacobo, or the Concordance of St. James;
the author himself being sometimes called Hugo De Sancto Jacobo,
probably from residing a considerable time at Paris in the convent
of St. James, where he gave lectures on the Holy Scriptures, and
assisted, as doctor in theology, in the condemnation of a plurality
of benefices by the faculty of theology, A. D. 1238.  The idea of
such a compilation was probably suggested by those very useful
Indexes which, from a remote period, had been formed for assisting
the student in his consultations of the works of different authors;
though there was this difference between an index and a concordance, that the former referred only to particular subjects or passages, but the latter to words and sentences.  John of Darlington,
and Richard of Stavensby, assisted by other Englishmen, made
considerable additions to the original work, which was afterward
considerably improved by Conrad of }Ialberstadt, who flourished
A. D. 1290.  It was still further enlarged and improved in the
fifteenth century, about the time of the council of Basil, by John of
Ragusia, procurator general, and a monk of the order of preachers,
or Dominicans, who added all the inrdeclirnable words; and at
length received its present form  from Walter Scot, and John of
Segovia.  Sixtus Senensis, in his Bibliotheca Sancta, lib. iii, first
published in 1566, has presented the reader with a specimen of an
extensive and improved Concordance, invented by himself, and intended to serve not only as an index of words and sentences, but
as a theological dictionary, and concordance of parallel passages:
unfortunately thlere is no intimation that the work was ever complted.  From the Latin Concordance of Cardinal Hugo are de* Fabricy, Titres Primitifs, tom. ii, p. 132 —141.
t Chevillier (L'Origine de l'Imprimerie de Paris, p. 134) doubts the fact of so many
monks being emploved, but supposes the work to have been at first much less voluminous than at present. and to have increased by fiequent revisions and improvements.
1




THIRTEENTH CENTURY.                      381
rived those Concordances in various languages which have so
greatly aided the studies of Biblical scholars.*
The COMMENTARY, or Postilla,t of Hugo, on all the books of
Scripture, is a series of notes on the sacred text, in which he
endeavours to show the literal, allegorical, moral, and anagogical
sense of the inspired writers, though all these different modes of
exposition are not employed to explain every part of the sacred
text, most generally only the literal and moral, or literal alone, and
occasionally the allegorical, and anagogical or mystical; a brief
extract will exhibit the nature of his work:JOHN, chap. v. " Search the Scriptures.] q. d. in them the Father
testifies of me, if ye read them  inwardly.  Therefore search,
that is, diligently investigate the spiritual sense, not satisfying
yourselves with the literal merely."
" For in them ye think ye have eternal life: ye think.] because,
as he shows, they only read the Scriptures literally, and therefore had not the knowledge of eternal life, but a mere opinion or
conjecture."
"And they are they which testify of me,] q. d. the very grounds
on which you found your hope of eternal life, testify of me. It
is therefore evident that the hinderance to your believing in me
is in your own depraved will, since the design of the Scriptures
is to persuade you to believe in me."
2 TIM. iv. "The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, when
thou comest, bring with thee.] According to Haymo, the penula,
or cloak, was the consular vest of Paul's father, conferred upon
him by the Romans, when he obtained the privilege of a Roman
citizen: —according to Jerome, the book of the law is to be understood; but Chrysostom says, phelonem is a garment; and
afterward adds, that he inquires for the cloak, to prevent the
necessity of receiving from others. Acts xx. It is more blessed
to give than to receive."
"And the books.] Chrysostom asks, What need was there of
books for him who was about to go to God? And replies, there
* Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom. i, cap. x, pp. 456, 457. Paris, 1723, fol. Chevillier, L'Origine de l'Imprimerie de Paris, pt. ii, ch. ii, pp. 133, 134. Paris, 1694, 4to.
Sixt. Senens. Biblioth. Sanct., lib. iii, p. 185, et lib. iv, pp. 311, 273.
t The term " Postilla," frequently adopted by the commentators of that period, was
generally applied to those explanatory notes which were placed after the text, and was
probably derived from the Latin postea, or postilla, (sc. verba;) unless we suppose the
word postilla to be a corruption from posta, a page.-Du Cange, Glossar., v. Posta,
Postilke.
1




382                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
was then the greatest need, that he might deposit! them with
the believers. Another reason was, that they might afford him
solace in tribulation; and give to others an example of study.
1 Maccab. xii. We have the holy books of Scripture in our
hands, to comfort us. And it is an argument for study, since,
on the eve of martyrdom, he either wishes to study them himself, or to recommend the study of them to others."
"But especially the parchments;] That I may write my epistles
upon them. And let it be noted, that he who gloried that the
Holy Spirit and Christ spake in him, 2 Cor. xiii, made use of
parchments in this case, for [the assistance of] the memory."'
This work has been several times printed in six volumes, folio,
and at Cologne, in 1621, in eight volumes, folio. This is usually
supposed to be the first Bible divided into the present CHAPTERS,
which, for the convenience of quotations and references, were
subdivided again-by the cardinal, by adding in the margin the letters A. B. C. D. E. IF, a practice continued till the invention of the
present verses by Robert Stephens in 1550, and adopted in our
early English Bibles. Yet Cardinal H1umbert, about A. D. 1059,
cites the twelfth and thirteenth chapters of Exodus, and the twentythird of Leviticus, according to our present division of chapters.
Hugo died on the 14th of March, A. D. 1262, and was buried in
the church of the Dominicans at Lyons.t
The school or academy of Paris has been repeatedly mentioned,
as the resort of all who were desirous of completing a literary
education; we may now further observe, that hitherto the public
studies had been limited to certain branches of learning, denominated the trivium and the quadrivium; the trivium included grammar, rhetoric, and dialectics; the quadriviult comprehended music,
arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy. He who was master of
these had been thought to have no need of a preceptor, to explain
any books, or to solve any questions which lay within the compass
of human reason; the knowledge of the trivium having furnished
him with the key to all language, and that of the quadrivium
having opened to him the secret laws of nature. But as the views
or desires of men became enlarged, the whole circle of the sciences, as far as the allotted period of time would allow, did not
appear to be an object beyond the comprehension of youthful
minds. Schools then, which professed to embrace all the sciences
* Ugonis de S. Charo, Opera, tom. vii, p. 230. Colon. Agrip. 1621, fol.
t Cavei Hist. Lit., swc. xiii, p. 721. Jortin's Remarks, vol. iii, p. 126.
1




THIRTEENTH CENTURY.                     383
within their walls, and to appoint masters to each, were properly
denominated universities, of which Paris, about the year 1215, is
said to have set the example. This was soon followed in other
countries, and particularly in Italy; where almost every city, owing
to the beneficence of princes or of pontiffs, was honoured with the
distinctive title. The civil and canon law, theology, and the more
abstruse philosophical researches, were the studies most ardently
followed: the two first as the path to preferment; the latter, as
the way to secure celebrity and applause in the field of disputation.*  But books were still scarce, as has been already noted, for
the work of transcription was necessarily slow, laborious, and expensive; and where the monks laboured as scribes, their copies
were generally enclosed in the cloister; and what was executed by
hired artists in the universities could satisfy the demands only of a
few.  Wood's notice of the library of Merton College, Oxford, in
its infant state, (Colleges and Halls, edit. Gutch, vol. i, p. 61,) is
illustrative of the manners and learning of the times: "At first
the society kept those books they had (which were but few) in
chests, and once, sometimes twice, in a year, made choice for the
borrowing of such as they liked, by giving a certificate under their
hands for the restoring of them  again to their proper place."t
How arduous the pursuit of literature, and how slow its progress
during the ages of transcription, and before the invention of printing! Nor did the allowance to students in the public academies,
or universities, enable them to purchase many volumes for themselves.  According to the statutes of Merton College, Oxford,
founded in 1264, the allowance to scholars was only fifty shillings
per annum for all necessaries; and the revenues of Baliol College,
founded in 1263 or 1268, were at first so small, as to yield only
eight-pence per week to each scholar, but afterward were so increased by the benefaction of Sir P. Somervyle, as to raise the
weekly allowance of the fellows and scholars to eleven-pence, and
in case of dearness of victuals to fifteen-pence.t
Hearne, in the " Preliminary Observations" prefixed to the sixth
volume of his edition of Leland's " Collectanea," hlas attempted to
defend the monks of the middle ages against the general charge of
ignorance and illiteracy; and if he have not been completely successful in rescuing them from the imputations of their contempo* Enfield's History of Philosophy, vol. ii, p. 337. Berrington's Literary History of
the Middle Ages, b. v, p. 354.
t Chalmers's Hist. of the University of Oxford, vol. i, p 36. Oxford, 1810, 8vo.
$ Ibid., pp. 6, 47-49.
1




384                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
rary opponents, his reasoning is nevertheless deserving of attention: "Nobody doubts," says he, " but the monasteries had divers
members that could not be styled learned. But when we discourse
of learned bodies, these ought not to be considered, at least their
ignorance ought not to be looked upon as sufficient to denominate
them unlearned. Add to this, that sometimes these illiterate persons were eminent upon some other account, and consequently
might prove very serviceable to the monasteries.  After all,'tis
very certain that a great number of the monks were,men of very
profound learning and of extraordinary abilities.  Had they been
otherwise,'tis impossible to account for that incredible number of
books written by them. No one that reads either Boston of Bury,
or Leland, or other authors that say any thing of their writings,
can justly suppose them to have been illiterate men. On the contrary, many of their writings are very judicious and full of learning,
and what many of the best of our modern writers (notwithstanding
the many advantages we have for acquiring learning that they
wanted) need not be ashamed of: nay, in some parts of learning
they exceeded any of our moderns, which is an argument, not only
of excellent parts, but of their constant and unwearied diligence
and application. Had it not been for this diligence and care, we
had not had so many of the best authors of the first ages preserved.
John Bale* himself, who was otherwise their mortal enemny, will
allow them this praise, and'tis for that reason he laments the
havoc of so many of the books that they had preserved, at the dissolution. I know very well that the abbots had oftentimes a small
quantity of books, sometimes not above five or six, in their own
private studies; and perhaps many of the monks might not have
had more. But we are not to measure the extent of any one's
learning by the number of books; although, indeed, if this were
any proof, we might allege in behalf of the religious, that however
meanly furnished their own private studies might be, they might
have continual access, if they pleased, to such libraries as were
well stored; I mean the libraries that belonged in common to each
abbey. We have accounts of the furniture of some of these libra
ties; and if we may judge of the rest by these,'tis certain they
had a large as well as a noble stock of books, and that many of
their libraries might vie for number with many of our best libraries
since. And even such libraries as had not so great a store ex* John Bale, bishop of Ossory, in Ireland, was educated in the Roman Catholic
religion, but afterward embraced the doctrines of the Reformation, and became a
noted author. He died in 1563.
i




THIRTEENTH CENTURY.                   385
ceeded divers of our present libraries, by reason they were all
MSS., and upon that score are to be looked upon as a valuable
and precious treasure. In short, as the abbeys were very curious,
fine, and magnificent piles of building, richly endowed, and continually found liberal benefactors, so I believe their libraries in every
respect answered the other parts of the structures, and were all
(notwithstanding the reflection made upon the Franciscan library
at Oxford, just upon the dissolution) adorned with an extraordinary
fine collection of books."*
Among the mendicant orders, particularly the Dominicans, there
were sonime who, during this century, applied themselves to the
study of the Oriental tongues, with the laudable design of attempting the conversion of the Jews and Mohammedans. In one of
their general chapters, held at Valencia in 1259, it was ordained
that the prior of Spain should institute a school in the convent of
Barcelona, for the study of the Arabic tongue: " Injungimus Priori
Hispaniae quod ipse ordinet aliquod studium ad addicendam linguam Arabicam in conventu Barcinonensi vel alibi, et ibidem collocet fratres aliquos de quibus speretur, quod de hujusmodi studio
possunt proficere."t
RAYMOND OF PENNAFORT, or PEGNAFORT, SO called from the
place of his birth in Catalonia, general of the Dominicans, a man
of piety, zeal, and learning, condemned the violence which had too
frequently been employed to destroy rather than to convert the
Jews, and endeavoured to promote their conversion by instruction,
and the adoption of mild and persuasive measures. At his request,
James I., king of Arragon, published several edicts to repress the
insolence of the people, and to encourage those studies that might
qualify them for disputing against the Jewish errors with success.
Pope Gregory IX., to whom Raymond of Pennafort was chaplain
and confessor, promoted the same plans; and countenanced the
public disputations with the Jews. The most noted of these public
conferences was one held in the palace, before the king of Arragon,
about A. D. 1260. The disputants were Moses Bar Nachmran, or
Nachmanides, a learned Cabbalistic Jew, and Raymond Martin
and Paul Christian, two Dominican friars. Both sides claimed
the victory. In the acts of this conference, published by Wagenseil, in his Tela Ignea Satance, Altdorf. Noric. 1681, 4to., and
written by Nachmanides, the author maintains, that the king was
so well pleased with his conduct as to present him with three
* Leland's Collectanea, by Hearne, vol. vi, pp. 86, 87.
t Simon, Lettres Choisies, tom. iii, let. 16, p. 112.
VOL. I.-25




386                  BIBLCAL LITERATURE,
hundred golden crowns for his intended journey.  On the other
side it is asserted, that the Jews were so confounded by their
adversaries, that their advocate chose to quit Spain, and retire to
Jerusalem, to avoid the reproach and shame of his defeat. Basnage, however, considers the "Acts" published by Wagenseil as
spurious, though he allows the fact of a public disputation.*
R. MosEs BEN NACHMAN, frequently called RAAIBAIN, from the
abbreviation of his name, was born at Gironne, in the year 1194.
He applied himself first to physic; and at the same time made
such progress in the study of the Law, as to obtain the names of
the Father of Wisdom; tile Luminary; the Flower of the Crown
and of Holiness.  A discourse delivered before the king, acquired
him the title of the Father of Eloquence.  At one period he despised the CAnBBLA, but afterward became one of the most strenuous
of its defenders. He published various works, principally Cabbalistic expositions of the Law. After enjoying high reputation ill
Spain, his native country, for many years, he quitted it for Judea,
and resided at Jerusalem, where he built a synagogue, and afterward ended his days.  The exact time of his death is uncertain,
different authors placing it in different years.t
Of PAUL, surnamed Christian, nothing more is known than what
has been related, except that he obtained a decree from the king
of Arragon, of which Wagenseil has given a copy, from which the
following translation is made.  It is addressed to the Jews:"We command and strictly charge you, that whenever our beloved son, Fr. Paul Christian, of the order of Friars Preachers, (or
Dominicans,) whom we have sent to show you the way of salvation, shall comne to you, to your synagogues, or houses, or any other
place, for the sake of preaching the word of God, or of disputing,
or conferring with you, together or separately, respecting the Holy
Scriptures, in public or in private, or by way of familiar conversation; that ye come to him, and mildly and favourably listen to him;
and, as far as ye know, answer his questions respecting faith and
the Holy Scriptures, with humility and reverence, and without
calumny or subterfuge.  And that you also permit him to have the
use of such of your books as lle may want, in order to show you
the truth; and the expenses which the said brother may have in
curred in conveying from place to place such books as he deemed
necessary for teaching you the truth, (the brethren of his order, by
B+ asnage's History of the Jews, b. vii, ch. xv, pp. 660, 661. Wagenseilii Tela
Ignea Satanal, Disputatio, &c., pp. 2, 60.
t Basnage, ut sup., pp. 655, 656.
1                        25*




THIRTEENTH CENTURY.                  387
their constitution, being freed from expenses,) be careful to discharge, placing them to our account, and deducting them from the
tribute which ye should pay to us. Moreover we strictly charge
and command all bailiffs, vicars, and other officers, in every part
of our dominions, that if the Jews aforesaid do not freely comply
with what is before mentioned, that they oblige them by our authority, as they desire our favour and affection. Given at Barcelona,
IV. Calend. Sept. Anno Domini MCCLXIII."*
RAYMOND MARTIN was a monk of the order of St. Dominic, and
had been chosen to study the languages, that he might be employed
in the conversion of the Jews.  With this design he not only
applied himself diligently to the Hebrew, Chaldee, and Arabic
tongues, but gained an extensive acquaintance with the rabbinical
writings, and the general habits and character of the people for
whose instruction his studies were immediately directed. After
the public disputation with R. Moses Ben Nachman, he was appointed, with the bishop of Barcelona, and Raymond Pennafort,
the general of his order, to examine and judge of the blasphemies
inserted in the Jewish books, in consequence of complaints having
been made to the king against them. He was also the author of
a celebrated work against the Jews, entitled Pzogio Fidei, or the
Poniard of Faith, which, by the numerous quotations from the rabbins, proves that the author had diligently studied their works, and
was well qualified for the controversy in which he had engaged.
In 1651 an edition was published at Paris, in folio, at the expense
of the order to which its author had belonged, edited by the learned
Joseph de Voisin, and accompanied with remarks by the editor:
another edition was published by Carpzovius, at Leipsic, in 1687,
fol., with an introduction to Jewish theology, and a short account
of the conversion of Herman, a Jew, to Christianity, written by
himself.  The celebrated German, Esdras Edzard, who died in
1708, took the trouble to verify all the references made by Raymond Martin to Jewish writings, by collating them with the printed
editions of the several works.  These researches have since been
inserted by Wolfius, in the fourth volume of his Bibliotheca Hebraea,
pp. 572-628. Unfortunately, Edzard did not specify the editions
which he consulted, but Fabricy, in his Titres Primitifs, informs
us, that the Abbe Poch has remedied this defect; he has revised
the remarks of Edzard, indicated the different editions in which the
quotations may be found, and pointed out several other passages
which had escaped the researches of Edzard.  His remarks
* Wagenseilii Tela Ignea Satana?: Disputtatio, &c., in Prefat.
1




388                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
and corrections, however, have never been published. Raymond Martin died in the convent of the Dominicans at Barcelona,
in 1284.*
The character of James I., king of Arragon, in whose presence
Nachmanides and the two Dominican friars held their public disputations, appears to have been singularly inconsistent. Basnage
relates,t that such was his attachment to the Jews, that he received
moral lectures from them; and procured books of devotion and
piety to be composed by them. R. Jona, who lived in 1264, wrote
to another Jew  at Gironne, requesting his advice, how  to fulfil
the intention of the king of Arragon, who had commanded him to
write a book to instruct man in the duties of religion and piety:
the same Jona was probably the author of a celebrated work on
the "Fear of God," translated into German and Spanish, under
the title of Tratado del Timor Divino.  Yet such was the capriciousness of this prince, that he prohibited his Christian subjects
from reading the writings of the rabbins, and so far were these
violent measures carried, that to have a rabbinical work in possession was deemed a sufficient proof of Judaism!t
In France, Louis IX., who died in 1270, and was canonized by
Pope Boniface VIII. in 1297, displayed "the magnanimity of the
hero, the integrity of the patriot, and the humanity of the philosopher," and what was of still higher value, discovered the virtues
of the Christian. He ranked the study of the Holy Scriptures
among the essential duties of a prince, and literally " meditated
therein day and night."  His biographer, who had been eighteen
years confessor to Queen Margaret, wife of Louis, tells us that his
library consisted of the BIBLE accompanied with a Gloss, or Commentary; the originals of the works of St. Augustine; the writings
of other saints; and certain works concerning the Scriptures.
These he either himself read, or caused others to read to him every
day after dinner; and when not otherwise engaged, sent for one of
the monks, with whom he conversed concerning God, or the saints,
or Scripture history. In the evening, when the last of the daily
religious services, or Compline, had been read in the chapel by his
chaplains, he usually retired to his chamber, and then, to use the
expressions of the writer, " estoit alumee une Chandele de certaine
longueur, c'est a savoir de trois piez ou environ; et endementieres
* Basnage's Hist. of the Jews, b. vii, pp. 660-662. Fabricy, Titres Primitifts, tom.
ii, pp. 143-145. Simon, Lettres Choisies, tom. iii, let. 16, p. 113.
t Basnage's Hist. of the Jews, b. vii, ch. xv, p. 663.
t Du Cange, v. Charta de Rabi, vol. ii, col. 517.
1




THIRTEENTH CENTURY.                    389
que ele duroit, il lisoit en LA BIBLE, OU en un autre saint livre: et
quant la chandele estoit vers la fin, un de ses chapelains estoit
apeles, et lors il disoit complie avecques lui:" " a candle, (or wax
taper,) of about three feet long was lighted, and while it lasted lihe
read in the Bible, or some other pious book; and when it was
nearly consumed, one of his chaplains was called, with whom he
then said the Compline."*
Another of the biographers of this excellent sovereign communicates the information, that by his order a translation was made
of the whole Bible into French, and adds, that he had seen a copy
of the version.t Lelong notices an old French version of the Bible,
now in the royal library at Paris, from which he has extracted the
first chapter of Genesis, and part of the first Psalm, as specimens
of the translation, and which he conjectures may be the one executed by the order of St. Louis.  It is on parchment, illuminated
and ornamented with figures; but is defective, wanting from the
twelfth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, to the end of the
Revelation.t
During the reign of Louis, ROBERT SORBON, a canon, and
learned doctor at Paris, whom he had honoured with his particular friendship, founded the Sorbonne, a college in the university
of Paris, appropriated to the study of divinity.  It was endowed
by Louis, and the confirmation of it obtained from Clement IV.
about A. D. 1250.  Cardinal Richelieu afterward magnificently
rebuilt the college, and thus erected an honourable monument to
his memory.~
It is however to be lamented, that about the same time it was
ordered by the statutes of the university of Paris, that " none should
read lectures on the Bible, unless he had studied seven years in
that university;" (see Lewis's Hist. of the Eng. Translations of
the Bible, p. 35;) and that several works were written and circulated in France and Italy, which could only serve to depreciate the
sacred Scriptures, and promote superstition and the worst species
of fanaticism. The principal of these were the Psalter of the
Blessed Virgin; the Everlasting Gospel; and the Introduction to
the Everlasting Gospel.
The PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN was an impious parody
* Histoire de Saint Louis par Jehan Sire de Joinville, &c., &c. Vrie de S. Louis,
p. 322. Paris, 1761, fol.
t Joannes de Serres. See Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom. i, cap. iv, pp. 314, 315,
fol. 1723.
t Le Long, ubi sup.        Q Butler's Lives, vol. viii, Aug. 25, p. 385.
1




390                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
upon the Psalms, in which the author introduces the name and appellations of Mary, instead of those of the divine Being.
The following extracts will exemplify his manner:"Blessed is the man that loveth thy name, 0 Virgin Mary; thy
grace shall comfort his soul."
"The heavens declare thy glory; and the fragrance of thine
ointments is spread among the nations."
" 0 come let us sing unto our lady; let us make a joyful noise
to Mary our queen, that brings salvation."
" O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good; give thanks unto
his mother, for her mercy endureth for ever."
" Lady, despise not my praise; and vouchsafe to accept this
Psalter, which is dedicated unto thee."
" The Lord said unto our lady, Sit thou, my mother, at my
right hand."*
This Psalter is generally ascribed to Cardinal Bonaventure, who
was the author of several other works in praise of the Virgin Mary;
but Alban Butler denies that he wrote the Psalter, and says "it
is unworthy to bear his name."t John Peckham, archbishop of
Canterbury, also composed a work of a similar nature, entitled
Psalterliu'rn leditationurm  B. M1a'riae, but it has never been
printed.t
The EVERLASTING GOSPEL, as it was called, was a fanatical
work, attributed, perhaps falsely, to Joachim, abbot of Sora, in
Calabria, whom the multitude revered as a person divinely inspired,
and equal to the most illustrious prophets of ancient times.  It contained various predictions relating to the Church of Rome, and the
future state of religion.  The author divided the world into three
ages, agreeing with the three dispensations of religion that were to
succeed each other. The two imperfect ages, —by which he understood the age of the Old Testament, which was that of the FATHER,
and the age of the New, which was under the administration of
the SoN,-were, according to his predictions, now past; and the
third age, or that of the HOLY GHOST, was at hand, in which a
new and more perfect Gospel should be promulgated by a set of
poor and austere ministers, whom God would raise up and employ
for that purpose.  The title of this production was taken from Re* Usher's Answer to a Challenge made by a Jesuit in Ireland, p. 367. Lond. 1683,
4to., where he refers to Bonavent. Opera., tom. vi. Rom. 1588.
t Cavei Hist. Lit., sace. xiii, pp. 728-730. Butler's Lives, vol. vii, p. 166, rote.
t Usher's Answer to a Challenge, &c., p. 367.
1




THIRTEENTH CENTURY.                  391
velation xiv, 6, and was divided into three books; the first of
which was entitled Liber Concordice Veritatis, that is, the " Book
of the Harmony of Truth;" the second, Apocalypsis Nova, or the
" New Revelation;" and the third, Psalteriium decem Chordarumn,
or the " Ten-stringed Harp." The Franciscans applied the predictions to themselves, and to the austere rule of discipline established
by their founder St. Francis, who, they maintained, was the angel
whom St. John saw flying in the midst of heaven; and that it was
he who delivered to mankind the true gospel.*
The INTRODUCTION TO THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL was the production of a Franciscan friar, and was evidently written by its
fanatical author to delude the multitude into a high notion of the
sanctity of the Mendicant orders, and to extend and establish
their authority among the people. In this impious work it was
maintained,
1. " That the Everlasting Gospel [viz. of Joachim] excelled the
doctrine of Christ, and the Old and New Testaments."
2. " That the gospel of Christ was not the gospel of the kingdom,
and that the church could not be built up by it."
3. "That the New Testament was to be done away with, like
that of the Old."
4. " That the New Testament would cease to be of force after
th.e year 1260."
5. "That another gospel would succeed the gospel of Christ;
and another priesthood the priesthood of Christ."
6. " That none were suited to the instruction of men in spiritual
and eternal things, but those who walked barefoot, that is, the Mendicant orders."t
A number of other detestable opinions, extracted from these
works, are given by the learned Usher, in his work entitled Gravissimce Qucestionis, de Christianarum  Ecclesiarum, in Occidentibus prcesertim partibus, ab successione et stathu, historica explicatio.
Lond. 1613, 4to.
When the Introduction to the Everlasting Gospel was published
at Paris, in 1254, it excited the most lively feelings of horror and
indignation, and the Roman pontiff, Alexander IV., was obliged to
suppress it in the year 1255. But willing to spare the reputation
of the Mendicants, he ordered it to be burnt in secret. The university of Paris, dissatisfied with such gentle and timorous proceedings, insisted upon the public condemnation of the book, and
* Mosheim's Eccl. Hist., vol. iii, p. 209-211.
t Usserius, De Christianarum Ecclesiarum, &c., pp. 277-280.
1




392                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Alexander, at length, was reluctantly constrained to commit the
Franciscan's performance publicly to the flames.*
Such were the occurrences of the Western churches in relation
to the sacred Scriptures, and the circulation of them  among the
people; nor do we find a more general and effective promotion
of Biblical knowledge in the churches of the East.  Scanty and
unsatisfactory is all the information that can be gleaned on this
important and interesting subject. It is, however, certain that a
number of transcriptions were made of the Greek Testament, and
of the Psalms. Proofs of this exist in the various MSS. of this
century, brought from mount Athos, and other places in the East,
and still preserved in the different libraries of Europe.t
Toward the close of the thirteenth century, a translation was
made of the New Testament, and of the Psalms of David, into
the TARTAR language, by Johannes a Monte Corvino, in order to
accelerate the propagation of the gospel among the dark and
idolatrous nations to whom he had been sent as a missionary in.1288 by Pope Nicholas IV. He was originally an Italian friar,
and derived his name from Mons Corvinus, where he was born in
1237. After having been employed in the mission for many years,
he was appointed archbishop of Cambalu, the same with Pekin, at
that time the celebrated metropolis of Cathay, now one of the
capital cities of the Chinese empire; erected into an archbishopric, and conferred upon our laborious missionary, by Clement VII.
in 1307; an honour which he enjoyed till his decease in A. D
1330.t
The following letter, addressed by this zealous missionary to
certain dignitaries of his church, is curious and interesting:"I, brother JOHN DE MONTE CORVINo, of the order of Friars
Minors, left Tauris, a city of Persia, in the year 1291, and came
into India, and remained in this country, at the church of St. Thomas the Apostle, thirteen months, and baptized about one hundred
persons in divers places; here also Nicholas de Pistoris, of the
order of Friars Preachers, and the companion of my life, died, and
was buried in the church. From thence I came into Cathay, the
kingdom of the emperor of the Tartars, who is called the great
khan, and whom I invited to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ,
by the letters from the lord pope; but he was too obstinately at* Mosheim's Eccles. Hist., ut sup.
t Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, part i, and ii, ch. viii, sec. 6, passim.
t Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, vol. iii, pp. 133, 299. Mosheimii Hist. Tartar
Eccles., pp. 76-78, 97, 98, 111.
1




THIRTEENTH CENTURY.                  393
tached to idolatry, yet he conferred many benefits on the Christians,
and I remained with him two years."
"In those parts, certain Nestorians, assuming the title of Christians, but differing in many things from the religion of Christ, had
established themselves so firmly, that they permitted no Christian
to practise ceremonies differing from theirs; nor to have ever so
small an oratory; nor to promulgate any other doctrine than Nestorianismn. And, forasmuch as no apostle, nor disciple of the
apostles, ever visited these lands, the before-mentioned Nestorians,
and others whom they had corrupted by money, raised violent persecutions against me, asserting, that I was not sent by the lord
pope, but was a great spy, and one who made men mad; and after
some time produced false witnesses in another way, saying, that
an ambassador had been sent with great treasures to the emperor,
whom I had robbed and murdered in India; and this machination
continued for about five years, so that I was frequently dragged to
judgment, with the imputation of murder. At length, by the will
of God, through the confession of a certain person, the emperor
was convinced of my innocence, and of the malice of my enemies,
whom, with their wives and children, he sent into exile. In this
foreign land I remained eleven years, without a companion, until
brother Arnold, a German, from the province of Cologne, came to
me, now more than a year ago. I have built a church in Cambalu,
the chief residence of the sovereign, which I finished six years
ago; and have made a belfry, in which I have placed three bells.
I have also baptized, as I suppose, up to this time, about six thousand persons; and but for the before-mentioned accusations, I
should have baptized thirty thousand; and I am still often baptizing. I have, besides, successively purchased one hundred and
fifty boys, the children of pagans, from seven to eleven years old,
who were at the time completely ignorant, having never been
taught; these I have baptized, and taught them our ritual in Greek
and Latin letters; and have transcribed Psalters for them, with
thirty hymn-books, and two breviaries; with which, eleven boys
now know our office, and hold chorus and hebdomary, as is done
in the convents, whether I am present or not; many of them also
copy Psalters, and other useful works: the emperor delights much
in their singing. I ring the bells at all the [stated] hours, and perform divine service with the congregation of babes and sucklings;
and we sing secundum usum, not having an office with the notes."
" A certain king, in this quarter, named GEORGE, of the sect of
the Nestorians, a kinsman of the great king called Prester John
1




394                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
of India, attached himself to me the first year I came, and being
converted by me to the Catholic faith, entered the orders of the
Friars Minors, and when I celebrated [divine service] ministered
to me, clothed in the vestments. Some of the other Nestorians
accused him.of apostacy; but, notwithstanding, he brought over
a great part of his people to the true Catholic faith, and erected a
beautiful church, with royal magnificence, to the honour of our
God, of the Holy Trinity, and of the lord pope, calling it the
Roman Church.  Six years ago this king George went to the
Lord, leaving behind him an infant son and heir, who is now nine
years old.  The brethren of king George, however, adhering
steadily to the errors of the Nestorians, after the death of the king
subverted all those whom he had converted, by inducing them to
return to their former schism. As I was alone, and could not quit
the emperor the khan, I was unable to go to that church, which
was distant twenty days' journey; yet, if some good coadjutors
and coworkers should come, I hope in God that all might be reclaimed; for I still have the privilege granted by the deceased
king George."
" I again say, that had it not been for the before-mentioned infamous calumnies, great fruit might have followed. If there had
been two or three companions with me, to assist me, perhaps the
emperor the khan might have been baptized. I request, therefore,
that such brethren may come, if any be willing, who will studiously
endeavour to set examples, and not to' enlarge the borders of their
garments.' Of the route, I may notice, that the shorter and safer
way is through the country of the Goths, the governors of the
Tartars of the north, by which they might come, with guides, in
five or six months; the other way is longer, and more dangerous,
including two voyages, the first as far as between Acho and the
province of Provence, the second as far as between Acho and
Angelia; and it may happen that the journey this way will scarcely
be completed in two years, the former way having been for a long
time rendered impassable by the wars. On this account I have
not for twelve years received any news respecting the court of
Rome, or our order, or the state of the West. Two years since
a certain Lombard physician came, who spread incredible and
blasphemous reports in these parts relative to the court of Rome
and our order, which makes me anxious to know the truth."
"I request you, brethren, to whom this epistle may come, to
take care that its contents be known to the lord pope, the cardinals,
and the procurator of our order, at the court of Rome. I entreat
1




THIRTEENTH CENTURY,                    395
the general of our order for an antiphonar, a legendary, a graduale,
and a Psalter, with notes for a copy, since I have only a portable
breviary with brief lessons, and a small missal. If I obtain a copy,
the before-mentioned boys will transcribe others. I am now engaged in building another church, to separate the youths into
several places.  I am now old, and gray-headed, more by labour
and trouble than by age, being only fifty-eight.  I have completely
learned the Tartar language and letters, as commonly used by the
Tartars, and have translated into their tongue and letters the whole
NEW TESTAMENT and PSALTER, which I have caused to be written
in their most beautiful characters; and I write, and read, and
preach, in that language, openly and clearly, the testimony of the
law of Christ. I had also agreed with the aforesaid king George,
if he had lived, to translate the whole Latin office, that it might be
sung through the whole of his dominions; and as long as he lived,
I celebrated mass in his church according to the Latin ritual,
reading in that language, as well the words of the canon as of the
preface. The son of the said king is called JOHN, after my name,
and I hope in God lie will imitate the steps of his father. Moreover, from what I hear and see, I believe there is no king nor
prince in the world that can be equalled to the lord khan for extent
of territory, multitude of people, and abundance of riches."
" Given in the city of Cambalu, in the kingdom of Cathay,
January the 8th, in the year of our Lord 1305."'
An interesting relation of the discovery of the existence of a
TARTAR version of the OLD TESTAMENT, among the Karaite Jews,
by the Rev. R. Pinkerton, at Baktcheserai or Bahchisaray, in 1816,
will be found in Pinkerton's Letters, &c.  It is there said to have
been made several centuries ago by the forefathers of the present
Karaite Jews. Of this copy Dr. Pinkerton writes: " We returned
to Bahchisaray by the same way we went; and it was not long
before Aaron followed, and presented me with a most beautiful
copy of all the canonical books of the Old Testanient in the Tartar
language, written on fine vellum paper, in the Hebrew character,
comprised in four volumes quarto, for which I paid him two hundred rubles. I have seldom met with a more beautiful manuscript.
It is elegantly bound in red goat's leather, and ornamented with
gold. I shall endeavour to get it sent off in safety to St. Petersburgh,t where, with the assistance of one or two learned Tartars,
* Mosheimii Hist. Tartar. Eccles., p. 114, No. 33. Helmstad. 1731, 4to.
t This precious MS. arrived safely at St. Petersburgh, and a volume of it was sent
1




396                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
under my own direction, should it please God to spare me to return, it may be fairly written out in the character, and carefully
revised and put to the press, with the translation of the New Testament made by the missionaries in Karass.  The peculiar principles of the Karaites, in rejecting the Talmud, and all the traditionary fables of the Jews, and their strict adherence to the sacred
text of Scripture alone, give me great reason to hope that we
shall find this, their Tartar translation from  the Hebrew, to be
correct."*
Of the old Tartar translation, by Johannes a Monte Corvino, but
little is known, as no copies of it are in any of the public libraries
of Europe; nor, so far as can be ascertained, do any traces of it
remain in Tartary or China.
In ARMENIA several important events took place intimately connected with Biblical literature.  The churches of the lesser Armenia, or Cilicia, submitted to the authority of the pope; and
HAITHO, or, as he is more properly called, HETHOM, who reigned
from A. D. 1224 to 1270, became a Franciscan friar, a short
time before his death.  This prince was not only attached to the
Church of Rome, but likewise acquainted with the Latin language;
and published a new edition, or revision of the Armenian Bible, to
which he added all the prefaces of Jerome. He has been charged
with  altering or corrupting his edition from  the Vulgate, and
inserting 1 John v, 7, from  the Latin, because thirty-seven years
after his death this passage was quoted at a council held at Sis, in
Armenia, and is to be found in other Armenian records, though it
is asserted the passage was not in the old Armenian MSS.  But
whether we allow the authenticity of the verse or not, Haitho is
cleared from the charge of wilful corruption of the sacred text, by
the acknowledged fact, that this verse is not to be found in any
modern Armenian MS. of the New Testament.t
GREGORIUS BAR HEBRAEUS, or ABUL-FARAI, more generally
called ABULPHA-RAGIUS, was also a native of Armenia.  He was
born in 1226,.: Malatia, a city near the source of the river Eu
to the Scotch missionaries in Astrachan, who, after having examined it, pronounced it
to be in a very different dialect from that spoken by the Nogay, Kasan, and Crimea
Tartars, but regarded it as what would be of great use to them in a translation of the
Old Testament into the same Tartar dialect in which the New Testament already
exists. See Prince Galitzin's Letter to Lord Teignmouth.
* Extracts of Letters from the Rev. R. Pinkerton, on his Tour in Russia, &c., to
promote the object of the British and Foreign Bible Society, pp. 18-20. Lond. 1817,
8vo. See also Thirteenth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, pp. 74-76.
tMarsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, pt. i, p. 102; pt. ii, p. 616.
1




THIIRTEENTH CENTURY.                  397
phrates. His father, whose name was Aaron, was a physician, of
eminence in his profession.  In his youth he devoted himself with
ardour to the study of philosophy and theology; and acquired an
intimate knowledge of the Greek, and Syriac, and Arabic languages. Under the instructions of his father, and other celebrated
physicians, he pursued the study of medicine, and was famed for
his excellence in that art. In the year 1243 Armenia was invaded
by the Tartars, when he and his father were obliged to flee from
Malatia, to avoid the fury of the invaders. The following year he
went to Antioch, and retiring to a cave near the city, adopted the
life of an anchoret. From Antioch he removed to Tripoli, or Tripolis, in Syria. In his twentieth year, Ignatius, the patriarch of
the Jacobites, ordained him bishop of Guba; and the following
year translated him to Lacabena. The patriarch Dionysius, whose
cause he had espoused and defended against his opponent Johannes
Bar Maadan, afterward raised him to the see of Aleppo; and the
universal suffrage of the bishops called him in 1264 to be mafrejan or primate of the East, a dignity which he retained till his
decease in 1286.*
The memory of this great man was honoured with the highest
encomiums both by Christians and Mohammedans, who called him
the Prince of Doctors, the most Excellent of the Excellent, the
Model of his times, and the Glory and Phcenix of the age.t A list
of his numerous works is given by Asseman, in the Bibliotheca
Orientalis, tom. ii, the most important of which are his History
of Dynasties, or Abridgment of Universal History, and Horreum
MIlysteriorumn, or Commentaries on the Scriptures.
The History of the Dynasties, or Abridgment of Universal History, is a compendium of the general history of the world, from
the creation to his own time. It is divided into ten dynasties or
governments. The first comprehends the history of the ancient
patriarchs, from Adam to Moses; the second, that of Joshua and
the judges of Israel; the third includes the reigns of the kings of
Israel; the fourth, the history of the Chaldeans; the fifth, of the
Magi, or Persians; the sixth, of the idolatrous Greelks; the seventh,
of the Franks, or Romans; the eighth, of the Greeks under Christian emperors; the ninth, of the Saracens; and the tenth, of the
Mogul Tartars. The two last dynasties are esteemed the most
correct, and by far the most interesting in point of information. In
1650, the very learned Dr. Edward Pocock published the intro* Assemani Biblioth. Orientalis, tom. ii, pp. 244-321. Romae, 1728, fol.
t Pocockii Specimen Hist. Arab. in Praefat. Oxon, 1650, 4to.
1




398                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
duction to the ninth dynasty, wvith a Latin translation, under the
title of Specimen Historice Arabum, sire Gregorii Abtll Farajii
Mialatiensis de Or'igine et Mlioribus Arlabutn succincica Nrarratio.
The Arabic text and translation extend only to thirty pages, but
are rendered invaluable by the editor's notes, from more than one
hundred MSS., forming by far the largest portion of the volume,
which consists of three hundred and ninety pages, besides the preface. The extract from Abulpharagius contains a compendious
account of the Saracens, or Arabians, prior to the time of Mohammed; of the impostor himself; of the religion which he introduced; and of the several sects into which his followers were
divided.  The notes are a collection of curious and important
extracts from Arabian authors, and original discussions relative to
MIohammed, and to the origin, manners, literature, and religion of
the Arabians; in Awbhich the learned editor has introduced a description of Mecca; acco-unts of the ancient Zabii, worshippers of
the heavenly bodies; and of the eastern Magi; a brief discourse
from the works of an Ariabian physician, respecting the influence
of different kinds of food upon the temper and disposition; and
critical remarks on several other interesting topics. The celebrated
Orientalist, Simon Ockley, calls it " a golden work," and pronounces
it to be a "key to all other Arabian authors."*  Dr. Pocock also
published the entire History of the Dynasties, with a Latin translation, in 1663, 4to., which he dedicated to King Charles II.
The florreulnz M3ystcreiorunn, or Storehouse of Mysteries, is a
critical and expository edition of the Syriac Scriptures, in which
the editor corrects the punctuation of the text; gives the various
readings of an extensive collation of MSS. and versions; adduces
the critical remarks of other writers; and accompanies the whole
with brief explanatory scholia, or notes; thus emulating the labours
of Jacob of Edessa, and Dionysius Barsalibeus, the former of
whom was bishop of Edessa fromn 677 to 708, and wrote Remarks
on the Book of Genesis; and the latter, bishop of Amida, from
1166 to 1171, and revised and published a new edition of the
Philoxenian Syriac version of the New Testament.'Tile order in which Abulpharagius places and comments on the
sacred books, is, first the Pentateuch, then the Books of Joshua
and Judges, the First and Second of Samuel, the Psalms, the First
and Second of Kings, Proverbs, Ecclesiasticus, Ecclesiastes, Song
of Solomon, Wisdom, Ruth, the story of Susannabh, Job, Isaiah,
the Twelve Minor Prophets, Jeremiah with the Lamentations,
Ockleii tntroductio ad Linguas Orientales, p. 147. Lond., 8vo.
1




THIRTEENTH CENTURY.                          399
Ezekiel, Daniel, with the story of Bel and the Dragon.  The four
Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles of James, and Peter,
and John; and lastly, the fourteen Epistles of St. Paul. To the
Notes, or Commentary, are added several chronological and other
tables; the Canons of Eusebius; the Genealogy of Christ; the
Names and Sufferings of the Apostles; and the Names of the
Seventy Disciples of our Lord.
The extensive erudition, and critical research of the author, are
discoverable in the numerous versions and writers to which he has
had recourse in the prosecution of his work.  Among the copies
of the Scriptures, are the Hebrew  and Greek Texts of the Old and
New Trestaments; the Septuagint version; the Samaritan, Armenian, and Egyptian, or Coptic versions; the Pentapla, and Hexapla
of Origen;  the versions of Symmachus, Aquila, and Theodotion;
and besides the Philoxenian version of the Syriac, which he closely
follows, the IHeraclean and Karkufite Syriac versions, the former
of which received its denomination firom Thomas of Harkel, (see
p. 164,) and the latter from its being adopted by the Nestorian
Christians who inhabited the mountains of Assyria, the Syriac term
Karkufe meaning the head or the top of a imountain.  Among the
authors are Basil, Athanasius, Chrysostomr, Nazianzen, Cyril of
Alexandria, Epiphanius, Ephrem, Jacob of Edessa, Pope Julius,
Severus of Antioch, Philoxenus, bishop of Hierapolis, Moses BarCepha, Hippolytus, Theodore of Mopsuestia, or Mamestra, and
several others.
The whole of this erudite work has never been printed; Asseman, in his Bibliotheca Orientalis, torn. ii, and Dudley Loftus,
in the London Polyglott, tom. vi,  haveT  made extracts from  it;
those in the Polyglott are from the notes on the Psalms, and were
taken from  a thick quarto MS. copy in the possession of Archbishop Usher.t
*The learned translator of Michaelis's Introduction to the New Testament, to
whom Biblical scholars are so greatly indebted, and to whose valuable publications I
have had frequent occasion to refer, is therefore mistaken, when he asserts, " the only
few extracts which we have of this celebrated, and as is said, valuable work, are those
which have been given by Asseman, in his Bibliotheca Orientalis."  As he is also,
when he supposes there was no edition of the Syriac version of the Revelation of St.
John, published by De Dieu, 1627. That edition now lies before me. It is a beautiful thin quarto, printed by Elzevir, with an ornamented title-page, cut in wood. The
Syriac text is placed in parallel columns, in Syriac and Hebrew characters; andi underneath, in a similar manner, the Greek text and Latin translation: these are followed
by forty-six pages of notes, forming, in the whole, a volume of two hundred and eleven
pages, exclusive of the dedication and preface. See Itdrsh's 3irchaclis, vol. ii, pt. ii,
pp. 581, 543.      t Assemani Biblioth. Orient., tom. ii, pp. 282,.283.
1




400                    BIBLICAL LITERATURE.
CHAPTER XII.
FOURTEENTH  CENTURY.
State of Society-Council of Vienne-Libraries-French Version-Raoul
de Presles-Jean de Vignay-Mendicant Friars-Nicholas de Lyra-Petrus
Berchorius-Peltrarch-Germany-Stwedish Version-St. Bridget - Polish
Version-Hedwre-Danish Version —Learned Greeks-Persian GospelsIrish New  Testament-Richard Fitzralph-Richard de Bury-Scripture
Paintings-Old English Versions-J.ohn de Trevisa-Wicliff.
THE state of society at the commencement of the FOURTEENTH
century was peculiarly unfavourable to the cultivation of sacred
literature and the study of the Scriptures. Pride and luxury
reigned among all orders of the clergy, and induced universal ignorance and profligacy. Their vices were the subject of satire in
every country in Europe. In Italy, Petrarch exposed the depravity
of the papal court; and in England, Chaucer satirised, with equal
severity, the corruptions of both laity and clergy. Of Avignon,
the residence of the Roman pontiff, Petrarch writes in an epistle
to a friend, " In this city there is no piety, no reverence or fear of
God, no faith or charity, nothing that is holy, just, equitable, or
humane. Why should I speak of truth, where not only the houses,
palaces, courts, churchcs, and the thrones of popes and cardinals,
but the very earth and air, seem to teem with lies? A filture state,
heaven, hell, and judgment, are openly turned into ridicule, as
childish fables. Good men have of late been treated with so much
contempt and scorn, that there is not one left among them to be an
object of their laughlter."
The poems of Chaucer abound with invectives against the vices
of the clergy, particularly the Plowman's Tale, in which he charges
them with ignorance, cruelty, covetousness, simony, vanity, pride,
ambition, drunkenness, gluttony, and lewdness: an example or
two will sufficiently discover the tenor of the poem.
" Such as can nat ysay ther crede,
With prayer shul be made prelates;
Nother canne thei the gospell rede,
Such shul now weldin hie estates."
*    -   *   *   *   *
"They use horedome and harlottrie,
And covetise, and pompe, and pride,
* Henry's Hist. of Great Britain, vol. viii, p. 361.
1




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                     401
And slothe, and wrathe, and eke envie.
And sewine sinne by every side.
"As Goddes godenes no man tell might,
Ne write, ne speke, ne think in thought,
So ther falshed, and ther unright,
Maie no man tell that ere God wrought."*
Wicliff, who wrote about the same time, says there were "many
unable curates that kunnen not the Ten Commandments, ne read
their Sauter, ne understond a verse of it."t Edward III., king of
England, addressed a strong remonstrance to the pope against his
encroachments, in which he represented that "the encouragements
of religion were bestowed upon unqualified, mercenary foreigners,
who neither resided in the country nor understood its language;
by which means the ends of the priesthood were not answered,
his own subjects were discouraged from prosecuting their studies,
the treasures of the kingdom were carried off by strangers, and
the jurisdiction of its courts baffled by constant appeals to a foreign
authority," &c.t Lewis Beaumont, bishop of Durham, was one
instance, among many, of the necessity of Edward's remonstrance.
He was a very lame and illiterate French nobleman, so incapable
of reading and spelling that he could not, although he had studied
them, read over the bulls announced to the people at his consecration.  At the word "metropolitice," he paused, tried in vain to
repeat it, and at last said, " Soit pour dit!-Suppose that said!"
Then he came to "In Enzigmate;" this puzzled him again: "Par
St. Louis," said he, " ii n'est pas courtois qui a escrit cette parole
ici-By St. Louis! it could be no gentleman who wrote this stuff."~
At this period robbery was the reigning vice in all the nations
of Europe; and the robbers, protected by the barons, who shared
their booty, plundered all who came in their way, without distinction. A troop of these plunderers, commanded by Gilbert Middleton and Walter Selby, assaulted two cardinals, who were escorted
by our illiterate prelate and his brother Lord Beaumont, attended
by a numerous retinue of gentlemen and servants, near Darlington.
The cardinals they robbed of their money and effects, and then
permitted them to proceed on their journey; but carried the bishop
and his brother, the one to the castle of Morpeth, and the other to
the castle of Mitford, and detained them till they had paid certain
* Chaucer's Works, by Urry, pp. 179-189, folio.
~ Lewis's Hist. of the Life, &c., of John WVicliff, D. D., p. 38.: Henry's Hist. of Great Britain, vol. viii, p. 55.
~ Andrews' Hist. of Great Britain, vol. i, p. 425. London, 1794, 4to.
VOL. I. —26




402                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
sums as ransoms. The same unfortunate prelate had his palace
afterward plundered even to the bare walls, by Sir Joselin Deinville.*
Injurious as such a state of society must necessarily have been
to the promotion of religion and learning, various instances occurred which proved that, in an age of strife, and ignorance, and
depravity, there were, nevertheless, some who duly appreciated
the sacred writings, and were convinced of the advantages resulting from the study of the Oriental languages. In 1311 the council
of Vienne passed a decree, directing that the Hebrew, Chaldee,
and Arabic languages, together with the Greek tongue, should be
taught in the college of Rome, and in the universities of Paris,
Oxford, Bologna, and Salamanca.  Schools or academies were
also erected at Cologne, Orleans, Cahors, Perusia, Florence, and
Pisa; and opulent persons founded and amply endowed particular
colleges in the public universities, in which, besides the monks,
young men of narrow  circumstances were educated in all the
branches of literature.  Libraries were also collected, some of
which were successively augmented by the generous patrons of
literature, and became eminent for the number and value of the
books which'they contained.t  Sir Richard Whittington built the
library of the Gray Friars, now called Christ's Hospital, in London, which was one hundred and twenty-nine feet long and twelve
broad, (Pennant says thirty-one,) with twenty-eight desks and
eight double settles of wai.nscot, and was also ceiled with wainscot. In three years it was filled with books to the value of ~556,
of which Sir Richard contributed ~400, and Dr. Thomas Winchelsey, a friar, supplied the rest. About the year 1430, one
hundred marks were paid for transcribing Nicholas de Lyra's
Commentary on the Bible, in two volumes, to be chained in this
library.  Leland (Sc2ipt. Brit., p. 441, et Collectan., iii, p. 52)
relates that Thomas Walden, a learned Carmelite friar, who went
by order of Henry V. to the council of Constance, and died approved in 1430, bequeathed to the same library as many MSS. of
authors, written in capital Roman characters, as were then estimated at more than two thousand pieces of gold; and adds, that
this library, even in his time, exceeded all others in London, for
multitude of books and antiquity of copies.+
* Henry's Hist. of Great Britain, vol. viii, p. 386. Andrews' Hist. of Great
Britain, ut sup.
t Fabricy, Titres Primitifs, tom. ii, p. 150. Mosheimrn's Eccles. Hist., vol. iii, p. 305.
t Warton's Hist. of English Poetry, vol. i, pp. 291, 292. Pennant's Account of
London, p. 198. London, 1791, 4to.
1                       26*




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                     403
About the year 1320, Thomas Cobllam, bishop of Worcester,
began to make preparations for a library at Oxford, but dying soon
after, little progress was made in the work until 1367, when his
books were deposited in it, and the scholars permitted to consult
them on certain conditions. A dispute arising between the university and Oriel College, it was not finally completed till about
the year 1411.  It appears to have been the first public library in
that university. It was at first called Cobhham's library, but ill
1480 the books were added to Duke Humphrey's collection,* of
which some account will be found in the succeeding chapter.
Another public library was established at Oxford, in Durham
(now Trinity) College, by Richard of Bury, or Richard Aungerville, bishop of Durham, in the time of Edward III., who bequeathed his books to the students of this college.  According to
the practice of those times, these books were preserved in chests,
till the year 1370, when Tholmas Hatfield, who succeeded Richard
of Bury in the see of Durham, built the library.t
In France, Charles V. might justly be considered as the founder
of the KING's LIBRARY, now deemed one of the finest in Europe.
This prince, who was fond of reading, and to whom a book was
an acceptable present, commenced his library with twenty volumes,
left him as a royal legacy by his father!t These he afterward
augmented to nine hundrecd, " a very large number for a time
when the typographical art was not invented."  They consisted
of books of devotion, astrology, physic, law, history, and romance;
a very few ancient authors of the classic ages, among which there
was not a single copy of Cicero's works; of the Latin poets only
Ovid, Lucan, and Boetius.  To these were added some French
translations of the BIBLE, of Augustine's City of God, of Livy, of
Valerius Maximus, &c. Many of the volumes were most superbly
illuminated by John of Bruges, the best artist in miniatures of that
time. The whole were deposited in three chambers, in one of the
towers of the Louvre, from thence called La T7oure de la Libraicre,
the Tower of the Library. The rooms designed for their reception were, on this occasion, wainscoted with Irish oak, and ceiled
with cypress curiously carved.  The windows were of painted
* Chalmer's Hist. of the Colleges, &c., attached to the University of Oxford, vol.
ii, p. 458. Oxford, 1810, 8vo.
t Ibid., ut sup.
$ In the British Museum there is a beautiful MS. on vellum of a French translation
of the Bible, which was found in the tent of King John, father of Charles V., after
the battle of Poictiers, in which he had been taken prisoner by Edward the Black
Prince.-Warton's History of English Poetry, vol. iii, p. 204.
1




404                     BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
glass, fenced with iron bars and copper wire.  The English became masters of Paris in 1425, and the duke of Bedford, regent
of France, sent into England the principal part of the books, valued
at two thousand two hundred and twenty-three livres.*   A saying
related of Charles deserves to be remembered: some persons
having complained of the respect he showed to men of letters,
who were then called clerks, he replied, " Clerks cannot be too
much cherished; for, so long as we honour learning, this kingdom
will continue to prosper; but, when we begin to despise it, the
French monarchy will decline."t
A new and more accurate translation of the Bible into French
was also undertaken by order of the same prince. The versions
prior to that period had generally been made from Comcstor's
Historia Scholastica, the chief of which was by Guiars des Moulins, canon, and afterward dean of St. Peter of Air, begun in June,
1291, and completed in February, 1294. King John had also
enjoined John de Sy to translate the Scriptures into French, and
to add an exposition of them, but he seems to have completed only
Isaiah, Jeremiah, and five books of Solomon.  Charles, therefore,
with that wisdom which characterized his reign, formed the design
of a new translation of the sacred Scriptures. Christina de Pisan,$
a female poet and historian, patronised and pensioned by that
prince, informs us that he " was fond of books, and by his liberality
procured translations of the best authors into French; especially
the BIBLE, which he caused to be translated in a threefold manner: first the text itself; then the text accompanied with a gloss 
and lastly an allegorical exposition."~
This version has frequently been attributed to Nicolas Oresme,
bishop of Lisieux, in  Normandy, who died in 1382.  Francis
Grude, Sieur de la Croix du Maine, is the earliest writer who
* Henault's Chronological Abridgment of the History of France, translated by Nugent, vol. i, sub ann. 1380, p. 268. Warton's Hist. of English Poetry, vol. i, diss. 2.
t Henault, itt sup.
t In the British Museurn, among the Harleian MSS., No. 4431, there is a large
volume, containing part of the works of this celebrated female. It is a vellum MS.,
written in a small Gothic letter, in double columns. On the recto of the first leaf, in
a large hand, is the following autograph: "Henry, Duke of Newcastle, his booke,
1676."  The illuminations are by various hands: a beautiful sketch of a portion of
the principal one is copied in Dibdin's Bibliographical Decameron, p. cxxxv, which
represents the authoress presenting her book to the queen of France. About the
period of the composition of her poems, or balades, the duke de Berry gave her not
less than two hundred crowns for a set of them. See Dibdin's Bibliographical Dccameron, vol. i, p. cxxxiv.
~ Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom.. i, cap. iv, pp. 321, 324. Paris, folio.
I




FOURTEENTH GCENTURY.                 405
speaks of Oresme as the person deputed by the king of France
to translate the Scriptures into the vernacular tongue.  In his
"Bibliotheque des Auteurs, &c.," printed at Paris in 1584, folio,
he affirms, "I1 a traduit la Bible de Latin en Francois"-" He
translated the Bible out of Latin into French." Le Long has,
however, proved that Raoul de Presles, and not N. Oresme, was
the author of this translation; and accounts for the error which
has been so generally adopted, by supposing that La Croix du
Maine misunderstood a passage in the Recueil General des Rois,
et des affaires de France jusqu'a  Louis XIII., by Jean d(u Tillet,
bishop of Meaux, in which he says, " Nicolas Oresme, a learned
man, whose counsel and advice was particularly followed by King
Charles V., translated the works of Aristotle and Cicero, and many
others, out of Latin into French. For the king greatly loved and
admired letters and literary men. He also commanded the holy
books of the Bible to be diligently and truly translated," &c. But
though Bishop Oresme and the Bible are both mentioned by Du
Tillet, lie does not speak of Oresme as the translator.*
On the other hand, there is indubitable evidence that Raoul de
Presles engaged in a translation of the Scriptures, at the request
of the king; since, in a beautiful illuminated copy upon vellum, in
folio, of an old French translation, we meet with the following
Prologue, or Preface:"To the most excellent and mighty prince, Charles V., king
of France; I, Raoul de Praelle, your unworthy servant
and subject:
"When my most dread and sovereign lord directed me to translate the Bible into French, all that I could do was to deliberate
whether I ought to undertake it, or decline it. On the one hand,
I considered the greatness of the work, and my own slender ability; and on the other, that there was nothing I either could or
ought to refuse you. I, moreover, regarded my age, and my unfortunate disorder, and the different works I had already composed,
namely, the Translation and Exposition of St. Augustine's City of
God, the book entitled Compendium  Historiale, another called
Musa, and various epistles. But while I debated with myself, I
recollected having read, that human nature (like iron, which is
valuable when in use, but, if disused, rusts and spoils) sustains
less injury in every way by labour than by indolence, I judged it
Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra. tom. i, cap. iv, p. 320.
1




406                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
better to be exhausted by exercise than consumed by idleness;
for, according to the wise man's saying, leisure without letters is
death. Let me therefore entreat your majesty graciously to accept my labours. As to the method to be pursued in my translation; where I conceive abridgment is necessary, I shall give the
substance of the whole; and where I perceive a repetition of the
same thing, as in Chronicles and the Second Book of Esdras, and
elsewhere, I shall retrench; I shall also leave out many names of
persons and places where they would be unedifying and wearisome
to the reader; and where they would scarcely know whether they
were proper names of persons, or of their fathers, or ancestors, or
of towns or cities; acting in these things according to your command.  I intend also to prefix prefaces, explaining what is necessary respecting the design of the books; and summaries at the
beginning of the chapters, that the sense of them may be more
easily comprehended; and to distinguish what is not in the text
by a line drawn underneath; for without explanations the text is
in many places exceedingly obscure, particularly to the laity, who
are not versed in Holy Scripture.  And let nothing that I have
undertaken be imputed to pride, but let your command be my
apology in all and every thing."
" Finally, I entreat all those who may see this work, when they
discover inaccuracies, to bear with my defects; and whatever they
find in it that is excellent, to ascribe it to our Lord, from whom
cometh every thing that is good; and further, in every thing relative to faith, I submit to what is dictated by the (true) faith and to
what is held by our holy-mother church.TM
From  this very rare translation, Le Long, in his Bibliothecca
Sacra, has given considerable extracts.t  Neither of the two
manuscripts from which the extracts are made is perfect; both
of them terminating with the Proverbs of Solomon; and the first
leaf of the former, which originally belonged to John, duke of
Berry, brother to King Charles V., having been torn away, probably for the sake of its ornamental decorations, and the latter being
without the Prologue.
RAOUL DE PRESLES, the translator, was the illegitimate son of
Raoul de Presles, secretary to Philip the Fair, to Louis X. and
Philip V., and who founded the college at Paris which bears his
name. He embraced the profession of the law, and became celebrated for his various and learned writings.  One of his earliest
* Le Long, ubi sup.    t Ibid., p. 319.




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                           407
works was that which was denominated MIusa, written in Latin,
and dedicated to Charles V.   It is an ingenious fiction, on the
means of remedying the disorders of the age.  About the year
1369 he composed a "Dissertation  on the Oriflame," or Royal
Banner of the Kings of France, in their wars against the infidels.*
In this discourse the author dwells less upon the ancient banner
than upon the necessity of imploring aid from  Heaven, when engaged in warfare.  About the year 1379 he was employed by the
king to translate Augustine's " City of (od" into French, and had a
considerable pension allowed him  for that purpose.  This translation he colmmenced in 1371, and completed, with the addition of a
Commentary upon it, in 1375.  He also translated into French a
book entitled the " Pacific King," supposed to be an historical and
political work, probably the same as the Compendium  Historiale.
Another of his works was an abridgment of the Somrnnium Firidarii,
or Dream  of the Orchard, containing a dispute between the ecclesiastics, the temporalists, and seculars.  But his greatest and most
important undertaking was the TRFANSLATION OF THE HOLY ScRIPTURES out of the Latin into the French, which appeared about
A. D. 1377.   La  Croix  du  Maine  saw  a MS. containing  De
Presles' translations of the City of God, and of the Compendiumr
Ilistoriale, in two large volumes, on parchment.  The former of
these, accompanied with the Commentary upon it, was printed at
Abbeville in 1486, in two volumes folio, and again at Paris, in two
volumes folio. The Abbeville edition is extremely scarce, and is
said to have been the first book printed in that city, though Marchand cites the Somme Rurlale of Bouthellier, which was printed
in the same year, as the first work which proceeded from the press
* The oriftame was anciently the chief standard borne by the kings of France in
war. Our author thus defines it: "' L'oriflambe, c'est'a savoir, un glaive (une lance)
tout dor6, ou est attachde banniere vermeil!e" —" The oriflame is a gilded lance, to
which a vermilion or flame coloured banner is affixed;" hence the appellation aztriflamma, from whence the corrupted terms oriftiambe, oliflamma, &c. It was originally
the ensign of the abbey of St. Denis, and borne by the counts of Vexin, who held that
earldom as a fief of this abbey, with the obligation of leading its vassals to war, and
defending its lands and privileges, under the title of advocate. In peaceable times it
was placed on the tomb of St. Denis, but when called for, to be borne to battle, it was
delivered into the hands of the advocate by the abbot himself, who accompanied the
delivery of the standard with certain prayers.
Vexin being in process of time united to the crown, the sovereign became the advocate of St. Denis, the standard was accounted sacred, and borne as the royal banner.
The ancient cry of war by the French in battle, Alont joie St. Denys, took its rise
from this circumstance. See Du Cange, Gloss. Lat., v. Aurflamma. Advocati Ecclesiarum.
1




408                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
at Abbeville. La Croix du Maine likewise notices a MiAS. copy of
the abridgment of the Somniurn V'ridarii, written on vellum, and
preserved in the library of the president Fauchet, at Paris. Of
the Translation of the Bible, the indefatigable bibliographer Le
Long never had seen more than the two copies from which his
extracts are taken.
Raoul de Presles was made attorney-general in 1371, and master of requests, 1373.  He died in 1382, aged about sixty-eight
years.*
The dissemination of the Scriptures appears to have been a
favourite object with Charles V. of France.  For before Raoul de
Presles was engaged in the new translation of the Bible, many
transcripts had been made, by his order, of the version of Guiars
des Moulins.  Several of these, some of which are richly illunlinated and adorned with exquisite miniature paintings, and formerly
belonging to the king, and his brother John, duke of Berry, are
still preserved in the king's and other libraries of France; among
which particular mention is made of a large Bible in two volumes,
which Charles used constantly to carry with him.t  Molinmeus, or,
according to his French name, Charles du Moulin, in his work on
the Origin and Progress of the French Monarchy, says, " He
caused tile Bible to be translated into French, and not only into
the dialect of Paris, but also into the dialects of Picardy, Normandy, and the other provinces of the kingdom, that every one
might have the Scriptures in his maternal language; many of
which old translations are still extant, with the inscription,'By
the comnmand of Charles the Fr{fth.'  "  Anthony Du Verdiers says
the same, and adds, "I possess one of these copies, written on
parchment, in the dialect of Picardy."T It is probable that most
of these translations, made by the king's order, were corrected
copies of the version by Guiars des M oulins, since none appear in
the provincial dialects, in the list of MSS. given by Le Long, ex
cept those of that version.  In tile Cottonian library, in the British
Museum, among other old French MS. copies of the whole or
parts of the Scriptures, is one of an uncertain date, with the title,
" L'Evangel translate de Latine en franceys, in usum Laicorum"" The Gospel translated from the Latin into French, for the use
of the laity."~' R. de Juvigny, Les Bibliotheques Francoises de la Croix du Maine, et de Du
Verdier, &c., tom. ii, pp. 347-350. Paris, 1772, 4to.
t le Long, ut sup.  i Usserii Hist. Dogmat., p. 158, Le Long, ut sup.
~ Le Long, vol. i, p. 318.
1




FOURTEENTII CENTURY.                  409
An earlier translation than that of Raoul de Presles had been
made of the Gospels and Epistles, contained in the Missal, by
Jean de Vignay, or Du Vignes, at the request of Jane of Burgundy,
queen of King Philip of France.*
JEAN DE VIGNAY, or Du VIGNES, who flourished about A. I).
1306, was a hospitaller of St. James of HIaut Pas, and the translator, as has been already noticed, of De Voragine's Golden Legend, and De Riga's Speculumn  Ecclesice.  There is also a
translation by him of The Game of Chess moralized.
Queen Jane also ordered several of the early Latin Christian
writers to be turned into French, and for this purpose commissioned the archbishop of Rouen to undertake the task. But finding
that this dignitary did not understand Latin, she employed a Mendicant friar to accomplish her design; for at this period the
Mendicant orders had risen to considerable celebrity, by their
learning and diligence.t
The Mendicants owed their rise, about the beginning of the
thirteenth century, to the luxury and indolence of the monastic
orders, which rendered it necessary to adopt measures for remedying the disorders created by their dissipation and licentiousness.
For this purpose a new order of religious fraternity was introduced
into the church, the members of which, being destitute of fixed
possessions, might restore respect to the monastic institution, and
recover the honour of the church, by the severity of their manners,
a professed contempt of riches, and an unwearied perseverance in
the duties of preaching and prayer.
The four orders of Mendicant or Begging Friars, established by
a decree of the second council of Lyons, in 1274, were the Dominicans, Franciscans, Carmelites, and Augustines, or Austins. The
Franciscans were often styled Friars Minors, or Minorites, and
Gray Friars; the Dominicans were generally termed Friars Preachers, and sometimes Black Friars; the Carmelites bore the name of
White Friars; and the Austins, of Gray Friars. The Dominicans
and Franciscans were the most eminent. The popes, among other
immunities, allowed them the liberty of travelling wherever they
pleased, of conversing with persons of all ranks, of instructing
youth and the people in general, and of hearing confessions without reserve or restriction: and as on these occasions, which gave
them opportunities of appearing in public and conspicuous situations, they exhibited more striking marks of gravity and sanctity
* Rigoly de Juvigny, Les Bibliotheques Francoises, tom. i, pp. 605, 606.
t Warton's Hist. of English Poetry, vol. ii. p. 111.
1




410                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
than were observable in the deportment and conduct of the members of other monasteries, they were regarded with the highest
esteem and veneration through all the countries of Europe.
In the mean time they acquired the most extensive influence,
by the extraordinary assiduity and success with which they cultivated the various branches of literature then pursued. Most of
the theological professors in the university of Naples, founded in
1222, were chosen from among them. rfThey were the principal
teachers of theology at Paris; and at Oxford and Cambridge,
respectively, all the four orders had flourishing monasteries. The
most learned scholars in the university of Oxford, at the close of
the thirteenth century, were Franciscan friars; and, long after that
period, the Franciscans appear to have been the sole support and
ornament of that university.'Their diligence in collecting books
was proverbial; and every Mendicant convent was furnished with
what was considered as a great and noble library, ("grandis et
nobilis libraria.")  They were the revivers of the Aristotelian philosophy, and obtained the merit of having opened a new system of
science, which too soon degenerated into mere scholastic disputes
and unintelligible jargon. The Dominicans of Spain applied themselves to the study of the Oriental languages and rabbinical literature, and were employed by the kings of Spain in the instruction
and conversion of the numerous Jews and Saracens who resided
in their dominions. To literary pursuits they joined the arts of
popular entertainment, and were probably the only religious orders
in England who acted plays. The Creation of the World, annually performed by the Gray Friars at Coventry, is still extant.
Gualvanei de la Flamma, who flourished about the year 1340, has
the following curious passage in his Chronicle of the Vicecomites
of Milan. " In the year 1336," says he, "on the Feast of Epiphany, the first feast of the three kings was celebrated at Milan,
by the convent of the Friars Preachers. The three kings appeared
crowned, on three great horses, richly habited, surrounded by
pages, body guards, and an innumerable retinue. A golden star
was exhibited in the sky, going before them. They proceeded to
the pillars of St. Lawrence, where King Herod was represented
with his scribes and wise men. The three kings ask Herod where
Christ should be born; and his wise men, having consulted their
books, answer him, at Bethlehem. On which the three kings
with their golden crowns, having in their hands golden cups filled
with frankincense, myrrh, and gold, the star still going before,
marched to the church of St. Eustorgius, with all their attendants,
1I




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                    411
preceded by trumpets and horns, apes, baboons, and a great variety
of animals. In the church, on one side of the high altar, there was
a manger, with an ox and an ass, and in it the infant Christ in the
arms of his mother. Here the three kings offer their gifts, &c.
The concourse of the people, of knights, ladies, and ecclesiastics,
was such as never before was belleld."  During the same century
a religious drama was performed at Eisenach, in Germany, so
singular in its design, and so fatal in its effects, that it well deserves to be noticed.  The Mystery of the Five WVise and Five
Foolish Virgins was exhibited before the margrave Frederick.
The "wise" virgins were represented as St. Mary, St. Catharine,
St. Barbara, St. Dorothy, and St. Marg'aret.  The "foolish" vir
gins applied to them for oil, which the actor interpreted to mean,
prayers offered to them, to intercede with God in behalf of the
suppliants, that they might be admitted to the marriage supper,
that is, into the kingdom of heaven: but the wise refused to give
them of their oil. The foolish virgins were now thrown into an
agony of distress; they knocked, they wvept, they entreated, but
all in vain; oil was denied them, and they were commanded to go
and buy for themselves. The scene, and the doctrine it insinuated
of the inutility of praying to the saints, alarmed the prince, and
threw him  into the greatest consternation: "Of what use," exclaimed he, "is our faith, if neither Mary nor the other saints can
be obtained to pray for us? To what end so many meritorious
actions and good works, that by their intercession we might obtain
the grace and favour of God?"  His alarm  produced apoplexy,
which in four days terminated his life.  He was buried at Elisenach. (Adamzi Vit. Gobelin. Person., p. 3.)
The buildings of the Mendicant monasteries, especially in England, were remarkably  magnificent.  These fraternities being
professedly poor, and by their original institution prevented from
receiving estates, the munificence of their benefactors was employed in adorning their houses with stately refectories and
churches. Persons of the highest rank bequeathed their bodies
to be buried in the friary churches, which were esteemed more
sacred than others, and were consequently filled with sumptuous
shrines and superb monuments.  In the noble church of the Gray
Friars in London, finished in the year 1325, but long since destroyed, four queens, besides upward of six hundred persons of
quality, were buried, whose beautiful tombs remained till the dissolution. These interments imported considerable sums of money
into the Mendicant societies, so that it is not improbable but that
I




412                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
they derived more benefit from casual charity than they would
have gained from a regular endowment.  The Franciscans indeed
enjoyed from the popes the privilege of distributing indulgences,
which produced a valuable indermnification for their voluntary
poverty.
For the space of nearly three centuries, two of these Mendicant
institutions, the Dominicans and Franciscans, appear to hlave
governed the European church and state with an absolute and
universal sway; —during that period, filling the most eminent ecclesiastical and civil stations, teaching in the universities with an
authority which silenced all opposition, and maintaining the disputed prerogative of the Roman pontiff against the united influence
of prelates and kings, with a vigour only to be paralleled by its
success, and being, before the Reformation, exactly what the
Jesuits have been since.*
At the time, therefore, when Queen Jane of France employed a
-Mendicant friar to execute the translations of certain Christian
writers, that order ranked high in literary attainments, and produced, in different countries of ]Europe, learned men whose writings
acquired themn a just celebrity.  This was Petrus de Bruniquello,
bishop of Civita Nuova, an Austin friar, and a native of France,
who wrote a work in which all the histories of the Old and New
Testaments were reduced to alphabetical order; and compiled a
commentary on tile Old Testament.t  NTICHOLAs  )E LYrRA also,
who illustrated this period by his learning and writillgs, particularly
claims our regard.  Ite was born of Jewish parents, at Lyre, a
town in -Normandy, in the diocess of Evrcux.  After having been
instructed in the Hebrevw tongue, and in rabbinical learning, he
embraced Christianity, entered among the Franciscans at Verneuil, and afterward studied at Paris, where lie obtained the degree
of doctor, and taught inl the university with great credit.  By his
nerit lie rose to thie highest offices in his order, and gained the
esteem of the great.  Queen Jane, wife of Philip of France, appointed him  one of her executors, in 1325.  Ile died at a very
advanced age, October 23d, 1340.$
Ile is particularly celebrated for his Latin Postillte, or brief
colmments on the whole Bible, which are allowed to be very judi* See Warton's Hist. of English Poetry, vol. i, pp. 288-294, from which the above
eccount of the Mendicants is principally extracted.
t Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom. ii, p. 900.
t Jewish Repository, vol. iii, p. 41. London, 1815, 8vo. Sirnon, Lettres Choisies,
tomn. iv, p. 213. De Juvigny, tom. v, p. 128.
1




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                  413
cious. The following is the judgment of a learned foreign critic:
"The commentaries of De Lyra not only manifest industry, but
display considerable erudition, and deservedly place their author
in the first rank of the Biblical expositors of his day. They dis
cover the writer to be skilled in the Hebrew tongue, and to be
well acquainted with rabbinical writings; but his knowledge of
the Greek not being so extensive as that of the Hebrew, his commentary on the New Testament does not equal that on the Old, in
felicity and accuracy. Among the Jewish writers, he generally
follows R. Solomon Jarchi, and frequently applauds him in his
notes. In explaining the literal sense of the Holy Scriptures, he
excelled most of his contemporaries.  On those passages of the
New Testament which derive illustration from Jewish antiquities,
he has thrown considerable light. Unshackled by the authority
of the fathers, he thought for himself, as his works sufficiently
discover; though he was not without defects, for he is sometimes
inaccurate in what he attributes to the Jews, and sometimes rashly
and incorrectly adopts the Aristotelian philosophy.T*
The Notes of De Lyra were appended to an edition of the Latin
Vulgate, printed at Rome, in 1472, in seven volumes folio, and
were the first comment ever pri"nted. They were also often joined
to the Glosses Ordinarzia, or a Comment of Walfridus Strabus, or
Strabo; the Additions of Paul, bishop of Burgos; and the Replies
of Matthias Doringk, or Thoringk, and printed with the Vulgate
or Latin Bible. The best edition is that of Antwerp, 1634, six
vols. folio. They are incorporated in the Biblia Maxima, edited
by Jean de la Haye, Paris, 1660, nineteen vols. folio. A French
translation was published at Paris, 1511 and 1512, in five vols.
folio.
De Lyra was also the author of a Disputation against the Jews,
published by Bratheringius, at Frankfort, in 1602; and translated
into English from a copy prefixed to the Basil edition (1506, tom. 7)
of Lyra's Commentary, by a Fellow of Queen's College, Cambridge, and printed in the Jewish Repository for 1815, Lond. 8vo.
Another work written by him, and subjoined to his Biblia, is a
treatise against a particular rabbi who made use of the New
Testament to combat Christianity. Besides which Le Long (tom.
2) mentions a treatise entitled Liber differentiaraum  Veteris et
Novi Testamenti cum explicatione nominum Hebreorum, an edition of which was very early printed at Rouen, in 8vo. It appears
to have treated of the difference of the various translations from
* Walchius in Le Long, Bib. Sacra, edit. Masch., pt. ii, sec. 3, p. 357.
1




414                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
the Hebrew, &c.  Other writings still remain unpublished; and
Cave (H.ist. Lit.) notices a small tract or two printed with the
works of others.
Both WBicliff and Luther were considerably indebted to the
Postillc  of Lyra.  The author of the Prologue usually attributed
to Wicliff, says, that our English reformer consulted Lyra's Commentary, in his translation of the Bible; and of Luther it has been
affirmed,
Sz Lyra nont lyrasset,
Luthers non saltasset.
"If Lyra had not harlped on profanation,
Luther had never plamnled the Reformation."T'
The writings of our author exhibit him as a defender of the novelty of the Hebrew vowel points, in opposition to the rabbinical
opinion of their antiquity.  "The points," says he, " are not anll
essential part of the letters, nor were they in being when the Scriptures were written, but were invented a lolng time afterward, to
assist ip reading; hence the rolls which are read in the synagogues
are without points."  They also inform us of the impious conduct
of the Jews toward the Christians and the gospel. Speaking of the
reasons why the Jews do not embrace Christianity, he observes,
"' Many turn away from  the fith of Jesus for a threefold cause.
One is, on account of the fear of temporal penury, for they are
always avaricious; and in their Law an abundance of temporal
things is always promised; therefore above measure they abhor
poverty.  Another cause is, because from their cradle they are
nursed in hatred to Jesus; and they curse the Christian law, and
the worshippers of Jesus, in their synagogues every day.  But
those things to which men are accustomed fiom their youth, become as it were a second nature; and consequently, they turn the
judgment of the understanding firom tile truth which is contrary to
them.  The third cause is, on account of the difficulty and depth
of those things which are proposed to be believed in the Christian
faith; as by experience they know who frequently confer with them
on these subjects.t
Another Franciscan friar of note was Petrus Aureolus, or Oriel,
a native of France, and archbishop of Aix, in Provence.  He was
called the Eloquent Doctor.  He taught publicly in the university
of Paris, from A. D. 1318 to A. D. 1321, when he was removed to
the archiepiscopal see.  In 1345 he wrote Breviarizun Bibliorlnm,
L* ewis's Life of Wicliff, p. 73. Dr. A. Clarke's Commentary, Gen. Pref., p. 5.
t Hodv, De Bill. Text. Orirg. likb iii, pars ii, p, 433. Jewish Repos., vol. iii. p. 3~24
1




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                       415
or Compendium  of the Bible, printed at Paris, 1508, 8vo.  He
also wrote Commentaries on the Four Books of Sentences, and
other works.  He died on the 27th of April, but in what year is
uncertain.'
Montfaucon, in his Journey through Italy, gives us another instance of thle attention paid to learning by the Mendicant friars.
At Bologna he was shown a very ancient HBnnEw  BIBLE, with
this inscription prefixed:" This Hebrew Bible was given by brother William  of Paris,
of the order of Brother Preachers, confessor to the most illustlious
king of France, to the monastery of Bologna, for the common
library of the brethren, in honour of St. Dominic, Ann. 1310, the
day before the ides of February.  Whosoever reads in it is desired
to pray for him. Amen."t
But learning, though principally cultivated by the Mendicants,
was not entirely restricted to them; there were some belonging to
the other monastic orders who devoted the-nselves to study.  Of
this PETRUS BERCnORIUS, or PIERRE B]IERCHTtEUR, was an instance.
He was a native of Poitou, and a monkl of the order of St. Benedict.  His learning was various and extensive, and his memory
so tenacious, that he is said to itave beent able to quote texts and
authorities from  the Bible, on all subjects, vwithout any other a.ssistance.  He became prior of the convent of St. Eloi, at Paris,
where he died, and wcas buried in 136;2.  Of h1is writings, wvhich
are voluminous, some are lost: the most important, however, remain, and are, 1. Redtuctorilarn Jlforale t,-i ^7.SQUe Testamzenti;
2. Reperto)-rinz Mforale, sent Dict-iorriun l Mt   rale; and, 3. The
Gesta Rom~ianorztm.  -1e is also known. t'o havee been the translator
of Levy, by order of John, king of France; and in that office to
have invented and introduced various words, -wrhich are now of'
good authority in the French langutage.  A MS. of this translation
is preserved in the Sorbonne, at Paris.+  The RediUctorzim M3orale
is divided into two parts; the first of which contains thirty-four
books, and consists of allegorical expositions of different passages
of Scripture, selected according  to their order from the historical
and prophetical books of the Old and New Testaiments, and the
Apocrypha.  The following brief extract from the exposition of
Genesis i, may give an idea of the work:
Cavei I-list. Lit., App., p. 22.    iMontfalucon's Journey thronugh Italy, p. 438.
Le Long, Bibliotheca Sacra, tom. ii, p. 634. WTarton's Hist. of English Poetry.
vol. iii, Dissert. on the Gest-a Romanorum, pp.  i-vi, xt7xvi. lxxxvii. Lempriere's
Universal Biography. Lond., 1808, 4to,




416                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
" In the beoinning God created the lieavens and the earth, &c.It appears, that as God exercised himself in the creation of the
great world, so he continually exercises himself in the creation of
the little world, man, and in the formation of the moral man, I say,
therefore, that the light is faith, the firmament is hope.  The waters above (the firmament) are troubles sent by God; the waters
under (the firmament) are temptations arising from the carnal
nature.  The earth is the body; herbs and trees are good works;
fruits and seeds are virtues and meritorious deeds.  Lights signify
discretion; the sun is divine wisdom, the moon worldly knowledge.
Fishes, which are always in water, signify devotion; but birds,
divine contemplation; cattle, the help and assistance of the poor;
reptiles, compassion for the sufferings of others; beasts signify
devils, and evil thoughts.  Man, made in the image of God, designates the formation of the moral man, and the moral perfection of
the Inind.  Paradise denotes final blessedness, and the consequent
glory.  This I say, therefore, that in the little world, that is, in the
morally perfect man, the first thing necessary is the light of faith,
to illuminate the mind, and to discover the truth; and to dissipate
and confound error and darkness: hence it is said, Acts ix,'There
shined round about him a light from heaven."'
The second part of the Reductorizum 1Morale treats " Dererum
proprietatibus," [Of the properties of things,] and is a curious coinpendium of pneumatology, natural history, &c. It is divided into
twenty-four books, in which every subject is allegorized after the
manner of the preceding exposition or commentary: the following
is an example:" OF BRITAIN."
"' Britain, i. e., England, is a large island, surrounded by other
islands.  Near it is one called Sillral,* the soil of which is so
obnoxious to serpents, that it will kill any serpent introduced into
it; and the inhabitants extraordinary, for they wholly discard
money, and the use of it, bartering one thing for another, procuring necessaries rather by exchange than purchase, and revealing to men and women the knowledge of future events.  By that
island I understand religion, especially the Mendicant orders; by
the soil which yields sustenance to them, the knowledge of the
Scriptures, which opposes, kills, and destroys serpents, i. e., vices
and temptations: they are also accustomed not to value money,
but to seek necessaries by exchanging, that is, by begging, and to
* One of the Scilly isles.
1




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                    417
think of nothing but futurity: Wisd. viii,' She knoweth things of
old, and conjectureth aright what is to come.'             {
"According to Solinus, there was formerly in Britain a temple
dedicated to the goddess Minerva, where the perpetual fires never
whitened into ashes, but, when suffered to go out, were transformed
into globes of stone. Say, therefore, if you please, that the goddess
Minerva is the Blessed Virgin, whose temple is the conscience of
a righteous man, in which, without doubt, the fire of perpetual
charity ought to burn, and never be lost in the ashes of sinners,
but transform itself into the stone of perseverance."
The Repertorium, or Dictionarium Mllorale, is the most valuable
of the works of Berchorius.  It is a voluminous theological dictionary, in which all the words of the Vulgate version of the Bible
are alphabetically arranged and explained; and discovers extensive theological knowledge, and uncommon acquaintance with the
Scriptures. The following article, selected for its brevity, will
serve as a specimen of the work:".Proverlbinm. (Proverb.) An enigma, or parable, i.e., an obscure speech, or a common saying, promulged as a law or rule.
A proverb is used for
An allegorical proposition;
An authentic declaration;
A prophetic enunciation;
A scornful expression.
It is taken for an allegorical proposition, and is thus used John xv.,
where it is said,'Now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no
proverb.' Also, for an authentic declaration, and is so used 1 Sam.
xxiv:'As saith the proverb of the ancients: wickedness proceedeth from the wicked.' Again, for a prophetic enunciation, as
Eccles. xxxix:' He will seek out the secrets of grave sentences,
(Vullg. Proverbiorum,) and be conversant in dark parables.' Also,
for a scornful expression, and is thus used 1 Kings ix:'Israel
shall be a proverb, and a by-word among all nations.'"*
These works have been repeatedly printed; the edition from
which the above translations have been made is in two ponderous
folio volumes, printed at Cologne, 1620.
The Gesta Romanorum is a singular compilation of romances,
apologues, and stories.  It was one of the most favourite books of
that period; and seems to have been " compiled from the obsolete
Latin chronicles of the later Roman, er rather German story,
* Berchorii Opera, tom. i, pp. 1, 906; et tom. ii, p. 959. Colon. Agri4, 1620, fol.
VOL. I. —27




418                  BIBL1CAL LITERATURE,
heightened by romantic inventions, from legends of the saints,
Oriental apologues, and many of the shorter fictitious narratives
which came into Europe with the Arabian literature, and were
familiar in the ages of ignorance and imagination.  The classics
are sometimes cited for authorities; but these are of the lower
order, such as Valerius Maximus, Macrobius, Aulus Gellius, Seneca, Pliny, and Boethius.  To every tale a Mioralization is subjoined, reducing it into a Christian, or moral lesson.  Most of the
Oriental apologues are taken from the Cle-icalis Discipzina, or a
Latin dialogue between an Arabian philosopher and Edric his son,
never printed, written by Peter Alphonsus, a baptized Jew, at the
beginning of the twelfth century, and collected from Arabian fables,
apothegms, and examples. Some are also borrowed from an old
Latin translation of the Calilah u Da7,nahh, a celebrated set of
Eastern fables, to which also Alphonsus was indebted."  This
popular work was one of the very early printed books, several editions having been published before A. D. 1500; and was translated
into Dutch in 1484. Warton has prefixed a learned " Dissertation"
on the Gesta Ronmanorrn to his "History of English Poetry,"
vol. iii, from which the preceding remarks are taken.
In ITALY, classical learning began to revive, principally by the
exertions of FRANCIS PETRARCH, who, as an elegant writer has
said, "rescued his country's name from  obscurity, and rendered
it the admiration of Europe; who sought the society of learned
foreigners, and was among the first to promote the cultivation of
the Greek tongue; who, himself a philosopher, historian, orator,
poet, and philologist, encouraged, by his example, every liberal
pursuit."*  And who, had he not disgraced his moral character by
an infamous passion for Laura, the wife of Hugo de Sade, lord of
Saumane, must have claimed the tunreserved applause of every
friend to literature and genius.
Yet, with all his ardour and enthusiasm  for the cultivation of
literature, Petrarch remained so ignorant of the Greek, that when
a Greek Homer was sent him from Constantinople, he lamented
his inability to taste its beauties.  But his defective knowledge of
that copious tongue was occasioned by the deplorable darkness of
the age in which he lived, and not by his own indifference or
neglect. For such was the lamentable indifference to the study
of the Greek, that not one scholar versed in that language was to
be found at Rome.  It was reserved for his friend BoccacIo, or
* Berington's Literary History of the Middle Ages, p. 410.
1'927~




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                   419
BOCCACE, to enjoy the pleasure, and obtain the hlonour, of introducing to public notice, and consequent remuneration, LEo, or
LEONTIUS PILATUS, the first Greek lecturer at Florence. This
was about the year 1360.  He had been detained at Florence,
when on his way from the East to Avignon, by the advice and
hospitality of Boccacio, who lodged the stranger in his house,
and prevailed upon the magistrates to elect him a member of their
academy, and to settle on him an annual stipend. The appearance
of the lecturer was disgusting. He was clothed, says his disciple,
(De Geneal. Deorum., lib. xv, cap. vii,) in the mantle of a philosopher, or a Mendicant; his countenance was hideous; his face
overshadowed with black hair; his beard long and uncombed;
his deportment rustic; his temper gloomy and inconstant; nor
could he grace his discourse with the ornaments, or even the perspicuity, of Latin elocution.  But his mind was stored with a
treasure of Greek learning; history and fable, philosophy and
grammar, were alike at his command. The inconstancy of hiis
disposition led him to return to Constantinople, after having filled
the professor's chair only three years.  Still unsettled, he determined to revisit the country he had left, and for that purpose embarked on board a vessel destined for Italy, but as they approached
the shore the ship was assailed by a tempest, and our unfortunate
teacher, who had lashed himself to the mast, was stricken dead by
a flash of lightning.*
The theological writers in Italy, at this period, were few, and
their writings in general unimportant.  The chief of those who
employed their pens on subjects of divinity attempted, by allegorical and mystical comments, to illustrate or explain the sacred
writings; but nothing appears to have been published worthy of
notice, unless, perhaps tile MARGARITt BIBLICA of GUIDO DE PILro, a Dominican friar, bishop of Ferrara, who died in 1331; in
which the author has endeavoured, in hexameter verses, to give
an epitome and allegorical exposition of the Old and New Testaments. An edition of it, without place or date, was printed in the
very infancy of the typographical art.t
In GERMANY, JOAN:NES RtUSBRocHIus, a native of Brabant, and
prior of the monastery of the priory of Viridis Vallis, who died
A. D. 1380, wrote a number of mystical works, among which was
one in the German tongue, "On the Tabernacle of Moses," in
which he, in his way, explains many parts of the books of Exodus,
* Berington's Literary History of the Middle Ages, b. vi, pp. 434-436.
t Le Long, tom. ii, p. 906.
1




420                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Numbers, and Leviticus.  The whole of his works have been
twice printed at Cologne; first in 1552, in folio, and again in 1609!
quarto.  In these editions his German works are translated into
Latin. About the year 1300 a prose version of the Scriptures was
made into Dutch, but the author is not known.*
If we turn to the north of Europe, the chief occurrences that
interest the Biblical scholar are private translations of the Scriptures into the vernacular language of Sweden and Poland, one of
them executed at the request of a princess, whose name has been
deservedly transmitted to succeeding ages; and the other translated by the no less illustrious princess whose name it bears.
ST. BIRGIT, or BRIDGET, was the daughter of Birger, or Birgines.
a prince of the royal blood of Sweden, and of Ingeburgis, daughter
to Sigridis, a lady descended from the kings of the Goths, and was
born A. D. 1302.  She married Ulpho, prince of Nericia, in Sweden, who died in 1344, in the monastery of Alvastre.  After the
death of her husband she founded a religious order, called from
her the order of the Brio[ittins, or Brig'ettins; and built the great
monastery of Wastein, in the diocess of Lincopen, in Sweden.
At her request, MATTHIAS, or MATTHEW of SWEDEN, her confessor,
and canon of Lincopen, translated for her use, she being ignorant
of Latin, the Bible into Swedish, accompanied with short learned.
annotations.  The translator, who was also called 1Matthew  of
Cracow, in Poland, probably from being a native of that city, was
afterward raised to the see of Worms, where he died in 1410.t
He wrote on several theological subjects, such as the mass, eucharist, &c. Some of his MSS. are said to be still preserved in different libraries.  St. Bridget died July 23d, 1373. Her pretended
Revelations" have been repeatedly printed, at Lubec in 1492, at
Nuremberg, 1521, with cuts, much esteemed; at Rome, 1521,
&c.t  No copy of the translation of tile Scriptures which she procured is now to be found; but in the library of the university of
Leipsic there is a MS. in 12mo., containing the Latin Bible, fairly
written, said to have been transcribed with her own hand.~
The Polish version is attributed to HrEDWIGE, daughter of Louis,
Cavei Hist. Lit., App., p. 57. Acta Eruditoraun. An. 1733, p. 62, 4to.
t Messenius places his death about A. D. 1352; and says he was intimate with thf
Dominicans of Stockholm, among whom he breathed his last; but Butler professes to
state the time of his death from his epitaph. See Messenii Scondia Illustrata, ii,
tom. ix, cap. vi, p. 43. Stockholm, 1700, fol.
T Butler's Lives, vol. x, October 8, pp. 158-1-66.
O Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom, i, p. 240.
1




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                  421
king of Hungary and Poland; or, according to some writers,
daughter of Casimir the Great.  She was chosen sovereign queen
of Poland in 1384, and her panegyrists assure us that "she was
eminent for her immense charities to the poor, her liberality to
churches, monasteries, and universities; her humility, and aversion to pomp or gaudy apparel; her meekness, which was so
wonderful, that in so exalted a station she was utterly a stranger
to anger and envy;" and that " she read no books but such as
treated of piety and devotion; the chief being the Holy Scriptures,
Homilies of the Fathers, Acts of Martyrs, and other saints, and
the Meditations of St. Bernard, &c."* In 1386 she married Jagello, a pagan duke of Lithuania, on condition that he should embrace the Christian faith, and establish it in his dominions. At
his baptism he received the name of Vladislaus, and subsequently
persuaded the subjects of his dutchy to make profession of the
gospel. Hedwige died at Cracow in 1399.t  Johannes Lasicius,
in his work De Gentis Francisct  Gestis, lib. i, professes to have
seen an elegant MS. of this translation.t
In the royal library at Copenhagen there is a MS. (No. 8 of the
MSS., in folio, of the Thottian catalogue,) formerly in the possession of Count Thott, containing a Danish version of part of the
Old Testament, supposed to have been made in the thirteenth, or,
at the latest, in the beginning of the fourteenth century. The following account of it I owe to the kindness of the Rev. Dr. Ebenezer
Henderson, who favoured me with a valuable MS. History of the
Danish Versions, written by himself, and to which this work will
be principally indebted for what relates to the Biblical history of
Denmark.
The Danish MS. of the Old Testament, deposited in the royal
library at Copenhagen, "forms an ordinary folio, and has been
strongly bound in wooden boards, covered with skin.  It has
already suffered considerable damage by its exposure in a humid
place, and is fast mouldering away at the ends. It is written on
paper, in two parallel columns. Toward the beginning, the lines
marking the space to be filled by the text have been drawn with
ink, the colour of which is considerably paler than that with which
the text itself is written; but the rest has been ruled with a leaden
pen. The text forms one whole, no blank space being left either
between the chapters or the books. The number of the chapter
* Butler's Lives, vo. x, October 17, p. 425, note.
f Mosheim's Eccles. Hist., vol. iii, p. 298.
$ Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom. i, p. 439.
1




422                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
is begun on the same line with the conclusion of the preceding,
and is either longer or shorter, according to the space that was to
be filled up. The title of the book is written at the top of the
page, as far as the middle of the twelfth chapter of Exodus, from
which to the end it is omitted. The initial letter of every chapter
is roughly ornamented, and is written with a kind of red paint,
which has something of a glossy surface, resembling wax. The
same material is used in correcting what was improperly written,
and in writing the titles of the books and chapters. It is also
employed in punctuation, which consists of a stroke drawn transversely through the line, answering to the more common stops;
and where any remarkable word or sentence begins, a red stroke
is drawn through the first letter of the word. At the foot of the
page are a number of prayers and pious effusions, through a considerable part of Genesis, but they are the work of a later hand.
The first two leaves, and part of the third, have been devoured by
the tooth of time; and the text now begins Genesis ii, 10. It is
also defective from Genesis xxx, 36, to xxxi, ~29, and ends with
2 Kings xxiii, 14."
"The version is done exactly according to the Vulgate, and
faithfully adopts all its faults, nor can this be matter of surprise to
those who know that it has been doubted, by those best acquainted
with the ecclesiastical history of that country, whether at that
period there were any of the clergy who so much as understood
the Greek Testament in Denmark; and that many of the ecclesiastics themselves had not an opportunity of forming any acquaintance even with the Vulgate. The translator of the Danish version
has not only in general servilely followed the Vulgate, but has at
times attempted to express the derivation of the Latin words in
his version, which could not fail, in many instances, to render it
ridiculous. Thus the Almighty is introduced, Genesis xxvi, 5, as
commending Abraham for making use of wax candles in the observance of his religious rites. rlThe Vulgate has ceremonias, which
this translation renders:'Because Abraham obeyed my voice, and
kept my charge and commandments, and kept feast-days with wax,
that is, wax candles, and laws.' The same rendering occurs also
in several other places. In Exodus xxviii, 4, the Latin terms used
to describe the garments of the priests are explained by the sacerdotal apparel of the Romish Church. Great use is made of synonymes by way of explication, especially in those passages in which
Latin words are introduced."
"Translations of the prefaces of Jerome are introduced at their
I




FOURTEENTII CENTURY.                  423
proper places; and sometimes, though rarely, a passage is introduced from Peter Comestor's HI-istoria Scholastica.  Thus the
story respecting the grave of Joseph is related after Exodus xiii,
19; a long account is given of the infancy and youth of Moses at
the end of Numbers xii, and, at the end of 1 Samuel xxv, a comparison is drawn between Saul and the devil, and one between
David and a spiritual man, which concludes,' 0 St. David, pray
for us.'"
A full account of this MS. is given by Dr. Woldike, in the second
volume of the Transactions of the Royal Society of Copenhagen,
who concludes, from the size of the volume, that there may have
originally been two more, comprising the whole Bible; but Dr. E.
Henderson remarks, that " the abrupt manner in which this fragment ends, at the beginning of the first column on the last page,
without regard to any division in the Bible, shows that its present
size is merely accidental, and that either the original [from which
this MS. appears to be a copy] has not extended further, or the
transcriber has been prevented by death, or some other unavoidable cause, from prosecuting his labour."
Pontoppidan (Annales Eccles. Danicw Diploin., tom. iv, p. 563)
mentions his having found, in a MS. B. Bircherodii, a notice respecting, an order issued 1671 by Christian V. to print a very ancient MS. of the Bible, which was preserved in the royal library,
and which lie supposes to have been the MS. Just described; but
the order appears never to have been put into execution, a circumstance that cannot but be lamented by the Biblical scholar, as the.
MS. is evidently in a state of decay.
Among the GREEKS of this century, Euthalius Johannes Cantacuzenus, and Simon Jatumawus, are most wAorthy of notice.  CANTACUZENUS, born in Constantinople, was bred to letters and to
arms, and admitted to the highest offices of the state. The emperor Andronicus loaded him with wealth and honours; and at his
death, in 1341, left to him the care of the empire, and the guardianship of his son, John Paleologus, then only nine years of age, until
his son should be capable of assuming the reins of government
himself. This trust he discharged for some time with the utmost
fidelity and diligence, till, the empress dowager and her faction
having proclaimed him a traitor, he was led to listen to the entreaties of the army and nobles, and to assume the imperial purple.
A civil war ensued, in which Cantacuzenus was victorious. At a
suitable age he associated the young Paleologus with him in the
empire, and confirmed the union by giving him his daughter in
1




424                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
marriage. Jealousy and suspicion again gave rise to civil commotions, till, weary of the troubles of sovereignty, and unwilling to
continue the contest, Cantacuzenus abdicated his share in the
empire, assumed the habit of a monk, and, retiring into a monastery, adopted the name of Joasaph, or Josaphat, and devoted himself to the duties of religion and the pursuits of literature. In this
relinquishment of worldly grandeur he was accompanied by his
wife, who entered a nunnery, and changed her name from Irene
to Eugenia.  In his retirement he wrote a History of his own
Times, of which a splendid edition, with a Latin translation, was
published at Paris, in three volumes, folio, 1645;-an Apology for
Christianity, against the Mohlammedans, with four books in confutation of the Errors of Mohammed and the Alcoran, written in
1360, at the request of a Christian monk, who had been converted
from  Mohammedanism; and edited by Rudolph Gualter, who
translated them into Latin, and published them with the Greek, at
Basil, in 1543, folio, and afterward with the Alcoran, in 1555;and a work against the Jews, designed to refute their errors. This
latter work is also sometimes noted as " Nine Sermons" against
the Jews. In his writings Cantacuzenus assumed the name of
Christodulus.  The time of his death is uncertain, though he is
supposed to have lived many years in his retirement.*
SIMON or JAMES JATUMJAUS, a Dominican friar, a native of Constantinople, flourished about the close of this century.  He was
first, bishop of Geirace, in Calabria Ultra, in Italy, and afterward
archbishop of Thebes, in Boeotia. His knowledge of the Greek,
and Latin, and Hebrew languages, in which he was thoroughly
versed, enabled him to form from the best and most correct Greek
copies a regular series or Harmony of the whole of the New Testarnent, and to translate it into Hebrew and Latin. These versions,
with the Greek, he placed in three parallel columns on each page,
and with considerable labour and diligence, disposed them with so
much exactness, that each version answered to the other, line for
line, and sentence for sentence, both in sense and words. A copy
of this curious Triglott Harmony was formerly kept in the library
at Genoa.f
EUTHALIUS RHODIRS was a monk of the order of St. Basil,
who, after the example of Cardinal Hugo's Latin work, compiled
* Cavei Hist. Lit., App., pp. 37, 38. Fabricii Delectus Argumentorum, &c.,
p. 124. Hamburg, 1725, 4to.
t Sixt. Senens. Bibliotheca Sanct., lib. iv, p. 378. Le Long, Bibliotheca Sacra
tom. i, p. 61.
1




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                               425
a Greek Concordance of the Bible.   Nothing  more is known  of
him, except that he lived at the commencement of this century;*
nor is there any copy of his work known to exist at present.
Directing our views eastward, we find a PERSIAN translation ot
the four Gospels, made by order of the prince Ibn Sahm  Addaula
ibn  Scirana.   The following subscription at the end of a MS. of
this version  is characteristic  of the  age and  country in which  it
was written:"These  four glorious GOSPELS  of JMattlcw, Mark, Luke, and
John, were finished in tie city of Caffa,- inhabited by Christians,
(prayers being performed,) on the third day of the week, the ninth
of the month  Tamuz, in Latin  called July, in the year of Christthe Messiah, 1341, by the hand  of' the weakest of the people of
God, SIMION IBN JOSEPH IEN ABR.AHAM  AL TABnRII.   May the God
of those that fear him (that is, of tile Christians) by his grace and
providence show  mercy, that when they read or hear this (book of
the) Gospels, they may say a Pater Noster and Ave Maria, for the
poor writer, that, through the divine mercy lie also may be forgiven. Amen.  And this (book of the) Gospels was written by the
command and counsel of his lord and  king, (the glory of princes
and merchants, and the honour of the people of Christ,) the friend
* Sixt. Sencns Biblioth. Sanct., lib. iv, p. 286.
t CAFFA, or Cafa, is a city and port town of the Crimea.  It was anciently called
Theodosia, and since it came into the possession of the Russians, this name has been
restored to it. It is at present chiefly inhabited by foreigners of different religious persuasions.  In July, 1815, a Bible Society was established in that city, designed particularly to comprehend in the sphere of its operations the countrics lying on the shores of
the Black Sea. On that occasion his excellency Bronefsky, governor of the city,-transmitted to the Russian Bible Society a communication written by himself, in which he
says, "Abhazi, Mingrellia, and Anatolia, being in the closest commercial connection
with Theodosia, present a wide field for the Bible Society proposed to be in that city.
It is well known that in former times, the Abhazi were enlightened by the faith of
Christ, and belonged to the Greek communion, possessed their own bishops, and were
reckoned to the Epjarchi of Alanie, the seat of which see was Theodosia, and afterward Phanagaria.  After the fall of the Greek empire, however, the nation of the Abhazi, like the Circassians, being deprived of preachers, and not possessing a written
language, returned to their heathenish customs, and at last many of them  embraced
the Mohammedan religion. Monuments of Christianity exist to the present time among
them, in the remains of churches, for which the people have still respect. Another
proof of this is the veneration which they have for the form of the cross.  Certain of
the Abhazian tribes in the vicinity of Annapa, perform their religious service, which is
greatly mixed with heathenism, before a cross, placed upon a tree, or they simply cut
out the form of the cross on the bark of the tree, and pray and offer sacrifices before
it."  See the Twelfth Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society, App., No. viii,
p. 13. Lond. 1816.
1




426                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
and brother of the pure church, the lord and prince IBN SAIIM ADDAULA IBN SCIRANA, surnamed of Teflis.  God be gracious to him
and his kindred. Amen."*
"This version," remarks Dr. A. Clarke, "was made most evidently by a Christian of the Roman Catholic persuasion, who
acted under the most predominating influence of his own peculiar
creed; for it is not only interpolated with readings from the Vulgate, but with readings from rituals and legends."t  It was printed
With the Latin translation of I)r. Samuel Clarke, in the fifth
volume of the London Polyglott, from  a MS. belonging to the
learned Dr. Pocock.  A much purer and more simple version of
the four Gospels, but of uncertain date, was published, with: a
Latin translation, in 1657, fol. It was translated into Latin, and
prepared for the press, by Mr. Abrahamn  Wheeloc, professor of
Arabic in the university of Cambridge, who actually began to print
it in 1652; but dying shortly after, the work was patronized by
Thormas Adams, lord mayor of London, and finished under the
care of Mr. Pierson, at the press of J. Flesher.  It seems that Mr.
Wheeloc had designed to affix critical notes to each chapter; but as
the regular comment appears to have been prepared no further than
to the seventeenth chapter of Matthew, the notes which the continuator found after the close of that chapter are all printed at the
conclusion of the work.1 It is probable that the former version
was made from the Syriac, the latter from the Latin Vulgate.
Another version of the Gospels in Persian is mentioned by Le
Long. It was transcribed in the year 1388, but from an original
of much older date; and was sent to the college at Rome, from
Agra, in the East Indies, by Jeronymo Xavier, a Roman Catholic
missionary, who died at Goa in 1617.~
Returning again to the West, a singular occurrence in Ireland
claims our attention.  About the year 1358, Richard Fitzralph,
archbishop of Armagh, possessed a translation, probably made by
himself, of the Newv Testament in Irish.  According to the information of Bale, quoted by Archbishop Usher, this copy was
concealed by him in a certain wall of his church, l] with the following note:-"When this book is found, truth will be revealed to the
* VWaltoni Proleg., xvi.
tDr. A. Clarke's Comment. Introduction to the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles,
p. 14.: Dr. A. Clarke's Comment., ubi sup.   Q Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom. i, p. 133.
11 A curious MS. original of the New Testament, (one Gospel, St. Mark, wantings'
found zc;lled in Loddington Church, in Northamptonshire, was in the possession of
1




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                      427
world; or Christ shortly appear."  This, observes the narrator,
was written in the spirit of prophecy, for the book was found when
the church of Armagh was repairing, about the year of Christ 1530.*
No vestige of this translation is supposed to remain; though Fox,
in his " Actes and Monumentes of the Church," vol. i, p. 511, printed
in 1570, says, " I credibly heare of certayne old Irish Bibles translated long synce into the Irysh tong, which if it be true, it is not
other lyke, but to be the doing of this Armachanus;" and adds,
that this was " testified by certayne Englishmen, which are yet
alyve, and have sene it."
RICHARD FITZIALPII, or FITZRAF, " a man worthy, for his Christian zeal, of immortal commendation," was brought up at Oxford,
under John Baconthorpe, who was called the Resolute Doctor. His
abilities recommended hinm to King' Edward III., by whom lie was
promoted, first to the archldeaconry of Lichfield, then to the chancellorship of Oxford, and afterward to the archbishopric of Armagh,
in 1347.  He was the severe and professed opponent of the Mendicant friars, who, by their arrogance and encroachments on the
rights of the clergy, had created very general disgust.  Being cited
by them to appear before Pope Innocent IV., lie defended himself
in the presence of the pontiff, in an oration, the substance of which
is preserved in Fox's "Actes and Monumentes," vol. i, pp. 505-510.
In this discourse hie observes, that the Mendicant friars entice and
delude so many of the young scholars who are sent to the universities, to enter their order, that " laymen, seeing their children thus
to be stolen from them, refuse to send theorn to their studies, rathei
willing to keep them at home to their occupation, or to follow the
plough, than to be circumvented and defeated of their sons at the
university, as by daily experience doth m-anifestly appear. For-where
as, in my time," saith he, "there were in the university of Oxford
thirtythousand students, now are there not to be found six thousand."
And thus notices the decay of learning occasioned by their monopoly of books:-" These begging friars, through their privileges
obtained of the popes to preach, to hear confessions, and to bury;
and through their charters of impropriations, grow thereby to such
great riches and possessions by their begging, craving, and catching, and intermeddling in church matters, that no book can stir,
Bishop More, who had borrowed it from the Rev. George Tew, the rector, but never
returned it; and is supposed to be now in the public library at Cambridge, among the
collection of books purchased at the death of the bishop for ~6,000, by King George
I., and presented to that university.-Nichols's Literary Anecdotes, vol. ix, p. 612.
* sscerii Hist. Dogmat., p. 156.
1




428                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
of any science, either of divinity, law, or physic, but they are able
and ready to buy it up. So that every convent having a great
library full stuffed and furnished with all sorts of books, and there
being so many convents within the realm, and in every convent so
many friars increasing daily more and more, it thereby comes to
pass, that very few books, or none at all, remain for other students:" of which lhe gives this instance, "that he himself sent
forth to the university four of his own priests or chaplains, who
sending him word again that they could neither find the Bible, nor
any other good profitable book of divinity, meet for their study,
therefore were minded to return home to their country;" and adds
further, that " he was sure, one of them was by this time returned."
The opposition of the good archbishop to what lie considered to
be the reigning abuses of his day, brought much trouble and persecution upon him. Our martyrologist tells us, that in a certain
confession or prayer, composed by Fitzralph, and of which he himself had a copy, he relates the particulars of his many providential
deliverances out of the hand of his enemies, and almost the whole
history of his life, especially " how  the Lord taught him, and
brought him out of the profound vanities of Aristotle's subtlety, to
the study of the Scriptures of God." T'he beginning of the prayer
in Latin, as given us by Fox, deserves to be translated.  " To thee
be praise and glory, and thanksgiving, 0 Jesus, most holy, most
powerful, most amiable, who hast said,'I am the way, the truth,
and the life;'-a way without deviation,-truth withlout a cloud,
and life without end. For thou hast shown me the way; thou
hast taught me the truth; and thou hast promised me the life.
Thou wast my way in exile; thou wast my truth in counsel; and
thou wilt be my life in reward."  After this quotation, every pious
character will regret that the honest martyrologist did not execute
the design he had formed of publishing the whole confession.
Fitzralph remained some time in banishment, and died at
Avignon, about A. D. 1360; yet such was the character he had
maintained, that, on hearing of his death, a certain cardinal openly
declared, " A mighty pillar of Christ's church was fallen."*
In ENGLAND, one of the principal promoters of learning was
RICHARD DIE BURY, or AUNGERVILLE, bishop of Durham, who was
born in 1281, and died in 1345. A man singularly learned, and
so devoted to literature that he kept transcribers, binders, and
illuminators in his palaces, and expended the whole of his ample
*Foxes Actes and Monumentes, vol. i, pp. 502-511. Lond., 1570, fol.
1




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                   429
income in purchasing scarce and curious manuscripts, for which
purpose he employed agents not only in England, but in Italy,
France, and Germany. Besides the fixed libraries which he had
formed in his several palaces, the floor of his colmmon apartment
was so covered with books, that those who entered were in danger
of trampling on them. By tile falvour of Edward III. he gained
access to the libraries of the principal monasteries, where he shook
off the dust from various volumes, (all MSS., as must necessarily
be the case at that period,) preserved in chests and presses, which
had not been opened for many ages; and while chancellor and
treasurer of England, instead of the usual presents and new years'
gifts appendant to his office, he chose to receive those perquisites
in books.*  The account given of him by honest John Stow, in
his Annales, is too interesting not to be transcribed in his own
words:-" Richard Bury," says he, " is somewhat to bee remembred for example to other. H-le was borne necre Saint Edmundsbury. By his father, Sir Richard Angaruill, knight, and his uncle,
Sir John Willowby, his gouernour, lie  as first set to grammer
schoole, and after sent to Oxford, from whence bee was called to
teach ED. of Windlesore, then prince: afterward this Richard was
made principall recieuer to Edwarde the second in Gascoigne, at
such time as yoong Edward with his mother fledde to Paris,
whose expenses beginning to faile, the said Richard came to them
priuily with a great somme of money, for the which cause he was
pursued to Paris, where bee lay hid in a steeple by the space of
seuen dayes. After this bee was made coffcrer to Edward the
third, then treasurer of the wardrobe, then clarke to the priuie
seale by the space of fine yeeres, in the which time twise bee
went to Pope John. In the sixe and fortieth yeere of his age he
was consecrated bishoppe of Durham, then was bee made treasurer
of England, and after chancellour, since the which time bee was
sent thrise to the French king, to claim the kingdome of France,
and after that, to Antwerpe and other places in Brabant, in einbassage by the space of nine yeeres. He was greatly delighted in
the company of clearkes, and hadde alwayes many of them in his
family, among whom were Thomas Bradwardine, afterward archbishoppe of Canterbury, Richard Fitz Ralph, archbishoppe of
Armacham, Walter Burley, John Manditt, Robert Holcot, Richard
Kilwington, all of them doctors of diuinitie, Richard Wentworth,
or Beniworth, byshoppe of London, and Walter Segraue, byshoppe
of Chichester. Euery day at his table, hee was accustomed to
* Warton's Hist. of English Poetry, vol. i, diss. 2.




430                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
haue some reading: and after dinner daily bee would haue  dispu
tation -with his priuate clearkes, and other of his house, except
some vrgent cause hadde let him.  At other times hee was occupied, either in scruice of God, or at his bookes.  Weekely he
bestowed for the reliefe of the poore, eight quarters of wheat made
into bread, besides the ordinary fragments of his house.  Moreouer, in coming or going fiom Newcastle to Durham, hee bestowed
sometimes twelue markes in almes, from Durham to Stockton eight
markes, from Durham  to Auklland fiue miarkes, from Durham to
1Middleham  an hundred shillings, &c. Hee was so delighted in
bookes, that he hadde more (as was thought) then all the byshoppes
of Englande besides. Hee bestowed many rich ornaments on the
church of Durham.  liee builded an hall or house in Oxford,
induing it with rcuenuces needefull for his schollers.  And also
prouided in a library great store of bookes,* for the vse of the
wllole universitie, as the said bishop writeth himsclfe in his booke
entituled' PIIILOBIBLOS, and appoynted the maisters of the hall to
assigne five scholers for keeping of the common library."t
Yet such was the influence of the general contempt in which
the laity were held by the clergy, that, while this great man was
lamenting the total ignorance of the Greek language along his
clerical brethren, he did not scruple to affirm, " Laici oninium
librorum, comtmzzunione indini snt —'The laity are unworthy to be
admitted to any commerce with books:" a sentiment which sufficiently discovers the profound ignorance which must have reigned
among all ranks of society, the clergy excepted. With very different feelings will the reader of the present day peruse his opinion
of books, when lhe says, " IIi sent mIgistvi qui nos inistretnt sine
virgis et fereula, sine vc7ebis et coleora, sine pane ct peclnia.  Si
~ccedis 2non, do rzio2iti; nqi('ris non se CbIsCOnd'nlt; no2n r'enntrl'nzurant si oberres; cach'innoS nesciznt si??norcs- These are
teachers who instruct us without rod or ferula, without severe
expressions or anger, without food or money.  When we come to
them, tliey are not (asleep; whenl we inquire for them, they do not
secrete themselves; when we mistake them, they  do not complain; if we are ignorant, they do not despise us."  The treatise
from which these passages are selected was written with reference
to the library which he bequeathed to the university of Oxford.
It is entitled PHIILOBIBIOS, or Pf-TT,OinjLT, ioN, is written in Latin, in
* See p. 403 of this volume.
t Stow's Annales, or Gencrall Cbronicle of Englaunld, pp. 24'10, 241. London, 1615,
folio.
1




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                      431
a declamatory style, and is divided into twenty chapters.  In this
work be laments that good literature had entirely ceased in the
university of Paris, which he calls the "Paradise of the World;"
and says that he purchased there a variety of invaluable volumes
in all sciences, which yet were neglected and perishing.  This
learned prelate died in 1345, at his palace at Auckland.*
In lieu of books, the laity appear to have been presented with
paintings and theatrical entertainments.  Henry III., who was a
most munificent encourager of the fine arts, kept several painters
constantly in his service. One chamber in thle palace of Winchestcr was painted green, with stars of gold, and the whole History
of the Old and New  rTestament.  In one room in the palace of
Westminster, and in another in the Tower of London, the history
of the expedition of Richard I. into the Holy Land was painted.
The coronation, wars, marriages, and funeral of Edward I. were
painted on the walls of the great hall, in the episcopal palace in
Lichfield, A. D. 1312, by order of Bishop Langton. The principal
churches and chapels were fiurnished with representations of the
Virgin Mary, the apostles, and other saints; and the walls of some
of them  almost covered with Scriptlural, moral, and allegorical
paintings.  Friar Symeon, who wrote an "Itinerary" in 1322,
thus describes a series of paintings in the royal palace at WMestminster: "Near this monastery" (of Westminster) "stands the
most famous royal palace of England, in which is that celebrated
chamber, on whose walls all the warlike histories of the whole
Bible are painted with inexpressible skill, and explained by a reogular and complete series of texts, beautifully written in French over
each battle, to the no small admiration of the beholder, and the
increase of royal magnificence." Atlnd Falcondus, the old historiall
of Sicily, relates, that at an earlier period (about A. 1). 1200) the
chapel of the royal palace at Palermo had its walls decorated with
the History of the Old and New Testament, executed in beautiful
Mosaic work.t
The theatrical entertainments of this period, especially those
intended to represent the miracles and mysteries of Scripture,
have been already noticed; it is therefore unnecessary to add any
thing more, except to remarlk, that even on such occasions as the
triumphant entry of a king or queen into any celebrated city, the
pageants were almost always Scriptural or religious exhibitions.
* Savage's Librarian, vol. iii, pp. 38-40. London, 1809, 8vo.
t Henry's Hist. of Great Britain, vol. viii, pp. 297-299. WVarton's Hist of English
Poetry, vol. ii, pp. 216, 217.
1




432                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,'Under these circumstances IBiblical studies were but seldom
pursued, particularly during the former part of this century. Archbiishop Usher, indeed, assigns a translation of the whole Bible into
ENGLISH to the close of the preceding century, and supposes
several copies of it to be preserved at Oxford.  But others have
regarded these copies either as genuine or corrected ones of'Wicliff's version, or of that said to have been made by Trevisa. Dr.
James, in his "Treatise of the Corruption of Scripture," conjectures that a version of the English Scriptures existed long before
the time of WVicliff.'  These, however, are mere suppositions;
nor have we any decisive proof of any considerable portion of the
Scriptures being translated into the modern English earlier than
about the middle of this century, unless the old GLOSSED BI3LE
which the Rev. Dr. Adam Clarke possesses, and of which he has
given several specimens in the General Preface to his Commentary, should be considered of older date.  Some translations, indeed, seem to have been made of the Psalter, the Church Lessons
and Hymns, and of some of the books of the New Testament, but
they do not appear to have been published,l being in all probability
m-ade for the translators' own use, or that of their immediate connections.  T'he date of these partial translations cannot be accurately ascertained, since, firom the circumstance of being anonynous, the only way of judging of their age is from the writing and
language, which must necessarily render precision impossible.t
AWNith respect to the copy in the possession of Dr. A. Clarke, the
followilng important communication, withi which I have been obligingly favoured, will afford ample information.
"Of my large MS. English Bible, about which you inquire, I
can only say, that I have reason to believe it to be earlier than the
time of Wicliff.  I reason thus froim the lacnguagec, whlic  is of an
older cast, and likewise the orthogracphy and coinstruction of the
sentences.  In many respects, the New Testament in it is dissimilar from the copies I have seen ascribed to VWicliff. Whether
these have been amended, corrected, and altered, in later times,
and mine is one of those which has undergone no revisal, but is
just as Wicliff originally made it, I cannot say.  This is merely a
possible case; and if the supposition be founded that mine is Wicliff's translation, it must necessarily follow that all those which I
have seen, and which Lewis has collated, have been considerably
* See Usserii Hist. Dogmat., p. 157, and Whartoni Auctarium, p. 424. James's
Corruption of Scripture, p. 74, and Baber's Account of English Versions, p. lxvi.
t Lewis's Hist. of the English translations of the Biblec, p. 17.
I




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                  433
altered; and that there is not so old a copy of Wicliff remaining
as my own. I am led to think that some of those copies examined
by Lewis are not Wicliff's; else those which he has principally
followed are much altered from the original. My conclusion,
however, is simply this. Either mine is before Wicliff's time,
because it differs so much from the copies generally ascribed to
Wicliff, and from the text published by Lewis in 1731; or that
text, and these from which it is taken, have been revised and
altered from Wicliff's original, and mine is one of those which has
not undergone such a revision."
"In what year my MS. was written I cannot tell:-the writing
and orthography are old enough for at least fourscore years before
Wicliff, who began his translation in 1378; but that mine could
not be written twenty years later than that, is absolutely evident
from this circumstance, that it most evidently appears to have been
illuminated for Thomas of Woodstock, brother of John of Gaunt
and Edward the Black Prince, and youngest son of Edward III.,
as it bears his arms in a shield at the beginning of Proverbs; arms
which appear on his monument in Westminster Abbey; the singular bordure of which was never, so far as I can find, worn by any
after his time. Now this Thomas of Woodstock was smothered
between two feather beds, at Calais, by Thomas Mawbray, earl
marshal of England, September 8th, 1397, at the command of
Richard II., this prince's nephew. How long before 1397 this
book was written I cannot tell; but it must have been, in the
nature of things, several years before this time."
"I am, yours truly,
" A. CLARKE."
The earliest translator of any part of the Scriptures into English,
in the fourteenth century, with whose name we are acquainted,
was RICIXARD ROLLE, a hermit of the order of St. Augustine, who
resided in or near Hampole, in Yorkshire, whence he is sometimes
called Richard of Hampole, or Richard Hampole.  He wrote
several Latin theological tracts, both in prose and verse.  His
Stimulus Conscientie, or "Pricke of Conscience," was written
first in Latin prose, and afterward translated into English rhyme.
Warton (Hist. of English Poetry, vol. i, pp. 256-266) has given
several specimens of this work, so celebrated in its day, but which,
he remarks, " has no tincture of sentiment, imagination, or elegance." Rolle was also the author of Annotations, or Commentalies, on the Psalms; the IHymns of the Old Testament, used in
VoLT. L.-28




434                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
the services of the church; part of the book of Job; the Song of
Solomon; the Lamentations of Jeremiah; the Revelation; the
Lord's Prayer; and the Athanasian and Apostles' Creeds; besides
several other theological works.*  Son-me of the annotations are
more properly poetical paraphrases than commentaries. His principal work was an English version of the Psalms. To this he
prefixed a prologue, in which he thus speaks of the nature of his
undertaking: "In this werke I seek no straunge Yuiglys, bot
lightest and communest, and swilk that is most like unto the
Latyne: so that thai that knawes noght the Latyne be the Ynglys
may corn to many Latyne wordis. In the translacione I felogh the
letter als-mekille as I may, and thor I fyne no proper Ynglys I
felogh the wit of the wordis, so that thai that shalle rede it them
thar not drede errynge.  In the expownyng I felogh holi doctors.
For it may comen into sum envious mannes hond that knowys not
what he suld says, at wille say that I wist not what I sayd, and so
do harme tille hym and tille other."t The Rev. H. H. Baber, in
his " Historical Account of the Saxon and English Versions of the
Scriptures," prefixed to his edition of Wicliff's New Testament,
has selected the twenty-third psalm as a specimen of this translation, from a MS. in the British Museumn:" Our Lord gouerneth me, and nothyng to me shal wante: stede
of pasture thar he me sette. In the water of the hetyng forth he
me brougte: my soul he turnyde."
" He ladde me on the stretis of ryrgtwisnesse: for his name."
" For win gif I hadde goo in myddil of the shadewe of deeth: I
shal not dreede yueles, for thou art with me."
" Thi geerde and thi staf: thei haue coumfortid me. Thou hast
greythid in my sygt a bord: agens hem that angryn me."
"Thou fattide myn heud in oyle: and my chalys drunkenyng
what is ceer."
"And thi mercy shal folewe me: in alle the dayes of my lyf."
"And that I wone in the hous of oure lord in the lengthe of
dayes."
The Commentary on the Psalms, if we must judge of it from
the following extract given by Lewis, was excessively dry and
insipid: —Psalm  ii, 1, " Whi gnastide the fole? and the puple
thoughte ydil thoughtis? The prophete snybbyng hem that shulde
turmente crist seith, whi? as hoo seith, what elchlesun hadde thei?
sotheli none but yuel wille for he contrariede her ivele lywing in
* Cavei Hist. Litt., App., p. 35. Le Long, vol ii, p. 932.
t Lewis's History of the English Translations of the Bible, p. 13.
1                        28*




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                  435
werk and word. the folke thei were tha knyghtis of rome, that
crucified crist, thei gnastide aghen hym as bestis wode without
resoun: and the puple that was the iuwes. thoughte in ydel that
is, in vayne was ther thoughte whan thei wend have holde crist
evere deed that thei myghte not doo for thi in vayne thei trauelide
as eche man doth that thoruh-pryde and ypocrisye weneth to hude
cristis lawful ordenaunce."
The translation is evidently made from the Latin Vulgate; and
the gloss, or comment, formed after the model of the mystical and
allegorical expositions of that age.*
An extract, translated from his tract De Emendatione Peccatoris, will give a more favourable idea of his theological writings:" If you desire," says he, "to attain to the love of God, and to
be influenced with the desire of heavenly joys, and to be brought
to the contempt of earthly things, be not negligent in reading and
meditating the Holy Scriptures, and especially those parts of them
which inculcate morality, and teach us to beware of the snares of
the devil; where they speak of the love of God, and of a contemplative life; but leave the more difficult passages to disputants
and ingenious men, who have been long exercised in sacred doctrines."
"This method assists us greatly to improve in what is good.
In these we ascertain our failings and our improvements; in what
things we have offended, and in what we have not; what we
should avoid, and what we should practise. They discover most
skilfully the machinations of our enemies; they inflame us to love,
and move us to tears; and thus prepare for us a delicious feast, if
we delight in them as in all riches. But let us not be urged to a
knowledge of the Scriptures by any desire of the honour or favour
of men, but only by a design of pleasing God, that we may know
how to love him, and that we may teach our neighbour the same,
and not that we may be considered as learned by the people. Nay,
we ought rather to conceal our learning than to exhibit it to our
own praise, as says the psalmist:'Thy word have I hid in my
heart,' (that is, from vain exhibition,)' that I might not sin against
thee,' Psalm cxix, 11. Therefore let the cause of our speaking be
the glory of God, and the edification of our neighbour, that we may
fulfil that scripture,'His praise shall be continually in my mouth,'
Psalm xxxiv, 1, which is done when we do not seek our own
praise, nor speak contrary to his glory."t
* Lewis, ut sup.  f Biblioth. Pat., tom. xxvi, cap. ix, p. 614.
1




436                BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
The piety of the author caused him to be regarded as a saint;
and on the termination of his mortal sufferings, in 1349, he was
buried in the convent of Hampole. At a later period, Henry Parker, Lord Morley, a nobleman and poet, who died an old man in
the latter end of the reign of Henry VIII., and who has been
mentioned by Bishop Bale as the author of certain tragedies and
comedies, by which was probably meant mysteries and moralities,
gave a proof rather of his piety than taste, by presenting to the
Princess Mary, as a new year's gift, Hampole's Commentary on
the Seven Penitential Psalms. This MS., with his epistle prefixed, is still preserved among the royal MSS. in the British
Museum.*
JOHN DE TREVISA, who flourished toward the close of this century, has also been enumerated among the first translators of the
Bible into ENGLISIH. He was born at Caradoe, in the county of
Cornwall, and educated at Oxford.  His learning and talents
gained him the patronage of Earl Berkeley, who appointed him
his chaplain, and presented him to the vicarage of Berkeley, in
Gloucestershire. He was also canon of Westbury, in Wiltshire.
Warton, in his History of English Poetry, vol. i, p. 343, speaks
of him as having been a great traveller; and Ant. Wood (Antiq.
Oxon.) says, " He was a man of extensive erudition, and of considerable eloquence; and one of the first who laboured to polish his
native language, and rescue it from barbarism." At the request
of his munificent patron, he engaged in the translation of several
Latin works into English, particularly Higden's Polychronicon;
Bartholomaeus De Proprietatibus Rer-un; Vegetius De Arte Militari; and.Egidius Romanus De Reg'imine Principum; besides
some others of inferior note. The most complete collection of
his writings is in a ponderous MS. folio volume, written upon
vellum, and preserved among the Harleian MSS., No. 1900, in
the British Museum. This volume contains several tracts, of
which the following have been mentioned: —1. A. Dialogue between a Soldier and a Clergyman, (viz., Lord Berkeley and the
author Trevisa.) 2. A Translation of a Latin Sermon of Radulf,
or Fitz-Rauf, archbishop of Armagh, November 8th, 1357, against
Mendicant friars. 3. The Book of Methodius Patarensis, "of the
begynnyng of the world and the Rewmes bitwixte, of Folkis, and
the end of Worldes-which the noble man Syent Jerom I his
werkes prysed." 4, 5. Two alphabetical Indexes to the Polychro* Warton's History of English Poetry, vol. iii, p. 85.




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                 437
nicon. 6. Dialogue on Translations. This dialogue, between a
clergyman and his patron, (viz., Trevisa and Lord Berkeley,) discusses the utility of translations in general, and of that of the
Polychronicon, to which it was first prefixed, in particular. The
following extract from it will exhibit his mode of reasoning:"The Clerke. The latyn is bothe good and fayre; therfore it
nedeth not to haue an Englysshe translacyon.
" The Lorde. A blere eyed man but he were all blynde of wytte
myght se the solucyon of this reason. And though he were blynde
he myght grope the solucyon. But yf his feelynge hym fayled.
For yf this reason were ought worthe, by suche maner arguynge
me myght proue that the threscore and thyne interpretours and
Aquyla, Symachus, Theodocion, and Origines, were lewdli* occupyed whan they translated holy wryte out of hebrewe into grece,
and also that Saynte Jherome was lewdly occupyed when he
translated holy wryte out of hebrewe into latyn. For the hebrewe
is both good and fayre and I wryte by inspyracyon of the holy
goost. And all these for theyr translacyons ben hygely preysed
of all holy chirche."
"Also holy wryte in latyn is bothe good and fayr. And yet for
to make a sermon of holy wryte all in latyn to men that can Englysshe and noo latyn, it were a lewde dede, for they be neuer the
wiser. For the latyn but it be tolde them in Englysshe what it is
to mene. And it maye not be tolde in Englysshe what the latyn
is to mene without translacyon out of latyn into Englysshe.
Thenne it nedeth to haue an Englysshe translacyon, and for to
kepe it in mynde that it be not forgeten it is better that suche
a translacyon be made and wryten than sayd and not wryten and
so this forsayde lewde reason shol demene no man that hath ally
wytte to leve the makyng of Englysshe translacyon."
"Also at prayenge of King Charles Johan Scot translated denys
bokest out of greke into latyn, and then out of latyn into frensshe,
then what bath Englysshe trespaced that it myght not be translated
into Englysshe. Also kynge Alurede that founded the vnyuersyte
of Oxonford translated the best lawes into Englysshe tongue. And
a grete dele of the Psalter out of latyn into Englysshe. And
caused Wyrefryth bysshop of Wyrcetre to translate saynt Gregoryes bokes the Dyalogues out of latyn into Saxons. Also Cedmon
of Whytley was enspyred of the holy goost and made wonder
* Lewd, ignorant; hence, perhaps, lewd-man, a layman.
t Probably the works attributed to Dionysius the Areopagite.
1




438                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Poysyes into Englysshe nyghe of all the storyes of holy wryte.
Also the holy man Beda translated saynt Johan's gospell out of latyn
into Englysshe. Also thou wotest wher the Apocalypsys is wryten in the walles and roof of chappell bothe in latyn and in
frensshe. Also the gospell and prophecye and the ryght fayth of
holy chyrche muste be taught and preched to englisshe men that
can* noo latyn.  Thenne the gospell and prophecye and the right
fayth of holy chyrclle must be told them in Englysshe, and that is
not done but by Englysshe translacyon, for such Englysshe prechynge is very translacyon, and suche Englysshe preching is good
and nedefull, thenn Englysshe translacyon is good and nedeful."
" The Clerke. Yf a translacyon were made that myght be
amended in ony point. Some men it wolde blame."
" The Lorde. Yf men blame that is not worthy to be blamed
thenne they by to blame. Clerkes knowe well ynoughe that noo
synfull man dothe soo well that it ne myght do better, ne make so
good a translacyon that he ne myglht be better.  Therfore Origines made two translacyons. And Jherom translated thryes the
Psaiter."t
On the subject of Trevisa's Translation of the BIBLE, writers are
divided in their opinions. For while some have strenuously maintained that he was the author of a translation of the Bible, others
have obstinately denied the claim, and have asserted that he did no
more than translate certain sentences, which were painted on the
chapel walls, in Berkeley Castle. The affirmative opinion was first
taken up by Bale and Pits, from a loose assertion of Caxton, in
the Proheme of his edition of the Polychronicon; but on what
authority our printer asserted it, or if he saw such a translation,
why he did not think it at least as deserving of publication as the
Polychronicon, are questions which may be thought to press hard
upon the probability of its existence. The learned Wanley, the
compiler of the catalogue of the Harleian MSS. has the following
pithy observations upon it: " As to the Bible's being wholly translated by our author Trevisa, I perceive it mentioned by Caxton,
and from him by Bale and Pits, who give the beginning of the
preface thereunto; from Bale, Primate Usher takes the notion;
and at length Mr. Wharton believes it may still be extant.  I shall
say no more but this: I shall be very glad to see one of them."
(Hacrl. Cat. IMSS., No. 1900.T)  The Rev. T. F. Dibdin, whose
* Can, know.            t Polychronicon, lib. i, Dyalogue Fo. ii.
t Dibdin's Typographical Antiquities, vol. i, Account of books printed by TV. Caxton,
p. 140. Lond., 1810, 4to.
1




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                      439
extensive bibliographical researches are universally known and
acknowledged, has given some novel and interesting information
respecting Trevisa's translation, in his Typographical Antiquities,
vol. i, p. 142.*
"It happened," says he, "on the second course of Lectures on
Ancient English Literature, which I delivered at the Royal Institution, having occasion to examine the literary character of Trevisa,
and being very solicitous to obtain the minutest information relating to this Bible, I wrote to my friend the Rev. Mr. Hughes, who
was resident in the earl of Berkeley's family, at Berkeley Castle.
His reply to my queries, with his permission, I lay before the
reader; from a conviction that it may afford him some satisfaction
on so interesting a subject.
" Berkeley Castle, Neov. 7th, 1805.
" I take the earliest opportunity of answering yours, having been
here but a few days. I have made every inquiry and search
respecting the information you want, and am sorry to say it is not
in my power to remove the uncertainty you labour under respecting Trevisa's translation of the Bible; notwitlistanding I have the
strongest reason to suppose, from circumstances I have met with,
that such a translation was made, and was even made in the English language, and that it existed in this family so late as the time
of James II. The book translated by Trevisa was given, as a
very precious gift, by the lord of Berkeley to the prince (I suppose)
of Wales, and the prince's letter, thanking the lord of Berkeley for
his gift, I have read: lie does not say positively that it was the
Bible, but as he hopes (as far as I recollect) to be able to make
good use of so valuable a gift, there is reason to suspect that he
meant the Bible. The letter is still extant among the archives of
the castle. Lord Berkeley (of whom I have made inquiries in
order to ascertain what you wanted, if possible) has informed me,
that the book given by his ancestor, is at present, as he has reason
to believe, in the Vatican at Rome: when lie was there several
persons had mentioned their seeing such a book written by Trevisa,
but he had not an opportunity to go and examine it himself, therefore cannot ascertain that it was the Bible.  The only vestige of
Trevisa remaining here now, are a few fragments of board, with
* The writer of the present work cannot permit the opportunity to pass, without
publicly acknowledging his obligations to the ingenious and laborious editor of the Typographical Antiquities; who, on the solicitation of a stranger, gave him, in the most
handsome manner, permission to " avail himself of any portion of his works, which he
was disposed to think might be of the least importance to his pursuits."
1




440                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
nearly obliterated words of Latin, not sufficient to make out what
was meant: the roof of this chapel was said by him to have had
the Apocalypse written upon it, and I suspect these fragments to be
the remains of it.  The beams and wall-plates of the chapel are
still remaining, and after removing several coats of lamp-black,
&c., four lines were discovered upon each, written in the old English character, which are alternately Norman-French, and Latin.
By removing also several coats of whitewash from a part of the
chapel wall, a great deal of writing in the old English character
was discovered; it was in a great state of decay, but I could make
out that part of it was in Norman-French, and part in Latin; this
is also thought to be of Trevisa's day: but not one certain vestige
of him remains here, nor is even his grave in the church known,
though he is said to have been buried in the chancel. I suspect
all his translations, both from French and Latin, were into English,
but suspicions won't do for you.  I wish it were in my power to
give you more certain information.
"Yours very sincerely,
" JOHN HUGHES."
In reply also to what has been urged against Caxton's assertion
of a translation having been made by Trevisa, it is sufficient to
remark, that the danger attending the printing of an English Bible,
in Caxton's time, was such, that it would have required the utmost
religious intrepidity to have attempted it; and that it is therefore
highly probable, that whatever preference our printer might have
for the Scriptures, lie would not place his life in jeopardy for its
publication.  Sir Thomas More (Dyaloges, fol. 49, col. 1, ed.
1529) thus defends the printers of that age:-" That on account of
the penalties ordered by Archbishop Arundel's constitution, though
the old translations that were before Wycliff's days remayned lawful and were in some folkys handys had and red, yet he thought no
prynter would lyghtly be so hote to put any Byble in prent at hys
owne charge, whereof the loss should lie wholly on his own necke,
and then hange upon a doubtfull tryall whyther the fyrst copy of his
translacyon was made before Wycliff's dayes or synnes.  For yff
yt were made synnys, yt must be approued byfore the pryntyng."
But such an approbation, Sir Thomas intimates, was not then to
be had.*
Trevisa finished his translation of the Polgchronicon in 1387;
~ Dibdin's Typographical Antiquities. Life of Caxton, p. cxii.




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                  441
and is said to have died in the year 1412, at a very advanced
age.
But whatever judgment may be formed as to the translation by
Trevisa, all are agreed that WICLIFF, the Morning Star of the
Reformation, engaged in a translation of the WHIOLE BIBLE into
English, which he completed A. D. 1380.
The opposition made by this great reformer to the tyranny of
papacy, and the vices of the friars, drew down upon him the thunders of the papal hierarchy, and subjected him to all the virulence
of irritated ecclesiastics. His protests against their domination
were declared to be the consequence of disappointed ambition; and
his sentiments respecting the eucharist were denounced as heretical. To combat the arguments of his adversaries, and to defend
himself against the attacks of power, and learning, and interest, he
flew to the Word of God, and found it " a strong hold ill the day
of trouble."  Skilled in all the niceties of school divinity, in which
he is said to have reigned without a rival, he was able to expose
the sophistry of the subtlest of his enemies: but only the sacred
Scriptures could furnish him with a system of truth, and with the
plain and lucid arguments by which that truth is best defended.
The more powerful that his opponents became, and the greater the
difficulties which he had to encounter, the more precious became
the Bible, the more diligently did he study it, and the more strenuously did he recommend it to general attention, and universal
perusal.
Of the necessity that existed for an English translation of the
Bible, arising from the ignorance of both clergy and laity, the writings of Wicliffafford ample proof. In his "Great Sentence ofCurse
expounded," he assures us, that in his time there were "many
unable curates that kunnen not the Ten Commandments, ne read
their Sauter, ne understond a verse of it." Nay, that it was then
"notorious that too many of even the prelates were sinners, in their
being ignorant of the Law of GOD, and that the freres supplied, for
the bishops, the office of preaching, which they did in so false and
sophistical a manner, that the church was deceyved instead of being edified."  In his tract entitled "The Wickett," he says the
clergy affirmed, " It is heresy to speake of the Holy Scripture in
English; and so they woulde condempne the Holy Goste that
gave it in tongues to the apostles of Christe, as it is written to
speake the Worde of GoD, in all languages that were ordayned of
GOD under heaven, as it is wrytten:" and again in " The Husbandman's Prayer and Complaint," he complains, " Thilk that have the
1




442                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
key of conning have y lockt the truth of thy teaching under many
wardes, and y hid fro thy children."*
The views which this great man entertained of the distinction
between the canonical and apocryphal writings, and of the qualifications requisite for an expositor of Scripture, discover the correctness of his judgment, and prepare us for receiving him as a
distinguished and intelligent translator of the sacred writings.  " I
think it absurd," says he, " to be warm in defence of the apocryphal books, when we have so many which are undeniably authentic.
In order to distinguish canonical books from  such as are apocryplhal, use the following rules: 1. Look into the New Testament,
and see what books of the Old Testament are threin cited and
authenticated by the Holy Ghost.  2. Consider whether the like
doctrine be delivered by the Holy Ghost elsewhere in the Scriptures."  And speaking of an expositor of Scripture, lie observes:
"1. He should be able by collation of manuscripts to settle well
the sacred text.  2. He should be conversant in logic.  3. He
should be constantly engaged in comparing one part of Scripture
with another.  4. The student should be a man of prayer, and his
disposition should be upright. 5. He needs the internal instruction of the Primary Teacher:" remarking, in another part of his
writings, that " some are enlightened from  above that they may
explain the proper, literal, and historical sense of Scripture, in
which sense all things necessary in Scripture are contained."t
Probably intending, by this last remark, to guard his readers against
the fantastic and allegorical method of expounding the Scriptures,
which had been so prevalent in the church since the time of Origen, whose ardent and sportive imagination had indulged itself
without restraint in figurative and fanciful interpretations of the
divine oracles. This anxiety, that expositors should give the just
sense of Scripture, led him to urge the necessity of seeking illumination from the inspirer of the sacred word; hence the direction
to the student to be " a man of prayer;" and hence also his observation, that "sanctity of life promotes this illumination so necessary for understanding the revealed word; to continue which in
the church is the duty of theologians, who ought to remain within
their proper limits, and not invent things foreign to the faith of
Scripture."t
Under the influence of these views of the nature and importance
* Lewis's Life of Wicliffe, pp. 38, 67.
t See Milner's Hist. of the Church of Christ, vol. iv, pp. 132-134.
t Milner, ut soup.
I




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                    443
of a faithful and perspicuous translation of the Holy Scriptures
into the vernacular language of the nation, our reformer entered
upon the vast undertaking.  In this work Wicliff appears to have
been assisted by other learned men, whose religious opinions were
similar to his own; though it is not now possible to say to what
extent they rendered him  assistance.  The Rev. H. II. Baber, in
his " Historical Account of Saxon and English Versions of the
Scriptures," says, that in a MS. of Wicliff's Bible, in the valuable
library of Mr. Douce, eaxplicit t'rantslacionezm Nicholacy ce doIerford,
is written at the end of a portion of the book of Baruch, (viz., the
two first chapters, and part of the third,) and adds, that "tllhis
remarkable notice is subscribed by a different hand, and with a
less durable ink, than that used by the transcriber of the MS., and,
if not written by Herford himself, was probably done by one who
had good authority for what he thus asserted by his pen."  This
Nicholas de H-Ierford, or HIereford, was of Queen's Collegc, Oxford, and a strenuous asserter of XWicliff's doctrines.  On this
account he was cited to appear, with John Aston, priest, and Philip
Rampingdon, or Repingden, two of the reformer's disciples, before
Archbishop Courtney, at his court held at the Preaching Friars,
London, in 1382. The answers which he and Dr. Repingdon
gave in writing to the court being adjudged insufficient, heretical,
and deceitful, they were ordered to appear again eight days afterward; but not then appearing, they were declared contumacious,
and excommunicated, with all their adherents.  Afterward he recanted his principles, but did not escape persecution; for Archbishop Arundel, who was jealous of his principles, threw him into
prison, and never afterward released him from imprisonment.*
The MSS. of Wicliff's version are numerous, and. are to be
found in most of the public libraries of the United Kingdom, and
in some of the valuable libraries of private individuals.  At the
end of some of these copies are tables of the portions of Scripture
appointed to be read, or selected, for the "Pistlis" and Gospels
throughout the service of the year.  Sometimes we find these
lessons transcribed at length, and, in some instances, of a different
translation from  that to which they are annexed.  An edition,
consisting of only one hundred and forty copies, of TWicliff's New
Testament, was published in 1731, in folio, by the Rev. John
Lewis, minister of Margate, in the county of Kent, who prefixed a
" History of the English Translations of the Bible:" printed sepa* Lewis's Life of Wicliffe, pp. 208-212.
1




444                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
rately, with additions, in octave, in 1739.  Another edition of this
translation of the New Testament, accompanied with " Memoirs
of the Life, &c., of John Wicliff, D. D.," an excellent " Historical
Account of the Saxon and English Versions of the Scriptures,
previous to the opening of the Fifteenth Century," and a portrait
of our great reformer, was published by the Rev. Henry Hervey
Baber, M. A., an assistant librarian of the British Museum,
and an assistant preacher at Lincoln's Inn, in 1810, beautifully
printed in quarto, by R. Edwards, London.  These are the only
editions yet published of any part of this translation, and we have
still to lament that the larger portion, the Old Testament, of a work
so interesting to the theologian and philologist, hitherto remains in
MS. without a single printed edition, notwithstanding the lastmentioned editor, with a highly creditable zeal, thus expresses
himself in the preface to his edition of the New Testament: " I
would gladly have extended famy labours, by giving to the world
Wicliff's version of the Old as well as of the New Testament,
(a work which no man hath yet had the courage to attempt,) and
hence have wiped away a reproach which a learned foreigner*
hath, with too much reason, cast upon England; but as my fortune
is by no means commensurate with my zeal, I must, I fear, relinquish even the most distant hope of ever engaging in such an
honourable employment."
This translation was made by Wicliff from  the Latin Bibles
then in common use, or which were at that time usually read in
the church; the reason of which seems to have been, not that he
thought the Latin the original, or of the same authority with the
HIebrew and Greek text, but because he did not understand those
languages sufficiently to translate from them; few at that time
possessing an extensive or critical acquaintance with them.  He
also translated word for word, as had been done before in the
Anglo-Saxon version, without always observing the idioms of the
different languages, which renders this translation not very intelligille, in some places, to those who do not understand Latin. This
was probably done, as is said in a prologue to the Psalter of this
translation, that "they who knew not the Latin, by the English
might come to many Latin words."t
No sooner had Wicliff completed his translation, and made it
* Fabricius, after mentioning Wicliff's version of the Bible, thus expresses himself:
"Mirum vero est, Angles eam [versionem] tam diu neglexisse, quum vel lingua causa
ipsis in pretio esse debeat."-Bibl. Lat. et inf. ctatis, tom. v, p. 321, edit. 1754.
t Lewis's History of English Translations, p. 19.
1




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                       445
public, than he experienced the most violent opposition.  Thel
translation of the Scriptures into the vernacular tongue was accounted heresy, and regarded as a measure fraught with the direst
ills.  Henry de Knyghton, a canon of Leicester, and cotemporary
with Wicliff, thus declaims against the translation, in his work
De Eventis Anglice: "Christ committed the gospel to the clergy
and doctors of the church, that they might minister it to the laity
and weaker persons, according to the exigency of times, and persons, and wants; but this Master John Wicliff translated it out of
Latin into English, and by that means laid it more open to the
laity, and to women who could read, than it used to be to the
most learned of the clergy, and those of them  who had the best
understanding: and so the gospel pearl is cast abroad and trodden
under foot of swine, and that which used to be precious to both
clergy and laity is made, as it were, the common jest of both; and
the jewel of the church is turned into the sport of the laity, and
what was before the chief talent of the clergy and doctors of the
church is made for ever common to the laity."*  William Butler, a
Franciscan friar, in a tract written against this translation, pursues
the point so far as to assert that "the prelates ought not to suffer
that every one at hiis pleasure should read the Scripture translated
(even) into Latin; because, as is plain from experience, this has
been many ways the occasion of falling into heresies and errors.
It is not therefore politic that any one, wheresoever and whensoever he will, should give himself to the frequent study of the
Scriptures."t
Wicliff himself, in a homily on Matthew xi, 23, thus complains
of the severe usage he met with on account of translating the Holy
Scriptures: —" He, Antecrist," says he, " hath turned hyse clerkes
to covetyse and worldely love, and so blynded the peple and derked
the law of Crist, that hys servauntes ben thikke and few ben on
Cristes syde; and algates they dyspysen that men shulden knowe
Crystes lyfe, for thenne priestes schulden scheme of hyre lyves,
and specially these bye prestes, for thei reversen crist both in
worde and in dede. And herfore on gret byschop of englelondt
* Lewis's Life of Wicliffe, p. 67.  t Ibid., p. 71.
t By one great bishop of England is probably meant John Bokvnham, or Bukkingham, at this time bishop of Lincoln, in whose diocess Wicliff was promoted, and by
whom, it seems, he was summoned and prosecuted for translating the Scriptures into
English. By another priest, he seems to intend Wylliarn de Swyndurby, a priest of
Leicester, in this diocess, and a favourer of the sentiments of Wicliff. Knyghton tells
us, that " the common people called him William the Hermit, from having formerly
1




446                       BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
is yuel payed, that GODDE'S lawe is written in engiysche to lewede
men, and he pursueth a prest for he wryteth to men this englysche,
and sompneth hym  and traveleth hym  that hyt is harde to hym  to
adopted that mode of life, and that at his first coming to Leicester he conformed to the
usual habits of life, and conversed with the people; but beginning to'preach against
the faults, and particularly the pride of women,' they were so incensed against him
that they proposed to strne him out of the place, till he changed his subject, and
preached against the rich, and against their pride, and vanity, and excessive love of
this world.  Afterward he directed his declamations against the clergy and the church,
affirming that the clergy' lived lewd lives, and did ill receive the goods of the church,
and spend them worse;' and preaching that' parishioners were not obliged to pay their
tithes and offerings to the clergy, if they did not live chastely, and in all other respects
as became the priests of God; or if they did not stay in their parishes, and spend the
goods of the church where they received them; or if they were unskilled in, or not
ready in speaking the language in which they were to preach, so that they could not
duly or sufficiently instruct the people."'   " He preached likewise," adds Kneyghton,
" that men might, consistent with charity, ask these who owed them  money for what
they were indebted to them, but might by no means sue them, or imprison them for
debt;" and that " no one who lived contrary to the law of God was a priest, notwithstanding he might have been ordained by the bishop."  By these and similar doctrines,
the same author informs us, Swyndurby captiv ated the affections of the people, so that
they declared they had never seen nor heard any one who so well explained the truth
to them, and " reverenced him as another god."
When Bishop Bulikyngham heard of his proceedings, he immediately suspended
him from all preaching in any chapel, church, or church-yard, within the diocess of
Lincoln; and inhibited the people that none of them  should presume to hear him
preach, nor favour the preacher, under the penalty of excommunication.  Swyndurby,
however, was not to be deterred; but, on hearing the interdict of the bishop, made
himself a pulpit on two millstones, which stood in the High-street, near the chapel he
had formerly occupied, where he called the people togetfher, and preached to them
many times, saving, " Hre could and would, in spite of the bishop's teeth, preach in
the king's highway, so long as he had the good will of the people."' Then you might
see, says Knyghton, throngs of people from  every part, as well from the town as
country, double the number that there used to be when they might hear hims preach
much more lawfully, pressing to hear him preach after this inhibition and thundering
out the sentence of excommunication, which had been denounced in the abbey and
many other churches.  The bishop therefore cited him to appear in the cathedral of
Lincoln.  Knyghton says, that being convicted, he abjured his errors, but afterward
relapsed, and went to Coventry, where he was expelled the diocess, witL shamne and
contempt, by the diocesan and clergy.  This account, however, can scarcely be admitted; for it is not probable that, if he had been convicted of heresy and error, and
had publicly adjured, and afterward relapsed, he would have been so gently dealt with.
AN7alsingham's account is therefore nmore probable, who says, that " when the bishop
of Lincoln had made preparations to correct this man, and to take away from him his
license to preach, the mad multitude raged in such a manner as frightened the bishop,
and deterred him from proceeding against him."  What became of him afterward is
unknown: Fox, in his " Actes and Monumentes," conjectures that he was burnt in the
following reign.  See Lewis's Life of Wicbi;ficr, pp 222-228.
1




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                       447
route.  And thus he pursueth another prest by the help of the
pharyses, [that is, the friars,] for he precheth criste's gospel frely
withouten fables.  0 men that ben of criste's half, helpe ye nowe
ageyns Antecrist.  For the perelouse tyme is comen that cirist and
poule [Paul] tolden byfore. But on cournfort is of knyghtes* that
they saveren muche the gospel, and have wylie to rede in elglysczhe
the gospel of crist's lyf."t
But our reformer, who had long and zealously vindicated the
propriety of a translation of the Bible into the English language,
was only the more convinced, by the opposition of his enemies,
and by the weakness of their arguments, of the importance and
utility of such an undertaking. The following extracts will exhibit
the manner in which this great man defended the right of the
people to read the Scriptures, and to have a translation of them
into their mother tongue.'" The Scripture," he observes, "-is the
faith of the church, and the more it is known in an orthodox sense,
the better: therefore, as secular men ougfht to know the faith, so
it is to be taught them  in whatever language is best known to
them.  Besides, since the truth of the faith is clearer and mnore
exact in the Scripture than the priests know  how to express it,
and that, if one may say so, there are many prelates who are too
ignorant of Scripture, and others who conceal what is contained in
it; it seems useful that the faithful should themselves search out
or discover the sense of the faith, by having the Scriptures in a
language which they know and understand.  Moreover, according
to the apostle, (Hebrews xi,) the saints by faith overcame kingdoms, and chiefly by the motive of faith hastened to their own
country: why, therefore, ought not the fountain of faith to be
made known to the people by those means, that will enable a man
to know it more clearly? He who hinders this, or murmurs against
it, does his endeavour to cause the people to continue in a damnable and unbelieving state.  So the laws which are made by prelates are not to be received as matters of faith; nor are we to believe
their words or discourses, any further than they are founded on
Scripture, for, according to the constant doctrine of Augustine,'the Scripture is all the truth.'  A translation of the Scriptures,
therefore, would do this good, that it would render priests and
* " The soldiers, with the dukes and earls, were the chief adherents and favourcrs
of this sect. They were their most strenuous promoters, and boldest combatants -
their most powerful defenders, and their invincible protectors."-Knyg-hton, Dc Evcnt.,
quoted by Iewis in his History of English Translations, p. 22, note.
t Lewis's Hist. of English Translations, pp. 21, 22.




448                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
prelates unsuspected as to the words of it, which they explain.
Christ and his apostles converted men, by making known to them
the Scripture in a language which was familiar to the people; and
for this purpose the Holy Spirit gave the apostles the knowledge
of tongues.  Whily, then, ought not the modern disciples of Christ
to collect fragments from the same loaf; and, as they did, clearly
and plainly open the Scriptures to thie people, that they may know
them?  Besides, since, according to what the apostle teaches, all
must stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and be answerable
to him for all the goods with which lie has intrusted theln, it is
necessary that all the faithful should know these goods and the
use of them, that their answer may then be ready. For an answer
by a prelate or an attorney wrill not then avail, but every one?2must
answer in his own person."
Our renowned reformer, JOHN DnE WICLIF,t it is supposed, was
born about the year 1324, in the parish of WTiclif, a village near
Richmond, in Yorkshire.  He was first a commoner of Queen's
College, Oxford, then newly founded by Robert Eaglesfield, chaplain to Queen Philippina, consort of Edward III.  From  thence
he was soon removed to Merton College, which was at that time
esteemed one of the most famous semninaries of learning in Europe,
where he was a probationer, and afterward fellow.  Hiere Wiclif
availed himsclf of the high advantages lie enjoyed, and by the native vigour of his mind, united to uncommon  application, rose to
the first rank of literary eminence.  He is said to have committed
to memory the most intricate part of the writings of the Stagyrite,
and to have been an unrivalled disputant in the theology of the
schools. Hte was excellently versed in the knowledge of civil and
canon law in general, and of our own municipal laws in particular.
But the Holy Scriptures were his principal study and chief delight,
which was probably what gained him  the title of Doctor Evangelicvs, the Evangelic Doctor.  Next to the Scriptures, lie esteemed and studied the works of Augustine, Jerome, Ambrose,
and Gregory.  He was also a great admirer of the writings of
Bishop Grosseteste and of Archbishop Fitzralph.+  His defence
of the university against the encroachments of the Mendicant
* Lewis's Life of WVicliffe, ch. v, p. 69.
t This mode of spelling our reformer's name I have adopted from Baber, who remarks, that " it is so spelled in the oldest document in which his name is known to
appear, viz., in the instrument which nominated him one of the embassy to meet the
pope's delegates, in 1374."
t See p. 357 of this volume.
I




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                  449
friars gained him very general approbation; and in 1361 he was
advanced to the dignity of master of Baliol College, and four years
afterward to that of warden of Canterbury Hall. From this office
he was ejected in 1367, by Archbishop Langham, with circumstances of great injustice. Wiclif appealed to the pope, who for
some years artfully suspended the decision, but in 1370 confirmed
the ejection, owing, as has been conjectured, partly to the pope's
partiality for the Mendicants, and partly to Wiclif's defence of
King Edward III. against the homage demanded by the pope.
In 1372 Wiclif began to read public lectures on divinity, in the
university. At first he gently and covertly attacked the reigning
abuses of the friars, and the general corruptions of papacy; but
finding he gained the attention of his hearers, he openly and boldly
exposed whatever he deemed erroneous in the habits of the ecclesiastics or the doctrines of the church. His intrepidity increased
his fame, and he was almost everywhere regarded as the great
defender of liberty and truth, except by the minions of the pope,
who never ceased to pursue the object of their hate with every
species of malignant rage. In 1374 he was sent by the king, in
conjunction with the bishop of Bangor and others, upon an embassy to the pope, to treat concerning the liberties of the Church
of England; and in the same year was presented by Edward to
the valuable rectory of Lutterworth, in Leicestershire. Afterward,
in 1375, he was confirmed in the prebend of Auste, in the collegiate church of Westbury, in Gloucestershire; and is said to have
been again employed in a diplomatic character, being delegated
with several barons of the realm to the court of the duke of Milan.
The embassies in which our reformer was engaged, and the
extensive opportunities he thus possessed of examining the haughty
claims of the Romish pontiff, and of marking the universal degeneracy of the papal hierarchy, roused his indignation, and sharpened his invectives against those who palliated or defended the
gross depravities of the monks and friars, or the shameless oppressions of the papal court. Stung by the keenness of his censures, the Romish clergy rallied their forces, selected from his
works nineteen articles of complaint and accusation, and despatched
them to the pope. Bull after bull was transmitted by his holiness
to England, to demand the trial of the arch-heretic, and the condemnation of his writings. These the government and university
long treated with contempt; and though the university of Oxford
at last yielded to receive the papal mandate, they refused to lend
the least active assistance against Wiclif. But the archbishop of
VoL. I.-29




450                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Canterbury and the bishop of London, the resolute advocates of
the papacy, cited him to appear before them on the thirtieth day
after the notice. Wiclif immediately placed himself under the
protection of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, who had long
known and esteemed him. By the advice of this nobleman, who
accompanied him in person, he obeyed the citation; where the
haughty and insulting expressions of the bishop of London to Lord
Percy so irritated the duke, that lie treated the bishop with contumely and contempt; the court broke up in tumult and confusion;
and Wiclif was dismissed with an admonition not to repeat his
obnoxious doctrines, either in the schools or the pulpit.
The death of the duke of Lancaster imboldening the English
prelates, they again cited the heretic to appear before them, in
1378, when he was again rescued by the populace, and the authority of the queen dowager, widow of the Black Prince. The same
year their commission ceased, by the death of the pope, Gregory
XI. A double election ensued, the rival popes assuming the respective names of Urban VI. and Clement VII., though Urban at
last proved the successful candidate. This event was noticed by
Wiclif, in a tract " Of the Schism  of the Roman Pontiffs;" and
shortly after he published another, " Of the Truth of the Scripture." In the latter he contends for the translation of the Scriptures
into English; and affirms that God's will is plainly revealed in two
Testaments; that Christ's law sufficeth by itself to rule Christ's
church; that a Christian man, well understanding it, may thence
gather sufficient knowledge during his pilgrimage here upon earth;
and that, whereas all truth is contained in Holy Scripture, whatever disputation is not originally thence to be deduced is to be
accounted profane.
The extraordinary exertions and the harassing persecutions
which WTiclif underwent during the year 1378 occasioned a fit of
sickness that brought him almost to the point of death. Immediately on hearing of it, the Mendicant friars selected four grave
doctors from their four orders, and after certain instructions, sent
them, with four respectable citizens, aldermen of the wards, to the
afflicted reformer. These commissioners found him lying in his
bed, and are said, first of all, to have wished him health and recovery from sickness. After some time, they reminded him of
the many and great injuries he had done to the Mendicant friars,
by his sermons and writings, and exhorted him, that as he was
now near death, he would, as a true penitent, bewail and revoke,
in their presence, whatever he had said to their disparagement.
1                      29*




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                  451
But Wiclif, immediately recovering strength, called his servants,
and ordered them to raise him a little on his pillows. This being
done, he said, with a loud voice, " I SHALL NOT DIE, BUT LIVE, AND
DECLARE THE EVIL DEEDS OF THE FRIARS." n011  earing this, the
doctors and their associates left him in great confusion; and the
sick man soon recovered, according to his prediction.
The year after his recovery from this sickness, this defender of
the truth seems to have completed and published his TRANSLATION
OF THE BIBLE, A. D. 1380; and soon afterward commenced a
public attack upon the doctrine of transubstantiation. This he did
in the lectures which he delivered at Oxford, in the summer of
1381. Violent and various were the measures adopted against
him, in consequence of this opposition to the favourite doctrine of
the Church of Rome. The prelates again summoned him to appear before them; the parliament, to which he appealed, rejected
his appeal, and, at the instigation of his great adversary Courtney,
formerly bishop of London, but now archbishop of Canterbury,
passed an act against his " Conclusions," or opinions on the subject; his patron, the duke of Lancaster, advised submission; and
he was at length dismissed from the chair of the divinity professor,
which he had, for so many years, filled with unequalled applause.
But although compelled to quit the university, and retire to the
rectory of Lutterworth, he pursued his studies, and continued his
endeavours to promote the reformation of the church. Among the
writings which distinguished his retirement was a tract on the
causes "Why pore priests have no benefices;" written in defence
of his followers. The reasons he assigns for their being without
benefices, or not accepting them, are, 1. The fear of simony:
2. The fear of misspending poor men's goods: 3. The fear of being
prevented from better occupation, or greater usefulness to the
church, by being restricted to a single cure or parish. In the
chapter on simony he thus describes the nefarious practices which
then existed: —" Some lords to colouren their symony wole not
take for themselves, but kenerchiefs for the lady, or a palfray, or a
tun of wine. And when some lords wolden present a good man,
and able for love of GOD, and Christen souls, then some ladies ben
means to have a dancer, or tripper on tapits, or hunter, or hawker,
or a wild player of summers gamenes, for flattering and gifts going
betwixe."
The contest between Pope Urban VI. and the French, who were
the friends of his rival, occasioned the pontiff to determine upon
war. With this view, and to enable him to raise an army of suffi1




452                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
cient force, plenary indulgences and pardons were promised to all
who would afford personal or pecuniary aid. A bull to this effect.
was sent to Henry le Spencer, bishop of Norwich, who readily entered into the views of the pope, and obtained numerous contributors; so that even women presented their jewels, necklaces, rings,
dishes, plates, and spoons, hoping to obtain absolution for themselves and their friends.  Wiclif was not a silent spectator of such
a violation of the religion of peace: he severely censured the rival
parties, and in one of his tracts pointedly inquired, "Whiy wole
not the proud priest of Rome grant full pardon to all men, for to
live in peace, and charity and patience, as he doth to all men to
fight and slee Christen men?" The exasperated pontiff cited Wiclif to appear before him; but his feeble state of health was offered
as an apology for not undertaking so long and perilous a journey.
He had already had one attack of palsy, and his debilitated frame
sunk under a second attack of the same disease, two years afterward. His last seizure was during the time of divine service, in
the church of Lutterworth; which on the third day terminated the
valuable life of this great and intrepid reformer, December 30th,
1384.  His body was buried in the chancel of his church, and
there lay till 1428, when his bones were disinterred and burnt, and
his ashes thrown into the Swift, a neighbouring stream, at the
command of Pope Martin V., by Richard Flemyng, bishop of Lincoln, according to a decree of the infamous council of Constance,
passed in 1415.
The most elaborate Life of Wiclif is that by the Rev. John
Lewis; but the most correct list of his Works, and one of the best
written lives, will be found prefixed by the Rev. H. H. Baber to his
excellent edition of WViclif's New Testament.
The opposition which was raised against Wiclif's translation,
proceeded so far, that in 1390 (13. Ric. II.*) a bill was brought
into the House of Lords for the suppression of it. On this occasion, John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, and uncle to the king,
defended a vernacular translation, saying, "We will not be the
dregs of all men; seeing other nations have the law of God, which
is the law of our faith, written in their own language." Declaring,
at the same time, in the most solemn manner, " That he would
* A Latin Psalter, ornamented with the most beautiful miniatures, and richly illuminated, for the use of this monarch when a youth, is preserved in the Cottonian library.
It has a calendar, and various tables, besides hymns, and the Athanasian Creed. The
king is represented, in different places, on his knees, before the Virgin Mary, who has
the infant Jesus in her arms.-Le Long, vol. iv, p. 245.
1




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                  453
maintain our having this law in our own tongue against those, whoever they should be, who first brought in the bill." The duke was
seconded by others, who said, that "if the Gospel, by its being
translated into English, was the occasion of men's running into
error, they might know, that there were more heretics to be found
among the Latins, than among the people of any other language.
For that the decretals reckoned no fewer than sixty-six Latin heretics, and so the Gospel must not be read in Latin, which yet the
opposers of the English translation allowed." The consequence
of this firmness in Wiclif's patron and friends, was, that the bill
was thrown out.*
It was probably this event which encouraged some of Dr. Wiclif's followers to review his translation, or rather, to make another,
not so strict and verbal, but more according to the sense. The
MS. copies of this translation are more rare than the others, but
are to be met with in the Bodleian and other public libraries. One
of these is said to have belonged to Bishop Bonner, of persecuting
memory; who, in his book " Of the Seven Sacraments," (A. D.
1555,) observes, that he had "a Bible in Englyshe translated out
of Latyne in tyme of heresye, almost eightscore yeare before that
tyme," (that is, about 1395,) " fayre and truly written in parchement."t
From a MS. copy of this translation, in the library of Trinity
College, Dublin, being inscribed with the name " J. Pervey," it
has been concluded that JOHN PURVEY, or PURNEY, was the author
of it. Knyghton (De Event. Angliha) says, " He was a chaplain
or curate, having no benefice of his own;-of a grave aspect and
behaviour, affecting an appearance of sanctity beyond the rest of
his fellows. In his clothes and dress he went as an ordinary man;
and little regarding his own ease, was unwearied in studying, by
travelling up and down, to persuade the people, and to bring them
over to his sect. Being an invincible disciple of his master John
Wiclif, he conformed himself to his opinions, and fearlessly confirmed them in every respect like an able executor. For having
boarded with his master when he was alive, and thus having drank
more plentifully of his instructions, he had more abundantly imbibed them, and always, even to his dying day, as an inseparable
companion followed him and his opinions and doctrines, being unwearied in his labours and endeavours to propagate them." After
Dr. Wiclif's death he used to preach at Bristol, till he was appre* Lewis's Hist. of English Translations, p. 28.  t Ibid., p. 25.
1




454                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
hended and imprisoned by Thomas Arundel, archbishop of
Canterbury, in Saltwood Castle, in Kent, a seat belonging to the
archbishop.  H-ere he was dreadfully tortured, and at last consented
to recant, which he did at Paul's Cross, A. D. 1396. He was
afterward promoted by the archbishop to a benefice, as is said,
about a mile from the castle, which seems to intimate as if it were
St. Mary's Hythe, or perhaps the rectory of Ostinhanger. But
wherever the place was, he did not long continue in it, but quitted
his benefice, and embraced his former opinions. After Arundel's
death, he was again imprisoned by Archbishop Chichley, A. D.
1521; after which it is uncertain what became of him; though it
is not improbable that he died in prison. Thomas of Walden, a
zealous writer against the Lollards, or followers of Wiclif, gives
him this character, that "he was the library of the Lollards, and
Wiclif's glosser; an eloquent divine, and famous for his skill in
the Law," or a notable canonist.*
But whoever was the author of the translation in question, it was
most probably made by the same person who wrote the ElucidariuZm  BibliorUmZ, or Prologue to the translation of the Bible; a
work frequently, but erroneously, attributed to WViclif himself.
The design of the Prologue, which is in English, is to giv6 a summary of the books of the Bible, with certain declarations of their
use and authority. It was printed by John Gowglie in 1536, in
12mo., under the title of " The Dore of Holy Scripture." Another
edition, in 12mo., was published in 1550, by Robert Crowley. The
title of it was, " The pathway to perfect knowledge, the true copye
of a prologue, wrytten about two hundred yeares paste by John
Wycklyffe (as maye justly be gathered bi that, that John Bale hath
wrytten of him in his Boke entitled, the summarie of famouse
writers of the Ile of Great Britaine) the original whereof is found
written in an olde Englishe Bible betwixt the Olde Testament and
the Newe. Which Bible remaineth now in the Kyng hys Maiesties chamber." In this Prologue, which Lewis (Hist. of English
Translations) and Baber (Life of Dr. Wiclif) have incontrovertibly proved to have been written after the reformer's death, the
author gives the following account of his own translation of the
Bible into English: "He, with several others who assisted him,
got together," he says, " all the old Latyn Bibles they could procure: these they diligently collated, and corrected what errors had
* Fox's Actes and Monumentes, vol. i, p. 649, fol. 1570. Lewis's Life of Wicliffe,
pp. 218-221. Lewis's Hist. of English Translations, pp. 34, 35.
1




FOURTEENTH CENTURY.                   455
crept into them, in order to make one Latin Bible some deal true;
since many Bibles in Latin were very false, especially those that
were new. Then they collected the doctors and common glosses,
especially Lyra, with which they studied the text anew, in order
to make themselves masters of the sense and meaning of it. Next
they consulted the old grammarians and ancient divines as to the
hard words and sentences, how they might be best understood and
translated; which having done, they set about the translation,
which they resolved should not be a verbal one, but as clearly as
they could to express the sense and meaning of the text; for," says
he, "it is to know that the best translating out of Latin into English, is to translate after the sentence, and not only after the words.
So that the sentence be as open (either opener) in English as in
Latin, and go not far from the letter."' He adds, that " where the
Hebrew, by witness of Jerome, of Lyra, and of other expositors,
discordeth from our Latin Bibles, he had set in the margin, in manner of a gloss, what the Hebrew hath, and how it is understood in
some other place. And that he did this most in the Psalter, that
of all of our books discorded most from the Hebrew. In translating
equivocal words," he remarks, "there might be some danger,
since, if they were not translated according to the sense and meaning of the author, it was an error. Lastly," he tells us, that, " to
make this translation as compleat and perfect as he could, he
resolved to have many good fellows, and kunnyng, to correct it."*
A MS. copy of this work is in the British Museum, Harl. MS.
1666. It is imperfect at the end.
The uncertainty and obscurity in which the author of the translation before us is involved, is not peculiar to himself; in numerous other instances it will appear that translators of different
versions of the sacred writings are unknown. This has probably
arisen from different causes; sometimes from that humble and
self-diffident disposition, which has led the pious mind to retire
from public view, and to aim only at the approbation of Him who
" searches the heart;" and sometimes from a fear of persecution
and suffering. For, although many in our day will be disposed to
regard the man who first produced a translation of the Scriptures
into the language of his country, as her greatest benefactor, and
entitled to eminent rank in the annals of her moral improvement,
it must be acknowledged, that these have not been the views of
past ages; nor has history, in general, been constructed or written
Lewis's Hist. of English Translations, p. 37. Lewis's Life of Wicliffe, p. 70.
1




456                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
under the influence of such impressions. Unfortunately, these cooperating causes prevent the possibility of an authentic biographical
work being written, which should embrace the lives of all original
translators of the sacred volume; all that can be done, is to collect,
from various quarters, such intimations as remain, respecting these
valuable men, and their important labours.
"The lives of such persons, it may be said, could not have furnished many remarkable incidents; but we cannot tell: for although
they did not all meet with similar treatment, to some of them, at
least, the following lines are but too appropriate:-'They lived unknown,
Till persecution dragg'd them into fame,
And chased them up to heaven. Their ashes flew
-No marble tells us whither. With their names
No bard embalms and sanctifies his song;
And history, so warm on meaner themes,
Is cold on this."' "*
CHAPTER XIII.
FIFTEENTH CENTURY.
Lollards-Bishop Arundel's Canon against Translations- Value of Books
-Episcopus Puerorum-Learned Englishmen-Libraries —Henry VI.-John
Huss-Jerome of Prague-Hussites —Invention of Printing.
WIcLIF's followers were called LOLLARDS, from a German term,
signifying to sing hymns to God; and increased so rapidly, that a
contemporary writer affirms, " A man could not meet two people
on the road, but one of them was a disciple of Wiclif."t
The vehemence with which they declaimed against the vices of
the clergy, and the constant appeals which they made to the Holy
Scriptures in defence of their opinions, drew down upon them the
anathemas of their mitred adversaries, and occasioned the most
severe laws to be enacted against those who should embrace their
sentiments, or dare to read the word of God without ecclesiastical
permission. In 1396, Thomas Arundel, archbishop of York, was
translated to the see of Canterbury, and soon discovered by his
conduct that he designed to employ against the Lollards all the
additional power he had acquired by his promotion to the primacy.
* See Anderson's Memorial on behalf of the Native Irish, pp. 12, 13.
t Knyghton. See Lewis's Life of Wicliffe, ch. x, p. 175.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                    457
No sooner had Henry IV. gained possession of the throne of England, than Arundel, who had supported him in his pretensions to
the crown, applied, with his clergy, to the parliament that met at
Westminster, to obtain the sanction of the legislature to his cruel
and iniquitous measures. In this he was unfortunately successful,
and a severe law was passed against the dangerous innovations, as
they were called, of the Lollards. By this lawv, made A. D. 1400,
the bishops were authorized to imprison all persons suspected of
heresy, and to try them in the spiritual court; and, if they proved
either obstinate or relapsed heretics, the spiritual judge was to call
the sheriff of the county, or the chief magistrate of the town, to be
present when the sentence of condemnation was pronounced, and
immediately to deliver the condemned person to the secular magistrate, who was to cause him to be burnt to death, on some elevated
place, in the sight of all the people. The first person who suffered
under the writ De haeretico cornburendo was Sir William Sawtre,
rector of St. Oswyth, London. One of the charges brought against
him was, " That lie had said he would not worship the cross on
which Christ suffered, but only Christ that suffered upon the
cross."  Another of the charges was, "That he had declared,
that a priest was more bound to preach the word of God, than to
recite particular services at certain canonical hours."  For such,
alas! was the genius of the reigning superstition, that to worship
the cross, and attend to customary formalities, was regarded as
of more importance than to worship the Saviour, or to preach his
gospel!*
In 1408 the archbishop held a convocation of the whole of the
clergy of his province, at Oxford, the object of which was to frame
certain constitutions against the Lollards. By the fifth constitution
published in this covocation, it was ordained that " No book or
treatise composed by John Wiclif, or by any other in, his time, or
since, or hereafter to be composed, be henceforth read in the
schools, halls, inns, or other places whatsoever, within the province aforesaid; and that none be taught according to such [book,]
unless it have been first examined, and upon examination unantimously approved, by the university of Oxford, or Cambridge, or at
least by twelve men chosen by the said universities, or by one of
them, under the discretion of us, or our successors; and then afterward [the book be approved] expressly by us, or our successors,
and delivered in the name, and by the authority, of the universities,
* Fox's Actes and Monumentes, vol. i, p. 615. Henry's History of Great Britain,
vol. x, b. v, ch. ii, p. 2.
1




458                     BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
to be copied and sold to such as desire it, (after it has been faithfully collated,) at a just price, the original thenceforth remaining in
some chests of the university for ever. And if any one shall read
any book or treatise of this sort in the schools, or elsewhere, contrary to the form above written, or shall teach according to it, let
him be punished according as the quality of the fact shall require,
as a sower of schism, and a fautor of heresy."
Another constitution of the convocation was formed expressly
against the translation of the Scrzptures into English: —" VII. It
is a dangerous thing,t as the blessed Jerome testifieth, to translate
the text of the Holy Scriptures out of one language into another.
because it is not always easy to retain the sense of the original in
a translation, as the same blessed Jerome confesseth that, although
inspired,  he frequently erred: we therefore enact and ordain, that
no one hereafter do, by his own authority, translate any text of
Holy Scripture into English, or any other tongue, by way of book,
libel, or treatise; and that no one read any such book, libel, or
treatise, now lately set forth in the time of John Wiclif, or since,
or hereafter to be composed, in public or in private, in whole or in
part, under pain of the greater excommunication, until the said
translation be approved by the diocesan of the place, or, if occasion
require, by a provincial council. Let him that acteth contrary be
punished as a fautor of error and heresy."~
In the second year of the reign of Henry V., A.D. 1415, a law
was passed, by which, in addition to the former laws against
heresy, all Lollards, or those who possessed or read any of Wiclif's
books, or entertained his opinions, were declared to be guilty of
treason, and their goods ordered to be confiscated.ll   This law was
considered as particularly directed against those who read the New
Testament in English of Wiclif's translation.  Our old writers
thus express themselves respecting it: " In the said parliament"
* The books in the public libraries were, at that period, all kept in chests.
t Jerome's words, to which the constitution refers, are to be found in his letter to
Pope Damasus, who had desired him to determine which of the various readings in the
Latin copies agreed most correctly with the Greek text; and to which he replies, that
it was very hazardous to decide: " For who is there," says he, " whether he be learned
or unlearned, when he takes the Bible into his hands, and sees that what he reads
differs from what he has been used to, who will not immediately clamour against me,
as a falsifier and sacrilegious person, for daring to add, alter, or correct, any thing in
books so ancient." See Lewis's History of English Translations, p. 44.
$ Jerome never pretended to inspiration.
~ Labbei S. S. Concilia, tom. xi, pt. ii, p. 2095. Paris, 1671, fol.
11 Fox's Actes and AMonumentes, vol. i, p. 678.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                   459
(held at Leicester) "the kinge made this most blasphemous and
cruell acte, to be a law for euer, That whosoeuer they were that
should rede the Scriptures in tile mother tong, (which was then
called \Wicleu's lerning,) they should forfet land, catel, body, lif,
and godes, from theyr heyres for euer, and so be condempned for
heretykes to God, ennemies to the crowne, and most errant traytors
to the lande. Besides this, it was inacted, that neuer a sanctuary
nor priuiliged grounde within the realime shulde holde them,
though they were still permitted to theues and murtherers.  And
if in case they wold not gyue ouer, or were after their pardon
relapsed, they shulde suffer death in two manner of kindes; that
is, they shulde first be hanged for treason against the kinge, and
then be burned for heresy against God, and yet neither of both
committed."*
But violent as were the measures pursued against those who
read the Scriptures in English, there Nwere some found who at
every hazard sought wisdom from the book of God. These, to
promote the more general circulation of the Scriptures, caused
select portions of WViclif's translation to be written in small
volumes, that the poor might purchase them, printing being unknown, and writing tedious and expensive.  Lewis, the author of
the " History of the English Translations of the Bible," possessed
one of these copies in 24mo., which contained St. John's Gospel,
the Epistles of St. James, St. Peter, St. John, St. Jude, and the
Apocalypse.t  The bishops' registers often mention these little
boolks, or libels, as they were called, and notice them as being
prohibited. Persons who were detected reading thenm, or even
having them in possession, were prosecuted, and sometimes were
burnt with them hanging about their necks.  In 1429, Nicholas
Belward, of South Elmham, in Suffolk, was accused of having in
his possession a New Testament, which lie had bought in London
for four marks and forty pence, ~2 16s. Sd., a sum equivalent to
more than ~40 at present; an astonishing price to have been paid
by a labouring macn, for such. Belward appears to have been:
William Wright deposing that he "had wrought with him continually by the space of one year; and studied diligently upon the
said New Testament."  In the same year an accusation was
brought also against Margery Backster, in which it was deposed
that she had desired Joan, the wife of one Cliffland, and her maid,
to "come secretly in the night to her chamber, and there she
- Complete Collection of State Trials, vol. i, p. 49. Lond., 1730, 2d edit., folio.
t Lewis, p. 39.
1




460                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
should hear her husband read the law of Chlrist to them; which
law was written in a book that her husband was wont to read to
her by night; and that her husband was well learned in the Christian verity." Many other depositions, of a similar nature, were
made by the enemies of the Lollards, in consequence of which the
followers of Wiclif were subjected to various penances and imprisonments. Against Richard Fletcher of Beccles it was alleged,
" Hie is a most perfect doctor in that sect, and can very well and
perfectly expound the Holy Scriptures, and hath a book of the
New Law in English."  Against Sir Hugh Pye, priest, it was
deposed, that he had "bequeathed to Alice, servant to William
White, a New Testament, which they then called the book of the
New Law, and was in custody of Oswald Godfrey of Colchester."
Even the ability to read was enumerated among the crimes of this
sect by their violent persecutors; for it is remarked in the deposi
tions, that " William Bate, tailor, of Sything, and his wife, and his
son, which can read English very well, is of the same sect;" that
"the daughter of Thomas Moone is partly of the same sect, and
can read English;" and that " John Pert, late servant of Thomas
Moone, is of the same sect, and can read well, and did read in the
presence of William White."*
The disciples of Wiclif, however, were not satisfied with knowing the truth, and therlselves only reading the Scriptures: they were
animated by more generous principles, and laudably anxious to
place the Bible in the hands of others, as a powerful means of enlightening the mind, and influencing the heart.  In the prosecution
of this pious design, these early reformers were materially assisted
by the zealous co-operation of Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham,
who expended considerable sums in collecting, transcribing, and
dispersing the works of Wiclif; and in maintaining a number of
itinerant preachers, who were employed in spreading the doctrines
of our English reformer in different parts of the country, particularly in the diocesses of Canterbury, London, Rochester, and Hereford. Bale says, that he caused all the works of Wiclif to be
copied by desire of John Huss, and to be sent into France, Spain,
Bohemia, and other foreign countries. The support afforded the
Lollards by this nobleman, and his zeal in the diffusion of evangelical truth, rendered him the object of the most cruel persecution.
He was accused of heresy, condemned and imprisoned in the tower
of London, from whence he found means to escape, but being reta* Fox's Actes and Monumentes, vol. i, pp. 786-788.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                      461
ken, in 1417, by Lord Powis, was suspended alive in chains, upon
a gallows, and burnt to death.*
The excessive dearness of books, prior to the invention of printing, is a sufficient proof that the Lollards must have been countenanced and assisted by persons of wealth and influence, in spreading extensively the works of Wiclif, especially his translation of
the New Testament. Several instances of the exorbitant prices
of books, about this period, have been already adduced; the following will render the evidence still more decisive. In 1424, two
Antiphonars, books containing all the invitatories, responsories,
verses, collects, and whatever was said or sung in the choir, except the lessons, cost the little monkery of Crabhouse, in Norfolk,
twenty-six marks; and the common price for a Mass-book was
five marks, equal to the yearly revenue of a vicar, or curate, which,
about this period, was fixed at five marks, (t3 6s. Sd.,) or two
marks and his board.t  At an early period of this century, Pierre
Plaoul, bishop of Senlis, bequeathed a large quarto BIBLE, fairly
written on vellurn, to tile house of the Sorbonne, at Paris; on the
last leaf of which there was a Latin note, to the following effect:
" This book, the value of which is fifteen pounds of Paris, belongs
to the poor masters of Sorbonne, bequeathed to them by the reverend father in Christ, Pierre Plaoul, formerly bishop of Senlis, and
an eminent professor of Holy Scripture, of the society of the aforesaid house;'who died April 11th, 1415, and was buried in the
church of St. Marcellus, near to the famous and memorable master Peter Lombard, bishop of Paris. May his soul rest in peace!"
" A similarprinted Bible," says Chevillier, "would not have cost six
francs."  In 1491, Bernard's Homilies on the Canticles were
pawned for twenty shillings; and a few years earlier, A. D. 1471,
when Lewis XI. of France borrowed the works of the Arabian
physician Rhasis, from the faculty of medicine at Paris, he not
only deposited, by way of pledge, a quantity of valuable plate, but
was obliged to procure a nobleman to join with him as surety in a
deed by which he bound himself to return it, under a considerable
forfeiture.t Henry V. of England possessed so scanty a library,
that he borrowed several books, which were claimed by their
owners, after his death. The countess of Westmoreland pre* Fox's Actes and Monumentes, vol. i, p. 664, &c. British Biography, vol. i, p. 138
Lond., 1773, 8vo.
t Johnson's Ecclesiastical Laws, &c., vol. ii, A. D. 1222, 1305, 1362.
t Warton's Hist. of English Poetry, vol. i, diss. 2. Chevillier, De l'Origine de
l'Imprimerie de Paris, pt. iv, ch. v, p. 371. Paris, 1694, 4to.
1




462                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
sented a petition to the privy council, A. D. 1424, praying that an
order might be given under the privy seal for the restoration of a
book, borrowed of her by the late king, containing the Chronicles
of Jerusalem, and the Expedition of Godfrey of Boulogne; which
was granted with great formality.  Another petition was presented
by the prior of Christ Church, Canterbury, stating, that the late
king had borrowed from  the priory the works of St. Gregory,
which by his testament he had directed to be restored, but which
had been withheld by the prior of Shine.  After serious deliberation, the council issued an order to the prior of Shine, either to
deliver up the book, or to appear before the council, and assign the
reasons of his refusal.* Nor will it perhaps be deemed impertinent to add, that literature in general, and sacred literature in particular, was still further discouraged, by the almost universal
preference of entertainment to instruction.  The minstrels were
more amply remunerated than the clergy; and the feast of the
Episcopus Puerorum,  or boy-bishop, more numerously attended
than the most solemn festivals of the church. During many of the
years of the reign of Henry VI., particularly in the year 1430,
at the annual feast of the holy cross, at Abingdon, a town in Berkshire, twelve priests each received four-pence for singing a dirge;
and the same number of minstrels were each rewarded with two
shillings and four-pence, besides diet and provender for their
horses. In the same year, the prior de Mallxtock gave six-pence for a
sermon, to an itinerant doctor in theology, of one of the Mendicant
orders, who went about preaching to the religious houses.  In a
very mutilated fragment of a Computus, or annual account roll of
St. Swithen's cathedral priory, at WVinchester, under the year 1441,
a disbursement is made to the singing boys of the nmonastery, who,
together with the choristers of St. Elizabeth's collegiate chapel, near
that city, were dressed up like girls, and exhibited their sports before the abbess and nuns of St. Mary's abbey, at Winchester, in
the public refectory of that convent, on Innocents' day. Another
fragment, of an account of the cellarer of Hyde abbey, at Winchester, has the following entry, under the year 1490: " In larvis
et aliis indurnentis puerorum visentium dominumn apud WVulsey, et
constabularium  castri Winton, in apparatu suo, nec non subinstrantiumn omllia monasteria civitatis Winton, in ffesto Nicholai."'
That is, " In furnishing masks and dresses for the boys of the convent, when they visited the bishop at Wulvesey palace, the con* Henry's ist. of Great Britain, vol. x, b. v, ch. iv, pp. 115, 116.




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                     463
stable of WVinchester castle, and all the monasteries of the city of
Winchester, on the festival of St. Nicholas."'  In many churches
it was a common practice to elect a boy on St. [Nicholas's or Innocents' day, to assume the garb, and performn the functions of the
bishop, who was therefore denominated episcopus p'ucrorUtm, or
boy-bishop, and sometimes the chorister-bishtop.  This was particularly the case in England, in the church of Sarum. The learned
John Gregory, of Oxford, wrote a tract, published after his decease,
expressly on this custom of the church of Sarum, the title of which
is, " Episcopus Puerorum in die Innocentiumr; or a discovery of
an ancient custom in the church of Sarum, making an anniversarybishop among the choristers."  In this work, it is said, "The episcopus choristoerurm was a chorister-bishop, chosen by his fellowchildren, upon St. Nicholas's day.  Upon this day rather than any
other, because it is singularly noted of this bishop, (as Paul said,
of his Timothy,) that he had known the Scriptures of a child,
and led a life sanctissime ab tpsis incunatbilis inchoatam.  The
reason is yet more properly and expressly set down in the English
Festival:"
"It is sayed that his fader hyght Epiphanius, and his moder
Joanna, &c.  And whan he was born, &c., they made him christen, and caled him Nycolas, that is a mannes name, but he kepeth
the name of a child, for he chose to Ikepe vertues, meknes, and
simplenes, and without malice: also we rede while he lay in his
cradel, he fasted Wednesday and Friday: these dayes lie would
souke but ones of the day, and therwyth held him plesed: thus he
Ivyued all his lyf in vertues with his childes name.  And therefore,
children don him worship before all other saints."-Lib. Festivalis
in die S. Nicolas., fol. 55.
"From this day till Innocents' day, at night, (it lasted longer at
first,) the episcopzs puerorumn was to bear the nanle and to hold
ulp the state of a bishop, answerably habited with a crosier or pastoral staff in his hand, and a mitre upon his head: and such a one
too some had as was multis episco2porum mnitris sumtptuosio r, (saith
one,) very much richer than those of bishops indeed."
"The rest of his fellows from  the same time being were to
take upon them  the style and counterfeit of prebends, yielding
to their bishop (or else as if it were) no less than canonical obedience."
" And look what service the very bishop himself, with his dean
and prebends, (had they been to officiate,) wa's to have performed,
-Warton's Hist. of English Poetry, volt ii, pp. 10.5, 106; vol. iii, p. 324.
1




464                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
the mass excepted, the very same was done by the choristerbishop and his canons, upon the eve and the holyday."
" In case the chorister-bishop died within the month, his exequies were solemnized with an answerable glorious pomp and
sadness. He was buried (as all other bishops) in all his ornaments.
In the cathedral of Sarum there lieth a monument, in stone, of a
little boy habited all in episcopal robes, a mitre upon his head, a
crosier in his hand, and the rest accordingly."
Our author adds, that all the ceremonies were performed " with
that solemnity of celebration, and appetite of seeing, that the statute of Sarum was forced to provide.  Sub pcena majoris excommnlnicationis, ne quis puerkos illos in prcefata  processione, vel
aia's in suo ministerio, premat aut imnpediat quoquo modo, quo
minus pacifice valeant facere et exequi quod illis imminet facienduzn, &c. That no person whatsoever, under pain of anathema,
should interrupt or press upon these children, at the procession, or
in any other part of their service, in any ways, but to suffer them
quietly to perform and execute what it concerned them to do."*
As to the divine service being performed on these festivals by
children, not only was it celebrated by boys, but also by girls; for
there is an injunction given to the Benedictine nunnery of Godstowe, in Oxfordshire, by Archbishop Peckham, in the year 1278,
that on Innocents' day the public prayers should not any more be
said in the church of that monastery, per parvulas, that is, by little
girls. And so far back may a similar custom be traced, that at
the Constantinopolitan synod, held in the year 867, at which three
hundred and seventy-three bishops were present, it was found to
be a solemn custom in the courts of princes, on certain stated days,
to dress some laymen in the episcopal apparel, who should exactly
personate a bishop, both in his tonsure and ornaments; and also
to create a burlesque patriarch, who might make sport for the
company. This scandal to religion was anathematized by the
good bishops, but without complete success, the temporary check
serving only to alter its direction and increase its energy.t In 1274
the council of Saltzburg forbade any one to assume the office of
boy-bishop who was more than sixteen years of age, great enormities having sometimes been committed in the churches by those
who had engaged in those ludi, or plays.t  And the council of
* Gregory's Works, Posthuma, pp. 95, 113-117. London, 1671, 4to.
t Warton's Hist. of English Poetry, vol. iii, p. 324.
t Du Cange, v. Episcopus Pluerorum.
i




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                    465
Basil, in 1435, condemned them, though they continued to be
practised for centuries afterward.*
There flourished, however, at the conclusion of the former and
commencement of this century, several illustrious characters, who,
notwithstanding the superstition and bigotry of their church, deserve
to be recorded among the promoters of sacred literature and knowledge. ADAM ESTON, or EASTON, an Englishman, educated at Oxford, became a Benedictine monk of Norwich, and successively
filled the sees of Hereford and London. He was eminently skilled
in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, and appears to have been the first
of the moderns who attempted a translation of the Old Testament
immediately from  the Hebrewv.  This work lie is said to have
completed, except the Psalms.  Robert Wakefield (who died in
1538) says, in the tract which he wrote on the purity of tile Hebrew text, that, for some time, he had the work in his possession,
but that at length it was stolen.  In the preface to his translation
he defends the integrity of the Hebrew original against Nicholas
de Lyra and others, who supposed it to have been corrupted by
the Jews.  He was created a cardinal by Urban VI., but was
afterward thrown into prison, with five other cardinals, by the
same pontiff, where he remained for five years; after his release
he wrote an account of his imprisonment. He died at Rome,
A. D. 1397.t
JOHN of WHETIIAMSTEDE, abbot of St. Albans, in the reign of
Henry VI., was an eminently studious and learned writer. A
MS. life of him, in the Cottonian library, enumerates more than
fourscore separate treatises given to the abbey, many of which
were written by himself.  He expended large sums in beautifying
and enriching his monastery; among other things, he adorned the
roof and walls of the Virgin Mary's chapel with pictures, at an
expense of forty pounds, and gave an organ to the choir of the
church. He built a library at Oxford, and enriched it with books.
To familiarize the history of his patron saint to the monks of his
convent, he employed Lydgate, then a monk of Bury, in Suffolk,
to translate the Latin legend of his life into English rhymes. For
the translation, the writing, and the illuminations he paid onze
hundred shillings; and expended on the binding, and other exterior ornaments of the MS., upward of three pounds. It was placed
before the altar of the saint, in the abbey church, Whethamstede
* Du Tilliot, Memoires pour servir a l'Hist. de la Fete des Foux, pp. 58-73.
t Bibliotheca Sacra, edit. Masch, pt. ii, tom. iii, cap. iii, sec. i, p. 432. Hody, De
Bibl. Text., lib. iii, pt. ii, p. 440.
VOL. I.-30




466                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
having adorned the altar with much magnificence. During his
abbacy a grand transcript of the Postilla of Nicholas de Lyra on
the Bible was begun at his command, with the most splendid
ornaments and hand-writing. The monk who records this important anecdote lived soon after him, and speaks of this great undertaking, then unfinished, as if it were some magnificent public
edifice. "God grant," says he, " that this work in our days may
receive a happy consummation!" Some of Whethamstede's tracts,
MS. copies of which often occur in our libraries, are dedicated to
Humphrey, duke of Gloucester, who was fond of visiting the abbey, and employed our abbot to collect valuable books for him.
A fine copy of his Granarium, an immense work, was presented
by the duke to the library then lately erected by himself, at Oxford. A beautiful MS. folio of Valerius Maximus, enriched with
the most elegant decorations, with a curious table, or index, made
by Whethamstede, is still preserved in the Bodleian library. He
was the author of a Chronicle, embracing a period of twenty years,
from 1441 to 1461, inclusive. It contains many original papers,
and gives a very full account of some events, particularly respecting his own abbey. He was ordained a priest A. D. 1382, and
died 1464, being above a hundred years of age, eighty-two of which
be had been in priest's orders.*
JOHN CAPGRAVt, another learned Englishman, was born in the
county of Kent. He entered into the monastery of Augustine
monks, at Canterbury, and after lie had taken his doctor's degree
at Oxford, became provincial of his order. He was the confessor
and intimate friend of Humphrey, duke of Gloucester. In the
library of Oriel College, at Oxford, there is a MS. Commentary
on Genesis, written by Capgrave, who was reputed eminent as a
theologian. It is the author's autograph, and is dedicated to the
duke. In the superb initial letter of the dedicatory epistle is a
curious illumination of the author, humbly presenting his book to
his patron, who is seated, and covered with a sort of hat. At the
end is this entry, in the hand-writing of the duke himself: " Ce
livre est a moy Humphrey ducl de Gloucestire du don de frere
Jehan Capgrave, quy le me fit presenter a mon mnanoyr de Pensherst le.... jour de.... l'an MCCCXXXVIII," [probably
MCCCCXXXVIII:] that is, " This book belongs to me, Humphrey, duke of Gloucester, the gift of brother John Capgrave, who
presented it to me at my manor of Penshurst, the.. day of...
* Warton's Hist. of English Poetry, vol. ii, pp. 45-47, 53. Henry's Hist. of Great
Britain, vol. x, b. v, p. 132.
1                         30*




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                  467
in the year 1438." Besides this Commentary on Genesis, and
others on Exodus and Kings, presented also by the duke to the
library at Oxford, he was the author of commentaries on almost
all the books of the Old and New Testaments; as well as of a
Catalogue, or Legend of the English Saints, printed at London, by
Caxton, 1516, folio; a Biography of illustrious Men, who flourished under the Henries of England; and many other works,
chiefly historical. He was decided in his attachment to the Church
of Rome, but opposed and thundered against the depraved practices of the ecclesiastics of his day. He died at Lynn, in Norfolk,
August 12th, A. D. 1464; or, according to Pitts, A. D. 1484.*
But the most munificent patron of general literature was the
good HUMPHREY, duke of Gloucester.  To him  the Bodleian
library, as it has been since called, was indebted for an extensive
and princely donation of books, containing six hundred volumes.
These books are called Novi Tractatus, or new treatises, in the
university Register. They were the most splendid and costly
copies that could be procured, finely written on vellum, and elegantly embellished with miniatures and illuminations, one hundred
and twenty of which were valued at more than ~1000. The
magnificent copy of Valerius Maximus, the index of which was
made by WThethamstede, was one of them. As he patronised, in
a particular manner, the abbey of St. Albans, many of the abbots
paid their court to him by sending him presents of books beautifully executed, and adorned with the most exquisite paintings,
which seem to have constituted a part of his gift to the library at
Oxford.t Humphrey was brother to Henry V. and the duke of
Bedford, and uncle to Henry VI., during whose minority he occa
sionally administered the affairs of the kingdom, as regent.
The library of Baliol College, Oxford, was also founded in the
early part of the fifteenth century. It was originally built in two
parts; the lower, or west part, in 1427, by Dr. Thomas Chace,
and the upper, or east part, about the year 1477, by Mr. Robert
Abdy, both some time masters. William Lambert, who was master in 1406, and Robert Thwaites, who attained the same honour
in 1451, gave many valuable MSS.; and William Wilton, a fellow, and afterward chancellor of the university, was also a contributor of books in 1492. Grey, bishop of Ely, in 1454, proved a
most noble benefactor, not only in money for the building, but in
-* Cavei Hist. Lit., saec. xv, Append., p. 132. Warton's Hist of English Poetry,
vol. ii, p. 46.
t Warton, uhi suP.




468                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
adding to the collection about two hundred MSS., many of them
richly illuminated, which he had purchased in England and Italy.
In the latter country he employed transcribers and illuminators, as
appears by some of his MSS. still in this library.  The illuminations were chiefly executed by Antonius Marius, an "exquisite
painter," of Florence, during the bishop's residence in that city.
On most, if not all of the MSS., the donors' arms were fastened,
painted on vellum, and covered with pieces of thin horn, to prevent
their being torn off or defaced. " But, with great resentment let
it be spoken," says A. Wood, "divers of them which smelled of
superstition, or that treated of school divinity, or of geometry, or
astronomy, were taken away in that ignorant time of Edward VI.,
wherein people, under pretence of reformation, pilfered, and made
havoc of those things which posterity hath since much desired to
see."*
The countenance which the study of the sacred Scriptures derived also from the devotional habits of two royal personages ought
not to be forgotten. These were ANN OF BOHEMIA and HENRY VI.
The former of these illustrious characters was the beloved queen
of Richard II., daughter of the emperor Charles IV., and sister to
Winceslaus, king of Bohemia, and emperor of Germany. She
was married to King Richard, A. D. 1382. Wiclif, in his book
"Of the threefold bond of love," thus speaks of her: "It is possible that the noble queen of England, the sister of Cesar, may
have the Gospel written in three languages, Bohemian, German,
and Latin, and to hereticate her on this account would be Luciferian folly." Archbishop Arundel, in his sermon preached at her
funeral in 1394, highly commends her, that " although she was a
stranger, yet she constantly studied the four Gospels in English,
and explained by the expositions of the doctors; and that in the
study of these, and reading godly books, she was more diligent
than even the prelates themselves, though their office and business
required it."t
Of the attachment of King Henry VI. to the Holy Scriptures,
and his regular habits of piety, the following account has been left
by John Blackman, a Carthusian monk, and an intimate friend of
the monarch himself:"He was incessantly occupied either in prayers, or in reading
* Chalmers's History of the Colleges, &c., attached to the IJniversity of Oxford,
vo1. i, p. 55. Oxford, 1810, 8vo. Wood's History and Antiquities of Oxford, edit.
Gutch., p. 89, 4to.
t Usserii Hist. Dogmat., p. 161; Lewis's Life of Wicliffe, pp. 197, 198.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                  469
the Holy Scriptures, or chronicles, from which he derived many
passages for his own spiritual consolation, as well as that of others.
He was also accustomed to send to certain clergymen hortatory
epistles, full of heavenly mysteries and salutary admonitions, to
the astonishment of many. On ordinary days he spent his time
not less diligently, in treating of the affairs of his kingdom with
his council, according to the exigency of the case; or else in reading writings or chronicles. Hence Richard Tunstall, formerly
his faithful chamberlain, has given testimony concerning him, both
verbally and in his writings, saying,' His delight was in the law
of the Lord both day and night.' In confirmation of the same
thing, the king himself heavily complained to me in his palace at
Eltham, when I was with him there alone, engaged with him in
his holy books, and listening to his salutary admonitions, and the
breathings of his profound devotion; for being interrupted by a
knocking at the royal gate by a certain powerful duke of the realm,
the king said,'They so disturb me, that I can scarcely snatch
time to refresh myself, either by day or night, with the reading of
any sacred doctrines, without being interrupted by some noise or
other.' Something of a similar kind once happened also in my
presence at Windsor."*  Yet such was the inconsistency of this
monarch, that while he himself read the Scriptures constantly,
and regarded them as an inestimable source of instruction and
consolation, his subjects were persecuted, imprisoned, and burned
alive, for reading, or hearing, or pursuing the dictates of those
very Scriptures!
The opinions of Wiclif, which had continued to spread in England, were now extended to the continent, and found in Bohemia,
in particular, many who advocated the doctrines of the reformer,
and zealously endeavoured to give them publicity and establishment. The attendants of Ann of Bohemia, queen of Richard II.,
on their return to their own country, had carried with them some
of Wiclif's writings, and communicated the knowledge of his
sentiments to the circle of their acquaintance;t but the principal
agent in introducing Wiclif's works was a young Bohemian nobleman, named Faulfisch. This gentleman had been a student at
Oxford, where he had embraced the views of the English reformer,
and had brought to Bohemia several of his works, among which
were his books De Realibus Universalibus; De diversis quarstionibus contra Clerunz; Dialogus; Trialogus; Super Evangelia ser* Usserii Hist. Doglnat., p. 171.
t Fox's Actes and Monumentes, vol. i, p. 701.
1




470                 BIBLCAL LITERATURE
mones per circulztl anni, &c.*  These were read with avidity by
the celebrated JOHN HUSS, a native of Bohemia, who, by his genius
and industry, had risen from obscurity to the honourable office of
rector of the university of Prague, which was then in a flourishing
condition, and crowded with students from various parts of Germany. He had also been nominated, A. D. 1400, one of the two
preachers of Bethlehem, a great church dedicated to Matthias and
Matthaeus, which had been erected and endowed by an opulent
citizen of Prague, for the purpose of having the word of God taught
to the people in the vulgar tongue, both on festivals and ordinary
days. Huss was soon joined by many of the clergy, and several
of the nobility; in particular by Jerome of Prague, a man of superior talents and address, who had visited England for the sake of
his studies, and brought from thence various writings of Wiclif.
The adherents of our reformer, however, met with a violent and
bigoted opponent in Subinco, surnamed Lepus, archbishop of
Prague, a prelate of illustrious extraction, but so illiterate, that he
only acquired the knowledge of letters after his advancement to
the archbishopric.  This determined enemy of the Hussites, as
they were called, commanded that all the books of Wiclif should
be brought to him, in order to be publicly burnt. The episcopal
mandate was partially obeyed, and more than two hundred volumes,
finely written, and richly ornamented with costly covers and gold
bosses, were committed to the flames.t But the rage of Subinco
and his party was not to be assuaged by the mere destruction of
what were deemed heretical sworks; the teachers were still more
the objects of their direst enmity. John Huss was driven from
Prague, and obliged to take refuge in the village from whence he
derived his name. In this retreat "he spent his time," says a
Catholic historian, "in translating certain books of the Old and
New Testaments into the vulgar tongue; to which he added commentaries, and gave thereby to women and tradesmen means of
disputing with the monks and clergy."  The council of Constance
being assembled in.1414, he was cited to appear before it, and,
contrary to the expectations of his enemies, acted with that noble
decision that marked his character, and fearlessly presented himself on the first day of its sitting, under the protection of the safeconduct, or passport, of the emperor Sigismund, which required
* 2Eneae Sylvii Historia Bohemica, cap. xxxv, p. 65. Francofurt, 1687, 12mo
Lewis's Life of Wicliffe, ch. ix, p. 143.
t zEnewE Sylvii Historia Bohemica, cap. xxxv, pp. 66-69. Ridderi De Eruditione
Historia, cap. i, p. 40. Rotterd., 1680.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                    471
all the subjects of the empire "to suffer him to pass and repass
secure; and, for the honour of his imperial majesty, if need be, to
provide him with good passports."  But the safe-conduct was perfidiously violated, and Huss was condemned, and burnt at the
stake, A. D. 1415. His friend, and fellow-sufferer, JEROME, followed him through the flames the ensuing year.  AEneas Sylvius,
a cotemporary cardinal, and afterward pope, under the name of
Pillus II., says, "They bore their sufferings with constancy, going
to the stake as to a feast, and suffering no expression to escape
which could indicate uneasiness of mind.  As the fire kindled they
began to sing hymns, which even the flames and crackling of the
fire could scarcely interrupt."*  Thus, by the death of these two
upright and excellent men, eternal infamy was attached to a council which, while it professed to be assembled for the reformation
of the church, decreed the martyrdom of those who dared to
oppugn its superstitions and errors, violated the most solemn
engagements, supported the Teutonic knights in their enormities,
refused to punish the advocates of regicide, and amused itself with
the buffooneries of the most ridiculous dramatic entertainments.
(See page 332.)t
Irritated by the death of their teacher and his friend, the Hussites flew to arms, and, under the conduct of the intrepid Zisca, a
Bohemian nobleman, commenced a fierce and bloody war, which
terminated first in the death of Zisca, and then in the division of
the Hussites into Calixtines and Taborites; the former contending
for the use of the cup (calix) to the laity in the eucharist, and the
latter, who derived their name from a mountain denominated Tabor,
to which they had fled, insisting upoi a more general reformation,
and the establishment of a purer doctrine and discipline. During
the thirteen years' war carried on by the Hussites, the most destructive measures were too frequently adopted; and it must ever
be lamented, that those who seceded from the Romish Church, on
account of its unscriptural doctrines and practices, were hurried
by their violence to depredations unworthy the character they
claimed. On one occasion they destroyed a church and monastery, adjoining the king's palace, the largest and rmost beautiful in
all Bohemia, and the burying places of its sovereigns. The church
was magnificent; the altar was decorated with gold and silver, the
* _iEnele Sylvii Historia Bohemica, cap. xxxvi, p. 73. Earberry's Pretended Reformers, p. 49.
t See Fox's Actes and Monumentes, vol. i, p. 701-756; Milner's History of the
Church of Christ, vol. iv, p. 209; and Warton's Hist. of English Poetry, vol i, p. 242.
1




472                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
ecclesiastical robes were interwoven with pearls, and the windows
were large, and glazed.  The dormitory of the monastery was
capable of containing eight hundred monks; the offices were magnificently constructed; the cloister enclosed an extensive garden;
and on its lofty walls the whole of the Old and New Testaments
was inscribed, in characters rendered sufficiently legible, by increasing in magnitude in proportion to their distance and height.*
The Calixtines, having obtained the use of the eucharistical cup
by papal permission, soon began to persecute, in their turn, the
Taborites; who in many points resembled the Waldenses, and
who having laid aside their martial principles, were become more
moderate, and more deeply pious. Various sorts of torture were
inflicted on them, numbers were barbarously murdered, and many
died in prison; the sick were thrown into the open fields, where
many perished with cold and hunger; and others were expelled
from the cities and villages, with the forfeiture of all their effects.
Thus driven from their homes, they were obliged to hide themselves in mountains and woods; and to escape detection by the
smoke, to kindle no fires, except in the night, when they met to
pray, and read the WORtD oF GOD. In 1480, they received a great
increase of their numbers, from the accession of Waldensian refugees, who escaped out of Austria, where their bishop, Stephen, had
been burnt alive, and where a dreadful persecution had been raised
against them.  From these Bohemian refugees, the Miloravians, or
United Brethren, are descended, deriving the former term from
the country they inhabited, and the latter from their brotherly union
in the plan of discipline, &c., formed in 1457, by Gregory, the
founder of the unity.t
Such were the noble struggles for the truth, and for the Holy
Scriptures, as the grand rule of faith and practice, made by these
ancient worthies: but the papal authorities knew too well, that
their deeds could not bear the light, and therefore sought their
safety in darkness. A striking instance of this occurred in 1418,
when Eric, of Pomerania, requested permission from Pope Martin
V. to found a university at Copenhagen, and only obtained it, on
the express condition, that the Holy Scriptures should neither be
read nor explained in it, but that the lectures should be confined to
profane literature!$
* iEneae Sylvii Historia Bohemica, cap. xxxvi, pp. 74, 75. Earberry's Pretended
Reformers, b. ii, p. 10.
t Milner's Hist. of the Church of Christ, vol. iv, cent. xv, ch. iii, passim.
$ Dr. Henderson's MS. Hist. of Danish Versions, in wich he refers to Pontoppidan's
Annal. Eccles. Dan., vol. ii, p. 521.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                   473
Other difficulties, also, besides those arising from papal opposition, presented themselves to such as were desirous of reading the
Scriptures; for copies of them were rare and expensive, and could
seldom be obtained but by the wealthy; except when the indefatigable advocates of gospel purity happened to have the opportunity,
possessed the ability, and submitted to the labour of transcribing.
Even those who had acquired the important art of writing, obtained
with difficulty the materials requisite for transcription or epistolary
correspondence.'
Happily about this period the noble and important ART OF PRINTING was discovered, and the sources of knowledge soon became comparatively easy of access. Our honest martyrologist thus enumerates
the advantages resulting from this incolparable invention: "Hereby
tongues are known, knowledge groweth, judgment increaseth,
books are dispersed, the Scripture is seen, the doctors be read,
stories be opened, times compared, truth discerned, falsehood detected, and with finger pointed, and all through the benefit of printing.
Wherefore, I suppose that either the pope must abolish printing.
or he must seek a new world to reign over: or else, as this world
standeth, printing doubtless will abolish him. Both the pope, and
all his college of cardinals, must this understand, that through the
light of printing the world beginneth now to have eyes to see, and
heads to judge.  He cannot walk so invisibly in a net, but he will
be spied.  And although, through might, he stopped the mouth of
John Huss before, and of Jerome, that they might not preach,
thinking to make his kingdom  sure: yet, instead of John Huss,
and others, God hath opened the PREss to preach, whose voice the
pope is never able to stop, with all tile puissance of his triple
crown. By this printing, as by the gift of tongues, and as by the
singular organ of the Holy Ghost, the doctrine of the gospel soundeth to all nations and countries under heaven: and what God
revealeth to one man is dispersed to many, and what is known in
one nation is open to all."t
* Beckman's History of Inventions, vol. ii, p. 223.
t Fox's Actes and Monumentes, vol. i, p. 837.
1




474                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
PART III.
FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING.
CHAPTER I.
FIFTEENTH  CENTURY  CONTINUED.
Invention of Printing —Early Printers —First printed Bibles —Book
Censors —Indices Expurgatorii-Licenrsers of the Press.
PRINTING appears to be indebted for its origin to the art of
engraving on wood, which was probably borrowed from  the
Chinese, among whom it was in use from the remotest periods.
The first attempts at block-printing, in Europe, were made about
the commnencement of the fifteenth century, by the manufacturers
of playing cards, who, after having employed blocks, or woodengravings for their cards, began to engrave on wood the images
of the saints, which the clergy distributed on certain occasions to
the people. Prints of this description, of the same size as the
playing cards, representing different subjects of sacred history and
devotion, with a text analogous to the subject, opposite to the
figure, are preserved in the library of Wolfenbuttle.  But that they
also engraved images of a larger size is proved by the very curious
wood-cut of St. Christopher, found by Baron Heinecken, in the
convent of the Chartreux, at Buxheim, near Memimingen, and now
in the superb collection of Earl Spencer; a fac-simile of which is
given in Dibdin's splendid Bibliotheca Spenceriana.  From the
inscription engraved and printed at the foot of the print, it is
proved to have been executed A. D. 1423.*  To the images of the
saints succeeded historical subjects, chiefly Biblical or devotional,
generally denominated Books of Images, with a text or explanation
engraven on the same tablet, the fullest account of which is given by
Baron Heinecken, in his Idee  Generale d'une Collection complette
d'Estampes, avec une dissertation sur l'origine de la Gravure, et
suzr les premiers Livres des Images.  Leipsic et Vienne, 1771,
8vo. A judicious abridgment of this work, so far as refers to
Books of Images, with corrections and notices of recently discovered works of this description, is contained in the appendix to
* Heinecken, Id6e Generale d'Estampes, pp. 246, 248-251.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                       475
Horne's " Introduction to the Study of Bibliography," and is accompanied with a fac-simile of the first plate of the Specululm tHlmanee Salvatzonlis, supposed to have been executted between the years
1440 and 1457; and another of the Biblia Paiuperum, supposed to
have been executed between A. D. 1420 and 1425.  Several facsimiles of works of this nature are engraved from rare copies in
the possession of Earl Spencer, in the Biblioiheca S'pelceriana,
with bibliographical descriptions by the ingenious editor.
Of all the xylographic works, that is, such as are printed from
wooden tablets, the Bibli'a Pauperunm, and the SIpecultmn Salvationis, are the most celebrated.  The BInLIA PAUPERUM, whichI
consists of forty plates of Biblical subjects, with analogous extracts
and sentences, is unquestionably a very rare and ancient book.
The few copies of it which are now extant, are, for the most part,
either imperfect, or in a very bad condition; which ought not to
excite surprise, when it is considered that this work was executed
for the use of young persons and common people, (whence its name,
the Bible of the Poor,) who were thus enabled to acquire at a low
price a knowledge of some of the events recorded in the Scriptures.
This will account for the destruction of almost every copy, by repeated use; for in those times, when the present art of printing
was unknown, there were but few persons who could afford to give
a hundred louis d'or for the manuscript of a complete Bible. A
somewhat later edition has fifty instead of forty plates.
The SPECULU]M  HUMANE SALVATIONIS, or as it is frequently
termed, Speculumn Salutis, is confessedly, both in its design and
execution, the most perfect of all the ancient Books of Images which
preceded the invention of printing.  This compilation, which is in
small folio, is a collection of historical passages from  the Scriptures, with a few from profane history, which allude to them; and
is ascribed by Heinecken (and after him by Lambinet) to a Benedictine monk, named brother John, in the thirteenth or fourteenth
century.  So popular was this Mirror of Salvation, that it was
translated into the German, Flemish, and other languages, and
very frequently printed.* The preface is printed with fusile types.
These Books of Images, chiefly executed in Holland,t though
generally regarded as the first attempts of printing, were neverthe* Horne's Introduction to Bibliography, vol. ii, App., pp. ii, x.
t It is probable that many of these Books of Images were printed at -Iaerlem, and
that from hence arose the opinion, that LAWRENS COSTER of Haerlem was the inventor
of printing. See Horne's Introduction to Bibliography, vol. i, pp. 145-154; and Classical Journal, vol. xxi, No. 41, pp. 117-137. Lond., 1820.




476                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
less a different art from the modern printing, which consists in the
use of separate moveable types; which at first were cut in wood,
afterward in metal, and the art at length completed by the invention of founding types in moulds or matrices.  For the invention
of moveable types we are indebted to John Guttenberg, of Mayence, or Mentz, a celebrated town in Germany.
HENNE GOENSFLEISCH de Sulgeloch, or Sorgenloch, commonly
called JOHN GUTTENBERG, was born at Mentz, of noble and wealthy
parents, about the year 1400.  In the year 1424 he took up his
residence at Strasburg, as a merchant.  The abbe Mauro Boni
says, that " stimulated by his genius to discover something new,"
he travelled in his youth through various countries, where he
learned several arts unknown to the Germans.  In  1430 he returned to his native city, as is evident from a deed of accommodation between himself and the nobles and burghers of the city of
Mentz.  A document adduced by Schocpflin proves him  to have
been a wealthy man in 1434.  Between that period and 1439 he
had conceived, and perhaps made some few trials of the art of
printing with moveable, and probably with metal types, though his
first attempts are supposed to have been with moveable characters
cut in wood.*  In the year 1441-2 Gutenberg lived at Strasburg,
where he continued till about 1443, when he returned again to
Mentz, and toward the year 1450 appears to have opened his
mind fully to FuST, a goldsmith, of the same place, and prevailed
on him to advance large sums of money, in order to make further
and more complete trials of the art. Between the years 1450 and
1455 the celebrated BIBLE of six hundred and thirty-seven leaves,
the Jirst important specimen of printinig with metal types, was
executed between Gutenberg and Fust.t
This Bible, the first ever printed, is an edition of the LATIN
VULGATE.  It forms two volumes, in folio, is printed in the large
Gothic or German character, and is said to be "justly praised for
the strength and beauty of the paper, the exactness of the register,
the lustre of the ink, and the general beauty and magnificence of
the volumes." It is without date, a circumstance which has occa
* Santander observes, that moveable wooden types could not have been used in
printing any work, owing to their fragile and spongy nature, which rendered them liable to be easily broken, as well as constantly subject to contraction or dilation. See
Santander, Diect. Bibliographique, tom. i, p. 80, note 47.
t Dibdin's Typographical Antiquities, vol. i, p. lxxxvii, note. Santander, Dictionnaire
Bibliographique choisi du quinzieme sibcle, tom. i, ch. i, pp. 10-107. Bruxelles et
Paris, 1805, 8vo.
I




FIFTEENTH CENTTIIRY.                     477
sioned considerable dispute as to its priority to other undated editions executed about the same time.  It has been noticed as containing six hundred and thirty-seven leaves, to distinguish it more
accurately from the other editions without date.  C. G. Schwarz,
an eminent bibliographer, says, in his Pr7imaria( qunzdam Documenta de Orig. Typog. Altofjii, 1740, 4to., part ii, p. 4, that " in
the year 1728, in a Carthusian monastery, a little beyond the walls
of Mentz, he saw a copy of an old Latin Bible, which was printed
in a large character, similar to what is called the Missal type; and
that, however a few of the end leaves were cut out, so that the
date, place, and printer's name could not be ascertained, yet, in an
ancient MS. catalogue of the same library, an entry, or memorandum, was made, that this Bible, with some other books, (the names
of which he had forgotten,) was given to the monastery by Gutenberg."*  Copies of this superb work of Gutenberg's are in his
majesty's library, in the Bodleian library, and in those of Earl
Spencer and Sir M. M. Sykes, bart.
There is also a magnificent copy of this Bible in the royal library
at Berlin, printed upon vellum, and enriched with a profusion of
ancient and elegant embellishments; and in the king's library at
Paris there are two other copies of this most valuable edition, one
upon vellum, in four volumes, and the other upon paper, in two
volumes. The latter copy has a subscription in red ink at the
end of each volume. That at the end of the first volume, of which
a fac-simile is given in the Classical Journal, No. 8, p. 481, is
EUt asf est fines r uinme partf. itfblfc
seu bzterfs te.stanmentf.  tlfunifnata
seu ruitrfcata et lfqata 1) )Cnricunm.
ftbcb alts ~remer Znnzo tbili /icccc
Mbf festo 33artbotomt01    anlf
feo graclas -             cl- - - - -Leufa.
TRANSLATION.
"Here ends the first part of the Bible or Old Testament. Illuminated, or rubricated, and bound, by Henry Albch or Cremer,
on St. Bartholomew's day, April, A. D. 1456. Thanks be to God.
Hallelujah."
At the end of the second volume the subscription is
Xste tifier fIlunmftatus lfatus et roniretus eat p ienarfcurm (trelmer bfcarfu
secclesf collctefatz sanctf Atevlanf miaguntfnf sub anno bnf mfllesmno qua:
* See Dibdin, On the Vulgate Bible of 1450-1455; inserted in Classical Journal,
No. 8, pp. 471-484.
1




478                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
trfntittte.ftl o qpfquage.s1tno scrto, festo   sa.rultlfont s  lofose bfrtglffi
qavlfe. bco  rclca..cS. ~ilelufa.
TRANSLATION.
" This book, illuminated and bound by Henry Cremer, vicar of
the collegiate church of St. Stephen, at Mentz, was completed on
the feast of the assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, A.D. 1456.
Thanks be to God.  Hallelujah."*
The expenses incurred by this publication were so considerable,
that Fust instituted a suit against Gutenberg; who was obliged to
pay interest, and also part of the capital advanced. In consequence
of this suit the partnership was dissolved; and the whole of Gutenberg's printing apparatus fell into the hands of Fust.  But Gutenberg was not to be discouraged from  following his pursuits: he
established a new press, and continued to exercise his art until
1465, when, being admitted by the elector Adolphus, of Nassau,
into his band of gentlemen pensioners, with a handsome salary, he
relinquisied an art which had caused him  so much trouble and
vexation.t  Gutenberg died A. Dt 1468.
After the separation between Gutenberg and Fust, which took
place in 1455, Fust began to print on his own account, with the
assistance of PETER SCIOEFFER, a calligraphist, of Gernsheim;
an industrious young man, of inventive talents, to whom is ascribed
the art of founding types in moulds, or matrices; or, what is more
probable, the invention of punches for striking the matrices; for
which Fust rewarded him, by giving him  his only daughter,
Christina, in marriage.
The first publication which is known to' have issued from the
press of FTST and SCHOEFFER was a beautiful edition of the
Psalms, in Latin, finished August 14th, 1457, which, from  the
place where it was printed, is usually denominated the Mentz
Psalter.  It is the first book known to be cxtant which has the
name of the place where it was printed, and that of the printers,
together with the date of the year when it was executed.  The
most perfect copy known is that in the imperial library of Vienna.
It was discovered in the year 1665, near Inspruck, in the castle
of Ambras, where the archduke Francis Sigismund had collected
a prodigious quantity of AISS. and printed books; taken, for the
* Beloe's Anecdotes of Literature, vol. v, p. 83.
t Horne's Introduction to Bibliography, vol. i, p. 159. See also Dibdin's Bibliographical Decameron, vol. i, Fourth Day, where the various points in dispute respecting Gutenberg's claims are examined at large.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                     479
most part, from the famous library of Matthias Corvinus, king of
Hungary, from whence it was transported to Vienna. The book
is printed in folio, on vellum, and of such extreme rarity, that not
more than six or seven copies are known to be in existence, all of
which, however, differ from each other in some respect or other.
The Psalter occupies one hundred and thirty-five leaves, and the
recto the one hundred and thirty-sixth; the remaining forty-one
leaves are appropriated to the litany, prayers, responses, vigils, &e.
The psalms are executed in larger characters than the hymns; the
capital letters are cut on wood, with a degree of delicacy and boldness which is truly surprising: the largest of them, the initial
letters of the psalms, which are black, red, and blue, must have
passed three times through the press.  A fac-simile of the first
letter of this noble Psalter is given in Horne's " Introduction to
the Study of Bibliography," vol. i, p. 251.  It is also given, with
a few sentences of the first psalm, in the Bibliotheca Spenccrasta,
vol. i, p. 107, coloured exactly after the original.  Another edition
of this Psalter was printed in 1459 by the same printers, containing, probably, the first printed text of the Athanasian Creed.  It is
said not to be equally beautiful with the former edition, though
executed with the same types and capital letters, and also on
vellum.  The St. Alban's and Benedictine mnonlks are supposed to
have been at the expense of these editions of the Psalter.*
In 1462 Fust and Schoeffer published a Latin Bible, in two
volumes, folio.  This is the first edition with a date, and, like all
the other early typographical productions, is of extreme rarity and
value.  The copies of this Bible on paper are even more rare than
those on vellum. of which last, more, probably, were printed, that
they might have the greater resemblance to MSS., which the first
printers endeavoured to imitate as imuch as possible.  M. Lambinet, in his Recherches sur 1'orgilc (le ( il'prtim ere, p. 155, says,
" It is certain that, from the year 1463, Fust, Schoeffer, and their
partners, sold or exchanged, in Germany, Italy, France, and the
most celebrated universities, the great number of books which
they had printed; and, whenever they could, sold them as XM1S.
As proofs of which, it may be remarked, 1st. That we know of no
work that issued from their press, betwixt the Bible of 1462 and
the first edition of Cicero de Offciis, in 1465.  2d. Gabriel Naude
* Horne's Introduction to Bibliography, vol. i, p. 160; and vol. ii, App., p. lil.
Dibdin's Bibliotheca Spenceriana, vol. i, pp. 107, 108, 117. Dibdin's Typographical
Antiquities, vol. i, "Life of Caxton," pp. ci, cii. Santander, Dict. Bibliographique,
tom. i, ut sup.
1




480                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
informs us, that Fust brought to Paris a considerable number of
copies of the Bible of 1462. As they were on parchment, and the
capital letters illuminated with blue, and purple, and gold, after the
manner of the ancient MSS., he sold them as such at sixty crowns
But those who first purchased copies, comparing them together,
soon found that they exactly resembled each other: afterward,
they learned that Fust had sold a great number of copies, and had
lowered the price, first to forty, and then to twenty crowns. The
fraud being thus discovered, he was pursued by the officers of
justice, and forced to fly from Paris, and return to Mentz; but
not finding himself safe, he again quitted Mentz, and withdrew to
Strasburg, where he taught the art to Mentelin. The facility with
which Fust thus supplied Bibles for sale is said to have caused
hlim to be accounted a necromrnancer, and to have given rise to the
well-known story of the Devil and Dr. Faustus.  Others have
called the truth of this in question, and have remarked that there
was a Faustus living at the same period, who wrote a poem De
ilzuentia Syde~rum, which, with a number of other tracts, was
printed at Paris, " per Guidonum Mercatorem, 1496." His proper
name was Publius Faustus Andrelinus Foroliviencis, but he called
himself, and his friends in their letters to him called him, Faustus.*
A curious deed of sale, of this edition of the Bible, informs us that
Herman de Stratten, agent of Fust and Schoeffer, sold a copy of it
to William Tourneville, bishop of Angers, for forty golden crowns,
in 1470. The MS. memorandum, in Latin, was found in one of
the vellum  copies of this Bible: the following is the sense:" I Herman, a German, workman of the honest and discreet John
Guymier, sworn bookseller of the university of Paris, acknowledge
to have sold to the illustrious and learned Master gWilliam, of
Tourneville, archbishop and canon of Angiers, my most respectable lord and master, a BIBLE AT MENTZ, printed upon vellum, in
two volumes, for the price and sum of forty crowns, which I have
absolutely received, which also I ratify by these presents, proraising to abide by the same, and guaranteeing my lord, purchaser
of the said Bible, against any one who would dispossess him. In
ratification of which I have hereunto affixed my seal, this fifth day
of the month of April, in the year of our Lord MCCCCLXX.
Herman."t
In 1462 Fust also printed an edition of the GERMAN BIBLE, in
* Gentleman's Magazine, 1812, part ii, p. 523. Peignot, Essai sur Parchemin,
pp. 70, 100, notes. Chevillier, L'Origine de l'Imprimerie de Paris, pt. i, ch. i, p. 16.
Paris, 1694, 4to.  t Dibdin's Biblioth. Spencer., tom. i, p. 16, note.
I




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                    481
two volumes folio, which is the first German Bible with a date;
but the priority must be allowed to an edition without date, place,
or printer's name, of which a copy is in Lord Spencer's library.
There is also a copy of the latter in the electoral library at Munich, with two MS. observations, the one of the date of 1467,
being that of the illuminator, at the end of the prophet Jeremiah;
the other is at the end of the Apocalypse, and contains a notice of
the genealogical respectability of one Hector Mulich, and a memorandum to this effect: " 1466, 27th of June, this book was
bought unbound for twelve guilders." Hector Mulich received a
patent of nobility from the emperor Ferdinand that same year.
The author of this translation is unknown; and Walchius remarks,
that " there were several ancient versions all made from the Latin,
but so obscure and barbarous as to be almost unintelligible."*
In the same year (1462) Mentz was taken by storm, by Adolphus, count of Nassau. In the confusion that followed, Fust and
Schoeffer suffered materially, in common with their fellow-citizens; and being obliged to suspend their typographical labours
till tranquillity was restored, their workmen dispersed themselves,
and established printing in several other parts of Europe. The
death of Fust happened at Paris, in 1466; after which Schoeffer
carried on the business alone till his decease, in 1502 or 1503.
He left three sons, printers, the elder of whom succeeded to his
father's business, and exercised his art till 1533. During the period
that Schoeffer conducted the business alone, he published an edition of the Latin Bible, and two editions of the Latin Psalter.
The Bible was printed in 1471, two volumes folio, and the Psalter
in 1490 and 1502, folio.t Many editions of the Latin Bible were,
about the same period, executed by other printers in different
places, most or all of whom had learned the art from the original
inventors; and so indefatigable were these early printers, that
nearly one hundred editions of the Latin Bible were printed before
the end of the fifteenth century, sixteen of which were accompanied
with the Postilla or Commentary of De Lyra. Besides these,
there were upward of thirty editions of the Latin Psalter, many of
them with commentaries; three editions of the Latin New Testament, with Lyra's Notes; and several editions of the Prophets,
the Gospels, or other parts of the sacred volume.t
* Walchii Biblioth. Theologica, tom. iv, cap. viii, p. 77. Inewe, 1765, 8vo. Dibdin's
Biblioth. Spencer., tom. i, pp. 42, 46.
t Horne's Introduction to Bibliography, vol. ii, App., No. vii.
t See Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, edit. Masch, pt. ii, tom. iii, cap. ii, passim.
VOL. I.-31




482                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
One of the most extensive and eminent printers of this century
was ANTONY KOBURGER, or COBUftGER. His office was at Nurernberg, where he died in 1513. He was styled the prince of
booksellers and printers, and is said to have employed twenty-four
presses and one hundred men, besides furnishing work for the
printers of Basil, or Basle, Lyons, and other places. He had
warehouses at Nuremberg, Paris, and Lyons. Almost all his
books relate to the canon law and to theology, and are distinguished
for the lustre and magnificence of their execution. Of thirty-seven
editions printed by him, thirteen are of the Bible, namely, twelve
in Latin and one in German, all in folio. Most of the Latin editions were accompanied with the Postills of De Lyra. But his
most superb work was the edition of the German Bible, which ihe
printed in 1483, folio. This is said to be the first German Bible
printed at Nuremberg; and is pronounced by Lichtenberger to be
the most splendid of all the ancient German Bibles. It is embellished with impressions from the very curious wood-cuts which
had been previously used for the Cologne edition of the Bible,
printed by Quentel, in 1480, and which were also employed in the
Bible printed at Halberstadt, in the Low Saxon dialect, in 1522:
and it is worthy of remark, that in one of the large wood-cuts employed by Koburger, the pope is introduced as being among the
principal of the fallen angels! The paper, characters, press-work,
-all concur to prove this Bible a master-piece of typographical
excellence.*
GUNTHER ZAINER IS considered as having introduced printing
into Augsburg; unless that honour should be conceded to John
Bemler, who is supposed to have been the printer of a Latin Bible
in two volumes folio, in 1466. From  De Murr we learn, that in
an old book of entries of'benefactors to the Carthusian monastery
at Buxheim, there is one of the date of 1474, in which the name
of " dns Gunther" imrp-sor ciuis auguste" occurs, as the printer and
donor of certain works, and among others of "the BIBLE IN THE
VULGAR TONGUE, [German,] in super-royal form."  Another entry
informs us of the death of Gunther Zainer in 1478-" impressor
librorum, ciuis Augustensis benefactor huius domus," " printer of
books, citizen of Augsburg, benefactor to this house."t
CONRAD SWEYNHEIM, and ARNOLD PANNARTZ, two Germans,
introduced the art of printing into Rome, in the year 1466, in the
e Horne's Introduction to Bibliography, vol. ii, App., No. vii, vol. iii, p. Ix. Dibdin's Bibliographical Decameron, vol. i, p. 163.
t Dibdin's Biblioth. Spencer., tom. i, p. 50.
1                          31*




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                  483
second year of the pontificate of Paul II., under the patronage of
John Andreas, bishop of Aleria, who was the pope's librarian, and
justly famed for his learning and generosity. They had previously
exercised the art in the monastery of Subbiaco, in the kingdom of
Naples, to which they had been invited by the monks; and where
they had printed, in 1465, an edition of Lactantius's works, in
which the quotations from the Greek authors are printed in a neat
but heavy Greek letter, of which a specimen is given in Horne's
" Introduction to the Study of Bibliography," vol. i, p. 245. They
also were the first to introduce what has since been called the
Roman character, instead of the Gothic, or black letter. The paper and types made use of by these printers were both excellent,
and their ink, it is observed, "may vie in blackness with the best
of the present day." They were encouraged by all the men of letters and fortune at Rome, and even by the pope himself, who
frequently visited their printing-house, and examined, with admiration, every branch of this new art. The bishop of Aleria, espe
cially, not only furnished them with the most valuable MSS. out
of the Vatican and other libraries, but also prepared the copy,
corrected their proofs, and prefixed dedications and prefaces to
their works, in order to recommend them the more to the learned
world, and followed this laborious task with such application, that
he scarcely allowed himself time for necessary relaxation. These
printers settled in the house of the Maximis, brothers, and Roman
knights, from whence their works are dated. In 1471 they published a Latin Bible in two volumes folio, with an Epistle of the
bishop of Aleria to Pope Paul III., Aristeas's History of the Septuagint, and Jerome's Prefaces to the different books of the Old
and New Testaments. As this edition varies in several places
from former editions, it is probable the bishop of Aleria furnished
the printers with a more correct MS. copy from the library of the
pope, or from some other source, or at least corrected the Mentz
edition by such MS. Of this edition they printed five hundred
and fifty copies. In the same year they commenced an edition of
the Postills of De Lyra, in five volumes folio, which they completed the following year. This ponderous work seems to have
ruined these indefatigable artists, for in a Latin petition of the
printers to the pope, Sixtus IV., written by the bishop of Aleria,
and prefixed to the fifth volume of De Lyra's Postills, or Commentary, they state themselves to be reduced to poverty by the
pressure of the times, and the vast expense of the works they had
printed, of which great numbers remained unsold. In the course
1




484                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
of seven years they had published twenty-eight different works,
some of them very large; the impressions of which amounted to
twelve thousand four hundred and seventy-five volumes-an imnmense number at that period! It is evident, however, that some
method must have been taken to extricate them from their distress;
for although Sweynheim published nothing after the year 1473,
and for that reason is supposed by some to have died about that
time, yet his partner, Pannartz, continued printing until about
1476, using a smaller type than what had been used by him during
the former partnership. An extract from the Latin petition of the
printers to the pope is given, with a list of their works, in Beloe's
"Anecdotes of Literature and scarce Books," vol. iii, p. 266.
There is also a short extract from it in Le Long's Bibliotheca
Sacra.*
ULRIC GERING, a German, and a native of Constance, with
MARTIN CRANTZ and MICHAEL FRIBURGER, his associates, commenced printing at Paris in 1470; and in 1476, or, according to
Chevillier, in 1475, printed a Latin Bible, in two volumes folio.
This celebrated edition attracted much curiosity and discussion,
about the middle of the last century, in consequence of a fraud
practised upon a copy of it, now in the public library at Cam
bridge. By an alteration and erasure in the colophon, it is ascribed
to the year 1463 or 1464; the words tribus undecimus lustris, in
the first line, referring to the reign of Louis XI., being altered
into semi undecimus lustrum, and the two last lines being erased.
A full account of the detection of this fraud, which for many years
engaged the attention of bibliographers, may be found in two letters written by Dr. Taylor, preserved in Nichols's " Literary Anecdotes," vol. i, pp. 542-548.
Chevillier observes, that " this was the first time the Holy Bible
had been printed at Paris, or in the whole kingdom of France."t
ALBERT PFISTER, of Bamberg, appears to have been the first
printer in Germany who introduced wood-cuts into his publications,
in order to illustrate the sacred text, but of a character and execution inferior to the Block-books, or Books of Images, executed in
the Low Countries. The Histories of Joseph, Daniel, Judith,
and Esther, printed by Pfister, in 1462, in the German language,
* Lemoine's Typographical Antiquities, pp. 21-23. Le Long, edit. Masch, pt. ii,
torn. iii, cap. ii, sec. 1, p. 103, and sec. 3, p. 360.
t Chevillier, L'Origine de l'Imprimerie de Paris, p. 74. Nichols's Lit.. Anec.
Eighteenth Century, vol. i, pp. 542, 548, No. vi. Greswell's Annals of Parisian
Typography, p. 5. London, 1818, 8vo.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                  485
is said to be " the earliest printed book containing text and engravings illustrative of Scriptural subjects;" and it is probable that
this partial impression of the sacred text, thus decorated, gave the
idea of publishing the entire text of the Bible, with similar embellishments, and in the same language, at Augsburg, about the year
1473, and a similar one by Fyner, of Eslingen, between the years
1474 and 1477: a practice frequently adopted afterward, both in
the editions of the German and other vernacular translations, and
in various editions of the Latin Bible. He is also supposed to
have published a Bible about A. D. 1460, described in the Bibliotheca Spenceriana, tom. i, p. 7.*
Besides being established in many other places on the continent,
in addition to those already noticed, printing was, about the same
period, introduced into England, by WILLIAM CAXTON, a merchant
of London, who, after residing many years abroad, was appointed
in 1464, by Edward IV., as his ambassador (in conjunction with
Richard Whetenhall) to negotiate a treaty of commerce with the
duke of Burgundy, Edward's brother-in-law. During his residence
in these countries he acquired the knowledge of printing; and became acquainted with Raoul Le Fevre, chaplain to the duke,
whose " Le Recuteil des Histoires de Troyes" he began to translate in 1468, and afterward published his English version in 1471,
at the request of his patroness Margaret, dutchess of Burgundy.
The original of this work was the first book Caxton printed, A. D.
1464-7. Of the exact period when lie returned to England, and
introduced the art of printing into the metropolis, we have no correct information. Thus much, however, is certain, that, previously
to the year 1477, he had quitted the Low Countries, where he had
principally resided, and was living in the vicinity of Westminster
Abbey. To the erection of Caxton's press near one of the chapels
attached to the aisles of the abbey is to be attributed the technical
application of the term chapel to the internal regulations of a
printing office:"Each printer hence, howe'er unbless'd his walls,
E'en to this day his house a chapel calls."
Nor is it improbable that his printing office might supersede the
use of the Scriptorium of the abbey.
The first specimen of English typography is generally allowed
to have been the "Game of Chess," in 1474; but Mr. Dibdin
suspects that work to have been printed abroad, and thinks it more
* Dibdin's Bibliographical Decameron, vol. i, pp. 160, 373.
1




486                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
probable that the " Romance of Jason" was the earliest production
of his press after its establishment in the abbey. The last work
which he printed was his edition of the Vitas Patrum, or " Lives
of the Fathers," in 1495. By the colophon it appears that these
Lives were translated by him out of French into English, and that
"he finished them at the last day of his life." He might have
chosen this work as his final literary effort, observes one of his
biographers, from a consideration that, "from the examples of
quiet and solemn retirement therein set forth, it might further serve
to wean his mind from all worldly attachments, exalt it above the
solicitudes of this life, and inure him to that repose and tranquillity
with which he seems to have designed it."* It is, however, to be
regretted, that while most of the continental printers published one
or more editions of the Latin Bible, or of some vernacular version,
Caxton printed no part of the sacred volume; for which the best,
and perhaps the only true apology is, the danger that would have
attended such an attempt.t
Caxton, though the earliest, was not the only printer in England
during the period in which he flourished.  John Lettou, William
de Machlinia, Wynkyn de Worde, and others, printed in WMestminster and London, both before and after his decease; as did
several also at Oxford, Cambridge, and St. Albans.
In glancing at the rapid extension of the invaluable art of printing, it ought not to be forgotten, that Jews, as well as Christians,
became at an early period convinced of its importance, and engaged
in it with ardour. The Psalms in Hebrew, with the Commentary
of Kimchi, were printed in 1477, in 4to., by Joseph and his son
Chaim  Mordecai, and Hezekiah Monro, who printed three hundred copies of them.  The Pentateuch, with the Targumn and the
Commentary of R. Jarchi, was printed at Bologne in Italy, in 1482,
fol. Ruth, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and Lamentations,
with the Commentary of Jarchi; and Esther with the Commentary
of R. Abenezra, were printed also at Bologne, in fol., in the same
year. The former and latter Prophets were first printed in Hebrew, at Soncino, in 1486, fol., with the Commentary of R. Kimchi.
The Hagiographa were printed at Naples, 1487, in small fol.,
accompanied with several Rabbinical Commentaries. The first
edition of the whole of the Hebrew Bible was executed by Abra* Dibdin's Typographical Antiquities, vol. i. Life of Caxton, and Account oj
Books printed by W. Caxton, passimn. Horne's Introduction to Bibliography, vol. i,
pp. 187-192.
t See the quotation from More's Dyaloges, p. 440 of this volume.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                    487
ham ben Chaim, at Soncino, in 1488, fol., with points. An edition,
in octavo, was printed at Brescia, in 1494, by Gerson Moses ben
Moses Menzeln.  This latter edition is the one made use of by
Luther, in his German translation; and his own copy of it is
still preserved in the royal library at Berlin.  Besides these,
there were published at Soncino, in 1494, a folio and a quarto
edition, without points, and an octavo one, with small types and
points.*
In the early stages of typography, the name of the printer, his
place of residence, and the date of his performance, were generally inserted at the end of each book, and not unfrequently accompanied by some pious doxology or ejaculation, in prose, or verse.
From the invention of the art, to the year 1480, or even 1485,
printed books were, generally speaking, without title-pages; and
when first introduced, a simple line, or a line and a half, or at most
three or four lines, toward the top of the page, constituted the
whole of the decoration, till about 1490, when ornamental titlepages came into use, the most common of which was the representation of the author or writer at his desk; but subsequently, other
devices were invented, some of them of the character of vignettes,
others displaying the monogram, &c., of the printer.  The leaves
were without running title, direction word, number of pages, or
divisions into paragraphs. The words were not divided at the ends
of lines by hyphens, but in order to compress as much as possible
within a given compass, the printers made use of vowels with a
mark of abbreviation, as for instance, dno for domino; c' for cum;
quib' for quibus; argdloq; for a-rgentoque, &c.  The vowels and
consonants u and v, i andj, are confounded together, and used one
for the other; the diphthongs az and ce were generally supplied by
the simple e: c was often used for t, as nacio for natio; f for ph,
as fantasma for phantasma; mihi was sometimes spelled michi;
somnum, sompnum;  quotidiana, cotidiana; the  orthography
was consequently various, and often arbitrary.  Capital letters
were not used to begin a sentence, or for proper names of men, or
places: blank spaces were left for the places of titles, initial letters, and other ornaments, to be supplied by the ingenious hand of
the illuminator. The points by which they distinguished their
sentences, were the colon, and period, and an oblique stroke (/I)
* Kennicott, Dissertatio Generalis, sec. 59. Cod. 255-260, pp. 25, 91, 92. Le
Long, edit. Masch, pt. i, cap. i, sec. 2, pp. 141, 142; and sec. 1, pp. 5, 7. De Rossi,
De ignotis antiquiss. editionibus, cap. i, p. 3. Erlang, 1782, 4to. Whitaker's Hist.
and Crit. Enquiry, p. 22.
1




488                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
for the comma. The character first used was a rude old Gothic
mixed with Secretary, designed to imitate the hand-writing of those
times; afterward the Roman was adopted by Sweynheim and
Pannartz; and in 1502 the Italic was invented by Aldus. Ed.
Rowe Mores, in his "Dissertation upon English Trypographical
Founders and Founderies," adds, that " metal characters were first
used for the Greek by the monks of Subiaco," (Sweynheim and
Pannartz,) " in 1465; for the Arabic, by Porrus of Genoa, in 1516;
for the zEthiopic, by Potken, in 1513; and that the Congregation
at Rome for the Propagation of the Faith in the year 1636 had, besides those we have just now mentioned, types for the Samaritan,
for the Syriac, both Fshito and Estrangelo, for the Coptic, for the
Armenian, for the Rabbinic Hebrew, and for the Heraclean, or
ancient language of the Chaldees."*
The first printers executed their different works at their own
expense, and sold them themselves, or by their agents, at their
own risk. It was therefore necessary to employ large capitals;
paper and other materials, as well as labour, being exceedingly
dear, and the purchasers being but few; partly from the high prices
of the books themselves, and partly from the illiteracy which so
generally prevailed. These causes reduced many of the early
printers to poverty; until the printers relieved themselves by confining their attention solely to printing, and leaving the bookselling
part of the business to others.  This created a distinct profession
of booksellers, who frequently caused the books sold to be printed
at their own expense, and thus also became publishers. Sometimes rich people of all conditions, and particularly eminent merchants, engaged in this branch of the profession, and employed the
printers to print the manuscripts which they had purchased from
the authors, or possessors.  Thus the learned Henry Stephen, at
Paris, was printer to Ulric Fugger, at Augsburg, from whom he
received a salary for printing the many manuscripts which he purchased. In some editions, from the year 1558 to 1567, he subscribes himself Henricus Stephanuts, illustris viri Hulderici Fuggeri typographus. In like manner, in the beginning of the seventeenth century, a society of learned and rich citizens of Augsburg,
at the head of whom was Marx Welser, the city steward, printed
a great number of books, which had commonly at the end these
words, Ad insigne pinus.  In Germany, this branch of trade was
* Horne's Introduction to Bibliography, vol. i, ch. ii, sec. 7. Rowe Mores' Dissert.
upon English Typographical Founders, p. 12. Lond., 1778. Dibdin's Bibliographical
Decameron, vol. ii, pp. 297-316.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                    489
at first established chiefly at Frankfort on the Mayn; and afterward at Leipsic, where, at the time of the fairs, several large booksellers' shops were opened for the disposal of their literary wares.
These marts are still continued; and to them we owe the origin
of the sale catalogues of booksellers, the earliest of which was
printed at Frankfort, in 1554.*
The multiplication of books, and the consequent diffusion of
knowledge, by the invention of printing, soon met with violent
opposition from the transcribers and illuminators, of whom there
were in Paris and Orleans only, upward of ten thousand; who,
perceiving that the newly discovered art was likely to supersede
their respective employments, attempted to suppress it by calling
in the aid of the civil authorities.  When printing therefore was
first established at Paris, the copyists presented a memorial of
complaint to the parliament, which caused their books to be seized
and confiscated.  Louis XI., who, with all his bad qualities, was
the friend and patron of letters, prohibited the parliament from taking any further cognizance of the affair, and restored their property
to the printers.t But a much more formidable obstacle was presented to the general spread of literature, by the restrictions
imposed upon the authors and venders of books, by the ecclesiastical and civil powers. So early as the time of our King Henry II.,
nearly two centuries prior to the invention of printing, the manner
of publishing the works of their authors, was to have them read
over for three days successively before the university, or other
judges appointed by the public; and if they met with approbation,
copies of them were permitted to be taken, which were usually
done by monks, scribes, illuminators, and readers, brought or
trained up to that purpose for their maintenance;-a method
adopted, probably, by every other university in Europe, at that period.  In the year 1272 the university of Paris instituted a plan,
not only for approving books, but for determining the price of
them; and in the year 1323 appointed four officers, called Taxatores Librorum, to regulate the price of all manuscript books.
Chevillier tells us, that the greater part of the MSS. bequeathed
to the library of the Sorbonne, shortly after it was founded, have a
price marked upon each of themn; and that from  a catalogue made
of them in the year 1292, this library contained more than a thousand priced volumes, which, from the sum total specified at the
* Beckmann's Hist. of Inventions, vol. iii, pp. 118-120.
t Horne's Introduction to Bibliography, vol. i, p. 164, note. Dibdin's Bibliographical Decameron, vol. i, p. cxxvii.
1




490                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
end of the inventory, amounted in the whole to ~3892 10s. 8d.!
A similar practice afterward obtained in the universities of our own
country; and it may be worthy of remark, that the act of the
twenty-fifth of Henry VIII., ch. xv, sec. 4, granting to the lord
chancellor, the lord treasurer, and the two chief justices, the power
of regulating the prices of books, when too exorbitant, was not
repealed till the twelfth of George II. The prices affixed to books
by the " taxatores," or other officers, were, after the invention of
printing, frequently expressed in the colophon of the respective
works.  Chevillier, in his "Origine de l'Imprimerie de Paris,"
pp. 368-375, has given a variety of colophons respecting the sums
at which printers professed to sell their publications; thus Colinaeus was obliged to sell his Greek Testament for a sum not exceeding twelve sous; and a Hebrew Psalter of Robert Stephens
was priced at seven sous. In England, the price affixed by the
king's authority to the New Testament with notes, printed by
Richard Jugg, in 1553, quarto, was twenty-two pence per copy,
in sheets.*
Soon after the discovery of printing, laws were made for subjecting books to examination; and the establishment of bookcensors and licensers of the press was strenuously supported by
the Romish clergy, who feared the circulation of publications inimical to their religious views, or their ecclesiastical domination.
The earliest instance of a book printed with a permission from
government is commonly supposed to occur in the year 1480; but
Professor Beckmann mentions two books printed alnost a year
sooner than 1479, with the approbation of the public censor. The
first is, WIilhelzmi episcopi Lugddunensis Strnmma de Virtutibus: the
other is a BIBLE, with the following conclusion: "In the year of
the incarnation of our Lord 1479, on the vigil of Matthew the
apostle; when this notable work, of the Old and New Testament, with the canons of the Gospels, and their harmonies, to
the praise and glory of the holy and undivided Trinity, and the
immaculate Virgin Mary, was printed in the city of Cologne, by
Conrad de Homborch; allowed and approved by the university
of Cologne."t
The oldest mandate for appointing a book-censor, with which
we are acquainted, is that issued by Berthold, archbishop of Mentz,
in the year 1486, which the curious reader will not be displeased
to see at full length, with the instructions given to the censors:* Dibdin's Typographical Antiquities, vol. i, pp. 8-11, note.
t Beckmann's History of Inventions, vol. iii, pp. 105, 107.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                     491
Penal Mandate, forbidding the translation into the vulgar tongue,
4-c., of Greek, Latin, and other books, without the previous approbation of the doctors, 4-c.
" BERTHOLD, by the grace of God, archbishop of the holy see
of Mentz, arch-chancellor of Germany, and electoral prince of the
holy Roman empire."
"ALTHOUGH, by a certain divine art of printing, abundant and
easy access is obtained to books on every science necessary to the
attainment of human learning; yet we have perceived that certain
men, led by the desire of vain glory, or money, do abuse this art;
and that what was given for the instruction of human life is perverted to purposes of mischief and calumny.  For, to the dishonouring of religion, we have seen in the hands of the vulgar certain
books of the divine offices, and writings* of our religion, translated
from  the Latin into the German tongue.  And what shall we say
of the sacred laws and canons, which, though they have been
written in the most suitable and careful manner by men acquainted
with law, and endowed with the greatest skill and eloquence, yet
the science itself is so intricate, that the utmost extent of the life
of the wisest and most eloquent man is scarcely equal to it? Some
volumes on this subject certain rash and unlearned simpletons
have dared to translate into the vulgar tongue, whose translation,
many persons who have seen it, and those, too, learned men, have
declared to be unintelligible, in consequence of the very great misapplication and abuse of words.  Or what is to be said of works
on the other sciences, with which they sometimes even intermingle
things that are false; and which, in order the more readily to find
purchasers for them, they inscribe with false titles, and attribute to
notable authors what are merely their own productions?"
"Let such translators, whether they do this with a good or with
a bad intention, let them, if they pay any regard to truth, say
whether the German tongue be capable of expressing that which
excellent writers, both Greek and Latin, have most accurately and
argumentatively written on the sublime speculations of the Christian religion, and on the knowledge of things. They must acknowledge that the poverty of our idiom renders it insufficient; and that
* It is probable that by the terms " libros de divinis officiis et apicibus religionis
nostre," the archbishop referred to the vernacular translations, not only of the servicebooks of the Romish Church, called the divine offices, but also of the Holy Scriptures;
the word apices being generally used, in the middle ages, for writings, epistles, &c.
See Du Cange, sub voce.
1.




492                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
it will be necessary for them to invent, from their own minds, new
terms for things; or that, supposing them to make use only of the
old ones, they must corrupt the sense of the truth, which, from the
greatness of the danger attendant upon it, in the sacred writings,
we greatly dread; for who would leave it to ignorant and unlearned
men, and to the female sex, into whose hands copies of the Holy
Scriptures may have fallen, to find out the true meaning of them?
For instance, let the text of the Holy Gospels, or of St. Paul's
Epistles, be examined, and no one of any knowledge will deny
that there is a necessity for many things to be supplied, or understood, from other writings."
" These things have occurred to our minds, because they are
the most common. But, what shall we think of those which are
pending in very sharp disputes among writers in the Catholic
Church? Many other instances might be brought forward, but it
is sufficient for our purpose to have named a few."
"But, since the beginning of this art arose divinely (to give it
its proper appellation) in this our golden city of Mentz, and continues in it to this day in its most improved and perfect state, it is
with the greatest justice that we defend the glory of the art, and it
becomes our duty to preserve the unspotted purity of the divine
writings.  Wherefore, with a view of meeting and restraining, as
with a bridle, the aforesaid errors, arnd the daring attempts of
shameless or wicked men, as far as we are able by the will of
God, whose cause is in question; —we do, by strictly charging the
observance of these presents, command all and every the ecclesiastical and secular persons subject to our jurisdiction, or transacting business within its limits, of whatever degree, order, profession, dignity, or condition they may be, that they translate no
works on any science, art, or knowledge whatsoever, from  the
Greek, Latin, or other language, into the vulgar German; nor,
when translated, either dispose of, or obtain copies, publicly or
privately, directly or indirectly, by any kind of barter, unless before their impression they shall have been admitted, by patent, to
be sold, by the most noble and honourable our beloved doctors and
masters of the university in our city of Mentz, John Bertram de
Nuremberg, in theology; Alexander Diethrich, in law; Theodoric
de Meschede, in medicine; and Alexander Eler, in arts;-the
loctors and masters deputed for this putrpose in the university of
our city of Erfurt; or if in the town of Frankfort, the books exposed for sale shall have been seen and approved of by an honourable, devout, and beloved master in thleology, belonging to the
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                  493
place, and one or two doctors and licentiates, annually paid for
that purpose by the governor of the said town. And whoever
shall treat with contempt this our provision, or shall lend his
counsel, assistance, or favour, in any way, directly or indirectly,
in opposition to this our mandate, let him know that he has by so
doing incurred the sentence of excommunication; and, besides the
loss of the books exposed for sale, a penalty of one hundred florins
of gold, to be paid into our treasury; from which sentence none
may absolve him without special authority."
" Given at the chancery of St. Martin, in our city of Mentz, under
our seal, on the fourth day of the month January, M C CCC LXXXVI."
The following are the instructions issued to the censors, and
accompanying the above mandate:" BERTHOLD, &C., to the honourable, most learned, and beloved
in Christ, Jo. BERTRAM, doctor in theology; AL. DIETIRICH, doctor in law; TH. DE MESCHEDE, doctor in medicine; and AL. ELER,
master of arts; —health, and attention to the things underwritten."
" Having found out several scandals and frauds, committed by
certain translators of literary works and printers of books, and
wishing to counteract them, and according to our power to block
up their way, we command that no one in our diocess, or under
our jurisdiction, translate any books into the German tongue, or
print, or sell them when printed, unless, in our city of Mentz, such
works or books have first, according to the form of the mandate
above published, been by you seen, and as to their matter approved
of, both for translation and for sale."
" We do, therefore, by the tenor of these presents, (having great
confidence in your prudence and circumspection,) charge you, that
if at any time, any works, or books, intended to be translated,
printed, or sold, be brought to you, you shall weigh their matter,
and, if they cannot be easily translated according to the true sense,
but would rather beget errors and offences, or be injurious to modesty, you shall reject them; and whatever books you shall judge
worthy to be allowed, two of you, at least, shall sign them, at the
end, with your own hand, in order that it may more readily appear
what books have been seen and allowed by you. In so doing you
will perform an office pleasing to our God, and useful to the state."
"Given at the chancery of St. Martin, under our privy seal, the
10th of January, MCCCCLXXXVI."7*
* See Beckmann's Hist. of Inventions, vol. iii, pp. 108-113, for the Latin; wherb
also reference is given to Guden's Codex Diplomaticus, tom. vi.
1




494                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
In the year 1501 the infamous pope Alexander VI. published a
bull relative to the censure of books, which forms an excellent
companion to the above mandate of the archbishop of Mentz. After
lamenting that Satan sows tares among the wheat of Christ's
church, the papal pontiff proceeds thus: " Having been informed
that, by means of the said art, [of printing,] many books and treatises, containing various errors and pernicious doctrines, even hostile to the holy Christian religion, have been printed, and are still
printed, in various parts of the world, particularly in the provinces
of Cologne, Mentz, Triers, and Magdeburg; and being desirous,
without further delay, to put a stop to this detestable evil;-we,
by these presents, and by the authority of the apostolic chamber,
strictly forbid all printers, their servants, and those exercising the
art of printing under them, in any manner whatsoever, in the above
said provinces, under pain of excommunication, and a pecuniary
fine, to be imposed and exacted by our venerable brethren, the
archbishops of Cologne, Mentz, Triers, and Magdeburg, and their
vicars general, or official in spirituals, according to the pleasure of
each, in his own province, to print hereafter any books, treatises,
or writings, until they have consulted on this subject the archbishops, vicars, or officials, above mentioned, and obtained their
special and express license, to be granted free of all expense;
whose consciences we charge, that before they grant any license
of this kind, they will carefully examine, or cause to be examined,
by able and Catholic persons, the works to be printed; and that
they will take the utmost care that nothing may be printed wicked
and scandalous, or contrary to the orthodox faith."  The rest of
the bull contains regulations to prevent works already printed from
doing mischief.  All catalogues, and books printed before that
period, are ordered to be examined, and those that contain any
thing prejudicial to the Catholic religion to be burnt.*
In the tenth session of the council of Lateran, held under Leo X.
in 1515, it was decreed, under pain of excommunication, that for
the future no book should be printed at Rome, nor in the other
cities and diocesses; unless, if at Rome, it had been examined by
the " vicar of his holiness," and the "master of the palace;" or,
if elsewhere, by the bishop of the diocess, or a doctor appointed by
him, and had received the signature of approbation.t  Philip II.,
* Beckmann's Hist. of Inventions, vol. iii, pp. 106-108. See also, for the original
bull, Raynaldi Annales Ecclesiastici ab anno quo desinit Baronius, tom. xix, p. 514.
Colon. Agrip., 1691, fol.
t Dictionnaire Portatif des Conciles, p. 280. Paris, 1764, 8vo.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                    495
king of Spain, is said to have had a catalogue printed of books
prohibited by the Spanish Inquisition; and Paul IV., the following
year, 1559, ordered the holy office at Rome to publish a similar
catalogue; and Peignot (Live'es conzdarlnes, tom. i, p. 256) mentions one printed at Venice as early as 1543.*  But this inquisitorial practice assumed its most formidable form in the council of
Trent.  "And first," says Dr. James, "the council appointed certain learned men, of all nations and countries there assembled, to
gather such a Catalogue, or Index, together, as might contain all
such books as were justly to be forbidden, whether written by or
against them. This work, thus wisely thought upon, was diligently performed, and the Index made and presented unto the
council; who referred all matters back again unto the pope's holiness, which then was Pius IV.; who, by hiis briefs and bulls,
caused the same Index, together with certain rules, first by him
approved and ratified, to be published abroad, and sent into all
countries. This bull beareth date the 24th of March, 1564, in the
fifth year of his popedom. But (it seemeth) that books increasing,
and with books certain disorders that could not be prevented; in
the end, Pope Sixtus, the fifth of that name, revising both Index
and rules, with advice of the best divines, added very much thereunto, both in regard of the rules and of the books: and more he
would have done, but that he was untimely prevented by death.
Which being wisely perceived by Clement VIII., (a pope no less
happy for ending and perfecting than the other was for intending
and purposing great matters,) he resumes the Index, and appoints
seven or eight of the gravest cardinals, besides other learned men,
to oversee both it and whatsoever did belong thereunto: and in
the end, for the better speed and more prosperous success of the
sacred inquisition, appointed for the care and office of both prohibiting and purging books, he approves the Index thus revised, and
confirms the privileges formerly granted, first by Plus V. unto the
master of the sacred palace, and then by Gregory XIII. and Sixtus
V. unto the cardinals of the congregation, for the better enabling
of them, unto the performance of this so necessary and weighty
a business, which doth so nearly concern the safety of their church
and commonwealth.5't The same learned librarian of the Bodleian
further informs us, speaking of his own times, "In the Vatican
library there are certain men maintained only to transcribe acts of
* Curiosities of Literature, vol. iii, p. 181. Lond., 1817, 8vo.
t James's Treatise on the Corruption of Scripture, &c.,?art iv, pp. 10, 11. Lond.,
1611, 4to.
1




496                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
the councils, or copies of the works of the fathers. These men,"
he adds, "appointed for this business, do, as I am  credibly informed, in transcribing books, imitate the letter of the ancient
copies, as near as can be expressed. And it is to be feared that,
in copying out of books, they do add and take away, alter and
change the words, according to the pleasure of their lord, the
pope: and so these transcripts may, within a few years, by reason
of their counterfeiting the ancient hands, be avouched for very old
MSS., deluding the world with a show of antiquity."  In the
second part of his Treatise on the Corruption of Scripture, Councils, and Fathers, Dr. James exemplifies the charges brought
against the Church of Rome for corrupting the ancient writings,
both sacred and ecclesiastical.
In Rome, the compilers of the Catalogues, or Indexes, of prohibited books, are still continued, and called the Congregation of the
Index. The works noticed in the Indexes are divided into three
classes, the first containing a list of condemned authors, the whole
of whose writings are forbidden, except by express permission;
the second enumerating works which are prohibited, till they have
been purged of what the inquisitors deem erroneous; the third
comprehending those anonymous publications which are either
partially, or totally forbidden. The manner in which the Romish
literary inquisitors formerly decided upon the works presented to
them, was sometimes criminally careless, and the results suffi
ciently curious.  Gregory Capuchin, a Neapolitan censor, informs
us, that his practice was to burn such Bibles as were defective in
the text; and that his mode of ascertaining the accuracy or inaccuracy of the Latin Bibles was, to examine the third chapter of Genesis, and "if I find," says he, "the words,'in sudore vultus tui,
vesceris pane tuo,' instead of'in sudore vultus tui, vesceris
pane donec,' (thus adding the word tuo,) I direct such copies
not to be corrected, but to be committed to the flames." As
the "Indexes" were formed in different countries, the opinions
were sometimes diametrically opposite to each other, and what one
censor, or inquisitor, allowed, another condemned; and even in
some instances the censor of one country has his own works condemned in another.  Thus the learned Arias Montanus, who was
a chief inquisitor in the Netherlands, and concerned in the compilation of the Antwerp Index, had his own works placed in the Index of Rome; while the inquisitor of Naples was so displeased
* James's Treatise on the Corruption of Scripture, &c., Appendix to Advertisement, &c.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                    497
with the Index of Spain, as to persist in asserting, that it had
never been printed at Madrid.  This difference in judgment produced a doubtful and uncertain method of censure, and it became
necessary for the inquisitors to subscribe their names to the Indexes,
in the following manner: " I, N.-inquisitor for such a diocess,
do say, that this present book, thus by me corrected, may be tolerated and read, until such time as it shall be thought worthy of
some further correction."  But these Prohibitory and Expurgatory
Indexes were reserved only for the inquisitors, and when printed,
delivered only into their hands, or those of their most trusty associates. Philip II. in his letters patent, for the printing of the first
Spanish Index, acknowledges, that it was printed by the king's
printer, and at his own expense, not for the public, but solely for
the inquisitors, and certain ecclesiastics, who were not to be permitted to communicate the contents of it, or give a copy of it to any
one. And Sandoval, archbishop of Toledo, in the edition of 1619,
prohibits, under pain of the greater excommunication, any one to
print the Index, or cause it to be printed; or when printed, to
send it out of the kingdom, without a special license.  So difficult,
indeed, were they to be obtained, that it is said the Spanish and
Portuguese Indexes were never known till the English took Cadiz;
and the Index of Antwerp was accidentally discovered by Junius,
who afterward reprinted it.*
Even after the Reformation, a regular establishment of licensers of the press appeared in England, under Charles I., procured
by Archbishop Laud, to prevent the introduction or publication of
any works by the Genevan party, and in particular the Geneva
Bible. The decree is dated July 1st, 1637, and marks the violence and persecuting spirit of the ruling system. It orders,
"That the master printers from thenceforth shall be reduced to a
certain number; and that if any other shall secretly or openly
pursue that trade, he shall be set in the pillory, or whipped through
the streets, and suffer such other punishment as that court (viz., the
star-chamber) shall inflict upon him; that none of the said master
printers shall from thenceforth print any book or books of divinity,
law, physic, philosophy, or poetry, till the said books, together
with the titles, epistles, prefaces, tables, or commendatory verses,
shall be lawfully licensed, either by the archbishop of Canterbury,
or the bishop of London, for the time being, or by some of their
* James's Treatise, Advertisement, &c., pt. iv, pp. 13, 14, 15, &c. Lomeier, De
Bibliothecis, pp. 382-387. Franci Disquisitio de Papistarum Indicibus lib. prohib. et
expurg., sec. 182, pp. 196, 197. Lips., 1684, 4to.
VOL. T. -32.




498                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
chaplains, or by the chancellors, or vice-chancellors of either of
the two universities, upon pain of losing the exercise of his art and
being proceeded against in the star-chamber, or the Iligh-commission court respectively; that no person or persons do hereafter
reprint, or cause to be reprinted, any book or books whatsoever,
though formerly printed with license, without being reviewed, and
a new license obtained for the reprinting thereof; that every merchant, bookseller, or other person, who shall import any printed
books from beyond the seas, shall present a true catalogue of them
to the said archbishop or bishop for the time being, before they be
delivered or exposed to sale, upon pain of suffering such punishment
as by either of the said two courts respectively shall be thought fit;
that none of the said merchants, booksellers, or others, shall, upon
pain of the like punishment, deliver any of the books so imported,
till the chaplains of the said archbishop or bishop, for the time
being, or some other learned man by them appointed, together with
the master and wardens of the Compazny of Statione'rs, or one of
themn, shall take a view  of the same, with power to seize on all
such books which they find to be schisinatical and offensive, and
bring them to the said archbishop or bishop, or to the high-commission office; and finally, that no mlerchant, bookseller, &c., shall
print, or cause to be printed beyond the seas, any book or books,
which either totally, or for the greatest part, were written in the
English tongue, whether the said books have been here formerly
printed, or not; nor shall willingly nor knowingly import any such
books into this kingdom, upon pain of being proceeded against in
either of the said two courts respectively, as before is said."*
In many instances these prohibitory mandates only served to
increase the inquiry after the works that had been forbidden, and to
give publicity to the very volumes intended to be suppressed: it
was thus that a bookseller of Paris, by giving out that the Colloquies of Erasmus were prohibited, sold above twenty-four thousand
of one impression!t
* Heylyn's Cyprianus Anglicus, pt. ii, lib. iv, p. 341. Lond., 1671, fol.
t Jortin's Life of Erasmus, vol. i, p. 274. Lond., 1808, 8vo.
1                        32*




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                   499
CHAPTER II.
FIFTEENTH  CENTURY CONTINUED.
Promotion of Literature by Pope Nicholas V.-Janotus Manetto —Italian
Version —N. de lMlalermi —D. _N. Mifirabellius-Capture of ConstantinopleSpanish Versions — Vincent Ferrer-Bonifacio Ferrer-Councils and Inquisition —Expulsion of Moors and Jews from Spain —Paul of Burgos-Jacobus
Perez-French Version-Gospel of NVicodemus-State of Literature-Bohemian, Saxon, German, Dutch, and Polish Bibles-Mammotrectus-Biblical
Scholars —Mattheo Corvini, King of Hungary-Celebrated Jews.
RESUMING the occurrences of the fifteenth century, we remark,
with peculiar satisfaction, the literary exertions of Pope Nicholas
V., and those of his secretary, Janotus AManetto, who, at a period
when literature was emerging from under the cloud by which it
had been obscured for ages, spared neither labour nor expense to
promote its rising interests among their countrymen.
THOMIAs  DA SARZANA, or, as lie is sometimes called, Tomaso
Calandrino, was the son of a poor physician of Sarzana, a town of
Italy, in the Ligurian Republic. His industry and learning were
so extraordinary, that while he ranked only in the lower order of
the clergy, he was chosen by the celebrated Cosmo de Medici to
assist himl in the arrangement of the library of St. Marco, at Florence. By rapid degrees he rose from his humble situation to the
highest preferment in the ecclesiastical state, and succeeded to the
pontifical chair in 1447, when he assumed the name of Nicholas AV.
During the eight years that he enjoyed the supreme dignity in the
church, he acquired a high reputation, not by enlarging his terri
tory or enriching his dependants, but by providing the most efficacious means for the extirpation of ignora.nce, and the acquirement
of knowledge. When the bigoted Spaniards had published laws,
in 1449, excluding all Jewish and heathen converts, and their posterity, from all offices of rank and emolument; and when the dean
of the cathedral of Toledo had publicly defended the intolerant
edicts, Nicholas, with enlightened liberality, issued a bull against
the decree, excommunicating all those who offered to exclude the
converted Jews and heathens from political or ecclesiastical offices
from the priesthood and government: and when he conceived the
first bull to be neglected, issued a second to maintain the generous
policy which he had adopted. He was equally decisive in promoting the general diffusion of science. No expense was spared in the
purchase of books; and where the originals could not be procured,
copies were directed tc be made. His transcribers were every1




500                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
where employed; and the most learned men were engaged in
translating into Latin the most valuable and useful of the Greek
fathers, and ecclesiastical writers, as well as the most elegant and
important classical authors. He caused the sacred Scriptures to
be transcribed, and richly ornamented with gold and silver. He
also offered a reward of five thousand ducats for the discovery of a
copy of the Hebrew  original of St. Matthew's Gospel; which,
though fruitless as to its first object, probably occasioned the translation of the Gospel into that language. The Vatican, or pontifical
library, which had been nearly dispersed by tile frequent change of
its possessors, and its removal from Rome to Avignon, and from
Avignon to Rome, according as the popes fixed their residence at one
or other of those cities, he enriched with five thousand MS. volumes,
procured at immense expense.  Nicholas also established public
rewards at Rome, for composition in the learned languages, appointed professors in humanity, and became the liberal patron of
learning and learned men. He allowed Francis Philelphus a
stipend, for translating Homer into Latin; and it was by means of
h)is munificent support, that Cyriac of Anconia, who may be considered as the first antiquary in Europe, was enabled to introduce
a taste for gems, medals, inscriptions, and other curious remains
of classical antiquity, which he collected with indefatigable labour
in various parts of Italy and Greece.  While this mild and munificent patron of letters was thus " sedulously employed, and marking
with satisfaction the progress of his labours, the news which
astounded Europe arrived, that the capital of the Grecian empire
was in the hands of the Turks! The melancholy event is said to
have preyed upon the gentle spirit of Nicholas, and helped to terminate his days in the spring of the year 1455."*
JANOTUS MANETTO, or, more properly, GIANOZZO MANETTI, was
by birth a Florentine. He was originally designed for a commercial life; but the strong and early bias of his mind led him to
devote himself to literary pursuits, and particularly to direct his attention to theology. " This study," he said, "as best adapted to
the condition of man, should end only with life; and he reposed in
the contemplation of the divine nature, and the moral truths of
religion! Augustine was here his favourite author, some of whose
books his memory was sufficiently retentive to repeat."
To his classical acquirements in the Latin, he added an intimate
* Berington's Literary Hist. of the Middle Ages, b. vi, p. 476. Roscoe's Life of
Lorenzo de Medici, vol. i, ch. i, pp. 56, 57. Lond., 8vo. Basnage's Hist. of the Jews,
b, vii, ch, xxi, p. 691.




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                  501
acquaintance with the Greek and Hebrew languages, and with
science in general. To render the language of the sacred records
more familiar, he took a Jew into his house, and afterward engaged
another master of the same nation, with whom he read the Holy
Scriptures in the original, and some ponderous commentators, for
five hours each day. Nor did this suffice; for we subsequently
find him covenanting with two Greeks, and a Hebrew, to live with
him, on condition that each should converse with him in his own
tongue.
His exalted moral qualities, united to his extensive learning,
raised him to the highest offices, and he was employed in several
embassies to foreign princes. But his excellences could not prevent him from becoming an object of envy; and after being subjected to heavy pecuniary fines, he quitted Florence, and resided at
Rome, where he became secretary to Pope Nicholas V., who
justly appreciated his worth, and honoured him with his confidence
and esteem. The three last years of his life were spent at the
court of Alphonsus, king of Naples, where he was principally engaged in writing, and so completely gained the friendship of Alphonsus, that he was heard to say, that, "were he reduced to a
single loaf, he would divide it with Manetti." He died at Naples,
A. D. 1459.*
His works comprise a variety of subjects, moral, historical, biographical, and oratorical, besides versions from the Hebrew and
Greek. From the Hebrew he translated the Psalms into Latin;
and the New Testament from the Greek.t
About the same time an ITALIAN version of the whole Bible was
made from the Vulgate, by Nicholas de Malermi, or Malherbi, a
Benedictine monk of Venice, of the order of Camaldoli, abbot of
St. Michael de Lemo. In his preface he informs us, " that the
reason of his undertaking his translation was the very great incorrectness of those translations which were already in the hands of
the people, and in which some things were introduced that were
not to be found in the text of the Scriptures," by which he probably refers to translations made from the French version of the work
of Peter Comestor.  He also says, "That the mutilations and
editions of those translations were such, that it became much easier
to execute a new translation, than to correct the old ones; and that
he therefore suspended every other employment to devote himself
to so important a work, which, however, he accomplished in about
* Berington, ut sup., pp. 486-488.
t Le Long, edit. Masch, pt. ii, vol. iii, cap. iii, sec. i, p. 436; and sec. ii, p. 568.
1




502                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
eight months!"  If this were actually the case, he must have engaged the assistance of others, or his translation have been a very
hasty and incompetent one; but F. Simon thinks, that after all his
professions, he merely corrected the preceding versions. He, however, informs us, that " his intention was to be serviceable to those
who had not applied themselves to learning in their youth;" adding
that " the Holy Scriptures instruct the learned in true wisdom, and
the ignorant in true religion."  The translation is accompanied by
an Epistle to Dr. Laurentius, a professor of theology, in which he
requests him to revise and correct his work, as he distrusted his
own ability, and feared lest in some difficult places he should have
mistaken the sense of the inspired writers.  The professor's reply
is subjoined, containing an eulogium on the elegance of the translation.  The translator has also inserted, in Italian, all the Prefaces which are found prefixed to most of the Latin MSS. of
Jerome's Bible.*
An edition of this Bible was printed at Venice by V. de Spira,
in 1471, in two volumes, fol., and before the close of the fifteenth
century had been several times reprinted at Venice. There was
also an edition of the Italian Bible printed at Rome, in 1471, in
fol., which has by some been supposed to be a different translation
from the former, because it varies from it in solme parts of the Old
Testament; while others suppose the variations to be nothing more
than corrections of Malermi's version.t
F. Simon affirms, that at this time, translations of the Epistles
and Gospels, vwhich are read at mass during the course of the
whole year, were common in the Italian tongue, being executed
for the instruction of the people; and supplying the place of the
interpreters mentioned by St. Paul in the First Epistle to the
Corinthians, chapter xiv.t
Among the Biblical scholars of this age who flourished in Italy,
DOIINIcus NANUS MIRABELLITS deserves to be noticed, as the
author of a Harmony of the Gospels, entitled Monotessaron
Evangeliorumn, which he accompanied with a laborious selection
from the works of Gentile philosophers, poets, and orators, of passages illustrative of the Gospels.  Among the authors quoted are,
Seneca, Ovid, the Sybilline Oracles, Hermes Trismegistus, Pythagoras, Anaxagoras, Empedocles, Zeno, Plato, Aristotle, Isocrates,
* Simon's Crit. Hist. of the Versions of the N. T., pt. ii, ch. xl, pp. 336-338.
t Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, torn. i, p. 354. Paris, 1723, fol. WTalchii Biblioth.
Theolog., tom. iv, cap. viii, p. 127.
t Simon's Crit. Hist. of Versions of N. T., pt. ii, ch. ii, p. 14.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTUItY.                   503
Homer, Terence, Virgil, Horace, Plautus, Juvenal, Persius, Cicero, Claudian, Lucan, Pliny, A. Gellius, Macrobius, Valerius
Maximus, &c.  The work, which appears never to have been
printed, is said, by Sixtus Senensis, to be preserved in the library
of the Dominicans, at Genoa. Mirabellius was arch-presbyter of
the church of Savona, and flourished about A. D. 1470.*
Two anecdotes, related by the biographer of the celebrated Lorenzo de Medici, may serve to throw light upon the literary history
of Italy at this period, a subject extensively illustrated by the elegant, but partial biographer of the Medici, in his lives of Lorenzo
and Leo X. The first relates to a MS. copy of Livy, sent by
Cosmo de Medici to Alfonso, or Alphonsus, king of Naples.  For
such was the high value set upon it by the king, that although he
had previously been at variance with Cosmo, the present conciliated the breach between them; and notwithstanding an intimation from his physician, that the book was probably poisoned, he
disregarded their suspicions, and began with pleasure the perusal
of the work. The other refers to a singular visiter at Florence, iln
1474.  This was Christian, or Christiern, king of Denmark and
Sweden, who was journeying for the purpose, as was alleged, of
discharging a vow. Having surveyed the city and paid a ceremonial visit to the magistrates, who received their royal visiter with
great splendour, he requested to be favoured with a sight of the
valuable copy of the Greek Evangelists, which had been obtained
some years before from Constantinople; and of the Pandects of
Justinian, brought from  Amnalfi to Pisa, and thence to Florence.
His laudable curiosity was readily gratified, and lie expressed his
satisfaction by declaring, " that these were the real treasures ot
princes."t It is also worthy of note, that while the Hebrew tongue
was cultivated, and several editions of the Hebrew Bible were
printed in Italy, the learned Reuchlin complained, that not a single
printed copy of the Hebrew Scriptures had passed the Alps, owing
to the war waged by the emperor Maximilian.+
The taking of Constantinople, and conquest of the Eastern empire, by the Turks, with its fatal effect on Pope Nicholas V., has
been already cursorily noticed; but this event, so tragical to the
inhabitants of the imperial city, proved ultimately so beneficial to
the interests of literature, in the West, by the retreat of the learned
* Sixt. Senens. Biblioth. Sanct., lib. iv, p. 279.
t Roscoe's Life of Lorenzo de Medici, vol. i, ch. i, p. 34; and ch. iii, p. 158. London, 1796, 4to.
t Hody, De Bib. Text. Orig., pt. ii, lib. iii, p. 449.
1




,504                BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Greeks into Italy, that it claims our particular regard.  Cardinal
Isidore, who had been constituted the titular patriarch of Constantinople, by Nicholas V., and was a witness of the horrible scene
which ensued at the capture of the city, has left a most pathetic
description of the circumstances of it, in a Latin epistle, which
may be found in the Appendix to the third volume of Dr. E. D.
Clarke's Travels, p. 383. By it we are informed, that the Turks,
under Mohammed II., on entering the city spared neither rank, nor
age, nor sex; the aged men and women were slain, the virgins were
violated even in the sanctuary itself; the nobles were degraded
into slaves; the temples of God were polluted, the images of the
Saviour, of the Virgin Mary, and of the saints, were treated with
contumely, and dashed to pieces; " the Holy Gospels, the missals,
and the rest of the books belonging to the churches, were torn to
pieces, defiled, and burnt;" the vestments, and other ornaments
of the priests, were rent, or appropriated for the clothing and ornamenting of the victors; the sacred vessels were melted down, or
turned to profane uses; in a word, the conquerors, urged by cruelty,
lust, revenge, and a love of booty, spared neither place nor person.*
Trithemius, (in Chron. Sponhleim., torn ii, App., p. 368,) adds, that
the Turkish emperor being resolved, if possible, to extirpate Christianity from  his newly acquired dominions, commanded all the
copies of the Scriptures, and of the works of the orthodox fathers,
that could be found, to be put into perforated vessels, and thrown
into the sea.t
During the general carnage and confusion that ensued on the
entrance of the Turks into Constantinople, and while the cruel
conquerors were employed in plundering the city, many of the inhabitants, among whom were several men of various and extensive
learning, escaped to the vessels in the harbour, and arrived safe in
Italy, where they promoted the study of the Greek tongue, and
gave increased energy to those scientific and literary pursuits
which had already begun to engage the attention of many intelligent and literary characters in the Western empire, and which
were so successfully aided by the recent invention of printing.
The learned Humphrey Hody wrote an account of the chief of
these illustrious exiles, which was published after his death by
Dr. Jebb, and entitled Dissertationes de gr-ecis illustribus linguae
graece litterarumque humanarunm instauratoribus. London, 1742,
Svo.
* Dr. E. D. Clarke's Travels, pt. ii, sec. i, vol. iii, ch. i, p. 2; and Appendix, p. 383.
t Franci Disquisitio de Papist. Indicibus, sec. 180, p. 195.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                    505
Constantinople was captured, and the emperor Constantine
slain, on the 29th of May, in the year 1453. " On the clay of the
capture, the sultan entered the city in triumph; viewed its still
remaining monuments; and proceeded to establish the forms of a
new government, and the rites of the Moslem worship."*
From recording the fall of Byzantium, and the asylum afforded
in Italy to the learned Greeks who fled from the fury of the Mohlammedan conquerors, we proceed to inquire into the state of
Biblical literature in SPAIN.
Early in this century, a translation was made of the Scriptures
into the SPANISII, in the dialect of Valencia.  This version, which
received the permission of the inquisitors, was made by Boniface
Ferrer, the brother of St. Vincent, by whom, probably, he was
assisted. An edition of it was printed at Valencia, in 1478, a
fragment of which is still preserved in the Carthusian monastery
of Portaceli.t The best account of this version is given by Santander, who observes, " This version of the Bible, in the Limousin
or Valencian tongue, is so rare, that no complete copy of it is
known to exist. The only certain fragment that we have of this
version consists in the four last leaves, which were discovered in
1645, among the archives of the church of Valencia, and which
have the subscription. Father John Bapt. Civera, a monk of the
Chartreuse of Portaceli, having obtained these four leaves, he inserted them in his work, intituled VaTcones illustres del Mlonasterio
de Porta-Cseli.  The following is the subscription:"'Acaba la biblia molt vera e catholica, treta de una biblia del
noble mossen berenguer vives de boil cavalier: la qual fon arromanzada en lo monestir de portaceli de lengua latina en la nostra
valenciana per lo molt reverend micer bonifaci ferrer doctor en
cascun dret e en facultad de sacra theologia: e don de tota la cartoxa: germa del benaventurat sanct vicent ferrer del orde de predicadors: en la qual translacio foren altres singulars homens de
sciencia. E ara derrerament aquesta es stada diligentment corregida vista e regoneguda per lo reverend mistre jaume borrell
mestre en sacra theologia del ordre et predicadors: e inquisidor
en regne de valencia. Es stada empremptada en la ciutat de valencia a despeses del magnifichen philip vizlant mercader de la
vila de jsne de alta Alemanya: *per mestre Alfonso Fernandez de
Cordova del regne de castella, e per mestre lambert palomar alamany mestre en arts: comengada en lo mes de fcbrer del any mil
* Berington's Lit. Hist. of the Middle Ages, Append., vol. i, p. 638.
t Thomson and Orme's Historical Sketch, &c., p. 40.
1




506                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
quatrecens setanta set: e acabada lo mes de Marc del any mil
C C C C LXXVIII.' "*
From this subscription we learn that the translation was made
from the Latin, by Boniface Ferrer, assisted by other learned men,
in the monastery of Portaceli, and in the Valencian dialect; that it
was corrected and revised by John Borrell, a Dominican and inquisitor; that it was printed at the expense of Philip Vizlant, a
merchant of Jesi, in the March of Ancona, by Alfonso Fernandez,
of Cordova, and Lambert Palmnar, or Pclmart, a German; and
that the printing of it was begun in February, 1477, and finished
in March, 1478.
Don Rodriguez de Castro, librarian to the king of Spain, corroborates the preceding account of this rare version, concerning
which the most discordant notices have been given by different
bibliographers, in his Bibliotcca Espcanola, tom. i, p. 444, accompanied by an extract from the work itself, taken from the Apocalypse, of which a fragment is all that now remains.  His words
are, "La mas antigua," &c. " The most ancient [Spanish version]
is that of all the books of the Old and New Testament which the
Rev. Father Bonifacio Ferrer, (brother of St. Vincent Ferrer,)
doctor of sacred theology, and of sacred and civil law, and general
of the Carthusians, made in Valencian, and printed in Valencia, in
1478, as is seen in the last page, which is preserved in the Carthusian monastery of Portaceli, in the kingdom  of Valencia, from
which Dr. Francisco Asensio made a faithful copy, inserted here
[in the'Biblioteca Espanola'] verbatim, and which establishes the
antiquity of this translation."t
VINCENT FERRER was born at Valencia, in Spain, according to
Antonio, in 1352, but according to Butler, in 1357. He was early
distinguished for learning and charity; in his eighteenth year he
voluntarily embraced the monastic life, and in 1374 entered a convent of the order of St. Dominic, in his native city. In a short
time after his profession he was deputed to read lectures of philosophy; and, removing to Barcelona, not only continued his scholastic exercises, but became a zealous preacher of the word of
God.  From  Barcelona he was sent to Lerida, the most famous
university of Catalonia, where he received the degree of doctor
Santander, Dictionnaire Bibliographique, pt. ii, pp. 197-199. Bruxelles, 1806,
8vo.
t For this extract and translation from the "Biblioteca Espanola," printed at the
royal printing-office, Madrid, two volumes folio, I am obliged to the kindness of the
Rev. WV. A. Thomson, one of the authors of the " Historical Sketch of the Translation and Circulation of the Scriptures."
1




FIF'TEENTH CENTURY.                 507
from  Cardinal Peter de Luna, in 13S4. At the request of the
bishop, clergy, and people of Valencia, he was recalled to his own
country, and pursued his lectures and preaching with extraordinary
reputation and success. One of his biographers remarks, "His
heart was always fixed on God, and he made his studies, labour,
and all his other actions, a continued prayer."  The advice he
gives to students, in his " Treatise on a Spiritual Life," is agreeable to his own practice, and is well worthy of attention:-" Do
you desire to study to advantage?  Let devotion accompany all
your studies. Consult God more than your books, and ask him,
with humility, to make you understand what you read. Study fatigues and drains the mind and heart.  Go, from time to time, to
refresh them at the feet of Jesus. Interrupt your application byI
short, but fervent and ejaculatory prayers. Never begin nor end
your study but by prayer. Science is a gift of the Father of lights;
therefore do not consider it- merely as the work of your own mind
or industry."
Vincent had now resided six years at Valencia, assiduously pursuing his pious labours, when Cardinal Peter de Luna, being
appointed legate of Clement VIT. to Charles VI., king of France,
obliged him to accompany him. In 1394, on the death of Clement, the cardinal was chosen pope, by the French and Spaniards,
and took the name of Benedict XIII. Vincent was then commanded to repair to Avignon, where he was raised to the dignity
of master of the sacred palace; but, at his own earnest and frequently repeated request, was appointed apostolical missionary,
and entered upon that office before the end of the year 1398, and
for about twenty years laboured with indefatigable zeal in various
parts of Europe. He visited Spain, France, the Netherlands,
Germany, and Italy. Henry IV. invited him to England, sent
one of his ships to fetch him from the coast of France, and received him with the greatest honours. After preaching in the
chief towns of England, Scotland, and Ireland, he returned and
pursued his missionary labours in the different parts of France,
Italy, and Spain. The ordinary subjects of his sermons, which
were delivered with unusual energy, were sin, death, judgment,
hell, and eternity. Numerous Jews and Mohammedans are said
to have been converted by his ministry, and multitudes of immoral
characters to have been reclaimed. The two last years of his life
were spent in Brittany and Normandy, whither he had gone at the
desire of Henry V. He died in the city of Vannes, in 1419, at
1




508                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
the age of sixty-two, or, according to others, at sixty-seven. He
was canonized by Pope Calixtus III. in 1455.*
In the list of his writings Nic. Antonio mentions the following
Biblical work: "BIBIA, seu PROMPTUARIUM, SC. locorumn sacrae
Scripture  singulis diehbus, sive de tempore, sive de sanctis usurpandorum."  At the beginning of the copy to which Antonio refers
a note is prefixed, intimating that it had been bequeathed as a
legacy by the author: " Hanc Bibliam inspirante Domino mihi Fr.
Antonio de aurea mihi reliquit beatissimus Fr. Vincentius."t The
chief of his other works are, A Treatise on a Spiritual Life;
Commentary, or Sermons, on the Lord's Prayer, printed at Lyons,
1523, 4to., and again 1573, 8vo.; and Epistles.t
BONIFACIO, or BONIFACE FERRER, was the brother of Vincent.
Intending to engage in secular concerns, he married; but, after
the death of his wife, was persuaded by his brother to enter the
Carthusian monastery of Portaceli, near Valencia.  His industry
and attention to every part of the severe discipline of his order
gained him  universal approbation, so that, in the short period of
four years, lihe became prior general, an office which he executed
with the utmnost fidelity.  But having been elected during the
schism in the papacy, and the council of Pisa, held in 1409, having
deposed the schismatical popes, and chosen Cardinal Peter Philargi pope, who styled himself Alexander V., he requested and
obtained permission to surrender up his dignity; and Stephen de
Saevis succeeded to the office. Butler, (Lives of the Saints, vol.
iv,) however, says, he was general of the Carthusians at the time
of his death.
In the year 1412, the states of Arragon, Catalonia, and Valencia,
being divided about a successor to the crown of Arragon, they
agreed to choose nine commissaries, three for each kingdom;
when Boniface, his brother Vincent, and Don Peter Bertrand,
were chosen for the kingdom of Valencia. They met at the castle
of Caspe, in Arragon.  Ferdinand of Castile was unanimously declared to be the lawful heir; and Vincent Ferrer, haranguing the
foreign ambassadors and people present, the decision was received
with acclamation.  Boniface died April 29th, 1419.~
The exact period when Boniface's translation of the Bible was
* Butler's Lives of the Saints, vol. v, p. 44. Antonii Bibliotheca Hispana Vetus,
tom. ii, p. 136. Romae, 1696, folio.
t Antonii Bibi. Hisp. Vet., tom. ii, p. 137.
t Butler, ubi sup. Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom. ii, p. 723; edit. Paris, 1723.
~ Antonii Bibl. Hisp. Vet., tom. ii, lib. x, cap. iii, p. 140. Butler, vol. v, ubi sup.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                   509
made cannot, perhaps, be ascertained; but as Vincent was recalled
to Valencia by King John II. in 1410, by whose command the
version is by some said to have been made, and as lie continued
there about two years, it was probably commenced, if not completed, at that time.
About the year 1450, Alphonsus V., king of Arragon, is supposed to have translated the Proverbs of Solomon into his native
tongue. He is also said to have read the whole Bible fourteen
times, with glosses and commentaries; and to have become so
expert in the Scriptures, as not only to relate the substance of them,
but to repeat many parts of themr correctly, from memory.*
It is, nevertheless, to be deplored that the study of the Scriptures was far from being general; and that the most profound
ignorance reigned among the major part, even of the clergy. Few
of them, comparatively, were acquainted with the Latin, though
constantly used in the offices of the church; while feasting and
debauchery are declared to have been their ordinary occupations.
This occasioned the councils of Madrid and Arenda, in 1473; and
various decrees were passed in them, designed to remedy the
disorders and ignorance of the ecclesiastics of all ranks.  The
bishops were forbidden to ordain or promote those who were ignorant of Latin; the Scriptures were ordered to be daily read at the
tables of the prelates themselves; the clergy, in general, were
forbidden to wear gay apparel, to be clothed in silk, to walk in
white sandals, or red or green buskins, or to put on mourning;
they were also commanded not to play at dice, or fight duels; and
those who died of the wounds received in a duel were ordered to
be deprived of ecclesiastical burial. Other canons were framed
against simony, clandestine marriages, ecclesiastical concubinage,
dramatic exhibitions in churches, &c.t
But these injunctions were not succeeded by the reformation so
necessary to the religious welfare of the church; for in 1499 Pope
Alexander VI. found it requisite to send an epistle to the Spanish
bishops respecting the ignorance of the clergy; urging them to
adopt measures for the promotion of study and discipline among
them.t
Some attempts, however, were made, notwithstanding the almost
universal depravity and ignorance which prevailed, to communicate
* Usserii Hist. Dogmat., p. 172.
t D'Aguirre, Collectio Maxima Concil. Hisp., tom. iii, pp. 672-677. Roma, 169394, folio. Dictionnaire Portatif des Conciles, pp. 39, 302, 479
t D'Aguirre, ut sup., tom. iii, p. 689.
1




510                   BIBLICAL LITERlATURE,
a knowledge of the sacred writings to those who were acquaintedl
only with their mother tongue.  Le Long mentions a version of
the Bible, in the dialect of Catalonia, written in the year 1407, of
which an imperfect copy was preserved in the Colbertinor library;
he also notices an edition of the Psalter, in the dialect of Castile,
printed, as he supposed, before A. D. 1500.*  Fred. Furius, who
wrote a treatise on the sacred Scriptures, printed in 1556, says,
that at the close of the fifteenth century the Scriptures had not
only been translated into his native dialect of Valencia,  bat into
almost all the other dialects of Spain.t  These translations were
prevented from  being circulated, by the establishment and influence of the inquisition, and the edict of Ferdinand and Isabella,
(called also Elizabeth,) which enacted, that "no one should translate the Scriptures into the vulgar tongue, or hlave them  in their
possession, under pain of the severest punishment."+  Fred. Furius
adds, that "this prohibition extended only to those who were originally Jews, and not to others." He further remarks, that the
lessons from the Gospels read in the churches during tIhe whole
year had been faithfully and elegantly translated, and permitted to
be prilted; and that lie had seen and read the Epistles of St. Paul,
translated into Spanish verse, in the dialects of both Castile and
Valencia.~  Conrad Gesner, another author who flourished in the
sixteenth century, notices these vernacular versions, but remarks,
that in his day nearly all the copies of them had been burnt.il  In
January, 1492, the Spaniards took Granada, and extinguished the
empire of the Moors in Spain, where they had been settled more
than seven hundred years. Ferdinand de Talavera, a man of great
learning and exemplary piety, was nominated archbishop of Granada.  tHis disposition was mild,  patient, and charitable, without
ambition, and without jealousy. He therefore consented that the
archbishop of Toledo, the celebrated Ximenes, should possess
equal authority with himself in his diocess. The two archbishops
concerted measures for the conversion of the Mohlammedans, thus
placed under their care; and mutually agreed that the safest and
most successful plan would be to gain over the Alfaquis, or priests
and doctors of that sect.  With this design they convened an
assembly of them in the palace, addressed them familiarly, and,
* Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom. i, pp. 362, 369, edit. 1723.
t Ibid., torn. i, p. 362.
J Le Long, ut sup., p. 361. Usserii Hist. Dogmat., p. 175.
~ Simon's Crit. Hist. of the Versions of the New Testament, part ii, ch. ii, p. 18;
and ch. xli, p. 344. Usserius, ut slcp.  11 Ie Long, tom. i, p. 362.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                    511
after having exhorted them  to renounce their errors and receive
baptism, presented some of them with pieces of silk, others with
scarlet caps, which were held by them in great estimation; and
sent them  away, well pleased with the condescension of the prelates, and the presents they had received.  By these means many
of the priests were led to profess Christianity, and to persuade the
people to a similar profession; and so great was the success of
these measures, that on the 1Sth of December, 1499, four thousand
Moors received baptism. The refractory Moors Ximenes endeavoured to conquer, sometimes by inquisitorial treatment, sometimes
by gentler and milder usage.  Having at length subdued the more
intractable of his opponents, particularly Zegri, a noble and valiant
Moor, and conciliated the Mohammedan doctors, he ordered all the
copies of the Koran, and every book that contained its doctrines, to
be brought to him, and consigned five thousand volumes publicly
to the flames.  Neither illuminations, nor rich bindings, nor other
ornaments of gold and silver, were suffered as a plea for their preservation.  The only works exempted from  the common flame
were some treatises on medicine, for which the Moors had been
famous, and which were transmitted to the library of the college
of Alcala.*
The Moors having professed Christianity, it became a subject
of discussion between the archbishops which was the best method
of instructing their new converts in the religion they had embraced.
The dispositions of these prelates discovered itself in the difference
of their views. Ferdinand de Talavdera, in order to direct their
attention to the divine offices, had ordered the daily lessons of the
Old and New Testaments to be recited in the vulgar tongue; and
permitted the books of the mass, and especially the Epistles and
Gospels, to be translated into Arabic, and printed. Ximenes entirely disapproved of this procedure, and urged the impropriety of
placing the sacred oracles in the hands of these half converts,
affirming that weak minds always revered most what was concealed and mysterious; and contending  that, since the Old and
New Testaments contained many passages that demanded much
intelligence and attention to understand them, it was best to leave
them in the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, the three languages consecrated by the inscription placed over the head of the dying
Saviour. But while he strenuously contended against the Scriptures being translated into the vulgar tongue, he allowed the pro* Flechier, Histoire du Cardinal Ximenes, tom. i, liv. i, pp. 136-143. Amsterdamn,
1693, 12mo.
1




512                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
priety of distributing, in the language commonly spoken, catechisms, prayers, and edifying narratives, and other books of religious instruction.'I'he archbishop of Granada reluctantly submitted to the unyielding temper of Ximenes, and the book of God
was withheld from the people.*
The expulsion of the Jews speedily followed the conquest of the
Moors; for in March of the same year (1492) Ferdinand and Isabella banished the Jews out of Spain; by which eight hundred
thousand persons were forced to quit the kingdom, and seek asylums in mnore favoured regions. In the number of those who were
exiled were several eminent rabbis, particularly R. Isaac Abrabanel,
the author of valuable commentaries on several parts of the Old
Testament, and other esteemed works; R. Meir, author of a commentary upon Job; and R. Abraham, the compiler of the chronological work called Juchassin.t
Through the instructions of Vincent Ferrer, the terrors of the
inquisition, and the dread of poverty and exile, many Spanish Jews
were induced to make profession of the Catholic religion, some
few of them sincerely, but most of them deceptively. Among the
sincere converts from Judaism, during this century, in Spain, SoLOMON DE LEVI holds the chief place. He was a native of Burgos,
and embraced Christianity from reading the works of Thomas
Aquinas, or Aquino. At his baptism he took the name of Paulus
de Sancta Maria, or Paul of Burgos.  After the death of his wife
he embraced the ecclesiastical state, and by his merits obtained
places of trust and honour. He was preceptor to John II., king
of Castile; and was successively archdeacon of Trevigno, bishop
of Carthagena, and then of Burgos, where lie died August 29th,
1445, aged eighty-two. Some authors relate that he was patriarch
of Aquileia.  He wrote, 1. Scrutinium Scripturarum, printed at
Mantua, 1474, in folio; Mentz, 1478; Paris, 1520; Burgos, 1591.
2. Additiones ad Postillam Magistri Nicolai de Lyra super Biblias; generally printed with the Postils of De Lyra. In this
work the author freely censures and corrects the notes of De Lyra,
particularly where he differs from Aquinas, whose defence Paul
universally undertakes.  In his emendations of De Lyra he is
often successful in what relates to philosophy and Hebrew  antiquities; but in his criticisms of the Greek he more frequently
fails. He is also considered as paying too implicit deference to
the fathers and the scholastic writers.  3. Qucestiones XII. de
* Flechier, Hist. du Card. Ximenes, tom. i, liv. i, pp. 154, 155.
t Basnage's Hist. of the Jews, b. vii, ch. xxi, pp. 692, 693.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                     513
Nonzine Tetragrammnato; published with notes, by J. Drusius,
Franeker, 1604, 8vo.
His three sons were baptized at the same time with him, when
he became a Christian convert; and all distinguished themselves
by their merit. The eldest, Alphonso, who succeeded his fathei
as bishop of Burgos, wrote an abridgment of Spanish history; the
second, Gonsalvo, became bishop of Placentia; and the third,
Alvarez, who married into an illustrious family, published a history of John II., king of Castile.*
Another learned Spaniard of this period was JAcoBus PEREZ,
bishop of Christopolitanus.  He was a native of Valencia; and
became a hermit of the order of Augustine. He died in 1491. He
was the author of various works, particulary of a commentary on
the Psalms; and a treatise against the Jews, printed at Lyons,
1512. He is chiefly noted for his singular opinions respecting the
invention of the Hebrew vowel points, and the compilation of the
Talmud.  He says, "That the rabbis perceiving that, after the
conversion of Constantine the Great, multitudes of both Gentiles
and Jews embraced Christianity, and that their influence and revenues were consequently lessened, they convened a general meeting
at Cairo, in Egypt; where they, with as much secrecy as possible,
falsified and corrupted the Scriptures; invented five or seven points
to serve instead of vowels; and forged the Talmud. (Prolog. in
Psalmos Tract. 6.t)
It may also be deemed interesting to observe, that printing was
introduced into Spain at an early period after its invention. Valencia is conjectured to be the city where printing was first exercised in that kingdom; and where a press was established in 1474.
The earliest work printed there, of which the date has been ascertained, was Obres, o Trobes les quales tracten de las hors de la
Sacratissima Verge Maria, 4c., 1478, 4to.  The number of books
printed in Spain, during the fifteenth century, was three hundred
and ten. These appeared chiefly at Barcelona, Burgos, Salamanca, Saragossa, Seville, Toledo, and Valencia; and were principally executed by Germans.t
If from Spain we turn to FRANCE, we find but little that claims
* Lempriere's Universal Biography. Lond., 1808, 4to. Cavei Hist. Litt., sec. xv,
p. 92, Append. Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, edit. Masch., pt. ii, tom. iii, cap. ii, sec 3,
p. 363.
t Hody, De Bibl. Text. Orig., lib. iii, pt. ii, p. 442. Cavei Hist. Litt., sac. xv, p.
149. Append.
t Horne's Introduction to Bibliography, vol. i, p. 475. Clarke's Bibliographical
Miscellany, vol. ii, p. 127.
VOL. I. —33




514                BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
our attention, relative to Biblical literature. The establishment of
the newly invented art of printing in several cities of France has
been noticed already; and the editions of the Scriptures which
were printed were chiefly those of Comestor, or Guiars des Moulins. The following are the principal ones:A French version of the Old and New Testaments, printed at
Lyons, without date, but supposed, with considerable probability,
to have been published in 1477. The editors were Julian Macho
and Peter Farget. Santander says, this was the first French version; but Le Long speaks of it merely as a revised edition of the
translation of Guiars des Moulins. The following is Santander's
bibliographical account of this and another rare edition of the
Scriptures.  "The Old Testament, translated into French. Lyons, printed by Barth. Buyer, (about the year 1477,) in fol."
"The exact conformity of the characters of this most rare
edition, with those employed by Barth. Buyer, in the impression of the New Testament, noticed in the following article,
proves, I think, that they were printed at the same press; and
that Julian Macho and Peter Farget were also the editors and
correctors."
"The work is printed in two columns, in Gothic letters, and
without signatures. Five leaves, which contain the table of rubrics
with this title, Cy commencent les rubriches de ce present livre,
precede the text, at the.end of which, on the reverse of the last
leaf, are these words: " Cy finit ce present livre."  A copy was
sold at the sale of Gaignat, in 1769, for eighty livres, one sol; and
at the sale of La Valliere, in 1783, for ninty-nine livres, nineteen
sOls."
"The NEW TESTAMENT revised and corrected by Julian Macho
and Peter Farget. Lyons, Bartholomew Buyer, without date, (about
the year 1477,) in fol."
" An exceedingly rare edition, and the first translation of the
New Testament into French. It is printed in the same Gothic
characters as the Old Testament mentioned in the preceding article,
and which it was probably designed to accompany." The pages
of this volume are in two columns, without figures or signatures.
It begins with a table which occupies twenty leaves, which ends
thus: " Cy finist la table du nouueau testament ensemble la
declaration diceluy faicte et compassde p Venerable persone frere
iullia docteur en theologie de l'ordre saint Augusti demourant au
couuet de ly, sus le rosne.       loue soit dieu Amen."
"Then follows the text, at the end of which, on the recto of
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                   515
the last leaf, is this subscription:'Cy finist l'apocalypse et semblablement le nouueau ueu et corrige p uenerables pers6nes freres
iullien macho et pierre farget docteurs en theologie de l'ordre des
Augustins de lyo sus le rosne Imprirne cn la dicte uille de lyon par
Bartholomieu Buyer citoien du dit lion."
"There is also another impression of this book, by the same
printer, in the same characters, with the same number of leaves,
and the same subscription, differing only in being printed in long
lines, and the sheets having signatures; it is, however, considered
as being equally ancient, and is equally esteemed."
"At Gaignat's sale, the former edition sold for ninety livres, and
that with long lines for two hundred and eleven livres: and at La
Valliere's, the former edition sold for ninety-nine livres, nineteen
sols; the edition with long lines for ninety livres."
JULIAN MACHO was an Augustine monk, and doctor in divinity,
of the convent of Lyons. Besides the French New Testament,
noticed above, he was joint editor with John Bathalier, of a French
Supplement to the Golden Legend, printed at Lyons, by Barth.
Buyer, 1477, in fol.
PETER (PIERRE) FARGET, sometimes erroneously called Falget,
Ferget, and Sarget, was also a monk of the order of Augustine, and
doctorin divinity, residing in the convent of the order, at Lyons. Besides the revision of the New Testament, Farget published, in 1482,
a French translation of the Speculum Humance Vitee, under the title
of iMiroir de la vie humaine; printed at Strasburg, with Gothic
characters, in small folio. He also translated out of Latin into
French a work entitled, " The Consolation of Poor Sinners," in
the form of a dialogue between Belial and Jesus Christ; besides
other works of minor importance.*
Le Long mentions an edition also in quarto, in the Gothic type,
executed at Paris, about the year 1478, which he conjectures to
have been corrected from the Iiistoria Scholastica of Peter Comestor, by William Le Menand; and either this, or the one which will
be subsequently noticed, is, probably, the translation of which John
Lambert speaks, in his answer to the bishop's articles, A. D. 1538.
Lambert's words are: "You [the bishops] ask, whether I believe
that the heads, or rulers, by necessity of salvation, are bound to
give unto the people Holy Scripture, in their mother language?
I say, that I think they are bound to see that the people may truly
know Holy Scripture, and I do not know how that may be done so
* Santander, Diet. Bibliographique, 2de partie, pp. 197-199. De Juvigny, Bibliotheques Fran;oises, torn. ii, pp. 277, 278.




516                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
well, as by giving it to them truly translated in the mother tongue,
that they may have it by them at all times, to pass the time godly,
whensoever they have leisure thereto; like as they have in France,
under the French king's privilege, and also the privilege of the
emperor, and so do I know they have had it thesefifty-fou.r years
in France, at the least, and it was translated at the request of
a king, called, I trow, Louis, as appeareth by the privilege put
in the beginning of the book." The king here mentioned was
Louis XI.*
Another French version of the Bible has been attributed to Jean
de Rely, made by order of Charles VIII.  M. de la Monnoye says,
" This pretended translation of Jean de Rely is nothing more than
that which was made by Guiars des Moulins, in 1294, from the
Historia Scholastica of Peter Comestor, and which Jean de Rely,
who was canon of Notre-Dame, and was made bishop of Angers
in 1491, revised by order of Charles VIII. It was printed in 1495,
and again in 1538, by Antoine Bonnemere." To this the editor of
the Bibliotheques FranpFoises subjoins as a correction of the above:
"The oldest edition of the French translation, by Jean de Rely,
appears to be that cited in the Catalogue of the printed Books in
the King's Library, tom. i, No. 156.'La Bible Historiale, ouf sont
les Histoires Scholastiques, ou les Livres Hystoriaulx de la Bible,
translates de Latin en Francois, en la maniere que les maitres ont
traduit ez Histoires Scholastiques de Pierre le Mangeur, par
Guyart des Moulins, revue par Jean de Rely, Pretre et Chanoine
de S. Pierre d'Aire, de l'Archev(ech6e de Tresves, par le commandement de Charles VIII., roi de France; Paris, pour Antoine Verard, in fol., 2 vols., vers l'an 1487.' It was afterward reprinted
in 4to. in 1515 and 1535; and again in folio in 1538. According
to the same catalogue, in the edition of 1538 the editor, Antoine
Bonnemere, says,' that the first edition was printed in 1495, after
having been corrected.' "t
ENGLAND next claims our regard. Wiclif and his followers had
detected many of the errors, and exposed many of the superstitious
practices, of the Church of Rome at this period; but the clergy
obstinately refused to abandon either their errors or superstitions,
and persecuted with the most unrelenting cruelty all who attempted
the smallest reformation. " In a word," says an accurate historian,,
* Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom. i, p. 325. Fox's Actes and Monumentes, tom.
ii, p. 415. Lond., 1641, fol.
t De Juvigny, Bibliotheques Franqoises, tom. iii, Du Verdier. Art. " Bibles,"
pp. 267-270.
1,




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                    517
"ignorance, vice, and superstition seemed to have gained ground;
though the revival of learning, and the reformation of religion,
were at no great distance."* A singular instance of incompetence
in a clergyman is related by Warton, in his History of English
Poetry. In 1448, Waynflete, bishop of Winchester, on the presentation of Merton Priory, in Surrey, instituted a rector to the
parish of Sherfield, in Hampshire. The rector, however, previously took an oath before the bishop, that on account of his insufficiency in letters, and default of knowledge in the superintendence of souls, he would learn Latin for the two following years;
and that at the end of the first year he would submit himself to be
examined by the bishop concerning his progress in grammar; and
that if, on a second examination, he should be found deficient, he
would resign the benefice.t The introduction of men into the
sacred office, through the influence of rank, who were destitute of
competent abilities, is further exemplified by an anecdote related
of Erasmus: "At this time, (A.D. 1496,) I suppose," says his
biographer, " he refused a large pension, and larger promises, from
a young illiterate Englishman, who was to be made a bishop, and
who wanted to have him for a preceptor. This youth seems to
have been James Stanley, son of the earl of Derby, and son-in-law
to Margaret, the king's mother, and afterward made bishop of Ely
by her interest. However, it appears that the young gentleman,
though ignorant, had a desire to learn something, and to qualify
himself, in some measure, for the station in which he was to be
placed."t
So far were the clergy in general from attempting to circulate
the Scriptures, or instruct the people in the knowledge of their
contents, that, except such portions of them as were recited in the
offices of the church, there was scarcely a Latin Testament in any
cathedral church in England, till the time of the learned John
Colet, dean of St. Paul's, in London, though the Latin was the
only authorized language for the Scriptures and service books.
Instead of the Gospel of Christ, the spurious Gospel of Nicodemus
was affixed to a pillar in the nave of the church; which Erasmus
says he had himself seen with astonishment in the metropolitan
church of Canterbury.~ It is remarkable that Theodoret, (Hceret.
Fab., lib. i, cap. xx,) in the fifth century, complained of a similar
* Henry's History of Great Britain, vol. x, p. 42.
t Warton's Hist. of English Poetry, vol. ii, p. 429, note Z.
t Jortin's Life of Erasmus, vol. i, p. 5. Lond., 1808, 8vo.
~ British Biogranhy, vol. i, " Life of Dean Colet," p. 377.




518                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
practice existing in his day. Tatian, says he, " composed a gospel
which is called Dia Tessaron, [Of the Four,] leaving out the
genealogies, and every thing that shows the Lord to have been
born of the seed of David according to the flesh: which has been
used not only by those of his sect, but also by them who follow
the apostolical doctrine; they not perceiving the fraud of the
composition, but simply using it as a compendious book. I have
also met with above two hundred of these books, which were
in esteem in our churches: all which I took away, and laid aside
in a parcel, and placed in their room the Gospels of the Four
Evangelists."*
The GOSPEL or NICODEMUS, or Acts of Pilate, above mentioned, is a work supposed to have been forged, toward the close
of the third century, by Leucius Charinus. It treats chiefly of the
crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord, and of his descent into
hell. It contains many trifling, silly, and ludicrous relations, such
as, the standards or colours bowing to Christ as he passed; Jesus
appearing to Joseph of Arimathea, after his resurrection, wiping
his face from the dew, kissing him, and commanding him to remain
in his own house for forty days; and a supposititious narrative of
the events attending Christ's descent into hell, by Lentius and
Charinus, two saints raised from the dead at the resurrection of
the Saviour. The following extracts from this impudent forgery
will enable the reader to judge of the kind of instruction afforded
by these substitutes for the Gospel of Christ. The relation of
Christ's descent into hell is introduced by Joseph of Arimathea
addressing Annas and Caiaphas, who were astonished to hear that
Jesus was risen from the dead, and that others were risen with
him: "We all," says he, "knew the blessed Simeon, the highpriest, who took Jesus, when an infant, into his arms, in the temple.
This same Simeon had two sons of his own, and we were all present at their death and funeral. Go, therefore, and see their tombs,
for these are open, and they are risen; and behold, they are in the
city of Arimathea, spending their time together in offices of devotion   Some, indeed, have heard the sound of their voices, [in
prayer,] but they will not discourse with any one, but they continue
as mute dead men. But come, let us go to them, and behave ourselves toward them with all due respect and caution. And if we
can bring them to swear, perhaps they will tell us some of the
mysteries of their resurrection."  Annas, Caiaphas, Nicodemus,
* Lardner's Works, vol. ii, p. 138. Lond., 1788, 8vo.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                  519
and Gamaliel, proceed to Arimathea; they find Charinus and
Lentius at their devotions, and, adjuring them by the Law to relate
what they had seen, they tremble, look up to heaven, make the
sign of the cross upon their tongues, and then calling for paper,
write the account of what they profess to have seen. " When we
were placed with our fathers in the depth of hell," say they, " in
the blackness of darkness, on a sudden there appeared the colour
of the sun like gold, and a substantial purple coloured light enlightening (the place.) Presently upon this, Adam, the father of
all mankind, with all the patriarchs and prophets, rejoiced and
said,'That light is the Author of everlasting light, who hath promised to translate us to everlasting light.' And while we were all
rejoicing, our father Simeon came among us, and, congratulating
all the company, said,' Glorify the Lord Jesus Christ....'
"Afterward there came forth one like a little hermit, and was
asked by every one,' Who art thou?' To which he replied,'I am
the voice of one crying in the wilderness John the Baptist.'....
But when the first man our father Adam heard these things, thai
Jesus was baptized in Jordan, he called out to his son Seth, and
said,'I Declare to your sons, the patriarchs and prophets, all those
things which thou didst hear from Michael the archangel, when I
sent thee to the gates of paradise, to entreat God that he would
anoint my head when I was sick.' Then Seth said,...' I Seth,
when I was praying to God at the gates of paradise, behold! the
angel of the Lord, Michael, appeared unto me, saying,....' I tell
thee, Seth, do not pray to God in tears, and entreat him for the oil
of the tree of mercy, wherewith to anoint thy father Adam for his
headache, because thou canst not by any means obtain it till the
last day and times.'"  A dialogue then ensues between Satan, the
prince and captain of death, and Beelzebub, the prince of hell, in
which they are interrupted by suddenly hearing a voice, " as of
thunder and the rushing of winds, saying,' Lift up your heads, 0
ye princes; and be ye lift up, 0 everlasting gates, and the King
of glory shall come in."'
This is succeeded by the appearance of the King of glory enlightening the regions of darkness, and throwing the devils into
confusion. " Then the King of glory trampling upon death, seized
the prince of hell, deprived him of all his power, and took our
earthly father Adam with him to his glory." A quarrel takes place
between Satan and Beelzebub, in which the prince of hell reproaches the prince of death with being the occasion of the ruin
of his kingdom, by urging the Jews to the crucifixion of Christ.
1




520                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Jesus then places Satan under the power of Beelzebub; and delivers the saints out of hell. On the entrance of the saints into
paradise they meet Enoch and Elias, and after a conversation between the liberated saints and them, the narrative proceeds: " Behold there came another man in a miserable figure, carrying the
sign of the cross upon his shoulders. And when all the saints
saw him, they said to him,'Who art thou? For thy countenance
is like a thief's; and why dost thou carry a cross upon thy shoulders?' To which he answering, said,'Ye say right, for I was a
thief, who committed all sorts of wickedness upon earth. And
the Jews crucified me with Jesus; and I observed the surprising
things which happened in the creation at the crucifixion of the
Lord Jesus, and I believed him to be the Creator of all things,
and the Almighty King, and I prayed to him, saying, " Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." IHe presently
regarded my supplication, and said to me,'Verily, I say unto thee,
this day thou shalt be with me in paradise.' And he gave me this
sign of the cross, saying,'Carry this, and go to paradise; and if
the angel who is the guard of paradise will not admit thee, show
him the sign of the cross, and say unto him, Jesus Christ, who is
now crucified, hath sent me hither to thee.' When I did this, and
told the angel, lie presently opened the gates, introduced me, and
placed me on the right hand in paradise, saying,'Stay here a little
time, till Adam, the father of all mankind, shall enter in with all
his sons, who are the holy and righteous [servants] of Jesus Christ,
who is crucified."'" The relation concludes with the thanksgivings
of the patriarchs; and Charinus and Lenthills, after professing to
have revealed all they were permitted, each deliver in a separate
account, written on " distinct pieces of paper," which, on examina
tion, " are found perfectly to agree, the one not containing one
letter more or less than the other."  Charinus and Lenthius im
mediately change "into exceeding white forms," and are seen no
more, Joseph and Nicodemus afterward relate the account to
Pilate, who enters it in the public records, and going to the temple,
summons all the rulers, and scribes, and doctors of the law, and
says to them, " I have heard that ye have a certain large book in
this temple; I desire you, therefore, that it may be brought before
mue."  And when the great book, carried by four ministers, [of the
temple,] and adorned with gold and precious stones, is brought,
Pilate adjures them to declare whether the Scriptures testify of
Christ. Annas and Caiaphas dismiss the rest, and then avow
their conviction that " Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and true
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                   521
and Almighty God."*  Such is the nature of a work which was
deemed of sufficient merit and importance to be translated into
various languages, to be one of the earliest specimens of typography, and to be placed in the churches for the edification of the
people!
In the universities and cathedral churches it was, at this period,
a general custom for the public lecturers to read upon any book
rather than upon the Scriptures.  "Their readings," says Dr.
Knight, (Life of Colet,) " were ushered in with a text, or rather
a sentence, of Scotus and Aquinas; and the explication was, not
trying it by the word of God, but by the voice of scholastic interpreters, and the,intricate terms of what they call logic; which
was then nothing but the art of corrupting human reason and the
Christian faith. It is true, divinity lectures had been read in Latin
within many cathedral churches, for the benefit of the priests and
clerks belonging to them. But the subject of them (as of all sermons ad clerum in the two universities, and in all ordinary visitations of the rural clergy) was commonly a question in scholastic
theology, running into frivolous doubts, and elaborate resolutions
out of the oracles of Scotus and his puzzling interpreters; not to
edification, but to a confounding the thoughts of God and religion."
On one occasion the learned Grocyn gave a singular instance of
candour and ingenuousness. He read in St. Paul's cathedral a
lecture upon the book of Dionysius Areopagita, commonly called
Ilierarchia Ecclesiastica.  In the preface to his lecture he declaimed with great warmth against those who either denied or
doubted of the authority of the book on which he was reading.
But after he had continued to read on this book a few weeks,
and had more thoroughly examined its authenticity, he entirely
changed his views of it, and openly declared that he had been in
an error; and that the said book, in his judgment, was spurious,
and never written by that author who is, in the Acts of the Apostles, called "Dionysius the Areopagite."t
Occupied as the clergy were in scholastic disputations, and the
nobility in pursuit of pleasure and martial honours, they were
generally inattentive to the interests of literature and science. The
Latin language declined in its classical purity; and the Greek was
almost unknown. The mathematical sciences, though not entirely
neglected, were chiefly studied by the pretenders to astrology:
* Jones's New and Full Method of settling the Canonical Authority of the New
Testament, vol. ii, part iii, ch. xxviii, p. 262, &c. Oxford, 1798, 8vo.
t British Biography, vol. i, pp. 328, 372, 377.
1




522                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
and when we find learning at so low an ebb among those of high
rank, and of the ecclesiastical profession, we may justly conclude
that the common people would be almost totally illiterate.  We
accordingly learn that " it was not till the reign of Henry IV. that
villeins,* farmers, and mechanics, were permitted by law to put
their children to school; and long after that, they dared not to educate a son for the church without a license from their lord."t
CORNELIUS VITELLIUS, an Italian, was the first who taught
Greek in the university of Oxford; and from him  the famous
Grocyn learned the first elements of it, which he afterward perfected in Italy under Dernetrius Chalcondyles, a learned Greek,
and Politian, an Italian, professor of Greek and Latin at Florence.
In Cambridge, Erasmus was the first who publicly taught the
Greek grammar; though even Erasmus himself, when he first
came into England in 1497, had so incompetent an acquaintance
with that language, that our countryman Linacre, who was just
returned from Italy, perfected him in his knowledge of it.
Dr. THOMAS LINACRE, or LYNACER, above named, was an eminent and most learned English physician, by whose exertions the
College of Physicians was founded and incorporated, of which he
held the office of president. In the decline of life, he resolved to
change his profession for that of divinity, entered into holy orders,
and was collated on the 23d of October, 1509, to the rectory of
Mersham; and obtained afterward several preferments.  An anecdote is related of him, which proves, that however accurate and
extensive his grammatical knowledge of Latin and Greek might
be, his ignorance of the Scriptures was so great, as to render him
totally unfit for the sacred functions he assumed.  Being ordained
priest, at an age when his constitution was broken by study and
infirmity, lie, for the first time, took the New Testament into his
hand, and having read the fifth and sixth chapters of St. Matthew's
Gospel, threw away the book, swearing, " Either this is not the
Gospel, or we are not Christians!"+  This, however, will appear
the less extraordinary, when it is remarked, that the study and use
of the Scriptures was at that time so low, even in the university of
Oxford, " that the being admitted a bachelor of divinity gave only
* Villeins were those, under the feudal system, who were liable to be sold with the
land they occupied; but differed from slaves, by paying a fixed rent for the farm to
which they were attached.
t Henry's Hist. of Great Britain, vol. x, b. v, p. 1'28.
t British Biography, vol. i, pp. 326; 330, 332. Sir E. Brydge's Restituta, No. a
p. 159.




FIFTEENTH CENTURIY.                   523
liberty to read the master of the Sentences, (Peter Lombard;) and
the highest degree, that of doctor of divinity, did not admit a man
to the reading of the Scriptures."*
The newly invented art of printing, which, toward the close of
this century, was established in this kingdom by Caxton and others,
was chiefly employed in printing translations from the French,
made by Earl Rivers and Caxton; and multiplying legends, and
devotional works of a legendary nature. Two of these deserve
particular notice, viz., the Liber Festivalis, or Directions for keeping Feasts all the Yere; and the Quatztor Sermzones; both of them
printed in folio, by William Caxton, and frequently bound together.
Of the first, Hearne observes, that " it consists of a course of homilies, in which are many odd stories; that it goes by no other name
than that of Festivale, among curious men, who are very inquisitive after copies of it." (Robert Gloc. Chron., vol. ii, p. 739.)
Oldys adds, "that some of these'odd stories' are such, that the
papists are now ashamed of them."  (Biog. Brit., vol. iii, p. 369,
note 0.)  "The fact is," says Mr. Dibdin, " whatever be the nature of these stories, all' curious' theological scholars may be well
inquisitive after the Liber Festivalis, as it is the origin or substratum of the English Common Prayer Book."  Tile prologue tells
us, that " for the help of such clerks, this book was drawn to excuse them for default of books, and for simpleness of cunning, and
to show unto the people what the holy saints suffered and did for
God's sake, and for his love; so that they should have the more
devotion in God's saints, and with the better will come to church
to serve God, and pray the saints of their help."  That it was principally taken from the Legenda Aurea, or Golden Legend, is
proved by the prologue of an ancient edition, in which tile writer
states, " This treatise is drawn out of' Legenda Aurea,' that he that
list to study therein, he shall find ready therein of all the principal
feasts of the year, on every one a short sermon, needful for him to
teach, and for them to learn; and for that this treatise speaketh of
all the feasts of the year, I will and pray that it be called FESTIVA-L."
Then follow, says Lewis, sermons on nineteen Sundays and
ferials, beginning with the first Sunday in Advent, and ending with
Corpus Christi day. Next are discourses or sermons on forty
three holydays. Then follows a sermon De dedicatione Ecclesice,
or on the church holyday. The following extracts will afford an
idea of the style and nature of the work:* British Biography, vol. i, Life of Colet, p. 372, note.
1




b24                BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
THE LORD'S PRAYER.
"Father our that art in heavens, hallowed be thy name: thy
kingdom come to us: thy will be done in earth as in heaven: our
every day's bread give us to-day; and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive them that trespass against us; and lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from all evil sin, Amen."
The  following specimen  is from  the  "Festival of Saint
Michael."
"DE FESTO SCTI MICH-ELIS."
"Good friends, such a day ye shall have Saint Michael's day the
archangel: that day all holy church maketh mind and mention of
all angels for the great succour, comfort, and help, that mankind
had of angels, and especially of St. Michael. And for iij prerogatives he be had: for he is wonderful in appearing; for as Saint
Gregory saith, when Almighty God will work any wonderful deed
then he sendeth for Michael his servant, as for his bannerer: for he
beareth a shield or sign of his armns-wherefore he was sent with
Moses and Aaron to Egypt to work marvels: for though the sign
was in Moses, the working was done by Michael: for he departed
the Red Sea, and kept the waters in ii parts, while the people of
Israel went through, and so passed; and led them forth from Jordan, and kept the water like an hill on each side of them, while
they passed safe and sound to the land of behest. Also Michael is
keeper of paradise, and taketh the souls that be sent thither."*
The Quatuor Sermones, which was a translation fromn the
Latin, was most probably the Roman Catholic formulary of the
day, respecting the religious topics of which it treats, namely,
"The Lord's Prayer," "Belief," "Ten Commandments," and
" Articles of Faith." In the translation of the creed, which we
have in the first sermon, the fourth article is thus expressed, " I
byleve, that he suffered payne under Ponce Pilate, &c.," the translator understanding Pontius to be the name of some place where
Pilate was either born, or lived, or governed. Accordingly the
book contains this silly tale: " The emperor, by counsel of the
Romans, sent Pilate into a country called Pounce, where the people of that country were so cursed, that they slew any that come to
be their master over them. So when this Pilate come thither, he
applied him to her manners; so what with wiles and subtilty he
* Dibdin's Typographical Antiquities, vol. i, pp, 161-167.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                  525
overcame them, and had the mastery, and gat his name, and was
called Pilate of Pounce, and had great domination and power."
According to this manner of writing, excepting sometimes Ponce
for Pounce, was this article of the creed expressed in English,
from the fourteenth century down to A. D. 1532, when in the
Primer of Salisbury use, it was altered to Pontius Pilate, which
was followed by Archbishop Cranmer, in his notes on the King's
Book, 1538.*
Another celebrated production of Caxton's press was his translation, from the French, of the Legenda Aurea. Of this work,
some mention has been already made.t Caxton's translation, under
the title of the " Golden Legende," was printed at Westminster,
in 1483, fol. A story from the English translation may entertain
the reader. "There was a mall that had borrowed of a Jew a
sum of money, and sware upon the altar of Saint Nicholas, that he
would render and pay it again as soon as he might, and gave none
other pledge. And this man held this money so long that the Jew
demanded and asked his money. And he said that he had paid
him. Then the Jew made him to come before the law in judgment,
and the oath was given to the debtor, and he brought with him an
hollow staff, in which he had put the money in gold, and he leaned
upon the staff. And when he should make his oath and swear, he
delivered his staff to the Jew to keep and hold while he sware, and
then sware that he had delivered to him more than he owed to him.
And when he had made the oath he demanded his staff again of the
Jew, and he nothing knowing of his malice delivered it to him.
Then this deceiver went his way, and laid him in the way, and a
cart with four wheels came with great force and slew him, and
brake the staff with gold, that it spread abroad. And when the
Jew heard this, he came thither sore moved, and saw the fraud.
And many said to him that he should take to him the gold. And
he refilsed, saying, but if he that was dead were not raised again
to life by the merits of Saint Nicholas, he would not receive it.
And if he came again to life he would receive baptism and become
a Christian. Then he that was dead arose, and the Jew was
christened."]
Caxton bequeathed thirteen copies of this work to the church of
St. Margaret, Westminster; from which it appears probable, that
parts of it, like those of the " Festival," were read as homilies in
* Dibdin's Typographical Antiquities, vol. i, pp. 170-172.
t See pages 316; 353, of this volume.
t Beloe's Anecdotes of Literature and Scarce Books, vol. ii, p. 447.
1




526                 BIBLICAL LITE1IATURE,
the churches; and the multiplicity of editions by subsequent
printers seems to strengthen this conjecture. Herbert supposes,
that if not used in this manner, "they might be only placed in
some convenient part of the church, as Fox's Book of Martyrs was
at the beginning of the Reformation."*
None of our English printers, during this century, attempted to
print the Bible, either in the Latin, or the vernacular tongue. In
the application of printing to the purposes of sacred literature, the
palm must be yielded to G ERMANY, which as it had the honour of
the invention of printing, so it was the first to apply it to the diffusion of Biblical knowledge. For not only were numerous editions
of the Latin Bible, and several of the German versions printed
there, but editions also were published in the Saxon and Bohemian
dialects.
The BoHEMIAN Bible was printed at Prague, in 1488, fol., and
again at Kuttenberg, in 1489, fol.t AEneas Sylvius, afterward Pope
Pius II., bore a noble testimony to the Scriptural knowledge of
the Bohemians, in a work of his on the " Acts and Sayings of Alphonsus, King of Spain," in which he declared, "That it was a
shame to the Italian priests, that many of them had never read the
whole of the New Testament, while scarcely a woman could be
found among the Bohemians, (or Taborites,) who could not answer
any questions respecting either the Old or New Testament."+  He
died in 1464. A copy of the Bohemian Bible, printed in 1488, is
preserved in the public library at Dresden.
Lambecius, in his Comment, de Biblioth. Cces, Vindob., notices
a magnificent MS. copy of the German Old Testament, preserved
in the imperial library at Vienna. It was executed about A. D.
1400, for Wenceslaus, emperor of the West, and king of Bohemia.
It is in large folio, ornamented with numerous paintings, richly
illuminated, of sonic of which Lambecius has given engravings.
The most frequent of the marginal paintings is an ornamented W,
in which Wenceslaus is represented in prison, and sometimes as
attended by a woman, supposed to represent Susannah, the mistress
of the bath, who aided his escape in a boat from the prison where
hie had been confined by his barons, and who afterward became
his favourite concubine. His second wife, who possessed powers
far superior to the emperor, was Sophia, the daughter of John,
* Dibdin's Typographical Antiquities, vol. i, p. 193.
t Walchii Biblioth. Theolog., tom. iv, p. 130. Clarke's Bibliographical Miscellany,
vol. ii, p. 107.
t Usserii Hist. Dogmat., p. 170.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                      527
duke of Bavaria; the celebrated John HIuss was her confessor.*
Dibdin has copied several of the paintings in the Bible of WVenccslaus from the fac-similes of Lambecius, in his splendid " Bibliographical Decanieron," vol. i.
A Bible was printed in the dialect of LOWER SAxONY, according
to Walch, at Cologne, in 1490, fol.t  Another edition was published at Lubeck in 1494, in two volumes folio. It is accompanied
with notes, said to be those of De Lyra, but more probably composed, at least in part, by Hugo de St. Victor, and other early
commentators.  From  Seelen's Selectra Literaria, pp. 241, 242,
says Mr. Dibdin, " it would appear that the intrinsic value of this
impression is very considerable.  In former times the Low German language was the usual vehicle for a vernacular version of
the Scriptures; so that the present text is no trivial help for the
understanding of some of the earlier editions of Luther's Bible;
and although some parts of the commentary nmay not bear the test
of severe critical investigation, yet there are others not void of propriety and sound sense; and considering the age in which it was
probably composed, it breathes a spirit of liberality not usual in
the ancient times of papacy."T  The purity of its text is said to be
equal to the rarity and beauty of the vorik.
This edition, says Vogt, is in great estimation, as well on account of its rarity, as of its whimsical gloss or commentary.  The
following is given as an instance of its singularity. In the third
chap. of Genesis, ver. 16, where Eve is told she shall be henceforth
under the power of her husband, the commentator remarks: " not
only under his control, but under his severe discipline: subject to
be beaten and bruised by him!" An interpretation too absurd for
refutation.~
About the year 1475 appeared the first separate edition of the
New Testament in Latin, in a small quarto form, for the convenience of general readers.  Prefixed to the epistle of St. Jerome,
which precedes the sacred text, is a notice in Latin, by the printer,
explaining the cause of the publication, of which the following is
the substance:-" It is the general cry, that every believer who
professes to have any knowledge of letters, is bound to have an
acquaintance with the Holy Scriptures, and more particularly with
that part of the Bible called the New  Testament.  It is certain,
* Lambecii Comment. de Bibl. Caes. Vindob., lib. ii, cap. viii, pp. 749-756. Vindob., 1669, fol.
t Walchii Biblioth. Theolog., tom. iv, p. 96.: Dibdin's Biblioth. Spencer., tom., p. 57.  ~ Ibid., ubi sup.
1




528                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
however, that but few persons have the means of procuring tne
whole of the Bible, and that many, even of the rich, prefer portable
volumes. Induced by these considerations, as well as by the influence of my superiors, professors of sacred theology; and overcome by the zeal of certain monks and secular clergy, I have attempted, I hope, under favourable auspices, to print the present
convenient volume, containing the whole of the New Testament,
with a view to the glory of God; and shall be satisfied, if it afford
benefit to any one." It is printed in double columns, with a delicate Gothic type. To the New Testament is subjoined, " Liber
haymo de christianarum  rerum memoria prolog."*  Haymo, the
author, was the disciple of Alcuin, in the ninth century, a monk of
Fulda, and afterward bishop of Halberstadt. The work itself is an
abridgment of ecclesiastical history.t
In 1475 an edition of the DUTCH Bible was printed at Cologne,
in two volumes folio; at Delft, in 1477, two volumes folio, and
also in 4to.  Another at Goudo, in 1479.  These translations are
said to have been mixed with many fabulous narratives, and were
probably made at an earlier period than that of their being printed.
They are supposed to have been preceded by an edition of the four
Gospels, printed in 1472.t
Le Long also mentions a PoLIsH version of the Scriptures,
which, from the colophon of a MS. copy upon vellum, appears to
have been made about the middle of this century: " This Bible
was executed by the command and desire of the most serene
Queen Sophia; translated by Andrew de Jassowitz; and transcribed by Peter de Casdoszitz, August 18th, 1455, during the
widowhood of Queen Sophia, and the reign of her son Casirnir
Jagellon."  This Sophia was queen of Uladislaus IV. Andrew
de Jassowitz flourished about A. D. 1410.~
In the year 1470 a curious work was printed by Schoeffer at
Mentz, and by Helyas Helye, alias de Louffen, at Beraum, in
folio, entitled laeamotrectus. It contains, 1. An exposition of the
phrases of the Bible, and of the Prologues of St. Jerome. 2. Two
little treatises of orthography and of accents. 3. A short declaration of the months, festivals, &c., and of the Jewish priests. 4. An
explanation of ancient words and terms, in responses, hymns, ho* Dibdin's Bibl. Spencer., tom. i, pp. 31, 32, note.
t Cavei Hist. Litt., saec. ix, p. 530..t Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom. i, p. 409, folio, 1723. Gentleman's Magazine,
January, 1814, p. 30.
~ Le LTong, Biblioth. Sacra, torn. i, p. 439, et Index Auctorum, p. 563.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                    529
milies, &c. 5. A declaration of the rules of the minor friars. The
author of the work is supposed to be John Marchesinus, a priest
of the order of minor friars, or of St. Francis, and a native of
Reggio; who composed it in 1466, for the use of the less instructed in his own profession.  It was printed more than twenty
times in the fifteenth century.*
During this century, and especially toward the close of it, Germany and the neighbouring states produced several eminent men,
who endeavoured to create an attention to literature in general,
and laboured to promote an acquaintance with the original languages of the sacred Scriptures. Amnong these, Matthias Doringk,
or Thoringk, Wesselus, Regiomontanus, and Reuchlin, particularly merit our esteem.
MATTHIAS DORINGIK, or THORINGK, the celebrated author of the
"Replies" to Paul of Burgos's "Additions" to the Commentary
of De Lyra, was born at Kiritz, in the marche of Brandenburgh,
and when young became a monk of St. Francis. After studying
philosophy and theology with distinguished success, he rose to
eminence, not only as a preacher, but as a lecturer on the Scriptures, and professor of theology. While professor of theology at
Magdeburg, he undertook the defence of De Lyra's Postills, or
Commentaries, against the strictures and objections of Paul of
Burgos. His defence is generally found appended to the printed
editions of De Lyra's work, along with the " Additions" of Paul
of Burgos. In 1431 he held the office of minister of his order in
the province of Saxe, and received letters from the landgrave of
Thuringia, requesting him to introduce some reform among the
Franciscans of Eisenac.  About the same time he was sent as
one of the deputies to the council of Basil, (one object of which
was the reformation of the church,) by that party of his order who
adhered to that council. Either at that time, or afterward, he was
raised to be general of the order. The close of his life was spent
in retirement, in the monastery of Kiritz, where he wrote the
greater part of his works. The time of his death is disputed, some
placing it in 1494, others, with more probability, in 1464. Besides
the work already mentioned, he was the author of others, and
among them of a " Chronicle," in which he treated the characters
of the popes and cardinals with such freedom, as has led to the
supposition that he was the writer of the " Nuremberg Chronicle;"
* Dibdin's Biblioth. Spencer., tom. i, pp. 1.54, 157. Horne's Introduction to Bibliography, vol. ii. App., p. lvi.
VOL. I.-34




530                BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
which, however, appears to be a mistake, as his work remains in
MS. in the library of the university of Leipsic.*
JOHN HERMAN WEssELUS, of Groningen, was born about the.
year 1419. He studied at Zwoll and Cologne, and afterward at
Paris, and was so celebrated for his talents and attainments as to
be denominated "The Light of the World." His extraordinary
religious knowledge and truly Christian spirit were so indisputable,
and his views of gospel doctrines so clear, that he has justly been
called " The Forerunner of Luther." So astonished was that great
reformer when he first met with some pieces written by Wesselus,
that he wrote a preface to the Leipsic edition of his works, printed
in 1522, in which he says: "It is very plain he was taught of
God, as Isaiah prophesied that Christians should be: (Isa. liv, 13:)
and as in my own case, so with him, it cannot be supposed that
he received his doctrines from men. If I had read his works before, my enemies might have supposed that I had learned every
thing from Wesselus, such a perfect coincidence there is in our
opinions."
Wesselus not only studied the Greek language, by the help of
the Dominican friars who about this time passed over to the West
from  Constantinople, after its subjection to the Mohammedan
government, but obtained from certain learned Jews a knowledge
of the Hebrew, Chaldee, and Arabic tongues. Having been early
instructed in the scholastic disputes, and having by his industry
acquired an uncommon share of Biblical learning, he taught philosophy and philology with great applause at Groningen, Paris, Cologne, Heidelberg, and especially at Basil, where he had the
famous Reuchlin for a hearer. His opposition to the Romish
errors, and the prevalent subtleties of scholastic disputations, subjected him to considerable danger, but his reputation for learning
and piety was so great, and his protectors were so powerful, that
he escaped uninjured by the storm.
On the advancement of Cardinal Francis de Rovere to the papal
chair, under the name of Sixtus IV., he sent for him to Rome,
and promised to grant him whatever he would ask. Wesselus
answered, " Holy father and kind patron, I shall not press hard
upon your holiness. You well know I never aimed at great
things. But as you now sustain the character of the supreme
pontiff and shepherd on earth, my request is, that you would so
discharge the duties of your elevated station that your praise may
correspond with your dignity, and that when the great Shepherd
* Chalmers' Gen. Biog. Diet., vol. xii, pp. 272-274. London, 1813.
1                         34*




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                    531
shall appear, whose first minister you are, lie may say,'Well
done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of thy Lord:'
and moreover, that you may be able to say boldly,'Lord, thou
gavest me five talents, behold, I have gained five other talents.'"
The pope replied, " That must be my care: but do you ask something for yourself."  "Then," rejoined Wesselus, " I beg you to
give me out of the Vatican library a Greek and a Hebrew Bible."
"You shall have them," said Sixtus; "but, foolish man, why
don't you ask for a bishopric, or something of that sort?" " For
the best of reasons," said Wesselus; " because I do not want such
things."  The Hebrew  Bible thus presented was long afterward
preserved in his native city of Groningen. He died in 1489, aged
seventy.
His works have been several times printed, but the most complete edition was published in 1614, 4to., with a short account of
his life by Albert Hardenberg.*
JOHN MULLER, commonly called REGIOMONTANUS, from  his
native place, Mons Regius, or Konigsberg, a town in Franconia,
was born in 1436. and became the greatest astronomer and mathematician of his time. Having first acquired grammatical learning
in his own country, he was admitted, while yet a boy, into the
academy at Leipsic; from whence he removed, at only fifteen
years of age, to Vienna, to enjoy the superior advantages afforded
to his pursuits by the learned professors in that university. After
some years the cardinal Bessarion arrived at Vienna, and soon
formed an acquaintance with the youthful astronomer, who, in
order to perfect his knowledge of the Greek tongue, accompanied
the cardinal to Rome, where he studied under Theodore Gaza, a
learned Greek. In 1463 he went to Padua, where he became a
member of the university. In 1464 he removed to Venice, to
meet and attend his patron Bessarion.t He returned the same
year with the cardinal to Rome, where he made some stay, to procure the most curious books: those he could not purchase he took
the pains to transcribe, as he wrote with great facility and elegance; and others he got copied at a great expense; for as he was
certain that none of these books could be had in Germany, he intended, on his return thither, to translate and publish some of the
Milner's Hist. of the Church of Christ, vol. iv, pp. 295, 296, 302. Enfield's
Hist. of Philosophy, b. vii, ch. iii, p. 383. Hody, De Bibl. Text. Orig., pt. ii, lib. iii,
p. 446.
f Among other curiosities in the library of Louvain, there is a MS. Bible, given to
the doctors of the university, by Cardinal Bessarion, in grateful acknowledgment of
their hospitable treatment of him. Horne's Introd. to Bibliog., vol. ii, p. 594.
1




532                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
best of them. It was probably at this period that he transcribed,
in the most beautiful manner, the whole of the New Testament
with his own hand, a labour which he undertook from the ardour
of his attachment to the divine volume, and which he is said to
have rendered familiar to him by constant perusal.
Having procured a considerable number of MSS., he returned
to Vienna, and for some time read lectures; after which he went
to Buda, on the invitation of Matthias, or Mattheo, king of Hungary, the great patron of learned men. The breaking out of the
war occasioned his withdrawing to Nuremberg, where he set up a
printing house, and printed several astronomical works. In 1474
he was prevailed upon by Pope Sixtus IV. to return to Rome, to
assist in reforming the calendar. He arrived at Rome in 1475,
but died there a year after, at only forty years of age, not without
suspicion of being poisoned.*
JOHN REUCHLIN, who assumed the name of CAPNIO, was born
at Pforzheim, a town of Suabia, in the electorate of Baden, A. D.
1454. Being trained up among the choristers of the church of his
native town, he was noticed by the margrave of Baden, who took
him under his care, and afforded him, the opportunity of acquiring
a liberal education. He afterward studied at Paris and Basil, and
in 1481 obtained the degree of doctor of law at Orleans. On his
return to Germany he accompanied Eberhard, count of Wirtemberg, to Rome; and afterward was sent on embassies to the emperor Frederick III. and the papal court. His extraordinary
attachment to the Hebrew language discovered itself on both these
occasions: at Rome he engaged a Jew to perfect his knowledge
of that tongue, for which he paid him the enormous sum of a piece
of gold an hour; at the court of Frederick, instead of receiving
the usual presents of richly caparisoned horses or golden cups, or
other valuable gifts of a similar nature, he requested and obtained
a very ancient Hebrew Bible.
Though eminently learned in the Latin and Greek languages, he
appears to have been chiefly occupied with the Hebrew, of which
he composed a grammar, the first that had been written of that
tongue by a Christian. He was also the author of a Hebrew
lexicon, and of several other works relative to that primeval language. He is justly regarded as the restorer of Hebrew and Greek
learning in Germany; though his singular erudition, and active
promotion of literature, subjected him at that time to the most virm* Chalmers' Gen. Biog. Dict., vol. xxii, p. 506. London, 1812, &c., 8vo. Hody,
De Bibl. Text. Orig., pt. ii, lib. iii, p. 447.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                    533
lent opposition, from the superstitious and ignorant inquisitors and
monks.  One of the most formidable disputes in which he was involved, arose out of his extensive knowledge of the rabbinical
writings. John Pfeffercorn, a famous converted Jew, had long
petitioned the emperor Maximilian to burn all the Jewish books
except the Bible, as tending only to encourage superstition and
impiety, and prevent the conversion of the Jews to Christianity.
The emperor, partially yielding to his petition, sent orders to Uriel,
archbishop of Mentz, to nominate some university to which, along
with the inquisitor James Hochstrat, and John Reuchlin, the decision
of the question might be referred. Reuchlin, in reply to the inquiries of the archbishop, remarked, that the Jewish works might be
divided into three classes, historical, medical, and talmudical,
which, although mixed with many fabulous and ridiculous fictions,
were useful in the refutation of their errors and antichristian opinions. This decision he sent sealed to the archbishop; but Pfeffercorn, learning the sentence, immediately published a work against
Reuchlin, calling him the champion and patron of the Jews; this
was followed by a similar publication from Hochstrat. The opinion of Reuchlin was also condemned by the universities of Paris
and Cologne, and the book which he had written in defence of it
publicly burnt.  On the other hland, the archbishop "of Spire approved of Reucllin, and gave judgment in his favour, in the cause
brought before him by Hochstrat and his advocates. The dispute
was ultimately carried to Rome, where Hochstrat remained for
three years, but finding the delegates appointed by Pope Leo X.
favourable to Reuchlin, he returned to Germany, where he afterward became active in committing some of the early Lutherans to
the flames, and where he died, at Cologne, about A. D. 1527.
Toward the close of life, Reuchlin devoted himself to teaching
the Hebrew and Greek languages, in the university of Ingolstadt,
till, being incapacitated by the jaundice, he retired to Stutgard,
where he died in 1521, aged sixty-seven.
Besides the works already mentioned, he published several others
on Hebrew literature; a Translation from Hebrew into Latin of
the VII. Penitential Psalms, printed in Hebrew and Latin, at Tubingen, 1512, 8vo.; a treatise De Arte Cabalistica, dedicated to
Leo X.; an Abridgment of the History of the Assyrians, Persians,
Greeks, and Romans, &c.*
* Cavei Hist. Litt., sac. xv. Append., p. 183. Sleidan's History of the Reformation, by Bohun, lib. ii, pp. 29, 30. Jortin's Life of Erasmus, vol. i, pp. 60, 61, 122,
379. Hody, De Bibl. Text. Orig., lib. iii, pt. ii, pp. 447, 448.
1




534                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
The munificent patronage afforded to literature by Mattheo Corvini, king of Hungary and Bohemia, who died of an apoplexy in
1490, also merits particular notice. He succeeded his father to
the throne of Hungary in 1457, and extended his reputation as a
soldier throughout Europe, by the captures of Vienna and Nieustadt. But his love of literature, and patronage of learning, have
transmitted his name with more tranquil and delightful recollections to posterity, than any warlike feats could possibly have done.
Animated by an ardent thirst for knowledge, he became a most
diligent collector of books, and during the last thirty years of his
life spared no expense in the acquisition of a library, which placed
him among the most illustrious patrons and guardians of literature.
He purchased innumerable volumes of Greek and Hebrew writers
at Constantinople, and other Grecian cities, at the period of the
conquest of the Eastern empire by the Turks; and as the operations of the typographical art were yet but slow and imperfect, and
the number of books hitherto printed but few, he maintained four
learned transcribers at Florence, to multiply the copies of such
classics as he could not procure in Greece. He erected three
libraries in the citadel of Buda, in which he placed thirty thousand,
or, according to others, fifty thousand volumes. The principal
one, in which the chief part of his magnificent collection was
placed, was a sort of vaulted gallery, divided into three parts: a
fourth part forming a kind of convenient appendage for the reception of visiters. In this fourth part were two stained glass windows,
and two doors; one of the doors opening immediately into the
library, the other leading to the monarch's private apartment. In
these libraries he established thirty amanuenses, skilled in writing,
illuminating, and painting, who, under the direction of Felix Ragusinus, a Dalmatian, consummately learned in the Greek, Chaldee,
and Arabic languages, and an elegant designer and painter of ornaments on vellum, attended constantly to the business of transcription and decoration. The librarian was Bartholomew Fontius, a
learned Florentine, the writer of several philological works, and a
professor of Greek and oratory, at Florence. The books were
placed upon shelves according to their classes; and in this manner
were covered with silk curtains, or hangings, adorned with silver
and gold, or brocaded. The lower recesses next to the floor were
appropriated to something like cupboards, which contained MSS.
too large for their proper places, or of a character not easily admitting of classification. The exterior of this lower division, or probably the cupboard doors were skilfully and curiously carved. The
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                  535
books were chiefly vellum MSS., bound in brocade, and protected
by knobs and clasps of silver, or other precious metal; and were
ornamented or marked with the device or insignia of the owner,
which was that of a black crow with a ring in his mouth, in allusion to the etymon of his name, Corvus, a crow, or raven. The
library was likewise celebrated for the magnificent celestial globe
it contained, and for the silver and marble fountains which played
in the adjoining gallery, or court. When Buda was captured by
the Turks, under Solyman II. in 1526, Cardinal Bozmanni offered
for this inestimable collection two hundred thousand pieces of the
imperial money, but without effect, for the barbarous besiegers defaced or destroyed most of the books, for the sake of their splendid
covers, and the silver bosses and clasps with which they were enriched. Those which escaped the rapacity of the Turkish soldiery
were thrown into a sort of subterraneous vault, there to moulder or
perish, as it might happen. In 1666, Lambecius, the learned librarian of the imperial library at Vienna, was sent to Buda for the
purpose of recovering the remains of the Corvinian library. He
found there, in a crypt of the citadel, barely lighted with one window, and ventilated with one door, about four hundred volumes
in number, lying upon an earthen floor, and covered with dirt and
filth. Three manuscript copies of the " Fathers" were all that he
was permitted to carry away.  But in the year 1686 Buda was
captured by the Austrian arms, when the remainder, though comparatively of little value, were removed to Vienna. Some of the
most valuable volumes formerly belonging to this library have
been discovered in the imperial library at Vienna, in the Wolfenbuttel library, and in that of Morelli, the learned librarian of St.
Mark's, at Venice.  In the public library of Brussels there are
two exquisitely finished MSS. which once graced the library of
Corvinus. The first is a Latin Evangelistariuvm, written in letters
of gold, upon the most beautiful vellum, and not inaptly called
"The Golden Book." It had become the property of Philip II. of
Spain, who kept it in the Escurial library, under lock and key;
and is said to have been formerly shown to strangers with great
ceremony, and by torch light! The other is a magnificent Missal,
highly illuminated.
Alexander Brassicanus, who saw the library at Buda before it
was dispersed, noticed, among an immense number of other valuable works, the whole of the writings of Hyperides, the Grecian
orator, with valuable scholia; a large book of the apostolical
canons; the commentary of Theodoret on the Psalms; the works
I1




536                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
of Chrysostom, Cyril, Nazianzen, Basil the Great, Gregory of
Nyssa, Theophanus, &c.*
During this century flourished also R. ISAAC, or MORDECAI
NATHAN, a celebrated Jew, and the first who engaged in the labo.
rious work of compiling a Hebrew Concordance, which lie began
in 1438, and completed in 144S, after ten years' wearisome toil.
His book was published at Venice, 1523, but with considerable
defects, many words and places being wholly omitted. A second
edition was printed at Basil, 1581, by Ambrose Froben, in which
some of the faults of the Venice edition were corrected, but without altering the form, or supplying the defects. A splendid edition, by Marius de Calasio, a Franciscan friar, was published at
Rome in 1621, in four volumes folio, to which were added, 1. A
Latin translation of R. Nathan's explanation of the several roots,
with the author's own enlargements; 2. The Rabbinical, Chaldee,
Syriac, and Arabic words, derived from, or agreeing with, the
Hebrew root in signification; 3. A literal version of the Hebrew
text; 4. The variations of the Vulgate and Septuagint; 5. The
proper names of men, rivers, mountains, &c. Afterward John
Buxtorf, the indefatigable propagator of the Hebrew language,
undertook to correct and reform the preceding editions, and happily succeeded, by casting it into an entirely new form.  This
was printed after his death, by his son, at Basil, in 1632, folio.
The Rev. W. Romaine published an improved edition of Calasio's
work, in 1747, at London, in four volumes folio. "But in point
of usefulness this is vastly inferior to' The Hebrew Concordance,
adapted to the English Bible, disposed after the manner of Bux
torf, by John Taylor, D. D.,' London, 1754, two volumes folio,
which may be justly styled the sixth edition of R. Nathan's Concordance, for it has been the groundwork of the whole."  Dr.
Taylor's "work was published under the patronage of all the
English and Irish bishops, and is a monument to their honour,
as well as to the learning and industry of the editor."t The time
of R. Nathan's death is uncertain.
Besides the Oriental and Biblical scholars who have been already
noticed, there were several who, toward the close of this century,
prosecuted similar studies with success; among these may be
* Dibdin's Bibliographical Decameron, vol. ii, pp. 455-462. Warton's History of
English Poetry, vol. ii, pp. 417, 418. Lorneier, De Bibliothecis, cap. ix, p. 204.
Horne's Introduction to Bibliography, vol. ii, p. 595.
t Taylor's Hebrew Concordance, Preface, sec. i, vol. i. Clarke's Bibliographical
Dictionary, vol. ii, p. 113.
1




FIFTEENTH CENTURY.                    537
enumerated Marcus Lypomannus; Laurentius Valla; Baptista
Mantuanus; John Picus, earl of Mirandola; Rodolphus Agricola;
and John Creston.
MARCUS LYPOMANNUS, a counsellor and patrician of tile republic
of Venice, eminently skilled in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, flourished in the early part of this century.*
LAURENTIUS VALLA, a Roman patrician, doctor of divinity, and
canon of St. John of Lateran, was one of the chief restorers of
the beauty of the Latin language.  His work, "On the elegance
of the Latin language," has been frequently printed. He was also
the author of "Annotations on the New Testament," edited by
Erasmus, who wrote in defence of them.  Valla had a design to
translate the New Testament into Latin; but being forbidden by
the pope, he could only write notes upon the Vulgate, censuring
the bad Latinity and the inaccuracy of this version. F. Simon is,
perhaps, too severe upon him as a critic, and says, that as he was
a mere grammarian, his remarks are inconsiderable.  His "Annotations" were favourably received by Pope Nicholas V., who
recalled him from Naples, whither he had fled to avoid the persecution of the inquisition. He died in 1457, in the fifty-second
year of his age.t
BAPTISTA MIANTUANUS, a monk of Mantua, of the order of the
Carmelites, after being chosen six times vicar-general, was constituted general of the order. To polite literature he added the
knowledge of the Hebrew, as well as of the Greek and Latin
languages.  He wrote a tract entitled De Causa Diversitatis inter
Interpretes S. Scripturce, in which he defended the Vulgate version against the Jews. His works were printed at Antwerp in
1607, in four volumes octavo. He died in 1516.t
JOHN FRANCIS PICUS, or PIco, earl of Mirandola, was born
February 24th, 1463.  He lost his father early, but he found in
his mother a most attentive guardian; and the care which she took
of his education was repaid by the mrost astonishing improvement.
It is said, that when he was only eighteen years of age lhe understood twenty-two different languages.  In 1491 he gave up his
estates, and retired to one of his castles, that lie might devote
himself entirely to theological studies, and especially to the study
of the Scriptures.  In this retirement he died, in 1494, at the age
of thirty-one.  He wrote against judicial astrology, combating the
* Hody, De Bibl. Text. Orig., lib. iii, part ii, p. 440.
t Hody, ut sup. Jortin's Ilife of Erasmus, vol. i, p. 20.: Hody, ut sulip., p. 443. Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom. ii, p. 624. Paris, 1723
1




538                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
cabalistic opinions of the Jews; defended the Septuagint version
of the Psalms; and was the author of an Exposition of the Lord's
Prayer, and many other works.*  After he had withdrawn from
the pomp and ambition of the court, he thus expressed himself in
a letter to a friend: " Many think it a man's greatest happiness in
this life to enjoy dignity and power, and to live in the plenty and
splendour of a court; but of these, you know, I have had a share:
and.... I am  persuaded the Cesars, if they could speak from
their sepulchres, would declare Picus more happy in his solitude
than they were in the government of the world: and if the dead
could return, they would choose the pangs of a second death rather
than risk their salvation a second time in public stations."t
RODOLPHUS AGRICOLA was a learned German.  Toward the
close of life he devoted himself entirely to the study of the Scriptures, and of the Hebrew tongue, which he had only begun to learn
at forty; but in which he made such improvement, that, with the
assistance of his teacher, he made a translation of the Psalms.
He died in 1485, aged forty-three.1
JOHN CRESTON was an Italian Carmelite monk and doctor, of
Placentia. He published an edition of the Psalms, in Greek, with
a Latin translation, or rather corrected edition of the Vulgate,
printed at Milan, 1481, in small folio, or quarto, at the expense of
Bonaccursius Pisanus.~
* Hody, pp. 445, 446. Clarke's Bibliographical Dictionary, vol. v, p. 215. Le
Long, torn. ii, p. 905.
t Butler's Lives, vol. ix, p. 71.
t Hody, p. 446. Jortin's Life of Erasmus, vol. i, p. 76.
~ Hody,. p. 446. Le Long, edit. Masch., part ii, tom. ii, sec. i, p. 311.
1




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                   539
CHAPTER III.
SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
Encouragement of Literature in Italy-George of Ambasia-Leo X.Profligacy of the Papal Court-Polyglotts- Aug. Justinian-Compiutensian
Polyglott-Cardinal Ximenes-Mozarabic Liturgy-Editors of the Complulensian Polyglott-Sanctes Pagninus —Learned Italians-Spanish Councils
-Hebrew Literature-State of Biblical Literature in France and EnglandPersecutions in England-Biblical Scholars-Low state of Biblical Knowledge in Germany-Astonishing Ignorance of many of the Clergy-German
Scholars —Erasmus.
THE commencement of the SIXTEENTH century was marked by
a rapidly increasing ardour for classical pursuits, and by the publication of various important and magnificent Biblical works, which
displayed both the erudition and munificence of those who projected
and executed them. In ITALY, the court of Rome, with singular
inconsistency, lavished its favours on men of learning and scientific
acquirements, regardless of the moral turpitude of their character,
and the infidel profligacy of their opinions and habits. Incredible
pains were taken to collect books from every quarter, at immense
expense; and the papal thunders were directed against any persons who should purloin or disperse the volumes belonging to the
libraries attached to the various monastic institutions. A curious
proof of this fact is afforded by an epistle, addressed by the cardinal
legate, George of Ambasia, to the canons of Bruges, from whom
he had borrowed Hilary on the Psalmrs:" GEORGE of AMBASIA, presbyter of Saint Sixtus, cardinal of
Rouen, legate of the apostolic see, to his dear friends the venerable
the fathers, the canons, and chapter, of the sacred chapel of Bruges,
wisheth peace."
" HAVING been informed that in the library of your sacred chapel
there was an ancient copy of Hilary of Poitiers upon the Psalms;
and taking great delight in literary pursuits, especially those which
regard our holy religion, so far as our weak abilities will permit;
we requested from your paternal kindness the loan of that book for
a few days, to which you courteously acceded, notwithstanding the
pontifical bull, which forbade any books being taken away from
the library under pain of excommunication."
" Wherefore, having read the book with considerable pleasure,
we have resolved to have it copied; for which purpose it will be
requisite to have it in our possession for some months, though we
1




540                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
intend, after it has been transcribed, to return it uninjured to your
paternal care. We, therefore, absolve you from whatever censures
or punishments you might incur by lending the book; and, by the
authority with which we are invested, do hereby pronounce and
declare you absolved, notwithstanding any thing to the contrary
contained in the aforesaid bull, or in any other."
"Given at Bruges, the third day of March, MDVII.
"GEORGE, cardinal-legate of Rouen."*
The election of the young cardinal John de Medici to the pontifical chair in 1513 proved favourable to the general interests of
literature, but increased the licentiousness of the papal court, and
spread a baneful influence over the whole of the Romish hierarchy.
The celebrity of this pontiff, who assumed the title of LEO X., and
the intimate connection of his pontificate with the Reformation by
LUTHER, may justify us in detailing at some length the more prominent traits of his life and character.
JOHN, or GIOVANNTI DE MEDICI, was a native of Florence, the
second son of Lorenzo, styled the Magnificent, and grandson of
Cosmo the Great. From his infancy he was destined to the church,
and received an education suited to the high rank and ambitious
views of his father, which produced a correspondent gravity of
deportment at so very early an age, that his biographer says, "he
seems never to have been a child."
At seven years of age he was admitted into holy orders, and
about a year afterward was appointed abbot of Fonte Dolce by
Louis XI. of France, who also conferred upon him the abbacy of
the rich monastery of Pasignans. Yet we are assured that at this
early period he " was not more distinguished from his youthful
associates by the high promotions which he enjoyed, than he was
by his attention to his studies, his strict performiance of the duties
enjoined him, and his inviolable regard to truth." He, however,
bore " his blushing honours thick upon him," for when he was
only thirteen years of age he received the dignity of a cardinal from
Pope Innocent VIII., and Pope Julius II. employed him as legate.
On the 11th of March, 1513, being then only thirty-seven years
old, he was elected supreme head of the church, on the decease
of Julius, and assumed the name of Leo X.
The commencement of his pontificate seemed to realize the
high expectations which had been formed of it, particularly by a
-e Voyages Litteraires de deux Religieux Benedictins, tom. i, p. 29.




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                    541
general amnesty published at Florence, his native city, respecting
those who had been the occasion of the violent civil commotions
which had taken place in it; and by the recall of the banished
citizens to their country. With considerable address and perseverance he surmounted the difficulties which had prevented the
enjoyment of peace between Italy and France; and composed the
troubles which the ambition of the surrounding sovereigns, or the
misconduct of his predecessors, had occasioned.  Unhappily, however, the hopes that were entertained respecting him  and the excellence of his pontifical government were never realized; his
ambitious projects being accomplished by his advancement to the
tiara, he became indolent and voluptuous; his assumed gravity
gave way to the lowest buffoonery; his munificence degenerated
into prodigality; and his attachment to truth was lost in the insincerity of his political engagements: even in his literary pursuits,
profane was generally preferred to sacred literature; and his disposal of ecclesiastical dignities was frequently regulated by the aid
afforded to his pleasures. Hie conferred the archbishopric of Bari
on Gabriel Merino, a Spaniard, whose chief merit consisted in the
excellence of his voice and his knowledge of church music; and
promoted another person named Francesco Paoloso, for similar
qualifications, to the rank of an archdeacon.  " It seems to have
been his intention," says one of his biographers, " to pass his time
cheerfully, and to secure himself against trouble and anxiety by all
the means in his power.  He therefore sought all opportunities of
pleasure and hilarity, and indulged his leisure in amusement, jests,
and singing."*
An elegant writer thus characterizes the court of Leo: "While
Leo, with equal splendour and profusion, supported the character
of a sovereign prince, he was too prone to forget the gravity of the
pontiff. He delighted in exposing to public ridicule those characteristic infirmities of some of his courtiers which his own penetration easily discovered. But these were venial aberrations from
decorum in comparison with those excesses which Leo's example
sanctioned, or at which his indifference connived. The few who,
amid this more than syren fascination, still retained any sense of
decency, were constrained to blush on beholding ecclesiastics
mingling, without reserve, in every species of pleasurable dissipation.  The younger cardinals especially, many of whom  were
junior branches of royal or illustrious houses, exulted in the free
* Roscoe's Life of Leo X., vol. iv, p. 486; and Life of Lorenzo de Medici, vol. ii,
pp. 178-196, 379-383. Lond., 1806, 8vo., and Lond., 1800.
1




542                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
participation of indulgences, to which the most sacred characters
were no restraint. Rome frequently saw her court, with a multitude of attendants, and an immense apparatus, accompany the
supreme pontiff to partake of the sports of the field. Under the
direction of the ingenious cardinal Bibiena, whose versatile talents
appeared to equal advantage on serious, festive, or ludicrous occasions, the spacious apartments of the Vatican were metamorphosed
into theatres. The pontifical tables teemed with luxurious viands,
that realized the refinements of Apicius  and particular seasons
afforded a sanction to the freedoms and buffooneries of the ancient
Saturnalia.  Jovius acknowledges that Adrian, a man of a frugal
character, could not examine, without shuddering, the particulars
of those enormous disbursements which marked the domestic
establishment of his predecessor."*
Leo has been accused of treating revelation with contempt, and
of advancing principles of an atheistical tendency. Old Bishop
Bale, in his "Pageant of Popes," (p. 179,) printed 1574, relates
this anecdote: " On a time when Cardinal Bembus did move a
question out of the Gospell, the pope gave him a very contemptuous answere, saying,' All ages can testifyc enough how profitable
that fable of Christc hath ben to us, and our companie"'"t  The
authenticity of this anecdote has been denied by a late biographer
of this pontiff, who calls it, " a story which it has justly been
remarked, has been repeated by three or four hundred different
writers, without any authority whatsoever, except that of the author
above referred to.":t But that this assertion is incorrect, appears
by a quotation, containing the same anecdote, made from an old
Spanish writer, by Greswell, in his iMemoirs of Angelus Politianus, Actias Sincerus Sannazarius, Petras Bembus, 4c., p. 135,
where, after observing that several circumstances are recorded by
the earlier reformed writers, "which reflect much on Bembo's
character, and that of Leo X. his master," he adds, in a note,
"The following is the bold language of an old Spanish writer, with
regard to Leo X.
"Fue un hombre atheista, que ni pens6 aver cielo, ni infierno
despues desta vida: y assi se murio sin recebir los sacramentos.
Sanazaro dize que no los pudo recebir porque los avia vendido.6
* Greswell's Mem. ofAngelus Politianus, &c., pp. 141-145. Manchester, 1801, 8vo.
t Roscoe's Life of Leo the Tenth, vol. iv, ch. xxiv, p. 479.; Ibid., p. 480.
~ The following is the epigram alluded to above:"In Leonern X. Pont. Max.
Sacra sub extrema si forte requiritis hora
Cur Leo non potuit sumere,-veldiderat."
[Greswell, uIt szp., p. 104.




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                     543
Veesse tambien claramente su athcismo por la respuesta que dio
al Cardenal Bembo, que le avia alegado cierto passo del Evangelio: al qual dissolutamente respondio Leon estas palabras: Todo
el mundo sabe quanto provecho aya traydo'a nosotros, y a nuestra
compaina aquella fabula de Christo, &c."
" Dos Tratados: el prima es del Papa y de su autoridad; et el
segundo es de la Missa. 2nd. ed. Svo. 1599. The preface dated
1588, and subscribed C. D. V."*
On the first day of August in every year Leo was accustomed
to invite such of the cardinals as were among his more intimate
friends to play at cards with lilmn, when he distributed pieces of
gold to the crowd of spectators who were permitted to be present
at this entertainment. He was also a thorough proficient in the
game of chess, though he is said to have always reproved the playing with dice.t
Other gratifications in which Leo indulged were of the lowest
and most disgusting nature; such as his entertaining in his palace
a Mendicant friar, called Father Martin, whose chief merit consisted in eating -forty eggs, or twenty capons, at a meal, and such like
feats of voracious gluttony; and the pleasure he derived from deceiving his guests by preparing dishes of crows and apes, and
similar animals, and seeing the avidity with which the high seasoned food was devoured. Yet brutish as were these sources of
(liversion, they have found an apologist in a celebrated writer, who
regards them, when associated with Leo's literary pleasures, as
serving "to mark that diversity and rangle of intellect which distinguished not only Leo X., but also other individuals of this
extraordinary family!"t  It must however be acknowledged, that
his own meals were generally of the most frugal nature.
The profuse expenditure of Leo involved him in embarrassments,
which led to the adoption of expedients, to supply the deficiency of
his income, which for a while effected their purpose, but in the end
became the means of limiting the pontifical authority, and of producing an ecclesiastical revolution, infinitely serviceable to the
interests of religion and truth. Among the schemes which he
adopted, to drain the wealth of the credulous multitude, was the
open sale of dispensations and indulgences for the most enormous
and disgraceful crimes, under pretence of aiding the completion of
the magnificent and expensive church of St. Peter, at Rome. In
* Greswell's Memoirs of Angelus Politianus, &c., p. 135.
t Roscoe's Life of Leo the Tenth, vol. iv, ch. 24, pp. 486, 487.: Roscoe's Life of Leo the Tenth, vol. iv, p. 491.




544                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Germany, the right of promulgating these indulgences was granted
to Albert, elector of Metz and archbishop of Magdeburg, who empIloyed a Dominican friar named Tetzel, as his chief agent for
retailing them in Saxony; who, executing his commission with the
most shameless effrontery, roused the indignation of Luther against
such flagrant abuses of the papal authority, and created such a
feeling against the infamous measure, as terminated, by the gracious control of divine Providence, in the glorious REFORMATION
from popery.*
The most illustrious trait in the character of Leo was his munificent patronage of learning and the fine arts. lile was himself
well versed in the Latin language, and possessed a competent
knowledge of the Greek, accompanied witll singular proficiency in
polite literature, and extensive acquaintance with history in general.
In the attention paid by him to the collecting and preserving of
ancient MSS. and other memorials of learning, he emulated the
example of h'is father, and by his perseverance and liberality at
length succeeded in restoring to its former splendour the celebrated
Laurentian library, which had been commenced by Cosmo de
Medici, but had been afterward dispersed by the troops of Charles
VIII. of France, on the expulsion of the haughty Piero di Medici
from Florence. It was removed by Leo to Rome, from whence
it was re-transferred to Florence, by his cousin and successor
Clement VIII.; who, by a bull, dated December 15, 1532, made
provision for its future security.  Among the learned who were
patronized by Leo are enumerated, Teseo Ambrogio; Sante Pagnini; Agostino Giustiniani; Agacio Guidacerio; and particularly
Erasmus, between whom and the pontiff an epistolary correspondence occasionally subsisted, and who dedicated to Leo his edition
of the Greek and Latin New Testament.  But his patronage of
Oriental and Biblical scholars was certainly very far inferior in its
remunerations to that which was bestowed upon the cultivators of
the fine arts and more modern literature.t The two celebrated
historians of the council of Trent are agreed as to his preference
of profane to sacred literature; Fra. Paolo (Conc. di Tirent., lib. i,
p. 5) thinks he might have been deemed " a perfect pontiff," if to
his other "accomplishments he had united some knowledge of
religion, and a greater inclination to piety; to neither of which,"
* Roscoe's Life of Lorenzo de Medici. vol. ii, ch. x, pp. 383, 384. Robertson's
Hist. of Charles V., vol. ii, b. ii, pp. 91-95.
t Roscoe's Life of Lorenzo de Medici, vol. ii, ch. x, pp. 387-390. Roscoe's Life
of Leo the Tenth, vol. iv, ch. xxiv, pp. 474-476; and vol. ii, ch. xi, pp. 396-404.
1




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                    545
says the historian, "c he appeared to pay any great attention;" and
Pallavacini, the opponent of Fra. Paolo, acknowledges (Conc. di
Trent., lib. i, cap. iii, p. 51) that this defect " was more apparent,
when, being instituted at thirty seven years of age the president and
chief of the Christian religion, he not only continued to devote
himself to the curiosity of profane studies, but even called into the
sanctuary of religion itself those who were better acquainted with
the fables of Greece, and the delights of poetry, than with the history of the church, and the doctrines of the fathers."* His indifference to religion and religious duties is further confirmed by his
conduct respecting the discourses delivered in his presence.  " In
the year 1514 he ordered his master of the palace, on pain of excommunication, to see that the sermon delivered before him did
not exceed half an hour; and in the month of November, 1517,
being wearied with a long discourse, he desired his master of the
ceremonies to remind the master of the palace, that the council of
the Lateran had decided that a sermon should not exceed a quarter of an hour at most. In consequence of which remonstrances
there was no sermon on the first day of the year 1518, the master
of the palace being fearful that the preacher would exceed the prescribed limits."t
This celebrated, but irreligious pontiff, died after a short illness, on December 1st, 1521; not without suspicion of having been poisoned; but most probably from a fever, brought on by
excess of joy at the unexpected success of the papal armies against
France.
The impression and publication of the Polyglott Psalter of Giustiniani, or Justinian, and the Complutensian Polyglott Bible of
Cardinal Ximenes, which were respectively dedicated to Leo, eminently distinguished his pontificate. On this subject, the learned
author of the " Succinct Account of Polyglott Bibles" has the following remarks: "The taste that prevailed early in the sixteenth
century for the cultivation of literature was partly the cause of,
and partly owing to, the publication of tile sacred writings in different languages. Certain men, in whom were providentially
united a taste for sound learning, together with ecclesiastical influence, and secular opulence, determined to publish, first, PARTS, and
then the WHOLE of the sacred writings, in such languages as were
esteemed the learned languages of the universe. These were
* Roscoe's Life of Leo the Tenth, vol. iv,.pp. 468, 469. See also Jortin's Life of
Erasmus, vol. i, pp. 237, 261. London, 1808, 8vo.
t Roscoe's Life of Leo the Tenth, vol. iv, ch. xxiv, p. 489, note.
VOL. I.-35




546                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
principally, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Chaldee, and Syriac;
others of less importance were added to them. Such publications
attracted general attention, and became greatly studied.  Hence
the taste, not only for sacred literature, but universal science,
became widely diffused; and the different nations of Europe seemed
to vie with each other in the publication of those works which have
since obtained the denomination of POLYGLOTTS, that is,'books in
many languages.' "'
The first in order of publication was the Polyglott Psalter of
Giustiniani, or Justinian, bishop of Nebbio, or Nebio, in the island
of Corsica.  The title of his work was, Psalterium, Hebraicum,
Graecure, Arabicurn, et Chaldeum, cunr tribus Latinis Interpretationibus et Glossis; and we learn from  the colophon, that it was
printed at Genoa, 1516, by Peter Paul Porrus, in the house of Nicolas Justinian Paul. It is in folio. A preface is prefixed, dated
Genoa, Cal. Aug. 1516, addressed by Justinian to Leo X.  It is
divided into eight columns, of which, the first contains the Hebrew;
the second, Justinian's Latin translation, answering word for word
to the Hebrew; the third, the Latin Vulgate; the fourth, the
Greek; the fifth, the Arabic; the sixth, the Chaldee Paraphrase
in Hebrew characters; the seventh, Justinian's Latin translation
of the Chaldee Paraphrase; the eighth, Latin scholia, or notes.t
On the nineteenth Psalm, ver. 4, " Their words are gone to the
end of the world," Justinian has inserted, by way of commentary,
a curious sketch of the life of Columbus, and an account of his
discovery of America, with a very singular description of the inhabitants, particularly of the female native Americans; and in which
he affirms, that Columbus frequently boasted himself to be the
person appointed by God to fulfil this prophetic exclamation of
David.  But the account of Columbus, by Justinian, seems to have
displeased the family of that great navigator, for in the Life of Columbus, written by his son, (see Churchill's Coll. of Voyages, &c.,
vol. ii, p. 560,) he is accused of falsehood and contradiction; and
it is even added, "that considering the many mistakes and falsehoods found in his History and Psalter, the senate of Genoa has
laid a penalty upon any person that shall read or keep it,$ and has
caused it to be carefully sought out in all places it has been sent to,
that it may by public decree be destroyed, and utterly extin* Dr. A. Clarke's Succinct Account of Polyglott Bibles, Introd. Liverpool, 1802,
8vo.
t Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, ed. Masch, pt. i, cap. iii, sec. 25, p. 400.
X Qu. The History or Psalter?
1                        35*




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                     547
guished."T  After all, the mistakes of Justinian most probably
arose, not from design, but from incorrect information.
The Arabic in this Psalter was the first that ever was printed;
and the Psalter itself the first part of the Bible that ever appeared
in so many languages.
Justinian undertook this work with the expectation of considerable gain, hoping thereby to assist his indigent relatives, but was
miserably disappointed.  His original intention, he informs us, in
the account of himself prefixed to his Annals of Genoa, was to give
to the public a similar Polyglott edition of the whole Bible.  " I
had always imagined," says he, " that my work would be eagerly
sought after, and that the wealthy prelates and princes would
readily have afforded me every assistance necessary for printing
the rest of the Bible, in such a diversity of languages.  But I was
mistaken; every one applauded the work, but suffered it to rest
and sleep; for scarcely was a fourth part sold of the two thousand
copies which I had printed, exclusive of fifty more copies printed
upon vellum, which I had presented to all the kings in the world,
whether Christian or pagan."  He, nevertheless, completed the
MS. of the New Testament, a great part of which lie wrote with
his own hand; Sixtus Senensis says he had seen the Polyglott
MS. of the four Gospels thus written, and also decorated by himself.  After completing the MS. of the whole of the New  Testament, he engaged in a similar compilation of the text and versions of the Old Testament; conceiving, as he said, "that his
time could not be better employed than in the study of the Holy
Scriptures."t
AUGUSTIN JUSTINIAN, or, according to his Italian name, AGosTINO GIUSTINIANI, was born at Genoa, 1470.  He entered at an
early age into the order of St. Dominic, and enjoyed the advantages
of good masters, and an excellent library.  For many years he
devoted himself entirely to study, except what time was occupied
in the duties of instruction, from which he obtained permission to
retire, in 1514, that he might apply solely to the preparing of the
Pentaglott Bible for the press, and to the studies necessarily con
nected with so important a design. He published his Pentaglott
Psalter, as a specimen of the work, in 1516, but being disappointed
in the patronage he had too ardently expected, relinquished the
* Beloe's Anecdotes of Literature and Scarce Books, vol. i, pp. 109-111; and vol. iii,
pp. 69, 76, 77.
t Simon, Lettres Choisies, tom. iii, pp. 109, 111. Amsterd., 1730, 12no. Fabricy,
Titres Primitifs, tom. i, p. 194. Sixt. Senens. Biblioth. Sanct., lib. iv, p. 251.
1




548                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
project of printing the rest of the Bible. Leo X. promised him
greater promotion than the bishopric of Nebbio, to which he had
been previously raised, but never fulfilled the engagement. Happily, about the same time Francis I. king of France, to whom the
bishop of Paris had recommended Justinian, as a man of learning
and merit, invited him to Paris, and bestowed on him a pension of
three hundred crowns, with the titles of counsellor and almnoner.
He remained five years at the court of Francis, and during that
period published various works; and visited England and Flanders,
returning by way of Lorraine, where he was received, and liberally
entertained, by the reigning duke Anthony, and his brother the
cardinal.
While at Paris, he taught the Hebrew language, as professor;
and also published a Latin translation of the Moreh Nebochim of
Maimonides, which he dedicated to his friend and patron Stephen
Poncher, bishop of Paris. A copy of this work is in the possession of the present writer. It is a beautiful thin folio, printed by
Jodocus Badius Ascensius. The title-page is enclosed in a curious
ornamented border, and decorated with the vignette device of the
printing press of Ascensius. The running title is executed with a
beautiful Gothic type; the text is in the Roman character; and
the capital letters with which the chapters commence are fine
specimens of the initial letters on dotted grounds, especially the
large R and D with which Justinian's dedication, and Maimonides'
preface, respectively begin.  The dedication and colophon both
bear date A. D. 1520. This translation has generally been considered as the work of Justinian himself; but F. Simon says, he
merely edited an old version which had been long in existence, and
to which Aquinas and Bradwardine have referred, and of which he
himself had seen a copy, written in a neat hand.
From Paris, Justinian returned into Italy, to visit his diocess,
but with the intention of revisiting France, the king having promised him a rich benefice. These hopes were, however, blasted
by the war breaking out between Leo and Francis. After his return to Italy he compiled his Annali di Genova, or History of
Genoa, in Italian, to which he prefixed the account of his life, particularly of his publication of the Pentaglott Psalter. He likewise,
with the permission of the pope, presented his valuable library to
the republic of his native city. This collection contained about a
thousand volumes of the most valuable and rare works, obtained
from the most distant foreign parts, forming, at that time, as he
assures us, a library almost without a parallel in Europe. In the
1




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                  549
accumulation of these literary treasures, he had been greatly aided
by the commercial facilities afforded by the maritime city of Genoa.
Among the works thus presented to the republic, was included the
MS. of his Polyglott New Testament, written with his own hand.
From a letter addressed by the abbe Poch to Gabriel Fabricy, we
learn that the MS. is probably still preserved.
This very learned Dominican perished in a storm at sea, together with the vessel which was conveying him from Genoa to
Nebbio, in the year 1536.*
The famous COMPLUTENSIAN POLYGLOTT, published subsequently to Justinian's Psalter, was commenced in 1502, under the
auspices of Cardinal Ximenes, archbishop of Toledo, who spared
no expense, either in procuring MSS., or in recompensing the editors for their trouble. Esprit Flechier, bishop of Nismes, in his
Histoire du Cardinal Ximenes, gives the following account of this
important edition of the Holy Scriptures:"The archbishop, seeing the great corruption of manners that
reigned even among the chief ministers of the church, dreaded the
attempts of enemies to spread false doctrines by captious interpretations of the Old and New Testament, which, while they dazzled
the simple, might appear unanswerable to the learned. For this
reason, he undertook a new edition of the Bible, containing, for the
Old Testament, the Hebrew text, the Vulgate Latin, the Greek of
the Septuagint version, with a Latin translation, and the Chaldee
Paraphrase, with a similar Latin interpretation; —for the New Testament, the Greek text and the Vulgate.  To these was added a
volume, explaining the meaning of Hebrew words and idioms,
highly esteemed by those who are intimately acquainted with the
language."
" This most difficult undertaking required the influence and perseverance of a patron like the cardinal. He immediately procured
the assistance of the most eminent scholars, Demetrius of Crete, a
Greek by birth, Anthony of Nebrissa, Lopez Stunica, and Ferdinand Pintian, professors of the Greek and Latin languages; Alphonsus, a physician of Alcala, Paul Coronel, and Alphonsus
Zamora, noted for their skill in the Hebrew tongue, having formerly
taught that language among the Jews, but who having renounced
Judaism, and embraced Christianity, had given proof of extraordinary erudition and genuine piety. To these he explained his design, promised to bear the whole expense, and granted them liberal
* Simon, Lettres Choisies, tom. iii, pp. 107-111. Sixt. Senens. Biblioth. Sanct.,
lib. iv, p. 251.  Fabricy, Titres Primitifs, tom. ii, p. 294.
I




550                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
pensions. He urged upon them the necessity of diligence;'Hasten,
my friends,' said he,' lest I fail you, or you fail me, for you need
a protection like mine, and I need assistance like yours.' By these,
and similar exhortations, and by the liberal encouragement afforded
them, they became assiduous in their labour, and incessantly applied to the work, till the whole was completed."
" He caused diligent inquiry to be made for manuscript copies
of the Old Testament, in order that the faults of former editions
might be corrected, corrupted passages be restored, and obscure
and doubtful expressions be explained. Pope Leo X. favoured
him with MSS. from the Vatican library, frequently praised his
magnificence and generosity, and even consulted him in the most
important occurrences of his pontificate.  For fifteen years the
work was continued without interruption; and it is equally astonishing, that neither the long and tedious application wearied the
constancy of the learned editors, nor that the oppressive cares which
devolved on Ximenes relaxed either his zeal or his affection for
this undertaking."
"He obtained seven Hebrew MSS. which cost him four thousand crowns of gold, independent of the (Greek MSS. sent him from
Rome; or the Latin ones in Gothic characters, brought from foreign
countries, or procured from the principal libraries of Spain, every
one of which was at least eight hundred years old. The whole
charge of the work, including the pensions of the editors, the wages
of the transcribers, the price of books, the expense of journeys,
and the cost of the impression, amounted, according to the calculations that were made, to more than fifty thousand crowns of
gold."
"This great work, which had occasioned so much care and expense, being at length completed, Ximenes dedicated it to Leo X.,
either to testify his gratitude, or because all works which regard
the explanation of Scripture are suitably inscribed to the sovereign
pontiff..... When the last volume was brought him he hastened
to receive it, and suddenly raising his hands and eyes to heaven,
exclaimed,'I thank thee, my Saviour Jesus Christ, that before I
die, I see the completion of what I most earnestly desired.' Then
turning to some of his friends who were present, he said to them,'God has favoured me with success in things which to you have
appeared to be great, and which probably have contributed to the
public good; but there is nothing on which you ought to congratulate me so much as this edition of the Bible, which opens
those sacred sources from  which a purer theology may be
1




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                     551
drawn. than from those rivulets from whence, in general, it is
sought."'*
This Bible is divided into six parts, and comprised in four
volumes folio. The New Testament was printed in 1514, as appears from the following subscription at the end of the Revelation,
transcribed from a copy in the Collegiate library at Manchester: —
"Ad perpetuam laudem et gloriam dei et domini nostri iesu christi
hoc sacrosanctum opus novi testamenti et libri vite grecis latinisq;
characteribus noviter impressum  atq; studiosissime emendatum:
felici fine absolutf est in hac preclarissime Coplutensi vniversitate: demandato et sumptibus Reuerendissimi  in christo patris et
illustrissimi dnii fratris Francisci Ximenez de Cisneros tituli sancte
Balbine sancte Romane ecclie presbyteri cardinalis hispanie Archiepi toletani et Hispaniar. primatis ac regnor. castelle archicancellarii: industria et solertia honorabilis viri Arnaldi gulielmi de
Brocario artis impressorie magistri.  Anno domini Millesimo quingentesimo decimo quarto.  Mensis ianuarii die decimo."
This was succeeded in the month of May, in the same year, by
a Hebrew and Chaldee Vocabulary, and other tracts designed for
the assistance of the student in the Oriental tongues. The Old
Testament was printed in four parts, and completed in 1517, but
the cardinal dying soon after the work was finished, and doubts being started by the Church of Rome, whether it was proper to bring
it into general circulation, it did not receive the permission of Leo
X. for its publication until the 22d of March, 1520; and the
copies were not distributed to the world at large before the year
1 522.t
A small number, (it is thought not more than four,) were printed
on vellum. One of these is said to be in the Vatican library; another in the Escurial; and a third was lately purchased at the sale
of the Mac Carthy library, by Mr. G. Hibbert, for ~640.t  The
rest of the copies, of which only six hundred were printed, were
upon paper.  The price affixed to the work by the bishop of Avila,
by order of the pope, was two golden ducats and a half; or about
forty livres of French money; a considerable sum at that period.9
FRANCIS XIMENES DE CISNEROS, the munificent patron of the
* Flechier, Histoire du Cardinal Ximenes, tom. i, liv. i, pp. 175-179. Amsterdam,
1693, 12mo.
t Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, edit. Masch, pt. i, cap. iii, pp. 337, 338. Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, pt. i, ch. xii, sec. i, p. 432.
t Dibdin's Bibliographical Decameron, vol. iii, p. 169.
1 Calmet, Dict. de la Bible, p. iv. Paris, 1722, fol.
1




552                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Complutensian edition of the Bible, and the most celebrated statesman of his day, was born at Torrelaguna, an obscure town in
Spain, in 1437. At his baptism he received the name of Gonsalez,
but on entering the order of St. Francis, exchanged it for that of
the founder of the order. He received the first rudiments of his
education at Alcala, and afterward studied the civil and canon law
at Salamanca, and made such proficiency in it, that in a short time
he was able to support himself by teaching it to others. Hle did
not, however, suffer his legal pursuits to interrupt his course of
general study, but continued his application to science, and especially to sacred literature, till he had acquired the usual accom
plishments of the students of that period. He then returned to his
father; but to avoid being chargeable to his parents, resolved
to visit Rome, and endeavour to obtain ecclesiastical promotion
He was twice robbed by the way; and was detained by his mis
fortunes at Aix, in Provence, where he exercised the office of
consistorial advocate, by which means his great abilities became
partially known, and his prospects brightened. Hearing, however,
of the death of his father, and the consequent distress of his mother and family, he determined to return into Spain.  Having
secured the papal bull to take possession of the first vacant benefice, he returned home, and was scarcely arrived, before the archpriest of Uceda died, and he entered upon the living. But his right
to the benefice was contested by the archbishop of Toledo, who,
designing it for one of his almoners, threw Ximenes into prison.
At length he was liberated, at the request of the countess of Bfiendia, and permitted to enjoy his ecclesiastical preferment; but unwilling to be under the influence of a prelate who had treated him
with so much severity, he exchanged his present situation for one
in the diocess of Siguenza.  Cardinal Gonzales de Mendoza, the
bishop, appointed him to the office of grand vicar, and distinguished him by the confidence lie reposed in him. While at Siguenza,
he gained universal approbation and respect; and by his influence
with John Lopez de Medina, archdeacon of Almazan, persuaded
him to found a university at Siguenza. Whatever time he could
possibly spare from the claims of official engagements, he dedicated
to literary occupation: he learned the Hebrew and Chaldee tongues;
and diligently devoted himself to the study of the Scriptures. At
this period he appears to have laid the foundation of that Biblical
knowledge for which he was afterward so eminently distinguished;
and so deep was the impression made upon him by the perusal of
the inspired volume, that he lost all relish for the acquisition of
1




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                   553
other science, so much so, that he used to say to his friends, that
he would willingly exchange all his learning in the law for the explanation of a single passage of Scripture.
The anxieties of office, and the embarrassments of secular affairs,
becoming insupportable, he resolved to assume the monastic habit.
This he did by entering among the Franciscans at Toledo. After
passing through the usual course of exercises, he made a profession in 1483, in his forty-sixth year, and was admitted a member
of the order. By the permission of his superiors, he withdrew to
a small convent in the neighbourhood of Toledo, called Castagnar,
from being situated in the midst of a grove of chestnut trees. Here
he practised extraordinary austerities, and generally passed part of
the day in the wood, studying the Scriptures, sometimes on his
knees, and sometimes prostrate on the ground; at other times he
spent several days together in a cabin, raised with his own hand,
on the top of a mountain covered with trees. His devotion and
talents attracted the attention of the most illustrious characters of
his country, and, recommended by the cardinal de Mendoza, the
queen, Isabella, chose him for her confessor, in the year 1492, and
the fifty-fifth of his age, to which he reluctantly yielded, on condition of never removing with the court. By common consent the
chapter of his order elected him provincial; and after refusing for
six months, he, by order of the pope, occupied also the archbishopric of Toledo. On his elevation to this dignity, instead of
displaying a love of pomp and grandeur, he continued the austere
and simple habits of monastic economy, yet discovering such a
knowledge of public affairs, and exercising such prudence and
decision in the regulation of his extensive archiepiscopal government, as rendered the fame of his wisdom equal to that of his
sanctity. He provided for the poor; visited the churches and
hospitals; established parochial registers, in which were entered
the names of all the children baptized, of their fathers and godfathers, of those who were present at the baptism, with the year,
month, and day, on which the ceremony was performed; reformed
abuses; degraded corrupt judges, and placed in their room persons
distinguished by their probity and disinterestedness. He ordained,
that on every Sunday and holyday each curate should, after high
mass, explain the Gospel in a plain, instructive manner, and in the
evening, after Complin, teach the principal articles of the Christian
doctrine, providing them, for this purpose, with catechisms, and
other helps for instruction.
With the design of promoting the religious education of youth,
1




554                      BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
and of introducing into the church pious and well-disciplined
characters, he founded the college of St. Ildefonsus, at Alcala de
]Ienarez, (anciently called Complutum.)  This academy, or university, erected about A.D. 1500, soon became famous; and the
celebrated Complutensian Polyglott Bible, which issued from  it,
under the patronage and at the expense of the founder, has rendered its fame perpetual.
The expulsion of the Moors from  Spain, and the endeavour to
convert the Mohammedan inhabitants who remained, called forth
the vigorous talents of the archbishop, who laboured with success to subject them in profession to the Church of Rome;
though his refusal to permit vernacular translations of the Scriptures was undoubtedly a prejudice to the sincerity of their conversion.
During his residence at Toledo he repeatedly visited the library
of his cathedral, in which many MISS. were deposited, venerable
from  their antiquity, and valuable from  their contents.  Among the
number which he examined, in order to obtain assistance in his
designs, he met with several ancient volumes, written in Gothic
letters, which led him to re-establish the Gothic, or Mozarabic
offices, or liturgy, which had formerly been held in the highest
veneration in the kingdom of Castile.
He employed Dr. Ortiz, a canon of the church  of Toledo, and
two others of the same city, to publish an edition of the Mozarabic
Breviaries and Missals, and distributed  among the  ecclesiastics
and churches a vast number of copies, and even founded a magnificent chapel in the cathedral of Toledo, that the Mozarabic liturgy
might be constantly used.*
* The history of this liturgy is curious. In the sixth century the Visigoths occupied
almost all Spain, under the empire of Hlonorius. As they were Arians, they created
confusion in the public worship of the lkingdom, associating novel with ancient practices and forms. But this nation having abjured their heretical opinions, and embraced
the orthodox faith, through the instructions of Leander, archbishop of Seville, it was
ordained by the fourth council of Toledo, that all the churches should adopt the same
forms of prayer, Missals, and public Psalters; and St. Isidore, the successor of Leander, was charged with the care of carrying the decree of the council into effect. This
practice continued for about one hundred and twenty years, till the Moors, having
ravaged the country, and defeated the Spanish army, became masters of the kingdom.
In this general calamity the royal city fell into the hands of the barbarians, who permitted the Christians to retain their profession, and allowed them six churches for the
maintenance of their public worship. Many of the Catholics fled from their native
country, rather than submit to the yoke of foreign authority; but others of them remained, and were denominated, from being mixed with the Arabs or Moors, ll1istarabes,
or Mozarabes, from Moza, the name of the Moorish general. These continued the
1




SIXTEENTH  CENTURY.                            555
In 1506 he was appointed regent of the kingdom  of Castile; in
1507  Pope  Julius II. created  him  cardinal of Spain, and soon
afterward received the office of inquisitor-general, the inquisition
having been  established  in the kingdom, in 1477, by F. Thomas
de Torquemada, of the order of St. Dominic, and prior of the convent of Saint Croix, in Segovia. An excellent historian has hus
drawn the character of Ximenes, as the regent of Castile: "His
political conduct, remarkable for the boldness and originality of all
his plans, flowed from his real character, and partook both of its
virtues and its defects. Iis extensive genius suggested to him
schemes vast and magnificent.  Conscious of the integrity of his
intentions, he pursued these with unremitting and undaunted firmness.  Accustomed from  his early youth to mortify his own passions, he showed little indulgence toward those of other men.
Taught by his system  of religion to check even his most innocent
desires, he was the enemy of every thing to which he could  affix
the name of elegance or pleasure.  Though free from  any suspicion of cruelty, he discovered, in all his commerce with the world,
a severe inflexibility of mind, and austerity of character, peculiar
to the monastic profession, and which can hardly be conceived in
a country where that is unknown.."
His political engagements did  not, however, divert his mind
from that which lay near his heart, the prosperity of the university
of Alcala.  He invited the most learned men from  different parts
use of St. Isidore's offices for near four hundred years, not only in the royal city itself,
but in other cities of the kingdoms of Toledo, Castile, and Leon.
Alphonsus VI. having, after a long siege, expelled the Moors from Toledo, ordered
the Roman Missal to be adopted, instead of the ancient one of St. Isidore, in all the
churches where the latter had been in use. This was opposed by the clergy, nobility,
and people, who urged the antiquity of their liturgy, and the authority by which it had
been established.  The dispute became so warm that at last it was agreed, according
to the genius of the age, to terminate the contest by sinogle combat! The king chose
one knight, as the champion of the Roman office  and the people and clergy another,
as the defender of the Toletan Missal; the combatants met, and the latter proved
victorious.  But Alphonsus refused to submit to the decision, and another mode of
divining the intention of Heaven was suggested. Fasts and public processions were
appointed, a great fire was kindled, and while the king and people repeated their
prayers, a copy of each of the Missals was thrown into the flames; the Toletan escaped,
and the Roman was burnt! The king then yielded permission to use the Toletan
Missal in those ancient parishes of the kingdom of Toledo where the inhabitants had
preserved their attachment to Christianity under the government of the infidels, but
forbade it in all others.  See Flechier, Histoirce d  Card. Ximenes, tom. i, liv. i,
pp. 182, 186.
* Robertson's History of Charles V., vol. ii, b. i, p. 30.
1




h)56                BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
of Europe; appointed them as professors of different sciences;
richly endowed the whole establishment; made ample provision
for its future prosperity; provided for the education of poor scholars; repaired the church of Alcala; and founded an extensive
hospital and infirmary; in a word, he omitted nothing that might
conduce to the welfare of the students, or promote the interests
of religion and sacred literature.
After exercising the high office of regent, with a vigour and
capacity seldom or never equalled, for about twenty months,
leaving it doubtful whether his sagacity in council, his prudence
in conduct, or his boldness in execution, deserve the highest
praise, he died, after a short and violent illness, at Bos Equillos,
as he was hastening to meet the newly proclaimed king Charles,
at Valladolid. His death occurred on Sunday, the 8th of November, 1517, in the eighty-first year of his age; but whether occasioned by poison, or the ingratitude of the young king, is disputed.
His dying words were, "In thee, 0 Lord, have I trusted, let me
never be confounded."*
After this outline of the life of the munificent patron of the
Polyglott of Complutum, or Alcala, the reader may justly expect
some notice of the learned editors of the work.
DEMETRIUS  DuCAS was by birth a Greek, a native of Crete,
and a teacher in the university of Alcala. He published an edition of the " Greek Liturgies of Chrysostom, Basil the Great, &c."
Rome, 1526.t
ANTHONY of Nebrissa, (or Lebrixa,) a town. of Spain, was born
in 1444.  After having laid the foundation of learning by the
knowledge of grammar and dialectics, he studied mathematics,
physics, and ethics, at Salamanca, where he continued for five
years; from whence he passed into Italy, and acquired the knowledge of the Greek, Latin, and Hebrew languages. In 1473 he
returned into Spain, and was patronized by Alphonsus Fonseca,
bishop of Seville, under whose auspices he opened a school for
the restoration of the purity of the Latin tongue, which for nearly
a thousand years had been obscured, or corrupted, by the conquests
of the Vandals and Moors. He resided in the family of his patron
during the three years that lie governed the school. On the death
of the bishop he removed to Salamanca, and obtained a double
* Flechier, Hist. du Card. Ximenes, passim. Barrett's Life of Cardinal Ximenes,
passim. Lond., 1813, 8vo.
t Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, Index, tom. i. Clarke's Bibllographical Dictionary,
vol. iv, p. 276.
1




SISTEENTH CENTURY.                    557
stipend as lecturer on both grammar and poetry, being the first to
introduce the rules of art in the composition of the vernacular
poetry of Spain. While he was thus studiously endeavouring to
raise the standard of the literary attainments of his countrymen,
he met with violent opposition from the adherents to scholastic
subtleties and barbarous modes of instruction; he therefore quitted
Salamanca in 1488, irritated by disrespect, and wearied with the
fatigues of a laborious profession, and accepted a proposal fromn
John Stunica, the military prefect of Alcantara, to come and reside
in his family. A handsome salary was allowed him; and during
the period of his residence with the prefect, he employed his leisure in composing a Spanish and Latin Dictionary, and various
grammatical works. In the mean time one of the professors of
the university of Salamanca dying, Anthony was chosen to succeed him, almost without a competitor. In this situation lie remained till 1504, when King Ferdinand, who highly esteemed
him, sent for him to court, and employed him as the historiographer
of his reign. He was afterward employed by Cardinal Ximenes
in the correction and arrangement of his Polyglott Bible; and
chosen as the first professor of the university of Alcala, where he
resided till his death, which happened suddenly, by apoplexy, July
2d, 1522, in the seventy-eighth year of his age.
Besides the Spanish Dictionary, printed at Alcala, (or Complutum,) 1532, and frequently since, and the Memoirs of the Reign
of Ferdinand and Isabella, printed at Granada, 1545, he was the
author of several theological, critical, and graummatical works,
most of which have been printed.*
JAMES LOPEZ STUNICA was a learned Spaniard, eminently
skilled in the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin languages.  On the publication of Erasmus's edition of the Greek Testament, accompanied with a Latin translation and notes, Stunica wrote violently
against them, and strenuously defended the Vulgate, even its corruptions and barbarisms. As he began to write against Erasmus
while Cardinal Ximenes was living, the cardinal wisely advised
him to send his remarks first, in manuscript, to Erasmus, that he
might suppress them if Erasmus gave him satisfactory answers.
But Stunica was too vain and haughty to listen to the conciliatory
counsel of his patron; and happening one day to find some person
reading the New Testament of Erasmus, he said to him in the
presence of the cardinal, that he wondered how he could throw
* Antonii Biblioth. Hispan., tom. i, pp. 104-109. Cavei Hist. Lit., sec. xv., App.,
pp. 174, 175.
1




558                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
away his time upon such trash, and that the book was full of
monstrous faults. The cardinal immediately replied: " Would to
God that all authors wrote such trash  Either produce something
better of your own, or give over prating against the labours of
others."  This rough, and probably unexpected answer, made
Stunica suppress his work till after the death of the cardinal;
when he published a book against the Annotations of Erasmus,
who replied to it. Afterward he drew up another work, more
severe and virulent than the former, which he called "The Blasphemies and Impieties of Erasmus."  Leo X., to whom Erasmus
had dedicated his New Testament, forbade Stunica to publish any
thing defamatory and scurrilous against his antagonist; and after
the death of Leo, the cardinals and Adrian VI. laid the same
commands upon him. Yet the book was secretly printed, and
then published. This also was answered by Erasmus.  Some
time after Stunica attacked him again, and Erasmus replied in
1529; and in 1530 Stunica died.
He also wrote against Jacques le Fevrc, usually called Faber
Stapulensis, who had published a Latin version of the Epistles of
St. Paul, accusing him of mistranslations, and defending the Vulgate against his remarks and corrections.
Besides these works, he published an Itinerarium, or account
of his journey to Rome from Alcala. He died at Naples.*
FERDINAND  NONNIUS, or NUNNES DE GUSMAN PINTIAN, a
learned Spaniard, noted for his skill in the Oriental languages,
was professor of Greek and Latin in the university of Alcala, and
a knight of the military order of St. James of Compostella. He
died in 1552.t
Of ALProNsus, a physician of Alcala, all that is known is that
he was a converted Jew, possessing an accurate and extensive
knowledge of the Hebrew tongu!e.t
PAUL CORONEL was a converted Jew of Segovia in Spain. Before he embraced Christianity he had taught Hebrew among those
of his own nation, and was learned not only in the Oriental, but
also in the Greek and Latin languages. His learning and abilities,
united to his knowledge of Christian theology, recommended him
to the notice of Cardinal Ximenes, who employed him in his celebrated Biblical work, and of which he is said to have written the
* Jortin's Life of Erasmus, vol. i, pp. 246, 247. Lempriere's Universal Biography,
art. "Stunica."
t Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom. i, p. I1; et Index Auctor., p. 573.
t Le Long, ut siup.
1




SIXTEENTH CENTURY           ~           559
Hebrew lexicon that accompanies it. IHe is also reputed to }have
written additions to Nic. de Lyra's book, Dc differenttis translationem, but which were never printed.  Prior to his residence at
the university of Alcala, he had filled tile important situation of
professor of the Holy Scriptures in the university of Salamanca.
He died at Segovia, September 30th, 1534.*
ALPHONSUS ZAMORA was born at Zamora, of Jewish parents,
and educated in the knowledge of every kind of Hebrew and rabbinical learning.  Previous to tile expulsion of the Jews froim
Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella, in 1492, he governed their public
schools. After embracing the Romnian Catholic system  of Christianity, he was selected by Cardinal Ximenes as a suitable person
to be employed in editing his celebrated Bible, who for this purpose granted him  a handsome stipend.  In this work he was employed during fifteen years. In the catalogue of works written
by Alphonsus, Nic. Antonio mentions thle following':Vocabuzariurn HIebraciculm  atq:ce  Chaldaicul veteris Testamenti; to which are annexed, Interpretationes Hebraicorum,
Chaldeo-rum, Grecornmnque tnoozoiunz nIvetoeis ac  Zovi Testamnentzi
Catalogus eorum, qucO in utroqugc Testamenzto aliteir scripta setnt
vitio scriptoruzln, qucai in tIlcbrao et Glr'co in quibusdam ]3iblizs
antiquizs.
Introductio~nes Ar.-tis G(Cramnatitecae Ifeb1raica
These formn one of the volumes of the Complutensian Polyglott,
and were the second volume that was printed.  But Colomesius
(Ital. et Hispan. Orient., p. 218) quotes a work of Stunica's against
Erasmus, (in cap. vii, Ep. ad Hebracos,) in which he attributes theVocabulary, or Lexicon, to Paul Coronel.
Alphonsus was also the author of several other erudite grainmatical and philological works, particularly a shorter, easier, and
more lucid Hlebrew G7ramniar than the one annexed to the Polyglott, begun under Cardinal Ximenes, and completed under Alphonsus Fonseca, successor to the cardlinal in the archiepiscopal
see of Toledo.  It was printed at Alcala, by Michael de Eguia,
1526, 4to., with the title, Artis Girammazlti.ce HIebraicec Introdtzctiones.
He translated into Latin the Chaldee Paraphrases of Onkelos
on the Pentateuch; Jonathan on Joshua, Judges, Kings, Isaiah.
* Antonii Biblioth. Hispan., tom. ii, p. 127. Colomesii Italia et Ilispania Orientalis,
p. 218. Hamburg, 1730, 4to. Wolfii Biblioth. Heb., tom. i et iii, No. 1813. Hamb.
et Lips., 1715, 1727, 4to.
1




560                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve minor Prophets; and R. Joseph, the Blind, and others, on Job, Proverbs, Song of Solomon,
Ecclesiastes, and Lamentations.
Le Long also mentions him as the author of a Hebrew version
of the Epistle to the HIebrews, accompanied with a Latin translation; but Marsh remarks that it was only an epistle written by
himself to the Jews, in Hebrew and Latin, to confute their sentiments, and to convince them of the truth of Christianity; which
agrees with the list of the works written by Alphonsus, given by
Nic. Antonio in the Bibliothecac IHispana, in which we find no
notice of any translation of St. Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews, but
only of a Hebrew and Latin Epistle to the Jews residing at Rome:
" Epistola, quam misit ex Regno Hispanie ad Hebra-os, qui sunt
in Urbe Romana ad reprelhendumn cos in sua pertinacia, hebraice
olim scripta, hic tamen Hebraicis Latina interpretatione interlineari
adjuncta." HI-le died in 1530.*
Besides the editors already named, Alvarez Gomez, who wrote
the life of Ximenes in 15G60, says that JOHN DE VARGARA, a learned
Spaniard, doctor of divinity and professor of philosophy in the
university of Alcala, was engaged in preparing for the press the
books termed Libri Sapientiales, viz., Proverbs, Ecclesiastes,
Song of Solomon, Wisdom, and Ecclesiasticus." Vargara died in
1557.t
Such was the patron and such were the editors of the famous
Complutensian edition of the Scriptures; a work which, if defective, from the imperfect state of sacred criticism at that period,
deserves, nevertheless, the highest praise, as a noble attempt to
create attention to the original texts of the divine oracles, and may
justly be regarded as the parent of those more perfect and immense
compilations which have been made since of the original texts and
most important versions.
Another great and important work, sanctioned and patronised by
Pope Leo X., was the Latin translation of the Bible, by Sanctes
Pagninus. This was the first version of the Scriptures from the
original texts, after the revival of literature in the West.  Pagninus, in the preface to his Bible, informs us that Leo being made
acquainted with his design of translating the Old and New Testaments from the Hebrew and Greek originals, he sent to him, and
* Antonii Biblioth. Hisp., tom. i, p. 45. Rom., 1672, folio. Le Long, Biblioth.
Sacra, tom. i, pp. 83, 303; 304, 462, 465. Paris, folio, 1723. Ibid., edit. Masch, pt.
ii, tom. i, sec. 1, p. 13.
t Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom. ii, pp. 11, 310, et Index Auctor.
1




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                    561
requested to be allowed the inspection of his work. After examining several sheets, he was so satisfied with it, that he immediately ordered that the whole should be transcribed at his own
expense, and gave directions that materials should be provided for
printing it. A part of it was accordingly executed, but the unexpected death of the pontiff retarded its completion. After the
decease of Leo, he iremoved first to Avignon, and then to Lyons,
where the work was first printed in 1528, in 4to., by Anthony du
Ry, at the expense of his kinsmen, Franciscus Turchus and Dominicus Bertus, citizens of Lucca, and Jacobus de Giuntis, a
bookseller of Florence.  "This version was the work of twentyfive years, and has been greatly extolled both by Jews and Christians, particularly the Old Testament, as the best Latin version
that ever was made from the Hebrew, that of Jerome not excepted;"
yet some critics have considered the translation to be too literal,
and chiefly useful as a grammatical glossary, and illustrative of
the Hebrew idiom. In the translation of the New Testament he
was less successful than in the Old, and has too generally adopted
the Jewish modes of expression. Though finished in 1518, it was
not printed, as we have seen, till 1528, when it was published
with the approbation of the pope, and with the bulls of Adrian VI.
and Clement VII. prefixed to it. To the translation of the Bible
he added a table of the Hebrew, Syriac, and Greek names contained in the Scriptures, with their derivations and meanings.
This was the first Latin Bible in which the verses of each chapter
were distinguished and numbered.*
SANCTES PA.GNINUS, or, according to the Italian, SANTE PAGNINI, was born at Lucca, in 1466, and afterward became an ecclesiastic of the order of St. Dominic. He was accurately skilled in
the Latin, Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, and Chaldee tongues, yet was
supposed to excel particularly in the Hebrew. He diligently applied himself to a comparison of the Vulgate Bible with the origi
nal texts, and believing it either not to be the translation of Jerome,
or greatly corrupted, undertook to form a new version, which
he effected with great credit, producing a translation which has
-been, in a great measure, the model of all succeeding Latin
versions.
Besides the translation of the Bible, Pagninus was the author
* Hody, De Bibl. Text. Orig., lib. iii, pt. ii, pp. 473-480. Fabricy, Titres Primitifs, tom. ii, pp. 152-156. Geddes's Prospectus, pp. 74, 75. WThittaker's Historical
and Critical Enquiry into the Interpretation of the Heb. Scriptures, p. 19. Camb.,
1819, 8vo.
VOL. I.-36




562                BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
of several other valuable works: the following are particularly
deserving notice:Thesaurus Linguae Sancte, seu Lexicon Hebraicunm, printed at
Lyons, 1529, folio. Institutiones Linguae Hebraicce; Lyons,
1526, 8vo. Isagoge ad mysticos S. Scripturea sensus; Lyons,
folio, 1536. In this work he explains cabalistically the principal
part of Job and Solomon's Song, and the whole of the seventh
chapter of the first Epistle to the Corinthians. Catenee Argentece;
or commentaries compiled from the fathers and others, on the
Pentateuch and Psalms.
He died at Lyons in 1541, (or, according to Le Long, in 1536,)
and was buried there. A marble monument was raised to his
memory in the choir of the church of the Dominicans.*
Sacred literature revived with the general cultivation of science
and letters; the Oriental languages were more extensively known
and studied; and the Holy Scriptures began to be regarded as the
purest source of theology and ethics; and though profound ignorance and depravity of manners still reigned generally in the
church, many of the clergy deemed it their duty to acquaint themselves with the original languages, and several rose to considerable eminence as Biblical critics and expositors. The pursuits of
Oriental and sacred learning extended to the laity, and there were
not wanting scholars among them whose extent of information and
critical research placed them in the foremost rank of theological
students and authors. To the names of learned ITALIANS already
noticed we may add those of Cardinal Cajetan, Theseus Ambrosius, Felix Pratensis, and Aldus Manutius.
CARDINAL CAJETAN, whose proper name was Thomas de Vio,
was born in 1469, at Cajeta, a town in the kingdom of Naples,
from which he assumed the surname of Cajetan. Entering into
the order of St. Dominic, he rose successively to be general of his
order, archbishop of Palermo, and at length cardinal and legate.
He was employed in various negociations with foreign powers,
but is chiefly distinguished by his opposition to Luther, and by his
translation of the principal part of the Bible. Sent by Leo X. to
suppress the rising influence of Luther and his friends, he displayed all the subtlety and imperiousness of the Romish legate;
so that even Erasmus described him as a furious, imperious, and
insolent ecclesiastic. We are therefore not surprised to learn that
his legatine authority proved utterly inadequate to silence the in* Sixt. Senens. Biblioth. Sanct., lib. iv, p. 375. Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom. ii,
pp. 890, 1178, 1188. Paris, 1723.
1                      36*




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                   563
trepid reformer, or to stop the progress of the Reformation. But
while we detest his unhallowed conduct as the legate of the pope,
we regard him with respect when, as the minister of the sanctuary,
we fifid him studying the sacred volume, and labouring to transfuse the invaluable truths of Scripture into a literal translation of
the word of God. Of this version of the Scriptures into Latin,
Dr. Geddes gives the following account: "The famous Cardinal
de Vio Cajetan, who, amid a multiplicity of state affairs, found
means to devote a part of every day to serious study, left behind
him, among other laborious productions, a translation of a great
part of the Bible. As he was totally ignorant of the Hebrew, he
employed two learned persons, a Jew and a Christian, as his interpreters; and having a sound judgment and discerning taste, he
succeeded much better than could be expected. But his version
was formed on this erroneous principle, that a translation of the
Scripture cannot be too literal, should it even for that reason be
unintelligible.  This prepossession made him judge unfavourably
of the Vulgate, which he often censures without reason; for which
cause some zealots have unjustly taxed him with heresy. His
translation has much the same faults with that of Pagninus, and
may be of much the same use to the Hebrew student. It was
printed with his commentary, at Lyons, in the year 1639." The
books of Scripture contained in this translation were those of the
Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah,
Job, the Psalms, Proverbs, and the first three chapters of Isaiah.
These, with his commentary, form five volumes in folio. The
Psalms were printed separately, at Venice, 1530, folio, accompanied with the Vulgate version. At the commencement he explains
his mode of translation.
A list of the rest of his works may be found in Freher's Theatrum  Virorum Eruditione Clarorum, pars i, pp. 27, 28, Noriberg. 1688, fol. He died August 1dth, 1534.*
THESEUS AMBROSIUS, or, according to his Italian name, TESEO
AMBROGIO, one of the first Oriental scholars of his day, and regular
canon of the Lateran, was of the noble family of the Conti d'Albonese, and born at Pavia, in 1469. He visited Rome in the year
1512, at the opening of the fifth session of the Lateran council,
which commenced under Julius II. and was continued under Leo
X. till 1517. In the eighth session of this council, a decree was
* Freheri Theatrum, pt. i, pp. 27, 28. Geddes's Prospectus, p. 78. Jortin's Life
of Erasmus, vol. i, p. 260. Le Long, edit. Masch, pt. ii, tom. iii, cap. iii, see. i, pp.
490, 528.
1




564                BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
passed against those who denied the immortality of the soul; and
the fourth canon ordained, that " all those who were in holy orders,
after the time employed in grammar and logic, should spend five
years more in studying philosophy, without applying themselves to
divinity, or canon law." In the tenth session it was decreed, that
"for the future, no books should be printed at Rome, nor in any
other city or diocess, under pain of excommunication, without
being first examined; at Rome, by the vicar of his holiness, and the
master of the sacred palace; and in the other cities, by the bishop
of the diocess, or some doctor of divinity nominated by the bishop;
and being signed by them as approved."
The great number of ecclesiastics from Syria, Ethiopia, and other
parts of the East, who attended the council, afforded Ambrogio an
opportunity of prosecuting his studies with peculiar advantage;
and at the request of the cardinal, Santa Croce, he was employed
as the person best qualified to translate from the Chaldee, or Syriac, into Latin, the liturgy of the Eastern clergy, previously to the
use of it being expressly sanctioned by the pope. After having
been employed by Leo X. for two years, in teaching Latin to the
sub-deacon Elias, a legate from Syria, whom the pope wished to
retain in his court, and from whom Ambrogio received, in return,
instructions in the Syriac tongue, lie was appointed by the pontiff
to the chair of a professor in the university of Bologna, where he
delivered instructions in the Syriac and Chaldee languages, for the
first time that they had been publicly taught in Italy. He is said
to have understood at least ten different languages, many of which
he spoke with the ease and fluency of a native.
In the commotions which devastated Italy, after the death of Leo
X., he was despoiled of the numerous and valuable Eastern MSS.
which he had collected at great expense, and by the industry of
many years, and also of the types and apparatus which he had prepared for an edition of the Psalter in the Chaldee, which he intended to have accompanied with a dissertation on that language.
This, however, did not dispirit him so as to cause him to lay aside
his studies, for in the year 1539 he published at Pavia an " Introduction to the Chaldee, Syriac, Armenian, and ten other tongues;
with the alphabetical characters of forty different languages:" which
is considered by the Italians themselves as the earliest attempt
made in Italy toward a systematic acquaintance with the literature of the East. This work was printed with the types, and at
the expense of Ambrogio, as appears from the title of the work:
Introductio in Chaldaicam linguarm, Syriacam, atque Armenicam,
1




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                   565
et decem alias linguas. Characterum differentium Alphabeta circiter quadraginta, 4-c." 1539, 4to. " Excudebat Papica, Joan.
Maria Simonetta Cremon. in Canonica Sancti Petri in Ccelo
aureo, sumptibus et typis authoris libri."*
FELIX PRATENSIS, a native of Prata, in Tuscany, was of Jewish extraction. After his conversion to Christianity he entered the
order of Hermits of St. Augustine. For many years he was successfully employed in instructing and preaching to the Jews, which
occasioned him  to be denominated the scourge of the' Hebrews.
In 1515 he translated and edited an edition of the Psalter, from
the Hebrew, published by the celebrated Dutch printer, Daniel
Bomberg, printed at Venice, in 4to., and dedicated to Pope Leo X.
From the preface to this Psalter we learn, that this work formed
but a small portion of the design expressed to Leo by Felix, who
meditated a translation of the whole of the Old Testament.  But
the design does not appear to have received the approbation of Leo,
for whose inspection, and with whose consent, this portion was
printed; it was, therefore, most probably dropped, though Wolfius
says, he translated JOB, and some other books of the Bible. The
version of the Psalms he completed in only fifteen days.
He was also employed by Daniel Bomberg in editing the Rabbinical Bible, printed at Venice in 1518, fol. This Bible contained
not only the Hebrew text, but also the commentaries of several of
the most eminent Jewish rabbis, the Chaldee Paraphrases, the
Masora, Tables of the Sections of the Law, &c., and tracts on the
Various Readings, &c. This Bible was dedicated to Leo X. A
more complete edition of the Rabbinical Commentaries was afterward given to the public by the same printer, but by another
editor, R. Jacob ben Chaim.
Felix died at Rome, November 5th, 1539, at nearly a hundred
years old, and was burried in the church of St. Augustine.t
The ALDI were a family of eminent printers, who flourished in
Italy at the close of the fifteenth, and during the greatest part of
the sixteenth century. ALDUS PIUS MANUTIUS, frequently called
the elder Aldus, (to distinguish him from his grandson of the same
name, who was also a celebrated printer,) and the first of these
illustrious printers, was born about the year 1447, at Bassiano, a
* Roscoe's Life of Leo the Tenth, vol. ii, ch. xi, pp. 396, 399. Dictionnaire Portatif des Conciles, pp. 275, 284. Colomesii Italia et Hispania Orientalis, pp. 37, 38.
t Colomesii Ital. et Hist. Orientalis, p. 19. Wolfii Biblioth. Heb., tom. i et iii,
No. 1835. Hody, De Bibl. Text. Orig., p. 461. Le Long. edit. Masch, pt. i, ch. i,
sec. ii, pp. 96-99.
1




566                BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
small town in the duchy of Sermonetta, in the vicinity of the
Pomptine Marshes. His youth appears to have been spent at
Rome, where he studied under the most eminent professors; and
acquired that extensive information which rendered him afterward
so admired as a Greek critic and grammarian. About the year
1488 he settled at Venice, with the view of establishing a printingoffice. He it was, who, observing the many inconveniences arising from the vast number of abbreviations, which were at that time
in use among the generality of printers, first contrived an expedient
whereby these abbreviations were entirely removed, and yet books
thereby but little increased in bulk. This he performed by introducing what is now called the Italic letter, though formerly the
Aldine, from the name of its inventor; and sometimes Cursive,
from its form. The senate of Venice, and the popes Alexander
VI., Julius II., and Leo X., granted him the exclusive use of his
newly invented character for fifteen years; but the Lyonnese printers disgraced themselves by their endeavours to counterfeit his
invention, and by the publication of pirated editions of the classics
edited by him. "He combined the lights of the scholar with the
industry of the mechanic," so that while he gave the most sedulous
attention to his printing-office, he carried on a very extensive correspondence with the literati of Europe, explained the classics to
a numerous auditory of students, and also found time to compose
various works, which are characterized by profound learning and
critical skill. Conscious that his single labours were inadequate
to the diffusion of literature, he assembled round him a circle of
the most learned men of the age, some of whom lived in his house,
and were entirely supported by him. Among other works which
he projected for the benefit of literature was that of a Polyglott
Bible in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin; of which, however, he executed only one specimen page in folio, which is now preserved in
the royal library at Paris. The first printed edition of any part
of the Greek Testament was executed by him at Venice, in 1504.
It contained the first six chapters of St. John's Gospel; and was
appended to an edition of the " Poems of Gregory Nazianzen."
He also procured MSS. and made preparations for an edition of
the Old and New Testament in Greek, but was prevented from
completing his design by his death, which happened in 1515 or 1516.
It was afterward printed in 1518, in fol., min., by his father-in-law
and partner, Andrea Turresano d'Asola. He was succeeded by
his third son, Paulus Manutius, born in 1512; whose younger son
Aldus, born in 1547, carried on the business till his own death, in
1




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                      567
1597; when the family of these learned printers terminated, after
having been for more than a century the glory of literature and
typography.  To the elder Aldus alone the world is indebted for
the editiones principes, or first printed editions, of twenty-eight
Greek classics; besides which, there are few ancient authors of
note, of whom he did not publish editions of acknowledged accuracy, and (as far as the means of the art, then in its infancy, permitted) of great beauty; yet his modesty was such as led him to
say, that, far from regarding the flatteries of such as praised his
works, he could not himself affirm, that he had published so much
as one book with which he saw cause to be satisfied.  To his zeal
and taste in publishing the works of the best Greek authors must
chiefly be attributed the preference which has long been shown to
the study of Greek literature.*
Of the success of Biblical literature in SPAIN, at the commencement of this century, some notice has been already taken, in the
account of the Polyglott Bible of Cardinal Ximenes. To what has
been there stated, it may be added, that in 1512 the Epistles and
Gospels for the whole year, as read in the churches, were published in Spanish, by Ambrose de Montesin, a Spanish Franciscan
friar, bishop of Sardinia.  They were reprinted at Antwerp, 1544,
in 8vo.t
In the same year (1512) the archbishop of Seville, D. Didaco
Deza, held a provincial council, or synod, in which it was ordained
that "the parish priests should instruct their parishioners in the
mysteries of the holy Catholic faith; and should place in each of
their churches, tables containing the articles of the Christian belief, and the ten commandments." It was also further enjoined,
that " they should persuade the people to practise the seven works
of mercy; explain the dominical lessons; admonish their parishioners to acquaint themselves with the general confession, and the
ecclesiastical prayers, as the Pater Neoster, Credo, and Salve Regina; and enforce the repetition of those prayers in the church.
And all ecclesiastical and secular persons were forbidden to instruct their scholars in other things, or to teach them  to write,
under pain of excomnmunication, unless they first knew the prayers
and contents of the tables.":
* Clarke's Bibliographical Dictionary, vol. i, p. 48. Horne's Introduction to Bibliography, vol. i, pp. 242-244, 249; and vol. ii, App., No, vii, p. lx-lxxx. Le Long,
edit. Masch, tom. ii, pt. ii, sec. i, p. 265; and App. Supp. and Emend., p. 8.
t Le Long, tom. i, p. 363; et Index Auctor. 571. Paris, 1723.
t Collectio Maxima Conc. Hisp, tom. iv, p. 3.
1




568                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
The Constitutions of Cardinal Mendoza also decreed, that the
care of transcribing Missals should be committed to the sacrist,
and that five Missals should be written every year for the respective
chapels, on account of the great deficiency which then existed of
those liturgical works, and for which an annual stipend should be
allowed to the sacrist under whose directions and at whose cost
the Missals should be copied.*
Archbishop Deza, who summoned the synod, was a Spaniard by
birth, and a friar of the order of St. Dominic. He was the author
of a " Defence of St. Thomas [Aquinas] against the replications
of Matthias Dorinck;" and of a lionotessaron, or Harmony of the
Evangelists. He died in 1525.t
In 1513 the book of Job, with the "Morals" of Gregory the
Great, were translated out of the Latin into Spanish by Alphonsus
Alvarez, of Toledo.t
The dreadful persecutions which had been raised against the
Jews, and the edicts in 1492 and 1496, by which six hundred
thousand persons were expelled from Spain and Portugal, drove
many of the refugees to Constantinople, where they established a
printing-office, from which several HEBREW works of importance
afterward issued. In 1505 the Pentateuch was printed in Hebrew
and Chaldee, accompanied with Rabbinical commentaries; and
again in 1506, in folio or quarto. The Jews also established a
press at Thessalonica, at which the book of Job in Hebrew, with
a Syriac commentary written in 1506, was printed in 1517; as the
Pentateuch and Targum with Rabbinical commentaries had been
the preceding year. Other portions of the Hebrew Scriptures
were likewise, in different years, printed at each of these places.~
Returning to examine the state of sacred literature in FRANCE
at this period, the Biblical labours of JAcoBUs FABER STAPULENSIS
are particularly deserving of notice.  This learned man published
in 1509, in folio, a Quintuple Latin Psalter, containing, besides
the four versions, called the Italic, Roman, Gallican, and Hebraic, I!
a fifth, or amended edition of the Gallican. This edition of the
Psalter appears to have been a work of considerable attention and
labour, since we find that for the old, or Italic version, he made
use of a most valuable MS. copy written with gold and silver let* Collectio Maxima Cone. Hisp., tom. iv, p. 31.
t Le Long, tom. ii, p. 699.  t Le Long, tom. i, Index Auctor., p. 542.
~Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, edit. Masch, pt. i, cap. i, sec. 2, p. 123; App. Supp.,
pp. 8, 10, 11. De Rossi, De Ignotis-Editionibus, cap. x, xi, xiii, &c., App. Erlang,
1782.               II See p. 292 of this volume.
1




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                     569
ters upon purple parchment, in uncial characters, in folio; supposed
to have been part of the spoils of the city of Toledo, obtained by
Childebert I., king of the Franks, about A.D. 542, and afterward
to have been made use of by St. Germanus, bishop of Paris, who
died in 576.* Faber accompanied the Psalter with short notes,
which, from the sentiments expressed in them, subjected him to
the suspicion of being tainted with heretical pravity; and occasioned the Psalter, which was more than once reprinted, to be
placed in the Index Expurgatorius, or list of prohibited books.t
He is also supposed to have been the author of a French version
of the Psalms, printed in 1525, in Svo., at Paris, by Simon de
Colines;t to which were subjoined the contents or Arguments, in
which he is said to have introduced his peculiar views of religion,
similar to those of the Reformation; and is further mentioned as
the French translator of the Song of Solomon, though with less
certainty. He likewise published Commentaries on the Four
Gospels, and the Epistles of St. Paul. To the latter was prefixed
an Apology, intended to prove that the Latin translation, everywhere read, was not that of Jerome. His Commentary on the
Four Gospels was printed at Meaux in 1522, in folio.  His method
is to exhibit, first the Latin text of this edition, and then to explain
it, correcting at the same time those passages which he believes to
be incorrectly translated. As he principally takes the Greek for
his guide, he has added asterisks and obelisks to mark what is
redundant, or what is wanting, in the Latin, after the example of
Origen in the Greek. His Commentary on the Epistles of St. Paul
was written in the abbey of St. Germain des Prez, and printed in
folio, 1512. The Vulgate being authorized throughout all the
Western churches, he printed it with this commentary, but annexed a new translation from the Greek. A Commentary on the
General Epistles was published by him in 1527, printed at Basil,
in folio; and Frisius has noticed a Commentary by him on Ecclesiastes.~
But undoubtedly his greatest and most important work was the
* Le Long, tom. i, p. 243. Paris, 1723, fol.
t Le Long, edit. Masch, pt. ii, tom. iii, cap. i, sec. 9, p. 13.
t The following prices, affixed to works printed by this printer, may show the value
of books at the time:"Vetus Testamentum, minora forma, 1525, 12mo.-24 sous.
Novum Testamentum, min. form., 1525, 12mo.-6 sous."
[Dibdin's Bibliog. Decameron, vol. ii, p. 79.
~ Le Long, tom. i, cap. iv, pp. 333, 335; et tom. ii, p. 719. Paris, fol. Simon's
Critical History of the Versions of the New Testament, part ii, ch. xxi, p. 178.
1




570                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
translation into French of the whole of the New Testament, printed
at Paris in 1523, in 8vo., by Simon de Colines; the Gospels in
June; the Epistles of Paul, the Catholic, or General Epistles, and
the Acts of the Apostles, in October; and the Revelation in November. The work was published without the translator's name;
but with a prefatory epistle, defending the translation. Another
edition was printed in two volumes Svo. by Simon de Colines, in
1524; a third was published the same year, but without the name
of the printer, or the place where it had been printed; a fourth in
1529, &c.*
The publication of the Psalter, and especially of the New Testament, caused a violent persecution to be raised against Faber by
the doctors of the Sorbonne, so that, after having been expelled
from the faculty of theology at Paris, he was obliged to fly from
France; and for some time resided at Strasburg, under a feigned
name. F. Simon says, that he was encouraged in the publication
of his work by certain powerful friends at the court of Francis I.
The prefatory epistle was prefixed to the second volume, or part
of the New Testament, under the title of Epistre exhortatoire a
tous les Chrestiens et Chrestiennes. In this epistle he praises
Jean de Rely, dean of St. Martin of Tours, and bishop of Angers,.
for his revision of Guias des Moulins' translation of Comestor's
listoria Scholastica in 1487; but complains that the French
Bibles which had preceded his version of the New Testament
were filll of faults, and corrupted by additions and retrenchments.
The following is a specimen of his reasoning in defence of his
translation:" Who is there, therefore, but will esteem it proper, and conducive to salvation, to have the New Testament in the vulgar
tongue? What is more necessary to life, whether temporal or
spiritual? If, in the different religious orders, they ordain, that if
any one be ignorant of Latin he shall have the rules of his order in
the vulgar tongue, carry it about him, and commit it to memory;
and in their respective chapters frequently explain their rules to
them; with how much more reason ought the unlearned among
Christians to possess the word of God, the Scripture full of grace
and mercy, which is their rule, and which alone is necessary, for
only one thing is needful? This Holy Scripture is the Testament
(last Will) of Jesus Christ, the Testament of our Father confirmed
by his death, and by the blood of our Redeemer; and who is he
* Le Long, tom. i, pp. 335, 336. Jortin's Life of Erasmus, vol. i, p. 90.
1




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                  571
that shall forbid the children to have, and see, and read their
father's will? It is, then, highly expedient to possess it, and read
it, and hear it, not only once, but often, in the chapters of Jesus
Christ, which are the churches, where all the people, unlearned
and learned, ought to assemble, to hear and honour the word of
God. And such is the intention of our gracious king, who in heart
as well as name is Most Christian, in whose hand God has placed
so noble and excellent a kingdom, to the glory of the Father of
mercy, and of Jesus Christ his Son;-a design which ought to
inspire all in the kingdom with courage to advance in true Christianity, by following, understanding, and believing, the quickening
word of God. And blessed be the hour when it shall be accomplished; and blessed be all those, both male and female, who shall
procure it to be carried into effect, not only in this kingdom, but
through all the world."*
The great objection against Faber's translation was, that it promoted the reformation in France, which had been begun by Luther
in Germany; and which was characterized by the partisans of
popery with the epithet of " Novelties."  " These Novelties," says
F. Simon, "were agreeable to the taste of some lords and ladies
of the court. J. le Fevie, (Faber,) who edified the world by his
exemplary life, gave great influence to these Novelties.  His
erudition was very great for the time in which he lived; and his
amiable manners gained him the esteem and love of every one.
Almost the only enemies he had were his own confraternity, the
doctors of Paris. The famous Noel Beda, the sworn enemy of
the belles lettres, openly declared himself against him and Erasmus; and the faculty of theology at Paris was at that time so
opposed to vernacular translations of the Bible, that in the same
year (1523) they censured this proposition,'Omnes Christiani, et
maxime clerici sunt inducendi ad studium Scripture sancte, quia
aliae doctrine suit humanwe, et parum fructuose'-' All Christians,
but especially the clergy, ought to be persuaded to study the Holy
Scriptures, because other learning is human, and productive of but
little good.' This permission, said this faculty, would renew the
errors of the poor men of Lyons, [Waldenses,] which had been
already condemned. The following are the express terms of the
censure, taken from the registers of the Sorbonne: " Hc propositio secundum'primam  partem, laicos quoscumque ad studium
sacrme Scripturae et difficultatum ejusdem esse inducendos sicut et
* Simon, Lettres Choisies, tom. iv, let. xv, p. 95.
1




572                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
clericos, ex errore pauperum  Lugdunensiunm  deducetur."  This
decree was afterward authorized by an edict of parliament in 1 525,
confirming a censure of these theologians, against a French version
of the " Office of the Holy Virgin." In this edict it is expressly
affirmed, that it is neither expedient nor useful for the Christian
public that any translations of the Bible should be permitted to be
printed; but that they ought rather to be suppressed as i)jurious,
consider ing the times. The terms in which the faculty of theology
expressed the censure were these: "P ost maturam  omniurn magistrorum deliberationem, fuit unanimi consensu dictum et conclusurn, quod in sequendo conclusiones dududurn per ipsam factas,
neque expediens est neque ltile reipublicTa  Christianr, imo visa
hujus temporis conditione potius perniciosum, non solumn translationem Horarum, sod etiam alias translationes Biblic l, aut partiurn
ejus, prout jam passimn fieri videntur, admitti, et quod ille que jam
emissm sunt supprimni magis deberent."  These doctors designed
this censure to be retrospective, and to extend to those versions of
the Scriptures which had been previously published; and as no
French version had yet been published by the French Calvinists,
these different edicts, when speaking of the unhappiness of the
times, can only refer to what was regarded as the heresy of Iuther.
On this very account the parliament of Paris, in a decree against
the doctrine of Luther, made in 1525, subjoins these words: " The
said court has ordained, and does ordain, that it shall be enjoined.
by the king's authority, that all persons who have in their possession the books of the Song of Solomon, the Psalms, the Revelation, the Gospels, the Epistles of St. Paul, and other books in the
Old and New Testament contained in the Holy Bible, which have
been lately translated out of Latin into French, and printed; and
also a printed book, containing the Gospels and Epistles for Sundays, and other solemnities for the whole year, with certain Exhortations in French; shall bring them and delive them up within
eight days from the publication of this decree."  This last work
was supposed to be the production of Faber and his disciples;
and the Exhortations were everywhere filled with declamations
against any thing being preached to the people but the Gospel.
The work was designed for the use of the churches at Meaux.*
The exile of Faber, which had been occasioned by the persecution of the doctors of the Sorbonne, did not continue long; for although Francis I. was captive in Spain, he was informed by hlis' Simon, Lettres Choisies, tom. iv, let. xv, pp. 95-107.
1




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                  573
sister Margaret of the treatment which Faber had received, and
wrote in his favour to the parliament of Paris, by which means he
was enabled shortly after to return again to France.*
This great man, who is usually called JAcoBus FABER STAPULENSIS, latinizing his name and tfhe place of his birth, Jacques le
Fevre of Estaples, was born about A. D. 1435. He travelled into
foreign countries in quest of knowledge, and is said to have " seen
not only Europe, but also Asia, and a part of Afiica." Being chosen
professor of the belles lettres and philosophy, in the university of
Paris, he endeavoured, with some success, to introduce into the
schools something more solid than the trifling studies of the scholastic doctors, especially an acquaintance with the learned languages. In 1517 he had a dispute with Erasmus, respecting the
quotation from the second Psalm, in Hebrews ii, 7, which Erasmus
had translated, "Thou hast made him for a little time lower than
the angels;" but which Le Fevre contended ought to be translated,
according to the Hebrew, " Thou hast made him a little lower than
God."  As they were friends, the debate was carried on with some
civility, and soon dropped, leaving their friendship undiminished.
In 1523 he left Paris and went to Meaux, where William Brivonet,
the bishop, a patron of learning and of learned men, chose him for
his grand vicar. This prelate being suspected of favouring Lutheranism, and persecuted on that account, Le Fevre was obliged
to quit his service, for fear of being involved in the same calamity.
After having spent some time in Germany, he returned to Paris,
and became preceptor to Charles, duke of Orleans, the third son of
Francis I.  Margaret, queen of Navarre, sister to Francis I.,
honoured him with her protection, and invited him to Nerac in
1530, where he died in 1537.
Like Erasmus and some others, he continued in communion
with the Church of Rome, while he seriously disapproved of her
doctrines and practices. He is even said to have taken a journey
to Strasburg by the queen of Navarre's order, to confer with Bucer
and Capito concerning the doctrines of the reformers. Some remarkable circumstances relative to his death, which have been
told by Catholic historians and others, ought not to be omitted. On
the day of his death, being apparently as well as usual, while
dining with the queen and some learned men whom this princess
frequently invited to spend the day with her, Le Fevre appeared
pensive and melancholy, and was observed to shed tears. The
* Sleidan's Hist. of the Reformation, b. v, p. 98. London, 1689, fol.
1




574                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
queen desired to know what was the cause of his sadness; he answered, "I am distressed because of the enormity of my crimes.
I am now a hundred and one years of age; and though I have
lived a chaste life, and have been preserved from those excesses
into which many are hurried by the violence of their passions, yet
I have been guilty of this heinous offence-I have known the
TRUTH, and have taught it to many who have sealed it with their
blood, and yet I have had the weakness to hide myself in those
places where the crowns of martyrs are never distributed." Having said this, he dictated his will viva voce, went and lay down on
his bed, and died in a few hours!*
The translation of the New Testament into French, by Le Fevre, (Faber,) was made from the Latin, and was the first Catholic
French translation in which the sacred tdext was purely given.
former ones being generally made, not from the text, even of the
Vulgate, but from Comestor's legendary Historia Scholastica. Le
Fevre's translation was several times reprinted, and from the opposition of the Catholic doctors, was sometimes printed without either
the author's or printer's name.  Le Long supposes that the anonymous translations placed in tile Index Librorutnz prohibitorum of
1551 were Le Fevre's.  The titles are thus given under the head
of French books, ab inceartis auctoribus -
"Les saintes Evangiles de Jesus Christ;-et au commencement une Epistre exhortatoire qui sent la doctrine de Luther.
"Les saintes Evangiles de Jesus Christ;-au commencement
il y a une Epistre Lutherienne."
Both his French Psalter and New Testament were prohibited
so early as 1528, by the provincial synod of Beziers, in France, in
the following terms:" Moreover, this synod decrees, that no books of the Lutheran
heresy, or sectaries, nor any of the books of Scripture which have
been translated out of Latin into the vernacular tongue, either of
late or eight (or rather five) years ago, shall be sold or bought, except they have been examined by the ordinary of the place, under
pain of being punished as offenders."t Such were the efforts of
the Gallican clergy to prevent the circulation of the word of
God, in the language of their countrymen; and such has been
the general policy of the Romish hierarchy and such is still its
practice,
* Clarke's Bibliog. Dict., vol. iii, pp. 226-228. Jorton's Life of Erasmus, vol. i,
pp. 90, 391; and vol ii, p. 240.
tLe Long, Biblioth. Sacra, tom. i, cap. iv, p. 335. Paris, 1723.
1




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                     575
While truths on which eternal things depend,
Find not, or hardly find, a single friend.
At this dark and melancholy period, ENGLAND presents a picture
equally dreary with that of France. In a catalogue of the books
belonging to Leicester Abbey in 1492, and which included what
was, for that day, an extensive library, the following are the only
copies of the Scripture which are noticed:
" BIBLIE, defect' et usit'.
Each book of the Old Testament glossed.
Evangelia glossata.
Historiae de Biblia in Gallico.
5 Psalteria abbreviata.
Psalterium."
On this scanty list, the learned and indefatigable historian of
Leicester excellently remarks, that " from this catalogue it seems
rather doubtful, whether in the library of this religious house there
might be any one complete collection of all the Holy Scriptures.
Supposing Biblie, in the first article, to have included both the Old
and the New Testaments, it was a tome defective and worn.  The
second consisted of each book of the Old Testament only; and the
third of the Gospels, without any mention of the Acts of the Apostles, of the Epistles, or of the Apocalypse. There is, howeveer, a
separate mention of'Actus Aplor' gloss', Apocalyps' gloss', Eple
Pauli* gloss', Eple Canonice,' and among the last occurs the'Canticus Canticorum.'  Perhaps there might be some of those Augustine monks, to whom the divine oracles in the learned languages
would have been of little use; and yet to these was not indulged
a translation, there being in the consistorial acts at Rochester the
minutes of a rigid process against the precentor of the priory of
that cathedral, for retaining an English Testament, in disobedience
to the general injunction of Cardinal Wolsey, to deliver up these
prohibited books to the bishops of the respective diocesses."
"A. 1528, Jan. 15.  In palatio Roffens', coram ipso reverendo
patre, comparuit personaliter Dr. Will. }Mafelde, monachus et precentor in eccles' Castr' Roffens' notatus, quod, post publicationem
factam in civitate predicta quod unusquisque sancta Dei Evangelia
in idioma nostrum translata apud se servand' eidem reverendo
patri inferrent, et traderent, sub penis in literis reverendi patris
cardinalis contentis, idem  Willis hujusmodi libros post tempus
per eunde rev' patre limitat' apud se servavit et retinuit, &c."t
* "No other of the Epistles of the New Testament occur, save those of St. Paul."
t Nichols' Hist. & Ant. of the County of Leicester, vol. i, App., No. xvii, pp. 101-1 08.
1




576                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
In the diocesses of London and Lincoln many persons suffered
on account of their attachment to the Scriptures, and to the cause
of truth. At Amersham, in Buckinghamshire, in the year 1606,
thirty persons were burnt in the right cheek, and made to bear fagots by way of penance. "The cause was, that they would talk
against superstition and idolatry; and were desirous to hear and
read the Holy Scripttlres."*  The register of the London diocess,
during the episcopate of Richard Fitzjames, furnishes many other
instances of persecution against those who were called Lollards,
or followers of Wiclif.  In 1511, Thomas Austy, Joan Austy his
wife, Thomas Grant, John Carter, Christopher Ravius, Dionysia
his sister, and Thomas Vincent, Lewis John, Joan John his wife,
and John Web, were brought before the bishop, and accused of
having "read and used certain English books, repugning the faith
of the Romish Church; as the four Evangelists; Wiclif's Wicket;
a book of the Ten Commandments of Almighty God; the Revelation
of St. John; the Epistles of Paul and James, with other like." The
persons thus accused were imprisoned, and through fear were led to
abjure what were deemed their errors. In the same year, and by the
same bishop, William Sweeting, and James Brewster, were burnt in
Smithfield, in one fire, as relapsed heretics, having been formerly
accused and abjured: the first charge in the examination of William Sweeting was, that he had had " much conference with one
William Man, of Boxted, in a book which was called Matthew;"
and James Brewster was charged with "having a certain little
book of Scripture, in English, of an old writing almost worne for
age, whose name is not there expressed;" and also with having
"been five times with William  Sweeting, in the fields, keeping
beasts, hearing him read many good things out of a certain book.
At which reading were also present, at one time, Woodroofe, or
Woodbinde, a net maker, with his wife: also, a brother-in-law of
William Sweeting: and another time Thomas Goodred, who
heard, likewise, the said William  Sweeting read."  As James
Brewster " could neither, read nor write," his possessing a book of
Scripture, that others might read to him out of it, was no small proof
of his love to the word of God, when it was prohibited under pain
of such dreadful punishment.t
A still more atrocious act of villainous cruelty was exercised
against Richard HIume, a merchant-tailor, of London, in 1514.
* Fox's Actes and Monumentes, vol. i, p. 918.
t Ibid., vol. ii, pp. 10, 30. Lond., 1641, fol.
1




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                  577
Being brought before Bishop Fitzjames, he was examined on the
charge of heresy, when among other articles of accusation, it was
urged against him,' that he had "in his keeping divers English
books, prohibited and damned by the law; as the Apocalypse, in
English; Epistles and Gospels, in English; Wiclif's damnable
Works; and other books containing infinite errors, in the which
he hath been long accustomed to read, teach, and study daily."
After his examination he was remanded to the prison called the
Lollard's tower; where, two days afterward, he was found hanging, having been murdered by the chancellor, the sompner, or summoner, and the bell-ringer, as was fully proved before tile coroner.
But, to prevent, if possible, the discovery of the murder, and to
blacken the character of the deceased, certain articles were selected
from the Prologue to his Bible, and ordered by the bishop to be read
at Paul's cross; the last of which was, that in the Prologue, "he
defendeth the translation of the Bible and Holy Scripture into the
English tongue, which is prohibited by the laws of our most holy
church." After which a process was instituted against him, though
already dead, in the bishop's court; and a definitive sentence of
heresy given sixteen days after his death, by which his body was
ordered to be burned, which was accordingly done, in Smithfield, on
the 20th day of December, that same year.*
Persecution continuing to rage against those who read the Scriptures in English, and opposed the superstitions of the Church of
Rome, several were burned at the stake; others confined to
monasteries, and condemned to live upon bread and water; and
many sentenced to bear a fagot at the market cross, to be burned
in the cheek, to repeat every Sunday and Friday what was called
" Our Lady's Psalter," and "every one of them to fast, bread and
ale only every Friday, during their life; and every Even of Corpus
Christi, every one of them to fast, bread and water during their
life, unless sickness unfeigned let the same." The honest martyrologist, Fox, who was indefatigable in his endeavours to obtain
authentic information relative to these sufferers for the sake of the
gospel, has given a long list of the names of persons accused
before John Longland, bishop of Lincoln, in 1521, with the
charges brought against them, extracted from the bishop's
register. An enumeration of a few of the charges will exhibit
their nature.
* Fox, vol. ii, pp. 13-25.
VOL.. —37




578                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Parties accused.    i    Crimes objected against them.
"Agnes Well, detected   "For learning the Epistle  of St.
by her brother."          James, in English, of Thurstan Littlepage."
"J. Jennings, servant   " These were detected for carrying
to James Morden; George, about certain books, in English."
servant of T. Tochel;
Thomas Grey, servant of
Roger Bennet."
"Agnes  Ashford,  of   "The cause laid to this Agnes was, for
Chesham,  detected  by teaching this James the words followJames Morden."           ing:'We be the salt of the earth; if it
be putrified and vanished away it is
nothing worth. A city set upon an hill
may not be hid. Ye teend not a candle
i and put it under a bushell, but set it on
a candlestick, that it may give a light to
all in the house. So shine your light
before men, as they may see your works,
and glorify the Father which is in heaven. No tittle nor letter of the law shall
pass over till all things be done.' And
five times he went to the foresaid Agnes, to learn this lesson: Itenm. that the
said Agnes did teach him to say this
lesson:' Jesus seeing his people, as he
went up to a hill, was set, and his disciples came to him; he opened his
mouth, and taught them, saying: Blessed be the poor men in spirit, for the
kingdom of heaven is theirs. Blessed
be mild men, for they shall weld the
earth.'* And twice he came to her to
learn this lesson."
"Henry Milner."             "Counted for a great heretic, and
learned in the Scripture."
* These quotations are evidently made from Wiclif's translation, notwithstanding
some trifling variations. See Baber's edition of Wiiclif's New Testament, cl v.
1                        37*




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                  579
Parties accused.        Crimes objected against them.
"The wife of Bennet  "For saying that Thos. Pope was
Ward and her daughter." the devoutest man that ever came in
their house, for he would sit reading in
his book to midnight, many times."
"*John Phip."             "He was very ripe in the Scripture."
"John.Phip."              "He was a reader, or rehearser, to
the other."
"John  Butler,"  (im-   "For reading to him," (his brother,)
peached by his own broth- "in a certain book of the Scripture,
er.)                    and persuading him to hearken to the
same."
"John Barret, goldsmith   "Because he was heard in his own
of London, Joan Barret house, before his wife, and maid, there
his wife, Joan his servant." present, to recite the Epistle of St.
James: which Epistle, with many
other things, he had perfectly without
book."
"Also because Joan, his wife, had
lent to John Scrivener the Gospel
of St. Matthew  and Mark: which
book lie (Scrivener) gave to Bishop
Smith."
"Durdant, by Stanes;   "All these were accused, because at
Old Durdant; Isabel, wife the marriage of Durdant's daughter,
of T. Harding; Harrop, they assembled together in a barn, and
of Windsor; Joan Barret, heard a certain Epistle of St. Paul
wife of John Barret, of read: which reading they well liked,
London; Henry  Miller, but especially Durdant, and commended
Stilman, tailor."       the same."
" John Littlepage,Alice,  c" Because he was said to have learned
wife of Thurstan Little- the Ten Commandments in English, of
page."                  Alice, Thurstan's wife, in his father's
Ihouse."




580                   BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Parties accused.             Crimes objected against them.
"Robert Collins, and    "For buying a BIBLE, of Stacey, for
his wife; John Collins, and twenty shillings!"*
his wife."
" The father of Robert   " This father Collins had been of this
Collins."                   doctrine from  the  year of our Lord
1480."
"Alice Collins, wife of    "This Alice, likewise, was a famous
Richard Collins."           woman among them, and had a good
memory, and could recite much of the
Scriptures, and other good books: and
therefore when any conventicle of these
men did meet at Burford, commonly
she was sent for, to recite unto them
the declaration of the Ten Commandments, and the Epistles of Peter and
James."
(Also,) "For teaching Joan Steventon, in Lent, the Ten Commandments."
"Item, for teaching her the first chapter of St. John's Gospel."
"John Heron."                  "For having a book of the Exposition of the Gospels, fair written in English."t
These are but a few of the many instances adduced by Fox,
from the register of Bishop Longland, of persons accused and suffering, either in one way or other, for possessing, or reading, or
hearing the book of God; and for whose accusation husbands had
been suborned against their wives, wives against their husbands;
children against their parents, and parents against their children;
brothers against sisters, and sisters against brothers.  "But the
fervent zeal of those Christian days," remarks the honest writer,
* We may form some judgment of the price of this Bible, by observing, that in 151-1
the daily wages of a master carpenter, mason, bricklayer, tyler, or plumber, were 6d.
per day, without diet, from Easter to Michaelmas: other labourers 4d. per day. In
1513 oats were 2s. 4d. per quarter. In 1533 beef was ~d. per lb.; mutton id. per
lb.; fat oxen were sold for 26s. 8d. each; a fat lamb for ls.-Chronic Precios., pp.
116. 117, 162, 164.
t Fox, vol. ii, pp. 33-51.
1




SIXTEENTH CENTURY                    581
" seemed much superior to these our days and times, as manifestly
may appear by their sitting up all night, in reading and hearing;
also by their expenses and charges in buying of books in English,
of whom, some gave five marks,* some more, some less, for a book;
and some gave a load of hay for a few chapters of St. James, or
of St. Paul, in English."
Besides these worthies, who embraced the sentiments of Wiclif,
there were many learned men who continued in strict communion
with the Church of Rome, who, by their strenuous exertions in the
cause of literature, and their preference of the inspired writings
to the works of the scholastic writers, laid a foundation for the
subsequent diffusion of sacred truth, among the higher and more
erudite classes of society.  Three of these, William  Grocyn,
William  Latimer, and especially John Colet, deserve particular
notice.
WILLIAM GROCYN was born at Bristol, in the year 1442. He
was educated in grammar learning at Winchester, and made perpetual fellow of New College in 1467. In 1479 he was presented
by the warden and fellows of that college to the rectory of NewtonLongville, in Buckinghamshire.  But as he still resided chiefly at
Oxford, the society of Magdalen College made him their divinity
reader. In 1485 he was made a prebendary of Lincoln; and in
1488 quitted his reader's place at Magdalen College, in order to
travel into foreign countries. He was stimulated to this by the
low state of learning in this kingdom, and by an ardent desire
of higher attainments. In pursuance of this design he visited
Italy, where he perfected himself in the Greek and Latin languages,
under Demetrius Chalcondyles, a native of Athens, and Angelo
Politian, professor of tile Greek and Latin tongues, at Florence.
Grocyn having completed his studies abroad, returned to England, and fixed himself at Exeter College, Oxford, in 1491, where
he took the degree of bachelor in divinity. He was professor, or
public teacher of Greek, at Oxford, about the time when Erasmus
was there. Soon after he removed to London, and then to the
college of Maidstone, in Kent, where he was master. Erasmus
owns great obligations to this man, who, by his generosity to his
friends, reduced himself to straits, and was forced to pawn his
plate to Dr. Young, master of the rolls; but the doctor returned it
to him again, by his will, without taking either principal or interest.
Erasmus represents him as one of the best divines and scholars of
+ The mark is an old English coin valued at 13s. 4d. sterling, being a little more
than three dollars of our money.-A-MERICAN EDITOR.
1




582                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
the English nation; and in several of his epistles speaks of him
in a manner that proves he cherished the most sincere regard for
him, and entertained the highest opinion of his abilities, learning,
and integrity.
An instance has been given, in a preceding chapter, of his
candour and ingenuousness, in avowing the spuriousness of the
Hierarchia Ecclesiastica, attributed to Dionysius, the Areopagite.
Afterward, when Dean Colet had introduced the custom of reading
lectures at his cathedral upon some part or other of the Scriptures,
he engaged Grocyn, as one of the most learned and able men he
could meet with, to carry his design into effect.
He died at Maidstone in the beginning of the year 1522, aged
eighty, of a stroke of the palsy. He was buried in the choir of
the church at Maidstone. Dr. Linacre was the executor of his
will, and residuary legatee; and his godson, William Lily, the
grammarian, had bequeathed by it a legacy of Jive shillings!*
WILLIAM LATIMER became fellow of All Soul's College, at Oxford, in the year 1489.  Afterward he travelled into Italy, and
settled for a time at Padua, where he greatly improved himself,
particularly in the Greek tongue. Returning to England, he was
incorporated master of arts at Oxford in 1513; and soon after had
for his pupil Reginald Pole, who became cardinal, and archbishop;
and by whose interest he is said to have obtained the rectories of
Saintbury and Weston-under-edge, in Gloucestershire, and a prebendary of Salisbury.
When Erasmus was at Oxford, Latimer was serviceable to him
in the study of the Greek tongue; and when he was preparing the
second edition of his Greek Testament for the press, he begged
his assistance, knowing him to be accurate in the language.
We have nothing extant of this learned man, he being, as we
have his character by Erasmus, a man of more than virgin modesty,
under which was veiled the greatest worth. He died very aged,
and was buried in the chancel of the church of Saintbury. He
was considered as one of the greatest men of that age; a master
of all sacred and profane learning.  Leland celebrates also his
eloquence, judgment, piety, and generosity.t
JOHN COLET, the great and excellent dean of St. Paul's, and
whose history is intimately connected with that of sacred literature,
was born in London, in the year 1466. He was the eldest son of
Sir Henry Colet, knight, who was twice lord mayor. His mother
* British Biography, vol. i, pp. 326-329. Jortin's Life of Erasmus, vol. i, p. 6, &c.
t British Biography, vol. i, pp. 328, 329. Jortin's Life of Erasmus, vol. i, pp. 6, 9.
1




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                  583
was a woman of great worth and exemplary piety. " I knew in
England," says Erasmus, " the mother of John Colet, a matron of
singular piety. She had by the same husband eleven sons and
eleven daughters; all of whom were torn away from her by death,
except her eldest son; and she lost her husband far advanced in
years. She herself, though arrived at her ninetieth year, looked
so smooth, and was so cheerful, that you would have thought she
had never shed a tear, nor brought a child into the world; and, if
I mistake not, she survived her son, Dean Colet. Now that which
supplied a woman with such a degree of fortitude was not learning,
but piety toward God." To her instructions and example her son,
probably, was indebted for those religious impressions which gave
an early bias to his mind in favour of a devout and holy life.
In 1483 our student was sent to the university of Oxford, where
he spent seven years in the study of logic and philosophy, and then
took his degrees in arts. He was well acquainted with the writings
of Cicero; and read with great diligence the Latin translations of
the works of Plato and Plotinus, the Greek not being at that timne
taught in any of our grammar schools; he also made considerable
progress in the mathematics.
Having resolved to enter the church, he was presented, when
but nineteen years of age, and only in the order of an acolythe,
with the rectory of Denington, in Suffolk, by Sir William Knevit,
knight, and his lady. He was also instituted to the rectory of
Thyrning, in Huntingdonshire, on the presentation of his father,
in 1490; which he resigned before the end of the year 1493.
In order to acquire a knowledge of the Greek language, and to
improve and extend his acquaintance with the languages and
sciences which he had already studied, as well as to enlarge the
circle of his literary friends, he visited France and Italy. At Paris
he associated with the celebrated Budmeus, and with Deloine, and
Robert Gaguinus, the historian. In Italy he contracted an intimacy with several learned foreigners and several of his own countrymen, particularly Grocyn, Linacre, William Latimer, and William Lily. He was also, during the time of his travels, presented
to the prebend of Botevant, in the cathedral church of York; to
this were added a canonry in the church of Saint Martin's Le
Grand, London, and the prebend of Good Easter, in the same
church.
He appears to have returned from his travels in 1497; and on
the 17th of December the same year was ordained deacon, and
priest a short time afterward. He did not long continue with his
1




584                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE.
friends in London, before he withdrew to Oxford, in order to pro
secute his studies with greater success. In this situation, how
ever, he was neither inactive nor useless. He gratuitously read
public lectures in the university, by way of exposition on the
Epistles of St. Paul: and although he had not taken any degree
in divinity, yet there was not, we are told, a doctor in divinity or
law, nor abbot, nor any other dignitary in the church, but came
gladly to hear him, and brought their books along with them.
Others followed the example; and Dr. Knight assures us, that
about this time it became " almost a custom for men of distinguished parts and learning in that university to set up voluntary
lectures, by way of exposition and comment on some celebrated
writer: to which the students would repair, more or less, according to the opinion they had of the men and their performances.
Among others, we are certain Mr. Thomas More read upon St.
Austin's book De Civitate Dei, while a very young man, to a very
great auditory. This exercise was also set on foot at Cambridge.
We are told by a learned author, that Dr. Warner, afterward rector
of Winterton, in Norfolk, and who assisted Bilney at the stake,
read there publicly. George Stafford read also a lecture in the
same place upon St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans; being probably
induced thereto by the example more especially of Dr. Colet."
About this time Erasmus visited England, with whom Colet
soon formed an intimate friendship; which he endeavoured to improve to a more accurate and critical knowledge of the Scriptures.
With this design he proposed to Erasmus some doubts and queries
relative to certain obscure and difficult passages in the Epistles of
St. Paul; but Erasmus, with that timid caution which so strongly
marked his character, replied, " Since it is dangerous to dispute
openly of these matters, I had rather reserve them for our private
conversation, as fitter for word of mouth than writing."  Colet
also informed Erasmus, that it was his determination to banishs
if possible, the wrangling of the scholastic divines, and restore
those theological studies which were founded upon the Scriptures
and the primitive fathers; and that for this end he had in Oxford
publicly expounded the Epistles of St. Paul; and earnestly pressed
him to undertake a similar public exposition of some part of the
Old Testament, while he himself was employed in the New.
Erasmus, however, declined the undertaking, but exhorted Colet
to persevere in his laudable design, assuring him, that when he
was conscious to himself of a sufficient degree of strength and
ability, he would readily lend him assistance. This friendship
1




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                  585
was maintained to the close of life, and the correspondence of
these two great men served to animate them in the pursuit of
Biblical learning, in which they met with frequent and violent
opposition, especially from the scholastic doctors, who were so
enraged at any attempts to promote the study of the Greek tongue,
that they could not forbear uttering invectives against it from the
pulpit; and strove to suppress it by the cry of " Heresy."  Hence
the proverb, Cave a Grcecis, ne fas Iicereticus; Fuge literas
Hebreas, ne Jfas Judceorzum simnilis-" Take care of Greek, lest
you become a heretic: avoid Hebrew, lest you become like Jews."
Standish, bishop of St. Asaph, and provincial of the Franciscans,
in a declamation against Erasmus, styled him GRXCULUS ISTE;
which became for a long time afterward the phrase for a heretic,
or one suspected of " heretical pravity."
This aversion to the study of every thing that tended to lessen
the authority of the schoolmen, or to spread an acquaintance with
the original Scriptures, obtained during the whole of the reign of
Henry VII. and the beginning of the reign of Henry VIII. About
the latter period, a preacher at Oxford declared openly, at St.
Mary's, against the pernicious innovation of the Greek tongue;
and raised such a ferment about it among the students, that the
king, who was then at Woodstock, having been correctly informed
by Mr. (afterward Sir) Thomas More, and the learned Richard
Pace, of the true cause of the commotion, sent his royal letters to
the university, to allow and encourage that study among the young
men. Not long after this, a divine, who was preaching at court,
declaimed and railed violently against Greek learning and new interpretations of the Scripture. Richard Pace (who afterward succeeded Colet as dean of St. Paul's) was then present, and cast his
eyes upon the king, to observe how he was affected with the discourse; and the king smiled upon Pace, in contempt of the invectives of the preacher. After sermon Henry sent for the divine
who had preached, and appointed a solemn disputation, at which
he himself proposed to be present, for the purpose of debating the
matter between the preacher opposing, and Mr. Thomas More defending, the use of the Greek tongue. When the appointed time
came, More began with an eloquent apology in favour of that
copious and ancient language. But the divine, instead of replying
to the arguments of More, fell upon his knees, and implored pardon
of the king for the offence he had given in the pulpit, endeavouring
to excuse himself by saying, that " what he had done was by the
impulse of the Spirit."  "Not of the Spirit of Christ," rejoined
1




586                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Henry, " but of the spirit of infatuation."  The king then asked
him, whether he had read the writings of Erasmus, against which
he had declaimed? To this he answered in the negative. " Why
then," said the king, "you are a very foolish fellow, to censure
what you have never read."  "I have read," said he, " something
they call MORIA," (Mllorie Encomium, the Praise of Folly.) " Yes,"
replied Pace, " may it please your highness, such a subject is fit
for such a reader."  At last the preacher, to bring himself off,
declared that he was now better reconciled to the Greek tongue,
because it was derived from the Hebrew. Upon which the king,
who was amazed at the ignorance of the man, dismissed him;
but with an express charge that he should never again preach at
court.
In 1502 Colet was made prebendary of Durnesford, in the church
of Sarum; and on the 20th of January, 1503-4, he resigned his
prebend of Good Easter. In 1504 he took the degree of doctor in
divinity. On the 5th of May, 1505, he was instituted to the prebend of Mora, in the cathedral church of St. Paul; and in the
same year, and in the same month, without the least solicitation
of his own, was raised to the dignity of dean of St. Paul's, on
which occasion he resigned the vicarage of Stepney.
Dr. Colet soon began to distinguish himself in the important
station to which he was now advanced. He restored and reformed
the decayed discipline of his cathedral church, and commenced
what was there a novel practice, by preaching himself upon Sundays and solemn festivals. In this course of preaching he did not
restrict himself to single texts -from the Gospel or Epistle for the
day, but selected more general subjects, as the Gospel of St. Matthew, the Lord's Prayer, the Apostles' Creed, and continued a
series of discourses upon them till he had completed the discussion
of the doctrines they maintained. His audience was usually
crowded, and among his hearers were the principal courtiers and
citizens. He also called in to his assistance other divines of
learning and talents, among whom was William Grocyn, and John
Sowle, a Carmelite friar of an unblamable life, and a great admirer and preacher of the writings of St. Paul.
The frequent preaching of Dean Colet, in his own cathedral,
stimulated some others to follow his example, particularly Dr.
Collingwood, at Litchfield, who introduced the practice of preaching every Sunday, being the first and only preacher among all the
deans of that cathedral. Before Dr. Colet reformed the practice,
it had been usual, both in the universities and in the cathedral
1




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                  587
churches, for the public lecturers to read upon any other book
than the Scriptures; but after he had himself read lectures upon
St. Paul's Epistles, both in the university of Oxford and in St.
Paul's cathedral, and retained several learned men, successively,
to read these theological lectures in his church, for which he made
them a generous allowance, he at last procured a settlement at St.
Paul's for a similar lecture to be constantly read there, three days
in every week.
These divinity lectures, and Dr. Colet's method of expounding
the Scriptures, raised among the people an inquiry after the sacred
writings, sunk into neglect by the metaphysical disputants, and the
superstitious and ignorant clergy. This, together with the contempt which the dean expressed for the religious houses or monasteries, and the display which he made of their abuses, doubtless
contributed to prepare the minds of the people for the Reformation,
which, by the gracious providence of God, soon afterward took
place. It is therefore no wonder that the bigots to popery considered him as an enemy, and attempted to stir up persecution
against him. The ecclesiastics were stung to revenge, and a prosecution was commenced against him for heresy, in which Dr.
Fitzjames, bishop of London, was the principal agent. The main
charges exhibited against him to Archbishop WTarham were three;
the first of which was, that he had taught that images were not to
be worshipped; the second, that he had preached against the temporal possessions of the bishops; and the third, that lie had
preached against the cold and unaffected manner in which some
men read their sermons, which was understood to reflect upon the
bishop himself. But the archbishop, who knew and valued the
integrity and worth of Colet, became his advocate and patron, and
dismissed him without giving him the trouble of a formal answer.
Tyndal, in his reply to More, adds, that the bishop of London
would have made Colet a heretic, for translating the Pater Noster
into English, had not the archbishop of Canterbury defended him:
and Bishop Latimer, who was at the time a young student at Cambridge, remembered the noise occasioned by the prosecution of
Colet for heresy, and says expressly, that "he was not only in
trouble, but should have been burnt, if God had not turned the
king's heart to the contrary."
The enemies of the dean were not easily repulsed. Disappointed
in their accusation of heresy, they attempted to fix upon him a
suspicion of sedition, or treason. In this they were equally foiled;
for the young king (Henry VIII.) sent for him, and in private ad1




588                      BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
vised him to go on, reproving and reforming a corrupt and dissolute
age, nor suffer his light to be extinguished in times so densely
dark; assuring him that he was sensible of the good effect of his
excellent preaching and life, and promising that no one should injure him with impunity. The dean thanked the king for his royal
protection, but begged that no one might suffer on his account, for
he would rather, he said, resign his deanery, and live in privacy.
Another attack was made upon the dean, of a similar nature, but
which was equally unsuccessful; the king dismissing him with
marks of affection and promises of favour. After this the dean
continued his constant ccurse of preaching, though he seems never
to have recovered his character for orthodoxy with the bigots of his
church.
In the mean time, his father, Sir Henry Colet, dying, in 1510,
he succeeded to a very considerable estate. He therefore delivered
his church revenues to his steward, to be expended in housekeeping and hospitality; and employed the annual produce of his paternal estate in acts of piety, beneficence, and generosity. Having
no very near or poor relations, he founded the Grammar School
of St. Paul's, in London, which he endowed with lands and tenements for the support of a head master, a second master, or usher,
and a chaplain, for the instruction of one hundred and fifty-three
boys in the Greek and Latin languages, and placed it under the
care of the company of mercers. The dean also appointed WILLIAM LILY to be first head master of his school.*
* The celebrated grammarian, WILLIAMS LILY, or LIIYE, was born at Oldham, in
Hampshire, about 1466. At the age of eighteen he was admitted a demy-commoner
of Magdalen College, Oxford. Having taken the degree of bachelor of arts, he left
the university and travelled to Jerusalem.  On his return he resided a considerable
time in the island of Rhodes, where he studied the Greek under the learned men who
had fled thither for protection, after the taking of Constantinople.  From thence he
uroceeded to Rome, where he further improved himself in the Latin and Greek lan-,uages, under John Sulpitius and Pomponius Sabinus.  On his arrival in England, in
1509, he settled in London, and taught grammar, poetry, and rhetoric, with good success, and::s said to have been the first who taught Greek in that city. When Dr.
Colet founded St. Paul's school, he was appointed head master. He had been twelve
years in that laborious and useful situation when he was seized with the plague and
died, in 1522. He was a married man at the time of his appointment to the school.
His two sons, George and Peter, were both learned men. The eldest of them published the first exact map that was ever drawn of this island. Mr. Lily had also a
(laughter named Dionysia, who was married to John Ritwyse, usher, and afterward
successor to him in the mastership of St. Paul's school.
Lily had the character of an excellent grammarian, and a successful teacher of the
learned languages.  He published several small Latin pieces, principally poems and
1




SIXTEENTH  CENTURY.                       589
In 1511, at the opening of the convocation of the province of
Canterbury, Archbishop Warhlam appointed Dean Colet to preach
the Latin sermon on that occasion. In this sermon, which is still
extant, he attacked the corruptions of the church and clergy in the
most warm  and spirited manner.  His text was from  St. Paul's
Epistle to the Romans, ch. xii, ver. 2: " Be not conformed to this
world, but be ye transformed," &c. In treating of conformity to
the world, he explained what was meant under four heads;-devilish pride, carnal lusts, worldly covetousness, and secular business.
" These," said the dean, " are in the world, as St. John witnesseth, who says, that all that is in the world is either'the lust of the
flesh, the lust of the eye, or the pride of life.' And these same
things do now  so reign in the church, and among ecclesiastical
persons, that we may, in a manner, truly say, all that is in the
church is either the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, or the
pride of life."  He then proceeded to discuss, in the most bold
and spirited manner, the different topics he had proposed; and
concluded by a pointed address to the bishops, pressing the necessity of reformation, and of an immediate and firm exercise of discipline, agreeably to the canons of the church, which he proposed
should be read in that convocation.
His honesty and zeal against the corruptions of the clergy increased the number of his enemies, but, protected by the king, he
escaped that degradation and martyrdom which, with a less powerful patron, he would probably have suffered; and, under the
sanction of royalty, succeeded to other preferments besides those
which have already been mentioned.  He was rector of the fraternity or gild of JEsvs, in St. Paul's church, for which he procured
new statutes: and also chaplain and preacher in ordinary to King
Henry, and, if Erasmus were not mistaken, one of his privy council.  About his fiftieth year he formed a resolution to withdraw
from active life, and spend the rest of his days in retirement; but
orations. His principal work, or at least that by which he is best known, is Brevissima Institutio, sell ratio grammatices cognoscendtc; London, 1513; commonly called
"Lily's Latin Grammar." This was a very excellent work for its time. Bishop
Wetternhall's Grammar, the Eton Grammar, and multitudes of others, are but abridgments of it. The English rudiments of it were written by Dr. Colet; the preface by
Cardinal Wolsey; the syntax chiefly by Erasmus; and the other parts by other hands;
so that, although it bears Lily's name, he probably had not the largest share in the
work, and therefore, during his life, modestly refused the honour of having it ascribed
to him. It has since been greatly improved, and has passed through innumerable
editions. See Brit. Biog., vol. i, pp. 384, 385: and Clarke's Bibliog. Diet., vol. iv.,
p. 19.
1




590                BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
he was prevented by death: for being seized with the sweating
sickness, " he retired to the lodgings he had built in the monastery
of the Carthusians at Sheen, near Richmond, in Surry; when,
having spent the little remainder of his days in devotion, he surrendered up his last breath to Him that first gave it, on the 16th
of September, 1519." His body was afterward carried to London,
and buried in the cathedral church of St. Paul, with an humble
monument, that he had several years before appointed and prepared, with only this inscription on it, JOANNES COLETUS.
The clean, as to his person, was tall and comely, and his mien
and carriage graceful. His learning was considerable, and his
piety exemplary. As a preacher, he was eloquent and nervous.
In his goods, furniture, entertainment, apparel, and books, he was
neat and clean, but despised all state and magnificence: and while
the higher clergy were generally clothed in purple, his dress was
always black, and plain. Frugal at his meals, it was his custom
for many years to eat but one meal, that of dinner. As soon as
grace before meat was said, some boy, with a good voice, read.
distinctly a chapter out of one of St. Paul's Epistles, or out of the
Proverbs of Solomon; and from thence the dean took occasion to
introduce grave and improving conversation, by which means his
guests were refreshed in mind as well as body. At other times,
when he had no agreeable companion, one of his servants read
some part of the Holy Scriptures. "In his journeys he would
sometimes make me," says Erasmus, "his companion, when no
one could be more pleasant; yet he always carried a book with
him, and his conversation was all about CHRIST." He loved little
children, and compared them, like Jesus, to angels, for innocence
and simplicity. To glorify God, and to be useful to men, appeared
to be the great aim of his life; which occasioned Erasmus to say,
when he heard of his death, "I know his state is happy; he is
now delivered from a troublesome and wicked world, and enjoys
the presence of his Redeemer JEsus, whom he loved so affectionately in his life."*
Such was Dean Colet, a man who, amid the darkness of the
age, shone as a light in a benighted land; and who deserves to be
ranked among those who were essentially serviceable in the spread
of Scriptural knowledge; an honour to his country, a blessing to
posterity.
An increasing attention began now to be paid to the Greek
* British Biography, vol. i, pp. 361-402. Jortin's life of Erasmus, vol. iii, App.,
No. ii, pp. 14-25.
1




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                  591
tongue, as the original language of the New Testament; and such
was the veneration of some persons for it on this account, that
although they did not understand the language itself, yet because
it was the original text, they caused it to be interlined in their
copies of the Vulgate. Dr. Hody'mentions a MS. of this kind,
preserved in the library of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, executed in the most beautiful manner, on parchment, in two volumes
in folio. The Latin was written with black, and the Greek with
red ink.*
Thus was divine Providence preparing the way for the reformation of his church, and for the revival of sacred literature from that
state of profound ignorance into which it had been sunk for ages.
Many instances of that general disuse of the Holy Scriptures
among the clergy and members of the Church of Rome which
preceded the age of Luther, and of the necessity of some powerful
interposition to break the fetters of the most slavish superstition,
and to rescue the sacred volume from the bondage in which it was
detained, have been already adduced; and if we again pass to the
CONTINENT, and examine the state of those countries where the
great deliverance was first effected, it must add to our gratitude,
for the gracious and energetic interposition of that God whose
word is TRUTH.
Several of the German monasteries had no public library for the
use of the monks; and in some of them not a single copy of the
Scriptures could be found. Prior to the publication of the Greek
Testament by Erasmus, not a copy could be procured in all Germany; so that Conrad Pellican was obliged to obtain one from
Italy. In some churches Aristotle's Ethics and similar works
were read instead of sermons, a practice which in some places
had subsisted from the time of Charlemagne; in others, the works
of Aquinas were explained; and in some, lectures on the heathen
poets were delivered, where the word of God ought to have been
preached. The original languages of the Scriptures were not only
generally neglected, but the study of them was despised. Conrad
Heresbachius relates that he heard a monk declaiming in a church,
who affirmed, "A new language is discovered, called Greek, and
is the parent of all heresy. A book written in that language is
everywhere got into the hands of persons, and is called the New
Testament. It is a book full of daggers and poison. Another
language has also sprung up, called the Hebrew, and those who
* Holy, De Bibl. Text. Orig., lib. iii, pt. ii, cap. xii, p. 458.




592                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
learn it become Jews." Even Latin, the common language of
their religious services, was so little understood by the monkish
clergy, that the most ridiculous mistakes were made by them,
both in the performance of their offices and in their writings: an
instance is related of one, who, instead of the usual form in baptism, was accustomed to say, "Baptizo te in nomine Patria, et
Filia, et Spiritus Sancti;" of another, who, when he had received
letters of recommendation for orders, couched in these terms,
"Otto Dei gratia, rogat vestram clementiam, ut velitis istum clericum conducere ad vestrum Diaconum;" and was ordered to read
the epistle, which was considerably abbreviated in the writing,
was so totally ignorant of the Latin as to form the abbreviations
into the following unmeaning words: " Otto Dei gram, rogat vestram clam, ut velit istum clinlcum clancum, convertere in vivum
Diabolum;" and of a third, who for "famulus Dei," constantly
repeated " mulus Dei."*
The grossest ignorance of the Scriptures prevailed, not only
among the laity, but also among many of the clergy. Degrees in
divinity were conferred upon those who had scarcely ever read the
Bible; and numbers of divines were far advanced in life before
they had even seen one! In the year 1510 the university of Witternberg registered in its acts, Andrew Carolostad, afterward one
of the reformers, as being suffcientissirmus, fully qualified for the
degree of doctor, which he then received; though he afterward
acknowledged, that he never began to read the Bible till eight
years after he had received his academical honours. Albert, archbishop and elector of Mentz, having accidently found a Bible lying
on a table, in 1530, opened it, and having read some pages, exclaimed, "Indeed, I do not know what this book is; but this I see,
that every thing in it is against us."  Gerard Listrius, in his note
on the lMorice Encomnium of Erasmus, says, " I have known many
doctors in divinity, as they were called, who have candidly acknowledged that they were fifty years of age before they had read
the Epistles of St. Paul:" and Musculus affirms, (Loc. Corn.,) that
prior to the Reformation, " many priests and pastors had not so
much as seen a Bible." Those who devoted themselves to the
study of the Scriptures were objects of derision, and treated as heretical; while the advocates of the Aristotelian philosophy were
regarded as the oracles of wisdom, and the only true theologians.
* Lomeier, De Bibliothecis, cap. viii, pp. 155, 180. Hody, De Bibl. Text. Orig.,
pt. ii, lib. iii, pp. 464, 465. Hottingeri Analecta Historico-Theologica: diss. i, De
Necessitate Reformationis, pp. 12, 52. Tigurin, 1652, 12mo.
1




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                   593
The divines of Cologne published one work, entitled De Salute
Aristotelis, "Aristotle on Salvation;" and another, illustrated with
theological notes, bearing the title of De vita et morte Aristotelhs,
" Aristotle on Life and Death;" and concluding with this sentence,
" Aristotle was the forerunner of Christ in the kingdom of nature,
as John the Baptist was in the kingdom  of grace."  Even the
Bible itself was disregarded, or contemptuously noticed. John
Faber, canon of Leutkirch, and suffragan of Constance, and afterward bishop of Vienna, impiously declared that men " might live
peaceably and amicably together, without the Gospel;" and Cardinal Hosius daringly affirmed, that " it would have been better for
the church (of Rome,) if the Gospel had never been written."*
This view of the degraded state of sacred literature, previous to
the Reformation, is further confirmed by the following extract from
the learned historian of The Helvetic Confederacy:" The generality of the priesthood did not scruple to acknowledge their deficiency in the most elementary parts of learning.
The canons of the collegiate church of Zuric having to notify an
election to the bishop of Constance, confessed that they transmitted it in the handwriting of their notary, because several of them
could not write. In the examination for holy orders, it was deemed
amply sufficient that the candidate could read, and tolerably comprehend what he read:t even after the Reformation had made some
progress, the people firmly believed, and the priests confirmed them
in the persuasion, that the bells travelled every passion week to
Rome to receive fresh baptism; and that the exorcisms of priests
could effectually dispel swarms of locusts, and all manner of insects. When, at an assembly of the clergy in the Valais, mention
was made of the Bible, only one of the priests had ever heard of
such a book: and several, on other occasions, did not scruple to
declare, that it would be an advantage to religion if no Gospel were
extant; and that the study of the Greek and Hebrew languages
greatly savoured of heresy."
"Had the clergy, however, in this unpardonable state of ignorance," continues the writer, " maintained a decorum in their conversation and manners, they might still have preserved a degree of
respect and influence, which would probably have somewhat re* Hotingeri Analecta, diss. 1, pp. 1-82. Lomeier, De Bibliothecis, cap. viii, pp.
166, 167. Hody, ut sup.
t " The report of the examination of Leonard Brun for priest's orders, not long before the Reformation, was,'Bene legit, competenter exponit et sententiat, computum
ignorat, male cantat-Fiat admissio.'"
VOL. I.-38




594                  BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
tarded the progress of the Reformation. But the profligacy even
of the heads of the church had arrived at a pitch which it was no
longer possible to tolerate, or palliate. Without dwelling on the
many flagrant instances of depravation, which are not disguised even
by the ecclesiastical writers of the Romish Church, all men must
feel a painful conviction when they learn, from the charges that
were brought by the citizens of Lausanne, againt their clergy, that
the priests used often, even in the churches, and in the midst of
divine service, to strike the persons to whom they bore ill-will,
some of whom had actually died of their wounds; that they walked
the streets at night, disguised in military dresses, brandishing
naked swords, and insulting the peaceable inhabitants; and that
the frequent rapes, violences, and insults they committed, were
never punished, or even restrained. The following are the words
of the eighteenth article:-'We have also to complain of the
canons, that they reduce the profits of our town brothel, several of
them carrying on the traffic of prostitution in their own houses,
which they throw open to new comers of all descriptions.'* It is
no small corroboration of the merited clamours raised against the
clergy, that their own zealous advocate and protector, Charles V.,
publicly declared to them, that if their lives had been less reproachable, they would never have had to contend with a MartinLuther."t
From such an awful detail of depravity, the consequence, principally, of that universal ignorance of the word of God which had
been studiously induced by the inhibitory mandates of the papal
power, and the restrictive measures of the Romish clergy, we turn
with satisfaction to notice a few instances of a very different and
more enlightened nature.  For amid the general gloom  some
characters were found whose pursuits and studies threw rays of
sacred light across "the palpable obscure." Jacobus Faber, of
Daventer; Joannes Frobenius, the celebrated printer; but especially Desiderius Erasmus, deserve to be remarked for their promotion of Biblical learning.
JAcoBus FABER, of Daventer, was born in the year 1472. His
preceptor was Alexander Hegius, who was also the instructer of
Erasmus. In 1499 he published an heroic poem. Afterward he
became the reader of the second class of Daventer, and edited the
works of his master; part of which he dedicated to Erasmus, in
*' "These charges consist of twenty-three articles, and are given at length in Ruchat's Hist. de la Reform. de la Suisse, tom. i, p. xxxii. They are of the year 1533."
t Planta's History of the Helvetic Confederacy, vol. ii, b. ii, ch. vi, pp. 358-363.
London, 1807, 8vo.
1                          38*




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                   595
1503. In the year 1511 he edited " Cato's Distichs," with additions. About the same time Jacobus Faber Stapulensis (Jacques
Le Fevre, of Estaples) presented him with a copy of his Quintuple Psalter, printed in 1509. Many MSS. in the handwriting of
Jacobus Faber of Daventer are still extant in the library of that
city, among which are Latin translations of the Greek canons and
menology. He appears to have been an indefatigable transcriber
of Biblical MSS., for on the first page of a MS. formerly belonging
to Faber, J. C. Wolfius, of Hamburg, has made the following note:
"I have a Hebrew MS. of Genesis and Exodus, with Faber's name
written at the beginning and end." The same learned person possessed also a MS. of the Greek New Testament, transcribed by
Faber, which was afterward purchased by Wetstein, out of Wolfius's library, and collated for his Greek Testament. It contains
the following books of the New Testament, in this order: John,
Luke, Matthew, Mark; the Epistles of St. Paul; the Acts; and
the Catholic (or General) Epistles: the Epistle of Jude is written
twice, and from two different copies. Jacobus Faber copied it from
a MS. written at Mount Athos, in 1293, by Theodore, the writer
also of t Greek MS. of the four Gospels, preserved in the library
of Christ Church, in Oxford. The ancient 1 S. which Faber copied, or with which he collated his transcript, was one which had
been presented from the Vatican library to John Herman Wesselus, of Groningen, by Pope Sixtus IV.* Faber's copy is on paper,
in two volumes, 4to. At the beginning is a note, of which the fol,lowing is the purport: " I have collated the four Gospels more than
once, with great care and labour, with an ancient MS. on vellum,
formerly belonging to J. Wesselus, of Groningen. The labour it
has occasioned me I cannot easily tell, as I have met with no one
to assist me in the collation." He was living in 1517. The time
of his decease is uncertain.t
JOHN FROBENIUS, or FROBEN, was one of the most celebrated
printers of his day. He was a native of Hammelburg, in Fran
conia. He received his education at Basil; and after having made
great progress in literature, commenced the business of a printer
in that city. He selected the works of the best authors for publication; and spared no expense to obtain perfect MSS. He employed persons of the highest literary merit, as the editors and
correctors of the press, in proof of which it is sufficient to name
* See page 531 of this volume.
t Jorton's Life of Erasmus, vol. i, p. 104, note. Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, pt. i,
ch. viii, p. 360.
1




596                BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
Sigismund Gelenius, the learned author of a " Greek, Latin, German, and Slavonian lexicon;" and John (Ecolampadius, or Hawksheim, one of the principal reformers, and author of several Latin
translations of the Greek fathers.
The respectability of Froben's character, and his constant care
of never printing any thing offensive to morals and religion, procured him both celebrity and opulence. In the publication of the
works of the fathers, particularly of Jerome, he was joined by John
Amerbach, a pious and wealthy printer, who had educated his
three sons in the study of the Greek, and Hebrew, and Latin tongues,
to qualify them for editing the works of this his favourite author.
In 1514 he contracted an intimate friendship for Erasmus, who
came to reside at Basil, principally with the design of publishing
the works of Jerome, for which he had made considerable preparations, where he found Froben and Amerbach engaged in a similar undertaking, who committed to him the direction of the work.
But what gave the greatest celebrity to Froben was his printing
the Greek New Testament, which was edited by Erasmus. This
was the first published edition of the Greek Testament after the
invention of printing; for although the Complutensian edition was
first printed, it was not published till 1522, whereas this was published in 1516. The design of publishing this edition originated
with Froben, who engaged Erasmus as the editor; for Beatus
Rhenanus, who was for some time one of the correctors of Froben's
press, in a letter addressed to Erasmus, dated April 17th, 1515,
makes the proposal in the following terms:-" Petit Frobenius abs
te Novum  Testamentum, pro quo tantum  se daturum pollicetur,
quantum alias quisquam" —" Froben requests you to undertake the
New Testament, for which he promises to give you as much as
any other person." During the time he was employed upon it,
Erasmus lodged in the house of Froben, as appears from the subscription at the end of the first edition, which is, " Basiliae, in
aedibus Johannis Frobenii Hammelburgensis, Mense Februario,
anno MDXVI."
Froben also commenced an edition of the works of Augustine, in
ten volumes; and had formed the design of printing the works of
all the Greek fathers, when his life was terminated by a universal
palsy, supposed to be the consequence of a dreadful fall, some
years before. He died, universally lamented by all who knew him,
at Basil, in 1527.*
* Jorton's Life of Erasmus, vol. i, pp. 58, 393. Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii, pt. i, ch.
xii, p. 443; and pt. ii, p. 854.
1




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                  597
ERASMUS, who occasionally assumed the prrenomen of Desiderius, was born at Rotterdam, about A. D. 1467; and received
the early part of his education at an illustrious school, at Daventer,
where Alexander Hegius was his master, and Adrianus Florentius,
afterward Pope Adrian IV., was his school-fellow. At the age of
thirteen he lost his parents; his mother by the plague, and his
father by grief for her death. The three guardians to whose care
he was left by his father proved dishonourable and base; and in
order to rob him of his patrimony, determined to make him a monk,
for which purpose they forced him into a convent of friars, at Balduc, in Brabant; from whence he was removed to another, at Sion,
near Delft, and thence to a third, at Stein, near Torgau. His
aversion to the monastic state induced him to resist their attempts for some years; but at length, overcome by their unwearied
endeavours, he entered among the regular canons, and made his
profession in 1486.
He did not, however, remain long in the monastery, for in 1490
he was received into the family of Henry a Bergis, archbishop of
Cambray; and subsequently obtained leave from Julius II., and
then from Leo X., to lay aside the habit of the order, and to quit
the monastic profession.
From the time that Erasmus quitted his convent to the period
when he published his New Testament, he resided chiefly in England and France, and occasionally visiting Italy. In every country
he indefatigably pursued his studies, obtaining a precarious subsistence from the generosity of his literary friends, the emoluments
of instruction, and the publication of several of his minor productions. For several years his mind was occupied with a design of
publishing the works of Jerome, but especially of printing an edition of the Greek Testament, with notes.  Early in 1515 he received proposals from Froben, the celebrated printer of Basil, to
reside in that city, and become the editor of a Greek Testament.
The proposal according with his own previous intention, he removed to Basil, and edited both the Greek Testament and the
works of Jerome, which respectively appeared in the year 1516.
This edition of the GREEK TESTAMENT Erasmus accompanied
with a Latin Version; and Various Readings, selected from several
MSS., the works of the fathers, and the Vulgate. It was printed
in folio, in two columns, with the notes at the end; and reprinted
in 1519, 1522, 1527, and 1535. The publication of the New Testament raised a host of enemies against Erasmus, some of whom
censured his temerity, while others laboured to affix the stigma of
1




598                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
inaccuracy and heresy upon him; and one of the colleges at Cambridge forbade it to be brought within its walls! Many of his adversaries strove to have it placed among the prohibited works, but
the dedication to Leo X., with the approbation of it expressed by
that pontiff, and especially his brief annexed to the later editions,
prevented for a time the accomplishment of the malicious intentions of the Spanish, and other monkish divines. His edition of
Jerome, and several of his other works, met with a severer fate,
and were not only placed in the Indices Expurgatorii, as works to
be corrected and purged, but, in some instances, were condemned
to the flames.
The liberal and enlightened manner in which Erasmus, in the pre-.
fatory discourses prefixed to his New Testament, recommended and
defended vernacular translations, and the universal perusal of the
sacred volume, placed him among the warmest advocates for the
circulation of the Scriptures. His Preface, Paraclesis, and Apologia, deserve to be read and studied by every lover of the Bible,
and probably greatly aided the Reformation, and subsequent diffusion of Scriptural truth. The following brief extracts will give an
idea of his manner of reasoning:"I differ exceedingly from those who object to the Scriptures
being translated into the vernacular tongues, and read by the illiterate: as if Christ had taught so obscurely, that none could understand him but a few theologians: or as if the Christian religion
depended upon being kept secret. The mysteries of kings ought,
perhaps, to be concealed, but the mystery of Christ strenuously
urges publication. I would have even the meanest of women to
read the Gospels, and Epistles of St. Paul; and I wish that the
Scriptures might be translated into all languages, that they might
be known and read, not only by the Irish and Scots, but also by
Saracens and Turks. Assuredly, the first step is to make them
known. For this very purpose, though many might ridicule, and
others might frown, I wish the husbandman might repeat them at
his plough, the weaver sing them at his loom, the traveller beguile
the tediousness of the way by the entertainment of their stories,
and the general discourse of all Christians be concerning them,
since what we are in ourselves, such we almost constantly are in
our common conversation."
" Letters, written by those we love and esteem, are preserved,
and prized, and carried about with us, and read again and again;
and yet there are thousands of Christians who, although otherwise
learned, never once, in the whole of their life, read the books con1




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                 599
taining the Gospels and Epistles. Mohammedans violently defend
their opinions; and Jews, from their infancy, learn the precepts of
Moses; but why are we not equally decisive in favour of Christ?
They who profess the institute of Benedict, adopt, and learn, and
follow a rule written by a man nearly illiterate. They who are of
the order of Augustine, are well versed in the rule of its author.
The Franciscans adore the traditions of Francis, possess themselves of them, and carry them with them to every part of the world.
nor ever think themselves safe but when they have the book in
their bosom. And why should they attribute more to rules written
by men, than Christians in general to RULES which Christ has
delivered to all; and into which all have been equally initiated by
baptism."*
Soon after the publication of his Greek Testament, Erasmus
commenced a series of paraphrases on the New Testament, forming an extensive supplement to the notes accompanying the Greek.
His Paraphrase of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans was dedicated
to Cardinal Dominic Grimani, who was himself a man of erudition,
and translated into Italian a treatise of St. Chrysostom: his library,
next to that of the pope, was at that time the most considerable in
Rome; and contained eight thousand volumes. The dedication is
dated A. 1517. In 1519 he dedicated his Paraphrase of St. Paul's
Epistles to the Corinthians to. the prince Cardinal de Marca. In
the same year he dedicated his Paraphrase of St. Paul's Epistles to
the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians, to
Cardinal Campegius; and his Paraphrase of St. Paul's Epistles
to Timothy, to Titus, and to Philemon, to Philip of Burgundy,
archbishop of Utrecht. His Paraphrase of the Epistles of St.
James and St. John, and of the Epistle to the Hiebrews, he dedicated, in 1520, to Cardinal Matthew, who had exhorted him to
undertake the paraphrase of these Epistles. In 1522 he dedicated his Paraphrase of St. Matthew to Charles V., and closed his
dedication with an excellent admonition to this young emperor, in
which he reminds him, that " all wars, however justly undertaken,
or however moderately conducted, are always followed by a train
of calamities and sufferings." In his preface to this paraphrase,
he exhorts the laity and the common people to read and study the
Scriptures, which ought, as he says, to lie open to all well-disposed
people, and to be translated into all modern languages.
In 1523 Erasmus dedicated his Paraphrase of St. Luke to
Henry VIII., king of England. He tells the king, that Charles V.
* Erasmi Nov. Test., Paraclesis. Basil, 1516, fol.




600                 BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
and Ferdinand, and Christiern of Denmark, and Queen Catharine,
were readers of the Holy Scriptures. He also draws an argument
for the truth of Christianity from its successful propagation, and
its salutary effects.
The Paraphrase of St. John was dedicated to Ferdinand, brother
of the emperor Charles V. In the dedication Erasmus gives
Ferdinand a great character; and exhorts him to persevere in his
good dispositions, and offers him excellent advice. At the end of
the paraphrase is an epistle to the reader, recommending to him
piety, and dissuading him from superstition. The Paraphrase of
the Acts of the Apostles, Erasmus dedicated to Pope Clement VII.
in 1524. The Paraphrase of St. Mark, which, in 1521, he had
inscribed to Cardinal Matthew, he dedicated in 1533 to Francis I.,
king of France. In his dedication he exhorts Christian princes to
peace, and pacific dispositions; and observes, with pleasure, what
a demand there was for the New Testament, and how many thou
sand copies were sold every year. The Paraphrase of the Epistles
of St. Peter and of St. Jude he dedicated to Cardinal WTolsey;
and after complimenting the cardinal, informs him that he has no
favours to solicit, besides the cardinal's countenance and approbation. The Paraphrase of St. Paul's Epistles to the Galatians appears to have been published without any particular dedication.
Erasmus published no paraphrase of the Revelation. These paraphrases were afterward collected, and published, together with
his other works. The best edition is that by Le Clerc, printed at
Leyden, 1703, eleven vols. fol. Besides the paraphrase of the New
Testament, he also published paraphrases, or discourses, on some
of the Psalms. His discourse on the first Psalm was dedicated
by him, in 1515, to Beatus Rhenanus, a learned and pacific man,
one of the correctors of Froben's press. In the dedication he exhorts all persons to read the Scriptures, which (as he afterward
affirmed in his other writings) ought to be translated into vulgar
tongues, and put into the hands of the vulgar: he also exhorts the
common people not to have an implicit faith in their teachers, nor
to suffer themselves to be led by the nose like bears.
The bold and satirical manner in which Erasmus attacked the
corruptions of the Romish Church and clergy, not only in his Biblical works, but in his numerous other writings, exposed him to the
hatred and malicious machinations of a host of enemies, who regarded him as one of the most dangerous and powerful opponents
of the Roman Catholic hierarchy and doctrines. His works were
exclaimed against as disseminating heretical opinions, and placed
1




SIXTEENTH CENTURY.                  601
in the Indices Expurgatorii as dangerous to be read; and himself
only escaped the punishment of heretical pravity, by the influence
of his friends, and the cowardly dissimulation of some parts of his
conduct. For though possessed of an enlightened mind, a correct
judgment, and uncommon learning, he unfortunately had neither
piety nor firmness enough to become a martyr to the truth; nor to
meet the fiery zeal of his adversaries with the intrepidity of a reformer. It was this fear of suffering which most probably occasioned his opposition to Luther, with whom the monks ranked
him, for " Erasmus," said they, "laid the egg, and Luther
hatched it."
Erasmus continued writing and publishing to the very close ot
his life, occasionally satirizing the monks, exposing the absurdities
of many of the doctrines of his church, and defending the advocates
of reformation and truth. In the last year of his life he published
his discourse, or commentary, on the fourteenth Psalm, which he
entitled. " Of the Purity of the Christian Church," consisting of
allegorical interpretations, and moral reflections upon the text. He
also republished his letters, adding several received from the emperor, and other princes, and from men in the highest stations; and
remarks, that while revising them, he had found that within the
space of ten years many of his best friends and old correspondents
were dead, which caused him to meditate on the shortness and
uncertainty of human life. He intended to have revised and
printed the "Works of Origen," adding a few short notes; but
before it was completed he was called away by death; and the
work was published after his decease, with a preface, by Beatus
Rhenanus.
About a month before his death he was seized with a dysentery,
which his feeble frame, already weakened by disease, was unable
to sustain, and which proved mortal on the 12th of July, 1536.
The last of his days were spent in constantly imploring the mercy
of Almighty God, and of Jesus Christ, without speaking of those
Catholic ceremonies which he had so frequently blamed in the
monks. He was buried in the cathedral church of Basil, or, as it
is generally called, Basle.
In his person he was low of stature, well shaped, of a fair com)lexion, cheerful countenance, low voice, and agreeable elocution;
neat and decent in his apparel; and a pleasant companion.*
The unprecedented circulation of the anti-monastic writings of
Erasmus, and the repeated editions of his New Testament, created
* Jortin's Life of Erasmus, passim.
1




602               BIBLICAL LITERATURE, ETC.
universal interest, and essentially aided the progress of truth, by
exposing the vices of the monks, and causing the vast superstruc
ture of superstition to tremble to its foundation; but the far more
difficult labour of establishing the doctrines of the Gospel on an
immoveable basis was reserved for the intrepid and illustrious
LUTHER, who, with a fearless independence of spirit, embraced,
defended, and propagated those evangelical and important doctrines, which, by the gracious providence of God, induced and
confirmed the happy event of the ever-memorable REFORMATION.
OF VO
IND OF VOLUME Onto




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Truly a choice companion for the Biblical student. No one who has ever read it will rea(iiy
consent to dispense with it.-Chr. Adv. and Jourtrae.
Benson's Commentary.
A Commentary on the Old and New'Testaments.  According to the Presnt
authorized Version.  With Critical, Explanatory, and Practical Notes: the
MIarginal Readings of the most approved printed Copies of the Scriptures.
with such others as appear to be countenanced by the Hebrew and Greek
Originals; a copious collection of Parallel Texts; summaries of each Book
and Chapter; and the Date of every Transaction and Event recorded in the
Sacred Oracles, agreeably to the Calculations of the smost correct Chronologers.  By Rev. JOSEPH BENSON-, M. A.
Imperial 8vo., 5 vols., pp. 4872. Sheep, plain....................... $1  50
_-   Plain calf........................16 50
Calf gift.......................... 18 00
Calf extra........................ 22 00
Also in twenty numbers, at 45 cents each.
This is a work of great labour, and justly characterized by the Wesleyan Conference, it
their vote of thanks to Mr. Benson, as marked by " solid learning, soundness of theological opinion, and an edifying attention to experimental and practical religion." —Dl.
BUNTING.
An elaborate and very useful Commentary on the sacred Scriptures, which, independently
of its practical tendency, possesses the merit of compressing into a comparatively small
compass the substance of what the piety and learning of former ages have advanced, itn
order to facilitate the study of the Bible. Its late author was distinguished for his critical
and exact gcquaintance with the Greek Testament. —T. HAnTWELL HIORNE.
A work replete with sound theological and critical learning, and wisich will at once perpetuate his name and extend his usefulness. —R. TREFFRY.




BIBLICAL LITERATURE.
Townley's Illustrations of Biblical Literature.
Illustrations of Biblical Literature: exhibiting the History and Fate of the
Sacred Writings fiom the earliest Period to the present Century: including
Biographical Notices of Translators and other eminent Biblical Scholars.
By JAMES TOW-LEY PD. D.
8vo., 2 vols., pp. 1206. Sheep........................................ $3 00
This woork furons paot of the course of study adopted by the last General Conjerence.
These ample volumes comprise a rich fund of instructive and pleasing information on the
subject of sacred biography. They have been compiled from a great variety of publications, many of thern inaccessible to the generality of readers, and some of them of extreme rarity.... The industry and accuracy of Dr. Townley will entitle his volumes to
the approbation of the critic and the patronage of the public. They afford a more comprehensive view of the progress of Biblical translations, and of the literary and ecclesiastical
history of tie IIoly Scriptures, than is to be found in any other vwork.-(London) Eclectic
Review.
It is a subject of heartfelt gratification to every American patriot, that erudite works of such
intrinsic value, and of such a costly character, are reissued in our country at so low a
price. Dr. Townley's Illustrations, when first published in London, about twenty years
ago, were revieswed by one of the mrost learned British scholars of his gerierationi. As his
judgment is perfectly correct, we transcribe it: "These volumes present a connected
view of the history of Biblical translations from the earliest datte to the present century,
and are enriched by most copious and interesting biographical notices of the rmlost ernineRt
scholars and critics, with occasional sketches of the history of the manners of the
darker ages."
Some idea may I:e formed of the vast diversity of matter which these two volumes contain,
when one fact only is rerrernbered,-the Index fills nearly twenty-four pages of double
columns ill a small type. The work contains several engravings of antique languages,
elucidating the historical notices with lwhich they are connected.
The wh-ole Ivork is divided into three parts, of which we present merely the generl.!
sumrmary:Part I. From the giving of the law to the birth of Christ, in two chapters.
Part II. From the birth of Christ to the invention of the art of printing, in thirteen chapters,
exhibiting the historical details in progression by the successive centuries.
Part III. From the invention of printing until the present time, in twvelve chapters.
Dr. Townley's Illustrations are essential to every good library; and to all persons who are
desirous to attain an adequate and a correct acquaintance with the literature aiid the
learned men of times gone by.-Christian Intelligencer.
Watson's Conversations.
Conversations for the Young, designed to promote the profitable Reading of
the Holy Scriptures.  By RICHARD WATSON.
12mo., pp. 300. Muslin or sheep..................................   $0 60
Though this work is designed for the benefit of young people, there are few adults who rrlay
not derive instruction from a serious perusal of it. It is worthy of a place in every Christian fainily and in every Sunday-School ill the land.
The plan of the wolrk is new, and is attended with many advaintages. A young person is
introduced, who Ihas some knowledge of the contents of the Bible, whose disposition is
serious and inllqluisitive, and who proposes questions for his own satisfaction on the
principal facts and doctrines of Scripture. These call forth corresponding replies, and
give the work a very interesting and miscellaneous character.
The sacred books are noticed in order. Difficullies are proposed and solved; the objections
of unbhelievers are stated, and refuted; an iilrmenlse number of inquiries relating to the
chronology, antiquities, phraseology, prophecies, a.nt miracles of Scripture, are proposed and
answered; and the whole has a direct bearing on the mnomerntous sui ject of personal
religion.
The design of this little work is most admirable; namely, the furnishing young persons with
general views on Scriptural subjects, by the aid of which the words of eternal life may be
so grafted in the hearts and minds of readers as to " guard them against fatal errors, and
open to thernm that scheme of Christianity, in experience and practice, to which every part
of Divine Revelation is made subservient, from which it derives its only value."  In the
masterly treatment of this subject, Mr. Watson has bequeathed to the Christian world an
enduring legacy, and conferred a lasting obligation on tile readers and students of Biblical
Iiterature and Theology.




BIBLICAL LITERATURE.
Clarke's Sacred Literature.
A  Concise View  of the Succession of Sacred Literature, in a Chronological
Arrangement of Authors and their Works, from the Invention of Alphabetical Characters to A. D. 395.  By ADAM  CLARKE, LL. D.
12mo., pp. 420. Muslin or sheep................................... $0 70
The work commences with the giving of the law on Mount Sinai. It contains the date and
argument of every book of Scripture, and of all the writings of the Jews and Christian
Fathers that are extant, down to the year 395; and in some instances the analysis of the
different works is copious and extensive.
This work contains much important information relative to Biblical and ecclesiastical literature.-T. HARTWELL HORNE.
We know not in what manner we could render a more valuable service to the student who
is directing his attention to this branch of knowledge, than to recommend him to avail
himself of the guidance which the interesting work before us supplies.-Eclectic Revictw.
Coles's Concordance.
A New Concordance of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.
By Rev. GEORGE COLES.
24mo., pp. 960. Sheep...................................$1 00
-    Calf neat.................................           1 25
Morocco extra....................................... 2 00
The preparation of such a book is necessarily a work of vast labour, but, %w-hen completed,
the work is of great value.
Cruden's has been considered the best Concordance hitherto known. Several others have
been in use, but they have been incomplete, and inadeqluate to the wants of a Bible
student. The chief objections to Cruden's Concordance lhave been its umlnwieldy size and
high price. That work, moreover, is about a hundred years old, and if not defective ill
its arrangement, certainly admits of manifest improvernelnt. as is proved by the volume
before us.
Coles's Concordance, although containing all the references of Mer. Cruden's, and many
new ones, is so compactly printed as hardly to exceed the size of a pocket Bibhe, atid is
sold atthe low price of one dollar. It contains no less than 960 pages, and is destined to
remain to future generations a monument of the careful research arid the untiring perse
verance of its author. The greatest possible care has been taken to have every reference correct.
This, to say the least that can be said, is, in almost every respect, the very best Concorndance now extant. It is really an irmprovernent on all tlie older wvorks,  being both more
copious and more correct. What more can we say' WAe ha ve used it considerably since
it was laid upon our table, and shall continue to use it in preference to any and every
other within our reach.-Ladies' Repository.
Right glad are we that so valuable a contribution to Biblical litcrature has been furnislled
by a Methodist preacher. We are pleased that the author has confined himself strictly to
the work which hle undertook, without invading the provinice of the lexicographer or the
theologian. We do not hesitate to recommend it heartily to all students of tile Bible. —
Southern Christian Advocate.
Every Bible student has known the value of a good Concordance. Very little progress
could be made in the doctrinal study of the Scriptures without one. To Sabbath-schoo!
teachers and members of Bible classes a Concordance is indispensable. The one named
at the head of this notice is said by good judges to be superior to all its predecessors.Rhode Island Pledge.
Covel's Bible Dictionary.
A Concise Dictionary of the Holy Bible.  Designed for the Use of Sunday
Schools  and Families, with  Maps  and  Engravings.   By  Rev. JArmES
COVEL, JR.
18mo. pp. 536. Sheep............................................... $0 60
This is a convenient and valuable book of reference, compiled from the best authorities.
A good Bible Dictionary is an almost indispensable requisite to every teacher and student
of the word of God. There are many larger and more expensive works than tbis, but
few, if any, cheaper, anrd better adapted to practical use




BIBLICAL LITERATURE.
Blatch's Confirmation of Scripture.
The Historical Confirmation of Scripture; with special Reference to Jewish
and Ancient Heathen Testimony.  By WILLIAM  BLATCH.
18mo., pp, 144, MIuslin or sheep.................................... $0 25
These Lectures arose from a conviction in tile mind of the author of the importance of fur.
nishing the mass of Christian professors with a cheap and digested manual of the direct
lristorical evidence to the facts narrated in Scripture.-Preface.
Clarke's Ancient Israelites.
Manners of the Ancient Israelites: containing an Account of their peculiar
Customs, Ceremonies, Laws, Polity, Religion. Sects, Arts, Trades, Divisions
of Time, Wars, Captivities, &c.; with a short Account of the Ancient and
Modern Samaritans.  Written originally in French, by CLAUDE FLEURY.
Tile whole much enlarged from  the principal Writers.  By ADAM CLARKE,
LL.'D. From the second London edition.!Smo., pp. 386. Muslin or sheep.................................... $0 40
This book is an excellent introduction to the reading of the Old Testament, and should be
put into the hands of every young person. —BIsHoP  HoRNE.
Clarke's Commentary.
The Holy Bible, containingr the Old and New Testaments.  The Text carefully printed from  the most correct Copies of the present authorized Translation, including the Marginal Readings and Parallel Texts: with a Commentarv and Critical Notes; designed as a help to a better understanding,
of the Sacred Writings.  A new edition, with the Author's final Correctionts.
By ADAMt CLA RKE, LL. D.
Imperial 8vo., 6 vois., pp. 5528. Sheep............................ $16 00
-  In plain calf...................  20 00
Calf gilt...........................   21   50
Calf extra......................... 25 00
Also in twenty-four numbers, at 45 cents each.
Upon this valuable Commentary the learned and industrious author spent forty years of his
life, twrenty-five in preparing it for press, and fifteen in carrying it through. In it " the
most difficult words are analyzed and explained; the most iriportant readings in the
collections of Kennicott and De Rossi on the Old Testament, and in those of SMill, lVetlsteisn, and Griesbach, on the New, are noticed; the date of every transaction, as far as
it has been ascertained by the best chronologers, is marked; the peculiar customs of
the Jews and neighbourinlg nations, as frequently alluded to by the prophets, evangelists,
and apostles, are explained from the best Asiatic authorities; the great doctrines of the
law and gospel of God are defined, illustrated, and defended; and the whole is employed
in the important purposes of practical Christianity."  The work concludes with a copious
index, and a selection of important various readings of the Newv  Testanment froin tell
ancient manuscripts.
TIhe literary world in general, and Biblical students in particular, are greatly indebted to
Dr. Clarke for the light he has thrown on many very difficult passages. —T. ItAarwnEXL
HORN}E.
Dr. Clarke's chief work, that on which he spent a laborious life, and on which his name will
descend to posterity with the greatest lustre, is his Commentary on the Holy Scriptures.
-REV. S. DUN-'N.
Our libraries needed to be enriched with expositions of Scripture, agreeing with our own
views of truth, —a want which has been supplied in the varied excellences of a Benson,
a Clarke, and a W'atson. There are passages in Dr. Clarke's Commentary upon the
HIoly Scriptures which may be justly classed among the choicest productions of moderl
theology. — Ves. lag.
This invaluable Cormmentary ought to be in the possession of every minister and stutdesnt
of theology. —N. Y. Corn. Adv.
Dr. Clarke often succeeds to admiration in expressing the sense of Scriptlsre.-Coslutbi'a
Star, (Baptist.)




BIBLICAL LITERATURE.
Watson's Dictionary.
A  Biblical and Theological Dictionary: explanatory of the History, Manners,
and Customs of the Jews and neighbouring Nations.  With an Account of
the most remarkable Places and Persons mentioned in Scripture: an Exposition of the principal Doctrines of Christianity; and Notices of Jewish and
Christian  Sects and Heresies.  By RICHARDV WATSON-.  With five Maps.
8vo., pp. 1007.    Sheep................................................    2   75
Plain calf............................................  3 25
Calf gilt.............................................. 3 50
Calf extra......................... 4 00
This Dictionary is Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical. It is fair in its statements,judicious in its-selections, and sufficiently comprehensive itl its scope. It is indeed a mnore
complete body of divinity than are many works wliich have been published under that name.
Watson's Exposition.
Ans  Exposition of the Gospels of Matthew  and MIark, and1( of some other detached  Parts  of the  Holy  Scriptures.  Ry  RICHARID  WATSON.
8vo., pp. 538. Plain sheep...............................   $1 75
Plain calf............................................. 2 00
Calf  gilt...............................................  2 25
-  Calf extra.............................                  2 50
T'he sole object of this learned and origilnal work is the elucidation of tIl  Scriplures. The
author has aimed to afford help to the attentive general reader, wiheniever he should comle to
a term, phrase, or a whole passage, the meaning of which is iiot obviouls, a Int to exhibit the
true Theology of tlle sacred volume. The notes, therefore, are brief lupon tile plainer passages, and in most copious where explication appeared necessaryv.  5_V'Z: drjIic ulty haes been
evaded.-T. HIAiTWEI, IIORNE.
The spirit of pure arid elevated devotion with which the autllor'-; warli  eart wvas so richly
imbued, is plentifully diffused through these notes. Their direct tlleiency is to lead the
soul to God. The work is comriplete as far as it extends, andt it remains anl afccting nionument of its author's industry, piety, and Christian purposes.-W Itslcyasn iaszsinse.
Wesley's Notes on t/he New  Testament.
Explanatory Notes on the New  Testament.  By Rev. Joiix WESJ.LF,. A. M.
8vo., pp. 734. Plain sheep......................................... $1 80
Plain calf.................................... 2 20
-  Calf gilt............................................... 2 40
Calf extra........................................   2 60
Pearl edition.
18mo., pp. 446. Sheep.............................................. $1 00
Sheep extra............................         1 13
Morocco tucks, gilt edges........................... 2 25
T'his i-ork Jforms part of the course of studly adoterjid?by the ltst (r-,neroal (eoulirocne.
For a brief exposition of tile sacred text, we have long considered the Notes of MTr. Wesley
as the best extant; the sense is given in as few words as possible. rWe see that the
commentator is a profound Biblical scholar, and that he gives us thie results of the best
efforts of both ancienit and modern times for the illustratiorn of the inspired  Vwritilgs  Of
the New  Testament. We have long wished Wesley'         s Notes niore generally difflused
among our people, and particularly that our young preachiers inigit alwvaiys ha-e thienm at
hand. We hope the present small and cheap edition (Pearl  edition) wsill secure this
desirable object. The work is beautifully got up. The type, thonugh nleccss'arily sniall.
is exceedingly clear and readable. We earnestly recoinniend thils edition of rv esley's
Notes to our people, especially to the young of both sexes. But no?ioun prea e.-ner should
be without it.-A-ethodist Quarterly Revievw.
Though short, they are always judicious, accurate, spiritual, terse, an( imiprc.;si e, and possess the happy and rare excellence of leading the reader immediately to God and his own
heart.-DR. A. CLARKE.




BIBLICAL LITERATURE.
Wickens' Fuiilment of Scripture Prophecy.
Fulfilment of Prophecy, as exhibited in Ancient History and Modern Travels.
By STEPHEN B. WICKENS.
18mo., pp. 352. Muslin or sheep.................................... $0 45
Seldom have we read a volume of more real merit with such modest pretensions as this.
The subject is universally interesting, but has generally been presented in too scholastic a
form for the mass of readers. The present author has redeemed it from this objection,
and by condensing the Biblical arguments, and interspersing throughout thie volume a large
amount of sacred geography and general history, has so enlivened his pages that the volume
is rendered peculiarly interesting to the general reader. Ite has spared no labour in his researches, and has added to former expositions of prophecy information gleaned from every
modern traveller of note.-New-York Spectator.
The author presents to the reader, within a small compass, and in an interesting form, the
most satisfactory evidence that holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy
Ghost.-Presbyterian.
This excellent compilation brings together into one view the results of the researches of
modern travellers as they bear upon and illustrate the most important prophecies of Scripture.-So. Chr. Advocate.
This book may be read with advantage by all who love the study of prophecy.-Baptiet
Christian WVatchman.
It goes over nearly the same ground as Keith, but is written in a more popular style, and is
improved by extracts from some modern works, which Keith does not appear to have
used.-Baptist Advocate.
The compiler has prepared an epitome of the fulfilment of Scripture prophecy, which elevates
our views of the inspired volume, and will have a powerful tendency to convince the infidel of, and confirm the Christian's belief in, its truth.-Canada Christian Guardian