scholars presumed to alter their masters' writings? If you have an evasion in these cases, I trust we are not so pent in, but we may change our own writings without shame of the former, or corruption in the latter. As for the example of St James' epistle, denied (as you say) and faced out for Luther's credit, [it] will serve you for no proof. For so far off is it, that we or the world do know, that it was most truly laid to his charge, that now we know of a certainty, that it was a very slander, as false as it was common; seeing Luther's words of that epistle are not absolute, but in comparison, as is confessed by you, and found by some of us to be none otherwise in deed, who have not stood upon one only book or edition, but upon as many as they could come by, both in the Latin and in the Dutch tongue. Martin. Eighthly, in citing Beza, I mean always (unless I note MARTIN, otherwise) his Latin translation of the New Testament, with his 34. annotations adjoined thereunto, printed in the year 1556. 34. Fulke. You were afraid, lest they that understood not FULKE, Latin, for whose sake you wrote in English this treatise, might take hurt by Beza's translations and annotations in Latin. And if he himself have espied and corrected any thing of his first edition, that was either faulty or offensive, in his two later editions; with great equity, as though you were the only man that had discovered his errors, you must let In his later all the unlearned in England know, what shameful corruptions he hath Qui you have observed in Beza's translation or annotations. edition 1565. both in the them not Latin text, Martin. Lastly and principally is to be noted, that we will not MARTIN, charge them with falsifying that which indeed is the true and authen- 35. tical scripture, I mean the vulgar Latin bible, which so many years We charge hath been of so great authority in the church of God, and with all with forsakthe ancient fathers of the Latin church, as is declared in the preface approved ing the old of the New Testament: though it is much to be noted, that as Luther, though it be only in favour of his heresies, did wilfully forsake it, so the rest an ill sign, followed, and do follow him at this day, for no other cause in the world, evident conbut that it is against them. And therefore they inveigh against it, and against the holy Council of Trent, for confirming the authority thereof, Kemnitius. both in their special treatises thereof, and in all their writings where they can take any occasion. and to their fusion. Calvin. Fulke. In the margin, "You will not charge us with for- FULKE, saking the old approved Latin text, though it be an ill sign 35. and to our evident confusion." St Augustine', although a mere Latin man, whom you yourself do after confess to have understood but one tongue well, and that was even his mother tongue, learned (as he confesseth) of his nurses, is not so addicted to the Latin translation, but that he would have men to seek to the Hebrew and Greek fountains, which you, like a blaphemous hypocrite, deny to be the true and authentical scriptures indeed; allowing only the vulgar Latin translation, as though neither the churches of Greece, Syria, Armenia, Æthiopia, nor any other in the world, which have not the vulgar Latin, had not the true and authentical scriptures. And though your vulgar Latin hath for many years been of great authority in the Latin church, from the time when the knowledge of the Hebrew and Greek tongues have decayed; yet is it utterly false, that you say, that it hath been of great authority with all the fathers of the Latin church; whereas there is not one that lived within 400 years after Christ that knew it, but almost every one followed a several translation. And St Augustine in the place before cited telleth you, that there were innumerable translations out of the Greek into the Latin. Again, that your vulgar Latin is full of many errors and corruptions, I have shewed by the confession of Isidorus Clarius and Lindanus, two of your own profession; of which the one took pains by the Hebrew and Greek to correct it, the other shewed means how it should be corrected. And where you say that Luther and his followers forsook it for none other cause in the world, but that it is against them, it is utterly untrue. For beside that they have made clear demonstration of many palpable errors therein, (which they that have any forehead amongst you cannot deny,) they have and do daily convince you of horrible heresies, even out of your own corrupt vulgar translation. Finally, whosoever shall read what Calvin and Kemnitius have written against the [Ex hac Septuaginta interpretatione etiam in Latinam linguam interpretatum est, quod ecclesiæ Latinæ tenent. Quamvis non defuerit temporibus nostris presbyter Hieronymus, homo doctissimus et omnium trium linguarum peritus, qui non ex Græco, sed ex Hebræo in Latinum eloquium easdem scripturas converterit. Augustinus, De Civitate Dei. Lib. xvm. c. 43. Opera, Vol. vii. p. 525. See also the passage from Augustine De Doctrina Christiana, Lib. 1. c. 11. Opera, Vol. 1. pars 1. pp. 24, 25, quoted at p. 47, beginning, Contra ignota, &c.] council of Trent for authorising that translation, shall plainly see that they had something else to allege against it, which nothing at all concerneth their opinions, that be contrary to the popish heresy. Mulierem Martin. And concerning their wilful and heretical avoiding thereof MARTIN, in their new translations, what greater argument can there be than this, 36. that Luther, who before always had read with the catholic church and with all antiquity these words of St Paul, "Have not we power to 1 Cor. ix. lead about a WOMAN A SISTER, as also the rest of the apostles?" and sororem. in St Peter these words, "Labour that BY GOOD WORKS you may 2 Pet. 1. make sure your vocation and election;" suddenly, after he had contrary to his profession taken "a wife" (as he called her), and preached that all other votaries might do the same, and that faith only justified, "good works" were not necessary to salvation; suddenly, I say, after he fell to these heresies, he began to read and translate the former scriptures accordingly, thus: "Have not we power to lead about a SISTER A WIFE, as the rest of the apostles?" and, "Labour that you may make sure your vocation and election:" leaving out the other words, "by good works." And so do both the Calvinists abroad, and our English Protestants at home read and translate at this day, because they hold the self-same heresies. Fulke. If there be no greater argument, as you confess FULKE, there can be none, that their avoiding of this vulgar Latin 36. is wilful and heretical, than this, that Luther defended his marriage, being a votary, by that text of 1 Cor. ix. wherein the apostle challengeth power to lead about with him a sister to wife, which your text hath mulierem sororem, “a woman a sister;" and that to prove that faith only justifieth, and good works are not necessary to salvation, he left out of the text of St Peter "good works," by which the apostle exhorteth us to make sure unto ourselves our vocation and election; there is none argument at all of wilful, needless, or heretical avoiding. For although the marriage of ecclesiastical ministers generally is proved by that scripture, yet the marriage of votaries specially is nothing confirmed. And for the marriage of bishops, priests and deacons, your own translation of 1 Tim. iii. and Tit. i., both Latin and English, will warrant them to 2 [ It behoveth therefore a bishop to be irreprehensible, the husband of one wife. 1 Tim. i. 2. And shouldest ordain priests by cities, as I also appointed thee; if any be without crime, the husband of one wife. Titus i. 5, 6. Rhemish Test. 1557.] MARTIN, 37. FULKE, 37. be the husbands of one wife; so that every child may see that he needed not for that purpose to corrupt the text, 1. Cor. ix. And as for the other texts, 2 Pet. i., although this word, "by good works," is not expressed in the most Greek copies', yet the whole circumstance of the place giveth it necessarily to be understood; and yet it maketh nothing against justification by faith only. For our election, which is most certain and immutable in God's determination, is made certainly known unto us by good works, the fruits of justifying faith, even as the effects do necessarily prove the cause gone before. And so doth Thomas Matthew's bible note, likewise the Bishops' bible, and the Geneva bible; for so I had rather call them, than by the years in which they were once printed, which have been often printed, and perhaps all in some one year. Coverdale's bible also addeth these words, "by good works," which is read in some Greek copies. So true it is that you say, we leave it out, because we hold the self-same heresy: as likewise that you slander us to hold, that good works are not necessary to salvation; whereas we believe that good works are as necessary to salvation as faith, in all them that are justified by faith only. But because you are not able to withstand the truth which we believe, you feign odious monsters, as dragons, centaurs, hydras, to fight withal before the people, that you might get the praise of glorious conquerors, like St George on horseback, that in a pageant vanquisheth an hideous dragon made of paper or painted clothes. Martin. So do they in infinite places alter the old text, which pleased them well before they were heretics; and they do it with brasen faces and plain protestation, having no shame nor remorse at all in fleeing from that which all antiquity with one consent allowed and embraced until their unhappy days. Which though it be an evident condemnation of their novelties in the sight of any reasonable man, that hath any grace; yet as I began to admonish thee, gentle reader, we will not charge them for altering the ancient approved Latin translation, because they pretend to follow the Hebrew and Greek; and our purpose is not here to prove that they should not follow the Hebrew and Greek that now is, before the ancient approved Latin text, which is done briefly already in the preface to the New Testament. Fulke. You were afraid belike to be overmatched in railing, and therefore you thought to bear us down at once ['It is not admitted into the text by either Griesbach or Scholz.] with a whole flood of reproachful slanders; and that you utter even with the same face with which you affirm, that all antiquity with one consent allowed and embraced your vulgar Latin text for what else you should mean I cannot conjecture, seeing you say afterward you will not charge us for altering the ancient approved Latin translation. What say you, Martin? Doth all antiquity with one consent allow and embrace your vulgar Latin translation? What is the cause then that the most of all antiquity of the Latin church used not your vulgar Latin text? Or dare you join issue with me, that all the Latin doctors for 400 years after Christ used none other Latin translation but that? or that they all knew your vulgar Latin translation? You are never able to prove it. The Seventy translation indeed was greatly esteemed, and almost generally received in the Greek and Latin churches2, and out of it were innumerable Latin versions, as St Augustine affirmeth. But your vulgar Latin followeth it not in many places, as it were easy to shew if time and occasion served, and I suppose you will not deny. As for the reasons you bring in the preface to the New Testament, to prove that we should not follow the Hebrew and Greek that now is, before that ancient approved text; when they come to be considered, it shall appear how vain and frivolous they But as for the Hebrew and Greek that now is, [it] may easily be proved to be the same that always hath been; neither is there any diversity in sentence, howsoever some copies, either through negligence of the writer, or by any other occasion, do vary from that which is commonly and most generally received in some letters, syllables, or words. are. We charge with forsaking copies that Martin. Neither will we burden them for not following the vulgar MARTIN, Latin text, when the same agreeth with most ancient Greek copies : 38. which notwithstanding is great partiality in them, and must needs be them not of an heretical wilful humour, that among the Greek copies themselves they reject that which most agreeth with the vulgar Latin text, in the Greek places of controversies. Yet will we not, I say, neither in this case agree with lay falsehood and corruption to their charge, because they pretend to approved Latin text, translate the common Greek text of the New Testament, that is, one though this be a sign of certain copy. But here at the least let them shew their fidelity, and their incredible parthat they be true and exact translators. For here only shall they be tiality." examined and called to account. [ August. De Civit. Dei. Lib. xvIII. c. 43. Opera, Vol. vii. p. 843.] the ancient |