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into the vernacular tongue were no novelties in England. It 

 was with this view that Parker, archbishop of Canterbury, 

 encouraged Fox, the writer of the MurtyroKijiy, to prepare 

 an edition of the Gospel* in Saxon, which he did, and pub- 

 lished it in 1371. Another edition, the result of the colla- 

 tion of a greater number of manuscripts, was published in 

 1638. and again in 1665. This was the joint work of Jumna 

 and Marshall. They gave at the saroo time the text of L'l- 

 philas's version, into the language called the Mawo-Gothic, 

 a kindred, perhaps the parent, language of tho Saxon. 



Devout persons seem to have employed themselves in 

 rendering portions of tho Scriptures into tho language 

 spoken in this country, when what we call Saxon wag be- 

 coming what we now cull English. It is thought that the 

 whole of the Scriptures had been translated in the thirteenth 

 century. It is, however, certain that in the fourteenth cen- 

 tury, not single and separate portions only were translated, 

 but tho whole of the books comprehended in tho Sacred 

 Canon, and that they were put together in order as they 

 were found in the Latin originals, so as to form a volume 

 answering to what we mean when wo speak of the Bible. 

 There arc two persons, both of the age of King Edward III., 

 who ore said to have executed this work. The one, John de 

 Trcvisa, a native of Cornwall, was educated at Oxford. Ho 

 translated the work of Bartholomeus, ' DC Proprietatibus 

 Rcrum,' and tho Polychronicon ' of Higden the one the 

 most popular book in the philosophy of the age, the other in 

 the history. Caxton, writing not a century alter the time, 

 says that he also translated the Holy Scriptures, but this 

 is now matter of uncertainty. But there is no doubt that 

 \Vi<-kiitte did translate the whole Bible, or gathered together 

 translations which made an English Bible. Many copies 

 of this volume were made about the time when it was com- 

 pleted, which was about a century before the introduction of 

 printing into England. Wicklifte died in 1384. 



Wickliffe'f version of the Scriptures is deeply interesting, 

 on account of the circumstances under which it was pro- 

 duced, and its connexion with a favourite English name. It 

 is of some importance in Biblical literature, as showing what 

 Latin version was in his time regarded as of the highest 

 authority in England, and also in what light certain ques- 

 tions in theology wero viewed by that early Reformer. It 

 is also curious as a monument of the state of the language 

 in the middle of the fourteenth century. Foreign scholars 

 have reproached us for not having published an edition of it. 

 Proposals are now before tho country for such a work, but 

 they have been but coldly received. The New Testament 

 from this version was published by John Lewis, a clergy- 

 man of Margate, in 1731, and reprinted under the care of 

 Mr. Habur of the British Museum in 1810. 



From the time of Wickliffe the authorities in the English 

 church did whatever they could to discountenance the cir- 

 culation of the Scriptures in the ordinary language of the 

 people. It was regarded as a measure which was likely to 

 produce heresies, and as a work which could never be 

 executed with a sufficient degree of exactness. Tho time 

 va-, however, approaching when an opposition which was 

 irresistible would be made to the church in this point. 



It is to the resistance which was made by the ecclesiasti- 

 cal authorities of the time that wo are to attribute the re- 

 markable fact that, though tho art of printing was in- 

 troduced into England in or about H7I, yet no English 

 Bible or Testament was printed till 1526, and then ut a 

 foreign press. 



To William Tyndal we owe a translation of a large portion 

 of the Scriptures into the English tongue, next in antiquity 

 1 1 Wicklifle's. Tyndal was acquainted with Luther, whose 

 advice and assistance he is reported to have had in bis 

 translation. He lived much abroad, and before li.ii he had 

 completed an English version of the New Testament. Of' 

 this be printed in that year two distinct editions ; one in 

 quarto at Cologne, another in duodecimo at Antwerp. Perfect 

 copies of either of these editions are not known. The few 

 imperfect copies which exist of this, the Editio Princepi of 

 the English New Testament, and very few they ore, are 

 treasured a* the choicest book curiosities. Tyndal proceeded 

 in his work of translation, and not lew vigorously in super- 

 intending successive editions of his New Testament through 

 the press. They were bought up and burnt in England ; 

 but this only supplied him with the means of printing other 

 editions with such corrections and improvements as were 

 suggested to him. He is said to have also printed a trans- 

 lation of the Pentateuch, and it is curtain that he did trans- 



late those five books of Moses, and also many other book* 

 of the Old Testament. He did not, however, commit to the 

 press any complete translation of tho whole Scri| 

 T> nd.d was put to a cruel death at Fdford, near Antwerp, 

 where hi> translation first appeared, in 1 



Another person who at that curly period > the 



work was Miles Coverdale, a friend of Tyndul. 11 

 duccd a complete English Bible, composed of TyndaT* 

 translations, as far as they went, and his own. This was 

 the first edition of the Bible in English. It was followed by 

 several other publications of the English Bible in the inter- 

 val between 1535 and 1611, when the present uuth' 

 version was first published. Of these we shall ci\t a cata- 

 logue of the most remarkable, observing generally, that of 

 each of these there were several distinct re-impressions, and 

 of some of them many. 



1. Coeerdale* Bible. This was printed at Ziirich, it is 

 believed, in 1535, and dedicated by Coverdale to Henry VIII. 

 It was favourably received by tho court. In tho next year, 

 Cromwell, the king's vicar-general and vicegerent in eccle- 

 siastical matters, enjoined that a copy of tiiis translation 

 should be laid in the choir of every parish church in Eng- 

 land, for every one to read at his pleasure. 



2. Matthewes Bible. This also was printed abroad, but 

 at the expense of two English printers, Grnfton and \Vliit- 

 chureh : the date is 1537. The name of Thomas Matthewe, 



edition it was said to be, is feigned. The real edit -r 

 was John Rogers, the first person burned for heresy in the 

 reijrn of Mary. The text is that of Tyndal and Coverdnlc 

 slightly altered. 



'3. The Great Bible, or Cranmtr's. The Bibles hitherto 

 published had been but the work of private persons. Cran- 

 mer, who was at that time archbishop of Canterbury, had, 

 from the time when Coverdale's Bible appeared, been anxi- 

 ous to engage the bishops in the preparation of an Knuii-h 

 Bible, which should go to the people under their express 

 authority. He found them not very eager to engage in the 

 design. It is supposed that Coverdale had much to do in 

 the preparation of this edition. The text is, in the main, 

 the same with his. The preface was written by Cranmer. 

 It was finished at the press of Grafton and \Vhitchurch in 

 April, 1539. 



4. Taverner's Bible. This also appeared in 1539. The 

 editor was Richard Taverner. The text is formed on that 

 of Matthewc's Bible. 



There were eleven impressions of the English Bible in the 

 reign of Edward VI., but they are considered as only re- 

 impressions of one or other of the editions above mentioned. 



5. The Geneva Bible. During the reign of Man', some 

 of the divines who had been the most forward in promoting 

 the Reformation took refuge at Geneva. Among these 

 was Coverdale, who seems to have regarded the diffusing of 

 the Holy Scriptures in the English tongue as his peculiar 

 province in the labour of reformation. He and some other 

 of the Protestant exiles, especially Gilby and \Vhitting- 

 ham, set themselves to prepare another edition, to be ac- 

 companied with notes. They were employed in seeing it 

 through the press when the death of Mary and the accession 

 of Elizabeth opened a way for their return. Some remained 

 behind to finish the work, which appeared in 1500. This lung 

 continued to be the favourite Bible of the English Puritans 

 and of the Scotch Presbyterians. Not fewer than fifty im- 

 pressions of it are known, and there were probably more. 

 Both in the text and notes there is a great leaning to the 

 system of Calvin and Bcza, with whom the exiles at Geneva 

 were intimately acquainted. , It scarcely deserves to be 

 mentioned that this edition is often called the ' Breeches 

 Bible,' on account of a rendering given in Genesis iii. 7. 



6. The Bishops Bible, or Parker's, so called from Matthew 

 Parker, archbishop of Canterbury, first appeared in a lariri- 

 folio in 1568. Parker employed learned men to review the 

 previous translations, and compare them with the originals. 

 This edition exhibits, in consequence, some material varia- 

 tion*. 



7. The Douay Hible, of which the New Testament was 

 first printed at Rheims in 15S2, and the Old Testament at 

 Douay in 1/109-10. This is the Catholic. version. Cardinal 

 Allen is understood to have had a principal share in this 

 work. 



This bring* us 'to the period of King James's transla- 

 tion. Early in the rei;rn of King James I. there was a 

 conference of divines of different opinions at Hampton 

 Court, for tho settling the peace of the church. In this 



