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Hospital, Southwark;' and was then 'set forth with the Kynge's most gracious license.' The great struggle was now, in fact, over. Tyndale's dying prayer had been heard: THE EYES OF THE KING OF ENGLAND WERE OPENED: and the word of the Lord had free course to run and be glorified.'

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Almost simultaneously with the appearance of Coverdale's authorized edition, there was imported from the continent anotherversion of the entire Bible. Its editor, and in part translator, was JOHN ROGERS, alias THOMAS MATTHEW, a native of Warwickshire, who was born about the year 1500, and who died as the 'first martyr under Queen Mary.' Rogers had been educated at Cambridge, and having come to Antwerp while Tyndale resided there, he became a chaplain to the English merchant adventurers.` By his intimate conversation with Tyndale he was induced to examine the Scriptures for himself, and the result was, that he embraced, in a great degree, the same views with this eminent man.' (Vol. i. p. 568.) When Rogers had printed somewhat more than half of his volume, Richard Grafton and Edward Whitechurch took up the work as a matter of business or trade.'. Two-thirds of this translation are Tyndale's verbally; and the remainder, though advantage may have been taken of Coverdale's labours, is entirely the work of Rogers.' At the close of the

volume we find these words-To the honoure and glory of God was this Byble prynted and fynesshed in the yere of our Lorde God M.D.XXXVII.' Immediately on arriving in England with his speculation, Grafton, who had embarked his all in the undertaking,' looked about for a patron. He made choice of Cranmer. He succeeded in obtaining the archbishop's intercession with Cromwell. The following is an extract from Cranmer's letter:

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My especiall good Lord, after most hearty commendations unto your Lordship, these shall be to signify unto the same, that you shall receive by the bringer thereof a Bible, which, in mine opinion, is very well done." And forasmuch as the book is dedicated unto the King's Grace, . . I pray you, my Lord, that you will exhibit the book unto the King's Highness, and obtain of his Grace, if you can, a license that the same may be sold and READ of EVERY person, without danger of any act, proclamation, or ordinance heretofore granted to the contrary, until such time that we, the bishops, shall set forth a better translation, which I think will not be till a day after doomsday. At Forde, the 4th August, 1587." To this request, Cromwell immediately assented, and on the 13th of the same month we find Cranmer addressing him to the following effect:-"Whereas I understand that your Lordship hath not only exhibited the Bible which I sent unto you, unto the King's Majesty, but also hath obtained of his Grace, that the same shall be allowed by his authority, to be bought and read within this realm, my lord, for this your pain taken in this behalf, I give you my most hearty thanks.'"-And. vol. i. pp. 577, 578.

"By the favour of God, Britain was (now) to become the land of Bibles; and yet the next edition (after the imported one of

Rogers) was not to be commenced here. London did not then afford such excellent materials for printing as Paris.' It was at Paris, therefore, that the next English Bible was put to press in 1538, under the superintendence of Richard Grafton. Coverdale, at the command of Cromwell, lent his aid as 'corrector.' The work went on for some months without any interruption, Grafton and Coverdale being in constant correspondence with Cromwell. throughout, (ii. 26.) In December, an order from the Inquisition inhibited at once the printing of the Bible, and the concealment of the sheets already finished.' Grafton and Coverdale, however, 'managed to lose but few copies of the impression;' and having brought away with them the printing presses, the types, and even the workmen, they came to London, where the whole was fynysshed in April, anno 1539.' Meanwhile, Cromwell, in the month of September, 1538, had issued his injunctions.

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Item, that ye shall provide on this side the feast of N. (Natalis, 25th Dec.) next coming, one book of the whole Bible, of the largest volume in English, and the same set up in some convenient place, within the said church that ye have care of, where your parishioners may most commodiously resort to the same, and read it.

Item, that ye shall discourage no man, privily or apertly, from the hearing of the said Bible, but shall expressly provoke, stir, and exhort every person to read the same, as that which is the very lively word of God, that every Christian person is bound to embrace, believe, and follow, if they look to be saved.

All which and singular injunctions, I minister to you and your successors, by the King's Highness' authority to me committed in this part, which I charge and command you, by the same authority, to observe and keep, upon pain of deprivation, sequestration of your fruits, or such other' coercion as to the King's Highness or his Vicegerent for the time being shall seem convenient.' And. vol. ii. pp. 34, 35, 40.

'In glancing,' says Mr. Anderson, (and we cannot do better than quote his words) 'over all that we have witnessed,. . . . who can forbear looking back, for a moment, to the dining-hall in the mansion-house of Little Sodbury? to the eager conversation or discussions there held, below a roof still standing? and to the deep-seated feeling of one man at the table, when the mitred abbots of Winchcombe and Tewksbury were near at hand, and the chancellor of Worcester "reviled him, as though he had been a dog?" and the hierarchy reigned triumphant, and Wolsey was in all his glory? and not one such printed page of inspiration was to be found in all England over? The unbending resolution, however, had been formed, and the memorable words in which, on one occasion, it was expressed, will bear to be repeated at such a time as this" If God spare my life, ere many years, I will cause a boy that drives the plough to know more of the Scriptures than you do."-Vol. ii. p. 42.

During the interval between Tyndale's martyrdom, and the present period, sundry editions of his New Testament were issued

from the press. Grafton was soon followed by RICHARD

TAVERNER, who published also, under the patronage of Cromwell, three editions of the entire Bible, and two of the New Testament alone. With Taverner's, what Mr. Anderson not inappropriately calls the first series' of Bibles, including upwards of thirty editions of the New Testament, and five of the whole Bible, terminates. The second series' reaches to the close of the reign of Edward VI. (July, 1553.) It commences with the first of Cranmer's Bibles, which was printed in 1540. The whole 'series' includes fifty-nine editions, twenty-one of the entire Bible, and thirty-eight of the New Testament; of these forty-nine, thirty-five of the New Testament, and fourteen of the Bible, were published during the reign of Edward. The reign of Mary, which extended over five years and four months, (July, 1553, to Nov. 1558,) only allowed of a single edition, that one of the New Testament, and printed abroad.

'It was a very beautiful (book) . . . . . printed with a silver type, and on the best paper; by far the best revision of the sacred text that had yet been made, "diligently revised by the most approved Greek examples, and conferences of translations in other tongues." It is the first English New Testament divided into verses, and formed an important preliminary step to the revision of the whole Bible.'—Vol. ii. p. 307.

The translator was WILLIAM WHITTINGHAM, who was born at Holmset, six miles from Durham, in the year 1524. He was educated at Oxford, where he became a fellow of All Souls'. In 1550 he left England, under leave from his college superiors, for three years. He terminated his furlough at Geneva, from whence he returned in 1553. In the July of that year Edward died. On the accession of Mary, Whittingham fled to Frankfort, and from thence he removed, in consequence of the troubles,' to Geneva. At Geneva, he married Catherine, the sister of John Calvin. After the death of Mary, he returned to England, and was made dean of Durham, in 1563.

During the reign of Elizabeth, there were issued no fewer than one hundred and forty-two editions of the Scriptures, forty-eight of the New Testament, and ninety-four of the Bible. The Geneva led the way. Elizabeth ascended the throne in Nov. 1558, and in April, 1560, the exiles completed their task. The entire expense, not only of this Bible, but also of an edition of the Psalms, was defrayed by such as were of most ability in that congregation.' It was immediately on its completion, that WHITTINGHAM and his fellow-labourers, SAMPSON and GILBY, returned to England. Of this version, eighty editions, twenty-one of the New Testament alone, and fifty-nine of the Bible, appeared before the close of

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Elizabeth's reign. Cranmer's followed, the whole of which was reprinted eight times, and the New Testament once during the same period. Tyndale's New Testament was also reprinted four times. In 1568, appeared Abp. Parker's Bible. Great care had been taken with this revision of the text, by more than fifteen learned men, Greek and Hebrew scholars (their names, &c., are given, vol. ii. p. 332) besides Parker himself, who superintended the several portions as they came from the hands of those to whom he had committed them.. ... From the majority of these men being on the bench, this translation has been styled "the BISHOPS". BIBLE." This was henceforward the authorized' Bible, but from the greater number of copies of the Genevan, to which we have before alluded, the latter was evidently the more popular.

Elizabeth died in March, 1603. After the accession of James I. the Genevan Bible continued to maintain its place in popular favour. This appears from the fact that whereas, between the death of Elizabeth and the completion of our present version, (1611,) only three editions of the Bishops' Bible were published, there were printed in all no fewer than twenty-nine of the Genevan. The Hampton Court Conference was assembled in January, 1604. One of the first subjects raised for discussion was the necessity for a new version of the Scriptures. The matter was introduced by Dr. John Rainolds,

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'a man of unblemished character, and . most his learning. He moved his Majesty that there might be a new translation of the Bible..... Whereupon his Highness wished that some special pains should be taken in that behalf for one uniform translation, and this to be done by the best learned in both universities; after them, to be reviewed by the bishops, and the chief learned of the Church; from them to be presented to the privy council; and, lastly, to be ratified by his royal authority; and so the whole Church (of England) to be bound unto it, and none other.'-Vol. ii. p. 369.

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By the end of June in that year the arrangements were matured, and James had expressed his approval of the parties whose names had been submitted to him as equal to the important undertaking, (see their names, &c., ii. 374-377.) Nearly twelve months, how ever, elapsed, before the plan came fully into operation; as soon as it did, the work made rapid progress, and in 1611 our present version was printed and published complete. As a translation, it stands unrivalled; and notwithstanding many plausible considerations to the contrary, it may be more than questioned, whether even now, any attempts at a complete revision would result in any material improvement, Joong go stow 45 utan vi

This article has sadly over-stepped the limits within which, when commenced, we thought it would have been confined. Mr. Anderson has rendered invaluable service by his industry in research, and impartiality in investigation. He has exposed many

VOL. II.

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blunders, and brought many important facts to light. No man can read his volumes without becoming both the wiser and the better for his pains. Still we greatly fear that his readers will be but few, and that many who may begin to read his work will lay the volumes down in something like despair. The style, we regret to say it, is painfully prolix, the arrangement confused, and the whole book heavy. The want of an index, too, is quite a calamity. Notwithstanding all, however, if any of our readers will only summon up courage and persevere, we can assure them that their patience will realise an ample recompense of reward.'

III.

THE RELIGION OF THE ROMANS.

BY PROFESSOR C. G. ZUMPT, OF BERLIN,

[THE following article is the translation of a lecture delivered by Professor Zumpt, at Berlin, on the 4th of January, 1845, before the royal family of Prussia, and many other distinguished personages. It hardly needs to be remarked, that a knowledge of the various religions of the nations of antiquity is of great importance to every theologian, and accordingly no apology is necessary for the publication of this important and valuable lecture in the present periodical.*]

Everybody knows that the Romans were a great, a mighty, and a peculiar people. Their political history shows that they were wise and prudent, unanimous in the love of their country and of freedom, and capable of the greatest sacrifices for these blessings: their fidelity and conscientiousness in the dealings of private life are universally praised above those of all the nations of antiquity.

Now since the whole of the morality of a people is based on Religion, the investigation of the RELIGION OF THE ROMANS is one of essential importance in the contemplation of this remarkable people,

But perhaps it will be objected, that the Romans had no Religion properly so called. It may be said that we cannot speak of reli gion at all, but only of Mythology, or the belief in certain gods, and that the Roman gods were the same as those of Greece.

* The preceding remarks had been written, and the translation of the lecture already commenced, when we found, upon the receipt of the last number of the Classical Museum,' that our purpose had been already anticipated. But as this valuable periodical probably does not fall in the way of many of our readers, we have adhered to our original determination of giving the lecture in the pages of our Review, and have, therefore, gladly availed ourselves of the labours of our contemporary for that purpose.

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