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 SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

406

buy, where he exerted hinuelf with great rigi- laace in behalf of the Anglican church.

1610. George Bishop printed the first edition in English of Camden's Britannia, which was translated by the indefatigable Philemon Hol- land,* who was supposed to have been assisted by Camden himselr. " Therefore," observes Mr. Gough, " g^reat regard has been paid to his additions and explanations." On the completion of the work, Holland boasted that he had written a large folio volume with one pen, on which he composed the following stanza :

Witb one sole pen I wrote thli book,

Made of a grey goose. qnilli A pen it wa> when I It took.

And a pen 1 leave It still.

To the curious collector of boolcs the follow- ing list of the early editions of Camden's £rt was published in I2mo. ; and a second edition appeared in 1639, in 12mo.

1611. The pre.sent translation of the Bible, published with the following tide: — JTie Holy Bible, cnnteyning the Old Testament and the New, newly translated otU of the Origi- nall Tongues, and with the former Translations diligently compared and revised by his Majesties speciall Commandement.

Imprinted at London, by Robert Barker, Printer to the King's most excellent Majestie. 1611. Folio.

" The light of Divine truth, which, during the sixteenth century, had been diffusing its sacred influence through a great part of Europe, and dispelling the shades of superstition and ignorance, shone with peculiar lustre in the seventeenth century, and rendered it an age of profound bibliup.l learning and labours. The Oriental languages were assiduously studied, biblical criticism engaged the talents and the pens of the most distinguished scholars, and the holy scriptures issued from the press in numer- ous versions, and in every variety of form, from the diminutive volumes of Stephens, Elzevir, axid fileau, to the ponderous tomes of the Poly- glotts of Walton and Le Jajr."t

Nothing can be more striking than the care which was taken by our learned ancestors to insure the accuracy of the translation of the bible, now in common use, at its last revision in

t lUmstraHmu o/Baiieal Utavlurt, vol. iU. p. «s.
 * For an account of Philemon Holland, see 163S, pott.

the leign of James I. Itteems that at the con- ference held at Hampton Court, in January, 1603, before that monarch, between the Episco- palians and Puritans, Dr. John Revnolds, the speaker of the Puritans, requested of nis majesty that a new translation of the bible might be made, alleging that thosewhich had been ulowed during former reigns were incorrect. To which motion, says Dr. William Barlow, dean of Chester, one of the assembly, " there was at the present no gainsajring, the only objections being trivia], and old, and already in print, often answered, only my lord of London, (Bancroft) well added, that if everr man's humour should be followed, there would be no end of translat- ing.'' His majesty, however, formed the resolu- tion of causing a new and more faithful trans- lation to be made, and commissioned for that purpose fifty-four of the most learned men in the universities and other places. At the same time he required the bishops to inform them- selves of all the learned men within their several dioceses who had acquired especial skill in the Greek and Hebrew languages, and had taken great pains in their private studies of the scrip- tures, for the clearing up of obscurities either in the Greek or Hebrew, or for the correction of any mistakes in the former English translations, and to charge them to communicate their obser- vations to the persons employed, so that the in- tended translation might have the keep and fur- therance of all the principal learned men in the kingdom.

Before the work was begun seven of the per- sons nominated for it either were dead or de- clined to engage in the task; the remaining forty-seven were ranged under six divisions, and several partis of the bible were assigned to them, accoroing to the several places where they were to meet, confer, and consult together. Every one of the company was to translate the whole parcel ; then they were each to compare their translations together ; and when any com- pany had finished their part, they were to com- municate it to the other companies, that nothing might pass without the general consent If any company, upon the review of the book so sent, doubted or differed upon any place, they were to note the place and send back their reasons for their disagreement. If they happened to differ about the amendments, the difference was to be referred to a general committee, consisting of the chief persons of each company at the end of the week. When any passage was found remarkably obscure, letters were to be directed by authori^ to any learned persons in the land for their judg- ment thereon.

The translation seems to have been begun in the spring of 1604, and it is said to have been retarded by the death of Mr. Edward Lively, whose active labours had materially assisted the work. When the translation was finished, three copies were sent to London; one from Cam- bndge, a second from Oxford, and a third from Westminster. Two from each company were then selected to review and polish the whole, Mr.

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