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 A prologue

Myles Couerdale Unto the Chriſten reader.

Onſiderynge how excellent knowlege and lernynge an interpreter of ſcripture oughte to haue in the tongues, and ponderyng alſo myne owne inſufficiency therin, &amp; how weake I am to perfourme ye office of a tranſlatoure, I was the more lothe to medle with this worke Notwithſtondynge whan I cōſydered how greate pytie it was that we ſhulde wante it ſo longe, &amp; called to my remembraunce ye aduerſite of them, which were not onely of rype knowlege, but wolde alſo with all theyr hertes haue perfourmed yt they beganne, yf they had not had impediment: conſiderynge(I ſaye) that by reaſon of theyr aduerſyte it coulde not ſo ſoone haue bene broughte to an ende, as oure moſt proſperous nacyon wolde fayne haue had it: theſe and other reaſonable cauſes conſydered, I was the more bolde to take it in hande. And to helpe me herin, I haue had ſondrye tranſlacions, not onely in latyn, but alſo of the Douche interpreters: whom(becauſe of theyr ſynguler gyftes &amp; ſpeciall diligence in the Bible) I haue ben the more glad to folowe for the moſt parte, accordynge as I was required. But to ſaye the trueth before God, it was nether my laboure ner deſyre, to haue this worke put in my hande: neuertheles it greued me yt other nacyōs ſhulde be more plenteouſly prouyded for with ye ſcripture in theyr mother tongue, then we: therfore whan I was inſtantly requyred, though I coulde not do ſo well as I wolde, I thought it yet my dewtye to do my beſt, and that with a good wyll.

Where as ſome men thynke now yt many tranſlacyons make diuiſyon in ye fayth and in the people of God, yt is not ſo: for it was neuer better with the congregacion of god, then whan euery church allmoſt had ye Byble of a ſondrye trāſlacion. Amonge the Grekes had not Origen a ſpecyall tranſlacyon? Had not Vulgarius one peculyar, &amp; lykewyſe Chryſoſtom? Beſyde the ſeuentye interpreters, is there not the tranſlacyon of Aqilla, of Theodotio, of Symachus, and of ſondrye other? Agayne, amonge the Latyn men, thou findeſt yt euery one allmoſt vſed a ſpecyall &amp; ſondrye tranſlacyoon: for in ſo moch as euery byſſhoppe had the knowlege of ye tongues, he gaue his diligence to haue the Byble of his awne tranſlacion. The doctours, as Heireneus, Cyprtanus, Tertullian, S. Jherome, S.Auguſtine, Hylatius &amp; S. Ambroſe vpon dyuerſe places of the ſcripture, reade not ye texte all alyke.

Therfore oughte it not to be taken as euel yt ſoch men as haue vnderſtondynge now in oure tyme, exercyſe them ſelues in ye tongues, &amp; geue their diligence to tranſlate out of one language in to another. Yee we ought rather to geue god hye thankes therfore, which thorow his ſprete ſtereth vp mēs myndes, ſo to exerciſe them ſelues therin. Wolde god it had neuer bene left of after ye tyme of S. Auguſtine, then ſhulde we neuer haue come in to ſoch blindnes &amp; ignoraūce, in to ſoch erroures &amp; deluſyons. For as ſoone as the Byble was caſt aſyde, &amp; nomore put in exercyſe, then beganne euery one of his awne heade to wryte what ſo euer came in to his brayne and yt ſemed to be good in his awne eyes and ſo grewe ye darknes of mēs tradiciōs And this ſame is ye cauſe yt we haue had ſo many wryters, which ſeldome made mēcyon of ye ſcripture of the Byble: &amp; though they ſome tyme aleged it, yet was it done ſo farre out of ſeaſon &amp; ſo wyde from ye purpoſe, that a mā maye well perceaue, how that they neuer ſawe the oryginall.

Seynge then yt this diligent exercyſe of tranſlatynge doth ſo moch good &amp; edifyeth in other languages, why ſhulde it do euell in oures? Doutles lyke as all nacyons in ye dyuerſite of ſpeaches maye knowe one God in the vnyte of faith, and be one in loue: euen ſo maye dyuerſe tranſlacyons vnder&#383;tonde one another, &amp; that in the head articles &amp; grounde of oure moſt bleſſed faith, though they vſe ſondrye wordes. Wherfore me thynke we haue greate occaſyon to geue thankes vnto God, that he hath opened vnto his church the gyfte of interpretacyon &amp; of pryntyng, and that there are now at this tyme ſo many; which with ſoch diligēce and faithfulnes