Page:The Holy Scripture (Myles Coverdale).djvu/5

 ==A prologue==

Myles Couerdale Unto the Chri&#383;ten reader
On&#383;iderynge how excellent knowlege and lernynge an interpreter of &#383;cripture oughte to haue in the tongues, and ponderyng al&#383;o myne owne in&#383;ufficiency therin, &amp; how weake I am to perfourme ye office of a tran&#383;latoure, I was the more lothe to medle with this worke Nothwh&#383;tondynge whan I cō&#383;ydered how greate pytie it was that we &#383;hulde wante it &#383;o longe, &amp; called to my remembraunce ye aduer&#383;ite of them, which were not onely of rype knowlege, but wolde al&#383;o with all theyr hertes haue perfourmed yt they beganne, yf they had not had impediment: con&#383;iderynge(I &#383;aye) that by rea&#383;on of theyr aduer&#383;yte it coulde not &#383;o &#383;oone haue bene broughte to an ende, as oure mo&#383;t pro&#383;perous nacyon wolde fayne haue had it: the &#383;e and other rea&#383;onable cau&#383;es con&#383;ydered, I was the more bolde to take it in hande. And to helpe me herto, I haue had &#383;ondrye tran&#383;lations, not onely in latyn, but al&#383;o of the Douche interpreters: whom(becau&#383;e of theyr &#383;ynguler gyftes &amp; &#383;peciall diligence in the Bible) I haue ben the more glad to folowe for the mo&#383;t parte, accordynge as I was required. But to &#383;aye the trueth before God, it was nether my laboure ner de&#383;yre, to haue this worke put in my hande: neuertheles it greued me yt other nacyōs &#383;hulde be more plenteou&#383;ly prouyded for with ye &#383;cripture in theyr mother tongue, then we: therfore whan I was in&#383;tantly requyred, though I coulde not do &#383;o well as I wolde, I thought it yet my dewtye to do my be&#383;t, and that with a good wyll.

whereas &#383;ome men thynke now yt many tran&#383;lacyons make diui&#383;yon in ye fayth and in the people of God, yt is not &#383;o: for it was neuer better with the congregacion of god, then whan euery church allmo&#383;t had ye Byble of a &#383;ondrye trā&#383;lacion. Amonge the Grekes had not Origen a &#383;pecyall tran&#383;lacyon? Had not Wulgarus one peculyar, &amp; lykewy&#383;e Chry&#383;o&#383;tom? Be&#383;yde the &#383;euentye interpreters, is there not the tran&#383;lacyon of Aqilla, of Theodoro, of Symachus, and of &#383;ondrye other? Agayne, amonge the Latyn men, thou finde&#383;t yt euery one allmo&#383;t v&#383;ed a &#383;pecyall a &#383;ondrye tran&#383;lacyoon: for in &#383;o moch as euery by&#383;&#383;hoppe had the knowlege of ye tongues, he gaue his diligence to haue the Byble of his awne tran&#383;lacion. The doctours, as Hetreneus, Cyprtanus, Tertullian, S. Jherome, S.Augu&#383;tine, Hylatius &amp; S. Ambro&#383;e vpon dyuer&#383;e places of the &#383;cripture, reade not ye texte all alyke.

Therfore oughte it not to be taken as euel yt &#383;och men as haue vnder&#383;tondynge now in oure tyme, exercy&#383;e them &#383;elues in ye tongues, &amp; geue their diligence to tran&#383;late out of one language into another. Yee we ought rather to geue god hye thankes therfore, which thorow his &#383;prete &#383;tereth vp mēs myndes, &#383;o to exerci&#383;e them &#383;elues therin. wolde god it had neuer bene left of after ye tyme of S. Augu&#383;tine, then &#383;hulde we neuer haue come in to &#383;och blindnes &amp; ignoraūce, in to &#383;och erroures &amp; delu&#383;yons. For as &#383;oone as the Byble was ca&#383;t a&#383;yde, &amp; nomore put in exercy&#383;e, then beganne euery one of his awne heade to wryte what &#383;o euer came in to his brayne and yt &#383;emed to be good in his awne eyes and &#383;o grewe ye darknes of mēs tradiciōs And this &#383;ame is ye cau&#383;e yt we haue had &#383;o many wryters, which &#383;eldome made mēcyon of ye &#383;cripture of the Byble: + though they &#383;ome tyme aleged it, yet was it done &#383;o farre out of &#383;ea&#383;on + &#383;o wyde from yt purpo&#383;e, that a mā maye well perceaue, how that they neuer &#383;awe the oryginall.

Seynge then yt this diligent exercy&#383;e of tran&#383;latynge doth &#383;o moch good a edifyeth in other languages, why &#383;hulde it do euell in oures? Doutles Iyke as all nacyons in ye dyuer&#383;ite of &#383;peaches maye knowe one God in the vnyte of faith, and be one in loue euen &#383;o maye dyuer&#383;e tran&#383;lacyons vnder&#383;tonde one another, + that in the head articles &amp; grounde of oure mo&#383;t ble&#383;&#383;ed faith, though they v&#383;e &#383;ondrye wordes. wherfore me thynke we haue greate occa&#383;yon to geue thankes vnto God, that he hath opened vnto his church the gyfte of interpretacyon + of pryntyng, and that there are now at this tyme &#383;o many: which with &#383;och dilige&#772;ce and faithfulnes interprete ye &#383;cripture to the honoure of god and edifyenge of his people, whereas(Iyke as whan many are &#383;hutynge together) euery one doth his be&#383;t to be nye&#383;t the marke. And though they can not all attayne therto, yet &#383;huteth one nyer then another and hytteth it better then another, yee one can do it better the&#772; another, who is now then &#383;o vnrea&#383;onable, &#383;o de&#383;pytefull, or enuyous, asto abhore him yt doth all his diligence to hytte ye prycke, and to &#383;hute nye&#383;t it, though he my&#383;&#383;e &amp; come not nye&#383;t the mark. Ought not &#383;och one rather to be comme&#772;ded, and to be helped forwarde, that he maye exercy&#383;e him&#383;elfe the more therine.

For the which cau&#383;e (acordyng as I was de&#383;yred)I toke the more vpon me to &#383;et forth this &#383;peciall tran&#383;lacyon, not as a checker, not as a reprouer, or de&#383;py&#383;er of other mens tran&#383;lacyons(for amonge many as yet I haue founde none with out occa&#383;yon of greate thanke&#383;geuynge vnto god)but lowly &amp; faythfully haue I folowed myne interpreters, &amp; that vnder correccyon. So though I haue fayled eny where (as there is noman but he my&#383;&#383;eth in &#383;ome thynge) loue &#383;hall con&#383;tyrre all to ye be&#383;t without eny peruer&#383;e iudgment. There is noman Iyuynge yt can &#383;e all thynges, ne that hath god geuen eny man to knowe euery thynge. One &#383;eyth more clearly then another, one hath more vnder&#383;tondyng then another, one can vtter a thynge better then another, but noman ought to enuye, or di&#383;py&#383;e another. He that can do better then another, &#383;hulde not &#383;et him at naught yt vnder&#383;tondeth le&#383;&#383;e: yee he that hath ye more vnder&#383;tondyng, ought to remembre that the &#383;ame gyfte is not hys but Gods, and yt God hath geue&#772; it him to teach &amp; enfourme the ignoraunt. Yf thou hath knowlege therfore to iudge where eny faut is made, I doute not but thou wilt helpe to amende it, yf loue be ioyned with thy knowlege. Nowhere wher in &#383;o euer I can yet cea&#383;e by my &#383;elfe, or by the informacyon of other, that I haue fayled (as it is no wonder)I &#383;hall now by the helpe of God ouerloke it better &amp; amende it.

Now wil I exhorte the(who &#383;o euer thou be yt reade&#383;t &#383;cripture)yf thou fyndest oughte therin yt thou vnder&#383;tonde&#383;t not, or that apeareth to be repuguaunt, geue no temerarious ner hay&#383;tye iudgme&#772;t therof, but a&#383;crybe it to thyne awne ignoraunce, not to the &#383;crypture thynke&#383;t yt thou vnder&#383;onde&#383;t it not, or yt it hath &#383;ome other meanynge, or yt it is happlye ouer&#383;ene of ye interpreters, or wronge prynted. I gay ne, it &#383;hall greately helpe ye to vnther&#383;tonde &#383;cripture, yf thou marke not onely what is &#383;poken or wrytten, but of whom, &amp; vnto whom, with what wordes, at what tyme where, to what entent, with what circum&#383;taunce, can&#383;yderynge what goeth before, and what foloweth after. For there be &#383;ome thynges which are done &amp; wrytte, to the intente yt we &#383;hulde do lykewy&#383;e: as whan Abraham beleueth God, is obedient vnto his worde, &amp; defendeth Loth his kyn&#383;man from violent wronge. There be &#383;ome thynges al&#383;o which are wrytte&#772;, to the intente yt we &#383;hulde e&#383;chue &#383;och lyke. As whan Dauid lyeth with Urias wyfe, + cau&#383;eth him to be &#383;layne, Therfore(I &#383;aye) whan thou reade&#383;t &#383;cripture, be wy&#383;e &amp; circum&#383;pecte + whan thou comme&#383;t to &#383;och &#383;traunge maners of &#383;peakynge + darke &#383;entences, to &#383;och parables &amp; &#383;imilitudes, to &#383;och dreames or vy&#383;ions as are hyd from thy vnder&#383;tondynge, co&#772;mytte them vnto God or to the gyfte of his holy &#383;prete in them yt are better lerned then thou.

As for the commendacyon of Gods holy &#383;cripture, I wolde fayne magnifye it as it is worthy, but I am farre vn&#383;ufficie&#772;t therto, &amp; therfore I thoughte it better for me in holde my tonge, then with few wordes to pray&#383;e or comme&#772;de it: exhortynge ye (mo&#383;t deare reader)&#383;o to loue it, &#383;o to cleue vnto it, + &#383;o to folowe it in thy daylye conuer&#383;acyon, yt other men &#383;eynge thy good workes &amp; the frutes of ye holy goo&#383;t in the, maye pray&#383;e the father of heauen, &amp; geue his worde a good reporte: for to lyue after the lawe of God, &amp; to leade a vertuous conuer&#383;acyon, is the greate&#383;t pray&#383;e yt thou can&#383;t geue onto his doctryne.

But as touerhynge the euell reporte and di&#383;pray&#383;e that the good worde of God hath by the corrupte and euell conuer&#383;acyon of &#383;ome, yt daylye hear it and profe&#383;&#383;e it outwardly with theyr mouthes, I exhorte ye(mo&#383;t deare reader) let not yt offende the ner withdrawe thy mynde fro&#772; the loue of ye trueth, nether moue ye to be partaker in lyke + v.