Page:The New Testament in the original Greek - 1881.djvu/52

 xlnr INTRODUCTION TO THE AMERICAN EDITION.

The first book printed was the Vulgate the so-called Mazarin Bible (Gutenberg and Fust, Mayence, 1455). Print- ing, however, fixed errors and gave them wider currency, and revision was felt once more to be imperative.

In the Council of Trent (Dec. 13, 1545, to Dec. 4, 1563) the matter was introduced Feb. 4, 1546, and the recom- mendation of revision passed on April 8 ; but it was not until 1590, in the pontificate of Sixtus V., that the revised edition of the Vulgate appeared. The scholarly pope took active interest in the work, rejecting or confirming the sug- gestions of the board of revisers, and corrected the proof- sheets with his own hand. It was prefaced by the famous, and, as the event showed, by no means infallible, constitu- tion ^Eternus ille (dated March 1, 1589), in which the pope said, " By the fulness of apostolical power, we decree and declare that this edition of the sacred Latin Vulgate of the Old and New Testaments, which has been received as authentic by the Council of Trent, ... be received and held as true, legitimate, authentic, and unquestioned, in all public and private disputation, reading, preaching, and ex- planation." He further forbade any alteration whatever; ordered this text, and none other, henceforth to be printed ; and hurled anathemas against every one disobeying the constitution. But, alas for the pope ! the immaculate edi- tion was full of errors and blunders ; and no sooner was he dead (Aug. 27, 1590) than the demand for a new edition arose. Bellarmine suggested an ingenious though dishon- ourable escape from the awkward predicament in which Sixtus had placed the Church viz., that a corrected edi- tion should be hastily printed under the name of Sixtus, in which the blame of the errors should be thrown upon the printer ! His recommendation was adopted, but it was not

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