Fac-Simile of the Codex Laudiamus, now in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. The

right-hand column shows the Greek, and the left the same in Latin. The two exhibit the shortness of the lines of ancient manuscripts, and the resemblance in the sixth century of the Greek and Latin alphabets.

CHAPTER VII.

MODERN VERSIONS.

As in Germany the art of printing was first discovered, so it was the first in which the Holy Scriptures were issued from the press in the vernacular language of the people. As early as the year 1466, a translation from the Vulgate was printed whose author is unknown. Soon after Luther broke with Rome, he undertook a new version of the Scriptures for the use of his, countrymen. In 1522 he published his translation of the New Testament in German. This was afterwards revised with the assistance of Melancthon and other learned men. The whole Bible, thus revised, was published in 1530. Luther's version of the New Testament is directly from the original Greek. It is clear and accurate, and in a pure and elegant style. It served as the basis of the Saxon, Pomeranian, Danish, Swedish and Dutch translations.

As a review of all modern versions of the New Testament would occupy much space, the classified list of modern versions of the New Testament is here given, with the date of publication, name of translator (when known), and place where first printed. As a complete history of the labors involved in such world-wide translations would fill a very large volume, it is hoped the carefully arranged table will give a birds' eye view of the whole work done by eminent linguists that will be, in many respects, even more valuable to the reader for quick reference than any voluminous work that might be compiled.

PART SECOND.

CHAPTER I.

OLD ENGLISH VERSIONS.

The first English translation of the Bible was executed by an unknown individual in the year 1230. Of this there exist three manuscript copies in the libraries of England. Nearly a hundred years after this, one John de Travesa, of Gloucester, at the instance of Lord Berkeley, is said to have translated the Old and New Testament into the English tongue. But this has perished. The old English translations of any note are these:

I.

Wycliffe's Version.-John de Wycliffe was born in 1324, and died in 1384. He knew but little of the original languages, and his version is based upon the Latin Vulgate. The characteristies of his work are: (1.) The general plainness of its style; (2.) The substitution of equivalent for technical terms; (3.) The extreme literalness with which the Vulgate text is followed. It was given to the English public sometime in 1378 or 1380. This was before the invention of printing. The whole book had to be copied by hand. Hence the scarcity and costliness of the version, amounting to more than two hundred dollars of our money for a single copy. A bill was brought into the English House of Lords for suppressing it—although it was acknowledged to be a faithful translation of the Vulgate, which the church had pronounced accurate in every particular."

In the discussion of the bill, the Duke of Lancaster, uncle to the King, is reported to have said, "We will not be the dregs of all; seeing other nations have the law of God, which is the law of our faith, written in their own language, and that if the Gospel by being translated into English was the occasion of running into error,

they might know that there were more heretics among the Latins than among the people of any other language," and that "he would contend for having the law in our own tongue." But, in a convocation held at Oxford in the year 1408, it was decreed that "no one thereafter should translate any text of Holy Scripture into English by way of a book; and that no book of this kind should be read that was composed lately in the name of John Wycliffe or since his death." The version by Wycliffe had no perceptible influence on later translations, as these have been based on the Greek originals, while his was upon the Latin Vulgate.

II. Tyndal's Version.-William Tyndal, a native of Wales, devoted his life to the noble work of giving the oracles of God to his countrymen in their own tongue. At thirty-six years of age he left his position as private tutor in the neighborhood of Bristol, and went abroad to enter fully upon his life work. "Ere many years," he exclaimed, "a boy that driveth the plough shall know more of Scripture than the great body of the clergy" then knew. He prepared himself for the work by long years of study in Greek and Hebrew. First, the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark were published tentatively. In 1525 the whole of the New Testament was printed in 4to, at Cologne, and in small 8vo, at Worms. In England it was received with denunciations. Tonstal, Bishop of London, asserted that there were at least 2,000 errors in it, and ordered all copies of it to be bought up and burnt. An act of Parliament forbade the use of Tyndal's "false translation." But editions were printed one after another. The last appeared in 1535, just before his death. His heroic life was brought to a close in 1536. His last prayer was, "Lord, open the King of England's eyes." To Tyndal belongs the honor of having given the first example of a translation based on true principles, and the excellence of later versions has been almost in exact proportion as they followed his. Believing that every part of Scripture had only the sense which was in the mind of the writer, he made it his work to attain that sense. He believed that the duty of a translator was to place his readers as nearly as possible on a level with those for whom the books were originally written. This kept him free from the fault of writing for scholars instead of for the people.