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Chap. iii.
Internal

History.

The rela

tion of

Erasmus.

VULGATE.

stone.

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mo angulari lapide being the head corner- Eckstein ist;
Christo Jesu;
21 In quo omnis
ædificatio construc-
ta crescitin templum
sanctum in Domino,

22 in quo et vos coædificamini in habitaculum Dei in Spiritu.

21 In whom every building coupled together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord,

22 in whom ye also are built together, and made an habitation for God in the Spirit.

21 Auf welchem der ganze Bau in einander gefüget wächset zu einem heiligen Tempel in dem Herrn;

22 auf welchem auch ihr mit erbauet werdet zu einer Behausung Gottes im Geiste.

There is, however, one other authority who had Tyndale to greater influence upon Tyndale than the Vulgate or Luther. The Greek text of the New Testament published by Erasmus, which Tyndale necessarily used, was accompanied by an original Latin version in which Erasmus faithfully rendered the text he had printed. This translation is very frequently followed by Tyndale. Thus in the phrases already quoted from Eph. iv.1 three at least seem to be due to Erasmus, 27 backbiter, calumniatori (Erasm.); 29 filthy communication, sermo spurcus (Erasm.); id. where need is, quoties opus est (Erasm.). But on the other hand, any chapter will shew important differences between Erasmus and Tyndale, not always indeed in Tyndale's favour, but sufficient at least to prove that he exercised a free judgment both in the general character and in the details of his version. A collation of Col. ii. offers the following considerable variations:

1 See p. 137.

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ERASMUS.

I Nam volo

TYNDALE (1534).

I would (so Luther)

quantam sollicitudinem. fa- what fighting (Kampf L.)

ciem meam

2 cum fuerint compacti.

in omnem opulentiam certe [? certæ] persuasionis intelligentiæ

et patris (so L.)

6 in eo ambulate sic ut radices habeatis in illo fixas

II dum exuistis

corpus peccatorum carnis

my person (Person L.) and knit together (so L.) in all riches of full understanding (zu allem Reichthume des gewissen Verstandes L.) the father

so walk rooted and built in him (so wandelt...und seyd gewurzelt L.)

by putting (durch Abl. L.) the sinful body of the flesh (des sündlichen Leibes im Fleisch

L.)

per circumcisionem Christi through the circumcision that is in Christ

(so L.)

12 per fidem operationis Dei

13 per delicta et per præputium (in den S. und in der...L.)

14 quod erat contrarium nobis per decreta (welche durch Satzungen entstand L.)

16 vos judicet

aut novilunii (so L)

17 quæ sunt umbra (so L.) corpus autem Christi

through faith that is wrought by the operation of God (durch den Glauben den Gott wirket L.)

in sin through the uncircumcision (in sin and in the... 1525)

that was against us contained in the law written (made in... 1525)

trouble your consciences (euch Gewissen machen L.)

as the holiday of the new

moon

which are nothing but shadows but the body is in Christ (so

L.)

Chap. iii.
Internal
History.

Chap. iii. •Internal History.

Renderings

in the quarto fragment.

ERASMUS.

18 ne quis vobis patronam
intervertat data opera per
humilitatem et superstitio-
nem angelorum

23 per superstitionem ac humili-
tatem animi et læsionem cor-
poris, non per honorem ali-
quem ad expletionem carnis

TYNDALE (1534).

Let no man make you shoot at a wrong mark, which after his own imagination walketh in the humbleness and holiness of angels (Lasset euch Niemand das Ziel verrücken...L.) (om. and holiness 1525)

in chosen holiness and humbleness, and in that they spare not the body, and do the flesh no worship unto his need (so L'.)

A careful examination of the quarto fragment furnishes a most complete and unequivocal proof of Tyndale's independence as a translator. We shall see afterwards that he availed himself fully of Luther's notes for his own glosses, but he deals with the text as one who passed a scholar's judgment upon every fragment of the work, unbiassed by any predecessor. As nearly as I can calculate he differs from Luther in about two hundred places in the chapters contained in the fragment, i-xxii. 12. Some examples will shew the extent and character of the differences:

1 This last verse offers one of the most remarkable coincidences between Luther and Tyndale which I have noted. Luther's version is: durch selbsterwählte Geistlichkeit und Demuth und dadurch dass sie des Leibes nicht verschonen und dem Fleisch nicht seine Ehre thun zu seiner Nothdurft. The version in the Wittenberg Latin Bible is quite different. In a number of passages taken almost at random where Tyndale differs considerably from Luther I have noted that he agrees with

Erasmus in Lu. xi. 36, 40; xix. 43.
John ii. 9; x. 12. Acts iii. 16. 2 Cor.
xi. 8. Gal. v. 18. Eph. v. 16; and
differs from Erasmus in Luke xix.
42. John xi. 2. Acts iii. 20. Rom.
ix. 11, 28. Gal. v. 5.
Col. iii. 9.
Other differences exist between the
texts of 1525, 1534 in vv. 10, 13, 14,
16, 18, 20. In five places the latter
text approaches Luther more nearly
than the earlier: in one the converse
holds.

2 See p. 152, n. I.

TYNDALE (1525).

ii. 7. the time of the star that appeared [unlike Erasmus]

vii. 29 he taught them as one having power [like E.] xii. 18 my son [like E.] xiii. 13 for though they see, they see not; and hearing they hear not, neither understand

LUTHER.

wann der Stern erschienen

wäre

er predigte gewaltig

mein Knecht

denn mit sehenden Augen
sehen sie nicht, und mit hö-
renden Ohren hören sie nicht,
denn sie verstehen es nicht

38 the evil man's children das Unkraut sind die Kinder
are the tares
der Bosheit

57 there is no prophet

without honour save... xvi. 7 saying we have brought [like E.]

xix. 17 there is none good but one and that is God [like E.]

xxi. 20 How soon is the figtree withered away! [unlike E.]

ein Prophet gilt nirgend weni-
ger denn...

sie...sprachen Das wirds seyn
dasz wir...

niemand ist gut, denn der
einige Gott [an edition of 1524
reads: denn nur der ewige Gott]
Wie ist der Feigenbaum so
bald verdorret?

On the other hand there are passages (perhaps ten in all) where Luther's judgment has evidently swayed Tyndale. Of these the most remarkable are:

ii. 18 On the hills

iv. 25 from the ten cities

xi. 25 I praise Thee

auf dem Gebirge

aus den zehen Städten
ich preise Dich

xv. 9 which is nothing but die nichts denn Menschenge

mens precepts

13 all plants

xxi. 15 Hosianna

bot sind

alle Pflanzen

Hosianna

It does not seem necessary to bring forward any

Chap. iii. Internal History.

Chap. iii.
Internal
History.

Tyndale's edition of 1534 re

vised by the Greek,

further evidence of the originality of Tyndale's first labours on the New Testament'. The samples given are fair specimens of the whole work. And in his later labours Tyndale continued to follow to the end the sure path on which he had deliberately entered. The revised edition of 1534 expressly claims upon the title-page to

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