Chap. iii.
Internal
History.

and differs from that of 1534, though considerably less than the text of 1534 from that of 1525'. Sometimes

the changes are made to secure a closer accordance with the Greek: sometimes to gain a more vigorous or a more idiomatic rendering: sometimes to preserve a just uniformity: sometimes to introduce a new interpretation. The very minuteness of the changes is a singular testimony to the diligence with which Tyndale still laboured at his appointed work. Nothing seemed trifling to him, we may believe, if only he could better seize or

be added that some of Joye's criticisms
in his Apology on Tyndale's render-
ings are of interest. Thus he objects
to his translation in Mark xii. 26,
where he plays bo-peep with the In the different Epistles the num-
'tenses as he Englisheth resuscitan- ber of variations is considerable. In
'tur [the word given by Erasmus the Epistle to the Ephesians, neg-
'for the resurgant of the Vulgate] lecting undoubted misprints, I have
'shall rise again and not are revived noted only the following: i. 1 Jesu
or resuscited...' (p. 13)... or are (Jesus); 20 the dead (death); ii. I you
already alive: he sayeth not that hath he quickened (hath qu. you);
they shall be alive or shall rise again, iii. 11 purposed to (p. in); iv. II and
as Tyndale in his diligent last cor- some teachers (om.); iv. 16 of him-
'rection turneth the present tense self (itself); vi. 20 messenger (a m.).
'into the future, and the verb passive Compare p. 184, n. 1.
'into a neuter to stablish his error,
'thus corrupting the text' (p. 15).
Again he objects to the rendering in
Rom. i. 4 since the time that Jesus
Christ our Lord rose again from the
dead, where he says that Tyndale has
mistaken 'what ex eo [the rendering of
Erasmus again] there signifieth' (p.
94). In 1 Cor. xiv. 14 he maintains
that 'spiritus signifieth the breath
'and voice of our tongue...' and not
spirit (p. 95). Throughout he ap-
peals only to the Latin.

trust a very limited collation) fewer
than those in the Epistles. The va-
riations in 1 John are given at length
in App. III.

1 In 1 John I have noted sixteen variations from the text of 1534 as against thirty-two in that of 1534 from the original text. From the great inaccuracy of the edition 'finished' 1535 it is often difficult to decide what are printers' errors and what intentional changes. The changes in the Gospels and Acts are (if I may

2 Matt. vi. 34 om. for. Mark xvi. 19 sate him down (for is set down). 1 Cor. xv. 10 add yet. Eph. iv. 11 add and some teachers.

3 Mark xvi. 11 though they heard yet they believed it not (for when they heard-they believed it not). Rom. xii. 13 be ready to harbour (for diligently to harbour). 2 Cor. vi. 18 be my sons (for be unto me sons).

4 Eph. iv. 16 the edifying of himself (for the edifying of itself).

5 One change is of considerable interest in connexion with the early associations of Tyndale. In the edition of 1534 (and so in that of 1536) the Epistle for St Catharine's day is that given in the Hereford Missal with which Tyndale would be familiar in Gloucestershire. In the edition of 1535 the Epistle is given correctly from the Sarum Missal.

convey to others the meaning of one fragment of Scrip- Chap. iii. ture1.

Internal
History.

again with

Tyndale's first Testament was without notes: so too This edition was his last. The short Prologues to the four Evange-out notes. lists are printed separately before each Gospel. The contents of the tables for the Gospels and the Acts are prefixed in detail before each chapter. The marginal references of the edition of 1534 are generally preserved. But with these exceptions the simple text of the New Testament is given without any addition except the list of books on the reverse of the [second] title-page, and the Epistles from the Old Testament at the end2. Thus Tyndale ended as he had begun. His last Testament was a final appeal to the King and to the English people. If the text could gain currency it was enough, as he had repeatedly declared3.

Tyndale, as we have seen, both in his first translation and in his two subsequent revisions of the New Testament, dealt directly and principally with the Greek text. If he used the Vulgate or Erasmus or Luther it was with the judgment of a scholar. His complete independence in this respect is the more remarkable from the profound influence which Luther exerted upon his writings generally. The extent to which Tyndale silently

1 See note at the end of the Section.

2 A duplicate of the tables for the Gospels and Acts printed with another list of books on a page of a different size (36 not 38 lines) stands at the beginning of the volume. This is followed by the prologue to the Romans printed again in a different sized page (37 lines). But there is nothing to shew that these were originally intended to form part of the same book. They are severally contained in separate sheets with distinct signatures. The watermarks of the

paper, as far as I can make out, are
distinct, and the type in which the
Prologue is printed does not appear
to me to range with that used in the
body of the book, though extremely
like it. Moreover, and this is most
worthy of notice, the orthography of
the two preliminary pieces presents
none of the marked peculiarities by
which the translation itself is gene-
rally characterized. Even called'
and 'Holy' are spelt according to
common usage.

3 See above, p. 53.

The influ ther on

ence of Lu

Tyndale's

own writ

ings.

Chap. iii.
Internal
History.

Prologue to

the New Testament.

Prologue to the

Romans.

incorporated free or even verbal translations of passages
from Luther's works in his own has escaped the notice
of his editors. To define it accurately would be a work
of very great labour, but the result, as exhibiting the
points of contact and divergence in the opinions of the
two great reformers, would be a most instructive passage
in the doctrinal history of the time. Tyndale's 'Pro-
'logue' to his quarto Testament, his first known writing,
almost at the beginning introduces a large fragment
from Luther's Preface to the New Testament. There is
indeed a ring in the opening words which might have
led any one familiar with Luther's style to suspect their
real source. 'Evangelion (that we call Gospel) is a
Greek word; and signifieth good, merry, glad and
'joyful tidings, that maketh a man's heart glad and
'maketh him sing, dance and leap for joy: as when
'David had killed Goliah the giant, came glad tidings to
'the Jews that their fearful and cruel enemy was slain
'and they delivered out of all danger; for gladness
'whereof they sung, danced and were joyful'.'

The famous Prologue to the Romans (1526) is, as is well known, for the most part a paraphrase or a translation, of Luther's Preface. Like the Preface to the New Testament this writing of Luther's also had been translated into Latin (1523), and Tyndale's version seems at one time to follow the German and at another time the Latin text. Some phrases, as 'every Christian man must exercise himself therein [the Epistle to the

1 Luther: Evangelium ist ein Griechisch Wort und heisset auf Deutsch gute Botschaft, gute Mähre, gute neue Zeitung, gut Geschrey, davon man singet, saget und fröhlich ist. Als da David den grossen Goliath überwand, kam ein gut Geschrey und tröstliche neue Zeitung unter das Jü

dische Volk, dass ihr greulicher Feind erschlagen und sie erlöset zu Freude und Friede gestellet wären, davon sie sungen und sprungen und fröhlich waren. The Latin translation of the passage in the Wittenberg Bible may be added: Est enim Evangelium Græ ca vox. Significans bonum seu lætum

'Romans] as with the daily bread of the soul',' and 'God
'judgeth after the ground of the heart......therefore his
law requireth the ground of the heart and love from the
'bottom thereof, and is not content with the outward
'work only, but rebuketh those works most of all which
'spring not of love from the ground and low bottom of
'the heart...: shew clearly that Tyndale could not
have been unacquainted with the German; and on the
other hand the general complexion of the Prologue is
more like the Latin translation than the German origi-
nal, and many parts are unequivocally derived from it.
Thus the clauses 'thou understandest not...how that it
[the law] cannot be fulfilled and satisfied but with an
'unfeigned love and affection, much less can it be fulfilled
'with outward deeds and works only"...: and again, ‘if
'the Law were fleshly and but of man's doctrine, it might
'be fulfilled...with outward deeds;' and, once more,

nuntium et tale quidem quod summa Christenmensch...damit umgehe als
omnium gratulatione accipitur atque mit täglichen Brod der Seele. The
prædicatur, Unde voluptas et lætitia Latin has nothing which exactly cor-
in hominum animis excitatur. Nam responds.
quemadmodum cum David magnum
illum gigantem Goliath vicerat, lætum
nuntium ad populum Judaicum per-
ferebatur, crudelissimo ipsorum hoste
occiso, a quo cum essent liberati nullo
non genere lætitiæ atque gaudii per-
fundebantur. The passages italicized
mark apparently special coincidences
with Tyndale's rendering.

The translation of Luther extends from 'the Old Testament is a book— shall never more die.' (pp. 8-10, ed. P. S.).

The glosses exhibit the same powerful influence of Luther. Of the ninety-one glosses (as I count them) which appear in the quarto fragment fortyeight are taken in whole or in part from Luther's notes, and the remaining forty-three are original.

p. 485 (ed. P. S.). Gott richtet nach des Herzens Grund. Darum fordert auch sein Gesetz des Herzens Grund, und lässet ihm an Werken nicht begnügen; sondern strafet vielmehr die Werke ohne Herzens Grund gethan...The Latin runs: Deus vero cum sit Cardiognostes judicat secundum internos motus cordis; proinde et lex Dei requirit cor et affectus, neque impletur externis operibus, nisi hilari corde et toto affectu fiant.

3 p. 486. ...quomodo non nisi affectu [lex] impleatur ipsemet non satis tenes. Tantum autem abest ut lex externis operibus impleatur aut justificet ut etiam... For this there is nothing in the German.

4 Id. Si lex esset carnalis aut moralis doctrina tantum...Wenn das 1 p. 484 (ed. P. S.). Dass ein Gesetz leiblich wäre...

Chap. iii.

Internal
History.

Chap. iii. Internal • History.

Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount.

Matt. v. 4.

6

Such a new heart and lusty courage unto the law-ward 'canst thou never come by of thine own strength and enforcement, but by the operation and working of the 'Spirit':' have nothing which directly corresponds with them in the German. Similar instances might be multiplied indefinitely, but the conclusion even from these seems to be inevitable that Tyndale used the Latin by preference while he was able also to avail himself of the German.

The coincidences between Tyndale's Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount and that of Luther, though fewer, are even more worthy of notice. Luther's Expository Sermons were delivered in 1530, and printed in 1532, but they were not translated into Latin till 1533. On the other hand Tyndale's Exposition was printed in 1532. He must then have used the German edition of Luther, or perhaps even notes taken by some friend or by himself. The coincidences which are comparatively rare are still verbal and at the same time tacit. Two examples will be sufficient to indicate their character.

Gerechtigkeit muss an diesem Ort nicht heissen die Christliche Hauptgerechtigkeit dadurch die Person frumm und angenehm wird für Gott. Den ich habe vor gesagt dass diese acht Stück nichts anders sind denn eine Lehre von den Früchten und guten Wirken eines Christen vor welchem der Glaube zuvor muss da

1 p. 487. Talem vero novum et ardentem ac hilarem cordis affectum non ex tuis ullis viribus aut meritis, sed sola operatione et afflatu spiritus

Righteousness in this place is not taken for the principal righteousness of a Christian man, through which the person is good and accepted before God. For these eight points are but doctrine

of the fruits and works of a Christian man

consequere. For this the German has simply Ein solches Herz giebt niemand denn Gottes Geist...