'children and church in all times and ages in despite of Satan'.

Thus the books themselves speak to us and witness of the work which they did. In fact, they help us to understand Foxe's famous testimony that in 1520... 'great multitudes...tasted and followed the sweetness 'of God's holy Word almost in as ample manner, for 'the number of well-disposed hearts, as now... Certes, 'the fervent zeal of those Christian days seemed much 'superior to these our days and times, as manifestly 'may appear by their sitting up all night in reading and 'hearing; also by their expenses and charges in buying 'books in English, of whom some gave five marks '[equal to about £40 in our money] some more, some 'less for a book: some gave a load of hay for a few 'chapters of St James or of St Paul in English...To see 'their travails, their earnest seekings, their burning zeal, 'their readings, their watchings, their sweet assemblies ...may make us now in these days of free profession, to 'blush for shame. So Foxe wrote in 1563, and after three centuries the contrast is still to our sorrow.

1 But it must be observed that in spite of the wide circulation of the English Version the Latin Vulgate remained the Bible of those who could read, just as afterwards in Cranmer's time. One interesting memorial of this remains. The Persones Tale' in Chaucer (c. 1380— 1390) abounds in passages of the Bible in English. The Latin 'catchword' is very rarely given; and in no one case have I observed a real coincidence with either of the Wycliffite versions. On the contrary, the renderings differ from them more than might have been expected in contemporary versions of the same Latin text; and the same text (e.g.

Acts iv. 12) is turned differently in different places. One or two examples are worth quoting.

Alas! I caitif man who shall deliver me fro the prison of my caitif body? (Rom. vii. 24.)

An avaricious man is the thraldome of idolatrie (Eph. v. 5).

Go, sayd Jesu Crist, and have no more will to do sinne (John viii. 11).

2 The editors of the Versions quote two instances of copies given to churches for ecclesiastical use at York (1394) and Bristol (1404): Forsh. and Madd. Introd. p. xxxii. n.

3 Foxe, Acts and Monuments, IV. 217 f.

CHAPTER II.

THE PRINTED BIBLE.

THE general testimony of Foxe to the circulation of
the English Scriptures at the beginning of the 16th
century, which has been just quoted, is illustrated by
several special incidents, which he records. These,
however, shew at the same time that the circulation
and study of the manuscripts was both precarious and
perilous. 'I did once,' says Lambert in 1538, 'see
a book of the New Testament, which was not un-
'written by my estimation this hundred years, and in
'my mind right well translated after the example of
'that which is read in the Church in Latin. But he
'that shewed it me said, he durst not be known to
'have it by him, for many had been punished afore-
'time for keeping of such as convict of heresy1.'
And that this fear was not ungrounded may be seen
by the registers of the dioceses of Norwich and Lin-
coln, which contain several examples of men charged.
before the bishops with the offence of reading or pe-
rusing the New Law' (that is, the New Testament)
in English❜.

1 Foxe, Acts and Monuments, v. 213. I have quoted from the text of the edition 1553 (March 20: 1564), p. 559.

Foxe, ib. IV. 217 ff.

Chap. ii.
External
History.

Influence

The
of Greek in

the 16th century.

But meanwhile a momentous change had passed over Western Europe. 'Greece,' in the striking language of an English scholar, ‘had risen from the grave with the New Testament in her hand;' and the Teutonic nations had welcomed the gift. It had been long felt on all sides that the Latin Bible of the mediæval Church could no longer satisfy the wants of the many nations of a divided world. Before the end of the 15th century Bibles were printed in Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch, German and Bohemian; while England as yet had only the few manuscripts of the Wycliffite versions. But, like Wycliffe's, these were only secondary versions from the Vulgate. The Hebrew text of the Old Testament was published as early as 1488, though very few except Jews could use it; but the Greek text of the New Testament was not yet printed. Scholars however were being duly trained for the work of direct translation. The passionate declamation then current against Hebrew and Greek shew that the study of both was popular and advancing'. And England, though late to begin, eagerly followed up the 'new learning? From 1509 to 1514 Erasmus was Professor of Greek at Cambridge, and, as appears probable, it was the fame of his lectures which drew there William Tyndale about the year 1510, to whom it has been allowed more than to any other man to give its characteristic shape to our English Bible. And the man, as we shall see, was not unworthy of the glorious honour for the attainment of which indeed he lived equally and died.

i See Chap. III.

2 According to Erasmus Eng. land was second only to Italy and in advance of France and Germany.

Erasmus himself studied Greek at Oxford. Compare Hallam, Introduction to Lit. of Europe, 1. pp. 269 f.