PURVEY’S PROLOGUE TO THE WYCLIFFITE BIBLE (1388?)

CHAPTER XV.

[130] For as much as Christ saith that the gospel shall be preached in all the world, and David saith of the Apostles and their preaching, “the sound of them went out into each land, and the words of them went out into the ends of the world;” and again David saith, “The Lord shall tell in the Scriptures of peoples and of these princes that were in it;”[131] that is, in holy Church, as Jerome saith on that verse, “Holy writ is the Scripture of peoples, for it is made that all peoples should know it;” and the princes of the Church that were therein be the apostles that had authority to write holy writ; for by that same that the Apostles wrote their Scriptures by authority and confirming of the Holy Ghost, it is holy Scripture and faith of Christian men, and this dignity hath no man after them, be he never so holy, never so cunning, as Jerome witnesseth on that verse. Also Christ saith of the Jews that cried Hosanna to Him in the temple, that though they were still stones should cry; and by stones He understandeth heathen men that worshipped stones for their gods. And we Englishmen be come of heathen men, therefore we be understood by these stones that should cry holy writ; and as Jews, interpreted acknowledging[132], signify clerks that should make acknowledgment to God by repentance of sins and by voice of God’s praise, so our lewd (lay, or unlearned) men, suing (following) the corner-stone Christ, may be signified by stones that be hard and abiding in the foundation; for though covetous clerks be wood (wild, or mad), by simony, heresy, and many other sins, and despise and stop holy writ as much as they can, yet the lewd people cry after holy writ to ken it and keep it with great cost and peril of their life.

For these reasons and other, with common charity to save all men in our realm which God would have saved, a simple creature hath translated the Bible out of Latin into English. First this simple creature had much travail, with divers fellows and helpers, to gather many old Bibles, and other doctors and common glosses, and to make one Latin Bible some deal true; and then to study it anew, the text with the gloss and other doctors as he might get, and especially Lyra on the Old Testament, that helped full much in this work; the third time to counsel with old grammarians and old divines of hard words and hard sentences, how they might best be understood and translated; the fourth time to translate as clearly as he could to the sentence,[133] and to have many good fellows and cunning at the correcting of the translation. First it is to know that the best translating out of Latin into English is to translate after the sentence, and not only after the words, so that the sentence be as open, either opener, in English as in Latin, and go not far from the letter; and if the letter may not be sued (followed) in the translating, let the sentence be ever whole and open, for the words ought to serve to the intent and sentence, and else the words be superfluous or false. In translating into English many resolutions may make the sentence open, as an ablative case absolute may be resolved into these three words, with convenable (suitable) verb, the while, for if, as grammarians say, as thus: the master reading, I stand, may be resolved thus, while the master readeth I stand, or, if the master readeth, &c., or, for the master, &c.; and sometime it would accord well with the sentence to be resolved into when or into afterward, thus, when the master read I stood, or, after the master read I stood; and sometime it may well be resolved into a verb of the same tense as others be in the same clause, and into this word et; that is, and in English, as thus, arescentibus hominibus prae timore; that is, and men should wax dry for dread. Also a participle of a present tense or preterite of active voice or passive may be resolved into a verb of the same tense and a conjunction copulative, as thus, dicens; that is, saying may be resolved thus, and saith, or, that saith; and this will in many places make the sentence open, where to English it, after the verb, would be dark and doubtful. Also a relative, which may be resolved into his antecedent with a conjunction copulative, as thus, which runneth, and he runneth. Also when one word is once set in a clause it may be set forth as often as it is understood, or as often as reason and need ask. And this word autem, or vero, may stand for forsooth, or for but, and thus I use commonly; and sometime it may stand for and, as old grammarians say. Also when rightful construction is let (prevented) by relation, I resolve it openly; thus where this clause Dominum formidabunt adversarii ejus should be Englished thus by the letter, the Lord His adversaries shall dread, I English it thus by resolution, the adversaries of the Lord shall dread Him; and so of other clauses that be like.

At the beginning I purposed, with God’s help, to make the sentence as true and open in English as it is in Latin, or more true and more open than it is in Latin; and I pray for charity and for common profit of Christian souls, that if any wise man find any default of the truth of translation, let him set in the true sentence and open of holy writ, but look that he examine truly his Latin Bible; for no doubt he shall find full many Bibles in Latin full false, if he look many, namely, new;[134] and the common Latin Bibles have more need to be corrected, as many as I have seen in my life than the English Bible late translated. And where the Hebrew, by witness of Jerome, of Lyra, and other expositors discordeth from our Latin Bibles, I have set in the margin, by manner of a gloss, what the Hebrew hath, and how it is understood in some place; and I did this most in the Psalter, that of all our books discordeth most from the Hebrew; for the church readeth not the Psalter by the last translation of Jerome, out of Hebrew into Latin, but another translation by other men, that had much less cunning and holiness than Jerome had; and in full few books the church readeth the translation of Jerome, as it may be proved by the proper originals of Jerome which he glossed. And where I have translated as openly or openlier in English as in Latin, let wise men deme (judge) that know well both languages, and know well the sentence of holy Scripture. And whether I have done thus or not, no doubt they that ken well the sentence of holy writ and English together, and will travail with God’s grace thereabout, may make the Bible as true and as open, yea, and openlier, in English as in Latin. And no doubt to a simple man, with God’s grace and great travail, men might expound much openlier and shortlier the Bible in English, than the old great doctors have expounded it in Latin, and much sharplier and groundlier than many late postillators, or expositors have done. But God of His great mercy, give us grace to live well, and to see the truth in convenable manner, and acceptable to God and His people, and to spell out our time, be it short, be it long, at God’s ordinance.

But some that seem wise and holy say thus, If men now were as holy as Jerome was, they might translate out of Latin into English, as he did out of Hebrew and out of Greek into Latin, and else they should not translate now, so they think, for default of holiness and cunning. Though this replication seem colourable, it hath no good ground, neither reason, neither charity; for why, (because) this replication is more against Saint Jerome and against the first LXX. translators, and against holy church, than against simple men that translate now into English; for Saint Jerome was not so holy as the Apostles and Evangelists, whose books he translated into Latin, neither he had so high gifts of the Holy Ghost as they had; and much more the LXX. translators were not so holy as Moses and the Prophets, and specially David; neither they had so great gifts of God as Moses and the Prophets had. Furthermore, holy church approveth not only the true translation of mean Christian men, but also of open heretics, that did away mysteries of Jesus Christ by guileful translation, as Jerome witnesseth in one prologue on Job, and in the prologue of Daniel. Much more late the Church of England approve the true and whole translation of simple men, that would, for no good on earth, by their witting and power, put away the least truth, yea, the least letter or tittle of holy writ that beareth substance or charge. And dispute they not (let them not dispute) of the holiness of men now living in this deadly life; for they know not thereon, and it is reserved only to God’s doom. If they know any notable default by the translators or their helps, let them blame the default by charity and mercy, and let them never damn a thing that may be done lawfully by God’s law, as wearing a good cloth for a time, or riding on a horse for a great journey, when they wit not wherefore it is done; for such things may be done of simple men with as great charity and virtue as some that hold themselves great and wise, can ride in a gilt saddle, or use cushions and beds and cloths of gold and of silk, with other vanities of the world. God grant pity, mercy, and charity, and love of common profit, and put away such foolish dooms (judgment) that be against reason and charity. Yet worldly clerks ask greatly (grandly) what spirit maketh idiots (laymen) hardy to translate now the Bible into English, since the four great doctors durst never do this. This replication is so lewd (unlearned), that it needeth none answer but stillness or courteous scorn; for these great doctors were none English men, neither they were conversant among English men, neither they knew the language of English, but they ceased never till they had holy writ in the mother tongue of their own people. For Jerome, that was a Latin man of birth, translated the Bible, both out of Hebrew and out of Greek into Latin, and expounded full much thereto; and Austin and many more Latins expounded the Bible, for many parts, in Latin, to Latin men among which they dwelt, and Latin was a common language to their people about Rome, and beyond and on this half (side), as English is common to our people, and yet (still) this day the common people in Italy speaketh Latin corrupt, as true men say that have been in Italy; and the number of translators out of Greek into Latin passeth man’s knowing, as Austin witnesseth in the ij. book of Christian Teaching,[135] and saith thus: “The translators out of Hebrew into Greek may be numbered, but Latin translators, or they that translated into Latin, may not be numbered in any manner.” For in the first times of faith, each man, as a Greek book came to him, and he seemed to himself to have some cunning of Greek and Latin, was hardy (bold) to translate, and this thing helped more than letted (hindered) understanding, if readers be not negligent, for why (because) the beholding of many books hath showed off or declared some darker sentences. This saith Austin here. Therefore Grosted (Grosseteste) saith that it was God’s will that diverse men translate, and that diverse translations be in the church, where one said darkly, one other more said openly.

Lord God, since at the beginning of faith so many men translated into Latin, and to great profit of Latin men, let one simple creature of God translate into English for profit of Englishmen; for if worldly clerks look well their chronicles and books they shall find that Bede translated the Bible, and expounded much in Saxon, that was English, or common language of this land, in his time; and not only Bede, but also King Alfred that founded Oxford, translated in his last days the beginning of the Psalter into Saxon, and would more if he had lived longer. Also Frenchmen, Beemers,[136] and Britons have the Bible and other books of devotion and of exposition translated in their mother language. Why should not Englishmen have the same in their mother language I cannot wit, no but (except) for falseness and negligence of clerks, or for (because) our people is not worthy to have so great grace and gift of God in pain (penalty) of their old sins. God for his mercy amend these evil causes, and make our people to have, and ken, and keep truly holy writ, to life and death.

But in translating of words equivocal, that is, that have many significations under one letter, may lightly be peril (there may easily be a danger of mistake); for Austin saith in the ij. book of Christian Teaching that if equivocal words be not translated into the sense or understanding of the author it is error,[137] as in that place of the psalm, the feet of them be swift to shed out blood. The Greek word is equivocal to sharp and swift, and he that translated sharp feet erred, and a book that hath sharp feet is false, and must be amended, as that sentence, unkind young trees shall not give deep roots, ought to be thus plantings of adultery shall not give deep roots.[138] Austin saith this there; therefore a translator hath great need to study well the sentence, both before and after, and look that such equivocal words accord with the sentence; and he hath need to live a clean life, and be full devout in prayers, and have not his wit occupied about worldly things, that the Holy Spirit, author of wisdom, and cunning, and truth, dress him in his work, and suffer him not for to err.

Also this word ex signifieth sometime of, and sometime it signifieth by, as Jerome saith; and this word enim signifieth commonly forsooth, and, as Jerome saith, it signifieth, cause thus, forwhy. And this word secundum is taken for after, as many men say, and commonly; but it signifieth well by or up, thus by your word, or up your word. Many such adverbs, conjunctions, and prepositions be set off one for another, and at free choice of authors sometime; and now they should be taken as it accordeth best to the sentence.

By this manner, with good living and great travail, men may come to true and clear translating and true understanding of holy writ, seem it never so hard at the beginning. God grant to us all grace to ken well and to keep well holy writ, and to suffer joyfully some pain for it at the last. Amen.