46 self, for the small and easy charge of eighteen pence. On opening the book, the following was among the first things that caught my eye:- Chapter XII. Of devotion to the blessed virgin. One of the last means which I assign, but also one of the most effectual, for acquiring virtue in youth, is, devotion to the blessed virgin. It is infallible to such who assiduously employ it; because it affords, at the same time, the most powerful intercession, in the sight of God, for obtaining his favour, and the most perfect model for our imitation. Next to God, and the most adorable humanity of his Son, Jesus Christ, is she whom we must chiefly honour and love, by reason of that most sublime and excellent dignity of the mother of God, which raises her above all creatures that God has ever created. By her we may receive all the assistance which is necessary for us. She is most pow erful with God, to obtain from him all that she shall ask of him," &c. &c. There are five pages of such matter; pp. 151-155. Such are the sentiments of the book composed by Mr. ANDREWS, which is said to be so much more useful than the Bible. If religion consists in devotion to the Virgin Mary, no doubt, we may seek in the Bible all our lives, and not find it; but in this book, composed by Mr. ANDREWS, (THE CATHOLIC VINDICATOR,) we shall find it in five minutes. It is vain to expect that Mr. ANDREWS will argue upon scriptural principles, since, according to the testimony of one of his correspondents, which he prints with great satisfaction, no doubt, in his own journal, he has composed a book so much better than the Bible, as to render the use of it quite unnecessary. To add weight to the testimony of the above correspondent, the Rev. Dr. MILNER, vicar apostolic, declares, in a letter of recommendation prefixed to the work, that it is by far the most complete and valuable work of its kind in our language, and eminently entitled to the patronage of the Catholic public. TEEN: ELEVEN. CHAPTER XXXII. PRE THE SUBJECT CONTINUED. RHEMISH TRANSLATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. SATURDAY, February 20th, 1819. Ar the conclusion of my last number, I quoted the words of a modern Papist, who declares that Mr. ANDREWS, the Catholic Vindicator, and editor of the Orthodox Journal, had written a book much better than the Bible; a book, one reading of which, he says, will im-' part more knowledge of religion than could be gathered from the Bible in a whole life and the author himself seems to acquiesce in the opinion of his correspondent, as he prints the panegyric in his journal, without so much as a modest hint, that his friend had praised his work too highly. In the opinion of modern Papists, the Bible is a very useless, and a very dangerous book. Some of them endeavoured to conceal, but others very plainly avow this opinion. Of the latter, is the corres 246 pondent of the Orthodox Journal, above referred to, and so far as appears, of the journalist himself. On this subject, it must be allowed, they have deviated less from the doctrine of their fathers than on some other points. I must not be understood to mean that they have in any respect deviated from the ancient doctrine of their church; but merely that their language with regard to the Bible, and the danger of reading it, is more like the language of their fathers, than their modern professions are with regard to other doctrines, such as the lawfulness of breaking faith with heretics, which, though generally held at one time, is now generally disavowed. In short, it seems to have been a doctrine universally maintained in the church for ages, and it is still publicly maintained by Papists, that the reading of the Bible, by the people indiscriminately, is to be deprecated as a most dangerous thing. Under this impression the Rhemish translators went to work. They were grieved to see that Protestant translators were giving the people in England the Bible in their own language, some of them without note or comment. They, being mostly English Papists, who were obliged to leave the country in the reign of Elizabeth, settled at Rheims and there they undertook to give an English version of the scriptures for the use of their countrymen, with such a load of notes and annotations, as would both make it a costly book, and prevent as much as possible the people from gathering any thing like heresy out of it. They begin their preface in the following manner. Let it be observed, it is only of the New Testament they are speaking, for they say they had not the means of printing the whole Bible, though the whole would have been published at less expense by itself alone, than their New Testament with its cumbrous notes. "The Holy Bible, long since translated by us into English, and the Old Testament lying by us for lack of good means to publish the whole, in such sort as a work of so great charge and importance requireth: we have yet, through God's goodness, at length fully finished for thee, (most Christian reader,) ALL THE NEW TESTAMENT, which is the principal, most profitable, and comfortable piece of holy writ: and as well for all other institutions of life and doctrine, as especially and pregnant, than for deciding the doubts of these days, more proper the other part not yet printed. "Which translation we do not, for all that, publish upon erroneous opinion of necessity, that the holy scriptures should always be in our mother tongue, or that they ought, or were ordained of God, to be read indifferently of all, or could be easily understood of every one that readeth or heareth them in a known language: pernicious and much hurtful to many: or that we generally and absolutely deemed it more convenient in itself, and more agreeable to God's word and honour, or edification of the faithful, to have them turned into vulgar tongues, than to be kept and studied only in the ecclesiastical learned languages: not for these, nor any such like causes, do we translate this sacred book, but upon special consideration of the present time, state, and condition of our country, unto which divers things are either necessary, or profitable and medicinable now, that otherwise, in the peace of the church, were neither much requisite, nor perchance wholly tolerable." If we translate this into plain modern English, the meaning will be found to be, that it is not necessary to have the Bible in the mother tongue of any country; that it was not ordained by God to be read by the vulgar; that the reading of it is often very hurtful; that it was not requisite, or even tolerable to have the Bible in the vulgar tongue during the time of the church's peace, that is, before the reformation; and the grave doctors consent to give a version in English now, merely because, if they will not, some other will; and if they do not give a version well fenced with notes and annotations, the people will be in danger of getting it without any such safeguard. The doctors proceed: "In this matter, to mark only the wisdom and moderation of holy church and the governors thereof on the one side, and the indiscreet zeal of the popular and their factious leaders, on the other, is a high point of prudence. These latter, partly of simplicity, partly of curiosity, and especially of pride and disobedience, have made claim in this case for the common people, with plausible pretences many, but good reasons none at all. The other, to whom Christ hath given charge of our souls, the dispensing of God's mysteries and treasures, (among which holy scripture is no small store,) and the feeding his family in season with food fit for every sort, have neither of old, nor of late, ever wholly condemned all vulgar versions of scripture, nor have at any time generally forbidden the faithful to read the same; yet they have not by public authority prescribed, commanded, or authentically ever recommended, any such interpretation to be indifferently used of all men." Here we learn that those who plead on behalf of the people, that they may have the word of God in their own language, do it of simplicity, curiosity, and specially of pride and disobedience; and though they make many plausible pretences, can give no good reasons at all why the people should be allowed to read the word of God. We learn farther, that the church did not condemn all vulgar versions, or forbid the faithful to read the same; that is, she did not condemn, or forbid the people to read what did not exist and it is admitted, that the church never so much as recommended the scriptures to be read generally by the people. It would be more like the truth to say, that she did not think it proper, or consistent with her own safety, to give the people a translation of the scriptures. In the following paragraph the learned doctors speak more plainly: "Now since Luther's revolt also, divers learned Catholics, for the more speedy abolishing a number of false and impious translations put forth by sundry sects, and for the better preservation or reclaim of many good souls endangered thereby, have published the Bible in the several languages of almost all the principal provinces of the Latin church no other books in the world being so pernicious as heretical translations of the scriptures, poisoning the people under colour of divine authority, and not many other remedies being more sovereign against the same (if it be used in order, discretion, and humility) than the true, faithful, and sincere interpretation opposed thereunto.' The translators cite the authority of the council of Trent, and regret that in their days the law, as ordained by that council, could not in all cases be observed; that is, they found it impossible to enforce the law against perverse and presumptuous readers of the Bible. They speak with exultation of those happy times when "the scholar taught not 66 his master, the sheep controuled not the husbandman, artificer, prentice, boys, girls, mystress, maid, man:"-Then the holy scriptures were not sung, played, alledged, of every tinker, taverner, rhymer, minstrel;""they were not for table talk, for ale-benches, for boats and barges, and for every profane person and company. No; in those better times men were neither so ill, nor so curious of themselves, so to abuse the blessed book of Christ: neither was there such easy means, before printing was invented, to disperse the copies into the hand of every man, as there is now." See the Preface to the Rhemish translation of the New Testament: Certainly, in popish estimation, these must have been happy times, when the priests held the key of knowledge in their own hands; and when nobody, without their permission, durst look into the word of God. When there was little danger of the people falling into heresy, the priests taught and did what they pleased; and this would probably have been the case to this day, had not such men as Wickliffe and Luther, by translating the Bible into the language of the common people, generously put the key into their hands, that they might search the scriptures and judge for themselves. When the Rhemish doctors were giving a translation of the Bible into English, and speaking so strongly of the great evil and danger of its being universally read, one is apt to wonder what comment they would give on such passages as these: "Search the scriptures," (John v. 39,) and "these were more noble than those of Thessalonica, for they searched the scriptures daily," &c. (Acts xvii. 11.) On John v. 39, they have the following marginal note;-" Catholics search the scriptures, and find there Peter's and his successors' primacy, the real presence, priests' power to forgive sins, justification by faith and good works, virginity preferred before matrimony, breach of the vow of continency damnable, voluntary poverty, penance, alms, and good deeds meritorious, divers rewards in heaven according to divers merits, and such like." And upon the same verse they have the following annotation:-"He reprehendeth the Jews, that reading daily the scriptures, and acknowledging that in them they should find life and salvation, they yet looked over them so superficially that they could not find therein him to be Christ, their King, Lord, Life, and Saviour. For the special masters and scribes of the Jews then, were like unto our heretics now, who be ever talking, and turning, and shuffling the scriptures, but are of all men most ignorant of the deep knowledge thereof. And, therefore, our Master referreth them not to the reading only, or learning them without book, or having the sentences thereof gloriously painted or written in their temple, houses, or cotes; but to the deep search of the meaning and mysteries of the scriptures, which are not so easily to be seen in the letter." By such unintelligible jargon the grave doctors attempt to set aside the divine command to search the scriptures. They are not more successful in their annotation on Acts xvii. 11. They say, "The heretics use this place to prove that the hearers must try and judge by the scriptures, whether their teachers' and preachers' doctrine be true, and so reject what they find not in the scriptures, as though here the sheep were made judges of their pastors, the people of their priests, and men and women of all sorts, even of St. Paul's doc trine itself; which were the most foolish doctrine in the world." It may appear to popish priests a very foolish thing, that the people should judge of their doctrine, and try it by the standard of scripture; but the inspired writer of the Acts of the Apostles has left on record an honourable testimony on behalf of the Bereans, that they did the very thing which the priests would reckon so foolish and disorderly; and however much the teachers of error may dread the practice of trying their doctrine by the Bible, I can imagine nothing more delightful to a teacher of the truth, than to know that his hearers can, and that they do make it their business to examine and prove all that he inculcates, by that unerring standard. Faithful ministers have nothing of their own to inculcate. Their business is to publish the very truth which they find in the Bible, and nothing else; and should they, at any time, mistake the meaning of a passage, a circumstance which may happen with persons who lay no claim to infallibility, instead of being offended, they would be much indebted to any one of their flock who might set them right. Popish priests look upon the common people as the dust beneath their feet, to whom no degree of respect or consideration is due; but the evangelical pastor of a Christian congregation looks upon his people as his brethren and his equals, who, though they have not the official oversight of the flock with which he is honoured, and may not have had the same advantages of education, yet, having the word of God in their hands, and daily access to the throne of grace, by prayer, for the understanding of it, may, by the divine blessing, come to such a knowledge of its contents, as to be able, in some cases, to instruct their teachers, especially such of them as are young, and have but recently entered upon the work of the ministry. In point of fact, I know that this has been the case; and what minister of Christ would not glory in having such persons among his flock, instead of complaining of them as an insufferable nuisance? This is however, incomprehensible by a Papist. With him the priest is every thing, and the people are nothing. The priest may utter from the pulpit the grossest nonsense; and the people dare not judge of it, or call in question the truth of what they hear. This would involve the absurdity of the sheep judging their pastor and the use of this similitude, which is brought forward oftener than once by the Rhemish translators, seems intended to impress upon the people the idea that they are as much inferior to their priests as sheep are to their shepherds. In short, it seems to have been the design of these translators, even when they were presenting to their countrymen the New Testament in English, to impress them with an idea that they would have been much safer without it; and that they would act the part of wise men by meddling as little with it as possible. The translators cannot conceal their apprehension that the word of God in English will do mischief; but they have done every thing in their power to prevent this, by mixing up with it a copious quantity of their own stuff, in the form of notes and annotations, which are calculated, as much as the traditions of the elders were, to make the word of God of none effect. Indeed, these Rhemish doctors have proved themselves genuine descendants of the Jewish priests, of whom the Lord by his prophet complained, that instead of dispensing his word as living water, pure from the VOL. I.-32 |