Preface to the King
James Translation of 1611 |
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Submitted by Elder
Bill Allen |
(Not Copyrighted)
Part V The Translators To The Reader
The Speeches and Reasons, both
of Our Brethren, and of Our Adversaries against this Work
Many men's mouths have been
open a good while (and yet are not stopped) with speeches
about the Translation so long in hand, or rather perusals of
Translations made before: and ask what may be the reason,
what the necessity of the employment: Hath the Church been
deceived, say they, all this while? Hath her sweet bread
been mingled with leaven, her silver with dross, her wine
with water, her milk with lime? (Lacte gypsum male
miscetur, saith S. Ireney.) We hoped that we had been in
the right way, that we had had the Oracles of God delivered
unto us, and that though all the world had cause to be
offended and to complain, yet that we had none. Hath the
nurse holden out the breast, and nothing but wind in it?
Hath the bread been delivered by the fathers of the Church,
and the same proved to be lapidosus, as Seneca
speaketh? What is it to handle the word of God deceitfully,
if this be not? Thus certain brethren. Also the adversaries
of Judah and Jerusalem, like Sanballat in Nehemiah, mock, as
we hear, both at the work and workmen, saying; What do
these weak Jews, etc. will they make the stones whole again
out of the heaps of dust which are burnt? although they
build, yet if a fox go up, he shall even break down their
stony wall. [Neh 4:3] Was their Translation good before?
Why do they now mend it? Was it not good? Why then was it
obtruded to the people? Yea, why did the Catholics (meaning
Popish Romanists) always go in jeopardy, for refusing to go
to hear it? Nay, if it must be translated into English,
Catholics are fittest to do it. They have learning, and they
know when a thing is well, they can manum de tabula.
We will answer them both briefly: and the former, being
brethren, thus, with S. Jerome, Damnamus veteres? Mineme,
sed post priorum studia in domo Domini quod possums
laboramus. That is, Do we condemn the ancient? In no
case: but after the endeavors of them that were before us,
we take the best pains we can in the house of God. As if
he said, Being provoked by the example of the learned that
lived before my time, I have thought it my duty, to assay
whether my talent in the knowledge of the tongues, may be
profitable in any measure to God's Church, lest I should
seem to have laboured in them in vain, and lest I should be
thought to glory in men, (although ancient,) above that
which was in them. Thus S. Jerome may be thought to speak.
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