at Marburg in Hesse (as it is supposed) his own second edition of the New Testament. He was also occupied in translating into English the five books of Moses, in which he was assisted by Miles Coverdale. The books of Genesis and Deuteronomy appeared also at Marburg in separate books. In 1531 he published the Pentateuch, with a general preface and a second edition of the book of Genesis. This was printed at various places and by various printers; its rarity is almost equal to that of the New Testament of 1525. The only perfect copy of it known to exist, is now in the library of the Right Hon. Thomas Grenville. The same year Tyndale published his translation of the Prophet Jonah, with a long prologue.

As Tyndale was ignorant of Hebrew, he made us of Luther's version in his translation of the Old Testament.

This first English translation of the entire Bible was made from the Latin and German, and dedicated to King Henry VIII. by Myles COVERDALE. It bore the following title: "The Bible, that is, the Holy Scripture of the Olde and New Testament faithfully and truly translated out of the Douche and Latyn into Englishe. M. D. XXXV. folio." Soon after this Bible was finished, in 1536, Lord Cromwell, keeper of the privy seal, and the king's vicar-general and vice-regent in ecclesiastical matters, published injunctions to the clergy by the King's authority, the seventh of which required that every parson, or proprietary of any parish church within the realm, should, before the first of August, provide a book of the whole Bible either in Latin or English, and lay it in the choir, for every man that would, to look and read therein; and should discourage no man from reading any part of the Bible either in Latin or English, but rather comfort, exhort, and admonish every man to read it, as the very word of God, and the spiritual food of a man's soul, &c.

In 1537 appeared Matthew's Bible, under the following title:

"The Byble, which is all the Holy Scripture: In whych are contayned the Olde and Newe Testament, truely and purely translated into Englysh. By Thomas MATTHEW."

It was edited by Coverdale, though it bears the name of Thomas Matthew, and it was published with the royal license, which was granted in consequence of Cranmer's application to Lord Cromwell. The Old Testament is Tyndale's to the end of the second book of Chronicles; it then becomes

a mere copy of Coverdale's Bible, with a few corrections, and continues so to the end of the Apocryphal Books, which last are inserted from Coverdale's Bible. The New Testament is wholly a transcript of Tyndale's version, as contained in his last published edition of the New Testament. In the year 1538, an injunction was published by Cromwell, as vicar-general of the kingdom, ordaining the clery to provide, before a certain festival, one book of the whole Bible, of the largest volume, in English, and to set it up in some convenient place within their churches, where their parishioners might most commodiously resort to it. A royal declaration was also published, which the curates were to read in their several churches, informing the people, that it had pleased the king's majesty to permit and command the Bible, being translated into their mother-tongue, to be sincerely taught by them, and to be openly laid forth in every parish church.

In 1538, an edition in 4to. of the New Testament, in English, with Erasmus's Latin translation, was printed, with the king's license, by Redman. In this year it was resolved to revise Matthew's Bible, and to print a correct edition of it. With this view Grafton went to France, where the workmen were more skilful, and the paper was both better and cheaper than in England, and obtained permission from Francis I., at the request of King Henry VIII., to print his Bible at Paris. But, the Inquisition interposed, and issued an order, dated December 17, 1538, summoning the French printers, their English employers, and Coverdale, the corrector of the work, and prohibiting them to proceed; and the impression, consisting of 2500 copies, was seized, confiscated, and condemned to the flames. Some chests, however, of these books escaped the fire, and the English proprietors, who had fled on the first alarm, returned to Paris as soon as it subsided, and not only recovered some of these copies, but brought with them to London the presses, types, and printers, and resuming the work, finished it in the following year.

As soon as the papal power was abolished in England, and the king's supremacy settled by parliament in 1534, Cranmer was very assiduous in promoting the translation of the Holy Scripture into the vulgar tongue; well knowing how much the progress of the reformation depended upon this measure. Accordingly, he moved in convocation, that a petition should be presented to the king for leave to procure a new translation of the Bible. This motion was vigorously opposed by Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, and his party;

but Cranmer prevailed. The arguments for a new translation. urged by Cranmer, and enforced by Queen Anne Boleyn, who had then great interest in the king's affections, were so much considered by him, that, notwithstanding the opposition, public and private, on the part of Gardiner and his adherents, Henry gave orders for setting about it immediately. In April, 1539, Grafton and Whitchurch printed the Bible, under the following title: "The Byble in Englyshe, that is to saye, the contents of all the holy scripture bothe of ye olde and newe testament, truly translated after the veryte of the Hebrue and Greke textes by ye dylygent studye of diuerse excellent learned men, expert in the forsayde tonges. Printed by Rychard Grafton & Edward Whitchurch. Cum privilegio ad imprimendum solum." From its containing a prologue or preface by Cranmer, as well as from its size, it is commonly called "Cranmer's Great Bible." A magnificent and probably unique copy of it, on vellum (bound in three volumes), which formerly belonged to Henry VIII., is preserved in the Library of the British Museum.

In 1539 Richard Taverner endeavored to revise in some measure the very corrupt Bible of Matthew. His correction was a further corruption.

After the death of Cromwell, King Henry was brought to see that in truth the English translations were erroneous and heretical, and although the wily Cranmer strove to defeat such project, Parliament forbade Tyndale's version, and the King soon afterward prohibited, by royal proclamation, the having and reading of Wiclif's, Tyndale's and Coverdale's versions, and forbade the use of any other than that made by Parliament. Edward VI. revoked this decree.

In November, 1539, the king, at the intercession of Cranmer, appointed Lord Cromwell to take special care that no person within the realm should attempt to print any English Bible for five years, but such as should be admitted by Lord Cromwell; and assigns this reason for the prohibition, that the Bible should be considered and perused in one translation, in order to avoid the manifold inconveniences to which human frailty might be subject from a diversity of translations, and the ill use that might be made of it. In the year 1540, two privileged editions of the Bible, which had been printed in the preceding year, issued from the press of Edward Whitchurch. Lewis mentions three other impressions of the "Great Bible," which appeared in the course of this year; two printed by Whitchurch, and one by Peyt and Redman.

Cranmer wrote a preface for the editions of the year 1540, from which we learn the opinions and practice of those times. In May of this year, the curates and parishioners of every parish were required by royal proclamation, to provide themselves with the Bible of the largest volume before the feast of All Saints, under the penalty of 40s. for every month during which they should be without it.

During the course of this reign, that is, in less than seven years and six months, eleven impressions of the whole English Bible were published, and six of the English New Testament; besides an English translation of the whole New Testament, paraphrased by Erasmus. The Bibles were reprinted, according to the preceding editions, whether Tyndale's, Coverdale's, Matthew's, Cranmer's or Taverner's; that is, with a different text, and different notes. But it is doubted by the writer of the preface to King James's translation, whether there were any translation, or correction of a translation, in the course of this reign.

In 1557 William Whittingham published at Geneva the New Testament under the following title:

"The Newe Testament of our Lord Iesus Christ, conferred diligently with the Greke and best approued translations. With the arguments as well before the chapters, as for euery Boke & Epistle, also diuersities of readings, and most proffitable annotations of all harde places: whereunto is added a copious Table. At Geneva. Printed by Conrad Badius. 1560. 8vo."

It is the first in the English language which contains the distinction of verses by numerical figures. When Queen Elizabeth passed through London from the Tower to her coronation, a pageant was erected in Cheapside, representing Time coming out of a cave, and leading a person clothed in white silk, who represented Truth, his daughter. Truth had the English Bible in her hand, on which was written "Verbum veritatis." Truth addressed the queen, and presented her with the book. She kissed it, held it in her hand, laid it on her breast, greatly thanking the city for their present, and added, that she would often and diligently read it.

We could say verily that this Bible was much like Elizabeth, false and unholy.

In 1560 a translation of the entire Bible appeared at Geneva under the following title:

"The Bible: that is, the Holy Scriptures, conteyned in the Olde and Newe Testament. Translated according to the

Ebrue and Greke, and conferred with the best translations in divers languages, with most profitable annotations upon all the harde places, and other things of great importance, as may appeare in the Epistle to the Reader. At Geneva. Printed by Rouland Hall. MDLX. 4to."

A second edition of this translation appeared in folio at London, in 1561; a third in quarto, at Geneva, in 1563; a fourth, at Geneva, in 1569. It was reprinted at London in 1575, by Thomas Vautrollier; in 1576, by Christopher Barker, in folio, and also in quarto, and many times consequently by him and by other printers. The translators are commonly said to have been Miles Coverdale, pseudo bishop of Exeter, Anthony Gilby, and William Whittingham. Besides the translation, the editors of the Geneva Bible noted in the margin the diversities of speech and reading, especially according to the Hebrew; then inserted in the text, with another kind of letter, every word that seemed to be necessary for explaining any particular sentence; in the division of the verses, they followed the Hebrew examples, and added the number to each verse; they also noted the principal matters, and the arguments, both for each book and each chapter; they set over the head of every page some remarkable word or sentence, for helping the memory; they introduced brief annotations for ascertaining the text, and explaining obscure words; they set forth with figures certain places in the books of Moses, of Kings, and Ezekiel, which could not be made intelligible by any other description; they added maps of divers places and countries mentioned in the Old and New Testament; and they annexed two tables, one for the interpretation of Hebrew names, and the other containing all the chief matters of the whole Bible. Of this translation, numerous editions were printed in folio, 4to., or 8vo., between the years 1560 and 1616. This version is sometimes called the "Breeches Bible," because the translators rendered the ii of Genesis III. 7, by "breeches."

In the year 1598, the Bible, proposed by the pseudo Archbishop Parker three years before, was completed. In this edition, distinct portions of the Bible, at least fourteen in number, were allotted to select men of learning and ability, appointed, as Fuller says, by the Queen's commission; but it still remains uncertain who, and whether one or more, revised the rest of the New Testament. Eight of the persons employed were pseudo bishops; whence the book was called the "Bishops' Bible," and the "Great English Bible." In a letter addressed