THE LATIN SERVICE. 467
jjublic synagogue worship, made nse of a translation of the Scrip- ture into Greek, which was now become their vulgar tongue, and that made either by the Seventy-two elders sent from Jerusalem to Ptolemy Philadelphus, or, which is more probable, by the Jews of Alexandria, unto which city multitudes of them repaired, the nation being made free of it by its founder; or, it may be, some \An\e after, by the priest Onias, who led a great colony of them into Egypt, and there built them a temple for their worship. So did these Hebrews make use of a translation when their own tongue ceased to be vulgar unto them. The monster of serving God by rational men with a tongue whereof they understand never a word, was not yet hatched. The other portion of the people, who either lived in Palestine or those parts of the east where the Greek tongue never prevailed into common use, so soon as their language began to be mixed with the Syro-Chaldean, and the purity of it to grow into disuse, made use constantl}^ of their Targimis, or translations into that tongue. Neither can it be proved but that the Jerusalem Jews understood the Hebrew well enough until the destruction of the city and temple by Titus. So that from the church of the Jews you cannot obtain the least coimtenance to your practice. And there lies in God's dealing with them a strong argument and testimony against it; for if God him- self thought meet to intrust his oracles unto his people in that lan- guage which was common unto them all, hath he not taught us that it is his will they should still be so continued? And is there not still the same reason for it as there was at first? 2. Farther: the practice of the Latin church is unavoidably against you; for whereas the Scripture was no part of it ^vl■itten in Latin, which was their vulgar tongue, it was immediately, both Old Testament and New, turned thereinto, and therein used, as in their public worship, so by private persons of all sorts, upon the encouragement of the rulers of it.' And no reason of their translation of it, which they made and had from time immemorial, can possibly be imagined, but only the indispensable necessity which they apprehended of having the Scripture in a language which the people did generally speak and understand. S. The case was the same in the ancient Greek church. The New Testament was originally written in their own vulgar tongue, which they made use of accordingly ; and as for the Old, they constantly used a translation of it into the same dialect. So that it is impossible that we can obtain a clearer suffrage from the ancient churches, both Jews and Christians, and these both of Latins and Greeks, in any thing, than we have against this custom of your church. " But these languages," you say, " have ceased to be vulgar for some thousand years to your knowledge." " Bona verba!" You know much, I 2:)erceive, yet not so much but that it
468 A VINDICATION OF THE ANIMADVERSIONS ON FIAT LUX.
is possible you may sometimes fail in yom* chronological faculty. Pray, how many thousand years is it, think you, since Christ's birth, now this year 1 663 ; or since the ruin of the Greek or Latin empire, and therein the corruption of their languages? I believe you will not find it above three or four thousand at the most, upon your next calculation ; though I can assure you an ingenious person told me he thought, from the manner of your speaking, you might guess at some nine or ten. What then? " Was the Bible," say you, " put into other vulgar tongues when they ceased to be vulgar?" Yes, by some they were: Jerome translated it into the Dalmatian tongue; Ulphilas into the Gothish ; Beda a great part of it into the Saxon ; and the like, no doubt, was done by others. The eastern countries, also, to whom the Greek was not so well known, had translations of their own from the very beginning of their Christianity. And for the rest, shall the wretched negligence of men in times of confusion and ignorance, — such as those were wherein the Greek and Latin tongues ceased to be vulgar, — prescribe a rule and law unto us of practice in the worship of God contrary to his own direction, the nature of the thing itself, and the example of all the churches of Christ for five hundred years? For besides that in the empire it was always used and read in the vulgar tongues, those nations that knew not the two great languages that were commonly spoken there- in, from the time that they received the Christian faith, took care to have the Scriptures translated into their own mother-tongue. So Chi-ysostom tells us that the Gospel of John, wherein occasionally he especially instanceth, was in his days translated into the S}Tian, Egyptian, Indian, Persian, and Ethiopian languages, Hom. i. on John. But you say, " Did the church, either of the Hebrews or Chris- tians, Greek or Latin, ever deliver it translated to the generality of the people, or use it in their service, or command it so to be done, as a thing of general concernment? So far is it from that, that they would never permit it." But you do not sufficiently consider what you say. The Hebrew church had no need so to do. God gave the Scripture unto it in their own mother-tongue, and that only ; and they had no reason to translate it out of their knowledge and understanding. * The Greek church had the New Testament in the same manner, and the Old they translated, or delivered it so translated by others, unto the generality of the people, and used it in their service. The Latin church did so also. The Scriptures, both of the Old and New Testa- ment also, being originally written in languages unknown vulgarly unto them, they had them translated into their own common tongue for the generality of the people, and used that translation in their public service. The same was the practice of the Syrians and all other nations of old that had a language in conmion use peculiar to