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for the restoration of the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. But the work principally prospered in the hands of the first reformers, as they were all of them generally skilled in the Hebrew, — some of them, as Capito, Bibliander, Fagius, Munster, to that height and usefulness that they may well be reckoned as the fathers and patriarchs of that learning. At that time lived Elias Levita, the most learned of the Jews of that age, whose grammatical writings were of huge importance in the studying of that tongue. This man, as he was acquainted with many of the first re- formers, so he lived particularly with Paulas Fagius, as I have elsewhere declai'ed. Now, in one book which in those days he published, called " Masoreth Hamma- soreth," he broached a new opinion, not much heard of, at least not at all received, among the Jews, nor, for aught that yet appears, once mentioned by Christians before, namely, that the points or vowels, and accents, used in the Hebrew Bible were invented by some critical Jew or Masorete, living at Tiberias about five or six hundred years after Christ. No doubt the man's aim was to reduce the world of Christians to a dependence on the ancient Rabbins for the whole sense of the Scrip- ture. " Hinc prima mali labes." Here lies the first breach in this matter. The fraud being not discovered, and this opinion being broached and confirmed by the great and almost only master of the language of that age, some even of the first re- formers embraced his fancy. Perhaps Zuinglius had spoken to it before ; justly I know not. After a while, the poison of this error beginning to operate, the Papists, waiting on the mouths of the reformers, like the servants of Benhadad on Ahab, to catch at every word that might fall from them to their advantage, began to make use of it. Hence Cochlaeus (lib. de Auth. Scripturje, cap. v.) applauds Luther for saying the Jews had con-upted the Bible with points and dis- tinctions; as well he might, for nothing could be spoken more to the advantage of his cause against him. Wherefore other learned men began to give opposition to this error ; so did Munster, Junius, and others, as will be shown in the ensuing discourse. Thus this matter rested for a season. The study of the Hebrew tongue and learning being cari-ied on, it fell at length on him who undoubtedly hath done more real service for the promotion of it than any one man whatever, Jew or Christian ; I mean Buxtorfius the elder. His Thesaurus Grammaticus, his Tiberias, or Commentarius Masorethicus, his Lexicons and Concordances, and many other treatises, whereof some are not yet published, evince this to all the world. Even Morinus saith that he is the only man among Christians that ever thoroughly understood the Masora; and Simeon de Muis acknowledgeth his pro- fiting by him and learning from.him. Other Jews who undertake to be teachers know nothing but what they learn of him. To omit the testimony of all sorts of learned men, giving him the pre-eminence in this learning, it may suffice that his works praise liim. Now, this man, in his Tiberias, or Commentarius Masorethi- cus, printed with the great Rabbinical Bible of his own correct setting forth at Basil, anno 1620, considei-eth at large this whole matter of the points, and dis- covereth the vanity of Elias' pretension about the Tiberian Ma-;oi'etes. But we must not, it seems, rest here ; within a few years after, to make way for another design, which then he had conceived, Ludovicus Cappellus published a discourse in the defence of the opinion of Elias (at least so far as concerned the rise of tlie punctuation), under the title of '•' Arcanum Punctationis Revelatum." The book was published by Erpenius, without the name of the author. But the person was sufficiently known ; and Rivetus not long after took notice of him, and saith he was his friend, but concealed his name. (Isag. ad Scrip., i. cap. 8.) This new attempt immediately pleaseth some. Among others, our learned professor, Dr Prideau.x, reads a public lecture, on the vespers of our Comitia, on that subject; wherein, though he prefaceth his discourse with an observation of the advantage the Papists make of that opinion of the novelty of the points, and the danger of it, yet upon
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the matter he falls in wholly with Cappellus, though he names him not. Among the large encomiums of himself and his work, printed by Cappellus in the close of his " Critica Sacra," there are two letters from one Mr Eyre here in Eng- land ; in on« whereof he tells him that without doubt the Doctor read on that subject by the help of his book, as indeed he useth his arguments and quotes his treatise, under the name of " Sud Hanisebhoth Hanaegalah." But that, I say, which seems to me most admirable in the Doctor's discourse is, that whereas he had prefaced it with the weight of the controversy he had in hand, by the advan- tage the Papists make of the opinion of the novelty of the points, citing their words to that purpose, himself in the body of his Exercitations falls in with them, and speaks the very things which he seemed before to have blamed. And by this means this opinion, tending so greatly to the disparagement of the authority of the originals, is crept in amongst Protestants also. Of the stop put unto its progress by the full and learned answer of Buxtorfius the younger (who alone in this learn- ing, in this age, seems to answer his father's worth) unto Cappellus, in his dis- course, " De Punctorum Vocalium Antiquitate," I shall speak more afterward. However, it is not amiss fallen out that the masters of this new persuasion are not at all agreed among themselves. Cappellus would have it easy to understand the Hebrew text, and every word, though not absolutely by itself, yet as it lies in its contexture, though there were no points at all. Morinus would make the language altogether unintelligible on that account. The one saith that the points are a late invention of the Rabbins ; and the other, that without them the under- standing of the Hebrew is l» tuv dluvaTuv. yet though they look diverse ways, there is a firebrand between them. But we have this brand brought yet nearer to the church's bread-corn in the Prolegomena to the Biblia Polyglotta, lately printed at London. The solemn espousal of this opinion of the Hebrew punctuation in that great work was one chief occasion of the second discourse, as you will find it at large declared in the entrance of it. I dare not mention the desperate conse- quences that attend this imagination, being affrighted, among other things, by a little treatise lately sent me (upon the occasion of a discourse on this subject) by my worthy and learned friend Dr Ward, entitled " Fides Divina;" wherein its authoi-, whoever he be, from some princij^les of this nature, and unwary expres- sions of some learned men amongst us, labours to eject and cast out as useless the whole Scripture or Word of God. I should have immediately retui-ned an answer to that pestilent discourse, but that upon consideration I found all his ob- jections obviated or answered in the ensuing treatises, which were then wholly finished. And this, as I said, was the first way whereby the poison of undervalu- ing the originals crept in among Protestants themselves.