of life open to question. What he was in these respects is found worthy of one who undertook to open the Word of God before the eyes of all the people. And by his work of translation, beyond all other kinds of influence exerted by . him, was the cause of reformed Christianity advanced in his native land. In that point of view there is nothing to mar the beauty of his career and the efficiency of his labours. Whatever he might be as a politician, a divine, and a social instructor, his labours on an English version of the Scriptures entitle him to the eulogium pronounced on Simon, the son of Onias: "Even as the morning star being in the midst of a cloud, and as the moon being full in her course, and as the bright beams of the sun, so doth he shine and glisten in the temple and church of God."

HAT there were two English versions of Scripture towards the end of the fourteenth century was long ago surmised, but only of late has the fact been clearly established and satisfactorily explained. Much confusion remained, even after the point of a double translation had been set at rest, since, for want of a careful collation of MSS., and the employment of sufficient critical skill upon the whole inquiry, it continued doubtful which of the two ascertained versions belonged to Wycliffe. As previously stated, editors made serious though excusable mistakes, printing, as did Baber and Offor, the second version instead of the first, under the reformer's name. The labours of Forshall and Madden have done much to disentangle the confused skein. They examined about one hundred and seventy MSS. and classified them, so as to obtain a distinctive text, which is entitled to the claim of priority. That is of right assigned

to Wycliffe, on grounds which appear in the preface to the valuable edition of 1850. Out of one hundred and seventy MSS., fifteen of the Old Testament and eighteen of the New belong to that version-the rest exhibit another of later date. Not one-fifth of these are earlier than the year 1408; the greater part seem to belong to about the second quarter of the century.

The second version appears to have been the work of John Purvey or Purnay, a zealous disciple of Wycliffe, who lived with his master and continued in his house to the day of his death. He was born near Olney, in Buckinghamshire, and after Wycliffe's decease he removed to Bristol, where through his zealous preaching he fell into trouble. Being apprehended, and also alarmed by the fate of the martyr Sautre, burnt for heresy, he retracted his opinions at St. Paul's Cross in the year 1400. After this Archbishop Chichele received the recanter, and gave him the vicarage of Hythe. Again he was accused of heresy, and again cast into prison, where, it is supposed, he ended his days. In a prologue to this version reference is made to "the English Bible late translated," by which Wycliffe's version is no doubt intended; and the author says that, in executing his labours, he had much travail with "divers fellows and helpers." As Purvey had been, for some time before Wycliffe's death, his companion and fellow-labourer, I think it probable that he had taken some part in the first version; but this second work, or rather revision, for it does not amount to more, was most likely executed mainly by himself. He says, "At the beginning I purposed, with God's help, to make the sentences as true and open in English as it is in Latin, either more true and more open than it is in Latin; and I pray for charity and for common profit of Christian souls,

for

that if any wise man find any default of the truth of translation, let him set in the true sentence and open of holy writ the common Latin Bibles have some need to be corrected, as many as I have seen in my life, than hath the English Bible late translated."* And, to show that Purvey did not lack an appreciation of moral as well as critical qualifications for such a task, another passage may be quoted from the same prologue: "He hath need to live a clean life, and be full devout in prayers, and have not his wit occupied about worldly things, that the Holy Spirit, author of wisdom and knowledge and truth, dress him in his work, and suffer him not to err." By this manner, with good living and great travail, men may come to true and clear translating and true understanding of Holy Writ, seem it never so hard at the beginning. God grant to us grace to ken well and keep well Holy Writ, and suffer joyfully some pain for it at the last."

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The word "Bible" is used by Purvey to denote the Holy Scriptures. He speaks of "a simple creature who hath translated the Bible out of Latin in English." Again, as we have seen, he refers to "the Bible late translated." The Saxons had employed the word "ge-writ," but not the word Bible, as a designation of inspired writings. "Bible is derived from the Greek Biblion; and Greek Fathers have recourse to the plural Biblia as a designation of Holy Writ. Biblia was employed by the Latins; and at length the neuter plural glided into a feminine singular; the French spoke of La Bible, and the Italians of La Bibbia. Through French, the appellation found its way into England. Chaucer has it in his House of Fame, to describe any * The prologue was printed in 1536, under the title of The Door of Holy Scripture, and in 1550 as The Pathway to Perfect Knowledge.

book. "Men might make of them a bible twenty foot thick." And he tells us, in the prologue to the Canterbury Tales, that the study of this doctor of physic "was but little on the bible."* As title-pages were unknown in those days, neither the title of "Bible" nor any other title was prefixed to the new translation.

The following extracts from Purvey's version, as printed by Forshall and Madden, are given, that the reader may compare them with the corresponding passages taken from Wycliffe: +

"Therfor whanne Jhesus was borun in Bethleem of Juda, in the daies of King Eroude, lo! astromyenes camen fro the eest to Jerusalem, and seiden, Where is he, that is borun King of Jewis? for we han seyn his sterre in the eest, and we comen to worschipe him. But king Eroude herde, and was trublid, and al Jerusalen with hym. And he gaderide to gidre alle the prynces of prestis, and scribis of the puple, and enqueride of hem, where Crist shulde be borun" (Matt. ii. 1-4).

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Poul, the seruaunt of Jhesu Crist, clepid an apostle, departid in to the Gospel of God; which he hadde bihote tofore bi his profetis in holi scripturis of his sone, which is maad to hym of the seed of Dauid bi the flesch, and he was bifor ordeyned the sone of God in vertu, bi the spirit of halewyng of the agen-risyng of deed men, of Jhesu Crist oure Lord, bi whom we han resseyued grace and the office of apostle, to obeie to the feith in alle folkis for his name, among whiche 3e ben also clepid of Jhesu Crist, to alle that ben at Rome, derlyngis of God, and clepid hooli, grace to 3ou, and pees of God oure fadir, and of the Lord Jhesu Crist" (Rom. i. 1-7.)