A defense of the sincere and true translations of the holie Scriptures into the English tong against the manifolde cauils, friuolous quarels, and impudent slaunders of Gregorie Martin, one of the readers of popish diuinitie in the trayterous Seminarie of Rhemes. By William Fvlke D. in Diuinitie, and M. of Pembroke haule in Cambridge. Wherevnto is added a briefe confutation of all such quarrels & cauils, as haue bene of late vttered by diuerse papistes in their English pamphlets, against the writings of the saide William Fvlke.

MART. 12. Wherefore great must the impudencie of Beza be (and of the English B••zites) that knowing this and pro∣testing it else where in his Annotations, yet here translateth, soro••em vxorem, a sister a wife, and saying after his lordly manner, I doubted not so to translate it, disputing and reasoning against al other interpreters both auncient & later, for the cō∣trary, yea and aff••ming that S. Paul him self, did foolishly, if* 1.1 he spake there, of other rich womē. Such a fansie he hath to make the Apostles not onely maried man, but that they caried about their wiues with them, & that they were the Apostles wiues, (for so he translateth it Act. 1. v. 14) that returned with them after* 1.2 our Lordes ascension to Hierusalem, and continued togither in praier til the holy Ghost came vpon them. Whereas S. Luke there speaketh so euidently of the other holy and faithful women which are famous in the Gospel (as the Maries and other) that the English Bezites them selues dare not here folow his transla∣tion. For I beseech you M. Beza (to turne my talke vnto you a litle) is there any circumstance or particle here added why i••* 1.3 should be translated wiues? none. then by your owne reason be∣fore alleaged it should rather be trs̄lated, women▪ Againe, did Erasmus translate well, saying, It is good for a man not to touch a wife? 1▪ Cor. 7. v. 1. No, say you, reprehending this translation, because it dehorteth from mariage. If not, shew your commissiō why you may translate in the foresaid places, wife, & wiues, at your pleasure: the Greeke being all one, both where you will not in any wise haue it translated, wife, and also where you will haue it so translated in any wise.

FVLK. 12. Nay great must be the impudencie of the Papists, that imagine the Apostles, which had wiues of their owne, did leaue them behinde them, and leade straung women aboute with them into all partes of the world. The first that inuented that glose of cōtinent wo∣men, such as followed Christ, was Tertullian, the Monta∣nist in his booke of Monogamy, which he wrote against the Church, condēning secōd mariage, & reprouing the

Latine translation of his time as it seemeth, which in this text. 1. Cor. 9. vsed the terme of vxor, by the ambiguitie of the Greeke word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, saying that if the Apostle had spo∣ken of matrimonie, he would haue vnderstood this of wiues, but seeing he speaketh De victuaria exhibitione, of the exhibition toward his liuing, he vnderstandeth it of such women as followed Christe. Than the which distin∣ction nothing can be more absurde: for speaking of ex∣hibition towarde his liuing, the Apostle sheweth, that he might haue lawfully charged the Church with finding, not only of him self, but also of his wife, as the other A∣postles did. Againe if rich womē did folow the Apostles, ministring to thē of their substance, as they folowed our Sauiour, this was no burden, but an easement vnto the Church, which the Apostle would not haue absteined frō as a thing burdenous to the Church of Corinth. Cōcer∣ning the other place Act. 1. v. 14. although perhaps it be not necessary, to translate wiues, yet it is necessary to vn∣derstand wiues. For to answere you in M. Bezaes name, who telleth you, that it was meete, as also Erasmus thin∣keth that their wiues should be co••firmed, who partly were to be companions of their trauaile and peregrina∣tiō, partly to tarie patiētly at home, while their husbāds were about the Lords businesse, and therfore their wiues also were present. Againe, what a shamefull absurditie were it, to thinke that the Apostles would tarie in a close house, so long togither with other women than their wiues, and shut out their owne wiues, which must needes haue bene subiect to great offense and obloquie. And what deuilish malice haue you agaynst the Apostles wiues, that you cānot abide, that they should ioyne with their husbandes in praier and supplication, and be made partakers of the holy Ghost with them, as well as other women, which were also maried women, Mary the wife of Cleophas, Ioanna the wife of Chuza, and other holy women, the mothers or wiues of holy men? Will you say the Apostles had no wiues? Peters wiues mother

will testifie againste you. Will you saye she was forsa∣ken* 1.4 by Peter? the storie of his martiredome, if it bee true, affirmeth, that she continued with him to his dy∣ing day: will you say, he had no matrimoniall compa∣nie with hir? his daughter Petronilla will beare witnes against you, so yong, that she was desired in marriage by Flaccus the Comes. Touching the place, 1. Corin. 7. where Erasmus translateth, vxorem, I haue answeared al∣readie, the circumstance of the place, doth argue, that it is spoken generally of continence, & not of abstinence in marriage only. And who is such a nouice in the greke tongue, that he knoweth not, that the worde 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifi∣eth, a wife or woman, as the circumstaunce of the place requireth, where it is vsed?

Notes

• * 1.1

  Inepte facer••••.
• * 1.2

  Cum vxoribus.
• * 1.3

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. Vxorem non tan∣gere. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.
• * 1.4

  Clemē. Reco. lib. 7. Cronica cronic. Fascicul. Temp.