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. As (for example) in this controuersie con∣cerning Sainctes, S. Peter speaketh so ambiguously, either, that he wil remember them after his death, or they shall remember him, that some of the Greeke fathers gathered, and concluded there vppon (Oecum. in Caten. Gagneius in hunc locum) that the Saincts in heauen remember vs on earth, and make in∣tercession for vs. Which ambiguitie both in the Greeke, and the Latine, shoulde be also kept and expressed in the Englishe translation, and wee haue endeuoured as neere as we could pos∣sibly so to make it, because of the diuers interpretations of the auncient fathers. But it maye seeme perhaps to the reader, that the saide ambiguitie cannot be kept in our English tongue, and that our owne translation also can haue but one sense. If it bee so, and if there bee a necessitie of one sense, then (as I saide) the translator in that respect is excused. But let the good rea∣der consider also, that the Caluinistes in restraining the sense of this place, followe not necessitie, but their heresie, that Saints

pray not for vs. Which is euident by this, that they restraine it in their Latine translations also, where there is no necessitie at al, but it might be as ambiguous and indifferent, as in greke, if it pleased them: yea, when they print the Greeke Testament onely, wythout any translation, yet here they put the Latine in the margent, according as they wil haue it read, and as thoughe it might be read no otherwise, than they prescribe.

FVLK. 12. Oecumenius, who liued in a superstiti∣ous time, telleth, that some men vnderstoode thys say∣ing of Peter, by an hyperbaton, &c. meaning to shewe, that the saincts, euē after their death, do remember those things, which they haue done here, for them that are a∣liue. But other handling this matter plainely, &c. doe giue the vsuall sense. First Oecumenius counteth thys an enforced exposition, because it cannot stand, but by an hyperbaton. Secondly, he speaketh neuer a word of the intercession of Saincts for vs. Thirdly, he prese••reth the common sense, that al the fathers before him giuen of this text, as plaine and simple, and yet this must be sufficient for vs to change our iuterpretation, although we were put in faulte immediately before, as thoughe we made one doctors interpretation, a sufficient ground of our translation. Yet is not this an opinion approo∣ued, but reported onely by Oecumenius▪ and Oecume∣nius himselfe, a Doctour of as little authoritie, as anye other, in respect of the late season, in whyche he liued. As for Gagneius, that came after him, who seeth not how little we are to accompt of his credite, that would wreste the deciding of an vnprofitable question, out of this place, whether Sainctes make intercession for vs, whiche, if it were graunted, it foloweth not, that wee must make intercession to them.

Notes

• 2. Pet. 1. v. 15.
• 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.
• Eeza.
• No. Test. Grae. Henr. Steph. an. 1576.