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. 9. But this doth not so well like the Protestants, which* with Hymenaeus, and Alexander, and other olde Here∣tike••,* 1.1 haue fallen from their first faith, and therefore they alter the Apostles plaine speech, with certaine wordes of their owne, and they will not haue him say, Be vnmoueable in the faith and

Gospell which you haue heard and receiued: but, whereof you haue heard, howe that it is preached: as though he spake not of the Gospell preached to them, but of a Gospell which they had onely heard of, that was preached in the world. Certaine it is, these wordes, whereof you haue heard, how it was prea∣ched, are not so in the Greeke: but, which you haue heard, which hath bene preached. Which is as much to say, as that they should continue constant in the faith and Gospell, which them selues had receiued▪ and which was then preached, and re∣ceiued, in the whole word. So say we to our deere countriemen, Stande fast in the faith, and be vnmoueable from the hope of the Gospell, which you heard of your first Apostles, which was, and is preached in all the world. If the Protestants like not this exhortation, they do•• according to their translation.

FVLK. 9. The Lorde is witnesse, there is nothing liketh the Protestants better, than that all nations should continue grounded, and stable in that faith and Gospell, which they had heard, & receaued of their first Apostles: but in this place, our translators vnderstande, not onely that continuance in the Gospell, but also they compre∣hend the mysterie of the preaching of the Gospell, to the Gentiles, whereof the Apostle in this text, beginneth to speake, that the Collossians might know, that they haue bene enstructed in that Gospel, which at such time as the Apostle did write vnto them, had bene spread by prea∣ching, according to our Sauiour Christes commaunde∣ment, ouer all the world.

As for your brutish collection, as though he spake not of the Gospell preached to them, but of a Gospel, which they had onely heard of, that was preached in the world.

What ground can it haue of our translation, according to the sense I shewe, that the tran∣slators followed? Is it possible they should continue in a Gospel that was not preached vnto them, but whereof they had heard onely a fame, that it was preached to o∣thers? The whole context before, inforceth as much as you say, is the sense of the place. And the vulgar transla∣tor seemeth to fauour this sense, that our translators fol∣low,

rather than that bare translation of yours, because he sayth not, à spe Euangelij, quod audistis praedicati in vni∣uersa creatura, &c. but, à spe Euangelij quod audistis, quod praedicatum est in vniuersa creatura. The words of the ex∣hortation you make to your countrymen, are wel to be liked, if your meaning were as good. But when by the Gospell, you meane popish traditions, by your first A∣postles, not the Apostles of Christ, but of the Bishop of Rome, by, which was preached in all the worlde, the doctrine of Antichristian apostasie, we are so to consider, that vnder so good and holy wordes, so diuilish and de∣testable a meaning is craftily couered, and cloked with hypocrisie.

Notes

• * 1.1

  1. Tim. 1. & 6.