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. 3. Neede we take any great labour to proue this

to be a foule corruption, or that it is done purposely, whē he con∣fesseth that he thus translateth because else it woulde serue the Papistes? Which is as much to say, as, the word of God if it be truly and sincerely translated, maketh in deede for them. For the first part, we will not stand vpon it, partly because it is of it selfe most absurd, and they are ashamed of it: partly because it shall susfise to confute Beza, that two other as famous heretikes as he, Castalio and Flaccus Illyricus write against him in this point, and confute him: partly also, because we speake not here vniuersally of all hereticall translations, but of the English cor∣ruptions specially, & therfore we may only note here, how glad∣ly they also would say somwhat else for, soule, euen in the text, if they durst for shame: for in the margent of that English trās∣lation, they say, or life, or person: thereby aduertising the Rea∣der, that he may reade thus, if it please him, Thou shalt not leaue my life in the graue, or, Thou shalt not leaue my person. As though either mans soule or life were in the graue, or, anima, might be translated person, which the selfe same Englishe Bible doeth not, no not in those places where it is eui∣dent that it signifieth the whole person. For though this worde soule, by a figure, is sometime taken for the whole man, yet e∣uen there they doe not, nor must not translate it otherwise than soule: beause our tongue beareth that figure as well as Latine, Greeke, or Hebrue: but here, where it can not signifie the whole person, it is wicked to translate it so.

FVLK. 3. If you take more labour than you are wel able to beare, yet shall you proue it no hereticall corru∣ption. As Castaleo, and Illyricus, the one an heretike, the other a schismatike, haue inueyed against Beza, so hath he sufficiently confuted them. But to our English trans∣lation, where in the margent, they say, life, or person, when in the text they say soule: what doeth this offende you? They render the vsuall English word for the Greke word, but they admonish the reader, that the word soule in this place signifieth not the soule separated from the bodie▪ but either the life, or the whole person. Because that although the bodie onely be layed in the graue▪ yet

according to vulgar speache and sense, the whole man is sayed to be buried, and his life seemeth to be inclosed in the graue, according to which popular and humane con∣ceyt, the Prophet in that Psalme speaketh, as appeareth in the later parte of that verse, which is all one in sense with the former. Neither wilt thou giue thy holy one to see corruption: where corruption which is proper onely to the bodie is there spoken generally of the whole man. If this expositiō please you not, yet you haue no cause to finde fault with the translation, which in that place is ac∣cording to the cōmon and ordinarie signification of the Greeke worde 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, soule. Which as it is somtime taken for the whole person, as you note, Act. 7. 14. So is it here, as the later parte of the verse doth most plainly declare.

Notes

• Bib. an. 1579.
• Act. 7. v. 14.
• Act. 2.