of all this, with coupling of joints and proportion of body, will much allure to study, when it is seen how about one work, (religion and God's way of salvation,) all families, countries, and ages, build or pull down: and find the kindness or severity of God." The learned author took great pains to shew, that the heathen chronology contained numerous inconsistencies and contradictions, while the sacred history was perfectly clear from these imperfections. However, no sooner was his book published, than it met with great opposition. Archbishop Whitgift, at first, so exceedingly disliked the performance, that he would have called the author to an account for some things contained in it; but, to avoid the high commission, Mr. Broughton fled into Germany. This, indeed, greatly excited the general clamour against the book, and very much increased the number of its adversaries; nevertheless, Bishop Aylmer, in commendation of the work, said, "That one scholar of right judgment, would prove all its adver saries foolish."+ Notwithstanding this, Dr. Rainolds of Oxford, and Mr. Lively of Cambridge, both learned professors in those universities, read publicly against the book. Mr. Broughton used to call this work, "his little book of great pains:" for it cost him many years study; and when it was published, he had to write and publish in defence of it, against the exceptions of the above divines. By the allowance of the queen and council, he entered upon its defence, in public lectures in St. Paul's church, when the lord mayor, some of the most learned of the bishops, and other persons of distinction, were of his audience. Others of the bishops, however, could not endure these exercises, calling them dangerous conventicles; and therefore brought complaints against him, and put down his lecture. He and his friends afterwards assembled privately, at various places in the city, as they found opportunity.+ During Mr. Broughton's continuance in London, he mostly resided in the house of Mr. William Cotton; whose son, afterwards Sir Rowland Cotton, he instructed in the Hebrew language. His young pupil obtained so exact a knowledge of the language, that at the age of seven or eight years he could translate almost any chapter of the Bible into English, Biog. Britan. vol. ii. p. 606. + Strype's Aylmer, p. 249. Mr. Roger Cotton, brother to this person, was one of Mr. Broughton's true scholars. He read the whole Bible through twelve times in one year.→ Ibid. p. 4. Mr. and converse with the greatest ease in Hebrew. William Cowper, afterwards Bishop of Galloway, was another of his pupils.+ "In Mr. Broughton was a zealous advocate for the purity of the sacred text both of the Old and New Testament. the prophet Daniel's time, and afterwards," says he, "the sacred tongues were changed: it will not therefore be amiss to speak something of God's counsel in this matter. Adam and Eve's tongue continued, commonly spoken by the Jews, until the captivity of Babylon, and the understanding thereof, when Haggai and Zachary prophesied, in the next age. In this tongue every book of the Old Testament is written in a style inimitable. The characters and points are the same as those written by God on the two tables. The Masorites, of whom Ezra was chief, with an Arguseyed diligence so keep the letters and words, that none of them can perish. The sense of the tongue is preserved for us by the LXX, the N. T. And the Talmudic phrase by them, who in their schools still kept their tongue. By the help of the LXX. and N. T. we may excel all the rabbins. For their study is more easy to us than to them, in regard that they imitate the Greeks in their fables and expressions, and we have above them God, an heavenly interpreter for us in all the N. T. which, both for the infinite elegance and variety of its words, is most divinely eloquent. In it are the choice words of all kind of all Greek writers, nor can they all, without some fragments of the ancients, and the LXX. shew all the words in it. It hath also some new-framed words, as all chief authors have, and all brave expressions; so that if any one would study in another tongue to express the like elegancy, he may as well fly with Daedalus's waxwing, and miscarry in the attempt. In the N. T. is a fourfold Greek, 1. common; 2. the LXX. Greek; 3. the Apostolic; 4. the Talmudic. The uncorruptness of the N. T. text is undoubted to all who know the Hebrew tongue, history, and the exact Athenian eloquence. And such as pretend to correct it, do debase the majesty of both * This account may appear to some almost incredible. Mr. Broughton's method of instruction was singular. He had his young pupil constantly with him, and invariably required him to speak, both to himself and others, in Hebrew. He also drew up a vocabulary, which young Cotton constantly used. In this vocabulary he fixed on some place, or thing, then named all the particulars belonging to it: as, heaven, angels, sun, moon, stars, clouds, &c.; or, a house, door, window, parlour, &c.; a field, grass, flowers, trees, &c.-Ibid. + Clark's Eccl. Hist. p. 899. Testaments, by unskilful altering what God spake most divinely. The reading, therefore, of the apostles in these matters will call together Homer, Hesiod, Eschylus, Pindarus, and others of the coasts of Illyricum: as also Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Aratus, Menander, Callimachus, Epimenides, Plato, Aristotle, and all the orators and historians of Grecian writing in the time when this tongue flourished." He maintained that the gospel of St. Matthew was origi nally written in Greek. The New Testament," says he, "was all originally in Greek. St. Matthew's gospel was written at the first in that heavenly oratorious Greek which we now have: and if the Holy Ghost had written it in the Jews' Jerusalem Hebrew, the holy learned of old time would have kept it with more care than jewellers all precious stoncs. We accuse antiquity of great ungodliness, when we say St. Matthew wrote in Hebrew, but antiquity lost that gospel. So St. Paul wrote in Greek to the Hebrews, in those syllables which we have to this day; and the style hath allusions, which the Jews' tongue hath not: which sheweth the original to be in Greek. The apostles wrote the New Testament in Greek, with such skill, that they go through all kind of Greek writers. They have words in their little book, good Greek, which Greeks have only in fragments, reserved by God's providence to honour the New Testa ment."+ This is the high character which our divine gives of the elegance and purity of the apostolic writings. His sentiments were equally exalted concerning the sacred records of the Old Testament. He made the following observations upon the Book of Job: "There never was a book written," says he," since the pen became the tongue of a writer, of a more curious style than Job; in verse of many sorts, and use of words more nice than any Greek or Latin writeth; and for grammar, hath more tricks and difficulty than all the Bible beside, Arabizing much; but fuller of Hebrew depth of language. God saw it needful to honour with a style of all ornaments the particular case of Job, lest it should be despised or thought a feigned matter; and, therefore, gave that book a more curious style than any other part of the Bible; and such depth of skill in the tongue, as no rabbin could be thought ever to have in the holy tongue." Mr. Broughton, as we have already intimated, fled to Ibid. p. 609. syna Germany, where he had many disputations with Jews and Papists. Previous, however, to his departure, he wrote a letter, dated March 27, 1590, to his worthy friend Lord Burleigh, desiring permission to go abroad, particularly with a view to make use of King Casimir's library; and he no doubt obtained the favour. He was always firm and courageous in the defence of truth; on which account he sometimes brought himself into danger, by openly exposing the errors and superstitions of popery. He had a public disputation with Rabbi Elias, a learned Jew in the gogue at Frankfort. They disputed under an oath, that God might immediately strike him dead who should, on that occasion, speak contrary to the dictates of his conscience. In the conclusion, the Jew departed not without some proofs of advantage, desiring to be taught by his writings. An account of this conference was carried to Constantinople, where it excited very considerable attention among the Jews. Not only did Mr. Broughton's arguments in favour of christianity make a deep impression upon Rabbi Elias ; but he also adds, "After my return from Zurich, two Italian Jews came thither, and seeing what I had printed, especially upon Daniel, believed and were baptized, and came to Basil to see me." "Another," says he, "is now in England, as I hear; who, by my occasion, embraced the gospel."+ In the year 1591, Mr. Broughton returned from Germany, particularly with a view to settle the controversy betwixt himself and Dr. Rainolds. He had an earnest but absurd desire to have the dispute settled by public authority. In one of his addresses to the queen, he says, " Your majesty's signification of your princely determination would break young braving students, whom reason in such unexpected soils cannot bend.' Speaking of himself and his opponent, he says, "His fame of learning, and my more confident resistance, maketh many think that the scripture is hard, where our long labours differ. The fault is intolerable, either in him or in me; and the faulty should be forced to. yield, that none may think amiss of God's word. While divines jar in their narrations, faith is weakened, and all study of scripture; and old confirmed errors have disgraced all the holy story, that without the enforcement of authority, students will hardly yield to the truth.' He solicited the queen to command the archbishops, and both universities, Baker's MS. Collec. vol. iv. p. 93. + Clark's Lives, p. 6. to determine the points in contest between him and his learned opponent. Most persons at this period, and, among others, the learned Hugh Broughton, had very erroneous conceptions of the grand principles of protestantism; and their views of religious freedom were extremely inconsistent and absurd. The controversy, however, was not determined by public authority, but referred to the arbitration of Archbishop Whitgift and Bishop Aylmer. Though an entire pacification could not be effected, the result appears to have been greatly in favour of Mr. Broughton. For, although the archbishop exceedingly disliked Broughton's book, when it was first published; yet, upon cool and mature deliberation, he openly declared on this occasion, "That never any human pains were of greater travail and dexterity, to clear up the holy story, and against errors of fifteen hundred years standing, than appeared in the book of Consent."+ The following year Mr. Broughton again retired to Germany. He had a powerful adversary at court, who hindered him from obtaining those preferments which, it is said, the queen designed to confer upon him. Notwithstanding Whitgift's high opinion of his book, this potent adversary was the archbishop himself; who, it is positively affirmed, laid wait for him, and even offered a sum of money to any who would apprehend him. Mr. Broughton, in one of his addresses to the queen, complains that her majesty was prejudiced against him by means of the archbishop, whom he represents as a person of no great learning, and speaks of his bure Latin studies.§ Mr. Broughton, during his abode on the continent, formed an acquaintance with the learned Scaliger, Rephelengius, Junius, Beza, and other celebrated scholars. He received great favour from the Archbishop of Mentz, to whom he dedicated his translation of the prophets into Greek. He was highly esteemed by many of the learned Jesuits; and though he was a bold and inflexible enemy to popery, he was offered a cardinal's cap. The article of our Saviour's local descent into hell began about this time to be questioned. It had hitherto been the received doctrine of the church of England, that the soul of Christ, being separated from his body, descended locally into hell; that, as he had already conquered death Biog. Britan. vol. ii, p. 607. + Strype's Whitgift, p. 383. Biog. Britan. vol. il. p. 610. |