OF THE ENGLISH BIBLE BY BROOKE FOSS WESTCOTT, D.D. THIRD EDITION REVISED BY WILLIAM ALDIS WRIGHT, VICE-MASTER OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE London: MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1905 [All Rights reserved] LIBRARY UNIVERSITY C.. CALIFORNIA Εὐλόγως ὁ Διδάσκαλος ἡμῶν ἔλεγεν Γίνεσθε τραπεζῖται Δόκιμοι. First Edition, Crown 8vo. 1868, Second Edition, Crown 8vo. 1872, Third Edition revised by William Aldis Wright, 8vo. 1905 IN PREFACE. N the following Essay I have endeavoured to call attention to some points in the history of the English Bible which have been strangely neglected. The history of our Bible is indeed a type of the history of our Church, and both histories have suffered the same fate. The writers who have laboured most successfully upon them have in the main confined themselves to outward facts without tracing the facts back to their ultimate sources, or noticing the variety of elements which go to form the final result. As far as I know no systematic inquiry into the internal history of our Authorised Version has yet been made, and still no problem can offer greater scope for fruitful research. To solve such a problem completely would be a work of enormous labour, and I have been forced to content myself with indicating some salient points in the solution, in the hope that others may correct and supplement the conclusions which I have obtained. It is at least something to know generally to what extent Tindale and Coverdale made use of earlier versions, and to be able to refer to their sources most of the characteristic readings of Matthew's New Testament and of the Great Bibles1. 1 Perhaps I may be allowed to mention one or two collations which would certainly furnish some valuable results. (1) A collation of the Grenville Fragment with the smaller Tindale's Testament of 1525. (2) A collation of Tindale's Testaments of 1534 and 1535 with the New Testament in Matthew's Bible of 1537. (3) A collation of Tindale's Pentateuchs of 1530 and 1534 with Matthew's Bible 1537, for which Mr Offor's MSS. in the British Museum would be available as a verification (see p. 208, n.). (4) A collation of numerous select passages in the Great Bibles of 1539, W. b |