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that he, the time was, had set forth the translation of the Seventy suae linguae hominibus, i.e., for
his countrymen of Dalmatia [S. Jerome. Sophronio.] Which words not only Erasmus doth understand
to purport, that S. Jerome translated the Scripture into the Dalmatian tongue, but also Sixtus Senensis
[Six. Sen. lib 4], and Alphonsus a` Castro [Alphon. lb 1 ca 23] (that we speak of no more) men not
to be excepted against by them of Rome, do ingenuously confess as much. So, S. Chrysostom that
lived in S. Jerome’s time, giveth evidence with him: “The doctrine of S. John [saith he] did not in
such sort [as the Philosophers’ did] vanish away: but the Syrians, Egyptians, Indians, Persians,
Ethiopians, and infinite other nations being barbarous people translated it into their [mother] tongue,
and have learned to be [true] Philosophers,” he meaneth Christians. [S. Chrysost. in Johan. cap.I.
hom.I.] To this may be added Theodoret, as next unto him, both for antiquity, and for learning. His
words be these, “Every Country that is under the Sun, is full of these words (of the Apostles and
Prophets) and the Hebrew tongue [he meaneth the Scriptures in the Hebrew tongue] is turned not
only into the Language of the Grecians, but also of the Romans, and Egyptians, and Persians, and
Indians, and Armenians, and Scythians, and Sauromatians, and briefly into all the Languages that
any Nation useth. [Theodor. 5. Therapeut.] So he. In like manner, Ulfilas is reported by Paulus
Diaconus and Isidor (and before them by Sozomen) to have translated the Scriptures into the Gothic
tongue: [P. Diacon. li. 12.] John Bishop of Sevil by Vasseus, to have turned them into Arabic, about
the year of our Lord 717; [Vaseus in Chron. Hispan.] Bede by Cistertiensis, to have turned a great
part of them into Saxon: Efnard by Trithemius, to have abridged the French Psalter, as Beded had
done the Hebrew, about the year 800: King Alfred by the said Cistertiensis, to have turned the
Psalter into Saxon: [Polydor. Virg. 5 histor.] Methodius by Aventinus (printed at Ingolstadt) to
have turned the Scriptures into Slavonian: [Aventin. lib. 4.] Valdo, Bishop of Frising by Beatus
Rhenanus, to have caused about that time, the Gospels to be translated into Dutch rhythm, yet extant
in the Library of Corbinian: [Circa annum 900. B. Rhenan. rerum German. lib 2.] Valdus, by divers
to have turned them himself into French, about the year 1160: Charles the Fifth of that name,
surnamed the Wise, to have caused them to be turned into French, about 200 years after Valdus his
time, of which translation there be many copies yet extant, as witnesseth Beroaldus. Much about
that time, even in our King Richard the second’s days, John Trevisa translated them into English,
and many English Bibles in written hand are yet to be seen with divers, translated as it is very
probable, in that age. So the Syrian translation of the New Testament is in most learned men’s
Libraries, of Widminstadius his setting forth, and the Psalter in Arabic is with many, of Augustinus
Nebiensis’ setting forth. So Postel affirmeth, that in his travel he saw the Gospels in the Ethiopian
tongue; And Ambrose Thesius allegeth the Pslater of the Indians, which he testifieth to have been
set forth by Potken in Syrian characters. So that, to have the Scriptures in the mother tongue is not
a quaint conceit lately taken up, either by the Lord Cromwell in England, [Thuan.] or by the Lord
Radevile in Polony, or by the Lord Ungnadius in the Emperor’s dominion, but hath been thought
upon, and put in practice of old, even from the first times of the conversion of any Nation; no doubt,
because it was esteemed most profitable, to cause faith to grow in men’s hearts the sooner, and to
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