a study of bible-第2章

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ipped　away　from　the　group　in　shame　and　had　made　his　rounds　of　the　horses　and　cattle　under　his　care；　he　fell　asleep　in　the　stable　building；　and　heard　a　voice　in　his　sleep　bidding　him　sing。　When　he　declared　he　could　not；　the　voice　still　bade　him　sing。　〃What　shall　I　sing？〃　he　asked。　〃Sing　the　first　beginning　of　created　things。〃　And　the　words　came　to　him；　and；　still　dreaming；　he　sang　his　first　hymn　to　the　Creator。　In　the　morning　he　told　his　story；　and　the　Lady　Abbess　found　that　he　had　the　divine　gift。　The　monks　had　but　to　translate　to　him　bits　of　the　Bible　out　of　the　Latin；　which　he　did　not　understand；　into　his　familiar　Anglo…Saxon　tongue；　and　he　would　cast　it　into　the　rugged　Saxon　measures　which　could　be　sung　by　the　common　people。　So　far　as　we　can　tell；　it　was　so；　that　the　Bible　story　became　current　in　Anglo…Saxon　speech。　Bede　himself　certainly　put　the　Gospel　of　John　into　Anglo…Saxon。　At　the　Bodleian　Library；　at　Oxford；　there　is　a　manuscript　of　nearly　twenty　thousand　lines；　the　metrical　version　of　the　Gospel　and　the　Acts；　done　near　1250　by　an　Augustinian　monk　named　Orm；　and　so　called　the　Ormulum。　There　were　other　metrical　versions　of　various　parts　of　the　Bible。　Midway　between　Bede　and　Orm　came　Langland's　poem；　〃The　Vision　of　Piers　Plowman；〃　which　paraphrased　so　much　of　the　Scripture。

Yet　the　fact　is　that　until　the　last　quarter　of　the　fourteenth　century　there　was　no　prose　version　of　the　Bible　in　the　English　language。　Indeed；　there　was　only　coming　to　be　an　English　language。　It　was　gradually　emerging；　taking　definite　shape　and　form；　so　that　it　could　be　distinguished　from　the　earlier　Norman　French；　Saxon；　and　Anglo…Saxon；　in　which　so　much　of　it　is　rooted。

As　soon　as　the　language　grew　definite　enough；　it　was　inevitable　that　two　things　should　come　to　pass。　First；　that　some　men　would　attempt　to　make　a　colloquial　version　of　the　Bible；　and；　secondly；　that　others　would　oppose　it。　One　can　count　with　all　confidence　on　these　two　groups　of　men；　marching　through　history　like　the　animals　into　the　ark；　two　and　two。　Some　men　propose；　others　oppose。　They　are　built　on　those　lines。

We　are　more　concerned　with　the　men　who　made　the　versions；　but　we　must　think　a　moment　of　the　others。　One　of　his　contemporaries；　Knighton；　may　speak　for　all　in　his　saying　of　Wiclif；　that　he　had；　to　be　sure；　translated　the　Gospel　into　the　Anglic　tongue；　but　that　it　had　thereby　been　made　vulgar　by　him；　and　more　open　to　the　reading　of　laymen　and　women　than　it　usually　is　to　the　knowledge　of　lettered　and　intelligent　clergy；　and　〃thus　the　pearl　is　cast　abroad　and　trodden　under　the　feet　of　swine〃；　and；　that　we　may　not　be　in　doubt　who　are　the　swine；　he　adds：　〃The　jewel　of　the　Church　is　turned　into　the　common　sport　of　the　people。〃

But　two　strong　impulses　drive　thoughtful　men　to　any　effort　that　will　secure　wide　knowledge　of　the　Bible。　One　is　their　love　of　the　Bible　and　their　belief　in　it；　but　the　other；　dominant　then　and　now；　is　a　sense　of　the　need　of　their　own　time。　It　cannot　be　too　strongly　urged　that　the　two　great　pioneers　of　English　Bible　translation；　Wiclif　and　Tindale；　more　than　a　century　apart；　were　chiefly　moved　to　their　work　by　social　conditions。　No　one　could　read　the　literature　of　the　times　of　which　we　are　speaking　without　smiling　at　our　assumption　that　we　are　the　first　who　have　cared　for　social　needs。　We　talk　about　the　past　as　the　age　of　the　individual；　and　the　present　as　the　social　age。　Our　fathers；　we　say；　cared　only　to　be　saved　themselves；　and　had　no　concern　for　the　evils　of　society。　They　believed　in　rescuing　one　here　and　another　there；　while　we　have　come　to　see　the　wisdom　of　correcting　the　conditions　that　ruin　men；　and　so　saving　men　in　the　mass。　There　must　be　some　basis　of　truth　for　that；　since　we　say　it　so　confidently；　but　it　can　be　much　over…accented。　There　were　many　of　our　fathers；　and　of　our　grandfathers；　who　were　mightily　concerned　with　the　mass　of　people；　and　looked　as　carefully　as　we　do　for　a　corrective　of　social　evils。　Wiclif；　in　the　late　fourteenth　century；　and　Tindale；　in　the　early　sixteenth；　were　two　such　men。　The　first　English　translations　of　the　Bible　were　fruits　of　the　social　impulse。

Wiclif　was　impressed　with　the　chasm　that　was　growing　between　the　church　and　the　people；　and　felt　that　a　wider　and　fuller　knowledge　of　the　Bible　would　be　helpful　for　the　closing　of　the　chasm。　It　is　a　familiar　remark　of　Miss　Jane　Addams　that　the　cure　for　the　evils　of　democracy　is　more　democracy。　Wiclif　believed　that　the　cure　for　the　evils　of　religion　is　more　religion；　more　intelligent　religion。　He　found　a　considerable　feeling　that　the　best　things　in　religion　ought　to　be　kept　from　most　people；　since　they　could　not　be　trusted　to　understand　them。　His　own　feeling　was　that　the　best　things　in　religion　are　exactly　the　things　most　people　ought　to　know　most　about；　that　people　had　better　handle　the　Bible　carelessly；　mistakenly；　than　be　shut　out　from　it　by　any　means　whatever。　We　owe　the　first　English　translation　to　a　faith　that　the　Bible　is　a　book　of　emancipation　for　the　mind　and　for　the　political　life。

John　Wiclif　himself　was　a　scholar　of　Oxford；　master　of　that　famous　Balliol　College　which　has　had　such　a　list　of　distinguished　masters。　He　was　an　adviser　of　Edward　III。　Twenty　years　after　his　death　a　younger　contemporary　（W。　Thorpe）　said　that　〃he　was　considered　by　many　to　be　the　most　holy　of　all　the　men　of　his　age。　He　was　of　emaciated　frame；　spare；　and　well　nigh　destitute　of　strength。　He　was　absolutely　blameless　in　his　conduct。〃　And　even　that　same　Knighton　who　accused　him　of　casting　the　Church's　pearl　before　swine　says　that　in　philosophy　〃he　came　to　be　reckoned　inferior　to　none　of　his　time。〃

But　it　was　not　at　Oxford　that　he　came　to　know　common　life　so　well　and　to　sense　the　need　for　a　new　social　influence。　He　came　nearer　to　it　when　he　was　rector　of　the　parish　at　Lutterworth。　As　scholar　and　rector　he　set　going　the　two　great　movements　which　leave　his　name　in　history。　One　was　his　securing；　training；　and　sending　out　a　band　of　itinerant　preachers　or　〃poor　priests〃　to　gather　the　people　in　fields　and　byways　and　to　preach　the　simple　truths　of　the　Christian　religion。　They　were　unpaid；　and　lived　by　the　kindness　of　the　common　people。　They　came　to　be　called　Lollards；　though　the　origin　of　the　name　is　obscure。　Their　followers　received　the　same　name。　A　few　years　after　Wiclif's　death　an　enemy　bitterly　observed　that　if　you　met　any　two　men　one　was　sure　to　be　a　Lollard。　It　was　the　〃first　time　in　English　history　that　an　appeal　had　been　made　to　the　people　instead　of　the　scholars。〃　Religion　was　to　be　made　rather　a　matter　of　practical　life　than　of　dogma　or　of　ritual。　The　〃poor　priests〃　in　their　cheap　brown　robes　became　a　mighty　religious　force；　and　evoked　opposition　from　the　Church　powers。　A　generation　after　Wiclif's　death　they　had　become　a　mighty　political　force　in　the　controversy　between　the　King　and　the　Pope。　As　late　as　1521　five　hundred　Lollards　were　arrested　in　London　by　the　bishop。＇1＇　Wiclif's　purpose；　however；　was　to　reach　and　help　the　common　people　with　the　simpler；　and　therefore　the　most　fundamental；　truths　of　religion。


＇1＇　Muir；　Our　Grand　Old　Bible；　p。　14。


The　other　movement　which　marks　Wiclif's　name　concerns　us　more；　but　it　was　connected　with　the　first。　He　set　out　to　give　the　common　people　the　full　text　of　the　Bible　for　their　common　use；　and　to　encourage　them　not　only　in　reading　it；　if　already　they　could　read；　but　in　learning　to　read　that　they　might　read　it。　Tennyson　compares　the　village　of　Lutterworth　to　that　of　Bethlehem；　on　the　ground　that　if　Christ；　the　Word　of　God；　was　born　at　Bethlehem；　the　Word　of　Life　was　born　again　at　Lutterworth。＇1＇　The　translation　was　from　the　Vulgate；　and　Wiclif　probably　did　little　of　the　actual　work　himself；　yet　it　is　all　his　work。　And　in　1382；　more　than　five　centuries　ago；　there　appeared　the　first　complete　English　version　of　the　Bible。　Wiclif　made　it　the　people's　Book；　and　the　English　people　were　the　first　of　the　modern　nations　to　whom　the　Bible　as　a　whole　was　given　in　their　own　familiar　tongue。　Once　it　got　into　their　hands　they　have　never　let　it　be　taken　entirely　away。


　＇1＇　〃Not　least　art　thou；　thou　little　Bethlehem　　In　Judah；　for　in　thee　the　Lord　was　born；　　Nor　thou　in　Britain；　little　Lutterworth；　　Least；　for　in　thee　the　word　was　born　again。〃　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Sir　John　Oldcastle。


Of　course；　all　this　was　before　the　days　of　printing；　and　copies　were　made　by　hand　only。　Yet　there　were　very　many　of　them。　One　hundred　and　fifty　manuscripts；　in　whole　or　in　part；　are　extant　still；　a　score　of　them　of　the　original　version；　the　others　of　the　revision　at　once　undertaken　by　John　Purvey；　Wiclif's　disciple。　The　copies　belonging　to　Edward　VI。　and　Queen　Elizabeth　are　both　still　in　existence；　and　both　show　much　use。　Twenty　years　after　it　was　completed　copies　were　counted　very　valuable；　though　they　were　very　numerous。　It　was　not　uncommon　for　a　single　complete　manuscript　copy　of　the　Wiclif　version　to　be　sold　for　one　hundred　and　fifty　or　two　hundred　dollars；　and　Foxe；　whose　Book　of　Martyrs　we　used　to　read　as　children；　tells　that　a　load　of　hay　was　given　for　the　use　of　a　New　Testament　one　hour　a　day。

It　would　be　difficult　to　exaggerate　the　influence　of　this　gift　to　the　English　people。　It　constitutes　the　standard　of　Middle　English。　Chaucer　and　Wiclif　stood　side　by　side。　It　is　true　that　Chaucer　himself　accepted　Wiclif's　teaching；　and　some　of　the　wise　men　think　that　the　〃parson〃　of　whom　he　speaks　so　finely　as　one　who　taught　the　lore　of　Christ　and　His　apostles　twelve；　but　first　followed　it　himself；　was　Wiclif。　But　the　version　had　far　more　than　literary　influence；　it　had　tremendous　power　in　keeping　alive　in　England　that　spirit　of　free　inquiry　which　is　the　only　safeguard　of　free　institutions。　Here　was　the　entire　source　of　the　Christian　faith　available　for　the　judgment　of　common　men；　and　they　became　at　once　judges　of　religious　and　political　dogma。　Dr。　Ladd　thinks　it　was　not　the　reading　of　the　Bible　which　produced　the　Reformation；　it　was　the　Reformation　itself　which　procured　the　reading　of　the　Bible。＇1＇　But　Dr。　Rashdall　and　Professor　Pollard　and　others　are　right　when　they　insist　that　the　English　Reformation　received　less　from　Luther　than　from　the　secret　reading　of　the　Scripture　over　the　whole　country。　What　we　call　the　English　spirit　of　free　inquiry　was　fostered　and　developed　by　Wiclif　and　his　Lollards　with　the　English　Scripture　in　their　hands。　Out　of　it　has　grown　as　out　of　no　other　one　root　the　freedom　of　the　English　and　American　people。


＇1＇　What　Is　the　Bible？；　p。　45。


This　work　of　Wiclif　deserves　the　time　we　have　given　it　because　it　asserted　a　principle　for　the　English　people。　There　was　much　yet　to　be　done　before　entire　freedom　was　gained。　At　Oxford；　in　the　Convocation　of　1408；　it　was　solemnly　voted：　〃We　decree　and　ordain　that　no　man　hereafter　by　his　own　authority　translate　any　text　of　the　Scripture　into　English；　or　any　other　tongue；　by　way　of　a　book；　pamphlet；　or　other　treatise；　but　that　no　man　read　any　such　book；　pamphlet；　or　treatise　now　lately　composed　in　the　time　of　John　Wiclif　。。。　until　the　said　translation　be　approved　by　the　orderly　of　the　place。〃　But　it　was　too　late。　It　is　always　too　late　to　overtake　a　liberating　idea　once　it　gets　free。　Tolstoi　tells　of　Batenkoff；　the　Russian　nihilist；　that　after　he　was　seized　and　confined　in　his　cell　he　was　heard　to　laugh　lo