For he hath loked on the povre degre off his honde mayden. Beholde nowe from hens forthe shall all generacions call me blessed. For he that is myghty hath done to me greate thinges, and blessed ys his name: And hys mercy is always on them that feare him thorow oute all generacions. He hath shewed strengthe with his arme; he hath scattered them that are proude in the ymaginacion of their hertes. He hath putt doune the myghty from their seates, and hath exalted them of lowe degre. He hath filled the hongry with goode thinges, and hath sent away the ryche empty. He hath remembred mercy, and hath holpen his servaunt Israhel. Even as he promised to oure fathers, Abraham and to his seed for ever. Cure Father which arte in heven, halowed be thy name. Let thy kingdom come. Thy wyll be fulfilled, as well in erth, as hit ys in heven. Geve vs this daye oure dayly breade. And forgeve vs oure treaspases, even as we forgeve them which treaspas vs. Leede vs not into temptacion, but delyvre vs from yvell. Amen. Part of St. Matthew's Gospel, Chapter VIII. When Jesus was come downe from the mountayne, moch people folowed him. And lo, there cam a lepre, and worsheped him saynge, Master, if thou wylt, thou canst make me clene. He putt forthe his hond and touched him saynge: I will, be clene, and immediately his leprosy was clensed. And Jesus said vnto him, Se thou tell no man, but go and shewe thysilf to the preste, and offer the gyfte that Moses commaunded to be offred, in witnes to them. When Jesus was entred in to Capernaum, there cam vnto him a certayne centurion, besechyng him, And saynge: Master, my servauut lyeth sicke att home off the palsye, and is grevously payned. And Jesus sayd vnto him, I will come and cure him. The centurion answered and saide: Syr I am not worthy that thou shuldest com vuder the rofe of my housse, but speake the worde only and my servaunt shalbe healed. For y also my selfe am a man vndre power, and have sowdeeres vndre me, and y saye to one, go, and he goeth: and to anothre, come, and he cometh and to my servaunt, do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus herde these saynges; he marveyled, and said to them that folowed him: Verely y say vnto you, I have not founde so great fayth; no, not in Israell. I say therfore vnto you, that many shall come from the eest and weest, and shal rest with Abraham, Ysaac and Jacob, in the kyngdom of heven. And the children of the kingdom shalbe cast out in to the vtmoost dercknes, there shalbe wepinge and gnasshing of tethe. Then Jesus said vnto the centurion, Go thy waye, and as thou hast believed so be it vnto the. And his servaunt was healed that saine houre. MILES COVERDALE. In translating the Pentateuch, Tyndale was assisted by MILES COVERDALE (1485-1565), who, in 1535, published the first English translation of the whole Scriptures, with this title: * Biblia, the Bible; that is, the Holy Scripture of the Olde and New Testament, faithfully and newly translated out of the Doutche and Latyn into English' Coverdale was made bishop of Exeter in 1551, but retired to the continent during the reign of Mary. When Elizabeth ascended the throne, he returned to England, and remained there till his death. His translation of the Bible has been reprinted in London. The extent of its variation from that of Tyndale will appear by contrasting the following verse (Gen. xxix. 32), as rendered by each translator: . Tyndale's Version. When the Lorde sawe that Lea was despised, he made her frutefull, but Rahel was baren. And Lea conceaved and bare a sonne and called his name Ruben, for she sayde: the Lorde hath lokeed upon my tribulation. And now my husbonde will love me. Coverdale's Version. But when the Lorde sawe that Lea was nothinge regarded. he made her fruteful and Rachel barren. And Lea conceaved and bare a sonne whom she called Ruben, and sayde: the Lorde hath loked upon mine adversitie. Now wyll my husbande love me. TRANSLATIONS OF THE BIBLE. These translations were followed, in 1537, by the version known as 'Marthews's Bible,' so called from the name of the printer, which was superintended by the martyr Rogers; and in 1559 by Cranmer's Bible,' which was revised by collation with the original Hebrew and Greek. The dissemination of so many copies of the sacred volume, where neither the Bible nor any considerable number of other books had formerly been in use, produced very remarkable effects. The versions first used, having been formed in some measure from the Latin translation, called the 'Vulgate,' contained many words from that language, which had hardly before been considered as English; such as percition, consolation, reconciliation, sanctification, immortality, frustrate, inexcusable, transfigure, and many others requisite for the expression of compound and abstract ideas, which had never occurred to our Saxon ancestors, and therefore were not represented by any terms in that language. These words, in the course of time, came part of ordinary discourse, and thus the language was enriched. In the Book of Common Prayer,' compiled in the subsequent reign of Edward VI. and which affords many beautiful specimens of the English of that time, the efforts of the learned to make such words familiar are perceptible in many places; where a Latin term is often given with a Saxon word of the same, or nearly the same meaning following it, as 'humble and lowly,'' assemble and meet together' Another effect proceeded from the freedom with which the people were allowed to judge of the doctrines, and canvass the text, of the sacred writings. The keen interest with which they now perused the Bible, hitherto a closed book to the most of them, is allowed to have given the first impulse to the practice of reading m both parts of the island, and to have been one of the causes of the flourishing literary era which followed. SIR JOHN CHEKE. SIR JOHN CHEKE (1514-1557) was professor of Greek at Cambridge, and one of the preceptors of the prince, afterwards Edward VI. He is chiefly distinguished for his exertions in introducing the study of the Greek language and literature into England. Having dictated to his pupils a certain mode of pronouncing Greck words, he was vio lently assailed on that account by Bishop Gardiner, then chancellor of the university; but, notwithstanding the fulminations of this severe prelate, the system of Cheke prevailed, and still prevails. At his death, which was supposed to be occasioned by remorse for recanting Protestantism under the terror of the Marian persecution, he left several works in manuscript, amongst which was a translation of Matthew's Gospel, intended to exemplify a plan which he had conceived of reforming the English language by eradicating all words except those derived from Saxon roots. He also contemplated a reform in the spelling of English, an idea which has occurred to several learned men, but seems to be amongst the most hopeless ever entertained by the learned. The only original work of Cheke in English is a pamphlet, published in 1549, under the title of 'The Hurt of Sedition, how Grievous it is to a Commonwealth,' being designed to admonish the people who had risen under Ket the tanner. Of this, a specimen is subjoined: Remonstrance with Levellers. Ye pretend to a commonwealth. How amend ye it by killing of gentlemen, by spoiling of gentlemen, by imprisoning of gentlemen? A marvellous tanned (1) commonwealth. Why should ye hate them for their riches, or for their rule ? Rule, they never took so much in hand as ye do now. They never resisted the king, never withstood his council, be faithful at this day, when ye be faithless, not only to the king, whose subjects ye be, but also to your lords, whose tenants ye be. Is this your true duty-in some of homage, in most of fealty, in all of allegiance to leave your duties, go back from your promises, fall from your faith, and, contrary to law and truth, to make unlawful assemblies, ungodly companies, wicked and detestable camps, to disobey your betters, and to obey your tanners, to change your obedience from a king to a Ket, to submit yourselves to traitors, and break your faith to your true king and lords? If riches offend you, because ye would have the like, then think that to be no commonwealth, but envy to the commonwealth. Envy it is to appair (2) another Inan's estate, without the amendment of your own; and to have no gentlemen, because ye be none yourselves, is to bring down an estate, and to mend none. Would ye have all alike rich? That is the overthrow of all labour, and utter decay of work in this realm. For who will labour more, if, when he hath gotten more, the idle shall by lust, without right, take what him list from him, under pretence of equality with him? This is the bringing in of idleness, which destroyeth the commonwealth, and not the amendment of labour, which maintaineth the commonwealth. If there should be such equality, then ye take all hope away from yours, to come to any better estate than you now leave them. And as many mean men's children come honestly up, and are great succour to all their stock, so should none be hereafter holpen by you. But because you seek equality, whereby all cannot be rich, ye would that belike, whereby every man should be poor. And think beside, that riches and inheritance be God's providence, and given to whom of his wisdom he thinketh good. SIR THOMAS WILSON. THOMAS WILSON, originally a fellow of King's College, Cambridge, and who rose to be Dean of Durham, and to various high state employments under Elizabeth, published, in 1553, a 'System of Rhetoric and of Logic,' in which the principles of eloquence and composition are laid down with considerable ability. He strongly advocates, in 1 Alluding to the profession of the ringleader. 2 Impair. this treatise, simplicity of language, condemning those who 'pow dered their talk with over-seas language.' So great and dangerous an innovation were his doctrines considered, that, happening to visit Rome, he was imprisoned as a heretic. Amongst other false styles censured by Wilson is that of alliteration, of which he gives the following caricatured example: 'Pitiful poverty prayeth for a penny, but puffed presumption passeth not a point, pampering his paunch with pestilent pleasure, procuring his passport to post it to hell-pit, there to be punished with pains perpetual.' Wilson died in 1581. Simplicity of Style Recommended. Among other lessons, this should first be learned, that we never affect any strange inkhorn terms, but to speak as is commonly received; neither seeking to be over fine, nor yet living over careless; using our speech as most men do, and ordering our wits as the fewest have done. Some seek so far for outlandish English, that they forget altogether their mother's language. And I dare swear this, if some of their mothers were alive, they were not able to tell what they say, and yet these fine English clerks will say they speak in their mother tongue, if a man should charge them with counterfeiting the king's English. Some far journeyed gentlemen, at their return home, like as they love to go in foreign apparel, so they will ponder their talk with over-sea language. He that cometh lately out of France will talk French-EngLsh, and never blush at the matter. Another chops in with English Italianated, and applieth the Italian phrase to our English speaking; the which is, as if an oration that professeth to utter his mind in plain Latin, would needs speak poetry, and farfetched colours of strange antiquity. The lawyer will store his stomach with the prating of pedlers. The auditor, in making his account and reckoning, cometh in with sise sould, et cater denere, for 6s. and 4d. The fine courtier will talk nothing but Chaucer. The mystical wise men, and poetical clerks, will speak nothing but quaint proverbs and blind allegories; delighting much in their own darkness, especially when none can tell what they do say. The unlearned or foolish fantastical, that emells but of learning (such fellows as have seen learned men in their days), will so Latin their tongues, that the simple cannot but wonder at their talk, and think surely they speak by some revelation. I know them that think rhetoric to stand wholly upon dark words; and he that can catch an inkhorn term by the tail, him they count to be a fine Englishman and a good rhetorician. ROGER ASCHAM. A still more distinguished instructive writer of this age was ROGER ASCHAM, university orator at Cambridge, at one time preceptor, and ul.imately Latin secretary, to Queen Elizabeth. He must be considered as the first writer on education in our language, and it is remarkable that many of his views on this subject accord with the most enlightened of modern times. His writings themselves furnished an improved example of style, and they abound in sound sense and excellent instructions. We are the more called on to admire them, when we reflect on the tendency of learned men in that age to waste their talents and acquirements on profitiess controversy-which was so strong a passion, that whenever Sir John Cheke was temporarily absent from Cambridge, his associates immediately forsook the elegant studies to which he had tempted them, and fell into disputes on points of theology and metaphysics. Ascham was born in 1515 at Kirby Wiske, a village near Northallerton, in Yorkshire. His father was house-steward in the family of Lord Scroop. Through the patronage of Sir Antony Wingfield, he was entered of St. John's College, Cambridge, and he was afterwards Professor of Greek in the university. In 1545, he had a grant of a pension of £10, which was continued to him by Edward VI. whom he taught to write He was afterwards sent out as ambassador to the Emperor Charles V.; and on his way to London had an interview with Lady Jane Grey, which he thus describes: Interview with Lady Jane Grey. One example, whether love or fear doth work more in a child for virtue and learning, I will gladly report; which may be heard with some pleasure, and followed with more profit. Before I went into Germany, I came to Broadgate, in Leicestershire, to take my leave of that noble Lady Jane Grey, to whom I was exceeding much bcholden. Her parents, the duke and duchess, with all the household, gentlemen and gentlewomen, were hunting in the park. I found her in her chamber reading Phædon Platonis in Greek, and that with as much delight as some gentlemen would read a merry tale in Bocace. After salutation and duty done, with some other talk, I asked her why she would lose such pastime in the park. Smiling, she answered me: I wiss, all their sport in the park is but a shadow to that pleasure that I find in Plato. Alas! good folk, they never felt what true pleasure meant.' 'And how came you, madam,' quoth I, to this deep knowledge of pleasure? And what did chiefly allure you unto it, seeing not many women, but yery few men, have attained thereunto ? I will tell you,' quoth she, and tell you a truth which, perchance, ye will marvel at. One of the greatest benefits that ever God gave me, is, that he sent me so sharp and severe parents, and so gentle a schoolmaster. For when I am in presence either of father or mother, whether I speak, keep silence, sit, stand, or go, eat, drink, be merry or sad, be sewing, playing, dancing, or doing anything else, must do it, as it were in such weight, measure, and number, even so perfectly as God made the world, or else I am so sharply taunted, so cruelly threatened, yea, presently, sometimes with pinches, nips, and bobs, and other ways, which I will not name for the honour I bear them, so without measure misordered, that I think myself in hell, till time come that I must go to Mr. Elmer; who teacheth me so gently, so pleasantly, with such fair allurements to learning, that I think all the tin.e nothing, whiles I am with him. And when I am called from him, I fall on weeping, because, whatever I do else, but learning, is full of grief, trouble, fear, and whole misliking unto me. And thus my book hath been so much my pleasure, and bringeth daily to me more pleasure and more, that, in respect of it, ali other pleasures, in very deed, be but trifles and troubles unto me. Ascham died on the 30th December 1568, and Queen Elizabeth said she would rather have lost £10,000 than her tutor Ascham. The principal work of this learned teacher, The Schoolmaster,' printed by his widow in 1570, contains, besides the good general views of education above alluded to, what Johnson has acknowledged to be perhaps the best advice that ever was given for the study of languages.' It also presents judicious characters of ancient authors. Another work, entitled Toxophilus,' published in 1544, is a dialogue on the art of Archery, designed to promote an clegant and useful mode of recreation among those who, like himself, gave most of their time to study, and also to exemplify a style of composition more purely English than what was generally practised. Ascham also wrote a Discourse on the affairs of Germany, where he had spent three years in attendance on the English ambassador during the reign of Edward |