Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1876-11-15
How Words Change.

The pathological student of the first
translation of the whole Bible into En-
glish finds his labors very much facili-
tated in consequence of the attention
which the version has received during
the past quarter of a century. It was
i'm 1850 that the Rev. Josiah Forshall
and Sir Frederic Madden issued their
edition of Wickliff's Version in four fo-
lilo volumes, which has been the basis of
much subsequent study. In it tney
printed, side by side, two texts of the en-
tire work made by Wickliff and his fol-
lowers. They included also an exhaus-
tive preface, the prologues to the sew
eral books, list of 40 manuscript cop
les which they collated, aud the table
of Lessons with which the earlier copies
were furnished, and a very valuable
glossary. These editors occupied much
OF their time during twenty-five years
in accomplishing their most important
task, laboring with enthusiastic and pa
triotic love, believing that the English
nation had long been disgraced by the
neglect which the Version had suffered
in being allowed to remain in manu-
script only for nearly 500 years. They
considered that it illustrated the history
and structure of the English language
"a view which subsequent scholars
have confirmed.
The independence and vigor of the
style would of themselves give impor-
lance to this version, but it derives adj
ditional interest from the fact that il
contains some words which are intro
duced because Wickliff translated from
the Latin Vulgate, and did not scruple
occasionally boldly to set over Latin
or Greek word i'm its original form.
Another interesting publication is
Bags er;s ''Hexapala," which contains
the New Testament in Greek and six
English versions, including, of course,
that of Wickliff. This version of Wicklifi
is not equal to that of Forshall and Mad
den i'm accuracy of scholarship. but the
comparison of versions which the 'Hex-
apla" renders possible, makes it a very
useful and interesting aid to the stu
dent.
One more help othe study of Wickliff's S
Bible will be found in the two versions
of his Gospel of st. John that are given
in Matzner's ''Altenglische Sprachpro-
ben," published in Berlin in 1869, with
voluminous notes.
In selecting words from Wickliff's BIZ
BILE for study the only embarrassment is
found in the large number which pos
sess great interest. An amusing in
stance of his transferring words with
out translating them is found at St.
Matthew xiv, 20, where it is said that
the disciples collected twelve ''cofyns"
full of the fragments left after the feed
ing of the thousand (Latin, ophiHus a
wicker basket. At St. Matthew vi, 6,
we are counseled not to cast our "mar-
garitas" before swine (Latin, DsGrgarita.
a pearD. A caterpillar is an "eruke"
Latin, eruca); sea- gull is ''larc"
Gatin, ldrus); little book is ''libel"
Latin, ibellus); numbering is "morti-
fyyne" Uatin, mort fcdtio) certain mu-
steal instruments are ''nablis" U.atin,
nobl,m) ; a roebuck is "igarde" (Latin,
pygdrgas); straw is a ''festu" latin,
festuca) and, not to extend the list far
ther, bird is 'volatile" Uatin, rola-
hlis).
Another interesting feature is the ex-
pressive compound words, which are,
however not cbaractarictie of yV;oI;f