The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-05

menf00fS 6f-thB thsoioecafH 5omty % the
UniveFSity Of Louvain but he also had the
cooperation and support Of Cardinal Gran.
veile. Nevertheless. Pope Plus v. refused
to sanction. it's publication. on the ground
that q general circulation OF the Scriptures
might prove dangerous. but his successor.
Gregory XMI..~was ultinately persuaded
to give his approval to the work IN 1872.
This was the first complete polyglot Bible.
A similar enterprise had been planned by
Aldus, but he did not live TO finish 1t. In
.l6I7 the Cardinal Ximenes had printed at
AIcala n polyglot edition Of the Old Testa-
ment. and In lS47 an edition Of the Penta-
touch, prepared under the supervision OF
certain jewish editors, was printed in Con-
stantinople In Hebrew. Latin. Greek and
Syriao. Even after Montahus's polyglot
Bible had been sanctioned by a Pope II
vas vigorously attacked by q group OF the
,stricter Romanists on the ground that the
Vulgate had been accepted by the Church
as authoritative, and that all attempts TO
60 back to the original Hebrew. Greek or
Syriao must be Sa%crilegious.
II appears that In the lberian peninsula
the earliest censorship was undertaken In
Aragon. and was directed against vernacu-
lar versions OF the Scriptures In 1894 the
Cortes at ~TarragonA adopted q decree Of
King Jayne / foFbiddlng the possession
Of any portion Of the Old or New Testament
in Romance tby which term we are here 70
understand either Catalan OF Castilian or
~Provencan. In the thirteenth century.
as later. the Church OF Rome was satisfied.
throughout the dominions OF the Aragonese
sovereigns in Spain and southern France.
with the Latin Vulgate. On the other hand
the sects OF the Cathnri and the Waldenses.
whose growth for Il timesconstituted n real
danger to the Established Church, we're
ardent students OF Scripture. and found in
IL q. potent instrument of propaSandism.
The Cathari. who rejected nearly the whole
of the Old Testament. had tranelationS OF
the New The Wulderses had versions Of
the whole Bible.
In CASTLE during the latter part OF the
thirteenth century the censorship OF the
Scriptures seems 10 haYe been relaxed. for
in 1897 Alfonso X. caused a Castilian trans
Rtion 20 be- made Of the Bible. a copy OF
which in Ave folio volumes lie preserved in
the EscurlAl. In 1880 n Jewish rabbi COM
pleted the work OF translating the Old
Testament, which had been undertaken in
1922 under the instructions OF the Master
of Calatrsva. During the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries a number OF versions
of din portions Of tho Scriptures were
executed In Castilian. Excepting for the
instance OF censorship in Aragon there
seems TO have been up to the Close Of the
fifteenth century no obstacle TO the printing
or distribution In Spain Of vernRcular YER
sions Of the Scriptures. An Archbishop OF
Toledo, writing In 1887. said that before
Lutheran heresies emerged from hell he
knew of no prohibition Of the Bible in the
vulgar tongue. The Spanish Index OF 1851.
however, included among prohibited books
Bibles translated into Spanish or other
modern languages. The Spanish Index Of
1888 contains in It's general rules a sweeping
prohibition Of vernacular Bibles and Of all
portions thereof.
We should also mention that the first
English Bible printed in England was the
translation OF John Hollybushe. which was
published In 1888 in Southwark. The great
Cranmer Bible was printed between 1889
and i54i.