The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1908-08-17
A RARE OLD BIBLE
ONE COPY PRINTED AT MAYENcE
IN THE YEAR 1850.
Nov One Of the Greatest BibIiooraph-
10 curiesitIes--vuIgats Prepared
In England III the Neighbor-
hood Of the Year 668-

The first attempt at printing, at
Mayence, in 1850 was a copy OF the
Yulgate. wood characters being used,
which contained only the principal
parts Of the Old and New Testaments.
This is the so-called "Biblia Pauper-
am. one OF the rarest photographic
curiosities, a copy of which was bought
BY the duke Of Deyonshire in 1915,
who paid only G201 for it.
England occupies prominent place
In the history Of the vulgate and in its
preservation. as. the purest text being
in Milan, Naples and in the southern
provinces. Archbishop Theodore and
mis- companion. Hadrian. abbot Of a
monastery near Naples. went to Eng
land in 66S. taking with them some
of these Bibles Bestass. just at that
time Benedict Biscop and Ceolfrid,
travelling between Rome and England
brought in other pure Vulgate texts,
which were copied and reproduced in
the monasteries Of Wearmouth and
Jarrow, not only for local use, but to
be spread by missionaries in foreign
countries. especially Germany, France
and Switzerland. and, strange as It
may seem, even back TO Italy. But
what is stranger still is that these
copies. known under the name OF
Northumbrian. texts, had been tran
scribed with such exactness that when
they returned 10 Italy they were found
to be purer than the Italian copies
which meanwhile had degenerated-
One or the attempts to revive the Vul-
gate was made BY Charles the Great,
who intrusted the work to an Eng
Iishman. Acuin, who finished it IN
sol
In the century after t1s invention Of
printing the circulation Of faulty BIZ
bIes assumed such proportions that the
necessity was felt Of establishing an
official edition. A handsome volume,
in 1890, took the name OF the Sixtine
Bible. from Sixtus v, and had as
preface the famous Bull -Aeternus
lille. establishing that this Bible be
considered as true. lawful, authentic
and unouestioned.~ Sixtus v died al
most Immediately after, and only two
years later Clement VIII. ordered that
every copy OF the Sixtine Bible be de-
stroyed. and published another called
the ~CIementine 1t seems that Sixtus
III. had himself revised the work Of the
fcommission. hurting the feelings of the
members and offending the Jesuits.
who never rested until they obtained
the suppression Of the Sixtine Bible,
now one Of the rarest books in the
world.
Leo XIII. created the commission
~De Re Biblica. presided over by
Cardinal Rampolla. for the study OF
the Scriptures. but it remained an
academic body, while Plus X. desired
to transform It into an institution for
practical work. So, on April 80, 1907,
Cardinal Rampolla wrote letter to
Dom Hildebrand de Hemptinne, ab-
bot primate OF the Benedictines. who
used TO live in England. intrusting the
new revision OF the Vulgate to them
and straightway appointing Abbot Gas
onet as head OF The committee. The
English abbot admirably fulflls the
requirements OF so responsible po-
sition. To vast. profound culture ne
adds the temperament OF a grea'
worker and love for accuracy and
detail-Pall Mail Magazine.