On the spikenard of the ancients / By Charles Hatchett.

  • Charles Hatchett
Date:
[1836]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the spikenard of the ancients / By Charles Hatchett. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    18/36 page 8
    Whether from reverential feeling towards Luther as the great Reformer, or to save themselves trouble, they certainly seem to have made their translation, principally if not intirely from his German translation, and like Chinese painters have faithfully copied his errors. Whatever may have been Luther’s motive, he has invariably Luke, Chap. 10. “ Upon the next daye whan he departed he tohe out two pens and gave them to the Oost.” John. Chap. 12. “ Why was not this Oyntment solde for thre hundreth pens and given to the poore.” But as an additional proof to show how closely Coverdale has translated from Luther, I will refer to the seventh verse of the third chapter of Genesis, where in our Bibles we read “ and they sewedfig leaves together and made themselves aprons,” this being in exact conformity with Coverdale’s words “ and sowed fygge leaves together and made them Apurns,” these same words are also to be found in that which is called Matthewes Bible of 1538 being an improved Edition of that of 1537- The like expressions also appear in the other Bibles such as Taverner’s, Becke’s, &c. &c. But in the Biblia Hebraica of Montanus the latin words placed over each of the hebrew words run thus “ Et consuerunt folia ficus etfecerunt sibi Cingulos” and in the Vulgate the words are “ consuerunt folia ficus et fecerunt sibi perizomata,” the plain and unaffected translation of which would naturally be “ and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves girdles,” this last being a word understood by every body. I was therefore not a little curious to find out why Coverdale had employed the word Apron, and suspecting from other circumstances that he had taken it from Luther, I referred to this latter’s German Bible and there found the very words “ und machten ihnen Schiirtze ” and made them- selves aprons. Now there could not be any reason why this deviation was made from the original text by Luther, for all the German people would have understood the word Giirtel as readily as we understand the English word Girdle, and consequently the marginal note “ or things to gird about ” which we find placed opposite the word aprons in many of the English Bibles published since that of Coverdale, would not have been required. Even if they had employed a general phrase such as c* and they made themselves coverings” it would have been better than the word aprons, for this last seems to have suggested another reading, which by every body is regarded as truly ludicrous, “ and they made themselves breeches,” as may be seen in the Bible called on this account the Breeches’Bible “ Imprinted at London by the Deputies of Christopher Barker Printer to the Queencs most excellent Majestie. Anno 1597-
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