The books of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes - The Lollard Society

310 Pages·2008·14.67 MB·English

THE BOOKS OF
JOB, PSALMS, PROVERBS, ECCLESIASTES,
AND THE SONG OF SOLOMON
ACCOKDING TO THE
WYCLIFFITE VERSION
MADp; BV
NICHOLAS DE HEREFORD
\BOUT A.D. I381
AND REVISED BY
JOHN PURVEY
ABOUT A.D. 1388
FORMERLY EDITED BV
The Rev. JOSIAH FORSHALL, FR.S., &c.
La(c Fellow ofExeter College, Oxford
AND
SIR FREDERIC MADDEN, F.R.S., &c.
Keeper ofthe MSS. in the British Museum
And now reprinted
AT THE CLARENDON TRESS
MDCCCLXXXI
^All rights reserved
\
Hontron
HENRY FR WD E
«i
OXFORD UNIVEBSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE
PATERNOSTER ROW
7
;
INTRODUCTION.
The portion of the Old Testament printed in this volume is
a reprint from the later of the two Wycliffite versions of the
same, as exhibited in *The Holy Bible, containing the Old and
New Testaments, with the Apocryphal Books, in the earliest
English Versions made from the Latin Vulgate by John Wy-
cliffe and his followers : edited by the Rev. Josiah Forshall,
F.R.S., &c., and Sir Frederic Madden, K.H., F.R.S., &c.
Oxford, at the University Press, 1850.' The later Wycliffite
version of the New Testament was reprinted in 1879, with an
Introduction which fully explains all that is most necessary to
be known concerning these interesting Middle-English versions.
To this the reader is referred for further information.
For the use of readers who may not possess a copy of that
volume, some points most worthy ofobservation are here briefly
recapitulated.
The Preface to the large quarto edition (in four volumes)^
by Forshall and Madden, of which the title is given above, is
the chief source of our knowledge respecting the Wycliffite
versions. The MSS. are there enumerated and described, and
the whole subject is carefully investigated^
There are two distinct Wycliffite versions, known as the
earlier and the later. The later version is a revised one, and
better suited than the other for general reading. The earlier
version is rougher and more literal, and contains, on the whole,
1 See also The History oftheEnglish Bible, by the Rev.W.F. Moulton;
chap. ii.
INTRODUCTION.
vi
a larger number of nnusual words, rendering it somewhat more
valuable for purely philological purposes, but less eligible on
other grounds. The earlier version is mainly the work ofJohn
Wycliffe and Nicholas de Hereford, about a.d. 1380-1383 the
;
later version was revised by John Purvey, about a.d. 1388.
Both versions were made from MSS. of the Latin version
known as the Vulgate. A few specimens, selected from the
portion here reprinted, may be ofservice in shewing the nature
of the renderings. It is well to remember that both versions
are, not unfrequently, almost unintelligible in certain passages
until the Latin version has been consulted.
Job XX. 22 {Fulgate). Cum satiatus fuerit, arctabitur, aestu-
abit, et omnis dolor irruet super eum\
Earlier Fersion {N. de Hereford), Whan he shal be fulfild,
he shal be streyned, and brenne; and alle sorewe shall falle
in-to hym.
Later Version [Puri'ey). Whanne he is fillid, he schal be maad
streit; he schal be hoot, and alle sorewe schal falle in on hym.
Job xxxix. 13. Penna struthionis similis est pennis herodii,
et accipitris. Quando derelinquit ova sua in terra, tu forsitan
in pulvere calefacies ea?
EarlierVersion. The fether ofa strucioun is lie to the fetheris
of a ierfakoun, and of a goshauk that leueth hir eiren in the
;
erthe, thou perauenture in pouder shalt make them hot.
Later Version. The fethere of an ostriche is lijk the fetheris
of a gerfawcun and of an hauk which ostrige forsakith hise
;
eirun in the erthe, in hap thou schalt make tho hoot in the
dust.
Psalm cii (ciii). 12. Quantum distat ortus ab occidente : longe
fecit a nobis iniquitates nostras.
Earlier Version. Hou myche the rising stant fro the going
doun; aferr he made fro vs oure wickidnessis.
Later Version. As myche as the eest is fer fro the west; he
made fer oure wickidnessis fro vs.
' Quoted from *Biblia Sacra vulgatae editionis, &c. Parisiis, apud A.
Jouby, 7, Via Majorum Augustinianorum. mdccclxu.'
— —
SPECIMENS OF TRANSLATION.
vii
Psalm cvi (cvii). 5. Esurientes, et sitientcs: anima eoruni in
ipsis defecit.
Earlier Fersion. Hungrchde and thirstendc; the soule of hem
in hem failide.
Later Fersion. Thei ^voeren hungri and thirsti her soule
;
faiUde in hem.
In the last example, the difference between the close trans-
lation in the earlier version and the freer one in the later ver-
sion, is well marked.
The necessity of consulting the Latin text may be illustrated
from the version here printed, in the following instances:
Job xiv. 9. It [a tree] schal make heer^; Lat. faciet comam.
Job xxi. 17. Flowing schal come on hem; Lat. superveniet
eis inundatio.
Ps. ci (cii). 29. The seed of hem schal be dressid in-to the
world Lat. semen eorum in saeculum dirigetur.
;
Ps. cviii (cix). 18. He clothide cursing as a cloth; Lat. in-
duit maledictionem sicut vestimentum.
Prov. XXX. 31. A cok gird the leendis Lat. gallus succinctus
;
lumbos.
A comparison with our Authorised Version is full of interest,
especially in the renderings of the Psalms. Sometimes the
likeness is very close, as in the following:
Ps. iii. 4. With my vois Y criede to the Lord; and he herde
me fro his hooli hil.
(A. V.) I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard
me out of his holy hill.
The text here reprinted is taken from IMS. I. G.VIII. in the
Old Royal Library in the British Museum, i.e. from the same
IMS. as that which contains the best copy ofthe later text ofthe
New Testament. It is described in full in Forshall and Mad-
den's preface, and their description is repeated in the Introduc-
tion to the late reprint ofthe New Testament, at p.xii.
As regards the later version, the large quarto edition not only
^ i.e.hair.
b 2
INTRODUCTION.
VIiI
gives the text from the above MS., but also records various
readings from other MSS., besides numerous glosses or inter-
pretations (printed in the margin) of (he more difficult passages.
Thus, in Job i. 5, the expression 'in-to the world' is glossed by
*that is, in the ende of the wouke^' These glosses, together
with the various readings, are omitted in the present volume, to
save space and expense. It may be noted here, that the names
of the Hebrew letters prefixed to the various parts of Psalm
cxviii (cxix). do not occur in the MS. from which the later ver-
sion is printed, but are copied from the best MS. of the earlier
version, in which they are duly inserted.
Itwill at once be observed that mostofthePsalms aremarked
with a double numbering. The explanation is as follows. The
editors ofthe quarto edition very properlyfollowed the number-
ing of the Chapters (or Psalms) and Verses as given in the
ordinary editions of the Vulgate version, as this is the one upon
which the Wycliffite translations really depend. But this num-
bering does not always agreewiththat inourAuthorisedVersion,
and there is, in particular,a difference in the mode ofnumbering
the Psalms which causes a difficulty in finding the place. In
order to remedy this to some extent, the numbering of the
Psalms as in the Authorised Version has been supplied within
marks of parenthesis. Even then, there is frequently a dis-
crepancy in the numbering of the verses; but, as this is a minor
difficulty, it was not worth while to attempt to remove it. A
doublesetofnumbersin a long chapter or Psalm would, perhaps,
have only tended to confuse. A short account of the nature of
the discrepancies may here be useful.
The difficulty begins at^tcr verse 21 of Psalm ix., where the
Vulgate version has the remark 'Psalmus x. secundum
Hebraeos,' with a fresh numbering of the remaining verses in
the Psalm. The English version makes Psalm x. begin here.
But the Vulgate version heads our Psalm xi. with the title: ' In
fincm, Psalmus David x.' This throws the whole numbering out
^ i.e. week. The Vulgate has: 'Cumque in orbem transissent dies con-
vivii.'
REMARKS ON THE LANGUAGE. IX
tor a long way, down to the end of Psalm cxlvi.^ Ps. cxlvii.
has its verses numbered from 12 to 20,and agrees with the latter
part ofPs. cxlvii, in the English version. The three last Psalms
are the same in both versions.
In the book of Ecclesiastes there are also certain slight dif-
ferences ofnumbering, which are due rather to the Latin I\ISS.
used bythe Wycliflite translatorsthan to the ordinarynumbering
of the Vulgate version. They cause no particular dilliculty,
as the numbering ofthe 'venes is clearly marked in the margin,
and the English numbering of the chapters is inserted between
marks ofparenthesis, wherever any discrepancy exists.
Remarks on the Language, &c.
Remarks on the language of the Wycliffite versions are given
in the Introduction to the reprint of the New Testament; see
also the Introduction to Specimens of English, ed. Morris and
Skeat, in the Clarendon Press Series. The following notes are
thrown to—gether in the briefest possible form.
Dialect. ^The dialect of Purvey's version is INIidland, resem-
bling that ofstandard English.
—
Pronunc'tation. The pronunciation of IMiddle-English differed
widely from that now in use, especially in the vowel-sounds,
which resembled those ofmodern Italian and German^.
—
Spelling. The spelling is phonetic, i.e. the words are written
as they were then pronounced. The scribes occasionally mis-
write a word, chiefly by adding a final e where it is not required
by the grammar. Th—us ^vynde in Job i. 19 should be q.vynd.
Capital letters, Sfc. The editors have, in general, altered the
capitals of the MS., so as to conform them to the modern use.
Words printed in italics, such as he is in Job i. 8, are not in the
original Latin.
^ Psalms cxiii.,cxiv.,cxv. in theVulgate are strangely divided. The first
is ourPsalms cxiv. and cxv.; theother two make up ourPsalm cxvi.
2 The Middle-English sounds are described in the Preface to Chaucer's
Man ofLaw's Tale (Clarendon Press Series).
X INTRODUCTION.
—
Punctuation. The punctuation is due to the editors, the IMS.
not being punctuated.
—
Compou7idivords. The parts of compound words are written
separately in the MS., and are so printed. Thus in to in Job i,
12, is the modern into. To save the reader trouble, the use of
hyphens has been rather freely introduced into the present
reprint^, so that r^itb out here commonly appears as qvith-out.
Wherever they are omitted, the reader can easily supply them.
—
Alphabet. The character 5 signifies y at the beginning of a
word, andgh elsewhere. Thus ri^tful=rigbtful, Job i. i ; "yaf^
}'af, old form ofga-ve, Job i. 21. For words beginning with 5,
see the lastsection ofthe Glossary.
The character u between twovowels is tobe read ast. Thus
perauenture=pera'venture,Jobi. 5. Itissometimessotobereadat
the beginning of a syllable; thus siluer=sil'ver, Job iii. 15. The
use of'V for u is not common,and only found at the beginning of
words, as in I's (us), njp (up). Observe '^yue^^yyve^yive^^^isQ,
Job ii. 4. —
Gramma]'. The final -e, usually to be sounded as a distinct
syllable, plays an important part in INIiddle-English grammar, re-
presenting severalolderinflections. Thus alle (dissyllabic) is the
plural of al (all), and is rightly associated with men; Job i. 3.
Etc (dissyllabic) is the infinitive mood, from A.S. etan; Job i. 4.
Biholde is short for hiholden; Job i. 8. For to telle is a gerund
(A.S. to tellanne); Job i. 15. Fledde is the past tense of a weak
verb; Job i. 19. See further in the Introductions to Chaucer's
Prologue, &c. (Clarendon Press Series), and to Chaucer's
Prioress's Tale (same series).
—
Vocabidary. Thevocabularycontainsnumerous Frenchwords.
The following is a list of such words in Job i. Symple, posses-
sioun,femal,meynee,feestis,feeste,passid,sacrifices,perauenture,
present, cumpassid, seruaunt, veyn, catel, cumpas, encreeside,
touche, face, gendrid, messanger, femal, touchid, ascapide, cum-
penycs, assaileden, entride, suden, coost, desert, corneris, oppres-
side, pleside. Ofthesewords,the difficultword touch is probably
* In the quarto edition they are verysparingly employed.
IMPERFECT TRANSLATION. XI
ofTeutonic origin, according to Diez; the others arc all various
modifications of Latin words. Camel is an Oriental word, and
so probably is ass. The rest of the words in the same chapter
are, mostly, of the highest antiquity and of pre-historic origin
;
many of them first emerge into history in Anglo-Saxon forms.
The word offride (offered), from A.S. offrian^to offer,is, however,
merely borrowed from L—at. offerre.
Changes of meaning. The meaning of many words has
changed. Thus cheer can hardly now be used in the sense of
'countenance,' as in 'the li5t of thi cheer,* Ps. iv. 7; we still
retain some remembrance ofthis old use in the phrase 'to be of
good cheer.''
—
Imperfect translation. In some places, especially in the book
of Psalms, the translators have been content to retain Latin
words and phrases, and even idioms, without any attempt to
supplytheir place by English expressions. *Thouschalt gouerne
liem inanyrun3erde' (Ps.ii.9) isnot,noreverwas,goodEnglish ;
it is simply due to retaining the Latin in, in the phrase 'Reges
eos in virga ferrea.' Singulerli in Ps. iv. 10 is merely the Lat.
singuhiriter. 'Lord, be thou conuertid' represents *convertere,
Domine;' Ps.vi. 5. In Ps. vii. 17, the Latin version has: 'Con-
vertetur dolor ejus in caput ejus; et in verticem ipsius iniquitas
ejus descendet.' The Wycliflfite version is not a little curious,
viz. : ' His sorewe schal be turnid in-to his heed; and hiswickid-
nesse schal come doun in-to his necke.'
—
Glossarial Index. For the explanation of unusual or obsolete
words,see the Glossarial Index,partlycompiled from the original
glossary to the quarto edition made by the Rev. Josiah Forshall
and Sir Frederic Madden. Several additions, however, have
been made to this, and the glossary, as here printed, has been
carefully prepared by Mr. W. E. Gabbett, B.A., of Lincoln Col-
lege, Oxford, and subsequently revised by myself. I have also
supplied an Index to the first words ofthe Latin psalms.
WALTER W. SKEAT.
Cambridge, Nov. 5, 1880.