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Article REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. Page 1 of 8 →
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Review Of New Publications.
REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS .
A Translation of the New Testament , from the orig inal Greek ; humbl y attempted by Nathaniel Scarlet , assisted by Men of Piety and Literature : ivitb Notes . 8 w . Prices 6 s . ios dd . 14 J-. rl . is . Scarlet , & c . INFIDELITY and irreligion have , within these few years past , taken such bold of men of all ranks in society , that the laborious ' work which has been so successfully and with so much diligence effected by Christian philosophers for but
and excellent divines , seems , in these clays , so distinguished novelty , so retrogade in moral principles , now forgotten , and almost necessary to be travelled over again . To our neig hbours on the continent we are primarily indebted for that torrent of scepticism , and all its vicious consequences , that has deluged , not only our own country , but the whole of Europe . It has , like a common pestilence , changed the face of things : it has divided families , separated friends ,
and unhinged every motive to a & ive benevolence . These effetts may be ascribed to a decay of religious princip les , and an affectation of novelty—subjefts that would of themselves afford ample matter for serious investigation ; nor would due time be misemployed , which was spent in tracing the growth of en or , and in correcting the false appearances of fiftitious refinement . On the literary world , nothing so much of late has been obtruded _ as the base-born produftions of the speculative philosopher , the crude examination of the hardened infidel , or the frantic reveries of the gloomy enthusiast . We have , in this country , a Papist translating the Bible , of which he
totally denies the divine inspiration . —and the subject of our present article is a Version of the New Testament , introduced in a dramatic dress , and rendered particular by an affectation of novelty , both in the manner of its execution and the emendations which it recommends . Mr . Scarlet , in his preface , sets out with commending the translation of the Bible which is in common use ; he says , it ' is generally allowed to be , upon the whole , a good one . —If ' so , we do not seethe utility of his labour .
' But , ' says he , ' it must be granted that a very material change has taken place in our language within these two last centuries ; and it will , no doubt , like other living languages , differ much in a century hence from what it is now . ' That is true : but we do not think our vulgar translation is at all improved by Mr . Scarlet's conceited elegance ; nor do we think that the style of the Scriptures should , like other literary works , keep pace with the improvements of taste . All that is required is a faithful translation of the
sacred volume , script of every thing like meretricious art , am ! adapted to the comprehension of the meanest understanding . 'But , ' says Mr , Scarlet , ' the translators were laid under restraint by King James ; they were too complaisant in f ivouringhis particular notions ; therefore their translation is partial . ' Mig ht we not answer Mr . Scarlet and his coadjutors upon this censure , much in the same way that Dr . Gell , chaplain to Archbishop Abbottwas reprovedwhen he animadvertedin 1659 upon
, , , , the translation of the Bible made by order of King James ? ' But this censure of the Doftor's seems in some measure to have been occasioned by his being of different sentiments from the translators in points of predestination , and being reckoned heterodox . ' Perhaps My , Scarlet ' s disapprobation may , VOL . X , 3 C
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Review Of New Publications.
REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS .
A Translation of the New Testament , from the orig inal Greek ; humbl y attempted by Nathaniel Scarlet , assisted by Men of Piety and Literature : ivitb Notes . 8 w . Prices 6 s . ios dd . 14 J-. rl . is . Scarlet , & c . INFIDELITY and irreligion have , within these few years past , taken such bold of men of all ranks in society , that the laborious ' work which has been so successfully and with so much diligence effected by Christian philosophers for but
and excellent divines , seems , in these clays , so distinguished novelty , so retrogade in moral principles , now forgotten , and almost necessary to be travelled over again . To our neig hbours on the continent we are primarily indebted for that torrent of scepticism , and all its vicious consequences , that has deluged , not only our own country , but the whole of Europe . It has , like a common pestilence , changed the face of things : it has divided families , separated friends ,
and unhinged every motive to a & ive benevolence . These effetts may be ascribed to a decay of religious princip les , and an affectation of novelty—subjefts that would of themselves afford ample matter for serious investigation ; nor would due time be misemployed , which was spent in tracing the growth of en or , and in correcting the false appearances of fiftitious refinement . On the literary world , nothing so much of late has been obtruded _ as the base-born produftions of the speculative philosopher , the crude examination of the hardened infidel , or the frantic reveries of the gloomy enthusiast . We have , in this country , a Papist translating the Bible , of which he
totally denies the divine inspiration . —and the subject of our present article is a Version of the New Testament , introduced in a dramatic dress , and rendered particular by an affectation of novelty , both in the manner of its execution and the emendations which it recommends . Mr . Scarlet , in his preface , sets out with commending the translation of the Bible which is in common use ; he says , it ' is generally allowed to be , upon the whole , a good one . —If ' so , we do not seethe utility of his labour .
' But , ' says he , ' it must be granted that a very material change has taken place in our language within these two last centuries ; and it will , no doubt , like other living languages , differ much in a century hence from what it is now . ' That is true : but we do not think our vulgar translation is at all improved by Mr . Scarlet's conceited elegance ; nor do we think that the style of the Scriptures should , like other literary works , keep pace with the improvements of taste . All that is required is a faithful translation of the
sacred volume , script of every thing like meretricious art , am ! adapted to the comprehension of the meanest understanding . 'But , ' says Mr , Scarlet , ' the translators were laid under restraint by King James ; they were too complaisant in f ivouringhis particular notions ; therefore their translation is partial . ' Mig ht we not answer Mr . Scarlet and his coadjutors upon this censure , much in the same way that Dr . Gell , chaplain to Archbishop Abbottwas reprovedwhen he animadvertedin 1659 upon
, , , , the translation of the Bible made by order of King James ? ' But this censure of the Doftor's seems in some measure to have been occasioned by his being of different sentiments from the translators in points of predestination , and being reckoned heterodox . ' Perhaps My , Scarlet ' s disapprobation may , VOL . X , 3 C