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cause_n	appear_v	conjecture_n	great_a	26	3	2.1104	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A97086	The considerator considered: or, A brief view of certain considerations upon the Biblia polyglotta, the prolegomena and appendix thereof. Wherein, amongst other things, the certainty, integrity, and divine authority of the original texts, is defended, against the consequences of athiests, papists, antiscripturists, &c. inferred from the various readings, and novelty of the Hebrew points, by the author of the said Considerations. The Biblia polyglotta, and translations therein exhibited, with various readings, prolegomena and appendix, vindicated from his aspersions and calumnies. And the questions about the punctation of the Hebrew text, the various readings, and the ancient Hebrew character briefly handled. / By Br. Walton. D.D.	Walton, Brian, 1600-1661.	1659 (1659)	Wing W657; Thomason E1860_1; ESTC R204072	144,833	308

I have not failed of my ends as for those violent and heady spirits Turba gravis paci c. I know it is in vain to think of satisfying them or to hope that any thing will relish with them save what is ●itted to their own distempered palate for as Espenc in Tit. 1. ` Quibus os putet omnia putida sunt non alimenti sed oris vitio XXIII I shall not need therefore to Apologize either for him or for my self in publishing this Extract but shall observe that our Author will proceed in his usuall way of calumnies For first He cannot make it appear by any one word in the Prolegomena or Appendix that this was the end of publishing his Notes as an instance of gathering various Readings by conjectures when the Text is corrupt but meerly because of his great and generall learning which might make them acceptable to learned and moderate men for which cause I conceived they might justly deserve a place amongst the collections of other learned men of the like nature which are here exhibited Nor secondly do these Notes consist only or chiefly upon such conjectures there are scarce one or two in the whole Pentateuch nor doth he go meerly upon conjectures but usually upon some ancient Translations or Testimony of ancient Writers and reasons drawn from the circumstances of the Text and so for other books of the Old Testament the most of them are criticall notes about the severall Translations of others and about the literall sence and reading of the Text scarce one or two of the Keri's are mentioned in three or four books as we shall shew anon and therefore not served over and over yea our Author himself p. 348. contradicting what he said p. 313. and elsewhere after his usuall manner saith they are nothing lesse then various Readings of that learned mans own observation and therefore not such conjecturall various Readings as he saith are brought for instances in the Appendix Thirdly that those out of the New Testament which are the far greater part of that Extract are various Readings out of severall Copies not bare conjectures with his judgement upon them and the reasons for it and therefore our Author may cease wondering how these few sheets which are nothing lesse then a Volume as he calls them should come under the name of various Readings seeing the greatest part which may give denomination to the whole consists of various Readings of the New Testament and though there be other observations amongst them of great use and worth yet the greater part consisting of divers readings might well give the name to the whole Besides it is not said in the Title that they be all various Readings of the Hebrew but various Readings in generall and though there be few of the Hebrew in the Old Testament yet there are others of the Greek Sept. Symmachus Theodotion and Aquila the Vulgar Latine and other Translations besides those of the New Testament and therefore the Prolegomena needs no such way as is by him surmized to salve a difficulty which is not Fourthly the Publisher did never take upon him to defend whatsoever is said by any in their Notes which are added to the Bible he is not bound to maintain all that Nobilius Lucas Brugensis Mr. Young or any others have said in any of their observations but thinks it enough that in generall they are of great use and acceptable to learned men who know how to make use of them that to satisfie the desires of such he had just cause to annex them to this Edition but if any man shall meet with some things which he cannot relish let him not reject the Gold because of some drosse or reject the Wheat though there be some chaff The Publisher professes there are some things which he cannot wholly subscribe to yet he is far from rejecting the whole or thinking it therefore not fit to be published he proposes them to all let every man judge as he thinks fit and abound in his own sence whether they approve or reject more or fewer it shall be no offence to him CHAP. VII I. Divers Charges upon these various Readings here exhibited in particular II. The great bulk of them that they are served twice or th●ice over This calumny answered All those of the Originall Texts may be comprised in two or three sheets III. Neither all differences whatsoever nor those out of all books printed or written here collected The vast untruth of this Charge shewed for the Hebrew IV. And the Greek V. The comparing of many Copies usefull VI. Practised by others and commended by Origen Hierom Erasmus Beza Camerar Nobilius Stephanus c. VII The ●r●at use of collecting various Readings out of severall Copies VIII To prevent future mistakes IX Practised by the Jews X. Approved by Buxtorf XI His Critica Sacra now Printing at Basil The Title page sent over XII The difference of the Keri and Ketib in sundry Editions not by mistake of the Printer XIII The difference of divers printed Copies shewed in some instances XIV The great use of the two Catalogues of the Keri and Ketib not twice mentioned to increase the bulk XV. That the Copies are some of them the ancientest in the world They are all sufficiently altered XVI Of Beza's Copy XVII The MS. of Emanuel Colledge in Cambridge The Adversaries mistakes That Morinus is an aspiring Jesuite That Ben Chajim corrected the impression of Faelix Pratensis c. XVIII That divers differences of Copies are omitted The Publisher not bound to give a judgment of those exhibited XIX In this Edition together with the chiefest Translations are exhibited the best and ancientest Copies The MSS. accounted great treasures in private Libraries now put into every mans hand I. BEsides these Generalls there are divers things which he findes fault with in those particular Readings here exhibited in the last Volume which we must consider before we passe from this head of various Readings He is offended with their multitude and great bulk questions the antiquity and goodnesse of the Copies and the fidelity of the collectors is angry that they are barely propounded and no choice made nor judgment given on them of all which in order First for the bulk he saith he was startled at this bulkie collection p. 146. p. 188. What a bulk or heap they are now swelled to we see in the Appendix so p. 206. and 349. a spurious brood that hath spawned it self over the face of so much paper as p. 192. yea what ever varying word syllable or tittle could be brought to hand wherein any books though but of yesterday varieth from the common received Copies though manifestly a mistake superfluous or deficient incon●istent with the sence of the place yea barbarous is presently imposed upon us as a various Reading ibid so p. 194. all differences whatsoever that could be found in any Copies printed or otherwise are equally given out yea p. 194. It

Apollodorus the Athenian of Chrysippus his writings That if one should take away 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 All that was either none of his own or nothing to the purpose 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they would be empty of all matter for there is scarce any thing true or usefull concerning the subjects here disputed which was not formerly said in those Prolegomena nor any thing concerning the same which is added by the Adversary as his own which is not sufficiently confuted in the same Proleg Not to mention the incoherence of the things here handled the whole being rudis indigestaque moles a confused heap of Independencies VII In these Considerations we are told of a new Plot or Design amongst Protestants after they are come out of Rome a Design which they dare not publikely own Pag. 329. The leprosie of Papists crying down the Originall Texts is broken forth among Protestan●s with what design to what end or purpose he knows not God knows and the day will manifest Epist pag. 14. That this design is owned in the Prolegomena to the Bible and in the Appendix That they print the Originall and defame it gathering up translations of all sorts and setting them up in competition with it Epist p. 9. That they take away all certainty in and about all sacred truth Epist p. 25. That there is nothing left unto men but to chuse whether they will turn Papists or Atheists Epist p. 9. That there are grosse corruptions befallen the Originalls which by the help of old Translations and by conjectures may be found out and corrected pag. 205. as pernitious a Principle as ever was fixed upon since the foundation of the Church of Christ Epist p. 21. That it is the foundation of Mahumetanisme the chiefest and principall prop of Popery the onely pretense of phanaticall Antiscripturists and the root of much hidden Atheisme in the World p. 147. That he fears the pretended infallible Judge or the depth of Atheisme lies at the door of these Considerations p. 161. That they are enough to frighten unstable souls into the arms of an infallible Guide p. 196. That these various Translations as upon triall they will be found to be are such as many will be ready to question the foundation of all p. 207. and therefore he had rather all translations should be consumed out of the earth p. 318. then such a figment should be admitted That setting aside two Theses there is no Opinion ventilated among Christians tending to the depression of the worth and impairing the esteem of the Heb. Copies which is not directly or by just consequence owned in these Prolegomena p. 205. Hence are these tragicall exclamations of dreadfull distemper which may well prove mortall to the truth of the Scripture pag. 314. Of horrible and outragious violence offered to the sacred verity p. 315. That men take upon them to correct the Scripture pag. 344. to correct the Word of God p. 180. These are some of the expressions used by the Author of the Considerations who yet writes with all Christian candor and moderation of spirit p. 151. Candidly for the sake and pursuit of truth with a mind freed from all prejudice and disquieting affections p. 155. Now those dangerous Principles about which all this stir is made are chiefly reduced to two though many be pretended 1. That the Hebrew points that is the modern forms now used not the vowels accents themselves which are acknowledged to be coeve with the other Letters that the reading of the Text was never arbitrary but the same before and after the punctation were devised and fixed by the Masorites about five hundred years after Christ 2. That there are various readings in the Old and New Testament both in the Hebrew and Greek by the casuall mistake of transcribers yet in matters of no moment which by comparing ancient Cop●es may be found out and in some cases out of ancient translations and when they are discovered the true reading may be restored Hence is inferred the uncertainty of all Divine truth that the Scriptures are corrupt c. And hence are those fears and jealousies Epist pag. 19. which how justly deducible from these or any other principles in the Prolegomena or Appendix shal hereafter appear In the mean time our Author practises what Quintilian said of some Romane Orators who did causarum vacua convitis implere and instead of Arguments loads his adversary with reproaches like that Souldier in Darius his Army mentioned by Plutarch who instead of fighting with his hands imployed his tongue in railing upon Alexander whereupon the Generall struck him with his Lance and told him he hired him to fight and not to rail Who those Protestants are that concur with the Prolegomena in those Principles the adversary is ashamed to mention though he knew they were at large cited in the Prolegomena because their very names would have spoiled his whole project and make his charge appear a meere calumny They are no other concerning the novelty of the Hebrew punctation than Luther Zuinglius Brentius Pellican Oecolampadius Calvine Beza Musculus Paulus Fagius Mercer Cameron Chamier Piscator Scaliger Casaubon De Dieu Grotius Capellus Erpenius Sixtinus Amama Salmasius Schickard Martinius also Rivet Spanhemius Fest Hommius as appears by their Epistles to Capel in his Defensio Criticae c. and amongst our selves Archbishop Vsher Bishop Prideaux Mr. Selden Mr. Mead Mr. Eyres and many others not to name those now living the most eminent Divines that have appeared in the Protestant cause and most zealous defenders of the purity and authority of the Original Texts or the chiefest ●inguists that this age hath produced and best skilled in the Hebrew and other Orientall learning And for that other point of various lections not onely the same men but all others generally which will believe their eies two or three excepted grant the same which the author of the Prolegomena doth and that without any prejudice to the certainty or divine authority of Scripture as is shewed at large in the Prolegomena and shall hereafter be made manifest yea our adversary himself frequently confesses the same and saith that ocular inspection makes it manifest that there are various readings both in the old Testament and the new and it s confest there have been failings in the transcribers who have often mistaken and that its impossible it should be otherwise c p. 165 191. 178. 296. whereby he makes himself evidently guilty of the crimes which he unjustly charges upon others and of those consequences which he infers on the behalf of Papists Atheists Antiscripturists c. and so overthrows that which he would seem to contend for viz. the certainty and supreme authority of Scripture and therefore I may say unto him ex ore tuo out of thy own mouth shalt thou be judged and use the words of the Apostle Rom. 2. 1. Wherefore thou art unexcusable O man that condemnest another for hereby thou condemnest

truth which he pretends to V. And though it had been the hard hap of the Prolegomena Appendix to come out when his Treatise was ready to be printed which hath procured all this trouble to himself and the Readers yet was there such a necessity of the publishing his Treatise Divers persons of great Learning and Judgement think his pains might very well have been spared and that instead of proving the Divine Authority of the Scripture he hath much weakned it and what in him lies shaken the very foundation of Religion while he rejects that main Argument to prove the Scriptures to be from God pag. 103 104. viz. the Miracles wrought by Moses and Christ the Prophets and Apostles to confirm their doctrine brought down to us by the undoubted testimony and universall tradition of the Church of Christ the most infallible and greatest of all humane testimonies and next to that which is immediatly Divine and sticks not to affirm that the Alcoran may vie miracles and traditions with the Scipture p. 105. and that there is no more reason to believe those who have received that tradition and plead they have it before and against them who professe they have no such report delivered them from their forefathers p. 108. nor have we more inducement to give credit to their assertions then to a like number of men holding out a Tradition utterly to the contrary that is why we should believe the testimony of the whole Christian Church in this point before the testimony of Jews Pagans and Mahumetanes to the contrary p. 110. And whilest he grounds all upon the inward light of the Scripture it self which though it serve to confirm the faith of believers yet in the Question how we come to know the Scriptures to be from God we know is by great and Learned Protestant Divines not allowed as a convincing argument in this case I submit it to the judgement of all men of common reason and judgment whether here be not a fair pretense for Atheists and sanaticall Antiscripturists to reject the Scripture when they find the argument from the miracles and universall tradition rejected by some and that of the inward light of the Scripture which is here said to be all the Divine evidence that God is willing to grant us or can be granted us or is any way needfull for us p. 34. and that there is no need of any further witnesse or testimony p. 56. not admitted as sufficient by others and whether they may not with more colour deduce their conclusions against the Scriptures from these assertions of his then from any thing in the Prolegomena or Appendix For where they find him affirming that there is no way to know the Scriptures to be from God but it s own light and finde this denied by Learned Divines of all sides they have some colour to conclude that there is no way at all to prove their Divine Originall and so to reject them VI. Again he writes p. 159. and 160. That in all these things it is known to all men there is no new Opinion coyned or maintained by the Prefacer to these Bibles but that all have been maintained by sundry Learned men and that if they had been kept in mens private writings he should not have thought himself or his discourse concerned in them but because they are laid as the foundation of the usefulnesse of the Bibl. Polygl and because of the authority which they may gain thereby and because as p. 152. these private Opinions as he calls them are imposed with too much advantage on the mindes of men by their constant neighbourhood unto Canonicall truth therefore he must needs appear against them Here he speaks plainly what was the true cause of these Considerations The Biblia Polyglotta are the Butt against which his Arrows are aimed and these Opinions about the Hebrew punctation and various Readings had not been considered nor meddled with but for that Work to which they were adjoyned which because it was always maligned by himself and some others of his party therefore he took occasion to quarrell with these matters that so he might bring the more obloquie upon the whole and make it the more suspected among the Vulgar VII But whereas he makes them private Opinions which now being joyned with a publike Work may pretend to publike Authority he is much deceived or else seeks to deceive his credulous Reader for how can they be private or new Opinions which have been publikely asserted in Print before either of us were born and have been and are still maintained by the chiefest and Learnedst Divines in Europe and the best skilled in Orientall Learning that have been or are at this day in the Christian World Such as we have already mentioned Cap. 1. Sect. 7. Can these Opinions be counted private which have been and are publikely asserted by men of such eminent worth or can their being mentioned before the Biblia Polyglotta procure them more credit and esteem then the venerable Names of such Great and Learned men with whom the Publisher of this Bible and those that assisted him do not think themselves fit to be named And if they might by these and others be defended in Print and disputed among Learned men why might they not be mentioned here and why might not the Publisher deliver his opinion in these things as well as others especially writing with that moderation he uses not magisterially imposing a beliefe upon any but leaving every one to his own liberty onely shewing his reasons why he judges one opinion more probable then another VIII He conceives he had a fit occasion to speak of these things in the Prolegomena to this Work for seeing the Hebrew Text is the foundation of the whole Fabrick for the Old Testament what was more proper then to speak of the Hebrew Tongue the antiquity use excellencie and preservation of it how the Text came to be pointed what the Keri and Ketib are which appear in most Hebrew Bibles and because there are various Readings both of the Old and New Testament noted in most Editions therefore to speak of various Readings whence they came out of what Copies and how to be gathered and to adde to what others have done out of some ancient and choyce MSS. or printed Copies and to shew that the certainty and authority of Scripture with the integrity of the Originall Texts is not impeached or prejudiced thereby which he asserts upon such foundations as will hold and not upon sandy grounds as his Adversary doth which will not stand not argumentis non cogentibus by which the truth is more prejudiced than by confessing the invalidity of them for when men see the weakness of them they think we have no better to rely upon and so begin to question and doubt the truth of all IX As for his fears and jealousies I say that when they are groundlesse they are not to be regarded and that they are

those which they counted obscence of which number are ten which could not proceed from the difference of Copies but from the boldnesse and superstition of the Rabbins and excepting 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which have a peculiar consideration that all the rest came from variety of Copies where they noted the one reading in the Margent not daring to change the reading of the Text out of reverence to the antiquity of their Copies but left it as it was onely they joyned the points of the Marginall word to that in the Text to shew that the word of the Margent was to be read which they judged the better reading XIX This is the common opinion and judgment of men learned in these matters such as Mercer Drusius Bertram Erpenius Pagett Piscator Sixtin Amama c. and of Buxtorf himself And after all are related the arguments of Capellus who labours to prove that the Masorites gathered them not out of divers Copies but by their own Criticall conjectures whose opinion is disliked and his arguments answered By all this it appears most cleerly that our Adversary abuses both his Reader and the Author of the Prolegomena with palpable untruths ascribing that to the Author of the Prolegomena which he is so far from holding that he maintains the clean contrary For he proves that the Keri and Ketib are not Criticall amendments of the Rabbins but various Readings of ancient Copies except those before excepted which he is so far from making Criticall amendments of the Texts that he taxes the Rabbins for their boldnesse and superstition therein yea the Adversary himself though he thus writes yet in expresse terms elsewhere forgetting what he had formerly said acquits the Author of the Prolegomena from this calumny p. 305. That they are all or most of them Keri and Ketib criticall amendments of the Rabbins is not allowed in the Prolegomena for which latter part of his determination we thank the Learned Author And p. 307. In the mean time I cannot but rejoyce that Capellus his fancie then which I know nothing more prejudiciall to the truth of God is not allowed Thus we see we are still accused and acquitted by the same pen as I have already said XX. After these he tells us that the arguments brought against the divine originall of the notes are capable of an easie solution which he is not at leasure as yet to shew although he had told us before that he could not satisfie himself about the Originall of this variety In the mean time let him enjoy his own opinion and let me enjoy mine and if he can bring better proofs for the divine originall then I have brought against it I shall acknowledge my error if not I expect he will retract his and some other things he hath about the Keri and Ketib which I shall have occasion to answer in another place and therefore passe them by here XXI Before I conclude this Chapter some thing must be added concerning the Notes extracted out of Grotius which the Adversary saith are brought as an instance of collecting various Readings upon conjectures or rather of corrections of the Originall when any grosse corruptions have befallen them p. 159. 206. 315. Now though I might well passe over what is here charged it being no where acknowledged in the Prolegomena That the Originall Texts are corrupted but the contrary maintained nor that upon meer conjectures various Readings are to be gathered as we have already shewed and therefore that these Notes out of Grotius could not possibly be brought for any such end yet because it is the opinion of some Learned men that these collections out of Grotius are one main cause of all this stir against the Biblia Polyglotta I shall briefly consider what he objects upon this account This we finde chiefly p. 313. and 348. In the first place he saith That to make this evident by instances we have a great number of such various lections gathered by Grotius in the Appendix He wondered at first view how the Volume should come under that name The greatest part give no various lections of the Hebrew Text as is pretended but various interpretations of others from the Hebrew But the Prolegomena salves this seeming difficulty They are not various lections collected out of any Copies extant or ever known to have been extant but criticall conjectures of his own for the amendment of the Text or at most conjectures upon the readings of the words by Translators especially the LXX and Vulgar Latine In the other place he saith he shall not much concern himself therein they are nothing lesse then various Readings of that learned mans own observation setting aside first the various lectious of the LXX the Vulgar Latine Symmachus and Theodotion wherein we are not concerned Secondly the Keri and Ketib which we have oftentimes over and over in this Volume Thirdly the various Readings of the Greek and Occidentall Jews which we have also elsewhere Fourthly conjectures how the LXX or Vulgar Latine read by altring of letters only Fifthly conjectures of his own how the Text may be mended and a very little room will take up what remains By the cursory view he hath taken of them he sees not one word that can pretend to be a various lection unlesse it belong to the Keri and Ketib or the difference between the Orientall and Occidentall Jews XXII Answer I am not ignorant with what an envious eye that incomparably learned man the miracle of our times is looked upon by all our Novellists and that his earnest study of the peace of the Church and endeavour to close up rather then to make wider the breaches and wounds of Christendom hath exposed him to the malice and fury of the turbulent and fiery spirits of all sides I shall not need to Apologize for him what heighth of Learning and dephth of judgement dwelt in him his Works proclaim to all learned and moderate men and will speak to all Posterity others have with more able Pens vindicated him from those obloquies and aspersions which unreasonable men have cast upon him A man he was of that eminency in all kindes of learning divine and humane of that exact judgment prudence piety and moderation that I believe he hath left few equals in the Christian world In his younger years he was by Scaliger himself whose over-weening conceit of his own great abilities would hardly permit him to speak well of any stiled 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in his Epistles I could not therefore but think that an extract out of his learned Annotations might be fit amongst others to be inserted into this Work and the rather because he was one that did not extrema sectari but without inclining to any party or faction did propose to himself the search of the naked truth for it self and therefore I might hope that this pains would be thankfully received by learned wise and moderate men wherein I know

they are still in those Eastern Churches planted by the Apostles and their Successors in Asia and Africk from the first times of their conversion so that what these men would exterminate as Romish and Antichristian Novelties have been antiently used by those famous and flourishing Churches which never professed subjection to the See of Rome Hinc illae lachrymae This is that Cordolium of our Novellists the practice of the universall Church of Christ all the world over which condemns their innovations which Argument is of more force with considering men then all the acute arguments drawn onely from strength of reason For to condemn the practice of the Church of Christ in all parts of the world constantly observed in all ages is insolentissima insania as Saint Augustine long since These things with some other ancient rites appear in the Syriack Arabick Aethiopick c. which I doubt were as great motes in our Authors eye which made him so willing to quarrel with the Translations and to cavil without a cause and thus I have briefly run over his invective against the Translations intreating the Reader for more full satisfaction to consult the Prolegomena themselves and by these Specimina which we have given of his candor and love of truth to judge of the rest of his Discourse And thus we have done with the main Charge the principal Subject of his Book the Various Readings and the Corruptions of the Originalls which he would thereupon infer I shall proceed now more briefly to that other principall Charge concerning the Punctation of the Hebrew Text after which we shall adde something about the ancient Hebrew Characters and of the use of the Septuagint Translation towards the Knowledge of the Hebrew Tongue and so put an end to the Readers trouble and our own for the present CHAP. X. I. The Controversie of the Hebrew punctation by whom handled II. The Charge against the Prolegomena III. No new thing delivered in the Prolegomena about points nor any thing prejudiciall to the certainty and authority of the Hebrew Text. IV. V. That the Hebrews alwayes had vowels 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 proved The vowels excluded from the letters by late Grammarians against reason VI. The Masorites did not point the Text as they pleased but according to the true and common reading The true reading depends not upon their authority VII VIII A main Objection answered That they might certainly point the Text after the language ceased to be vulgar IX The certain Reading of the Text by diligent practice and use attainable without points proved by example X. In words unpointed dubious in themselves the ambiguity is taken away as they are part of a sentence and by custome or use proved by the Talmuds and Rabbinicall Writers The new Testament at first had no accents or notes of distinction c. The Chaldee Paraphrase Syriack Arabick had no points at first XI What is affirmed in the Biblia Polyglotta about this Controversie XII The first occasion of this Controversie about points handled XIII XIV Elias Lev. not the first broacher of the novelty of points XV. XVI XVII Diverse both Iews and Christians held the same opinion long before Elias XVIII Elias his pretended aim XIX The seeming advantage given to Papists no ground to maintain an untruth I. COncerning the Points whereby the Hebrew vowels and accents are now signified and distinguished whether they be coaeve with the Language it self or of the same antiquity and Originall with the Text either affixed by Moses as some say or by Ezra and the great Synagogue as others or whether they were invented by some Rabbins after those times to facilitate the reading and prevent the errors which might arise from the ambiguity of some words hath been long disputed by divers by Elias Levita chiefly among the Jews among Protestants also and Romanists and amongst the former by Jos Scaliger Drusius Sixtin Amama D. Prideaux Sect. 12. and others but most largely by Buxtorf both Father and Son and by Lud. Capellus by the Father in his Hebrew Grammar and by Capellus in his Arcanum punctationis revelatum Printed by Erpenius at Leyden anno 1614. and by Buxtorf the Son in his answer to Capellus The chief arguments on both sides are collected and with addition of some others presented Prolegom 3. Sect. 38. to 56. What is charged in the Considerations upon the Prolegomena in this matter we have in part set forth Chap. 3. in some particulars and opposite thereto what is asserted in the Prolegomena We shall now more fully discusse what is charged or objected in the one and what is granted or denyed in the other not that I intend to handle the Controversie at large which would be actum agere and make this short reply swell into a great Volume but as our Author saith he would 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 briefly consider the heads of things so I shall briefly take notice of his Considerations II. In his Epist pag. 19. he saith That the solemn Espousall of the opinion of the novelty of the Hebrew punctation in the Biblia Polyglotta was one chiefe occasion of this Consideration The opinion which he opposes is by him in severall places declared pag. 157. That the Hebrew points or vowels and accents are a novell invention of some Judaicall Rabbins about five or six hundred years after the giving out of the Gospel and p. 205. That the points or vowels and accents are a late invention of the Tiberian Masorites long after sundry Translations were extant in the world Their arbitrary invention p. 208. c. 4. in the contents and p. 217 218. p. 293. the arbitrary inventions of some Jews and that it is lawfull for us to change them at pleasure p. 250. 258. 217 218. Hence he deduces these Consequences pag. 157. That the agreement of those Translations before the supposed invention of the points with the Originall cannot by just consequence be tried by the present Text as now pointed and accented And that the whole credit of our reading and interpretation of the Sripture as far as regulated by the present punctation depends solely on the faithfulnesse and skill of those Jews whose invention this is asserted to be This is one of those two Principles which being granted there is no other way to be delivered from utter incertainty in and about all sacred truth Epist p. 25. That all things are hereby made doubtfull in Scripture so that no certain truth can be learned from the Scriptures p. 211. yea they not onely make doubtfull the Authority of the Scriptures but wholly pluck it up by the roots pag. 213. And therefore he had rather that this Work of the Biblia Polyglotta and all Works of the like kidne were out of the world then that this one opinion should be received with the Consequences that unavoydably attend it Those Consequences are Epist pag. 9. We must either turn Papists or Atheists pag. 19. He dare not mention the desperate

or to prove the uncertainty of the Scripture or that the Text is corrupt I see not any colour of such a Consequence nor doth our adversary bring any reason to prove it It is true Arnol. Bootius in his furious invective against Capellus takes hold of his words and would prove this to be false but infers no such thing as this Author doth as if hereby the Heb. Text were endangered which if he could with any color have made good I am sure he would not have omitted V. We come now to the last of these things which tend to the depression of the esteem of the Hebrew Text which among others is reckoned by our Adversary in the first place Pag. 205. viz. That the present Hebrew Character is not that used by God himself and in the Old Church before the Captivity of Babylon but it is the Chaldean the other being left to the Samaritanes The same is also mentioned Epist p. 7. This question is handled at large Proleg 3. Sect. 29. 38. I might forbear to speak any thing more thereof because it makes nothing at all against the Hebrew Text though we make the present Character to have been the Assyrian and that the old Hebrew Character was left to the Samaritanes for seeing that we make Esdras and his associates the Authors of this change when they restored and settled the Canon of the Old Testament and it is confessed by all that what they did was by Divine Authority hence it is evident that the Authority of the Hebrew Text suffers nothing by this change of the Character but that it is in this respect the same it was before no more nor so much as the change of the Greek Character and of the manner of writing in capitall letters without accents spirits or distinctions of words or sentences as the first Copies of the New Testament were written as we have elswhere shewed Prolegom 3. Sect. 45. and Chap. 11. of this Treatise into that form which is now in use derogates from the Greek Text of the New Testament because this change was not made by any Prophets or men inspired as the other was and therefore our Author had no colour of reckoning this amongst those things which derogate from the Hebrew Text but that he was willing to catch at any thing which might seem to impair the Esteem of the Biblia Polyglotta amongst his English Readers for whose mis-information these Considerations were contrived unlesse he thinks with some superstitious Jews that there is some peculiar sanctity in the form or fashion of the Character Neverthelesse because he hath thought fit to say something of this Argument though he touch not the tenth part of what is said in the Prolegomena because he would fain seduce the ignorant Reader into an opinion as if great wrong were hereby offered to the Hebrew Text I shall therefore briefly adde something by way of answer VI. This Question hath been so clearly and fully handled by Scaliger Drusius Vossius Capellus and others that I believe there are few that have read and weighed the arguments of both sides who think the present Character to be the old Hebrew letter It is true Buxtorf jun. wrot a Tract upon this Subject wherein he doth not absolutely defend as a certain truth that the present Character is that which was used at first though he brings all the Arguments he could to this purpose but only to shew as he saith Sect. 4. that this opinion is not so absurd or apparantly false as Scaliger Drusius and other great Hebricians would have it but that it may be probably defended To this Dissertation of his Capellus wrote an answer 1645. which I conceive began the quarrell between these two learned men which hath been since continued with two much eagernesse about other matters wherein all his Arguments are answered and the contrary reasons urged and defended with that evidence and cleernesse that Buxtorf hath not made any reply since that time that I have seen though he hath since written against Capellus upon other subjects being it may be convinced of the Error of that opinion which he thought formerly not improbable which if it be so as his ingenuity is to be commended so the confidence of our Adversary is to be condemned who is peremptory in a question which as it plainly appears he never seriously considered not sticking after his usuall manner to call this opinion a Fiction and a meer Fable though it be in a manner demonstrated and hath as clear and evident Arguments for it as any thing of this nature is capable of viz. Testimonies both of ancient Jews and Christians both the Talmuds and the ocular demonstration of old Jewish coins daily digged up out of the ruines of Hierusalem and other places stamped by the Kings of Israel before the Captivity besides reasons and the Authority of most if not of all the best skilled in Jewish Antiquities and Hebrew Learning of later times as is shewed at large in the same Prolegomena and appears by the Figures of the Coyns themselves which are engraven and printed in the Apparatus to the Biblia Polyglotta in a Tract of the ancient Hebrew coyns VII Buxtorf confesseth Sect. 2. That though both Opinions have their Patrons yet the businesse is brought to that passe that the Opinion of the novelty of the present Character hath gotten far more to assert it and those of chiefest note for their Learning in this kinde who are some of them so peremptory in the cause that they think those that dissent Nec ferendos nec audiendos esse and that the great fame and esteem of their exquisite Hebrew Learning hath drawn the most unto that Opinion He adds withall Sect. 4. Equidem cum nemine super hac re acrius contendere aut disceptare mihi est propositum And Sect. 5. confesseth ingenuously that he dares not hope se hoc assequuturum ut omnibus satisfaciat ultimamque literarum Hebraicarum antiquitatem 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 probet ac persuadeat c. onely he hoped to shew that the other Opinion was not so absurd as that the defenders of it ought to be accounted half Divines or half Men or Scepticks that doubt of all things or plain Asses as Scaliger and Drusius had stiled them yet here we have one who is so confident and peremptory that he dares stile that Opinion which is generally held by most Learned Antiquaries a meer Fable and a Fiction hereby verifying that saying Qui pauca videt cito judicat and that men who are rash and heady in their decisions are seldom free from great Errors VIII The Arguments of both sides are propounded Prolegom 3. which I shall not need to repeat but shall refer the Reader thither for fuller satisfaction and the rather because the Adversary brings nothing to the contrary but his own conjectures or bare affirmations without proofs what he saith of the Samaritanes is already answered in its proper place I