An answer to a certain book, writtenAn answere to a certeine booke, written

Your judgement of our English Bibles is answerable to that spirit, where with you are possessed, and of the abundance whereof you write. Nothing else they are (you say) but corrupt gutters flowing from corrupt and stinking lakes,¹ the best containing wicked, horrible, and ethnical errors, A slander most wicked, horrible, ethnical, of all men to be detested: never shall you prove any word hereof true. Gregory Martin hath laboured herein, and performed nothing: your skill is only in open railing: other deed of moment can you do none against us. If you find fault with us for correcting our Bibles, show us, if you can, that either it is unlawful to translate the Bible into our own tongue, or else after is hath been translated, to reform the translation in such places wherein some errors have escaped, or to translate it over again. No translation of the scripture can at the first be so perfect and sincere, but it may be afterwards amended, as God shall reveal to his Church the faults thereof. Otherwise if it were any fault to amend a fault, why hath your Council of ⟨p. 338⟩Trident taken order for the correction of your latin translation, and for a better edition thereof to be published, then heretofore hath been? yea why hath Pope Pius reformed your Psalters, Breviaries, Offices, and such other books, as are with you in greatest use and estimation? If this seemed requisite, why may not we look to our translations like wise, amend the imperfections, set forth better? But your grief is, that we have translated the scriptures at all: although (I trust) you will not now condemn the thing plainly, seeing your selves at length have given us an English translation of the new testament, which if you think to be so absolute, as it shall never need any reformation, your judgement is to be pitied rather, then confuted.

Your iudgement of our English Bibles is answerable to that spirit, where with you are poffessed, and of the abundance whereof you write. Nothing els they are (you saie) but corrupt gutters flowing from corrupte and stinking lakes,¹ the best containing wicked, horrible, and ethnicall errors, A slaunder most wicked, horrible, ethnicall, of all men to be detested: neuer shal you prooue any word hereof true. Gregorie Martine hath labored herein, and performed nothing: your skill is onelie in open railing: other deed of moment can you do none against vs. If you finde faulte with vs for correcting our Bibles, shew vs, if you can, that either it is vnlawfull to translate the Bible into our owne tongue, or els after is hath bene translated, to reforme the translation in such places wherein some errors haue escaped, or to translate it ouer againe. No translation of the scripture can at the first be so perfecte and sincere, but it may be afterwardes amended, as God shall reuele to his Church the faultes thereof. Otherwise if it were any fault to amend a fault, why hath your Councell of