Sin theoni en christoni the answer to the preface of the Rhemish Testament. By…Syn theōi en christōi the ansvvere to the preface of the Rhemish Testament. By…

But they remember not, that as many clouds of heresy rose from thence, by occasion of worldly wisdom, & humane sciences, whereinto they (excelling) leaned rather then to the simplicity of the word: so there rose from that same corner of the world, great lights of Catholic doctrine, whereby those misty clouds were scattered. Neither was the diligence of the heretics greater to deface them, then was the care of the Catholics, to keep them undefaced. And seeing they convinced their heresies out of the Scriptures, forsomuch as error is not confuted but by truth: it followeth that if the falsifying of Copies by heretics were proved; yet the same could be but in part, ⟨p. 128⟩not so much as in the narrow compass of Greece, much less in the wide circuit of the world, where the Greek copies were spread, aswell as in Greece. And notwithstanding that there have been, for many 100. years, weighty controversies between the Greek Church and the true, divers also between you and it: yet neither do we accuse them, nor you are able to show one place of the new testament, which they have attempted to corrupt for their advantage, either in the proceeding of the holy Ghost, or in your sole primate and universal Bishop or otherwise. This security from incorruption of the Greek Copies, is greatly strengthened by comparison of the Lords safe conduct, given to th' original Hebrew for the space of about a 1000. years, before the first coming of our Saviour Christ. For howsoever that is also charged to be impaired and embased either through malice or negligence of those that were put in trust with the keeping thereof: yet the contrary ⟨p. 129⟩thereof is manifest. For men must consider, who put them in trust, not man which looketh only upon the present estate and face of men; but God himself, which looketh into the secretest¹ kidneys of the heart, to discern, not only such as they were at the time wherein he committed his oracles unto them, but also what they should be a thousand years after. Whereupon it will be easy to understand, that if the Lord had espied any such unfaithfulness in them of keeping those evidences, whereupon the happy & good estate, not of them only, but of the great posterity of the Church depended, and whereby they should have both certain & undoubted entrance and season of their inheritance;