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8. JEROME, of all the Latin fathers, has rendered the most important services to the Christian world, by his elaborate Commentary on the Scriptures, and his prefaces to the different books. His commentary on the Prophets is reckoned the best part of his works; his valuable Latin version of the Scriptures, has already been noticed.1 The principal editions of this eminently learned father's works are those of Paris, 1693-1706, in five vols. folio, and of Verona, 1734 -1742, in eleven vols. folio.

9. HILARY, Bishop of Poitiers, in the fourth century, wrote Commentaries on the Psalms, and on the Gospel of St. Matthew, which are extant in the Paris edition of his works, 1693, folio, and in that printed at Verona, 1730, in two vols. folio. These Commentaries consist more of what he borrowed from Origen, than of the results of his own studies; and on this account Morus is of opinion, that little assistance can be derived from consulting them. This author must not be confounded with Hilary, surnamed the Deacon, from the office which he filled in the church of Rome, in the middle of the fourth century: and who wrote a Commentary on St. Paul's Epistles, which is printed in the second volume of the Benedictine edition of Ambrose's works (Paris, 1656–1690, 2 vols. folio), to whom they are erroneously ascribed.

10. AUGUSTINE, the celebrated Bishop of Hippo in Africa, in the fourth century, wrote several Treatises on the Scriptures, and particularly Commentaries on the Psalms, neither of which are now held in much estimation, notwithstanding the high rank he holds in ecclesiastical history. His piety, indefatigable application, sublime genius, unwearied pursuit of truth, and the acuteness of his wit, are universally allowed. "It is however certain," says Mosheim, "that the accuracy and solidity of his judgment were by no means proportionable to the eminent talents now mentioned; and that upon many occasions, he was more guided by the violent impulse of a warm imagination, than by the cool dictates of reason and prudence. Hence that ambiguity which appears in his writings, and which has sometimes rendered the most attentive readers uncertain with respect to his real sentiments; and hence also the just complaints which many have made of the contradictions that are so frequent in his works, and of the levity and precipitation with which he set himself to write upon a variety of subjects, before he had examined them with a sufficient degree of attention and diligence."2 Jahn has remarked that the genius of Augustine resembled that of Origen rather than that of Jerome, to both of whom he was greatly inferior in learning, being totally ignorant of Hebrew, and but moderately versed in Greek.3 His Treatises on the Scriptures form the third, and his Commentaries on the Psalms the fourth volume of the Benedictine edition of his works. He accommodates the Scriptures more frequently to his own ideas, than he accommodates these to the former, and is perpe

Ittigius's Tractatus de Catenis Patrum, Leipsic, 1707, Evo.; and in Noesselt's Observationes de Catenis Patrum Græcorum in Novum Testamentum. Halæ, 176%, 4to. See also Walchii Bibliotheca Theologica, vol. iv. pp. 388-391.

1 See 198, 199, of this volume.

2 Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, vol. i. p. 363.

Jahn, Enchiridion Hermeneutica Generalis, p. 167.

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tually hunting out mysteries, especially in numbers.1 Such was the authority in which the writings of Augustine were held, that his expositions continued to be followed by all Latin interpreters from his time until the Reformation; who have selected expositions not only from his professedly biblical labours, but also from his other practical and controversial writings. Among the principal compilations of this kind are the Glosses, or short interpretations of Strabo and Anselm.

11. WALAFRIDUS STRABO OF STRABUS, who flourished in the ninth century, composed a work on the whole Bible, which was called Glossa ordinaria or marginalis; because the entire margin, at the top and bottom, as well as on each side of the page, was filled with annotations. His work is in fact a catena or collection of comments from all the Latin fathers who preceded him, and particularly from Augustine and Rabanus Maurus, whose pupil Strabo was, and who wrote a voluminous catena on the Gospel of St. Matthew, and St. Paul's Epistles, besides an entire comment on the Bible, which is still in manuscript. Strabo endeavours to show the literal, historical, and moral sense of the Scriptures, but not always with success. For many years the labours of Strabo continued to be received as the sole authorised interpretation of the Bible. The best edition of his work is that of Antwerp, 1634, folio.2

12. ANSELM, an ecclesiastical writer of the eleventh century, wrote an Interlineary Gloss, so called because it is confined to the insertion of a very brief exposition of obscure passages in the same line with the text.

13. THOMAS AQUINAS, a celebrated scholastic doctor of the thirteenth century, compiled a Catena on the four Gospels, from upwards of eighty Greek and Latin fathers, whose words he chiefly gives, rather than their meaning, and quotes the Greek fathers from Latin versions of their works. His comment long held a distinguished place in the Western church; it is found in the fourth and fifth vols. of the Venice edition of his works, 1755, 4to.

There were however a few, though but few, interpreters of better note, who flourished during the period now under consideration, and who followed a better mode of interpretation. We shall briefly enumerate them.

14. The venerable BEDE, who lived in the eighth century, composed a catena on nearly the whole of the New Testament, from the writings of the fathers, in which he interspersed but few remarks of his own. Deeply versed in Greek literature, he has the peculiar praise of drawing from original sources. His commentaries are to be found in the fifth and sixth volumes of the Cologne edition of his works, 1688, folio.

15. ALCUIN, the countryman and contemporary of Bede, compiled a commentary on some parts of the Scriptures, in which he made selections from Jerome, Chrysostom, Augustine, Bede, and other writers; not always with the best judgment. His biblical labours are contained in the first volume of Froben's edition of his works.

1 Rambachii Instit. Herm. p. 679.

2 Much curious information relative to the Biblia Glossata, or Glosses on the Scriptures, is contained in Masch's edition of Le Long's Bibliotheca Sacra, part ä vol. iii. cap. ii. sect. iii. pp. 353. et seq.

16. NICHOLAS DE LYRA or LYRANUS, so called from the place of his nativity, a small town in Normandy, is reputed to have been a Jew by descent, but having embraced Christianity, he entered into the religious society of Friars Minors at Verneuil. He deservedly holds a distinguished rank among commentators, his explanations of the Scriptures being far superior to the manner and spirit of the age in which he flourished. His compendious expositions of the Bible were called postills, from his manner of placing them, viz. first exhibiting the sacred text, and post illa (after the words of the text) offering his own explication. In this work he shows a greater acquaintance with the literal sense of Scripture than any preceding commentator, and has availed himself of his intimate knowledge of Hebrew to select the best comments of the most learned Rabbins, particularly Jarchi. Being, however, less intimately acquainted with Greek than with Hebrew, he is less happy in his expositions of the New Testament than in those of the Old. His notes are allowed to be very judicious, and he principally attends to the literal sense, with which, however, he occasionally intermingles the subtleties of the schoolmen. The best edition of this work is that of Antwerp, 1634, in 6 vols. folio: it is also found in the Biblia Maxima, edited by Father De la Haye, in 19 vols. folio. Lyra was also the author of Moralia, or Moral Commentaries upon the Scriptures.1

SECTION IV.

THE PRINCIPAL COMMENTATORS ON THE SCRIPTURES GENERALLY, SINCE THE REFORMATION.

1. Foreign Commentators.

1. THE illustrious reformer, MARTIN LUTHER, wrote Commentaries on most of the books of Scripture. A collection of them was published at Wittenberg, in four volumes, folio, 1549. All the writings of this great man are deservedly held in the highest estimation in Germany, especially his Commentaries on Genesis, and on St. Paul's Epistles to the Romans and Galatians. His Commentary on the Galatians is best known in this country by a translation, which was first printed in 1580 in 4to. and subsequently in folio, octavo, and in two vols. 12mo. In 1821, was published, in 8vo. a translation of Luther's Commentary on the Psalms, called Psalms of Degrees; in which among many other valuable Discourses on Individual, Household, and Civil Affairs, the Scriptural Doctrine respecting the divinely instituted and honourable Estate of Matrimony is explained and defended against the Popish Perversion of Enforced Celibacy, Monastic Vows, Orders, &c. &c. To which is prefixed, An Historical Account of the Monastic Life, particularly of the Monasteries of England.

2. The biblical writings of JOHN CALVIN, another illustrious reformer, consist of Commentaries, Homilies, and Lectures on almost

1 Masch's edition of Le Long's Bibliotheca Sacra, part ii. vol. iii. p. 357–362. Lyra's commentary was attacked by Paul bishop of Burgos (Paulus Burgensis), a converted Jew, and was defended by Matthias Doring. Ibid. pp. 363, 364. Walchii Bibliotheca Theologica, vol. iv. pp. 396, 397.

the whole of the Scriptures: they are to be found in the folio edition of his works, printed at Amsterdam, in 1671, in nine volumes. The Commentaries and other expository writings of this great man have always been deservedly celebrated and admired: though it has been the fashion with some modern divines to depreciate them, on account of those peculiar dogmas which Calvin deduced from the Sacred Writings." Calvin's Commentaries," says the learned Matthew Poole, in the preface to the Synopsis Criticorum Sacrorum,' noticed below," abound in solid discussions of theological subjects, and in practical improvements of them. Subsequent writers have borrowed most of their materials from Calvin; and his interpretations adorn the books even of those who repay their obligation by reproaching their master." The great critic Scaliger said that no commentator had better hit the sense of the prophets than Calvin ; and another eminent critic of our own time (Rosenmüller) has remarked, that although Calvin was not deeply versed in Hebrew, yet as he possessed an acute and subtle genius, his interpretations of Isaiah in particular, contain many things which are exceedingly useful for understanding the prophet's meaning. Nothing indeed can more satisfactorily evince the high estimation to which the commentaries of Calvin are still entitled from the biblical student, than the following eulogium of one of the most learned prelates that ever adorned the Anglican Church-Bishop Horsley. "I hold," says he, "the memory of Calvin in high veneration; his works have a place in my library; and, in the study of the Holy Scriptures, he is one of the Commentators whom I most frequently consult." The writer of these pages has not often had occasion to refer to the writings of Calvin in the prosecution of this work; yet he has never consulted them but with advantage and with pleasure.

3. VICTORINUS STRIGELIUS was nearly contemporary with Luther and Calvin, and wrote arguments and notes to the whole of the Bible, with the exception of Isaiah, which were published at different times between the years 1566 and 1586, and in various sizes. They are much admired for their exactness, particularly his Trouvara on the New Testament, which are noticed in a subsequent page.

4. LUDOVICI DE DIEU Critica Sacra, sive Animadversiones in Loca quædam difficiliora Veteris et Novi Testamenti. Amsterdam, 1693, folio.

A work of acknowledged character: "Perhaps no man ever possessed a more consummate knowledge of the Oriental languages than De Dieu, nor employed his knowledge to more useful purposes." (Bibliog. Dict. III. 123.)

5. SEBASTIANI SCHMIDII Commentarii in Genesin, Josuam, Ruth, Reges, Samuelem, Jobum, Psalmos, Ecclesiasten, Iesaiam, Jeremiam, Hoseam, Evangelium Johannis, et Epistolas Pauli ad Romanos, Galatas, et Hebræos. Argentorati, 1687, et annis sequentibus, 4to. Sebastian Schmidt was at least the most laborious and voluminous commentator of his age (the seventeenth century). Mosheim's Eccl. Hist. vol. v. p. 296.

6. CRITICI SACRI: sive Annotata doctissimorum Virorum in Vetus ac Novum Testamentum; quibus accedunt Tractatus varii, Theologico-Philologici, 9 tomis in 12 voluminibus, Amsterdam, 1698, folio.

1 Masch has given the titles and dates of their respective publications; vol. iii pp. 424-427.

This great work, first published at London in 1660, in 9 vols. folio, under the direction of Bishop Pearson, John Pearson, Anthony Scattergood, and Francis Gouldman, is considerably augmented in the above second and best edition. The notes of Grotius, Vatablus, and Drusius, Munster, Castalio, Clarius, Junius, and Tremellius, are to be found in this collection, besides a multitude of commentators on particular books, and numerous valuable disquisitions on particular subjects, which are enumerated by Dr. A. Clarke in the general preface to his Commentary, vol. i. p. xiii. To complete this great work, there were published at Amsterdam, in 1701, Thesaurus Theologico-Philologicus, in 2 vols. folio, and in 1732, in two folio volumes also, Thesaurus Novus Theologico-Philologicus,-two valuable collections of critical and philological dissertations by the most eminent biblical critics of that day. These are necessary to complete the Critici Sacri; of which great work an admirable abridgment has been published under the title of,

7. MATTHEI POLI Synopsis Criticorum aliorumque SS. Interpretum. London, 1669-1674, 5 vols. folio. Utrecht, 5 vols. folio, 1684; also Frankfort, 1712, 5 vols. folio, and 1694, 5 vols. large 4to.

On this most elaborate work the learned author spent ten years; it consolidates with great skill and conciseness all the Critici Sacri of the London edition into one continued comment, besides many valuable additions from other authors of note, Hammond, &c. and his own corrections and decisions in several places. It has many advantages over the Critici Sacri, not only in point of size, but also in its admirable arrangement and concentration of evidence, and in the author's remarks; and it furnishes a most complete material index to the Critici Sacri. (Dr. Hales's Analysis of Chronology, vol. ii. preface, p. xviii.) Of the various editions above noticed, that edited at Utrecht by Professor Leusden, is by far the best and most correct. The folio Frankfort edition is not worth purchasing, on account of its incorrectness. The 4to. edition, which is somewhat better, is nevertheless very inaccurate it is badly printed, and sells at a very low price.

8. JOANNIS CLERICI Translatio Librorum Veteris Testamenti, cum ejusdem Paraphrasi perpetuâ, Commentario Philologico, Dissertationibus Criticis, Tabulisque Chronologicis et Geographicis, folio, 4 vols. Amsterdam, 1708, 1710, 1713. Ejusdem, Translatio ex Anglica Linguâ Henrici Hammondi Paraphrasis et Adnotationum in Novum Testamentum, Animadversionibus suis illustrata. Frankfort, 1714. 2 vols. folio.

Le Clerc's Translation and Commentary are highly commended by Bishop Watson of Dr. Hammond's Paraphrase and Notes on the New Testament, some account is given below. Many of Le Clerc's observations throw great light on the Scriptures; in others he has indulged his own fancy, and, what is most to be regretted, has completely frittered away the meaning of the Prophecies concerning our Saviour. He considers the miracles as the effects of nature. His Commentaries on the Prophets and on the Hagiographa are greatly inferior to those on the Pentateuch. John Justus Von Einem published a volume of Animadversiones ad Joannis Clerici Commentarios, at Magdeburgh, 1735. 8vo.

9. LA SAINTE BIBLE, expliquée par DAVID MARTIN, Amsterdam, 1707. 2 vols. folio.

M. Martin revised the Geneva version of the French Bible and corrected it so materially, that it is frequently considered as a new translation. The short notes, which he has annexed, contain much good sense, learning, and piety.

10. Ostervald (Jean-Frederic) La Sainte Bible, avec les Argumens et Reflexions, Neufchatel, 1772. folio.

M. Ostervald was an eminent divine of the French Protestant Church. The French Text of the Bible is that of the Geneva Version, revised and corrected by himself; whence it is often considered as a new version. Ostervald's arguments and reflections are very valuable, and have been liberally consulted by later commentators. A detached translation of them, in three vols. 8vo., was published by Mr. Chamberlayne in the early part of the eighteenth century, at the request and under the patronage of the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge.

11. JOANNIS COCCEI Commentarii in Sacras Scripturas, in ejus Operibus. Amsterdam, 10 vols. folio.

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