brent and consumed, in that battayle when Cæsar restored Cleopatra agayne after her expulsion. At Constantinople perished under Zenon by one common fire, a hundred and twentie thousande bookes. [Sidenote: _Iohannes Sarisberi. In Policratico, lib. 8, cap. 19. W. de regibus._] At Rome when Lucius Aurel Antonius dyd raigne, his notable librarie by a lightning from heauen was quite consumed: Yea it is recorded that Gregorie the first, dyd cause a librarie at Rome contayning only certaine Paynim’s workes to be burned, to thintent the scriptures of God should be more read and studied. What other great libraries haue there ben cōsumed but of late daies? And what libraries haue of olde throughout this realme almost in euery abbey of the same, ben destroyed at sundry ages, besides the losse of other men’s private studies, it were to long to rehearse. Wherevpon seyng almightie God by his diuine prouidence, hath preserued these bookes of the scriptures safe and sounde, and that in their natiue languages they were first written, in the great ignoraunce that raigned in these tongues, and contrary to all other casualties, chaunced vpon all other bookes in mauger of all worldly wittes, who would so fayne haue had them destroyed, and yet he by his mightie hande, would haue them extant as witnesses and interpreters of his will toward mankind: we may soone see cause most reuerently to embrace these deuine testimonies of his will, to studie them, and to searche them, to instruct our blinde nature so sore corrupted and fallen from the knowledge in whiche first we were created. Yet hauing occasion geuen somewhat to recover our fall and to returne againe to that deuine nature wherein we were once made, and at the last to be inheritours in the celestiall habitation with God almightie, after the ende of our mortalitie here brought to his dust agayne: These bookes I say beyng of such estimation and aucthoritie, so much reuerenced of them who had any meane taste of them, coulde neuer be put out of the way, neither by the spyte of any tiraunt, as that [Sidenote: _Galfride mon_] tiraunt Maximian destroyed all the holy scriptures wheresoeuer they coulde be founde, and burnt them in the middes of the market, neither the hatred either of any Porphiran philosopher or Rhetoritian, neither by the enuie of the romanystes, and of such hypocrites who from tyme to time did euer barke against them, some of them not in open sort of condempnation: but more cunningly vnder suttle pretences, for that as they say, they were so harde to vnderstande, and specially for that they affirm it to be a perilous matter to translate the text of the holy scripture, and therefore it cannot be well translated. And here we may beholde the endeuour of some men’s cauillation, who labour all they can to slaunder the translatours, to finde faulte in some wordes of the translation: but them selfe will neuer set pen to the booke, to set out any translation at al. They can in