church, in order to its restoration in that country. A notice of the version of the holy Scriptures, by Padre Scio, has been given, and the unfriendliness of the priesthood to the work at the time of its publication has been noticed. However, it came forth under powerful patronage, and obtained extensive circulation; so that the upper classes of Spaniards became familiarized with the sight, at least, of the Bible, in their own language. Notwithstanding the relaxation of the rule of the Index, and the ostensible concurrence of the Inquisitors, Scio's work was unpopular. "A zealous Prelate of the Church of Spain" memorialized the Inquisition against some passages; and the object of a large party of the Clergy was, doubtless, to destroy, discredit, or supersede it. Charles IV., under whose auspices it had come forth into the world, was persuaded that it was defective; and accordingly he one day suggested, in conversation with his Confessor, that it should be improved on in another translation. He cited phrases of the Vulgate which Scio had translated too closely, and which, in either language, were offensive to modesty, or obscure, especially in the Old Testament; and Felix Torres Amat, at that time (1808) devoted to biblical studies at St. Ildefonso, and afterwards Bishop of Astorga, was honoured with the royal command to execute a new version of the Bible. He was occupied in this labour from 1808 to 1825; not only translating, but toiling through researches in which his vigorous understanding and naturally frank spirit were made to bend in subservience to the authority of the Church. To produce a version of the Vulgate, improved from the Hebrew and Greek originals, would have been easy; but he had to perform the knotty task of collating the Vulgate with those venerable codes of truth, so as to give a gloss of critical accuracy to his production, occupying apparently the same ground as that taken by Protestant translators, and to infuse into a free

translation the whole dogma of his sect.

The plan

was laid with admirable art, in exact adaptation to circumstances. For Spain did not, nor does, possess any fund of biblical learning, properly so called. There is not in the language one standard work of Hebrew criticism; and, if the writer may presume to judge from conversations with some of the most learned Ecclesiastics, Amat included, the science of biblical interpretation has yet to be begun. The Clergy themselves would, therefore, be easily persuaded that the translator, with whom very few of them could bear comparison, was a giant in Hebrew and Greek literature, as he probably would have been if educated in almost any other country, and would pay a profound deference to his opinion. A fluent and modernized style would captivate superficial readers, (and these are every where the majority,) and a Bible free from obscurity would be deemed perfected by those who, being utterly uninstructed, desired to understand its contents. The exhibition of the Latin Vulgate on the same page, and the use of italics in the explanatory phrases and sentences, largely intermingled with the text of the translation, would serve to mark the one as the authentic version, and the other as the theological paraphrase, or comment. Incomparable ingenuity, quickened by intense study during the best years of the author's life, would command respect from every reader; and the royal orders of Charles IV., Ferdinand VII., and the Governess Christina, would constitute it an authorized book.

A review of the text might be tedious; but those readers who have attended to such matters know full well what are the usual characteristics of Romish paraphrases. Profiting by the experience of his more rigid predecessor, Don Felix did not proceed to publish his version until he had propitiated those who might have hindered its circulation. As this

work has excited much interest, especially in the committees of some of our great Societies, it may not be thought unimportant to relate the course pursued preparatory to its publication, borrowing his own account. He gives it thus :—

"Towards the end of the year 1822, in the retirement of a cell in the convent of Franciscan Fathers of Sanpedor, near the sanctuary of Monserrate, I finished at last the long task of fifteen years. In pursuance of a royal order of His Majesty, communicated to me by the Ordinary Ecclesiastical, and in pursuance of the desire expressed by the Censors also, named by virtue of a royal order, dated July 10th, 1815, I came to this Court, (Madrid,) to be present at some meetings of the Censors, in which the revision of my manuscript should be brought to a close; and, as I yielded at once to the wise reflections which they made to me on some points, the work was happily concluded. The approbation of my manuscript was then made known to His Majesty. Having afterwards obtained from His Eminence the Archbishop, Primate, the permission to print, as also the singular favour of His Majesty that this version should bear the royal device of his august name, which so much recommends it, I began the impression, commencing with the New Testament, the reading of this being most useful to the faithful in general, for whom the version is chiefly intended."

* One of those Societies so far admired the work, (although it had been examined at their own request, and its errors minutely pointed out,) as to engage an individual, a Spanish Priest, totally ignorant of the original languages, almost ignorant of Latin, and a stranger to evangelical theology, to revise this version, and republish it in London, under their imprint. The New Testament, rather mutilated than fevised, was printed in 1837, and a copy, handsomely bound, with mitre and crook on the covers, was forwarded to the Spanish Bishop. His name, and the holy Church of Barcelona, figure on the title page, in the style so characteristic of that class of Churchmen.

The Bishop of Loryma sent up the following report, addressed to the Minister of Grace and Justice ::

"Most excellent Sir,-On the 13th July, 1815, Don Nicolas María Sierra, then Judge of the Department of Printing, (juez de imprentas,) forwarded to me an official, inclosing a special order of His Majesty, communicated on the 10th of the same month by His Excellency the Minister of Grace and Justice, in which he commanded, that as soon as the labours of D. Felix Torres Amat, in the translation of the Bible which he had begun, should be concluded, they should be sent to me, to be examined by me and the persons whom I might point out.' They have been sent to me, accordingly; and, having examined them, together with the persons whom I have thought most suitable on account of their piety and their understanding, EVEN of the Hebrew and Greek languages, in which the originals of the Holy Bible were written, it results from the reports which they have given respectively, and from the judgment which we have formed of the translation, that it is in conformity with the brief of our Most Holy Father Pius VI., and does not contain any thing at variance with the doctrines of our holy religion; besides, that it is so FORMED that by means of interlinear explanations in a different letter, the sense of the text is sufficiently explained, and regard is had to economy, reducing it to few volumes, (!) which will doubtless contribute to its being more universally read. Wherefore, and the Diocesan Board of the late Most Eminent Archbishop of Toledo having agreed to the same, I am not only of opinion that the said translation does not contain any thing that should hinder it from being printed, but consider that it is very useful at a time when the London Bible Society is scattering abroad through the whole world so many millions of versions of the Vulgate in vulgar languages, without any explanation or note whatever, the want of which may

cause most serious mischief to the Catholic Church. This is my opinion, which I pray your Excellency to bring to the knowledge of His Majesty, whom God keep, &c., &c. Madrid, 21st April, 1823."

Although fifteen years had been spent in the preparation of his work, the author professes that he would have employed yet more time in correcting it, and bringing it nearer to his standard of perfection, had he not seen that large editions of the New Testament in Spanish were published out of Spain, understood that it was intended to print thirty thousand copies of Scio's Bible without the notes, experienced the harm which had been already occasioned by an edition of eight thousand, which was disposed of in a short time, and heard that it was in contemplation to print a large edition of the Bible for Spanish America, should his be delayed.

However the Spaniards might be entertained by "the royal device" on the title-page, and however earnest one party in the Popish Church of Spain might be to neutralize the harm said to have been done by Padre Scio and the Bible Society, there was another party, with the Roman Congregation of the Index at its head, who regarded the business with an evil eye. It could not escape their better discernment, that the endeavour to counteract the alleged evil would eventually increase it, by setting mind into motion in speculation about religion and holy writ. As it was not so desirable to oppose directly the King and the dignitaries who had committed themselves as patrons, sinister reports as to the translator were made at Rome, and he found it necessary to pay court in the same quarter. He engaged the Nuncio at Madrid to send a copy of the New Testament, with its "royal device," to the holy father, Pius VII., (the same Pope as had first honoured the Bible Society with his denunciation in 1816,) accompanied with "a humble and respectful address to