Obsolete Words in the Bible and Prayer-book. correctness the Queen's Printers and the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge have a monopoly of issuing Bibles and Prayer-books. Yet, in spite of these precautions, many changes have crept in. It would be difficult, for instance, to find a Prayer-book now in which in the Absolution, both at Morning and Evening Prayer, we did not read, Wherefore let us beseech Him,' &c. This is correct in the form for the morning, but in that for the evening the Sealed Books give, 'Wherefore beseech we Him.' Such is a sample of many other variations, unimportant in themselves, but betraying inaccuracy. It is a far graver fault when we find editions put forth, even by the privileged printers, which lack some of the services, as, for example, the Ordinal: all should be careful never to buy Prayer-books that are thus mutilated and imperfect. As regards, however, the obsolete words, there do not seem to have been many unauthorised alterations in the Prayer-book; but in the Bible these are very frequent. The following old forms appear among others in the edition of 1611, but have long been modernised in our Bibles :-fet, moueth, damosell, flix, chaws, charet, bile, crudle, moe, aliant, fift, sixt, rhinocerot, thorow, mids, fornace, sowen, growen, &c.; instead of fetched, mouth, damsel, flux, jaws, chariot, boil, curdle, more, alien, fifth, sixth, rhinoceros, through, midst, furnace, sown, grown, &c. These corrections have not always been consistently carried out. Thus, 'lift,' the old perfect, has been retained in some places, e.g. Gen. vii. 17; St. Luke, xvi. 23; while in others, as in St. Luke, xi. 27, it has been changed to 'lifted.' In Ezek. x. 5 and xlii. 1, the version of 1611 speaks of 'the utter court;' in modern Bibles 'utter' has been retained only in the last of these passages; in the former it has been altered into 'outer.' 'Rent,'the old form of rend, occurred in twelve texts in the Authorised translation; but it has been turned into 'rend' in every place save one (Jer. iv. 30). In the Sealed Books of Common Prayer the introductory sentence from Joel is given, 'Rent your hearts.' No doubt many of these changes are in themselves desirable, yet one would be glad to know under what authority they have been made. A revision of the English Bible, on however small a scale, ought not to be carried out in this silent and apparently haphazard fashion: for not all the so-called corrections are as innocent as those already named. In one verse (1 Tim. ii. 9) the printer, or whoever took upon himself to depart from the text, has either, through carelessness or ignorance, substituted two words that are quite different from those which they are meant to represent. St. Paul would not have women adorn themselves with broided hair (broided being the old form of braided); the margin offers 'plaited' as an alternative, and either of these renderings would give a fair idea of the original Greek; but 'broidered,' which until lately was the common reading, has altogether another meaning (Ezek. xvi. 1013, 18), and would signify hair that was embroidered or laced with pearls, or other ornaments. This corruption was of very early introduction. I find it in a New Testament of 1633, only twenty-two years after the issue of the Authorised Version. In many of the more modern editions of the Bible 'broided' has been reinstated in its proper place The other error still remains. 'Shamefacedness' means that shame which betrays itself in the countenance by blushing, or the like; 'shamefastnesse,' the word which our translators used in this passage, Obsolete Words in the Bible and Prayer-book. is that modesty which is fast or rooted in the character. Chaucer says of Virginia, 'Shamefast she was in maydene's shamfastnesse.' Both 'shamefastness' and 'shamefacedness' were in use at the time that our version was made, but as the former of these terms was given here, it ought to have been retained. The change is the more to be regretted, because 'shamefacedness' is seldom employed now in a very good sense; it has come rather to describe an awkward diffidence, such as we sometimes call sheepishness, and so in this passage it scarcely conveys St. Paul's meaning to us. In these cases the similarity between two words, which yet are quite distinct, has led to the mistake. I may mention here one or two more instances where a similar confusion may sometimes exist, though no alteration has crept into the text. Many, perhaps, would regard 'bewray' as another form of 'betray,' or at all events as identical in meaning; and indeed the words are sometimes so used, but they come from different roots. Bewray' is to accuse, and so to show or declare, but the idea of treachery is not of necessity implied in it, as in the case of betray. The ointment . . . bewrayeth itself' (Prov. xxvii. 16). Thy speech bewrayeth thee' (St. Matt. xxvi. 73). Thomas Adams, a divine who lived at the time that our version was made, writes in one of his sermons, 'Well may he be hurt... and die, who will not bewray his disease lest he betray his credit.' เ 6 'Endue' is to put on, to clothe: Until ye be endued with power from on high' (St. Luke, xxiv. 49); Endue Thy ministers with righteousness' (Suffrages after the Creed). Endow,' on the other hand, is, properly speaking, to furnish with a dowry: With all my worldly goods I thee endow' (Marriage Service); He shall surely endow her to be his wife' (Exod. xxii. 16). The distinction, however, is not always observed, e. g. God hath endued me with a good dowry' (Gen. xxx. 20). In the two following examples a difference at present exists in the use of substantially the same words, but is not found in our translation. Both 'ragged' and 'rugged' mean, literally, broken, but we speak now of a rugged rock and a ragged coat. But Isaiah mentions the ragged rocks' (Isa. ii. 21); so Massinger:— 'famed Aleides, The tyrant queller that refused the plain To scale the ragged cliffs.'-Parliament of Love, v. 1. Shakespeare has the expression, 'My voice is ragged' (As you Like It, ii. 5). To assay,' denotes with us to test; to' essay' is to endeavour, or to begin in a tentative way. The former term is always used in our version, though in every case ' essay' would be more in accordance with modern usage. Essay,' however, is a comparatively new word. Bacon published the first edition of his Essays in 1597, and commenting on the title in a dedication prefixed to a larger edition of them in 1612, he says, The word is late, but the thing is ancient.' Shakespeare, I think, always employs assay.' The earliest example that is given in Richardson's Dictionary of essay' as a verb is from Denham's Cooper's Hill, published in 1643. A New-Year's Day, NOTHER year has now begun With silent pace its course to run; Accept our penitential tears, O Lord, for sins of by-gone years; Father, Thy bounteous love we bless, For hope of joys that never cease. Our days and years decay and die, Make us to see our own brief hours O Son of God, in faith and fear, Grant us, O Comforter, Thy grace, Blest Three in One, to Thee we pray, Holy Year. Pray Much-Pray Well. ELIX NEFF once made the following comparison :-' When a pump is frequently used, but little pains are necessary to have water; the water pours out at the first stroke, because it is high. But if the pump has not been used for a long time the water gets low, and when you want it you must pump a long while, and the water comes only after great efforts. It is so with prayer: if we are instant in prayer, every little circumstance awakens the disposition to pray, and desires and words are always ready. But if we neglect prayer it is difficult for us to pray, for the water in the well gets low.' Campanula; or, The First Bell. A LEGEND OF THE EARLY CHURCH. (Adapted from a Swiss Almanack.) EEP in thought Paulinus, a bishop in Campania, was walking towards Nola, his Episcopal city. He had been taking a long journey, wandering from village to village, from town to town, to encourage the Christians and to strengthen them in their faith. He had met with much indifference, much superstition, much unbelief; and by these the faithful bishop's soul was deeply troubled. Lifting up his heart in prayer to the Lord, he implored in a gentle voice: Let voices from above be heard over the poor, dark earth; break through the cloud which lies between Thee and us. Bind heart to heart in our estrangement and separation. Call together all who are wandering! Lord! Lord! hide not Thy face from us! Send down Thy Spirit, that hearts may be drawn unto Thee, and not wander for ever in eternal darkness!' Campanula; or, the First Bell. More and more lonely became the country; the pious wanderer scarcely observed the solitude, for his feet alone touched the dusty earth; his soul, wrapt in holy devotion, was communing with his Lord. As the sun began to sink in the west, Paulinus sat down on a rock which lay by the roadside; an unusual weariness fatigued his limbs, his eyelids became heavier and heavier, the objects which were close around him seemed to be dancing uncertainly before his eyes. Weariness for a moment struggled against sleep. Once more he raised his languid eyes towards the sky. Once more, in broken accents, the prayer rose from his lips, Send voices, O Lord! send voices from above!' Behold, in the evening breeze lovely flowers were moving on the top of the rock; on slender, almost invisible stems, the flower-bells were gently moving. Half waking, half dreaming, the Bishop thought he saw how from the evening clouds light angel-forms descended to move the bells on their stems; and listen! from the flowery cups silvery voices sound forth, which, like the songs of spirits, fall upon the ear. 'Come, come! O Lord . . . send voices!' once more the Bishop prayed; then his eyes closed, and not till the returning sun appeared on the horizon did the sleeper awake. Once more did the sweet songs of the flowers sound in his ear; once more did his eyes look for the winged messengers of Heaven who had moved the bells. But in vain. He saw only the charming blue-cups moved by the gentle breeze of the morning air. Deeply affected, Paulinus knelt down on the rock. Like Jacob, he well might have called the place Bethel, for here the Spirit of the Lord seemed to rest, and had revealed a secret to him. Strengthened afresh he reached his home, and soon settled down to his accustomed occupations. Still, whilst he was writing and meditating, and even during his prayers, his eyes often rested on the blue-bells which stood beside him in a vase of water. When the sacristans went through the streets with cymbals to call the Christians to service in church, it seemed to the Bishop as if voices from above must expel this remnant of heathen idol-worship. But how? That was a question he must solve. Therefore he sent for his neighbour the coppersmith, a good and pious man, to come to him. Minutely and inquiringly did they examine the form of the tender flower. Thus, thus, it must be!' cried the handicraftsman at last. In the large garden below he built a furnace, and made of clay a model exactly like that of the flower-bell, but large and broad. Then he mixed copper with other metals, heating them into a molten mass, which he poured into the clay mould, and when it became cold he took the bright kernel from the shell. The Bishop grasped a hammer, and with trembling hand struck the new-made bell; and listen! voices from above in silvery waves of sound fell upon his ear. His face beaming with pleasure, Paulinus bared his grey head, and knelt down beside the completed work. At Nola, in Campania, Christians were first called to assemble for service by a bell. Thence the flower which had served as a model received, it is said, the name of Campanula. Since then, voices from above are ever floating over humanity, and calling souls heavenwards, now with a merry ring of joy, now with solemn, earnest tones. And even when the bells are silent their echo |