Vulgate: Authority and Authenticity
The Latin Vulgate's status as the authentic edition of Scripture for the Catholic Church, its history from Jerome's translation through the Clementine revision, and its superiority over other Latin editions. Trent declared it authentic for public use; the papal revision under Sixtus V, Gregory XIV, and Clement VIII restored it to integrity and purity.
Preliminaries
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DECREES OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT (SESSION IV).
— Trent declares the old Vulgate edition authentic for public readings, disputations, sermons, and expositions, forbidding anyone to reject it.
"the said old and Vulgate edition, which, by the long usage of so many centuries, has been approved in the Church itself, be held as authentic in public readings, disputations, sermons and expositions; and that no one may dare or presume to reject it under any pretext whatsoever."
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PREFACE TO THE READER (1)
— The Tridentine decree declaring the Vulgate authentic is counted among the greatest benefits God bestowed on the Church through the Council.
"Among the many and great benefits which God has bestowed upon His Church through the sacred Tridentine Synod, this one seems especially to be counted first: that among so many Latin editions of the divine Scriptures He declared by a most solemn decree the sole Old and Vulgate edition... to be authentic."
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PREFACE TO THE READER (1)
— The multiplicity of variant editions had caused confusion; Jerome himself noted scribes added and subtracted at whim.
"that great variety and diversity of versions could certainly have produced great confusion in the Church of God. For it is now well established that in our own age almost the very thing has happened which St. Jerome testified occurred in his time: namely, there were as many copies as there were manuscripts"
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PREFACE TO THE READER (1)
— The Vulgate's components: partly from Jerome's translation/emendation, partly from the ancient Italic/Common edition.
"the books contained in it... were received in part from the translation or emendation of St. Jerome, and in part retained from a certain most ancient Latin edition which St. Jerome calls the Common and Vulgate, St. Augustine the Italic, and St. Gregory the Old translation."
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PREFACE TO THE READER (1)
— Trent also decreed the Vulgate must be printed as correctly as possible, with ecclesiastical permission and approval.
"the same most holy Synod of Trent wisely added by its decree that this same Old and Vulgate edition should be printed as correctly as possible, and that no one should be permitted to print it without the permission and approval of the Superiors."
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PREFACE TO THE READER (1)
— The papal effort to restore the Vulgate involved ancient manuscripts, Hebrew and Greek sources, and patristic commentaries.
"Pius IV... entrusted that task to certain most select Cardinals... that they should most accurately correct the Latin Vulgate edition, making use of the most ancient manuscript codices, inspecting also the Hebrew and Greek sources of the Bible, and finally consulting the commentaries of the ancient Fathers."
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PREFACE TO THE READER (1)
— The history of the Clementine revision: Sixtus V printed a version but judged it needed further correction before his death; Gregory XIV continued the work.
"Sixtus V... ordered the completed work to be committed to the press. When it had already been printed... observing that not a few things had crept into the sacred Bible by a fault of the press... he judged and decreed that the whole work should be recalled under the hammer."
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PREFACE TO THE READER (1)
— The revision finally completed under Clement VIII.
"finally at the beginning of the Pontificate of Clement VIII, who now holds the helm of the universal Church, the work at which Sixtus V had aimed was, with God's good help, perfected."
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PREFACE TO THE READER (1)
— The restored Vulgate is presented as more emended and purer than all previous editions, though human weakness prevents claiming absolute perfection.
"it is by no means to be doubted that it is more emended and purer than all the others which have appeared up to this day."
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PREFACE TO THE READER (1)
— The revisors' intent was not to produce a new edition but to restore the old Vulgate to its original integrity and purity.
"it was not the intention of the sacred congregation... to produce some new edition, or to correct or emend the ancient translator in any part; but rather to restore the Old and Vulgate Latin edition itself... to its original integrity and purity"
Commentary on the Pentateuch of Moses
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Canons Bearing a Torch Before the Pentateuch
— The Vulgate translator is the best of all by the judgment of the Church for translating Hebrew proper nouns and animals
"in this matter the surest rule is to follow the most learned ancient Hebrews, and above all our interpreter [the Vulgate translator], who by the judgment of the Church is the best of all."