euer made Romains / neither in ordinaunces / lawes / nor
religion. They do kepe their own lawe (so farre as they can) euen
vnto this daye: They wander aboute dispersed and scattered
abrode / neither do they forget the lawe of Godd / the haue it /
not to obserue it indeede / but only they do reade yt / and they
do also reteyne certeyn signes / as Circumcision and other
ordinaunces / by which they are knowen from others. But they offer
no sacrifices / for to sacrifice was lawfull only at Hierusalem.
And thus it semeth that the lorde hathe sett vppon them a
signe / as he dyd vppon Cain / which slewe his brother Abell.

Neither is this their dispersion amonge all the nacions of the
worlde vnprofitable for vs. They are braunches broken of / and we
are grafted in their place / which thinge whilest we do
beholde / we must acknowledg the iustice of God towards them /
and his grace towards vs: And we muste take hede / that we be
not lykwise cutt of through vnbelefe / for the which they were
broken awaie. Ther is another commoditie besydes this that
commith of this their dispersion which is / that they do kepe our
bokes / the holy byble I do meane. These they do carye aboute
with them / they reade them / and thoughe they beleue not /
because they are blinded / yet do they confesse that these
wrytinges are true. And so though they be our enemies in their
mynde / yet the bokes which they haue and do reuerence / are our
witnesses. wherfore I can not maruayle ynoughe at those men which
do persequute and hate the tonge of the Hebrewes / and the
Hebrewe bibels / and do burne them / when as Augustine in his
boke / _De doctrina Christiana_, dothe bidde /

[[Lib. 2. ca. 11.]]

that we sholde go to the truithe of the Hebrue tonge / if we do
doubte in any place of our translations. The selfe same thinge
dothe Hierome teache in manye places. But they saie that these
bokes are corrupted of the Iues. Heare I thinke good to answer
with Hierome. Either saithe he they dyd this before the comminge
of Christe / and the preachinge of the Apostles / or after: if
before / it is maruell that when Christ / the Apostles / and
Paule / dyd reproue moste shanfull faultes in the Iues / that
they wolde haue kepte in silence so greate and haynous a
sacriledge as this: surelie if it hade bene so / they wolde haue
reproued yt. But if it was done after Christes ascension / they
wolde then chieflie haue corrupted those places which do make
mencion of Chr