an those used by Erasmus.
The later editors of the Greek text in the sixteenth century, Robert
Estienne (Stephanus) and Theodore Beza, did little to castigate it,
although one of the codices used by Beza, and now known by his name, is
of great value.

[Sidenote: Hebrew text]

The Hebrew Massoretic text of the Old Testament was printed by Gerson
Ben Mosheh at Brescia in 1494, and far more elaborately in the first
four volumes of the Complutensian Polyglot. With the Hebrew text the
Spanish editors offered the Septuagint Greek, the Syriac, and the
Vulgate, the Hebrew, Syriac and Greek having Latin translations. The
manuscripts for the Hebrew were procured from Rome. A critical
revision was undertaken by Sebastian Muenster and published with a new
Latin version at Basle 1534-5. Later recensions do not call for
special notice here. An incomplete text of the Syriac New Testament
was published at Antwerp in 1569.

[Sidenote: Latin versions]

The numerous new Latin translations made during {566} this period
testify to the general discontent with the Vulgate. Not only humanists
like Valla, Lefevre and Erasmus, but perfectly orthodox theologians
like Pope Nicholas V, Cajetan and Sadoletus, saw that the common
version could be much improved. In the new Latin translation by
Erasmus many of the errors of the Vulgate were corrected. Thus, in
Matthew iii, 2, he offers "resipiscite" or "ad mentem redite" instead
of "poenitentiam agite." This, as well as his substitution of "sermo"
for "verbum" in John i, 1, was fiercely assailed. Indeed, when it was
seen what use was made by the Protestants of the new Greek texts and of
the new Latin versions, of which there were many, a strong reaction
followed in favor of the traditional text. Even by the editors of the
Complutensian Polyglot the Vulgate was regarded with such favor that,
being printed between the Hebrew and Greek, it was compared by them to
Christ crucified between the two thieves. [Sidenote: 1530] The
Sorbonne condemned as "Lutheran" the assertion that the Bible could not
be properly understood or expounded without knowledge of the original
languages. [Sidenote: April 8, 1546] In the decree of Trent the
Vulgate was declared to be the authentic form of the Scriptures. The
preface to the English Catholic version printed at Rheims [Sidenote:
1582] defends the thesis, now generally held by Catholics, that the
Latin text is superior in accuracy to the Greek, having