Fathers

A Candid Inquiry into the Controversies among Evangelicals · §113

§.V: Early prints differ from one another and from the autograph — Art. X German vs Latin; Bellarmine; Schmid; Baden collation

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Of all these first-two-years press copies it is certain: they often differ in wording both from one another and from the autograph.

The earlier verbal split shows not only when Wittenberg copies are set beside the Breslau one, but when Wittenberg copies are set beside each other — the Latin quarto against the German of the same size — above all on Article X, though both Wittenberg runs used the same printer, Georg Rhau (Calov, Critica, pp. 86–98).

The same is proved by the Latin and German exemplars Chytraeus and Celestine put into their histories, and by matching either author's Latin with his German.

Celestine's and Chytraeus's German both cast Article X thus: they teach of the Supper that Christ's true body and blood are truly present under the form of bread and wine, are distributed and received there, and that the contrary teaching is rejected (Tom. II, p. 53b).

But their Latin forms Article X so that the species of bread and wine are never named: they teach concerning the Lord's Supper that the body and blood of the Lord are truly present and are distributed to those who eat, and they reject those who teach otherwise (same Tom., p. 172b).

Like gaps turn up around Articles XIII and XVIII when Chytraeus's and Celestine's Latin copies are compared: Chytraeus has many additions Celestine lacks.

No wonder, then, that Papists and some Protestants have complained of discrepant copies.

Bellarmine is not far from the truth when he writes (in the place already cited) that almost every year new exemplars appeared which, though all wore the Augsburg title, differed much in words and sentences both among themselves and from the first Confession shown to Charles.

Johann Schmid, pressed by whatever truth sits in those words, answers that Bellarmine's yearly-change talk is hyperbole alone: we do not deny verbal change, but we deny change of the things and sentences; an early change we grant, yet by that pact nothing was added to or taken from the Confession's essence.

The Wittenberg edition of 1531, he says, did not dissent from the Augsburg-exhibited exemplar in substance or doctrine, though its added phrases and diction did not wholly match the prototype. For the causes of the various changes, see Calov, Critica, and p. 85.

Later, the many verbal differences among printed copies — above all the Formula of Concord insert set against the autograph — were carefully collated by the most illustrious prince Ernest Frederick, Margrave of Baden, in the Christian Reflections and Motives that kept His Princely Grace from subscribing the Formula (pp. 1–98, printed at Castle Staffort, 1599).

Latin

De his omnibus, praelô scil. annis duobus primis, commissis, certum est, tùm inter se, tùm ab Autographo haud rarò verbis differre: Probant enim discrimen verborum prius, non Exemplaria tantùm Wittenbergensia cum Vratislaviensi, sed & Wittenbergensia inter se, Latinum scil. in 4to, cum Germanico ejusdem formae, collata, potissimum quod ad Articulum X. attinet, etiamsi utrumque Exemplar Wittenbergense eundem Typographum Georgium Rhauium expertum sit, vid. Calovii Critic. p. à 86. ad 98. Idem probant Exemplaria Augustanae Confessionis, tam Latina, quàm Germanica, à Chytraeo & Coelestino Historiis suis illata; etiam utriusvis Auctoris Latina cum Germanicis comparata. E.g. tàm Caelestini, quàm Chytraei Germanica, Articulum X. his verbis efferunt: Vom Abendmahl wird also gelehret, daß wahrer Leib und Blut Christi wahrhaftiglich unter der Gestalt des Brods und Weins im Abendmahl gegenwärtig sey, und da ausgetheilet und genommen wird, derhalben auch die Gegenlehre verworffen wird. Tom. II. p. 53. b.; At Latina eorundem Autorum, articulum X. sic formatum habent, ut Speciei Panis & Vini nulla prorsus mentio injiciatur: De Coena Domini docent, quòd Corpus & Sanguis Domini verè adsint, & distribuantur vescentibus in Coena Domini, & improbant secus docentes. Tom. eod. pag. 172. b. Similes Discrepantias reperias circa Articulum XIII. & XVIII. in Exemplaribus Latinis Chytraei & Coelestini, se inter comparatis, utpote quorum prius, Chytraeanum scil. multa adjecta habet, quae in Coelestiniano haud inveniuntur. Ut proinde mirùm non sit, cùm Pontificios, tùm Protestantium nonnullos, de discrepantia Exemplarium conquestos subinde fuisse, nec à vero abludat Bellarminus, quando loco retrò citatô scribit, singulis propè annis, alia atque alia Exemplaria prodiisse, quae licèt omnia Confessionis augustanae titulum prae se ferrent, tamen & verbis & sententiis, tum inter se, tùm ab illa prima Confessione, Caesari exhibita, plurimum dissenserint; Quin potiùs quali quali verborum Bellarmini veritate convictus Joh. Schmidius, solius hyperboles dictionem Bellarmini infimulet, ita respondens: Quod de mutatione, singulis prope annis factâ, scribit Bellarminus, est hyperbolicon; mutatam fuisse Augustanam Confessionem non negamus, sed quoad verba tantùm, non quoad res ipsas & Sententias; Initio mutationem esse factam concedimus, quô pactô ipsi Confessionis essentiae nihil accessit vel decessit: Certum enim est, August. Confess. Anno 31. Wittenbergae editam, ratione Substantialium & Doctrinalium, ab Exemplari Augustae exhibito, nequaquam dissensisse, licèt quoad Phraseon & Dictionum additiones cum prototypo non planè congrueret. Causas mutationum variarum require apud Calovium in Crit. & pag. 85. Posterius verborum Discrimen multiplex, scil. typis expressorum exemplarium Imprimis ejus, quod Formulae Concordiae insertum ab Autographo, accurata collatione delineavit Illustriss. Princeps Ernestus Fridericus Marchio Badenensis, im Christl. Bedenck. und Motiven, die Sr. Fürstl. Gnaden von der Subscription der F. C. abgehalten. à pag. 1. ad 98. gedruckt auf dem Schloß Staffort anno 1599.

About this text

Samuel Strimesius — Prefatio through Controversiae Post Lutherum Controv. III-XIII + XV Tolerantia, Hexades Annotationum Prooemium and Annotatio I through Decem Theses / Francus plus Annotatio II §.I-§.VI and Annotatio III §.I–§.VII (through Cassellanum 1661) from Ingenua in Controversias Evangelicorum (Frankfurt an der Oder, 1708). Honest partial; Prefatio silence reasons, Annotatio III §.VIII+ fruits / §.IX+, Hexades theses body, deeper Controversiae / Part II remain.

English follows the locked 1708 Francofurti ad Viadrum Latin of Prefatio §I–II, Crimina defenses through III, Part I Protheoria through Controversiae Obices/Historia/Varii gradus, Formula Discord/Disparitas, Ulterius confirmatur / Classes / Formula protest / triplex differentia, Coena Domini Controversiae Priores through Precariae Hypotheses (Controv. print pp. 34–40), Controversiae Post Lutherum Natae Controv. III–XV tip (providence through De Tolerantia mutua; Controv. print pp. 40–78), Hexades Annotationum Prooemium H.I–§.III (Hexades print pp. 1–4 / PDF ~182–185), and Annotatio I De Augustana Confessione §.I–§.VIII tip (Hexades print pp. 5–24+ / PDF ~186–205+), reconstructed from Google Books PDF page images (ONB copy, id 3epYAAAAcAAJ) with pdftotext as check. No modern English was copied. Sister Halle digitization of Ingenua in Arminianismum (DOI 10.25673/65287) remains Anubis-blocked — skipped; Controversias only. Prefatio silence reasons, Annotatio I §.IX+, Hexades theses body beyond §.VIII, and remainder of Controversiae / folio remain.

Witnesses

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