224 LIVES OF THE PURITANS. in all kinds of Hebrew learning, that he was invited to Constantinople, for the purpose of instructing the Jews in the christian religion ; and King James of Scotland in- vited him to become professor of Hebrew in one of the Scotch universities.. Mr. Broughton, after his second return to his native country, wrote two letters to Lord Elsmer, the lord chan- cellor of England ; in which he gives a circumstantial account of his various literary pursuits, and warmly cen- sures the ungenerous and cruel treatment he received from the Archbishop of Canterbury. " I have," says he, "corn piled twobooks, a beginning for many in the kind. One is Hebrew, exactly in the prophets' Hebrew, with a rabbin epistle, in rabbin style. The other is Ecclesiastes applied to that question, Wherefore was the book made ? I was greatly injured. For the rabbin, Archbishop Whitgift, sent me word, that he would allow for answering, if I would entreat him. I returned, entreated I will, but not entreat to have a burden, which I wish others would bear. Soon after, he libelleth that I forged the epistle. If for that he had been rent in pieces by wild horses, his punishment had been too little, as a forgerer deserved. So since he bor- rowed the oath to that villany, Godnever ceased to plague the realm, and not a little by giving bishops over to teach that our Lordwent down hence to hell. To repent of that, and promise .e400 per annum to their teacher to confirm the truth, and then to bark like a Cerberus against the truth and themselves. Then to feign an impossibility in Greek, that our Lord went from paradise to hides, which no Grecian would ever say."+ Mr. Broughtonwas a most profound scholar, particularly in critical and exact knowledge of Greek and Hebrew. He directed his elaborate studies chiefly to a minute examina- tion of the scriptures in their original languages. He found the authorized English translation extremely de- fective, and therefore used his utmost endeavours to obtain a new translation. With a view to accomplish this great object, he addressed the following letter 64 To the right honourable Sir William Cecil, lord high, treasurer :"t 44 Hight Honourable. "Sundry lords, and amongst them some bishops, besides doctors and other inferiors of all sorts, have requested me Stry.pe's Whitgift, p. 432, 526- -530. + Harleian MSS. No. 787. Baker's MS. Collec. vol. iv. p. 94.
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