God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James BibleA network of complex currents flowed across Jacobean England. This was the England of Shakespeare, Jonson, and Bacon; the era of the Gunpowder Plot and the worst outbreak of the plague. Jacobean England was both more godly and less godly than the country had ever been, and the entire culture was drawn taut between these polarities. This was the world that created the King James Bible. It is the greatest work of English prose ever written, and it is no coincidence that the translation was made at the moment "Englishness," specifically the English language itself, had come into its first passionate maturity. The English of Jacobean England has a more encompassing idea of its own scope than any form of the language before or since. It drips with potency and sensitivity. The age, with all its conflicts, explains the book. This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more. |
Contents
A poore man now arrived at the Land | 1 |
The multitudes of people covered the beautie | 20 |
He sate among graue learned and reuerend | 42 |
Faire and softly goeth far | 62 |
The danger never dreamt of that is the danger | 105 |
O lett me bosome thee lett me preserve thee | 117 |
We have twice and thrice so much scope | 137 |
When we do luxuriate and grow riotous | 147 |
True Religion is in no way a gargalisme only | 173 |
The grace of the fashion of it | 198 |
Hath God forgotten to be gracious? | 216 |
Appendices | 228 |
A The Sixteenthcentury Bible | 247 |
Chronology | 261 |