Wednesday, May 6, 2026

William Barclay (it would appear), as prefaced by Lancelot Andrewes


"Take away, O Lord, the veil of our hearts while we read the scriptures. Help us to study your word, not only to know about our blessed Lord, but also to know him; not only to learn about him, but also to encounter him; not only to grow in knowledge, but also to increase in love; not only to love him with our hearts, but also to obey him with our lives.  So that in knowing him, and loving him, and obeying him, we too may say with the Apostle Paul: For me to live is Christ. This we ask for your love’s sake. Amen."

Here’s a link to the presence of all but the incipit from Lancelot Andrewes in William Barclay’s Introducing the Bible (London:  Bible Reading Fellowship; Nashville:  Abingdon, 1972), p. [7] (I've checked both, the Nashville printing on paper, and the original London printing via Google Books).

As I said back in early December of 2023, "the incipit [(at least)] is clearly Andrewes (riffing, of course, on 2 Cor 3:15), as translated by F. E. Brightman from the 1675 Oxford edition of the Preces privatae, as also edited by him (i.e. Brightman)." 

"Take away, o Lord, the veil of my heart while I read the Scriptures" (in your prayer this is changed only from the first person singular into the first person plural).

And here is Andrewes' original Latin:

"Tolle, Domine, velamen cordis mei, dum lego Scripturas"  (2 Cor 3:15 Vulgate:  "velamen est positum super cor eorum").

If, on the other hand, you compare the Preces privatae as they appear on p. 354 of vol. 10 of the standard 1841-1854 edition of Andrewes' Works, you’ll see stuff in Brightman’s English that doesn’t appear at that very point in the Latin:  not at this point in particular, but on that same page in Brightman’s English.  And in Brightman’s Preface there are some comments about moving things around a bit.

But because Andrewes had to modify the Latin of the Vulgate to turn it into a private prayer, that part, translated faithfully by Brightman, does indeed seem to come from Andrewes rather than the Vulgate directly (unless somebody else so modified it independently exactly as did Andrewes).

     My thanks to Dr. David Nienhuis for the diversion.

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