PAGNINUS, SANCTUS, an Italian dominican, emi-
nent for his skill in oriental languages and biblical learn-
ing, was born at Lucca in 1466, and became afterwards
an ecclesiastic of the order of St. Dominic. He was Paganus, Page.
deeply and accurately skilled in Latin, Greek, Hebrew,
Chaldee, and Arabic; but he was particularly excellent
in the Hebrew. He applied himself to examine the
vulgar translation of the Scriptures; and believing it to
be either not of Jerome, or greatly corrupted, he under-
took to make a new one from the present Hebrew text;
in which he meant to imitate St. Jerome, who set about
making a new translation at a time when the church
would admit no other but the Septuagint. This design
of Pagninus, so early after the restoration of letters,
seemed a bold one; yet such was the reputation of the
man, that it was approved by Pope Leo X. who promi-
sed to furnish him with all necessary expenses for carry-
ing on the work: and, besides, we find at the beginning
of this translation, which was printed at Lyons in 1527,
two letters of the preceding pope, Hadrian VI. and
Clement VII. which licenced the printing of it. Pag-
ninus, in his Letters to Pope Clement, for the printing
of this translation, openly declares, that the Vulgar edi-
tion, as it is at present, is not St. Jerome's; yet adds,
that he has retained in his translation as much of it as he
could. It appears by a letter of Pius Mirandola to
Pagninus, that he had spent 25 years upon this transla-
tion. It is the first modern translation of the Bible from
the Hebrew text; and the Jews who read it affirmed,
that it agreed exactly with the Hebrew, and was in
some respects superior to the ancient translations. The
great fault of Pagninus was, that he adhered with too
great fervidity to the original text; and this scrupulous
attachment made his translation, says Father Simon,
"obscure, barbarous, and full of solecisms. He imagi-
ned, that to make a faithful translation of the Scriptures,
it was necessary to follow exactly the letter according
to the strictness of grammar. This, however, is quite con-
trary to his pretended exactness, because two languages
seldom agree in their ways of speaking; and therefore,
instead of expressing the original in its proper purity, he
defaces and robs it of all its ornaments." Father Simon
nevertheless allows the great abilities and learning of
Pagninus; and all the later commentators and transla-
tors of the Scriptures have agreed in giving him his just
praise. Huettus, though he thinks Father Simon's criti-
cism of him just and well grounded, yet proposes his
manner as a model for all translators of the sacred books:
Scripturæ interpretandæ ratione utile nobis exemplar pro-
posuit Sanctus Pagninus. He also translated the New
Testament from the Greek, as he had done the Old from
the Hebrew, laying the Vulgar all the while before
him; and dedicated it to Pope Clement VII. He was
author of a Hebrew Lexicon, and a Hebrew Grammar:
which Buxtorf, who calls him vir linguarum Orientalium
peritissimus, made great use of in compiling his.
He died in 1536, aged 70. Luther spoke of him and
his translations in terms of the highest applause.