“As he falsely translated _Ecclesia_ into the unknown word _congregation_, in places where he should have translated it into the known word of _holy Church_, and this with a malicious purpose to set forth his heresy of the secret and unknown church wherein is neither good works nor sacraments, in like manner is it now proved, in the same way and with like malice, he has translated _idols_ into _images_ … to make it seem that Scripture reprobates the goodly images of our Saviour Himself and His holy saints.… Then he asks me why I have not contended with Erasmus whom he calls my darling, for translating this word _Ecclesia_ into the word _congregatio_.… I have not contended with Erasmus, my darling, because I found no such malicious intent with Erasmus, my darling, as I found with Tyndale; for had I found with Erasmus, my darling, the cunning intent and purpose that I found with Tyndale, Erasmus, my darling, should be no more ‘my darling.’ But I find in Erasmus, my darling, that he detests and abhors the errors and heresies that Tyndale plainly teaches and abides by, and therefore Erasmus, my darling, shall be my darling still.… For his translation of _Ecclesia_ by _congregatio_ is nothing like Tyndale’s, for the Latin tongue had no Latin word used for Church, but the Greek word, Ecclesia, therefore Erasmus, in his new translation gave it a Latin word. But we in our English had a proper English word for it, and therefore there was no cause for Tyndale to translate it into a worse. Erasmus, moreover, meant therein no heresy, as appears by his writings against heretics, but Tyndale, intended nothing else thereby, as appears by the heresies that he himself teaches and abides by. Therefore, there was in this matter no cause for me to contend with Erasmus, as there was to contend with Tyndale, with whom I contended for putting ‘congregation’ instead of ‘Church.’”[266]
Further, More blames Tyndale’s translation in its substitution of _senior_ or _elder_ for the old-established word _priest_. This word, presbyter, in the Greek, he says, “as it signifies the thing that men call priest in English, was sometimes called _senior_ in Latin. But the thing that Englishmen call a priest, and the Greek church called _presbyter_, and the Latin church also sometimes called _senior_, was never called elder either in the Greek church, or the Latin or the English.”[267] He considers, therefore, the change made by Tyndale, in the second edition of his translation, from senior into elder was not only no improvement, but a distinct and reiterated rejection of the well-understood word of priest.… “I said and say,” he continues, “that Tyndale changed the word priest into senior with the heretical mind and intent to set forth his heresy, in which he teaches that the priesthood is no sacrament … for else I would not call it heresy if any one would translate _presbyteros_ a block, but I would say he was a blockhead. And as great a blockhead were he that would translate _presbyteros_ into an elder instead of a priest, for this English word no more signifies an elder than the Greek word _presbyteros_ signifies an elderstick.”[268] “For the same reason he might change bishop into overseer, and deacon into server, both of which he might as well do, as priest into elder; and then with his English translation he must make us an English vocabulary of his own device, and so with such provision he may change chin into cheek, and belly into back, and every word into every other at his own pleasure, if all England like to go to school with Tyndale to learn English--but else, not so.”[269]