Abstract:

The serious debate of the 16th century between the humanist and the scholastic sector is exposed here, on the need to go to the original sources of Sacred Scripture (Hebrew and Greek) in theological argumentation. The humanists disqualified scholastic theology for working on a translation of biblical texts (the “Vulgata” of Saint Jerome), and not on the sources. Cano defends the value of the “Vulgata” Bible, whose dogmatic authority was approved in Trent, arguing the underlying reasons for the matter. However, he also approves the convenience and usefulness of going to the original sources (as instruments), but not the absolute necessity. In fact, from here on, the self-respecting theologian must sufficiently know, and use in his theological work, the original biblical languages (Hebrew and Greek).

Key words:

Biblical languages, Vulgate Bible, Scholastic Theology, Critical Humanism