The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1877-03-30
TIE BOOK OF BOOKS.
How IL Has Been Preserved and Trans
mitted.


How II Has Been Preserved and Trans
nnItted.
On Monday evening DIR. GinsbuTR, one
OF the members of the committee en-
gaged in revision Of the scriptures, de-
livered a lecture at the town hall,
Workingham. on "the bible-the man
ner in which it has been preserved,
transmitted, and copies multiplied
The lecture was illustrated by ancient
manuscripts and,old editions of the bible.
There was large attendance. Mr.. Wal
ter, NJ. p, president, and in Introducing
the lecturer said no subject could be Of
greater interest to an assembly OF chris
tian people than the history Of the ways
and means by which that sacred volume
which was 50 precious in their eyes had
been handed down 10 them from ancient
times, and had been transmitted i'm their
present form for their use and comfort.
DIR. GinsbuI 2 in the course of his lecture
explained that the earliest records Of
scripture were written on stone, and that
previous 10 the existence of parchment
manuscripts they were inscribed upon
the barks of trees or upon rolls made
from the peel Of the papyrus. In many
cases the records consisted of pictures
for instance, in the book of Esther the
ten sons Of Haman were represented "a
being hung up with their father in the
manner described in the Old Testament,
or AZ in the book Of Kings, where all the
battles recorded there were exhibited in
pictorial form A tabulatCd statement
was placed against every line of the text
in the old records, showing how many
times n certain letter, word, or phrase
occurred this was summarized at the end
Of in of hn nF
thirty-two pages, and afterward at the
end of every book, and at the end of the
whole bible the sum total was given.
This would give some idea of the care
with which the bible had been guarded
and preserved, and such gigantic work
as he had described could not, he under
took to say, be accomplished by dozen
men if they lived for five hundred years.
The New Testament has not been treated
in this way at all. They would not find
anything of the kind in the codex Alex
adrinus, which was presented 10 king
Charles, and was now in the British
museum or in the codex of Sinaiaticus,
of similar antiquity, which Tichendorh
found at the convent of Sanai. The lat
ter was now at St. Petersburg, and was
the one which the emperor OF Russia
had had published and circulated to
public libraries and scholars. He
thought, when they heard 10 much
about the emperor Of Russia, il was only
due to render to him the Codex and its
and although they could
not compare the English with the Rus
sian government, because the former had
the reputation Of being one Of the most,
if not the most, liberal government i'm
the world; yet they never found IL doing
anything Of this sort. Having referred
to the rapid advance made in the circu-
lation of the bible after printing was in
troduced, the lecturer stated that at the
time the first bible wss printed by Got
tenburg, a copy Of which he produced,
Roman Catholicism prevailed ali over
Europe, and it was only fair TO say OF
the Roman Catholic church that it print
ed and circulated the scriptures toa large
extent, and did not, as was misstated,
endeavOr 10 keep the bible from the peC-
pie. DIR. Giusburg told some amusing
facts connected with the preparation
IF the authorized version. One Of the
editions which king James /. declined 10
allow the revisers To- use as a help con
lained marginal notes which he cOnsid-
cred heretical and republican. The
note 20 the passage in the
Epistle of ~ Peter, Fear God and
honor the king" was as iOllows: THAT
depends upon circumstances If the word
IF the king is IN harmony with the word
IF God. obey the king; but if Il is con
.rarv 20 the word of God, obey God
-ather than the king. ."--LOndOH Times.