, 1879-01-03
wilt look after the great growth Of our indus
tries. md the advancement Of our frc Stats IN
the Halls OF the nation. W. AABLRR.
REVISED SCRIPTURES.

tho New Testament ara to be congratulated on
having completed their second and Goa1 revision
OF tho work. Tbs labor Of conscientious trans
latfbn IL never sliRht, and tho toll Is not alto
rcthcr lesscncd by being shared. II Is eastcr
for ono translator or re7tscf to make tip his
mind than for twenty-four peraous to mako
up twenty-four minds. Let 1t bc sup
posed that ait tho twcnty-fous arc
agreed that certain received rendering
will not stnnd.-aud to supposc this Is to sup
poss . great denl. Theu conc tic different
views about thu necessary cmcndation. Ono
will not do because the stylo In which It fs
couchel, though lucid enough, Is not tho ttylc
OF the old version which Is being amended
Another rendering may bc disputed on those
dc1catc points Of scholarship In which Greek Of
every epoc!, Is 80 uncommonIv rich. third
version, perhaps, Is accurate but clumsy. How
are ntl tue many mttlfls Of many men to be rec
onci!edf The difficulty becomes greater wien
col1aboratc with English Ileltenfsts and dlyincs.
It Is needless to say TINT while all the troubles
would ocFplex revtsess II they. were merely
the Master Of Ba1,iol, they beset revtscrs Of a
tacrcl text with yigor .ulnny tiEnea increased:
Ductrlno rs well a. scholarship is at stake, and
we know how bitterly the Two aro often nt va
ornat'op. the Greek Of tIe dieck Testament ras
declared to be " herettca! tannuaGc. Tie Greek
tcxt did not always tally with the Latin; there.
fore the 0reck was wrong. Erasn,,ls never did
edit tho Greek Testament. There was nothing
violent iu his sctsotArly task; he did INT throw
any documents into the fire before tho ctes ni
the public, nor hurl his tnk-pot at cur Ehost!y
an effort to soc q sacred work IN The cfearest
Hight, and 10 enabtc other pet,nle to DO 50, and
he conll have dono ho nIoru Irritating or rcro-
lutio1iary tbfng. The monks foaned at tho
In
the period, and let us be Just to them and alfow
that their conduct was natural. They and tho
pcop'o OF their aldo had foF. long been the
authorized cxponents Of the Vn1gsts: rney had
Demonstrated ali their propositions. Sud
denly tho ground was cut, from under
tst ssr sss s M hy na{s wsss SgsS T ssr t. b. s It'll
authority turned out to be written In a tonEuu
Of which they knew nothing. They we're like
those worthy fathers who derived. aays Corne.
have no concern. ''Nou,n says Cornelius
Agrtppa, 't',ero arc only three letters In tho
Hebrew word Of Adatn,',, SO that little piece Of
Sae 10 fsst se stas nd a sSe ens y
magician, "for many extremely pious persons
aud worthy commentators are absolutely i0no.
rant Of Hebrew.r fhc clergy Of tho period
wero like tho Gcrmans in Porson'a poem.
'.'rhe Germans IN Greek are sadly to SEEK"
uow could they like tlu discovery Of Erasnusi
Nay, cven in our tolerant time. Il II. 0ppert Or
Prot. 9aycn we're to discover tbs 01sest Of oil
manuscripts OF 0cncsfs In Aeeadlats our splr-
itual u.aslcrs and pastoFs would not Ike It.
'I!crc,r they would cry, '.i4 our familiar
Scripture III 4 tongue WHICH only ahons three
people know, and they know Il dtflcrcntly."
The utscuscrerb would dntl 1t ullicnlt to get tho
Aceatlan version recognized.
Round the various trnnslattous and editions
Of the l,be has crystnlllzed q rotnancc Or
mythology. Every one is familiar with the use-
ful supcrstition ot medieval copylats who be-
l!eyed that to make hlundcr In tho writing out
Of tte Apocalypse was to commit nn unpaElfgn-
able sin. Tho AleInnlriaH copvlst, who worked
did not look so close. 1t the early fragments OF
Homer on papyrus are any test Of tho accuracy
Of common copgtsts, thay were more Eeckfcas
than tue most rccklessly ingenious Of printers.
indolent stupidity. and tho task Of keeptog the
text puro hns Dccn one to turn graY tue hair Of
,nany generations Of commentators; The myth
about tho miraculous agreement OF tho eo.calfcu
ably ot jewish origin Each member Of the
seventy produced q separate version, aud all tho
versions were equally currees.S Thu story Of tho
Slnaitlc manuscript and its discovery T. not less
Interesting than tho fortunes Of Vllos0n's
'' Marcian A." Tho fata tibsforna,, this ronlau-
tic fortunes Of oil the books In the world taken
together, would not niakc 80 moving . talu 10
tho adventures Of the books OF tho Bible alone.
The record Ia not yet cl0s0d, and no ono
cut, be absolutely certain that older and better
manutcripts than ,any yet known may not be
moldcrinR In cellar 70 Mount Ashos. Of neg
lcctcd in some cornor Of the vatican, Or hidden
Coptlc rite. a distinguished scholar u report
ci to have been vexcd by thc stlcccssful "tlnds II
OF seekers after Biblical manuscripts, "lf It
o ben a HEN i aa%
| sort; "tf It. had been fragment Of Sappt,o or
b!,nunidesIf ualuckiiy. Tho very pcEiDu when
biblical tnanuscrlEts were treasured as tntracu-
md sltnoniJes, equally misunderstood, wcre TO.
| garded rs accurscl wDrahfpeFs Of ucmoha.
Their writings psrlshetl, while cYcn one book Of
| the Gospels. authentic Or apoeryphal, wus
bound In silver sct with precious stones, Or kept
In caskct like that whirn Alexander won fro,,l
4 the pcrsian aud converted into the tlomu of tbs
AristOtrllal, rrecnsion OF tho 1al. Huets arc
tho fostuurA Of books, which are now adorel,
now neglected, snd acntn hurasy cacapo the lire
! at tho hanls of prosecutors, when wlmt WIS
savrctt has become aacriKiuua In tho changes
Of the world, mud still later ase chained to dcskl
in public placea that oil maT usa and not,a a o
ptupr1at0 their mcssage.
Tue history Of ths English tranaations Of the
n!ble q not only i1!srestins. bur extrsme'y dlf;
!lvult to write. Whoever a1ysmturss himself
the dsyotces of early printing. It'ls not aate tc
say much about Aidhcln! aud Cacdtnon; It II
tekllsh work talking nbuut WyctttEc, Tho ycr,
spelling Of wh<se nans NAV proyoKe litcrar,
quarrel. WtbbH VIC eOlnu To Eurertla[o Vnt
fyldai We aro in tho ce,tru VI q tactlon fght
The Ucnevsu Bhls md the H[shoD'a Bib!a arc Il,
per'ous topics as Thy nrAycr-l.oofs of Edward
VI. nnl Elizabeth. In thu confused Theological
turmsil Vi tnu sixteenth century, when prutess
ants and Catholics succvctied Henry WILL, wtlt
fought chiefly fur hs own hnllu, many parties
anti people had turn at tr1nslntin2 the 1tlbie
1t saysa go ID dcat for tas'F honcsty that oa
tcs. of opinion and selection, o.lt of the Hlshop'
Bible, which was teVtston ut e." "Coverdalcl