Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1881-06-27

MANUSCRIPTS ON WHICH THE
BIBLE REVISION is BASED.
In sermon on the revision of the
Bible, Rev. DR.. Rylance of st. Marks
Church, this city, made the following
interesting statement respecting the ex
isting early manuscripts of the New
Testament. The learned doctor speaks
also approyingly of the new version, re-
marking that the revision was necessary
in order that tie common people as well
as the learned might understand exactly
on what ground they stood. Hitherto
it has been thought that every word of
the English version of the Bible was in
spired this belief is passing away as
people become educated and know that
no work of translator can be absolute
ly perfect. The autographs of the
Apostles have long since faded and dis
appeared. ALI we have to depend upon
for our translations are copies, ancient
versions, translations. and the quotations
made by the Fathers of the Church.
The manuscripts of the New Testament
are of two kinds the uncial, the oldest
class of manuscripts, written in capitals
and without punctuation, and the sour
sive" manuscripts, so called from their
being written in a running hand that
began to be used in the tenth century.
Those of the old class were written be-
tween the fourth and tenth centuries,
the others after the tenth century.
| Of the old there are l3O in existence;
of the new about 1900. The very old
and very valuable manuscripts are only
FIVE. Of these the Alexandrian Codex
was originally discovered at Alexandra,
and was sent to King Charles l., in
1923. 1t is now in the British Museum.
Nothing is known of the origin of this,
but it is usually assigned to the middle
of the fifth century. 1t is much mutt
lated. twenty-four chapters of the first
Gospel, two of the fourth, and eight of
the Epistles being missing. The next
is the Vatican manuscript, supposed to
have been written in the fourth century.
A copy of this was never made till 1868,
when fac-simile was issued. The con-
dltion Of this is much more perfect. The
third manuscript is that in the National
Library at Paris. whittier it was brought
by Catharine de Medici. This had been
over written-that is the parchment had
been used for other writings; but in
spite of that, the original has been de-
ciphered. 1t is assigned to the early
part of the fifth century. The fourth
manuscript is that now at Cambridge.
This is the least valuable, as it is much
mutilated 1t belongs to the sixth cen
tury. The manuscript found in 1874
in the Convent of st. Catharine on
Mount Sinai by Tischendorf, and copied
by him in 1859. is the most valuable of
the five, as it contains the New Testa-
ment complete. This is supposed to
have been written in the fourth century.
None of these most valuable authorities
were consulted in any of the English
versions of the Bible, even in making
that of King James time. The Latin
Vulgate, the plentiful cursive manu-
; scripts, and the translations were used.
, Errors like the Doxology at the end of
r the Lords Prayer had crept into the
| translations. even into the Syrian. which
was old as the second century. The
! Latin Vulgate was probably an excellent
translation, as it must have been within
few years of the death of st. John.
The changes that have just been made
, have only been made when the weight
| of authority left no doubt of their neces-
sity. The text is not question of taste,
r of like and dislike, but of historic testi-
mony. l expect to see the corrected
; version win its way into the confidence
Y and the respect of the English speaking
s people.-.Scientifc american.