The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1881-03-06
IPhiladelphia Times.

philadelphia TimesI
President Chase, of IIavcrford College, q
member Of the American branch OF the
Committee on tae Revision OF the NcN TeS-
lament, lecturcd on the subject OF that
work in the bail Of TIE Academy Of Fine
Arts last night The arrangements for the
lecture were made months ago, the time
being few days after the new edition Of
the Bible was expected TO be placed before
the public, but for some reason the
bridging ont Of the work has been
post poncd until May, although private
copies are already in the hands OF
the members OF the committee. The in
>trucli0ns with regard 10 them are stree,
however, and nothing could induce any
member OF the committee 20 make public
any material portion OF the work before the
appointed time. President Chase. in his
lecture, gives a clue 10 many Of the changes
and the reasons therefor.
President Cha,c's first point was to show
why the present rcVis,rs Gained superior
knowledge To the Older transatOrs OF the
New Testament IN regard TO the genuine
original text. His next step was 10 demon
s,rate how that original text became per-
yeIted and how it could be restored.
In the economy Of Heavcu-wIth reveT-
ence be it spoken" there is 10 waste Of
miracles" As the inspired words Of reye-
la,iOn were given forth in human language,
with all It's necessary imperfectiOns and linz
itations, and recorded by finite human in
stIumens, so their preservation has been
entrusted 10 human fidelity IN accordance
with that great law of our religious life,
that it is left for man in bis subordinate
sphere to cooperate with God. Nor have
| in, fti fuI a d,o
Ito preserve the records Of Divine
revelation unimpaircd. Yet, with the
very means OF pIe>crvation came in
the possibility OF variations and errors
a liability which has not been completely
obviated even by lbc Invention Of printing.
IL is not likely that any two editions OF our
English Bible to-day, or the Bible i'm any
other language, are entirely alike in every
letter and marx Of punctuation. In spite Of
the greatest care ana Wa'chfulne>s curious
and sometimes even shocking nl>print>
! have on various occasions clept in. ] re-
member Scribbling of some years ago for Il
manuscript paper published by a college So
! cietv some lines entitled "Tbe Skaters" +"
which had sung themselves 10 ne when a
few evenings before, under Il clear starlight
sky. had Joined 4 party Of students in
skating on Morris's pond and felt all the
| poetry Of youth and the motion OF winged
feet on the IesOundng ice and the ringing
steel. had almost forgotten having wit
ten them. when found a So-calcd copy OF
them a number OF years affrrwlrd in an
album handed me for contribution. Tie
piece had been copied from book 10 book
from year 10 year, and The change It had un-
dergone in the process was surely something
rich and strange mot in SbakSpcare's sense.
Some lines had no sense at all; in others an
omission or slight modification bad utterly
perverted the meaning; aud the metre
which was, perhaps, the pieces strong
point, If it had any-had become in several
places the most eXcruIla,ing discord.
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND ERRORS.
The danger Of such variations, however.
was undoubtedly vastly les in The case OF
tie New Testament thaD in that Of any
merely human composition. The sacred
text has always been regarded with a rev.
erence wbich is calculated 10 inspire copy
ist with profound sense OF his response
biliy, and very great care was taken in the
comparison and revision Of copies, q work
often entrusted 10 different hand from that
OF the transcriber. Notwithstanding all
this care, however, variations and errors
crcpt in 10 the amount OF no less than
| 100000. Al first hearing this number star
ties us. We almost tremble for our precious
inheritance. A little examination, however,
reduces its terrOrS. Ninety-nine in a hum
dred-nay, perhaps | may lay nine thou
sand nine hundred aud nine'y-nine in ten
| thOuSand-arc practically OF no importance
aS involving any point OF faith or practice.
| The majority Oi tie different readings In
this formidable enumeration are mere differ
cnces in spelling. Next come slight differ
ences in grammatical form, not affecting the
substantial sense; then dticre1ces In the
greater or les fullncss OF writing the name
of OR SaViour-the use Of one OF his names
or both. the prefiXihg or omission before
his name Of The title LOrG-(What might be
the importance OF these variations being
neutralized by the fact that it is often found
! that the same manuscript, which, against
the general current, Omits one OF these
words ~ one instance inserts it'in anOther);
| then comes the use OF synonymous eX-
| pressions-lhus OF The three Greek words,
all meaning to s0U one manuscript will Use
| one, and another in the same passage an
Other and another the third; then we have
class OF variations i'll which the effect l.
| merely rhetorical, the same idea beng eX-
| pressed IN different readings with greater or
| less force and yividnesS; and The whole
number Of texts in which the variations OF
reading would affect materially the doc.
trines conveyed can be counted by units-I
had almost said upon the fingers OF one hand.
OF the one hundred and twenty thousand
differences in spelling, arrangement, and
phraSeOlogy which have been noticed in our
sixteen hundred manuscripts many are
found only in one manuscript, or in very
few: many others are obviously erroneous
at first sight, like the mistakes we some
times meet with IN letter or In ncwspa-
per: so that the whole number OF readings
ia which there is really any room for seri-
ous doubt or discussIon-including ques-
tions OF nere spelling, grammatical forms.
relative position OF words, and the like
does aot exceed from sixteen hundred to
two thousand.
For the simple translator the problem is
still Iess extensive; for il is evident that
mere questions OF orlhography, aud in many
cases questions OF relative position, do not
affect him one Nay or the other. II il an
encourag ging fact that by the labor OF seho-
lars the number u what can truly be called
doubtful readings is rapidly diminishing;
point after point becomes settled beyond
possibility OF reverse. and by the strict ap-
p'icatiOn OF the regular scientific laws Of
criticism the text Of tbs New Testament Is
becoming established With certainty far